To Love... or Not?
By Satosh1
Chapter 6: To Forget and not Forgive
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"Ikari, would you like to come to my apartment?" Rei queried as she clutched at Shinji's arm.
And he responded with slight hesitation. "Oh... sure."
With a loving hold of each other's hands, they tread the path to her complex where Rei's apartment resided in. Rei clutched his hand in the same manner as Asuka, which reminded Shinji of the headstrong pilot of Unit 02. But he easily rid the thought, for he already had another, and it would be the person he held hands with. His eyes glanced onto the girl beside him, knowing from that moment on, his life will change in ways unimaginable. Was he dreaming? Would this be all just a simple nightly slumber of visions? To him, it felt a so, and he feared having to wake up and know that it was only a figment of his imagination. And while contemplating so, Rei turned her head to Shinji and gave a petite, little smile of splendor within his view, and he contentedly returned it with his own. No, it wasn't a dream. This was reality. That, he became certain of.
Asuka followed cautiously in the shadows, leaping into the corners of buildings and behind trees whenever she saw even a hint of them halting their stroll. She became extremely intent on knowing where they could be going, and what they could be doing. That was all she had sought to know, and it had solely driven her to sneak like much of a skilled ninja, within the dark of night. The shadows were ultimately her friend, at this time.
The two stood nearby Rei's apartment door.
The door was left unlocked as it always was, as Rei seemed to be the only person living in the entire building. There was no fear for invasion of privacy. She turned the knob and gradually pulled it open. A loud creaking of its rusty bolts sounded across the room and echoed all over. Without any running electricity, the apartment remained darkened and gloomy. The only lights they had were of the brilliant moonlight and stars shone through the window. Rei took her shoes off, Shinji mimicking the same, and both stepped into the room. As usual, everything was unmoved and never seemingly touched from Shinji's last visit. Bloody bandages were cluttered around the floor, a glass bottle filled with water sat atop a table, and a pair of yellow-framed bifocals rested on the drawers. The same drawers, where she laid her endless pairs of panties, bras and socks in. Shinji would know that very well.
Quietly, Rei sat on her bed and scooted over to make a place for Shinji. She welcomed him to join her with a slight smile as she glanced upon him. The declaration of love for him, a sudden invite to her home, and now the bed... Shinji thought of these three and became awfully panicky as he approached to sit next to her. There was a silence between the two, puzzling Shinji, but he figured it to be particularly usual coming from Rei, as she had always been quiet amongst whoever she was with. A slight breeze of chills came from through the window beside them. Rei seemed unaffected, but Shinji shivered a bit at the sense.
"Are you cold?" Rei quietly asked, while noticing his shiver.
Shinji smiled assuredly. "No, I'm fine."
Rei frowned while looking down on the floor, to Shinji's dismay. Moreover, she seemed to be a little sad.
Shinji playfully whispered, "Well... yeah... it is a little chilly..."
With the conclusion to his words of tease, Rei propped up seemingly full of energy and jumped into Shinji's arms, as if she had been planning such an event from the beginning. Shock and awe, the two expressive words of surprise, engulfed Shinji's thoughts entirely. It had been so unexpected, especially having seen it from Rei. Nevertheless, this had told Shinji something truly remarkable. For the first time, he experienced Rei's livelier side of her otherwise reserved, enigmatic persona, for himself. The side where he only witnessed from afar from within his Eva. The side he had most wanted to be familiar of. Truly happy, he was.
They held each other on the bed, their bodies relaxed and calm from each other's warmth. Once again they kissed, their eyes closed and their hands roaming each other's bodies in a mad desire. Newfound sensations enticed their love even further than they ever imagined. And while they kissed, Shinji felt something soft intruding within his mouth, rubbing against his lips and tongue. He playfully bit the intrusion, having Rei moan a little as she continued their joyful amusement. After quite a while, Rei finally broke the kiss of passion and glared upon Shinji's own eyes, wanting to ask something.
In a steady whisper, she asked solemnly, "Ikari... do you love me?"
His arms around her waist and answering with certainty, he said in her ear, "Yes, Ayanami... of course I love you."
Rei began doubting his words. "But... there is still a problem, that I worry of."
Shinji reluctantly voiced the name of his previous love. "Asuka..."
"I will not have her punch me again." She wickedly stated while stroking her afflicted cheek.
He smiled in amusement and chuckled a little at the way Rei had said it. To comfort her, Shinji hugged her gently and laid her atop of the soft beddings. Their love was all that mattered. They quickly fell asleep in each other's arms as the moonlight struck them from through the window with its silvery essence.
Outside the apartment complex.
Asuka had lagged behind them, as on-lookers were staring at her while she had been hiding behind objects. Unfortunately while stopping her pursuit due to embarrassment, her sight of them became lost. She simply strolled along the city while thinking to herself, since she didn't know where Rei's apartment was. Nor did she even care to know.
"This is stupid," Asuka thought. "Why am I following that idiot Shinji and that stupid little doll?"
She sighed, walking in a lonesome and constantly wondering if her relationship with Shinji had come to a conclusion. Her regrets for upsetting Shinji became her favored thought provoker, but it was too late to give amends. Besides, she knew or had an idea, what Shinji and Rei were doing in the apartment. She was unwilling to accept it, but utterly could not due to the notion becoming stronger by each of her following footsteps.
"I'm going home." Asuka whispered to herself, while looking at the concrete groundings. She headed towards Misato's apartment, her face immediately shifting into a fierceness while she cursed her competition in a mumbling.
"I can't just let Rei win..."
She grinned mischievously as an idea gave notice. "Maybe I'll... seduce him when he comes back..."
"Yes... I do have an arsenal of clothing... and many other... personals..."
"He'll come running back to me..."
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to be continued...
Ending Notes: Tell me of any errors that I may have missed or misread. It'll be much appreciated. I welcome brutality within reviews.