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Seeing Red	By : Florville Category: +G through L > Invader Zim > Slash - Male/Male Views: 8032 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 7: Picking up the Pieces

After re-connecting Purple’s Pak, Red swept Pur up into his arms, carrying his co-Tallest into his own room and laying him down gently on his scarlet sheets, calling for one of the Medical Officers. Dislocated antennae, one of the most painful injuries an Irken could sustain, was one of the few things their Paks wouldn’t fix. Broken bones, yes, but since antennae were not extremely important in terms of survival, Irken Paks hadn’t been programmed to fix them.

Sitting down on the bed next to Purple, Red stroked Pur’s forehead and looked down at him remorsefully. “The Medical Officer’s on his way.”

“Why?” Purple asked softly, humiliation distracting him unbearably as Meero’s rough, violating touches and cruel words replayed themselves over and over in his mind.

Red sighed softly, closing his eyes for a moment. “To fix your antennae.”

“Oh.”

The Medical Officer stepped into the room and walked over to the bed, his expression one of compassion as he inspected Purple’s damaged antennae. “Yes, they’re dislocated quite badly.” He sighed, looking over at Red. “I’m going to have to set them. It’s not exactly pleasant, my Tallest, so if you wish to leave—”

Red shook his head solemnly. “I’m not leaving him.”

The Medical Officer nodded. “If you could help me move him so that his head is resting at the side of the bed with his antennae sticking out over the edge—”

Once Purple was in the requested position, Red sat down next to him on the bed again, taking his hand and looking down into the pain-dulled violet eyes that quickly slipped shut to avoid his gaze. Red watched anxiously as the Medical Officer knelt beside the bed and placed one hand on Purple’s forehead, the other hovering just above the base of Pur’s right antenna. The Officer looked up at Red. “Squeeze his hand for me, please.”

Red did as asked, holding Purple’s hand tightly as the Medical Officer wrapped his fingers around the base of the first stalk, setting the delicate bone back in place.

Purple’s hazed eyes cleared for a few seconds as he shrieked in agony, almost breaking Red’s fingers before his system overloaded and he blacked out.

Seized by sudden irrational terror, Red dove forward to shake him, blinking in confusion when the doctor held him back.

“No, my Tallest, let him be. It’s easier on him if he’s not awake when I do this.”

Red bit his lip and nodded in resignation, looking down at Purple worriedly, gently running his fingertips over Pur’s bruised cheek. “Should…should I squeeze his hand again?”

The doctor smiled kindly, taking the left antenna in his hand and nodding.

Squeezing Pur’s hand tightly, Red cringed as the Medical Officer set the bone back in place.

The second burst of pain jarred Purple into consciousness again, and he cried out, flailing wildly, completely unaware of his surroundings. Red grabbed him and held him close, stroking Purple’s back just beneath his Pak, murmuring softly into one of his ear spots.

The Medical Officer rose to his feet. “I’m going to give him some pain medicines that will help him sleep, my Tallest.” He brought a small device out of his case, placing it against Purple’s skin just above his Pak, the medicines releasing into the Tallest’s body with a soft click. The doctor put the tool away, bowing respectfully and departing without a word, knowing instinctively that the two needed privacy.

“I’m here.” Red murmured softly, hating himself inside for not being there the one time that Purple had needed him most. And it was all because he couldn’t tell Pur how he felt in the first place. Now his co-Tallest had been damaged, possibly beyond repair.

Purple’s struggling slowed, and he was still for a moment. With a soft moan, Purple buried his face in Red’s chest. “Red…” he swallowed hard, his throat still sore. “I should have listened to you…”

Red clenched his teeth, self-loathing burning like acid inside of him. “Don’t.” He murmured, holding Purple close and pulling the blankets up over him. “Go to sleep, Pur. I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.”

*

Purple woke late in the morning, sighing when he felt Red’s arms wrapped around him tightly. Why did he keep doing that? As Purple moved to squirm out of his co-Tallest’s grip, a blinding jet of pain shot up from between his legs, and the memories of the previous night’s events overwhelmed him with excruciating clarity. A vicious wave of nausea washed over him, and he clenched his eyes closed, going limp and starting to sob quietly.

Red woke instantly, and he sat up, gently turning Purple to face him, his features drawn from hours of watching over his co-Tallest before he himself had finally dozed off. “Pur…” he wiped the tears from his companion’s face, “what’s wrong?” When Purple didn’t answer, Red frowned, reaching towards the bedside table. “I’ll call the Medical Officer—”

“NO!!” Purple shrieked, grabbing Red’s arm.

Red blinked at him in shock. “Why?”

Purple’s cheeks flushed in mortification and he closed his eyes, turning away. “I…I just don’t want anyone to see me right now.”

Red cringed as a surge of guilt rushed through him. “Do you want me to leave?” he asked softly.

Purple’s expression turned to one of abject terror and he flung his arms around Red, clinging to him tightly. “Don’t leave me! Please…” A sob caught in Purple’s throat. “I don’t wanna be alone…”

Pur’s tears made Red groan softly, his heart aching. “Oh, Pur…” Red cringed, closing his eyes and stroking Purple’s back tenderly. How could he have let this happen? It was almost as if he’d been forced to endure Meero’s actions himself, Purple’s suffering hurt him so much… “Pur, you’re safe now. I’m here…”

His co-Tallest shook his head weakly. “It doesn’t matter…” he groaned, still holding onto Red tightly. “It’s too late...I should have been more careful…” Purple whimpered, looking up at Red brokenly. “Why did he do it, Red? Why did he…hurt me?”

Red gazed into the wounded amethyst eyes, his throat tightening. “I don’t know, Pur,” he said softly.

