Chapter Text
It was in situations like this where Purpled regretted being a human.
Sure, there was the fear he was granted - respect he mused - but there were always those few who would actually call patrol on him like they threatened. It didn’t happen often, and looking at the trembling spineless man before him, he doubted it would, tugging again at the knife the shopkeeper was so determined to hold onto. Purpled was too, even as his hands grew slick with blood from where they were wrapped around the blade, giving one last jerk when he saw the keeper's horrified glance downward, clearly unsettled by how much he wanted it - holding on with a smile regardless of the pain.
Unlucky for him, this was one of those times where people managed to surprise him, a hand at his shoulder making him realize that maybe the keeper had been stalling, alert already sent to patrol. He sprung away as a taser was thrusted at his side, barely managing to duck when another came toward his head, sliding behind the man to kick the back of his knee out, immediately turning to bolt through the market. There were cries and yelling behind him, though no one aside from the patrol seemed keen on running after him, jumping over carts and pushing past people with ease, an escape route already planned far before he’d hit the town to steal. And yeah, it wasn’t exactly a moral thing, living off the fear of others, taking what he wanted when he wanted, but he also didn’t have many choices other than that. This was the easiest, the safest - usually, considering the man he’d left behind in the dust - and who didn’t like a little theft once in a while?
It might’ve been the wrong choice, he thought, looking up at the patrol speeders flying overhead to where he was last seen; a dud planet now, another in a long line of ones he wouldn’t be coming back to. All he could do was move on to the next, pulling his hood up in an attempt of stealth, unsurprised when no one noticed his presence in the first place. People were weirdly easy to fool when they didn’t want to know the truth. He chuckled at the oblivious crowd, sticking to the walls where shadows clung, triple checking he wasn’t being tailed before ducking into a less-known trail between buildings, leaning back against the brick and mortar to catch his breath, sliding down the wall and thunking his head back against it. Being on the verge of being caught was an adrenaline rush he couldn’t outrun, one his friend always said would get him caught, something he didn’t agree with in the slightest; he was on a roll, nothing could stop him.
His legs gaining their feeling back was what pushed him back upright, along with sirens in the distance - he needed to get out of there, choose the next planet to scam. He hopped up over the fence to his left, glancing around to make sure none of the patrol had found his hiding spot, he came out of his crouch, lazily making his way toward his totally-not-stolen speeder. It wasn’t much, even with the purple paint he’d dumped over it to cover any identifying marks, but it was his, one of the only long-term possessions he brought with him everywhere.
Of course, his lucky streak had to end then of all times, spotting the shadow behind his vehicle a second too late, leaving him to jolt away from a hand darting out, mind switching into high alert so suddenly he nearly missed his next cue, slapping away the next grab for his hoodie and taking off in the direction he’d come from. Running hadn’t been a ‘Purpled staple’ originally, but he’d certainly gotten better at knowing when to flee rather than fight, another flaw his friend had pointed out.
He begrudgingly took more of their advice as their time apart went on, flinging himself at the fence and up over it in one smooth motion, staring back at the figure as they stopped, looking at him from the other side. Fuck, he needed to get out of here, like, yesterday. He kept his eyes locked on where he thought theirs were - and holy shit they were tall, even for the Brute’s of different species he’d met - backing away a bit until he was sure he would be out of sight before they could climb that damned fence, throwing everything he had into sprinting through the streets. They were empty, as he’d planned; a cruel twist of fate, having the perks of his methods turned against him. There was a moment where he debated running back to the crowds he’d left, but another part of him argued it was riskier to be swarmed by them than losing that guy on his own.
It was almost eerie, a place where he’d usually feel safe now tainted with a dangerous air, shadows hiding someone other than him for once, a foe where usually he’d be tucked away within the darkness. Every creak was a footstep, hair standing on end no matter where he ran. There weren’t many things he regretted - not being a criminal, not scaring others if it meant his survival, and certainly not running away from his last base - for once, he thought he might regret being alone. Sure, he wasn’t great at emotions or teamwork, but he’d never felt so exposed in his life, imagining breath along the back of his neck and-
Large hands gripped his biceps, tugging him backward into an alleyway, leaving him to thrash helplessly in their grasp, the back of his head connecting as a voice cursed behind him, though the hands didn’t move an inch. He snarled, thinking they might realize what he was, that he wasn’t someone to be trifled with, humans were touted as the strongest beings of the universe after all, and yet- They let go of one arm, a thrill going through him at the thought of freedom, only for his hopes to be crushed as their arm wrapped around his torso, a voice chuffing against his ear - and oh dear lord they were trying to calm him, as if he were some child. He shrieked high and loud, only gaining a hand over his mouth to muffle the noise. His breathing was left to his nose, coming fast and leaving his head airy - this was the closest he’d been to a panic in a long time, up there with the first and only time he’d gotten caught; this was about to be the second.
