Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Hideaki Anno, this is a non-profit fanwork, the usual disclaimers.
I wrote this at the last minute to have something for Asuka's birthday. No beta reader, no cover art, no plans, no prototype. So, I apologize in advance if there are any grammar mistakes. I hope you like it
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Come To Me, In The Bitter Winter
On the back seat of the car, Asuka struggled to stay awake. The road to the hotel seemed longer that night, and somehow duller. She had asked the chauffer to turn on the radio. A song was being played, but her brain filtered it into white noise.
At long last, the stress of the business trip was taking a toll on her. At least, she assumed that was the reason. Day after day of waking up at ungodly hours of the morning to go to conferences, meetings, interviews, and other boring obligations. A parade of parties she didn't care about and presentations she didn't want to watch. Yet, she smiled and applauded all the same, for it was her job.
Besides, she had endured worse things in her life. Fake clapping and shaking hands with boring old people wasn't going to kill her.
Asuka checked the hour on her phone. Half past ten, pm. Too dark already to do any sightseeing, or go drinking somewhere fancy. Thanks, European winter.
Her eyes focused on the date in the screen. December 4th. She chuckled.
"Something funny, ma'am?" the driver asked. On the radio, the song was near its end.
"Not really. I just remembered it's my birthday."
"Well, in that case, happy…"
"Please, don't. I don't celebrate it." She put her phone back into her pocket. "Not anymore. Not since I was fourteen."
"Why not?"
Asuka considered telling him, for a moment. She was too tired to think of an excuse. She should just let that man know that she had spent her fourteenth birthday alone, while everyone she knew was busy trying to get some idiot out of a biomechanical abomination. And that her fifteenth had come and gone, ignored by even herself, since everyone was too busy rebuilding the world. And that her sixteenth she had spent on court, after months of house arrest, because the UN wasn't sure yet if she and the other pilot were criminals or victims.
The seventeenth, she had to do a talk in New York about the dangers of Eva technology, as part of a whole year tour. That had been their punishment.
The eighteenth, under psychological care, because of a stupid relapse.
The nineteenth, moving to Kyoto.
The twentieth, busy with exams.
The twenty-first…
"I just don't have the time." She didn't want to deal with the fallout of letting him know that much.
The driver made some more attempts to strike a conversation, but Asuka shot them down as gently as she could, or at least, as she cared to can.
A new song played on the radio.
Out of the car, Asuka made haste into the hotel, to escape the hellish cold. In the main hall, a collection of pleasant aromas floated from the kitchen and reached her nose, alleviating some of the stress. The only silver lining about her whole situation: the food was good. Most of the time. Not as good as his, of course; but good enough. Perhaps she would go down to eat after taking a bath, instead of just calling room service again.
Perhaps.
Maybe.
… Nah.
After an uneventful elevator ride, Asuka reached her room. She closed the door with her foot, and then kicked her shoes off, as she used to do in Misato's apartment. The memory tugged some heartstrings, and for an instant, a sad smile appeared in the face of the efficient businesswoman. Why deny it? She missed that drunk cow.
Asuka walked to the minibar, grabbed a can of beer, ignored the outrageous price of eleven euros, and opened it.
"For you, Katsuragi." She said, raising the drink. "You fucked up, but at least you tried. Thanks." And she took a couple of gulps, shivering as the alcohol revived her a little.
She went to her room, left the can on the bed table and began undressing, letting go of the accumulated tension with each unbuttoning. She didn't notice the wardrobe's door opening, very slowly, and someone tiptoeing out of it. In fact, Asuka didn't notice absolutely anything, until two hands covered her eyes.
"Guess wh–"
Elbow to the stomach, grapple, and the intruder found himself thrown on the bed, face up, with a furious Asuka about to rain a hurricane of punches on said face.
But she stopped at the last moment.
"Shinji?"
"Um…" Ignoring the pain in his belly, he forced himself to smile. "Surprise?"
"What the Hell are you doing here?" Asuka stepped back, leaving him space to sit on the bed and breathe. "How did you get in my room? Is this hotel so shitty that they let anyone waltz in?"
"No, it's none of that." He stopped rubbing his stomach. "The director of this hotel ate in the restaurant about ten months ago."
"She did?" Asuka blinked, quickly checking the memory banks of her brain. But, after a whole day of work, her neurons refused to look for such a menial detail.
"Yes. When I learned that you would be staying here for a few days, I called her and asked for a favor. Then I took a plane, and… well, you can guess the rest."
