DISCLAIMER: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the property of the legal copyright holders. This story is merely for my own enjoyment.
This short Epilogue is NOT a Lemon so if that's what you want feel free to skip it.
Standard:
"This" is speech.
'This' is thoughts.
"This" is memories.
"God's in His Heaven. All's right with the World."
'She'll be so happy.' The brown-haired man, barely on the right side of thirty, thought as he pressed down the call contact button on his phone's touchscreen. 'Technology sure has come a long way…' he thought absently as his ear heard the first of several rings. Truly it is amazing how far technology can advance with Mankind not ploughing all its resources into Evangelions and shadowy cabals.
"Shinji? What is it?" Asuka Langley Ikari asked her husband.
"Asuka, I just got the schedule, and as part of the Orchestral Exchange we're spending two weeks in Germany." The Cellist of the Tokyo-3 Philharmonic told his wife.
Shinji had debated long and hard over what path to take in his life and had narrowed it down to either a culinary or musical career. Not that he really needed the money, more just something to do. In the end he had decided not to turn something he loved into a vocation, lest it lose its luster and the joy leave his heart.
"Wunderbar!" His German redhead of a wife exclaimed: "Izumi has always wanted to see where mama's from. She'll be so excited!"
"She's already seen it, she just doesn't remember it." Shinji said with a chuckle, his mind reminiscing on the trip almost five years ago to introduce the newborn Izumi to her grandfather, as he opened his car door, a purple four door hatchback, and put the preliminary schedule on the passenger seat. His eye catching a glance of the morning's newspaper, it's accompanying photo credited the name Kensuke Aida.
'I hope he's okay.' Shinji's mind involuntarily spoke as it recalled his bespeckled friend.
An unofficial global ceasefire had followed Third Impact, as the momentary connection of consciousness had allowed humanity to literally live in one another's shoes. Truly if man knew the pain his words and actions caused in the hearts of others the world would be a kinder place. But as the memory of that understanding faded and a new generation began to come of age, old hotspots flared up again in renewed bloodshed. Only time would tell if the lesson of Instrumentality would long endure, or vanish with the generations that experienced it. In this space the military otaku had become an internationally acclaimed conflict journalist.
"I'll call them this weekend and let them know we're coming" Asuka said, bringing Shinji back to reality.
"Are you sure you can get the time off?" Shinji asked, his tone uncertain, as he buckled his seatbelt.
"I didn't use up all my leave when Otto was born." Asuka said as Shinji glanced in the rearview mirror to the two child seats in the back. "Besides I doubt Misato would raise much of a fuss about it."
"True." Shinji said with a chuckle as he turned his key in the ignition and the engine spurred to life.
"Did you just finish for the day?" Asuka asked as the speaker picked up the engine starting.
"Yeah, we just finished recording for the contract with the studio." Shinji answered.
"Was it for a game or movie this time?" Asuka asked with a smile on her face as she thought of her guilty pleasure of seeing her baka's name in the credits.
"I honestly don't remember, we've been so busy it almost blurs into one." Shinji said with an exasperated voice as he thought back to the last month's packed schedule as the editors furiously hurried to put the finishing touches on the summer's releases.
"I've still got some work to do…" The redhead said sullenly as her gaze swept over the mounds of papers on her desk.
While Metaphysical Biology had since the days before Second Impact proved that the soul was indeed a reality, applications of that knowledge were still slow in coming, mainly due to the host of ethical concerns that came from manipulating something so intrinsic to humanity. So Asuka's research was primarily focused on AT fields and the collective subconscious, but even that was fraught with controversy amid fears about potential military or social control applications.
As a result a great deal of Asuka's job as 'Head of Metaphysical Research' was ironically submitting paperwork to various scientific and governmental ethics agencies about why what she was doing was not related to human sacrifice.
"So can you pick up Otto on your way home?" Asuka began again after becoming lost in thought: "I'll get Izumi from the kindergarten when I finish." She said referencing the onsite NERV kindergarten that originated about 18 months following Third Impact when Director Katsuragi discovered she was pregnant with the first of three children.
"There should be a place for m-, I mean NERV employees to put their children."
This kindergarten also had a nursery for newborns, but Otto wasn't there, instead he was in the care of Hikari Suzuhara.
"I still can't believe I had two children in the time it took her to get pregnant once." Asuka said with a laugh as she shook her head at the thought of her freckled friend.
'It wasn't for lack of trying.' Shinji thought as he remembered the drunken conversations, with some twinge of guilt, at the "Guy's Nights" he and Toji, and sometimes Kensuke when he was actually in Japan, had at a bar that served a decent drink.
But once Hikari had found herself pregnant a wholly unnecessary dread came over her and she begged Asuka to teach her the ways of motherhood and allow her to practice with their two-month old Otto.
"I'll get him." Shinji said simply.
"Thanks, I love you." Wife said to husband.
"I love you too." Husband said to wife.
Asuka put the phone back on the receiver after the call ended. Her eyes focusing back on the slate black file, alone amongst a sea of manilla. The project that now consumed the bulk of her attention and had for the last three years, the reason she had returned to work just four days after giving birth to Otto.
Her lithe fingers grasped the file in her hands as she stood up and walked to her office's three meter long window overlooking the Geofront, the surface of the lake sparkling in the afternoon sun.
