Work Text:
The Captain's lone eye followed a path along the map, an elbow on the desk to prevent the aged paper from curling in. A low hum from his chest sounded, lifting his head to have clawed fingers pinch his temple.
His ear twitched to the clicking of his quartermaster's heeled boots, followed by her florid perfume. She came to hover over the map, bracing a hand on the desk, straying from her captain's bubble. "What's the problem, hun?"
The captain let a sigh leave his lip, pointing with a free sharp clawed finger at their current location. "With the path we are on, it'll take a week,"
"And?"
"It's dire to get to Soleanna as soon as possible,"
The quartermaster gazed over the map, past where his finger lied. Roaming around to a detailed landmark; simple, yet foreboding, clouds and rocks over a cursive title.
"Shadow, I know the jackals at the bar got us on edge, but you know none of us are going to let the cargo be taken that easily,"
Shadow leaned back, bringing his arms to a cross. His mind going to his First Mate, back to his Mate's torn clothes, bleeding wounds, and easy smile after he struggled for the box that night.
That beloved fool.
"I'd rather be safe than sorry," Opening his eye, to turn to his wall of books on the other end of the quarters. "Fetch me the map, I'll be steering,"
"Shadow- please reconsider,"
"I have, and this is the path we'll be taking- you're forgetting I sketched the islands' location and pathways,"
"I'm not, but I just think the crew needs a break. Especially Sonic,"
Shadow huffed lightly. The pretty fool was taking a break, yet he complained and continued his talk his way out of his temporary duty.
"Oh please, he hates the 'break' I've given him,"
"That's why I suggest we go the longer route,"
"I've said I don't want to," Shadow eye lowered down to the loose plank below his desk. "If there's one thing I know about the Jackals is that they will get desperate, I can't risk the crew's well beings so soon if Infinite gets rash-
"-Especially if I've seen it coming." His eye looks out to the swaying waves of the Emerald Ocean. His mind made Infinite's masked face of morbid humor, Sonic clutched from his quills and the cargo out of its crate. Shadow lowered his foot on the loose plank to assure himself.
Rouge could only sigh. Relenting towards to the scroll, grasping the end to toss on the desk.
She strode to the door, before closing: "I'll check the storage for beeswax."
{♡}
A verdant green eye looking into the eyeglass, searching for excitement- only to lower the eyeglass, along with the bearer's body to slump onto the floor planks with a childish groan.
'Going to get the cargo on your own -without your crew- was foolish!' The captain's voice in his head, playing on repeat since he was demoted for lookout. He'd argued that he was 'fine' even as he nearly fainted from heavy exertion and blood loss.
"Sonic!" Blue ears perked at his captain's yell, heart giving a weak flutter.
Sonic brought himself to his feet, stepping out of the crows nest finally. He jumped down to latch onto a rope and ably swing himself from a circuitous distance to land in front of his captain.
The only thing affected was the billow of Shadow's red coat. His stern eye sharpening at the antic.
Regardless, Sonic gave Shadow his amiable smile.
"I hope this about my promotion from lookout," slanting his hip to the side, a lazy, leather-gloved, hand taking rest.
"No." Said caustically, wilting Sonic's blue ears and lax form. "I need you to alert me and your quartermaster when we approach Siren Islands,"
"The Siren Islands?" Sonic tilted his head, concern lucid in his tone and gaze. "Is there not another way to go?"
"I want the cargo to be at Soleanna promptly, and I expect the jackals to get more desperate as we stay on waters," Sonic gazed at the side of his captain, guilt eating into his chest.
"I'm familiar with the grounds, and will handle steering until we get to the end. After we've approach, you will be alongside your crew under your Quartermaster's supervision, understood?"
"Yes, Captain." It was said quietly.
Shadow moved to turn around, to head back to his cabin, but his ear caught onto Sonic's voice, making him stall. He peered over his shoulder, weakening his austerity.
"After we get to Soleanna, I may consider giving back your former position," a soft voice that emulated the ocean's waves oscillating the ship.
Blue ears perked. With Sonic's whimsical character alleviated, his infallible smile rousing Shadow's heart hesitation to beat. "Thank you, Captain."
{♡}
Shadow kept his steady gloved hands on the steer, hardened wood without a chip, and a steady eye up ahead. The world was quiet, a blessing to the concealed island of deceptive desires. The scent of dearth underwhelming to the Captain.
Fog curtained sharp spires of rock, small islands of rock were cluttered around the spires. Having his single eye, he scrutinized every rock from a side to the other, tilting the wheel reciprocally.
Rouge and Sonic kept the crew busy with poker, betting with their wages, shining coins; or prized holds, like jewels from plentiful raids.
Sonic smirked at his current hand. Despite having to have his mouth zipped, the company of his crew brought him blithe in the foggy evening; minus the terrifying creatures past the rails of the ship.
