It was a cold December night, on the night of Christmas Eve, and the final preparations for the events of tomorrow were winding down.
I had taken the week off of duties to enjoy myself, but boy, does the work not stop around here, even when not in the office. Lights were being strung, gifts being bought and wrapped last minute, hot chocolate being made for every shipgirl to enjoy; you name it, it most likely happened as we prepared for the big day of Christmas itself. I did catch a few shipgirls having a sideways glace in my direction before return to their duty as quickly as possible; no doubt those shipgirls were thinking about if they would get a chance to be the lucky shipgirl on this very night, the one who would get my attention for the duration of the holiday this year.
I, however, had yet to pick a girl to give my attention to as for this year, well, let's just say that a certain well-known pranker decided to one massive stunt that put things behind schedule, and a certain Hood had to detain her until the night of tonight so that we could get things ready on time without any more interruptions on the behalf of that prankster. So, by the time I had some time to settle down, it was already the night of, and I had still yet to pick somebody.
I stood overlooking the ocean from the beach, memories of past years passing through my mind. As I looked out to sea, I saw a once in a lifetime occurrence play out before my eyes, a sight of beauty and delight. I saw a swarm of humpback whales illuminated by the lights of the bay, the whales jumping and swimming and playing with each-other like a beautiful dance set to be performed just for me, though I knew that others most likely saw the swarm if they were near enough to the water front. The sight left me awe-struck, as humpback whales normally never came this close to shore when traveling north for their breeding season.
The sight had so engrossed me that I had not realized that a shipgirl was right next to me, looking over at the sight as well.
For several minutes, we watched the whales with awe-struck eyes as they made their way north, to the fjords of Canada. After the whales disappeared past the view of the lights of the port, we stood their for a few more minutes as we reflected on what had just happened, and the memory we would always share, even if I was unaware to the shipgirl's presence at the time. Then, a soft clearing of the throat lead to me looking into the eyes of the Cardinal's sister, Jean Bart, who's soft smile left my guard all but open.
"I see we both got caught up looking at the humpback whales? Well, it's no surprise really, those beings are truly magnificent creatures, something you really only hear about in books and documentaries, but seeing one in real life, far away or close up... really fills the heart with joy," Jean Bart said, her voice soft and soothing, like a mother to her child.
"O-oh. Yeah, they really are, aren't they?" I asked a rhetorical question to deflect my embarrassment of not having heard Jean sooner.
"I can tell your embarrassed, aren't you? Embarrassed that you didn't hear me earlier?" Jean Bart leaned into my already high embarrassment levels and jokingly poked her finger into my chest, her touch light yet firm.
"I-I... sighs lightly can't hide anything from you, can I?" I asked, dejected at me not being able to hide my embarrassment.
"Hey, nothin' wrong with me having a little fun while I'm here, right?" Jean Bart asked as she lifted my chin in her hand, her touch again soft yet firm.
"Anyway, I came here on my own initiative. Wondering if you wanted to come back to my place for the night? I might share a room with Richey, but that don't mean we couldn't spend time together there for ourselves, right?" Jean Bart asked me as I looked her in the eyes.
She held no sort of lust or greed within them, just a pure innocence I had not seen in her since I first met her, when I was merely a child, growing up in a family with a lot of naval tradition. I had first met Jean Bart when I was just out of being 13, my birthday having not even been a few weeks prior. When I met her, I was afraid of her, for though she may have looked human, I knew she had the strength to rip apart entire fleets with her guns. But, after a few minutes of my father talking with Jean Bart, he laid me on the spot, gesturing his hand to me and saying, "And this here is Andrew, my son and soon-to-be Admrial of Azur Lane when I retire."
Oh boy; the speed in with I froze up when he said that was comparable to a bullet being fired at Mach 10. Jean Bart chuckled a little when she saw it and put on a genuine smile for me to see, having a brightness that could match even the sun. She, after several minutes of me talking incoherently, managed to get me to open up to her, and from then on it was a life-long friendship. Whenever she visited me, I would have a fresh batch of cookies made by me for her, even if my cooking skills weren't the best back then. Even still, she ate every one that I made her when we got to talking about things we had done, her laugh and smile being one of the few things I looked forward to every month or two.
