This chapter will be twice as long as usual, so I hope you enjoy!

BTW, I wrote a kidlaw part that takes place during chapter 13 of this story (when Penguin had to get out of the house and went to Killer, who was home alone because his father was out for an 'emergency' :P). I only posted it on AO3 so far, because I feel like there aren't really many people interested in it on here. But if you do want me to post it here, let me know in a review. If it seems like people are interested after all, I might just post it. (It's lots of smut).

But for now, enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 24

When Killer stepped onto the ice, his legs wobbled for a second. It had been a while since he had skated, but he was glad he stayed on his feet. It would have been embarrassing if he fell on his ass while Penguin was watching.

Speaking of Penguin, he skated gracefully in the direction of the hockey side of the rink, as if he'd been born doing it. When he noticed Killer couldn't keep up with him, he turned around in one swift movement, and stopped, smiling at him. "You can skate, right?" he asked teasingly.

Killer took a few strides and noticed it going better soon. "Of course, I can." Killer straightened his body. "It's just been a while."

Penguin reached out with one of the hockey sticks he was still carrying, and Killer grabbed the other end of it. Instead of letting go of his end, Penguin pulled the stick towards himself, and Killer followed, just being able to stay on his feet. He came to a stop right in front of Penguin, and only then Penguin let go of the hockey stick. He looked at Killer with a big smile on his face. "We'll practice a little before we'll really start playing." He touched Killer's hand for a second.

Killer felt his heart speed up, and he had to hold himself back to not kiss his boyfriend. Why did he have to be so cute? He grabbed the edge of Penguin's shirt and pulled him towards him, bringing their faces close together, looking threateningly at him. "Stop being so kissable," he grunted.

There was a cough next to them. "Get a room." Killer heard Bonney's voice just before he felt a hockey stick hit the back of his knees.

He let go of Penguin, who grinned widely, and Killer scowled at Bonney. She held up her hockey stick in defense and looked playfully at them. "No PDA on the ice," she said quietly.

Then she took a Mars out of the pocket of her jacket, unwrapping it, and nodded to Ikkaku, who had skated past them without them noticing. "Hey, she's cool."

Killer raised an eyebrow. "Cool?" he asked meaningfully, thinking the implications of his question were obvious.

Apparently they were, because Bonney rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, cool."

Penguin looked from the one to the other. "Am I missing something?"

"Nah," Bonney said, before Killer could get a word in. "I'm just glad I'm not the only girl here."

Penguin chuckled. "Ikkaku is too. She's complained about being the only one for a while now, so I'm sure you're more than welcome to join us more often, if you'd like."

Bonney nodded. "Who knows, maybe I will. Let's see how today goes."

"Yeah," Penguin said. "Let's go, they're waiting for us." He didn't wait and skated towards the side of the rink.

Killer was going to follow him, when Bonney grabbed his arm. She sent him a warning look. "Don't forget: your secret for my secret. Just because he's your boyfriend, doesn't mean he has to know about me."

Killer chuckled. "I wasn't going to tell him. But if we're being fair, my secret is known by four people already – at least. Yours only by one: me."

"You've got a boyfriend, he doesn't count," she said, and they slowly started skating to the rest of the group. "And his father doesn't either. So, only me and Shachi count."

"Why don't they count?" Killer shook his head. "You should get a girlfriend, then you'll get what I'm talking about. Penguin wouldn't care that you're bi."

"I know," Bonney said. "But he doesn't have to know."

"I'm not gonna lie if he asks about it," Killer warned her. He knew it wasn't fair to say that, because he would flip if she said that to him, but it was the truth. It felt stupid to lie about that to Penguin.

But Bonney sighed. "Fine, but only if he specifically asks about it."

They had almost reached the group, and that signaled the end of their talk about their secrets. As they arrived, Killer saw a guy he didn't know yet talking to Shachi and the two guys he had met earlier in the changing room. Suddenly, Helmeppo's appearance got through to him, and he placed his hand on Bonney's shoulder. "I'm keeping an eye on you. They've got a guy with long blond hair in their group," he said teasingly. He knew Bonney's advances to get into Basil Hawkins' pants hadn't turned into anything – at least not yet – but Killer did remember her type.

