Homecoming

Canon scenes happen like normal

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Video call or voice chat"

Feldt

The ship felt strangely empty after the Gundams began their interventions. The interventions had been successful and the Gundams had been untouched, which made Feldt feel a bit happier, but she was caught by surprise at the slight feeling of emptiness inside of her. She knew it was an inevitability, but now the only two meisters who were regularly on the ship were Allelujah and Tieria. Both Lockon and Setsuna had apartments set up by Veda to stay between operations. And both Allelujah and Tieria had said that they prefer being in space.

One thing she didn't realize would affect her so much was Setsuna staying on Earth at this point. While it wasn't often, she had found that she didn't mind spending time with Setsuna. Mostly it was silence while the two relaxed or read something, but there was something nice about someone she could hang out with that understood how silence could be nice. Setsuna wasn't warm or super friendly, not like Christina, but it was comfortable when the two were in the same room.

'It's also a nice break from Christina.' While she did appreciate the older woman's presence in her life, Feldt's metaphorical social cup sometimes overflowed, leaving her wanting some distance from her. She groaned, remembering that Christina promised to take her on a shopping trip if they went down to Earth. 'I can't say I'm looking forward to a shopping trip with her if we go to Earth. She'll probably force me to try on 'cute' outfits.' Suddenly a thought came to her mind. 'Maybe I could check up on him? He doesn't have a mission for a bit. Maybe I can convince Sumeragi to allow me to take a trip to Japan?' Internally she hoped he might be a little happy seeing her, but he was a hard person to read.

Pulling out her mini-terminal, she called Setsuna, silently hoping he would pick up. When she saw his face appear on her screen, a small rush of happiness flowed through her. She was about to speak when he beat her to it, his voice even, "Is there a mission?"

Feldt blushed slightly, caught by surprise by his quick reaction, "No, I just wanted to check up on you. I heard you just arrived at your apartment and was curious if you had settled in. How is the apartment? Do you like it?"

Setsuna tilted his head in slight confusion, before correcting himself, "It should be adequate for my needs. I won't be here too often." He let out a breath before continuing, "I ran into one of my neighbors when I was first getting to it."

Feldt piqued in curiosity, "Oh. What were they like?"

Frustratingly, Setsuna's face did not give away any of his true feelings, "His name is Saji Crossroads and he seemed fine. He looks and acts like a normal civilian. I think he's a little older than me. Apparently he lives with his sister. At least I won't have loud neighbors."

Feldt nodded at that, "I suppose that's nice. You seem to enjoy peace and quiet." She could see Setsuna purse his lips slightly at that. After a few seconds of waiting for him to respond and getting nothing, she asked, "What is your apartment like? I never saw what it looked like."

"I'll show you." Setsuna then rotated his phone around the apartment, showing a spartan one-room apartment with a small walled off kitchen in a corner. It had wooden floors, two moderate sized windows with shades and a small television on a stand. She frowned, the barrenness of the apartment bothering her. 'Didn't he want to decorate it? He is going to be living there for a while.' Even a picture or two would liven the place up. As it was, it just seemed like a transient thing. Logically she knew it made sense that it was that, but the fact Setsuna was comfortable in that sent a tingle of sadness through her.

"Are you sure that you are ok with leaving it so barren? You could bring some non-classified things from the ship down there."

Setsuna shook his head, "This is all I need. Just a bed and a kitchen. This is merely a place for me to rest between missions. Also the more I decorate it, the more can be learned about me by our enemies."

Feldt pouted slightly, wringing her hands, "I suppose that makes sense. You also have the ship, so I guess you can leave your stuff up here." She personally would want to decorate more, but that was his choice. She also got the idea Setsuna wasn't the most sentimental person based on their interactions, so it made sense he didn't decorate.

Setsuna just nodded at that. He then looked her in the eyes, "How is it back on the ship?"

"Oh, it's relatively the same. Just the regular keeping track of information, preparing for missions and hiding from the various power blocs. It is weird to be down you and Lockon on the ship." She quietly added under her breath, "It was nice to hang out with you."

Setsuna looked at her with widened eyes before going back to his normal even look, "It is nice and quiet around you. Being around you is nicer than the others."

A bloom of happiness surged through Feldt, knowing that Setsuna liked being around her. She was also surprised he picked up her comment about hanging out with him. She took a breath and then asked, "So how do you think about being stationed in Japan? Are you planning on doing anything in your free time?"

