Root Beer Float (Kaito x Meiko)

One

"Come on, hurry up," I muttered impatiently, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel. If there was one thing I despised, it was picking up the kids from school. All the moms were incredibly slow, and I liked to get in and get out as fast as possible.

Perhaps it was because I didn't want all those obnoxious women thinking I was a mother, because I wasn't. The kids belonged to my best friend, Luka. They looked nothing like me, after all, with my brown hair and brown eyes, but her twins had eyes the same beautiful blue as hers.

You see, Luka and I met in high school and we both went to the local community college. She was shy and quiet while I was loud and harsh, but we complimented each other quite well. We didn't live in the best town, and the schools weren't too good, but neither of us could afford to go to college anywhere else. Luka got her first boyfriend in college, she was always too shy to date someone before that. I was with a boy briefly in middle school, but nobody had really been interested in either of us because we were unpopular. So when Luka met the guy, she was completely infatuated. She claimed he was "the one". I kinda doubted it, but I figured there was no point in crushing her dreams, as it seemed harmless.

Well, until she got pregnant.

Luka wasn't worried at all, in her mind she would take care of her baby along with the father and they would all be a happy little family. But unfortunately, he wanted nothing to do with the baby, leaving it fatherless.

To make matters even worse, we found out the baby was actually two babies, she was having twins.

I knew there was no way I was going to let this 20-year-old girl raise newborn twins by herself, so I offered to help her. We put all of our money together and bought a small apartment far, far away. Neither of us ended up finishing college, although I did find a job. When the kids got a little older, Luka got a part-time job too, and we were able to move into a little house so I didn't have to sleep on the couch anymore because I had my own room.

After what that jerk did to my best friend, I gave up on guys completely. I vowed I would never trust one of those selfish men again.

The car in front of me moved ever-so-slightly and I honked my my horn. "Let's go, people!" I yelled.

I guess the kids heard it because next thing I knew they were running up to the car. I couldn't help but grin when I saw the three of them, they were my favorite people in the entire world, along with Luka.

"Aunty Mei, do you have to honk every time?" asked Rin, the older of the twins, as she climbed into the backseat.

Len, her brother, giggled. "Every time a car horn honks, all of our friends say, 'oh, looks like your Aunty Mei is here!'"

I chuckled along. "Nice to see you guys, too. Hey, how was your last day of school?"

"Amazing!" Rin yelled. "I got 100% on my spelling test! And Gumi gave me a friendship bracelet!"

She held her wrist up and I looked back in the rear view mirror. "That's really pretty, Rin. Gumi has some serious skills. How did you do on the spelling test, Len?"

Len stared down at his lap, his eyes welling up with tears. He was an emotional boy. "I-I missed seven words."

I smiled and reached back to pat his leg. "It's alright. We all know you're excellent in math. Miku, you've been awfully quiet. How was your last day of fourth grade?"

The oldest girl looked up. She was a few grades ahead of the twins, but they attended the same elementary school. She was usually quieter and calmer than her adopted siblings.

Luka and I had been walking home from the grocery store when we found her on that day three years ago. She was homeless, abandoned by her family. I suggested that we give her a small bit of our food, we didn't have much extra as we only bought what we truly needed to save money. But since Luka has a much bigger heart than me, she told Miku she could live with us. Money was especially tight after that, but we got along just fine. And the twins, who were only four at the time, enjoyed having a big sister to play with. Luka loved Miku like her own daughter and after some time I grew to love her too.