Disclaimer: Anything, or any characters, that you recognize are things I do NOT own. I just came up with the storyline and wrote it out as a storyline for a friend's manga.

Warnings: Yaoi and penguin-love. Don't like, don't read. It's nothing graphic.

PENGUIN ROMANTICA

Private growled quietly to himself as he paced back and forth around their home base, under their exhibit in the zoo, and he was livid. 'How dare he?' The young penguin thought to himself in anger. He had been out for a walk around the zoo, hoping to secure some fish for Skipper as a gift for his beloved boyfriend, when he had seen his lover talking to a new emperor penguin that had just arrived at the zoo that week. It had been obvious that the two of them had been flirting- the newcomer, who's name was Alex, had practically been on top of the other he was standing so close. Private was heartbroken to say the least, as he had always adored his older companion, even before they had become a couple. Skipper was so brave, commanding, and, to him, so sexy he was irrestistable- the way the sunlight glinted off the water on his feathers as he left the pool, water droplets shining like millions of diamonds against the black velvet that covered most of his body. Despite his tough facade, Private knew that his boyfriend was really truly a caring, sensitive, loving creature, though he he rarely exposed this side of his personality except when the two of them were alone. The idea that Skipper would flirt with another guy panicked the sensitive younger. He was lost in thought, trying to supress his anxiety when the soft sound of the door opening penetrated his reverie. He spun around, the room almost continuing to spin around him when he came to a stop because he moved so quickly, just to come face to face with an ecstatic Skipper.

"Hey Hun, I was just thinking about you!" The older leaned in, giving Private a small peck of a kiss on his cheek before standing back. "You just get sexier every day, do you know that? I missed you."

The younger of the two just glared back, eyes squinting in suspicion. "Shove it, love. I know what's been going on. No more secrets."

Skipper frowned in utter confusion. "What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"I mean, how could you?" Private continued to rant, blocking out all other noise and emotion but the pure fury that boiled within him as he spoke. "I thought you loved me! How could I have been so foolish?"

"Of course I love you, darling! Why would you say something horrible like that? What's gotten into you tonight?" The other hissed, now thoroughly annoyed that his lover would randomly accuse him of some unknown crime without so much as explaining what was wrong.

"What's gotten into ME? What's gotten into you? Flirting with that shallow, ugly, stupid brat of a penguin that calls himself Alex- and after we've been going steady two whole years, too!" Private sobbed. Hurt and frustrated, he turned and grabbed a suitcase out from underneath his bed, frantically throwing in every one of his meager belongings that lay within reach before slamming it shut. "I've had just about enough of this nonsense. I'm out of here."

"Private! Stop right now! I would never cheat on you, you know that! I love you far too much for that. Just stay for a few minutes and let's work this out. Then things can go back to the way they were and we can be happy again."

The younger penguin did not even respond, afraid that his voice would break with the force of his turmoltuous emotions as he slowly lost his internal fight to surpress his tears. A few stray, shimmering drops fell from his eyes, falling to the ground as he walked briskly past Skipper and towards the door, leaving damp spots as if the places where the tears landed had been touched by a light spring rain. The iron door closed behind him with a crashing, final 'bang', the sound resonating off the concrete walls of the room before dying down into a profoud silence. Skipper just stared at the door in disbelief.

Private rushed through the dark night, the shining stars nothing but small, bare pinpricks in the tar-black sky. The moon cast an ethereal glow over the zoo, giving the exhibits a dreamlike quality. He made his way by memory, not stumbling at all despite the rough quality of the poorly repaired pavement that formed the humans' walkway. The sound of loud club music made his arrival at the Lemur king's exhibit all the more obvious.

"What kind of subjects are you? That's not dancing! You need to take the music inside of you, swish it around, and spit it out through the tail!" There was a short silence as Julian paused. "There! Hahahahahaha"

Quietly Private jumped the concrete pen's wall, following the cacophonous music to the stand beside the self-proclaimed king's infamous bouncy house. As he approached, Maurice stopped the king's music, earning a glare from the elder, who had his back turned to the young penguin.

"Maurice, why are you stopping the music? I cannot be shaking without the music. I order you to bring it back."

