Part One – Sisters

I couldn't sleep, so I was pacing around my flat, looking at the pictures we'd put up. I knew why I couldn't sleep; Sovereign was set to arrive here soon to take over from my mother as the fleet flagship today. On one hand, I knew my mother must be looking forward to this, she had spent a couple of years getting the port in proper shape after the state that Elizabeth had left it in. I run a hand over my head as I pick up a picture that was taken after the His Majesty and Dominion left for the UK. In the picture I'm standing knee-deep in the water off the south beach; Illustrious is on my back, holding her huge white hat on her head. That memory brings a smile to my face and it isn't lost on me, how she has become one of the handful of people I actually trust.

After putting the picture down I look to the clock and see that it's closing on oh-five-hundred, seems like I've been at this for hours now. I sigh and start to head to the kitchenette in the flat, as I take out some sausages and split the casings on them to turn them into patties. Once I have them cooking I feel arms slip undermine and then up to grip my shoulders as I feel softness press against my back just before I hear, "I smell food."

I smile and rub her left arm with my right as I say to her, "Sorry to wake you."

I feel her head move side to side against my back before I feel her nose press between my shoulder blades as she says, "I've been awake for hours, but I knew you needed some space." She pauses before asking, "You're worried about meeting Sovereign, right?"

I sigh and bob my head up and down as I admit, "I am."

Her hands let go of my shoulders and start to slide up and down my chest and belly before she kisses between my shoulders and suggests, "Then let's have breakfast then do something to put that off your mind."

I put down the spatula and turn quickly to lock my hands around her hips, I note the lightness of the fabric and I tease her, "What did you have in mind?"

She winks at me with her blue eyes and teases, "Something you shouldn't do at a tea party."

I walk her back to the counter and lift her up onto it and I start kissing her neck. Illustrious starts to make noises like she is really enjoying what I'm doing as she wraps her legs around me before panting out, "I think the sausage patties need to flip."

That was when the smell hit my nose and I sighed before pushing off of Illustrious and turning my attention to breakfast as I say to her, "This isn't over."

She laughs and slips off the counter before going over to the fridge and starts getting out the rest of the food for breakfast, as she goes past me, she bumps me with her hip and teases, "We'll see about that."

With the meat flipped, I spin and wrap my arms around her waist, before I snake my hands up under her top and press myself against her from behind and whisper into her ear, "We can always let the meat rest, before starting the rest of breakfast."

She rocks her stern against me as she purrs out, "Then shut off the burner and meet me back in bed."

I let go of her and turned to turn off the stove, when I turned back around I saw that she had left the kitchen, but had shed bits of her sleepwear, making a trail to our bedroom, I quickly hurried along, shedding my own sleepwear along the way.

XXXX

I check my phone as I try to hurry to my mother's office, I was running a little late now, but well I think it'd been worthwhile at least, I didn't feel as nervous or stressed about today. I open the door to her office here in the Royal Navy quarter and I hear a voice I didn't know speak in an accent I'd expect out of London, "I'll be right with you, Commander."

My head tilts sideways at the voice, I didn't know this one. I push the door in more and step inside to see a woman with long blond hair, almost as long as Aunt George's own hair, but her build reminds me so much of Conqueror. I can see that she's paying a lot of attention to the document in front of her as she says, "Oi! I said I'd be with you in a moment! What if I wasn't decent, Com-" she pauses while taking her attention off of the document to look at me before continuing, "You're not the base Commander."

Her green eyes tell me who she is and I feel my insides twist up in knots, this must be Sovereign. She gets up from behind her desk and tilts her head to the side and moves to stand in front of me before saying, "I can sense you're kansen." she pauses again, as her eyes narrow a little at me and she continues, "You also look like Wales." Again another pause before her lips compress and she snaps at me, "You're the reason I got delayed!"

She closes the distance and pokes me in the chest with her right index finger as she continues, "You're Thunderer; you're the thing that shouldn't be."

