Author's Note:
Give it up for chapter four.
Skipper sighed as he waddled over to Marlene's habitat. The little talk that he and Marlene had last night was still fresh in his mind and a good penguin never went back on his word.
He had told his men that they had the day off; of course he didn't tell how he would be spending his own day.
He shifted the deck of cards in his flipper, anticipating the little game they would be playing soon thanks to Marlene who had generously lent her habitat to them so they could talk privately. Skipper wasn't very cheerful when it came to Marlene's offer, but she hit him full force of her evil puppy dog pout which, remarkably, Skipper was not immune to.
As he entered through the door, something he rarely did, he saw André sitting on what appeared his bed, obviously waiting for him.
Skipper forced a smile as he took his confused expression in. He was good, too good. "Hello, André."
"Skipper." He smiled at the penguin nonetheless, even though he truly wasn't fond of him. He was just too… strange for his liking. "Any idea what's happening here? Marlene didn't tell me."
"Well, Marlene and I had a talk last night and we both agreed that… we should get to know each other more. And I just want to say," Skipper clenched his jaws together, trying to put together the words he rarely used, "I'm sorry that I treated you the way I did yesterday. It was wrong for me to do."
André smiled at his apology. "It's no problem Skipper. Marlene told me you had trust issues. Something about… being military refined?"
Skipper flinched. That otter was going to get an earful. "Oh did she now?"
"Yeah," André looked down at Skipper's right flipper, "a deck of cards? Are we gonna play a game or what?" The French otter flashed the penguin a smile.
"Oh, of course." If this otter is anything like Pepe La Pew, he is out of here.
Skipper and André both settled down at a table that Marlene had so very kindly put up for them. "So… what zoo were you at before you came here?" Skipper asked him, trying to get information from him.
"Well, I was in La Palmyre Zoo in France. It is the most popular zoo in Europe. One of the most recommended among them, too." André chuckled, making Skipper cock an eyebrow. "Ah, I was just remembering how the Meerkats would always torment the people. It wasn't very funny, but you just had to laugh."
Skipper frowned down at the cards as he shuffled them in his flippers. That answer was not what he was expecting. Although, him being from France itself marked out most of his enemies, for a good portion of them couldn't set foot in France. "Yes, the, uh… Spider Monkeys here sure make a show with the guests. Although, you have to let them loose since they don't know how to operate the locks on the cages. But when you do, they never disappoint."
Skipper grinned as he started to distribute the cards evenly. "How are you getting along with Marlene so far?" He wasn't exactly sure why he wanted to ask this question so bad, he just had an inescapable itch to.
"Oh, we're getting along great. The water is fabulous here when we take a dip in the pond." He glanced up at Skipper, noticing him pause on separating the cards.
"Go on." Even though Skipper said it, he wasn't sure if he really wanted him to.
"Um, she's really… nice and… pretty. She has a great personality. And she seems pretty fond of you." He licked his lips as he saw Skipper look up with interest.
"Oh, really? How so?" The conversation wasn't really going along as Skipper had planned but… this could work.
"She said how hardcore you were and how you seem to be hard on the outside but soft on the inside sometimes. She mentioned you being pretty… um… sweet at times. Although, not often. But when you are… you're very congenial."
"Congenial? Wow, didn't think she thought that." Skipper furrowed his brow. He had no idea that Marlene liked him on his sweet side.
André's eyes widened slightly as he noticed Skipper's pleased grin. Oh, no… what if he likes her? I cannot let that happen. She should be all mine. "But she also mentioned how annoying you get when you pop up randomly. She really doesn't like your ways, Skipper. I mentioned her actually having feelings for you but she said she would rather date Julien. Heck, she said she would rather date Maurice."
Skipper cringed at the thought of her being together with one of those lemurs. But he felt even worse knowing she actually thought of him like that. "Oh…" His eyes narrowed and his smile turned upside down at the feeling of a knife being twisted in his chest. And André continuing on about what Marlene had said wasn't helping anything.
"Yeah… she's starting to get a little sick of you. She mentioned you were completely psychotic and that she wished you would go back to Africa since you're turning her life upside down. Sorry, man."
Skipper looked up into his eyes, trying to find any sense of lying but… all he saw was blackness. "Oh, no, it's fine! I didn't… didn't have feelings for her anyway! No, just forget it and play the game." He picked up his cards and tried to put on his poker face, but his mind was clogged with pain and thoughts of Marlene.
How could she say that about him? He thought that she was his friend and that he could trust her but… maybe not.
What he heard from André nearly tore his heart out of his chest, not to mention he felt a knot beginning to form deep in his stomach. It felt like he was almost depressed and betrayed and forgotten.
