So taking a small break from Creating a Heart. Sorry readers, I joined up with the Kilguin Summer Festival on tumblr, where there's a different topic per week, with a total of four. Which means this story is four chapters long. I thought it was finally time to spread some Kilguin love. That's KillerxPenguin. The first week's topic is the beach! I hope you guys enjoy!
How to be in a relationship
Step 1: Finding Interest and Attraction
Penguin stared at the notebook in front of him. Not a word written. He's been in a writer's slump for a while. Even his mentor wondered what he was going to do, but the assignment wasn't exactly up his alley. He put away his notebook for the third time since the plane ride started.
It was about a six hour flight from the North Blue to the South Blue. Law had invited him down for holiday to his place. Penguin talked to him about his problem as he always had when Shachi wasn't around and the doctor said he came up with a brilliant idea to help his problem. Well it wasn't so much as a problem, more along the lines of not really understanding it. He's been in multiple relationships before. None of which lasted very long or flourished into anything worth remembering. It was as if this generation of people couldn't find a long lasting relationship. Him included.
It was often, he loved the person too much and it wasn't mutual. The other problem was commitment between the two. Which was barely there. Maybe he just chose shitty partners. Non-committed and sometimes emotionally detached. Or both when his luck was really bad. He just couldn't figure out how to make a relationship work when neither party was really willing. Even when both parties were willing, that feeling of attraction would slowly fade away and they would move on. That or one will eventually get bored and the break up before inevitable.
Along with his trail of unfulfilling relationships, his mentor's assignment just happen to be improve on his romantic relationship within his stories. He hadn't thought they were that bad. But the man's comment was: "It was borderline fantasy and fairytale." Not exactly the comment he wanted from the man he respected.
As he left the plane, he could feel a wave of heat hit him. He's definitely going to have to get used to this weather. He shed off his light coat and hat, ruffling his dark black hair, before continuing on until he arrived at the entrance of airport. Within that area, there were people left and right. People holding signs for a specific person. Family members waiting for their loved ones. But Penguin's grey eyes narrowed in on his escort. Even now, it wasn't hard to find Law. He always had a fondness to the color yellow.
The man's bright yellow t-shirt was hard to miss even in this crowd. It's been a while since he last saw him and he swore, Law looked darker. The man was originally from the North Blue like he was. That was until he fell in love with one of his patients who happened to live in South Blue. After much debate, the two decided to the very southern part of South Blue. This was where most of the resorts, holiday getaways and beaches were. It was rather ironic they chose this location as neither one of them could swim.
"You look like you lost some weigh Penguin. Busy month?" Law spoke as he led the way back to his car.
"Something like that." More like Penguin had more relationship problems right before coming here. Then the assignment was thrown upon him and that only made things worst. Was it bad he just wanted a happy ending? Even if it was a fairytale ending, he wouldn't mind because it would mean it was a happy one.
The conversation became hard to hear when some of the people started screaming. Apparently a big shot movie star was going to be filming down in South Blue and had just came in. The two headed out to the parking lot to avoid the mob of screaming girls. Once the two were in the car, Law continued. "Well Shachi had told me something about this guy that cheated on you."
Shachi and his big mouth… The man was horrible at keeping secrets. "Yea… That happened too." Penguin could feel what was left of any energy he had dropped. Shachi was the one that broke the news to him. He should've figured with his now ex always disappearing on him and cancelling dates. He had honestly thought the man had loved him back. Guess he eventually got tired and wanted someone new? He didn't take the break up that hard, which hurt Penguin even more.
"You know, you have a horrible habit of choosing lousy partners." Penguin had muttered a low sarcastic 'thanks' in reply. "Are you sure you're going to be okay with the assignment?"
"Well, I have to face the assignment regardless and you did say you had a solution to helping me with it."
Law smirked. "Well you can't give me all the credit. Eustass-ya had helped too. We found someone that may be able to help you."
"Like a relationship specialist or something?" Cause he honestly felt like he needed one by now.
"Not exactly, but you're going to be staying with him for the month you're here." Law nearly laughed at Penguin's expression. Without his usual hat that helped masked his eyes, they were nearly bulging out with his jaw dropping to the seat at Law's suggestion.
"Do I at least know him?"
