Title: Top Gun

Chapter: 00-Prologue

Series: Macross Frontier

Pairing/s: BreraxAlto

Rating: M

After the threat to the Macross Frontier fleet had been taken care of, life had returned to normal. The S.M.S. pilots had returned to school and Sheryl and Ranka continued to sing. Since he had nowhere else to go, Ranka had invited Brera to stay in her home. And after watching him for a few weeks, Ranka concluded that her older brother was unhappy.

There was nothing that he said or did that showed this, but Ranka felt it all the same (call it women's intuition *cough*). Brera never asked for anything, never initiated anything. He always did as he was asked. He was so accommodating. Even if it was only with her, Ranka didn't know anyone else like that. She knew it wasn't normal, though 'normal' wasn't a word that could be applied to someone like Brera. Ranka worried, because he only gave, he never took. So she decided to make a project of it. She would find something that interested him, show him what it was like to be 'normal'…if she could. Then maybe she wouldn't worry about him so much. The plan started of with one simple, innocent question. Ranka Lee had just come home from her work as a pop star to find her older brother Brera Sterne sitting on a chair watching TV.

"Nii-san, isn't there anything you want to do with your life? Besides sitting here and watching TV all day. I mean, the war is over now, you don't have to fight anymore."

Brera looked at her blankly.

"I am your bodyguard." Ranka shook her head.

"I don't need a bodyguard anymore. I never use you. Besides, you were assigned to me by Grace O'Conner. You have no obligation to keep following her orders. This is about you. Don't you have anything you want to do with your life? Something just for you?"

Brera frowned in thought as something blue flashed across his mind. He tried to follow it, but it stubbornly stayed just out of reach. Giving an inner sigh, he let it go. If he waited patiently, the thought would come to him, and patience was something he had in spades. Blinking, he focused on Ranka's face which had moved so it was only a couple of inches away from his own.

"Wh-What?" he asked, slightly unnerved.

"What do you mean what? You thought of something, didn't you? Come on, tell me, tell me, tell me!" She was bouncing on the spot with interest. Brera sighed again.

"There is nothing to tell, Ranka. I'm a cyborg. Over half of my body is machine. My heart doesn't beat and my body is cold. You know how the people of Frontier feel about any sort of cyber enhancement." Ranka wilted slightly at the truth of that statement.

"But surely there's something. All the other guys I know have something they want to do. Or not do. They at least know what they don't want to do." She pouted slightly, thinking. Alto had rejected her again the other day, though at least he was still rejecting Sheryl too. The fact that Sheryl had stayed in the same apartment as Alto during the final stages of the war always made her want to throw something, it was so unfair…She forcefully brought her thoughts back to the present. This was about Brera, not Alto. Though, neither was very normal, really…Brera crossed his arms, bringing her back to the present conversation.

"Ranka, they are all normal teenagers. I am not normal, and haven't been normal for years. I can't fit in with normal teenagers." The two siblings stared at each other. Ranka dropped her gaze first, her sorrow for her brother almost overwhelming. The way he was so matter of fact about the situation made her want to cry. Then a thought occurred to her. The more she thought about it, the more it appealed to her.

If Brera had possessed a normal body, his pulse would have started racing at the look on Ranka's face. Lucky for him, there were very few situations where that happened. Flying his custom VF-27 Lucifer in combat was one, it was specially engineered so only a cyborg like him could comfortably use it. He didn't want to think about the other situations his heart raced. No, there would be none of that. The only time he really felt human anymore was in combat…there was nothing else for him anymore.

As Ranka's face changed from sorrowful to gleeful, Brera almost felt his heart beat in alarm. He didn't like that look at all.

"I know!" Ranka said, grinning widely, "Why don't you enrol in my school? You can enrol in the piloting program, and you can be in the same class as Alto-kun, Luca-kun Nanase-chan and me. It'll be fun!" Ranka frowned briefly "But I bet you won't join any clubs. That's no good, you have to do something after school or you will be back here." The she smiled again. Brera swore he could feel a chill, though that was impossible.

"That's it! You can join the S.M.S. and be a pilot there like my adopted older brother. You remember Ozuma Lee, right? That way you will spend time with the others outside of class, and make lots of friends!" Ranka was so happy to have solved the problem for him. Brera felt his impeding doom closing in on him. He said, a bit weakly,

"I am a Major in the Macross Galaxy special forces." He gave Ranka a stern look. Ranka waved it away.

