Disclaimer: see part 1
The Lifespan of a Love Affair.
By Random1377
Week 8: Sleeping Together
"So how bad is it?" Misato asked quietly, scanning the text on the page in front of her.
"Well," Ritsuko replied, stifling a yawn, "its not good news."
"How far?" Misato murmured, setting the papers to the side. "And how fast?"
The blonde stretched in her chair. "At this rate?" she mused, "I'd say she'll slide another three to four points in the next week – but like I said, that's at this rate…"
"So it could slow down," Misato arched an eyebrow.
"Or speed up," Ritsuko countered coolly. "Regardless, we need to watch her – see what the hell is going on."
"You don't think that date could be what's causing this do you?" Misato asked slowly.
"By itself?" Ritsuko replied, "Unlikely. It could be a factor, if it ended badly, but you said they were ok afterwards, right?" When Misato nodded, the blonde went on. "So I doubt that's a factor. Now, if it had ended with them having sex, or getting into a fight… then yeah, that would affect both of them – but Shinji's just fine, so those scenarios seem farfetched."
Ignoring the mental image of Shinji and Asuka having sex in the elevator of the apartment building, Misato asked, "What if Shinji rejected her when she made a move on him? That could explain-"
"Shinji??" Ritsuko laughed, "Rejecting Asuka? Oh come on! I know you said he was seeing someone, Misato, but I don't think Shinji would know how to say no if he wanted too – and besides, Asuka goes to school with him, she must know he's got a girlfriend, right? I can understand a date on a bet, but actually pushing it when she knows he's involved? That's not like her."
Well, Misato thought, scratching her head as the blonde stood, she doesn't technically KNOW that Shinji's got a girlfriend…
"Just keep an eye on her," Ritsuko advised, shrugging slightly, "could also just be a rough period or something, who knows? If it slides too far, we'll bring her in for some more tests… until then, she's well above the minimums, and the Commander wouldn't be pleased with the idea of wasting time on useless tests."
Misato was about to counter that it was not useless if it helped Asuka, when her door slid open. "Agent Kaji," she murmured coolly, "how can I help you?"
"Just needed to talk to you," Kaji replied easily, nodding to Ritsuko. "Got a sec?"
Ritsuko glanced from the pony-tailed man to the operations director and back again. "Well," she said briskly, "I can see that you two have… something to talk about, so I'll just be on my way."
Misato nodded, never taking her eyes off of Kaji. "What do you want?" she asked as soon as the blonde had made her exit. "I'm very busy."
"So I see," Kaji muttered, stepping in and letting the door close behind him. "Busy making a fool of yourself and still dating-"
"If that's all you came for," Misato cut in archly, rising to her feet and pointing to the door, "you can leave now."
"No," Kaji said firmly, "I really want to know something."
"What?" Misato snapped.
"Just tell me, Katsuragi," the man said dryly, "is he that good?" He folded his arms, pressing harder as the woman shifted her feet.
"Damn it!" the operations director exploded, "What the hell is your problem?! I've told you we-"
"He seems pretty timid," Kaji observed, overriding the woman's attempts to protest. "I'll bet he likes you on top, am I right?"
"We…" Misato struggled. "We don't…"
"Oh wait!" Kaji exclaimed, "Maybe I'm wrong! Maybe, since he's so quiet everywhere else, he likes to be in charge in the bedroom – yeah, that fits! I'll bet he makes you call him sir, doesn't he?"
Misato closed her eyes, shivering at the surprisingly powerful mental image of Shinji dominating her.
"Tell me something though," Kaji lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Has he found that one spot yet, Katsuragi? You know – the one spot you can only get to if your legs are up and he's really, really deep… the one that always – always – makes you scream?"
"Stop…"
"Aww," Kaji teased, "you're shy now?" He frowned as the woman sniffed, wiping her eyes quickly with her palms.
"I don't… do that with him," she said unevenly, wondering why this man always got under her skin, brushing past her emotional defenses as if they did not exist.
Kaji scowled. "Why? Because he likes doing it from behind?"
Misato paled. "How can you talk about him like that?" she asked, shaking slightly with a mix of anger and arousal. "He's never said a mean thing to or about you, Kaji… how can you talk about him like he's dirty – how can you be like that?"
"If he's dirty," the man replied coldly, "it's because you made him that way, Misato. You're the one who should be ashamed of yourself – you're taking advantage of him, plain and simple."
"I'm not…" Misato took a deep breath. "For the last time – I am not fucking him, Kaji!"
"Yeah… right."
The woman's shoulders slumped. "It's true," she whispered, "I… keep thinking about it, though – God, I had a dream three nights ago that he was going down on me, and I woke up sweating…" She shook her head slowly. "But I haven't… we… he hasn't even tried to touch me – do you understand? We've been dating for almost two month, and all we've done is kiss…" she blushed guiltily, "well… and ground a little, but that's it."
