The Past and Future

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts'

"Speech over phone or terminal"

Setsuna

Setsuna sat next to Feldt in the taxi that he, Feldt, Christina and Lichty were in. They were headed to Harocon, a local convention and Setsuna, after some prodding by his girlfriend and Christina, had agreed to do a couple's cosplay with Feldt. The process had started in November, as Christina said that the con was in February and she needed time to actually make the costume. He had asked why she did it and her response was, "I need to do something fun with my degree."

Feldt and him had talked and ultimately decided on going as a couple from the Battlemech series called Lady Rose Brennan and Lord Brandon Brennan. Setsuna had a vague idea who they were, knowing they were big characters in the setting, but had to ask Feldt about the details. She went on a mild ramble session, saying they were a married couple who fought together on the battlefield after they were in an arranged marriage to resolve a war between their families. He swore he saw her eyes shining by the end. 'Well, she is a sucker for romance.' The convenient part for the two of them was neither had to dye their hair, besides Feldt, who normally dyed her hair pink.

Christina had finished their costume, along with hers and Lichty's, by January. Feldt and Setsuna's costume was a matching formal military uniform, with a dark blue top with a white stripe down the center and red shoulder guards. On the left breast was a shield with a badger silhouette, the symbol of Brandon's house. A pair of black pants and marching boots completed the outfit. Setsuna would have to brush his normally messy hair and Feldt had to put her hair in a tight bun on the back of her head. He had to admit his girlfriend looked really good in a military uniform. He had to contain himself initially when he saw her, which she saw and blushed prettily at.

He looked over to the other two members of their party. Christina was in a unitard that had a small pink skirt attached. She had a small wand and her hair was in two buns. Lichty was in a full suit, top hat, long cape and a domino mask. Apparently the characters were from an anime that Christina watched as a kid and still loved. Christina smiled and gave Setsuna and Feldt a warm smile, "You guys ready?" Both of them nodded. Christina continued, "It's so cute to see you two together cosplaying!"

Feldt blushed, "Thank you for doing our costumes."

Christina shook her head, "It's no problem. It was worth it to see Setsuna actually dress up for once outside of work." She paused for a second before continuing in a teasing voice, "I have to say, you look real good in a uniform Setsuna. Feldt was lucky to snatch you up."

Lichty rolled his eyes, "Chris, I'm right here."

Christina kissed him on the cheek, "Well you look good in a suit and I can't wait to get it off you tonight." Lichty just smirked at that, his cheeks turning pink.

Feldt made a fake puking sound, "Can you not do this in front of us? I didn't need to know that."

The brown-haired girl looked Feldt right in the eyes, "Well I can hear you make out with your boyfriend and I don't need to know that." Setsuna chuckled as Feldt looked down at the ground in embarrassment. She then looked up at him for any help.

He smirked at her, "Sorry sweetheart, you do get into it." Her face went bright red as she hid it on Setsuna's chest, whimpering slightly.

The car came to a stop and the driver called out that they had arrived. Getting out of the car, the four of them saw the large convention center and a huge amount of people milling about. Setsuna admitted he had seen larger places and people, as he had been moving constantly from military base to base since he was a kid, but he had never seen so many people in costumes, some he recognized and most he had no idea who or what they were. 'Let's see what happens'

The four made their way in, purchasing tickets and getting an armband to show they could come and go as they pleased. As they entered the building, there was hustle and bustle as crowds of people movie through the halls and the rest of the venue. The group began to wander the building, seeing what was going on and they eventually separated, Christina saying they would meet in the lobby of the building in the afternoon if they didn't find each other earlier.

Left on their own, Setsuna let Feldt guide him, seeing as this was his first convention. She confidently guided him through the halls, gawking at costumes on other people and happily blushing when people complimented hers. He could see the happiness oozing off of her and it was infectious, even spreading to him. While this certainly wasn't his favorite place to be, he could see himself going to this event with her every year. 'It's only a few days anyway.' This was a place where her hobby was celebrated, so it would only be natural. One thing he did notice that caught his attention was a man getting dragged out by security, and an angry woman in a skimpy costume glaring at the man getting dragged away.

He looked at Feldt curiously, "What's going on there?"

Feldt let out a sigh, "Some people can be a bit…handsy with people, especially ones that wear revealing costumes like that girl is wearing."

"Does it happen often?"

