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Undertow	By : pronker Category: +M through R > Penguins of Madagascar Views: 11341 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I make no profit from this fanfiction set in Dreamworks' Penguins of Madagascar franchise. I do not own its characters, basic premise or settings.

Chapter List
- 1-1/?
- 2-2/?
- 3-3/?
- 4-4/?
- 5-5/?
- 6-6/?
- 7-7/?
- 8-8/?
- 9-9/?
- 10-10/?
- 11-11/?
- 12-12/?
- 13-13/?
- 14-14/?
- 15-15/?
- 16-16/?
- 17-17/?
- 18-18/?
- 19-19/?
- 20-20/?
- 21-21/?
- 22-22/?
- 23-23/?
- 24-24/?
- 25-25/?
- 26-26/?
- 27-27/?
- 28-28/?
- 29-29/?
- 30-30/?
- 31-31/?
- 32-32/?
- 33-33/?
- 34-34/?
- 35-35/?
- 36-36/?
- 37-37/?
- 38-38/?
- 39-39/?
- 40-40/?
- 41-41/?
- 42-42/?
- 43-43/?
- 44-44/?
- 45-45/?
- 46-46/?
- 47-47/?
- 48-48/?
- 49-49/?
- 50-50/?
- 51-51/?
- 52-52/?
- 53-53/?
- 54-54/?
- 55-55/?
- 56-56/?
- 57-57/?
- 58-58/?
- 59-59/?
- 60-60/?
- 61-61/?
- 62-62/?
- 63-63/?
- 64-64/?
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- 66-66/?
- 67-67/?
- 68-68/?
- 69-69/?
- 70-70/?
- 71-71/?
- 72-72/?
- 73-73/?
- 74-74/?
- 75-75/?
- 76-76/?
- 77-77/?
- 78-78/?
- 79-79/?
- 80-80/?
- 81-81/?
- 82-82/?
- 83-83/?
- 84-84/?
- 85-85/?
- 86-86/?
- 87-87/?
- 88-88/?
- 89-89/?
- 90-90/?
- 91-91/?
- 92-92/?
- 93-93/?
- 94-94/?
- 95-95/?
- 96-96/?
- 97-97/?
- 98-97/?
- 99-99/?
- 100-100/?
- 101-101/?
- 102-102/?
- 103-103/?
- 104-104/?
- 105-105/?
- 106-106/?
- 107-107/?
- 108-108/?
- 109-109/?
- 110-110/112
- 111-111/112
- 112-112/112
- 58
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Skipper stumbled out of step one week after the Howe Caverns vacation ended. "How the hell is that relevant to the here and now?"
Rico kept up his own rhythm. Ballroom dance training improved balance, enhanced synergy in anticipating each partner's moves, and probably did other teamy-weamy things that Kowalski could list but Rico could not. He continued leading and Skipper got back into rhythm.
"'Rivatemellzfny," he repeated for his leader's earholes alone.
"Beyond the ever-present fishy smell of our home?"
"Yahfny."
Rico noticed that Skipper stole a glance at his love, who tended the tape player along with Kowalski. Both of them studied their leader's and his demo expert's moves in order to duplicate and possibly improve on them when their turn came to dance.
"I don't see anything off or smell anything off about him and I sleep with the guy, Rico."
Rico stood firm, well, danced firmly in tune with How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life. It was a sprightly foxtrot that raced pulses and the lyrics were funny, to boot, not mushy, which was exactly to Rico's liking.
Skipper wasn't so far gone in love that he couldn't acknowledge flaws, right? Wasn't being a commander of commandos above all that? Rico put on his patient look, not one he generally wore. "Melllllzfnnnnny."
"I'll ask Kowalski to check your health, buddy. You've taken ginormous knocks to the head in the line of duty, not to mention kabooming for ages now." Skipper probably thought he sounded reassuring and not condescending at all.
Rico dipped Skipper as if they danced the steamiest tango. "FUNNY." Speaking so clearly strained his vocal cords, but it was worth it.
He thought Skipper's supple relaxation into the dip showed trust in his judgment. It had to. Rico bent further over his commander and drilled him with a burning look as they froze, beak to beak.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" There came the unmistakable pitter patter of dainty otter feet down their ladder.
Skipper tapped Rico's beaktip with his own. "Break, soldier. We've got company."
Marlene joined Kowalski and Private as Kowalski pencilled the new dance move that he and Private would chance when it became their turn. She glanced at the dipping pair and then over Kowalski's shoulder as he sketched. "Primo technique, 'Ski! Wowie, that's hot! Is this undercover training, because nobody could doubt that those two were head over heelishly in love - "
Private shut off the tape player as he tittered, "Oh, Marlene! It just shows wot good actors they are!"
