Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful day at the Port. The sun was shining brightly on the harbor as the Commander watched his shipgirls doing their naval exercises.

He smiled. It wasn't often that such a peaceful day was given to them. Thankfully, the war was in a lull, so he had many opportunities to simply relax with the girls he loved.

BOOM!

The Commander jumped, startled by the sound of a cannon firing nearby. He watched as the bullet streaked through the air, making a high arc as it aimed for its target...

...before she dodged out of the way.

"Ha! Won't be so easy to hit me this time!" The shout came from Repulse, the Royal Navy battlecruiser who had been part of the fleet since near the beginning of the Commander's assignment. She was an energetic, fun-loving girl who never hesitated to take a chance to get some exercise with the Commander.

He chuckled inwardly and watched as Repulse raised her hand in a finger-gun.

"Neratte... Pon!" She pulled her hand upwards as if firing. A moment later...

BOOM!

He wasn't so startled this time, since he knew it was coming. The bullet flew into the sky, making a similarly-high arc as it soared. Seconds later, it crashed down into the water...

...scoring a direct hit on the target, causing her to stumble backwards.

"Dammit! I should've been able to dodge that...!" The frustrated groan came from the Royal Navy battleship Prince of Wales, who was now suffering from some light damage: one of her guns had been disabled. Even this minor damage signaled the end of the exercise, with Repulse as the victor.

Repulse flashed a bright smile at her old friend and started making her way over to her. "Hey, we all have those moments, Wales. Don't worry about it!" She lightly clapped the battleship's shoulder with a hand, then helped her back to the docks.

The Commander smiled at their camaraderie, not even noticing as someone walked up next to him until she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Having fun, Kommandant~?"

He turned and sighed. It was Prinz Eugen, heavy cruiser of the Iron Blood. She winked at him and turned to watch Repulse and Prince of Wales jump back to the docks, their riggings turning into hundreds of blue cubes before coalescing next to the pier and forming the two girls' respective ships. Even from their lower vantage point, Eugen and the Commander could see the Manjuus getting to work on repairing Wales' damaged hull.

"Yeah, I suppose I am. How about you, Eugen? Taking a break to watch your girlfriend fight?" He smiled and returned the wink, chuckling when she lightly smacked him on the shoulder.

"Teasing's my job, Kommandant, not yours. Yours is making sure we're all happy~" Sighing a bit, Eugen walked over to the returning shipgirls.

Seeing Eugen approach, Wales smiled warmly. "Coming to help me back to my dorm, Eugen~?" She kissed the cruiser on the cheek and giggled.

"I suppose I am, if you want me to~" Eugen winked and returned the kiss, prompting Repulse to make a mocking face of disgust. The cruiser chuckled and gave the battlecruiser a handshake before wrapping her arm around Wales' shoulders. "Now then, shall we~?"

Wales nodded, saying goodbye to Repulse and the Commander as the pair walked off. Repulse breathed a heavy sigh and ran over to him.

"Hey, Commander! Like what you saw?" Her smile was bright as ever as she practically tackled the Commander into a hug.

He grunted as she impacted with him and patted her back. "Yeah, you two looked great out there. A shame it was over so quickly, though."

Repulse giggled and wrapped herself around his right arm, pressing close to his side. "You really enjoy watching us girls exercise, huh~? Sure you aren't just being a weirdo?"

He blushed slightly and protested, which was exactly what Repulse was going for. She patted his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder as they began to walk.

-----------------

Later that day, as the sun was beginning to set, Repulse found herself outside the Commander's door. She had asked him after the exercise if she could come hang out that night, and he had readily agreed.

"Alright, here we go." She raised her hand and knocked on the door. "Helloooo~! Commander~!"

She could hear papers rustling. He must've been doing some work after leaving the office. Seconds later, the door opened, and before her stood the Commander, wearing more casual clothes than normal. For her part, Repulse wore her normal outfit, since she found it easy to move around in.

"Good evening, Repulse. Please, come on in." He smiled and beckoned for the battlecruiser to enter. She did so, practically jumping over the threshold, the Commander closing the door behind her. "Anything I can get you?"

She thought for a minute. "Hmm... maybe some tea, if you got any?" He nodded and went to the kitchen to make some.

"Make yourself at home, Repulse!" He called from the kitchen. "I was just finishing up some leftover paperwork from today."

She smiled and flopped onto the sofa, stretching out and yawning. "Mmmh... you should really get that stuff done on time, Commander~! Gives you so much more time to just unwind~" She giggled and stared up at the ceiling, humming to herself.

A minute later, he brought over a couple of teacups and placed them on the table. "Here we go. Drink up, Repulse." He smiled and sat on the adjacent couch.

"Ooh, looks delicious~" Repulse sat up and smelled the tea. It was a pleasant aroma, Earl Grey from what she could tell. She picked up the teacup and sipped it carefully, making sure not to burn her mouth by drinking too fast. "Mmm... tastes delicious, too!"

He smiled warmly and nodded. "I'm glad you like it. It might not be as good as the Royal Maids or pretty much anyone in Sakura, but I try." He sipped his tea slowly as well.

The pair chatted idly as they enjoyed the tea, until eventually Repulse found her cup was empty.

"Hmm... I guess I'll go put this inside." She smiled and went to reach for her cup.

"That's alright, Repulse, I can get that-"

The commander reached for it at the same time, and her hand landed on his. Granted, she wore gloves, but it was still a little bit of an awkward moment. Both of them blushed slightly and chuckled, and Repulse relented.

"Hehe, thanks Commander~" She leaned back on the sofa as he walked to the kitchen.

A few moments later, he returned and sat down in the same spot as before. The two returned to their idle chatter for a few minutes until the Commander realized the sun had gone down.

"Ah... it's getting late." He stood up and stretched, hearing a giggle from Repulse. "Huh? What's so funny?"

She smiled and got to her feet, stretching as well. "Mnn... nothing... your back just cracked so many times." She winced as she heard her own back pop from the stretch. "...Ow."

It was his turn to chuckle as she got a taste of her own medicine. "Haha..." He thought for a moment. Before he could speak...

"How about a massage, Commander?" Repulse crossed her arms and winked at him. "Sounds like you could use one~"

He opened his mouth for a moment and raised his hand, then silently put it down and sighed. "Sure, Repulse. That actually sounds like a good idea."

The battlecruiser smiled knowingly and patted the couch. "Lay down, Commander."

He complied, his face burying itself in a pillow for a moment. "Don't break my back, ok, Repulse? I need to be able to walk."

She giggled and patted his head lightly. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dare do such a thing."

Without another word, Repulse placed her hands on her Commander's shoulders and began to massage them, putting enough pressure to actually have an effect without breaking him.

"Ohh... that feels good..." He groaned in relief as she pressed her fingers into his shoulders, working out every single knot. She smiled and worked her way down his back, making him let out several similar groans, even a moan once, which made her blush a bit.

"Do you like this, Commander?" She smiled and softly whispered into his ear. She giggled inwardly as she saw his face redden.

"Y-yeah... I do..." He was blushing furiously, either from the way Repulse had asked the question, or from his embarrassment at how much he was enjoying the massage.

"Glad to hear that~" She giggled and finished working out the knots in his back, taking extra time to work on one stubborn knot. When she finally got it out-

"Oohhhhhhh....!" He let out a loud groan as he practically melted into the couch. "Gods... that feels so much better."

Repulse's face was red as well now. She had not expected that reaction. "Um... glad to hear that... Hehe..."

She quickly composed herself as he turned his head to look at her. Slowly, he reached out his hand, and she opened hers to take it...

...before a grin flashed across his face and his hand went for her tummy. "Gotcha!"

She folded instantly, giggling as he tried to tickle her. "Gahahaha! S-stop that, Comm- Ahahaha!" She fell to the floor in a fit of laughter, the Commander's hand unrelenting as his fingers scrabbled along her tummy.

It would be a few minutes before Repulse could stop laughing long enough to catch her breath, and when she did, she slowly got up and collapsed onto the sofa. "Ahhh... gods, that was too much, Commander...~" She giggled and smiled at him as he stood up, chuckling a bit and stretching his back again.

"What do you say to a payback massage, eh?" The Commander smiled at the battlecruiser, his hand on his sleeve.

She thought for a moment. "I had a feeling you were gonna ask this before~ Sure~" She turned to lay on her chest, holding onto a pillow as she heard him roll up his sleeves.

"Alright, get ready. And don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's impossible for me to hurt you." Gently, he put his hands on her shoulders, taking a deep breath and beginning to massage Repulse.

"Mmhh...~" She groaned softly. "That's... ohhh... that feels great..."

Her face was turned to the side, so she could clearly see the Commander's face redden completely as she groaned. Her face reddened slightly as well in response, and she nodded. "Keep going~"

"Aight." He nodded back and kept pressing his hands into her, going carefully down her back and massaging out even the most stubborn of knots. She moaned softly as he took out a particularly stubborn one, a wave of relief washing over her.

"Aaahhhh.... ohhhh yeah...." She closed her eyes and buried her face in the pillow.

When he was finally done, she slowly sat up and stretched, yawning as her muscles ached slightly. "Ahhh... that hits the spot~"

"Glad you liked that, Repulse." His face was still a bit red as he sat back down on the couch. Smiling at her Commander, Repulse walked over to him and took the spot next to him.

"I think I'm just gonna stay here tonight, if ya don't mind~" She looked up at him and pressed herself to his side. As she expected, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm in a cuddly mood tonight~"

He blushed slightly, but did not protest. In fact, he smiled down at her before moving his other hand under her knees. "Then let's go cuddle, hm?" He winked slightly and picked her up.

"Whoa! Bridal carry, Commander?" She blushed heavily and giggled. She didn't say another word as the Commander carried her to his bedroom and placed her down on the bed.

Silently, the two of them quickly went under the covers, with Repulse turning off the lamp next to her. Before either of them had a chance to adjust to the darkness, she moved up against him and wrapped her arms around his frame. Feeling him do the same, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips softly.

"Mmmm...~" She purred as he reciprocated, closing her eyes and pulling him close to her body. She broke the kiss and smiled.

"I love you, Commander~"

She felt his hand move up to her head, and sighed contentedly as he began to stroke her hair, gently pulling her head against his chest.

"I love you too, Repulse." He kissed the top of her head, and she wrapped her legs around him.

As the two of them snuggled, Repulse smiled and let sleep overtake her. It was bound to be a comfortable night.

Chapter Text

"Pass it over here, Fletcher!"

Thatcher's voice could be dimly heard through the window of the office. Fletcher was playing catch with her sisters.

"Don't drop it, Thatcher!" The elder sister threw the ball and fervently hoped her green-haired sister would make the catch. She did, to her great relief.

As the destroyers continued their playtime in the field, the Commander was practically waist-deep in documents. He barely registered when a white-clad woman entered the office, carrying a tray with a teapot and cup. She looked to the near corner and smiled, nodding slightly, and walked the short distance over to the desk.

"Your tea, Master."

The Commander looked up from his paperwork and smiled as Belfast, the head of the Royal Maids, placed the cup on his desk and poured him the tea.

"Thanks, Belfast. Much appreciated." He gently took her hand and kissed it.

"Of course, Master. Please let me know if you need anything else." The cruiser smiled, curtsied, and took the tray with the teapot, exiting the office.

Careful not to spill any of the drink, the Commander took a sip, enjoying the taste even through the heat. As he was placing the cup back down, he paused.

His secretary, Sheffield (to whom Belfast had nodded upon entering the office), was standing next to one of the filing cabinets in the corner of the room. She was watching him in total silence. He couldn't even tell if she was blinking.

He placed his cup down and looked right at her. "Are you alright, Sheffy?"

She said nothing.

The Commander sighed. "Sheffy, is something wro-?"

BANG!

"What th-?!" He flinched violently, almost knocking over the teacup at the loud sound. "Sheffy, at least give me some warning!"

Without saying a word, the maid had drawn her pistol, briefly aimed at the corner of the wall above the Commander's desk, and squeezed the trigger. Without looking at the impact site, he knew that there would be detergent bubbles erupting from the spot. Sheffield's cleaning bullets, something she had requested long ago from Akashi, were the maid's way of reaching tough corners easily.

"It wouldn't have been as funny if it wasn't a surprise, Master." The maid was absolutely deadpan as she spoke. Sometimes he couldn't tell if she was joking... actually, more often than not, it was impossible to tell.

The Commander sighed and put a hand over his heart, trying to will it to calm down. Nothing like an interrupting gunshot to get the adrenaline going. "I'd appreciate some warning next time, Sheffy..."

With an audible sigh, the maid walked over to her chair and sat down. "My apologies, Master. I thought I had given you enough time to place down your tea. Evidently, I miscalculated... almost." He could almost see a smirk forming on her face for a moment.

"It was close." He chuckled lightly, sighing as well and taking some more tea. "Mmm... you Royal Maids never cease to impress me with the quality of your tea."

"Please, Master. None of us could compare to Miss Belfast." He thought he saw a slight blush on Sheffield's face for a second, but it was gone.

"Still, I could never hope to make tea this good. I can make tea, yes, but not of this quality." He smiled and placed the teacup down before resuming his work.

...

After an hour, however, he found he could no longer focus. He leaned back and yawned, stretching his arms up.

As he brought his arms down, he thought he saw Sheffield looking in his direction intently... but the instant she realized he was watching, she averted her gaze.

"Sheffy, what was that?" He smiled slightly and leaned on the desk.

She tilted her head, trying to act innocent. "I don't know what you mean, Master."

With a sigh, the Commander stood up and walked over to the couch on the far wall. As he sat down, Sheffield merely turned her head to watch him. He met her gaze, and then looked down at the spot next to him. He patted it a couple of times.

"Come join me, Sheffy. Please." He smiled warmly as the maid got up, seemingly hesitant, and made her way over to him. She sat down and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Is... is something wrong, Master?" She sounded nervous, which was... unusual for her. Slowly, the Commander put an arm around her shoulders, gently pulling back on her left to prompt her to lean back. She did so, slowly.

"Sheffy, we've known each other for a while now. I know when something's up with you. And this time, it isn't you struggling to show me that you love me." That last part actually got a blush out of the maid, and he smiled. "You seem... off, somehow. Something happen?"

Sheffield sighed and looked at her beloved Master square in the eyes. "Master... I need to know. What... what am I to you?" Her embarrassment at her question was well-hidden, but he could tell she was uncomfortable asking this.

He pulled her a bit closer and rubbed her arm. "Well, you're a wonderful friend, an exemplary maid, and..." He gently kissed the top of her head. "...you're someone who I love dearly, Sheffy."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Master... I confessed my feelings to you a few years ago... and yet I don't believe you've ever said those words to me once until now."

"I... haven't?" The Commander was shocked. Had he really never told her how much she meant to him, after all this time? "I can't believe this... I'm so sorry, Sheffy..."

"Please don't apologize, Master. I don't blame you for it. It's just... something that I've wished to hear from you for some time." She looked up at him. "With that being said... I do have... another question, Master..." She blushed slightly, but did not change her blank expression.

"What might that be?" He gently rubbed her shoulder and held her close. There was worry in the maid's eyes, which concerned the Commander a little bit.

"As you well know... a maid is supposed to dedicate her all in service to her Master..." She looked away, and immediately he knew where this was going, but did not interrupt.

Sighing softly, Sheffield continued to speak while avoiding his gaze.

"Have you ever once considered requesting my... services?" The blush on her cheeks was now significantly darker. Her heart was pounding rapidly, awaiting his response anxiously.

"Let me ask you a question of my own, Sheffy." The Commander gently placed his hand over her heart, noticing how fast it was going. "Were I to request your services, would you be comfortable with giving them when the time came?"

She paused. She hadn't really considered that. The maid was silent for several long moments, before finally... "...I do not know."

She leaned back into his arm, closing her eyes and sighing. "I truly cannot say, Master. In truth, I hadn't thought of that at all."

The Commander gently took her hand in his own and rubbed it with his thumb. "That's why I've never requested. Because I wasn't sure if you'd be willing to go through with it when it happened." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I didn't ask because I care too much about you to disregard your feelings, Sheffy."

She looked down at the floor, silent. After what felt like several minutes, she looked into his eyes.

"Master... may I keep you warm tonight?"

-----------

It was nighttime. The Commander was laying in bed, reading through the day's Juustagram posts. The bathroom light was on, and the door was closed. He knew who was in there.

He sighed. The day had ended quite well, despite the long... break he had taken with Sheffield. After their conversation, they had resumed working on the documents for the day, completing the paperwork quite swiftly so they could relax. It was always a wonderful feeling when the day's work was done, and he was looking forward to a cozy night with his secretary.

"I'm coming out now, Master." Sheffield's voice called out from behind that door, and a moment later, it opened, and he looked up.

Sheffield had let her hair down, which was a pleasant surprise, and she was in a simple white nightgown. She walked over to the dresser and placed her maid uniform, neatly folded up, on top of it, before making her way over to the bed and going under the blankets.

"All washed up, Sheffy?" The Commander smiled warmly and leaned back into his pillow as his companion shifted closer to him. He put out an arm and she quickly took her place laying on it so he could pull her closer.

"Indeed, Master. It was... oddly refreshing, somehow, to use this shower." She smiled softly at him. "It's been quite a while since I slept here, after all."

He nodded, slowly pulling Sheffield on top of his chest and putting his phone on the nightstand. Before he could turn off the lamp, the maid placed her hand on his cheek. A moment later, she leaned in and kissed him, her soft lips making him melt into the kiss. After a few moments, she pulled back and rested her head on his chest.

As he clicked the lamp off, he felt her arms wrap around him. Once the light was out, he did the same, gently rubbing her back and sighing happily.

Before sleep could take him, he whispered softly, "I love you, Sheffy."

As he closed his eyes, he heard her whisper, just as softly, "And I love you, Master."

Chapter Text

"Hiyah!"

Clink!

"Oof!"

Thud!

The Commander grunted as he fell backwards onto the wooden floor, landing flat on his back. Before he could even sit up again-

Whoosh!

-a blade appeared right in front of his face. His eyes widened for a moment before he let out a sigh of defeat.

"I win." The blade's owner, aircraft carrier Hiryuu META, smirked at her fallen opponent before moving the weapon away from his face and sheathing it. "You're getting better, though."

He sat up and groaned, his rear aching from hitting the floor so hard. "All I can see is myself getting thrashed over and over by you, Miry." He picked up his sword and started to get up.

The rabbit-eared META ship extended a hand, and he took it as she pulled him to his feet. "That might be true, but from my point of view, it's getting harder each day to knock you down." She smiled and took his blade, sheathing it in a rack on the wall. "C'mon. Let's go finish those papers, Shikikan."

The Commander smiled wearily at those words. "Mhm, 'cause everyone just loves paperwork, right?"

Miry, as everyone called her, chuckled and gently clapped his shoulder. "That's the spirit, Shikikan. Now let's get back before it's too late."

He shook his head and smiled as they made their way back to the office. He knew he'd be feeling the ache from their session come tomorrow.

-------------------

The Commander groaned as he sat up in his bed the next morning. His body was aching all over, a bit worse than he'd expected. Had he really lasted that long against Miry?

Ding!

His phone chimed, so he looked over at the screen. It was a DM from Hiryuu.

Gokou: Hey Shikikan, sry if ur busy, but u might wanna get to docks asap.

He sighed and stood up, stretching and wincing as he heard his back crack. He quickly typed out a reply.

SKK: No worries Hiryuu. Something happen?

Gokou: Trying not to get burned here, Akagi's fighting w/ my sis and i dunno why! pls help calm her down ;-;

SKK: Aight, I'll be there in a min. Hang in there.

Gokou: Thx Shikikan, I told Miry abt it in case she can help.

SKK: 👍

Pocketing his phone, the Commander got on sweatpants and a sweatshirt, stepped into his shoes, and ran out to see what the hell had Akagi so riled up this early in the morning.

...

When he got to the harbor, he narrowly ducked under a stray fireball, which slammed into the door behind him.

Sure enough, the foxgirl was lobbing fireball after fireball at Souryuu, who kept throwing out cards to intercept them. Every so often a card would impact the fire at such an angle that the flames were redirected to the side. Souryuu had several small burns on her body from where she must have missed with her cards. Similarly, Akagi looked like she was suffering from several papercuts.

Hiryuu was still on land, but even she had some burns and cuts from failing to dodge deflected attacks. When she heard the Commander's footsteps, she turned and let out a sigh of relief. He gestured towards the pair as if to ask what happened. All she could do was shrug in confusion. 

Shaking his head and dodging a wild card, the Commander ran over to the railing alongside the water. "AKAGI!"

Immediately upon hearing his shout, both carriers paused and looked at him. Akagi extinguished her fireball and starting skating over to him, her eyes still clearly showing her anger despite the smile she wore.

"Shikikan-sama, Akagi is terribly sorry for disturbing you-" She tried to apologize, but his look silenced her.

"Akagi, what the hell are you doing, fighting your comrade in arms at-" He pulled out his phone to check the time. "-7 in the morning?! What the hell?!" The frustration and exhaustion was evident in his voice.

By this point, Souryuu had made her way over to them. She bowed apologetically to the Commander. "I'm very sorry to have worried you, Shikikan. You see, Kaga and I were discussing private matters..." She shot a wilting glare at Akagi, who simply returned it with one of her own. "...and Akagi somehow got the impression that I was upsetting her dear sister-"

"Got the impression?!" Akagi snarled at the rabbit-eared carrier, fire swirling in each of her hands. "Kaga sounded like she was in tears when you were done with her-"

Suddenly, a wave of crimson energy shot over the heads of the trio, causing all of them to jump. The Commander turned around to see Miry standing several feet away, her sword drawn and her face a mask of fury.

"What... in the name... of the 8 million gods of Sakura... are you two DOING?!" Miry's tone made the two carriers take a step backwards, and even the Commander moved quickly out of her way. This was one carrier you did not want to have angry at you.

"Miry-sama-" Akagi opened her mouth to speak, but she was instantly silenced by Miry's piercing glare. She gulped and snuffed out the flames in her palms.

"Don't you say another word, Akagi." She looked at Souryuu with a less intense glare, but a glare nonetheless. "You as well, N- Souryuu."

Souryuu nodded and bowed to the META carrier. With a sigh, Miry calmed herself down a little and spoke again.

"The two of you are being unbelievably disrespectful, do you realize that? It's not even breakfast time, and here you are squabbling like children! I don't care what the hell happened between you two, but both of you need to suck it up and apologize to one another." She looked between them for a few moments. "Now."

Akagi mumbled something that sounded like "I'm sorry" to Souryuu, bowing slightly. Souryuu bowed to Akagi in return and spoke. "My apologies, Akagi. I did not mean to disrespect you or your dear sister."

Miry finally sheathed her blade, nodding a bit as the two of them shook hands. "See, that wasn't so hard."

Hiryuu walked over to her META counterpart and bowed. "Thank you for intervening, Miry-san. I apologize for disturbing you this early."

The swordswoman nodded, cracking her neck a bit. "No worries, Hiryuu. Anything for a fellow member of the 5th CarDiv." She turned to the Commander and sighed. "Never thought I'd have to yell at my comrades. Never want to do it again."

He smiled a bit, trembling a bit from the aftermath of the carrier's rage. "Understandable." He looked at Souryuu and Akagi, who were now back on dry land. "The two of you are on dorm-cleaning duty for the Sakura Empire today. Hiryuu and Kaga will supervise."

Both of them nodded, Akagi moving in to try and hug her dear Commander, but he put up a hand to stop her. "Don't you try to weasel out of this." She bowed solemnly and moved back. Hiryuu quickly thanked him for his help and led the other two back to the dorms.

Miry watched them walk off before looking back at the Commander. "Well, might as well say it now... good morning, Shikikan. Anyway, I'll see you in the office?"

"Yep. See ya." He patted her shoulder before walking off, but before he could get very far, the rabbit-eared girl grabbed his hand as it left her shoulder. He turned around and met her gaze for a moment.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but awkward silence. Then, Miry's smile faltered and she squeezed his hand before letting him go. Without another word, she ran off to her dorm.

Huh. Wonder what that was about? The Commander shrugged and walked away.

--------------------

Several hours later...

"Mmhhhhh..." Miry stifled a yawn as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

It was getting late, and she was working with the Commander to get the day's work done before they went off to sleep. The two had been a bit more distracted than usual during the day, mostly because of the incident that morning. The Commander had something else on his mind, however...

"Miry, what was that for earlier?" He looked up and gazed at his secretary.

Miry blinked a few times before finally responding. "Oh, right... I'm not entirely sure. Just something I felt like doing, I guess?"

The Commander narrowed his eyes at her. "...Sure it was." He smirked a little and yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Damn... I was hoping we'd actually get this stuff done... but I think we'll both end up falling asleep here if we keep going."

The carrier nodded, stifling yet another yawn as she looked at the clock. "Oh, wow, look at the time... Good thing tomorrow's a day off, eh, Shikikan?" She smiled at him, and he nodded.