Bonney gave Helmeppo a look over and pulled a face. "Pass."

Killer snorted, and then their arrival no longer went unnoticed. Ikkaku and Penguin turned towards them, and the other four came skating towards them as well. Only now Killer noticed two more guys, leaning against the edge of the rink. One he'd never seen before, the other, picking his nose and flicking his findings away, was obviously Bartolomeo. They looked up when they saw the rest of the group move, and came their way as well.

"Oh yeah, he's here, by the way," Killer said quietly to Bonney, nodding in Bartolomeo's direction. "But he knows we're not together anymore. Apparently, Penguin told them we're just friends." It seemed a good idea to update her on that. He had asked her up front if she'd go along with it if they needed to pretend they were a couple, and she had agreed. So Killer thought he'd better let her know that that wasn't an option anymore.

Bonney didn't have time to reply to that, as the group had gathered around them. "So, you're Penguin's mystery friends?" One of the guys Killer didn't know, said.

Killer looked questioning at Penguin. "Mystery friends? We're barely friends." He got a bad feeling about this.

"Ouch," Penguin said barely audible.

"Yeah, well, Shachi was being weird about it," the guy clarified, and Killer immediately turned his gaze towards Shachi. What had that bastard said?

"We just got talking about hockey," Bonney suddenly said. "And Penguin invited us, that's all." Killer was very grateful that she spoke up and that she could bluff so convincingly. He'd have to kill Shachi another time.

"Hmm." The guy, who still hadn't introduced himself, looked from Bonney to Penguin and back, and seemed to come to a conclusion of his own. "Alright," he said in a tone that implied he knew better than to believe that was all. Then he held out his hand to Bonney. "I'm Clione." Bonney shook his hand, and introduced herself, after which he did the same with Killer.

The guy who had been talking with Bartolomeo introduced himself as Uni, and Coby and Helmeppo introduced themselves to Bonney as well. Bartolomeo held up his hand. "We've met, at that Hawkins Pirates performance."

Killer nodded. "I remember."

They started practicing, like Penguin had said, just getting used to the feeling of staying on their skates, and passing around the puck for a while. It was nice that there was a place on the rink especially for when people wanted to play hockey, but it wasn't really separated from the rest of the ice rink, so sometimes people accidentally skated through their space, apparently not noticing the goals. Penguin commented that that would probably stop when they would start playing a match, since it would become more obvious it was the hockey space by then.

When both Killer and Bonney had gotten the hang of it – the others were obviously more experienced – they decided to play a first match. They made two teams of five. Penguin and Shachi were forwards of their team, with Clione and Ikkaku as defense and Uni as goaltender, though Killer had been told that they didn't usually stick to their positions that well. On the other team, Bartolomeo was apparently the best goaltender, so there was no discussion there, and in the end, they decided that Killer and Helmeppo would start as forwards, so Coby and Bonney were the defense. They agreed they could mix up positions after their first break if they wanted to.

Coby set a timer at the side of the field, so they'd know when twenty minutes had past, and they started. They had asked a random bystander to drop the puck, but hadn't been able to convince him to be referee for the whole game, so they'd keep score themselves. They had agreed to play low, and if someone would fall, they'd pause the game until they were back on their feet, to make up for the lack of helmets. Killer wondered if it wouldn't be easier to just wear helmets, but he wouldn't be the one to suggest it. If they always played like this…

Shachi had thought it was a good idea to have Killer and Penguin do the first face-off, so here they were, facing each other. Penguin grinned at Killer, and Killer returned his look challengingly. Killer watched as Penguin spread his legs and got closer to the ice, and he swallowed. Penguin looked kind of hot like this, all focused and grinning challengingly at him, slightly bend over. Still, he was glad Penguin was facing him. He was sure his mind would wander off completely if he'd been looking at his ass right now.

"You wanna be close to the ice," Penguin told him. "Open your legs a bit and lean forward."

Killer felt a blush creep up his cheeks and took a deep breath to get rid of the dirty things his mind came up with. Focus on the game, he told himself. He mirrored Penguin's position.

"Ready?" The guy next to them asked, but didn't wait for the answer and dropped the puck, immediately fleeing off the field.

