Disclaimer: see 1.
3
2
By Random1377
Rei opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, blinking in the dark as her phone rang a second time. Swinging her legs off the mattress, she walked slowly though the apartment and picked up the handset, whispering, "Hello?"
A horrible keening wail came through the phone, making her pull it away from her ear with an uncertain blink. She was moving to hang it up when she recognized the voice of the Third Child, struggling to be heard over the din.
"Ayanami!! Ayanami, can you hear me??!?"
"Ikari?"
"Oh thank God!" Shinji gasped. "Ayanami, listen – can you… can you come over? Please??"
Rei frowned slightly, glancing at the clock in her small kitchen. The clock read 1:34 AM.
"No."
She moved again to hang up the phone, wondering why the boy would even ask such an inappropriate question.
"Please!!!" Shinji cried desperately. "Ayanami… listen – listen to what she's saying!"
Rei frowned, realizing that the screeching had a definite, syllabic sound.
It was her name.
"She wants you, Ayanami," Shinji practically sobbed, "she's been screaming for an hour and a half, ever since she woke up, and if Misato comes home and finds her like this, she'll just call the cops again and have them take her. Please come, Ayanami, ok? Please??"
The First listened for a moment longer to the horrible cries, weighing her own need for sleep against the desperation in both the child's voice and Ikari's before whispering, "I will be there."
"Thank you," Shinji babbled, "oh Ayanami, thankyouthankyouthankyou."
Rei blushed at the miserable gratitude in Ikari's voice and hung up, cutting the sound of the Child's screaming short and returning her to silence. With a barely audible sigh, she began slipping her clothes on, and five minutes later, she was on her way.
She arrived at the other apartment at 2:25, knocking on the door with a soft sigh. "I am he-" she began as the door opened, finding herself cut off as she was greeted with a grim-faced Shinji, holding a screaming toddler.
"See?" Shinji said quickly, "She's here – Rei's here!"
Immediately the child quieted, sniffling as she craned her head to see through her tears.
"Rei!"
Shinji was thrown off-balance as the little girl flung herself forward, trying to reach Rei from his arms. "Easy!" he gasped as her wild movements made him stumble into the wall, his shoulder making a sickening thud as it hit.
"Rei! Reeeeiii!!" the girl cried happily, squirming free of the boy's grasp and sliding to the floor.
Rei winced as the toddler scrambled to her feet and dove against her midsection, knocking some of the wind from her.
Both Children stared as the young girl put her arms out to the First, making a small, "Uh! Uh! Uh!" sound and bouncing in place.
"See…?" Shinji groaned, rubbing his shoulder, "she… she wants you."
Rei pursed her lips. "I do not want to carry you right now," she said coolly, "and I cannot stay – I have duties to fulfill tomorrow, I need sleep."
The girl blinked. "Rei," she said firmly, trying to climb the blue-haired Child.
"No," Rei said firmly, pushing the girl away.
Shinji closed his eyes, fully expecting the little girl to explode again… but when no outburst was forthcoming, he carefully opened his eyes. He was just in time to see the girl slip her left hand into Rei's right and stick her thumb into her mouth, smiling up at the older girl around the digit.
Rei met his eyes. "This is unacceptable."
"I'm… I'm sorry," Shinji said awkwardly, shuffling his feet and looking at the little girl with a sad expression. "I… she just wouldn't stop."
Rei entered the apartment, the little girl trailing along behind her with a content look on her still-tear-streaked face.
"Hey," Shinji said, wetting his lips and crouching in front of the girl. "Now that Rei's here… can you tell me your name?"
The girl looked up at Rei with a questioning, slightly adoring glance.
"I think she's asking permission," Shinji said hopefully.
Rei looked mildly vexed. "What is your name?" she asked calmly, looking down into the girl's eyes.
The girl smiled around her thumb. "Bewwa."
Shinji bit his lip. "Bewwa?" he asked, confused.
The girl looked at him, shaking her head. "Bewwa!"
"Berra?"
This back and forth may have continued for some time had Rei not quietly muttered, "Bella."
The girl bobbed her head up and down, seeming to take the blue-haired girl's interpretation of her mumbled name as one more indication that she was divine.
"Bella," Shinji smiled uncertainly, "ummm, well… Bella, Rei can't stay with us. She has her own home to sleep in, do you understand?"
Bella smiled up at Rei… and tightened her grip on the girl's hand, leaning against her leg and sucking a bit harder on her thumb.
"I don't think she wants you to go."
