A Proposal (Chap. 7)

"Don't worry, Pururu," Taruru said, saluting. "I'll take good care of the Lieutenant for you."

Garuru gave the younger frog a withering look. "I am quite capable of taking care of myself."

Pururu resisted rolling her eyes. "After we're in flight, I want to see you for a treatment session," she instructed the purple frog.

Garuru nodded. "Very well then. I will be along shortly."

With that, Taruru wheeled Garuru into the cockpit. Pururu shook her head, then set out to find the medical bay.

Less than a minute later, she located it near the very back. She walked inside and looked quickly around, taking it all in. Then she went over and adjusted the cots until they were just so. Next, she rummaged through the drawers and located a clipboard. As she jotted down some notes, she heard the door open behind her. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Me," Zoruru's voice replied.

She looked back at him. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I've finished examining the ship, and my assistance isn't needed up front, so I came to see if you had use for me."

"Sure," Pururu replied, tapping her clipboard. "I need to do an inventory of everything in here, so if you want to help me count, that would be wonderful."

"Where would you like me to start?"

"Upper cabinets," Pururu answered, pointing.

Zoruru nodded and flew up to the top, scanning the contents on the shelf. "Thirty rolls of bandages, fifty bottles of aspirin, five large bags of cotton balls…"

Pururu made careful notes as he listed the items, her pen darting quickly across the page as Zoruru zipped from cabinet to cabinet. In a matter of minutes, every item had been catalogued. "Wow, Zoruru," she said as she made a final note. "Thank you. That was about three times as fast as this usually goes."

Zoruru shrugged and crossed his arms. "Glad I could help," he said quietly, looking away.

Pururu frowned. "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked.

"Yes, Chief Medic."

"All right then," Pururu said, filing the inventory away. "I don't think I need anymore help for now, but thank you again."

Zoruru nodded in farewell, then turned towards the door. "I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier," he said without turning around. "Your personal life is none of my business."

Pururu blinked in surprise, then smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Apology accepted, Zoruru," she said. "Thank you."

He stiffened. "Don't mention it," he muttered before vanishing.

The violet frog blinked in confusion. "What was that about?" she wondered aloud. Then she shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

A gentle hum and a small bump let her know that they were taking off. She waited a moment for the ship to settle, then headed out into the hall to explore the ship. She marvelled at how the ship actually was; it was a wonder that they could fit even four living quarters on it. Then she remembered the arrangement they had agreed to and she swallowed hard. "Maybe it won't be that bad," she muttered as she opened the door to her new quarters.

Her heart stopped as she saw the room. "I can't do this," she whispered. "I'll just…"

"Chief Medic?"

Pururu turned back to see Taruru pushing Garuru towards her. "Taruru, Lieutenant," she said in a professional manner.

"Chief Medic," Taruru responded, matching her tone. "Delivering the lieutenant to you as requested."

The look Garuru gave him could have melted steel. Before he could say anything, Pururu grabbed the wheelchair. "Thank you, Taruru," she said.

Taruru saluted once more, then headed back towards the cockpit. Garuru looked past her into the room. "This is our quarters?" he asked.

"Yes," Pururu replied.

He studied the room for a long moment. "I suppose it will be adequate for now," he said finally.

Pururu shrugged. "We can discuss it more while I'm treating you," she said.

He gave her a quizzical look, but didn't argue. "All right," he said. "Lead the way."

The pair maneuvered their way back to the medical bay in silence. Once they arrived, Pururu took a deep breath, then wrapped an arm around Garuru and helped him onto an exam table. After he was as comfortable as she could manage, she fished out fresh bandages and medication from the cabinets. ."Do you foresee any problems in getting to Pentonia?" Pururu asked to break the silence.

"There have been reports of several meteor storms near Garyl," Garuru replied. "But that's the only known issue at the moment."

"Do we absolutely have to go past Garyl?" Pururu asked as she began to remove the bandages from his back.

Garuru grunted quietly. "Yes. It would take far too long to go around. I was planning to make Garyl a refueling stop anyway."

She nodded. "That makes sense."

They fell silent again for a moment. Then Garuru glanced at her. "Did you find an issue with our living quarters?" he asked. "You said that you had something to discuss, yes?"

Pururu took a deep breath. "Yes," she said. "I don't think there's enough space for two. It would probably be best if I just stayed here in the medical bay."

Garuru frowned. "It is smaller, yes, but there appeared to be more than enough room for us both," he commented.

"I don't think so," Pururu replied quickly. "Especially not with your leg. It would be best if you slept alone."

A light bulb appeared to go off in Garuru's head. "Chief Medic, if you aren't comfortable sharing quarters with me, you can be honest about it."

Her cheeks caught fire. "I...I…"

"I would be more than happy to surrender the quarters to you," Garuru continued.

She shook her head firmly at that. "No, Lieutenant," she said. "You need them."

