Even though Shinji had thought that Misato would stick around to make sure Asuka was alright, she was still gone in the morning when he woke up.

He first checked on Asuka, and was surprised to see that she was awake. She still seemed very weak, and she had developed a fever during the night. She was in a cold sweat when he found her lying awake in her bed, shivering uncontrollably. Shinji cursed himself for not keeping an eye on her during the night, buts whats done was done.

He drenched a hand towel in cold water and laid it over her head, hoping that this would cool her down.

"Thanks Shinji," sighed Asuka as he stood up.

Shinji nodded and said, "You should probably try to sleep since you didn't much last night."

"Yeah..."

"I'll let you be then," said Shinji as he turned to leave. As he did though, he felt his hand being pulled back. Turning back around, he saw that Asuka was leaning over and holding onto his hand.

"Stay for a while," said Asuka quietly.

Shinji looked at her, feeling slightly confused, but he nodded all the same and said, "Okay."

Shinji sat next to Asuka's bed reading a book for a long time. She continued holding onto his hand, not seeming to want to let go. She was still restless, and they talked quietly, but for the most part, Asuka just lay there with her eyes closed. Even though she had a fever, she still enjoyed the warmth from Shinji's hand. The only time that Shinji let go of her hand was to replace the cloth on her head with one more cold.

"Hey Shinji," Asuka said after many minutes of them not talking.

"Hmmm?" he asked.

"What should we do about the whole apartment thing?"

Shinji was glad that she had brought this up, because he hadn't wanted to. After yesterday, he had wanted to as far away from this place as possible, but as things were, that was hardly plausible. He was nervous about telling Asuka his reasoning as well, thinking that she might complain that he was worrying to much. After what had happened though, you couldn't really blame him.

"I don't know. We need to find one certainly, but you need rest first before that."

"Couldn't you fill out everything yourself."

"I could, but that would require me to leave you here, and I'm not doing that."

Asuka laughed lightly at that.

"You're too caring Shinji...you know that? Though I appreciate it."

"You sure its not a fault of mine?"

"Well...sometimes I guess, though right now, that isn't the case."

Asuka rolled over to look at the back of his head. She wasn't sure what these feelings were that were coursing through her, but she couldn't say she hated these emotions.

After this, Asuka was finally able to sleep for a while, and Shinji decided that he would take his leave for now. Shutting Asuka's door quietly, he walked out into the living room and sat down on the couch. He wasn't in any mood to read now, so he set that down next to himself. Laying down, he rested his head against the arm of the couch and thought about his next course of actions.

Staying in Misato's apartment wouldn't last forever, he knew that for a fact, but leaving it also as such felt odd.

Shinji decided that he had to progress with things, even if he hurt others in the process. Asuka was...somebody special to him, and he didn't want to see her like that again. There time as pilots was enough, and the time they spent with Misato and Ritsuko was about to end. He felt bad about not saying anything to Rei...and then there was his father.

'No...that won't change ever again. That is as it should be.'

Shinji decided that it was time to make a phone call.

He talked on the phone for only a couple minutes, getting his point across as much as possible. He hoped he had done a proper job of this, but he couldn't be sure till he talked to face to face as well.

Walking into his own room, he grabbed himself a jacket and was just about to leave the apartment when he heard a noise behind him.

"Are you going out Shinji?" asked Asuka from where she stood in the doorway to her room

Shinji had hoped he wouldn't have to explain things to Asuka, not until he had at least sorted everything out. He hoped that she would trust him though.

"Yeah...I'm going to talk about somethings with Misato."

"Shinji," said Asuka as she started walking towards him, "if its about what happened at Nerv yesterday, I told you, its fine."

"Its not just that though. I want to talk to her about other things as well...things that should be taken care of."

"Then I should go as well."

"No...you're still not well enough, and I don't want to risk it."

"You're being stubborn," complained Asuka.

"Maybe," agreed Shinji, "maybe it won't even matter, but I want to talk with her anyway."

"Shinji-"

Shinji wasn't listening to her though. Walking across the hallway to Asuka's door, he stopped in front of her and brought her into a one armed hug. Asuka was surprised by this, and at first starting stammering slightly, though as Shinji strengthened his grip around her, she relented, and brought her own arms up to wrap around his back.

They stood like that for several seconds, until Shinji broke apart from her. If he had wished it, he probably could have just stayed put and enjoyed his time here with Asuka, just the two of them. As much as he wished that, he needed to talk to Misato.

"I won't be gone long," said Shinji as he started walking towards the door.

Asuka remembered that she had said something similar, hardly even a day ago, and look how that had turned out.

