Shinji's hand trembled. A lot. So much, in fact, that the shaking made him dial the wrong number. Again.
"Dammit!" he said as he slammed the phone down again. He put his hands together in his lap, and stared at them. And that was the third try, too! Wasn't the third time a charm or some crap like that?
"Ikari."
He turned his attention to the person sitting next to him.
"You seem to be having trouble dialing the telephone. Should I dial it for you?"
Shinji sighed, and looked back down. "No, no... it's just... I'm so nervous about calling her..."
Rei tentatively raised her hand halfway, paused... and then put her hand on his shoulder. She was obviously trying to imitate his gesture from earlier.
They both stared at the pale hand on his shoulder.
Shinji deflated. "It's... I'm just so nervous that... that I'll mess everything up again..."
"Just speak calmly, and avoid angering her. That is what I was able to do. At... at least for a while..."
"But that's the thing! I just can't avoid angering her. Everything I say or do pisses her off..."
Rei tilted her head and frowned as she thought. "She... likes praise, and is extremely competitive. But do not talk about her past..."
"I know... that's what got me here in the first place..."
"I cannot think of much else that is of help to tell you... just be your gentle self... that is all. I am sorry..."
Rei's head snapped up. Shinji had put his hand on her pale one. He squeezed it slightly, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't be. Just your presence here is enough."
He began to dial the phone again, this time with less trouble... probably because he subconsciously had left his hand on hers.
Rei had stopped paying attention. She blushed.
The only thing she could concentrate on was the softness of his hand on the back of hers...
And the heat that seemed to flow between them, from that one joined point, and spread throughout her body...
And how good it felt when she noticed his fingers were just long enough to begin wrapping around the sides of her hand... holding it delicately...
And how everytime he subconsciously moved his fingers or thumb, the feeling of the gentle caress on her skin sent a shiver through her body...
And how...
]|[
Shinji cleared his throat as he heard the quiet ringing tone... waiting for someone to pick up...
{Hello?}
"Hi... this is Shinji Ikari... uh... is Asuka there?"
{Oh, hey Shinji. It's Hikari. Yeah, I'll get Asuka in a second.}
Then he struggled to hear as Hikari dropped to a whisper.
{Psst. I'm glad you finally called. Ever since that talk she had with Rei, Asuka's been feeling guilty... she really needs this. Thanks.}
"Well... uh... it's my fault anyway, so I guess I'd just naturally try and make amends. I just hope she listens."
{Uh... let me get her, hang on...}
He heard a tap as the phone was set down, and it was quiet for a while.
{...}
That is, until he heard a shout through the telephone. It sounded like it came from across the room.
{WHO?!?!}
Or maybe from across the house...
There was a tapping of footsteps, and then a rather obnoxious greeting.
{Whaddya want, Third Child?}
"Uh... hi, Asuka. I was just... um... calling to see how you were."
{Well I'm doing pretty shitty, thanks to you. But at least now I have an excuse to skip school.}
"Look Asuka... I'm really sorry about the other day. I didn't mean it at all, and was just blowing off steam..."
{....}
"It was just... just that... of all the reactions I believed you could give, I guess I just... never expected that one..."
{L-}
"But I still am sorry... your reaction still didn't justify my insult to you... but Misato told me afterwards about... uh... your... p-parents, and I felt so guilty..."
"Regardless, that information is still kind of private... and I still don't think it's right that I know it without your permission... "
"My mother... also... died. Not like yours, but... she... she was the first test subject to try and synchronize with Eva-01... and... it... absorbed her. She... vanished. And they never... never got her back again."
"You're probably kind of bored listening to me... but... I just felt that... since I knew about yours, you had a right to know about mine..."
{Nah, not really; being here all the time is boring, so it doesn't bother me. But... that was nice of you to share about your... mother. Thanks. You know... that's the most I've heard you say at once since I arrived in Japan.}
Shinji chuckled a little. "Yeah, well... Ayanami pointed out that I knew about your mom, but you didn't know about mine. So I guess that was the first time I felt the need to tell something like that."
{Yeah, what's up with Wondergirl, anyway? Is she acting... weird... at all?}
Shinji remembered his promise to keep quiet. "Uh... I don't really know. Haven't really noticed much... but Misato-san and I let her stay here for a while."
The explosion forced him to hold the phone a small distance away from his ear.
