Chapter Text
It’s been so long since he’s seen the sun. Renjun gives himself a full body shake to help his feathers settle into place, and lets the sun warm his wings for the first time in months. The sharp Antarctic wind barely bites through his layers of fuzz.
Beside him, Haechan drops down from the short ledge above, cursing a bit as he fumbles for balance. He’s never been the most graceful on land, not that any of them can really be considered graceful without the buoyancy of water. Renjun sighs and holds out a flipper, steadying the other penguin and making sure his friend doesn’t go toppling down the cliffside. As soon as he finds his footing, Haechan leans against Renjun gratefully.
It’s the first year that they’re old enough to find mates, although Renjun isn’t super hopeful about his chances. All the penguins their age in the colony are either taken or not interesting enough. If only Haechan weren’t being courted by Mark, then they could pair up.
There’s a muffled squawking noise from above them, and (speak of the devil) Renjun and Haechan look up to see Mark standing at the edge of the ledge, peering down at them curiously. In his beak is yet another brown rock, and Haechan responds excitedly, webbed feet scrabbling against the rocks as he scampers up the little hill, knocking his head against Mark’s gently before leading him away to their chosen nest spot. Renjun watches their heads disappear wistfully.
He’s not jealous of Haechan, exactly. The two of them were in the same creche as chicks, and ever since then, they’ve been fast friends. He’s happy for Haechan, really, glad that he somehow attracted the attention of the most eligible (former) bachelor in their entire colony. Skies know Mark had had hordes of potential mates ready and waiting for his affection, and Renjun had been there to witness the joy and surprise in Haechan’s squawk when Mark had sidled up to them to gift Haechan the first pebble for their nest.
He’s happy for Haechan. He really is. It’s just, sometimes, like when he’s left alone on what used to be their ledge, looking out at the endless water, it gets a bit lonely. It starts to feel like he’s been left behind.
Sighing again, Renjun turns to waddle up the hill, making his way to where the fledglings are hanging out. Chenle and Jisung are squabbling again, probably over something insignificant, and next to them Sungchan and Shotaro watch, half amused and half concerned. Renjun is just glad to see another penguin his age hanging out with the chicks, although in retrospect he shouldn’t be surprised. Shotaro and Sungchan have been inseparable ever since the older had saved Sungchan (who was much smaller at the time) from a passing skua bird.
Chenle screeches loudly, and Renjun decides it’s time for the children to settle down. He marches over to the bickering pair and grasps Chenle firmly, forcibly removing him from the situation. He’s most likely the instigator of whatever fight this is. He gives Chenle a chiding squawk, and the little penguin squawks back sassily, pecking playfully at his belly and wings.
Luckily for Renjun’s sanity, Chenle’s attention span is near nonexistent. Soon enough the little penguin chick grows tired and tugs Renjun over to where Jisung is watching the skies warily. Renjun watches fondly as both of the chicks snuggle into his warm and fuzzy plumage, and he settles onto the ground, adjusting his footing. A nap sounds like a good idea right about now.
Renjun wakes up to the sound of indignant screeching, and when he opens his eyes blearily it takes a while for the scene in front of him to make sense.
Sungchan and Shotaro are huddled together, wide-eyed and watching, their backs against a tall rock. Jisung is hiding behind Renjun, peeking out from underneath his wing to watch what’s happening, and Chenle…
Chenle appears to be attacking two other penguins, who look to be about Renjun’s age. He’s clearly on the defence, snapping his beak at them when they try to enter the makeshift nest that the chicks stay in. Nudging Jisung over towards Shotaro and Sungchan (Shotaro is wicked fast, Sungchan can be quite vicious, and Renjun trusts them wholeheartedly to protect Jisungie), Renjun waddles over to try and mediate.
It’s only now, as he draws closer, that he finally recognizes who the intruders are, although how he missed it before he isn’t sure.
When Mark had gone from #1 bachelor to #1 disappointingly taken penguin, two others rose to take his former throne. Those two penguins were Jeno and Jaemin: best friends, Renjun’s age, and the most (objectively) attractive penguins he had ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on.
In other words, he despises them significantly. What the fuck are they doing here???
Headbutting Chenle to the side, Renjun takes over snapping at them, not being nearly as careful as Chenle had been. It doesn’t take long before they get the hint, stepping back and exchanging a glance. Jaemin turns away from the nest first, waddling away huffily. After giving Renjun a look he can’t interpret, Jeno follows him quickly.
Renjun watches them warily until it’s clear they have no plans of returning and then rushes over (as much as a penguin can rush on land) to check over Chenle, grooming his feathers into place and checking over him for injuries. Thank the skies, he’s completely uninjured beyond a bit of ruffled plumage. Why were those featherheads trying to get into the adolescent nest? Clearly, no one in it had wanted them there.
Renjun waddles further in to nudge the other penguins reassuringly. He’s technically the oldest of their little group, and as such, he feels responsible for protecting and caring for the rest of them. To his side, Chenle checks Jisung over the same way he had done and then squawks directly in the youngest’s face causing Jisung to startle and fall over. At least those two bounce back quickly.
Renjun, on the other hand, is still shaken. He doubts Jeno and Jaemin were after Jisung or Chenle, both of them being well under the age of maturity. He doubts even more that they were trying to find him; they’ve never shown any interest before, even when Renjun had been a much cuter little chick and wanted to snuggle between them in the dead of winter (Renjun is definitely still salty about this).
No, it’s most likely that either one or both of them wanted to court Shotaro. Despite his attachment to Sungchan, a younger penguin, Shotaro is a very sought-after mate. This is probably because he’s one of the cutest penguins in their colony, and he is also well-known as an able provider. If he teamed up with NoMin they would produce very strong offspring, Renjun is sure. It’s a shame for their hypothetical future kids that Shotaro is already whipped for Sungchan.
Renjun wonders how long Jeno and Jaemin will pursue Shotaro before they realise it’s a lost cause.
The thought is amusing, and he keeps the image of them sad and forlorn after getting thoroughly rejected by Shotaro in his head as he makes his way down to the water’s edge to hunt.
Renjun is fairly small-boned: he can’t bring as much food back for the little ones as Mark, or even Haechan and Shotaro. Nonetheless, what he lacks in size he makes up for in speed and agility. Renjun takes a breath and then tips off of the ice shelf, letting his body cut through the water’s surface with barely a splash.
He loves this, this feeling of gliding through the waves. The water is cold but he can barely feel the chill through his thick coat of down. They may live on land, nest on land, mate on land, but Renjun firmly believes that the ocean is his real home.
Why else would it be the only place he truly feels alive?