However, as things changed and time passed, Jean Bart visited less frequently, but still came around every now and then. When I turned 18, Jean Bart handed me a gift from her personally, her smile seemingly pained by something. She disappeared into the venue shortly after, so I left the gift to be opened when I saw her again. And it was shortly thereafter I did.
I found Jean Bart crying in the guest bedroom of the house we owned at the time after I had excused myself from the party. I had never seen her that way; she was always so happy to see me, and always comforted me when I needed it the most. That time, however, was different. I asked her what was wrong, to which she merely replied that "it's just minor bug, nothing more," but I could see through such a weak defense. I told her that I knew something was wrong, and that... if she needed a shoulder to lean on, I could provide for her.
"I-I-I... sighs defeatedly it's no use, Jean. I... lost my sister... to the Sirens."
Those were the exact words Jean spoke to me all those years back, and it hit like a truck for that to be said. I remained silent as she leaned into my shoulder to cry, looking down at the pure white box Jean had given me for my birthday.
In that moment, I felt compelled to open it.
The box had a little, neatly done bow on it, so I carefully undid the bow and slowly opened the box.
What awaited me inside it was truly beautiful yet horrifying at the same time.
The item inside was a beautiful example of French jewelry making; a cross that had eloquent designs sketched into the metal, with a ribbon that had the French flag as it's design running off the bottom of the cross, the ribbon having been burned away slightly at the end. On the cross was a small but noticeable splotch of blood covering the heart of the cross, signifying that somebody had died when this was given to Jean Bart.
I looked at the cross with a faint look in my eyes, my pain being shared with Jean Bart for the first time since I had started to notice her slight change in behavior.
I looked to Jean Bart and told her everything would be okay; that, one day, we'd see her again.
Many years have passed since that day, and Jean Bart now served under me, her friendliness to me being no-the-less present every time we were near each other.
As I stood on that cold December night, seeing an innocence I had yet to see in Jean Bart since I first met her, I couldn't help but smile and even laugh at the thought that she finally regained what I had thought she had lost forever.
"Huh, what's so funny?" Jean asked confused after I started to giggled after I had looked her in the eyes a good solid 10 seconds.
"S-sorry... it's just that, that innocence in your eyes, the one I saw when we first met... I see it has returned to your eyes yet again, Jean," I said after I had composed myself from my giggling.
Jean looked confused, but then realized what I meant, and put on a smile I would have waited a thousand years to see again.
"Sure, let's get going to your guys' place. Besides, we wouldn't want to freeze to death out here before the biggest day here besides New Year's Eve," I said as I took my long-time friend's hand and walked with her together back towards her place, taking every opportunity we could to explore the bright and vibrant port.
XXXXYYYYYXXXX
By the time we reached the house that the Richelieu sister's shared overlooking the port, it was well past over an hour since we left the beach front, meaning that it was around 11:12-ish by the time we arrived.
As we approached the luxurious house, a familiar face poked her face through the door to greet us.
"Welcome back, Commandant! I'm glad to see that you made it sound and snug!" a girl with braided yellow hair said as she ran up to us, ushering us toward the house.
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise, Jeanne d'Arc. What are you doing here on this night?" I asked in a pleasantly surprised voice, moving to open the door for the two of them.
"Oh, well, Richelieu said that she would be hosting a party for Christmas Eve, and that any shipgirl from Vichya and Iris were welcome to join!" Jeanne said as she entered the building, taking off her shoes and beautiful winter coat I had bought for her as a gift a couple of Christmas's ago.
I looked at her coat and saw that it had definitely seen its fair share of usage over the years since I first got her it. I wondered if it would need to be replaced soon.
"Hmm? Something catch your eye, Commandant?" Jeanne d'Arc asked as I returned from my thinking to find me staring at her breasts.
"H-huh? Oh, no, no, no, I didn't mean to stare!" I spoke quickly as I looked away in embarrassment.
"Hehehe. Silly Commandant; doesn't even know where he's looking half the time out of battle because you're so caught up thinking about things. That's okay, I forgive you, Commandant. Just try not to let it happen again, kay?" Jeanne d'Arc spoke in a teasing tone, indicating that she'd rather had kept it going.
"O-okay," I said as Jean Bart came up to Jeanne d'Arc and began to walk into the hallway, myself following behind them as they lead the way.
While we were walking to the party room, Jeanne d'Arc quietly commented, "Quite the man you have yourself, Jean... why didn't you ever make a move?"
