Shinji stiffened in surprise and took a step back. "W-w-what?" He couldn't believe what Asuka was getting at. Why such a change of heart? When had she ever taken an interest in him?
He stood there in a dumb trance, not knowing what to do or say.
"Your bed is big enough for the both of us anyway. Why not?" Asuka began taking off her shirt, and threw it to the floor. "What, are you scared? You won't get anywhere in life being a coward, Shinji." She slid her pants off, throwing them to the floor as well. She had plain white underwear on, and a matching bra. Nothing special or flashy.
But Shinji just couldn't believe his eyes. There was no way that this was happening to a spineless wimp like him. It just couldn't be!
And yet, here was Asuka, almost naked, in his bed and wanting him to join her. He tried to say something, but the words didn't come out. He floundered in his mind, trying to compose rational thought. He moved his mouth, but still nothing. He waved around his hands, but that did little. Asuka noticed he was having trouble comprehending what was happening.
"Alright third child, this is what you should do. Are you listening?"
Shinji nodded his head.
"All you have to do is take your pants off and get under the sheets. Is that so hard?"
Shinji nodded again.
"Am I going to have to get up and help you?"
Shinji shook his head and tensed up in embarrassment. "N-no, I can d-do it." He turned his back to the bed again in a desperate attempt to not seem deathly nervous. He fumbled with his zipper for a few moments, but it finally slid down. Thankfully the button on his pants was a snap, so he didn't have much trouble undoing that. Shinji let his pants fall to the ground, and stepped out of them. He turned around to see a smiling Asuka.
"Good! Now come over here." Asuka motioned with one finger for Shinji to come, and moved up against the wall, supporting herself on one arm.
Shinji walked to the bed and sat down, back to Asuka, red burning his face. His hands began to shake with nervousness.
"No, you have to get in the bed. Don't you know anything?"
"S-sorry, it's just that…I'm pretty nervous."
"Oh, mein Liebling. Mein reizender kleiner Liebling. There is nothing at all to be nervous about," Asuka purred. She delicately stroked the back of Shinji's head, then traced a line down his back with her fingers. "Now please. Come to me."
Shinji was almost frantic. I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away! He turned to face Asuka, pulled the sheets over himself, and moved in to kiss her.
A faint beep was heard within the house, and then the quick sliding sound of an automatic door. "I'm home!" resounded in the darkness.
"Shit! it's Misato! Get your pants on, Shinji!" Asuka pushed him away and grabbed for her own clothes. "Mach schnell, Krüppel!"
Shinji jumped out of the bed and grabbed for his pants, quickly putting them on but he only bothered to button them. He grabbed for his shirt, but saw it still had blood on it. He hastily scanned the room for another shirt to put on, but none were to be found. Shinji threw the bloodied shirt on, hoping he could explain it to Misato.
"Why are all the lights off?" Misato called. "Are you guys home?"
Shinji turned to see Asuka with her shirt on, and stuffing her pants down into the bed. She turned her back to Shinji. "I'll act like I'm asleep," she whispered, lying down and pulling the sheets up to her chin. "You better get us outta this mess, Shinji!" And she was silent.
A light tap was heard at the closed door. "Shinji, I'm coming in, alright?"
The door slid open. Misato saw Asuka in the bed, and Shinji standing by his desk. A scowl darkened her face.
Shinji quickly moved up to her. "Shhh…Asuka's asleep. I'll explain in the kitchen." He led Misato the kitchen, flicked on the light, and sat down. Misato grabbed a beer from the fridge, and popped it open.
"So what's going on here, Shinji?"
"Well, Misato…I guess I didn't cook the food long enough, or it was rotten or something, because after dinner, Asuka puked it all up. I helped her get feeling a little better, and since my bedroom was closest, we moved her in there. I told her to go to sleep. I had been waiting in the room in case she had to go to the bathroom again, so I could help her. That's when you got home."
"And what's this blood all over your shirt?"
"Oh, this?" Shinji laughed nervously. "I was…playing with Pen-Pen shortly after I finished dinner. He…got mad at me for something and scratched my face." He showed Misato the marks. "It's nothing, really. I'm fine."
"Ah hah," Misato said. She gave Shinji a skeptical look and downed the beer. "Oooo-ya! That's good stuff! Well Shinji, you better get to bed. You have a sync test tomorrow, and we don't want you falling asleep during the experiment."
"Yes ma'am." He got up from his seat and started for the living room. "I'll just sleep on the floor tonight. Good night, Misato."
Misato went to her room and changed into her pajamas, hanging up her uniform in the closet. She waited for half an hour, and then went to Asuka's room. As she had thought she would find, there were six beer cans lying on the floor. She grumbled and began picking up the cans. Bad food indeed.