[Hearts of Iron]

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

—William Congreve

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Everything felt oddly calm as of late... Bismarck wasn't quite sure what to make of this feeling of serenity that continued to plague his processor ever since the Blue Steel fleet arrived at the shores of Honolulu and successfully handed over the blueprints for the vibration warhead. It was quite surprising that the Americans were willing to let rogue Fleet of Fog mental models live on their land, the people in question just summed it up to the Americans being thankful for the gift that would allow them to strike back against the overwhelming power of the futuristic fleet. So you may find yourself asking a question... where is everyone right now? Well, that is indeed a good question. And... nobody really knows the answer. Bismarck, Haruna, Kirishima (who was still in Yotaro's body), Makie and even Kongou have all temporarily detached themselves from the Blue Steel fleet and have been living in a single two-story home together for a few weeks now. Gunzou, Iona, Hyuuga and Takao have sailed off-shore and only recently has Bismarck lost contact with them. They were still alive, just... out of range at the moment.

But back to our main character. What could the great king of the ocean, the beast made of steel be doing at this very moment? Sinking his code-driven brethren? Bathing in a pool of blood? Haha, oh no that is all past now... well except the bathing in blood part, he never did that. Yuck! No, you see, the great and terrible leader of the Kriegsmarine was currently... making himself a quick snack. No, not in the form of someone's soul, just some garlic bread with cheese.

The man in question was dressed in a black t-shirt that had the head of a cute cartoony bear drawn on it, grey sweatpants and pink slippers. Oh and he was also wearing an apron that said: "KISS THE COOK" in capital letters. It was quite the sight to see although every resident of the household has already gotten used to the strange sight. Not that talking, walking pink bear was anything to overlook either, just seeing someone with a reputation for being a ruthless killing machine be so carefree was... new. Although a normal person could say the same about everyone from the Fog. Takao was a goddamn tsundere for crying out loud! And Kongou, she was as much of a surprise as Bismarck. It took some time for Haruna and Kirishima to get used to her presence, they still haven't managed to fully do so. Makie however was all over the blonde goth, styling her hair in a billion different ways that made Haruna shiver at a not so distant memory of when Makie did the same to her. Bismarck had surprisingly no issue with the new addition who pretty much attached herself to him at any given moment. This did not go unnoticed by another blonde of the group who didn't exactly enjoy the sight of someone else throwing herself onto Makie's father figure.

Bismarck lightly hummed to himself as he placed the now steaming cheese-covered garlic bread onto a clean white plate before throwing off his apron and heading over to the living room. The home they were provided was quite big, more than enough to give everyone their own personal space and accommodate some extra room for a few guests should it be needed. As such there was a huge sofa in the living room with a plasma screen TV in front of it along with a coffee table. There was a comfy and fluffy rug under the sofa and coffee table and a bookshelf full of thick novels by the wall next to the TV. It was very lavish and homely.

Bismarck quietly took a seat in the middle of the black couch and turned on the TV with a remote, picking a random discovery channel before digging into his delicious midday snack. Some of you may have already noticed that the house was oddly quiet for so many people living in it, and, well, it was mostly empty right now. Haruna, Kirishima (Yotaro) and Makie all went out to town which left just Bismarck and Kongou, and to be honest, the male mental model had no idea where the gothic beauty was at the moment. The home was a bit lonely when it was so quiet and empty, but that feeling didn't last long as someone joined Bismarck on the couch not too long after.

"Hey," greeted the Kongou-class... Kongou, who quietly took a seat strangely close to Bismarck despite there being more than enough room for her anywhere else on the couch.

"Hey," stoically greeted back the male flagship as he took another bite out of his bread, keeping his eyes firmly on the documentary about... hummingbirds?

The TV provided enough of a distraction for the male mental model as to not get caught staring at Kongou's less than modest appearance. The blonde was at the moment wearing quite provocative clothing which really only consisted of one tight black t-shirt which looked scarily similar to one from his closet and a pair of black booty shorts. Bismarck just assumed that the blonde had a bit of a hidden mischievous personality as she didn't dare wear clothes like this when somebody else was around the house, only around him. How very peculiar... It didn't really help his situation that Kongou pretty much claimed one of his arms as her pillow and squished it between her breasts whilst leaning on his shoulder. Now Bismarck was feeling uncomfortable in more ways than one, however, he still tried to eat his garlic bread in peace despite having one of his arms occupied. The man just wants some garlic bread, leave him alone you horny woman!

