Disclaimer: You already know, so you don't need me to say it again.
Chap. 10
Shinji turned his head. Sitting beside him was none other than Ayanami Rei.
"Ayanami."
For a moment, they said absolutely nothing. For a brief moment, it seemed that her red eyes would actually give way to tears. But they never came. It was then that Misato entered the room.
"Shinji! You're alive!"
"I...guess I am."
Unlike Rei, fresh tears came down Misato's face as she dashed over and hugged Shinji. "I'm so glad. You really are something else, Shinji. Oh, look at me. I'm a complete mess."
She then turned to the door, "Come on, Asuka. You said you missed him, so get in here." Slowly, the door opened and Asuka entered the room,
"So the Invincible Shinji survives again. So how are you, baka?"
"I'm well, I guess."
"What do you mean you guess? You're either well or not!"
"I'm sorry."
"Arrggghhhh. Again with the 'I'm sorry'. Honestly, you'd think you would have a backbone after all of this."
She finally gave a small smile, an act that surprised Shinji.
"What? Don't give me that look." Asuka left the room.
"Alright, we should let him get some rest now." Misato followed. However, Rei didn't budge.
"Are you coming, Rei?"
"No. I'd like to stay with Shinji for awhile longer."
Another smile came up on Misato's face. She said Shinji. How cute.
"Okay. But don't do anything I would do, you two."
"Misato!"
Misato laughed, "You are just too easy, Shinji. See ya later."
The two of them refocused there gaze on each other right after she left. Shinji noticed that her eyes were redder than usual.
"How long have you been awake?"
"I...wanted to be here when you awoke."
"Oh. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."
"It's alright."
Shinji gave a warm smile and slowly reached out and held her hand. Both his smile and his touch gave her a very warm sensation in her body.
"Shinji."
"Yeah?"
Rei suddenly shot forward and held Shinji in a tight hug. Shinji winced a little, but then noticed that she was crying.
"Rei?"
"I missed you so much."
Shinji gave another smile and put his arms around the sobbing girl. She went on like that for awhile and gradually stopped and became still. She's asleep. Another smile came up his face and he closed his eyes to sleep. But he was unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching them from the crack of the door.
"Figures."
Later that day, Misato walked outside of the hospital to get some air. As she did, she went by her car and found a group of flowers in the seat. Surprised, she picked them up and behind found...a melon? Misato was confused and then her eyes suddenly widened with shock. No. It couldn't be...
There was a letter there as well.
Hey there beautiful. Sorry for the scare, but it was necessary. Congratulations on your promotion, Colonel Katsuragi, as well as saving the world. Talk to you in time.
Love, K.R.
P.S. That really hurt. Ouch.
Misato clenched the note in her hands with a new set of tears on her face.
3 days later...
Shinji and Rei stood before the two graves. Two empty graves. Both of parents who had died a long time ago. A bush of rose was on Yui's grave, but nothing was on Gendo's. Shinji simply stood there quietly, contemplating it while Rei simply stared. Father... I can't believe that after all of this I'm still calling you that. I don't even understand why I'm here at your grave. But in the end, you showed yourself. I don't know what it means or why you did it. Even if what Kaworu says is true, what does that make you? I...don't understand.
Rei looked at Shinji and saw his face shift as the thought went on in his head.
"Ikari-kun."
"I'm...I'm not sure how I should feel."
Rei blinks at him briefly before looking away. She then bends down and picks up two flowers from the rosebush. Shinji looks at her as she places one on Yui's grave and the other on Gendo's. Her face remained expressionless.
"Thank you, Rei-chan."
The two of them then slowly walked away to the cemetery entrance where Asuka was waiting for them.
"Thanks for waiting, Asuka."
"Sure. But don't think this means I'm getting soft on you, Third Child. Or you, First."
Rei simply blinked while Shinji gave a small smile, "Of course not."
The three Children turned away from the cemetery, ready to leave their past behind, one laced with pain, sorrow, and loneliness. They now look to a future where they could be free of such things, where above all, they would never be lonely again. Not as long as they had each other.
AN: Yes, I finally did it. Thank you for reading. I still kept whoever was at the door a secret and as for Kaji, I just couldn't kill him off. Oh, and in case you are wondering, I haven't paired Shinji with anyone. I gave hints on him and Rei, but I didn't cancel out Asuka as I did the same thing. Personally, I like Rei/Shinji, but I'm also fond of Asuka/Shinji. So I put it in a way so that it was possible for either one, (Kind of like the Tenchi series, sort of.)