Tokyo mall

They were passing next shop. Previous one had mostly women clothes. Asuka looked at some of the clothes but didn't buy anything. Still, Shinji enjoyed spending time with her. Especially when she wasn't yelling at him. He would enjoy it more if not the lack of sleep. It made it hard for him to gather his thoughts. He started to yawn.

"What? You get to go shopping with the most beautiful girl in Tokyo and you're bored?"

"I'm sorr…" he was cut off by her stare. He gulped.

'Wrong answer'

"I'm not bored. I'm just a bit tired. That's all".

"Whatever"

She looked to her side and saw an ice cream shop signboard.

"I need to use the toilet. In the meantime, can you buy us some ice cream?"

"Sure, what flavor you want?"

"Vanilla and strawberry"

Shinji approached the ice cream stand. There were couple of people waiting in the line. While waiting, his phone rang. He tried to answer, trying not to drop his phone from his hands.

A few moments later, Asuka left the toilet and headed to meet up with Shinji. He was now standing in front of the counter, waiting to pickup his order. She noticed that he was talking on the phone. Her phone didn't ring, so she assumed it wasn't someone from NERV. This caught her interest.

Shinji finished speaking on the phone and collected his order. When he turned, he saw Asuka walking towards him.

"Here's your ice cream Asuka"

"Thanks", she took the ice cream cone, "who was that on the phone?"

"Oh that. It was Kaori"

"Are we needed in the HQ?"

"No, she just wanted to chat"

"I see"

Asuka turned her back towards him, and started walking. Shinji followed her, trying to keep pace.

"Didn't know you have her number"

"She gave me her number when we met at NERV, why?"

"Nothing, I'm just curious"

They walked for a moment in silence. When Asuka finished her ice cream, she looked around. There was another shop nearby. She grabbed Shinji arm and pulled him towards the storefront. It was another clothing store. Smaller than the ones they previously visited. They went inside. There were no customers. Asuka looked around to check if it's worth visiting. Red tank top caught her attention.

"Why don't you look for something for yourself? In the last shop you just stared into space"

He noticed her annoyance. "It's just that I'm a bit tired". It was the truth. He directed himself to the male section. There were some polo shirts hanging. He had one he wore at home, it was the only type of clothing he was wearing aside from his school uniform. Going through them, he thought, 'Maybe I should buy something'.

Asuka on the other hand, already found few things she wants to try. There was a nice set of panties and bras. She was struggling with the thought if she should show them to Shinji. In the end, she decided to pick them but wasn't sure if she'll show them.

"I've found something I want to try. I need a opinion. If you pick something, meet me at the fitting rooms".

He looked at her, a bit puzzled. "Ok". She run off. 'She says I have no style but wants my opinion?' Moving aside, he saw a set of clothes hanging on a mannequin. He thought it looked nice. It was simple. But even being simple, that set was something way different than his school uniform. He decided to pick that set and show it to Asuka.

There were two fitting rooms in that shop. One was opened, so he figured Asuka must be in the other one. He called her. "Asuka?" He heard the lock.

"Get inside"

After entering, he locked the door. Standing in the middle, Asuka was wearing a red tank top and black shorts. She was looking at her reflection in the mirror. After a second, she turned to face him.

"What do you think?" she made a pose.

"It's very nice". The tank top was a bit loose. It had only one color but it had a smooth and shiny texture. Black shorts looked nice with that tank top.

"Those colors suits you well"

"I think I'll buy them. Do you want to try that?" she pointed at the clothes he brought.

He took off his shirt and put on the t-shirt he picked. It was brown with horizontal white stripes. On top of that he put a dark red zip-up sweatshirt with short sleeves. He turned to face her.

"Not bad. I didn't expect you to have any sense of fashion"

He gave her a faint smile. "I don't. I saw that on a mannequin and I thought it looks nice. Do you like it?"

"A lot better than your boring school uniform. Now you look like a normal teenager, not a boring schoolboy. You should definitely buy them"

He look at his reflection in the mirror. It looked good on him and it was comfortable. She said he looked good in it. That alone was reason enough to buy it. He changed back to his shirt.