"I think you're full of shit," Kaji told her flatly. "I know you, Misato… when we dated all we did was fuck."
"I know," she replied softly, "but Shinji… I want to be with him the right way, Kaji – I want to be good again."
"So you're using him."
Misato's eyes snapped closed… but she did not – could not – reply to his accusation.
"You know," Kaji said pityingly, "I think this might be worse. If you were at least fucking him, he'd have something he could look back at with fondness, instead of some fake… what… why are you smiling?"
"That was always your problem," Misato said softly, shaking her head slowly, "everything always had to be so deep. A kiss could never be just a kiss… a date could never be just a date… you always had to have something deeper – well guess what? Sometimes it takes people some time to decide if being together works. Not everyone jumps in with both feet, hoping for the best, Kaji…"
"Well Shinji's got that time I guess," Kaji muttered quietly, "he's fourteen after all."
Misato kept her smile firmly in place, though it was a struggle not to break under her old lover's harsh words. "He is," she confirmed levelly, "and you know what?"
"What?" Kaji snorted, "He's the sweetest little thing you ever saw?"
"No," Misato murmured, a tear slipping from each eye as she turned from him, "at fourteen he's twice the man you'll ever be, and do you want to know why? Because he's good to me – even though we're only just seeing if it'll work, he treats me like a lady…" she lowered her voice, "not a whore."
She tensed as Kaji's arms slid around her waist. "I never treated you like that," he whispered.
Misato clenched her eyes closed. "You are now."
The man sighed. "God, I'm sorry," he muttered. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to see you with another man?"
"Don't," Misato whispered, pulling away from him, "don't try to pretend that this is just jealousy, Kaji…"
Kaji pursued her. "You know how I feel about you," he told her.
"You never once told me," Misato reminded him, trying to push back as he embraced her again.
"What, that I love you?"
Misato inhaled sharply.
"That's it, huh?" Kaji chuckled. "Just because I never said it, even though you knew it was true… that's why you're still mad."
"That's… not it," Misato protested weakly. "When we broke up, there were… other reasons…" She shivered as the man leaned closer, pressing himself against her back.
"So," he whispered, holding her tightly, "you know how I feel about you… why are you surprised that I'm upset about you being close to someone else? I never… stopped… caring for you…"
"Let me go," Misato breathed.
"Never."
"Kaji, I mea-mmmmm…"
She trembled as familiar lips pressed against hers, gently reminding her of passions past. Confident fingers caressed her stomach… then her breast, hitting all of the places that excited her most and drawing a soft moan from her. Opening her mouth to allow his tongue in was such a programmed response that she never even hesitated.
"Please…" she gasped, pulling free and covering her mouth with her hand.
Kaji made no move to embrace her again, instead starting for the door. He paused on the threshold, whispering, "Think about it, Katsuragi… I won't give you anymore shit for…" his lip twisted up with distaste, "dating Shinji… but when you're ready for something real again, you know where to find me."
Misato opened her mouth, fully intent on telling him to go to hell, but no sound came forth. As the door slid closed, she put her hands over her face and took a deep breath. "Something real," she whispered, "fuck you, Kaji… fuck you…"
Wiping the tears from her cheeks, the Director of NERV operations strode quickly from her office and headed for her car, trying her best to forget just how nice it was to be kissed by someone that knew just what you liked.
**
Shinji woke to a soft knock on his door. "Come in," he mumbled, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes in the dark. He blinked as the door slid open, then closed, blinding him temporarily. When his eyes readjusted, he frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked uncertainly, trying not to stare too hard.
Misato stood just past the threshold, her hands bunching the fabric of her nightshirt. "I had a bad dream," she whispered.
"Oh," Shinji nodded, "I see. I'm sorry…"
There was a moment of awkward silence before Misato blurted, "Can I lie down with you? Just for a little while?"
"Sure, yeah," Shinji said quickly, throwing back the covers. "Sorry…"
Misato hesitantly made her way across the room and slid into bed beside the boy. "Thank you," she whispered, pulling the covers up.
"Welcome," Shinji replied, closing his eyes.
Neither spoke for a moment as Misato shifted next to Shinji, seemingly trying to find a comfortable spot. Shinji found himself growing pleasantly warm as the woman's movements occasionally brought soft parts of her body into contact with his arms, legs, and side, sending his imagination into a tailspin. He tried very hard not to gasp as he felt Misato's thigh brushing his… but he could not stop himself as she turned onto her side and slowly put her right leg across his body, pressing her panties lightly into his hip.
"M-Misato?" he whispered, shivering as her right hand began making circles on his stomach.
"Shinji?" she replied, leaning closer and running her tongue slowly around the edge of his ear.
"Misato…" the boy squeaked.
"Shinji," Misato smiled in the dark, flattening her hand on his stomach and continuing to explore his ear.
