Chapter 19

Helping the Manjuu cut up the dough they'd be using for their pastries, Cleveland could finally breathe easy now that Helena was out of sight. Taking Brooklyn with her, the two sisters ventured off into the freezer to take stock of the food for the party. The turmoil bubbling around inside Cleveland's chest eased as she released another sigh. Helena's her best friend, why did her absence calm her heart so much? They were always together, for almost as long as the Cruiser could remember. Though for a few years, there was a time in which Helena was gone, taken by the dirge of war like so many others. It was a very dark time for everyone back then, but for Cleveland… she swore, the moment she laid her eyes on the person she thought was gone forever, that she would fill her heart with the same joy that she once had in the past.

o7

5 years ago

She was already aware of the project, though the name escaped her at the moment, but right near the center of the party hall, Astoria, Quincy, and Vincennes, all stood, smiling and laughing with everybody like they were never gone, like they've always been here. But Cleveland remembered as she waded through the crowd in search of her sisters that those girls were among those lost at Savo Island. Their lives taken from them by a surprise Sakura Empire raid in the dead of night, but there they were, tucked under New Orleans' arms.

There was Laffey, on the heels of her sister Benson, drinking bottle after bottle of that blue stuff. She had given her life helping the others escape at Guadalcanal, charging the Sakura Empire forces head-on and going toe to toe with their Battleships. As fierce as she was, her gunfire would soon fade into the night as the others would be forced to retreat, cursing their fate, as they left their friend behind.

And Juneau… Cleveland spied holding tightly onto San Diego's arm, she should've been among them, amongst those that were lost. At least if it were up to fate. Just like Yorktown, Wasp ,and Hornet, she would defy her fate and survive, but it came at a cost… Helena…

Cleveland clenched her fist as she recalled that day Brooklyn broke the news. They had just won a major victory over the Vichy forces at Casablanca, when she had heard about her best friend's passing. It wasn't supposed to be her time… she was never meant to die that day, but she laid down her own life to spit in the face of fate and that act brought Juneau home.

Despite her morbid thoughts, Cleveland did feel a sense of happiness, watching as Juneau smiled in the company of her sisters once again.

This should be a joyous day, celebrating the return of our once lost sisters. Cleveland herself lost one sister, nearly two, and she could recall her feelings of elation as she hugged Princeton with her own tear filled eyes. So why was it now that she was feeling uneasy?

Scanning those in attendance, she spots Brooklyn, knowing the person she was so anxious to see not too far behind.

"Helena's here?!" A hopeful Denver asked, unable to contain her excitement.

That's how she should've been, Cleveland disparaged in her mind, envying her sister's enthusiasm. Helena was her best friend, so that feeling of excitement should've been there, but the butterflies fluttering inside her chest only rose in anticipation.

The chatter and the bustle around her all seemed to fade away as a flash of long blue and pink hair shone through a crack in the crowd.

*thump* Cleveland felt her heart slam against the face of her chest.

The crowd had parted; *thump* it beat again, harder this time as her breathing all but stopped. There she was, the girl Cleveland had already resigned herself she was never going to see again, that she was gone, but just like Princeton and all the others, Helena lived and breathed once more.

The way her nervous eyes darted away from the people sneaking glances at her all but broke Cleveland's heart. Helena was just like she was back then, before they met.

Cleveland didn't want to believe the words Brooklyn spoke to her on the day of Helena's return, that her memories as a shipgirl were all but gone. That the life they spent together over the last 30 years was completely wiped clean. But the way she held her arms close to her chest, and those eyes that were filled with the same regret and sadness Cleveland remembered from before the two ever became friends, told her everything she needed to know.

"Clevbro? You alright?" A quiet Montpelier tugged on her older sister's cape.

"Yeah," Cleveland took a deep breath, "why don't we introduce ourselves? Like we did a long time ago."

"You can't possibly mean…" Biloxi closed her eyes, feeling a headache start to form.

"Yup!"

"I'm in!" Denver raised her hand excitedly.