"I'll wait Shinji," said Asuka.

'I'll always be waiting,' she thought somewhere inside her heart.

Shinji left leaving Asuka standing in the hallway. Walking back into her bedroom, she sat on her bed and hung her head. How long had it been since she cried? Several years?

Even so, the tears still came.

Shinji word the bus into town where he was planning on meeting Misato and yet, he still hadn't figured out what he was going to say. The apartment were on the forefront of his mind, but there was other stuff as well, many of which involved Asuka.

They met at a small cafe on a side street which both of them knew. Shinji only had to wait around for a few minutes until Misato showed up, still driving her old car.

"Aren't you ever going to replace that?" asked Shinji.

"One day maybe," said Misato as she stepped out of her beat up car. "Though it still has another year or two left in her."

Walking over to the table Shinji was sitting at, the sat down across from each other. It was a nice day out, so Shinji had decided they may as well sit outside. An umbrella covered them from the sun, and together, they started talking underneath it.

"How is Asuka feeling?" started Misato.

"Tired, but getting better. She should be sleeping right now."

Shinji paused here, looking across the table at Misato.

"Shinji...I told you I was sorry yesterday but-"

"But you didn't have time this morning to check up on her," said Shinji tonelessly.

Misato closed her mouth, feeling hurt by Shinji's words.

"Forget it though, thats not why I wanted to talk to you. Tomorrow, I want to you to help us move. We're leaving the apartment tomorrow."

Misato blinked, surprised by this sudden statement. She should have expected this, even known that they would be leaving to live on there own soon. This was almost too soon though, with hardly an notification.

"Have you talked to Asuka about this?" Misato asked.

"Not in depth no, but she knows as well that we can't live here forever, and after what happened yesterday, she knows as I do that it would be best to leave sooner. So, can you help us move tomorrow or not."

"Shinji...this hardly gives me any time to-"

"Can you help or not?" asked Shinji bluntly. He had to be like this. If he wasn't, if he wasn't sure about what he was doing, then he would second guess his decision.

"...I'll make time," said Misato. This almost felt like an interrogation.

"Thank you," replied Shinji.

The stared across the table at each other, not wanting to give an inch to each other. The roles were no longer as they were. Shinji had changed, Misato could see this, or he was in the midst of changing himself. He seemed sure of himself, but Misato was still worried about how things would progress, not just between herself and Shinji, but between Asuka and Shinji. She had looked out for them to the best of her ability, sometimes not being able to help them, but always thinking about them. She didn't want them to make a mistake down the road, as she had made when she was there age.

"Shinji, may I ask you a question now?"

"Go for it," he replied.

Misato didn't miss the sarcasm, but ignored it.

"Why are you doing this now, and not later? It isn't just because of what happened at Nerv. Both you and Asuka have known that you'd have to leave sooner or later. So is it because of Asuka? Is it because you want to live together from now on. Shinji do you love Asuka?"

Shinji was caught of guard by this last question, and was momentarily left speechless. Did he love Asuka? He couldn't answer that right now, though its possible he didn't want to know the answer as well.

"I don't know whether I do or not," said Shinji as he evaded the question. "Nor do I know whether we'll live together. I suppose we will in a sense, because we'll still be around each so much. More than anything though, I want to try living on my own I guess. Asuka tried it before, and that didn't work out of course. We're both older now though, and able to make decisions that we weren't able to before. For myself, I want to rely on myself from now on. I appreciate the fact that you took both me and Asuka in Misato, but thats the way its been my whole life, and I'm sick of it. I want to try living my own life for once. Not in the shadow of somebody, or because somebody told me what to do. I don't want that anymore."

Shinji finished, and silence engulfed the two of them.

'I had forgotten how much Shinji resented being an Evangelion pilot,' thought Misato, 'but it looks he may be ready to continue on his own after all.'

Shinji and Asuka had been the kids that Misato had never, and sometimes, she had forgotten that they weren't hers to control. She realized this now.

'I can't stop them if this is what they want, but I can hope that things will be alright between the two of them.'

"If thats what you think, then I can't stop you Shinji. You're right, both you and Asuka are old enough to decide on your futures."

"Then you're okay with this?" asked Shinji.

"I am," said Misato.

Shinji grinned then, the first he had showed since they had started talking. His worries had been groundless afterall, and now he wished he hadn't been so hard on Misato.

"Misato...I'm sorry for saying things as I did."

"Thats alright Shinji," said Misato as she stood up.

Together, they walked back to Misato's car, though as Shinji was about to say his goodbyes, Misato stopped him.