While he was changing, Asuka was thinking if she should show Shinji her new set of underwear.

'And I call him a pervert'

She took a glimpse at the boy and saddened. Her morning attempt to caught his attention worked, yet it turned out that her plan had flaws. She didn't expect that Shinji shared something special with Kaori, that is was something other than simple lust. She clenched her fist and decided not to show him her new set. Still, she planed to buy it.

"I want to change"

He didn't move, he was just staring at the clothes in his hands. Not sure why he's just standing there, she asked "You want to watch?"

He looked at her and noticed her confused face.

"Watch what? Sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?"

"That I want to change"

He felt perplexed. "Oh, I'll go pay for the stuff"

"I'll hang back the stuff I don't like and we can go for a coffee. Wait for me in front of the store, ok?"

`It is just a shirt, why did he looked at it so long?`

He nodded and left the fitting room. When he was heading to the cash register, he noticed some accessories hanging nearby. One caught his eye. It was a red pendant. It had a tear like shape, made out of some glossy material, hanging on a short black leather stripe. He thought that it would look good with Asuka's new tank top. It would make a good token of appreciation for her helping him. He picked it and went to pay for everything.

Asuka left the shop and was looking around, trying to spot Shinji. When she saw him sitting on a bench, she waved at him. To her surprise, he didn't notice her. Sure, he was spacing out during the day but it felt a little odd. She approached him and looked at him.

'Is he sleeping?'

Indeed, he was. She called him but he didn't respond, so she prodded him. He woke up but fell to the floor.

"What the hell happened? Are you alright?"

He was rubbing his face. How tired was he?

"How much sleep exactly did you get last night?"

He instantly recognized her firm voice, a voice he feared. She helped him stood up. When he saw her face, he knew this wasn't the time to be polite.

"Umm. I didn't get any sleep at all". He looked away, trying to hide his ashamed face.

"What? Why didn't you say so? Another I don't want to be a burden crap? How stupid are you? I could go by myself! Didn't I tell you to tell when you need anything?"

'She's angry, I did itagain'

Looking at her face saddened him. All he wanted was to cheer her up. For some reason unknown to him, she was getting angry at him more often than before. It started before last angel battle. He didn't know how to deal with her in that state.

"No, it's not that. I just wanted to spend some time with you"

He caught her off guard. She didn't expect that. Hearing that felt nice, though one thought was bugging her. Was he sincere? She never heard him complain, he always tried to say things that she wanted to hear. Did he really want to spend some time with her?

"Why?"

"I treasure you as a friend Asuka. You're angry at me for some reason, and I don't know why. I'm sorry for provoking you before the battle. I just wanted for you to cheer up. I really wanted to spend some time with you, to understand why you're mad at me"

Her anger diminished, sadness came in its place.

"Let's head home"

"I can get back alone"

"And what if you fell asleep in the train?"

"I guess you're right. I'm sorry Asuka, I'll make it up to you"

"You better!"

Asuka was sitting next to Shinji in the train. Shinji was a little absent during their time together.

"Do you like your new clothes?"

There were no response from the boy. She looked at him to find he was sleeping quietly. He was tired so she didn't try to wake him. After a while, his head collapsed on her shoulder. She looked at the boy. He looked so peaceful. Looking down she saw his hand resting on his knee. She placed her hand on top of his. Leaning her head on his head, she spent the rest of the trip in silence, thinking.

'Friends, eh? Baka!'

Misato apartment

"I'm home" said Misato after entering her apartment. There was no answer. 'They're not home?' She heard a TV playing. When she moved to the living room, she saw Asuka laying on the floor, watching TV.

"Hi Asuka. Where's Shinji?"

"In his room, sleeping. There's food in the fridge for you"

"Sleeping again?"

Misato grabbed the food and a can of beer from the fridge. After looking at her food, she was asking herself, where did they bought it. It were hash browns. She ate them back in Germany, but she never saw them in Japan. After placing her food in the microwave, she sat at the table. Sound of a beer can opening, almost her daily routine. She took a sip.

