It wasn't everyday that Anju Kurabagi got to go to Sternbild and spend time with her youngest son. Between his schedule and hers it just didn't happen as often as either one of them would have liked, but now that Kaede didn't need so much of Anju's time and with Kotetsu being in the B team they had more time to spend together. As he was getting dinner ready she couldn't help but think that, perhaps, it wouldn't kill him to use some of his new-found free time to learn how to make something besides fried rice.
"Hey, mom" Kotetsu asked while chopping vegetables, "would it be alright with you if Bunny came over for dinner?
"Why would I care it's your—wait, who's Bunny?"
"Oh, you know," he said, using that tone children always use when they realize that they know they've been caught and are holding out hope that whoever caught them doesn't realize it.
"He's my partner. I just call him that because his helmet looks like it has bunny ears on it."
Anju mentally noted that he used the not at all professional and debatably platonic form of the word partner, while the man in question continued to prepare dinner.
"Kotetsu, is there something you want to tell me? I'm not going to be mad; truth be told you haven't been able to genuinely surprise me for a very, very long time."
Knowing full well that he had been caught (but not that Barnaby had let himself in and was listening intently) he decided that he might as well tell the whole truth.
"We haven't done anything that would warrant saying "partner" like that. I don't know if I want to. I just know that my mood seems to be tied to his and I'm not sure if I could handle losing him." At this point he realized that Barnaby had slipped in while he was spilling his guts to his mother.
"Maybe he didn't understand what I was saying," Kotetsu thought.
That went out the window when Barnaby said, "Hey, Old Man, are you going to introduce me to your mother or what?"
"Well, maybe he missed the part where it was obvious that I was talking about him," he couldn't help but think while he was making introductions.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Kurabagi; I feel the same way about your son."