"Phew! Can you believe that traffic? Its almost ten, already! C'mon guys, time to get your homework done." Misato said as she opened her apartment door and tossed her sneakers on the floor and threw her duffle bag across the room. She reached into the fridge and pulled out a beer.

"I just have a chapter to read." Asuka yawned, opening the door to her room. "I claim the shower in the morning, so nobody better be in there tomorrow. G'night."

She slammed the door behind her.

Shinji nervously stepped into the door and gingerly took his shoes off. Kaworu kept his hands in his pockets--slipping his shoes off with his toes. Shinji watched Kaworu look around the small living room and kitchen. He never stopped smiling.

"Well, Kaworu kun, if you'll help Shinji kun get his homework done, I have work early tomorrow..." Misato continued with a yawn. "I guess you can borrow some of his clothes for school, too...so everything's settled...oh, do you have your books with you?"

Kaworu turned around, showing that his dark green backpack was strapped to his back and was safe and sound.

"Oh, good...well...Oyasumi then..."

Misato drank all of her beer and threw it in the trashcan on her way through her bedroom door. They heard it slam and then all was quiet.

The silence seemed to wash over Shinji and made him more relaxed than he had been in days. He turned to face Kaworu and smiled at him. Kaworu opened his mouth to say something, but both were startled when Asuka's door opened, revealing only her angry and twisted face.

"And by the way..." she snapped. "If I catch either one of you peeking at me you'll wish you'd never been born!"

Another slam. Shinji and Kaworu once again looked at eachother. They both laughed nervously.

"I've never seen where you live, Shinji kun." Kaworu said. "It's nice."

Shinji smiled and nervously went over to the fridge. "Do you want something to drink or eat? I think there is some safe stuff in here..."

Kaworu walked by the now bent over Shinji and brushed his hand over the back of his neck. Shinji immediately stood up strait and closed the fridge door.

"I'll have something later, thank you." Kaworu whispered. Shinji turned and nodded softly.

He led Kaworu across the hall and opened a door for him. "This is my room. The bathroom is next to it, over there, on the right." He pointed down the hall.

The gray-haired boy walked only into the door frame and looked at the sign posted on the door.

"Shinji's lovely suite..." he said, reading the words. He turned to Shinji and smiled.

"Misato san made it for me when I first moved in..." Shinji blushed. He then walked into the room, dropping his bag on the bed and then taking his school books off the shelf.

"I don't have that much to do..." whispered Shinji as he sat down at his desk. "It'll only take me fifteen minutes or so. " He licked his pencil tip and opened his notebook to a blank piece of paper. "Just some math...problems..."

Kaworu's hand brushed the back of his neck once again as he passed by. He then put both his hands on his shoulders and sighed.

"I'll take a shower, then." he said. "Are there towels in the bathroom?"

"H-hai..." Shinji replied.

"Okay." Kaworu said. He then left.

At first, Shinji kept working on his homework and was not distracted. Then, he heard the water turn on.

He shot up in his seat. His ears were listening hard as he doodled on the page. For splashing water, humming…any sound at all.

He sighed.

Would he want me to...? Would he mind if...?

No. No. He only had one more problem left. He had to at least finish it.

Well, maybe he needs something like soap or something. Surely he wouldn't care if I went in there to tell him where everything is...

A few minutes passed as he stared out into the abyss, his pencil bouncing up and down on the paper.

He wouldn't mind...he said...he said...

More staring, only this time at his paper. He barely noticed that every answer to every one of the problems he had done since he had been sitting there was wrong.

...Finally his mind was made up. He wrote down a random number, circled it to indicate that was his answer, and closed his math book. He headed towards the bathroom.

Slowly he crept down the hallway, the floorboards creaking softly underneath his feet. His heart was pounding harder and harder. He began to turn the bathroom door knob...

The first thing he felt was the mist from the hot water on his skin. It filled the bathroom, leaving the mirror foggy. He saw Kaworu's silouette through the shower curtain. He could see he was running his fingers through his shaggy hair, arching his long back as the water hit his chest.

Shinji's chin dropped. He absentmindedly began to walk towards the shower, his breathing deep and shivering.

Before he knew it he was standing next to the shower curtain. His eyes were wide as his shaking hand reached to touch it...

Suddenly the curtain flew open. There Kaworu stood, his red eyes excited and staring strait at Shinji, who drew back in surprise.

"I...I...wanted to show you where the soap was and...A-ano..." he tried to speak. Anxiously he gazed at the floor, his face burning and his body noticably changing against his will. His eyes glanced up on their own, only to come right back down again even before he reached Kaworu's thighs.

Kaworu did not hesitate. He stepped out of the shower--his body dripping with hot water - the fog enveloping him as he walked. He then quickly grabbed Shinji's outstretched wrists and pulled him close, finally wrapping his long, thin arms around his waist.

Shinji froze in place. For quite some time, the two of them simply stood there in the silence and fog.