"Hold on Shinji, I've got something for you here."

Reaching into the back of her car, she grabbed a package and tossed it to Shinji. It was wrapped in paper and a ribbon tied the whole thing together.

"What is this?"

"Earlier birthday present from both me and Rei, though she did most of the deciding. Since I know both of you won't be able to see each other anytime soon, I decided I would take her out so she could get something for you."

"Misato...I-"

"I'll tell Rei you appreciated the gift."

Stepping into her car, she started it and had one last thing she wanted to tell Shinji before they parted ways.

"And I expect both you and Asuka to keep in contact with me after you move out, as well as an invitation when you two get married."

Shinji took this as a joke, and replied as such.

"I'll be sure to have your assistance when Asuka chooses as a gown."

Misato laughed at this, and drove away afterwards, leaving dust behind her car as she did.

Shinji couldn't help but smile as she left, glad that they were still on good terms with each other.

Shinji arrived back at the apartment later then he had intended, and when he opened the door, he was greeted by Asuka.

"You're up?"

"I'm feeling better," said Asuka, "and you took longer than I thought you would. Was everything okay?"

"Yeah...better than I thought it would be," said Shinji as he stepped through the door. "We'll be moving tomorrow."

This hit Asuka rather hard.

"Tomorrow? Isn't that a bit sudden?"

"Misato thought so too...though she understood why as well. She agreed to help us move tomorrow as well."

Looking at Asuka though, Shinji saw that she was frowning.

"Are you okay with this?"

"Yeah, but I wish you would have let me know before you left is all."

"Sorry...I didn't want to worry you incase Misato was...unwilling I guess."

"I hope you weren't harsh with her."

"I tried not to be but..."

'It was thinking of you that made me harsh with her I think,' thought Shinji, but he wasn't about to say this.

"Hungry?" asked Shinji.

"Yeah, a bit," nodded Asuka.

Shinji made a small meal for the two of them, and they ate more or less in silence, the only thing heard being the clink of forks.

Shinji washed the dishes while Asuka sat at the kitchen table with her legs crossed in front of her. She did seem to be feeling better thought Shinji as he looked at her. She had her chin resting in the palm of her hand and was looking up at the ceiling.

"Hey Shinji?"

"Hmmm?"

"How would you feel about just getting a one bedroom apartment?"

Shinji almost dropped the plate he was washing in surprise.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"Do I need to repeat it?" asked Asuka. Her cheeks were slightly pink.

"No...you don't," said Shinji. "Just that...you were against it before so-"

"Why not? We've slept in the same room before."

"When we were younger...yeah," nodded Shinji. "Now though-"

"Are you against it now?"

"Its not that," said Shinji.

"Then what is it?" asked Asuka.

Shinji didn't want to say it, didn't want to let Asuka know that he sometimes thought about her in such ways.

"I'll think on it," said Shinji

"Hmph," sighed Asuka.

Shinji was surprised that she was so unhappy about this, but didn't say anything about it. He wanted that, he truly did, but he was nervous as well.

"What is this by the way?" asked Asuka as she picked up the present that Rei had gotten for Shinji.

"Early birthday present from Rei," said Shinji.

"Are you going to open it?"

"I figured I'd wait till my birthday before I opened it."

"Oh," said Asuka.

She hadn't forgotten about Shinji's birthday, but she had hoped that knowing what Rei had gotten him might have helped in her own decision.

Later, though she had protested, Shinji made Asuka go to bed, even though she said she wasn't tired. Shinji therefore had sat with her for a while until she had grown tired, and then he had carried her to her bedroom. It was amazing to him that he had spent so much time her bedroom in the past two days when he had hardly stepped foot into it before. Asuka still didn't seem to care though.

After she had fallen asleep, Shinji sat at the kitchen table for sometime, looking at Rei's present. It was very thoughtful of her that she had gotten that for him. He wanted to open it now, but as he had told Asuka, he was going to wait. He wondered how Rei was doing, knowing that she had been subjected to the same sedative as Asuka had and wished that he had asked Misato how she was doing.

The subject of the one bedroom apartment still hovered over Shinji's mind, but he thought that he would sleep on it. He did think he already had the answer inside him from the moment that Asuka had brought it up.

So many things were happening so fast that Shinji was starting to lose track of them. Was it because he was turning eighteen soon that he was thinking about his future, or had that happened long before now? He wasn't sure, but he was ready to start college, ready to live his own life, and if Asuka was apart of that life...

"...No, best not to think about that," Shinji told himself.

Things would happen if they would, and Shinji could only wait for that moment.