"Let's go, Shinji!"
"Yeah! Let's go, Mari!"
…
Shinji suddenly awoke after such a short dream. He was welcomed by a not-so-warm atmosphere in the bedroom, accompanied by the comfort of the soft futon underneath him. Although his eyelids were heavy, he tried his best to open them and looked out the windows, just to see the dark, dusky sky covered by a curtain of rain. Droplets were falling on the rooves and concrete road below, creating a piece of symphonic but not-so-comfortable music to his ears, compared to the songs he usually listened to in his SDAT. The rain was so heavy it created such strong winds that could blow any window away, judging by the rumbling sounds of the windows slightly contacting the panels.
'… So the weather forecast was right. There is a storm tonight…' Shinji thought inside his head, remembering he had heard on TV. Using all his remaining strength, he tried to navigate and reach for his phone in the pitch-black room. Having grabbed his phone, he turned it on and looked at the screen. "01:08 a.m.", just over midnight. He tried to shut his eyes to get back to his dream, but his mouth was so dry that he found it hard to sleep again. With the loud tapping sound of the rain outside, it would be more difficult for him to go back to his slumber. This infuriated Shinji a little since he needs to get up early to go to work the next morning, but there was nothing else he could do.
"… Water…"
Shinji mumbled, deciding that he would get some refreshments. Using all his strength to get up from the futon, he tip-toed out of the bedroom and carefully slid the door close. Trying to navigate his way through the dark corridor, with only the fainted streetlights from the outside as his assistants, Shinji managed to reach the kitchen to get some water.
However, when Shinji was grabbing a cup to get some water from the apartment's water tank, he could not help but notice that the whirring sound of the rain was louder than it was in his bedroom. It's like nothing was blocking or muting the noise of it. 'Strange… Haven't I closed the balcony's door already?' Shinji thought in his head and started looking around, finding the source that caused it.
And soon he found it. The door to the balcony outside was unlocked, with his girlfriend, Mari Makinami, standing outside. She was leaning on the metal barrier, with her folding arms supported on it, watching the natural rain curtains. She was wearing her pajamas, with nothing else but a jacket and a pair of flip-flops to keep her body and feet warm. Her long, untied hair was blowing in the wind, and although Shinji admired the scene, in which his girlfriend was illustrated in the glamourous background created by the streetlight leaking through the rainy cloak, he was also worried about her health. He thought that she was still sleeping inside, keeping herself warm from the cold storm.
"… Mari? You cannot sleep, too?" Shinji called for her, "You should consider going back inside. It's pretty cold out there…"
Shinji was suggesting her, showing his concern, but he got cut out when Mari turned around.
Some droplets were rolling down her cheeks, and her lower lip was quivering. At first, Shinji thought they were just droplets of rain on her face, but he soon noticed her puffy, red eyes, despite their being behind the air-bubble-formed glasses, making him change his mind.
'Is she… crying?'
"… O-Oh, Shinji!" Mari suddenly exclaimed. She quickly wiped out the tears on her face with her arm, hoping that Shinji had not noticed it. "Can't sleep too, can ya?" She leaned forward at Shinji with her hands on her hips, while putting on her usual smugging face.
However, knowing her long enough, Shinji recognized that her tone and her face were not very natural like she was trying to hide something.
"… Hey Mari…"
"How funny, right, Puppy?" Shinji tried to call for Mari again, but she soon cut him off. "We're both having sleep deprivation at the same time!"
"Mari…"
"Oh, Puppy's missing me already? Don't worry, just go back to sleep! I'll be back in just-"
"Mari."
Having enough of cutting off, Shinji called for her one more time. This time, his voice was not so loud but serious and stern enough to catch her attention. This made Mari flinch a little before she soon had to give up her effort on changing the subject. To her, this was not the first time she had heard such a serious tone from Shinji. However, she knew that this was a signal that she could not dodge the bullets any further. She slightly bowed her head and intertwined her fingers nervously; her smugness had turned into a frown. "Y-Yes, Shinji…?" She asked him, almost sounding like a whisper.
