The sound of the Prelude reverberated off the matte walls of Shinji's room. He strung his bow across the strings of his cello passionately, forcing his will upon the instrument. He could feel the vibrations through the wood in his left hand as it moved deftly up and down the neck of the cello. The beautiful absolution of the notes filled Shinji with pride in his work, and with a sense of usefulness. He played the Prelude over and over to the best of his ability, increasing the tempo each time, making the music race faster through his heart. His spirit was rejuvenated, his mind cleared, his heart strengthened.

The afternoon sun shined through the open window. Shinji stopped playing to catch a breath. He walked to the window, gazing out towards the city of Tokyo-3; his city. A broad smile warmed his face. The people that lived in this great place needed him. They needed him to pilot the Eva so the Angels wouldn't destroy them. He piloted the Eva so that the human race could live on, live on in the world he was protecting.

Of course, it wasn't just him. Both Ayanami and Asuka had the same duty as he; all three were charged with the protection of man. They three were the barrier between life and death for humans. They stood silently vigilant, awaiting the time to perform their sacred duty.

But that was for another time. Unexpectedly, the Children were only needed for one test that weekend, and it had already taken place that morning. They were off for the remainder of the weekend. This was their time to relax, to recuperate, to enjoy what part of life they still could. For Shinji, that meant a devotion to his music. This was one of the few times he was able to practice and enjoy his creations of splendorous bliss.

Shinji wiped his brow, and took his seat. The fresh air had cooled him some, and he was eager to get back to the Prelude. He placed his cello, positioned his bow, and began anew.

"Mein Gott, hält auf!!" Asuka yelled at the top of her lungs.

Lifting his bow, Shinji paused the music for the moment. "You know I can't understand you, Asuka!" he yelled back, slightly annoyed. What a waste of time she could be!

He could hear light footsteps approaching. They came closer to his room, gaining momentum and volume. They stopped in front of his door, which easily slid open with the force Asuka put behind it. She stood in the doorway, seething in her tank-top and shorts. Her breasts had no support from a bra, yet still held their voluptuous form perfectly. Shinji tried not to squeak in delight.

"If you play that song one more time, God help me, I'll impale you on that bow! You do know there's an entire suite after the Prelude, right? Learn to play another part of it!"

"But this is my favorite part," Shinji said in a condescending tone. Asuka should obviously know that it is his favorite part of the suite.

"And you have been listening to it for hours, and making me do the same, idiot! I'm trying to concentrate in my room, and you're making it a hell of a lot harder."

Shinji paused. "Concentrating on what?" He'd expect Asuka to be sleeping or idly reading a magazine on her free time, but she was concentrating on something? It must be important, then.

"My video game. I'm on the last level, and the puzzle is confusing me." She softened up a bit, losing some of the bite to her words. "Wanna come see it? I bet you can't figure it out, either."

"Um…sure," Shinji said timidly. He moved the cello from between his legs and set it against his dresser. Standing, he entered the hallway with Asuka.

They made the epic journey across the house to her room in good time, what with Asuka in the lead. Shinji caught himself watching her backside on the way there. His first reaction was to feel embarrassed and get ready for a scolding from…well, from someone; but then he knew that wasn't to come—no one knew he was watching her ass anyway. He studied it for the scant seconds they journeyed, and gained a whole new outlook on Asuka. To tell the truth, she had an amazing ass. Nice and round, but not too big. Something you could grab on to—in Shinji's inexperience and naïve opinion anyway.

They entered Asuka's dimly lit abode. The shades had been drawn across the two windows that occupied the place, throwing a tan-colored light into the room. It created a calm feeling, a kind of nostalgia for more peaceful days past. It comforted the two pilots. It was, however, a little stuffy in there. The air was hot, and hard to breathe; no new air had gotten in, so the same oxygen had been circulating in the room for the entire time Asuka had been in there. Shinji expected the room to smell of sweat, and readied his hand to cover his nose; but he was surprised. The room smelled nothing reminiscent of odor—it smelled…nice. It smelled like Asuka.

"Right, grab a seat," she said. She dropped down onto her stomach on a pile of pillows haphazardly placed on the floor and took up her controller. Shinji sat cross-legged to her left at about waist level. "Close the door, would you?"