"That was in Galaxy. Galaxy's gone, you're here now." Ranka smiled sweetly.

"Oh, and we will definitely have to take you shopping. You can't wear that bodysuit the whole time, though it does show you off nicely…" Ranka paused as she considered the effect her brother would have on the female population by continuing to wear his bodysuit.

"Yeah, we definitely need to get you some different clothes, or you're going to get attacked…the female population at our school isn't exactly what you would call normal." Brera's heart was NOT beating faster at her words. He could take care of any threat or attacker. A bunch of high school girls was nothing to a Vajra horde. Surely he could handle it. Looking at Ranka, he felt a thread of unease pass through him.

"Ranka, what do you mean attacked? Why?" she smiled at him. He knew instinctively that her smile did not bode well for him. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what she meant.

"We'll save that for another time, shall we? I wouldn't want you to get scared and run away before I get you settled in." Okay, now he had to know. For his own sanity.

"I am NOT scared!" Brera sniffed disdainfully. "And I never run away! I can handle whatever comes my way!" Ranka squealed and hugged him.

"I knew you would do it! We have to go shopping tomorrow, but let's go meet the S.M.S crew the day after, ok? I will get my manager, Mr Elmo Kridanik, to start the paper work so it's done ASAP, ok? Then you can start next week. This is going to be so much fun!"

Brera realised that he had trapped himself. He couldn't tell her how he felt, and she was so excited he couldn't find the heart in him to tell her no. He kept his face a stoic mask as Ranka happily prattled on and on about everything they would have to do. Inwardly he sighed.

A streak of blue flashed across his mind's eye once again. This time, a face came into focus. When he recognised the face, he had to stop himself from smiling, something he didn't do often. If things got too boring he could always needle the blue haired pilot. That would brighten both their days. He remembered hearing somewhere that the bluenette, he refused to call that arrogant guy by name, was a kabuki actor. That could be useful. Shaking his head, he told Ranka good night and went to his room. He didn't really need to sleep so, considering what she had planned for him tomorrow, he decided to do a complete system check on himself to make sure he was prepared for anything. He ran diagnostics for every implant and his VF-27, and assured himself that everything was battle ready. With that assurance, he lay down on the bed to rest his body and prepare for tomorrow.

The Next Day

"We're finally home!" Ranka exclaimed as she entered the room. She dropped the many bags she was carrying beside the door before stumbling into the living room to collapse on the couch. Brera shook his head and picked them all up as he passed. He put all of the bags in his room to sort out later, and returned to the living room to sit on an armchair next to the couch.

They both sat in silence for a while, recovering, before Brera asked,

"Is shopping always like that?" He was exhausted.

When his command implant had been destroyed in the final battle, the only thing that had seemed different about him had been the scar that had appeared on his face. He had had the scar removed, and given no more thought to the subject. Obviously, that implant had controlled some other key functions, like his extended endurance. He wondered what else had changed. At least Ranka was too tired to notice. She was almost falling asleep. Smiling gently, he repeated his question in a louder voice. Ranka turned her face slightly so he could hear her voice clearly.

"Well, yes and no." She said tiredly. "It can get that busy when the sales are on, but generally no. The shop assistants have never acted like that to me before. I haven't been shopping for ages, since well before I made my debut. I didn't realize that people would recognise me on the street. Though, at least we did manage to get you some clothes."

Brera shook his head.

"I don't know how I am ever going to wear all of those clothes. There are too many."
Ranka smiled at him indulgently.

"We bought you a complete new wardrobe so that you would have clothes for every occasion. That's so you have a choice what to wear. Your school uniform order has been placed, and we even ordered a couple of suits for you for formal occasions, and they will all be delivered in a couple of days. Remember to hang them up properly…"

Ranka's voice was fading as she fought off sleep. She smiled to herself as she thought of all the clothes they had bought.

Ranka had been prepared to pay, but Brera had surprised her. He had informed her that he had more than enough money to cover the clothes, and she had been astonished at the amount in his account. They obviously paid well in the Special Forces. As Ranka looked at her brother though half-lidded eyes, she was pleased by what she saw. Gone was the bodysuit that had made him stand out, now he looked like any guy off the street.

