Okay, it's almost been a month since the last chapter, but I've been trying to focus more on real life. I love writing fanfiction, but unfortunately it's only a hobby, not a job where I get paid, so I cannot prioritize it over my actual job. One needs money to eat, after all.
Also, for the fella blaBlah who gave the story a flame: this is only a FIC. The implication of what Purple did to Tenn is still there, but the main focus is actually redemption with a mix of beauty and the beast-thematic. I do NOT enjoy torturing female characters (I am a WOMAN, after all), and I agree that rapists are scum, but as I said this is only a FIC, not based on real life, etc.
Anyhow, that's the last time I touch that topic. I hope everyone else will enjoy the chap!
Shades of Purple
Chapter 34- Reminiscence
The Massive arrived at Irk two days later, just like Purple said, and almost immediately was surrounded by hundreds of smaller ships that began the maintenance process, repairing battle-made fissures or replacing pieces that were too worn down. Additionally, the current crew of the ship descended to Irk to be replaced by a fresh one. Meanwhile, the Tallest would spend their time on the Tallest Tower for a well-deserved break. That's what Tenn wanted to do, anyway, but Purple insisted that she gets checked up first.
"I'm fine. I've been gorging myself in pizza and nachos these days." she insisted
"Maybe, but we can't be sure until we properly check you." Purple retorted.
A short trip to the middle levels of the Tallest Tower later, Tenn found herself carried into yet another infirmary of sorts. This one looked more like those fancy ones only the Tallers could afford. The only difference was the massaging chair, the countless dip'n stick jars on a shelf and the lack of staff; like everything else in here, everything was automatic just so it wouldn't be contaminated by smallers.
Mechanical arms surrounded Tenn as soon as she was atop the capsule to take blood samples, heart-rate, sugar levels, and all the basic things. Meanwhile, Purple was eating a dip'n stick nearby, his gaze intently fixed on the monitors as they displayed the results.
"See? Everything's normal, we are fine. Can I just go to bed now?"
"Computer, run an ultrasound on my wife."
"Another one? Are you serious?"
"What? It's not like the lizards were kind enough to send me a copy of the last one and I want to see my smeet!"
Tenn rolled her eyes and lay down as she lifted her upper shirt. Another arm lowered from the ceiling and ran a small scan over her abdomen; then it pressed down against her body while the screen projected a clear image of her spooch-sac. It was far clearer than the one they were shown in the Sobrekt ship. The tiny shape of the smeet was far more noticeable.
"Aww, there he is! He's even cuter than I remembered! Is it me, or does he look bigger than the last time?"
"Well, it has been about a week and a half ever since the last scan, so maybe he did."
"Computer, print the scan and send it to my personal reader!"
"Okay, now that you've seen that the smeet is fine, can you get me to bed, please?" Tenn said, a little harder this time.
Instead of retorting with a snarky reply of sorts, Purple gingerly picked her up bridal style and carried her all the way to his bedroom. For a brief moment, Tenn was afraid that he was going back to his dominant, abusive self until he went towards his wardrobe, took a few more pillows and a blanket out and placed them on the couch.
"What are you doing?" She inquired.
"Well, I guess you'd want to have all of the space in the bed for yourself, right?" Purple told her, his voice oddly kind. "Right now, you need lots of rest."
Tenn blinked. "That's… nice of you. But why do you sleep on the couch?"
"As you must have noticed, I get a bit too clingy in bed and I tend to move a lot. I wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."
Why is Purple being so nice? I tried to escape him, after all, and he doesn't even look like he's upset about it anymore. Or is this another trick? He wouldn't do that after what we went through… would he?
Those kind of thoughts crossed her mind as she went back to sleep.
A few days later, Red and Lena departed in the Massive after the maintenance was complete, but Tenn stayed behind with her husband to recover. Since he didn't have to work much except for long-distance calls with Red and the War Council, Purple spent much more time with her. Tenn didn't mind at first, and soon she found herself actually enjoying this 'quality time'.
Purple never brought up the topic of her escape again, but he couldn't have forgotten about it. Tenn was afraid to ask him about it, though. What if he went back to his bad side should she remind him of what she'd done? Their time as Sobrekt captives had helped them bond, and she didn't want to ruin it.