"...What are you doing?" Bismarck's question was, quite obviously, directed at Kongou who was now doing another very uncharacteristic action that involved loosening up her shirt and confirming the suspicion that found itself in the back of Bismarck's brain... she's not wearing a bra.

"Just... getting comfortable," oh she was definitely doing more than that, however, Bismarck was not exactly one for romance and couldn't tell a woman giving him HINTS from a woman just doing woman things, that's how primitive his processor was when it came to such matters.

Oh, how incredibly lucky he was to be saved by the sound of the main entrance door opening, the soft pitter-patter of footsteps followed soon after. Kongou sighed as a look of annoyance flashed in her eyes before she quickly changed her attire back to normal, being a mental model sure has a lot of benefits huh? Bismarck chose to ignore Kongou's blatant annoyance and got up to greet the returning residents of the house, leaving a pouting Kongou behind.

"Guess who's back~? Back again~? Makie's back~ Tell a friend~" the first two people to walk inside were, of course, the shortest of the bunch and also the liveliest, Makie and Kirishima.

Slightly trailing behind them was a tired-looking Haruna holding multiple shopping bags and a few plushies. Bismarck just sighed slightly in exasperation, the two short stacks were super lively lately, leaving the poor trenchcoat-wearing blonde to carry all of their stuff alone. So being the good guy that he is now Bismarck had pretty much taken most of the bags from the blonde.

"Looks like you had fun," Haruna just sighed in response but looked a little relieved now that she wasn't looking like a Christmas tree.

Makie and Kirishima ran into the bathroom to clean their hands, Bismarck could perfectly hear her next words though, "Hi, Bon-Bon! We brought a new friend!"

Bismarck rose an eyebrow before turning his attention to Haruna with a questioning look, however, the blonde however only gave him a look of sympathy which confused him even further. However, his questions would soon be answered by an unexpected visitor...

-WOOF-

The sound of a dog barking brought Bismarck's attention to the entrance, he couldn't do much other than blink when he saw what he thought was at first a four-legged ball of white fluff barking at him. Blinking again, Bismarck saw that it was in fact not a sentient ball of fluffy white cotton but a...

...Dog. The dog barked again as it strolled up to Bismarck and sat in front of him, tongue hanging out of its mouth as it panted happily while wagging its fluffy white tail side to side. Bismarck looked at the doge silently before looking at Haruna, then back at the dog, then back at Haruna, then back at the dog, then back at Haruna, then back at the dog, then back at Haruna, then back at the dog, then back at Haruna, then back at the dog, then back at Haruna, then back at the dog, then back at Haruna, then back at the dog, then back at Haruna, then back at the dog.

Finally, after a minute of confusion he took a deep breath, "...Why... did you adopt a dog?"

Makie and Kirishima who had come out of the bathroom both ran up to the dog and started to pat it, Makie especially leaned into its soft fur with great glamour.

"...I'll ask again, why is there a dog here?" this time Bismarck would actually receive a verbal answer, from Makie that is.

"Because doggies are cute! And Puff-Puff is a good boy!" Bismarck couldn't so much as sweatdrop at Makie's proud yet innocent shout, Puff-Puff seemed quite happy with the praise, evident by the wagging of its tail.

"...Sigh... alright," and with those last words did the not blood-related family begin living with a new member of the household, a very fluffy, very puffy and very cuddly four-legged dog who very much enjoyed his snuggles.

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{Day One}

Suffice to say, having a dog to wake you up was a... new experience for Bismarck. Having anyone to wake up to was, well, not the most recent experience but it was a welcome one nonetheless. Still, Puff-Puff was a doggo that seemed to love to get in his face in the morning and completely polish it with his tongue, the time Bismarck spends in the bathroom in the morning doubled after this day. It was kind of annoying having to buy the extra food and items for the dog, like a bowl, a collar, a bunch of toys and then on top of that having to go take it out. But Puff-Puff is all things aside, pretty well behaved if a little too playful.

"No, you mutt, leave that alone!" that was the voice of a running male mental model chasing a white-furred husky across his whole home as the dog in question carried a rather terrified pink teddy bear in its mouth yelling for help.

