A/N: Hello fellow writers and readers,

This is the first chapter of "Eternal Love" and I will tell you that this was pretty hard, especially when I was trying to protray Setsuna's character. I mean, the guy is neutral throughout the most of the season except in battles. If I somehow screwed up his character, and others, please let me know. And I will give you forewarning that Lightning will not be entering the battlefield as of yet. She will, but not now. You'll know why later in the chapter.

Also, I made attempt of drawing Lightning and will hopefully put it up so you can have an idea of what she look like. It's a sketch, but you'll have an idea. （＾ω＾）

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. Please review! ( ^O^ )

The Eternal Love of Guns and Roses

By Alice

Chapter I

[ 10 Years Later

10:43 a.m.

CBS-70 Ptolemaios

A.D. 2307 ]

"Geez, you're kidding me, right?" an annoyed Christina glared, practically tapping her foot against the floor. "C'mon, Lightning wake up," she dramatically pulled the covers off of a small bodied teen while hollering "Wake! Up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Lightning's eyes began to flutter, and she opened her cornflower blue orbs. The light brown-haired girl propped herself up on her arms, staring at the communications officer. Her hair was tangled, eyes holding their usual droop, and she was still not wearing the pajama pants that Christina had bluntly demanded that she wear. Her sleepy eyes looked up at the brunette female's not so pleased face, stare expressionless and vacant with an unfazed yawn.

Meanwhile, Ptolemy's famous hacker was fuming, asking herself for the hundredth time that day what she would do with her.

"Good morning, Christina." the girl greeted, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Don't 'Good morning, Christina' me. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Lightning shrugged. For a moment she thought she saw Chris's eye twitch with a peevish frown, her hands were glued to her hips, trying to hold onto a bit of her patience. It didn't really bother the young super soldier, this routine of morning meet and greet was normal to her now…though Christina looked like she had a little less patience with her sleeping habits that day.

The hot-tempered woman breathed out a sigh. "I don't know about you sometimes Lightning. I know I said that getting enough sleep is important, but sleeping to whatever time you want? You might as well waste your life away." she folded her arms "I was hoping to tell you about the assignment we have for you."

"For me?"

"Yup, for you." she said with a small, smug grin. "I wanted to surprise you with the amazing news."

"What is it?" the tired girl asked.

"Well," the officer begun, folding her arms in thought, "It's no on the battlefield, like you were train to, still it's a good job that'll be easy for you to handle."

Christina had some of her doubts, but have been hoping that this would compel the super soldier to show more vigor in her and the organization. She slept through their debut date and lack the interest of any of the achievements they made so far in the game. The chance of actually being involved might change Light's perspective of Celestial Being.

"What's the assignment then?"

"It's a little closer to home…"

"So, I'll be working on the Ptolemy then?" she lay back on her bed, her head resting on the pillow, finding nothing really worth waking up.

"Wha-" Christina's eyes widened for a moment, shocked by the audacious action. "No! No! We have to get you ready for your train!"

"I'm getting on a train?" she dryly mumbled.

"The lunar rail on the Orbital Elevator, more accurately. It'll be there in an hour and-," she pulled Lightning up quickly, back into a sitting position at the end of the bed. "You have to be on it to get your assignment. Now, get washed up and I'll bring some clothes for you."

The older brunette moved to leave, stopping short of walking out the door. "And don't walk out of the room nude again, you nearly gave Litchy a nose-bleed the last time you did it."

[Human Reform League Orbital Space Elevator]

"Passengers departing on the Pillar of Heaven Travel Bureau Train E273, please board at gate A12."

The station was less crowded than the youngest Gundam Meister would have thought. He was following a small group ahead of him, and he was brooding more than average today. The intervention the day before had put him slightly on edge and in a bubble of miff. One particular bastard he'd fought had disturbed him the most. He swore that he could feel that mobile suit pilot wanting to take a piece of Exia when he'd touched him, much more than other pilots that the boy faced, including Patrick Colasour.

"Yo! You're late, you rascal!" greeted the eldest Meister, waving him over. The other two Meisters were waiting at a tiny table.

"We thought you died." A purple haired man, Tieria, said as he approached.

