Kaworu: You know, pain is something man must endure in his heart. And since the heart feels pain so easily, some believe that life is pain. You are delicate like glass, especially your heart.

Shinji: Am I?

Kaworu: Yes, and worth earning my empathy.

Shinji: Empathy?

Kaworu: I'm saying I love you.

_{- Neon Genesis Evangelion, Episode 24}

Kaworu and Shinji: Shonen-ai 101 (The Basics of Boy Love)
_{I kid, I kid. Although yeah, I think they were the ones who led me to learn about the concept of yaoi. x_X Moving on...}

Kaworu was the sort of friend that Shinji had always wished for: someone who accepted him unconditionally, not only despite his flaws, but even with them. Of all the people Shinji had met in his life, Kaworu was the only one who understood him completely. He was truly the perfect, ideal friend - something that is humanly impossible to find, as evidenced when Kaworu's secret was revealed.

Love is love. You don't need an incredible amount of life experience to fall in love. Even so, Kaworu's philosophical conversations seem to indicate someone who is anything but naive.

So is he...? Ah, yes, there is that question to answer, isn't there? To put it simply, who knows? Here are the facts: Kaworu loved Shinji, and told him so. Shinji treasured those feelings of love, and seemed to return at least some of those feelings.

Does that make Kaworu gay? Does that make Shinji gay? Does it really matter? Decide for yourself. If you're out to "prove" things one way or another, you're not going to be able to.

Some official art of Shinji and Kaworu:
1 [link]
2 [link]
3 [link]

_{Kaworu's interactions with Shinji have been a persistent topic of debate among fans of Evangelion since the series's first run. Shinji is unusually open, emotional, and physically receptive when around Kaworu, more so than with any of the other principal characters, while Kaworu treats him with a level of kindness and camaraderie that is completely unfamiliar to Shinji. In episode 24, Kaworu accompanies Shinji to a bath house. While sitting together in the bath, the boys display a remarkable degree of comfort around one another. At one point, Kaworu places his hand on Shinji's, and rather than hesitate or pull back (as he did in a previous episode, when Misato attempted to touch him), Shinji allows Kaworu's hand to linger on his own. In the English dub, Kaworu says "I love you" to Shinji shortly thereafter. The original Japanese dialogue uses the word "suki," which can be interpreted as "like" or "love."}

Evangelion Photoshoot Recap + more Kaworu & Shinji crack yaoi

as Kaworu Nagisa
Loon as Shinji Ikari
photography by Sandra Dans
special thanks to Mikomi and Kaworu.com and Wiki

_{Neon Genesis Evangelion photoshoot series}
Neon Genesis Evangelion
First Child: Rei Ayanami
Second Child: Asuka Langley
Third Child: Shinji Ikari
Fourth Child: Toji Suzuhara
Fifth Child: Kaworu Nagisa
Major Misato Katsuragi
Rei III
Asuka Strikes!
Delicate Like Glass
Children of Chaos