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Rei pushed back the covers, pulling her nightshirt over her head and dressing quickly in a dark blue dress. Pulling on her boots, she moved quietly towards the door and out into the corridor...

###################

Asuka woke with a groan, putting her hand over her eyes to block out the sun that was shining through the window.

'Come on, Wonder Girl,' she said as she climbed down from the bunk. 'Rise and...'

She stopped when she saw that the bed was empty, her hands tightening into fists.

Damn her...

###################

Misato jogged up the track towards the camp, stopping at the bench where she had left her bag. Taking a swig from her water bottle, she glanced at her watch, a grin spreading across her face.

Twenty minutes. Not bad...

Finishing her water, she grabbed her towel and started to mop the sweat from her neck when she saw Rei sitting on a bench in the shade of the trees, her nose buried in a book.

'Good morning,' Misato said, as she walked over and Rei looked up from her book.

'Good morning, Ms Katsurugi...'

'You're up early...'

'...yes. I...just wanted some time to myself...'

'You don't have to justify yourself, Rei,' Misato said, with a smile. 'Just remember that we're meeting in the study hall at 9:00...'

'I will be there...'

###################

Rei took a seat at the back of the study hall, glancing over at Asuka. Their gazes met for a second and then Asuka sneered, turning towards Ms Katsurugi as she started to speak.

'Good morning. Today, we'll start with an orienteering exercise, where you'll be working in pairs alongside your roommate. You'll each need to reach a particular location and take a picture to prove that you were there. Hikari, would you hand out the assignments, please...?'

'Yes, Ms Katsurugi...'

###################

'We need to find the stream that flows east past the camp,' Rei said and Asuka snorted, grabbing the map from her hands.

'I know that, Wonder Girl,' she said, snatching the map from her hands. 'Come on. It's this way...'

###################

'Hah! Told you,' Asuka said, pointing towards the stream with a triumphant grin on her face. Pulling out her phone, she took a picture, before thrusting it into Rei's hands.

'Hold on to that. I want to take a closer look...'

Rei sighed, sitting down on a rock with the phone beside her as Asuka made her way down the rocky bank. She had just reached the bottom when she gave a cry and she stumbled, nearly missing her footing.

'Are you alright?' Rei asked after a moment and Asuka shot a her black look.

'Of course I am...ow...' She winced as she tried to put her foot down.

'Stay there,' Rei said, making her way down the bank towards her.

'I don't need your help, Wonder Girl,' Asuka snapped and Rei stopped, regarding her coolly.

'Fine. Then you can spend the rest of the camp in bed while that heals...'

Without waiting for an answer, she put Asuka's arm over her shoulder and helped her to the edge of the stream and sat her down, removing her shoe and sock.

'What are you doing?' Asuka demanded and Rei looked up at her.

'The cold water will bring down the swelling...'

Asuka hesitated for a second before slipping her foot into the icy cold water with a wince.

'Rest for a few minutes,' Rei said, standing up. 'I will get your phone...'

###################

'Here,' Rei said, handing Asuka's phone to her and sitting down on a nearby rock, smoothing out her dress.

'...why did you help me?' Asuka asked after a moment, without looking round.

'Ms Katsurugi gave us this exercise to complete. If we do not return together, we will both fail. How does your ankle feel?'

'It's fine...' Asuka said, pulling her foot out of the water and putting her shoe back on, wincing as she got to her feet.

'Do you need any help?' Rei asked and Asuka scowled at her.

'I can manage, Wonder Girl...

'Very well...'

Asuka started to climb the bank, grimacing as her ankle screamed in protest and she would have slipped had Rei not caught her arm and slipped it over her shoulders.

'Come on. I won't tell anyone. I promise...'

'You'd better not,' Asuka said, gritting her teeth as Rei helped her back up the bank.

###################

About an hour later, they reached the camp and Rei lead her into the study hall.

'Sit down,' Rei said, pulling out a chair and disappearing into the cupboard, returning with the first aid kit. 'I need to put a bandage on it...'

'Why...?'

'So that it can heal properly...'

Asuka hesitated before sitting down and taking off her shoe.

'Alright...'

