I swear I've never forgotten about this story, it just so happened that my schedule's been really tight these few months. Anyway, here y'all go, after a long wait - chapter five!

P/S : To the people who have been supporting this story all along, thank you! What would I do without all of you? :)

Anticipation

Feldt Grace realized that she was, once again, alone with Setsuna.

It had been quite a taxing day. Moving her belongings around had been challenging, and having an injured arm that couldn't seem to stop aching didn't help. Feldt was glad that she wasn't one to live lavishly – it resulted in only a minimum amount of shoes and clothes to move around. Fair enough. However, contrary to the others, she had an enormous book collection. As much as she loved them, moving them out of her room had been quite difficult.

Thankfully, Lockon had extended a hand – seeing as one of hers was injured of course - and had been a great help. Somehow, he understood her situation. Setsuna had probably mentioned it to him.

Explaining her situation and injuries to Marie were by far the worst thing, though.

In simple terms, Marie had reacted – and Allelujah had been there to see it all.

"Feldt! How careless could you be, to trip and fall over such a sharp shard of glass?"

Feldt faked a sheepish laugh. "Well, you know what it's like – sometimes drunk students throw their glass bottles around, and I happened to be in a rush after all. It was just an accident, Marie. Setsuna helped me out."

Marie frowned and temporarily released her hold on Allelujah's fingers to inspect Feldt's bandaged arm. Feldt stood still, hoping Marie wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The blood had all been washed off, and the stitches were supposed to hold. No one should be able to see the actual injury under the many layers of bandages. As long as Feldt stuck to her "tripping and falling on a piece of glass" story, she knew that people would believe her.

Allelujah smiled at Feldt kindly. "Did the two of you get along?"

"E-eh? Yes, we did. It was just a simple p-project discussion. Nothing major!" Feldt felt bad for lying to the both of them, but there was no other choice. The less people who knew the actual situation, the better.

And now, it was time to drop the bomb. "Marie, I'm moving out to another room."

Marie's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Moving out…? Why?"

"Be-because...well, a student with some…disabilities is transferring over, and my room's the closest to the labs and dining area!" Feldt stammered, remembering that she hadn't come up with a proper lie for this yet. Well, this would have to do for now. Besides, it wasn't entirely untrue. Feldt's room was indeed the most strategic place when it came to efficient day-to-day activities.

Marie and Allelujah widened their eyes simultaneously. "Really? When is this new student coming? We should help him!"

Feldt groaned inwardly. Trust herself to come up with such a lie. "Uh…I don't know. Maybe next week…or next month…I'm really not sure. Well, I have to move my stuff now. See you two later!"

Feldt shook her head, wondering how she was going to smooth this issue out. Thank goodness Marie had not asked where her new room was. There was no way she could tell Marie that she was living with Setsuna now. Too many questions would be asked, and the whole issue would just complicate itself.

She'd figure out how to handle Marie later, though. For now, there were other more pressing issues to handle.

Like getting to know Setsuna and his projects more, for instance – or perhaps unpacking her things and getting used to this new room of hers.

Feldt quite liked this new room. It was large, and was equipped with a simple bed. There weren't any dressers or cupboards, but hey – she didn't mind. Safety was more or less guaranteed here, and that was all that mattered.

Feldt cast a wary glance and realized Setsuna was still standing there. Unpacking now while he was here would be awkward, and she supposed she could do it later.

Hesitantly, she voiced her request. "Setsuna…? Will you tell me more about the new power source you discovered, the…GN particles?"

"Not now," he replied curtly. "Sleep. It will help you recover."

"But…"

"You are injured, and need rest."

Feldt refused to let the exhaustion show on her face. "I feel fine, thank you."

Setsuna fell silent, giving her a piercing, searching stare.

"Rest."

Again with the one-word sentences. Feldt gave up and rolled onto the bed, careful not to hurt the injured spot. "Alright. I'll rest for a little while – but will you please answer my questions later?" Without waiting for a reply, she used her uninjured arm to reach for the blankets. They were folded up neatly in a little square pile, and unraveling them single-handedly took quite an effort.

She felt an arm push her – gently, she noticed – back onto the bed. Feldt blinked as Setsuna took charge and spread the blankets over her, avoiding any eye contact with her as he did. The exhaustion was overwhelming - Feldt could already feel the darkness take over her.

"I will."

"Unacceptable!"

"Relax, Tieria. Pipe down a little – you'll wake Feldt up."

A hiss. "How does one 'relax', as you so casually put it, when we have an extra unwanted burden on our hands now? Setsuna's actions have been more brash than logical!"

"Define 'logical', Tieria. Would you have preferred if the enemy got their hands on her? It would be safer to have her on our side. She won't lose her life, they won't be able to extract any additional information from her, and they can't use her against us. Think about it."

Feldt yawned sleepily and stretched. She sat up, blinking wearily. The room was empty. How long had she been asleep?