"Guess we'll have to get this done tomorrow... You can go to bed if you want now, Miry. I'll wrap up here." He smiled at the rabbit-eared carrier, and she got up to stretch. He could hear several pops as her back cracked. He made sure he wasn't staring at her bare midriff as she stretched by busying himself with sorting the papers on the desk.

"Shikikan, I know you're trying not to stare." Miry's voice was closer than he expected, and he looked up to see her leaning on the desk, her face half a foot away from his own. "You kinda make it too obvious." She smirked a bit and patted his head.

"Didn't realize that was possible..." He was quiet as she stood up and bowed to him.

"Good night, Shikikan. See you tomorrow morning." She smiled and turned to walk out the door.

"Good night, Miry. Get home safe." He called after her, and she turned her head. After a moment, she nodded and gave him a thumbs up, then walked out of the office.

The Commander was left to clean up the papers, which he did so quickly so he could go collapse into his bed. He was asleep the instant he hit the pillow.

------------------

The next morning, the Commander and Miry got up early to finish the remaining paperwork. By the time they were done, they had already eaten breakfast (courtesy of Belfast), so they decided to take a stroll around the Port.

As the pair made their way around the Port, the Commander kept wondering what made Miry grab his hand the previous day. So, he decided to ask.

"Miry-"

"Shikikan, if you're gonna ask about me squeezing your hand..." The carrier actually blushed a tiny bit, averting her gaze.

He stopped walking and put a hand on her arm. She looked at it for a moment before turning her gaze to his eyes. "Miry, is everything alright?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm doing ok, Shikikan. I'm not sick or anything, just..." She glanced briefly at the ring adorning her left hand before turning back to him. "I can't help but think of the Shikikan I had back then..."

The Commander smiled warmly at his companion. "You forgot I wasn't him, is that it?"

"...Yeah." She admitted quietly. "It was something I used to do with him before... I lost everything." Suddenly, she pulled him into a hug.

"Miry...?" He was taken aback by the sudden show of emotion from the normally-reserved bunny. After a few moments, he put his arms around her, hugging her gently.

"Shikikan, I know I can be unpleasant and uncomely sometimes... but I need you to know this. I'll always protect you, and those you hold dear, with my entire being." She pulled back from the hug and kept her hand on his shoulder. "In the name of Souryuu-nee-sama, I will protect you. Got it?"

He could only nod at her sudden declaration. "...Got it."

Miry smiled. "Good!" She clapped him on the shoulder lightly. "So long as you protect us all, I'm willing to do the same."

The Commander smiled at her words, and the pair kept walking. "Glad you finally got that off your chest, Miry."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and sighed. "I didn't say you could tease me, Shikikan."

"It's an unspoken rule around here, you know." He chuckled and took her hand in his own, squeezing it lightly. She smiled at the gesture, and then she realized something.

She felt something inside her that she hadn't felt in a very long time.

It was almost alien to her after all these years... but it was a welcome feeling.

For the first time since losing everything, Miry finally felt safe.

Chapter Text

"Who to pick next... Hmm..."

It was lunchtime, and the Commander was looking through the list of shipgirls available to be the next secretary. It had been a few days since his previous one had ended their shift, and there had yet to be a volunteer.

Even going a few days without a secretary was having a visible effect on him. There were bags under his eyes, his movements were sluggish from lack of sleep, and (worst of all, of course) he barely reacted to the advances of the more... flirtatious shipgirls. Even today he was already on his third cup of coffee, and he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Ugh..." He groaned and rubbed his eyes. He was starting to regret sending Akagi and Taihou out on commissions this week. If they were in port more often, they'd have immediately asked to be his secretary the moment the position had opened. He sighed and kept scrolling...

...and the next thing he knew, someone was shaking him awake. "Huh...?" He dimly registered a pair of tanned legs and white stockings next to him, and his brain struggled to remember who this could be. He felt incredibly exhausted.

"Hey, Commander... you fell asleep at your desk." It took the Commander several long moments to realize who had woken him up.

"...Indianapolis?" His words were slurred, which surprised him. How can I be so tired I can't even speak properly...?

"Mhm... it's me." The soft-spoken heavy cruiser of the Eagle Union kneeled down to look at his face. He blankly stared at her heterochromic eyes, one blue and one yellow. Her silver bandana was nowhere to be seen, so her mouth was clearly visible. The cruiser was frowning slightly as she inspected her Commander for a moment.

With a sigh, she stood up and walked over to the secretary's chair, sitting down and pulling some of the paperwork towards her. "I'll be your secretary, Commander."

Blinking a few times, the Commander looked at Indy. "You don't have to..." With great effort, he leaned forward and put his hand on the pile of papers she had taken.

Before he could do anything past that, she grabbed his hand and moved it off of the pile. "No one else will... so I'll do it." She awkwardly patted his arm a couple of times before taking a pen and starting her work. "Might as well do something productive..." She said no more as she filled out the papers.

The Commander sat there dumbly for several minutes before letting out a yawn. "...Indy, what time is it...?"

"4:17 PM," she said, without even so much as a glance at the clock. "...You've been out since 12:30." Her eyes briefly flickered to his face as she spoke before they went right back to the documents in front of her.

"Sorry... I should've stayed awake..." He rubbed his eyes and stretched, feeling weak as he lifted his arms and ultimately having to give up the stretch. "God... I'm exhausted..."

Without a word, Indy put down her pen, pushed the papers away from her, stood up, and walked over to him. After a few moments, she made a decision. She put her arms under his shoulders and lifted him upright with ease. Being a shipgirl, Indy had immense strength, on and off the battlefield. She had no issues getting the Commander to his feet.

"C'mon..." She muttered softly as she pulled him away from the desk. "You need to sleep... so I'll help you." Her voice held a note of finality to it, and he didn't dare protest. She guided him to sit down on the couch before taking a seat herself. Without even asking for permission, she pulled him down, laying his head in her lap.

"Indy..." He whispered, barely able to muster the energy to speak, but before he could say anything else, she shushed him.

"Stop talking and sleep..." She picked up a blanket that was folded on the back of the couch, opened it up, and placed it on top of the Commander's body. "I'll stay here with you."

He sighed and closed his eyes, the warmth of the blanket combined with the softness of Indy's thighs weakening his ability to stay awake...

The last thing he heard before falling unconscious was Indy's soothing whisper.

"Sleep well, Commander..."

------------------------

When the Commander finally opened his eyes, it was pitch-black. Taking in his surroundings, he realized he was still exactly where he had fallen asleep - on Indianapolis' lap, on the couch, in the office.

He brought a hand up to rub his eyes, and as he did so, he noticed that Indy began to stir. Evidently, she too had fallen asleep.

"Mmh... Commander...?" She whispered, obviously realizing it was late. He nodded in her lap, and she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Feeling better?"

"Mhm. Thanks, Indy," he whispered back. "Do you know-"

"12:01 AM." She cut him off, already knowing what he was about to ask. She slowly patted his shoulder, then adjusted the blanket so that it still covered his body. "We've been out since... like, 7 PM."

"Did you actually do nothing but sit there, with me sleeping on your lap, for 8 hours?" He couldn't help but chuckle lightly. She just gave him another pat as an affirmation. "I appreciate it, Indy, but... I hope I didn't make you too uncomfortable..."

Indy sighed a bit, and he slowly sat upright, yawning and leaning back into the couch. "It wasn't the most comfortable position... but it wasn't too bad..."

With how dark it was, the Commander couldn't tell if the heavy cruiser was blushing. Carefully, he put an arm around her, putting his hand on her shoulder. He saw her twitch a bit at his touch, but she let out an exhale and leaned back on his arm. "So... what now?"

Indy turned her head to look at him. "...My legs fell asleep hours ago, Commander... you'd practically have to carry me if I wanted to move..." She let out a small yawn, which ended with a small noise not unlike that of a sleepy puppy. If she noticed it, she didn't show it. "I think... I'd like to just stay here..."

He smiled at his new secretary and nodded in response, assuming that her eyes had adjusted to the dark by now. "I'm good with that."

Without saying anything else, the Commander lay down on his back, then helped Indy lie down on top of him before pulling the blanket up to cover the two of them. He gently reached up a hand to stroke her hair, and as he began to do so, she smiled a bit at him.

"Good night, Commander..." She yawned softly and rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes and waiting for sleep to come.

"Good night, Indy. Sleep well." He kept running his fingers through the cruiser's pale pink hair as he rested his head on a pillow. Before long, they were both sound asleep.

...

Several hours later...

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

The Commander and Indianapolis were rudely awakened by the sound of someone knocking very loudly on the office door.

"Commander! Let me in! I'm trying to find Indy~!"

Indy's big sister, Portland, sounded like she was about to kick down the door, so the Commander carefully helped Indy get up before quickly going to the door and opening it. "Portland, it's ok, Indy's here." He breathed a massive sigh of relief as they finally got some peace and quiet...

...for about two seconds.

"She's here?!" Portland's eyes darted about the room for half a second before falling squarely on her little sister, who was still struggling to get up following the loud awakening. "Oh, Indy, I've been looking for you all mor-" She stopped mid-sentence and glanced at the Commander, then back at Indy, and went back and forth a couple more times before...

"Indy... did you sleep with the Commander last night...?" Her voice was quiet, making the Commander nervous. What's she gonna do to me if she gets the wrong idea...?

"Portland, I can explain-" Indy started to speak, but her big sister cut her off.

"Indy~! You should've invited me to join in~!" The Commander and Indy stared at Portland, completely dumbfounded as she continued. "I could've shown the Commander all of my special mags, and plushies, and... everything~!" She ran over to her sister and hugged her tightly, making the smaller cruiser grunt and stammer out a protest.

"Portland, this was my fault. I'm sorry I made you get so worried about your sister." The Commander walked over to the overly-affectionate Portland, who was now half-strangling her sister in a hug. "She was just trying to make sure I was getting enough sleep... and she's volunteered to be my new secretary."

At this last sentence, Portland let go of her sister and turned to face him. Indy was now quietly gasping for breath after being practically suffocated by her older sister's affections. "Commander, if you needed a secretary that badly, you should've just said so~! I'd have been happy to help out~! We could've talked about anything and everything related to Indy~!"

He held up a hand, which surprisingly worked to silence the cruiser. "Portland, you... you would've been so focused on... how did you put it, "spreading the gospel of Indy" that you might've forgotten to actually get work done." He sighed. "I didn't want to risk that."

At his words, Portland frowned and approached him, gently pulling him into a hug. "Don't worry, Commander. You're probably right, anyway~"

She turned back to Indy, who had now recovered from earlier. "So, Indy~ How was it, sleeping with the Commander~?"

Indy's face went completely red, causing her sister to giggle. "P-portland... It w-wasn't like that...!" She stammered out her reply, which only served to make Portland giggle more.

"Hehe~ I'm glad my dear little sister had fun~ That's what matters~" She hugged Indy gently and smiled at both of them. "Now that I know Indy's safe, I'm gonna head out~! Cya later, Commander! Bye, Indy~!" She giggled and ran out the door before either could respond.

The Commander glanced at Indianapolis, who was still red as a tomato and trying to hide it. With a sigh, he walked over to her and sat down on the couch. "You ok, Indy?"

It took several long seconds for the cruiser to regain her composure, but eventually she nodded to him. "Y-yeah... I wish she wouldn't do that..." She groaned and leaned over, laying her head on his shoulder. He was surprised for a moment, but then he put an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder.

"At least we still know she loves you, right?" He smiled and looked at her, and she moved her head to meet his gaze.

"More than you might think, Commander..." She grumbled and resumed her position of leaning on him, shifting a bit closer this time. "She just... overdoes it. A lot."

The Commander sighed softly and continued to rub Indy's shoulder. "I bet she'd put her life on the line for your sake."

"I don't doubt it," Indy replied without hesitation. "I just don't want to see her have to do that."

"Me neither, Indy... me neither."

--------------------------

A couple of days later...

The Commander and Indianapolis were steadily working on the day's reports. It was 12:06 PM, as Indy told him before he even opened his mouth to ask.

Suddenly, Indy paused. She tilted her head as if trying to hear something.

"Commander... do you hear that?" She spoke in a low, almost conspiratorial tone, which worried the Commander. "I hear... shouting..."

He listened carefully. After several seconds, he nodded. There was shouting, somewhere outside the office, and far away. He quietly stood up and beckoned for his secretary to follow. As they exited the office, they could hear the raised voices more clearly, and they ran towards them to see what was going on.

It seemed an argument was in progress near the harbor. As Indy and the Commander ran towards the area, they could hear the voices of Deutschland and Portland.

"Nobody's cuter than my dear Indy~!"

"HA! Her? She's nothing compared to my darling Spee!"

"I admit Spee's cute, but Indy's a million times cuter, no offense to your sister!"

"You dare insult Graf Spee in front of me, wench?!"

The Commander watched in shock as Deutschland reared her clawed gauntlet back with frightening speed and slashed at Portland, the latter having no time to dodge.

"Gah!" The Eagle Union cruiser stumbled backwards, the Iron Blood pocket battleship's claws leaving bloody gashes on her face and arms. "Y-you hit me?!"

Suddenly, the Commander heard a low sound coming from next to him, and he realized Indianapolis was growling. Before he could stop her, there was a flash of blue light as hundreds of cubes suddenly appeared and gathered around Indianapolis. With another flash, the cubes vanished, replaced by the cruiser's distinctive rigging, complete with giant metal hands.

"KEEP YOUR FILTHY CLAWS OFF OF MY SISTER, DEUTSCHLAND!"

The Commander jumped backwards, completely caught off guard by Indy's scream. The Iron Blood cruiser turned to face Indy, and laughed.

"Or what, you pathetic whelp? You're going to shoot me? Hahahahaha!" She seemed more amused than scared, and sneered at the Eagle Union cruiser. "I'd like to see you tr-"

BOOM!

Before Deutschland could finish, Indy's main gun flared to life, launching a single shell at her. The Iron Blood cruiser had no time to react before the bullet slammed into her shoulder, making her wince in pain.

"You dare strike me, lowly slave?!" Her voiced seethed with rage. But Indianapolis was not done.

"HOW DARE YOU HURT MY SISTER?! WHAT THE HELL DID SHE DO TO YOU, ANYWAY?!" As Indy roared, she shot forward with surprising speed and slammed an iron fist into Deutschland's chest.

The Iron Blood cruiser flew back several feet before hitting the ground, jumping to her own feet and snarling. "She insulted my dear sister Spee, you pathetic animal!"

Indy's next words came out in a deathly tone.

"Nobody. Hurts. My. Sister. In. Front. Of. Me."

Deutschland actually recoiled in shock at the words of the normally-reserved heavy cruiser. After a few moments, she growled, but did not return fire.

"Fine then, cruiser. You live another day..." Without another word, she darted off and was out of sight.

With a massive sigh, Indy deactivated her rigging in a flash of blue. She turned, breathing heavily, and ran to her older sister, who was grinning despite her wounds. "Portland, are you ok?!"

The wounded cruiser coughed a bit and nodded. "Y-yeah... I'm fine, Indy~! I'm impressed~!" She giggled lightly and hugged her little sister. "I've never seen you so... fierce~! It's a nice side of you~"

Indy blushed a bit and looked away. "...Something the Commander said just stuck with me... and I couldn't help it..."

Portland smiled. "You did what I'd do for you~ And I'm proud of you, Indy~" She kissed her little sister on the cheek and patted her head.

Indianapolis smiled at her sister. "...Thanks, Portland."

She turned to the Commander and started walking over to him, so he met her halfway. Without a word, she pulled him into a tight hug, and he gently patted her head.

"You know, Commander..." Indy looked up at him and smiled. "I'd do the same for you in a heartbeat." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and rested her head against his shoulder.

The Commander couldn't help but smile warmly at the cruiser in his arms. "Thank you, Indy."

Inwardly, both of them hoped it would never come to that. But the thought of it was enough to comfort them.

It was enough.

Chapter Text

Whoosh...

Outside the Commander's residence, the wind was howling. The skies were grey, but on the bright side, there was no rain. While the shipgirls didn't mind getting wet at sea sometimes, it was almost always a different story when it came to getting rained on.

Given the conditions, pretty much everyone had opted to stay indoors on this rare day off. Occasionally a carrier or two would go outside to test their planes in the gales, but even they didn't stay out for long, the winds making it too dangerous to practice for a long time.

In his own house, the Commander had the fireplace going to keep everyone present warm. He'd invited several of his shipgirls over to watch a movie or two during this blustery afternoon, and they had wasted no time in getting themselves comfortable.

As the movie played quietly in the background, he looked around with a smile at the girls relaxing around his living room.

Cleveland, the lead ship of her class of Eagle Union light cruisers, was dozing on the couch while sitting upright. The cloak she normally wore around her shoulders was absent from them, instead being bundled up and used on her left shoulder by her young sister Columbia.

The fun-loving blonde was idly chewing on bubblegum as usual and flicking through who-knows-what on her phone. Every so often, she'd look up at the movie when it managed to divert her attention for a moment or two, but that was rare. Occasionally, she'd even drift off to sleep for a moment, only to be shocked awake by her body struggling to stay conscious. It was interesting to watch.

Taking up her elder sister's other shoulder, with her trademark red jacket balled up as a pillow, was Denver. The energetic girl always enjoyed lending a helping hand like her sister, as the Commander had learned well a couple of years earlier during their little bonding experience. Thinking back on that now, the Commander chuckled inwardly. That was a fun memory, one which he knew he'd treasure for years to come.

As he continued looking around, he caught sight of Biloxi and Birmingham relaxing on the smaller sofa to the side. The blue-haired sister, always one with a keen eye for fashion, had her arm around her redhead sister's shoulders, gently rubbing her arm as the more-serious sister napped on her shoulder. Biloxi caught her Commander's eye and winked, giving him a small grin before turning back to gently stroke her sister's hair. The two of them had only arrived within the past couple of months, yet they had already come to accept the Commander as a good friend.

Off in a corner, he saw the three cruisers-turned-light-carriers chatting quietly amongst themselves. While he couldn't hear them, he could see that Bataan, shy but hardworking, was cradling her beloved Hellcat plane while the dark-haired Independence fiddled with her bow. In the back of his mind, the Commander remembered the recent plans from HQ to get her a retrofit. He made a mental note to bring that up with her tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the pink-haired Princeton was inspecting her staff, muttering to herself, most likely about Saratoga, her idol. He smiled and remembered something else the carrier enjoyed talking about: one of her closer friends among the Cleveland class... the Commander's wife, Montpelier.

Smiling warmly, he looked down at his right shoulder as the girl leaning on his chest shifted slightly in her sleep. Montpelier, the third ship of the Cleveland-class cruisers and the first of her sisters to arrive during the Commander's assignment, idolized her eldest sister just like Princeton idolized Saratoga. Thanks to their shared adoration of an elder figure, they had become close friends.

The silver-haired girl had an interesting hairstyle, giving her the appearance of having animal ears. Gently, the Commander rubbed her head and kissed it before leaning his head on her. He remembered how aloof she had been way back then, and how she had eventually warmed up to him after a long while as his secretary.

He couldn't believe it had already been almost a year since he'd proposed to her...

---------------------

Nine months ago...

It was the middle of spring. Outside the office, the destroyers were all playing around, with no sign of Ark Royal, thankfully.

Within the office, however, the Commander and his secretary, Montpelier, were still driving away at the mountain of documents HQ had sent that day. It was already past noon, and the two had been working almost nonstop since 8 AM.

Every so often, the Commander's gaze would flicker to one of the drawers. Inside it was something very special...

Without a word, he quietly opened the drawer and took that special something and put it into his pocket. With a quick glance upwards, he knew his secretary hadn't noticed.

"Hey, Monty?"

The girl looked up at him from across the desk, narrowing her eyes a little bit at the use of her nickname, but she didn't openly protest. "...Yeah?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, both feigning exhaustion and actually feeling utterly drained. "I don't think I can do any more paperwork right now... mind if we go on a stroll?" He looked at her and waited for her response.

After a couple of moments, the girl shrugged and nodded. "Nah, I'm ok with that. I could use a breather too." She stood up and stretched, and he did the same. Giving his secretary a small smile, he walked out of the office with her.

As they walked around the Port, the Commander and Montpelier stopped to say hi to some of the passing shipgirls. After a while, they arrived at the harbor. Given that it was the middle of the day, many of the girls were either out on commission or in classes. The pair stood by the railings and gazed out at the water for a while. Eventually...

"Commander..." Montpelier didn't turn to look at him as she spoke. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" 

He chuckled and looked at her, smiling wistfully. "How do you know I wasn't just trying to clear my mind?"

She turned to meet his gaze and gave him a small smile. "I know you well enough to realize when you've got something to say, Commander. You should know that by now."

He looked at the ground, chuckling softly. "Haha... true enough, Monty." He sighed and looked up, staring across the water. "You're right. It wasn't just to take a break."

The stoic cruiser shuffled a bit closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Called it. Hehe..."

The light chuckle from his companion made him blush, and he smiled at her. "Monty... I brought you out here to ask you something..." He felt her head leave his shoulder, inwardly trying to stay calm as he saw her look at him from the corner of his eye.

"You... want to ask me something?" Montpelier raised an eyebrow at the Commander, trying to think about what he could possibly want to ask her that required them coming to-

No.

Montpelier gasped quietly, her eyes widening as she took a step back.

There's no way...

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she watched him slowly reach his hand into a pocket...

Not the question?

Montpelier gripped the railing tight, not wanting to say anything in case she was wrong-

Oh god, is this actually happening?

-and the Commander pulled out a small black box.

Montpelier nearly collapsed to the ground right then and there.

"C-commander...?" She couldn't even get her words out clearly. "I-is that... what I th-think it is...?"

He turned to meet her gaze, and she couldn't help but stare into his eyes. Please say something, please answer me-

He nodded.

The cruiser felt like she was paralyzed. She couldn't move a muscle. She'd secretly been hoping for this, but... she didn't think he shared the feelings she had for him.

Evidently, she had been wrong.

She was completely silent as her Commander got down on one knee and opened the box...

...revealing a small, beautiful ring within.

"Montpelier... will you marry me?"

...There was an awkward silence as Montpelier could do nothing but stare at the ring.

"..."

"Yes."

----------------------

One month after the proposal...

The Commander stood at the altar, wearing his best suit. Denver stood beside him, having offered to take on the duties of the best man (since there were no other male officers at the Port). She was wearing a suit not unlike the one Cleveland had bought a while back for herself when going to parties, and she was also wearing a huge grin as she barely contained the urge to bounce up and down in excitement.

"This is so awesome, Commander! I can barely keep still, haha..." Denver looked at him and gave him a small fist bump. "I'm so excited for you!"

"Try your best, Denver. I know you can do it." He chuckled softly and patted her shoulder.

Before either could say anything else, the doors in the back opened, and everyone present turned their heads, almost in unison, to watch.

After a few moments, two figures walked through the doors and started walking down the aisle. There were several scattered ooh's and ahh's in the crowd.

One of them was Cleveland, wearing her tuxedo as expected. The other... was an almost unrecognizable Montpelier. The Commander's heart completely melted when he saw just how beautiful his bride-to-be was in the wedding dress Cleveland had picked out for her. She was blushing a little as her elder sister walked her down the aisle, the pair looking almost perfectly like a father giving away his daughter in marriage. Again, there were no other male officers, and Cleveland looked boyish enough in her tux to pass as one.

Cleveland winked at the Commander as she led her silver-haired sister onto the altar, then let her arm go and stepped back. Montpelier looked at her groom-to-be and smiled shyly as he removed her veil.

"Hi, Commander." She spoke quietly and blushed as he returned her smile with a warm one of his own.

"Hey, Monty." He blushed as well, taking a step back and gazing at her, taking in the magnificent sight before him.

Richelieu, battleship and Cardinal of the Iris Libre, smiled at the two of them, acting as the minister to officiate the wedding. "We are gathered here today to witness the union of our dear Commander and our good friend Montpelier in holy matrimony..."

She continued with the speech for a minute, then turned to the Commander and nodded to him. "Your vows, Commander."

He cleared his throat and looked directly into Montpelier's eyes, smiling softly. "Well... I didn't actually write anything down, so... Monty, when I first arrived at this Port, I had no idea what was in store. All I knew was that I'd be working with hundreds of shipgirls, with no clue about the many... interesting personalities I'd meet." He dropped the smile and glanced directly at Akagi, who tried to hide her presence. Looking back at Montpelier and smiling again, he continued, "I certainly never expected to see my first 'Super Rare' unit manifest so early. I knew Prinz Eugen was going to be arriving after I had been here about a week... but you were first. You got here first, Monty...

"...and at that time, I never thought I'd be here today, preparing to spend the rest of my life with you. Yet here we are."

He sighed and cleared his throat again before continuing, "Montpelier, with all your insistence that I give your sister Cleveland some more respect..." He winked at the tuxedo-clad cruiser. "I only ended up gaining so much more respect for you. You're dedicated to the ones you care about, and you don't hesitate to step in when you need to. You're amazing, Monty, and I love you with all my heart. I wouldn't have it any other way."

