Quote:“She’s here?”
Anika gave him a simple nod. A thousand millipedes crawled across his skin all at once. He could feel himself start to warm up inside.
He looked at the door, shifting his weight on the couch. He edged forward.
“You want to go to her.”
It was more of a statement than a question. Shinji could only nod wordlessly, his mouth locking up. He tried to read the look in Anika’s eyes. She was almost staring at him, waiting for him to answer
His mind raced through possibilities. “I know she’s not my Rei. But.....”
Shinji saw the change. A little flinch as she braced for an answer she knew she wasn’t going to like.
“You don’t want me to go.” he concluded, flatly.
“Well.......” She fidgeted in discomfort, unable to look right at him “No. We were having so much fun, I hoped you could stay here for a little longer.”.
Her eyes were almost pleading. Big glistening, golden puppydog eyes.
“You should make your own choices, Shinji,” Nené gently advised.
He closed his eyes, his mind flashing back to something Misato had told him, right before she..... Shinji shot that thought down before it overwhelmed him with a wave of sorrow.
Deep down you know you suffer when you cause others pain, than if you just let yourself get hurt. And Anika was so cheerful around him, so full of electric happiness. She’d delighted in announcing him to Nené as her brother.
He ached to run to Rei, wherever she was staying. Every fibre of his body demanded it.
It was his decision and that makes it a valid choice.
“I’ll stay,” he said in a small voice, lowering his shoulders.
He couldn’t disappoint that face. Rei could wait a few hours. He could wait a few hours. It would give Rei a chance to rest after a long journey.
And, he really was enjoying himself.
“Thanks Shinji!” she beamed at him, dragging him into a warm smothering hug. His arms locked rigid to his side. Nené was giggling mischievously into her own hand while he prayed for release from the crushing embrace.
She pushed back off him suddenly, a playful scowl on her face
e“Y’know when someone hugs you, you’re supposed to hug them back, right?”
“Sorry,” he murmured.
“Y’know, you two would make a cute couple,” Nené remarked between giggles.
Shinji gaped at her, horrified. “But....” he glanced at Anika. Anika’s cheeks were slowly turning pink. “I was told she was my Sister.”
“Nené!” Anika shrieked. Shinji winced, covering his ears instinctively. “You know he’s still just a teenager,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
Shinji tried to swallow his shame, edging back on the couch away from his ‘sister’.
He was already beginning to regret staying
“Can we at least change what we’re watching?” he changed the subject.
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Had an odd idea for Frigga's Exercise OpFor. Rather than hiring people who might not want to move all the way out there, or might have to be paid a lot to keep quiet about the Knight Sabers. Some form of android platoon, basic puppets controlled either by a videogame AI system under TITANIC's command, acting like Bots in online multiplayer games or the like. Each squad requires a PC and a copy of a game (STALKER, CoD or the like with the AI quality depending on the game used to drive the squad). Specifically designed not be incapable of firing live ammunition.
Since it's a complex project (Maybe Anika/Mackie/Jet/Ford could do it given enough time and research if nobody wants to do it) Who builds it? Or parts of it.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?