AN:Oh Boy,this is a big one,here goes chapter 12-Affection

Shinji sighed, eyes lazily scanning the classroom for anything of interesting, class had ended some 15 minutes ago,he had stayed because both Asuka and Rei had, Asuka because she was speaking to Horaki and Rei because..well he had no idea why Rei had stayed over but he had no interest in trying to decipher what went on in that girl's head, she was far too complicated.

His life in General was far too complicated,between NERV and SEELE's Secret war that they both pretended was totally not happening,the Angels seeming to choose the worse possible moments to attack and a saboteur at NERV he found that he really maybe,possibly,probably,most definitely should not have decided to become a major player in this Secret world's plans...Okay,he hadn't really decided it as much as rolled with his father's decision but still,he could have opted out at any moment.

And then, there was Asuka, before she arrived Shinji could at least say he wasn't having issues with his love life, one cannot have issues with what doesn't exist after all. But now...he sighs, she made him feel weird in a good way of course but still in a way that distracted him far too much from his main obligation...which was what again? Fighting the angels, stooping SEELE, stooping his father from carrying out with any of his original plans, making sure people didn't die under his watch, all of the above?

If he really was honest with himself, all of the above was the only answer he was happy with, not that it was easy, far from it actually, he was running on determination, Red bull, sweat, tears, and Guilt. Perhaps it would be wise to point out that none of those were what a human being was supposed to run on like say, food. And again, now that he thought about it, when was the last time he ate? Lunch of course but he'd barely touched his plate, busy thinking of things like this, if his Old doctor ever found out Shinji had no doubts the man would fly to Tokyo-3, break into Misato's house and shove food down his throat. The mental image made him laugh a little.

Anyway,Asuka,yes the reason he'd gone on this whole internal monologue in the first place,she was possibly the biggest shock to his world view he'd faced...ever?Five to six months ago he would have laughed at the idea of ever falling in..something(Because it most definitely,totally was not love) with someone like her,she was loud,annoying,constantly called him an idiot for no discernible reason and seemed to enjoy making him her punching bag every so often,so of course he couldn't ever have imagined a few months back that he would like her,but that wasn't why he felt that way,he felt that way because he saw what was underneath,he saw an adventurous soul,someone who was genuinely proud of her accomplishments,someone who told the world how great she was and unlike him,did it with full sincerity and without a single hint of sarcasm,someone who didn't back down from a challenge simply because it got tough but there was something else,something that also drew him toward her,something he'd seen for the first time in that cold and lonely night before the battle with Isfrael,she was Human,she missed her mother,she had nightmares,she feared and she felt and she,she,she,she and that,that was the only thing he could think of since the Matariel battle,her,Asuka Langley Sohryu,she'd agreed to go on a date...a date request he'd made as a joke,Lunch if he remembered the day's events clearly,which he didn't need to,the Eva's secondary cameras were always on and he'd re-watched the footage some fifty times,there was no room for misunderstanding there.

"Ugh.."He sounded pathetic,his face now laying in his desk.

"What's going on third?You Look miserable, I mean more so than usual."He looked up,of course, it was her, who else would it be,someone who didn't make him feel crazy?And why did she have to look so beautiful even when she was condescending?And why was he making so many questions to himself today?And why were most of those rhetorical?

"Nothing...just thinking."She raises an eyebrow.

"You do that now?"When hadn't he done that lately?Mostly about her,he couldn't remember,the last time he'd relaxed his mind was nearly 2 months back after the Volcano,Misato had been a real pain in the ass about him not following orders.

"Ohhhh, believe me, I do a lot more of that then I really should."

"hmm...Hikari has this stupid beach hang out thing planned and for some reason she wants you to go."Asuka was weird when it came to Horaki-san,mostly because she was always so nice to her,not to say she didn't call her an idiot every so often,but she did it so rarely it was not even worth mentioning,he'd believe they were secret lovers if Horaki-san didn't have the biggest Crush on Touji.

"Sure, I'll go,what about you?"He'd said something wrong because she was looking at him with a rather irate expression.

"Shinji...if I came to ask you to go then I'm clearly going too, idiot!"He raises his arms in defeat.

"Got it, got it,of course I'll go, wouldn't want to disappoint our Class President."She makes a weird face,he tilts his head. "What is it?"

"Do you always bend over to fulfill other people's requests like a good little dog?"The fact that was spoken as a question rather than an insult nearly made Shinji laugh.

"Not really,I'm actually kinda bad at following orders..."He remembered a certain time at a volcano,the thought that if he'd followed through with orders she'd be dead still made him shudder. "...but Horaki-san's a friend and a beach sounds nice so I'll accept."He smiled at her,she scoffed and turned away thought he could see a smile forming itself in her face,he wished she smiled more like this,she always seemed so angry with everything,with life,if only she smiled more often.

"Whatever...its on Saturday be ready to leave by 9:00"He nodded,the hours were anything but an issue,used as he was to 2 or 3 hours of sleep every day,a habit that he really,really had to break Akagi had told him,he found that hypocritical coming from her.

