The sun was lazily cresting over the peaks that surrounded NERV's fortress city to signal yet another dawn in the few months since the last angel attack. And just like a slumbering dragon, the towers of Tokyo-3 began to rise up to meet these warm, welcoming rays. However, in one small, unassuming corner apartment, a certain red-headed young woman was adamantly resisting the world's call to awaken.
The great Asuka Langley Soryu had, once again, suffered from a nightmare-induced lack of sleep. The same dream had haunted her for the past few weeks. It would start out sweetly enough, happily chatting away with, and teasing, her knight in shining armor. Her words, and his, barely audible over the drone of some background music. Eventually, the teasing would turn to touching. As the music was drowned about by more cheers and shouts, the two made their way to a quieter room where the chatting could turn to cuddling.
And that was where the dream would start to sour. Once they were alone, her 'knight' would start to show his true tarnished colors. Waves of nausea would begin to wash over Asuka as she tried to scream. But, for some reason, she just couldn't find her voice. If there was anything in this nightmare to be thankful for, it was the fact that she would always wake up then, drenched in a cold sweat. But the ill feeling remained. In a flash, her covers were thrown aside as she made a beeline to the small bathroom she shared with her two roommates.
BLEAGH!
Chapter 1
Broken Peace
"That's the fourth time this week," mumbled Shinji to himself as he quietly worked on preparing breakfast. The sound of running water started to creep towards his ears, probably from Asuka starting to run a bath.
"Aww… Is my little Shin-chan worrying about Asuka?" teased a disheveled major as she walked into the kitchen.
"Mi… Misato!" yelped out Shinji as the spatula he had been using fell from his hand and dinked against the kitchen floor. Though she couldn't see from where she was standing, Misato was certain that her male charge's face had turned a shade of red earlier close to the Second Children's plug suit. "A… Aren't you worried too? At this rate, she'll miss the whole week of school."
"YEEEAAHH!" Misato yelled, completing her morning ritual of beer chugging. "That hit the spot. Sorry, Shinji. What were you saying?"
Shinji just blinked, blindingly staring at his guardian for a moment. To say he was shocked that she was so callously disregard Asuka's well-being would be an understatement. Though, he wasn't sure why he was ever surprised about it at this point. "Aren't you worried too?" he repeated.
"Yeah, yeah." She pulled out her phone. "Look, I'll call Rits and see if she can't work in a check-up for her or something."
"Thanks" Shinji said softly as he set the table. But then, no sooner has the major made the small request of her old friend, all hell started to break loose.
"MISATO! YOU KNOW MAYA AND I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF REFORMATTING CASPER! I do NOT have the time to diagnose some simple STOMACH FLU!" –CLICK–
Misato, holding her phone as far from her ear as humanly possible, let out a sigh. "Jeez. You could have just said no, Rits. Looks like we'll have to be going to one of the off-site doctors."
"No!" Both Shinji and Misato quickly looked over to the doorway, where a very grouchy Asuka stood firm with her arms folded across her chest. "I'm not going to see a doctor. I don't need one." But, the lack of color in her face, as well as the slight wobble in her stance, told a very different story.
"Asuka, please, be reasonable."
"REASONABLE?! Tell me, Third. What, exactly, is reasonable about coming out of your bath to hear your roommates plotting to send you away to a doctor without your consent?"
Shinji tried to hold her glare, or at least thought about it. Ultimately, however, his eyes dropped to glance at his shoes. "I… I'm sorry."
"Wow. Good job, baka. For once, you actually used that phrase correctly!"
"ASUKA!" Both pilots jumped ever so slightly as Misato decided to put an end to their bickering now, before it got too out of hand. "Until the Commander" –Shinji flinched slightly at the mention of his father- "tells us that the last Angel has been defeated, your health is a matter of strategic concern. You will be going to get a check-up, no questions asked."
"But, I'm perfectly hea-"
"I said no questions asked, Asuka. Understand?"
"Y… Yes ma'am," the red-head acquiesced.
"Good. Shinji, I'll let the school know you're both out for the day and set up that appointment. Will you see Asuka there?"
Shinji just nodded.
"Alright then. Let's eat before our food gets cold!" called out a cheerful major. Asuka, however, turned green and ran straight back to the bathroom.
=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=
Shinji calmly sat alone in the waiting room at the office. Misato had received an urgent call after breakfast, so she had dropped the pair off on her way to a meeting. Having no idea how late it would run, she'd told them it would probably be best if they made their own way home afterwards, to which Shinji nodded and Asuka fumed.
"Kaji wouldn't have made me walk home," Asuka grumbled.
"Well, Kaji isn't here now, is he?" Misato snapped back, her voice so heavily laced with pain that no one had dared to speak for the remainder of the ride. It had been months since the three of them listened to that heart-breaking voice mail, with Shinji making it a point to water the melon patch as often as he was able. It was the least he could do for someone that had been almost like a father to him.
Shinji just shook his head. This was not the time to be dwelling on those things, as much as he wished to. Asuka was ill, and at least some part of him was keeping his mind focused on that fact alone. Looking up at the clock, he couldn't help but wonder what was taking the doctor's so long. She'd been back there for over an hour now. And then, he heard it…
"WWHHAAAATT?!"
=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=
The poor doctor's ears were still ringing from being at ground zero of Asuka's scream. "Ms. Soryu, I cross-checked the test myself. I can assure you, there is no doubt. You are pregnant."
Asuka's voice started to break and stutter. "B… B… But… How?! When?!"
