Rei and the bands, part 1

In the original, long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome used the espansor bands but the experience was quite different. It was not nearly as intimate and it did not cause Rome to fall in love with Rei. The scene is fairly long so I will break it up into multiple entries. Here is part 1:

     Rome pulled her long hair back then placed the other band on her head. Rei could actually see it constrict around her brow indenting into the skin a bit.
     Rome closed the box and then flipped it over. She touched a depression in the design there and the bands began to vibrate ever so gently.
     At first, nothing happened. Rei started to speak but Rome interrupted, saying only “shh…”
     He looked into her brown eyes and began to imagine what it must be like to be inside her head, looking at him. With a start, he realized, he wasn’t imagining it. He really was looking at himself, looking at her. He jerked his head back and put his hand to his temples, pinching the band. He blinked rapidly, trying to focus and then his point-of-view switched back to his own and he saw Rome smile at him. But her smile bespoke more to him. He could feel the warmth in a way that defied words. He could feel that she was…he widened his eyes. The image of looking at an image of a mirror within a mirror within a mirror confused him. He wasn’t sure if he was thinking his thoughts or listening in to her thoughts. The distinction became fuzzy. Certain images, he knew had to have originated in her head.
     He saw Rome as a child. She was always a little different. Taller, stronger. The taunts from the minds of the other children rang in his head. Talker! That’s what they called her. He saw that it hurt her at first but later she embraced her individuality. He saw her parents, always doting but always, no, ashamed? Proud? A mix? He couldn’t tell. He saw that she had two sisters and one brother. He was delving deeper when he heard her ask him to open his mind, that she wanted to know his past. He relaxed and felt her guiding his thoughts to his own childhood. To his crowded world. To the poisons in the city and ocean. Of his hard work, the construction of the Arkships. She recoiled as she felt him slip into cryo-hibernation then forced herself to relive his reanimation.

Rome was tall? She stood out from the crowd? Boy, did that change. More tomorrow.