A/N: Howdy again. Good thing for you, this is probably my last one for a few weeks, cause of my sailing schedule. Should be back on the 4th of May though, so that'll be good.

Like I said, this is a Shoukaku x Admiral one, and the next one, once I get back, will be a Furutaka x Admiral shot, so I'll do my best on that.

I'm very pleased that you all enjoyed the Shigure and Yamato chapters. Both were fun to work on.

So, now, after three beers and a large glass of rum and coke, I present to you, the newest chapter. My usual grammar-nazi self may not be up to par due to the alcohol.

Blind Date

"Remind me once again, why I'm doing this?" Admiral Andrew Dixon growled, focusing on putting his cufflinks on properly.

"Cause the boys want you to stop being such a grump around the office." Captain John Pullman replied "And Nagato is getting sick of it as well."

"So, let me get this straight. You, in all your infinite wisdom, decided to set up a blind date for me so I'd stop being a grump?" Andrew asked finished with the cufflinks and grabbing the blue striped tie from the hanger and popping the collar on his white shirt.

"That's about the half of it. Plus, you might actually enjoy it." John grinned, thinking back to how he, Nagato and a few others concocted this plot.

"Remind me why I keep you people around?" Andrew muttered, his hands deftly tying a full Windsor and snugging the fabric up to the top of his shirt.

"Because I'm, quote 'The best damn logistics officer this side of the Pacific' end quote." John stated smugly, crossing his arms "What's the matter? Scared?"

Andrew couldn't help but scoff at that.

"Not scared, no. Just…a little out of practice. Never been set up on a blind date, and my last date was probably…four years ago now."

"Jesus lad, you're about due for a date. I promise that nothing will go wrong!" John assured as he handed Andrew his jacket "I've got the base for the night, so don't worry about a thing. Zuikaku will give me a hand as she's on duty with me."

"Don't jinx yourself. This place has a habit of things going crazy." Andrew mused, smoothing his jacket and looking in the mirror.

"Looking good there Cap, now go and knock her dead. Your reservations are in a half hour at Houshou's place." John told him, watching as his superior departed, and only once he was gone did he chuckle to himself.

"This is gonna be a good night, I can feel it."

Across the base, much of the same conversation was going on in the dorm of Carrier Div 5.

"I've never done something like this before Zuikaku. Why did you suggest it?" Shoukaku asked her sister while putting her earrings in.

"Eh, I felt like you should have a little fun for once." the carrier shrugged, not turning away from her book "Besides, whoever it is, you'll knock em dead."

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about how he would feel about this." Shoukaku thought with a small grimace.

She knew that the Admiral had captured her heart. That much was obvious to her.

Whenever he would smile, it would cause her to as well.

Feather light touches, such as from her passing paperwork or brushing against each other in the halls never failed to make her heart beat just a little faster.

And boy, whenever he complimented her, whether it be on her archery skills, or just an off the cuff remark about the perfume she was wearing, it always left her a blushing mess.

Zuikaku didn't know that she had fallen for him.

At least…she didn't think that her sister knew about that.

If she did, Shoukaku would be absolutely mortified.

So that was why she was subjecting herself to this, so that her sister didn't get suspicious about if she was interested in someone, because Zuikaku could be pretty…stubborn when she wanted to find something out.

Shoukaku did the one thing that she could.

She would make this date an absolute disaster. It would be so bad that whoever this guy was, he'd never want to see her again.

After slipping on her heels, grabbing her purse, and performing a quick last-minute check in the mirror, she gave a satisfied nod.

"Have fun Shoukaku!" Zuikaku called before the door closed, a self-satisfied grin on her face.

Her sister thought she was sneaky, but it was plain as day to anyone who knew her really well that she had the hots for the Admiral.

That was why Zuikaku, Nagato, and Pullman all teamed up on this.

Because as much as he tried to hide it, the Admiral had fallen for Shoukaku.

Both were just too dense to notice that the other one had interest.

But tonight, with any luck, they'd be forced to.

"Ah! Good evening Admiral. I was told to expect you." Houshou grinned, grabbing two menus and leading the officer back to a private room "Here for a date?"

"Something like that." Dixon grumbled as he followed the carrier back, looking around the restaurant and seeing other girls enjoying a candlelit dinner.

"Yes well, you have my word that when she arrives, I'll send her back." Houshou replied, setting the menu's down and walking back out the door.

Said door opened not even fifteen seconds later, and Andrew turned around, expecting to see someone with Houshou, but it wasn't who he was expecting.

"Toku." the small Abyssal said, tottering into the back room with a fighter in her arms.

Not being able to suppress the smile that wound onto his face, Andrew chuckled at Hoppou's antics as the small girl wandered over and tugged on his suit pants with her free hand.

Being one of the few weaknesses of the Admiral, he picked up the small girl, watching as she snuggled into his chest while waving her fighter around.

"You got that from Shoukaku, didn't you?" he asked softly, and Hoppou nodded.

"Reppuu."

A light laugh echoed from his lips as his mind wandered.

"Shoukaku. Such a kind, gentle woman. Not to mention extraordinary in every way. Her beauty is second to none. I'm honored to have such a ship under my command. I know that I like her, but she doesn't see me in such a light."

After a few more moments of sagely looking out the window, balancing Hoppou as she played with her fighter, the door opened once again.

"Admiral, your dining companion for the evening has arrived and…" Houshou trailed off as a soft smile appeared on her features with what she saw.

"Mama."

Dixon let Hoppou down, and she walked over to Houshou, who ushered the small girl out, and then held the door for the other woman who walked in, before closing it.

