A Stroll Through My Dreams

by Campcrystallake11

The world as they knew it nearly ended, until Shinji had a change of heart at the last moment and aborted Instrumentality, giving the human race a second chance. Months later, Shinji & Asuka are trying to live semi-normal lives post Third-Impact, but two major obstacles still stand in their way... Themselves.

22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Kasumi's mother was pacing in her bedroom, wondering what the hell was keeping her daughter. When the commotion erupted outside of the bedroom, she wondered if Kasumi had finally decided to grace her own birthday party with her presence. Re-energized, she opened the door expecting to see her daughter mingling among the crowd… Instead her eyes almost immediately landed on a ghost from her past that haunted both her thoughts and dreams. She flinched a couple of times to adjust her eyes, expecting the image to reshape himself into someone else entirely… Just like the dozens of other occasions where she thought she'd seen someone who favored him from afar. Of course she always knew it could never be him, but that never stopped her heart from fluttering ever so slightly before logic had ample time to remind her that this was impossible.

As if sensing her, the young man turned his head and his eyes locked with hers. Okay, so this time her heart might actually have skipped a beat of two… This guy actually did favor him a little bit, though admittedly, she was mildly nearsighted. Once she got close to this guy and under decent lighting, he'd probably wind up being blonde with a braided mountain-man beard. Well, not that extreme of course, but she was certain he would look nothing like Shinji… Then she could go back to ignoring that wishful thinking portion of her mind, that on rare occasions, she let roam free long enough to wonder what it would be like if Shinji ever did find his way back to her.

Then this guy did something so unexpected, so inherently evil, that it nearly turned Asuka's rational leaning mind upside down, and started banging it against the floor. He waved at her with a weak apologetic smile… A smile she'd seen literally hundreds of times, and then she got a good look at those eyes. You know if she lived long enough, and met enough people, she might meet someone someday that had those same eyes or smiled that way… To find someone who had both though?... That just couldn't be possible… And because of that, the world stopped spinning for a second. She hadn't recognized that the place had gone quiet, and every eyeball in the apartment was focused on her. What she did next shocked everyone. She ran back inside her room and slammed the door shut. Shinji flinched, having not expected that all.

"I'll go talk to her," Hikari offered, but Shinji stopped her by blocking her with his arm.

"I'll do it…" Shinji insisted. "You can't fault her for reacting that way. She did just see a dead guy in her apartment. Besides… It's probably better if I reintroduce myself without an audience."

"Okay," Hikari submitted rather quickly, thinking all along how romantic this all was… Or should be at least if Asuka would allow it to be. She just hoped Asuka wouldn't allow her pride, or lifelong abrasion to being hurt by people, ruin a moment that should be treated as the miracle it was.

As Shinji worked up the nerve to invade Asuka's bedroom, Misato made a quick call to give someone who deserved to hear the good news. "Rei, are you still at Shinji's memorial? No, I won't be making the trip after all… In fact, you should get over to Asuka's apartment as soon as possible. You'll never guess who just walked through the…" Misato's eyes went wide. "Okay, so you could guess, but anyway… Rei? Rei, are you still there?" Misato looked at her phone as if it had just insulted her mother. "Did she hang up on me?"

Needless to say, Rei was well on her way to the Soryu's apartment.

Inside of her bedroom, Asuka hugged herself as she tried to convince herself she wasn't going insane. There was no possible way that person she saw could've been Shinji… But on the off chance it was, there was one surefire way to test him. If that was Shinji, he would come after her. The Shinji she'd first met might never have done so, but the Shinji that had fallen in love with her certainly would. She didn't know how to feel about this, even if it was real. The very idea of it excited, terrified, confused, and angered her. Basically, if it was an emotion her mind could comprehend, she was feeling it. It was an emotional state that, it would seem, only Shinji Ikari could inflict upon her.

The man with Shinji's face didn't disappoint her, and she tensed up upon hearing her door cautiously open, though she made no attempt to turn the person away. "Asuka?..." He called to her in his voice… Damn it, that really sounded like his voice! After all this time, she remembered his voice clearly, and the sound of it sent the proverbial chill up and down her spine. She heard his footsteps inch closer, for what felt like an eternity, and she couldn't escape this feeling that something was stalking her, ready to pounce and sink its teeth into her throat. Finally, mercifully yet brutally, the footsteps stopped. He was close, so close she could feel his strained breath against the back of her neck. Perhaps if she jumped out the window she could escape…

"Sorry to drop in unannounced," he spoke, and nearly every muscle in Asuka's body froze. Shinji blushed and laughed at himself. "Damn it, listen to me… First words out of my mouth are an apology, though I guess that would be a good sign for me if that's the worst habit I have trouble breaking…"

Asuka said nothing, she couldn't. She was practically paralyzed where she stood. Shinji, of course, read her silence completely wrong. "I'm sorry… I know how weird and uncomfortable my showing up here was going to be for you. I wasn't even going to come, but your daughter can be quite persuasive…"

"Kasumi…" The sound of her daughter's name seemed to free Asuka from silence's cold grip. Her voice remained soft and feeble however. "Kasumi brought you here?"

"Yeah… After I… Woke up outside of Unit 01, she was the first person I bumped into, literally… Man, was that quite the coincidence. You can imagine what I thought when I first laid eyes on her… She looks just like you at that age… Anyway, she practically begged me to come to her party and well… Knowing who was throwing that party and who the guests would be, I gave in."

"How is it even possible that you're here?" she asked sharply, almost as if accusing Shinji of something. "You were supposed to be dead! Frozen inside the balkelite! The righteous hero Shinji Ikari, who sacrificed everything for the good of the people of Tokyo 3!"

Shinji was taken aback by the bitter sarcasm in her voice, but at the same time he couldn't blame her for it. He chose to ignore it. "Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm here… I thought I'd be stuck inside Unit 01 for eternity, so I'm extremely grateful I'm getting this second chance… Or is it the third now, I've lost count…"

Shinji's attempts at lightening the mood with humor clearly weren't working. Asuka went silent again, leaving Shinji to once again assume he had said something that upset her… Or maybe she was just upset that he was there. "Like I was trying to say Asuka, I don't plan on hanging around and making things uncomfortable for you… If you want me to go I will, but I would appreciate it if you'd at least look at me when you tell me to get lost… I've been waiting a long time to see that pretty face again."

Asuka responded again with silence, which was soon followed by a noticeable sob. "I can't… I can't turn around…"

"What?... Why not?" Shinji asked, confused.

"Because I've had this dream a hundred times before Shinji… And whenever I turn around, that's always when I wake up…"

Asuka hugged herself tighter, trying to fend off the adamant desire of her body, which wished it was Shinji's arms around her instead of her own. A man whose presence in that room, her mind was still trying to convince her was impossible. Though Shinji couldn't see her tears, just knowing she was crying tore him up inside. "Asuka… This isn't a dream… It really is me standing behind you. All you have to do is look and you'd see that…"

"That's what you always say…" Asuka countered, and then Shinji cheated. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and that simple touch seemed to spark every paralyzed muscle in her body back to life. She couldn't help herself. Her head slowly turned, and once her eyes finally met his… She didn't wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. This was indeed Shinji looking down on her… The same smile, the same eyes… The same face though slightly aged. Despite his presence meaning she basically had to cast her entire sense of logic and reason down into hell, there was no doubt that this was Shinji Ikari. He had come back to her…

Still disbelieving what her eyes were seeing, she softly caressed his face. Blushing and unsure what to do, Shinji just stood there and allowed Asuka to get over the shock of seeing him again. She studied his face for what felt like hours, before Shinji finally got to see her lips move. "Idiot…" Wrapping her arms around his chest, she buried her face into it. "You stupid, stupid idiot!"

"I've never been happier to be insulted in my life," Shinji chuckled, crying himself just a bit. He wiped his eyes dry, wanting to focus on Asuka as she continued to soak the shirt Misato had left him. He allowed the emotional flood to ebb before reminding her of something important. "We'll have plenty of time to catch up later… It is your daughter's birthday, and I don't want to be a distraction…"

Asuka pulled her face off of Shinji's chest, still appearing somewhat discombobulated as she looked up at him. "Right, the party!... I have to get back to the party…" Almost instantly, Asuka snapped right back into Super Mom mode.

---

Once the party began to wind down, the remaining guests migrated down to the small park behind the apartment building. The few who remained were Kasumi's extended family. The birthday girl was off on the nearby walking trail playfully bickering with Shin. Misato and Kaji remained at the apartment, seated at the terrace overlooking the park, where they had a clear view of the remaining party guests. Rei had arrived at the party barely twenty minutes after Misato's phone call, breaking an uncanny number of traffic laws to pull that off. Her reaction to seeing Shinji after so many years was much like Misato's, only more subdued, or if you would, much more Rei like. She responded to the reunion with a smile and a look of clarity that would seem to suggest she knew something the others did not. Maybe she did, but it was more likely because Rei was the only member of Shinji's inner circle who refused to lose faith that Shinji would one day be returned to her. Rei hadn't stuck around very long before excusing herself from the party, under the guise that she had forgotten Kasumi's gift in her rush to confirm her suspicions about her brother. Shinji was currently hanging back and chatting, or catching up really, with Hikari and Toji. Shinji had claimed something about giving Asuka some space, though both of his friends decided, Toji verbally and Hikari casually to herself, that more likely this was Shinji taking a break from Asuka who had rarely let the young man out of her sight out of an apparent fear he'd disappear on her again.

"So you guys have three kids? I'm assuming the other two are younger than Shin?"

Hikari nodded her head. "Konoka is six and Setsuna just turned three… My sister's watching the little ones so we could attend the party."

"That's a bit of a gap between Shin and his siblings isn't it?" Shinji observed, for really no other reason but to continue the conversation. Still, having that fact pointed out caused his best friend and his wife to blush.

Hikari laughed the embarrassment off and answered truthfully. The truth didn't embarrass the typically proper girl as much as it used to. "It's true… Shin was a bit of a happy accident… Toji and I weren't even married yet when we found out he was coming. We had time to better plan things out for the other two , and took the time to mature as a couple and as parents before we had any more kids."

"Hikari Horaki got pregnant out of wedlock?" Shinji gasped in mock shock. "I'm surprised you didn't die from the shame."

