A/N: Hello all! Greetings from Pearl Harbour, Hawaii! My ship made it after a month of sailing around with a weekend stop in San Diego, California, upon which I slept, relaxed, and did some writing, specifically, on this.
We're here for awhile, so I want to try to have another chapter of this out before we put to sea again.
Thanks for the reviews you give me, we're up to a total of 49 girls now (yes, I keep an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of them all), and one more will make 50.
Anyways, here's Admiral x Graf Zeppelin. To all who are curious, the next chapter will be Admiral x Yuubari.
Modelling
"Ah Graf. I've been expecting you." Admiral Dixon said with a smile, putting down the after-action report and standing up to greet the carrier.
"Of course, Admiral. These talks are the highlight of my week usually." she replied, settling onto the sofa in his office as Andrew busied himself with brewing two cups of coffee with a coffee dripper that he kept on hand for such occasions.
Sitting beside her once the coffee was done, he placed the two cups down in front of them and grinned lightly.
"I look forward to talking with you as well. Seems to put me more at ease and place me in a better mood for returning to work." he chuckled, watching as she took a sip of the coffee, a satisfied nod after she put the cup back onto the saucer on the table.
"I'm glad I'm able to help in such a manner." Graf countered, smiling slightly at him.
They talked for roughly fifteen minutes before a knock roused them from their conversation.
"Admiral, a package was just dropped off for you by the courier." Nagato said once the door was opened.
"Ah excellent! I've been waiting on this." Andrew stated, clapping and getting up, walking out of his office for a moment before returning with a large box.
"Admiral, what's in the package?" Graf enquired, standing from the couch and walking over to his desk where he had placed the box and was now rummaging for a letter opener.
"You'll see Graf. It's actually rather brilliant if I do say so myself." he mused, finally finding the knife and cutting open the box to reveal, another box.
"Ta-da!" with a flourish, he held up the other box to her, and she read the lettering on the front.
"It's…it's me?" she asked, surprise colouring her tone as she flushed slightly.
"Yeah! I've been looking forward to this model release for a long time. I'm glad Trumpeter finally put it out in 1/350 scale." Andrew smiled, opening the box and leafing through the instruction manual.
"Do you, have any other ship models sir?" she questioned, meeting his eye.
"Not yet unfortunately, this is the first. I'll use it to gauge how long it would take me to build such a model with a job such as this." he replied, placing the model kit against the wall and out of the way.
"I..I see sir." she stuttered, draining her cup and getting up "I must say farewell, I'm due to help Bismarck and Prinz out on the firing line soon. Until next week Admiral."
"So long Graf." he called, somewhat confused with her hasty exit from the office.
Shaking his head, he went back to the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated on his desk and began once again sifting through it.
Soon enough, he forgot all about the strange way Graf had been acting, but someone else had noticed what had occurred, and would tell the dense Admiral about what he had unwittingly done.
Three days had passed since his package had arrived, and it was now Friday on the base, a joyous day for all because it was the end of the work week, and the only thing interrupting them would be either an emergency sortie or an act of god.
Loosening the top few buttons on his tunic, Andrew sat on an open stool in Houshou's bar, a pint of beer in front of him with his cap off to the side.
Elsewhere he could hear Junyouu and Nachi competing in a drinking competition, one he knew would leave them both regretting it in the morning.
Taking a long pull from his glass, he glanced up and down the bar, a lazy smile on his face as he took in the expressions of happiness and relaxation from all the girls around him.
"Beer, bitte." he heard from a few stools down, causing him to glance to see which German it was.
Unsurprisingly, it was Bismarck.
That girl could hold her own in a drinking competition against him, which was high praise from a Canadian.
She got her beer and sauntered back to a table, his eyes following her all the way as she sat with Prinz, Graf, and the two little destroyers.
There was also one open chair at the table that didn't appear to have anyone sitting in it, or be reserved for anyone else, as Ro-500 was already out somewhere for the evening.
Making up his mind, he shifted off the stool, grabbing the beer with one hand, and his cap in the other, before heading over to sit with the Germans.
"Admiral!" Prinz Eugen called before he even sat down "Come sit over here!"
"My thanks Prinz. I trust all you girls are doing well this evening." Andrew said once he settled onto the chair, looking around the table.
Nods came from all around him, with conversations breaking into one another, but what was odd, was that Graf Zeppelin was silent.
She had gotten quite quiet once he came over, and her eyes had not shifted from her beer ever since he got there, and the deep pulls she was taking from her glass meant that she wanted to finish quickly.
"You must be glad it's Friday Admiral. No paperwork for the weekend, eh?" Bismarck questioned, poking the officer in his ribs.
Graf bristled slightly at the treatment but made no comment regarding it.
"Ah, yes, very pleased that the week has been finished with no major calamities." Andrew chuckled, rubbing the spot where Bismarck poked.
Taking note of their glasses, all of which (including his) were nearly drained, he flagged over Houshou and bought a round for the table.
"Thanks Admiral!" Maass said, holding her glass up as all her comrades did the same.
