The original Disclaimer:

Okay folks. This is a really odd one for me. I'd just

finished a marathon session of Neon Genesis Evangelion (Vol

1-5, & 7) and I felt like I really needed to write a fic

about this series because it's so GREAT!

So for some odd reason, I ended up writing something

where I tried to keep within the boundaries of the original

series. Which is really unusual for me because my work is

largely composed of fusions, alternate universes and

crossovers all series. Of course, I think I've gone pretty

off tangent by around the end, but I hope people can tell

me what they think.

This occurs between episodes 14 and 15.

C&C can be public or private (scriviner@yahoo.com)

any of it would be appreciated.

The new and improved disclaimer:

Well, after all this time, I figured I'd give this a once-

over and repost it online. This is version 3 now of this

fic. Which to my surprise, I apparently haven't done

anything to since 1997. Anyway, I've started getting back

into writing fics, so I hope you enjoy.

Two Hearts of One Mind.

A Neon Genesis Evangelion fanfic by the Scriviner

Piloting an Eva, a multi-ton, several story high,

semi-biological mecha designed for killing angels (which it

must be noted are nothing at all like the winged humanoid

figures one expects from the New Testament, but more like

the Old Testament angels, swift and terrible), would be a

very dangerous job for anyone, especially so for fourteen-

year-olds kids, who were the only ones who could mentally

interface with the Evas to control them in the first place.

It's hardly surprising that the pilots get injured as a

matter of course. This can range anywhere from getting

slightly banged up when the Eva gets knocked into a wall,

all the way up to the potential for some serious brain

death if the pilot's mind gets fried by the feedback from

the Eva's nerve linkages. And that's just during training.

Actual combat was far worse.

These, however, were not the thoughts going through

Shinji Ikari's head at the moment. He was mostly annoyed at

the dull ringing in aforementioned head and wondering why

the painkillers they'd issued him hadn't taken effect yet.

It wasn't anything really serious... it was more

embarrassing than anything else. He hadn't paid too much

attention when he stepped out of the entry plug and had

managed to trip, incidentally fetching him a good hard

smack upside the head. That wouldn't really have been all

that bad, since it was several hours ago and most of the

pain had faded, but that wasn't the worst part of it.

It was his fellow Eva pilot, sometime combat backup

and flatmate (though not by choice), Asuka Langley Soryu,

who was driving him nuts. The two of them were sprawled on

the two couches in almost identical positions watching TV.

Asuka, however, had only stopped laughing about how stupid

he'd been and how she'd never have made such a dumb

mistake, to take the occasional breath.

It had long since passed the point where it was merely

annoying to where it was now. It was really, really, REALLY

annoying. Then again, she was probably doing it to annoy

him in the first place. Trouble was it was working. On the

upshot, she was too busy snickering to pay attention to

what was on the TV, so Shinji was watching the program of

his choice.

Both of them were fairly slender fourteen year-olds.

Shinji's face was entirely too serious for someone his age

and he had a thoughtful, quiet air about him. Asuka, on the

other hand, was already starting to fill out and was

showing definite signs of becoming devastatingly gorgeous

when the time came. Her entire attitude gave the impression

that as far as she was concerned, the whole world was a

stage and she was the female lead. It's not surprising that

the phrase 'best of terms' could hardly be applied to them,

unless preceded by the words 'not on the'.

Shinji kept his attention focused on the TV, using it

mostly to help him tune Asuka out. He raised his remote to

change the channel just as Asuka raised her own remote. The

screen flickered briefly between a history documentary and

a soap opera then back. Shinji didn't have the energy to

even turn to glare at her- she however obviously did.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" she asked,

exasperated at Shinji's utter lack of reaction.

Three hours straight of insults and laughing were

more than enough to wear away at his considerable reserves

of patience. The headache wasn't helping much, either.

Shinji didn't even turn to look at her, but replied in a

bored tone, "Sorry, I wasn't." He cringed slightly, at the

expression on her face, but he had a moment of... something

and before he could stop himself added, "I just didn't have

the heart to tell you to stop. You seemed like you were

enjoying listening to yourself."