"I'm having second thoughts about this!" poor Kirishima, on top of being carried around the house like a ragdoll and covered in a dog's spit, was also thrown into the washing machine, not by her consent, and dried in a drier, courtesy of Bismarck.

Suffice to say, everyone's time has become a lot more... lively, let's say, with Puff-Puff running around the house and making a mess. Makie and now somewhat begrudgingly even Kirishima didn't really seem to mind. Haruna and Kongou just treated it with indifference, although Kongou now appeared to like patting Puff-Puff's head quite a lot. Bismarck also may or may not have caught her using the poor doggo as a pillow one time. He decided to keep that piece of information to himself... and he also took a picture to commemorate the adorable scene... okay maybe two- I mean three- fuck it, he recorded it as a video.

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{Day Seven}

A whole week has passed and Puff-Puff has successfully integrated himself into the residents of the homely place. The doggie was especially close to Makie and Kirishima, treating the ladder as a sort of chew toy rather than a play buddy. Haruna was the one who most often brought stuff for the playful fluff of white fur. The only one really annoyed at the feline was Bismarck who, much to his annoyance, was left to clean up any of the stray hairs Puff-Puff left around the house, which was, quite annoyingly, A WHOLE LOT!

"This is why cats are better..." grumbled the male mental model under his breath as he used a brush to clean out the white hairs from some of the pillows lying around the living room as well as the carpet.

Honestly, he would've been gladder if Makie brought a lazy cat home. It would just lay still, maybe throw some shit from the shelves on the floor but the overall pain of taking care of it would be a lot lesser. Alas, here we are with an ADHD overgrown hug machine of a puppy. Everyone had gone out, Haruna, Makie and Kirishima went to town to buy stuff, again, and Kongou surprisingly wanted to take Puff-Puff on a stroll. Imagine everyone's surprise when THE KONGOU asked to walk a dog outside, yeah, suffice to say Kirishima did a goddamn backflip. Bismarck was a little worried about Kongou's behaviour, she was still a little reserved when talking with others although a lot more friendly than in her early days. But when he was alone with her... yeah... she was practically all over him. Was she... trying to seduce him?! Why?! No, no, that's ridiculous! Kongou must have been misled by the internet or some other form of human entertainment, she had to.

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{Day Twelve}

"...What am I doing...?" asked the male warship himself as he walked the lonely road back to his home with a bright red leash in hand a very cheerful and fluffy husky attached to it.

Bismarck had just been on a morning walk with Puff-Puff, and suffice to say... he didn't exactly hate it. Granted, having to pick up after Puff-Puff's "business" was not fun, throwing a stick only for his furry companion to bring it back moments later was surprisingly relaxing. The chill factor was multiplied by the cold morning air, a light fog still lingered close to the ground when Bismarck had begun walking Puff-Puff back home, wearing a jet-black tracksuit with red lines. He wasn't going to walk outside wearing his usual clothes like a goddamn idiot. Bismarck regarded the overly happy dog with a somewhat dead stare as it walked with a seeming jump in its step, however that was possible was beyond him. Soon the dichotomic duo arrived back at their home, one clearly a lot happier than the other. Bismarck wasn't necessarily displeased, he was actually more relaxed than anything. No headache, no nothing. Sigh, such peaceful bliss is hard to come by. Maybe he should walk Puff-Puff more often in the morning, sure felt nice.

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{Day Twenty}

Days passed by quicker and quicker, daylight was overcome by the darkness of the night much quicker now as the winter drew nearer and nearer with each passing moment. The end of November drew near as the days passed and nights got colder, but the residents of The Fuller House™ didn't seem to care. Or rather they made the most of the cold, at least two of them did. Bismarck was happily vibing on the sofa in the living room with Puff-Puff cuddled by his side, both watching TV.

Their closeness didn't go unnoticed by the other residents, primarily, a pink teddy bear named Kirishima who along with a young child named Makie appeared to be the most vocal about the change, "Is it just me or are those two like... best friends now?"

"...I have no idea what you are talking about," came the unamused voice of Kongou who sat behind the kitchen table, drinking hot tea from a mug with great satisfaction, although there was a twinkle of hidden jealousy whenever she looked at the sofa in the living room.

"Don't lie! Just look at them!" Kirishima pointed at the unknowing male mental model and doggo to prove her point, their behaviour all the more driving the notion that the two of them were now good friends further.

