Shatt
Begins before Kerberos mission
Matthew sighed softly as he made his way through the Garrison hallways, his laptop in his arms.
"You look busy. Where you off to?"
The short boy gasped and jumped, then pivoted sharply to look up. Matthew's face flushed bright red and his heart leapt. "T-Takashi Shirogane!"
The older boy laughed. "You don't have to say my whole name. Just call me Shiro."
Matthew blinked owlishly, then slowly nodded. Shiro chuckled and leaned down. "So, where are you off to?"
"To meet with Commander Holt." Matthew muttered, averting his gaze. "He says I missed something in one of my worksheets."
Shiro hummed and raised a brow. "Why do you address him like that? I know he's your father."
"Y-you do!?"
"Of course! I'm pretty good friends with him." Shiro grinned and straightened his back. "It's been nice to finally meet you, Matthew." He reached up and ruffled Matthew's hair. Matthew breath caught in his throat and his stomach twisted. Shiro smiled and waved, then turned to leave.
~
"Hey!" Matthew yelped, reaching up as his book was snatched from his hands.
A deep laugh resonated from behind Matthew. The younger teen tilted his head back to look up at Shiro. Shiro grinned, holding Matthew's book just above his head. "Nice. You have a good taste in books."
Red raced up to Matthew's cheeks and he gulped. "Uhm... The book is... Actually Katie's... She let me barrow it because I read everything else in our house and in the school."
Shiro raised a brow down at Matthew. "Your sister reads this stuff? Isn't she a little young to be reading this?"
"Katie would beg to differ." Matthew smiled. "If you ask her that, she will pummel you."
"She's pretty small."
"Don't say that around her. Even a big guy like you will be on the ground, crying with your hands protecting your now-broken manhood." Matthew smirked.
Shiro hummed and handed the book down. "Well," Shiro mused, "I wouldn't want that." Matthew shook his head, taking the book. "So, I have a question."
Matthew hummed, tucking his bookmark in between the pages. "Shoot."
"Want to grab a coffee with me tomorrow morning?"
The younger blinked, then went completely flushed. "C-coffee?" Shiro nodded, sitting beside Matthew. "O-oh, uhm, yeah... Yeah, I'd like that."
Shiro grinned. "I'm glad."
~
Somehow, they ended up on the floor, Matthew beneath Shiro and wrapped in his larger arms. Matthew held his book up with one hand, his other toying with Shiro's hair.
"You know," Matthew muttered as he set it book aside, "your hair is soft." Shiro chuckled. Matthew then put both his hands in Shiro's jet black hair. "What is it with you and Katie being able to keep your hair so soft?"
