3

AN: To the Anonymous Reader… thanks for the in-depth review, and I've looked it over carefully. As to the last question, he didn't do it so I could use it this chapter. : ) Shinji'll be clean-shaven for much of the rest of this fic…

Misato smothered a laugh when Shinji came out of the bathroom, his clean-shaven face dotted with toilet paper dots that were doing their best to stay on instead of fall off, soaked with his blood. He'd taken one look at himself in the mirror that morning and had asked her how to shave, saying he looked too much like his father for his own liking, and she'd told him that girls shaved different parts of their bodies than boys did, so unless he wanted to shave his legs, underarms or nether regions, he was on his own after the basics.

"Obviously my lessons will take time to sink in, young Padawan," she teased him lightly as he walked towards the kitchen. He shot her a dirty look but she only grinned wider, "Aw, don't be like that, Shin-chan. It'll get better, I promise. You should have seen my legs the first time I tried to shave – looked like I'd used a chainsaw."

He winced slightly as his mind processed the visual, "Thank you for the mental image, Misato-san. Just what I need before breakfast…"

She 'shot' him with her forefinger and thumb, "No problem. So, you ready for today?"

He gave her a worried look, "What are we doing?"

"We're getting you some clothes, unless you like NERV-issue coveralls," she said with a grin. He took on a very panicked look and she held up her hands, "Now, now, don't be like that, Shinji, it won't be that bad. We're just getting a few necessary things."

"Somehow I see 'necessary' also including at least one outfit for you too, Misato," he grumbled as he went to the fridge.

"But of course! After all, I'm giving you my expert opinion on fashion, right?" Her eyes trained up his legs and rested firmly on his backside as he looked into the ice box, a slightly dreamy smile coming to her lips as her imagination started to get the better of her, "Besides, it won't be that bad. I might even model some lingerie for you, if you ask nicely."

Inside of the ice box, Shinji froze, his mind processing the image of Misato, lingerie and him. His body warred with itself, blood flow moving first to his nose and then down to his crotch, but then reversing course as it couldn't decided what was more important. So, given the indecisiveness of his body, he went with an old standby and jerked inside of a closed container, slamming his head into the top of the machine, "Ow!"

Misato grinned and took a sip of her morning beer, "Hey, don't rattle that around too much, Shinji, we've got shopping to do."

Shinji pulled out of the fridge and rubbed the back of his head, "That wasn't nice, Misato."

She stood, stretched, and yawned, "Who said I was teasing, Shinji?" She went to her room and, once the door closed, she stopped grinning and shivered, "Down girl. You can't jump him…"

The 'yet' didn't NEED to be said… not at this point…

In the kitchen Shinji was making himself breakfast and shivered slightly even as the heat of the wok permeated the room – the images of Misato in lingerie were not exactly new, he'd seen her in her underwear before, hell, he'd washed her lingerie, so he'd seen them more often than she had, but still…

He shook his head and dropped the chopped vegetables into the wok, "Damned body… always betrays me…"

In her bedroom, Asuka slept fitfully, unsure if the dreams she was having meant anything… she was happy, had the man of her dreams, but he was being snuck out from under her by some purple… no… blue… grrr, either way, bimbo!

(Deep inside of NERV)

"Rei, I have a rather… delicate… assignment for you."

She mentally arched an eyebrow at the Commander as he walked around the tube she was floating in, but also shuddered as his eyes roamed up and down her body as he walked. 'Pervert,' she mentally growled before she spoke, "What is it, Commander?"

"You are aware of the… unforeseen side effects of retrieving the Third Child, correct?" She nodded and he went on, "I am unsure if I can control him, Rei. I want you to keep an eye on him, to figure out a way to help make him complacent, and if that is not possible, I want you to think of ways to help me get rid of him."

Wind-up Doll. Emotionless Tool. Blue-haired Whore. Albino Freak. Commander's Pet. All of these terms came to mind in the voice of Pilot Souryu as she processed what it was that Commander Ikari was asking her to do. Pilot Ikari had become a fixture in her life and, now that he had changed beyond the scope of what the Commander was capable of handling easily, she was being asked to counteract this or, if needed, terminate Pilot Ikari. This… rankled her, greatly, "I understand, Commander." 'Asshole.'

