Disclaimer: Galaxy Angels, Tact Mayers, Vanilla H, the Angel Troupe, the Elle Ciel and related characters, machines and locations are property of Broccoli and are used without permission.
Captain Tact Mayers, hero of EDEN and commander of the Lost Technology battleship Elle Ciel, stood in his room looking puzzled. This on its own was not unusual. However, he was standing in front of his wardrobe wearing only a towel, his hair still wet from his shower. He stared into his wardrobe at the neatly pressed uniforms hanging inside. He stroked his chin, 'hmmm'ed and 'ahhhh'ed, then stared some more. The doorbell chimed, but failed to draw his attention. It was only after two or three more rings that Tact off-handedly called out, "Come in!"
A livid silver-haired man stormed into the room. "Tact! What's taking so lo-" The sight of his friend in the buff brought him to a halt. "What are you doing?"
Tact hmm'ed and haww'ed before off-handedly muttering, "I'm looking for my uniform."
Rester Cooldaras stared at his friend and commanding officer. "You're what?!" He looked from the serious-looking Tact to the wardrobe, which was full of his shirts, cloaks and assorted other clothes. "What do you call those?" he demanded, pointing at the neatly aligned uniforms.
"Uniforms, of course," came the reply.
Rester could feel a vein begin throbbing in his head. This one of those times when he seriously considered retiring from the military. "Then," he said in a very, very calm voice, "what is the problem?"
"It looks like one of them is missing," Tact told him in a matter of fact voice.
Rester could feel his headache grow. "Is that all?"
Tact finally tore his gaze away from his wardrobe to fix Rester with a disappointed look. "Rester, think about it. Washing is completely automated. Shirts and stuff get dumped into the laundry chute, they get sent down to the washing basins below, they get all cleaned and pressed and all that, then they're sent automatically back up to the closets and wardrobes." He paused before adding, "For officers."
"Yes, I'm aware of all that," Rester said, deciding to humor his blue-haired companion before ripping his head off for wasting his time. "And...?"
"So when could one of my uniforms have gone missing?" Tact crossed his arms, as he pondered this question. "I mean, I've got my own bathroom, same as you, right?" Rester nodded, his face showing that he was beginning to see Tact's point. "And I've got my own laundry chute, and my uniforms get sent up automatically. So how could one have gone missing?"
"It got lose in the wash?" Rester suggested. "It's happened before."
Tact nodded. "Yeah...maybe you're right." Reaching into his wardrobe, he extracted one of his uniforms when the doorbell chimed. "Come in!" he called out without thinking.
"Idiot!" Rester hissed in horror. "What are you thinking?!" It took a moment for Tact to realise he was still only wearing a towel and he began to call out for the visitor to wait, but it was a moment too late.
"Hey, Tact!" Ranpha Franboise called as she walked into the room. "What's taking so long? Everyone's waiting for your big spe-" The blonde beauty was struck dumb by the sight of her commander in a towel, with a look that resembled a deer caught in headlights. "Wh-wh-what?" Once she regained her senses, she clenched her fists and advanced on him. "Tact...you..."
"W-wait, Ranpha!" Tact begged, dropping his uniform and waving his hands in a warding gesture. "It's not what you think!" Alas, the movement also loosened his towel, which began to drop as Rester moaned and took cover to avoid the now-inevitable bloodshed.
"PERVERT!"
"Does it still hurt?" Vanilla H asked Tact as he sat grumpily on a seat in EDEN's sky garden. He was exhibiting a most impressive black eye, which now matched the colour of his hair.
"She didn't have to punch me that hard," Tact mumbled as he gingerly touched the still-sensitive bruise. "It's not like I did it on purpose..."
Vanilla smiled softly as she stopped him by holding on to his hand with both of her's. "Ranpha-san is a very direct person."
"You mean violent!" Tact whined as he let her lower his hand.
"No," Vanilla replied as she studied the bruising, "she just reacts to situations on instinct."
