Here we go with the Tact and Mint route and this begins around Chapter four of the main story.

A Shy Appreciation (Mint Route)

It had been a few days since I first joined the Angel Wing thanks to Tact's command and since then, I had become good friends with the girls, but there was one girl that I particularity liked a little more the others, Vanilla H. I wasn't sure what it was about her that made me interested in her. Was it her quietness, was it her dedication to helping everyone out on the ship? Whatever it was, I believed that I would be the one to help her see that life can be much happier than she thinks.

I was working on my frame and Vanilla was working on hers, we were the only two in the hanger since the maintenance crew were helping out with the supplies. I walked over to her after I was done checking my frame, it was time for to make the next step.

"Hi Vanilla." I said.

"Hello Arnold." she replied. "You doing well?"

"Sure am, I'm doing my best to keep my sugar level from dropping."

"Good." She turned to face me. "Do you need something?"

"Kind of, everybody seems happy with the supplies being delivered. I was about to join, but I was wondering if you'd like to join."

"No, there are still things left to do."

"But shouldn't you take time off and just relax?"

"I would consider that, but do you mind if I return to work?"

I could see this was close to getting nowhere, it was time to raise my charm level. "You're really great, Vanilla and you work very hard, but there's something I want to do for you."

"What do you mean?"

I stood behind her and put my hands on her shoulders. "Your shoulders must be stiff."

"Ah..." she gasped slightly, she may have been blushing.

"Oh...your shoulders sore...sorry about that."

She blushed a little more. "N-n-n-no...I'm okay."

I began to massage her shoulders. "They seem very stiff, don't you feel a little pain?"

"N-n-not particularly, is there something wrong with my body?"

"I don't think so, but I think your tiredness must be making your muscles stiff."

"Really? I feel the same as usual."

"Haven't you noticed, your neck must be also stiff." I moved my hands to around her lower neck lines and massaged it very gently. "When I massage your shoulders and neck like this, you'll get better circulation and your muscles will feel better."

"I certainly do feel a little better...thank you very much, Arnold."

I smiled. "It's my pleasure, Vanilla. Think of it as doing a favour for you in return for how much you've done for all of us."

She looked to the front. "No...I'm just doing the work given to me."

"But you don't need to concentrate on work so much. As an angel wing member, I can't help but be worried for you when you don't take a break."

"There is no need to worry, but thank you for your concern."

I stopped the massage. "If your muscles feel stiff in future and you want a shoulder and neck massage, just come to me."

"I will try to remember...there's still maintenance left to do."

"Yeah, I understand. Don't push yourself too hard."

"Yes...please excuse me..." She went back to her frame.

I left the hanger with a smile on my face, my charm level worked like...well, like a charm.

In the battles that followed, I had went from good friends to close friends with the angels and ever since the shoulder massage I gave to Vanilla, she had started to become a little less shy and more willing to accept a little bit of help, although it's been only me she's offered to help her, I hoped that soon she would accept help from the others.

It was the early morning after the Kafukafu fever died down a few days ago, I was confused on why it didn't affect me, Milfie or Tact. I was resting on the beach in the Whale Room when Vanilla walked in and she seemed to be a tiny bit wobbly although she was trying hard to not show it.

"Morning Vanilla." I said to her.

"Oh...m-m-m-morning Arnold." She replied, blushing. "You're awake early."

I sat up to look at her clearly. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep last night, because I was getting worried about you and about how much you've been working on curing everyone on the ship that had caught the fever."

"But I seem to be okay...actually, could you help me feed the space rabbits?"

"Your wish is my command." I got up and walked with her to the greenhouse that was near Kuromie's office.

"Good morning Vanilla and morning, Arnold." Kuromie greeted. "I don't see you here often, is there something special?"

"I'm just helping Vanilla out with the space rabbits."

Vanilla handed me some lettuce. "Here, hand these out gently and slowly, they're easily frightened."

"I'll do my best." I kneeled down and handed out some lettuce to one of the space rabbits who hopped and began nibbling on the food.

Vanilla meanwhile put down a bowl of some juice to the other space rabbits and they took small sips. My heart nearly skipped a beat because it was such a cute scene of Vanilla watching over the space rabbits, if she was holding one of them, it would be worth a picture to take.

"Do you like Vanilla?" Kuromie asked quietly

"Eh, was it you that asked that?" I asked back.

"Actually, it was the Space Whale. He also says that something wonderful could happen but it's up to you to make it happen."

