Chapter 23

Penguin was a little nervous. He hadn't slept very well either. This was all because of some messages in the Puck Rock group chat the evening before. Sure, a lot of people from their group had reacted immediately that Friday morning when he'd asked if Killer and Bonney could join them, but not all of them had. Someone had waited until the evening to say something.

Bartolomeo had replied to his message just before Penguin went to bed. 'Wait, ain't Bonney that chick with pink hair?'

'No, her name was Perona,' Gambia, Bartolomeo's friend who was also in the group chat, but wouldn't join them the next day, said.

'No, the other one I mean,' Bartolomeo had responded.

Penguin wondered how they knew Bonney and Perona, but for some reason, he got a bad feeling about it. Eventually, he had answered, 'Yeah, Bonney has pink hair.'

'Yeah, I think I know them,' Bartolomeo replied. 'Killer's got long blond hair, right?'

Shit, Penguin had not anticipated that. He had not realized anyone outside their school might know Killer as well. Which was stupid, of course. Killer was bound to know some other people, but still Penguin hadn't expected one of them to be in Puck Rock.

Penguin didn't know how to react. He had promised Killer there wouldn't be anyone who knew him in their group. Would he have to let Killer know about this? But then he might not want to come anymore. Penguin didn't want that to happen, and besides, it would be weird if he'd have to say Killer and Bonney cancelled, just after Bartolomeo had let him know he knew them. That would definitely be suspicious.

As Penguin took some time to think of an answer, Bartolomeo saw this as an invitation to explain himself. 'We met at a pub, a few weeks back,' he texted. 'So they're still together? I think that was when they first kissed.'

Penguin thought of Bonney and Killer kissing, and the sickly feeling he had gotten only increased. He remembered them kissing, and it had been awful to watch. He'd better never see that again. 'No,' Penguin had answered. 'They're just friends now.'

'Really?' Bartolomeo texted back. 'Then why are they coming together?'

'Because they're friends…' Penguin replied.

'If you say so…' Bartolomeo didn't sound like he believed him. 'She's got some big bazoongas though.'

'Jesus, Bart, behave.' Surprisingly, that message came from Shachi. Penguin should have known his friend had been quietly following the conversation. He was actually kind of grateful he hadn't said anything up until this point, though. Still, the fact that it had been Shachi who had said this, actually said a lot.

It had been the end of the conversation, but the whole thing still didn't sit well with Penguin. He thought he ought to warn Killer, but at the same time he really wanted him to come, and was afraid Killer would cancel if he knew. He'd been thinking about it until he finally fell asleep, and he had been thinking about it as soon as he woke up again this morning. He still hadn't texted Killer, and now it was too late.

Penguin put his skates in his bag and grabbed both his hockey sticks – Ikkaku would bring her spare one as well. "I'm leaving!" he yelled into the house as he put his coat on and opened the front door.

"Have fun!" he heard his father's voice from somewhere.

Penguin stepped outside and pulled the door close. In front of their house, Shachi's family's car was waiting for him, his mother waving. Penguin put his stuff in the back of the car and then sat down on the backseat next to Shachi. "Hi," he greeted both Shachi and his mom. "Thanks for picking me up."

"You're very welcome," Shachi's mother said, and she drove away.

Shachi looked at his friend. "Saw you carrying two sticks, so I take it Killer's still coming?"

Penguin nodded, and hummed affirmative.

Shachi looked long and hard at him, and Penguin didn't want to meet his stare. "You didn't tell him, did you? About Bart?"

Penguin pulled the flaps of his cap downwards. "It won't be that bad, right? So what if Bart knows them? We weren't going to be all couple-y anyway."

"If it isn't that bad, then why didn't you tell him?" Shachi was still looking at him intently.

Penguin finally looked back at his friend and groaned. "I'm afraid he thinks it's a reason to cancel. But I don't want him to. And I honestly don't think it's a good reason to cancel."

"Of course it's not," Shachi agreed with him. "But wouldn't it be fair to leave him that choice?"