Tact sucked in his breath as Vanilla touched the area around his eye, her skin refreshingly cool to the touch. "Isn't that the same as being violent?"
"No. If Ranpha-san was being violent, it would've been much worse than just a black eye." What worried Tact was that he wasn't sure if Vanilla was joking or not. "Ranpha-san said that when she walked in, you deliberately exposed yourself to her."
"That's not what happened!" Tact said hotly. "I'd never do something like that! Not when I've got you!"
Vanilla's red eyes widened and she gasped slightly. She blushed and looked away, no longer able to look Tact in the eye. "I believe you," she whispered, subconciously rubbing the ring he'd given her before the final clash with the Val Fasq. "Tact-san... is too honest to do something like that."
In spite of himself, Tact found himself blushing too at Vanilla's shyness. "Of-of course. I mean...you're my number one and all."
Vanilla's blush deepened and now spread so that even her ears were now a bright pink. "Don't say embarrassing things like that," she said, trailing off.
Tact took her hands in his. "But it's true."
Vanilla struggled, but managed to raise her head and meet Tact's brown eyes. "I know...but it's still embarrassing to hear."
Tact wrapped his arms around the girl and drew her into a hug. "But we'll have to say things like that at the wedding, right?" he whispered into her ear. Now too embarrassed to speak, Vanilla could only nod. "Have you told the others yet?" Vanilla shook her head. Puzzled, Tact asked, "Why not?"
Vanilla pulled back, her cheeks still flushed and a ghost of a smile on her lips. "I want to surprise them."
Tact smiled at her. "Hey, hey, now you're picking up Ranpha's bad habits."
In response, the green-haired nanomachine specialist smiled mischievously. "...maybe..." Then her usual calm descended over her features as she asked Tact something that had been bothering her. "But, Tact-san," she began, "why were you only in a towel?"
Tact laughed at himself as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh...that was a stupid reason," he replied. "I was looking for one of my uniforms. I think one of them went missing."
Vanilla, who'd sat down next to him, stiffened. "Missing?"
"Yeah. I'm one uniform short, and I don't know why."
"Could it have been lost in the wash?"
"Rester thought so too. That's probably it."
Vanilla nodded, glad that Tact wasn't stressing himself out about something so trivial. Their conversation began to drift to their plans for their coming wedding, and the mystery of the missing uniform was forgotten.
Later that night, Vanilla took off her headpiece and set it down on her dressing table. Dressed in her simple light green nightwear, the pretty young girl was about ready for bed. She just had to get one more thing. She walked over to her wardrobe and opened the door. She paused for a moment and looked around guiltily, as if expecting someone to leap out and cry, "A-ha!"
At the bottom of the wardrobe was a small box, which she opened. Reaching in, she pulled out a crumpled white uniform shirt and hugged it to her chest. She felt bad for lying to Tact and getting him in trouble, but she couldn't help it. Granted, it had partly been Ranpha's fault for mentioning that wearing the used shirt of a loved one was like being hugged by said loved one, but Ranpha wasn't the one who'd walked into Tact's quarters while he was in the shower. Ranpha wasn't the one who'd snuck into Tact's bathroom and snuck off with his used uniform shirt. And it certainly wasn't Ranpha who hid it at the bottom of her wardrobe, then wore it to sleep every night.
Speaking of which...Vanilla slipped into the shirt, taking a deep breath. Tact's scent was weaker now, but still there. Smiling to herself as she slipped into bed and pulled her bedsheets over her, Vanilla hugged herself happily. She'd have to remember to watch out for an opportunity to get a hold of another one of her beloved Tact's shirts. But for now, it was time for her little guilty pleasure to give way to another sweet dream.
End
Author's notes: I shall be frank. I was quite disappointed when Tact and Milfie got together in the GA manga. It was expected, but no less disappointing. Vanilla's story in the games was far more interesting to me because in my opinion she grows the most out of all the Angels. Thus, in nearly all my stories chances are you'll find she and Tact are together.