+++++ 3rd Angel + 10 : Monday (11)
Shinji spent the morning classes as he had been the previous week, as attentive as possible with the distractions in his head. It was becoming easier to ignore them while the lessons were on-going, but he still had a great deal of work to do to approach his girlfriend's level.
He looked over towards the windows, during the breaks, trying to figure out a way to include Rei in conversations. He was also debating the appropriateness of asking to speak to her alone, somewhere that he could hopefully garner who this mysterious person was that told her to help him in whatever way she could. Outside of the Evas, it wasn't like he needed a great deal of help anymore. In truth, he wanted to try and help her make friends with her fellow students. She had seemed lonely, opening up slightly after the Fifth Angel, but only slightly. Now, seeing her back to the way she was before they had ever met, he realized how painful it was to watch someone just like him force the world away.
Lunch arrived, and Shinji stood to follow Hikari out to their traditional spot. As they hit the hallway, Shinobu caught sight of them, "Shinji-Kun, Hikari-Chan," she jogged over, "I…I…." She blinked, "Hello, Ayanami-San, did I interrupt you? I'm sorry."
"Ayanami-San," Shinji turned and noticed the injured pilot was standing near enough to be of use but not close enough to be a participant of any conversations, "did you need something?" The way she looked at him was unnerving, he couldn't interpret her gaze as anything but…single-mindedly dedicated.
"It is my duty to be ready to serve as requested," she responded, her eyes unmoving.
"Your…duty." This was most definitely not his Rei. He remembered her entire life revolving around the Evangelion and his father. The impact of her palm against his cheek was still easily recalled, serving as an unfailing reminder of that. What could possibly have happened, what actions had he taken, to have caused this kind of a change in…the L-Nine. He changed his mental track from assuming this was the same young woman who had tried to protect his father to someone that may have been touched by the LCL the way he was. She needn't have travelled back with him to have had her life impacted by changes.
Noticing Shinji's discomfort, Hikari stepped in, "Ayanami-San, I'm certain that anything Shinji needs while at school, or at home, is something I can handle. Why don't you go eat lunch? You're recovering from injuries, you shouldn't skip meals." Rei simply ignored her, continuing to stand in silent anticipation of a task.
He had to test this. If he was interpreting her actions correctly, this could easily end horribly if he wasn't careful with his phrasing. He'd have to be direct until he could get her to NERV and find out what on Earth had happened. "Ayanami-San," Shinji swallowed hard, "I'll be fine. Unless you need something from me, why don't you go eat?"
Her eyes tightened a nearly unnoticeable amount, "I brought no meal today."
"Take mine," he extended his lunch box. Thanking his good fortune that he had decided to just make one kind of meal for everyone school-bound, saving the meat for Toshiro's, "It's vegetarian, so I hope that's not a problem." She had mentioned after they caught the bomb Angel that she didn't eat meat, which meant he could easily distract her with his own lunch.
Hikari wanted to crack her boyfriend upside his head, as this now not only left him without a meal, but was providing confusing signals to everyone that had just seen him automatically offer his lunch to a young woman not his girlfriend. However, as it was perfectly in keeping with everything she loved about him, she tamped her frustrations down to be dealt with at a later date.
Forcing the box into Rei's hands, Shinji leaned into the classroom, "Yang-San," he waited for the young woman to turn, "do you happen to have any extras today?"
"Sure do!" Swinging her legs casually over the top of her desk to turn around, the feisty lady dug into her bag and pulling out a carry-away pouch, "Four of 'em today." Strutting over happily, she swung around Rei and put the bag in Shinji's hand, "Anytime you need 'em Shinji-Kun, I'm here for you."
"Thank you, Yang-San," he bowed gratefully. "Ayanami-San, why don't you go ahead and eat. I'll get the box back from you after you're done." Turning on his heel, he hoped that Hikari picked up the hint and followed behind. Everything was weird enough without continuing the discussion in the hallway where everyone could rubberneck.
As he flowed through the hallways to the outdoors, he tried to think of ways to gather information without tipping his hand that he had experience from outside the current timeline. He'd have to be careful in how he asked for help, starting slow and acting more ignorant than he was. That shouldn't be hard, as I'm clearly a raging idiot. Finally reaching the safety of the outside, he powered over to the old oak tree and sat unceremoniously down. He winced as he realized that he hadn't regulated his stride length, as Hikari was just exiting the building with Shinobu close behind.
