Archive of Our Own

Shinji came over to visit.

It was nothing unusual but it wasn't as usual as Kaworu visiting his place so it was something special. The times they would pay each other a visit and hang out at home were always nice. They would do something together like chatting away for hours or cuddling up close and watching a movie or playing video games or cards. Other times things were boring like having to study together or do homework or just mind their own business. Kaworu doesn't mean boring in a negative sense, no. Boring was memorable too, like just going about your day doing your own things knowing the one you love was there by you was special. It could also just be one of them wanting some time for themselves and giving the other that safe space was good too.

That one last weekend, however, Shinji seemed restless. Even as Kaworu sat crossed legged and was sewing up the loose buttons of his uniform shirt, Shinji rested a foot on his thigh from where he laid on his head as he scrolled away on his phone. The angel didn't mind even when he rested another foot over it. As Kaworu focused on threading the needle a second time, the younger boy groaned and rolled away to the other side. Kaworu glanced at him, puzzled, and continued on as Shinji began to kick his legs in the air slowly, arms cuddling into the pillow further. By the time Kaworu was done with the second button, Shinji rolled closer and then later, was resting his head on Kaworu's lap, the gesture endearing and almost cat-like.

“What's gotten into you today?” Kaworu asked in amusement. Shinji was never one to initiate, not as much as Kaworu anyway.

He set his shirt and the needle and thread aside to scratch light circles on Shinji's head. “I'm just bored…” Shinji mumbled, crooning into the touch.

“You want to do something? Play something?”

“Too tired…” he replied in a sigh.

“A movie then?” 

“Not in the mood.”

Kaworu found Shinji’s cheek squished up like mochi against his lap when he tried to get a better angle from his massage. Kaworu's eyes shone when struck with an idea. “I know something we could try.” His mouth curved upwards in excitement, the angel showing his phone to Shinji upon finding the photo he saved online. “Basically you draw half a heart on one’s cheek, press your cheeks together and—”

“No.”

“It's cute!”

“It's sappy!”

“Do you not want cute pictures of us?”

“We already have pictures.”

Kaworu pouted at him but Shinji simply gave him a smug smile, the older boy giving up with a huff. “Fine.”

He turned off his phone and kept it aside, lowering his gaze to see his darling boyfriend watching him sweetly. Kaworu stuck his tongue out at him, earning the same in return before getting an amused look from him. Kaworu's heart squeezed when Shinji turned to his side to wrap his arms around his waist. He patted his head as a reward but the boy pulled away slightly to get his hair out of his face. After what looked like a struggle with his scrunched nose and furrowed brows, he sat himself up when Shinji began bunching his hair into a pony. 

"Do you want a comb or…?"

"Nah, it's okay," he said, tying it up with the band around his wrist.

Kaworu watched how messy it looked when he tied it up and simply grimaced. "I'll get you a comb."

"It's fine," Shinji drawled.

"So lazy," Kaworu tsked, before leaving the bed to grab his comb from his dressing table and coming back. Shinji groaned and untied his hair and there was another idea. "Turn around."

"I can do it."

"But I wanna…"

Shinji sighed deeply and did as was told, sitting crosslegged on his bed and turning his back to him. Kaworu carded his fingers through his straight brunette hair, the texture smooth in his hand and soft to touch, the strands hiding the nape of his neck. The earthy, fruity scent of his shampoo was dizzying and luring him into burying his face into Shinji's neck and holding him warm and close but Kaworu held on. The very fact that he trusted him like that made the moment feel intimate and personal so Kaworu took extra care with each strand. He gently combed his fingers down from his scalp to its ends, careful to untangle every knot and unsurprisingly, there were a lot of them.

"You seriously should take care of your hair if you plan to grow it out. It's so tangled up."

"Fuck off," Shinji grumbled weakly.

Taking a section of hair along the side of his head, he decided to put his new lesson to work. Rei had taught him how to braid hair recently and he was especially happy to see how that looked on him. He had no doubt it would look good on Shinji too so he got to work, plating the small bunch of hairs down to the end.

"Are you braiding my hair?"

