Opposites Attract

White stood just outside of the bathroom with Black, Red, Blue, and Green, waiting for the others to finish changing into their night clothes, as she did every night. Pink had opted to change in the sleeping quarters, because there were only three showers on the Skeld, which the crew used as a change room, and it went faster when four people were changing at once.  

Orange stepped out, wearing a plaid nightshirt and pants, and holding his space suit. White walked in, her own clothes piled in her arms, and took the open shower, pulling the curtains closed behind her. She changed out of her space suit, and into her soft white tank top and black shorts. White folded her space suit in her hands, balancing her helmet on top, and drew the curtains, walking out at the same time as Lime, who wore a pair of gray boxers, and a simple, navy blue T-shirt.

White left the bathroom, and Black walked in once she noticed her leaving, Red going in as well after Lime walked out. White walked down the hall more carefully than normal, as at nightime, the Skeld used less power, so only lights that lined the floor lit up the hallway. White knocked on the wall next to the door to the sleeping quarters, as to not activate the automatic doors. 

The doors opened, and Pink stuck her head out. She was wearing a long nightgown that was a washed-out pink color, and it had flowy long sleeves. It also had a lace trim that when put together, looked like something White’s grandmother would wear.

“Hi White! I’m finished changing, so you can come in now.” White ruffled her hair, and walked through the open doors, standing next to Pink.

“Pink, I was wondering, why do we even have these ‘sleepovers’ anyway? They don’t happen very often, and this is very out of the blue.” Pink stared at the wall as White sat down on her bed. 

Most of their blankets were folded up at the end of their beds in preparation, and pillows were strewn about, nearby where they had been pulled out of duffel bags and backpacks.

“Well, it probably has something to do with getting our minds off of the fact that there’s an imposter killing people, and that it will continue to kill people.” White looked at the floor, trying not to give too much away with her expression.

Black had told her recently that shapeshifter was the proper term, and she always felt awful when she, or someone else, used the word ‘imposter’, because she saw how uncomfortable Black became when it was used.

“Oh yeah.” Pink made a noise, and shifted her gaze from the wall to White.

“I think that it has to be a stowaway of some sort, you all are so… human, that I can’t imagine any of you being a monster.” White fidgeted with her hands, feeling conflicted.

Should I tell her? She squeezed her lips together. No, I can’t, it’s not safe to just go around telling people, And based on this, she wouldn’t react too kindly. White shot Pink a forced smile.

“Me too.” She said, still smiling, just before Orange barged into the sleeping quarters, making Pink jump. 

He was holding a large, faded blue beanbag in front of him, and he looked around it, grinning at them with shining eyes.

“Look at what I found in Storage!” He exclaimed enthusiastically

“How did you get that up the ladder?” Pink asked, looking at him with a confused look, a hint of amusement showing underneath. 

Orange’s eyes flashed away from Pink’s gaze for a moment, and he looked back at her with an almost guilty expression.

“With a lot of effort, and maybe a concussion.” White stood up, and made an exasperated, palm-up hand gesture.

“Did you seriously bring it up just to show us? We’re having the sleepover in the Cafeteria!” Orange blinked rapidly.

“I guess so. Anyways, I’m going to go find more pillows!” White sighed, and Orange rushed back out of the sleeping quarters happily.

White heard a thump, and a muffled voice, still recognisable as Orange’s, yell, “Ouch!” 

White gave Pink a look, and she covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. The doors opened, revealing Cyan standing in the doorway. They were looking behind them and into the hall with a bewildered expression. They wore a cropped nightshirt with matching pants.

“Um, why did Orange just throw a beanbag down the ladder, and then jump down onto it?” White spotted Lime sitting in the hall with his legs crossed, he was peering around Cyan with a similar puzzled look as them. 

“It’s Orange. What did you expect?” Pink said, hugging her black, velvety pillow, and Cyan walked in, pulling themself up into their bunk.

“I don’t know, but I did expect him to do something stupid.” Cyan leaned over the side of their bed, hanging upside down.

Black strode into the room, waving at Lime as she entered. She was wearing a flattering black tank top, and shorts that hugged her figure, the dark color complimenting her amber eyes. White felt her face heat up, and she looked away, angry at herself. Why do I always react like this? I see her in these clothes every night! It’s nothing different.

Blue and Purple walked in, followed shortly by Red. Purple and Red wore pretty much the same outfit, a button-up nightshirt, and long pants, both of their respective colors. They both also kept their oxygen tanks and helmets close to them at all times whenever they were out of their space suits.. 

It was fairly easy to tell that the two were siblings just by how they acted, even without seeing their faces, which looked almost exactly the same. They were fraternal twins, but they might have just as well been identical, as they had the exact same face shape, eye color, hair color, and body type.

White looked over at Blue, who had sat down in his bed, which was underneath Cyan’s. He wore a gray shirt that was a little too small on him, and dark blue silky pants. Both Blue and Black had walked onto the Skeld with no personal belongings, so they had borrowed clothing from the others, including White, as the shorts that Black was wearing had been one of her spares.

Green was the last one to get there, walking in while tugging his sleeves over his hands. He was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and loose pajama pants. Purple clapped her hands, and Cyan almost fell out of their bed.

“Okay! Now that everyone’s here, we can all bring our stuff down to the Cafeteria, and please don’t jump down the ladder, I don’t think I need to explain why.” Cyan jumped down from the bed, pulling their blanket and pillow down with them.

Blue leaned back to avoid getting kicked in the face, and Cyan didn’t seem to notice. 