Setsuna shrugged his shoulder, "I can't say. I have no real interest in shopping beyond basic necessities. I expect to be busy doing missions, so I don't plan on getting to caught up in any local activities."

Feldt frowned slightly, "Oh. It might be nice to at least try to enjoy your time. I've always wanted to visit earth but never got the opportunity to." She then looked down at her feet before looking back up, "Were you from Earth before you got recruited?"

Setsuna looked away for a second before he looked her in the eye, "Yes…" Feldt caught a hint of hesitance, but didn't jump on it, not wanting to ask a personal question. Setsuna continued, "And I'm certain you will come down to Earth at some point. And if you wanted to, I could try to hang out with you then."

Feldt blushed, "That would be nice. No doubt Christina would encourage that."

"Why her?"

Feldt pursed her lips, "She has been encouraging me to hang out with you. She wants me to make more friends."

Setsuna just nodded, "Ah, that makes sense. Lockon has been the same for me."

Feldt chuckled lightly, "Well it seems we both have people pushing us. Anyways I have to get to work. Some plans are in the work."

"Understood." He then gave the pink-haired girl a very slight smile, "If you ever wish to call me, just send me a message and I'll tell you when I'm available."

Feldt nodded back at him, "Got it. Talk to you later." She ended the call, looked at the blank display on the mini-terminal. 'I guess it will be nice to talk with him every once and awhile.' While it wasn't the same as him being on the ship, it at least kept them in communication beyond just professional conversation. A happy tingle went down her spine, knowing that Setsuna seemed to want to be her friend. With a slight rush of new energy, she got off of her bed, heading to the bridge, where they probably needed her for putting together new data. 'Back to work.'

Setsuna

As the call ended, Setsuna looked at the ceiling of his apartment, his mind racing as he lay on his bed. He hadn't expected her to call him outside of work. Sure, they occasionally hung out on the ship before the operations began, but he thought it would just stay at that. But there was a slight weight in his chest when the call had ended, the apartment feeling emptier than before. When Lockon had said to make a friend, he had no expected Feldt to leave as big an impact than she had. He normally was ok with being alone and not interacting with the crew, but Feldt had been nice to be around, understanding that he wasn't talkative, and he learned that she liked to hum to herself as she read silently. She would also smile slightly when she thought he wasn't looking at her, but it would immediately disappear when she spotted him. 'I wonder why she doesn't smile.' He had his own reasons for not doing it, but hers made him curious.

Some part of him wouldn't mind her being down here with him, if he was being honest. She had said she was from space and had never been to the surface of the planet. 'She must be from the colonies. And I wonder how she joined Celestial Being. Something must have happened to her.' He had never heard her mention her parents, so maybe something had happened to them. Or they could be somewhere else in the organization? 'It's not my place to ask. Also it's not like it's allowed anyways.' There was something mysterious about her that wouldn't leave his mind. She was normally so quiet and in the background, yet there was something she was hiding from everyone. He didn't want to pry, but he swore that there was something there. He shook his head. He couldn't get too caught up in these thoughts. He had a mission to do and he couldn't get his thoughts tangled up about Feldt.

Just then, his mini-terminal began to buzz, Lockon's number appearing on the display. 'Him too?' Setsuna answered the call, Lockon's grinning face appearing, "Hey kid, how's it going? Just wanted to check on you, see if you are settling in."

Setsuna just nodded, "It is going well. Just wanting to get some rest after the last mission."

Lockon smirked, "At least I didn't have to babysit you that time. You are going to cause my hair to grow grey at the current rate." Setsuna just grunted at that and Lockon continued, "Anything interesting going on? See any sights? Like that big tower? You are in Japan, so there must be something you have seen."

Setsuna shook his head, "Not really. I don't see the need to do it."

"Of course you wouldn't." The brown-haired man just shook his head at that, "You know you are going to regret not doing that. You never know when you will lose the chance to explore. Might as well do it early." Setsuna just stayed silent, not responding to Lockon. 'All that matters is the mission. I don't need to explore the area.' Yet a small part of him questioned that, an image of the pink-haired girl popping into his head. He shook that off, not needing the distraction.

