A/N: Here it is, Chapter 2. I don't really have many author's notes for this one, I hope y'all like it though.

Please follow my twitter, WA_Stokins for more updates on this fic.

Extremely special thanks to my beta readers: Jake Van Eyck, Gen Nuisance, & Rambllz.

CHAPTER 2 - 'When will my fate be ready?'

Despite waking up on the wrong side of the proverbial bed, Rei went about her Monday Morning like it was any other. She took a warm shower, read a chapter from 'Frankenstein', and put on a fresh set of clothes. She found that this gradual rise helped start her day on the right foot. Tending to her hygiene, as well as awakening her brain with light reading.

The chapter turned out to be relatively short, so she decided to leave a little early and stop at a local coffee shop for a cup of Matcha Tea and a fresh bagel. As soon as she was finished with that, she began the long descent through the GeoFront and Central Dogma - Finally ending up on the bridge of the Command Center.

The whole time, her mind raced. Despite trying to put it at ease. Her dream from the night prior kept popping up, almost begging for more thought - but she refused. She purposely tried to not think about her dream. She couldn't explain why, but it felt weirdly embarrassing in a way she couldn't describe.

Thankfully, temporary relief from her intrusive thoughts was brought by the bridge's hustle and bustle. It gave her other sounds to focus on. The seemingly endless clicking from the dozens of keyboards scientists were typing at, machinery whirring, or a bit of casual smalltalk here and there.

But, a moment after she walked in the door, Major Katsuragi rushed over to the pilot. "You're just in time." She let out a relieved sigh. "Go get changed into your plugsuit. You're scheduled for a run through the Combat Training Course in an hour."

Rei found it a bit odd, if anything she was early. But, that didn't really matter. She simply replied, "Yes." and made her way over to the changing rooms.

Walking through the rooms' door, she was immediately met with a familiar and extremely cheery voice. "Hey, Rei! What's up?" It was Mari, the woman she'd dreamt about last night.

Rei paused. She'd been trying not to think about her dream, but she couldn't avoid the subject anymore. Seeing the woman she'd dreamt about brought all of those questions back to the forefront of her mind.

Mari raised an eyebrow, watching the other pilot's body language. She'd gotten good at picking up those nonverbal cues. The way Rei froze, the way her pupils slightly widened, and the way her posture stiffened. That said everything to Mari! She asked, "Are you feeling alright?"

After an awkward minute, and Rei running through 100 different replies in her head, she just blurted out the first one that arrived at her vocal chords. "I had a dream last night." In the brief awkward moment after she said it, she took a seat on the bench.

"Well, what happened?" Mari couldn't say her curiosity wasn't peaked. Rei was a girl of few words, and the ones she said were chosen extremely deliberately. It must have been something really significant for her to speak up about it.

"I could barely see…But there were figures in the distance. They seemed to be staring at me. I tried to approach, but the ground under my feet gave way. I fell into a body of water…I nearly drowned, but someone saved me." She struggled to put it into words, and ended up describing it as boringly as possible. But, she kept rolling, and looked up at the other pilot. "Do you think it means anything?"

"Well, uh…" Mari rubbed her head, completely unsure of what to make of that. "Maybe…Uh, it represents…This person saving you from the perils of everyday life!" She stammered, Completely making something up on the fly.

Despite being nonsense, Rei gave it some thought. It wasn't…implausible, considering their relationship. The bond they formed ever since the British pilot landed in Japan. Memories formed links in the chains holding up her mind.

For example, some of the links were memories of how poor Mari's Japanese was when she landed down in japan. Rei helped her improve, and in turn, Mari helped her improve in English. Other links, were dedicated to the memories of combat scenarios, where they were frequently paired. They made an excellent team, with Mari's offensiveness and Rei's defensiveness - Major Katsuragi liked to refer to them as a 'sword and shield.' But most of all, many links were dedicated to small memories. Little moments, of the two sharing a joke or a chat.

The more she viewed the chain, the more her heart began to race. The more her face turned red, the more her cheeks began to burn.

"Rei?" Mari placed a comforting hand on the other pilot's shoulder.

"Love." Rei spluttered. To which Mari just replied a confused "Whaaaa?"

Rei looked over at the other pilot. "What does it feel like when you're in love?" She asked, point blank. Truly, she felt awkward asking, but…Mari was the only person she trusted enough TO ask.

"It's...uhhh…" Mari stammered, completely taken aback by the question. Truth be told, she didn't quite know what it felt like either. She'd felt platonic love, of course, but romantic?

"It's…a nigh indescribable feeling, deep down in your gut!" She pumped her bicep, for emphasis. "It's like…A fire in your belly when you think about them! It's the way you struggle to talk to them, it's the hope that you'll be able to spend every waking moment by their side."

A brief pause, as Rei's gaze drifted down to the floor, Mari spoke up once again to try and break the tension. "So, who's the lucky fella? Oh, is it Shinji? I see the way he looks at you." She teased, with a shoulder nudge and a sly cat-like grin.

"You."

Mari was completely stunned. Truly, she hadn't seen that coming, and…Well, it was a lot of pressure. She didn't know what to say, and so didn't say anything for a moment. But, before she had the chance to gather her thoughts, Misato barged in, "Rei, looks like I was wrong. You're actually on in 5 for training. You should get changed, now."

"I, uh, I'll leave you to it." Mari spluttered, taking the chance to exit. "I…Need to go…Talk to….Dr. Akagi. Bye!~" Misato felt the thicker-than-molasses tension in the room, and grimaced slightly. But, it was really none of her business, so she didn't ask.

Rei simply replied, "Yes.".