"You met him at the wedding reception. Actually I think we had partner you two up to walk down the aisle together remember?"
Penguin closed his eyes thinking. It's been at least five years since the wedding. His memory was fairly weak concerning people he's only met a few times. Until his mind clicked. "Oh Eustass' best man, Killer." He wasn't sure how he had forgotten about him.
"Oh good, so you do remember. We're heading to the beach where Killer's working part time as a lifeguard. You'll be staying at his place for the month." Law reached around to the back once they had parked the car. "Also a gift. I figure you would still want to wear a hat in this weather."
Penguin looked down to the hat similar to his own, the only difference was there wasn't any wool inside. He smiled putting the hat on. He had felt more comfortable with hats on. Plus with his sensitive skin, he got burned so easily without a heavy coat of sunscreen.
The two headed towards a huge beach umbrella where Eustass was reading. A rather massive shirtless man with bright red hair. Appearance wise, he hadn't looked any different since they last spoke. Even his usual make up was still applied, stained red lips and a dark eyeliner. He looked up and grinned when he noticed them. Similar to Penguin, Eustass had pale white skin and was sensitive to the sun. Though the man didn't want to admit it.
"Hey Penguin, how was the plane ride?"
Penguin plump down on one of the towels, while Law had sat next to Eustass inspecting his skin for any sunburn. "You two just had to decide to live in a place six hours away?"
"Well we could have gone much further, but we thought six hours was a good enough compromise."
"Thanks." He spoke dryly. "Really appreciate it. So, where is Killer?"
"Probably watching out for any idiot who's drowning."
"Like you, Kid?" A deeper voice entered the conversation.
Kid scoffed. "I did not drown… This year anyways."
Killer folded his arms. "Uh-huh."
Penguin chuckled as he watched the two friends poke fun at one another. Eustass started to yell at him only to freeze up in pain when Law touched his back. It appeared the man got sunburned. Law only smile almost gleefully at the discovery while applying aloe on it. Killer chuckled giving another snide comment only for Kid to burst into another flurry of insults.
He had met Killer a few times before the actual wedding. He was Eustass' best friend since basically birth. The cool, calm and collected to Eustass' fiery temper. Penguin remembered how the two had connected through running around helping the grooms get ready for the wedding. Actually, everyone was running around like headless chickens. It's almost as if we forgotten how high maintenance our friends could be.
His gaze out of the corner of his eyes towards Killer. He was still in his lifeguard uniform. If you can call the classic red swimming trucks a uniform. The long golden mane of his was tied back in a high, flowing ponytail. His eyes tucked away under the long bangs and that beautiful light brown tan of his that accentual his well toned body. He's definitely worked out a lot more since the last time they met.
Seriously, how did he forget about Killer? He remembered the two of them had clicked together fairly well during Eustass and Law's wedding. They had spent nights at the bar together talking about the problems each of them were running into. Though if memory serves, at that time, he was dating this one guy that was emotionally unavailable 24/7. He was deeply philosophical and highly intelligent, but didn't make up for what Penguin had wanted out of a relationship. It took just a few weeks spending time with his friends for the bachelor's party up until the wedding to really knock him out of his trance. Well that's a year I'm never getting back.
"Penguin. Wanna take a walk on the beach?" Killer asked.
Penguin shrugged before getting up. "Sure." He removed his shoes before following after Killer towards the water.
The two left the married couple, whose currently deciding on who's cooking. From the looks of it, Eustass won with the shit eating grin of his. He wondered, how nice it would be to find someone that complimented each other so well. The hatted man ran after Killer wincing slightly at the heated sand between his feet. The beach was crowded as the two weaved through other's beach spots. As they arrived at the shoreline, Penguin gladly put his feet into the cold water.
"You aren't hot in that?"
"Kind of." He could feel the heat radiating off his skin. The thin long sleeves and jeans wasn't exactly ideal beach gear. "But it's better than getting sunburn." Penguin replied.
"They did invent sunscreen."
"What is this sunscreen you speak of? I've never heard of it in North Blue." Penguin joked.
Killer let out a low chuckle. "I forgot you guys live in igloos and never seen the sun before."
