As the days ticked passed, Shinji grew increasingly agitated. Rien tried to teach him to drive, but Shinji couldn’t concentrate and kept snapping at him about completely random things. He did it the next time Rien tried as well. Kippei tried to stay calm, but his sense only infuriated Shinji and he grew frustrated and [...]

Shinji was worn out by morning, the night filled with discussion and feverish dreams that woke more than they allowed sleep until he woke sweat-soaked and limp and was carried into the bathroom by two nurses and Naota, bathed and put in nice clean comfortable clothes, carried out to the balcony and left there with [...]

Rien was worried, and therefore he’d been quiet and let Shinji tell Kippei that they were leaving him alone for the night, only speaking up to give Kippei the explanation he’d worked out earlier. That Kippei didn’t like it was obvious, but he seemed more worried than anything, and agreed readily enough to go. So [...]

Naota was under no illusions; he was at work, to do work. He took a full set of tests from Shinji down to the lab to get processed, taking his father with him so they could discuss progress on the case and cross reference one another’s findings. Knowing he would be away for hours, and [...]

Naota returned a few hours later with the key, wandering in cautiously, never sure what he might find, but they were still on the balcony, just Shinji and Rien. Naota supposed Kippei had gone to training. He hovered in the doorway, still not sure this was a good idea, even for an hour. The number [...]

Kippei woke early, damn near smothered in the tiny cubby with Rien wrapped around them both and he shifted, vaguely alarmed in his half aware state that he might be smothering Shinji, too. Shinji was half underneath him, but still breathing, and Kippei relaxed with a sigh of relief. “S’wrong?” Rien muttered, having woken up [...]

When Naota came in at lunch, Shinji was still asleep on the couch. Not sure where Rien was, Naota wandered over and checked on Shinji, concerned when he didn’t stir at all. He lifted him carefully and carried him in to his bed, putting him down at hooking up the heart monitor while he took [...]

Rien was getting frustrated. Kippei had apologized to him later, for what had happened the night he came home – not the fact that they had waited up for him, but that they had gone to bed without their usual welcome home sex afterward. He’d then taken the opportunity to explain to Rien that he [...]

He was the train, tumbling, smashing, breaking apart, listening to the screams and the cries for help, feeling them inside him, thrown like rag dolls and then he was still and smoking and burning and they were quieter, the screams less frequent and then he was a piece of metal, feeling himself driving through skin [...]

Rien was not expecting anyone to be awake when he got home. Kippei rarely was, and Shinji would surely be sleeping. Rien was still a little wired from changing time zones, not ready to sleep, but he was more than ready to crawl into bed and snuggle up to Kippei for awhile. He was rather [...]