Shinji knew that he might have lost a little control of his tone, but he needed to sort things out. Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned on one of the ceiling lights of the kitchen, before pulling out a chair from the dinner table and slightly tapping on it, telling Mari to sit down. He let out a small smile to Mari, ensuring her that he meant nothing bad to her. Although Mari wanted to escape this situation, she found no solution other than to oblige. She stepped inside and sat on the chair, letting Shinji close the corridor's door behind her, returning the cooling atmosphere to the kitchen. While Mari was still lowering her head, avoiding eye contact with Shinji, he pulled out a chair and sat by her side, before placing the cup of water on the table.
The kitchen was almost cloaked in a veil of silence, only the heavy sound of the rain and the tick-tock of the wall clock could be heard. Shinji took some time to observe Mari. He admired her teal eyes, but he hated the puffy red marks on them. Her breathing was slow, but a little heavy that he could hear it. Meanwhile, Mari was supporting her arms on the dinner table, while eyeing her intertwined hands, as a way to avoid Shinji's gaze. Shinji let some time pass for her to get some composure, before deciding to speak first.
"What's wrong with you, Mari?" Shinji asked. "Is something bothering you?" He continued with a more concerned voice.
His questions seemed to have triggered something in Mari, as her breathing started getting heavier. She intertwined her hands tighter and also fidgeted her index fingers. She tried to keep her eyes from her hands and took a glance at Shinji's face, but once she had it, she immediately turned back to her fists. A few seconds later, she knew that she could not avoid Shinji for long and they would sit here until morning if one of them just kept silent. Therefore, she decided to speak.
"… Shinji…" Mari said with a small volume. She then hesitated for a bit before continuing. "Do you… feel happy?"
With this question, Shinji understood that it was not about his emotion right then, but about his new life in this new world.
Shinji had taken a lot of steps forward. From an anxious and immature kid, he had become a mature and hopeful man, only looking forward to his future. Shinji had learned to face his past and reconciled with his father and the others, no longer choosing to run away. Having destroyed all the EVAs, with a final goodbye to his parents, he had rebuilt a new world, a world where there was no EVA, no angel, no more suffering, just peace.
In this new world, Shinji was able to afford an apartment. He also had a job, which to be honest, was not very well-paid. However, to Shinji, this was more than enough. At least he had a job to afford his living, and at least he had a home to return to. Compared to all he had been through back in his world, this was significantly more satisfying and peaceful. After all, this was the world he had chosen, and he was happy with this decision.
"… Yes, Mari. I am happy with this world." Having all those thoughts run through his head, Shinji confidently gave his answer to her. "For the first time, I feel… free. I no longer have any anxiety in my head. I no longer feel being pushed to pilot the EVA, or worried that angels might attack at any moment."
Shinji said, before letting out a small chuckle. "Yes, I was responsible for the Near Third Impact. But I also fixed everything I'd done, and I was able to face my past. For now, I think I feel… alive, Mari."
He continued and put his hand on Mari's shoulder, hoping that his answer and act could help her feel better. However, that did not seem to work, as she moved her shoulder a bit to shake his hand away, which made Shinji frown. She did not believe his answer, still having some doubts in her head. Keeping her eyes away from her boyfriend, she let out a small sigh and lowered her head deeper, sinking into the dinner table.
"I don't think you are telling the truth, Puppy…" Mari replied quietly, her whisper was a bit hard to hear due to the stormy weather outside, so Shinji had to lean his ears closer to hear her better. "Don't you feel a bit… lost?"
Immediately after hearing her question, Shinji wanted to answer it as soon as possible. However, something else had struck his mind, which made him take a step back and think again. He once again had to look back to the past, reconsidering what he had said. This world, for him, may be perfect, but somehow, something was missing…
Because after all, you cannot achieve something without loss.
