THE MIND OF AN ANGEL

Disclaimer: if you think I actually own Evangelion, then you are wrong! (I don't)

Proofread by Strath and 94saturn, thanks to both of you. You get a pie.

CHAPTER 8: COUPLE

Shinji awoke in very much the same way as yesterday. The only exception was that this time, the headache was slightly duller. His eyes blinked as his nerves recovered their power. Even after he was conscious, he felt like he had come out of a dream.

Well, look who's conscious?

There goes that hope.

Is that sarcasm?

No, it is merely amazement. Being that angels never sleep, I am surprised how much you humans rest.

Wha-?

He turned to look at the clock, 7:30, again he had overslept. He groaned, and forced himself to ignore the pain as he changed. Again, he simply grabbed some toast and made his way to school. The walk there was very much the same as yesterday. As he got to school, he rushed into the classroom seconds before the bell rang. As he saw Rei and Kensuke in the classroom, he finally remembered about yesterday.

He tried to sit down on his seat without drawing attention. He hoped he didn't look too nervous, because he was really scared shit-less. As the teacher droned on, hundreds of thoughts passed through his mind. They were quickly interrupted by the small beep of his laptop. He opened it to see a message from Kensuke.

-What gives? You ran out all of sudden?-

He closed it, not really feeling in a mood to talk. He rested his head on his hands and listened to the inessential information as the teacher droned on.

Unbeknownst to Shinji, Arael examined the minds of those in the classroom. Kojima's was especially interesting, with some information about performing certain actions with the annoying one. He stopped before scanning Rei, knowing he had to be careful. He was surprised to find her mind full of activity. Strange, he thought, from the memories of others, she seems very un-active. Most of the thoughts involved Shinji, considering she was not staring out the window as usual.

Arael moved on, contemplating whether he should kill the professor…not that he could either way.

Thankfully, after three hours of torture the lunch bell rang. Shinji immediately bolted to the store, in need to feed his hunger. He took his lunch into the gym pool; he really didn't feel like talking to anybody. It was a regulation sized pool, and the changing rooms were facing each other in a small hall. He finished his lunch in a few minutes, and he found himself to be staring into the still pool, the scent of chlorine filling his lungs.

Berserker, perhaps instead of worrying about what could happen, perhaps you should prevent it. Why do you not inform your superiors of the situation?

Shinji remained staring at the pool, reflecting the lights above, knowing he was telling the truth. He would eventually have to tell someone about the fact he had lost his cell. If he did, maybe they could avoid any problems. Everybody would be safe…

Then the thought of his father crept into his mind.

He sighed, knowing he would have to tell them eventually. The cell phone wasn't the only problem though, he soon remembered. He had been staring into the pool the entire time; Rei had come in the gym. She was in the entrance, watching him.

"Shinji?" She asked, walking a bit closer to him. "Are you… well?"

Shinji snapped from his thoughts, and looked at her crimson eyes. For a moment he wanted to lie and say everything was fine. But he needed to talk to someone…someone human.

"No, Rei, I'm not." He replied quietly.

Rei looked at the boy, whom was leaning on the wall as he sat, surprised by the answer. She was unsure of what to do, but he seemed to be in need. She slowly made her way to sit next to him. She blushed slightly at their closeness, but paid no mind to it.

"Would you like to…" She paused, unsure of what to say.

"Rei…I almost died yesterday…" Shinji began, sniffing to hide his tears.

And so he told her everything, the entire ordeal. He barely remembered to take out the details involving Arael and why he got lost, but he told her everything else. Rei displayed no major emotions, but heard the story with remorse. When Shinji finished telling her he was in tears, hugging his knees.

Rei was quiet, as she thought of what she should do. She cradled his head on her chest as he cried silently, for it was the only she could think of. Rei felt more at peace, as his cries turned into sniffles. The bell rang for lunch to end. She paid no attention to it, as the task at hand was more important.

Shinji didn't want to move, he felt at peace between Rei's breast and shoulder. He was very grateful she was here; he didn't feel like being alone. His thoughts went back to the dream he had yesterday, and what he thought it meant. He was truly debating whether he really liked her. But he was in a very comforting position. He wasn't aroused, despite his proximity to her breast, he was…happy. He really did like her.

