Before we knew it, the night of the Royal Ball, as it had been nicknamed, was upon us, and I was getting ready for my big date with Yorktown. Well, not an actual date, just two people going out to a formal event in a completely non-romantic fashion that in no way, shape, or form resembled fraternization. We were both either completely blind to the signs, or we were really good at lying to ourselves if we believed that for half a second. That would change tonight, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

As I said, I was getting ready, freshly showered and shaved, and making sure my dress uniform was on properly, with all the correct ribbons and pins. While I'm sure the Eagle Union ships in attendance wouldn't mind, the Royal Navy would likely have a week's worth of gossip and the Queen would be most upset with me if something was out of place. Easier to take the five minutes to double-check than risk causing an international incident. Once I was sure everything was in its proper spot, I donned my cap and headed outside.

From my quarters, it was a brief stroll to the Eagle Union dorms, where I saw a few of the other girls already leaving for the ball, all of them in beautiful evening gowns. I idly mused what Yorktown would be wearing as I came to a halt in front of the building. As I waited, the door swung open and Hornet came bounding out. Instead of her usual hat and long coat, she was wearing an evening dress that somehow managed to look both elegant and sporty. She grinned and waved to me as soon as she saw me.

"Hey, Commander! Waiting on Yorktown?" she asked, a big grin on her face.

"I am," I answered. "She's my 'companion' for the evening, so we agreed to meet here. Have you seen her recently?"

"Yeah, she's just putting the finishing touches on right now. You're a lucky guy, Commander. Lucky guy." She playfully hit me on my arm before she began walking off in the direction of the banquet hall. "See you two at the ball!" I watched her go, wondering what she meant by "lucky guy". We had agreed that this wasn't an actual date. Totally platonic. ...hadn't we?

Whilst in the middle of trying to unravel Hornet's comment, the door opened again, Yorktown stepped out, and any thoughts I was having came to an immediate, screeching halt. Like her sister, she was wearing a black evening gown, although hers was a more classic, sleeveless number. A fluffy white shawl was draped loosely over her shoulders, and her silvery hair was up in a stylish ponytail. Adding some color to the ensemble was a satin choker and a satin flower and ribbon that was pinned to her side, each a deep blue. Her white-gloved hands held a small clutch the same blue as the ribbons, and a small silver necklace completed the look.

I was awestruck, my jaw on the deck as I simply stared at her. She giggled softly when she saw my dazed expression. "Sorry to keep you, Commander," she said, "I needed a few last-minute tips from Hornet and Enterprise. It's been a while since I've gone to one of these."

It took me a few seconds to realize she was speaking and I needed to reply. Finally finding my voice, I emphatically shook my head. "Oh, th-that's fine. It was definitely worth the wait, you look stunning. I mean, wow!"

Her cheeks flushed and she looked away, a smile forming on her face. "Thank you," she murmured, her voice barely audible. "You look good, yourself. You should wear your dress uniform more often."

"I'll keep that in mind," I smiled. "In any case, we don't want to be too late. Shall we be off?"

"Of course," Yorktown smiled back, taking my arm. "Let's go."

When we arrived, the party was in full swing. The shipgirls from various factions were mingling about conversing with each other, and music filled the hall. To my surprise, it was a soft jazz number that was playing instead of the more classical tunes I was expecting. It was also a surprise to see South Dakota sitting at the piano. I had no idea she played music at all, let alone with such skill. I made a mental note to bring it up with her the next chance I got and continued on. As we continued into the main hall, we were intercepted by Belfast, who had forgone her normal maid uniform for a blue satin dress.

"Pardon me, Master," she began, curtseying before us, "but Her Majesty requested that you be brought before her as soon as you arrived."

I sighed and nodded. I had expected this, but I was hoping to at least mingle and make sure Yorktown was alright before leaving her for a while. When I turned to her, she had that same soft, somewhat sad smile on her face.

"I know," she pre-empted, "Go on, I'll be fine. I'll just go find Hamman and Sims and keep them out of trouble."

I snorted and quipped, "Good luck with that. In any case, I'll be back as quickly as I can."

