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The first thing to cross Shinji Ikari's mind upon entering the apartment of his fellow Eva pilot, Rei Ayanami, was, "This place is a mess." Of course, the next thing that crossed his mind was the feeling of something soft and warm in his hand after falling onto the blue-haired owner of the previously mentioned apartment… But that was ages ago and no longer important.
After a fairly… rocky start, Shinji and Rei had grown to be… friends? Maybe? Shinji honestly had no idea what he'd call his and Rei's relationship. It was definitely something at least. Sometimes Shinji would swear that Rei was trying to flirt with him, in her own Ayanami way.
He really wanted to pursue a relationship with Rei, but all things considered, Shinji had absolutely ZERO game. He was so bad at reading girls that he really didn't bother with pursuing any of them, except Ayanami. She was different. She made him feel like he wasn't alone. He was just too scared to talk to her about it, in case she hated him forever. No; he needed to be one hundred per cent sure that she liked him back before asking her about it. But how could he do that? Funnily enough, the answer would come a few days later, during an evening conversation with his legal guardian: Misato Katsuragi.
[~~~~~]
"I don't know, Misato, are you sure I can't just stay in the apartment?" Shinji asked, cleaning the dishes from their most recent meal.
Misato sat at the table with a post-dinner beer in her hand, it seemed that every moment she wasn't at work she had a beer in her hand. "Oh Shinji, they'll be inspecting your room as well, and I'm sure you don't want to be there when it happens," she said in that overly chipper voice she had.
Shinji sighed, knowing that Misato was right. "Yeah I guess so," he hung his head defeated. He and Asuka had recently been chosen as part of a random Nerv inspection, neither of them knew why, and to be completely honest, Shinji couldn't give a shit.
Speaking of, the German-speaking redhead scoffed at Shinji's sadness. "He's only upset because he has no friends he can stay with!" She practically spat from the other end of the table. Shinji's head dipped even more; Asuka was right.
"Asuka!" Misato chastised, jumping to Shinji's defence, "Don't be rude! I'm sure Shinji has plenty of people who he can stay with!"
"No, she's right…" He replied before anything could escalate. He forced a smile, turning to the two women behind him, "But that's okay, I'll just stay at a movie theatre or something, I won't get much sleep anyway," he suggested quickly.
"What? Why can't you stay with Touji or Kensuke?" Misato asked, curious as to why Shinji was only telling her this now when she had already gone through with everyone else's plans for the night.
"Well Touji's staying with his little sister at the hospital," Shinji's face briefly shifted to one of remorse before just as quickly changing back into a simple smile, "and Kensuke is going fishing."
Asuka shot Shinji an incredulous look. "Fishing? I never took brain-box for the fishing type. I always thought he'd go to, like, a war museum or something."
"He would but he's kind of been too… most war museums in Japan." Amidst Shinji and Asuka's absolutely riveting conversation, Misato sat in contemplative silence.
"What about Rei?" She suddenly suggested out loud, interrupting the two teens.
"Wh- what about her?" Shinji questioned, struggling to form his sentences, his face taking on a slightly redder tint. Was Missato seriously suggesting that he stay with Rei?
"Misato, are you seriously suggesting this pervert stays in the same room as a girl for the night, who knows what he'd do!" Asuka yelled, pointing to Shinji while insulting him to his face. Well at least someone agreed with him, even if she said it in the worst way possible.
The purple-haired guardian just held her usual chipper smile before speaking. "I trust Shinji enough to not do that,” Misato shot a small glare at the boy, despite him not doing anything, his face becoming a little bit redder. "Well, are you gonna call her? Or are we going to have to drop you off there unannounced?" Shinji froze, and the idea of turning up without any pre-warning for Rei terrified him. He didn't want to be a bother.
"Bu- but Misato-"
He was quickly cut off by Misato, saying, "No buts, you should've told me your plan before the deadline," leaning back in her chair, satisfied with her argument, Misato sipped her beer. Shinji merely sighed defeatedly and went to go call Rei.