Jean Bart responded in a hushing whisper, "Because we're long-time friend's, alright. I'd rather keep it that way than marrying the man I knew since childhood!"
To say the least, that shot down any conversation d'Arc could hold to try and pry more into Jean Bart's private life... thank god for that.
When we reached the party room, which was only a few hallways away from the main hall, we heard what sounded like a loud THUD before we even opened the door. Jean Bart and I looked at each-other and then over at d'Arc, whose face was that of disappointment.
"I'm sorry, Commandant, but if it's who I think it is, then you might have to excuse me while I take care of them... again," Jeanne d'Arc spoke with a slight hint of distain before she opened the door.
To our surprise, and perhaps to Jeanne d'Arc's relief, there wasn't a Kansen who had been knocked out by extensive drinking of eggnog, but instead their was a massive bag that had been seemingly thrown through the widow from the courtyard down below on the first floor, with a very Christmassy-looking Enterprise dressed in her Santa outfit handing out gifts to all the Kansen present in the room.
"Here you go, Algerie, Foch. And for the Cardinal herself, Richelieu. I hope you all enjoy your gifts when you open them tomorrow, everyone!" Enterprise spoke happily as everyone said thanks in unison at the gifts they would get to open tomorrow by Santaprise.
It was then that Enterprise noticed that me and Jean Bart had entered the party, along with Jeanne d'Arc having returned as well. Enterprise waved us over as she made her way over to her bag. All three of us wondered what she could have in store for us, so we made our way over.
"How have you been, Commander? Enjoying the night of giving as it is?" Enterprise asked as she produced three gifts of varying size for us three, one big, one medium, and one small, with each of our names imprinted on a very special looking tag on each gift, the tags varying in design with the gift they were on.
"Oh, well, I haven't really gotten time to enjoy myself until about an hour ago after we got all the activities for tomorrow ready last minute due to... well, a certain prankster," I replied as I looked at the gifts, the wrapping delict and precise, the tags having a design pertaining to each of our personalities.
Jeanne d'Arc's gift had a tag that had a beautiful white look to it, with royal blue accents and markings etched into the design. The design was that of a cathedral's holy walls found within such places in her homeland.
Jean Bart's gift tag had a seemingly pure black design at a quick glance, but upon further inspection, it had a glint to the design which reminded me of a cannonball of yore, with little spots on the tag indicating there was a design there. And that design was, funnily enough, a cannonball, something Jean Bart had always wanted to see in person and touch even. "One day, Jean Bart. One Day" I thought with humor.
The last tag, the one attached to the smallest gift, was that of mine. On the tag's design, the picture of a beautifully white house with vines growing up the side of it from a massive courtyard was the main attraction of the design.
I recognized the house instantly, for it was the house I once grew up in, the William's Household. My heart tugged at me to return to the place I once called home, though it lay in ruin now. Enterprise noticed this in my face expression, one of longing.
Enterprise simply smiled as she handed my gift to me first.
"It wouldn't be right to not give you yours first, Commander Andrew. I know how long you've been waiting for a day like this, so you can open your gift when you are in private, before tomorrow starts. I'll only make this exception this once, Andrew... I hope you enjoy your gift," Enterprise said as she turned to the other two girls who had yet to receive their gifts.
Jeanne d'Arc's gift was the largest gift of the bunch, and she gracefully accepted her gift before returning to the party. Jean Bart's gift was the medium sized gift out of our gifts, and Enterprise also made the exception for her to open it before Christmas Day.
After that, Enterprise hauled away her pile of goodies for the shipgirls and left the party in dramatic fashion, launching herself out the window into the court yard and, with some perfect timing to the millisecond, a Dauntless Dive Bomber caught her as she was falling, and she soared away into the night on her "sleigh of reindeer" comprising Dauntless Dive Bomber's from her renowned VB-6.
As Jean Bart and I watched Enterprise soar away into the night, Jean Bart's sister, Richelieu, came up to us.
"She truly is something else, isn't she, Commander?" Richelieu spoke as she too watched Enterprise disappear into the port.
"That she is, Richelieu... that she is," I said as I saw the Dauntless's simmer away, indicating she had reached her next destination.
