The bow of the Bremerton bobbed up and down as she cut a path through the sea, her engines roaring deep beneath our feet. Mikasa, Odin, and I kept a close watch on the horizon, looking for any sign of our missing patrol while Bremerton monitored the holomap for any kind of contact, be it Siren, kansen, or weather pattern.

"Any sign of them?" I asked my fellow lookouts as I lowered the binoculars to give my tired eyes a break.

Odin gave a quick shake of her head before returning to scanning the horizon. Mikasa slowly lowered her binoculars and sighed. "Nothing," she answered softly.

I glanced over my shoulder at Bremerton, who was hunched over the holomap. "Anything on your end?"

Like the others, she gave a sad shake of her head. "The distress beacon's still going, so I'm homing in on that. Good news is that it's still reading at surface level, so at least one of them hasn't sunk. No Siren contacts, either, and weather radar shows no storm systems."

"Good," I nodded slowly. "Let me know the second anything changes, especially with the weather. I don't want to get caught out like they did."

"Aye, sir."

Mikasa looked up at me and laid her hand on my forearm. "They'll be alright," she said with a reassuring smile.

"I hope so," I whispered. "I hate losing people."

"I know."

My emotions got the better of me for a moment as I thumped my fist against the bulkhead. "Of all the times, why now? What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Mikasa said, her voice calm and soothing. "We didn't miss anything. You and I both poured over those weather reports to make sure everything would be perfect for this. And besides, if this really was a white squall, you know those can come out of nowhere just as well as I do."

"And you and I both know how exceedingly rare they are on the open ocean." White squalls, devastating storms that appeared with little to no prior warning and left just as quickly, were possibly the rarest of all weather phenomenon on the open seas. Only a handful have ever been seen, and the number of ships lost to them is fewer still, but they did exist. Even so, the old doubts, the old fears began to resurface. "What if it isn't a white squall, though? What if this was something we should have caught?"

She smiled warmly at me, but her voice took a more commanding timbre to it. "John."

I inadvertently straightened up, almost to attention. "Yes?"

"Did you ever study the Battle of the Yellow Sea?"

I hesitated for a moment, not sure where this was going. "Only as a prelude to Tsushima."

She sighed, and looked back out the viewport, staring into the vast expanse. "I failed at the Battle of the Yellow Sea."

Her quiet admission stunned me for a moment, leaving me speechless as I stared at her, not believing what I'd just heard. "But...you won."

Mikasa slowly shook her head and sighed again. "I didn't win because I was better. I got lucky." She paused, looking around the bridge again to make sure everyone else was doing their duty. "I made mistakes with positioning my fleet and took a battering for it. The Russians were even getting away until Asahi got that lucky hit on their flagship. Had it not been for that sudden twist of fate, I would have lost and things would have looked very different now…" She took a deep breath and looked up at me. "But you know what? I'm glad I failed there."

"You...what?"

"I'm glad I failed there," she repeated, a smile returning to her face. "Because I got to learn from that failure, I learned what to do and what not to do. I learned to do better by the people under my command, and I took that to heart. And I know that's what you'll do if this was something we missed. So relax, John. Be the commander we know you to be."

Her words were a balm on my soul, setting my anxieties aside, at least for now. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, feeling my worries drain away with it. "Thank you," I said with a smile. Before she could reply, I leaned in to give her a quick kiss, leaving her flushed and flustered.

"Y-you're welcome," she stammered, a silly grin on her face as she lifted the binoculars back up to resume our search. I went to do the same, but I felt someone staring at me and I slowly glanced over my shoulder to find Bremerton giving me a big smile and a thumbs up. I sheepishly returned the gesture before quickly getting back to the business at hand, trying my level best to ignore the burning sensation on my cheeks.

We continued to scan the horizon with little to show for it for another fifteen long, agonizing minutes until the holomap began beeping insistently. "Surface contacts!" Bremerton called out. "Ten miles out and holding steady."

I darted back to the holomap, Mikasa in tow. "Ten miles?" I questioned. "I thought your radar had a much bigger range."

"For bigger ships, sure," Bremerton agreed as her fingers flew over the controls. "But judging by the cross-section, they're low in the water. The only reason I'm picking them up at all is because they're bunched together."

"Pinged their IFF?"

"Doing that right now, Commander." The pink-haired kansen tapped the last command into the controls and we waited with bated breath for the return signal. After several tense seconds, the contacts flickered as they switched over to friendly designations. We all let out a collective sigh, and I quickly took action.

"Increase speed to flank until we're within visual range, then slow to ahead standard. Mikasa, prep the infirmary for patients. Odin, head down to the bow and prepare the cargo netting."