Purple loves you. He has strange ways of showing it, but his feelings for you are genuine. However, ever since becoming Tallest no one, absolutely no one, has ever denied him anything. When you rejected his first proposal he didn't take it lightly, but not for the reasons you may believe.
She pondered over Lena's words in the few moments she was alone. What did she mean by that? Did this have to do with Purple's reaction when she asked if he had any previous girlfriends? Most likely yes; perhaps someone rejected his feelings before and he couldn't stand it a second time.
But, as Lena said, she'd have to ask him about it, and Tenn still remembered the look on his face when she asked him. So she bid her time, waiting for the right moment to ask him again. He was in a very good mood lately, so it shouldn't be a problem.
The day arrived sooner than expected about a month later. Purple woke her up in the morning and excitedly dragged her to the vacant room he had picked to make the smeet's nursery, conveniently located in front of theirs. The walls had been changed to a gradient of lavender and cherry blossom pink with white stars at the bottom. The ceiling was a contrasting deep violet with stars, nebulas, and galaxies swirling around in a holographic display.
"What do you think?"
"It looks nice." Tenn admitted, gaze fixed on the ceiling. Purple was evidently proud of his work.
"Oh, I bet the smeet is going to love it! Aren't you, little one?" Purple kneeled down to gently press his cheek against her swelling stomach, stroking it tenderly. "Aww, I just can't wait to meet you!"
"I don't think he can hear you yet."
"You can't really know that. I want him to remember my voice!"
"You know, this looks empty for a nursery."
"I'm yet to buy the rest of the stuff. I wanted to check it out with you."
"With me?" Tenn inquired, surprised. "It's not like I know much about smeet stuff. I was a soldier, not a nursery drone."
"Maybe, but as the smeet's mother you have a say in his stuff."
Tenn decided not to argue any further and accompanied her husband to one of the TV rooms to take a look at the digital catalogues of the finest department stores on Irk. Purple was rather picky regarding the furniture; he wanted something big and comfortable, but apparently his standards were ridiculously high even for something as simple as a cradle. Thankfully, Tenn convinced him to pick the minor things such as the toys, blankets, and the basic things first before picking the actual furniture.
By evening, they had chosen a wide variety of toys, colorful blankets, a nice anti-gravity stroller, carriers, amongst other things. Tenn managed to talk Purple out of purchasing clothing, insisting that they wait until they know the smeet's gender for certain. Purple reluctantly agreed, but Tenn caught him adding a few shoes and attires to the shopping cart.
The furniture was a little harder. As it turned out, all of the pieces were supposed to match in color to have a more aesthetic look. Tenn didn't really care about that; practicality outweighs aesthetic when you work as an Invader, after all. Purple, on the other hand, wanted his smeet's nursery to be the coolest in the entire galaxy, so he couldn't make up his mind regarding the cribs and its furniture set.
Soon they managed to narrow down their list of options to three: a lilac-themed cot with tufted posters and sides with matching silk curtains, a white and blossom pink crib with little cushions and a semi-transparent curtain, and a bassinet-like cot in many cake shades of purple and pink alike with a thin, transparent curtain that completely covered the whole cradle.
"Man, this is so hard! They're all so cute!"
"Well, the last one doesn't have bars, so the smeet won't have anything to nibble on when he starts teething, right?"
"But I like the cushions from the pink one, they look so fluffy and comfortable."
"We could buy identical ones separately."
"But the colors don't match!"
Tenn rolled her eyes. "Seriously, the smeet won't even understand the concept of color, so I don't think he'll mind."
"Good point." Sighing, Purple shifted closer to her and lay his back against the couch. "Can you believe it? We'll have another chance at parenthood," His eyes trailed down to her abdomen as he placed his hand on top of it. "We have a second chance to have our own smeet."
Tenn shivered, but not uncomfortably. She was used to him touching her belly by now; and she could understand why he liked doing so. Her abdomen had swollen considerably this past month. One look was enough to tell that she was smeeting, especially with the maternity robes she had to use instead of the tighter ones she'd normally wear.
"Y-Yeah…" Okay, Purple was in a very good mood now. Perhaps now was a good time to ask him. Tenn took a deep breath. "Purple?"