"Did something thing happen?" asked Allelujah, the most concerned member of the group. His concern wasn't unwanted and the others in the group returned it.

"I was filing a report with Veda." He replied. Setsuna inwardly cooled his wired mindset and pushed the memory of the mysterious Flag pilot out, then relaxed into the calm and stoic persona that his partners were used to seeing.

"I will look it over later." Tieria replied calmly.

"Yeah." He responded back

There was an awkward silence. There wasn't much they could say after the mission from the day before that any of them were willing to approach with casual talk.

The unexpected tension made everything too quiet, something that was not in Lockon's style. "Well, at least all of us made it out safely!" he said in a joking manner before coolly turning his attention his red-eyed comrade. "Tieria, we'll leave space to you. We'll head out for the next mission."

Tieria conveniently pulled a little blue book out of his pocket, his fictional passport. "I'll obey orders. Although I'm anxious…"

Lockon and Allelujah, ignoring somewhat the statement, cracked a smile as the server came with Setsuna's drink in hand, going on to business elsewhere. The black haired boy stared neutrally at it, not enjoying the less-than-amusing joke.

"Milk…"

"It's on me." Lockon replied, grinning.

The intercom announced that Tieria's train was boarding. As he walked away, he looked back and gave a curt nod. The other Meisters returned the favor and watched as he left.

"But, is it really possible…to return a suit to space with the orbital elevator?" Allelujah wasn't as sure as the others about the method of transportation.

"It's nothing to worry about. As planned, we'll hide it with the materials they're using to develop the colony. As long as the weight he carries is the same as everyone else, the following security checks are as good as nothing, especially here." Lockon explained.

"A true blind spot…" Allelujah doubtfully said. "If we have a weak point, it's that without the Gundams, the operational time of the Ptolemaios would be extremely limited… our mere four solar furna-" Setsuna's hand landed unexpectedly on his shoulder.

"Don't discuss confidential information." He warned, sternly glaring at him for nearly letting out such sensitive information. Any person, civilian or otherwise, could be listening in while he blabbed.

"Sorry." he apologized.

Lockon looked up to the screen as the rail list updated. "Tieria's train is departing."

"Pillar of Heaven Travel Bureau Train E277 is departing as scheduled at 14:18, 5:32 GMT."

Lockon took a drink of his black coffee before taking a look around. He'd expected Lightning to be here by now…she should have shown up far ahead of Tieria's departure. The eldest Meister twitched a smirk. "Seems like our little lady's late…must've slept in."

Allelujah snickered, not surprised by Lightning's belated arrival. "That would explain it. She should have arrived at least an hour ago, or earlier."

"Who else is supposed to coming, Wang Liu Mei?" Setsuna asked, clearly not aware that they were missing a member.

"Huh?" Allelujah was confused. "Didn't you know?"

"Know what…?"

Allelujah faced Lockon, his expression clearly hinting at trouble. He'd been hoping Lockon had told him already…he could already imagine the fury that Setsuna would explode with when he did, "You didn't tell him and she's coming here any moment!"

"I thought he would be surprised." he shrugged. "Now that you mention it, I should have given him a heads up. Whoops!"

"You really take things too lightly." Allelujah shook his head, knowing that Setsuna was not the type to like surprises, mainly ones like this one.

"What are you two talking about?" dark haired boy asked firmly, glowering at both of them.

Lockon sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't have a complete idea of how to explain the impending changes in Setsuna's life, so he decided to be as blunt as possible. "Lightning's coming and she's going to be your bodyguard."

Bodyguard…?

The word left a bad taste in his mouth. He didn't remember asking for a bodyguard. When was this ever decided?

Still holding onto a sense of control, Setsuna gave a disgruntled and blunt "Send her back."

"We sort of can't…" Lockon pointed to a figure meters away from where they were. "She's over there, and she has company."

The super soldier was stilled dazzled by her ride on the lunar rail. Feeling weightlessness during for a small part of her trip had fascinated her. She'd floated mostly in her passenger car, taking out the cookies that Christina had been nice enough to send with her and playing with them. She'd found it interesting when she'd attempted to takes bites out of them in midair, like a goldfish feeding in a bowl. She was a bit disappointed when the ride had ended.