To stop The Third Impact, Kaji had to sacrifice himself, retaining hope for the future. To rebuild a new world, Misato had to sacrifice herself to give Shinji the Spear of WILLE. In the end, another sacrifice from Shinji's parents was the last step toward his desired world. Even after all his father had done to him, he was able to forgive him, reconcile with him, and until now, he still felt sorry for him.
This was the world he had always wanted. This was his ideal world, the world where no EVAs and no angels. However, to achieve this, loss and blood had been taken, and the memories that were once thought to be lost inside Shinji's mind had lived up and been looked back into, just from a small moment of Shinji and Mari, on a stormy day, just a small space between the two.
"W-Why are you asking me that, Mari?" Shinji asked Mari about her purpose. Mari, however, was disappointed with his reply. She knew that he was trying to dodge her question and change the subject. However, deep inside, she understood that that was not an easy thing to answer. After all, Shinji had been through a lot, from his father's abuse to dealing with his anxiety. Therefore, she took another deep breath and proceeded to answer him.
"… I… had a nightmare, Puppy…"
Mari said and took a glance at Shinji's face, seeing him raise an eyebrow. Shinji was both worried and confused by the answer. He tried to put his hand on her back to comfort her, but she moved her body aside, refusing the contact. Although Shinji felt unhappy with the rejection, he decided to keep quiet and let Mari continue talking.
"Do you… remember the DSS Choker, Shinji?" Mari said. "I dreamed about… the day you ran away from the Wunder. But instead… after that… you got…"
Mari continued, but her voice got smaller word by word. Soon she felt like there was something stuck in her throat that she could not say the last bit, so she squeezed her lips and let out a heavy sigh while sinking her head deeper into her balling fists. Shinji, despite that, could guess what had happened next, so he knew that he had to do something about it.
"But it was just a nightmare, right?" Shinji reconfirmed. "That was not what happened in reality, right? You know I am still here, right-"
"That's not the point, Shinji!" Mari suddenly turned to Shinji and shot her despaired look at him. "It was me! I was the one who detonated it!"
A thunder suddenly clapped outside. Although the balcony was closed, its sound was loud enough to make both of them flinch, especially Shinji, combined with Mari's answer. He was shocked to hear that, and he needed time to get back his composure. It did not matter if her nightmare was real, it was what had happened in it. Shinji indeed knew this feeling. He used to dream some nightmares like that, whether it was about his parents, his fear of the angels, or his anxiety to pilot the EVA just for the desired recognition.
He wanted to tell Mari "Those dreams were not true", but he could not gather himself to say so. He just kept quiet and thought of something else. Time seemed to have frozen between them, not even the pitter-patter sound of the rain hitting the roof could be heard.
"… And that was not the only one, Puppy…" Mari tried her best to continue. "This has been happening… for a long time…" She whispered the last bits and sniffled a little while lowering her head, which made Shinji wonder if it was because she was cold or she was desperately trying not to cry…
… Nonetheless, he knew that he could not let this happen any longer. He knew he had to do something to comfort her.
"… But Mari, that was such a long time ago…" Shinji tried to convince his girlfriend. "You know you did not do that. And I am still here with you…"
"That's not my point, Shinji!" Mari immediately shot her head back up and rejected. "I am afraid of…" She wanted to continue, but she could not find the strength to. Therefore, she bowed her head once again, avoiding Shinji's gaze. Her lips kept gaping, opened then shut like she wanted to utter something, but it was difficult for her. She took another deep breath and fidgeted her fingers while keeping her eyes on them.
"… I am afraid… of you… leaving me… Shinji…" After a few minutes, Mari managed to confess, the fear she had kept in her chest for a long time.
"… Mari…" Shinji tried to utter something, but Mari shook her head, already denying what he was about to say.
"If I were not the one who detonated you, you would find another way to leave me," Mari confessed. "What if you found out where Asuka was? You would find your way to get back to her, right? Or maybe there would be other girls you are more interested in! Or perhaps we can break up due to… some reasons, I don't know!"
"Mari, it's not like I'm going to…!"
