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Upon gaining consciousness from the blank oblivion of slumber, Rei felt an immediate assault upon her senses. Opening her eyes seemed to be a straining task as they felt as though they carried weight which left her with half lidded eyes that blearily winced at the light seeping into her room through the curtains of the large window.
'What are these sensations?' Rei questioned in her thoughts.
Her head felt uncomfortably warm as she raised a tired hand to try and block some of the light from further causing irritation to her eyes. Through the haze of her muddled mind, she registered a faint throbbing sensation occurring around the crown of her head and how the button up shirt she had worn to bed felt uncomfortable on her.
Her breathing also seemed off, she could feel congestion in her nasal cavities. Not enough to really inhibit breathing through her nose, but enough to cause very noticeable discomfort. There was also a dryness in her mouth, one that caused a cough to come up through her throat.
Reflexively covering her mouth from the cough, the blue haired girl felt a desire to quench her parched throat. However upon trying to sit up, the throbbing in her head sharply increased and caused the girl suck in a dry breath with a wince of pain. She let her body fall back onto the stiff bedding below her with a groan. Aside from the pain in her head, she vaguely felt an ache in her limbs as well.
'I am of ill health…" Rei concluded after considering her symptoms for a moment.
The only duty she had for the day was to attend her classes at school, but her body protested yet again at her trying to get up from bed so as to get ready for school.
'I will be unable to attend school today.' It seemed the appropriate decision to make, seeing as her health seemed to be too compromised to perform the tasks necessary to get there. It would not be the first time she had missed classes, and her current bout of illness seemed reason enough to excuse herself. She also idly noticed that it seemed later than she usually awakens, and is likely the school day had already begun, not that it mattered now.
Letting her head fall back to her pillow, Rei released the effort she was putting to keep her eyes open, allowing them to close as they so dearly seemed to desire. Her mind that was already sluggish had quickly re embraced sleep once again if only to bask in the soothing relief of being unconscious to her ailing senses.
"Ah, Ikari! Can you take Ayanami her schoolwork?"
"Sure."
Blissful unawareness was not to last for Rei, as she found herself being woken up by the sound of knocking to her door. The sound seemed to emphasize the throbbing in her mind. Even with the increased amount of sleep, the girl seemed to feel even more tired and weary then when she had woken up before.
'What is that noise?' Her mind complained before registering it as someone knocking at her door.
Despite the aching in her body, she managed to get herself to stand up from her bed at the behest of the knocking sound that seemed to reverberate inside her skull. Letting out a cough had her sway slightly as she stood, her neck and shoulders felt stiff as she raised a hand to rub at her eye that seemed to blur her vision around the edges.
Forcing her body to move found her shakily walking out of her room and through her kitchen to the entrance of the apartment. A stagger caused her to throw a hand toward the wall to stabilize herself from falling. A part of her wanted her to just still and simply rest against the wall, but the knocking had only gotten louder the closer she got to the door and was causing her to wince as a warm pain spiked around her head from it.
'Make it stop!' She shot a hand out to her door and pulled it open with as much strength as she could muster in order to stop the loud noise from continuing.
There now stood a figure that was in front of it, whose hand was still poised from knocking. Rei blinked a few times in order to clear her blurry vision, allowing her eyes to focus more and see that the person responsible for awakening her was. 'Ikari?'
"Oh Ayanami, did I wake you?" Came the voice of Shinji Ikari, the person who had been knocking on her door.
"Yes..." 'I'd rather you hadn't done so today.' Rei answered and thought, her voice coming out as somewhat scratchy and quiet. The action of speaking reminded the girl of the parched state of her throat due to not drinking water and made her feel like coughing.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He apologized while looking a little ashamed.
"Why are you here?" She asked, having to stifle a cough. Her eyelids were feeling heavy again as she fought to keep them open and pay attention to the boy.
"Oh, I was just bringing you your schoolwork since you weren't at-" The brunette boy held the papers in his hand out to her but was cut off in his explanation.
"-Cough–" The girl let out a rough cough that she quickly covered, the sound silencing Shinji.
"-Are you sick Ayanami? That didn't sound good…" He inquired with a concerned look on his face.
"I am... feeling ill…" The pale girl replied, covering another cough, her body starting to sway slightly as she continued to fight to keep her eyes open, "... I will be resting again… once you leave…" 'Please Ikari, just go now…'
"O-Okay, um well here you go, I'll get out of your hair, and you can get some rest, hopefully you'll feel better soon…" He further held the papers for her to take.
She pushed herself off the doorway wall and went to grab the papers. However, upon taking a step, a wave of fatigue ran through her. The leg she put forward stumbled before giving out and causing Rei to fall.
"Ayanami!" Shinji grabbed at the girl as she fell into him, making him drop the papers as he tried to keep her from falling to the floor.