She blushed heavily and smiled at him, mouthing a "thank you" before Richelieu turned to her. "USS Montpelier, hull number CL-57, your vows."

The cruiser looked down, letting out a long sigh, before meeting her beloved Commander's gaze once more.

"...I don't just blindly listen to everything my big sis says..." She glanced at Cleveland, who gave her a thumbs up as encouragement. "I listen... because she's always... always... right."

Montpelier let out another sigh. "And now... I've finally realized why she chose you, Commander..." She smiled warmly at him, her ruby-red eyes sparkling with love.

"It's because... you're outstanding." She blushed a little and continued. "Before I came out here, I asked my big sis what I should do... and she told me to follow my heart. So that's why I'm here: to follow my heart."

She looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "Before today, I would've asked you if you're following yours, Commander... now I know you are."

Someone started to clap. It was Cleveland, so no one dared to stop her, and suddenly the entire party of attendees joined in the applause for a solid half minute before quieting down again. By the time the room was silent again, both the Commander and Montpelier were blushing.

Richelieu sighed and smiled, turning to the Commander. "Do you, dear Commander, take USS Montpelier to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

He smiled. "I do."

The cardinal looked at Montpelier. "Do you, USS Montpelier, take the Commander to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

There was nothing but silence for several long moments as the cruiser sighed. Then...

"I do."

The two of them exchanged their rings, grinning at one another, and then, with a bright smile, Richelieu stated, "You may kiss the bride."

Which the Commander did gladly, stepping towards his wife and leaning down to kiss her gently on the lips. She purred softly and reciprocated, his hands cupping her cheeks. The room erupted into cheers and applause as the newly wedded couple exchanged their first kiss as husband and wife.

When they finally broke the kiss, Montpelier was the first to speak. "I love you so much, Commander."

He smiled at her. "I love you very much, my dear Monty."

With loving smiles on both their faces, they pulled one another into a tight embrace, neither wanting to ever let go.

The afterparty would end with the two of them passed out in bed together, very much drunk and exhausted from dancing. Somehow, neither had stepped on the other's toes.

All in all, it was a fun night.

------------------------

Present day...

As the movie drew to a close, the Commander watched as the Cleveland-class sisters all began to stir. Most of them got up, put on their coats, and bade the Commander (and Montpelier) good night as they left. After the last of her sisters had left, Montpelier yawned softly and pressed against the Commander.

"Mmm... I guess that's the end of the movie, huh?" She blinked a few times before looking up at her husband. "I bet you didn't even pay attention to it."

He chuckled and nodded. "Yep. I was too busy reminiscing." He leaned over and kissed her head, making her purr softly.

"Lemme guess... our wedding day?" She glanced down at the ring on her hand, smiling as the light reflected off of it. "Understandable. I doubt I'll ever forget that day..."

"Mhm." He smiled at her and gently ruffled her hair. "You seemed pretty comfortable, cuddling up with me even in the company of all your sisters." He smirked a bit as she blushed.

"Y-yeah... I don't have a problem with that now." She kissed his cheek and smiled. "Haven't had a problem with it for a few months, love. Hehe."

It was his turn to blush at the use of the nickname. "Fair enough..." He yawned softly and leaned back. "I'm tired..."

"Me too, Commander." She nuzzled his chest and sighed. "Let's head to bed."

He smiled and rubbed her arm gently. "That, Monty, sounds like an excellent idea." He picked her up in a bridal carry, to which she barely even reacted, and brought her to the bedroom.

The pair got undressed and quickly got under the blankets together, snuggling close to one another to stay warm on this cold night. With their arms wrapped around one another, they exchanged a long but lovingly gentle kiss.

"I love you, Commander."

"I love you too, Monty."

The couple soon fell asleep together, the closeness of their snuggling signifying the strength of their love for one another.

The two of them couldn't have been happier.

Chapter Text

Almost there... almost there... almost there... haah...

Every step the Commander took made it feel like a lead weight was dragging down his feet as he ran. It wasn't so much a run now as it was a jog, but even that was questionable. He felt like he'd been running for hours...

...and he still had to do the final stretch. He groaned and kept moving, knowing that if he stopped now, he was never going to make it to the finish line.

"You got this, Shikikan! Keep going~!" He heard a sort of barking voice cheer him on from up ahead, and as he focused his sight beyond the line, he could make out Yuudachi bouncing up and down and waving to him. He grimaced and willed his body to keep running, keep jogging, keep walking, keep crawling...

"FINISH!"

The last thing the Commander saw before he blacked out was Yuudachi's relieved grin as he finally finished the marathon.

...

With a start, the Commander sat up - tried to, at any rate. "Gah!" He yelled out as every muscle in his body screamed in pain, and he fell flat on his back on...

...a bed? That was odd. He hadn't been in a bed when he-

...Oh, right. The marathon... He groaned as he felt his entire body aching from overexertion. He felt absolutely drained. I shouldn't have done that...

"Shikikan, you alright?" A worried yip came from somewhere to his right. Groaning again, the Commander turned his head to see...

...Yuudachi. Her ears perked up a little as he turned to look at her, and she started to crawl over to him. Dimly the Commander realized two things: 1, he was in Yuudachi's dormitory, and 2, it was now dark outside, and the Sakura destroyer had turned on a lamp.

"Yuudachi... I made it across, right...?" His voice clearly betrayed his worry. "That last finish call wasn't for someone else, right?"

"Heh, don't worry, Shikikan. You made it, even if you did collapse the second you stopped running. We were all kinda worried, but I've been making sure you're ok!" The doglike girl grinned and held out a piece of... meat. As expected of Yuudachi, she always had a bit of meat ready in case anyone, herself especially, needed a little snack. In this case, it was a drumstick.

He tried to bring his arm up, but he gasped in pain as his muscles ached. "Ngh... I can't move..." He sighed. "You, uh... might have to help, Yuudachi..." He frowned a bit.

The girl shrugged and scooted closer to her Commander, bringing the drumstick to his mouth. "Open wide, Shikikan~" She smiled as he took a small bite from the food, watching carefully to make sure he could still swallow. When she was satisfied that he could eat without too much difficulty, she continued to feed him.

Once he decided he'd had enough, he sighed and lay his head back on the pillow. After a few moments, he whispered, "What time is it, Yuudachi?"

"Hmm..." The destroyer checked her phone. "8 pm. You finished at 3." She sighed softly and yawned, turning off the lamp before flopping down next to him. "I brought you back here with the help of my sisters, and you've basically just done nothing but sleep the entire time." She looked at him and smiled, moving closer and pulling up a blanket to cover both of them.

"Y-yuudachi...?" The Commander blushed a bit as she climbed onto his chest and wrapped her arms around his frame. It suddenly registered with him that she had removed her clothing sometime between turning off the light and laying down next to him. "A-are you sure this is-"

She shushed him by putting her finger on his lips. "It's fine, Shikikan~ We aren't gonna do anything weird~" She shimmied upwards and kissed his lips softly before sliding back and laying her head on his chest. "Mmm... good night, Shikikan...~"

He couldn't help but smile at the doglike girl sleeping on his chest. Gently he moved a hand up to her head and pet it softly, before whispering back, "Good night, Yuudachi..."

----------------------

It had been a couple of days since the marathon, and the Commander was still very sore. He constantly needed Yuudachi's help to even move, and so he had appointed her as his secretary for the time being.

"Yuudachi, could you please get me the file over there on the shelf?" He weakly gestured to the file in question.

Following his gaze, Yuudachi nodded. "Got it!" She went over and pulled up a chair so she could reach-

"I got i- wh-whoa- KYAHHHH!"

-and the chair tilted over as she stood up, causing her to topple backwards onto the floor, hitting it with a loud CRASH!

"Yuudachi, are you-?! Gah...!" Instinctively, the Commander had tried to get up and check on her, but was forced to stay seated as pain seared through his body. "Are you ok?!"

The destroyer groaned a bit and sat up, shaking her head to clear it. "Y-yeah, I'm fine... I got the file!" She grinned and winced, holding up the file. "Oof... mighta hit my head though..."

The Commander was very sympathetic to her pain, and gently patted his leg. "C'mon, Yuudachi, lay down over here."

The destroyer immediately growled at him, shooting him a glare. "Grr... Don't treat me like a kid, Shikik- Owwww..." She winced again, unable to maintain the glare. She sighed and gave up, trudging over to him and laying her head on his lap. "There... now wh- Mmm...~" She purred softly as he gently started to rub her head, massaging her temples a bit as well. "Ohh... that feels good...~"

He smiled as she expressed her enjoyment, continuing his ministrations and leaning back in his chair. Letting out a groan, he focused on giving Yuudachi a nice headrub. "Feels good, huh?"

"Yeah... hehe~" She giggled softly as he continued, closing her eyes-

-and the next thing she knew, she was on the couch.

"Huh?" The girl blinked a few times and yawned, looking around. The sun was still up, but... where was the Comm-

"Ah... Akagi... st-stop..."

-that explained it. She sat up and turned to see Akagi sitting on the Commander's lap, her chest practically right in his face. He was moaning... in pain. Probably from being sat on. The foxgirl evidently didn't realize how sore her "Shikikan-sama" was, even now. Yuudachi had to rectify that.

"Oi! Akagi!" Yuudachi barked at the carrier. That got her attention.

Slowly, Akagi turned to look at the destroyer and glared at her. Someone like Isuzu or Kisaragi would've been out of that office in a heartbeat, but Yuudachi stood her ground, growling softly at the carrier.

"You would dare disturb my time with our Shikikan-sama? What gives you that right-"

The destroyer cut her off. "What gives you the right to make him stop petting me?" The instant she said that, she swore inwardly. Damn it... now Shikikan probably knows I actually want to be petted... She felt her cheeks heating up, but did not care.

"Ha! So you enjoy being treated like a little pet, do you, 'Dachi?" The destroyer inwardly cringed at the pun, as the carrier smirked at her and giggled before slowly standing up, removing the weight from the Commander's legs. "Is that what you've been doing the past two days, dog?"

Yuudachi bristled at the use of the word "dog". "I'm not a dog!" She snarled and raised her hands up like claws. "And you're being a nuisance, so get outta here!"

The foxgirl snickered and walked over to the smaller girl. "So fierce... yet so weak~ It'll be fun to put you in your place someday, Yuudachi~" She turned and walked out, her tails brushing against the destroyer's bare waist. It didn't tickle at all, it was just annoying. As the door finally closed, Yuudachi let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in.

"Shikikan, are you alright?"

The Commander groaned softly and nodded, too tired to move. "Yeah, Yuudachi... I'm fine... how about you?"

She nodded and came over to him, carefully jumping up into his lap. "How long was she here for?"

"She was here about five minutes after you fell asleep, and she was only just settling down on my lap when you interrupted." He gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Yuudachi. Sorry I didn't wake you when she came in."

The destroyer just smiled back and kissed his lips, purring softly. "Mmm... it's ok, Shikikan. As long as you're safe, I'm good~" She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head on his chest. After a few moments, she felt him wrap his own arms around her small frame and hold her there.

Yuudachi sighed softly and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would take her again, when-

"So, you like headpats, huh?"

She could almost hear the Commander grin widely as her cheeks went red.

"Y-yeah... I do..."

She was purring happily a few seconds later as he brought one hand up to scratch her ears, and she was sleeping a minute after that.

--------------------

A couple of weeks later...

"Ready, Yuudachi?"

"Ready, Shikikan~!"

The Commander chuckled as the destroyer crouched and looked up at him. Or more specifically, the ball he held in his hand.

"And... go!" He threw the ball, and instantly Yuudachi sprinted after it, her eyes never losing sight of it as it fell-

-and not watching where she was going.

"WATCH OUT!" He shouted out to her-

THUD!

-before she slammed into a tree.

"Oww...." She moaned in pain as the ball bounced to the ground next to her. She picked it up with a wince and turned to the Commander. "I got it...!"

He couldn't help but shake his head and give her a thumbs-up as she jogged back over to him, holding her head and wincing every so often. "You alright, Yuudachi? Looked like a bad impact there."

She groaned and sat down next to him, and he joined her on the ground. "Ugh... stupid tree... should've gotten out of the way...~" She giggled softly and smiled at him.

With barely a moment's hesitation, the Commander sat criss-cross and patted his lap. "C'mon, Yuudachi." He gave her a smirk as she blushed and placed her aching head on his leg.

"Thanks, Shikikan...~" She purred softly and closed her eyes, letting the pain be replaced by a mild, cozy pleasure as he began to rub her head...

...she opened one eye and glared at Akagi, who had been watching them intently. The carrier rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Yuudachi to smile in satisfaction and close her eye again.

As the Commander rubbed her head, she purred and let out a quiet whisper...

"I love you, Shikikan...~"

Wait. Damn it! Not again, I didn't mean to-

"I love you too, Yuudachi." She felt him lean down and kiss her forehead gently, making her cheeks heat up instantly.

Fine. Maybe it wasn't such a terrible mistake after all.

Yuudachi dozed off on the Commander's lap, and he too eventually decided to take a nap right there outside the office.

No one dared to interrupt them.

Chapter Text

"Brrrr..."

The Commander shivered as he pulled his coat tighter around himself. Cold didn't begin to describe how bad it was today. It was freezing.

Of course, that wasn't unexpected. After all, it was the middle of winter, and when winter came to the Port, snow soon followed.

Some of the smaller shipgirls might have called it a "winter wonderland". The Commander called it an absolute nightmare.

Duty calls, however, which was why he was now briskly walking to his office as snow continued to fall. As he approached, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, causing him to turn to see what it was.

He was both surprised and unsurprised to see his secretary, Murmansk, building a snowman near the door. It was already mostly done, and the Omaha-class cruiser was in the middle of adding sticks for arms and some acorns for eyes and a mouth.

As he watched, the Commander suddenly had a vision of a smaller version of the girl standing back from an equally small snowman, her eyes going wide and her mouth opening into a grin of sorts. He shuddered, suppressing the urge to chuckle at the strange sight in his mind's eye as Murmansk turned to look at him.

"Morning, Commander~♪" The cruiser smiled warmly and waved to him, her tails swaying slightly in the wind. Briefly turning back to her snowman to add the final acorn, she patted its head affectionately and made her way towards the office door.

"M-morning, Murmansk." The Commander stuttered as he smiled to his secretary. "Nice snowman y-you got there." With a shiver, he brought his coat even tighter around his body, fumbling for his keys.

"Mmhmm, thanks~ Been working all morning on it~♪" She chuckled a bit and waited for him to unlock the door and open it. "You doin' alright?"

He nodded, pulling his keys out of the door handle and quickly stepping inside before breathing a sigh of relief as the warmth of the office hit him. "Ahh... thank god..."

The cruiser beside him giggled and closed the door, finally shutting out the cold of the outdoors. "Mhm, it's good to be warm again~" Before he could do anything else, he felt her hands on his shoulders, smiling a little as he pulled off his coat and hung it up near the door before quickly giving him a hug. "Anyway, we should get started, hm~?"

With a nod, the Commander went to his seat and pulled out the first document. This was gonna be a long day...

------------------------

It had been a few hours since the two of them had started the day's work. Murmansk was out getting some food, and probably any mail that had been sent overnight.

"Haah..." With a sigh, the Commander finished signing the last piece of paperwork from the morning load. As he placed down his pen, the lock on the door clicked, and Murmansk walked in holding a tray of food in one hand, and a bunch of papers in the other. "Oh, welcome back, Murms."

"Thanks, Commander." The cruiser walked to the desk and placed down the tray before riffling through the papers for a moment. "Ah, here we are... You have new mail~" She held out an envelope with a seal on it.

"Huh... wonder what this is?" He took the envelope and examined the seal. It was... from the Northern Parliament? "That's interesting... looks like your comrades are asking me to join them for some drinks later..."

"Oh? This is the first I'm hearing about this~" As the Commander held out the letter for her to see, her eyes scanned it before going wide. "Ooh..." Her look of curiosity quickly evolved into a wide, adorable grin as she finished reading the letter. "They're asking you to bring a guest~ Optionally, of course... but I doubt you'd consider it that way, right, Commander~?"

He had flashbacks to the vision from earlier and chuckled, causing the cruiser to eye him questioningly. "Something funny, Commander?"

He shook his head and smiled. "Your expression just now was adorable, that's all."

She raised an eyebrow and smiled, walking over to him and giving him a hug. "Well, thanks, Commander~♪" She stood up and held out the letter. "Now, are you gonna bring me with you or not~?"

He sighed and nodded. "I'd be an idiot not to, Murms." He looked up into her heterochromatic eyes and smiled. "Of course, I'm probably also an idiot for agreeing to this, aren't i?"

Murmansk smirked. "Maybe." She sat back down and started working on the new batch of papers, her sudden return to work reminding the Commander they still had to get this done before going to the thing tonight.

-------------------------

With a groan, the Commander sat back in his chair after signing the final piece of paperwork. Taking a glance outside, he realized it was already dark out, although to his relief it had stopped snowing.

"Haah...~♪" Murmansk let out a sigh and stretched her arms up, feeling her joints crack after sitting for so long. "Thank god that's over with... Now, then, Commander... shall we~?"

Smiling at his secretary, he stood up and stretched as well, wincing as his back cracked a bit. "Ngh... yeah, let's head over." As he walked over to his coat, Murmansk suddenly cut in front of him and grabbed it first. "Wh-"

Before he could question her further, she walked behind him and helped him put on the coat. "There we go, Commander~" She gave him a peck on the cheek and intertwined her arm with his. "Now, let's go~"

The Commander sighed and smiled at his companion. "Very well." With that, the pair left the office and headed to the Northern Parliament dorms.

...

"Welcome, Comrade!" The booming voice of Gangut greeted the Commander and Murmansk as they finally arrived at the residence of the Northern girls. The battleship pulled him into a tight embrace, patting his back perhaps a bit too hard, and practically dragged him inside.

"Good to see you, Gangut. How's everyone holding up?" He smiled at his friend and struggled to keep pace with her as she led him further in.

"Ah, we've been doing quite well, Comrade. It's been too long since you've joined us for drinks! We thought we'd just remedy that!" She grinned at him as they finally arrived in a large room, a bar from the looks of it. He wasn't surprised, given the Northern Parliament's reputation for being fans of vodka. 

He saw the familiar faces of Sovetskaya Belorussiya, Sovetskaya Rossiya, Kirov, Minsk, Gromky, Grozny, Gremyashchy, Tallinn, Tashkent, Avrora, Chapayev, Pamiat Merkuria, and Stremitelny (or Snezhok, as he called her). However, there was one face he couldn't quite recognize...

The shipgirl in question noticed his lingering gaze and walked over to him, extending a hand. "Greetings, Comrade Commander. I am Sovetsky Soyuz, flagship of the Northern Parliament's fleet. I believe this is the first time we've met face-to-face, correct?"

He nodded, taking the hand and shaking it. Her grip was quite firm, although she seemed to be holding back given that she could easily break his fingers. "It's an honor to meet you, Soyuz."

"Likewise, Comrade." Without another word, the battleship turned and walked back to her spot. Murmansk sidled up to the Commander and grinned at him.

"Welcome to my home, Commander~♪" She giggled and hugged him before going over to Tashkent, taking a seat next to the destroyer. He went over to them and was about to sit down when-

"I don't think so, Comrade~"

-he was stopped by Sovetskaya Belorussiya. With a sigh, he turned and walked over to a barstool, taking a seat next to the battleship.

This was bound to be an interesting night, to say the least.

---------------------------

After a few hours, even the shipgirls were feeling tipsy. By this point, the Commander had long stopped drinking, his head pounding as his body tried to process the sheer amount of vodka he had consumed as he lay down in a booth. Grozny, Gromky, Snezhok, and Gremyashchy were asleep on the floor; Tallinn was passed out with Tashkent and Kirov at a table; and all of the Northern battleships were drunkenly conversing about who knows what at the bar.

Murmansk, Pamiat, and Avrora, however, were still struggling to pour one last shot of vodka. Soon enough, the latter two gave up, practically slumping over the bar counter as they passed out. As they did so, Murmansk shakily got to her feet and walked over to the Commander, almost tripping over Grozny as she sat down across from him.

"Ngghhh..." The Commander moaned in pain, his head aching from drinking too much. He opened one eye when he heard footsteps, and the last thing he saw before passing out was Murmansk's drunken, yet satisfied, grin.

...

When the Commander woke up a little while later, he noticed three things once his eyes adjusted to the dark.

First, someone's body was pressed against his back.

Second, that person had no clothes on.

Third, there was a crumpled-up uniform, complete with floofy tails, on the floor below.

"...Murms...?" He groaned, his head pounding still, but less so than he last remembered.

"Hmhm...~♪ Heya, Commander~" He felt the cruiser shift behind him, her head resting against his neck. She had her arms wrapped around his chest, holding him close to her form.

"Umm... why are you...?" He couldn't bring himself to finish the question, but she understood.

"Felt too warm in my uniform~" She giggled softly and kissed his neck, pulling a blanket up around them. "Don't worry, I didn't do anything to you~♪"

He sighed, although it came out more as a moan of pain, and reached down to put his hand over hers. At his touch, she took hold of the hand and squeezed it a bit.

"Thank god tomorrow's the weekend..."

"Mhm~" She murmured her agreement and kissed his cheek, resting her head against his shoulder. As his eyes began to close from exhaustion, he heard her whisper into his ear, "Thanks for bringing me, Commander~"

He smiled, sleep starting to overtake him. "No problem, Murms... no problem..."

God, I hope I don't have to explain this to Monty...

Zzz....

Chapter Text

Clink!

As the Commander put down his pencil, it clattered onto the desk and rolled off, falling to the floor.

"Dammit." He sighed and leaned over...

...only to find his secretary already there, picking up the pencil. "Here you go, Commander."

He blinked a couple of times before nodding and taking the fallen item. "Thanks, Colorado."

The battleship nodded, her mouth hidden by the long-necked jacket she always wore. He thought her outfit gave her a kind of edgy vibe, but he didn't mind. Beneath it, she wasn't too bad of a person.

Sitting up again, the Commander returned to his paperwork... before realizing that Colorado had not moved from her spot.

"Uhh... you ok, Colorado?"

After a couple of moments, the Eagle Union battleship blinked and shook her head, turning to look at him. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, Commander, I just got lost in thought." She stood up and went back to her seat. "My sisters... they're both out on commission right now, aren't they?"

He nodded before consulting his commission list. "Yeah, I think... yeah, they're both out on Defense Exercise III. Should be back in..." He looked up at the clock for a moment. It was 12 PM. "About... 4 hours?"

His secretary sighed and nodded. "Mhm... alright, thanks."

"No problem," he replied before leaning forward. "Why? Something the matter?"

Colorado shook her head. "Nah... just wondering." She leaned back and rubbed her eyes. At this point, the Commander realized there were slight bags under her eyes.

"Colorado, have... have you slept at all lately?" There was obvious concern in his voice as he folded his arms on his desk.

The battleship hesitated before sighing and shaking her head. "No."

He frowned. As much as he knew the amount of stamina the shipgirls had, he also knew that they needed sleep just as much as he did. "When did you last sleep, Colorado?"

Her brow furrowed for a moment as she thought about this question. "Hmmm... Yesterday." She stifled a yawn and crossed her legs. "Don't worry, Commander. I feel fine."

The Commander's expression could literally only be expressed as a "bruh" face. "Colorado, either go nap on the couch or go back to your dorm and sleep. I can't risk you keeling over from exhaustion if you have to sortie."

Her eyes widened at his order... but she didn't dare disobey. With a sigh, Colorado stood up and walked over to the couch, flopping onto it and staring at the ceiling. "Fine, Commander... only 'cause you said so..."

He smiled at her, nodding a bit. "There we go." With a slight yawn of his own, he went back to his paperwork...

-----------------------------

Scritch scritch scritch...

"Phew... all done..." The Commander leaned back in his chair after signing the last document, letting out a yawn and looking at the-

Shit, it's already 3:45... the girls are gonna be back in 15 minutes...

With a groan, he stood up and stretched, wincing as his back popped in several places. "Ow..." He sighed and looked over at Colorado.

"Zzz..." The battleship was snoring lightly as she slept on the couch, her expression oddly peaceful for someone so used to fighting. He walked over to her and just silently watched his secretary nap. He didn't want to wake her up, but he knew he had to. After all, she probably wanted to see her sist-

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-

"GAH!"

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring, making the Commander yelp in shock. His exclamation woke up Colorado, and she shot up to her feet, accidentally bumping into him. "Oof!"

He fell onto his rear, grunting as he hit the floor. "Ow..." he muttered for the second time in about as many minutes. "You ok, Colorado?" She had fallen back onto the couch.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She shook her head to clear it, glancing towards the info screen. "We can talk about what you were doing later, sir. We've got company."

Looking to the screen, the Commander realized it had been a proximity alert, which meant... "Sirens. Dammit." He sighed and stood up, dusting off his uniform before grabbing his cap. "Let's go, Colorado."

