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Zorak was walking through the halls of the studio, heading towards the commissary. They’d just wrapped up another filming of an episode, though Space Ghost and Moltar went ahead without her since she had to stay behind with a nurse after one too many blasts from Space Ghost’s power band. She’s lucky she's pretty resilient.
She finally arrived at her destination, pushing the double doors open and surveying the area. It was littered with staff members, all at different seats or in line for the cafeteria food. She found Space Ghost and Moltar where they always sat, but something was off. They were laughing with each other, as if they were gossiping or something. Weird. Putting it aside for the time being, she walked over to the cafeteria line, cutting ahead. They all grumbled to themselves, but she knew they wouldn’t try anything against her.
“Coffee. Black.” She stated to the lunch lady, who was of alien descent she could not quite figure out. Her only response was a simple grunt, and she turned to grab a coffee pot, pouring it into a mug she had retrieved at the same time. As she worked, Zorak turned over to look at the table where they all sat, only to catch them staring and giggling at her. Now that set off alarms in her head. They were talking about her . She was gonna walk over there and give them a piece of her mind…
The lunch lady had then finished, handing the coffee mug over to Zorak. She quickly took it from her, giving only a curt “Thanks.” before heading over to the table. Space Ghost and Moltar noticed Zorak coming over, and quickly began pretending like they weren’t just talking about her. The mantis took her seat, eyeballing the two as she took a sip of her coffee. They were silent, acting overly oblivious- but still staring. She decided to prod them for information.
“You two seemed awfully chatty before I got here.” She remarked, to which the two looked between themselves before Space Ghost decided to speak up.
“Oh, nothing you have to worry your pretty little head about.” He broke composure towards the end of the sentence, making a small chuckle to himself, and making Moltar laugh in return. It was getting on her nerves, irritating her.
“Uh huh. Anything you wanna say, Moltar?” She spat, singling him out before taking another sip of her coffee.
“Oh no, no, nothing.”
But they started giggling again, and Zorak was just about to start shouting at them when Space Ghost said something she’d never expected to hear come out of his mouth, ever.
“Nothing other than the fact that I heard through the grapevine that you and Brak used to spoon.” He said smugly.
“In prison.” Moltar finished the sentence for him.
Zorak spat out her drink spraying it all over Space Ghost, who cursed as the hot beverage burned his face, but she didn’t care. He deserved it- cause what he said was something no one was ever supposed to know.
“You WHAT!? ” She yelled, both panicked and angry, practically jumping out of her seat. This made everyone in the commissary turn to look at them. While she didn’t necessarily care they were all looking, what they were about to discuss is insanely private.
She turned to face their onlookers, shouting an annoyed “What?!”, which was what got them to hurriedly return to their own devices. Zorak sat back down, staring daggers at Space Ghost. She leaned over the table, getting all up in his face. “You. Talk. Now .”
Space Ghost was still wiping coffee off his face, glaring at Zorak. “Fine, ‘ya big baby. I heard from someone, I’m not telling who, that you and Brak may have had a thing while you two were in prison together during the old days.” Unsatisfied, Zorak turned to Moltar, expecting an answer.
“Don’t look at me, I heard it from him.”
Zorak simply just leaned back into her chair, frustrated that she wasn’t getting anywhere with her interrogation. She made a hiss of annoyance, before speaking up again.
“Well how do you even know it’s true?”
“Dude, how you reacted like not even 5 minutes ago pretty much confirms it.” Moltar pointed out. Zorak grumbled in response, sinking further into her chair, admitting defeat. And that was even further confirmation for Space Ghost and Moltar.
“Ha! It’s true then! You actually slept with Brak! I can’t believe it!” Space Ghost spoke as he nearly doubled over in laughter. Moltar chimed in with “Yeah, Brak is the last person I’d expect you to have been with.”
“It’s not like that!” Zorak growled. “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut the fuck up! ” She could already see that other people were staring at them again. They both obliged, quieting down, before deciding to ask her questions.
“So, you gonna give us all the juicy details then?” Asked Space Ghost.
“What if I don’t?”
Space Ghost held up his power band in a ready position, pointing it towards Zorak. “I gotta spank ray with your name on it, that’s what.”
“Oh come on, Ghost.” Moltar interjected.
“What? I wanna know!”
Zorak was not in the mood for any of this, but she knew if she didn’t explain they’ll keep having the wrong idea- as much as she’d rather not talk. She took a deep sigh before answering.
“Eeerrugh, fine, I’ll fucking talk.” She grumbled. Space Ghost lowered his power band, a smug expression creeping across his face. Zorak shot a dirty look at him before continuing. “But if any of this leaves this table I will fucking kill you both .”