"Shinji," Hikari sat down far more gracefully than he had, "I promise you, that is not how I anticipated you meeting Ayanami-San. If I had known she was going to…." Spying movement, the Class Rep turned and saw the woman in question sit on a bench within sight and hearing distance. "Ah." Weighing the desire to provide a refresher course in social norms against the desire to kiss Shinji in plain sight on school grounds to make everything perfectly clear, she hesitated long enough that Shinobu spoke into the pause.
"Awkward," she whispered. "I'm sorry, Shinji-Kun. I didn't mean to interrupt your lunch date with Hikari-Chan, but I wanted to ask if you two were free after class. I need help." The more recent blue-haired addition to Shinji's life seemed truly apologetic, and just as sincerely troubled.
"Whatever we can do," Hikari took a deep breath, pushing aside vermillion-eyed irritants in favor of honor and obligation. "I'm guessing you don't want to talk to Honzo-San about this?"
"He…means well," the young bluenette prevaricated. "And normally I'd talk to one of the women at the Inn, but…well…."
Shinji finished off his first bun, his stomach's cries too eager to be ignored, "Whatever we can do." He reached over, gently nudging Hikari's arm, "Friends help each other, right?" He needed Hikari's help with Rei, that much was very clear to him. When she reached over and gripped his hand, offering him a powerful smile, he blushed, "S-so, where do you want to meet?"
"You offered to walk me to the station from your house, Hikari-Chan," she looked down, "would you mind us all meeting at your house?"
"I don't…." Realizing that would increase the number of people that knew about Shinji living with her, she changed the last word at the last second, "know if that's a good idea. Nozomi-Chan isn't feeling well, and I don't want you taking that home with you." Thinking quickly, she looked over to Shinji, "Why don't we all go to that café in town? The booths there are nice and private, we can talk in there for a while."
"Well, uhm, I don't really have a lot of money," Shinobu blushed in embarrassment.
"I'll pay," Shinji caught up to Hikari's thinking, "we're friends, right?"
"Oh, but I can't just take money, Shinji-Kun," she waved her hands before her chest, "it wouldn't be right to burden you with my problems and my…poor finances."
He shook his head, his ponytail bobbing around, "I insist. If you feel the need to pay me back, I'll just…ask for a favor in the future, ok?"
Inwardly, the thought of repaying him with a favor elicited a small thrill of excitement. She knew it wasn't what he meant, but with how angry she was at her own boyfriend the fit of whimsy had longer legs. Shinobu looked down at her mostly uneaten meal, "But…what if you dislike me after what we talk about?"
"Shinobu-Chan," Hikari leaned in, "if it's this serious, then we both insist. Whatever it is, you've reached out for help. Let us help, ok?"
"I…it's pretty bad," she sighed.
"Then it's important we do what we can," Shinji set his jaw. Reaching over to the young woman, he gripped her shoulder the way that he remembered Toshiro doing to him. The comfort he drew from that big paw on his shoulder was palpable, and if he was going to live in Toshiro's home, he would do what he could to make the big man proud. "If I can't help, I'll find out who can."
Hikari wanted to burst, hearing her boyfriend speak in that tone of voice, and actually trying to comfort someone else? It was too glorious for words! He wasn't healed, but it was a commanding step in a positive direction. Her cheer then plummeted when Rei's shadow fell over Shinji.
The First Child held out Shinji's empty lunch, "I have finished my meal."
Shinji couldn't restrain a sigh of irritation, taking the box back from the First Child and searching for something he could ask her to do that wasn't demeaning or quick to accomplish.
"Ayanami-San," Hikari stood fluidly, "please come with me." Stepping briskly around Shinobu, she took Rei by the back of the collar and dragged her bodily off, far enough to administer a chastisement in private.
"I'm sorry, Shinobu-San," Shinji winced. "I honestly don't know why Ayanami-San is doing what she's doing, but I promise you I won't let it happen while we're talking after class." He hoped that it didn't continue past the school day, but with his luck he had no real way of knowing it wouldn't.