"If Clevebro wants too…" Montpelier said, before the rest of her sister's nod in agreement

"N-no! No way! I'm not doing that again, It's way too em- " Biloxi tried to refuse, but with both her arms being pulled towards Brooklyn's table she had little choice in the matter.

"Heya!" Cleveland greeted the youngest Brooklyn loudly, "what's a pretty lady such as yourself looking so gloomy for?"

"Eep!" Helena felt her heart leap up into her throat after being startled so suddenly, "I…I-I uhh…"

"The name's Cleveland!" The younger Cruiser winked, "and these are my sisters!"

"Colombia!" She posed, blowing a bubble with her gum.

"Montpelier…" She introduced quietly, kneeling in front of Cleveland, pulling her cape out in front of herself.

" And I'm~ Denver!" The pig tailed one hopped on one leg, flashing a victory sign with her fingers.

"Birmingham!" Introduced, taking a stoic posture.

"..." Biloxi grumbled to herself as her turn came up. Steeling her resolve the tallest sister posed, with her back pressed against Cleveland's crossing her arms under her chest, she brought her voice low, almost husky like, "Biloxi…" she also said with a wink, producing a flower from seemingly nowhere.

"And we're!" The sisters shouted collectively, "The Knights of the Sea!"

They stayed like that for a little while, for what Biloxi thought to be an eternity, waiting for some sort of reaction to be had from Helena. But she stood there staring, wide eyed and stunned.

"I told you!" Cleveland flipped around to press a finger against Biloxi's chest, "we both can't do the whole winking thing!" She yelled in a quiet voice.

"W-what do you want me to do?!" Biloxi quietly yelled back, "I didn't have anything in mind so I just did what I did before."

"But you look cooler than me!" Cleveland felt her pride as the eldest sister faltering.

"H-how's that my fault?!"

A quiet snicker brought both sisters squabbling to a close. It was Helena, with a flush face, failing to hide her laughter behind her fingers, "Y-you were really cool too…" She said, looking away quickly.

"I… um… t-thanks," Cleveland felt her face heat up.

"My~," St. Louis sang with a nostalgic smile, "what an impressive display~!"

"R-right!?" Cleveland enthused.

"Needs a bit more punch at the end though," Phoenix laughed.

"You can help us with that if you want… right…?" Cleveland held out her hand towards her old friend.

"H-Helena!" The girl introduced herself a little louder than intended, taking the blonde's hand, "I'm Helena!"

Her hand was so small, so delicate, just how Cleveland remembered it to be. She thought this sensation would be gone forever, that she would never hold Helena's hand ever again. A swirl of emotions flooded Cleveland's mind. Helena had truly forgotten… Every laugh, every tear, every happy and sad moment they both shared, gone like they've never happened. It was too painful to think about, but Cleveland smiled anyway, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall from her face. 'Welcome back,' was what she wanted to say for so long. To wrap her arms around her, squeeze and never let go. But that's not what Helena needed right now.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Cleveland greeted proudly, taking a page from St. Louis' playbook, never letting her smile fade.

Most everyone at the table shared a warm smile as they watched the reunion unfold, but not Brooklyn.

From the corner of her eye, Cleveland caught sight of the diplomat quietly excusing herself from the table. Boise placed a hand on her older sister's shoulder but she was quickly shrugged away before Brooklyn's hurried steps carried her away.

St. Louis had stepped beside Helena, as if to block her view of their departing sister.

There it was again, the swirl of conflicting emotions like a maelstrom in Cleveland's chest as she watched the nearly unflappable Brooklyn slump sideways against the far wall of the hall.

Helena's hand trembled within her own. She was still Helena after all, as perceptive of those around as she always was.

"C'mon!" Cleveland gave Helena's hand a light squeeze, "come with us! I'll help introduce you to everyone!"

"But I… uhh…" Helena shot a nervous look at St. Louis.

"Go." her sister smiled softly, cupping the younger Cruiser's cheeks, "it sounds like it'll be a lot of fun."

