Your Back's Warm

By Fox McCloude

Disclaimer: Galaxy Angel and all related characters belong to BROCCOLI. All rights reserved.


Transbaal Calendar, Year 413…

"I can't believe you managed to barter with that guy."

"What can I say? When it comes to guns, I know a few negotiation tricks. Besides, I couldn't let pass the chance to get one of these babies."

The 'baby' in question was a very expensive and rare revolver, very old but in perfect working condition. A collection piece for an expert like Forte Stollen, whose gun-collecting hobby was well known by everyone. Her boyfriend, Tact Mayers, told her about a gun shop he knew in his birth planet, where she could probably find something for her collection, though warning her that the owner could be a little stingy about money.

Clearly, she'd underestimated the redhead's negotiator skills.

"You know, I would have gladly paid half the original price," Tact commented. "You could have saved a lot more that way."

"That would have been sweet of you," she said with a smile. "But hey, you're paying a lot for both of us on these vacations. And I still owe you a few of the lunches you treated me in the Elsior."

Tact had to hold back a chuckle. To say that he 'treated' her was a bit of a stretch, since it was more like Forte and the rest of the Angel Wing had dumped the bill for their meals at the ship's cafeteria without asking (which sometimes made him cry over how much his wallet suffered for it). And not only that, but she would also often steal nibbles of his own meal (especially when he ordered oden). And he'd only put up with it because, as their commander, he was responsible for the squadron's wellbeing, as it would literally afflict their battle performance.

Still, since he and Forte had begun dating each other, he didn't mind spending a little more money on her. After all she'd done for him during this time, no prize seemed too high to see her happy.

It seemed unbelievable, but in less than a year Tact felt he'd gotten more thrills than he could have wished for a lifetime. When he enrolled in the military academy, he intentionally sought to do the minimal effort to graduate and get assigned a job as simple as possible, to live his life without complications. And he did for a while, when he simply was tasked with patrolling the Transbaal Empire's borders, where nothing exciting would happen. Even when he got the news about the coup d'état perpetrated by Eonia at the capital, he was fully certain that none of that would find him in such a remote location.

How wrong he was.

"It's really been one year? Time surely flies," he said absently, gazing at the starry night above them.

"Yeah. It's a pity we missed our own anniversary date," Forte commented.

"Hey, that way we'll have more time to prepare the next," he said. "As long as we have no more trips to Another Space, of course."

Everything had been so fast, it seemed unbelievable. When the Angels showed up looking for him, and without much ceremony or fanfare he found himself as the commander of the Empire's most powerful ship. Admittedly, the biggest reason to agree to his old mentor's proposal was the prospect of having under his command a squad of beautiful and charming women, which he unabashedly admitted out loud.

Of course, things weren't as simple as he thought. But then again, he didn't imagine he would meet the love of his life among those girls, so it'd all been worth it in the end.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking… how did you became such a big firearms aficionado?" Tact asked.

Forte turned to see him, slightly raising an eyebrow behind her monocle. He never understood why she wore it, but then again, he never asked Lester about his eyepatch either. However, that hobby of hers seemed intrigued, and he'd wanted to ask her that question for quite a while.

"That's… a long and complicated story," said Forte. For some reason, it seemed like there was a degree of melancholy in her tone. Tact wondered if he'd touched a sensitive topic for her.

"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to…"

"Don't worry," Forte interrupted. "I'm not ashamed or anything, it's just… you've taken a while to ask me."

Tact let out a nervous chuckle. Admittedly, being a firearms collector wasn't an unusual hobby for someone in the military, so maybe that was why he never imagined there was some extraordinary story behind it.

Forte, for her part, took a deep breath before starting to talk. "In my home planet, things were pretty hard when I was a child. Due to its remote location, we were still suffering the Chrono Quake's effects. It wasn't easy to survive there. My parents had died in an accident, and me and my younger sister were left homeless."

"Wow… I'd never have imagined it."

"We weren't the only ones," Forte continued. "Truth be told, we ended up joining a small gang of orphans who became our new family. We had to steal food and anything else we could find to survive. It was tough, but… we managed, and we were happy with the little we had. Until…"

Tact held back the urge to gulp. Surely enough, the worst part of the story had to come next.