"Mm-mm. So, what took you two so long to get back?" Richelieu asked as she turned to face me, her face having a decorative painting on her left cheek, a simple yet sentimental angel holding a star above its head.
"Oh. We took our time coming back looking around the decorations of the port, taking in the scenery whenever we could," Jean Bart said as she turned to face her sister, her hands still firmly holding the gift in her hands.
"Ah, I see. Peut-être que j'aurais dû courir après toi après tout. I hope you didn't freeze the Commandant to death out there, sister," Richelieu spoke, a hint of disappointment in her tone.
"Je sais, je sais, bon sang... Désolé, ok ?" Jean Bart spoke back in her native tongue, myself being able to understand what she and her sister were saying due to Jean Bart teaching after I had asked her to teach me the language.
"Eh bien, si ça peut arranger les choses, j'ai plutôt apprécié mon temps avec Jean Bart. Je n'ai pas vraiment senti le froid après qu'elle soit arrive," I spoke in the two lovely ladies tongue, trying to appeal to Richelieu that I truly was alright and wasn't as cold as an icicle.
Richelieu seemed surprised that I had spoken in her native tongue, but Jean Bart just looked at me with a look of passion, all those years of practice with me being put to good use in this very moment.
"C-Commandant? D-did you j-just speak... in French?" Richelieu asked as she looked on in awe at me.
"Yes. Do you, have a problem with it?" I asked as she regained her composure and took a deep breath in.
"No, I do not have a problem with it. Just... caught off guard was all. I never realized you knew how to speak French," Richelieu said, her eyes still having a sparkle in them.
"Well, in any case, sister, I was planning to bring the Commander here so me and him could spend some time together. Had I realized you were planning a party for tonight, I would have taken us somewhere else to enjoy our night," Jean Bart said as she leaned on my shoulder as a sign of affection.
"Oh, well, I assumed when you said you were going out to get the Commandant that you knew about the party, and were bringing him here with you to it. I am dearly sorry, sister. If it makes up for it, you two can have the room tonight for yourselves. I hope you two enjoy yourselves," Richelieu said as she bowed slightly in apology, her offer tempting to both of us.
"Oh, fine, Richelieu, I'll take you up on that offer. Just know I'll always forgive you, sister. Come on, Andrew... let's spend what time we have left together," Jean Bart said as she kissed me on the cheek, taking my hand in hers and leading me to her and Richelieu's room.
XXXXYYYYYXXX
When we entered the Richelieu sister's room, I could tell that Jean Bart still had trouble keeping things in order when she was in private.
A panty laid strewn here, a bottle of wine stowed there, and her bedsheet's still remained the hot-podge of blankets, pillows, and sheets that comprised her rather luxurious bed.
Jean Bart's bed remained with a bright pink coloring for the sheets and a dark purple for the pillows. Her bed still had the love heart designs on the pillows and sheets, which amused me to a degree. The biggest surprise, however, came in the form of a dakimakura that Jean Bart had bought at some point between the last time I was in their room and now.
The dakimakura had the character of Haruna from an anime called Kantai Collection in a... very, very revealing position.
I was in utter shock when I saw the body pillow, having thought that Jean Bart would never buy something so unholy just to sate some kind of desire I never thought she would have.
"Sorry... I meant to tell you about it earlier... but I forgot... pardonne-moi," Jean Bart apologized as she realized what I was looking at, hanging her head in shame.
"H-hey, it's not like that. I just didn't realize you had... needs like this," I said as I lifted her head up to meet my eyes, my eyes compassionate and warming.
Jean Bart didn't say anything, but turned her head slightly towards her bed, gesturing that we open our presents from Santaprise on her bed.
I took the hint and made my way over to her bed with her.
We sat down on the bed and looked at each-other for a long while, neither of us wanting to break the silence.
The sounds of a party happening many rooms over barely met our ears, but a very low hum of a Christmas carol perforated the walls to meet our ears. The song, while barely audible, spoke words for us as we sat there in silence, looking away from each-other for brief seconds before returning the gaze.
It felt like we sat there for an eternity, but in reality, we only sat there as long as the song, Silver Bells, hummed on in the background.
Once the carol stopped, we were left to our own devises as we were left in the silent, darkened room of the Richelieu sisters.
I decided the silence had lasted long enough, so I spoke my mind.
"Jean Bart... do you... want to open your gift?" I asked softly, putting my hand on Jean Bart's back to comfort her.
