Disclaimer: Read the prologue for the disclaimer. I don't own EVA nor will I ever, so there, happy?

Authors Note: This is the chapter that all the Shinji and Asuka fans have been waiting for and it's the chapter that leads to a new turning point. Oh, By the way, in the last chapter I only told one part of Shinji's problem, the rest is expanded upon in the third chapter. Hope ya'll enjoy this chapter as much as the first two.

The problems of a 16 year old God

Chapter 2: Love is a lie…Right?

------------------

"I can't believe that Misato-san is making me go to the movies with her, Kaji, and…Shinji-kun…" Asuka let that last name hang in the air of her room as she got ready for her night out with her guardian, ex-crush, and the current love of her life.

"Too bad that I can never tell him how much I love him…God why can't I just let him know…" said Asuka as she thought out loud. "He'd probably think I was just messin' with him or something like that…"

"You'll never know till you try, now will you?" thought Asuka to herself "For all you know, he could've been waiting for some sort of sign for the past 3 years."

"I've tried to give him signs…I've been nicer to him and I stopped calling him a baka…"

"You called him a baka that night one week ago. Lucky for you he was out cold from a panic attack."

"…I was tired I didn't mean to call him a baka but…"

"But what? There was no reason and you know it. You should've gotten up to check on him. You know you like sleeping in his bed anyway…"

Asuka stopped herself from tying a red ribbon around her neck to blush at the thought of her sharing a futon with Shinji.

"I-I don't sleep in his futon that often…anymore at least" stuttered Asuka as she blushed and continued to prep herself her "date" with the peanut gallery and Shinji-kun.

"You slept in there last week or did you forget? Haha." laughed the little voice in Asuka's head.

"Asuka-chan! Are you ready yet, kiddo!"

Asuka jumped slightly at the sound of her guardian's voice.

"I'll be out in a sec!" replied Asuka as she checked herself one last time in her mirror. "It's showtime." was all Asuka said as she exited her room.

------------------------

"I wonder what made Misato-san want to take us all to the movies...We barely ever hang out like a real family." Shinji thought to himself as he sat watching TV, waiting for Asuka to emerge from her room.

"I wonder why she's taking so long?" Shinji asked to no one in particular as she got up to stretch his tired legs.

"Well Shinji-kun, I thought you would've figured that out by now." replied a familiar voice from behind Shinji.

"Oh!" exclaimed a surprised Shinji as he turned to confirm that the voice did, in fact, belong to Kaji.

"Been awhile, eh Shinji-kun?" asked a smiling Kaji.

"Yeah it has been quite awhile and what should I have figured out by now?" asked Shinji.

"Hmmm, you should know that Asuka-chan and Misato take forever to get ready, even for little things like this double-date…" Kaji's explanation was cut short as a frowning Misato smacked him on the back of the head.

Shinji blushed slightly at the implication that Asuka was his date, but didn't say anything.

"I heard that, YA JERK!" exclaimed Misato as she returned from reminded Asuka that everyone was waiting.

"Wow you look nice Misato-san." said Shinji as he checked out his buxom guardian's outfit, which consisted of a red mini-skirt and black low-cut blouse that gave a great view of her ample cleavage.

"Why thank you, Shinji-kun. You clean up rather nicely too." replied Misato as she commented on Shinji's relaxed look. He wore black jeans and a shirt that said "I love Neo Tokyo!" (A/N: Neo Tokyo is the name I gave post-impact Tokyo-3.). Misato turned to Kaji and said "As for you Mr. Kaji; you could've at least shaved. You know I hate stubble"

"Ouch, that hurts Katsuragi." said Kaji as his face flushed slightly "Anyway, where's Asu…Well speak of the devil. Here she is now." said Kaji as he turned to look down the hallway.

Shinji turned also and was shocked at what he saw. Standing before them was Asuka, who was wearing a crimson-red sundress (much like the yellow one she always used to wear) that was cut low and showed off her impressive, C-cup, bust (although she was no where near Misato's size). She also wore red pumps, metallic red lip-stick, and a red ribbon was tied around her neck. No one said anything, until an impatient and blushing Asuka broke the silence.

"Well if you're all done staring, I'd like to get to the theater before I turn 40." said the young german girl as she walked out of the apartment. "Are you coming or what!"