“You have my word.”
“Yeah, sure I do.” Zorak said, rolling her eyes.
“You do, I promise! Anything for you, my green little friend.”
“We are not friends.”
There was a beat before Moltar quietly spoke up with a small “… I’m your friend.”
“You are. And I barely even trust you with this.”
“Oh come on Zorak, just spill it already!” Space Ghost insisted.
“Fine, alright already! I’ll tell you!” Zorak shouted, rising out of her seat. Space Ghost flinched at her sudden movement. She sat back down, sighing, psyching herself up.
“Ugh- Yeah. It’s true. I don’t know how in the universe it ever got out but yes , it’s true. The spooning part at least.”
“Pffth, and how did that happen?” Moltar questioned. Zorak went over the memory in her head, before answering.
“Well, it was a long time ago now, but you both already know we met in prison. Of course that was before she became a total fucking dumbass.” As Zorak spoke, she could practically see the gears turning in their head.
“Oh yeah… when she was actually cool. I kinda forgot there was ever a time when Brak wasn’t a dumbass.” Moltar thought out loud, Space Ghost nodding in agreement. “I forgot too. I mean, we’ve had dumb Brak longer than we’ve had smart Brak.”
“It’s too bad. She could do some real damage back then.” Moltar remarked, which made Space Ghost give a face of disapproval. “I’d argue she’s better now, not up to any piracy shenanigans.”
“And I’d argue that you guys should shut up and let me finish!” Zorak loudly interrupted. They quickly stopped, and Zorak waited a moment to make sure they wouldn’t speak up again before resuming her story.
“As I was saying , we met in prison. From what I remember we got on pretty quick.” She mused over the memory in her head; she still thought of it quite fondly, despite everything. The first time she met Brak, and the moment their complicated relationship began. “Pretty much bonded over how much we hated Space Ghost’s guts.”
“Hey!”
“What? It’s true. Anyways… it was getting late so we were gonna go to sleep, but the problem was that…” Zorak trailed off. Now was the tricky part of the story.
“The problem was…?” Said Moltar. Zorak made an uncomfortable noise, not wanting to say but she knew she had to anyway.
“…There was only one bed.”
There was a beat before Space Ghost and Moltar erupted into fits of laughter, pounding their fists on the table, which only served to make Zorak angry.
“Hey! I didn’t ask for a roommate in my one-bed cell!” But her words fell on deaf ears.
“Hah, wow, that's priceless!” Said Space Ghost, wiping a tear from his eye as Moltar continued to be in hysterics.
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up. Are you gonna keep fucking interrupting me?” She growled.
“Yeah- woo! I’m good, I’m good. Go on.” Zorak bit back an insult, and continued. She chose her words carefully.
“ As I was saying , there was only one bed. And well… we had to share it. That’s it.” She watched as confused expressions came across the other two’s faces- or Space Ghost’s, at least.
“… What? That’s what happened, as simple as that.”
“You couldn’t have like, made her sleep on the floor or something? You had to… spoon?” Moltar tilted his head in confusion. “And how’d you even agree to that ? Spooning is a pretty big escalation, not exactly something you do for no reason.” Space Ghost chimed in. Zorak felt as if they were being accusatory, attacking her. “What are you implying?
“I’m just saying, given the circumstances, I would assume there was another factor at play for why you even decided to share a bed in the first place, not just that there was only one.” Space Ghost raised an eyebrow. “Like, oh I dunno, you liked her.”
His statement got Zorak riled up again. “Oh, shut the fuck up! You don’t know anything!” She spat back at Space Ghost, defensive.
“Ooh, looks like I struck a nerve.” Space Ghost smirked at Zorak, who was practically giving him a look that could kill, but he paid no mind. “Here, how about you actually explain? Cause it just seems like not telling us everything.” Moltar nodded in agreement.
“What!? For crying out loud-” She ran a hand over her face, frustrated. But Space Ghost was right; she was omitting information. There were… feelings involved. In truth, the day she met Brak she was immediately attracted, and it only strengthened after getting to get to know her. And she was the one to come onto her. But letting them know that? Zorak wasn’t quick to spill that information. The mantis sunk further into her seat, arms crossed, not wanting to answer.
“Come on Zorak, just do it. Space Ghost’s gonna tease you about it either way.” Said Moltar in an attempt of reassurance.
“And give him better material? No way.” She stood her ground.
“Don’t worry Moltar, I know what’ll get her to talk.” Zorak immediately got back up in her seat, not liking the direction the conversation was going.
“What’re you talking about?”
“If you won’t speak… Oh I dunno, we could always ask Brak, get her side of the story.”
