Black and Gold

by wingkia

A follow up to One Wild Night, this one follows a new commander and his growing attraction to the youngest of the Yorktown sisters.

4. Chapter 4

Part Four – Wisdom of those that came before

Hornet had been hiding out in my quarters for a little over a week at this point and we've been in a strange place. I've avoided giving her a solid answer, as I'm still not one hundred percent sure I want to dive into this, but I know that I'm running out of time. I can hear the shower running and I know it's Hornet in there, I run my hands through my hair just as I hear my phone make a trilling noise. Looking over at it, I see a message from Enterprise, I tilt my head to the side and open it up to see what it says, 'Commander, I know that Hornet is staying there, but she isn't responding to my messages or taking my calls. Could you please arrange a meeting between me and my younger sister? I miss her and I know we need to work through this.'

With a heavy sigh, I send back a message saying, 'I'll see what I can do.'

I put my phone down and run a hand down my face as I think about how if I really would like to go ahead with a relationship with Hornet. If I do, then I need her to have her head in it, not worried about the fallout with her sister.

After a few minutes, I cycle through my contacts and find James's number, and hit dial. It rings a couple of times before I hear my friend's voice saying, "Stennis."

I run a hand over my head as I say, "James, it's Alex, do you have a few minutes?"

"' Course, what's on your mind?" he asks me.

I walk to my living room and sit on the couch as I say, "I'm in trouble, I seem to be the cause of conflict between two of the girls here. And I'm worried I've messed things up."

He's quiet for a moment and I hear him moving to a different location before he says, "Who are they?"

I shift in my seat before I say, "Enterprise and Hornet."

There is dead silence on the other end before he says, "I'm not going to be the best one to talk to about that, hang on a sec."

It doesn't take long before I hear a more feminine and gentle-sounding voice that asks, "Tell me what you know?"

I know who I've been put on with, almost instantly, the eldest Yorktown sister, I sigh as I fill her in on what has gone on and the current mess I'm in. When I was done filling her in she said to me, "Can you hold out for another week? I'll come and knock some sense into my sisters, but I'd like to know, who do you favor?"

I sigh inwardly and nod as I say to her, "I don't really have a choice but to hold out that long."

"You didn't answer me." She teased.

I laugh as I ask, "Is that where Hornet gets that from?"

Again she laughs and presses, "I'm not going to help if you don't answer me."

I groan out, "Fine, I favor Hornet, there, are you happy?"

From behind me, I heard her voice, "You do?"

On the phone, I heard Yorktown ask, "Can you pass the phone to Hornet?"

I close my eyes and point my phone to Hornet as I say, "Yorktown would like to talk to you."

Hornet was quick to take my phone, when I open my eyes I tilt my head to the side as it sinks in just how bold she was being at this point. Granted I'd seen her in next to nothing, cut off shorts and a bikini top, but it was different to see her in just a towel. Like somehow I was being allowed to see something much more intimate, but not in an overtly sexual way, either that or she was just really comfortable around me. I watch as she takes my phone and starts to walk towards the entrance to the kitchen, one arm under her bust as she said, "I'm hurting."

I get off the couch and follow her to the kitchen, seeing her rest the phone on her shoulder as she opened the fridge, bending at her hips to look for something and I got a clear view that she had at least put on underwear before coming down. I have no idea what's being said to her, but I can get a pretty good idea when I hear her say, "Fine."

She takes out some orange juice before getting down a glass and pouring some, still listening to the other side of the conversation before saying, "I said fine."

A few more minutes go by and she holds the phone out to me as she says, "Yorktown wants to talk to you now."

I nod dumbly as I take my phone just as Yorktown says, "And one more thing Hornet, no funny business until this gets settled."

I clear my throat before saying, "Sorry Yorktown, she handed you off to me already."

"Oh, um… disregard that last thing I said, okay?" she asked me, sounding very nervous.

"Sure, anyways, what did you want to talk to me about?" I ask, trying to put that other thing out of my mind.

She takes a moment to clear her throat before asking, "You haven't slept with either of them, right?"

I blink a few times at that question before I say to her, "No, I've been avoiding being in that kind of situation, as much as possible."

