Ecstatic, elated, awestruck, pumped – Takashi wasn't sure which emotion he felt the most, or if his disposition was instead an insane mixture of all-the-above and even more, but everything felt right. He and Allura, Allura and him, Takashi and Allura, Miss Allura and Shiro…any way he spun the two names together, they just seemed to fit. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to consider that, just because they were going to officially be going on a date, they were immediately dating. But still, there was a certain bit of a promise, a possibility that tickled the back of Takashi's mind, reminding him that his fortune was beginning to turn around. A new arm, a dinner date with a beautiful woman, and Katie's general happiness and well-being – it all seemed perfect.

A terrible part of him, the cautious and pessimistic side of Takashi's personality, argued that this was only the inciting incident of a life on a gradual downslope. He had thought that he was happy in college, independent and bumbling, but happy. And of course, by no fault of his own, fate had turned his perspective upside-down. And, as he thought about it, Shiro was entirely grateful that he got to be the one to take care of Katie; but if he were being honest, he'd more than happily have the Holts back, even now.

Katie was amazing, and wonderful – but Takashi missed Matt, he missed Mr. and Mrs. Holt, and frankly, he missed having both arms.

The young man only allowed himself quiet moments to reflect on the things he was bitter about. Any more than that, and he feared that his general disposition would suffer as a result. At the end of the day, however, he loved Katie, and he loved the kind of lifestyle that he now had, even if it was not going in the way that he expected it to.

Most of all, though, and this was the part that surprised Takashi the most, he loved the people that Katie had introduced him to. Excluding Allura (because he knew very plainly how he felt about the young teacher, and he still had to marvel about how perfectly things were going), Katie's classmates and their parents were people that he would have never truly known, much less engaged with. The children were so young, obviously, and their parents were outside his age bracket; understandably, he wouldn't have thought that getting a chicken sandwich with a pair of middle-aged parents would have been enjoyable.

And yet, the Garrets made amazing lunch guests, and Takashi was quite thankful for their company.

As he left the doctor's office, took the bus to the nearby park, and greeted Mrs. Garret and the children she had been watching, Takashi felt light. He hadn't in a long time, not really. But everything – Katie's increasingly playful personality, her ability to make friends (and good ones), the fact that he himself had been quickly inundated into the other parents' social circle, and, of course, Allura's intoxicating presence which had quite suddenly become a constant, all melded together to make his life make a little more sense than it had before.

Katie ran to his side, hand taking his and squeezing it, and she pressed her tiny body closer to his side. He glanced down at her, smiling, and thanked Mrs. Garret for watching his young ward. The older woman told him that she would any time, that it had been no trouble at all, and that she was more than happy to watch Katie. Lance and Hunk both waved at Shiro, Lance proudly telling the young man that he had managed to swing higher than Hunk had. The other little boy folded his arms across his chest, not at all angry, and calmly told the lanky child that he had been better at the teeter-totter.

Pulling Shiro down slowly so that she could inconspicuously whisper into his ear, Katie informed her guardian that Hunk was right. Lance had hardly been able to keep Hunk in the air, apparently. Takashi laughed, good-naturedly, and swung his arm around Katie. "Ready to go home?" he asked, gaining a nod in response. "Great, I'm starving."

They stopped for dinner at McDonald's, a meal in which Shiro was not entirely proud of (but how could he possibly deny the temptation of an all-day breakfast?). The pair ate inside, Katie talking animatedly and about a mile a minute, describing to Takashi everything that had happened throughout the day and making sure to tell him that she had swung higher than both Lance and Hunk and that they were just too ashamed to admit it. The little girl tried to talk as she nibbled on her chicken nuggets, but Shiro gave her a look, eyebrow raised. He didn't even have to say anything, because the brunet child put her food down, took a long swig of her chocolate milk as if it had rather been a draft of beer, and continued her speech.

He listened, only occasionally losing focus of the conversation. Sometimes throughout Katie's dissertation of the day, he thought of the other children and especially Keith, because it was a shame that he hadn't been able to join his friends at the park. Takashi also thought about Allura, about how she had written that she had been in a bad mood; and yes, he had managed to brighten it slightly (or he hoped that he had been able to), but his thoughts still wandered back to how upset she had been.

