Title: A Reading from the Book of Rin
Author: Sage SK
Genre: Family
Date Started: 12/14/11
Date Finished: 12/15/11

Comments: Bill Cosby clearly had a lot of influence on this fic. And, big thanks to my beta reader, Kristen Sharpe!

Enjoy!

Growing up as an altar boy, Shiro Fujimoto was taught that sermons were supposed to be taken seriously. Of course, that all changed when he became a priest. As far as he was concerned, it didn't hurt to add a little humor to make sure the congregation was paying attention. Considering he was usually thanked or congratulated for giving such a wonderful sermon, he was pretty sure the Almighty didn't mind a little laughter.

And, he was pretty sure the Almighty had a sense of humor. Why else would he have been bestowed with the everlasting patience necessary to raise two boys who had the unfortunate luck of being fathered by the ultimate evil?

Shiro sighed. He'd quit smoking when he had adopted Rin and Yukio behind the Vatican's back. Right now, though, as he listened to Rin's version of the first few chapters of Genesis, he could have really used a cigarette.

"That's not how it goes," Yukio said indignantly, glaring at his beaming brother.

"Does too!" Rin shot back as he repeated, "After the Lord learned that Adam and Eve had been tricked, He then turned to the serpent and said, 'You are so grounded!'"

Clearly, Rin had been paying attention, but unlike his book smart twin, he preferred a more condensed version.

Hiding a chortle behind a cough, Shiro caught their attention. "Alright, that's enough about the Garden of Eden. What can you tell me about Noah and the ark?"

"I know!" Rin stood in his chair excitedly, ignoring his protesting brother. "God said to Noah to build an Ark, saying He'd destroy the world by letting it rain ten thousand days and flooding everybody out. To which Noah said, 'Just let it rain for forty days and forty nights and wait for the sewers to back up. You'll save water that way!'"

"Nii-san!" Yukio finally turned to their adoptive father. "Father, he's not saying it right and... Father?"

"Daddy?"

Shiro didn't respond, his face buried into his arms on the table. His sermon on the book of Genesis was getting rewritten tonight. Mass this Sunday promised not to be boring. And, as he whispered a quick prayer of thanks for the two boys in his life, he was pretty sure the Almighty approved.

END