"Understood." She nodded and stood back up, going to the door and giving him a pat on the shoulder as she went past him. "You're not in any trouble, Commander, just so you know."

"Thanks." He smirked a bit before going back to a serious face as the two ran outside to assess the situation.

...

"Colorado! Commander!"

The voice that called out to them was none other than Maryland, one of Colorado's sisters and a fellow member of the so-called "Big Seven" battleships. She was moderately damaged, and behind her, the pair could see West Virginia, the third sister, was in a similar state. They were accompanied by Miry, Ayanami, Denver, and Köln, all of whom were in various states of damage. He wasn't sure how bad it was, but some of the wounds looked... deep.

Maryland grunted as she turned around and launched a powerful salvo. "Thank goodness you're here. We need backup, ASAP!"

"Roger! Colorado, sortieing-" Colorado began to sprint towards the water, but before she could...

"Hold up!" The Commander put a hand on her shoulder. "We still need to figure out what's goi-"

She glared at him. "Sir, please don't stop me."

He sighed and relented, his hand leaving the battleship's shoulder. "Go on, I'll call for backup."

"Understood." She turned to the sea and started to run. "Colorado-class battleship No. 1, Colorado, sortieing!"

Her rigging flashed into existence as she leapt onto the water with a splash. Within seconds she could see a horde of Sirens approaching the port, evidently chasing after the exhausted commission fleet.

Gritting her teeth, the battleship felt energy building up inside her, and she skated out to come even with the commission ships. Aiming her guns at the Sirens, she let out a salvo and felt the energy inside her reach a breaking point-

"It's time to show you the true power of the Big Seven!" She shouted out her battle cry and unleashed the energy, in time with both Maryland and West Virginia.

In unison, three massive barrages formed in front of the sisters before shooting forwards and slicing into the Siren ship, destroying several of them at once. The Commander grinned as he watched the spectacle unfold. It always gave him chills when these barrages activated in unison, as rare as it may be.

But still the Sirens advanced.

As the commission fleet jumped back to dry land, their riggings vanished. Denver immediately collapsed to the ground, with Köln picking her up and nodding to the Commander. "I'll get everyone to the infirmary, Kommandant. You focus on those blasted Sirens!"

He was surprised by the Iron Blood cruiser's minor outburst, but he shot her a thumbs up before running to the edge of the dock. "Colorado, reinforcements are almost here. Can you hold them back a bit longer?"

His secretary turned to him, her eyes glimmering with excitement. "Who do you think I am, Commander? I'll never let those Siren scum get here."

"That's what I like to hear!" He grinned and turned back, seeing the returned fleet heading to Vestal. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see four more battleships approach the water. It was the remaining Big Seven, Nelson, Rodney, Mutsu, and Nagato. "Get out there, girls!"

"Roger!" They all cried in unison before jumping out, their riggings flaring to life as Colorado launched another volley in time with them.

They all shouted out as one: "Witness the power of the Big Seven!"

BOOM!

5 massive barrages, identical except for Nagato's and Mutsu's, flared outwards and slammed into the Siren fleet, annihilating every enemy ship. Nelson smirked in satisfaction while Mutsu tackled her sister into a hug, eliciting a squeak of embarrassment from the Sakuran Flagship. Rodney gave Colorado a pat on the shoulder, which the Eagle Union battleship reciprocated with a glint of relief in her eyes.

When Colorado got back to shore, the Commander went over to her and gave her a pat on her shoulder, smiling brightly. "Great work out there, Colorado."

She nodded. "Thanks, sir." As she started walking, he thought he saw her... blush? Huh. Interesting...

-------------------------

After returning to the office and inventorying the rewards from the 10-hour commission, the Commander leaned back in his chair and sighed. Colorado, for her part, had flopped back down on the couch and was now scrolling through her phone. After a few minutes...

"Commander."

He looked up, startled by the sudden interjection. "Huh? What's up, Colorado?"

The battleship looked at him and pulled down the top of her jacket, revealing her mouth. "I told you we were gonna talk about earlier once this was done. So, why were you standing there?"

He felt his cheeks redden a bit, but he cleared his throat. "Well, I was gonna wake you since your sisters were coming back soon, but... you just looked so peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you."

She studied him intently for several moments before slowly nodding. "...Ok..." She let a small smirk flash across her features. "Sure you weren't just ogling me?"

That got a blush out of him, and she chuckled as he stammered, "N-no!"

"I know, I know, I'm just messing with ya. I know you well enough, Commander, to know you wouldn't do that." She sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm surprised you manage to put up with me so well, Commander, given my... reputation for having a bad temper."

He smiled genuinely at his secretary. "I have yet to see you show it, Colorado... except maybe when I tried to hold you back."

She nodded. "Yeah, I've... been doing my best to hide it since you appointed me as your secretary." There it was again, that blush.

"Colorado, are you blushing?" The Commander saw no point in delaying that question.

Her eyes widened as she finally realized it. "...I guess I am. Yeah."

He smiled at her. "Why is that?"

The battleship just shrugged. "I dunno... I... I guess I just wanted to hear your praise?" She looked away from her Commander, the blush very evident now.

He sighed and walked over to her, sitting near her feet and placing a hand on her arm. "You like hearing it, huh?"

She nodded slowly, opening the jacket a bit more and revealing her smile. "It's... become something I'm starting to... crave, almost..." She went red at her own statement, but didn't avert her gaze. "So... I guess what I'm asking is..."

Colorado sat up, shifting next to her Commander and putting her arm around his shoulders. Without a word, he leaned his head on her shoulder, feeling almost strangely at peace in this position, being next to the battleship.

"Commander... could you praise me some more... please?"

He looked up at her and smiled. "Anytime, Colorado." He reached both of his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, which she very quickly returned, unwilling to let him go.

"Thank you, Commander."

Deep inside, the battleship felt something. It was love. Love for her Commander, love for her sisters... love for the other Big Seven.

I'll protect you until my dying breath, Commander. This I swear, in the name of my sisters and friends... I'll protect you.

She knew he would do the same.

Chapter Text

"Ugh..." The Commander groaned softly as he pushed a piece of paperwork aside and buried his face in his hands. "Why did HQ have to send so much stuff...?"

It was past midnight, yet he was still working. His secretary had just ended her last day in the position several hours ago, leaving him alone with nothing but his exhaustion and a mountain of paperwork. He knew who his next secretary was going to be, but... she wouldn't be arriving for several hours, given that pretty much everyone was asleep.

The Commander sighed, putting his pen down and shutting off his computer. He knew there was little chance to get anything else done tonight, so he decided he would just sleep on the couch in the office. He yawned loudly and clicked off the lamp, getting up and going to the couch. He practically flopped onto it and instantly fell asleep...

...

When the Commander woke up, he heard a voice above him...

"K-kommandant...?"

Slowly, he tried to open his eyes, yawning as he did so. "Mmh... huh?"

Standing above him was a silver-haired girl with pale skin and red eyes, her outfit dark-grey on the outside and crimson on the inside. A pair of black-and-red horns came out from either side of her grey cap, and she held an intricately-decorated piece of metal, perhaps a sword?

"Kommandant... d-did you fall asleep here?" The soft-spoken girl eyed him cautiously as he sat up on the couch.

"Yeah..." he admitted, giving her a tired smile. "Good morning, Nürnberg."

"Y-you... you weren't planning to do something weird to me when I arrived, were you...?" She seemed nervous, for some reason, and the Commander shook his head. He'd known Nürnberg for several months now, and while they weren't super close, they had more or less developed a decent sense of the other's personality.

"Of course not, Nürnberg... why would I do something like that?" He was confused as he stretched his arms out, groaning a bit. "Nnh..."

"N-never mind, Kommandant... let's just get started on today's work." The Iron Blood cruiser sighed and went to her chair, sitting down and taking a document from the top of the stack.

The Commander sat there for a moment, completely zoned out from his exhaustion, until suddenly-

"K-kommandant?! Wh-why are you staring at me...?" His secretary's scared tone shook him from his daze, and it was only then he realized he'd been...

...staring at the mountain of paperwork, not Nürnberg. "Uhh... I wasn't...?"

She didn't respond, simply muttering incomprehensibly to herself and returning to work. With a sigh, the Commander stood up and went over to his chair, following suit and beginning the day's work...

----------------------------

It was now lunchtime.

"Hey, Nürnberg-" the Commander began.

"Kommandant, d-do you like brötchen?" The girl cut him off with her sudden question.

"Uhh..." He thought for a moment. "It's been a while since I've gotten the chance to have some, actually. Why do you ask?" He tilted his head as he regarded his secretary.

She nervously tapped her sword against the palm of her hand for a moment. "If w-work goes well... perhaps I can m-make you some?"

He smiled warmly at her. "I appreciate that, Nürnberg. Thank you." He yawned a bit. "I was actually just about to suggest we go for a stroll."

The cruiser blushed, her eyes widening. "Wh-what? Why? Y-you're not thinking-"

The Commander sighed and put his face in his hands again. "No, Nürn... I'm not gonna do anything weird... it's just a stroll."

She was taken aback by the shortening of her name, but recovered and nodded. "V-very well, Kommandant... let's take a break..."

He heard her mutter, "Maybe we can check on Leipzig..."

He stood up and clicked off his computer. "Did you say something about Leipzig?"

"Y-yes... why?" The girl was nervous again...

"She's your sister ship, if I recall correctly... are you worried that something happened to her?" The Commander walked over to his secretary, almost putting a hand on her shoulder, but then thinking better of it.

She evidently noticed his near-action, blushing heavily and shying away from him. "J-just being careful, Kommandant..."

"Alright, we can go check up on her if you want." He smiled warmly and walked to the door to get his coat. "Let's go, then."

"Ok..." Nürnberg stood up and walked over to him, going out the door first. He soon followed her, and they began their first stroll as secretary and Commander.

...

As the pair neared the Iron Blood dorms, Nürnberg noticed a particular piece of rigging floating around...

"Kommandant, isn't that Leipzig's rigging...?" She pointed at the machine, her arm shaking a bit. "We should go check over there..."

"Yeah, let's go see what Fishy's up to." He smiled and started to make his way over, with his secretary close behind.

The piece of mostly-sentient rigging turned to face them as they approached, and its eyes locked onto the Commander's. It let out a series of hisses and beeps before floating over to him and lightly headbutting him.

"Hey, Fishy. How's Leipzig?" He smiled at the machine and patted its head, eliciting the equivalent of an affectionate purr from it before it started to whine slightly. It started to float away from them, looking back to motion the pair to follow.

"M-maybe Leipzig's in trouble...?" Nürnberg sighed and ran after the machine-

-only to trip as her foot caught on a rock. "Aaahhh!"

The Commander rushed forward and, by instinct, wrapped an arm around the girl, stopping her from hitting the ground. "Whoa, easy there, Nürn-"

He realized the uncomfortable position they were in and quickly helped her to her feet before stepping away. "-berg..."

Her face was red as a tomato as she squeaked and kept running towards Fishy. The Commander sighed, mentally kicking himself for forgetting she was uncomfortable with pretty much any close contact at this point, and went on with them.

----------------------------

After checking on Leipzig and finding out she had indeed fainted again, the Commander and his secretary decided they'd had enough of their stroll and went back to the office.

As he sat down, he began to speak. "Nürnberg, I didn't mean to-"

But he went silent as he realized that his actions were intentional, if only to stop her from falling over. "I... I was just-"

The Iron Blood cruiser sighed and looked at him. "K-kommandant... I hope you don't think I'm being too hard on you..." She blushed a bit and looked away. "We've known one another for a while, yet... I-I can never shake the feeling that you're p-planning to do something weird..."

He sighed and walked over, pulling up another chair and sitting beside her. "Nürnberg, I don't blame you for being nervous. I have no real problems with it. However... let me say this."

He smiled and put a hand on his secretary's shoulder, making her blush worsen. She met his gaze and trembled slightly. "K-kommandant...?"

"I promise you, I won't do anything weird to you or Leipzig. Hopefully, that helps." He moved his hand up and gently patted her head. While she didn't audibly react, the cruiser was now shaking more.

"O-ok... I'll believe you, Kommandant." Nürnberg smiled nervously and sighed. With that, the two returned to work once more...

-----------------------------

Several days later...

BOOM!

The sound of cannons firing echoed across the water, just another sound in a cacophony of explosions.

The Sirens were attacking the Port.

"All guns aim... and fire!" Nürnberg cried out as she targeted a Siren destroyer.

Her guns flared to life, launching shell after shell at the smaller vessel and destroying it quickly.

"How many left, Nürnberg?" The Commander's voice came in through her earpiece. She held two fingers up to it and spoke.

"I think there's 5 left, Kommandant. W-we should be able to-"

"Gahhh!" A scream interrupted her report, and she knew who it was.

"Leipzig!?" The cruiser looked over to her sister, who had crumpled onto the water. Fishy was smoking, struggling to fire at the offending Siren cruiser. "Hold on, Leipzig!"

Nürnberg launched another volley at an approaching destroyer, then swiftly made her way over to her sister and aimed her guns at the enemy vessel.

"And... fire!" Her rigging flared to life once more, launching a devastating blow to the Siren boat and annihilating it.

"Nice shot, Nürn! Get Leipzig back to port now, and let the others deal with the rest of the Sirens!" The Commander sounded impressed, but also worried.

"Understood, Kommandant. Retreating with Leipzig now!" She held her sister up and pulled her back to shore. "Hang in there, sister..."

...

"Nnh... N-nürnberg...?"

Leipzig groaned as she struggled to focus on her sister. Her vision was blurry after taking so much damage, and she could feel that Fishy was in less-than-optimal state as well. "Wh-where are we?"

Her sister sighed and kept moving, speeding up a bit. "We're almost home, sister... just hang on..." Her voice betrayed her fear, and Leipzig squeezed her shoulder gently.

"I'll be ok, Nürn... I promise." She smiled and let her sister bring her back to port. Within minutes, they were at the hospital, and Nürnberg had to remain outside of the room so Vestal could repair the damaged cruiser.

"Nürnberg!" A voice from down the hall startled her. She turned to see the Commander walking towards her. "How is she?"

The cruiser nervously tapped her sword against the floor. "I think she'll be ok... I-it doesn't look too serious..." Suddenly, she began to cry softly.

"Hey..." Nürnberg felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and suddenly she heard the Commander whisper, "It's alright..."

She looked up and realized he had pulled her into a hug. She blushed slightly, but didn't try to move out of the embrace. In fact, she rested her head on her Kommandant's shoulder and returned the gesture.

The Commander gently patted the girl's back, feeling her arms go around him as she hugged him in return. "She'll be ok, Nürn. I know it."

The girl sniffled and sighed. "I-i know, Kommandant... but I'm just so worried..." Her tears eventually stopped flowing, and she shuddered slightly in the Commander's arms.

They simply stayed like that until Vestal let them inside.

------------------------------

Two days later...

Leipzig had finally been released from the hospital, with Vestal recommending she avoid combat for a little while.

The Commander was alone in his house, having ended work a couple of hours ago. Nürnberg had left... rather quickly once the day was over, and he was wondering why.

Suddenly, there was a voice from outside. "K-kommandant, could you please open the door?" It was his secretary.

"Be right there!" He called back and stood up, quickly going over and opening the door. There was Nürnberg, carrying a few bags that were full of groceries of some kind. "What's all this?"

She smiled warmly at him and entered the house. "I never got to make you that brötchen last week... so I decided I'd try it now... I-if you're ok with having me over for dinner, that is?" She looked at him hopefully and blushed slightly.

He smiled back and nodded. "Of course, Nürn, I'd be happy to." Shutting the door, he beckoned her over to the kitchen. "Would you like me to assist?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to risk anything we-" She stopped herself and amended her words. "I don't want to risk anything going wrong with the food, so... I'll make it myself." She smiled softly. "Shouldn't take more than... 10, 15 minutes?"

He patted her shoulder and placed the bags on the center island. "Just give me a shout if you need anything, alright, Nürn?"

"Understood, Kommandant. Thank you." She nodded and quickly went about unpacking the groceries and starting her work on the food.

He went back to the living room and sat down, watching as she prepped the ingredients and began to cook. He realized now that her demeanor had very quickly changed since the incident with Leipzig. She was more... comfortable around him. He certainly hadn't expected her to show up at his door with a bunch of food, so that was something.

After 15 minutes, he heard her call out, "Food's ready, Kommandant!"

He smiled and got up. "On my way, Nürnberg!" He chuckled inwardly and made his way to the dining room-

-where he found quite the appetizing meal waiting for him. As he looked at the food, he found what he was looking for... the brötchen.

"Mmm... this looks amazing, Nürn." He smiled at her and sat down, with the cruiser taking a seat next to him. "Well then... shall we?" He gestured to the meal.

She smiled back at him. "Indeed we shall, Kommandant. Please enjoy the meal."

...

After they had finished their meal, the two went to the living room to relax a little. They both sat on the same couch, with Nürnberg resting her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks for the meal, Nürnberg," the Commander said. "It was delicious." He put an arm around her and smiled at the cruiser.

She blushed slightly, but suppressed it and smiled back at him. "It was a pleasure to make it for you, Kommandant." She pressed a bit closer to him, closing her eyes...

...before suddenly, he gently moved her onto her side.

"K-kommandant...?" Nürnberg opened her eyes and looked at him. "What are you doing?"

The Commander yawned and pulled her close to him. "I think I'm gonna go to sleep... I hope you don't mind keeping me company?" He smiled softly at the cruiser, who shook her head gently.

"I don't mind at all, Kommandant... I just wish you had said that before trying to move me..." She blushed slightly. "Don't want to think you're gonna do something weird, right?"

He chuckled softly. "Fair enough, Nürn..."

She smiled and lay down next to her Commander, falling asleep in his arms.

She knew he wouldn't break his promise... and because of that, she felt safe snuggling with him. She knew she had nothing to be afraid of.

It was a nice feeling, safety.

Chapter Text

"Nnnh...~"

The noise came from the couch, where the Commander's new secretary, the Northern Parliament's venerable cruiser Pamiat Merkuria, was lounging. She stretched, making her back pop in a few places, and sighed as she relaxed on her back.

The Commander glanced over to her and raised an eyebrow. "You alright there, Pamiat?"

The Bogatyr-class cruiser smiled at him and flashed him a thumbs-up. "Mhm~ I'm just feelin' a bit sore, ya know~? It's been a pretty long day~" She yawned and stretched again, slowly, trying to tease the Commander.

He refused to be baited in any form, however, and he just nodded before returning to his paperwork.

"Hmph... you're no fun...~" Pamiat grumbled and pouted slightly before rolling over onto her chest and shutting her eyes.

"Sorry to disappoint, Pamiat, but we've got a lot of paperwork to finish today..." The Commander smiled somewhat apologetically.

"Screw paperwork... I just wanna relax~" The cruiser mumbled and looked at him with one eye, smirking a bit as she thought of something. "How about this, once you're done with work, call me and I'll let you hang out with me in my dorm~" She giggled slightly.

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure, why not." He sighed and returned to signing more documents...

Pamiat smiled inwardly as she made herself comfortable and dozed off. Hehe... perfect~

-------------------------

Time: 2000 hours

The Commander put down his pen and stretched, yawning a bit and wincing as his back, stiff from sitting in his chair all day, popped in several places. "Nnh..."

He looked at the couch, seeing Pamiat still asleep. "Hey, Pamiat?"

She woke up slowly when she heard him call for her. "Nnnh? Wazzup, Commander~?" She grinned sleepily.

"Think I'm done for today... you wanna head back?" He smiled a bit and stifled a yawn.

The cruiser sat up slowly and stretched, letting out a yawn as well. "Mmmh... sure~ Sounds good to me~"

The Commander nodded and stood up, clicking off his light and monitor, and started towards the door. As he did, Pamiat stood up and went over to him, wrapping her arms around his left one. "Uhh... you good?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Mhm~ Got a problem with this?" The old cruiser smirked up at him and leaned her head against his arm.

He sighed and shook his head, accepting his fate. "No..."

"That's a good Commander~" She giggled and stayed as she was as they left the office and headed to her dorm.

...

A few minutes later, the pair had reached Pamiat Merkuria's dorm room. As they entered, the cruiser shut the door behind them and giggled. "Alright, Commander... I'm gonna go get changed, so you can go ahead and make yourself comfy on the bed~"

The words somehow got a small blush out of him as he nodded. "Ok, then." He shrugged and went over, flopping onto the bed and sighing. God, he was tired... it turned out sitting in a chair all day, no matter how comfortable said chair was, was not particularly healthy for one's back. He groaned and stared up at the ceiling, zoning out for a few minutes-

-until suddenly, a white clump of cloth went soaring over his head. He almost turned to ask Pamiat what it was... before realizing it was her uniform. He heard her giggle as he visibly kept himself staring upwards.

"I know what you're thinking, Commander~" He heard the rustling of cloth as she put on some casual clothes, and after a minute or two he saw movement from the corner of his eye as the cruiser flopped down next to him on the bed. "Ahhh... finally some time to unwind~"

The Commander looked over at her and saw that she was in a nightshirt with a cherry on the front, and a light-brown sweater that hung off her shoulders. Except for a pair of long white socks... Pamiat really wasn't wearing much else. It was just enough to be decent, but without putting a ton of effort into it... He wasn't sure what to think of that.

"You usually go this casual, Pamiat?" He raised an eyebrow at her and sighed.

She giggled and shook her head. "Nah, not really~" She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Usually I'm... even more casual~" He blushed, as expected, and she chuckled, planting a small kiss on his cheek. "Mwah~"

"I'm not even gonna ask..." The Commander shook his head and looked over to a pile of video games. "Hey, what kind of games do you play?"

The cruiser smirked at him. "All kinds, if you catch my-"

"Pamiat." He cut her off before she could finish.

"Fine, fine... you're no fun, Commander~" She lightly punched his shoulder before moving a bit closer to him. "Usually racing games... why, you wanna have a go~?" She booped his nose.

"If you're up for it, sure." He smiled at her and sat up to get one of the games, but Pamiat pushed him back onto the bed.

"I may be old, but I'm a master of racing games, Commander~ Don't underestimate me~" She giggled and stood up, going over to the games and taking one, as well as an opportunity to try and tease him. It failed, again, and she pouted. "Wow, Commander... you're hard to tease, aren't ya~?"

"Yep. Blame Eugen," he deadpanned. "She's been doing it since her first day."

The Northern cruiser rolled her eyes and loaded up the game. "Alright, sit up, Commander." He complied, and she gave him a controller.

She noticed that he was laying with his legs stretched out. She smiled, an idea popping up as she sat down right between his legs. "Mmmh... there we go~ Perfect way to play~"

He smirked. "You know this isn't gonna work, right?"

Pamiat just shrugged. "Never know if ya don't try, right~? Hehe~" She giggled, and without another word, they began to play the game.

...

An hour later, the Commander had to concede defeat after losing every single race to Pamiat. "If I knew this game better, I might've had a chance to win.

Pamiat giggled and nuzzled his chest. "I think you were just too distracted by having me in your lap~"

He blushed and vehemently denied her tease. She smiled and simply leaned back against him, shutting off the game and sighing softly. "In any case, that was fun~ Thanks, Commander~"

He nodded and gently kissed the top of her head, making the cruiser blush a little. "Thanks for inviting me over, Pamiat."

The cruiser yawned and stretched, groaning as her joints popped. "Mmmh...! My back's so stiff..."

The Commander thought for a moment. "Need a backrub?"

It was Pamiat's turn to blush again as she looked at him. "O-oh~? Hehe, sure~" She rolled onto her chest and smiled up at him. "Do your thing, Commander~"

He sighed and straddled her, placing his hands on her shoulders and applying a moderate amount of pressure as he started the massage. "How's this?"

Pamiat groaned in pleasure as he worked his hands into her shoulders, nodding a bit. "Oooh... perfect~"

He smiled and continued, slowly making his way down and working out the various knots that he found in her back. Every time he got one out, the cruiser let out a groan of bliss as the pain was replaced by a comforting warmth.

After a few minutes of carefully working out the knots, the Commander brought his hands up and simply rubbed her shoulders a bit more. "Just about finished, ok?"

She moaned very softly and murmured out, "Ok...~" Evidently she was enjoying this, which pleased him. It was a bit of a reassurance that he still knew how to relieve some of the shipgirls' pain after a long day of work.

When he was done, he sat up and rolled over onto his back, landing next to the cruiser. "All done." He smiled at her and gently patted her head.

Pamiat was so immersed in the aftermath of the backrub that she could barely manage to protest to the headpats. "Mmmh... didn't Mikasa tell you to respect girls with rich histories...~?"

He nodded. "Yeah, and?" He chuckled softly and just continued. She grumbled and stopped complaining, smiling a bit at her Commander.

The two of them lay there for several minutes, simply enjoying one another's company, before Pamiat finally sat up, yawning. "Mmh... want me to return the favor, Commander~?"

His eyes widened, surprised by her offer. He hadn't really expected this at all. "I... guess so?" He turned over and looked at her. "Go ahead, Pamiat..."

