Chapter 2 Feelings

It was chilly outside, the moon could barely be seen through the dark clouds.

Shinji just kept walking, he didn't even mind the fact that it had just started raining. The setting matched his mood, which made it all more depressing. He was tired of thinking about Asuka, he was enraged at her obnoxious behavior, and at the same time, he couldn't help but envy her date.

He tightened his fists and put them into his jacket's pockets. He had been walking a while and was now entering Tokyo-3's central park. He loved walking by the park, it was always so tranquil.

As followed the main path he soon came up to a bench, he decided to sit a while and ponder about his feelings. When he sat down across the path was a couple, they were kissing quite passionately, and he couldn't help but stare at them.

It was strange seeing them devour each other in a public place, but then again it was raining, who else would watch them.

He recalled the last time he had kissed Asuka, it was the night Misato went drinking with Kaji.

Asuka had asked him "Shinji I'm bored, want to kiss me?".

Shinji gazed at her confused and asked "you want to kiss me because you're bored?".

After a few insults from the red head, she finally convinced him to do so. At first he was thrilled at the thought of kissing her, even if it was only out of boredom.

However as their lips drew near each other, nothing happened. Instead Asuka made a smug remark.

"Hey! Your breathing is tickling me! Stop breathing!" she said smugly.

"Wha-" was all Shinji managed to say before she plucked his nose and kissed him.

Even now he still laughed a little at the shared experience. He wondered if she would kiss her date today, he hoped not.

Shinji had been staring at the couple for a while now, he was invisible to them, in their world all that existed was each other and nothing else, not even the rain.

He saddened when he imagined Asuka with the other boy and stared kept staring at the couple, envying their mutual feelings to each other.

'What fools, they're just deceiving each other' he thought.

"Idiots" he murmured as he kept walking.

As Shinji exited the park he had no destination in mind, he just walked along areas where he saw crowds of people. He thought it would help him forget the fact that he felt alone, and it was intriguing to see how all the people he passed by were smiling, or laughing, however after a miniscule amount of time it started to sicken him.

Shinji couldn't stand their happiness, or maybe he just envied them, he wasn't sure. Maybe it's because he realized that despite being surrounded by all those people, he knew he was still alone, alone meaning he had no one to confide in, that the one person he had thought would be his pillar, turned out being a bulldozer. He just wanted to get away from them, and so little by little, at some point Shinji was alone again.

The rain had stopped pouring, but Shinji was already soaking wet, every time he took a step it was like he stepped in a puddle inside his shoe, it was quite annoying to say the least.

As Shinji made his way through a barren street a breeze started to pass by, he shivered down to his bones. He enjoyed seeing the street empty, he felt like he was the last person on earth.

'This is better' he thought and continued walking.

Shinji had walked for quite a while, his feet were sore and his legs ached. He thought that maybe it was time to go home, but shortly afterwards he began to think about Asuka and refused to go back, at least not today.

Shinji was getting near Rei's apartment and thought it convenient to spend the night there, maybe she could give him some dry clothes, although he doubted it. He walked up to the building and stood near the stairs, he looked around and saw the state of decay the building was in. There was garbage everywhere, the lights were flickering, there was even a homeless man sleeping under the stair case.

Despite it not being the first time he had been here, it never ceased to amaze Shinji how Rei managed to live in a place like this. He jumped a little when the homeless man shifted in his cardboard bed, watching him made Shinji recall his homeless days.

'It could be worse for me…' he thought as he stared at the homeless man.

Shinji didn't mind sleeping on the streets, he had done so a few times, one of those being when he ran away from Misato's apartment. He had been out for nearly a week, in that time, he had to sleep wrapped around cardboard in alleyways to prevent himself from freezing to death.

Shinji at the time had money saved up, so he never went a day with the feeling of starvation, the man in front of him however, it seemed like he hadn't eaten in ages.

'There's nothing I can do, all the stores are closed' he thought as he kept looking at him.

He soon broke out of his gaze and made his way up the stairs, he hadn't noticed the entirety of how tired his legs were, it was when he began climbing the stairs that he realized, his legs felt heavy and worn out, they were begging him to stop walking.

'Asuka's running this morning, the track practice and the mindless walking have taken their toll on me' thought the boy.

