That man, he was something else. You had never been with someone so wonderful, who fit all your needs and who needed you as much as you needed him. You were in love. There was really no other way to put it.
When you were in high school, you had fantasies of one night stands and drunk shenanigans as you worked and studied yourself half to death in college, but that's not exactly how it happened to play out.
Instead, you had a steady job working retail and you were engaged to marry, all thoughts of college out the window. The debt would just be harmful, because how likely was it that the degree would even give you an advantage? Answer: it wouldn't. Besides, you likely wouldn't have met Shiro otherwise.
He was two years older than your nineteen, and he worked and trained at the garrison. He came by the small store quite often, him being a part time trainer. It was a wonder the two of you ever got any dates in, as he was always busy. He felt as if he was wasting time if he wasn't doing anything. You got him to slow down sometimes though.
The store had a lot of cheap sporting supplies and was not too terribly far from the base where Shrio lived.
One day, business had been slow, so you stood near the back, counting how long you could hula-hoop. Two boys came in, who you learned to be Takashi Shirogane and Matthew Holt, or Shiro and Matt, your soon to be best friends.
You heard the bell and placed the hula-hoop to the side, going to greet the customers.
"Hello, welcome, my name is [y/n], if..." The taller boy was beautiful. His attractiveness actually took your breath away and simultaneously started your heart on a 100m dash. The brown haired boy laughed at the silence that ensued, as Shiro had been talking when he walked in. His speech had been stolen by you.
"Wow. Cat's got your tongue?" Matt shoved Shiro's shoulder, and the moment broke.
"Sorry. Let me know if you need anything?" You blushed and moved behind the cash register. Today happened to be the day you were scheduled alone, as your town was rather small, though you did sometimes work with Henry.
"Yeah, very funny, Matt. C'mon." He knew what he was looking for so he wasn't in the store for very long, but it was long enough for Matthew to get your number and to give both his and Shiro's. You saved them to your phone almost immediately after they left with their items.
You hoped they came here often.
- - - - - - -
Shiro came in at least once a week, and about a month and a half of skirting around the elephant in the room for that long, he called you.
"Hey, [y/n]? I had a question for you." there were giggles in the background. You hummed, busy with stocking shelves. Your boss couldn't get mad at you for being on the phone as you were also working. "Would you like to have lunch with me on Saturday?" He scrambled to add his next words, totally embarrassed. "I mean, not like a date or anything, I just, heh, I mean." the line went silent. You shifted the phone, a smile ghosting your lips.
"Shiro?" you weren't stocking anymore, but you would get back to that. "Are you okay?" He sighed.
"The younger students here at the garrison are putting me up to this." You let out a laugh, imagining a bunch of children swarming Shiro's legs as he stood on the phone. They must have been the source of the giggles.
"Is that so? Well, I'd love to join you for lunch. I happen to be off on Saturday." The stress coming over the line went away slowly as you said those words.
"Great. We can figure everything out before then. As you can tell, I have a class, so I'll be seeing you, [y/n]. Bye." You liked that he always said your name when speaking to you.
"Bye." Henry was just about to work during your lunch, and he heard your side of the conversation. You hung up and turned to grab another item for the shelves, and nearly jumped out of your skin. He was right there in front of you.
"So. You've got a date?" You forgot that he liked to gossip. You nodded. "Are they cute?" You nodded again, a smile creeping to your mouth. He started squealing. "The fact that you're smiling means something!" He grabbed your hands.
"Remember to invite me to your wedding."
- - - - - - -
Shiro had appointed Henry as your maid of honor, and you wouldn't have it any other way. After that first date, you and Shiro knew you were perfect for each other. After knowing each other for two years, he proposed. That was six months ago. Tomorrow, you knew that Shiro was going on a mission to one of Pluto's moons, along with his best man and Dr. Holt, Matt's dad.
Tonight would be wisely spent. That is, Henri took you shift and you prepared everything for Shiro's last night on Earth for a while. Your fiance was more happy than you thought he would be.
"I'm home!" He called out his usual line, as if you hadn't heard his key in the lock.
"Hey honey!" You ran over to greet him after you wiped your hands off in the kitchen. You wrapped your arms around his neck when he kissed you. "Dinner is almost ready," you had timed it, "do you want to change first?" He shook his head.
"I showered and changed after practice today. Some of the cadets are showing great promise!" His smile was rather infectious.
"That's awesome." You kissed him once more, happy at your position in life. "Are you excited for tomorrow?" You broke away, but intertwined your fingers with his as you led the way to the kitchen/dining room in your small apartment.
"Yes, but I'll miss you." Shiro could be a total sap, a hopeless romantic at times. You rolled your eyes, but you were going to miss him too.
"C'mon, you're not gone yet." You sat him down at the table as a timer went off in the adjacent room and you served dinner.
Though this wasn't the the life you had imagined for yourself, in a way, it was what you had wanted all along.