He felt a tap on his upper arm, flattening his lying vain mouth. Bringing his cards loosely to his chest, he brought his gaze onto the youngest crewmate -loving little brother- Tails.
The little fox opened his maw of sharp teeth and pointed toward his open month. Closing to give his brother a look a bit similar when they both were living on the streets, before their Captain spared the two stowaways.
Sonic gave a small lift of his lip. He ruffled the fox's blonde locks before surrendering his hand of cards to the crew to swiftly get onto his feet. He could win another time. Brothers came first.
He jogged over towards the crates and barrels placed on the upper deck, in case the crew was hungry during the ride, placed far to the front of the ship; a distance between him and his crew.
He darted his eyes around- there, swiping up a crowbar, wedging it between planks before having it popped open.
Courtesy of the Soleanna queen, she had prepaid the crew with a provident slew of foods for the long trip. Sonic leaned over to pull out a clothed roll, the smell of wheat giving its name.
Sonic saw a significant wealthy pair of boots come into vision as he checked for spoilage. Looking up, he was greeted by the stern eye of his captain, who was pointing at his ear. Sonic took out the beeswax from one of his blue ears.
"I'm just getting Tails something to eat, if you want to take this out of my paycheck that's fine-"
"Nonsense," The captain's voice oddly soft.
"Okay... then what- I thought you were steering,"
"I trusted Rouge to steer from this point into the Islands,"
"So what's so important?"
"I believe since the crew is deafened, we could have this conversation to ourselves now, about my... so to say, feelings toward you." His voice low, -dare Sonic think a tad sensual- reminding Sonic of his cozy, Holoskian blanket.
Perhaps it could explain the extra weight in his limbs and fluttering heart. "What feelings does the Great Captain of the Emerald Seas have towards little old me?" He kept his easy smile on, stubborn to ultimately swoon.
Sonic could almost catch the sentence against the waves. "Feelings of love and immense admiration," Shadow's voice quieting, walking toward Sonic with soundless steps.
Sonic finally allowed himself to be malleable to his Captain's hands. Those hands moved to his back, ticking what blue furs were puffing out. Their bodies colliding, Shadow's hold firm, leaving the azure body breathless.
Sonic's vision is nearly focused on Shadow's close face, with mocha lips he's kissed in dreams. The red eye a warm heat and a black pelt, reminding him of the oil he would burn in the dead night, when he would stay awake reading about characters that sought out terrestrial adventures.
Sonic felt himself smile; a tipsy smile he let himself give his lover. His hands weakly gripped onto his captain's red coat. "Oh really, here I thought the only feelings I give you are annoyance and regret,"
"Never." Shadow tighten his hold, bringing his lips onto Sonic's. Sonic couldn't feel the digging claws into his back, but he could feel the way he slipped from consciousness.
Nor did he mind the smell of sea foam.
When Shadow pulled away, Sonic nearly teared. Shadow kept Sonic's hands in his own, guiding him in a direction. "We must flee,"
"Wh-Why?"
"You share my love mutually, don't you?" Desperation coated the captain's voice.
Sonic's vision blurred at the edges, tunnel visioning on Shadow, nodding weakly "Yes I do."
The relieving smile the captain gave him had done it. Sonic felt numb throughout as he walked with a dumb smile with a giggle when his captain guided him backwards. Towards the rails, waves of the ocean clashing the side of the ship.
Shadow unclasped his hands from Sonic to hop onto the railing, stretching his arms out to him. "Till death do us part?"
"Till death..." his voice beginning to slur, his hand out for his Captain.
"-Sonic!"
"do us..." he clasped his captains hands, lifting himself onto the rail, a knee at the side of his captain's hip. Shadow dug his claws into his prey's hips.
"-Sonic!"
Shadow's face contorted to two yellow manic eyes and a grin of sharp teeth. But Sonic could only love it more-
A bullet shot through Shadow's head.
Sonic's eyes widened, feeling cold as blood spattered on his face. Then, he screamed.
His cries only getting louder as he felt a foreign hold around his waist ripping him away from his lover's cold hands.
His screaming lowered to uncontrollable wails, thrashing about as he watched the body fall into the sea.
A hedgehog came into view, looking over the railing with threatening quills raised to their apex. Had that stranger killed his lover?
Sonic could only close his eyes to cry into his hands.
The hold on him was released. Before his knees could be concrete to the planks, hands gripped onto his wrists. "Sonic," a soothing familiar voice brought him to uncover.
The same face he saw get shot.
"Its alright, I'm right here," Shadow continued off a script of reassurances as Sonic kept crying, his tears not ceasing their rivulets. He unclasped his grip to bring Sonic into his hold, bringing Sonic into his coat. Sonic deserved to grieve in peace.