Toji snorted, trying to fight back a chuckle while drawing a blush and a dirty look from his bride. Soon enough though, Hikari was giggling herself. "That's not too far from the truth actually…"

"Seriously? Because I could almost picture you standing at his doorstep holding a pregnancy test while demanding Toji take responsibility and make an honest woman out of you…"

Shinji cut the joke short at the sight of the peculiar color Hikari's cheeks were turning. Toji's face was a similar shade of red, but that was from holding his breath as he struggled not to burst out into laughter. It was a battle he ultimately lost, thus drawing the glare of death from his wife as he nearly fell to the ground laughing.

Looking sheepish, Shinji was blushing himself now. "Oh no… Don't tell me you actually did that?"

"Almost word for word," Toji cracked, wiping a tear from his eye. "I would almost call it a wedding proposal, except that it wasn't so much a question as a command."

Toji received an elbow to his gut for his transgression. Hikari composed herself, and said. "Why don't you tell him what you did next?"

Shinji watched intently as Toji's lips curved into a smirk. "It was all cool… When I heard I might have… Knocked her up…" Toji received another elbow for the improper remark. Hikari had never been fond of that expression. He ignored all of his wife's agitated grumblings, and continued with his story. "I had already bought her a ring, even before she went all shotgun on me… Wasn't like I was being forced into it or anything…"

"Damn right…" Hikari remarked and then leaned up against him. "Though, even if you had a problem with it, I would've just clubbed you over the head, and dragged you to the alter either way…"

"Reverse caveman huh? I like it…"

Shinji smiled, giving the couple a minute to converse with themselves before interrupting them by pointing out the fat ass extra-plump white elephant that had been trying to sit on Shinji's head for the past hour or so… Namely, the one person from their little group that hadn't attended the party. "Hey, so what's Kensuke been up to? I was kind of surprised he wasn't at the party, but then again, he and Asuka never were the best of friends were they?"

Shinji caught the frown that quickly flashed across Toji's lip, but disappeared just as quickly. "He's probably off on some job for whatever magazine he's working for these days, probably taking pictures of butterflies, or some crappy building that's falling apart…"

"Well, that didn't sound bitter at all…" Shinji meant this as a joke to lighten the mood, but upon seeing Toji's expression remain rather embittered, he became legitimately concerned. "Is everything alright there… Between you two I mean?"

"It's nothing that needs to be discussed right now," Hikari politely answered for Toji. She felt that the last Shinji needed to hear was for Toji to go off on one of his tangents. "Kensuke's doing very well for himself though."

"You don't have to do that…" Toji said distantly. "Shinji deserves to know… I gotta go take a dump anyway."

"Again, you don't need to share all your bathroom details sweetie," Hikari admonished her husband. Toji shrugged his shoulders as he walked back towards the apartment. When he was safely out of earshot, Shinji looked over at Hikari with one eyebrow cocked. Hikari sighed, and submitted. It was better that Shinji know so he wouldn't accidentally pick at old wounds. "Toji and Kensuke had a falling out a few years back… When Kensuke went to college, like a lot of college kids, he got into some stuff he shouldn't have… Toji tried to be a good friend and help him get cleaned up, but it got to a point where Toji finally had to give Kensuke an ultimatum… It was either the drugs or him, and Kensuke chose the needle… They didn't speak for years after that… To Kensuke's credit, he got cleaned up and tried to reconcile, and I guess in a way they did but… You know Toji as well as anyone… How important things like loyalty and trust are to him… He felt like Kensuke turned his back on him, and he was just never able to get passed that…"

"I see… Thanks for telling me... I'll make sure not to bring him up again…"

"Thank you…" Hikari's eyes caught a glimpse of a certain red-head seated in the grass on the other side of the trail, a watchful eye directed towards her daughter and Hikari's own son. "You know, I think you've given Asuka enough time to 'absorb you're return'. The party's all but over, so there aren't any more excuses for you guys not to talk."

Shinji peered over in Asuka's direction, and hesitated. The younger version of himself would've hid behind Toji and Hikari until the sunrise, or at least until they left, and then he'd have to find someone else to hide behind. This version of Shinji though, had a little more sense than that. "Alright… Please tell Toji I'm sorry… I didn't mean to piss all over his night…"

"Oh he'll be fine. He knows there's no way you could've known. Now go on! Don't keep your lady waiting…"

"She's not my lady anymore I'm afraid," Shinji sighed sadly. "Nothing wrong with trying to get back in her good graces though, I suppose…"

Kasumi was certainly becoming more blatant around Shin in public settings, was what Asuka had decided. The girl was naturally gifted at hiding any stray feelings she might've had for the boy that might appear anything stronger than purely platonic. Those closest to her could see past the veil of course, but to the naked eye of a complete stranger, it was hard to tell they were anything more than friends. Not anymore though… Whether Kasumi was doing so consciously or not, as time went by, she seemed to care less and less whether or not her affection towards the boy showed. It almost forced a smile onto Asuka's face as she watched her daughter playfully bicker with her oldest friend. Poor Shin probably didn't even realize the bickering wasn't real, but her mother could tell that Kasumi was trying to goad him in any way she could. It was a scene quite reminiscent to how Asuka herself used to interact with a certain young man back in her youth. Kasumi wasn't as anger prone as her mother, nor was her playful bantering near as hurtful as some of the things Asuka used to say to Shinji… Shin wasn't anywhere near as damaged or thin-skinned as his namesake either, and he'd also inherited his mother's low-tolerance for non-sense and foolishness. Those traits all combined to make an interesting, and often times amusing, dynamic between the teenagers.

"So, what's the story with those two?" Shinji asked from behind Asuka, startling her slightly. He'd get away with making her jump this one time though, for Asuka was just thankful he was there. "They don't act like a couple, but there's definitely a vibe you can sense between them."

"Oh, they're a couple," Asuka smirked as Shinji sat down next to her. "Whether they know it yet or not… She's just too proud to make the first move, and he's too dense to realize she's waiting for him to. Sound familiar?"

"Vaguely," Shinji smirked knowingly.

"Only minus all the emotional baggage… The age difference holds them back a little bit too…"

"Age difference? I thought they were the same age…"

Asuka shook her head. "Kasumi's about a year older… Shin is physically and emotionally mature for his age though, so it's really hard to notice, even for myself and Hikari sometimes… It doesn't surprise me that you'd think they were the same age."

"I never would've guessed… Well, I suppose if they hold on, in a couple of years that age difference won't matter so much…"

"It doesn't really matter to them now. I honestly don't even think Kasumi considers it. They've been attached at the hip as long as they've known each other. I'm not sure one would know what to do without the other."

"That's nice to have… Someone you can get along with like that isn't easy to find in this life, let alone to find it so young… I hope they don't take each other for granted."

"Yeah…" Asuka went quite as she reflected on her own past sadly. How often she had taken that very thing for granted, and how much time she wasted not appreciating or accepting what she had found… Now, she had him back though… She couldn't lose that again. Not this time, not ever again. That confusion she had felt when she first saw him again had long since fled.

"It's hard to believe," Shinji said to himself more than anything, smiling affectionately in the distance at Kasumi. He couldn't help it, knowing who her mother was after all. "You have a fifteen-year-old daughter… Just how long was I stuck inside Unit 01?..."

The question was rhetorical, yet serious at the same time. Asuka chose to answer him regardless. "Well it's early January… Still feels like summer in January, so at least you know the weather hasn't changed much…" Asuka went quiet momentarily, suddenly growing incredibly nervous. There was just no way of knowing how Shinji would react when he discovered just how long he'd been gone... "Anyway, it'll be… Sixteen years come May…"

"Sixteen years…" Shinji's eyes fluttered in surprise. That didn't sound right at all. "So I've been…"

"Is something wrong?" Asuka asked, blushing faintly, and slightly annoyed though not really with him.

"No… I just though it would've been longer… You and Hikari both have teen-aged kids so…" Shinji was the one who got quiet now… Asuka watched him anxiously as he clearly tried to work out this conundrum in his head. "Today is Kasumi's fifteen birthday…"

"Right," Asuka said impatiently, glaring at Shinji expectantly.

"Which means you would've had to of gotten pregnant shortly after I got frozen…"

"Unless I was pregnant before you got frozen," Asuka tried to lead him. Shinji got quiet again and just couldn't seem to wrap his head around what Asuka was hinting at.

"Before I was…" Shinji went blank again. Asuka couldn't tell if he'd figured it out and his brain exploded, or if older wiser Shinji was still a blithering idiot. Time having done little to curve Asuka's temper with idiots, Asuka lost it.

"Damn it baka! Do I seriously have to walk you through the math?!" Shinji flinched, looking over at Asuka, puzzled by her angry outburst. Asuka calmed herself, nearly crying as she told him. "Idiot… Kasumi's your daughter…"

"My…" Shinji's brain did figuratively explode at this point. What he said next nearly caused Asuka to face-fault into the dirt. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure dumb-ass! It couldn't be anybody else if you're the only person I've ever been with!"

"You never…" Shinji looked shocked, as Asuka blushed heavily and covered her mouth when she realized what she'd just admitted to. "Over fifteen years and you've never been… Intimate with anyone else?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?!" Asuka asked, and later would wonder why she felt such a need to defend herself over it. "Did you not think I was capable of staying loyal to you for all that time?"

"I wouldn't have expected or wanted you too!" Shinji responded, completely stunned. "All I wanted for you, was for you to move on and have a happy life, especially since there was no way for you to know if I'd ever come back someday… I never would've expected you to never be with anyone else after I was gone…"

Asuka blushed, and all of a sudden, found herself unable to meet his gaze. "Don't give me that kind of credit… It's not like I didn't try… I had a few boyfriends over the years but… They never progressed for one reason or another… Damn it, who am I kidding… There was only ever one reason. It was because of you…"

"Because of me?"

"Because I was still in love with you idiot… You being gone never changed that… I was so broken that it took everything I had just to open up to you, and my heart just seemed determined that it wasn't going to open up to anyone but you… I guess I subconsciously decided at some point, that if I couldn't find someone who could make me feel the way you made me feel, then I didn't want anyone…"

"Asuka…" Unsure of what else to say, Shinji could only offer a hand that he placed on her shoulder. Asuka swiftly rebuffed the offer by moving away from him.

"Don't concern yourself with me alright?... There's somebody else who needs your attention much more than I do…."