"And you guys apparently don't own shirts. I've yet to see a shirt on anyone since I've gotten off the plane. Even the pilot who waved goodbye to the passengers was shirtless." He exaggerated.
"That's how we pick out the non-natives."
Penguin laughed. He really did miss talking to Killer. It was one of those moments where he could relax and enjoy that someone else would retort back to his rather sarcastic personality. He had remembered how quickly they click during the wedding. Even after all these years, it was as if the time gap didn't strain their friendship. "It's good to see you again Killer. How have you been?"
"The flower shop has been going well. I've been helping Wire with his landscaping job with supplying his flowers then helping on location."
"And here I thought you found your calling in lifeguarding. You gotta watch after your Kid."
Killer smiled at the play on words. "He's actually not on the beach that often. I'm filling in for a friend. Heat's on the other side of South Blue for the summer. So I'm helping out part-time."
"No one else can fill in?"
"Kid can barely save himself in the water much less another person and Wire's in the middle of an important project. It was already too late in the season to hire someone new. And how have you been?"
"Good for the most part. Just came out of a year long relationship with this guy, turns out, he's been cheating on me for a while. Shachi caught him eat another person's face off in the park." Penguin could hear Killer chuckle quietly and he was fine with it. At this point, he was just bitter about the relationship. Like all of his friends, Killer knew of his bad omen with relationships. The man was just easy to talk to, plus alcohol and late night helped. "And now my mentor is giving me this assignment to write a short story on a relationship."
"Is this the assignment Law told me about? He said something about along the lines of you needed help with relationships and I should help you."
"Do you have a relationship specialist certificate that I didn't know about?"
"No, but you're currently single." Penguin nodded. "Then do you want to pretend?"
"What?" Penguin's head whipped towards Killer. He was sure he didn't have water in his ears.
"Pretend to be in a relationship with me. You know to help you with your assignment."
Law watched as the two of them drove off. Penguin seemed to be deep in thought when he had returned. That concluded that Killer must of asked which wasn't a surprise to either person. Penguin had a nasty habit of falling in love too quickly especially if the other party showed some interest in him. What his best friend needed was just someone who would reciprocate those feelings too. When Kid had told him about Killer, he thought, what the hell, Killer seemed like a good enough person.
He figured if the proposal didn't go over well with Killer, then Penguin was free to stay at his house for the month. Killer didn't seem too happy with the alternative plan. "So how long has he liked Penguin?"
Kid was loading the rest of the beach gear into the trunk. Tossing them in almost haphazardly before turning towards him. "You'd be surprised, but apparently around the time we were about to get married."
"That was over five years ago…"
Kid grinned. "The man takes a while to like someone, but afterwards, he won't let go." He tossed the umbrella in and slammed the trunk's lid.
Law hummed lightly. "Sounds like someone else I know."
"Is he tall, handsome and married to you?"
The dark skinned male smiled, patting Eustass' cheek lightly. "Well, he's one of those things…" Law smirked watching Eustass frown a bit before jumping into the car to start the engine.
"I'm two of them at best!"
Killer opened the door, allowing Penguin inside before locking up. Penguin looked around at the place. It was simple and almost bare of anything besides the furniture. Killer had mentioned that below was the family flower shop that he had taken over. His parents had left the shop and house to him and are now happily retired in the mountains.
"Your room will be down this hall." The blonde led him down a narrow hallway. The walls were freed of any photograph or anything despite the nails that were left in the walls. Killer opened the door to his room, allowing him in. "Tell me if you need anything else in the room."
Penguin smiled at the room when he walked in. "It's cozy." It was slightly bigger than his apartment room back at home. A full size bed, desk and chair. It also held an actual closet compared to the wardrobe he had.
"How's your cooking skills?"
"I can make a mean cereal." And the sad part, he wasn't even joking. Shachi had often taken care of cooking in the apartment and when he wasn't around, Penguin would order out. It was one of those skills that he never really picked up. It was also one of those skills that he doubt he could pick.
Killer snickered. "Really?" The hatted man crossed his arms, frowning a bit. "Well we've got a month together, I'll teach you some skills, while you're here."
"Okay, but I have two left hands and a habit of cutting skin, so I hope you don't mind blood in your food."
"I don't mind as long as you put effort into it. I'll handle dinner tonight myself. Rest up and unpack , I'll call you when it's done." Killer waved as he headed into the kitchen.
