Black was trying to take it easy, he really was. But what happened kept playing over and over in his mind. Everything in his room had turned on, seemingly of their own accord. He spent hours experimenting. Bouts of headaches and vertigo followed by something in the room shutting off or powering on. At one point, he’d even managed to open and shut the sliding door to his bathroom. Once he’d been certain it wasn’t a fluke, Black dove into research. He scrolled through countless articles, conspiracy theories, and even comic books. Looking over everything that even vaguely mentioned technopathy. 

Nearly everything he read seemed like science fiction. Then again, so did imposters and they were real. It was beyond frustrating. What’s more, even after spending most of the night trying, he could almost never activate this new skill on command. It always came with pain, but it seemed to be getting better every time he used it. Black was startled out of his thoughts by the door chime. 

“Come in.” Black called. The door slid open to reveal Pink standing in the doorway. His bulk eclipsed the hallway behind him from view. “Oh, Pink! Please, come sit down.” Black said, quickly clearing off a spot on the bed for him with his cast-free leg. The larger man made his way inside, sitting on the edge of the bed. His hands moved up and unclasped his helmet. Black was a little surprised. He had never seen Pink without his visor before. He was handsome. A round face, with a large nose and big eyes. His long red hair was tied up in a loose bun behind his head. Light stubble on his chin gave him a sort of rugged charm. 

“Hey there, how are you feeling?” Pink asked. His voice seemed even warmer now that Black had a face to match it to. Black cleared his throat to collect himself. Trying, and failing, not to get distracted by how handsome he found Pink. 

“Um, I’m doing better.” Black replied. “The pain isn’t too bad anymore.” Pink gave him a sympathetic smile, placing a hand on Black’s bare ankle. The moment they touched, the static returned, but it seemed to be clearer. The pain of the headache was duller than before. 

c̶̸̷̵̷͖͆O̷̸̶̴̴̖̍N̵̸̵̸̷̥̕C̷̵̴̶̷͕͛E̸̵̶̶̶͎̋r̷̷̶̶̸̜̿Ņ̷̷̶̵̷̚ ̷̵̴̴̸̬͊Ù̴̷̴̴̷ͅn̵̵̶̴̷̳͝Ḑ̴̵̵̸̵̊e̴̶̸̸̵͋ͅr̶̸̴̸̵̢̕S̷̴̵̴̴̯̒t̴̴̵̸̴̼͘a̶̶̴̵̷̳̿n̸̴̷̶̶̹͌ḏ̴̷̸̴̴̌i̵̵̷̶̵͈̓N̷̶̸̶̷͉̒g̶̵̵̴̵̰͋ ̵̴̴̸̴͈̚c̸̶̷̸̷̭̚Ò̶̶̸̵̸̤m̷̵̵̶̸̖̔P̸̷̷̸̵̓͜a̴̴̶̵̶̮͂Ś̷̴̸̵̷̞s̷̸̸̷̶̨͌I̶̸̴̴̸͕̾O̶̶̸̸̷͈͒N̶̸̴̷̷̻͐ A̶f̷f̷e̸c̷T̶I̷O̴N̵ ̶c̸o̷n̸C̵E̸R̵N̶

Concern?Black thought. Was that an actual word? His hand flew up to his head, rubbing away the ache. A glance at Pink made it worse. He looked downright shocked. 

“Sorry, it’s just a headache. It’ll pass.” Black said, waving his hands awkwardly. He was sure his face was beet red. Pink hesitated for a moment before giving a curt nod. He smiled at Black again, and the butterflies started up again. 

“Well, I came down to see if there was anything in particular you wanted to eat.” Pink said. Black decided to politely not mention that he could have just sent him a message. Black rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

“Well,” Black mumbled, “I have been craving meat.”

“I think I can handle that. Be right back.” Pink said with a grin. He rose from the bed, scooped up his helmet, and left the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Black let himself flop back into the pillows. What on earth had that been? Not only was Pink frustratingly attractive, but Black has sensed something when they touched. Something clear. Clearer than he’d gotten before. He’d felt something with Gray and Maroon, but this was more. The question was, what did it mean? As the questions spiraled in his mind, the lights began to flicker furiously. The more he thought the more they sparked and flickered. Black shot up in bed, wincing at the sudden movement, and took stock of the malfunctioning tech around him. 

He took a deep breath, and imagined the buzzing in his head drifting away into nothingness. Black peeked open his eyes to see the lights beginning to level out. Black sighed in defeat. Whatever this new thing was, the technopathy took precedence. It wasn’t very long till Pink returned with a lunch pail in hand and his helmet back on. The moment the pail was open and the smell of a freshly made burger hit the air, Black’s mind went blank. He lunged for the food, and ATE!

The meat was juicy, the cheese creamy, the meat juicy, the vegetables crisp, the meat juicy, the meat juicy, THE MEAT WAS SO JUICY!!!

Before Black knew it he was staring at grease stained hands in mild confusion. Pink’s laughter startled him slightly. Black’s face heated up again as he accepted a handful of napkins from the larger man. He did his best to avoid looking at the other man as he bashfully cleaned himself up. 

“I am so so sorry…” Black started, only to be cut off. 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Just means you enjoyed it.” Pink laughed. “Think you have room for seconds?” Black nodded reluctantly. Pink nodded, making his way out of the room. “I’ll be right back with a double serving.” He said. Black only nodded again, still too embarrassed to look up. 

Pink trudged down the halls to the cafeteria, deep in thought. Black had always been a bit of a bird when it came to eating. He would pick at his food and savor the flavors. But his appetite had obviously taken a dramatic rise. Not to mention the craving for meat. Pink had decided to test it, preparing the first burger at medium temperature. Black hadn't seemed to notice, only concerned with devouring every morsel. Pink was unsuprised to see Maroon waiting for him in the kitchen. He nodded to his partner as he began preparing a few more patties. Ensuring no one was listening was easy for their kind. 

“He is healing, and he is hungry.” Pink said in their native tongue. Maroon let out a sigh of relief. Pink chuckled as he sat aside toppings and buns for preparation as soon as the patties were finished cooking. “He has acquired hunger, and a greater want for meat.” Pink rumbled. 

“More traits of our kind.” Maroon hummed. Pink grunted in agreement as he flipped the burgers with care, ensuring they would be plump and juicy. “Anything else?” Maroon questioned. Pink paused in his assembly of a double cheeseburger with bacon to look at his partner. 

“It was only for a moment.” He said slowly, “But I am sure I sensed shock from him.” Maroon’s form rippled in surprise. To sense even one emotion from Black was more than they could do even for a hybrid like Purple. Maroon collected himself, taking a calming breath before responding. 

“We will have to bring this to the admins. I will wait until we have more information but it is now essential.” Maroon decided. Pink nodded in agreement as he finished Black’s second meal. The pair parted ways, Maroon to gather notes and Pink to deliver his bounty to Black. One of them would have to update Gray on the situation, their link unable to deliver the finer details. Until then, Pink was adamant in his goal to get black’s face to turn that adorable shade of red again.