"Somebody else?… Oh right, Kasumi…" his eyes shifted back to the birthday girl, finding that she and Shin were almost clear of their line of sight. "My daughter… I wonder why she didn't tell me herself?"

"I have no clue why she didn't. All she told me earlier was that she hadn't… She's always known though. I never made her wonder who her father was, nor have I kept from her everything that you'd done for us… That's why she was at your memorial today. A few years ago, Rei took her to your memorial on her birthday and left flowers… It kind of became a tradition for them after that, until this year when she took Shin along…"

"Flowers…" Shinji recalled the bouquet Kasumi had made Shin carry for her, and this drew a laugh from him. "That's funny… They were for me."

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing important…" Shinji offered her a smile. "You mentioned that Kasumi and Rei would visit my grave on her birthday?"

The unasked question was obvious. Asuka stared at the ground as if ashamed. "Yeah… Someone had to take her, and I just could never bring myself to go… Too many painful reminders of too many painful memories… You'd think losing you would've gotten easier over time, but it never did…"

There were a lot of things Shinji wanted to do at that moment. Take her in his arms, hold her, swear he'd spend the rest of his life making up for the pain he caused her, promise he'd never leave her again… He held himself back however, as he had promised himself he would. He was aware that he couldn't just return from the dead and act like fifteen years hadn't gone by. He might not have felt any different than he did on the day he had faced off with Zeus, but time had certainly passed for Asuka and the others, and their lives had changed dramatically. He'd put Asuka through enough already… He wasn't going to put any additional stress upon her.

Shinji's eyes were practically glued to Asuka, and the pity being hurled in her direction was enough to make Asuka consider burying her head in the dirt. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not the one you should be feeling sorry for!… She's the one who really lost in all of this, like I told you before. You can worry about me later. For now, just go introduce yourself to your daughter…"

"Are you sure now is a good time?" Shinji grinned, noticing Kasumi and Shin were back in view and whatever they were discussing appeared to be rather intense. "She seems a little preoccupied right now."

"Now is the perfect time… Shin will understand, now go!"

"I don't understand…" Shin whined, as his childhood friend was really putting the screws to him. "Why are you so irritated?"

"I'm not irritated at all! Well a little bit with you, but in general, I couldn't be happier. I've had a great day, and my Dad is back… I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present then that… There's only one thing left that would make this day perfect, but seeing as your such a clueless twit, that just isn't going to happen!"

"Maybe if you told me what it is you want, maybe I could make it happen," Shin grumbled in annoyance at his friend. She'd been running him around in circles like this for most of the day, and it was really starting to frustrate him.

"Because if I have to tell you what I want, then it wouldn't mean anything when I got it!"

"Can you at least give me a hint?! I'm trying to make you happy here, and all I'm getting is grief…"

Kasumi's feet stopped moving suddenly, causing Shin to nearly collide with her. The red-head stared directly into his face, looking annoyed momentarily, before her lips curved into a mischievous grin. "You really want to know Shin? Maybe I just wanted you to kiss me."

Shin backpedaled, his cheeks as hot as lava. "Wha… You… You're kidding right?"

Kasumi's expression shifted into neutral, grunting in a manner that suggested to Shin that his response was not the one she was looking for. "Of course I'm kidding stupid… Like I'd want your clammy lips on mine… The sensation would probably make me vomit."

"Oh…" Shin looked awfully relieved for someone who had just been insulted. "Of course you are… You had me going for a second."

"I've had you going for years now Shin. You're just way too gullible and easy to predict…"

"I'm not that gullible…"

"Then why is your picture next to the word in the dictionary?"

Before Shin could launch a return salvo, the sound of his name being called had him looking behind him. He found his parents a few yards away waving to him. "Shin honey, it's time for us to be getting home!"

With his back to Kasumi, he was unable to see the girl's face as she managed to look disappointed and annoyed at the same time. "I'm coming…" Shin looked back at Kasumi expecting her to look as if she didn't care… And that's exactly what he saw. "Looks like I've gotta go… Happy Birthday again Kasumi. I'm happy for you… About your dad and all."

"Yeah, yeah…" Kasumi dismissed, trying to look disinterested and doing a good job of it. "See you later I guess…"

"See ya…" Shin took one step forward then stopped. "Um… Kasumi, there is one more thing before I go..."

"What?! Shouldn't you run along before you upset Mommy…"

Kasumi was interrupted, no assaulted actually, buy Shin's lips pressing against hers. It wasn't a quick peck either, as he let it linger long enough to place his fingertips along her jaw. Her lips afire, Kasumi closed her eyes and all but fell into him. Shin separated, and immediately took off like he was escaping the jaws of a T-Rex, towards where his parents were waiting for him without a single word or bothering to look back. The aftertaste of his lips still clinging to hers, she put her hand up to her mouth, if for any reason, just to hide the large grin forming there. "Idiot…"

"Did you predict that he was going to do that?" The voice startled the girl out of her trance, and she whirled around to see the last person most teen-aged girls wanted to catch them kissing a boy. Kasumi didn't seem to mind in this case, and the amused smile on Shinji Ikari's face was strangely comforting.

"Of course I knew, this was all part of my plan," Kasumi lied, half kidding and half trying to save face. "I always get what I want one way or another."

"I have no reason to doubt you do…" Shinji laughed. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to ease drop, but I didn't want to interrupt either…"

"It's no big deal…" Kasumi said though she thought it probably should be. Nothing could spoil her mood right now though. "Wait, Mom didn't send you out here looking for me did she?!"

"Yes, sort of, but she was right too… She was pretty insistent that there was something I needed to discuss with you, and I agree with her…"

"Oh," Kasumi looked towards the ground blushing. "She told you didn't she?..."

"That I'm your father?... Yeah, she did… She also told me that it wasn't a coincidence that we met at my memorial… Thank you by the way, the flowers were lovely." Kasumi's cheeks brightened, though she smiled through it. "I have to ask you though… Why didn't you tell me you were my daughter when we first met?"

"Other than freaking you the hell out you mean? I just felt that Mom should be the one to get to tell you about me… I mean, you were already gone when she found out she was pregnant with me, so she never got to tell you…"

Touched, Shinji's eyes widened in surprise. "That's very mature of you Kasumi… Most teenage girls wouldn't be that considerate."

"Well, I'm not most teenage girls," Kasumi countered with no hesitation or self-doubt in her voice. The smile this brought to Shinji's face was priceless.

"I know it's your birthday, and there are probably a thousand things you'd rather be doing than humoring your old man, but could you spare a few minutes to talk with me?... I'd like the chance for us to get to know each other…"

"Oh, there's probably not that much you could tell me about yourself that I don't already know," Kasumi stated proudly. "Between my Mother, my Aunts, and school I've heard your story a hundred times over."

"That's well and good for you, but I hardly know you and desperately want to change that. Heck, if you just want to talk while I listen, I'm perfectly okay with that."

"That's fine by me…I am my favorite subject after all."

Kasumi wasn't kidding either. For the next hour-and-a-half she talked her estranged father's ear off about everything going on in her life to the essential, to the inconsequential. Of course to her, anything she was involved with was of the highest importance. It didn't take Shinji long either to start adoring the fiery young girl, and it didn't hurt at all that she reminded him so much of her mother. Her eyes shined as she spoke, and Shinji finally recognized where he'd seen those eyes before... In the mirror ever time he looked into one. The one part of him she seemed to have inherited while she was otherwise her mother made over.

Their conversation had long since found its way back to the apartment and onto the living room couch. Kasumi covered everything from the girls in school she didn't like, how she was acing all of her classes and how irritating school was because she felt she was smarter than most of the teachers, and of course she had to mention how it annoyed her that just about every boy she knew went swooning over her despite how clear she made it that none of them were mature or man enough to be worthy of her. Of course Shin was the real reason why none of those other boys interested her, but she left that part out. Later in the evening, Rei returned with Kasumi's missing gift, and afterward joined in the conversation… If by joining in you mean sitting quietly and sipping tea from across the room. She didn't want to spoil this moment between the two people she adored most in this world… One, because he was Shinji, and the other because she was his child, the very reason she had latched on to her all those years ago. Even when she thought she'd lost her brother, there was always a part of him still alive in her.

Asuka watched the conversation from afar, seated at her dining table and not wanting to intrude, and quite frankly not sure what she would even say if she'd been involved. She had this far off look on her face, not uncommon for someone deep in thought, and a state easily noticeable to one's former guardian. Misato sat down beside her, a beer in her hand. "It looks kind of weird seeing those two together doesn't it?"

"Not at all," Asuka disagreed, sounding distant. "It looks like the way things should've been all along."

"You can't dwell on that though Asuka… It's not like he's some guy who walked out on you two when he found out you were pregnant. The past is in the past, and he's here now."

"My emotions are so confused… To the point I just want to scream and pray for my head to explode… As badly as I wanted to be angry and upset with him for leaving me, and then just showing up like he did… I was so happy to see him though… And frightened at the same time. Frightened that if I accepted the fact that he was back, he'd just find a way to hurt me again, or I'd discover that somehow this was all some sick joke or idyllic dream… I couldn't help myself and I hugged him, and then he put his arms around me… It just felt so good, and God I missed that feeling… I missed how being near him made me feel so at ease and wanted…" Asuka's expression stiffened with determination. "I can't let him get away from me again… I've received a second chance that I never dreamed I'd receive and I refuse to screw this up… I don't think my heart can stand losing him again… Or seeing him anywhere other than with me…"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Misato smiled as she placed her hand over Asuka's shoulder. "It doesn't look like he plans on going anywhere…"

Asuka managed a small grin, but her eyes went wide as she noticed something new decorating her left hand. "Is that… Are you wearing Kaji's ring?!"

The color rushed to Misato's cheeks as she pulled her hand away, having completely forgotten she was trying to hide it. Sheepishly, she kind of fessed up. "Um… Maybe…"

"The engagement ring he's been trying to give you for years, but you keep shooting him down? Does this mean you finally said yes?!"

Disarmed by the red-headed German's excitement, lying about it just would've felt cruel. She did take the opportunity to blame her new fiancée. "It wasn't fair okay! With it being Kasumi's birthday and Shinji returning to us… He knew this would be the one occasion when it would be almost impossible for me to say no, and damn it if he didn't capitalize on the opportunity…"

"It sounds romantic to me," Asuka said coyly. "Weren't you getting tired of turning him down anyway? I know you still love him, so why has it taken you so long to say yes? Does his love for vacationing in exotic places really irk you that much?"

