Chapter 4
A new home/Truth revealed
The elevator opened, and we both stepped out, Rei not questioning me about
stopping on the 7th floor instead of the 2nd. Had I looked at her, I would
have noticed that trust that she showed to me, written softly of her face.
The walk down the corridor felt like it had encompassed seconds, and we
finally stood at the entrance to 4-7-2. I stopped and turned to face my
companion.
"We're here." I said. Rei looked at the door but also did not speak. I
sighed and then with a small, halfhearted flourish, I swiped my NERV ID
through the card reader.
The door wooshed to the side, to reveal an apartment within, I offered Rei
my arm, which she surprisingly knew how to accept, and we walked in. Inside
was a medium sized lounge, almost identical to the Katsurigi's apartment.
Already laid out were all of the items from Rei's old house, which were very
few. I smiled a bit, as I looked at Rei and detected a hint of surprise.
"Here is your room Rei," I informed her as I stopped in front of the master
bedroom. Instead of her old room, just relocated, her new bedroom was
stunning. The walls were painted with a soft blue; the color of the sky at
noon, and the floor was light colored wood. Lamps were on, and they let out
their soft glow illuminated the large single bed that lay in the middle.
Over the single bed was a white headboard topped with silver knobs. A large
wall length desk ran along the wall, and already had all her old belongings.
To top it off, all her clothes had been arranged in the walk in wardrobe
that was in the small hallway in, on the opposite side of her very own
bathroom.
The windows were covered with thick curtains, pale pink, which matched
perfectly with the white and pink covers of the bed. The pillow was pink as
well, and on it sat a small box.
Oh shit I forgot about that. Hmmm, what to do what to do... I was too late,
she had seen it.
Rei had stood at the entranced of her room, with a priceless look of shock,
surprise and joy. While she had been exploring the room with her eyes, I had
been partly watching her. For the first time since leaving the train, I was
happy, by the simple fact that I had made her happy. I smiled, but then my
smile turned slightly sickly as she moved to pick up the box.
On the card, on the top of the box, written in flowery gold script, were the
words, "Welcome Home," surrounded by a small heart, and then inside it read:
"I thought that your old place was less then you deserved, so I found you a
new apartment. Welcome home, Rei."
She looked at me, questioningly. "Did you leave this for me?" she asked.
"Yeah I did, it's a gift" I replied somewhat sheepishly. "You should open
it." I added when she had stopped.
Rei untied the bow that wrapped the box and slowly drew the top off. Inside
was a silver choker, with a red gem attached to the bottom. What was
interesting was the way that the silver wove around the ruby face in a
spiral fashion. The ruby wasn't big, but it was almost flawless, and I had
owned it for a LONG time. Now I felt that I would be getting it back again,
just like the last time I gave it away...
***
"I want you to have this."
"Wow, it's beautiful."
"Yeah, it reminded me of you as soon as I saw it."
"It's really nice Josh, it's just..."
"What?"
"I can't take it, here, you can have it back."
***
"It's lovely Kheldar," said Rei, her eyes were shining. Almost all her
emotional barriers were gone now.
"Yeah, I know, it matches your eyes. I thought, well I thought it would be a
nice welcome home present." I was looking down, not in her eyes, so I missed
the slight flinch. Then those eyes hardened in resolve.
"Is that the only reason you gave it to me?" she asked, her voice bordering
on sounding dangerous.
I caught that, but I was baffled, "what do you mean? I gave it to you as a
present..."
"Yes, but as what sort of present." She had moved from her bed and now stood
about a foot in front of me. I gulped, and lowered my black eyes from her
all absorbing red ones. I couldn't say anything but the truth, I knew she
would see a lie instantly. I sighed.
"Way back, when I was young I discovered a flaw in myself." I paused,
reflecting sadly. "I read too much into political and social events. Thus, I
was almost always convinced that one girl in my class liked me, and I
actually was wrong. However even now, I haven't learnt my lesson, and I was
hoping to give you that present as maybe to show that I care about you more
then I would a friend." I drew breath and then rushed on, pouring out
excuses. "I mean, I know I haven't known you that long, but you seem to be
such a nice girl and well, you never make me feel bad, you always listen,
and you don't misinterpret stuff." I slowed down. "You're an honest girl
Rei, and that makes me trust you. In fact I thought that perhaps you may
have liked me too. But on the train, you told me that you liked Shinji as
you like me, which would mean that you just see me as a friend."
I hung my head, all my problems and worries shown to the world. I cringed,
both inwardly and outwardly as I waited for retribution. Rei turned, and
faced her new room, her back to me, she then started to speak.