"Bon-Bon likes Puff-Puff now! All is good, all is happy... BUT I WANNA PLAY WITH PUFF-PUFF TOO!" whined Makie, clearly unsatisfied by the lack of attention she has been getting from their fluffy feline friend.

Haruna just remained silent for a moment as she looked towards the living room, eyes narrowing for a split second before an idea hit her, 'The weather is calm today... Maybe I should...?'

She took a stealthy glance at the gothic former flagship of the Second Oriental Fleet, knowing damn well what the other blonde has been trying to accomplish shortly after beginning to lodge with them. Bismarck might be as blind as a bat when it comes to romance, but a woman, even if inhuman, can recognise another woman's advances. Haruna was both thankful for Bismarck's lack of romantic interest as well as a little discouraged, there is no way she could just... just do what Kongou does without stuttering and giving up before accomplishing anything other than embarrassing herself. But there was but one thing that she had the advantage in, other than having bigger boobs of course, and that was that she knew Bismarck for a lot longer than Kongou. Well, not A LOT longer, but longer nonetheless to pick up on the things he does and does not like. So the question remained, should she use this situation as a chance to... to... to drag Bismarck outside on an unplanned, probably one-sided date? Short answer: YES! Long answer: YEEEEEEEEES!

"Do you want to play with the dog, Makie?" Haruna asked the question rather quickly, but nobody seemed to pick up on it other than Kongou who rose an eyebrow.

"Huh? Yeah! Bon-Bon has been keeping Puff-Puff all to himself, it's not fair!" so, with the excuse of letting Makie play with the white doge, Haruna swiftly moved in for the kill, startling everyone with the speed.

Bismarck jumped slightly, feeling a pair of hands firmly grasp his shoulders, the hands belonged to a very determined Haruna, "Shopping, now."

"Eh-"

And just like that, the two were gone. Like a bullet fired out of a chamber or an orbital strike performed from a highly advanced satellite, the two disappeared from the living room leaving the other residents behind in stunned silence. Puff-Puff whined lowly, sad that his cuddle buddy was gone while Kongou could only blink with wide eyes and mouth ajar. Makie quickly accepted the situation by taking Bismarck's place by Puff-Puff's side while Kirishima slowly processed what has just happened. Haruna's demeanour felt very... un-Haruna-like, and only Kongou knew why... And she wasn't going to let the other blonde have her way so easily. Now, there was only Kirishima, Makie and Puff-Puff at home.

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Haruna and Bismarck strolled through the small town they lived near in awkward silence. Surprisingly few people gave Haruna's attire a glance, even with her wearing a very bulky black coat that everyone was bound to notice, almost no one did. Bismarck had quickly changed his home attire into something more presentable to the public, nanomaterial was a heaven-sent for these kinds of small things. A dark purple coat gently covered a black sweater, a white button-up T-shirt appeared to be hidden underneath the warm dark garments that provided no benefit to Bismarck other than making him look the part. His jet-black jeans were being held by a black belt with a silver buckle and for shoes, he wore a pair of polished black dress shoes.

Bismarck, surprisingly, turned more heads than Haruna did with her much more noticeable trench coat, although the stares he received were mostly from the female population of the passerby. He, much like Haruna, ignored them, although it appeared that Haruna was still bothered by them in his place. Nevertheless, Bismarck was still a little confused about what had prompted the blonde to quite literally snag him from his comfortable place on the sofa and drag him... here. Where were they even going? What are they looking for? Damn it this silence is really starting to bug him!

"So... what did you want to buy that you'd me?" Haruna jumped slightly, startled by Bismarck's voice as if she forgot that he was even there.

"...Clothes," replied the blonde with a slight red hue to her cheeks, one that went unnoticed by the male.

"...Clothes? Wouldn't the others be more helpful in that regard?" Bismarck couldn't quite see the logic, if Haruna wanted advice on clothes she should probably ask someone of the same sex, rather than him.

"I need your- I mean... a man's opinion, Kongou just likes dark clothes and Kirishima is not... helpful," Haruna mentally chastised herself for that slip of the tongue, (un)fortunately, Bismarck didn't call her out on it.

"What about Makie? Wasn't she the one who picked your previous clothes?" it made sense that a girl would recommend another girl what to wear to impress someone, it just made sense, however, life hardly ever makes sense and a woman's heart... makes no sense at all.