"It's not that Asuka…" Misato admitted in a hushed voice. "What bothers me is what Mr. Kaji is really doing on his supposed vacations… Let's just say that I have my suspicions that the supposedly retired spy isn't quite so retired. Even if what he's doing now no longer involves stealing chunks of Angels or working as a triple agent, the point is that he's still not being honest with me… I just can't be married to someone like that… No matter how much not being with him bothers me…"

"Well, maybe he'll keep his promise and finally retire for good if you give him a reason too by marrying him… That was always his claim anyway… How can you be sure that he's still a government spy though?"

"Well… Keep this to yourself, but Ryoji underestimates the extent of the confidential information that I'm privy too." Misato took a long drink of her beer that comprised of the entirety of what was left in the can.

"Well, if it's all the same… Congratulations Misato."

"Don't congratulate me yet… I haven't had a chance to call off the engagement yet…"

"So… Dad…" Kasumi said for about the thirtieth time that evening. She was making a point to say it as often as possible, much to the amusement of both Shinji and Rei. "Go ahead and tell me this is none of my business if I'm over the line but… What was it like being stuck inside your Evangelion for all this time?"

That question did bother him… Not because the experience was traumatic, which it was, but because of what he now knew his incarceration had cost him. "Honestly… It felt like being locked away in prison for your brain. I had no physical body, but I was mentally aware of where I was, how I got there, and mildly aware of the passage of time. It wasn't all that bad though… The first few years, I guess it would've been years, I got a chance to speak with my Mom quite a bit… Now that I think about it, I guess that would make her your grandmother Kasumi."

"What would you two have discussed while undoubtedly having no knowledge of what was going on in the outside world?" Rei wondered, inserting herself into the conversation for the first time.

"Well, we discussed everything that has happened at NERV since she'd been gone… We also talked quite a bit about you Rei. She was very curious about her daughter…"

"Technically, I am not Yui Ikari's daughter…" Rei pointed out, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Merely a clone of her…"

"That doesn't matter," Shinji disagreed. "Your flesh and blood came from her regardless of how you were brought into this world. More importantly, she considers you her daughter, and would've loved the chance to have met you someday…"

Rei smiled bashfully before taking a sip of her tea. "As I would've liked to have met her… I have to wonder though… What did you mean when you said that you only spoke with her for the first few years?… That would seem to suggest that you stopped conversing with her after a while."

"Yeah…" Shinji admitted sadly, as his eyes dimmed. "She admitted to me at one point that she'd been trapped inside Unit 01 for so long, that it was becoming difficult for her to separate her consciousness from the Eva's. Year after year, it became harder and harder for me to sense her, and she reached out to me less and less. I couldn't tell you how long ago it was since I didn't really have any concept of real time in there, but I would say it was about three quarters through my stay when I last spoke to her…"

"I see…" Rei put her glass up to her lips to hide her face, regretting having asked. Having to answer that question had clearly pained him.

"I'm just thankful for the time I had with her. My mother was a complete mystery to me before getting sucked into Unit 01 myself. Considering what happened to her, the time I did get to spend with her, on any level, was more than I could've ever realistically hoped for. " Shinji smiled, wanting very much to reroute the direction of this conversation and focus on the good going on in their lives. "Anyway…So Rei, I heard that you're Misato's Operations Director now?"

"I possess the Commander's former title yes," Rei responded, thankful to her brother for the change in subject. "We've had no need for combat in the time you've been gone though, so the duties the position entails are quite different. Yes though, I am essentially in charge of the Evangelion units as well as the training of the young pilots we hope are capable of operating them if necessary. Also, I'm often in charge of any field work that needs to be done, as was the case this evening when we detected the anomaly at your memorial."

"That's awesome… And you're a… Captain now, is that right?"

"That is correct… Though I've never quite understood why the rank is required to validate the job position. The job does seem to suite me however, considering my extensive experience with Unit 00."

"She's being modest you know," Kasumi added. "She's already fourth on the NERV pecking order, and Misato's been personally grooming Aunt Rei to take over as Commander for her one day." Rei's only response was to blush faintly. Kasumi leaned in and whispered into her father's ear so only he could hear what she had to say next. "Mom absolutely hates the idea. She says she would resign from her position as head of the Science Division before she'd ever work for Wonder Girl."

Shinji could only chuckle at what was a very predictable Asuka-type response to the very notion that her rival might be her boss one day. Asuka scratched at her ears as they were suddenly burning.

---

The party carried on late into the night and before the remaining guests knew it, it was nearing midnight. Rei and Misato had said their goodbyes, and a suddenly exhausted Kasumi decided it was time to hit the sack. This was also her subtle way of giving her parents some time alone together. Asuka emerged from the restroom and was unable to immediately locate Shinji. For a moment she panicked, but quickly calmed herself. All she did was go the bathroom. She wasn't waking up from a long dream or recovering from some ultra-convincing hallucination. She checked outside on the terrace of her third floor apartment, and sure enough, found Shinji out there seated at the bench overlooking the one patch of green that could be found smack in the middle of a concrete jungle.

"Hey…" Asuka greeted, only doing so to break the silence as she sat down next to them.

"Hey," Shinji returned, mainly because he had no clue what else to say.

And there they were, two grown adults, well Shinji's status was debatable but for all extensive purposes he was an adult, sitting there awkwardly like they were still two teenagers struggling to drum up the nerve to speak to one another for the first time… Ironically they had been teenagers the last time they had spoken with each other before today.

"I'm glad I came," Shinji broke the ice, surprising Asuka by taking the initiative. "When Kasumi first asked me to come to her party, I almost turned her down, but I'm glad I let her talk me into it."

"Why wouldn't you want to come?" Asuka asked, almost sounding offended.

"Because I had no idea what I was getting into…" Shinji sighed, having asked this question to himself several times and changing the answer every time. "I had no idea how long I'd been stuck in Unit 01… Believe me, the first thing I thought of when I got back was seeing you, Misato, Rei and the others… Believe me or not though, after a decade and a half of having my mind trapped inside a giant cyborg, I'm far less ignorant and have a lot more sense than I did before being sucked in. Once I got to thinking about the situation, especially after seeing that box you guys left me, I had no idea how barging back into your lives was going to affect everyone. I saw that one picture of you with Kasumi as a baby, and for all I knew, you could've been married with a few more kids running around. If that was the case, how would you have felt if I just knocked on your door and let myself in after being gone for fifteen years?"

Asuka remained silent very briefly as she considered her response. "Whether or not you have more sense than you did back then, I'll have to see and judge that for myself… Your point does make sense though… Still, what were you planning on doing if you had turned down Kasumi's invitation?"

"Didn't have time enough to think that through… I considered whether or not everyone would be better off carrying on thinking I was dead, so my first thought was to leave town and try to make a life for myself somewhere else… Then after thinking about that some more, I decided this would be another form of running away, and I promised myself I wouldn't do that anymore. What really prompted my decision though, was that I really wanted to see you guys again, which was probably selfish of me, but now reflecting on everything I've given up, I probably at least deserved that much…"

"You have changed…" Asuka said, looking at him almost in awe. Realizing her eyes had been lingering, she blushed and shook some sense back into her head. "Not in a bad way mind you… You look a little older, but for the most part you basically look like you did the day you were frozen…. When talking to you, there are moments I have a hard time believing it's you."

"It is me, I promise. Kaworu did say before he rescued me from my Eva that, since I was conscious the entire time I was in there, that my mind should have matured as normal even though my body might not look like it had aged much…" Shinji took a moment to admire his old flame's lovely face. "Speaking of which, the years have been really kind to you. You look like you've hardly aged at all…"

"Yeah well, it's not exactly natural…" Asuka huffed, then debated whether or not she should tell him due to the confidential status of the information. Ultimately, she decided he needed to know since the information affected him as well, and it was stupid to keep Eva-related business from him in the first place. "It turns out that one of the side-effects to prolonged exposure to LCL is that it stunts the aging process… It looks like I still have the face and body of a twenty-year-old because I do. Rei still looks young too for the same reason. Even Misato benefited some by constantly being exposed to the stuff, though not nearly as drastically as the two of us."

"Wow… Too bad we can't bottle the stuff. Could you imagine how much money someone could make if they marketed that stuff as an anti-aging cure?"

"Which is exactly way that information is highly classified, and doesn't leave this terrace. Considering the nature of LCL, and its limited supply, mass producing the substance would be impossible. Still, that wouldn't stop the wrong people from trying to get their hands on it if they found out."

"It's ironic though, don't you think? That those old farts from SEELE were trying to become Gods to fend off their own mortality when they practically had the fountain of youth at their fingertips."

Asuka snickered at the notion. It had crossed her mind before Shinji had mentioned it, but not in a while. "It wouldn't have helped them anyway… It slows down the aging process, it doesn't reverse it."

"Good point… Hey…" Shinji paused, remembering something he had wanted to ask her earlier in the evening. "That box Misato left me… Why was their only one picture of you and Kasumi inside? I didn't think anything of it at first, but now that I know she's my daughter…"

"Oh right…" Asuka was really hoping he wouldn't ask about that. "That's my fault… I didn't like the idea of Misato leaving that box for you. To me, it represented false hope, and with a young impressionable daughter who happened to be ultra-curious about her famous father, I just couldn't have it. I refused to add anything to the box because I thought that would be akin to me admitting that I thought there was a chance you might come back some day, when what I wanted to do was accept you were gone and move on with my life… Obviously I was wrong on both counts... I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, I don't blame you at all for trying to leave me in the past…"

"Putting it like that doesn't lessen the sting Shinji…" Asuka said looking annoyed, and quickly shifting back to guilty. "I've got pictures of her though, as she was growing up if you'd like to look at them later…"

"I would really like that," Shinji smiled.

The conversation stalled from there, though not because either one had nothing to say. They'd have to talk for days to run through all the questions they had for one another. There was one topic in particular though, that desperately needed to be addressed, as it was acting like an impenetrable wall masterfully separating the two. This wasn't even a wall of Asuka's construction. It just kind of showed up when Shinji did. Neither wanted to be the one to bring it up however… Neither wanted to seem too forward, act presumptuous, or risk getting hurt again…

Asuka took the only route she had the nerve to go down… Straight forward towards the heart of the matter. "Shinji… What are you going to do now that your back?"

