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Red was not having a fun time. They were having the completely opposite of a fun time, in fact, and that was a bad time.
Red let out a groan as they banged their head against the control panel of the ship. They recoiled immediately as the ship shook, slamming down buttons to stabilize it. Sighing as the ship stabilized, they leaned back against their captain’s chair.
Red held their face in their hands. They look in a deep breath, peeking through their fingers to stare at the black void of space ahead of them.
Things weren’t going all that great. Almost all the crew was dead, leaving only themselves, Purps, Green, and Black alive. They were exhausted, and very much aware of the fact that they could die at any moment.
There was no denying it; Red had failed as a captain.
They had already been failing, really, but it was only now that they finally sat down and faced it. They were never cut out to be captain, and they had let their crew down just because they weren’t willing to accept that fact. Innocent crewmates with futures and families had died because of their incompetence.
Red’s fingers gripped the control panel tightly to keep themselves upright. Their knuckles were starting to turn white. Their vision began to blur, but they didn’t realize why until tears started to fall against the panel. They pushed their chair back, watching themselves drift away from the controls. They wouldn’t want it getting water damage…
They curl into themselves, legs tucked against their torso as they let their tears fall freely. Tiny, hiccuping cries escaped them as all the guilt that had been piling up on them crushed them entirely.
Red didn’t know how long they sat there, crying until there were no more tears to shed. It must’ve been a while, because a few moments later they heard the doors to navigation open and a familiar voice speak up meekly. “Captain?”
Red didn’t bother moving, exhausted from their crying session. “Come in, Green.”
They heard Green hesitate before stepping further into the room. Red closed their visor, not wanting to see the look on Green’s face when they saw them like this. They’d probably think Red looked pathetic. They almost scoffed at the thought.
They were startled from their thoughts when they felt a hand on their shoulder. Red kept their visor firmly shut, not wanting to see the look of pity Green was no doubt giving them.
“Captain,” Green said, their tone soft and coaxing, “Can you look at me?”
Red shook their head, burying their face further into their knees. They heard Green sigh and they shook them gently. Red exhaled slowly.
“Red. Look at me?”
They gritted their teeth. Swallowing, Red’s visor pried opened as they turned their head to face Green. When their gaze met Green’s, the look on their face was not pity. It was a gentle look of concern and worry.
Red’s breath caught in their throat. When was the last time someone had looked at them like that?
They felt Green’s grip on their shoulder tighten. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” The word came out fast and harsh, and Red cringed before speaking again. “Uhm. Nothing. I was just… tired.” They forced a chuckle, straightening up. “Y’know me! I’m the captain! You don’t gotta worry ‘bout me!”
A small frown tugged at the corner of Green’s visor. “You’re my friend, Red. I’m gonna worry about you regardless of whether or not you’re the captain.” They move away to grab one of the other chairs in the room, rolling it over to sit next to Red. “Now, tell me what’s wrong.”
Red stares at Green, visor widening slightly. They’re silent for a while before they sniffle.
Green places a hand on Red’s shoulder again, concern filling their expression. “Hey…”
Red tried not to cry again. They really did. But the tears welled back up and started spilling before they could stop them. They tried wiping their visor with the back of their hand, but that only made them cry harder. “Sorry— I’m sorry, I—”
Green pulled Red into a hug.
Red stumbled as they were brought from their chair to Green’s. They froze in their hold before relaxing, burying their face into Green’s chest as a sob was ripped from their throat. Green began to rub circles into Red’s back, murmuring soft reassurances that only served to make them cry harder.
Time blurred into background noise as Red sobbed. They could’ve cried for hours without knowing, nestled against Green while the intern comforted them. They didn’t leave Red’s side, cradling them against their chest. Red couldn’t have appreciated the company more.
Green’s hand stilled against Red as loud wails shifted into quiet sniffling. “Feeling any better?”
“Mhmmf…” Red mumbled, voice small. They hated this, hated feeling so vulnerable. They were the captain, for Pete’s sake! They should be fine! They should be able to handle this, but they couldn’t.
“That’s good,” Green hums, hands moving to lightly push Red back far enough to look at them. “You wanna talk about it?”
Red hesitated. “... I let everyone down, Green.”
Green frowned. “No you didn’t—”
“I did!” Red interrupted, frustrated. “I got everyone murdered, Green! All because I wanted to, what, kiss MIRA’s ass?! I failed as a captain…”
They sat in silence for a while. Red thought it would suffocate them.
They sighed. “I’m sorry. This is stupid, I shouldn’t…” They trailed off.
God, they were an idiot. A big, fat, pathetic idiot. They couldn’t even keep their shit together in front of an unpaid intern! Red was the stupidest captain to ever exist.
They were brought out of their thoughts when they felt Green’s grip on them tighten.
Green stared at Red with an expression so soft Red felt it would shatter if they breathed wrong. “You didn’t let anyone down, Red.”
Red opened their mouth to retaliate, but Green held up a finger. “No, you hush. Listen to me.”
Green paused for a few moments, gathering their thoughts. “You’re not… the best captain, that’s true.” They began, careful with their choice of words. “You don’t do everything right and you’ve got a lot to learn. But nobody’s perfect, Red. You made a mistake. I mean, yeah, it was a stupid one, but it was a mistake nonetheless.”
Their hand moved to cup Red’s cheek, the captain’s breath hitching. “You care. You care so much about your crew, I know you do. If you were a bad captain, you wouldn’t care about us. But you do.” Their thumb traced circles against Red’s skin, and a soft smile settled onto their face when they saw them lean into the touch. “You care, and that alone makes you a good captain. At least, to me it does.”
Red looked at Green, visor wide. They were about to start crying again from their words alone. “Green…”
“I’m just being honest, Captain.” Green chuckled lightly. Red laughed softly in return, letting Green just hold them.
Red was then made aware of the fact that they were sitting in Green's lap. They stiffened, a blush crawling onto their face. “Woah, uh— Hah, sorry about. That. Here, I’ll—” They tried to move, but Green’s hands reached out to keep Red in place. Their gaze snapped to Green, who looked embarrassed.
“I don’t mind!” They squeak, equally as red. “I don’t mind, really. You can stay… there.”
The two looked at each other with wide visors.
Red looked at Green, realizing just how much they’d come to appreciate the intern. Green was a comforting presence to have around. It was nice having someone so reassuring and kind on board. “I think you’re the reason I haven’t gone insane yet.”
Green flustered, and god, Red loved it. “That’s— I’m flattered, Captain!”
Red laughed softly, moving their hand to cup Green’s cheek, switching their previous positions. “I mean it. You’re…” They found themselves at a loss of words, slowly leaning in closer.
Green stared at Red, burning. Red was about to stop, pull away before they did something stupid, but then Green leaned in too and Red couldn’t help themselves.
They kissed Green.
It was short, but it felt like an eternity to Red. Green’s lips were soft, so soft that Red just wanted to melt against them. They faintly tasted like pizza, and Red almost laughed. In that small moment, Red wanted to memorize the sensation of kissing Green.
It was over before it even started, both of them pulling away.
“... Woah.” Green said, because really, what else could they say?
Red just stared for a long while. They then stiffened, throwing themselves off Green. “HAHA, WOW. Woah, uhm, wouldya look at that! Sorry Green, but I’ve gotta go do… captain… things!” They rush out, halfway out Navigation. “BYE!”
Red rushed down the hallway, face burning. “Why did I do that, why did I do that, why did I do that?!”
Green watched Red go. A sigh left them as they leaned back against the chair, feeling warm and gooey.
… Maybe they didn’t have to kill the captain.