Sea of Flavors Chapter 4, an azur lane/碧蓝航线 fanfic

Part Four – A Toast

I awoke the next day to the sound of my shower in use, I started to feel around in the bed and I found a warm space, but no one there. Memories of last night came flooding back, the looks of pleasure on her face, the way she moved against me… I look down and see that at least part of me is standing at attention.

I roll to my side and the smell of roses fills my nose and I smile, hugging the pillow she slept on close and it hit me… why, oh, why am I hugging this pillow, she's in my shower right now. I get out of my bed and head to the on suite and open the door. She turns her attention to me instantly, I see her red eyes wander down me, seeing my state and I see a blush come to her cheeks as she says, "' Morning!"

I smile and look at her in the shower, soaking wet and I slip in behind her, once I'm in the shower the hot water started to beat down on me as well, it felt so good… I slipped my arms around her waist and pulled her close against me and kissed her where her neck meets her shoulders. I hear a pleasurable moan escape her lips as I do that and I start thinking about shower sex.

I feel her roll around in my arms to face me before she kisses me, I slide my hands to where her legs join her backside and lift her up and press her against the wall of the shower, I'm really excited this is going to be awesome! The kiss breaks and she places her hands on my chest, and looks me in the eyes as she asks, "Can we not right now? I'm a little sore from last night…"

I slip my hands off of her legs and let her down, inside I sigh as I place my forehead against hers' and tell her, "Alright..."

I mean sure I was disappointed, she had felt amazing around me… it had been the best sex I had ever had up until that point in my life…. Something that would be bested with time and deeper commitment to George, time and time again…

XXXX

A couple of days later I was sitting in my office looking over intel reports and I noticed something, the Sirens seemed to be pulling back from most offensive operations, retreating back towards the Empire.

I raised an eyebrow at that but soon found that my attention was pulled away to my door when I hear a knock at it. I looked at the time and noted that it was well past when I would've sent Baltimore home for the night. In fact, it was late enough that most Kansen should be asleep by now… I take a deep breath and reach under my desk to grip the pistol I kept there, pointed at the door, and slid the safety off before I called out, "Enter."

The door slowly opened and what I saw in the dark secretary office was the outline of a girl in a dark robe, that clearly had horns on her head, I knew at this moment I was in mortal danger. She moved fast, faster than any human I had ever seen, a massive blade appearing out of thin air as she corkscrewed through the air towards me, I had just enough time to roll backward out of my chair and pull the pistol with me as her blade slammed down through my desk and into the floor.

As I rolled back and into the wall, I brought the pistol around to point at her, as my eyes traveled up the blade I noted that it looked like the bow of a ship, my eyes went further up and I felt my stomach drop, I saw rigging. I see her swing around a double-barreled turret to face me, I have very little options at this point, I can eat the shells and die, try and get out of the way and die in the explosion if she has HE rounds loaded, or I can do the stupid thing and rush her and hope I don't get shot or stabbed.

I push myself off the floor and rush at her, shoving her arm off target and I shove my pistol against her temple, on some level I hope she's a destroyer type; then this pistol might have a chance at penetrating her at this range.

I see her yellowish-brown eyes look at me, I can see some blond hair hanging out her hood, I don't get to say anything as she shifts her weight and kicks my legs out from under me. As I start to fall I squeeze the trigger and clip her in the right shoulder and she drops the turret off of her hand as it hangs down, I can see blood starting to trickle down it. She brings her sword to my neck and says to me with a heavy Japanese accent, "If I kill you, the Sirens promise to leave my homeland…"

Well, this is unexpected, but not unsurprising… I look up at her and toss my pistol to the side as I tell her, "And why would they do that? If I die, Azur Lane will just install a new commander here and the war will resume."

She pushes the blade against my neck, I can feel some warm liquid starting to trickle down my neck, guess this thing is sharp… I see her empty-looking eyes get hard as she glares at me and I continue, "We didn't start the war, we are going to finish it."

I can hear foot steppes running towards my office, likely my gunshot got someone attention, I just have to keep this going, "Now how fast we finish that depends on how fast we can get to the Sirens… if they are in your homeland, how much devastation is wrought on the Empire can change, right here and right now."

