Red simply lied in bed, staring up at the ceiling as many different thoughts went through his head. It had been about 24 hours since his fight with Purple and they were still not speaking to each other. Red just wanted things to be better between the two of them, but Purple was far to stubborn to simply talk things through.
"I think I should leave," Zim said in a hushed tone.
Red slowly raised himself up. He looked at the shorter irken who was sitting at the edge of Red's bed. He spent the night in the adjacent bed, though neither of them did much sleeping. "You leaving won't make anything better. You know that."
"Yes, but... Zim wants to make sure that his Tallest is happy, and he doesn't seem very happy without his friend at his side." Zim inched a bit closer to him. "You won't even tell me why you two aren't talking... I can only guess it's because I'm here."
"It does involve you, Zim," Red said, sighing. He sat up a bit more. "But like I said, nothing will change if you leave. I'm going to still feel the same way and Purple is still going to be mad at me. End of story."
"Then give me some way to fix it," Zim said. "Zim is good with diplomacy. I can make this work!"
"I really don't want you getting involved," Red said. "Just... you being here is all that I need right now. You don't have to fix anything, alright?" He slowly slid out of bed. "I don't want you fixing anything." He sighed. "I'm going to go to the mess hall to get a few snacks. Do you want anything?"
Zim looked away, feeling a bit disappointed that he wasn't able to serve. "Just a muffin, please."
"Coming right up," Red said, though there was a sense of apathy in his voice. He slowly exited his quarters, leaving Zim in the large room.
Zim took a look around the room, seeing how royal it was. Definitely what a Tallest would need. The color red coated the walls and the bed coverings. Red was no doubt comfortable. Zim walked over to an end table where a holographic clock and a framed photo rested. Zim picked it up and stared at it. It was a picture of Red and Purple standing right outside of the Massive. They still had bandages on their hands where their thumbs used to be. Their thumbs must've been cut off recently... probably shortly after the inauguration.
"They're best friends," Zim whispered to himself. He didn't have too many of those growing up. He hung out with Skoodge a lot, but he didn't thinking highly enough of Skoodge to consider him to be a 'best friend'. Zim put down the picture and slowly exited the room. He looked both ways in the hallway before turning right and going down to the other end where he saw the room that he was looking for.
Directly to the right of the door was a gold plaque that stated in black letters: 'Almighty Tallest Purple'. Zim cringed, his innards feeling a bit strange. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but immediately retracted it when he noticed it open. "My Tallest! Pleasant morning that we're having. The birds... are, eh, chirping. Um... how are you?"
Purple simply blinked, looking down at the short invader. "It's... past midday on the Massive, Zim, and there are no birds here. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I just wanted to... show my gratitude for allowing me to be here on your fine ship, my Tallest!" Zim exclaimed, clacking his fingers together a few times. "It's such a rare opportunity to be able to join you on such a fantastic ship."
Purple felt like he could see right through Zim's words, but didn't want to say anything. He already had enough tension with Red. "Riiight. Well, you're welcome, I guess. I'll be going now. There's pie at the mess hall." He allowed the door to close behind him and began walking down the hall.
"Ooooh, pie," Zim said, running after Purple. "I do enjoy it. Do you mind if I join you, my Tallest? I am pretty hungry."
Purple looked back at Zim, giving him a strange look. "Zim, what do you want? You haven't bugged me this much until now."
"Oh, Zim doesn't need anything my Tallest," Zim said. "I simply... enjoy your company, of course!"
Purple stopped in his tracks, completely halting Zim's movement. "This is about Red, isn't it? He sent you to talk to me instead of doing it himself."
"My Tallest, that is not it at all," Zim said. "I came on my own. Red had nothing to do with this." Zim waited a moment, noticing how upset Purple looked. "Are you... angry with Red?"
Purple crossed his arms and looked away from Zim. "I don't see how that can be any of your business."
"It is my business," Zim said, feeling a bit of strength welling up inside of him. "Red is my bo-... he and I are friends from the Academy if you may recall. We have that -special- bond." Zim rubbed the back of his head, almost revealing his 'secret'. "I, uh... was just curious why you two are not talking to each other. He thinks highly of you."
Purple rolled his eyes. "That's a load of dung," he muttered silently under his breath. He looked back at Zim. "You really want to know why I'm so upset at Red?"
"Oh yes, very much my Tallest," Zim said, putting his hands together and grinning.
He looked down the hallway, then began going back the way he came. "Come with me," he said in a low, serious voice.
Zim turned around, wondering why they were no longer going to the mess hall. He scampered after Purple, making sure to keep a small distance behind him. They returned to Purple's room and Zim followed him inside. He felt a little uncomfortable being in the Tallest's room. It wasn't anything like being in Red's room.
Purple sat on his bed, covered in purple and black sheets in order to match Purple's eyes. He simply sat there for several moments and stared at Zim in complete silence.
Zim tried to avoid Purple's gaze as he looked down to the floor. Every moment that Zim stayed in the silence made him more and more uncomfortable.
Purple finally shifted himself a bit and said, "I thought you had a mission on Earth to complete."
"It is, eh... on a short hiatus, my Tallest," Zim said, trying to keep to the truth as much as possible.
"It wouldn't happen to be because Red asked you to leave your mission, would it?" Purple hissed, trying to get the full story.