'What is happening to me?' Rei thought as she couldn't stop herself from slumping into the boy's torso and shoulder, her body feeling weak with her vision blurring as her eyelids came down all while her head was throbbing.
"A-Are you okay Ayanami?!" He questioned as he supported her.
"M'bodies… not… cooperatin…." She slurred as her eyes closed. Rei's mind had become hazy again and didn't think nor care about the situation that had occurred, only leaning into the comfort of her body being held as she fell back into unconsciousness.
When he knocked on her door, Shinji was almost expecting Rei to not answer; possibly not being home. He was ready to just go in and set the papers down in her room and leave, but then she did answer.
Though something seemed off about her. She looked somewhat disheveled and pale, well, her hair always seems a little unkempt and her skin is always pale, but they seemed somewhat more so this day. He just assumed that she must've been sleeping which she confirmed with a dry voice, however she also seemed groggy rather than tired.
It felt somewhat rude of him to have intruded on her when she was trying to rest, and when she asked why he had done so he tried to explain only to be cut off by her coughing which had worried him. It sounded like it was somewhat painful as though she was sick, which she also confirmed.
So he wanted to hurry up and give her papers to her, that way Rei could go back to sleep and hopefully get better, only for her to fall into him when trying to grab them. Shinji let out a cry of worry and surprise as he grabbed her and held her up as best he could, absentmindedly realizing he dropped the papers in doing so.
"A-Are you okay Ayanami?!" Shinji asked her worriedly while trying to hold her up.
"M'bodies… not… cooperatin…" Was all he heard before she went completely limp on him.
He quickly had to adjust himself and his hold so she wouldn't fall off of him to the floor. While she was lighter than he expected, the surprise of the situation didn't allow him to catch her in a way that was exactly comfortable for him, being somewhat straining to hold her like so.
"A-Ayanami?!" He shook her slightly but got no response, causing him to slightly panic.
'What should I do?!' She had told him she was sick, but he didn't realize it was serious enough to cause her to faint like so. Irrationally he looked back and forth around the hallway of the derelict apartment building, hoping someone would appear who could help. Of course, there was no one else, meaning he would have to help her himself. Looking down at the head of blue hair that was leaning into his shoulder made him gulp.
"M-Maybe I should get her back to bed…" Shinji mumbled to himself as he considered that she should rest in her bed.
It made the most sense to him to just return her to bed where she had apparently been before he arrived. Thinking of it made the boy feel guilty, seeing how her collapsing in front of him happened because of him intruding upon her. It being somewhat his fault for her situation meant the least he could do would be to help her back to bed.
However, the boy then paused as he realized he would have to get Rei into her bed… all by himself and had to consider how to do so. He definitely couldn't drag her, that would just be utterly rude and obscene. The idea of trying to walk her to bed would be basically the same as dragging her considering the way her body was currently limp. That left him deciding that he should carry her. Though in truth, Shinji wasn't quite sure if he even could carry her, but he knew that he would have to try.
"I really hope I'm able to even lift her…" He remarked as he took a breath.
Reaching an arm down as he bent down on a knee, the brunette hooked his limb under the unconscious girl's legs. As he did so, he was reminded that she wasn't wearing pants as he felt the bare skin of her legs. He blushed furiously but still wrapped his arm under both her knees while his other wrapped around right under her arm and shoulders.
With a grunt and short struggle, he managed to lift the girl fully into his arms as he stood back, though with tense arms and legs that nearly shook as he immediately leaned his torso somewhat backwards to keep her up. Having to then quickly position his feet so he didn't fall backwards. Again, she was not that heavy a person, however; Shinji had never carried another person before and was not great at lifting.
'Why is this so hard to do?!' The strain in his back was telling him that he clearly must not be doing it right, but he was worried that he'd drop her if he tried to set her back down and so decided that he would just have to make do and move quickly so as to make sure his arms do not give out on him.
Each step had him slightly adjusting his body in order to make sure he did not drop the blue haired girl in his arms, causing more and more strain on his limbs and spine. Thankfully her apartment was not very big, and it did not take long to precariously walk into her room.
It was a small relief to finally make it in front of her bed, now he only had to lay her down in it without dropping her and hopefully not waking her either. As she clearly needs the rest.
Trying to lower his arms with her in them showed to be very risky as it started to cause pain in his shaky limbs as he fought to keep her suspended in them. With a grunt he dropped to his knees as slowly as he could so as to lay Rei down as gently as was possible of him, letting his arms rest on the bed as he did so.
Shinji let out a sigh of relief through his now panting breath as he stayed kneeling at the bedside. Taking a moment to recover from the ordeal, Rei had only at most stirred a bit but hadn't regained consciousness. It was then that he realized that his arms were still underneath the blue haired girl he had just carried.