She grinned, shuffling over and straddling the Commander before leaning down and whispering into his ear, "Lemme know if it feels... too good~"

He mumbled something incoherent and buried his face in the pillow. The cruiser smirked and placed her petite hands on his shoulders, shuffling forward a bit to get more purchase on his form. "Here I go~" She smiled and began her massage-

-and immediately, the Commander felt a massive wave of warmth flow over him, causing him to groan. "Mmmpphhh...!"

Pamiat blushed. She did not see that coming. She giggled, trying to hide her surprise. "F-feels pretty good, huh~?"

"Yeah... ohhhh..." He groaned softly as she continued her ministrations, rubbing out every single knot she could find. The Commander practically melted into the bed, unable to move, and she kept going with the massage. "Y-you're really good at this, Pamiat..."

She smiled and kissed his head. "Glad you think so~" After a few minutes, she ran her hands up his back and came to rest on his neck, gently rubbing it. "Almost done~"

"Mmmh..." the Commander moaned in response. He couldn't say anything because of the absolute bliss that was consuming him from Pamiat's expert backrub. When her hands finally left his body, he stifled a small whimper. "Nnh..."

She smiled and flopped on top of him, not even bothering to get off his back. "Mmmh... I think we should sleep... G'night, Commander~" She leaned in and kissed his cheek, and he smiled.

"Mmm... good night, Pamiat..."

--------------------------

Just over a week later...

After their relaxing night together, the Commander had sent in a request to get Pamiat a retrofit. She had been undergoing refitting for several days now, and the Commander had been going through the workdays without her. He felt lonely without the cruiser there.

It was the weekend, and the Commander was just wrapping up the last of the leftover work from the week. He put his pen down-

"Heya, Commander~!"

-and as the Commander looked up from his work, all he registered was a blur of white and a pair of pink eyes flying at him...

WHOOMPH!

"Oof!" He grunted as something - or someone - slammed into him, knocking him off his chair-

-and he blacked out.

...

When the Commander came to, he realized he was no longer at his desk... but on the couch, with something warm pressing against the outsides of his legs.

"Nnnh...?" He slowly opened his eyes...

...and found himself face to face with a newly-retrofitted Pamiat Merkuria. "Mornin', Commander~" She pecked him on the nose and giggled. "Sorry 'bout knocking you out, that was an accident~"

He groaned and shifted upwards, giving her a kiss on the nose in return. "Morning, Pamiat."

Suddenly, it occurred to the Commander that Pamiat was... straddling him. He couldn't hide the blush that crept onto his face. "Uhh... wh-what are you doing?"

Pamiat blushed a little and chuckled before laying down on top of his chest, smiling up at him. "Cuddling with you, of course~ What does it look like~?"

He could only chuckle and wrap his arms around her, snuggling with the old cruiser as she sighed happily. "Mmmm...~"

...

When the Commander woke up, he realized his legs had fallen asleep. "Mmh..." He yawned and looked down at the cruiser resting comfortably on his chest.

Pamiat Merkuria was snoring softly, murmuring occasionally in her sleep. He smiled and gently began to rub her back, laying his head on the pillow behind him and gazing at the ceiling.

He didn't notice the finger coming towards his nose until it was too late.

"Boop!" Pamiat giggled as she tiredly poked the Commander's nose. "Hehe... heya, Commander~"

His face scrunched up in mock protest, then morphed into a smile. "Heya, Pamiat. You sleep well?"

"Mhm, thanks to you~" She smiled and shifted upwards, sliding on his chest so she could plant a little kiss on his lips. He reciprocated it gently, continuing to rub the cruiser's back. "Ahh... this feels great... I could stay here all day~"

"Same. Good thing it's the weekend, huh?" He sighed softly and chuckled as Pamiat nodded her assent.

She rested her head on his chest for a minute before getting an idea. "Hey, Commander..."

"Yeah, Pamiat?" He tilted his head curiously as she grinned at him.

"Whaddaya say we go chill at my place~?"

He smirked and booped her nose. "Sounds like a good plan."

----------------------

After going back to Pamiat's dorm, the two of them just flopped onto the bed and buried themselves under the blankets, snuggling close together.

After a long and lonely week, the Commander was happy to have the old cruiser's company again.

She was just happy to snuggle with him. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Chapter Text

BOOM!

The sounds of cannons firing rent the air as a fierce battle raged on the ocean surface. The Sirens were once again trying to attack the port.

"You would dare to encroach upon this sacred ground?! Begone, heathens of another world!" Nagato's voice pierced the air as her powerful barrage activated. "BIG SEVEN - SAKURA!"

The deadly needles tore through the Siren destroyers while the massive arrows punched holes in the opposing cruisers and battleship. Kawakaze took a brief pause to watch her charge unleash hell upon the Sirens, then wasted no time in providing her aid with an All-Out Assault of her own-

BOOM!

"Ahhh!"

-until Nagato's pained cries rang out, the Siren battleship scoring a massive hit on the Sakura battleship.

"Lady Nagato!" Kawakaze whirled around after firing a wave of torpedoes at the offending vessel, seeing Nagato collapse to the surface of the water. The small girl's shoulder was bloody, and her uniform had been torn in several places. "Hang in there, I'm coming-!"

Before she could do anything else, another shot rang through the air. Kawakaze whipped around to see a massive artillery shell soar through the air...

...and she could only watch in horror as it slammed into Nagato's chest, knocking the battleship back several feet.

"LADY NAGATO!!!!"

The Shiratsuyu-class destroyer's body filled up with rage, and her voice was a deadly whisper as she faced her opponents.

"You'll pay for this, Siren scum."

Before the enemy could react, Kawakaze was gone-

SKREEEEEEEEEE!

-and suddenly they were devastated by another Assault, the source impossible to pinpoint. The destroyer never stayed in one place for too long, making it extraordinarily difficult for the Sirens to target her as she levied attack after attack on their vessels.

When it was all said and done, the Sirens were forced to retreat with what little remaining ships they had.

Kawakaze quelled her rage in an instant, diverting her attention to someone far more important...

"Lady Nagato! Are yo-?" She raced over to the battleship... and found her struggling to stand up. "Lady Nagato, please let me-"

"K-kawakaze... I'll be ok... Just go...!" The battleship coughed, crumpling to the surface again. The destroyer held her up and slowly started to make her way back to the Port.

"Hang in there, Lady Nagato..." Her voice betrayed her worry as they returned home...

------------------------------

"How is she, Miss Vestal?"

Kawakaze was standing in front of Nagato's hospital room, her face barely hiding her great concern. The repair ship sighed and eyed the destroyer wearily.

"It's... bad. I... I should be able to fix her... but she took far too much damage. She won't be able to sortie again for... maybe a month, if not more."

The destroyer slumped to the ground, her face blank. "A month... or more...?" She slowly looked up at Vestal.

"Yes... I'm very sorry, Kawakaze..." The nurse knelt down and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder-

-before Kawakaze abruptly stood up, causing the repair ship to recoil. The destroyer eyed her strangely, a frown creasing her face. "Spare me the pity, please... Just tell me when she wakes up..."

Before Vestal could respond, Kawakaze turned and moved towards the exit, not taking a single glance back. The repair ship sighed and returned to Nagato's room, carefully tending to her many wounds...

...

As Kawakaze stormed out of the hospital, she passed by her elder sister Shiratsuyu.

"K-kawakaze...? Is everything alright?" Her sister grabbed her arm, causing the white-clad fox to momentarily struggle before giving up. Shiratsuyu eyed her with visible concern, and Kawakaze sighed.

"No... I couldn't protect Lady Nagato..." she whispered. "I failed..."

Before she could react, Shiratsuyu pulled her into a tight hug. "S-suyu... I-"

"You didn't fail, Kawa-"

With a slight growl, the younger destroyer pulled free of the embrace, causing her sister to flinch. "Yes, I-!"

Suddenly, she realized what she had done, and her eyes actually teared up. "I-I need to get back to Shikikan... I have work to do..."

Before Shiratsuyu could stop her, Kawakaze ran off, trying not to cry from what she had just done to her sister.

------------------------------

"...so that's what happened..."

Kawakaze's head hung as she recounted what had transpired to the Commander. The two of them sat together on the couch in his office, but she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. Hell, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to look Shiratsuyu in the eye after this.

The Commander sighed and put an arm around her, noticing as her body tensed up briefly before relaxing. "Kawakaze, may I ask you something?"

She looked up at him in mild surprise. "...Sure, I guess so."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so... I guess not obsessed, but hell-bent on protecting Nagato?"

She stared at him blankly before starting, "What the fu-?" She paused, taking a deep breath before looking at him again. "You... you don't know?"

The Commander chuckled slightly at her temporary loss of composure, however slight. "Care to enlighten me?"

The destroyer shrugged and nodded. "My namesake, the original IJN Kawakaze, was part of the Kawakaze-class of destroyers that was assigned to be the escort to Lady Nagato. While I didn't provide the same service during my time as a warship... I do so now to honor my predecessor. And today, I failed..." Her eyes teared up again, prompting the Commander to pull her into an embrace.

"Shhhh... It's ok, Kawakaze. Vestal said she'd pull through, remember? Even if it takes a month or two to recover, it's not like she's permanently out of the action." He gently rubbed the frustrated destroyer's back as she sobbed into his chest. In the back of his mind, he noted the rare display of emotion from the often-stoic girl, likening her personality to Montpelier's. An interesting comparison, in his mind.

"I tried to protect her, Shikikan... and I couldn't..." She barely got her words out between sobs. "I let her get hit... I let those damned Sirens hurt her...!"

Suddenly, she felt something rubbing her ears, causing her to involuntarily purr. She realized it was his hand, and while she had half a mind to tell him off for it... she didn't.

"Mmmh..." She buried her face into the Commander's chest, shutting her eyes as he petted her head. "Th-thank you... Shikikan..."

"Of course, Kawa. I hate seeing you so upset." He smiled and kissed her head softly, making her actually blush a bit. Yeah, she's just like Monty. Probably shouldn't mention that, though... He sighed and held her close to him, comforting her as the tears slowed down.

The Commander suddenly realized it was no longer bright outside, and he glanced at the clock, seeing it was now 2000 hours. He started to get up. "C'mon, Kawakaze... let's get you back to your dorm-"

He was cut off, however, as the destroyer pushed him back onto the couch, looking into his eyes. "No."

He raised an eyebrow and frowned. "No?"

"No. I'm staying with you, Shikikan. Whether you like it or not..." She smiled ever so slightly and nuzzled his chest, her slight affection making him smile.

"Need someone to keep you company, is that it?" He rubbed her head, seeing her blush at his mock accusation.

"Don't need to call me lonely, Shikikan... It would be an insult to my honor." She smiled up at him and crawled up his chest.

"Gods forbid I ever intentionally insult your honor, Kawakaze." He chuckled lightly and put his arms around her back.

"Damn right." Without another word, she pecked him on the lips. "Wouldn't want to leave you all alone here, would I?"

She reflected on her own words for a moment. "Wait, I forgot. You have Montpelier." She facepalmed and sighed, smiling. "You got one up on me now, Shikikan."

He chuckled at her casual tone, kissing her head again. "Don't worry about that."

The two of them went to bed together, snuggling up close with one another as the Commander comforted the white-clad fox.

---------------------------

The next day...

"Mhm... Yeah, she's here... Alright, we'll be there in a few. Thanks."

The Commander hung up the phone and shook Kawakaze's form gently. "Kawa, wake up. Vestal called, Nagato's awake."

She groaned sleepily and smiled. "Oh, good... Guess we're gonna go see her, then?" She cuddled up to him and sighed.

"Mhm. Unless you're too sleepy to move?" He chuckled and rubbed her head.

"N-no... I can get up now..." the destroyer mumbled, blushing a bit as she literally rolled out of bed. "Ow..." She sat up and stretched, yawning as she did so. "Good morning, Shikikan."

"Morning, Kawakaze. Sleep well?" He smiled and watched as she stood up. The girl nodded, walking towards the door.

"Meet you outside, Shikikan?"

He nodded. "I'll be out in a minute."

Kawakaze hummed in assent, walking out to the office and standing by the exit. After a minute or so, the Commander appeared, and she smiled at him. "Shall we?"

He smiled. "Yep." He put on his coat and wrapped an arm around the destroyer's shoulders as they went off to the hospital together.

...

"Lady Nagato, you have visitors."

Once the pair had arrived, Vestal entered the battleship's room and informed her of their presence.

"Mmmh... please s-send them in, Miss Vestal..." The small foxgirl coughed slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

"Mhm." The repair ship nodded and beckoned for the visitors to enter. "Come on in, you two."

Nagato's expression brightened as she saw who had come by to check on her. "Kawakaze... Shikikan... g-good morning..." She smiled lightly as the former rushed over to her and hugged her gently. "K-kawakaze...?"

The destroyer embraced her charge and smiled. "It is good to see you awake, Lady Nagato... I'm so sorry..." A few tears trailed down her cheek as she spoke, and the battleship gently patted her protector's back.

"It is alright, Kawakaze... I do not blame you at all. Only the Sirens are at fault here, not you." She smiled as well, giving the white fox an affectionate headpat.

The destroyer looked up at Nagato and smiled. "If you wish for me to stop blaming myself... I shall do so."

The battleship chuckled softly. "It is not only I who wishes for you to do so, Kawakaze..." She smiled up at the Commander, who came over and put his hand on the destroyer's head.

The girl looked up, blushing slightly at the Commander's gesture. "Thank you... both of you..." She squeezed Nagato gently and nuzzled her cheek affectionately... before standing up and hugging the Commander tightly and kissing him on the cheek as well.

Everyone present, with the exception of Vestal, was now blushing from the unusual affection from Kawakaze. Silently, the repair ship excused herself and went to check on other patients...

---------------------------

The rest of the day was spent with Nagato, as Kawakaze didn't want to leave her side after the battle. The Commander was obviously enjoying the destroyer's change in mood following the previous day, and when they finally left Nagato's room, Kawakaze was smiling.

"Thank you for bringing me to see Lady Nagato, Shikikan." The destroyer smiled up at him and clung to his arm. In response, he patted her head and chuckled.

"Anything to see you smile once in a while, Kawakaze." She blushed at his words, but did not protest. On the contrary, she enjoyed the sentiment. How could she not?

After all, the people she loved most were safe and sound, and that was what mattered.

She was happy with that thought.

Chapter Text

NYOOOOM....

The sound of planes filled the sky around the harbor. The carriers were conducting an exercise, and the Commander was on the sidelines observing.

There were two teams, with each team having two standard carriers and one light carrier.

Team 1 consisted of the following: Shoukaku, the "Soaring Crane" of Sakura; Weser, the converted sister-ship of Eugen and Hipper; and Ticonderoga, a recent arrival who was the sister-ship of Essex.

Team 2 contained the following shipgirls: Lexington, the more mature elder sister of Saratoga; Hiryuu, whose recent retrofit gave her a not-insignificant boost in strength; and Perseus, a light carrier from the Royal Navy who seemed a bit distant from her teammates, at least communication-wise.

The Commander's eyes were flitting around the area, watching as fighters tried to shoot one another down and torpedo bombers attempted to unleash their payloads at the first chance. Despite all the action going on, however, his gaze always seemed to linger on Perseus a bit longer than the other girls. This wasn't, of course, for any weird intentions, but simply because he was concerned about her.

He felt someone's presence behind his shoulder and he turned to see Vestal approaching him. "Morning, Vestal. Everything ok?" He smiled at the repair ship as she came to stand beside him.

"Morning, Commander." The white-haired girl crossed her arms on the railing and watched the planes fly around over the water. "I had a rare break in patients this morning, so I thought I'd come out and watch an exercise for once..." She smiled slightly and looked at him. "I just hope-"

Before she could finish her sentence, there was a shout from Team 1's side. "What the-?"

The Commander whirled to see what had happened, and he saw Weser's expression grow serious as she gazed at one of her planes. "Weser?!"

"I lost control of a plane, Kommandant! I can't bring it back!" Her voice betrayed her worry as the plane in question swerved left and right, barely avoiding other planes as the Ironblood carrier struggled to regain control-

-before suddenly, it swerved once more and dove towards the water... towards Perseus.

"Perseus, watch o-!" The Commander tried to warn her, but it was too late. The plane opened fire, not slowing down even one bit as it peppered the girl with bullets before-

CRASH!

"Ghk-!" The light carrier grunted and flew back several feet as the rogue plane slammed into her stomach and exploded. Without a moment's hesitation, Vestal leapt out onto the harbor and summoned her rigging, skating over the water as fast as she could towards the injured carrier.

"This exercise is over!" The Commander shouted, all carriers present dismissing their remaining aircraft. He watched with obvious concern as Vestal reached Perseus and lifted her up, supporting the pink-haired girl as they returned to dry land. He ran over to them as soon as their feet touched the docks. "Perseus! Are you alright?"

The carrier grunted as she impacted with the ground, wincing as pain shot up her leg. Her body was filled with countless bullet wounds, and her chest hurt like hell from the explosion of Weser's plane. "Ngh... I'm alright, Commander... I don't think it- Ack...!" She collapsed as she tried to step forward, Vestal catching her before she hit the floor.

"She's badly hurt, Commander... I'll have to treat her at the hospital." Vestal grimaced as she struggled to support Perseus' frame. "Can you help me get her there, Commander?"

"Of course, Vestal." He nodded and came over, putting the carrier's free arm around his shoulders. Together, Vestal and the Commander acted as Perseus' crutches as they went to the hospital.

"Ngh..." The pink-haired girl could only grunt as she was dragged away from the harbor.

---------------------------

Two days later...

The Commander was back at his desk, tiredly scribbling away at the heap of papers in front of him...

Knock knock!

He looked up as he heard the sound. "Come on in!"

The office door creaked open slowly, and he was greeted by the sight of Perseus, her left arm in a sling and a thinly-veiled expression of pain on her face. "Mmh... hey Commander." The carrier closed the door behind her, turning to face him. "You... wanted to see me?"

"Yeah," he replied, gesturing to the chair across from him. "Please, join me."

Seeing no other choice, Perseus walked over and sat down, wincing as small bolts of pain lanced up her legs. "Ow..."

She sighed and looked at the Commander. "So, what's up?"

He folded his hands on his desk and looked right into her eyes, smiling a little. "How would you like to be my secretary?"

...

There was silence.

"Eh, sure." The carrier shrugged slightly, pulling the chair in and taking a piece of paper from the stack.

The Commander was fully nonplussed. First there had been several seconds of silence, and then she'd just agreed and started working despite not even asking what to do. "Uhh..."

"Hm?" Perseus looked up from the document at his confused utterance. "...Something bothering you, Commander?"

"N-no... just didn't expect that exchange to be so... I don't know..." He couldn't find the words, but Perseus found it for him.

"Awkward. Yeah, I know. I'm... not the best at talking with people. Sorry." She sighed and returned to the paperwork, wincing every so often when she accidentally moved her injured arm the wrong way.

He didn't know how to react. She was right, of course, but now he wanted to try and help her get better at talking.

However, he had to get through this paperwork first.

--------------------------

The next day...

The sun had set quite a while ago, yet the Commander was still working... in his quarters. He was determined to get the papers done before going to sleep, so he couldn't afford to-

Knock knock knock!

He jumped, startled by the unexpected noise. "Who is it?"

"Me."

He stood up, raising an eyebrow as he walked over. "Perseus...?"

The door clicked open. "Yeah."

She stood in the doorway, silently looking up at the Commander. He was silent for a moment. "Uhh... what brings you here this late?"

"Thought you might need some help with the paperwork." She said this as if she had known without a doubt that he was still working. As he was about to voice this, she nodded. "I knew you'd still be working, stupid as that might be." She hesitated, shaking her head. "I mean-"

"It's alright, Perseus. You're not wrong, I probably should've saved it for tomorrow..." He sighed and smiled at her, beckoning for the girl to enter. She did so, and promptly sat down on his bed, letting out a small yawn. "Aren't you tired, though?"

"If I need to, I'll sleep on the floor, Commander." She met his gaze with a blank one of her own, her statement entirely matter-of-fact. "Until then, I'll help."

"Fine, Perseus... just don't overdo it-"

"I won't, Commander. C'mon, let's just get this done." She grumbled and started working.

He sighed and returned to his spot on the bed, following suit and continuing his work...

...

The next thing the Commander knew, he was waking up with a face full of papers. "Ugh..." He groaned and sat up, stretching. He checked the time-

What the hell? It's 5:00? He was confused. The last thing he remembered was resuming his work on the stuff from HQ with Perseus seated on the bed with him...

He looked over to where she'd been sitting, but she was gone. He peeked over the bed, and sure enough, the light carrier was asleep on the wooden floor.

That changed very quickly as Perseus suddenly woke up, sitting upright and yawning. She looked up at the Commander and narrowed her eyes. "Why are you watching me like that?"

He stammered and sat back, a blush forming on his face involuntarily. "I-I was literally there for, like, two seconds..."

"Hmph." She rolled her eyes and got up, sitting on the bed again. "Guess we fell asleep while working..."

"Yeah..." He eyed her worriedly. "Perseus... are you ok?"

"Why?" She looked at him in confusion. He sighed and scooted towards her.

"You seem... off, somehow. Did I do something to upset you?" He frowned, placing a hand on the carrier's shoulder. She recoiled slightly before deciding not to force him off.

"...No..." She looked at the floor, avoiding his gaze. "I-"

"Do you... hate me?" His question caused her to whirl around, genuine surprise in her eyes.

"Obviously I don't hate you, Commander... Just..." There were tears forming in her eyes, but he wasn't sure why.

"Is something wrong, Perseus?" He sat closer to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She sighed and leaned on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

"I feel like such a moron... I keep feeling like I'm being rude to you, yet I just want to be friends... I enjoy talking to you, Commander, even if it seems like I don't..."

The carrier was blushing a bit as she opened up to him, but he just smiled and reassuringly rubbed her arm. "You know I'm always here to talk to you if you need me, right?"

The pink-haired girl just nodded, not saying a word as the Commander comforted her.

----------------------------

"Hey, Commander. Need some help with those?"

The Commander looked up from his work as Perseus walked into the office, a small smile on her face. He returned it, nodding. "Sure, Perseus. I appreciate it."

"Mhm." She took some of the paperwork and started filling it out. As she worked, she unconsciously started to hum quietly.

"Hmm hmm hmm..."

The Commander's smile brightened as he listened to her tune, sighing softly and continuing to scribble his signature onto the countless reports and requests...

After a few minutes, he stopped and looked up at his secretary. "Sounds like someone's in a good mood, huh?"

She looked up, tilting her head - before realizing he was talking about her. Her face went red and she smiled, nodding slightly. "Y-yeah... thanks to you, Commander."

"Glad to hear it, Perseus." The Commander reached over and patted her head, smiling more when he saw her blush darken before he sat back down and returned to work.

...

So focused was the Commander on his work that he didn't notice Perseus get up and walk over to his side. It was only when she pulled up a chair and leaned on his shoulder that he almost flinched in surprise - before sighing and putting an arm around her. ""Hey."

"Hi." The girl smiled at him and closed her eyes, sighing contentedly as she rested on the Commander's shoulder. "Thanks for everything, Commander."

"What do you mean, Perseus?" He raised an eyebrow.

The pink-haired carrier simply rolled her eyes in response. "I said everything." She held up her hand, gently brushing a bit of hair behind her ear, before looking up at him. "I wish I'd gotten this chance earlier."

"To be injured in an exercise, or to be my secretary?" He smirked and chuckled as she lightly punched his arm. "I was kidding, Perseus."

"I know. It was a terrible joke, though." She smiled in spite of herself and continued to rest against her Commander.

No other words were exchanged between the two as they relaxed together. They didn't need words.

Just having each other right here and now... that was comfort enough.

Chapter Text

"Hey, Commander?"

Hearing his name, the Commander looked up at his secretary, Ranger. "Yeah, what's up?"

The girl walked into the office and stood in front of the desk. "Do you mind if I take the rest of today off? I have lectures to teach at the Academy..."

"Sure, go ahead. I can finish this." He smiled and patted the small stack of papers that he hadn't filled out yet. Ranger nodded and muttered a quick "thank you" before turning and walking out the door again.

The Commander sighed and immediately returned to work, an idea forming in his head...

Wonder if she'll mind me stopping by...?

...

Only an hour later, the Commander had finished all of the day's paperwork. He was grateful that it was a light day, since it meant he could take the rest of the day off, more or less.

The idea from earlier still fresh in his mind, he got up, stretched, and left the office, heading to the Academy.

As he walked, he passed several shipgirls and waved hello to each of them. At one point, he passed by Nagara, who was carrying a stack of papers.

"Morning, Shikikan~!" The cruiser greeted him cheerfully. "Where might you be going at this hour?"

"Good morning, Nagara. I'm actually on my way to drop in on Ranger. Do you know where her class is being held?" He smiled warmly at the girl, who hefted her burden into one hand and pointed.

"She should be over in that wing. See you around, Shikikan~!" Nagara reached up and pecked his cheek, then smiled and walked off. He chuckled inwardly at her gesture, then continued in the direction she had indicated.

