The draining system pumped the liquid outside of the tank, and when the hatch opened with a loud hiss, Strength stepped outside. Her new body was still soaked with the preservative liquid, and she could feel it dripping down her form onto the metal floor of the dimly lit room.
"Welcome back among us, Strength," a voice she recognized reached her ears; it was Tester. She was leaning over another tank filled with green liquid on the other side of the room, looking at her with a sardonic grin. Sitting atop said tank was another figure, smaller in stature and wrapped in a mass of black tentacles that made her appear bigger than she actually was. Observer floated down towards her, regarding her with a neutral expression.
"Tester found your Cube and brought it back. We've already seen what happened while transferring your memory into your new body, so you don't have to explain anything," she informed her. "Though I must ask, was the process completed smoothly? Are you experiencing some kind of memory loss?"
"There is no gap in my memory. The transfer was successful," the Arbiter answered with a neutral tone of voice.
"Good," Observer said, then the smile on her face turned into a devilish grin and she wrapped one of her tentacles around the Arbiter's neck, lifting her up to her level. "Now, then. Do you wish to explain why exactly you felt the need to go out of your way to attempt to terminate one of our new precious test subjects without explicit permission when you should just focus on your task and hunt down the META Kansen like the good mutt you are?" Her voice was barely a whisper, her words a soft hiss in the face of the dark-skinned Arbiter.
The appendage was so tight around her neck that it kept her from breathing, and without her gauntlets, she couldn't pry it off her. Suddenly, the door to the room opened wide, revealing the figure of Empress, sporting a very upset look on her face.
"Observer, keep your tentacles off my subordinate," the head of the Arbiters intimated with a menacing tone, striding toward the two of them.
"And what makes you think that you can give me orders, Empress?" The Siren scoffed, glaring at her.
"The fact that I could easily rip your Cube out of your chest without breaking a sweat," the Arbiter retorted, a menacing glow coming to her red eyes as she returned the stare of her "colleague."
Time seemed to stop for a few seconds as the two glared at each other.
"Fine. But next time, make sure you keep your hound on a tight leash if you don't want to be the one to take responsibility for her misconduct." Not wanting to escalate the confrontation with the much stronger fighter, Observer let go of Strength, who tumbled unceremoniously on the floor without making a sound.
Empress kept glaring at her, outraged at her not-so-subtle threat. "You are well aware that the only one with the right to punish me here is Zero. Mind your own business and go back to focusing your efforts on the prisoner. She'd be very upset to know that you've been wasting your time bullying my subjects instead of interrogating him."
"Zero is not available at the moment. She's been busy trying to triangulate the origin of that weird signal," Observer pointed out. "Besides, the mind of the shipboy seems impossible to break, even with a Black Cube. Tester was able to get more data from another one of his kind in a single test session than we've done in the last few days with him."
"If you can't break into his mind, then start with his body first. You'll never get what you want if you are too scared of breaking him," Empress stated.
"Speaking of, I think we've let him rest long enough," Tester interjected. "You don't mind if I pay him a visit, right?"
"You should go back to look for Purifier's Cube," Observer reprimanded her. "It's safe to say that she's been defeated by another male Kansen. If you find it, and we bring her back with those memories, we get more information about them with minimal effort."
"You make it sound so easy. I was able to locate Strength's Cube only because of her rigging's tracking signal, but with Purifier it's different," Tester retorted. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. We should have recovered it the moment she was destroyed, but we didn't expect her to lose with all the pawns we sent her as reinforcement."
While the two Sirens talked to each other, Empress addressed her subordinate, who was standing up on her feet, seemingly unfazed by the way she had just been treated. "Did you hear that, Strength? I understand that you sensed an external factor and decided to take care of it swiftly, but Zero has decided to treat these anomalies as test subjects. You didn't know it because you've been out on your hunt for days, but from now on, if you cross paths with one of them again, either capture him or fall back and request reinforcements. Is that clear?"