"She wanted to play with Puff-Puff," a simple answer that accidentally sounded like a dismissal of the question, but again, Bismarck just sighed and rolled with it.

"Ich werde Frauen nie verstehen..." muttered the male mental model under his breath as he placed his hands in his pockets and patiently continued following his female companion.

The two continued to walk until they came across a large building bustling with life, a shopping centre. It didn't take a genius to assume that this is where Haruna had decided to go shopping, so Bismarck chose to this time walk by her side instead of behind her. Haruna effortlessly blitzed through the thin crowd like a torpedo on a mission, Bismarck doing his best to keep up with her while trying not to bump into anyone on his way. He may or may not have accidentally stepped on some toes here and there but luckily the blonde found the shop she had been looking for. The two stepped inside and were greeted with the warm air of the AC inside the store as well as a few customers browsing through various articles of clothing. Haruna immediately booked it towards the female section, Bismarck patiently following after her.

The blonde picked a seemingly random dress, similar to her signature yellow one and placed it in front of her still coat-covered body, "What do you think?"

"...It's hard to tell when you are wearing a coat, you know," it really was considering just how bulky Haruna's signature trench coat really was, unfortunately, Bismarck suspected this and was already mentally prepared for the pain and annoyance that was sure to come as shopping with someone refusing to take off their coat would eventually arrive.

But, to his surprise, Haruna actually seemed to contemplate his words for a hot minute before she shakily started to take off her coat, "Woah there Fraulein! If you can't stand not wearing your coat then don't force yourself."

But Haruna didn't listen to him and with a blushing face, she took off her coat before shakily folding it in her arms. She desperately fought the urge to don the garment again, it felt wrong for her to be without it. She felt... vulnerable, defenceless even if she was anything but. Nevertheless, she fought the anxiety and embarrassment and neatly placed the folded into Bismarck's waiting hands.

"I-I-I need to get used to it... eventually..." Bismarck couldn't help but blink and feel a tingle of pride, it was awfully nice to see Haruna trying to break out of her shell.

He'd be a bad friend if he didn't try to support her, so he happily took the black coat from her and held it folded in his arms as Haruna once again placed the new dress in front of her, "Alright then, as you wish. Hmm, a little too blue."

The dress Haruna picked first was very similar to the one she was wearing now, except instead of being black and yellow, it was white and blue. The colour scheme was sort of similar to Iona's and just felt plain wrong on Haruna, so Bismarck gave her his honest opinion, something she seemed to put into great value in this regard.

"Okay..." she placed the dress back onto the rack and continued to meekly search for another article of clothing she might buy.

This was something Bismarck couldn't QUITE understand. Why would she want to go shop for clothes when she can literally change what she's wearing whenever and however she wants? In the end, he summed it up to a woman being womanly. Perhaps there was some moral satisfaction from going outside and shopping like a human, they were machines built to emulate human behaviour after all. Although, not in this sense. They were meant to emulate human behaviour in order to create better tactics and further discourage sea travel. For what purpose remained unknown, as the Admirality Code never gave a reason behind its commands.

"What about this one?" Bismarck was broken from his thoughts when Haruna came back with yet another article of clothing in hand, this one was coloured in his signature yellow colour and seemed to be a strange mixture of naval and military uniform.

'What kind of store sells clothes like this? Ach je...' Bismarck wondered just what kind of a clothing store would sell clothes quite like this, but he had to admit... Haruna might look good in that, "It's not bad. I recommend you try it on before deciding."

If he's going to do something then he is going to do something right, even if it might take an agonising amount of time. Haruna nodded, seemingly happy with the recommendation as she placed it into Bismarck's hands. Looks like he's the shopping cart for today...

"Oh! I... quite like this. What do you think?" by the sound of it Haruna was slowly getting used to being without her coat, the sound of her energetic voice brought a small smile to Bismarck's face as he inspected the next set of clothes she picked.

These looked much more normal than the previous ones, a grey shirt, purple skirt and a pair of thigh highs, not bad, "Quite nice, might be a good idea for when the winter passes."

Happy with that, Haruna placed the hanger with her clothing of choice into Bismarck's hands much as she had done two times prior. She returned to browsing the isles, leaving Bismarck to his thoughts yet again. This time, it took her considerably longer to find something that interested her, but when she did she seemed to blush profusely before rapidly shaking her head and placing it back. Now Bismarck was curious but didn't want to make Haruna uncomfortable so he just stayed there, standing awkwardly with a bunch of clothes in his hands while he waited for the blonde to return, and she did. This time though, he couldn't help but blink profusely. What Haruna returned with was a strange, modernised version of... a shrine maiden's uniform? Complete with these strange yellow headpieces that looked like the sides of his radar... Weird.