My lips compress as I snap back at her, "And you're Sovereign, you're early. So where is my mother?"

"I met with her after I got in this morning around oh-three-hundred local, I gave her the day so that I could look things over and get ready to meet with the base commander today, why are you here?" she said getting into my personal space.

I lean into her personal space as I say, "I was to meet my mother here for oh-six-hundred-"

She cuts me off with a scoffing sound as she says, "So do you always keep her waiting then?"

I press my lips tightly together and ball my fists as I snap, "I was delayed in my quarters with-"

"Burying your AP shell in someone?" she says, leaning back a little, hands resting on her hips.

"She has a name." I snarl out.

"I don't care." She says with a flick of her hair before adding, "Wales suggested I keep you as a number two, so you best not be late again." She paused to look at the clock by the door before demanding, "I've got some time before the Commander shows up, so you best be taking me around the port so I can get a feel for everything."

She moves around me and stops at the door and says, "Well?"

XXXX

Halfway around the port when Sovereign had us stop to look at the docks and that was when I noticed her hull was docked beside me, where my hull was in shades of blues and greys, hers was white with the superstructure looking gold in color. My head tilted to the side at the ostentatious look of her hull, how it contrasted so strongly against mine, I was about to say something when she spoke up, "I'm the flagship, I might as well look the part." she paused to look at me sideways as she added, "I've got no intention of using flagship protocols, I will either have your respect or I won't. But you can rest assured that I won't force you to bend the knee to me."

She takes a step towards her hull and looking back at me over her shoulder she says, "I can't have you be to me what Warspite was to Elizabeth if you don't have free will."

I take a step forward towards my hull as I say to her, "I won't be your attack dog."

"I can fight my own battles, thank you." she quips back at me before pausing to add, "If there was one thing Elizabeth did right, it was make a ship of the same class her trusted ally."

Coming up to my hull, I ran my hand across it and I looked to see her doing the same to her own hull as she said, "I'm no fool, Thunderer, I know I'm better off with you, than against you. You occupy a special place in this port, doubly so with the Royal Navy detachment and me sliding into power here easily will depend on your support, publicly at least."

I nod, I see where she's going with this and I say to her, "But I am free to air anything behind closed doors then?"

"Within reason," She says to me, pausing to look at me over her shoulder to add, "but there are limits."

Again I nod, before I say to her, "That seems fair."

I hear a chime come from her phone as she takes it out and sighs at it before asking me, "What can you tell me about Commander Throne? Ideally on the way back to my office."

I sigh inwardly before I say, "A lot more than I should."

She raises a blond eyebrow at me and says, "This should be interesting."

XXXX

Interesting she thought, interesting she got. During the walk back I explained my complicated history with Commander Throne. After I left her at her office I made my way to the Royal Knight's lounge, perhaps I'll come across her there.

It turned out my instincts were right, I found her along with my Aunts Howe and York, the three of them were each about two-thirds of a bottle of wine each. York was the first to acknowledge me as she said, "Thy new sist'r is quite the piece of w'rk."

I nod as I take a seat at the table and notice the cards, I motion for Howe to deal me in as I respond, "I spent the last couple of hours being talked down to like I was a dog. But she told me that she's no fool and knows that she'll have an easier time slipping into her role with me on her side."

York nods and picks up her cards before she says, "As any valorous leadeth'r shouldst beest, the lady is v'ry shrewd in a choice such as this."

My mother took a drink from her bottle before putting it down and asking, "What did she ask of you, Mitchel?"

"She wants me to be to her, what Warspite was to Elizabeth." I respond looking at my hand, a pair of twos.

"That's not a bad offer, but what's the catch?" asked my Aunt Howe as she adjusted her cards and drew another.

I sigh and motion for another card as I say, "The catch is I can't contradict her in public, but I can voice my objections in private."

I lift the new card to my hand and see a five; the three of them nod in unison before my mother asked, "What about flagship protocols?"

