Maybe it was Katie's new haircut, or the fact that both she and Takashi managed to get to bed at a very reasonable (and early for both) hour, or maybe it was because Hot Pockets were on sale at the grocery store, and it could have also been due to the fact that Allura had been so perfect that day – but whatever it was, Takashi went to bed in much better spirits than he had in a long time.

There were other things, too – he had an appointment coming up, one where he was going to discuss with his doctor the possibilities a prosthetic arm, and he was trying to keep that as much of a secret as he could. On top of that, Katie had been in such a good mood recently, and she practically skipped to the bus stop after her haircut.

Takashi felt good and was starting to believe that maybe, just possibly, he wasn't so bad at this parenting thing. He was glad that he took Allura's advice, that he put what Katie wanted over his own reservations. She really did look cute with the shorter hair, and she seemed absolutely thrilled with it. There wasn't too much more he could ask for.

As he started to settle into bed (rather, his couch), Takashi pulled a small stenography notebook and pen off the coffee table to the side. He usually penned his grocery list on this stack of paper, but a part of him felt as if he needed to write a different sort of list tonight. He sat up, clicked the pen, and wrote down two things, two ambitions for him to strive for in the coming weeks (or months). In what order these goals were accomplished, he didn't mind too much. They were as follows:

Get a new arm.
Ask Allura on a date.

He didn't write anything down about Katie, mostly because he knew for a fact he was going to devote all his spare time to nurturing the young girl, and there was no need for a motivational point on a list; he was never going to forget about Katie – she was top priority, now and always. The new arm was optional, really. He had been managing just fine without it so far. And Allura – of course he wanted to ask her out, and sometime soon, but there was little possibility she would actually say yes. And Takashi tried to convince himself that it wouldn't be the end-all if she rejected him. Dating Allura would just be really, really nice.

Pleased with his list, Takashi fell back onto the couch, finally ready to go to bed. He took a long sigh, throwing his arm across his face, shielding his eyes from the blaring light of the television. Katie had been so easy to get down for the night, hadn't even put up any sort of fight. She had just grabbed her stuffed lion, the green fuzz tickling her chin and nose. She loved that toy more than a lot of things, just held it close to her chest as often as she could, and Takashi was still so incredibly grateful that Allura had thought to give all the children one. She really was a good teacher, he thought.

Objectively, of course. He was thinking that solely from an objective sort of perspective.

The next morning, Takashi got up, pleasantly surprised with how much sleep he had actually gotten. He felt strangely refreshed, ready to tackle the day. He pulled himself off the couch, stretching a bit, before shuffling to his kitchenette to start a pot of coffee. The young man measured out the correct amount of grounds, dumping them into the coffee maker before walking back to his living room area. He wanted to have his coffee and be semi-ready before waking Katie up; today was grocery shopping day, and these sorts of trips always seemed to take so much energy from both parties.

The pair didn't need too many items, just the essentials – just milk, frozen pancakes, Hot Pockets (they were on sale, so naturally Katie wanted as many as they could fit into their shopping cart), apple juice, food for Katie's snacks and lunches, and a few frozen dinners. No, it wasn't the most nutritious of choices, but Takashi didn't mind too much at this point. He did make sure to buy things like carrots, but Katie didn't care all that much.

Except peanut butter. Katie went crazy for that stuff.

After settling down with his hot cup of coffee, garnished with a tablespoon (or more) of French vanilla creamer and a couple packets of sugar, Takashi pulled out his smartphone, flipping through some e-mails and scrolling down through his social media apps. It was pretty boring, considering his e-mails mostly pertained to college, and his social media life was all but nonexistent.

Once his drink was finished, Takashi gathered his wits together and rose to his feet. He was ready to get to the store, even if it was fairly early for a Saturday. But there was a lot of homework he needed to catch up on, and Katie's room was starting to get messy; there was a lot he wanted to get accomplished this weekend, yet Takashi was quite sure that his well-loved schedules were slowly starting to slip away from him.

Creeping into Katie's bedroom, Takashi knelt by Katie's bed, nudging her shoulder gently. He spoke softly, trying not to frighten her even as he woke her up. "Morning, Katie," he said, smiling when his only response was an annoyed grunt. The little girl obviously didn't want to be bothered, and he almost felt guilty for disrupting her beauty sleep. "Hey, we've gotta get to the store today, alright?"

