Chapter Text
POV: no pov/third person
Faint chiming of the alarm clock slowly roused Kwazii from his slumber, letting him know that it was early morning. Groaning softly, the ginger tabby nuzzles into his also waking husband, Captain Barnacles. The Captain reaches out to silence the alarm, wrapping his free arm around Kwazii, who purrs contentedly in response. Kwazii buries his face into the crook of Barnacles’ neck, appreciating his fluffiness and warmth. The sleepy polar bear chuckles softly, rubbing his husband’s back.
“Mmh.. morning, darling…” Captain Barnacles murmurs, adjusting Kwazii in his arms so he could kiss the kitty on the head.
“G’mornin’, love…” Kwazii mumbled in response, kissing his beloved on the cheek.
Cupping the tabby’s cheeks in his paws, Barnacles pulls Kwazii into a gentle kiss. Kwazii purrs softly as he melts into the affection, his tail popping out from the burrito of blankets he was wrapped in as it curls happily. They continue to pepper each other’s faces with little kisses, giggling softly as they do so. Kwazii wrapped his arms around his husband, giving him a loving squeeze while the polar bear gave him some scratches behind the ear. The ginger tabby purrs even more at this, burying his face into his husband’s chest. Barnacles’ huffs softly in amusement at this, but he gives Kwazii a few more ear scratches before resuming rubbing his back. The two men stayed like this for some time, nestled in one another’s arms, slowly waking up as the faint morning light seeped into the Captain’s room.
But eventually Barnacles started to stir, gently wriggling out from under Kwazii and laying him down in the bed. The orange tabby protests this, whining softly as he grabbed his husband and tried to pull him back into bed. Captain Barnacles can’t help but chuckle, finding Kwazii’s disgruntlement about him getting up rather endearing, even if it was something that happened almost every morning. He leans in to kiss Kwazii on the lips before carefully freeing himself from the still sleepy tabby’s grasp and gets up.
“NoooOOOOOoOOoooo…!! A couple more miiiiiiiinnnnnnuuuuuuutessss….” Kwazii grumbled, half-sitting up to attempt to yank the Captain back into bed.
“I’m sorry darling, but I need to get up… So do you...” Barnacles coos, not even attempting to hide the adoration in his voice from how cute he found the disgruntled kitty.
Kwazii grunts and pouts in response before yanking the blankets over his head and flopping back down. Shaking his head and giggling softly, Barnacles pulls his uniform out from the closet to get dressed. Once he was all suited up, he ducked into the bathroom between his and Kwazii’s rooms to wash up and style his hair into his usual slicked back man bun. After that was taken care of, he pops back into his room, gently tugs the blankets off of Kwazii’s head, and leans in to kiss him on the head. Kwazii’s ears flick and he lets out a soft lil ‘mirrp..!’ in surprise–Barnacles had to fight back a wave of cuteness aggression at just how precious that was.
“Alright, you’ve got thirty more minutes and then I’ll come wake you up,” the Captain compromises, giving Kwazii another lil kiss on the head.
All he got in response from his husband was a cranky ‘mrrrgghh…’ as he curled up into a lil ball. Barnacles had to bite his tongue and stuff his paws in his pockets to keep himself from cooing at and petting the half-asleep tabby as another wave of cuteness aggression bubbled up. Despite the crankiness, Barnacles thought Kwazii was so precious at the moment. He would stay here all morning and snuggle with his husband if he could, but there were things that needed to be done. Leaving his room, the Captain hopped down the octo chute and made his way to the HQ, finding that Dashi was already there.
“Oh, good morning, Dashi! How’re things?” he greeted her, smiling warmly.
“Morning, Captain! I’m well as are things out in the ocean today–calm waters and sunny skies all day today,” Dashi reports, turning in her chair to wave to Barnacles.
Barnacles nods in approval as he heads over to the drink machine, preparing himself a cup of coffee. As he sips on his morning beverage, he goes over the plans for today with Dashi–what missions the crew was going on, what research that needed to be done, what chores to do around the Octopod, etc. Once today’s plans were laid out, Dashi worked on updating the Octopod’s data collection while the Captain looked over charts and maps of today’s expected ocean currents. The two worked in silence apart from the occasional whale call in the distance and the usual hum of ocean life outside of the Octopod. A small school of milkfish swim by, a few stopping by at the HQ to curiously peer in and kiss at the window. Drifting gently in the motion of the water, a few moon jellyfish float by and Dashi takes a moment to snap some photos of them. The Captain couldn’t help but smile and sigh contentedly as he soaked in this peaceful moment.
