Heavy cruisers Atago and Maya were unquestionably sisters. Both had the exact same build, identical save for the handful of tiny variations that creep in as yard engineers fix small problems and dock-workers take liberties to streamline production. Both carried the same three/two split main battery. Both cruisers had a silhouette dominated by a vast monolithic pyramid of a superstructure. Both had the same wing-mounted catapults amidships and the same smartly-raked fore-funnel. In every way known to naval engineering, the two ships were unquestionably sisters.
But, if the two were removed far enough that only one could be observed at a time, even the most astute student of human nature would be hard pressed to identify them as even distant relatives. Their bodies might be nigh-on identical, but every other detail couldn't be more different.
Atago's hair was sunkissed blond, Maya's a nondescript brown. Atago dressed at all times in the prim and proper dress uniform of her class. Her angle-length coat was buttoned tightly over her chubby middle and tailored just as smartly over her infamously top-heavy hull form. A crisply-tied cravat and sunny smile completed the dressy white-tie appearance.
Maya, meanwhile, preferred the simpler pt uniform of her class. A shapeless, sleeveless sailor-top in simple blue minimized her impressive bust and drew more attention to her well-muscled arms. Her neckerchief was simple red, and often tied only with the laziest of knots, and her plain white skirt was paired with a perpetually semi-interested scowl.
It made Alaska's head hurt just looking at the two sisters, which is why she'd excused herself to go cuddle her adoptive momboat in a sunbeam at the first chance she got. Atago, however, was going to enjoy every second she had to spend with her sister.
The first order of business had been, of course, food. The last time Maya ate anything was all the way over in Japan, and even then it was only a few morsels to tide her over until her convoy reached the states. Atago would not let that stand, and she'd booked a table at her favorite restaurant weeks in advance.
It was a nice place right on the Mississippi, and they served the most amazing crawfish. Atago liked crawfish because they were delicious. Alaska liked them because once she'd gotten the meat out she could play with the still-jointed shell. It was a meal and a toy all in one.
"Okay, I'll give you this," Maya picked her teeth with a claw she'd torn off a crawfish currently residing in her belly. "These are good."
"I know!" Atago beamed and balanced a corncob between her gloved fingers. American food wasn't the easiest thing to eat while remaining prim and proper, but it just felt like love on a plate. "So… how's Japan?"
Maya slouched in her chair and shrugged. "Same. Worse, maybe. I dunno, I was only there for a few days. Saw Choukai though."
"Oh?" Atago somehow perked up more than she already was. "And?"
"She's doing good," said Maya. "Sends her best and all that."
Atago smiled, but didn't say anything. For a long while, the two sisters ate in happy silence. There wasn't much Atago could talk about without driving her tomboyish sister insane, and the situation wasn't much improved in the other direction. But Maya was her little sister, and Atago was happy just to be spending some time with her. And she could tell that Maya was enjoying it too.
"So," Maya was the first to break the silence. "Think, uh, we could hit the base sometime?"
"Sure," said Atago, silently re-arranging her plans for the evening. She never knew quite what Maya would be in the mood for, so she always drew up several dozen contingencies for every possibility.
"Cool," said Maya. "I hear Sara's got a brace of peacemakers and I've been dying to get my hands on a wheel gun."
Atago smiled. Introducing her sister to her friends would just make her day! "Sure, I think Miss Sara doesn't have any duties. If she does, there's a few ranges in town."
Maya chuckled to herself. "Thanks, sis."
Atago beamed, "No problem, little sister."
—|—|—
Gale knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was pregnant. Not because she'd gone to the OB/GYN for a checkup, scheduling a checkup had been surprisingly difficult. Nor was it because of the destroyers' habit of snuggling her middle and cooing sweet—yet horrifyingly violent—nothings into her bellybutton like it was some kind of speaking tube. Not even was it because of the tiny spark of life the sailor could feel growing deep inside her womb.
No, Gale knew she was pregnant because she had an irresistible craving for liver. She'd never had the slightest inclination to try the legendarily-horrible foodstuff before, but for the past few days every time she closed her eyes all she could see was a heaping plate of fried chicken-liver chili. It wasn't nearly as pleasant of a mental image as the one of Wash lounging on the bed naked save for a few strategically-placed and rather sheer sheets that Gale normally daydreamed of.
Gale finally gave in to her cravings and ordered a plate for dinner. It was surprisingly not bad. A little… odd on her tongue, but it made her cravings vanish like ice-cubes on Wash's delightful little tummy.