Rei unrolled a bandage and wrapped it round her ankle, making her wince as she tightened the bandage.

'How do you know all this, anyway...?'

'...the JDSF field medical manual...'

'Why doesn't that surprise me...?' she muttered as Rei got up and headed towards the door.

'Wonder Girl...' Asuka said, Rei stopping with her hand on the door handle.

'Yes...'

'...thank you...'

###################

Rei was reading when she heard footsteps approaching and she looked up to see Asuka standing over her, holding out a can of iced coffee.

'What's this?' Rei asked and Asuka shrugged.

'Iced coffee...'

'I can see that. Why...?'

'You helped me. So, I get you a coffee and we're even. Okay?'

'...okay.' Rei said, accepting the can from her. 'Thank you...'

Asuka shrugged and turned away, leaving Rei staring after her.

###################

Rei's head broke the surface of the water and she looked towards where Asuka and the others were swimming. Asuka glanced towards her and she held her gaze for a second before turning away...

###################

'Alright, settle down,' Ms Katsurugi said. 'We've got art class tomorrow morning, followed by a nature walk in the afternoon, so I want everyone to have eaten and be down here by 9:00. Lights out tonight will be at 10:00 sharp. Until then, you've got free time...'

###################

'Full house,' Asuka said, laying down her cards and Toji groaned.

'Again? You've won five straight hands in a row...'

'I can't help being better than you,' she said, with a smirk. 'Of course, I've not really got much competition. Hey, Wonder Girl! You want to play?'

Startled, Rei looked up from her book to find everyone staring at her.

'...no.' She said, quietly, standing up and tucking her book under her arm. Asuka stared after her as she left the rec-room, closing the door behind her.

'Come on, Sohryu,' Toji said. 'We've still got another hour and I'm going to get my money back...'

'...in your dreams,' Asuka said, dragging her eyes away from the door and starting to deal the cards...

###################

Rei pulled her pyjama shirt over her head and got into bed, picking up her book from the nightstand. From the bunk above her, she could hear the faint click of keys from Asuka's relentless texting.

Perhaps that's her way of shutting out the world...

'I heard that you're an orphan.' Asuka said, the question taking Rei by surprise. 'Is it true?'

'...yes,' Rei said and she heard the creak as Asuka sat up.

'...I'm sorry...' she said and Rei frowned.

'Why are you sorry? I never knew my parents, so I cannot miss them. And you have a Mother...'

'That's not all it's cracked up to be, believe me. She always working and she's never around when I need her...forget it. You wouldn't understand...'

Before Rei could say anything else, she turned off the lights and Rei heard her pulling the covers over her head.

###################

Asuka woke with a groan as her phone beeped and she sat up, rubbing blearily at her eyes. Stifling a yawn, she flipped open her phone, skimming the text message that she had just received.

'Dammit!'

'Is something wrong,' Rei asked and Asuka hesitated.

'Sorry,' she muttered. 'I thought you'd be gone, already. I didn't mean to wake you...'

'You did not,' Rei said. 'But, you did not answer my question...'

'It's...my Mom. She's going to a conference and she won't be back until the weekend. I don't know why I'm surprised, though. Her work's always been more important than me...'

With a sigh, she scrambled down from the bunk, pulling her shirt over her head.

'I don't really want to talk about it. I'm going to get dressed...'

###################

Rei sat back with a sigh, folding her arms over her sketch pad. She glanced left at Asuka, who looked up with a scowl.

'What are you looking at, Wonder Girl?' She snapped. 'You'd better not have been copying from me...'

'I was not...'

'Yeah, right. I saw you looking...'

Wordlessly, Rei held up her pad and Asuka's voice trailed off.

'You haven't drawn anything...'

'I have tried. But, I do not know where to begin. Perhaps I cannot draw...'

'That's stupid. Everyone can draw. You just need to draw something that you feel strongly about...'

Asuka turned back to her own work and Rei stared at her for a second before picking up her pencil and starting to draw...

###################

Rei closed her sketchbook hurriedly when she heard footsteps approaching, hiding the picture of Asuka and looked up to see Ms Katsurugi heading towards her.

