Shiver, shiver, shiver…
“……..”
“Hah…”
Should I seriously say something to the jittery Commander?
I thought about it.
But I just… decided to let it slide.
After all, the Commander must have a lot on his mind right now.
Even the other two in the office were just quietly observing the Commander’s expression.
“Sigh…”
“Lindera… what should we do?”
“Well, I really don’t know what I can do to help.”
“Ah……..”
The Commander let out a long sigh, but honestly, I couldn’t do anything.
To be honest, I was getting more worried than he was.
Not to the extent he was showing, but still worried.
As soon as he received my email and text, the Boss called back and mentioned he would be coming to our area soon.
…Ah.
What should we do?
I mentioned it vaguely to the Commander, but I was really worried too.
What if he gets shot or strangles himself in his sleep…?
Or gets poisoned while eating…?
“Huh…”
“Hah…”
Anyway… worries piled up for both of us.
“Commander… it’ll probably be fine.”
“…I wish it were.”
“…Are you really going to do something weird to a baby daddy? I mean… I don’t think so.”
“Probably…?”
“….Definitely?”
“………”
Anyway, we were working while worrying.
The Boss wasn’t arriving immediately.
Still, the worry wasn’t going to stop.
“…But since it’s a distance, it will take him a while to get here. Before that… we should prepare as much as we can.”
“…Right.”
It had taken a long time when the Commander and I went before.
I wasn’t thinking he would show up right away, so slowly… as fast as possible.
It was a bit strange, but we had to do it that way.
First things first, we had to work.
“But Lindera, since the Boss is coming, do we not have to do anything?”
“Um… It should be fine. It’s not like he’s coming for any other reason… He’s specifically coming because of us. I think the situation inside the ship can be just like usual.”
“Really?”
He wasn’t coming to inspect the ship.
He was purely coming because of me and the Commander.
So there was no need for any grand preparations for inspections or welcoming.
The only preparations needed were for the Commander and me.
Of course, the Boss wasn’t a bad person and wouldn’t really do anything to the Commander…
Most likely… or so I thought.
After all, what the Commander did was serious.
We were mostly focusing on welcoming the Boss.
“…First, I think how the Commander appears to the Boss is the most important.”
“…I’m pretty sure the image is already ruined.”
“…Well, that’s not really the Commander’s fault.”
At least I thought it wouldn’t be my fault.
Probably….?
*
“…Commander, I’ve been thinking a bit.”
“Huh?”
“First of all… we need to look like we’re really good together.”
“Um… obviously?”
After finishing my work, I was talking alone with the Commander in my room.
After all, it was hard to say this somewhere else.
“It’s not just about looking good—it’s about looking like a true couple. We need to react accordingly.”
“Ah… That’s true…”
“Right?”
It was obvious.
Especially because there was a pregnancy.
If our relationship looked awkward with her pregnant… that would really be an issue.
I seriously wondered if the Boss might blow a fuse seeing that.
“…Let’s at least get some couple shirts.”
“That sounds pretty good.”
“I think so too.”
I genuinely thought that was a solid idea.
Because, come on, couple shirts are something only real couples wear.
So if we showed up to the Boss wearing couple shirts while doing other things… he’d probably believe it.
Right?
At least he probably wouldn’t be bothered by it.
I could show I was close with the Commander and all lovey-dovey…
…Though it might be awkward since we don’t do that often.
Still, it should work out.
“…Alright. Let’s look for something.”
“…Sure.”
In fact, the two of us didn’t usually wear such things, so we were completely clueless about it.
It wasn’t like we had occasions to wear couple shirts.
We usually dressed in formal attire, so it was understandable.
Thus, it wasn’t bizarre for us to be focusing on couple shirts over the Boss right now while surfing the web.
“…Oh, isn’t this a bit cute?”
“Hmm… isn’t this too flashy? I feel like I can’t wear it outside.”
“Is that so? Then let’s look for something else…”
We had dragged in two chairs in front of my computer and were just staring at the monitors together.
Just a moment ago, we were worried, but now we weren’t worried at all.
There were couple shirts with cute little designs of adorable animals and couple shirts with messages.
Honestly, they were only things that couples would wear.
Of course, that’s why they’re called couple shirts.
“What kind do you like, Commander?”
“I think… um… just something average would be nice.”