"She doesn't intend to use them; she wants the respect of the port rather than the forced compliance of the detachment." I say and arrange my cards a little.

"But what about your… unique position? What about you and Illustrious?" asked my mother.

"Aside from her saying that she didn't care where I was burring my AP shell, she just doesn't want me to run late for my new duties." I say as a fourth card gets tossed to me, lifting it to my hand I keep my face impassive to it, a three.

Howe looks at me sideways for a moment before putting her cards down and saying, "I fold."

"I foldeth as well." Came the voice of York to my side.

My mother moved a ring box out of her pocket to the center of the table as she said, "My wager is this: I win, you ask her for her hand, you win and you don't ever have to."

I give my mother a sideways look as I say to her, "I refuse to ask for my sister's hand."

The mood at the table became light as the four of us laughed for a moment before my mother said, "No, not Sovereign's, Illustrious'. I know that Elizabeth was forcing you two down that path and that the two of you have done much to stall it out for the last couple of years. But well I want to see movement in some direction; I know you two love one another, deeply."

From my aunts I heard them both in unison make an 'oooing' sound, I guess this made things interesting enough for them. I arrange my cards a couple more times and look my mother in the eyes. I don't have much to work with, with a very high probability she can best me. But really, what did I have to lose, Illustrious is a fixture in my life, she keeps me balanced and provides a much brighter optimistic look at things that I need to hear sometimes. Besides I know she looks at those kinds of magazines, I see them out from time to time, so it is on her mind.

I take a moment and adjust my cards again before I put them down and say, "Fine."

My mother grins and lays down her four cards, a two, ten, king, and jack. I feel my eyebrow twitch, she had nothing! She starts laughing and pushes the ring box over and says, "Let me know what she says."

I make an irritated noise as the take the ring box and shove it into a pocket on the shorts I've taken to wearing in the warm weather here at Midway. As I say to my mother, "That was a dirty trick to play."

She shrugs and says, "Really Mitchel, you've been dodging that question with Illustrious for long enough now."

I sigh and nod as I say, "Aye."

I look to my Aunt Howe and ask, "Aunt Howe, do you think you could help me with making a dessert for tonight, if I'm going to do this, I want to do it right."

She smiles and nods before looking at her phone and saying, "You might want to call George and get her to help with dinner too then."

XXXX

In the kitchens in the Royal Navy quarter, Howe started to look at her recipe book as she asked, "What do you think would be the right thing for tonight?"

I feel my brow wrinkle before I say, "Something light yet sweet." I pause and feel my cheeks get hot as I admit, "She really is my guiding light after all."

Howe grinned as she went "Aww, that's so cute!"

Right afterward she opened up her book and started to page through it, she was clearly thinking about who this was going to be for before she came to a stop on a page that had these pink disks that kind of looked like flowers that had chocolate on one side of them. I lean over and read the name of the recipe, "Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Meringue Roses?"

She nods and says to me, "These would be perfect, but since it's Illustrious, let's substitute the bittersweet chocolate for white chocolate."

It didn't take long to get to the piping stage on the baking sheet, I did the first one and it didn't look very good, Howe for her part smiled and took my hands and guided me through the next couple, starting at the middle and working my way out. When I was done with the piping and they were in the oven, I got George on video as I asked, "Aunt George, would you mind helping out with making dinner with me?"

She arches an eyebrow as she asks, "What's the occasion? The last time you asked for my help with this, it was for Wales and mother's day."

I sigh and rub the back of my head as Howe says with a smile on her face, "He's going to be asking that tonight."

George grins broadly before she says, "Why didn't you lead with that! Is dessert heavy or light?"

Again Howe responds first, "Light, he wanted something that reflected that," she pauses to wink at me before taking on a voice like she's swooning, "she's his guiding light."

George laughs and asks, "Taking lessons from Yorky on how to be more poetic?"

