The Throne of Flame: Chapter Twenty Four

It was a long climb up to Julien's bedchambers, but Skipper didn't particularly mind - it gave him a nice view of the lemur's behind as he walked in front of him. Madagascar trees grew tall - they were more than sixty feet up, he was sure. And that was still virtually nothing in contrast to some of the other trees, this one being more discreet despite it's size.

How Julien waltzed up the spiraling insides of the baobab tree with a sprained ankle, as though the injury were nothing, Skipper had no idea. Clearly Julien was accustomed to pain, which Skipper supposed made sense by that point. Multiple assassination attempts and a dangerous lifestyle surely led him to know what to do about injuries. Skipper supposed they were far more alike than he could have ever known, had he not embarked on this adventure prior.

Skipper had lived a life full of espionage, exotic missions, and top secret covert operations. He'd been involved in conspiracies, was considered public enemy number one in Denmark. He'd taken down (or rather, helped Private take down) an enemy who had attempted to ruin all of penguinkind. He'd commandeered vessels, sabotaged others, had been the backstabber on occasion. And though Julien's private world of secrecy was far more hidden, he too had his similarities.

Julien's life had been full of secret messages, quiet political decisions, a keen eye on those who might betray him for his radical beliefs. Years of going into hiding, striving to be kept off-target from anyone who might want to assassinate him. Years of avoiding death, dodging it with precision, manipulating others to do his business. He was on the high chain of government, probably avoiding wars and conspiring with the fanaloka leader in one day. All the while with a cleverly stupid facade to cover up his cunning intelligence.

Skipper hoped that by then, he'd known the real Julien, and not another hidden version of him. He supposed it couldn't get much more elusive than that - Julien's biggest secrets were no doubt his communist ideologies, communication with the fanaloka leader, and his previous traumas. And yet, just as he always seemed to believe he'd been swept up by the real Julien, more seemed to unravel.

Would Julien try to hide from him, even though he'd made it seem as though Skipper was the one he trusted most? Surely he hadn't trusted anyone more than Maurice previously, but now even Maurice could not be trusted. Would Julien live his entire life, never capable of truly letting himself be free from the lies he'd piled up? Would he show Skipper the whole of himself, if he hadn't already?

Skipper had never entirely trusted another living being. Kowalski he'd keep an eye on, just in case the man ever cracked. Private he couldn't put pressure on because he knew the boy was too sweet to handle the world, could never hold up in battle. Rico… Rico was the most trustworthy one, but he knew that deep deep down, Rico was his own ticking time bomb, going to explode the moment he could. He wouldn't discriminate when in a fit of fury; everything was fair game to his destruction, even Skipper himself.

Sure, he'd believed that others weren't inclined to do certain things. He didn't think Classified would ever purposefully do something he thought was unjust, but Skipper also would never trust Classified with his own personal life. No one even knew what had happened in Denmark still, save for him, Hans, and the Danes.

But Julien… If given the chance, he wouldn't have minded letting his deepest secrets pour to the king. Julien was good at keeping secrets, and so was Skipper. Sharing them with each other would feel good, hopefully; one soul to understand, to grasp the pain, the aching sadness of their past experiences. Remaining hidden, yet comprehensive. The real question was, would Julien reciprocate?

His thoughts on the matter were stopped when they entered.

Julien somehow managed to sashay over to the bed, even with a crutch, where he laid himself down in the center and threw the thing to the side. He tenderly shifted the sheets to the side, inviting his avian bodyguard to join him, a smile curling at his lips. Skipper couldn't get to the bed fast enough.

Upon getting nestled beneath the sheets, Julien took it upon himself to cuddle up to Skipper. He wrapped his arms around the bird and held him close, nuzzling his face into Skipper's neck with soft, hot breaths. Skipper was, at first, hesitant to return the physical intimacy. He wasn't used to showing his love, especially in ways that resulted in cuddling, but he let it slide. It was a nice feeling, and it was Julien. Maybe he could get used to it after all.

He wrapped his flippers around Julien's body and pulled him closer, which elicited a soft hum of appreciation from the lemur, who ran his tail gently down Skipper's back. Skipper sighed contently while Julien continued to nuzzle at him, which slowly began to feel good… Maybe a bit too good. It was similar to necking, and it made Skipper shiver in enjoyment. He was getting warm, very very warm. And not in the most innocent of ways. His tail feathers shook for a moment as arousal seeped into his system.

Did the king know what he was doing? Did he know that he was turning Skipper on like he was?

A soft nibble to the flesh of his neck, to which Skipper outright gasped. He totally knew what he was doing, as Skipper realized he should have expected. Julien always seemed astutely aware when he was seducing another.

Julien leaned back so that his partner could see his face and sent him a look that nearly made Skipper's heart stop. He knew that look.

He'd seen it before, during various trips within his life; women and men might send him a look like that, one that promised something sexual. A glance filled with lust and sensual enjoyment, causing a shudder to run down Skipper's spine. He often times didn't follow through, either out of lack of interest or lack of trust, but this was a time when he didn't have to worry about either of those things.