{WHAT?!? SHE'S STAYING THERE?! Why the hell is she staying with us... well, you... all of a sudden?!}
He returned to 'timid' mode. "Uh... well... I just thought that... it would be a better environment for her. At least, better than her apartment."
Asuka immediately suspected something.
{Wait... when were you at her apartment...?}
"Oh... a while ago – before you came – I just went to drop off her NERV ID. Nothing, really." He conveniently left out the rest of the... details.
{Hmm.... you aren't taking advantage of my absence to screw her, are you?}
"What?! Why would I-... what.... I wouldn't do...."
{Calm down, baka. I was just playing around.}
Shinji let out a sigh of relief.
{I heard that you have a... uh... big... on your face... y'know... umm... sorry... }
"Don't worry about it. It'll leave a scar, but it's not bad."
{Yeah, well, I always like to mark my property.}
"What?!"
{Nothing, just kidding.}
She sighed, and took on a bored tone.
{Well, I guess I might as well forgive you... on one condition.}
"What's that?"
{Don't tell Misato about this conversation. I'm gonna stay a while longer.}
He heard a quiet "Heeeyyy....!" from Hikari in the background.
"Why are you staying?"
{I don't really feel like going to school yet.}
Shinji suspected it was really because Ayanami was staying over, but decided not to bring it up.
"All right. I can keep it secret for a while. But Misato's gonna get on my case about making up with you, so I can't do it for too long."
{OK. Whatever. Later, Shinji.}
He heard the obnoxious dial tone, and hung the phone up.
"Well, that wasn't too bad," he said to no one in particular.
Shinji turned, about to say something to Rei, but stopped.
He looked down.
Apparently, sometime during the phone call, she had flipped her hand over. So now they were holding hands like... like... like you were supposed to. He hadn't even noticed that he left his hand there in the first place.
He couldn't help but compare their skin tones. Rei's was so pale... so light... compared to his slight tan. It was like one of those... those... dolls made out of porcelain or something.
He looked back up at her with questioning eyes.
She watched their hands for a few seconds, and then spoke. "I believe that I am... enjoying this, Ikari-kun. I find it... it... pleasurable? Could we... stay like this for a little longer?"
Shinji blinked at her. He looked at their joined hands. Then he looked up at her and smiled. "As long as you'd like, Ayanami."
]|[
"Asuka, you're such a freeloader."
Asuka turned to Hikari. "Hey! I'm you're friend, aren't I?"
She nodded. "Yeah... but you're also a freeloader."
"Feh."
"So I guess you made up with Shinji, right?"
Asuka tipped backwards from her sitting position, until she was lying on the floor. "Yeah. Kinda."
"What was with that screaming? I came back to her you shouting about some 'she.'"
"Oh." Asuka shrugged. "Nothing. Just Wondergirl's staying over there for a while."
"Wondergirl? You mean Rei?"
"Yeah. Wondergirl."
Hikari rolled her eyes. "Right." It remained silent for a while, until Hikari smirked. "You're not jealous?"
"I knew you were gonna ask that question," Asuka sighed.
"Then why didn't you try and change the subject?"
Shrug.
"So... are you jealous?" Hikari repeated.
Asuka shut her eyes. "Nope. Why should I be?"
"Well, why shouldn't you be?"
"Because he's a jerk. And a pervert. And a wimp."
"I though you forgave him already."
"... OK, he's not a jerk. But he's still a wimp and a pervert."
"No, he's not. You're just making excuses. So, what about him?"
"... Well, what about Touji?"
Hikari blushed and began to say something, but then shut her mouth. "Look, you've already asked me about everything there possibly is to know about him, just to avoid answering questions. I'm not going to fall for it again."
"Fine, fine, fine." Asuka paused for a second. "Shinji... well... he's... a nice kid. I guess. I can't believe I just said that."
Hikari giggled.
"But, I mean... he's such a... such a... wimp! That's the word that describes him best!"
"Well, maybe if you were nice to him for a change, he wouldn't be afraid of you all the time!"
"..."
The seed was planted. That was enough for Hikari. "Well I'm tired, so I'm going to go to sleep," she said as she got into bed and turned off the lights. Soon, her breathing became shallow but regular, as she fell asleep.
Asuka remained where she was on the floor. "Shit. She did that on purpose, didn't she?"
]|[
Shinji had lost track of time. He didn't know how long he had been sitting in that position.