'Afternoon, Rei,' she said, with a smile that didn't quite conceal her worried frown. 'Is everything alright?'

'Yes, Ms Katsurugi...'

'...okay. Only, I wondered why you weren't reading...'

'I...have had other things to think about...'

'...okay. If you want to talk, you know where I am...'

'...thank you, Ms Katsurugi. Everything...is fine.'

###################

'Alright, everyone,' Ms Katsurugi said, stopping in a clearing where several fallen logs had been arranged in a loose circle. . 'We'll take a short break here. Everyone grab a seat...'

Rei took a seat on the nearest log, looking up to find Asuka sitting next to her. Without looking round, Asuka pulled a bottle of water from her bag.

'Want one?' she asked, taking out another and holding it out to Rei.

'...thank you,' Rei said, opening it and taking a sip. 'I... wanted to say thank you...for helping me earlier...'

'Forget it...' she said. 'It was no big deal...'

###################

Dammit, Mom...

Asuka snapped her phone shut with a sigh, shoving it back into her pocket and stalking out of the room, not caring where she was going.

Dammit, Mom, she repeated. I know that you're working, but you could at least find time to call...

Reaching the woods at the back of the camp, she saw Rei sitting on a bench in the shade of the trees, her nose buried in a book and she walked over.

'What are you doing out here?' Asuka asked and Rei looked up, closing her book and folding her hands in her lap.

'It was too noisy back at the camp. I came out here to get some peace...'

'Yeah,' Asuka said, with a sad smile. 'Me, too. Do you mind if I sit with you for a while...?'

'No...' Rei said, opening up her book again as Asuka sat down on the bench next to her.

'I've...been wrong about you...' Asuka said and Rei looked up again. 'I though that you were a...cold bitch...'

'I misjudged you, too...' Rei began, just as Hikari came striding down the path towards them.

'Rei, Asuka. Ms Katsurugi wants everyone in the study hall...'

###################

'Alright,' Ms Katsurugi said. 'Everyone, settle down. As this is the last night of the camp, I've arranged a little surprise. After dinner, we'll be having a campfire out in the woods. So, I want everyone to have packed before then...'

###################

Asuka shut her suitcase with a sigh, sitting down on the foot of Rei's bed.

'Are you alright?' she asked and Asuka shook her head.

'...no. I'm not looking forward to going home. It's...weird. When this started, I really hated the idea of sharing a room with you and I couldn't wait to go home. Now, I don't want to leave...'

'...neither do I,' Rei said, just as Hikari appeared in the doorway.

'Are you finished? It's nearly time for dinner...'

###################

Asuka looked up from her phone as she saw Rei close her book and stand up, heading away from the campfire and back towards the camp.

Where's she going...? she thought, just as her phone beeped and a message appeared on the screen.

MEET ME BY THE WATER.

REI

What...?

Glancing around, she slipped the phone into her pocket and stood up, walking over to Ms Katsurugi.

'I need to go and get something. Is that...alright?'

'Of course. Just be back here before it gets dark. I don't want to have to come looking for you...'

'Thanks, Ms Katsurugi...' she said, turning away and heading towards the camp.

'Rei?' Asuka called, looking around. 'Are you here?'

'Yes,' Rei said and Asuka turned to see her standing by the lake, the setting sun turning the water a brilliant shade of red.

'How did you get my number...?'

'I asked Hikari. I hope that has not offended you...'

'...I guess not. Why...did you want to meet me here...?'

'I...was thinking about what you said. About...not wanting to go home. Well, there's something I wanted to do, while we still have the chance...'

'What do you...uh...' Asuka began, her sentence cut off as Rei's lips lightly touched hers.

'I did not want to go leave with any regrets...'

'Neither do I,' Asuka said, leaning in to kiss her again.

'We...should talk about this...' Rei began, as Asuka's hands snaked around her neck.

'We can do that later...'

###################

Misato looked up as Rei and Asuka returned to the campfire, sitting down a little way from each other and she had to fight to keep a smile from playing across her lips. She could tell from the looks they kept sending each other that something had happened and she had a pretty good idea what it was.

It's about time... she thought, with a satisfied smile.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any comments, reviews or constructive criticisms very welcome.