Disclaimer: see part 4

Children

Part 8

Sticks and Stones

By Random1377

So after that, everything was smooth sailing. The angels stopped attacking, Mistuki and I got married, my father apologized for being so cold to me, and Asuka finally stopped teasing me every day.

Basically, life was perfect!

Ok… it was the Asuka bit that tipped my hand, wasn't it? I thought the part about my father was the most 'creative,' but let's face it… I'm a lousy liar.

Anyway, things were fairly pleasant for about a week or so. I actually did get to see Mitsuki quite a bit more than I thought I would, which was very nice indeed. At first I had kinda thought I wouldn't see her very much, since we had both agreed to keep our relationship kinda low profile (I'll tell you why in a minute) but she constantly surprised me by popping up at the most unexpected times.

For example, one afternoon I was on my way out to eat lunch on the grass, talking to Kensuke and an even more down than usual Touji, when I spotted Mitsuki coming down the hall in our direction.

Not wanting to make a fuss, I stole a glance at my two friends, who were talking animatedly amongst themselves about a movie I hadn't seen, and smiled briefly at her, kinda waving with the hand that was on the far side of Kensuke.

As she neared us, she sort of… I don't even really know how to describe it. Slowed, I guess. I mean, she was walking at a normal pace, but as she got close to me, she almost went into slow motion, taking twice as long to pass me as she normally would have. She stepped past me, and her hand grazed mine, just a little touch, and she smiled softly. Then she was gone, resuming her original speed and walking off down the hall, never once looking back.

There were a lot of these little 'encounters,' mostly initiated by her. I would see her in the library, or in the halls, or heading into the gym… and each time, she would manage to sneak a little touch. It was never anything so grand as a kiss, but always at least a light brush of her fingertips, or an 'accidental' bumping of her arm and mine.

Now don't get me wrong – whenever we had a little time together we did kiss… a little (it was kinda hard for both of us to open up like that) and talk, and laugh, and smile, and do all those things that children who are dating do. Unfortunately, those times were kinda scarce, since we were both busy with school and stuff, so the little touches that she gave me when no one was looking are what I remember the most.

Anyway, I promised to tell you why we had decided to keep our romance under wraps.

One reason was Asuka (and to a lesser extent, Rei), as I wasn't really sure what I felt for her, or what she felt for me… and I didn't want to upset her, as I had seen the way she had glared at me when she had caught me looking at Mitsuki in the halls one day.

The primary reason on her end… was named Mitsuki Sanada.

The day after the trip to the water park, the girl had cornered me in the boy's bathroom. Yes, you heard me right – the boy's bathroom. She just marched right in and crossed her arms, staring at me as I dried my hands.

You'll never know how thankful I am that she didn't come in two minutes earlier. I think I might have died of embarrassment if she had wandered in while I was actually using the bathroom.

'I saw you with my sister yesterday,' she'd said without bothering with words like 'hello,' or, 'hey,' 'I don't know what you were doing,' she'd gone on, 'but if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from her.'

I had blinked and stammered something to the effect that I didn't know what she was talking about (see above comment regarding lying) and had reached for another paper towel.

The more temperamental of the Mitsukis had grabbed my hand, spinning me back around to face her. 'She's too good for you, Ikari,' she'd said coldly, 'and you're too weak to protect her. I won't see her get her heart broken by some loser like you – do you understand?'

Now in the movies, this is the part where the guy draws himself up to his full height and proclaims, 'I am strong enough! I'll show you!' or something grand like that – usually shaking his fist.

Do I even need to say it? Yeah… this isn't the movies.

'Yes, ma'am…' I'd replied weakly, my shoulders slumped in defeat.

So as you can see, we felt that keeping it just between us would be beneficial.

All that aside, life was pretty good. I was dating a very pretty, very sweet girl, and it had been weeks since the last angel attack. Plus, I think I was starting to get a little bit of a better grasp on my feelings for Rei… maybe.

But it's hard being a child, with or without the capitol C, and life always finds interesting little ways to throw you a curve.

**

"You gotta admit he's been weird lately," Kensuke said absently, "all dejected looking and stuff."

It was a sunny Thursday afternoon, and we were standing by one of the many lookouts that ringed the city… just enjoying the fresh air and warm weather fashions (one upside to a permanent summer). We had been talking about our schoolwork when the topic of Touji had come up. "Maybe he's just feeling down," I said with a shrug, "It happens to everyone…"

"He's been moping for over a week," Kensuke pointed out, producing a candy bar from his shirt pocket. His pocket, by the way, was a never-ending source of fascination for me. I'm certain that it contained several government secrets, and possibly the body of the first Pharaoh of Egypt. "I think he got dumped."

I shook my head. "No…" I said thoughtfully, "he was with Miho at the water park, and he started getting crabby before that…"

"You should talk to him," the spectacled boy said decisively, unwrapping the chocolate with methodical care… and narrowed eyes as he caught my interested gaze, "you're good with people."

Of all the gin joints – wait, sorry. Of all the things I'd been accused of in my life, being good with people was certainly one that didn't get a lot of playtime. "You've known him longer," I pointed out, "shouldn't you talk to him?"