Zorak froze. Then she got mad. “No! Abso-fucking-lutely not!” She could only imagine what Brak would say, contorting everything because of her bad memory. Or how much she’d tell. Zorak was backed into a corner now; fess up or let them get some sort of weirdo version of events from Brak. And she’d rather do the former.
“So what’ll it be, Zorak?” To further goad her into talking, he held up his power band again.
There was a moment of silence before Zorak gave an exacerbated sigh, finally relenting. “Fine. You win! I’ll tell you everything, Jesus Christ.”
“Great!” Space Ghost exclaimed, glad his threat worked, lowering his power band. “No more threats, I promise.” Zorak raised an eyebrow that suggested she didn’t believe him. Space Ghost simply smiled back at her.
After making sure they would not interrupt again, Zorak continued. “… Okay. Soo… maybe I was attracted to her-” As the words left her mouth, Space Ghost and Moltar both made noises of amusement; Zorak wanted to snap at them again, but she carried on. “Again, she was way different back then, not just in personality but looks too. More well-built, y’know.” The mantis tried not to sound like she was gushing over her, even if she already admitted to liking her.
“So I made a move, asked if she wanted to share the bed and she accepted. I couldn’t tell you why , but she did.” Zorak thought over the memory again for a moment: at the time, she never got any kind of indication that Brak had liked her back- even after their sleeping arrangement continued past that singular night. And maybe she hoped she did, but for all she knows Brak could’ve just been lonely or desperate; they were in prison after all. And she supposed she could make the same excuse, she’d been in that cell by herself for a while- but it’s too late for that now. “… For the record, she was the one who started cuddling up to me… though it seemed more like retaliation for having to share the bed.” At least, that's how Zorak remembered it.
“And that was all. Seriously . Nothing else.” She decided to leave it at that, not mentioning that it wasn’t just that singular night. Not like they knew, anyways. Zorak looked at Space Ghost and Moltar for a brief moment, trying to gauge their reaction. They both seemed to be in thought, before Space Ghost spoke up.
“Eh, I believe it. What I can’t believe is that you actually liked Brak . I never woulda guessed.” Moltar hummed in agreement. “Do you still like her, or…?”
Zorak was almost offended at the question. The answer was a yes, in fact her and Brak had been seeing each other for a while now, but she’s spilled enough personal information to them already. She quickly blurted out a harsh “ NO! ” in response. “Don’t even say that, eeugh.”
“Oh, I was just asking a simple question. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Zorak shot a dirty look back at Space Ghost before he continued speaking. “Well, I guess that settles everything then. Consider me satisfied.” He said, chuckling to himself.
Zorak sighed. “You’re not gonna let me live this down, are you?”
“Nope!” Space Ghost started laughing again, with Moltar joining in.
“I just didn’t expect what we heard to be true.” Said Moltar. Those words made Zorak irritated, reminding her this was all because of a stupid (albeit true) rumour. “You’re seriously not gonna tell me who told you?” Space Ghost shook his head, making a zipping motion by his mouth. “My lips are sealed, so too bad.”
Zorak grumbled in response, her mind now thinking over the possibilities of how and who would’ve known about her and Brak to blabber about it in the first place. She never told anyone herself until now, and while the memories were a bit fuzzy she could definitely remember the prison they were in being very high security, with no windows. So nobody else could’ve spotted them. So that just leaves… Brak.
Of course- she should’ve realized sooner. Should’ve known she probably would’ve run her mouth and let it slip to somebody already. Without a word, she got out of her seat and stormed out of the commissary, leaving Moltar and Space Ghost puzzled.
Fortunately for her (and unfortunately for Brak), she knew Brak was at the studio today, having appeared in the episode they had filmed earlier. She scoured every hallway and room looking for her, before finally finding her in a random dressing room. Zorak had slammed open the door, startling Brak, who was messing around with different clothing she had found. She turned to see who had entered, perking up when she realized it was Zorak.
“Oh, hey Zorak! What’s up-” She was cut off when Zorak had suddenly grabbed her by the collar, infuriated.
“Fess up. Now .” She growled. Zorak was mad , and Brak didn’t know why. Panicked and confused, she timidly questioned her. “Ummph, fess up to what…?”
“That you went and blabbered to somebody about our little sleeping arrangement in prison . That's what. ”
Brak now looked even more confused. “Huh? I never-”
“Don’t fucking lie to me Brak, I know it was you. Cause I sure as shit never told anyone.” She stared daggers at the feline, refusing to let go of her. “So fess. Up.”