"You lousy idiot!" Asuka fumed, changing the channel

back to her soap, "I don't know why they bother keeping

your around!"

"The feeling's mutual!" he shot back, almost

automatically, bringing the documentary back on the screen.

"Do you mind?! I'm trying to watch!" Asuka yelled at

him, switching back to the soap opera. For some reason she

couldn't put her finger on, he was being particularly

annoying today.

"So am I!" He flicked the channel change button on

his remote at the exact moment Asuka flicked her own. The

result was a cooking show with a man with a fake moustache

and a fake Italian accent showing people what to do with

synthetic meatballs and instant sauce.

"That reminds me-," Both said at the same time. They

glared at each other for a moment.

Asuka continued, "Where is Misato anyway? It's her

turn to cook dinner. Not that I'm really looking forward to

it," she added in a low mutter.

Major Misato Kitsuragi was Asuka and Shinji's token

'adult-in-charge', who paid the rent and also lived in that

apartment. She was Director of Operations for NERV, the

organization that created, owned and maintained the Evas.

NERV, through judicious political maneuvering was in fact

largely in charge of the war against the Angels, despite

the UN's preferences.

By the mere fact that Misato had managed to attain

her position, she hadproof enough that she was a very

competent and intelligent woman. Publicly at least- at home

she had beer for breakfast, was an absolute slob and lived

off of beer, instant food and takeout more often than not.

As a result, both Shinji and Asuka suffered because of it.

Someone who belches loudly, drinks beer as if it were water

and scratches herself during dinner was not exactly an

ideal companion, but it beat eating alone.

Shinji shrugged and turned to look at his watch, an

expression of concern on his face. "She usually calls if

she's going to be this late... maybe I ought to call her

office..."

Asuka sniffed at him from across the living room.

"Dummy. They haven't restored phone service to our

celphones or this district since last week's battle."

Shinji frowned at her. She always knew the right

thing to say to annoy him. "There's no need to be so rude

about it," he replied, raising his voice a little.

Asuka merely glared at him disapprovingly. Shinji

glared back for a moment, but he didn't really have the

energy for it. He collapsed back onto the couch and

muttered, "She's probably got some extra work to do."

"You don't suppose there's another angel attack?"

Asuka asked, her voice oddly enthusiastic.

She wants another chance to show off what a hot-shot pilot

she is, Shinji thought with a sigh. "I think we'd have heard

the alert already." Shinji replied.

Asuka sighed. "Well, I'm starving. I don't think I

can wait for her much longer. I think there's still two TV

dinners in the back of the freezer." Her expression became

thoughtful, "Actually, I think that's all we've got

left..."

"Are you sure they're not the ones that Misato stuck

in there?" Shinji asked tentatively.

"The ones from three weeks ago?" Asuka asked, pulling

a face. "No I don't think so. These ones are still in their

wrappers."

"Oh. Good." Shinji replied, a look of distaste on his

face. "Well, they've got to be better than the stuff Misato

tried to feed us the other night."

His companion grimaced openly. "Her pseudo-spaghetti?

The instant beef stew she added tomato paste and wasabe

flavored potato chips to before she spread it on the

instant soba noddles? Yuk... Even Pen-Pen wouldn't eat it."

Shinji smiled slightly. Pen-Pen was their fellow

flatmate, even if he slept in the fridge, at least he

picked up after himself. He was a hot spring penguin whom

Misato had acquired through circumstances that had never

been made absolutely clear to either of them. While Pen-Pen

had developed a cast iron stomach from all of Misato's

various culinary disasters, even he had his limits.

"I can't understand how she manages to make instant

food taste bad. It's incredible," Asuka continued. Her

stomach gave a warning grumble causing her to wince. "I am

starving..."

"Uh huh." Shinji replied absently, and without too

much sympathy. He turned his attention back to the TV.

"So what are you waiting for Shinji?" Asuka demanded,

"Why don't you go pop those dinners in the microwave?"

"Me?" Shinji frowned, turning to face Asuka, "You're

closer to the kitchen."

