Never Calm

A/N – Hey all, haven't been here in awhile, so I thought I'd submit again. Well, honestly, I'm doing this to hone my writing skills again. I haven't written anything longer than twenty pages since Nothing Will Ever Change That, and since I'll be taking a creative writing course this year in school, I better get back into the swing of this. So, instead of making a real story, I'm just going to make another Eva fic… mainly because I'm too lazy to develop characters. Well, hope you enjoy it. As always, this will be a romance/drama story.

Misato's Apartment – 1:00 PM – Sunday

As always, I was up by about six just out of habit of school. Asuka and Misato on the other hand, not so much. Misato has a reason; she came home last night at around four in the morning, but Asuka just enjoys sleeping in, even on school days. As smart as she may be, she can get extremely lazy at times. It's been roughly a year since the last angel appeared, and I was set to leave Misato's, but she pulled a few strings to let me stay. Asuka had a fit when she learned that she would be living with me for God only knows how long, but oddly enough, it wasn't like her normal tantrums; she got over it fairly quick.

Today was the first day of what the school district calls summer - even though it only lasts a month and a half, it's more than enough for me. There was one downside though… boredom. With the angels gone, we no longer had the need to go to NERV, let alone train. As much as I hate to say it, I kind of miss my old life… way more eventful. Even so, Misato was trying to get me, Asuka, and herself to go on a tropical vacation, which neither me or Asuka really wanted to do. Her reason was that she couldn't spend ten hours on a plane with me – my reason was the fact that I hated vacations. None the less, she'll end up dragging us along for the ride.

Last school year was… eventful, to say the least. About the time when the first semester ended, I summed up the courage to ask out Rei, and it turned out in my favor. When I first met her, I didn't even really see her as a person, more as a robot due to her 'personality'. For some reason though, when the angels died off and school started again, she opened up… a lot. She began talking more, actually made a few friends, and I saw her laugh for the first time with Asuka. One of her first friends, as fate would have it, turned out to be Asuka. How this happened no one will ever know, but it did. I was, of course, her second, and then I turned out to be her first close relationship. Since neither of us have close bonds with anyone, I think us dating was almost fate, as corny as that might sound. Outside from each other, we haven't gotten close enough to anyone where they would have a huge impact on our lives.

Surprisingly enough, Asuka was actually supportive of us… well, more of Rei. Asuka always said that she could do better than me, but she was happy for Rei none the less. I was just getting ready to head over to her apartment where we could have that rare moment alone. Outside of the occasional lunch together, we were almost always with either friends or at school, so we took whatever time we could to be alone. I still can't believe that we're still together. It's not that I don't care about her; it's that Asuka was right. I know for a fact that there are two other guys much higher up on the high school food chain than I am wanting her, and yet she still chose me. I begin to make my way to her place, taking in the semi-warm afternoon air.

Yesterday after school we went out to a fast food place – nothing special – to celebrate the end of the year. As we were walking to Misato's, she actually told me that she loved me. It came out of nowhere too; it was one of those silent, yet non-awkward moments when she just came out and said it. Of course, she had a deep blush on, but still kept a small smile on. Of course, I said it back, and we walked the rest of the way hand-in-hand. That is going to be something I'll remember for the rest of my life, because not a moment of it was a lie. Sure, it took us that long to finally say it, but at least it's out. I ring her doorbell, finally at her house, and get no reply for a few seconds.

"Hey Shinji," I jump out of my skin at her voice above be. I look up to see her sitting on the roof with her legs swinging off the edge, smiling down at me, "Where have you been? You're late." Even though her personality has changed drastically since the beginning of last year, I can still hear some of her old habits of the monotone voice and complete proper language skills.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I guess I lost track of time… what are you doing up there?" she hops down, landing in front of me, and opens her door.

