Kiki, Kowalski, Nicky, Rico, Private and Cassy met in the park. But they didn't enter the zoo. It was only four fifty. Ten more minutes couldn't hurt could it?
"Can we go wait now?" Destiny asked impatiently. She wanted to see them. She wanted to see what Skipper had seen. Eyes filled to the brim with nothing but love. She wanted to see that. So she knew. So she didn't have to worry anymore. She was tired of worrying. If they weren't going to listen to her then she was going to need to know that they were safe.
"Fine." Skipper sighed. She had been annoying him for long enough now. She wanted to see what he'd described to him. And they hadn't come back yet. He did say before five. Not at five or after five. Before. And they weren't here yet.
They walked to the clock tower and climbed it. Skipper had brought a pair of binoculars to help him spot them before she did. To give her a warning. She took one side of the bell and he took the other. It was a good thing too. He saw them right away. They were standing fifty yards away from his position.
"Hey." He called "Come here." She wanted to see what he'd seen. Now was her chance. They were acquaintances now. They could do good things to each other now instead of fighting.
Destiny didn't know what he'd seen. But she felt butterflies in her stomach. Good and bad. She wanted to see the love. To get rid of her worry that they'd get their hearts broken. But then again, he could be tricking her. Just to get a laugh out of this boring night. She walked up to Skipper and took the binoculars.
"Look straight. You'll see them." Skipper instructed.
She looked forward with the binoculars pressed against her eyes. She saw them right away. They were leaning into each other. Kiki on Kowalski, Cassy on Private, and Nicky on Rico. The girls almost looked like they were burying their heads in the boy's chests, the way they rested their heads on them. And the guys let them. They let the girls bury their heads into their chests. Destiny watched them. The boys lowered their heads, resting them on top of the girl's heads. They had their arms around each other. The girls flippers casually draping around the guys necks. And the guys arms surrounding the girls, holding them, around the girls middle. They looked so confortable. So happy. And when they glanced into each other's eyes she saw it. It was only there for a second before they closed their eyes and returned to their peaceful embrace again. But in that second she saw it. All the love they felt towards each other. All of it. All of the want to spend every moment possible with each other. The longing to be together, without fear or a deadline. Forever. She saw that they would die for each other in a heartbeat. A blink of an eye. She saw respect too. In the boys eyes. They respected the girls. They were good guys. What Kiki had tried so hard to tell her…was true. She had been surrounded by jerks for so long that she had forgotten. Boys can have hearts too. They can be wild and respectful. They could be nice, gentlemen.
Gentlemen. It had the word men in it. Gentle and man. A gentle man. A Gentleman. Nice, kind, respectful, gentle. Destiny had forgotten about them. She forgot that there were gentlemen in the world. And now, she knew four. And she was standing right next to one of them. It felt strange to stand next to him. He hadn't moved. Not towards her. He didn't give any sign of doing so. He was keeping his distance. She didn't mind that. She didn't want to be close to him. She wasn't comfortable around him yet. After a while she wouldn't mind him anymore. But right now she was a bit shaky. He knew one of her deepest secrets. He could do anything with it. Blackmail, sellout, backstab, anything.
But she didn't have butterflies in her stomach. Or knots. She didn't feel worried at all. She felt a mysterious trust towards him. Like she knew he wouldn't tell anyone. She trusted him, even though he didn't really do anything to gain that trust. She felt trust towards him, calmness. He was different. The more she was around him, the more she saw that he was different in a good way. He didn't kill or anything like that. She could tell just by looking at him. She had pulled the binoculars away from her face and was currently analyzing him. He was completely calm. There were no tensed shoulders, his back wasn't straightened, he was sitting down on the concrete roofing of the tower, stargazing. He was watching the stars, just sitting there looking up upon them. Looking at them with tired eyes as they sparkled. His eyes did too. They sparkled. It was the reflection of a star in his eyes. But it brought out how deep they really were. That was one thing that she had noticed, Skipper had deep, soul deep, sapphire blue eyes. They were very nice. Beautiful even.
