Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion. If you think I do, you're nuts!

Hello again, and thank you for stopping by to check up on my fic! Sorry it's taken so long, but I've been extremely busy with work these past few weeks, and I've hardly had any free time that I could devote to my writing until just recently. But now I'm making an effort to work on it more, so please don't think I've forgotten about it! Thanks for all the reviews you guys have sent in the meantime, they've been a real encouragement! And now, without further delay, Chapter 8!


Humans weren't meant to float

By GeekViking86

Chapter 8 – Sleeping beauty

"The island looks closer tonight than it ever has before, doesn't it?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, I guess it does." Shinji shrugged.

"One of these days, we're both going to be there, and you're going to be proud of yourself."

"I hope so."

They gazed out at the moonlit lake for another few moments in silence. Then, Asuka opened the door on her side of the car and started to step out. Before heading back to the house, she looked back at Shinji and gave him a slightly nervous smile.

"Not that it really matters, but—I think you must take more after your mother, because you're much better looking than your father." A look of bashfulness came over her once she'd spoken, and she quickly turned away to hide her blush. "Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'll talk to you in the morning." She closed the door and started back for the house, leaving Shinji alone to his thoughts for a moment.

It'd been about a week since he and Asuka came home from Kensuke's out-of-control house party, and several nights since then, Shinji found himself going over the conversation that he shared with her that night while he slept.

He reached to touch his face, and felt the spot where Greg had bruised him during his fight. He had been relieved when Misato told him it would probably be healed by the end of the week, and he could tell that the swelling had reduced considerably. However, that thought also reminded him of the new house rules that had gone into effect. In addition to always having to inform Misato of exactly where they were going, if Shinji and Asuka were going out after 6 PM, they had to call her via cell phone every hour so she could check up on them. The exception would be for movie theaters—after all, Misato herself had been known to throw a soda or two when she heard talking during a movie, which on at least one occasion resulted in violence.

They had both been grateful that Misato had gone as easy on them as she had, and that the biggest of their troubles would be an enforced 10 PM curfew, and not a major grounding… Especially since it would likely have interfered with a certain birthday celebration for a certain blue-eyed German.

Before he went back to sleep, he checked to make sure his sketch book was where he'd left it, since he was going to need it in the morning. He scooped it up and flipped through its pages momentarily, coming to an un-finished work. It was so dark he had to strain his eyes just to see, but it still brought a smile to his face. He sincerely hoped that tomorrow he wouldn't loose his nerve, and chicken out.

"Hmm… Tomorrow… Mustn't run away…" He mumbled after placing the book back on his nightstand. Then, he rolled over and went back to sleep.


The next morning when he came into the kitchen, he saw a well-rested Asuka once again wearing her sports bra and running shorts. She gave Shinji a bright smile and took a sip from her UCG coffee can.

"Good to see you up, sleepy head! We've got more training to do today once you're out of the bathroom!" she said as she downed the last mouthful from the aluminum can, and slammed it on the table to crush it. She really was becoming more like Misato every day—in some ways that Shinji would prefer she didn't.

"I wish you and Misato wouldn't do that thing with the can. The rings you two leave are going to be a real pain to get out of the table!" Shinji said while shaking his head.

"Who cares, this thing is a piece of junk. Besides, Misato said she's probably going to replace it anyway. Might as well have some fun abusing it while we can!" Asuka then smirked childishly as she kicked the table leg with her foot, making the whole thing jerk and knocking over the spice shakers.

"Maybe we wouldn't have to if you girls weren't so rough with it." Shinji said while shaking his head. Asuka gave him another bratty smile and tossed her crushed coffee can into the nearby recycling bin, making a satisfying 'clunk' sound as it mingled with the others.

"Well, you know the drill. I'll see you outside when you're dressed." Asuka said as she walked to the back door, but she stopped when Shinji's voice spoke up.

"Um, actually Asuka—I had an idea for something a little different today." Asuka raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "There was someplace I was thinking maybe we could jog to, if you want. We'd need to have breakfast first since we might be out a while." He paused briefly. "I asked Misato last night, and she said she was fine with it."