Quickly was apparently not in the cards that night. After nearly twenty minutes of speeches and monologues about the great and glorious Royal Navy, I was able to give Her Majesty my regards and compliments and take my leave. As I made my way back to where I last saw Yorktown, I bumped into Hornet, who grinned broadly when she saw me.

"Hey, there's the lucky guy! What'd I tell ya, huh?" she began, giving me another playful tap on the arm. "Big sis knows how to clean up or what?"

"She looks stunning," I admitted. "I mean, she's always beautiful, but yeah...she really outdid herself tonight."

"She's been looking forward to this all week. Practically all she would talk about. Well, that and the flight training she's been putting you through. Nice idea, by the way."

"Idea?" I repeated, feigning ignorance but unable to keep a sly smile from my face. "Why, Hornet, I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh. Suuure you don't, Commander. Well, in any case, this 'not-plan' you're definitely not working on is doing wonders for her. We haven't seen her this happy in a long while. She may not show it, but she's pretty sweet on you."

"Yorktown said as much herself when I assigned her as my secretary. But she wants to keep it professional, so that's what we're going to do."

"By taking her to a fancy ball on your night off dressed to the nines?"

"...yeah?"

Hornet just chuckled and shook her head. "Guess Hamman's not the only one who needs to be more honest about her feelings…"

Before I could naively ask her what she meant by that, I heard a loud snort, followed by drunken giggling. A very familiar-sounding giggle… "Does that sound like…"

"Yeah," Hornet answered. "But she sounds kinda…"

"But she doesn't…"

"Yeah…"

The crowds parted, and we both saw her there, champagne flute in her hand, along with about five other empty ones sitting on the table beside her. Her cheeks were flushed, and she swayed like a tree in a summer storm.

"Uh-oh," was all I could say before she turned and spotted us in turn.

"Commander!" she waved over at us and then staggered our way. There were a few times when I thought she'd topple over, but somehow, she managed to stay on her feet and keep her champagne in her glass. "Did you get lost? I've been waiting FOREVER for you! Here, have a drink!"

As she thrust the glass in my face, I gently pushed it away towards Hornet, who swiftly took it away from her elder sister. "I think I'll pass on that, thank you. You seem to have had enough for both of us."

She blinked at me, confused, for several long seconds before giggling again. "Me? Drunk? Oh, you. You're such a card. This is grape juice…" she peered at the champagne flute in Hornet's hand. "...isn't it?"

Hornet took a sip from the glass and shook her head. "'Fraid not, Sis. Definitely champagne."

"Oh." Yorktown looked downright crestfallen. "Enterprise did tell me not to drink any of the blue stuff...like...a MILLION times, but what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that you're a bit drunk, Yorktown," I replied. I have to admit, even when rip-roaring drunk, she was still pretty damn cute.

"What? Noooo."

"Yes."

"Noooo."

"Yes."

"No."

"No."

"Yes!" It took her a minute, but when she realized what she'd just said, she giggled again and slapped me playfully on the chest. "Ahhh, you got me! Okay. I'm a bit drunk. But don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

I looked over at Hornet, who was trying to her very best not to laugh and cocked my head to her inebriated sister. "Will she?"

Hornet looked her up and down, and then did the same to me and grinned. "Looks like she's in good hands. Have fun, Commander!"

Yorktown smiled and waved goodbye to Hornet, who ignored my sputtered pleas and disappeared into the crowd with a wave of her own. "Such a nice girl," Yorktown said wistfully. "You know what? I'm glad. Hornet, Enterprise, even Hammann, they all have their places here, they know where they belong, and they're all happy. And I'm happy for them!" She looked down and shrugged, her expression melancholy. "But as for Big Sister Yorktown, that leaves me on my own, and just a teensy bit lonely…"

"I think you'll find your place here soon enough, Yorktown," I said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "And no matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."

"Awwww…" she replied, draping an arm over my shoulder and hugging me tightly. "You're so good to me. Hey! Have you seen Hammann? We should go find her and say hello!"

"We should," I agreed, silently hoping Sims either wasn't with her or, failing that, Sims didn't bring her camera with her. The last thing I wanted was a video of Yorktown drunk making the rounds. "Let's see if we can find her."