With a small groan and another blush, he slowly pulled his hands out from under her, doing his best to not disturb the girl as he freed himself and remained on his knees as he recuperated. His short rest also gave him time to think about the mess he left behind when catching the blue haired girl.
'...I should probably grab the papers I dropped…' He thought once he had gotten his breath back, before then standing back up. His arms, legs, and back still felt a dull sensation from the effects of his exertion of them. He traced his way back to the entrance of the small apartment where he picked up the papers that had been dropped in the doorway. Despite the protest of his spine as he bent over, he still picked them up and tried to sort them back together as neatly as he could.
Having gotten the papers organized as best as he could, he closed the door to the apartment and returned to Rei's room, setting the papers down on her dresser before then taking a seat on the stool next to the girl's bed.
With a sigh, Shinji considered what he should do. He supposed that he could just leave now that he delivered the papers and made sure Rei got back to bed, but it didn't feel right to him to leave her in such a state all alone in her apartment. Glancing around at the state of her apartment, he couldn't help but think it possibly contributed to her state of illness. More importantly, he couldn't help but wonder 'Who else would take care of her like this when she lives all alone?'
However, at the same time he didn't really know too much of what to do as he had never taken care of a sick person. But with no one else around to help except him, he figured that he would just have to try and help with his limited knowledge.
"I guess I should check for a fever…" He mumbled to himself before reaching a hand towards Rei.
He hesitated for a moment as his hand was poised above her head, before he then laid the back of his palm gently unto her forehead, shifting her bangs a bit out of the way. It felt warm to his hand, in fact her forehead felt very warm.
"Ah!" 'She's burning up.' The boy thought as he retracted his hand, careful to not wake the girl, 'I should… get a wet rag or something.'
Getting up from the stool, he looked around the room but did not see any rags, though he also wasn't going to search her dresser unless really necessary and decided he'd check the bathroom. Hurrying to the girl's meager restroom, he saw that it was quite bare and small, having a sink, toilet, and standing shower. Checking underneath the sink, he thankfully found some rags that were piled up in an unorganized fashion.
Taking a rag, he gave it a look over and a cursory sniff to see if it was in any way dirty. It appeared to be clean, so he brought it to the sink basin under the facet. Turning on the sink with an audible sound from the pipes, he let the rag get soaked by the cold water that came from it before then turning it off. With both his hands he wrung out the soaked rag, squeezing out much of the liquid so that the rag was more damp than dripping wet.
Once he decided it was adequate, he returned back to the bedroom with the rag in hand. Standing over Rei as she slept in bed, Shinji used a hand to gently swipe as much of her bangs out of the way as he could before then setting the rag down softly onto her forehead. The blue haired girl stirred for a moment at the new colder sensation on her forehead but settled back into her slumber.
He found his eyes lingering on the face of the blue haired girl as she slept. How her face looked so serene as she just slept despite her sickness. His gaze stared at her pale pink lips that were slightly parted as she breathed, her body rising and falling softly, it was almost enough to mesmerize him and lose track of time before he then realized he was staring at her.
Looking away quickly, he turned his vision to the rest of the girl's room when he noticed the mini fridge against the wall opposite of them. On top of the small refrigerator was a couple rolls of bandages, an empty beaker glass, and some pill bottles. All of this gave him a thought.
'I should see if she has any medicine that could help.' The boy hadn't seen any in the bathroom and didn't know where else any could be, so he decided to check out the medication bottles, in case there might be anything useful.
Closer inspection showed that the bottles weren't off the shelf store medication, but all seemed to be prescribed drugs, none of which Shinji was familiar with. At most he could say that some of them were possibly supplement pills, though with such a variety of them, he wondered if Rei had multiple types of deficiencies which was concerning to think of.
"I don't know if any of these would really help Ayanami get better right now…" He thought aloud as he finished searching the assortment of pill bottles with a sigh.
'Maybe I should just go buy some medicine for Ayanami' Shinji concluded as he started to walk out of the room, he'd have to pay with his own money but it'd hopefully help her 'There should be a store not far from here, I can go see if they got anything.'
"Hmm, I could also pick up some stuff for soup, that might help her feel better too…" Shinji spoke to himself as he walked out the apartment, softly closing the door behind him as he left so as to not possibly disturb the sleeping girl.
Being once again brought back to the world of the waking, Rei groaned at the sensations that still plagued her. Rubbing at her eyes with a cough, they felt dry despite the influx of sleep she had. Though thankfully the pain in her head had lessened from when it was aggravated earlier, yet it was still very warm to her.
Turning her head made the girl aware of something on her forehead that shifted, reaching up she felt a damp cloth and grabbed it to look at it. 'Where did this come from?'