"E-eh," Zim stuttered. "Well... Zim didn't completely come all on his own."
"Don't you think it's a little selfish for Red to just take you away from your mission? You have important things to do there. Away from this ship." Purple glared at Zim, though he wasn't truly angry with him.
"Like I said, my Tallest, I will return promptly back to my mission as soon as my time with Tallest Red is finished. I wouldn't want to leave my work incomplete."
"And tell me. What are you and Red doing?" Purple already knew, but he wanted to hear it from Zim.
Zim stuttered, keeping his gaze away from Purple's. He knew that saying anything would get both himself and Red in trouble. His breath quickened as he let out a nearly silent squeal. "May I be excused, my Tallest? I have important business to attend to."
Purple stared at Zim. He figured that he was going about this interrogation wrong, so he loosened his glare on Zim. "Zim, there won't be any consequences for saying anything," Purple said with a calmer tone. He pointed to a chair that was next to Zim. "Why don't you sit down?"
Zim gulped, a bit nervous, but he didn't want to go against his Tallest. "Yes, my Tallest." He took the chair that Purple offered him and sat down. It took him several moments, but Zim finally lifted his gaze from the ground and met Purple's eyes. He took a deep breath and said, "Me and Tallest Red are in a form of... experimental courtship, my Tallest."
Purple stared at Zim for a moment. He didn't know if it made him angrier to hear it from Zim or from Red. "Right. And how do you feel about that? I mean, if Red forced you to be in this courtship, then you'd feel uncomfortable, right? You would rather be with someone that was more... suited for you."
Zim was confused. He turned his head and looked out Purple's window, taking in the many stars that were passing by outside. 'Why is Purple so calm about something as big and illegal as this?' Zim thought to himself. He thought for the next couple of moments, making Purple inpatient, but he eventually connected the dots.
Purple already knew about the courtship.
"Eh-," Zim muttered with a breathy tone. He continued looking at the window as he said, "I don't feel uncomfortable with Red, my Tallest. As I said, Red and I were very good friends in the Academy. It was only inevitable that if I were to... do something with the realms of say, romance, then I guess I'd do that with him." Zim became increasingly uncomfortable, now beginning to realize the issues of courting, especially with a Tallest.
"Weren't we friends in the Academy?" Purple asked, though the answer was ambiguous to him. He didn't spend nearly as much time with Zim as Red did. Purple actually regretted it.
"Of course, my Tallest!" Zim exclaimed impulsively. "You and I were great friends. Are great friends!" Zim's eyes darted towards the door, almost tempted to run out.
"Then why are you with Red?" Purple asked, quickly standing up. "He's stuck-up and only thinks about himself and what's good for him. That's not good for you."
"I don't see him that way," Zim said, standing up as well. "Why are you asking me these questions?"
"Don't question a Tallest!" Purple said angrily, pressing his head close to Zim's. "Don't ask me why I'm asking you questions! Just answer them."
"I must go, my Tallest," Zim said. "I... I have a mission to return to. Urgently." Zim ran for the door and opened it.
Purple hissed. "Yeah, go. Get off of this ship. Right now. If you're not off by tonight, you can believe that you'll be spending time in the brig, you lusty traitor!"
Zim's eyes widened as he turned back to Purple. He ran forward, but bumped into someone who was standing directly outside of the door. Zim was shocked, hoping that it was no one important. When he looked up, he saw that it was Red standing there.
Red was glaring at Purple and crossed his arms. "This is a low for you," Red said. "I know that I messed up and I should've made some better decisions, but this really is a low for you, Purple. You'll not be telling Zim what to do, and you won't be throwing him into the brig. If anything, you should be spending time in the brig yourself."
Red grabbed Zim's and dragged him outside, closing the door behind him. Red let go of Zim's hand and began furiously walking down the hall back to his quarters. Curses were heard from inside of Purple's room. "You should've stayed in my quarters."
"B-but... my Tallest!" Zim exclaimed, running after Red. "I-I mean... Red. He knows and... I think he knew this whole time."
Red entered his quarters and waited for Zim to come in as well before closing the door. "Yeah, I already knew that, Zim. I can't keep a secret like that from my partner. I thought that he would be a bit more understanding of my situation, but he just won't."
"This could be very bad! You could get arrested, right?" Zim groaned, balling his hands into fists. "Maybe I can make him understand," Zim said. "I got him to calm down earlier. He just needs to know what we're actually doing and then there's no more problem. I know how to negotiate!"
"Zim, like I said earlier, there is nothing you can do to help," Red said, sitting on his bed. He lied down, staring up to his ceiling. "The only thing that you can possibly do right now is stay here. And stay away from Purple. He's just... he's just not Purple right now."
Zim growled. "But!" He lunged himself around for a bit, but finally let out a large sigh as he gave up his rant. Zim crawled onto Red's bed and kneeled down next to Red's head. "Fine, I'll stay here. I'll even be willing to spend the night in the brig if you need me to. I am here for you, my Tallest."
Red reached up and brushed back Zim's right antenna. "Thank you. And no, you will not be spending the night in the brig. If Purple ever comes in here and tries to take you away, just contact me, okay? I'll be sure to slap him in the face."
Zim let out a small chuckle, though he did feel a bit somber about the whole situation. "Okay, Red."