Lollipops
Gneisenau scowled as she opened her hip pouch and rummaged inside, her fingers apparently finding nothing inside.
"Trouble?" asked Scharnhorst shortly, who had seen her sister's discomfort from the corner of her one good eye. It was a chilly autumn morning and they had been standing on one of the numerous cliffs surrounding the lonely Ironblood outpost, situated far to the north within the Arctic circle. Normally, Scharnhorst wouldn't have dragged herself to this spot, much less brought her younger sister with her, but circumstances demanded it. There had been a small Siren raiding fleet in the earlier only three days previously that had tried to bombard the base and had only been stopped thanks to quick action from Z46 and a bunch of Kriegsmarine humans in patrol boats, who had found them on their early morning patrol.
As the shipgirl base commander, subordinate only to the human admiral in command, Scharnhorst wasn't taking any chances after that – hence why she had been scanning the seas with a telescope in one hand and a cup of hot coffee in the other. The human beverage was something she had started trying relatively recently. It wasn't there to provide warmth – her one hundred and sixty thousand horsepower metabolism could easily sort that out – but it tasted nice in a bitter sort of way. Kept her on her toes as well, ready for action.
Gneisenau, on the other hand... Scharnhorst just couldn't understand her sister's strange partiality for lollipops. The fact that her glasses-sporting, bookish, calm, analytical younger sister had such a childish favourite food never ceased to amaze her. Even in battle, while her turrets tore into the enemy and her rigging merrily shredded Siren ship after Siren ship, Gneisenau still had her lollipops on hand, sucking on them pensively as she aimed her next salvo, or waving them in her hand at her hapless foes as she gunned them down while apologising for her lack of mercy. It just didn't fit.
What also didn't fit, however, was the fact that her younger sister currently had no lollipop in sight – only a stick, an empty pouch and a very annoyed expression.
"Gah," said Gneisenau. "I'm out of sweets!"
"Pity that. Why didn't you stock up?"
"Didn't have that many left anyway, and what with that damned cat Akashi starting to sell them at extortionate prices – gottverdammt!" Gneisenau snapped her pouch shut and hurled her consumed stick into the sea.
"That's pollution, Gneisenau," said Scharnhorst wryly.
"I don't care! This all started when Mutsuki and Kisaragi ordered an entire shipment for their dorm three months ago. Then the Royals chipped in for some more to give out to their destroyers after training runs, and then Ark Royal wanted some, and then – oh, it's all out of control!"
Scharnhorst chuckled suddenly, despite her sister's anger. One of the things that she loved the most about her younger sister was that, while she might be an exceptionally skilled fighter, she was also very clearly the younger sister, and could get flustered and worked up about very minor things that Scharnhorst just breezed past. Like this.
There was only one thing for a responsible older sister to do now. She quickly assumed a stern face and said brusquely, "Now, now, Gneisenau, no more of that. You're on duty! You should get back to watching the sea."
"Uh... very well. Fine. I'll do that," sulked the battleship, folding her arms.
They stood there for the next fifteen minutes, sweeping the water with their radar, waiting for an enemy that never appeared. Scharnhorst finished her coffee, relishing the sour aftertaste, and glanced at her watch.
"Time's up. Let's get going."
"Roger." Gneisenau stowed her binoculars, but as she turned around, she was suddenly presented with the unexpected sight of -
"A lollipop?" said Gneisenau, greatly surprised by the red apparition, held towards her in Scharnhorst's hand.
"Your favourite kind," said her older sister. "Did you think I came unprepared for such an event? I got Shiranui to give me a box before we set off for this base in case something like this happened."
"S-Scharnhorst..." Then, abruptly, Gneisenau broke into a huge grin. "Thanks. That's just what I needed."
"No problem, little sister. Tuck in."
NB – before anyone asks why there are humans in this, it's just an interesting thought that there may be ordinary people running around in the world of Azur Lane and fighting alongside our favourite shipgirls. That being said, I've chosen to call the Ironblood naval force in this story the Kriegsmarine as well since it'll be easier to understand. Hope you enjoyed!