Another dull throb from her head caused her to move it back to where it had been, slightly pressing it to her head, she noted that the dampness although somewhat lukewarm brought some cooling comfort to her pain. She was unsure of if this was an actual remedy or a simple source of comfort, but she saw no harm in continuing to administer it to herself.
Thinking back earlier; Rei remembered that she had been initially woken up by Shinji Ikari knocking at her door and how she had gotten up to stop the knocking. But then she felt lightheaded and fell into him before passing out, thus by process of elimination, he had to have put the rag unto her while asleep. However she then considered another thing.
'But how did I get back onto my bed?' From what she recalled, she had been at her doorway when she had fallen unconscious.
'Did Ikari move me to my bed?' It was the only explanation she could think of for how she could have gotten back into bed while asleep considering he was the only other person around. Her eyes then scanned across her room to see if Shinji was nearby, but found it empty as usual and it did not sound to her as if anyone else was there.
Deciding he must have left not long after she was back in bed, Rei looked out the window, noting how much dimmer the daylight had gotten, the sun likely setting.
A small part of her mind found a sort of surprise that she had slept through most of the day. Though another seemed to find relief that she didn't have any duties to attend to at Nerv nor did any emergencies arise, as her spending most of the day bedridden and ill would have interfered greatly with her abilities to accomplish them.
It eluded her exactly what she was sick with or how she had gotten sick. The situation of getting sick from an illness was unfamiliar to her, though she had been sick a couple times before due to other reasons relating to her underlying medical conditions but never like so. It felt too different for her to confidently say it was the result of her conditions, yet still she wouldn't rule it out as being related.
'Perhaps if I feel better tomorrow then I could see if Dr. Akagi could evaluate me.' It was the doctors task to oversee her health, afterall. The Commander of Nerv himself had told Rei that she was to take matters of her health to the faux blonde as she was to be in charge of maintaining it, and the blue haired girl did so when needed even if it was to the reluctance of the doctor.
But going in to see Dr. Akagi would have to wait, as with the current state of her health, Rei did not believe she could make the trip to Nerv headquarters without complications to it. She also did not see it as severe enough to warrant emergency services, leaving her with the only option to lie and wait to see if she could recover enough on her own.
A subtle sound then caught her attention from outside of her room, her apartment being sparse caused it to lack sound, with its small size helping make it more obvious when something was creating typically from movement. She barely was able to recognize it as her front door being opened and closed with some footsteps following it.
The sound of those footsteps approaching spurred the sickly girl to try and push herself up to sit up right despite some protest of her body. Despite nearly swaying while sitting, she continued to then try and stand up from her bed, setting her damp rag down as she grabbed onto the metal rail of her bed to support her whilst the source of the footsteps reached her room.
Shinji hadn't been expecting Rei to have been awake when he returned to her apartment from his impromptu shopping, and much less expected to see her getting out of bed. Seeing her support herself while trying to stand up had him think of her fall from earlier which immediately stoked his worry.
"Ah Ayanami, don't get up!" He told her as he quickly moved to be in front of the girl, adjusting the bag he had been carrying to hang off his arm. The pale girl couldn't protest as the boy put his hand gently on her shoulders and guided her to sit back unto her bed, her body cooperating to return to the more comfortable position. "You might fall again…"
"Y..yes… I had fallen earlier and passed out… then you put me back into my bed?" Rei managed to question quietly with her dry voice, wanting confirmation despite feeling irritation in her throat when speaking.
"Um yeah I did… " Shinji replied a little meekly as he removed his hands from her shoulders, recalling his earlier actions.
"And the rag…?" She asked with a sniffle as she grabbed the damp rag from where she had set it, her head feeling more uncomfortable without it being pushed against it.
"Oh, you had a fever… I thought it would help, did it?" With his gaze on her, the girl nodded her head slightly before then lifting the rag to it in order to lessen the throb that arose from nodding.
"It did-CoughCough-!" The build up of dryness in her throat became too much as a harsh series of coughs cut her off from speaking. The girl held up her hand to her mouth in reflex as her body hunched over, trying to cover the violent coughing fit.
"Oh right! I went out and got you some medicine for your cough, Ayanami." He told her as he remembered the bag he had hanging off his arm.
After rummaging through the bag, Shinji then pulled out a small dark colored translucent bottle with a label and plastic cup cap. He made it visible to the girl as she tried to get her coughing under control.
"Medicine…?" She managed to rasp out, a minor cough making its way out in doing so, but otherwise her coughing fit had subsided.
"Yeah, I checked the bottles you have here, but I didn't know if any of them would help so I just went and got some… though um, can you take this? I grabbed what I thought would help but I don't know if it might interfere with any of the other… stuff you take…" He told her as he glanced towards her various medicine bottles in her room before then holding the one he had bought out to her.