In the back of his mind, Takashi somehow decided that he was going to make it his goal that she would never be quite so sad. And yes, he knew that it would be entirely impossible to prevent all negative emotions that Allura may or may not feel; but Shiro wanted to try.

He had never met people, aside from Katie and Allura, that made him want to try so hard.

"'nd then, we played tag, and I think I won-"

Absentmindedly, the young man mused within himself that it was quite impossible to decide who could actually win a game of tag, and he supposed that love was much the same way, but he opted not to dwell on the matter for very long.

Katie finally stopped speaking, eating the remainder of her meal, and twisted the cap on the top of her chocolate milk jug. She had a little bit left to drink and decided to just take the rest home so that she had some later.

They waited by the bus stop, Takashi holding her backpack, making sure to be careful because "Green is in there, Shiro!" He decided not to antagonize her, instead keeping a firm hold onto it.

Once on the bus, Katie snuggled closer to Shiro, yawning. Her glasses were askew, the too-big lenses halfway over her face, and Takashi found it incredibly difficult not to laugh. He managed not to, though, instead slinging his arm across the back of the seat.

He was excited about his new prosthetic, and Allura had been so encouraging about it; Katie was sure to be, as well. That being said, Takashi was still nervous. He had managed well with only one arm, but if the prosthetic didn't work as he expected it to, he knew that the resulting disappointment would be absolutely devastating.

He didn't want to dwell too deeply on the possibility of heartache that could arise; he wanted to be as positive as possible.

The young man was pulled out of his thoughts when Katie nudged his shoulder, alerting him that they were finally at their stop. The pair stood, thanked the bus driver, and made their way back to Takashi's apartment. He unlocked the door, and Katie ran in.

As the night went on, the two sat on the couch and indulged in a mini Netflix marathon of The Powerpuff Girls. Katie watched, almost dutifully, with her legs tucked under her and the stuffed green lion in her arms. Beside her, Takashi held the purple lion absentmindedly. Sometimes, he forgot that it was Allura that gave him the stuffed toy; sometimes, he just liked the familiar feeling he got from it.

When Katie started to nod off, Takashi smiled fondly, nudging the little girl's shoulder. "Come on, time to get to bed," he suggested, and the brunet child followed him as he pushed himself off the couch. The two shuffled to the bathroom, and Katie brushed her teeth, occasionally yawning as her toothbrush scrubbed away.

Teeth brushed, Katie managed to make it to her bedroom, crawling into bed. She was tired, her day at the park having tuckered her out a good deal. Takashi pulled the sheets up to her chin; and without thinking, he kissed the top of her head. She didn't say anything, hardly even reacted (save for the small hum that she gave before turning over); and as he walked back into the living room, he realized that he didn't feel entirely embarrassed.

Slowly, Shiro was becoming more used to being Katie's guardian. Things were starting to become more natural, and he was becoming more comfortable. The young man fell onto his couch, making himself comfortable. It had been an eventful day, one in which there were a lot of situations that could have gone very wrong; and yet somehow, everything had gone completely right.

His lips curled upward in a lazy smile, and he fell asleep easily, dreaming of nothing in particular.

By the time that Friday finally rolled around, Takashi had secured a babysitter for Katie (that being, of course, Mrs. Garret, who had excitedly agreed to watch the little girl – Lance was going to be there for a sleepover, anyway), and he was more excited than he knew to describe.

He helped in the class, as was proper for Shiro on a Friday, assisting in song time, passing out snacks, and quietly whispering with Allura during quiet time. The two didn't talk about anything important, but Allura assured him that she was definitely looking forward to their date. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, a few strands framing her face; and Takashi could appreciate how much effort she put into making her hair look as if she had just thrown it up into a haphazard style.

The children had a wonderful day – Hunk had proudly led the group as they rehearsed all the numbers they knew (and they were up to fifteen, only stumbling a bit past twelve, a feat in which the students' teacher was extremely proud of). Lance had shared his carrot sticks with Keith, who stared at him for the longest time before smiling and taking one.

