Author’s Note: I’ve already done a set of ten skits for just POM in general, but these are, as the titre says, purely Skilene. Most just imply Skilene, but there a few at the end in which Skipper and Marlene are an actual couple. link are the skits for normal POM skits if toi wish to read them. Any titre with a Roman numeral suivant to it has a skit note associated with it displayed at the end. I hope toi enjoy these skits and I hope I succeed in making toi laugh. Peace, out.
11) Sweet Dreams
On a quiet Saturday afternoon, Skipper had sent his men off for a snowcone reward since the past few days had been left problem-free. He decided to stay behind to use the vacated HQ to go through some classified files.
Flipping through file after file, he found himself going through a rhythm due to the lack of disturbances. His rhythm was interrupted when a voice from behind him gave him a start.
“Whatcha doin’?”
Skipper twitched in surprise and instinctively turned around on his heel, ready for combat. His stance softened when he saw that it was only Marlene standing in the doorway behind him.
“Marlene? What are toi doing here?” he asked straightening himself.
It wasn’t until now did he realize Marlene’s appearance. Her hip was cocked and her arms were folded over her chest. One eyebrow was raised higher than the other and her smile was smooth and seductive.
“You here alone?” Marlene asked without answering Skipper’s question.
Skipper found nervousness creeping into his chest and he swallowed. “Yeah. Why…?”
Marlene strided in and stopped when she was barely a couple of inches from Skipper. “I just thought we could…Talk?” she a dit taking on a deep, sexy tone to her voice. Skipper gulped.
“S-Sure,” he stuttered, “what exactly did toi want to talk about?” he asked trying to act like he didn’t notice the way Marlene was acting.
Marlene reached out and ran one of her paws up Skipper’s chest, bringing it to a rest on his shoulder. “Us,” she answered staring deep into Skipper’s eyes, which widened at her answer.
“Us?” Skipper repeated. He cleared his throat slightly. “What about us, exactly?” he asked awkwardly.
Marlene guided her other paw to meet the other around Skipper’s neck. “You know, Skipper, I’ve always found toi rather attractive.”
Skipper laughed nervously and tried to respond, but all that came out was a jumble of half-words before Marlene put her finger on his beak and laughed slightly.
“And you’re just plain adorable when you’re nervous,” she a dit tracing her paw down the side of his beak before resting it on his shoulder once again. “It’s okay. toi don’t have to say anything.”
Marlene slowly pulled him closer and Skipper was too stunned and nervous to object. His beak met Marlene’s lips and he was overwhelmed with surprise and electricity, stumbling back into the table. He heard his pile of files fall to the floor, but he found himself not caring as he and Marlene seemed to melt into each other.
A few secondes into the moment, Skipper could hear someone calling his name from a distance and he suddenly found himself jerking awake in his bunk with Kowalski at his side.
“Skipper! Wow, I don’t know what toi were dreaming about, but toi seemed to really be enjoying it. I’ve been trying to wake toi up for six whole minutes!”
12) The Power of Charm [VI]
On a quiet morning, Marlene busied herself in tuning her Spanish guitar. It was just about perfect when Julien strolled into her cave.
“Ah, hello, Ms. Otter! May I enter?” he asked entering without waiting for an answer.
“Um…Sure, Julien. Come right in,” Marlene answered rolling her eyes and propping her guitare up against a nearby wall. “What are toi doing here?”
“Is it a crime to want to visit a good neighbor?” Julien replied coming to a stop par her side.
“No, but I get worried when toi do,” Marlene a dit with a suspicious look on her face.
Julien laughed slightly. “Oh, Marlene! You’re poking fun at me! toi got me, there!”
Marlene cocked an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. “Julien, are toi alright? You’re jouer la comédie strange.”
Julien shook his head and leaned against the mur par Marlene. “No, no, Marlene. I am just fine. Actually, I was just coming to be making sure toi were alright.”
“Me? I’m fine. Why?” Marlene asked.
“Oh, I was just wondering if it hurt when heaven fell upon you?” Julien asked with a smooth smile.
“Um…Excuse me?” Marlene replied with her face twisting in confusion.
“If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put you and me together,” Julien added.
“Julien, are you…Hitting on me?” Marlene asked in astonishment.
“No, silly otter. I am simply wooing toi with my charm,” Julien answered pushing his crown back slightly.
Interrupting them, Skipper popped up through the sewer drain.
“Hey, Marlene! Rico and I found some—” he stopped short when he noticed Julien’s presence. “What are toi doing here, Ringtail?”
“Apparently, he’s ‘wooing me with his charm.’ But, quite frankly, he’s just annoying me with it,” Marlene answered.
“Annoying?! How could a handsome and Rebelle king, such as me, be annoying?” Julien asked folding his arms over his chest in frustration.
Skipper looked Julien up and down for a moment, then started laughing. “Are toi serious? You’re flirting with Marlene?” Upon saying his thoughts aloud, he started laughing even harder.
“I am failing to see the humor in this!” Julien exclaimed angrily throwing his paws up, then bringing them to his hips.
Skipper—unable to stop laughing—pulled himself up into Marlene’s habitat and stumbled over his own feet as he tried to regain his composure. His guffaw became contagious as Marlene found herself unable to keep from cracking a smile.
“I am demanding that toi all stop laughing this instant!” Julien commanded. But Skipper and Marlene were now both laughing uncontrollably, resulting in Julien leaving in an angry huff. “I will not stand here and be made fun of par a couple of commoners!” he a dit on his way out.
After a few plus moments of trying to catch their breath, Skipper and Marlene’s laughing softened into small convulsions.
“Whew…I’m sorry, Marlene. I just couldn’t help myself,” Skipper a dit once he’d caught his breath.
“Heh, it’s alright, Skipper,” Marlene replied. Her face fell upon a thought entering her mind. “Wait, what were toi laughing about, anyway? Is it really that funny that someone would…Want me?” she asked.
Skipper’s smile faded and he strode over to Marlene. “Marlene, that is most certainly not why I was laughing. I was laughing because it was preposterous to think he’d have a shot with you. toi deserve much better than anything he could offer toi in a relationship.”
Marlene smiled bashfully. “You really think so?”
“No, I don’t think so. I know so, Marlene,” Skipper a dit returning a reassuring smile.
A short-lived silence followed and Skipper was the first to break it. “So, what exactly did Ringtail say, anyway?”
Marlene laughed and scratched the back of her neck. “Well, first he asked if it hurt when heaven fell on me.”
Skipper suppressed a laugh. “I think he meant, ‘Did it hurt when toi fell from heaven?’” he told her.
Marlene laughed. “Yeah, I know,” she a dit shaking her head.
Skipper thought for a moment, then smiled coolly. “So, did it?”
13) Denial [VII]
“So, Kowalski, is there anything new?” Skipper asked entering his lab.
“Actually, yes. I’ve intercepted some transfer papers. We’re going to have a new resident in the zoo,” Kowalski answered picking up the transfer papers.
“Really? What species?” Skipper inquired.
“It appears that a new male loutre will be joining us,” Kowalski told him. Skipper’s face lifted in surprise.
“Male otter?” Skipper repeated.
“Um…Affirmative. Why?” Kowalski asked, confused par Skipper’s tone.