He gave her an irritated look. "Don't force me to make it an order, Chief Medic."

She glared back. "Don't force me to make it a medical order, Lieutenant."

The two continued to glare at each other. Then Garuru sighed. "Very well, Chief Medic. I will take them."

Pururu relaxed and resumed her work. "Thank you."

Neither of them spoke for the remainder of the session except to say farewell as Garuru left. After he was gone, Pururu washed her hands and cleaned up what little mess there was, trying to ignore the unhappiness gnawing at the back of her mind.

Then her stomach let out a low growl, and she saw that it was nearing dinnertime. Nervously, she went down to the kitchen to see who was making dinner. She nearly turned around when she saw Tororo at the counter, but forced herself to stay where she was. "Evening, Tororo," she said politely.

"Evening, old lady," Tororo replied.

Pururu's eyes grew wide. "Old?" she squeaked before shaking her head and composing herself. "What's for dinner?" she asked simply.

"Peanut butter sandwiches," Tororo replied. "With the luck we've had recently, I thought it would be best to make something that definitely wouldn't kill us."

"Probably a good plan," Pururu agreed, taking a sandwich. "Where's everyone else?"

"The lieutenant and Scraps already took theirs," Tororo replied. "No idea where Taruru is."

"Right here!" the blue Keronian said as he walked through the door. "What's for dinner? I'm starving!"

Tororo handed him a sandwich. "My work here is done," he said. "See ya."

"Bye-bye!" Taruru replied.

After the young hacker had vanished through the door, the two remaining Keronians sat down at the table and began to eat. "This is actually pretty good," Pururu said after a few bites. "I guess Tororo had the right idea."

Taruru nodded. "You can't go wrong with peanut butter," he said. "I'm kind of sad that no one else is eating here though."

"I guess."

Taruru looked at her curiously. "Did I miss something?"

"No, not at all," Pururu replied hastily.

Taruru put down his sandwich and gave her a knowing look. "Something happened."

"Nope. Nothing," Pururu said, stuffing the rest of the sandwich in her mouth.

"Did you and Garuru have a fight or something?"

Pururu stared at the blue frog in surprise. "How…"

He waved his arm dismissively. "Want to talk about it?"

She sighed. "Not really," she replied. "I just want to forget about it and move on."

Taruru nodded in understanding, then went over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle. "Here," he said, handing it to her. "This will help."

"Mandorzian Star Whiskey?" she read aloud. "You're joking."

"My favorite," Taruru replied, pouring two small glasses. "You look like you could use a drink, and I wouldn't mind one myself, so here we are."

Pururu sighed and took her glass. "Fine," she said. She choked almost at once. "That's really strong," she managed.

"I know, isn't it great?" Taruru said, taking a large gulp. "Mmm, that's good. Definitely a vintage."

Pururu shook her head and forced down another fiery sip. She gasped and shook her head. "I'm not completely sold yet."

"That's what everyone says the first time," Taruru replied. "Trust me, it'll grow on you."

"If you say so," Pururu said, eyeing the glass skeptically before finishing off her glass.

"More?" Taruru asked, offering the bottle.

"Sure," Pururu replied, taking the bottle and filling her glass to the brim.

"Wow. Must have been some fight," Taruru said. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

Pururu shrugged. "It wasn't really a fight, per se," she replied, swishing the whiskey around in the glass. "It was more of a disagreement."

Taruru laughed. "A disagreement? Shocker," he said. "What about?"

"About our sleeping arrangements for this mission," Pururu replied, taking another sip.

"But I thought that was already decided?" Taruru asked. "You two were going to start sharing a room and live happily ever after."

Pururu laughed. "I think happily ever after is the wrong term," she said. "But yeah. The room is too small for both of us, so he's going to stay there while I stay in the medical bay."

Taruru's mouth dropped open. "That's so not fair!" he said.

Pururu giggled before draining the rest of her glass. "No need to fuss," she said. "It's fine."

"But don't you like him?" Taruru asked. "Don't you want to be with him?"

Pururu laughed hard as she filled her third glass. "Like him?" she said. "Are you kidding? I've been in love with him since I was a little tadpole."

A moment passed. Then Taruru jumped up and down in excitement. "I knew it!" Taruru cheered. "I knew you felt that way about him!"

Pururu continued to laugh, but she reached over and put a finger over Taruru's mouth. "Shush!" she said. "Do you want everyone in the universe to know?"

Taruru obediently lowered his voice. "But if that's how you really feel, then why don't you find another solution so you can room together?"

Pururu sighed dramatically. "It's not that simple, Taruru, and you know it," she said, tapping the table to emphasize her point.

"Sorry, confused. What's the problem?" he asked.

"The problem is that Garuru doesn't love me, and he never will," Pururu replied before downing the rest of her glass. "I'm always just another soldier to him, never anything more. He never even calls me by my name, just my rank." Her face crumpled, and she let out a shuddering sob. "Why does the universe have to be so unfair?"

