Certain Lady Part 32

Admiral Richardson let out a sigh as he hung his cover on the hat rack above the pair of shelves used for shoes. He didn't really care one way or another about wearing his shoes indoors, but constant exposure to the practice had left it's mark on him. There was also the minor detail of the disapproving looks sent his way by almost every other individual who lived in his home when he failed to do so.

So with the image of an disapproving Jintsuu at the forefront of his mind, he obediently removed his shoes and set them on the topmost shelf right next to Mutsu's.

He paused to look at the inconspicuous wooden assembly and gave a short snort of laughter.

A year ago. No, maybe even not even that long ago. Whatever the time was, he was certain that he'd have never even thought to imagine this.

He crouched down to look at the assembled footwear. Each pair was settled above a nameplate made of wood and decorated in Jane's untidy handwriting.

Jintsuu.

Hiei.

Mutsu.

Jane.

Daddy.

They were the oldest nameplates and the last two older by a significant margin. He idly wondered if his daughter would ever update them so they were more legible. Probably not. He wouldn't either.

But now there were more names.

Arizona.

Shimakaze.

Albacore.

Richardson smirked at the last two. Jane had done them up in a jiffy the moment it became clear in her mind that she had two new sisters. He wasn't really sure how Arizona and Shimakaze going shopping had worked out, only that afterwards the speed obsessed destroyer had decided she liked being around Arizona a whole lot more than being alone. Jane's attachment was practically inevitable after that.

And Albie was a given.

When she was around that is. He could really only tell by the presence of something swimming in his coffee or the sudden absence of many things. And always at least one pair of pants was part of that.

All shoes excepting Shimakaze, Arizona, and Albacore's were accounted for.

"They'll be fine." Yeah. They'd be alright. He just needed to keep telling himself that. He doubted he would ever be free of the anxiety that gripped him when he sent a member of his fleet out to battle. But it lessened as time went on and the girls were better able to wage war. And that little bit of self assurance helped him more than he cared to admit.

Even Pennsylvania held a place in his hopes.

He might not like Arizona's sister, but he wouldn't wish an ill fate on her.

But he had doubts she'd have a nameplate here anytime soon.

Richardson stood, ignoring the creaking in his knees. Dammit. He wasn't that old. But all the desk-work had been leaving him more and more stiff these days. Maybe he ought up his usual workout to compensate.

He refrained from calling out his arrival. There might be lights on, but it was quite late. He didn't want to wake up anyone who had gone to sleep if he could help it. Everyone was doing their utmost in one capacity or another and what rest could be obtained was best left uninterrupted.

Sock-covered footsteps carried him to the living room. There was only one light on and only one occupant visible to him.

"Dammit, Mutsu..."

It was plainly obvious to him that she was asleep and had dozed off while going over yet another set of reports. Ever since the fleet had set out to turn islands and demon Nazi things into ash and dust, Mutsu had been going at full tilt. If a piece of equipment or installation needed inspecting, she was on it. And then twice over to make absolutely certain whatever it was operated at peak performance.

Richardson would put money down that by now she knew more about the anti-air batteries on base than the people who designed them.

She wasn't the only one working nearly non-stop.

Everyone was doing something to keep the gears in this war machine greased and it was draining on all of them. Whether it was inspecting, cooking, shelling, scouting, or whatever the order of the day was. It didn't matter. Everyone was giving it their all.

And right now he was looking at someone who had decided falling asleep with a report in-hand was better than trying to slog herself into a bed. Or even a comfortable position on the couch she was already using. The way her head lolled to one side could not have been comfortable. And he knew from far too much experience just how much of a wreck you could put your back into if you fell asleep in the wrong position.

At least she'd changed out of her uniform and into something more comfortable.

Though if it weren't for the fact that there was a cold cup of coffee on a nearby table and the sheafs of paper covered in official reports and her own well practiced penmanship, he'd swear she chose that white sweater just to tease him.

Richardson approached the sleeping battleship and began methodically collecting all of the papers, pens, and notes laying about. He could have taken a photo for blackmail given how silly she looked. But he really didn't think it was worth it. Not now.

He wanted to rebuke her. To wake and tell her off for not taking better care of herself. However it never was more than a fleeting notion. Partly because he knew he'd have worked himself into the same state. Hell, he'd done that more times than he could count.

Yet there was something else stopping him.

Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, Richardson felt himself frozen at the sight of battleship Mutsu.

He knew she was a beautiful woman.

There was never any doubt of that.

But there were times like this when she took his breath away.

The house was quiet enough that he could hear the soft sound of her breathing. Her soft lips parted slightly as she mumbled something unintelligible.

Before Richardson could stop himself, he reached out and brushed one of the many stray locks of her brown hair out of her face. His hand came to rest against her cheek and Mutsu leaned against it as though it were a pillow. All the while, his heart raced in a way it hadn't in a decade.

As he gently removed Mutsu's hair band antennae, his mind wandered. Though, he would agree that she looked best with a hair band of some sort. Not that she was any less beautiful without. The hair accessory just suited her. Well enough that it seemed odd when she wasn't wearing one.

His thoughts drifted to the past. A past where he was he was courting and being courted by an eccentric model builder. Langley had crashed into his life in a very literal way. Thanks to her poor fortune with wiring, he'd found himself one of the luckiest men alive. He treasured her memory and the legacy she'd left him in Jane. Those years they had together would be with him forever.