Asuka was surprised that Shinji himself was offering to break from routine, but after doing mostly the same thing for over a month, the idea of trying something a little different was appealing to her. And if Shinji thought wherever he wanted to go was worth going out of his way to show her, then it may well be worth a look.

"Sure, I guess I can throw together some yogurt and granola. That should be light enough not to weigh us down."

Shinji smiled happily. Asuka rarely made breakfast, even for herself. And while her offering was hardly eggs benedict and fresh squeezed juice, Shinji still appreciated her giving him a break for once. Plus, it'd give him a moment to gather the things needed for what he had planned.

Once Shinji was out of the bathroom and wearing his exercise clothes, he joined Asuka at the table where they ate together. After they'd finished, they got up and Asuka started heading for the door again.

"Hang on a sec, I'm just gonna grab my backpack." Shinji said.

"Whatcha got in there?" Asuka asked curiously.

"Just some sports drinks, my phone, and some other stuff." Shinji answered with a shrug. Asuka wasn't really interested enough to press for details, so she didn't bother. He darted into his room and came back with the pack over his shoulders; then he and Asuka slipped on their running shoes and went outside.

"Well, you know where we're going so…" Asuka hesitated for a moment, because the words that would follow for some reason felt un-comfortable for her. "Take the lead, Ikari." She practically had to force herself to say it, and as a compromise she decided not to use Shinji's first name. In all fairness to Asuka though, even she sometimes struggled to understand her mind's inner workings. And the fact that saying those words made Shinji smile wasn't really helping. Within minutes though, she had let it go and instead focused her thoughts on where Shinji might be taking her.


Asuka wasn't quite sure how long they'd been jogging for, so she glanced down at her watch and noticed it'd been about fifteen minutes. They were pretty far away from home by now, and Asuka wasn't quite familiar with the trail. However, there were several inclines that they had to scale, so they were probably fairly high up by now. It was pretty nice though—there were lots of trees around providing shade with just a touch of sun peeking through, and morning birds sang their cheerful songs as they passed. They took a turn from the path and went onto the dirt path, and soon came to an opening with cliff which offered a beautiful view of New Yokohama.

"Well, we're here." He said as he sat himself on a thick cut piece of rock, which was one of many that had been placed a couple yards from the cliff's edge as a barrier. He slipped off his backpack and un-zipped it, then pulled out a neon-colored sports drink which he tossed to Asuka.

"Thanks." She said after catching it, and then twisted the cap off. "So, this is the place you wanted to show me?" she asked before taking a swig of her drink.

"Yeah, I sometimes come here when I need to be alone. It kind of reminds me of somewhere I used to visit back in Tokyo 3, but I think this place has a better view." He answered, and guzzled down some of his own beverage. It really was a nice vista, Asuka couldn't deny. In fact in a way, she almost wished she'd been shown it sooner. As she was taking it in though, she noticed Shinji rummaging through his backpack again.

"I didn't just bring you here to show you the view though…" he said, and then produced his sketchpad from his backpack.

Asuka hovered over his shoulder for a moment as he thumbed through the book as if looking for something. There was an assortment of sketches, many of which were things like dragons, ninjas, and whatever other testosterone-fueled daydreams Shinji may have had, while others were things that she recognized from their life, like friends from school and even a sketch or two of Pen-Pen. She stopped him from flipping momentarily when she noticed one sketch that she felt she had mixed feelings about, one of which was surprise.

"Wait a minute, what is this?" She asked interrogatively as she pointed. It was a portrait of Misato, and she was wearing a kimono-like robe—however, 'partially wearing' might have been more accurate, since it was practically falling off, giving a good view of her bare shoulders and cleavage. Shinji looked a little flustered as he tried to give his explanation.

"Uh… well… Misato offered to model for me that time, and the pose was her idea!" he stammered frantically. He was actually fairly proud of that drawing, and considered it one of his better ones—it's just that he hadn't exactly been planning to show it to Asuka.

"Well, it looks… Nice. You really did a good job of capturing her likeness."

Shinji let out a sigh of relief. It always felt good to have his work complimented, but in this case he would have settled just for not being called a pervert.