"Where did you get those?"

"I've made them"

"I thought you would go eat somewhere"

Asuka raised her head from the pillow. "We didn't. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Before I forget, you have an unscheduled sync test tomorrow"

"What? Why?"

"To check your score after the volcano"

Unpleased, she rose from the floor and joined Misato at the table.

"Can you tell me about the last angel battle before I arrived?"

A bit confused, Misato asked "Didn't you watch video footage?"

"I did but that was when Shinji and Wondergirl fought the angel. I'm asking about when Shinji fought alone".

"Why do you want to know?"

"Shinji has this mark on his chest. He told me what he remembered. How bad was it?"

'So you're worried about him'

She looked at Asuka. She thought that Asuka watched all of the videos.

"He told you that when his unit was deployed, he was instantly shoot at?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes, and he told me he was unconscious"

Misato sighed. 'Should I tell her?' She took a deep breath. After seeing Asuka worried face, she decided to tell her.

"1.28 second"

Asuka was confused. "What does that mean?"

Misato had a dismal look on her face. "That beam did a lot of damage. We tried to deploy shields to protect him, still it wasn't enough. It pierced through few layers of armor and hit him, hard. That blast dealt a lot of damage to the unit, to Shinji, and was a big strain on his brain. The doctors didn't know if he would wake up". She was tapping her finger on the table. "MAGI calculated that if he stayed 1.28 second longer in that beam, he would be dead".

Asuka eyes widened. "What?!"

Beep, Misato food was ready. She rose from her seat. "That was his worst battle". Now with her food, she returned to her seat. "We could've lost you in the last battle. We tend to forget how dangerous it is".

"Was he injured in other battles?"

"Not as bad, no. Just remember that he didn't had proper training. Still, he knows the medical ward layout by now"

There was a silence, not Asuka nor Misato continued their conversation. Asuka chose to get back to watching TV. She laid back on her stomach in front of the TV, not that she actually watched it. She was thinking, thinking about certain someone.

1.28

That number stuck in Asuka mind. 'It was so close'. It started to make sense for her. That must be the reason he hates being a pilot. He was badly hurt and almost died. And yet, he risked his life to save her.

After finishing her meal, Misato moved next to Asuka.

"I wanted to talk to you Asuka"

The redhead didn't bother to look.

"How are you doing?" There were no response. It was difficult for Misato. She did thought about Shinji and Asuka as her kids. "How was your little date with Shinji?"

"I wasn't a date"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to tease you. A date doesn't have to be romantic you know"

Misato could tell that something is bugging Asuka.

"You didn't eat outside so I guess it was short?"

"He's an idiot"

"What happened?"

"You know he lied when he said he had little sleep?"

"Why do you say that? He did look like he had trouble sleeping"

"He didn't had any sleep at all! He fell to the floor during shopping"

"Did he say why?"

"He just says things other people want to hear", she sighed, "I've should see he's tired instead of dragging him with me"

Smile appeared on Misato's face. She never heard Asuka caring for anyone except herself. This was a nice change.

"Why didn't you wear a shirt in the morning?"

Asuka didn't answer, pretending she's watching TV.

"Are you competing with Kaori? Trying to seduce him, drag him to bed? To show you can also have him? If so, it must stop right this second"

Her question was something that Asuka was asking herself. She wasn't sure what she was trying to do. The only thing she was sure, is that she doesn't want to hurt Shinji.

"It was stupid, I know. I won't do it again"

What happened? Did Asuka decide to stop pursuing Shinji? She didn't look like they had a fight. Her voice sounded a little sad. Did he say something that made her sad? Misato was having difficult time, she wasn't sure if she wanted to comfort the redhead, or leave it as is. She remembered what Kaji said earlier.

"I care about you Asuka, you can always talk to me"

"He never complains, does he?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, he always tries to say something what he thinks people want to hear. If I were to shit on a plate and put it in front of him, he will praise how good it smells"

Misato laughed. "I highly doubt it"

"Yeah? Did he ever say anything bad about your cooking?"

"My cooking is not shit!" she protested.