"Understood."
"That is a lot to take in," Ryan grimaced, running his hand over his hair and massaging his scalp.
Freedom had just finished relaying to him the conversation he had with Purifier, word by word. Ryan still had to wrap his head around the fact that the shipboy could do it in the first place, seeing the state the Elite was in, but he was too focused on what was said to question it.
Over the years, humanity had only gathered a fragmented amount of intelligence regarding the Sirens, and much of the information in their possession came from simple speculation; part of what Freedom had just told him either confirmed or refuted some of those conjectures: the Sirens were able to time loop, they had created multiple timelines in doing so, and the Ashes came from the remains of those timelines. It still didn't explain why they were doing this in the first place, nor what the Ashes were up to.
The rest was entirely related to the Sirens from Freedom's world. It only added new layers to the conflict, making things far more intricate than they already were, and Ryan was still trying to process everything. The good news was that they didn't have to deal with them since, according to Freedom, they couldn't travel from one world to another just on a whim.
"I'm sorry for dumping all this on you all at once, but I figured you'd want to hear what we talked about as soon as possible," Freedom said apologetically.
"Don't worry about it. Just give me a second to collect my thoughts," he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Time fuckery aside, I can't believe we've never heard of this 'Creator' before."
The Creator. Freedom had already shared his opinion on the matter, and Ryan didn't know what to make of it. Just the thought that behind the Sirens that had terrorized the planet for years there could be a human mastermind was mindboggling to him, and he was having a hard time coming to terms with it.
But then again, it was still very much speculation, and there was no proof of it. Even Purifier had said there was no trace left of the Creator, so it was better if he took that information with a grain of salt and didn't jump to conclusions. He decided to keep it to himself for the time being and asked Freedom to do the same, at least until they gathered more pieces of the puzzle.
The shipboy decided to leave the Commander alone to think about all the stuff he just learned. He stood up from his seat and said, "It's best if I go now, I promised South Dakota and the others to train with them and I don't want to be late. On that note, they seemed interested in Wisdom Crafting, is it okay if I teach them?"
Ryan sent him a questioning look, perplexed. "Why are you asking me?"
"Well, I've already explained to you the consequences, and since they are under your command, I wanted to get your permission first," the shipboy explained.
"I mean, they are indeed under my command, but I don't think I have a say in this. After all, it's their body we are talking about," Ryan said, knowing full well how important their hull was to them. "This is something they'll have to choose for themselves."
"I know, I just didn't want to cause any trouble with your superiors," he tried to explain himself. "I don't think the heads of the Eagle Union navy would be happy to know that a bunch of their Kansen suddenly stopped being able to summon their ships out of nowhere."
"It's true, but it wouldn't be the first time they try to put a leash on the shipgirls. Not everyone in the military is happy with all the free rein we are giving them," Ryan said in annoyance. "But I can deal with their complaints like I've been doing up until now. Tell the girls they are free to do as they please."
Freedom smiled softly. "For some reason, I knew you'd say something along those lines," he uttered. Then he said goodbye to Ryan and headed for the door, but before he could leave, the Commander called out to him from behind.
"By the way, Freedom. I've heard about you and Massachusetts from Belfast…"
Freedom froze in his tracks at his words. Of all the things he could have brought up, it had to be that one. He fumbled with his words, blushing like a teenager all the while, trying to explain to him that they didn't do anything that night and that it was all a misunderstanding, only for Ryan to openly cackle at his predicament.
"Don't worry, I'm not holding it against you or anything," the Commander said once he recovered from his laughing fit. "About Massachusetts, she's a bit of a dolt when it comes to expressing herself, and she spaces out a lot, but she's a sweet girl. Make sur you treat her well."
Freedom was taken aback by his statement, and for a second, he didn't know how to respond; then, he recovered from the embarrassment and let out a small chuckle.
"Sure thing," he replied with a grin and left the office.
