Work Text:
The flight back to Industria had been a slow, silent one. The Skeld, once a ship full of joy, life, and whimsey, now only had two.
You’d think that after years of living alone in an apartment, completely unable to get a job, would mean Purple wouldn’t have too hard of a time adjusting to their new state of isolation. But this… this was something so much worse than mere loneliness.
This was something bigger.
This… was guilt.
Guilt at not being able to spot the impostor.
Guilt at not being able to save more people.
Had they known the truth, had they seen the red flags, maybe they could’ve exposed Green sooner, and all the other crewmates, crewmates with families and lives of their own, wouldn’t be gone forever.
They curled their knees to their chest, their arms wrapping around them.
They didn’t cry, their exhaustion overwhelming their tears, but they certainly did feel bad about themselves.
How many times had their brain filtered through alternate scenarios? Ones where they had actually been there, doing their job in security instead of running off to go see Heracles.
They didn’t regret devoting their time to making sure their prized pet was safe, but they did regret putting their own priorities before the crewmates’ safety.
And that didn’t even get into their warring feelings over-
“Hey…”
They were snapped out of their stupor by the sound of Red’s voice, the other crewmate moving to sit next to them on the floor.
Purple didn’t respond, not immediately anyway, instead using this moment to just take in their partner’s appearance. How exhausted and disheveled they looked, a far cry from the captain’s usual confident persona.
“Hey…” They eventually reply, bringing their gaze back down to their knees.
“Is… everything okay?” Red asked cautiously. Purple returned their gaze to them. They had half a mind to just ignore the question, or make some snide remark about how they were obviously not fine. Had they been the same person they were when this all started, the one who only saw Red as a spineless, traitorous, remorseless corporate bootlicker who cared about nobody but themselves, they probably would have responded that way.
But they weren’t that person anymore, nor did they believe Red was all of those things. They had still betrayed their trust, and it would take a long time before Purple even considered forgiving them, but they also understood that they were trying to be better, and that asking Purple if they were okay wasn’t done out of some condescending attempt to make it seem like they cared.
They just… genuinely did care, strange as the idea still was to them.
Sighing, Purple returned their gaze to the floor, the exhaustion of… everything, catching up to them all at once.
“I… could be a lot better…” They admit
“....But I could also be a lot worse.”
It wasn’t a lie, so they weren’t exactly being dishonest, even if it did downplay how they really felt.
Red eyed them silently for a moment, before looking away.
“Yeah… me too.” They admit. Purple had the feeling that, like them, Red was holding a lot of things back, but they didn’t have the energy to pry any further, especially when it would only invite their partner to do the same.
A calm, if somewhat awkward silence settled between them then, neither crewmate having much interest in breaking it right away. They both had a lot of things on their mind after all.
For Purple, they still weren’t entirely sure what to think of their captain. They had done so much to hurt them in the past, even during this very mission they did things that not only soured their relationship further, but also got some of the crew killed in the process.
But they themselves weren’t perfect in that regard either. As shoddy as those security cameras had been, they still let the impostor slide under their nose multiple times by not being at their station when they needed to be. They too could’ve likely saved a lot of lives had they taken their job more seriously.
When all was said and done, they’d both made mistakes, doing and saying things that they couldn’t take back, and all they could do now was try their best to atone for them.
They looked back up at Red, who was now busy playing thumb wars with themself, and they found themselves feeling warm inside.
As time drifted on, Purple found themself growing less and less patient with the silence. They never thought they’d find themselves missing Red’s constant chatter, but they could honestly use a distraction from their thoughts right now.
Deciding they’d had enough of the quiet, Purple spoke the first thought that came to their head.
“...It was my birthday a few weeks ago.”
Red blinked, looking up at them.
“Really?” They asked with mild surprise.
“Yeah… it was a few days before you gave me a job as the Skeld’s security.” They explained.
“Why didn’t you say anything? We could’ve thrown you a party and everything.” Red questioned, tilting their head curiously.
“I didn’t think it was important.” Purple answered. They did their best to ignore the disheartened expression on Red’s face at the comment, they didn’t want to think about how much the other crewmate cared, even now after the dust has settled.
“I also didn’t want any of the attention.” They added on, hoping it would assuage Red’s pitiful expression, if only a little bit.
“Oh.” Red started, turning their gaze forward.
“I guess that makes sense. You never were much of a social butterfly.”
“Yeah…” Purple admits with a sigh.
“So… how old are you then?” Red asked, looking back at them. Purple blinked, surprised that the captain even cared enough to ask.
“Twenty-eight.” Purple answered flatly.
Red let out a low whistle.
“Twenty-eight, wow.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m practically a fossil at this point.” Purple joked, eliciting a chuckle from Red.
“Don’t feel too bad, Purps, it’s not like I’m much younger.”
“Oh yeah?” Purple questioned with a raised brow.
“Yeah, I turned twenty-seven at the start of this year.” Red explained, leaning back further into the wall.
“Huh.” Purple responds, their gaze turning thoughtful.
“Just means we can be old together right?” Red said with a grin, poking Purple’s side.
“Heh, yeah.” Purple agreed.
It was… strange, in all honesty. The way the two spoke, not as colleagues turned bitter rivals, but as friends who felt comfortable enough to joke around with each other.
Friends.
A term that, when it came to Red, felt foreign on their tongue. They weren’t over what they did to them, they weren’t sure they ever would be, but they’d be lying if they said some part hadn’t missed being able to just… talk to them.
In the brief quiet they shared following their interaction, Red had stood up and walked off. Purple didn’t think much of it, it wasn’t uncommon for their captain to go on leisurely walks through the Skeld to clear their head, they themselves had done that a fair deal as well.
