Work Text:
Together on the Color Wheel
Eight days left until Industria. It’s a slow journey, and the six days since peace was restored on the Skeld have felt like much more. In some ways, Purple and Red are each grateful for it; it’s a chance to expunge the stress and reservations that the voyage had caused. Still, though, one friendship can only get you so far without anyone else to talk to, even if that friendship’s not on the rocks like it was not long ago.
Red, having prepared something in the cafeteria to work on with Purple later, is finishing a quiet stroll around the ship. It doesn’t take long, so the walls soon get a bit boring, but they take that time to think through and practice how to bring up their idea to their last remaining crewmate.
“‘Hey! Purple! Ditch the work, let’s go work on my… no, our idea'… okay, take two. ‘Purple! Buddy! You’re working too hard! Let’s go get that furniture built. As captain, I give you permission to…’ no, that’s still too much.”
Their bad habit of subconsciously twisting ideas into being their own is something they’ve tried to work on over the past week. Having nowhere else to go and a friend they care lots about is good inspiration to work it on, but also makes it a bit scarier. Testing it on a drawing of Blue didn’t help, and they ended up swooning over it too often.
“Okay, Red, the captain, who is you, just go in there and try it.”
The security room is locked; Red opens it up, unsurprised to see Purple staring into the dreary cameras.
“Purple! Purps! Buddy! What’s shakin’?”
“Hey, Red.”
Their gaze doesn’t leave the screen; Red comes closer, watching them tap away at the different cameras.
“I know there’s not much for us to do, Purps, but you really don’t need to keep working yourself this hard.”
“W-Well, I just thought it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on everything. I know we scrubbed out every bit of Ore+ gunk we could find with a 20 foot pole-”
“Yeesh, don’t remind me.”
“Too late. Anyway, I still need to be sure nothing fishy- nothing strange is going on.”
They catch themselves, still not in a mood to think about fish.
“Well, I do appreciate that, but I think I know something we can do that’s equally important.”
“And that is?”
“I searched around storage and found a sofa we can build! We’d talked about sprucing the place up, it’s not like we need it for… for group work anymore.”
“Hmmm, it’d beat sleeping on the floor, but…”
“It’s going to be okay. Let’s go work on the sofa together, captain’s orders.”
Purple’s visor scrunches up a bit, but not the same way it would last week; they know Red isn’t meaning it with the same commandeering as the vote that booted Yellow.
“Besides, it’s the last week I can say that before they fire me. Or I resign. Whichever comes first.”
“...Heh, fine. You’re right, the floor kinda sucks.”
“There we go! Purps and Red, building furniture like we’re back at college.”
Red throws a hand around Purple as they leave security together; Purple’s still been a bit jumpy about contact since everything that’d gone down, but they accept it; each of them have the new responsibility of making the other feel socially fulfilled enough out in the nothingness of space.
“Yep. Just like when I had to take you to the ER from the dresser incident."
“Hey, in my defense, the instructions said 'hammer your thumb'. Maybe it was a typo, but that could’ve been a furniture ritual.”
“Do you still think it was a furniture ritual?”
“No. As soon as the 87 bandages went on, I could tell it wasn’t.”
“Whew.”
The box of parts is waiting in the kitchen, in front of the smaller table they’d pulled out to not eat so far apart from one another. They get to work quickly; ever since defeating the second impostor, their confidence working together on something that hopefully won’t be able to kill them is a lot better. Red still delegates which parts of the sofa to put together to Purple, but it’s with some refreshing honesty that it’s the parts they’d trust Purple with more than themselves.
“Hey, Purps! Can I have a hand with something?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“This leg isn’t staying on the sofa, I dunno how to keep it on.”
“Probably just needs to be twisted or something…”
They take it from Red and try twisting it onto the base, but it doesn’t cooperate.
“Hmmm. You’re right, this thing isn’t budging… leave it to MIRA to give us crappy furniture, too. Couldn’t even take the time to build this themselves…”
“And then yell back at us if we ever say something’s uncomfortable. I never got it.”
