Pidge took a deep breath.
They looked in their reflection, frowning deeply.
Since when had they ever been so concerned with their physical appearance?
The fashion designers did that for them enough; they had never concerned themselves with their face.
But now, looking in the mirror, they could only see people they were not.
They thought of Matt, and suddenly ripped their glasses off with an angry sound.
It was better, with the blurry sight, they thought, and left their glasses on the shelf their mirror rested on.
They opened their computer, and with another deep breath, selected Takashi Shirogane in their contact list.
Shiro took a deep breath.
He looked into his mirror, and frowned.
Since when had he been so self-conscious about his eyeliner?
He loved his cat eyes; it was part of his trademark, but now, they felt like too much.
He didn't want to scare Pidge away by being too much; he hadn't made any backup plans, and had already told Allura he found someone.
He checked his watch.
It was too late to take his makeup off, anyway.
He dropped into his seat at his desk, pulling his collar straight, and waited.
Pidge had said they would call him, at six o'clock sharp, and he had a good five minutes before then.
He glanced over to the side of his office not shown by his webcam, where his moulds were stacked neatly, bottles of chemicals clearly labeled, all current orders boxed. He still couldn't understand how their business got invited to this thing, anyway.
Brrrzt!
Shiro actually yelped from surprise, before recovering as quickly as possible and accepting the incoming call.
There was a short burst of static, and Pidge was squinting on his screen.
"H-Hello."
Shiro smiled nervously.
They were simply precious. Their cheeks were slightly puffy, and they looked tired, like a normal college student, but it was only a relief to Shiro, because that meant that they were real. Their smile was slightly lopsided, but genuine, and their thin shoulders and neck drowned in the high collar of their sweater. Their hair was fluffy, and cut in a sort of pseudo-mullet with longer face framing.
"Hi."
Pidge responded, voice slightly shaky.
Shiro bit back a grin at how well their voice fit them.
Oh, no.
What was that feeling in his stomach?
Pidge smiled as wide as they could, hoping their disappointment wasn't too obvious.
This guy had obviously catfished them.
Though the most they could hope to make out was little more than blurry shapes, the man had grayish-whitish hair, an old man's hair, and something pinkish along his face that looked like a tattoo of some sort. He had dark blobs around the corners of his eyes-wrinkles?-and was wearing some kind of one-sleeved shirt, his left arm some sort of gray.
"So...uh…"
He laughed, and his voice was soothing, calm, ageless.
At least there's that, Pidge thought. "...I'm, uh, fairly new to this whole thing." He finished, shifting around the screen.
Pidge made a short, amused sound before responding.
"I am too, so...I don't think I'll be very helpful."
They pulled their knees up to their chest, trying to keep calm. They were beginning to regret this.
Shiro's smile strained. Pidge didn't seem totally involved. He glanced down, pulling his shirt taught so the logo was more visible.
"So, uhm, you're in college, right? Are you a freshman? What are you studying?"
Pidge laughed, a goofy sort of chuckle.
"I'm about to graduate the four-year program. I've only got two months left until my finals."
"I thought you were nineteen!"
Pidge squinted.
"I am. I was able to skip most of the classes; I've already got an internship set up at NASA, and I'll be taking on the aeronautics program when I come back."
They brushed their hair back sleepily, and Shiro could only stare.
"That's incredible!"
Pidge flushed slightly.
"I-I could've done more, you know. I almost went straight into the young astronauts program, but I didn't think I was ready, and besides that, I was too short, and it didn't even matter, 'cause now, my eyesight's gotten worse, and if it gets any worse than it already is, I may not be able to even make it to the simulations, much less space."
Pidge suddenly bit their lip. They'd been talking too much, again, and this guy wasn't answering. Why should he care about any of that stuff, anyway?
"You want to be an astronaut?"
He asked softly.
Pidge perked suddenly.
"Yeah! I love space, and I just-I love exploring, learning new things, making new things. It-it's kind of a passion of mine…"
They dropped their head suddenly, pulling a bit of hair into their face.
Takashi Shirogane laughed encouragingly.
"I'm like that, too, sort of. I like finding solutions to things I don't always think about. And I really love the night sky...stars and colors, all that. I took astronomy in high school, but, uh… I never really went to college. My business partner and I had already started our business as soon as we were old enough, and there wasn't ever a need to. That's incredible, what you've done. It really is!"
Pidge couldn't tell, but they were pretty sure he was grinning. He didn't sound like a predator or some creepy old dude. He didn't sound exactly like someone who was desperate to fake date someone, either.
Shiro cleared his throat again. "So, uh, you said something about your eyesight. Do you have contacts, or..?"
"Oh! Oh, no." Pidge laughed. "I'm just about completely blind without my glasses, and they don't even make contacts for my prescription."
"Wait, so...are you completely blind right now?"
Pidge flushed slightly.
"Uhm...yes...ehehe…"
They giggled nervously, brushing their bangs away from their face. "...most of my old modeling jobs didn't like my glasses, so I've gotten pretty good at walking around without them."