"We fooled you, 'Eenie," said Skipper as he and Rico did the electric slide to flank her. She zipped her head back and forth between them as they entered her personal space before side-stepping out of it. "What are you doing this fine spring evening?"
Marlene was, oh, adequate at portraying slyness, in Rico's opinion. The stray thought didn't brighten his mood and he allowed Skipper to chat with her without making a scene about abandonment. He'd imparted intel and if Skipper didn't act immediately on it, that was up to him. "Did you guys take vacation pix to share with us homebodies? Show 'em if you got 'em!"
Kowalski harrumphed. "They forgot to photograph their trip, even though they borrowed my smartphone. I forgot to videocam the blimp in their absence, so we're even."
"Pix or it didn't happen!" Rico had had enough of forced jollity.
Private nudged Skipper and Skipper dropped a flipper about the young bird's shoulders. They tilted their heads together. Marlene's kawaii! and jaw-popping smile threatened to make Rico burp in his smelliest fashion. He edged away from the group to plotz onto the lowest bunk.
Kowalski ignored his love's detachment and booped Marlene's nose. "'Eenie, we saved you from possible serious injury in the park. All part of the job, no need to thank us - "
"Pssssh, I know that! Nope, I've got the bores so let's have popcorn while y'all tell me about your road trip."
Three penguins and one otter put Rico on the spot with questioning gazes. He blanked his eyes, hummed, and belched up four heaping helpings of popcorn in red and white striped containers. He waved off any offers of the stuff and resumed sitting quietly.
Kowalski frowned and then shrugged. "All the more for us, I guess. Anyhoo, lady, Private and Skipper marathoned a swim up the Hudson to vacation at Howe Caverns - "
"Like I suggested! Way to go, guys!" Marlene sat side by side with Rico, offering him some of her popcorn again. He shook his head. "Suit yourself, Rico, but I'm primed for some good stories, you two. You look relaxed and seguro fantastico, you especially, Private. It's almost like you're glowing." She picked out a piece of popcorn shell from between her teeth before adopting an expectant face.
Rico put on his bored face. He'd heard it before, unless Private or Skipper elaborated on their experiences with delightful kabooming rubidium embedded in delightful kabooming pollucite, or was it vice versa? Meh. He'd leave technical terms up to Kowalski and exploding expertise up to himself.
Marlene chomped on her popcorn steadily as she nudged Rico. "C'mon! I'm waiting! Cancel coming attractions, newsreel, and cartoon to go for the feature! Hurry up!"
A grin tugged at Rico's beak despite himself. Marlene's cheer was just what he needed. "Yah. C'monalreddy." He stole one piece of popcorn and elbowed her as Kowalski settled on her other side to crowd them a little. Rico reached across Marlene to snag a piece of popcorn from Kowalski's bag, just to be fair. When Private and Skipper took turns relating their five day saga, he attained a neutral face of attention.
IOIOIOIOIO
Marlene shuddered. "Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?"
"Dunno, Marlene. They were sleepin' and teenier than Savio, but still creepy." Private shuddered, too.
Skipper possessed an internal alarm, although his wasn't as precise as Kowalski's. "Ten o'clock, ladies and germs," he said without looking at the clock. "Lights out in ten."
Marlene rose and stretched. "I'm heading home, then. But before I do, would you guys critique my new cute poses? I think the humans are getting tired of my old ones."
Rico sprang to his feet. "Pointemowt!" He doubled up both fists before dancing into a Marquess of Queensberry offensive pose. He landed an old one-two punch on several air molecules.
"Pblblblblbl, Rico, sometimes even I get tired of me. No, what I want to know is, does this make me look appealing to humans?" She batted her generous eyelashes as she clasped both her front paws, almost but not quite showing her teeth in a Mona Lisa smile. "Mysterious? Provoking? Cute, even?"
"Dollface, you're cute. End of story."
"Aw, Skipper, I want an honest opinion in detail! Private? Do I look cute?" Marlene shifted into a comic routine of passing both front paws down from her face to reveal a pout and then reversing to reveal a wide grin. She rinsed and repeated until Private abandoned Skipper's side to hug her.
"You're freakishly adorable, as Julien said once about himself."
"Hmmm, knowing him, I'll bet he said it fifty times. He'd tattoo it on his booty if he wasn't afraid of the pain. No, change up, he'd force Mort to get ink." She squeezed Private hard, sniffing his neck. "Me gusta, pal. New shampoo?"
Private patted her shoulder one last time and stepped back. "No, same-o same-o. You're imaginin' things." He adopted a deadpan look. "And we don't use shampoo any longer, Marlene. We saved our money and now we can afford real poo!"
He and Marlene doubled over giggling as Kowalski and Rico chuckled before huge yawns.