“Does it feel better not needing to think of that NDA with every word?”
“Definitely.”
A lot of free time on the ship since it just became the two of them has been apologizing; Red for their pushy use of power and unwillingness to take any lead on problem solving without their book, and Purple for their insistence that Red was the impostor. Each of them having things they haven’t felt right about has made it easier to share a conversation about it, but it’s still not easy. Red’s insisted to Purple that they have no hard feelings about the vote and that the murderer on the loose meant no one was thinking the calmest, but the security crewmate’s still felt off about it all. Likewise, Purple’s talked to Red about how the captain role being stuck on them so soon wasn’t a fair responsibility and that they really did try their best, but there’s so many what-ifs still running through their head. Yellow’s fate continues to feel the worst.
More than anything else, the two have felt the worst about what they’d lost between themselves, and how close they were to never getting it back. Their memories at school and as interns are some of the best they’ve ever had; a similar time where neither Red’s quirkiness or Purple’s level-headedness had all these consequences around them. They each want things to be closer to how they were then, when working together was the best thing in the world and life seemed like a big, open book; it’s never going to be just the same as it was, but they can try to bring parts of that back. Building a sofa’s a step in the right direction.
“Hmmm, got an idea. Purple, hold the base of the sofa up.”
“Uuuuh… alright, like this?”
“Perfect. Stay totally still!”
Purple holds up the piece, with the leg loosely connected to it. Red steps back and takes a running start.
“Uh, Red? Red??”
“Captain’s kick!!”
Red jumps at the sofa leg too fast for Purple to run off. They squint their visor and look away, but as Red kicks the leg at full force, it makes a satisfying *click!* and sticks into the other piece. The momentum doesn’t push Purple down; they slowly look forward again and see the attached pieces in their hands.
“...How did that work?”
“Practice.”
“You practiced the captain’s kick but not the rest of the stuff from your book?”
“W-Well, I- it’s a huge book, and- seemed important, and, and-”
They’re doing it again. Purple gives Red the look they’d agreed on for if they talk like this, and they stop and think of what else to say.
“...and it felt cool?”
They say it with this puppy dog-like expression they’ve been doing when admitting something strange. It bothers Purple just how adorable it is.
“...Alright, alright. Thank you for your well-practiced kick, looks like you got it.”
The two silently get back to building the rest of the sofa, and it’s not long until it’s finished.
“There we go, Purps! Our own spot for a view of the pretty, pretty stars I hope you haven’t gotten too bored of yet. High five!”
Red almost misses, but the sides of their hand connect, preventing a slap to Purple’s face.
“Yup, that wasn’t so bad. Let’s give it a…”
Purple was about to give it a test, but they stop when they notice how much smaller the sofa is than expected. It’ll just barely fit both of them.
“Red? We didn’t forget any parts, right?”
“Nope, nope-ty nope, that was all of ‘em.”
Red notices as well that it’s a bit small, but that doesn’t stop their eagerness to take a deserved break.
“Well! Let’s take a seat! A chance to enjoy Red and Purple… nah, Purple and Red’s hard work.”
Feels like another step in the right direction. Red sits down on the left of the chair, patting a floating hand down for Purple to join them on their right. Purple can’t remember sitting that close to Red since the occasional crowded day on the bus; once, Red fell asleep on it, and it bugged them how endearing they looked.
“...Alright, alright.”
Purple squeezes in next to Red, feeling the sides of their suits scrunch together.
“It- it’s a bit tight, but the cushions are nice.”
“Guess MIRA found one way to treat us well.”
“Is it giving you second thoughts?”
“Nah. We quit while we’re ahead.”
“Good.”
The two of them look out into space, feeling some peace from the stars twinkling eons away from them. It was too easy when the impostors were around for the same sights to spark the anxiety of no one coming to help. Now, it can serve as a reminder of why the two of them had taken up internships at MIRA in the first place, even if the hint of the smell of blood still in the air is a somber reminder of who can’t join them for this.