He thumbed past two more sketches, and came to the one that Asuka presumed he was looking for; it was a beautiful drawing of the city skyline from where they were currently sitting, and even though it was incomplete, it showed a lot of promise. Asuka noticed that there was a relatively large blank space though, like it was waiting for something to be drawn but inspiration never came.

"I've been working on this for a while, but I never really felt happy with it because I always felt like it needed something in the foreground. But I never really had a subject that I could use, so…" Shinji trailed off, like he wasn't sure how to phrase the next part.

"Did you want me to model for you?" Asuka asked candidly.

"Uh, yeah… Would you?" Shinji responded with hope in his voice, and Asuka gave him a pleasant smile.

"Sure, I guess so. But if I'd known before, I would have worn something a little classier!" She joked as she examined her exercise outfit.

"Don't worry, you look great." Shinji chuckled. He pulled out a pencil and a piece of graphite from his bag, and situated himself of a different rock a little further from the cliff's edge, where Asuka assumed he'd drawn the rest of the picture from.

"Now, could you sit on that rock and face to your right?" he asked, and Asuka did so. "And now if you could just put knee up a little…" before he could even finish, Asuka had already struck exactly the pose he had been wanting, with her chin resting on her knee while she gazed outward, with a calm look on her face; she was clearly a natural at this. There was one last thing that was missing though, that Shinji knew he needed to make the scene complete.

"Oh yeah, and if it's not too much trouble… Could you undo your hair?" He asked nervously. Asuka understood his request, but a wily look came over her when she noticed this was a perfect moment to tease Shinji.

"So should I do that before, or after I take my clothes off?" she cooed, which made Shinji's face look akin to a deer staring into car headlights. Then, Asuka let out a series of hard laughs and slapped her knee, and Shinji's face went back to its normal color as he started breathing again.

"Jeez, and you call me a hentai!" He said while wiping a drop of sweat from his hair.

"I'm sorry, you're just too much fun!" Asuka laughed. She finally reached around the back of her head to slip off her hair band, and undid her ponytail. She gave her head a gentle shake, sending her beautiful waist-length locks of red flowing gently in the light breeze. It was perfect, and now all Shinji had to do was get it on paper.

It didn't take long for him to pencil in the rough shapes for Asuka's posing figure, and soon he was drawing the actual details. He didn't notice as the minutes slid by, but Asuka appeared to be very patient, and held her position very consistently. She made for a very good model, even besides the natural beauty she possessed.

Finally, Shinji picked up his graphite and started doing some basic shading, being extra careful to capture the way the light hit Asuka's facial features and skin. It wasn't close to finished, but Shinji knew he'd been drawing for at least half an hour, and he had enough that he could toy around with it more some other time.

"Well, I think I have enough for now. You can move again." He said cheerfully.

"Ooh! Let me see!" Asuka jumped down and ran over to the sketchpad, and was very pleased with what she saw. Shinji had done a truly admirable job, and even though it was still incomplete it showed the makings of an excellent picture.

"Wow, it's like looking into a mirror!" she smiled.

"Heh, thanks. It's not done yet, but I can always pick it up again later." After a moment Shinji closed the sketchpad and re-placed it in his backpack, along with the other items.

"So, can I assume we'll be able to come back for the rest another time?" Asuka asked.

Shinji smirked, and he nodded meekly.

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

He slung his pack over his shoulders, and the two started back down the path to the jogging trail.

"You're really good. Have you ever taken lessons?"

"I learned a lot from books, but I'm mostly self-taught. There's still a lot that I don't know though…"

"Have you considered taking any art courses in college?"

"A little. My main concentration is still cello, but I am interested in expanding my art. Right now I'm only really good with graphite though, so I want to learn about using more mediums."

They had already reached the jogging trail again, but they kept walking at the normal pace for a while, since Shinji wanted to talk a little more.

"So… I know you already have a degree, so what are you planning on doing after high school? You don't talk about it much." He asked.

"Well, I'm not quite sure yet, but I'm interested in going bat to college to get a doctorate. Medical science has been an interest of mine, and I like the idea of being a physician… But, I've also always wanted to learn about psychology."

"Dr. Asuka Langley… It has a good ring to it." Shinji teased. "If I already had a degree, I doubt I'd go for second helpings. If you wanted, you could probably start a career as soon as you turn eighteen, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess I could."