I was smiling, happy to do be doing something for Vanilla whilst kneeling beside her. When the space rabbits were done, Vanilla got up but she was wobbling before her body started to collapse, thankfully I was there to grab her in time. I carried her to the infirmary where Doctor Cera was there to help out whilst I made a quick call to Tact.

A few minutes later, I sat beside Vanilla who was sleeping peacefully on the bed, I held her hand and it was that point that I began to feel close to her.

"Awww..." Cera sighed. "...you like her a lot, don't you?"

I blushed. "Umm...yeah, I do like her."

"Well I think you could be her man that wants to protect her and to be honest, I hope you do your best to help her smile and enjoy her life."

"I'll do whatever I can to make it possible."

The next day in the lounge, I was with the girls and Tact and we could only think of Vanilla.

"So Arnold." Forte said. "I hear that you were in the infirmary longer than all of us when we were visiting her."

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it." Ranpha added. "Arnold, do you like Vanilla?"

"Huh?" I gasped, trying not to blush. "I was just doing what any close friend would do."

"Yeah, he was just being there for her." Milfie added. "Like any of us would."

"But you do like her a little more than the rest of us, right?" Mint asked.

I blushed slightly, hoping Mint would not use her telepathy.

"Your face tells the story." Forte teased. "We're not letting you off the hook like that."

"No girls, leave him be." Tact intervened. "These things take time, so let's not make him uncomfortable."

"In that case, who do you like, Tact?" Ranpha asked.

Mint looked away, trying not to show her tiny blush, maybe she liked Tact a bit.

Vanilla then turned up and she seemed okay. "Hello everyone."

"Vanilla!" Milfie said happily. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Thank you...I will not push myself too hard any more."

"That's good to know." Tact replied.

I just smiled at her, happy that she was going to learn to take things easier from now on.

When we got word that we were invited to the Ball at Fargo, I straight away thought of who to pick as my dance partner, believing that it was time for the next step to be close to Vanilla. I went to her room and I was about to call for her when Tact showed up with a bouquet of flowers and he stood outside Mint's room.

"Hi Arnold, I guess we both have the same idea." Tact said.

"Kind of." I replied before pushing on the button on Vanilla's door. "Vanilla, it's me, mind if I come in?"

"Arnold...please come in." she replied.

Tact gave me a rose from his bouquet. "Good luck to you." He said.

"Same to you." I replied as I walked into Vanilla's room with the rose behind my back.

"Vanilla, I had a think about the offer you girls made."

"I understand...have you made your choice?"

"I have, but first, please accept this." I handed her a rose and she took it.

"A rose...t-t-thank you very much, Arnold."

"I have also made my choice..." I grabbed her hand. "Vanilla, I choose you as my date and my dance partner for the ball."

"Ah!" Vanilla gasped before she blushed in bright red. "A-a-a-Arnold...are you r-r-really okay with me?"

I smiled. "Of course, would you allow me to escort you?"

"Y-y-y-yes...I am in your care." She put the rose in a vase next to the other flower she kept.

"Then I have an idea, shall we go into Fargo and shop for clothing for the ball?"

Vanilla nodded. "T-t-that would be nice...Mint recommended a fashion store that is a walk away from the Elsior."

"Well if Mint says so, then it must be a trendy place. Speaking of Mint, I saw Tact standing outside her room, I think he's made his choice."

"Yes...don't tell anyone, but Mint has grown fond of Tact for some time, I think she'll be happy to be chosen as his date."

"I'm sure they'll have a good time at the ball. But for now, let's go shopping, I'll escort you all the way."

She blushed again. "Yes...t-t-thank you, Arnold."

I took her hand and we left her room and out of the Elsior and into the city of Fargo. The place was quite crowded, poor Vanilla got close to getting lost a few times.

"Arnold, are you here?" She asked.

"I'm right next to you." I replied. "You wanna hold my arm?"

"That would be best." She wrapped her arms around my arm, almost a little tight so she wouldn't let go.

We eventually found the store that Mint recommended and whilst Vanilla picked a dress she liked, I chose a trendy suit that fitted me and my style to almost perfection.

We both got the clothing we wanted and we took a sit down by a bench near the park entrance. I was sitting close to Vanilla and she was blushing once more.

"Are you okay, Vanilla?" I asked.

"F-f-f-forgive me, Arnold. I feel a little...light headed." She replied. "I feel...strange somehow...my pulse is pounding."

