Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Folded Wings

By Random1377

Chapter 10

Maya stirred her coffee with a faint, barely-there smile, resting her chin in her palm as she stared out at the few cars driving past. It was well past lunchtime, but still before dinner, so the open-air café was practically deserted, leaving her and her companion pretty much to themselves.

It made it much easier to speak freely, Maya found.

"I think I'm in love…"

Rei turned her attention away from the three children playing jump rope across the street and glanced at her elder, considering what reply would be most appropriate before deciding on, "You are not sure?"

Tapping her spoon lightly on the edge of her mug, Maya shrugged. "It's best not to rush these things," she said importantly, "but if we're talking a percentage scale of certainty, I'm working with at least an eighty-five."

Peering into her own cup as the older woman took a sip, Rei asked, "And this is based on your sleeping with Mister Kaji last weekend?"

To her credit, Maya did not choke on her drink.

"Well, not just that," she said unevenly, setting her cup down before her shaking hand could splash her coffee onto the tablecloth. "Did… did Kaji… tell you?"

Rei raised her eyes.

"He implied it," she said calmly, "as you did on Sunday… though he was not as discrete."

"Yeah," Maya mumbled, "he has a tendency to be that way sometimes."

Gazing at the woman for a moment, Rei said, "My opinion of you has not been lessened, Miss Ibuki."

Maya chuckled weakly. "You're pretty observant."

"Sometimes."

"So," the technician said awkwardly, "what did he say about… about me…?"

Rei lifted her cup. "He did not brag, Miss Ibuki."

"Well, yeah, I mean… I didn't think he would," Maya said quickly, "I just… what did he say?"

Setting her cup back down, Rei slowly replied, "He said that it was the first time he had cooked for you, and that he was pleased that you enjoyed yourself."

Though this was not exactly what the man had said, Rei felt that it was close enough to the truth. She did not feel that she could mention the word 'taste' in conjunction with sexual activity without blushing.

Maya, however, did blush. "It was… pretty amazing," she said carefully, "some of the things we did, I… wow, I really shouldn't be talking to you about this."

Rei said nothing for a moment.

Secretly, she agreed. Discussing sexual practices was, in her opinion, something for lovers and best friends – neither of which, Maya was.

Instead of continuing the topic, Rei returned to her initial question.

"Then… you are still uncertain of your love?"

Maya heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that the girl had gracefully changed the subject.

Well, perhaps not gracefully, but tactfully at any rate.

"No," she said softly, "I think I'm pretty sure I do love him… I just don't want to rush into it, or force him to feel the way I do. I mean, he's kind of… distant, sometimes, so I don't… I don't want to push him, you know? And really, we haven't been dating a long time, so…"

Rei hesitated for only a moment before asking, "How… do you know if the emotion you feel for someone is love, rather than simple affection?"

Maya bit her bottom lip. "Wow," she blurted, "that's kind of a tough one, umm… I guess it's different for everyone, but for me, I just… I can't get him out of my mind, you know? I wake up thinking about when I can see him again, and when I go to bed, I wish he was with me – and when we're together, I feel like I'm on top of the world, like nothing could ever go wrong…"

Frowning faintly, Rei mused, "That sounds… obsessive…"

"Oh it is, it is," Maya said quickly, "it's kind of… scary for me to be in love – that's another reason why I try to be as sure as I can before I let myself go." She smiled. "To me, loving means giving over a part of myself to the man I'm with… and every time it ends, it kills me a little…"

"Then… would it not be safer not to love?" Rei ventured.

Maya nodded, her face growing entirely serious as she replied, "Safer, yes… but when you're in love, Rei, everything is so much brighter. Why do you think there are so many songs about love? I don't… I don't think humans are capable of really living without it – you can exist, sure, but without love you'll never… God, I'm rambling…"

Digesting this information for a moment, Rei slowly said, "I do not believe that I have ever been in love."

Replying immediately, Maya said, "You're so young, though, you've got plenty of time to find someone you really care for. I mean, I haven't… I haven't felt this way about a man for years – literally – and I'm exaggerating a bit about just existing, God I must sound like I'm desperate… but you can be happy without love, it's just…"

As the woman fumbled for words, Rei softly supplied, "You can be happier with it."

Defeated, Maya collapsed back into her chair.

"I didn't mean for it to come out like that," she whispered. "Rei, don't misunderstand me – I'm not saying that life is-"

"I understand, Miss Ibuki," Rei cut in smoothly. "Please, do not worry yourself."

"Oh," Maya said, sounding a bit confused, "umm… ok…"

Slowly lifting her cup, Rei finally took a drink of the steamed milk Maya had recommended that she try, pondering all that had been discussed and trying to fit it into the framework of her own life.

After several moments of quiet thought, she finally reached one, solid conclusion.

The milk… was a bit too sweet.

( 0 0 0 )

Glancing down at the piece of paper in his hand, Shinji found that he had, indeed, come to the right place. "You sure about this?" he mumbled, hefting the parcel in his other hand and considering the door for a moment. "Yeah, might as well get it over with, I guess…"

Before he could think about what he was doing, he reached up and rapped smartly on the door.

