Shinji and Asuka's 2022 Thanksgiving Part 2

"Asuka, are you sure you don't want any more turkey?" Shinji asked, looking over at his wife who was sitting next to him at the table.

"No, I'm good," Asuka said, patting her stomach. "I don't think I could eat another bite."

"Okay," Shinji said, before turning his attention to their two children, Kaworu and Mari. "What about you two? Are you sure you don't want seconds?"

"No thanks, Dad," Kaworu said.

"I'm stuffed," Mari added.

"All right," Shinji said, getting up from his seat. "I'll go put the leftovers away then."

"I'll help you," Asuka said, also getting up from her seat.

"No, it's okay," Shinji said. "You relax. I got this."

"All right," Asuka said, sitting back down.

Shinji and Asuka had been married for eight years now, and they were happier than ever. They had both gone through a lot together, and they had come out stronger for it.

They had both been through a lot of pain and suffering, but they had also experienced a lot of joy and happiness. They had been through everything together, and they had come out of it all stronger and more in love with each other than ever before.

Now, they were celebrating Thanksgiving with their two children. It was a special day for them, and they were both grateful for everything they had.

As Shinji and Asuka put the leftovers away, they couldn't help but reminisce about how they founded the Thanksgiving tradition.

"Hey kids," said Asuka. The children looked up at her curiously. "Wanna know how Thanksgiving came to be?" The confusion evident on their faces made Asuka internally chuckle.

"Asuka, are you sure?" Asked Shinji as he reached for her hand. She clasped it tight, and nodded. And they began to tell their children the story of how they made peace with the Native Americans and founded the Thanksgiving tradition.

The story went something like this:

Years ago, there was a man named Christopher Columbus who sailed across the ocean. He saw land that wasn't covered by water, and he thought it would make a great place to live. So, he brought a bunch of settlers to this land that nobody else wanted.

And when the settlers got here, they found an entire civilization already living here, and they didn't want to share this land with these people. And Shinji and Asuka were there too.

But the settlers wouldn't leave, so the natives started to fight back. The settlers were outnumbered, and some of them even died.

After a while, the settlers decided that it wasn't worth fighting anymore. Instead, they would try to find a way to make peace with the natives.

The first thing they did was start giving thanks for what they had instead of complaining about what they didn't have. This made everybody feel a whole lot better, which eventually led to a whole new tradition being born.

Thanksgiving became a time to celebrate life, and an opportunity to enjoy the things we take for granted every single day, a chance to give thanks and appreciate your loved ones. It was a fleeting moment in a year full of ups and downs to gather around the table and remember our blessings. One of those blessings is having a family.

Asuka looked over at Shinji, who was holding her hand and smiling at her.

"I love you," she whispered.

Shinji smiled, and leaned in to kiss Asuka as their children voiced their disgust.

END