First of all, I'd like to express my gratitude to my amazing beta - Clockwork's Apprentice for her super-fast and thorough work.
I've never wrote a story for this category before, I'm usually doing some detective or dramatic stuff. Just couldn't resist the peguins' charms:)
Anyway, read, enjoy and review!:)
OOOOOOOOOOOO
It all started one October day. During their routine training, Skipper noticed a young girl in a bright-red hoodie that was sitting on the bench near the penguins' habitat and taking some notes in her notebook.
"Guys, that Little Red Riding Hood is watching us," said the leader penguin.
"Perhaps she just likes penguins," Kowalski replied absent-mindedly.
"Maybe… But human ladies usually like the Ringtail's antics better than all our charms. And Ted the Polar bear told me that she spent all morning watching him."
"I heard Alice was talking to the doctor about her," remarked Private, "She's a future biologist, specializes in polar birds and animals…"
The immediate question followed,
"North Pole or South Pole?"
"I don't know," Private shrugged, "I just know that her name is Robin."
"It's a great cover story," mused Skipper, "A practical study in the zoo. You can get tons of intel."
"Or she's really come to do some research," quietly responded Private.
"I heard you, soldier," snapped Skipper, "And let me remind you of the situation with young Reynold. An experienced spy was hiding behind the mask of a schoolboy!"
The youngest of penguins' crew nodded, capitulated.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The girl came every day. She didn't disturb the penguins with any scientific stuff like tracking devices. She just sat at the bench with a notebook and a pencil in her hand.
The penguins got used to her and didn't pay much attention to her, as they didn't pay attention on Julian mindless tricks. However, Skipper, being suspicious and paranoid of everyone, still didn't trust her harmless demeanor.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
'Never swim alone' - it was penguins' motto, Skipper had slapped his subordinates for breaking this rule many times. Yet, he was on the Zoo wall one evening alone, during the routine patrol, when he heard distant creams of a woman. Skipper didn't think, just acted; he jumped off the wall and rolled into the darkness.
He was alone, his team was in their bunker, watching TV and engulfing doughnuts. Skipper, on the other hand, was a soldier, a real warrior, and he couldn't leave a damsel - not even if it was human female - in distress. Yes, he was small, but he had a razor-sharp beak and claws as hard as nails. He was a strong, skillful fighter.
He oriented on the sounds. There were almost fifty yards between him and the possible crime scene, but he breached the distance in a split second.
Skipper knew the place; badly lighted path often attracted various suspicious people. It was quite dark already, but he was still able to see a female figure, trying to escape from a stranger. The penguin rolled closer and recognized the figure as Little Red Riding Hood- Robin.
His attack was lightening fast; Skipper jumped up like a rubber ball and bumped into the thug's face with all his force.
"What the hell is that!" the stalker shouted under the avalanche of the painful beak strikes; he managed to tear the penguin off his face and throw him away.
That briefest pause allowed Robin to punch him in the gut. At this very moment, Skipper jumped on the man's shoulder once again- he saw Robin noticed him -and used his best knockout trick. The attacker fell on the ground- lugging Skipper away with him.
For several seconds Robin felt completely disorientated. Then she recollected herself, quickly dropped on her knees and turned the senseless body of her savior to face her.
"Oh, dear," she exhaled. "Little Boss…"
She called him that after she'd noticed his commanding behavior. The penguin beneath the man looked like a shapeless bundle of black-and-white feathers.
The girl carefully took the bird in her hands; he was unconscious and one of his wings was bent under unnatural angle. He seemed to turn into one pulsating clot of pain.
Even through the veil of pain, Skipper suddenly felt enveloping warmth- Robin carefully wrapped his body into her scarf and had hidden him under her coat before hurrying out of the park.
It was very dark and very warm. He couldn't move, but he heard a loud and fast beating of a big human heart under his ear.
Since the zoo was already closed, Robin brought him to the 24-hour vet clinic.
All Skipper could see was a bright light and all he could hear were fragments of human speech.
