Shinji finally had time to think. Hyun-ki was asleep, taking an afternoon nap, Kippei had gone to help Rien with the last of the unpacking, and Shinji just stayed curled up in bed, letting it all sink in and pondering what various things could mean and why he was feeling increasingly upset the more he [...]

Rien had been gone three days. Three long days already and still more to go; that many more again and then maybe even more! Shinji went to work because he needed the distraction, wearing himself out completely and marching home to crawl into the bath until his skin wrinkled and he had to get out, [...]

Rien was home, so Shinji went to work the last two days, trusting Rien to make sure Kippei was okay and didn’t flip out. He didn’t want to go, but it was the easiest way he had to avoid thinking about things too much and wear himself out at the same time. He went home [...]

It was a little more than a day before Shinji felt awareness of touch returning. At some point during the night he’d almost choked on the breathing tube, relieved when they removed it and he was breathing on his own again, but still annoyed by his complete inability to function like a normal human being. [...]

While it was probably a bad idea to actually bang one’s head against the counter repeatedly and vigorously, it was nonethless the thought foremost in Shinji’s mind as he struggled to ignore the growing, persistent agony in the back of his head. He clawed at the old scar between jobs, trying to pack up and [...]

The only thing Shinji knew was that he was tired. He’d woken sore but felt okay for the most part and had happily gone to work, feeling energetic and excited. But the long day had worn him down and what had started off as vague small pains had grown into horrible little monsters all over [...]

By the time they were all dressed and ready to go, Rien was feeling a bit worried, debating whether or not to bring a sedative along, just in case. It was, he figured, only the smart thing to do, but he didn’t want to. Shinji seemed pretty sure of himself, and Rien was convinced that [...]

Rien’s flight actually came in at night, very early in the morning. He then had to spend several hours at the office, debriefing and filing reports and doing paperwork, and checking in with his new boss to get an idea of what his schedule might be like the next few months. Then he had to [...]

Rien was so very tempted not to wake them up, when he got up early and eased himself out of bed to get ready to leave in the morning. It was so hard, god so hard to leave them, and to have to say goodbye and maybe see tears, it was going to rip at [...]

The sun was just starting to go down when Shinji carefully carried a large platter of goodies out to the back verandah and set it in the middle of the table, carefully checking everything was just right. Dinner, plates, chopsticks, glasses, bottle of wine, candles, mozzie coils…It was all laid out delicately on a dark [...]