Rei switched the hand she was holding the rag to her head with for the one she had coughed in before taking the medicine bottle from him. She quickly scanned the back of the bottle for the ingredients to look for any that fell under the list of ones she had been advised to not mix with her prescriptions, having memorized them all.
"...this should be fine…" None of the ingredients were ones she had been warned of, so she decided to follow the instructions on the bottle.
Setting her damp rag down, she took the plastic cup and cap off the bottle. The sharp artificial smell of the medicine was quite noticeable, with Rei still able to get a faint whiff of it even through ehr congested nose. Holding the small plastic cup, she tipped the bottle over and poured out the recommended dose as per the instructions. She stopped it precisely at the measurement line etched into the plastic of the small cup.
Taking a brief look at the dark almost red violet color of the liquid, she raised the cup to her lips and poured it into her mouth, swallowing it all in one gulp. The taste of the medicine still lingered on her tongue however, being rather strong and bitter. It caused a small cough to follow the liquid.
"I need -cough- water." The blue haired girl got out as a series of small dryer coughs made their way out of her, setting the bottle she had reclosed down so as to not drop it.
"Er-Right!" Shinji snapped to attention, having been just observing the girl as she took the medicine.
He quickly fled the room, leaving Rei alone as she listened to his movements as he scoured her kitchen cupboards for a cup. The sound of her kitchen faucet let her know he had been able to find one, with him returning to her room swiftly after, holding one of the few cups she owned in hand.
"Here…" He held it out to her to which she wordlessly took it and raised it to her lips. Taking a sip of the cool water quickly turned to her drinking the entire glass. It wasn't until presented with the water that she remembered that she had not had anything to drink that day. The cool liquid proved to be soothing upon her sore throat. Once every last drop had been drunk, she let out an audible breath of air, her throat feeling much better now but still not quite quenched.
"Um, do you want me to get you some more water?" He saw how quickly she drank up the glass he had given her and assumed she must be quite thirsty.
"Yes…" Rei answered somewhat meekly with another sniffle as she held the glass back out to him.
The boy then repeated his previous course of action, leaving the room though not quite as quickly and filling the glass up with water once again. Shortly after he returned and handed the cup over as he did before.
"Th- Thank you…" She told him as she raised the glass back to her lips, not thinking much on the unfamiliar words. Though this time Rei had drunk from it slower, savoring it more before stopping when her mouth was no longer parched and leaving the cup about half full.
"It's nothing really… I should have expected you'd be thirsty after sleeping so long." Shinji waved off as he looked to the side.
"Yes… I did not have anything to drink earlier…" The girl confessed before taking a sip from the cup, the water working in soothing her throat and making it easier to speak before setting the cup down.
"Um then you didn't have anything to eat today either, did you?" He inquired, assuming that if she was much too fatigued to get water then she likely did not eat anything as well.
"That is correct…" Her red eyes turned to look at him in interest at his question.
"Well, I also picked up some stuff at the store…" Adjusting his body so that the bag was held up for her to easily see, he showed her the ingredients he had inside it, "Just something to make a simple soup with, and I made sure to grab vegetable stock for it…"
The red eyes looked at the bag and blinked before then turning back to the boy, she hesitated for but a second before speaking.
"You were… going to make a meal for me?" Rei felt another feeling as unfamiliar as the illness she had inside her, only it did not feel bad like it, rather it was the opposite despite being odd to her.
"Well you need to eat something for dinner if you haven't eaten all day, and soup is supposed to be good to have when sick." Shinji explained to her, his use of the word dinner caused the girl to recall how late in the day it had become.
"You are correct, eating should help me gain energy for recovery…" The pale girl nodded her head slightly in agreement.
"Right, it shouldn't take too long for me to make it. You can just rest up while I cook." The brunette boy then left the room without room for any possible refute, not that he would have received one, as just because she had now ingested medicine did not mean the girl wished to really get up.
So given she was told to rest, she did just that and returned to laying on her bed. Putting the rag that had lost some dampness back on her head as regardless it did help in a minor way. Though she no longer felt tired enough to fall back asleep as she had before, so rather than try and do so, she opted to pass the time she had to wait by thinking.
Particularly, her mind had thoughts surrounding the boy she could hear in the kitchen as he began prepping food for her. Those thoughts were of her wondering the reason behind his current actions. 'Why has he continued to help me even now?'
She understood that he had initially come to her apartment to deliver the schoolwork she had missed that day and returned her to bed because she collapsed on him, but beyond that she didn't quite understand why he had stuck around. He had apparently left to go to some store but with the intention to return with things to help her. It caused something inside her but she didn't know exactly what, only that it added to her curiosity to know Shinji's reasons for aiding her.