"You could've fooled me"

"Say something more and I'll cook for a week"

Asuka gulped in terror. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend your cooking skills" she muttered through the clenched teeth.

Misato chuckled. "Good. I do get your point, though is it bad that he wants to be nice?"

"I just don't know if he's sincere when he says something"

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, I want to watch the TV"

Misato smiled. "You know that you turned on some Chinese channel?"

"Shut up"

Shinji left his room and headed to the living room. He saw Misato drinking her beer in front of the TV. When she saw him, she rose from her seat.

"How are you Shinji?"

"I'm good Misato"

"Asuka made some hash browns, do you want some?"

"Sure. Where is she?"

"She's taking a bath. Have a seat"

He did as he was told, while his guardian put the food in the microwave. Misato lowered her voice and asked.

"How was your day with Asuka?"

He gave Misato a puzzled look. Why did she lower her voice? She moved her lips without saying anything. He could read that she didn't want Asuka to hear. He nodded and lowered his voice as well.

"It was nice, I guess"

"She told me you fell to the floor"

"Oh, she told you that?", he gave her an embarrassed smile.

"Why did you go if you were so tired?"

Before he could answer, the microwave beeped.

"Do you want me to feed you?"

"I can use a fork myself. Can you just cut the food into pieces, please?"

"No problem. So why did you go?"

"I just wanted to spend some time with her, to find out why she was mad at me before"

"Did you tell her that?"

"Yes..."

Misato smiled. That must be the reason why Asuka was asking if he's sincere.

"… and I've told her that I value her as a friend"

'Oh'

"I think I've got her angry again"

"Why do you think that?"

"She changed her attitude when I fell asleep"

"I don't think she's angry Shinji"

Misato looked at the boy. She doesn't want to have influence at them. They should deal with their problem themselves. Still, she thought she might give him some hint.

"How do you feel about her?"

He gave his guardian a confused look. A bit embarrassed he asked, "What do you mean?"

"You tried to kiss her during sync training"

Now blushing, he said, "I.. she made it clear not to try something like that again"

Misato sighed. 'So that's why you don't make a move on her?'

"Well, I think you should have a chat with Asuka, ask why she's mad at you"

'Sorry Shinji, That's all I can help. You need to deal with it yourself'

In the meantime, Asuka has left the bathroom. When she saw her roommates in the kitchen, she asked, "Do you like the food?"

"It's delicious Asuka, I've never eaten anything like this"

Misato rose from her seat.

"I'm going to take a bath, do you need to use the bathroom Shinji?"

He shook his head so Misato went to the bathroom.

"I see you can eat by yourself"

"Only with a fork and when it's cut into pieces. Using chopsticks is troublesome"

Just after he finished eating, she grabbed his plate and placed it into the sink. He look at Asuka while she was washing the dishes.

"Thanks Asuka"

"Sit in the living room and I'll tend to your hands in a minute"

He did that. When she finished with the dishes, she moved next to him. They sat in silence as she was rubbing gel gently into his hands. While she waited for the gel to get absorbed, she asked "Why do you hate being a pilot?"

Not sure why she's asking, he gave her a confused look.

"Is it, because you get injured in the battle?"

"Umm, yes"

His voice told her it wasn't the only reason. That intrigued her, she wanted to know more.

"Or is it because of your father?"

His face became dismal. He looked down and said, "I don't want to talk about it".

"Is that why you live with Misato? You don't get along with your dad?"

He started to nervously rub tip of his fingers.

"Asuka, please change the subject"

"Why don't you live with your mom instead of Misato?"

Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes, which she failed to notice. With his trembling voice, he said, "Asuka, please stop"

"Your dad does kinda, have this cold appearance. Did they get a divorce?"

He jumped from his seat and looked at her. What she saw, terrified her. His eyes were glassy, and tears were running on the side of his cheeks. She knew that she messed up. Before she could react, he exclaimed "My mom died when I was three, and my dad abandon me soon after! Happy now?!"

She tried to stop him, to no avail. Just a moment later, he was in his room. She ran to his door.