It was very hard for Rei to fight the urge to strike the Third Child. "This is unacceptable," she repeated quietly, "I am not her mother, and I have other obligations to fulfill."
Shinji, looking abashed, nodded. "Can you… can you stay until she falls asleep again?" he asked hesitantly. "Please? I'm sure Misato will be home soon."
"The Captain will not be pleased if she is made to help you," Rei pointed out softly, "she has made that very clear." She looked down at the child, frowning faintly as her examination was greeted with a bright, warm, open smile. "If you are unable to resolve this situation," Rei whispered, raising her eyes to Shinji's, "I believe she should be placed in the care of someone that is."
Shinji paled. "Please, just tonight," he said anxiously, "I'll… figure something else out tomorrow – first thing, ok? You don't have to sleep here, just… just help me get her to sleep… ok?"
Rei's frown was unmistakable this time, but she nodded reluctantly, brushing past Shinji and into the living room.
With a heartfelt sigh, Shinji closed the door and followed her.
**
Misato opened the door to the apartment as quietly as she could, easily finding the brightly luminescent digital numbers on the microwave.
They read 4:26.
She slipped her shoes off, briefly considering looking for some leftovers. "Too tired," she muttered, shrugging out of her jacket and dropping it carelessly on the floor, "maybe there's some of those chips left in my room. Damn Section Two… duplicate this… triplicate that – doesn't anyone just fill out one form anymore?!"
Yawning, she headed towards her room, passing the living room on the way.
"Hi Rei."
"Hello, Captain."
Misato continued towards her room. She was halfway through another yawn when she stopped cold. "Rei?"
The First Child looked up at her with a rather bland expression as she came back into the living room, shifting slightly to redistribute the weight of the toddler sleeping in her arms.
"Rei?" Misato exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
If possible, the expression on the blue-haired girl's face grew more neutral. "Ikari called me."
Misato looked around the living room, noticing for the first time that Shinji was asleep on the couch, one arm thrown over his eyes and the other hanging off the side to rest on the little girl's tussled black hair.
"Oh… I see."
She didn't… not really. Her tired mind could not quite fathom why Shinji would have A: called Rei in the middle of the night, and B: fallen asleep on the couch when he had a perfectly good bed.
Her expression now bordering on the outright featureless, Rei whispered, "The child's name is Bella."
"Oh is it?" Misato answered lamely, "Bella."
I think Rei's mad, she thought suddenly.
She had known Rei for several years, but did not, in all honesty, have much call to interact with her for more than twenty minutes at a stretch, so she could not claim to be an expert on the enigmatic girl's moods… but the very dryness of the First Child's tone indicated a definite lack of amusement.
They looked at one another for a full minute.
"Does she have a last name?"
Rei blinked, glancing down at the girl, then back up to the captain. "I did not ask," she said coolly. She waited to see if the woman would ask any further questions, then said, "I do not believe that Ikari is capable of handling this responsibility, Captain."
Misato nodded slowly. "I don't think so either," she admitted, "but I really don't know what else to do with her. I mean, I'd hate to see her end up in a home… and the guy from Child Services promised to find her a place as soon as possible, so I kinda… kinda feel like I can't say no on this one, I mean, I tried and it didn't quite work out, you know?"
She shrugged.
Rei considered this, then looked Misato straight in the eye and murmured, "Perhaps you could try again." Before the older woman could retort, Rei continued. "I am certain that you are aware that I have other duties aside of school that I need to attend to," she said levelly, shifting again as Bella mumbled something in her sleep, "regardless of what your decision is regarding this matter, my obligations will not allow me to spend all of my time here assisting Ikari."
Misato scratched her head. "Well, Shinji's got the same responsibilities," she mumbled, feeling rather defensive all of the sudden, "and I never asked you to come over and help… you could have said no, too, you know."
Rei, it seemed, did not find this comment worth answering, as she simply continued to stare at the Captain.
"Fine," Misato whispered, too tired to argue over who had more work to do, "give her to me and go sleep on Shinji's bed or something, I'll talk to him about this in the morning."
"I cannot stand," Rei said quietly, "I have been sitting in this position too long. You will need to sit next to me or lift her off of me."
Misato yawned. "I'll sit," she said gamely, lowering herself to the floor, "I can sleep anywhere."
The transfer of a sleeping child can be a delicate undertaking, requiring skill, finesse, and lots of practice. As neither woman possessed these requirements, the end result of the awkward handoff was a rather undignified rustle of clothes, a startled squawk, a solid 'cloink' sound as two skulls met, and the noise every parent dreads… the sniffle/sob of a waking child.