The aye-aye simply coughed politely, indicating the black-and-white intruder with a polite nod, causing the Lemur to spin around, nearly losing his balance as he did so. His eyes opened wider when he spotted the newcomer.

"Ah! It's the penguin! What're u doin out here so late? Comin' to join tha paaaarty?"

Private sniffed quietly and shook his head. "Skipper and I just had our first fight." His voice broke and he began to shake. "It was terrible!"

Maurice walked over, wrapping his arm around the penguin in a fatherly manner. "Don't worry about it one bit, you can stay here for the night."
"SLEEPOVER!" Screamed Mort, jumping up and down in excitement and elation.

"Hahaha this is goin to be the best!" Shouted Julian. "Come on, time to robot! Music for everyone!"

So Private decided to stay, the light of the nearby street lamps painting the green habitat of the Lemurs a pale orange as he curled up in a rope hammok that he'd brought with him to sleep on, the king's music ringing faintly in his ears until he fell alseep, drifting off to sweet dreams of him and Skipper having a romantic night alone, just the two of them.

Skipper rolled over for the millionth time that hour alone. It seemed he could not stop tossing and turning, could not fall back into the sweet relief that the numbness of sleep provided. He simply could not shake the image of Private's distressed face, tears streaming down his cheeks, the pain radiating from his eyes. A part of him died inside as he came to terms with the fact that he had caused that pain. He had tried so hard to protect his lover from any kind of hurt or heartbreak, but now it was his own actions that were slowly pushing his boyfriend away from him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Tears began to run down his own cheeks. 'How could I have been so stupid? I just hurt the only person I have ever truly loved. I'll never be able to forgive myself if I lose him.' Skipper didn't manage to sleep that night, he was so deeply disturbed and overwhelmed by his internal torment.

"Rise and Shining, !"

The penguin slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his blurry vision, just to come face to face with two yellow eyes the size of dinner plates and a humongous, toothy grin. "Ah! You're awake! Good." He turned to Maurice and Mort, moving his hands in a grandiose gesture as he spoke. "Now, who wants a cookie? I could use some food-stuffs for my tummy."

Mort, at his words, rushed over, grabbed Julian's foot and hugged it as tightly as he could. "All I need is DA FEET!"

Julian lifted his leg, shaking it roughly so Mort fell to the ground with a soft thud, looking at the foot with huge, watery, puppy-dog eyes. "What did I tell you about the feet!" The larger Lemur shouted loudly, sticking his nose up in the opposite direction of the younger. "I am a king, and only the king may be touching the king's feet!" He pointed down at his feet for emphasis before returning his attention to the penguin, who was now rubbing his bleary eyes, watching the scene unfold with mild amuzement. "Will you be joining us for the enjoyment of the food-stuffs? Maurice is a very good cook."

Maurice looked up in surprise. "But king Julian, I didn't cook anything, we always have fruit and snacks for breakfast. You don't need to cook anything for that."

The King Lemur looked back at the aye-aye over his shoulder, then shrugged. "Well, it is being very tasty anyway. Are you staying?"

Private sighed, looking at the sun and noticing that for the sun to be so high it must already be quite late in the morning. Reluctantly, the young penguin shook his head. "I should go and see if I can find a new place of my own to spend the nights. I can't go back to the base, since Skipper probably doesn't ever want to see me again. Plus I don't want to be a burden to you guys- you've already been so generous!"

Julian just ignored the last part of his statement. "You still be with the lovey-dovey feelings for tha other penguin? Mr. Skipper?"

"N-no. I mean yes. Wait, no..." The penguin stuttered in shock. "I still can't believe that he was flirting with someone else. I love him with all my heart, he means everything to me! I just don't know if I can forgive him for what he did. If he was flirting with Alex then what will stop him from leaving me in the fututre? I'm so scared! I don't want to lose him- I just can't handle that."

"Awwww!" Squealed Mort, clasping his hands underneath his chin and looking at the penguin with bright, shining eyes. "That's so cute!" He was immediately silenced by a glare from Julian.

"Shut up, Mort. You are so annoying."

Maurice sat down beside Private, studying his face thoughtfully before adressing the innocent penguin. "You need to trust your emotions. I'm not saying go back to Skipper, but, well, don't give up hope. You never know what might happen."

