“Wake up!” Cale smacked Demetri’s leg. “Get your ass up, man. You’ve gotta see this.”

Demetri kicked at him and rolled away. “I don’t want to see . Let me sleep.”

Cale lifted his fist up and swung it down hard into Demetir’s head, shifting it into water at the last second.

He sat up coughing and wiped his face. “What the hell, Cale.”

Cale leaned forward and smiled. “Come see the penguins.”

On deck, Demetri looked all around. Aside from everyone laughing like school kids, he didn’t see anything. He leaned against the rail and yawned. “What are you all looking at? Have you all gone insane?”

Cale tossed him a fish from the now half-empty net.

Demetri barely caught the over-active, wiggling form in his arms and hooked its mouth with his thumb and finger before it could flop away. He held it up and raised a questioning eyebrow. “What do you want me to do with this exactly?”

Cale ushered the group of people out of the way and he saw the make-shift sling-shot they had been blocking from his view. Cale gestured to it with both arms and wiggled his eyebrows.

Demetri looked at Cale, the sling-shot, then the fish. “Why on Ataris do you want me to sling-shot a fish?”

Cale dropped his arms and huffed. “Just do it already, you moron.”

“Just trust him.” Kai put a hand on his shoulder from behind. “You’ll enjoy it.”

Demetri’s face flushed and he dropped the fish, startled by Kai’s sudden appearance. He dropped to his knees and fumbled, trying to grab it again. Kai bent down and picked it up for him, placing it back in Demetri’s hands. Demetri felt Kai’s skin brush against his hand before he stood back up, sending a jolt through his body.

Well, I’m awake now.

He placed the fish inside the sling and took another glance out into the water, straining his eyes to see what he was about to shoot it to. The water was calm and clear. He could see quite far down beneath the surface, but there was nothing there.

He shrugged his shoulders, pulled back as far as the bands would stretch, and released. The water erupted as something shot up into the air. A black and golden penguin emerged from the water and snatched the fish in its beak mid-flight. The gold on the under-side of its belly sparkled in the light of the sun as it flopped down into the water with a big splash and swam away, instantly disappearing again.

“That’s a penguin!” He turned to Cale and Kai, mouth agape. “That’s a real penguin. Just like I've seen in pictures and books from Earth.” He began to share the excitement of the other crew members. “But, what are they doing here? They could only live where it was cold.”

Kai laughed, clearly enjoying Demetri’s enthusiasm. “Other ship captains had mapped this area for me. They live on a small island nearby. I didn’t think we would get to this place so soon, but the tortoises sped up our voyage.”

Demetri watched as another fish flung into the air and two penguins leapt from the water, both going after the same fish. They smacked into each other's feathery bellies and dropped back in with two small splashes. “Why can't we see them until they jump out of the water?”

“They evolved and changed, like the rest of you.” Kai said, also watching the serene penguin show. “They have the ability to camouflage themselves, but when they suddenly change environments you can see their original colors.”

Kai and Demetri stood silently by each other, leaning over the rail. They were just far enough away to not be touching, but close enough that Demetri could feel the tingle of electricity flow between them. They watched the rest of the crew have their fun until the fish supply ran out.

“I should go.” Demetri nudged his shoulder into Kai’s. “I have a room to clean.”

Kai placed a hand on his arm before he could turn to leave. “That was a very rare and beautiful sight.” Kai kept his eyes trained on the water and away from him. “I’m glad I could share this with you.”

“Me too.” The corner of Demetri’s mouth twitched up. “But, your mood swings are starting to give me whiplash.”

As he turned to walk away, Kai breathed out his name, “Demetri, I--”

Demetri gave Kai a moment longer, but when Kai didn’t continue, he walked away calmly, refusing to let himself turn back around. In his mind though, he growled and squeezed his head between his imaginary fingers.

Why does this have to be so bloody difficult?