Everyone sprang into action, and I felt the rumbling beneath my feet increase as Bremerton poured every ounce of speed into the ship. For a few minutes, the only sounds were that of the waves against the ship and the deep hum of the engines far beneath us. Then, she broke the silence.

"Mikasa's been helping you out with your Worry Tank, huh?"

I turned back to face her with a puzzled expression. "My what?"

"Your Worry Tank," she repeated. "You know, where you put all your doubts and fears and concerns. Thing gets full after a while if you don't let it out. Looks like Mikasa's been helping you with that."

Now I was completely lost. "...she is?"

"Mhm!" she nodded sagely. "I could see it when you guys were talking." I felt a brief surge of panic before she added, "I couldn't hear what you were talking about, but you looked pretty concerned and upset. Once you finished talking with her, though, you looked a lot better. Hence, she helped you empty your Worry Tank. I don't think I've seen anyone else manage to do that since I've gotten here. You seem to keep your own counsel on...well, just about everything."

While I wasn't entirely comfortable with how close to the mark Bremerton was getting, she was the base counselor and already proved she could be trusted to keep things confidential. "Yeah…" I sighed as I nodded slowly. "I haven't had anyone to help with my, uh…'Worry Tank' in a long while. They got tired of my Worry Tank and ditched me."

"Ah," Bremerton nodded slowly. "Sorry that happened, but for what it's worth, Mikasa's not the kind of person to run out on you. She'll be there for you a hundred and ten percent, no matter what gets thrown at you." She gave me an appraising glance and nodded again. "Yeah, I think you two will be great for each other."

I felt the heat return to my cheeks as I smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, Bremerton. I've never doubted her when she said she'd be there for me, but it's always nice to get some validation."

"Anytime, boss," she winked at me before she glanced out the bridge viewports. "Looks like we're coming into range, might want to get down to the cargo netting to help bring them aboard."

"On my way."

We managed to safely recover all four members of the patrol, who were, to a woman, unconscious, and we raced back to port. Once there, everything seemed like a blur. Vestal met us at the docks, and we helped rush the injured kansen down to the hospital. After making sure that everything was well in hand, Bremerton and Odin bid us farewell, each heading back to their fleets for a post-match debrief, leaving just Mikasa and myself in the waiting room.

"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to," I offered. "This'll probably take a while and I know there's a mountain of paperwork to get to when we're finished."

Mikasa simply smiled at me and placed her hand atop mine. "Then we'll do it together. I don't mind the waiting, and besides, I think you could really use someone right now."

Again, her gentle touch and kind words lightened the burden from my heart, and I smiled back at her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. How are you feeling, by the way?"

"Still a little concerned," I admitted, "but they're in good hands and Vestal thinks the prognosis should be a good one. Not looking forward to reporting this to High Command, though. Which reminds me, we need to pull up any and all meteorological scans and reports for their patrol sector when we get back."

"Aye, sir," she dutifully nodded. "For how long?"

"From when they first departed on patrol to when we arrived on scene to rescue them."

She nodded again, then hesitated before asking. "Why the weather reports?"

"If it's a white squall like they said, it means they would have had no prior warning before the storm hit. I want to be able to show High Command that this was a freak storm, or if it wasn't I need to be ready to accept blame for what happened."

"Do you still think the Sirens were involved?"

I leaned back and let out a long sigh as I thought it over. "Probably not," I slowly began. "If this was a new Siren weapon, I would have imagined they would have capitalized on it, especially when we showed up with just three kansen to rescue the patrol. Still, it's worth keeping an eye on things for a little while."

"Agreed. I'll adjust the patrol schedule when we get back, make sure they have a bit more overlap in case the Sirens try something." Slowly, almost hesitantly, she leaned over, her arm wrapped around mine as she laid her head on my shoulder.

I raised an eyebrow at this sudden shift but decided not to ruin the moment by commenting on it. Instead, I leaned back against her, enjoying the feeling of her by my side as we waited for Vestal to return…

In the end, it was as I expected: all four shipgirls would make a full recovery, and High Command wanted to know how a storm managed to catch everyone off-guard. Fortunately, Mikasa's diligence and efficiency with procuring the weather reports had been a great help, proving that this was indeed a white squall and that nobody could have predicted its arrival. However, the time it took to deal with this unexpected wrinkle also meant that our days were much, much longer than before. We barely had time to share a good night kiss before staggering back to our own respective quarters as it was, let alone plan a date or work on the model.