I groan out, "If you don't want to help, I'll figure something out."

George is still laughing but shakes her head as she says, "No, I'll help, I'll help. What are you thinking?"

I look over at the pantry and I think about when and how I and Illustrious really started to work on a foundation with our relationship and I say, "Pasta. We were on our way to the Med when we started to figure out how to be a couple."

"I know just the thing, I'll walk you through how to make it, but this isn't a dish you can really make ahead of time." She says before giving me a list of ingredients to get together.

XXXX

XXXX

I check my phone; Illustrious should be walking in the door any minute. I've got the shrimp orzo with feta ready, just keeping warm. The meringues are keeping cool in the fridge so that the chocolate doesn't melt in the heat and I've got a bottle of white wine on the table.

I hear the door lock turn, so I grab a couple of bowls and start to plate up the shrimp orzo and get it to the table just as I hear her say, "I'm home!"

I call from the kitchenette, "Welcome back, dinner's ready."

I hear her move through the entry hall as she says, "Fantastic, I'm starving! I had to skip lunch today due to the exercises that Sovereign was putting everyone through… how did you escape that by the way?"

I was about to answer when I felt her hug me from behind and I say, "She knows what I can and can't do already since we're the same class."

I feel Illustrious let go and she goes over to the table and starts to dig in right away. When I turn to see her, she looks up at me with a forkful of dinner in her mouth as she mumbles out, "I can start, right?"

I nod before I fill our wine glasses and take a seat.

XXXX

After dinner and dessert, we were on the couch, her feet in my lap as I was rubbing them she said to me, "I love you."

I smile back at her as I think about the box in my pocket and I ask her, "How about I run you a bath?"

She slips her feet off of my lap as she says, "That would be fantastic."

Once I got into the bathroom, I got out a towel for her, a washcloth, and a glass of wine. While I filled that wine glass, I dropped the ring in there and put it on the side of the tub. Once it was full enough I turned off the water and lit a few of the candles that she loves ever so much. As we pass each other on the way out or into the bath, she kisses me and says, "Dinner was lovely, was there a reason for it?"

I shake my head as I say, "Not really, enjoy the bath."

She smiles and heads into the room, while I go and sit on the couch and wait. Not two minutes later, she comes out of the room, her housecoat discarded in the bathroom and she straddles my lap, kissing me deeply. I can feel both of her hands on either side of my face; on her left hand I can feel the ring band. When the kiss breaks she smiles at me, her eyes watering a little as she says, "Yes."

I rest my hands on her hips as I ask, "Even without the pressure of Elizabeth putting on us?"

She nods as she says, "After everything, saying yes to this now feels more right than it would have with that pressure."

I grin at her and ask, "Still want to have that bath?"

She starts to undo the buttons on my shirt as she says, "No, not right now anyway, I want something else right now."

XXXX

XXXX

I feel sunlight on my face and I slowly open one eye to see Illustrious still asleep, my right hand touching her left, her engagement ring still on. I smile at the sight; last night had felt different than every other time before, there was more emotion in it, more connection, and more passion. A heartbeat later I hear her alarm going off and she starts to stir; her beautiful blue eyes open slowly as they focus on me, a smile spreads across her face as she mumbles, "Morning."

I move my hand to stroke her cheek as I say back to her, "Good morning."

She scoots over in the bed to me and cuddles against me as she asks, "Can you reach my alarm?"

I get up slightly and roll slightly to turn off her alarm and she slips under me and pull me against her and locks her legs around my waist as she says, "I set my alarm early so we could have a good morning sex, I don't want you running late again."

I grin and place my forehead against hers as I say, "I love you."

XXXX

XXXX

A/N: It's nice to return to this world again after a while, I'm not sure how long this series will be but I do know it will hop around a little with time, covering things like their wedding, the wedding between Dominion and the King as well as some stuff in-between. Like the short I did for how Thunder finds out about Little Illustrious being in the construction dock.