Zuikaku swung her sword at Enterprise, who stepped back at the last second. The Red Crane used her momentum to press her attack before the Grey Ghost could put more distance between them. She lunged forward at her, and this time, Enterprise was forced to engage her, dodging and parrying her strikes with the shaft of her bow, moving backward all the while.
"What's wrong, Grey Ghost? Too tired to fight back?" Zuikaku taunted her opponent without ceasing her unrelenting assault. For the first time, she was able to put the carrier on the back foot, and she couldn't help getting a bit cocky.
Enterprise didn't reply; instead, she focused her attention on her opponent's movement, waiting for an opportunity to retaliate. Her chance came when Zuikaku performed a strike that left her flank exposed for a fraction of a second longer than the others. She quickly summoned her miniaturized flattop and slammed it into the side of the Sakura carrier, sending her flying away from her.
Zuikaku quickly recovered from the blow, holding her katana tightly in her grip, ready to resume the onslaught, before widening her eyes in alarm upon noticing Enterprise quickly pulling at her bowstring, an energy arrow already notched into her bow. She fired three shots in rapid succession. Zuikaku was able to parry the first with her sword and dodge the second but the third grazed her shoulder. It didn't draw blood, but the impact made her wince in pain.
Ignoring the discomfort in her right shoulder, she noticed that Enterprise was pulling at her bowstring once more, preparing a precision strike to finish her for good. Instead of waiting for the attack to come, she decided to face it head-on. She lunged at her opponent once again, quickly closing the distance between them to prevent her from firing her shot. She threw an upward slash at her from a low stance, but Enterprise dismissed her rigging before she could disarm her, dodging the blow by a hair's breadth and grabbing Zuikaku's elbow. She spun around and threw the Sakura carrier over her shoulder, slamming her into the water at her feet. The Red Crane tried to get up from her downed position, but the Grey Ghost had already summoned her bow again and was pointing it at her face, an energy arrow notched and ready to fire.
Zuikaku hung her head and admitted defeat… yet again. Enterprise dismissed her rigging and offered her a hand, which she took with reluctance.
"I lost again." Zuikaku gritted her teeth in shame and sheathed her blade. It was the third time that day that she had come this close to defeating her, but whether it was close-quarter combat, dogfights, or target practice, Enterprise was always one step ahead of her.
"True, but this was a close one. Things might not go in my favor next time," Enterprise said. Zuikaku couldn't even get mad at her; by now she had spent enough time with the Eagle Union shipgirl to know that she wasn't patronizing her in any way and that her words were genuine.
"I'm this close to catching up with you, Grey Ghost. I will practice even more, so that next time I'll be the one to come out on top, and you better do the same if you don't want to be left behind," Zuikaku declared with a determined expression as they made their way toward the wharf.
"I have no intention of letting up my training, Zuikaku," Enterprise retorted. "I'll make you work for your-" Her words died in her throat when she saw the figure standing on the pier.
Belfast had been patiently waiting for them to finish, and of course, she heard what the white-haired shipgirl had said to her sparring partner, and she was not happy about it. She waited for the two to step onto the pier before addressing Enterprise.
"While your dedication is admirable, Miss Enterprise, adding more load to your already intense training routine would be detrimental to your wellness," Belfast said. Then she switched her gaze to the Sakura shipgirl. "That goes for you too, Miss Zuikaku. Today is supposed to be a day off for all those who took part in the latest operation. So why are you both out here sparring instead of resting?"
Her barely concealed threatening tone of voice betrayed the smile that was on her face, and both Enterprise and Zuikaku shrank in their places, the former knowing how futile it was to discuss with Belfast when she was upset, the latter witnessing for the first time the sterner side of the maid, both knowing full well that making up an excuse wasn't going to get them out of the situation.