“Ahem.” Blue said, and Cyan turned to him.

“Huh?” Blue facepalmed.

“Did you seriously not realize that you almost kicked me?!” Cyan shrugged in response.

“Nope, but I didn’t kick you.” Blue sighed, and piled up his pillows into a small stack. 

White stood up, and gathered her blankets and pillows in her arms, watching out of the corner of her eye as everyone else did the same. White slowly left the room, trying to look around the items in her hands, and stopped at the ladder, placing everything down. She slid down the ladder, and saw Lime’s head appear above her.

“You can toss your things down to me!” She called, “And could you grab my stuff too?” Lime nodded, and dropped his pillows down, which White caught deftly.

Lime then threw his blanket around his neck, threw White’s pillows and blankets down, and climbed down the ladder.

“Thanks Lime.” White said, passing the pillows to him.

“You’re welcome!” He walked up the top most doors, and Orange popped his head out from behind a stack of crates.

“Hey White! I think I got enough pillows, so I’m going to join Lime! Are you coming with?” White walked over to him, and noticed just how much Orange had found.

He had two beanbags, three reading pillows, a memory foam pillow, and two longer pillows.

“I am. Do you need help?” Orange looked down at the pile of pillows in front of him.

“Probably.” White picked up the reading pillows, stacking her own blankets and pillows carefully on top, and started walking up to the Cafeteria.

Orange grabbed most of the rest, excluding the beanbags, and he joined White, walking next to her. The doors hissed open, and White looked around. The majority of the tables had been pushed up against the walls, not including the table at the center of the room, which had the emergency meeting button on top.

Orange dropped the pillows on the ground in a heap, and White placed hers down as well, smiling to herself as Orange ran back out of the room giddily. Lime was in the kitchen, and was busying himself with making snacks. White waved at Lime, smiling.

“Hi Lime! What are you making?” Lime looked up from the bowl he was mixing something in, and at White.

“I’m making cupcakes and I’m going to be making lemon squares later!” He said, gesturing to the bowl.

“That sounds great! By the way, do you want Cyan to turn the lights in the kitchen on?” A while ago, Cyan had figured out how to override whatever timer they used for the lights turning on and off, and without too much effort, could turn the overhead lights on in every room.

“Yes!” Lime said, snapping his fingers, and pointing at White. “It’s pretty difficult to cook in the dark.” White nodded, and left the room, bumping into Orange as he ran at full speed down the hall.

“Orange! You know we can’t run in the halls!” Orange shrugged, and ran past her anyways.

“Eh, whatever.” White rolled her eyes, and continued down the hall.

She got to the ladder, and climbed up, pulling herself to her feet at the top. White walked down the hallway, and into the sleeping quarters, stopping dead when she saw what was going on inside.

Feathers flew in the air, and Pink was throwing pillows at the others with scary accuracy. Cyan was helping her, and thwacked anyone who got close to taking their pillows away. Purple and Red were trying to stop them, and Green was laughing his ass off on the floor, watching the chaos. Black spotted White from across the room, and ran over like nothing was wrong, stepping quickly out of the way as a stray pillow flew past her.

“Oh, hi White!” She said cheerfully, “One second.” Black turned to catch a pillow that was thrown at her, winding up before throwing it full force at Pink, causing her to tumble into Cyan with a yelp.

“How did this happen?!” White said, laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

“I have no idea!” Black said, grinning, and White put a hand in front of her mouth, biting back most of her laughter.

“PINK! GOD DAMN IT!” Purple shouted at the top of her lungs, and White looked over to see that Pink had raised Cyan onto her shoulders, and they were running around wildly. Cyan hitt Blue with a pillow, who had climbed into Red’s bunk in an attempt to hide.

“Maybe we should stop them?” Black put her hands on her hips.

“Nah, they’re having fun, and Purple will eventually calm them down. We also have a medic with us, who is very passionate about his job, so any injuries will be treated immediately.” White took Black’s hand, and tugged her out into the hall.

“What is it, darling?” Black said, her demeanor changing on a dime into a more gentle, loving one, contrasting her previous, more hyper voice. 

White glanced up at Black, who looking down at her with a confused expression

“We’re leaving, at least for now.” White replied, “I was going to get Cyan to help Lime, but that seems next to impossible right now.” White sat down on the floor, trying to hide the shiver she got upon her exposed skin touching the cold ground. 

She patted the space next to her, but instead Black dropped to her knees, sitting right over top of White’s lower stomach. Black leaned closer to her, and White felt her body heat warming her body, which she was grateful for, since the floors always seemed to be ice cold.  

“Wha- Black! This is-” White stammered, and Black pulled White’s face closer to hers.

“What?” She said teasingly, “They’re too preoccupied right now, my dear.” White laid her legs out straight underneath Black, not caring that Black could see her flushed face.

Black kissed White softly on the cheek, and she could feel the vibration in her chest as she purred gently. Black licked a stripe up White’s neck, making her shiver, and pulled her into a kiss. Black’s tongue unexpectedly tried to push into White’s mouth, making her flinch back in surprise. 

Black drew back, which made White feel like drawing her close again, and hugging her. Black was always so careful, always making sure that she was okay with something before continuing, and that made White feel comfortable and safe with her around.

Black inspected her face, looking like she was trying to see if she looked uncomfortable with what she was doing. 

She gave Black a slight nod, and wordlessly pulled Black close again, tilting her head as she kissed her, letting her eyes flutter shut. White laced her fingers together around the back of Black’s neck to keep her upright, and Black tried again, prodding her tongue gently between White’s lips, pausing to make sure that White was fine with it before prying her lips apart, and pushing her tongue into White’s mouth.