Skipper had acted calm all night. That's what she thought was truly amazing. She had blown up at him, shocked him, told him something very traumatizing. But he remained calm. Silent. Yet, she could feel his presence. The boys back in Florida weren't like this. She could really sense Skippers presence. It was the strongest sensation anyone had ever given off. She would know if he shifted position, or passed out, fell backwards, forwards, just by sensing his presence. Usually she couldn't sense someone like that. There had to be a reason for something so strange.
And even stranger than that was her abnormal want to be around him. Able to watch what he does. Her attraction to him. No boy, even before Mark, had ever attracted her like that before. Something about him. It had to be him. It wasn't herself. It had to be Skipper. But them, another question was raised. What was it about him? Why did he seem to have such a pull? It was an odd feeling.
Skipper knew that she was staring at him. He could feel it. She was looking him over. But he didn't feel awkward. It didn't feel…strange to him. Like she had the right to analyze him right now. She did in a way. She told him something. But he told her nothing about himself. So in a way Destiny did have a right to look him over.
He took his mind off of it by looking up at the stars. Only the bright ones could be seen through the glare of the city. But the clear night sky was still beautiful. There were many stars that could be seen through the cities glare. He watched some blink off as others turned on. The sign of a new life, and a death. His mother had told him once, when a star turns off, when it can no longer be seen, a new life is born. And when a star appears, someone has died. So as he sat there watching the stars blink on and off, he thought of how coordinated the stars were. Whenever one blinked off, another would blink on. He forgot about Destiny for a few minutes. Looking up at the white lights that dotted the black sky. It was calming. To him it was.
But he had to shift his attention back to her gaze. He didn't look at her. But he still felt her lingering gaze. It killed him to wonder what she was thinking. And why she was still staring at him. What bothered him wasn't her gaze. Nor her thoughts. It was his own feelings and urges that bothered him. He was comfortable around her. He felt like he could trust her. But he wasn't going to. Not fully anyway. She trusted him enough to tell him about Mark. But he didn't know if that was just an act or not. If her stare was just that, a stare. And her thoughts were on how to trick him. But then again. If that was the case then, why did he have the urge to get closer to her? Why did she feel different than the other girls he had known? Why did he feel like he could trust her? He didn't know her very well. Everything he knew about her came from her hostility and the things he had observed over the last month. So what was it?
Skipper looked out at the park. Passed the guys, and the girls, passed the grass and the trees. He looked out further than the streets and the buildings. His eyes were open, but he didn't see anything. He remembered what he had observed. What he had learned. Destiny hadn't exactly treated him like she cared for him at all. He was just another guy. And now he knew why he treated him like that. He had to organize it all. Everything he'd seen, every word she'd said to him, everything he could remember.
After a few minutes he came up with a partial profile on Destiny, mentally of course. He wouldn't tell anyone either. It was purely for himself. Destiny had dated different guys until she met a man named Mark, who changed her entire outlook on the male species. Until today Destiny had treated him like she hated him because he was a male. She seems to be a lot like himself, which confused and interested him at the same time. She hid her feelings behind a wall of stone. But she did care, she was strong, mentally and physically. She had a heart, when and where she used it was something he didn't know for sure. But it seemed to Skipper that although she put out a tough attitude, uncaring and heartless at times, it was a lie. She wasn't heartless. And for some reason he didn't think she would let him die if she could do something about it. He wouldn't let her die. He would save her. She was different. All girls were different. Unique in their own good or bad ways. But that wasn't it. Destiny gave him a sense. A weird sense that he hadn't felt since Johnson was around. Like he didn't have to worry so much. He started to feel like some of the weight that constantly rested on his shoulders, was lifted. Some. Not all. But it helped keep him calm. And it only lifted when Destiny told him about Mark. Like somehow her trust in him gave her some of his worry. She was just as focused as he was. Just as concentrated and alert as he was. Maybe that was why. He really didn't know why he felt a little of the weight lifted. But that was his guess. Destiny matched him. She could help. Or she could give him a very good fight.