Asuka mostly stayed quiet after Shinji's last comment, looking slightly lost in thought, and a little disappointed at the same time. Shinji didn't see it though, because from what he could tell the conversation had ended, and they were now both jogging again.

Actually, if I'd never met you, I probably would have just lied about my age and never even bothered going back to high school in the first place… Asuka couldn't say these words to Shinji yet though… They meant too much, and for her it was still too soon. It was the truth though—She didn't need to attend high school, just like she didn't need to get a doctorate or master's degree to get a good career. She could have done almost anything she wanted and been a success, but she still wanted to live a normal adolescent life… And Shinji was a major reason for why.

Sure, she cared very deeply for Misato, and her friends at school were okay, especially Hikari… But much of she'd done since NERV closed shop had been for Shinji, even though she often refused to admit it. And deep down, she had been hoping for a long time that when it was time to start college, her and Shinji would be able to rent an off-campus apartment together. Sure, they could just go to separate colleges and get set up in the dorms, but that was just it… She didn't want to be separated. She hadn't really thought about the implications of a young girl and boy sharing a home on their own, but she didn't really care. She knew that she wanted to stick with Shinji, even if it wasn't entirely practical.

But it's not like I can just keep following him around… Can I? Even if I do get an apartment with him, what happens after college? We can't keep up the "joined at the hip" routine forever, unless I'm willing to make a serious commitment to him… Wait, does that mean I want— She stopped her thoughts short. She knew where they were going, and reminded herself that it was way too early for her to be thinking that far ahead. Especially since we aren't even an item. Well, not yet, at least—but who knows? We are pretty close, aren't we? Asuka didn't get to finish confronting this thought train however, because before she knew it, they were back at the house.
When they had gotten home, Shinji noticed that the garage door was open, and could hear Misato's voice uttering several muffled curses from inside, following the clanking sound of a falling tool. She was obviously working on the BMW again.

"Argh! Pen-Pen, hand me the number six ratchet again!" she grumbled, followed with the hot-spring Penguin's typical response.

"Wark!"

"Tadima!" Shinji said as he and Asuka passed by.

"Oh, hi kids." Their guardian shouted from under the car. "Ow! Son of a--" the rest was inaudible through the sound of metal pounding against metal. Shinji decided it would be safer to be somewhere else, and headed for the front door of the house. Once inside, Asuka turned to look at him.

"Okay, time for your swimming lesson! Go get changed." She told him while pointing to his room. "I'm going to get some stuff for today's practice, so I'll be a few minutes."

Shinji nodded in agreement, and went to his room. He slipped out of his running clothes and put on his trunks, which he had kept within easy access since he'd been using them nearly every day. After spraying on a coat of sun bock, he slung his towel over his shoulder and headed outside to the beach to wait.

He had been waiting for at least five minutes, and started wondering what Asuka had planned that was taking her so long. Finally, she appeared down the path, wearing her red bikini, and had a stopwatch hanging around her neck. In her arms she carried a large inflatable floating lounge cushion, and a blue nylon bag. Shinji frowned and seriously wondered what she was up to.

"You're becoming a very good swimmer, but you still haven't really proven yourself underwater." Said Asuka. She opened the bag and pulled out a set of eight brightly colored plastic rings, and Shinji's scowl deepened.

"What? Those things are for kids!" he protested.

"No they're not! Their purpose is to help you adapt to the underwater environment, which is something you're going to have to do if you're going to be in deep water." Asuka said in a lecturing tone, to which Shinji rolled his eyes.

"Fine. But what's the cushion for?"

"I'm going to be using it while I time you." Asuka waved the stopwatch with her hand, and gave Shinji a wink. "Now let's get in."

They both casually waded through the water until they'd gotten deep enough that their feet no longer touched the bottom. Asuka pulled herself up onto her floating lounge seat, and put her feet up into a reclining position. Then, she reached into the nylon bag and took out the colored rings again.

"Okay, ready?" she asked, and Shinji nodded. She flung the rings a few yards in each direction, and then pressed the button on the watch.

"Go!" She shouted, and Shinji dove under.

