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In the dark corridors of the Skeld, Red and Purple sat side by side. The Ore+ was long gone by now, having been sucked out into space and occasionally causing a slight crackle or pop near the ship (similar to that of fireworks). Although nothing much was happening, just being in each other's presence made them both feel some sense of relief.
Red sighed and glanced at Purple. "Purps? I uh.. I know we don't get along well.." They paused and waited for their colleague's reaction. "But... I wanted to thank you for trying to communicate. Even if I was stubborn and didn't see past it."
Purple watched them for a silent moment, visor reflecting the low ceiling of the hallway leading into storage.
"You were pretty damn stubborn," they started, "but we need to make the trip back by ourselves. Sitting here and talking isn't gonna work forever."
Although Red physically recoiled slightly from the tense atmosphere that was still present, they nodded sharply. "Hah, yeah, as the captain... we should get up and get moving."
That caused Purple to metaphorically roll their eyes.
".. Well?" They nudged Red and the two headed towards navigation; The cockpit.
Red fidgeted with the rim of their hat. "I just... what will MIRA tell us? Continue? Go on? We lost the whole crew."
Purple saw the slight spark in Red's visor dim as they continued on about MIRA.
"MIRA's always got some bullshit prepared. They'll fire me like no tomorrow. I might not even see you," Purple muttered. "It's not like it's the end of everything.."
---
They paused as they reached the hallway.
"I guess... I'll just go back to security," they glanced at Red for a moment.
Red didn't look surprised.
"It'd be nice if you would stay.."
Purple stopped in their tracks. Red? They wanted them to stay?
".. Okay Redsie. I can keep you company.. for a minute."
The two of them sat in silence for a while. The hum of the ship's systems grew stronger, filling the background noise that made this quiet company less awkward than it should've been. Red's breathing grew unsteady as their mind raced. They felt Purple's stare— heavy in the silence.
I could've saved them.
I could've been the strong one.
I could've been a better captain.
I could've protected everyone onboard if I'd known better.
I'm pathetic, weak, and there's nothing more to it.
Purple shouldn't trust me.
"Red?"
They flinched slightly at the questioning— no– DEMANDING tone of Purple saying their name. Red was tempted to grab their captain's handbook and flip to the 324th page to find some crap in the text about 'explaining themselves', but they didn't do anything except hold Purple's gaze.
"What."
"I know you're bothered by something."
Red's breath hitched.
"I'm not bothered by anything! I was-"
Purple sighed. "Save it. You haven't even looked at yourself. You're clearly upset," they barked. Red stared ahead blindly, their visor narrowing ever so slightly.
"I'm sorry," they whispered before hugging Purple abruptly.
It hit Purple as they heard Red's voice crack that they were most likely suffering on the inside because of their own troubled thoughts. The events that took place on the ship definitely took a toll on the crew. Each time someone died.. every time they had to look at each other with suspicion in their visors..
It didn't make sense. And it all came crashing down when Green fucked around like it was some game of cat and mouse.
So Purple's hug kept steady on Red— they knew it could've been one of the only things holding them together. They couldn't help but let a few tears slip out. Everyone was struggling. Everyone had problems.
It was nice to just.. cry and let it all out. Red didn't feel like bottling everything up anymore. It was just them... vulnerability... and Purps.
They got too caught up with themselves. That was enough to break them.
The ship floors creaked, almost like they were responding to the scene.
Purple let go of the hug when Red was ready. "Hey, look at me."
"It wasn't your fault. You shouldn't feel responsible for all of that– how would you know that aliens were hiding among us?"
Red trembled slightly. "I-I did! The damn handbook, Purps! It should've been obvious that Green was one of them!" Their voice bounced off of the walls and echoed back like a sullen cry for help. "They just.. hid so well."
Purple heard them. "All that matters now is going back and getting ourselves out of this mess. I miss Heracles a lot.. but.."
They paused for a moment and looked away.
".. I'm not gonna let it trouble me too much."
Their visor darted to the saltwater gun that they held onto beside them. The walls creaked even louder than before.
"We need rest."
The creaking of the ship continued.
"I'm also not going to sit here and let you cry over things in the past," they placed their hands on their knees.
"C'mon Redsie."
They took their hand.
---
Purple shifted in the makeshift 'sleep corner'; some stupid name that Red probably infested their mind with. But it worked. What a dumb idea.
Red blinked drowsily. They swore they could've seen a ghost staring at them.
Both drifted into a deep sleep as the ship seemed to rock by itself on autopilot.
For now.. all that remained was a quiet area of resting and repairing a positive thought process.
Getting back could wait.