While she had received help and aid medically in the past, being given prescriptions, check ups, and the works by Dr. Akagi and other Nerv medical staff, those had never given her the same feeling as she had now. It felt more personal here, as to the Nerv staff it was their job to help her and nothing more, but Shinji had not been tasked by others to do so but had seemingly chosen to for some other reason she had not known.
What he hoped to gain from this if anything, she did not know, which only intrigued her. Though with no answer coming to her, the thinking made her head hurt very slightly.
Her hand lightly clutched the rag, realizing the throbbing pain had reduced to the lowest point it had been all day. She considered that the medicine could have started taking effect on her already, hoping that it meant her illness would not persist as it had earlier beyond this day. It had caused the feeling of gratitude towards the boy to appear once again.
Though now a new uncomfortable presence had made itself known, one that was a natural urge that was familiar and needed to be dealt with. So with minor reluctance, the blue haired girl sat back up from her bed before grabbing the frame of it and pushing herself to stand. Upon standing, she found herself not as wobbly as she had last time she attempted to do so and made her way out of her room with her sudden appearance into the kitchen causing Shinji to startle and fuss.
"Ah Ayanami…" The boy stopped what he was doing and turned towards the girl, however Rei cut him off before he could say anything more
"I must use the restroom." Her statement took the wind out of Shinji as he looked away flushed.
"O-oh, of course… " He turned back quickly to cooking so as to avoid having to prolong the exchange. The albino said nothing as she entered the restroom.
Shinji, now embarrassed, made himself focus on the soup he was making so as to put out of his mind the previous words. It was a natural thing, but still one that he felt uncomfortable bringing up with the opposite gender, not that he was even inclined to do so with members of his own.
Shaking his head, he stirred the soup, having used the only pot he found in the cupboards. With him having done everything else, it was now only a matter of bringing it to a full boil to make sure it's heated through. It wasn't a very complicated meal, especially since he had bought some of the parts pre-made for convenience.
Though the sound of activity reminded him again of the blue haired girl who not shortly after exited from the restroom, and slowly approached enough to take a curious look at what he was making.
"...Do you feel better, Ayanami?" The boy turned his blue eyes towards her.
"I do not feel as ill as I had earlier…" She conceded with a small nod and small clearing of her throat.
"That's good, I was hoping the medicine would be fast acting…" He trailed off as he turned back to the soup and stirred, with it starting to simmer.
"...It looks good…" Rei ended up telling him. She could even faintly get a better whiff of it after having blown her nose while in the bathroom. Even with her impaired sense making it so she couldn't fully appreciate the aroma, it still smelled rather good when close enough. The smell of food however also made it all the more apparent that she was hungry.
"It should actually be done as soon as it boils, most of it was ready made ingredients. I thought it'd be better to get those so it wouldn't take as long to cook…" He explained to her.
"I see, but regardless, it is more than I could manage… " She truthfully told him, as she did not know much anything about cooking. The more she thought of food, the more it made her fatigued with hunger.
"Ah well, thanks… but um, do you have anywhere to sit and eat?" Shinji asked, as the small apartment did not have any table or such visible in it.
"Not particularly, no." The girl answered.
"Oh, then do you mind eating in your room, so that you could sit while you eat?" The boy glanced at her.
"I do not." Rei acquiesced.
"Well, you can go sit down then, I'll bring it to you once it's done." He told her, effectively dismissing the girl to do so.
She simply took her leave with a nod and went back into her room, feeling tired of standing. Taking a seat back unto her unkempt bed, she idle wondered if she would find difficulty in going to sleep later that night, her illness causing to be bedridden most the day was likely to impact her sleep schedule but she would correct that if needed. Even with the medicine, the room around her still felt rather warm causing an idle hand to pull at the collar of the button up shirt. Her skin in areas like her neck and joints felt almost sticky, likely from sweat in her sleep. If she felt much better the next day, then she would take a shower, but in truth doing so at the moment sounded too daunting.
The lighting in her room had darkened more significantly with the evening sky as the sun went just below the skyline of the buildings. In order to make it so that she would not have to eat in the dark, she turned on the lamp that was affixed to her bedframe. It provided a yellow light that encompassed her bed and some of the area around it, though it didn't reach the corners of her room. It was something she often used whenever she had schoolwork to do or a book she was reading when it was the later evening like so, as the lightbulb in her room did not function.
Her throat started to get that irritated feeling once again, she tried to clear her throat but that only caused a small cough and wheeze to come out. Still not as bad as her coughing fits from earlier, but still uncomfortable and somewhat painful all the same. Grabbing her cup of water that had been set down earlier, she took a drink from it, letting the water alleviate her sore throat.
The brunette teen then came walking into her room holding a bowl by the sides of its rim with the handle of a spoon hanging out of it, a plume of steam vapor emitting from it.