"Oh, sure." Feeling somewhat irritated that she asked after he had sat down, Shinji got up and closed the door. He took his seat once again. Asuka's scent encompassed the room. It filled Shinji's lungs with the sweet aroma of such a myriad of flowers, his head was soon spinning. It was oppressive, suffocating him, but he wanted more of it. He wanted more of Asuka.

"Okay, this is the level. Are you watching?" Asuka twisted to look back at him. Shinji nodded. "Good. Now you see, I have to get across this lake of lava. There're islands floating above the lava, but only a few of them. See these levers? They move the position of the islands. The thing is each lever controls more than one island. I've been trying to find the right combination for hours, but I can't get the damned islands to line up."

"Alright. Well, just start trying combinations. We'll see if we can figure out the right one."

So Shinji watched Asuka play the game. They both searched for the solution, their minds racing for the answer. Half an hour passed. Asuka was intent on beating the game, and so paid no attention to Shinji. He paid a lot of attention to her, though. Without her looking, he could study her figure. Propped up on her elbows like she was, her back was arched in a way that Shinji could not take his eyes off of her. Her crossed legs looked so smooth, so wonderfully silky, he was barely able to keep from running a hand across them. And her ass—damn! It was like icing on an already delicious cake.

Understandably, Shinji didn't hear Asuka the first time she spoke. "Shinji! Are you listening to me?"

"Of course," he said, startled by his inattention.

"Then answer my question."

"W-well, um, I was t-trying to figure out the puzzle, s-so wasn't paying attention to what you said…" Shinji was flushed, his cheeks red and burning. If Asuka had found out he was ogling her, she'd bite his head off.

"What's wrong? You're face is all red," she said, fanning her own face. "I guess it is pretty hot in here."

A dumfounded Shinji watched as Asuka took her shirt off, tossing it nonchalantly onto her bed. She had no bra on.

"There, that's better."

Shinji tried to say something, but it seemed coherent words were too complicated for his brain to process. A babble of nothing came out instead.

"What's your problem?" Asuka asked, rolling on her side to look at Shinji. Her arm rested on her naked breasts, covering them to a small extent. Her face was also flushed, but from the heat or embarrassment, Shinji knew not.

He averted his eyes. "Couldn't we just open a window or something?" he managed to get out without tripping over his tongue too much. This was too much for him. Asuka without a shirt on, resting there like nothing was going on at all! Had she finally gone mad?

"Why aren't you looking at me?" she asked. "What, aren't I good enough for you?" she said, raising her voice. "Am I so ugly and dreadful that you can't stand to look at me?" She stood, rising above a cowering Shinji.

"No, it's nothing like that, Asuka! This has never happened before, I mean with me and a girl, so it's just really uncomfortable! It's not that I think you're ugly, believe me!" Shinji brought his knees to his chest, pushing his head downwards, trying not to see Asuka. "It wouldn't be right for me to see you like this anyway. I don't deserve to see you like this!"

Asuka presided over his excuses in relative silence, hands on hips, bare-chested and not caring who saw. A scowl had fixed itself upon her face, and she stared daggers at Shinji.

For a tense minute, nothing happened. Shinji sat huddled, and Asuka stood unabashed. But then she moved. She crouched next to Shinji and placed a hand on his arm. "Listen, I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. I didn't know you were so insecure about it. If you want, I can put my shirt back on." Shinji nodded his head the best he could, concealed as he was. "Alright, I'll tell you when you can look." He nodded again.

Asuka went and grabbed a bra from her dresser, though it was still too hot to wear one. For Shinji's sake, she thought. Then she got her tank-top from her bed, and slipped it on too. "Okay," she said.

Shinji slowly unraveled the grip he had on himself. He hesitantly raised his head, making sure Asuka had kept her promise. When he saw she was decent, he stretched out his legs and leaned heavily against the wall. The tension left his body, along with his energy.

"I'm sorry, Asuka, for making you think I saw you as ugly. That's not the truth."

Asuka walked over to Shinji and sat next to him.

"I actually think you're quite the opposite." He swallowed, trying to force the lump in his throat down. "You're very beautiful, Asuka," he quietly said, looking at the ground.

Asuka was taken aback, but hid her surprise as best she could—Shinji didn't notice at least. She leaned toward him, and gently left a wet kiss on his cheek. She said nothing, but went back to her game, determined to beat it without any more interruptions.