Skipper crossed his flippers over his chest. “Well, why does the zoo need a male otter? What? Marlene isn’t good enough for them?”
“Sir?” Kowalski urged, trying to understand Skipper’s sudden outburst.
“What? Can I not have an opinion? Marlene is perfect all on her own. She doesn't need a male around to steal her spotlight. Let me see that transcript!” he ordered snatching the papers from Kowalski and looking over them.
Kowalski laughed slightly. “Skipper, if I didn’t know toi any better, I’d say toi were jealous.”
Skipper darted a look at him over the transcripts. “Jealous? I’m not jealous! I’m just saying that Marlene attracts enough visitors to the zoo all par herself,” he insisted.
Kowalski folded his flippers over his chest. “So, toi find Marlene attractive and perfect, hm?” he asked with a teasing smile.
Skipper shook his head. “No! I mean…Well, she does, doesn’t she?!”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Kowalski a dit with a wink. Though, the fact that he didn’t answer his question was an answer in itself.
“Focus on the problem at hand, Kowalski!” Skipper ordered, trying to change the subject.
Kowalski sighed. “Fine,” he said. Though, a moment later, he coughed out the word jealous.
“I am not jealous!” Skipper insisted slapping the papers down on the table.
“Denial!” Kowalski a dit in a sing-song tone.
“I am not in denial!” Skipper told him jabbing a flipper in his direction.
“So, toi deny that you’re in denial?” Kowalski asked, unable to contain his laughter any longer.
“Yes! I mean…No! I mean…Kowalski!” Skipper stuttered in frustration.
“What is going on in here?!” Private asked entering the room.
“Skipper’s jeal—” Skipper slapped Kowalski before he could finish.
“Nothing, soldier. Right, Kowalski?” Skipper a dit giving him a hard stare.
Kowalski held back another laugh. “Yes, Private. Absolutely nothing. And apparently, it’s going to stay that way unless your leader man’s up.”
Skipper narrowed his eyes at him. Private eyed both of them curiously, then turned around with a roll of his eyes.
“I’ll never understand grown-ups.”
14) What the Future Holds [VIII]
“Eureka! Skipper! I have finally perfected my time machine!” Kowalski a dit entering the room with a small device.
“Fantastic. Are toi sure it’s safe?” Skipper replied.
“Absolutely. I just tested it myself,” Kowalski told him.
“Oh, really? Then where did toi go?” Skipper asked.
“Einstein’s first steps were truly a beautiful thing…” Kowalski a dit in recollection. Skipper rolled his eyes.
“Alright. So, where do we go, now?” Private asked.
“I thought we could sneak a peek at the future. What do toi say?” Kowalski offered. The others exchanged a glance and shrugged.
“Sure. Let’s go see what the future holds,” Skipper said.
After setting the time machine for June 30th, 2030—exactly seventeen years from that very day, they huddled together and Kowalski pressed a button. After a blinding flash of light, they stood alone in an empty HQ.
Skipper looked around. “Did it work?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s go see what’s going on in the zoo. Just make sure our future selves don’t see us,” Kowalski warned.
“You could’ve mentioned that before we came here in the HQ,” Skipper pointed out. Kowalski shrugged.
“Sorry, got excited,” he admitted. Skipper rolled his eyes.
“Never mind. déplacer out,” he ordered.
When the team left the future HQ, the habitats were empty. Figuring that there was probably a zoo meeting taking place, they headed to the Zoovenir Shop. Sure enough, the animaux were all gathered there. But when they peered over the windowsill, they quickly realized that it wasn’t a meeting. It was a wedding.
“What the deuce?” Skipper inquired under his breath. They looked past the zoosters and saw the future Marlene and Skipper at the makeshift altar, giving their vows.
“Marlene, I have loved toi from the first jour I met you. You’re everything I could ever want in life. Let this ring be a symbol of my promise to l’amour and cherish toi until my last breath and forever longer,” the future Skipper a dit as he slipped a ring over the future Marlene’s finger. Her eyes were welling with tears of joy.
Skipper’s eyes widened and he couldn’t bring himself to look at his team, despite the fact that he could feel them staring at him. After watching for a moment longer, he fainted to the ground with a thump. The team silently gasped as the attention of the zoosters turned to the sound made outside and hopped down from the windowsill. Kowalski quickly took them back to their time period before they were caught.
“Skipper!”
Skipper snapped back into attention. “Huh?”
“Are toi ready to try out my time machine?” Kowalski asked again.
“Um…Sure, Kowalski. But let’s go back in time, alright?” Skipper replied.
Kowalski became confused. “But toi just a dit that toi wanted to see what the future held, though.”
Skipper smiled. “I think I’d rather be surprised.”
15) Girl Talk [IX]
While out on some recon duty, Skipper was passing Marlene’s habitat when he heard voices inside that he recognized as Becky and Stacy’s.
“…about Skipper?” he heard Becky’s voice say. He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help himself upon hearing his name.
“What about him?” a dit Marlene’s voice.
“C’mon, Marlene! toi can’t tell us that toi don’t notice the way he looks at you. He’s totally into you,” Stacy’s voice replied. Skipper felt the heat rush into his cheeks. Had he really been that obvious?
“Guys, come on. Skipper’s a nice guy…But I seriously doubt he has any kind of romantic feelings for me,” Marlene’s voice replied.
“Well, do toi have feelings for him?” Becky asked.
There was a short silence that followed and Skipper’s cœur, coeur started to race with anticipation. He leaned a little further into her habitat to see if he could hear anything when he Lost his balance and fell in the entrance with a thwack.
“What was that?!” he heard Becky’s voice say, along with growing footsteps. A moment later, Marlene, Becky, and Stacy emerged from Marlene’s cave, looking for the source of the sound.
“Hm. I could’ve sworn I heard something,” Marlene a dit when they found her empty habitat.
“Me, too,” Stacy concurred. “I suppose it was a bird ou something,” she suggested.
“Probably. Let’s go back inside,” Marlene a dit as she turned back.
Luckily, Skipper had made it outside Marlene’s habitat before anyone had seen him. He leaned back against the habitat’s mur and let out a relieved sigh. Then he took a deep breath.
I guess I’ll just have to find out when the time’s right, he thought with a smile.
16) Intruder Alert [X]
Skipper had had a long jour with returning accueil from another successful solo mission and arrived at the zoo in the dead of night. Stealthily making his way through the zoo, he hopped atop his habitat’s boundaries when he noticed that a faint light was emanating from Marlene’s habitat. Curious about why Marlene would be up so late at night, he jumped down from the mur and crossed over into her habitat.
Being as quiet as he could manage, he moved slowly into her cave in attempt not to disturb her. He was almost inside when the room suddenly went dark and he felt someone grab his flipper and pull him to the ground before he even had time to think.
“Who are you?! Why are toi in my habitat?!” he heard Marlene’s voice say just inches from his face in the darkness.
“Marlene! It’s me, Skipper!” Skipper protested. The suivant thing he knew, a light was switched on to reveal Marlene above him, pinning him to the floor. Her expression was a mix of shock and confusion.
“Skipper?” she a dit surveying him for a few seconds. After assuring herself that she wasn’t dreaming, she wrapped her arms around his neck from atop him. “Skipper, I’m so sorry! Are toi alright?!”