With time and effort, Shinji managed to reach Rei's floor, he slowly walked over to her door and remembered the last time he had been there.

'I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't open' he though gloomily as he knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

"I thought so.." he said as he stood there a frown forming on his face.

After about a minute he sat down next to the door and leaned his head against the wall. It had been a long day, and for some reason he kept thinking of her, even after all she had done to him.

He knocked again and waited.

Still there was no answer. He decided to go ahead and see if the door was open.

'Voila!' the door had no lock. As he stepped inside he called out for his friend.

"Rei? Rei you in here?" he asked cautious of not tripping over anything on the floor.

After inspecting the whole apartment he realized she wasn't there.

'How strange.. Where else would she be?' the boy questioned himself.

'Oh well, I hope she doesn't come back until tomorrow' the boy thought as he began taking off all his wet clothes.

He was a bit tired, and the floor wasn't exactly comfortable, he would have slept in her bed but it somehow felt rude. Not that breaking into her apartment wasn't already rude but it seemed worse if she walked in and caught him sleeping on her bed.

'I don't want any problems' he thought to himself.

As Shinji started to feel the need for rest intensifying he closed his eyes, it was but a matter of seconds before he dozed off into the cold night.

The next morning

The sun was coming into view, its light making the city shine. Tokyo-3 was quite a sight in the mornings as the buildings came out of their armored bunkers and made the city's skyline grow.

Shinji was still profound asleep on Rei's apartment floor, he would usually be up and about to school with Asuka at around this time, but today his body just continued resting.

Shinji woke up later in the morning when a patch of sunlight managed to reach his eyes. As he awoke from his deep slumber he couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy, his head was experiencing the strongest migraine he ever had and his nose was also stuffed, he figured he had caught a cold of some sort, after all he did spend the majority of the night walking around in soaked clothes, and he had slept with his damp boxers.

Shinji thought it best to leave before Rei showed up. He wondered where she had spent the night, this was her home after all. He thought that perhaps she might have been with his father.

"Father…" he said despicably.

His clothes were now dry, he got up groggily to put them on. His body felt really weak, as he analyzed his condition he remembered something Kensuke had said. "You look like a tractor ran you over" Kensuke had told him.

Shinji smiled a little at the thought and said "I feel like it too".

As soon as he was ready he exited the apartment, but not before leaving Rei a note of gratitude and also his sincerest apologies for intruding in her space.

Shinji walked down the stair case to the first floor, he was leaving the complex, but he decided to glance back at where the homeless man had been sleeping.

He was gone now, but his cardboard bed was still there.

'I guess this is his home' he thought to himself as he turned back around and continued walking away.

During some point of his walk back home, Shinji started to feel a fever running through his body, he felt awful. He had to sit down for a while to recuperate some strength. He noticed the day was beautiful, or it seemed like it anyways, there were no dark clouds anywhere.

If yesterday's climate matched his mood, today did as well, he had forgotten all about Asuka and her obnoxiousness, and despite having that bitter cold, he couldn't help but feel happy, he didn't know why but he embraced it anyways.

He finally stood up, and continued his journey to his apartment.

It was a challenge for Shinji getting to apartment, during his walk back he had to rest periodically when his migraine and fever would intensify, making what was a thirty minute walk, elongate to an hour or so.

When he finally reached his apartment building he smiled a little.

'This is my home!' he thought to himself.

'It's also her home..' said another voice in his head that he chose to ignore.

He walked towards the door and opened it. There was dead silence in the apartment, his guess was that neither Asuka or Misato were home. As he entered he couldn't help but notice the mess in the kitchen.

'I guess that was Misato's try at making breakfast' he thought as a smile formed on him.

Shinji looked around the apartment, and confirmed its solace. He made an imaginary list of what he would do.

'First I'll bathe with a hot shower, then I'll take some meds for the migraine, fever and something to clear up my nose, third I'll make some food for me and pen-pen, and after I'm done I'll take a nap'.

Shinji entered the bathroom and undressed, he suddenly felt frail and cold, not liking these sensations he turned the valve to let the hot water spray out the faucet. It was rare for him to take a hot shower, since Asuka always wasted the hot water in the heater, and if he ever wasted it, she would abuse him physically and verbally non stop all day.