And while Mikasa had repeatedly reassured me it was fine, that work had to come first, I still couldn't help but feel the old anxiety building up in me, the fears that I wasn't being "fun". As much as I told myself that Mikasa wasn't like Monica, there was that little voice, that traitorous little feeling in the back of my mind, taunting me, telling me that she was going to leave me.

Anxiety is a relentless beast, unmoved by logic or reason or your own eyes or gut instincts. It doesn't matter that I knew, with unfailing certainty, in my heart of hearts, that Mikasa would be there for me, that she wasn't Monica. It doesn't matter that just about everyone else had told me the same thing, that Mikasa was a wonderful, steadfast woman. That anxiety brushes it all aside and plants a deceitful little feeling in your gut. That she'll leave you, the same way the last one did.

That feeling grew and grew and grew and I stupidly kept my mouth shut, not wanting to overfill Mikasa's own "Worry Tank". I honestly don't know why I didn't say anything. No. No, that's not correct. It was two reasons. The first was a bullheaded, macho attempt to just power through it. Make it through those long hours and make it up to her with some extra affection and a super-special date and I'd be back in her good graces. The second was just plain fear. You get burned bad and it tends to stick with you for a long, long, time. And so I bottled up my fears, my anxieties, letting the pressure build and build until the third day…

We had just finished compiling the results of the exercise and to the great surprise of no one, determined Shokaku's team was the winner. I put my finishing touches on the official announcement, which was set to go out the next day, and leaned back in my chair with a long, exhausted sigh.

"Thank god that's finally over with," I groaned. "At least now all we have to get caught up on is the day-to-day stuff and we'll be back on track."

Mikasa finished making a few notes in my schedule and smiled up at me, setting the pen aside. "It'll be nice to not be buried in paperwork for a while," she agreed. "And I think we'll have just enough time to finish Mikasa before the victory banquet and grand re-opening of the model museum."

"Oh my god, I completely forgot about the model!" I gasped, bolting upright in my chair. And deep inside, something snapped. The anxiety came back with a vengeance, and this time, I was too exhausted, tired, and scared to keep it bottled up this time. This is it, I thought. You've screwed up for the last time and now you're gonna get cut loose. "Oh god, I'm sorry, Mikasa, I'm so sorry...I'm sorry…" the words just tumbled out of me.

In a flash, Mikasa was out of her seat and by my side, holding me close as she soothed me. "Hey, hey, it's okay, John...it's okay," she whispered softly as I clung to her. "It's alright, we've both been busy and it's not going anywhere. We still have time."

I numbly nodded, taking several slow, shaky breaths as I tried to compose myself. "I'm sorry," I muttered, "I just...I don't know what happened. I guess I've just been carrying a lot of anxiety about us not being able to spend time together and something just...snapped. I'm really-"

"Shhhh," Mikasa cut me off, her bare finger pressed against my lips. "You don't have to be sorry, John. Just know I'm always here to listen, and that I would never do anything to hurt you."

I nodded numbly, still trying to gather my shattered thoughts when Zuikaku bursts into the room. "Mikasa! It's the model museum, come quick!" she exclaimed. Both Mikasa and I spring to our feet, the problems at hand momentarily forgotten by our shared concern for the museum.

"What is it?" Mikasa asked. "Is everything alright?"

Zuikaku hesitated, her eyes darting between the two of us. "It's, uh...it's easier for me to show you. But you need to come quick!"

Part of me relaxed as I realized what was going on: they were about to surprise her with the rebuilt museum. They just seemed to pick the worst possible time to do it. Mikasa seemed to hem and haw before turning back to face me, concern in those amber eyes. "Will you be alright?"

As much it hurt to let her go, I also didn't want to ruin the Sakura girls' surprise on my account. "Yeah, I'll be okay," I lied as I faked a soft smile. "You go take care of that, and I'll catch up with you once I've finished up the last of the paperwork here."

Her reassuring smile falters, and my heart begins to sink. "I...I think after you're done you should go home and get some rest, John. We'll talk tomorrow morning once we've all had a good night's rest, okay?"

My heart didn't break so much as imploded. She was just buying time to let me down easy, my anxiety said, and in my frazzled state, I had no will left to deny it. I nodded numbly and leaned over to kiss her softly one last time. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," I replied, my voice subdued and soft. She gave me one last, sad smile before heading out the door.

As she did, she paused and looked over at Zuikaku, "Do you mind giving him a hand in getting everything finished, Zuikaku? It shouldn't take too long."

Zuikaku gave Mikasa a winning smile and a thumbs up. "No problem!"

