Ah. Kai took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. It really seemed like that sort of thing should have completely thawed him completely from the inside out all on its own. It certainly felt like it was trying, even if words weren't the prevalent magic here. Feeling had crept back into his fingertips though, letting him feel each little brush of hair beneath them. It was a little damp-- the heat must have really been giving Shinji a beating. Ah, he really should have called him so they could have done this sooner. Except if he'd done that, he wouldn't have heard those quiet words.

These were the sorts of things that lent themselves so easily to speculation, huh? The tenderness under all the mutual benefit. There was a bare flicker of it there, the briefest nod to those what ifs that floated around. It'd be real easy, he thought, to just turn his head and press a soft bit of feeling into that damp hair. What a curiously easy thought to have.

A thought was all it would be, but it was a thought Kai had all the same.

"Figure I should keep you on your toes at some point," he chuckled softly. "Lucky for you, I'm way too into the habit of hiding in plain sight."