Little Penguin Bits

Little Parts of Life

Peso was holed up in his room.

Ever since they'd met, it had been that way. Peso would hide in his room for who-knows-what reason, and not come out, unless Shellington coaxed him to.

The Octonauts often worried about this. They hadn't been together long, but now that he noticed it, Barnacles couldn't stop thinking about it. Peso hid in his room. Sometimes he walked funny. Other times he made a face of shock or such, with no apparent reason.

He HAD to get to the bottom of this.

Shellington and Peso had roomed together for a while before the Octopod was launched. It was clear that, whatever was going on, Shellington would know about it.

But he didn't.

At least, he DENIED it.

Barnacles didn't believe him when he said he didn't know. It was clear as day he was lying. Shellington was the only one who knew how to deal with Peso whenever the little penguin was closed off. When Peso walked funny, or hid in his room, Shellington was the only one able to calm him.

Also, he was a terrible liar. Playing with his fur, avoiding the eyes, twisting in his chair. Barnacles decided to let him be. The display was honestly kind of pathetic. He decided to let him off the hook.

But Barnacles kept a close eye on Peso. He knew Peso's transition here was the hardest of all the Octonauts. He'd never been away from home before. He'd clearly been bullied his whole life. He didn't trust easily.

Barnacles hoped to fix that. He hoped to make Peso feel more at home here.

Of course, it was easier said than done. Peso looked at them through his eyelashes, never speaking unless he had something important to say. He could never look them truly in the eye and he often ignored them if their questions got too uncomfortable for him, which happened a lot.

Barnacles tried his hardest. He could tell Peso looked up to them, mainly himself and Kwazii, so he tried to be a good role model, and make the others seem less scary. The Octonauts noticed he was pointedly more friendly when Peso was around. Barnacles often attempted to strike up a conversation with Peso, only for it to fall flat. Peso hardly spoke, and sometimes he ran off, or rather, waddled off, without an explanation. So Barnacles started observing. He was hoping to find something Peso was remarkably interested in, so he could finally have a full conversation with him, and maybe, help him feel more comfortable.

But Peso was painfully shy. It seemed that, if he wasn't finding ways to make himself of use, (He seemed to be uncomfortable not having some chore to do) he was reading or helping a patient. It was as though Peso didn't want any free time, no time for fun.

It was honestly kind of spooky.

The day finally came when Barnacles and Peso were alone on the ship. The bear never thought it would happen. Usually, it was mandatory for him to go on a mission with the others, but this time, he managed a way out of it. Kwazii, as the lieutenant, needed the practice anyway, and no one was comfortable leaving Peso alone on the ship, being so small and helpless.

For a while, it was just silence. Barnacles watched the others leave, and then smiled down at Peso, who was standing by his legs, hunched over and seemingly smaller than he actually was, as if the situation frightened him. Barnacles offered a gentle pat on the head, trying to make things seem lighter, but it didn't seem to do any good.

Peso looked at him with those big, innocent baby blue orbs, and Barnacles chuckled. He couldn't help it. Peso was, without a doubt, the cutest thing he'd ever seen.