"What is it?"
"There's something that's been on my mind lately. You know, I kind of asked you about it back in the Sobrekt ship, but you didn't want to touch that topic for some reason…"
Tenn trailed off to observe Purple's body language. Just as she imagined, his previously cheerful expression had become grim and he had straightened up, moving his hand away. She almost took it back, but she stared at him in the eye, her lekku slightly raised. She wasn't going to let him slip out this time; if he wanted her full trust, he'd have to trust her as well.
After what seemed like an eternity, Purple sighed as he got to his feet, offering a hand to her. "Let's have a walk."
Tenn silently accepted his help to get up and followed him out of the room, to the main elevator and out into the gardens. The fresh air felt good against her skin, and she momentarily closed her eyes blissfully to enjoy it. Their online shopping had apparently lasted hours, as by now the sun was about to set, bathing their surroundings in warm white light. The bushes from before were now shaped like cakes and pastries; the gardening drones instantly stopped working and bowed as they walked by them. By contrast, the Imperial Elites assigned to patrol the garden straightened up and saluted, wiggling their lekku respectfully.
Their stroll led them to the eastern part of the gardens where the small lake was located. The crystalline waters glistened with the sun's reflection as it began to disappear in the distance. Purple sat down on a bench beneath a Mauvir tree, motioning her to sit by him.
"Remember when I invited you here for the first time?" he asked after a while.
Tenn nodded. "It's one of the fond memories I have of our 'dates'. I had never seen a living Mauvir before, and the flowers were blossoming at that time. It was the first natural spectacleI witnessed in my life."
"This is one of my favorite spots in the gardens not only because of the Mauvir, but because it has a nice view of the sunset. I wanted to share it with you because you were special to me." Purple took a deep breath. "I guess Lena told you, didn't she?"
"Not exactly. She said that the reasons you got mad at me for rejecting you weren't the ones I imagined, especially since you are used to getting your way."
"Tenn, can I ask you something?"
"I asked you first, remember?"
"Okay, how about this? I answer your question and then you answer mine. Deal?"
The Invader nodded. "Deal."
Purple averted his gaze, staring at the gentle waters intently. "You were right; there were other women in my life before you. None of them were serious, though, just the typical friendly rivals and sparring partners. While relationships aren't exactly forbidden in the Academy, they're usually discouraged so that we may focus on training and serving the Empire. Trainees may have a particular irken or irkenette they like, though, like Red and Miyuki.
"I, too, liked someone from my class. Her name was Rik. She had the loveliest pink eyes I had ever seen so far, and she was a few inches taller than me and Red; naturally, this made her quite popular and desired in our squad despite her awful skills and rotten personality. Remember those 'drama queen' teenagers in the Earthen tv shows? You could say she was the Irken version of one. I never saw any of those faults, though; I was blinded by my lust and attraction towards her. And Rik knew it; she pretended to like me to make me do… things for her."
"What kind of things?" Tenn inquired, not really expecting an answer.
"I'd rather not go into details, if you don't mind, but the point is that they required someone with engineering, hacking and computing skills. This kept going all the way until graduation, when I was of no more use to her. When I invited Rik to the Academy Graduation Gala, she not only turned me down; she humiliated me, called me a 'shortie who wasn't worthy of a glance from her' and pushed me into the fountain, laughing at me all the time."
Purple clenched his fists as he furrowed his brow into a deep scowl. "That night, I swore I'd never let anyone step over me like that just again. I'd never be used as a pawn and discarded. I'd never love again so that I wouldn't have to go through another heartbreak ever again…"
"What happened to Rik after that?"
Purple's scowl became a satisfied sneer. "When I became Tallest, I repaid her back the same way…"
-IZ-
"My Tallest?"
Purple twitched his lekku, his grip on his armrests tightening almost to the point of drawing blood from his fingers. Taking a deep breath, he spoke in his deeper, serious voice.
"Come in."
Her footsteps were slow-paced, but firm. She was nervous, unlike all those times he had seen her walk as if she owned the world. After all, when one of the Tallest personally called for someone, it was either to throw them out of the airlock with their bare hands or to congratulate them on something they did.