As he came to this conclusion, Rei said: "Shinji, we must inform them of the loss of your cell phone"

He lifted his head to look directly at her, her eyes stared into his. He said quietly, not diverting his gaze: "I want to be with you Rei…"

Rei's face went from emotionless to shock. She had forgotten all about the question she had asked. At first it seemed he was merely avoiding the question, but his answer came from within. The way he had said it, he sounded vulnerable. Alone. She was thinking of an answer, but couldn't think of anything. Then she remembered…

Shinji kept staring into her eyes, seeing her shocked face. She was taking a long time to answer, and was afraid of what it could mean. Arael was dead silent; he would not intervene in any way. This was Shinji's decision. Shinji was about to look at the ground, until Rei did one simple thing.

She smiled.

The bell rang, school was over. Kensuke looked around, Shinji was still nowhere to be seen…neither was Ayanami.

"Something wrong?" asked a playful voice.

Kensuke turned to see Kasuki, standing next to his desk. Surprised, Kensuke tried to answer without stuttering: "Oh…err, it's just that Shinji dropped his cell phone yesterday, I have to give it back to him."

Kasuki slightly tilted her head, "Oh…Well, I saw Ayanami going into the pool at lunch, but she wasn't in her bathing suit. Maybe he's in there with her?" She suggested, after Kensuke mentioned they had a thing for each other.

He got up from his desk, and looked at her. "Thanks I'll check it out." He replied as he walked out of the classroom with her, ignoring the stares of other students. "So," he began, "you still wanna get together with Toji and Hikari on Saturday?"

"Yeah," She answered "I haven't seen him since a few weeks ago, plus… you are going to give me that footage you have from that angel right?" She asked, almost seductively. Kensuke blushed at her tone, but nodded. When he was near the pool, he said goodbye to Kasuki, and headed for the door.

I can't believe she has an obsession with EVA too he thought, he opened the door to the gym and went inside. He was greeted with the scene of Ayanami holding Shinji. He resisted the temptation to make any sly remarks and slowly made his way closer. Ayanami looked up him as he came near, Shinji apparently asleep. As he got close enough to whisper, he asked "Is he asleep?"

Ayanami nodded, and then blinked.

You just can't have a conversation with her… he thought. "Shinji dropped his cell back the hospital yesterday, I just wanted to give it back." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Shinji's cell phone. Rei's expression did change after this however, as she was surprised. Rei reached out to accept the cell phone. After she did, Kensuke left rather quickly.

She looked at the cell phone, then at Shinji. She sighed, he could rest easy now. She fingered his hair as he slowly breathed in and out. When he would awake, his problems would be solved.

She was glad Shinji had accepted to be together. She did not know why, but she simply felt… happy? At peace near him? Rei also deeply respected him, he had risk his life for others. She looked at Shinji once more; perhaps they would…complement each other.

Arael chuckled, things solved themselves. He was glad the child had made a decision as well; he was getting tired of his internal debates. He paid close attention to their affection for each other. He would see how things would play out.

For this was key…

AN:

KEY TO WHAT? I dunno, you tell me? His life? Probably, he likes her.

IS IT SHORT? Yes, and for that im sorry, but this was how far I had my ideas fully fleshed out, so it might be until February for the next chapter. Also, I just wanted the people at this point to know what to expect. Hopefully I pulled of the scene right.

BUT WHY? Well, that and my other 2 hobbies (drawing and WH40K) have been neglected the last few days, I needs to catch up!

WHATS GONNA HAPPEN NEXT? Even im not too sure, but I decided to scratch the cultist story line, it was getting a bit convoluted.

LEMON? Not for a while, and probably not from me, I got a guy that's pretty good at this, so ill ask him.

PROOFREADES? I got 2, and Saturn was especially helpful in this chapter. Thanks man! Hope your horrible pain stops soon. (More are always welcome)

DO YOU ENJOY WRITING IN THE AUTHORS NOTES? Yes. Yes I do.

Any other questions, ask em in the reviews. Ill answer them.

-peace

SQUIRREL