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The chilly water didn't bother Darkheart. Their vision adjusted to the dim and murky lake before they caught a hint of movement just ahead. With great speed and precision, they darted forward, arms fully extended. Scales met their fingertips, smooth and slippery, already wriggling away quickly, but they were faster. The deity's clawed hands pierced through the skin of the fish and dug into its flesh before it could escape.
The creature writhed violently in their hands, provoking a huff — which ended up a cluster of bubbles leaving their mouth — from them. It felt like a pretty big one. Darkheart easily maneuvered their way towards the surface of the lake with their catch clutched right against their chest. Their large fish tail significantly improves their mobility underwater.
With a loud splash, Darkheart broke out of the water, immediately lunging for the edge of the bank. They dragged themself out, clothes and hair drenched but satisfied with what they'd pulled out with them. The fish had gotten off the hook just minutes before and they weren't really happy about that, immediately tossing their hat aside and diving in to chase after it. It was worth it. To them, at least.
Smoke wafted into the air. Gloved fingers lowered the cigarette and pressed the burning end into an ash tray, stubbing it out before dropping it into the pile of used cigs. Zuka turned to head back inside, shoving his hands into his pockets, but froze before he reached the doorway. He knew who it was. That cold presence that clearly wasn't because of the weather, and it came with a strong, pungent stench. His boots remained planted on the ground as he let out a tired sigh, taking a glance over his shoulder.
"Being part fish doesn't mean you can swim in dirty water and expect me to be fine with it," he chided, his half-lidded eyes meeting obscured ones under a hat.
They responded with a grin. Darkheart moved closer to him, attempting to lean on his head, only to be nudged away with a mumbled, "don't-". Zuka frowned slightly, mildly annoyed and disgusted by the smell of fish.
That got a small snicker from the other, making them more determined to bother him as they retorted playfully, "we simply learnt from the best... you don't remember the days you swam through freezing lakes in Blackrock to catch things~?"
"I didn't wander around reeking afterwards. I showered, believe it or not," the veteran shot back.
"That's exactly what we're here for, dear..."
"Don't call me that. And what do you mean 'here for'? For what exactly?"
Silence hung between the two with Zuka receiving no elaboration from Darkheart as he slightly scowled at that unwavering smile. When it was clear they weren't planning on clarifying their statement, his expression hardened.
He grumbled in disbelief, "you don't know how to shower?"
"More like we don't have access to one. But... yes, also partially the first reason. We deities aren't prone to getting dirty as often as mortals do," they added, somewhat sheepishly.
"'Aren't prone to getting dirty' and you literally half drowned in fish water."
Darkheart shot a mock glare of offence.
"Mind you, we did not drown. Professional swimmer right here," they corrected.
"Whatever. Just get in," Zuka muttered, stepping aside to let the deity into his house.
Darkheart's smile grew wider, a show of genuine appreciation that only Zuka could catch. They strolled inside, having to duck to avoid hitting the top of the doorframe. Their hidden eyes swept across the room and analysed the interiors as if they haven't already been in here hundreds of times. The other inphernal ushered them into the bathroom when the smell became more notable and started to linger in his house.
"Clothes off," Zuka instructed, searching the room for soap and stuff.
Darkheart complied, taking their hat off first then moving their hands to undo the buttons on their top. By the time Zuka had a few bottles gathered in his arms, the other had stripped down everything. His gaze paused at their bare body for half a second before averting it away. They didn't seem to notice, or they didn't mind. The deity stepped into the shower and took a good look at their surroundings. They eyed the shower handle then reached a hand forward, tugging it gently. Cold water rushed out from the showerhead and earned a jolt from the unexpecting inphernal, letting out a small yelp of surprise. At their height, the showerhead was right in front of their face.
"You- you shower in cold water?? This-" Darkheart spluttered through water splashing onto their face.
Zuka watched them choke and cough with a look of disdain before quickly turning the water off. They looked like a pathetic, wet cat now.
"You're supposed to adjust the temperature," he replied, turning the handle a bit towards the 'hot' side and tugging it.
Cold water poured out again, Darkheart now pressed against the tiled wall to avoid another mouthful of it, but it slowly became warmer. The deity seemed to relax a bit, getting off from the wall and gingerly moving towards the now warm water.