"This is so sudden, Shinji!" Mari suddenly exclaimed and looked straight into Shinji's eyes. "This whole thing between us is so sudden! I just approached you at the beach in this new world, and somehow you just accepted it like nothing! We barely even had a proper moment together! You deserve to be with others more! How can I know…"
Mari was about to finish her sentence when she found out that she once again could not gather much strength to talk back. Once again, she avoided Shinji's gaze and looked down at the wooden surface of the chair. She let out some sniffles, while a single droplet of tears formed in her eye, before slowly rolling down her cheek and dropping on the floor. Her hands started gripping the edge of the chair, trying to hold any emotion deep inside, locking them in.
Meanwhile, Shinji was left… speechless. He did not know how to react or what to do at that point. He felt like there was a barrier between him and Mari. His breath started getting heavier. He wanted to break that barrier and hold onto her hands, but he felt hesitant to do it.
Nonetheless, he felt like he was talking to himself, his kid self in his mind, facing his past once again…
"… Tell me, Shinji. And this time I want the truth…" Mari demanded. "Are you… happy with me?"
As the rain outside got heavier, spilling out what remained, Shinji started his trip back to memory lane. His life back in his original world was not perfect, if not… sufferable. He'd had some hard times with people around him, from the ones he hated to the ones he loved the most. He'd had to deal with a lot of difficult situations, from almost killing his co-pilot, to being the factor that caused the Near Third Impact. Recreating this new world was not only his escape, it was his new start, him restarting his life.
And accompanying him in this new world was Mari Makinami Illustrious, the girl descended from the EVA Unit-08, the girl that rose from the ocean in his new world, bringing back the color for his life.
"… Mari…"
Mari's coming into his life was a surprise. He did not pick her, nor did he choose her to accompany him. She was just there for him, able to find him in the dawn of this world. Since then, she was with him all the time, being by his side. They rent an apartment and lived together. It was certainly not a big place, but it was cozy enough to call home. They were able to find jobs, although those were not so well-paid, to pay for their living. They no longer had the role of EVA pilots and no longer bore the responsibility of saving the world, they were just normal employees, living a normal life, in a normal world.
"… My answer is…"
However, there was one thing he could be certain of.
He was not alone.
Every morning, they woke up together by each other's side, in just a small bedroom. They had breakfast and dinner on one table in one kitchen and enjoyed cups of morning coffee together. Sometimes they watched TV together, laughed at some funny, or even some boring jokes in comedic shows, or cried at the same drama on it. They had a place to go to after work, a place to be considered "home". They shared some good news or cheer each other up whether one of them or maybe both, had bad news. That was how their days had just gone by, just nothing big, nothing too special.
Despite that, to Shinji, this was the life he had always wanted. An ordinary life with no danger, no life-risking, and no depression. However, this life would not be completed without a dash of color from Maki herself. They were together in this new world, keeping each other company. It was not perfect, but it was certainly peaceful and worth living. And all his time living with Maki, he did not know that he had loved Mari until now, when they were sitting together at one table, at stormy midnight.
Mari was not someone he chose, but she was someone he needed. A fresh start for him in this fresh new world…
'You just need to find peace and a place of your own. Fate will guide you.'
"… Yes, I am happy with you, Mari."
Shinji told Mari with the most confident tone he could give, which made Mari surprised. As she looked back up into Shinji's eyes, he proceeded to grab her balling hands and run his thumbs on her white knuckles, breaking the invisible barrier between them. "I cherish every day with you. Your smile keeps bringing sunshine to my life. I mean… I did not choose to be with you, but ever since that day you met me on that beach, until now, none of any moment I regret my decision to live with you. Every second with you, I feel… the most peaceful and happy."
"Shinji…" This time, it was Mary's turn for having a loss for words. She lowered her head to hide the tint of blush on her face, while Shinji proceeded to give her hands a little massage, as his way to calm her down.