As it turned out, we couldn't. We spent the next half hour making our way through the party, chatting with the other shipgirls as we tried to spot Hammann. Eventually, I noticed Yorktown had developed a rather severe list to port, and her eyes were becoming more and more glassy as time wore on. Deciding it would probably be best to get her back to her dorm, we bid the party adieu and made our way back down towards her apartment.

"Commander, you're weird," Yorktown suddenly announced, seeming to suddenly sober up out of nowhere, straightening up and looking at me clearly.

"O-oh?" I asked, caught off guard. "How so?"

"Even though I don't want to experience more painful departures, you keep stepping into my heart."

"I do?" While the admission itself wasn't surprising, it sounded like she was coming dangerously close to crossing the superior-subordinate boundary.

"Of course, silly!" she said, playfully slapping my arm as she began to lean against me, her drunken demeanor returning. "You're so thoughtful and sweet, and you're just...so cute when you get all excited about something. And you take time to make sure I'm okay. When I'm with you...I dunno, maybe that I could belong somewhere here."

I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her tightly, smiling at her. "Good. You're worth it, Yorktown. Being with you is always the highlight of my day, even when we're neck-deep in paperwork and commissions. You're…" I realized what I was about to say, the line I was about to cross, and I hesitated. We agreed to keep things professional, did I want to jeopardize that? Yorktown at the very least could say she had been drunk, I, on the other hand, was completely sober. I wouldn't have any excuse to fall back on. In the end, I decided to be completely honest with her. "...you're very special to me. I really do care deeply about you."

"That's so sweet," she giggled and nuzzled her face against my cheek. I wasn't sure exactly if she was going for a kiss and just...missed in her less than sober state or if she was trying something else. So in response, I simply patted her on her hip. "Oh! We're here."

After a few seconds of fumbling with her keys, I managed to get the door open with my free hand and Yorktown promptly dragged me inside. I barely managed to shut the door behind us before she kept dragging me all the way to her room. Only after the bedroom door had shut did she release me and flop onto the bed, her silver hair splayed out behind her in an argent halo. It glimmered in the moonlight streaming in from the window, and for a moment, I was spellbound by her beauty.

The spell was broken when I felt her hand grab mine and pull me towards her, setting off several alarm bells in my head. I pulled back, shaking my hand and apologizing. "I'm sorry, I can't."

She shook her head tiredly and pulled my hand again, this time insistently. "Mmm, just stay with me. Don't want to be alone in the dark again…" she murmured softly.

"I could turn on a light," I helpfully offered as I was pulled down onto the bed next to her. She shook her head again and cuddled up next to me.

"You're my light…" she whispered, and I felt her lips press against my cheek in a tender kiss. "Just...I'm really shy so you have to make the first move, 'kay?"

Before I could ask for clarification on that statement, I felt her head go limp and she began to snore in my ear. Her hand, however, was still tightly holding onto my own, so I got as comfortable as I could, kicked off my shoes, and tried to get some sleep myself.

Before I knew it, the morning's light was illuminating the room, bringing me out of a relatively decent, if somewhat uncomfortable, night's sleep. My eyes slowly opened, focusing on Hammann, her hands on her hips and barely controlled rage in her eyes.

"Mmm, morning, Hamman," I muttered, closing my eyes again and getting into a more comfortable position. That's when my brain engaged and I realized two things. One, this wasn't my bed, and two, even if this was my bed, Hammann doesn't have the keys to my quarters. Then I realized whose bed I was in and my eyes snapped open. "Hammann!" I exclaimed. "Wait just a minute, it's not what you think, she-"

"PERVERT!" she shrieked, so loud I thought she was going to wake up everyone on base. "How dare you take advantage of Yorktown, you...you…" She grabbed me by my tie and yanked hard, intending to haul me off the bed. Instead, what happened was the tie came off in her hands, causing her to stumble back and fall onto her aft end. She looked incredulously at the tie still clutched in her grasp, then at me. "A clip-on?!"