"Hell if I know… Right now I'm busy being grateful to even be back…" Shinji gave the question some thought, and responded half-jokingly. "Everyone keeps telling me about what a celebrity I've become since I was frozen… Surely I should be able to work that to my advantage somehow… Seriously though, Misato has offered for me to stay with her for a few days until I figure out where I'm going to go from here… Fifteen years have sailed by, and technically I haven't even graduated High School…"

"So you're going to move in with Misato again like nothing has changed?" Asuka asked, sounding deceptively monotone. "That's how it's going to be then? You're going to blow through here like a tornado tossing our hearts around, only to run off and play house with Misato like you're still a kid in High School?! From the way you were talking earlier, you made it sound like you had grown up a little bit!"

"What are you even talking about?! I have to go somewhere, at least until I get things figured out… If not Misato's, then where else am I going to go?"

"You don't have to go anywhere!" Asuka's voice cracked. She no longer cared if she sounded weak or desperate. She needed this idiot to know that he wasn't doing her the favor he thought he was. "You belong here with us… With your daughter… With me…"

"Asuka…" Shinji about gave in on the spot, but managed to cling to his principles somehow. "It makes my heart do cartwheels to hear you say that, but just because you feel that way now doesn't mean you're going to feel that way a week from now! What if you realize you don't feel the way you thought you did, and I end up becoming the guy who suddenly reappeared after fifteen years just to disrupt your lives!"

"Idiot!" Asuka snarled, as she stood up. "All I'm hearing are more excuses! Just tell me the damn truth! If it's because you were a teenager the last time you were conscious in this world, and now you don't want to jump right into having the responsibility of a fifteen-year-old child, than just say so! I might not be happy about it, but I would understand it under the circumstances… Or hell, if we're just not good enough for you, then just come out and say that too!"

"I've already told you the truth," Shinji responded calmly, standing up himself and taking Asuka by the hands. When she made no attempt to pull them away despite looking ready to maul someone, he conjured up the confidence to continue. "I love you just as much as the day I was absorbed into Unit 01. My feelings haven't change in the least, which is why I'm trying to consider what's best for you and your… Our daughter…"

"And this is what I've been trying to tell you," Asuka sniffed, looking her one time lover in the eyes, her eyes slightly moist from her own tears. "My feelings for you haven't changed either… As much as I tried to convince myself I wasn't, I've been dreaming of this night ever since the day I lost you… Now that I finally have you back, I refuse to let you get away from me again… I don't know why it is, but I'm just better when I'm with you…"

Shinji, now just a couple of inches taller, looked down at her in awe as she put a hand up to his face. The emotion in her eyes was unmistakable. "I don't plan on going anywhere… All I was trying to say is that we don't need to rush…"

"Idiot," she whispered softly, caressing his face and completely drawing the young man into her eyes. "I've waited for fifteen years… I think we've both shown plenty of patience…"

Before Shinji could counter, Asuka had shoved him back down on the bench, jarring the springs of the sliding piece of furniture from the sudden impact. Shinji again had time to say nothing before Asuka was straddling his lap, claiming possession of his eyes with her own. Her expression held no smile or any other tangible emotion other than perhaps determination, yet somehow that look still managed to completely own him. Finally, he remembered how to breathe, and eventually how to speak. "Asuka, what are you doing?..."

"What I should have done the moment I laid eyes on you again…" Now angled slightly above him, she leaned her face in and softly pressed her lips to his. It was like their first real kiss all over again. Clumsy and desperate, and yet somehow so simplistically perfect. It lasted only a few seconds before Asuka pulled away so she could admire that adorable face she had missed so much. "I love you Shinji…"

Shinji's heart stopped beating for a second. About that same time, half the brain cells in his head committed mass suicide, as they exploded at once, leaving the functioning sections of his brain covered in a warm sticky goo that rendered the entire organ unusable for a second or two. That was the first time Asuka had ever uttered those words to him. Sure she'd said it in numerous other ways, but she had never expressed that feeling in its most basic form. True, they hadn't gotten much of a chance too before he was forced to separate from her, but that didn't change what hearing her say that meant to him now. There was only one way he could respond.

"I love you too… Asuka," he chocked, nearly in tears.

Asuka's brow furrowed slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing at all… I was just thinking that it was well worth waiting fifteen years to finally hear you say that…"

"Idiot…" she whispered affectionately, and then her lips were on his again. This time, the gloves were off and nothing was held back, her tongue especially. Each kiss lingered a tad longer than the last, each felt a little hungrier, and with each kiss their lips felt more like they were where they were supposed to be. It was clear to Shinji what Asuka was doing. She was reclaiming what she felt was rightfully hers… He had all too willingly given her his heart, mind, and soul… Now all that was left to do was reclaim the body. Shinji sensed this, and despite his hormones and man part's threats to put a bullet in his head if he tried to deny her, he knew he had to at least try.

"Asuka…" He sputtered while trying to catch his breath, the girl in question looking annoyed at being interrupted. "We don't have to do this… Not right away anyway…"

Asuka ignored him and started kissing him again. "Yes, we do…"

"Umm…" Asuka put her lips to Shinji's neck, a move she had little doubt would put a quick end to any further protests. "Okay…"

And so Shinji's hormones rejoiced. It was a good thing Shinji had been essentially asleep for the last fifteen years, because he wasn't going to get a lot of sleep on this night.

---

Lost deep in sleep's inviting grasp, Asuka awoke the next morning with a smile on her face… She couldn't quite remember the last time she'd felt so at ease during a time of the day she typically despised. What was it again that happened last night that had put her in such a good mood?... Her eyes snapped open when she remembered.

"Shinji…" She looked over at the opposite side of the bed but found it empty, and immediately had to face a horrible thought… Last night wasn't some long mind fuck of a dream was it? Already fearing the worst, she sat up only to realize that she was naked… She didn't usually sleep naked. Then she smelled something coming from the kitchen… A smell that was delicious and familiar. She quickly jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. She had to prove to herself that last night was real.

And, to what almost could constitute as a shock, it was. Asuka found her daughter seated at the table while… Her father worked over the stove cooking breakfast. Oh god, it was going to take a while before that sounded right. Kasumi greeted her mother with a smile, and a sleepy good morning. Asuka whispered good morning back to her on reflex, as she walked past her and into the kitchen. Sensing the lady of the house had awakened, Shinji turned to find Asuka standing right behind him wearing nothing but her bathrobe… He assumed there was nothing underneath anyway. Shinji blushed, and scratched at the back of his head as he smiled shyly. "Good morning… Hope you don't mind me fixing breakfast for you guys… It just felt like the right thing to do for some reason…."

What Shinji didn't know, was that he could've been sitting naked in the sink eating Cheetos off his belly and she wouldn't have cared… Well maybe a little, but as long as he was there… That was all that mattered. Caring about nothing else, Asuka erased what distance was left between them and wrapped her arms around his neck before burying her face into it. "Thank you…" She sobbed softly.

"For what exactly?" Shinji shook slightly as Asuka's breath teased his neck. "I doubt you'd be getting this emotional over breakfast."

"For being here… For not being a dream…"

"Uh… You're welcome." Shinji smiled as he now understood, and returned the embrace.

Shinji then shooed Asuka away so he could put the finishing touches on breakfast without burning it. Asuka was going to help set the table before realizing Kasumi had already done so, so instead she sat down next to her daughter and waited… Marveling as she watched Shinji, still struggling to believe it was really him standing there. Kasumi noticed and just couldn't resist goading her mother. "You know, you can move your eyes away now and then. He's not going to disappear because you're not staring at him… Trust me, I've had to test that theory out myself a couple of times this morning."

"Wha… Oh, right," Asuka agreed and she turned her attention to her daughter… Then caught herself immediately trying to peak at Shinji who was obviously still there. Point taken, she refocused on Kasumi. "Wait, what am I doing?! I can look at him all I want you know…"

"I know… I just figure you'd have gotten plenty of good looks at him last night…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Asuka dreaded, knowing how her daughter's mind worked.

Sure enough, Kasumi leaned up to her mother's ear and whispered. "You're really loud… It was tough getting any sleep last night."

Asuka nearly died on the spot, face gushing red. "Kasumi!"

"What?!" she laughed. "Did you think I'd be deaf to it or something? I mean, I'm glad you were enjoying yourself and all, but I'm probably going to need therapy now…"

"That's quite enough Kasumi! It's highly inappropriate for you to be commenting on your mothers… Oh god, look what I've let you draw me into!" Kasumi was now laughing uncontrollably while Shinji looked back at them, wondering what the heck they were talking about. He'd discover later that he actually didn't want to know.

The banter between mother and daughter halted as soon as breakfast had been served, primarily because their mouths were too full to speak. Well almost anyway, as Kasumi did manage to get a couple of good cracks in, slamming her mother's cooking skills. The best of which came when she just couldn't resist mentioning how nice it was to actually eat food that didn't taste like it had recently been on fire. All joking aside though, she was quite impressed with her father's latent culinary skills, which hadn't seemed to have been affected at all by a decade and a half without being near a stove. The two-and-a-half plates of grub she had downed were a testament to that, though she just couldn't quite get through her third helping.

"I'm so full…" Kasumi moaned, as she rested her head against the table while fighting off the urge to take a nap. "Mom, you weren't kidding when you said he could cook… I always assumed you meant compared to you, which really isn't that high of a bar."

"I'm not that bad of a cook Kasumi…" her mother grumbled despite her inability to disagree with her.

"Oh please… You're the only person I know who can pop open a can of biscuits and somehow they come out burnt… Owe!" Kasumi got a face full of wood as her mother kneed the table underneath her chin. The younger Soryu frowned towards her mother, but decided she wasn't in the mood to be goaded by her. "Fine gesh… I'm just messing with ya…" Kasumi stretched as she stood up from the table. "If you guys don't mind, I'm going to get cleaned up before I head over to Shin's place."

Asuka cocked an eyebrow. "This early in the morning? Why don't we just buy you a set of bunk beds for your room, and that way the two of you would never have to separate."