Penguin was quiet for a moment. "Maybe." He sighed. "Don't think I didn't lose sleep over this."

Shachi snorted. "Life's hard, having a boyfriend," he teased.

Penguin chuckled, biting back a perverted joke he wanted to make, realizing in time that Shachi's mom could hear them. He shook his head. "Only a closeted one." If Killer would just be open about it, there would be nothing holding them back, and Penguin wouldn't have to worry about these little things.

It wasn't long before the car came to a stop in front of the building containing the ice rink. Through the window, Penguin could already see Killer and Bonney waiting near the entrance.

"Is that him?" Shachi's mom asked, and Penguin felt his nervousness increase even more.

"Sorry, can't tell you," Penguin answered, and he opened the door of the car. "Thanks for the ride!" He jumped out, and Shachi and he retrieved their things from the trunk. They waved Shachi's mother goodbye and walked towards Killer and Bonney.

"Hey," Penguin greeted Killer. He wanted to kiss him, but restrained himself.

"Hey," Killer greeted him back. They stood there, a few feet apart, looking at each other for a few seconds, suddenly a little awkward. It was the first time they were both together with either Bonney or Shachi present, and somehow, they didn't really know how to act around each other anymore.

"Oh my God," Bonney groaned. "Just kiss already, there's no one else here."

"Please," Shachi agreed.

Penguin looked at Killer and saw his boyfriend's eyes wander around for a second, before taking a step towards him. He pulled Penguin close and kissed him on his lips.

All of Penguin's previous nervousness disappeared. God, he had missed kissing Killer. It had been over a week since he had really kissed him – not counting the quick peck he had given him at school yesterday – and he was going to enjoy it to the fullest. Dropping the bag with his skates, he put his free hand behind Killer's head, and opened his mouth to let his tongue slip between Killer's lips, who gladly answered with his own.

"Yeah, that's enough," he heard Shachi comment, but Penguin didn't care. It wasn't enough, he was going to keep kissing Killer for as long as possible.

"There's someone coming," Shachi commented again, and Killer broke off the kiss abruptly.

Bonney snorted. "Who's still very very far away."

Shachi shrugged. "It worked."

Penguin sighed and shot his friend an annoyed look.

"We haven't officially met, by the way," Bonney said, holding out her hand to Penguin. "I'm Bonney, Killer's beard and wingwoman."

Killer snorted, and Penguin couldn't suppress a chuckle either as he shook her hand. "Penguin," he introduced himself, even though it wasn't really necessary. Still, he couldn't help but teasingly add, "Killer's boyfriend." It just felt so good to say it out loud.

"Okay, shall we go inside?" Shachi asked.

"You and Bonney go," Penguin said, and he looked at Shachi to get the hint. "I gotta talk to Killer for a little bit, we'll be there shortly."

Fortunately, Shachi either got what it was he wanted to talk about, or just didn't care, because he nodded and gestured Bonney to follow him through the entrance.

Bonney and Shachi were gone, and Killer looked expectantly at his boyfriend. Penguin pulled his cap straight. "So, ehm… slight miscalculation on my part," he started, smiling sheepishly.

Killer felt a tightening in his chest. What kind of miscalculation? Was this about the text on the gym wall? Because he definitely still planned to talk to him about that.

But Penguin continued, "Apparently, one of the group has met you and Bonney before… Bartolomeo?" he said, looking to see if Killer recognized the name.

Killer thought for a moment, kind of glad he didn't immediately know the person Penguin was talking about – at least this person couldn't know him well. "The name sounds vaguely familiar… He knows us both you say?" Where could he have met anyone from outside school that knew the both of them? It must have been at a performance of the Hawkins Pirates. Then he remembered. "Oh, green hair, septum piercing?" One of Wire's friends.

Penguin nodded. "That's the one. He said he'd met you at a pub. I didn't know, I'm sorry."

Killer ran a hand through his hair. "It's okay, I'm here with Bonney, he probably still thinks she's my girlfriend." It was a good thing he'd brought her.