Skipper chuckled and wrapped his flippers around Marlene. “I’m fine, Marlene. toi want to tell me why you’re up so late? And why toi ninja’d me to the ground?”
Marlene pulled away and got to her feet. “Well, I couldn’t sleep,” she a dit helping Skipper up. “I was just in here thinking when I heard something outside. I really am sorry about that,” she a dit scratching her neck.
Skipper waved a flipper in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it, Marlene. I’m actually pretty impressed. At least I know toi can take care of yourself. I have to admit, I was completely caught off guard. And toi know how hard it is to catch me off guard,” he told her with a grin of pride.
“I learned from the best, Skipper,” Marlene told him with a smile. Skipper chuckled.
“That toi did. However…” Skipper snatched Marlene’s paw and pinned her par the shoulders to the nearest wall, catching her par surprise. “There’s still much plus to learn,” he finished with a grin.
Marlene’s expression softened. “Then I guess you’ll have to teach me,” she a dit with a smile.
Skipper released his grip on Marlene’s shoulders and gave a salute. “Count on it.”
17) A New Side
“Hey, guys,” Marlene called as she dropped down into the penguins’ hatch. “Have I ever told toi guys that I think of toi as family?”
“What can we do for you, Marlene?” Skipper asked giving her a sideways glance.
Marlene scoffed innocently. “Pft! What makes toi think I want something?”
Skipper crossed his flippers and gave her a look.
Marlene sighed. “Fine. Look, toi guys know that it’s April Fools Day, right?” she asked.
“That we do. Why?” Skipper replied.
“Well, I’ve noticed that Julien already pulled a few pranks on the other zoo animaux today and I really don’t like his sense of humor. Would it be okay if I stayed here until he gets it out of his system?” she asked.
“I don’t see why not. And I don’t blame you; the royal pain doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘no.’ Then again, he doesn’t know the meaning of a lot of words,” Skipper replied taking a couple of steps closer to Marlene. “Such as ‘personal space,’ ‘mind your own business,’ ‘go away’…I think toi get my point,” he a dit with a grin.
Marlene laughed. “Can’t disagree on that one,” she a dit as she closed the distance between them.
“Though, I’m not sure what we’ll—”
Interrupting Skipper’s spoken thoughts, Julien fell through the hatch and landed at their feet, grabbing both of their ankles.
“Ringtail! What are you—?!”
When Julien got to his feet with a laugh, Skipper realized what he had done. He’d handcuffed his and Marlene’s ankles together.
“Oh! Oh, I so got toi two! toi should see the looks on your faces!” he a dit as he leaned against the mur holding his stomach, laughing so hard that tears started welling up in his eyes.
“Ringtail! Undo these cuffs! Now!” Skipper ordered.
“Oh, sure. When April Fools is over!” Julien replied before scrambling up and out of the hatch. Skipper started after him without thinking and tripped over the bracelet that connected him to Marlene and fell to the floor, unintentionally pulling Marlene with him and landing her on haut, retour au début of him. Even with her face millimeters from his, he kept his cool.
“Sorry, Marlene,” he a dit with a sigh. He pushed her up par the shoulders and helped her to her feet as he got to his.
“It’s alright. So much for avoiding Julien,” Marlene replied looking down at the cuffs around their ankles.
Skipper followed her gaze and shook his foot a little bit, watching the chain clink between their feet.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m ripe for revenge,” Marlene a dit with a sly smile. Skipper rose his gaze to meet hers.
“Really? I didn’t think toi were for that kind of thing,” Skipper inquired.
Marlene laughed slightly. “Let’s just say that Julien’s got me in a…Pranking mood,” she replied, her expression unchanged.
The corners of Skipper’s beak slowly rose as a smile stretched across his face. “You mean a payback mood?”
“A little bit of both,” Marlene replied.
“Well, I must admit, this is a side of toi I’ve never seen before. I like it,” Skipper a dit as he rubbed his flippers together deviously.
“Actually, Skipper, there’s a lot of things toi don’t know about me, yet,” Marlene told him. Skipper smiled curiously.
“Yet?”
“Shall we?” Marlene a dit gesturing to the door with intentions of plotting their revenge against Julien. Skipper grinned.
“We shall.”
18) Complicated [XI]
“No, Marlene, I just can’t chance it.”
“Please, Skipper? I’m ready for this. You’ve been training me for nine years. Can’t toi just trust me?” Marlene begged.
Skipper rolled himself out from under the car and got to his feet, setting down his wrench on the nearby barrel. He then gently took Marlene par the shoulders.
“Marlene, I l’amour you. toi know I do. And I care about toi too much to let anything happen to you,” he said.
“Excuse me,” Kowalski a dit as he reached past Skipper for the wrench he’d laid down.
Marlene became defensive and crossed her arms. “So, toi don’t think I’m ready?”
Skipper sighed. “No, it’s not that I don’t think you’re ready, it’s just that…” His voice trailed off.
“Just that what, Skipper? Is it because I’m a girl and toi don’t think I can handle it?” she inquired.
“Marlene, please don’t put words in my beak. It’s not because you’re a girl. If I thought that, I would’ve never trained toi in the first place,” Skipper insisted dropping his flippers to his sides.
“Then it’s because I’m your wife?” Marlene said.
“No! It has nothing to do with our relationship!” Skipper asserted.
“Then why won’t toi let me go?! I’m ready for this, Skipper! Let me prove that to you!” Marlene persisted.
“Marlene, I just don’t feel comfortable with toi going on this mission! I admit, you’ve been plus than help on the missions we’ve been on together. But this one is so much bigger than any of those combined! There are lives at stake, Marlene! I don’t want your life to be one of them!” Skipper shot back.
“Skipper! I’ll be fine! You’ve seen what I can do!” Marlene reasoned. She took a couple steps forward, put a paw on his chest, and jutted out her lower lip. “Plus, I had a really good teacher.”
Skipper’s brows raised slightly and he shook his head. “Oh, no,” he a dit taking her wrist and lifting her paw off of his chest. “Getting cute with me isn’t going to change my mind. I know you’re good, Marlene. I wouldn’t have let toi come on any mission if I’d thought any less. It’s just that the boys and I have been in this line of work far longer than toi have. I just don’t want toi to get hurt.”
“Skipper’s right, Marlene,” Kowalski a dit as he passed them carrying a can of oil. “I think toi should leave this one to us.”
I don’t believe I asked for your opinion, a dit Marlene’s eyes and threatening posture. Kowalski gulped slightly and awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Sorry…” he a dit quietly as he turned back to continue working on the car.
Marlene turned back to Skipper. “Skipper, toi know I can’t let toi go without me. I’m going with you,” she insisted.
“No, you're not,” Skipper shot back.
Marlene grunted in frustration. “Skipper, I l’amour you, but why do toi always have to be so stubborn?!”
“You knew I was stubborn when toi married me!” Skipper protested.
“I know that, but I’m your wife! Can’t toi cut me a little slack?” she pleaded.
“Marlene, I told toi this from the beginning; when it comes to missions, you’re a member of this unit. And in anything else, you’re my wife. That way, no one is subject to favoritism. And as your commanding officer, I deny your request to rejoindre in on this mission!” Skipper ordered.
The team—who had been preparing the car for the mission during Skipper and Marlene’s disagreement—stopped abruptly and turned to Skipper with their brows raised in shock. Their eyes flitted to Marlene, worried about her reaction.