“Honestly, I feel the same…”
There was barely any difference in our opinions.
Neither of us usually wore flashy clothes.
We weren’t the type to be like, “Let’s buy this, let’s buy that!” all of a sudden.
Rather… we were troubled by how surprisingly flashy some clothes were.
We were just aiming for decent, normal clothes.
How did it turn out like this?
“…But since we’re going to show this to the Boss, something too normal… doesn’t really feel like a couple shirt, does it?”
“…That’s true.”
“……….”
“………”
What to do?
So many variables…
“…This is too flashy.”
“…Looks like it.”
We both looked at some bizarre pink couple shirt and agreed that wasn’t it.
…Pink was definitely not it.
Anyway, we took a bit longer looking.
It seemed like we looked at more than expected, but we ultimately chose a fairly normal type of couple shirt.
Just an appropriately cute one with a character from an animated series.
Of course, it was the same style but with slightly different designs.
“…If we wear this once they arrive, it’ll be a sight to see.”
“…True.”
Even after placing the order, we continued our conversation.
No matter how much I thought about it, the couple shirts were just so embarrassing.
It was just too funny to picture us wearing them when they actually arrive.
Neither of us had ever imagined we would be wearing such cute couple shirts.
Not once.
“Lindera, since we bought this, let’s also get the maternity wear we talked about before.”
“Maternity clothes?”
“Yeah.”
Well, since we’d talked about it before.
I started browsing the shopping mall site with the Commander again.
Somehow… it was shopping time.
“Oh… doesn’t this look a bit sexy?”
“…Why on earth are you suggesting something sexy for a pregnant woman?”
“Just kidding. Really.”
“…I don’t think so.”
“…Haha.”
The Commander was trying to brush off my objection with laughter.
What the Commander showed me was something… tight-fitting underwear.
And it had slits.
“Let’s just go with a plain dress. Or alternatively, why would I wear such fashionably exposed clothes every time I step outside?”
“…No.”
“I’m just trying to compromise here.”
“…Fine.”
Just like that, the Commander changed his expression seriously in response to my blunt comment.
At least… it was better than him disagreeing outright.
I guess that meant he did genuinely like me, after all.
We started shopping, chatting as we selected each piece of clothing.
While it started out as worrying about the Boss arriving, it ended up being a fun shopping spree.
Honestly, it was enjoyable.
“We decided to get baby clothes for Dolores at a more suitable time, so… is this enough?”
“Hmm… Oh, how about something for the Boss? After all, we did inadvertently cause quite the incident.”
“Oh. That sounds good. At least I probably won’t have my head blown off.”
“I can’t guarantee that, but it does sound good.”
“…Shouldn’t you be denying that?”
“Haha.”
The Commander laughed it off like before.
Well, would it work itself out?
Probably?
“The Boss likes tobacco, guns, sunglasses, and cars…”
“……..”
“Hmm… oh, and he enjoys golfing sometimes.”
“…What an unusual array of hobbies?”
“Yeah, well… sometimes the Boss has diverse interests. Last time, he went camping with the executives at headquarters, they said…”
“………”
“Oh, and he must like fishing too.”
I went through the Boss’s hobbies and interests one by one with the Commander.
He might be a woman, but it wasn’t particularly feminine, and I didn’t find it weird.
Well… camping and golfing were activities everyone partakes in.
Though it wasn’t my cup of tea.
“Why do you look so gloomy?”
“…I’m just thinking of what gift to get.”
“Hmm… How about sunglasses? He likes to wear them indoors sometimes.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah, he’ll definitely like them.”
I didn’t think he’d dislike them.
Though the situation was what it was, the Boss wasn’t a bad person.
In fact, he was a good person.
After all, he took me in as an orphan… so…
“Lindera, what about this one?”
“Hmm… a little rounder…”
“This one?”
“Maybe with a slight gradient…”
Anyway… even though we ended up changing the topic while worrying about the Boss, we were now somehow preparing for those risks.
…But seriously, when he arrives, what am I supposed to say?
What if we drink together and…
“…Sigh.”
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. More importantly, why don’t we finally buy the costumes we planned on earlier?”
“Should we?”
“…Doesn’t it seem a bit too straightforward that you enjoy this?”
I was genuinely at a loss for words at how much he truly liked it.
Not that he was a pervert, but…
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