'Doesn't she do that anyways?' he thought.

Shinji's symptoms were becoming worse, his migraine and fever were both becoming stronger and his nose was completely clogged, he quickly finished his shower and got dressed into his sleeping attire.

Shinji headed towards the kitchen and grabbed a hold of whatever medicine he could find, after reading them all carefully he took an Advil for the migraine and a Dolex for the fever and stuffy nose.

After organizing the kitchen, Shinji managed to make some scrambled eggs for him and pen-pen, which he hadn't seen around since he got home.

Shinji left pen-pen's food served and finished his meal. He headed towards the bathroom to brush his teeth, and locked the door behind him as he entered. He looked at himself in the mirror, he was pale and had dark circles under his eyes. He didn't really mind the appearance, he just finished his business in the bathroom and headed towards his room.

Shinji was inside his room, when he heard rustling movements coming from the hall way. He peered out and saw pen-pen, he had something in his beak though.

Shinji looked closer at it seemed like a woman's undergarments.

"Oh crap! It's Asuka's panties!" he sheered at the bird.

"Hey! You can't have those!" yelled Shinji as he ran towards the bird.

However pen-pen was quite fond of these panties, and he certainly wasn't about to loose them. So the bird started running from Shinji.

"Hey! Pen-pen! Come on! You're going to get me into trouble" he reasoned with the bird.

However the bird ignored his pleas. It was a spectacle, the bird had ran around the house avoiding being captured by the boy. Despite his efforts pen-pen found himself cornered at some point during the chase, Shinji had him in his room and he was an easy prey.

Shinji lunged for the panties and managed to grab on one end of them, however pen-pen staring pulling. Both contestants were pulling furiously for Asuka's panties, neither willing to let go of the undergarments. Finally pen-pen considered it too much work and let go of his end, sending Shinji flying back into his desk and collapsing on the floor unconscious with Asuka's panties on his hand.

Meanwhile at school

Asuka had been drifting in and out of her thoughts all morning, she recalled what she had said to Shinji the day before and felt a bit of remorse. She realized that he wasn't a bad guy, he was just and idiot who liked a girl who was way out of his league.

'That idiot didn't even come home last night' she thought as she considered the possible whereabouts of said idiot.

'He could've stayed with one of the two stooges, but which one?'.

'I'll just have to ask them later if they've seen him' she noted to self.

Hikari had noticed her friend's mood today and had a gut feeling it had to do with her date last night, however knowing Asuka's temper she decided not to pester her with questions during class, instead she would catch up with her friend during lunch break.

"Asuka, I need to talk to you during lunch break" she whispered to her.

Asuka grinned, questioning Hikari's motives but finally accepted "ok, but what about?" she asked her friend.

"Don't worry, we'll talk later" said Hikari smiling at her.

"Fine.." Asuka replied hesitantly.

The remainder of the class was pretty dull, most of the things being taught here she already knew. Perhaps this was the reason why she didn't enjoy school, because it wasn't a real challenge.

Asuka wanted to go home early, maybe Shinji was already back, not that she cared, she just wanted to see him, so she could punch him for not being able to make her breakfast and lunch in the morning.

As lunch break rolled in Asuka glanced at the back of the room hoping to find Shinji's moronic friends. 'Bingo!' she thought as she saw the two rejects gagging over some girls out in the track.

"Hey neanderthals!" she yelled from across the classroom at the pair in the back.

"What do you want demon!" replied Touji furious for being distraught from his daily peepshow.

"Do you know where Shinji is?" she asked ominously.

"How should we know you're the one that lives with him" replied Kensuke.

"Yeah, and why do you care anyways?" said Touji mockingly.

"I don't care! Misato made me ask!" she said as rage was covering her face.

"Relax both of you" said Kensuke trying to calm both of them down.

"The truth is we really don't know" he finished.

Asuka gave a slight look of worry which was at an instant noticed by both idiots.

"Worried about little Shinji are we?" they said mocking her facial expression from a few moments earlier.

"Ughh! You two are absolute idiots! Why did I even bother to ask you!?" she hollered as she walked outside the classroom slamming the door behind her.

"What's with the demon today?" Touji asked Kensuke.