"No, I'm trying to scalp you. Now, hold this." Shinji was compliant as Kaworu gathered the rest of his hair into a small pony before tying it with the braid. "Voila!"

Shinji made his way to Kaworu's dressing table’s mirror, tilting his head to the side to get a look at the braid. "This is pretty cute," Shinji said, a sweet grin gracing his features.

"You like it?"

"Of course! I love it." Shinji fixed his bangs to frame his face better. "Okay, I know what you did this for.”

"You saw right through my plans," Kaworu groaned dramatically, clutching his shirt as though there was an ache in his heart.

“I'll let you take those lipstick photos as payment."

“Wait, really?” 

"This is your makeup pouch right?" He really didn’t intend any of that but he was not going to let the chance slide.

Kaworu nodded at Shinji pointing at the pouch on the dresser and it was adorable seeing Shinji bring it over, holding it carefully with both hands like it was precious cargo. He could feel Shinji's curious gaze on his hand going through its contents and he showed his three lipstick shades for Shinji to pick.

"I like this one on you…" Shinji mumbled, pointing at the cherry coloured one, pink dusting his cheek at the confession.

"It's my favourite too," Kaworu said, smiling widely back at him. "It's transferrable too so it should work."

Kaworu dabbed the lipstick onto his lips first before he wiped the end of the lipstick with a wet wipe. While working on it, it caught him off guard when a thumb wiped the lipstick stain below the outer edge of his lower lip. Butterflies in his stomach were having a tough time standing still and he couldn't help but smile brightly at Shinji who shyly returned the same.

"I'll draw it on you first."

Shinji titled his head for better access, left cheek facing him. Kaworu cupped his jaw gently before drawing a thin curve of half a heart on his skin, the colour looking absolutely gorgeous on his tan skin. Shinji scooted in closer when the angel pressed his cheek to Shinji's, the squish of the plush of his cheek against his making him warm and fuzzy.

"Did it transfer?" Kaworu asked, pulling away slowly.

Shinji carefully erased the smudged edges with his thumb to shape the heart better, his brows furrowed in focus, softening into his pleased smile once he finished. "Done."

"Let's see now." The teenagers sat closely to see the results over the selfie-camera on Kaworu's phone. "This is so cute!" Kaworu squealed.

Shinji nodded delightedly. "It's the perfect shape."

"Come here."

The room was filled with hearty giggles and excited chatter for pose ideas as the two clicked many pictures with the heart between them. It wasn't everyday when you get Shinji beaming so freely with a camera. The boy was pretty enthusiastic for someone who rejected the idea at first, even taking over the camera from Kaworu to explain how a different angle could get them better pictures. The initial plan changed and Kaworu felt his brain melt through his ears when Shinji told a kiss mark would make for a better picture. 

"It'll look good," he assured, like he hadn't gotten the angel's poor heart in a frenzy at the request.

It took everything for him to not spontaneously combust at the suggestion but he trusted his judgement and was beginning to grow curious. He complied by wiping away the heart and kissing him over his cheekbone, soft but enough to transfer the pigment. His entire being on fire upon seeing the print of his lips marked on his boyfriend's face like he had just marked this boy as his own.

"Told you," Shinji said proudly, his arm holding Kaworu's waist to support the angel clinging on to him with his arms around his shoulder for the picture. Even as he tucked his head on to Shinji's neck for the picture, his eyes couldn't gaze at Shinji over the screen, wearing a mark of Kaworu's lips and a wide smile. Beautiful.

"Could I get one too?" Kaworu mumbled, too flustered about the unexpected turn of events.

"Okay."

He helped Shinji out by applying the lipstick with careful precision and finesse. If it weren't for his keen interest in makeup, he would've completely given in and kissed him the very instant but he was determined to make him look good. He dabbed his index finger on his lower lip, collecting the excess pigment and dabbing it at the corners of his upper lip, evening the tint out. He frowned at how the shade didn't suit him entirely as he had expected. Maybe a different shade would do or maybe a lip liner. When he reached for his makeup pouch, the softest, most tender kiss pressed against his skin, stealing the air out of his lungs and his heart out of his chest. He forgot how to breathe when he was met with the brightest smiles, marvelling him like he was a work of art. Heat scorched Kaworu's skin where his hand cupped the side of his neck and his cheek wore his kiss and somewhere deep behind those chocolate eyes, raking his features so affectionately, he could tell Shinji began to understand what he was feeling.