"Hey, Doc?" Gale glanced at her dinner companion for the first time in a while. She hadn't been spending quite as much time with the academic as she used to—mostly because Wash had been around and the stoic battleship was surprisingly frisky under the right circumstances—but she could tell there was something a little off about him. "You, uh… doing okay?"
Crowning shrugged. "It's nothing," he said. "I… assume you know about Jersey?"
Gale nodded. "'bout everyone on base knows by now, you two were so sweet." She decided not to mention how much money she'd lost on the breakup. Or how, somehow, freaking Hibiki made out like a bandit.
The professor shrugged again. "It's for the best, probably," he admitted. "Wasn't exactly a healthy relationship."
"Still cute though," Gale popped a morsel of liver in her mouth. And promptly gagged when she remembered that, delicious or not, she was eating liver. "Ah, um… so… you going to head back east?"
Crowning shot her a look. "Why would I do that?"
"Didn't you come here for her?" asked Gale. It wasn't the furthest someone had gone for a girl, but it had to be up there. Then again, most girls don't have butts like the big Iowa. "Jersey, I mean."
"What, and leave you?" Crowning leaned back in his chair with a smile. "Or Kirishima, she might have a one-track pen, but she's suprisingly well-read."
Gale smirked and made a few mental notes. She might've lost on the Jerseybowl, but here's hoping she could make her money back with Kirishima. "That so?"
Crowning nodded, clearly oblivious to the sailor's salacious smirk. "And… you know Dee comes by and asks for a bedtime story before every patrol?" He chuckled, "The whole squadron cuddling with hot coco and marshmallows." He trailed off with a wistful sigh. "I came here for Jersey, but I got so much more."
"Fair enough," Gale smiled and lazily stirred her dinner. "So, you hear the latest from the gulf?"
"Sister Sara?" Crowning nodded. His romance with Jersey might've fizzled out, but from what he heard, America's first battlecruiser to return had a burning romance of truly nuclear proportions. "You should have heard Kirishima squeal."
"So that's what that was," said Gale. The littlest Kongou was just as obsessed with love as her big sister, and just as happy when other people found it.
—|—|—
Saratoga had been slightly skeptical when Alaska had described napping in a sunbeam as 'the most relaxing activity you will ever do in the history of ever.' She'd chalked the superlatives up to enthusiasm born from the large cruiser's incredible youth and let it pass with a smile. But when 'Laska found a sunny patch of grass on-base and urged Sara to lay down, the big battlecruiser realized Alaska hadn't been overselling a thing.
If anything, 'laska had massively understated just how gloriously comfortable a good sun-warmed nap was. The battlecruiser sprawled out on the grass, her long pale legs soaking in the rays as a gentle breeze washed through her long hair.
Alaska lay at an angle, her snowy head resting on Sara's trim tummy. Every so often, when Sara's ample chest fell in time with her breathing, she'd catch a glimpse of the napping cruiser's contended smile. Sara giggled and idly curled 'Laska's long snowy hair between her fingers. She didn't have any children—yet, she was hoping to change that before too long—but she couldn't help but think of 'Laska as her daughter.
Of course, it didn't hurt that 'Laska did everything in her power to slide into that role.
"You like her, don't you?" Said the oak-and-honey voice of Daniel Stewart. At 'Laska's stern insistence, his head rested on her soft breast. The large cruiser had claimed it was the most comfortable and enjoyable activity anyone could ever experience, but Sara wasn't sure if she was talking to her or Daniel. She couldn't speak for the author, but Sara knew having just the thin gray fabric of her blouse separating her skin from his sent shivers up her keel.
"I do," Sara smiled and tousled 'Laska's snowy tresses. A sleepy giggle wandered through the cruiser's lips and she rolled over to snuggle Sara's softest parts. "Do you blame me?"
Stewart raised his head off Sara's breast for a moment, and a handful of faeries with line-throwing guns hurriedly assembled on the battlecruiser's sternum. "Can't say I do," he said, reaching over to scratch 'Laska behind the ear.
'Laska giggled in her sleep, and her nose tickled at the underside of Sara's massively trunked stacks.
"She's very—ow!" Stewart jerked as a minute harpoon sailed through the lobe of his ear. Sara giggled as a platoon of minute fae bounced on her sternum with glee, allowing themselves a moment of celebration before hauling Stewart's head back where it belonged.
Sara just patted her chest and smiled.