It was longer than a normal, human, tongue, as well as being much thicker, filling her mouth. Black’s tongue pushed down her throat a small amount, and White accidently sucked on it in a reflexive attempt to breathe. It had a sweet taste, reminding her somewhat of honey, or maybe sugar. Black whimpered, or at least what registered as a whimper in White’s brain, but much more inhuman, and going so high that it barely stayed within the range of her hearing. 

White tensed in surprise, holding her breath without realizing it. Black was the one who elicited those noises out of her, not the other way around. White sucked on Black’s tongue again, gaining the same noise of pleasure from her, and White opened her eyes, catching the brilliant red flush of Black’s cheeks before she shut them again. The thought of this terrifying alien that could decide to kill her at any moment, being reduced to whimpering just because of White was tantalizing.

White felt a warmness in her crotch, and she clenched her hand into a fist. No. She told herself sternly, shaking her uncomfortably horny thoughts away. This place is too open, fucking Black is out of the question. Black cupped her hand around one of White’s breasts, making her eyes open and flash down quickly before her gaze raised to Black’s. There was a look in her eyes that was a mixture of lust and something else that she couldn’t quite place. White’s attention shifted to Black’s hand against her, Black’s hand felt hotter than a human’s, and her warmth went throughout her body, relaxing her even more than she already was. 

Black caressed White’s breast, using a gentle, but still rough touch. Black used her other hand to support her back, and White unlaced her fingers to trace a line down Black’s chest with a feather-light touch. Black flinched, freezing up, and White shied her arm away, and close to her own body.

“You can continue, my dear.” Black said, somehow speaking despite her tongue in White’s mouth, words the slightest bit slurred, but it was less of a reassurance or an ‘okay’, and more of a demand.

White repeated the motion, dragging her finger down Black’s sternum and over her stomach, feeling her skin ripple under the thin fabric of her shirt as if she was trying to keep her form as human as possible, Black’s purrs got louder in response to White’s touch. She stopped just above Black’s crotch, leaving her hand on the space between it and Black’s stomach as her eyes rolled back while Black explored her mouth with her tongue. 

She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, and a tentacle that was shiny with moisture emerged from Black, snaking up to lick her tears away, spreading a wet warmth across her face. White made a noise of protest, muffled by the tongue in her mouth, and Black pulled the tentacle away with a teasing chuckle that White could feel throughout her entire body. 

White watched out of the corner of her eye as the tentacle slid back into Black’s outfit, gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Black pulled her tongue back, taking an obscenely long time as it left her mouth, and spit dribbled down White’s chin. She took in a short breath just as Black pulled her back into the kiss. She bit into White’s lower lip, hard enough that she could taste coppery blood in her mouth, but - somehow - with a gentleness that made her swoon. It might scar… She thought, and she shuddered, aroused at the thought of Black leaving a permanent - or at least semi-permanent - mark on her body. God, I hope it scars. She was surprised at herself for having those thoughts, and she widened her eyes the slightest amount. Didn't know that was something that turned me on.

Black withdrew entirely, swiping her tongue lightly against the cut as she did, and White caught a glimpse of blood on Black’s tongue for a brief moment. The just barely painful sting, not unlike the tingling feeling of uncomfortably warm sunlight, which was a feeling White barely remembered after all this time in space, startled White out of her thoughts. 

Black sat back on White’s knees momentarily before pulling herself up into a half-crouch. White gazed at her curiously, studying Black’s face, she would have looked identical to a person, but her slightly parted lips gave it away, showing off her sharp, steak knife like teeth, her canines being longer, and more like fangs.  

“We should get back, my dear.” Black said, still close enough to White that she could feel her hot breath on her face, and she found herself peering at Black's tongue, wanting to know what had been in her mouth seconds prior.

It was as long as she had expected, ending in a fine point that could easily pierce skin, which White easily remembered that that was what it was meant for from the extensive - and at the time feeling drawn out and unnecessary - training that she had gone through to recognize others of Black's kind.

They had been shown telltale signs of an imposter attack, such as the holes in the victims visors, parts of the body nowhere to be found, and more, along with what to do if you suspect an imposter on board any ship you find yourself on. They had also been given a much quicker lesson on the alien’s biology, where vital spots were located, and how to neutralize them if it came to it. White winced internally as that memory surfaced. Poor Black. That couldn’t have been fun, having to be taught about how to kill your own species, and them being talked about like they were nothing more than wild animals.   

White pulled herself out of her thoughts, choosing to study Black’s tongue further. She noticed that the blackish tint over it was not, in fact, shadows, as she had originally suspected, and that her tongue had a dark, teal-color to it, which was strange to White, who was used to the fleshy pink tones of a human’s.  

“Darling?” Black said, eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, and White looked into Black’s eyes with a small jolt. 

“Hmm?” She hummed, blinking for a moment, and Black cupped White’s cheek.

“Dear, I said something, and you spaced out.” Black said, sounding mildly amused, “What were you even thinking about?” White blushed, feeling flustered.

She bit her top lip, avoiding the cut, she did not want to talk about that, and she racked her brain for what Black had said. She doesn’t need to know I was pitying her, and it doesn’t matter anyways. Once she remembered what Black had said before, she decided against answering Black’s question, hoping that she just wouldn’t push her on it. 