"By all of five feet!" Asuka shot back, "I'm too weak

from hunger to move..." She groaned dramatically.

"You're the one who's so hungry." Shinji pointed out.

Almost as if on cue, his own stomach gave a rumble.

Asuka laughed and pointed at Shinji's midsection,

"Looks like I'm not the only one!"

Shinji sighed and got up off the couch, "Fine. I'm

getting my dinner."

"Make sure you keep mine in for an extra fifteen

seconds! I want to make sure it gets heated through!" Asuka

called after him as he passed through the doorway.

"Who said anything about your dinner? I'm just

getting mine." Shinji muttered as he walked away. He was

still annoyed at her.

"Why you..!" Asuka cried, hurling a throw pillow at

him as he ducked into the hallway. Asuka held out for all

of thirty seconds before the various warning noises her

digestive system was giving her spurred her out of her

comfortable sprawl.



The two of them were in the process of chipping away

at the ice in the freezer which held their TV dinners. Pen

Pen looked at the two of them curiously. He was just

waiting for his two human roommates to get HIS dinner ready

so he could take a nap, when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Shinji said wiping some sweat away

from his forehead.

Asuka glared at him for a moment as though he were

using the doorbell as an excuse to slack off, then went

back to work on the ice with the knife.

He opened the door and found, to his surprise, Rei

standing outside with a neutral expression on her face. Rei

was the first of the Eva pilots that NERV found... or

perhaps not. The situation was terribly complicated. To put

it bluntly, Rei, in most people's opinions was a decidedly

strange girl. There was something strangely intense and, at

the same time, resigned about her, which made her very

difficult to approach. Shinji knew it well.

She had an overnight bag on one shoulder. He wasn't

all too surprised that she was still wearing her school

uniform. He'd never seen her in anything but that outside

of the base or PE class.

"Um... Ayanami, this is a surprise."

Rei glanced down for a moment, noting the knife which

Shinji still held in hand without expression before saying

in a soft monotone, "Major Katsuragi said something came up

at the office. She won't be home until early tomorrow

morning. I've been ordered to keep you and Soryu company."

That was another surprise. Shinji stepped away from

the door and made a vague gesture to come in, "Oh. Um...

sure."

Rei stepped into the house without acknowledging him

further. Shinji watched her walk past him, wondering why

Misato told her to stay with them tonight... his mind

wandered a bit on that topic, before he realized he was

gawking at Rei who was now looking back at him.

"Better close the door." She told him.

"Er... right..." Shinji replied, embarrassed at

having been caught staring.

"Ah-HAH!" Asuka's voice cried out happily from the

kitchen. "I got em free, Shinji! Dinner in a minute or so!"

"Have you eaten yet, Rei?" Shinji asked tentatively.

She was still staring at him and he growing very

uncomfortable.

"No." Rei said softly.

Shinji's reply was lost as Asuka burst in. "So who

was it?" Asuka inquired. She caught sight of Rei, who

seemed to be watching a mildly squirming Shinji. She

rolled her eyes and sighed. Boys, constantly thinking

with their hormones.

"Oh. It's you." Asuka didn't sound too enthusiastic.

Rei told her almost exactly the same message she gave

Shinji, in the same monotone, "Major Katsuragi said

something came up at the office. She won't be home until

tomorrow at noon. I've been ordered to keep you and Ikari

company."

Asuka sniffed and raised an eyebrow. "Oh... I guess

Misato doesn't trust Shinji anymore after what happened the

last time we got left alone together so she sent a

chaperone!"

Shinji blushed and frowned at Asuka, "Nothing

happened!"

"You still tried to kiss me, you lech!" Asuka shot

back.

"I am not a lech!"

"Yes you are!"

Shinji gave a disgusted snort, dropping the knife on

the counter next to the door. He blushed even more

furiously as he stalked off to the kitchen.

"Where do you think you're going, pervert?" Asuka

demanded. "The food's not ready yet!"

"I'm heating up some water for instant ramen."

Shinji replied. "Give the other TV dinner to Rei."

Asuka jerked a thumb at the impassive Rei, as she

called back. "Miss Picky here doesn't eat meat! Those're

Salisbury steak TV dinners!"

