Roon x Nero (kinda) (no cringy sex ahead)

Part 12.1

Chapter 12.1
Nero spent the whole afternoon with Roon at the pool. It was more fun than he expected: he met familiar faces, unfamiliar faces, then familiar faces again. Some of those faces belonged to his classmates, who looked at him with an amused expression. Nero lost his temper because of them once, but he had learned to not care about them. As long as Roon was with him, he didn't need to be angry or sad.
But he also met friendly unfamiliar faces, and he got to know more people. He expected something bad to happen, but it was a very pleasant afternoon.
But after this brief recap, let us go back to the present. After taking a shower in the changing rooms, Nero waited for Roon in front of the pool's entrance.
"I had more fun than ever!"
Nero heard a high-pitched voice echoing those words in the pool's lobby room towards his direction. He turned around and saw Roon running out of the lobby.
"I'm glad to hear that!" He said, as Roon walked past the entrance.
They began walking in the direction of the dormitories. The sun was setting, and a fresh breeze blew throughout the HQ. It was an evening with a very enjoyable atmosphere, which helped Nero and Roon relax after they had fun for the whole afternoon.
"Hey, did you seriously have more fun than ever?" He asked.
"I did! I've never been to the pool, so I was very excited to come here. And it was very fun, as I expected!" She replied.
"Roon... I noticed the behavior that everyone at the pool had towards you... They all avoided you, and some of them stared at you uneasily while whispering to each other... I mean, that must've made you uncomfortable, right..?"
"It hasn't at all. The others didn't matter to me."
"Also, weren't you jealous when I talked to other girls?"
"Before ultimately accepting to come along with you, Friedrich talked to me. Thanks to her, all my insecurities are gone now. So don't worry, I wasn't jealous!" She reassured him with a smile.
Nero sighed in relief. "That's very good, then." And he smiled back.
"Also... I'd like to apologize to you, Roon..."
"Apologize? For what?"
"... You know, back in our room... I hurt you... And I'm sorry, really..."
Roon looked at him. After some seconds, she stopped walking.
It took a second for him to realize. "Roon?" He stopped walking too and turned to her.
She hugged him. "I should also apologize, Nero... For a while, I actually thought you didn't really care about me... I doubted you..."
"You don't need to feel bad for that. I know what you go through everyday... It's only natural for you to not trust people blindly." He stroked her hair gently while hugging her. In that moment, he wanted to reassure her, make her realize that he really was her friend. He felt the urge to cuddle her a bit, too, since he knew that she needed it.

They hugged for a couple of minutes before resuming their stroll to the dormitories. At this point, Nero felt like he was finally bonding with Roon; and he could only thank Friedrich for that.
"Maybe I should thank her... She's helped me and Roon out with her lessons, and now Roon trusts me thanks to her. But what should I do? I barely know her..."
"Hey Roon, can I ask you something?" Nero spoke up after some seconds of silence.
"Sure."
"Can you tell me more about Friedrich?"
"What do you want to know about her?"
"Well, tell me about her in general."
"Hm, Friedrich is... actually a peculiar woman, now that I think of her..."
"Peculiar? What do you mean?"
"Friedrich is a very cold-blooded person in any situation, but people from other countries see her as a cruel person... She can also be manipulative. But one thing I know for sure is that she is a kind woman." Roon explained.
"Hm... Tell me, if one day I had to give her a gift... What should I get her?" He asked.
"Anything. Friedrich will appreciate any gift, she doesn't have preferences, as far as I'm aware. I suppose you want to get her a thank you gift?"
"That's what I had in mind... But I honestly don't know what I could get her..."
"Do you want to get a gift for her right now? I know where to go." Roon proposed.
"Well, I think we have time for that... Why not?" He accepted.
Roon led him to a huge building, which he remembered seeing from time to time, but he never approached it.
"Is this some sort of shop?" He asked.
"It's the main shop in the HQ, it has pretty much anything, except food or furniture. We don't need to buy those things, we're provided those goods thanks to the shared budget of the Azur Lane."
"Oh, interesting. Well, let's go inside!"
They entered the building. The counter was in front of the entrance; a short hallway to the counter's left led to the rest of the building.
But Nero and Roon immediately noticed a very familiar figure standing in front of the counter.
"... Friedrich..??" Nero pronounced her name with a quizzical tone.
"Hm?" Friedrich turned around. "Oh, hello, you two! Did you have fun?" She asked.
"We had a lot of fun, actually!" Roon answered.
"What are you buying..?" He asked after noticing that she was carrying two bags with her.
"I thought about getting something for you two, as a way to celebrate your friendship!" She answered with a smile.
"Did she just anticipate us?? Damn it..." He thought. "You didn't have to! I mean, I really appreciate the present, but it really wasn't necessary..." He said. "And you got us presents just because we became best friends..? Is it that important?" He asked.
"It is more important than you think, so I think your friendship deserves to be properly celebrated." She replied.
"Thank you, Friedrich." Roon spoke while smiling at her.
Friedrich smiled back. "Don't mention it."
Nero took a glance at the counter, and he noticed there was a girl with green, long and straight hair, cat ears and yellow eyes. She was quite short as well.
"Why is that kid behind the counter? Is she the shopkeeper's daughter or something?" He asked while looking at Friedrich.
Friedrich laughed. "That girl is the shopkeeper herself!"
"Huh..??" Nero looked at the short figure again, then he approached the counter.
"Uh, I'm sorry for assuming you aren't the shopkeeper, but you know, you're pretty short.." he told her.
"It's not a problem. I've dealt with this issue for a long time, nya."
"What's your name?"
"I am Akashi, repair ship of the Sakura Empire."
"Sakura Empire? Oh, you must be from china!" He tried guessing.
"The Sakura Empire is in Japan, nya..." She corrected him.
Roon looked at him from a distance while wheezing.
"I suppose you are american, nya." Said Akashi.
"... That's correct... How did you know?"
"... It was... A lucky guess." She lied. Because we know that americans are stereotyped for not excelling in geography. But it's just a stereotype! ... Right?
"Anyways, thank you for your purchase, Friedrich!" Said Akashi while looking at Friedrich with an unusually excited face.
Nero studied it for some seconds. "Why is she so happy about it? Does she get few customers? But Roon told me this shop is the most visited..."
After that, Nero walked out of the shop with Roon and Friedrich.
"I guess getting a gift for her wouldn't be very wise right now, considering that she just got gifts for us... I'll wait for another occasion." He thought while walking.
"So, what did you do at the pool?" Friedrich spoke up with the attempt of starting a conversation.
Roon turned to her; her face lit up as she started explaining: "We had lots of fun! We relaxed together, swam together, dived together and ate together!"
"It was a typical day at the pool, then. But I understand her excitement. It's the first time she's gone there." Friedrich thought while listening to Roon's recap.
Nero was just hearing. He had many things in mind, so many that he couldn't actually pay attention and listen. He had just remembered about what happened when he met the commander and her secretary Prinz Eugen: he was wondering what kind of "alarming news" she was talking about. And he hoped it was nothing too bad.