Three days passed after our little skirmish with the Sirens before Hornet finally made her move. Or rather, Hornet made her move through an unlikely cat's paw…

"Just as a reminder, Commander," Yorktown smiled sweetly as she set the day's commission reports on my desk, "You've got an appointment with the tailor tonight at six o'clock to make sure your suits still fit."

I gazed quizzically up at her as I tried to recall having a conversation with her about getting fitted for a suit. "Did…we talk about this?"

"Not directly, no," she coyly admitted. "But I figured we should get this out of the way before our trip to the Royal Islands."

I glanced down at my uniform, tugging on it, checking to see if it was too tight in places it hadn't been before. "Saying I've put on weight?"

Her laugh was melodic as she shook her head, her silvery hair swaying in counterpoint. "Not at all." Her laughter fades as her expression becomes a bit more serious. "If anything, you seem to have lost weight. But somehow, I don't think it was through healthy living…"

"No," I sighed as I leaned back in my chair and looked up at her. "No, it wasn't. I was burning the candle at both ends, doing everything I could to try and find a way to save you. I think at one point, Enterprise admonished me about my eating habits…"

"Max!" Yorktown gasped in horror. "I know you won't agree with me on this, but you can't do everything all the time."

"I wasn't concerned about everything," I blurted out, "I was concerned about you. If I couldn't find a way to save you, then every second I spent not looking was going to haunt me. There was always going to be that doubt, dragging me into darkness like an anchor chain, asking me, 'Did I do enough? What if I looked harder, worked more?' If I couldn't cure you, I was damn sure going to make sure I could tell that doubt to piss off."

Her expression softened, and she reached out to take my hand as she gave me a soft smile. "I don't think anyone, will, for one second, doubt that you did everything you could. And I know I wouldn't. Even if I couldn't find some way to cross the veil of death and tell you, know that I would never blame it on you. I love you, I will always love you, and I will wait for you on the other side should I go first."

My heart stuck in my throat and I blinked back tears as I smiled back up at her. "I love you, too. I always have, I always will, and I'll wait for you, too." Without waiting for her response, I pulled her into a tender kiss, our arms wrapping around one another in a tight embrace.

When we broke, she gave me that angelic smile and patted me on the shoulder. "We should probably get back to work," she said softly.

I reluctantly agreed, giving her one more kiss before releasing her. As she was walking back to her desk, I felt the need to ask one more thing. "Hey, uh…when you first woke up again, I…I didn't look that bad, did I?"

She giggled and shrugged. "You looked…very tired…and a bit haggard, if I'm being honest. But don't worry," she reassured with a bright grin, "you're looking more and more like your old self day by day."

"Oh, good," I smiled sheepishly. "In any case, time to get back to work."

"Agreed."


The rest of the day blurred into the usual mix of paperwork, idle chit-chat, and warm smiles as we went about the business of keeping an entire fleet running smoothly. Until five o'clock rolled around and Yorktown reminded me of my appointment.

"Best get going," she chided as she shooed me out of my own office. "Don't forget to pick up the suit at home, too."

"I'm going, I'm going," I groused, wondering why she was eager to get me out of there. "Still don't think it needs that much adjusting, but alright. I'll see you at home once I'm done?"

"Mhm!" she smiled and nodded quickly before she gave me a quick kiss and shoved me out the door. "See you soon!"

"Love you!" I said just as the door shut in my face. That was certainly odd behavior from her, but I didn't have a lot of time to ponder it. With a sigh and a shrug, I headed for home, not realizing I was walking right into a trap…


My suit in hand, or rather, in my garment bag, I opened the door to our apartment, ready to head to the tailor's. Only to find Hornet standing in front of me, grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. "Hey, Max!" she beamed. "Yorktown sent me. Said the tailor's running late with a house call, but the good news is that they're on the base. They'll see you in the hangar since you can use the pilot's locker rooms to get changed."

