Skipper jumped as the bowl entrance was slammed open.

"What the deuce, Kowalski? You made me spill too much salt on my fish! Now how I'm supposed to eat this salty spoiled treasure!"

"Okay." Rico grunted and quickly swallowed Skipper's fish before the commander officer could even react.

"Rico!"

"You can have some of mine, Skipper." Private offered, being gentle as always.

"I don't think he needs that, Private. Some dolphin can bring him as much as he wants."

The coldness in Kowalski's voice almost literally froze Rico and Private. However, Skipper didn't look so affected.

"What makes you think Blowhole would ever bring me fish, Kowalski? Unless he wants to poison us, of course. Wait a minute… Rico, where did these fish come from?"

Rico spread his flippers with a little shrug, grunting an obvious "I dunno."

"These are the fish Alice brought, Skipper." Private stated.

"Then where did she get these fish from?"

"Well, I don't know, fish lorry?"

"Fish truck! How do we know Blowhole didn't-"

"SKIPPER!" Kowalski snapped. "I am not talking about Blowhole and you know it!"

"Then catch me up, soldier, whom are you talking about?" Skipper was surprised to see Kowalski staring at him like that; but he didn't express it at all.

"I don't know, maybe I'm talking about Doris the dolphin who you've sold me down the river with!"

"What? Of course not, I don't even like rivers, they are so-"

"Skipper, it's a phrase. Uncle Nigel uses that when he talks about someone betraying another."

Skipper frowned upon Private's statement. "I have no slightest clue about what you're talking about, Kowalski."

"Really, Skipper?" Kowalski leaned closer, so close that Skipper could see nothing but his comrade's face, only few inches separating them. "Can you stare in my eyes, and say you and Doris have never seen each other alone?"

Skipper's eyes grew wider as he realized what's going on. He was too shocked to even attempt to deny his friend's words. "How did you…"

Rico pulled Private's flipper as he got up from the table. "C'mon, Private."

"But-"

"C'MON!" And with that, Rico dragged Private outside, leaving Skipper and Kowalski alone.

"I'm glad you're not denying it. Just how could you be heartless enough to-"

"It was a mistake, okay? Kowalski, I really didn't intent to hurt you or something."

"Can you tell it just one-time-thing then, right?"

Skipper didn't know why he said "No." instead of jumping in the perfect chance to get things better again. He couldn't lie to him, not while Kowalski's blue eyes were just across his, no matter how badly Skipper wanted them not to look at him like that.

"So, you say, you had been meeting my ex-girlfriend whom you know I still love, without even bothering to tell me?"

"I had suspected her spying us for Blowhole, that's why I-"

"When you got what you want, you stopped… seeing her, right?"

"…No." Skipper wanted to slap, no, punch himself, why had he become Truthful Ruth just now? Maybe lying wasn't going to make things better, but truth was absolutely getting it worse, causing the last hope for Skipper's innocence in Kowalski's eyes breaking over and over.

"Why did you continue taking her out back then?"

Skipper pressed back the urge to tell him everything. Now that was plain ridiculous, why would he want to tell Kowalski that he had never been interested in her, but it always amused Skipper to see females falling for him. Or that it felt adventurous because Kowalski had to be unaware of him dating with a girl which Kowalski didn't know about, unlike others. No, he couldn't tell those, he had to fight the words that wanted to get out. Damn it, I can't lose it!

"I'm waiting, Skipper."

Skipper managed not to tell those words, but instead, an anger that he didn't even feel sounded in completely different sentences which were even worse than the truth. "Maybe it was because you had to get over her sometime! You are claiming that you are a genius, but you are being nothing but an idiot, trying your chance with her - which didn't even exist - over 20 times! SHE. DOESN'T. LOVE YOU BACK. ANYMORE. Get used to it!"

Kowalski stepped back with shock as the words hit him in the face, causing his eyes grow huge. Skipper quickly closed his beak with his flippers, fuck, he wanted to lie, but not this way! He really thought Kowalski must get over Doris, but he never thought he was an idiot, nor really wanted to go out with her back then.

"I thought… you were my best friend…" Kowalski whispered. "I thought you were my friend!" He said louder, looking angrier than sad unlike one second ago, but Skipper knew he had just hid it behind.

"Kowalski, I-"

"Shut up, Skipper. I don't wanna hear anything from you."

Skipper would prefer to get stung by that cobra again than hearing Kowalski telling him to 'shut up' for the first time ever. In that voice, Skipper could hear clearly that he was valued in the scientist's mind no more. He knew he couldn't even hide sorrow, angst and supplication in his eyes, but he knew also that Kowalski didn't give a damn at all.

I lost him.

"For your information, I will remain as your lieutenant. But you are no longer my friend, if you've ever been one. Oh, and the truth serum's effects will disappear in about two hours." With that, Kowalski left, slamming his laboratory's door behind him.

Skipper couldn't do anything; he was stunned by the sudden realization.

I've completely lost him.

Hey, sorry about interruption, but I had to make something clear. It is not the end of the events, it is just end of my fanfiction. Of course, they will later make it up, I feel something stronger than love for the friendship between the penguins. I just wanted to focus on how betrayed Kowalski would feel if he learned Skipper's hidden dream, or worse, it wasn't a dream but truth? And about how Skipper lied under the effect of the truth serum: Skipper didn't have the serum as much as Private did before, and he could think but not control what to say; but he tried so hard to that the serum recoiled on and he ended up saying stuff he didn't even agree.