"Here Ayanami, though do you have anything you can set it on? The bottom of the bowl's hot…" He told her, taking a look at her lap to see that she indeed was still just wearing the button up leaving her legs bare which would be awfully uncomfortable to have touch a steaming hot bowl, before then looking away with a small blush.
The girl considered this and became aware of the rage she left on the bed that was now next to her hand she had set on it.
"This should suffice…" Setting down her cup, she grabbed the rag that now was lacking in its moisture and used it as one would a mitten to reach for the bowl.
As Shinji passed it off to Rei, she could feel the warmth of the bowl as she held it from under even with the rag separating her hand from actually touching it, proving the boy was right with his warning. Pulling her arm into her, she gazed into the bowl's contents, a dark amber liquid lit up by her lamp with the silhouette of bits and chunks of vegetables within.
"I'll be right back…" The voice of the brunette caused Rei to look at him as retreated back to the kitchen.
With the bowl in her hands, the aroma was much more prominent to the girl's hindered senses, allowing her to get a much better smell of it. The scent of it was perhaps enhanced by her prominent appetite, her stomach trembling with hunger from inhaling the aroma, but it smelled very delectable to her.
The return of the cook behind the meal regained the pale teen's attention, especially the second bowl he now carried in his hands.
"You are… dining with me?" She found herself asking aloud with genuine curiosity. It dawned on her that she hadn't considered that he himself may have been hungry as well, perhaps it should have been obvious but it slipped her mind and managed to cause a brief if unnecessary surprise.
"Um yeah… unless you don't want me to…" The boy looked to the side a little abashed, it caused an odd unease in the girl.
"It is fine if you do… I was only wondering…" The girl turned her red eyes back to look at the bowl she held and put a hand up to stifle a miniscule cough.
"Right…" He gave a small nod before sitting down on the stool Rei had, it being positioned across from her, and set the bowl her had on his lap though unlike the girl; he had pants to somewhat insulate his legs from the heat of the food even if it still was rather hot, "well, let's eat…"
"Yes…" With a nod she grabbed the handle of the spoon that had been put in her bowl, using it to stir the contents of it for a moment before then scooping up a spoonful with some of the still steaming broth as well as an errant piece of what appeared to be a carrot.
"Ah, you should probably blow on it before eating… it's still hot…" Shinji suggested as he himself generously blew on a spoonful of his own portion before eating it.
"I see." The pale girl mimicked his actions and pursed her lips, blowing one the spoonful and the soup, creating ripples within them both. Though blowing also aggravated her throat a little and caused a cough to escape that she then directed into the elbow of her arm. The boy across from her stood straighter at her cough and watched her, however she proved it wasn't anything serious and blew on the spoon again before finally putting the spoon into her mouth. 'It is delicious….'
Upon tasting the spoonful of the soup, Rei let out a hum. The flavor was savory even if she didn't savor it much before swallowing. Despite enjoying the first bite, her stomach demanded more after having a taste of it. It didn't take long for her to repeat the process and take another bite, this one had what might've been an onion though she wasn't entirely sure.
The second spoonful was followed by a third, then a fourth, and then another, and another. It was the best meal she ever had that was made in her home, though perhaps that's not a high bar considering she mostly subsisted on ramen and rice. Maybe it wasn't the best meal she had ever eaten, as there were a few very scarce meals she had shared with the Commander that were of high quality, but at this moment this meal was delicious and satisfying and she could not find herself considering any other to have. Perhaps her illness had a large effect on that, perhaps her just her hunger, or perhaps it was the who made it and the company they offered.
She didn't think much of the answer as she enjoyed the soup, continuing to eat it. Noticing that she was nearly finished with it, and that she herself was finding it quite filling. So much slower than when she first started eating did she finish it off with a final spoonful, savoring the last of it before it was then swallowed with a small sigh following.
Looking at her dining companion, she noticed that he was done with his bowl as well and was looking at her with soft eyes.
"Do you want some more, Ayanami?" He questioned as he stood up and held his hand out for her bowl.
"No… I am satisfied." She answered as she then handed the dish to him.
"Alright, I'll put the rest of it away for you then and you can have some more later when you want." Leaving the room without another word, the boy went back into the kitchen.
Rei left alone idly, looked out her window and noticed that it had become night, causing her to frown slightly. 'Should he not be returning to his residence soon'.
The girl was not sure what living with Nerv's Operation Director was like, if they had more traditional rules like she had overheard other students having with their households or not. She would assume that there was also a curfew instated with their residence by the Operation's Director, if not because of their duty as a guardian then because of their duty in making sure the Evangelion pilots are accounted for. So it made her further curious as to Shinji's reasons for staying especially for so long. With the boy in question returning back to her, she decided to voice her query.
"Ikari, should you not be returning to your own residence by now?" She asked which stopped the boy, prompting him to look out the window and look surprised that it had become dark.