"Mari, if I didn't care for you, why would I cook breakfast and dinner for you every day? If I was unhappy with you, why would I be willing to hear you complain about your workplace every dinner? Does all of that show that I do not care for you?" Shinji tried to convince her while holding her hands tighter. He looked straight at her, wanting to show her his look of confidence, wanting to show her that everything he said was the truth from the bottom of his heart.
"I… should be grateful for you, Mari. Thank you for approaching me. Thank you for coloring my life. Thank you for being with me in this world, not letting me be alone. My feeling shall never change, Mari."
Shinji concluded his words and beamed a smile at Mari. He also started blushing with what he had said, but to him, that did not matter. What mattered to him was he could make Mari trust him, and relieve her from all the stress, all the nightmares she had been suffering. He could wait for how long Mari wanted to reply to him. The rain outside had gotten lighter since then, creating a more soothing sound. Combined with the tick-tock sound of the clock, it had become an unusual but harmonic tone playing in the background, surrounding the heavy silence between them.
"… You're just trying to cheer me up, aren't you?"
After a short while, Mari asked him that and pulled her hands from Shinji's. Her strength was not strong enough, but she managed to take them out anyway. This made Shinji frown since his words might have not reached her. Mari's breath became heavy once again, while her chest lifted up and down and her lips shut tight, desperately doing so. Shinji felt that some tension had grown between them again, and he might need to do something. "Mari, I meant it! That was my most sincere words for you!" Shinji tried to convince her.
"No, no, it's okay…" Mari whispered. "You're just… the same as always, Shinji…"
"The same?"
"Yeah… You always…" Mari tried to speak, but she thought something was stuck in her throat, so she did her best to swallow it. "… tried to cheer me up, be there for me whenever I was down, listened to my complaints… like there was no other condition for them…"
The longer Mari stressed it, the more sniffles could be heard from her. Soon the dam inside her was about to crack, as tears slowly formed inside her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.
"That's… the part of you… that hasn't changed, Shinji…" She used all her strength to utter. "If any girl out there that has you, she is a very lucky one… yet you still choose to be by my… side…" She admitted, but her tone got quieter as more tears flowed from her eyelids, some of them had wetted her glasses' lenses. "Yet here I am… doubting you… talking about how I killed you…"
"Mari, that was just a nightmare, it's not…"
However, Shinji could not finish his sentence, as he was cut off by the sound of Mari's crying. The dam inside her had been broken, and she no longer was able to hold her emotion. Mari let tears flow freely from her eyes, her grip on the edge of the chair was so strong she could break it, while her body was shaking furiously. Mari acknowledged that Shinji was still sitting in front of her, so she shut her eyes tightly and bit her bottom lip in her final effort to stop crying, but it was impossible. Her glasses had fallen to the seat of her chair, but she could not notice.
"I don't… deserve you, Shinji… I don't want you… to see me like this… I'm sorry, Puppy… I'm sorry, Shinji… I'm so sorry…!"
Mari felt ashamed for all of this. She felt ashamed for letting Shinji see this pathetic self of her. Ever since her nightmares occurred, she just wanted to keep her burden deep inside, not to let out any clue to her boyfriend. She just wanted Shinji to see her cheerful face and her bubbly personality. This was not the first night she had ever come out and cried alone, hiding her pain from Shinji. And yet he had finally found out about this, thus she felt disappointed in herself. All she wished was for Shinji to go away and leave her behind so she could let out her sentiment alone like she usually did before.
However, she did not recognize someone had taken her fell glasses and put them on the table. And before she knew it, she was embraced by a pair of warm, cozy arms, hugging her from the front. She slowly opened her wet eyelids to see none other than Shinji. He softly pressed her head into his chest and stroked her brunette hair, thankfully not wet despite the rain earlier. Meanwhile, his other hand moved to her tensed shoulder muscle and rubbed it up and down simultaneously, hoping that would ease her shoulder.
