Sins and Retributions

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I Don't Wanna Come Back Down from This Cloud

Shinji lie in bed with Asuka, holding her close. He loved the feel of her creamy skin, it was soft and warm.

Asuka was falling asleep, but tensed up immediately when Shinji lightly nibbled on her earlobe. Asuka's whole body quivered and she turned to face the Third Child.

The redhead smiled, "What was that for?"

He whispered, "Just seeing if you were awake." Shinji kissed her neck, and slowly kissed his way up to her lips, where he lingered.

Asuka stroked his face, and turned around again, "Goodnight Shinji." Again the boy wrapped his arms around the girl. One hand gently massaged her breasts, and the other he had resting on her smooth stomach. He slowly began to rub her abdomen in a circular motion.

At one point, his fingers slipped just barely into the girl's panties, which would make her sigh and sometimes shiver. Though it made him greatly uncomfortable, he continued, because after the first time, which was an accident, Asuka reacted like she wanted him to keep on going.

Shinji whispered into Asuka's ear, "Asuka… I love you."

Asuka moaned, "If I didn't love you, then you would never have the chance to put your hands on my perfect body."

Shinji's pointer finger circled around her navel, and said, "I know… and your body is perfect." His fingers slowly made their way to Asuka's ribs, and began to gently tickle.

Asuka giggled, then elbowed Shinji, while writhing under his touch, "Stop it. What did I tell you about tickling?"

The Third Child spoke, "I just wanted to hear you laugh again… I haven't heard that in a while."

Asuka chuckled, "I'll let you off the hook this time. Shinji…? I'm glad that we could finally admit our feelings to ourselves and each other… It is a hell of a lot more fun than me trying to convince myself that I hate you."

The young Ikari nodded, then yawned, "Yeah… I'll see you in the morning. Sleep tight, Asuka…"

(-----)

Shinji sat at his desk, looking thoughtful, and he frowned. A voice behind him spoke up, "Hey Dummkopf! What's gotcha down? I… I didn't do anything wrong… did I? Go ahead, tell me what's wrong."

Shinji remained silent for a moment, "It's you Asuka-"

She cut him off, exploding like and N2 Mine, "What do you mean it's me!"

Shinji looked into her eyes, concern soaking them to the core, "Just let me finish… It's just… Well you haven't gone shopping in a while. So I was wondering if something was wrong with you."

She plopped down in the seat next to him, "Oh thank God. I thought that something might have happened between us… As to the shopping, I think we could remedy that. How about after school?"

Shinji nodded, "It's a date then."

In his mind, Shinji punched himself in the face, 'Idiot! How can you just ask her to go shopping! Now you're doomed to a day of servitude!'

Thinking quickly, Shinji spoke up, "W-Why not ask Rei and Hikari to come along too?" 'Excellent! That means I'll at least have some people to help me.'

Asuka nodded, "Good idea, Idiot!"

The redhead bounded off, and started yelling to her friends, and Shinji sighed inwardly, 'Sorry guys, but I don't want to be the only pack mule.'

Envy

Shinji, Kaworu, and Toji were loaded with bags of clothing, and Kensuke cackled at them and filmed their slavery.

Shinji called up to the three girls, "Hey! Kensuke thinks that we're being used as slaves!" The three stopped, and turned to the boys. Asuka strode up to the Third Child and said, "Slaves don't get this…" She kissed him aggressively, and soon after, Rei followed suit with Kaworu, though it was much less intense.

Hikari shrugged, 'Might as well sometime.' She took steps towards Toji, and kissed him quickly. The jock dropped everything he was carrying, and was completely red.

Asuka looked at Kensuke and stuck her tongue out, "Slaves don't get kisses from beautiful girls like us." The computer geek sighed, "I can't believe that you'd let the devil herself kiss you, Shinji."

The pilot of Unit 01's eyes widened, 'That was not a smart move, Kensuke.'

Violence and cursing erupted in the mall as the fierce Second Child ripped Kensuke Aida to shreds. The girl stopped as her cell phone rang, along with all three of the other pilots' rang at the same time.