"It's not like there's any real meat in those

things." Shinji shrugged.

Rei merely watched Shinji leave.

Asuka turned to look at Rei, whose expression hadn't

changed during the entire exchange. Asuka's mouth

quirked. she'd had her suspicions regarding Shinji and

Rei for a while now: she was pretty sure the Shinji had a

thing for Rei. It was hard for someone as empathic as an

Eva pilot to live with someone and NOT pick up a little on

what they thought about. Rei hadn't shown any sort of

interest in Shinji, but she was always like that... her

train of thought got derailed suddenly.

"Why did you call him a pervert?" Rei asked, her tone

still soft and expressionless save for a mild puzzlement.

"Well, Duh!" Asuka replied, "Weren't you listening?

He tried to kiss me!"

"So?" Rei persisted.

"SO?! What do you mean 'so'?! Who knows what else he

would've done to me in my sleep if he'd succeeded in

kissing me?!!" Asuka gesticulated wildly.

Rei replied, "I'm sure he would know," as she

followed Shinji to the kitchen.

"Oooooh!" Asuka groaned angrily. Rei was simply

impossible to talk to. Sometimes she thought that Rei and

Shinji were conspiring against her- after all, they knew

that SHE was better then both of them combined. She gave

herself a little grin, satisfied that the explanation for

their rude behavior was simply jealousy and followed her

fellow pilots to have dinner.

"Well..." Asuka said as she sprawled on the couch

again, dinner being happily digested, "That wasn't too

bad..."

Shinji lounged on the other couch, also somewhat

full, "I guess."

Rei sat primly on the easy chair and didn't say

anything. The food they'd given her had not only tasted

like cardboard, it had looked a bit like it too, so she'd

mostly given the hamburger to Shinji and eaten around the

peas and carrots. He had offered her some of the ramen,

which promptly set Asuka off on some inspired teasing about

the two of them sharing food. Shinji blushed, but Rei

seemed to make a point of ignoring her.

Rei kept her eyes on the TV show the three of them

were watching. It was some sort of game show. It wasn't

particularly good, but none of them particularly felt like

changing the channel. All three sighed at the same time.

"This is boring..." Asuka said after a few moments.

"It's nearly over anyway..." Shinji replied.

"I can't work up any enthusiasm over whether or not

this guy manages to win the house or not. Why are we even

watching this?" Asuka complained.

"There's nothing better on."

"That does it then, I'm sleeping." Asuka announced as

she got up off the couch and stretched. Shinji glanced at

her quickly without really thinking about it. She might be

annoying, but he had to admit she was definitely pretty.

"And don't get any ideas about sneaking into my room,

Ikari!" Asuka added, waggling a finger in his general

direction.

Shinji rolled his eyes, still not completely over his

earlier annoyance at her. "I wasn't planning on it." He

made it sound as if wild horses couldn't drag him into that

room.

She turned her nose up at him and with a flip of her

hair she was out the doorway.

Shinji muttered to himself, "Sometimes I wish NERV

never found her."

Rei asked suddenly, still in her soft voice, "Would

you rather it had been just the two of us?"

He turned to face her, a little surprised not only at

how the question was worded, but that Rei was showing signs

of curiosity at all, and the fact that he hadn't intended

for her to hear it. "Um... that's not quite what I meant I

guess... I just wish they'd gotten someone more... I don't

know... um... easy to get along with?"

Shinji noted the subtle change in Rei. He was one of

a very short list of people who'd spent any considerable

amount of time with Rei and it was possible for him to read

some of her moods, difficult though it was. Her eyes

brightened slightly and the corners of her mouth almost

curled up. She asked in her same quiet monotone, but Shinji

thought he heard a hint of amusement, "Someone like me?"

"Er..." Shinji had no reply for that. He stretched

his arms up over his head for a moment at the precise

moment that Rei did too, both of them stifling yawns. He

felt the oddest sensation... it almost felt like the

sensations he'd received when he was inside her Eva and

trying to synchronize with it... the way it felt just

before her Eva had gone berserk...

