Racing Hearts
By: Dreiser
Rei was alone.
She wasn't exactly sure why she had suddenly noticed
this but nevertheless she had.
I mean, so what if Rei was alone? Rei was always
alone. She didn't need anyone. That was Rei's strength.
Her strength in not needing people. Not needing
approval. Not needing love. Not needing touch.
But if all of that was true then why was the sight of Rei
sitting alone bothering her so much?
Heaving a sigh and straightening her shoulders, Asuka
rose to her feet and crossed to where her follow Eva pilot was
sitting on the ground observing the other girls in gym class with
her usual neutral expression.
"Hey, wondergirl."
The only reaction Rei gave to Asuka's given nickname
for her was a slow lifting of her light blue head and scarlet eyes
meeting emerald green ones.
Feeling a bit put aback by the power of Rei's gaze, as
she always did, it took Asuka a moment to shake off the effect
but when she did she gave a jaunty smirk.
"Sitting alone can't be any fun. You like swimming don't
you? How about we have a race?"
"A race?" Rei echoed as a look of slight surprise
crossed her delicate features.
Seeing that she had Rei's attention, Asuka grinned then
said, "Exactly right! A race to see which of us is the faster
swimmer. Come on, wondergirl. It'll be fun."
"Fun?" Rei echoed again.
Holding back the urge to heave an exasperated sigh,
Asuka merely leaned forward and grabbed Rei's hand in her
own and helped pull the other girl to her feet.
As she did so, Asuka was struck by how warm Rei's
hands were. Frozen at this realization, Asuka found herself
looking into the depths of Rei's gaze which didn't have the
coldness that she'd always expected to see but instead held a
sort of curious expectation.
"Yes, fun," said Asuka as she wagged her index finger
in Rei's face who studied her intently. "I've noticed that you just
don't seem to have any of it, wondergirl, and I'm going to
change that right now."
With that, Asuka pulled Rei along after her as she
ignored the looks of surprise that her classmates wore. She
stopped near two of the blocks in front of the pool that were
used for racing points. She then turned to Rei who observed
her with the same curious look on her features.
"All right," Asuka announced. "On the count of three
we'll start. Whoever makes it back here first wins."
"Wins what?" asked Rei as she stood on top of her
cement block.
"The race of course!" exclaimed Asuka who finally
revealed the exasperation she often felt with Rei. After a
moment her features softened and Asuka said, "If I win then
you have to do something that I want to do with me and if you
win I have to do something you want to do with you. Okay?"
Considering Asuka's words for a long moment, Rei
gave a short nod then said, "Very well."
Rei the moved into position and seeming startled at this
sudden change in attitude, Asuka followed suit before she
began the starting count.
On three, they both dove into the water with little more
than minor splashes on their part. They both sliced through the
water with a power and speed which caused amazement in
their observing classmates.
They swam neck in neck before reaching the other side
of the pool and pushing off the back of it. Propelling themselves
forward, they headed towards the finish.
And as they approached their goal they still remained
equal in strength and in pace. Then suddenly one pushed in
front of the other, her speed in increasing as her hand hit the
cement with a hard slap only to have a second hand follow her
own mere seconds later.
Rei won but it had been a close race.
Breathing heavily, they met each others gazes and to
Rei's surprise Asuka smiled at her.
"Well, wondergirl," said Asuka through her deep
breaths of air. "You won. So what do you want to do?"
Gazing at the sparkling green of Asuka's eyes Rei felt
her heart constrict. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she
replied, "I want to race you again."
A slow smile spreading across her features, Asuka
murmured, "I think that can be arranged."
Watching as Asuka climbed out of the pool Rei noted
how the sunlight and water droplets falling off of the other girl's
body seemed to make her luminous.
It was an effect that Asuka couldn't help but note too
when she saw Rei rise out of the water to stand at her side as
they prepared to race again.
And somehow who won the race didn't matter so much
as whatever the winner ended up requesting of the loser
because of their aforementioned victory.
Little did either of the girls know that what they both
wanted was very much the same.
They both wanted their hearts to keep racing.
-End-
Both characters are from Neon Genesis Evangelion. This story
came about from seeing a kawaii and rather funny picture of
Rei and Asuka when I was looking through various image
galleries for an art project. That and I think Rei and Asuka
make a nice little couple. The address for viewing the pix is
listed below if you want to see it.
Send me comments at: Dreiser1@ix.netcom.com
Chat with me on ICQ! My ICQ # is: 37674780
Thanks to Red Death all of my fanfics are archived at:
http://www.lvdi.net/~reddeath/dreiser.htm
Address for the nifty Rei/Asuka pix:
http://members.spree.com/hkang1/evangelion/evangelion048.jpg
"Your lips are a magic world."
-Echo and the Bunnymen-
