Chapter Text
"Mutsuki-chan, wait for us~!"
The cries of the Mutsuki-class destroyers was barely heard over the many shipgirls chattering away on this Halloween night. Everyone was here for a party, even the younger ones, and they all seemed to be having fun.
Even the Commander, who spent most of it just idly chatting with the girls. Nothing crazy happened, to his surprise, and no one got into any fights. All in all, a successful Halloween evening.
"May I join you, Kommandant?"
A soft voice shook him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see his secretary, Gneisenau, wearing a somewhat revealing outfit for Halloween. The Iron Blood battlecruiser was dressed as a succubus of sorts, with a tattoo just below her belly button, and a pointed tail that hovered above the ground as if it were a natural part of her. She looked quite pretty, though he was grateful that the woman wasn't a real succubus.
"Of course, Gneisenau," the Commander replied with a smile, pulling out an open chair so she could sit with him, then returning to his own seat. "You enjoying the party?"
"Mhm," she murmured, a smile on her face as she looked around at the gathered shipgirls. "It's rare that we get to all appreciate this time together, thanks to this war..." The battlecruiser sighed and turned to look at the Commander. "But thanks to you, we're not constantly fighting."
He smiled back at her, leaning over and pulling the Iron Blood woman into a hug. "Thank you for that, Gneisenau."
The battlecruiser returned the smile, patting his shoulder a little bit before pulling back from the hug. "It's quite the nice change of pace, to have some peace."
She took a few moments to glance around the room, and as she did so, the Commander couldn't help but follow suit, taking more than a little bit of pride in the success of what he saw. Off in a corner, Cleveland was entertaining some of the Fletcher-class sisters with her own costume, and he even spotted Erebus and Terror nearby, the former of which caught his gaze and shot him a small smile. "Damn right, Gneisenau," he muttered, letting out a sigh and taking a sip of his beverage.
The two of them chatted for a little while, and eventually the Iron Blood woman decided to take her leave. "Well, Kommandant, I suppose this is good night." She stood up and faced him, flashing him a salute. "Enjoy the rest of the party."
"Same to you, Gneisenau. Good night!" He smiled and saluted back, watching as she turned and walked off, the succubus tail swaying lightly behind her.
Once she had disappeared from his view, the Commander turned back to his drink and sat there in silence, enjoying the remainder of the Halloween party.
-----------------------------
Later that week...
"Kommandant?"
The voice at his door almost failed to catch his attention, but he looked up from his work. As he saw who was at the door, he smiled. "Ah, hello Gneisenau. What brings you here?"
The battlecruiser walked into his office and stood before the desk. "A little bit of business, if you don't mind." The woman held out a slip of paper, which appeared to be an invitation to an Iron Blood gathering of sorts.
"I appreciate the offer, Gneisenau... but this looks more like an Iron Blood-only thing, unless I'm mistaken?" He looked up at her with a confused expression, and she simply smiled and shook her head.
"Not necessarily, Kommandant. We've decided to put the invite forward, if you'd like. It would be no trouble whatsoever," she assured him, placing the invite down on his desk. "If you wish to attend, be at the dorms at 2100 hours tonight. Hopefully, we'll see you then." With a slight bow, the woman turned and left the Commander's office.
"Hmm..." he mused, considering his schedule. Luckily, he was just about done with the day's paperwork, so he figured he could afford to unwind a bit tonight.
...
That night...
The Commander found himself standing at the door to the Iron Blood dormitory at just before 9:00 PM, and with a sigh, he knocked on the door.
Knock knock!
After a few seconds, the lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing the relatively blank face of the battleship Tirpitz. "Hm? Ah, good evening, Kommandant. I suppose you're here for the gathering Gneisenau told you about?"
"That's right," the Commander replied, smiling lightly at the white-haired woman. "May I come in?"
Returning his smile with a small one of her own, Tirpitz nodded and opened the door. "Welcome to our dormitory, Kommandant."
After he was ushered inside, the Commander very soon found himself in the company of several Iron Blood ships. While the destroyers were not present, he could make out several cruisers and even a couple of submarines. As the hours passed, he had the chance to share drinks with U-47, U-556, Bismarck, Scharnhorst, Prinz Eugen, Admiral Hipper, Mainz, Odin, Graf Zeppelin, Graf Spee, Deutschland, Tirpitz, and of course...
"Gneisenau," the Commander said, smiling at the battlecruiser he had seen so often these past few days. She embraced him and smiled back.
"Guten abend, Kommandant. I'm quite pleased you accepted our offer." Gneisenau raised her glass and took a long sip from it. "I must admit, I wasn't entirely sure you would come."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow and took a sip from his own glass. "And why might that be?"
She chuckled and patted his shoulder. "I would have assumed you might be busy with work, even this late. After all, you have been known to do that, from what I hear."
He had no choice but to admit the truth of her words. "Today was a light day, luckily. Besides, it's not often I get to spend time with you all."
"Damn right, Kommandant." The voice of Scharnhorst made him turn around, and he saw the eyepatched battlecruiser take a seat next to him. "You really need to come around more often, ya know?"
"My apologies, Scharnhorst. I'll make sure to correct that error in the future." He chuckled and smirked slightly, clinking glasses with both sisters as they all enjoyed the rest of their night.
...
A few hours later...
The Commander was walking with Gneisenau after the party had ended, and she was leading him back to his quarters. After all, he was drunk.
"Nnngh..." He groaned softly as he endured a dull headache. "Probably shouldn't have let Eugen goad me into that drink-off..."
"I'm inclined to agree with that sentiment, Kommandant," the woman replied in a soft whisper. Even though no one else was around at this hour, she felt compelled to speak quietly. "Everyone knows a human like you cannot possibly hold your alcohol as well as us Iron Bloods."
"True..." he grunted out quietly, leaning against the pink-haired battlecruiser a bit. "At least I had fun, right?" He smiled up at her and winked a little, causing her to chuckle.
"Fair point, Kommandant. If you believe that made it worth it, I can agree with you." The two of them continued in silence until they reached the Commander's quarters, at which point Gneisenau helped him inside. "I think you should be able to get yourself settled, so..."
The Commander nodded, hugging his companion gently. "Thanks for helping me get back, Gneisenau. I enjoyed spending time with you tonight."
She smiled and returned the embrace, patting his back gently. "Likewise, Kommandant. I look forward to the next opportunity we have to spend time together."
"Me too, Gneisenau."
With that, the Commander went off to bed, and the battlecruiser took her leave, making her way back to her dormitory so she could sleep. She had a smile on her face the whole way back.