We both hear the office door burst open in the next room, she pushes a little harder and I say, "You've got two options right now, I can tell the Kansen that is about to be standing at my door to kill you right here and right now, or you can help us…"

I see her look over her shoulder and I look as well and feel relived, I see George, with her rigging, all barrels pointed at this assassin or possible informant, this Kansen standing over me says to me, "Ayanami."

I hold my hand in a stop motion to George, I can see that she has gotten ready to draw her saber, as I look to this Kansen as she continues, "My name is Ayanami."

I give her a soft smile, trying to show as little fear as possible right now, truth be told I was nearly ready to piss myself, my life was just starting to go really well, and I tell her, "I'd rather you helped us Ayanami, I'd like to avoid a long-drawn-out war that would be really costly to the Empire…"

I feel her let up on the pressure a little and she looks sideways for a moment before saying, "Not everyone in the Empire supports this war… Nagato and Mutsu don't…"

I blink, Nagato was the Empire's flagship… she had the same weight of voice as Bismarck, Washington, and 'Lizzy, this news could change the balance of power in this war, I watch as Ayanami looks to my window before taking her blade off of my neck and tossing it towards the window, just as it went through the glass she stuck her hand under her cloak and ran towards the window, leaping out as she tossed a crumpled note to the floor.

As soon as Ayanami was out the window George ran to it and watched as the Ayanami ran to the water and skimmed away into the night. From my position on the floor, I saw George turn to face me, concern all over her face as she asked me, "Johnathan, are you okay?"

I smile up at her before getting off the floor and picking up the paper to see navigational coordinates on it and I say, "I'm good… thanks for coming to my rescue."

I see her look down and sigh before she said, "I was bringing you something to eat when I heard a crash, then a gunshot… I dropped what I was carrying and ran here as fast as I could."

I try and give her a reassuring smile, I sure didn't feel good right now, but in this instant; she needed me to be okay. My brow knits together as I look at the paper before I sigh and shove it in my pocket and turn my full attention to George as I ask, "I'm not going to worry about this right now… Should we grab something to eat or make something at my place?"

She gives me a smile as she banishes her rigging back to the port before lacing the fingers on her right hand through my left as she said, "Sounds like a good idea… I like your cooking better than something packaged."

XXXX

I submitted that intelligence I got from Ayanami as soon as I could up the chain; naturally, it was taken with some skepticism, but after vetting the intelligence and running across Nagato and several members of the Empire's resistance at the location that had been given by Ayanami we managed to use the extended intelligence to build a strike plan at the heart of the Sirens and those of the Empire that were being used as both fugitive and literal pawns by the Sirens. It had taken six months, six blood months; get everything ready to go for that strike but we'd beaten the Sirens… I'd love to say that the final battle was some climatic thing, but honestly, it wasn't. We crushed them without mercy, there wasn't a lot they could do; we outnumbered them four to one after all.

During that time, George had convinced Her Majesty to allow for our union to happen after the war, stating that she still had not met my family and that a union between myself and her would be the first one in the Iron Blood, Royal Navy, and Eagle Union for a joining of a human and Kansen, this meant that things needed to be done right.

Speaking of human and Kansen relations, well the cat was out of the bag… and one that had net me a ton of flak from High Command. Someone, and I was very sure it had to have been Gridley, had managed to snap a photo of the Kansen in battle during that last battle… what I didn't know was how it had found its way to the press… fortunately it was a fantastic shot of George, her quad turrets having just fired… Honestly, I had a copy of it framed and hung on my wall.

Parliament had tried to downplay it as a hoax or doctored image, but more images surfaced, one of Wales, Yorkie… even 'Lizzy, they were given little choice but to make the existence of the Kansen public knowledge, even if their capabilities were still stamped with S.C.I….

That all being said, this was actually a boon for me; it meant I could be more open the next time I talked to my mother… Speaking of my mother, I hear my computer trilling that there is an incoming call.

I open the link and see my mother, she smiles at me and asks what I guess the most burning question she had right out of the gate; "John, are you still stationed in the pacific?"

I nod as I say, "Aye I am mum."

I see her bite her lower lip before she looks past her computer for a moment before she lowers her voice and asks, "Your post, do you have anything to do with these Kansen?"

I pinch the bridge of my nose, I need to think on how I could say the things I could before I tell her, "I am mum; I'm the base commander for where they are stationed in the Pacific."

I see her slowly nod again, and she starts to roll her wedding ring around on her finger before she closes her eyes, breaths out, and just asks the question I know we'd be dancing around, "Is?"