"Hammann, calm down, I can explain that, too," I said, trying to keep her from exploding again, or, at the very least, waking everyone else up. In that aspect, I failed. Before anyone could say anything else, Hornet opened the door, wearing a football jersey and shorts, her hair mussed and eyes clouded with sleep.

"What in the hell is going on here, Hamm-oh." She looked at me, then to Yorktown, who was somehow still asleep(and still holding onto my hand), and then to Hammann. A smug smirk slowly spread across her face. "Commander, you dog…"

"It's not what you think!" I wailed, "Nothing happened! I swear! She asked me to stay with her, that's all!"

"Uh-huh. Suuuure it is. Just some nice, platonic, superior-subordinate hand holding going on. In bed."

At this point, Hammann was beet-red and about to explode again, Hornet was practically dripping with smug satisfaction, and I was thoroughly frazzled and trying to prevent things from degenerating further. Fortunately, a soft voice came from behind me, along with the rustle of satin on quilted covers.

"...why is everyone in my room?" Yorktown asked. We all stopped and turned to look at her. I let out a quiet sigh of relief as she'd be able to confirm that nothing had happened and she'd asked me to stay with her. "What happened last night? And why are you holding my hand, Commander?" Oh no.

"That's it!" Hammann yelled and tried to charge me, but Hornet was faster and grabbed the destroyer. "Unhand me! I need to call the military police! Our commander is a filthy PERVERT!"

"Alright, settle down, kid," Hornet grinned as she picked up the struggling Hamman. "Nothing happened last night, I saw it with my own eyes." She looked over at Yorktown and asked, "You really don't remember anything last night, sis?"

Yorktown's brows furrowed as she tried to recall the events of last night. "I...I remember getting ready, going to the party, and then...it gets a bit fuzzy. Did something happen to me?"

"You could say that," Hornet quipped. "You got sloshed on champagne and the Commander had to walk you home. I guess you wouldn't let go of him because when I got home, I found you two asleep on top of the covers, still dressed, and holding hands."

"W-what?" The elder sister stammered. I decided against pointing out we were still actually holding hands.

"Yeah. You were cuddled up with him a bit and everything. Warmed my heart. Probably should have gotten a picture."

"We appreciate your restraint, Hornet," I drily remarked.

"You're welcome," she winked at me and looked down at Hammann, who had quit struggling and simply looked sullen. "And you, are you all done now? How did you even get in here in the first place?"

"Yorktown gave me a key," she sulked. "I saw her leave the party drunk and I wanted to make sure she was okay and that no lecherous commanders had taken advantage of her." She shot me an angry look, and I did my best to look somewhat cowed. "But since nothing happened, I guess I'll go. But I'm gonna keep an eye on you, Commander!"

"I would expect nothing less, Hammann. Have a good day."

"Hrmph!" She wriggled out of Hornet's grasp and stomped out of the apartment. As soon as the door slammed shut behind her, the youngest carrier burst into giggles and laughter.

"Oh, that was too good. The look on everyone's faces...ahhh...good times. Seriously, though, how are you feeling, Yorktown?"

Turning to finally get a good look at her in the morning light, she looked a little worse for wear. Her hair was mussed and half out of her ponytail, and she still had some dark circles under her eyes. She blinked and nodded slowly. "My mouth is bone dry and my head is pounding, but I think I'll be okay." She turned her attention to me. "Thank you for staying with me, Commander, even if I don't remember it."

I gave her a warm smile and gently squeezed her hand. "You're welcome. You can be very persuasive when you want to be."

"What did I say?"

I opened my mouth to answer, then promptly shut it when I realized that Hornet was still lingering in the doorway. When I gave her a look, she grinned that mischevious grin and held her hands up. "Alright, alright. I'll give you two lovebirds some space and go put on a pot of coffee." When she was out of the room, and I was certain she was out of earshot, I turned back to Yorktown to answer her question.

"You, uh, you said I was your light in the darkness. And you wouldn't let go of my hand."

Yorktown blushed and smiled sheepishly, looking down until she realized, at last, that we were still holding hands. "Oh!" she yelped and withdrew her hand, pulling it up to her chest. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I reassured her. "I thought it was very endearing, and I'm touched that you, or at least, drunk you, thinks of me as your light."