Shinji's voice decided that this would be a good time to give up, so he simply lay still, shivering as the purple-haired woman flicked her tongue into his ear and began slowly pressing herself closer to him. He froze entirely as Misato abruptly slid over on top of him and sat up, straddling him around the hips, and drew her shirt off, tossing it on the floor next to the bed.
"You're so cute," she whispered huskily. You're not like Kaji, she thought, you don't push me away one minute and tell me you love me the next… you're always good to me, she ran a hand over his shirt, then slid it up to caress his stomach, so tonight… I'll be good to you…
Finding himself totally unable to speak, Shinji just stared, mesmerized by the intense light in Misato's eyes as she slowly leaned forward, her hair tickling his shoulders as she pressed her body against his and planted a moist, hot kiss on his lips. There were kisses, Shinji decided, and then there were kisses.
This was definitely the later.
Misato knew what men liked. She readily admitted that every man was different, but she had found that there were certain, universal truths regarding the male breed. She knew, for example, that if she lightly brushed her breasts against a man when she kissed him, odds were that he would enjoy it. It was a very basic sexual equation, she decided: offer something the man wants, give him a little taste, and he will do the things you want. Like buy you things. Or do you favors.
Or comfort you when you need someone to hold you.
"Misato," Shinji managed to gasp finally.
"Shinji," the woman replied, loving this little game. She leaned forward and kissed him again before he replied, delving her tongue deeper into his mouth than she ever had before and reaching out blindly to take his hand in hers.
"What…" Shinji panted when she let him go. "What are you… I mean… I thought…"
Misato pulled back slightly, taking his other hand and lacing her fingers with his. This movement ended with her breasts pressed tightly against his chest and her hands in his. "It's ok," she said finally, kissing him again, "just relax a little, Shinji…ok?"
Shinji swallowed. "What are we… going to do?" he whispered.
Misato hummed, shivering slightly as she realized that the heat between them was making them perspire, and that a thin film of sweat had developed on the places their bodies were touching. "We're going to fool around," she told him mischievously, grinning broadly as she stroked her slick body against his. "Don't be too loud… I don't want to wake Asuka."
Shinji very nearly swooned as Misato's stomach slipped easily against his, but the mention of Asuka's name made him pause. He opened his mouth to say that maybe they should just talk for a bit, because he had a few things he wanted to ask… but then Misato was kissing him again, and he realized that she would not listen even if he did say anything, because that was not why she was there.
Much of that night would be recalled in bits and pieces, like fragments of a sweet, memorable dream. Shinji would remember that there was heat, and sound, and softness, and a great deal of sweat, but trying to bring specifics to mind only produced vague images of Misato's smile… and her soft, unimaginably sexy moans.
He woke with a start the next morning, groaning as he looked at the clock and found that he was three hours late for school. He wondered if Asuka had even tried to wake him, or if she had simply slipped out, too annoyed with him to even bother knocking on his door.
When he tried to sit up, Misato put her hand on his chest, whispering, "Don't."
Slowly lying back down, Shinji closed his eyes. "Misato," he murmured, "last ni-"
"Can we… not talk about that?" Misato cut in quickly, pressing herself against his side and kissing his neck. "Ok, Shinji? Let's just… not talk about it right now…"
Entirely confused, Shinji nodded.
"Thank you," Misato whispered, kissing his shoulder and closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, they held the look that Shinji had come to recognize as 'let's get down to business,' and with a sad little smile, she slipped out of bed. "You should get to school," she said quietly, turning her back to him and picking up her shirt. "You're already late, and don't forget we've got that sync test later. Come on… I'll drive you today…"
Shinji sat up in bed, resting his hands listlessly on his thighs as the woman slipped her shirt on and started for his door. He closed his eyes as the door slid open. What was it Kensuke said a couple weeks ago? He thought suddenly, He was talking about jeeps, right? Yeah… something about how the latest military model lacked traction when the ground was too slippery. He put his head in his hands and drew a deep breath. God, how pathetic – I'm comparing what happened last night to my friend's war talk.
He drew his palms down his face, absently wiping the dampness that collected in them onto the bedspread, and got to his feet. "Maybe Kaji can give me some advice," he murmured, slipping into his pants and opening his dresser in search of a clean undershirt, "he used to… be with Misato – maybe he can tell me why she keeps…" his shoulders slumped, "why she keeps pushing me away. And Asuka's always talking about him, so maybe he knows why she's mad at me, too."
With a sigh, he finished dressing, the decision firmly in his mind to find Kaji later in the day and ask him what he should do about his relationship with Misato.
Continued…
Author's notes:
With Asuka's sync ratio sliding and Kaji's confession, Misato begins seeking more of Shinji's time and attention… but what effect will this have on the Third Child's life? And when the angel of the sky is defeated, why is the Commander complimenting Misato?
Find out in the next chapter: Dodging Bullets
Thanks going out to LeperMessiah for pre-read assistance. Much appreciated, amigo.
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com
