Their Secret Place
Just uploading an old KoJu fic I wrote before I no longer have internet for a few weeks. Seeing as I still haven't finish my ROTG fics I thought I at least give you guys something :3 Plus I haven't uploaded anything KoJu for so long.
Originally, I think this was suppose to be apart of my KoJu prompts but it just got too long.
At the moment this will just be a one shot. If I managed to finish my ROTG fics and I have some more ideas I might turn it into a multi chapter series but for now I'm happy as it is.
Made summary up at last second so that's why its not included here as it normally would be.
It was Julien who had found the place.
It was when he and the lemurs had snuck into the park to spend a couple nights; just before Julien told everyone about it and got everyone to move to the park, right before the commissioner was coming to visit the zoo. Archie had shown him the tree on the first night, wanting to sell it to him.
While Julien had immediately loved it, he had wanted that night to spend outside in the trees, under the stars with the other lemurs as they had done in Madagascar, but he asked if he could come back another time. The second night Julien had been too busy partying and Archie had been too busy selling other 'apartments' to the other zoo animals and after that, well after they had all been shot out of the tunnel, Julien had proclaimed to the other lemurs they were staying in the zoo and, to be fair, Maurice and Mort seemed happy to do just that.
However, Julien had gone back alone and given up a few of his other crowns in exchange for the tree (Kowalski still thought Archie had conned Julien into giving more than the tree was actually worth, but he had no way of proving it and Julien was happy, so it didn't really matter anyway).
A couple months after they had started dating, Julien had shown Kowalski the tree and, ever since, they had been meeting up there in secret. Julien had dragged Kowalski along to several stores to furnish the place, turning it into a proper home instead of a few large holes, big enough to be rooms, inside a tree trunk.
Sometimes they would only meet up there for a couple of minutes before they would go exploring the streets of New York together, or having a secret picnic in the park. Sometimes they could only spend a few moments there anyway before Skipper would get suspicious or Maurice would start to worry where Julien had gone. Other times though they would spend all day or all night there, curled up on the couch together while watching TV and just enjoying the other's company.
"Right, that should be being done." Julien said as the smoothie maker stopped whirling.
He poured the liquid into two glasses, adding umbrellas and fruit sticks to them. He passed one to Kowalski and they walked over to the couch, Kowalski going around it to sit down, while Julien simply jumped over the back and onto the seat.
Kowalski took a sip. "It's good," He said in surprise.
"See, I was telling you that I can be making the prefect smoothie. I just cannot be getting the machine part right. Can't you just invent something that is making smoothies instantly without the whole lid and whirly bits?" Julien asked as he grabbed the remote and switched on the tele.
"Julien I've already tried and no, you do need the 'whirly bits', as you called it, to make smoothies, unless you want them to taste horrible.
Besides, the only problem you have with the machine is that you keep forgetting to put the lid on or you just get too impatient with it."
"It needs to be making smoothies faster!" Julien argued back, "Please be trying again?"
"No,"
Julien huffed, crossing his arms and pushing himself away from Kowalski, his tail flicking angrily.
Before, Kowalski would give in and try to apologise, not wanting to make his boyfriend upset. But now he had learnt that, if he simply waited a few seconds, Julien would get distracted.
"Ooh, I am liking that handbag!" Julien said as an advert for handbags showed up on screen.
Just like that.
"Why did Marlene have to take you handbag shopping with her last week?" Kowalski groaned.
"Hey, it is not liking I am getting a lot of handbags!" Julien cried.
Kowalski glanced over at the huge pile of handbags all in different colours and sizes in the corner and raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
Julien responded by throwing a cushion in Kowalski's face. Luckily both had put their drinks down by then and Kowalski quickly retaliated by throwing one back. Soon they were in the midst of a cushion fight, both laughing in delight.
Finally, it ended up with Kowalski on top of Julien, about to defeat him, when Julien leaned up and kissed him. Kowalski kissed back, the cushion dropping to the floor, cushion fight fully forgotten.
They broke apart from the kiss and smiled before curling up together on the sofa, both content to just be in each others arms. If they could spend all eternity like this, they would.
It made them feel slightly guilty, but they prefer spending time here, with each other, rather than back at their homes with the others. Kowalski rarely spent time even in his lab anymore, having brought most of his blueprints here. He only really spent any time in his lab to keep up appearances, even sometimes just pretending he was inventing, playing a recording of him building machinery, while just sitting on his table, sipping coffee.
Julien hardly spent time in his kingdom anymore either, slipping off after zoo hours, even when Kowalski had gone on a mission or something and couldn't make it. He would attempt to tidy the house (Kowalski would often have to fully clean up afterwards) or just watch tv or play on his phone, keeping himself occupied until either Kowalski showed up or it got too late. Once or twice he had even fallen asleep, curled up soundly on the sofa, and Kowalski would have to divert the search party and quickly get him, making up excuses as where Julien had been and why he hadn't stay with the team.
When Kowalski suggested that Julien shouldn't go off the tree house on his own, Julien had flipped. He didn't see why he couldn't go to their home when Kowalski wasn't there, no one else had to. When Kowalski had asked when Julien had started seeing it as their home, Julien had blinked at him and had replied "Since the day I was showing it to you."
After that, Kowalski didn't protest when he found Julien in the tree house instead of back at the zoo. He managed a compromise though, Julien would need to spend at least a few hours at the zoo after closing time and, if Kowalski didn't show up at the tree house at a certain time, Julien would have to go back to zoo.
They both knew it wouldn't be long before the others got suspicious. Heck, Maurice was already suspicious asking Julien where he had been when Julien returned to the habitat, like a worried parent. Kowalski had been more cautious and sneaky but Skipper wasn't stupid and it wouldn't be long before Kowalski ran out of excuses about his whereabouts.
They knew they should tell them about the fact that they were dating. But they still slightly feared the reactions. Kowalski thought Julien was a little silly to think that Maurice would have a problem with the two dating; the guy had accepted stranger things, what with Julien's antics and being next door to psychotic penguins (yes even Kowalski admitted they might be just slightly psychotic at times), and all without batting an eye.
And Julien thought that Private wouldn't see Kowalski as any different, the small penguin seemrf to embrace any sort of romance. They weren't completely sure on Marlene, but Kowalski thought she would find the two dating cute (and be relieved she no longer had to put up with Julien flirting with her). Rico...he probably wouldn't care whether the two were dating or not.
They both feared Skipper's reaction though. Skipper was known to over react at times and also to see things that weren't there. Kowalski had a slight inkling that Skipper would immediately believe that Dr Blowhole had hit the two with some sort of ray in some kind of twisted way to get his revenge...Kowalski didn't know how that would work, but he was sure that Skipper would think that. And if not, Skipper might not like the fact two males were dating anyways. Kowalski had never heard him say anything homophobic but the flat head penguin did hate hippies and was known to hold prejudices against people.
And there were all the others in the zoo as well. Now Kowalski didn't think it would matter if the others in the zoo didn't accept them, just as long as the one closer to them did, but...if the ones closer to them didn't accept them...and having people against him would make things harder for the team to do their job. Also, Julien didn't want his 'subjects' to turn against him either.
They knew they had to tell everyone eventually. And they would, as soon as they were both certain the time was right and there wouldn't be any bad repercussions.
But for now, this was their secret place.