"When I said I liked you as much as Shinji, I didn't lie. I do like you and
Shinji, however just because I like you both at one level, does not mean
that I cannot like you at a higher level. Does that make sense?" She still
had her back to me.
"Kinda, I think." I must have sounded puzzled, because she went on
explaining.
"Like a glass of water, and a bottle, if you had asked, if one bottle had
one cup, I would have said that both did, but it does not mean that the
bottle cannot be more then just a cup. Now do you understand?" She sounded
frustrated, or was it nervous.
"Yes, I think I do understand, but what does this have to do with you and
me?" I still was confused.
***
Rei couldn't believe that he didn't know what she was saying. She
contemplated just telling him, but years of conditioning, and keeping her
thoughts to herself, were holding her back. She could not, and thus needed
him to realize what she meant. She decided to give him one more hint.
"Thank you for the gift Kheldar," spoke Rei as she finally turned around.
"However I accept it as you originally intended, not as you give it to me
now."
Kheldar's head snapped up, no longer looking at her feet, though they were
very cute. He stared in her eyes, those mesmerizing red portals, and for a
brief instant saw behind her carefully cultured wall. For the first time, in
perhaps all her life, Rei Ayanami let someone have a glimpse of her true
self, not the emotionless doll that everyone thought as her, not the
emotionless girl, not even the quiet one that she was known as in school.
Inside her eyes Kheldar saw a girl who could grow to be a loving, caring,
kind and loyal woman, a tribute to the female species, and at that instant,
he knew that he would willingly go through hell and back to be with her
forever.
The moment passed and Kheldar stood facing Rei. Suddenly knowing what she
wanted, yet afraid that he would make a mistake. So instead of anything
fancy, he took the choker from her hands and walked behind her. Placing the
necklace on her pale neck, he slowly closed it and then breathed into her
ear.
"Rei will you go out with me?" he asked, suddenly feeling every pore in his
body overheating.
She didn't reply immediately, and his nervousness heightened. Finally, when he
felt his heart would burst, she turned around and asked with curiosity.
"Um Kheldar, what does it mean to go out? I was expecting something else."
I smile and drew her into a hug, taking the step, destroying my fear. Into
her ear I whispered. "It means, will you love me?"
"Yes, I would like that very much." She replied simply, and we both squeezed
just a little bit harder.
***
The Commander of NERV, Gendo Ikari stared at the screen, his covered eyes
betraying nothing of his inner rage. This was not meant to happen, and now,
the key to his plan, the corner stone of Instrumentality was corrupted.
"She can be replaced, and he must be removed to recreate my scenario."
Sub-Commander, Kouzou Fuyutsuki, spoke from his position to the Commander's
left.
"Is that wise? His connection to the Third Child..."
"Must be destroyed." The conversation terminated, just like the security
footage of Rei and Kheldar standing together.
Authors Notes:
Well this is officially the end of AWTCL, at least the competition part
anyway. I will probably write the rest, eventually, so the cliffhanger isn't
really a cliffhanger, it's just like a tie in. From here the story will
probably get darker, and I'll tell you now, I don't think I'm good at dark
stuff. Though I'm probably not very good at WAFF either, so hehe.
Ok, now one of my Pre-readers, told me, and I know he's right, that I made
Rei FAR too easy to win over. Well I did, partly cause I needed this to be
fast, partly cause I believe that given a really caring person, not someone
that doesn't know what the hell he's doing with Eva (no offense to all you
Shinji fans you there, I love him too) I think maybe she might have shown a
chink in her wall, and thus have let someone get close to her. As I said
once, I think she would have let Kheldar stay over out of perhaps
politeness, but then again, I don't know how to write anyone, so I kinda
made up a small side personality for her. Hope you Rei fans don't mind.
ANYWAY, depending on the response I get, I will continue this, if however I
get told to get off the air, then in that case, well I'll bomb the offender,
then pull mystuff off to my HD. Cause honestly, I don't know if I'm good or
not... (I mean I wrote a story, SCI fi stuff, and my English teacher liked
it..... But I swear my description stinks) anyway, enjoy if you can, and
yeah, I'll keep you posted.
Oh yeah I know the WAFF was REALLY over done, that's just me, I'm a mushy
person when I'm depressed ;) live with it.
I desperately need comments and critiques. And if you flame I won't mind too
much, as long as you tell me one point that you hated the most =D. Send to
silk_12@hotmail.com and include the word Evangelion in the subject, or Eva
fics, or something to tell me that you're a reader. Cool, well cya all soon.
Ps: from here on, everything will be in 3rd person, in case you didn't like
my 1st person style. Unless of course you say other wise.....