"Does it look okay?" Kaworu said, voice soft almost in a whisper from how Shinji loomed close still.

He nodded with a smile in his eyes as he looked directly at him, earnest and unyielding. "Beautiful."

The silence of the room grew quieter and quieter to a standstill. He could only hear his own heart pounding in his reddened ears and only see the boy that made him feel like he was the luckiest angel in the world. His phone was shortly tossed away onto the mattress with a soft thumph but he couldn't care any less. Fingertips slowly traced up his fingers, gently guiding them apart to intertwine them with his over the mattress. Noses brush as Kaworu found himself overwhelmed under his gaze, warm fingers guiding his chin back up to meet them again before soft lips sought to find Kaworu’s own.

Kaworu let go of the breath he was holding into the kiss, feeling life flow and thrum in his veins like magma. Their mouths moulded together like they were the missing halves to a puzzle. It was slow, it was sweet, it was electrifying. It was like relearning one another, pouring every ounce of emotion into the gentle brushes and caresses. A thrill ran up his spine when the tip of Shinji's tongue pressed at the seams of his mouth but he jumped with Shinji when he jerked at his own gesture, pulling away from the kiss, possibly from tasting the lipstick.

Laughter bubbled between them at the sight of the crimson pigment stained around their mouths. Kaworu didn't even think twice before holding Shinji's face between his hands and splattering his face with kisses, the younger boy shrieking in laughter, breathless and panting. He kissed his forehead, the apple of his cheeks, the line of his jaw, his chin, his nose, imprinting his lips everywhere he was touched. Everywhere that was his. His lips were like berries, sweet, pink and delectable. Kaworu crushed his lips with his as though wanting to crush it to wine, to taste the tantalizing fruit before him. The slow play between their tongues sent sparks over his skin and butterflies in his stomach, the angel groaning softly from the heat of his mouth. Their mouths never parted even when Kaworu crawled closer to wound his arms around Shinji's shoulders, pushing him back from the force. Shinji balanced himself back on the bed with an elbow, fingers curled around the back of Kaworu's shirt from the kiss. 

When they did have to part, Shinji pushed himself to sit up that very instant. Hands tilted Kaworu's face the way he wanted him and he wasted no time to press his lips all over his cheek. It was clear, when his brows furrowed in disappointment, there wasn't much lipstick left after Kaworu was done with him.

"Apply it for me?"

Kaworu scrabbled around the bed until he finally got his hand on the lipstick. His face went beet red and hot from the way Shinji so compliantly parted his lips for him, dilated eyes looking right at him. He quickly wiped away the smudged edges with the side of his fingers. It wasn't perfect like before and it didn't need to be, he just wanted those lips calling and marking him as his own. Kaworu's hand around the lipstick tube tightened when his lips were on him again. It was slower than Shinji's previous attempt, kissing each inch of his face by taking his time, as though he was making sure Kaworu remembered each one and felt them in his very being until he was trembling from the high. His eyes fluttered shut when he travelled down to kiss the sides of his neck and his Adam's apple, a shaky exhale escaping the angel when he sneaked a light lick and a nibble over the protrusion.

"No fair. You kissed my neck and everything…" Kaworu mumbled, his brain half-melted to mush.

Shinji simply breathed out a giggle and pecked his lover's lips once, twice. He gave him a toothy, boyish grin, laughter in his breath as he took in the sight of his work. "You look so pretty…" Shinji exhaled almost drunkenly, his smile slopsided and lazy.

Kaworu's face was on fire. He was sure he was the very colour of his lipstick at that point. But those eyes… Oh, those eyes… watching him like he was everything, everything he wanted, like he had hung up all the stars in the world for him. For that boy, Kaworu would do all of that and more. He would rewrite the world and walk through hell and back for him. His Shinji. His darling Shinji.

"You're not so bad yourself," Kaworu responded, thumb caressing over his cheek.

