When we pulled into port, we were finally able to see the extent of the damage. While Gangut's more heavily armored sections hadn't so much as a scratch, the same could not be said of the lesser armored portions of her. Dents, scorch marks, great gouges in her decks. Her smokestacks had multiple holes, and she was hulled above the waterline in a few places. As we surveyed the damage, Gangut seemed quite pleased with herself.

"Not a bad day's work, eh, Comrade?" she grinned as she playfully nudged me in the ribs. "This is what a good fight looks like!"

But all I could think about was how long she'd be down for repairs and how unhappy she'd be at the news. "Yeah," I weakly agreed as I rubbed the back of my neck. "You look like you've really been in the thick of it." And she had been, make no mistake.

Sensing my hesitation, she looked down at me, her smile fading. "You are thinking about the repair time, aren't you?"

"It's gonna be a while," I admitted, bracing myself for her response.

To my surprise, she seemed relatively unconcerned. "None of this is vital damage, Comrade. We can work on this bit by bit while we continue to sortie."

I self-consciously cleared my throat, knowing I was about to provoke another fight. But this time, I was going to pick my battleground, and my words, more carefully this time. I took her hand as I led her toward an open maintenance bay. After peering inside and confirming nobody was in there, I ushered Gangut in before I closed the door behind us.

"Comrade, you are acting rather strange," she slowly said as she quizzically eyed me up. "Are you feeling alright?"

"What if I wasn't feeling alright?" I asked, turning the question back on her. "What if I had been shell-shocked? What if I have a concussion?"

Any uncertainty in her expression was immediately replaced by sudden, intense, concern. "You need to see a doctor and then rest, Comrade!" she answered, rushing over to diligently check me over for any other wounds. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No, I'm fine," I shook my head, continuing to bait her into my trap. "In fact, I think I should just go up to the office and write out the after-action report."

"Nyet!" Gangut emphatically declared. "You are injured and you need rest, Comrade!"

"I dunno," I pretended to waffle, acting uncertain. "I think I should just power through it."

"Comrade, you are no good to anyone injured!"

I sensed this was the opening I needed, and sprung the trap. "Then why don't you feel the same way about yourself?"

Gangut staggered back, a gasp slipping past her lips as she stared at me, wide-eyed and shocked. When she didn't immediately answer, I pressed on. "Why do you always have to push yourself past your limits? I get that you want to become stronger, but you know that people, kansen included, need rest. And yet it's a kindness you never show to yourself. Why?"

Her face scrunched up as she continued to back up, letting out a startled eep! when her back hit the wall. "C-Comrade, I…I…" she stammered, trying to come up with something, anything to say.

I reached out to her and took her hand in mine as I looked up into her beautiful ruby eyes. "I just want to know why. No judgment, no recriminations. Please, Comrade."

Her resolve wavered for another few seconds before she broke my gaze, looking down at the floor as she confessed. "I am not strong enough, Comrade," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I have never been strong enough. I know my guns are not powerful like Rossiya's, I am not cunning like Soyuz or Belorussiya. All I have is the love of the Motherland and the Revolution, and that is not enough to win this war."

"Perhaps not," I agreed. "But it is still strength."

Confused, Gangut lifts her head and fixes me with a perplexed stare. "What?"

"Do you know why I chose you as my secretary?"

Still puzzled, she slowly shook her head. "Nyet."

I smiled warmly as I took both her hands in mine. "I picked you because your heart was strong. You are kind and warm and so full of exuberance and enthusiasm that it's downright infectious. With your smile and your presence, you lift everyone up. You may not be the strongest ship in this fleet, but you are undoubtedly its heart."

"That is…you…I…" Tears welled up in her eyes and she swiftly wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a massive bear hug, burying my face in her cleavage. "Thank you, Comrade," she whispered. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight, even as I began to run out of breath. We held each other until my lungs burned for oxygen, and I tapped her on the shoulder in an increasingly insistent manner until she finally got the hint and released me.

"Sorry, Comrade," she sheepishly apologized as I sucked in lungfuls of air. "I got carried away."

"'Salright," I gasped, still trying to catch my breath. "Not a bad way to go, but I think I'm still gonna hold out for death by old age."

"I will try and keep that in mind, Comrade," she chuckled softly. "And thank you again."

"Thank you," I smiled. "If it wasn't for you pushing me out of my office, neither of us would have grown from this."