It was only when they heard the sounds of clattering coming from the dining area that their interest was piqued.
“The hell is that idiot doing?” They asked themselves, standing up and going to investigate the noise.
The sight that met them wasn’t what they expected.
Red stood in the kitchen, still a dirty, soot-covered mess, various food items laid out on the counter, their captain’s hat removed from their head and resting on the countertop.
“What are you doing?” Purple asked, perplexed.
Red jumped, their visor snapping to meet theirs.
“Oh uh, Purps! I was just well…” They trailed off, a hint of a flush on their cheeks.
“I was… trying to set up all the ingredients for… baking a cake.”
Purple blinked, taking in Red’s words.
“You… want to bake a cake.” They say, less as a question, more of an observation. Red flushed, averting their gaze.
“Yeah… you mentioned having your birthday before and thought… better late than never to celebrate it right?”
Purple remained where they were. Red… wanted to celebrate their birthday by making them a cake. It was such a dorky, yet undeniably sweet gesture, one that warmed their heart more than they cared to admit.
They thought about it for a moment, weighing their options of how to react when an idea struck them.
“...Can I help?”
Red blinked, now being their turn to look surprised.
“Help? As in help me bake a cake for you?” They questioned.
“Who said it had to be just for me?” Purple responds, brow raised.
“You had your birthday at the start of this year too didn’t you?” They point out.
“I… I guess I did say that, didn't I?” Red concedes.
“Then it’s settled.” Purple says, moving to join the other crewmate’s side in the kitchen.
“This cake can be for the both of us, for all the birthdays we missed in our time apart.”
“Do you even know how to bake?” Red questioned.
“Do you?” Purple shot back.
“Touché.”
And so the two formerly unpaid interns got to work.
They settled on making a sponge cake, mostly because it seemed like the simplest recipe provided in Yellow and Brown’s handy dandy cookbook.
Purple would be the first to admit that it was a little strange to be using a recipe from a cookbook created and owned by two of their crew that were now among the stars, though they tried not to think about it too hard.
As it would turn out, baking a cake when you had zero experience was easier said than done, and it certainly didn’t help that Red was…for the lack of a better term, a clumsy wreck.
“Careful with the flour.” They’d say, only for Red to trip and send the whole bag flying toward them, hitting them right in the visor and smattering it.
“Don’t add too much sugar.” They’d warn, only for Red to put two tablespoons of sugar into the mixture instead of teaspoons.
It was quite the disaster to say the least, and it left Purple wondering how Red ever thought they could’ve done this on their own, though they supposed that was pretty on brand for the captain, wasn’t it?
What they ended up with was a brown sponge cake with pink frosting and a cherry on top. Purple had to admit, it wasn’t nearly as bad as they expected it to be.
Cutting a slice from the cake, Red jabbed a candle right into it before setting it alight, holding it out to Purple.
“Go on Purps, blow it out! Don’t forget to make a wish~”
Purple, despite themselves, couldn’t help but smirk at their partner’s jest. Loathe as they were to admit it, the other crewmate had a way of making them smile.
Not that they’d ever admit that, lord knows Red’s ego can only take so much stroking before they implode.
Leaning forward, they blew out the candle, the fire going out in a puff of smoke.
“What’d you wish for?” Red asked with faux innocence and curiosity. Purple’s smirk widened, taking the slice of cake from their partner’s hands.
“Sorry, no can tell, or else it won’t come true.” They say, taking a bite out of the piece. Red pouts, arms crossed over their chest defiantly.
“Stupid birthday rules…” They mutter under their breath.
Chuckling between bites, Purple ate away at their slice with relative speed. It wasn’t the worst thing they’d ever tasted, though it could certainly have gone with less sugar.
Finishing their slice, Purple set the dirtied plate down and looked back up at Red, only to see them blankly staring at the rest of the cake.
“...Red?” They spoke, daring to allow themself to sound concerned.
“Huh? What?” Red perked, blinking a few times and looking at Purple.
“You good? You looked like you were zoning out there for a second.” Purple questions.
“Oh uh yeah, I’m fine, just… thinking is all.” Red deflects.
“Well that must be a new feeling for you.” Purple teased, eliciting a scoff from their partner.
“I can think! I was the one who shoved Orange down the trash cute, remember?!” They defend.
“Yeah and then you had to ask us if we should kill them or not.”
“I just wanted to be sure!”
Purple laughed, a sound so genuine they’d almost forgotten what it felt like. To engage in playful banter with someone they used to consider their closest friend… if not more than that, brought with it a certain weightlessness they hadn’t experienced in a long time.
They returned their gaze to Red, who was now back to staring at the cake, as if unsure of what to do with it. Purple couldn’t read their mind, but their expression told of conflicted emotions, perhaps even guilt over whether they deserved to have such a confectionery after all they've done.
Sighing, Purple cut out another slice from the cake and held it out to their partner.
“Here, before your brain overheats from thinking too much.”
Blinking once more, Red stared down at the offered slice, then back up at Purple. Their visor slowly twisted up into a genuine smile as they took it.
“Thanks Purps.”
What they did next would be something that would require severe brain damage for Purple to forget. They leaned forward and pecked their cheek.
Their entire mind blanked, the soft sensation erupting from their cheek to the rest of their face leaving them unable to comprehend what just happened.
Did-
Did Red just-
They slowly raised a hand to their cheek, face burning hot and tingling, the sound of footsteps growing more distant echoing in the background, likely Red leaving the room.
When their brain finally caught up to the moment, Purple, despite the logical part of their mind telling them they should be disgusted, found themselves smiling.
“Idiot.” They muttered to themselves, looking back down at the cake.
Things weren’t okay, perhaps they never would be, but right here, right now? Perhaps they could pretend for just a moment, that they were.