“...Red?”
“...*yawn*… Y-Yeah?”
“You were totally falling alseep, weren’t you?”
“No, I wasn’t! I’d never fall asleep on a job!”
“The job of sitting down?”
“Exactly! I was just yawning to show the nothingness of space who’s boss. Yawns are contagious, space’ll yawn back and fall asleep.”
“You’re misremembering one of your handbook lines, aren’t you?”
“Probably.”
Purple adjusts the way their sitting to get a bit of room, to not much avail.
“Anyway, was going to ask. We, uh, need to think up careers outside MIRA if we’re going to go ahead with this.”
“Right. Can’t say I’ve taken a lot of time to think about that. And they’re huge enough to make working outside of them a little tricky.”
“Any first thoughts if I put a gun to your head?”
“Please don’t put a gun to my head.”
“A PROVERBIAL gun, you doofus.”
“Right, right. Hmmmm, let me think about that. Don’t pull the proverbial trigger.”
Red puts their hands together, thinking about what a career outside space could look like. Purple looks ahead at the stars like they are, wondering if it could help them think at all about it. A couple minutes pass, though, and Red doesn’t respond.
“Alright, this finger’s getting ready to pull. Have you thought of something?”
“Zzzzzzzz….”
Something warm and squishy hits Purple in the shoulder. They flinch, remembering too well the encounter with Green, but instead see Red’s fallen asleep on them. Purple doubts Red meant to like this, but… they can’t help but remember old times. Now, there isn’t even the excuse of a bus, even if this sofa’s about just as tight.
“...Dang it, Red, why’ve you gotta make this weird.”
It bugs them that there’s some comfort in this. After all the yelling and disagreeing that felt so contradictory to when they’d met, it’s a moment together that doesn’t have to be defined by tension.
*grumbleeee...*
Purple then realizes how far the sofa assembly had pushed dinnertime. They don’t want to mess up Red’s sleep, and there’s a nagging feeling they can’t understand to let this keep going, but if they don’t get dinner started, it’s gonna be a while until either of them are eating. Carefully, they slip out of the sofa and prop Red back before they can tip over in their sleep. They’d been tag-teaming making pizza together to mixed results, but Purple can’t blame Red for being this tired; they decide they’ll make tonight’s themselves.
“Okay, what to do this time… Red had talked about pesto recently, that could be nice…”
Purple enters the kitchen, doing their best to replicate Yellow and Brown’s process for whipping a pizza together. They’d never been one to cook much, especially with their shoestring budget after refusing to sign the NDA, but they feel good enough about how it’s turning out, spreading the dough out and layering the pesto sauce, cheese, and some mushrooms. Should be healthier than some of the others Red had requested before.
“Alllrighty, into the oven you go.”
Watching the ends of the pizza droop as Purple carefully sets it into the hot oven makes them wonder how Orange ever enjoyed eating raw dough, before they figure it’s not worth trying to compare themselves to an alien.
“Just eight minutes, and it'll be ready. Hopefully Red’s getting a good-”
“AAAAAAHH! NOT ME! NOT ME!!!”
...That doesn’t sound like a good nap. Purple sprints out of the kitchen, finding Red sitting rigidly on the sofa, looking around and catching their breath.
“Red! Red!! What’s wrong??”
Without waiting for an answer, Purple grabs around Red’s sides, trying to make sure there’s no wounds. They don’t feel any, settling their nerves a bit, but Red’s too winded from their own shout to question what Purple’s doing.
“...H… Hey, Purps! What’s the big deal? Everything’s fine!”
“Everything’s fine?? You were just screaming!”
“No, I wasn’t! I was having a nice dream! A nice dream about being a captain! Doing captain things! Haha!”
They turn away to look back at the stars, and Purple can tell from Red’s visor that nothing about what just happened was a good dream.
“Red.”
