I started awake as if I'd suddenly realized I'd missed my alarm and found myself late to work. Of course, for the next two weeks, there was no "work". I could get up as early or as late as I pleased, although I still tried to keep to my sleep schedule as much as possible. Getting back to work was going to be hard enough without adding sleep deprivation to the list. Almost immediately, my thoughts turned to the woman whose bed I was occupying.

August von Parseval slumbered peacefully beside me, a satisfied smile on her face. I resisted the urge to reach out and stroke her cheek; I didn't know how lightly she slept and I didn't want to wake her up early. While I hadn't expected to find a relationship here, I had to admit August and I hit it off strong so far. Two questions remained, however. First, was this simply a case of mutual infatuation and desire, or was there something more? And second, if this was something more, what happens in two weeks when I have to go back to Azur Lane?

As if she sensed my unease, the unhulde beside me stirred, her violet eyes focusing on me in a heartbeat. She smiled a soft, happy smile as she reached out to me. "What has you troubled so early?" she whispered.

"Just…thinking about the future," I sighed as I cast a glance over my shoulder at the window. The sun hadn't even come up yet.

"Is the thought of being my familiar so distasteful?" she teased.

"Not that," I shook my head. "More like what happens when I have to go back to Azur Lane. Somehow, I doubt Naval HQ would allow you to join us, no questions asked. Nor would Freiderich allow you to leave."

A coy, cryptic grin crossed August's face. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Well, in Freiderich's case, that is."

That piqued my interest. "Something you'd like to share with the rest of us?" I asked.

She pretended to think on it before she shrugged and answered, "Mm, in time." Apparently, my less-than-pleased reaction to her reply amused her as she giggled and shook her head. "I cannot say just yet, but…if everything goes well, things will work themselves out."

"And if this doesn't work out?"

"Then we'll have bigger things to worry about than a potential long-distance relationship."

I couldn't help but wonder if this was something to do with the Iron Blood seizing Scapa Flow and the Royal Navy's seemingly lax response to it. Clearly, August had more information than she was letting on, but I doubt I could pull any information out of her, or at least, without damaging our new relationship. Besides, August had trusted me in spades by allowing me access to her ship, her aircraft, her rigging, and her books. By this point, she'd earned more than a little bit of trust from me. "Alright," I conceded. "I'll put my faith in you."

"As I knew you would…" August smiled her triumphant smile and pulled me in for a kiss. I met her with equal tenderness and passion, although August's hunger I could never quite match. Every kiss, every romantic encounter, she seemed to devour every scrap of it, as if she were trying to make up for a lifetime's worth of missed opportunities. Maybe because she was a blueprint ship, maybe it was simply in her nature, but either way, she seemed insatiable at times. And while I would have been most happy for this to turn into a continuation of last night's activities, I wanted to make the most of this morning.

I broke the kiss and before she could ask what was wrong, I said, "Come with me."

"Surely this isn't the first sunrise you've seen," August mused as we cuddled together beneath the fur blanket and watched for the first light of dawn.

"First one with someone I'd want to share it with," I explained before I kissed her softly. "There's a big difference between watching the sun come up with someone you've got feelings for versus watching the sunrise at the end of a long midwatch. One is romantic and beautiful, and the other is 'oh god, get that giant light out of my face.'"

"Good point," She snuggled up tighter to me, her arms wrapping around my waist. "And what did you have in mind after this?"

"Well," I sighed, "I was thinking we could head back downstairs, catch a little more sleep, or engage in a few other bed-related activities…"

"Mmmm, both of those sound like excellent ideas," she giggled before she leaned over to nibble on my ear. "And afterward?"

"I was hoping we could do a little more flying, you and I," I managed to blurt out, a shudder running down my spine.

"I was thinking the exact same thing," she breathed in my ear and chuckled softly as I quickly melted into her arms.

"Y-you do not play fair…" I sighed.

"Perhaps. But it's always fun to watch you try and resist." She paused. "Except for last night. I had naught but whispered two words in your ears before you were fast asleep."