Why was he feeling that way? It was just Marlene! She was an otter that saw absolutely no interest in military life. She was the complete opposite of Skipper. But… don't they say that opposites attract? It was like she was a North end of a magnet and he was a South end…
He mentally shook himself away from that thought. Sure, they were opposite alright, but they do not attract. No, no, no… double quadruple no!
They were more like peanut butter and jelly. Wait, don't peanut butter and jelly… go good together? Skipper growled angrily, finding that he was stuck.
"You okay, Skipper? Having a losing hand?" André asked suddenly, knocking Skipper out of his thoughts.
Skipper scoffed. "Only in your dreams, otter." He looked down at his cards and saw that he was indeed getting creamed. "Uhh… on second thought… I'm not really in the mood for a game of cards…" Because I can't pay attention to a damn thing I'm doing.
André grinned, knowing Skipper was indeed losing. "Alright, what do you want to do?"
Skipper tapped his beak in thought. He looked back over at André when it came to him. "How about we go for a walk? Has Marlene already given you a tour?"
***
"…my father was never really a passionate one. He would always kick us around and order us to do things. Not the best parental guidance in the world."
Skipper nodded as André continued to tell him about his life story. He could already write half a biography about André already and they were only just passing Joey's pen. Perhaps André really wasn't the spy that he thought he was…
"Now my mother, she was a sweetheart. She would do anything for us kids. She was very affectionate. My mother finally divorced my father and then… well you know. I don't want to get into all that family business."
"It sounds like you had a very rough time in France," Skipper offered as they walked in the direction of the Reptile House.
"Eh, not really. You get used to it after a while. I finally learned how to ignore my father but my younger siblings… not so much. It was hard for them to let them go. But with some family counseling, they got to the point where they really saw the bad side of my father. I had to protect them from him for a while, which was hard on me because I would always take the hits."
"It's a good thing you did protect them like you did. You always want the next generation to have a good childhood so it won't cause problems in the future. You did the right thing, André," Skipper muttered, still not believing that the new otter had to go through all of that misery.
"Yeah, so what's your life story?"
"My life story? You want to hear my story?" Skipper looked up at André in shock. He had been through so much he still couldn't believe it. He battled the Lochness Monster, had been to Atlantis and saved Princess Awaki and fought in countless wars and missions. His life was enough to fill ten books… and rising.
"Sure. I told you most of mine, now I want to hear yours."
"Well, I've got too much to tell. Being the military penguin I am my life has had too much drama and action."
"Alright… what was the first mission you went on in your life?" André asked, obviously trying to break his story down into pieces.
"My first mission was to stop Dr. Blowhole's machine from firing to the center of the Earth, which would have caused the planet to blow up… or implode inward… I can't remember clearly." He looked over with amusement as André stared at him, his mouth agape and his eyes wide.
"Are you serious?"
"Does this face not look serious to you?" Skipper pointed at his expression, which was entirely blank except for his cocked brow.
"No, it looks serious enough," André said with a shrug.
Skipper chuckled. "I have to say, André, you're not the otter I thought you were. I originally thought you were a French spy. But I think you've proved me wrong. You're pretty decent."
"Uh, thanks… Skipper." But inside, André's gut twisted uncomfortably.
He had lied to Skipper about Marlene saying all of those things… but it was the only way to keep his flippers off of her.
Marlene deserved him, not that flightless bird. He was much better for her anyway. He could actually love her, while that penguin couldn't. They could have a family, while Skipper and Marlene could never do that, no matter what they did. She needed a mammal, not a bird that was too caught up in the past, much less in military.
"Well, I better get going, André. I don't want Rico blowing up metal in the microwave again," Skipper muttered as he glanced back at his home.
"Yeah, it is getting a little late."
Skipper looked at the sun. "You're right. And, André, I'm glad we had this talk. You're alright in my book."
"Thanks, Skipper. That… means a lot to me."
They both turned around and went their separate ways.
Skipper jumped into the refreshing water and opened the hatch to the HQ but as soon as the warm air hit him from the hidden room, Marlene immediately came back to his mind.
His stomach churned, making him feel like he wanted to throw up. He moaned and looked back over at Marlene's place, seeing André greeting Marlene outside of the door. He watched as they hugged, sending stomach acid up his esophagus.
Oh, well, at least he knew how Marlene really felt about him. Now hopefully that would affect the future in a good way.
Now he had to focus on telling the boys about André being in the clear.
Sure, André wasn't a French spy sent to steal their secrets and plans, but that didn't mean he still couldn't cause trouble.
Author's Note:
Haha! Didn't see that coming now did ya? Admit it! I have to say that Skipper was pretty naive and stupid in this chapter... he's blinded by love!