"I heard that you are quite a promising Shipmaster, Captain Rik."
"T-Thank you, sir! I'm working very hard for the Empire, and someday I'd like to directly serve under you or Tallest Red!"
Purple chuckled darkly. No doubt he's been duping some poor, underanked Irken with far more wit and guts into doing all the work for her while she merely took credit.
Now would be a good time to drop the bomb.
"Hard? What does a 'lowly smaller' know about that?" he spoke, quoting the exact words she had used on him so long ago. He took the following silence as a sign that he had her attention.
Getting to his feet, Purple glided down from the platform his seat was in and out of the shadows, revealing himself. Rik hadn't changed since the last time he saw her; she was still the same height, but to him she looked as minuscule as an ant, for he was much taller.
He did his best to keep his composure when he saw Rik's face: color had drained from her face, her ocular implants almost bulged out of her skull, and she let out a terrified gasp. This felt so good!
"It's been a long time, isn't it?" Purple chuckled, towering over the Irkenette and looking down at her as if she were a bug. "I still remember our last... interaction quite fondly, you know."
"P-Purpurous…?"
Scowling, Purple pressed a PAK-limb against her throat in a threatening manner. "It's Almighty Tallest Purple to you, smaller."
"I-I'm sorry-!"
"Unfortunately, I don't believe you possess the skill to work as a Shipmaster. I mean, shopping for fancy clothes and throwing smeetish fits over a little stain on your uniform doesn't exactly count as experience." If it was even possible, Rik's expression became even more terrified. Purple couldn't resist the temptation and started recording, waving his hand dismissively. "Nah, I have something better in mind that fits your actual skills: a pleasure drone! Yeah, that's more fitting for an Irkenette with your 'particular' abilities."
"M-My Tallest, please-!"
Purple snapped his fingers. Two long cables snaked down form the ceiling and connected to Rik's PAK. Meanwhile, she pleaded, begged him to change his mind, but his gaze was focused on the screen displaying the change of Rik's status from Irken Elite to pleasure drone.
"P-Purpurous, please…! I'm sorry, I-! We can still be happy if that's what you want-!"
"Excuse me?" Purple straightened up, offended. "You think that an Almighty Tallest like me would stain his reputation with a pathetic shortie like you? Don't make me laugh!" He summoned the Imperial Elites posted right outside with another snap from his fingers. "Take his… lady to her new assignment in Orgydia, and since you two have been working so hard, you can have some fun with her if you wish."
"Purpurous, kill me! Please! If you want to have revenge, then kill me, but don't send me there, I beg you!"
"Get her out of my sight, her yells are giving me a headache."
Purple turned his back on Rik as she was dragged away, going back to his seat and to slurping his slushie. Her screams echoed within his mind long after they ceased, remembering the time when the roles were reversed back at the Academy, long before his growth spurt.
The memory drove him to unconsciously clench his grip on a glass until it broke. His hand stung with the bits of glass piercing his skin, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt on the inside.
-IZ-
Tenn gulped the lump in her throat. She knew that Purple could be cruel with those who crossed him, but this was on another level. Irkens would rather die or even be banished than be forced to work as pleasure drones and be touched by filthy alien meats every day for the rest of their lives. The thought that this could have been her fate hadn't Purple been so obsessed with having her sent shivers down her spine.
"After that, I never put my eyes on anyone else for a long time…" Purple glanced down at her, his eyes becoming tender and sad. "Until I saw you in Meekrob's Organic Sweep. You were not only taller, but you had a fire that attracted me, just like moths are attracted to light. The more I got to know you, the more I saw that passion and strength, the more I wanted you, not as a mistress, but as my life partner."
Tenn shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry about what that Irkenette did, but… this doesn't explain why you acted like a jerk."
"I admit it was a mistake to put you into that situation. But when I proposed to you, I really was not expecting that you'd say no. I was the Tallest, what Irkenette wouldn't want to be with me? When you rejected me, it reminded me of the way Rik had scorned me; I felt exactly like that time. The only difference was that now I was in a high position, and I had authority to get what I wanted, so..." Purple ran a hand down his face. "Damn it, I acted like a smeet."
"So technically I acted as a substitute to Rik so you could get your revenge on her?"