Misato, who was the first to recover from the sight of the red-head, nudged Kaji in the side to return him from his stupor and walked out behind Asuka.

Kaji cleared his throat to gain Shinji's attention. "Eh-Hmmm! Um, I think we should be following the ladies. Don't ya think Shinji-kun?"

Shinji's only reply was a nod of his head and to start walking towards the door.

---------------------

On the way to the theater, Misato and Kaji sat up front chatting about nothing in particular, while the other two occupants stole quick, shy glances at one another.

"Asuka-chan looks gorgeous. I wonder if she got dressed up for…" Shinji stopped to ponder for a moment and to sneak another glance at the beautiful girls beside him, "Nah… there's no way she'd dress up for me. She treats me a lot nicer than she used to but, I still don't think she'd ever return my feelings…Ugh I'm still such a wimp whenever it involves her…"

Asuka, who had noticed Shinji's looks and glances, decided to be the aggressor and break the awkward silence.

"So Shinji-kun, how do you like my outfit?" asked Asuka, with a playful ring to her voice.

Of course this question brought Shinji out of his daydream and even drew the attention of the two adults in the car.

"Well… I-I think you look really nice Asuka-chan and…" was as far as Shinji got before he was interrupted by Kaji.

"What he meant to say Asuka-chan, was that you look absolutely stunning. Isn't that right Shinji-kun?" asked Kaji, who turned back to give Shinji and encouraging wink.

"Yeah Shinji-kun. You know Asuka looks hot, tonight. So stop being so shy." added a bubbly Misato.

Shinji realized that if he didn't think fast that he would be, oh so very, screwed. So he gathered a little bit of courage and said what he really thought.

"Asuka, you look incredible. I'm lucky to have a friend as beautiful as you." was all Shinji could say before he turned to look quickly at Asuka then, just as quickly he turned to stare out the window.

Kaji and Misato smiled after hearing that, while Asuka sat simply staring at Shinji with her mouth opened slightly and a furious blush spread across her cheeks.

"Thanks Shinji…" was all Asuka could manage to say as they arrived at the movie theater

--------------------------

About 2 hours into the movie, which was a classic American film from the late 20th century that had been re-released for its 20th anniversary, Shinji felt something brush lightly across his right hand. When he looked to see what it was, he was surprised to see Asuka's hand brushing up against his. He quickly looked up at her face to check if she was purposely teasing him but, he discovered that she (unlike Misato and Kaji, who were currently making out) was entranced by the images on the screen.

"I wonder if she can even feel my hand..." Shinji thought to himself. As he looked down at there hand's, Shinji made an observation. "Wow…Her hands are so much smaller and more delicate than mine." With that he turned back to watching the movie.

Asuka on the other hand, was growing slightly irritated at the fact that Shinji didn't realize that she wanted him to hold her hand.

"Mien Gott! For someone who's saved the world so many times, he sure doesn't know a damn thing about female body language!" thought a frustrated, and slightly hurt, Asuka. "Maybe if I just asked him to hold my hand…"

"Shinji?" whispered Asuka to the young man sitting beside her.

Shinji turned at the sound of his voice but, didn't say anything.

"Shinji, do you want to hold my hand" asked a blushing and embarrassed Asuka.

Shinji's jaw nearly hit the floor as he heard Asuka confirm his earlier suspicions were confirmed, but instead of freaking out like he might've done a few years ago, he simply smiled a shy smile a grabbed Asuka's hand (much to her surprise).

"I can't believe that we're holding hands! Woo-hoo! Dreams really do come true!" thought a very happy Shinji. "Maybe she does like…Huh?"

Shinji jumped a little as he felt a tap on his left shoulder. He turned to see a smiling Kaji and Misato looking down at him from the row right above were he and Asuka sat. The two adults both gave him the thumbs up and then returned to sucking face.

Asuka had also seen turned to see what Shinji was looking and, smiled when saw Shinji turn back around with a little grin on his face.

"This double-date idea turned out nicely." thought Asuka. "But I hope that holding hands was a big enough sign for him to realize how I feel…"

With that thought, Asuka smiled and turned to watch the last part of the movie

---------------------

"Well that was certainly fun. How'd you two like it?" asked Kaji as he turned to address the two teenagers that walked beside he and Misato.

