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“That doesn’t really seem like a date.” Shinji said as he took a pause from shoveling the ground. Kaji was friendly and laid-back enough to not cause him too much anxiety.
“Well, were you expecting a date?” The man replied.
“N-no. I know it was a joke.” It’s just teasing. Just teasing. “Guys don’t go on dates with guys. Heh. Obviously.”
“Of course they do. The problem is that I’m twice your age, I would never take a child on a date.” There is a lighthearted chuckle squeezed between words and smoke.
“Ah. Yeah. Um.” Shinji cringes at himself. He probably said something stupid. Ugh, the conversation is ruined and Kaji will never hang out with him again. “…How would a guy even go on a date with another guy?”
“When two people like each other a lot…”
“K-Kaji-san, I know about the birds and the bees and stuff.” This is ridiculous. He is totally making fun of him.
“Then you should know how dating works. Guys dating is basically the same aside from minor tweaks here and there. Sometimes the birds in question are two penguins.”
“…That explains nothing, Kaji-san.”
“Ahem. What I meant to say is guys dating each other isn’t impossible. Two people in love, doing stuff together, caring for each other… Watch the worm, Shinji.”
“Ah- Sorry, continue.” He removed the worm away from under his shovel quickly, letting the little creature live one more day.
“Good. Anyways. And they do the adult things that you should know about.”
“Okay… And what about the penguins?”
“You live with Pen Pen, don’t you? I just thought that would be a good example then. Sometimes… a male penguin can choose another male penguin for a partner. They even care for eggs that have lost their parents. Or they can steal an egg if they are feeling spicy.” It was hard for the boy to tell if Kaji was joking or not because of his mischievous facial expression. Sharing knowledge with a youngster made him look very smug. “Swans too… Y’know the swans? Beautiful, beautiful birds. They couple for life. Sometimes, gayly.”
“…Gayly.”
“Precisely.”
“Uh-huh.” Shinji seems to be considering something.
“Mhm.” Kaji seems to be speculating quietly.
“Have you ever been on a date… w-with a guy?”
“Eh, when I was in college. I went on a date with my classmate once, but it didn’t work out.”
“I thought you and Misato-san…”
“Shinji. One can like both men and women.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah.”
Cicadas seemed to sing extra loudly at that moment. This was scandalously obvious not to realize without outside help, yet Shinji still felt uncertain. He can imagine such a situation in theory but he has never seen it with his own two eyes.
“Do… you like men and women equally, Kaji-san?”
“Good question. Maybe. Maybe not. Do you like boys and girls equally, Shinji?”
“What-!” The shovel flew away as sudden panic struck the poor boy who hadn’t even kissed anyone in a normal, consensual way yet. “No! Why?! I, uh-”
“I’m just teasing ya… Relax, buddy.”
“O-okay…!”
“Good. Now then, let’s finish these watermelons, shall we?”
“O-okay…”
He will think about it later when he meets Kaworu. Swan, an elegant white bird, all gentle movements and delicate features. Shinji is more like an ugly duckling in his own opinion and is barely worthy of standing next to the boy. Kaworu, on the other hand, couldn’t disagree more. He has seen it all play out so many times that he knows their names are written next to each other in the Book of Life. Shinji telling him about the whole penguin-swan conversation gives him hope that this time they will spend more days together before it all falls apart. May the eggshell break.