Purple

Thirty-Two

Dedicated to ThatLittleInsanity06

It was a Wednesday before Clancy decided he was finally ready to see Ruby.

When she walked into his office and saw the state of it, she wondered if she should have come at all.

"Hey, come in—just watch your step. Yeah, sorry about the mess."

Yeah, a mess all right, she thought to herself. His office looked like a tornado started and ended here. There were piles of paper everywhere, printouts, torn maps, boxes...and then there was the man himself, his hair falling into his face, wearing the same rumpled white shirt she had seen the day before.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she shut the door behind her. "What's going on?"

"We're trying to coordinate a hit for med supplies." He settled down in his chair but was back on his feet a moment later when his laptop began to chime. "Hang on just a sec."

Ruby took one of the papers and tried to take a look at what it was.

"Those are reports of the usual nightly activity at a nearby truck stop," he told her as though he read her thoughts, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "And League intelligence about PSFs in that area. It seems that Leda Corporation is now employing the government to protect their shipments."

"Why the PSFs?"

Clancy shrugged. "They're the largest military force the government has now, and, thanks to dear old Dad, the most organized."

"I guess that makes sense." She leaned back staring at the glowing symbol on the laptop lid. It reminded her of Chubs. "Can I ask you a favor?"

Without missing a beat, he told her, "Only if you let me apologize first."

She sat down and studied her hands. "Can't we just forget it ever happened?"

He shook his head. "No, not this time," he said. "Hey, will you look at me?"

When she looked at him, it might sound weird but she could see that he cared. A little voice was telling her that he did.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper," he said. "I didn't mean the things I said about your friend Suzume, and I definitely didn't mean to imply that you haven't been trying."

"Then why did you say it?"

He rubbed a hand over his face. "Because I'm an idiot."

"That's not the answer," she told him as she shook her head.

He looked at her, collecting his thoughts. "Ruby, isn't it obvious? I like you. I've only known you for, what, a month? And you're probably the only real friend I've had since I turned ten and figured out what I was. I'm an idiot for getting so upset that you were focused on someone else when I wanted you to be focused on me."