"I don't know, there is something weird going on here…" said Kensuke adjusting his glasses.

"And I'm going to get to the bottom of it" he finished as they both smirked.

Outside the classroom the red head was with her back against the wall thinking about that moron.

'Baka Shinji.. Could something bad have happened to you?' She worried a little and crossed her fingers hoping wherever he was, he was ok.

She couldn't believe she was worrying for such a scoundrel but she then concluded that it was because she needed him 'I have to worry.. if he was gone, who would make my food?' her mind stated trying to hide any sort of feelings for the boy.

She saw a boy who looked like Shinji a little across the hallway, her heart nearly skipped a beat.

'Oh thank God it's him' she thought as she approached him.

"Hey Shin-" she stopped when she turned the boy and realized it wasn't him.

"Hey Asuka" said the boy thrilled to see her talking to him.

"Beat it jerkoff!" she shouted at him.

She was trying to hide her disappointment as the boy walked away in shame.

"Stupid Shinji" she whispered.

"Who?" asked Hikari who had walked up to Asuka unnoticed.

"Ahh! Ermm… No one" said Asuka jumping a little from the surprise.

Hikari looked at her strangely but then made conversation.

"Sooo?" she asked intrigued.

"Sooo what?" Asuka replied.

"Weeell? How was it? You need to tell me everything!" she demanded excitedly.

"The date? It was God awful, the guy's a total idiot!" she said in a bickering tone.

"Oh" was all Hikari managed to say after her smile turned into a frown.

"Well, what happened?" she asked.

"I don't know, it's the way he was, and what he wasn't" Asuka replied thinking 'he wasn't Shinji'.

Her friend read her mind almost immediately.

"Oh so you wanted more of a Shinji type?" said Hikari teasing her.

"What! How could you say that Hikari!?" she howled at Hikari.

"Ok, ok, calm down I was just joking" Hikari said nervously.

"Good! I don't want to hear that kind of nonsense again" said the red head irritated.

"Ok... Hey! Did you hear?" Hikari asked her friend with an 'I know something no one else does' look.

"Hear what?" asked Asuka intrigued at the information she was about to receive thinking maybe it was about Shinji.

"I think that girl with the ponytails from 2-B likes Shinji!" she asked.

"Isn't that great Asuka?" finished Hikari.

Asuka frowned a little, but said "I thought no one would be blind enough to like him" thinking 'except me' as she finished her statement.

"What! No! He's a real charmer! He's just so different from all the other guys" Hikari stated.

"Hey! I thought you liked the jock!" Asuka roared at her friend.

"Asuka! Shut up!" said Hikari blushing as she looked around to see if anybody had heard.

"What's wrong with you!?" hissed Hikari.

"Ughh nothing, it's just that I thought you were going to say something more interesting is all…" Asuka said as she began to think 'He's mine… I won't let her take him'.

They were both silent for a couple of seconds. Asuka was the one to break the silence.

"So is she pretty?" she asked trying to look uninterested.

"Well…" began Hikari "Uh.. well.. She's kind of pretty" at this Asuka shot her a look that made her shiver.

"Bu… but not as pretty as you Asuka!" she retorted trying to not make her angrier.

"Well I don't think Shinji would be interested in her anyways.." she said.

"Yeah right…" murmured Hikari sarcastically.

"What was that!?" Asuka shouted nearly leaving Hikari deaf.

"Uh.. that it's late! We should eat our lunches!" babbled Hikari trying to cover up.

They both talked for a little while, and then proceeded to eat their lunches. Since Asuka didn't have one today Hikari shared half of hers. They laughed at the idea of Shinji being with a girl and soon afterwards the bell rang.

"Hey Hikari I have a sync test today so I have to go early" the red head lied.

"Oh, ok Asuka good luck" said Hikari as she entered the classroom.

"Thanks for sharing!" said Asuka grateful to her friend.

"No prob.!" shouted Hikari from inside the classroom

As Asuka exited the school her mind was twirling, she was shocked at her friend's revelation that a girl was interested in Shinji. It baffled her, she never thought it possible.

It didn't matter though, because Shinji liked her, her alone, and nothing would ever change that, would it?

