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As Shiro stood at the front of the room, he scanned the crowd. The rowdy group of 18 year olds were creating a commotion, and it took every ounce of willpower not to break his composure and sigh. After his excellent academic year, the Garrison had decided to allow him to break in the new cadets, as if seeing their senior fly the simulation would somehow inspire them to become better pilots.He could imagine his first day, as he had sat next to a ragged hair boy who had quickly become his roommate and best friend. Matt had in fact, laughed his ass off that morning while Shiro practiced maintaining the steely look on his face.Looking at the clock, he watched as the second hand ticked, marking the beginning of class. Walking towards the center of the stage, he stood, waiting until the noise settled, and every single set of eyes were on him. If anything, they needed to learn order, needed to learn the rules. After all, this was the Galaxy Garrison.“Today, you will be running the simulation for the first time.” His voice echoed along the walls, and sending shivers down his spine. “Though you may have already passed the entrance evaluation, let me tell you. None of you will pass today.” A flash of black rushed passed the farthest window, and Shiro frowned. Running in the Garrison meant a strict disciplinary warning from one of the many commanders or instructors. But he didn’t have the time to worry about that.“My name is Takashi Shirogane, and I’m a senior cadet at the Galaxy Garrison. Due to some unusual circumstances, I will be your instructor for the next few weeks. My job, and your job is easy. Learn the basics, or leave.”Silence followed his words, and he swore he saw a girl crying in the back. Biting his lip, he opened his mouth to begin explaining the complicated flight that they would be completing when the door to the classroom slammed open.Shiro slammed his mouth shut as he eyed the cadet. His bright orange uniform was crumpled, and his hair, although cut to standard, was still somehow mussed and informal looking.But his eyes.Shiro couldn’t stop looking at his eyes.Tearing his eyes away, he cleared his throat. “Cadet, explain the reason for your tardiness.”He couldn’t ignore the way the boy jumped, obviously surprised as he looked around. Snickers arose from the class, and Shiro swore he heard someone utter something that made his blood freeze.
That fucking orphan.
Holding his hand up, the class silenced again, and the cadet stared at him with wide, violet eyes. His cheeks flamed red, and his hands were erratically clenching and unclenching at his sides, as if he needed some sort of outsource for his energy.“U-um, I got lost on the way here.” He stammered, before his eyes widened. “sir?”Shiro motioned for him to sit down.It was going to be a long day.“Today, you will be navigating the simulator in a pre-set situation. This is a test to merely determine your piloting skills. For that reason, it will be set to a higher difficulty than any of you should be accustomed to.” Shiro paced the stage before looking at his batch of students. For some reason, his eyes kept latching onto those strange purple ones, and he took in a breath.“You will be in groups of three. Today’s evaluation will determine which category you will be training in at the Garrison.” Holding a finger up he began to list them off. “Fighter pilot. You will be the first to go on missions, whether scientific or militaristic.” The next finger went up, and he continued. “Cargo pilot. You will be a part of the group that sustains life here. Do not take your job lightly. Engineer…” he droned on and on, until it looked as if all his students were dozing off. All except one.“I will be assigning you into groups of three. The first to go into the simulator are…” He paused, staring at the sheet in front of him. “Shaya McCullough, Keith Kogane, and Aaron Gonzalez.”A lanky blonde girl, as well as a shorter Hispanic male trotted up to the stage, only to be flanked by the boy who had been tardy.Now he had a name to a face.“Keith, you will be piloting the craft while Aaron will be the engineer. Shaya, you are to monitor all systems and provide assistance as needed. We will be observing you from out here.”The three nodded, before entering the small craft, door locking securely behind them. As the program fired up, screens flashed, allowing the other cadets to view their colleagues' performance. As Shiro walked into their dorm room, Matt barely looked up from his project. “Long day?” he asked, a screwdriver in his hand. Shiro simply fell face first onto his bed. Turning around, Matt peered at him through his glasses, rolling his eyes. “You know, you were an asshole when you were their age. Then three solid years of training and rule-breaking and look. You’re the Garrison’s number one.”“Not anymore.” Shiro muttered into his pillow, and Matt’s brows furrowed together.“What?”