Not that he really cared.
He had stared at Rei's hand in his for so long that he figured he could draw it from memory, down to every last tiny wrinkle visible to the human eye.
But, of course, a picture never lived up to the real thing.
Really holding her hand.
The feel of it.
Warm. Delicate-
"Aww, isn't that cute!"
They turned to see Misato enter the room with a beer, intent on turning on the TV. Reflexively, they pulled their hands back to themselves.
"Oh, no, don't stop on my account!" she teased, with a big grin.
Shinji blushed like a tomato. Misato was surprised to see that even Rei had a little color on her cheeks.
She relaxed and grabbed the remote. Soon, the three were watching TV casually.
Misato watched them furtively with quick glances from the corner of her eyes. It was amusing, really. They would glance at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. The hands that had previously held the other's were twitching every now and then, as their owners were just itching to reach over and hold hands again.
She smiled; she remembered that kind of thing when she was younger also. Well, not really; usually she'd just skip all that slow stuff and get to the-
Um. But she did remember how it was to feel that way.
Pen-Pen wandered across the room in front of the children. He had a towel, and it was obvious he was just in the bath. On his way across, he stopped in front of Rei and examined the new presence.
Rei stared back.
Misato was afraid they were trying to stare each other down, until she saw Rei quietly reach out and pet Pen-Pen affectionately.
Pen-Pen gave an approving "Wark!" and continued to his fridge.
Misato smiled. Well, at least the girl was getting better in that aspect - interaction with others. She even saw one corner of Rei's mouth pull up into a slight smile... but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Misato hoped she wasn't seeing things.
The two children were still fidgeting. If not the same, then more than before. Misato sighed inwardly; if she didn't leave those two alone soon, there would be so much pent up energy that they'd end up screwing at the first chance they got.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Misato registered the fact that not everyone is like her. That thought, as always, was quickly forgotten.
She slowly stood. "Well Shinji, I'm gonna go turn in and leave you two alone. Are you going to set up something for Rei out here?"
Shinji looked at the floor and blushed. "Well... uh... actually... I was thinking of having her sleep in... my... room..." he said nervously, as he subconsciously slouched to look smaller.
Misato arched an eyebrow at him. He just got more nervous, and seemed to shrink even more under her gaze.
She peered at the two children sitting near each other. Somehow, she doubted that Rei, of all people... would... well... y'know... and considering Shinji's shyness...
Misato shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "Well, I guess I can't really do anything about it, can I?" she asked rhetorically. "Besides, if you two were really bent on sex like that, I wouldn't be able to stop you with small measures like that."
Shinji blushed even more... if that was humanly possible. "Misato... you know we wouldn't... wouldn't..."
Rei opted to just watch the floor with interest and fidget slightly.
Misato watched the other two for a little longer before heading out. "OK, good night, you two. If I find out tomorrow that you've had sex, I'm going to be... pissed," she said nonchalantly as she was leaving.
The way she said that made a chill run down Shinji's spine. "We.. we... Misato-san, not... we wouldn't... we... I..." He was still mumbling.
"Good night, Major." Rei said quietly.
They heard Misato's door close.
At that instant, they quickly reached out and held each other's hand again. Rei and Shinji looked down at the connection, almost in surprise at what they had done. Well... what they had done so quickly.
After remaining in a comfortable silence for a while, Shinji spoke up. "Maybe we should... go to b-bed now?"
Rei nodded. "Hai."
He stood, and led her by the hand back to his room. They went in.
Shinji looked down at himself and blinked. "Uh... Ayanami, would you be able to wait outside while I change quickly?"
She tilted her head. "Why?"
"Umm... er, well... it's just that... I... I'll get nervous if... um... you're in here and..."
Rei gazed at him for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Hai."
As she stepped outside and shut the door, Shinji's shoulders slumped in obvious relief. He changed, and then went up to the door.
"OK, Ayanami... I'm done..." He opened the door.
And screamed like a girl.
And shut the door.
He heard Rei from the other side. "What is wrong, Ikari?" She sounded... anxious? Frightened? There was an odd note of... something... in her voice.
"Uhh... but... it's just that... you... you're not... uh... you don't have... ummm... any.... any... c-clothes, a-and..."
There was a pause. "My current state of undress makes you uncomfortable, Ikari?"
"I... well... um... yeah."