'Perhaps I've been too mean, I mean… how must've he felt yesterday when I told him I was going on a date..' her eyes started gleaming as they got watery.

'Damn it! Why is it so hard for me to accept that I feel something for him' she thought as the tears started dropping one by one.

Asuka had always pushed people away, she did it to protect herself from being hurt. This boy had changed things, the more she pushed him away, the more she seemed to hurt in his absence. She was tired of being so arrogant, but she was afraid, afraid of him, somehow he was getting through her deepest barriers.

It frightened her, to let him near, to let him close, she was so tempted to do so, but in the end she never caved.

Yesterday he showed her he really cared, that made her smile a little, but it didn't keep the tears from coming out.

By the time Asuka got home, she had cried herself out, it was a strange thing, to be this influenced by that idiot. Either way she was eager to see if he was already home.

"Home sweet home" she said.

She knew the minute she entered he was back, how? Well the kitchen was clean, who else would clean it but the maid of the house, Shinji.

Asuka placed her backpack on the kitchen table and walked silently towards Shinji's room. His door was open, and she saw him there lying on the floor. She actually liked seeing him sleep, he looked different she couldn't tell what it was but she liked it.

She was happy he was back and almost got down to hug him but then she recalled the restless night she had worrying about him and whereabouts and whatever hint of happiness she was showing, quickly turned into anger.

"What are you stupid!? You had us worried sick!" she remarked at the unconscious Shinji.

Shinji's cold mixed with the hard impact from the table, had left him in an unconscious state that seemed like it was going to last a few more hours. So at the sound of Asuka's shouting his body just turned around and faced a different direction.

Asuka was left in shock, he just ignored her! How could he!

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" she said as she kneel down and shook him violently.

They boy shivered and began to hyperventilate, and he still hadn't woken up.

Asuka was left confused, she put her hand over his forehead and noticed he was burning up. This worried her, she ran out to the bathroom and grabbed the nearest towel, soaked it, and brought back to place on his forehead.

"Uggh! Figures you do something stupid like get sick and I have to take care of you.." she said warmly to him.

She thought it better for Shinji to rest on his bed with some covers. She took the covers and left them on the table and got close to Shinji ready to pick him up. As she was about to lift him up she noticed he had some sort of cloth in his right hand.

She slowly reached for it, it seemed familiar. She grabbed the cloth, pried it free of his hand and began unfolding it, her jaw dropped as she realized it was one of her used panties. She was enraged.

"What the hell! You're such a pervert! Even when you're sick!" hollered Asuka at the boy who yet again just turned to face another direction.

"I can't believe you.. You really are a sick bastard" she finally said as she shook her head.

"You're going to get better Ikari!" she demanded "and then I'm going to kick your ass!"

She proceeded to place him on his bed, it was good Shinji didn't weight so much, otherwise it would've been impossible for her.

She covered him in three layers of covers, fixed his pillow and placed a new moist towel on his forehead.

She sat down next to Shinji in the end of the bed where his head was. She placed her palm on his neck to see how his fever was doing. It had dropped exponentially, she was glad he was getting better.

Asuka noticed the bruises he had on his eyes 'you left me no choice idiot, you were being a pervert' she thought while she caressed his face.

"I was worried about you baka" she whispered as she looked at him.

Asuka noticed the room had gotten hot, for some reason being near him had her all worked up. Her breaths were slow and heavy as she kept looking at the boy. For a split second the idea of kissing him crossed her mind, it was a pleasant thought.

She lowered her head in front of his and felt his breath on her lips, almost immediately she felt a shiver run down her spine.

She was biting her lips anxious to taste him and got closer to him, their lips separated by a thin strand of air.

'Not like this' her mind said as he got up hesitantly from the bed.

Asuka's hearth was beating really fast and she felt awfully hot, so much so she had started sweating 'how can that idiot make me feel like this?' she questioned herself.

Asuka felt the need to cool down, so she headed towards the kitchen. She figured Shinji would be starving when he woke up, so she was willing to make him something to eat.

Granted Asuka wasn't the greatest cook, she was still making her best effort, she was using pen-pen to see if the flavor was right or to see if the food was even edible, however after a while the bird had disappeared leaving no trace behind.