...

A few minutes later, the Commander found himself outside a door labeled with Ranger's name. He looked into the window and noticed several carriers seated around the room, with Ranger herself in the front. He lightly knocked on the door, seeing every face turn towards him. Upon meeting his gaze, Ranger quickly walked over and opened the door.

"Hey, Ranger-" he began, but he was cut off.

"Ara~ What brings you here, Shikikan-sama~?" A teasing voice caught his attention. He turned to see Taihou, an armored carrier of the Sakura Empire, gazing at him with a smirk on her face.

"Hey, I'm just here to listen in. Don't mind me. Please." He looked at Ranger almost apologetically. "That is, if you don't mind?"

She sighed and smiled a bit. "It's alright, Commander. You're welcome to sit in on the lecture. Just... pay attention, alright?" A small blush, hidden from the sight of the other carriers, crossed the instructor's face.

"Of course, Ranger. Don't worry." He smiled and patted her shoulder reassuringly, then walked over to the back of the room and took an empty seat. Next to him, Zeppy quietly waved to him. "Good morning, Kommandant. You doing ok?"

"Hey, Zeppy. Yeah, I'm ok. Had a light day of work, so I thought I'd come here." He smiled at the Ironblood girl, and then turned to look at the front of the room, where Ranger was returning to her lecture...

---------------------------

As the day progressed, the Commander could almost physically feel the gazes of several carriers drilling into him, choosing to pay attention to him rather than on the lecture. Despite that, he managed not to let his eyes wander around.

When the end of class finally came, he remained in his seat, getting up only to give Zeppy a quick hug goodbye before she ran out to find Graf Zeppelin. Taihou was the last one out, blowing a kiss in his direction... neither of them noticing the deep blush on Ranger's face at the sight.

"Hm, that was a very informative lecture, Ranger." He turned and smiled at his secretary, who looked at him and sighed. "Everything alright?"

"I... guess? I mean, thanks for the praise, I suppose, but... I think you ended up being more of a... distraction than I anticipated." She blushed again and tried to smile.

"Oh, you mean Taihou and the others..." He nodded in understanding. "Eh, I'm not gonna be doing this every day, you know. Just today 'cause there wasn't a ton of work."

Ranger shrugged and sat down across from the Commander. To his credit, his eyes never wandered or stared at her. "You seemed... very interested in what I had to say, Commander..."

He smiled again. "Well, yeah, it's not often I get to learn from the Eagle Union's first true carrier." He yawned slightly and stood up. "Mmh... guess we should head out?"

"Yeah, sounds good..." She smiled as well and joined him, and the pair left the building.

----------------------------

The next day was much heavier for paperwork...

By the time lunch came around, both Ranger and the Commander were exhausted already. His wrist hurt from signing so many damn papers, and her eyes were almost struggling to focus on the pages right in front of her.

"Commander, I think we should take a break..." Ranger groaned and sat back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. The Commander muttered an agreement and went over to sit on the couch. Hesitating for a brief moment, Ranger got up and sat next to him. They didn't lean against one another, let alone even look at each other, but it wasn't out of hatred...

It was out of risk of embarrassment.

"Commander, can I ask you something...?" The carrier whispered softly, almost inaudibly.

He nodded. "Go ahead, Ranger."

With a sigh, she looked at him. "Why me?"

The question left him confused. "What do you mean?" He tilted his head.

"Why did you pick me to be your secretary? There are so many other girls you could've picked... Enterprise, Ticonderoga, even Aquila... but you picked me, a basic carrier with almost nothing special about me." She sighed and blushed a little. "So, why?"

He didn't even have to hesitate before answering. "Well, you've been with me for a long time, Ranger. We've seen a lot of stuff together, and..." He considered his next words carefully...

"As ordinary as you may think you are, you're special to me."

She blushed heavily and leaned back. "Wh-what do you mean, Commander...?"

He held up his hands. "Ranger, I couldn't have gone this far with this fleet without you. You're an important part of my fleet, and I'm glad you're here. Hell, you've gotten even better since you got that retrofit a while back..." He blushed as he realized the potential meanings of that last part, but she seemed to disregard that and take it as he meant it.

"...Thank you, Commander. I'm glad I've been able to help as much as I have." She smiled and sat closer, pulling him into a gentle hug. He returned it, resting his head on the carrier's shoulder.

Suddenly, she whispered into his ear. "You... didn't mean my looks, did you...?" He could almost feel her cheeks heating up.

"No, Ranger... I meant your skills." He smiled and patted her back a bit. She sighed in relief and smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

--------------------------------

A few days later...

"Alright, everyone, show me what you've learned~!"

Ranger's voice could be clearly heard as she initiated the carrier exercise from the sidelines.

The Commander walked over and stood next to the teacher, smiling at her. "Everything alright?"

She smiled back at him. "Never better, Commander. Now, I do need to focus..." She patted his arm and looked back out at the carriers. As the exercise went on, Ranger kept shouting out pointers and corrections for the shipgirls.

...

"Zeppy, remember to anticipate where your target will be when you use your dive bombers!"

...

"Taihou, stop trying to flirt with the Commander, and pay attention to the exercise!"

...

"Enterprise, why the hell-? You know what, I don't know why I question this. Ride your planes as much as you want."

...

"Perfect form, Aquila! Remember what I told Zeppy, and apply that with your torpedo bombers!"

...

"For the love of- AKAGI, STOP SABOTAGING SHOUKAKU!"

"Hehe~" Shoukaku giggled.

"Shoukaku, you aren't allowed to sabotage Akagi either!"

"God dammit." The crane sighed.

...

"Hermes, this isn't a duel! Focus on flying your planes, not throwing your cards!"

...

"Hiryuu, stop staring at your sister's ankle! You're losing control of your planes!"

...

"Ark Royal, I will send you to the brig if you don't put away the damn camera!"

...

When the exercise was finally over, Ranger's voice was hoarse from shouting so much. The carriers were all exhausted, having spent over an hour flying their planes.

"Nice work, everyone... go get some rest!" The Eagle Union carrier spoke as loud as she could without hurting her throat. The shipgirls nodded and went about their days, with Ranger remaining with the Commander at the harbor.

"Nice work yourself, Ranger." He smiled at her and put an arm around her shoulders, causing her to blush a little and smile.

"Thanks, Commander... I think I'm gonna have to recover for a few days after this... hehe..." She giggled a bit, leaning on his shoulder and sighing. "I'm tired..."

"Me too..." He sighed as well and rubbed his secretary's shoulder. "Wanna head back to the office to relax?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Nah... too late for that..." She looked up at him. "Your place, maybe...?"

The Commander nodded, smiling gently. "Sounds like a plan."

...

The two of them were asleep as soon as they hit the pillows. Ranger dozed comfortably beside her Commander, her forehead resting against his own as they snuggled together.

They had forged a close friendship long ago. They were content to keep it that way.

Chapter Text

"Huff... puff... huff... puff..."

As a group of Eagle Union shipgirls sailed towards the port, a cruiser with light-blue hair and a mask of some sort gazed back out at the ocean, breathing heavily.

I wonder if we'll ever see that girl again... she wondered, turning back towards port and catching up with her companions.

"Boise, c'mon~! We're almost there!" Up ahead of the cruiser, the voice of Ticonderoga, an Essex-class carrier, encouraged her to keep moving. With a nod, Boise sped up, coming to the same speed as her friends.

...

The Commander stood at the harbor, watching as the new shipgirls made their way towards land.

"Heyo, Commander~!" He was greeted enthusiastically by one of them, the Iowa-class battleship New Jersey. The bunny shipgirl winked at him and leapt ashore... although somersaulted might have been a better term. Behind her, the Fletcher-class destroyer Morrison, the New Orleans-class cruiser San Francisco, the Essex-class carrier Ticonderoga, and the Balao-class submarine Archerfish followed onto the docks. A few seconds later, another girl jumped ashore. It was Boise, the new Brooklyn-class cruiser.

Almost immediately, the Commander noticed her mask. It was hard to miss, as it obscured the entire lower half of the girl's face. Putting that aside for the moment, he smiled and greeted the new arrivals. "Welcome to the Port, girls. It's good to finally have you all here."

New Jersey flashed him a small blep and a wink. "Dont'cha just love it when your family gets bigger?" She smiled warmly and hugged him for a moment. "We're glad to be here too, Commander!"

"Heya, Puddin'~" The voice caught the Commander's attention, and he turned to see San Francisco holding her bat behind her head, flashing him a bright smile. "Glad we could finally catch the ride, so to speak~" Behind her, Morrison's companion, Mr. Bear, waved at the Commander.

"Glad to have everyone here, like I said." He smiled and shook everyone's hand, coming at last to Boise. The girl's eyes narrowed a little, though not in a negative way. It seemed her lower eyelids were moving upwards... as if she was smiling, the Commander realized. With that in mind, he gave her a warm smile. "A pleasure to meet you, Boise."

"L-likewise, Commander." The girl's voice came in through a filter on the mask, giving her the sound of speaking through an intercom of sorts. She took his outstretched hand and shook it tentatively, and he noticed that her hand was shaking. After a moment, he let go, and heard the girl sigh.

"Anyway, I should probably let you all get settled in. The Eagle Union dorms are..." He thought for a moment, then pointed. "...that way. If you need help, I bet someone around will be willing to help." He gave them all a salute before letting them go about their business...

...though his mind lingered on the masked Boise...

-----------------------------

Two days later...

"Hey, Commander, can I ask you a question?"

The Commander looked up from his computer and smiled at his secretary, Brooklyn. The tanned blonde standing in front of him was a skilled diplomat, and in fact prided herself on that skill. She had served him very well during meetings with international visitors, and was almost always able to defuse any tense situations... almost always.

Shuddering inwardly at the memory, he spoke. "What's on your mind, Brooklyn?"

"What do you think of Boise?"

The question caught him off guard. Her tone almost sounded... accusatory, somehow? He shrunk back instinctively, as if he'd done something wrong.

"I... don't understand what you-"

"What do you think of her, Commander?" His secretary cut him off, her tone less pointed than it had been the first time... so he relaxed and thought about his answer.

"Well... I haven't really talked to her a whole lot so far, but... I think she's interesting. In a good way, of course," he added quickly.

Brooklyn raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled. "She told me you seemed to... how did she put it, examine her longer than her companions when they arrived the other day.

"Examined...?" Somehow he couldn't help but blush slightly at the description. "Is that all she said...?"

The cruiser sat down in front of him and sighed. "No, actually. She said you looked almost unsettled by her appearance at first..." She eyed him and waited for his response.

"In all honesty, it took me a few seconds to realize she'd been smiling at me from under the mask. I'm obviously not used to only recognizing facial cues from the eyes, of course..." His voice trailed off as he watched his secretary gauge his answer. "Did... did I say something wrong, Brooklyn...?"

"No, Commander... not at all..." She muttered softly and stood up. "Excuse me for just a few minutes, I'll be right back." Without waiting for him to answer, the cruiser left the office, shutting the door behind her.

The Commander was left confused, unable to understand what had just transpired.

...

Meanwhile, in the Eagle Union dorms...

"...Phoenix, they're not ears, they're antennas..."

"Coulda fooled me, sister! Haha!" Phoenix chuckled as she caught up with her sister. "Seriously though, it's great to have you back, Boise. I missed ya."

Boise's eyes crinkled upwards, indicating her smile as she pulled the redhead into a hug. "It's good to be back, Phoenix... I missed you too..." She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment-

"Boise, can I talk to you for a moment?"

-before Brooklyn's voice interrupted her. "H-huh? S-sure..."

As she got up, Phoenix flashed a bright grin at her and patted her arm reassuringly. "Don't worry, sis. I'll be alright!"

With a nod, Boise followed her eldest sister out to the hallway. "What's the matter, Brooklyn?"

The blonde sighed and smiled at her masked sister. "Nothing's wrong, Boise. I have a question for you."

"O-oh?" Boise narrowed her eyes worriedly. "What's that?"

Brooklyn placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, looking into her eyes as she spoke...

"How would you like to get to know the Commander better?"

...

The Commander looked up as the door to his office opened up again. Brooklyn walked in, having been gone for almost 15 minutes. "Look who's back. What's up?"

"Commander, I think it's about time I gave someone else a turn to be your secretary." The blonde was smiling as she sat back down in her chair, and the Commander slowly nodded.

"What led you to this conclusion, Lyn?" The girl smiled at his use of the nickname, something he rarely ever used. "Have there been complaints?"

"Not at all, sir. This is my decision and mine alone... although you are entirely within your right to decline." The cruiser smirked at him and leaned back. "Though I highly doubt you'll disagree... especially once you've heard my recommendation for who should take my place."

The Commander's interest had been piqued, and he leaned forward, folding his arms on the desk. "And who, pray tell, might that be?" He smirked.

She waited several seconds before finally answering. "Boise."

"Boise, huh...?" He leaned back, thinking for a moment. "Why? Might that be seen as... I don't know, nepotism?"

She chuckled and smiled at her Commander. "Nah. But seriously, I think you should request Boise. I've already discussed it with her, and she's agreed to take the position, if you'll have her."

The way she ended her sentence made the Commander smile a bit more. "Interesting way to put it, Lyn... but I think I'll take you up on that offer."

The cruiser smirked. "I thought as much. I'll let her know tonight, so she can get ready for tomorrow." The Commander nodded, and the pair returned to finishing the day's work.

------------------------------

The next day...

Boise stepped outside of her dorm room, shaking a little bit. She didn't know if it was nerves or excitement, but she was shaking nonetheless. Taking a few deep breaths, she made her way to the Commander's office.

It took several minutes for the girl to find her way there, and she had to ask someone for help along the way. As she had expected, the girl had flinched when she noticed the mask, but regained her composure and pointed out the Commander's direction. Muttering a quick thanks, Boise continued off to work.

When she reached the building, she wandered around until she found the room. Taking another deep breath, she raised her hand-

"Come on in!"

-before a voice inside startled her, making her squeak. "Eep!"

There was the sound of a chair sliding across the floor, footsteps rushing to the door, before it flew open to reveal the Commander's face. "Are you alright, Boise?!"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine... sorry..." The girl looked at the floor and sighed. "How did you know I was there...?"

The Commander's face reddened a little as he hesitated. "...I heard the sound of your mask." He avoided her eyes.

"...Oh..." She blushed a little as well, looking up at him. "I was about to knock when you called out, so... I guess you frightened me a little..."

He put a hand on her shoulder, making her freeze up a bit before sighing again. "Sorry to have scared you, Boise. I'll remember not to do that in the future." He chuckled awkwardly and patted her shoulder. She smiled at him, realizing he couldn't see it before blushing a little more and quickly making her way inside.

"L-let's get to work, then, shall we?"

...

After a couple of hours, the pair had gotten quite a bit of paperwork done before the Commander finally suggested they take a break. With a sigh, Boise leaned back in her chair and stretched a bit, breathing softly through her mask. "Mmm..."

"Umm..." The Commander sounded like he wanted to say something, but he hesitated. Boise looked at him and raised an eyebrow in concern.

"Something wrong, sir...?" Her voice quaked a bit, afraid she'd done something wrong...

"No, I... I'm just trying to gather my thoughts before I say something stupid..." He chuckled nervously and looked at her, sighing. "Anyone ever tell you that you have a nice smile, Boise?"

The question made her blush heavily, averting her gaze... before something made her look back up. "Wh-what do you mean...? You can't see my face..."

"But I can still tell when you're smiling, Boise..." It was his turn to blush as she simply gazed at him in confusion. "I see it in your eyes..."

"My... eyes...?" She thought for a moment before realization shone in her eyes as they widened. "I never thought about that, Commander..." Suddenly she blushed again, his compliment registering again. "Even with a mask on... you think I have a nice smile...?"

Slowly, she looked at him and smiled again. "Th-thank you, Commander..."

He smiled back and nodded. "Of course, Boise. It amazes me sometimes just how expressive people can be with just their eyes..." As he said this, Boise noticed how his eyes seemed to almost twinkle for a moment. "Gonna be something a lot of people here should come to appreciate, I'd think."

"Maybe, Commander..." She looked down at the papers in front of her. "We should get back to work... it's been quite a bit of a break..."

"Agreed..." he responded with a sigh.

-----------------------------

A few days later, the Commander and Boise were out on a daily patrol.

As they walked, Boise noticed a flash of orange hair off in the distance and looked towards it. "Is that... Morrison...?"

The Commander followed her gaze and nodded. "Yeah, what's she-?"

Before he could finish his question, the intercom blared to life. "Commander, we need backup now!" That was Morrison's voice, quickly followed by the sound of Mr. Bear's guns firing at some unknown target. "Mass-produced Sirens are heading to the Port!"

"Sirens? Again?" The Commander groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Can't these guys just give us a break?"

Suddenly, a voice behind him and Boise startled them both. "It ain't like that, Puddin'~ Not in times like these."

San Francisco approached them and waved. "I'll go help Morrison. You go tell us what to do, Puddin'." She smirked and looked at Boise. "You comin', Boise?"

"Yes."

The Commander was taken aback by her tone. It was almost icy, as if filled with hatred. "Boise...?"

"I'm not gonna let the Sirens, humanoid or mass-produced, hurt my friends and family!" Boise's declaration, filled with some mix of that icy tone and her normal one, somehow brought a smile to the Commander's face.

"Go get 'em, Boise." He patted her shoulder and nodded. She nodded back, her brow creasing as she followed the heavy cruiser towards the harbor.

Within minutes, the Commander heard the voices of New Jersey, Archerfish, and Ticonderoga join those of Morrison, San Francisco, and Boise as the group of new Eagle Union shipgirls teamed up once more.

"New Jersey reporting! I see 5 destroyers, 4 cruisers, a battleship and a carrier!" The battleship called in her report, the Commander nodding at the new information.

"Take care of them, girls. You have free reign!" He smiled, knowing that the fleet was probably grinning to themselves in satisfaction. "Give them hell from me, alright?"

"You got it, Commander~!" He heard Archerfish giggle as she acknowledged his order, but the next voice stole his attention.

"Roger, Commander!" Boise's voice floated in through the comms, somehow making him blush at her confirmation. He couldn't see the action, but he knew they were probably following his command to the letter.

...

When the girls made it back, they were accompanied by Morrison's commission fleet, who had been ambushed by the Sirens. The Commander ran over to them. "Morrison, report!"

The destroyer looked up at him and saluted. "No major injuries, Commander. Allen's guns were disabled, though, and Northampton's out of ammo." She grimaced as she held her companion tight to her chest. "Mr. Bear's been slightly damaged, but I should be able to fix him soon enough, sir."

"Noted, Morrison. Thanks for the report. You're dismissed." The girl nodded and hugged him briefly before checking on her fleetmates.

A grunt from behind him made him whirl around, and he saw Boise walking over to his side - or to be more accurate, limping over to him. "Boise, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah..." She coughed and drew in several deep breaths, her eyes closing as she tried to calm herself down. "Th-they hit my mask..."

The Commander could now see her face covering was cracked in several places, and the tube connecting it to the tank on her back had been severed. "Why do you still have it on, then?" He reached up to help take it off, but she leaned back.

"C-commander, it's ok-" She was cut off by another round of coughing, and once it subsided, she groaned and reached up. "F-fine..."

He could only watch as the girl took off her mask for what may have been the first time since arriving at the Port. "Boise..."

"See, Commander...? Nothing special under the mask..." She blushed for some reason at her statement, and he did as well.

"While I don't mind seeing your smile every so often, I also don't mind you wearing it either. I was gonna offer to bring it to Akashi or Yuubari so they can fix it, if you want?" He smiled at her nervously, and she just looked at him.

"Y-you... you don't mind it when I have it on...?" She frowned a bit, but then replaced it with a small smile. "...Thank you, Commander..."

Before he could respond, the girl walked up to him and hugged him gently. He hesitated, taken aback, but slowly he returned the hug, gently patting her back. "You did good work out there, Boise. I'm proud of you, and I know Brooklyn is too."

"Mhm..."

------------------------------

That weekend, they returned to their patrol at the same time. This time, no Sirens interrupted their stroll, nor did the call of office work.

"Commander... may I speak freely?" Boise's voice startled him slightly as he realized there was no filter. He turned and saw she had removed her mask once more.

"Of course, Boise." He smiled, and she nodded with a smile as well before continuing.

"I was talking to my big sister last night... and she gave me some advice on how to... well, 'handle' you, as she put it..."

He blushed slightly at the info. "Ok...?"

She looked at him, her eyes sparkling as she wrapped an arm around his own. Her cheeks reddened, but she continued. "She told me that in order to be the best secretary I can be... I have to be brutally honest with you. That's how she said it."

"Sounds like something Lyn would say..." He chuckled and shook his head, gently patting his secretary's arm. "Yeah, that fits her style pretty accurately. She's never really held anything back when it comes to keeping me on the right track..." He looked into Boise's eyes as they continued to walk. "Why do you mention this?"

She blushed a little more, but pressed on. "Well... she saw what we were doing yesterday... when I took my mask off after the fight..." She looked away and sighed.

"Wh-what about it?" It was his turn to blush.

"Well..." With another sigh, Boise dragged the Commander to a nearby bench and sat down with him. "She also said I need to be brutally honest with you... if I'm ever going to get over my own awkwardness..." She blushed and looked into his eyes again. "She told me to be honest with how I feel, sir."

"Oh... I see." He smiled and slowly put an arm around the cruiser's shoulders. "And how do you feel, Boise?"

Boise smiled shyly at him and shuffled closer, leaning on his shoulder. "Even if you can't see my face directly, Commander... I want you to know, that as long as I'm by your side... I'll always be smiling from the bottom of my heart." She looked up at him and pecked his cheek.

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure you can keep on smiling, Boise. I promise." The Commander kissed the top of the girl's head, resting his head against hers. They simply sat there, enjoying the serenity of the weekend.

Inwardly, Boise knew she'd never get rid of the mask she wore...

But she knew she didn't need to mask her heart.

Chapter Text

It was quite the busy day in the office.

HQ had sent a veritable mountain of paperwork that day, which forced the Commander and his secretary, Norfolk, to get up earlier than they'd like and take few breaks during the day...

Unfortunately, while the two of them had planned to be done before 2000, they were set back by a certain distraction... Norfolk's adoring sister, Dorsetshire.

"...Anyway, I think I've taken up enough of your time, Commander. See you around! Bye, sis~!" The cruiser hugged her older sister and giggled before she left the office. When the door finally shut, both of them let out a groan.

"We're never gonna get this done in time..." Norfolk whined softly as she immediately went back to work. The sun was already setting at this point, and Dorsetshire had been talking almost nonstop about her sister for almost an hour. They were way behind schedule.

"I guess all we can do is just press on, right, Norfolk?" The Commander smiled reassuringly, and the small cruiser nodded a bit and kept working. With a sigh, he followed suit.

...

By the time the two had finally signed off on the last paper, it was 2200. They'd finished 2 hours behind schedule, and both were exhausted.

"Here, lemme get you back to your dorm, Norfolk..." The Commander stood up and yawned, intending to leave with his secretary, but she stayed in her seat, shivering a bit. "Norfolk? You alright...?"

She quickly nodded, though he didn't really believe she meant it. "Is something wrong?" He knelt next to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

She sighed and looked at the floor. "I... I don't think I can make it back this late..." She curled up in the chair and shivered.

"Why not...?" He tilted his head, confused.

"It's... too dark..." She whispered, her voice quaking.

"I see..."

The cruiser looked at him and whimpered. "P-please don't make fun of me, Commander..."

His eyes widened and he shook his head. "I'd never dream of making fun of someone for being afraid of the dark. Hell, even I hate it sometimes." He smiled softly and brought his hand to her head, rubbing it gently through her hood. Her breathing softened and she closed her eyes.

"C-commander... can you read me a story... please...?" Her voice almost didn't even reach him, but he nodded and gestured to the couch. The girl got out of her chair and resumed curling up on the couch next to the Commander.

"Let's see..." He perused the books on the shelf for a minute before picking out a story. Sitting down with his secretary, he began to read...

--------------------------------

The next morning, the Commander woke up to find Norfolk laying on top of him, curled up and sound asleep. He smiled and placed a hand on her back, gently rubbing it.

Slowly, the heavy cruiser stirred, yawning softly and rubbing her eyes. She looked around until her eyes met the Commander's, and she smiled softly, leaning her head against him. "Mmm... good morning, Commander..."

"Morning, Norfolk," he replied, smiling at her. "You sleep well?"

"Mhm... thanks for the story last night... it really helped..." She yawned again and pressed a little closer to him, evidently not wanting to get up just yet. He was fine with that, since they'd done all that work yesterday. He figured both of them deserved some rest.

...

A soft knocking on the door woke them up again. Evidently, the two had fallen back asleep.

"Come in!" The Commander called out, not even bothering to move Norfolk off of him. The door clicked and swung open...

...and standing there was Dorsetshire, her worried expression immediately morphing into one of relief... then into one of anger.