Cleveland took Helena's side, interlocking their fingers. "Don't worry," she said with a reassuring wink, "I'll be right beside you."

o7

"Hey, umm… Cleveland…"

Hearing her name brought the Light Cruiser out of her memories as she turned to face whoever called her.

"You can stop cutting now," Val giggled, "you ran out of dough a dozen passes ago."

Cleveland let the rolling cutter go, not realizing she had been lost in her mind for that long.

"Hehe," Cleveland released a small chuckle, "I must be out of it…"

"Oh!" Helena popped back inside the kitchen, "we finished with the dough!"

"Uhh… yeah!" Cleveland answered.

"Great!" Helena enthused, before loading several trays onto a little cart, "I'll put these in the fridge for a bit to chill them. You guys can take a break for a bit till they're done!"

The butterflies returned to her stomach once more as she watched the older Cruiser push her little cart away. Her eyes followed every slight movement of Helena's hips as she made her way down the kitchen. Cleveland couldn't recall the last time since she had such a full view of her best friend from behind as her long hair had normally covered up nearly everything, but with her hair done up into a ponytail, she had a clear view of just how little her uniform actually concealed.

A mostly bare back with just a few straps criss crossing her waist and below it, a tiny little skirt, if anyone could call it that. It was always just a pair of flaps, Cleveland thought as she unconsciously held down her own fairly short skirt in embarrassment.

The head Knight of the Sea's cheeks burned ever brighter as Helena bent over placing the trays into the lower shelves of the fridge. There was something to be said about her best friend's choice in undergarments. For someone so timid and quiet, Helena's tastes are quite bold. Barely a shred of fabric was to be seen, nearly giving Cleveland a heart attack, thinking nothing was there at all.

"Alrighty!" Helena hopped back upright, slamming the fridge door shut with a swing of her hip, "I'll keep them in there for an hour or so…" she said, talking to herself.

"Wow~" Val giggled, once again snapped the younger blonde out of her trance, "you must have it pretty rough."

"You realize that's my little sister you're gawking at, you dirty old man." Brooklyn chimed in from beside her.

"H-huh? W-what?" Cleveland turned away, just realizing she had been caught staring, "I-I wasn't- I didn't mean-!"

Can things get any worse?! Cleveland screamed in her head as she tried to hide her reddened face.

"Hmm?" Helena popped in beside her sister and Val.

"What's goin' on?" The inquisitive bluenette asked as she caught sight of Cleveland's flush face.

"Cleveland?!" She rushed forward grabbing her best friend's wrist, "y-your face!"

'I know!' Cleveland screams internally yet again, panicking as her arms were being forcibly pulled away from her face, 'why's she so freakishly strong?!'

"It's all red again! Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Helena said, pressing her forehead against the blonde's.

She wouldn't be if this kept up any longer. She pleaded for Helena to get away, but of course nothing happened as words couldn't properly form on the younger Cruiser's lips.

"Helena!" Brooklyn pulled her little sister off, "Cleveland's probably just overheating from spending all day in here."

"..." Helena mulled over Brooklyn's explanation with a furrowed brow, looking to Cleveland once more, she could see her best friend clearly affected by something.

"B-Brook's right," Cleveland nodded weakly, clutching at her chest, trying to calm her beating heart, "Just gotta cool off for a sec."

"I'll go stick her in the freezer for a bit," Brooklyn said, dragging the younger blonde behind her.

"W-wait! Brooklyn! I don't think-" Helena called out in vain, "-and they're gone…" she pouted as the door to the freezer slammed shut behind them.

The kitchen was mostly empty now with only Val and Helena still inside and Massachusetts playing quietly with a few Manjuu in her own little corner. This was the first time Val had been left alone with the youngest Brooklyn, there were so many things she wanted to say to her future sister-in-law, the foremost being, thanking her for saving her life all those years ago.

Val had a whole speech planed, for the moment she would finally meet her savior, but given her recent discovery of said savior's loss of memories, she knew better to keep her lips sealed on the matter.

"Thanks again," Helena turned to Val, "this probably would've taken forever without you."