So that explains why I'd awoken with a start. I'd passed out so quickly that my brain didn't register I'd gone to sleep. "Was pretty worn out…thought you would've been, too…"

She gave me a sultry smile before she planted a gentle kiss on my cheek. "Oh, I was, and I followed you quickly into a deep sleep. But I wanted to make sure you had drifted off comfortably first." Her smile turned into a playful grin. "An unhulde should always treat her familiar well…"

I grinned and shook my head. "Still on that, are we?"

"Mmm-hmm," she confirmed as she ran her hand gently up and down my spine. "Especially since I've brought it up twice this morning and you've yet to deny it."

Oh, goddammit. "I, uh, haven't had my coffee yet," I offer as a weak excuse.

"Of course, that must be it." Her words are agreeable, but her tone and the look in her eyes said she saw right through that. "But fight it as much as you want, you are mine…"

"And you're mine," I grinned, much to her surprise and delight. "Don't think I couldn't see it last night. In your eyes, in your embrace, your kiss. You hunger for me."

She stared at me for several long seconds before a smile breaks across her face. "Indeed I do," she admitted. "It would seem we've finally got the measure of one another."

"That it would," I agreed, and we shared a tender kiss as the first rays of the sun crept over the horizon…

"So, what's on the menu for today?" I called out over the din of the engines as we headed toward the point August had set for us.

August, seated behind me in the radio operator's station, answered, "I thought we'd try dive-bombing today. A few test passes and then we'll try live bombs on target ships."

I smiled at the prospect of combat, even if it was simulated. "Sounds fun," I said as I looked around the cockpit, trying to make note of things I'd need to keep an eye on during a bombing run. "How do we start this?"

"For starters, you want to arm your bombs. The control panel is just forward of the control stick near the floor." Every time she took me up, I was always impressed by her calm, cool demeanor. No teasing, no messing around, just her treating this with the seriousness and respect it was due. I've always appreciated that, and I think it helped me learn that much faster.

Getting a good look at the console without unconsciously moving the stick was a bit of a challenge, and the 110 rocked and rolled a few times before I got the hang of it. In the end, however, I was able to arm the bombs and keep the aircraft on a level course. "Bombs are armed."

"Excellent. Now, do you see the red handle on your right?"

It was fairly easy to spot. "Yep, I see it."

"In the event of an emergency, if I order you to jettison the bombs, you will pull that lever and immediately pull up if possible, understood?"

I nodded, then realized she might not be able to see the gesture and added, "Understood."

"Good," she replied. "In all other circumstances, you'll drop your ordnance the way I showed you earlier, and for these test dives, I don't want you to release at the pullout point. Simply pull up out of the dive."

As much as I wanted to make an off-color joke, if she was taking this seriously, so would I. "Wouldn't that throw me off when I tried to pull up for the real thing?"

"Good question," she said, a note of pride in her voice, "You are correct, but we'll compensate for that by setting the simulated release point at seven hundred and fifty meters and the real release point at six hundred and fifty."

"Seven fifty for simulated, six fifty for the real thing, got it," I acknowledged.

"To you begin your dive, I want you to set engines to idle and then push the nose down sixty degrees, no further." I think that was the sternest warning she'd ever given me.

"Just out of curiosity, what happens if I go deeper than sixty?"

"We run the risk of the airframe disintegrating when we attempt to pull out."

"Ah. Sixty it is." Without further ado, I pulled back on the throttles and pushed forward on the stick. "Diving now."

While it seemed counterintuitive to cut power to the engines on a dive, the reason became rapidly apparent as the airspeed indicator began to climb, not drop as we hurtled down towards the water. The fighter-bomber began to shake and shudder, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried. August, however, didn't say anything and I surmised she wouldn't let me fly us into our doom, so I kept on course, one eye on the water and one eye on the altimeter. The needles on the gauge counted down faster and faster until it read seven hundred and fifty.

I simulated dropping the bombs and pulled back on the stick. Almost immediately, I felt the g-forces pushing me into my seat, my blood thundering in my ears as blackness began to creep into the corners of my vision. Just as I was starting to get worried that I would black out, we leveled out and I found myself able to breathe again.

"Very good," August's voice filled my ears, and I gave her a thumbs up, still trying to catch my breath.

"Thank you," I finally managed to gasp as I put the BF-110 into a slow, steady climb up to dive-bombing altitude. "That was a bit rougher than I expected."

