Sparks Will Fly [Kawoshin: Kaworu x Shinji]

Chapter 4 - The Only Reason

Shinji pulled away from the hug and smiled at Kaworu. It had been so long since they'd seen each other, and it was still awkward between them, but they were together again.

"Shinji," Kaworu said. "Your eyes are red and puffy."

"Crap," Shinji said, trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "Is it noticeable?"

Kaworu laughed a bit. "Yeah it is."

Shinji sighed. "I don't want to go back in there..."

"You should go home. Its late. I'll take care of getting coffee until the morning."

"Getting coffee isn't all I do..." Shinji mumbled.

Kaworu laughed again. "I'm sure."

~~~

"What happened out there?" Ritsuko asked when Kaworu came back in.

"Yeah," Togi said. "Why was Shinji crying?"

Ritsuko hit his arm.

"Were you spying on us?" Kaworu asked. "That's not very professional, you know."

"Well in case you hadn't realized, we aren't exactly the most conventional people." Togi said.

"Oh, I realized."

They all laughed for a moment but then returned their attention to their work.

"Where did he go?"

Kaworu turned. It was Asuka.

"You mean Shinji?" he asked.

"Yeah, he's an asshole but he never leaves work early." she said.

"I'm not sure 'asshole' is the word I would use to describe him-"

"Where did he go?" She demanded.

"He went home."

"Why?"

"He was tired, overworked, and upset so I offered to do whatever it is he does, which I assume right now is mainly bringing you a steady flow of caffeine," he looked at Risuko, who shrugged her shoulders but nodded. "until he comes back in tomorrow morning."

Asuka walked closer to him. "Shinji is a really big pushover, but he's never left early, even when one of these dickwads told him to go take a break." She pointed to everyone sitting at the table. Togi seemed to be the only one upset by her comment. "So why are you so special? He only just met you."

"...No they knew each other already..." Rei said in a hushed voice.

"What?" Asuka asked. "What did she say, I couldn't even fucking hear her."

"She said that Kaworu and Shinji already knew each other." Kensuke told her, not looking up from his paper.

"His dad owns the shop," Asuka said. "Is that why you came here? It's such a small business, and someone with your kind of skill could get a job at almost any engineering or manufacturing company in the country. Did you really come here just to see him?"

"Well," Kaworu said. "It's not the only reason."

She stared him straight in the eye for a few seconds, making him uncomfortable. "It is the only reason."

"No, I wanted to work on this project."

She walked towards the garage door. "Then why didn't you just go work for the competition? They're stealing our ideas, and figuring out the problems faster. It would've been smart of you to not let your emotions cloud your judgement."