Feldt frowned, "More often than it should." Setsuna gave her a worried look, which she caught. She held his hand in hers, "Don't worry, it's never happened to me. But thanks for worrying." She kissed him on the cheek and they continued, Setsuna keeping a closer eye on the people around. Feldt guided them to main selling area of the market and he could already see her eyes that she wanted the whole market. There were comics, figures, games, art and even more. He spotted mech models out of the corner of his eye. He laughed, "Feldt, remember your wallet has a limit."

She pouted at him, "I know, but there's so much stuff!"

Setsuna shrugged, "It's your credit card."

She looked up at him, eyes begging, "Maybe you can help me…?"

Setsuna stared into her eyes, trying to resist, but eventually lost the contest, looking away, "Fine, but only because you are too cute to resist sometimes." Feldt let out a cheer as he rolled his eyes and she dragged him through the market, picking up a few small figurines, including a red haro, which she did a small dance when she grabbed it. Despite some cost to his wallet, seeing her so happy and excited brought a smile to his face.

As she shopped with him more, she looked at him curiously, "Is there anything you want?"

His eyes glanced over at the models, "Well I'm looking for a model for us to work on."

Her eyes had a happy glean, "Oh, then go ahead! Don't let me stop you! I'll be over there, looking at some manga!" They kissed then separated, going off their own way. Setsuna swore he saw Christina taking pictures with Lichty. 'Christina seems to enjoy the attention, which doesn't surprise me.' Moving over to the Battlemech stand, he scanned the options. 'What to get?'

Feldt

Feldt exited the bathroom, looking around for her boyfriend. They had finished shopping and he had picked out the mech he used at first in the game and she had gotten a few volumes of the slice of life manga she was reading. She had had to go to the bathroom, so he said he would wait nearby.

Craning her head, she spotted something that caught her by surprise. She could see Setsuna leaning away from a woman who was getting into his personal space. The woman was basically half naked, wearing a bikini top, short shorts and thigh highs. She also wore a blue wig with a long ponytail, at least she thought it was. She was also holding up her phone in one of her hands. She swore she remembered seeing that character somewhere, but it escaped her mind, anger at this woman for harassing her clearly annoyed boyfriend. And in the back of her mind, worry about losing Setsuna began to creep in.

Feldt marched up to the pair, trying to draw this woman's attention. The woman turned away from Setsuna and to face her, putting her hands on her waist, sounding annoyed, "Who are you? I would appreciate you moving along."

Feldt glared at the blue-haired woman, "I would appreciate you leaving my boyfriend alone. I don't want to have to call security."

The woman narrowed her eyes, "So you are the beater model he picked up." She turned to look at Setsuna, "I thought you had better taste than that. Ah well, not everything can be perfect."

Setsuna glared at her, "Nena…"

Nena ran a finger down his chest as she moved closer to him, "I can be so much more than her. You just have to go with the better model."

Setsuna was about to say something, eyes burning with anger, but Feldt stepped in, shoving Nena back, "I don't know your relationship with him, but he's my boyfriend, get out of his face!" Feldt stood between Nena and Setsuna, the raven-haired hand wrapping an arm around her waist from behind. Feldt noticed in her peripheral vision that people were beginning to stare.

Nena face began to turn red from anger, "Well what can you offer that I can't?!"

Feldt smirked at her, feeling new confidence flow through her, "This." She turned around and pulled Setsuna into a deep and passionate kiss, satisfaction and pleasure coursing through her. Breaking the kiss after several seconds, Feldt once again smirked at the scantily dressed woman, smirking. Nena, spotting the attention they were gathering, growled and glared at Feldt before marching off in a huff. The sense of victory caused Feldt to puff her chest, her defending her man successfully. The crowd that had been looking at them began to disperse, leaving the two of them on the side of a moderately busy hall.

Setsuna looked down at her, grinning at her, "Thanks for the saving me. Nena is a…pushy woman." He pecked her on the lips, blushing.

Feldt smiled back at him, "Well if you have to defend me sometimes, then I have to do the same. So how how did you know-"

Feldt heard a noise approaching her as suddenly a body ran into her back. Hitting the wall next to her, she turned to see it was Christina, Lichty moving to catch up with her. Chris's voice was full of pride, "Look at you! I saw how you defended your man! You keep your territory safe!"

Setsuna gave her a deadpan look, "So I'm territory now?"

