Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion. I wouldn't even want it if I could have it. The album title "In Between Dreams" belongs to Jack Johnson. All chapter titles are songs that belong to Fuel.

In Between Dreams
By: Nanaki BH

"Is it just me or did the rain get harder?" The two boys stood, soaked, in the doorway of Shinji's apartment. Before Shinji had even heard Kaworu's off-handed question, he was running to the bathroom to get the two of them towels. When he came back, Kaworu had already kicked off his shoes and was standing in the living room. "Don't worry; I'm not getting anything wet."

Shinji smiled embarrassedly. "If you're going to stay here… might you want some clothes to change into? You can't stand the whole time." Kaworu nodded; an affectionate smile on his delicate lips. He nodded in return. "Here, take this for now," he said, handing him the towel. He walked, more like rushed, back to his room to get Kaworu a change of clothes.

"How silly," Kaworu said aloud to himself, draping the towel over his shoulders. "Thanks… uh… Hey!"

"What?" Shinji called from the other room.

He ruffled his hair with his towel. "What's your name? You never told me."

Shinji emerged, carrying a neatly folded stack of clothes. He extended the small stack to Kaworu. "I'm Shinji Ikari." Kaworu leaned forward, taking the clothes and at the same time, gently kissing Shinji on the lips. He smiled, eyes half lidded, in gratitude. Shinji noticed that he had a smile for everything – even in bad situations he could smile.

He waited for him on the couch in the living room. He couldn't even bring himself to turn on the TV. All he could think about was Kaworu and how amazing it was that they'd finally met. To make things even more perfect, things looked good between them. They'd instantly hit it off. Shinji leaned back, resting his head on the sofa. He sighed, closing his eyes. The school day was definitely tiring. Geez, he thought, it's only the beginning of the school year. What will I do with myself? It was true; he'd practically fallen asleep in class that day. Thankfully, he didn't dream. What if he had? Would he have gone back to where it all left off?

"You must wear the same size as me," Kaworu said when he came back from Shinji's room. He was wearing a simple pair of blue plaid pajamas. Shinji hadn't worn them in a while (and they were clean) so he hoped Kaworu wouldn't mind the ridiculous pattern. "They're cute." Guess he didn't…

Shinji softly patted the cushion next to himself on the couch. "Take a seat," he offered.

He sat down a bit closer than he expected. Kaworu let his towel slide from his shoulders to the floor as he leaned over to wrap an arm gracefully around Shinji's shoulders. Despite being a little uncomfortable, Shinji allowed himself to sink into Kaworu's arms, burying his head under his chin. He smelled like the rain, he noticed… and something else; something entirely unique. He closed his eyes and after a few moments, realized that he had almost fallen asleep again.

"It looks like the apartment belongs to us for the night, I guess. Asuka must be with Hikari," Shinji said.

"Asuka?" he asked.

He frowned and stuck out his tongue. "She's my roommate… She has a sensitive side, but she's almost always getting on me for something. Actually, I'm glad she's not here."

"So who were you yelling about back there? Her?" Kaworu asked him, gently placing a hand at the small of Shinji's back.

Although he couldn't see Kaworu's face, he knew it wasn't necessary to. For some reason he had the feeling he was smiling anyway. "No; my dad," he sighed, closing his eyes so he could better listen to the steady beat of his heart.

"Don't need him, eh?" He asked. He grew more daring, tenderly untucking Shinji's school shirt from his pants so he could feel his skin.

Shinji fidgeted a little in his arms when he felt the cold palm touch his back. He didn't want to break away from him though… "My father," he said, trying to ignore Kaworu's searching hand, "left me and my mother when I was very young. My mom… died when I was young too. I've lived alone for many years now."

"I'm sorry to hear that… Sounds lonely for you," he said, kissing the top of his head lovingly.

Lonely… it was always more than lonely. It was painful to be without parents. His father would always tell him that wasn't true though. "You still have me." Yeah, he still had him but he was never around; never there when he really needed him to be a parent. He wasn't there for his birthdays even. All he did (at most) was send him a card and money. Shinji lived off of his father's money. Getting money as a birthday present never thrilled him, but each time his birthday would roll around he would hope for the slim chance that he'd receive a real gift.

A real gift… something like his mother. That would have been a true gift. Shinji knew she'd never return though. Neither would his father.

He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Kaworu's middle, closing his tired eyes. "Lonely isn't even the half of it," he whispered. He doubted Kaworu heard him.

"So," he said, "tell me a little about what I should expect from this school of yours." Gently, he ran a hand through Shinji's rain soaked hair. "What's our teacher like?"

Shinji smiled. Misato. She was a real character. "Our teacher is Ms. Katsuragi. She's really nice."

"What kind of homework does she give?" He asked worriedly.

Shinji laughed a little, rubbing his arm. He felt so comfortable with him. "You don't have much to worry about. She's tends to be lenient with our schoolwork. What you have to worry about are her tests… they count for a lot of your grade and almost everybody bombs them." Shinji believed that the way Misato gave tests was a true testament to her parental personality. She trusts her students like she would her own children… but she knows when to crack the whip just to make sure they've been listening.