That had been one of the less pleasant instances

during the testing they'd had to endure as pilots... they

tried to match their thought patterns to the other pilot's

Eva as a precaution, in case one of them had to take the

other's Eva. Oddly enough they called it the 'mutual

compatibility' experiment. Rei had synchronized with almost

no trouble at all with Shinji's Eva, with an unexpected

side effect of opening some of Shinji's memories to her,

through the Eva... Shinji, however, did not prove quite so

lucky in Her Eva and ended up suffering a mental backlash

which wiped out all impressions he'd gotten from her...

"Well?" Rei persisted. Shinji's eyes widened

somewhat. Rei's behavior was definitely starting to make

him uneasy.

Asuka ducked her head into the living room again...

jolting Shinji out of whatever state he was in. She had

changed into a long T-shirt and she was frowning

suspiciously, "I don't believe my ears... are you two

flirting?"

"Hey! That's not it at all!" Shinji cried. Rei's

expression neither confirmed nor denied.

"Trust me, Ayanami... You're better off without this

guy. He's probably just waiting for you to doze off so he

can rip your clothes off or something..." Asuka said

viciously.

"Would you quit that, Asuka?!" Shinji yelled at her,

blushing both at the embarrassment and the mental image

that THAT had brought up.

"Why would he do that?" Rei inquired quietly.

Asuka rolled her eyes, "What planet are you from,

Ayanami? So he can see your naked body! That's what all of

these perverts think about all the time."

Rei's expression had slipped back to neutral. "But

he's already seen me without clothes on. Why should it

matter if he sees it again?"

Asuka's jaw dropped. Shinji's face reddened

considerably. Asuka marched over to the couch, grabbing a

throw pillow on her way with which she began to beat on

Shinji's head. "You lecherous, perverted, filthy minded...

BOY!"

"OW! Hey, cut that out! Stop! It was an... OW!

Accident! Argh!" Shinji held his hands up to try and ward

Asuka off.

"I don't believe it! You pervert!! Take this! And

THIS!" She proceeded to brutally beat on his still ringing

head with the throw pillow. "How dare you try to take

advantage of a woman?! Even if it is Wondergirl!"

Rei watched, mildly confused at it all. Interaction

with other people and understanding them were never her

strong suits, "What are you doing?"

Asuka stopped long enough to give Rei a puzzled

glance. "Wha? Doesn't it bother you that he looked at you

while you were naked?!"

Rei gave her head a very small shake, "No."

Asuka's eyes grew wide as she passed her gaze from

Rei to Shinji then back, "You don't mean to say that the

two of you've been sleeping toge...?" She couldn't bring

herself to complete the sentence... she couldn't really

understand why... it wasn't even as if she was getting

jealous at all... not that she'd admit it if she were.

Which she wasn't... really... and if she said it to herself

often enough she might believe it. It was the fact that

Ayanami was taking it all so ridiculously calmly that Asuka

felt she had to get mad on Ayanami's behalf... which made

her feel twice as weird since she was now trying to stand

up for a girl she disliked intensely...

"That's not it either, Asuka..." Shinji grumbled from

the couch, still blushing furiously, but now rubbing his

head. His headache wasn't helping him think clearly, "It

was an accident, really..."

"It was not his fault he lost his balance and landed

on me either." Rei volunteered quietly. Shinji acked as

Asuka glared at him and reached for the remote control,

holding it threateningly.

"This was while you were naked?" Asuka asked, still

very much confused, but quite ready to beat the daylights

out of Shinji for it regardless.

Shinji looked as if he wanted to crawl under a rock

somewhere... he'd hoped that she wouldn't talk about the

incident, but here she was actually telling Asuka! Asuka of

all people! It was almost as if Rei was trying to cause

trouble!

Rei nodded, expression still totally neutral, but her

eyes had fallen on Shinji again.

Asuka whirled to face the cringing Shinji, "What the

heck were you doing with Ayanami while she was naked?!"

Shinji... pushed to the limit, snapped back, "What

business is it of yours if I was naked with Ayanami?! Er...

