Sparks Will Fly [Kawoshin: Kaworu x Shinji]

Chapter 9 - Unofficial League Night

<February, 2023 - Los Angeles>

Shinji's alarm went off at 4:30, and he rolled over over in bed to turn it off.

'Thirty minutes,' he thought 'I've got to make breakfast within thirty minutes.'

Getting ready took him about fifteen minutes, so he still had a decent amount of time. He went into the fridge and got out the eggs, then to the freezer for the the waffles. He got out a frying pan from the cupboard, but accidentally hit it against a small pot and made a loud noise. "Shit..." he said out loud.

Kaworu walked in after a minute. "Shinji," he yawned. "What are you doing? We don't have to get up until 5:00..."

"I'm making breakfast."

"You don't have to do that. We can just have waffles."

"The pan is already warmed up, though."

Kaworu rubbed the sleep out of one of his eyes. "Okay... but don't do it again. You're making me feel bad..." He walked back down the hall to the bathroom.

"Sorry..." Shinji said.

Kaworu came out twenty minutes later, ready to go, but not fully awake.

"Do you want coffee?" Shinji asked.

"You made coffee?"

"No, but I bought some of that instant stuff."

"Okay..."

Shinji set down their plates and mugs on the table.

"Damn," Kaworu said. "You're, like, a professional chef."

"It's scrambled eggs and burnt toast."

"Still, though."

At 5:30, it was time to go, so they went downstairs together.

"I guess we can carpool now," Kaworu said. "That's what Toji and Kensuke do to save money."

"Are they roommates, too?" Shinji asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you guys ever see each other outside of work?"

"You mean Toji and Kensuke?"

"No, everyone. You all live here, right?"

"Sometimes, I guess. but it's usually just when we drive home from work and all ride upstairs in the same elevator."

"That's nice."

"I guess."

They walked across the parking lot.

"Do you want to take my car or yours?" Kaworu asked.

"We can start with mine and alternate, if you want."

"Yeah, okay."

They drove to the shop and were the second ones there. Rei was still working on her laptop.

"Good morning, Rei." Shinji said.

Rei mumbled something under her breath, and Shinji decided to believe that she was saying "good morning" back.

~~~

About halfway through the day, Kaworu's phone rang. He left the table to take it. "Hello?" he asked.

There was a pause. "Ah!" he said. "Hikari!"

Shinji sat up a bit. 'It's someone I don't know about..." he thought. "It's a girl...'

"Yeah, I know!" Kaworu said. "It has been a while."

Shinji could hear her talking on the other end of the line, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.