"I think it's because you're nervous. Don't worry about it, I'm sure that you and I will have a wonderful time when the Ball arrives."

"I hope so too..."

When the day of the ball arrived, I and the five girls were there and Tact hadn't arrived yet. I was in my trendy suit and I looked at Vanilla who was in her dress, she looked like a beautiful galaxy angel, no pun intended. The other angels were looking fabulous as well.

"Arnold, how do I look?" Vanilla asked.

"Beautifully gorgeous." I replied.

"Now that's how you compliment a woman's dress." Forte said. "Tact could learn a lot from you."

I smirked. "If Tact was with me, he wouldn't last a minute, but we already knew that."

"Ha ha ha!" Mint laughed. "Oh you, Arnold...still, I hope Tact gets here soon."

Then speak of the devil, he arrived in a rush, noticing us in our smart clothing. We all left Tact and Mint alone to let them have a good time. Then the girls left me and Vanilla and that was when the slow music began to play, Vanilla was feeling shy as a few people began to move around the dance-floor.

Background music: Galaxy Angel - Last Dance

"Shall we dance, my fair lady?" I offered.

Vanilla blushed. "I-I-I've never danced before."

"It's easy to learn...if you let me. I promised you that you would be in my care."

"Y-y-yes...you did. Then please show me."

I put my left arm around her waist as I held her hand with mine and put her right arm on my shoulder. "Follow my lead, okay?"

She nodded.

We moved and around the floor to the waltz steps, Vanilla was able to get the hang of it pretty well. We never once stopped looking into each others eyes, my blue eyes were always desired, but her red eyes...now that I had the chance to look properly, I was drawn to them. I really liked her more than ever before, maybe she could be the one.

"Look, is that Tact and Mint?" she asked as we continued to dance.

I looked over to see them dancing together. "Oh yeah...they do look good together, despite the height difference."

"What about us?"

I looked back at her. "I say our heights don't matter, what's important is that we enjoy every day as it comes along and I want to help you cherish each one as a moment is created whether it's a moment for you, for me or for any of our close friends."

That was when I witnessed a moment I wanted to immediately cherish...she smiled.

Background music ends

But it wasn't to last as Fargo was under attack by Eonia's fleet, we pushed them back only to witness the arrival of the Black Moon. We were at a moment of despair until the angel wings appeared from our frames and we took the fight back once more. When we had a quick briefing with Creta and Tact who was assigned to resume his role as commander of the ship which made us all happy, our next destination was to travel to the White Moon.

After a quick resupply was finished, I noticed two supply merchants carrying off a huge animal costume which was weird, maybe Mint didn't like that one. I walked back to my room and Vanilla had just come out of hers. "Hi Arnold..." she said nervously.

"Hi Vanilla." I replied. "Is there something wrong?"

"I-I-I-I didn't get the chance to tell you because of earlier...thank you for the date." she began to blush. "You taught me how to dance and I'll never forget it...but that's not all. The lives that were lost at Fargo and planet Rhome."

"Yeah..." I sighed sadly.

She looked away, feeling sad. "What are we going to do?"

I took her hand. "We're not going to allow any more sadness, that's all we can do...and we have to do everything we can."

She looked back at me. "I...I believe that too...you're s-s-still holding on to my hand."

I blushed. "Oh...sorry, did you not want your hand to be held?"

"I didn't mind...it was warm." She turned around. "Excuse me, I have to take care of BunBun. We can talk again later..."

"Okay, I'll be in the my guest room if you need me."

Vanilla nodded and walked off whilst I went into my room and took a much needed rest after having to deal three battles among other issues.

Suddenly, I heard rushed footsteps outside my room. I walked out of mine to see Tact just coming out of Mint's room.

"Woah! What's going on?" I asked.

"Arnold, it's bad!" Milfie exclaimed. "Mint has been kidnapped!"

I blinked. "Kidnapped? But how?"

"The mascot costume I saw earlier." Vanilla replied. "Mint must've been inside."

Forte sighed. "To think that Mint's father would go this far to bring her back to the Blamanche family home."

"It's inexcusable! That man should be ashamed!" Ranpha yelled. "Well Tact, what are you going to do?"

Tact didn't seem to hesitate. "I'm going to bring her back, I don't care what her father thinks. Mint is a valuable part of the Angel Wing and I care for her."

"Good answer, Tact." I replied. "Now you better get a shuttle or something and fly down to the family home, we'll be leaving soon for the White Moon."

Tact rushed off to the hanger whilst the rest of us had to wait and hope for good news.

