'What if someone else felt more right', 'He shouldn't have to feel obligated', and other such treacherous notions briefly surface among Shinji's thoughts, ones which he tries his hardest to not pay any attention to. They're there, but will they plague him if he doesn't think about them? We... will see.

"You'll always have a place with me," he answers, voice still sounding awfully small despite how reassuring he wants to be. Maybe gently tracing his fingers along Kai's will help keep him grounded in this moment. "I just want you to be happy."