I nod, and feel like a weight gets lifted off of my shoulders, "She is… You've probably already seen her pictures in the media…"

I see her tilt her head to the side and think for a moment before she asks, "She's not the one that looks like a little girl right?"

I laugh, hard, and shake my head as I say, "No mum, she isn't that one."

I see her relax a little and that was when I noticed a paper in her hands that she was slowly turning over and over before she hesitantly asked, "I and your father have been given permission to travel out to your base, I'm not sure why though…"

I sit back in my chair and let out a breath, I had submitted the written request six months ago for my parents to be able to travel here for a visit; I really wanted her to meet George. I give her a smile as I say, "I put in the request six months ago mum, I want you and dad to meet George and I didn't know how long the war was going to drag on…"

I lean forward and continue, "You and dad are welcome to stay with me; I've got large quarters…"

I see her look like she's taking the name I had said and roll it around in her mind before she acts like she's testing it out as she says, "But what about George?… We'd hate to be a problem for your love life…"

I shake my head, despite us being engaged, she still lived in the Royal Navy dorms and slept there most nights, I give my mother a welcoming smile as I say to her, "It won't be an issue mum, please I'd love for you and dad to come…. Can the restaurant do without you two for a little while?"

I see her nod as she says, "We've got a good maitre d and an excellent sous chef; we should be fine for a week or two."

XXXX

I'd been lucky, like really lucky, the actual monarch of the UK had honored my knighting by 'Lizzy, even if I really wasn't an actual Knight of the Garter, still a knighthood is a goddammed knighthood.

Still, that didn't help with my palms being all sweaty as I watched the flying boat coming into land, I had gone to great lengths to make sure that the less human-looking Kansen were out on patrol right now, I knew that on that bird coming in were my family as well as distinguished members of the governments that had Kansen stationed here. I let out my breath, George was due back from her patrol any moment now, I had asked her to not deploy, but when Wales had suffered damage to her drives due to a collision with Duke of York, I had little choice but to let her and Howe go in place of Wales and Yorkie.

I felt a hand on my right shoulder and I turned to see Wales standing beside me, her left foot slightly off the ground to put minimal pressure on it as she said to me, "Don't stress too much John, I can at least entertain till George is back."

I raise my eyebrow at Wales and she pats my shoulder as she says, "You are going to be family, I can be more familiar with you than I would otherwise."

I was about to say something when the plane came to a stop at the docks and the hatch opened, the first two people I see both have greying hair, the woman smiles when she sees me, but I see her eyes go directly to Wales and she pats the arm of the man with dark hair beside her. They close the gap quickly and I watch as my mother moves up and puts Wales into a bone-crushing hug as she says, "It's so nice to meet you, George!"

Wales shoots me a look and mouths the words 'who is this?' as she pats the back of my mother I do everything I can to not laugh before I say, "I'm sorry mum, but this is Prince of Wales… one of George's sisters…."

I see my mother let go of Wales and step back and offers a courtesy as she says, "Your highness…"

I see my father roll around the name that I had said and he asks me in his rough northern English accent, "If she is Prince of Wales… does that mean that this George is…"

I didn't have to answer that as I hear footsteps coming up rapidly behind me on my left before the smell of roses filled my nose and I heard her voice, "King George the Fifth, the lead ship of my class."

I look to my left and see her flushed slightly in the cheeks before she stands up straight and catch her breath, I see my father look her up and down, then to me and he nods. I let out a breath I'd been holding apparently, from my right I hear Wales excuse herself and head back to the dorms. I turn my attention back to my father and mother and see that she is now hugging George as my father comes up to me and whispers to me, "So… how human is she?"

I shake my head and laugh, "More than you know…"

XXXX

Later that day I'm looking in my fridge at what I've got, I don't want to do something that would be in my father's wheelhouse, I want to impress him. I feel a hand slide across my shoulders and I look to my right and see George standing beside me, looking in the fridge and she says, "Why not make the same thing you did that night we met?"

I nod, it made sense, my father didn't specialize in eastern style dishes so it'd be different and George praised it that night, I look to her as I start taking things out and say, "I love you."

She grinned at me broadly as she went and grabbed some rice and started to mince garlic and ginger to make some garlic and ginger flavored rice to go along with everything else. I like times like this, when she cooks with me, once the rice is going to she starts to prep the carrots in thin strips, peppers too, getting the chilies ready while getting the marinade ready for the meat so I can put it in as soon as I have it sliced.