“Oh, right, w-we should get back.” Black rolled her eyes affectionately, letting her hand fall, and White found herself craving Black’s gentle, comforting touch again, the place that she had touched leaving a lingering warmness.

She stood up, and bent over White, who was starting to sit up straight, but Black reached under her, lifting her into her arms easily. White made a surprised noise, and clung to Black’s shoulders. She walked fluidly down the hall, steps light despite that she was holding White in her arms, and into the sleeping quarters, the doors sliding open to let her in. 

White looked around, nothing had changed, except for the fact that Red was struggling to take Cyan’s pillow away from them as Purple chased Pink, who was laughing loudly, around the small space. White tapped on Black’s shoulder, and she turned to look down at her, looking more or less okay with what was playing out in front of her.

“Yes darling?” She asked, tilting her head at White.

“Put me down for a second.” She replied, a plan forming in her head, and Black gave her a suspicious look.

“Okay…” She said slowly, lowering White onto her feet. 

Cyan gave a final tug to the pillow still tight in Red’s grasp, and pulled it free with a yell of triumph. They sprinted over to Purple, hitting her with a pillow.

“REVENGE!” They yelled out, and White saw Pink flinch away from the noise reflexively.

Cyan threw their hands in the air while Purple crossed her arms with an irritated expression. White turned back to Black, and walked around her, hopping up onto her back to her surprise.

“What-” She started, before her tone switched to match the mischievous look growing on her face. “I see where this is going.” She bent down to pink up a pillow, passing it up to White.

Black hoisted White onto her shoulders, holding onto her ankles with a firm, but light, grip, and White held onto Black’s shoulders. Black ran smoothly into the room, and towards Pink and Cyan. Red glanced at them, double taking as he realized what was going on.

“We have come to defuse the situation!” White shouted, hitting Cyan square in the face with the pillow she held.

“No, not you guys too!” Red groaned in defeat as Purple rubbed her temples, and Cyan turned to Black and White with a surprised look on their face while Pink turned as well.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Called Green, and Purple whipped around to glare at him, her arm hovering in place for a moment before she dropped it to make an exasperated hand gesture.

“Don’t encourage them!” She said irritably, but Green disregarded her, and started cheering instead.

White let go of Black’s shoulders, and Cyan did the same, raising their pillow in a sort of challenge. They all laughed as they hit each other with pillows over and over, attempting to knock the other off balance. Black moved around quickly, and White leaned down into her so that she didn’t fall. Pink’s movements were slower, as she had a petite figure, standing close to the same height as Cyan.

Pink stumbled over a blanket, and White used the opening to hit Cyan off of her with the pillow. They fell on the ground, head landing on a pillow, and they continued to laugh while they stood up.

“Do you forfeit?” White said, looking down her nose dramatically at Pink and Cyan.

White reached down her hands, and both Cyan and Pink took it, grinning similar, wide smiles.

“That was fun!” They said simultaneously, and White tried her best to bite back a laugh. 

Purple cleared her throat, and everyone in the room looked over at her.

“If you guys are done, we should clean up and get to the Cafeteria.” White looked down at Black, and back at Purple.

“Oh, okay.” She said, tone becoming monotone.

Black slid White off of her shoulders, carefully lowering her to the ground, and Pink groaned, but started to pick up the pillows anyways.

White grabbed a couple of blankets, and walked up to lean against Black’s side, just after she picked up a small stack of pillows. Orange appeared in the doorway, the noise of the doors making White turn her head. Orange looked around the room, glancing at Green, who was still laughing a bit.

“Wow. What did I miss?” Pink shrugged, throwing a blanket at him.

“A pillow fight.” Orange made a huffing noise, and caught the blanket, reaching out to catch another that was tossed over to him.

“Oh, come on! And you guys didn’t tell me!?” Orange put a hand to his head dramatically. “I am offended.” Black nudged White, and she stood up straight with a ‘hmm’ noise. 

“Let’s go.” White gave her a thumbs-up, and grabbed Cyan’s arm with her free hand, bringing them with. White let go of Cyan’s arm as they left, and they got a better grip on the things they were carrying.

“Why am I coming with you guys?” They asked, glancing at White and Black.

“Lime needs your help with the kitchen lights, I figured you might want to help him out.” White said, noticing the way that Cyan smiled after she mentioned Lime’s name.

“I’d be more than happy to!” They replied, and White handed the things she was holding to Black.

White climbed down the ladder, and held her arms out.

“You can pass the pillows and blankets down to me!” She called, and Black nodded, reaching out to drop her stack down.

Cyan climbed down the ladder, taking some of the pillows from White with a nod. 

“Thanks.” They walked off, and Black dropped down next to White, taking the stack of pillows before kissing her on the head.

“Thank you darling.” White blushed, and walked with Black to the Cafeteria, feeling slightly flustered.

The doors to the Cafeteria opened, and Cyan was focused on a panel on the wall, fiddling with something that White couldn’t see. Orange was setting up the blankets and pillows in the middle of the room, and had somehow found some board games, which were sitting on the center table. Lime was still cooking, and when White and Black entered, he was placing something in the oven.

Orange spotted them both, and smiled in their direction.

“Hey guys! I have chosen to forgive you for not including me in the pillow fight.” White rolled her eyes, and Lime glanced over with a confused expression.

“Wait, there was a pillow fight?” Orange put a hand on his hip.

“Yep! I’m pretty sure White and Black won, which makes sense, considering how fucking strong Black is!” He laughed, and Black looked a bit embarrassed.

“I’m not that strong, I just…” Black trailed off, and Orange looked her up and down, smirking.