"Um... I'm not sure what to make of that," answered the male honestly, why would she even want to dress like that?

Halloween has already passed so... what was the point of that uniform? Bismarck honestly didn't know what to say, Haruna would look positively strange, if not a little sexy, wearing something like that... Wait what was that last part? WHAT THE HELL DID HE JUST THINK?!

"Hmm... I'll try it on," it seemed that she took a slight liking to it, fair enough, everyone has their own strange tastes and Bismarck wasn't going to criticise her for liking something he didn't, "I think that's all... Most of the other clothes are too... um... m-m-mature..."

Bismarck blinked again, slightly astonished at the reddening of Haruna's face. Was that why she so quickly shook her head previously? Maybe she found something so skimpy and lewd that she just couldn't even bear looking at it. Now Bismarck was curious, again. Alas, he would not be allowed the knowledge of the lewd clothing as Haruna dragged him towards the dressing boots, taking one of the racks with her inside before closing the blinds. Bismarck awkwardly stood there again as he heard the faint shuffling of clothes, it seemed that Haruna refrained from simply transforming out of her clothes as that would attract unwanted attention, smart girl. She would soon unveil her new outfit and for once, Bismarck was left speechless for a moment.

"H-H-How is it...? Does it look bad?" she was beyond embarrassed, beet red even, but she fought through it to hopefully show off to the male battleship who seemed quite enthralled by her appearance.

"W-Woah... That's good," he nearly smacked his head at his poor choice of words, damn him, "I mean, you'll probably have to wait until warm climate to wear that but... it looks great."

He gave her a thumbs up to further push his point home, Haruna seemed quite happy as she smiled before once again closing the blinds. The moment the blonde was out of sight Bismarck let out a long exhale, calming down his fastening heartbeat with some difficulty. If one were to look closer they might have seen some red on his cheeks, but it was so faint it might as well not have been there. When Haruna came out the second time, Bismarck was once again left at a loss of words. This time, she opted to wear the strange yet modern militaristic uniform she found. And... she looked good, like, really good.

"W-What do you think of this one?" she even did a little twirl at the end to show off every angle of her new outfit, and once again left Bismarck without words to give.

"That's... really good," he started off, simply saying that she looked good in it which greatly underestimated the words he wanted to say at that moment, "At this rate you might have to stop wearing that coat, it'd be a waste."

Haruna blushed at the compliment and nodded silently, fighting back the face-splitting smile that threatened to appear, "T-Thank you..."

This time she closed the blinds a little quickly, Bismarck just assumed she was embarrassed beyond belief and left it at that. He could understand where she was coming from, having to change clothes and be ogled by a member of the opposite sex must be quite a strange feeling. This time though, one would have definitely noticed a small pink hue on his cheeks, even he was getting more and more embarrassed and maybe, just maybe, a little... aroused. NOT THAT HE WOULD SAY THAT TO ANYONE!

-SWISH-

"Oh, already change-" Bismarck's words died in his throat the moment he saw what Haruna wore next, it was the strange shrine maiden uniform and... holy Scheiße she looked drop-dead gorgeous.

Bismarck didn't know who thought of that outfit, who made or designed it, but goddamn now... now he wanted to thank them from the bottom of his heart for allowing him to see such beauty with his own eyes. By the looks of it, both Haruna and Bismarck were too embarrassed to look at each other, Haruna avoiding eye contact by looking at the side and Bismarck trying to look everywhere except at Haruna's exposed thighs. For a minute neither one said anything, Bismarck was desperately trying to find words to describe what he was seeing, to give Haruna his opinion on what she wore but he couldn't find a word in his vocabulary that wouldn't leave him and her both dead from embarrassment.

So he mentally said screw it and went with the tamest reply he could muster anyway, "...You look gorgeous."