When Lightning stepped inside the station, she was somewhat overwhelmed. Everyone hustled their way to different areas of the station while she struggled to find a certain set of Gundam Meisters. She clutched her bags, sending tiny glares to anyone that came close to her, some went scurrying faster than others.

"I wish Christina had told me where to find them." she said. Unknowingly, she walked into someone as she said it. "Excuse me!" she said, looking into the face of the older man. A large scar covered his right eye, wearing a green military uniform. A Human Reform League soldier.

"It's fine, Miss. I shouldn't have been standing in the way."

She nodded, trying to find Setsuna and the others.

The scarred man acknowledged her quick and hastily wandering eyes. "Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes, I am." Lightning said, still searching for them.

"Well then…" he wore a concerned expression, watching her like she was child who was missing her parents. "They're most likely in the one of the front entrances." She nodded and gave a sign of thanks to the scarred man and headed for an entrance, hoping the Meisters would be waiting. She kept a steady pace, carefully watching the soldier that had decided to follow after her.

The Lieutenant Colonel wasn't stalking her; instead, he was ensuring that she found whatever family or friend she was looking for. Smirnov was a respectable man, a military man, and a sense of duty compelled him to observe her for a moment. What parent would let a girl go off alone?

'I wonder…' he thought suddenly, then tossed it away. 'It's none of my business'. Like he had room to reasonably talk about parenting.

Lightning arrived at the second entrance, and after checking the small café and set of doors nearby, found no one. She wasn't surprised, and sighed. The others weren't very fond of her admission into the anti-war organization. She suspected they'd left her on her own. Setsuna likely wasn't enthusiastic about the bodyguard decision and had gone off without her. She couldn't say that she was angry or upset, she'd suspected that having a bodyguard was not something that would be useful for him. It wouldn't be unlikely that she'd been left behind.

She sighed.

Lightning was perfect for any military faction, whether it be HRL or the Union. She had military and weaponry knowledge and she was skilled in different forms of hand to hand combat. She was lack one thing. Piloting skills. Piloting abilities, even of basic models, like Flags, though. What was the use of a girl that had as much skill rodent in the jaws of a cat. She imagined that they found her useless in their eyes.

"They could be late, you know." The HRL Soldier said.

"They may be. You don't have to stay with me, I'll be fine." she said, though she wasn't as uncomfortable with his presence as he would have imagined.

"I would at least like to make sure that your family picks you up."

"You don't have to…" She said, nodding to the man. "…but thank you."

The room was suddenly full, people were charging in from everywhere now.

"Light!" She turned to see Lockon jogging his way toward them. He wore his familiar relieved smile, in the opinion of the Colonel he seemed to be someone that was close to the girl. The pair's features were close… family possibly. The man was taller and had darker hair than Light, and their eyes were a different shade. The possibility that they were acquaintances entered the scenario.

The 24 year-old enveloped the smaller girl in a bear-like hug, squeezing her tightly in front of the old man. He stared at her as though he hadn't seen her in months, or so he tried to display.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're okay. I've been looking all over for you!" he met the stern stare of Sergei and tossed him a grade-A friendly smile. "Thank you for bringing her to me. I was worried when I didn't see her in the terminal… I guess I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. She wasn't a problem, was she?"

"No, she wasn't. I take it she's never been here before?" The Colonel asked.

"That's right, sir. Lightning – my little sister here - has been in the colonies for a long time."

The Colonel considered his response. "Lightning? That's a unique name. Well, I'm glad that she's with her family now…"

"Thanks, again. We'll be going. C'mon Lightning, I have so much to show you today!" He grinned, acting as the sweet brotherly person that he was. Lockon linked his arms with Lightning's, steering them towards the exit. The girl gave one final look back at Col. Smirnov before walking out the door.

"Hold on." He said.

The two halted and Sergei stood before Lightning. "Miss Lightning, is it? I would feel more comfortable if you confirm that this is this really your brother. Please, don't be afraid to be honest."

Lightning sighed, the man didn't know when to take a hint. "Yes, sir. Please pardon my brother. If he seems suspicious it's because he has that kind of effect when girls are near him. In actuality, my brother's an idiot that may seem laid back, but he's really too lazy for his own good at times."