The doctor gently rubbed his temples with two fingers. "I would imagine your parents were kind enough to explain to you the technicalities of this matter." Asuka started to tense at the track he was taking. "Seeing as how it seems clear that you understand at least some of the –"
"No, dumkopf! I want to know how, since I never even recall having…" the fiery German's anger subsided as quickly as it came as her cheeks began to match her hair in color.
"Oh!" Revelation hit the doctor like a ton of bricks. "Oh, Ms. Soryu, my apologies. It was not proper of me to assume. I just figured, what with your boyfriend outside –"
"Ugh! He is NOT my boyfriend. And even if he was, that pervert wouldn't have the spine to… to…" She was trying desperately to hold on to her anger. It was a far more comforting feeling that the shame that kept washing over her whenever she thought about what happened.
"Asuka, what's wrong?!" asked Shinji, suddenly appearing in the doorway with a look of worry upon his face. Big mistake. He had just enough time to think that to himself before dodging the medical clipboard that was thrown at his face.
"PERVERT!" Asuka screamed, though without its usual strength. She'd used up the last of the rage that kept her walls up in that outburst. Almost in slow motion, her face fell into her hands and, on one of the very few occasions in her life, Asuka cried.
"Asuka?" Shinji asked again, torn between running away and comforting his compatriot. The urge to run almost won out. But then, between sobs, she managed to say two heavy words.
"I'm pregnant."
Shinji's mind began to swim as the whole room seemed to summersault on him. Before he had an idea what was happening, Shinji Ikari passed out.
=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=
"I can't say I was expecting to see you again this soon, Ikari-kun."
Shinji blinked, looking around at the unfamiliar environment he was in. That voice sounded so familiar, but every fiber of his being said he shouldn't be hearing it. Not in this life at least. Looking in the direction of the voice, his jaw drops. "K..Kaworu? B… But, you're dead. I killed out…"
Kaworu's red eyes glinted as his trusty smile crossed his lips. "Yes, yes you did Shinji. And again, thank you for that. If you hadn't, I couldn't be here for you now."
"You don't mean… I'm dead? But, the last thing I remember was… Oh god… Asuka killed me?"
Kaworu just laughed as his dearest friend tried to process the information he was given. "No, no. Nothing like that, Ikari-kun. You simply passed out. You're only unconscious, I assure you. You will live." A sigh of relief passed from Shinji's lips. "I only have a short time, my friend. You will likely be coming around very soon, and then I have no idea when we will be able to speak again. So, Ikari-kun. What are you going to do?"
"M.. Me?"
"You're the only Ikari that I can see," Kaworu said with a knowing chuckle. "What are you going to do about Miss Soryu?"
"There's nothing I can do, Kaworu. She'll want nothing to do with me. And even if I try, she'll just push me away."
The former angel jumped up, almost floating over to Shinji before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Consider this divine intervention, Ikari-kun. Or, perhaps, a thank you gift for doing what was right, even when it was the hardest thing for you to do. Miss Soryu needs someone, now more than ever. Will you be that someone?"
"But she'll just say..."
"Ikari-kun," Kaworu said with a heavy heart, "don't listen to what she says, listen to what she's saying. Please trust me, she needs all the friends she can get right now."
"SHINJI?!"
Shinji just noded. "O… OK, Kaworu. I'll try."
"Good. And not a moment too soon!" Kaworu started to fade away. "I hope we can meet again someday, Ikari-kun. I'm sure you'll have plenty to share." With a laugh, the former angel disappeared.
"SHINJI?!"
"I'm proud of you, Shinji."
The new voice made Shinji jump, searching the disappearing landscape of his mind's eye for its owner. It sounded so familiar, but he wasn't quite sure who. By the time he realized who to look for, it was too late.
=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=
"M… Mother?"
"No, idiot. It's me!" A clearly miffed red-head snapped out as Shinji started to come around. "I could understand you calling Rei that, but…"
"I'm sorry, Asuka."
She looked ready to slap him for the apology, but what he did next was so unexpected, her mind was left spinning out of gear. Even before her name finished leaving his lips, he was sitting up and wrapping her in a hug.
"Let's go home, shall we? I'd like to get started on a nice German dinner for you."
Breaking the hug, but not before placing a small kiss on her cheek, Shinji got up and calmly started to walk out of the office. The cogs in Asuka's mind made just enough contact for her to nod in approval, before running after him.
"I wonder if he'd be up for being my boyfriend," one of the nurses said with a small chuckle.
"Somehow I doubt that," replied the doctor. "But, in any event, the Commander will not be very pleased with this development…"
A.N. Well then, it looks like I finally got the nerve to break down and do this. I've been telling myself for ages that I wanted to write an Evangelion fan-fic, but I never really had the nerve to do so. But then, I read Lord Talon's Father again and really wanted to see it finished. It was, quite possibly, the first ShinjixAsuka fan-fic I read and part of the key reason why I fell in love with that ship in the first place. So, I figured, what better place to start! Nothing like diving head first into a serious challenge, after all.
Now, as I am sure some of you may have read the original story, I want you to know that I'm not intending to just copy the story verbatim and claim it as my own. Yes, I'm using it as the stepped stone to start, but I'm sure you've already noticed I intend to put my own spin on things. It's been a while since I watched the show (my copy of the DVDs is with my ex-fiancee and I have my doubts that I will be seeing them again any time soon) so I'm trying to do the characterizations based on the combination of old memory and a lot of other fan-fics I've been reading lately. Especially JimmyWolk's The 2nd Try, which I have seem to reread every other month of late.
So please, comment and review away. I'd love to know what everyone thinks. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up soon. Until then!