Their chest rumbled against his back, another soft noise before a gruff voice spoke.
“It’s alright kid, it’s okay, I’ve got you. Just calm, calm.”
He forced his body to go limp, hoping their hold would waver without him fighting, or that they’d release him to reposition his ‘unconscious’ body. They did neither, only pulling him closer into their arms, lifting him up and skillfully turning him around without letting up their hold, a hand cradling the back of his head when he went to headbutt them again. He looked up, up- green eyes surrounded by black met his, blinking down at him, unbothered.
“Little rascal. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised, a young one like you causing some trouble ‘round town. You’re just a little guy huh? Stealing to stay alive, that’s alright, I understand. Let’s calm down a bit, okay? I’ve got you, you’re not goin’ to patrol.”
The man - because he recognized the soft paw-like hands and build of one of those green aliens, and this certainly sounded like the men he’d heard from their species - brushed down his hair, tucking in the fly-aways and murmuring the same shit over again. He hissed angrily, wanting some form of reaction, of acknowledgement, only gaining another odd-chuff and murmured words of reassurance.
“Alright, let’s get you back to the ship.”
He clamped down on one of the paws, resolute in the fact he could not get shoved onto a ship with this man. The green alien only sighed, fingers that could crush his jaw in an instant pressing against it, slowly working his mouth open gently instead, carefully holding his face so he couldn’t get a bite in again. The man muttered something about ‘humans and their biting’ and ‘at least he didn’t break skin like the last one’, the latter making the hair on the back of his neck raise. If this man had caught a human before, who knew what was in store for him.
Thus began a casual walk to the ship for the man - aside from the nuisance Purpled was being along the way, flailing his legs until they were tucked up under one of the aliens four arms, trying to get a good chomp in on the man only resulting in his head being pinned, ear pressed above a rumbling purr. If the man thought it would calm him, he had another thing coming. Mainly more muffled screams. No matter how he jerked or what noise he made, the alien wouldn’t let go, and he wouldn’t say anything in response; apparently, he was over trying to soothe him.
If he had his voice he would’ve made a shrill noise once at the docks, realizing how exposed they were - how the hell did the guy expect them to sneak out of here without patrol taking custody of them both? Purpled for obvious reasons, and the alien for trying to harbor a loose human. The alien kept on as if nothing was wrong, as if people weren’t turning to look at them, stopping in their tracks- parting for the head patrol of this planet. The patrol lead came to stand in their way, both watching each other warily, daring the other to move. After a moment, the green alien grinned, as if he hadn’t doomed both of them.
“You know you aren’t getting him, Dream.”
The alien - Dream - scowled, but conceded, looking off to his left with crossed arms.
“You took the last one too.”
The last one again, what happened to the last one?
“And yet you somehow ended up with him anyway, care to explain?”
Dream smirked, looking down his nose at Sam despite being shorter, “I guess he just liked me better.”
“Mm, as seen by the- how many times did he run away from you?”
The smirk dropped, leaving him to roll his eyes and wave at the ship behind him, the surface a mix of soft green and brown, a symbol on the side he thought he might recognize, though he couldn’t be sure.
“Just get on with it Sam, I’m sure I’ll have this one eventually too.”
Purpled wanted to growl that he wasn’t some trading card to lose to another player, he was a person and would be escaping as soon as he got a chance, running far from Dream and Sam as soon as he could. Sam huffed above him, releasing a ‘not if i have anything to do with it’ under his breath. He held him that much closer, possessive almost while in the presence of the other alien, beginning the walk up the ramp to his ships entrance, pausing only when Dream called out, a chilling laughter in his voice that made Purpled’s skin crawl.
“Oh Sam! You should make sure everything’s in order, wouldn’t want you to leave with damaged cargo.”
