An Evangelion fan fiction by rojo

Disclaimer: I don not own Evangelion or its characters. Wish I did but I don’t. The idea for this story is all mine.

"So what do you usually do around here…ah, for fun?"

Shinji nervously played with the hem of his shirt.

He was sitting on Rei's old desk chair that he had positioned by her bed. Uncomfortable silence had filled the small apartment until Shinji's last remark.

"What do you mean?" She looked at him coolly.

"I…ah, just wondered what you do in your free time. You don't seem to have much stuff."

"When I am not in school or at NERV I practice my violin or I read."

"You play the violin? That's neat. I play the cello…ah, but I'm not very good."

"Do you practice?"

Shinji was surprised by her sudden question.

"Huh, yeah I do but-"

"Then should you not get better after time?"

"Ah…I guess."

"Then you should not worry about being unskilled because in the end you will get better."

After ending her line of reasoning, Rei continued to look at him.

"Uh…yeah, you're right. I never thought about it like that."

After another long pause Shinji spoke.

"So, what kind of books do you read?"

"Mostly subjects that we are learning about in school."

Rei seemed to have a habit of staring right at him when she spoke. It was starting to make him a little uncomfortable. Worse his attempts at conversation seemed to be failing miserably.

Shinji got an idea.

"You know what makes me feel better when I get sick?" Shinji said standing up.

"No."

Not expecting an answer he paused.

"Um…I didn't expect you too, that was just sorta a figure of speech."

Rei gave him a blank look.

"Anyway…a nice hot cup of tea. Do you have any in your kitchen?"

She thought for a moment before answering, "I am not sure."

"Do you mind if I look?"

"No, I do not."

Rei's mind was in turmoil.

Usually when people tried to talk to her she didn't answer unless it seemed necessary.

To Rei the idea of talking without a purpose was foreign. The commander, the doctor, or the other NERV personal had never really tried to make small talk with her. It all seemed so pointless.

Just then a shiver ran through her body.

Shinji walked to the small kitchen that was hidden on one side of the entryway.

His curiosity piqued, Shinji opened the small fridge.

One jar of peanut butter, one jar of grape jelly, and that's it…somehow I'm not surprised.

Opening several of the small cupboards above the sink he found only a few dishes and half a loaf of bread.

Returning to her bedside, Shinji looked down at the girl.

She was wrapped up in her blanket and had her eyes closed. As he sat down he saw a shiver run through her thin frame.

"Are you cold?"

Without opening her eyes she drew the blanket in around her and answered quietly, "Yes."

Shinji looked for a thermostat and found it on the wall.

He turned the knob up.

Nothing happened.

Frowning he turned to Rei, "Does your heating work?"

"No."

What the hell? Is this some kind of joke? Who the hell makes her live here?

Shinji was becoming angry at the thought that anyone would make her live in a place like this.

I need to help her. I want to help her.

"Ayanami, can I ask you a question?"

She nodded.

Sitting down again, he regarded the First Child.

"Why do you live here?"

"This is the place that was provided to me." She answered simply.

"But nothing works and it's noisy here." Shinji could still hear the faraway clang.

"It has never been a problem before."

"Well, it is now…and it sucks and I think you deserve much better." He sounded very sure of himself as he finished.

Rei just stared at him.

Almost stopping because he thought he had said something wrong, he realized that she was waiting for him to continue.

"A-And, I, ah…am going to do something about it."

Shinji stood once more as he pulled his cell phone out and paced as he dialed.

A cell phone chirped within the Geofront.

"Misato Katsuragi speaking."

"Misato, I need a favor."

"Oh, Shinji, sure, what's up?"

Rei watched Shinji as he paced around her tiny apartment. It seemed rather useless because he could only walk a few steps before reaching the other wall so he ended up walking in a circle, talking away.

Despite the thin blanket, suddenly Rei didn't feel as cold inside.

"So that's ok? Great." Shinji said goodbye.

His mind prepared for the next step.

"Ayanami, I have a proposal for you." Shinji was trying to be upbeat, secretly hoping he could pull off his plans.

"May I hear it?" She sounded intrigued Shinji thought.

"Well, I thought since nothing here works and you don't really have anything to do…that, ah…we could go to Misato's apartment and you could stay there…with me, ah, I mean us." Shinji said this part very quietly and then rushed on. "You know so that you won't be lonely. And I, I mean we, can make sure that you're alright."

"I…do not think that I want to…"

Shinji's shoulders caved in as he realized that his idea had been defeated.

"…be alone right now."

Only hearing what he expected Shinji spoke, "I understand if you don't…wait…so you'll come?"

"Yes."

The boy was visibly relived to her those words from her. He quickly jumped up and returned the chair to its original place.

"Great, I can help you pack on overnight kit and…oh, sorry, let me help you up." He offered her his hand.

"Ikari."

"Yeah?"

"I am not dressed."

"Oh God, I'm so sorry. I didn’t…right, I'll wait outside."

The blue car skidded to a halt in front of Rei's apartment and Major Katsuragi jumped out. In the fading sunlight Misato saw Shinji standing next to Rei on the curb. Rei was dressed in one of her school uniforms and looked like she was ready to collapse at any moment. Shinji stood just to the side of her, eyeing her carefully. He looked ready to catch her.

"Hi guys, we have to make this quick. I need to be back at NERV soon." She groaned inwardly thinking about the huge stack of papers on her desk.

She swung the door as Shinji helped Rei into the back seat of the car.

Misato smiled at the scene before her.

Being a guardian and being in close proximity to Shinji, Misato had picked up on a few things.

After Rei was in the car Shinji turned to her.

"Misato, thanks for coming to get us."

"Oh, it's no problem." She gave him a big smile.

Minutes later Shinji lead an exhausted Rei into the Katsuragi residence. Turning to Rei he indicated where to put her shoes and began taking off his own setting Rei's small bag down on the ground beside him.

"So what's all this, baka?" A voice from behind him.

Shinji cringed inwardly.

Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Rei-chan because her fanfic "Rain" gave me the idea for Brave Nurse Shinji. It's a great story so I encourage all of you to check it out. Anyway Chapter 5 is in the works and it's a cool one. I feel like the chapters are a little slow. I think I like the pace I am setting for myself and I should (hopefully) be able to maintain it (if ff.net isn't down again). To all those who review after every chapter thank you so much. It really helps me writing when I have a guide like that. If you have any good fics you think I should check out go ahead and email me. Also, thanks to Tevlin for all his help and advice.