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

Father

"Sirius!" the door to the quarters swings open as Enty walks through, "Is (Y/N) here? I couldn't find hi-"

Her gaze lands on me, and I smile from the dinner table, "Welcome home!"

Her eyes shimmer for a moment before she grins, "You idiot. You could've told me you were here."

Standing up, I catch her in a loving hug, "I'm glad to see you again, Enty."

Monarch clears her throat from the doorway, "Are you not happy to see me?"

I hold out my hand to her as she comes in to hug Enty and I, "I missed you too, Monarch."

Silently, the three of us hold each other until Sirius joins in, "It would be awkward to simply watch."

Little Enterprise, which my apparent daughter calls herself, stands up on a chair and joins the hug too. When we've had our moment, we sit down to enjoy dinner together as Sirius prepares a plate for Monarch.

"Ah, one more thing," I turn to Enty and swap our hats.

She smiles after I give the back of her head a little pat, "I was beginning to feel like an admiral, too."

Little Enterprise looks up at my hat, and I tilt my head at her, "Want to try it on?"

Her eyes beam as she nods. I swap our hats and laugh at how mine covers her eyes, only revealing the smile on her face. Meanwhile, hers sits on top of my head like a bird in its nest.

"So, want to explain?" I turn to Enty, and she tosses Grim – her bald eagle – a slice of meat.

"Ah, Little E?" Enty asks, making the girl lift my hat above her eyes to watch us.

"You said kansen couldn't..." I pause and glance at Sirius and Monarch, "You said they couldn't get pregnant."

Monarch's fork hits her plate, and Sirius becomes as red as a strawberry. Little E looks around at everyone as Enty covers her face, and I clear my throat. With Little E present, Sirius and Monarch are forced to exist in bewildered silence.

Enty explains, "I'll admit, I was a little excited by the thought of having a child... so I decided to use a Wisdom Cube... the day after you left."

Scratching my head, I whisper to her, "Maybe we could've talked it through first?"

"You don't want her?" Enty whispers back sadly.

"I never said that," I shake my head, "It's just a bit jarring to come back to something like this."

Enty looks down at her food, "Sorry. You're right."

The table falls quiet as we dwell on the topic and continue eating. Monarch and Sirius glance at each other, while I worry about Enty. I didn't mean to sound like I didn't want Little E. Well, I didn't, but I would've been more welcoming had we discussed it together in the first place. Little E picks at her food, feeling as if she's done something wrong.

Deciding to switch the mood around, I give Little E her cap back, "Want to hear about my adventures in the Northern Parliament?"

"The Northern Parliament?" she looks up at me with wonder.

"It's a land of endless frost and snow. The water there's cold enough to freeze the deck of a warship in minutes," I add, making her turn to me in her seat, "Daytime's rare and sunlight's rarer. The sky's blanketed by clouds but, when it isn't, the aurora shines brighter than the stars."

Enty smiles as Little E pleads, "Tell me! Tell me, please!"

Finishing the last of Sirius's meal, I sit back in my chair and recount my journey from start to finish. Everyone tenses up as I tell them of the destroyers that hunted us in the ice floes of the Bering Sea. All the while, Little E listens with admiration in her beaming eyes.