"I was bored, so I thought that I might wait up there for you… and there's a rat in my shower, so I didn't want to stay in there…" she lets out a nervous chuckle, and I just go into the bathroom and grab the 'rat' by the tail. It was just a small white mouse! In fact, it looked almost as if it was a store bought pet! Setting it down outside, we both go back into her main room. She was still living in the same apartment, but she has fixed it up a little since the beginning. The walls were a calming green now, and she actually had some furniture outside of her bed. Hell, even her clothing style has changed. Instead of always wearing her school uniform, she has gotten some pretty average clothes. Right now she was wearing a pair of tight, faded jeans with a black tank-top which she would refer to as 'beaters'.

"Better now?" we both sit down in the over-sized chair, which could easily fit another person.

"Yes, much," she gives me a sweet smile and pecks me on the cheek. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, and she lays her head on my chest. By this point we've got almost a routine going; we always end up like this in the chair.

"So, what do you want to do? You know that I'll be gone for awhile after tomorrow, might as well do something special today," Misato said that we'd probably be leaving the day after tomorrow, and Rei was far from happy that she couldn't go. Gendo wouldn't allow it though, seeing as he knew of our relationship.

"I was thinking about going to the lake actually. It's about five minutes from here." I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Rei, you don't even have a bathing suit, what are we gonna do there?" she sits up and looks at me with a smirk.

"And how would you know that? I may have just gotten one recently, you never know," I raise an eyebrow, "Okay, I don't… but we can still just lay there like we used to do. We have not gone there in quite awhile," we both stand up, even though we've barely been sitting down for a few seconds.

"True. Well, you wanna head out?" before I even finished the sentence, she was already walking to the door.

"Have you ever known me to stall on things?" she's got a point…

---

Lake

This lake was man made, and there were even filters at the bottom of it to keep the water nice and clear. You could easily see fifty feet down, which was impressive seeing as a lot of people use this as a giant trash can. There were schools of fish here and there, but not enough to actually fish, so the populations stayed pretty consistent. We were at a pretty secluded area of the shoreline, making it so no one could disturb us. When we got here, Rei let go of my hand and told me to wait for her while she went to get something. She ran off into the lightly forested area, and after awhile, I started walking to the shore, basically killing time. Just as I was becoming impatient, I hear her walking back to me. I turn to see her holding what looked like a stereo.

"I put this back here a little while ago so we could have some music next time we came," she switched on the battery powered device and a soothing jazz station came on. This may not have been my favorite kind of music, but it was hers, so I tend to deal with it.

"Nice job!" I begin to sit down, but she grabs my hand, signaling me to stay standing.

"Not yet. Don't you want to have some fun first?" she had a certain look in her eye that forced me to smile.

"Sure… what do you have in mind?" without saying a word, she lets go of my hand and begins to take off her shirt, "Whoa! Rei, what re you doing?!" she threw the shirt on the ground to reveal a blue bikini top, "… that's not funny…" she literally burst into laugher, "You told me that you didn't have one!"

"Well I wanted it to be a surprise… that and I wanted to see the look on your face!" While I have to admit it was slightly funny, I had trouble staying calm. To be honest, this was the first time I've seen this much of her, and it was a little nerve-rattling, "Come on, we can swim a little. You can just go in your jeans," she took off her pants and put them with her shirt. Somehow, I managed to keep myself from staring and followed her to the water while taking off my shirt. Soon enough, we were up to our necks in water, "A little cold…"

"Yeah, it'll get better. So, how well can you hold your breath?" she wraps her arms around herself, trying to keep warm.

"I can stay under water for about two minutes swimming, and about three if I hold still," wow… and here I thought I'd be the better one… "Oh yeah! I wanted to show you something. I found this thing last time I was here without you. Follow me," without another word, she takes a deep breath and dives under. I follow quickly after her, not wanting to fall behind.

As I said before, the water was amazingly clear. It was as if this entire lake was bottled water. Rei, who obviously swims often, was able to easily speed ahead of me. She was guiding me to the bottom of the lake in a more rocky area, which even had a few fake coral reefs here and there. A large hill comes into view, and she disappears behind it. I follow her, and struggling with air, she guides me into a small cave with a bubble of air at the top. With both of us breathing hard, she wipes the hair out of her eyes.