“You deny my request?” Marlene repeated slowly and firmly. “I’ll have toi know that this is far from a request. Skipper, I am going on that mission with ou without your permission,” she a dit with an affirmative stare.
“This is insubordination, Marlene. You’ve worked yourself up to Private First Class. I’d hate to have to demote my own wife, but I’ll do it,” Skipper threatened.
“Demote? Skipper, now you’re going too far. I’ve worked hard for this position and I am not going to let toi take me back down,” Marlene a dit firmly.
“Good. Then we’re on the same page. toi stay here while the boys and I go complete the mission,” Skipper a dit with clarity. Marlene grunted in frustration and grabbed his shoulders.
“You are impossible!” she a dit putting emphasis on the syllables par shaking him slightly. Skipper grabbed her par the waist and pulled her close.
“But toi still l’amour me, right?” he a dit with a grin.
Marlene sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I still l’amour you. toi know that.”
“I know. I just like to hear toi say it,” Skipper a dit before pulling her into a kiss. Back at the car, the team exchanged a glance.
“Are they still fighting?” Private whispered to Kowalski.
Kowalski watched them for a moment longer, then shrugged.
“It’s complicated. l’amour always is.”
19) Alone At Last?
“Marlene?” Skipper called as he entered Marlene’s cave.
“Yeah, I’m here, Skipper. Did toi give the team something to do to keep them busy?” Marlene asked as Skipper moved deeper into her room.
“Yep. They don’t even know I’m here,” Skipper answered. He moved vers l'avant, vers l’avant and took her par the waist. “Now, we can finally be alone.”
Marlene smiled and rested her paws on his shoulders. “Yeah. Alone.”
Skipper touched his forehead to hers. “I really am sorry about last time, par the way. I wasn’t expecting Alice to feed us that early in the afternoon.”
Marlene laughed slightly. “Skipper, it’s fine. I don’t blame toi for that. Besides, it’s not like toi were upset with me when I had to annuler our rendez-vous amoureux, date when I got nourriture poisoning,” she told him.
“Of course I wouldn’t be. If Alice would check the nourriture before serving it, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Besides, we still had a pretty good time watching that movie instead, right?” Skipper a dit giving her a nudge.
“Even though I threw up in the middle of it?” Marlene inquired with an awkward smile.
“Well, at least toi made it to the bathroom…The first time,” he a dit with a slight laugh. “No, I wasn’t upset with you. I was just upset that we haven’t had a real moment alone in…Geez, I can’t even remember,” Skipper explained. “First, it was Kowalski’s invention gone haywire…”
“Then, it was the emergency mission…” Marlene added.
“Then, the Vesuvius Twins came to visit the zoo again…” Skipper continued, then he shook his head in dismissal. “But none of that matters. All that matters is here and now, just toi and me, finally alone.”
Marlene smiled and Skipper gradually started to close the distance between his beak and her lips…
“Hello, smelly, flightless waterbird!” Julien a dit as he entered Marlene’s cave, causing her and Skipper to pull away in surprise. “So, I saw toi come in here and was just wondering if—”
“No,” Skipper said, cutting him off.
“But toi didn’t even know what I was—”
“No! toi know what?! I don’t care about privacy anymore! This is my time and I’m not going to let you ruin it!” Skipper snapped as he turned back to Marlene, grabbed her once again par the waist, and kissed her right in front of him. Julien’s eyes widened as he stood where he was, unable to look away in the shock of Skipper’s action.
After a few seconds, he got over the shock and the awkwardness of the situation crept in as Marlene wrapped her arms around Skipper’s neck to deepen the kiss.
“Eh…You know what? I think I-I’ll go, now. O-Oh! Do toi hear that? I think Maurice is calling me! I sh-should go see about that. And…I’m shutting up now…” he a dit awkwardly as Skipper and Marlene carried on as if he wasn’t even there. He turned and stumbled out of Marlene’s cave without another word.
Skipper—after peeking off to the side to see if Julien was truly gone—finally pulled away with a sigh.
“Finally. I haven’t been able to do that in a while,” he a dit with grin.
“I’m surprised at you, Skipper. I didn’t think toi liked s’embrasser me in front of anyone. Especially Julien,” Marlene replied with a laugh. Skipper pushed a tuft of fourrure out of her eyes.
“Well, it got him to go away, didn’t it? We’re finally—and truly—alone,” he a dit holding her closer. Marlene smiled.
“Alone at last.”
20) One In the Same
“I had a nice time tonight, Skipper,” Marlene a dit as she and Skipper returned accueil flipper-in-paw through Central Park.
“I did, too,” Skipper a dit with a smile. Without warning, Marlene gradually slowed her pace and she turned to Skipper.
“Skipper, can I ask something?” she requested. Skipper stopped and turned to face her.
“Of course toi can, Marlene. What is it?” he granted.
“Well…I was just wondering…What is it that attracts toi to me?” she asked bashfully.
Skipper smiled.
“I think a better question would be, ‘What doesn’t attract toi to me.’ Which I can’t answer, because there isn’t one,” he replied.
Marlene smiled sheepishly and looked down. “Aw, Skipper, that’s sweet. But…I meant more…Why are toi attracted to me?”
Skipper’s brow lowered in confusion. “I don’t think I’m following,” he told her.
“It’s just…We’re so different. I mean, we do have some things in common, but for the most part, we have two completely different personalities,” Marlene explained.
“Well, I don’t think that’s such a big deal. We have feelings for each other and that’s all that matters, right?” Skipper asked taking her paws into his flippers.
“Yeah…But…I just hear that relationships don’t last as long unless toi have a lot in common,” Marlene a dit without meeting his eye.
Skipper’s face fell slightly and he released one of her paws to lift her chin.
“Marlene, you’re not having seconde thoughts about us, are you?” he asked.
“No, no, not at all. I want to be with you, Skipper. It’s just that I’m just a little insecure, that’s all—”
Marlene was interrupted par a sound coming from behind her and she and Skipper followed it with their eyes. suivant to a arbre that wasn’t too far behind her, a hippie had made himself comfortable under it and was tapping along on his bongos. Marlene sighed in irritation.
“Here I am trying to have a serious conversation with toi and a stupid hippie has to interrupt us,” she said, spitting out the word ‘hippie’ as if it were a disease.
Skipper eyed her curiously.
“Stupid hippie?” he repeated.
“Yeah, I mean, can’t these guys get a life? Someone needs to just make them get jobs,” Marlene told him. Skipper fought off a smile.
“So, toi dislike hippies?” he asked her.
“Totally. I just don’t get the point. And they talk weird…” she a dit rolling her eyes. “Man,” she added, mocking the tone of a hippie. Skipper finally found himself unable to keep himself from grinning.
“What?” Marlene a dit in response to Skipper’s expression. “What are toi smiling about?”
Skipper wrapped his flipper around Marlene’s shoulders and started for the zoo again.
“Marlene, I can assure toi that we are one in the same.”
♦ ♦ ♦
[VI] This sort of came to me as I was watching Otter Things Have Happened again. I could sort of imagine Julien attempting to win Marlene over and/or try to inform her that she was his girlfriend before any of that happened.
[VII]-[IX] Thanks to link for giving me the idea for these skits in the link forum post, Page 39.
