Angel Grace and Lilin Heart

A Special Chill

"...And today marks the hottest day of the summer we've seen so far - our high this afternoon in Tokyo-3 being 44.5°, and our low looking like 31.4° later tonight. Just like every other day this week, our sky looks clear and sunny. Additionally, humidity is quite low at 15%, and as you can see here, warm, low impact winds can be felt moving northward from the Pacific.

"Now, to everyone out there looking for ways to beat the heat, make sure to stay tuned for our very own presentation on summer activities and indoor events coming up next. This has been your news team at NHK, hoping you have a-"

The weatherman's voice stuttered away as Shinji flicked off the TV with a sigh, mostly just looking for an excuse to stand up and stretch his legs a little. Although, he resignedly crossed his legs and sat in front of Kaworu's table again after a few seconds, staring down at his homework.

Shinji had been planning this visit to Kaworu's place for about a week, and he'd been really looking forward to it. It was hard organizing it when both of them were busy with pilot training and synchronizing, not to mention the chores Misato tasked Shinji with all the time, not to mention the schoolwork he had piling up from skipping days. He was so happy he'd finally be able to spend some time relaxing with Kaworu alone, and he was determined that nothing and no one would get in the way of their plans...

...Not even the breaking of Kaworu's air-con, which, paired with the blazing heat outside, meant that his little Nerv bedroom was filled with unpleasant, constricting warmth that made Shinji feel like he was actually melting.

It wasn't like he could complain. Even after Kaworu let him know that the air conditioning wasn't working, and suggested that maybe they should spend time together another day, Shinji had completely brushed it off, assuring Kaworu that he'd be totally fine, and that he would come anyway.

"Well, I suppose if you're really sure..." Kaworu had hesitated over the phone, "Then I'd love for you to come. I am excited to see you, Shinji-kun."

At the time, Shinji thought that just getting to hear the happiness in Kaworu's warm voice had been worth it enough to bear with the heat, but at this point, he wished he would've thought things through a little better.

He wiped his forehead beneath his sweat-drenched bangs, grossed out by how oily his skin was. It was really hard to concentrate on his work when the air felt heavy enough to weigh down his important thoughts, replacing them with lazy fantasies about snowy nights and cool, windy autumn afternoons. What he wouldn't do to go swimming right now...

He picked up his pencil, idly doodling in the margins of his incomplete math problems. His arm left a sweaty imprint on the wooden surface of the table.

He looked up from his poorly drawn Pen-Pen with another, heavier sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Kaworu's figure. He furrowed his eyebrows.

He was lying in bed reading a magazine. He was still wearing his entire school uniform, which Shinji found impressive, considering how he'd taken off his button-up already and rolled up his pant legs as far as he could, and still felt as hot as ever. And what was more, he realized then that Kaworu wasn't even sweating at all. If anything, he looked quite comfortable. He couldn't have made more of a contrast from Shinji.

"Aren't you hot, Kaworu-kun?" Shinji asked irresistibly, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice.

Kaworu turned to him, tearing his eyes from the magazine. "Hmm?" He blinked, surprised at the sight of Shinji. "Oh my... is it really that warm in here, Shinji-kun? You look dreadful..." he said sympathetically.

Shinji shook his head, confused. "What do you mean? We're in the same room; you don't feel how hot it is right now?" His eyes roved over Kaworu's face. He wasn't even a little pink. "How are you so cool?"