It was an odd thing, to be afraid when others fear you. Their kind were in constant fear. They feared the dangerous climate of their home world. They feared the visitors from the stars who ravaged their homes. They feared being alone in the vacuum of space. They feared discovery. Most of all, they feared themselves as many of their kind began to fight back in the most brutal of ways. And now, Maroon was afraid of how his mates would react to his discovery. The trio began settling into their normal meeting spot, deep in the vents. Gray had flopped over onto Pink’s side, looking expectantly at Maroon. It couldn’t be put off any longer, so in order to get things started, Maron simply blurted out his announcement. 

“Black may have discovered what I am.” Maroon announced. Gray reacted violently, slipping off of Pink’s side in surprise. His tentacles writhing in shock and barely constrained fear. Pink stared at Maroon in utter shock before gathering Gray in his arms and attempting to calm him.  

“Beloved, please explain this.” Pink said with restrained anger as he soothed the smallest of them. Maroon steeled himself as he gathered his thoughts. Before long he moved closer to his partners to pet Gray’s head soothingly. 

“When the power failed, I panicked. I thought that another of our kind had found its way onto the ship.” Maroon explained. “When I arrived, black was safe, but his eyes began to lighten in the same manner as ours do in the dark.” Gray tensed in Pink’s arms, prompting Maroon to reach over and stroke his head. “Peace beloved, I am uncertain how much he saw, but he did not flinch.” Maroon soothed, leaning forward to nuzzle his smaller mate’s cheek. Pink moved to hold both of them close. They stayed that way for a while, the thrum of the distant engines helping to soothe them all. 

“How should we proceed?” Pink questioned. Maroon trilled as he thought, counting the rivets above them as he tried to think. The admins knew of their presence, and that had resulted in hours of scolding from Pink and several more hours calming Gray down. Yet during that dismal showing, they had all three clearly heard Black’s voice in their heads. As if he had begun to tune into their language. It was remarkable and a little frightening to think that they had done that to him. Finally, Gray spoke up from the cocoon of Pink's arms. 

“Black is by nature very social.” The smallest of them said, “He will have found those he trusts, and gone to them for help.” Maroon grinned, nuzzling Gray’s head in elation. 

“Well done, beloved.” Maroon trilled. The trio allowed themselves a moment of respite before laying out their plans. It would do them no good to continue as they had. They would need to confront Black with their feelings. Lay them bare. Yet to do that, they would need to find out how much he knew, and if need be reveal themselves to him. 

“We will need to proceed with great care. And I propose we become more overt with our courting methods.” Pink declared “We must be bold.” He said. Maroon and Gray both hummed in agreement. Over the next several days they began their plans. The three decided to become more overt with acts of service. As they did this, they would be more observant of Black’s behaviors and friends. Pink began dipping into his personal ration stores, ensuring that Black got plenty of food to feed his new appetite. For maroon’s part, he began trying to sit and talk with Black more. This led to several awkward silences and fumbled attempts at human flirting. 

Black was simply too kind to see it as anything but politeness, though it seemed the other crewmates were finding Maroon’s increased interests highly amusing. He wasn’t certain where Tan had gotten the popcorn, but it somehow made an appearance every time he began his more overt courting. Gray insisted on aiding Black in maneuvering around the ship in his mobility aids. Having much more confidence in his humanoid form, he was far more overt in his flirtation. Outright exclaiming how cute Black looked on the regular. Despite his efforts, Black remained distracted. 

The trio became convinced that Black was aware of the changes in himself. Their suspicions deepened as they began to notice the looks given to them by Rose and Blue. One of the two was almost always nearby when they weren’t busy with their duties. After three days of observations and flirtations, they made a collective decision. 

“This isn’t working…” Maroon grumbled as the trio met again in their secret place. “We need to speak with his friends. Ask them what is happening from their perspective.” He concluded. Pink and Gray hummed in agreement. They quickly made their way up onto the main decks, taking on their humanoid forms as they did. Maroon split from pink and Gray to pursue his quarry. He arrived at the weapons terminal to see Rose performing maintenance on her blaster. She looked up at his approach, though her expression was hidden by her visor. 

“Yo, boss, what’s up?” She asked, a nearly imperceptible tremor in her voice. Maroon knew he’d hit gold at that moment. 

“Rose, it has come to my attention that Black is healing well.” Maroon began “However, he seems preoccupied by something.” Rose tensed for a moment before resuming her maintenance. Only humming in interest at Maroon’s words. “Would you happen to know what is bothering him?” Maroon asked. Rose tilted her head to look at him, and simply shrugged. 

“Why not ask him yourself?” She responded. Maroon startled a bit, feeling warmth climb to his surface. Rose snorted in amusement, seemingly able to feel Maroon’s nervous energy. “Waow boss, didn’t know you were so sappy.” She laughed. Maroon hoped that his posture would convey the flat look he wished he could give her. Rose merely laughed once more before setting her weapon aside. “Look, I do know what’s buggin’ him, but it isn’t my story to tell. How about you try actually talking to him instead of complimenting his eating habits?” Rose suggested with mischief in her voice. Maroon could only give a stilted nod in return as he about-faced and exited the room. Rose’s booming laughter following him.