[X] Okay, maybe that one was a little plus cute than funny. It was just an idea I had.
[XI] I started écriture this skit and realized that I think I can actually do plus with it. I might turn it into an actual story sometime.
11) Sweet Dreams
On a quiet Saturday afternoon, Skipper had sent his men off for a snowcone reward since the past few days had been left problem-free. He decided to stay behind to use the vacated HQ to go through some classified files.
Flipping through file after file, he found himself going through a rhythm due to the lack of disturbances. His rhythm was interrupted when a voice from behind him gave him a start.
“Whatcha doin’?”
Skipper twitched in surprise and instinctively turned around on his heel, ready for combat. His stance softened when he saw that it was only Marlene standing in the doorway behind him.
“Marlene? What are toi doing here?” he asked straightening himself.
It wasn’t until now did he realize Marlene’s appearance. Her hip was cocked and her arms were folded over her chest. One eyebrow was raised higher than the other and her smile was smooth and seductive.
“You here alone?” Marlene asked without answering Skipper’s question.
Skipper found nervousness creeping into his chest and he swallowed. “Yeah. Why…?”
Marlene strided in and stopped when she was barely a couple of inches from Skipper. “I just thought we could…Talk?” she a dit taking on a deep, sexy tone to her voice. Skipper gulped.
“S-Sure,” he stuttered, “what exactly did toi want to talk about?” he asked trying to act like he didn’t notice the way Marlene was acting.
Marlene reached out and ran one of her paws up Skipper’s chest, bringing it to a rest on his shoulder. “Us,” she answered staring deep into Skipper’s eyes, which widened at her answer.
“Us?” Skipper repeated. He cleared his throat slightly. “What about us, exactly?” he asked awkwardly.
Marlene guided her other paw to meet the other around Skipper’s neck. “You know, Skipper, I’ve always found toi rather attractive.”
Skipper laughed nervously and tried to respond, but all that came out was a jumble of half-words before Marlene put her finger on his beak and laughed slightly.
“And you’re just plain adorable when you’re nervous,” she a dit tracing her paw down the side of his beak before resting it on his shoulder once again. “It’s okay. toi don’t have to say anything.”
Marlene slowly pulled him closer and Skipper was too stunned and nervous to object. His beak met Marlene’s lips and he was overwhelmed with surprise and electricity, stumbling back into the table. He heard his pile of files fall to the floor, but he found himself not caring as he and Marlene seemed to melt into each other.
A few secondes into the moment, Skipper could hear someone calling his name from a distance and he suddenly found himself jerking awake in his bunk with Kowalski at his side.
“Skipper! Wow, I don’t know what toi were dreaming about, but toi seemed to really be enjoying it. I’ve been trying to wake toi up for six whole minutes!”
12) The Power of Charm [VI]
On a quiet morning, Marlene busied herself in tuning her Spanish guitar. It was just about perfect when Julien strolled into her cave.
“Ah, hello, Ms. Otter! May I enter?” he asked entering without waiting for an answer.
“Um…Sure, Julien. Come right in,” Marlene answered rolling her eyes and propping her guitare up against a nearby wall. “What are toi doing here?”
“Is it a crime to want to visit a good neighbor?” Julien replied coming to a stop par her side.
“No, but I get worried when toi do,” Marlene a dit with a suspicious look on her face.
Julien laughed slightly. “Oh, Marlene! You’re poking fun at me! toi got me, there!”
Marlene cocked an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. “Julien, are toi alright? You’re jouer la comédie strange.”
Julien shook his head and leaned against the mur par Marlene. “No, no, Marlene. I am just fine. Actually, I was just coming to be making sure toi were alright.”
“Me? I’m fine. Why?” Marlene asked.
“Oh, I was just wondering if it hurt when heaven fell upon you?” Julien asked with a smooth smile.
“Um…Excuse me?” Marlene replied with her face twisting in confusion.
“If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put you and me together,” Julien added.
“Julien, are you…Hitting on me?” Marlene asked in astonishment.
“No, silly otter. I am simply wooing toi with my charm,” Julien answered pushing his crown back slightly.
Interrupting them, Skipper popped up through the sewer drain.
“Hey, Marlene! Rico and I found some—” he stopped short when he noticed Julien’s presence. “What are toi doing here, Ringtail?”
“Apparently, he’s ‘wooing me with his charm.’ But, quite frankly, he’s just annoying me with it,” Marlene answered.
“Annoying?! How could a handsome and Rebelle king, such as me, be annoying?” Julien asked folding his arms over his chest in frustration.
Skipper looked Julien up and down for a moment, then started laughing. “Are toi serious? You’re flirting with Marlene?” Upon saying his thoughts aloud, he started laughing even harder.
“I am failing to see the humor in this!” Julien exclaimed angrily throwing his paws up, then bringing them to his hips.
Skipper—unable to stop laughing—pulled himself up into Marlene’s habitat and stumbled over his own feet as he tried to regain his composure. His guffaw became contagious as Marlene found herself unable to keep from cracking a smile.
“I am demanding that toi all stop laughing this instant!” Julien commanded. But Skipper and Marlene were now both laughing uncontrollably, resulting in Julien leaving in an angry huff. “I will not stand here and be made fun of par a couple of commoners!” he a dit on his way out.
After a few plus moments of trying to catch their breath, Skipper and Marlene’s laughing softened into small convulsions.
“Whew…I’m sorry, Marlene. I just couldn’t help myself,” Skipper a dit once he’d caught his breath.
“Heh, it’s alright, Skipper,” Marlene replied. Her face fell upon a thought entering her mind. “Wait, what were toi laughing about, anyway? Is it really that funny that someone would…Want me?” she asked.
Skipper’s smile faded and he strode over to Marlene. “Marlene, that is most certainly not why I was laughing. I was laughing because it was preposterous to think he’d have a shot with you. toi deserve much better than anything he could offer toi in a relationship.”
Marlene smiled bashfully. “You really think so?”
“No, I don’t think so. I know so, Marlene,” Skipper a dit returning a reassuring smile.
A short-lived silence followed and Skipper was the first to break it. “So, what exactly did Ringtail say, anyway?”
Marlene laughed and scratched the back of her neck. “Well, first he asked if it hurt when heaven fell on me.”
Skipper suppressed a laugh. “I think he meant, ‘Did it hurt when toi fell from heaven?’” he told her.
Marlene laughed. “Yeah, I know,” she a dit shaking her head.
Skipper thought for a moment, then smiled coolly. “So, did it?”
13) Denial [VII]
“So, Kowalski, is there anything new?” Skipper asked entering his lab.
“Actually, yes. I’ve intercepted some transfer papers. We’re going to have a new resident in the zoo,” Kowalski answered picking up the transfer papers.
“Really? What species?” Skipper inquired.
“It appears that a new male loutre will be joining us,” Kowalski told him. Skipper’s face lifted in surprise.
“Male otter?” Skipper repeated.
“Um…Affirmative. Why?” Kowalski asked, confused par Skipper’s tone.
Skipper crossed his flippers over his chest. “Well, why does the zoo need a male otter? What? Marlene isn’t good enough for them?”
“Sir?” Kowalski urged, trying to understand Skipper’s sudden outburst.