Gangut puffed up with pride. "I will do my utmost to make sure that you do not, as you say, 'rest on your laurels,' Comrade Mikhail."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I grinned. "Now, c'mon, let's see how your sister is doing."

As it turned out, Sevastopol was doing quite well.

"We've upgraded all that we can so far," Chapayev announced with a proud smile as Gangut inspected her sibling's new equipment. "But we'll have to wait for your convoys to arrive for the final touches."

"Those should be here within the next week or so," I replied. "Once it gets here, how long should it take to install the last upgrades?"

She tilted her head as she ran the numbers. "Only a few hours for each of them. Not including field tests of course."

"Of course," I confirmed. "Sounds like we could get all three of them fully upgraded within a day, then?"

"Mhm," she agreed with a nod. "Poltava tomorrow, then?"

"Actually," I said, looking over at Gangut, "She needs repairs, and since she'll be out of rotation while she's getting looked at…"

"Two birds, one stone, Commander?" Chapayev grinned. "We can handle that, no problem. Do you want to inform them, or should I?"

"I'll handle it," I smiled softly. "Go ahead and take off if you're done for the day."

The blue-haired cruiser grinned and gave me a knowing wink. "As you say, Commander. Have a good evening and good luck."

I sighed and shook my head before I headed over to Sevastopol and Gangut, both of whom were admiring the upgraded rigging.

"Hey, Comrade Commander!" the shorter sibling grinned up at me from her seat. "What's this about a final upgrade?"

"It's a surprise," I grinned back. "How do you feel?"

"Great!" she beamed. "New fire control systems, powerplant, upgraded holotable, and man, I've got a ton more AA than I used to have! Gonna give any airborne Sirens hell now!"

"New powerplant?" Gangut interjected, her interest piqued.

"Yeah," Sevastopol nodded, a somewhat confused expression on her face until something came to her. "Oh, right, you had that wood-fired boiler for a while, didn't you?"

That was news to me. "Excuse me," I cut in, "You had a what?"

"Not me, exactly, Comrade," Gangut explained, "But my hull did."

For a ship her age, I would have expected coal, sure, but wood? I shook my head in disbelief. "Why?"

Sevastopol and Gangut shared a look before the elder sibling answered. "Life in the Northern Parliament can be…difficult at times, especially in the early days of our founding, and we had to make do with what we could find."

"Still not as bad as what happened to Avrora, though," Sevastopol remarked as she looked over at Gangut. "She still having those nightmares?"

"Da," she nodded. "Though they are not as bad as they used to be."

I looked between them, hoping one of them would clue me in. When they didn't elaborate, I asked, "What is she having nightmares about?"

"Something involving Mikasa, I think," Gangut replied. "But I do not think she is the source of her terror. She more often than not mutters something about a 'Kamchatka'. Kamchatka, torpedo boats, and hurled binoculars." She shrugs. "She does not discuss it with us, so we do not bring it up with her. We do not want to put her on the spot or make her feel embarrassed."

"Fair, I guess," I answered, wondering just what the hell happened to the ship Avrora. In any case, I had other things to attend to. "Oh, by the way, Gangut, I've pushed up your repair and upgrade time to tomorrow, so you'll be taking Poltava's spot. Hopefully, this shouldn't take more than a few days."

While she still seemed nonplussed, she accepted it with a nod. "As you say, Comrade."

This lack of resistance did not go unnoticed by Sevastopol, who swiftly commented on it. "Whoa, Gangut getting sidelined for repairs without a fight? Who are you and what have you done with my sister, or was the se-AWK!" She suddenly squawked as she found herself deposited on the floor by one of her sister's rather…enthusiastic hip checks.

"Oh, do take care, dear sister," Gangut cooed as she helped Sevastopol back to her feet, brushing her off. "Your clumsiness is showing."

The smaller kansen stared daggers at her elder sister, but wisely kept her mouth shut. I tried to keep the smirk off of my face as I said, "I think I'll go ahead and find Poltava, let her know what's going on. You two have fun!"

I found Poltava where I expected her to be: in my office, finishing up the day's paperwork.

"Ah, good evening, Comrade Commander," she smiled as she looked up from what appeared to be a daily fuel report. "How was the patrol?"

"Eventful," I grinned as I shut the door behind me.

"I'm sure Gangut was pleased with that."

