Oh gosh! I know you guys have been waiting but here it is...a small chapter before the greatness of chapter ten! Enjoy~
Aerith's warm greeting however was interrupted by a childish scream and what sounded to be a piercing battle cry from the bathroom upstairs as her twins clearly engaged in another slapping fight to the death in the bathtub. Smiling sheepishly at her guest, the brunette mother excused herself before racing up the stairs towards her two children in a mad panic. "What did I say about not fighting anymore? Sora? Roxas?" The slender woman asked as she entered the bathroom, with both her hands on her hips and a disapproving expression worn well into her once carefree features. When met with silence by her twins, Aerith looked carefully over the two boys, noticing Roxas' usual venomous glower and Sora's sniffling accompanied by his full lips twisted into a pout. "Roxy said he hates Sora!" Sora wailed as he clambered out of the bathtub, sloshing water and bath toys over the white tiled floor.
Taken aback by her older child's cries, Aerith frowned at her blonde son who noticeably withered under her disappointed gaze. "I'm afraid if you keep acting up, Roxas, you won't be joining us at the beach and I'll have to tell Axel's daddy to take him home." The brunette woman murmured, albeit sternly. Snapping his head up quickly, Roxas glared silently at his mother who had knelt down and busied herself in drying off his twin brother's tears. The bathroom was silent for a good five minutes, save for Aerith's cooing and comforting words to her weeping son. "Ms Gainsborough?" A polite and yet uncaring and apathetic feminine voice called, interrupting the bated silence of the bathroom.
"Sorry, Elena. These two are at each other's throats a little more than usual lately." Aerith apologised, opening the bathroom door to look up at the blonde teenager who stood outside in the hallway. Dusting her grey school skirt off nonchalantly, Elena nodded in response before stepping around the kneeling brunette woman. "It's okay, Mrs Gainsborough. I'll help Roxas with his bath if you want to get Sora ready." The blonde suggested as she sat on the edge of the tub, careful to place a towel down underneath her. Aerith sighed in relief as she hoisted herself up off the floor before reaching down to pick her brunette son up. "Thank you, Elena. I'm glad you were available today. I hear Gun's come down with a cold? Anyways, I'll leave you to it but please don't get your uniform wet, I'd hate for the bath water to stain your skirt." The tired woman murmured before exiting the bathroom with her now back to normal and eagerly bouncing son. Smiling politely in response to the twins' mother, Elena sat herself carefully alongside the edge of the bath tub, making sure not to sit in any wet spots caused by Sora's tantrum.
Roxas sat in the shimmery pink water, watching the blonde school girl with a glare firmly in place. Unaware of the smaller blonde's baleful looks directed towards her, the older blonde reached into the bath to remove the bath toys that Sora had left carelessly floating in the pink water. "I hear you made friends with someone, kid." Elena said casually as she tapped her perfectly manicured fingernails along her thighs, though she was careful not to accidentally drop any beads of water onto her school uniform. The small blonde sighed before releasing his Heartless plushie to sink to the bottom of the bath. "His name is Axey and we're going to the beach today." Roxas mumbled, keeping his eyes fixed on the sinking cloth doll. Elena sat quietly as the younger blonde continued to chatter away about his redheaded best friend.
"I thought you had a good thing going with that secretary...Gun? Why are you going after the mother of your son's best friend?" Rude asked, keeping a careful eye on the miniature redhead who was fast asleep, curled up on the wooden floor in a tangle of hair, arm and leg. Looking up from his cell phone, Reno focused his widened eyes upon Rude's figure. "Gun means nothing to me, that girl was a little too trigger happy, if you know what I mean." The older redhead mumbled, widening his eyes even more so before turning back to his cell phone's bright screen. Rude sat quietly, watching his redheaded partner out of the corner of his eye. "Don't give me that look, yo. " Reno snapped, before pegging his phone at the bald man once again. Opening his mouth to respond, Rude was suddenly cut off by a loud thumping at the door. "Ughhh, it's too early for this! Don't people know that foxes sleep during the day?!" Reno complained as he raised himself up off the couch to answer the door.
"Whaddya want?!" Reno shouted as he flung his front door open, in an exaggerated motion to reveal a busty brunette standing unimpressed in his doorway. "Tifa, what are you doing here? Have you realised that you want a piece of this spicy cinnamon pie?" The redhead teased, rubbing his hands up and down his body in an attempt to be suave. Rolling her eyes, Tifa swung her closed fist at the redhead, narrowly missing his face. "Rude texted me to bring him some more sunglasses. Apparently your demon child shows no mercy." Tifa muttered as she brushed past the mock-offended redhead.
Turning at the familiar clomp of boots, Rude smiled as Tifa passed him a familiar white plastic bag. "Next time, don't let the spawn of Satan know where you keep your spare glasses." The brunette woman teased before leaning over and resting her elbows on the back of the couch. "Oh, just come into my house, Tifa. No problem, just come into my house and insult my angel and me, yo. It's all good." Reno complained, throwing his hands up in the air as he entered the lounge room. Ignoring the redhead and his sulking, Tifa pressed her lips against Rude's temple before raising herself up off the couch. "Well, I have to go. If I stay any longer, I'm sure I'll catch something from your mangy coat." The brunette woman taunted before sauntering out of the small apartment, leaving as quickly as she came. Shaking his head, Reno climbed over the same couch that Tifa was just resting upon and sat next to Rude. "Just when did you find the time to text?!"
