6. Hours
Skipper grunted softly as he turned over in bed, closing his eyes tightly. No matter how he moved or shifted, he couldn't find a place comfortable enough to fall asleep. He tried going over drills in his head, what to do in what situation. He tried counting sheep. Hell, he'd even stepped out for a quick run in hopes that it would just tire him out.
Nothing.
This is what he got for years of being a soldier. All that training, the hard work, the missions. It got to one. Sure he was a little paranoid, but it kept him alive, didn't it?
… It kept him awake too, sometimes.
Groaning, he turned over and looked at the clock. He watched it, the longest hand ticking away each second. One by one. Seconds became minutes. Minutes became hours. 0300 hours. 0400 hours. 0500 hours. 0600 hours.
Skipper turned over in bed as he heard a loud yawn. He watched silently as Rico dragged his feet toward the bathroom. He almost looked like he could go back to sleep in the middle of his small trip.
Lucky psycho.
7. Days
Rico gave a soft grunt of complaint. Kowalski didn't need to hear words to understand, tilting his head back to look at the sky. "Two days left." Another groan as the shorter penguin rolled over, covering his face with his flippers.
"How can anyone stand it?" Private asked.
Kowalski could only imagine how Skipper was feeling right now. They'd made a deal. Julien could keep his music going for five whole days so long as he promised to stay absolutely quiet for the same amount of time afterwards.
It was driving them crazy. Sure, it was catchy at first, but after hearing the same track over and over again…
The penguins jumped as Skipper climbed out of the fishbowl entrance, a deep scowl on his face. "Rico!"
The manic penguin grinned widely and coughed up a mallet. They watched admirably as their leader hopped over the fence of their exhibit, marching toward the lemur exhibit.
"Three…" Kowalski started the countdown.
"Two…" Private continued with a delighted little giggle.
"Boom!" Just as Rico yelled this, there was a smash and a shout from a very angry lemur king. The team cheered, throwing their flippers up as their leader returned, looking quite proud of himself.
Five days simply wasn't worth it.
8. Weeks
"No!"
Skipper jumped to attention as he heard the cry from the team's youngest member. A number of thoughts ran through his head. It could be Dr. Blowhole. It could be a tennis ball machine uprising. Whatever it was, they had to help.
"Kowalski, Rico!"
All three slid down the ladder that led into HQ, each taking on a combat stance as they landed. "Private, what is it?!" Skipper demanded, gaze darting around in search of whatever threat was waiting for them.
Private was sitting directly in front of the TV, looking like a wreck. "They left me with a cliffhanga' Skippa'!" he cried, pointing to the television, which currently read 'To be continued…'. "It'll be weeks before the next episode!"
"… A… cliffhanger?" Skipper repeated dryly, his shoulders slumping.
Kowalski blinked and shook his head, moving to waddle closer to the television. "Did Fernando finally tell Leticia how he feels?" he asked, moving to sit next to the smallest penguin.
"No, but he was close," Private answered as Rico sat on Kowalski's other side. "Then Marcia got in the way."
Ah… what the hell. Skipper moved to take a place next to Private. "Well… rewind it, Private, we want to see." The younger penguin grinned and clicked the rewind button.
9. Months
He couldn't even begin to describe his excitement. After waiting so long, all that hard work, doing everything he was told, not matter how difficult. All that time perfecting and practicing.
"Private," Skipper spoke, holding himself to his full height. On each side of him were Kowalski and Rico, their flippers folded dutifully behind their backs.
"Yes Skippa'?" Private asked, doing his best to look proper, like a good little soldier. Three weeks learning the basics. Two months learning the harder stuff. Another two learning the strategies. Three months becoming a part of the team, learning the others movements, their thoughts.
"You've trained hard," Skipper continued, smiling proudly down at the youngest penguin. "You've passed every test we've handed to you."
Finally, it was here.
The leader took a deep breath. "You are officially part of the team." All three gave a sharp salute in time with one another.
Private returned the salute, a huge grin worn across his beak. "Oh, thank you, Skippa'!" He hopped from one foot to the other, his enthusiasm getting the best of him. "I won't let you down, sir, I promise!"
Months of blood, sweat, and tears. It was worth it.
10. Years
It had never been anyone's fault. It'd been such a small slip-up, but on a mission, one slip-up can end in disaster. Private hated it from the very beginning. The others were all angry at each other. They would argue and, at one point, even fight.
That's what had done them in. After that they just sort of… broke apart.
It'd been years since then, though. Surely they couldn't stay mad. They were a team, after all. So connected it was like they could read each others minds. After several trips and persuading speeches, he managed to get a time and place that everyone could meet.
Skipper was the first to arrive. No surprise. Private perked up considerably, seeing the leader. "Skippa'!"
"Private," he returned a little awkwardly, holding himself straight.
"I'm glad you're here."
Skipper looked away, fidgeting uncomfortably. Private smiled and waited. Before he knew it, Kowalski showed up as well. "Am I late?" he asked carefully, gaze flickering between the other two.
"A little earlier," Private answered, cheered to see him as well. Perhaps this could work.
A grunt caught all their attention, as Rico landed (he'd probably jumped from a tree) a few feet away. There was a long silence in which no one knew what to say. They just took in the sight of their former teammates.
"So…" Kowalski laughed nervously.
Private decided to try and break the awkwardness. "Look at you guys. You all missed each other, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be here!"
There was another brief silence. Skipper took a deep breath, sucking up his pride. "Private's right. What do you say, boys?" he held out his flipper.
Delighted, Private immediately put his flipper on the former leaders. Slowly, Kowalski smiled, his flipper joining the others. All eyes turned to Rico. The manic penguin chuckled lowly, resting his flipper on top of everyone else's.
"We're a team," Skipper announced. "No matter what."