Mari was surprised by this sudden contact. She wanted to break free from Shinji's embrace, but she could not do it. She could not find any energy to do so. Feeling more pathetic and hopeless, she had no choice but to let go of the chair's edge and weakly hug her arms around Shinji's waist, before letting all her feeling break loose. She did not want to look at his face, she did not want to show her face, the despaired and pathetic look. That was the only thing she could do, hoping that Shinji would not think anything bad of her.
Shinji, seeing that, just remained silent. He held her closer to his warmth and allowed her tears to drench his t-shirts. It hurt Shinji to see his girlfriend like that. He knew that if he opened his mouth to say something, he might not be able to control himself and break down as well. He understood that he should be the strong one, in this case, so he just pressed his forehead on Mari's head, let the scent of her lavender hair wash go through his nose, and let the tears in his eyes flow out without Mari noticing.
As the rain became lighter, the couple just sat there, in each other's comfort. No one said a thing, just remained in silence and let the natural music of the rain play in their silent space…
As time went by, Mari's sob had been subdued, with only her sniffles could be heard. Shinji, honestly, wanted to keep her close for longer, but he knew he had to let go of her, or none of them would leave their position until morning. Hence, Shinji unwrapped his arms from Mari, much to her dismay, before grabbing a piece of tissue from the tissue box on the table. He then gently cupped Mari's face and lifted it, revealing her tear-drenched face with her runny nose from the sniffles.
"Oh, dear…" Shinji cooed sadly. It was painful for him to see her face like that. However, Mari could hear that from him, so before she bowed her head again in shame, he wiped away any tear on her face, before grabbing another piece of tissue and allowing her to snort her nose into it. Having seen her do that, he let out a smile and nodded his head in approval.
"You know, Mari…" Shinji decided to be the one that spoke first. "I agree with you…"
"… W-What?" Mari rashly whispered, looking at him confusedly.
"I don't like seeing you cry. I like seeing your smile more." Shinji explained while giving her the cup of water on the table, letting her drink it to cool her throat. Meanwhile, he took her glasses from the table and wiped their lenses clean with the hem of his t-shirts, before continuing what he had said. "Your smile… it's pretty. I don't know if you like it or not, but I love it. Every morning I see it, I feel like my mood has lightened up. I mean sometimes you used it to tease me, but I don't really mind that…"
Hearing those words made Mari's cheeks turn red. Before she could fully process them, Shinji had finished wiping her glasses, as he put them on her face and adjusted them a little bit. Mari wanted to return the favor, so when Shinji backed off a bit to see her face, she tried to smile back at him. However, still, in a bit of sorrow, she could not lift the corners of her lips, so they just dropped down into a frown again. Although Shinji found this a little funny, he could not help but feel poor for her, so he gently pressed his forehead into hers, while wrapping his arm around her back and rubbing it.
"It's okay…" Shinji whispered while soothing her back. "Next time, if you feel down or blue, or you just simply want to get something out of your chest, just tell me. We'll share everything, maybe… cry together, too. And at the end of the day, we'll just laugh and smile together when the storm is gone, all right?"
Because after all, the one who smiles the most is the one who needs confiding the most…
However, when Shinji finished his sentence, there was no reply from Mari herself, which made Shinji worry. He started thinking that she would be breaking down again, or he just said something that was not right to her. Before he could do something, he felt Mari move her head a little, fixing her position so that she was then facing him. "M-Mari…?" Shinji tried to call for her.
"… We're not in Lady and the Tramp, Puppy…" Mari managed to mutter, her cheeks were so red that they almost matched the color of her glasses.
"W-What do you mean…?"
"You sounded so... cheesy, Tramp. This is so unlike you…"
Mari explained, and for Shinji's reaction, he just let out a nervous chuckle as his answer, while having his cheeks as hot as hers and scratching his head in embarrassment. However, since he was called "cheesy" and with nothing else to lose, Shinji leaned in and kissed her forehead, before resuming back to his position. Mari, having experienced that, wanted to detest it, but she could not do anything else than puckered her lips and slightly pouted. However, she did not want to let him go, since in his arms and looking at his grey, blue eyes, she felt… safe.