"Admiral?"

"Shoukaku?"

The officer and carrier looked at each other in a stunned silence, both allowing their eyes to roam the other freely and boy, the way their eyes clouded over, it was obvious that they liked what they saw.

Shoukaku was wearing a strapless violet dress that accentuated her body and went down to her knees, flaring slightly to allow ease of movement. Her makeup was expertly applied, with the light lipstick not detracting from the sparkle in her brown eyes. The black heels she wore made her as tall as he was.

And the light fragrance of her perfume, it was almost too much.

He wasn't ashamed to say that the carrier looked drop dead beautiful.

Shoukaku on the other hand, bit her bottom lip as she took in the Admiral's attire for the evening.

The perfectly tailored slate grey suit, the starched white shirt, golden cufflinks in the shape of anchors, and that blue tie.

That tie made his eyes pop, and it made her feel a little bit weak in the knees.

His hair was perfect, and the spritz of cologne that she could smell was a fantastic scent.

Then he just had to go and put on that charming smile of his.

Damn him.

"Shoukaku, now this is a surprise." Andrew said, pulling on the cuff of his shirt to straighten it. "I wasn't expecting you to be here. You look absolutely breathtaking."

"Thanks Admiral." she replied, blushing lightly and smiling widely "You look very handsome."

Andrew's megawatt grin grew as he felt his own cheeks heat.

"Please, this is a very informal setting. I must insist that you call me Andrew."

The carrier looked down as he pulled out her seat, a smile on her lips.

"I couldn't do that Admiral. It wouldn't be showing respect to your rank." she mused, taking a sip of water as if that would calm the butterflies in her stomach.

"I could make it an order." Andrew chuckled offhandly, opening the wine list and scanning through it "But if you don't want to, then that's perfectly acceptable."

So thoughtful, was her Admiral.

Houshou came and took their orders as the pair talked, once in a while, one of them would look away blushing lightly at something the other said, or a lewd thought ramming full force into their brain.

For Andrew, it was how she would feel curled around him in bed.

For Shoukaku, it was how his hands would feel gently roaming her body.

Both made it through dinner, finally becoming aware that they were sneaking looks at each other, much like high school teenagers.

And then dessert came along.

"Black forest cake! The recipe came from Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Enjoy you two."

Houshou disappeared, but caught Shoukaku's eye as she was exiting, throwing a wink at the younger carrier.

"Ah! One of the German liners. I've been dying to try this." Andrew mused, grabbing a fork and cutting off a small piece from their shared plate.

It only then dawned on him that there were two forks, one plate, and a single slice of cake.

Such actions usually resulted in the couple feeding each other, and he coughed after he swallowed the cake.

"Admiral? Are you alright?" Shoukaku asked, worry evident in her eyes.

He made the mistake of looking into those deep chocolate pools that seemed to go on for miles, being open doors into her soul, and all he saw was kindness and compassion.

"Ahem! Yes, I'm alright. Just something momentarily caught in my throat. No need to worry." Andrew replied, a small smile on his face.

Shoukaku observed him for a moment, as he took a sip of wine to cover his embarrassment, but shrugged and picked up her own fork, tasting the cake.

As soon as it hit her tongue, a lazy smile crossed her features. The cake, was amazing.

"I know right?" Andrew said, grinning as he saw her reaction "Black forest is my favorite."

"Do you have any German heritage Admiral?" she asked, taking another bite.

"Nope. Well maybe way back, but my grandfather on my dad's side was a Ukrainian, and on my mom's side was a Scot, so nothing in the immediate past." Andrew replied taking another bite.

They continued to chat, until there was only a couple of bites left, and surprisingly, Shoukaku was the one who started the cutesy stuff.

"Admiral, open wide."

Meekly doing as he was told, with a heavy red flush creeping up his collar, which caused the carrier to do an internal happy dance, Andrew allowed himself to be fed a bite of the chocolate dessert.

Not to be outdone, and even though Shoukaku was expecting it, she still blushed when the Admiral fed her the last bite with his fork.

And then she blushed even deeper when he stuck the fork in his mouth to remove the remaining chocolate.

"An…indirect kiss! With the Admiral!"

Smiling slightly at the flushed and stuttering Shoukaku, Andrew patiently waited for Houshou to appear as she magically did once the food was done, placing his wallet on the table.

"A gentleman pays for a date such as this." he stated in a tone that brokered no room for argument.

So, after he settled the bill, and paused to give Hoppou a hug goodnight, the pair walked out the restaurant arm in arm, smiling contently.

Slowly strolling through the base towards the carrier dorms under a clear sky, with stars above, they talked some more, and before either of them knew it, they were outside the door to Shoukaku's shared room.

"I had a good time Shoukaku." Andrew said, rubbing his neck and disappointed to see the night end.

"As did I Admiral." she replied, brushing her hair back "Maybe we could do this again sometime in the near future. Say…Saturday at noon for lunch?"

"I can't wait." he murmured, a smile on his face.

"Screw it." Shoukaku thought, closing the distance between them and giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

"That should hold until Saturday. Good night Admiral." the carrier grinned, before going into her dorm, the questions coming from her sister before the door was even closed.

Andrew heard the rapid-fire queries from Zuikaku, and brought a hand to his still tingling lips, the feeling of Shoukaku's lips on his still present.

Walking out of the building with a skip in his step, he silently thanked whoever was up there that tomorrow was Friday.

Finally, he had found someone special to go through life with.

And it filled him with a warm glow.

Fin