"Hey,Shinji,where's Asuka?"Misato asked him,Shinji himself didn't have much of an idea, Asuka had said something about going to Horaki's house but he really didn't know what for.

"At a friend's house"Misato made an 'oooh' sound and now seemed really interested.

"She has friends? Tell me about them any boys,does she have a boyfriend yet?"Shinji Laughed at his Guardian's over-eagerness to learn more about Asuka's social life,Misato was really sweet when she wanted to be,even if her work took most of her energy away she still tried to be in on their lives as much as possible.

"Yes she does have friends,not many of them..."He wouldn't call those people that followed her around because of her status and beauty her friends anymore then he would call members of his fan club his, yes fan club that was somehow something that existed for him, they even sold unlicensed figurines, he might have bought a few of them. "not any male ones,thought a few admirers."He might or might not have had to bribe the school to not expel him after he punched one of them for creeping on her. "And no Boyfriend, as far as I know."Thankfully or perhaps not depending on his point of view Asuka seemed against any sort of amorous relationship with anyone who wasn't Kaji, who himself was against a relationship with a girl half his age for obvious reasons.

"Ohhh...admirers, are you among them Shinji-kun?"She had meant to tease him, but he,he was an honest man when it suited him and seeing Misato's face would probably be priceless.

"Yup,if you tell her that I'll rip your eyes from you skull thought." Misato gasped if it was because of his very much serious threat or because of his sudden declaration of his..admiration for Asuka he didn't know,

"Y-your kidding me right?!"He laughed at the sheer shock in her face,now he just had to make sure Misato actually feared for her life if she ever told Asuka.

"But seriously, don't tell her, I'll actually hurt you" She pouted much like a child, which meant that she would have run off and told Asuka had he not told her to not do so, typical Misato.

"Fine, spoilsport!"He rolled his eyes at her infantile behavior and continued to cook dinner for the household, he didn't mind cooking before this but after being forced to do it for Misato for six or so months he was starting to actually enjoy it and as a bonus, he was getting really good at it. He idly wondered if Asuka would stay the Night at Horaki's and then promptly mentally slapped himself. Bad Shinji, stop thinking about her for 10 minutes. It need not be said that he failed rather badly at that.

It was Friday now,school was once more over and again Shinji found himself thinking,this time not about Asuka but Rei,lately he felt like she was...lonelier than usual,always so focused on her books,she had stooped talking to him,he wanted to know why,the question was in how he should approach her about it,being blunt could and most certainly would give her the wrong impression and asking her what's wrong would have her give him a noncommittal answer like 'nothing Pilot Ikari',and he also hated the fact she called him Pilot Ikari most of the time,Shinji,he was Shinji,even Shinji-Kun would be better than 'Pilot Ikari'.He wondered if she would go to the beach on Saturday...no, of course, she wouldn't, maybe he should invite her? But then again it was Hokari's thing so maybe she wouldn't like that. She'd already left, he takes out his phone.

'Hey Hokari-san, would u mind if I invite Rei to the beach?.' He waited for a few minutes before his phone vibrated.' Already did Shinji-Kun, she said didn't want 2.'

Shinji smiles, that meant that if he managed to convince Rei to go Hokari wouldn't disapprove, operation 0 is go...yes he wasn't very creative with names.

"Hey, Rei, what are you doing, "Shinji asks mostly to start Conversation, he did have eyes to see rather clearly that she was reading a book..on calculus,who reads calculus books in their free time?Rei Ayanami by the looks of it, and sometimes Shinji Ikari.

"I Am reading a book,Pilot Ikari"Her eyes leave said object for a moment as she speaks to him before moving back,she really wasn't making it easy was she?then again he supposed she never did.

"So,did you hear about the class hang out at the beach Hokari-san has been planning?"He wasn't exactly being subtle but Shinji Ikari was anything but subtle,that sometimes worked to his detriment,not here though.

"I have Indeed pilot Ikari."Her eyes don't leave the book this time,that meant she was annoyed, the fact such an unnoticeable little action was the only thing that displayed her feelings made her really hard to read, but he was used to her ticks and as such he could communicate to her,better than everyone else besides his father at least.

"So...why don't you want to go?"Blunt worked right?...wait,had he not said just a few minutes ago that being blunt wouldn't work...well it was working for now so...keeping it going should be fine.

"I..do not know pilot Ikari."That 'pilot Ikari' thing of hers was getting to his nerves,nerves,NERV,god damn it that word really was ruined for him.

"Look, I get your whole..isolation thing, I really do considering your circumstances but...you don't have to be isolated you know."Her eyes go up to meet his again.

"I do not believe you know my circumstances as well as you think Pilot Ikari."He bit his lower lip,he really shouldn't tell her...should he? if he really thought about it the only person she would ever tell was and his father, both of which knew about his father's endgame. Screw it, she wasn't gonna tell anyone anyways and if he asked her not to she was doubly not going to tell anyone.