Kensuke glared at me. "I talked to him last time, remember?"

"I hardly think getting his input on which restaurant to go to qualifies as 'talking to him.'" I sighed, realizing this was getting us nowhere, "How's Shinobu?"

"She's… good," Kensuke said after a moment of hesitation, "really shy… kinda hard to talk to…" he shrugged, smiling as he looked out over the city, "but man… it's worth it. She's so sweet."

I smiled too, biting my lip to keep from saying, 'I know what you mean, believe me!' – and secretly thankful that he didn't compare her to the bar of chocolate. I looked at my watch, "I gotta go," I said as casually as I could.

Kensuke nodded, eyeing the confection in his hand with an almost unhealthy smile. "Don't forget we're going to the arcade on Saturday."

"I know, I know…" I sighed, "see ya."

He raised a hand, waving it absently

I walked away, looking back every once in a while to make sure he wasn't watching. Convinced that he was still preoccupied with his chocolatey companion, I broke into a run, my smile widening with every block I put behind me, until I thought my head might split in two by the time I reached the small park three miles away.

"Sorry… I'm… late…" I wheezed, dropping to my knees in front of the girl waiting on the park bench.

"It's ok," Mitsuki said softly, patting the bench at her side, "you're worth waiting for…"

Now, I don't know how I can describe what it feels like for someone like me to hear something like that. I'd always read about people's chests puffing up when they're proud, or happy, or whatever, but I never really got it before I started dating her.

Sitting next to her, I slipped my hand timidly into hers. "Been here long?" I asked quietly, blushing a bit just from her proximity.

She shook her head. "Hmm mmm…" she hummed, clasping my hand gently, "just a few minutes." Looking around, she sighed softly. "This place is beautiful," she whispered, closing her eyes, "thank you for showing it to me, Shinji…"

My blush deepened. "It's… easier to look at if you open your eyes," I pointed out quietly.

Mitsuki opened her gorgeous eyes and turned to me, squeezing my hand gently as she leaned closer to me, hesitantly kissing me before pulling away again and averting her eyes as if embarrassed.

Sounds almost perfect, doesn't it? Well, I won't lie… it was pretty good. Hah! Did I say that? I'll stop being modest now – it was perfect.

Now… can I describe the feeling of her kissing me? Well, I'm sure you've been kissed before (or if you haven't, hopefully you soon will be) so you know the actual physical feel of it. But for me to describe how it made me feel to be kissed by her at that point in my life, when it seemed as if no one cared for me at all… I think it would be easier to define what Heaven is.

We spent some part of the afternoon simply sitting there, letting time just slip away from us and holding hands until Mitsuki sighed and laid her head on my shoulder. "Every day should be like this," she said softly.

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I nodded. "Yeah," I replied, oh-so-eloquently, "you're right…"

"Shinji," she said softly, looking into my face carefully, "do you get scared when you pilot your robot?"

I swallowed. "Do we… have to talk about that?" I asked, my voice holding a touch more whine than I'd intended, "It's so pretty today… do we have to talk about that?"

"We don't have to," she said, kissing the back of my hand, "but I thought you might like to." She ran the ball of her thumb over the back of my hand gently, "I want to hear anything you have to say, Shinji… I…" she swallowed, her tone indicating that she didn't want to say what she was about to say, but felt as if she needed to. "You always look so sad, honey…" she whispered sorrowfully, "I want to help you. I'm your girlfriend now, I should be able to make you happy…"

"Maybe another day, ok?" I said quietly, unable to look at her, "Today can we just… talk about something else?"

She smiled, stealing my breath away with her beauty. "Anything you want," she whispered.

I could tell by her tone, and the sad look in her eyes, that she knew it was something I would never want to talk about… she was far more intuitive than anyone I've met. "Thanks…" I said.

"I want to go out tomorrow night, ok?" she asked gently, "Maybe a movie or something… I just want to do something with you without sneaking around."

I smiled weakly. "Your sister-" I began.

"I'll worry about her," Mitsuki cut me off with a smile, "she's mostly just talk…"

Unbidden, the old grade school rhyme about words never hurting popped into my mind… reminding me that kids don't know very much.

Mitsuki blushed, dropping her eyes as she went on, "I don't want to like, make an announcement, or post something on the blackboard…" she whispered, "but when we're not at school, I want to be close to you, and do things with you. Know what I mean?"

I blushed too (yes, yes… I know – it's something I do a lot), nodding slowly.

"Ok…"

I won't bore you by recounting the rest of our time together that day. Suffice it to say there was a lot of holding hands, a bit of kissing, and lots of blushing, awkwardness, and sappy comments traded back and forth – and you know something? Even though half of what we were saying was cornier than the corniest romance movie… it still felt good. There's a reason romance movies make money. Know what I'm saying?

Anyway, not everything in my life was sunshine and roses – even not counting EVA… and the following day would remind me of what it means to be a friend, and how hard it is not to run away.

**

Before I go any further, let me remind you that Touji is one of my best friends. Overall, he's a pretty good guy – maybe a bit headstrong, but not so much that he does things he regrets.