Shinji slightly leaned his head aside to look out the balcony. Before he knew it, the storm had been over, with only a thin curtain of rain left, creating a more soothing tone to his ears. Slightly letting go of Mari, he turned his attention to the clock on the wall. "2:00 a.m.", they had been sitting here for almost an hour and it was getting more than late. Stretching out his arms to get back his muscle, Shinji felt that he was ready to get back to sleep, and probably so was Mari.
"Ready for sleep, Mari?"
Shinji asked, and after a few seconds, he received a small nod from Mari. Therefore, he led her back to their bedroom, before switching the kitchen's lights off. Hearing the brushing sound of the futons, Shinji believed that Mari had settled herself on them, so he got inside the bedroom and slid the door close. In the darkness of their bedroom, he tried to navigate his way to his futon and lie his back on it, finally settling himself on it, as well.
When he was lying on the futon, he took a glance at the bedroom's windows. Since the rain was not heavy as before, the moon was easier to be seen, with its gleaming light shining through the panels. The disturbing, disharmonic sound was no more, replaced with a more soothing, consonant tone, like a classical song composed by the nature. Shinji believed that with this sound, it would be easier for him to sleep, recharging his energy for the new day ahead.
"The storm has gone away quicker than I thought," Shinji mumbled. "Are you all right, Mari-"
Shinji was turning to Mari's side and about to ask her when suddenly he was impacted by her. Mari, without any consideration or navigation, immediately lunged her body at Shinji, but it was not hard enough to harm him, or it was more like a light tackle. Shinji was about to open his mouth to say something when Mari pressed her forehead into his chest, while lightly gripping his t-shirt. She did not say anything, she did not want to say anything. All she wanted was to feel his presence, to make sure that she was not alone.
Shinji, despite the impact, did not mind at all. He just let out a small sigh and wrapped his arm around Mari's waist. He then gently placed his chin on top of her head, feeling her heavy, warm breathing begin to subdue. He wanted her to know that whatever happened to her, whether she had a nightmare again or found herself hard to rest, he would always be by her side, taking the role of a teddy bear that would comfort her. Time seemed to have stopped for them. After what they had been through, this was one of the moments that they felt peaceful the most.
"… Hey, Mari…" Shinji whispered first. "What would you like for breakfast tomorrow… I mean, today's morning, since… you know…?"
"… Ramen…" Mari murmured sleepily.
"With half-boiled eggs on top and seaweed on the side, just as you like, right…?" Shinji tried to reconfirm, but surprisingly, there was no response. "Mari? You still there…?"
He whispered to ask for her, only to hear a small snoring sound as the reply. Knowing that she was very tired and sleepy, Shinji chuckled, before planting a light kiss on her head, carefully not to wake her up accidentally.
"Good night, Mari… Sweet dream…"
And so, he closed his eyes and returned to his deep slumber, letting the music of the rain soothe him to sleep…
After the rain, the sun will shine again, and this is the same for both. Whatever happened between them today, whether it was tough or not, they know that the next morning, they will still wake up by each other's side, share each other's stories, and live with each other under one roof, have an ordinary but peaceful life.
A/N:
It's been so long since the last time I wrote fanfic. And damn how I miss this.
Anyway, this fanfic is based on Evangelion, specifically after the ending of Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0. I know the ending has received such mixed reactions from the fans, and also me, as well. But after some thoughts and discussions, some digging per se, I'd like to say that I… am happy with the ending, and satisfied with the ending for Shinji. Just like what I have written in the story above, this was not what he picked, but it was what he needed, just like the life of the director of this franchise, Anno Hideaki, our lucky man, has finally achieved his happiness.
For the future, I am not sure if I can write regularly again. A lot is happening in my life right now. I am now in my third year of university, which means there is a lot more for me to sort out. Therefore, perhaps if I can write something when I have time, it will just be a one-shot, just like this story. I am happy with how it turned out, though, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it.
Stay safe, and see you soon.
