I still remember that night when I first met those two. It was after I just got out of "work"

"Tch... fucking bastards"

I really wasn't in a good mood that night. I decided to go to a convenient store to buy some beer and drink some of my irritation away. As I entered the store I saw two kids inside nervously looking around.

"w-we shouldn't be doing this Cody, this is bad"

The little girl whispered

"You said you were hungry right? And don't even think about go back. there's no way in hell I'll let you go back there after what he did to you"

"I-I'm fine it's just a scratch so let's just go back m-maybe-"

"Just a scratch!? you consider that as just a scratch!?"

The little boy said in a loud voice. There were only 3 other customers near there at the time and none of them seemed to have really cared that much.

The boy went somewhere deeper inside and the little girl soon followed. Maybe it was to get away from the all stares they were getting.

I usually don't care about other people's personal affairs, but something about those two made me a bit restless. I know I'm not exactly the best person to be saying this, but seeing little children committing a crime just didn't sit too well with me. So I tried secretly following them.

When I got there, I saw the boy pocketing and hiding a bunch of snacks in his and the little girl's jacket. It was clumsily done and very obvious at that. It didn't even look like they were aware of the CCTVs watching them. It looked like this was their first time doing something like this. maybe they were really desperate. Seeing that made my stomach turn. they reminded me of myself when I first ran away from home. hungry, cold, and desperate.

"Children shouldn't be stealing"

The two flinched as I said those words. The two looked at me with cautious eyes.

"Alice, hide behind me"

The little boy tried to hide the little girl and stared at me with eyes containing fear, anxiety, and a hint of anger.

"Relax, I won't tell anybody. As long as you put those back that is. If you get caught, trust me, things won't end too kindly for you two "

"Why should I trust a guy like you. I saw you looking at those things earlier, I bet your also a bad guy"

Things? I guess he means the beer. Now that I got a closer look at them. I can probably guess what happened. The girl has a black eye and a few bruises and the little boy was covered in various wounds. The state of the boy was actually worse but it seems like he cared more about the little girl than himself. And the way he reacted to me looking to buy some beer appears to be the final piece of the puzzle. It's not hard to understand what the two went through to end up in this state.

"...."

*sigh*

"Relax, I only wanted to buy a soda and ended up in the wrong isle."

"...really?"

The little boy looked at me suspiciously.

"Really. In fact, I hate the taste of alcohol"

Although I lied about me not wanting to buy beer, I was being genuine when I said I hated the taste of alcohol. I never got used to the taste of it. but it was the only thing that kept me going after I ran away from home. It helped me forget about all the pain and loneliness I was suffering from.

The boy still didn't let down his guard after what I said. I even saw him taking a few glimpses towards the exit as he backs away slowly.

"Don't even think about running away"

The two flinched again as I said those words. It seems like the two really like to wear their emotions on their sleeves considering how they react to everything I say.

*sigh*

What troublesome brats

"How about this, I'll buy all the snacks you two are hiding. But in exchange, promise me to never steal again"

The two looked at each other and started thinking about what I said.

"...."

"Well?"

The boy still had some doubts so Instead, the little girl stepped up and spoke

"We promise"

"A-alice? Do you really trust this guy?"

"It's better than committing a crime"

"Bu-but-"

"Alright, good enough for me. Now hand them over"

The girl was quick to give me the snacks while the boy was still reluctant. The little girl looked back at the boy who was still filled with doubts.

"Cody!"

"Bu-but what if he tell on us after getting all the snacks"

"If he wanted to tell on us he would've grabbed us earlier while our jacket was still filled with snacks. I doubt the two of us would even be able to get away from him after he grabs us."

"Bu-but still"

*sigh*

Although I understand the suspicion of the little boy. I mean, If I were in his shoes I'll probably react the same way. But this is starting to become a headache.

After some much-needed persuasion from what I assume to be his sister, the little boy finally gave in.

***

After that, I did exactly what I told them. I bought the snacks and gave it all to them.

"Thank you"

The little girl said with a smile

"It's no big deal, but remember our promise okay. No more stealing"

The little girl looked at the boy who was still silent and sighed

"We promise"

The little girl said.

After that, we parted ways. It didn't look like the two had any place in mind they could stay at.

Well, not my problem. I doubt I'll see them again anyway.

With that thought, I decided to head back to that old abandoned place.

***

It was the same as always, cold, dark, and lonely. And the worst part, I wasn't able to buy any alcohol to help me forget about it.

"... guess I won't be sleeping properly tonight"

And I was right, the memories of the past kept haunting me to the point I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of times and vomited.

It was a rough and sleepless night, I really wished I had bought alcohol.

***

2 days later as I was walking down the street, I saw a familiar little boy restlessly eyeing a drug store.

"You got to be fucking kidding me"

I could've just ignored it but it really got on my nerves seeing the little boy planning to commit another crime, specifically shoplifting, a few days later after I explicitly made him promise to never steal again.

"Hey shoplifter"

The boy flinched and looked back as I called him

"Wh-what are you doing here"

"That's my line"

"It's none of your fucking business"

"It kinda is my fucking business, didn't you promised me to never steal again?"

"Alice promised you, not me"

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

This brat! Speaking of which where is that little girl anyway. As I looked around, I can't seem to find the girl anywhere. I liked dealing with her more than this snot-nosed brat.

