The Rose Insignia
Disclaimer: Evangelion and all its trademarks do not belong to me. This fanfic does! Enjoy! *smiles*

Cold and hard, the pure rain fell. Rei was caught in the middle of it. She had a tiny purse around her shoulder and searched inside for an umbrella or a newspaper to keep dry. Unfortunately, she found not umbrella let alone a newspaper. Her blue hair dripped with water onto her long eyelashes then fell onto her midnight-blue dress. Rei thought for a moment as to were she can hide out until the rain passed. She stood on the wet sidewalk, standing in the rain getting all wet as people walked by staring at her damp complexion. A crack of lightning blazed across the sky heading in the direction of the park.
I could stay there until the weather is safe enough to walk in again thought Rei. Rei started for the park holding her arms over her head to keep the water from getting in her eyes. There was a rose bush that had a narrow opening, big enough to cover a person from rain anytime, best of all; Rei noticed that there were no thorns to worry about.
"The roses look so pretty in the rain," Rei said quietly. Thunder rolled in many directions that shot another bolt of lightning across the sky with a hellish crash of sound that the pebbles on the ground tumbled from side to side. Rei, who was not frightened, ran toward the rose bush but tripped and fell in an exceedingly large puddle. Pulling herself up, Rei just looked at her reflection not saying a word. The dress she wore was soaked and ripped at the bottom, her hair was completely wet and her hands were bruised by her fall.
A fool, that's what I am. Just sitting in the pouring rain looking at myself and not even feeling sorry; I can understand why others feel uneasy around me. Why Asuka yells at me and calls me a doll. She's right; I am a doll. A broken, lost, weak doll. Rei tried getting up but she lost all the feeling in her arms. Being an EVA pilot and a substitute for Gendo Ikari doesn't bother Rei, but.......why did Rei feel that she wasn't in those positions as a person? It didn't matter now; she thought that no person was like her. She wanted someone to talk to. Man or woman. Suddenly, Rei couldn't feel the drops of rain on her head or any other part of her body, yet, it was still raining outside. Looking up, there was Kaworu holding an umbrella over both of them. He was slightly smiling, eyes full of wonder and compassion. Rei stared into his crimson gem eyes as he stared right back into her crimson ones. Rei broke the stare and the silence by asking:
"What are you doing out in the rain?"
Kaworu stood there for a second or two and replied, "I was wondering the same with you."
"I just wanted to hide somewhere until the rain passed by."
"Oh," Kaworu said. Rei didn't know Kaworu all that well. Shinji and he would often be found together everywhere they went. Also, Rei didn't come in contact with others too well; with Kaworu, Rei thought, was different from other common people. She could see that he was more than he let on to be. Rei lifted herself off the ground and rinsed out her dress with her bare hands. Kaworu looked at her couldn't help but smile. Rei saw that and turned around not looking at him.
"Why do you smile at me? What is there to smile about? You don't know me," Rei said in her famous mono-toned voice. Kaworu tipped his head to one side and looked surprised.
"Because I like you, Ayanami-chan. You and I are a lot alike. Besides, I can't let you get more drenched than you already are. Come on back to Nerv, and get into something dry before you become ill."
"Why? If I get sick Nerv won't have a Unit 00 pilot? I would be in the way? A useless thing?" Rei said looking down at the ground.
"No," Kaworu answered. "You will worry people if you get sick. Your friends will be worried."
"What friends? I...I don't think I have any," Rei said timidly. Saying that, Rei remembered the time Shinji saved her by forcing himself into her entry plug to see if she was still alive. Rei remembered him crying and thanking God that she was okay. Was that truly worrying about another?
"Well, Misato-chan, Commander Ikari, Asuka-chan, Toji-kun and Shinji-kun would worry about you, Rei. They will be just as concerned as I am, I would not want a friend to be unhappy." Rei froze. Friend? He thought of Rei as a friend?
"A friend?" said Rei, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"Aren't we friends?" Kaworu asked innocently.
"We are?"
"If you agree to it, then we're best friends," Kaworu said smiling gently. Still under the umbrella, hearing the rain crash on top of it, Rei turned to face him. She had on a confused look, having someone say that to her was a brand new thing to experience.
"If you want to stay under the rose bush I won't stop you. Will you mind if you had a friend with you?" Kaworu offered. There was that word again 'friend'. As Rei looked at Kaworu, she found herself trusting him. Wanting to say something to the slender boy all that came out was-
"Have you ever seen a blue rose?" What? Huh? Where did that come from? Blue Rose? Umm...uh. Rei could probably comprehend how Shinji got all tongue-tied when talking to Kaworu. He had the most beautiful face and the softest looking skin and his hair glowed in comparison to the lightning. Now, he was thinking about that random question.
"I can't say that I have seen a blue rose," he answered. Rei almost let out a giggle of relief until Kaworu finished his sentence. "Until tonight." Rei's cheeks flushed a rose colored shade as her arms began moving themselves around Kaworu's waist.
"I'll come back to Nerv with you Kaworu-kun, if you want me to." Rei sneezed from being so wet that would soon turn into a cold.
"That's a good idea. Come with me," Kaworu said offering his arm. Rei accepted it and both of them started home when she saw a rose in full bloom at the end of the bush as all the other roses were still buds. A big, beautiful, and delicate rose that appeared blue in the night.

When Rei and Kaworu returned to Nerv H.Q. they were greeted by Misato, Asuka, and Shinji. Rei was dripping from head to toe as she greeted them back.
"Rei, Kaworu!" Misato cried "Where the hell have you two been? I was getting worried! I don't need another ten years of stress on my life."
"Gomen, Misato-chan," Kaworu said. "I bumped into Ayanami-chan on the way home and well.....it's a long story."
"Fine, fine, fine; as long as you two are all right," Misato said putting on a happy face. Kaworu got settled and rested himself near the fireplace to warm up.
"Um, Kaworu-kun?" Rei said walking up to him dressed in a bathrobe belonging to Misato. "Thank-you for.....y'know.... tonight, I would like to be you're friend if it's okay."
"With pleasure" he said with a big smile.
Rei left the room and spotted Asuka at the hallway's corner. Rei didn't say anything because she didn't know what to say. Asuka gave her a sharp look and snorted.
"Don't do it again!" Asuka said.
Rei didn't know what she actually did to make Asuka mad, again.
"Don't disappear without a warning okay. Hey, you may be slightly wimpy but your one of us! We're a team in a way, y'know? Can 'ya promise me that?"
"OK," Rei said. Asuka was worried about me this whole time? Wow. Rei smiled a happy smile and headed on up to her room.
When Kaworu was finally comfortable, Shinji appeared beside him.
"Is something wrong with Ayanami-chan?" asked Shinji
"No. She just earned a new friend today."
"Who?"
"Me. But don't worry Shin-chan, I'm friends with Rei- chan, but I'm always yours." Kaworu slipped his arm around Shinji's waist and caressed his back placing him down next to him looking into his eyes.
"You and Rei are so alike," Kaworu whispered into Shinji's ear. "You two are so adorable." Shinji blushed as Kaworu embraced him closely in the chair and under the blankets when Shinji was aware that Kaworu had the sweet scent of roses. It was so sincere.

The End