Kaworu groaned, sinking deep into the sofa. "I'm screwed then." He wrapped his arms around Shinji's waist and hoisted him into his lap to sit sideways. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked, knowing he was being a little straight-forward.

"No, no," Shinji said reassuringly. To be honest, he was quite thrilled; it was something he wasn't really used to. He bent down, shifting a little in his lap, to kiss his damp head. A grin graced his lips and a blush colored his cheeks when he smelled the faint scent of rain in his hair. "It's fine with me."

He noticed then how Kaworu looked a little uncomfortable himself. He raised a curious eyebrow at him and Kaworu assured him with a soft kiss. "I'm fine, I'm fine! Just wondering though… About the other kids."

"Yeah?" he asked.

A deep blush practically lit up his whole face. It looked like dark red paint on a face as pale as his. "Well, I'm not the type to get embarrassed, but…" That was already obvious to Shinji. Hell, he was sitting in his lap, after all. "What would the other kids think about this?" he asked apprehensively, speaking of them.

Carefully, he made his way off of Kaworu's lap. A subtle look of disappointment crossed Kaworu's face. Just to make him happy, Shinji leaned up again and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Don't worry. Just… keep it quiet." He knew that sort of thing would be difficult for Kaworu. They hadn't had much time together before in his dream, but he was sure Kaworu was the loud kind. He seemed to be the type who'd go to the top of a mountain to scream how much he was in love.

"But what are they like?" He asked. "Would they get mad if we kissed once in a while or what?"

If he hadn't been firmly planted back in the sofa, Shinji was sure he would have fallen off at that comment. He gulped, turning to face him embarrassedly. "Well… yeah, I think they would," he said, trying his best not to dishearten Kaworu again. "But nobody at school's really all that open about their relationships."

"Ah," he muttered, resting himself back again, putting an arm around Shinji's shoulders. "So that means we can't do stuff like this?" he asked. To Shinji's displeasure, Kaworu used his coffee table as a footrest.

It was hard for Shinji to believe that Kaworu didn't know it was viewed as indecent (especially for two guys) to show open displays of affection at school. It was really awkward for him to talk about these kinds of things; it was one thing to do them, but talking about sexuality was something Shinji just didn't like doing. "Probably not," he said. "I've heard about some kids dating but we never hear the details… the girls probably know but the guys are usually left out of it."

"So we should leave this at home, huh." His hand slipped like a perfect match into Shinji's, his grip firm and comforting. "That won't stop me from passing you notes, you know that right?" he asked, looking down at him with a kind but mischievous gaze.

With a quiet sigh, Shinji nestled his now only slightly damp head against Kaworu's shoulder. "I guess notes are okay… Just don't let somebody like Hikari see them, alright?"

Kaworu laughed softly then pulled Shinji against him into a hug. "Alright. You know, I was thinking of something before and I can't remember what it was." He looked around for a second, as if trying to find it. He clicked his fingers, face lighting up. "I remember! I'm staying here, right?" he asked.

"Oh!" Shinji gasped. "I haven't even changed yet!" Shinji hastily stood, pulling the towel from his shoulders. He looked down at Kaworu apologetically and vanished into his room. Once he was safely inside, he slid down his door, clutching the towel in jittering hands. "Wow," he muttered to himself, finally letting the day's events sink in. Somehow everything in the dream felt so far away now… as if his day had been longer than the dream and certainly more fulfilling; as it should. Like he'd felt in his dream, it was easy for him to talk to Kaworu about his father and his problems. Every bad premonition vanished as soon as saw his face.

Such a feeling of security had previously been unknown to him. He looked forward to the days ahead that would be so much more than just a fantasy; the days he'd spend with the guy of his dreams. "I shouldn't keep him waiting," Shinji decided, standing up.

He changed quickly, almost falling over himself in his haste. By the time he came out of his room, dressed in a simple pair of pajamas, Kaworu had already fallen asleep on the couch. He sighed; mildly disappointed that he couldn't wait for him to get back in such a short amount of time. I hope his parents don't get mad, he thought remembering the promise he gave to call them.

He made a short trip back to his room to get some pillows and blankets. Gently, he laid one of his thick blankets over Kaworu, making sure he looked comfortable before he turned out the lights in the living room. Shinji laid himself down on the carpet, tucking a pillow under his head and pulling his own blanket up to his chin. He sighed audibly, closing his eyes.

Looking up at the ceiling, he noticed that it was familiar, like home; not like the many unfamiliar ceilings before. He could hear Kaworu's breathing in the still air of the apartment. He looked over at him, thinking ironically, what an angel he looked like.

It felt like days since he had last been able to close his eyes and contentedly fall asleep. His mind was no longer plagued by the vivid and horrible dream. The last thing on his mind before he finally drifted off to sleep was Kaworu. Love, he realized, was the only true similarity between his fantasy and reality. How grateful he was to find that dreams could come true.

Author's Notes: I'm leaving it like that for now. It might be finished… it might not be. Don't whine about it if I don't give you more. As I said all the way back in the first chapter, I don't like multichapteral, so if I stop here it's only for the best. Besides, it's a nice place to stop without going into more stuff. So… tell me what you think.