"Huh?" Val was caught off guard, "I-It was no problem really! It's the least I could do, especially how…" her voice trailed off, realizing it's better to not say her next thought.

Helena cocked her head to the side, waiting for Val to finish.

"A-and it seemed like you had things handled pretty good."

"Yeah but, prepping everything would've taken all day if it was just me~."

"You had Cleveland," a fact Val pointed out that had made Helena blush a little.

"S-she's a big help too," Helena said, brushing her hair behind her ear, "but she's always helping me so…"

"She was already factored in when you said just me," Val giggled making the Bluenette blush a little harder.

Val couldn't believe it, this sheer bashfulness radiating from Helena at the mere mention of someone's name. She had seen it so many times in the past, and she would know as most of the time it was herself going through it.

Despite her actual age, Helena was still pretty young at heart. That probably came with the territory of hardly aging at all in the first place, how Val envied that aspect of Shipgirls.

o7

Inside the Freezer

The sharp change in temperature sent a chill all over Cleveland's body as she was practically shoved inside the giant appliance. Hugging herself tightly, using her cape as a blanket, the younger Cruiser struggled for warmth.

"W-why did you throw me in here?" Cleveland asked with a shiver, flinching slightly as Brooklyn slammed the door shut behind her.

"So-" the Eagle Union Diplomat began, shoving something against the door to prevent its opening, "how far have you two gone?"

"F-far?" Cleveland asked back in confusion, her eyes darting around for an escape from her sudden interrogation, "what the heck do you mean by that?!"

"How far have you gone with my sister?" Brooklyn stated again, raising her voice slightly, "with Helena."

"I-I dunno?!" Cleveland answered in a panic, "last mission we went on… probably a couple t-"

"So you guys do it while on sortie?!" Brooklyn interrupted.

"W-what?!" Cleveland exclaimed, her confusion only growing, "of course we got the job done!"

"J-j-job done?!" Brooklyn couldn't believe her ears, "A-and now you're making it sound so clinical!"

"I-I mean, Helena is pretty efficient at those kinds of things."

"N-no! W-wait! Stop!" Brooklyn waved her hands out in front of herself, her face red, regretting the line of questioning she'd chosen.

"W-what?!" Cleveland started to roughly scratch at her head in frustration, "you're the one who wanted to know how far we went!"

"I-I know…" Brooklyn said in an uncharacteristically small voice, "I just realized, I don't think my heart can take hearing such things about my little sister…"

"Brook, It's not that crazy," Cleveland shrugged, "I was just saying we've only gone out as far as a couple thousand miles from the base."

"What?" Brooklyn squinted as she looked upon Cleveland with the same pure light that radiated from her being like Bataan.

"Yeah~" the younger Cruiser laughed, "then we ran into a small fleet of Siren ships and wiped them out."

Brooklyn refused to believe it. That Cleveland was as innocent as she made herself out to be, after all she had just caught her practically undressing her sister with her eyes. There had to be something going on.

"Stop playing dumb!" Brooklyn commanded, making the younger Cruiser freeze up as she closed the distance, "I was asking if you two had slept-" she had to be more direct, "I just want to know if you had sex with my little sister?"

Cleveland's face quickly turned red in its entirety. Despite how cold it was inside the freezer, Brooklyn could swear she saw smoke billowing from the younger blonde's ears.

"S-s-sex?!" Cleveland's outlandish scream was muffled into her own hands covering her face as she retracted into the floor, behind her knees. First Wichita, now Brooklyn, why were her seniors all putting these lewd thoughts into her head? She disparaged as her imagination began to run rampant with ideas.

"Uhh… Cleveland?" Brooklyn stood over her junior, knowing she might have gone a little too far, "well…I guess I got my answer…"

o7

So this one was a shorter chapter more of like a 18.5 if I'm honest. Caught the covid this week and am currently laid out in bed too miserable with myself to do anything productive. But I'll start work on the next one soon so sit tight.

Next time; Massachusetts tries on her new one-piece while Jean Bart struggles to be honest with herself. Phoenix and Boise are on their way as the next step of preparations begin.