+++++ 3rd Angel + 10 : Monday (11)
A quick agreement had been reached that Shinji would wait outside of the school gates for Hikari and Shinobu before the end of lunch, and so it was that after gym he stood in the shade of the wall that surrounded the campus. Waving at departing students with his gentle smile, he kept expecting the next shadow to be Rei. While he once would have been thrilled to have garnered her interest, there was little he could do with the type of interest she had been showing him all day. A friend was one thing, but she seemed to believe herself a servant, and that was horrifying.
"Oi," Akane snuck up and poked him in the side. "You're making my job harder, quit it."
"Gah!" He stumbled as he tried to right himself to face the Section Two representative, "W-what?"
The agent smirked, "You're standing out in the open. Why aren't you with Hikari-Chan headed home?"
"W-we're headed to a café, with a friend, I'm waiting for them to get out of the lockers." He looked around, then took a risk, "Is Ayanami-San…ok?"
"That's a difficult question to answer seriously," she pursed her lips, "the short answer is I see no reason why she wouldn't be the same as she always is."
He chose his words carefully, "Is she always…eager to be helpful?"
"To the Commander? Yes. To everyone else? She's never a problem, but she doesn't talk much." Akane leaned in, her curiosity stoked, "Why?"
"She…said she'd do anything I asked." He shrugged, "Used a lot more words, but made it clear that she was ordered, and willing, to do anything I asked. It's been kind of awkward."
"No, that doesn't sound like Ayanami." Her frown bloomed, "We'll keep an ear open." Looking past Shinji, she gestured with two fingers extended, "Your girl's coming. I only see one blue-haired lady, doesn't look like the First. We see her following you, we'll ask her to find something better to do. Enjoy both of your dates!" With a wicked grin Akane waved and departed before her words sunk in.
Shinji opened his mouth to clarify that he was just helping Shinobu, but didn't want to call out loud enough to ensure that Akane would hear, as it would mean everyone would hear. Clacking his teeth together in frustration, he fought for composure before Hikari saw him out-of-sorts.
"I don't know that she followed us," Hikari looked back one last time as Shinji peeled himself off the wall to take up position on the side she favored him to be. "I'm so sorry, Shinji. I have no idea what prompted this. Can you ask anyone at work?"
"I already have," he shook his head, "they don't know either." Noticing Shinobu's frown, the way that she walked as if cutting herself off, he wondered if that's what he looked like before he had truly known Hikari. "But that's not the problem we're here for, right?"
"Right," Hikari's smile glowed with the pride she felt in him. "I think I'm going to be naughty and order a sundae."
Shinji picked up her subtle hint, "Well, to be honest I'll probably get a sandwich. I'm still hungry, and Nozomi-Chan says it's hard to concentrate when my stomach's talking around her. What about you, Shinobu-San?"
"O-oh!" Shaking herself, she blinked rapidly, clearly trying to replay the last bit of conversation that she hadn't heard.
"Remember," he had to help this young woman, "friends." If he could help just one person, he could start to be the kind of man that the Horaki family thought he was. He may not belong in this world, but he'd give everything to see the people in it safe and happy. I won't lose again.
Idle chatter about lessons and the different teachers filled their walk to the café, both Hikari and Shinji trying to bring a less dour mood to the young woman that had suddenly entered their lives and then just as suddenly come to them looking desperate. Reaching their destination, a lovely brick building with elaborate wood features, Shinji squeezed Hikari's arm and detached himself to hold the door open. Hikari gave him a happy wink, and Shinobu ducked her head in a seeming half-apology and half-regretful pose.
"Welcome to Sweet Tooth," a chipper woman, of an age with Kodama, did a quick headcount, "table for three?"
"Please," Hikari responded. "Is there anywhere that's a little quieter?"
"Absolutely," eyeing Shinji up and down, an open grin broke out on her face, "I know just the place." Maneuvering them through the store, she placed them in the back corner. The seats were arranged in a manner that placed Shinji where he could be seen easily from the nearby kitchen entrance, and so every server and busser (the majority of which were female students at the nearby university) would be able to appreciate him as they walked past. Setting her hand on Shinji's upper arm, the hostess leaned in to smile at everyone, "When you're ready to order, just press the button and your server will be right over."