"Maurice is right. The love is a very tricky thing. You never know when it'll umm... ummm" Stammered Julian, at a loss for words until Mort jumped up beside him in excitement.

"Bite you!" The mouse-Lemur shouted. Julian gave him a rough shove off the ledge, so that Mort fell out into thin air before landing in the emerald bouncy house. "Hehehehe." Came the laughter from somewhere below them as the smallest of them all began to do intricate flips and tricks in mid-air.

"Thank you all very much for your advice, but I really should be going." Said Private sadly, gathering his posessions and tying them together in his hammock before placing them in the suitcase, which locked with a soft clicking sound. Rising to his feet, the young penguin bade them all a wonderful day before making his way from their habitat and slipping quietly onto the silver-gray pavement of the walkway.

Skipper awoke to the sound of rustling sheets as Kowalski made his bed. Rico sat at the table where four plates of fish sat waiting, presumably one per penguin of the group. The scent permeated the air, but, for the first time in his life, the elder penguin found that he had absolutely no apetite. His heartache blocked any other possible emotion, entirely eclipsing any desire for food. Slowly he sat up in bed, holding his head as a headache overcame him.

"Good Morning, Skipper! You slept in unusually late today, is everything alright?"

Skipper looked up at Kowalski, sadness and depression shining in his eyes. He sighed softly. "Private and I had a major arguement last night." He put his head between his flippers, trying to calm himself. "He accused me of cheating on him with Alex."

"The LION?" Exclaimed Kowalski in shock, though he only earned a glare of contempt from the disgruntled penguin.

"No, no, no. The new penguin that transfered in last week. I brought him some fish to make him feel welcome because he's all alone in his habitat. Private must have thought I was flirting with him."

"Whaa?" Cried Rico from his seat, now fully attentive to the conversation.

"I agree with you, hun." Whispered his boyfriend softly. "It's so hard to believe. I really think you need to go speak with Private, Skipper. You need to fix things before they get worse. Or do something romantic, to show that there was no ill will between you."

"Uh-huh" Called Rico, gently echoing his lover's opinion. "Fix."

Skipper got up and began to tidy his own bed, thinking about the others' comments and reflecting on his arguement with Private from the night before. After a while he broke the long silence that had descended over the room. "I don't think I'm quite ready to face him, Kowalski, but I am going to try to fix this. Rico, bring me back a hundred red, white, and pink balloons. I also need string, roses and enough fish for two. Be back here in one hour. Kowalski, go and find Private. He may not listen to me but he'll listen to you. Tell him that I am sorry, and convince him to come back here at sunset. Then I want you both to scatter and hold your positions until tomorrow. Move out men." As his friends and team-mates moved out on their respective missions, Skipper made his way over to the table where he picked disinterestedly at his share of fish and began to sketch out his plans for that night. It would take a lot of skill and effort , but he knew he could manage. Hopefully his idea would be romantic enough to win back Private's love.

Private wandered aimlessly through the park at the center of the zoo, trying to find refuge for that night. The sun's rays warmed him despite the cool spring breezes. The sky was a beautiful, clear, aqua blue, with only a few wispy and scattered clouds marring it's faultless surface. The grass, and the leaves of the bushes he was now inspecting, were a brilliant emerald color. Flowers covered the park and the young penguin reached down, plucking a small daisy from its home amongst the leaves and weeds. Slowly he began to pick off the petals, one at a time. 'He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not' Private's heart skipped a beat as he stared in disbelief at the final petal. 'He...loves...me'

Kowalski sped up when he spotted Private in the park, staring at a Daisy as if paralyzed by the site of it. "Private. Private!" He called, his voice getting louder and louder with each repetition. Finally he reached the younger penguin, though he was thoroughly out of breath when he accomplished this. "I've been looking all over for you, as has Skipper. He's really devestated over the fight last night. He sent me here to apologize."

Private looked at him incredulously. "Why would he care how I felt or how I was? He was the one cheating on me, after all. Ha! He couldn't even apologize to me in person! What a selfish coward."

The older penguin looked at the younger in surprise. Though he was shocked at the cold indifference of the other, he had a feeling that deep down Private was hurting very badly and not necesarily mad at his lover. "Private... I really think you should go talk to him... he wants you to join him for dinner tonight at sunset."

