Disclaimer: I do welcome constructive criticism. Enjoy chapter three.

At the conclusion of the meeting Maya asked Shinji to stay behind, something about yesterday's sync test. And it wasn't exactly a lie, Shinji never waited long enough to hear about his score. Asuka and Hikari quickly left hoping no one saw them holding hands, other than Misato who had known all about the girls' feelings for each other. Rei ran off to where the film crew were waiting for her in the Geo-Front while Touji, Kensuke, Hyuga and Aoba followed Fuyutsuki to the Eva cages. With everyone gone Maya gave Shinji a quick peak on the cheek, giggling at his huge blush. But when he looked away her smile faded.

"What's wrong, Shinji? Don't you like me anymore?" Maya asked, sitting beside him.

"It's not that, Maya. I'm just wondering why you wanted to do this sketch at your place and not mine?" he replied nervously.

"Well if Misato or Asuka come home early they might get the wrong idea about what we're doing. And I promise I won't make you do anything you're not ready for." Maya reassured, leaning on her knee with her chin in her hand.

"Wait stop! Just hold that pose, Maya. That's perfect," Shinji directed placing another chair a metre in front of her. Grabbing his sketch equipment from his backpack. "Now just turn your head towards me, place you left arm behind your right and let your hand just hang. All that's left is that cute smile of yours,"

"You think my smile's cute?" she giggled, following his instructions.

"Your smile just makes you cuter, but then again you're always cute." he smiles opening a clean page. "Just hold still and keep your eyes on me."

Slowly Shinji drew his pencil over the page taking in Maya's face, her body, arms and legs as best he could. He made sure every detail was perfect before moving on to the next part of the sketch. When he finished his hands and fingers were covered in smudges but he was extremely pleased with his work. Telling Maya she could relax Shinji came over to her and showed her the page. She was speechless; it was if she were looking right back at herself. Shinji would most likely get a high grade for this.

"Shinji this is amazing work!" she gasped. "Do you really see me like this?"

She received another surprise when Shinji wrapped his arms around her from behind, leaning his chin on her shoulder. "I was taught to pour my heart into every sketch. Try to show others what I see. But this isn't what I'm handing in as my assignment. Turn back three pages."

Shinji was rewarded with another gasp as Maya gazed upon a picture of Evangelion Unit 01 secured in its cage. "How long have you been drawing for?"

"Three very long years. Sketching makes me feel at ease. Is your invitation still open?" he asked, packing up his sketching equipment.

"Not unless you kiss me first." she answered bending down closer to his face.

He still blushed but he had wanted to kiss her again ever since last night. And with her pleading eyes how could he say no. Placing a hand on her hip Shinji forced her to kneel as he closed the distance between their faces. As their noses brushed Shinji's mind told him not to worry, Maya wouldn't plug his nose like Asuka did. Finally their lips touched in a brief kiss, parting slightly Shinji quickly pulled Maya in for a deeper passionate kiss. When it was over Shinji notice the black smudges on Maya's face, his left hand had been caressing her cheek during the second kiss.

"I think we both need to wash up before we head back to your place." Shinji chuckled as she smiled back.

'He's become more comfortable with me. I don't want to go too fast so soon but I'll just see what happens when we get to my place.' Maya thought walking with him to the toilets.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"You know, you drive better than Misato does." Shinji mention as Maya pulled into her apartment car park.

"You're just full of nice things to say to me today aren't you, Shinji." Maya giggled, locking up her Mini. "Maybe I should give you a reward for your kind words."

"You really don't have to do that, Maya." Shinji replied, watching her butt as they headed for the elevator.

"I suppose I could just ignore the fact that you're staring at my butt." she retorted, chuckling at his huge blush. She was suddenly in a playful mood. "I'm sorry, Shinji. I'm being a naughty girl aren't I? And naughty girls deserve a spanking."

Once they were safely in the elevator Maya removed her Nerv blouse while facing away from the confused Shinji. Her plan would have one of two endings, either Shinji would get a nosebleed and pass out from what she was about to show him. Or he would actually spank her, either way was fine. Smiling wickedly Maya unzipped the front of her pants allowing them to puddle around her ankles. Shinji's eyes grew to the size of the moon as he stared at Maya's red lace thong peeking out from between her butt cheeks. If this were Touji or Kensuke they'd have passed out due to massive nosebleeds with smiles on their faces.