"Ow," Misato groaned, rubbing her forehead as the girl in her arms stirred and murmured. "This sucks."
Now freed, Rei simply stood and started for the door. "Goodbye."
"Wait."
Rei paused, glancing back over her shoulder at Misato with an expectant, though mildly impatient expression.
"Thanks for helping out."
"You are welcome," Rei replied, walking to the front door and opening it without another word. As she stepped out into the hall and closed the door, she heard the unmistakable sound of Bella's piercing, full-throated cry.
She did feel vaguely sorry for the Captain, but as she had other obligations, she did not hesitate to walk away without a backward glance.
**
"Good morning, Ayanami," Shinji whispered, giving the girl a halfhearted wave before collapsing into his school seat and letting his head drop onto the desk.
"Whoa," one of Shinji's friends, Touji Suzuhara, exclaimed, "get a loud of Ikari! Musta been a hell of a night, man… who was she?"
Though Rei had no real intention of listening, the positioning of her desk was ideal for her to hear every word that was spoken by Ikari and his friends, and in spite of herself, she found that she was taking note of what was said.
"Her name's Bella," Shinji groaned, his voice sounding muffled and sullen against the hardwood under his head, "she's three."
"Three?" Shinji's other friend, Kensuke Aida, scoffed, "isn't that like, illegal?"
"Illegal and gross," Touji corrected, shaking his head with disgust, "Ikari's a pedo… I'm so disappointed."
Male bonding was a concept that still eluded Rei, so she could not quite understand why the idea of Ikari engaging in inappropriate contact with a child would be amusing, but both he and Aida laughed – Aida more than Ikari, admittedly, but they both laughed nonetheless.
"That's pretty messed up," Touji observed as Shinji briefly sketched his situation, "and she thinks Ayanami is her mom??"
"No," Shinji yawned, "she doesn't call her Mommy or anything like that, she just – she just… likes her, I guess."
"So where is she now?" Kensuke wondered.
"Well," Shinji said reluctantly, "Misato said she'd watch her so I could come to school... but only to tell the class rep the whole story and take a few days off until they can find Bella a place to stay."
"So you're gonna be out of school??" Touji complained, "Dude! You're such a slacker!"
"I'm not gonna be like, watching TV or anything," Shinji protested, his voice full of frustration, "I'm gonna be watching Bella."
Kensuke and Touji exchanged a glance, and Touji sighed. "Shinji," he said sadly, shaking his head and putting a hand on Shinji's shoulder, "you're the only guy I know that could skip the sex and go straight to the kid – seriously dude, being your friend is like working on the set of a soap."
"Hey Class Rep," Kensuke called suddenly, waving a brown-haired girl over to them, "Ikari's getting married, so he needs a few days off."
"You're getting married?" the class representative, Hikari Horaki, asked uncertainly, looking only mildly surprised to hear that one of the two Evangelion pilots in class 2-A was engaged. "Umm, ok, I guess… how many days-"
Shinji, finally managing to overcome his shock at Kensuke's announcement, sputteringly cut in, "I'm n-not getting married! I just…"
Touji gave Kensuke a high-five as Shinji buried his head in his hands and let out a mock sob.
Hikari rolled her eyes. "I should have known when you told me, Aida," she muttered darkly, "I must be losing my edge." She sighed as Kensuke just laughed. "Do you really need some time off, Ikari?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," Shinji nodded, "I do…"
Hikari frowned, glancing at Kensuke and Touji as Shinji told her why he needed to take some time off, trying to gauge whether or not this was another put on. "Ayanami," she said tentatively, "I hate to bother you, but… is umm, is… Bella as clingy as Shinji says?"
Rei glanced at the other girl, knowing that what was really being asked was 'is Shinji making this all up to get out of school.' "Yes," she said, turning away to look out the window as Hikari nodded to herself.
"Thanks Ayanami," Hikari murmured, turning to Shinji and assessing him closely for a moment. "Do you-" she cut herself off, giving Shinji's friends a sharp, warning look before continuing, "do you need any help, Ikari? I can bring over dinner tonight if you need me to."
"You would?" Shinji asked, his voice slightly awestruck. "Really??"
Hikari looked flustered. "Yeah, of course!" she said, exasperated, "Why wouldn't I? We're friends, right?"
As Shinji drew a breath, and actually managed to get the 'ar' part of 'are we?' out before Touji and Kensuke both clapped their hands over his mouth. "He'd love to," Touji said dryly, ignoring Shinji's struggles, "guy obviously needs all the help he can get."