His voice was quite soft, but it was enough to stir the child out of her sleep. Katie turned to face him, her expression irritated, but she still sat up, rubbing at her eyes. When her hand started searching for her glasses, her short arms just missing the frames, Takashi slid said item closer to her, nearly laughing when Katie made a sort of victory noise as soon as she got her hands on her glasses. "What're we – gettin''?" Katie asked, a yawn interrupting her question.

Takashi did chuckle this time, ruffling her hair. He still wasn't sure how long it would take for him to get used to her short haircut, but he could already tell that both people were going to have a much easier time managing with the new look. "Well, we're gonna get some peanut butter," he started, smiling even wider when Katie's face lit up, "And then some more pancakes, some Hot Pockets, a big bottle of apple juice, milk…" he droned on, waiting to see how long it would take to bore Katie. She seemed to zone out after he mentioned milk, and she truly didn't care whether they bought bread or laundry detergent.

It wasn't too hard to get Katie ready; since it was only a Saturday, and she didn't have to look too dressed up for just the grocery store, Takashi just helped her into a plain neon orange t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. He ran a brush through her hair, noting how easily it glided through her short locks.

Truthfully, he wished he had thought of getting Katie's hair cut sooner.

The two rode the bus together in a general silence, Katie leaning against her guardian as the vehicle turned corners. He could tell she was tired, and Takashi was definitely going to have her take a small nap later that day. For now, though, she had to tag along with him to the store. He did wish he could get a babysitter for Katie, so that she didn't always have to depend on Takashi and his schedule, but it was hard when he was the one who used to babysit for the Holts.

Takashi had very few friends, and he had none that would want to watch a four year-old girl on the weekends.

They exited the bus a few minutes later, Katie grabbing onto Takashi's hand to ensure that she didn't fall on her face as she hopped off the last step. The buses were still a little high for her, and Takashi mentally reminded himself to just pick her up the next time so that she didn't even have to worry about stumbling.

Thankfully, it was still quite early, and the grocery store was fairly deserted. Takashi pulled a cart out, and Katie put her hand around the side of the cart, content to walk alongside it. She was still fairly small, and could probably fit if she wanted to, but Katie was far too active to just sit in a cart and wait for Takashi to grab everything.

As they perused the aisles, Takashi grabbing the things he needed to, Katie nearly darted away when she saw a box of cheese-flavored crackers she wanted. Catching her by the arm, Takashi pulled her back, grabbing the same box she wanted. He might not have rewarded her running with the snack had he not been such a fan of the crackers himself.

He was about ready to head for the smooth peanut butter when he heard a chipper yet confused, "Shiro?"

He really did like the sound of Allura's voice, but hearing it in public, on a weekend, took Takashi by surprise. Especially when she chose to refer to him only by his nickname.

But to be honest, he was starting to get pretty tired of the fact that Allura could wear anything and look absolutely wonderful. She looked as if she had just gotten done working out, dressed in a pair of athletic shorts and a baggy pullover. Her hair was drawn into a high ponytail, and her makeup was still done flawlessly.

Takashi tried not to stare, he really did. And yet, he found himself with his mouth wide open, unable to even remember what exactly he was shopping for. Katie, however, recovered from her surprise much better than her guardian had, because she pushed past him to show her teacher her new haircut. The little girl turned her head to the side while Allura gushed over how nice the cut was.

"Oh, Katie, it looks so good! And I bet it's a lot cooler now, too, huh?" the young woman asked, her expression bright; she made brief eye contact with Takashi, and sent a wink in his direction. "You're going to have to tell me who you went to, because I need a haircut, too."

Finally remembering that he needed to buy peanut butter (smooth, of course, and never crunchy – he was glad that both he and Katie shared similar opinions about their peanut butter), Takashi allowed Katie to have a few moments to tell Allura all about the barber she went to. Yes, it was the old kind with the swirling poles on the outside of the building; and yes, the barber was super old, but he was also really nice, and he even gave Katie a sucker after he finished cutting her hair.

Allura listened, completely enthralled in the little girl's story. She didn't shift from one side to the other, didn't let her eyes wander about the grocery store, just focused on Katie. Takashi really appreciated that about her, because it told him that she truly valued the students as people, and not just a day job.

