Are You Challenging Me? 02.15.16

Note: This shot is dedicated to link and his little brother, who requested it from me. I hope you like it and that I didn’t disappoint you.

— § —

Tense.

That was the only way to describe the atmosphere in the HQ. They’d recently returned from a mission to thwart Hans’ latest scheme, which hadn’t gone as planned.

“Skipper,” Kowalski called as Skipper violently prepared his bed for the night. Kowalski rolled his eyes. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?” Skipper snapped, turning to face him. “I’m not the one being ridiculous. I had things under control. Private should’ve let me handle it.”

“Skipper,” Kowalski argued, “you were out of commission. You were discombobulated after Hans caused those chemicals to explode in your face. I’m just thankful they weren’t deadly.”

Skipper rolled his eyes. “I was fine.”

Kowalski sighed impatiently. “Why can’t you just own up to the fact that Private acted well. You should be proud of him.”

“Because I am this unit’s CO,” Skipper shot back. “I command the missions. Private was out of line. Because of him, Hans escaped.”

“However,” Kowalski started, “we stopped him from taking anything from the lab and got out alive. With Private’s quick thinking, I’d say the mission was a success.”

Skipper exhaled. “Hans escaped. That is far from a success. If I’d have run it, we would’ve caught him.”

“You couldn’t even see him!” Kowalski argued.

Before either of them could continue, Private dropped into HQ. Skipper straightened and faced the wall, folding his flippers in stubborn silence. Kowalski sighed.

“Skipper,” Private said stoically as he passed by.

“Private,” Skipper replied, mimicking his tone.

Kowalski exhaled. “Really, you two. I’m not speaking for just myself when I say this is getting frustrating,” he said, folding his flippers. “Now, I’m going to tidy up my lab before we turn in. When I return, I expect you two to have made up.”

Without waiting for a response, he entered his lab and shut the door behind him.

Private stood a couple feet away from Skipper, folding his flippers and facing the other direction. He looked at the floor and traced an arc with his toe.

“So,” he said, “I suppose we’re still not talking.”

“You’re talking,” Skipper snapped.

Private sighed irritably. “I still don’t understand what the big deal is. When you were hit, the plan had to change. You weren’t able to fulfill your part in your condition. I saw an opportunity and I seized it.”

“The plan would’ve worked,” Skipper argued, looking at him. “You just didn’t have faith enough to try.”

“Faith’s got nothing to do with it!” Private fired back, turning to face him. “You had the most important role in the plan! Kowalski, Rico, and I had our own tasks. Each of us was vital to making the plan work. Without you, we had to come up with another strategy. Why is that so hard to understand?”

Skipper shook his head. “I don’t understand why you don’t understand that we had Hans. We were this close!”

“How would you know?” Private challenged. “You were blinded!”

Skipper grunted in frustration and threw his flippers up. “You know, I’m sick and tired of all this sass you’re giving me lately!”

“Well, what happened to admiring my moxie?” Private shot back, spreading his flippers.

“You have too much moxie, that’s the problem!” Skipper replied, pointing an angry flipper.

“Well, my moxie is what got us out of that lab alive!” Private argued.

“No, it’s what got Hans out alive!” Skipper persisted.

“Fine!” Private snapped, catching Skipper off guard. “You’re right! It’s all my fault Hans got away. The mission was a complete failure and so am I. You’ll have my resignation first thing in the AM.” He turned around and went to the table, where he sat down and folded his flippers.

Skipper stood in his spot, completely unprepared for that response. With a sigh, he went to the table and sat next to him. “Private, I’m sorry,” he said softly.

Private didn’t respond at first, but then he said, “Aren’t I the one that’s supposed to be sorry?”

Skipper pressed his beak shut, suddenly feeling guilty for the way he’d been acting. “Private, I don’t want you to resign.”

“Then what do you want?” Private urged.

“I want—” Skipper stopped short and sighed. “Look, Private. The truth is . . . I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at me.”

Private reluctantly looked at him. “I don’t understand.”

“When I was blinded, I . . . felt helpless. I was so close to finally getting Hans, and he had to pull something like that. I felt that . . . I had failed. When you took over so quickly and easily, I . . . became resentful. You did what I was unable to do at the time. I guess I . . . needed someone to blame. It was my fault Hans got away.”

Private softened. “I’m not following. A minute ago you were yelling at me and angry at what I had done, and now you’re . . . this.”

Skipper sighed. “I guess, in a sense, I wasn’t expecting you to give up that easily. Arguing with you was like an outlet—a poor one, I’ll admit. But I guess I felt I needed it to cope with the fact that . . . I’m actually very proud and impressed with you for how you handled the mission when I was taken out. I guess in arguing with you, I could get you to chide me for being the weak link in the mission so I wouldn’t have to do it myself,” he said with a sideways smile.

Private smiled back. “Well, if that’s all you wanted, all you had to do was ask,” he joked.

Skipper laughed. “Hey, I was still a vital part of the mission.”

“But I’m the one that defeated Hans,” Private argued, all in fun.

“Well you’re gonna be the distraction on the next mission,” Skipper said, his inflection rising.

Kowalski, who had come in at the tail end of Skipper’s sentence, sighed. “Really? You two are still arguing?”

Skipper and Private looked at each other, and then they started laughing.

Kowalski stood in the doorway to his lab, completely dumbfounded.

[Words: 997]