Disclaimer: because I respect Gainax as the rightful owners of Evangelion and it's characters.

Wow, the prologue chapter is finally out of the way, and I'm on to Chapter 1! Thank you for sticking with me thus far, because this is where the story is really going to be taking shape. I hope I don't disappoint you too much if you were hoping for something along the lines of the first chapter, because as I said before this one is going to be notably lighter, and less apocalyptic. Everyone's already been through hell, so I figured they deserved something a little more normal. That doesn't mean I'm not going to have some fun though. ;)

Thank you very much for showing enough interest to keep reading up to this point, I really appreciate it! Now, without further delay, please enjoy Chaper 1!


Humans weren't meant to float

By GeekViking86

Chapter 2 – House by the lake

Two years… It had been two years since Third Impact had been initiated, and almost brought an end to the human race. A massive pool of orange liquid was all that remained of Tokyo 3, but humanity's will to move on and survive proved to be it's greatest strength in those following months.

Within a year, more than two billion people had been found, with more being discovered every day. It was not long before governments were re-built, and the global economy had begun to return. Things were still very rough for the people who lived close to ground zero, with many of Tokyo 3's former residents migrating to New Yokohama and Nagoya. But still, the will to live was very strong, and it wasn't long before most people had returned to a fairly stable lifestyle.

No one liked to talk much about what happened during Third Impact or Instrumentality. The experience was too abstract for many people to put into words, and for others the memory was too painful to want to recollect. It was a big mess, but most people had accepted it and moved on, while others had simply chose ignorance.

On the one-year anniversary Third Impact, after the first actual cold winter since the year 2000, thousands of people visited the lake of LCL to pay there respects to the lives lost, and to the living who had not yet returned, or had chosen not to. Following the example of Shinji Ikari, they would send out small boats carrying candles, in hopes that they would return. A massive wall had also been put up, where visitors could place pictures of the missing as an act of respect and remembrance.

Now, on the second year anniversary, even more visitors had come to the remains of Tokyo 3, many of whom were from other countries. Shinji had never been officially recognized as the originator of the tradition, but for some reason, he didn't mind. Seeing that his idea had given hope to so many people felt satisfying enough, even if he didn't get credit for it.

Most of his friends had returned from the orange sea, but he still felt compelled to return this year. Although the LCL retained it's sickly orange hue from two years ago, the oppressive red haze that once covered the entire Kanto region had dispersed and disappeared what seemed like ages ago. The massive stone Eva units still stood their vigil of the lake as they had two years ago, but now they were much more visible since the pool of souls had significantly decreased in size and depth.

After walking to the edge of the shore, Shinji placed the little boat he had brought in the water, and lit the candle. He sat there for a moment, as he watched the boat head out to join the others that had already been sent by others.

"Shinji, are you ready?" asked Misato from behind.

"Yeah, let's go." He answered, feeling satisfied. He stood up, and Misato wrapped an arm around his shoulder as the two walked up the sandy bank back to where Misato had parked. Just as they were reaching the edge of the sand, Misato leaned in and planted a warm kiss on Shinji's forehead, which was much higher up than it was two years ago.

"Thank you, Shinji." Was all she said, and the rest of the trip was silent.


The new home of Misato and her two 16-year-old charges was a modestly sized four-bedroom lakeside house, not far form New Yokohama. It was a little expensive considering that it was in need of some repairs, but it hadn't taken the three long to fall in love with it, and it hadn't even been eight months since they moved in. Besides, Misato's pension from the UN had done pretty well to cover it. The fourth, un-occupied bedroom had worked out rather nicely as Misato's home office, which was a real blessing with her new job as a re-construction supervisor. Most of her work was signing government checks, but it was certainly a nice change of pace after everything she'd gone through as a Major at NERV.

It was quiet and relaxing, but still close enough to the city that Shinji and Asuka could visit with their friends and attend school. The real thing that sold them though was the lake. The realtor had told Misato that it had once been a water reservoir, which meant it was one of the cleanest lakes in the area. Misato's pet, the warm-water penguin PenPen certainly didn't mind, seeing as he barely got to swim at all when they lived in Tokyo 3. This was a place where Shinji and Asuka could relax while they finished school, without the pressure of NERV, Angels, sync rates, or any of those things kids their age should never have to worry about. This was home.

"Hey Asuka-chan." Misato said as she walked through the door. The redhead was busy chatting on the phone, and quickly made a shushing gesture with her finger over her mouth. Misato took heed and sat down on the sofa, dropping her handbag lazily on the coffee table, and Shinji soon sat on the seat across from her. She gave him warm smile as he sat there, looking so much more grown up than when she first met him nearly three years ago. This little moment was cut short when Asuka finally turned off the phone.

"Asuka, were there any calls I need to know about?" Misato asked.

"Um… Oh yeah, I think you got one from Ibuki-San, she said to call back." The German replied.

"Maya called? Give me that phone!" Misato said while grabbing for the phone in Asuka's hand.

"Hey, I was supposed to call Hikari!" Asuka snapped, while refusing to let go.

"Well then use your cell phone!"

"I can't! I'm out of daytime minutes!"

"Well then wait until seven!"