"Which is why I had you start off with practice diving," she answered. "From here on out, it's all about repetition. We should have enough fuel for two more simulated dives and one live, please confirm."

I checked the gauges and did some quick math in my head before I confirmed her estimates. "Checks out."

"Whenever you reach altitude and you're ready, you can begin your next dive."

The other two dives went much the same as the first, although it was getting easier to keep the plane on a steady course. Recovering from the dive was another matter entirely. It was rough, every time, and by the third dive, I could feel the sweat soaking into my flight suit.

Now, this one was going to be for real. "Altitude reached," I announced as I made my final checks.

"Understood," August acknowledged. "Summoning in a mass-produced ship now."

If there was some magical glow or portal or any other visual phenomenon, I missed it. One second, I saw a patch of empty sea, and when my eyes scanned that same patch a few seconds later, there was a battleship now floating there. "I see it," I called out. "Any last-minute advice?"

I could almost hear a faint smile in her voice. "Keep calm and remember to release your bombs for real this time."

"Roger that," I grinned as I lined up on the target. When I had what I thought to be the best solution, I pulled back on the throttles, pushed forward on the stick, and held on tightly. Once again, the aircraft shuddered, jostling me and throwing me off my aim, but a few minor adjustments and I was back on target. I was keeping a bead on the center of the warship. I wasn't trying to hit anything particularly vital or sensitive, I just wanted to make a hit. As the battlewagon grew larger, I kept checking the altimeter, watching as it steadily wound down to the magic number. As soon as I saw it hit six-fifty, I checked my aim one last time, released the bombs, and pulled back on the stick. If I hit anything, I wasn't going to know about it until August told me as I was too busy trying not to pass out.

Once I pulled out of the dive and leveled off, I glanced back over my shoulder before I asked, "Did I hit anything?"

There was a moment of silence as August double-checked and then replied, "Near miss."

"Damn," I swore as my heart sank. As much as I knew I would probably miss it, I was still hopeful that I could've scored a hit.

"This was only your first run," she consoled me, reaching forward to place her hand on my shoulder. "We can head back, rearm, refuel, and you can try again. You will grow stronger with each attempt, and in time, you will master this."

"Thanks." I reached out and laid my gloved hand atop hers for a moment before I put us on a course back to the ship.

I'd like to say I got it on my next trip out, but that would be a lie. Third time's the charm? Not this guy. The fourth? Negative. Missed each time, but each time, it felt like I was getting closer and closer to a hit. The only downside was that between the travel time, landing, rearming, refueling, and launching, it was nearly an hour per run. I almost considered asking August if she could use her unhulde powers to just magically rearm the plane, but reloading dive bombers mid-combat sounds like a ridiculous and unbelievable thing.

We were on our fifth and final run of the day. The sun was beginning to set, and we were barely going to have enough light to land, and that's if we were lucky. And judging by how the day's gone so far, I wasn't putting a whole lot of faith in luck at that moment.

One final time, I lined up, checked and double-checked my approach, and dove down on the battleship. By now I'd gotten used to knowing at what point to exit the dive by sight alone, so I concentrated solely on staying on target. Hopefully August wouldn't ding me for not pulling up at exactly six-fifty. When the warship filled my gunsight, I dropped my bombs and pulled up. The previous bombing runs had taken their toll, and the blackness almost completely took me, the world fading out to grey as I struggled to stay conscious. When the weight faded and my body relaxed, I slumped in my seat, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Eventually, I was able to rasp, "Any luck?"

August's voice was subdued as she cryptically answered, "Turn left and look."

I slowly pulled the 110 into a gentle turn, looking down the wing as I did so. Eventually, the battleship came into view…along with the new smoldering hole in her number two turret. I let out a raucous cheer and laughed as I leveled the plane off.

"We did it!" I cheered. "Oh thank god, we did it!"

"Precisely as expected from my familiar," she teased. "Now set course for home."

I was too tired to argue, so I simply grinned and answered, "Yes, ma'am." The fighter banked for home, for however long that would last…

A/N-One last chapter remaining, how will this all end? The poll has also ended and the winner is…Musashi! Her story will begin in February. Until next time, fair winds and following seas!