Food and Friendships

Some friendships start with food. Some friendships start with violence. Some with both. Ayanami Rei doesn't lose her temper often, but when she does the effects ripple outwards.

Chapter 1

A week after Shinji returns from the Jet Alone mission, Rei returns to school after being absent again only to have her lunch disturbed...

Shinji had turned at the sound of Ayanami's voice. She almost never talked in the classroom, most days she said no more than "Thank you Ikari" when he handed her lunch. Even so he only saw the aftermath.

As he watched the girl being escorted off to the infirmary by her friends, Shinji was feeling somewhat guilty. Even if the girl was a bully it felt wrong to enjoy her being stabbed in the hand. Even if she deserved it. He probably shouldn't think that either. He wasn't alone in that though, given the look of glee on the faces of several of the remaining girls.

Ayanami looked unhappy though, at least that's how he interpreted the very slight frown. It was less intense but similar enough to the one she had when she slapped him and she'd certainly been unhappy with him then. What she seemed unhappy about was that not only had the girl tried to steal some of her lunch, but she'd then dropped it on the floor. Ayanami was actually easier to read than other people. If she had actually had an expression it was a direct reflection of how she felt, not some mask she was wearing. What she was feeling at other times, or thinking at any time, was still a complete mystery. Though at least today he could take a guess.

The look she gave the small piece of food was one of disappointment as if it had caused a grievous offence by being on the floor. At least that look hadn't been directed at him, he'd disappointed so many people he knew what it looked like, but he wasn't sure that he wanted to find out what would happen if he disappointed Ayanami again. He would have to make her some extra tomorrow just to be sure.

If she was concerned about being in trouble it didn't show, she had looked as unperturbed as always when she was summoned to the Principal's office. As she closed the door behind her, the class erupted in speculation and whispered questions about what had actually just happened.

"What the hell do you put in her lunches, Shin-man?" Toji expressed the question half the class had but no one was brave enough to ask.

Shinji looked up, "Uh? Just her usual. Rice. Seaweed. Whatever vegetables and mushrooms I find fresh at the market. She doesn't eat meat, so it's pretty simple."

"Simple? Ya mean you don't even make your girlfriend the fancy stuff you make yourself?"

Unfortunately Shinji had been attempting to go back to his own "fancy stuff," which was just a simple cooked fish and vegetable roll sliced into bite sized pieces. He hadn't even done anything complicated today, just a couple of rolls and the mushroom onigiri that Ayanami liked, not the nicer looking things he sometimes made when he woke up early.

He coughed to get the piece of roll to go down the right channel and swallowed.

He glares at Toji, he doesn't need that rumour starting, "Ayanami is not my girlfriend. I'm not sure if she even considers me a friend. And I just make her whatever I'm having without the meat."

"Yeah right, you're almost the only person she bothers to notice exists, walks to school with you every morning and you make her fancy lunches?"

"And there's the 'physical contact' sessions," adds Kensuke despite that happening only once and he still hadn't worked out what Ayanami had been trying to do. After that when she wanted a hug it was a perfectly normal one, as far as he knew, it wasn't as if anyone else hugged him.

"What do lunches have to do with anything?" Shinji isn't going to get into the walking to school. Because then he'd have to explain the hugging. Explaining it would mean talking about Ayanami and Evas and he was starting to learn not to bring up Evas, robots or anything Nerv related anywhere where Kensuke might hear. Though at least Kensuke could be counted on to divert the conversation from other things he didn't want to talk about. Besides, that was between the two of them, his friends would make something of it that it wasn't, and it wasn't anywhere near every day.

"Dumbass, girls make lunches for their boyfriends. Not that I'm callin' ya a girl or nothin', but you're the one who can cook."

"So you're dating the Class Rep?"

Toji stares at him.

"What?! No! She just gives me leftovers 'cause we grew up together and she knows how much I eat."

"Well, you seemed very sure Ayanami was my girlfriend. Maybe we should ask the Class Rep?"

"Ask me what?" None of them had noticed Hikari returning from dealing with the stabbing.

"Toji was claiming you couldn't possibly be his girlfriend because you only give him leftovers and not the 'fancy stuff' that Shinji makes for Ayanami," Kensuke grins as he throws both of his friends under the Hikari shaped bus.

The heat of Hikari's glare could have set fire to the classroom, fortunately the arctic cold of her tone cancelled it out, "Really? Well some of us don't have hours to make it 'fancy' no matter how much you or my sisters complain."

Toji is torn between yelling at his friend or working out how to appease Hikari, "He's puttin' words in ma mouth again. I'm not complaining. I always like your cooking, you know that."

"Ten minutes." Shinji interrupts, coming to his friend's rescue.

Hikari turns her glare on him.

Shinji gulps and gestures to what's left of his lunch. "Um. I forgot to put the rice cooker on the timer last night, so I didn't have time for much more than this today by the time I'd cleaned and gotten ready. I do Ayanami's first to avoid any meat contamination, then mine. If I'm cooking something, that goes on while I'm preparing the rest. Usually the vegetables only need a few minutes if they need cooking at all."

Hikari stares at him, "Ten minutes, and that was plain?!" The "that" comes with a gesture towards his almost empty bento.

"Err. Yes? Breakfast and Dinner take longer, especially if Misato is home, but lunch bentos are about that."

Shinji is entirely unsure what Hikari's expression means, but maybe he's thought of something he can do to help apologize for Ayanami's earlier behavior.

"Maybe I could show you sometime? I don't know what your sisters like, but I'm sure I could find a couple of recipes for you. And if it doesn't work, you can always give it to Toji, he'll eat anything."

"As long as you make it," mutters Kensuke under his breath, earning him a kick under the table.

Shinji rubs the back of his head nervously, he's making this worse, "Uh. Sorry. I'm not saying that you don't know how to cook. Err. Just sensei used to get mad if I was slow, so I learned a few things to speed up. I just thought it might help."

Hikari nods, seemingly placated, "It would. Thank you for offering." Then she groans, "Kodama."

Shinji looks confused, he has no idea who Kodama is. As does Toji, who knows but has no idea what she has to do with Shinji's cooking.

Kensuke is entertained, "Don't worry, he already knows how to say 'She's not my girlfriend'."