And Katie – well, she had been the first to enact an impromptu Show-and-Tell, simply because she had asked Shiro for his cell phone so that she could show her friends the Pokémon she had caught in the new app that had come out.

If he were being honest, Takashi wasn't a huge fan of Pokémon GO, but he had downloaded the app simply because he felt as if he had to. The handheld games had played a large part in his childhood, and he figured that he should at least try the new app out. He hadn't liked it too well, but Katie had loved it.

The little girl took the phone (with both Takashi's and Allura's permission) and showed it to each of her classmates, explaining in detail how she had caught a Pidgey, which Shiro later explained to her was very small but quite heavy according to its statistics, that was named "Ata." She had pressed the buttons together to form the nickname, entirely unsure as to what she was spelling, or even if she was spelling anything (which she wasn't, but Takashi was not about ready to tell her that); and Katie was entirely proud of fat little Ata.

Hunk and Keith gaped in awe, but Lance seemed unimpressed. "So? Pidgeys are everywhere," he informed her matter-of-factly. He was right, of course, but Katie puffed out her cheeks in irritation.

"I don't care. They're my fav'rites." She didn't mumble the answer, because she wasn't embarrassed. Katie liked Pidgeys, and she had absolutely no shame about that. It didn't matter what types of Pokémon were nearby; if there was a Pidgey, she'd catch it.

Allura had laughed lightly at the childrens' interactions, and Takashi glanced over, wondering if she knew just how beautiful she looked when she laughed like that.

Unaware to Takashi's pining, Hunk responded to Katie's statement with a soft, "Really?"

She nodded, and Keith made an impressed noise. "If you were a Pokémon, would you be a Pidgey?" The question was just a bit odd, but it wasn't one that seemed to bother Katie.

"Yeah."

He didn't say anything for a few moments, pondering the answer. "Cool, I'd be a Growlithe." Katie smiled in response.

Lance, still entirely nonchalant to the bonding moment the two children were having, sighed heavily. "Yeah, well, maybe we should just call you 'Pidgey' from now on," he said; the comment wasn't necessarily hurtful, but Lance surely hadn't meant to compliment Katie.

She took the jest in good nature, her lips curling into a catlike grin. "Go ahead," she urged him, and Lance deflated.

"Fine. I will."

"I like it," Keith insisted. "Pidgey."

"Or Pidge," Hunk offered; when Katie didn't say anything to dissuade the boys' attempts at a nickname, it was unanimously decided that, instead of "Katie," they would refer to their friend as "Pidge" from then on. She didn't mind, and was actually pleased by it.

Allura glanced over at Takashi, as if to ask if all this was okay. He laughed lightly, leaning against the young teacher's desk. "I think it's cute," he whispered.

She smiled, nodding. "I agree. And I'm glad that Keith's talking more – you and Katie have certainly helped with that."

"I don't know about that. I think they all just enjoy being here, and that's thanks to you," he replied. He didn't notice her reaction, the way she opened her mouth to respond but found no words to fill the comfortable silence. When she hadn't said anything in a while, Takashi added, "And I'm very excited about tonight. I've got the perfect place picked out."

"Oh? Where's that?"

"Well," he began, leaning in a bit closer, his voice low, "Imagine this: quaint little Italian restaurant. They have amazing pasta, salads, and their breadsticks – I can't even begin to describe to you how incredible those are. Seriously, I love them. Best part about the place? It's kid-friendly, so if we really like it, and 'Official Date Number Two' happens, we can bring Katie along."

Allura tried to keep herself from laughing. "We're going to Fazoli's, aren't we?"

"You're gonna love it."

She did laugh this time, the sound high and sweet. "Alright, alright - your description really brought it to life. I'm looking forward to it."

As Takashi waited for Allura to come out of her apartment, he tried to steady his heartbeat. Every time he saw her, she always looked amazing, and he couldn't imagine that this instance would be any different. He had dropped Katie off with no problem, and the little girl had quickly left her guardian to go play with Lance and Hunk. Both boys had been more than happy to include "Pidge" in their game of "Space Lions," but Hunk did make a point of saying that it was going to be weird without the purple and red lions.

