Nearly a year and a half following Third-Impact and finally she's gotten a date. Finally, someone has once again recognized the beauty and mystery of the Great Asuka Langley-Soryu. Finally someone has looked past the scars, even if the scars have only seen the light of day when she was with people she trusted, even if she was still covering the one on her arm under her denim jacket. Finally, someone recognized her.
It didn't help that she couldn't vanquish the hurt look on the idiot's face that had appeared when she told him about the date.
Stupid idiot probably didn't want to be stuck alone at the apartment.
She couldn't help but feel like she was missing something.
—-—
The guy seemed nice enough, even if he was just spewing off a bunch of garbage trying to show off how great he was. His efforts were pointless, how could his stories of his times on the football team compare to what it was like to be an Evangelion Pilot?
This guy never had his mind raped, never felt what it was like to be ripped apart, never had to learn a synchronized dance to defeat an Angel, this guy hadn't and likely wouldn't have jumped into a volcano to save her life.
And there she was thinking of Idiot Shinji all over again. Her savior and her betrayer. He had defiled her and abandoned her, but the thought of him always managed to bring a flutter to her chest, one that she always ignored.
It didn't help that he had hit a massive growth spurt and now stood several inches over her. It didn't help that his shoulders had broadened even further. It really didn't help that Suzuhara started forcing him to go to the gym with him, and now instead of a skinny kid he looked more like a lean, toned athlete.
She told herself that she hated Shinji, but spent more time with him than anyone else, and actually found herself enjoying his company. She hated seeing him talking to other girls, she hated feeling this way.
She wondered what it would be like to—
"Soryu? Hey Soryu, are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah of course I am."
"You looked like you were spacing out"
"No, I was just thinking."
"Yeah, I bet. I sure gave you a lot to think about"
She grimaced, this guy thought he was all high and mighty. She saw through it, she saw the pride and the ego. This guy had absolutely nothing to offer her. This guy, whose name she couldn't even remember, reminded her too much of herself.
This guy wasn't like Shinji, who did everything he could to make her happy and comfortable, even at the expense of himself. The guy who devoted himself to working day after day cleaning rubble and helping people after Third Impact. This guy would never do the things Shinji Ikari had done, and he would never do the things that Shinji Ikari would do. If this guy had managed to see beneath all her layers, at her scarred self, he would have left.
She knew what she had to do.
She knew what all the small moments between them meant, all the small glances he gave her. She finally accepted the feelings she had hidden for far too long. She knew that he wanted it as bad as she did.
She absolutely knew what she had to do.
"I can't do this." The words spontaneously came out of her mouth, but she meant every bit of them. She couldn't be here with this guy, she couldn't lie to herself anymore either.
"Wh-What? What are you talking about?"
"This fucking date! You're just some self-centered prick that just wants to flatter and then fuck me!" She was pissed. Pissed that she had wasted her time, and pissed that she hadn't seen the signs until now.
She hoped she wasn't too late.
"I'm leaving." She immediately walked off, giving her date no time to process or respond to what she had just said.
Asuka Langley-Soryu was reminded of a similar event that had happened, even if it felt like a lifetime ago. Back then, she had wanted the Invincible Shinji. Now, she just wanted Shinji Ikari.
She made her way back home as fast as she could, and she prayed to every god she knew that this would go better than last time.
—-—
As soon as she entered the apartment she ripped off the jacket she had been wearing, and grimaced for a half-second as she saw the scar. She hated the scars, but she knew that Shinji didn't mind them, so maybe she didn't have to either.
"I'm home!" She yelled out as she began biting her lip.
"Hey Asuka, I didn't expect you back so early." The curiosity in his voice wasn't hard to miss.
"The guy was a total cunt, I went off on him then left him behind." She lied, but only a little bit.
"Oh really? Sounds familiar, I think I'm getting deja vu." A sheepish smile appeared on his face as his hand rubbed the back of his head.
"Good" For the first time in what felt like years, an honest smile grew on her face. The blush on Shinji's face grew as he became entranced by what he was seeing.
She approached him and lifted her arm upwards, her scarred arm, the one she used on the beach so long ago. Her palm found itself on his cheek again. From the look on Shinji's face, she saw fear and longing dancing in the deep blues of his eyes.
"Hey Shinji, I think we should kiss." She could barely stop herself from giggling like a schoolgirl.
"Yeah," he spoke absentmindedly, "But what's your reasoning this time?"
"I think you know."
"Yeah, I think I do."
She stood on her tiptoes and brought her lips against his.
His breath still tickled, but that was fine.
He brought his arms up to wrap around her waist, and that was more than fine.
She felt him smile through their lips' shared contact, and that was even more than fine.
What was not fine was the banshee-like screech that their guardian let out when she got home and saw her two foster children kissing in the kitchen.