Asuka raised an unamused eyebrow. "So, when we spoke this morning, you lied."
Shinji shrugged. "Didn't want to ruin the surprise."
She huffed, rolled her eyes, and shook her head.
Then, after a moment of silence, they laughed. Shinji stood up and pulled her into a hug, and she let him. She wanted it, in fact. His hold was gentle, but also firm.
Longing. He had missed her. She could tell.
Asuka's hands went to his back, and her head found a cozy place between his shoulder and his neck. His warmth bathed her, and she almost forgot that they were in the middle of winter. For the first time in days, she could let go of all the stress, she could forget about the forced smiles and boring meetings, past and future, and be just Asuka Langley Soryu in the arms of Shinji Ikari. She could rest. She could cry, if she wanted to.
She could be safe, just as he was with her. And she didn't need to wait at least another stupid week.
"What about your job?" she asked.
"Took a couple of days off. Boss said it was fine."
Asuka caught the scent of her own wardrobe all over his clothes. And yet, there was a faint, lingering aroma of ingredients, of that shampoo he used so often, of Japanese streets. Of home.
"I've been in this hotel for almost half a week," she grumbled, but she did not break the hug. "I could've used you yesterday."
Shinji chuckled. She wouldn't be his Asuka if she didn't find something to complain about.
"I wanted the surprise to be today," he said, and immediately knew that she was rolling her eyes. It was almost a superpower, he could just detect it.
"Who cares? You know I haven't celebrated it in years. We haven't."
Shinji's hand went to her head, and Asuka giggled when she felt his fingers on her hair. That dummy liked it so much…
"Well," he said. "Why don't we start now?"
Asuka pulled away, just a little, to look him in the eyes, with a puzzled expression on her face.
"I mean it!" Shinji insisted. "We've spent too much time rebuilding. We paid for our sins, and even the sins of others. It's been long enough. Let's start celebrating. Let's start living."
Living. It sounded good. But could she do it? Could she celebrate again? Could she live beyond the bussiness trips, the visits to the shrink, and the memories of worse times?
She looked at him, and her hand went up to his cheek, repeating the caress that had baptized the new world. There were no tears this time, no stench of blood, no sensation of utter disgust. Instead, his hand covered hers. And Asuka realized that yes, she could do it, because she had done it before, next to a red sea. She had chosen life. At the lowest point of humanity, she had chosen to forgive, and to get up again.
No more scars. No more quills. No more crying. At least, not that night.
"Well, look at you." Asuka rested her head on his chest. "Crossing the world, just to be with me on my birthday. There was a time when I never thought you'd do this."
"I know." Faint melancholy echoed in Shinji's voice. "So many things I wouldn't do back then, and so many things I didn't do. I didn't learn to swim, because I was afraid of drowning. I didn't make friends, because I was afraid they would hate me. I didn't say 'I love you' when we both needed it most, because I was afraid you would hurt me."
"I ended up hurting you all the same." She nudged him a little.
"So did I." He responded by rocking her in his arms.
Asuka could hear his heartbeat, and its rhythm awoke a memory in her mind, a very recent one. The verse of a certain song she had listened on her way to the hotel. It seems that her brain had been paying attention to it, after all.
"You were the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance."
"I was. So, thank you for teaching me to dance, Asuka."
She replied with a kiss, and for a moment, that was all that mattered.
"You big dummy." She said as their lips parted. "I was just as scared as you back then."
"What, the Great Asuka Langley Soryu, scared? Such a thing is impossible."
She flicked his forehead, laughing with him. "Look at you, being all daring and sassy. I'd ask who are you and what have you done with my idiot, but I know you've always been there. I just needed to drag you out."
Playful, he kissed her forehead.
"So?" Asuka asked, with an impish smile. "Don't you think there's something you should say to me?"
"Happy birthday." Shinji chuckled. "But I'm afraid I didn't have time to buy you anything."
"Oh, shush. You're the best present ever."
She put her hands on his chest and pushed him back onto the bed. Before Shinji could react, she crawled on top of him, gifting him a quick kiss, and then another, and another, and another; and not just on the mouth.
He could feel his face burning as a smirking Asuka undressed further.
"I know you don't like the cold. Let me warm you up."
The End.
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The main inspiration for this one-shot was the song The Rose by Amanda McBroom and famously sang by Bette Midler. I even used one or two of the verses.
Special thanks to asushipper (Romulo Nidoking BR)
If for some reason I don't manage to update any of my other stories before the end of 2022: merry Christmas, happy holidays and happy New Year :)