Once I have everything going George heads into the living room, leaving me to my space, but I soon find my father in there with my tasting the sauce I have going and he says to me, "John, this is good…"

I smirk and toss in the vegetables and get the broccoli starting to steam as I tell him, "Last time I made this was the night I met George… Swiftsure had hurt her hand trying to cook for the banquet and begged me to help out."

I see him lean against the counter as he looks into the living room, I turn slightly to see over my shoulder to see George laughing and talking with my mother, it looks so natural and I hear my father say, "It's hard to believe she's a warship… she just lights up the room, and makes it so easy to feel comfortable around her…"

I nod as I say, "I know what you mean… Since I got to know George I've found my own outlook on things is a lot more optimistic…"

I pause and toss in the meat as I continue, "She's made me a better person…"

I give everything a flip as he asks, "But how close to human is she really?"

I raise an eyebrow at my father and try to figure out the meaning behind his question, before I tell him, "She has feelings, she's smart, she has likes and dislikes…. She's warm to touch… and if you were wondering she's got all the right bits."

That makes him cough a little and I add, "Dad, how did you know mum was the one?"

He folds his arms across his chest and leans his head back against the cupboard and says, "I knew when I kissed her the first time… it was just…"

"Electric." I finished for him and add, "That's what it was like for me when I kiss George."

I set the flame to low and start to get down plates and plate one up my father quickly starts to plate just as I had, when he looks at everything I see him nod as he says, "When you're done with the Navy, if you want a job I'd be happy to make you my sous chef, this looks amazing John."

XXXX

Dinner past quickly, much too quickly for my liking, George had told me earlier that she was needed for an event at the dorms tonight so she couldn't stay late or over. After I closed the door behind George I turned to see my mother standing there, she outstretched her arms and wrapped me in an embrace as she said to me, "I like her John, I was a little scared at first, but she's… well she is just so personable and warm it's hard to be frightened of her…. You did good Johnathan… if anything I think she could do better…"

I look to my mother's face and see her smiling and shake my head, my mother has a tendency to be a bit of a troll and I sigh as she continues, "Seriously though, I'm happy to welcome such a lovely young woman into our family…. But do you know what she had to go and do?"

I nod, technically I should be there too, but I managed to get out of it, by having a privet meeting earlier in the day, "I do… it's a meeting between our Monarch and the RN fleet detachment here. And since George is the Knight Commander she needs to be there, I should be there, but I was given permission to be here with my family."

My mother lets go of me and stands back to look me up and down, her hand resting on my arms like she's looking at me for the first time as she says, "When did you grow up? You're not my little boy anymore are you?"

I give my mother a smile and shake my head as I tell her, "I had to grow up, I couldn't be your little dishwasher the rest of my days."

She reaches up and brushes my hair as she tells me, "You'll always be my little dishwasher…."

XXXX

Another six months had gone by before I knew it; I and George had been married for about a month now, we had taken a slow sail home on her hull. I had my discharge papers in hand as I stepped down the plank at Scapa Flow, just as my feet touched the dock I took a deep breath, it had been a long, long time since I had been back in the UK. I feel an arm link through mine and I look to my left to see a beautiful blond with ruby red eyes look back at me, a smile on her face as she asked me, "Are you sure that they did it?"

We walk arm in arm down the dock and towards the main gate, I pat her right hand as I reassure her for the fifth time since we docked, "Yes, they told me that they moved the restaurant here in Plymouth."

She looks down at her shoes for a moment before adjusting her coat; she'd chosen to wear a heavier coat since it was winter here, just before Christmas… I could tell that she was nervous, this would be the first time we would be spending the holidays with my family or out of the service. We both looked back towards the harbor to see her hull sitting there at the dock, and she let out a breath before looking back to me and telling me, "I'm looking forward to this, to experience civilian life and tasting the sea of flavors it offers…"

I bring her hand to my lips to give it a kiss before we finish our walk to the restaurant hand in hand, ready to meet the challenges of life without battle.

XXXX

A/N: Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed this little romp. Next up is Tirpitz… I'm going to be going back to the source material that I used for Hard Landing and adapting more of it for use. After Tirpitz, I'm happy to take suggestions on who people would like to see get some love.