Shadow looked up to Knuckles and Rouge, who flew behind him. "Watch the crew while I look over him in my quarters. Rouge, you can handle the rest of the way." His voice returned to his stoic bearing.
They both nod curtly. Shadow brought Sonic up into a bridal cradle, swiftly heading down to his door, before the crew could ask questions.
{♡}
The Siren's Spell was the most grief a mortal could feel in such a transient period.
Out of all of his crew. He hadn't expected Sonic to be the one to fall victim of the spell. At best, Amy's crush for Sonic; or unfortunately, Knuckle's lust for Rouge. But never Sonic.
In the centuries he's lived, he'd never thought for his adour to be reciprocated this way.
Lying on the Captain's expansive bed, Sonic wept into Shadow's chest fur; revealed after shrugging off his coat. His tricorn hat tossed onto the desk, and expensive boots kicked to the ground next to the bed.
Shadow kept busy with hushes and gentle combs through Sonic's wild quills; occasionally licking down strays.
Siren's were vile. Taking advantage of one's affection and utilizing it to infiltrate the ship and eat the crew
from within.
Shadow remember a time, on one of his ventures with Rouge and Omega, when it was just the trio till he started collecting strays like Sonic and Tails. The small crew had stopped on one of the Islands' rare clear days, a shipwreck along the rocks, which Rouge was eager to steal treasures.
They scoured for that, scraps of food, and possible clothing. Shadow had wealthy tastes though.
His personal search would cease when he came across the remains of a human. He snatched the gold amulet across the neck, misaligning the skeleton, and he waited for the curse of a disturbed ghost- but he was met with nothing.
The ghost could have easily been dealt with, but the dents in few of the bones sent black furs a freight. Shadow bend over for a close look to see a many of sharp dents aligning along the skeleton, then taking note the ribcage was pulled wide.
Something ate this men alive.
Shadow would stand, the amulet's gold orbs dangled, and saw the other skeletons were in the same conditions.
As he was about to turn to get his crewmates, his body chilled at the sound of his young sister's voice. Perhaps he had disturbed a ghost.
"Shadow?"
He didn't want to turn around further. Didn't want to see those gold locks or innocent blue eyes that shouldn't have met with death so soon.
"Shadow, I'm so glad to see you," her voice so quiet, a happy lilt despite her body's ailments. Her footsteps came to him.
Shadow held strong. He would not fall so weakly to the spell.
"Don't you miss me?" He felt those frail cold hands clasped over Shadow's shoulder. Maybe she was a ghost, but looking at the teeth marks in the skeleton made him stood.
"I missed when we played on the Ark," The brush of her lips along his black ear, twitching faintly. "When we played tag, and you would let me win because you were such a good brother to me,"
It was tantalizing him, but he will not fall for it. However, should he gaze into those eyes, he will fall harder than his tyrant father.
He focused on his breaths, his team should be looking for him in a moment or later.
It giggled in his ear, "You've always been so serious, too serious," its nails dug into his shoulders.
Shadow closed his eyes, inhaling. "You're not Maria, you vile monster,"
"Shadow that's not nice," 'her' voice wept and damned Shadow. It would have been better if it had been her ghost, especially when those claws tore into his shirt.
Shadow ripped himself away, adrenaline coursing through his body from the cuts. He ran out of the ship, nearly tripping over the corpses and damaged planks. Running faster, he could hear the Siren's own runs.
Maria couldn't run to save her life, and this vile thing chases like a predator.
Shadow came underneath the sun's setting light, calling for his crew, but then he tripped over a rock.
A fucking rock.
He heard the predator's run slow to a sneak, the soft steps of flats walking on sands. Shadow frantically moved up to pull himself upright to his feet, but then the Siren's clawed grasped his arms, finally forcing Shadow to confront his grief.
Shadow felt tears begin to stream down his face, a whimper released from his lips. "Let go,"
"You don't want me to let go,"
Rouge's blade sliced through the Siren neck. The head falling next to Shadow, blood spilling onto his tunic.
When they head back to the ship, Shadow set alight his tunic and washed blood off his body. Afterwards he would cry in Rouge's arms that night.
Shadow finally looked away from his swinging family photo on the wall.
When Shadow heard Sonic's cries cease, he looked down to see a closed blue eye, and even breathing. Shadow sighed in relief, while he wished Sonic didn't cry himself to sleep, but it was the only remedy after a Siren's spell.
Unfortunately knowing from experience.
{♡}
His sheets were too velvet, and smelled like lavender. The place was too still to be his cozy hammock. Sonic startled awake.
He darted his green eyes around the room till they landed on his captain. Sat at his desk with the sun shone on him and his work, along the white feather that elicited soft scratching onto paper. Shadow's eye never straying from his written word.