Shinji whispered, "6th Sin… Envy."

(-----)

Shinji sat in his entry plug, and the other three Evas were behind him. Unit 00 stood in the far back, holding two pallet guns, waiting for the Sin to show itself.

Asuka, who had taken a liking to this particular weapon, held a Sonic Glaive at the ready.

Kaworu was crouched, and had the Sonic Axe at his side, dragging against the ground.

As Envy came into sight, Shinji pulled out his Progressive Knife.

Misato's voice came over the intercom, 'Everyone. Proceed with caution. Shinji, you go first… then everyone else, follow him.'

Shinji crept forward, and a large shape appeared over the horizon. It was hunched over like a caveman, and its eyes were bloodshot with black pupils. Shinji moved closer, inch by inch, and the other pilots backed him up.

In her cockpit, Asuka could hear a voice speaking to her, 'Attack him. All he does is bring pain. Attack him. Everybody loves him, not you.'

The girl laughed coldly, "Nice try, Arschloch (Asshole)." Asuka reached down around her neck, and let her fingers touch her pendant, "Shinji doesn't do this for the fame, and he loves me."

The voice next tried Kaworu, and he shrugged, "Hello Envy. You were but a single cell when last I saw you. I know of all of your skills, as you were the first one created from my blood. I was once an Angel, so your foolish mind games will not work on me."

Becoming desperate, he turned to Rei. The girl remained silent for a while, but finally answered, "I do not follow orders from you."

Setting his sights on Shinji, the 6th Sin began his provocative whispers, 'They all hate you. They're jealous of you. They'll betray you.'

Shinji sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Why would they? They wouldn't. Get your filthy voice out of my mind. You won't be able to tempt me." Shinji charged at the monster with his knife, but the creature vanished, and appeared behind the Evas.

Kaworu spoke into the intercom, "He can teleport by bending his AT Field."

Asuka grinned, "Then we'll have to kill him fast, eh?"

She charged at the Sin with her glaive held like a sword, and took a massive swing at Envy. She let go of the glaive once it was behind her on the backswing.

As the beast reappeared, it was greeted by a lance that pierced it through the chest. The creature howled in anger, and teleported again.

It reappeared and Rei unleashed volley after volley of bullets upon the monster, as Kaworu buried the axe into its back. By now, its teleporting was sluggish at best, and it had reappeared far away from the Evas that had plagued it, but it had made the foolish mistake to teleport close to Unit 01.

Shinji slammed the Progressive Knife through the soft flesh under its chin. Before it could escape, Shinji enveloped the monster in his AT Field. Unit 01 raised its open right hand to the heavens, and jerked it back down into a fist. The AT Field around Envy converged on it, and exploded it in a sea of blood.

The AT Field had worked as a car compacter would, and unfortunately for the Sin, it was the car.

The blood sprayed far enough to splatter even Kaworu's Eva with blood.

(-----)

Shinji found himself staring into the shower head in the NERV bathrooms. He had killed the Sin, but he was troubled that it had made contact inside of the Evas. Shinji shrugged it off, 'I'll leave that to Ritsuko. She's the scientist, not me.'

The boy dried himself off, and yawned, as he walked out of the boy's locker room. Surprisingly, Asuka was waiting for him, tapping her foot impatiently, though he had only taken ten minutes to shower. It usually took the girl near to an hour and half to simply get the LCL out of her hair.

The girl called out, "What took you so long, you idiot!"

Shinji moved towards her and hugged her, "What are you doing out so early?"

She smiled slightly, "Just kinda tired. I just took a quick shower, and I want to get home and relax."

The Third Child spoke, "I know what you mean." Asuka took Shinji's hand and they began their walk back to the apartment. As they were going to get on the elevator, Misato jumped on with them.

She hugged both of them tightly, and said, "I don't know how you do it, but you always pull through. Thanks, both of you, I know you've saved this city's ass more than your fair share… so I think it's time to have a celebration."