Skipper dragged himself away from picturing tattoo needles. "Marlene, we need to go to bed."
By Danny Kaye's nimble tongue, she was in a comic mood. "Skipper! Not in front of Private!"
Private collapsed to the floor in gales of laughter, the darling. "You, Skippa? And Marlene?"
Marlene appeared to get hold of herself. "Walk me home, Skipper?"
Okay, he'd go with the unusual request. "Anytime, Marlene. You never know when Hans or Blowhole or a space squid might attack - "
"Yeah thanks for putting that in my head. Let's go. Night night, guys." Marlene impressed Skipper by coiling her tail to act as a third hind leg to let her scamper up the ladder quicker. He supposed there were some advantages to having a long tail to act as a rudder or extra limb, as long as it was cute like Marlene's and not icky like a spider monkey's. He let Marlene walk ahead of him on the way to her home and when Marlene clambered over the brick wall surrounding her habitat in a prosaic fashion, it bothered him.
Skipper barged into Marlene's habitat as usual. He cartwheeled with a double tuck over the brick wall and spun around her plane tree's lowest branch like Nadia Comaneci. He aced a three-point landing next to her on the grassy knoll where she'd plotzed. The grass cushioned them both as she babbled about the starry ribbon in the sky containing Orion's Belt, Oxfords and Matching Wallet. Just when Skipper thought she'd wound down, she queried, "Up for a late night swim, m'main bird?"
What was she delaying saying goodnight for? Oh. That. He'd permit her to follow up with whatever she wanted to say and yeah, it was going to be awkward, so Postpone Awkward. He dove into her pond, pondering a routine number for Postpone Awkward. Routine Eighty-Six ought to work. Or did they already have a Routine Eighty-Six? Nope, that was Routine Eighty-One: Hellyeahaction, which Manfredi and Johnson named after they'd come off a bender. Hmmm, where did the rambunctious pair waddle now? Were they content on the Endless Iceberg? And what routine number would suit Shut Up The Blabbermouth? Should he schedule an extra meeting to discuss naming issues? And if he and Private gave Rico and Kowalski a belated gift for their anniversary, would they look soft?
He was idly floating on his back, studying the stars to locate the Endless Iceberg without benefit of GPS, when Marlene broke into his thoughts.
"Well, Skipper? Good vacation, right?"
Nuts. Damn. Damn, damn, double damn, triple damn, hell. He had to forestall inquiries even if war erupted later, so help him Neville Chamberlain.
He opened his beak to answer simply when there was a whupsh noise from someplace and they both looked around. Black Elk's books, the neighbors proved restless tonight. Were those footsteps? Well, just because Marlene felt safe and secure inside her habitat nighttimes didn't mean that everybody else had to. Maybe wandering after the zoo closed was a fellow zooster attempting to go feral in a safe way, even though feral and safe didn't sound right together.
"So, Skipper, I don't need details but did what I gave to Private help the situation?"
Skipper spun once in the water and then rolled over onto his back to bare his underbelly symbolically to her as she dogpaddled lazily beside him. Okay, she was privy to the problem and yeah, he had asked her to provide a listening post for young Private. It was still difficult to talk about, though. "Yes." Maybe she would be satisfied with that answer.
He ought to have known better. "For both of you?"
Crap. "Yes." Now would she shut up about it?
He could tell she was being sensitive by introducing a side bar to blunt the inquiry. "It, um, sets up everything better, right, if you start off slow and then switch to turbo?"
"Yes."
Terseness was not going to cut it this time. "Look, Skipper, I do have experience and I'm trying to help out here because you asked me to get closer to Private. Your guys's problem bothered him enough to bust out crying onto my lap for Mollusk's sake so give me something to work with - "
"Are you done?"
Now she was the animal gritting out one word answers. "No."
"Well, get done." He dove under to come up on her other side. He surfaced to see a face on her he'd never thought to see: a leader's expression with furrowed brow caused by mincing through conversational landmines so as not to demoralize the troops. It touched him and impressed him.
"Okay okay, all right already." He looked all around. No other animal could witness this exchange. He thought he heard a snorty sniffle and waited a moment but nothing followed up to the sound so he continued. "He used it on me first." There. That wasn't so bad, Skipper, but now conflate the incidents for efficiency's sake to just their session on Upper Pepper Island. "The oyster glop made us both slippery so that helped. He gave me oral and then" - now this was the hardest part because he just could not bring himself to admit to her that Private had been topping all along prior to Howe - "we made progress because, er, I stormed the beachhead. There." The account was couched in military terms, just like Buck Rockgut would approve of. Something about the analogy bothered him and he dove to the bottom of her pool to strategically withdraw.