Had anyone been able to read her thoughts, they would have been shocked at them, given her normal loyalty to the Commander, but as of late, she had been experiencing emotional reactions that stemmed from several sources, the first of which happened to Shinji Ikari himself. He had treated her with respect, with… kindness, something she had not been used to beyond the Commander, and it had taken her a while before she had been able to process it, but slowly it was taking hold that she was not just a tool or a robot, she was a human being.

The second source had come from something that she had at first been apprehensive of, but the Internet connection at her apartment had gotten a lot of use as of late. Not only had she found numerous chat-rooms for the emotionally repressed, but she'd also found on-line games that could help one express their anger. So far, she'd racked up an impressive 51,635 wins in the 'Whack-A-Mole' game, customizable to where the moles could be given separate faces, and while she'd managed to replicate the Eva's and Pilot Souryu's faces, she had yet to perfect Commander Ikari's face.

Soon the tests were over and Rei went to the showers to clean off the smell and feel of the LCL, leaving Gendo to look over the results of the scans and ponder what he was going to do. He had no doubt in his mind that Rei would do as he asked her, she had never failed him before, but one thing that was starting to wear on him was the fact that the old men at SEELE were going to ask questions if his… if the Third Child's condition became known. Their meddling could throw off his entire plan, something he did not need to happen.

'Still,' he mused silently, 'this could also be a great boon.'

(Tokyo-3 Mall)

Shinji hung his head slightly as Misato and the saleswoman walked around him for the third time, their eyes scrutinizing the tenth set of clothes he had put on and, while he had already been mortified by Misato's asking him to model underwear for her (a request he'd refused outright and no amount of wheedling had changed his mind), he had heard a four year old girl ask her mother why he was being dressed and the answer didn't help him any either, 'Because most men don't know how to dress themselves properly, honey.'

Misato stopped in front of him and her hands went to his belt, making him freeze in place, "What do you think? Too garish?"

The saleswoman shook her head, "No, with those pants it's a fine belt."

Misato nodded and looked up at him, smiling angelically, "Alright, Shinji, what do you think?"

"I think from here I can see your little devil horns, Misato," he grumbled even as he felt a flush run up his neck and into his cheeks. Damn it, her hands where they were was making it not only hard to think, but harder to keep his body under control, control that, at best, was tenuous.

She shot him a wink and let go, "Alright, we'll take them all and he'll wear those out."

Shinji sighed as he stepped down and clipped off the tags with a pair of scissors, but then looked at the small mountain of clothes that they had bought already. Naturally, he had been the one carrying the majority of them, even Misato's clothes, though that was nothing new, and he knew that his wardrobe was not only filled, but it was probably overflowing by this point – why couldn't he say 'no' to Misato? Sure, she had that particular smile and power over him, but was he really that much of a wuss?

'Yes' seemed to sum his answer up quite nicely.

Soon they were making their way towards the food court and Misato found herself stealing glances over at Shinji – shaven, dressed nicely and with an oddly contemplative look on his face, Misato found a growing curiosity starting to well up within her. Sure, there were still marks on him that she could readily identify as 'Shinji', but now with him older (at least in body), she was finding it harder and harder to see the youth she loved to tease and in his place was a man that, at present, she was having a blast hanging around.

'And the truly sad part of this situation is that he's the most stable male figure in my life that is not a warm water penguin,' she mused slightly as they approached the food court. 'How sad is that?'

"Hey, isn't that Dr. Akagi and Lt. Ibuki over there?"

Misato jerked slightly at Shinji's voice and looked over at a table where, indeed, Ritsuko and Maya were sitting, a laptop and many notes between them. A slow grin pulled across her lips as she nodded and nudged Shinji in that direction, "Let's go talk with them, Shin-kun."

He looked over at her with a worried look, "Should we? It might be work related."

She winked at him, "And it might not be." They got close and she snickered slightly as Ritsuko looked up and sighed, "What, not happy to see me, Rits-chan?"

"No, Misato, I am happy to see you and Shinji. I'd ask what brings you here, but the small mountain of bags Shinji's carrying for you pretty much tells me that," Ritsuko deadpanned slightly, getting a slight giggle out of Maya and a snort from the bag-laden Shinji.

Misato waved her hand slightly, "That's right, he can handle it. So," she said, a sly tone coming to her voice, "how's your date with Maya going?"