Still, he might have felt bad if he had let Katie ramble for too much longer. No, it made much more sense for him to ramble near the teacher – it was what he was good at. He put his hand on Katie's shoulder, leaning against the cart so it didn't roll away from him. "What all are you up to?" he asked Allura.

The young woman glanced down at her shopping basket, then back up at Takashi. "Just out shopping," she replied. The basket was filled with a box of granola bars, a few bottles of those healthy power drinks, some baking supplies, and about four or five frozen dinners. "Just out grabbing the essentials." Allura smiled, not uncomfortably, and shifted the plastic basket from one arm to the other. "What do you two have planned for today?"

As if on cue, Katie yawned, rubbing her face against the side of the cart. That couldn't have been comfortable, Takashi thought, and he felt a bit embarrassed – Allura probably thought he had dragged an exhausted child to the grocery store on a Saturday morning (which he did, but he assumed she would take it with a more negative connotation).

But no, Allura laughed lightly. "Me, too, Katie."

She had a way about her, surprising Takashi every time he decided to make an assumption about the teacher. There truly didn't seem to be a mean bone in her body, and she loved listening to both his and Katie's anecdotes, and she was just a genuinely wonderful person.

Barely missing a beat, the young woman continued, "I was thinking, Shiro, about having a party. Sort of like a 'welcome to the school year' sort of thing. I…I don't know if you know anything about throwing parties, because I definitely don't, but – I mean, if you wanted to help out, or even just give me an idea or two along the way-"

He nodded, a smile spreading across his face. Katie was already excited, pushing herself off the shopping cart to watch her teacher expectantly. Like any young child, Katie loved parties, and she was already excited to hear about the details.

"I'd love to help out," he assured her, and Allura grinned. "So, what were you thinking?"

"Well…" she began, a devious sort of expression passing her features. Katie laughed at the tone of her voice. "I was thinking I could have it at my place, and invite all the students and their families. Then again…my father's house has so much room, and he has a giant backyard…" She hummed, already conflicted. "Anyway, I'll make a bunch of food, taking any and all food allergies into consideration, of course-"

"Of course," Takashi agreed, interrupting her.

She made a face, a mixture of irritation and amusement. "As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, we could have a bunch of games in the backyard, and I'll figure out something fun for the parents, too, hopefully. I don't know, it was just a thought that occurred to me in the middle of the night, honestly."

"That's what you think about at night?" Takashi asked, playfulness in his voice.

"That, among other things." Allura laughed lightly, obviously entertained with her own comeback. She wasn't easily caught off-guard, Takashi realized, a fact which was a good thing, considering how easily he was flustered. Yes, they had both had their moments of extreme awkwardness, but Allura certainly recovered at a much quicker rate than he did.

Katie was starting to get bored of their conversation, shifting from one foot to the other, trying to snatch the jar of peanut butter away from her guardian. She just wasn't tall enough, and unfortunately for her, she wasn't yet able to catch Shiro's attention. After Katie pulled on the hem of his t-shirt, however, he immediately turned to face her, almost concerned.

"What is it?" he asked gently, kneeling down a bit. That was the nice thing about Takashi – no matter how engaged he was in his conversation with Allura, even if it was going strangely well, he would be instantaneously focused on Katie if she ever needed his help, or even just his attention.

Katie nearly answered, but a strange wave of nervousness washed over her, and she found herself just whispering the answer into his ear. "Can I put the peanut butter 'n the cart?"

Takashi smiled, and he knew that Katie genuinely liked Allura. But toddlers just clammed up sometimes, even around people they were generally comfortable with. He wasn't going to make a big deal of it, just handed the little girl the jar of peanut butter so she could chuck it into the shopping cart. She did so, and the plastic container landed with a thunk.

Allura looked around the store, and moved out of the way so that a woman with her nearly-full shopping cart could squeeze by. The young teacher gave a quick apology, making eye contact with Takashi again. "I think I'm starting to get in everyone's way, so I should better go, huh?"

He felt a little guilty, too, nodding. "Yeah, we've still got a few more things to get before we can head home. Um, hey, if you need any help planning that party, let me know," Takashi offered. "You, uh, you have my phone number, right?"

"I do," she replied, looking grateful. "I really would appreciate the extra help, so expect a lot of messages about stupid things. But I'm giving you fair warning."