Marlene swam beside him stroke for stroke. Air bubbles trapped in her fur rose from all around her and she appeared haloed in a white veil just like the Commissioner's new bride had looked in the newspaper photo. She was not letting him dodge her efforts to help. Meh. He stayed under as long as he could, forcing her to surface for air three times to his one. The eighteen minute break was enough to give him inspiration over what to say next.
Now they both looked up at the stars as they swam side by side. Mama Nature was especially temperate for March tonight as Skipper's strokes enabled Marlene to draft along in the wake to his left. "Marlene, Private and I worked things out. Thank you for your help because, um, Mission Accomplished." He could leave for home and hearth and Private now because his studly reputation would be safe and she would never never know that he had been his love's tight end receiver since they had exchanged pebbles four months ago and now after Howe everything would get back to normal so he could breathe again-
Marlene turned his good feels to mulch. "So Private got to experience the whole range of positions on the baseball team instead of you always catching for him wow that's great Skipper huh it's bound to help him grow up more - "
"What?"
"Well he told me he'd been doing you all this time - "
"What?"
"Yeah didn't he tell you that he told me?"
"What?"'
She prodded him. "You're in a rut, you nut." He could almost hear the realization percolate to the top of her consciousness. "Wait, wait. You didn't want me to know that you've been his - "
"Stop!"
She gave it a beat. "I don't think any the less of you, Skipper. You love him like any animal loves another. You gave tit for tat."
"I don't have tits."
"What?"
This was not turning out well. "I mean yeah, I love him but when we started all this sex stuff I thought it would be like he said it would in the beginning and I would be the one driving the train into his tunnel and then the tunnel turned out to be me because I couldn't bear to hurt him - "
"You wouldn't have hurt him. Trust me, things stretch out and that's the way it goes. Sure he might be a little sore but nothing long term. Don't you know that yourself after four months? What, you thought you'd break him?"
"Urk."
"So let me get this straight. You thought he'd be ruined because you're so outsized - "
"No, that's not it at all! I was afraid he'd cry! He looked like he was going to!"
"Sometimes we cry because we're so happy, ever think of that, big boy? Or we cry because we're overwhelmed but in a good way. There are lots of reasons to cry, mister."
He made a disgusted noise. She was not getting it. "You're just so damn smart. I'm sorry I came here."
There was that leaderly expression again with the commanding tone to match. "I will not let you pout, Penguin Commander Sir. I love you."
"Say what?"
"Sheesh, not that way! Forget we're talking relationships for a sec, okay? Well relationships with sex in them oh you know what I mean. Yours and my relationship is different."
How quickly this sensible evening chat had turned touchy-feely. Yuck. "If you say so, sister."
"I do."
Teasing would help defuse this conversational bomb. "That sounds like a wedding vow, Marlene."
"I'll slap you in a minute."
"I've had more practice."
"I've got sharper claws."
"But yours are short in your kind of otter, Kowalski said. So there."
"Nyah."
"Nyah."
They laughed easily together. "Kitka never cried, did she?"
"No. She was more of a screamer."
"So that's what I heard once or twice um never mind. Yeah see all sorts of responses and then different ones at different times from the same animals depending on their mood. You and I both know that because we're not rookies, right?"
"Maybe. I can't stand it when Private cries, though. I never could."
"Aw, that's sweet. But Skipper, what about when you cry?"
"I don't cry. Well, okay, when we thought Rico would go kablammo but then we all blubbed and once I cried when Ringtail and I got super close together - "
"What?"
More explanations, shit. "Not that way! Kowalski said I needed to make salt water to deactivate a stink bomb and since I couldn't piss at that exact minute I cried oh it's complicated."
"I should say so. I don't want to know about you and Julien. I already had troubles with you and Private." She fiddled with her neck fur. "As you know, when I turned feral Julien seemed attractive because everything seemed open to any possibilities, looser, somehow, yeah, and the skies seemed bluer, and the whole world was, uh, looser." Her composure slipped. "I, I don't know how else to put it."
What sort of a face was that? Was she giving an example of how she lost control to one up him in the personal confessions department so he'd feel better about unloading? Gah, he was sorry the night progressed as it did. Better nip this conversation in the bud. "Oh no, we wouldn't want you feeling loose. Nothing better trigger feeling loose, no way nuh uh."
"All right, all right, sheesh. I raise the white flag, Skipper, since you don't want to discuss important stuff. Too emo for you, I guess. Let's drop it."
Shit. At least nobody else was around to overhear all this guff. He was ready with a measured, thoughtful reply. "I've raised one before. The team wrestled me to the ground once to lambaste me about Kitka. They were wrong about her character, mostly."
"I'm glad to hear that about her. I never got to know her, really."
He brightened as he aced the ball back into her court.
"Why did it bother you about me and Private?"
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Undertow