Root Beer Float (Kaito x Meiko)

Seventeen

I love you, Mei-chan. I love you.

I sat upright, my eyes opening wide. My dreams had been filled with those words and now they wouldn't leave me alone.

I blinked a couple times and realized I had spent the night on the couch. I guess after Kaito left I just got tired and fell asleep where I was.

But who cares about that? Grabbing my phone, I decided I would turn to the Internet to find out when to say "I love you".

Two months? Three months? Five months? I couldn't find a definitive answer. How long had we been dating anyway? It was the middle of August now, so almost two months, maybe? Men usually say it before women do, so would he say it soon?

More importantly, did I love him? Would I even be able to say it back?

That was not a question I was ready to answer, so instead I got up to make some coffee.

The door to Luka's room was visible from my spot in the kitchen, so I was able to see when the door opened and Rin came out, Luka following behind her. Before they walked out of the hallway, Luka bent over to kiss her daughter's forehead. Rin went towards her room, and Luka came into the kitchen. "You're up early," she remarked.

"Yeah," I replied simply, turning on the sink. "What was all that?"

Since Luka had that constant need to touch the person she was talking to, she came up behind me and started rubbing my shoulders. "Oh, well, Rin was having trouble falling asleep last night so she came into my room and we talked a little bit. I ended up letting her stay in my room too."

"What were you talking about?" I asked casually, turning off the sink and drying my hands.

Luka took her hands off my shoulders and leaned on the counter behind her. "Kagamine. He was on her mind and it was keeping her up."

"Oh," I turned around and leaned against the sink in a similar fashion, facing her. "What did you tell her?"

"At first it was just a couple stories from when we were together but the later it was the more sentimental I got," she said.

I exhaled, letting out a little hum. "That's nothing new."

"Yeah," she smiled weakly. "Even after all these years it's still hard for me to talk about him."

"Well, sure. I mean, he ditched you and the twins, it's different from a regular breakup. It was a big deal, but we're better off without him. You still have all the rest of us."

Luka walked over and hugged me. "You're right, darling. Even though it's hard, I'll always have my family to support me. You know, you should listen to your own advice."

"What?" I pulled away to look at her face.

She smiled. "Oh, nothing. I'm going to go get dressed."

My own advice? What advice did I give?

"You still have all the rest of us."

"Even though it's hard, I'll always have my family to support me."

...

Was she trying to convince me to stop drinking?

I laid around for a full day after that, just mindlessly scrolling through social media. I really needed a new hobby or something. On Wednesday afternoon, the kids were playing in the backyard, but Miku ended up coming inside and asking to talk to me in her room.

"What's up?" I asked as I pulled out her desk chair so I could sit in it.

"Luka says you've been having a rough time," she reported simply, crossing her legs. She was holding a coloring book and a small bag of markers sat next to her on the bed. "So I wanted to make sure you were okay."