"Whoa… how'd… you find this?" I managed to speak in-between breaths.

"I was looking around this area and just stumbled on it. I think it's an old filter, because the oxygen levels don't really seem to go down, no matter how long I'm in here," there was even a small light at the top, embedded in the rock. We were able to stand up so the water in at upper-chest level, making this quite a relaxing spot. The cave was just big enough for two people, and out faces were barely five inches apart.

"Nice find…" I put my hands on her semi-bare hips as I spoke with a smile. She returns the smile and puts her arms around my torso. Soon enough, we were embraced in a tight kiss.

Up to this point, we have taken our relationship extremely slowly compared to other high school couples. Hell, we didn't even start holding hands until our third date, and we first kissed at the third quarter. And even more recently we've been showing some public affection, which felt odd for both of us, but we got used to it. Up to today we haven't even REALLY kissed, it's always been a peck… but that changed in a hurry. I wasn't even the one to bring it to the next level, she was – which is odd, because I've always been the one to initiate new things. Instead of following what most children of our generation do and try to swallow each other's faces, it was a slow, soft kiss. Neither of us knew exactly what we were doing, but it was romantic none the less. The dim light, close quarters, and above all, wet skin, made this moment perfect. What seemed like an eternity later, we both pulled back.

"Shinji…" our bodies couldn't have possibly been closer, we were basically glued together, "I love you…"

"I love you too," we peck each other's lips one last time before embracing in a tight hug.

"How long are you going to be gone again?"

"About a month… I'm sorry you can't go," I really was. Even though there's nothing I could do to change it, the fact is that I'm going without her.

"It's not your fault," I sit down on a nearby rock, and she takes her own seat on my lap, resting her head on my shoulder, "Just call me whenever you can, okay?" This is going to be the first time we're apart for more than a day, and she's not taking it well at all. I think a major portion of her grief is the fact that Asuka and I are sharing a room. Sure, Misato will be in there too – Gendo's too cheap to allow three rooms – but that doesn't change the fact that I'll be sleeping in the same room as another girl.

"I promise," after a few seconds, I speak up again, "Do you not want me to go? I can probably-" she puts her finger on my lips.

"No, I want you to go have fun. Just don't forget about me."

"I couldn't if I tried…" we both turn our heads and once again give a deep kiss. She pulls back after about thirty seconds and blushes deeply, letting out a soft chuckle, "What's up?" I return the smile.

"Sorry but… look at us," she once again laughs a little, "We're getting so upset over one month, its ridiculous!"

"Well yeah, but I'm going to miss you. I mean, our summer is short as it is, and I'm going to be spending so much time away from you, I hate it," I pull a few locks of hair out of her face. Since we started dating, she began to grow out her hair a little more than usual. Instead of having that geometrical hair cut, her hair is now down to her upper back, and right now, it's everywhere.

"It's okay, we can spend all the time we want together when you get back, alright? For now, let's just leave it alone. We're here to relax, not to count down the minutes. Speaking of minutes… how long have we been here?"

"I have no idea. It feels like forever," we smile at one another, "I still can't believe you pulled that trick on me."

"As if you don't like it," she send a wink my way, and I just knew that I was blushing, "You'd be surprised how hard it is to find one that would actually fit me," she's got a point there; her body type is extremely slender. Not that anorexic type of body, just really well toned… I'm guessing from all the training we used to do.

"What I'm surprised at is that you'd wear it. The least I've seen you in is a tank-top and shorts, let alone THIS," she once again lets out a soft chuckle as she changes positions of my lap so her back is resting on my chest. We were basically cheek to cheek, which was much more comfortable that before. We stay like this, completely silent, for a good half hour. By now both of our eyes are closed and we've drifted to half-sleep. Just as I was about to fall asleep, she breaks the silence.

"Shinji…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you really love me, or did you just say it because I did?" I can see where she got that…

"Of course I do," I wrap my arms around her waist, "Why do you ask that?"