"You'd be about the only person who texts me, so I won't mind."

They both chuckled, and Katie joined in (even if she didn't quite understand why the two adults were laughing). Allura nodded, turning the shopping basket in her hands. "Alright, then, I'm going to let you two go. Wouldn't want to bore you too much before you even make it to my big party." She winked, waving at Katie and Takashi before turning and leaving.

Takashi sighed, glancing down at Katie. "I always act like an idiot in front of her, don't I?" he asked, already very much aware of the answer. Without missing a beat, Katie inclined her head, a mischievous smirk on her face. He figured as much and groaned. "Do you think she ever notices?"

"Kinda hard not to," the little girl deadpanned, giggling soon after. She couldn't keep a straight face for very long, even when she had just come up with a very good one-liner. Takashi smiled, too, ruffling the little girl's hair.

"Well, I'm gonna try to stop being so dumb, okay?" Noting Katie's dubious expression, he added, "I mean it. I'm either going to actually talk to her like a functioning adult, or I'm just gonna move to Canada or something. You can come with, if you want. I mean, if I did move, you'd have to tagalong with me, but I think you'd like Canada. They have a lot of maple syrup."

His jokes failed to even impress Katie, as the only thing that amused her at that time was his inability to function around her teacher. Even so, Katie nodded sagely, grabbing back onto the shopping cart, practically leading her guardian through the rest of the store. He sighed, picking back up the pace and grabbing onto the front bar of the cart, trying to balance his list in the same hand. They didn't have too much more to grab, and Katie was actually quite helpful in procuring the necessary products. She even reminded Takashi (about a hundred times) about the Hot Pockets.

He couldn't blame her for being excited, though; ham and cheese Hot Pockets really were the best things that had ever been invented. The unlikely pair made sure to throw about four small boxes into their cart before continuing their shopping adventure.

By the time they were in the self-checkout line, Katie and Shiro both were thoroughly exhausted. He had already planned for the little girl to be taking a nap later that day, but he was starting to think that he should maybe do the same, if only for a few minutes, an hour at most.

One hour turned into three, and two groggy human beings were left in the wake of the monstrous nap. Katie's hair stuck up in nearly every direction, and Takashi's wasn't too much better. He did crack a smile, though, at the way Katie haphazardly put back on her glasses – the frames slid down her face, practically hanging on by an ear. She didn't seem to mind, just snuggled a bit closer to Takashi's side, rubbing her face against his arm.

Yawning, he patted her head, checking the clock. It was still only two in the afternoon, and the young man stretched, and nearly knocked Katie off-balance. He gave a quick apology before righting her, noting her drowsy irritation.

Yes, he probably should have set an alarm clock. It was irresponsible to have done any less. But despite the still-tired feeling, the sleepy way his mind was functioning right now, and the small child about ready to knock him in the head in a few seconds if he didn't sit still, Takashi was sure that his body was going to thank him for the long nap later. It had been so long since he had voluntarily (and recreationally) slept for such a duration, and it honestly felt pretty good.

"Want some lunch?" he asked softly, letting out a low chuckle when Katie vehemently shook her head. She usually wasn't a griping sort of child, and he could let it go when she was just cranky from a nap. Still, though, he finally got up all the way, urging her to follow; and she did, shuffling her little feet, her strawberry print socks rubbing against the carpet.

They ate in a relative silence, both nibbling their Hot Pockets. Takashi thought back to Allura's shopping basket, and he figured he should probably invest in healthier eating options for Katie. Then again, her brother wasn't too much better; he always seemed to have a candy bar nearby.

Matt was also the most hyper individual Takashi had ever met in his life, and he didn't feel too guilty for secretly hoping that Katie would turn out just a little less active than her brother did.

"So…" Takashi began, breaking the comfortable silence. Katie looked up, mid-bite, curious as to what her guardian wanted to talk about. At this point, she probably figured it had something to do with either school, or Allura.

She wasn't wrong.

"What did you think about the party idea?" he asked, taking a long drink of his apple juice. Truthfully, his eating habits now were no different than the ones he had practiced as a college student living alone. Now, though, he just had apple juice instead of hard root beer. "I mean, Miss Allura said it would be really fun, and all your friends will be there, too."

