"The Phone that Always Rings"
By Ten Story
Disclaimer: I don't own Eva, blah blah blah, etc. And yes, this is a bit AU, as the sequence of events is different and everyone is well into high school at this point. But that's the beauty of Eva, isn't it? You can mix everything up and its still part of the canon, if you count the video games and whatnot. XD Yes, I'm an idiot. Enjoy.
The sun was rising over Tokyo 3 to a brilliant blue sky on a Saturday morning. The window in Ikari Shinji's room was pouring in the newborn sunlight, right into his sleep-filled eyes. He groaned and turned over, pulling his pillow tightly over his head.
BANG BANG BANG!!
"SHINJI BAKA! Get up already! It's your turn to cook breakfast this morning!"
Asuka knocked on the wooden doorframe and yelled. The sixteen-year-old shot up in bed at the loud sound, then collapsed back again.
"I cook breakfast every morning…" he mumbled to himself as he finally pulled off his shirt and crawled out from underneath the covers. "Why doesn't she do it for a change…?"
Shinji was usually the first one up in the morning and had already started the cooking by the time Asuka was in the shower, but he had been having trouble sleeping all week. He would spend hours just staring at the ceiling, listening to his walkman and trying to rest but to no avail. And when he finally did get some sleep, he would toss and turn, then wake up and fall back asleep again. He knew he was dreaming about something, but he could never remember what that something was. All he knew was that they always made him feel panicked and scared when he woke up in the night…
He thought about it hard as he finished getting dressed. Things really weren't bad enough at the moment to give him nightmares. It had been at two months since the last Angel attack… and even a new pilot had joined the team a few days ago who seemed really nice. Nagisa Kowaru was his name. They had seemed to hit it off pretty well…they were already on a first name basis, and Shinji had spent the night with Kaworu only a few nights before. And, what's more, he did feel pretty comfortable around him. Who knows? Maybe they would become even closer friends.
Shinji picked up his school satchel off his desk as he fastened the last button on his shirt. He paused for only a second, twisting the little button between his fingers anxiously as he stared at his cellular telephone. The phone that never rang.
"Nagisa….Kaworu. Kaworu kun…." he whispered.
Then he left the room.
Shinji cooked and Asuka ate in silence. Every few minutes Shinji would yawn, then rub his drowsy eyes, while Asuka thumbed through one of her textbooks. Finally she looked at her watch, walked over to Misato's door, and banged on it.
"Misato, you're gonna be late." Asuka said in an irritated tone, as she did this every morning.
Five minutes later, a drowsy hand peeked out from behind the door and a voice came from behind it.
"You go on, guys….don't forget….synch test. Don't be late….ugh…."
The door slammed. Asuka sighed and grabbed Shinji by the wrist.
"Well, come on idiot, we're gonna be late too if we don't hurry." she said. Shinji didn't argue. Not because he knew it was useless to argue, and not because he was used to being pulled around like a dog on a leash. It was because his mind was thoroughly preoccupied, and was all the way to school.
"Ayanami, Rei…..not here again?" the teacher said. He sighed and licked his thumb so he could turn the page in his attendance book. Shinji stared out the window lazily as Asuka gossiped with the other girls in the classroom, completely ignoring the teacher as he began to read through the tedious geometry assignment from the previous evening. Kensuke was fiddling with his tape recorder and Toji was sleeping - otherwise he would have noticed Hikari, who was staring at the back of his head intensely with a lovestruck look in her eyes.
The classroom door slid open and in came a panting boy with short, silvery hair and red eyes. The students' heads all turned at the sound, including Shinji's. When he saw who it was, he couldn't help but smile hopefully. Asuka muttered something about slackers and frowned at him.
Nothing seemed to phase Nagisa Kaworu, however. He wore a calm, collected grin, even as he panted breathlessly.
"Gomen na sai, Sensei."
The teacher sneered. "To be late on the first day at a new school…that makes a very bad impression. I'll spare you detention this one time. Have a seat in any empty spot and pull out your text book."
Kaworu took the chastise in stride, his grin never wavering. Looking around eagerly, he saw a seat empty next to Shinji. Shyly Shinji waved him over, hunching his shoulders over and flushing.
Happily Kaworu joined him and began searching through his satchel for his geometry book.
"It's good to see you again, K-Kaworu kun." the boy managed to blurt out, a little louder than he had intended.
"The feeling is mutual, Shinji kun." said the other, putting an emphasis on 'kun.' He was obviously pleased that Shinji had not reverted back out of excessive politeness to more formal salutations.
"Oh, I don't seem to have my text book…" he pouted in a playful way.
Shinji flushed even deeper and scooted his desk towards Kaworu's. "Y-you could share with me, if you like, Kaworu kun."