"Maybe when Otto is Izumi's age he'll be able to meet his other grandpa." Asuka said as her eyes lowered and looked at the roman lettering on the dark file spelling out: "Project: GEIST"
After another hour and a half of poring over documents a voice crackled through her office phone's speaker:
"Mrs. Ikari, the kindergarten will be closing in thirty minutes." Asuka's assistant reminded her.
"Right." The German redhead began as she closed the file and locked it in her desk's bottom right drawer: "Thank you Ms. Urakaze."
'There'll be plenty of time.' Asuka Langley Ikari thought as gave one last glance to her office before turning out the lights and heading out. The elevator carrying her quickly to the base of the NERV pyramid where her feet took her the rest of the way into the afternoon sunshine and around the pointed corner to where the kindergarten's playground was. The last half dozen of the children yet to be picked up playing and laughing as they enjoyed a carefree childhood.
A girl with brown hair and cerulean eyes was just going down the slide as Asuka approached the waist high yellow fence around the playground.
"Mama!" Izumi Ikari called out as she ran from the slide and into Asuka's waiting arms. The German redhead lifted her small body up and planted a kiss on her ruddy cheeks before she asked:
"Ready to go home?"
Izumi nodded before she turned her face back to the playground and yelled out a farewell:
"Bye everyone!" The five year old yelled with all the capacity her youthful lungs had while her right arm waved with the enthusiasm that fills childhood. A chorus of 'bye byes' followed mother and daughter as they made their way to the parking lot and from there onto the Ikari Household.
Once they exited the vehicle lift from the Geofront it was a short drive for Asuka's red Mercedes to where She and Shinji had called home for six years. Hurriedly built on a plot of undeveloped land they had bought once Asuka found out she was pregnant the first time. It was the quintessential dream home; high ceilings, plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms and an expansive garden.
As Asuka pulled in to the driveway she noticed that Shinji was in said garden, under the one thing they hadn't changed about the property when they built the house, a five meter cherry tree with broad branches that was in full blossom with the coming of spring.
As she opened her car door her nostrils told her why, as the aroma of grilled meat washed over her.
Izumi, once she had been taken out of her car seat, ran over to her father and tugging on his apron asked excitedly:
"Are we having kebabs papa?!"
"Yes we are." Shinji said with a smile as he attempted to multitask the grill, his daughter and gently rocking his son in an outdoor cradle behind him and under the shade of the cherry tree.
Alas it was to no avail, as the new arrivals woke the previously napping Otto Ikari who began to cry.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Izumi Ikari began as she sullenly looked to the ground and channeled her father.
"It's alright Vögelchen" Asuka said as she kneeled down and wrapped her arms around her firstborn. "Babies do that." Her tone soft and nurturing as it channeled the unconditional love of motherhood as she planted a kiss in her brown hair before standing back up and picking up Otto from his cradle. Their matching hair shining bright in the afternoon sun as she soothed her son, his tiny fingers crumpling the fabric of her NERV uniform as he grasped at her bosom.
"This is almost ready Izumi" Shinji said as he entered back into the conversation, "Can you help me set the table."
"Right!" A now eager Izumi answered as she began to set out the plates and utensils Shinji had previously brought from the house and set on the nearby white painted wrought iron table, similar to what one might find in a Parisian Café.
As Izumi busied herself Asuka stood next to her husband who wordlessly and knowingly turned his head to the side and they exchanged a 'welcome home' kiss. Passion still coursing through their bodies as the physical connection was rejoined for even a moment. Asuka even used a bit of her tongue before remembering they were in broad daylight.
"You didn't brush your teeth." Asuka teased with a smile as she rocked Otto in her arms.
"We're about to eat." Shinji retorted, his face wearing a grin, as his hands gestured to the smoking barbecue in front of him.
"It's ready!" An excited Izumi called out and the parents were left wondering if they had been kissing that long or their daughter had inherited both German and Japanese efficiency in one package.
"Shall we?" Shinji said as he loaded a platter with the now ready kebabs and Asuka's answer spoke for the both of them and for so much more:
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Final A/N: So here is the epilogue to A Shower Guest. It's nice and short and exists mainly to show what became of the characters and the world as time passed. I followed standard Evangelion naming conventions (characters being named after naval vessels) when it came to the Ikari children. With Izumi being named for the modern JMSDF carrier (yes I know it is technically Izumobut Izumi sounds so much better) and Otto being named after the battleship Otto von Bismarck.
Writing this started out just as an experiment to see if I could write convincing dialogue, action scenes, and so on, but I have been truly humbled by all the support it has received, so thank you dear reader.
The point of this story, the main themes I was trying to get across can be found in the conversations in the last chapter, in instrumentality, since if Anno can hit us over the head with messaging in EoE, I figured I could as well. But basically it's about how to have a healthy relationship as I've seen way way way too much of men and women hating each other and blaming all their problems on the other and being cynical. Hence why this story is a lemon as any exploration of human relationships without talking about sex are wholly unhelpful, it probably didn't need to be so brazen but I also needed to give a reason for people to read it.
I can't believe this story is over after so much time and effort. I feel like the dog that caught the car thinking 'what now?' I've done what every NGE fanfic writer dreams of and rewritten the show(well half of it) and given the characters a happy ending.
I have an idea for a one-shot not related to ASG, and beyond that my mind is mulling over a Post Third Impact story based around the dichotomy between Asuka's last action, comforting Shinji, and her last words "how disgusting" that would explore the duality of both Shinji and Asuka.