They clinked their glasses together and drank heartily before Graf stood up.
"I apologize. I'm not feeling very well this evening. I'll see you all later."
The carrier departed to the confused looks of the others around.
"She was fine earlier…" Prinz mused, looking a little upset.
"That's indeed odd." Bismarck stated, rubbing her chin with a gloved hand.
The small group finished their drinks, followed by several more until most were struggling to stand, but with Maass and her sister gone, it was up to Andrew to help Bismarck and Prinz back to their room.
"Y'know Admiral, you're allllright." Prinz slurred as she leaned against his left shoulder.
To be fair, they had all drank a lot that night, and even Andrew was feeling the after effects of the alcohol in his system.
"Well thanks Prinz." he chuckled, pulling her closer against him.
"Feeling left out over hereeee!" Bismarck called, grabbing onto his right arm and pressing herself flush against him.
"Yeah yeah. That's the beer talking. Let's get you girls home." Andrew told them, opening the door leading into the dorms.
Soon enough they were at the shared room of Bismarck, Prinz, and Graf.
Knocking on the door, Andrew opened it slowly after a moment of no answer and tiptoed in with the Germans behind him.
"Think you'll be alright here?" he whispered, watching as they both nodded, and he began to back out, until another door opened and a sleepy voice stopped him.
"Bismarck? Prinz? Back already?" Graf asked, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
Clad in only a short robe, Andrew felt his face flush, and he was sure it wasn't the alcohol in his system.
"Ja. The Admiral walked us home." Prinz stated, gesturing to him, and causing Graf to notice him for the first time.
"It was a pleasure doing so, but I'd best be returning to my house now." Andrew managed to stutter out, not breaking eye contact with Graf.
"Thank you for bringing my comrades home Admiral. Pleasant dreams." Graf called before he all but ran out the door.
Nodding faintly and tipping his cap, Andrew turned and walked out of the room stiffly, closing the door silently behind him.
"What the hell is going on here? What's going on with her? What's going on with me?" he thought as he slowly made his way back to his house.
These thoughts dwelled on him until he finally fell into a deep sleep, though his dreams were plagued by a certain blond haired, blue eyed aircraft carrier.
Waking up brightly on Saturday and making a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon, Andrew sat down in his study, pulling the model kit onto the desk and opening it, leafing through the instruction booklet and finding the proper spruces to begin assembly of the model.
After four hours of gluing, painting, and assembly, the main hull was starting to finally take shape and look like a ship.
A knock sounded on the door, and he managed to hear it over the music that was coming from the stereo that his phone was synched to.
Answering the door, Andrew was surprised to see Yamato there, a soft smile on her face.
"Good morning Admiral, may I come in?"
"Of course Yamato, though I will admit that I'm surprised that you're here." Andrew replied, ushering the battleship into his home and closing the door behind her.
"I merely came for a visit Admiral. Shall we talk in your study?" she questioned, looking towards the open door.
Nodding, Andrew led the way through and settled down in an armchair, with Yamato sitting on his left side on the sofa.
She let her eyes wander around the room, falling to rest on his desk, and the pieces of plastic sitting on top of it.
"Building something Admiral?" Yamato asked, intrigued with what was there.
"Yes. A model of a ship." he replied, confused as to why she was so interested in it.
"Oh, is that why Graf Zeppelin has been acting so strange lately? The model is of her, correct?" Yamato smirked, lazily making eye contact with her superior.
"Why would it be strange to be building a model of a second world war aircraft carrier? It's merely a hobby I'm picking up." Andrew stated, shrugging his shoulders.
"Because, you silly duck," Yamato told him, laughing as she did "Building a model of a ship girl in her ship form usually means that you…want to…build…ships with her. If you catch my drift."
It took him a moment to decipher her words, but they finally sunk in and hit him with the full weight.
"I saw you two together in your office when you received your package." she continued, still smiling "Graf definitely wasn't expecting that, and I think you surprised her with your words about how you've 'been waiting for such a long time' for that model to come out."
"It seems as though my words were misconstrued and my actions of late haven't been much better." he mused, slamming a fist into his open palm "I'll clear everything up on Monday morning. Nagato will be at an appointment so it will be the perfect time to have a one on one with her."
Yamato was once again grinning slightly at his wording.
"Was that all you wished to discuss Yamato?" Andrew questioned, getting a bottle of water from the minifridge in the room.
"Yes Admiral. Have a good weekend." she stated, standing up and smoothing her skirt before walking out of his house.
Directing a glare at the box art of the DKM Graf Zeppelin he muttered "You've caused me a lot of trouble. Let's hope you're worth it."
Monday Morning
The day dawned bright and warm, the naval base was abuzz with activity, from girls training, to some heading out on sorties.
Working feverishly, and running on a couple hours of sleep, Andrew took another pull from the coffee cup next to him.
With his requisitions officer off on leave, all the parts and resource import forms needed his approval before they could be filled, which in turn, tripled his workload.
He had been at his desk at six in the morning, and now at five in the afternoon, he was still there filling out paperwork to ensure that the base ran smoothly with no hiccups.
