Disclaimer: see part 1.

The Lifespan of a Love Affair

By Random1377

Week 2: Making Assumptions.

Shinji glanced out the window of the helicopter, frowning uneasily at the shimmering sea beneath.  "And… how much longer until we get there?" he asked, pulling his head back and swallowing with a bit of difficulty.

'There,' was the aircraft carrier Over the Rainbow, where Shinji and Misato were to meet the Second Child, Asuka Langley Souryu.

"Don't be such a wuss," Shinji's friend, Touji Suzuhara grumped.  "I swear, you've done nothing but bitch since we got off the ground!  Right 'Suke?"

Kensuke Aida, Shinji's other friend, continued staring out the window, a minimum of ninety percent of his attention focused on the task of filming one of the other helicopters.  "Yeah," he muttered, "bitch…"

Touji sighed.  "Hey Kensuke," he said quietly, shaking his head, "I heard you're gay… that true?"

Shinji could not repress a grin as the other boy muttered, "Yeah… gay…"

He craned his head, trying to catch a glimpse of Misato, but since her seat was directly behind him and facing the opposite direction he could not see her.  He sighed, closing his eyes so he would not have to see the vast expanse of water below him and bringing his mind back to think about the one date he'd shared with the woman.

It was strange, the next morning, but Misato seemed not to remember the date at all.  Or rather, she did not mention it over breakfast, or when Shinji got home and started his homework, or when he came into the living room to wish her a goodnight.  In fact, the only reason Shinji was sure he had not dreamed everything that first day was when Misato gestured him over.

'What is it?' he had asked.

'Give me your hand,' Misato had replied.

Shinji had done as he was told, feeling a pleasant shiver work down his spine as Misato took his hand… and simply held it for a minute, stroking the back of it with her fingers absently as she continued to write in her reports.  After a few moments of this, she let him go.

'That's all I needed,' she said quietly, smiling as she leaned back in her chair and stretched.  'Night.'

And that was all that was spoken on the subject.  Shinji did not want to ask if there were to be more dates, and Misato did not seem to want to volunteer that information, so they simply… lived.  They still interacted the same way, for the most part, but Shinji began to notice slight changes in her behavior, mostly centered around (oddly enough) her clothes.  After their date, he noticed that the loose-fitting tops and tight shorts she usually wore were gone, replaced by a pair of purple, satiny pajamas.  He had almost asked her why she had switched, but he found that he could not quite manage it.

He also found, when he was doing the laundry, that Misato had purchased several very large towels – easily big enough to cover both of them… but again, she never said a word about it.

"We're almost there," Misato's voice announced over the helicopter's speaker system, pulling him away from his ruminations.

Shinji opened his eyes, closing them almost immediately as he found the chopper tilting further forward.

"Hey."

He blinked, trying to turn in his seat as Misato's voice whispered behind him.

"No," she said quickly, "don't turn around… just keep looking forward."

Shinji did as he was told, his eyes widening as he felt a soft, smooth hand sliding into his.

"Can we talk when we land?" Misato whispered.

Shinji nodded, then, remembering she could not see him, answered, "Yeah… about what?"

Her voice became light and teasing, her reply dispelling his concern that it might be the bad version of, 'we have to talk.'

"About another Saturday night… I'm off this weekend…"

Shinji smiled as she squeezed his hand.

"What are you so happy about?" Touji asked darkly, only barely resisting the urge to kick the nerdier of his two friends.

Feeling Misato's hand leave his, Shinji shrugged.  "We're there."

Forty minutes later, his smile was long gone.

**

"So you're the Third."

Shinji nodded, ignoring the fact that this was the third time the redhead had asked him to confirm this fact.

"You don't look that impressive to me," Asuka observed, glancing down the halls to get her bearings.

"Oh," Shinji responded.

"Come on," the girl muttered, leading him towards another door.

Shinji let himself be dragged along, trying not to let his head spin too much.  He was still a touch dazed by the comments of Asuka's current guardian, Ryouji Kaji, and felt somehow betrayed by Misato.  He knew that this was an irrational response.  After all, she was human – and they had started 'dating' after she told him about how dismal her sex life felt, but Kaji… intimidated Shinji.  He was handsome, charming, funny… and he had already been with Misato.

He had hoped, when Kaji oh-so-offhandedly asked if Misato was still wild in bed, that he had been joking.  One look at the Captain's downcast, flushed face, though, told him that this was not the case at all.  He sighed as Asuka pushed one last door open, deciding then and there that he had no chance against a guy like Kaji.

None.

"Here it is!" Asuka declared.

Shinji blinked, looking up as the redhead pulled the tarp back from a huge, prone shape.  "I didn't know it was red," he commented lamely, not knowing what else to say.

"That's not the only improvement," Asuka said grandly, "My Unit 02 is the first EVA designed specifically for combat."  She grinned, tossing her hair over her right shoulder.  "It's a sign of how outdated Unit 01 is that an untrained pilot like you was able to sync with it.  It's no wonder it went berserk…  Unit 02 is far more stable."

Asuka was on the verge of regaling him with her fine mecha's other outstanding features when a dull boom made the ship tremble.

"That sounded like an explosion," Shinji gasped.