“Not number one anymore.”Matt’s tools clattered to the floor as he spun around wildly, facing Shiro. “What do you mean! Did that fucking dick finally-““A fucking cadet. A fucking junior cadet.” Shiro said, cutting his best friend off.Matt squinted at him, as if he couldn’t quite believe it. “The fuck you talking about?”Shiro groaned into his pillow before rolling over. He would have to re-iron his uniform, but he didn’t care.“A cadet today came to class late. I assumed he would be a slacker, but as soon as he went into the sim…” he drew in a shaky breath, closing his eyes. “The engineer and his partner didn’t do anything. They were freaking out like everyone else does.” Giving a pointed look at Matt, the other spluttered, raising their hands up in defense. “But…but he didn’t. He got a perfect score Matt. On his first sim ride.”Matt’s jaw dropped, and he held his head in his hands. “You’re lying.”“I’m not. It’s true. Hack into the servers to see for yourself.”Matt spun around, hands already flying over the his keyboard. “You’re not telling me everything though.” He said.Shiro rolled his eyes. Of course Matt knew. If anyone knew, he would. Sighing, he looked up towards the ceiling, wondering if he should even bother to mention it.“What is it?” Matt asked, turning to look at Shiro, a malicious glint on his glasses.“He’s cute.” Shiro said, before groaning,The clicking in the room paused, and a smile spread across Matt’s face. “Takashi Shirogane. Corrupting the country’s youth.” Chuckling to himself, he looked back at his screen, scrolling through the logs for the day. Shiro never knew how he managed to do that, but he had already passed on his legacy to his sister, a fierce little thing that was to be a cadet in a few years. Shiro hoped he was gone by then.“I am not. He’s eighteen. Legally an adult.” Shiro countered.“Don’t worry. Everyone wants to get in your pants, and hopefully he’ll be one of them.” Matt said, and Shiro wasn’t quite sure how to reply to that.Silence settled easily between the two. Pushing the bride of his glasses up, Matt leaned in closer to the screen. “Keith Kogane, 18, orphaned…” he read, his finger trailing across the screen before he let out a yelp. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO YOUR CADETS SHIROGANE?”Shiro winced at the sudden outburst, turning his head and half expecting to meet deep purple eyes. “What are they doing to me?” He asked, finally letting out that sigh.
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Keith did not plan on being late.Somewhere between setting his alarm the night before, and waking up the next morning, it was as if every piece of him had lost his sense of purpose. So when the alarm had blared that morning, he had shut it off and gone back to sleep. Half an hour later, he was shaken awake by his roommate that was telling him that he was going to be late for class.Bolting up, he slammed his head against the upper bunk, a long string of curse words spilling from his mouth as he grabbed his uniform and ran to the bathroom. Glancing at the clock, he saw that he had ten minutes until class.“Shit, shit, shit.” He groaned, moving with a ferocity that was unrivaled. It had taken so much work to get accepted into this place, and he was going to get kicked out on his first day.Somehow he managed to exit his dorm with a rumpled uniform and untamed hair, but those were minor details at that point. Dashing down the halls, he nearly crashed into several people wearing dingy grey uniforms. Keith swore he could hear them snickering behind him. He would have apologized, fought them, done something, but he had a more pressing issue at hand. Seeing the next room number, his face lit up as he ran over, windows showing the class inside.It had taken but a moment to crash into the door, realizing his mistake all too late. Coming to class late at the top military academy in the world was already something weighing over him. But making his presence known – that was sure to bring trouble. Looking at the person standing above the crowd, his eyes met soft grey ones, steeled with determination.Keith could have drowned in those eyes, if he hadn’t realized that he had been asked a question.Of course, to anyone else, the truth would have seemed like a long drawn out excuse, so instead, he opted for a small white lie. “U-um, I got lost on the way here.” He stammered. The last thing he needed was a teacher to be pissed at him first thing in his career. “sir?”It seemed too easy as the instructor waved him to sit down, and he sat as far back as he could, hoping to hide in the crowd. But Fate would prove to be a bitch.