Then Shellington pops up into the HQ, barely mustering a ‘good morning’ before rambling on about some of his new findings he most certainly found by pulling an all-nighter. Given how disheveled he was and the blaring ‘I Drank Too Much Coffee To Stay Up’ energy. Dashi and Barnacles couldn’t help but share amused glances at the sea otter’s enthusiasm, but happily listened to him nonetheless. This wasn’t anything new after all. As Shellington yapped on, Dashi added all his key points to the database while the Captain resumed looking over the current charts, adding notes about his own predictions. Once he was done sharing his new findings, Shellington moved to sharing facts about the milkfish–which were still curiously milling around the outside of the HQ–as his friends worked. But eventually the faint rumbling in Captain Barnacles’ stomach distracted him from his work–best get some breakfast, he thought to himself.
“I’m going to grab a bite to eat,” he announced, “Can I get anything for you two?”
Both Dashi and Shellington shook their heads. “No thank you, Captain! I had some oatmeal before coming up here,” Dashi replied.
Barnacles nods in understatement before leaving the HQ and heads towards the kitchen. On his way there, he realized that he should wake Kwazii up soon, maybe he could treat his beloved to some breakfast in bed! Waking up tends to be tough for the tabby, so a little treat might make it a bit easier. In the kitchen, the Vegimals were happily bustling about, pulling a fresh batch of fish biscuits out from the oven. As soon as they noticed the arrival of the Captain, they swarmed around him, chirping and cooing happily. Barnacles lets out a hearty laugh before crouching down to give each Vegimal a pat on the head. They all cheer happily at the affections and Tominnow hands the Captain a freshly made fish biscuit. Barnacles happily accepts it and eats it.
“Oh, thank you!! Delicious as always, Vegimals. Would you mind if I join you guys so I can make some breakfast for Kwazii and myself?” he asked as he stood up.
The Vegimals clearly had no problem with this because they all cheered joyously and ushered the polar bear all the way into the kitchen. Which, although surprised, the Captain did not protest to. Tunip grabs a cookbook containing various recipes for breakfast dishes and everyone gathers around him. Flipping through its pages, each Vegimal points out a different breakfast option–Tunip suggests omelets, Grouber requests belgium waffles, Barrot proposes sunny side up eggs and toast, Codish recommends blueberry muffins, and Tominnow urges for french toast. Barnacles chuckles in amusement as the Vegimals chatter amongst themselves, searching for the perfect breakfast option, letting each of them voice their own opinions.
“Hmmm… how about some good ol’ chocolate chip pancakes with some berries?” Captain Barnacles suggests, pointing to the recipe as it appeared.
“CHIBBA!!” all the Vegimals cheered, happily hopping up and down in agreement.
With that, the Vegimals scurry about gathering everything to make the pancakes. A bowl for the ingredients and a spoon for mixing them, measuring spoons and cups for getting the right amount of things, a pan and spatula for cooking and flipping them. Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, eggs, butter, and chocolate chips were gathered as the main ingredients. All together, the Vegimals helped Barnacles measure out and mix all the ingredients into the thick and creamy batter. Once that was all prepared, the Captain poured a near perfect circle of batter into the pan while Tunip fetched two plates. The silly lil fish critters watched and cheered in amazement as Barnacles managed to flip a pancake up into the air and catch it in the pan. The sweet aroma of pancakes wafted through the kitchen, making everyone a bit more hungry. Stacking three big, fluffy pancakes on each plate, Captain Barnacles left enough batter for the Vegimals to make some pancakes for themselves. He topped his own pancakes with vanilla yogurt and honey with blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries then drowned Kwazii’s in maple syrup, whipped cream, and raspberries.
“Thank you so much for your help, Vegimals–these look spectacular!! I’m sure Kwazii will love them. Would it be alright if I delivered them to him by myself? He’s still asleep and you all know that mornings can be tough for him…” Barnacles says gratefully, grabbing utensils and picking up the plates.
Looks of disappointment momentarily flash across the Vegimals faces but they nod in understanding, chirping their farewells before starting to make pancakes for themselves. Captain Barnacles leaves the kitchen and makes his way towards his room, being as careful as possible to not drop the precarious plates of pancakes. Thankfully he managed to make it to his room with only losing a single blueberry from his own plate. As he predicted, Kwazii was sound asleep, still curled up into a lil ball and adorable as ever. The orange tabby’s whiskers and tail were twitching as he mumbled about acquiring a great treasure–clearly invested in an adventurous pirate dream. Letting out a soft ‘awww…’ as he set down the plates on his bedside table, Captain Barnacles gently sat down on the bed next to Kwazii, just taking a moment to admire the sleeping kitty.
