8

AN: Somewhat more adult subject matter here – you've been warned. Also, I've never hid the fact I'm not an Asuka fan – if you are, this will probably be a harsh chapter for you to read.

(Elevator up to Misato's apartment)

"I am NOT old," Ritsuko muttered to herself as she rode the elevator up towards Misato's apartment, tugging slightly at her skirt as the car slowly crept its way up to the appropriate floor. She was, after all, only thirty – sure, her body was starting to show a few signs of getting older, but biologically she was hitting her stride and her sexual peak, a fact that had been wasted on Gendo with his 'Wham, bam, see you next time' encounters with her. Was she proud of what she'd done with him? Well, yes, she was – powerful men had always turned her on and, with Gendo, at least at first, it had been a thrill to know that she was bedding her boss, the most powerful man in town, but later it had turned into a job, one she wasn't looking forwards to at all. It got her projects funded and he might even let a few things slip on purpose, but beyond that, the joy had gone out of it.

Now, though, her attention was on Shinji, which both disturbed and intrigued her to no end – less than a month ago he'd been a young teen who, she would admit, had something about him that most definitely caused more than a few cases of flushed cheeks and vivid dreams among some other ladies in NERV, but with Ritsuko he had been the son of the boss. Now, though, he was prime real estate, untouched and ready for development… and if what Misato had told her earlier that day was true, she would have some stiff competition from the naturally purple Major if/when it came down to whom would bed him. It was so totally different from what she had know that, again, it disturbed Ritsuko more than she cared to admit, given that he was not in power or in much of a position to get her what she wanted, but at the same time it was too enticing to pass up.

The elevator car stopped with a slight shudder and the doors opened, but instead of a blank wall in front of her, Ritsuko found herself staring at a glaring Misato Katsuragi, "Misato?"

Misato stepped into the car, punched the first button down and waited for the doors to close before she pulled the emergency stop button, "We need to talk, Ritsuko."

Ritsuko arched one dark eyebrow, "Then talk."

Misato looked her up and down and took note of the short skirt, halter top and jacket combo her friend was wearing, "First of all, where are the rest of your clothes?"

Ritsuko growled and looked at Misato's own tank top and cutoff clothes, "I could ask you the same thing, Major."

"It's my home and Shinji's used to seeing me in this, for one, and secondly at least I'm wearing a bra," Misato pointed out, causing Ritsuko to flush a bit. "Look, we talked about this earlier – I'm taking it slow with him, so don't try and snake him out from under me, alright?"

Hearing the sincerity in her friend's voice, Ritsuko shrugged, "Fine, now hold this." She doffed her jacket, handed it to Misato, took a strapless bra out of her purse, handed said purse to Misato, and quickly put on the bra before she started to re-dress herself, "I figured you'd call me on it, so I came prepared."

Misato, blushing lightly at how brazen her friend was being even in he confines of the elevator car, said nothing as she handed Ritsuko's things back to her and restarted the car's ride down, "You worry me, Ritsuko."

The scientist gave her a shark's smile, "I should."

&&&&

"Asuka, this isn't going to get done any fast if you keep eating the vegetables before I cook them," Shinji said in a voice that said that his patience was getting near the limit.

Asuka smirked a bit and snaked her hand out, snatching another carrot, "What are you going to do? Spank me?"

"Someone sure as hell should have by now," he muttered under his breath. He was doing his best to not strangle Asuka, he really was, but if her hand 'accidentally' touched him or she 'forgot' he was in the bathroom one more time, he was going to ask the new Commander to relocate her elsewhere. While he might have had such fantasies before, now, though, he was older and in Mega-Tokyo 3, she was still jail bait.

Asuka glared at him, "What was that?"

Shinji stirred the vegetable in the wok harder, "I said 'someone sure as hell should have by now', Asuka. I'm not looking to start a fight and I would hope that you'd be mature enough to not start one now."

The redhead glared at him, "Hey! Just because you got a physical boost doesn't mean that you're better than me, baka!" She pointed her finger at him, "And DON'T think you can get away with trying to choke me again, buster."

Shinji did his best to keep his temper in check as he forcefully stirred the stir-fry, "Asuka, if I wanted to kill you, there are better and more effective ways for me to do it than to choke you." He absently heard the door open and close after a few seconds before he went on, "After all, I am, as Misato has called me, Lord of the Kitchen. I could name any number of things right here that I can use against you. Remember that while you're leaving."

Asuka glared at him as she stormed out of the kitchen, storming past both Misato and Doctor Akagi as she did, and once she was within her own room, she slumped against the door and refused to cry. She was NOT going to lose out on Shinji… the one constant in her life these days…

Back in the living room, Ritsuko and Misato both blinked as they both looked back and forth between the kitchen and Asuka's room. They had heard Shinji's remarks when they had come in and while Ritsuko could only guess as to what had garnered that kind of response from Shinji, Misato had a good idea what had started it.

"Shinji, is something wrong?" Ritsuko went into the kitchen and looked at the man in the frilly pink apron, "What's going on with Asuka?"

Shinji didn't turn around as he continued to work the wok and dinner, "Apparently she has designs on me that would be construed as illegal in most civilized cultures, Ritsuko. I explained to her that she needed to be more mature about a few things and she got snitty." He removed dinner from the wok and set it off to the side, "Honestly, if she doesn't grow up some time soon, I'm going to ask for one of us to be moved."

Ritsuko arched an eyebrow and looked back at Misato, who looked more than a little concerned, and then back at Shinji, "Is that so? Are you sure this isn't her way of acting out, Shinji? After all, her status quo has been severely shifted as of late and we all know how poorly she takes that."

"Don't defend her, Ritsuko," Misato said, her eyes narrowing a bit. "She's been acting this way since day one, as if we needed to bow down and kiss her feet for being allowed to be 'graced' with her presence. I know she has issues, but those issues are what lead to her being choked by Shinji not too long ago, if you'll recall."

Ritsuko frowned at this little tidbit – sure, she'd heard about some of Asuka's tantrums, but… was it this bad? She shook her head and doffed her jacket quickly, "We can talk about this later, you two. Dinner is waiting, isn't it, Shinji?"

AN: Yes, I know, another short chapter, but this is where the muse decided to cut me off for the night. I'm going to see about another chapter or two soon. Reviews, please.