He opened his eyes, and tried to orient himself. He still wasn't quite used to seeing underwater, but he soon spotted a pink hoop a few feet in front of him. He swam over and scooped it up, then swam to the surface where he handed it to Asuka. He went back under and started looking for another, and eventually had found the green one. He repeated this process six more times, until he'd finally retrieved all of them. Asuka hit the button on her watch again, and looked down at it.

"Eight minutes? That's terrible! Try again!" she said apathetically from her floating throne, then tossed the rings again and pressed the button once more. "Go!"

Shinji groaned in frustration, and once again was looking for the rings, this time determined to be faster. This time, he tried staying under a little bit longer than before, to see if he could get two rings in a single dive. This proved successful twice, but he was still having a little trouble with his orientation. He surfaced with the last two and handed them to Asuka, who glanced at her timekeeper.

"Six minutes and thirty seconds. Better, but you can still improve. Again!"

This went on for at least half an hour, until finally Shinji had been able to collect all eight rings within only three dives. Asuka looked at her watch one last time.

"Four minutes. I guess that's good enough for now." Asuka gave a satisfied smirk upon seeing the time, and Shinji bowed his head in relief. "Maybe tomorrow I'll have you look for twelve rings." She taunted, which made Shinji scowl. But then, he made a mischievous grin.

"It's easy for you to bark orders when you're high and dry, isn't it? How about a cool off?"

He then splashed some water at her, causing her to jerk angrily.

"Hey! Cut that out, dummkopf!" she shouted as she looked down at the water on her skin, but to her surprise Shinji only laughed. It didn't take her long to realize what he was up to, and soon she had a juvenile grin of her own. "Here, why don't you have some yourself?" she taunted as she flung some water at his face, catching him off guard.

He shook his head and wiped the excess from his eyes, and then sent a counter attack that completely soaked Asuka's face and top, making her eyes shoot open. She flung several more heaps of water at him, but by now Shinji had decided to resort to a more hands-on approach. He grabbed the end of the cushion and sank all of his weight in it, causing Asuka to completely slide off and briefly bump against him.

"Agh! You cheater!" She shouted in a jokingly irate voice, as she shoved herself away from Shinji and started splashing at him more. Now, it had erupted into a full-on water fight.

They continued splashing at each other playfully, with the sounds of water being accompanied by their giggling voices for a couple minutes. Unfortunately, their fun was brought to a halt when they heard Misato shouting.

"Hey, are either of you going to make lunch? I'm starving!" she was standing at the edge of the beach, and had motor oil all over her face and clothes. Shinji could only guess that she had chosen to call a ceasefire in her mechanical war, in which case she'd be very cranky if she didn't get a cold beer and something to eat soon. Shinji let out a sigh, and looked over to her.

"Sure Misato, we'll be right over."

The lavender haired woman smiled at her soaked charges, then turned on her heel and strolled back to the house, leaving Shinji and Asuka alone again.

"Truce?" Shinji asked, holding out his hand.

"Truce. For now, at least." Asuka answered, and shook Shinji's hand with her own. "But you can carry my lounge cushion back." she snickered before releasing Shinji's grip.

Once they were walking up the sandy bank back to the house, Asuka broke the silence by asking Shinji a question.

"So, what have you heard about the place Hikari picked for my birthday dinner?"

"I just know it's an Italian place that serves pasta dishes and seafood. It's semi-upscale, from what I've read about it."

"Sounds nice. But while we're on the subject..." Her sapphire eyes suddenly had a cunning tint to them, and Shinji knew it was time to raise his mental defenses. "What did you get me?"

"You'll find out on your birthday, I told you a million times!" He said while avoiding her stare.

"Fine, maybe I'll just have to tickle the answer out of you!" Asuka snickered as she gave Shinji's side a playful pinch, making him jump with an uncomfortable laugh.

"No! You only have six more days to wait, so just be patient!"

Asuka scowled while crossing her arms, and noticed that they were at the house.

"Aw, you're no fun." She mumbled as Shinji held the door for her, and they both went inside.