They shared another kiss, tender and sweet. It was like they were saying nothing and everything, a whole conversation of its own, pouring the overflowing love in their hearts into that singular kiss. When they parted, Kaworu's eyes were still closed as though he was put in a daze he didn't want to wake up from but the dream-like reality was the boy before him, glowing face flushed red and face covered in his lipstick.

"I think I swallowed a bit of the lipstick. Is that bad?" So cute.

A laugh escaped him. "No, it should be alright."

"Phew."

Shinji watched him closely, going cross eyed as Kaworu leaned in close to nuzzle his nose. "I take it back. You look so adorable and lovely…"

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I just want to gobble you up." 

Kaworu beamed wider upon earning a hearty laugh from his beloved. "Okay, okay."

"Would it be weird if I asked for pictures?"

Shinji was silent for a moment to nuzzle him back, a little curve playing at his lips. "Only if I get yours too."

Kaworu took his phone and took the camera app again, absolutely shocked to see the numerous kisses all over him. "You were trying to eat me," he remarked, throwing Shinji a judgemental side glance.

The boy simply rolled his eyes at him and gestured for the phone, his own widening at the sight of himself. "Speak for yourself, you did the same thing!"

Kaworu gave him a toothy grin. "You like it." 

Shinji’s chuckle was fond and warm. "You're lucky I do.”

Shinji angled the phone towards Kaworu and then decided to lay down on the bed. A part of him wanted to tell him to get up because the low angle would be weird with Shinji lying down but he simply grinned widely for the picture, eyes closing from the broad smile.

Another photo session went on, the teenagers snatching the phone between each other and clicking away pictures and selfies like there were no tomorrow. Shinji was especially bashful to get pose individually but Kaworu somehow managed to get a couple of them, initially frowning but then laughing from tickling the boy. The angel was especially fond of the selfies they took together, their cheeks pressed together in toothy grins and other ones where one kissed the other on the cheek.

He went through the photos and even a couple of videos from his seat by the bathroom counter, the tiles walls echoing with the sound of the water running as Shinji washed his face. Kaworu managed to get Shinji into his clothed reindeer headband to get his hair away so he even clicked some pictures of that too before Shinji threatened to flush his phone down the toilet. Kaworu was also quick to grab Shinji's wrist from leaving, the younger boy groaning loudly as he rubbed his face with moisturising and hydrating creams.

"Oh, on second thought, would you like to wear a sheet mask with this?" Kaworu asked, hands still holding his face.

"Nah, it's gir— It's boring…"

"But you do know lipstick on the skin could cause a pimple outbreak, right?"

Shinji’s brows shot up. "Wait, seriously?" Kaworu shrugged with a sly grin. "No way that's real. You just want me to use a sheet mask."

"It'll be fun! We could match!"

"You and I have different definitions of fun."

"It'll be really refreshing and soothing, you know? Rei and I do it all the time."

That seemed to peak his interest. "Really?"

Kaworu narrowed his eyes on him. "Oh, so it's only interesting when Rei does it, huh?"

"I trust Ayanami's choices, not yours.” His voice was muffled from the angel squishing his cheeks together.

"I'll have you know, I'm the one who introduced it to her," Kaworu said with a hmph.

"Whatever."

"Please?"

"No."

"… baby?"

"Ew, don't call me that!"

"Urgh, fine."

A few minutes later, Shinji and Kaworu were under the covers, going through the pictures they took with sheet masks on. Kaworu borrowed Rei's bear ears headband which earned him a snort and chuckle from Shinji. 

While going through the pictures, time slowed down with their conversation, comfortable and calming. When Shinji tried to kiss him, the younger boy cursed under his breath angrily with the mask getting in their lips' way. It amused Kaworu to no bounds how he still wanted to kiss even with how ridiculous they might have looked. Instead, he rewarded him by letting him lean his head back on his chest and scratching slow circles on his scalp again.