Kaworu smiled and thanked him, scooting his desk closer as well. Asuka paused from her gossiping to watch Shinji. She sneered at his rare smile and turned her head away, letting the conversation around her die and trying to concentrate on the boring geometry lesson.
At lunch, Kaworu had joined Toji, Kensuke, and Shinji at their corner of the courtyard. They talked about nothing in particular - Kensuke seemed to be focused on Rei not being at school, and Toji barely listened.
"She's prolly just got the flu or somethin.'" Toji groaned, lazily bouncing a dodge ball off the cement wall over and over again.
"Yeah but she seems to be sick all the time. Hey, Shinji kun, you know Ayanami pretty well, right?"
"I've told you a hundred times, Kensuke, I work with her, and I know her pretty well, but she doesn't talk about herself much. And I don't ask."
Kaworu smiled at Shinji's answer, which made him feel uneasy, for some reason.
"Well it's weird if you ask me." the freckled boy growled.
"Why don't you just write her a love letter and get it over with?" Toji snickered. Kensuke ran at Toji and tried to hit him, but Toji held him off easily and continued to laugh.
"So I wanna know how she's doin', so what? Hey, Nagisa, have you met Ayanami?"
"Me? Yes, I have met her. She's a very charming young lady."
"She's charming alright…" Toji snickered again.
"So…you like her, Kaworu kun?" Shinji asked tentatively while the other two were distracted with bickering.
Kaworu looked strait into Shinji's eyes. "In what way, Shinji kun?"
"Well, I, uh…that is, ano…"
Kaworu laughed - it was the first time Shinji had heard him. It was beautiful, light and airy, as if made from pure joy. All the uneasiness he felt seemed to melt away, and his shoulders relaxed.
Just then, Asuka came parading by with a posse of giggling girls, all content to follow her around, wherever she decided to go. They stood on the top of the stairs above the four boys, the bright sun casting her face in deep shadow.
"So what's going on in the complete losers' corner today, hm?"
"Why do you wanna know?" Toji barked.
Asuka raised her bright red eyebrow and glared at him angrily. "I wasn't talking to you, idiot."
"WHAT? Why I oughta…"
Kensuke held Toji back while Asuka's gaze traveled to Shinji. A look of pure disgust fell across her face, but when she saw Kaworu, the look turned into loathing.
"What are you doing here?" she sneered. Kaworu only smiled at her and put his arm around Shinji. The gesture was not uncomfortable or possessive, but it alarmed Shinji with its suddenness, causing him to draw up into himself, wedging his hands between his legs and bowing his head low.
"I take it you've met Asuka." he offered humbly.
"Yes, I have had that pleasure." Kaworu answered. "You're looking lovely today, Asuka san."
"…Whatever. Don't be late for the synch test." she finally said. Then she turned angrily and walked away, the girls following closely behind.
"If you weren't a girl, I'd kick your ass!" Toji yelled after her.
The three of them, Shinji, Kaworu, and Asuka, walked directly to Nerv after school. Asuka kept up a pace that maintained a small lead, but the two boys did not seem to notice. They were talking happily about various things - school, Misato, the synch test…
"Don't you think it's strange we're having another synch test so soon? I mean, we just had one a few days ago. You did so amazing, Kaworu kun."
Asuka flapped her mouth mockingly at Shinji's comment, though he did not see it.
Kaworu grinned from ear to ear. "Thank you, Shinji kun. I'd never taken a synch test before. Perhaps I was just trying really hard. I'm sure you are naturally much better at it than the rest of us."
"Oh PUL-EEZE!" Asuka stopped and turned. "That boy couldn't beat me in a synch test if he tried."
"Oh, really, Asuka san?" Kaworu said innocently. "Because I seem to recall Misato saying the last few synch tests, Shinji kun has come out on top."
Asuka walked up to Kaworu and glared at him, her face inches away from his. "Do you have a death wish?"
"That's silly, Asuka san. Why would I wish to die?" Kaworu replied. He was smiling, but there was something sad behind his eyes that only Shinji noticed.
"…You're a moron. Both of you are." she yelled suddenly, turning and picking her brisk walk back up that was practically a run. Kaworu happily slowed his pace down, leisurely floating along on the sidewalk.
"I wonder what else Shinji kun comes out on top of." he thought aloud. Shinji flushed at the ambiguous comment and looked at the ground.
"What do you mean by that, Kaworu kun?"
"What do you think I mean, Shinji kun?"
"N-nothing."
Kaworu laughed and looped his arm through Shinji's. "You are very kind and ingenuous, Shinji kun."
At the Nerv entrance, Asuka swiped her card and ran through to the elevator. Shinji and Kaworu paused to look at Kaworu's new keycard, happily discussing how the picture came out so nicely. Misato was waiting in the elevator when the doors opened.
"Finally! You guys are almost a minute late! Ritsuko is gonna kill me if we don't get down there now!" Misato barked. Asuka looked indignant as she defended herself.
