Evangelion 2.5 (Shinji X Rei)

Chapter 1:Extended Invitation

Kenseke:"So, tonight's your special evening with Rei? You lucky bastard!"

Yeah, but is it really? How do I know how she really feels about me?

Rei:"Good morning."

Toji:"That's not like her."

It wasn't at all.

"Rei, You're back! Here you go, Rei, I made this for you, since you never bring a lunch."

Rei:"...Yes, thank you."

She actually said thank you. Had she ever done that before?

"What happened there?"

Rei:"Oh this,..Its a secret, I'll tell you later."

What were all those bandaids doing on her hands, and fingers? Certainly not from another Eva testing accident, and that smile again. He had seen that smile only one other time before when Rei had protected him, and substained heavy damage after Shinji had defeated the sixth Angel with the Positron Cannon. He had forced the hatch door open to Unit 00's entry plug, even buring his hands in the process. That's when she had told him how she didn't know how to react in situations like this after he had discovered that she was still alive, Shinji crying tears of joy in relief.

"Why don't you try smiling?" He had suggested.

This was the first time she had seen her happy since then. Did he detect a bit of saultriness in voice? Was she actually blushing? Probably not. Shinji knew difficult it was for either of them to commmunicate with others. So, there was a good chance it had only been his imagination.

"How embarrassing..." He mumbled allowed.

Shinji thought about all this, laying on the mat of the appartment floor as he listened in vain to his SDAT Player trying to quell his growing anxiety.

"So, its tonight, huh?" He mused to himself. "I'm a little nervus about Rei's cooking though..." He laughed about even bothering to dwell on something so trivial. In truth, the taste of the food paled in comparison to the underlining issue at hand. How could he forget? It was the main reason why Rei had arranged the dinner party in the first place wasn't it? To bring his father, the Chief Commander of NERV, Gendo Ikari, to sit down, and have a meal with his son? Much less, indulge Shinji's allusive fantasies.

Still, even that being the case, it still meant she was going out of her way to make Shinji happy, didn't it? After all, for the last ten years of his life, when his father abandoned him to live with his Aunt and Uncle, Shinji had wanted nothing more than to earn his father's love, and admiration, and yet, he couldn't help, but resent him after they had finally reunited whn he was first admitted to NERV just a few months prior, but what was he expecting. The only reason his father had ever come back into his life was because Gendo needed him for something, whch involved risking the life of his only son on a wim for that matter.

Shinji sighed. He was getting off topic again. Thinking about his father tended to make him angry, sending his mind off on a tangent. He focused back on Rei, again. Like it or not, despite her recent opening change in behavior, in a way doing something like this, still fit the Rei Ayanami IMO to a T. It was the one trait about her that Shinji had always amired. Whether on, or off the battlefield, Rei aways put the well-being of others before herself. If she could do something that she thought would benefit everyone as a whole, she would do it no questions asked. Even willing to risk her own life at a moments notice if it meant protectng the "greater-good."

Shinji snapped back into reality when he noticed his SDAT Player had finally stopped playing. Rather than replaying the lonely track like he usually did, he switched the device off. He removed the plugs from his ears, and carefully wrapped the cord up, gently placing the old piece of equipment into his pocket. His pale, cobalt-colored eyes stole a glance at the little digital clock sitting on the edge of the counter.