"You know I'll always love you, no matter what, Private."
"I love you too, Skippa. I'll love you forever.."
The words twist their way through my head as I open my eyes, letting them adjust to the brightness of the HQ as I climb out of my bunk. I help myself to a mug of coffee as I pass by. I don't know why, but ever since that night, I just can't stop drinking the stuff. I guess I know why Skipper liked it so much..
For some reason, I can't get those words out of my head as I sit down and turn on the tele, letting myself sink into the plush sofa. They seem to bother me, for some odd reason. They never did before, why do they now? I tap my flipper on the mug, trying to decipher whatever it could mean, but I come up empty. The only thing I can think to do is try to forget about it and watch some T.V.
After 10 minutes of pointless channel surfing, and two more mugs of coffee, I finally can't take it anymore. The things we said...I can't get them out of my mind. I don't know why it's like this; maybe I should just stop fighting it, why was I in the first place? I rub my temples soothingly; I need to get some fresh air.
I lift myself up and out of the HQ, feeling the cool morning breeze on my feathers as I look around for any sign of humans. None; must be a Sunday. I step forward into the sunlight, letting it envelop my body in warmth as I close my eyes..
"Beautiful morning, isn't it?"
The words made me nearly jump out of my skin as I fall back and get caught by a familiar pair of arms. I turn my head and see the same hooded stranger from last night, his face still shadowed and unable to see.
"H-How did you get here?" I ask, the shakiness from the scare slowly fading away into a feeling of strange comfort.
"Walked." He simply said. He must've seen the confusion in my eyes as he continued. "I want to keep an eye on you."
I couldn't help the pale shade of red overcoming my body. Instead, I released myself from his grip and walked to the edge of the platform, hoping he wouldn't see the blush. Once I'm positive it's gone, I turn back to him.
"Why?" I asked, still trying to get any kind of glance at his face, but still coming up with nothing. He moves closer, placing his arm on my shoulder. For some reason, I can feel the slight smile on his face as he spoke.
"Private, look at you! You're not well, and no one else is really helping you, are they?" I look down, my thoughts instantly going to Kowalski.
"Well, they try to help, but..." My voice trails off. I don't want to say my best friends and team-mates weren't helping at all, but it was the sad truth; Nothing they did had helped much, as guilty as I felt for thinking it. My head bows down lower, but only for a second, as I feel him bring me into a hug. My eyes grew wide and my face grew hot for the third time, but I still wrapped myself around him, holding him tightly and feeling the soft cotton of his hoodie pressing against my feathers.
"Don't worry..." He whispered into my ear with such a softness, I could've thought the words came from an angel. "I'll help you." He pressed himself tighter against me, but I lifted my head from his shoulder and stared into the darkness covering his face. As if by itself, my flipper slowly moved to the hood, gripping lightly and pulling it away from his face, when suddenly..
"Intruder!" The words nearly threw me to the ground with shock, I glanced at the stranger, who had remained still, and back at the HQ entrance, where I saw Rico standing in a defensive position. One look at me and his eyes widened. Just as Kowalski jumped out of the HQ, Rico had regurgitated a flamethrower.
Kowalski's eyes darted to me and they widened even more. "Private!" He yelled, worried. The stranger turned his body to them just as Rico rushed forward
"Wait!" I cried out, but it was too late. Rico had already attacked the stranger, and he most likely would injure him severely. I clenched my eyes shut, not wanting to see him getting hurt. After several seconds of loud shouting and yelping, surprisingly the most coming from Rico and Kowalski, I decide to open my eyes. What I saw shocked me to end.
Rico and Kowalski were both down! And the stranger had been standing at the exact same spot; he didn't even need to move to take both of my team-mates down!
I quickly got up and rushed to them, examining their bodies, hoping nothing serious or fatal had happened to them. I felt the stranger kneel down beside me, putting his hand on my back with a caring gesture.
"I didn't want to," He started. "But they left me no choice!" I could sense the troubled worry in his voice. Why does my happiness matter so much to him?
"It's alright," I said, still examining their bodies for any severe injuries, and finding none. "They'll be alright."
But just as I said that, I felt his hand leave my back. I turned around and he was gone. Completely out of sight. I stood and rushed to the edge of the platform, searching with hopeful eyes for any sign of him; I found nothing..
After successfully bringing Kowalski and Rico back into the HQ and into their bunks, I decided to try and think about things. Mainly, the stranger.
How was he able to take down the entire team, without even a sweat? And what is he hiding under that hood? Could it be some spy, sent from Blowhole? Or, even worse.. A monster?
I quickly shook those childish thoughts away, now staring at the floor. He was just some friendly stranger trying to help me out, right? Then why does it feel like more? Does he..have a certain interest in me? At that thought, my face became red and I let out a little smile, but it quickly faded from view as I thought of someone else.
Skipper.
What would he say if he was here? He would most likely kick the living Hell out of the stranger and keep me away from him. It wasn't because he wanted to be mean, but he would probably just want to keep me safe. And his.
I slowly waddled to my bunk and pulled the picture of Skipper I had under my pillow out, feeling my flipper over his face. So many thoughts raced through my head, I couldn't comprehend any of them, but one horrible, distressing though ran through my head.
"Am..Am I still your's, Skippa?" I asked the picture, somehow expecting an answer. But none came; I was alone, again. No one here to save me from myself and my thoughts. I felt my eyes water up, but I quickly wiped them away and climbed in my bunk.
I wasn't tired at all, but I still decided to try and sleep. I couldn't think right now, I just needed to calm down and rest.
I slowly close my eyes, still clinging to the picture of Skipper as I fell into a slumber.
Hope you like it, I should be able to upload another one ASAP :3