And I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Tif since she's been making so many great guesses about my plans for this ficcy.
Chapter 8: Crimson Obsession
Purple dug through his closet with a wild desperation. He'd worked hard for the past two months to stay on Delan's good side. And though they'd spent their days together - seeing how much goofing around they could mix in with work - she'd not until today asked for any sort of actual date. Sure, what was coming up wasn't a true date. Delan would be out as Red, after all. But they were going to the theater, so it was almost a date.
And so Purple was tearing through his closet like a man possessed. He would pull out an outfit, hold it up in front of the mirror, then toss it on the bed. He could always wear his traditional Tallest robes, but he wore those all the time. Deciding that he had nothing suitable, Purple sprang to his room's control console and brought up the famous Callnowia Catalog. He browsed until he found the perfect outfit. Satisfied, Purple placed the order and waited. Within minutes the box came crashing into his room. Purple pounced upon it, ripping through the cardboard top and burrowing through the packing peanuts. As soon as he'd unearthed his prize, Purple dressed and checked himself out in the mirror.
The pants were black leather and soft, clinging to Purple like another layer of skin; clinging so tightly that Purple had to forgo underwear. Purple's shirt was pale lavender and silk, the collar ruffed with thick lace. The whole outfit looked poured on. Grinning to himself, Purple topped it all off with a black, floor-length duster. Oh yeah! Delan was going to love this!
Satisfied, Purple went running off for Delan's room. The unfamiliar sound of boots clopping over the metal floor made Purple's smile widen. He'd had to leave off the hoverbelts to make things look just right, and found there was something satisfying about walking under his own power. Of course, getting so many scandalized looks from the smaller Irkens who'd never seen their Tallest walking was fun too.
Before knocking on Delan's door, Purple took a moment to smooth out the imaginary wrinkles in his clothes. Purple then knocked to quick staccato raps, paused, and knocked twice more. When Delan opened the door, she froze and stared at Purple. Purple couldn't read the look on her face, but he silently prayed that she wasn't going to start laughing. "You look good, Purple," Delan finally said in Red's voice. "You haven't got the faintest idea how to keep a low profile, but you look very, very good."
Purple paused, realizing he'd been complimented and insulted at once. Then he laughed, a stuttering chuckle sound. "What makes you so sure I dressed up for you?"
Delan grabbed Purple, curling her fingers into the collar of his duster. She leaned her face close to Purple's, and he swallowed hard. His fingertips brushed lightly against her waist as he stood uncertain of what to do. "I never said you did," Delan murmured. When she pulled away, Purple noticed several shorties staring.
A hot blush burned up Purple's cheeks. This was going to start certain rumors about himself and "Red" up again. Great...
Grabbing Purple's arm, Delan began hovering down the halls, howling with laughter. "C'mon, Purple. We don't want to be late for the show."
The two Tallests made quite a spectacle together. Because Purple was walking, Delan appeared the taller of the two. Purple's antennae twitched as he caught snatches of whispered conversations. Sure enough, between Delan's quarters and the theater, Purple heard talk of interfacing three times. Purple blushed each time, but Delan seemed oblivious.
Purple never had been so grateful to reach their private theater box. Delan flopped down on a velvet cushioned chair and pulled a soda out of their private stash. "Oh, what you've gotten yourself into now!" she teased. Purple did his best to ignore her as he locked the door. Assured that no one would be bursting in, Delan pulled off her voice patch. "I hear this show is all the rage on Broadwayia."
Purple shrugged and peered out over the audience. It looked like it was going to be a full house; though whether it was because the show was good or because the Tallests were there, Purple couldn't say. "Control Brains out there."
Delan froze with the soda can halfway to her lips. In a flash, she slapped the voice patch back on and raced to the box's window. Sure enough, three Control Brains rested in their own private box. Not the whole Control Brain of course. They were much too big to easily transport. But they could send small parts of themselves out in specially built mechanical bodies - not wanting to tarnish their pure programming with unpredictable organics.
"What are they doing here?" Delan gasped, eyes wide with fright. Purple merely plastered on his public smile as he pulled open the window. The audience let out a rousing cheer as he waved; the noise redoubling as Delan did likewise. When the two bulled back in, Purple set up the privacy blinds.
Virtually along again, Delan curled back up on her chair, trembling fiercely. Purple sat and took her hand. "They aren't here for you," he whispered. "They're just doing research - data collection."
"Data?" Delan's brow furrowed. "What sort of data could they possibly get from a play?"
Purple slid an arm around Delan's shoulders, but his gaze lingered beyond the privacy screen. "We have so much that they do no. Things they never could have even guessed at when they fashioned the first organic bodies for our kind: humor, anger, joy, love..."
Purple went silent. He hadn't meant to say that last. But maybe Delan hadn't noticed. Even if she had, surely she wouldn't think anything of it. Sighing, Purple turned his attention to the stage. The play was starting and Purple needed desperately to get his mind off of the woman by his side.
A single actor stood in the spotlight, reciting some sort of introduction. Purple tipped his antennae forward to hear better, when he felt a warmth against his neck. Delan planted light, darting kisses against Purple's neck, and then along his jaw. "Let me interface with you," she purred. After that, Purple didn'te ven try to pay attention to the play.