Even now, both his ring and hers hung about his neck on a simple steel necklace.

So many memories in so short a time.

He still laughed whenever he recalled all the trouble she got him into with her planes. One particularly fond incident involved a visiting admiral and one of her Avenger models. The man hadn't been pleased about his car being torpedoed, but commended Langley on her aim if nothing else.

A melancholy and regretful expression clouded his face as he realized he was thinking of one woman while caring for another.

A woman who was also a battleship.

Try as he might, he couldn't help but be drawn to her. Be attracted to her. Fall for her.

Mutsu was a kind and loving soul. And a powerful one at that. Then again, so were all of the other shipgirls who had made their home here. Both under his roof and under his command. And he loved them. But he loved them in different ways and to differing degrees. Some like friends. Some like daughters. Others even like a commander might care for a dutiful subordinate.

Jintsuu was a dear friend and a terrifyingly competent individual. The kind of retainer as lord would be blessed to have. Even if her love of cinema baffled him to no end, he would not trade her for anything. And heaven help anyone who tried to take her.

Arizona had entered his life with all the subtlety of her class. For all her faults and weaknesses, she soldiered on with a dedication to do whatever it took to accomplish her mission. He could respect that. And in the short time she had been here, she had bludgeoned her way into an irreplaceable part of his life.

And Hiei...

...was Hiei.

The first shipgirl under his command and the one who had become as much a part of him and his life as his own flesh and blood.

Not even Langley had accomplished such a feat.

But maybe it was because of that closeness he and Hiei had never taken a step in that direction. Theirs was something... he could not put into words. And something he would never try to.

And here was Mutsu. The loving, teasing, beautiful, headache-inducing, and caring battleship who had made him realize he needed to draw a line. Do something to distance himself in some way. A distance that would let him keep the status quo. Keep his life cemented and allow him to focus on everything that wasn't the woman who had made him feel emotions left dormant since his wife had passed.

That same line had been eroding almost from the moment he'd finished drawing it.

A line he'd tried and failed to redraw dozens of times.

"John."

Richardson didn't so much as twitch when Hiei spoke.

"Don't you think you've waited long enough?"

He remained silent, listening even as Hiei silently walked towards him and embraced him from behind. His heart clenched as she reached into his shirt and withdrew the necklace holding his and Langley's rings. There was no hesitation in her action. There never was. Not between the two of them.

"She's going to kick your ass at this rate, you know."

"Yeah. I know." Richardson whispered back with a grimace. "It's rude to keep a lady waiting. And here I am, spinning my wheels. She always did hate it when I did that."

"Only because you did it with the silliest of things." Hiei fingered the gold bands gently as she rested her head against Richardson's back.

Richardson let his hand fall from Mutsu's cheek.

"Hiei?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"You can thank me by making sure that snoozing battlewagon is so happy she doesn't know her screws from her guns." She tucked the rings back into his shirt and patted them reassuringly. "And by giving Jane lots of siblings."

"Kind of a tall order for an old man like me." Richardson grinned.

"Tough." Hiei released Richardson and moved into his vision with a mischievous smile. "You fell in love with a battleship, Admiral John Alfred Richardson. Now you have to face the consequences."

"I suppose I do, don't I."

Hiei sighed with mock despair.

"Oh, my poor admiral. He doesn't have a clue. His poor innocent self may not survive."

Richardson rolled his eyes.

"Besides, you have a lot of expectations to live up to." With a flourish, Hiei withdrew a small stack of cards from her pocket. "And there's more than a few people who are a little bit tired of you taking your time."

"What ar-" He blinked as the first card was thrust in front of his vision, obscuring Hiei and Mutsu from sight.

Was this... a love letter?

It was.

It was sappy and questionably written, but it was a love letter nonetheless. From Mutsu. But the fact the rather terrible handwriting was definitely not Mutsu's told him this was a terrible forgery. One that made no attempts at hiding that blatant detail.

He gave Hiei the most unamused expression he had in his arsenal as she continued placing card after card into his hands. There was one from almost every single shipgirl in the vicinity of Sasebo. Some of the more well behaved and respectable girls had joined in on this ridiculous stunt.

Even Kaga had sent one!

"Oh, and Jane has a message from New Jersey. She's asleep, so she asked me to give it to you."

"God help me..."

"SECNAV approved. So, no." She cleared her throat and adopted what had to be one of the worse attempts at imitating the littlest Richardson. "If you doesn't lay your keel in Mutsu's slipway, the poor girl's gonna blow. Again."

You could hear a pin drop.

"...I'm going to fucking ship her back to the states on a Russian passenger liner." It took every sliver of self-control to not shout in outrage.

"Oh, how cruel. Even for you." Hiei's grin was playful as ever, nearly a rival to Mutsu's own. The makings of a laugh tugged blatantly at the corners of her mouth.

"Quit screwing around and help me out." Richardson grumbled irritably, the mood so thoroughly destroyed. He knelt before the still sleeping Mutsu. She must have really overworked herself to be so tired. Sleeping through all of that nonsense. "I'm not going to let her sleep on the couch all night. Help me carry her to bed."

"How lewd. But at least you're taking that message to heart."

"Goddammit Hiei."