The increased workload also had two unintended consequences.
Firstly, his time for meals had been seriously curtailed, with him needing to take them in his office and limiting him to a strictly sandwich diet.
Secondly, his lack of free time also amounted into him not being able to find a moment when he could talk to Graf without interruption.
She had been a primary reason as to why he had only gotten a few hours of sleep.
His thoughts had been plagued by the attractive carrier clad in merely a skimpy robe entering his room and occupying the other spot in his bed.
Needless to say, this was getting out of hand and he needed to nip it in the bud.
His door opened suddenly, and without giving it a second thought, he waved the person inside, preparing for another stack of paperwork to be unceremoniously dropped onto some open spot on his desk.
But no paperwork dropped, and a person cleared their throat in front of him, causing him to look up in surprise.
And when he did look up, his pen slipped, drawing a large black mark on the current form.
His mouth went dry and he felt his heart speed up and feel like it was about to jump right out of his chest.
"Admiral. What are you still doing at work on such a lovely evening?" Graf Zeppelin asked, her voice like silk as she idly twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
Her attire was most strange though.
A deep blue greatcoat, something like what Admiral Raeder would wear, encased her frame, her usual white peak cap on her head, black gloves on her hands, and the toes of her shoes peeking out, but that was all that was visible.
"You know how it is." Andrew stated, his throat dry as the Sahara "People go on vacation and the workload gets a little tougher for everyone."
"Tsk tsk. Now that's just not right. You shouldn't be working so hard." she mused, dropping into the chair across from his desk.
"If not me, then who? Without me at the helm, this war is as good as over." he said, picking his pen back up and pouring a fresh cup of coffee from the butler on his cluttered desk.
Draining half the cup in one pull, he set back to work signing forms, albeit this time Graf was silently watching from across the desk.
They stayed like that for some time, the only sound being their breathing and the scratching of pen on paper, before Graf finally got fed up.
"Admiral. Take a break."
"I can't." Andrew muttered, eyes flicking over another form "These requisitions need to be filled out before close of business tomorrow, and I'll have the same amount of work tomorrow, so these need to be done today."
"Take a break. That's an order." Graf stated, punctuating her statement by reaching across his desk and snatching the pen out of his hand.
Sighing and putting his hand to his temple, Andrew leaned back in his chair, folding his hands and opening his eyes to look at Graf as she tucked his pen away somewhere in the folds of her coat.
"Very well. I'll take a break. Good enough Admiral Zeppelin?" he snorted, frowning slightly towards his companion.
"You don't seem very relaxed." she tutted, standing from her seat and pacing back and forth.
"Yes, well what would you suggest?" Andrew questioned, opening the top button on his white uniform.
"Maybe play some music, settle in with a cup of tea, or possibly even build something." Graf lazily replied.
He stiffened at the final item on her list, watching carefully as she came around the desk, clearing a small spot and then sitting on the hardwood top in front of him, crossing her legs as she did.
A smirk appeared on her face as she undid the buttons on her coat, letting it drop from her shoulders onto the crowded desk.
All she had on under it was her usual red tie with an iron cross on it, a pair of coffee coloured stockings, black boots, and what appeared to be a black bunny-girl costume, minus the tail and ears.
"Admiral, I'd like to help you relax, and don't worry, I locked the door behind me."
She shifted from her current seat on his desk, to a new seat, on his lap.
Draping her arms around his neck, he felt her nuzzle in.
"Graf. Please, you don't need to do this. Let's just talk." Andrew stated in a somewhat strained voice.
"Admiral we've done enough talking. The model alone said a million words. And your continued kindness has been wonderful. Not to mention all our afternoon chats. I've grown quite fond of you. I was merely looking for a way to break the ice, but you and your model did that quite well." she whispered, taking her cap off and putting it on his desk.
Sighing mentally, he knew that this was all wrong.
"Graf," he said softly "I like you, really I do. Probably in a more than just a friend way. I love talking with you, and how you make me laugh and always brighten up my days. The model had a few unintended consequences, but I think they'll turn out okay.
"But this is moving way too fast for me. If you want me, it'll be more of a 'you're stuck with me thing' forever. You've got to be in it for the long haul."
There was silence for a little while between the pair, his arms encircling her body, and he was pleased when she made no moves to shy away from his touch.
"I am in it for the long-haul Admiral." Graf finally stated, her voice muffled due to the fact that she had her face buried in his uniform "I really like you. A lot. Would a date make things more comfortable for you?"
"Immensely." Andrew told her, breathing a sigh of relief "I'll free myself up tomorrow night for dinner as I don't think you'd want to go out like this."
"Duly noted." Graf replied smiling as she snuggled closer to him.
He gave her a peck on the crown of the head, and when she turned to look at him, he captured her lips in his for a sweet kiss.
"A promise of what is to come Love." Andrew chuckled, watching her cheeks darken with a blush.
Who would have guessed that building a model of a never complete carrier would've brought so much confusion to the world?
Followed by a lot of happiness to two people.
Fin