Penguin allowed himself to fall into the desk chair. He was tired from the long plane ride. The lack of energy had left him sleeping in Killer's truck. He had wanted to talk to him some more, especially about the proposal. He stretched a bit before forcing himself up onto his feet and headed to the kitchen.
Before the two actually got to know each other, it was the usual 'hi's' and 'how are you' before talking to our usual group of friends. That was the consistency of their conversations between Eustass' friends and Law's. Honestly, him, Shachi and Bepo were a bit terrified of Eustass' friends. They eventually got along, it just turned out Eustass' friends were just as weird as they were, but slightly more violent. Then the wedding came around and the two ran into each other at the bar.
He approached the blond who was filling up the pot with water. A variety of vegetables were laid out next to a cutting board along with a box of pasta shells. Guess we're having pasta. "Hey Killer."
"Weren't you unpacking?"
"I'll unpack afterwards. Let me help you."
"Alright," he gave Penguin the filled pot, "toss this onto the stove at high heat."
Penguin nodded setting the pot on the stove before turning on the heat. "Were you serious about pretending to be in a relationship?"
"Yea." The response came almost immediately. Killer kept his eyes on the vegetable in front of him while dicing them.
"Why?" The question caught Killer's attention as he turned towards him, waiting for him to continue. "You wouldn't be benefitting much from this proposal." And it really did bother him after he thought about it. The two of them wasn't that close. At least, in Penguin's mind he didn't remember them being close.
"You're not going to buy the 'I want to help a friend out' spiel?"
"A friend would not suggest getting into a fake relationship." Killer chuckled. "I'm serious. Plus I feel like I'm freeloading off of you."
Killer turned around as he finished up dicing up the tomatoes. He handed Penguin a box. "Dump the entire box into the water and stir occasionally."
The hatted man frowned a bit, but took the box dumping the pasta shells into the boiling pot. "You're not listening are you?"
"I am. You're worried about minor details." He reached for a green bell pepper and continued dicing them. "How it would benefit me is: I would get enjoyable company for a month, I get to spend time with you without the need of either one of us running off to check on the groom and if you're that worried about freeloading then work for me downstairs in the shop during the day."
Penguin stopped his stirring. The man still had his back towards him as the sound of the blade hitting the cutting board continued. He wondered how much of it was him being serious. The offer was tempting and from the sounds of it, it would benefit Killer indirectly. He did want to spend more time with Killer and it seemed like the feeling was mutual. "Let me think about it… the proposal that is. I can help you down in the shop for the month."
"That's fine, I'll show you what to do tomorrow morning. Hey can you tie my hair back?"
Penguin blinked at the request. "Sure. Hair tie?" Killer held out his arm where a few hair ties, most were outstretched and worn out, laid. Penguin grabbed one and proceeded to attempt to tie his hair back. He grabbed the wild golden mane and was surprised at how soft it felt. His fingers combed through it a bit enjoying the softness before tying it into a low and sloppy ponytail. "How do you even manage this hair?"
"I grew accustomed to it. Also if you're worried about the relationship, we won't do anything you're uncomfortable with. That would defeat the purpose of helping you. We'll just be pretending to give you a feel of a relationship."
"Ah… it's not…" It wasn't that, but he was at least happy to hear the blond's consideration. He just didn't date friends.
Killer hummed. "Well, it's still up to you. I'll find another way to help you out with your story if needed."
A smile crept up onto man's loyalty precedes him. He almost regretted meeting Killer the way they did. If they haven't known each other, he wondered. How likely would he had agreed to dating him. Well no use for what ifs.
"Thank you. But I think you just wanted an employee you didn't have to pay, didn't you?" Penguin joked as he returned back to the silver pot, stirring it again..
"Guilty as charged."
Penguin unpacked his suitcase as he waited for Shachi on the other line. He had promised his best friend that he would call as soon as he was settled in. Almost like my mother would. The sound of the call ringing played in the back as he put away the last of his shirts. He's definitely going to have to invest in some sunscreen while he's here. He hadn't expected it to be that hot, but there was no way he could wear long sleeves and jeans the entire summer and not die from a heatstroke.
"PENGUIN!"