Shortly after her first arrival at the joint base, much time before, the maid, once she realized how unhealthy the lifestyle of the hero of the Eagle Union was, and how uncaring and stubborn she was acting, had taken it upon herself to monitor the habits of the carrier and correct them when necessary. It didn't matter how many times Enterprise had tried to push her away; with the backing of the Commander himself, who gave his unconditional approval, Belfast started acting as the carrier's personal maid. She made sure she never skipped meals, didn't go overboard with her training, took time to properly rest and unwind, and most importantly, stopped being so reckless in battle.
She was basically acting like a babysitter, and Enterprise didn't like that... at the beginning. Not only had she gotten used to it after a while, but the presence of the maid had become such a constant in her life that she had come to thoroughly enjoy the time they spent together, at least when she wasn't upset with her.
"W-wait, Belfast. We were just doing some light exercise; we didn't go overboard, I promise. Right, Zuikaku?" Enterprise stammered, looking at her fellow carrier for support.
"R-right. Look, I even brought my blunt blade for the occasion; it was nothing serious, really."
Belfast narrowed her eyes at them, not even pretending to buy into their pathetic excuses, but then remembered the reason why she had come all the way here and decided to let them off the hook this time. "Fine, let's put this matter aside; there's something more serious to address. Miss Enterprise, Miss Helena is feeling unwell, could you come with me to see her?"
"Is she sick? Why are you asking me and not Vestal then?" Enterprise asked, perplexed.
Belfast shook her head. "She specifically asked for your presence. That's why I was looking for you."
With a new feeling of urgency creeping inside of her, Enterprise replied, "Let's go, then."
St. Louis placed a blanket on Helena's shoulders and watched with concern as Cleveland offered her a cup of hot, steaming tea.
Because of the damage she had received from Purifier's attack, Helena had to spend the night in the infirmary, where, thanks to Vestal, she was able to completely recover from her wounds. Unfortunately, the night wasn't a restful one for the light cruiser. Nightmares haunted her the whole time, and she woke up screaming in her bed with the repair ship struggling to hold her down.
Vestal immediately called her sister, who brought Cleveland along with her, and when the two of them asked her what was wrong, she refused to even look them in the eyes, only muttering that she wanted to talk with Enterprise. Cleveland ran off to look for the carrier, but seeing as how she was nowhere to be found, she asked for the help of one of the only people who could know her whereabouts, Belfast.
As if on cue, the maid had just returned from her search, followed by Enterprise herself and Zuikaku.
Enterprise looked around the room and greeted the shipgirls inside. Her gaze stopped on Helena, huddled up on the bed with a blanket and a forlorn expression on her face. Her blue hair was ruffled, and she had bags under her eyes. She clearly hadn't slept well.
St. Louis stepped closer to her and said, "She wants to speak with you alone. We'll leave you some space." She didn't like the idea of leaving her sister in her moment of need, but she knew that Helena was in good hands with Enterprise.
Everyone else left the room, leaving the two shipgirls alone. Enterprise took off her cap and went to sit next to her on the bed, but Helena was still avoiding looking her in the eyes.
"Helena, are you okay?" She asked tentatively, not knowing exactly how to cheer her up.
The blue-haired girl shook her head, hiding even more of her face from view. She took a couple of deep breaths and started talking. "Remember that time when you lost control inside that Mirror Sea?"
Enterprise wasn't expecting her to bring up that topic of all things. She fought back the bad memories and tried to keep a straight face while replying, "Yes, what about it?"
"You said you saw fragments of the memory of your other self," Helena said, her voice barely above whisper.
Enterprise's eyes widened in realization as she heard the cruiser's words. Sensing what was about to happen, she quickly scooted over and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl, bringing her head to rest in the crook of her neck.
"I saw Lou... and Cleveland... and the others... and they were all-" Her voice cracked, and she started sobbing softly, hiding her face in shame once again, nuzzling into the embrace of the carrier.
They stood like that for a few minutes. As the light cruiser wept on her shoulder, the carrier reminisced about the not-so-distant past.
