This Is Gospel (ShimaxYukio)

73.The Beat of My Heart

"Ai! Ren! You're gonna be late, come on down for breakfast!"

The Suguro household was busy per usual that morning with Rin at the center, setting the table so that the twins could at least eat something before they headed out for the day. More than anything though, he was ready for some peace and quiet.

"I'm headed out, baby."

Rin twisted from his spot at the counter where he was chopping fruits and veggies to accept the kiss being pressed at his lips and bid his husband a good day, handing him his lunchbox as he made a beeline for the door.

"Bon."

"Huh?"

"Keys, baby."

"Right, right."

The older man pivoted around on his heels to grab the keys from the counter, sticking around just long enough to see the twins dragging their feet down the staircase. He took a moment to kiss them each on the head before heading for the door again. "Later, you two. Behave. Love you."

"Sure, Dad."

"Love you too."

Which was acceptable enough for him. It wouldn't be fair to expect any more of them when they were barely coherent. Still, he couldn't help but roll his eyes as he closed the front door behind himself.

The twins threw themselves at the table, scarfing down eggs and bacon like it would disappear if they didn't eat it fast.

"Hey now, slow down or you're going to choke! You act like I didn't feed you just last night." Rin scolded, pointing the knife in his hand at them with a scrutinizing gaze. Renji dropped his fork in favor of chasing down his food with orange juice and Aimi slowed down to wipe at her mouth with a napkin that had been laid out for her. "Sorry, mom. You know we love your cooking." She offered. Rin's glared softened at this and he moved to dump the medley of produce into a bowl and bring it to the table. It was then that he noticed that the seat at the opposite side of the table was empty.

"You didn't wake Shen and bring him down to eat?"

Renji's face twisted in extreme disinterest. "You mean Tiny Satan? Let him sleep. He'll wake soon." He said, finishing the rest of his food and moving to slide his plate into the sink. "Translation: Shen Lei is kind of unruly in the mornings." Ai offered in explanation. Rin seemed to take personal offense  to that. "My little Shen is not unruly."

Ai just smiled at him."Whatever you say, mom. By the way, I saw that Papa's team won their game last night." She said. Rin beamed at this. "Of course they did. Your papa is the best in the game."

"Prefer football." Renji added.

Rin rolled his eyes at this. "You are your father's child." He said, eyes darting to the kitchen clock to check the time. It was almost 7:30AM. "Alright, get to the bus stop before you're late."

"I hate the bus, you should let me drive the Porsche to school."

"You're in middle school, Ai. I cannot legally allow you to drive yourself to school. Also, I'll need to have a talk with your father about taking you driving in that damned Porsche."

Renji grunted his agreement. "Maserati is better."

"He let you drive the Maserati?"

"Maybe."

"Translation: yes."

"Yes."

Rin helped Renji slide his backpack on even though he insisted on doing it himself, nearly tripping over his half-tied shoes in his haste to catch up with his sister as she bolted out of the door in fear of being late for their first day of  middle school. Aimi was a strong believer in good first impressions after all.