“Nah, you’re strong as hell, and also very tall. You are the definition of a butch lesbian.” Black looked taken aback, and White stepped forwards, making the most mock-serious expression she could manage.

“Pretty accurate claim, also add ‘top’ to that statement.” White said stoically, nodding, and Orange pointed at her.

“So she is a lesbian! I knew it!” He said, putting his hands on his hips, and Black gave him a confused look.

“Wait, you knew? How?” Orange grinned.

“How could I not? I have felt the romantic tension between you and White!” Orange narrowed his eyes. “By the way, why aren’t you dating yet? I unironically ship you two.” Cyan suddenly broke down into a coughing fit, and Orange looked over with a concerned expression, they responded with a thumbs up while quickly turning back to what they were doing.

“Wha- Don’t ship real people! That’s- I-” Black spluttered, looking conflicted, and seeming like she had tuned out what had just happened with Cyan.

White cocked her head slightly. But we are dating, does he not- She felt like slapping herself as she remembered - she hadn’t told anyone that Black and her were dating, and honestly, she wasn’t planning on it. They could find out on their own, like Cyan had.

“I’m not even going to say anything.” Cyan stated, and they refitted the panel cover over the wall. 

A light turned on, and White squinted in the sudden brightness. The overhead light in the kitchen had turned on, and Lime turned his head in Cyan’s direction, beaming at them.

“Thanks, I don’t know what this crew would do without you Cyan.” Lime said affectionately, glancing nervously at the floor.

“You should kiss-” Orange started, and Black was quick to clamp a hand over his mouth, muffling his words, but it was slightly too late. 

Both Lime and Cyan blushed in embarrassment, and Cyan fidgeted with their fingers. 

“Mhmph!” Orange mumbled in a protesting tone, trying to pry Black’s hand off ineffectively, and she let go hesitantly, keeping her hand raised in case he said anything else embarrassing.

“I’m going to throw you out the airlock one of these days.” Black said, staring Orange down, and he held eye contact with her, looking up at her.

“You can’t get rid of me, I’m the drama,” He retorted, putting a hand dramatically to his chest. “that’s like getting rid of the only character that makes a show interesting.” Black rolled her eyes at him in response.

The doors opened, making a sound that was almost imperceptible, but Black caught it and looked over. Okay, so that’s another one of the things different about shapeshifters, She thought, they have much better hearing than humans. The memory of Cyan catching them in Navigation flashed through her mind, Black had noticed that they were coming well before her.  

Pink, Red, Purple, and Blue were in the doorway, Blue being the furthest behind, and both Red and Purple keeping a close eye on Pink, like they were afraid that she was going to try something. Green walked in behind all of them, waiting a second before entering the room.

“Everyone’s here, right?” Purple said, and Red did a quick scan of the room, before nodding.

“So we can start now!” Orange grinned, and plopped down on one of the beanbags.

“Great! I grabbed some board games, and we could also just chat.” Pink walked up to the area that Orange had set up, taking a flashlight out of her pocket, and placing it on the ground, dimly lighting up the space.

“Yay! No one talk with Orange, he’s just going to list embarrassing facts about you that he really shouldn’t know!” Orange crossed his arms with a scoff.

“You’re no fun.” Pink smiled, and continued as if she didn’t hear Orange.

“Who wants to play Clue with me?” Orange’s hand shot up, and Blue, Cyan, and Purple raised their hands up as well.

They all joined Pink, and she grabbed the board game off of the table, sitting down in a criss-cross on top of the blankets spread out underneath her. White walked over with Black, to the area, being careful not to trip over anything in the dark, and Black sat down in the other beanbag. White looked around for another seat, and when she couldn’t find one, she started to sit on the floor, as there was a reading pillow nearby that she could pull over, but Black stopped her by holding her arm.

“You don’t have to sit on the floor, you can sit with me on the beanbag.” White blushed, there wasn’t enough room on the beanbag for two people, so Black was proposing for her to sit in her lap.

“Oh, um- okay.” White stammered, trying to hide her face by looking at the floor.

Black gazed at her for a moment, before taking her hand in hers, fingers intertwining as she did, and she tugged her gently towards her, sitting her down sideways in her lap. White curled her knees up into her body, resting her legs on the small area of free space on the beanbag, and she leaned into Black’s chest, the soft fabric of her tank top pressing against White’s cheek. 

She watched as Purple grabbed three pillows, and handed two of them to Cyan and Blue. She then sat down on her own, and Cyan and Blue did the same thing while Pink set up the Clue board. 

- - - -

Black inhaled the White’s scent, which was sweet with endearment, a welcome contrast to the buried sour fear of almost everyone in the room, Blue being the one exception other than herself, even Purple had that smell, which was saying something, as she usually reacted the calmest in stressful scenarios. Black inferred that the fear was from the recent deaths, but on the surface, everyone was doing a pretty great job at hiding it. Black thought of this as a good thing since she wanted to stifle that fear and paranoia as fast as possible, not wanting anyone to get thrown out of the airlock. Including myself. She added to her own thoughts, a small shiver going up her spine. 

Black could survive the vacuum of space, it was something her species had adapted over time, but she really didn’t want to have to go through again, floating through space in complete silence whilst wondering if this would be where you were for the rest of your life was not an experience that Black had enjoyed. 