I watched her leave for a moment before turning to Zuikaku and gesturing to the last vestiges of paperwork Mikasa left for us. "We're almost done and you know what to do, so let's get to it…"

It took us only an hour to finally finish everything and get all caught up. While my personal relationships had seemingly crashed, at least I'd have free time again. I bid Zuikaku good night and she absentmindedly waved back as she toyed with her phone.

For a moment, I thought about not following Mikasa's instructions and heading over to the model museum, but after giving it some thought, I decided against it in case things got awkward. So instead, I slowly made my way home, not ready for bed despite how overwhelmingly exhausted I felt. The last place I wanted to be was home alone with my thoughts, but I knew I needed to be rested for whatever came tomorrow morning.

When I finally reached my quarters, I reached into my pocket, only to find my key missing. I swore quietly as I searched in my other pocket, only to find it empty as well. Now well and truly frustrated, and nearly at the breaking point, I began to let out a frustrated growl when the door swung open. I blinked in confusion as the door opened, seemingly on its own, until what I saw inside took my breath away.

My apartment with dozens of candles and paper lanterns, giving the place a romantic, intimate feeling, and standing there before me, in the center of it all, was Mikasa herself, clad in a rose and white kimono, a nervous, but hopeful smile on her face.

"Welcome home, John," she said softly, gesturing for me to come inside. "I hope this isn't being too forward. I know that, traditionally, the man is supposed to ask a woman out on a date, but I thought I'd try something modern for a change..."

I had no words as I stumbled into my apartment, awestruck by what she was able to do in such a short amount of time. "I...you...how…" was all I could get out.

Mikasa smiled warmly as she stepped forward to take my hand, guiding me further into my transformed home. "I texted Shokaku and told her to fake an emergency so we could surprise you when you were finished with work. Zuikaku then texted us to let us know you were on your way."

"We?"

I heard the door begin to shut behind me and I saw Shokaku step out from behind the door, a pleased smile on her face. She looked at both of us and bowed. "I'll take that as my cue to leave. Mikasa-sama, Shikakan-sama, a pleasant night to you both."

As she left and the door shut behind her, leaving us alone in the dimly lit room, I turned back to Mikasa, my mind still racing with questions. "When did you plan all this?"

"Right after your panic attack."

My mind reeled. "So...I got upset and you just...dropped everything and did all this...for me?"

Mikasa nodded as she smiled up at me, her hand reaching up to caress my cheek. "I know the past few days have been hard on you, and I know you're still worried about us not staying together because I don't think you're 'fun' or that we don't get to go on dates every night. So I wanted to show you how much you mean to me. It doesn't matter if we're stuck in the office all day doing paperwork, I still love it. Do you know why?"

"W-why?"

"Because every time I look up, I see an amazing man who is funny, kind, caring, and so incredibly generous. When I was at my lowest, you were there for me without a moment's hesitation. What kind of person would I be if I wasn't willing to do the same?"

My heart soared as I felt the anxiety, the old fears finally vanquished, once and for all, and I placed my hand atop hers. "Oh, Mikasa," I breathed, " I love you…"

"And I love you, John," she smiled back, her eyes shining with tears in the dim candlelight. "Now and forever."

Our lips met in a passionate kiss that would continue throughout the night…

The incessant beeping of the alarm drew a groan from both of us as I fumbled around for the alarm clock. After flailing about for a few seconds, I finally managed to find the accursed device and shut it off before turning back to my bed partner. Mikasa rolled over to face me, draping an arm across my chest as her eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning," I softly whispered. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a baby," she answered with a smile. "I don't think I've slept that well in years…"

I smiled back, feeling the blush creep into my cheeks as I remembered last night. "All of our, uh...pre-sleep activities probably helped to wear us both out in that department."

A blush fell upon Mikasa's cheeks now and she glanced away, embarrassed for a moment before she turned back to me. "Probably," she quietly admitted. "I don't really have any...um...experience, but...last night...was...amazing for me."

My hand caressed her cheek as I looked into her eyes. "Me, too. It's been a while for me, but last night, with you in my arms was the best night of my life. I love you, Mikasa."

"I love you, too." We shared a brief, tender kiss before we pulled back and Mikasa patted me on the chest. "So, now that everything's back to normal, would you like to stop by tonight and finish the Mikasa ahead of the grand reopening tomorrow?"

"It would be my pleasure."

It took a bit longer than we had expected, but we managed to get the model Mikasa finished and safely enshrined in her secret collectible display in time for the grand reopening of the next day. And what a day it was.

