Work Text:
“Shiro!”
The man turned in his head and smiled. “Matt, hey there -oh, who is this?”
“My little sister, Katie.”
His eyes were warm, Katie noted as she shyly took his outstretched hand in a handshake. The man was a legend in their household and seeing him in the flesh was a different experience from hearing Matt talk about him at length.
“I hope you’ll follow in your father and brother’s footsteps Katie. Matt here speaks highly of you.”
Her cheeks flush as she glanced over to her beaming brother.
“Who knows! We might be flight partners one day.”
“Lance?”
Hunk typed away on his laptop, frantically looking at the clock. There were minutes away from the deadline for their assignment. Lance had convinced him to sneak out of the Garrison to goof off the last night and both had left the assignment to the last minute. If they didn’t submit within the next fifteen minutes, they were going to flunk this class.
“Lance!”
“Huh, what?”
Hunk frowned at his friend, gesturing wildly to his computer.
“The assignment?! You were supposed to research the Garrison protocol for alien invasion! That’s the last bit.”
But he’d already lost his friend’s attention once again. His chin was rested on his palm and his eyes trained on whatever it was beyond the windows of the lab they were in. Hunk followed his line of vision.
Takashi Shirogane. Hunks jaw dropped.
“Is it him? The myth? The legend?”
Again, no response. Hunk’s head snapped back and he squinted closer to his friend’s face. There was a slight flush on his cheeks and he was dreamy eyed. He rested his cheek against a palm and was even sighing - as though a princess pining after her prince.
He followed his gaze again and his expression dropped in realization. Of course he was looking at a girl.
“Hunk…do you believe in love at first sight?”
The lanky boy sighed again and switched hands - leaning his chin on the other hand to gaze at the girl. Hunk had to admit, she was lovely - more on the cute end than the bombshell types Lance typically went for.
“Really, Lance? You’re ogling Commander Holt’s daughter?”
That made him snap out of his reverie.
“She’s his daughter?” His head snapped towards Hunk’s in disbelief. He’d heard about her all day. How beautiful and brilliant she was - cruising through the flight simulator when she was barely out of middle school - nobody in their dorms could stop talking about her.
“Mi pichoncita…she already has admirers.”
Hunk gave an exasperated sigh as the boy groaned in dramatic despair into his arms. He turned to the laptop and hastily completed Lance’s portion of the work for him and hit send. He slumped back against his seat and sighed, Lance owed him big time.
He lifted his head to taunt his friend, but again, his eyes were transfixed on her again.
Katie nervously twirled her hair in her fingers as Shiro led Matt away. He promised to return as soon as possible but she couldn’t help but feel a little out of place on her own. She sighed and looked to her side - the room had a few students working away on computers. Maybe she could have a look at the kind of software they used.
The door to the computer lab slid open with a soft whoosh and with that, all heads turned in her direction. She felt her cheeks heat up and braced herself for any insults or withering looks; the sort she received in her school.
But there were none. Some looked at her in awe, others whispered excitedly to their friends.
“She’s a Holt.”
“Wow, she’s pretty for someone who’s from a family of over-achieving nerds.”
She bit her lip back from speaking her mind. Of course, she was just the Commander’s daughter to them. She bowed her head and shuffled her way over to the computers in the back row.
There were three available, with two occupied by a pair of boys that seemed to look in every direction but hers. She sat herself down on the chair, smoothing her purple dress over her thighs as she took in her surroundings.
She might sit here one day, before a console just like this. Working on an assignment, breezing through a final…maybe even making friends who loved technology and space as much as she did. The thought made her smile and she pulled herself closer to the monitor.
Maybe one day, she’ll create her own legacy.
From her side, she heard what sounded like a hiss and a soft slap. But just as she turned her head, one of the boys had reached her side. She raised her brow, expecting him to say something along the lines of ‘you don’t belong here’. But instead, the boy bowed. As in, set a hand over his heart, bent at the waist sort of bow. She blinked in confusion.
“M’lady.”
Was he…flirting? Katie couldn’t tell. As far she knew, bowing hadn’t been a common greeting practice since the 1800s. What was she supposed to respond with? M’sir?
“…Hello.”
She cautiously turned in her chair towards him and it seemed like he wasn’t expecting her to for his expression blanked. She tilted her head, looking up at him and that alone made his entire face turn pink.
“Are you…alright?” She prodded him gently, suddenly feeling a little uneasy with how he gaped at her. It was not that he made her uncomfortable, it was the sudden gaping silence. She was not a skilled conversationalist and wasn’t about to attempt to be one.
“I apologize for my friend, uh…Miss Holt.”
The other boy who’d been beside him had finally come forward, dragging his friend out of the lab while grumbling something or other under his breath.
Katie didn’t know why, but a smile had found a way to her lips.
“No one. And I mean NO ONE, is allowed to be that adorable.”
“Sure, Lance.”