Hangover Heaven

Shinji sat on the couch, hunched over, with an amber drink in his hands. He looked into the drink, saying nothing, and took a swig.

Misato had decided that the pilots needed to have some liquor to ease the tension.

Asuka drank much more than Shinji, and was feeling tipsy. Shinji knew that he was drunk, but he was calm and quiet, more so than usual.

Asuka crawled onto Shinji's lap, and hugged him tightly. The boy set down the whiskey he had in his hands, and hugged her back, 'I've already had too much to drink…'

Misato showed no signs of stopping though, and she started to chug the vodka straight from its bottle.

Shinji helped Asuka stand, and he said, "Misato… We're going to bed now."

The purple-haired woman nodded, and said, "Don't do anything I wouldn't."

Shinji placed the girl on his bed, and he changed into a pair of shorts to sleep in. The Third Child tucked Asuka and himself into bed, and kissed her on the forehead, "Goodnight, I love you Asuka." She muttered something, and Shinji held onto her tightly.

(-----)

The designated pilot of Unit 01 blinked awake, and quickly shut his eyes again as the sun shone through the window. He gritted his teeth, trying to suppress his headache and thought, 'Damn… I'm never drinking again.'

The body next to him was warmer than usual, and Shinji opened his eyes again. He looked around his room, 'It's daytime. Today's a Saturday, so I don't have school… Asuka's naked… WHAT!'

Shinji about died as he glanced at her nude form in close proximity to him. He gently poked at Asuka, and then he finally called out to her, "Wake up Asuka!"

She opened her eyes, and did exactly what Shinji had done, and shut her eyes.

Shinji nervously whispered, "Asuka… You're… naked…"

The Second Child's eyes snapped open, "WHAT!"

Shinji shook his head, "I have no clue why…"

The girl lowered her voice, "Did we…?"

Shinji shook his head, "No. I made sure that I had clothes on when I went to sleep. Besides, I wasn't that drunk, but you had more than your share of alcohol… You were clothed when I put you to sleep."

Asuka rolled out of bed, and Shinji closed his eyes, but the girl said, "Can't you just be normal for once? I'll let you look at me this time, Shinji. Only because you respect me enough to see me as a human and not an object, otherwise, I'd rip out your heart and light it on fire… Besides, you're going to get the whole package someday."

The boy opened his eyes, and watched as Asuka got dressed, 'Such a gorgeous body…'

The girl turned to him and smiled as her face became blood red. 'And those eyes… I could lose myself in them…'

Asuka kissed Shinji, and went into the kitchen. Shinji soon followed suit, and began to start breakfast.

(-----)

Kaworu was sprawled across his bed, and his silver hair was messed up more than normal. He yawned, and sat up.

They boy quickly got dressed and poured himself a glass of orange juice. The Fifth Child scratched his head, and chugged the juice.

Pushing his glasses further up on his nose, Kaworu left his apartment.

(-----)

Rei sat up in her apartment, and sighed. She walked to the shower, and started running the water.

After it heated up, Rei jumped in, and cleansed herself, but the water also served to wake her up.

She redressed, and cracked open a book that was lying on her table.

(-----)

Misato's snores echoed throughout the apartment, but they abruptly stopped. Pen-Pen had thrown a pillow on top of Misato and jumped onto it.

The woman yawned and rolled over, and fell asleep once again. Shinji had just finished cooking breakfast, and he fed himself and Asuka.

The two ate quickly, and Asuka moved to the bathroom. The room filled with a hot steam from the shower, and she called out, "Hey Shinji! Can you come here for a second?"

The young Ikari cautiously opened the door to the bathroom and called in, "Y-Yes? What is it?"

Her sultry voice filled the room, "Why don't you join me?"

The boy blushed heavily, and spoke out, "A-Are you sure about t-this?"

Upon hearing affirmation, the boy slowly took his clothes off and hopped in the shower.