It occurred to Takashi that these children were far more compassionate than most adults were, and they had such a great capacity for friendship and inclusion; the young man knew that he had already learned from them, and he was certain that they still had more to teach him. After all, just Katie's constant presence in his life had changed so much for him. Shiro found himself being much more careful, acting more maturely, and asking much more questions.

He was eager yet nervous; after he and Katie had left from her preschool, they had had to stop by Takashi's prosthetist to pick up the thing that had been consuming every free thought that wasn't related to Katie or Allura or college – his prosthetic. It was just a prototype, and it lacked all the functionality of an arm that Shiro had wanted for an appendage. But it was a start, and it looked normal, and that was good for him. After the doctor had fitted it onto the man's shoulder, Takashi had worried that Katie was going to say something. Or worse, that she didn't say anything.

Instead, the little girl had smiled lightly, her little hand grabbing onto the plastic hand. She had known it wasn't the same kind of hand that she was used to holding, and he couldn't feel the little girl holding his hand. But he had seen her hand squeeze his, and she had looked up at him.

"It's very you," she had informed him plainly, and Takashi had found himself unable to make eye contact with her. He had to glance away toward the wall, blinking rapidly.

The doctor had later pulled the young man aside, sincerely telling him that he had a very special little girl.

Shiro couldn't argue with that logic.

He might have mused longer, but Allura's apartment door opened, and the young woman stepped out, locking the door behind her. As she turned, Takashi felt his pulse quicken. Per his suggestion, she had dressed formally, deciding on a black dress that hugged her curves and hit just below her knees. Upon noticing Takashi, she waved lightly and headed toward him, her heels clacking against the pavement.

"Well, don't you look handsome," she observed, her tone a bit teasing. He did look nice, though, and he knew that. The young man had tried a good deal to actually look nice. His prosthetic hadn't been at all helpful as he struggled into a button-up shirt, but it looked right. For the first time in months, Takashi had two arms, and he looked good. He knew he was handsome, or he had been before the accident, but it had been a while since he had allowed himself to actually look at a mirrored reflection of himself for longer than a few seconds at a time.

Now, though – he had adjusted his collar, tilted his head up and then down, and he smiled. Allura wasn't going to be the only good-looking adult on this date.

Then again, he had also found a few stray gray hairs, but he wasn't going to focus on those for very long. Panic would happen later.

"I do?" he asked, grinning. Sure, he looked handsome, but Allura, the epitome of a gorgeous woman in a little black dress, was an absolute knock-out. Takashi imagined that, if he were from a cartoon like Tom and Jerry, his heart would be visibly pounding out of his chest.

"Of course you do. But I look better."

He couldn't argue with that logic, and he held out his arm for Allura to take. She did, and it was then that she noticed that Takashi now had two arms. She had grabbed onto his own arm, but she leaned over to get a better look at the prosthetic.

"Shiro, that's amazing!" she marveled, and her expression matched her statement. "Oh, it looks so good!"

"Feels good, too."

The two walked a bit before Takashi halted them in front of a bus stop. She glanced up at him quizzically, not verbally asking a question. But he answered before she had to ask.

"We are doing this date in the most adult-like way I know how. And because I am a completely competent adult, I have never owned a car, so we will instead be taking my preferred mode of transportation: the bus." He gave her an endearingly confident look, one that Allura couldn't argue against. She laughed loudly, her hold on his arm tightening.

"This has already been the best date ever."

When they rode on the bus together (and of course, Takashi was a gentleman and paid for her fare), Allura kept close to him, her shoulder constantly bumping against his. It was a comfortable scene as the pair animatedly talked. The young teacher explained that she had only ever ridden on buses a handful of times because she had been homeschooled. Moreover, she had had a car when she was in college; and when she had needed her car to be fixed, her father had been more than happy to drive her around.

"Oh, yes – you'll probably see my father at some point; he's the head of the school district, so he drops by occasionally. Coran, too."