[~~~~~]
Sitting down on his bed, Shinji began to prod the sequence for Ayanami's phone number into his device - an act he had done many times before, just never had he actually rang her. He took in a deep breath as he hit the call button, waiting for someone to pick up.
"Hello?" He heard the soft voice on the other end of the phone ask.
"Uh- h- hello, Rei," Shinji stuttered, "you know about th- that inspection? Well, Misato suggested I stay at your place while they do the- their thing- would that be okay with you?" He visibly cringed at himself and his awkwardness upon finishing his question.
There was a pause from the other line, oh great, Shinji's definitely pissed her off. "Will Unit 02's pilot be with you?" She asked, her soft, near-emotionless voice becoming a tiny bit more quizzical.
He blinked rapidly, nearly forgetting that he needed to reply, "Oh! No, Asuka will be staying with Hikari, the class rep."
There was once again another long pause from the blue-haired girl. "You may stay."
Shinji froze; she had just agreed to let him stay the night at her place and seemed pretty fine about it. He once again quickly remembered to reply, "Great, great- thank you! I'll see you soon!" He smiled and quickly hung up the phone. He was thrilled. She accepted.
He remembered to compose himself before sliding his door open, his smile decreasing in size until it was barely noticeable.
"Hey, Misato, Rei said yes," he said, failing to keep his smile hidden as it spread across his face again.
"Well you seem a little too happy for that news," Asuka snarled at him. Shinji turned beet-red, frowning at Asuka's antagonist behaviour, which he had come to expect from the redhead by now, but she seemed especially aggressive today.
Misato shot Asuka a brief glare, before turning her attention back to Shinji. "Oh good! That really makes things easier, I'll have to thank her next time I see her." Shinji offered Misato a gentle smile, appreciating her sincerity while talking about Rei.
With that, Shinji went back to his room to pack.
[~~~~~]
The building was run down and dilapidated, it honestly looked worse than he had remembered. The constant and monotonous clanking of nearby heavy machinery filled the air, driving away most people from the area. The warm air was dry and humid, making everything feel more arduous than it should've been. There was a door to Rei's apartment, which Shinji knew wasn't locked, that had mail and other unknown things peeling off it. It was his first major obstacle.
Shinji knocked. No response. He didn't particularly want a repeat of last time, so he knocked again. Still no response. Great. Was she purposefully ignoring him? Just to be safe, Shinji took out his phone and dialled Rei's number again. The soft sound of the phone filled his ear before hearing a familiar voice. "Ikari, I presume you have arrived."
A nervous lump began to form in Shinji's throat, the one that seemed to usually find its place when he heard Rei's voice. "I- I, uh, yeah- I knocked on the door but you didn't answer," he managed to say, sighing silently away from the phone. God, he was pathetic.
"I see, I will let you in shortly." With that short response, Shinji was left in complete silence, besides the low note given off by his phone post-call, and the clanking of heavy machinery. He was alone again. He stood there, waiting for Ayanami to open the door, exhaling disappointedly.
It had been a solid two minutes before Shinji heard the unmistakable noise of the apartment's heavy door opening. He held his breath in anticipation as it gave him a brief view of the rotten, bleak interior, before finally revealing Rei herself.
Much to Shinji's relief (and a little bit of dismay), Rei was fully clothed, covered up by her standard school uniform, Shinji had noted that she didn't seem to have any other clothes, well besides her plug-suit anyway, which clashed with his knowledge of girls his age, normally they'd have tonnes of clothes; but to be completely fair, Rei wasn't particularly a normal girl.
She stared at him, not a single emotion was visible on her face. If she was feeling anything, Shinji couldn't see it. Her crimson eyes met his, reminding him about how much he found Rei stunning. Her eyes, hair, the way she carried herself, her quiet yet well-meaning personality - it was all so much and Shinji couldn't help himself as his heartbeat quickened and his face took on familiar flushed cheeks. "Hello, Rei," Shinji said with a voice crack.