After he sent the pictures to Shinji's phone, he noticed how he was quick to save a specific photo of Kaworu as his contact picture, which he had him saved in his full legal name "Nagisa Kaworu." It was a picture of Kaworu smiling widely, eyes closed, with lipstick smeared over his lips and kiss marks over his face. Shinji quickly turned his phone away when Kaworu caught him grinning at his phone. Kaworu set his homescreen wallpaper as a close up shot of the heart between their faces, their smiling eyes looking towards the other's side. He didn't change the contact profile picture if "Shinji-kun~ 🥰❤️❤️✨✨" because it was a picture of him grinning wide and free during one of their dates to the beach. The sunset on his face and the wind in his hair, it was Kaworu's most favourite picture of him. Shinji hummed at the wallpaper in acknowledgement, his expression making it certain that there was a blush under that mask.

When it was time to peel the masks off, Shinji was in awe at how nice he felt, touching his own face in surprise. "Okay, maybe I was wrong."

"That's because you never listen," Kaworu scoffed, peeling off his own mask slowly.

"You win this time. This was actually pretty nice."

The take out they ordered dropped in a bit after and they had hamburgers for lunch because there was no one that was going to stop them from having burgers for lunch on a weekend. Well, maybe except for Rei.

"You boys are so immature," Rei sighed, still snacking on Kaworu's fries. Kaworu smacked his sister's hand away and moved his fries away from her reach, not even throwing her a glance. "Give me that!"

"It's not very mature for people to eat fries for lunch," Kaworu said, mimicking her tone.

"I already had lunch!"

Kaworu shook his head at her. "I asked you if you wanted anything when we were ordering."

"Quit being an asshole and just give her the fries," Shinji said, furrowing his brows at him.

"Shinji-kun!" Kaworu gasped.

Shinji rolled his eyes at his boyfriend and smiled at his friend. "You can have mine too, Ayanami," he said politely, moving his fries closer to her.

"No, it's alright. I'll just take it from him," Rei spoke in kind.

"Yeah, what she said," Kaworu said, moving Shinji's back to him and finally giving Rei his fries. If there's anyone that could take Shinji's fries, it'd be him, he thought proudly to himself as he took a couple of them from Shinji who couldn't care any less about the fries.

A slow and friendly conversation sparked between Rei and Shinji after a while. Something to do with class so Kaworu didn't quite understand being from another one. They had been friends longer than Kaworu and Shinji have known each other in this world so the inside jokes and reminiscing between them fell into deaf ears, hearing only the fondness and familiarity between the two of them. As jealous as he can get about his sister and his boyfriend being close, his joy knew no bounds at the two of his dearest people interacting with each other, the angel feeling lighter and at ease. Kaworu squeezed another satchet of ketchup for Rei, the girl being too into the conversation to notice at first.

"You want the Fanta?" Kaworu asked Rei, slowly, to not interrupt.

"You don't want it?"

"Thought you'd want it. It’s your favourite so…"

Rei had a delighted smile as she cracked the orange flavoured drink open, saying something to respond to Shinji when her words trailed off. "Wait, is that…?"

"Huh?" Kaworu's hand immediately flew up to the side of his neck upon following her line of gaze.

"What is it?" Shinji asked.

"Nothing! Forget I said anything!" Rei responded nervously.

Kaworu looked at his fingers to find a coat of crimson tint right from under his t-shirt's neck. Shinji broke into a cough fit, choking on his own saliva and Kaworu hesitantly met Rei's wide eyes, the teenager chugging down the Fanta the moment she was caught looking.

"Look, we were just— Just trying something out!" Kaworu objected, his face on fire.

"You don't need to explain it to me!" Rei replied quickly, panicking clearly.

"We were doing anything weird or anything!" Shinji instantly pointed out. "There's this online trend so he—"

"Gosh, I shouldn't have commented," Rei sighed in her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Ayanami. I really am," Shinji said, helplessly.

"Yeah me too. I thought I got it all."

Rei's brows shot up. "All?"

"Shut up, you aren't helping!" Shinji exclaimed.

"Just eat your food already. You guys don't need to explain yourselves or anything!" Rei exhaled deeply. "I don't care what you guys were doing but we are eating right now so let's focus on that, yeah?"