As the arguing continued, Shinji decided it best to his room and listen to his SDAT for a while. After lying on the bed with his ear buds in place for a few minutes, the bickering seemed to have stopped, and judging from Misato's pleasant tone of voice, she apparently had won usage of the coveted device. Heh. Girls. Shinji thought to himself. Deciding that it was time that he started on dinner, he put away his tape player and headed for the kitchen. On his way there, it was obvious that Misato's conversation with Maya was making her excited, even though his mind couldn't even begin to speculate what they were talking about. His eyes turned to Asuka, who was sitting in front of the TV playing a videogame.

"Asuka, does Chicken Cesar sound good?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure." She mumbled, trying not to be distracted from the game in front of her. Shinji opened the fridge and started taking out the ingredients, and was soon preparing the salad.


Dinner started out quiet, as it had often been in the past year. Misato decided that now would be as good a time as any to bring up the conversation she had with Maya that day.

"So, Maya has been doing pretty well since I last talked to her."

"So, what's she been up to?" questioned Shinji.

"Well, the computer networking company she started with Aoba-san and Hyuga-san has been doing really well, and…" Misato paused for a minute, wanting to make sure both teens were listening, and her smile widened. "She got married."

"She did what?" Asuka blasted, with her mouth hanging open. Shinji looked a little surprised too, but much more contained. "Married? To who?"

"Shigeru Aoba." Misato answered, which only made Asuka's eyes go wider.

"How did a mousy workaholic like her end up marrying that nihilist poser?" the redhead asked, rubbing her hand on her forehead.

"Well, apparently Aoba-san always had a thing for her, and about a year after Third Impact they both decided life is too short." Misato smiled. "And that's not even the best part."

"Is that so? I can hardly wait to hear this." Asuka muttered has she took in another forkful of salad.

"She's already five months pregnant with their first child." Asuka nearly choked on a crouton, which only made Misato laugh. Shinji merely let out a smile, which greatly annoyed the fiery German.

"I guess nothing should surprise me anymore. Next you'll be telling me you're going out with Hyuga-san!" Asuka mumbled, which caused Misato to let out another light chuckle.

"Anyway, since summer is coming up soon, I was thinking maybe we'd do a barbeque with the three of them sometime in June, and catch up for old times' sake. You can invite your friends over too, if you want." Misato smiled.

"That would be great!" Shinji said with a smile.

"Okay fine, I guess. But I've got two conditions!" demanded Asuka. Misato gestured her to continue.

"Alright first of all, you aren't allowed to get drunk and embarrass us."

"What, are you nuts?" Misato asked, half jokingly.

"And second, Shinji handles the grill, not you."

"Okay, fine. I guess we're set then."

"Well then, I guess I'll be buying a new swimsuit soon. I'm gonna go call Hikari, maybe we'll go shopping this week." Asuka grinned. Shinji let out a sigh of relief as she rose from the table. Before leaving, she shot Shinji a look.

"And I fully expect you to make something nice! There's going to be a pregnant woman there!" she barked. And with that, she turned and left the room.

"So, Maya-san and Shigeru-san. Huh." Shinji said to no-one in particular, as he continued to peck at his salad. PenPen simply let out a curious "Wark?" before slurping down another fish from his bowl.

"So, Shin-chan… How are things between you and Asuka?" Misato asked.

"Oh, they're—okay I guess." He said while sipping his iced tea.

"Just okay?"

"Well, she's been a lot nicer to me lately, but we still get into arguments about stupid stuff, and she's still kind of bossy."

"Well, that's just part of her personality. I really think she wants to change though."

"Yeah…" Shinji trailed off as he finished the last of his salad. "Well, I've got finals this week, so I'd better go study." And with that, he placed his dishes in the sink and went to his room. Misato sighed as she placed her hand on PenPen's head and stroked his feathers.

Misato had always suspected that Asuka and Shinji liked each other, but as things were she knew it would be nearly impossible to get either of them to admit it—well, Asuka at least. Shinji's feelings were much easier for Misato to access, something she greatly appreciated about him. She herself had almost fallen for him once, but fortunately in the end, her maternal instincts kept her wistfulness in check. However, she still enjoyed making him blush every now and then. He's adorable when he's embarrassed. She smiled.

But despite her best efforts, things never really seemed to materialize between her surrogate children. Asuka would boss Shinji around hoping that he would eventually say "no", and Shinji interpreted this as her wanting him to be submissive, which only made her more frustrated. This game of theirs wasn't getting them anywhere, and Misato feared that if it did, it might end up damaging the fragile friendship that was already there.

Yeah, you're one to talk about relationships… Almost thirty-one and you haven't had a boyfriend since Kaji. Misato let out a sigh, but then the motherly part of her spoke up. Your current goal is to get your kids through school. If having a man in your life fits in with that, great! If it doesn't, then don't let it get to you. Misato smiled to herself. My kids…For some reason, she liked how that felt. She might not have been their mother, or their big sister… But they were still her kids, and she loved them both.Misato gave the feathers on PenPen's head a stroke with her fingers.

"So, do you think those two have a chance?"

"Wark?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure if anyone would know."

And on that last thought, Misato decided to go to the calendar and find a good day for the get together she was planning.

End chapter
Author's Notes:

Ah, Chapter 1 finished! Thanks for taking the time to read it, and please take a moment to leave a review, if you can spare the time. I really want to know what you think! And please check back soon for Chapter 3 :)