"Quite," I chuckled. "And how were things here?"

"Much the opposite," she answered, dropping the report in the outgoing box. "Nice and quiet." Her eyes studied me for a moment. "But you aren't here to discuss paperwork, are you?"

"Not exactly," I admitted. "Just wanted to give you a heads-up that I've swapped your spot and Gangut's for the upgrades. She took some damage during the patrol, and since she needs to get repaired, might as well do both while they're already working on her."

Her eyes narrowed as she studied me further. "You don't seem upset, tired, or frustrated. Are you telling me she agreed to this willingly?"

I couldn't keep the grin off of my face as I nodded. "Yeah, she did. We had a little talk when we got back and I think, I hope, I got through to her."

Her lips turned upward into a bright smile as she gestured to the chair in front of her desk. "By all means, Comrade Commander, tell me how you managed it."

A sheepish expression crossed my face as I sat down. "I may have, uh, let's say…suggested that I was injured, but I was going to just power through it."

A soft chuckle escaped Poltava's lips as she leaned back. "Oh, I'm sure she wasn't about to let that happen."

"I'm fairly certain she would have carried me to my room if she had to," I laughed. "But I then turned that around on her and asked if she wouldn't let me do it, why did she let herself do it. We talked, and I think we came to an understanding."

"Excellent!" she beamed. "And what about the other thing you were having trouble with?"

It took me a second to realize what she was talking about. "Oh, romance, right!" I blurted out as it came to me. "Ah, for that, I still have no clue. I mean, I need to force the issue, but I just don't know how."

Poltava hummed thoughtfully as she tapped her pen against her pursed lips. "You know," she finally said, "I think the northern lights are going to be quite beautiful tonight. Why don't you and Gangut head up to the Parapet, bring a bottle of vodka, and enjoy the rest of the evening?"

It did sound like a nice way to end the day. "Sounds like a plan."

I had to admit, it was beautiful. Ribbons of color danced and flowed across the sky as we passed the vodka bottle between us.

"Is this your first time seeing the northern lights, Comrade?" Gangut asked as she handed me the bottle.

I took another swig, tipping it back further as we slowly emptied it out. "First time I've really been able to appreciate them," I rasped as the liquor burned its way down my throat. "Seen 'em a few times on patrol, but really no time to stop and just…enjoy them. Let alone with someone I care about." Oops. Vodka's making me extra talkative.

If Gangut picked up on it, she gave no sign, instead giving me a tipsy smile. She held the bottle up in a toast. "To Comrades!" she bellowed, took a long pull, and handed me the nearly empty bottle to finish it off.

"To Comrades!" I cried out before downing the last of the vodka. "Comrade!" I roared in my best Russian accent, hefting the now-empty vodka bottle aloft.

"Comrade!" Gangut roared back in her own authentic accent, and we both laughed as we hopped down from the Parapet walls. A treacherous patch of ice had managed to sneak underneath my feet, and in my ever-so-slightly inebriated state, I lost balance and began to pitch forward.

Ever my constant protector in these frozen lands, Gangut was quickly by my side, grabbing and pulling me back onto my feet. This had the unintended side effect of sending the empty bottle skidding across the ice-rimed stones as well as pulling me into her embrace. Unconsciously, my arms wrapped around hers, holding her as tightly as she held me. Our eyes met, and in that moment of alcohol-fueled weakness, my confession spilled from my lips.

"I love you," the words tumbled out of me, much to my horror. I said it. I said it and now I have no way of taking it back. And as I tried to figure out how to contain the damage, I just. kept. talking.

"I know I said I wanted to keep things professional that morning, but I lied."

Oh god. Please, shut up, me.

"I know you were just trying to keep me warm physically, but you've warmed up more than my body, you've warmed up my heart and my soul." Drunk me is such an idiot...

Gangut's red eyes flashed through a dozen different emotions: shock, joy, terror, and for a second, something I didn't recognize at the time. Was it love? Perhaps. In the end, she put on that brave, drunken smile of hers as she patted my back. "You're very drunk, Comrade Mikhail. Come, let's get you to bed..."

I thought she'd just brushed it off as inebriated rambling, but the next morning, when Pamiat met me outside my door instead of her, I knew I'd screwed up...

A/N-I'm…I'm sure it'll be fine, right? …right? Until next time, fair winds and following seas!