Well… too often.

"Hey Touji!" I called, finally finding the tracksuit-clad boy on the roof of the school, "I've been looking all over for you!" I was fairly out of breath, having scoured the building for him, "I was wondering if you could take my cleanup duty today, I've… got a sync test."

I didn't really like lying to him… but Mitsuki and I had agreed not to tell any of our friends. Besides, he would have made fun of me. Sure, it's not really a good excuse… but it's true.

"Yeah, sure," Touji replied, "is it time now?"

Frowning slightly, I stepped closer to him. Kensuke's right, I thought, someone should talk to him. I sighed, wishing that it didn't have to be me. I mustn't run away…

"Anything wrong?" I asked tentatively.

"Oh, hey man!" Touji said suddenly, "Thought you were Kensuke. No, nothing's wrong! Everything's great!"

I blinked, pondering telling him that Kensuke didn't have sync tests. Remember when I said I was a terrible liar? Well, Touji's worse than I am. "Come on…" I said quietly, glad that no one was around to hear me, "you can tell me… I'm your friend."

"Really!" he insisted, "It's all going great!" He leaned closer, "Wanna know a secret?" he waited until I nodded before whispering, "I did it with Miho… at the water park…"

As my jaw dropped, he laughed. "W-where?" I asked, trying to decide if his laugh was amused, proud... or bitter.

He laughed harder. "Behind the… the waterfall."

The next two minutes or so will live in my mind as a little tiny slice of hell on earth, as Touji explained (through near-hysterical laughter) that he and Miho had been further back in the cave, quietly making out when I came in. "We were gonna say something," he laughed, "but… we couldn't find her bikini top!"

I blushed as he went on. "Then Mitsuki came in… and you guys got all mushy…" he sobered slightly, putting his hand on my shoulder for support, "oh man… don't worry, your secret's safe with me… but we couldn't move…"

"Did you… do it while we were there??" I asked incredulously. Mitsuki would just die! I thought.

His laughter faded a bit as he caught his breath. "No… well, kinda." Seeing my confusion, he elaborated, explaining that they had been just making out when we got there, but the longer they hid… the more antsy Miho got – until finally she had started slipping his swimsuit off, whispering for him to stay quiet.

"So you actually had sex…" I whispered wonderingly.

"Yeah," he said, still smiling, though no longer laughing outright, "right after you left – she was too loud for us to do it when you were there."

I think… at that moment… my face was redder than it had ever been before in my life. "I, umm, well…" I stammered for a moment, torn between thanking him for not embarrassing us (because I knew he wouldn't have been embarrassed) and asking how it was. Finally, my curiosity won out.

He frowned, looking away from me. "It… wasn't like I thought," he said softly. I won't tell you all the things he said, but suffice it to say that when he was done, my face was hot enough to ignite paper. "So are you and Mitsuki doing it yet?" he asked after he was done.

"N-no…" I managed, "we just barely started going out and she's-" I broke off before, 'not that kind of girl,' could escape my lips.

Touji knew what I was about to say, of course, but he chose not to comment, instead smiling faintly. "She's really nice, Shinji… I'm happy for you…"

I looked at him closely, taking note of the sad expression on his face, and the slightly envious tone in his voice… and – as God is my witness – I was struck with insight. "You broke up with her, didn't you?" I asked softly.

He looked started, then laughed. "Why do you think…" he trailed off, averting his gaze. "No," he said after a moment, his voice barely audible, "she broke up with me… three days ago…"

"What happened?" I said, dumbfounded.

He shrugged, forcing a smile. "Don't know… she won't return my calls." He laughed, his voice sounding incredibly hollow, "But hey! No big deal, right? Plenty of girls out there… plenty of 'em…"

I nodded awkwardly unsure of how to reply to the sadness in his voice. "Yeah…" I agreed, "sure…"

"You should get to your test," he said after an awkward silence, "you'll be late…"

I looked at my watch. "Damn…" I whispered, "I can cancel if…" I trailed off, knowing I was trapped by my own words.

"Yeah, I don't think that's something you can just call in on, Shinji," he said dryly, "go on… do your duty, Child… I'll handle the cleanup for you…"

I nodded reluctantly. He won't talk about this again, I thought suddenly, he's 'Touji the tough guy' again. I walked away, looking back as I reached the door leading back into the building. Touji was once again looking out over the city, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I was still there.

Cursing myself for lying, I slipped quietly out the door, heading out to meet Mitsuki for our date… and wondering if I would be able to enjoy myself, knowing that my friend was in pain…

Continued…

Author's notes: ok, I'm trying to ease back on the darkness here. Chapter 7 had some strong hints of future angst, and upon much deliberation (and a sound smacking from my pre-reader) I decided to get past myself and continue with the original intent of the story, which was to show the Children as children. Don't get me wrong, there'll still be conflict and angst… just not on the level I had planned (and believe me… I had some heaviness planned), so sit back and relax… 'cause we're back on track. ^_^

Huge pre-read thanks going out to Rhine on this one for helping me see that the path I had chosen really wasn't the best path for this story. Thanks man…

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com