"What are you waiting for, Shinji? I've been a naughty girl and I deserve to be punished." she whimpered seductively. (A/N: I know this is OOC for Maya but I wanted to tease Shinji a bit.)

When she heard a thump behind her she turned to find Shinji passed out on the elevator floor with twin nosebleeds. She quickly put her pants and blouse back on before they got to her floor. Sticking some tissues up Shinji's nose she carried him over her shoulder to her apartment caveman style, thanking her good luck that she was the only one living in this apartment complex aside from her landlord on the first floor. She would have a hard time explaining why she was lugging an unconscious boy to her apartment. After unlocking her door and setting him on the couch Maya left a tissue box on the coffee table for while she went to change out of her Nerv uniform.

'I hope I didn't kill any of his brain cells. It would be a shame if he couldn't draw anymore. What else has he got in that sketchbook?' she wondered.

Scurrying back to the couch in nothing but her underwear, Maya quietly dug through Shinji's backpack in search of his sketchbook. Finding it she ran back to her room hoping he hadn't seen or heard her. Sitting on her bed she opened his book to the first page and was startled by the detail in his sketch of Tokyo 3 at sunset. There was no pain no sadness, nothing of the horrors from piloting an Evangelion were reflected in his sketches. She looked at five others of various landscapes before turning the next page and receiving the biggest shock today. It was a picture of herself holding a sleeping Shinji in her arms. The smiles on both their faces were so peaceful as if nothing in the world matter. And it was dated a month after he came to Tokyo three.

The next page had a picture of Shinji and herself standing in each others arms on a path surrounded by falling cherry blossoms. Shinji had a large scar on the left side his face from his chin to his eye and his right arm was missing. Behind them stood the charred remains of Unit 01. Her Nerv uniform was tattered and blood stained while Shinji's plug suit was torn up around his left arm and both legs. Maya forced herself not to cry, she didn't want any tears to spoil Shinji hard work. She saw the love and pain Shinji had drawn into her eyes. From the look of Unit 01's remains Shinji could have died. It was amazing how a simple sketch made her feel. The remaining ten of his sketches were considerably less depressing and more cheerful.

'So this is why he's so nervous around me.' Maya thought hearing a groan from her living room.

Neglecting to put some clothes on Maya closed the sketchbook and walked up to the couch, taking a seat on the coffee table. She knew Shinji would initially freak out at seeing her half naked but that didn't matter right now.

"Oh man, what happened?" Shinji groaned cracking an eye open. "Where the heck am I?"

"You're lying on my couch in my apartment, Shinji. You passed out from a nosebleed in the elevator when I showed you my lingerie and asked you to spank me." Maya answered wiping the blood off his nose with a tissue. "I've looked at the sketches you've done of the two of us. Now I why you're so nervous around me."

"Is that why you're half naked, Maya?" he asked, looking at her red lace underwear out of the corner of his eye. "Or are you teasing me again?"

"Not this time, not after seeing how talented you are. One of my favourites is the one with Unit 01 in the background, your right arm is gone and there's a scar on the left side of your face." she replied, lying down beside him.

"It's meant to show people can love each other even when the person you love is horribly scared." Shinji explained, blushing when a growl came from his stomach disturbing their embrace. "I guess it's time for lunch then."

"Wait here, I'll put some clothes on then we can go to this little cafe I know." Maya said hopping off the couch. "Or would you like to watch while I get dressed?"

"I think I'll wait here." he answered, feeling another nosebleed coming on.

Back at the Katsuragi household six hours later, Misato was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels while Asuka and Hikari were sitting on the floor in front of her reading through a stack of magazines. They had come back expecting to find Shinji in his room listening to music or sketching in his book, but all they found was his cell phone and a note saying he'd be back later that night. Asuka didn't mind, she and Hikari could dress as they wanted and not have to deal with Shinji getting a nosebleed. Three hours later Misato's cell phone ran during a very intense car chase.

"Katsuragi here. What! When! Are they alive! We'll be there shortly!" snapping her cell shut. "You two! Car now!"

"What the hell's going on, Misato?" Asuka asked scrambling off the floor.

"There was an explosion at a cafe across town! Shinji and Maya were there when it happened! Shinji's been badly injured!" she hastily replied grabbing her car keys.