"Hey!" Lockon interjected, slighted.

"He really is my brother… I have photos of him when we were younger if you'd like to see for yourself."

"Nevermind. I'll take your word for it. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience." The Colonel said.

Lightning, acting as if this was the daily ritual, said "It's not your fault. Like I said, he can come off as a pervert. It's reasonable for you to want make sure."

"Are you defending me or insulting me?" The Irishman asked through gritted teeth in defense of his wounded pride.

"I'm only stating my opinion truthfully." Lightning stated bluntly with not a bit of shame or embarrassment.

A fist collided jokingly with her head, leaving a somewhat painful throb. She rubbed the back of her head in attempt to sooth it and failed miserably. Lockon, on the other hand, felt a great amount of satisfaction. It in a way entertained him the way she bluffed, it was almost priceless.

Sergei was more convinced by the relationship after seeing the banter exchange. It was a nice sight to see…months of running an army in space took its toll on a man, and having no family to return to made indefinitely hard on him. Watching them made him feel like a wound in his chest had opened. It had been a long time since he'd reflected on his family, his wife, Holly, especially. He began to wonder about how his own son was, if he ever thought about him.

"Excuse us, Mister…" Lockon interjected, knocking Smirnov out of his reverie.

"Ah, yes, Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov."

"Lieutenant Colonel, hope you have a nice day. We gotta go now, Light!" Lockon playfully saluted, taking Lightning outside with him in strides.

The outside air smelled of early summer, Lockon's favorite. The Irish Meister breathed it in with relief, his back to Lightning.

'I think I'm in trouble now.' She thought. She was waiting for it, some angry reprimand or a promise of punishments he was going give. Maybe call Sumeragi, asking permission to kill her. As she watched him she was surprised. He wasn't showing any signs of anger, unlike what had been frequently displayed in her previous 'family'. Instead, he was… laughing. He found this funny?

"Attracting the attention of a HRL soldier, a Colonel at that," Lockon smiled, ruffling her brown hair. "You're good at bringing trouble, aren't you?"

"I can go back and kill him if you'd like, that is, if you have a problem with him having met you." She said, hoping to avoid angering him.

"Oh no." he poked her forehead harshly "We aren't starting trouble when we don't have to. Our line of duty is to prevent war, not make it."

"You people like to contradict yourselves, don't you?" she said, deadpanning him.

"You call it contradiction; we call it a firm belief in the philosophy. It doesn't change now that we're goin' to carry out our mission." Lockon playfully ruffled more of her already messy hair. She swatted his hand, but he was unfazed by the distasteful stare that she gave him. The man just stood there, grinning. After a moment he shrugged, having given up the charade of older brother.

"You know…" he mumbled, his eyes softened so slightly as he watched her. "You frown just like her…"

It didn't seem like he was speaking to her. "What was that?" Lightning asked. She'd missed the comment, lost in her own world.

"Nothing you need to worry about, little sis!" he gingerly pinched her pale cheek, chuckling at her deepening frown.

Footsteps approached, and soon Setsuna and Allelujah appeared. "What took so long?" asked Setsuna, hand stuffed in his pocket. He was glaring holes into the back of Lockon's head.

"Oh nothing. Held up by security, but it was a misunderstanding." he lied. Setsuna was obviously doubtful about Lockon's explanation. Allelujah seemed to be waiting for the explosive behavior to start.

Setsuna ignored his worry and eyed the girl. "Lightning."

"Setsuna." she responded with equal monotony. She held the bags on her shoulder tightly. The familiar awkward silence that she seemed to elicit set back in like a plague until Lockon broke it.

"All right, let's go home! We've got a job to do." Lockon stretched, joints cracking, and abruptly slung his arm over Lightning's shoulder. The group took off to their respective locations; Lockon and Allelujah to their Gundams, and Setsuna and Lightning home for her to get settled.

"I wish we had a bit of a break." Allelujah wistfully wished as he and Lockon walked.

"Can't do that, got to strike while the iron's hot! The world won't accept us the first or second time." Lockon replied. Allelujah knew he was right.