“Shaya McCullough, Keith Kogane, and Aaron Gonzalez.”Keith looked up sharply, wind swept from his lungs. First he was late, now he was going to be going in the simulator first? God help him. He was going to die today.He shuffled towards the center of the room, following after the other two people being called up. They seemed arrogant, ready, as if they had been ready for this moment their entire lives. And he supposed they had. After all, other people trained to get into this institution. The best and brightest of the world. A place of scientific advancement and military might.But for Keith, it was just an escape.Walking into the simulator, he sat in the pilot’s seat, the controls in front of him achingly familiar, even though he’d never seen them before. Buckling up, he let out a breath as the screen in front of him flared to life, and adrenaline pumped through his veins. “Did you see that instructor?” some girl said, blush coating her cheeks. “I would love to get on that. Who knew senior cadets could be so hot? And smart? And talented?”Keith made a face as he eavesdropped on the two girls’ conversation. The cafeteria line was achingly slow, and he had nothing else to do as he stared at his green tray, unidentifiable lumps of gray glop sitting on one corner of his dish. He distantly wondered if the food had been made out of some alien plant to achieve the color of pure trash on top of his plate.“Ugh. Shut up. No one will hook us up with them. We’re newbies. We have to get a reputation first.”A reputation. Keith had already gotten one. Whistles in the hallways, stares from the other orange clothed cadets. His roommates had even begun to ignore him, as if he done something wrong. The isolation was familiar, although bittersweet in such a large community. But Keith could make due. He always had, and this place wasn’t going to change anything.“Heard he’s the best pilot at the Garrison. Top of his class and everything. He’ll probably get to go on one of those important missions.”His instructor was the best pilot at the Garrison? No wonder they had allowed him, a senior cadet, to teach a class. After all, what else was better than to put your most imposing figure in front of a set of new recruits. He had to applaud the Garrison for their efforts. If he was the best pilot at the Garrison, top of his class, he would probably stay towards the center of the Garrison, near the instructor’s quarters.Keith moved silently through the line, nodding towards the cooks who plopped various mystery dishes onto his tray. Plopping down at a table, he nudged at some sort of glop with his fork, making a face as it jiggled. Meals from here on out were going to be an interesting experience if this was all they would get.“The food gets better once they figure that they’ve weeded out the crowd.” A voice said above him. “It’s pure evil using food to get people to leave. Sometimes some of us go out to get some actual food though. You can’t survive on this mysterious goop.”Keith looked up, only to be met with an impish face. Large glasses, way too big for his face, were perched on his nose, while his face was haloed by an uncontrollable mass of light hair. He looked Keith’s age, but the way he was talking showed that he had been at the Garrison for quite a bit. The figure sat across from him, and Keith couldn’t help but glare at him. Who was this person? Were they pitying him for sitting alone? He swore that if they were-“The name’s Matt Holt by the way. I’m a second year here, but I’m taking senior classes. They put me on accelerated learning cause I’ve got way more up here.” He said tapping his head, “than around here.” He continued, pointing at his arms. “Just your local engineer. But I’ve heard that you are not your average junior cadet.”Keith’s eyes widened. How could someone years above him know about him already? He opened his mouth to object, but the other held a finger up to silence him. Keith slowly closed his mouth, but he narrowed his eyes in a silent threat.“Shiro is usually quite the troublemaker, but the instructors love him because no one can fly any better. But imagine him coming into our dorm, and telling me that someone else is a better pilot than him. Unbelievable. I thought that maybe this other senior cadet, he’s totally an asshole, had beat his records. But no. It was a junior cadet. First day, first year junior cadet. Unbelievable.”Keith sat silently, not sure what to say. Matt was just chattering on and on, and he couldn’t even butt in if he wanted too. Putting a forkful of mysterious glop in his mouth, he swallowed, the taste making his mouth burn. Even the orphanage’s food was better than this.“So, who are you? I know your name, rank, familial and martial status, all that.” Matt finished. “Keith Kogane, an orphan, single, new student at the Garrison. But who are you?”Keith paused, swallowing. He wasn’t sure how this other person knew so much about him, but he finally shrugged, moving to lift another forkful of glop up. He wasn’t going to tell his entire life story to some random kid genius that happened to be eating lunch with him. No, best to keep it simple and divert the attention away from him.