Hikari just sighed and told Shinji she would come by later with something to eat.
"Dude," Kensuke growled as the girl walked back to her desk, "sometimes you shouldn't talk!"
"What??" Shinji asked, confused, "What did I sa-"
"It's what you almost said!" Touji hissed, "If a chick asks if she can bring you food, you say yes, you moron – especially if she's cute!!"
"We're friends with an idiot," Kensuke lamented sadly, "I thought that was common knowledge – hell, even I know that!"
From her desk, Rei could easily spot the blush riding high on Ikari's cheeks, but since his romantic involvements did not concern her, she simply looked away. It is only a problem if it interferes with EVA, she thought reasonably, taking one last, slightly lingering look at the boy before focusing on the world outside.
**
The train platform was crowded and busy, but Rei managed to find a quiet corner to wait, carefully situating herself to avoid any unwanted contact from the other riders. Since she had started living on her own, and riding mass transit as a result, Rei had found that many members of the opposite sex found the close quarters and anonymity of the train platform an excellent opportunity to see how she felt about being touched.
She was not fond of it.
Perhaps it is a male-dominant trait, she mused idly, frowning slightly as she witnessed a man in an expensive looking suit discretely brush his hand over the rear of a schoolgirl of about fifteen, though I have seen women touching men when they thought-
She was pulled from her thoughts by the ringing of her cell phone. "Yes?" she answered simply, not bothering with identification.
The way she figured it, if someone had her number, they knew who she was and knew that she lived alone… and if it was a wrong number, she owed them no courtesy.
"Ayanami?"
Rei felt no real surprise at hearing Shinji's voice, but she was mildly interested to hear a soft, girlish babbling in the background. "Yes."
"Ummm, Bella wanted to ask you something."
Now this, Rei was not expecting. "Alright," she said softly.
There was a moment of quiet, then a timid voice mumbled, "Hi."
"Hello," Rei replied, looking up as a train approached, then back down as she found that it was not her line.
There was a moment of what sounded like heavy, directly-in-the-mouthpiece breathing, and then Bella said, "Hi."
Rei's brow drew down slightly. "Hello," she said once more, wondering what the best way to get off the phone would be.
Before she could say anything more, she heard Shinji urging, "Go ahead," in the background.
"You c'ming… home… fo' dinno, Rei?"
"Pardon?" Rei asked uncertainly.
"You c'ming dinner?"
As Rei opened her mouth, she heard Shinji say, "Can I talk for a minute, Bella?" She closed her mouth and waited, trying not to feel exasperated as a loud clunk echoed through the phone. "Sorry about that," Shinji said quickly, "she dropped it." He took a deep breath, clearly uncomfortable with what he was going to say, and murmured, "Can you come over for dinner, Ayanami? That's what Bella was asking. You see, we umm… we kinda told her… you were at work."
"I do not understand," Rei admitted. "I do not have a job."
"Well, I know," Shinji said quickly, "but… but Bella's mother must have had one, because, well… Bella was screaming this morning, and… and the only thing that got her to calm down was telling her that you went to work and you would be back for dinner." After a moment of absolute silence, Shinji hurried on. "She's talking, though – you heard her, right? I mean, she's kind of hard to understand… but I think she's kind of… kind of gotten used to me – but she still wants you, and-"
"Ikari," Rei cut in coolly, "I do live near you. It would be inconvenient to have dinner with you. Goodbye."
"Wait! Wait!" Shinji said quickly. "Misato will drive you home after Bella goes to sleep – she promised. Just… I don't want her to cry anymore, Ayanami. Can you please come over? Hikari made some really good pork ramen, and-"
"I dislike eating meat," Rei cut in, "goodbye."
"Ayanami, wait!" Shinji's voice was now verging on the desperate. "Ummm… I'll make you something, I promise. Please…"
There was a very long silence as Rei glanced at the clock hanging from the train station's ceiling. I have no assignments tomorrow, she thought reasonably, but if I continue to assist him, he will never be able to handle her on his own. She glanced down the track, noting the number on the train gliding into the station.
"I will be there."
Shinji gave her another pathetic thank you and hung up, never knowing that the blue-haired girl's final decision was based on nothing more than the fact that the train to his apartment arrived before the one she normally took.
Continued…
Author's notes: thanks to RisingDragon for pointing out that Bella's hair color was unspecified in 1. Correction on 12/25/2003 – changed number of EVA pilots from 3 to 2, with thanks to the young Wheaties eater.
No pre-reader was used in this chapter.
Feedback is always welcome here or at random1377@yahoo.com