She paused, listening carefully to the voices arguing outside her room. It sounded like Lockon's voice – but who was the other one arguing with him? Slipping out of the bed, Feldt made her way towards the door, placing her ear against it.

"She knows the secret of the GN particles," the unfamiliar voice stated flatly.

"And she should, seeing as she's involved in this already."

"She should never have been involved in the first place!"

"It would only be a matter of time, Tieria. Speaking of which," Feldt heard a rustle, "It's dinner time. I brought food along. We should probably wake Feldt up."

Before Feldt could react, the door clicked open. Feldt gasped, scooting backwards just in time before it came into contact with her face. The last thing she wanted was to have a bruise on her face when she already had one on her arm.

Two pairs of eyes stared down disbelievingly at her. One was in a familiar shade of emerald; one was in a shocking hue of garnet.

"L-Lockon, I-I…" Feldt stuttered, unsure of what to say.

He smiled warmly, ignoring the fact that she was obviously listening to their argument. "Hey, Feldt. How're you feeling?"

"Uh, I feel fine," Feldt said, accepting his extended hand with a small thanks. She observed how the person that stood beside Lockon frowned in disapproval. A pair of glasses perched on his pale nose, and his purple hair reached the base of his neck.

"How much did you hear?" he demanded, glaring at her.

"I brought you dinner. Do you like mashed potatoes?" Lockon asked, ignoring Tieria's protests. Feldt smiled and nodded, following them out.

"Where's Setsuna?" Feldt asked, swallowing a mouthful of mashed potatoes. The warm food felt good to her stomach. She blinked in surprise, not realizing that she was this hungry.

Lockon chuckled. "He's probably tinkering around in the hangar again. I'll go get him. He works hard, loses track of time, and misses his meals often. It's a wonder his body isn't in a mutiny yet."

Dinner was surprisingly a pleasant affair. Lockon had dragged a dust-covered, grease-coated Setsuna out of the hangar, and shoved a bowl of food before him. Setsuna hadn't said anything but ate silently, his eyes lingering on Feldt's from time to time.

Later on, Lockon formally introduced Tieria to Feldt.

"Feldt, this is Tieria. Tieria Erde. He's the dorm leader of block seven, and is one of the best when it comes to gathering information. No one suspects him of doing anything related to us."

"Nice to meet you," Feldt said, bowing politely.

Tieria only scoffed. "I see no reason to treat you differently, Feldt Grace. Setsuna and Lockon may be soft and protective towards you, but mark my words – I have no desire to do the same. If your stupidity puts you in danger, they will be the one to suffer the consequences along with you."

"Harsh," Lockon said, grinning. He patted Feldt's shoulder, shooting Setsuna a meaningful look as he did. "No worries, Feldt. That's how Tieria is. Everything will be sorted out in the end, so just lie low for a little while with us. In the meantime, I assume you still have some unanswered questions…?"

Feldt straightened and glanced at Setsuna, whose dark eyes were fixated on her. Without a word, he stood up, tossing the finished packet of food into the trash and walked out.

Was his backward glance an indication that she should follow him…?

Feldt stood up. "Wait up, Setsuna!"

Lockon glanced at the two retreating figures, shrugging and chuckling to himself.

Tieria ignored them and continued to finish his food. What the two of them did together was none of his concern.

Feldt watched carefully as Setsuna powered up the mobile suit that he had been working on. It excelled in terms of its functions and build, but she hadn't seen the capabilities of these…GN particles yet. What exactly were they?

"They'd want to seize this from you, wouldn't they?"

Setsuna nodded.

"These GN particles…what on earth are they?"

"I'll show you," Setsuna said simply. He pressed a button, and Feldt stared in amazement as an opening appeared above them – revealing the inky night sky.

"Strap in."

Feldt obeyed. "S-Setsuna, if you fly this out, what if other people…?"

"Tieria has taken care of it. He has connections to any necessary government officials that are on our side, and is a skilled hacker and manipulator. Everything is secure."

Feldt wondered how such a bad-tempered person could get along with the upper echelons of the government officials. At the same time, she felt a sudden wave of fear grip her. All her life, she had been calculating, planning and building machines for others. However, she had never flew in one before. What if something happened?

Sensing Feldt's underlying anxiety, Setsuna turned to face her. "You wanted answers, and you will somehow get them through this. Everything has been fine-tuned, and I will not let you be in danger, do you understand?"

Feldt wanted to hit herself. How could she doubt Setsuna, when she had seen him willingly risk his life to save her?

"Do you trust me?" Setsuna asked.

It was an unexpected question, one that made her abruptly turn as pink as her hair.

Feldt would not doubt him.

"Yes."

He nodded in satisfaction, and soon enough, they were speeding off into the night.

Feldt is going to get her 'answers'. A simple flight with Setsuna, how's that going to change them?

Spoiler : Remember what GN particles does to people in the anime?

Anyway, how'd I do in this chapter? Please review!

- Anne