Kind Crimson Eyes

Ease

  I wake up to a beam of sunlight shining directly into my eyes. It blinds me momentarily, but when my eyes adjust, I see a room I do not recognize. I blink hard and begin to panic for a moment, when visions of city lights and watery crimson eyes fill my mind.
Oh...right.
  This is Kaworu's room.
  I glance to my left and see nothing but an empty bed.
  Stretching the sleep from my limbs, I turn over and cram my face into the pillow. To my surprise, it smells like Kaworu, and makes me feel a little more at ease.
  Every fibre in my body begs me not to move, but I know I gotta get up. I can't stay here.
  I pull myself out of bed and look for my clothes. Thankfully, I immediately spot them neatly folded on the dresser where Kaworu must have left them.
  I muster up all of my strength and force myself to get up and change. When I pull my shirt on, I smell the unmistakeable scent of lilac detergent.

  Did...did Kaworu wash my clothes?
  I sniff the sleeve of my shirt and feel my ears get hot. He really didn't need to wash them...

  I tidy Kaworu's bed and make my way out the door, closing it quietly behind me.
  I wonder where it is he went off to. However, I guess it doesn't really matter all that much. I don't want to overstay my welcome.
The floor squeaks underneath my feet as I tiptoe towards the front door.
"Shinji?" A voice speaks from behind me, making me jump.

I turn around slowly and see Kaworu standing by the only window in the main room. The sunshine shining onto his pale skin is almost blinding.
"Were you leaving already?" he asks me with a quiet voice.
I feel blood rush to my face. "Erm..well..I didn't want to bother you anymore.." I rub the back of my neck nervously.

Kaworu frowns for moment and then smiles softly. "You could never bother me, Shinji. Are you hungry?"
The pale haired boy walks over to the fridge and pokes his head inside. "I could make you breakfast? Do you like omelettes?" he asks, turning his head to me. "I've never made one before, but I could try."

I watch him look through the fridge for a moment. It's pretty bare, so I definitely don't want him to go through any trouble for me at all.
"No, that's alright, Kaworu, I'm not hu-."
My stomach growls loudly, betraying me.

Kaworu turns to me with a smug smile, and pulls a carton of eggs from the fridge.
"Please, sit." Kaworu motions to the table.

Against my own wishes, I sit at the table and watch Kaworu. The tall boy turns on the stove and pulls a small pan from a cupboard. He then sits in thought for a moment before he puts a little butter in the pan, and when it's melted, he cracks in two eggs.
He watches them cook, and when they're finished, he plops them onto a plate. The boy stares at them for a while with a disgruntled expression before turning to me.
"This isn't an omelette, is it Shinji.."
Kaworu's face looks pained.

I stare at him for a moment.
"Mm.. No." A tiny smile tugs at my lips. It's a little funny.

I get up from the chair and walk over to the fridge. I skim the inside for a few usable ingredients and pull out a green pepper, a small onion, and a tiny block of cheese
"Can you grate this while I chop these?"
I ask Kaworu, handing him the cheese grater I grabbed from a drawer.
His face lights up. "Of course!"

After I whisk a few more eggs, I chop the pepper into fine pieces and put them into a bowl. Kaworu grates the cheese with more enthusiasm than I thought was possible.
I can't help but smile.
It's a strange feeling. I don't think I've ever felt this at ease with someone before. Why am I suddenly realizing it now?

I move on to chopping the onions and inevitably, my eyes start to burn. A few tears slip from my eyes as I continue to chop.
Suddenly, the knife is knocked from my hands. Kaworu grabs me and pulls me to him.
"Are you alright Shinji?!" Kaworu asks in a panicked tone.
He holds my hands and inspects them, turning them over to check every inch.
"What Kaworu? I'm alright. What's wrong?"
Kaworu looks at me and wipes the tears from my stinging eyes.
"You're crying."

Kaworu has the look of utmost innocence. It's almost too sweet.
I chuckle a little.
"It's the onions, Kaworu. They just burn my eyes a bit." I say, wiping my eyes on my shirt.
I pull my hands back and pick the knife up off the ground. Kaworu stands still, looking down at his hands. He seems more confused by his overreaction than I was.

Soon, the butter in the pan melted, and I pour in the whisked eggs.
"You should watch, Kaworu." I mention, looking back to the boy.
Kaworu still seemed confused but comes to my side.
Once the egg was just about cooked, I added the cheese, pepper, and onion and let it finish.
I look up to Kaworu who's watching the egg intently.
I never noticed how deep of a red Kaworu's eyes are...not to mention the pattern. We're there other colours in them in direct sunlight..?

"Shinji."

"Huh!?" I startle out of a trance.

"I think it's done."

I look back down to the browning egg and flip it one last time. I lift the pan off the burner and slip the omelette onto the plate.

"Now that's definitely an omelette." Kaworu says with a smile.

When I finish making the second omelette, Kaworu and I sit together and eat.
Kaworu's eyes beam after his first bite.
"Shinji! This is amazing! How did you learn how to make this?"
I scratch my head and stare at my plate.
"I..It's really nothing.. I had to cook for myself all the time so I'd learned to experiment."
"Well it's really really good." Kaworu smiles.
"You've just never had an omelette before." I tease.

After we finish and clean up I'm about to take my leave. I'm sure he's had enough of me by now.
"Alright Kaworu, thank you for breakfast. I'll be going n-."
Kaworu cuts me off.
     "Do you want to go for a walk with me?" he asks, walking over to the window. "It's beautiful out and I'd love to show you a favourite place of mine."
Kaworu smiles at me, his eyes glistening in the sunlight.

I can't say no to him.

"Alright." I reply.

The tall boy nods happily and gestures towards the door.