Kasumi had an obvious comeback, involving only needing one bed. It was dangling off the tip of Kasumi's tongue, but she resisted. Her mother was pretty cool about taking her daughter's teasing and even messing with her right back, but Kasumi was smart enough to recognize what lines not to cross. Her father had been one of those lines since the day she was born, and without question, so was her budding sexuality. "Oh we're apart plenty, there's just something I need to talk with him about."

"Like, how there's no way I'm going to let him get away with kissing me and then running away like that," she thought, smiling to herself. Kasumi caught a glimpse of the eyes of her father as they were on her. He smiled knowingly when he realized she'd noticed his gaze. Kasumi blushed faintly, recalling how Shinji had been an accidental witness to his daughter's first kiss. Shinji said nothing, and then he stood up and started clearing dishes off the table, still wearing that same smile. He was over the sink when Kasumi passed by him. He made sure Asuka wasn't in earshot before he commented to his daughter as she passed by. "Has this relationship turned into some prolonged game of tag now? I'm guessing you're it?"

It took a moment for the young red-head to catch Shinji's meaning, drawing a smirk from her. "I guess that's one way of looking at it."

"I take it that, when you get back, there's a good chance you and your friend Shin will probably be more than friends?"

Kasumi blushed, not sure how to respond to that… Or if she even wanted to discuss those kind of issues with one of her parents. It was strange though… Even though she'd only known her father for less than a day, she found him incredibly easy to talk to. Like she could tell him anything, and so she did… In her own way of course. "I guess it depends on how much of an idiot he wants to be when I get there…"

Shinji smiled as this young woman he had helped to create once again reminded him of her mother. Shinji looked upward towards the ceiling, as if looking to a higher power to help him find the right words to say. "I really don't feel it's my place to be giving you advice just yet but… Remembering how things went down between me and your mother… Shin will come to you in time. You might have to lead him in that direction, but he'll come to you eventually… If he's anything like me, you might need neon signs and flashing arrows pointing him in the direction you want him to go, but he will come to you if leave the door open for him."

Kasumi seemed to ponder this, and a grin soon crossed her face. "That door has never really been closed, but I see your point… Thanks Dad…" Kasumi stopped herself and blushed when she realized what she'd said. Shinji looked just as shocked at hearing it, nearly breaking a plate in the process. "Sorry… It's okay with you if I call you Dad right?"

"I've never been more okay with anything in my life," Shinji chocked, tearing up just a little. Kasumi thanked him with a quick hug before scampering off to the bathroom. Shinji watched after her in awe, which did not go unnoticed by Asuka as she crept up behind him.

"I just wish I could help you understand how much you being here means to her… She grew up idolizing you, and everything she decided that you stood for. She didn't merely get her father back yesterday… She got to meet her hero too…"

"I hope I can live up to her opinion of me," he said unevenly, still a bit chocked up.

"You've made it a habit of exceeding expectations you have no business living up to…" Asuka moved in closer, enough so that she could rest her forehead on his shoulder.

"There's something I need to tell you," Shinji said warily, reluctant to ruin her mood. Asuka lifted her head and looked at him expectantly. "I made a few calls this morning before breakfast and I have an appointment this afternoon, so I was wondering if you'd like to tag along with me?"

"What kind of appointment?" she asked suspiciously, which did nothing to calm Shinji's nerves. He turned his back to her, unable to face her as he responded

"To um… Look at an apartment I'm thinking about renting…"

"Apartment?..." Asuka's brow furrowed. "Shinji, I thought we talked about this…"

"Yes, we did, but let me explain," Shinji requested, feeling quite a bit bolder, at least enough so that he could look her in the face as he told her. "I plan to be around… A lot in fact, as often as you'll have me. As much as I love the idea of moving straight in with you guys and playing house, I don't think that's the best idea… You and Kasumi have been living on your own for years, and there's no telling how adding me to the equation so suddenly is going to affect the both of you. For Kasumi's sake in particular, let's take our time, and allow me to get to know you guys… Well get to know you again…"

Asuka hated it when Shinji was right, especially when she didn't want to agree with what he was saying. "Where is this apartment you're looking at located?" Translation, how far away is it from me.

"Follow me and I'll show you," Shinji prompted Asuka to follow him outside of her apartment and into the hallway. Asuka followed, though she looked confused until Shinji stopped and pointed at apartment 47 a few doors down from her own. Asuka recognized that apartment as a unit that had been vacant for a while… In fact, the entire floor was relatively deserted. Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh…" Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad… Though the idea of Shinji being anywhere that wasn't directly by her side seemed too far away in her estimation.

"I'm not sure how often I'll be using the place but… This way, I can be around you guys without being on top of you… Until the three of us are ready for that anyway."

"How can you afford to pay the rent?" Asuka asked. She wasn't even sure why she was still trying to poke holes.

"Misato left my account open from my time as a pilot for NERV… I'm by no means broke in other words, so the rent's not going to be an issue…"

"That's good…" Asuka's mind started racing. "That you have money to spend I mean. You're going to need clothes, and of course furniture, and everyday housewares. A bed of course that'll need to be broken in… Maybe even the couch too."

Shinji blushed, wondering if she'd meant that the way it sounded. "I'm getting the impression that you plan on doing the shopping for me?"

"Well of course! Like you're going to have the slightest clue how to decorate your new apartment on your own, or how to dress yourself… You'd probably end up using milk crates for chairs and wearing Urkel suspenders with everything…"

"What the hell's an Urkel?" Shinji could only smile as he listened to the only love he'd ever known in his short life. He didn't even technically have the apartment yet, and she was already decorating it for him. This mattered little to Shinji Ikari. Every moment he could he spend with her was time he wouldn't trade for anything else in the world.

"Asuka..." he said almost in a whisper as he grabbed the girl and pulled her close to him. She was definitely caught off guard, but didn't seem to mind. She looked more curious than anything. "Thank you... For giving me another chance after everything... Our daughter having to live without me, everything I've put you through... I'm so sorry..."

"Don't... Just, don't okay," Asuka pleaded, as she hugged him tight, her forehead resting against his shoulder. "I don't want to dwell over the past, what we missed, or all the what could've and should've been's... All that matters is that you're here now, and the future we make from here on out."

"I... Think I can do that," Shinji said, feeling relieved. "I can't promise though, that I won't spend everyday trying to make it up to you..."

"You're here aren't you? That's all I've ever wanted. Now that I have you back, I'm never letting anything take you from me again. Just be the man I've always loved Shinji... If you feel like you owe me anything, that's all I'll ever need..."

"Then that's what I'll be... Every day for the rest of my life." Shinji pulled her in for a kiss that would be merely the first of many in the coming days. Life, like their love, was never meant to be easy for them, and the coming years would be far from perfect... But it was those imperfections that made them so perfect for each other. Two damaged kids that by some miracle had saved one another, even as the entire world and fate itself seemed to conspire against them. I took a while, but they found their way back to each other's arms, and that was the only place either really wanted to be.

End of Chapter 22

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-And so my tale has come to an end. A special thank you to everyone whose supported and enjoyed this story. I was honestly surprised by the reactions I received on a number of different levels... It's an interesting case study on how individual readers interrupt and respond to the same work of fiction with drastically varying opinions. For those who might've preferred I stuck with a sad ending, my apologies but that's just not my style... I like to put my characters through hell, but ultimately find their happy ending at the end. At least those are the types of stories I've always enjoyed reading.

Okay, so I had written a brief epilogue for this story, but I've decided against adding it to the story. It was mostly fluff and didn't really add any depth to the overarching story, so I felt the end of this chapter was the perfect place to bring this tale to a close. That being said though, I know some of you would be interested anyway, so as a bonus, I decided to included it here after the author's note! Now, this epilogue is not cannon as far as this story is concerned, the end of this chapter is the official ending of this work of fiction. Just consider this a little taste of where this story might've gone if I decided to go any further with it. Enjoy!

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Epilogue

They say that Asuka Langley Soryu became a different person once Shinji Ikari came back into her life… No Scratch that… More like she turned back into the person she used to be, which could've been good or bad depending on whom you asked… And whose balls she happened to be busting at the time. Either way, her swagger and her confidence was back, as was her take life by the throat and I'll accomplish any damn thing I want too, attitude. The primary difference now compared to then, was that she could actually take some legitimate pride in her accomplishments and even enjoy them. It's funny how that works when you're not so preoccupied with achieving things for the soul purpose of proving to everyone else you are what you feel you should be worth. Asuka still had an ego, still enjoyed having it stroked, and was still very skilled at rubbing certain people the wrong way. This included a few of the people she worked with at NERV. She was never miss popularity in the first place, but the antics her coworkers used to put up with while Shinji was gone out of pure pity, were much harder to swallow now that there was nothing to feel sorry for her about. It took nearly forty years to get there, but Asuka's life was closer to perfect than she ever dreamed she could get… She could care less about what those community college rejects thought about her anyway. She was damn good at her job, was in good with the higher ups that mattered, and the people she truly cared about loved her for what she was. Everyone else could go burn in hell if they didn't like what she was all about.

Asuka had left work early that day so she could meet up and share lunch with a dear old friend she hadn't gotten to see much of over the past couple of years… At least not as often as she would've liked. She scanned the outdoor patio section of their favorite restaurant, and her eyes eventually settled on the image of Hikari Suzahara as she waved at Asuka to get her attention. Asuka rushed over to the table, and after a long overdue hug, Asuka took the seat across from her childhood friend. "It's good to see you Hikari… It feels like it's been forever…"

"I know, four months…" Hikari looked thoughtful as she stirred her drink with a straw. "I'm sorry, when we moved initially I really did mean it when I said the distance wasn't going to keep us from seeing each other… When you get to be my age, you don't really feel like going any place that's any farther than a couple miles down the road…"

"Oh please Hikari! You're not that old, you're only 39…"

"That's easy for you to say Asuka… I never had the luxury of bathing in that LCL goo, or whatever it is that's kept your body so young and vibrant. You haven't had to deal with crow's feet, or wrinkles, or achy joints, or a bladder that doesn't behave itself as well as it used too… Take a good look at me Asuka. This is what we people who haven't piloted Evangelions call aging. You may just get to experience it someday."

"Okay, I get the point," Asuka laughed, despite the feeling that Hikari wasn't entirely joking. "Please be careful using the 'L' word though, that information still isn't public knowledge. I still stand by my assessment though, that you're not old."