*sigh*

"Fine, have it your way. But don't say I didn't warn you"

As I was about to leave I felt someone grabbing the hem of my jacket.

As I looked back, I saw the little boy shaking with his head down.

"p-please..... Save my sister!"

***

I decided to follow the kid as he leads me somewhere under a bridge. As I looked around, I started getting an idea of how the two had been living for the last couple of days.

And I thought my place was bad.

When we arrived near the place, the little boy started running towards a certain spot. The boy was crying and had a look of desperation.

"*sniffle* I-its gonna be alright sis *sniff* I b-brought that mister with me from before. Th-the one th-that bought us all those snacks.*sniffle* H-he told me he came to save you *sniff*"

"I never said that. Don't get your hopes up kid"

I saw the little girl lying down on a bunch of cardboard boxes breathing heavily. As I approached her, I did a bit of inspection on her condition. After I was done, I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Relax it's just a fever."

"R-really?*sniffle*"

"Yeah, but that's not the main problem. She needs to get her injuries checked out."

"C-can you-"

"I'll bring her to a doctor"

"THANK YOU!"

The boy then started hugging me.

"Get off me will you!"

"OUCH!"

Huh? I know I pushed him but I didn't think I used that much force to get that kind of reaction from him

I then looked at him suspiciously

"Hey, take off your clothes"

"Stranger dange-"

"Stop fucking around"

"...."

"How's your injury?"

"...i'm fine"

"Really? Because to me, it looks like your in a much worse condition than your sister"

"I said I'm fine"

"Stop trying to act tough. I understand that your doing this to not make your sister worry but it's actually having the opposite effect"

"...."

*sigh*

when did I start becoming a baby sitter

"Don't worry, I'll take you both to a hospital"

"Really?!"

"Yeah, so stop trying to act tough and let this bro take care of everything"

After that, the boy nodded his head with tears in his eyes.

***

I carried the little girl while the boy followed behind me.

*thud*

I looked back and found the little boy collapsed on the ground.

Fuck! I knew it!

"Hey! Hey! You alright there?"

I went back to the boy and put my hand on his head to check his temperature.

Shit!

"...I'm...fine"

"The hell you're fine! You're burning up!"

What a really troublesome brat!

I then started carrying the little boy on my back and headed to a hospital.

***

I bought the two to a hospital and got themselves taken care off. Then I went to a convenient store to buy some food for the two.

As I was coming out of the convenient store, I took out my wallet and sighed.

well... there goes my savings

As I was about to put it back in my pocket, I saw the four-leaf clover fly out.

"oops"

I followed the leaf then grabbed it.

*BEEP!*

*CRASH!*

As I looked back, I saw an accident had happened to where I was just standing. It was a collision between a car and a truck.

I started sweating as I have almost lost my life back there if it weren't for the four-leaf clover flying out of my wallet. I looked back at the four-leaf clover in my hand and smiled bitterly.

Guess this leaf managed to save my life again.

***

After the two got a bit better I took them back to my place.

"Welcome to your new temporary home I guess, it's not much but it's better than the dump you were living in"

The two looked dazed as I said that. I smiled bitterly

"Guess you really don't like the place huh"

As I said that, the two started tearing up and shook their heads. Then the little girl smiled and started speaking.

"*sniff* It's not that *sniffle* were just really grateful for all the help you've given us *sniff*"

"*sniff* That's right bro! *sniffle* I thought you were just a scary bad guy at first but it turns out your actually a good guy with a scary face! *sniff* you're like robin hood, you know, how he helps out the poor!"

and steals from the rich

I gave myself a self deprecating smile as I thought that.

"Cody's right, your our hero. Thank you again, were really really grateful"

"Thank you very much bro!"

The two bowed

Hearing the two give their heartfelt thanks made me feel something I haven't felt in a long time. It made me feel... Happy. It felt like I finally did something good in my life after a life of sin.

As the days went by, the three of us started becoming closer to each other and my once cold personality started to melt bit by bit. They were only supposed to stay with me temporarily until they decided to go back to their home.

But as the days gone by it became clear to me that neither of them had any intent to do so. And I didn't care either, because the once cold and lonely building started becoming more lively. And I was finally able to sleep soundly and comfortably than I ever did in these past 3 years. It felt like they were a bigger help to me than I was to them. I was truly grateful I met those two.

-------

"Hey, what you thinking about bro?"

As I was taking a trip down memory lane, Cody approached me and asked me a question. I then smiled as I thought of teasing him

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking about what other punishment I can give to my little trouble maker"

"That again!? I thought we already move past that!?"

"You think you can get away that lightly for wasting my money?"

"Th-that... Here, a smoothie"

"You think an almost empty smoothie is enough for me to fully forgive you? Do you really think I'm that cheap?"

"I'll also give you a piece of my food next time"

"Alright you're forgiven"

As I said that, Alice also decided to join in on the conversation.

"Cody, as your master. I order you to also give me a piece of your food next time."

"Wh-what? B-but there won't be anything left for me to eat."

"You should've thought of that when you decided to hide those things from me and bro"

"I'm sorry okay!"

As I watched the two bicker, my heart started filling up with joy.

I truly am grateful I met these two.