I blinked at the sudden change of plans that had landed in my lap, but I nodded automatically. "Uh, sure thing, Hornet…thanks for the heads up. Say, when's this vaunted 'triple date' of yours going to happen?"

Hornet's smile only broadened as she gave me a playful wink. "You'll see. Later, Commander!"

I watched her go for a second before shaking my head and heading off towards the hangar. Something was off about her and Yorktown today, I just couldn't put my finger on it…


I made it to the hangar with just enough time to get changed. At least there was one upside to getting changed here: I had my own locker here and it was big enough to hang my uniform in while I was getting my suit fitted. As I checked myself out in the mirror, I didn't understand why I needed to get anything adjusted, everything looked like it fit right, and it felt comfortable. Still, I might as well let them have a look since we're here, and it'll allay Yorktown's fears to boot. Or at least, so I thought…

As I opened the door to the men's locker room, the locker room on the women's side opened up, and Vestal and Northampton stepped out. We all stopped short, looking at one another in surprise, both at our presence as well as our dress. I'm honestly not certain if either kansen had seen me in a suit before, and I'd never seen them wearing evening gowns like that before. Vestal had a beautiful blue and white off-the-shoulder dress with a ruffled skirt, and Northampton wore a stunning, slit-thigh emerald green number that matched her eyes.

We stared at each other for another few seconds before I finally spoke up. "Tailor?" I asked.

Both girls nodded. "Hornet said they were on a house call," Vestal answered, "but they had just enough time to-"

"-see us in the hangar," we all said in unison. I sighed and patted down my jacket pockets, seeing if my suspicion was correct. "Ladies," I announced as I thought I felt something in my right jacket pocket, "I do believe we've been had."

"What makes you say that?" Vestal asked, giving me a curious look.

I fished out a dark blue tie, a clip-on, of course, and a tie pin from my pocket, one of Yorktown's favorites. And attached to the tie was a little post-it note with the word "Surprise!" written on it in her delicate script. "This note, for starters," I replied, holding up the note as I buttoned up my shirt collar and carefully attached the tie. "But I think it's no coincidence that we all ran into Hornet, telling us to come here, at this exact same time."

Northampton and Vestal shared a look before they both nodded in agreement. "But why?" The cruiser asked as she looked around. "Why bring us here? Now?"

"For the triple date!" Hornet exclaimed as she burst into the hallway with a dramatic flourish, startling the three of us. Much to my surprise, she was similarly attired, wearing a beautiful black-and-gold dress that managed to seem both elegant and playful. "My sisters and I have come up with a brilliant and cunning plan to gather you here so that we can give you an evening like no other!"

"This is what you've been working on for the past week?" Northampton grinned as Vestal and I caught our breath. "Your 'super duper secret project'?"

"Yep!" Her lover cheerfully confirmed. "We had to make sure everything was juuuuuust right. Sorry to keep you in the dark, darling, but I wanted this to be a surprise."

"You've certainly surprised us," I chuckled. "What's next?"

"Right this way," she gestured towards the hangar, offering her arm to Northampton.

"Ooh, so smooth," Northampton grinned as she took Hornet's proffered arm, pausing to kiss her on the cheek before allowing her to be led into the hangar. Vestal and I shared a look before we shrugged and followed them.

What we found waiting for us took my breath away. The hangar had been transformed, with twinkling lights strung across the rafters, bathing the entire space in a soft, warm glow. An aircraft sat in each corner of the hangar, one of Hornet's B-25s, one of Enterprise's SBDs, and two of Yorktown's Hellcats; mine and hers. And in the center, a dance floor, a manjuu band, and just off to the side, a large banquet table with six chairs.

"You did all this in a week?" I asked as I looked around at the sight. "Without anyone catching on?"

"She had help," a familiar voice interjected, and I turned to see my beloved Yorktown, wearing the dress she'd first worn to that fateful Royal Navy ball, over a year ago. And beside her was Enterprise, clad in the same regal evening gown and cape she'd worn as well. "We took turns, and the lights were set up by the manjuus. Enterprise and I both felt it would be a bit too risky if we climbed up there ourselves."