"Sneaking into the hideout of the city's mafia was probably not the best idea we had. Those guys didn't take well that a bunch of brats broke into their place to loot them. In hindsight, it was a miracle I got out of there alive. Maybe… the rage I felt when one of them gunned down my sister fueled me. I jumped him and bit his hand to take the gun…"

A chill went down the Elsior Commander's spine. It was hard to picture a Forte who'd act like that, when he'd always seen her calm and levelheaded. Even during battles, when she got excited about taking down the enemy, she never lost her composure.

"W-well, he took your sister from you, you took his gun. I'd call that a fair deal," Tact remarked.

"Maybe. Though after that, I rarely used that gun to shoot someone. I just had it for intimidation. It wasn't until the military came to put order in my planet that things got better for me… and that I really learned how to use guns."

From there on out, Forte began telling him how she was arrested, despite being underage, when the military did a raid on an abandoned building she was hiding in, and a gang of con artists had set up for a base. At first, they almost believed she was one of them, and it didn't help she had the revolver on her when they registered her. Fortunately, one of the officers seemed willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

That same officer extended his hand, offering her to enlist on the military, and later became his instructor, teaching him how to use a gun. From there on out she started taking a bigger interest in them, on collecting them, to learn how they worked, etcetera. Of course, he also taught him other related, more important lessons.

"… and he told me guns should be used to protect others, not to hurt or kill in cold blood. It all depends on who uses them and how." She pulled out her usual revolver for target practice in the Elsior. "When I graduated from the academy, he gave me this, saying that he trusted I would know how to use it."

"Wow." Tact was amazed once she finished her story. "That sounds… pretty deep."

That gave a lot more sense to the events a few months ago. When the Happy Trigger was sabotaged, and opened fire against Elsior against Forte's will, it was no surprise that she was so traumatized, to the point of being unable to hold a gun. Firearms, aside from her hobby, were also her way to protect herself and her loved ones. The Angel Wing, everyone else in the Elsior… and of course, him.

Both continued to walk silently a little longer. Night had fallen on the city, and at the moment he just wanted to return to the hotel to rest and relax. After their little walk across town, the idea of a quiet diner with Forte, and taking a bath in the hot springs before going to sleep sounded too tempting to pass it over.

With all they'd been through, both of them had earned it.

Back at the hotel, before heading for the springs Tact and Forte stopped by the room so she could store away her new piece for her collection in her suitcase. Much to his surprise, when he tried to enter the male bath, Forte blocked his way and said they'd enter the mixed one, together. A very nervous Tact tried to negotiate, but Forte replied they were both adults, and it was time for them to have a more 'intimate' approach, especially now they were alone.

It was weird; even though he was formally her superior, when it came to their relationship outside work she seemed to be the one wearing the pants. Tact reluctantly accepted, though he made an effort to keep his eyes shut and resist the impulse to ogle more than he should.

They ended up sitting in the middle of the small pond, back to back. Being like that brought some memories, still fresh in his mind.

"We hadn't sit this way in a long time," Forte commented, after a long silence. "Your shoulders are broader than I remember."

"You think so?" he replied. "Well, I don't know if it's the water's heat, but… your back feels warmer too."

She heard Forte chuckle at his remark. Both of them knew what he was talking about, as it wasn't the first time they sat this way. He'd never forget it; at the time he was worried about the situation, and he wasn't sure if he should share his suspicions with the rest of the Angels, out of fear of demoralizing them. Forte seemingly realized this, and upon telling him to meet her at the Space Whale's room, they ended playing in the water like children, and then sat for a talk, just like now, back to back.

"Do you remember what I told you then?" Forte asked.

"You told me many things," Tact replied. "I remember something like… someone who doesn't value his own life has no right to take care of others."

"Yeah, I said that. I wasn't gonna let you carry that burden by yourself. I could see how much you cared for us, and for the rest of the crew. I wasn't sure if it was my place, but… it looked like you needed a hand."

"And I really appreciated it," he replied.

In hindsight, maybe that was the moment he started to have feelings for the redhead. All the Angels were beautiful and charming in their own way, but Forte was the first person who actively tried to approach him that way. She had no filter to tell him what she thought of him, but instead of judging him, she made an effort to understand him, and give him some pushes in the right direction to help him improve. Without her watching his back, he wouldn't have made it as far as he did.

Forte Stollen was, no doubt, an amazing woman. The more he knew about her, the more attractive he found her. There was still so much he didn't know of her, but the mystery only made him more eager to learn of her.