"You...you've helped me so much, lately, and I really appreciate it, Commander. I need to get out of bed and freshen up, but...maybe you'd like to stay for coffee?"

"I'd love that."

While Yorktown got changed, I gathered my things from her room and either put them back on or tossed them on one of the chairs in the living room. The enticing smell of coffee led me into the kitchen, where Hornet was pouring the beautiful black liquid into three cups. When she saw me she grinned. "Figured she'd ask you to stay for coffee. How do you like yours, boss?"

"Three sugars, two cream," I replied, clipping my tie back in place. "And thanks."

"You're welcome, Commander. And while I don't agree with Hammann's dim view of your ah...purity, I gotta say really, a clip-on tie?"

I laughed as I straightened it out. "Bit of a tradition with me. Back when I was 18 and joined the Navy, I couldn't tie a tie to save my life. Didn't know how. But you had the option to buy a clip-on tie instead, so I did that. When the other recruits started giving me a tough time for it, our Chief backed me up, saying you wanted to wear one in case a fight ever broke out. In a fight, people will grab the tie and attempt to yank you into a punch. With a clip-on, it slips right off and gives you a chance to hit the other guy first."

Hornet just stared in disbelief as she handed me the piping hot mug. "You have got to be kidding."

"Dead serious," I confirmed. "Ever since then, I wore a clip-on tie. I know how to tie a tie now, mind you, but just in case…"

"In case you're ever caught in bed with your secretary and a destroyer tries to haul you up by said tie?"

"You know, when you phrase it that way, it sounds just a tiny bit improper."

"Just a smidge."

"Little bit, yeah."

"What are we talking about?" Yorktown's voice distracted us both from our banter and I turned around to see what she had changed into. Eschewing her normal dresses, she had slipped into a baseball t-shirt that had the words "Fighting Lady CV-5" emblazoned on it and a pair of dark blue pajama pants. And yet somehow, she still managed to pull off that ladylike poise and elegance.

"His preference of ties," Hornet answered, offering Yorktown her steaming mug of coffee.

"Oh, you mean his clip-on?" When she saw Hornet's shocked expression, she explained. "When we work late, he runs his finger around his collar, and I can see there's no tie fabric underneath. So I asked him about it. My real question is why he thought there may be a fight at the Royal Ball last night."

"I didn't," I shrugged, "but like I was telling Hornet, it's just tradition at this point."

"I see," she grinned at me over her cup of coffee as she took her first sip.

I smiled and felt my cheeks begin to flush with color, so I decided to change the subject. "So Hornet, anything interesting happen after we left the party?"

"Nah, not really. I think things started dying down about half an hour after you left, which is when I called it quits." She glanced at the clock on the wall and quickly downed the rest of her coffee. "Speaking of, I've got some spontaneous exercises with the Royal Maid corps this morning. Gonna help them with their AA training. You two have fun without me, but not too much fun!"

"Hornet!" Yorktown admonished, and her sister laughed it off.

"It's all in good fun, sis!"

Now alone in the kitchen, it got a little awkward between us, neither of us knowing exactly what to say.

"So…"I began hesitantly. "Any plans for today?"

"I was planning on catching up on a few things, waiting for this hangover to die down."

"Water helps."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." The uneasy silence settled over us again, and we both looked around, trying to avoid the elephant in the room. And as much as I wanted to simply not talk about it, it had been on my mind she said it. So I decided to just come at it directly and get it over with. "Last night, you said something to me right before you passed out, and it's been on my mind ever since, so I'm just going to say it."

"What is it?"

"Do you want to go out with me? On a real date? Not in a platonic, respectful of the superior-subordinate relationship kind of date, but a romantic date between two people who have feelings for another?"

To say Yorktown looked shocked would be an understatement. I think I completely caught her off-guard on that one, and it was taking her a minute to catch up. "But...we had agreed to keep things professional."

"We had," I agreed, "but after last night, I think that's what neither of us wants. I know I don't want to deny it anymore."

She looked down into her coffee cup for several long, tense moments and when looked back up, she gave me her answer.

"Yes."