Rei continued to not let any emotions be seen, nodding slightly with what Shinji could only imagine meant approval. "Greetings, Pilot Ikari." She stated, turning back into her run-down apartment, which Shinji interpreted as a sign that he was allowed to come in.
The feeling of excitement that had been building up was immediately replaced by regret and empathy upon noting the state of Rei's apartment. The paint was peeling off the wall, bloody bandages still littered the floor from the first time Shinji had been to Rei's apartment. Besides the bed and the drawer, Rei's room was bare. Shinji did note that his father's glasses were no longer on display like last time; an observation that he couldn't decide whether he liked or not.
For the first time today, Shinji managed to speak without appearing overly flustered. "Are you… okay, living here?" He asked, his finger placed ponderingly on his chin. "I don't think it's particularly healthy."
Rei turned to look at him, her face shifting to a slight frown, which for Rei, was a big deal. Her soft frown either meant two things; she agreed with him about the health thing, or she was confused by his accusation. "I am fine with my current arrangements, pilot Ikari."
"You've never thought about cleaning up, or maybe decorating a little?" Despite the words, Shinji's soft and genuine delivery of the question managed to get through to Rei, a gentle blush on her cheeks that would only be noticeable if you were looking for it. She stared at him through her blood-red eyes, mouth subtly limp.
"I… would not know what to decorate with," she let out, with a barely noticeable hint of defeat in her voice.
Raising his hand to his chin, Shinji pondered, before showing Rei a genuine and calm smile. "That's okay, we could do it together?" He suggested, gesturing to her whole flat. "It shouldn't be too hard to get this place in a livable condition." Rei found herself allowing a small smile to slip through for the only person in her life who she had deemed worthy of her smile.
[~~~~~]
It had started to rain on their way to the shops. The weather could be rather erratic post second-impact. The once dry and humid heat had been replaced by the harsh and chilled pitter-patter of rainfall. Personally, if you asked Shinji which of these he preferred he'd probably pick the rain. Sun could be nice on occasion but it meant he had fewer excuses to stay inside; on the opposite side, there was rain, which provided a reason to stay indoors and a relaxing and calming atmosphere that helped ground him.
But none of that was important right now, as both he and Rei were being practically attacked by the planet that they both fought to protect. Thanks a lot, Earth. The rain came down hard too. It's the type that can only be survived with the help of an umbrella and enough strength to make it to shelter. And if Shinji knew anything, it was that Rei was strong.
They did eventually manage to make it to the general store, leaving a big puddle of water in their wake. Ikari looked around the shop; it was empty. Well, besides two slightly disgruntled employees.
It had appeared that because of the rain everyone had decided to go home before they got caught in that horrible rain storm. Shinji turned to Rei, noticing her drenched hair and flushed expression. It seemed that, despite being an Eva pilot, Rei wasn't used to running for that long. In all fairness, Shinji was close to collapsing from all the running. He wasn't thinking when he leaned a little on Rei for support, something the blue-haired girl wasn't expecting, Rei freezing up in surprise.
Upon noticing the girl's stiff nature, Shinji's face turned a bright red and he started apologizing profusely, that was until Rei spoke. "It is okay, Ikari. I… do not mind." Now it was Rei's turn to look embarrassed, subtly averting her gaze from the brown-haired boy, her eyes landing on a collection of chairs. Shinji too turned to face the chairs, noting that they were those stupid and uncomfortable fold-out chairs that he hated.
A rather tense, awkward silence made itself known between the two. Shinji wasn't a huge fan of silence, so he did what any anti-silence guy would do. He spoke. "So… you're thinking about getting chairs." I never said that it was going to be good.
"Although I do believe that chairs could be quite accommodating, I do not believe it is necessary to start with today," Rei said with a familiar empty tone. Shinji got the courage to look at Rei again, observing her intently. "In all honesty, Ikari, I am unsure where to start when it comes to decorating."
Shinji thought, raising his hand to cup his chin, water still dripping from his hair. "Well, do you own a TV?" He asked, somewhat light-heartedly. He highly doubted either he or Rei would be able to afford a TV- hell, even combined they probably couldn't afford one.
