Meiko made a mental note to drink extra tomorrow night.

Kaito's feet are cold as hell.

She decided to sleep in her clothes that night; the black tee and jeans she wore since they got on the plane to New York. The only pajamas she had were some sexy nightgowns she liked to wear in the confines of her room. She would never, ever wear them in front of anyone in the family, especially Bakaito. Man, she'd rather Len walk in on her posing in the mirror with those on than that guy.

"No…it's my ice cream…"

Kaito just had to talk in his sleep.

And her day clothes were so damn tight.

Meiko knew she needed her rest more than any of the kids or Kaito. Yes, she wasn't a mainstream idol anymore with calls and work every day, but that was easy. When she was Miku's age she was as busy as she was. Famous, demanded, pressured. But now she was past that point of time and in the midst of real world responsibilities. She, Meiko, was the mother of this family, she had to take care of them, she handled the money, bought the clothes, booked the concerts, taught them discipline, that you can't always get what you want, tried to prepare them for real life, cooked for them, encouraged them…all without support! Kaito was just the same as he was twenty years ago! He was just as bad as the kids and needed as much discipline and never got reprimanded for it! She, Meiko, had to take of everything because nobody else would!

And the kids wondered why she drank so much.

'You're mean, Onee-chan, you're cheap, Onee-chan…'

She really only wanted what was best for them. Maybe one day they'd appreciate it. One day…

Self-pitying and frowning Meiko fell asleep as far away from Kaito as possible.