He should be able to play this cool. Sonic swung his legs over the side to come to a stand. "Good Morning Captain," Sonic said with his casual blithe.
Shadow responded with a light grunt, continuing the writing in his leather book.
"I'd love to chat -to find out why I'm in your room- but I gotta go perform my duties as a First Mate," He turned to place his hand on the bronze knob-
"You're not leaving,"
Sonic stilled, furs and quills standing upend at the sharp point of his captain's voice, and kept his gaze on the door.
He heard his captain get up from his seat, and Sonic was immediately considering to improve his drinking habit. He took a deep breath before turning around to lay against the door, improvising carelessness. "Look I'll cut back on the ale-"
"How are you feeling?"
Sonic opened his eyes to see laxity in his captain's eye, vivid concern heard in his voice. It made Sonic nearly speechless.
"I-I'm feeling okay?"
"Any dizziness? A coming crying spell?"
"No? I feel... fine?" Sonic now noticed he wasn't experiencing a hangover; not feeling a pounding headache. Even pressing his finger at the side of his head in disbelief.
"I suppose that's good, it's usually typical to experience those symptoms after a Siren's Spell,"
Siren. It all came back to Sonic now. The confession and the contorting face, then the bullet.
Sonic felt his chest hollow out, darting his eyes to the ground and his body rigid to a stand. The raised quills from that night, Shadow was reasonably pissed he nearly risked the crew's life, had Shadow been anyone else- the ship would've handled the problem orderly.
But there's also the possibility Shadow is pissed to have a disgusting sodomite aboard his crew.
"Sonic-"
"Look y'all can drop me off at Soleanna, I'll find some work there-"
Shadow slammed his fist onto the wall, next to Sonic's head, scaring him to straighten along the door as Shadow brought his face up close "You will do no such thing!"
Sonic's ears lowered, eyes widened at his captain's outburst. It brought the slightest of hope, but Sonic shook it from his mind. Shadow may not care and only want him for his work.
He may have been in love, but that’s the heartbreak it brings that a crush doesn't. With a crush, its giggly oblivion over one's wrongdoings. The heartbreaks brought with love, is the note of the one's wrongdoings. All while loving them.
Greedy with his heart of gold. Cold as his warm blood. An ego as big as his humility.
Sonic loved him and his contradictions.
"Why not? You probably saw what it changed to! It's one thing to tolerate a sodomite, but it's probably another to be a sodomite towards your captain, isn't it?"
"Of course it's a different situation-"
"Then let me pack my-!"
Shadow rushed his chapped lips onto Sonic's, silencing him at once.
Sonic felt his body slack against his captain and eyes flutter close, specially when Shadow's rough hand cups along his jaw to keep him in place, the other combing through his blue quills once again, teasing his claw tips along the skin.
Sonic felt his nerves alight, furs arising along his body for excitement. Just like other times he'd riled up his captain with past antics. Just like the other times his captain got too close in his face.
The sound of the separation was the only thing that cut through the silence.
Shadow's eye commanded eye contact with his lover, green coated in indetermination. Unsurety of his actions, he couldn't let himself fall all the way down just yet.
"You've always been such a fool,"
"Huh?! How was I-"
"Sonic, if I hated or just tolerated you a worker- I wouldn't have let you keep your place on my ship after your ruse with the Jackals that night,"
Shadow wound his arm over Sonic's shoulders to bring his mocha lips to Sonic's ear, lowering his voice's timbre. "And I especially won't let you go after my confession was stolen away by a siren,"
Sonic mellowed his features, displaying understanding within his gaze. He brought his arms around Shadow in a lover's clinch "I'm also sorry that I fell for it," his apology faint.
"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault you knew to listen to your captain,"
Sonic gave a weak smile against his captain's shoulder, he felt the comforting weight of his captain's other arm curling around his waist.
They stood, basking in their moment. Shadow wished to let his implied confession simmer into Sonic. In a moment, he slipped his claw tips to have Sonic's green eyes gaze at him.
Shadow won't deny it. Those eyes reminded him of the fields he would run through with his adoptive sibling, the commencement of his ardour for this reckless hedgehog.
A smirk curled on mocha lips with lecherous intentions underlying his quieting voice. "From this point onward, you'll be sleeping in my quarters every night from now on,"
Sonic felt his own grin form. "Oh, is that so? Aren't you worried about gossip?" He clutched onto the red lapels of the Captain's coat.
Their breaths shared company. "I could give less of a damn, my love."
Sonic ended their talks with a bruising kiss. Shadow followed through with kissing back with more hunger, clutching onto those lush quills and tearing into the back of Sonic's tunic.
Moans and groans follow their stumbling steps into the sheets, in which they would spend most of the evening drunk on their ecstasy.