Lockon took notice of that, commenting, "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Setsuna looked away, contemplating if he should tell Lockon about his conversation with Feldt. Letting out a breath, he replied, "Feldt just called me."

Lockon gave him a surprised look, before smiling, "Well, I wouldn't have expected that. It looks like you are making a friend! Nice to see you opening up."

Setsuna just looked at him blankly, "She's not my friend. She's just…someone I don't mind spending time with."

Lockon rolled his eyes, "I would normally call that person a friend, but whatever. I think you should get her a gift while you are in Japan." Setsuna looked at him confused, and Lockon just sighed, "She probably doesn't get any time to come to Earth, so it would be nice of you to get something for her. I'm certain she would appreciate it."

Setsuna looked at Lockon, his lips a thin line, "What would I even get her?" It had been so long since he had to get a gift, so he had no idea what she would be interested in.

Lockon shrugged his shoulders, "My experience says girls like clothes, so maybe a kimono? I can't tell you what size she is, but I'm sure someone on the crew would know. Maybe Christina? She always seems to be around Feldt."

Setsuna nodded, "That makes sense. Are you sure this isn't too personal?" He didn't want to pry into information that was private, but he would need that info for a gift like that.

"If Christina thinks it's too personal, I'm certain she will say so. Besides, Feldt will probably like a surprise gift. Most people tend to." Setsuna then heard a beep come from Lockon's mini-terminal and Lockon looked at him apologetically, "Sorry Setsuna, getting another message. I'll see you on a mission at some point, so please don't do anything stupid."

Setsuna nodded at him and Lockon dropped the call, leaving Setsuna alone again. A gift. It had been so long since he had been given or gave a gift. It was an alien feeling, but he had to admit it felt right. 'Maybe she might like the outfit. I never asked, but Lockon maybe knows more about girls than me.' He seemed to be older than most of the other meisters, so maybe he knew more.

Finding Christina's terminal unit, he sent her a quick message asking about Feldt's clothing size. He put his terminal unit away, not expecting her to respond immediately. 'I hope she responds soon, but she is probably busy right now. And I do have time anyways.' Suddenly his terminal beeped and he saw a response from the older girl with the information he asked for, with what looked like a winking smiley face at the end. 'What is that for?' He shrugged that thought off, saving the information about Feldt for later. He quickly responded with a thanks, to which he got a thumbs up back. He wasn't planning on doing it immediately, but he certainly would do it next time he had to go shopping for groceries.

A small part of him hoped that she liked his gift. It was certainly odd that he was thinking so much about this. He hadn't worried about someone's opinion in a long time. It was a strange feeling, but it wasn't the worst.

Neil

Neil sat in his red car, smiling to himself as he took a drag from his cigarette. The message he got was just updating that he had an operation in a day, so he had to prepare. 'That's plenty of time.' But on the forefront of his mind was the fact that Setsuna and Feldt seemed to be getting closer. While he could imagine some might see what he's doing was pushing them together in terms of dating, that was not his intention. Both of the kids were the youngest on the ship and they looked so lonely. If he could nudge them closer, each of them would at least have someone to talk with. Setsuna was a loner who had an impulsive streak and Feldt looked like she was too focused on work. They both needed to relax a bit. And if somehow it did grow to actual attraction, well they could thank him later.

What was funny was Setsuna had actually considered his suggestion for a gift for the pink-haired girl. Maybe the kid could actually learn to open up. 'It's a long shot, but for all I know, that girl could be good for him and vice versa. She doesn't seem to be a social butterfly herself.' He would have to keep an eye on the two, but only sparingly. He also wanted to make sure Tieria didn't go to overboard. 'It's funny how much of a stick that guy has up his ass. It's kind of cute if he wasn't such a pain in the ass about it. If he could only learn to relax. But god knows how much Tieria would ream any of us if we broke from orders.' Which by his calculation, would most likely be Setsuna, judging by the intervention in Sri Lanka. He just hoped Setsuna wouldn't be too stupid.

As he began to drive, he smiled to himself, wondering how much Christina would use that information for her own gain. 'I can't be the only one doing this. Might as well have Christina push from the other end. I should probably talk to her about the pair.'

Author Note

And that's chapter 2! I hope people are enjoying it so far. Our couple is getting closer, but it will take a bit more. Next chapter we get to cover Morlalia, so buckle up for shopping and boat talks! Please review and comment and I'll see you guys next week!