Gainax and others own the characters below, not me! ^^;;

Events happen sometime before NGE turns all dark and stuff. Warning,
this gets a bit lemony fresh.

Comments/Criticisms/Flames/MSTs/etc all appreciated.

Gendo Self Love
---------------
Author: N.S.

"What was that smell?" Asuka asked as she emerged from the entry plug.
"It doesn't smell anything like EVA 02 does."

"Smell?" Shinji asked from the entrance of EVA 02.

"Your EVA. It smells weird," Asuka said, holding her nose.

"Huh?" Shinji walked to where Asuka stood. She had a faint look of
disgust on her as she continued to glare at where she had sat for the
tests. When he got closer to her, he caught a whiff of what Asuka was
referring to.

"Well!?" Asuka demanded.

"Uh," Shinji stammered, trying to stall for time. Oh, he knew what
that smell was. It has become all too familiar to him since he turned
fourteen a few months ago. Unconsciously, his hands moved in front of
himself, near his pockets. They felt empty without his school binder
in them.

"What's all the commotion?" Ritsuko was followed by Maya as the two of
them strode down to see what was holding the two pilots up. "Hurry up
and get changed. I have to run some tests on the EVAs by themselves
now."

"Dr. Akagi, did you change the smell of the LCL in EVA 01? I doesn't
smell like blood anymore." The new smell wasn't really an improvement.
For some reason, it irritated her. She has smelled something like
this before, but she couldn't recall where.

"No, it should smell the same as EVA 02. Did you notice anything
different, Shinji?" Ritsuko looked at entry plug, worried something
had gone wrong.

"N-No," Shinji said, wishing he was not having this conversation.
There was no way he was going to add any information that was not
required of him.

"What's the hold up? I have reservations booked already in honor of
Shinji's new record. I even got Rei and Shigeru and Makoto to come
along."

Shinji blanched as Misato and even more people came and congregated at
EVA 01's entry plug.

"I would have broken my record too if it weren't for that funny smell,"
Asuka insisted.

Misato blinked as Ritsuko's clip board dropped to the ground. "What's
the matter."

Ritsuko blushed delicately. "Maybe you better come and smell this for
yourself. I think you'd be the most qualified here to explain what it
is."

Misato found that Ritsuko wouldn't meet her gaze. Instead her friend
seemed to look at anywhere but at her. Actually no. Ritsuko seemed to
be looking up at through the walls at where Gendo's office would be.
Was this strange smell so important that her friend feared Gendo would
be angry? The glazed eyes, the slight panting of breath, the flushed
cheeks... fear all right.

Misato gingerly stepped around the strangely still Doctor. She stopped
dead in her tracks when the odor reached her nose. *Oh, boy. Shinji,
you didn't...* Misato let the thought trail as she looked at the
scrawny boy. She could still remember the time she found her underwear
dirtier than usual with the bathroom the same exact smell. The Major
ignored the sudden urge to bolt from the scene of the crime as she
looked at the fiery redhead's confused and growing annoyed expression.

It wasn't before long that scent wafted over to where Makoto, Shigeru,
and Rei stood. If the latter showed any signs of noticing it, it was
not apparent. Her eyes however did shift surreptitiously up to the
same spot on the wall Ritsuko was staring up at.

"Shinji, really," Shigeru teased.

"It wasn't me!" Shinji quickly denied. EVA 01 was one place hadn't
done it at. Never mind that it reminded him of his mother's womb,
which excited him in a weird way.

"Who else could it be?" Makoto wondered aloud.

"What are you guys talking about?" Maya whispered, totally lost in the
conversation.

"You mean you don't know?" Makoto asked, surprised, blushing profusely.

Shigeru alternatively looked at Maya and then Ritsuko and then back
again. "Figures," he muttered.

Asuka was pissed. The crowd around her, save Maya, all seemed to know
what was going on and didn't want to tell her. "What is that smell!?"

*^_^*

Gendo sneezed and felt his spine tingle as if someone was talking about
him and watching him. It was a foolish notion with him holed up in the
bowels of NERV. He took out his handkerchief from his breast pocket
and carefully wiped the area on the frame he had sneezed upon. Once
clean, he reached into his pant pockets and pulled out a picture, which
he set once again back in the frame. He couldn't help but groan a
little at the action. He needed a new pair of pants.

*^_^*

End!