The two teens nodded to one another, then dashed through the door and up the stairs, making it to the rail of the ship in record time.  "Is that an angel?" Asuka breathed.  A slow, crafty smile spread across her features as she glanced over her shoulder to the still-open door leading to Unit 02.  "This is my chance," she whispered.

Shinji yelped as the redhead grabbed his hand, yanking him along with her.  "Where are we going??" he protested belatedly.

"What are you, stupid?" the girl shot back.  "We're going to fight."

"We are?"

"We are!"

Though he tried to convince the Second Child that starting Unit 02 was a bad idea, he could not dissuade her.  Ultimately, he gave up.  "I hope Misato's not too, mad," he muttered as he climbed into the plug with the redhead.

"We'll get her permission after we've killed the angel," Asuka told him smugly, "now get ready to see some real piloting."

Shinji closed his eyes.

Guess this means I won't get to talk to Misato about that date now…

**

Misato slowly opened the door to the apartment, allowing Shinji to precede her in.  The conversation she was meaning to have on the aircraft carrier had never quite materialized, a combination of factors keeping them apart until the (silent) drive from NERV.

Kaji… Kaji was back in her life.

"You're awful quiet," she observed as Shinji slipped off his shoes.  She sighed as the boy gave her his patented reply.

"Sorry."

Damn it, Kaji! she thought angrily, It's always just fun and games, isn't it?  He did NOT need to hear that from you!  God, you might as well have just screamed, 'Do you know how she likes to be fucked? I do.'

"I'm gonna go to bed," Shinji mumbled.  "Night."

"Stop."

Shinji looked up from where he had been studying the floor.  "What is it?" he asked wearily.

Misato pointed to one of the chairs in the kitchen.  "Have a seat, Shinji," she instructed, waiting until the boy did what he was told before murmuring, "Why are you mad at me?"

"I'm not… mad," Shinji replied.

Misato put her hands on his shoulders.  "Then why are you clenching up like this?" she asked, gently kneading his shoulders.  "If you're mad at me," she told him firmly, "say so.  Don't run away, Shinji – not from me… I deserve better than that."

Shinji flinched at the hard, businesslike tone in the woman's voice.  "I'm not mad," he repeated softly, "I just…"

"Just what?"

"I can move out," the boy said miserably, "if you want to be with Kaj-"

"Stop!" Misato exploded, "You stop that right now!"  She took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.  "You're old enough," she told him coldly, "to know that people don't always get back together just because they used to have a thing together.  God, don't tell me you're that insecure!"  She felt some of her anger bleeding away as the boy's shoulders slumped under her hands.  "You are, aren't you…" she said pityingly.

"I can't help it," Shinji returned.  "He's… I'm…" he shook his head slowly, finding Misato's reflection in the door of the microwave.  "I'm not like him…"

Misato slid her hands down over his chest.  "Maybe that's why I wanted to try this," she said quietly.

Awkwardly, Shinji turned in his chair, looking up to her face and trying to see if she was telling the truth.

"Maybe this was a mistake," the woman sighed, slowly pulling her hands away.  "I like spending time with you, Shinji, but if you can't even trust me not to jump into bed with a guy I used to be close to, then I don't know if we should try this anymore."

Shinji blushed.  "You used to be his girlfriend…" he pointed out.

"That was a long time ago, Shinji," Misato said quietly.

Shinji nodded, biting his bottom lip pensively.

Slowly, Misato knelt by his chair, making sure she had his attention.  "Listen," she said firmly, "Kaji was my first boyfriend, and yes – I did a lot of… stuff with him," she put a hand on Shinji's cheek, leading his eyes back to hers as he looked away.  "Tell me now," she said flatly, "do you want to try this or not, Shinji?  I can't worry about you freaking out every time some guy looks at me or says something crude."

"I'm sorry," Shinji swallowed.  "I still want to try, if you do…"

"Alright," Misato nodded.  "Then we'll go out again on Saturday."

"Misato?"

"Hmm?"

Shinji slowly stood, scratching the back of his neck.  "It's nothing, really," he said tiredly.

"Tell me," Misato encouraged him, rising herself.  "It can't be worse than what you know about me now."

Shinji blushed.  "Well," he said slowly, "does this mean… I'm your boyfriend?"

"Do you want to be?" Misato grinned.  "What's the difference between a boyfriend and someone you just date sometimes?"

"I don't know," Shinji admitted, "I guess the difference is whether you kiss or not… maybe… I don't know, really, I-

His eyes widened as Misato suddenly leaned into his personal space and brushed her lips against his. "There," she whispered, "guess now you're my boyfriend."

The look on the boy's face was so comical that Misato had to grin.

"See you in the morning," she said gently, reaching up and caressing his cheek one more time before slipping off to her room.

Continued…

Author's notes:  Now that Misato and Shinji are 'dating,' will they be able to find happiness?  What about Kaji and Misato's old affair?  Is that truly forgotten?  Is any love ever truly forgotten?  And what about Asuka?  When Shinji is forced to train side by side with the fiery German, will he be able to keep his attraction to the woman he lives with a secret?

Find out in part 3: Telling Lies.

Pre-read was incomplete at the time of posting.  Another version might replace this one, if the pre-read comes back with too many errors.

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com