Title: "Private and the Great Pumpkin"
Author: Pirate Turner
Dedicated To: This is the fifth story in my annual 13 days of Halloween series dededicated with endless love to my wonderful, beloved Jack and our darling children.
Rating: G
Summary: Rico had never done anything like this before . . .
Warnings: Slash, Established Pairings
Word Count: 1,448
Date Written: 27 September, 2011
Disclaimer: Private, Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, Penguins of Madagascar, and all other recognizable characters mentioned within are ﾩ & TM DreamWorks, not the author. Everything else is ﾩ & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Rico stared up at the night sky, a look of deep and serious concentration scrunching his feathered face. Kowalski, who stood beside him, reached out to his love and gently patted his flipper. What his mate was about to do was one of the sweetest, most creative, and charming plans which he had ever heard. Rico still wasn't sure he could manage it, but Kowalski believed in him with all his heart and knew he could do it.

While Rico continued staring at the sky, scheming, and plotting his every angle, Kowalski's eyes drifted back to the ground where Skipper continued to shake his head at Private. Despite the distance that separated them, Kowalski could still hear their argument. "I'm sorry, Private, but the Great Pumpkin is just a myth. It doesn't exist. If it did, don't you think I would have seen it by now?"

Private clutched his Lunacorn harder in his flippers, causing it to release a high-pitched, whinnying squeal that hurt Kowalski's ears. Rico grimaced, his flippers going automatically over his ears to protect them. "Fricking fracking bunch o' racket," he muttered. "How' a penguin s'pposed to think wit' dat going on? If they don' shut up . . . "

As Private again attempted to explain that the Great Pumpkin could only be seen by those who truly believed in him to Skipper, whom he completely idolized, adored, and loved no matter how many of his dreams he tried his best to tarnish despite the fact that he, too, loved Private, Kowalski turned his attention away from their ongoing argument and back to Rico. Their dear friends had been arguing for hours ever since Private had tried to wriggle out of the mission Skipper had announced would take place tonight, Halloween night of all nights.

Though Skipper had relented and delayed the mission long enough to allow Private to go trick or treating, Private still didn't want to go until he saw the Great Pumpkin, and Skipper refused to wait any longer. Skipper had had enough, and Kowalski was surprised his commander was handling the situation as well as he was. He hadn't completely broken Private's heart yet, but he also wouldn't allow their mission to be delayed any longer. He was so set in his argument with Private that he hadn't even noticed when Kowalski and Rico had snuck away to the great clock in the zoo.

The clock chimed the time, and the entire tower shook with the movement. Kowalski trembled from head to talon even as he put his flippers around Rico's back. "Ssshhh," he murmured, his voice shaking as much as their bodies were from the powerful chiming. "It's okay. You can do this."

Rico looked doubtful as he stared up at the stars. "Never done anything like this before."

"But you can do it," Kowalski urged. "I know you can. Just ignore them. Shut them out." His flippers cupped Rico's ears, and he rubbed him with an incredible softness that made Rico quiver inside. "Look at the stars. See what you want to create. Feel the dynamite building inside of you." His voice was as gentle and soothing, though nowhere near as seductive and erotically alluring, as his flippers. "It's coming, welling up inside of you. It aches to be released. You want nothing more than to set it free, but you want to see it in that image first."

Rico nodded slowly, the image filling his mind despite the other urges that screamed through his body. Kowalski had always had both a peaceful and alluring affect upon him, and as much as Rico wanted to do this, he wanted even more to take his lover in his flippers again and kiss him as senseless as he was driving him. But he had his own mission this night. He would fulfill that mission, but he would not do so alone. He never had to do anything alone any more unless he so desired.

Kowalski's smooth voice continued to chant. His words wrapped around Rico's mind and kept him focused until he saw only the result of his mission shining in his mind's eye. "Keep the image in your mind. See only it. Picture it. Picture it. Picture it. Now release it."