Admiral Luft was right when he said that his choice in the Fargo dance could determine his future. From there on out, they would be no longer just a commanding officer and his subordinate; from that moment onwards, he no longer saw Forte as the leader of the Angel Wing, but as the woman who'd won his heart.

What he believed would be a dance to say goodbye turned out to be just the beginning of a new stage in his life. More than just choosing his date for the dance, at that moment he chose the woman with whom he wanted to share the rest of his life.

"Hey, Forte…"

"Hmm?"

"I know I've told you this many times, but… thanks."

"And why're you thanking me now?" she replied, a bit amused. It was no surprise; he'd always find new reasons to thank her for anything.

"For being with me all this time," Tact replied. "I guess it must not be easy, to take care of someone like me."

"Someone like you? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know why I was so reluctant to take command of the Elsior?" he asked, rather emphatically.

"Because you wanted a simple and quiet job, without worries or complications?" Forte replied.

"Haha, yeah, there was that, but it wasn't the only reason," he confessed. "To be honest… I never felt capable of being in command. I didn't want to accept promotions to higher ranks because I didn't consider myself able to handle the responsibilities. I've always believed that… authority undermines relationships, and makes people more distant."

That was another reason why he specifically requested the Angel Wing to call him by first name instead of rank. He wanted to establish a closer relationship, as friends… and maybe, if the chance appeared, something else. He never actually thought it'd come to that, but he was wrong.

"But meeting you girls changed everything. You know, something Wein told me made me think… how could a woman like you fall for a guy like me? Even if it made me doubt for a while, I realized you accepted me because you saw something in me, something I couldn't see myself."

"Tact…"

"You told me you trusted me, that I could watch your back. So I told myself I had to be a better man. Better than I am now, so I can stand by your side."

"Oi, don't undersell yourself. You've learned to watch over me too," she replied. " Or did you forget when you took me to the infirmary and forced me to rest?"

"Haha, yeah. Did that annoy you?"

"No, not at all," her voice lowered to almost a whisper. "That was very… manly of you."

A chill went down Tact's back. He couldn't help but get turned on whenever she spoke in that seductive voice, and it wasn't easy to resist the urge to turn around and hold her in his arms. Though at the moment, something in him told him that she wouldn't mind if he tried.

"You've become a wonderful man, Tact," Forte continued. "But I know you can be even more."

"You think so?"

"You'll have to be," Forte said very sternly. "After all, I'm sure we'll have many challenges in the future."

"You're right." He nodded. "We freed EDEN from the Valfask, who knows what else could be waiting for beyond the empire's borders. Or if they'll come back for another go."

"Well, whatever it is, we'll face it together. Just like everything else."

Tact nodded again. That was how they'd come through every time so far. Despite what they believed, and even after defeating the Valfask Emperor, they knew better that conflicts wouldn't end with the fall of a supreme leader. It had been like that with Eonia, and since the Valfask were still out there, it'd take a lot of effort to achieve true peace. It wouldn't be easy, but not impossible either.

Whatever the future entailed, they'd face it together. He'd always watch Forte's back, and she'd watch Tact's, no matter what.

FIN.


Author's notes:

What's up, people? Well, felt like trying a new fandom over here. Due to the past few months having finger pains (I'm having a trigger finger in my right hand, and the middle finger in the left starts to annoy me too), that had killed my writing drive, I've gone to therapy to at least mitigate the pain. To recover my momentum, I decided to get one or two short stories out of my head before retaking my usual fics.

Now, let's get down about this oneshot. I was one of those lucky to have Animax in the cable and satellite operator, and watched the Galaxy Angel anime at the start of the 2000s, one of my favorites thanks to all the laughs it gave me with all the madness and crazy adventures the characters got into. For the record, Forte was my favorite for being the one who made me laugh the most, with her explosive temper and going guns ablazing when she was angry. However, many people don't know what the videogame series the anime was supposed to be based on, and after playing the first trilogy in the past months, somehow Forte became my favorite in the gameverse as well, although for different reasons.

Whatever, at this point I've completed the first two games at 100%, and in the third I've already completed Milfeulle, Ranpha and Forte's routes (and I've almost finished Mint's), and seeing the platform here doesn't have any material with Forte as the protagonist, I figured I could contribute something. Sometimes to remove a writer's block for any reason, all you need is to get something out of your head, and the rest comes out naturally. Hopefully this'll help me regain my spark to write.

I guess that's all. Hope you enjoyed this little oneshot, until next time!