"Good, just be on your guard for the next week, okay?" she says to me, I can hear the concern in her voice.

With a nod, I respond to her, "You got it, and I'm looking forward to you being here to get this over and done with."

"Commander Kidd, you did the right thing calling me, I'll do what I can to get my little sisters back on track." Yorktown paused before adding, "Have a good day Commander, and try to be understanding for Hornet."

As the line goes dead, I slide my phone down from my ear, as Hornet tilts her head to the side, and with that grin that I had seen her have in nearly a week she asks, "So you favor me, huh?"

Frack my life.

I rub the back of my head as I nervously say, "You heard that huh?"

She leaned over the counter towards me, that grin still plastered on her face as she says, "You bet I did."

I sigh and hang my head while she rests her chin in her hands and I change the subject by asking, "So, why are you prancing around in just a towel?"

"Oh, you noticed?" she asked with a wink before adding, "I'm just comfortable around you, comfortable enough to just wear a towel after a shower."

She pushed off of the counter and walked around it to be on the same side as I was on, before resting her stern against it, propping herself up by her hands as she said, "But seriously Commander, thank you for letting me stay here, I know it's been a lot more than a couple of days now."

I feel myself smiling a little, and if I'm honest to myself about this, having her live here for the last week has felt completely natural. There was no weirdness; we just hit a stride right away. I mean I'd lived with a girl before in what had started as a platonic way, but it didn't stay that way. Even then though, there was still a strange weirdness at the start of sharing an apartment and being more than roommates. But here, well I guess it had to do with the fact that we work so closely together, seeing each other every day we have an understanding with each other. I see Hornet run a hand through her hair and offer me a shy smile as she asks, "You're okay with this, right?"

I nod as I say to her, "I am, and honestly this has gone a lot smoother than I thought it would."

She slips off of the counter and embraces me in a tight hug before saying, "Thanks! I'll get us pizza tonight and you can pick the movie."

As she started to lean out of the embrace, she looked at me and started to tilt her head up before she stopped herself and started to blush a little before patting my chest with a hand and saying, "I'm going to get dressed and go find Northampton. I'll see you tonight, Commander."

I nod and step back as I say, "Right, have a good day then."

She grins at me, looks around, and then kisses my cheek as she says, "I will."

XXXX

Following Hornet's P.O.V.

XXXX

I'd been fidgeting in the secretarial office all morning; today was the day that Yorky was going to be here, sadly, it was also the day that the Royal Navy was going to be here for their tour of the place. I kind of wanted to meet my sister at the docks and avoid having to show around some stuffy Brits. With a nod to myself, I went to his office door and knocked twice. Once he called for me to enter I put on a grin and adjusted my bust a little, I knew he liked to look. That was something I'd figured out by staying at his place, but he always did his best not to stare at them.

I enter the office and he looks up from his desk, a smile on that handsome face of his as he says, "Perfect, I was just about to call you in here anyway."

I tilt my head to the left as I ask, "You were?"

He nodded before saying to me, "Yeah, I know your sister is due in port today and I know the Royal Navy is due in too. But I should be fine to show them around on my own, failing that I'll nab someone to help. So, you're free for the day to go and catch up with Yorktown if you want."

I feel my cheeks get a little hot, as it hit me just how well he knew me already. That after two weeks of living together it was almost like he could read my mind some days. I feel the grin on my face get bigger and not feeling nearly as fake as I say to him, "You're the best, Commander!"

He takes on a warm look to his eyes and tone of voice as he says to me, "Just try to work things out with Enterprise."

Right, that.

With a nod, I say to him, "I'll try."

"Good," he says, a smile on his face as he continues, "Now get out of the office and down to the docks."

XXXX

It didn't take me long to get there, but when I got there I feel my stomach drop. I see both of my sisters standing and talking to each other already. No doubt Enterprise is making her case to Yorktown right now, probably calling me unreasonable.

When Yorktown spots me, she smiles and waves me over. Once I'm there she gives me a tight hug as she asks, "How are you?"

I squeeze her tightly as I whisper, "I miss you, but I'm good. Commander Kidd has been great."

She lets me out of the embrace before stepping back and saying, "Let's just skip to the chase, you're both interested in the same person, right?"

