It had been a long time waiting for my house to get finished, but I'd made sure to get my money's worth. The inside was richly furnished, tapestries warming the walls and rugs over the few stone floors that radiated heat. Next to me, the girls were ecstatic, and I had to withstand a barrage of flying hugs for my work. To be fair, though, the three girls with me had an excellent reason to be happy, and I to them. After the War, that cruel war, I'd been one of the few people who could maintain a steady and mostly professional relationship with the shipgirls. Considering certain facts of appearance and their almost mechanical natures, this was harder than it looked!
The three shipgirls that were with me were a bit of a motley lot. First was Tirpitz, an ex-German battleship. Enough old memories had been dredged up in the War, and most of the ex-Kriegsmarine ships had decided their best plan was to seek sanctuary away from home and with allied nations. The fact I had a reasonable estate in my name from my work and a house built to design, and more importantly was perfectly willing to let her stock a library in the basement had drawn her to me. Her hair was still snow-white from the experience, hidden under pink dye to try and match her old shade. It framed her fox-like face eagerly, ice-blue eyes pleading to be somewhere, anywhere else without people in it.
My second compatriot was from the Pacific, and had a far more harrowing tale. Seaport Hime was her class name, and as an ex-Abyssal she hadn't a personal name until I'd (accidentally) given her one. Now she was Anya Nakar in the eyes of the law, but to me she'd always be Nakar. It meant mother-of-pearl in Tagalog, and was fitting enough when she was wet. Her lush form, dripping with water, always seemed to sparkle to me. Improvised repairs had left a slight scar on her right arm over where her rigging would go when I'd slipped with the concrete saw, though, and she'd taken it as a sign we were fated to be together- I was the first human who'd been bold enough to draw her blood. Considering she also enjoyed baking and large house fires, I couldn't find it in my heart to refuse her or her affections. The fact she was almost taller than me, or taller counting the ebon horn that projected nearly a foot from her head, only helped seal the deal on the busty bombshell that had fallen into my life.
Then there was Tama. How I'd attracted a feline Japanese light cruiser was something of a complete mystery to me, but she liked me and had even filled out the paperwork to live in America. The fact I was within spitting distance of a good dock where the fishmongers sold everything that could be caught in the Lakes, though, probably didn't hurt. She also tended to sleep in my bed and steal my clothes, generally making a nuisance of herself until she got the attention she needed. The fact I knew she'd flop on Nakar and sleep on her tummy when the pair were next to a fire, however, firmly cemented my belief she was at least as interested in my other housemates as she was in me. That was perfectly fine- Nakar's affection was tricky to handle, and Tirpitz could become invested in a project for weeks on end, showering me with pent-up love when she finished and wearing me to the bone in the process. Having a feline friend with violet hair and a deep blush when she was found out was fine too, and the fact I had standing permission to pick her up (fondling her ass all the while) and plop down in a chair for a nap was enough to sell me five times over.
I had my work cut out for me, keeping them sane and out of trouble, but I had help. Thanks to some judicious hiring from my recently retired comrades in arms, I had a maid and footman for the house, as well as two cooks and the driver. There was a small and comfortable staff cottage on the north side of the hill I'd had the Iceberg (the name of the house, for its white paint and mild gingerbread elements) which was connected by underground tunnels to the rest of the house via the basement. I paid well, what with my mountain of government contractor money, and I didn't ask questions about what they did on the property as long as they privately told me if they were up to anything dangerous.
Smiling at the girls after my mental run-down, I grinned. "So, what do you think?"
The hooting of an owl was my only response. Great crowd, Daniel, real stellar. The fact it was somewhere around... nine AM didn't help. Everyone had been in hotel mode for the last few days, also known as sleep-in-until-thirteen-hundred mode. In their defense, there'd been nothing to do. Yesterday had been a Studio Ghibli marathon, for God's sakes, and I'd passed out in the middle of Princess Mononoke to be turned into a communal body pillow. As they walked in through the mudway and kicked their shoes off in the foyer, though, I smiled. The warm brick walls gave the area a hint of cheer, and as they walked into the octangal central chamber I heard a few of them gasp. The warm wooden panels covered by tapestries let the room a warm and homey air, the well-restored furniture covered in afghans and blankets.
"It'll get cold at night here." I mentioned offhandedly, smiling at Tripitz a little. "I know most of you don't like the cold."
Tripitz nodded, and grabbed a blanket to wrap around her shoulders. Some instinct told me to skip the rest of the rooms, however, and get on up to the bedrooms. When we got up the stairs to them, there was already a fire in the commonroom's stove, and everyone just melted into the rather large couch. The heat hadn't been on in the house long yet, so it was still enough to chill mortal man or spirit woman to their bones. In moments, I found myself dragged on top of Nakar, resting on her like an awkwardly-sized rug. She was the closest in sheer size to myself, but her iron heritage meant she could stand my weight easily and liked having me close by her. On top of me was Tirpitz herself, obviously psyching herself up for something.