She brought her mind away from that, not wanting to think about that any longer. Humans can barely last a couple of minutes in space without a spacesuit. Black thought, suddenly feeling sorry for all the humans wrongly accused of being an alien and thrown in the cold expanse of space. She stared at the ceiling pensively, she had felt this way about humans before, but she knew a great deal of them who honestly deserved that fate, although with their oxygen tanks and spacesuits they had probably survived and gotten picked up by another ship.

Her eyes narrowed, and she let out a sharp breath. Now that I’m thinking about it, She mused, the whole ‘throwing people out the airlock’ thing isn’t that effective. MIRA must know that my kind can survive in space, right? And we could just pretend to be an airlocked crewmate and be completely fine, they’re just sending innocent humans to their death.   

Black noticed that White’s heart was beating faster than normal, and her body temperature had spiked. She stole a worried glance at her, and she pushed her previous thoughts to the side, secretly glad to have a distraction. Realization dawned on Black, and she blushed, Oh. She thought, looking at the ground, and focusing on a spot on the blankets below her. Is this another one of those things that are intimate for humans? 

Huddling close with others of her species was completely normal to Black, she had grown up in the extreme climate of Polus, where staying close for warmth was a necessity to prevent the youngest and weakest from freezing to death, but Black guessed that it was also a thing that human couples did to show affection.  

White seemed fine with it, and Black liked having her close, so she let it be, shifting her gaze to whatever it is Orange, Pink, Purple, and Blue were playing. From her understanding, you were trying to find out who a murderer is, where the murder took place, and what they did it with, but it was hard to tell, as they kept getting sidetracked.

“You what!?” Purple said, dumbfounded, and Pink dissolved into helpless giggles.

“I used to suck on disinfectant wipes.” Orange repeated in a tone that made Black think that he was proud of this feat.

“How are you not dead!?” Purple responded staring blankly at the floor, and Blue was staring at Orange, speechless.

“Orange! Are you being serious!?” Pink said between her laughter, and Orange nodded.

“I am. They smelt like lemon, so seven year old me thought, then they must taste like lemon.” Purple gave Orange a shocked and confused look.

“Did you at least only do it once?!” Orange shook his head, and did finger guns at Purple.

“Nope! I lost count of how many times I just put one in my mouth! I probably shouldn’t be alive!” Green looked up from his tablet to look at Orange with a completely stoic expression on his face.

“Ohhhh, so that’s why you’re so brain dead!” He said without hesitation, and Orange slowly turned to stare at Green, looking shocked.

“No comment.” He turned back, voice becoming more cheery. “Anyways, I suspect that it was Miss. Scarlett, in the dining hall, with the candlestick.” Black had almost forgotten that Orange was actually playing, and was slightly confused when Orange made his suspicion.

Cyan picked their cards up, and overly dramatically looked around. “Close your eyes, I have top secret information to share.” Pink propped her head up on her hand as the others closed their eyes, and Cyan gave her a look. “Ahem.” Pink blinked at them.

“I’m not going to bother, because I already know which card you’re showing.” Cyan looked Pink up and down suspiciously.

“Really? Then tell me what card it is.” Pink leaned over, and muttered something to Cyan, who looked at their card, and over at Pink, mouth agape.

“What? I already know you have the other two cards, so that must be the one you have.” She said while crossing something off on her list with a pen.

“Yeah, but no one actually keeps track!” Pink shrugged.

“I just remember a lot of things, I guess.” Orange waved, catching Pink and Cyan’s attention.

“Hello? I don’t know which card it is!” Cyan looked over.

“Oh, yeah.” They showed him the card, and Orange scribbled something down on his list. “You guys can look up now.” Purple and Blue raised their heads, and Purple rolled her eyes, her posture more relaxed than usual.

“Finally.” White laughed quietly, and Black smiled softly down at her, seeing White like that made her happy.

Lime walked out from the kitchen, holding two tins of cupcakes. They were all sorts of colors, some had blue icing and brown bases, others had red icing and white bses, and some of the other ones that Black could spot had multicolor icing, and multicolored bases.

“Cupcakes!” Orange said with a gasp, and he stood up, followed quickly by Pink.

“Thank you!” Pink exclaimed, running up to Lime, and Orange stood behind her.

“Everyone can have two, since I made twenty cupcakes.” Blue got up from his seat, and walked up to Orange.

“Oooh…” White muttered, and Black chuckled, scooping her into her arms while standing up.

She yelped, but let Black carry her over to the small group forming around Lime while leaning into her chest. She set White down onto her feet next to her. At this proximity to Orange, Black could clearly smell Blue all over him, she cocked an eyebrow at Blue from behind his back, but didn’t say anything. Orange smelling like Blue was a sign that Blue had claimed him, which she still couldn’t get over. She really had to talk to Blue about it. 

Why did Blue claim a human? She thought, biting her cheek, which was a thing that Black should probably stop doing, as she could feel a patch of raw skin where she usually bit. I mean, I claimed White, but… Black stiffened with a sudden realization. Shit, Blue knows. If I can smell Blue on Orange, then Blue can smell me on White. How could I have forgotten?! She took a deep breath, gnawing on the inside of her cheek for a minute. Then let him know. If he’s claimed a human, then he won’t mind if I have, hopefully. 

Pink brushed past Black, holding two cupcakes in front of her that were covered in icing that almost perfectly matched the color of her suit, and Black forced herself to switch her expression to a more neutral one. She watched Pink go from standing to a cross-legged sit while still holding both cupcakes, Orange also seemed to be watching, as he gave Pink an impressed look. 