It wasn't much of a face off. Penguin had won the puck immediately, and all the other players started to move. Penguin's team went full offense, and they dashed forwards, passing the puck between them. They got past Killer and Helmeppo relatively easily, the former still being slightly distracted by Penguin. Bonney made a good attempt to steal the puck away from Shachi, but he still managed to pass the puck to Penguin, who just got past Coby, and shot hard at the goal. The puck went straight for its target, but Bartolomeo managed to block it easily.

"What the hell, guys?!" Bartolomeo shouted angrily. "Are you still asleep? How did we end up with both the new guys anyway?"

However, the game continued as Coby snatched the puck away and passed it to Helmeppo, who started a counterattack, and Killer was going with him, now completely focused on the game. The two of them made it pretty far towards the opposite goal, but then Ikkaku managed to take the puck away from them before they could try to score.

Now that everyone was more focused, the game became a little more exiting. Killer managed to score at one point, and so did Helmeppo, but it was still obvious that Penguin's team was a little stronger. They made it towards the goal way more often, but Bartolomeo was one hell of a goalie, and he formed a barrier that no puck could pass. This seemed especially frustrating to Penguin, who kept trying to score, all the while impressing Killer with his skills.

It was a few minutes before time, when Killer had just regained control of the puck. As he didn't see an opening in front of him, he passed it back to Bonney, but Bonney missed, not even looking at the puck. Shachi immediately took advantage of it and chased it towards the goal. He shot hard and… it went past Bartolomeo by an inch, ending up inside the goal, raising a cheer from Shachi's team.

Bartolomeo cursed loudly, but Killer had noticed he had been distracted, and so had Bonney. He followed Bonney's gaze, and now saw that several others of the hockey group were looking that way. It wasn't hard to spot what they were looking at. Or rather who they were looking at. Close to the hockey field, a figure skater in a white ruffled blouse was jumping into the air, spinning around his core at least two times, his long blond curls following him gracefully. When he landed, he did so on one leg, and he made a circle on the ice, with the other leg sticking out beside him. Killer saw the guy glancing at them, a smile on his face – and Killer had to admit it was a pretty face; the prettiest he had probably ever seen on a guy.

The figure skater started skating backwards towards them, and slalomed between the hockey players, who had all stopped moving by now to look at him. He circled around Penguin, and then around Bonney, in front of whom he came to a stop. Out of nowhere, he had a rose in his mouth, which he took into his hand and gave to her. "I see you only have eyes for what's really important," he said.

Killer saw Bonney look enchanted at him, taking the rose from his hand. "Oh no," Killer said as he realized something; the guy had long blond hair.

Several guys in their group groaned. "Can we please go back to the game?" Shachi asked.

"Oi, Cabbage!" Bartolomeo shouted. "What are you doing, interrupting our game like that?!"

The figure skater – Cabbage? – gracefully skated towards him, batting his eyelashes. "Oh?" he said when he'd reached Bartolomeo. "Were you distracted?"

A blush covered Bartolomeo's face. "Of fucking course not! But you're a fucking show-off and only seeking the attention of our newest players, you creep!"

The guy laughed as he skated away from him, this time going straight for Killer. "You're new too," he said, looking him up and down.

Killer heard Bartolomeo shout something about ignoring him, but Killer's attention was completely on the guy before him. "Uh, yeah… I'm Killer," he said, not sure who this guy was and if he wanted his attention. Sure, the guy was gorgeous, but in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable. He seemed to know he was gorgeous too.

The guy rolled his eyes as Bartolomeo was still yelling at him, calling him 'Cabbage' again. "Ignore that brute, my name is Cavendish," he said to Killer.

Coby's timer went off, signaling that twenty minutes had passed, but the only one who moved, was Penguin. He placed his hand on Cavendish' shoulder, seeming to grab him tightly. "Cavendish…" he said in a low, and threatening tone, surprising Killer. It was quite funny to see Penguin like this, though, since Cavendish was a foot taller than him.

"Oi," Cavendish turned around to him. "Don't bruise my pretty shoulder!"