"What about Miss Ibuki?" Hikari asked, paling slightly.

"She was in a broom closet when the bomb went off so she's fine. She won't tell anyone how she got in there." Misato answered thundering out the door. Asuka and Hikari close behind.

Piling into her car Misato drove to Nerv at speeds that nearly tore the blue sports car apart. Hikari was screaming her head off with every turn, drift and power-slide that nearly ended up with a crash. They somehow got to Nerv in five minutes but all the tires on Misato's car would definitely need to be replaced. Quickly throwing her passengers out Misato locked the doors before bolting towards the hospital wing dragging Asuka and Hikari with her by their arms, ignoring their shouts to let go. She only did let them go when they stopped at the front desk demanding Shinji's room number in full Operations Director mode. Ritsuko was already standing outside writing something down on a clipboard with Rei and Fuyutsuki. Rei was looking through the observation window with her hand place on the glass, a saddened look on her face.

"Commander, how's, Shinji?" Misato asked catching her breath.

"His condition is stable but as I said on the phone, his injuries are extensive. Dr. Akagi can explain it to you better than I can." Fuyutsuki replied, turning to the blonde scientist.

"Shinji's got second degree burns over most of his body, broken ribs and left arm, a puncture lung and he had some internal bleeding but we were able to stop it in time. He'll be hospitalised for two weeks that's if the new isolation tanks gets here tomorrow. If we get him in that he'll be right as rain in seven days. Unfortunately there's no way we can save his left eye." Ritsuko explained earning shocked stairs from everyone except the commander.

"What?" Misato gasped, hearing Hikari faint behind her. Ritsuko handed her a photo of a piece of scrap metal.

"This piece of shrapnel caught him in the face. As you can see the sharp part here went straight into his eye, so he'll have a massive scar on his face for the rest of his life." Ritsuko finished, putting her pen in her breast pocket. "It seems that the explosion at the cafe was just someone who used to work there and decided to kill himself while taking the cafe with him. Shinji and Maya just happened to be there at the wrong time."

"Do we still not know how Maya came to be in that broom closet?" Rei asked.

"Afraid not and she won't tell us either. All she's done for the last six hours is sit next to his bed crying. She fell asleep a short while ago, so we've put an extra bed in his room for her. She would most likely kill us if we took her away from Shinji." Fuyutsuki answered as Asuka and the now conscious Hikari looked through the observation window.

Stepping up to the window Misato's heart sank to her toes. The brown hair blue eyed boy she cared so much about was covered in white bandages save for his right eye. No matter how many times he was injured piloting Unit 01; he always came back the same as ever. He never needed to be bandaged up for any reason. But now seeing him on that hospital bed wrapped up like a mummy, with heart monitors beeping away confirming he was still alive. Misato, Asuka and Rei now realise just how vulnerable they were when not protected by their Evas. A short while later a section 2 agent delivered Shinji's backpack as ordered by Maya explaining that he had retrieved it from Maya's apartment. Everyone in the hall gave this comment a puzzled look, why was Shinji at Maya's place before they were almost killed in a cafe together? Knowing Shinji kept his sketchbook in the bag Misato got the suspicion he was using Maya as a subject for his school assignment. Everyone gathered around Misato to see the extent of Shinji's artistic talent. (A/N: Won't they be surprised.)

Maya woke up an hour later and explained everything, including how she got into the cafe broom closet. Shinji had seen the C4 explosives strapped to the bombers chest and reacted immediately by kicking her in the stomach and pushing her in the small room, slamming the door shut and locking it. If he hadn't acted as he did both he and Maya would probably have more serious injuries. Fortunately the isolation tanks Ritsuko was waiting for had finally arrived from the Tokyo 2 Research and Development centre, under heavy guard thanks to units 00 and 02. As soon as they were operational a special mixture of LCL was poured into the first tank while Shinji was prepped for his transfer. Once all the monitoring sensors were attached to his body he was placed inside with all his friends and Maya watching.

'Get well soon, Shinji.' Maya prayed.

A week later Shinji's injuries were fully healed and he was removed from the tank and placed in recovery. Maya never left his side even once; she was always close by watching from an observation room or sleeping next to the tank itself. She was looking at her favourite sketch in Shinji's book the next morning when she heard stirring from his bed. Setting the book down she sat next to him on the bed watching his right eye slowly opening. Her heart went through the roof when he looked over at her and said something she never expected.