Destiny pulled her gaze away from him. She didn't understand why she had the need to know him. She never really wanted to get to know a guy. Even before Mark. She didn't usually go up to a guy. But she was curious. She wanted to know what made him so different. She could tell that there was a heart in him. Something that had been iffy when she first met him and a few weeks afterwards. But now he seemed-she hated to realize what her mind was thinking-attractive. He wasn't exactly nice. But he wasn't totally mean either. He had moods but he somehow contained a mostly open attitude. Or so it seemed. He was strong, clever, and controlled. By himself yes, but he had a very strong hold on himself. After they punished everyone for disobedience, he didn't touch them. Not when he was extremely annoyed. He scared them half to death, it was written in their facial expressions and how they shook when he pinned them against the wall. But he'd stop himself before he hit them even once. He had control. Most guys didn't. He was different in a god way. Not to mention the fact that he actually listened to her and gave her advice after she'd treated him like dirt. That said something about him.
Skipper. Pulled his mind back to reality and looked at them. All six of them were staring up at the clock tower. He laughed. They probable thought they were dead meat. It gave him an idea. They had an acquaintanceship. Why not make it stronger? They could always trick them. They did show up late. He looked up at the clock. It was five oh three. Four minutes late. He said before five. He was pretty sure that five oh three was after five o'clock.
Destiny saw them staring at the clock tower. They saw her and Skipper. She was sure they did. But she didn't know how to react. Luckily, Skipper wasn't so clueless. It was embarrassing.
"Well. I think we should greet them. Are you up for a little trick?" He asked casually.
"Trick?" Destiny asked confused. What did his little head have in mind?
"Well. They're late. So let's give them a little scare." Skipper explained. "You're the one they think is going to kill them." Skipper looked at her.
She smiled. She knew what he had in mind now. "You want me to run after them like I want to kill them." She said. He was smart too. Impressive.
"Let them get away from you. Then we'll both cut them off. You get the confession and details, which I was unable to give before. Then we let them know that we're not going to kill them." Skipper concluded.
Destiny smiled at him. "That's a nice plan." She complemented. "You're smarter than you look."
"Of course I am. I look like an idiot." Skipper countered. He didn't have dignity, or not a lot of it. He doesn't get embarrassed easily. So he could look like a fool and basically not care. People usually got over it and respected him again. It just took time. He had pride. That was something only he could take away from himself. That was all he needed really. That and a heart.
"Can't argue with that." Destiny agreed. He did act like an idiot. He did that when he unwillingly took them for a tour. She could tell the short one, Private made him go. He had at it with the lemur with the hat. She could tell that he just thought it was wrong. It was. And if she wasn't trying so hard not to kill the guy she would've said almost the same thing that he did. But he still looked like an over protective idiot.
Skipper shook his head. He expected her to agree on that. But she sounded more friendly now. And he didn't feel mad at her. He actually wanted to smile at that. It was odd. Usually he'd object to that. Or at least feel some sort of…offence at the agreement. But he thought it as a joke this time. It was strange.
"But she's up." Cassy objected fearfully.
"We can't stay out here though Cass." Kiki reasoned.
"Yeah they'll just come out and get us." Nicky added.
"Then we'll have to go in." Kowalski sighed.
"Anh jegble dulge butds icked." Rico grunted.
"Well yeah. Did you really think we wouldn't get our butts kicked?" Nicky snapped nervously.
They decided to go into the zoo before they were dragged into the zoo.
"Ready?" Destiny asked. This might actually be fun.
Skipper nodded. He told them, the guys, time and time again that you couldn't be late. For a date for a rendezvous. Or for a rescue. Being late had consequences. Sometimes very severe.
Destiny closed her eyes. when she opened them she put her flippers into fists, tilted her head down, pressed her eyebrows together, and got ready to chase six sorry penguins around the zoo.
Skipper also go into character. He made himself look like he was trying to reason with destiny. She looked like she was ready to murder someone. Let the game begin.
All six of them were smart. They entered, saw Destiny, quickly analyzed her, and took off running.
"Well. They're smart." Destiny stated coming out of her killer act for a second. She went after them, turning her killer act back on.
She chased them around the entire zoo. Through every tire swing. In every pond or water spot. Over every rock. In and out of every habitat and room in the zoo. She was growling the whole time. It worked. All six of them thought that she was going to literally kill them. They were running frantically, splitting up and coming together in different areas. It seemed almost like a reversed Pac man game. Six pacmans and one ghost.
After they all joined back together running away from her she stopped. She was in front of the zoovuneer shop. Skipper jumped down next to her.
"Where are they?" She asked out of breathe, a little. Now it was time to surprise them.