Sometime later, the shuttle returned and I had held Vanilla's hand. Out came Tact and Mint and she was safe, much to our relief.

After a tour of the White Moon and a bucket load of new knowledge pounded into our heads, all we had to do was wait until the final battle that was set for tomorrow. Eonia's fleet would be on it's way along with the Black Moon and Tact was doing has last routine check before the upcoming event.

I wanted to sleep well, but I wasn't able to. "I know...maybe the calm noise of the waves can solve this dilemma."

I left my guest room and went down to the Whale Room, I wasn't sure if it was Milfie's luck or just fate, but I noticed Vanilla by the beach-side.

"Evening Vanilla." I said as I sat down by her.

"Oh...e-e-evening, Arnold." She replied, blushing. "Are you okay?"

"Let's say that I can't sleep...I just can't stop thinking about tomorrow."

"I see...I am the same. Tomorrow...what's going to happen?"

"The way I see it, I think it's going to be the hardest battle we've had to face." I looked at her. "But I'm going to try my hardest to make sure you're not busy with repairs."

"I...don't mind if I'm busy...I'll do what I can to help you and everyone else we care about."

"It's wonderful that we can think alike."

Vanilla nodded. "But after that...if we win, what will we do next?"

"Hmm, that is a good question...I think we would return to the White Moon whilst Tact goes off on a frontier search for Lost Technology and I think Mint would be going with him."

She looked at me. "And what about us?"

"You and me?"

"Yes...do you think we can be...m-m-more than c-c-close friends?" She was blushing bright red.

I was almost taken back, I didn't expect Vanilla to ask something like that. Maybe I had helped her change for the better in some way. "More than friends?"

"Yes...I must tell you the truth...I have grown to like you ever since you joined the angel wing. With Tact's help, he showed me about how I should enjoy my life more happily and that I should share it with someone who I would...want to be with."

"Yeah, I think a lot of us did help along the way."

"So...do you want to be with me...because I want to make...memories...with you." she then looked away, thinking that I was hesitating. "...s-s-s-sorry..."

"Sorry? I haven't answered yet because I was in shock."

She began to sniff. "I...see...I'm bothering you...aren't I?"

Oh this was going south fast and Ranpha and Forte will kick my ass if I don't sort this quickly. I moved and kneeled in front of her, I put my right hand on her facial cheek and held her right hand with my left hand. Her innocent face and her red eyes that glowed under the moonlight, I finally had my answer and smiled.

"Vanilla...you're not bothering me at all...I want to be with you too."

She looked at me. "Really?"

I nodded. "I swear on it...I also want to be more than close friends."

She gasped silently. "You do?"

"Believe me...for our sake, I'll try to...no, I will do my best to fight and win...for you and me...nothing would make me happier than to be with you too, no matter what."

Background Music: Galaxy Angel - A Peaceful Time

Vanilla smiled. "Arnold...I am so glad...ever since Sister Beryl died, I'd always felt alone somehow. I always tried to avoid other people as much as I could. But then, I met you and I began to...have these feelings for you...but I was very shy and I was scared that you...didn't feel the same."

I nodded. "To be honest...I was a little shy as well, but as a guy I had to be brave and start getting to know you which is how it led us to where we are now."

"When I'm with you...those feelings I had when I lived with Sister Beryl came back...when I'm with you, I feel warm."

I put my hands around her waist. "I understand the feeling...when I'm with you too, I feel happy."

"Then...can I give you something, Arnold?" she asked, almost whispering.

"Sure, I'll receive anything you wish to give me."

"Thank you..." she puts her hands on my shoulder and she moved her lips towards my cheek and kissed me. "...it's for tomorrow. Ranpha taught me it before I came to this room."

I blushed. "I see...then can I respond in kind?"

"Please..."

I moved my head and I kissed her on the cheek, causing her to blush. "Vanilla, no matter what happens tomorrow, I'll take great care of you."

She smiled back. "Yes...and I will take great care of you too...so we can create our memories together."

"Alright, that sounds like a great idea. We should get back to our rooms and rest for tomorrow."

"Yes...we'll do our very best."

We left the Whale Room holding hands and with smiles, happy that we took a step forward, no longer close friends but as a couple.

Background music ends

So as you can see, I've skipped the last few battles since they're not really needed in this What If chapter.

Up next, Tact & Mint's relationship hits a bumpy road in Moonlit Lovers and Arnold & Vanilla try to have their first real kiss.