Misato could smell food from her room, and got up to start her breakfast. As she walked into the kitchen, nobody greeted her, 'That's funny, Shinji is usually up by now. Asuka's taking her shower… No… There's no way…'

Misato walked to the bathroom and knocked, then strode in, "Asuka, Shinji, are you in here?"

The redhead called out, "Yep!"

Then a timid male voice said, "Y-Y-Yeah." Misato shook her head, "Okay, just checking. By the way… you two didn't do anything… too intimate, did you?"

Asuka spoke behind the curtain, "Nope, I passed out, and Shinji fell asleep right after me."

The Sub-Commander of NERV had finished questioning them, "Okay then… Remember what we talked about…"

Shinji called out to Misato, "Hey Misato…"

The woman turned around and said, "Hm? What?"

The Third Child's voice drifted over the curtains, "Please… Never give me alcohol again. I had a terrible morning because of it."

Misato Katsuragi shrugged and chuckled, "Looks like the morning didn't turn out too bad, now did it? Alright then, no liquor for Shinji!"

Shinji stood completely still, and he was a bright shade of red. Asuka looked over her shoulder at him, "Still can't handle it, huh?"

His head mechanically shook, and he said, "I-I… I want to… It's just that you're so beautiful… and I'm guy, so…"

The redhead turned to him, with water spraying them both, "You should appreciate your good fortune! You're the only boy that I know of that has touched me without dying."

Shinji swallowed and stepped closer to her. He wrapped his arms around the girl, and kissed her. Asuka fell completely into the kiss, and Shinji's twitching hands moved lower down her back. They rested on Asuka's backside, and the girl flinched in surprise.

She smiled boldly, "Didn't think you had enough of a spine to do that."

The young Ikari smiled, and shut off the water, "I think I'm finished showering." He got out of the shower, and dried himself off.

The German followed suit and Shinji exited the bathroom, and sat down on the couch. He flipped on the TV and began to watch a program about random things.

Asuka plopped down next to him, and spoke after a few minutes, "This is stupid… Let's do something else, okay?"

The boy yawned, and put his arm around the girl, "Yeah. Do you have something in mind?"

The couple stood up, and the redhead said, "Why don't we go to the park or something?"

Shinji nodded, and walked down the hall. He knocked on a door and called out, "Misato! Asuka and I are going to the park for a while. Are you going to be back from work in time for dinner?"

The door slid open, and Misato spoke, "Yeah, I'll be back by then… Anyway… How is it going between you and Asuka?"

Shinji lowered his voice, "It's going… I'm grateful that she trusts me enough to get intimate with me, but at the same time… I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I'll get hurt. That I'll give her all of me, and she'll leave, whether by choice or by fate…"

Misato put her hand on Shinji's face, "It's okay to be afraid… I think that you know in your heart that Asuka wouldn't leave you… Don't dwell on it too much, just go out and have fun, okay?"

The young man cracked a tiny smile and nodded, then exited the hall.

Swinging…?

Chains creaked, and the grass blew in the wind. This place was devoid of all life, except two souls.

Shinji pushed Asuka on the swing she sat on, and she called out, "Why the hell is swinging so fun now? I hated it when I was younger."

Shinji answered with a smirk, "You used to hate me… Things change."

Asuka glanced over her shoulder, and bit her lip, "I'm sorry Shinji."

He smiled and sent her higher into the air, "It's okay. I used to hate how you lashed out at me, but at the same time… I liked the attention."

The redhead laughed, "If I had known you liked pain, I would have bought a whip."

Shinji fell staggered and fell back, his face was dark red, "ASUKA!"

She jumped from the swing mid-air and gracefully landed on her feet, "I love teasing you. It's great!" She walked over to the boy, and sat on her knees, then stroked his head.

Shinji looked fondly up at her and said, "You can tease me as much as you want… but I know your weakness."

The boy pulled Asuka down on top of him, and he started to tickle her sides. She thrashed around crying out between her fits of laughter, "No! Stop it! Shinji!"