"Ah! Yeah, it is pretty dark now huh? And I hadn't called Misato at all…" He lamented the last part to himself, "I probably should be getting ready to leave soon huh?"
It answered an unmasked question the girl had on whether the Operations Director knew about his being at her apartment so long.
"If you have a curfew to abide by, then I suggest you should." Rei responded to his rhetoric.
"Yeah, you're right…" He acknowledged before then looking down at the rag she had in her lap, "here…"
He gestured for the rag and after a second she handed it back to him, to which he grabbed both it and then her cup of water that had less than a quarter of its contents now.
The blue haired girl only watched as he took the two items with him into the kitchen. The sound of the faucet and running water gave her an idea of what he might have been doing, to which it was confirmed a moment later as he came back with a full cup of water and the rag looking darker in color from being wetted.
Setting the cup down within arm's reach of her, he stood close to her bedside and hesitated for a second, lightly clenching his fingers back.
"Um, I never checked on your fever… c-can I?" The girl just blinked, not realizing that she at some point had a fever before then giving a nod.
However, the pale teen did not realize how he intended to check her and was not ready when he brought the back of his hand to rest on her forehead for a moment. Despite already feeling warm, the touch made it feel more apparent on her face. It wasn't that long until the hand was removed with a small blush from the boy.
"It's uh, gone down from earlier but you still feel really warm…." Shinji looks at her forehead, then her eyes before looking past her shoulder. "I know you've been in bed all day, but you really should just lay down and rest…"
"...very well…" She ended up complying as being confined to bed rest really was not something that was new to her considering the extensive stay she had at Nerv's medical ward not long ago, though in truth it also wasn't all that much different then how she usually spent her free time in her apartment.
Once she let the back of her head hit the pillow was when the boy then bent down as he gently swept her bangs away before placing the damp rag back onto her forehead, repeating his earlier actions from the day though with her awake this time.
After he had done so, they both did nothing for a moment as he looked towards her and her towards him, with the blue of his eyes briefly meeting the red of hers.
"Um, well, I'll head out now… but I'll stop by tomorrow and check up on you, hopefully you'll feel better." Shinji stood back up and looked away.
'He will return?' She hadn't expected him to have stayed as he did, let alone think that he would be coming by again the next day. It had her needing to know the reason for his aid.
"Ikari…" Rei called out softly to him.
"Yeah Ayanami?" He looked back towards her gaze.
"Why… why have you gone through all of this effort?" She voiced aloud the question she had wondering through out that evening
"Huh?" Came his eloquent reply.
"Why have you been doing so much for me?" She rephrased.
"It… it wasn't that much Ayanami." The brunette scratched the back of his head as he spoke.
She slightly frowned at that. He had got her medicine and food as well as having stayed and been attentive to other needs of hers for the past hours. She could not understand the need to diminish his labor.
"Still… why have you stayed and tended to me?" It felt unnecessary to have to reword her question again, but perhaps it was unnecessary to have even asked it.
"... you were feeling sick, Ayanami… what else was I supposed to do?" His brow furrowed with genuine curiosity, wondering why she needed to ask.
"You had no reason to stay after you had delivered my schoolwork, you could have just left." Came her proposed option that he could have done.
"Why would I do that? You fainted and had a fever… I couldn't just not do anything…" Now he frowned at the suggestion that he could have done such a thing.
"But why? Why do you care?" She needed to know why.
"You… you're sick, and live all alone… if I didn't help, then… who would? I don't want something bad to happen to you, Ayanami, because I… I care about you, Ayanami…" The brown-haired boy confessed.
"...Oh…" Now she did not know what further to say.
"Just… you shouldn't have to deal with this alone, you should have someone to look after you and help you…" He took a quick glance at her dresser and the glasses case that sat on top of it before looking back at her.
"I… I see…" Rei looked towards her hands, that other strange and odd feeling reappearing in her chest.
The boy then let out a sigh.
"...I really should be going I guess…" He moved to leave but was stopped.
"Ikari… thank you…" Despite still feeling unfamiliar to her, the words seemed to be the right thing to say.
"... You're welcome, Ayanami… I'll see you tomorrow." Shinji gave her a small kind smile before then leaving.
Rei listened to his footsteps as he walked away and left through the door. She turned her gaze to the ceiling but found the light of the nearby lamp to be uncomfortable in her vision and so reached a hand to turn it off.
Without the yellow light of a bulb to engulf the room, it allowed the paler cold illumination of the moon to seep through her window. Not quite ready to return to sleep, she simply turned to her thoughts about the boy who had left, who had been her caretaker for the day, and would return again.
She found that she was somewhat looking forward to the next day, even if she was likely to still be ill, as either way she would have someone who cared about her to look after her. That alone made her feel more at ease as she closed her eyes.