Danger Ahead 03.09.23
Note: This installment contains strong Skilene.
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Skipper hid in the shadows. This was the most terrifying mission he had ever been on. His heart raced. His flipper became sweaty. His brow was also speckled with sweat. His breathing was shallow. The sun beat down overhead. No one knew where he was except for him. If he had a heart attack out of fear, he wondered how long it would take for someone to find his body.
He slapped himself. Come on, you Nancycat! You've faced life-threatening situations but somehow this is what breaks you?
"Skipper?"
He nearly jumped out of his feathers.
"Oh, Marlene," he said awkwardly, shuffling on his feet.
"What are you doing here? I could hear you breathing halfway across my habitat," Marlene inquired, crossing her arms.
"Oh, sorry, Marlene, I'll just go," Skipper said as he started to make his way out of her habitat.
"Hey, hold on, now," Marlene said, grabbing his flipper. "Unless you were having withdrawals from not breathing the air in my habitat, I'd wager you came here for a reason. What's going on?"
Skipper's heart fluttered at her touch. His throat seemed suddenly dry. "Um," he croaked. He cleared his throat. "I just, uh . . ."
Marlene furrowed her brow and released Skipper's flipper. "Is something wrong?"
Skipper started to sweat again. "No," he squeaked. He cleared his throat again. "No," he repeated in a more masculine voice.
Marlene tried not to smile. "Skipper, you're acting strange. Should I be concerned?"
Skipper shuffled on his feet. "No," he said again. Is that the only word you know? No? he mentally scolded himself.
Marlene started to get impatient. "Look, Skipper, you know I care about you, but I don't really have the time to keep going back and forth like this. Did you need something, or . . .?"
Skipper inhaled deeply and let it out with a sigh. "I, uh, had a question, actually . . ." he said, mustering up the courage. Be a man! he thought to himself. Monster trucks!
"Okay," Marlene replied. "I'm listening."
"Okay," Skipper said. "Here goes nothing. Um, well, you and I have known each other for a while now and I have come to know you very well over the years. Not suggesting that you're old or anything, I mean, of course you wouldn't think that. Why did I say that?"
Skipper scolded himself again internally with some choice PG13 words. Marlene simply listened and waited patiently for him to finish.
"Anway, we've become pretty good friends, I'd say, I mean you're practically one of the guys — I mean, you're not a man. You're definitely a woman, a very beautiful and intelligent woman, I mean —"
He shook his head and sighed a frustrated sigh. He just couldn't get the words right.
"What I'm trying to say," he said a little louder and more forcefully than he intended, so he brought his voice back down. "You're such a huge part of my life — you know like, I'm not saying you're huge, you definitely have the right sized . . . body, or, uh . . ." He realized he didn't know where he was going with that sentence.
Marlene held up a paw. "I know what you're saying, Skipper," she said with a laugh. "We're good friends. What's this about?"
Skipper sighed in relief. He was sure she'd feel insulted by now with how many feet were in his mouth.
"What I'm trying to say is . . . I care about you. A lot. And I want you to know it's okay if you don't feel the same way," he started.
Marlene looked confused. "What do you mean? Of course I care about you."
Skipper shook his head. "That's . . . not exactly the way I meant it."
Marlene shook her head in confusion. "I still don't —" She caught Skipper's eyes and started to catch on to what he was saying. "Oh," she said with wide eyes. Her cheeks started to flush.
"Yeah," Skipper started again. "I was just wondering . . . if you wanted to have dinner with me sometime. As . . . more than friends."
Skipper's heart pounded as he waited for her to respond. It was only a few moments before she did, but it felt like ages. He was sure they're friendship was over.
"Skipper, I —" Marlene started. She looked down at her feet. "I had no idea."
Skipper decided to study his own feet. "Well, I guess I just realized that life is short, and if I died tomorrow, I would want to know there was nothing left unsaid."
Marlene looked back up at him. "Yes."
Skipper's heart skipped a beat as he processed her response. "Really?"
Marlene smiled. "I feel the same way about you, Skipper."
Skipper smiled back. "I'm so glad to hear that. I was sure our friendship would be changed forever."
Marlene softened. "Is that why you were so nervous?"
Skipper nodded. "There would only be one thing worse than never telling you how I feel. And that would be never seeing your face again."
Marlene held herself tighter as she blushed harder. "Well, that sounds like it was a pretty big gamble then."
Skipper chuckled. "Some risks are worth taking."
[Words: 847]