An awkward silence settled in the room and Kaworu was sandwiched between Shinji looking straight up miserable and Rei absolutely traumatized. They looked incredibly stressed for something a little as that thing and the angel couldn't stop himself from muffling his laugh on time. Shinji was quick to elbow him and he shut up that instant before snorting another laugh, "Sorry, it was all so sudden." Rei's expression softened at his reaction and simply ate the fries. "I made Shinji try a sheet mask after."

"Really? Did you like it?"

Shinji shrugged. "It's not so bad I suppose."

"I'm not personally a fan myself but Asuka and Kaworu are so I have been wearing them pretty often."

Fortunately, it lightened the mood between them and Kaworu's heart was whole once more. By the time they were done eating and their conversation went on and on, it was time for Shinji to leave.

"Thank you guys for having me."

"So formal," Rei sighed with a shake of her head.

"No but seriously though," Shinji insisted. "I had fun."

"See you in school then. Bye now." 

"See ya."

"Take care," Rei said, returning the boy's warm smile. She went back to the living room with a wave of her hand, Shinji grinning wider at that as he returned the gesture.

Shinji furrowed his brows at Kaworu when he drew closer, his grin growing into a smirk as Kaworu's own. His hands made their way to Kaworu's shoulders almost instinctively as the older boy held his waist. "Maybe do a better check next time?"

Kaworu sighed. "Sorry, I should've noticed."

"It's okay. Not like you did it on purpose."

"Don't worry yourself though. Rei is the chill sort and she likes you a lot."

Shinji’s expression turned into a warmer one. "I know."

He took a moment to glance to his side to check if Rei was still away before his arms pulled Kaworu into a warm hug. Kaworu squeezed Shinji tighter into the hug and buried his face into the arch of his neck. "I don't want to let you go," Kaworu groaned into his shirt.

"Wow, clingy much?"

"I'll miss you…"

"I'll see you tomorrow in school.”

"So many sad and long hours away…"

"Deal with it."

Kaworu groaned again, dragged and tired. "I should just kidnap you or marry you or something."

It was obvious that Shinji rolled his eyes at that. "We'll see about that."

Kaworu lifted his head to look at Shinji with a glint in his eyes. "So you'll marry me?"

Shinji pushed his face away with a hand, earning a whine from the other. "Things like that have a proper way of asking so quit it," Shinji said, trying to sound angry but the tint on his cheeks wasn't fooling anyone. Kaworu took his hand in both of his and planted a kiss to the back of Shinji's hand, slow and reverent. He did have a point there but Kaworu knew if such a question was posed by Shinji somewhere later down the line, he would instantly say yes. "I'll get going now…"

Kaworu pouted but he failed to contain his smile. "Okay."

A soft pair of lips pressed against the plush of Kaworu's cheek, the curve of his smile imprinting there beneath his skin and into his very soul.

"See you."

Kaworu took a moment to process that. "Ah, yeah. See you."

Shinji stifled a laugh behind his hand and simply waved him goodbye before walking out the door. The buzzing sensation at his cheek persisted with steadily growing burning at his face. Kaworu hid his face into his hands to muffle his quiet scream. "Ah yeah"…? "Ah yeah"? Who says that?! Whatever magic it was that Shinji used, it was turning him into an absolute mess and working wonders. Not that he was complaining of course and not that he wanted him to stop that ever but…

"Rei…" The angel's whine dragged on until he fell face first into the couch, right beside where his sister sat with a magazine. "Why am I so embarrassing? I was supposed to be the cool boyfriend…"

"Don't care," Rei said without a care for the world, eyes still on an article she was reading.

“He’s too good for me…”

“True.”

“Hey!”

“I literally don’t know what he sees in you.” 

Kaworu whined a cry into the couch’s cushion pillow even though he knew Rei didn’t mean it. He later managed to get her attention by showing her his new homescreen, the girl's face lighting up with pure joy.

"This is really cute. I didn't think you would do it with him. I'm glad."

Kaworu beamed back at her. "And I have you to thank for the idea."

"It was actually Hikari who told me about it. She said she wanted to try it with me and Asuka."

"Aw, that'd be so nice! You should do it!"

“Yes yes.”