"Why should I join him?" Private cried loudly, wheeling on his intelligent friend. "He hurt me! He cheated on me despite the fact that I love him- he made me think he loved me too! Do you know how much that hurts? I would die to protect him, and he would give me up to be with Alex." He spat the last word out with disdain, as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"What if he wasn't cheating!" Kowalski shouted in exasperation before bringing his voice down to a dangerously low volume. "Have you even thought about that? He's heartbroken that you won't speak to him, give him a chance to explain. He does love you. If you were with him you'd know that." The older penguin turned to leave quickly and moved off in the direction of Marlene's habitat, where he and Rico planned on spending the night, but he called back to Private from over his shoulder as he walked. "If you change your mind, meet him at sunset."

Skipper worked as fast as he could, deftly binding the balloons together. Sweat rolled down his feathers, making them slick from the moist droplets and giving him an eery sheen in the dim light that eminated from the room's ceiling. 'And just about... Done!' He thought to himself, surveying his handiwork proudly. It had taken him most of the afternoon, but the effort had definitely been worth it. It was perfect, the perfect display of love for his favorite person in the world. The one he would give anything for, just to see him smile. He gave a cursory glance to the clock on the wall, planning to go back to working on his little 'project', though he quickly gave the clock his full attention when he noticed the time "Oh no! 8:30 already! There's not enough time!' Frantically he dashed about the room, hoping to gather everything and mold it into flawlessness before Private arrived. He could not afford another mistake. He could only hope that he could finish in time. He could only hope that Private would understand.

The youngest of the penguins paced back and forth outside the door for the longest time, just trying to calm down and slow his heartbeat enough that it would no longer be pounding painfully away in his ears. Finally he built up his resolve enough to enter the headquarters. Hesitantly, he reached out and grasped the door knob, reveling in the smooth feel of the cool metal as it moved beneath his flippers. He pushed the door open and it swung in on its hinges with a long groan. "Skipper?" Upon recieving no response Private opened the door wider. What he saw inside the candle lit room made him freeze in shock and tear in sheer extacy. Above their bed floated a giant balloon heart, with S+P spelled out in the center in pink and red and milky white. Scattered rose petals covered the floor delicately, and the smell of incense filled his senses. A beautifully set table with a dinner of fish for two caught his attention, and, as if in a daze, he moved further into the room.

The door slammed shut behind Private, making him jump and turn in the direction the noice had come from. This brought him face to face with Skipper.

"Do you like it, darling? I did do this all for you." He stepped forward smoothly, seeming to glide across the floor, until they were nearly beak to beak.

Private blushed softly. "It's beautiful, but... why? I thought you were interested in Alex, not me. Why would you do this if you love him?"

"Because I don't. I love you and you alone, that has never changed and it never will." Skipper purred softly. He led his young boyfriend over to the table, pulling out the chair for him and pouring him some water.

They ate in absolute silence, though it was not an awkward one. That silence said more than words ever could have. It spoke of fear and regret, pain and loneliness, lost love and hope of love regained. When they had finished eating Skipper leaned over from his seat, taking Private's hand and guiding him from the chair before drawing him into a closer one, whispering in his ear. "I am so so sorry that you thought I was cheating on you. I would never, ever put you in that kind of situation. I love you far too much for that- I always will."

Then Private did something unexpected. He reached up with his flipper and gently stroked the side of his boyfriend's cheek before leaning in and kissing him. Although Skipper was caught off guard by the action he kissed his lover back deeply. Private was the first to pull back, his eyes half-lidded with exhaustion and affection.

"I love you too- always."

The younger yawned loudly, unable to restrain himself, and the other laughed heartily at the tender action. "Tired, my love? Why don't we go to bed, get some rest. We can talk more in the morning."

Private simply nodded at the suggestion, to tired to do anything more, though he let out a soft yelp of surprise when Skipper picked him up bridal-style and carried him to the bed, laying him down and covering the younger with a blanket before sliding in beside him. The younger moved a little closer, cuddling up next to the elder just enough that his lover could (and did) wrap his arms around him. They fell asleep in that position, safe and secure and loved in eachother's arms. That is the position Rico and Kowalski found them in the next morning, and every morning after for the rest of their lives.