[maybe Kaworu doesn't mean it to sound the way it does -- no, Nageki's pretty certain he doesn't realize -- but that description hits uncomfortably close to home. he knows what it's like to feel as though it's better, and safer, to run away from the affections of others so none of them can hurt you; even more, he feels as though he could give advice on the subject if they ever met, but Nageki doesn't know how welcome it would be. would he have listened to someone he didn't know back then? probably not, especially with something so personal...
it's a strange feeling, to be sure, wanting to help someone he doesn't know. maybe it's something Shinji will have to sort out on his own, the way Nageki did, by realizing that partaking in love is always a more wonderful feeling than being alone, even if it hurts you in the end. while he thinks over Kaworu words, Nageki grazes his fingers over the piano's keys, committing to memory the texture of them under his fingertips.]
I see. I'm sorry, Kaworu... reciprocation can be a very difficult subject to handle.
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it's a strange feeling, to be sure, wanting to help someone he doesn't know. maybe it's something Shinji will have to sort out on his own, the way Nageki did, by realizing that partaking in love is always a more wonderful feeling than being alone, even if it hurts you in the end. while he thinks over Kaworu words, Nageki grazes his fingers over the piano's keys, committing to memory the texture of them under his fingertips.]
I see. I'm sorry, Kaworu... reciprocation can be a very difficult subject to handle.