Delicate As Glass

Chapter 2

As soon as Rei kicked off her wet, black shoes in the corner of the door way, she glanced at Kaworu because she still clenched his coat over her. Despite the less than comfortable conditions outside, Kaworu did not look as ill and drowsy as Rei herself was.

"Misato? Shinji? Anyone home?" Kaworu called out. Rei stayed put, still observing the fifth child when his movements, graceful and smooth just like an angel, moved toward the kitchen. The kitchen, as usual was piled with beer cans in the corner by Misato, but other than that, it was pretty clean. "Misato-chan? Are you home?" Kaworu asked again.

"Yes?" came Misato's voice from the living room? "I'm in here, Kaworu-kun!"

Before Kaworu walked to the living room, he noticed the still Rei with his coat still over her like a tent. She was so ill-looking, that Kaworu went for the kitchen and came back with a cup of hot chocolate for Rei.

"Here...for you. To warm up a little. You should get into bed now, Rei. Can you walk alright? Rei?" Rei just stood there like a hanged person, staring at the smoke from the hot chocolate cup in Kaworu's large, white, and bony hand. Her breath was so cold, yet warm from her body temperature, that her throat felt tight and couldn't even say thank-you to Kaworu properly. She felt awfully faint due to her thin blood from the cold chilling air. Empty, that is what Rei felt, just empty, very sick. Rei lost her balance and fell onto Kaworu, the hot chocolate went flying from his hand. Without losing his balance as well, Kaworu maintained his posture and caught Rei.

"Rei! Rei? Are you okay? Rei? Wake up! Can you hear me, Rei?" Kaworu panicked for a second, then he straightened Rei up and swept her in his arms. "She...She is awfully light. She didn't eat at all today did she?" Kaworu whispered to himself. "My, my...Rei." Kaworu gathered his strength and carried the unconsciousness Rei upstairs to her room.

"Kaworu? Kaworu?" Misato called out. "Hi there, Kaworu. How was shopping today? Did you get the baby's breath and roses for the dresses? And the black thread for you boys' tuxes?"

"Y-Yes, I did, Misato-chan," the bag is right on the table in the kitchen," Kaworu answered, trying not to let Misato find out that he was obviously carrying something in his arms. "Kaworu? Did you happen to see Rei at all? She said that she was going to the library to check out a book, but that was hours ago. Have you seen her yet?"

"Yes, actually I have. I have seen her, Misato," Kaworu said seeing no other way around the problem. "Here she is." Kaworu had shown the fainted Rei to Misato and whispered: "Shhh," to keep Rei from waking. Misato put her hands over her mouth in shock.

"Kaworu," Misato said in a worried voice, "is she alright?"

"I don't think so, Misato-chan. She kinda fainted. I believe she is catching a fever. I'll take her up to her room. Is that alright?"

"By all means. I hope she is not sick enough for the dance. All of you kids have been looking forward to it for so long."

"Yes. I hope she will come." Kaworu smiled down at Rei's calm, but cold, face and continued up the stairs.

About an hour later, Misato was hemming Kaworu's pants with him wearing them. Asuka was eating an ice cream cone, and Shinji and Toji were helping Misato with the black thread and needles that were for the hemming. Kaworu was not all that focused on his pants for his suite, but more concerned for Rei upstairs. Rei was never sick before, so Kaworu had his worries and suspicions that Rei was not taking good care of herself. Over-stressed? he thought. Maybe. But the little voice in Kaworu's head told him that there was something else on Rei's worry list.

"Kaworu-kun? Hey!" Toji said to the fifth.

"Oh? Y-Yes? What is the matter?" he answered, snapping back to reality.

"Could you stand up more straight? The hemming on both sides are uneven."

"Oh, yes, of course," Kaworu said calmly.

"So what did you do today, Kaworu-kun?" Shinji asked slightly blushing.

"Nothing really special," he replied. "However, I managed to see a princess today."

"A what? A princess?" asked Asuka in full doubt. "What in the world are you talking about? Did the coldness knock you out of your senses, Kaworu-kun? Princesses don't exist anymore, except in foreign countries if that."

"Well," Misato started, "I think that any girl can be a princess in her own unique way. If they believe they can become a princess then they could achieve it. When I was a kid, I used to believe that I was going to be the next Japanese pop star. It was fun dreaming it for a while and living it out, but things change for some people. Instead I became an associate at NERV H.Q. There's nothing wrong with believing to be something that you yourself think is terrific and trying to accomplish it, even if it is something as lofty as a princess."

Shinji, Asuka, Toji, and Kaworu all stared at the purple-haired woman as though she had bubbles coming out of her ears.

"Whoa, Misato," Asuka said. "I never knew you were so full of emotion. Never expected that from you."

"Hey, I was once your age, Asuka," Misato added on. "So, Kaworu, who was the princess? Was she a total babe?"

Kaworu's eyes wandered the ceiling; he thought a moment and replied: "She was very... serene. A very noble lady that she was." He released a suspicious-like smile.

"Yeah? But who was she?" Toji asked with a curious tone.

"Who was she?" Kaworu repeated. "Well..."

"Yeah?" Asuka continued.

"Can't tell," Kaworu giggled softly. He glanced at the blushing Shinji who gave him a weak smile. Kaworu smiled in a certain smile that reassured Shinji that he was truly in love with him, but Kaworu had certain, growing feelings for Rei. Misato laughed and said something that Kaworu was just being shy. Asuka complained and tried to say different names of different girls in the school and ones she knew so she could guess which girl Kaworu was referring to. Soon she gave up. Toji congratulated Kaworu on finding such a bold young lady, and Kaworu gave himself a small grin due to the priceless dramatic irony that was not bad at all for anyone.

Around six o'clock, Kaworu's pants were hemmed, sewn, and stitched; then he strolled into the hallway to go upstairs and check if Rei was alright. Kaworu still had that annoying voice in his head that Rei was trying to access a different kind of goal out there in the damp and cold weather that caused her to faint into such a soporific state. Rei, indeed, was a certain type of noble princess to Kaworu. Not the dainty kind, and not the prince-like kind. A Sleeping Beauty at the present time, she was a princess of stainless glass. She appeared to be without emotion quite often, but her soul, the very foundation of her, was a delicate and fragile as glass, porcelain glass of a breakable, delicate doll. Only Rei would reply: "I'm not a doll." Of course she wasn't. Not at all, Kaworu thought. Not in the least. Kaworu only thought of Rei as a delicate shell that had emotions on the inside, not the outside in respect of her liking. Keeping quiet as a mouse, Kaworu made his way up the stairs, past the tall lamp in the corner, and stopped before Rei's bedroom door.