"Where did you find it? ...In the Central park? It would be better if I call Animal Control… By the way, you have some scratches on your neck and a light bruise on your face… OK, I will leave it to your care… Let's see…"
A doctor relocated Skipper's toes, dressed his flipper in splints and applied a bandage on his ribcage. Then, in spite of the doctor's advice, Robin took Skipper to her home for a night.
She brought him in a pet carrier to her flat.
"It's all I can do for you now, my little savior," she said.
During the night, he had heard her wake up several times to check him.
Perhaps, she is not really a spy after all, he thought, before sinking into slumber.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
The next morning, she brought him to the Zoo vet lab. Robin explained to the doctor that she found him in the park on her way home and it had been too late to go back. The doctor checked Skipper and placed him into a cage.
The murky weather scared away the visitors, so when Robin came to the penguins' habitat there was no one around.
The big lanky penguin was sitting on the concrete island near the empty bowl. The other two were nowhere to be seen.
Robin felt like an idiot,
"Hey, buddy…"
Of course the penguin didn't pay any attention to her.
"Right, I just wanted to say that your friend is in the clinic now. He has a broken wing and some cracks in his ribs. If everything's alright, he'll be back in a couple of weeks."
The penguin (Kowalski) didn't even bother to cast a glance to her; he waddled to the pool and dived into the water.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Rico, Private, did you hear that?"
Kowalski brushed some water droplets off of his feathers.
"It seems like Skipper's got into a scrape."
"The owls told me that they heard screams from the park last night," Private shyly noted, "Human screams."
"I think we need to visit the vet lab after dark. I'm sure Skipper will be more than glad to be back to HQ."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When Robin came back to the vet lab, she found Skipper sitting in the corner of his cage, gloomily watching the plate with fish biscuits. She understood his mood.
"It's for your own good", she told him. "You should not move a lot, so you're in the cage and these biscuits are quite nutritious..."
The penguin shot an almost sarcastic glance at Robin.
"Well, I think I'd better bring some fresh codfish for you then," she said to his surprise and left the room.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
His team came in the evening. The penguins easily lifted the window frame and slipped inside. The lock on the cage door was primitive, but the leader penguin was still inside.
"Skipper! What's happened?" exclaimed the young Private while Kowalski examined the locks.
"Unexpected emergency during the routine patrol of the territory," the leader replied reluctantly.
"Hm, can you elaborate, please," Kowalski politely asked.
"The babe, Robin, she was attacked in the park. I had to intervene. So the perp was disarmed, the lady was saved. I've got some minor injures."
The penguins exchanged glances.
"Let's go home, Skipper! One word and we blow off this building!"
Rico willingly disgorged a dynamite stick. To their surprise Skipper shook his head,
"No, guys, I'll stay here. Need to check if this babe really is a spy."
He saw that his subordinates had objections, but they were perfectly trained and kept their doubts for themselves.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
While having watched the penguins at their habitat, Robin noticed that the leader- Little Boss, as she called him- had an intense energy and she understood that in the cage he felt like as if he was in a prison cell.
Several days after his 'imprisonment', when the doctor was away, Robin came to Skipper's cage.
"Promise you don't break anything here."
The she unlocked the door. Skipper didn't move.
Robin sat back at the table and returned to her log, but some minutes later she got a glimpse of the black-and-white figure silently moving to the exit door.
She turned to him,
"I thought we had a deal."
He cast a glance at her and their eyes met for the first time since their meeting. Robin thought that he looked visibly annoyed.
"Sorry, Little Boss. Either you behave yourself, or I put you back."
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Every time visiting the vet lab, Robin spent some time with Skipper. According to common knowledge ravens, crows and some parrots are considered to be birds with the highest intellect. Though Skipper was not just some smart creature. The girl was sure that he understood her every word; his pale eyes shone with uncommon wit. Sometimes she found herself thinking that he pretended to be a usual bird, like a spy who was working undercover pretending to be an ordinary person.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
She tried to treat him as her equal. Once, when she felt her eyes tired of computer work, Robin turned to Skipper, who laid under the lamp like in the tanning salon, obviously bored.
"May I show you something?"
She moved closer to him and opened her notebook.
Intel, Skipper thought.
Actually it was sketchbook. It held her notes and lots of drawings.