He was wearing a pair of black denim jeans slung low on his hips with a skin-tight turquoise v-neck t-shirt. The v-neck was cut low enough to see an obsidian pendant on a black leather strap that was looped around his neck several times.

The jewellery had been added grudgingly, with Brera protesting every step of the way. Jewellery was for women, not men, he had argued. It was only after Ranka showed him all of the other teenagers wearing similar items that he had grudgingly purchased his own jewellery. While he had listened to her suggestions, he had chosen most of his clothes on his own. They had picked up his outfit in the first shop they had come to, though Brera had stubbornly refused to change into it initially. He had been eye-catching before, but he had also seemed dangerous, like a predator. After finally changing, he had become a sex-magnet for every woman in the vicinity. They had been the focus of attention at every clothes booth after that, with women falling over themselves to serve him. He had looked so cool in his new clothes, so completely comfortable that she couldn't believe he had never shopped before.

As Ranka looked at him now, sprawled in the armchair, he looked so relaxed and normal, it lightened her heart. She was so happy for him. Fighting off sleep, she stretched as she sat up and yawned, rubbing her eyes. She smiled sleepily. Next, she was Brera's presentation to the S.M.S crew. She had spoken to her adopted older brother Ozuma Lee about admitting Brera into the squad, so there would be no problems. She wondered what Alto's reaction to the news would be. She hoped they would get along, though considering their past history, she wasn't sure. Driven by that thought, she stood up and moved over to lean over Brera with her hands on her hips. He just looked at her, a neutral expression on his face.

"Now tomorrow, I want you to be nice to everyone ok? I know you and Alto haven't always gotten on well in the past, but you have to be nice to him tomorrow, ok?" Brera closed his eyes and sighed. He had been looking forward to needling the bluenette, but if Ranka asked him…

"Alright, I'll be friendly and play nice with everyone tomorrow, ok?" Ranka nodded. When Brera made her a promise, he didn't break it. It was a weight off her mind.

"Just think Nii-san, tomorrow's a Friday, so after the S.M.S. meeting, you can start school on Monday. Are you looking forward to it? You can see what normal guys the same age as you do with their lives." Brera gave an inward sigh. Given what had happened today, he wasn't really looking forward to it, but he knew what he was expected to say.

"Of course I'm looking forward to it. You have put in so much work for my sake. I really appreciate it." To his surprise, Brera actually felt warmth inside his chest. He was telling the truth, no one had ever done something for him before. The sheer effort Ranka was willing to put in to help him sort out his life was astonishing. And she did it all while making him feel completely welcome and cared for. He would never forget it. Brera stood up and gave her a clumsy hug. Ranka was so stunned it took her a minute to respond. They stood together for a moment before Brera pulled away. He had been alone for so long, he was uncomfortable getting to close to other people. Brera started walking towards the kitchen. Ranka watched him go, still stunned by his actions.

"As a thank you for all the help you have given me, I'll cook dinner tonight." As he walked out of the room, Ranka frowned. She had never heard of him being able to cook.

"Nii-san, have you ever cooked before?" she called. Brera kept walking.

"Of course." He said.

One Hour Later…

Brera glared at the smoking black mass sitting in the frying pan. He had decided to make a simple omelette for dinner, and the current mess was his third attempt. Cursing silently, he dumped the mess into the bin and put the pan into the sink to soak clean with the other dishes. Ranka chose that moment to carefully pop her head in the door. Brera began scrubbing the pan.

"Why don't we just go out for dinner tonight? I mean, I really appreciate the thought of you doing something for me, but I don't want you to get hurt in there." Ranka asked as she walked into the room and picked up a tea-towel to start drying the dishes. She sneaked a glance at him from under her lashes.

"You know, it's totally normal for guys to be unable to cook." She stated. Brera sighed.

"I can cook. Really, I have done so occasionally in the past. I don't know what's wrong with me today. I guess that control implant controlled more than I thought it did." He shook his head as they finished up the dishes.

"Let's go get some dinner then." Brera said with a smile. Ranka was frozen. When her brother smiled, he turned from good looking to HOT! Someone was going to be very lucky when they started to date Brera. She winced at the thought of his first day of school. She was so glad she had taken the day off to go to school with her brother. He wouldn't know what had hit him.

"Ranka?" Brera was staring at her.

"It's nothing, let's go!" She grabbed his hand with a smile, pushing aside her worries. First, dinner. Everything else could wait.

~END Prologue~