"I... understand. Somehow... it makes me... uncomfortable also. There is something else too, but... it is strange. There were no traces of this same feeling when you... saw me in my apartment before."
Shinji blushed at that particular memory. "Yeah... uh well, I can get you something to wear... hang on...."
He grabbed some clothing and handed it to her by opening the door a small amount... taking extreme care to keep her out of his line of sight.
There was a rustling of clothing, and then Rei opened the door, with her other clothing in her hand.
He blinked.
Did he pick those?
She was wearing one of his light white t-shirts, and some light grey cloth running shorts he had outgrown.
A large portion of both her arms and her legs were showing. The white t-shirt was not particularly... thick, and showed off some of her curves.
Basically, she looked good. Very good.
She noticed his appreciative stare, and began to blush, looking down at the ground.
He jumped when he noticed what he did. Blushing profusely, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean... I wasn't..." He turned and moved towards the bed.
She walked up next to him, and they both stared at the bed.
"So... uh... how do we do this?"
Rei tilted her head and looked at the bed, thinking. Finally she said, "You get in first."
Shinji blinked at the certainty. "Uh... OK...." He carefully maneuvered himself into the bed, and faced away from Rei.
He heard rustling, and felt the bed moving, as Rei got in after him. He was surprised when he felt an arm go around his waist, and felt her press against his back.
"This feels... quite... enjoyable. Good night, Ikari."
"Uh... yeah, good night, he responded shakily.
Good night. Of course, it depends on the point of view.
Shinji remained still, as he noticed Rei stopped moving, and her breathing patterns changed. Her legs were slightly entangled with his, and the feeling of her soft legs touching his at various points was... well... um.... The arm curled around his waist bent at the elbow, so her hand was resting on his chest. Her breasts were pressing against his back as she snuggled up to him. There was a warm sensation on the back of his neck every time she breathed out. All the different sensations were driving him nuts.
He sighed gently and tried to relax, or else he would never get to sleep.
'Well, at least I can be thankful she suggested it this way,' he thought. 'I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate something poking her in her... pale... rounded... wasn't I supposed to stay away from this line of thought?'
After employing massive amounts of... uhh... self-control... he was finally able to sleep.
-TBC
TT
xiphux@planetjurai.com
"Dammit!" he said as he slammed the phone down again. He put his hands together in his lap, and stared at them. And that was the third try, too! Wasn't the third time a charm or some crap like that?
"Ikari."
He turned his attention to the person sitting next to him.
"You seem to be having trouble dialing the telephone. Should I dial it for you?"
Shinji sighed, and looked back down. "No, no... it's just... I'm so nervous about calling her..."
Rei tentatively raised her hand halfway, paused... and then put her hand on his shoulder. She was obviously trying to imitate his gesture from earlier.
They both stared at the pale hand on his shoulder.
Shinji deflated. "It's... I'm just so nervous that... that I'll mess everything up again..."
"Just speak calmly, and avoid angering her. That is what I was able to do. At... at least for a while..."
"But that's the thing! I just can't avoid angering her. Everything I say or do pisses her off..."
Rei tilted her head and frowned as she thought. "She... likes praise, and is extremely competitive. But do not talk about her past..."
"I know... that's what got me here in the first place..."
"I cannot think of much else that is of help to tell you... just be your gentle self... that is all. I am sorry..."
Rei's head snapped up. Shinji had put his hand on her pale one. He squeezed it slightly, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't be. Just your presence here is enough."
He began to dial the phone again, this time with less trouble... probably because he subconsciously had left his hand on hers.
Rei had stopped paying attention. She blushed.
The only thing she could concentrate on was the softness of his hand on the back of hers...
And the heat that seemed to flow between them, from that one joined point, and spread throughout her body...
And how good it felt when she noticed his fingers were just long enough to begin wrapping around the sides of her hand... holding it delicately...
And how everytime he subconsciously moved his fingers or thumb, the feeling of the gentle caress on her skin sent a shiver through her body...
And how...
]|[
Shinji cleared his throat as he heard the quiet ringing tone... waiting for someone to pick up...
{Hello?}
"Hi... this is Shinji Ikari... uh... is Asuka there?"
{Oh, hey Shinji. It's Hikari. Yeah, I'll get Asuka in a second.}
Then he struggled to hear as Hikari dropped to a whisper.