Perhaps, Robin hadn't been skillful in technique, but she definitely had a good grasping eye. Skipper noticed that she managed to depict Marlene's friskiness, Private's namby-pamby, Rico's craziness and the ever-thoughtful expression on Kowalski's face.
Then she turned the page,
"It's you, Little Boss."
Some small brief sketches that showed his profile and several movements' doodles was surrounded a big portrait. Skipper had to admit that she caught everything about him; his commanding spirit, his inner strength, and he even saw the superiority in his own eyes.
"True Napoleon, aren't you," Robin told him with a small smile, "Frankly speaking, I really enjoyed drawing you. You're quite a character, Little Boss."
While he was looking through the pictures, Robin lightly tickled the back of his head.
Skipper froze, caught off guard. The penguin's feathers felt like pressed silk; they were tight and smooth. Robin was absent-mindlessly stroked Skipper in almost flimsy movements from the crown of his head along his spine and he was trying to ignore the effect of her touches…
He was both cursing his weakness and inability to resist her actions and silently praying for her not to stop.
However a few minutes later he totally surrendered and closed his eyes just to enjoy her ministrations.
She didn't even notice that he moved a bit closer.
One word from you, babe, Skipper thought, and I'll hijack a plane and take you wherever you want… I'll give you a dozen of roses, scarlet like a sunset, or orchids, white as clouds, we'll eat Sushi, drink rum and dance tango and salsa all night long…
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
He was basking in the warm light of a lamp and watching Robin. After two hours of work on the computer, she stretched her back and turned to Skipper.
"I think that's enough for today. Time to go home."
The penguin waddled to her. The girl gave him a tired smile and raised her hand to stroke him, but the penguin playfully evaded her contact. Her smile grew wide.
Spy or not, damn you're pretty, Doll face, thought Skipper as he marveled her smile.
He took a step closer to the girl and gently tucked the stray of her hair behind her ear.
The expression on her face was priceless.
Feeling like he had won a battle, Skipper jumped of the table and proudly walked into his cage.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The penguins came to visit their commander every evening.
One day, Private was the first one to jump on the windowsill.
"What do you see, Private? Everything quiet?"
"I see the laboratory… A person, Robin, is sitting at the table. Looks like she's fallen asleep."
"Do you see Skipper?"
Private answered after a slight pause,
"Yes, I see him too."
Robin unwittingly fell asleep when she was printing her notes in the log. Now she was sleeping with her head on her left hand. In the crook of her right hand, like in the cradle, there was Skipper slumbering.
Private saw Robin moved in her sleep and accidentally woke up Skipper: he looked around with half-lidded eyes, found nothing suspicious, then tenderly, as if cuddling a nestling, ruffled Robin's hair with his beak and turned on the other side to sleep.
"Well, what is it up there, Private?" Kowalski asked impatiently.
"Erh… Skipper is sleeping too."
The two senior penguins jumped up the window. Kowalski gasped, Rico gave a quiet catcall.
Anyway, the second-in-command penguin cleared his throat and tried to look indifferent. He opened the window frame and jumped on the floor.
Their actions woke up Skipper. He jumped on the floor and with absolutely innocent look came to his comrades.
"I presume you're quite alright, Skipper."
"Yep".
Kowalski was going to ask something, but Skipper interrupted him,
"Do me a favor, soldier!"
Skipper jumped back on the table, opened the Robin's sketchbook, tore out the page with his portrait, folded it twice, and then dived into the girl's shoulder bag. He took out her wallet, found the strip of her photos he'd found while searching her bag once, tore one picture out, put it into the folds of her sketch, and then jumped on the floor again to give the improvised folder to Kowalski.
"What is it, Skipper?"
"Classified information, of course. To be exact, it's my dossier."
"So, she's a spy then?"
"Well, not really… But still these papers should not appear in our enemy's hands."
"Should we destroy them?"
"Absolutely not! Hide them when you're back to the HQ. Preferably, under my pillow."
"Alright," Kowalski agreed with some doubt in his voice, "You're not going back to HQ yet, aren't you?"
"Negative."
Skipper looked pleased. He looked happy. Neither Kowalski nor the others dared to ruin Skipper's good mood and remind him that it could not last forever.
