Angel Grace and Lilin Heart

Jigsaw Falling Into Place

"...I'll see you at school, Nagisa."

Kaworu flicked his eyes up from his magazine. "Leaving already?"

"Yeah..." Shinji pulled on his shoes near the door, his bag already over his shoulder. "I've got some chores to do at home."

Kaworu just grunted. He had to admit, he was a little peeved... well, a lot peeved, actually. Shinji came over quite often, but he never stayed long enough for it to matter. Kaworu knew he mostly just used his room as a buffer, a little spot where he could get away from the people he knew just to sit in silence for maybe an hour or so. He didn't really go there to "hang out." He went there to exist.

But just because Kaworu knew why he did it didn't mean he still wasn't annoyed. It's not like he didn't have feelings. Whenever Shinji came over, Kaworu couldn't help but hope that maybe, this time, Shinji would actually want to do something with him. But that had never been fulfilled. He more or less just ignored him the whole time, only giving one-word answers or noncommittal noises if ever Kaworu said something to him.

But he didn't want to kick Shinji out. As much as it irked him, Kaworu preferred his company even if it was like this. The only thing that kept him from getting upset was the small glimmer of hope that Shinji would warm up to him eventually. And so, he didn't pressure him to stay. He just let him pick up his things and leave as he always did.

So then, what the hell was Shinji still doing standing at his door?

He furrowed his brows. "Shinji-kun?"

Shinji's body jerked, though Kaworu couldn't see what he was doing from behind. "...I think your door is jammed," he said tensely.

Uncrossing his legs and discarding his magazine, Kaworu came up to Shinji's side. "Why should it be? It wasn't an hour ago."

"How should I know? It's your room."

Kaworu shook his head, then gracelessly nudged Shinji aside to pull at the door himself. It wouldn't slide at all. "Um..." He hesitated, then locked, unlocked it, and tried again. Still nothing.

"Are you trying to mess with me or something?"

Still tugging at the door in confusion, Kaworu made a face. "Why would I do that? It's not like I'd just lock you in here on purpose."

Shinji looked skeptical. "Okay... well, I just wanna get home. It's already 6:00."

"Well, I'm not sure what you expect me to-" Kaworu stopped mid heave. His heart twanged. "Oops."

"What? What do you mean 'oops?'" Shinji asked, his tone rising. "Nagisa, what's 'oops?!'"

Slowly, Kaworu turned around. He really hoped Shinji wasn't going to explode at him. "Um... they told me yesterday, but I forgot. They were going to do maintenance on this part of headquarters around this time. The door won't open because it locked automatically." He hesitated as Shinji's eyebrows traveled farther up his forehead. "...I can't get it open until they're done."

"Are you kidding me?! How long are they doing maintenance for?!"

Kaworu shifted evasively. "They, uh, didn't say exactly. Just... a few hours." He went on, under his breath, "Maybe the rest of the day."

Shinji looked outraged. Kaworu would never say it for fear of getting socked, but Shinji sure looked cute angry. "Rest of the day?! Nagisa, I need to get home! Why the hell wouldn't you tell me about this?!"

"I already told you, I forgot! What was I supposed to do?"

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Oh, I don't know, remember?"