{Psst. I'm glad you finally called. Ever since that talk she had with Rei, Asuka's been feeling guilty... she really needs this. Thanks.}
"Well... uh... it's my fault anyway, so I guess I'd just naturally try and make amends. I just hope she listens."
{Uh... let me get her, hang on...}
He heard a tap as the phone was set down, and it was quiet for a while.
{...}
That is, until he heard a shout through the telephone. It sounded like it came from across the room.
{WHO?!?!}
Or maybe from across the house...
There was a tapping of footsteps, and then a rather obnoxious greeting.
{Whaddya want, Third Child?}
"Uh... hi, Asuka. I was just... um... calling to see how you were."
{Well I'm doing pretty shitty, thanks to you. But at least now I have an excuse to skip school.}
"Look Asuka... I'm really sorry about the other day. I didn't mean it at all, and was just blowing off steam..."
{....}
"It was just... just that... of all the reactions I believed you could give, I guess I just... never expected that one..."
{L-}
"But I still am sorry... your reaction still didn't justify my insult to you... but Misato told me afterwards about... uh... your... p-parents, and I felt so guilty..."
"Regardless, that information is still kind of private... and I still don't think it's right that I know it without your permission... "
"My mother... also... died. Not like yours, but... she... she was the first test subject to try and synchronize with Eva-01... and... it... absorbed her. She... vanished. And they never... never got her back again."
"You're probably kind of bored listening to me... but... I just felt that... since I knew about yours, you had a right to know about mine..."
{Nah, not really; being here all the time is boring, so it doesn't bother me. But... that was nice of you to share about your... mother. Thanks. You know... that's the most I've heard you say at once since I arrived in Japan.}
Shinji chuckled a little. "Yeah, well... Ayanami pointed out that I knew about your mom, but you didn't know about mine. So I guess that was the first time I felt the need to tell something like that."
{Yeah, what's up with Wondergirl, anyway? Is she acting... weird... at all?}
Shinji remembered his promise to keep quiet. "Uh... I don't really know. Haven't really noticed much... but Misato-san and I let her stay here for a while."
The explosion forced him to hold the phone a small distance away from his ear.
{WHAT?!? SHE'S STAYING THERE?! Why the hell is she staying with us... well, you... all of a sudden?!}
He returned to 'timid' mode. "Uh... well... I just thought that... it would be a better environment for her. At least, better than her apartment."
Asuka immediately suspected something.
{Wait... when were you at her apartment...?}
"Oh... a while ago – before you came – I just went to drop off her NERV ID. Nothing, really." He conveniently left out the rest of the... details.
{Hmm.... you aren't taking advantage of my absence to screw her, are you?}
"What?! Why would I-... what.... I wouldn't do...."
{Calm down, baka. I was just playing around.}
Shinji let out a sigh of relief.
{I heard that you have a... uh... big... on your face... y'know... umm... sorry... }
"Don't worry about it. It'll leave a scar, but it's not bad."
{Yeah, well, I always like to mark my property.}
"What?!"
{Nothing, just kidding.}
She sighed, and took on a bored tone.
{Well, I guess I might as well forgive you... on one condition.}
"What's that?"
{Don't tell Misato about this conversation. I'm gonna stay a while longer.}
He heard a quiet "Heeeyyy....!" from Hikari in the background.
"Why are you staying?"
{I don't really feel like going to school yet.}
Shinji suspected it was really because Ayanami was staying over, but decided not to bring it up.
"All right. I can keep it secret for a while. But Misato's gonna get on my case about making up with you, so I can't do it for too long."
{OK. Whatever. Later, Shinji.}
He heard the obnoxious dial tone, and hung the phone up.
"Well, that wasn't too bad," he said to no one in particular.
Shinji turned, about to say something to Rei, but stopped.
He looked down.
Apparently, sometime during the phone call, she had flipped her hand over. So now they were holding hands like... like... like you were supposed to. He hadn't even noticed that he left his hand there in the first place.
He couldn't help but compare their skin tones. Rei's was so pale... so light... compared to his slight tan. It was like one of those... those... dolls made out of porcelain or something.
He looked back up at her with questioning eyes.
She watched their hands for a few seconds, and then spoke. "I believe that I am... enjoying this, Ikari-kun. I find it... it... pleasurable? Could we... stay like this for a little longer?"
Shinji blinked at her. He looked at their joined hands. Then he looked up at her and smiled. "As long as you'd like, Ayanami."