"Well… because I'm a little worried about you sleeping in the same room with Asuka… I know that you used to like her, and-" I cut her off before she could finish.

"Rei, don't even say that. You know that I wouldn't do anything to betray your trust. I love YOU, not Asuka. She's nothing more than a roommate to me. I would never do anything to hurt you, don't even think like that," that actually hurt to know she thinks I would do something like that…

"I know, but still…" We were pretty quiet the rest of the day. I went home early, slightly angry, and spent the rest of the night in as much solitude as I could. Doesn't she trust me? Have I done something that would make her think I would cheat? I don't even know…

---

Two Days Later – Airport – 2:00 AM

"Jeez you two, get a room," of course, Asuka had to make a smart ass remark at me and Rei kissing. This is going to be the last time I'll see her in a long time, I have to make an impression before I leave! With a small chuckle, Rei pulls back and hugs me.

"I'll miss you. Have fun, okay?"

"As much as I can… love you," after returning the gesture, we let go of each other. Misato calls me and Asuka over to the docking bay, and I look at Rei for the last time… at least until the end of the summer. After walking onto the plane, the sudden smell of bad air fresheners and airplane pillows fills my lungs.

"Okay, listen up Third; you will not talk to me, you will not sit next to me, you will not acknowledge me, and you will not talk to me."

"You said no talking twice…"

"I know, I'm making that one clear. I only came on this stupid trip because I could use a good tan. With any luck, I'll have a good time, but as long as you're around that chance is next to zero. So just keep your distance and I'll keep mine, got it?" she acts as if I WANT to be near her.

"Whatever you say…" the plane was pretty small, and no matter where I sat I was close to Asuka. It was a simple twenty-seat plane, and us three were the only ones on it. From what I gathered from Misato, we're going to a small island owned by NERV… lots of fun there… cheap bastards…

---

Seven Hours Later

I was woken up by the sudden jarring of the plane. I look out my window to see dark clouds, lightning and rain everywhere. Some vacation this is…

"Okay everyone, we're going to be hitting some turbulence here pretty soon, so I have to ask all of you to put on your seatbelts and strap down any loose items you may have. We should be landing in about two hours, so just hold tight," the plane was so small he didn't even have to use the intercom… but he did anyway. Of course, Misato was still asleep, but Asuka was far from sleeping, and actually looking a little green.

"God I hate planes…" I hear her mutter under her breath, but I just ignore it and lay my head back down.

There's no way I'll be getting to sleep any time soon, but I could at least relax. About an hour passes before I'm once again scared out of my mind, but it wasn't a simple jar this time. A blinding light fills the cabin as an enormous sound fills the air. It sounded as if a million guns went off at the same time. The plane began to tilt back and forth, jarring even a few seats loose. When my senses recovered, I looked out my window to see one of the propeller engines on fire. I couldn't even move, I just stared blankly at the fire, now reaching my window.

"Oh my God!" I hear Asuka scream, but I still couldn't move. I hear the captain speaking on the radio wildly, but I don't hear any responses. We were descending so quickly that it felt like a roller coaster… but it wasn't. I knew very well what was happening, but I knew on the outside, I looked extremely calm. My mind was racing on all possible things at once. Do they even know we're going down? Will we end up on the long list of mysterious deaths, no one exactly sure where we went? Above all… Rei… I was certain that I was never going to see her again… feeling my eyes fill with tears, I just lay my head back onto the seat and wait for the inevitable.

A/N – Well, there you have it. No, this isn't a one-shot, so come back later (possibly tonight) and check out the next chapter. You all know the drill by now; keep on keepin' on!

A/A/N – Okay, if you've read any of my other stories, you've seen that Frost always proof-read them. Well, we kind of lost touch, so I need a new proof-reader. I would prefer them to be in the same time zone as me (I live in Nevada), but beggars can't be choosers. So, if you're interested in the job, feel free message me. See you all soon!