Orange stepped forwards, and took two cupcakes at random from the tray, nodding a thank you before going back to sit in the beanbag to chat with Pink. Green took a pink and a light blue cupcake, and he smiled at Lime before walking back to where he was sitting, and he picked up his tablet to continue reading. Blue walked forwards next, and he took two brown frosted cupcakes with white sprinkles, silently striding over to Orange, and sitting down, he rested his head against Orange’s bean bag. Purple pat Lime on the shoulder, and started to take four cupcakes out of the tin.

“Thanks Lime.” She said with a small smile, and she walked over to Red, passing him two of the four she had taken.

Cyan gave Lime a quick hug, causing him to blush, and they grabbed their cupcakes. Black turned her head to watch them as they sat down in the small pile of pillows and blankets that they had made, it vaguely reminded Black of the nests her species would make. 

Black turned her head back around, White was now standing in front of Lime, and she happily grabbed her cupcakes, which had white icing, seemingly to match her color, and she handed them to Black, who tilted her head. Aren’t these hers? She wondered, just as White took two more cupcakes from the tin and turned back to Black, smiling.

“Thank you Lime!” White said over her shoulder, and plucked the cupcakes Black was holding out of her hands.

Black gave her a curious look, and followed as she went back to the beanbag, pulling it forwards to be closer to the others. Black took White’s hand, and sat her down in the beanbag. She looked up at her with what looked like a disappointed expression.

“Aren’t you going to be sitting down as well?” She asked, taking a bite out of one of her cupcakes.

“I will, I just have to talk to Blue.” Black replied, this was the perfect time to do it, everyone else was in one spot, so no one could listen in to what they were talking about. 

“Oh, okay, just don’t be too long.” White said with a nod, and Black kissed her on the forehead. 

She placed her cupcakes on the ground next to the beanbag, and she went up to confront Blue. She stood just behind him, and he turned to her, cocking his head to the side. Black made a gesture, pointing to the closet door, and he nodded, completely understanding what she was asking despite that she hadn’t said anything. He stood up, staring at Black.

“Where are you going?” Orange asked, confused, and Blue looked down at him. 

“Black needs to ask me something - in private - I’ll be right back.” Orange shrugged, turning back to Pink.

“Okay.” He replied, and Blue turned back to Black, following her out of Cafeteria.

Black led Blue into Medbay, walking in far enough that the doors shut behind them, and she stood at the back of the room.

“What did you need to talk about, Black?” He said, staying a distance away from Black.

“I’ve been meaning to ask this for a little while.” She replied, “I’d like to know why you have your scent on Orange?” Blue narrowed his eyes at Black.

“Why do you have your scent on White?” He retorted, and Black widened her stance, crossing her arms.

“Don’t dodge my question.” She insisted, hoping that Blue wouldn’t notice that she was dodging his question.

“I’ve claimed Orange, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t harm him.” He hissed, and Black glared at him.

Black was a bit fed up now, she had just wanted to have a civil conversation with Blue, and he reacted like this. Somehow she had somehow expected it, as he could be quite impulsive sometimes. 

Long, tentacle-like appendages came out from behind Blue a couple moments later, and his chest split open into a teeth-filled maw. This was a common thing that Black’s species did during arguments, showing off your strength, as it was showing how you could be a threat if you wanted to. She clenched her fists, mimicking what Blue had done. Although she was shorter than Blue, both in and out of her human disguise, she had more mass than him, and was quite clearly the stronger one.

“I really don’t care that you have a human partner, Blue, but I am the leader here, and I don’t take too kindly to threats.” She spat, and Blue shrank back, drawing his appendages close to him in a sign of defeat.

He narrowed her eyes slightly at her. “I would still like to know why you have claimed White.” He stated, and Black closed her maw, pulling her tentacles halfway into her body, she was somewhat stunned at the sudden question.

“It- She- ” Black stammered, she wasn’t used to talking about how she felt. “Probably for the same reason you made Orange your mate, if I’m understanding properly.” Blue shifted a bit.

Both Blue and Black were quite awkward when it came to this subject apparently, which made some sense to Black, her kind wasn’t really the sappy type, not usually talking about emotions like this in general. Black groaned, and walked towards one of the beds.   

“We both have practically forbiddenromances, just great.” She sat down on the bed, covering her face with her hands.

[“I have a feeling that if I was placed on a ship with any other shapeshifter, they wouldn’t be too happy.”] Blue said, switching to their language, which was mostly a mixture of clicks and keens that sometimes went too high or too low to stay in a human’s hearing range. 

Black tsked, a lot of shapeshifters hated humans, to the point where they would be repulsed by even the thought of a human liking them, let alone being in a relationship with any. A shiver went up her spine as she had a flashback of a scenario that stuck with Black for a long time.

Black had been walking throughout the halls of the ship, she still felt a bit strange in her human disguise, she wasn’t used to it after all, at the time, this was her first time on a ship. She had heard a thump coming from the room she shared with the other shapeshifter, since this ship was more than big enough to allow more private rooms.

She then walked up to the door curiously, wondering what was happening, when she heard a low, guttural growl from inside. She had jolted back, and became even more curious, but now more cautious, that noise wasn’t a friendly one, and she assumed it had come from her roommate. 

Black quickly decided to use the vents to check it out, as it was more inconspicuous. She had looked around to make sure that she was alone, and then opened the nearby vent, her form became fluid as she slipped inside. She had closed the vent behind her with a tentacle, and she slid through the vent, smoothly crawling through at a fast pace. 