"N-No, that's not it! What I did was a very misguided attempt to win you over."
"You know something, Purple? You seem to forget that I was engaged before Dren died. Do you know how hard it was for me to learn overnight that the man I was going to start a life together with died? If you and Red suffered for Miyuki's death, just imagine how I was suffering over the loss of my fiancée." Tenn wiped her eye. "But I had to hide all of those feelings because, as an Irken Invader, I was expected not to show any sort of weakness.
"I didn't reject you because I didn't find you attractive or to humiliate you. I just didn't feel ready to be in another relationship just yet; I had barely managed to mourn Dren and you were already wooing me and trying to seduce me. If you had just… respected my grieving and given me time to heal my wounds, perhaps I might have eventually fallen in love with you. But instead you forced me to marry you and…" Tenn closed her eyes shut, rubbing her arms as she recalled their first night.
They were followed by an uncomfortable silence. Tenn didn't dare look up at her husband, and instead focused on the colorful fish in the water. The sun had long sunk below the horizon; despite Irk's metropolis surrounding the Tallest Tower, Tenn could see the stars in the sky.
"I'm sorry, Tenn. For everything I put you through."
"You answered my question, so now it's your turn." Tenn said, changing the topic. "Anything you want to ask?"
"There is something…" Purple toyed with his own fingers, twitching his lekku anxiously. "How was Dren like?" Tenn gave her husband a surprised look, making him flinch. "I mean, he must have been a great guy to get you to fall in love with him."
The Invader leaned against the bench. She looked at the stars, searching for the constellations she and Dren would often stare at; Tenn found herself smiling.
"Honestly, we started out as rivals. On the first day of training, we tied in the highest scores. Afterward, we had this sort of competition to see who could outrank the other in everything: espionage, hand-to-hand, long-range, engineering, everything. Sometimes I won, other times he did. Eventually, we engaged in a hand-to-hand match to break the tie; naturally, I won." Tenn smirked proudly, making Purple chuckle.
"Anyhow, after that, Dren approached me and asked me out to dinner. I rejected him a few times until we made a bet: if Zim blew something up within five minutes from then on, I'd have dinner with him. And as you can imagine, caused the blackout on Devastis ten seconds after. It was our official first date: Dren took me to Foodcourtia and we had dinner at a nice Vortian coffee shop. Soon enough we were going out together more and more, even after becoming Invaders and getting assigned our missions. Before long, he proposed marriage…" Her voice began trembling as some tears trickled down her cheek. "He t-told me that he'd… When he c-called the Armada for the Organic Sweep, he'd m-marry me on the spot but… The Sobrekt… H-His head…!"
Tenn had to take her hand to her mouth in a feeble attempt to contain her sobs. A tender hand on her shoulder made her look up at her Purple; instead of a scowl, there was a sympathetic look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry about your loss.. He definitely sounds like he was a great guy…" Offering her a smile, he caressed her cheek with a finger to wipe her tears away. "Please don't cry. You look prettier when you smile, my dear." For the first time, Tenn felt her cheeks going pink when he touched her in such a tender way. She had to move her head away, hoping he hadn't noticed.
As she looked for an excuse to change the topic, Tenn felt an odd sensation in her lower squeedlyspooch. It was like a sort of light tapping. Her lekku straightened as she placed her hands on her swollen abdomen.
"Is something wrong?" Purple asked, concerned.
"I don't know. It's like… something is tapping inside my belly. It's a bit uncomfortable, but I'm not sure if it's bad…" Tenn moved her hands away when Purple placed his, looking for the source of the movement. The tapping returned just as he was running his palm on top of it.
Purple looked down at her stomach, eyes wide open and lekku raised. Slowly, he began to smile as his eyes became watery.
"... He's kicking."
"What?"
"The smeet just kicked! He's kicking!" Tenn yelped as she was picked up by the waist and swung around as Purple laughed, 'liquid joy' trickling down his cheeks.
He was so happy that he didn't mind when she threw up on top of his robe.
Looks like things are getting better for both Purple and Tenn. Just to tell you, she's NOT in love with him; she's merely starting to like him and open up to him, especially now that he's really changed his attitude. Besides, if they're going to have a smeet, they should at least get along.