I nod and out of the corner of my eye, I see Enterprise nod as well. Looking back to Yorktown, she smiles at both of us as she asks, "Enterprise, can you tell me what it is that attracts you to Commander Kidd?"

I watch as Enty shifts around uncomfortably before saying, "He's nice to me, he doesn't treat me as just a weapon, and he'll make time for me whenever I want to talk."

That's it?

As if reading my thoughts, Yorktown asks in a very gentle tone, "Is that all?"

Enterprise nods.

Really? That's all?

Yorktown turns her attention to me and asks the same thing. I close my eyes for a moment as I think before I speak, "He's so much fun to be around, he always has a story from his past that is just hilarious. He may act like he doesn't want to do something, but I know when he hangs his head he actually does want to do it." I pause as a smile creeps onto my face as I continue, "The way he gets flustered when I lean over his desk to talk to him as he tries desperately to look me in the eyes. The way he makes me feel warm and safe."

I pause and look to Enterprise as I continue, "I really enjoy those times I can just tell he wants something to do other than work, but he'll never come out and say it. How he made space for me in his quarters when I showed up on his doorstep unannounced and unexpectedly. I really like the fact that sharing quarters with him has felt so natural, so easy, so-"

"Right?" Yorktown asked.

I felt my cheeks get hot as I nodded while she asked Enterprise, "Enty, are you sure that he is who you want, and not just the idea of what you want?"

Enty looked down and tugged at the hem of her skirt, I know she does this when she doesn't want to admit something. I see her swallow hard before nodding as she says, "I'm jealous of you Yorktown, you seem so happy with Captain Stennis, I just wanted that too."

Yorky pulled Enty into a tight hug and stroked her back as she said, "You will, in time Enterprise. Just because I've moved forward in my life, and it sounds like Hornet is too. That doesn't mean that you'll be the only one of us that doesn't." Yorky paused to lean back and stroke some hair out of Enty's face as she said, "I'm sure you'll get your turn soon enough, so how about you let Hornet have this one, okay?"

Enty pulled Yorky in close again as she sighed and asked, "Are you sure, I'll get my turn?"

"I am." Yorky said before opening up an arm and saying to me, "Now you get in here too Hornet."

As the three of us hugged, something I'd been desperately missing this last month, I heard Enty say to me, "Sorry about everything Hornet."

I smile and squeeze the two of them tightly as I say to her, "Sorry about picking that fight Enty. Are we good?"

"We're good." Enty says back to me.

XXXX

I had walked back to the dorm with my sisters, it'd felt so nice for the three of us to be together again. But as we came to the stairs leading up I shook my head as I said, "Yorky, could we agree to meet up tomorrow?"

My eldest sister gave me a sideways glance before looking to Enty as she asked, "Apartment three oh one right?" Enty nodded at her and she gave a warm smile as she added, "I'll see you up there, I think Hornet needs some one on one time, right now."

Enty shrugged and headed into the dorm while Yorky asked, "What's wrong?"

I sigh and sit on the stairs as I say to her, "I know I've been crashing at the Commander's place for two weeks but, it feels more like home now."

Yorky sat beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close as she leaned her head against mine and said, "I get that. I was surprised how fast I got comfortable at sharing a home with James."

I place an arm around the small of her back as I ask, "When did you know you loved him, Yorky?"

Yorky smiled as she said, "Truthfully? I think it was when I woke up the morning after I spent the night there the first time." She paused to give a slight laugh as she added, "It was the first night we spent together and didn't have sex."

I bit my lower lip and ask a question that'd been on my mind since we rode that mechanical bull, "Did it hurt?"

Yorky blushed as she shook her head and said, "No, it actually feels really good. Better than when you do it by yourself."

I felt my cheeks get hot, good to know I wasn't the only one to do that. After a moment I ask, "Do you have any tips or recommendations?"

"Find a groove that works for you two, let things happen naturally. Don't try to force something; Commander Kidd has a lot on his plate right now, more than you know." She said to me.

I nod and squeeze my sister tighter as I say, "Thanks Yorky."

She squeezed me tightly as she said to me, "No problem, what are sisters for?"