"I love you, Maya."

"Oh, Shinji!" she cried wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his chest crying her heart out in joy. "Oh, Shinji, I love you too!"

After another day in the hospital Shinji was given a quick sync test to ensure his lost eye wouldn't affect his ability to pilot Unit 01. Everyone was glad to see Shinji up and about after suffering such extensive injuries. Misato, Ritsuko and the commander were happy that he and Maya were falling in love and arranged for them to share a room during the vacation to the Caribbean. When he saw the scar on his face that he'd carry for the rest of his life he only needed to remind himself of Maya's favourite sketch and how he would love her even if she lost one of her own arms. But even a scar didn't stop him from getting a nosebleed at his recovery party when Misato got drunk and started stripping on the table. Maya managed to pull him away from the action unnoticed and bring him out onto the balcony where they could be alone. Tonight she was wearing a blue ankle length short sleeve dress with a deep V-neck exposing a fair amount of cleavage and a slit running up her thigh giving her a sexy yet modest look.

"I still haven't thanked you properly for saving my life the way you did." Maya whispered in his ear as she held him in her arms.

"An eye for both our lives was a fair exchange. I don't mind having only one eye, as long as I have your love, Maya." Shinji replied quietly as he pushed his face deeper into her neck, breathing her scent in.

"You have my love, Shinji. And tomorrow afternoon you can see through both eyes again. We used the same process on cloning Rei to clone you a new eye. You'll be stuck with the scar, but I can see your hands don't need eyes to find my butt." she giggled, as he spanked her lightly.

"Will you sleep with me tonight?" he asked, kissing the exposed skin around her chest. "I just want to know what it's like to sleep with someone I love."

"Not unless you kiss me first." she answered, her fingers dancing at the back of his neck.

"I was hoping you'd say that." he replied, placing a hand behind her head.

As their lips met Shinji was reminded of the first kiss he shared with Maya. Not being prepared for it he didn't know how to respond, but now he was kissing back with equal passion placing both hands around her waist. Soon Maya felt Shinji's tongue along her bottom lip asking for permission to enter her mouth. 'He's getting bolder.' she thought, parting her lips feeling his tongue invade her mouth. A small moan escaped her mouth as Shinji's tongue mingled with hers making her heart rate slowly increase. Parting for air Shinji found Maya's cheeks slightly flushed with a pleasant smile on her full lips. As they leaned in for another kiss they heard loud cheering and applause coming from the sliding doors. Everyone in the apartment had their faces pressed up against the glass clapping and cheering Maya and Shinji on. He even noticed Asuka leaning against Hikari with her hand on the class-rep's hip.

"All right, Shinji! You the man!" shouted a topless Misato right before she passed out, flat on her face.

"How much has she had to drink?" Shinji asked, holding Maya with one arm.

"Ten beers and eight shots of vodka to be exact." Maya replied.

"That sounds about right, I'm amazed her liver still works after all the drinking she does." Shinji added, sneaking through the crowd of drunken bodies.

"Do you want me to take my dress off, Shinji?" Maya asked softly, as Shinji closed the door to his room. "I've got a bra on so...," she was effectively silenced by a finger to her lips.

"No more talking, Maya. I'm too tired for words tonight." Shinji whispered, sliding the top part of her dress down to her waist, exposing her chest and stomach. "Just stay with me tonight."

"I'll stay with you for as long as you want, Shinji." she replied leading him to his bed.

Lying down against his pillow Maya pulled Shinji down on top of her, letting him kiss his way down her neck to her breasts. His hands made their way from her hips stopping just below her bra, stroking her skin with his thumbs as he went. Maya shivered with each contact his lips made with her flesh and smiled, they didn't need to make love to be intimate. Kissing and hugging could be an intimate act with or without having to shed any clothes. After a while Shinji stopped kissing her chest and moved back to her lips, giving them the attention they deserved. He only pulled away to sit on his knees and remove his shirt so he could feel her skin against his while they slept.

"Good night, Maya." Shinji said resting his head between her breasts, unconsciousness claiming his mind.

"Sleep well, Shinji." Maya whispered, falling into a pleasant slumber herself.

Disclaimer: See you in chapter four if you leave me some reviews.