Hymn From the High Seas (Azur Lane x Commander Male Reader)

One Death is a Tragedy

The water takes me, as does the darkness. In every direction, the coldness is inescapable. A heaviness keeps me in torpor, and it's Yorktown sinking beneath me that drives my soul into a panic. I can still save her.

I let the weight of my saber and shoes drag me deeper into the abyss, slowly approaching Yorktown. I grab her by the ankle and pull her up, only for a pale hand to reach up and snag her by the hair. It yanks her down and me along with her. When she slips from my grasp, I hear Enty's wail and gasp.

I breathlessly curse when I awaken, a cold sweat on the back of my neck. It aches from sleeping on the living room couch, and I sigh painfully. The TV in front of me shows end credits and a queue of recommended movies. Right... I'd been watching a movie series with everyone last night. Fucking nightmares.

Zeppelin leans against my shoulder, her knees tucked close to her chest as she sleeps soundlessly. Monarch has her head resting against my leg on the floor, and Enty breathes deeply in her sleep on my lap. Eugen is passed out on the floor under a blanket with Prinzessin, Zeppy, and Little E. Sirius walks into the room from my bedroom and smiles at my predicament. She points at the kitchen, and I nod.

I lift my hand to pat Enty's shoulder and feel her twitching. Her eyelids are squeezed shut, but tears escape them. I wipe her cheeks and manage to smile when she scrunches her face in disorientation, opening her eyes and catching my reflection in her violet irises. I whisper a good morning, and she sits up with a bed head, her white hair like a bird's nest on the side she slept on.

Zeppelin wakes up in an equally groggy stupor, her first instinct to cling tighter to my arm. Monarch wakes up after I lean forward and kiss her on the head. Eugen's roused by Sirius preparing coffee in the kitchen, and Little E lifts her head out of her popcorn bowl, buttered popcorn sticking to her exhausted expression. Eventually, everyone's on their feet, and I head to the bathroom to wash up.

When I finish, I check my phone on the nightstand and notice a missed call from Bismarck. I hold it to my ear after playing the voicemail, "(Y/N), I know it is the weekend, and you are probably sleeping late, but... I want to know if you were hungry? I mean, if you want to have brunch. There was a moment in which I..." her sigh distorts the speaker, "lost my cool. I do not like leaving things like that to fester. Get back to me when you can, please."

Before I message her back, I peek into the kitchen and ask, "Enty?" She looks at me, and I motion for her to come.

She rubs her eye, "What's wrong?"

"Bismarck wanted to have brunch with me, and I didn't want to leave you all with an Irish goodbye," I say, also more concerned, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," Enty shrugs her shoulders and nods, "I'm fine."

She turns toward the bathroom, and I admit, "I had a nightmare, too," she stops, "The same one, albeit a little different."

Enty shuts the bedroom door, facing me with wet eyes, and I immediately embrace her. In shocking silence, she soaks my shirt with her tears without so much as a sniffle or sob. I keep her hugged tight and hum to her in the same tune I do for Little E when putting her to bed. Eventually, Enty steps back and wipes her nose, but I make sure to hold her hand.

"I'm sorry," she dries her eyes with her shirt.

"It's okay," I whisper, conscious of the others laughing outside the door, "I'll tell Bismarck to reschedule."

"Don't–" Enty starts.

"No," I insist, hugging her again, "I'll stay as long as you need."

She squeezes herself closer to me, "Thank you..."