He placed his flippers to Julien's sides, rubbing slowly. He wanted to be sure that this was truly what the king wanted, but the lemur only seemed to find his apprehension funny. He pulled Skipper forth and positioned the bird atop him, and Skipper practically squawked when their abdomens pressed together. His face heated up, and he hoped that Julien could not tell he was blushing beneath his feathers.

"I am consenting if you are," Julien whispered, stroking the side of Skipper's face with supreme gentleness.

He licked the side of his beak, overcome with desire, and nodded. "I… I am."

Julien wrapped his legs around Skipper, and suddenly, their crotches slid against each other lewdly. Both gasped sharply at this, and Skipper looked at Julien to make sure that this was absolutely okay. Julien nodded, his smile sweet and welcoming. Skipper propped himself up with his flippers and shifted forth again, causing them to grind.

Julien was gasping now, in sync with their movements, an alluring smile on his face as he stared up at Skipper, eyes half lidded. Sweat beaded in his fur and beneath it, Skipper could have sworn he saw the lemur blush. His hands were at Skipper's back, grasping at the feathers and petting them, massaging him. Skipper groaned softly as he rocked his hips, and they were rubbing against each other with mind-erasing pleasure.

Julien leaned up altogether and began to shower Skipper's chest in kisses, his soft, warm lips like small pricks of sweetness against his body. Skipper was mumbling incoherently now, his beak then hanging open to allow gasps and moans to leave as his hips kept moving back and forth at a nice pace. Things were getting rather heated; Skipper was sure that he was wound up enough that he and Julien would reach their max soon. A soft tug on Julien's tail, which had the king moaning like a dog in heat.

"Ohhh, Skip-"

A loud crash pushed them out of their haze - the tree had been burst open, a large circular hole now in the side, giving view to the night sky and two intruders. Eva was flapping her wings rigorously, holding onto Shortfuse with her talons, who was carrying a gun that was almost cannon-like. Skipper jumped off of Julien, partially embarrassed but mostly alarmed. Eva tossed Shortfuse into the now available floor, before landing herself. She procured a missile out of seemingly no where, no doubt meant to go into Shortfuse's machine, and the weapon was aimed at the king and his bodyguard.

Thinking quick, Skipper threw himself and Julien onto the floor behind the bed so that they had some form of cover. The king landed with a soft grunt of displeasure, and Skipper distantly hoped it hadn't hurt his ankle. Peeking up over the mattress, Skipper glared. The two of them were armed! What were they thinking?

"What in the name of fish and chips are you two maniacs doing?!" He demanded.

"You haven't figured it out, penguin?" Shortfuse scoffed. "Eva and me have been hired by a third party to take out King Julien. We've been following you since Central Park, dummy."

"We would have killed you the other night, but we didn't know where Julien's tree was until now." Eva concurred.

Skipper's heart sank. The North Wind members had been the assassins all along…?

His chest stung with betrayal. He'd never really liked all of them, but he'd come to trust that they would always do the right thing. Their entire credo was about helping other animals who couldn't help themselves. Apparently, he was far from correct, judging by the way that they had firearms ready to destroy him and the king.

"So the whole North Wind is in on this?" Skipper asked, dismayed. He'd really trusted Classified, having developed the strongest relationship with the leader.

"Of course not." Eva dismissed the idea immediately. "Corporal and our boss would never try to kill the king, he's too adorable. But with them and Clover busy trying to figure out who the assassin is, Maurice locked up, and us keeping 'lookout', we might as well finish the job."

"You're the one who tried to strangle me!" Julien snarled in realization. "And you killed my messenger pigeon, didn't you? You monsters!"

Shortfuse shrugged. "It's not like it was a treat for either of us. This really isn't something we do often, I promise... But there's five mil on the line. Do you know how much new stuff we could get?"

"You're doing this for money, not even because you care about our government?" Julien hissed out, livid. "You do not even care about the lives you may be ruining?"

Eva and Shortfuse looked at each other, before the owl spoke up. "Not particularly."

"Yeah, not really. Sorry!" Shortfuse agreed. "You're just a bunch of lemurs, I'm sure you'll work it out with each other."

Julien looked as though he wanted to strangle Shortfuse, ironic as that might be.

"You're stark raving mad!" Skipper snapped. "And you tried to blow up our sub, too?"

Shortfuse looked mildly uncomfortable, so Eva responded. "Actually, no, that wasn't us. Not that it matters, since you are going to die now."

Shortfuse looked almost sympathetic for a moment. "I didn't really want to kill you, Skipper. Neither of us did. We respect you, but you're just getting in the way."

"You're going to kill me for money!" Skipper's voice rose in anger. "Obviously you don't have that much respect for me!"

Eva reloaded Shortfuse's gun while he aimed it at the bed, causing Julien and Skipper to both duck down. This was not enough cover for the two of them; as soon as whatever Shortfuse had hit it, it would be out of commission. He had to think, and he had to think fast. With Julien's hurt ankle and no weapons on their side, their odds weren't looking good.

Shortfuse only smiled. "You know what? You're right."

And with that, he launched the small missile. It impacted against the bed with an explosion, and instantaneously, the tree caught flame.