"H-huh? S-sure..." Jean Bart spoke silently before she began to open her gift.
Inside was a pleasant surprise.
The gift was a small-scale model ship of USS Massachusetts, something that was worth gold to Jean Bart.
I knew she had a relationship with the American Battleship, but it was nothing hostile when you got to the inside of things. I knew for fact that, once Jean Bart was able to complete the model, she'd tressure the model of all of eternity... kind of like me in a sense.
"I've been saving up for this model! I'm soooo happy I finally have it!" Jean Bart yelped as she looked at me excitedly, eager to see my gift.
"Let's see what you got, Andrew," Jean Bart said as she cuddled up next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder to show affection.
I simply nodded slowly and unwrapped my gift.
And this gift...
Would mean the world to me on this night.
Inside the packaging was a royal blue box, which I proceeded to open, knowing what to expect inside.
Inside was a beautiful ruby ring, with a small sapphire centered in the middle of the ruby jewel.
Jean Bart, upon seeing the ring, nearly jumped from her skin, her eyes going wide.
I, through all these years of being in command of the fleet, had not yet taken up any marriageable affairs with any of the shipgirls. I never saw a need to do so; it was a mutual relationship, nothing more, nothing less. It was a about a year ago when I decided I would marry my first girl of this port, during the celebrations of the last Christmas Party. I just needed some time to mull over who I would marry first.
And, as fate would have it, I realized that I had always had a crush on my long-time friend, Jean Bart, and those feelings had developed into something more for her... love.
As Jean Bart looked at the beautiful ring before her, shock and awe, I decided now was the time to present the ring to her; the love of my life.
I got off the bed and knelt down before Jean Bart, presenting the ring to the person I had had feelings for for the longest of times.
"Jean Bart. I wish for you to know... I've always had feelings for you. Someone I could look up to. Someone I could find comfort in. And... someone to find love in. I, Andrew Friedrich Hinderson, declare my love for you, Jean Bart! I've always prayed for your safety whenever you've left port for a mission, my heart aching for your return to the place we call home. I've always had these feelings for you, Jean Bart, and I hope... that I can call you, from this moment forth... my love," I poured all my emotions into my words, my words weak by the end from sheer emotion.
Jean Bart stared, dumbfounded.
I feared I had made my move too soon, but then Jean Bart's composure began to fall apart, tears forming in her eye's.
"D-do you really promise to stay with me, mon amour?" Jean Bart asked, fighting back tears she so desperately wanted to release.
"Y-yes, I d-" I said, not being able to finish my line as I was tackled to the ground by my new wife.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, mon amour! I promise, I won't let you down!" Jean Bart yelped as she kissed me all over my face, eventually kissing my directly on my lips for a passionate kiss.
By the time we parted our lips, we were desperate for breathe, breathing heavily as we lay there on the ground.
I slipped the ring onto Jean Bart's finger to seal the deal, looking back up at her with a look of passion.
Jean Bart's eyes, however, had a look of lust in them.
"Commandant~? Now that we're married... Shall we partake in the act of reproduction, Cher~~?" Jean Bart asked in a lustful tone, her body moving lustfully against my body.
"Y-yeah, I was going to ask if you wanted to do that next, Jean Bart," I said in a defeated tone, knowing I would never be able to escape from the grasps of Jean Bart when she was set loose.
"Hehehe... don't worry. I'll only do you for 30 minutes, ça ressemble à un marché, mon amour ?" Jean Bart asked in a seductive tone, her hips grinding against my pelvis in a more and more un-refrained manner.
"C'est vrai, mon amour." I said before Jean Bart began to strip me of my clothing, laying my body bare for her to see, only increasing her sex drive for me.
We went at it for a good solid 45 minutes before we tired out from the day and night's activities.
As we lay there in the bed of Jean Bart, both of our bodies laid to bare for each-other to see, Jean Bart put a hand over her belly.
"Je pense que nous avons apporté une nouvelle vie à nous, mon amour." Jean Bart said as she indicated it felt warm inside her belly.
"Alors je suis sûr que tu feras une excellente mère pour notre fille, ma chère," I spoke in a soothing voice, kissing Jean Bart on the head as I prepared myself for bed.
"I hope you're right, love... I hope you're right,"
The End.