“I don’t even- I’ve never told anybuddy!” Zorak didn’t seem satisfied by that answer, so Brak scrambled together another response. “Really! I swear, I haven’t said a single thing!” She pleaded. Zorak looked over her, as if trying to look into her mind to see if she was lying. But all she saw was a confused and frightened Brak. As angry as she was… she could tell Brak was telling the truth. The mantis loosened the grip she had on Brak’s collar, letting go. Brak stumbled back, grasping at her neck.
“Ugh, whatever. Guess I’ll never fucking know.” She grumbled, sitting down in one of the chairs that were in the room, with her arms crossed and slouching. Brak looked back at her, concerned. “Um, why’d you ask me that question? Did someone find out? ” She whispered.
“You could say that. Went to the commissary to see that Moltar and Space Ghost heard a “rumour” that we were together in prison.” Zorak explained. “They wouldn’t stop pestering me about it so I told them the truth.” Brak immediately started panicking again, thinking the worst. “They know? You told them we’re together?”
“What? No, I didn’t tell them that , you idiot. I just told them we shared a bed just that one time. Well, and also that I liked you. But only back then.” Brak calmed down at her response, her mood perking up again, and sat down in a nearby chair to Zorak’s. “Oh, whew! I thought they knew about us now - I got scared for a second there, that would’ve been bad .”
“You… moved on pretty quickly from that.”
“Well, you didn’t tell them, so I don’t gotta worry about nothin’. Thanks.”
Zorak hummed in response, looking off to the side. There was a moment of silence between them before Brak spoke up again with a question.
“… You told them you liked me?” She asked, quietly. Zorak was taken aback for a moment, having forgotten she said that. She realized then that the two of them had never actually talked about their time in prison together. Now was as good a time as any, she supposed.
“Ugh, yes, I did. I liked you even back when I met you in prison.”
Upon hearing the words leave her mouth, Brak was overjoyed, practically jumping out of her seat to go over and hug Zorak. “Hey- what are you-?!” The mantis immediately tried squirming out of her grip. Brak rubbed her face against Zorak’s chest, holding her tight.
“Zorak- Man- I’m really glad to hear that, buddy.”
“And you’re so happy you’re strangling me because-?”
Brak moved her head up to face Zorak. “Well… I still don’t remember much but… I do remember that I liked you back then too. I thought you didn’t think the same.”
Zorak could not believe what she was hearing. “You’re kidding. You do not actually remember that, you’re just making it up-” Zorak could feel her face heating up and her heart pounding, she didn’t know what to say.
“No, I’m serious! It’s one of the few things I remember… I thought you’d be happy.” Brak’s mood began to falter.
“I…” Zorak hesitated. She was glad to know Brak liked her even all those years ago… but being genuine and expressing her feelings just wasn’t something she did. But Zorak could see she was becoming increasingly upset every second she didn’t respond. Sighing, she mumbled under her breath a quiet “I am…” to reassure her. Brak quickly brightened up again, and began to nuzzle Zorak in appreciation. She grumbled in response, but made no objection. “Aw, I knew it! You can’t hide it from me.”
“Tch, like you weren’t just looking like you were about to cry.”
“And they would’ve been tears of happiness .”
“Yeah, right.” Zorak couldn’t help but laugh at her bluff. After the humiliating conversation she had with Space Ghost and Moltar not that long ago, talking with Brak made her feel… better. Especially after learning their feelings for each other were mutual all this time. She supposed, just this once, she could allow Brak to be affectionate with her. Zorak relaxed her body, completely letting Brak melt into her. The feline continued to cuddle the mantis, beginning to purr. Zorak reached a hand over her back, petting her. No one would know about this, she thought, so she didn’t care.
And they just sat there, together, taking in the other’s embrace. As they did, Zorak's mind wandered back to the rumour that started everything, and got slightly irritated again. She got no resolution on how it got out- maybe someone made it up and they were just lucky. Whatever; Zorak figured she could investigate that later. At least it gave her some closure. For now, she didn’t want to think about it, instead focusing on Brak.
She’d stopped nuzzling her, but was still holding her in a hug, looking as if she had fallen asleep already. Zorak found it cute when she slept. She looked over her features: she had mentioned to Space Ghost and Moltar earlier how different she was before her injury. Brak used to be lithe, and even had a bit of muscle to her. Over the years, she’d lost her figure and was now a bit chubbier and heavy. Not to mention her personality being the complete opposite. Zorak found her very attractive then, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t still find her attractive now, if not moreso. Despite being whiny, annoying, and getting on her nerves too many times to count: she somehow fell back in love with her.
She didn’t really understand; but love wasn’t really something she understood in the first place. She's fallen very hard for Brak; and she was finally starting to accept that.