“What? Can I not have an opinion? Marlene is perfect all on her own. She doesn't need a male around to steal her spotlight. Let me see that transcript!” he ordered snatching the papers from Kowalski and looking over them.
Kowalski laughed slightly. “Skipper, if I didn’t know toi any better, I’d say toi were jealous.”
Skipper darted a look at him over the transcripts. “Jealous? I’m not jealous! I’m just saying that Marlene attracts enough visitors to the zoo all par herself,” he insisted.
Kowalski folded his flippers over his chest. “So, toi find Marlene attractive and perfect, hm?” he asked with a teasing smile.
Skipper shook his head. “No! I mean…Well, she does, doesn’t she?!”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Kowalski a dit with a wink. Though, the fact that he didn’t answer his question was an answer in itself.
“Focus on the problem at hand, Kowalski!” Skipper ordered, trying to change the subject.
Kowalski sighed. “Fine,” he said. Though, a moment later, he coughed out the word jealous.
“I am not jealous!” Skipper insisted slapping the papers down on the table.
“Denial!” Kowalski a dit in a sing-song tone.
“I am not in denial!” Skipper told him jabbing a flipper in his direction.
“So, toi deny that you’re in denial?” Kowalski asked, unable to contain his laughter any longer.
“Yes! I mean…No! I mean…Kowalski!” Skipper stuttered in frustration.
“What is going on in here?!” Private asked entering the room.
“Skipper’s jeal—” Skipper slapped Kowalski before he could finish.
“Nothing, soldier. Right, Kowalski?” Skipper a dit giving him a hard stare.
Kowalski held back another laugh. “Yes, Private. Absolutely nothing. And apparently, it’s going to stay that way unless your leader man’s up.”
Skipper narrowed his eyes at him. Private eyed both of them curiously, then turned around with a roll of his eyes.
“I’ll never understand grown-ups.”
14) What the Future Holds [VIII]
“Eureka! Skipper! I have finally perfected my time machine!” Kowalski a dit entering the room with a small device.
“Fantastic. Are toi sure it’s safe?” Skipper replied.
“Absolutely. I just tested it myself,” Kowalski told him.
“Oh, really? Then where did toi go?” Skipper asked.
“Einstein’s first steps were truly a beautiful thing…” Kowalski a dit in recollection. Skipper rolled his eyes.
“Alright. So, where do we go, now?” Private asked.
“I thought we could sneak a peek at the future. What do toi say?” Kowalski offered. The others exchanged a glance and shrugged.
“Sure. Let’s go see what the future holds,” Skipper said.
After setting the time machine for June 30th, 2030—exactly seventeen years from that very day, they huddled together and Kowalski pressed a button. After a blinding flash of light, they stood alone in an empty HQ.
Skipper looked around. “Did it work?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s go see what’s going on in the zoo. Just make sure our future selves don’t see us,” Kowalski warned.
“You could’ve mentioned that before we came here in the HQ,” Skipper pointed out. Kowalski shrugged.
“Sorry, got excited,” he admitted. Skipper rolled his eyes.
“Never mind. déplacer out,” he ordered.
When the team left the future HQ, the habitats were empty. Figuring that there was probably a zoo meeting taking place, they headed to the Zoovenir Shop. Sure enough, the animaux were all gathered there. But when they peered over the windowsill, they quickly realized that it wasn’t a meeting. It was a wedding.
“What the deuce?” Skipper inquired under his breath. They looked past the zoosters and saw the future Marlene and Skipper at the makeshift altar, giving their vows.
“Marlene, I have loved toi from the first jour I met you. You’re everything I could ever want in life. Let this ring be a symbol of my promise to l’amour and cherish toi until my last breath and forever longer,” the future Skipper a dit as he slipped a ring over the future Marlene’s finger. Her eyes were welling with tears of joy.
Skipper’s eyes widened and he couldn’t bring himself to look at his team, despite the fact that he could feel them staring at him. After watching for a moment longer, he fainted to the ground with a thump. The team silently gasped as the attention of the zoosters turned to the sound made outside and hopped down from the windowsill. Kowalski quickly took them back to their time period before they were caught.
“Skipper!”
Skipper snapped back into attention. “Huh?”
“Are toi ready to try out my time machine?” Kowalski asked again.
“Um…Sure, Kowalski. But let’s go back in time, alright?” Skipper replied.
Kowalski became confused. “But toi just a dit that toi wanted to see what the future held, though.”
Skipper smiled. “I think I’d rather be surprised.”
15) Girl Talk [IX]
While out on some recon duty, Skipper was passing Marlene’s habitat when he heard voices inside that he recognized as Becky and Stacy’s.
“…about Skipper?” he heard Becky’s voice say. He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help himself upon hearing his name.
“What about him?” a dit Marlene’s voice.
“C’mon, Marlene! toi can’t tell us that toi don’t notice the way he looks at you. He’s totally into you,” Stacy’s voice replied. Skipper felt the heat rush into his cheeks. Had he really been that obvious?
“Guys, come on. Skipper’s a nice guy…But I seriously doubt he has any kind of romantic feelings for me,” Marlene’s voice replied.
“Well, do toi have feelings for him?” Becky asked.
There was a short silence that followed and Skipper’s cœur, coeur started to race with anticipation. He leaned a little further into her habitat to see if he could hear anything when he Lost his balance and fell in the entrance with a thwack.
“What was that?!” he heard Becky’s voice say, along with growing footsteps. A moment later, Marlene, Becky, and Stacy emerged from Marlene’s cave, looking for the source of the sound.
“Hm. I could’ve sworn I heard something,” Marlene a dit when they found her empty habitat.
“Me, too,” Stacy concurred. “I suppose it was a bird ou something,” she suggested.
“Probably. Let’s go back inside,” Marlene a dit as she turned back.
Luckily, Skipper had made it outside Marlene’s habitat before anyone had seen him. He leaned back against the habitat’s mur and let out a relieved sigh. Then he took a deep breath.
I guess I’ll just have to find out when the time’s right, he thought with a smile.
16) Intruder Alert [X]
Skipper had had a long jour with returning accueil from another successful solo mission and arrived at the zoo in the dead of night. Stealthily making his way through the zoo, he hopped atop his habitat’s boundaries when he noticed that a faint light was emanating from Marlene’s habitat. Curious about why Marlene would be up so late at night, he jumped down from the mur and crossed over into her habitat.
Being as quiet as he could manage, he moved slowly into her cave in attempt not to disturb her. He was almost inside when the room suddenly went dark and he felt someone grab his flipper and pull him to the ground before he even had time to think.
“Who are you?! Why are toi in my habitat?!” he heard Marlene’s voice say just inches from his face in the darkness.
“Marlene! It’s me, Skipper!” Skipper protested. The suivant thing he knew, a light was switched on to reveal Marlene above him, pinning him to the floor. Her expression was a mix of shock and confusion.
“Skipper?” she a dit surveying him for a few seconds. After assuring herself that she wasn’t dreaming, she wrapped her arms around his neck from atop him. “Skipper, I’m so sorry! Are toi alright?!”
Skipper chuckled and wrapped his flippers around Marlene. “I’m fine, Marlene. toi want to tell me why you’re up so late? And why toi ninja’d me to the ground?”
Marlene pulled away and got to her feet. “Well, I couldn’t sleep,” she a dit helping Skipper up. “I was just in here thinking when I heard something outside. I really am sorry about that,” she a dit scratching her neck.