"Don't look at me! We would have been here on time if it hadn't been for the two best friends over there." she pointed to Shinji and Kaworu.
Misato inwardly smiled, but kept her infuriated expression glued to her face. "You two! You have 5 seconds to get on this elevator!"
Kaworu raised his eyebrows. "Hai." he answered, leisurely hopping over the turnstyle and jogging to the elevator. Shinji followed, albeit less gracefully.
The synch test went well - so well in fact that Ritsuko invited everyone out for dinner at the local sushi bar. Rei felt well enough to join them, though she did not join in the lively conversation that spun all around her. Misato made jokes with Asuka. They laughed loudly while Ritsuko read her newspaper. Shinji and Kaworu were talking with one another at the end of the table.
Shinji hadn't been too concerned with the synch test itself, but more the events after the synch test. The last shower he had taken with Kaworu was uncomfortable to say the least, and this time was no exception. Kaworu had sat dangerous close to him, glancing over at him and smiling every few minutes. Shinji felt that Kaworu was silently asking him some question with his intimate gestures - his arm around him at lunch time, their arms linked on the way to headquarters after school. And it wasn't that Shinji disliked it…he just couldn't figure out what exactly that secret question was.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. He had an idea…but he was too afraid to ask.
It's not that, you idiot…you're probably just looking too much into it…
"What are you thinking about, Shinji kun? You got very quiet very quickly just now."
"Oh? Ano, nothing, Kaworu kun."
Kaworu half-frowned. "If you're sure." he said as the waitress brought a small plate of candy. "Do you like odango?"
"Yes, I do." Shinji replied. Kaworu then laughed and took a stick of it, putting it gently in Shinji's mouth. Rei's eyes stared intensely at them both, more specifically at Kaworu. Kaworu smiled at her and winked.
Shinji blushed and made approving noises. Then he offered a stick to Rei.
"Do you want some, Ayanami?"
"No, thank you." she replied matter-of-factly.
There was an awkward silence between the three of them. Kaworu, in attempts to continue the conversation, glanced down at Rei's bag and saw a small cel phone sticking out of the side pocket.
"Oh, you have a phone, Ayanami san? Is it a nice one?"
"I wouldn't know." she said in a monotone voice. "It's only for…" she looked away nervously. " …emergencies."
"Oh, I see. I just got a phone myself. Do you have one, Shinji kun?"
"H-hai, but I don't need it. Nobody ever calls me."
"Oh, really?" Kaworu said innocently. "Maybe it's because they don't know your number."
"Hey, what's that in the newspaper?" Misato yelled, now that she was fully drunk. She snatched Ritsuko's paper out of her hand and read aloud.
"Grand opening of new hot spring in Nagano this Sunday! In a group of four or more, the fourth on are free!"
"Nagano? That's two hours away." Shinji said.
"Shinji kuuuun, don't be such a downer, that's what cars are for!!!" Misato replied. "That settles it, guys. We're going to the springs tomorrow! You all don't have school anyway."
"Count me out." Ritsuko sighed. "I have to work."
"Aw, c'mon, Ritsuko. You do nothing but work!"
"Do we really have to go?" Asuka whispered to no one in particular.
"Being in the car with Misato san for all that time won't be exactly a healthy idea." Shinji muttered.
Kaworu laughed and patted Shinji on the back. "Surely it's not all that bad, is it?"
"Kaworu kun, you'll come too, won't you?"
"Hm? Oh, yes, thank you, Misato san. I would like to come. That is, if Shinji kun is going, too."
Shinji flushed and shrunk lower in his seat.
"You've been getting red a lot lately, Shinji kun. Are you getting sick?"
"He's been doing that since you showed up." Asuka chimed in with a wicked grin.
"Have not!" Shinji yelled.
"Oh yeah?"
Misato donned a wistful gaze and leaned back. "Ah, it'll be so nice to drink and get nice and hot, with lots of beautiful boys serving the sake…"
"So I take it you won't invite Kaji." Ritsuko mused.
It was Misato's turn to flush. "Why would I invite that jerk?"
"He hasn't called you lately, has he."
"That's none of your business…"
After they were done eating, they said their goodbyes to one another and headed their separate ways. Misato promised to pick up Kaworu at his apartment around 9 am, and that she would call Toji and Kensuke and invite them to come as well.
"You sure you don't want a ride home, Kaworu kun?" Misato asked as Kaworu got on the bus.
"No, I'm fine, thank you Misato san. Good night everyone!"
They all waved at him, including Shinji. Before the doors closed, Kaworu discreetly grabbed his hand and squeezed it affectionately.
"Good night, Shinji kun."
Rei watched him very carefully. So did Asuka.
"G'night, K-Kaworu kun. See you tomorrow."