"There," he whispered, "happy now…?"

He straightened his back as the door swung open.

"Ayanami, hi, I…"

Shinji trailed off as he found Rei looking quite different than he was used to seeing her. Instead of the ever-present school jumper he knew so well, the First Child was dressed in a black turtleneck made of some light, soft looking fabric. It seemed rather snug to Shinji's eyes, drawing attention to the design of her body almost as well as the jeans outlining her shapely hips and long legs.

Accentuating this ensemble was a simple, silver cross, resting lightly at the point where the front of the girl's turtleneck began to swell.

All in all, Shinji decided that the First looked rather stunning.

"H-here," he stammered, realizing that Rei had already returned his greeting and invited him in, "I… Misato said it's good manners to… bring a gift."

"They are… petty," Rei murmured, accepting the bouquet of pansies with great care. "Mister Kaji," she said, turning back into the apartment, "do you have a vase…?"

"Wow, classy, Ikari!" Kaji commented as he rounded the corner from the bathroom and waved to the Third, "you must be taking Misato's advice on dating… she was always after me to open the door for her and bring flowers and crap like that, but I was never very good at it."

He started to laugh, but it was cut short rather abruptly as someone said, "Maybe if you listened better, you wouldn't have gotten dumped."

Rei turned back to the doorway just in time to see Major Katsuragi step through it and fold her arms, leaning up against the doorframe and regarding Kaji with mingled disdain and amusement.

"Honestly, Kaji," she said smoothly, "I know you miss me, but come on – did you really need to get poor little Rei here to fill in? When I saw the change of address request, I thought it was a joke. Imagine my surprise when Shinji told me he was invited over for dinner."

Kaji smiled, but it seemed forced to Rei. "What surprises me is that you knew my address when you saw it," he said lightly, bowing and motioning for her to step inside, "you've never been here before."

"Oh, I like to keep tabs on suspicious people," Misato quipped as she stepped past Shinji, who was still hesitating on the threshold. "Nice place, Kaji – very 'late 90's bachelor pad.'"

"Gee," Kaji said dryly, "wonder why."

Misato shrugged out of her coat, draping it carelessly over the back of the couch. "So," she said coolly, "is Ritsuko in the bedroom, or are you comfortable with just one inappropriate roommate?"

Kaji's brow twitched. "Actually, it's Ibuki," he said evenly, "I was thinking of a little ménage a trios after dinner – care to join in?"

Shinji thought that Rei's eyes had widened a bit at the mention of Miss Ibuki's name, but it must have been a trick of the light.

Why would she care if Kaji joked about Maya?

"I'd love to," Misato countered, "but I'm still trying to get rid of the unclean feeling I got when I read that change of address form."

"Why do you keep looking at me when you say that?" Kaji wondered, walking to the door and gently steering Shinji inside. "My signature wasn't anywhere on it – so why am I catching the flak?"

Misato rolled her eyes. "You're behind this somehow," she said confidently, "probably dropped some lame line about the stars and the moon and had Rei eating out of the palm of your hand."

Kaji's eyes twinkled with merriment. "It was the bird line, if you must know," he said cheerfully, "and she wasn't eating out of the palm of my hand… though she did drop by in just a trench coat and ask me to take her." He blew on his nails and brushed them on his shirt, still grinning broadly. "Yeah, I've still got it."

This time, Shinji was sure that Rei's expression changed, but again, he could not understand why.

Almost looks like she's blushing… he thought. Wow, I AM seeing things.

"Don't scare the children," Misato grumbled. "God, at least come up with something believable."

Rei coughed lightly.

"Major Katsuragi?"

"Hmm?"

"…being here is my choice, ma'am."

Misato considered the girl for a moment, finally breaking eye contact with a deep sigh. "Fine, fine," she said, "I'll drop it… I didn't mean to ruin your evening, Rei…"

"It is not a problem," Rei said quietly. "Will you be joining us?"

Looking slightly uncomfortable now that her righteous indignation had been so effortlessly derailed, Misato mumbled, "I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's not an imposition if the hostess invites you to stay," Kaji pointed out. "She's not really the kind of person to do it out of politeness, in case you hadn't noticed – no offense, Rei – and it's fine by me… so I think the only other person that might have an issue with you staying would be Shinji."

"I'd like it if you stayed," Shinji said quickly, averting his eyes as Rei glanced his way, "I mean… if you wanted to…"

"Eh, what the hell," Misato shrugged, "I got nothing better going anyway… and it smells damn good – what are you making?"

Finally free to close the door, Rei replied, "Steak."

Misato assessed her for a moment. "I thought you couldn't eat meat."

Rei glanced at Kaji, who simply shook his head.

