Heh! Tif, I see we know the same Law of Comics (and Soap Operas). Whether I'm obeying that law or not... You'll just have to wait and see! As to your guesses, I plead no comment. I spill no plans in the story, though if you catch me on IM, I'd probably be willing to confirm or deny. ^.^
Chapter 6: The Lady in Red
Purple marked off another day on his calendar. One week... One long week since he'd learned his co-ruler's secret. And she still wouldn't so much as give him the time of day. At least Snackoria was back under Irken control. The Resisty had simply been unable to maintain consistent routines, and the Snackorians were big fans of routine, so they'd petitioned to rejoin the Irken Empire. Of course, the several thousand Irken warships waiting just outside of the planet's atmosphere may have also influenced the decision. 'If only everything could be solved that easily,' Purple sighed to himself.
Delan, in Red mode, lunged at the far end of the conference table, munching on popcorn and going over tax reports for conquered planets. Purple had a similar stack of documents in front of him, but he couldn't concentrate on them. All those numbers made his head swim. Finally he broke the thick silence. "Y'know, Red, we never talk anymore."
"Mmm-hmm," came Delan's verbose reply as she flipped a page over.
Well, that was just stellar... But Purple was not to be daunted. "So, what planet are you working on now?"
"Stripmallia."
Frustrated, Purple slammed his folder shut. But it just didn't make a loud enough noise to satisfy him, or to get Delan to look up from the tax reports. "How many times do I have to slarking apologize!" Purple growled as he stomped around the table. He'd tried cards; he'd tried candy; he'd tried flowers, but nothing had worked! The woman was an immovable rock!
Purple pulled the tax report out of Delan's hand and crouched down, putting his head lower than her's. "I don't like fighting with you, Red. I miss having someone I can talk to and joke around with. I miss my best friend."
A small smile touched Delan's face. Then she held the popcorn bag out to Purple - a sure sign of forgiveness if he'd ever seen one. With a happy squeak noise, Purple began stuffing his face. Delan eagerly joined in. "So... What made you decide not to run to the Control Brains and tattle?" Delan asked between mouthfuls.
Purple shrugged. "Well, you're my best friend. If I told on you, then there wouldn't be much of you left to be friends with when the Control Brains finished up."
"Awww!" Delan gushed. "Want to go blow up a moon now?"
"Sure!"
Later that evening, Purple found himself at Delan's room. They'd had a great day of blowing stuff up, playing jokes on the shorties (he could never get enough of asking them to get stuff that was way out of their reach), and snacks. Things were just like old times! And when they'd parted, Delan had asked Purple to visit her for supper.
So now Purple knocked on her door. "Come in!" came the masculine Red voice. Purple followed orders and entered. He wasn't sure what to expect, but the room was unchanged since the last time he'd been in here.
Delan was sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table. Some sort of gladiator program was blaring on the entertainment screen. Purple went over and sat down beside Delan. "It's all face, you know," he said, nodding towards the screen.
"I know," Delan laughed. She took off the voice patch and set it on the coffee table. "It's still fun to watch, though."
Purple hesitated, then wrapped his arm around Delan's shoulders. He wanted to try so hard to keep everything as normal as possible, but he didn't know how he was supposed to treat Delan anymore. Oh, sure, out in public it was easy. She was Almighty Tallest Red then. But now when it was just the two of them, Purple wasn't sure if she still expected that same treatment.
"What's on your mind?"
"I'm just trying to figure out the protocol now that things have changed," Purple sighed as he let himself be distracted by the fight onscreen.
"Why does anything have to change just because you know I've got boobs?" Purple gaped, stunned by Delan's bluntness. She, however, kept right on talking. "Look, Purple. I'm still me; still the same person you've been ruling with. For all intents and purposes, I am Red. If you've checked the records, then you know that it was Delan who died on Earth. So, just keep thinking of me as Red."
Purple smiled as he pulled the woman in his arms closer. Was it really that simple? Probably not. No. Make that definitely not. He would never be able to completely think of Delan as Red again. But did things have to change between them? That remained to be seen.
Delan got up to fetch some wine. Between the two Tallests, the bottle was soon half gone, and Delan - who had drunken the most - lay giggling agaisnt Purple. Her slender fingeres traced along the line of Purple's jawy. "M'sorry." Drunken laughter peppered Delan's words. "M'sorry for picking on you and for the lasers... Heh! And for making everyone think you were a woman."
Delan dissolved into another fit of giggles as Purple stared down at her. "YOU started all that?" Delan nodded as Purple groaned. All those years of trying to squelch tabloid rumors about his gender only to find out that this armful of co-ruler had planted those same rumors in the first place! But then, it was a clever move on her part. What better way to cat any suspicion off of herself than to divert it to the Tallest with the more feminine eyes?
As Purple stared down at Delan, he realized that he'd never seen her so relaxed. He partly attributed it to being a bit tipsy. But even when he and Delan had been goofing off together, Purple realized that Delan had kept up a sort of defensive wall between them. But now that Purple knew who she really was, and with only him around to witness, sh was free to be herself.
With a purr, Delan stretched before sitting up, the movement interrupting Purple's thoughts. "M'gonna go change. Order something nice for supper." With that, Delan got to her feet and tottered towards the bedroom.
Left alone, Purple plaed a call to the Massive's kitchen and ordered what he considered a lovely meal - complete with another bottle of wine. When the food arrived, Delan still hadn't returned. Purple waited. And waited. And waited. The food was cold and still there was no sign of Delan. Finally, Purple went to the bedrom to check on her.
And he found Delan sprawled across the bed, snoring softly.