xp log: kippei and shinji

[shattermelt]

Kippei had forgotten all about the date, until he was at work and the guys on his crew were talking about what they were doing for the evening with their various wives and girlfriends and sweethearts, all making special plans for Valentine's Day.

Kippei smiled grimly to himself. Well, he might have forgotten, but he did have something special for Shinji after all. He hadn't been planning to show it to him yet, but now was as good a time as any. He thought about it on his way home, turning it over in his mind until he got too close and then he stopped thinking, because Shinji was mostly back to normal now and there was no hope of keeping a surprise from him if he was thinking about it.

Comments

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

Kippei looked a little surprised, and tilted his head. "But you can hear it," he protested, because it wasn't like every second thought in his head wasn't about how much he adored Shinji and every little thing about him was just perfect.

"Fine," he said after a minute, though he thought it was kind of girly to have to say how he felt out loud, but it was a special day and Shinji wanted it. "I love you more than anyone else ever has or ever will. More than everyone else put together."

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

Shinji just grinned at him and skipped a step to lean up and kiss Kippei's cheek, completely happy and satisfied.

"I like hearing your voice over all of theirs."

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

Kippei slanted a sideways look at him, unsure how to respond to that. It had never occurred to him before to be jealous of the people Shinji was listening to. Now he kind of was, and it made him feel a little ridiculous. It wasn't like Shinji could help it, after all, and Shinji had just said he liked listening to Kippei the best, so whatever.

"You better," he muttered finally. He was letting his feet take their own route without really thinking about it, familiar enough with the way that he could get there on autopilot while he thought about other things.

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

Shinji blinked, thoroughly startled by Kippei's jealousy. He stared at him for a long time before he started to laugh, stroking his fingers down Kippei's arm apologetically.

"You never have anything to be jealous about. I might listen to other people but all my mind thinks about it you."

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

"I know," Kippei muttered, a little grumpy that Shinji was laughing at him, even if Kippei agreed with him that it was pretty damn silly. "I'm not jealous." Oh, right, like that was going to play. Fortunately, they were here. He stopped in front of a series of steps that led up to the second floor of a building - it looked like a warehouse or some kind of storage space, but there was an apartment over it. Or there was going to be.

"You first," he told Shinji, nodding at the steps that went up the outside.

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

An apartment? Shinji blinked at Kippei because okay they place they had wasn't great but they still had a place. What did they need two for? Still, he followed Kippei's directions and went up the stairs along the outside of the building to the second floor, where there was a door. He tried it, but it was locked so he looked over at Kippei, frowning.

"What's inside?"

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

Kippei shrugged a little awkwardly, and moved around him to unlock the door.

"Not much yet." He pushed the door open and led the way inside, a simple place with a large front room, half of which was outfitted as a small kitchen, and two rooms at the back with a hall between them.

"I don't like this," Kippei began as he led the way to the back, "because it means being stuck in one place. But it's about the same as the place we have, rent-wise, and the lease says I can do whatever I want with it in the way of remodeling." That was the important part. He opened the door of one of the back rooms and stood aside so Shinji could see the half finished work he'd been doing, reconstructing his own small scale version of Shinji's quiet room.

Turning an ordinary room into one really wasn't that hard--it was whether or not it would work when it was done that he was a little worried about. He'd gotten as much information as he could from the doctors at the institute, but it wasn't like he could go back now and ask them to check the results.

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

Being stuck in one place had never sat well with Kippei but Shinji figured that was what holidays were for and it wasn't like they owned it or anything, they could always move...holy shit. Shinji gaped at the room, completely closed off with no windows and across all the walls, the mechanics and insulation and computers required for..him.

"It's a quiet room..." he mumbled, amazed because Kippei had said he was building one but Shinji had no idea he was this far along. "My god...its...its...its perfect..." He just stared, stunned, in complete shock. No one had ever done something like this in his admittedly short life.

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

"It's going to be," Kippei corrected, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around. He wished he could have had it finished by now, but he was working by himself in his very limited free time, so it was going slower than he wanted it to.

"At least I hope so," he amended. "I'm not entirely sure it's going to work. But it'll be better than what you have now." It would at least be insulated, enough to give him some relief from the headaches, if not complete silence.

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

"I want to help," Shinji mumbled immediately, then louder again. "I want to help! I can program it, and set things up and just...you can do the lifting and stuff when you get home!" He went inside excitedly, pulling Kippei in after him and poking around in the corners. "And I think I know one of the doctor's email addresses and he'll help me and I can make stuff to put in here. Pillows and cushions and a bed and it'll be perfect! It doesn't even have to look like a quiet room, it can just be a bedroom with cool walls!" Yeah, he was excited as all hell. That room was the key to his having a life and Kippei, naturally, gave it to him.

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

Kippei followed him warily, not having expected this reaction. Shinji could help? He hadn't thought Shinji knew any more than he did about how the room actually worked, although for sure he couldn't know less. Kippei was mostly worried about the programming and the computers--he knew nothing at all about that, and he knew even if the rest of it was right, he could screw that bit up completely.

"Shinji," he began slowly, and then he stopped again. They probably did need the help. Kippei most definitely did not want this room to end up hurting Shinji. "Be real careful about how you email him, okay?" he said finally. "Don't do it from home. Go to a netcafe or library or something. Maybe he'll help and maybe he won't, but I don't want anyone to know how to find us." Especially the freaks at the institute.

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

Shinji was quiet a long time, just wandering around the room, touching everything, a small smile of pure delight on his face. Finally he turned to Kippei and shrugged.

"I can't go to a cafe by myself, they're too loud. We'll go together one night." Because he knew Kippei would and maybe he would feel better if he was there when Shinji emailed them.

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

Kippei just watched him, all the worries easing in his chest as he looked at the little smile on Shinji's face. This was going to work, and it was all going to be worth it.

"Okay," he agreed, smiling back and holding out his arms. Shinji was right, he would feel better if he was there.

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

Shinji took one last look around the room and went back to Kippei, walking straight into open arms and wrapping his own around Kippei, leaning up to kiss him hard on the mouth, then softer, smiling and enjoying it.

"You're the most perfect mutant ever...can we go to dinner now?" He wanted to spoil Kippei rotten. Dinner and dessert and sex and anything Kippei wanted.

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

Kippei chuckled. He'd been wondering if Shinji was going to forget about dinner completely and want to start working right away.

"Yeah, absolutely," he agreed. He pulled the door shut behind him and led the way back outside, locking it up again. "So its okay?" he asked, a little worried still. "You won't mind moving here? We can move anytime, really, now that it's not a surprise anymore."

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

"It's perfect and I want to move as soon as possible...but that means it'll be out last night in our current place, so we have to make it a night to remember, and then the next night is our first night in the new place so that has to be a night to remember too..." He smirked, knowing quite a few ways to make it a 'night to remember' none of which involved tying Kippei up in any way, shape or form.

[shattermelt.livejournal.com]

Kippei was slightly startled, not having figured that 'anytime' would be 'immediately', but okay, whatever, just as well really because it was far from easy trying to make rent on both places.

"Okay okay," he said laughing as they went out on the street again. "As soon as possible then, but maybe we should wait until the weekend? I have to work tomorrow and I'm not sure we can get it done in one day after I get home. Otherwise you will be moving by yourself, and granted we haven't got that much to move, but it would still be easier with two of us."

[ayretala.livejournal.com]

"Okay," Shinji agreed, because he was willing to agree to anything really. Kippei had found them a place to live and had started building him a quiet room and as far as Shinji was concerned, nothing that could possibly go wrong short of Kippei getting hurt would ever diminish how incredible that was.

"I love you."