At that moment, Bonney reached them, and she grabbed Penguin's arm. "Let's all cool down, shall we?" she said quietly. "It's break time, time to eat something." She looked at Cavendish and smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Cavendish. I would love to watch you skate some more."

That was smooth, Killer had to admit. Getting rid of Cavendish while boosting his ego. It seemed to work too, as Cavendish smiled at her.

"Of course," he said. "The ladies just can't get enough of watching me." He slowly skated backwards, letting his eyes wander from Bonney, to Penguin, to Killer. "Some of the guys neither." He glanced quickly at Bartolomeo, before starting his routine again.

Bonney sighed relieved as she watched him go. "God, he's pretty. Bit too aware of that fact, but pretty."

Killer and Penguin hummed in agreement, after which they looked at each other. "You think so too?" Penguin asked, insecurity evident in his voice.

Killer shrugged. "I'm not blind."

"I wish I were blind right now." Bartolomeo came to a stop next to them. "So I wouldn't have to watch that attention seeking creep show off like that." He huffed, but still followed Cavendish with his eyes. "Let's take a fifteen-minute break, before continuing." He skated towards the benches that were standing on rubber mats just beside the ice, and the rest of the group followed.

Some of them took off their skates for a moment, while others sat down with them on. Killer wanted to take them off too, but he had left his shoes in the changing room. But then he got an idea. "Well, since we're guests and all, let me get you all something to drink," he announced. "Hot chocolate for everyone?"

The group reacted pleasantly surprised, and they all agreed to hot chocolate. Killer had seen a canteen near the dressing rooms, so he knew where to get it. "I'll just go by the changing room to get my shoes for a bit, that makes it a bit easier. Penguin, will you help me? I don't think I can carry ten cups by myself."

Penguin, who hadn't brought his shoes either, stood up immediately, a little bit too eager. "Sure."

"I'll come too," Bonney said, and Killer send her an unamused look. Was she for real? Wasn't it obvious he wanted a moment alone with Penguin? Killer was annoyed, but couldn't really let it be known, without raising suspicion.

However, Bonney seemed to have noticed, and defended herself. "I wanna get something to eat. You can't carry that as well."

Killer sighed. "Yeah, and I'm not gonna pay for that either."

The three of them made their way towards the changing rooms, and as soon as they were far enough away from the rest, Killer opened his mouth. "Why don't you go ahead, Bonney, it'll probably take a while before they've prepared your food anyway."

Bonney got the hint, and shrugged. "True," she said, and left them at the entrance of the men's dressing room.

They went inside, and Killer noticed there was nobody else there. "Finally," he sighed.

Penguin walked towards where they'd left their shoes, and sat down. "Do you think Cavendish looks better than me?"

Killer could barely suppress a snort. Was Penguin really afraid of that? "I think you're way more attractive than him," he reassured his boyfriend.

"That's not really an answer to my question," Penguin said, looking at Killer with big eyes.

Killer sat down next to him, and held his hand. "Sure, he's beautiful, but it's not doing anything for me. You do." To emphasize his words, he kissed Penguin on his lips. When they broke apart again, Killer looked into his eyes. "Stop being insecure," he told him.

Penguin nodded, looking all flustered, but happy. "Okay."

They took off their skates in silence, and when Killer slipped into his shoes, it seemed the right moment to address a certain issue. "You know…" he started, having thought of the best way to talk about this for a while now. "It seems like there's someone at school who has a crush on me."

Penguin looked up at him. "Wha– How do you– What did– Who?" he stammered.

Killer shrugged as he got his phone out of his pocket. "I don't know… But someone wrote on the wall…" He selected the picture Wire had made yesterday, and showed it to Penguin.

Penguin looked at it and chuckled. "How do you know that's about you?"

"Wire said so," Killer answered in all seriousness. "Apparently he's got great intuition when he's high."

He could see Penguin was trying not to laugh, and even though Killer felt like he should take this more seriously, he felt slightly giddy himself.

"Does Wire know who the P is?" Penguin asked, tying up his shoelaces.

"No. But he's determined to find out who my secret admirer is." Killer put his phone away again.

Penguin looked cheekily at him. "Okay, I admit… It was me. I have a crush on you."

Killer snorted. "Aww, babe, that's so embarrassing."