[Tokyo Special Economic Zone]

Setsuna and Lightning's walk was quiet as neither said anything after leaving their teammates. They kept an even distance from each other in the plush red and gold elevator of the building.

"Is this where we'll be living?" Lightning asked. Each little number lit up as she silently counted them, fingers tracing the gold design on shaggy red walls.

"Yes this is." Setsuna shot her an expressionless stare. "…and while you're here, don't speak to anyone. You can't leave the apartment without my knowing. When I tell you to do something, do it."

He caught her deadpan stare. Her lips were pressed into a thin line. She blinked. 'Christina made a very bad decision' she thought. "If that's what you want Setsuna, I understand."

His brows knitted together. "You understand what?"

"I understand that you don't like me." she spoke calmly, without a single clue telling him what she was thinking.

"My feelings towards you aren't important now. I have an hour to get to Ceylon." He said matter-of-factly.

Lightning shifted her weight off her sore shoulder. "Alright. I'll try not to be a bother to you."

The elevator binged loudly and the door opened a moment later. The hallway was empty, much to Setsuna's luck. It would be easier to sneak the brunette into his apartment this way.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out hastily, forcing her to keep up with his pace as they made their way to the door. He was already digging into his pocket and feeling through his ring of keys. He found the right one and they disappeared inside.

Lightning pulled her arm back while Setsuna locked the door and cautiously walked into living room. She was awestruck by view of outside from the balcony. It was amazing how far she could see if she pressed her face to the glass door. "Earth is…different. Very different from space."

Setsuna silently observed her as her curiosity lead her to the counter of the kitchenette; her hand glided along the cool red stone.

He pulled his phone out to check the time. 13:47. He disappeared into his room and the door slammed audibly behind him.

Lightning's eyes widened in shock as the loud sound surprised her and sent her head jolting with pain. The pain lasted for fifteen minutes before subsiding. It dulled bit by bitter bit and she found it difficult to stand. She crumpled to the couch. The pain came seemingly at random, usually triggered by random noises. She had no idea why it happened, just that it did.

She looked around and noticed that there wasn't much to her new home; nothing personal that someone could identify. There was just the white couch near the sliding door of the balcony and a burgundy rug with a glass coffee table on top. There were no personal photos, fake or otherwise, or any possessions of his. It was the neutral house of a neutral person.

Said person suddenly came hurrying out, passing Lightning quicker than air and moving outside to the hallway. Ceylon, a target for the next armed intervention, was waiting for him.

Lightning sat as still as a statue after seeing Setsuna nearly hurling himself out of the apartment. She didn't understand these people, the Meisters, Celestial Being, or others general. They were all confusing and she felt that she was wasting their time. She found everything about people to be a contradiction…the good turning out to be bad, the bad turning out to be worse, and they all had to live in one dying world that they'd made for themselves.

"I was better off dying." her words were resentful and dry in her mouth.

She pulled of her bags into her lap and unzipped it, digging through to the pile of clothes that Christina had picked out for her. She kept looking, trying to find something that she wanted.

A loose shirt was what she was hoping for. Christina, however, hadn't given her a single large shirt. She probably didn't have any. Lightning bit her lip in thought, an idea coming to her like a bolt.

She darted into Setsuna's room for a bit of rummaging.

Coming up the hall was a nearly broken down Saji Crossroad. After long, tedious hours of school, his shoulders slouched and his head was swaying back and forth. He was tired because of the horrible amount of studying in his history class. He almost begrudged getting home; his history homework consisted of an eight-page report on the warring conflict of between the Protestants and Catholics through the early ages, a mix of facts with reasonable assessments and thoughts about the events.

He could remember Louise's words. "From here on out, innovations will center around the maintenance of the Orbital Elevator and the development of space colonies. In order to make exchanges with technicians from each nation, we need to expand our knowledge of history. Isn't that what they said in the beginning?" Her speech ended so cutely, and a sweet smile crossed his face, until he remembered how she'd stormed off after his vague responses about their relationship in the future. She'd openly told him off in front of his classmates and he couldn't forget the amused faces of his colleagues when they'd seen him chasing after. He'd heard a few whispers about her being a brat when he'd passed by.