Skipper waved a flipper in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it, Marlene. I’m actually pretty impressed. At least I know toi can take care of yourself. I have to admit, I was completely caught off guard. And toi know how hard it is to catch me off guard,” he told her with a grin of pride.
“I learned from the best, Skipper,” Marlene told him with a smile. Skipper chuckled.
“That toi did. However…” Skipper snatched Marlene’s paw and pinned her par the shoulders to the nearest wall, catching her par surprise. “There’s still much plus to learn,” he finished with a grin.
Marlene’s expression softened. “Then I guess you’ll have to teach me,” she a dit with a smile.
Skipper released his grip on Marlene’s shoulders and gave a salute. “Count on it.”
17) A New Side
“Hey, guys,” Marlene called as she dropped down into the penguins’ hatch. “Have I ever told toi guys that I think of toi as family?”
“What can we do for you, Marlene?” Skipper asked giving her a sideways glance.
Marlene scoffed innocently. “Pft! What makes toi think I want something?”
Skipper crossed his flippers and gave her a look.
Marlene sighed. “Fine. Look, toi guys know that it’s April Fools Day, right?” she asked.
“That we do. Why?” Skipper replied.
“Well, I’ve noticed that Julien already pulled a few pranks on the other zoo animaux today and I really don’t like his sense of humor. Would it be okay if I stayed here until he gets it out of his system?” she asked.
“I don’t see why not. And I don’t blame you; the royal pain doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘no.’ Then again, he doesn’t know the meaning of a lot of words,” Skipper replied taking a couple of steps closer to Marlene. “Such as ‘personal space,’ ‘mind your own business,’ ‘go away’…I think toi get my point,” he a dit with a grin.
Marlene laughed. “Can’t disagree on that one,” she a dit as she closed the distance between them.
“Though, I’m not sure what we’ll—”
Interrupting Skipper’s spoken thoughts, Julien fell through the hatch and landed at their feet, grabbing both of their ankles.
“Ringtail! What are you—?!”
When Julien got to his feet with a laugh, Skipper realized what he had done. He’d handcuffed his and Marlene’s ankles together.
“Oh! Oh, I so got toi two! toi should see the looks on your faces!” he a dit as he leaned against the mur holding his stomach, laughing so hard that tears started welling up in his eyes.
“Ringtail! Undo these cuffs! Now!” Skipper ordered.
“Oh, sure. When April Fools is over!” Julien replied before scrambling up and out of the hatch. Skipper started after him without thinking and tripped over the bracelet that connected him to Marlene and fell to the floor, unintentionally pulling Marlene with him and landing her on haut, retour au début of him. Even with her face millimeters from his, he kept his cool.
“Sorry, Marlene,” he a dit with a sigh. He pushed her up par the shoulders and helped her to her feet as he got to his.
“It’s alright. So much for avoiding Julien,” Marlene replied looking down at the cuffs around their ankles.
Skipper followed her gaze and shook his foot a little bit, watching the chain clink between their feet.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m ripe for revenge,” Marlene a dit with a sly smile. Skipper rose his gaze to meet hers.
“Really? I didn’t think toi were for that kind of thing,” Skipper inquired.
Marlene laughed slightly. “Let’s just say that Julien’s got me in a…Pranking mood,” she replied, her expression unchanged.
The corners of Skipper’s beak slowly rose as a smile stretched across his face. “You mean a payback mood?”
“A little bit of both,” Marlene replied.
“Well, I must admit, this is a side of toi I’ve never seen before. I like it,” Skipper a dit as he rubbed his flippers together deviously.
“Actually, Skipper, there’s a lot of things toi don’t know about me, yet,” Marlene told him. Skipper smiled curiously.
“Yet?”
“Shall we?” Marlene a dit gesturing to the door with intentions of plotting their revenge against Julien. Skipper grinned.
“We shall.”
18) Complicated [XI]
“No, Marlene, I just can’t chance it.”
“Please, Skipper? I’m ready for this. You’ve been training me for nine years. Can’t toi just trust me?” Marlene begged.
Skipper rolled himself out from under the car and got to his feet, setting down his wrench on the nearby barrel. He then gently took Marlene par the shoulders.
“Marlene, I l’amour you. toi know I do. And I care about toi too much to let anything happen to you,” he said.
“Excuse me,” Kowalski a dit as he reached past Skipper for the wrench he’d laid down.
Marlene became defensive and crossed her arms. “So, toi don’t think I’m ready?”
Skipper sighed. “No, it’s not that I don’t think you’re ready, it’s just that…” His voice trailed off.
“Just that what, Skipper? Is it because I’m a girl and toi don’t think I can handle it?” she inquired.
“Marlene, please don’t put words in my beak. It’s not because you’re a girl. If I thought that, I would’ve never trained toi in the first place,” Skipper insisted dropping his flippers to his sides.
“Then it’s because I’m your wife?” Marlene said.
“No! It has nothing to do with our relationship!” Skipper asserted.
“Then why won’t toi let me go?! I’m ready for this, Skipper! Let me prove that to you!” Marlene persisted.
“Marlene, I just don’t feel comfortable with toi going on this mission! I admit, you’ve been plus than help on the missions we’ve been on together. But this one is so much bigger than any of those combined! There are lives at stake, Marlene! I don’t want your life to be one of them!” Skipper shot back.
“Skipper! I’ll be fine! You’ve seen what I can do!” Marlene reasoned. She took a couple steps forward, put a paw on his chest, and jutted out her lower lip. “Plus, I had a really good teacher.”
Skipper’s brows raised slightly and he shook his head. “Oh, no,” he a dit taking her wrist and lifting her paw off of his chest. “Getting cute with me isn’t going to change my mind. I know you’re good, Marlene. I wouldn’t have let toi come on any mission if I’d thought any less. It’s just that the boys and I have been in this line of work far longer than toi have. I just don’t want toi to get hurt.”
“Skipper’s right, Marlene,” Kowalski a dit as he passed them carrying a can of oil. “I think toi should leave this one to us.”
I don’t believe I asked for your opinion, a dit Marlene’s eyes and threatening posture. Kowalski gulped slightly and awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Sorry…” he a dit quietly as he turned back to continue working on the car.
Marlene turned back to Skipper. “Skipper, toi know I can’t let toi go without me. I’m going with you,” she insisted.
“No, you're not,” Skipper shot back.
Marlene grunted in frustration. “Skipper, I l’amour you, but why do toi always have to be so stubborn?!”
“You knew I was stubborn when toi married me!” Skipper protested.
“I know that, but I’m your wife! Can’t toi cut me a little slack?” she pleaded.
“Marlene, I told toi this from the beginning; when it comes to missions, you’re a member of this unit. And in anything else, you’re my wife. That way, no one is subject to favoritism. And as your commanding officer, I deny your request to rejoindre in on this mission!” Skipper ordered.
The team—who had been preparing the car for the mission during Skipper and Marlene’s disagreement—stopped abruptly and turned to Skipper with their brows raised in shock. Their eyes flitted to Marlene, worried about her reaction.
“You deny my request?” Marlene repeated slowly and firmly. “I’ll have toi know that this is far from a request. Skipper, I am going on that mission with ou without your permission,” she a dit with an affirmative stare.