The boy stopped, and Asuka glared at him, "Didn't I tell you never to do that?"

Shinji slyly smiled, "Just think of this as my way to tease you."

The redhead rolled her eyes, "That's no fair!" The young Ikari shrugged, "I only tickle you as much as you tease me… and don't tell me you don't like me touching you."

The girl's face was flushed, "Oh shut up! You pervert!"

The boy replied with a question, "Who is the one that always has me 'hold' her while we sleep?"

Asuka righted herself, and scowled, "I'll get even with you later, Third Child."

(-----)

Shinji lie in his bed, 'I feel so… empty…' Asuka wasn't next to him, and that made him uncomfortable, though his statement was a little extreme.

Every couple of minutes, he would reach out in front of him and touch the spot that Asuka usually inhabited. After an hour, the boy was getting desperate, and he turned to his last resort: his SDAT player.

The boy clicked it on, and awaited the sound. It beeped one single time, and the Third Child glanced at the screen. 'Damn you Asuka.'

The screen indicated that the batteries had been run down to nothing. Shinji curled up into a ball, and shuddered. It was going to be a long night. He didn't have the warmth of his girlfriend, and he didn't have the comforting effect of his SDAT.

After a few minutes, his door opened, and a body fell onto the bed next to him. Without opening his eyes he already knew who it was: Asuka. He smiled and drifted to sleep.

Asuka kicked open the door to Shinji's room, and cried, "So idiot! How did you sleep without the Great Asuka Langley Sohryu!"

The girl recoiled when she saw the boy fitfully sleeping, 'Damn him! It didn't even have an effect on him!'

She let her eyes trace Shinji's body, and then noticed that something was in his arms, and screamed, "DUMMKOPF!"

Shinji blinked awake and looked at what was in his arms. A set of black eyes looked curiously back at the Third Child, and… squawked? Pen-Pen pecked at the boy's arm, forcing him to let go, and waddled out of the room.

The boy pressed himself against the wall, wishing to blend in, but his desire fell on deaf ears. Asuka stomped over to his bed, and sat on it, "Just what the hell do you think you were doing!"

He sputtered unintelligibly and the girl pressed her face inches away from his own, causing him to blush and sweat with fear at the same time. She abruptly flipped around and laid next to him, "I'll show you that I can be better than a stupid penguin."

The boy smiled, as Asuka allowed him to hold her, 'Thank God for Pen-Pen! Now I can get even more sleep than I needed without Asuka yelling at me.'

Asuka shut her eyes, 'That wasn't one of my brightest ideas… I barely got any sleep last night… Oh well! I managed to cover my tracks, and am about to make up for last night's horrible sleep.'

Shinji pulled her closer to himself, and whispered, "Sleep well… I love you."

(-----)

Rei Ayanami sat on her bed, reading a book. She would occasionally glance at the window, or take a drink of water.

A soft but audible knock sounded at the girl's door, and she set down her book. The First Child slowly opened the door, and was greeted with a jovially grinning boy.

His silver hair shone in the morning light, and he pushed his glasses further up on his nose, "Good morning, Rei. I was wondering if you would be interested in a walk."

Rei nodded and closed the door behind her, stepping near Kaworu. His pointer finger twitched, and he spoke shakily, "R-Rei?"

The girl met his gaze and quietly said, "Yes… What is it Kaworu?"

The former angel swallowed, and said, "I was wondering if I might not be allowed to… hold your hand?"

The blue haired girl blinked, and held her hand aloft. He gingerly took hold of her fingers, and spoke, "How are you feeling this day?"

She kept her eyes on her path, and said, "I am feeling better now… now that we are… together."

The silver haired youth nodded his head, and lead the girl from the decrepit apartment complex that they lived in.

(-----)

They followed their feet, and every once in a while, Kaworu would stop and look for nature.

The two ended up far from the city, wandering in the mountains. Rei sat on a rock as the former angel knelt down and cupped water from a meandering stream in his hands. He quickly brought his hands to his lips, and drank the water.