"This way." Skipper replied running towards Marlene's habitat. He had a strange feeling that they were running towards her habitat. But he didn't know why.
They jumped in front of Marlene's habitat. Skipper was right, they were running towards Marlene's habitat. They almost ran into Destiny and him. They immediately cowered into flinches as they awaited the first blow. It was actually a little humorous.
"Calm down will you." Skipper said, playing his reasoning act. He had to make it feel real. He could tell by The reactions of the girls and guys that their plan was working well.
"Don't. Tell. Me. To. Calm. Down." Destiny hissed in his face. This was turning out to be quite fun. She couldn't believe it, but it was fun.
"You can't kill them. you already did that once before." Skipper replied calmly.
"Fine." Destiny growled. "Where were you?" She hissed at them, who were still flinching in fear.
They thought they were dead. Now they would never get to see each other again. Not after this. Their love was not allowed. Forbidden. They weren't allowed to be together. And sneaking out did nothing to help. They relaxed a little, looking straight at Skipper and Destiny. But not into their eyes. they weren't brave enough.
"Well." Cassy started. She just wanted to get it done and over with. "Private took me to… um." She couldn't remember the center they were at.
"Rockefeller plaza. The Radio City Theater. The Christmas tree, and the ice skating rink." Private informed. Maybe if Destiny knew then they would be able to see each other. It was worth a shot.
"Oh De it was so much fun. We saw a musical. They had a live orchestra and everything!" Cassy explained excitedly. She had a lot of fun with Private, and wished she could do it all again.
"Destiny didn't reply. Though she wanted to. That sounded nice. Right up Cassy's alley. She probably loved it. More than loved it. She shifted her attention to Nicky. "And you?" She asked with a low toned, aggravated voice. She was curious to know what she did with speechless. That's mean. She told herself. There's a reason for why he can't talk.
"We went on a tour cruise around the island. It was so much fun. We danced and ran around like it was a maze. Well he pulled me." She grinned at Rico. He grinned back. "Still fun strangely. And then we looked out from the top deck. It was amazing. The ocean and the sky faded into nothing. Like and endless abyss." Nicky explained still in awe by the memory of the sight.
That was also right up Nicky's alley. She liked doing fast active things, dancing and running around. She probably had fun too. Destiny turned to Kiki, who was half hiding behind Kowalski. Kowalski looked pretty terrified himself. She couldn't blame him. "What about you two?" She hissed. "What did you do?"
"We-um-we." Kiki couldn't get it out. She had to shake it off. She cleared her throat and stepped out from behind Kowalski. "We went to the top of the Empire State building." She declared.
Destiny was shocked. Slapped in the face. Kiki? On top of the Empire State building? That thing was like, one hundred stories high or more. Kiki didn't even go up ten floors back in Florida. "Oh really?" She asked skeptically. She really was skeptical though. "And how did you wined up on the top of the Empire State Building here, when you won't go passed the tenth floor back in Florida?"
Kiki turned away from Kowalski and pouted. "He took my glasses." She said in a grumpy voice.
"Wow. That was overly simple." Nicky stated. If they did that a while back Kiki would've been long done with her fear of heights.
She turned back straight. "And the sky's were beautiful De! Millions and millions of stars in the sky, more down below. It was almost like being up in space!" She explained happily. Easily one of the best nights in her life.
"Well. Do you trust them?" Skipper asked, holding onto his reasoning act. He was grateful that this was almost over.
Destiny thought for a moment. "I do." She replied.
"Then now you know where they've been and what they've been doing." Skipper stated calmly.
"Yup. Now I do." Destiny replied, also in a calm tone of voice.
The two received very confused looks from the six others. What just happened?
Destiny and Skipper high fived. Mission accomplished.
Nicky felt like a total fool. She had been played. All six of them had been played. "Whoa whoa, wait just one minute." She said strongly. Not scared at all anymore. Just confused. "What just happened?" She pointed at Destiny. "Why aren't you trying to kill us?" Destiny should be ripping them to shreds right now. Miles passed angry about them running off. Sneaking out. What gives?
Destiny laughed. "It's actually quite complicated." She said. It wasn't really all too complicated. She just didn't want to explain it.
"Hold up." Kiki said confused. "You two just played us." She objected. "That's just wrong."