"Commander...? Why is my sister on top of you...?" The tall cruiser slowly shut the door and leered at him, suspicion obvious in her gaze. "What did you do to her...?!"

"Dorsetshire, let me explain-"

He was cut off by Norfolk's unexpected cry. "I was scared!"

The younger sister stopped in her tracks, staring at her elder sister with a look of disbelief on her face. "Scared... of what...?" The girl crossed the room and knelt in front of her sister, glancing towards the Commander warily. "What did he do to you, sis?"

"N-nothing, Dorsey... It was just so late when we finished..." Norfolk hugged her younger sister tightly, reassuring her that she was alright.

The Commander quietly spoke up. "Norfolk was afraid of - ow!"

He was silenced again, this time by Norfolk kicking his leg. He hissed in slight pain, understanding the message. He didn't interrupt again as Norfolk began to speak.

"Sis, I'm scared of the dark..."

"Oh, ok." Dorsetshire's reaction was not what either the Commander or Norfolk had expected. She simply held her sister tightly and patted her back. "I didn't realize it was something so simple, big sis!"

"Y-you're not worried...?" Norfolk's voice quavered as she looked her sister in the eyes.

"Of course not, sis! I understand why you didn't come back now." Dorsey turned to the Commander, who flinched... before realizing she was smiling warmly at him. The girl shuffled over and kissed the Commander's cheek lightly before hugging him. "Thank you for protecting my sister, Commander. I'm sorry I doubted you the way I did."

He could only nod in response, shocked by her sudden reversal. He returned the hug and patted her back gently before she pulled away and smiled at the two of them. "I wouldn't let Norfolk be harmed on my watch, Dorsetshire."

"Oh, please, call me Dorsey! It's so much shorter." She sighed and stood up, curtseying to her Commander. "Well, then, I'll be off! See ya later, sis! Bye, Commander!" She waved at them before leaving once again.

Once she closed the door, the Commander sighed. Norfolk looked at him with a confused expression. "You ok, Commander?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Norfolk. Just... got worried she was gonna do something extreme..." He smiled at her and gave her a gentle hug.

With that, the pair went about their day, the workload nowhere near as heavy as the previous day.

-------------------------------

That night, Norfolk and the Commander wound up staying awake longer than they'd expected once more, having gotten lost in conversation about commissions and the like. When they checked the time, it was already 2100. Since it was the weekend, they hadn't realized how late it was.

"Think you can get back, or wanna stay here again?" The Commander smiled warmly at his secretary, waiting for her to respond. He didn't have to wait long.

"I'm gonna stay here again... I wanna hear another story..." She blushed a little and came over to him, hopping into his lap. He chuckled softly and held her there, rubbing her back gently.

"I'm alright with that, Norfolk." He kissed the top of her hood. "Though I can't really get up if you're in my lap..." He blushed slightly as he said that, but she just pressed closer to him.

"I thought you were strong enough to pick someone up, Commander, why not just do that...?" She smiled up at him and rested against his chest. He sighed and nodded, his arm tucking under her legs.

"Hold on tight, Norfolk," he said, and when she was ready, he lifted her up and stood up, going to the couch-

"Mmm... not the couch..." Norfolk whispered to him. "Not comfy enough..."

His face reddened even more. "Y-you wanna go to... my quarters...?"

"Mhm... I think I'd feel safer there..." He could see her cheeks going red as she took out her phone and sent a message to her sister. "Dorsey knows, so she won't be barging in tomorrow morning..." She looked up and smiled.

"Alright, Norfolk... if that's what you want, I'll allow it." He patted her head gently and carried her to his room.

...

When the Commander had finished the story he'd picked out, his secretary was fast asleep by his side. He put the story down, pulled a blanket around the two of them, and held her closer. Stirring a bit, Norfolk opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Mmm... story's over?" She smiled sleepily and snuggled close to her Commander. He nodded.

"Yep. Time to sleep, Norfolk." He leaned down to kiss her hood-

-when she suddenly darted up and pecked his cheek, blushing slightly. He felt his face redden as he returned the gesture.

"G'night, Commander... thank you for protecting me..." She yawned and pressed closer to him, sighing as he wrapped his arms around her back.

"Good night, Norfolk. I'll always protect you, no matter what. And I'll keep Dorsey safe as well." He smiled and closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him...

When they woke up the next morning, they stayed in bed for several hours. Nobody came to check on them. Nobody had to.

The Commander was focused on keeping Norfolk safe and comfortable, and nothing would stop him from doing just that.

As long as he was around, Norfolk knew she could sleep peacefully.

Chapter Text

"...do you, Cleveland, take Helena to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

It was a bright and sunny spring day as hundreds of shipgirls gathered at the Port church for the wedding of Cleveland and Helena.

The blonde cruiser blushed and gazed into her bride's eyes, nodding slowly. "I do."

Richelieu, who was of course officiating the wedding, smiled and turned to Helena. "And you, Helena, do you take Cleveland to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Helena grinned and nodded happily. "I do!"

With a soft sigh, Richelieu nodded. "Please exchange your rings."

At these words, the smaller versions of the soon-to-be-married shipgirls, Clevelad and Lena, walked up and presented their respective elder with their ring. Each of the two took their rings and gently put it on the other's finger. When this was done, Richelieu spoke again. "You may kiss your bride."

With a soft chuckle, Cleveland leaned in towards Helena...

...and their lips met halfway, sealing their marriage with a kiss. The crowd erupted into cheers, with St. Louis and Phoenix pulling Honolulu and Boise into a hug, respectively, and all the Cleveland-class cruisers jumping on their feet in excitement, even Montpelier. Up on the altar, Cardinal Richelieu sighed softly and clapped, smiling at the happiness that had just unfolded before her.

...

"Welcome to the family, Helena." The Commander gave his new sister-in-law a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek as she held onto Cleveland's arm.

"Thank you so much, Commander. It's an honor to be with you all." She turned to her wife and hugged her happily, making Cleveland blush. With a chuckle, the Commander patted both of them on the shoulder and bid them farewell for now.

"Commander."

The voice came from near his right shoulder, and he turned to see Richelieu smiling at him. "Ah, good day, Cardinal. A wonderful job you did up there." He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently, causing her to giggle softly.

"Why, thank you, Commander. I'd hoped it wouldn't be as difficult as when I officiated your wedding, so I'm glad you approved of my work."

Gesturing to a couple of chairs nearby, the Iris Libre battleship sat with the Commander, and he leaned forward. "Difficult how, Cardinal?"

The orange-haired woman sighed softly. "Well, while there's always some form of pressure on me to be as professional as always each time... it felt a bit more demanding when I married you to Madame Montpelier." She leaned back in her chair and smiled a little. "After all, you are our Commander, and if I messed up then, I might face quite a lot of embarrassment from others, more so than usual."

The Commander chuckled and shook his head. "You know I'd never allow that to happen, Richelieu."

The Cardinal smirked and leaned forward a bit. "You know, Richy is an acceptable nickname, Commander." She giggled and brushed a bit of hair out of her face and sat back once more.

"It's alright, Cardinal. I know only your sisters tend to use that nickname, and I don't want to-"

"Commander." She silenced him with a raised finger. "You have my permission to call me by that nickname, if you so wish." She smiled lightly and lowered her hand.

"Very well. Thank you, Richy." He smirked a little, feeling only a tad uncomfortable calling her anything other than "Richelieu" or "Cardinal".

The two of them continued to chat amicably for a while, only stopping when Montpelier came over to say goodnight to her husband and return to the dorms to continue celebrating with her sister and Helena. As night began to fall, the Commander continued to talk with Richelieu, until they realized it was getting too dark to see.

"Let us head back to your residence, Commander, unless you'd rather say goodnight now?" There was a slight twinkle in the battleship's eye as she stood up and offered him a hand.

"I feel like I have no choice but to accept your offer, Cardinal, so my house it is, I guess." He smiled and took her hand, standing up and allowing Richelieu to wrap her arm around his, and the two of them went to the Commander's house to relax some more.

----------------------------------

The next morning...

"Mmmh..." The Commander yawned softly and stared at the ceiling, reflecting for a few moments on the previous night. Once they had arrived at his home, the Commander and the Cardinal had continued to chat about various topics, including the relationships between various shipgirls, not least among them Cleveland and Helena's. After a few hours, he had walked her back to her dorm so she could sleep, and upon returning to his own home he had found Monty already in bed and asleep.

He opted to get some more rest. After all, it was the weekend.

...

Later that day, after saying goodbye to his wife, the Commander headed down to the Iris Orthodoxy dorms, shared by members of the Iris Libre and Vichya Dominion. As he approached, he could see all three Richelieu-class battleships taking a stroll nearby. Gascogne, a recent arrival and one of the Priority Research girls, had only recently started to shed her robotic personality in favor of a more personable one, thanks to his efforts at getting close with her. Jean Bart, the flagship of the Vichya Dominion and a close friend of the Eagle Union's Massachusetts, took her namesake seriously and was often dressed in a pirate-like outfit. She had held a sort of grudge against her elder sister, the Cardinal herself, for a while, but was starting to work past it.

Upon noticing the Commander's approach, Gascogne (for of course she was the first to see him) waved towards him and smiled. "Good morning, Master!"

He smiled and jogged over to the trio, waving back at the blue-haired woman. "Good morning, Gascogne, Jean Bart, Richelieu." As he came up to them, Jean Bart smirked lightly while Richelieu gave him a warm smile. "How are you three doing today?"

"Eh, decent. Nothin' too special, I guess." Jean Bart's response was somewhat curt, but held nothing but warmth. "Heard you hung out with Richy last night, huh?"

"Yep, we talked quite a bit after the wedding yesterday." He smiled at the pirate woman and sighed. "I don't remember seeing you there, Jean. Everything alright?"

"Ah, yeah. Needed a break from people after that mess of a sortie the other day." She rolled her eyes, and he grimaced, remembering the disastrous commission that had nearly resulted in a shouting match between Akagi and Jean Bart - if not worse. The Vichya battleship turned to her elder sister, frowning slightly. "Sorry I couldn't be there, Richy."

The Cardinal smiled knowingly and squeezed her sister's shoulder reassuringly. "It's alright, Jeanie. I understand." The Commander noticed the pirate woman's expression change when Richelieu used her nickname, and made a mental note to ask permission before ever using it himself.

Turning to Gascogne, he smiled. "I did see you yesterday, though you seemed a bit... awkward." The prototype battleship sighed and nodded.

"My social capabilities are still... less than optimal, Master. I'm adjusting each time I attend a new event... but I failed to properly anticipate what was required for the wedding." She grimaced and glanced at her sisters. "I still have much to learn, it would seem."

The Commander smiled softly and patted the woman's shoulder, making her blush slightly. "It's alright, Gascogne. I'm just glad you made the effort, and that's what matters." With a nod, Gascogne leaned in and hugged him gently.

"So, Commander, what brings you around here so early?" Richelieu smirked at him as he stepped back from hugging Gascogne.

"Honestly? I came by to see how you were doing, but getting to see all three of you was a nice bonus." He smiled at the three sisters.

"Well, since there's not much to talk about, I'm gonna head out." Jean Bart shook the Commander's hand before giving each of her sisters a quick hug goodbye. "See ya two later." With that, Jean Bart walked off, with Gascogne bidding the Commander and Richelieu farewell before leaving as well. Left alone, the two of them walked over to a nearby bench and sat down, letting out twin sighs and chuckling at the sound.

"Well, Commander, I'm glad that you came by." The battleship smiled warmly and gazed at her friend, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. "Was there another reason you're here, though?"

The Commander raised an eyebrow, although she couldn't see it, and shook his head. "Well, no. I just wanted to check on you."

"And why is that, Commander?" She opened her eyes and looked over at him. The Commander sighed and smiled back, gently taking her hand in his.

"Because you're a good friend, Richy." He squeezed her hand, eliciting a soft giggle from the Cardinal as she returned the gesture. "Good friends like you are hard to come by these days... except around here. This Port is a rare exception."

She thought about that for a moment before nodding, a knowing smile forming on her face. "I understand what you mean, Commander. We are truly blessed to have such close bonds with one another here, something that would probably never happen otherwise." She leaned in closer and blushed a little. "But don't forget to give yourself some credit, my friend."

He tilted his head, confused for a moment - before her meaning clicked in his mind. "I think I know what you're saying, Cardinal... but I'm only a small part of-"

"Stop right there, Commander." The battleship placed a finger on his lips and smiled. "You played a much larger part in bringing us all together than you may think, and it would be wrong of you to go on not realizing that." She placed a soft kiss on his nose, making him blush slightly, before sighing softly and shuffling closer to him.

"Richelieu... thank you." He smiled and let go of her hand, moving his arm around her shoulders as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I guess I have no choice but to admit it, huh?"

"Nope~" she replied in a teasing tone, giggling softly and closing her eyes. She smiled a bit more when she felt his head lean on hers, and she moved a little closer to her Commander.

"It really is a beautiful day, isn't it?" His whisper only reached her ears, and she nodded.

"Indeed it is, my dear friend... indeed it is."

----------------------------------

BOOM!

The sound of cannon fire rent the air as the Commander supervised an exercise between the fleets of Iris Libre and the Vichya Dominion. As expected, Richelieu and Jean Bart were the respective flagships, and they were on a pretty even keel thus far.

"Hah!" With a grunt, Jean Bart leaped out of the way of her sister's barrage, only receiving a small scratch on her rigging. "Playtime's over, sister!"

The pirate woman took aim... and fired.

BOOM!

The Cardinal looked up, seeing the shell streak through the air-

CRASH!

-before impacting squarely on her shoulder, knocking her back a few feet. "Ack!"

BEEEEEEEEP! The impact signaled the depletion of Richelieu's HP, ending the exercise with a victory for the Vichya Dominion.

"Hell yeah!" Jean Bart's cry was met by cheers from her fellow shipgirls, and even the Cardinal couldn't help but smile genuinely at her sister's elation. "Gotcha, Richy!"

Holding her shoulder gently, the Iris Libre flagship sailed over to her sister. "Well played, my dear sister. You performed spectacularly." Her smile was warm as she approached Jean Bart, who turned to her with a smirk.

"Heh, thanks, sis." The pirate woman met her sister near the docks and helped her jump back up, their riggings transforming into their respective ship forms. As the Manjuus went to work on repairing Richelieu's hull, Jean Bart stayed next to her and gently hugged her. "You put up a good fight, Richelieu."

"You're not too bad yourself, Jeanie," the Cardinal replied with a wink, giggling as the Vichya flagship rolled her eyes in mock disappointment.

"Splendid performance from both of you," the Commander remarked as he approached the sisters. "You really don't mess around, even during exercises."

"Thanks, Commander," Jean Bart replied, smiling at him. "Can't afford to hold back, especially since I'm against Richy." She patted the orange-haired woman's unhurt shoulder and squeezed it.

"I could say the same about you, Jeanie. Can't hold back if I'm facing off against my dear sister, can I?" She chuckled and smiled warmly at both her sister and the Commander. "Well, Commander, I'll be at the repair area if you wish to talk to me." The Cardinal winked and bade Jean Bart farewell, going off to where Vestal was waiting for her.

"I'll see ya around, Commander." Jean Bart patted his shoulder and walked off, leaving the Commander alone to help the remaining shipgirls back to port.

...

That evening, Richelieu found herself in the Commander's house once again. This time, however, they did not simply talk; she decided to treat him to dinner, so he was now helping her prepare the food.

Eventually, dinner was served, and the two of them sat down at the table that was set up. Before they dug in, Richelieu held out her hands to him, and after a moment of hesitation, he took them. With a smile, Richelieu said a prayer...

...and with that, the two began their meal.

...

"Ahh...~" Richelieu sighed contentedly as she leaned against the Commander's shoulder. She felt decidedly stuffed, having left almost nothing behind between the two of them from the dinner. His arm wrapped around her shoulder, and she smiled. "That was delicious. Thank you for helping me, Commander~"

"Of course, Richy," he replied, leaning his head on hers. "It was a pleasure to assist you." He gently kissed the top of her head, and she giggled, closing her eyes and cuddling close to him on the couch. "I don't feel like moving..."

"Neither do I, Commander~" She smiled and yawned, drifting off to sleep next to him. "Good night~"

"Good night, Cardinal..." he replied, falling asleep as well.

It was a very comfortable and peaceful night for both of them.

Chapter Text

It was one of the hottest days of the year so far, and it was only the beginning of summer.

Many of the shipgirls at the Port were taking the opportunity to go have fun at the local beach, but not everyone wanted to join them. Some refused because they were more self-conscious regarding their bodies than others, such as Admiral Hipper (who also didn't want to be teased by her sister); others just didn't like the feeling of getting sand between their toes (unless you were Black Prince).

One girl in particular had a different reason for staying behind. She just wanted to enjoy her popsicle in peace.

"Mmm..." pop!

Sitting in the common room of the Eagle Union dorms was Gridley-class destroyer McCall, who had been part of the fleet about as long as Repulse. It was a rare sight to see her without a popsicle either in hand or in her mouth, and it was rare too to see her having any other flavor than sea salt. No one really knew why the destroyer enjoyed them so much, not even her sisters. Nobody really questioned it, either.

While most of the other shipgirls were off at the beach, McCall remained at the Port, choosing to enjoy the cool of the dorms instead of the heat of the beach. She didn't really do much, besides working away at her current popsicle, throwing away the stick once it was done, and quickly retrieving a new one. It wasn't much, but she didn't mind.

At one point, the Commander, who had also opted to stay behind, made his rounds through the dorms. When he came to the Eagle Union dorms, he peeked into the common room and spotted the pink-haired girl. "Oh, hey McCall!"

The destroyer looked up from her phone and nodded. "Mmm... morning, Commander." She took a quick taste of her popsicle before continuing. "Thought you'd have gone with the others to the beach. What made you stay?"

He smiled and entered the room, taking a seat nearby and sighing. "Well, Hammann would never let me hear the end of it if I so much as blinked the wrong way while I was there, so I thought I'd spare myself the embarrassment." He chuckled a bit, motioning towards the destroyer's popsicle. "How about you?"

McCall shrugged, sticking her popsicle back into her mouth and talking through it. "Too hot. Didn't want to have all my popsicles melt before I could finish them." She glanced over at the Commander. "You get me, right?"

He nodded knowingly. She'd been with him for a long time, so he was well aware of her love of those frozen desserts. "Yeah, I get you." With a smile, he stretched his arms a bit, sighing contentedly as he felt the cool air from the ventilation system hit his face. "Ahh... I can see why you'd enjoy staying here."

"Mhm," she replied quietly, before getting up and moving to sit next to the Commander. After a few moments of silence, she removed her popsicle from her mouth and held it out to him. "Want a taste, Commander?"

When he hesitated, the destroyer tilted her head briefly, before a knowing look popped into her eyes. "Ah, I see. Yeah, it'd be kinda like an indirect kiss, but I don't really mind." McCall shrugged and kept holding it out for him.

"Hmm... alright, sure." He nodded and took the offered treat, taking a small bit of it into his mouth and gently tasting it. Yup, just as I thought, it's sea salt again, he thought as the familiar flavor hit his taste buds. After a couple of seconds, he took the popsicle back out and handed it back to the destroyer, who promptly stuck it right back into her own mouth. "Not exactly my favorite flavor, but I can see the appeal."

With a small smile, McCall leaned on his shoulder. "I knew you'd understand, Commander." Closing her eyes, the pink-haired girl continued to suck on the popsicle. After a few more moments, the Commander put his arm around her, causing her to look up at him. "Hey, Commander, can I tell you something?"

He looked down at his friend and smiled. "Sure, what's up?"

She sighed and idly continued working on the almost-finished treat. "I used to think I'd be able to go on eating popsicles and spending my time daydreaming forever... but I've pretty much accepted by this point that I was wrong about that, heh." She giggled lightly and nuzzled his shoulder. "I have you to thank for that, Commander."

He chuckled and moved his hand up to her head, gently ruffling the destroyer's messy hair. "You're welcome, McCall."

The two of them stayed like that for the rest of the morning... until the rest of the girls came back from the beach, at which point they begrudgingly got up and went about their days.

---------------------------------------

A couple of days later...

Torpedoes ready... and... now!

"Let's finish this before my popsicle melts..." McCall muttered as she sent out two waves of torpedoes, thanks to her skill. The 8 torpedoes rushed through the water, with a couple of them missing the enemy targets. The remaining 6 found their marks, however, and dealt enough damage to sink the rest of the practice fleet.

BEEP!

When the signal for the end of the exercise rang out, McCall sighed and inspected her popsicle briefly. As she had feared, it was beginning to melt, so she quickly popped it into her mouth and followed her fleetmates off of the water, dismissing her rigging. "Mmm..."

"McCall," a voice called from nearby. The pink-haired destroyer turned to see who it was, and found it was Shiranui, a fellow destroyer who was also capable of firing two waves of torpedoes in one shot. "Hey."

"Hey, Shiranui, what's up?" McCall greeted her with a small wave, and the Sakura girl idly waved back.

"Nice performance out there," the dark-haired shopkeeper murmured. "Some advice, though... try not to launch your salvo as soon as it's ready... that might work for magnetic torpedoes, but not for the kind you're equipped with." Shiranui pulled up a small schematic on her phone, showing the display to McCall. "Obviously you need to have it ready as soon as possible, but when you launch them, try to time it for maximum damage."

McCall nodded in understanding, idly sucking on her popsicle. "Mhm... good advice. Thanks, Shiranui." She gave the Sakura girl a thumbs-up, to which Shiranui responded with one of her own.

"Yep. Anyway, I'm going back to my shop. See you around, I guess." The Sakura destroyer nodded to McCall before floating off on her chair, leaving the pink-haired girl to walk off towards her dorms.

...

When McCall returned to the Eagle Union dorms, she found the common room already full of her fellow shipgirls, and she almost started to walk back to her own room...

...before ultimately deciding against it and joining the others in the common room. Upon noticing her, some of them idly waved to her in greeting as she made her way to the fridge and took out a new popsicle. After all, her old one had melted.

As she sat down, McCall noticed someone walking over to her. "Hm? Oh, hey Commander."

The Commander smiled and waved to the destroyer before taking a seat next to her. Some of the other Union girls waved to him as a hello, but others just continued doing whatever they were doing, since a visit from the Commander wasn't an unusual thing given his relationship to the Cleveland-class cruisers. "Heya, McCall. I take it the exercise went well?"

"Mhm," the girl affirmed. "Shiranui gave me some advice afterwards about my torpedoes..." She idly sucked on the frozen treat in her mouth, leaning gently against the Commander's shoulder again.

"Let me guess, something about waiting for the right moment instead of firing them as soon as possible?" The Commander smirked knowingly, that expression only growing as McCall murmured an affirmative.

"Exactly that." She smiled up at him and held out her popsicle, but he shook his head. Shrugging, she popped it back into her mouth. "Commander, can I ask you something?"

Her question surprised him a little, but he nodded. "Of course, McCall. Something on your mind?"

She thought for a few moments, slowly working away at the almost-finished treat. "Why me, Commander?"

Now that caught the Commander off guard. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

She sighed and looked up at him. "There are literally hundreds of girls in this port, and most of them are so much more powerful than me... yet you still put me in your fleets. Why?"

He hesitated for a few moments, but it wasn't because he was making an excuse. He had a reason, he just needed to put it to words. "Well... most of the others have only been here a relatively short time, McCall. On the other hand, you've been here pretty much as long as Repulse." He smiled down at her. "In fact, my answer would be the same if Repulse asked the same thing you did. I keep you there because I know how strong you've become, and I trust you to help me get the job done."

McCall mulled over this for several long seconds of silence before shifting her position so she could throw out her now-consumed popsicle. The Commander was surprised when she didn't automatically take out a new treat - she wrapped herself around his arm and looked up at him. "So... it's not about strength... or rarity... it's about trust?"

"Exactly." He smiled and ruffled her hair again, making her giggle softly. "You're a great friend to me, McCall, and that's why I trust you."

She sighed softly and leaned her head on his chest, nuzzling him a bit. "Mmm... thanks, Commander. That means a lot to me." She sat up briefly and kissed his cheek, purring when he returned it. "I love you, Commander."

While he'd known how she felt for a long time, it was rare to hear her actually say those words, and it brought a small blush to his face. Letting out a long sigh, he kissed the top of McCall's head and whispered, "I love you too, McCall."

Upon hearing his words, the destroyer smiled warmly and cuddled up to him, uncaring of the few shipgirls around them who reacted to the gesture. After all, she didn't care what others thought of her feelings.

All that mattered was that the Commander knew, and that he cared for her just as much as he cared about the other girls.

She was content with that knowledge as she dozed off in his embrace.

She was happy to be loved.

Chapter Text

"Hah! Hya! Hah!"

Chink!

The sounds of metal hitting metal mixed with that of grunting in the Sakura Empire's training grounds. Within, two shipgirls were sparring with their katanas.

Miry, who had been using her blade for countless years, seemed to barely break a sweat. However, the same could not be said for her opponent, Takao. The heavy cruiser was panting heavily, struggling to land more than a couple of hits on the META ship.