"Well, what the heck are you doin'? I'm not a photographer, you should be able to see just fine! It's okay to wear glasses, you know."
Shiro fussed internally. What was their self-esteem really like, if they were nervous to even wear glasses?
Pidge bit their lip, but reached offscreen anyway. They came back, pushing their glasses onto their face.
They stared. They stared and blinked and stared, and their face flooded red.
He was hot. Oh Stars, he was attractive.
His hair wasn't graying; the top of it was bleached white, and he had perfectly pointed eyeliner wings sharp enough to pierce Pidge's weak heart. He wasn't wearing a half-sleeved shirt; his arm was prosthetic, and an incredible one, at that. It seemed to be fully articulated, which Pidge had done their research on; bionic limbs like that climbed into the tens of thousands, and were incredibly hard to come by. He had a scar across his nose, a silvery sort of pink, and his smile was gentle and patient, his eyes bright and wondering.
Pidge grinned stupidly.
"Wow."
They said before they could stop themselves, and then crushed their hands over their mouth, flushing deeper.
Takashi Shirogane laughed; he wasn't totally aware of what was going on, though he certainly was a fan of how Pidge's eyes seemed to sparkle in curiosity.
"Is that better?" He asked playfully. Pidge nodded with another crooked smile.
"I always forget how blind I am until I can see again." They admitted.
God, they were adorable.
Shiro watched as they took in their screen with an almost greedy concentration, looking over every detail with clever and sharp eyes, sort of feline in nature. Their glasses were round and huge, sort of hipster and nerdy in one, and with their pointed features, softened their face just enough. The way they talked about learning and their hopes for the future was laced with determination, a kind of wistfulness and force that made him wish he had gone to college too.
"Your arm, is it totally bionic?" They asked, a glimmer in their eye.
Shiro laughed, lifting it so they could get a better view.
"Yeah, it's wired right into what's left of the vessels and nerves and all that, it moves as well as an organic limb, but without any of the pain receptors. It's a little miracle, really."
Pidge's nerdiness was short-circuiting. There were a million more questions running through their head, but they bit them back. He certainly wasn't on a sugar daddy website to answer questions about his prosthetic.
"So, um, ab-about the event you're looking for someone for…" they changed the subject gently. "...you said you were hoping for someone who can dance? What kind of dancing?"
"Oh, I actually don't know. I've never been to a gala like this before, but I assume it'll be ballroom. I haven't the slightest clue how to dance in any way, so if you don't know either, I'm sure that's al-"
"-Oh, ballroom? Modern or Traditional? I know both." Pidge adjusted, pulling their legs into the seat with them.
"I-I have no clue. Whichever would be easier for you to teach. I can pay you more, if you'll teach me how to dance."
Pidge smiled.
"My dad actually taught me both. He also taught me how to do all the fancy stuff; eating at a long table, dressing formally for different occasions, cufflinks and neckties and bow ties, all that. Speaking of, what kind of dress are you looking for from me?"
Shiro made a soft sound in his throat as he thought.
"Oh...the invitation said black-tie-I'll pay for your clothes, if you like-would you rather wear a dress or a suit? I'm going to wear a suit, and honestly I've only got one good tie, but if we can coordinate, I think that'd be great."
Is this their way of saying they'll come with me?
"I'll wear whatever you want. The only thing I'll ask is that you don't make me wear heels; I know I'm small, but heels just-"
Pidge made a face, sticking their tongue out. Shiro laughed.
"Thank god, I'm tall enough to get away with not needing heels! I tried once, just once, and-oh, man. It was awful!"
Pidge smiled softly.
"Did you break a heel?"
"I broke my nose!"
Pidge snorted suddenly, their head jerking forward as they laughed.
"W-what?!"
They snaffled, trying to hide their mouth behind a hand.
Shiro gestured to the mark on his face.
"My business partner, she wears heels that are, like, five inches, and she thought it would be funny if we made a calendar wearing each other's clothes, and I had on these huge heels, and this maxi skirt, and I tried to take a single step, and-bam! Right into the corner of a table. I absolutely ruined her shirt, got blood everywhere-I laugh about it now, 'cause it is really funny, but oh man. It was ugly."
Shiro crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair and reminisced, laughing in good nature.
"Sounds like something worth remembering." Pidge agreed as their laughing subsided. "So, this event is on Friday, right?"
Shiro short-circuited for a second.
"Y-yeah, it starts at seven. I can pick you up, too."
"It's okay, if you send me the adress. I'd rather get myself there."
Shiro nodded.
"I'll send you the address if you let me get my partner to get your outfit together." He slid in slyly. Pidge caught on, and laughed.
"Sounds like a plan, Mr. Shirogane."
Shiro made a sound like he was going to throw up.
"Please, never call me that! Everyone calls me Shiro."
Pidge was silent for a few moments-this guy was terrible at being a sugar daddy, which was probably good for them-but then leaned forward and nodded.
"Guess I'll see you then, Shiro."
Their voice started to waver as what they were about to do settled in.
They hung up before they could dwell on it any longer.