"I have never seen its purpose. I do not believe that television is a necessity for living." Rei's response was as blunt as they usually were, but underneath Shinji could sense an aura of curiosity in her tone.
He stopped, perplexed about how to explain TV to someone like Rei Ayanami. "W- well…" he began, struggling to find a way to equate it to her, “hmmm.” He began to ponder, looking at different ways to look at the conversation. “Do you have any hobbies, Rei?” He asked through a mix of genuine curiosity and also as a vessel to hopefully propel the conversation forward.
There was a brief pause from Rei, who stared at him with subdued eyes. “I like to read.” Well, that was a start. Reading. Reading. How could he use that to explain TV?
“Well, TV is a lot like reading, but- uh- there are pictures involved.”
“Depending on what age level book you’re reading, there could also be pictures involved.” Now, Shinji knew that sounded like a snarky remark, however, he also knew that Rei probably didn’t intend that as a snarky remark, and was just pointing out a fact.
Raising his hand to his head and moving his confused gaze to the floor, Shinji pondered on how to bring himself back from the conversation. “Well- uh- you know- hm… What kind of books do you enjoy reading?” A different angle while also utilizing assistance from the book starter, this should help narrow it down.
“I can find a state of enjoyment in any book.” That didn’t narrow it down at all! Any book? Really? Well, Shinji’s already dug himself into a hole, might as well keep going until he reaches the other side.
Shinji clicked his tongue, staring at Rei with squinted eyes. “Uh-huh…” his facial expression quickly turned back from one of minor frustration to one of helpful curiosity, “so, you can find enjoyment in any book? We can work with that. Basically, TV is just like books, but with audio and movement- well I suppose that depends on what kind of show you’re watching- but that doesn’t matter, there’s a show for everyone, even if it’s as boring as something like the local news.” He finished his little ramble once again squinting his eyes, this time not in frustration but in the joy of being able to vocalize his perspective in a fairly adequate way. Suddenly, his eyes shot open upon hearing the next thing Rei said.
“I enjoy listening to you talk.”
It was short and simple, and in all honesty, Rei didn’t mean to let that slip, she just forgot to stop herself. It wasn’t her fault that when Shinji smiled or spoke in a way that was meant specifically for her it made her feel all warm inside. However, that feeling was quickly replaced by a feeling of embarrassment; when she realised what she said, for the first time today Rei blushed.
[~~~~~]
It was still raining by the time they had finished their shopping spree. Often Shinji had to double-check that the things Rei was buying were being bought because she wanted to actually have them and not because he was suggesting that she had particular things. Funnily enough, Shinji’s assumption that neither of them would have enough money to pay for a TV earlier was shattered when Rei managed to buy everything in the relatively deep cart all by herself. Funnily enough, as someone who doesn’t buy anything , Rei’s funds were quite abundant from her time spent at NERV. It was all a bit of a shock to Shinji really- though he insisted that he buy an umbrella for their safe return home- well two umbrellas.
Rei had suspected that he would give the other umbrella to her, however, she was pleasantly surprised when he used it to cover up the items in their cart. She decided to help a little with his venture by tying her school bow securely around the umbrella to hold it to the cart.
The umbrella that remained for the two to share was a little smaller than Shinji had expected, which meant that they both had ended up walking bundled next to each other, which to be fair, neither minded at all.
Shinji himself was still in thought about Rei’s response to his television ramble. She liked listening to him? That didn’t make sense to Shinji, as someone who often thought that people wanted him to be quiet or to shut up, this was news to him, yet Ayanami… seemed to enjoy his company. Not only that, but she enjoyed him . It couldn’t be… Right?
“Ikari? You appear rather vacant, is everything okay?” Rei asked quietly, their closeness to each other gave them no need to be loud while talking. Shinji turned to face Rei, her eyes connecting with his.
“I- uh- I was just- thinking is all,” he stuttered, his face turning a similar shade to Rei’s eyes.