With Kowalski's last words, Rico opened his beak, and dynamite flew up into the sky. It exploded the moment it reached the stars, but as its explosions fell down, a beautiful image was displayed. Kowalski nodded, a lovely and huge smile lifting his beak. "Beautiful!" he remarked. "Now finish it."

Grinning from ear to ear, Rico started jumping up and down, and tiny objects poured out of his mouth to rain down on the zoo's inhabitants. Kowalski turned his gaze back to Skipper and Private as his penguin finished his work.

"There! There!" Private cried excitedly, pointing a flipper up at the suddenly bright sky.

"There what?" Skipper demanded.

"There!" Private cried again joyously. "There's the Great Pumpkin!"

"Huh?" Skipper sighed. "Private, there's no such thing as the Great Pumpkin!"

"Yes, there is, and I know you can see him with as bright as he is tonight! He's lighting up everything!" He grasped Skipper in his flippers and whirled him around. "There!" He pointed again at the sky. Skipper begrudgingly followed the direction his lover's flipper was pointing in, and then his mouth fell open. His eyes bugged, and a tootsie roll hit him in the head. "Ow," he muttered, completely distracted and unaware the complaint had slipped out, as he gingerly rubbed the spot on his head.

"See?" Private cried happily. "I told you he existed, and he's giving us candy!" He hugged Skipper tightly and then started racing around the zoo, holding his trick or treat bag open before him and catching the candy that was raining down from the opened All Hallow's Eve sky.

Skipper, meanwhile, continued to stand where Private had left him, staring up at the sky and the enormous, sparkling pumpkin smiling down upon him. "I'll be a monkey's uncle," he breathed shakily.

"Hardly," Mason commented as he and his own beloved Phil swung joyously through the zoo, also collecting candy. Every animal in the zoo was out of their habitat and enjoying the strange rain, catching the assortment of chocolates, suckers, gum, fruit, and hard candies in their bags. Private suddenly screamed, and Skipper blinked in surprise.

"I GOT A LUNACORN STICKER!" Private squealed, and Skipper cocked his head to one side and just stared at him in disbelief. It was a Halloween miracle. It was the only way he could describe what was happening. The Great Pumpkin was real, and he'd given his love one of his fondest wishes.

Skipper raised a flipper, and a root beer sucker fell straight into his grasp. He unwrapped it, stuck it in his mouth, began to suck on the candy, and shrugged. If you couldn't beat them, he thought, taking the sucker out of his mouth and grinning before putting it right back in, you might as well join them. Halloween only came once a year, after all, the Great Pumpkin only once in a lifetime (he was quite sure, despite the stories, as he'd never seen him before), and the mission could always wait another night.

Rico continued spitting candy until he was too exhausted to conjure up even spittle from his stomach. Kowalski caught him just before he could fall and sank down onto the top of the clock tower, his flippers wrapping gently around him. He kissed his ear, and Rico quivered, finding a spark of energy he'd not known was left at his love's sweet kiss. "You're amazing!" Kowalski breathed in awe of all he had done tonight and the wishes he'd made come true.

"Aw!" Rico blushed, and Kowalski grinned at his sweetheart's rare shyness. Rico had been able to spit out anything for years but never before had he made such a design or spit up as much stuff for as long as he had done this All Hallow's Eve. He had made the night into a miraculous night for Private and many of the other animals in the zoo, proving himself sweeter than even Kowalski had ever known he could be before.

Kowalski hugged him tighter. "I love you!" he told him.

Rico beamed in his love's praise. "I wuv yoo too!" he squawked and then, his persistent and quickly revitalized energy surprising them both, he started kissing Kowalski all over. "Happy Halloween!"

"Happy Halloween to you too, my love!" Kowalski exclaimed as the Great Pumpkin brought him his Halloween wish, too, in Rico's arms, wild and loving kisses, and sweet and passionate love for all the rest of the night.

The End