His fur was crumpled and ruffled from a night’s worth of tossing and turning and his hair was in desperate need of brushing, but Barnacles knew that Kwazii wouldn’t get to that anytime soon. Surrounded by a nest of various blankets–some adorned with pirate themed patterns, clearly belonging to Kwazii while others were various shades blue, clearly belonging to Barnacles–the pirate was as comfy as he could get. Kwazii was always bundled in numerous blankets to keep warm whenever they slept in the Captain's room, since it was always so cold. Unfurling himself a bit, Kwazii stretched out his front paws, showing off his paw pads. The Captain had to stop himself from giggling like an idiot as he blushed at the stupidly adorable sight. He couldn’t help but take note of just how freaking cute Kwazii’s lil pink bean toes are. But alas, he couldn’t let his husband sleep the day away, so he leaned in, kissing the tabby’s torn ear while gently shaking him.
“C’mon darling, time to wake up… the Vegimals and I made you breakfast…” he murmured lovingly, peppering Kwazii’s ear with a few more kisses.
Kwazii grumbled a disgruntled ‘noooo… lemme sleeeeppp…’ as he stirred before curling back up into a lil ball. Chuckling softly, the Captain continued to gently shake the kitty until he finally started to sit up. Slowly sitting up, he stretched as he did so, his pelt and whiskers trembling from the motion. Blinking awake, Kwazii turned his head to glare at his partner.
“Ye disrupted my dream o’ finding the treasure o’ the Monstrous Zombie Pirate Ship…” Kwazii growled, pouting a bit.
Barnacles heaved an amused sigh as he offered Kwazii his plate of pancakes. “I’m terribly sorry Kwazii. Will some pancakes make it up to you?”
Kwazii’s emerald eyes widened and sparkled as he took the plate, his ears and tail twitching happily as he licked his lips.
“Yeow!! Uhh.. yes, yes they do. Thank you, Capt’n,” Kwazii meowed, kissing Barnacles on the cheek.
The polar bear nodded to the now content tabby as he grabbed his own plate. After getting himself situated, Kwazii leaned into the Captain, purring softly as he scarfed down his breakfast. While they ate, Barnacles filled in his husband on the plans for today and Kwazii nodded along. It was clear that Kwazii was still a little sleepy, but he perked right up as soon as Barnacles mentioned researching some shortfin mako sharks that were thought to be nearby. The tabby’s eye shone with excitement as a devious smirk appeared on his face. His whole body was jittering at the idea of getting to see some sharks.
“Wait, really!? I’ll be coming along for that, right Capt’n?! Right!?!” Kwazii begged through a mouthful of pancake.
Barnacles reassured his partner that he would in fact be tagging along on this mission and the adventurous kitty let out an excited ‘YEOW!!’ before kissing his husband. Kwazii wasted no time in diving right into all the facts he had about mako sharks as he and Barnacles finished their pancakes. Facts such as makos being the fastest sharks, capable of reaching speeds higher than 40 miles per hour. Plus they can jump more than 20 feet out of the water and travel great distances for breeding, some going as far as over 1,700 miles to find a mate. They consume about 3% of their body weight a day and take 1.5 to 2 days to digest a proper meal. Barnacles let Kwazii yap on about mako sharks as they finished their breakfast, occasionally sharing his own insights and the occasional kiss on the cheek. Hearing Kwazii excitedly ramble on about his special interests always made Barnacles so happy.
Once they finished off the delicious pancakes, Barnacles convinced Kwazii to go get dressed. The tabby complained for the sake of complaining but slid out of bed and trudged off to his room regardless. The Captain rolled his eyes in mock annoyance before he took the dirty dishes back to the kitchen while Kwazii prepared himself for the day. After the dishes were taken care of, the Captain returned to the HQ, greeting Dashi, Peso, and Professor Inkling since they were all there. Pulling up a map of the area, he marks down all the locations the crew were going to travel to, such as the rough location of the mako shark sightings. The friends talked amongst themselves about work when about 20 minutes later, Kwazii finally flips into the HQ, yeowling to make his presence known. Hurrying over to the Captain, the now dressed tabby flops into the polar bear’s arms, giving him a hug. Barnacles chuckles as he hugs Kwazii back, gently swaying him side to side.
“Ready to start the day, sleepy head?” Captain Barnacles teases lightly, kissing Kwazii on the head.
“Mmh… I s’pose so, Capt’n… But the sooner we see those sharks the better.” Kwazii retorts playfully.
At that, everyone in the HQ couldn’t help but laugh.