I mean... she was... er..." Unfortunately... anger and a

nasty headache also have the tendency to make people slip

their words up sometimes...

Asuka's jaw dropped. Again. Her fury went from red

hot to ice cold in a matter of moments. "Well... I don't

care how you two are going to go around denying this." She

threw the remote over her shoulder and looked down her nose

at the two of them, "It's none of my business if you and

she are going to do some perverse, disgusting and utterly

immoral act. Why am I even bothering?"

Rei was suspiciously silent.

"But..." Shinji tried to explain... if any of this

got back to Misato... or worse to his father. This would

not be good...

Asuka coolly walked out of the room, overdramatically

muttering and posing, "Don't mind me... Get yourself in

trouble why don't you..? What an idiot... what a pair of

idiots... What a pair of weirdoes."

Shinji's mouth worked uselessly as he tried to figure

out what else to say... not that he had anything left to

say, since his only company was Rei and the TV. Neither of

which were noted for their conversational skills.

Asuka ducked her head into the living room one last

time and called out, "You two deserve each other!"

Rei regarded her with a flat expression as Asuka

stormed off to her room, "I'm going to sleep now." Rei said

flatly as she walked from the easy chair to the couch,

unbuttoning her shirt as she walked. She had her back to

Shinji as she did it, and he was staring blankly at the TV.

Her shirt was already totally unbuttoned when Shinji turned

to face her.

"Um... maybe you'd like to stay in my room instead?

You can use the bed. I can stay on the couch." He paused

for a moment as he realized that he was staring at the

smooth expanse of skin across her belly... the fringes of

her bra... he turned to one side quickly. She didn't seem

to notice at all.

Rei seemed to consider his question for a moment

longer than necessary before replying, "Yes."

Shinji kept his face turned away, "Um... w-w-why is

your shirt unbuttoned?"

Asuka's eyes widened. She'd been eavesdropping just

in case the two of them started talking about her behind

her back or something... but THIS was worse than she

expected! She rolled up her sleeve preparing to rush in

and... something... she wasn't too sure about that herself.

Rei stood up and walked calmly to the doorway, "I was

undressing to sleep." She took her shirt off entirely,

stuffing it into the overnight bag which she heaved over

one shoulder.

Shinji's eyes bugged out when he realized that she

was down to just her bra and skirt... and whatever she had

under the skirt... he kept his gaze directly opposite her,

but didn't shut his eyes... Rei didn't really seem to

care... he asked in a strained voice, "Do you have to do

that while you're still here?!"

"You haven't shown me where your room is." She

replied matter-of-factly. Shinji was surprised to hear a

very tiny note of exasperation in her tone.

"Um... it's... er... down the... hall... um...

right... third door on the right... yeah, that's it."

Shinji rattled off with difficulty. He kept his eyes firmly

planted on an uninteresting spot of wall, but his

peripheral vision was pretty good. Rei walked purposefully

towards the doorway once Shinji had completed the

directions.

Asuka ducked into her room quickly to keep Rei from

spotting her. Asuka closed the door as she breathed a sigh

of relief. Interestingly enough, she sighed simultaneously

with Shinji who was pulling on the collar of his shirt and

fanning himself unconsciously...

She'd never affected him like this before. Even from

that distance he was starting to feel something oddly

familiar and not... he was receiving the phantom sensation,

same as before... he took a deep breath and he could almost

swear he could feel her in the air around him. Her

presence. Like a scent... almost exactly like the time he

was in her Eva.

Normally, Shinji would've listened to his walkman

until he would finally allow himself to drift off to

sleep... but he wasn't risking going into his room to look

for it. Certainly not if there was a possibility that Rei's

idea of sleepwear was bare skin, which was entirely

possible...

He settled down on the couch to rest at the precise

moment Rei did the same on his bed, twelve feet away. They

both breathed a heavy sigh as they both turned over to

their left side, each tucking a hand under their heads

before finally drifting off.

Shinji woke up softly to the strains of "Fly me to

The Moon" being sung by Megumi Hayashibara. He blinked his

eyes slowly open... it was still dark... he felt a rather

familiar pressure in one of his ears and there was some

sort of shadowy figure obscuring his vision as he tried to

focus.