Purple groaned, shuddering. “I’m dirty…I can still feel that stuff on me…” He made a face, feeling sick again.

Red frowned, then pulled Purple into his arms, climbing out of the bed. “I’m going to run you a bath, Pur.” He carried his co-Tallest into the bathroom, gently setting him down on the soft red bath mat, reaching over and pressing the button to run the gel into the tub. As the tub filled, he looked down at Purple for a moment, sighing softly when Pur flinched and looked away. “Are you still angry at me?”

“I…I don’t know…” Pur sniffled miserably.

Red sighed, deciding to leave the issue alone. When the bath was filled with gel, he gently and carefully lifted Purple’s lean body and lowered him into the tub, frowning slightly when he felt him flinch. “Is it too hot?”

Pur clenched his eyes closed. “Just put me in, Red.” He hissed, almost angrily.

Red lowered him the rest of the way, then leaned back, drying his arms off on a towel, watching his co-Tallest as he sat in the tub, his knees drawn up against his chest.

Purple turned his head, scowling at Red. “Turn around. You’ve watched me enough.”

Red winced, sighing and turning around, sitting down and leaning back against the edge of the tub. “I’m going to order the techs to put The Massive on a course towards Judgementia.”

Pur tensed, his expression one of horrified dismay. “No…Red, please, the last thing I want right now is for…for any of this to…to be made public.” Remembering something Meero had said, Purple bit his lip and turned away, his antennae drooping sorrowfully. “Besides, the crew barely respects me as it is.”

The words made Red stiffen, and he turned his head, looking at Purple and frowning deeply. “Who said that?”

“I know it’s true.” Purple murmured softly, stretching his two-fingered hand underneath the surface of the gel. “I told you, Red…” his voice was soft, “I’m not as stupid as you think I am.”

Red scowled. “I don’t think you’re stupid.”

Purple laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “You’re a terrible liar.” He gasped when Red grabbed him roughly by the arm, his scarlet eyes burning with an intensity Purple had never seen before. Pur swallowed nervously, his antennae lowering submissively.

“Don’t ever call me that again, Pur.” Red growled.

“It’s what you are.” Purple scowled, his aching antennae stiffening angrily. “Let go of me.”

Red opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. Purple was right. That was all he’d done for the past week or so, was lie. So maybe he was a liar. Red sighed and let go of Purple’s arm, turning around again and leaning back against the tub, lowering his head and running his fingertips along the edge of his robe.

Purple washed himself slowly and carefully, puzzled by how quiet Red was all of a sudden. After going over his entire body four times, he finally felt clean, positive that he’d removed all of his assailant’s fluids from his skin. He sighed softly, closing his eyes as tears started to sting at them. “I’m done,” he murmured. “Can you pass me a towel?”

Rising to his feet, Red pulled a large fluffy crimson towel off of the towel rack, offering it to Purple, who stood and took it from him, wrapping it around himself and stepping out of the tub. As the gel drained from the tub, Purple gave Red a stern look. “Turn around.”

Red sighed, shaking his head and leaning against the doorframe as he faced out into the bedroom, inspecting his long fingers absently.

Purple dried himself carefully, eyes narrowed, his sore antennae twitching irritably. “I’m guessing you didn’t bother to bring me a clean uniform.”

Red clenched his teeth, trying not to lose his patience at Purple’s bitterness, especially seeing as how he’d brought it upon himself. “I didn’t have a chance, Purple, seeing as how I haven’t left your side since the moment I brought you here, after having your stupid little lover arrested.”

The words were like a slap in the face, and Purple whispered softly. “He’s not my lover any more, Red.” His bottom lip quivered as he pushed past Red and grabbed one of his co-Tallest’s crimson bathrobes, tears running down his face as he wrapped it tightly around his naked body, not caring any more if Red was watching or not. “I’ll go and get one.”

Instantly regretting his harsh words, Red stepped out in front of him, gently resting his hands on Purple’s shoulders. “Pur…I…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Purple sighed, wiping at one of his eyes and looking down at the floor silently.

Red kicked himself inwardly for hurting him, and he sighed, running his hands down Purple’s arms and taking his hands, squeezing them gently. “I’m sorry, Pur.”

“It’s my own fault.” Purple pulled his hands away, shaking his head. “I don’t want to be touched right now. I’m going to go get dressed. I’ll meet you on the Control Deck.”

Red watched him leave, then sighed heavily and went to bathe and don his uniform.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To Krimzon: Thank you for the feedback, I worked really, really hard on that chapter. And in truth, yes, Meero knew what could happen to him, but his plan was to rape Pur and then kill him. Although he didn’t know about the cameras, so he wouldn’t have gotten away with it anyway.
To Kharn: I’m amazed that my writing is emotional enough to make a reader want to pause. And yes, it’s hard not to feel bad for Purple, considering that it was his trust that isolated him in the first place…
To BurningSilence: Thank you for the feedback…I worked very hard on that chapter, I must have combed through it at least five times before posting it.
To InvaderMonkey: Easy, soldier, easy…Meero will be dealt with.
To XxSilentNightRainxX: Red is pretty hungry for vengeance, so I wouldn’t worry, the punishment will probably fit the crime.
To Insanity: *blushes* It’s wonderful to know you’re reading more than one of my stories. It’s so flattering, and I’ve always loved your feedback. Thanks so much!
To Tama-Sama: *hands you a tissue* Don’t cry!
To vtsfy: *gasp* Don’t hurt spiders! They are my friends! *winks* And thank you for your continuing feedback.
To Meee: Purple isn’t going to forget Red’s lies so easily…stay tuned, though.
To GothycCoalChambr: *salutes and lurves back* thank you for the praise, it’s greatly appreciated. Readers like you are the reason I keep writing. *lurve*
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Seeing Red