Summary: The time Shirogane Takeshi finally meets Katie Holt, she is standing before him clad in green armor, there is an unquenchable fire in her eyes, and she is holding a different name.

The first time Shirogane Takashi has heard of Katie Holt, it is when he meets Matt and Sam Holt.

Matt is a friend from the same academy, a budding genius, and his companion for the Kerberos Mission. Sam Holt is a scientist filled with curiosity, a professor of sharp intellect, their commander for the mission, and a gentle father of two.

During and between stimulations (and later on in the Galra prison), they tell him of a girl with a daring sense of adventure and a mind filled with answers and questions as vast as the universe, a daughter with a big heart for family and friends, and a person that means the world to them. They tell him stories of Matt's younger sister, Katie.

They tell him stories of her stubbornness, her straightforward look in life, her headstrong determination, and her special kind of talent. They tell him of the first time she built her own AI robot at the tender age of seven, the time she hacked into the government accidentally at ten years old when she was looking for ways on how to hack into the government (they laughed at the irony of that), and how she had won every science competition in their area by the time she was fourteen, only being second to Matt when they join together.

They show him pictures of a beautiful girl with long flowing auburn hair, a smirk on her lips, and a sly twinkle of boundless knowledge in her eyes much like her brother's. Deep within him, something slumbering stirred, but would not awaken just yet.

…

The first time Shirogane Takashi sees Katie Holt, they are separated by a thin piece of glass and a crossroad.

She is hugging her brother and kisses her father on the cheek as she bids them both a tearful farewell with her mother. There is an excited smile on her face for them and he thinks to himself that pictures do her no good justice. She has a large and distinct personality not even a camera can capture. He thinks she catches his stare with her glance, but deems it impossible since the glass of the car is reflective.

Matt and Sam Holt climb in, and the latter one gives him a knowing look. Matt catches the look his father gives Shiro and objects, saying Katie is off-limits even if she is cute. His father laughs and comments on Matt's protectiveness over his sister. Matt finally relents when Commander Holt says that it would be nice to have dinner with Shiro's family and theirs when they come back. Matt still gives Shiro a pointed look but agrees. Shiro chastises himself for thinking of Katie that way, but inside him, he looks forward to closing the gap between them and meeting each other properly.

"That's a promise."

…

The first time Shirogane Takashi meets Pidge Gunderson, he asks himself why death hates him so as he sees Matt standing before him, shorter and younger, but with the same glint in his eyes.

He is nervous with the young boy at first - even if he hides it well. Pidge lives and breathes with child-like innocence yet hides a deep void of sadness within. There is suspicion at the back of his mind about Pidge, but he pushes it away. It would do him no good to dwell on something so farfetched.

He thanks Pidge for saving him along with everyone else, and grows a fondness for the kid. He may be small, but his curiosity and search for truth is large and endless. He grows protective of Pidge and wonders to himself if he is doing that because Pidge is so much smaller than him and is reckless, or because he sees Matt in Pidge. He is fascinated with his intelligence and haunted by his eyes.

But he is wary of being near Pidge. When he is near him, he is reminded of the two companions he left behind when he escaped the Galra Prison. When he is near him, he is filled with a sense of guilt for being the only one to escape and having no ways of communicating with the last Holt members. When he is near Pidge, he remembers Katie Holt.

…

The time Shirogane Takeshi finally meets Katie Holt, she is standing before him clad in green armor, there is an unquenchable fire in her eyes, and she is holding a different name.

Even though Katie is buried within Pidge, Shiro understands. Pidge is a cadet of the Garrison Galaxy, Pidge is a paladin of the Green Lion, Pidge has gone where no other but five Earth-dwellers has gone before, and Pidge can find Matt and Sam Holt. Pidge can do things Katie cannot.

However, Katie is not Pidge's prison nor is she her past. Katie is a reminder to Pidge that she can still be weak and yet be strong, she is still a girl but can be as tough as any boy out there, and that revealing Katie Holt doesn't mean that the people she has grown to love will think less of her. Katie can be whatever Pidge cannot. And Shiro is the one who tells her so.

She is who she is. And even if the heavens open up, even if they are held prisoners by Zarkon and he ends up being tortured, beaten and probably remain broken forever, even if it takes the last of his dying breath, he will bring her to her family. He will bring her home. They made a promise and he intends to keep it.

…

The first time Shiro meets her, it is the beginning of the end. But as to whose end it is, Shiro is determined to make sure it was not going to be hers.

Y'know, I told myself I would just look at fanart and just read fanfiction. I would just be an onlooker for this show. But then plot bunnies started jumping around my head and now I am officially a part of this fandom.

Also, this won't be the last of my contribution to this fandom. I've got several more fanfics outlined and ready to be written, along with tons of headcannons and AUs.

Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! Do tell me what you think!

See ya'll next time!