On their way back Private mildly asked,
"Guys, am I the only one who thinks that this is not going to end up well?"
Kowalski and Rico silently shook their heads.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
One day Robin had some work after hours. She'd got a key from the doctor to lock the lab when she'd finish her task and ordered some Japanese takeout for a dinner.
The food smelled delicious. When Robin sat at the table and opened her order, Skipper thought that he shouldn't miss his chance and hopped on the table.
She followed his glance.
"No way! Do penguins eat Sushi?"
'Baby girl, for your information, we consider ice-cold Sushi as food of the gods. You'll be surprised to know that penguins eat not only fish, but also popcorn, candies and all sorts of take-out.'
"Actually it's a violation of rules - I must not feed animals and birds with unspecific food."
'Devil take the rules, Doll face!'
When he looked into her eyes, Robin was surprised to see not the plea, but the claim in his stare.
"Look… You know, I'm trying to become a biologist and you wear down all the facts we know about penguins."
She could swear she saw sneer on his face.
"Okay, okay, you win…"
Robin put one salmon roll on the tissue and moved it to the penguin. Skipper didn't even move.
"Gosh, what is it now? You claimed it yourself!"
He looked at her, at the roll, and then reverted his eyes.
"And what am I supposed to do? Who's in charge here, by the way?"
'Take a wild guess, Baby girl!'
She didn't need to take a guess. Robin sighed and took the roll with chopsticks.
Grasping in a single flash, aren't we, he thought, totally proud of her and himself.
He playfully took a roll out of chopsticks. Robin thought that his lazy movement looked very much like a gesture of a man, who would jokingly eating some delicious things from his lover's hands.
"Are you flirting with me?" she asked, disbelievingly.
Of course, the penguin didn't answer, but the expression on his face Robin could interpret only as a triumphant smile.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
It became a sort of a tradition. Almost every evening, when everybody left the lab, Robin ordered some takeout for dinner and shared it with her Little Boss. She knew that animals were not just biological machines, which acted only on their instincts and reflexes, that they had individuality; they had feelings and even morals… But Robin had never met such a bright individuality like her Little Boss was.
Well, she thought, many scientists note that hand-raised animals and birds often consider humans as their equal, and even sometimes take them as mating partners.
However, the penguin's behavior was too human-like.
Instinctively Robin felt that it would not end well some day, but she was all alone in the big city, she had a curious mind and vivid imagination… She just liked the strange friendship she gained from the penguin.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Robin loved toffees. At the end of their usual dinner she unwrapped one sweet and was going to put it into her mouth, when a cunning beak snatched it out of her fingers.
The girl sighed and looked at Skipper, whose fair eyes twinkled with mischief.
"I'm one hundred percent sure that this is not a part of a penguin's courting ritual."
'You're damn right, girl. It's my own courting ritual.'
Skipper stood on the table at arm's reach with a toffee in his beak, clearly teasing the girl.
His intentions were quite obvious.
He came close to her.
Robin was going to snatch the sweet back out of his beak, but Skipper was ahead of her. He immediately stepped on her hand and blocked her action.
"You must be kidding me, Little Boss," she whispered.
Skipper once again, for the hundredth time, cursed himself for he had to behave like a bird and invent new tricks to attract her all the time.
He didn't allow Robin to move, just looked into her eyes, slightly stretched out his neck.
"No way," she told him, "I'm fed up with your tricks."
'Come on, girl, you know what I want!'
This isn't happening, the girl thought, there must be some rational, some logical explanation… I'm just transferring human traits on the bird's habits… After all, many bird species feed each other beak-to-beak.
She slowly raised her free hand. Skipper moved slightly, even more outstretching his neck.
Her fingers touched the feathers on his neck; they were soft and thick like a fur.
She leaned in slowly, trying not to break the eye contact and noticing the pupils in his blue-ish eyes grew wide like a moon eclipse. Then she closed her eyes - just for a tiny moment - and easily took the candy with her lips from his beak. It was a lightest contact, a small touch, but when Robin opened her eyes, she saw his gaze almost fogged with happy dizziness.
'Shitake mushrooms, Robin.'