She tilted her head lightly in a curious manner. “What were you thinking about?” She asked, watching him with good-natured intrigue and previously mentioned curiosity. It was often hard to discern emotions when it came to Rei, she was very hard to read- yet Shinji often found that he understood her, despite not being a people person. Even now, when he was as close to Rei as he had ever been, Shinji could read her.
He cringed a little, not prepared for whatever response he would get. He sighed, might as well be honest. “I’m thinking… ab- about you,” he said with a shaky embarrassment, turning away from Rei’s eyes and making note of the intricate building work of Tokyo-3. If he was paying attention, he would’ve noticed Rei’s similar endeavour of looking away with rosy cheeks.
From his side came Rei’s quiet voice once again, “Are they pleasant thoughts?” He froze. Oh God here goes nothing.
“They are. I was just wondering i- if you oft- often thought about m- me in a similar w- way.” Jesus, take the wheel, Shinji was in uncharted territory here. He was absolutely terrified that she would deny him, hate him, yell at him, not want to talk to him, not love him. It was all too much for him.
“I do.” The response was spoken as an almost silent whisper, if it hadn’t been for the fact they were so close together, the rain would’ve drowned it out. The words themselves took a few seconds to settle in Shinji’s mind, whereupon he felt immense amounts of relief, excitement and joy. If his face could get any redder it would.
They continued back to Rei’s apartment in comfortable silence, neither dared to say a word, be that from mutual embarrassment or relief. Neither of them wished to ruin such a heavy moment.
[~~~~~]
"If you wish to clean yourself and become dry then you may use the bathroom." That was the first thing anyone uttered since the start of their comfortable silence. The rain was still coming down hard outside the apartment complex, the mechanical clanking had stopped repeatedly going off every few seconds.
Shinji's face turned a bright shade of red, and the idea of using Rei's shower made him feel very odd. To be completely fair, Shinji felt weirded out using anyone's shower that wasn't his- but it felt a lot weirder to be using a shower that not only belonged to a girl but a girl who lived home alone. Shinji, you idiot you literally live with two women- shut up.
The shower itself wasn't terrible. He'd had worse. But he couldn't quite wrap his head around it. What "it" was seemed to fluctuate within Shinji's mind. At first, it was Rei's words, then it was what he and Rei were to each other, after that, it moved to the state of her apartment, then finished on fixing the apartment. By that point, his time in the shower had finished and he was already putting on the non-soaked clothes that he had brought with him, those being the clothes he wore when he slept.
He stepped out of the bathroom and looked at Rei, who had been carrying everything they had bought inside and out of the rain. He had almost forgotten about the rain, but the sight of a freshly-soaked Ayanami had reminded him. “Hey, Rei, would you- I can take it from here if you’d like.” Rei just simply stared at Shinji blankly, nodding subtly and heading to the bathroom to shower herself.
Nearly all the boxes had ended up inside already, just a few left outside underneath the second umbrella. Shinji scanned the area for the original umbrella, eyes widening in mild surprise when he spotted it. The umbrella was bone dry. The first thing that crossed his mind was a terrible joke that he'd take to the grave with him (the worst part being that it wasn't even clever), and the second thing that crossed his mind was that Rei might get sick if she wasn't careful.
Shinji made a mental note to himself to check if Ayanami ever gets sick before he picked up the dry umbrella and went to bring the rest of the boxes that remained outside, making sure to stack them neatly out of the way- much neater than what Rei did, who had just shoved them all in a corner.
While Shinji's brain was comparing the way he and Ayanami moved boxes, he came to the immediate realisation that he didn't have anywhere to sleep. Now, Shinji must admit that he'd never really stayed at anyone else's house before, the closest being the time he ran away when he slept in Kensuke's tent- and because of this simple fact, Shinji Ikari, pilot of Evangelion Unit 01 had forgotten to bring any bedding. Not even a roll-out mattress or anything. His brain was skittering about trying to think of a good substitute for a bed. He could always sleep next to Rei - stop, not going to happen. All things considered, Rei probably wouldn't care, but Shinji sure did- what would Misato say if she saw? She'd either be mad or tease him, and he wasn't sure which he found worse.