Black got to her room’s vent, and she peered out of the slits with her many eyes. Inside, she saw the other shapeshifter standing above a maroon clad crewmate, the shapeshifter was in half-disguised form, a huge maw stretching down the center of his red suit, and tentacles spilled out of his visor. 

“Say that again.” Red threatened, and Maroon stepped back, tried to open the door only to realize it was locked.

“P-Please don’t kill me!” Maroon cried, trembling as she desperately tried to pry the door open.

“We are superior to your kind in every way. You don’t disrespect us with those words.” Red said, voice becoming distorted, and he pounced on Maroon, shoving her violently to the ground.

“I just said that I liked you!” She yelled, attempting to wiggle out of Red’s grasp.

“That’s where you went wrong.” Red responded in a sickly sweet tone laced with venom. “My species wouldn't even think about having a fucking human as a mate.” Maroon started crying as she realized that she was completely restrained with no way to escape.

Red tore a chunk of flesh out of Maroon’s arm, and she let out an ear-piercing scream. Red growled again, and wrapped a tendril around Maroon’s throat, tightening in one fluid motion. Black watched intently at what unfolded in front of her, unable to look away. This type of hunting wasn’t uncommon, most shapeshifters detested humans, and wanted them all to die a slow and painful death.

Maroon gasped for air, letting out choked sobs, when Red pierced through her helmet with his long tongue, not enough to break her skull, but enough to instill even more fear into her. Spidery cracks ran down it, and Red loosened her grip around Maroon’s neck, staring as she took in a sharp breath. He tightened his grip again, and grabbed her arms with two tentacles, swiftly pulling down. Maroon tried to scream again, but she didn’t have any breath left, and she writhed under Red, helplessly lying there as Red tore her limbs off.

Blood spewed everywhere, and Maroon went still, most likely in shock from the overwhelming amounts of pain. A wicked smile twisted upwards on Red’s maw, and he threw Maroon’s arms away, stabbing into her chest with multiple long tentacles that ended in a razor-thin point. 

Maroon’s head lolled to the side, and her internal organs fell out of her body, Red was now drenched in blood, along with Maroon’s corpse. Red stayed there for a long moment in complete silence, Black guessed that he was listening to make sure no one had heard.

[“I know you’re there, Black. Are you going to help me clean this up?”] Red said in their language after a minute, despite him asking it like a question, it was most definitely not, and just said like that as a courtesy.

[“Understood.”] She agreed instantly, spilling out of the vent, and taking a semi-human shape. 

Red was the leader at the time, as he was the strongest and oldest, so she had to listen when he gave orders. Red used a tentacle to draw the disembodied arms into his maw, his form becoming completely inhuman, and Black stood there, waiting for him to tell her what to do next. 

“Black? Are you okay?” Blue asked, concern in his tone, and Black flinched, turning sharply towards Blue, who was now sitting next to her.

“I’m fine.” She said in a monotone, still recovering from the sudden memory. 

“It didn’t look like you were fine, you spaced out.” Black waved it off.

“I was just thinking about something. Don’t worry about me.” She continued speaking without adding any emotion in her voice. 

It was an almost automatic response when she was feeling a lot of emotions, almost as a defence mechanism, and was also how most shapeshifters spoke when they were first learning how to speak human languages. 

“Okay.” Blue said, and the Medbay doors opened suddenly. 

Black bit her cheek. How did she not notice sooner? Her kind has exceptionally good hearing, and she didn’t even hear anyone coming. 

Maybe that flashback had done a number on her.

Blue had already drawn in his tentacles, but Black was out of it enough that she had forgotten, and Blue was positioning himself in a way that they couldn’t be seen.

“Black? Are you in here?” White’s voice rang out, and Black turned to her.

White sighed in relief, ran up to her, and sat down on the bed, Blue tensed and continued trying to hide Black’s very visible tentacles, apparently they hadn't realized that White knew what Black was. 

“Black! You were gone for a while! I got worried!” White gave Blue an odd look, he was contorted in an odd position, and White stared him up and down. “What are you doing, Blue?” Black nudged him.

“She knows, it’s okay.” Blue sat up, looking slightly embarrassed, but also kind of confused at her words.

Black scooted closer to White, and she pressed her face into White’s shoulder, taking in her scent. She felt her muscles relax, and she purred gently, she was still on edge from the memory, the lingering smell of blood still fresh in her mind, as well as the screams that triggered something primal inside of Black.

“Is something wrong?” White asked affectionately, embracing Black in a hug.

“Nuttin’ Just…” Black said, voice muffled, and Blue sighed.

“There is something wrong, but Black won’t tell me, and I’m not going to push her, but I will make it clear that I know something is up.” Black rolled her eyes, and sat up straight, a bit hesitant to leave her partner’s comforting warmth.

“It’s nothing, really.” She said, trying to make her tone as nonchalant as possible, but she was too aware of how her tentacles shook slightly. 

White clapped, and Black looked over, giving her a curious look. She grinned, and stood up, reaching a hand down to Black, although it wasn’t a far distance, as even when she was sitting, Black was still somewhat close to the same height as White.

“We should get back,” White turned her attention to Blue, “I know Orange is probably wondering where you went as well, Blue.” Black grabbed White’s hand, and stood up, shifting back into her fully human form.

Blue stood up as well, and they walked the short distance back to Cafeteria together. In the room, Cyan, Lime, and Orange were arguing about something - Black only caught the word ‘cat’ - Green was showing something to Pink on his tablet, and Red and Purple were talking together while leaning on a beanbag. Black, Blue, and White walked in, but no one seemed to notice, Pink being the only one to look over.