They stood under it, quiet for a moment before commenting, "this is stupid. Who showers in cold water? Why bother having it as the default temperature?"
Zuka sighed at their hypocrisy, thinking about how they'd willingly jumped into a freezing, dirty lake for a fish, but didn't say anything out loud.
"Sit down. I don't trust you to do this yourself," he told them, putting his hand on their shoulder to lower them onto the wet ground. "Don't slip."
Darkheart got down, allowing Zuka to reach their head. While sitting, they were shorter than him by only a few inches. The veteran reached for the showerhead, unhooking it from its holder. He let the water spray at their hair and hoped that it would be enough to wash off most of the grime, being that he couldn't scrub it with another hand. Their wing twitched at the pressure of the water. He then moved to rinse their body, arms and legs. Without their usual coat, they were quite lanky. It made sense with how tall they were.
Zuka returned the showerhead to the holder and picked up a bottle of shampoo — the stuff was two in one with conditioner in it, he couldn't be bothered doing it separately. He found it a bit difficult to open it with one arm, but Darkheart noticed and helped pop it open with their magic. He turned off the water once again for now, squeezed out some of the contents onto their head, set it down on the floor, then lathered the soap with his hand.
He had to get the soap into all of their long hair that reached their hips. Darkheart hummed quietly in content. Zuka grimaced a bit at the greasy texture of their hair. He felt a random pang of relief from the fact that Rocket was out with Sword today. He didn't want his son to witness him bathing this newspawn of a deity.
Body wash foamed up as Zuka scrubbed some onto Darkheart's body. He did only their back, getting them to do the rest since he didn't feel like getting them to move and turn to reach certain parts of them. The other thankfully got the job done, sidetracking just once halfway when they started messing around with the bubbles, blowing some with their fingers. Zuka only noticed when droplets of water and soap were sent flying at him from the rapid smack of their tail against the puddle on the shower floor.
Finally, Zuka got to washing everything off, letting water run down and watching soap suds drift into the drain. He also noticed the amount of hair they shedded, long, dark strands getting sucked down pipes with everything else. They've probably never brushed their hair either.
He pushed the shower handle to turn it off, moving back to let Darkheart out. They vigorously shook themself like a dog, their hair almost whipping the other and sprinkling water everywhere.
"Stop- stop-" Zuka groaned, shoving a towel in their face.
Darkheart chuckled but listened, grabbing the towel and beginning to dry off properly. Once they were no longer dripping wet, they reached for their clothes, only for their wrist to be firmly grabbed by Zuka.
"Those still stink. You're wearing something else," he stated bluntly.
He left the room for a moment, then returned with a clean t-shirt and random sweatpants. Darkheart got themself changed. The clothes were some of Zuka's larger ones, yet they were still a bit small for them. Whatever. They found it odd to be wearing something so casual but figured it was comfortable enough to not care. A downside was that his clothes didn't have holes at the back like theirs did for their wing, the skeletal appendage tucked awkwardly against their back beneath the shirt, further straining it.
They fumbled with the collar while Zuka went around the bathroom and gave the floor a cursory wipe with a towel from when Darkheart had flung droplets everywhere. Their wing managed to stick out from the backside of the shirt's collar, which caused it to sit at a weird angle. They shrugged it off, satisfied enough, and padded after the other inphernal when they noticed him leaving.
He crashed into his bed, letting out a sigh muffled by the sheets. Darkheart just stood beside him, seemingly observing.
It was quiet for a moment before they cut through the silence, their smile unusually soft, "thanks, Zukes."
Zuka lifted his head slightly, just enough to peer at them. A thank from them was rare. Not because they were usually rude — well, technically that was half the reason — but just because it meant they were being vulnerable with him.
"Mm. Y're welcme," he mumbled, resting his head back onto the mattress.
Darkheart's grin sharpened, "welp, we'll be off then. Catch ya later~"
They gathered their old clothes in an arm and gave Zuka a little wave with the other before morphing into a shadow and vanishing.
"Wait- return my clothes later-" Zuka called out, sitting up abruptly.
They'd already left. He sighed again and flopped down onto his back. One less set of clothes wouldn't hurt.
"Dad, why the hell does the bathroom smell like fish?"
"... Ignore it, Rocket. It'll air out soon."