XXXX

Back to the Commander's POV

XXXX

I let out a yawn; it'd been an exhausting day. Those Royal Navy delegates had been exhausting, but they seemed interested enough. Though I wondered how Hornet's day went, I can imagine that it hadn't been easy to come to terms with Enterprise. I pick up some reports to start reading over them as I sit on the couch, and I suddenly noticed how empty my quarters felt without Hornet here. I didn't get much of a chance to think about it before I heard my phone make a trilling noise. Looking over at it, I see I got a Juustagram DM from YorkTown BigSisYorktown, with my head tilting to the side I open it up to see just a short message saying, 'Be good to my little sister.'

I was about to reply when I suddenly felt arms slide along either side of my neck, before something soft coming to rest on the top of my head. It took a second as I looked at the black sleeves to place it as I asked, "Hornet?"

"Yeah?" she asked back.

I felt myself smile and I asked, "Did you have a good day?"

She got up and let go of me to cross around the front of the couch before she took the report from my hands and placed it down on the coffee table. I was about to protest that, but she gave me this warm smile as she got onto the couch, straddling my lap as she faced me before kissing me deeply. As my hands went to her hips, she broke the kiss with a giggle as she said, "That tickles."

I rested my forehead against hers' as I said, "Sorry."

"If it's you, I don't mind." She said before pausing to touch the sides of my face as she said, "But I want an answer damn it."

"About?" I ask back, I know full well what she wants to know.

"It's not nice to tease a girl, you know." She says with a playful tone.

"I know, and the answer is yes." I say as I slide my hands to her stern.

She smiles and leans in for another kiss after saying to me, "Right answer."

When that kiss broke she leaned back and asked, "So, do you want me to move back to the dorms?"

I shake my head as I say to her, "Honestly, I was just thinking how empty this place was feeling without you here."

She smiles at me and asks, "Yeah?"

I smile back and squeeze her stern as I say, "Yeah, I was thinking, why not make your move here more permanent?"

She smiles broadly and slips her hands down my chest as she teases, "Careful, Commander K-"

"Alex." I say to her.

She goes bright red before looking a little shy as she continues, "Alex, I just might start to fall in love with you if you keep this up."

I lean my head against her neck and start to kiss it, as I whisper out, "I'm not against that idea."

Hornet starts to rock her hips as she pants out, "Bedroom?"

"Bedroom." I say as I lift her with me as I get off the couch and start to carry her upstairs.

XXXX

XXXX

I feel the sun on my face forcing me to slowly open my eyes, once they're open I see two green pools looking back at me, a smile on her features. She slips her left hand up to the pillow as she says, "Good morning."

"Morning, any regrets?" I ask her.

She shakes her head as she strokes the side of my face and says, "None. Yorky was right, it does feel really good."

"It does." I say as I pull her over and on to me before I rest my hands on her stern.

"Can I ask you something?" she asks me, I can tell it's important by the tone in her voice.

"Yeah, what's up?" I ask her, deep down I already know the question she's going to ask. It's a question a lot of girls ask when things go past a point in a relationship.

"Where do you think this going?" she asks.

I kiss her forehead as I turn the question on her, "Where do you see this going?"

Her cheeks get as red as she says, "I see this heading in the same direction as Yorktown went."

That's about what I figured.

"I can see us getting there too." I say, it wasn't a lie, but I'm not a fool I know that it takes time to cross that line.

She grins broadly and pushes herself off me as she asks, "I'm going to grab a shower, join me?"

I grin at her as I say, "Go ahead and get in there, I'll be in, in a minute."

Hornet winks at me as she ducks into the bathroom, once she's out of sight, I pick up my phone and send a text message to a friend, 'You were right James, looks like I'm heading in the same direction now.'

XXXX

XXXX

The End.

A/N: Well, thank you for taking the time to read this one! I've now done a story for each of the Yorktown sisters. Next up is a girl I've often teased, but have been hesitant to really use, mostly since I think Manjuu and Yostar really dropped the ball with her personality, but I hope you'll enjoy the ride with North Carolina.

As an additional note, this has been cross posted for r/azurelane and the r/HornetCult

The full story can be found here: s/13846056/1/Black-and-Gold