After an entire week of being avoided, Skipper had had it. He was going to talk to Private no matter what.
On this particular evening, both Kowalski and Rico had gone out for some snow cones. Leaving the HQ to Skipper and Private, who stood in the corner. Blinking more often to keep himself awake. He was afraid to ask his leader for permission to sleep. He usually just asked Kowalski, or even Rico. But since the 'lesson', he couldn't even look his own leader in the eyes.
Skipper waddled up to him. He placed a flipper on his comrade's shoulder. Private flinched, and in a panic, he jumped, climbing into his bunk and cowering. Skipper's heart sunk as he started speaking, in a calm and hushed tone, "Private…I'm so sorry…sorry for everything…I shouldn't have done…what I did. I shouldn't have put you through that trauma. I feel so guilty about it…I promise that I won't do that ever again…as long as I live…if you'd just come back to us…Private, we need you on the team. Without you, everything falls apart. Everything this unit has worked for this far. Gone, down the trash…just because I was too stupid to see that that stupid punishment would hurt THIS much…"
Private perked his head up at those words. He looked to his leader, who looked just as miserable and self-loathing as him. Was he…crying? No, he couldn't be! But…he was.
In soft sobs, his once strong leader was now breaking down. Private got up slowly, afraid to do anything further. But as he looked to Skipper, who was – or used to be his role model, something happened. His sympathy towards others returned to him, and drove him to hug his leader. He clung to him tightly, as if he was a teddy bear, and he was the small defenseless child, who only had the stuffed bear to protect him from all the goblins, ghouls, and monsters who he believed hid in his closet every night. And like that child, he wasn't going to let go.
Skipper stopped as he looked down to the small penguin bellow him. The one that afraid to even talk to him was now hugging him. His eyes welled up with tears once more as he hugged the private back.
"I'm so sorry." Skipper managed to choke out.
"Y-You don't have to be." whimpered Private as he buried his face into his leader's chest feathers.
Kowalski and Rico popped in through the hatch, fully unaware of the sight they were about to see.
As soon as they saw that the team was once again reunited, they joined in the hug. They were now all crying, all except Private, who had fallen asleep in his comrades arms amongst all the excitement in the lair.
Skipper didn't care whether or not he was crying for sadness, or for joy. In fact, all he cared about as that moment was being with Private. HE was consoled knowing that step by step, they could now bring Private to his former self again.
He knew for a fact, that he would NEVER teach Private, or anyone else, a lesson in obedience ever again…
End