The alien froze, arms tightening a tad before forcefully pulling back to where they were, worried about crushing him, green and black eyes staring down at him, darting back and forth, searching. He found what he was looking for, a displeased growl-chuff escaping, eyes narrowing at the bloodied hands he’d been unable to continue hiding. His movements picked back up as he hurried into the ship, leaving behind a wheezing Dream. It felt like he was getting scolded with a look, Sam’s eyes burning into his skull as he kept his own on the ground, glaring angrily because he was caged again, and he wasn’t some child that needed an adult to care for him, and he didn’t understand why this weirdo was talking as if he needed someone to protect him.
“Stars kid, what’d you do ?”
It was a question, though it wasn’t aimed at him in a way where he was expected to answer, so he stayed silent, allowing himself to be dropped onto a cot in what was likely the ship's med-center. He reveled in the free use of his arms by immediately trying to catch the green alien off guard, only getting his wrists caught in a firmer grip, hands now at his mercy. Soft fingertips ran over his palms, another of Sam’s hands reaching for a first aid kit nearby, setting it on the table to their side - one he was only now realizing was there, too focused on figuring out his next move - breaking it open to sort through what he needed.
Purpled tested out kicking his shin, gaining nothing more than a fleeting glance, the alien focusing back in on tearing open an alcohol wipe. He tried to jerk away, causing a slight pause in Sam’s movements, eyes passing over him again as if to double check the alcohol wipe wouldn’t hurt him- he debated playing up a fear of it, see if it made the alien back down- but the moment ended, a cold sting pressing over the first cut.
He let out a scream, hoping the man’s sensitive ears would force him to let go, a sad look and ears pinning to his head the only reaction given. Clearly he couldn’t exploit Sam’s empathy or alien traits - and certainly not fear - slumping further against the cot to make it more bothersome to bandage his wounds, backfiring yet again as the four armed alien easily maneuvered him. Though, he might’ve cut out emotional exploitation too soon, tuning in to the gentle hum of his voice, barely heard above the rustle of gauze wrapping around his hand. For some reason, this alien saw him as someone to coddle, leaving more room for underestimating him, more chance for escape - and maybe a bit of time to rest up before flying on to the next planet.
So he ground his teeth and allowed the alien to scoop him back up, not kicking out this time or spinning to bite, forcing down the instinct to struggle when approving chuffs began, a low purr against his side as he was carried from the med-center, pulling together that last bit of restraint when Sam bumped their heads together. He needed to wait for the right moment. It would be okay, he’d done this before; no one would stop him from burning his own path. They walked through more halls than he thought would be in the ship - though he hadn’t gotten a good look at the size of it, preoccupied with Dream, Sam’s eyes, everything else going on. Thinking about it, he wouldn’t have been surprised if the man was trying to throw him off, going down turns and hallways to make it feel like a labyrinth. Finally, he stopped, the whoosh of a door opening before them.
A genuine room isn’t what he expected to be dumped into for the night. A small cage? Yes. A prison cell at the least? Also yes. A cabin with what looked like soft blankets and pillows, shelves and a desk to put things on, little storage cubes built into the wall? Decidedly not on the list of places he thought the alien would put him in. The man settled him down into bed, tucked in neat and nice - and Purpled would put up with it, would be complacent until it was time to take his leave - another push of foreheads before the door closed behind him, a loud click sounding after a moment. And there it was. For all this was a cozy cabin, it was also his new cell. He’d spoken too soon; maybe this guy had a bit of common sense when keeping flight risks.
Of course, Purpled was going to do a full sweep, just to see how prepared he’d been. First was the check for anything sharp - pens, utensils, trinkets, he’d take a stapler at this point - realizing fairly quickly that Sam had snuck the knife he’d stolen off of him. A shame, the weapon was advertised as a plasma knife and everything. He found none of what he wanted, going through the rest of the list he remembered from his friend, double checking every corner, and resisting the urge to slam his head through a wall instead. Taking a few deep breaths, he moved onto the last option in his list, the one he figured would end up overlooked by the man; some form of innerworkings he could scurry his way out through.
He tore a poster from the wall, pushed furniture from the corners until he found it; a passage, flocking to it in his hope for freedom- it was welded shut. Who the fuck decided to weld a service passage shut? But, looking around, he could see the signs of a previous captive; every cushion's color already set as red, a dent in the wall, leftover paper with human letters scrawled over it. Sam had kept a human here, and now the damned vent thing was a no-go cause of them. Purpled groaned, sinking down beside his false-hope, one hand still gripping at the metal.
He was so fucked.