Disclaimer: see part 1

Part 5

Changing tempo

By Random1377

 

In spite of the heavy instrument he was currently lugging up the third of four flights of stairs, and the sounds of construction coming from outside, Shinji was a very happy young man.

 

“Are you certain that you do not require assistance?” Rei asked as he wrestled the big black case around the corner, “I would not mind.”

 

He shook his head, not wanting to waste breath on talking.  It had not been too hard to get the thing out of the apartment (it had an elevator) and across town (the monorail system had very large doors), but he had not banked on the stairs in Rei’s building.

 

As he made his way up the last flight, he thought of her hesitant invitation move their lessons to her building.  Recalling Asuka’s harsh words of the day before, the decision had not taken much thought. He stopped thankfully at her floor, catching his breath, and thought of how Asuka had looked as they left the apartment.

 

‘No parting insult before we go?’ Shinji had asked her, a bit surprised by the bitterness in his tone.  She had opened her mouth and then closed it, shaking her head.  If Shinji had not known better, he would have thought that she looked a touch… sad. She was still standing in the hallway with the same look on her face as they go into the elevator.

 

((She’s probably just mad she won’t get to tease Rei and me anymore)) he thought, not without a trace of anger.  As they made their way down the hallway, Shinji asked something that had been on his mind for some time, “Ayanami? Why don’t you move?”

 

She looked at him over the top of the cello case curiously, “What reason would I have to relocate?”

 

“Well,” he said as they reached her door (and she pushed it open easily, since it was not locked), “for one thing there is no lock on your door… and the building looks like it’s about to fall down.”

 

She preceded him into the dirty apartment, “The structure is sound, and a lock is unnecessary.”

 

Shinji noticed that all of the cleaning he had done before the Unit 03 incident had gone to waste… if anything the place looked worse – even the bloody bandages were back, a tribute to Rei’s encounter with the angel of might.

 

Shinji sighed sadly as he looked around, then brought his attention back to her words, “What do you mean a lock would be unnecessary?”

 

She dropped her book bag on the floor, ignoring the small swirl of dust that arose, “I have nothing worth protecting.”

 

Setting the cello down Shinji looked at her, a slight blush on his cheeks, “Umm… you’re worth protecting…” he said quietly.

 

Rei did not hesitate in her response, “No, I am not.  Will you begin the lesson now, Pilot Ikari?”

 

Shinji nodded dumbly, not really knowing what to say, “Y-yeah… umm… do you have a chair?”

 

She walked over to where a folding chair was leaning against the wall and unfolded it, sitting down and waiting for more instruction.

 

It occurred to Shinji suddenly that she looked very alone sitting in the middle of the room, with dust motes dancing around her hair like a halo. He looked at the ground, afraid that she would be able to see the longing in his eyes.

 

Quietly, he laid the cello case on the floor and removed the instrument carefully.  He brought it over to her, vaguely proud as she leaned it against her shoulder in exactly the right position ((She looks so natural… she… she won’t need me much longer… she’s too good…)) the thought saddened him immensely. 

 

He handed her the bow and she placed it against the strings, waiting patiently for him to tell her what to do next.  He just stared at her mutely, ((She… she doesn’t need me NOW)) he thought, his vision blurring as the truth of the thought washed over him.

 

He took a deep breath, “Ayanami? Would you… would you like to keep the cello here?  It… it doesn’t make sense to carry it back and forth all the time… and you could… you could practice without me…”

 

She looked at him, only the barest trace of surprise visible, “Yes… I would like that, Pilot Ikari.” She waited for him to direct her.

 

Finally, Shinji came to a conclusion.  He spoke softly, “Umm… I think… I think that you don’t need me to teach you anymore, Ayanami…”

 

She looked at him, faintly confused, “I… I do not understand. I am not yet as proficient as you are, could I not learn more?”

 

He shook his head, fighting the tears that threatened to overtake him, “No, you… you know how to play almost as well as I do, and the rest is just practice.  You keep the cello here, I… I don’t think I’ll be playing it for a while.” He turned to leave.

 

Rei’s voice stopped him at the door, “I… I will need to install a lock… I have something valuable here now…” he thought she sounded disappointed… but he shook his head, knowing that it must be his imagination.

 

“Two… there are two things that are valuable…” he said softly to himself as he pulled the door open and stepped out.

 

Rei’s head came up suddenly, his barely spoken words echoing in her ears.  She rose smoothly, setting the bow down gently.  She moved quickly to the door, ((Why am I doing this?)) she thought, ((why do I feel that I cannot let him leave?))

 

She opened the door, intending to call out to him, and promptly crashed to the floor, Shinji landing on top of her with a surprised gasp.  He looked up into Rei’s eyes, trying to wipe away the tears that he had been crying as he leaned against her door. 

 

She spoke quietly, ignoring his weight on her, “Ikari… please do not stop teaching me… I… I want you to stay… will you?”

 

“Why…” he whispered, “why do you want me to stay, Ayanami? I… I don’t have anything more I can teach you.” he completely missed the fact that she had not addressed him as Pilot.

 

She blushed a deep crimson as she became more aware of his body pressing against hers, and of where her thoughts were running, “I… I wish you to stay because… I do not want to be alone when I play, or I will not know my voice if I find it…”  ((That is not the reason…)) she thought, her eyes opening wider, ((I… I just… lied…)), the realization hit her hard, ((Why… why did I do that?))

 

Shinji blushed as bright as her as he realized that his chest was resting between her legs. He carefully extracted himself, taking great care not to look down, “I… I’m sorry that I fell on you…” he said softly. He took a deep breath and offered to help her to her feet, “I… of course I’ll stay…” he said, smiling reassuringly.

 

She favored him with one of her rare smiles, “Thank you…”  ((I was wrong…)) she thought happily as she took her seat, ((it DOES get easier to say)).

 

Continued.

 

Author’s notes: I’d like to take a moment to thank D.L., who sent me some very helpful information on stringed instruments and confirmed my notion that moving the cello to Rei’s apartment would be a good plan.  Thanks, D.L.!  Also, I’ve decided to increase the chapter length and the time between chapters, as the main complaint in this story seems to be the lack OF story.