]|[
"Asuka, you're such a freeloader."
Asuka turned to Hikari. "Hey! I'm you're friend, aren't I?"
She nodded. "Yeah... but you're also a freeloader."
"Feh."
"So I guess you made up with Shinji, right?"
Asuka tipped backwards from her sitting position, until she was lying on the floor. "Yeah. Kinda."
"What was with that screaming? I came back to her you shouting about some 'she.'"
"Oh." Asuka shrugged. "Nothing. Just Wondergirl's staying over there for a while."
"Wondergirl? You mean Rei?"
"Yeah. Wondergirl."
Hikari rolled her eyes. "Right." It remained silent for a while, until Hikari smirked. "You're not jealous?"
"I knew you were gonna ask that question," Asuka sighed.
"Then why didn't you try and change the subject?"
Shrug.
"So... are you jealous?" Hikari repeated.
Asuka shut her eyes. "Nope. Why should I be?"
"Well, why shouldn't you be?"
"Because he's a jerk. And a pervert. And a wimp."
"I though you forgave him already."
"... OK, he's not a jerk. But he's still a wimp and a pervert."
"No, he's not. You're just making excuses. So, what about him?"
"... Well, what about Touji?"
Hikari blushed and began to say something, but then shut her mouth. "Look, you've already asked me about everything there possibly is to know about him, just to avoid answering questions. I'm not going to fall for it again."
"Fine, fine, fine." Asuka paused for a second. "Shinji... well... he's... a nice kid. I guess. I can't believe I just said that."
Hikari giggled.
"But, I mean... he's such a... such a... wimp! That's the word that describes him best!"
"Well, maybe if you were nice to him for a change, he wouldn't be afraid of you all the time!"
"..."
The seed was planted. That was enough for Hikari. "Well I'm tired, so I'm going to go to sleep," she said as she got into bed and turned off the lights. Soon, her breathing became shallow but regular, as she fell asleep.
Asuka remained where she was on the floor. "Shit. She did that on purpose, didn't she?"
]|[
Shinji had lost track of time. He didn't know how long he had been sitting in that position.
Not that he really cared.
He had stared at Rei's hand in his for so long that he figured he could draw it from memory, down to every last tiny wrinkle visible to the human eye.
But, of course, a picture never lived up to the real thing.
Really holding her hand.
The feel of it.
Warm. Delicate-
"Aww, isn't that cute!"
They turned to see Misato enter the room with a beer, intent on turning on the TV. Reflexively, they pulled their hands back to themselves.
"Oh, no, don't stop on my account!" she teased, with a big grin.
Shinji blushed like a tomato. Misato was surprised to see that even Rei had a little color on her cheeks.
She relaxed and grabbed the remote. Soon, the three were watching TV casually.
Misato watched them furtively with quick glances from the corner of her eyes. It was amusing, really. They would glance at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. The hands that had previously held the other's were twitching every now and then, as their owners were just itching to reach over and hold hands again.
She smiled; she remembered that kind of thing when she was younger also. Well, not really; usually she'd just skip all that slow stuff and get to the-
Um. But she did remember how it was to feel that way.
Pen-Pen wandered across the room in front of the children. He had a towel, and it was obvious he was just in the bath. On his way across, he stopped in front of Rei and examined the new presence.
Rei stared back.
Misato was afraid they were trying to stare each other down, until she saw Rei quietly reach out and pet Pen-Pen affectionately.
Pen-Pen gave an approving "Wark!" and continued to his fridge.
Misato smiled. Well, at least the girl was getting better in that aspect - interaction with others. She even saw one corner of Rei's mouth pull up into a slight smile... but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Misato hoped she wasn't seeing things.
The two children were still fidgeting. If not the same, then more than before. Misato sighed inwardly; if she didn't leave those two alone soon, there would be so much pent up energy that they'd end up screwing at the first chance they got.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Misato registered the fact that not everyone is like her. That thought, as always, was quickly forgotten.
She slowly stood. "Well Shinji, I'm gonna go turn in and leave you two alone. Are you going to set up something for Rei out here?"
Shinji looked at the floor and blushed. "Well... uh... actually... I was thinking of having her sleep in... my... room..." he said nervously, as he subconsciously slouched to look smaller.
Misato arched an eyebrow at him. He just got more nervous, and seemed to shrink even more under her gaze.