Penguin nearly jumped out of his skin, turning around to see Shachi's face squished against the screen. "Shachi?!"
Shachi pouted as he moved away from the camera. "You could've at least given me a virtual hug back!"
"You scared the living daylights out of me and you wanted a hug?!"
He folded his arms, turning away. "I still want that hug."
Penguin sat down in front of his laptop. "I'll give you a month long hug when I get back."
"I'll grab the super glue then." The redhead grinned. "We'll be hugging until there are permanent hug marks on each other."
Penguin laughed. "We might as well add it to our tattoos with a hug tattoo. Wrap arms around here with an arrow."
"I'll get a design drawn. We'll match!" Shachi was beaming through the camera. Penguin wasn't sure how he was always so positive, but his best friend always found a way to make light of situation. "So how's South Blue? Did you see Law?"
"Law picked me up from the airport, he gotten a lot darker, yet Eustass still looks the same in paleness."
"Maybe they did skin surgery, Law switched their skins to confuse people of their origins." Shachi looked side to side before lowering his sunglasses a bit. He leaned in close, whispering. "I bet they're running from the World Government."
Penguin leaned in close as well. "Maybe, just maybe, they're both wanted for piracy."
Shachi backed away, gasping over dramatically. "I knew it!"
Penguin fell into a fit of laughter at Shachi's 'acting'. "Afterwards, we immediately went to the beach."
"Good thing you wore light clothing."
"I nearly froze at home and then overheated here."
"Does that mean you're well done? Fresh Penguin à la mode? Actually well done is a horrible way to eat meat. Medium rare is much better."
"If you put that on your menu, I'll sue you for cannibalism." Penguin joked.
He's definitely going to miss him while he's away. The two were next door neighbors only a few weeks apart. Shachi being the older, yet much more childish of the two. They grew up together, went to school with one another up until college. Shachi went off to culinary school while Penguin went off to write. Shachi was now the sou chef at a well known restaurant in the North Blue and Penguin still can't write a satisfying relationship in his story nor find one.
Shachi watched him from the other side, noticing the change in expression. "If it makes you feel any better. Your ex showed up and one of the waitresses accidentally spilled soup on him."
Penguin smiled a bit. "It does, but that's not what I was thinking about." Penguin started explaining about Killer and his suggestion. He even told him some of the jokes the two made. There really wasn't any harm in the situation. The proposal really would be extremely helpful. It wasn't like he didn't have relationship experience, it was just… none of them lasted long. And none of which felt mutual.
"Wait Killer. The Killer, Eustass' best man right? The one with the long blond hair?" Penguin only nodded before noticing Shachi's grin. He's seen this grin before.
"No way Shachi."
"Oh come on, he's hot. And you two seemed to hit it off. You clicked like two pieces of a puzzle. And, and he's loyal from what I've heard with a huge mane. Like a dog. Or a lion."
Penguin was trying to keep his frown to stand his ground on how this was a bad idea, but a smile cracked through at Shachi's description. He's heard some of the stories Killer had told him. In conclusion, the man was deeply loyal to his best friend. Actually, to anyone the man would call a friend, he seemed to always be there to help. And Penguin feels like that would be the best kind of person to fall in love with, but a ruined friendship wasn't worth it. "You know I rarely get into relationships with friends."
"That was one time, Pen. So you got into a relationship with your friend from college and you two ended up butting heads a lot towards the end and now you're not friends anymore. That was years ago. You're now older and maturer and Killer's a completely different person. And it's all pretend."
"I'll think about it." But Shachi did bring up some good points. The entire thing was pretend and Killer really would be the perfect partner. The two enjoyed each other's company. They would be loyal to each other within the month. And Killer wasn't bad on the eyes at all.
"While you're thinking about that…" He paused while pulling out his phone. Soon the sounds of wedding bells could be heard from the speakers. "You hear that? It's the sound of wedding bells!"
"We're not getting married! You just said it was pretend."
Shachi grinned. "You seem to be forgetting about how you caught the bouquet at Law's wedding."
"He tossed it at me."
"Same difference." Shachi moved closer towards the camera. " I know you and I love Law, but I better be your best man. I will fight Law for that position."
"You would lose and I'm not getting married."
"Yet."