“This is insubordination, Marlene. You’ve worked yourself up to Private First Class. I’d hate to have to demote my own wife, but I’ll do it,” Skipper threatened.
“Demote? Skipper, now you’re going too far. I’ve worked hard for this position and I am not going to let toi take me back down,” Marlene a dit firmly.
“Good. Then we’re on the same page. toi stay here while the boys and I go complete the mission,” Skipper a dit with clarity. Marlene grunted in frustration and grabbed his shoulders.
“You are impossible!” she a dit putting emphasis on the syllables par shaking him slightly. Skipper grabbed her par the waist and pulled her close.
“But toi still l’amour me, right?” he a dit with a grin.
Marlene sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I still l’amour you. toi know that.”
“I know. I just like to hear toi say it,” Skipper a dit before pulling her into a kiss. Back at the car, the team exchanged a glance.
“Are they still fighting?” Private whispered to Kowalski.
Kowalski watched them for a moment longer, then shrugged.
“It’s complicated. l’amour always is.”
19) Alone At Last?
“Marlene?” Skipper called as he entered Marlene’s cave.
“Yeah, I’m here, Skipper. Did toi give the team something to do to keep them busy?” Marlene asked as Skipper moved deeper into her room.
“Yep. They don’t even know I’m here,” Skipper answered. He moved vers l'avant, vers l’avant and took her par the waist. “Now, we can finally be alone.”
Marlene smiled and rested her paws on his shoulders. “Yeah. Alone.”
Skipper touched his forehead to hers. “I really am sorry about last time, par the way. I wasn’t expecting Alice to feed us that early in the afternoon.”
Marlene laughed slightly. “Skipper, it’s fine. I don’t blame toi for that. Besides, it’s not like toi were upset with me when I had to annuler our rendez-vous amoureux, date when I got nourriture poisoning,” she told him.
“Of course I wouldn’t be. If Alice would check the nourriture before serving it, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Besides, we still had a pretty good time watching that movie instead, right?” Skipper a dit giving her a nudge.
“Even though I threw up in the middle of it?” Marlene inquired with an awkward smile.
“Well, at least toi made it to the bathroom…The first time,” he a dit with a slight laugh. “No, I wasn’t upset with you. I was just upset that we haven’t had a real moment alone in…Geez, I can’t even remember,” Skipper explained. “First, it was Kowalski’s invention gone haywire…”
“Then, it was the emergency mission…” Marlene added.
“Then, the Vesuvius Twins came to visit the zoo again…” Skipper continued, then he shook his head in dismissal. “But none of that matters. All that matters is here and now, just toi and me, finally alone.”
Marlene smiled and Skipper gradually started to close the distance between his beak and her lips…
“Hello, smelly, flightless waterbird!” Julien a dit as he entered Marlene’s cave, causing her and Skipper to pull away in surprise. “So, I saw toi come in here and was just wondering if—”
“No,” Skipper said, cutting him off.
“But toi didn’t even know what I was—”
“No! toi know what?! I don’t care about privacy anymore! This is my time and I’m not going to let you ruin it!” Skipper snapped as he turned back to Marlene, grabbed her once again par the waist, and kissed her right in front of him. Julien’s eyes widened as he stood where he was, unable to look away in the shock of Skipper’s action.
After a few seconds, he got over the shock and the awkwardness of the situation crept in as Marlene wrapped her arms around Skipper’s neck to deepen the kiss.
“Eh…You know what? I think I-I’ll go, now. O-Oh! Do toi hear that? I think Maurice is calling me! I sh-should go see about that. And…I’m shutting up now…” he a dit awkwardly as Skipper and Marlene carried on as if he wasn’t even there. He turned and stumbled out of Marlene’s cave without another word.
Skipper—after peeking off to the side to see if Julien was truly gone—finally pulled away with a sigh.
“Finally. I haven’t been able to do that in a while,” he a dit with grin.
“I’m surprised at you, Skipper. I didn’t think toi liked s’embrasser me in front of anyone. Especially Julien,” Marlene replied with a laugh. Skipper pushed a tuft of fourrure out of her eyes.
“Well, it got him to go away, didn’t it? We’re finally—and truly—alone,” he a dit holding her closer. Marlene smiled.
“Alone at last.”
20) One In the Same
“I had a nice time tonight, Skipper,” Marlene a dit as she and Skipper returned accueil flipper-in-paw through Central Park.
“I did, too,” Skipper a dit with a smile. Without warning, Marlene gradually slowed her pace and she turned to Skipper.
“Skipper, can I ask something?” she requested. Skipper stopped and turned to face her.
“Of course toi can, Marlene. What is it?” he granted.
“Well…I was just wondering…What is it that attracts toi to me?” she asked bashfully.
Skipper smiled.
“I think a better question would be, ‘What doesn’t attract toi to me.’ Which I can’t answer, because there isn’t one,” he replied.
Marlene smiled sheepishly and looked down. “Aw, Skipper, that’s sweet. But…I meant more…Why are toi attracted to me?”
Skipper’s brow lowered in confusion. “I don’t think I’m following,” he told her.
“It’s just…We’re so different. I mean, we do have some things in common, but for the most part, we have two completely different personalities,” Marlene explained.
“Well, I don’t think that’s such a big deal. We have feelings for each other and that’s all that matters, right?” Skipper asked taking her paws into his flippers.
“Yeah…But…I just hear that relationships don’t last as long unless toi have a lot in common,” Marlene a dit without meeting his eye.
Skipper’s face fell slightly and he released one of her paws to lift her chin.
“Marlene, you’re not having seconde thoughts about us, are you?” he asked.
“No, no, not at all. I want to be with you, Skipper. It’s just that I’m just a little insecure, that’s all—”
Marlene was interrupted par a sound coming from behind her and she and Skipper followed it with their eyes. suivant to a arbre that wasn’t too far behind her, a hippie had made himself comfortable under it and was tapping along on his bongos. Marlene sighed in irritation.
“Here I am trying to have a serious conversation with toi and a stupid hippie has to interrupt us,” she said, spitting out the word ‘hippie’ as if it were a disease.
Skipper eyed her curiously.
“Stupid hippie?” he repeated.
“Yeah, I mean, can’t these guys get a life? Someone needs to just make them get jobs,” Marlene told him. Skipper fought off a smile.
“So, toi dislike hippies?” he asked her.
“Totally. I just don’t get the point. And they talk weird…” she a dit rolling her eyes. “Man,” she added, mocking the tone of a hippie. Skipper finally found himself unable to keep himself from grinning.
“What?” Marlene a dit in response to Skipper’s expression. “What are toi smiling about?”
Skipper wrapped his flipper around Marlene’s shoulders and started for the zoo again.
“Marlene, I can assure toi that we are one in the same.”
♦ ♦ ♦
[VI] This sort of came to me as I was watching Otter Things Have Happened again. I could sort of imagine Julien attempting to win Marlene over and/or try to inform her that she was his girlfriend before any of that happened.
[VII]-[IX] Thanks to link for giving me the idea for these skits in the link forum post, Page 39.
[X] Okay, maybe that one was a little plus cute than funny. It was just an idea I had.
[XI] I started écriture this skit and realized that I think I can actually do plus with it. I might turn it into an actual story sometime.