Penguin snorted too. "Shut up."

"Make me," Killer said, before he'd thought it through.

Within the blink of an eye, Penguin had straddled him, pushing his back against the wall, and kissing him for dear life. Killer let out a surprised moan, but kissed him back, letting Penguin's tongue enter his mouth. For a few seconds, he lost himself completely in the kiss. But then broke away and pushed his boyfriend softly back. "Anyone can walk in on us here."

"You asked for it," Penguin said accusingly, but he climbed off Killer's lap.

"I did," Killer admitted.

At that moment, someone walked into the changing room, and Killer thanked the heavens it hadn't been a few seconds earlier. He tied his skates together and swung them over his arm. "Let's not keep Bonney waiting for any longer."

While they walked towards the canteen, Killer carefully hooked his fingers around Penguin's. "I'd appreciate it if you don't draw our initials all over school, though." His heart beat loudly, and Killer had to force himself not to break their physical contact as soon as he saw someone in the hallway. It was someone who didn't know him. He could do this. The woman probably didn't even notice he was holding Penguin's hand, he had to tell himself.

Penguin smiled at him. "I'll try."

"I'm serious," Killer said. "If more people see it, somebody might find out."

"I won't," Penguin reassured him, and they neared the canteen. "But do you realize you've been holding my hand for a while now?"

"I'm very aware of that, yes." Killer looked around to see if there still wasn't anyone they knew around, and he only spotted an unknown man coming out of the canteen. Killer tightened his grip on Penguin's hand as the man walked past them. He gave them a short look, but didn't say anything and continued his way. Killer let out a relieved breath and loosened his grip again, but he didn't let go of Penguin's hand.

"I like this." Penguin smiled broadly at him. "You're taking steps, that's good."

Killer opened the door of the canteen and looked inside. Still nobody he knew. He dared to keep holding his boyfriend's hand. "Yeah, well, nobody here knows me, that's different."

The smile didn't leave Penguin's face. "Still, it's a first step."

Bonney was sitting at the bar, eating fries, and she looked at their joined hands as they walked up to her. She raised an eyebrow. "What the hell did I miss?"

"Could you two stop acting so surprised?!" Killer asked. They were just holding hands!

"No," both of them said in union.

"One second you're afraid your neighbor's cousin's cat finds out you're gay, the next moment you're holding hands as if it's no big deal at all," Bonney added.

That was as far as he could go. Killer let go of Penguin and looked angrily at her. "Will you keep your voice down?!" he hissed.

She looked at him, unimpressed. "Oh, I thought you were out of the closet now," she said dryly, though a little more quietly.

"It's okay," Penguin said, putting a hand on Killer's arm, keeping him from kicking Bonney's ass. "Baby steps, are still steps."

The bartender, a friendly looking woman with dark green hair, smiled at them. "What can I get you two love birds?"

Killer stared at her in horror and quickly took a step away from Penguin. "We're not– I'm not–" he stammered. Discretely holding hands was one thing, but admitting to a stranger that Penguin was his boyfriend was a step too far.

He heard Penguin sigh next to him. "Baby steps…" he muttered. Then he took a step towards the bar and directed his voice to the bartender. "Ten hot chocolates, please."

"Ten?" she repeated surprised.

"Our friends are waiting at the rink," Penguin explained.

The bartender nodded and placed a cup underneath the one hot chocolate machine they had. Then she turned back at them. "But it's okay, though, I'm not judging you."

Killer saw Penguin look at him, and he remembered to breathe again. He tried to get his rapidly beating heart under control as he stepped forward as well, rejoining Penguin's side. Maybe… maybe it wasn't that bad if she knew? He wouldn't see this bartender ever again, probably. And she seemed nice enough about it.

She placed one cup in front of them and placed another one at the machine. "I'm nothing but happy for you," she said to reassure him.

"Thanks," Killer said quietly.

"Maybe coming out to strangers first is a good start," Bonney commented quietly, while stuffing her face with fries. "Might make it easier to come out to the people you care about."

"Oh yeah, you'll do it too then?" Killer snapped. If it was so easy, why didn't she just come out then?

Bonney's eyes shot fire. "I'm gonna fucking kill you."

