Shatt One-Shots

Pre-Kerboros

"Hi, I'm Matt Holt."  The young man with sandy short hair reached a hand toward the other young man with dark hair.  

"Takashi Shirogane." The dark haired man smiled.  "But you can call me Shiro."  

"So Shiro what brought you on the mission to Kerboros?"

"I want to explore other worlds.  I am fascinated by other planets and what we might find there.  How about you?"

"My dad and I have looked at the stars with my sister Katie for years wondering what could possibly be out there. We all wanted to go but sadly at 12 and a female Katie wasn't old enough or fit the requirements.  I miss her and wish she was out here with us."  

"You seem to care a lot about your sister.

"We're as close as siblings can be."  Matt pulled out a picture of him standing with his arm around a young girl in a purple and white dress.  Her hair, the same color as Matt's, hung down her back held up only by a headband.  They smiled at the photographer with similar slim line grins.  

"She's pretty.  I can tell you enjoy each other's company."   

"She's my baby sister.  I'm always protecting her."  Matt said it in a way that Shiro could tell wasn't boasting but almost exasperated. "she gets into trouble a lot."

Shiro laughed gently.  "She looks like a trouble maker.  But she has a great older brother like you to keep her in check!" He could tell the boy felt homesick and tried his best to cheer him up.

Matt knew what Shiro was trying to do and smiled gratefully.

"Okay, Let's get down to the mission ahead.  We are going to Kerboros to look for any signs of life right?  So what kinds of things should we do to prepare ourselves?  We need time to bond as a team before walking into the simulator."  Matt reasoned as he slid on his pilot jacket.

"Agreed.  I think we should go on a hike and use that time to bond as a team by sharing things about ourselves.  We should include your dad too since we are going on this mission together."  

Mr. Holt enjoyed just hearing his son and his new friend chatter on about life on earth.  They talked about family, friends and the mission.  But mostly Mr. Holt remained quiet because he saw a change in Matt he hadn't seen in a long time.  He was witnessing his son falling in love.  It was a sight he couldn't ruin by becoming involved in the boys' conversation.  Shiro also was becoming attached to Matt throughout this exercise.  It was wonderful to see two people connecting on such a personal level.  When the crew got back, everyone was ready to sleep and prepare for the next day.  Mr. Holt bade the two goodnight and headed to his quarters.  

"Goodnight Matt.  I can't wait for us to go on the trip of a lifetime tomorrow!"  Shiro beamed at the younger man. 

"Goodnight Shiro! I'm excited to get to know you even better on our expedition.  You are a great listener."  

The two parted ways and smiled to themselves, looking forward to the journey ahead.