Chapter Text
I’m woken up by a knocking on my cabin door, getting out of my bed and scratching my belly, I pull my door open as I demand, “What?”
Looking down I see one of the yellow chickens that we had around, this one was wearing an officer’s cap and it handed me a datapad before saluting and waddling down the hall. Taking the datapad back to my bed, I flop down on my side and start to scroll through the information. Repairs were slightly ahead of schedule, thanks to my slower pace allowing them to not have to account for rolling and pitching on the sea. Vestal had been so mad, between the flooding on both sides of my hull, damage to the bow frame members, damaged steam and water lines in the bow, stress cracks in the deck, and a busted water line over my artillery plotting computer, she had somehow managed to get the repairs done to my starboard torpedo blister, drained the flooding, and got my artillery plotting computer replaced, she had also found a defect in my range finders that was causing my shots to land short. With those repairs done, the others could be done while I was underway to school this year, by a crew or four of Manjuu to work around the clock, provided I kept it under twelve knots.
Closing the datapad and rolling to my back, I put my hands behind my head and sigh, it’d still been hard to catch Will on the phone, lots of messages to voice mail back and forth, but at least I knew he’d managed to avoid the worst of Katarina’s advances, right up until she got recalled to Rostock on the orders of one Manfred von Richthofen, acting flagship for the Iron Blood, while Bismarck made a run at political office. Placing my hands on my belly, taking note that I can’t see it past my boobs right now, I move them off to the side and pinch my belly seeing I’d managed to put on a bit of chub. I let out a moan before sitting up and finding a sports bra and jogging pants as I say, “Might as well try jogging around my hull for this trip.”
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Bending at my hips, hands on my keens, my chest heaving in and out as I round my stern after only getting three-quarters around my hull. I wipe my forehead with a towel I had around my neck before stuffing it into my sports bar to try and get rid of some of the sweat as I lament, “Running is not something I’m meant to do.”
Standing upright, I suddenly feel a vibration in the pocket at the small of my back, knowing that I had put my phone in that pocket, I reach around and get it out, looking at the name on caller ID I grin and hit talk as I say, “Hey you!”
“Julie, how are you?” Will asks me, the surprise in his voice that he got a live me and not my voice mail.
“I’m doing okay, but going a bit slow back to the academy this year.” I say as I move lean over the railing at my stern and watch the retreating horizon.
I hear what sounds like bedsprings protest in the background as he asks me, “How was the internship?”
I hang my head and sigh, “Not great if I’m honest about it. But thanks for that book; it was kind of helpful while I was there. What are you up to right now?”
“Getting a good night’s sleep before going another round with my father about returning to the academy in Norfolk, He’s against it, as he thinks I’m better served by going to Dartmouth.” He sighs.
Man, this sucks.
Bobbing my head before I turn around to look down my hull towards my bow I say to him, “Well, I hope you can make it again, I really missed you these few months.”
“I missed you too, I didn’t know how much I would at the time.” He pauses and I hear him adjust on his bed along with a yawn as he continues, “Worst case, you can always visit me at home on your winter break.”
My heart started to pound as my cheeks got hot, my left hand went up, and I started to stroke my loose ponytail as I coyly said, “Maybe.”
He laughs and teases me, “You’ll do it.”
I look down at my bust before wiping my face as I sigh, “Yeah. Oh! Hang on a sec.” I then take my phone and put it into the camera mode to take a shot down my sports bra before texting him the shot as I go back to add, “I just sent you your favorite view.”
I hear his phone make a noise and he goes quiet again, likely checking the picture before he says to me, “God I’ve missed you.”
“Me too, Will, me too.” I sigh and start walking back toward the superstructure on my hull.
I can hear a knock from his side of the line as his mother asks, “William, can I talk to you?”
He sighs before saying to me, “I got to go, Julie, and hopefully I’ll talk to you soon.” The line goes dead and I sigh, “Bye.”
Putting my phone against my chest, it hits me how much I needed that and how much I hated that just now, I missed him so much! A heartbeat later my phone vibrates, getting me to look at it, I got a text from Will, opening it up, I see an image of him in shorts with his shirt off and I say, “Yummy!” it looks like he spent most of the summer working out, he’d put on some muscles and gotten some nice definition on his chest and abs.
Ugh I want this under me right now…
Hanging my head in my horny shame I start the slow walk back to the inside of my hull, I had just crossed inside it when I was alerted to an incoming communication, looking up and groaning, “Can’t a girl get some private time!”
I hurry to the radio room and answer as soon as I’m in there, “Maine.”