"…Coran?"

"My father's assistant. He's been a friend of the family for as long as I can remember. Sometimes, I'm pretty sure he was in the delivery room when I was born." She put her hand on Shiro's shoulder as she talked, and he laughed along with her.

"If I see him, I'll be sure to be on my best behavior. Deal?"

"It's a deal," she agreed.

The bus driver dropped them off near the restaurant, and the pair took their time walking there. With her heels, Allura came up a bit past his shoulder, and Shiro found himself admiring her height (or lack of it). In fact, the idea occurred to him that she and he fit nicely together.

When they made it to the restaurant, Takashi opened the door for her. "Why, thank you," she said gratefully, giggling when he bowed as if paying respect to the most noble of women.

In order to make the image even clearer, he responded with a grand, "Anytime, princess."

After Takashi paid for their food, he led his date to a table to sit at. The two made a lovely pair; they were formally-dressed adults in a childlike Italian restaurant. Allura had never been there before; and while Shiro had described it a bit comically (and she hadn't expected too much of the meal), the young woman was immensely surprised by her pizza-baked spaghetti.

And those breadsticks – incredible. Takashi had been completely right.

"So…" the young man started, picking at his salad, "what's something I should know about you?"

She paused, putting down her fork, and thinking over the question carefully. "Well, I like to read, and I have my degree in early childhood education. I love children, obviously, or I would be pulling my hair out at this point. My favorite animals are mice, surprisingly. I think they're adorable." She pushed some hair away from her face.

Laughing at that comment, Takashi nodded. "Really? I thought it'd be lions. Personally, I like sharks. No reason. Just like sharks. Anything else?"

"…I love shopping, unfortunately. It's not too great on my wallet."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, and I like to go swimming during the summer, and I'm an avid star-watcher…and, I am a teacher who probably wants to interfere far too much in her students' lives."

"Are you talking about me?"

"No, no-" she insisted, shaking her head. "No, I was talking about something else."

Takashi frowned, leaning back in his chair slightly. "Allura…is there something you wanted to talk about? Or, is that inappropriate?"

The young woman took a long drink of her water, humming slightly. "It's not. I just – you know how Keith is very quiet?" When Takashi nodded, she continued, "Well, the other day when Mrs. Garret took the children to the park and Keith couldn't go, he told me that he didn't want to go home with his family. And – and I know that it doesn't mean anything, probably, but he just seemed so sad, and when I went to see who I should contact in case something were to happen to Keith at school, I realized that he wasn't living his parents; he's a foster child."

He opened his mouth to say something, but Allura interjected. "No, I know – there's nothing wrong with foster parents – I mean, you absolutely love Katie, and you're perfect with her, but – but I just have a feeling that something's wrong. Not that I have any proof; I mean, I've never seen anything inherently wrong with Keith. He's always been clean, and his clothes are alright, and he's so sweet when he actually gets comfortable. And believe me, he doesn't have any…any – any bruises, or anything-" Even just saying that upset Allura, but she kept talking, "but I don't want to assume that's nothing wrong when something is. But I also don't want to say something's wrong when there's nothing to worry about. And-"

Shiro stopped her, putting a hand over hers, just like he did during their first date. "Allura, if you – if you think something's wrong, is there…someone you can talk to, maybe?"

"I could…maybe talk to my father about it?"

He sighed quietly, moving his hand away from hers and taking a small bite of his food; but Allura probably shouldn't have said anything, because neither of the two had any more appetite. Takashi didn't blame her, though; he knew that she wanted the best for her students, and he was incredibly grateful that she was so attentive to the children's needs.

"That would probably be best," he agreed, picking up one of the breadsticks and nibbling on it. "I mean, he's a really sweet kid, so I know what you're saying – I'd absolutely hate it if any of the kids had a problem at home. But I also know that you don't want to get too upset if you don't have a reason to. Just – just keep an eye out for him, yeah? I will, too, if that would help."