"Not old huh… One year away from forty, and to top it off, I'm going to be a grandmother in four months… Forgive me if I don't feel like a young spry little thing."

"Well, look at it this way… You'll be the youngest, hottest looking grandma in town…"

"Oh please! I won't even be the best looking grandmother in the delivery room," Hikari teased, causing a sweat-drop to form over Asuka's head. "It's still hard to believe sometimes though… My kid is having a kid… With your kid…"

"I don't find it hard to believe at all! I've seen this coming since those two were barely up to our belly buttons. I was hoping they'd be safer than us and pace themselves before they had kids, but at least they're not teenagers like we were."

"Hey, it was bound to happen I guess…" Hikari grinned evilly. "Not that I discuss this type of subject with my son very often, but from what I've heard, Kasumi inherited her mother's libido."

Asuka nearly choked on her drink as she was taking a sip. She often wondered what happened to the shy freckled-face class rep that once thought someone uttering the word 'butt' in a conversation was the pinnacle of vulgarity. "Not appropriate meal conversation! And don't look at me like I'm some kind of slut either. Sure, Soryu women might like sex, and enjoy having lots of it… But we enjoy lots of sex with one guy, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Wasn't suggesting there was," Hikari smiled, resting her hand beneath her chin. "Sorry, but I can't resist when I get the chance to poke you back for all the grief you've given me over the years about my love life, despite knowing how badly it embarrassed me."

"It was necessary," Asuka mocked like a politician trying to explain the passing of a really unpopular law. "I'd like to take some credit for eventually prying you out of that Nun outfit. I see your point though… It's bizarre to think that I'm not even forty yet and I'm going to be a grandmother… I guess that's an inherent risk you take when you have kids young ..."

"But again, you simply get to feel like an old lady without having the body of an old lady to go along it it…"

Asuka felt she should be offended by this on some level but couldn't decide why. She laughed at the remark instead, and then motioned for a change in subject. "So, how's life in Tokyo 2?"

"Same as life in Tokyo 3, only without the constant reminders that beings bent our destruction used to float up and down the streets… Seriously, it's not that bad though… Toji seems content with his job and everything, but once the first grand-baby is born, I doubt he's going to like being so far away…"

"Does that mean you might be moving back to Tokyo 3 sometime in the future?" Asuka asked hopefully. Hikari shrugged her shoulders.

"I can hope, but it really depends on Toji's job… That's what landed us there in the first place. I've been working on him, but once he holds that baby for the first time, I think that's what's finally going to convince him to move back." Hikari's nose scrounged upward as she studied Asuka, making her longtime friend wonder what the heck that look was all about. "Speaking of husbands, what's Shinji up to these days?"

Asuka grunted in annoyance, knowing full well what conversation that question was going to lead to. She hated getting into that debate with Hikari, but Asuka's pride very rarely allowed her to shy away from confrontation. She replied, if nothing else just to be defiant, though standing in defiance of what was unclear. "He's fine of course. He's married to me, so why wouldn't he be?"

"Oh, I have no doubt he's as happy as Toji at a buffet… I was just wondering if he's had any luck finding a job yet, or do you still have him cooped up at home playing housewife?"

"He has a job Hikari," Asuka nearly grunted. "He works as a special ambassador for NERV, and even has the rank of Captain. He just got home yesterday from a three day engagement in Beijing."

"That's not a job Asuka! He's a glorified show pony that your organization struts out on your PR campaigns to capitalize on his popularity!"

"And like all good show pony's he brings in a lot of dough… And why not? NERV has been trying to rebuild their image as an organization that's trying to pull the planet out of the environmental and economic hell that Second and Third impact caused. Every one subconsciously knows Shinji from undoing Third Impact, and everyone consciously celebrates him as the guy who prevented Tokyo 3 from being blown into space, and then spent fifteen years in frozen stasis only to suddenly rise up from the supposed dead. NERV would be stupid not to capitalize on that. Shinji's helped make NERV a lot of money and helped drastically with improving NERV's image with all those PR stunts as you called them…"

If Asuka sounded defensive it's because she was. While she kept this part to herself, she knew how uncomfortable Shinji was with fame and being in any kind of spotlight. Being the unofficial face of NERV was not easy for him, or something he ever desired to be, but he tolerated the role out of a sense of loyalty… Not to NERV itself but because most of the people he cared about worked for the organization, and NERV's success directly affected them. Asuka was very proud of her hubby for that, and took offense to anyone who disparaged him for it. She had no idea why Hikari had such an issue with Shinji's role with NERV. The only reasoning Asuka could figure was that Hikari's feelings derived from her 'proper Japanese girl' attitude, which would dictate that the man should be out somewhere working nine-to-five.

"Do you really think Shinji's happy doing that? He's the type of guy who never struck me as wanting to be in the lime light." Asuka flinched, surprised to hear Hikari reiterate one of the points she'd been silently pondering. "Not to mention that a lot of guys inherently have that instinct to provide for their family, rather than staying at home and acting as a live-in maid…"

"Shinji's not like that… And he makes plenty of damn money, and even if he didn't make a cent, my salary is plenty enough to support the both of us… Besides, what you're suggesting is like telling someone to quit their job as the Chief of Surgery at a hospital because the McDonald's down the street is hiring. So what if Shinji's job is mostly making public appearances and rubbing elbows with bureaucrats? He may have lots of time off, but that's a perk of the job, not a detriment. As far as your maid and housewife comments, Shinji happens to enjoy cooking and he's good at keeping the house clean. Why the hell am I going to complain about that? Shinji is perfectly happy with the way things are…"

"Oh I'm sure… And I bet none of this has anything to do at all with you being a bit of a control freak who gets an ego boost from being the family's primary provider, and also happens to enjoy coming home to a clean house and a hot meal every night?"

Asuka had no answer, and just stared blankly in response to her smug looking friend. Finally, Asuka's face settled into a frown as she put an end to the debate. "Shinji's not getting a job Hikari…?"

"Translation, Match, Set, Hikari…"

The pair's food arrived at that time, sparing Hikari from the dreaded Soryu comeback. The conversation gradually drifted from antagonizing back to pleasant as the friends enjoyed their meal. The peace was broken by the ringing of Asuka's cell phone while the pair waited for the check. She smiled when she saw the name on the caller ID. "Hey there sweetie, what are you up to?"

"Oh, I'm at the doctor… Again," Kasumi sighed, seated on the bed in her room at the hospital, her legs dangling off the side. "I was having some of those strange abdominal pains again… Gee I wonder what those were… Of course, Shin freaked out and then called dad, who freaked out, and now I'm sitting in this damn NERV hospital room again waiting for the doctor to finish explaining to the doofus outside that there's nothing wrong…"

Asuka shook her head, smiling the entire time. "They're worriers Kasumi, that's what they do… Keep in mind that neither one of them has ever had any experience with a pregnancy before, even your father…"

"I know, I know… At least I can get dad to trust my judgment most of the time, but I swear that Shin thinks I'm having a miscarriage anytime I grunt in a weird way… I just wish I could convince them that I'm just pregnant, and not crippled or terminally ill…"

"To a man, you might as well be. It's just one of the many things us women have to suffer through during a pregnancy, as if just being pregnant wasn't enough…" Asuka paused, hearing a door open and some rustling going on. A minute or so passed before she heard a voice on the other line.

"Hello?" The voice asked, though it was not Asuka's daughter.

"It's Asuka Shin. What's going on? What happened to Kasumi?"

"Oh, she's talking with the doctor… She threw the phone at me for some reason."

"Hi honey!"

"Hey mom," Shin grunted, blushing for some reason. "You two must still be at lunch… Sorry…"

Again the conversation was interrupted, this time by someone raising their voice in the background. Asuka would know the sound of her daughter's voice anywhere, especially in that angry and irritated tone.

"Yes, I know it's weird that my husband and my father have the same first name… He was named after my dad, just like thousands of other kids that year. Yes, Shinji Ikari, he's that Shinji…No, I don't get confused! I don't call my dad Shinji, I call him Dad! I swear to God, if one more person makes a comment about it, I'm going to stab them in the eye with a syringe!"

By that point, Asuka's had face planted into the table from laughing so hard. Her diner guest looked on curiously. "What's so funny? Is something going on with the kids?"

"Oh it's nothing bad… Just amused at the thought of another NERV physician having to deal with a pregnant Soryu. I still remember the hell I put them through the first time I was pregnant. By the end, I think they were more ready to see me give birth than I was to get Kasumi out of me."

"Oh, I doubt they think too badly of you… Everyone knew the circumstances you were going through…" Hikari was interrupted briefly as the waitress came around with their check, which Asuka promptly paid for in cash flustering her friend a bit. "You know, I was perfectly capable of paying my half of the bill…"

"And I was perfectly capable of paying for both of us… That' right, I bought your lunch, so get over it."

Hikari sighed, and then smiled. "We really need to get together more often…"

"Well… Keep dangling that baby above that stooge's head, and move a little closer already!"

"We'll see," Hikari responded to the red-heads playful, though also serious suggestion. "I probably should get going… I'm supposed to drop by and visit the kids before the long drive back home. What do you plan to do with the rest of your day off?"

"Well… I don't have to work and I haven't had five minutes alone with my husband for almost a week, so whatta ya think?"

"Oh please, you can't make be blush as easily as you used to."

"Yeah… Back when you used to be more fun!"

The two friends shared a lingering embrace before wishing each other goodbye and setting off on their own. It wasn't until Hikari was opening the door of her car that something Asuka had said finally smacked her right upside the head. "Wait a second… Did she say the first time she was pregnant?"

---

You would think after all these years, that Shinji would be passed getting those sinking foreboding feelings whenever he walked the corridors of the Geofront. The stain of past memories still clung to him though. He could still vividly recall being a fourteen-year-old kid wandering these halls, usually walking towards a monster of a machine that just happened to be the last line of defense between humanity and outright extinction. In those days, he also had lived in constant fear he might have to pass by the lumbering visage of his father, who would scarcely even bother to acknowledge his own son as he passed by him. That man had been gone twenty-five years now and he still managed to intimidate his only son. There was no denying NERV was a much friendlier place to work now. His father had never been all that skilled at employee relations, not that there was any reason for him to bother to be. He was working to protect the world from the threat from the Angels after all… Er, or at least working under the guise as he secretly plotted to turn mankind into goop.

