BELOVED BY THE TWINS

CHAPTER 23

"BELOVED BY THE TWINS"
by: Dark Flame Master

"Shin, wake up. It's Saturday today," Ruka said, his voice soft but insistent.

"Come on, Shin," Luca added leaning closer to the bed.

Shin groaned and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. He was too embarrassed to face them after what had happened the night before. He could still feel the warmth of their kisses on his cheeks, a memory that made his heart race. The thought of seeing them now after that moment was too much. So he hid under the blanket.

But the twins weren't giving up so easily. They crawled onto the bed and hugged him through the blanket.

"Shin, come out from under there," Ruka said, his voice playful.

"N-no, I won't!" Shin mumbled from under the blanket, his face burning with embarrassment.

"Why not?" Luca asked, though he already knew the answer.

"If you don't come out I'm going to touch you and I won't stop," Ruka teased, his tone both light and mischievous.

Shin's eyes widened in shock at Ruka's words and without thinking he quickly threw the blanket off of himself and his face blushed as he sat up.

"Good morning, Shin," the twins said in unison, grinning down at him.

"G-good morning," Shin mumbled, still flustered. He couldn't meet their eyes, his mind flashing back to the kisses from the previous night. He felt as though he might melt under their gazes so he quickly stood up and shuffled towards the dining table.

The three of them sat down for breakfast but the air was thick with awkwardness. Shin kept his head down focusing on his food while the twins exchanged amused glances. The tension was broken when Luca decided to speak up.

"Shin, your birthday is next week, right?" Luca asked casually as he took a bite of his toast.

Shin nodded, grateful for the change in topic. "Yeah, next Saturday."

"Well," Luca continued, "you're free to spend the day with Juri if you want."

Shin froze for a moment, his hand holding his fork in mid-air. He hadn't expected that. He looked down at his plate suddenly feeling a little sad. Of course, Juri was his friend but deep down Shin had hoped to spend his birthday with the twins. The idea that they might not want to be with him on that special day made his chest tighten with disappointment. He didn't realize that his feelings were written all over his face but the twins certainly noticed.

Ruka leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Shin. "Why do you look like that? Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice gentle but curious.

"Nothing," Shin quickly said, trying to avoid their eyes.

But before he could get too deep into his thoughts, Luca spoke up again. "You can spend the day with Juri or anyone you want but at night make sure you come back and spend it with us."

At that, Shin's mood instantly lifted. He glanced up at the twins feeling a wave of relief and happiness wash over him though he tried not to show it.

"Okay," he replied, his voice a little brighter now.

Ruka smirked, noticing the change in Shin's expression. "Is that a smile I see?" he teased, leaning closer to Shin.

"Huh? I'm not smiling," Shin said quickly, looking down at his food. "Maybe you're just hungry and imagining things."