"Thank you." She knew her patience was being tested sorely today, and Hikari was once more extraordinarily grateful that her boyfriend was either oblivious, or leery, of physical displays of flirtation from anyone but her. Once the hostess had moved away, she flipped open the tablet-based menu stored in the table and started the conversation off, "So, what can we do to help you, Shinobu-Chan?"
"Remember," Shinji added quickly, "order whatever you want. I promise you, nothing you tell us could possibly make me dislike you, and I want to try and help you feel better."
"Auuuu," she balled her fists and buried them in her temples, "why can't Keitaro be like you, Shinji?" Her sudden drop of the formalities was somewhat shocking to both listeners. The young lady seemed to thrive on formality, much like Shinji had. "You say you want to help, and there's nothing hidden there. You say you'll buy me whatever I want, and the favor you're going to ask for in return, the one that's supposed to make me feel like I'm paying you back, is probably going to be 'just be a good person'. You have all of these women flirting with you, and you just ignore them like they don't exist!"
"W-were you flirting with me?" Shinji blinked, "I…uhm, I didn't see anyone flirting with me."
"My boyfriend isn't ignoring them, Shinobu," Hikari settled into the bluenette's groove. "He genuinely doesn't see what's happening around him as flirtation. If he saw what was happening, he'd probably have a far different reaction than you think."
"I'm…uhm, I'm not as good a person as you're making me out to be." Shinji found what he wanted on the menu and marked it, "Like Hikari says, I'm kind of dense. She had to point out to me that several of the girls in our class were flirting, because I've never really experienced someone being friendly towards me, and definitely never experienced a woman being friendly, I have no idea what's happening. But, I'm very taken. When Hikari asked me to be hers and hers alone, I gave her my word. If I don't keep that, what do I have left?"
Shinobu looked at Hikari and sighed, "Would you mind sharing?"
"My sundae? Sure. My boyfriend? Not anymore." Reaching over and taking the bluenette's hand, she tried to steer the conversation back on track, "What happened?"
"L-let's order," she swallowed hard. "That way we have time while they make our food."
The waitress was at their table seconds after the button press. Standing close to Shinji, she kept 'accidentally' bumping him with her chest as she leaned down to look at the items they were ordering, as if she hadn't seen the menu before herself. By the time everything was written down and checked twice, Hikari was reduced to planting her nails in her palms and counting prime numbers in ascending order to stop herself from launching the decorative votive candle at the woman. She loved her boyfriend to death, and if it weren't clearly a case of him wanting to avoid confrontation rather than the possibility he was enjoying having his shoulder massaged by a giant pair of tits, she'd have made sure to include him in the ricochet!
"Sh-she needs to purchase glasses," Shinji stammered after the waitress departed. "She kept b-bumping me, i-it was d-difficult to not embarrass her."
"Shinji," Shinobu leaned towards him, "she was doing it on purpose!" Her voice was low enough that only the table would hear, "That was flirting! Poor Hikari must be furious if that happens all the time."
"It's ok," Hikari quickly stepped in to avoid her boyfriend melting down. "I would be angrier if it weren't for the fact that he doesn't pick up on these things, Shinobu. He needs patience, understanding, and the freedom to explain his actions without me prejudging him. A relationship requires effort to succeed, Shinji has to come out of his shell to offer me affection, I have to give him space to grow into the world around him."
"She…oh," he flushed, "she was…." He shook his head, "That's not what we're here to talk about. You're having problems, Shinobu. My being stupid shouldn't be one of them." Curling his hands into a giant fist, he set himself so that he was facing her and tried to impart the same sense of listening that he had seen from his new family, "Please, what is it we can do to help?"
Shinobu's lips curled down, which drew her head downwards, and she began to tear a cloth napkin apart as she spoke, "Do you know a way to travel back in time? Because I don't know what I can do otherwise."