One couldn't be sure if that was literal or metaphorical smoke from Haruna's ears and head, but alas it didn't matter as anyone could tell that she was embarrassed, flustered and... very happy, at that moment. She fidgeted in her spot for a few brief moments before the embarrassment got to her and she quickly shut the blinds again. However, this time... Bismarck made sure to... make a few mementoes in the form of pictures. You can't wrong him though, I mean, who in their right mind wouldn't want to see something like THAT again? The moment Haruna was out of sight Bismarck's face exploded in the colour of red, no longer being able to suppress the flustered emotions.

'...If there is a god out there... thank you,' a thought Bismarck would have never thought did he not come into contact with Makie all that time ago.

He knew it, she knew it, Haruna and Kongou knew it, everyone knew that the once stone-cold killing machine was becoming more human. Emotions, while still very foreign to him, were slowly becoming part of his self, his being. In time he knew that even things like "love" would blossom somewhere in his metallic heart, he just didn't expect it to be so soon... No, it's still too early to say. He can't just make wild assumptions like this, it might as well just be the carnal instincts of a male he didn't even know he was built with.

Haruna took her time changing back, or at least undressing before suddenly, startling even Bismarck did her bare hand reach out from the changing room, "C-Can you please... give me my coat?"

"Huh? Oh! Right..." a little dumbly did Bismarck offer Haruna her coat, unfortunately (read: luckily), Haruna grasped the wrong coat with her hand because she refused to look outside the changing stall, "Wait, that's-!"

Instead of grabbing her jet-black coat, Haruna instead grasped the sleeve of Bismarck's coat. Oh no (OH YES!). And with a firm tug, she forced the surprised male inside the stall with her... Now, both froze in a very peculiar position. Towering over her while leaning on the wall was Bismarck, face only a couple of millimetres away from her own with a face petrified with a look of surprise and embarrassment. Meanwhile, from Bismarck's perspective, Haruna's flustered face seemed so close to his they might as well be touching as if by chance or instinct did he feel her hands wrapped around his back. That must have been an accident... it had to have been. Neither knew what to say, what to do. They were so close... And only then did Bismarck's eyes travel lower and... he immediately looked up. Haruna... wasn't wearing anything outside her black lingerie and black thigh high stockings. The situation just got worse (read: better), but still... neither one of them moved. They just stood there, in each other's warmth and embarrassment, frozen while looking into each other's eyes... The other customers outside had no idea, they didn't know any better, they weren't aware that in one of the stalls something quite peculiar was happening. Neither Bismarck nor Haruna knew why... no, they knew why, they just didn't know what it was that forced their bodies forward, what moved their heads and hands towards each other, like an invisible hand grasping their heads and hands until they...

"Mhmmm~♥!"

Kissed. With his hands now on Haruna's hips and her's gently wrapped around his neck did the two lock their lips in a universal sign of affection. A low, barely audible moan escaped Haruna upon contact, the soft and wet feeling of Bismarck's lips growing more and more addictive as time went on. Time became something of a distant memory, even their embarrassment and hesitation seemed to disappear the longer they remained in a tight but gentle lip lock. They, unlike humans, had no need for oxygen and so the need to pull back never came. The situation slowly escalated as Bismarck's hands began caressing Haruna's hips and thighs, even while applying minimal force did the soft succulent flesh squish between his fingers, a feeling and notion both seemed to enjoy. Both were lucky Haruna's lips were occupied, otherwise, the soft sound of her quiet moans might have attracted some attention. But, could you really blame her? She was so happy, so at peace that she hardly cared at this point. She just wanted more, more of Bismarck's lips, more of Bismarck's touch...

"Mhmm~♥ Hmmm~♥"

Their tongues danced together in a heated but passionate tango, wrapping around each other and trading saliva by the dozen. Still, they remained unnoticed, even with the wet sound of their kisses and soft moans. An embarrassing moment turned into a passionate kiss which then turned into a much-desired make-out session in a matter of minutes, the two didn't even bother talking or pulling back for a breath. And things... only seemed to be escalating.

-GROPE-

"Mhm~♥!"

A soft, surprised moan came from Haruna when she felt Bismarck hand firmly grasp one of her plentiful ass cheeks. A notion which only seemed to fuel her lust further, nails digging into Bismarck's clothed back as he kept one hand on Haruna's derriere, groping it with great satisfaction and pleasure while the other hand moved higher...

-POP-

That was the sound the clip-on Haruna's bra made as it became undone, now the only thing covering Haruna's utterly huge breasts was a loosely hanging black-laced bra and nothing else. Just as Bismarck's free hand reached up, to cup a feel of Haruna's large chest did something, someone, finally interrupt them.