'My cooking can't be that bad, can it?' she thought as she finished Shinji's meal.

A yawn was heard through the whole apartment as Asuka finished cooking. Shinji had finally woken up.

Shinji opened his eyes, everything was blurry. He saw the figure of a girl approaching him with what seemed like a bowl.

He started sitting up, but let out a groan as he fell back into the embrace of his warm bed. The figure started laughing at his failed attempt. He recognized that laughter anywhere.

As Shinji's eyes adjusted to the afternoon light, he saw her, she was radiant and he had to let her know.

"You look nice today Asuka" he said smoothly making her cheeks turn a bit pink.

"Today!? What do you mean today!? Are you saying I look bad the other days!?" she hazed as she glared at him.

"Uh.. ah.. Well see.. I meant.." he managed to say, looking like a complete idiot.

"Relax dummkopf, I was just joking" she said serenely.

"Oh" he said before chuckling a little "you really got me there Asuka".

There was an awkward silence between them, Asuka soon shattered it though.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Well my migraine is gone, but my body feels really sore, I think it's the fever" he replied.

'Why is she acting so nice?' he thought.

"Here let me see" said Asuka before setting the bowl on the table and placing her palm on his neck.

At the touch of her hand, he felt his body stimulate, her touch felt pleasant. He didn't know what it was about it, it just made him quiver. He blushed a little, and looked away to conceal it.

Asuka noticed and asked him "what's wrong Shinji?".

This was it, she was going to get her revenge! she thought thrilled.

"Uh… It's nothing.. It's the fever" he replied.

Shinji's heart was pounding faster and faster as the red head began to get closer to him.

"Does this feel good Shinji?" she asked as her hand started sliding down his chest.

"Asuka… What are.. What are you doing?" he muttered in confusion and pleasure.

"You want me to stop great Shinji?" she said smirking.

'Great Shinji? That doesn't seem like Asu-' his thoughts being detained by her touches.

"No" he said mesmerized by the feeling.

Asuka had him right where she wanted, now it was time to make him suffer for leaving and for taking her panties.

Asuka turned the boy's head around and looked right into his eyes.

"Close your eyes Shinji I've got a surprise for you" she said seductively.

Shinji did as he was told, he closed his eyes and waited. It was strange he had originally thought Asuka was going to mop the floor with him, however he never expected this, it was perfect.

'Too perfect' he thought as he opened his eyes.

Asuka's hand had already reached his cheek when he opened them, it tingled at first, then he felt the pain growing. The sting became more intense as he realized she had given him the hardest slap he had ever experienced.

"Owww! You crazy bitch!" he shouted at her in pain.

"That's for leaving yesterday! Not that I give an ounce of a fuck about you!" she said furious.

She took impulse and slapped him again in the other cheek.

*wicher is german for wanker

"And that's for being a dirty wicher and taking my panties! Freak!" she finished.

The boy's mood had been torn to shreds. One minute he was feeling great, and thought he was finally going to be able to kiss her again. The next, he had both hands on his cheeks swearing at the red headed German who had struck him out of nowhere.

"Ugghh you know what this is why I left! I've had it with your constant abuse!" Shinji screamed at her.

"Maybe if you would grow a spine and stopped being such a pervert I wouldn't treat you like this!" she exclaimed.

"Ohhh please! Get over yourself! Like I would want your panties!" he shouted, he was starting to feel dizzy again.

"Then why did you have them in your hand! Just admit that you're a sick bastard!" she hoarse.

"Well maybe if I didn't have Babylon's biggest whore in my house I wouldn't be such a sick bastard!" he said loudly as everything was becoming fuzzy.

"What the fuck did you call me!?" Asuka roared as both her fist tightened.

"You heard m-" Shinji said before loosing consciousness again.

"Nooo! Wake up baka! I'm not done with you Ikari!" she shouted at the boy who just turned to face another direction.

"Scheisse!" she screamed as she took her bowl with soup and left the room.

Some time later

It was around midnight when Shinji woke up, his head was throbbing and he was starving, his stomach rumbled as he sat up on the bed to look around. He remembered a bit of what had elapsed earlier in his room, he felt ashamed of what he had said.

'Babylon's biggest whore?' he chuckled at that, he knew it was serious but it made him laugh, still he had to apologize to her.