Shinji froze, visibly. Hikari saw him lock up, and thought that he was trying to formulate a rational answer to the fear of the past, so she interjected to help him along, "The past is just that, Shinobu. It's sometimes bad, sometimes good, but it's always behind us. Making the best of the future is more important, and doing what's right in the present is how we accomplish that. Shinji is trying his hardest to make his present better, because his past is horrible too. But he does that by talking about it," she smiled at Shinji as he began to relax, then turned back to regard Shinobu, "so what happened?"
"I asked an idiot if he wanted to date me," she groused. "When he said 'yes', I didn't remember he was an idiot."
Shinji's mind went darker than it normally would, his thoughts strained at the moment by everything the day had brought, "Did he hurt you?" He couldn't gain revenge for her personally, but he could arrange for something unfortunate to happen if the man had. Section Two would probably accept a well-cooked steak or two as payment in exchange for a surreptitious visit to this inn. Stop it, he chastised himself. There's no reason to believe that he'd do something like that.
"Yes." She looked at the table again, "Not physically, just…I thought he'd be willing to try for a bit longer than a week to not get involved in anything stupid. That he'd be willing to say 'no' to the others stupid requests." Her ire rose, "He agreed to go on a date with Naru and Mutsumi together because of a stupid promise he can't remember making, and then flirted back when they promised him a good time. Stupid."
"He doesn't remember the promise?" Shinji tried to puzzle out her meaning, "Why would he be quick to keep a promise he can't remember making? How does he know that they're telling him the truth?"
"Because they both swear he made the promise," she groaned. "Naru lies all the time, he just has this stupid blind spot for her and her stupid breasts." Hugging herself, her self-image problems obvious even to Shinji, she blinked as tears fought to free themselves, "And you think her stupid breasts are big, Mutsumi walks around eating watermelons all day smaller than hers! Stupid Keitaro." Snapping to look at Shinji, she gripped the rim of her seat, "You wouldn't go out on a date with someone else while you were with Hikari, right Shinji?"
"R-right," he nodded. "It wouldn't be fair to Hikari. B-but something like today, where she and I take you somewhere, that's different." He wanted to make clear that he hadn't forgotten what Hikari had said, despite her having supposedly changed her mind. "Because she and I are here together, and can take our friend on a date to spend time together, to get to know one another, right?"
Hikari blinked, her own words once more being put to devastatingly effective use by her boyfriend, then jumped on the opening he had presented, "That's right! You could always tell Keitaro that he should include you in the outing, that way he's going with his girlfriend, and making sure his friends know he'll keep his promises."
Shinobu's eyes widened, "That's…that's right! Just because you're dating, it doesn't mean you can't be good friends with someone! I…I should be able to explain it to him, tell him that he's my boyfriend, and that he shouldn't neglect me just to keep a promise he can't remember." Her good cheer died quickly, "But what if he has a better time with them than me?"
Shinji knew the answer to that, "Then is he really the man for you?" Summoning the spirit of Toshiro, he reached over and gripped her shoulder, "You are a charming, intelligent, beautiful young woman, Shinobu. If he can't see that, it's his loss. But you deserve a partner, male or female, that will treat you as the most precious person in their world, not as some sort of consolation prize or 'pass-time' partner."
Shinobu's eyes glowed with gratitude, and other emotions that he couldn't quite place. However, the waitress took the opportunity to arrive with their order, forcing Shinji back from the woman he was consoling, nearly sitting on him in the process of setting down the tray on a special stand, "Sorry everyone, the order took a bit longer than expected. The kitchen wanted to make sure everything was perfect." Placing Hikari and Shinobu's orders in front of them, she twisted so that could slide Shinji's fruit-filled sandwich while displaying a perfect view down her blouse, "Anything else we can offer?"
"I'm fine." It wasn't that Shinji was ignorant of what was expected when someone flirted with him, because he expected it of himself long before anyone else expected it of him. He just didn't detect flirting the way everyone else seemed to be able to. Remembering the incident in the locker room, the way that afterwards Hikari had stomped and shouted about how it was terrible that anyone would do that to him, he brought to mind the feeling he had when the woman had asked what Hikari had that she didn't, and knew what he could do here. "But I'm sure my girlfriend, or my girl friend, might have something they need." Water would have frozen solid in the presence of his tone, "Hikari-Chan? Shinobu-Chan? Anything? Remember, I'm paying."
"I have everything I could ever want," Hikari smiled happily. "Thank you, dear."