With all of Shinji's pondering, he had failed to notice a silent Rei Ayanami standing next to him. He had yelped and leapt backwards upon seeing something moving in the corner of his eye, turning around quickly to face the movement.
Shinji only caught a quick glimpse of Rei before he just as quickly covered his eyes, his face turning a vibrant shade of red. "Re- Rei- you should- probably put some- clothes on."
Once again, Rei Ayanami had either forgotten about or hadn't bothered at all when it came to social etiquette. Rule number four of common social etiquette in Shinji's mind was that it's a bit taboo if a girl, or anyone for that matter, approaches you naked; and it seemed that Rei had crossed that threshold.
"I apologise for my lack of decency, I forgot to bring my spare clothes with me before I showered." He heard the noise of what he presumed were clothes being rustled and thrown on, his eyes still firmly covered by his hands.
"Is- is it okay if I look now?" Shinji stuttered.
He heard more rustling from Rei. “I believe it’s acceptable for you to see me,” she said with a flat tone.
Shinji did as he was told and brought his fingers down from his face, unveiling the appearance of the girl in front of him. She was wearing her normal school clothes, but she lacked the red bow and the dark blue-ish pinafore. She looked like a normal girl- well as normal as a girl with blue hair could look- but she looked… Relaxed and comfortable.
"Rei?" Shinji asked. Despite Rei wearing her clothes in a way which would be considered both normal and almost lazy, Shinji gazed at her completely stunned. "You- you- look very n- nice." Rei simply stared at him confused.
"From an objective standpoint, I do not believe I look nice. If the pilot of Evangelion Unit 02 were here, I'd assume she'd say that I look rather uncivilised. However, you are Shinji Ikari, and if you say I look nice then I shall believe you." Rei's lips curled into the faintest of ghost smiles as she looked at him. He looked back with a slightly flushed expression.
It only took thirty seconds for Shinji to calm himself down and focus back on Rei. "T- thank you, Rei." He smiled back.
[~~~~~]
The place was looking much better, first, they had cleared most of the grime off the floor and walls, and then they moved to unpack everything they gathered from their adventure in the rain.
Shinji got to work trying to assemble a rather short table, while Rei got to work hanging up empty picture frames. A memory from earlier that day flashed through her brain.
"I do not understand why I would require photograph frames. I do not see a need for them, especially as I don't own any photographs." Rei had looked at Shinji curiously.
The Third Child had faltered for a second, trying to think of an actual reason for Rei to own picture frames. “Well,” he began, “Just because you don’t have any pictures right now doesn’t mean that you won’t have any in the future, right?” He smiled at her, seeing his explanation as good enough especially for someone like Rei.
“I see,” Rei hummed, “Yes, that is very adequate reasoning.” With that, Rei placed the picture frames into their basket.
In the present, Rei was currently staring at the empty frame, wondering what kind of pictures to put in there, Shinji watching her as he completed the last chair. “Done,” he said aloud as he softly shoved the table away from himself, “One whole table.” Rei’s mind moved on from the empty frame, eyes moving to Shinji and the table he had put together for her.
The table was… Usable. I mean, just because Shinji Ikari could pilot a giant bio-mechanical mech suit that doesn’t mean he knew anything about carpentry, or reading instructions about carpentry, despite the carpentry already having been mostly done for him. But overall, it wasn’t a terrible job. The table may have been a little wonky in certain areas, and it had the issue of creaking to an unnatural degree whenever anyone leaned on it too hard. But again, it was still usable. Just like the empty picture frames.
“I’ll see if I can get Kensuke to lend you one of his cameras, then you could take pictures of whatever you wanted,” Shinji said, noticing Rei’s fixation on the empty frames.
The blue-haired girl turned her attention off the frames and once again to Shinji. “I would like that,” she simply replied.
