Work Text:
Katie sat down in her usual seat in the lecture hall, booted up the notepad on her tablet, and dutifully copied the date from the whiteboard.
That’s where her notes ended for the day. The date was all that mattered.
It was Shiro’s birthday.
For almost everyone else in her life, a quick post on their Facebook wall was adequate - identical to every post before it, as if placed by a rubber stamp on an assembly line.
But Shiro wasn't a mere acquaintance, and he was (secretly) much more to her than her brother's best friend.
She was addicted to watching his smile, and she hated it.
Hated that his presence and absence dictated the pace of her heartbeat. Hated that she couldn’t stop herself from jumping awkwardly into his conversations with Matt if it meant commanding his attention for half a second.
Shiro wasn't at all unkind to her - he was surprisingly tolerant of his best friend's clingy little sister. When they spoke she considered them to be friends, but when they separated her overactive mind picked everything apart. He was kind and supportive and complimentary towards everyone - it didn’t mean that she was different or special or spectacular but god did he make her feel that way.
She had the most supportive family on the planet and hadn’t ever needed anyone else’s approval, but she drank in Shiro’s praises like she’d spent her whole life thirsting for a kind word.
So a simple “happy birthday” on his Facebook wall wasn’t good enough. He deserved something more thoughtful, and blending in with everyone else wouldn’t garner her the attention she craved.
She had an expansive list of homework, her next simulator test to prepare for, and boxes of full half-soldered robot parts, abandoned until she found herself with a free moment to spare. And now she was losing an entire day’s worth of notes because her hormones had seemingly replaced her brain cells.
But none of that mattered. Because learning how to say “happy birthday” to the boy you have a dumb crush on in a way that’s casual but not so casual that he thinks he isn’t special to you wasn’t covered in any of her textbooks.
Was saying it in person too much? Was it even an option? She might not even see Shiro that night, was he even having a party or a dinner or anything? If he was she wasn't aware of it, she hadn't earned an invite just because she was Matt's beloved sister, but she still wanted to say something, she didn't want him to think she had forgotten -
So then - text message? Ugh. It was so pedestrian, unworthy of Shiro, but it did take slightly more effort than Facebook. He likely wasn’t checking his phone in class, but fourth period was almost over, so she’d know quickly whether he’d seen it or not…
She abandoned her near-empty page of notes and opened the messaging app. If she got it over with she'd have a better chance of concentrating in her next class, right?
Shiro
Happy birthday!
Sent 1:56 pm
She suddenly realized the terrifying permanence of a text message. He would get the message, unless it got buried underneath notifications from cuter girls, closer friends, and that seemed likely, he was so popular even with the upperclassmen and some of the instructors, the Golden Boy of the Garrison, everyone would be -
The tablet's screen flashed seconds after the bell rang.
She read his response in half a heartbeat.
Shiro
That’s sweet of you, Katie - thanks.
Sent 2:00 pm
God, she annoyed him and he hated her, she just knew it.