Together as One (Z23, Azur Lane)

Major Changes

"Morning Nimi~" The Commander muttered with a yawn and slight smile as he rose from bed, feeling some heat rise to his face as he realised how naturally he'd said that. As if he was now just used to her sleeping with him.

"Morning Kommandant~" She whispered in reply as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

As she turned around she saw the Commander at the end of the bed putting on his coat, causing her to gasp as she looked down and realised she was in his bed once again...

As the Commander finished putting it on he turned around and smiled at her as he saw her red face as she sat slumped on the bed, trying to hide her embarrassment from sleeping with him once again.

"Did you sleep well?" He then asked as he approached her.

"Y-Yes! Very well thank you..."

"That's good then~" The Commander replied as he tentatively reached out his hand and patted her on the head.

Upon feeling this Z23 closed her eyes and let out a slight whimper as a smile grew on her face."Thank you Commander" She added as she rose her head slightly to meet his hand.

(Z23 in head) " This may be strange but... I really like how this feels..."

---Timeskip---

Once again Z23 and the Commander took a walk around the hospital grounds before heading off to breakfast.

Once they got there Z23 started to ponder something she'd thought for a while now but wasn't sure of.

She took note of all the things the Commander had done for her over the past few days, from holding the door for her wherever they went, to bringing her food to her at breakfast, and even the head patting she'd received just earlier...

(Z23 in head) "I need to be sure..."

"Kommandant..." She muttered, causing him to look up from his meal and look at her.

"Yes?"

"Why do you treat me like a child?"

The Commander nearly choked on his food at her words and coughed slightly as he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"All the things you've done for me... From holding the door to me to head patting me... D-Do you really think I'm that helpless?"

The Commanders expression then changed from one to surprise to a soft smile.

"Nimi..." He muttered softly as he put down his cutlery.

"I did all those things because I want to take care of you" He started, watching as a surprised expression formed on her face.

"I... I don't see you as a child at all I actually... I see you as uh..."

"W-What?..." Z23 then asked, her face blushing slightly as she felt her heart rate drastically increase.

"You see I... I really l-like you and I um..."

Z23 bit her lip as she watched him speak, feeling a wave of relief wash over her as she realised that he had similar feelings for her as she did for him.

The Commander then let out a sigh as he spoke again, "I just want to make sure you're safe and happy, you mean so much to me after all..."

"Kommandant..." Z23 the muttered as a few tears formed in her eyes, jumping out of her seat and running around the table to hug him tightly.

"N-Nimi!"

"I like you too! I like you so much!" She practically yelled as she hung off him, causing him to chuckle slightly as he realised they now had the entire cafeteria watching them...

---Timeskip---

"So do you want me to stop stuff you said I was doing for you then?..." The Commander asked as he walked side by side with Z23 back through the hospital.

"N-No!" She answered quite quickly, despite her reticence about it she still liked that he did those things for her. Especially the head pats...

"I j-just wanted to make sure y-you saw me as a girl and n-not as a child you needed to care for... I-I want to do things for you too!" She ended by raising her voice and raising on her tip toes in an attempt to show how mature she was.

"Okay~" He responded with a smirk as he reached down and patted her on the head.

"U-Um..." She muttered with a whimper, finding a smile forming on her face as he rubbed her head lightly.

---Timeskip---

"Where is she?" The Commander muttered to himself as he stood just outside the entrance to the naval base at which he and Z23 had been stationed. He hadn't seen her for a few days in fact because of something to do with 'improvements', or at least that's all he'd been told.

"Kommandant!" He then heard a familiar voice call out, causing a wide smile to form on his face as he turned towards it's source. As he did his expression turned to one of surprise and shock as he noted the person who was jogging towards him.

"Uh..." He muttered, noting that Z23 looked much different to how she did before...

As Z23 approached him she slowed her pace and stopped just before him, noting his expression with a slight giggle.

"Surprised?" She asked with a jovial tone.

"Uh... W-Well yeah... Y-You've changed..."

"I got my retrofit package!" Z23 then yelled as she jumped on the spot.

"I can see that~" He responded with a chuckle.

"Why so suddenly though? We only just got deployed"

"W-Well I... After our conversation at the hospital I wanted to make sure I could be the perfect woman for you!"

The Commander chuckled at how assured she seemed to have become and at her statement.

"You're still very cute~" He said with a confident smile as he reached out and patted her on the head, still having to reach below his own as she was still a bit shorter than he was.

Much differently than before however, Z23 rose on her toes and leaned forward. Kissing the Commander on the lips before quickly falling back onto her feet with a giggle and a wide smile."Uh..." The Commander muttered as he continued to pat her head softly, his mind going almost blank as he processed that fact that she had kissed him.

"Y-You..." He muttered once again, unable to find the right words.

"I love you Commander~" She then whispered as she pressed herself against him and hugged him tightly.

He let out a gasp as he was once again hit with something that gave him pause.

"I... I love you too~" He whispered back, not needing to think for a second about his response. With those words forming effortlessly and coming out without hesitation...

---The End---