Enterprise remembered it as if it were yesterday. It was the first time they met one of the Ashes and her own counterpart. She clearly remembered what she saw in her memories when the two came into contact inside that Mirror Sea. The ocean was on fire. Scattered around her were the wrecks of Siren vessels burning and sinking, as well as the bodies of her friends and comrades floating in the red-tinged sea. It was so vivid and real that it felt like she had lived those memories herself, and every time she closed her eyes, she could still hear the crackle of the flames and the smell of smoke, metal, and blood reaching her nostrils, suffocating her. She also remembered the fear and rage that had assaulted her at that moment and the relief that had washed over her when she came back to her senses and realized she hadn't hurt any of her friends in her rampage.
The fact that Helena, the sweet and kind Helena of all people, had to go through that too, filled her with bitterness.
"It was so real, Enterprise. It felt like I was there in her place; it was horrible…"
"I know, Helena," Enterprise said, gently patting her head.
"I-I can't believe you were able to press on after going through all that. I already knew it, but you are incredible," Helena said, sniffling.
"No, Helena, you are wrong," she sighed and shook her head.
Helena raised her head, with puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks, and gave a questioning look to her friend.
Enterprise pursed her lips. She was never the best at encouraging others. She knew what she wanted to say but wasn't sure if it was what Helena wanted to hear. The cruiser had confided in her, showing such a vulnerable side of herself, and Enterprise couldn't bring herself to betray her trust by putting up a tough act. She decided to come clean with the truth.
"At that moment, I was scared and mad. So much so that I let my anger get the better of me and completely lost control. After that incident, I was so afraid of reliving those moments that I didn't sleep for days. I jumped headfirst into training and work and pushed myself to the limit just to try and forget what I saw. But in the end, it couldn't do it."
"You couldn't…?"
"I had to come to terms with it. I know it may sound harsh, but it was the only thing I could do, lest those memories crush me with their weight."
"Then, how did you do it?"
"It was thanks to you. My sisters, Belfast, the Commander, and all of you helped me not lose my humanity. If I was able to do it, I'm sure you'll have no problems," Enterprise said with a soft and encouraging tone.
Helena was able to let out a small smile, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Thank you so much, Enterprise. I feel much better now," she said, trying to put up a smile. The fear was still there, but she was starting to calm down. She didn't say it out loud, but Enterprise's words had left an impression on her; she had to cherish the people she cared about even more than she already did, lest she ever comes to take them for granted. She decided to work even harder to prevent the things she saw from happening.
"Helena, does the Commander know about this?" Enterprise inquired, and her words brought Helena back to reality.
"N-no, I didn't tell him because he always tends to worry too much, and I didn't want to bother him. I'll stay here and rest, but please don't tell the Commander about this," Helena pleaded.
"Fine, I'll keep it to myself, for now," Enterprise chuckled. "But once you are feeling better, you'll have to tell him yourself, clear?"
"Crystal," the cruiser replied. "Thank you."
Enterprise stood up from the bed and walked out of the room, waving at her friend. Closing the door behind her, she met the worried looks of the other shipgirls.
"How did it go? Did she open up to you?" St. Louis asked Enterprise with concern in her voice.
"She did, Lou. Don't worry about her; she's going to be all right now," the carrier reassured her.
"But what did she say? Why did she freak out like that?" Cleveland asked from the side, clearly upset at the fact that Helena would shun her in such a way.
"I'm sorry, Cleve, but this is something you'll have to hear from Helena herself when she's ready. For now, just know that she's feeling better," Enterprise replied, much to the chagrin of the tomboyish cruiser. "You know, I think she could use some distraction, and no one is better than you when it comes to brightening up the mood. Why don't you try talking to her, keep her mind occupied?" She added once she noticed her sad expression.
