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Kaworu didn't go with her to bed that night. Instead, he waited until the clock had passed twelve, and her soft breathing could be heard from their room. He grabbed a pen, tore a page from his notebook on his desk and wrote in the dark. He was about halfway into his writing when the light above him blinked on. Of course he had expected to have to do this, it didn't make it any more pleasant to do. Kaworu didn't turn around but he knew that Rei was standing behind him. He didn't want to see her face.
"Why?" she spoke first. He didn't respond.
"Is it something I did?" She spoke again. He always hated when she said things like that.
"No." He responded.
"What then? Is it Shinji?"
He went to speak but he hesitated. He thought, about him. He missed him but that's not the point. They promised to give each other space, to let each other move on.
"No. Its not." He finally said.
"Then what is it? Am I just not good enough? Is there something I can't give you?"
"No, Its not you. Its just..."
"Just what?"
"Its not working."
"What's not working?!" He can hear tears forming in her eyes, on the bridge of breaking out.
"This...all of this. I don't know how this happened, but it's not working."
She didn't respond, he knew her tears were falling from her eyes yet she made no noise, her sadness only audible by the quiet pitter patter of her tears falling on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Rei. I can't make you happy. You should find someone who can. Please.
He can feel his lip quivering, and his own tears beginning to pool in his eyes. The room is now silent. He doesn't even know if she's still standing there, regardless he still fights his tears and prevents them from flowing. He stands still, until the noise of slow footsteps fill the silence. Rei grabs his arm and spins him around effortlessly. For the first time in the day they see each other's faces. Her face wears a fusion of sorrow, anger and regret while his face is wearing a mix of sadness, fear and confusion. Their attention averts to each other's eyes, the red eyes that they share and the red that allowed them to first find comfort since Neon Genesis.
Now, it is in these eyes that they live back through their memories, memories of a repeating story, memories of EVAs and ANGELs and memories of meeting each other, memories of them saying that they are the same, the only ones who could understand the circumstances of each other's existence. The memory of falling in love over the course of the same year, over and over.
Rei moves closer to him, and places his arms around him, letting her tears flow onto his back. In return, Kaworu does the same as he finally allows his tears to flow out onto the back of her hair. They separate from each other, trails left from tears still visible on their faces. Rei looks at him again, a smile begins to form on her face and she speaks.
"Kaworu, you have made me more happy than you could ever understand. You gave me a reason to exist without the EVAs. For that I thank you." She looks and smiles, tears still streaming off of her eyes. He stands there at a loss for words. All he can do is smile, as tears flow for the both of them.
"Thank you Rei, it seems I misunderstood your happiness."