Shinji made his way towards the isolated piano in the middle of the clearing. The other boy was already there, just like every other day, leaning against the instrument with his hands in his pockets. He turned to face Shinji as he got closer.
"Good morning, Ikari!" The usual joyful tone of his voice was present.
"Ah, good morning, Nagisa." Shinji hadn't known the EVA pilot for too long, but he was the only person who would talk to him in the ruined NERV headquarters, so any interaction with him was nice. He approached and noticed that Kaworu had not moved to the bench to begin their session. "Huh? Are we going to play, Nagisa?"
Kaworu beamed warmly. "Yes, but first…" He removed his left hand from his pocket, fist still clenched, and held it out. "I got you a present."
"Oh?" Shinji opened his palm below Kaworu's, a bit flustered. He rarely had gotten gifts from anybody unless there was an obligation. The mysterious lad's hand lowered to Shinji's, fingers unfurling, leaving behind…a bit of pink yarn. Maybe only twenty centimeters long.
"I found it a while ago. I'm aware that it is a color that lilin find appealing. The soft texture is also pleasant."
Shinji simply stared at it. It was an odd thing to give someone as a gift, but the gesture was more significant than the object. "Th-thank you, Nagisa. It does feel nice…" He attempted to tie it around his left wrist in vain before Kaworu took it into his own hands and made the knot, creating a makeshift bracelet.
"The color suits you, Ikari." The ashen-haired boy's strange red eyes seemed to glow, complimenting his smile. "Now, shall we work on our duet?"
"Yeah! We did really well yesterday!" Shinji moved to the bench with Kaworu, smiling as well.
It felt good to smile again.