"Yeah, you both seemed to enjoy. Hehehe." snickered Misato as she looked over at the silent teens. "

"I liked it. It was really good to be so old." replied a happy and smiling Shinji.

(A/N: OMG HE'S HAPPY! IT TOOK 3 YEARS BUT DAMMIT IT HAPPENED! XD)

"Especially since I got hold Asuka's hand for an hour!" thought Shinji.

"Well how bout you Asuka-chan? Did you like it?" asked Misato.

"Huh? Oh... the movie. It was good." replied a disinterested Asuka

"It would've been better if me and Shinji could've made out like you and Kaji." thought the disappointed 2nd child. "I wish this could've been a real date…"

Kaji noticed the sad expression on Asuka's face. "Hey Katsuragi, why don't you and Asuka-chan go get the car? I need to talk to Shinji-kun about some guy stuff."

Misato looked at him slightly confused but, caught what he meant when he gave her a little wink.

"Yeah, that's fine. Let's leave the boys alone for a little while, Asuka-chan." said Misato as she led the young red-head toward her car.

When the women had reached a safe distance Kaji turned to Shinji.

"Shinji-kun, you like Asuka-chan don't you" asked Kaji as he took out and lit a cigarette.

"Uh Wha!" replied a surprised Shinji. "Why? What gave you that idea?"

Kaji took a drag from his cancer stick before answering Shinji.

"You can deny it all you want but, me and Katsuragi have known since that day on the over the rainbow. The way you guys looked at each other on the deck gave it away."

Shinji didn't know how to reply to that and decided to wait for Kaji to get to his point.

"So my question for you "Mr. Ikari" is a simple one" continued Kaji as he stopped in his tracks, which in turn caused Shinji to stop.

"Wh-What question is that, Kaji?" asked the curious teen.

"Why haven't you asked her out yet?" replied the older man as he exhaled a breath of smoke.

Shinji, having expected the question, took a deep breath and replied, "She never seemed to like me that much until after third impact. I assumed that she was only being nice these last two year as a thank you, not as a way of saying 'I like you'."

Kaji was surprised by Shinji's answer to say the least.

"He really has matured quite a bit, hasn't he? He wasn't afraid, just unsure." thought Kaji as he took another long drag.

"Well Shinji-kun, I think her letting you hold hands with her is her way of saying 'I like you'. So ask her already. You'll regret it if you don't…I know I regretted never telling Katsuragi that I loved her back in college, and look what happened after that." replied Kaji as he reminisced about those days long forgotten.

"Kaji-san is right. Maybe tonight is the night I should make a move…" thought Shinji.

"You know what? I think I will ask her, Kaji-san." said Shinji as he smiled and turned to see Misato driving towards them.

---------------------------

"Good night Katsuragi, Shinji-kun, and Asuka-chan." said Kaji as he stood ready to leave the Katsuragi residence.

"Good night Kaji-kun" said Misato as she walked towards her room.

"Good night Kaji-san…and thanks a lot" said Shinji as he walked up to shake Kaji's hand.

"Anytime Shinji-kun." said Kaji as he bowed and exited the apartment.

"I guess now is as good a time as any to go and ask her, right?" thought Shinji as he walked back towards his and Asuka's rooms.

--------------------------

Asuka had gone straight to her room when they had arrived back to the apartment and now lay across the foot of her futon in nothing but, her yellow sleeping shirt and shorts. She sighed out loud as her thoughts once again turned towards Shinji.

"If he would just ask me to be his girlfriend…I'd say yes so fast that I'd give him whiplash" Asuka smiled at that thought. "I might spend the night with him again tonight…hmm?"

Asuka's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the very boy that she had just been thinking about.

"Asuka-chan, can I come in? There's something I need to ask you." said Shinji from behind Asuka's door.

"The doors unlocked…" Asuka trailed off as Shinji entered her room.

"What did you need to ask me?" Asuka asked as she looked up at the boy standing in front of her.

Shinji stopped took a deep breath and asked his question.

"Asuka, will…will you be my girlfriend?"

---------------------

Authors Note: Sorry for the delay folks. This chapter took me forever to visualize and put together, even though I typed it twice as fast as the first chapter. I know the ending was anti-climatic, BUT the next chapter should be better. As always read and review. Thanks for the support. Until next time!

Next Chapter: What a twisted web he weaves…