"Aw, shucks, if you put it that way..." Cleveland smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. She opened the door and entered the room once more with a spring in her step after saying goodbye to the other Kansen. St. Louis mouthed a silent "thank you" to the white-haired woman and followed the cruiser inside.
That left only Belfast and Zuikaku. The former, having completed her task, stuck around only to make sure Helena was all right, while the latter felt compelled to stay in case there was any need for her assistance.
For a second, Enterprise lost herself in her thoughts. Something didn't sit well with her. When she first met Ash—that's how her counterpart had called herself—they were trapped inside a Mirror Sea, and they were so close to each other they could almost touch. She figured it was the proximity between them that caused their Cubes to react in such a way, giving her visions of her counterpart's memories. But for Helena, it was different. It happened out of nowhere, and it didn't cause her to go berserk, which was good news from her perspective, but it still gave her food for thought.
"Grey Ghost, are you listening?"
"Uh? Ah, sorry, Zuikaku, I was spacing out."
"Not to pry into Miss Helena's privacy, but is it something concerning her condition?" Belfast asked, noticing her concerned frown.
"You could say that."
Instead of dwelling too much on the question, she decided to seek advice from the only other person on base who could provide some more insight on the matter.
"Belfast, do you have any idea where Freedom could be?"
Massachusetts was leaning over the wall outside the building, patiently waiting for Freedom to come out of the Commander's office. She hadn't seen him the entire morning after he departed to meet with the Sardinian delegation and his brother. A few hours later, she had seen him following Ryan inside his office with the Sardinian representative and the other shipboy, so she had decided to just wait outside for him, not wanting to intrude on the conversation. Though Littorio and Sparviero had already come out earlier, and she wondered what the holdup with Freedom was.
The door opened to reveal the figure of the shipboy, screening his eyes from the light of the late midday sun. She called out to him, and when his gaze came to rest on her, his pensive expression was replaced by a big, bright smile.
"Sorry, I kept you waiting," he said.
"It's all right. Everything okay with your brother?" She waved him off.
"Luckily, yes. Turns out they found him alone in the middle of the ocean and got attacked by a fleet of mass-produced Siren ships, but they managed to get away."
"I'm glad. What did you talk about with the Commander?"
Freedom stiffened at the question. Ryan's words were still fresh in his mind, and once again he was made aware of how gorgeous Massachusetts truly was. Her lustrous, white hair with a black underside swaying in the breeze and the feather hairpin combined with her piercing red eyes gave her the appearance of a bird of prey, but her demure demeanor and gentle gaze made him think more of a cute chick. She was wearing her black coat wide open in the front and slightly tilted over her shoulders, which left no room for imagination and showed plenty of her smooth, caramel skin to the world.
"Dammit. Take your mind out of the gutter, idiot," he chastised himself internally. He was down bad, he knew it, and he couldn't do anything about it; rather, he didn't want to. It didn't help that Ryan had basically given him his blessing, but there was no way he could tell her something so embarrassing.
"Um… I just asked for his permission to teach you," he said, trying to change the subject.
"I see. Then, if you are ready to start, my sisters are waiting for us at the docks."
"Lead the way."
The two started walking next to each other, and a comfortable silence fell between them. Freedom, not content with simply enjoying her proximity, tried to reach for her hand with his. She was startled by his fingers brushing against hers, and he immediately retracted his hand.
"Ah, sorry! I went ahead of myself. I didn't want to scare you." He apologized immediately.
"Don't worry. I was just surprised, that's all. I'm not used to this kind of thing." She shook her head, reassuring him.
Freedom breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't used to that kind of thing either, but he believed that after everything that happened between the two of them in the past few days, they had developed some kind of chemistry, so he figured that simply handholding wasn't that big of a deal.
Massachusetts, on her part, was grimacing internally. She had just made things awkward again. She had spent the entire night thinking of him and reflecting carefully on their relationship, and she had come to a conclusion. It was something she had never experienced before, but she wanted to know more about him, not as a Kansen from another world but as a person, in a romantic way; her sisters approved of him, and their relationship was way past the starting line. Unfortunately, the simple thought of voicing it out loud was too embarrassing, and she didn't know how to broach the subject.