Still, these halls were painful reminders of a childhood he was denied by a man who shunned him, and then forced him into a war that caused everyone involved nothing but pain and misery… By enduring that pain though, he had met and fell in love with Asuka, a union which led to his daughter Kasumi. Two gifts worth more than enough for him to forgive NERV for all of the hell this organization had put him through… Worth so much actually, that he even felted indebted to them, enough so at least that he allowed Misato to use him as a glorified mascot for NERV. It was a job he hated to be sure, but it was hard to complain considering what they paid him and the other perks that came along with the position. Most people were forced to hate their job for forty hours every week, while he only had to hate his for a handful of days out the month. He wasn't expecting to get any sympathy from anyone else in this regard, which was smart since he received none.

Shinji's stroll through the Geofront didn't go unnoticed by NERV's recently appointed Sub-Commander. She couldn't allow him to just pass by her looking so distracted without a formal inquiry. She'd grown quite protective of her brother over the years. "Does something trouble you Captain Soryu?"

Shinji barely even reacted to Rei's sudden appearance at his side. He'd long grown accustomed to her Ninja like stealth, so he was no longer caught by surprise by her sudden appearances. "Nah, just thinking…"

"You're skills at deception are still quite insufficient. Does your mood have something to do with my niece? I heard that she paid another visit to the medical ward this afternoon."

"Yeah… I'm afraid I had a hand in that…" Shinji silently cursed himself as he played with his hair in pure agitation. "She'd never say it to my face, but I think Kasumi's getting annoyed with me. Am I overdoing it with the overprotective dad routine? Not that I'm doing so intentionally mind you, but I worry over everything…"

"You are perhaps a bit overprotective…" responded Shinji's half-sister as they continued their walk. "But you are a good father Shinji, please refrain from doubting that. I also have a difficult time picturing Kasumi angry with you. She's always adored you."

"She adored this golden image you, Asuka, and Misato painted of me while I was stuck inside Unit 01… An image I could never dream of living up too!... I still feel guilty over missing so much of her life… Fifteen years… That's a longer period of time than there was between when my dad abandoned me to the time he brought me here to pilot Unit 01…. Sometimes I feel like I'm no better than him because of that…"

Rei frowned at this, something she rarely did. Hell, any kind of emotional display by the First Child was practically front page on the NERV gossip circuits. "There are many distinct differences between you and your father Shinji… You did not abandon Kasumi, you weren't even aware she existed until you returned to us from your time trapped inside Unit 01."

"I put myself in that position though, knowing the consequences… If I only knew Asuka was… Any way you look at it, it's my decisions that left Kasumi without her farther for most of her childhood… In that respect, it's hard for me to see any difference between me and my father…"

"There is a world of difference." Rei stopped walking, prompting Shinji to do the same. She wanted to look him directly in the eyes as she said this to him. "Listen to me Shinji… You are not your father, nor do you resemble him in anyway. When you married the Second Child, you even took her surname to distance yourself from him."

Rei had a good point… What she said was mostly true, though Shinji had other reasons for taking Asuka's name. Mainly, he just wanted to have the same name as his daughter. He did feel a slight twinge of guilt at the decision to change his name, though only because it originally belonged to his mother. He never knew his mother in life though, so he had always associated the Ikari name with his father, which left an untreatable stigma on the name. To a minor extent, he even looked at the name change as one final 'fuck you' directed towards Gendo. It was kind of ironic really… In the end, the son really had only one thing in common his father, and that was choosing his wife's name over his own. "I'm trying really hard not to be…"

"And you're succeeding… You've made the most out of the time you have gotten with Kasumi and that's what truly matters."

Shinji paused, not sure how to respond. She was right or course, but something always felt like it was missing. Seeing that her words hadn't produced quite the effect she had hope, Rei tried a different tactic. "If it will ease your mind, whatever debt you still feel you owe to your daughter, I have little doubt you'll compensate for by doting on your new grandchild."

Rei finally got a flinch out of Shinji… And then a smile. For someone who still struggled to understand even basic human emotions, Rei had always been oddly in tune as to how to play on his. "Thank you Commander…

"You're welcome Captain… Now, it's time for you take leave as I'm positive you haven't been assigned any further duties to perform today. Go home and get some rest, and try to ease your stress over your daughter's pregnancy and your own parenting skills. I have no wish to see you in this building for the remainder of the day."

"Understood Rei," Shinji saluted his sister, before he parted ways so to comply with her orders. Rei held a small smile as she watched her brother walk away. Rei still wasn't good at understanding emotions, especially her own, but she understand one important thing. Just how much she loved that man. There was no question in her mind about that.

---

Shinji arrived home to an empty apartment, a depressingly familiar experience ever since Kasumi had moved out about a year ago. He wandered over to the couch in the sitting room and plopped down, and immediately began massaging his head. Damn, he felt tired, and he had no idea why. He was too damn young to be getting tired for no reason. He was only… How the hell old was he anyway? He wasn't sure whether or not he should count the years he'd been stuck inside his Eva. If he omitted those years, he'd technically only be 24… Wasn't that something else? He was going to be a 24 year old Grandfather… That had to be some kind of record without a doubt.

It turned out that Shinji wasn't quite as alone inside the apartment as he initially believed. He discovered this as a pair of slender arms wrapped around his neck just before a warm pair of lips pressed against his cheek. "Hmm… Not right now, my wife might walk through the door at any moment."

"Shut up idiot," Asuka teased, as she gave the back of his head a shove. She circled around the couch to sit down beside him.

"Have you been here this entire time? I could've sworn I was alone when I got home."

Asuka shrugged her shoulders. "My lunch date with Hikari finished early, so I came home and took a quick nap while I waited for your butt to get home…" Shinji could feel his wife scrutinizing him with her eyes. "Why do you look so worn down? Does this have anything to do with Kasumi or the grand-baby?"

"No, no… Well, maybe a little… I've just been debating whether I need to back off a little or not… Kasumi has to be getting tired of me acting all paranoid every time she grunts…"

"You're a parent and your child is expecting… It's only natural for you to be paranoid. Trust me, when I think about my baby having a baby, it's hard not to get overwhelmed."

"I know, but I was overdoing things even before we knew she was pregnant… I know it's not my fault and she doesn't blame me for it, but I can't help but feel like I cheated Kasumi somehow by being stuck inside Unit 01 as long as I was…"

"I know Shinji-hon, I've only been hearing you whine about that for years now…" Asuka sighed as she cuddled up with her couch mate, resting her head on his shoulder. "You seem to forget that you were cheated too… You never got to see your daughter grow up… Oh well, what's done is done… We'll just have to make sure to get it right with the next one…"

"The next one?" Shinji's brow twitched. "You talking about Kasumi's kid, or are we planning on having another one someday?"

"Well, I'm afraid we might have to skip the planning stages." Asuka pulled something out of her pocket. Smiling she gave him a glimpse of the stick shaped test sporting two pink lines. Her grin only broadened as Shinji's eyes grew wide.

"You… You're pregnant! Oh, oh wow…" Shinji embraced his wife as she chuckled at his stunned stammering. He pulled away, still in shock. "Oh god… This kid is going to be younger than his new niece or nephew!"

"I had that thought too… But in the end, does it really matter?"

"Maybe a little…" Shinji got a concerned look on his face. "Aren't pregnancies a lot more difficult at your age though?"

"Well… As you raised that question out of concern and clearly weren't thinking when you asked it, I'm going to ignore the fact that you basically called me an old hag…" Asuka scowled, finding quite a bit of joy at seeing her husband squirm at his poorly chosen words. "My numeric age has no bearing on this pregnancy however… Thanks to LCL contamination I'm still physically in my twenties, remember?"

"Right, right…" Shinji paused again, looking reflective, drawing another frown from his newly pregnant wife.

"What's wrong now? You're still not bugging out about the age thing are you?"

"No… Well kind of… I was just thinking about the LCL issue… How we age, or that we don't age I guess I should say. Does that mean that we're doomed to outlive our own kids?"

Now Shinji had his wife thinking. With a grunt, she turned her body around and slammed her back against the couch. "Damn it, leave it to you to bring that up… I honestly don't know. We've studied the properties of LCL for years, and we still haven't the slightest clue why that crap affected the aging process like it did nor why it only affected the pilots that way and not everyone who handled it. Unfortunately, the only way we're going to learn anything is by research, and there are only three people on Earth with our condition. We are the guinea pigs, and only by studying how our bodies age over time, are we going to get any answers… At the very least we know we do age, albeit at an extremely decelerated rate. Until we can finally age enough that we can compare a normal rate of aging to our own, there's no telling how long we can live… Or if whatever the LCL did to us will stop working one day, and our bodies just suddenly fall apart… Who knows, but there's no point in stressing about it. Do you know how many people would literally kill not to get old? All we can do is enjoy the time we have with our kids, and our grandchildren and let the rest sort itself out…"

"You're right…" Shinji agreed after some reflection. "I came too close to losing everything not to take the time to enjoy the life I have now." Shinji smiled over at his wife, who returned the expression in kind. "Is it as weird for you as it is for me?"

"What? You mean having a kid that's going to be younger than our first grand-kid?"

"No… Well, yeah that's weird as hell, but not what I was referring too." Shinji snickered then continued with his thought. "Since I came back from all those years I spent inside of Unit 1, never in my life have I been happier. All these years later, and I'm still not used to it. Sometimes, I sit around waiting for fate to remember how much he hates me, and debate whether or not I should find cover before he starts hurling fireballs down at me."

"We have been through a lot…" Memories came flooding back to her. Her mother's death, years of emptiness she tried to fill with Eva, and most recently, all those years without Shinji and raising her daughter by herself. "With everthing we've sacrificed, I think we deserve a little happiness don't you?"

"I'm not sure there's any sacrifice I could've made that would've helped me deserve you… But as long as you'll have me, I'm damn sure not giving you back."

"Idiot…" she whispered, cheeks slightly flushed. He touched his finger to her chin as he leaned down to touch his lips softly to hers. As she sighed contently into his mouth, all his fears and doubts evaporate under the warmth of her kiss. Upon seeing the loving look on her face as they parted he just couldn't help but ask one last thing of her…

"The baby is mine right?"

"Shut up, you ass…"

The End.