Penguin was silent for a moment, and didn't meet his eyes. "I… I kinda told him you were just friends," he said quietly.

"Hey, Penguin," a female voice called out and the girl it belonged to reached them shortly after it, giving Killer no time to react to what his boyfriend had said. He took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that it didn't matter. Just because they knew Bonney wasn't his girlfriend, didn't mean they'd know Penguin was his boyfriend. And at least that Bartolomeo guy had seen him kissing Bonney, so it would probably be okay.

"You must be Killer," the girl said to him. "I'm Ikkaku. Where's that girl you promised me, Penguin?"

"She already went inside with Shachi," Penguin nodded to the entrance.

"Well, shall we go too then? I'm sure the others will be waiting for us already," Ikkaku said.

Penguin picked up his bag and looked questioning at Killer, who nodded. No point in making a thing of it now. He'd just try to make the best of it.

Killer had to rent some skates, as the ones he owned had become too small for him. When Penguin and he reached the changing room – Ikkaku had left for the woman's changing room – Shachi was there, chatting with a guy with pink hair, and another with long blond hair. He introduced them as Coby and Helmeppo.

The two guys were already ready to go, so they went to the ice rink, leaving the three of them behind. Shachi said the others of their group were already securing the hockey space on the rink. Apparently, it was a big ice rink with only a small part reserved for recreational hockey, the rest for whatever anyone else wanted to do.

As Killer was taking off his shoes, he heard Shachi mumble to his friend, "I see he didn't kill you." He probably thought Killer couldn't hear him.

Penguin didn't respond, and Killer decided to pretend he hadn't heard him. Still, it sounded like Shachi had expected him to get angry. While Killer was in no way pleased there was someone here who knew him, it was hardly a reason to get angry at Penguin. But he didn't mind Shachi's wariness towards him. Better to keep him slightly afraid if that meant he would be more careful with Killer's secret.

"Don't I need to use protection or anything?" Killer asked Penguin when his shoes were off. He had seen the other guys wearing some.

Shachi burst out laughing, and Killer saw Penguin look at his friend. "Jeez Shach, grow up."

Only then Killer realized how his words must have sounded, and he rolled his eyes.

Penguin reached into his bag. "We don't play that rough, usually, but it might be advised to wear some shin pads, at least." He held out a pair to him. "I brought my spare ones. If you want more protective gear, you can rent some at the desk, I think."

"That's okay, thanks," Killer took the shin pads from him. "If you all don't play with more protection, I won't need more either."

"Unless you want to be goalie," Shachi said. "But since it's your first time playing with us, I don't think anyone will let you anyway." He stood up, having put on his skates already. "I'm gonna hit the ice. See you in a minute, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Killer shot him a warning look, but it was lost on Shachi, and he left the changing room. Killer sighed. "He's gonna give me away at some point, I just feel it," he said quietly, so the other people in the changing room wouldn't hear.

"He won't, don't worry." Penguin touched his leg reassuringly for just a second. "He knows you'll kill him if does."

Killer snorted. "Good."

Killer put Penguin's shin pads on in silence. They were slightly on the small side, but he guessed they would offer enough protection for today. As he put on his skates, he was awfully aware of Penguin next to him. Killer actually hated being so close to him without being able to show his affection. He wanted to touch him, kiss him, hug him. Even if it were just the little things.

Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he did… Would it really be so bad as he thought it would be if people found out he was gay? Penguin obviously didn't think so, but… what if Killer was right? It wasn't something you could try out… Once people knew he was gay, there was no way back. And only one wrong person had to know, and everyone else would know too. Bartolomeo, for example. If he found out, he would surely tell Wire. Killer's stomach turned. He couldn't handle that.

"Are you okay?" Penguin asked him, standing up, skates on his feet.

Killer looked up at him and smiled because of the genuine worry in Penguin's voice. "Yeah." He tied up the last of his skates and stood up as well. "Let's go."

TBC~!

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