With a smile, he turned to Rei, "It is quite good Rei. Why don't you have a drink? You must be thirsty after all of this time."

Silently, the First Child stood up and moved to the stream. She stooped over and cupped the liquid in her hands, feeling the cool water trickle between her fingers. The girl threw back her head and allowed the water to be swallowed.

The silver haired youth chuckled lightly, and stood, facing Rei. His hand moved to her face, where he wiped away the droplets of water that had missed her mouth.

The girl blushed slightly, and Kaworu said, "We should probably go back now, should we not? The Section 2 agents would most likely be tired." The girl nodded, and they began their trek to the city.

(-----)

Shinji yawned and blinked a few times, then closed his eyes again. He breathed in deeply, and then muttered, "Smells like Asuka…"

The redhead rolled over and faced him, then poked at his chest. After observing that this elicited no movement, the girl had decided to resort to drastic measures. Asuka rolled out of bed, and stood up. She walked into the kitchen, and began to rummage through the refrigerator. The German girl smiled in triumph when she found the item of her searches.

As if it were a biological weapon, the girl held it in front of her, and entered Shinji's room again. Asuka quickly opened the container and shoved some of its contents into the unfortunate Ikari's mouth.

He immediately sat bolt upright, and his face was pale. The boy leaned over and clutched at his stomach, and he moaned, "Damn it! What the hell was that for?"

Asuka laughed mercilessly, "Misato's cooking is guaranteed to take care of any disciplinary problems!"

The Third Child tried to draw himself into a ball, and he whimpered, "It has never been this bad before!"

The fiery German threw some errant hair over her shoulder, "It has been mutating in the fridge for a couple of weeks."

The boy mumbled, "I think I'm gonna be sick." Then he ran out of his room and into the bathroom, where he purged his internal system of the foul cuisine that only one as skilled in the arts of assassination as Misato Katsuragi could concoct.

Asuka leaned against the door frame of the bathroom, and spoke to the boy like he was a baby, "Aw. Did wittle Shinji not like his bweakfast?"

The Third Child looked up, and his eyes darkened, "I wonder how you'll like your breakfast, because I'm not cooking!"

Asuka took a step towards him and kicked him in the knee. "How dare you! Get your ass into the kitchen and start my breakfast!"

Shinji blanched, and shakily sat on the toilet, then spoke in a weak and trembling voice, "N-N-No! I-I won't just do what you want me to b-because you s-said s-so!"

The girl crouched down, and flicked him on the head, "Dummkopf! Didn't I just give you a direct order!"

He looked away and crossed his arms, "I… I won't do it!"

The girl tweaked his ear savagely, "Do I have to move back into my room! Or would you rather have me just move out entirely!"

Shinji looked at the ground and shuffled his feet, then sighed, "Fine…" The boy walked out of the bathroom slowly, and began the preparations for breakfast. Asuka smiled viciously, "I always win."

(-----)

Shinji slid a plate in front of Asuka, and began tidying his cooking space. She looked from her food, to Shinji, and back, then cried, "What is this slop!"

The Third Child stopped working, and sighed, "Asuka… It's the exact same food I cook every single morning for breakfast."

She smiled playfully, "I know. I just love to jerk your chain."

As if it were the only thing he could do, Shinji sighed, "Doesn't that figure…"

The redhead stood up from her seat and strode towards the young Ikari, "Dammit Shinji! What the hell is wrong with you! Did you forget your anti-depressants or something!"

Shinji laughed slightly at the joke, and said, "I guess I just don't feel too good after eating that… delicacy…"

The Second Child snorted, "You know you liked it. Besides, you shouldn't be so pissed at such a small joke!"

Shinji bit his lip, "I'm not… pissed. I just don't really feel well. Kinda… different."

Asuka rolled her eyes, "Oh! Deal with it, you Idiot!" The Third Child shook his head, "It isn't like a bad feeling, and it's more like something uncomfortable… Just never mind. I should just ignore it."