She smiled, not quite sure how she had managed to find someone so sweet that would actually go on a date with her. And he was so understanding about this whole situation. Honestly, she had worried that she had ruined the mood when she mentioned one of her students; instead, Shiro had just offered one of his sweetest smiles and did his best to encourage the young teacher.

Truly, Allura couldn't have asked for much more for a date.

There was a lapse of silence, one in which the young woman found herself watching Takashi more than she actually focused on her food. He looked so handsome, and he just seemed more…confident…than he had before. Allura didn't think that the new prosthetic made him any more handsome or outgoing or even compatible, but if he felt better about himself, she was completely supportive of it.

By the time they had finished their meals, Allura felt so much better about – about everything. She hadn't solved any problems; if anything, she should have been more worried about Keith because Shiro actually validated her concerns with some of his own. But there was a certain aspect of someone else supporting her, letting her know that he was going to do everything within his power to help Allura that brought her more peace about the situation.

They walked toward the bus stop, and she actually looked forward to the trip back to her apartment. As it turned out, buses were quite enjoyable, and they were even better when she had someone to share the experience with. Allura nudged Shiro's side with her elbow, catching his attention. "Thank you for everything tonight, I…I had a really great time."

"Night's not over yet. We have another bus ride."

"You're right, sorry," she laughed. "But honestly, I really appreciate everything you've done so far. You don't have to help out in the classroom, but you do, and the children just love you so much. And…thank you for listening to me about Keith. I know it's not exactly the best topic for a date, but I seem to be unable to separate my work life from my home life."

He shook his head, his smile warm. "Seriously, Allura, I can't describe to you how much it means that you were so worried about him. That tells me that you'd feel the same way about Katie. So I don't mind."

The bus hadn't arrived yet, but Allura stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, turning around and grabbing Shiro's arms. "You…just said everything right," she told him, looking up at him, at his eyes, at his lips.

Allura didn't have to ask, didn't even have to say anything – Takashi leaned down, capturing her lips in his own. She wasn't surprised, soon relaxing into the kiss.

Stressed conversations about Allura's students aside, it was a perfect date. And while the pair sat together on the bus, Allura let her head rest against his shoulder. He glanced over, lips curling upward, then leaned closer to her.

When they got to Allura's apartment, the young woman unlocked her door. She opened it only a little bit, turning back to kiss him again. Of course they had to have a goodbye kiss, one at her doorway. It was only proper, right?

Allura was thankful, though, that she didn't have her father waiting at the doorway, tapping his foot impatiently while he waited for some strange young man to stop kissing his daughter. Luckily, Alfor wasn't there, and neither was Coran (because he would be even worse than her own father would be), and Allura had as much time as she wanted to kiss Takashi.

His arm snaked around her waist, and Allura stretched on her tip-toes just slightly. They were sweet, they were simple, and they weren't too much all at once; they were supposed to be moving at this slow a pace.

And yet, as Shiro pulled away, placing another soft kiss to Allura's cheek, the young woman found herself wanting more. But she knew better, and she knew that Mrs. Garret was probably waiting for Takashi to come pick Katie up, and she smiled, letting him know that she had a wonderful time.

"I'll call you," she promised.

"I'll hold you to that."

If Takashi were being honest, and if Allura were doing the same, they were both considering the possibility of about a hundred more dates between them. This was just the first of many "Official Dates" for the pair, and both were looking forward to them, to a long list of sweet and beautiful (and perhaps even more) dates.

Katie didn't ask why Shiro was humming while the two walked back to their apartment; she didn't even ask how his dinner with Miss Allura went. But she figured that it must have gone extremely well, because her guardian kept looking at his phone, either laughing or smiling every time the screen lit up.

A.N.: This chapter was both a joy and a struggle to write! I have my general outline for how I want the last few chapters to go, but it's a little harder to actually get them typed out. This was fun, though, and at least Shallura are finally and definitely going out!

I got the title for this chapter from Johannes Kepler: "I measured the skies, now the shadows I measure. Skybound was the mind, earthbound the body rests." I mean, both of the two are completely over-the-moon right now, so I think that it fits! Thank you all for reading and keeping up with this story! Can't wait to see where it goes!