Taruru's smile faded slightly. "I don't know," he replied. "I ask that myself sometimes.".

"You?" Pururu asked, wiping her eyes. "What happened with you?"

"Now, don't you worry about me. I'll be fine," Taruru replied. "This is about you right now. And the best thing you can do right now is keep moving forward. Sooner or later, he'll wake up and realize you were the best thing to ever happen to him."

Pururu snorted. "And how long will that take?" she asked. "It won't happen anytime soon."

Taruru shrugged. "Garuru's a great leader, but he can be thick-headed about this kind of thing," he said.

"Is that so?"

Taruru and Pururu nearly jumped out of their skins. They turned to see Garuru rolling through the door. Taruru hastily grabbed the bottle of whiskey and tried to drop it out of sight, but Pururu snatched it out of his hand. "Not yet, Taruru," she said sweetly. "I'm not done with it."

Garuru eyed the bottle, then looked between the two Keronians. "Are you drunk?" he asked calmly.

"No, sir," Taruru said. He glanced at Pururu. "We were just having a drink…"

Pururu ignored the hint. "I might be," she giggled before draining what little was left in the bottle.

"I see."

Taruru looked back and forth between them. "Well, I think I'm going to get out of here," he said cheerfully, running out the door before anyone could stop him.

Pururu glanced at Garuru as he wheeled himself over to her. "What?" she asked, smiling brightly at him.

He studied the bottle in her hand. "How much have you had?"

"Not enough," she replied, looking at the fridge. "I think I'd like another bottle."

Garuru gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Is there anything you'd like to talk to me about, Pururu?" he asked.

"Nope," she replied, pushing his hand off. "Not a single thing."

"Pururu," he said sternly. "We need to talk."

She rolled her eyes dramatically and crossed her arms. "Fine," she replied. "Let's talk."

"Are you angry with me?" Garuru asked. "Have I done something wrong?"

"Oh, no," Pururu said, smiling brightly again. "You can do no wrong. Nope."

"Pururu, I can't fix a problem if you won't tell me what the problem is," he said.

"Weren't you just listening at the door?" she asked.

"Hearing someone speaking through a door does not alert me to the problem," Garuru replied.

"Ah."

"Is the issue in the way that I treat you?" Garuru asked. "If I have not been respectful enough, I can certainly amend my conduct."

Pururu laughed so hard, tears sprang to her eyes. "Taruru was right," she commented. "You are oblivious."

Garuru put a hand to his head and rubbed it. "I don't appreciate these games," he said. "Now would you please enlighten me as to what the issue-"

He was cut off by Pururu pressing her lips against his. He froze in shock, his eyes growing huge behind his visor. She lingered there for a long moment, her hand gently caressing his cheek. Then she pulled away, smiling warmly. "Get the idea now?" she asked.

They stared at each other for a long moment, he utterly bewildered, she amused. After a minute had passed, she finally opened her mouth to say something else. Then the room turned green and began to spin. She groaned quietly and laid her head down on the table.

Garuru was at her side in an instant. "Pururu?!" he said. "What's wrong?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" she replied weakly.

Without a word, Garuru picked her up and held her on his lap. Then he wheeled out of the kitchen as fast as he could go. Pururu clamped a hand over her mouth, fighting against the nausea as best she could. A choking sound escaped her throat as they passed through the doors of the medical bay. Garuru gently set her on the ground, then grabbed a nearby bin and dragged it over to her. Pururu gripped it tightly, her arms shaking. Garuru wrapped an arm around her and helped her sit up. "You're going to be all right," he said. "I've got you."

After what seemed like hours, Pururu finally pushed the bin away. She leaned back against a cot and let out a weak whimper as sweat poured down her head. Garuru maneuvered his way up to a cabinet, then returned with some two pills and a glass of water. Pururu gratefully accepted them. "Thank you," she said quietly.

He sat next to her and helped guide the glass to her lips. "Of course," he said simply. "How are you feeling now?"

"Shaky with some pain in my head," Pururu replied. "But not sick anymore."

"That's good," Garuru said. "Do you think you can stand?"

Pururu pushed herself up slightly, then sat back down. "No," she said. "Not yet."

"Very well. Then we will wait," Garuru said, leaning back beside her.

Exhaustion took hold of Pururu, and she let out a small yawn. "Sorry," she said.

"No need to apologize," Garuru replied. "I assume you are quite tired?"

"Yes," Pururu said.

Garuru glanced at her, his expression blank. "...If you require, you may lean against me to rest."

Pururu gave him a surprised look, then silently shifted closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder. He pulled a blanket from the nearby cot and draped it over them. Then, to her surprise, his arm gently wrapped around her waist and pulled her slightly closer. She shut her eyes, hardly able to believe that this was happening. "Good night," she whispered.

"Good night, Pururu."