Christina nodded, "Yep. You are Feldt's territory, just like Lichty is mine!"

Lichty, having caught up, sighed, "Chris, you know you sound weird when you say that."

She stuck out her tongue at him, "Yet you still date me, so you can't complain." Lichty tried to reply, but stopped before he could, moving besides his girlfriend.

The adrenaline from seeing Nena rushed out, leaving Feldt feeling tired. The fear of losing Setsuna also leaked in a little, her eyes reflecting that. Christina continued, not noticing the look in her eyes, "So how about we explore together now? We still have the afternoon ahead of us!"

Feldt looked at her regretfully, not wanting to ruin her happy mood, but the pink-haired girl knew she needed a break, "Christina, I need to get some air. I'll text you when I-"

"-We are ready." Setsuna interrupted her, catching her by surprise by finishing her sentence.

She looked at him, happy yet confused, "You can hang out with them. It will only be a couple minutes."

Setsuna shook his head at that, smiling, "I want to go with you. I could use some air too." She could hear concern in her voice, causing her heart to race slightly.

Christina looked to join them, but Lichty interrupted her, "Chris, let's give them space. Feldt will text us when she's ready."

Christina pouted but backed down, quickly switching to a smile, directing her attention at Feldt, "Well don't take too long. We have a lot to explore! And we have that voice actor panel you wanted to show me!"

Feldt responded with a happy tone, "Don't worry, we won't." With that, Lichty was led off by the brown-haired girl, telling her to slow down. Setsuna and Feldt laughed at the scene and the raven-haired man grabbed their bags, the two of them making their outside, her holding onto his free arm.

As they hit the cold air of February, Feldt took a deep breath, her nerves relaxing from the recent scene. She had never really been that assertive before or at the very least have gotten so angry over something so personal. She hoped Setsuna was ok with her kissing him. PDA like that wasn't something they normally did.

Setsuna pointed out a bench to her and they sat down, Setsuna putting down the bags and her quietly intertwining their hands. He spoke softly, looking into her sea green eyes, "Are you ok?"

She shook her head, "When I saw you talking to Nena, I had a second of worry that I would lose you, that you would go with her. That went away when I saw how uncomfortable you were, but it still shook me."

He softly kissed before he spoke, "Feldt, you are the only woman for me. If I had wanted Nena, then we wouldn't have gotten together." He saw Feldt frown at the last part, so he grinned at her, "Besides, you are more attractive than she ever will be." Feldt's frown shifted to a bashful look, cheeks pink.

Feldt murmured quietly, "Well that's good." She coughed, raising her voice to normal levels, "So how did you meet her? She seemed… really aggressive."

Setsuna sighed, "She was a girl I had a few classes with at college. She thought I was hot and stalked me, which eventually got her in trouble and she transferred to another university, but I still had to block her on all the social media I had. The last I had heard of her, she did streaming stuff. Never expected her to show up again." Feldt could see the annoyance and frustration cross Setsuna's face and she squeezed his hand, causing him to slightly smile.

She smiled back at him, "I'm sorry you had to deal with that. No one should be harassed like that. I feel bad for any guy or girl that would have to deal with her."

Setsuna gave her a warm smile, "Thanks. And she would be a pain to date, most likely." He pulled her into another kiss, which lasted several seconds, and he rested a hand on her cheek, "Feldt, if I ever wanted to break up with you, I would tell you." Setsuna smirked, "But I don't think that's going to happen. I'm yours till the end of time."

Feldt's blush matched her hair color, "Oh."

Setsuna smirked, "Oh?"

She shoved him lightly, "You can't tell a girl that and expect a response right away."

Setsuna laughed, "I didn't expect you to. You just looked too cute with that blush." Feldt kissed him on the cheek, wordlessly conveying her feelings. Setsuna squeezed their linked hands, "Let's head back in. We need to make sure Christina didn't break anything."

Feldt nodded happily, "Yeah. Lichty probably is sprinting to keep up with her." Setsuna nodded at the and the two headed back in, Feldt texting to ask where they were. Looking at Setsuna's content face, a wave of satisfaction washed over her. 'Well… this has been a successful day so far. And Chris was right, he really does look good in a uniform.'

Author Note

This chapter was fun to write. In terms of new information, Nena is the younger sister of the woman from the movie. See you guys next week!

Nena- 24