BELOVED BY THE TWINS

CHAPTER 10

"BELOVED BY THE TWINS"

by: Dark Flame Master

When Shin arrived at the hospital, his heart was heavy. Everything about the day felt strange and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. He walked up to the front desk where a nurse sat, busy working on some paperwork. For a moment, Shin hesitated. He wasn’t used to asking for help especially from strangers and a part of him felt nervous about bothering her. But he knew he had to find Ruka and Luca, the only people he could trust to help him through this.

“Excuse me,” Shin said softly. His voice was almost a whisper but it caught the nurse’s attention. She looked up from her desk giving him a warm welcoming smile.

“Yes, how can I help you?” she asked, her voice gentle and kind.

“I’m looking for Ruka and Luca. They are interns here,” Shin said, trying his best to keep his voice steady even though he felt uneasy.

The nurse checked her computer for a moment typing in their names. “Ah, yes, they’re on a break right now. You can find them in the cafeteria. Do you know where that is?”

Shin nodded quickly, not wanting to take up more of her time. “Yes, thank you.”

With that, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to the twins letting them know that he was at the hospital. As he waited for a response Shin couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the events of the day. He sat in a chair near the entrance, his mind racing with thoughts. Why had his classmates suddenly been so nice to him? After everything they had done bullying him, mocking him, making him feel worthless why were they now acting like they cared?

It didn’t make sense.

Before he could dwell on it too long his phone buzzed. The twins had replied to his message saying they were on their way. Shin stood up just as Ruka and Luca appeared walking towards him with concerned expressions on their faces. The moment he saw them all the emotions he had been holding back came rushing out. His chest tightened and his eyes filled with tears. He tried to hold it in but it was no use. Before the tears could spill the twins were already by his side gently guiding him to a private room nearby.

Once inside, Ruka quietly closed the door and the room fell silent. The only sound was Shin’s soft sniffles as he struggled to control his crying. He looked up at the twins, his vision blurry from the tears before finally breaking down. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around both of them hugging them tightly as the sobs he had been holding in all day finally escaped.

“They... th..they’re treating me like they didn’t bully me up until yesterday,” Shin choked out, his voice trembling with hurt. “I..I don’t understand... why...”

Ruka and Luca exchanged a look both of them unsure of what to say. They had always known how tough things were for Shin but hearing him like this broke their hearts. Instead of trying to offer empty words they simply held him allowing him to cry as much as he needed. They knew that sometimes words weren’t enough.

Shin’s sobs continued for several minutes his body shaking as he clung to the twins. Slowly, his crying began to ease and he pulled away from their embrace wiping at his tear-streaked face with the back of his hand. He sniffled trying to calm himself down.

“I’m sorry,” Shin mumbled, his voice still shaky. “I didn’t mean to... to be like this...”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Ruka said gently, patting Shin on the back. “You’re allowed to feel what you’re feeling. You don’t have to hide it from us.”

Luca nodded, his expression soft and understanding. He didn’t say anything but his presence alone was comforting. Shin knew he didn’t need to explain further. They understood him in ways no one else did.

After a while, Shin had calmed down completely though his eyes were still red and puffy from crying. The twins told him they needed to get back to work so Shin decided to stay and wait for them until they finished their shift. He sat back in the waiting area feeling a bit better now that he had let out some of his emotions. As the hours passed he eventually dozed off in the chair, exhausted from everything that had happened.

The next thing he knew a gentle voice was waking him from his sleep.

“Shin, wake up,” Luca said softly, shaking his shoulder lightly.

Shin blinked his eyes open, feeling groggy and confused. “Huh? What?” he mumbled, still half-asleep.

Luca chuckled at how out of it Shin looked. “We’re done with our shift. Let’s go home.”

Shin rubbed his eyes and stretched still trying to shake off the sleep. “Where’s Ruka?” he asked, his voice slightly slurred from tiredness.

“He had to go visit our parents for something,” Luca explained, standing up and helping Shin to his feet. “He’ll be back tomorrow.”

Shin didn’t ask any more questions, too sleepy to think clearly. He simply followed Luca to the car stumbling a little as he walked. The ride home was quiet and Shin found himself nodding off again in the passenger seat. By the time they pulled up to the house he was barely awake.

“Shin, you should go straight to bed,” Luca suggested as they stepped inside. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

But Shin shook his head. “N..no, I need to take a bath first.”

Luca raised an eyebrow knowing how exhausted Shin was. “Are you sure? You look like you might fall asleep in the tub.”

“I’m fine,” Shin insisted, though his eyes were half-closed.

Luca knew better than to argue when Shin was this stubborn. “Alright, but if you fall asleep, I’m coming in there to get you,” he warned with a playful smirk.

Shin just waved him off and headed to the bathroom feeling the weight of the day catching up with him. He washed up quickly but once he settled into the warm bath he couldn’t help but relax. The heat soothed his tired muscles and before he knew it his eyes were closing again.

Time passed and Luca growing concerned, knocked on the bathroom door. “Shin? You okay there?” he called out, but there was no answer.

Frowning, Luca opened the door slightly and peeked inside. His eyes widened when he saw Shin fast asleep in the tub, his head resting against the edge. Shaking his head Luca sighed.

“I knew it,” he muttered to himself as he stepped inside.

Carefully, Luca lifted Shin out of the tub and dried him off with a towel. He dressed Shin in a pair of loose pants not bothering with a shirt since it was clear Shin wouldn’t stay still long enough for that.

As Luca tried to leave the bed Shin, still half-asleep grabbed onto his arm and mumbled something incoherent. Luca chuckled softly finding the sight of Shin clinging to him endearing.

“Alright, I’ll stay,” Luca said quietly, lying down beside Shin. He pulled the blanket over both of them and closed his eyes falling asleep next to him.

The next morning, Ruka returned home and went straight to their room to check on Luca. When he didn’t find him there. Ruka immediately knew where to look. He headed to Shin’s room and was surprised to find Luca asleep in bed with Shin who was still shirtless and wrapped up in blankets.

Ruka smirked and walked over to the bed, leaning down to wake them up. “Hey, did you two do something without me?” he teased, his voice lighthearted.

“Huh?” Shin mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he slowly woke up.

“It’s way too early for your jokes, Ruka,” Luca grumbled, sitting up and stretching.

Shin blinked, still half-asleep before realizing he wasn’t wearing a shirt. His face turned bright red as he pulled the blanket up to his chin. “W..why am I not wearing clothes?”

“You were so sleepy last night that I couldn’t get you dressed properly,” Luca explained with a grin. “Don’t worry, nothing happened.”

Shin groaned in embarrassment pulling the blanket tighter around himself.

After a bit more teasing from Ruka, the three of them headed downstairs to prepare breakfast. Despite the embarrassing morning Shin couldn’t help but feel grateful. He knew that no matter what happened at school or with his classmates he always had Ruka and Luca to come home to. They were his safe place the ones who had stood by him when no one else did.