It's gonna be a long night…

( 0 0 0 )

Uncomfortable, Rei mused, was about the only word that fit the Major's expression as the two women sat in Kaji's living room, waiting for their counterparts to return. After an unusually quiet dinner, during which everyone avoided everyone else's gaze quite a lot, Kaji had declared that he had neglected to buy something called 'cool whip,' a desert topping of some sort, from what Rei could deduce, and excused himself to go buy some, stating that dessert wouldn't be dessert without it.

Shinji had all but leapt to his feet and scrambled after the man, leaving Misato and Rei staring after them as they hastened out the door.

He had not even excused himself.

The Major, Rei decided, must have realized how forceful she had been upon arriving, and had slowly grown quieter and quieter as dinner had progressed. Kaji, too, seemed edgy that the woman was there, though he tried to hide it by pretending to be enraptured by his dinner, which everyone agreed was delicious… though Rei was sure she saw Shinji make an odd face at taking the first bite.

"I'm sorry I ruined your date…"

Rei blinked, drawn from her analysis of the evening meal by the Major's soft words.

"There is nothing to apologize for," she replied quietly, "I invited you to stay."

Misato rose to her feet, zeroing in on Kaji's cabinets as she said, "I shouldn't have accepted, though. This was supposed to be a date, right…?"

Watching as the woman pulled open one cabinet after another, Rei realized that she did not really want to answer this question.

"Ah-ha!"

Triumphantly, Misato pulled a long-stemmed wineglass out of one of the cabinets, setting it on the table before pulling the fridge open, clearly intent on helping herself to a drink.

"Man, look at all this junk," she mused, refusing to let silence fall again. "I thought I ate unhealthy stuff, but you guys take the cake – literally! There's cake in here!"

"It is Mister Kaji's," Rei pointed out smoothly. "The shelf at the bottom is mine."

Misato snorted. "Broccoli, peppers, corn… it's like a miniature farmer's market," she said, pulling out the bottle of wine and finally closing the fridge. "…wish they'd hurry up."

Rei said nothing as the older woman poured her drink and came back into the living room, taking a small sip and regarding the first over the rim of her glass.

"So," she whispered, seemingly emboldened by the mere presence of the alcohol in her hand, "you and Shinji, huh…?"

"What about us?" Rei replied flatly.

Pausing for another drink, Misato clarified, "You're… together, then?"

Rei met the woman's eyes.

"No more than you and Mister Kaji."

Misato stared at the younger girl for a moment, trying to decide if she was being antagonistic or not. Shaking her head as she remembered who she was dealing with, she dryly replied, "So you're just coworkers."

"Correct," Rei answered quietly, "though…"

"Hmm?"

"…it is unimportant."

"No," Misato said immediately, "it is important. What were you going to say?"

Nodding at the note of command in the other woman's voice, Rei said, "I was going to say it is correct that Ikari and I are coworkers, though I believe I would like to explore the possibility of a more personal relationship."

"So you want Shinji to be your boyfriend," Misato said bluntly, "well, I-"

"No," Rei interjected softly, "that is presumptuous."

"Oh?"

Rei gathered her thoughts for a moment, wanting to avoid any misunderstandings.

"I am interested in becoming closer to Ikari," she said finally, speaking very slowly so as to make herself clear. "However, the expression, 'boyfriend,' implies exclusivity, and I-"

"You've gotta be kidding me," Misato broke in, "you're… playing the field?"

Considering this for a moment, Rei slowly replied, "That term seems so negative… but I do not know of a more appropriate one."

Leaning back on the couch, Misato simply stared. "Wow," she said finally, "I never would have guessed. So who else do you have your eye on? Anyone I'd know?"

"I would rather not say," Rei replied evenly.

"Fair enough, fair enough," Misato said, reappraising the girl as she took another sip of her wine. "Can I at least get a number?"

"Pardon?"

"A number, you know – a number of how many you're trying to choose between."

"Oh," Rei said, trying to decide if having this information would influence the Major's interactions with her or not. "Three."

"Three?" Misato grinned. "Ambitious, Rei… pretty ambitious."

"It is not a question of ambition," Rei returned, "it is a question of attraction and interest." She averted her eyes. "I am simply attempting to follow my emotions… and currently they lead towards those three individuals."

"Currently?" Misato asked, arching an eyebrow. "Better be careful, Rei… emotions can be tricky."

Rei nodded. "I understand that," she replied. "That is one reason I do not wish to discuss the identities of the others."

Shrugging, Misato polished off her glass of wine. "Makes sense," she said, "though between you and me… I think Shinji's probably the best fit out there for you."

A very faint smile lit Rei's face.

"…and that is the other reason."

"Ha," Misato laughed, "you caught me, I'm biased."

"It is admirable."

"Hmm?"

"Your relationship with Ikari," Rei said quietly. "You seem… very close to him. It is admirable."

Misato regarded the bottom of her empty wineglass for several long moments before softly replying, "You really don't know anything, do you…"

Taken aback by the confused anger in the older woman's voice, Rei let the silence return.

It was not broken again until Kaji and Shinji finally returned.

Continued…

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