Maya, who had been taking a drink from her canned ice tea, suddenly spit it out in a spray that not only soaked the front of Ritsuko's blouse, but also caught Shinji about the belt-line, causing the young woman to start hacking and gagging while turning red while Ritsuko didn't give Misato the satisfaction of a response beyond rising, "We'll talk in the ladies room, Misato."

The two ladies walked off and Shinji put down the bags, "Are you alright, Lieutenant Ibuki?"

Maya nodded quickly and wiped her face before drying the papers and laptop, which was thankfully waterproof after the first three laptops she'd owned had died via coffee spills, "I'm fine, Mr. Ikari, thank you."

Shinji winced, "Could you not call me that? I'm just Shinji…"

Maya blushed slightly, "Then please call me Maya, at least while we're not at NERV." She motioned for him to sit and gave him a few napkins to dry himself with, "So, Shinji, how are you?"

He shrugged slightly and looked around, "I'm trying to get used to everything that happened, but… well, it is taking some time."

Maya nodded, "Growing up is like that, sometimes." She looked at the bags around him and grinned, "So, you survived a shopping trip with Major Katsuragi? I've heard that such a thing has broken stronger men."

He grinned at her a little and her heart jumped a bit – he had a nice smile and it softened his face a lot… "I've done it before, so I know about that, but this time it wasn't so bad." He then frowned, "Though I seem to have more formal clothes than I think were necessary to buy."

"Be glad she stopped where she did, especially as NERV is footing the bill," Maya said as, in her mind's eye, she imagined Shinji in his formal wear, ranging from 'Ikari, Shinji Ikari, 007' to 'Mr. Shinji Ikari-Ibuki', dressed in his wedding tuxedo… which didn't last long as he carried her over the threshold and to their wedding bed…

Shinji frowned a little as Maya suddenly blushed, her eyes glazing slightly and a slightly, "Maya? Are you alright?"

She seemed to instantly snap out of it, her blush increasing, "Um, fine, I'm fine, Shinji. I was just… daydreaming…"

Inside of the Ladies Room, however, there was a far more serious conversation going on as Ritsuko held her blouse under the hand drier, having scrubbed most of the tea stains out of it, "You are getting the bill for this, Misato, and that's final."

Misato hung her head, "I'm sorry, Rits, but it was too good of a target to pass up."

Ritsuko sighed and shook her head, putting her blouse back on, "So, Misato, I notice that you didn't have Shinji chained to you – taking it slow, are we?"

Misato's good mood vanished, "It's not like that, Ritsuko."

The fake blonde arched a dark eyebrow, "Really? What, still see him as your ward?"

Misato growled, "It's complicated, and that's all I'm going to say."

"Why?"

It took Misato a few minutes, but she finally grumbled, "Because I haven't figured it out myself."

Ritsuko frowned, "Is there something you want to tell me, Misato? Something that might adversely effect your ability to give orders, should the need arise?"

Misato shook her head, "No, Ritsuko, I'm fine, it's just… it's been a while, you know? I'm not sure if what I feel is a crush or the real thing."

Ritsuko's voice was somewhat stern when she replied, "He's mentally 14, Misato – it shouldn't be ANYTHING." Her voice, however, didn't allow Misato to know that Ritsuko was also trying to convince herself that Shinji was too young and any relationship she tried with him herself would fall flat on its face.

Misato, apparently, had the ability to read deeper into voice than Ritsuko knew as the purple-haired Major pinned her with a glare, "Don't try and get self-righteous with me, Ritsuko, because I saw the looks you were giving him, Maya, too."

Ritsuko blushed, "I was NOT checking Maya out!"

Normally, Misato would have made a quip about denial and a river in Egypt but she wasn't in the mood, "No, SHE was checking him out, too, so don't play me."

Ritsuko got ahold of herself and shook her head, "She might be, Misato, but remember that's alright to look, but not touch. He has to be in a very precarious place right now, given everything that's happened in the past twenty four hours." She took a breath and let it out slowly, "Remember that, Misato, before you do anything rash."

AN: Alright, we're getting a little deeper into things – next part has some action at NERV and interaction between father and son. I'm going to try and work everyone into this in a progression, but things (having mapped out a few chapters ahead) will get tedious for a bit. Reviews, please.