"Wha..?" he asked, still dazed from his awakening.

He felt a warm breath of air touch face lightly. A

scent he recognized... "Ayanami?" he whispered.

She moved her face slightly closer to his, her

features becoming clearer as she shifted. She had an

earphone fitted into her left ear and it took him a moment

to realize that the other end of the earphone was in his

right ear. He was aware of her breathing. The movement of

air across his face... the gentle rise and fall of her

chest. Thank goodness she was wearing a shirt at least, he

thought to himself.

She was most definitely not sleepwalking. She was

kneeling to one side of the couch and looking down at him

intently. Her eyes were obscured in part by her hair and by

the shadows, so he couldn't see any more of her expression,

than the fact that she wore an impassive face. She reached

out and gently ran her fingertips across his cheek.

"I thought you would want something to listen to. To

help you sleep." She answered quietly.

"It's my favorite tape... how did you know?" he

asked, trying to mask his nervousness with small talk.

"I just did. It felt right."

"Oh. I... um... I see..." Shinji frantically fished

for something... anything to say to her... "What are you

trying to do?"

"What do you mean?" Rei asked softly, almost as if

she didn't care whether or not she was answered.

"I was already sleeping fine... why the..."

"I don't know."

"Huh?"

"I do not understand it either. Major Katsuragi

didn't really order me to keep you and Asuka company... she

just mentioned offhand that I could come here if I wanted

to. Which I did."

Shinji gulped nervously.

Rei's hand brushed lightly against Shinji's cheek

again, "I am not asking for anything from you. Just let me

be nearby. I won't do anything. Just let me stay with you."

Her voice was still soft... but the tiny hint of pleading

was almost impossible to ignore.

"Rei, this is so sudden..." Shinji tried to say.

"No, it's not." Rei said, her voice gathering

strength, "When I synchronized with your Eva... I felt you

through it... the pattern of your thoughts that you left in

it was there for me to read... and I know what it's like to

be you..." She paused awkwardly, as though trying to find

the right words. "I've been inside your head... and I know

you experienced the same when you synchronized with my Eva,

even if only for a moment..."

"But... um... I forgot everything that I learned

about you from the synchronization. My mind couldn't handle

them I guess... I told the doctors..."

She smiled at him... warmly. It was a smile he'd only

seen on her twice before in all the time they'd known each

other. "I know... my Eva went berserk. Perhaps you may not

remember them consciously... but you know them. You know

me."

"But I don't..." Shinji protested.

"... just like I know you." She continued, despite

his interruption. "I... I think I know what it's like to

feel... when I felt what you did. I know what you were

thinking when you first looked at me." She touched his

cheek again.

Despite the darkness, Shinji was sure she could see

his face turn red.

"We are probably the two closest human beings on the

planet. We have seen the world through each other's eyes."

"Maybe." Shinji hazarded.

"What do I want now?" Rei asked quietly.

"To lie down and get some sleep." Shinji answered

without thinking.

"Good." Rei said. Shinji, without realizing it, moved

aside allowing Rei to lie down next to him on the narrow

sofa. She dropped a small tube on the end table near the

sofa before laying down.

Rei snuggled quietly up to Shinji's side. The two of

them lying quietly. He didn't understand what was

happening, but he followed what he felt.

"Is this such a good idea?" Shinji asked finally, "I mean

my bed's got more room than this... and Asuka's going to

find us like this tomorrow morning..."

"Just get some sleep. Don't worry about her," she

murmured softly.

Shinji smiled a little as he felt both of them begin

to drift off to sleep... perhaps this wouldn't be so bad.

Rei echoed his smile... Asuka was hardly going to

disturb them. She remembered one of Shinji's memories of

Asuka complaining how Japanese doors didn't have locks and

how little privacy there was in a Japanese home. She was

only too happy to give Asuka the privacy she asked for.

Asuka slept soundly behind her closed door... come

morning, she would no doubt experience a considerable

degree of trouble leaving her room, though. Having your

door epoxied shut could do that.



End.