"Hey Rei...can we meet somewhere else I need to talk to you privately" She seemed confused, as confused as Rei Ayanami could be but nodded anyway.

Shinji had decided that the Slum-like part of town that Rei somehow called home would be secretive enough to speak to her if anyone overheard him they'd think he was a druggie or something.

"Well Rei...i know everything"She tilted her head with a confused look, Shinji Mentally slapped himself, of course, such a cryptic nondescript sentence would confuse her, it confused him for god's sake. "Ah.. I mean..about the Angels, Lilith, you, My mother, Father's plans everything, everything."

Rei's eyes widen, actually widen, this was the most expressive he'd ever seen her, she steps back. "Oh...i suppose that means our...friendship must over, I apologize for ever attempting to get close to you Pilot Ikari."Wait, what?! Where did that come fro-...oh, he'd made it sound like he'd just found out not known it for years.

"Wait!"She halted her slow march backward. "I've known...for a while before I even meet you"

"Before...why would you choose to approach me then...pilot Ikari?"Had his father not told her of their decision? Of course, he wouldn't..he was too much of an idiot to do feelings stuff wasn't he.. I swear father, you're a pain sometimes.

"Rei...you...your human."She opens her mouth to protest, he doesn't allow her to. "Nuh Nah Nah Nah! No speaking, no, only listening now Rei, it doesn't matter what your DNA says or tests say or what anyone says, because their wrong what matters is this..." he points to where her heart is. "..and that, that I know is human. And..you can't be alone forever, because that plan you were born to do? Scrapped, you know that...so live, because you've got one hell of a chance, but your still young, and its not too late so...live, like you want to."And after that Shinji expected a lot of things, for Rei to ignore him,nod meekly,run away but this...this he did not expect,he did not expect a hug in the slightest. Even so he hugs her back.

"Thank you, pilot Ikari."Her voice was muffled against the fabric of his shirt but he could still feel the gratitude oozing off her voice.

"If you want to thank me call me Shinji or Shinji-Kun, hell considering our Genetic relation even Brother would be better then Pilot Ikari."He'd offered the last one as a joke, there was no way sh-

"Very well...brother."WHAT?!Was his Sarcasm broken? Last time Asuka had accepted his joking date request now Rei was accepting his joking request to call him brother, what was the world coming to? But if he said anything she could return to pilot Ikari, and then he'd have to tell her to not call him that again. That and he enjoyed hearing her call him brother. I always did want to have a sister.

"Sup Father"His voice flowed through the phone and onto the other side of the line.

"You do realize I have much more to do than listen to you all day long, what is it?"Shinji Frowned, father was not in a good mood.

"So...i was thinking, can we adopt Rei?"Gendo Ikari blinks multiple times in the other end of the line.

"What? Has Captain Katsuragi been giving you her beverages again?"Shinji wondered how he even knew she'd given him any at some point, knowing his father the apartment was probably bugged.

"No..it's just I told her everything..."Gendo had been expecting that for a while, he was surprised it took the boy half a year to do it. "And since you basically act like her father and she calls me brother now...we could just legally adopt her, get her out of the slums she's living in."Gendo's interest peeked.

"What? I Gave her permission to leave nearly 2 years ago."Shinji sighs, his father didn't really understand Rei, did he?

"Permission father..not an order, she probably thought living like that was acceptable."Gendo sighs, he really shouldn't have to worry about his pilot's well being that was Katsuragi's Jo-

"Wait, would Captain Katsuragi be willing to take her in as well?"Shinji thought about it, willing? yes, capable? No, he was already being forced to share a room with Asuka and the alternative was a tiny and honestly, unacceptable room.

"Willing? Yeah, problem is that she's not really got the space."Gendo thought of the possibilities.

"Well.. I suppose a promotion for the captain is in order, with a higher salary she would be able to afford a much larger apartment."Shinji supposed that was good but then again...he did have an idea.

"What about the Ikari Manor?" Gendo Smiled nostalgically, he hadn't even remembered that old place existed.

"I Suppose it has enough space for the 4 of you...and if any pilots require housing in the future there wouldn't be a need to relocate to an even larger apartment..."Shinji Smiles, glad his father had agreed, to live in his childhood home again would be...interesting. "Very well, I accept, there's already an underground transportation system, connecting it to NERV's underground one in Tokyo-3 won't be an issue and it'll allow you to be outside of an Angel's attack path while still being able to deploy quickly. Yes, it'll be done. Goodbye Shinji."Gendo hanged up just as Shinji said goodbye, he couldn't help but be proud in the boy, finding such unorthodox solutions to problems was one of his main qualities,and the one he took the most from his mother...No, he wouldn't allow his mind to linger with Yui for too long, that only brought him grief.

AN: NOTE,THIS FANFIC HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED AND REDONE UNDER THE LABAL OF LESS OF A BASTARD REDUX,IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE CONCLUSION TO THIS STORY PLEASE GO OVER AND CHECK IT OUT.