"We did play you. It was a good way to find out where you went. And you were late." Skipper replied casually.
"But why did you two work together?" Kowalski asked trying to figure out all possibilities of what could've happened. "You two hated each other earlier today."
They thought about that for a few minutes. "Let's just say, we got tired of it. And since you guys were missing and he knew why, I had no reason to be angry at him. I thought he knew where you were. So we are officially acquaintances now." Destiny explained. It felt good to tell them. Now they knew. That was a good thing.
"But-" Kiki started.
"Can't you guys accept the fact that yes we tricked you, but I told you to be back before five. And you were late, and we got tired of hating each other. It's not that difficult." Skipper interrupted. He didn't want to explain everything. He didn't need to.
Kiki sighed. They weren't going into detail. And she was going to have to deal with it. For now anyway.
Destiny smiled at them. "Hey it's four days before Christmas." She stated.
Everyone looked at her confused. They all knew that.
"I think I can give an early present."
"What? What is it?" Cassy asked curiously.
"Freedom." Destiny said. She smiled at them, counting the seconds it took for them to comprehend what she had just said. They deserved to have freedom. The boys had proven their love. Even though it was unintentional. She was almost certain that these boys could take care of the girls. They were different. She glanced at Skipper. He had a smile on his face. He knew what she meant.
It took Kiki all of two seconds to figure it out. She lit up right away. "You don't mean..?" She asked not even finishing the sentence.
"I do." Destiny laughed. She liked to see Kiki so happy.
Kiki squeaked happily. She couldn't help herself. She didn't lose Kowalski. She got twenty four hour rights to see him. That was singly the best Christmas gift ever. She turned to Kowalski, who was already smiling brightly at her. She jumped into his arms laughing, and hugged him. He was hers. And she was his. How perfect could this night be?
Kowalski couldn't believe it. He had expected to be stripped of something. Kiki for sure, and maybe the feeling of one of his limbs. But no. He was overjoyed and numb with happiness. Now they didn't have to sneak out. And they could see each other whenever. After training and entertaining of course. He couldn't help laughing as he hugged her. Holding her tight and spun around, ending the spin by putting her down. But he didn't let go. He was too happy to.
Nicky hugged Rico, laughing. She felt so happy. So relieved. Rico had shown her the best night ever. He had shown her love. And now she could see that love every day. She wasn't a fan of mushy things. But she didn't think she could live without Rico. And she was over joyed. Now she wouldn't have to. She could see him whenever she wanted, as long as training was done. But that was the only obstacle now. She felt light. Free. Destiny had given her the best Christmas gift ever.
Rico didn't know what to do. He was too happy for his mind to operate properly. So he just hugged Nicky back and laughed with her. She was his. His and his forever. And now he didn't have to hide it.
Cassy and Private felt the exact same things. Happier than they'd ever felt before. They couldn't believe that their perfect night just got better. They hugged not wanting to ever let go. It was solely, the best night ever. They loved each other more than they could show. Their love only intensified after this night. They didn't have to hide their love anymore. How great was that?
Cassy felt tears in her eyes. She was happy a lot. But she hadn't been so happy that she'd cried. Not in a very long time. She let the tears fall as she held onto Private. Her Private. The one she loved, and who loved her.
Destiny couldn't wipe the smile off her face. It had been ages since she'd seen the girls so happy. She was glad that tonight went the way it did. She felt a greater sense of trust. She felt happier and more alive. But she was also confused at the same time. Confused by Skipper. She felt like she knew half of him. But what was the other half? She would have to find out. But right nowshe was happy. Happy in seeing them so happy.
Skipper didn't expect that. He didn't expect that at all. But it seemed to be the perfect ending of their perfect night. He liked seeing the guys so happy. They hadn't been this happy in a while. It was good to see them smiling like they were. Overjoyed. They looked almost care free that's how happy they looked. And they deserved it. Destiny finally saw that they deserved it. She finally realized that they deserved to be together. Unafraid to be together. He was glad she did. He was right. There was a heart inside of Destiny. He was glad to see that. It meant that he could let go of his worries. She wasn't a robot or a spy. She was a normal penguin. A normal girl. Well not normal. But made out of flesh and bones. Pretty too. Especially her eyes.