We all turned to look at Hornet, who gave us all a confused look until it clicked for her. "H-hey!" she protested, her cheeks coloring as she became flustered. "I woulda known what I was doing!"

"Hon, your safety plan was tying a rope around your waist," Northampton softly replied.

"Yeah…well…it would've worked…" she pouted for a moment before she put her smile back on and gestured to the place. "In any case, we got this place set up bit by bit over the past week and we're really excited to finally show it to you! What do you think?"

After another pause as we took another look around the hangar, Vestal said, "I love it! It's a fun, ingenious setup. It feels intimate, romantic, and like we're going to a big party all at the same time."

"You aren't the only one who can be devious from time to time," Enterprise smirked as she pulled Vestal into her arms and gave her a quick kiss.

"Ah, nothing like a relationship based on deception, a foolproof start," Hornet teased her elder sibling, who gave her a dirty look before returning her attention to the woman in her arms.

"I agree," I declared, my eyes finally settling on the Yorktown, who was beaming with pride. "You guys really outdid yourselves here. And you managed to pull it off without any of the three of us picking up on it, I'm impressed!"

"Thank you, Max," Yorktown blushed as she stepped towards me, taking her hand in mine. "You did so much for me on our first date, I thought it was high time I finally returned the favor. Although, sadly, we were unable to procure George's services this evening."

"I'm sure whoever you got will be up to the task, my rose," I smiled, leaning in to kiss her softly.

Her smile returned and she tugged on my hand. "Before we sit down, come here, there's something I want to show you…"

"A-alright…" I stammered as she led me to one of the Hellcats. Once we were close enough, she pointed to the cockpit, or rather, just below it. She had stenciled "ADM M. BUCKMASTER" in white lettering, and below that, eight Siren insignia.

"In honor of your first combat flight," she said softly, wrapping her arm around my waist and pulling me close. "I'm proud of you, Max. I know it wasn't exactly planned, but you kept cool, put what you learned into practice, and not only survived but excelled."

Now it was my turn to feel my cheeks burn at the sudden compliment. "You're too kind," I demurred, glancing away.

Almost as quickly as I turned my head, my Fighting Lady reached out and turned my face back to her. "No," she emphatically stated, her crystal blue eyes boring into mine. "You have risked your life, your well-being to save me, to bring me back. How can I even begin to repay that?"

"By being happy," I answered, reaching out to cup her cheek. "All I've ever wanted is to see you happy. To be the best, happiest version of yourself. And when you smile nowadays, that beautiful, angelic, blissful smile…I don't need anything else but that."

"Max…" she whispered, tears welling in her eyes, "I love you."

"I love you, too. So much."

Our lips met in a passionate kiss as our arms encircled one another, holding on as if we'd never let go. It was a moment I never wanted to end, but eventually, our need for oxygen overrode our need for each other and we finally parted, panting and red-faced as we both gulped down lungfuls of air.

"So he liked it, then?" Hornet called out to us.

The redness, which had been dissipating, suddenly returned with a vengeance, and for an all-new reason as I held my hand up high and gave her a thumbs up. "Yes, Hornet, I really liked it," I sardonically replied, glancing over my shoulder as Yorktown buried her head into my chest.

"Well, c'mon back, then," she answered, waving us over. "Dinner's about to start."

I gave her another thumbs up before prying Yorktown loose, noting her face wasn't quite as red as it had been a few moments ago. "Shall we?"

Yorktown took a deep breath, composed herself, slipped her arm around my waist, and nodded. "Lead on, my light."

"As you wish, my rose…"

A/N-God, I love these two. Sadly, their time is coming to an end. But with an ending, is a new beginning. That's right, a new character poll is out now! Ending on January 6th, 11:59 PM, EST. Characters are Formidable, Gangut, U-47, Chikuma, Alabama, and Royal Fortune! You can find the link to the poll via my Reddit profile(u/brotherfluffy) or my Bluesky( .social). Until next time, fair winds and following seas!