A/N:
Another quick chapter while I study for finals. Not much to say, except that I just realized I kept calling Misato "Commander" in the previous chapters. when, uh, Commander is Gendo. It's Major Katsuragi. I feel so dumb…Gotta go and fix that.
—-
"Fuck…" Mari grumbled as she sat up, awoken by the sunlight peeking through her window's blinds. Her hangover made her head feel like it was put in a vice grip. Standing up from her bed, before walking over to the small bathroom and pouring herself a cup of water.
Good lord, this place didn't even have a kitchenette! With these concrete walls and that bed, this place felt more like a hospital. But like, an abandoned one... Without a soul. Okay, bad comparison. Whatever. She didn't have the energy to deal with that right now - the stack of boxes that leaned against the wall seemed to taunt her.
Goodness, what time was it? It was a good thing she'd thought to bring a pocketwatch in her travel bag…Shit! It was nearly 8 AM. If she didn't get a move on, she was going to be late on her first real day of work.
With that, she grabbed her wallet and train pass, making a mad dash towards the train station! Fuck getting changed, she was going to change into a plugsuit when she got there anyway. This outfit didn't even have any puke stains, it was all good.
With no time to spare, she made it onto her train. Taking that long ride, before departing and descending down through the geo-front.
The second she stepped off the escalator, though, she was immediately met by Major Katsuragi. "You look a mess!" She scolded. Noting how disheveled the pilot looked, detecting the faint smell of alcohol on her lips. Though, she still tried to be gentle about it. "We have a dress code here. Don't let Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki see you like that, he'll never let you hear the end of it."
Mari awkwardly stammered, not sure what to say in her defense…Queue the rescue from Rei, Stepping out of the changing room dressed in her plugsuit. "I apologize, Major Katsuragi. It's my fault that she's like this. We were out furniture shopping until the early morning. I assure you, I won't let it happen again."
Something about that story just immediately seemed fishy. But… Rei was the type of girl who was literally incapable of telling a lie, at least in Misato's experience. Either it was the truth, or there was a first time for everything. "Whatever. Just go get changed, and take a shower for pete's sake." She said, walking off. Returning to her duties.
"Thanks for the save." Mari smiled, teasingly sticking her tongue out.
"Mari… how much do you remember about last night?" Rei cut the bullshit and just asked the question she was thinking of.
"Nothing past the second song." Mari shrugged. It was the truth, after all. Maybe she went a bit toooo hard on drinks.
"Oh." Rei solemnly replied, turning back around to walk away.
Mari read this as…dissapointment, almost? It was hard to read Rei's emotions…"Why do you ask?"
"I was…just curious," Rei simply concluded, not stopping her stride as she headed towards the Eva pen.
Well, that was a…strange interaction. But… Rei was a strange girl, after all. Mari just pushed it out of her mind, walking back into the dressing room. Swiftly grabbing a clean spare-plugsuit, undressing, and hopping into the shower.
Ughhhh…The water here was so cold! The cheap bastards couldn't even shell out for a hot-water heater? Whatever…At least it washed away the last remnants of her hangover.
She brushed out her messy hair, before drying off and hopping into said plugsuit. The rest of the day was much the same as the one prior, a mix of bouts of piloting and meeting her coworkers. She got well acquainted with the trio of NERV Employees that worked the bridge. Maya Ibuki, Makoto Hyuga, and Shigeru Aoba. Among a smattering of other duties, they kept a close eye on the Eva's statuses during deployments.
–
For a moment, though. Maya eventually had to break away as she was called to other duties, standing by the well-lauded Doctor Ritsuko Akagi. Who was working on trying to figure out the logistics of Unit-03. "If we hope to make Mari her own Unit, then…We're going to have to find a soul to bond her with…" She grumbled, as she looked over the Pilot's file. Parents, both still alive and in good health but disowned… No other immediate family.
Maya tried to stay upbeat, though. "I do find it impressive how they created a functioning Evangelion without a soul…Perhaps that knowledge could be useful in advancing the Dummy Plug system." A project that had long been in development, but stalled for most of that time.
"I think we might've bitten off more than we could chew in accepting Kaji's proposal." Ritsuko said with a sigh. Reaching into her pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She didn't even care about dedicated smoking areas anymore. What was Gendo gonna do, fire her? It did sure make the job of the cleaning crew a lot more difficult, though. Cigarette tar got fucking everywhereeee.
–
Unfortunately, Mari wasn't magically a better pilot after one day. Of course, there were incremental increases. She was able to walk a little faster, trip a little bit less. Rei, once again, was there to try and comfort her good friend. "You're doing very well, Mari. It took me nearly a year to get to the point you're at after two days." Of course, there were…Other reasons for that too. It was difficult finding a willing soul that would bond with Rei. But those were circumstances best left unsaid. She was trying to blow smoke.
"Thanks, hun." Mari said with a sigh. "Come on, let's go home…I still have so much to unpack."
Like a loyal kitten, Rei followed alongside. Asking "Would you like my help?"
"No, but thank you for the offer." Mari shook her head. She didn't want to show off her brassière…
Rei was mildly disappointed, but didn't argue further. The train ride home itself was unremarkable, except for…The first snowfall of the year. Mari grumbled, but Rei stared like a doe filled with wonder. She genuinely loved snow, the way it fluttered on the wind…It was so pretty.
The Pilots went their separate ways once again as they entered their apartments for the night. Rei wanted to finish her book, whereas Mari… had a shitload of unpacking to do. Like, come on, this place didn't even have a landline telephone installed! She had to provide her own, what garbage… Fuck, was she going to have to go shopping again?