Louise Halevy wasn't a brat per se; she was just more privileged than most. As with any privileged family, she was spoiled by two privileged and loving parents.

He hoped Kinue would have supper ready; his stomach hummed in blissful agreement. Kinue could possibly give him advice on Louise, also. The sweater vest-clad boy dug in the side pocket of his bag, and he'd already placed the key into the lock by the time a soft click reached his ears.

A tan young man was standing in front of the next door. He wore a white shirt with a reddish scarf securely wrapped around his neck. He had curly dark hair, and the way he looked at him set Saji on edge, it felt like he already disliked him.

"Um, are you my new neighbor?" Saji asked. His voice was steady, careful as if the boy would bite his hand if given the chance. "My name is Saji Crossroad. I live in this room with my older sister."

The dark haired boy gave him an up-and-down once-over. "Setsuna F. Seiei."

"Hmm, Seiei. What a unique name. Nice to mee-" Setsuna went inside, not bothering further with pleasantries. Saji stood there, surprised by such a crude action. "How unfriendly." He said to himself.

Setsuna locked the door behind him and stepped into the living room. He found Lightning looking out the screen door while sprawled out on the couch. His eyed widened as he realized that she was laying there, legs bare, with only…his shirt?

"Welcome back…" the bottomless female saluted, her main focus remaining on the sunset glinting off the city in dull silver.

"Is that mine?" the curly haired boy questioned.

"Huh?" Lightning continued, staring out the window.

"Is that my shirt?" he clarified, an antagonized glare hitting her backside. She folded her arms on the arm rest and rested her chin in her arms, still admiring the sunset.

"Oh, yep, this is your shirt." She said nonchalantly.

"Why are you wearing it?"

"Christina didn't pack a big enough shirt for me to wear, so I'm wearing yours." she responded without a care for Setsuna's heated expression. She was going to wear what she felt comfortable in.

Setsuna pinched the bridge of his nose, a stinging pain erupting in a small part of his head. "I want it back."

Lightning looked over her shoulder, shifting to a sitting position. "You want me to give it back?"

"Don't answer a question with a question." He said, irritated.

"But I am answering with a question." the girl countered. "Do you want it back?"

"Obviously."

Malt brown eyes found themselves glaring into neutral cornflower blue ones. A silence fell over them and the resulting tension pushed Lightning from her spot. Without a single emotion she approached him and began to unbutton the shirt. As she approached the button that sat over her navel, Setsuna quickly grabbed her wrists. "What the hell are you doing now?"

"Giving back your shirt…?" she said.

"Not in here. Do it in the room where I can't see you." His intense eyes stayed focused on hers. He impressively didn't glance down to what would have been an impressive view of cleavage.

"Why?" She asked, confused. "I don't see the problem in doing it here. Surely you've seen a naked girl before…" Setsuna turned his head. He wasn't about to answer an undignified question like that.

Lightning picked up the change in his posture and expression. He was tense, and when she looked hard enough she could see him blush. "Oh…now I understand. Though, I don't blame you. I've seen naked boys for years, I never guessed that not all boys had seen nude girls. There's no need to be ashamed, it's only normal I'd imagine."

Setsuna nearly saw red, bright inflamed red. Lightning sounded so all knowing, almost arrogant in his head. Something was off about her and it vexed him.

"Forget it." He went off to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Lightning flinched as her migraine returned full-force. She cradled her head in her hands, hoping that the sickening pain would lapse. It lasted for half an hour before it finally died down. She scowled and grimaced over the small throbbing pains that came here and there. She glared at Setsuna's locked bedroom door.

"Christina made a really bad decision." She surmised, eyes downcast. "I hate him."

Setsuna landed on his bed, his arms crossed under his cranium like a pillow. He stared at the pale white ceiling. 'That girl is annoying'. He rolled over on his side and replayed his day over in his head. He was given a body guard. Someone weird and annoying was now living with him without his consent. He fought a Tieren mobile suit, who, like the Flag pilot, wanted to take of piece of Exia, this time his head. Even though Exia was dear to him, it was obvious that more people would come after him, ready to crush him and his Gundam without hesitation. This was a sign.

The world was changing…and he had to keep fighting.