"Would you like to try these on, miss? They are in quite high demand these days!" the sound of one of the shopkeepers suddenly broke the two out of their trance, stopping them dead in their tracks as the sound of footsteps neared them.

"Oh yes, thank you very much!" came the voice of a female customer as she entered the stall right next to them.

The two were still in a tight lip-lock, but now their eyes were wide as saucers and they dared not make a single move. They simple stood there in a mild panic, the thought of being discovered now fresh on their minds. Seconds turned to minutes as they waited and waited, hoping, praying that no one would find them in such a... position. Then, and only then did the two finally realise what they were doing. Kissing, making out and nearly... oh dear. Alas, the two, even when embarrassed, didn't move. Only when the curtain in the changing room next to them opened again and the voices of the customer and the shopkeeper faded away did the two move away from each other. A string of saliva connected their mouths together for a brief moment as they recollected their thoughts. Like a Windows Vista computer did their thinking come back and they let go of each other with Haruna quickly clipping her bra back on.

"...I'll wait outside..." Haruna nodded in response as Bismarck quickly shuffled out of the changing room with a bright red face.

Now left alone, the blonde couldn't help but feel the artificial hammering of her heart against her chest. She hoped, prayed to whatever god is out there that Bismarck didn't regret what he did just now. That he wouldn't try to forget about this ordeal because she... would forever remember it, deep in her heart as the moment her first kiss was stolen. Even if it was in a place like this, the thumping feeling, the warmth and the lust were still there... and she wanted more. Moving quickly, Haruna dressed back into her casual outfit and coat before grabbing the clothes she tried on previously. Now outside the changing stall, the atmosphere was... awkward, to say the least. Both the male and female mental models were blushing, but, unbeknownst to each other... both felt happy and... a little scared.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two, still in awkward silence, walked through the bustling street with an awkward kick in their step. Both wanted to say something but didn't quite know how. Haruna wanted to ask Bismarck if he regretted being so... intimate with her while the man in question wanted to apologise for being so touchy.

Finally, the man caved in first and spoke in a tone that was barely above a whisper, "...I'm sorry... for... you know..."

Haruna blinked before quickly having to control her voice not to scream out, "Oh, no no no, it's... okay."

The awkward silence returned with full force, leaving the two in an uncomfortable situation yet again. Haruna didn't like that Bismarck apologised, but she could understand why he would. After all, it's not normal for someone to suddenly start being so... touchy while in public. Alas, she didn't dislike it. In fact, she loved it. She wanted more of it. She wanted to relive those moments and more, for Bismarck to go further. To go... all the way.

Haruna mustered as much strength as she could and hoped that what happened wasn't the fault of hormones alone, "I... didn't dislike it."

"O-Oh..." Bismarck tried to find words to say back, he felt relief when he heard that Haruna didn't dislike the heated moment of intimacy between the two of them, but unfortunately, he didn't quite know what to say.

Alas, it seemed no words would have to be said between the two of them as Haruna walked a little closer to him, and closer, and closer, until their shoulders touched. Haruna then suddenly wrapped her arms around Bismarck's hand. He was startled for a second, it seemed that Haruna was quite good at surprising him all the good ways. Now, the two walked home like a couple, even if neither of them was sure the other one felt quite the same as they did. The two walked back home in peaceful silence, unaware of a certain gothic shipgirl looking for them.

"Where have those two gone?" Kongou muttered under her breath, she wanted to follow Haruna and Bismarck to make sure that the blonde couldn't do anything too drastic, but she couldn't so much as find them!

An ominous feeling crawled up her spine. What if those were... were... in a love hotel?! The thought of seeing Bismarck's sweaty, naked body with another woman didn't sit well with Kongou, NOT AT ALL! She owed him so much, so with the excuse of repaying him his kindness did she plan to make him her's. Finally, after rounding a corner did she find them.

"There they are-"

Kongou's eyes swung open wide like saucers as she saw the two in such close proximity, holding hands and smiling at each other. She remained out of sight and clenched her fists and teeth in frustration, she feared the worst but by the slight blushes the two sported she assumed they haven't quite gone all the way. Good, that meant she still had a chance. Her eyes narrowed into a determined glare directed towards Haruna.

...

...

...

"...Looks like I'll have to step up my game..."