“Y-Yeah, Purps?”
“What’d we say about the lying the night after Green?”
“That we didn’t have a reason to ever again?”
“And what’re you doing right now?”
“...Lying.”
Purple sighs. Red clearly just woke up from a nightmare; they can’t be too mad at them if their thinking’s not all in place.
“Then tell me what really happened.”
“...This is gonna sound so stupid.”
Red sits back in the couch, putting a hand up to their visor.
“Purps, bud, I… I don’t know if I should tell you.”
Their breathing’s still heavy, and the sight of it sends Purple back to a time they’d fallen asleep at their desk and woke up from a terrible dream about an exam going so bad that they were expelled. Red had stayed up for as long as Purple needed to talk about it, and something about seeing Red like this makes them… feel differently about that story than before. In a way they can’t place.
“C’mon, Red, let’s not be like that.”
Not letting themselves stop to think about it, they squeeze themselves back onto the sofa.
“No impostors. Not even any other coworkers to here you, the impostors, uh, made sure of that. It’s just us.”
“...Alright. I had a nightmare that Yellow and Brown’s spirits stuck me in a pizza oven.”
“...A pizza oven?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s stupid-”
“Nah, Red, that does sound messed up. I get why you’d be that scared.”
Red takes a deep breath.
“You do?”
“Yeah. That’s, like… a slow way to go.”
“Yeah. It was horrible. They kept saying how I ruined them, and that they’d need to make the oven extra hot to cook the bacteria out of me…”
“Okay, I think that’s enough of the details.”
Purple didn’t really want to throw up on their friend while helping with a nightmare.
“That was about it, anyway. And, uh… yeah.”
“Well… let’s try to unpack that. First, Yellow and Brown would’ve never done that to you or anyone. And if their spirits are real, I don’t think they’re plotting that on you.”
“...So I’m not gonna get burned in an oven?”
“You’re not gonna get burned in an oven. Unless you touch it while it’s on again.”
“H-Hey, that was an accident.”
“Heh, if you say so.”
Red's breathing seems a bit more under control; it’s progress.
“…Alright, then. I don’t think that’s gonna happen to me.”
“Good. And second, it’s rude of your brain to put something together like that that you don’t deserve.”
“W-Well… maybe I don’t deserve that, but… I messed up. Messed up big time. If I hadn’t thought Yellow was it, then we wouldn’t have lost them. And Brown stepping away to the kitchen where they died was on me, too. I think about it every time I see that stain we couldn’t clean off. And maybe Black wouldn’t…”
“We talked about this, Red. The what-ifs won’t help anything. As far as you know, if Yellow had stayed, who knows what chain of events would’ve happened. Maybe none of us would’ve waited.”
Red waits a bit, then slowly nods and lets Purple continue.
“And you weren’t the only one making a choice like that. Nearly all of us did. And I voted for you and almost gave you the boot. We would’ve been doomed without you, and… and I’ll admit I’ve thought about that constantly, too. How much I was willing to throw away.”
“But I told you too to not dwell on that. None of us were in the right headspace. Mine actually got Yellow ejected, though…”
“And that’s because Green duped us all, putting that paper in their bag. You didn’t ask for that to happen, and I sure didn’t think that was their doing, either. Don’t treat yourself like that, it’s not…”
Purple stops to think of something that’d align with where Red sources their confidence.
“...It’s not very captain-y of you.”
“...Haha, it’s not?”
“Nope. And I’ll have to report you to MIRA HQ if you keep that up.”
“Getting reported AND resigning the same day? That’d really suck the wind out of the quitting part.”
They share a little laugh. It gives them a moment of forgetting what they were talking about, before it sets back in. Purple resumes.
“So, please don’t let it get in your head that this is on you. The dipshits at MIRA thought it’d be a good idea rushing you to be a captain and threw that stupid book at your face. You were doing your best with the responsibilities they stuck on you.”
“…I thought ‘no biggie’ was good to learn.”