"Shinji, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. Please speak to me", she let a quiet sob, "please forgive me"

Misato left the bathroom wrapped in a towel, wanting to check what's happening. She saw Asuka on her knees in front of Shinji's room. Asuka turned to face her guardian. Misato immediately spotted tears on the young girls face. She waved her hand, wanting the girl to come to her. Asuka rose from her knees and moved to Misato.

"What happened?"

"I've fucked up Misato"

She frowned at Asuka.

"I-I asked why he hates being a pilot. I've kept asking about his dad and mom. He snapped. I want to apologize"

Asuka made a step toward Shinji room, but Misato grabbed her hand. Asuka looked at her.

"Leave him for tonight"

"I want to say I'm sorry"

"Not tonight Asuka. You will only make things worse. I'll talk to him"

She nodded.

"I've applied gel on his hands. Can you wrap them for me?"

"Sure thing"

She went back to the bathroom.

Shinji was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Some time passed since he ran of to his room. He heard knocking on his door. He didn't respond.

"Can I come in Shinji?"

"Yes, Misato" he said quietly.

The door slid open, and he saw his guardian. She waved bandage at him. There was a slight nod from the boy. Misato closed the door behind her and moved to the boy. Taking his hand, she examined it a bit. It was the first time she looked at it. She knew everything about his injury. Doctor Tanuma told her. She started touching his fingertips.

"Can you feel that?"

"Yes"

"So it's healing good?"

"I think so. They will make some tests on Wednesday"

She wrapped his hands in silence. When she finished, she sat next to the boy. They sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. They sat like that for a couple of minutes before Misato started to speak.

"Asuka told me what happened"

He didn't respond.

"You know, she didn't mean to upset you"

"No, she just have a born talent"

She laughed. "I see your humor is back. So, you're not angry at her anymore?"

He sighed. "No"

She pat him on the shoulder.

"Good night, Shinji"

Shinji was lying on his futon, trying to sleep. He heard some noise and a short scream in a language he didn't understand. His first thought was that Asuka was watching TV. Another scream. He got up from his futon and went outside his room. There were no lights in the living room. That noise came from Asuka's room. He knocked on the door.

"Asuka? Are you alright?"

Instead of an answer, he heard another scream. He decided to open the door. There was a dim light coming from outside the window. He saw Asuka squirming on the bed. He called her, but she didn't respond. He approached her bed and shook her shoulder. She didn't wake up and made another scream. He tried harder. This time, when she squirmed, she hit him with her hand.

'Ouch!'

He made a squeal. Now partially on her bed, he shook her shoulder again.

"Asuka, wake up!"

She hit him in the nose. He could feel that blood is running from his nose.

'Dammit'

She hit him few times more. As he failed to wake her, he tried to block her hands. He hugged her to do that. This should gain him some time to think. To his surprise, she calmed down a bit. She stopped squirming and started to sob. She mumbled something in german. He caught a few words but didn't know what they meant.

"It's ok Asuka"

He tried to stop blood running from his nose, but it was difficult with his hands occupied. When she finally calmed down, he tried to let her go and leave her room. This plan had a flaw he didn't suspect. When he removed his embrace, she immediately grabbed him. Now he was lying on her bed. Her arms tightly wrapped around his chest. He tried to move her hands, but she was too strong.

'Shit. I'll leave when she loosens her grip'

It took too long. He fell asleep on Asuka's bed.

Notes:

I didn't know it would be sometimes so difficult to write. I mean, having an idea and blending it into the story it's not always easy. I want to add some humor to the next chapter. I'll explain Shinji outburst later in the story.

I've made a mistake in the last chapter. Scene where Shinji sees naked Asuka was not in original series (it was in the Rebuild series). Thanks skyf0x for spotting that. As always, your reviews are very detailed. I really appreciate constructive criticism, it gets me going. It was unintended to mix both series except for the bra/apron. Thanks for your opinion on some characters. I guess it's a result of rewriting some parts few times. In the end, I've felt a bit blocked and decided to post it. I still find the way I write, a bit chaotic.

Thanks SheriffJohnStone, calborghete, spartanman2 and somedude234 for reviews.