After enough reminiscing he got up from his bed and walked to the kitchen, there he found a complete mess. 'Damn it.. I cleaned this morning too' he thought shaking his head at the sight.

On the kitchen counter was the bowl Asuka had brought him, there was a plate on top of the bowl covering it from any mosquitoes. Curious to see the contents of said bowl he took the plate off and saw what seemed to be a stew or soup of some sort.

'Had Asuka made that for me?' he thought to himself.

He grabbed a spoon, the bowl and headed to the living room. It had been a while since he watched some television, however it's not like he enjoyed watching it either, there were some really fucked up shows in Misato's cable provider to say the least.

Shinji took a sip of the soup, at first he was hesitant to do so, since Asuka didn't necessarily excel in cooking like she did in piloting. He was quite surprised that it had such a good taste, he needed to get the recipe from her.

After Shinji was done eating and being traumatized by the television, he decided to clean the kitchen again since he didn't have to worry about waking up early tomorrow, it being Saturday and all.

It was a kind gesture of Asuka to make him that soup, but couldn't she have cleaned the mess she had made in the kitchen too!? It was always him that ended up cleaning everything, everything except Asuka's room, she didn't like him snooping around in there.

Shinji started with the dishes, then the garbage around the table and finally he swept and mopped the floor. It took him a while but he was done, and he wasn't entirely tired enough to sleep yet, after all, he had slept all day.

Shinji glanced at Asuka's room, her door was slightly slid open, he thought maybe this was his best bet at apologizing without her beating him to a pulp, but he recalled what happened the other day and was discouraged.

'Ughh.. What do I do?' his mind asked.

After a few moments of decision making he made up his mind.

"Well… We all die sooner or later" he said to himself as he smirked.

Shinji walked over to her room, trying to be as quiet as possible. When he got there, he slowly slid the remainder of the door open, done this he glanced at her to make sure she was still sleeping.

Asuka was sleeping profoundly as Shinji entered her room. The boy watched his step making sure to not step on any pointy objects, or anything that would make a sound.

Shinji walked through her garbage filled room and made it to her bed, it was quite the odyssey, he stood there silently contemplating her beauty, she looked different when she was sleeping, she looked peaceful, but he enjoyed her temper, it's what made her who she was.

Shinji caressed her hair, she looked quite cute. Even when she wasn't trying to look pretty, the red head managed to pull it off.

Shinji was nervous, he had no idea how to start, but he was determined to do so. He laid down next to her and stared at her, unfortunately he was facing her back. However that wasn't going to stop him, he wanted to make things right.

Shinji moved his head a bit closer to hers so she could hear him.

"Asuka I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I didn't mean any of that" he whispered to her ear.

He was in awe when the red head shifted positions and began to face him, it seemed she was still sound asleep though.

Shinji didn't like being so close to her, it made him feel strange things, and he found himself fighting urges he would normally not even consider.

For one, he wanted to cover her body with his, he wanted to feel her skin come into contact with his, it was all so strange to him.

Shinji was now breathing heavy, trying to focus on the reason he had come here.

"Asuka… Will you forgive me?" he asked her softly as his hand moved up to remove some strands of hair that were covering her face.

The red head still asleep said "yes" and snuggled up to him.

"Whaa.. What are you doing Asuka?" he asked as his body tensed up surprised at her reaction.

There was no response from her. Shinji actually felt comfortable in his current state and decided to relax his body, and it's not like he didn't enjoy the feeling of having her curled up to him, because he did, he very much enjoyed it.

Shinji stayed awake for a while, he hadn't the need for sleep, but he still didn't want to move from his current position, he liked being there with her, even if it made him feel uneasy at times when he started to think about touching her.

As the night prolonged slowly but surely, the boy began to fall into a world of slumber.

Author's notes: I had trouble with one scene in this chapter, the one where Asuka and Shinji fight, I re-wrote it about 10 times, that's why the publish date had to be moved until today and it wasn't yesterday as I had stated to some of you before.

I appreciate any review, like the description says it's my first work of literature and I'm just getting the hang of this.

Good night everyone and Chapter 3 will probably be up by Tuesday night, if not Wednesday morning.

Yours truly,

JCM