That night, Shinji was sleeping soundly in his room, with his SDAT ear buds in place just as he usually did. However, the gentle stream of classical music didn't stop him from waking up to the sound of his door sliding open. Although it was dark, it wasn't hard for him to recognize that it was Asuka.

"Asuka?" He whispered while removing his headphones and turning off his SDAT, but he received no answer other than some quiet, incoherent mumbling. Has she been sleepwalking again?

The last time she had walked in her sleep, to his knowledge, had been over two years ago, when they were undergoing intense synch training to launch a choreographed attack against the seventh Angel. This situation felt so familiar now, as the memories of that night came rushing back to him. They were sharing a room as part of their training, but since Misato was out the night before their battle, Asuka had went into the next room and slammed the door shut, calling it "the wall of Jericho"… How ironic that choice of words turned out to be, because within an hour the "wall" had come crashing down when Asuka unconsciously came back in the room, and plopped herself into Shinji's bed.

She had been mumbling in her sleep very similarly to the way she was now. Shinji remembered that it was also the first time he had tried to kiss her, but fortunately backed out at the last second. But he was scared, so he ended up leaving Asuka and spending the night in the bed that she'd had left vacant. The next morning, she made no attempt to find out how her and Shinji had switched places, but Shinji had always thought it better than the likely alternative; her waking up wrapped around him, then kicking the snot out of him and calling him a pervert for months. But now, he wasn't quite sure if that's what would have happened if he'd stayed to comfort her.

He looked at Asuka again, who was still mumbling. The two situations were almost identical, and the frightened part of his mind was once again screaming, telling him to either sleep on the couch or try to move Asuka back to her room. But for some reason, the rest of him didn't want to—She just wants someone to comfort her. It's still only been a few days since "the incident", hasn't it? I guess I can let her stay, just for tonight…

He carefully lifted the sheet and draped it over both of them, and Asuka moved in closer and snuggled against him. She rested her arm across Shinji's chest, which made his heart hammer in his ribcage, and hr was terrified that if Asuka moved her hand any higher, she was going to feel the vibration and snap awake. After all, this was Asuka, his dream girl—in his bed, wearing nothing but some panties and a baggy T-Shirt… and he could feel right through it, since she was pressed against him so closely. Then, Asuka's lonely mumbling stopped, and she let out a peaceful sigh of content as she nestled into Shinji's side.

Shinji could finally feel his heartbeat slowing down, and it wasn't long before he actually felt like he was relaxed. A gentle smile came to his face, and started thinking about how beautiful Asuka was when she was sleeping; her soft angelic features, the subtle but satisfied smile on her mouth… And then, there was her amazingly long hair, which draped over her like a second blanket. For years, Shinji had wanted to run his fingers through it, and tonight decided to take the opportunity while it was avalible. It was even more soft and silky than he could have imagined, and he couldn't resist memorizing the scent.

Hmm… Figures that she'd smell like strawberries. Everything is red with her, isn't it? He smiled again as he gently exhaled.

The last time he remembered feeling this comfortable was almost too long ago to remember-- only that it was before his mother died, when she was holding him in her arms. The feeling of warmth and closeness was the same, but the difference was that this time, the sense of security felt more mutual—like he was giving it back, and not just receiving it. It was much deeper, and he could only imagine what it would feel like if he could openly share his feelings with Asuka someday.

The next day Asuka would probably wake up before him, sneak back into her own room, and pretend that nothing had happened… Or, she'd simply get up unconsciously and sleepwalk back, and have no recollection of it at all. But Shinji was okay with her house-cat like behavior, and decided he wasn't going to bring it up unless Asuka did first. For now, he was happy just to offer her some simple comfort.

His eyes slid shut again, and soon he was dreaming of the sleeping beauty at his side…

End chapter
Well, finally another chapter is finished. It took me a while to get it out, but I did it! This was somewhat of a transitional chapter, because I wanted to spend a little more time showing Shinji and Asuka getting closer before I get to the final chapters. It took me a while to proofread it enough times, and I had to make several alterations and revisions before I was satisfied with the flow of events. We're getting closer to the finale, and I hope I have the skill to make it enjoyable. I'm hoping to get started on chapter 9 soon, so until then…

Thanks for reading, please send your reviews, and God bless!