Freedom, on the other hand, had been preparing himself for that conversation, and he figured this was the perfect moment to bring it up.
"Mamie. I wanted to talk to you... about us," he tentatively said.
Massachusetts stiffened, not expecting him to beat her to it. "What about us?" She replied, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Well, for starters, you could say that our relationship started in a weird way, right?"
"Right…" Massachusetts blushed and averted her gaze, knowing full well she was the one to blame for that.
"And that we haven't known each other for too long, either."
"Not quite…"
"And that we haven't done things exactly in the correct order, but..."
"Are we... talking about us being a thing?" She interjected, a hopeful feeling slowly filling her.
"I-I won't mince my words here, Mamie. I've never felt so attracted to anyone as I've been to you. The problem is-"
"Yes."
He paused for a second.
"Wait, Massachusetts. You didn't even let me finish. There's a lot more to it than that."
"I know. My answer is still yes." Her reply was straight, and her voice was devoid of any hesitation.
"Mamie, are you sure? You know that my situation is, to say the least, peculiar. Are you sure you want to start something with a guy that could be gone at any time?" This was what Freedom was most worried about. He was from another world, and his goal was to go back home. He had thought about it, and he had concluded that even if they were both attracted to each other, it would be impossible to maintain a steady relationship with the prospect of an inevitable split-up. Not to mention the fact that they were still at war, and nothing was guaranteed, especially with the Sirens as their enemies.
"I have thought about it. I also feel the same about you; that's a fact. What do you want me to do? Ignore this feeling and pretend you don't even exist until you just leave? I don't like it. I don't want things to be awkward between us while you are here, and most importantly, I don't want to have any regrets." Massachusetts quickly grabbed his hand and locked her piercing red eyes with him to corroborate her statement. Those beautiful, gentle, and admittedly awkward eyes now bore a fearsome determination that made her even more alluring to him.
Freedom felt his resolve crumble, and a sense of relief washed over him. He knew that the most rational thing to do would be to put an end to their affair before it got out of hand and both of them came out hurt by it, but he didn't want to. His mind knew it was the right thing to do, but his heart couldn't accept it. He also didn't want to have any regret and knowing that Massachusetts felt the same way was filling him with relief and elation.
"Dammit. You are not making it easy for me to hold back right now," he breathed out.
"Then don't," she said as she pushed her lips to meet his in a deep kiss. Of the ones they had exchanged up to this moment, this was the most passionate. Massachusetts pressed her body into his, wrapping her arms around his neck, and the shipboy's hands went to rest on her backside, lightly groping her rump, eliciting a low moan from the woman that reverberated inside their lip lock. Soon, their tongues joined in the action, not fighting for dominance but dancing around in their mouths, angrily exploring every inch of the other's inside. They tried to make it last as long as possible, but eventually, they had to depart for air. The two were panting and looking into each other's eyes until Freedom felt the need to break the silence.
"So, I guess we are officially dating now?"
"Dating… It still feels weird to say it out loud."
The shipboy snickered at the awkward exchange. They held each other like that for a few more seconds before Massachusetts remembered that they were still in public. Unbelievably, this time nobody was there to witness their PDA.
"We should go now; my sisters are still waiting for us."
They separated and started walking again, side by side, holding hands.
AN: I'm an idiot. Why did I rack my brain so much to come up with a suitable nickname for Massachusetts when she already has her historical one ready and waiting? Oh well, better late than never. I'm going back in the story to change it to "Mamie." I feel so stupid right now.
For those who didn't know, the Massachusetts was nicknamed "Big Mamie" because it was the heaviest ship ever launched from Quincy (35K tons, 681 feet in length, and 108-foot beam).
Next Chapter: Freedom, Wisdom, and Courage