A new home/Truth revealed
The elevator opened, and we both stepped out, Rei not questioning me about
stopping on the 7th floor instead of the 2nd. Had I looked at her, I would
have noticed that trust that she showed to me, written softly of her face.
The walk down the corridor felt like it had encompassed seconds, and we
finally stood at the entrance to 4-7-2. I stopped and turned to face my
companion.
"We're here." I said. Rei looked at the door but also did not speak. I
sighed and then with a small, halfhearted flourish, I swiped my NERV ID
through the card reader.
The door wooshed to the side, to reveal an apartment within, I offered Rei
my arm, which she surprisingly knew how to accept, and we walked in. Inside
was a medium sized lounge, almost identical to the Katsurigi's apartment.
Already laid out were all of the items from Rei's old house, which were very
few. I smiled a bit, as I looked at Rei and detected a hint of surprise.
"Here is your room Rei," I informed her as I stopped in front of the master
bedroom. Instead of her old room, just relocated, her new bedroom was
stunning. The walls were painted with a soft blue; the color of the sky at
noon, and the floor was light colored wood. Lamps were on, and they let out
their soft glow illuminated the large single bed that lay in the middle.
Over the single bed was a white headboard topped with silver knobs. A large
wall length desk ran along the wall, and already had all her old belongings.
To top it off, all her clothes had been arranged in the walk in wardrobe
that was in the small hallway in, on the opposite side of her very own
bathroom.
The windows were covered with thick curtains, pale pink, which matched
perfectly with the white and pink covers of the bed. The pillow was pink as
well, and on it sat a small box.
Oh shit I forgot about that. Hmmm, what to do what to do... I was too late,
she had seen it.
Rei had stood at the entranced of her room, with a priceless look of shock,
surprise and joy. While she had been exploring the room with her eyes, I had
been partly watching her. For the first time since leaving the train, I was
happy, by the simple fact that I had made her happy. I smiled, but then my
smile turned slightly sickly as she moved to pick up the box.
On the card, on the top of the box, written in flowery gold script, were the
words, "Welcome Home," surrounded by a small heart, and then inside it read:
"I thought that your old place was less then you deserved, so I found you a
new apartment. Welcome home, Rei."
She looked at me, questioningly. "Did you leave this for me?" she asked.
"Yeah I did, it's a gift" I replied somewhat sheepishly. "You should open
it." I added when she had stopped.
Rei untied the bow that wrapped the box and slowly drew the top off. Inside
was a silver choker, with a red gem attached to the bottom. What was
interesting was the way that the silver wove around the ruby face in a
spiral fashion. The ruby wasn't big, but it was almost flawless, and I had
owned it for a LONG time. Now I felt that I would be getting it back again,
just like the last time I gave it away...
***
"I want you to have this."
"Wow, it's beautiful."
"Yeah, it reminded me of you as soon as I saw it."
"It's really nice Josh, it's just..."
"What?"
"I can't take it, here, you can have it back."
***
"It's lovely Kheldar," said Rei, her eyes were shining. Almost all her
emotional barriers were gone now.
"Yeah, I know, it matches your eyes. I thought, well I thought it would be a
nice welcome home present." I was looking down, not in her eyes, so I missed
the slight flinch. Then those eyes hardened in resolve.
"Is that the only reason you gave it to me?" she asked, her voice bordering
on sounding dangerous.
I caught that, but I was baffled, "what do you mean? I gave it to you as a
present..."
"Yes, but as what sort of present." She had moved from her bed and now stood
about a foot in front of me. I gulped, and lowered my black eyes from her
all absorbing red ones. I couldn't say anything but the truth, I knew she
would see a lie instantly. I sighed.
"Way back, when I was young I discovered a flaw in myself." I paused,
reflecting sadly. "I read too much into political and social events. Thus, I
was almost always convinced that one girl in my class liked me, and I
actually was wrong. However even now, I haven't learnt my lesson, and I was
hoping to give you that present as maybe to show that I care about you more
then I would a friend." I drew breath and then rushed on, pouring out
excuses. "I mean, I know I haven't known you that long, but you seem to be
such a nice girl and well, you never make me feel bad, you always listen,
and you don't misinterpret stuff." I slowed down. "You're an honest girl
Rei, and that makes me trust you. In fact I thought that perhaps you may
have liked me too. But on the train, you told me that you liked Shinji as
you like me, which would mean that you just see me as a friend."
I hung my head, all my problems and worries shown to the world. I cringed,
both inwardly and outwardly as I waited for retribution. Rei turned, and
faced her new room, her back to me, she then started to speak.