"I like parties," Katie supplied, and she ate a few more bites of her Hot Pocket before putting it down. "When is it?"

"I don't think she knows yet. But we're gonna help her out as much as we can, right?" And he really did mean that from a good and honest place, not just an advantageous way. Would he be seeing more of Allura? Sure, maybe. But he also wanted Katie to be involved in as many things as possible. And, for the past week, she had done so well. She was easily vocalizing with her class, and they all truly seemed to appreciate her input. Katie was polite with her teacher, and she hadn't caused any problems yet. What was even better was that she was very involved with her class, even answering Allura's questions every now and again. She loved her classmates, had even exchanged landline numbers with Hunk so that they could talk on the phone if they really wanted to.

Katie nodded, picking up her small glass of apple juice and sipping from it thoughtfully. "What're we going to do?"

"Good question. We can go shopping for her if she needs it, or we can help her decorate, or you can give her fun ideas for party games. Yeah?"

The little girl seemed suddenly focused on the topic, her face drawn in a very concentrated look. Takashi leaned forward, confused, and just a little apprehensive. Finally, after a long and pregnant silence, she asked, "Is there a theme?"

He laughed, shrugging. "I'm not sure yet. I mean, I think we can narrow it down to two things: space, or animals."

"Animals in space," Katie breathed, entranced by the notion.

The thought occurred to Takashi that all the children would like this idea. They had all very much enjoyed the look of the classroom, and it was supposed to look like one big galaxy. And Keith had even said that his favorite things were zoos, and all the children loved their stuffed lions so much. They carted the animals around with them everywhere, and Katie always had hers with her at night; Takashi figured that they all worked rather similarly to Katie.

"That's such a good idea," he told the little girl, grinning. "You know what, I'm gonna text her about that. That can be our first idea!"

Extremely pleased, because she had been the one to pioneer the thought, Katie pulled Takashi's cell phone off the coffee table. "Tell her, Shiro!" she insisted, her expression bright. She looked so excited that he couldn't help but agree, taking the phone from her. He didn't have to look long for Allura's contact, mostly because she came first alphabetically. He was a little nervous, but he tried to keep his texting voice as casual as possible.

[T: Don't know if you've thought about a theme for your party, but Katie came up with one. How do you feel about "animals in space"? Think about it.]

He waited for her response for what he felt like was an excruciatingly long amount of time; in reality, though, Allura usually had her phone in her hand at all times, and she was always quick to respond. For a man that just felt as if he put his heart on the line, however, the wait time felt unbearable.

Eventually, though, when his phone went off with a generic ping-ing noise, Takashi and Katie both crowded around the bright little screen. It was harder to navigate the phone with just one arm, and even more difficult to text, but he was somehow managing.

[A: I love it! You two are going to have to help me with it tho ;-)]

Katie couldn't read, but the way that Takashi's face lit up was certainly enough to tell her that her idea had been successful enough.

He was also happy, of course, because she had ended her text with a flirty smiley-face. Maybe she always ended her texts with a winky emoji, though, and there was really only one way to tell. With shaking fingers, he typed out his best and equally flirty response.

[T: Maybe we'll have to meet up sometime to talk about it, then.]

This time, Allura responded at a much quicker rate:

[A: Definitely, maybe over some coffee? There's a café right by the school it's my treat]

[T: Tomorrow? At noon? It's a date ;-)]

[A: It is? Well bring a notebook because we'll be brainstorming]

[T: We'll be there ]

Finally putting his phone down, Takashi looked over at Katie. "So, we're going out to see Allura tomorrow. She wants to talk about the party, but she loved your idea. Does that sound good?" he asked, and Katie nodded vehemently. Both persons were excited about their party planning adventure with the young teacher, and Takashi realized something:

Off his 'Things to Do' list, he could officially cross Ask Allura on a date off it.

A.N.: So, with 3 very writing-intensive English classes this semester, and a new job at my school's writing center, I'm not sure how regularly I'll be able to update, but I certainly won't forget about it, don't worry! I really appreciate everyone's amazing responses to this fic, and I can't thank you all enough!

The title from this chapter comes from a quote by Albertus Magnus: "Do there exist many worlds, or is there but a single world? This is one of the most noble and exalted questions in the study of Nature." I don't know, I really loved this quote so much! Thank you all again!