"Oh I'm fine," Shinobu added with a smirk. "You know how huggy I get with too much sugar, wouldn't want to act disgraceful in public."
The waitress ducked her head, turning on her heel and walking off rapidly, the message received loud and clear.
"That, Shinobu," Hikari giggled as she tapped her spoon into her ice cream, "is why I don't lose my patience with him."
"I'd deserve it if she did," Shinji smiled meekly. "I'm kind of slow to pick up on the obvious."
"You're a treasure, Shinji," Shinobu reached over and gripped his hand tightly. "And I wish Keitaro acted half as firmly as you do." Picking up her spoon, she laughed at the warmth she felt witnessing how he had put his foot down for his girlfriend, "But you might want to be careful, I might convince Hikari to share you with me, if Keitaro keeps acting foolish." She scooped the cherry out of her cup of mousse, offering it to Hikari. When his girlfriend rolled her eyes at the playful banter and accepted the end of the spoon into her mouth, the young woman dropped the other shoe with a wink., "Maybe convince you to share her with me, too."
Shinji kept his face devoid of emotion, an act he was rather proud of, as Hikari swallowed the cherry with a bright rosy blush. He wanted to point out that the bluenette's flirting, it was too obvious to be anything else, was the exact kind of behavior she disliked from her own boyfriend. But her mood had improved, and he wanted to believe that Shinobu was just engaging in the kind of shell game he'd expect from Misato. Maybe it was naïve, but if he couldn't try and see the best in people why was he trying to make their life better at all?
+++++ 3rd Angel + 10 : Monday (11)
"I nearly choked," Hikari admitted while she helped Shinji with the dinner dishes. "We were listening to her complain about Keitaro, about how he wasn't treating her like a girlfriend, and then boom! She's looking at me like I'm her dessert!" She tittered incredulously, "I mean, I'm flattered, sure, but…this was the woman who sat there and laid out the waitress' indiscretions. I'm just glad you aren't upset that I didn't step down harshly on her comment."
"I thought the same thing," Shinji nodded, "It's why I didn't get upset over it. Ultimately, she wasn't down in the dumps anymore. Honestly, maybe she and Keitaro aren't meant for each other. If she's seeing other options, and he's not being firm about his commitment, it doesn't sound healthy. But, like you said, it's not any of our business except to offer her advice as we can."
"Speaking of other options," Hikari took the final dish to be dried, "we need to talk to Ritsuko-San and Maya-San about Ayanami-San. She said she would seek 'clarification' regarding her orders, which could mean that she'll keep doing what she did today."
"I already texted them," Shinji worked the small towel he was drying his hands with into a tight cord. "I'm waiting for a response. Maya-San said she'd look into it, Ritsuko-San hasn't responded at all. I don't really know what else to do." His frustrations were mounting, as the more that he thought about the possibility of a link between his physical changes and Rei's mental changes, the more likely it seemed that the LCL was involved. If she had been exposed to the L-Nine to expedite her recovery, there was no way of telling what may have happened.
Setting the last dish where it belonged, Hikari turned and gently removed the towel from his grip. She could see he needed to settle himself, his frustrations evident and manifold. "Let's go take a look at where we can hang that charm, then. If we're waiting for an answer, then the matter is as dealt with as it can be." Scratching his back as she passed, she took the lead, guiding him towards his room. Stopping at the threshold, she leaned against the doorframe and waited for him to invite her in.
Shinji slid the door open, "Sorry about the clothes still sitting out." His laundry had increased exponentially, and now he had to find a way to appropriately organize and store it all. The new overshirts all hung neatly in his closet, his slacks hidden by the closed panel. The 'mess' as he would describe it, was simply neatly folded clothes destined for the drawers or the shelf above his overclothes. "I promise, I don't normally leave my room like this."
Hikari rolled her eyes, "Shinji, if Nozomi could keep her room half this clean I'd be thrilled." Spying the charm, and the note, she ignored the latter and picked up the former to hold up and admire, "Very nice handiwork, if she made this in just a few days, she's clearly had a great deal of practice."