...Finally, Shinji's two arms wrapped around Kaworu's neck, and their lips met.

Between their long kisses Shinji let out a passionate groan, running fingers through wet hair. Kaworu just smiled, working his way down to Shinji's long neck. His hands roamed harshly, touching every part of his lover, tearing at the buttons and belts and zippers, desperately ripping at cloth.

With clawed fingers Shinji fumbled and tried his best to help Kaworu undress him, but every time he tried Kaworu would kiss his lips once again to hush him and Shinji could not help but stop completely and yield to him.

After he was completely stripped they stumbled into the shower, their lips never parting. Instantly Kaworu laced his fingers in between Shinji's slamming him against the wall. Their sexes pulsed against one another's, Shinji lifting one of his legs to hook Kaworu's hips in, Kaworu burying his face in Shinji's neck.

The water cascaded down their skin, pooling where their hips were locked together. The water drenched Shinji's face as he looked towards the ceiling, moaning breathlessly, unaware of how loud he was.

Kaworu didn't seem to care, either. He grabbed Shinji's sides and pulled him closer to him, violently kissing him over and over and over again. When they broke apart both pairs of lips were red and swollen, but Kaworu did not want to stop there.

He squatted down and stared at Shinji's hardness, watching the water surround it like a transparent glove and then drip off the tip.

"K-Kaworu kun…what are you do--stop…you can't…mmm!"

Slowly Kaworu swallowed him, pushing Shinji's legs apart and gripping his thighs.

"Ah…mm…Kaworu kun…"

"Shhh…"

"But, I…mmm!"

Shinji came suddenly in a blast of energy - and much to his surprise, Kaworu did not spit it out. He swallowed it calmly and came back up to kiss him.

"You liked that, mm?" Kaworu said, grinning.

"I…I don't know what to do…" Shinji whispered in their embrace. He felt Kaworu, still hard and raging, against his leg. "Tell me how to do it…"

"Not here." Kaworu panted. He turned off the water and hurriedly grabbed a towel, drying them both off in the midst of intense, desperate kisses. They rushed back over to Shinji's room, their hair still somewhat wet, and turned off the lights.

The moonlight drenched the bed as Kaworu sat down on it, guiding Shinji to stand in front of him. Shinji's body flushed entirely but he did not try to cover himself. Instead he watched Kaworu's eyes as they absorbed every curve, every nuance of his.

"I want to do this right." Kaworu whispered. "Let's take our time…"

"But Kaworu kun…" Shinji gestured to Kaworu's erection, still as hard as before. He kneeled down in front of him and put himself between his legs. "Please…show me how to do it…I want to make you feel good like you did for me…"

Kaworu smiled. "Alright…" he said, trying to remain calm but clearly in an aroused state. "Put your hand around the base."

Shinji did as he was told, taking care to go slowly and push each of his fingers through his dark, wiry hair. Kaworu inhaled sharply, his hands caressing Shinji's cheek.

"Take your other hand and touch me there." He pointed to his sac. "Put your whole hand around them and move your fingers."

"Like this?" Shinji asked as he began to massage the skin. He did not wait for an answer before he wrapped his lips around the head of his erection, running his tongue up and down the underside, gently sucking the tip.

"Yes, Shinji kun." Kaworu panted. "Just like that…keep doing it…suck harder…"

About a minute went by before Shinji came up for air. His jaw ached and his lips were even more swollen, but he did not let go of Kaworu, intent on finishing. But Kaworu raised his chin up.

"Shinji kun…I want us both to feel good. Do you still trust me?"

"Yes…of course I do…"

"Then come up here on the bed with me."

Shinji obeyed, revealing that he had already grown back into semi-hardness. Kaworu directed him to lay on his back and open his legs, exposing himself completely to his eyes.

Instinctively Shinji began to close his legs, but Kaworu held them open, much to the other's embarrassment.

"Do you have any Vaseline?" he asked. Shinji nodded and pointed to his bedside drawer. Kaworu retrieved it.

"This will feel a little weird at first, but trust me, and it will feel good soon. Okay?"

"Okay…I-I'm ready."

Kaworu dipped two fingers in the Vaseline and slowly began to rub Shinji's erection. He squirmed and panted under his touch, squinting his eyes shut and fisting the sheets. Kaworu smiled and rubbed his sac, moving down to the skin underneath it and finally to the small ring of muscle beyond. His eyes wandered over Shinji's most private parts as his fingers swirled around the tiny entrance.

"I'm looking at you, Shinji kun. You're beautiful."

"K-Kaworu kun…"

"You should see how beautiful you are too. Open your eyes - look down."

Kaworu shifted them both so Shinji could prop his back up against the wall. Shinji opened one eye at a time and watched with a drunk expression at Kaworu's hand movements.

Looking around, he spotted a hand mirror on the desk. He grabbed it and put it against his stomach muscles so Shinji could see what his fingers were doing exactly. Out of complete embarrassment Shinji turned his face away.

