Chapter Text
Interesting. Dread knew he would be able to get Shadow to serve himself on a silver platter eventually- just not so soon. The black hedgehog was obviously up to something, confident he could keep control of the situation…
“Oh?” Dread asks conversationally, making a show of slowly and thoughtfully looking at Shadow. It’s incredibly tempting to look at the hand on his shoulder, to make Shadow acutely aware of the point of contact between them that the hedgehog himself initiated and continues to maintain- but it wouldn’t do any good to push too hard. Not yet anyway.
“And what, pray tell, be this mutually beneficial and happiness inducin’ proposition of yours, then?” Dread asks casually, pulling his spines over his free shoulder. He begins pulling the bands and wrappings of his spines before they become too waterlogged, gathering them into a pile in one palm that he unceremoniously throws toward the desk.
“Ugh,” Shadow wrinkles his nose in distaste as the wrappings scatter across the floor, hand twitching like he wants to go pick them up although the hedgehog doesn’t move, “Give them to me next time instead of throwing them all over the place!”
Dread tilts his head to the side as he looks at Shadow carefully, voice pleasant and without any special intonation, “Next time?”
Shadow frowns like he knows exactly what Dread was trying to keep from saying, leaning forward to mutter like its a challenge, “Next time.“
“Aye, well,” Dread runs his hands through his spines, letting the loose quills fall into the water. His head does feel much lighter now, and the warm bath is pleasant and comfortable… If Shadow finds pleasure in bathing him, then he won’t deny the hedgehog, agreeing more easily than he would normally, “Next time it is.”
If Shadow is surprised by his quick agreement, it doesn’t show on the hedgehog’s face, although he does puff up his chest a little bit. Ah, this was going better than expected.
“Now then, Captain,“ Shadow perches himself on the thin lip of the tub, a very precarious position that is just one deck roll away from entering the bath. Shadow crosses his arms over his chest, not even bracing himself from the rocking of the waves. Was the hedgehog trying to test him or prove something?
“You asked me to watch over you as you slept off a drunken night, and I obliged,” Shadow uncrosses his arms only to reach down and hand Dread a small white lump. What was this?
The echidna turns the unnaturally polished oval in his claws, taking a cautious whiff of the thing. Not like anything he ever saw before, subtly perfumed and rock solid… a jewel of some sorts? The echidna dips it in the bath water, surprised to find it turned slippery, and experimentally drags it across his forearm… he rubs at the faint white streak it leaves behind, working it into a lather until a few bubbles form- soap!
“Soap!” Dread says, mystified, still examining the ‘soap’ like it’s a jewel. This was nothing like the crumbly cakes of lard and lye Dread was familiar with, and certainly not as earthy smelling, “Where did you get this?”
“As I was saying,” Shadow purses his lips, looking incredibly displeased as he plucks the soap out of Dread’s hands, holding it between two fingers, “Now you will repay this courtesy by scrubbing yourself clean for me.”
Dread eyes the hedgehog with growing suspicion, wondering just how Shadow managed to pull all of this off. Freshwater was difficult to get on the open ocean, and certainly not in large enough quantities to make bathing at sea anything more than a far fetched dream. And now Shadow had accomplished a second little miracle by managing to procure lye and some sort of oil or fat to make soap without the captain noticing. Powerfully fragrant soap that smelled of flowers.
It’s… Hm. Regardless, it seemed as though Dread needed to remind the crew whose orders they were beholden to and what they would face if they went behind his back again-
“Stop that,” Shadow tells him dismissively, reaching down to splash some water in the captain’s face. Dread barely manages to close his eyes and close his mouth before the soapy water hits him, “You told the crew to accommodate my requests, and they’ve acted as you instructed.”
He hears Shadow click his tongue dismissively before scoffing, tone scornful with an undertone of self satisfaction, “That you’re forgetful and capricious is no one’s fault but your own, Dread.”
The urge to wick water away is almost unbearable, wanting desperately to pat dry the soap stinging at the corner of his eyes- but Shadow’s tone sends a stab of desperate longing throughout Dread’s body that has him shivering.
This was Shadow at his most beautiful and deadly- so sure of his victory the hedgehog allows himself to be conceited and careless, baiting his foe without considering the backlash on his position or goal. As reckless and as lovely as an exotic bird throwing its body against the cage trapping it in an attempt to escape. A Pyrrhic victory.
“Aye, t’ain’t easy for a captain to admit to bein’ bested,” Dread answers with a sigh that’s equal parts reluctant as it is impressed, claw tracing circles in the soapy water, “But ye have caught me in me own game, me treasure.”
Shadow is close enough to pull into the water like this, the golden bangle on his wrist catching the light of the window enticingly-
But the captain occupies his hands with the bar of soap instead, rubbing it against the back of his hand and up his arm to work up a good lather. His claws glide through the soapy fur, scraping off dead quills bits of salt and grime that is admittedly very pleasant. It’s been a last time since his last scrub…
“If me treasure be wantin’ a show,” Dread gives Shadow a lecherous grin as he continues to work the lather into his fur, tracing the tattoos on his shoulder gently with a sensual sigh, “I be more than happy to oblige.”