"I'm sorry about that too," he tugged one drawer open and began to set his socks and boxers inside. "I had meant to talk to you, before I opened the bag. Thought maybe it was yours, and I didn't want to pry. Nozomi knocked, though, and I dropped the bag at the unexpected sound." Shifting the contents around so that they were evenly dressed with each other, he nodded in satisfaction, "I had decided after I read the note to talk to you about it this morning, but forgot after Kodama asked for seaweed vegetable rolls and rice."
"It's ok," Hikari waved away his concerns. "I trust you, Shinji. I wish you had more stuff to display, though. It would give us someplace to put this that didn't make it seem so lonely." Deciding on hanging it by the corkboard intended for him to display photos and notes, she held it in place with her thumb and turned to regard him, "What about here? It's over your desk, so you'll see it from time to time, but not out in the middle of nowhere where it would seem awkwardly displayed?"
"S-sure," he nodded. "So long as you're ok with me displaying it," he looked back out to the main house, "where do you keep your tools? I'll hang the nail."
"In the closet under the stairs." She smiled inwardly as he hurried out to acquire the necessary tools, He trusts me alone in his room. The temptation to read the note was present, but bearable. She wanted to see what he did: not to test him, but to gain insight into the way his mind worked. If he tacked it to the corkboard, she could see him returning the 'fondness' Yang offered. If he left it on his desk, perhaps he was thinking more deeply, or maybe just wanting to write a 'thank you' note of his own. If he threw it away, then she would clearly not need to worry at all in the short term.
"Got it," he came back into the room carrying a simple hammer, a slender nail in between his fingers, "where do you think I should put it?"
"Here," she tapped the wall with the loop. "What do you think?"
"I think I trust you more than me," he grinned self-effacingly, "I've never really decorated a room." Allowing her to move clear, he set the nail in place, looked back to her for confirmation, then tapped it in. At that point, a trembler hit their area. The sudden motion caused him to reach forward to brace himself, smashing the nose of the hammer against his thumb.
The minor quake passed as soon as it had begun, neither of them worse for the wear. Hikari had, however, taken note of his minor accident, "Are you ok?" She gripped his hand, "You know I don't mind if you show when something hurts, right? I'd much rather you come to us when you need help." Daddy never does.
"O-oh." He hadn't felt it at all, "Sorry."
"Here," she grinned playfully, "let me kiss it and make it better." Lifting his thumb, she gently touched her lips to the pad, keeping her eyes on his. "Oh dear," a false display of concern, batting her eyelashes, "it seems this needs," her voice became breathy, "something more."
Shinji swallowed hard as she placed his thumb in her mouth. Keeping his hand rigid, his nerves unable to allow him to relax, he felt the suction she created pull him in firmly. When she closed her eyes and slowly worked her tongue along the side of his digit, he gripped the nearest stable surface for balance. Missing the back of his chair, his desk, and her shoulder, his free hand fell against her side at the hip.
Encouraged by, and unaware of the accidental nature of, the display of affection on his part, she stepped up her efforts. While Kodama had warned her that his fingers may taste of whatever he had been working with prior to her attempting this, she was certain that at no point in the past few hours had he been anywhere near vanilla extract. It was an odd taste, when paired with the texture, but she had been braced for dish soap and wood, so didn't mind the oddity. Feeling him shudder, and sit heavily against the desk, she celebrated internally, maintaining the seduction. Moving with his motion she let herself step forward, releasing her seal around his hand.
"Th-that…wow," his mind wasn't firing the way it ought to. I…I should apologize, I'm holding her hip like this. His 'injured' hand, now free, moved to mirror its traitorous counterpart. W-wait…. He could look into her eyes forever, never tiring of the changing coloration. The brown and green circles blended together, a gorgeous, earthy coloration that screamed of calm blessings.
Moving to stand on her toes, as she often had to in order to kiss her boyfriend, Hikari squeaked when he instead picked her up and brought her towards him. Yes! The spike of victory powered her arms around his shoulders, He's doing it! He had become better at kissing, a skill neither of them had much practice in, and what had started in the first days of their relationship as little more than lips meeting had progressed towards eager exploration of the varied methods the act could involve.