"Gh...!" Takao grunted as her sparring partner lanced out with another swing of her blade, scoring a hit directly on the cruiser's shoulder. With a pained gasp, Takao fell to the ground, unable to get back up. The sound of metal cutting through the air told her that Miry's blade was now pointed at her head.

"Let's stop for today, Takao-san," the META carrier suggested. "I don't want to see you hurt yourself." The woman sheathed her blade and held out a hand, prompting Takao to look up at her and accept the offer.

"Nnh... thank you, Miry-san," she replied, standing up. "However, it takes quite a lot for me to reach such a point." The cruiser sheathed her own katana and bowed to her sparring partner, who returned the gesture. "Same time next week, I presume?"

"Sounds like a plan," the carrier said with a smile. "Looking forward to it."

With that, the two swordswomen left the training grounds.

...

Later that day...

It was around lunchtime, and Takao was on patrol with the Commander, since she was his secretary for the time being. Her canine ears were almost constantly on a swivel, trying to detect any abnormality in the surroundings.

"Hey, Takao..." the Commander started, prompting the cruiser to look at him. "I hear you've been sparring with Miry, correct?"

She nodded, inwardly wondering where this conversation was going. "Why do you ask, Shikikan?"

He paused for a moment before continuing to speak. "Maybe you and I should try sparring sometime? I've practiced with Miry in the past, but I've never gotten to go up against you." He smiled at her warmly. "What do you say?"

The cruiser thought for a few moments, considering his proposition. "I'll have to think about it, Shikikan. Given the gap in experience between us, I feel not even you could withstand my blade, with all due respect." She watched his expression, trying to gauge his response to her own.

"Hmm... I understand where you're coming from... of course, any sparring we'd do would require less deadly weapons... like a wooden sword." He chuckled lightly. "Wouldn't want to lose my head from a missed block, eh, Takao?"

"Of course not, Shikikan. That would be most detrimental to the well-being of the fleet." She smirked slightly as they kept walking, only a small amount of conversation coming up after that.

----------------------------------

A few weeks later...

The Commander was on his way to meet up with Takao at the Sakura dorms. She had messaged him that morning that she was willing to spar with him, so he was looking forward to the experience.

Suddenly, a voice popped up behind him. "Ara, is Shikikan going to train with Takao-chan~?"

"I-" He whirled around to face Atago, visibly flinching from surprise. "Atago, don't startle me like that, please..." He sighed and took a few deep breaths to calm his heart down.

"Oh, my apologies, Shikikan~" the cruiser replied with a giggle as she came closer to him. "I simply wanted to accompany you before you arrived for your sparring match~"

Before he could respond, the dog-eared woman put an arm around his waist and brought herself against him. His cheeks reddened a little as he walked alongside Atago, but he didn't really mind. After all, he was close enough with pretty much everyone in his fleet to avoid any awkwardness that might arise from such close contact.

"How're you holding up, Atago?" The Commander looked at his companion's face as they walked, and he smiled at her.

"Oh, I've been quite well, actually~" She giggled lightly and sighed, smiling back at her Commander. "I'm glad to spend some time with you, even if it's just this~"

"I always enjoy spending time with you and your sisters, Atago," he replied as they reached the training grounds. As he expected, Takao was waiting for him, one wooden sword at her side and another in her hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sparring match to attend."

"Of course, Shikikan~ Have fun~" Atago kissed the top of his head before letting him go, opting to take a seat on the sidelines so she could spectate. Takao didn't protest, as having someone present would allow for quicker treatment of any accidental injuries.

"Welcome, Shikikan. I'm glad you could make it," Takao called to him, holding out the second sword. As he took it, she made her way to the middle of the grounds, and he followed. "I hope you're ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Takao." He smirked slightly and bowed to his sparring partner, and she returned the gesture. Atago refereed the exercise for them.

With a shout of "Hajime!", the training match began in earnest...

...

One hour later...

"Haah... haah..."

The Commander panted heavily as he stood in front of Takao, both of them having worn each other out with several successful strikes against their opponent. He smiled weakly and bowed lightly. "Thank you for the training, Takao-san."

The heavy cruiser bowed in return, breathing heavily but not panting as much as he was. "It was a pleasure to spar with you, Shikikan." She extended her hand to him, and he took it, shaking it a few times. "I look forward to any future opportunities we have to do this again."

"And I look forward to it as well," he replied. As they put away their wooden swords, Atago came up to them and took both into a hug.

"Well done, you two~" she whispered and giggled softly, causing Takao and the Commander to blush from how close their faces were now.

"A-atago..." Takao tried to get her to let go, but failed as her sister refused to release them from the embrace for a solid minute. Her embarrassment led her to avoid looking into the Commander's eyes, and he noticed, smiling softly.

------------------------------------

Two days later...

"Shikikan, may I speak with you?"

The sudden voice of Takao caused the Commander to jump in surprise. "Oh... sure, Takao. What's up?"

The two of them were in the Commander's office, having worked in silence for most of the morning. For Takao to interrupt the workflow already was very unusual, but he didn't dare question her. She motioned to the couch, and with a shrug, he went over and sat next to her. Letting out a soft sigh, Takao looked at him. "Shikikan, I couldn't help but notice something the other day..." She looked away for a moment, and the Commander thought he saw her blush a bit as she continued, "The way you were walking with my sister... I was wondering if-"

He cut her off. "You have nothing to worry about, Takao." With a smile, he put a hand on her shoulder, noticing how she tensed up briefly before relaxing once again. "That was just Atago being Atago."

She sighed again and slowly brought her hand up to hold his, her blush now very much evident. "I... I see... I thought for a moment... that there was something more to it..." She wasn't looking into his eyes now; she was avoiding them entirely.

"Takao, please correct me if I'm wrong, but... you sound like you were jealous of what I was doing with her?" He tilted his head, speaking slowly as the cruiser tensed up again for a moment. "If you want to just take a walk like that together, you can always ask me..." He smiled softly and waited for her to respond.

"N-no, Shikikan... that would be wrong of me to ask of you..." Her blush only worsened now, and he could now feel her trembling a little. "But... you're right about the first part... I suppose I did feel a bit... jealous of the attention you were giving my sister." Slowly, Takao looked into his eyes again, and he knew she was struggling to come out of her usual emotional shell. "Atago... she suggested to me before I arrived here today... that I ask you about these things..."

He gently squeezed her shoulder, and her reply was a sharp inhale followed by a slow exhale. He slowly brought his hand around her shoulders, pulling the serious cruiser closer to him. "Takao, you can always come to me with any problems you have." He leaned in and whispered, "Even if it involves me directly."

The cruiser shuddered a bit as she let out another sigh, and after a few moments of silence, she leaned over and rested her head on the Commander's shoulder and spoke. "I... thank you, Shikikan..."

He smiled and gently leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Of course, Takao. After all, I can't effectively lead you all if there's something troubling you, right?"

The dog-eared woman smiled a bit and nodded. "True..." She pressed a little closer to him, closing her eyes and whispering, "Shikikan... may I stay like this... for just a little longer?"

He inwardly chuckled, bringing a hand up and beginning to pet the cruiser's ears, noticing her soft purrs as he did so. "Takao, you can stay like this as long as you want."

She responded by shuffling even closer, cuddling up to him like an actual dog would with its owner. Takao smiled softly as she made that mental comparison, assuming that the Commander likely thought the same thing. Of course, he knew better than to voice such a comparison...

After all, he did not own them. In his eyes, they were his equals.

They all deserved that respect. Every one of them.

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.

Chapter Text

Tick... tock... tick... tock...

The only sound in the Commander's office was that of his clock, slowly ticking away the minutes as he toiled away at the day's work. It was already past noon, and he had missed lunch.

As he reached the end of one document, he took an opportunity to rest his eyes briefly, so he blinked several times before slowly looking around the room. In the back of his mind, he recalled that the door had opened at some point while he was working, but he'd been far too busy with said work to even register who it was.

Scanning the room, the Commander noticed nothing of note... until he saw the flowers.

"Huh...?"

He stood up and walked around his desk to inspect the small bundle of flowers that were now sitting on the work table, placed in a nice little vase of water. The arrangement was quite cute, actually, being a set of pink and purple flowers, with one white flower in the middle. He wished he could remember who had left them here, but he could not.

"Hmm... I should ask around..." he mused to himself, taking a quick sniff of the floral arrangement and smiling at the pleasant aroma. He couldn't place it, but whatever it was, it was quite lovely. Satisfied, he went back to work...

...

Several hours later, he put down his pen with a sigh, having finally finished his work for the day. "Mmm..." he groaned as he stretched his arms out behind him.

Glancing towards the secretary chair, he dimly remembered that his previous secretary, Kasumi, had finished her rotation the prior day, leaving him without a secretary today. He made a mental note to put out a notice for people to volunteer. Logging into the Port's Juustagram page, he sent out a quick post to the fleet.

"Secretary volunteers requested. Recommendations encouraged. Thank you."

With that, he clicked send, and started packing up his things for the night. As he finished, he gazed towards the floral arrangement he had noticed earlier. Thankfully, it seemed to be doing well, so he nodded to it. "Let's see if I can't find out who brought you here earlier, hm?"

Smiling to himself, he clicked off the light and left the office for the night.

--------------------------

The next morning...

Ding!

Surprisingly, the Commander woke up not to his alarm, but to a Juustagram notification. Wearily he rolled over and picked up his phone.

"Mmmh..." The soft hums from behind him told him his wife had woken up. "Huh...? What's up, Commander?"

He rolled onto his back, phone in hand, and shuffled close to Montpelier. "Juustagram, apparently..." He opened the app and checked the notifications, finding that someone had replied to his late-night secretary search. It was from a name he didn't recognize... "Hey, Monty... do you know the name Hanazuki?"

"Hanazuki... hmm..." The cruiser thought for a moment, nodding slowly. "Rings a bell... pretty sure she arrived yesterday at about lunchtime. Surprised you didn't already meet her."

The Commander glanced away, cheeks heating up with embarrassment. "Umm... I think I was so busy working I didn't realize she had dropped by... I think she left some flowers in the office."

Montpelier smiled. "What's the message say, then?" She peeked over her Commander's shoulder and read the comment. "Well, guess you got yourself a secretary."

"I guess so," he muttered, giving his wife a quick kiss on the cheek, before starting his day.

...

A couple of hours later, the Commander found himself back in the office, looking over the itinerary for the day.

Knock knock! The sound of the door made him jump slightly in surprise. He wasn't expecting any visitors, so he had no clue who this might be. "Come on in!"

The door creaked open, and from behind it stepped a girl clad almost entirely in a pink kimono that matched her tails and hair. It was immediately obvious that the morning visitor was from the Sakura Empire, and she was a kitsune. She held a similarly-colored parasol behind her as she stepped into the Commander's office.

"Ohayōgozaimasu, Shikikan," the girl said in a light voice, smiling warmly at him. "I'm here about your request from last night?"

Suddenly, he realized he was staring at her, and he blinked before replying. "Ah- yes, my apologies. You must be Hanazuki, yes?" He stood up, held out his hand, and smiled at the foxgirl.

With an affirmative nod, Hanazuki took his hand and shook it gently, then bowed to him. "Correct, Shikikan. I am Hanazuki, Akizuki-class destroyer of the Sakura Empire. I apologize for entering without permission yesterday afternoon..."

Before she could continue, the Commander held up his hand. "It was my fault, Hanazuki. I was too deep in my work to realize you were there, and I apologize for that. Usually, I make a point to greet new arrivals on day one." His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and he gestured to the vase of flowers, still alive and well on the coffee table. "Thank you for the flowers, by the way."

The girl blushed a little at the words, and bowed once more. "You're very welcome, Shikikan. I'm glad we could officially meet today." She smiled warmly once more and motioned to the secretary seat. "May I sit down?"

"Ah, of course..." he muttered, sitting back down in his own chair as she took the seat across from him. "You said you wanted to discuss my request?"

"Yes, Shikikan," she responded quietly, letting out a small sigh as she seemed to muster up some courage. "Umm... if you don't mind, I'd like to fill the secretary position!"

For several moments, the Commander was silent, and Hanazuki worried she had somehow been too forward with this... but eventually he nodded slowly. "...Consider yourself the new secretary, Hanazuki. Welcome aboard."

She smiled warmly and bowed her head. "Arigato, Shikikan. I will do my best for you!"

With that, the newly-paired Commander and secretary went about with the day's work.

...

As the day came to a close, the Commander wrote his signature on the final document to be submitted to HQ. Letting out a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and stretched out his arms. Bringing them back down, he glanced across at his secretary, noticing she was looking at him.

"Something the matter, Hanazuki?" He asked her quietly.

With a start, the kitsune quickly glanced away, her face heating up a bit. "M-my apologies, Shikikan... there's nothing wrong, I promise." Inwardly, she chastised herself for staring at the Commander even for a short time. Quietly, she spoke again. "I m-must be just a bit tired, that's all..."

He smiled at her, leaning forward and gently placing a hand on her shoulder, causing her to softly squeak. "It's alright, don't worry. I'm sure it's just been a long day for both of us." Patting her shoulder gently, the Commander sat back in his chair and began to organize the finished paperwork. "If you'd like, you can head out now, Hanazuki. I can finish up here."

The foxgirl let out a slightly-relieved sigh, shuddering a bit. "Arigato, Shikikan. Have a good night!" She smiled a little and stood up, bowing to him and turning towards the door. As she reached it, she paused and turned around again. "One last thing, Shikikan..."

The Commander glanced up at her. "Hm?"

She sighed again. "Please let me know if you'd like me to bring some more flowers in the future...?"

He smiled at the kitsune and nodded. "I will, Hanazuki, thank you. Have a good night."

"You as well, Shikikan." With that, Hanazuki left the office, took a few moments to collect herself, and made her way back to the Sakura dorms.

-----------------------------

Three weeks later...

"Shikikan, I've brought you some new flowers~"

The voice of the pink-haired kitsune at his office door brought an instant smile to the Commander's face. "Ah, thank you Hanazuki. Could you please place them on the..."

The words died in his throat as the girl held out the new bundle of flowers. It was pink and purple, like the very first... but this time the center flower was red. Something about the new arrangement brought a small blush to his face, and he took a few moments to collect his thoughts. "Ummm... those can probably go... uhh..."

He glanced around the room, trying to find a good place for Hanazuki's latest delivery. Eventually, his gaze landed on the desk itself, which up to this point had remained empty of her floral arrangements. He decided to fix that. "Right here on the desk!" He gestured to an empty area on his desk, and with a nod, Hanazuki placed her newest arrangement in that spot. Stepping back, she took a moment to simply look at the situation.

"Hmm..." she murmured, and the Commander looked up at her.

"What was that, Hanazuki?"

She blinked and smiled, meeting his gaze. "Oh, nothing, Shikikan! I was just admiring how nice your office looks now~" She giggled lightly and bowed to him.

By this point, Hanazuki had already ended her shift as secretary, so she only got to drop by the office every once in a while, like today. For some reason the Commander couldn't quite place, his day always seemed to brighten immensely when the pink-haired kitsune paid him a visit. Whatever the case, he appreciated it all the same.

"Well, that's thanks to you, Hanazuki," the Commander quipped, bringing a small blush to the foxgirl's cheeks. "I think even Hipper would be inclined to agree with your statement."

"Perhaps so, Shikikan~" Hanazuki replied, grinning at him. She glanced towards the clock, letting out a sigh as she realized her visit was over. "Gomen'nasai, Shikikan, but I have to take my leave now..." He could feel the regret in her voice as she spoke, which he shared as he nodded a bit.

"I understand, Hanazuki. I'll see you soon, though, right?" He gave her a small smile, a reminder that he would be overseeing the Sakura Empire's exercises in a few days, in which she would be a participant.

Realizing this, Hanazuki's face brightened, and she bowed deeply. "Ah, of course, Shikikan! I look forward to seeing you at the exercises~" She flashed him a small wink before leaving the office.

The second she stepped outside, she stopped. Did... did I just wink at him...? Oh gods... Her face flushed deeply as she realized what she'd done. She hoped he wouldn't take it too heavily, and this was all she could tell herself about that as she made her way to her next appointment.

Within the office, the Commander had also registered her wink, the gesture serving to just give him something else to smile about as he went about his day.

...

That night...

After leaving the office, the Commander returned to his quarters with Montpelier, spending some time watching TV with her after dinner. The whole time, something about his demeanor felt... not necessarily off, but unusual, to Montpelier.

While watching TV, this notion brought itself to the forefront of her mind, and she decided to deal with it now. "Hey, Commander, how about going on a stroll before bed?"

Caught off-guard, he took a few seconds to respond. "...Sure, sounds like a nice idea!" Kissing her head, he helped her up, and soon the two of them were outside, slowly walking along together around the Port. For the most part, the pair simply enjoyed each other's presence, opting not to break the silence around them... but soon, Montpelier changed that.

"Commander, you seem... different today," she murmured to him as they walked.

He looked over at his wife and tilted his head, confused. "How do you mean, Monty?"

She was silent for a moment, save for a quiet sigh. "Well... I haven't seen you this happy since before our wedding. You seem... brighter."

He mulled over her words for a moment, seeing the truth in them. He recalled how being around Montpelier always seemed to brighten his day, even despite her seemingly-indifferent mannerisms before they got married. "I... guess I see what you mean, Monty... huh..."

After a few more seconds of silence, the light cruiser smirked and leaned in to his ear to whisper to him, "So... who is it this time?"

The Commander's cheeks instantly flushed deep red as he glanced away from his wife, her smirk not going away as she leaned on her husband's shoulder. Eventually, he muttered softly, "...Hanazuki..."

With a joking tsk, tsk, Montpelier shook her head and smiled at him. "Figures it would be her, huh?"

"I have no clue what you mean, Monty."

His response was so deadpan that the cruiser actually laughed, the sound short but genuine as she sighed again. "I'll be honest, Commander, when I met her on her first day, I suspected you might fall for her eventually." She leaned in again, whispering conspiratorially, "I just didn't expect you to fall for her this quickly."

The two of them chuckled together, the Commander's cheeks never losing their deep red blush as they continued walking.

-------------------------------

Three days later, at the Sakura Empire exercise...

The Commander found himself standing by the harbor, observing the girls of the Sakura Empire as they carried out their practice maneuvers.

There were two teams today. The first consisted of Akagi, Shoukaku, and Suruga in the main fleet, and Shiranui, Yuubari, and Atago in the vanguard. The second fleet was comprised of Shinano, Nagato, and Amagi in the main fleet, with Kumano, Azuma, and Hanazuki in the vanguard.

At first glance, most would have expected the second fleet to have the clear advantage, given the presence of Azuma in the vanguard, but as the exercises went on, the two groups were pretty evenly matched. The Commander found his gaze drifting more often towards Fleet Two, more specifically towards Hanazuki, but if anyone noticed, they didn't show it. Inwardly, he was pretty sure Akagi would try to deal with his wandering gaze at some point, but he didn't care at the moment.

Time went on, and soon enough, Fleet Two ultimately proved the victors of the exercise. As the results were announced by Kawakaze, the Commander observed the various reactions of the six winners. He could see Amagi chuckling to herself; Shinano simply smiling sleepily while congratulating her opponents on a well-fought match; Nagato briefly hopping up and down in excitement before composing herself, cheeks flush with embarrassment; Kumano taking selfies, as expected, to commemorate the victory; Azuma politely joining Shinano in congratulating her opponents; and Hanazuki...

...nowhere to be found...?

Suddenly, a quiet giggle from nearby caused the Commander to look around his shoulder, where he saw Hanazuki already back on dry land. He stammered for a moment, unable to collect his thoughts. "H-hanazuki...? Wh-what are you- Oof!"

He grunted as the pink-haired kitsune hugged him out of nowhere, heat immediately rising in his cheeks as her arms wrapped around him. "Hehe~!"

"H-hanazuki, shouldn't you be celebrating with the others...?" His mind was still trying to register the sudden embrace as he spoke. The girl just giggled and smiled at him.

"I congratulated them over the intercom~ I'm not much for elaborate celebrations, you know?" She finally released him from the hug and stepped back, and the Commander could see now she was blushing heavily as well. He smiled warmly at the destroyer, patting her shoulder gently.

"Congratulations on the win, Hanazuki. You all did very well, and I'm beyond impressed by everyone's performance." Inwardly, he was trying to get his heart to calm down after the unexpected hug, but outwardly, he was calm as anything now.

"Arigato, Shikikan~" Hanazuki replied, grinning happily at his praise. "I look forward to the next opportunity to show our strength like this~"

"Same here, Hanazuki," he responded with a small smile. In the back of his mind, he realized just how right Montpelier had been.

He was absolutely falling for this pink-haired kitsune, and strangely, it was worrying him slightly.

...

That night, as the Commander walked into his quarters, he noticed Montpelier making some dinner in the kitchen. Smiling he hung up his officer's cap...

...and paused as he noticed a small object sitting on the kitchen table. It was a ring.

After a few seconds, he started to panic. Had he forgotten his own ring somehow when he left for the office this morning? Had Montpelier decided to rescind her oath? He quickly glanced down at his hand. His ring was still there, as always. He looked over to Montpelier. Her ring was still on her finger. So why was there another ring on the table?

As he was going through all this in his head, Montpelier glanced over and chuckled at the panicked expression on the Commander's face. "Hehe, guess you noticed?"

Slowly, he looked up at his wife, a mix of confusion and fear on his face. "Monty, why is there a Promise Ring on the table?"

The cruiser smiled, not even missing a beat as she called back to him, "So you can propose to her."

...

The Commander was silent for several moments as he tried to process what his wife had just said. "P-propose...?"

Monty smirked at him and winked. "Yeah, to Hanazuki."

His face heated up instantly, his train of thought derailing as he tried to reply. "I- You- You got this for me?"

"Yeah!"

"How?"

"Paid for it!"

"With my gems?!"

"Actually, I persuaded Shiranui to get Akashi to sell it for the equivalent price in coins."

"How the hell- You know what, never mind."

The Commander walked over to the couch and sat down, his mind racing. "...Why?"

Montpelier was silent for a few minutes as she finished preparing dinner. Once it was all set, she sat down next to him and leaned on his shoulder. "I was watching the exercise today, and I saw her jump back to dry land and tackle you into a hug." She leaned in and whispered, "Pretty sure she feels the same way about you, Commander. Just saying."

He sighed and smiled at the cruiser, kissing her head. "You know I love you, right?"

"Mhm, and I love you too." She lightly hit his chest. "That's why I'm doing this."

He nodded, and they stayed like that for a while before eating dinner and going to bed.

--------------------------

Two days later...

As the Commander stood by the harbor looking out at the water, he felt the light breeze brush across his face. He sighed softly and leaned on the railing, dimly noticing the item in his pocket.

"Shikikan?"

The soft voice behind him made him turn around, and he saw Hanazuki quietly approaching him with a slightly confused look on her face. "Ah, Hanazuki!" He smiled and motioned for her to come alongside him, and she joined him in looking out over the harbor. "Guess you're wondering why I wanted to meet you here, huh?"

"Y-yes... I am curious... what's the matter?" The kitsune smiled somewhat nervously at her Commander, slowly placing a hand on his arm. "Anything I can help with?"

He was silent for a moment before sighing and looking at her. The look in his eyes caught Hanazuki off guard somewhat... as it was one of nervousness as well. "Actually... yeah. I think you can help with this..." He turned to fully face her, gazing into her eyes and smiling warmly.

"Sh-shikikan...?" Her voice quivered a bit with confusion. Suddenly she noticed his hand moving to his pocket, and saw there was something in that pocket. Involuntarily, the kitsune let out a soft gasp. "I-I... is that...?"

Before she could say anything else, the Commander pulled the object out of his pocket and came down onto one knee, still looking at her eyes even as she struggled to maintain eye contact with him. "It's exactly what you think it is, Hanazuki... so I think you know what's coming ne-"

"Yes."

The Commander was struck dumb for a moment as she spoke in the same instant he opened the box to reveal the Promise Ring. "I... did you just-?"

"Hai, Shikikan. I said yes~"

The tone on her confirmation brought an instant blush to his cheeks, and she giggled as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his frame for the second time that week.

His hands slowly came up, one wrapping itself around her in return while the other gently cupped her cheek. For a moment, both were silent. Then, the Commander removed the Ring from its box and, taking Hanazuki's hand carefully, placed it on her finger. Once this was done, the kitsune beamed at her Commander before leaning in and kissing him happily.

After a few seconds, she pulled back, breathing softly and gazing into his eyes.

Soon, the Commander found the courage to speak up. "I love you, Hanazuki."

The foxgirl blushed and smiled, kissing his cheek and cupping his face with her hand. "I love you too, Shikikan."

The two spent the rest of the day relaxing together by the harbor, and any shipgirls who happened to pass them by could see them unashamedly holding one another's hand.

Hanazuki was quite proud indeed to have been welcomed into the Commander's family, and her flowers would always decorate his office each day.