He saw her eyes shining; the delicate blush covered her cheeks.
'One word from you, Robin, I need only one word from you…'
Till the end of that day she didn't breathe another word to him, accurately avoiding all possible contacts with the penguin.
When she was putting him into the cage for a night, Skipper tried to meet her gaze, but her face was serious and almost sad. He felt like he had won a battle, but had lost a war.
Through all that night Robin was having dreams about a tropical island, black rum burning her throat and mind, blood-red roses and a tango, in which she was lead by a tall, dark stranger.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed, she recited this quote to herself for thousand times. As in the story of Little Prince and Fox, Robin knew it was more than just friendship.
She despised herself. She didn't know what to do. Wherever the game could bring them to, her practical study was nearly over; she'd got only two more weeks before leaving. Everything was settled before she could do anything. When she came to the zoo next morning, the girl found an empty cage in the lab.
"The penguin seemed to recover," explained the doctor, "So I thought the familiar surroundings and his flock will be good for him. I brought him back to the habitat."
Maybe, that's good, Robin thought. She had a lot of things to do and tried to occupy herself for the whole day; she didn't even come out to watch the animals.
When the girl was hurrying back home through the zoo alleys that evening she felt like a complete traitor.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
It was the beginning of December. The evening was rather cold and windy, so the Penguins were at their bunker, playing poker.
From time to time, Kowalski left his spot to look into the periscope; it was his turn for patrol.
"Kowalski! Paint the picture!"
"Well, Skipper, I see a girl. It's Robin."
The dead silence settled in the bunker. Unlike Private, Skipper was a keen poker face master. His skill helped him to outwit even such brilliant poker players as Phil and Mason. Now his indifferent look didn't fool anyone.
"Skipper… Actually we all know that you are-"
Skipper glared daggers at his comrades, making them rephrase what they were going to say.
"-That you were friends with her. And she obviously came to say goodbye," Kowalski said gently.
The penguin leader looked at his subordinates and saw the sincere sympathy on their faces.
"Okay, okay, I'm going…"
He carelessly threw his cards on the table and went to the hatch desperately trying to ignore that his heart thundering like a giant drum.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Robin didn't expect to see the penguins. It was late and it started to snow, the zoo was deserted and she was just standing at their pool watching the dark waters.
"So, this is goodbye then," she murmured and turned her back to leave, but that very second she heard a quiet splash.
Skipper was standing behind the bars. Robin took a step to him.
"My Little Boss!"
Private and Rico were watching them from the hatch, Kowalski was watching through the periscope. Skipper didn't care.
"I have to leave, Little Boss, my practical study is over. I'm going home."
The girl outstretched her hand and delicately touched the feathers on his neck; Skipper involuntarily closed his eyes, enjoying, savoring her touch.
Robin was going to apologize, to say how sorry she was, but she simply said,
"I'll miss you."
He opened his eyes and met her gaze. Robin was silently amazed the acuteness of the penguin's stare. He seemed to read her like a book, he seemed to understand her every word and seemed to beg her to stay.
Skipper could easily jump up to press himself to her chest, even just for a moment! To hear her heartbeat, like he heard it that night when she carried him in her scarf to the vet clinic… But he was a soldier, a leader of an elite commando crew. There was no place for sappiness and sentimentality in his life, right?
The moon appeared between the night clouds and the moonlight made Skipper's chest feathers glow like fresh snow.
"I hope to see you someday again, my knight in shining feathers," Robin told him with sad, teary smile.
She crouched down, outstretched her hand through the bars again, but suddenly stopped as if she didn't dare to touch the shining whiteness of his chest and belly. They were face to face and Robin saw the sincere sadness and tenderness in his eyes.
Afterwards she decided that everything that had happened at that moment was just a trick of her imagination; little flippers, smooth like silken-gloved hands, for a brief moment caught her outstretched fingers in a friendly grip, and then a black flipper reassuringly touched her cheek, gently brushing away a trace of tear.
Then the penguin stepped back and dived into the dark water of the pool.
He could stand himself being sad, but he couldn't stand seeing her sad.
When Skipper came back, Robin had already gone and the traces of her footprints were almost invisible under the falling snow.