She peered at the two children sitting near each other. Somehow, she doubted that Rei, of all people... would... well... y'know... and considering Shinji's shyness...
Misato shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "Well, I guess I can't really do anything about it, can I?" she asked rhetorically. "Besides, if you two were really bent on sex like that, I wouldn't be able to stop you with small measures like that."
Shinji blushed even more... if that was humanly possible. "Misato... you know we wouldn't... wouldn't..."
Rei opted to just watch the floor with interest and fidget slightly.
Misato watched the other two for a little longer before heading out. "OK, good night, you two. If I find out tomorrow that you've had sex, I'm going to be... pissed," she said nonchalantly as she was leaving.
The way she said that made a chill run down Shinji's spine. "We.. we... Misato-san, not... we wouldn't... we... I..." He was still mumbling.
"Good night, Major." Rei said quietly.
They heard Misato's door close.
At that instant, they quickly reached out and held each other's hand again. Rei and Shinji looked down at the connection, almost in surprise at what they had done. Well... what they had done so quickly.
After remaining in a comfortable silence for a while, Shinji spoke up. "Maybe we should... go to b-bed now?"
Rei nodded. "Hai."
He stood, and led her by the hand back to his room. They went in.
Shinji looked down at himself and blinked. "Uh... Ayanami, would you be able to wait outside while I change quickly?"
She tilted her head. "Why?"
"Umm... er, well... it's just that... I... I'll get nervous if... um... you're in here and..."
Rei gazed at him for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Hai."
As she stepped outside and shut the door, Shinji's shoulders slumped in obvious relief. He changed, and then went up to the door.
"OK, Ayanami... I'm done..." He opened the door.
And screamed like a girl.
And shut the door.
He heard Rei from the other side. "What is wrong, Ikari?" She sounded... anxious? Frightened? There was an odd note of... something... in her voice.
"Uhh... but... it's just that... you... you're not... uh... you don't have... ummm... any.... any... c-clothes, a-and..."
There was a pause. "My current state of undress makes you uncomfortable, Ikari?"
"I... well... um... yeah."
"I... understand. Somehow... it makes me... uncomfortable also. There is something else too, but... it is strange. There were no traces of this same feeling when you... saw me in my apartment before."
Shinji blushed at that particular memory. "Yeah... uh well, I can get you something to wear... hang on...."
He grabbed some clothing and handed it to her by opening the door a small amount... taking extreme care to keep her out of his line of sight.
There was a rustling of clothing, and then Rei opened the door, with her other clothing in her hand.
He blinked.
Did he pick those?
She was wearing one of his light white t-shirts, and some light grey cloth running shorts he had outgrown.
A large portion of both her arms and her legs were showing. The white t-shirt was not particularly... thick, and showed off some of her curves.
Basically, she looked good. Very good.
She noticed his appreciative stare, and began to blush, looking down at the ground.
He jumped when he noticed what he did. Blushing profusely, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean... I wasn't..." He turned and moved towards the bed.
She walked up next to him, and they both stared at the bed.
"So... uh... how do we do this?"
Rei tilted her head and looked at the bed, thinking. Finally she said, "You get in first."
Shinji blinked at the certainty. "Uh... OK...." He carefully maneuvered himself into the bed, and faced away from Rei.
He heard rustling, and felt the bed moving, as Rei got in after him. He was surprised when he felt an arm go around his waist, and felt her press against his back.
"This feels... quite... enjoyable. Good night, Ikari."
"Uh... yeah, good night, he responded shakily.
Good night. Of course, it depends on the point of view.
Shinji remained still, as he noticed Rei stopped moving, and her breathing patterns changed. Her legs were slightly entangled with his, and the feeling of her soft legs touching his at various points was... well... um.... The arm curled around his waist bent at the elbow, so her hand was resting on his chest. Her breasts were pressing against his back as she snuggled up to him. There was a warm sensation on the back of his neck every time she breathed out. All the different sensations were driving him nuts.
He sighed gently and tried to relax, or else he would never get to sleep.
'Well, at least I can be thankful she suggested it this way,' he thought. 'I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate something poking her in her... pale... rounded... wasn't I supposed to stay away from this line of thought?'
After employing massive amounts of... uhh... self-control... he was finally able to sleep.
-TBC
TT
xiphux@planetjurai.com