Asuka shrugged, "Whatever… wait! Why am I listening to your babbling! I'm still hungry, so why am I just standing here listening to you?"

Shinji slyly smiled, "Should I feed you?"

The girl scowled, "I can eat by myself, thank you very much!"

The boy shrugged and said, "Suit yourself." Asuka ravenously wolfed down the food Shinji had graciously provided for her, and then she leaned back and rested her legs on the table, with her chair propped precariously on its hind legs.

The Third Child marched down the hallway, and knocked on Misato's door, "Misato! Breakfast is ready!"

A disheveled woman stumbled out of her room and nodded, "Okay! Be out in a minute."

After a short period of time, the Sub-Commander of NERV joined her 'family' in the kitchen.

(-----)

The Sub-Commander of NERV smiled cheerfully and gobbled her food while continuously drinking a beer. The woman quit both tasks and said, "It's been a while since we've had breakfast like this, you know?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah, with school, and work, it seems like we hardly see each other anymore." Asuka had her long legs stretched out on the table and shrugged, "I know what you mean. Why don't we just go out and do something together? Bring Kaji if you want."

The Third Child finished putting away the things from the dishwasher, and said, "We'd look just like a family…"

Both of the women looked at him like he was crazy. Misato rolled her eyes, "I have frigging PURPLE hair!"

Asuka followed suit, "And I have RED hair! Are you on crack or something! The only similarity is between you and Kaji! You never think, do you Dummkopf!"

The boy cringed and pressed himself against the corner of the room, then stammered, "W-W-Well, not a-all families look a-alike!"

The girls let up and then Asuka shrugged, "The Idiot has a point there. But my other argument with that one is…" the girl's voice raised into a shout, "HOW THE HELL COULD I BE YOUR SISTER AND BE FRIGGING HANGING ALL OVER YOU AND KISSING YOU!"

If at all possible, Shinji was reduced to a single atom, and timidly said, "O-O-Oh… I didn't t-think-"

The redhead cut him off, "That's the problem. You didn't think. Anyway, get up off of the floor you Idiot."

He complied and grumbled under his breath, "Why did you have to take it literally, you damn slave driver?"

The girl rounded on him and raised a fist, "What did you say Third Child!"

The pilot of Unit 01 took a step back and flung his arms up in defense, "N-N-Nothing, Oh beautiful ruler of everything. I was just thinking out loud about how… how…"

He faltered and thought, 'Damn! Of all the times to freeze up, it had to be now!'

"How good the orange juice was this morning."

Misato's blank eyes rounded on him and she scratched her head, "Uh… Shinji? That orange juice expired three weeks ago."

The boy's eyes shifted and he looked about for an escape route, for Asuka's unbridled anger would soon be unleashed. The redhead's shoulders slumped and she spoke in a quiet and even tone, "Shinji… I've decided on your punishment. For your sake, I hope you didn't spend all of your paycheck."

The boy seemed to shrink in stature, and then he weakly said, "No… I still have all of my pocket money…"

The raging German girl hit him on the forehead with a spoon and said, "You better hop to it, slave! Gear it up, Ikari, 'cause we're going shopping!"

Pen-Pen waddled into the kitchen and he pecked at the boy's leg, and his eyes seemed to say, 'Ha! Have fun with the psychopath!'

The Second Child prodded the penguin with her toe and pushed him over, "I am not a psychopath!"

Both Shinji and Misato looked at the girl, and she shrugged, "You know he was thinking it."

(------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------)

I'm running out of stuff to write here… The story is finished, I just don't know what I can tell you all… Anyway, life takes a turn for the worst next. Who would actually want to go shopping with Asuka? That would make Bill Gates (cheating bastard…) go broke after three hours.

Outtake

Shinji and Asuka woke in a bathtub full of amber liquid. Shinji's nostrils were assailed by the scent of whiskey. Asuka was completely trashed, and Shinji had a splitting headache.

"DAMMIT MISATO! DO NOT INVOLVE US IN YOUR SICK BOOZE FANTASIES!"