Killer was a little glad that Penguin was between them, and only when he saw his boyfriend look from him to Bonney, he realized what he had said out loud.

"Wait, you're actually gay?" Penguin asked Bonney.

"No," Bonney said, crossing her arms in front of her chest, still looking furiously at Killer. "I'm bi. And what do you mean 'actually?'"

"Nothing," Penguin said, but he soon succumbed under her pressing stare. "Shachi made an educated guess."

"He thinks I'm a lesbian?" she asked, and Killer was quite surprised too.

"Thought, at least," Penguin cleared up. "Until you two started kissing." He gestured between Killer and Bonney and pulled a face.

Killer snorted. "Well, now you know her secret. She's bi. And Ms. bartender knows it now too."

They all looked at the bartender, who placed a third filled cup on the bar and a fourth underneath the machine. She smiled at them. "Still a hundred percent okay with it. Love is love. Would you want a tray with that?"

"That'd be great, thanks," Killer said, immensely relieved because of her acceptance.

"Well, you know," Bonney started, putting the last of her fries in her mouth. "If it would help you come out, I wouldn't mind telling some strangers about my sexuality."

Killer didn't know what to say. Would it help him? Probably not. He had made his earlier comment to show her that it was not as easy. But if she did think it was easy… that probably didn't change a lot for him. On the other hand, if he might see that other people accepted her, he might feel more accepted as well. But that could also backfire. If he saw people treating her differently for it, he knew for sure he wouldn't tell anyone anytime soon.

"Do you guys know any of these people?" Bonney asked, gesturing to the five people sitting at tables in the canteen.

Killer looked at them, not feeling all too well about what Bonney could possibly planning. "No."

Penguin shook his head. "Me neither."

"Good." Bonney turned her back to the bar and faced the people sitting down. "Shall we tell them, then?"

Killer stared at her. Would she really?

Bonney glanced sidewards at them. "Penguin, would you mind anyone knowing you're gay?"

"I'm pansexual, but no, I don't care," Penguin answered. "I've been to Pride since I was ten, it's not really an issue for me."

Both Bonney and Killer looked surprised at him. "You have?" Bonney asked.

Penguin shrugged. "My father strung me along at one point." Penguin looked at the hot chocolates on the bar, six by now. "Anyway, weren't you both coming out and all?"

"Yeah, no," Killer said. He couldn't do it. "What if any of these people know my father?"

"That's a very slim chance," Bonney argued. "Besides, even if any of them know our parents, they'd also have to know we are their kids. There is no way we wouldn't recognize their faces, right? If they know who we are, we would recognize them…" she said, but Killer could hear the doubt creeping into her voice.

Apparently, Penguin heard it too and was having none of it. "Absolutely. There is no way they know who you are. Just do it."

"Yeah," Bonney nodded, and then raised her voice. "Hey, everyone, can I get your attention?"

"What –" Killer clenched his teeth. Was she really going to do it?! Part of him wanted to stop her, but another part of him actually wanted to know what would happen. The combination of the two made that he stayed frozen in place.

When all five people turned their heads towards Bonney, she continued. "We, these two guys and me, are not straight!" she announced.

Killer watched their reactions carefully, ready to run or to fight anyone who'd say something bad. He saw two people raise their eyebrows at her, and then continue their chat, one guy gave her a thumbs up, and another woman just returned to what she was doing on her phone. In the back, a freckled man stood up, grinning broadly. "Me neither!"

Killer couldn't help a small smile from creeping up his lips. That wasn't so bad.

"Felt good?" Penguin asked Bonney. Then he looked at Killer, who smiled at him.

"Actually, that was terrifying," Bonney admitted. "But yeah, it also felt kinda good."

Killer looked at the people at the tables again. The freckled guy was sitting down again, but still grinning at them, while the other four had returned to their previous activities as if nothing had happened. He looked back at Penguin. "Well, that could have been worse." Killer grabbed his boyfriend's hand again and softly squeezed it.

He heard the bartender chuckle. "Your order is ready. That'll be twenty-five dollars."

TBC~!

Don't forget to leave a review! (and let me know if you want me to post the kidlaw bit on this site)