“Julie, how far are you from Norfolk?” I hear my dad ask.
Tilting my head to the side as I rub the back of my head I say, “I’m just a couple of days out, the Manjuu said I can pick up the pace to around fifteen knots if I want now. Why?”
“I’d like you to move it up to that if you’re okay with it.” He says to me, with a pause before adding, “And make sure you’re hull is clean and please look presentable when you pull into the harbor, fly all of your inspection flags.”
Leaning over one of the instrument panels, resting my boobs on it in the process, I ask, “Dad what’s going on? I mean I know you’re the new SecNav and all, but can I at least know what’s going on?”
I can hear my dad moving around his new office before stepping outside as he tells me, “President Morgan was impressed with what you did, and there were enough people around to collaborate on what you did. Putting yourself in harm’s way like that, taking a fight without any live ammunition, suffering heavy damage, and delaying an enemy unit until help could arrive. As soon as the paperwork crossed my desk, I signed off on it, you’re getting a P.U.C., Julie. As well as a letter in your file, stating that regardless of what is said about your internship this year, you are given a pass with a mark of excellence for it.”
My mouth drops open.
When I don’t say anything, right away, my dad asks, “Julie?”
Blinking a couple of times I get my feet under me as I say, “Yeah, I’m here still, Dad, just kind of in shock is all.”
I hear him keep walking along a concrete walkway as he says to me, “I know I said it before, Julie, but I’m proud of you, your Mom is proud of you, I’ll see you in a few days, sweetheart.”
I smile and feel my eyes water a little and I say, “See you soon, Dad, love you.”
“Love you too, Julie.” He says before the line goes dead.
Hanging my head I groan again, “So much for that alone time.”
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Slipping my keycard into the apartment I let out a sigh and stepped inside, closing my eyes as I kicked off my shoes, I’ll worry about putting them away later, I’m exhausted. It’d been a long trip, made all the longer for getting an award and being allowed to display it on my academy uniform as well as fly the pennate from my color mast. But right now, I wanted two things, one, a rest, and two… well two I don’t think I’m going to get any time soon. Keeping my eyes closed I make my way to the living room, walking till I bump into the couch, then allow myself to fall forward onto it. The cool leather felt so nice and inviting. Lifting my face I take off my glasses and reach over to put them on the coffee table before I let out a content sigh and shove my face back into the leather.
A heartbeat later I hear the sound of the card lock unlocking from here, and I roll over to see who is coming into my apartment, my heart is in my throat at this point, I was not expecting anyone! Propping myself up with my elbows time seems to slow to a crawl as I wait for the inside door to open, when it does, it feels like my heart is about to burst. I get up off the couch and run over to the door, slamming myself against the person who just opened it, touching the sides of their face as I shove my tongue down their throat.
I feel their hands wrap around the small of my back and I let go of their face and place their hands on my butt, I then link my arms around their neck before I hop up to wrap my legs around their waist. When the kiss breaks I smile at them as I say, “Hey you.”
He smiles at me and starts to walk us over to the couch before dropping me onto it as he says, “Hey you.”
I won’t let go and use my legs to pull him down and on top of me as I touch the side of his face and say, “I don’t want to pretend this year.”
Will smiles at me and touches my left cheek as he asks, “And what do you want to do, then?”
“This.” I say with a husky tone before I nip his right earlobe and rock my hips against him.
He laughs before sliding his hands down my legs as he says, “I think I could like this.”
With a giggle from me, I adjust my hips and unlock my legs from around him as I smile and say, “I think you enjoyed it last time.”
He kissed me and pushed me a little more up the couch before he leaned away to take off his shirt and tell me, “I think I need a reminder.”
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We were laying in a collection of blankets on the living room floor, his right hand laced together with mine, both of us looking out over the city, looking out our reflection I watched while feeling him trace my shoulder with his free hand. Smiling at our reflections I sigh happily as I tell him, “You have no idea how much I needed this.”
I feel Will kiss my right shoulder before whispering, “I think we both needed it.”
Pushing my back into his chest I say to him, “So about the sleeping arrangements this year, I think maybe one room would do?”
“Why Juliette, are you hinting that you want to be my girlfriend?” He asks in a teasing tone.
“Not at all, William, I was thinking you’d like to be my boyfriend.” I tease back before rolling over to kiss him, pushing him over so that I can straddle him again.
Will let go of my hand and started to stroke my thighs as he looked up at me and said, “I think I would.”
I grin broadly and lean over to kiss him again.
So much for that rest, but at least I got to check off that other thing I wanted.
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