tp5: kippei and shinji

Kippei woke up early the next morning; it was too much of a habit, even though he was planning to take the day off. Shinji was curled up beside him with his face buried in the pillow, and Kippei took a minute to just watch him. When Shinji was sleeping and no one else was around, it was a little bit easier to just stop and feel things, let it show in a surprisingly unguarded expression.

It was a pretty amazing thing to wake up beside someone and think they were going to be there for the rest of your life. And while Kippei had known that, on some level, somehow today it was suddenly more real. It was a bit silly, and his faint smile showed he was laughing at himself, but still. He reached out to lay his hand on Shinji's back, just feeling him breathe, letting that sense of wonder fill him. "I love you," he whispered, just because no one could hear him.

He should get up, and call his office, and get dressed so they could go as soon as possible, but this kind of contentment was hard to disturb, even for such excellent reasons. Peace was rare enough and god knew, it probably wasn't going to last, but for the moment, they had all the time in the world.