How could he just abandon his fellow cat lover just because he wasn't patient???

    Keisuke breathed in slowly. He could do this—he could be patient! In fact, he could be the most patient person in the WORLD!!!

    Takemichi suddenly leaned forward, their faces mere inches apart.

    "Does—Does that mean we can take pictures together Kei-Chan?"

    That was the moment Keisuke collapsed onto the floor with a dopey smile on his face with Takemichi fretting over him like his mother.

    Who knew being patient could be such a pain in the ass...

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"Do we really have to leave?"

    "Yes Michi, you need to take a shower cause you smell musty and gross!"

    Takemichi's mom watched with a giddy smile as her adorable son gasped like she just said the most scandalous thing in the world. With traces of soy sauce still on his face, he puffed his cheeks, along with his new friend.

    "I'm not gross! Kei-Chan, am I gross?"

    The boy next to Michi didn't look any better, if anything, it looked like he straight up devoured the bowl of Yakisoba (Katsumi wouldn't be surprised if he had eaten the bowl too). His hands were covered in both oyster and soy sauce, making his pale skin turn red.

    Nevertheless, the Baji kid smiled cheekily at his companion and flung an arm around his shoulder, getting his grubby hands all over Michi and his clothes.

    Katsumi fought the urge to rip the kid's arm off her son's shoulder. They were children—physical affection is normal to kids!

    They weren't gonna strangle her kid or beat him into the floor. They were...

    They were kids. Innocent little humans who crave the touch and attention of others without a single thought going through their minds. These weren't the devils and demons she used to fight off before she moved to Shibuya; they were kind and all smiles.

    But...no matter how hard the young lady tried, she couldn't get rid of her overprotective thoughts.

    "No way, Mitchy! We're the cleanest kids in here!" The Baji kid exclaimed with a closed eye smile, causing her son to laugh joyfully.

    Katsumi didn't even have to force a smile on her face.

    Dinner with the Baji family went by without a hitch; no food was thrown and no arguments were made over their bowls of noodles. Instead, the two moms were content with eating their noodles while listening to their children ramble about their day. Every now and then, Ms.Baji would add her input to the conversation, followed by Takemichi's mother which would then lead to a whole new topic.

    Ms.Baji...is a lovely lady. She wasn't crude or overly inappropriate like Katsumi's coworkers, but was kind and overly understanding. When Katsumi had first refused to use the older lady's first name, she hadn't snapped or bothered correcting her. With a strained smile, she had given Katsumi instructions for how to cook Yakisoba and never once mentioned the small conflict that bubbles up between them.

    It was nice—the dinner and the food and the people...they were all nice.

    If there's one thing Katsumi wasn't used to, it's people being nice, but she would never admit to such a thing.

    Speaking of the angel in all her tired divine glory, an older lady with short black hair, copper irises, and eye bags darker than the night sky, walked up behind the two kids with a chuckle.

    "The cleanest? Keisuke—you look like you killed an animal with your bare hands!" Keisuke's mother complained, trying to pry her child off Takemichi. The smaller boy, on the other hand, shot away from Keisuke like he had stabbed him with a hundred needles.

    "YOU KILLED AN ANIMAL WITH YOUR HANDS?!" Michi screamed, absolutely petrified. Keisuke gawked at Takemichi as he quickly hid behind Katsumi's leg.

    "N-No I didn't! Mom's lying!" He hollered back, chasing after Takemichi with his red-stained hands.

    The two boys ran around Katsumi with Takemichi trying to escape Keisuke's sauce-covered hands.

    "NOOOOOO!"

    "HAH! GOTCHA!"

    Keisuke and Takemichi tumbled to the floor with the fanged boy holding onto Katsumi's son for dear life.

    "Alright Keisuke—that's enough! The Hanagakis need to go back home now," Baji's mother said while getting a hold of her son and dragging him away from Takemichi.

    "But I don't want him to leave!!!"

    "You'll be able to see him tomorrow! Cheer up, yeah?"

    "...fine!" Keisuke huffed in frustration, but he refrained from going after Takemichi (thank GOD!).

    Katsumi is quick to pick her son up off the floor and hold him delicately, rubbing comforting circles onto his back.

    "Thank you so much for having us—we had a lot of fun," Katsumi mumbled loud enough for Ms.Baji to hear. The older lady gave her a soft smile.

    "It was nice having someone to chat with... hopefully you guys can come over again sometime!" Ms.Baji exclaimed while walking Katsumi and the boy in her arms to the exit of the apartment.

    Right before Katsumi left the apartment, she turned back around—a feeling of hope building up inside her.

    "We...we can come over again?"

    Keisuke's mother beamed. "Absolutely! Your son is such a doll and It's nice being able to talk to someone who isn't my coworker," she explained, causing Katsumi to laugh because she understands all too well about lousy and frustrating coworkers.

    "Ok well—thank you for dinner. Takemichi—say bye to your little friend!" Like a boy who's energy had dissipated into thin air, he slowly turned around and waved a tired hand at his friend.

    "Bye Kei-Chan..."

    "Bye Mitchy!"

    The door to the Bajis apartment finally closed, leaving Katsumi to stare at the door with amazement as Takemichi proceeded to cuddle up in her arms.

    Maybe coming over more often wouldn't be a bad idea...

   "Ready to go home Michi?" Katsumi asked her son, who only hummed in response to his mother's question. She giggled at her child's adorableness before walking back to their apartment.

   The dinner spent with the Bajis will forever live rent free in her brain.

    They really did make the right choice moving away from that terrible ass town.

    ..Katsumi, for the very first time in her life, succeeded at being a parent.

    Katsumi smiled.

    She couldn't wait to see them again.

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