“Okay, maybe ‘no biggie’ gets an exception, then. Doesn’t prove my point wrong. They cheated all of us.”
Red pauses; they haven’t had a talk this honest since the night of the accident in their internship. The last talk they’d had before that was swearing they’d stick together, but in the heat of the moment, Red had put the NDA first. Now, seeing what Purple can be like without the mess in the air that they’d kept causing… it doesn’t suit Red well at all thinking about it. Their mind swirls, trying to piece together what they could possibly do to make up for it…
“...Red? You still there?”
Purple waves a hand in front of Red’s visor for a moment and gets worried when there isn’t a response, but in a flash, Red suddenly wraps their hands around them tightly. If this doesn’t work, at least they still have to work together to keep the ship running.
“I missed this so much, Purps. Leave it to ol’ Red to screw it all up with signing those papers. You meant so much more than some stupid promotion.”
Purple freezes up from the touch, again remembering Green, but then takes a moment to calculate their next move. Their friend from years ago who’d gotten so weird is now so quickly turning around, and while part of them wants to say they don’t deserve to get to do this, they remember all the things they’d said back to Red as well. It was like a dark fog was getting in the way of who they each really were.
Remembering how important the real Red was to them, they reach their hands around, too.
“We were vulnerable. I hated that you’d done that, I really, really did. But after all this and seeing how screwed up the company is, I… I get it. They must’ve figured at least one of us would say yes.”
“And they screwed with your dreams, too. It makes me so mad I ever did anything by their code. Ditching them with you’s gonna feel so, so good, and then…”
Red pauses for a moment before pulling back to get another look at Purple. This feels more natural than anything from the past couple weeks, or really the past couple years.
“...then we’ll figure out what happens, but we’ll stick together. They won’t have a way to separate us, we know too much for those nincompoops to try anything.”
“Heh. Nincompoops.”
“If- if that’s what you want, of course.”
It hits Purple that they can’t really imagine anything else. This is the Red that, while still a tad annoying, was always so uplifting to spend time with.
“Of course it is. You don’t take down a gross alien together and not realize how neat someone is.”
“Yeesh, now I’m remembering the stomach acids.”
“Hey, it’s the only proper bath we’ve gotten the whole trip.”
The showers never worked, to the surprise of no one.
“Red, this… this is nice.”
“I’m glad you didn’t have to get sacrificed to a huge, creepy alien.”
“Ditto. That would’ve maybe been one or two biggies.”
They share a laugh, before being interrupted by the smell of smoke.
“...Ah, damn, what now?”
Purple and Red let go of the hug and swing off the couch, possibly forever on high alert now for any danger, before soon realizing it’s coming from the kitchen.
“...Damn it!”
Purple takes off to the kitchen, turning the oven off and pulling the pizza out. Some of it should still be edible, even if it needs to be cut into the shape of a block from a puzzle game. They can hear Red coming into the kitchen from behind.
“I, uh, wanted to make that pesto pizza for when you woke up. Surprise?”
“It’s… it’s great!”
“Really? Seems pretty gross.”
“Naaaah. Imagine how wrong it would’ve gone if I was the first one to do a pizza solo.”
“...Heheh, you’re probably right.”
“Chef Purple, rising up the ranks. MIRA’s losing someone talented in more ways than one.”
The two do their best to each cut a slice that isn’t too crispy, then bring it to the cafeteria table, sitting next to each other and trying to not pay mind to the empty seats they’d moved to the corner of the room.
“Purps, on this slice of delicious pesto pizza, I promise to never accuse you of being an alien again.”
“On a slice of pizza?? That’s a pretty high bar to set.”
“Would you feel more comfortable if I just said the cheese?”
“Yeah. Likewise, on this cheese, I’ll never call you a murderer again.”
“Sounds good to me.”
They each dig in, thankful to be eating with a best friend, possibly something creeping further than that, and not an ex-friend. Wherever they go next, more of this feels like something they could celebrate forever.