[~~~~~]
Rei’s flat was looking a lot more like an actual home now compared to earlier that day. In all fairness, Shinji wished he had remembered to get paint when they were out shopping, because holy hell, he’d like to paint the prison-like walls something a little less dull. He’d have to bring that up with Rei at a later date, but for now, having just finished furnishing the apartment, he was happy with the result, and from the looks of things, so was Rei, if the faintest smile on her face was anything to go by.
The rain kept going on while they were furnishing Rei’s flat, the loud splashes of raindrops hitting the window. Besides that it was quiet; Shinji had elected to test out the TV, but not much after that as it was getting fairly late, late enough for Shinji to remember that he didn’t have anywhere to sleep, so he sat himself down on the cold floor. He’d slept in worse conditions.
It was at that point he heard Rei speak from the bed. “Ikari, I am under the assumption that the floor is not a particularly comfortable place to sleep. If you wish to sleep in a more comfortable state, then I am not denying you entry to my bed.” Shinji wasn’t stupid, but it took him a little longer than expected to realise that Rei had suggested that he sleep in her bed instead of the floor, with her in it. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to or not; what if he ruined it- it didn’t look like a large bed so he doubted there would be enough breathing room for the two of them to sleep on it not pressed together- however, the idea of being pressed up close to Ayanami was definitely the driving force in Shinji’s brain as he stood up from the floor and made his way to the bed.
Rei felt the mattress sink beside her, as well as an unfamiliar warm feeling as the culprit brushed against her. She turned to face the source of the newfound internal and external warmth.
Shinji lay next to her on his back, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling, trying his hardest to focus on every crack he could see. His focus was quickly weakened by the feeling of something heavy resting on his chest. He was shocked when he looked down to see a mop of blue hair on his chest. He froze, completely out of his element.
“Ikari? Are you feeling okay? Your breathing has become exponentially slow.” Shinji had forgotten to breathe. He loudly exhaled into the room, his steady breathing returning to him once more. Rei hummed to herself quietly. “It’s a rather pleasant feeling, you breathing. I can hear your heartbeat. I know you’re alive.” She sounded tired… Comfortable even, which is something Shinji noted; it’s not often you get to hear Rei’s voice shift from that familiar flat tone to one with understandable emotion.
“I- I’m fine- just… I- I’m not really used to this,” he finally replied quietly. Rei remained quiet.
Gently wiping his clammy hands on the side of the bed, Shinji proceeded to lift one hand up, resting it on top of Rei’s head. He gently began to massage his fingers through the girl’s hair, who in turn, let out a content sigh. Her breathing became a lot more regular after that, but Shinji kept massaging his fingers through her hair. He didn’t notice himself falling asleep until it was already morning.
[~~~~~]
Neither Shinji nor Rei happened to be heavy sleepers, in fact, they were probably two of the lightest sleepers in the entirety of NERV. However, when they were both startled awake by a knock at the door, they were surprised to see sunlight pouring through the window. The rain must’ve stopped.
“Hello? Rei? Shinji?” A few more knocks on the door. Shinji could recognize that voice anywhere; it belonged to one Major Misato Katsuragi. She was probably here to pick him up.
“Coming!” Shinji yelled back, completely forgetting for a moment where he was. It felt like a literal weight was lifting off his chest, and as he looked down, Shinji remembered the previous night. His face turned bright red from embarrassment.
Rei sat up from resting her head on Shinji’s chest. She looked at him through bleary eyes. Shinji could help himself as a small chuckle left his lips. Seeing Rei in a mood other than indifference was quite amusing, so seeing Rei in a state of tiredness from being newly awoken was also quite amusing. She just stared at him a little confused as to why he had chuckled, but not particularly caring.
“Hurry up! You’re over two hours late!” He heard Misato shout from behind the door- she was using a slightly more authoritative tone this time. How long had she been waiting? Shinji quickly gathered all his stuff from his bag and checked his phone. Sixteen new messages and four missed calls. Uh oh. Not even the loud clanking from the heavy machinery outside had woken them up.
He quickly sprinted into Rei’s bathroom and threw on his usual shirt and pants over his sleep-wear. He quickly darted to the door with his bag in hand and swung it open.