"When I said I liked you as much as Shinji, I didn't lie. I do like you and
Shinji, however just because I like you both at one level, does not mean
that I cannot like you at a higher level. Does that make sense?" She still
had her back to me.
"Kinda, I think." I must have sounded puzzled, because she went on
explaining.
"Like a glass of water, and a bottle, if you had asked, if one bottle had
one cup, I would have said that both did, but it does not mean that the
bottle cannot be more then just a cup. Now do you understand?" She sounded
frustrated, or was it nervous.
"Yes, I think I do understand, but what does this have to do with you and
me?" I still was confused.
***
Rei couldn't believe that he didn't know what she was saying. She
contemplated just telling him, but years of conditioning, and keeping her
thoughts to herself, were holding her back. She could not, and thus needed
him to realize what she meant. She decided to give him one more hint.
"Thank you for the gift Kheldar," spoke Rei as she finally turned around.
"However I accept it as you originally intended, not as you give it to me
now."
Kheldar's head snapped up, no longer looking at her feet, though they were
very cute. He stared in her eyes, those mesmerizing red portals, and for a
brief instant saw behind her carefully cultured wall. For the first time, in
perhaps all her life, Rei Ayanami let someone have a glimpse of her true
self, not the emotionless doll that everyone thought as her, not the
emotionless girl, not even the quiet one that she was known as in school.
Inside her eyes Kheldar saw a girl who could grow to be a loving, caring,
kind and loyal woman, a tribute to the female species, and at that instant,
he knew that he would willingly go through hell and back to be with her
forever.
The moment passed and Kheldar stood facing Rei. Suddenly knowing what she
wanted, yet afraid that he would make a mistake. So instead of anything
fancy, he took the choker from her hands and walked behind her. Placing the
necklace on her pale neck, he slowly closed it and then breathed into her
ear.
"Rei will you go out with me?" he asked, suddenly feeling every pore in his
body overheating.
She didn't reply immediately, and his nervousness heightened. Finally, when he
felt his heart would burst, she turned around and asked with curiosity.
"Um Kheldar, what does it mean to go out? I was expecting something else."
I smile and drew her into a hug, taking the step, destroying my fear. Into
her ear I whispered. "It means, will you love me?"
"Yes, I would like that very much." She replied simply, and we both squeezed
just a little bit harder.
***
The Commander of NERV, Gendo Ikari stared at the screen, his covered eyes
betraying nothing of his inner rage. This was not meant to happen, and now,
the key to his plan, the corner stone of Instrumentality was corrupted.
"She can be replaced, and he must be removed to recreate my scenario."
Sub-Commander, Kouzou Fuyutsuki, spoke from his position to the Commander's
left.
"Is that wise? His connection to the Third Child..."
"Must be destroyed." The conversation terminated, just like the security
footage of Rei and Kheldar standing together.
Authors Notes:
Well this is officially the end of AWTCL, at least the competition part
anyway. I will probably write the rest, eventually, so the cliffhanger isn't
really a cliffhanger, it's just like a tie in. From here the story will
probably get darker, and I'll tell you now, I don't think I'm good at dark
stuff. Though I'm probably not very good at WAFF either, so hehe.
Ok, now one of my Pre-readers, told me, and I know he's right, that I made
Rei FAR too easy to win over. Well I did, partly cause I needed this to be
fast, partly cause I believe that given a really caring person, not someone
that doesn't know what the hell he's doing with Eva (no offense to all you
Shinji fans you there, I love him too) I think maybe she might have shown a
chink in her wall, and thus have let someone get close to her. As I said
once, I think she would have let Kheldar stay over out of perhaps
politeness, but then again, I don't know how to write anyone, so I kinda
made up a small side personality for her. Hope you Rei fans don't mind.
ANYWAY, depending on the response I get, I will continue this, if however I
get told to get off the air, then in that case, well I'll bomb the offender,
then pull mystuff off to my HD. Cause honestly, I don't know if I'm good or
not... (I mean I wrote a story, SCI fi stuff, and my English teacher liked
it..... But I swear my description stinks) anyway, enjoy if you can, and
yeah, I'll keep you posted.
Oh yeah I know the WAFF was REALLY over done, that's just me, I'm a mushy
person when I'm depressed ;) live with it.
I desperately need comments and critiques. And if you flame I won't mind too
much, as long as you tell me one point that you hated the most =D. Send to
silk_12@hotmail.com and include the word Evangelion in the subject, or Eva
fics, or something to tell me that you're a reader. Cool, well cya all soon.
Ps: from here on, everything will be in 3rd person, in case you didn't like
my 1st person style. Unless of course you say other wise.....