Author's Note: Mild slash warning! A nice little story of Red and Purple. Oh, yes, and I couldn't remember which one gave Zim the sandwich, so I took a guess. Hey, 50/50 chance I'm right. ^_^

Living For You

Red stared out over Irk from his palace window. Below him spread a pinnacle of technologic achievement. Such a bleak, cold planet, no wonder all Irkens needed to go elsewhere. The sight of his own planet chilled Red. He placed a hand on a control panel next to the window and the view was blotted out by a metal curtain.

"Why do you insist on tormenting yourself so?" The voice came from behind Red, soft and familiar. Red didn't turn, didn't speak. "You don't have to say it," the voice continued, and Red found himself enfolded in a pair of arms. "We are a cold species, Red. And that emptiness inside grows all the more unbearable when we know exactly what we're missing. How do we fill that hole inside?"

Red leaned into the embrace. "I don't know, Purple." He reached back and brushed his fingers against Purple's antennae. "Purple, do you ever try to remember what we were called before we became the Tallest?"

"No."

Red and Purple, the two Almighty Tallest of the Irken race, stood together in silence, pondering an infinity of might-have-beens. The day they'd had to give up their lives as simple Invaders and assume the duties of the Tallest had been the greatest of their lives. Now they each wished that they could foist the mantle off onto another.

"Red?"

"Yes, Purple?"

Purple nuzzled Red's neck with a happy sigh. "I'm glad we're the same height. This job would have been unbearable without you."

Purple's attention brought a purr out from Red. No other Irken could ever get this close to the Tallest except another Tallest. When they'd first found out they were both the Tallest, they'd both wanted to destroy each other. Now, they could have held each other forever.

That first meeting so many years ago remained clearly branded in the minds of both Red and Purple. Two young Irkens, accustomed to remaining hunched over to try and fit in with their shorter brethren, standing before the one Tallest. When asked to stand up straight, they'd both done so slowly, each eyeing the other suspiciously. Heated discussion followed as the two Irkens were proven to be the same height. At last, the aging Tallest said, "Let them both be Tallest!" At the time, Red and Purple thought the Tallest to be losing his mind. Two Tallest? Who had ever heard of such a thing? Now, though, they knew that being Tallest was a lonely job and were grateful to have each other.

Sensing it was now his turn to break the silence, Red said, "Zim called again."

"Hmm, really?" Purple didn't sound surprised, but then, there was nothing new about Zim calling. The small Invader was constantly reporting his findings on the creatures who called themselves humans. "Did you ask him about the sandwich?"

Red shook his head. "Sorry, Purple. It slipped my mind. Maybe next time." He wouldn't ask then either, though. The sandwich didn't really matter enough to bother with.

"Sometimes," Purple murmured. "Sometimes, I wonder about the potential of that sandwich. What if it had turned out to be the greatest sandwich in the universe and I just gave it away? Well, I hope Zim enjoyed it."

Turning his head, Red ran his segmented tongue lightly beneath Purple's chin. That Purple allowed such an intimate gesture showed unparalleled trust on his part, for Red could have just as easily bitten down on that soft green throat and eliminated the one who should have been his rival. Red smiled as he allowed Purple to return the gesture. "We really live only for each other, don't we, Purple?" Red's voice was soft, barely audible in the vast room.

"Yes, Red, we do."

Red's lips parted into another smile. Good. Living only for himself would have been no life worth living.