“Took you long enough,” his guardian said, her arms folded in disapproval and tapping her foot impatiently. She was wearing her NERV uniform, which probably meant she had either come from or was late for a meeting. Shinji really hoped it was the former. Misato’s demeanour quickly shifted when she spotted Rei, where she gave him a look that read ‘ What’s up with her?’
“She just woke up, Misato.” Shinji also sounded tired as he spoke.
“Uh-huh… I didn’t even know she needed sleep.” That last part was muttered to herself, under her breath, however, it appeared that the universe had other plans, as it appeared both pilots heard her remark by the way they were staring at her.
“Yes, Major Katsuragi, I do in fact require sleep,” Rei stated matter-of-factly, wiping the sleep away from her eyes. Misato just nodded, not quite sure how to actually respond, especially after being a little rude to the girl in front of her face.
Shinji watched as Misatio thanked Rei for letting him stay with her for the night and trying her best to embarrass Shinji, to which Shinji didn’t particularly care, he was a little too tired to be dealing with anything right now. He had woken up a little by the time Misato had finished talking with Rei… Well, I say talking with- it was more Misato talking, and Rei nodding, occasionally slipping in a short sentence here or there. But point is that Shinji was awake by this point.
Misato nudged Shinji after no one has spoken for a while. “Well, aren't you gonna thank her?” She loudly whispered to him. He watched as Misato nodded to him before turning back and walking to the car, which could only mean one thing; ‘You better make this quick.’
He turned back to face the blue-haired girl in front of him and paused briefly, trying to find the right words to say. She waited patiently for him, watching as the sentences started to formulate in his brain. “Thank you, Ayanami, for letting me stay with you. And I’m sorry if I imposed upon you in any way.”
“No, thank you, Ikari. You aided me in making my home more pleasing. So, once again, thank you.” She bowed to him lightly, her lips curving into a relatively small smile. Shinji nodded to her, smiling back before turning away and walking down the corridor and to the exit. He stopped just before raising his hand to open the door.
“H- hey, Rei?” He called back, Rei watching intrigued, “Uh- we should- we should do this again sometime- like- maybe go out for- dinner- by ourselves.” Shinji’s face was once again, flushed bright red. Surprisingly, Rei’s face took on a similar, although much more subdued tint.
“I believe… that could be rather pleasant. I would like to accompany you to dinner sometime.” The smile on her face grew a little wider, not much to any onlooker, but to Shinji, or anyone who was remotely close to Rei, it was pure gold.
A loud clank sound was heard as Shinji opened the door to leave, waving to Rei gently. “See you soon, Rei.” He called out to her.
Rei felt the same warm feeling she had felt when lying in bed next to Ikari. “See you soon… Shinji,” She replied, watching as his cheeks took on a slightly redder appearance, unaware that her own cheeks were a similar shade to his. He left with one final wave. She was once again alone.
[~~~~~]
Despite the isolating atmosphere of the apartment hallway, her flat seemed a little more homely now. And despite Shinji not being there to keep her company, Rei felt excited. She began running different locations and scenarios through her brain, trying to think up the best place to take Shinji to dinner and what else they could do during the night. She turned on her newly bought TV, which she had a fairly limited understanding of- although she knew how to turn it on and change channels, so that was a start.
She flicked through idly between different shows, stopping on one that didn’t look completely awful. She wasn’t particularly focused on the show, her mind was still focused on where to take Ikari for dinner. It had to be perfect. Maybe she could call Pilot Souryuu and ask for advice, she would probably know about these sorts of things.
She pondered slightly, recalling Shinji’s knack for cooking. Maybe they could have a picnic with homemade food by the both of them. Yeah, that sounded good. Rei wasn’t the greatest at cooking, but she was a fast learner, so she knew she could at least make something that’d be adequate to eat, definitely not up to Shinji’s level of cooking, but definitely good enough where he’d enjoy it, either from the gesture or the taste itself. Rei knew what she was going to do.