"Don't do that. Watch. That way you won't be scared." Kaworu pleaded. The tone had been so kind that almost as a personal favor to him, Shinji nodded and looked again at the mirror, his breathing becoming heavier.

"Hold on tight." Kaworu said. Then he slid two of his fingers into him.

Shinji gasped and groaned aloud. Still he kept his eyes locked to the mirror as Kaworu added another finger, sliding in and out of him, occasionally adding more Vaseline. The other hand continued to stroke his gleaming shaft, beading at the tip and dripping down over his hand.

Now voluntarily spreading his legs as far as they could go, Shinji's eyes rolled back into his head as Kaworu's finger scraped gently against something deep within him that felt…so exquisite he could barely stay conscious. Then he felt something much bigger and longer slide into him - it was Kaworu own shaft. Quietly Shinji moaned as Kaworu grabbed his hips.

"Is this…okay?" Kaworu panted, picking up the pace. Shinji nodded hurriedly and had to bite the sheets to prevent himself from screaming. It wasn't long before both of them came, moaning and sweating and catatonic from the climax. Kaworu managed to climb up on the bed and throw his arms around Shinji, both naked and drenched in moonlight.

"Kaworu kun…"

"Hm?"

"Will we…always be together?"

Kaworu smiled. "Of course, Shinji kun."

"I mean…can we be like…a couple? Will you…"

"Shinji kun, I was yours before I ever met you."

Shinji smiled and curled up against him.

"I'm so glad…I found you…"

Kaworu closed his eyes. "I'm glad I found you too. Oh, before I forget…can I have your phone number?"

Shinji smiled and kissed him.

As Ritsuko and Misato traveled down the elevator, paperwork and coffee in hand, the two of them talked about the weekend's happenings.

"Did you all have fun at the hot springs?" Ritsuko asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I think we all had a good time. That's a nice place. Wish you hadn't worked so you could have gone with us." Misato replied.

"I wanted to, but these synch test reports needed to get done, and they weren't going to write themselves."

"Yeah, yeah, I know...to tell you the truth, I had a load a' paperwork that I didn't do myself...eheh..."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"Aw, c'mon, when do I ask for a break?"

"Every day."

"You always have to rub it in, don't you?"

"Oh yeah, its my job to make you as miserable as possible. Oh hey, by the way, didn't our new pilot go with you?"

Misato nodded. "I invited him. I'm kind of hoping that another boy on the team will make Shinji kun feel a little more comfortable. Who knows? Maybe I'm hoping they'll even become good friends. God knows I'm not doing much for him."

"Don't say that." Ritsuko said sadly. "Shinji kun is a lot better off than when he got here, and that's because of you."

"Yeah, I wish..." Misato sighed. Then she looked to the blinking numbers above the door to see what floor they were passing, and there she fixed her eyes, as if she were staring off into the sunset somewhere far away.

"So..."Ritsuko pried. "How did it go? Are they close or what?"

Misato sighed and then stared at the floor. "Well, it seems like there's some good chemistry going on between them...I mean, Shinji kun still looks like he's nervous around him but he sure does smile alot when he's around...at least, that's what I see."

"And how is Kaworu?"

"I think he likes him alot. In fact..." Misato thought. "A whole lot."

"Does that bother you?"

"No, not at all, really. I mean, despite my earlier feelings about him, he really doesn't make me as nervous as he used to. I think he's growing on me, and I think he's growing on Shinji kun too. I think it'll work out well."

Now Ritsuko stared at the door, hearing the bell ding and the gears start to creak. She stepped out of the elevator and turned to face her distraught looking friend as the doors closed once more.

"Well, for Shinji's sake...for all our sakes, I hope you're right."

And then the doors closed.

Shinji and Kaworu did not speak at school. At lunch they hung out with Toji and Kensuke, but not a word passed between them. When it was time to go home and they said goodbye to one another, Kaworu smiled, but Shinji thought nothing of it, as Kaworu seemed to smile at everyone.

It's like the car all over again. Shinji thought. He treats everyone so nicely, he's friendly with everyone…how can I tell that he feels differently about me when he doesn't treat me any differently?

…Why can't I just have faith in him, and not ask myself these dumb questions?

But to him, he admitted, these weren't dumb questions. They were the questions that made him who he was. And, he decided, he was willing to accept that.

When he got home, he threw his satchel on his desk and began to take off his watch. His eyes just happened to pass over the desk, when he caught a glimpse of his phone's tiny screen.

"One missed call, one message."

His eyes practically bulging out of his head, he tried to calm himself enough to remember the directions on how to check messages. Finally he remembered, and the little screen revealed a one-sentence text message that made his heart swell.

"Can I come over for dinner? - Kaworu"

He smiled and began to text a 'yes' back, knowing full well that his phone would never again be the Phone that Never Rings.