“I’m no one important. Just here to get a job someday.”Matt leaned back and let out a small whistle. “Keith, you’re too modest. Have you been trained by someone or something? I’ve never seen anyone fly that well…except Shiro.”“Who’s Shiro?” Keith asked, fork submerged into the glop, forgotten as he tilted his head. “And how does he know about me? How do you know about me?”Matt made a move to answer, before his eyes widened and he ducked his head. “Shh. Don’t say a word.”Keith turned around, looking at the rest of the cafeteria. Everything was as it had been minutes ago before Matt’s arrival, although the line for food had shortened. Turning back, he looked at the other, a strange look on his face.“What…what are you hiding from?”“Shhh. He’s going to kill me.”Keith looked back again, even more confused. “Who?”“Me.”Matt let out a yelp as someone towered over him, his glasses falling straight off his face into the food in front of him. He scowled at the looming figure, already chattering about something, but Keith didn’t pay him any attention.He hadn’t noticed it before, but his instructor was gorgeous. Long limbs, with muscles that were defined even through the long sleeves of his uniform. Keith slowly raked his eyes over the other, until he met soft grey eyes, the same eyes he had fallen into earlier. Fuck. If Matt knew this person-“-anyway, this is Keith.” Matt said, his voice clearly enunciating Keith’s name for some reason. “Keith, this is Takashi Shirogane, senior cadet, and certified asshole and troublemaker.” Shaking his head, Keith stood up hastily and offered his hand up to the senior cadet.“Keith Kogane, junior cadet sir.” He said, tripping over his own words. Not only was he in front of an instructor, but a ridiculously attractive one at that, but all he could do was stumble over his words like a giddy girl asking a boy to a dance. Shiro’s cheeks seemed to turn a shade pinker for some reason and he looked around, sighing as he realized no one had noticed. Keith stood there awkwardly, hand extended, before sitting down when Shiro waved him down. Keith sat meekly, suddenly self-conscious.“I’m not really an instructor. I’m just a cadet like you. No need for honorifics.” Shiro said, running his fingers through that peculiar fluff of hair hanging between his eyes. “Someone will probably think I’m making you do something and I don’t need more shit with Iverson right now.”“You wouldn’t be in any shit if you didn’t get in that fight during class.” Matt sang, only to be greeted with a punch to his upper arm. Keith looked back and forth between the two and their friendly banter. They had such an easy relationship, and Keith vaguely wondered how it would be to have friendships where the other didn’t give a care about any of the problems the other might cause.Nursing his wound, Matt turned to Keith, a peculiar smile on his face. “So, Keith. All the senior cadets are going off base to party on Friday. Wanna come with? You can hang out with me and Mr. Takashi over here.”Keith blushed, staring down at his food. He was sure that going off-base was against the rules, especially for junior cadets, but the way that Matt was looking at him – no, the way Shiro was looking at him, he couldn’t resist. Not while his heart pounded traitorously against his chest, threatening to break out and spill all over the table.
Get your shit together Kogane. You came here to get a life, not crush on the seniors.
“I would but I can’t. I want to stay here as long as I can.” He mumbled, picking his fork up and poking at the muck on his tray. Silence greeted his ears, and he couldn’t help but peek upwards.Matt and Shiro seemed to be in some type of silent conversation, with Shiro’s face growing redder by the second. It was almost endearing, though Keith had no idea why he would be so flustered over a party. Finally, Matt turned back towards Keith, his face triumphant.“We’ll cover for you if Iverson gets on your case, so just come with. You won’t regret it.” Matt said, and Keith shrugged vaguely. Even if he wanted to go, he wouldn’t have a single clue what to do. After all, it wasn’t as if the orphanage had wanted them to all maintain their social behaviors. No, they had just wanted to keep them alive, and Keith supposed he had to thank them for that.“I guess. I’ve got homework though.” He mumbled, pushing his tray of food away. He couldn’t take a single more bite of the goo, even if he wanted to. So much pressure was being put on him the very first day, and he felt as if his head was going to explode and spill all over the cafeteria floor. He wouldn’t have minded it much.“Hey, don’t get stressed about this.”Shiro’s voice was surprisingly soft, and Keith let the words flow over him like a waterfall. He looked at him, and Keith suddenly got the sense that yes, everything is alright in the world.Maybe Fate wasn’t such a bitch after all.
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Part two of these two idiots being in love is up now! I've gotten some people asking for it, so there it is!