The reopening was a big hit with the base, with members from every faction to see the beautifully restored Model Museum. Mikasa and I toured the museum, arm in arm, listening to the praise heaped upon it by the patrons.

"I can't believe how quickly it all came together... I think we should scale up tonight's celebration too!"

"The glass here is so shiny... It's hurting my eyes…"

I glanced over at Mikasa, who was beaming with pride at all of the compliments and awe, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. I leaned over and give her a kiss on the cheek, causing her to smile even brighter than before as she leaned up and returned the favor.

Eventually, we reached the podium and curtain where the museum would be officially "unveiled" and reopened. Mikasa, of course, took her place at the podium itself, with Shokaku, Zuikaku, and me standing on either side of her.

"Thank you all for coming," Mikasa began, addressing the assembled kansen. "And thanks for pitching in, everyone. I never thought I'd have my collection back so soon." For a moment, she was overcome by emotion and she sniffled, dabbing the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief.

Mutsuki, understandably concerned, stepped out from the group and asked, "Why are you crying, Miss Mikasa...?"

The Grand Veteran smiled through the tears and answered, "Tears of joy, little one."

The destroyer visibly relaxed and nodded. "I promise Mutsuki will be a good girl from now on. I won't touch anything."

"Uh-huh," Mikasa nodded, "That's a good girl, Mutsuki." When Mutsuki smiled, Mikasa shooed her back into the crowd and straightened up to face the group once more.

"All right, listen up!" she declared with the vim and vigor she must have had as the head of the Combined Fleet. "The glory days of the past are behind us, but today is about striving together for a glorious future!"

She glanced down at the podium and whispered to herself, "This button opens the curtain over the door. Just press it and the curtain goes up…" Confident she had selected the correct button, she said, a bit louder, but still only loud enough for Shokaku, Zuikaku, and myself to hear, "Now to officially unveil the new museum... Here goes!"

Her finger pressed the button and the museum started to rumble. My heart rate shot up as I feared the worst.

"Um... why did the room start shaking when you pushed that button?" Zuikaku asked the question on everyone's mind.

Mikasa looked around, unsure as the rest of us as to what just happened. "What? This isn't the curtain switch?"

"If it isn't the curtain switch, what is it?" I asked, hoping that it wasn't the self-destruct button.

Before anyone else had time to answer, a wall panel recessed and out popped a small display case. Inside that case was the model of the Mikasa that she and I had worked so hard on.

We all stared at it for a moment, no one saying a word until Mikasa spoke up again. "Huh? Turns out it was my secret collectible button?!"

Uh-oh. So much for nobody else seeing all of our hard work.

With Mikasa's words, the awkward silence was lifted and nearly everyone began talking at once, oohing and ahhing over the secret vessel. Mikasa herself, however, had turned cherry red from embarrassment, her gloved hands on her cheeks as she tried to hide her face.

"Who could've known... " she muttered, her voice barely audible above the crowd. "How could I have pressed the wrong button...I didn't want anyone to see my model ship... I can't believe I've embarrassed myself like this in front of the kids... is this what they call 'exhibitionism'?!"

That last sentence got Shokaku's attention, whose head whipped around to face Mikasa. "Mikasa, who taught you that word…"

I did my very best to avoid Shokaku's gaze for the next several minutes while everyone else gushed over how good the model looked.

"Wooooowww! Mikasa's model is so coooool!" Mutsuki declared in awe.

I slowly made my way over to Mikasa, still trying to avoid Shokaku's questioning eyes, as I wrapped my arm around the Grand Veteran's waist. "Looks like they love you," I grinned as I tried to ease her embarrassment.

She let out a quiet groan before she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. When she turned to face me, she was still blushing(and would for several hours afterward), but happy. "So it would seem. Although I think being loved by you will be all I ever need in future…"

"And I, you, Mikasa…"

And thus ended the death and rebirth of Mikasa's Model Museum. Ship and souls alike, once broken, now mended, and while nobody could predict what would happen next, both knew that they would face it together. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.

A/N-And thus ends the tale of Mikasa and her Commander. The poll has now closed and I am pleased to announce that the winner is Scharnhorst! In another serendipitous moment I seem to keep tripping over when it comes to this fanbase, Scharnhorst's launch day is October 3rd, and I'm going to try and get the first chapter's PUBLIC version out by that day(supporters obviously will get it a week early.) Because I'm going to be working hard on meeting that deadline, and because of the sheer length that Scharnhorst's story is going to be(Normal outline is about a page, hers is three), there will not be a New Year's Anthology between now and Oct 3rd, I'm afraid. I will still shoot for an NYA in November instead. Until next time, fair winds and following seas!