"My lady," Stewart rolled his eyes and went back to cuddling the massive warship. Even with his head on her breast, his feet barely reached hers. He glanced over to the miniature sailors. "You guys mind?"
After a moment's pause—and a stern look from Sara—the faeries huffed and removed the harpoon. It was easier said than done, Sara's bustline offered a very sheer, very unstable climb to even get close. Many faeries lost their grip and fell back to the giggling battlecruiser's collar.
Sara didn't know how long they lay there, and she didn't really care. Soaking in the sun, watching the clouds pass overhead… it felt peaceful. Right. It didn't help that the man using her breast as a pillow was the one she'd had all those dreams about.
But eventually the silence was broken with the triumphant "Panapakpan~" of the Japanese heavy cruiser Saratoga had learned to love. Maybe not not love like a daughter—Atago was far less childish than 'Laska—but lone none the less.
"Hello, dear," Sara waved with the hand not occupied with feeling the shape of Stewart's butt.
"Hello, Miss Sara." Atago bowed low from the waist. "This is my sister, Maya."
"Oh," Saratoga glanced over at… at a ship that was most certainly Atago's sister, but in a way that made her brain ache to think about. "Pleasure to meet you, Maya."
"Same," said Maya. "So, um… I heard you've got peacemakers."
"Walkers, actually." Saratoga summoned one of the massive revolvers and spun it grip-first towards the Japanese cruiser.
"Wow," Maya's facade cracked and she cooed like a schoolgirl. "It's so big," she let the gun sit in her hand. "So fucking big…"
"I could take you shooting," Sara idly played with Alaska's snowy hair. She could tell the large cruiser was only pretending to sleep now, probably because looking at Atago and Maya in close proximity would damage her already fragile mind. She glanced over at Stewart with a grin. "Give you two some time together~" she ended with a teasing hitch.
She didn't know how much Stewart was involved, but she'd caught Hamakaze with an operations briefing—signed with 'Laska's trademark chunky cursive—labeled "Operation: Get Mom Laid". Judging by the stifled giggle from 'laska, the large cruiser caught what Sara was insinuating, even if Stewart didn't.
The author smiled the oblivious smile of a man lacking the slightest idea of how thoroughly his loins are owned by another woman-who-is-also-a-warship. "Sure."
"Cameron's bringing his old en-sixty-four," said Alaska. "You should come." She looked over at him. "He said it's old, but good. Like you."
Stewart chuckled and helped the large cruiser up. "That sounds like fun."
'Laska made her goodbyes to the other warships, and skipped off with her usual rubber-band trot.
—|—|—
Much to Sara's annoyance, Maya took to the massive revolver like it was second nature. She had a little trouble dealing with the prodigious recoil of course, but her small groups were still dead-eye accurate. To the point where it was seriously frustrating for the former carrier.
"I can see why cowboys liked these," Maya twirled the empty gun around her finger and caught it with the heel of her hand. "Very smooth."
"Thank you," Sara returned the gun to its leather home on her hip. "Or rather… thank BuOrds." The battlecruiser blushed. She couldn't believe she'd just said that. And meantit this time.
"Like that's gonna happen," said Maya with a smirk. "Hey, I'm starving. You wanna hit up the mess?"
Sara beamed. She'd been trying to hold in her rumbling gut, but the big battlecruiser's turbo-electric drive burned through oil like… well, like a massive steam-driven power plant. "Very much so, yes." She let her guns vanish with a breath of wind and lead the way.
'Laska and Cameron were in the corner of the mess, huddled around a television. The two had slowly assembled quite the gaming lounge by the simple expedient of sneaking consoles and soft chairs in one at a time over a period of weeks, and making 'Laska do her irresistible large-cruiser-eyes whenever they were questioned. But suprisingly, neither one of them was playing.
Instead, Stewart was in the driver's seat, and he seemed to be doing quite well.
"Oh!" Maya perked right up when she saw what was going on. "Ocarina of time! This game is the best!"
Stewart chuckled. "Used to love it when I was younger," he didn't even look at the misshapen controller as his fingers danced over the buttons with practiced ease. "Never could get past the water temple though."
Maya howled with laughter and threw herself on a couch, dinner tray balanced preciously on her middle.
Sara, though, was too entranced by the game to even think of eating. Her jaw slowly slackened as she drew nearer, captivated by the bright colors and fascinating gameplay. Her attention was so captured, she didn't even realize her colossal bosom had become a warm, soft hat for Stewart to wear.
He seemed to enjoy it though.