Grateful that she had chosen to put on house pants, she hitched her knees atop the desk on either side of his torso. In the process, knocking the note from Yang off onto the floor and under the nearby clothing drawers. While it felt that he could hold her there forever, she wanted to free his hands up to walk along her body. It was a little awkward, but once she found her balance point his hands moved to a distinctly pleasurable location under her rump. His grip was powerful, yet still gentle enough to enjoy. She wanted him. Wanted to show him the passion she felt, show him that love wasn't put-downs and berating.
Shinji's mind was at war with itself, his body reacting to the desperate need for affection by latching onto the openly welcoming offer his girlfriend had on display. His mind kept demanding that he release her, that she wasn't asking for this, but each time his hands relaxed to let her go, she clutched tighter with her knees and wrists. There was no mistaking her, she was right where she wanted to be. His mind began to lose more and more ground, his hormones and longing for warmth combining into a nearly unstoppable army. His main weakness would not, however allow things to continue. He could feel his personal shame demanding to be set free, and that was ultimately what lost the battle for his body.
Lifting free of the kiss, he laid his forehead against her shoulder, "I…I need…t-to stop." If he allowed this to carry forward, he didn't know what he would do. Make a mess of himself? Most likely outcome. Carry her to the futon and make a mess of everything? Not incredibly likely, but certainly the most terrifying outcome. Whatever it was that he might do, he had to control what he did do. "I-I'm…." He swallowed, words failing him. The low, mantra-like, chant of 'pervert' made summoning any eloquence nearly impossible.
"Soon, Shinji," rubbing her cheek against the side of his head, she let her fingers crawl along his spine, "soon you'll not hear that voice anymore. It'll be just you, me, and the rest of our lives."
He held her close, supporting her non-existent weight easily. He wanted to believe her, wanted to know what it was like to be the kind of man she thought he could become. But his confidence in his ability to overcome his own weakness, and his fears that he wasn't the man for her, taunted him still. She can do so much better than me. She should do so much better.
+++++ 3rd Angel + 11 : Tuesday (12)
"And how would you characterize her cooperation, now that she has seen the Third Child?" Kozo hated 'un-personing' Shinji like that, but appearances had to be maintained, and Commander Ikari would not allow 'Gendo Ikari' to be seen in these meetings.
Ritsuko scowled, "Improved. She's no longer pushing the line towards disobedience, and is actively engaging with the tests and therapies as I direct them." Her eyebrow raised along with her irritation, "However, her behavior at school has caused troubles for Shinji." The bottle-blonde wouldn't play their games anymore. If she was going to be held responsible for him, then she was going to get satisfaction, one way or another.
The old professor suppressed his grin at the doctor's obvious taunts. His efforts at isolating the man beside him from potential avenues of abandoning the plan proceeded apace. "How so?"
"According to his text," she pulled out her phone, "I quote, 'Ritsuko-San, Ayanami-San is acting like she's supposed to be my slave. She doesn't seem like the kind of woman that would make a joke about this. Is someone at NERV demanding she do this? It's making paying attention in class hard.' The part that impresses me, however, 'Can you tell her not to? I tried, but she insisted that it was her duty. Nobody should be treated like she seems to want to be.' He's going to begin to struggle scholastically if he's having to fend off her monomania while in class."
"I assume you've spoken with her." Kozo's day kept swinging higher, Shinji was handed a chance many young men would happily abuse, and his first course of action was to find a way to stop potential abuse from occurring. "Was there an explanation?"
"That is why I didn't say 'back to normal'," Ritsuko growled. "The little imp said that she would do whatever she needed to so that 'Pilot Ikari' is ready to defeat the Angels. She then started asking about his preferred foods, exercises, and pass times, as well as his measurements." Whatever had happened, the clone's single-minded devotion to Gendo had apparently been supplanted. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that she had somehow come across a dating magazine and took it to heart."
He didn't like that thought. While he held no malice for the Child, he did not want her complicating Shinji's courtship of Hikari. The situation was odd enough without that being added into the mix. "Without Unit-00 to give her an outlet, she may simply be seeking an alternate way to fulfill her duty." He looked to Gendo, "Perhaps we could expedite the cross-platform testing? See how she works inside of Unit-01."
"No," the Commander narrowed his eyes. "Let us see how the Third Child handles this."