Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of the things I want to in this world of ours. The only thing created by me on the NGE area is this fanfic series. If you sue, I'll sue back.

The clearing of a throat pierced the air and Rei broke the hug. She blushed and sat back down on the chair and watched the captain walk towards the teens with a smile on her face.

'So I was right…' She cleared her throat again and declared;

"The commander of NERV, Ikari Gendo, etc. etc. yaddi, yaddi, yadda... proclaims that we now have expected the last angel attack, we will from now on commence attacks on the angels using the new prototype units 000 and 001 in the flying robot system series. Langley Soryu will join in the attack using unit 002. More information will be given later on. You are on a paid holiday for six months on which you are free to do whatever you want as long as it is legal and/or morally or ethically right to do from this moment now on." She relaxed and threw her beret with the captains' logo and marks and medals on it in a chair.

"And unofficially: Congratulations on the victory over Israphel and get better soon Shinji-kun. I'm planning on having a great holiday just the three of us by at a famous sea resort in hypermodern class. Unfortunately, Asuka used her latest pay check to go on a five month holiday back to Germany to visit her relatives." Shinji smiled a bit uncertain and nodded.

"I'll try to get better as soon as I can." He looked at Rei.

"If Rei stays here and takes care of me I'm sure I'll be fine." She smiled back and nodded.

Said and done. Shinji got better in less than three weeks time and got home, the preparations took almost a week and when a month had passed, they all sat aboard the flight to the semester resort. They spent the time chatting and playing some games and watching the incredibly boring in flight movie.

As they got off the plane, a cab took them to the hotel they should be staying at the next two months. None of them could believe it. Two months at a famous resort with nothing to worry about. At first, Rei had not understood the big deal with going to such a place, then Shinji explained and she almost dragged him towards the cab.

The hotel room was a big, nice and air-conditioned story. There was nice tapestries, nice floors where the mats did not cover, they had a nice, big bathroom and on Shinji's order they had a small kitchen too. The hotel personnel could not for their lives figure out why they wanted to cook their own dinner. Then there was a small problem. Only two bedrooms-only two beds. Misato saw this first and decided on having a little more fun on Shinji and Rei's expense. She grabbed the largest bed and left the two teenagers with the smaller one. They shot angry glares at Misato the rest of the day. It was pretty much spent glaring at Misato and settling in. Shinji and Rei sat on the small concrete balcony and admired the sunset seemingly going down into the sea. The sky was afire and the sea glimmered with the reflected light. Rei had never seen such beauty. She sighed happily and absentmindedly leaned her head onto Shinji's shoulder. Purely out of reflex, Shinji put his arm around her shoulders and slightly touched her head with his. Rei flinched slightly and then calmed down. She smiled and snuggled up next to Shinji.

'It is indeed a beautiful image.' Misato thought and took another sip of her beer.

'The sun is casting its last, dying rays upon this beach and upon the two people in love that tenderly embrace under its grace. These two young people will… what the hell is in this beer that makes me fell so freakin' funny?' She shrugged and shook her head to get rid of the, as she thought, slimy poetic crap spinning through her head. She threw the rest of her beer into the open fireplace. The explosion echoed for a second through the rooms of the flat they had rented and Misato had to take another shower. Shinji and Rei continued watching the sunset without taking any notice of what was happening behind them.

"Well, I'll sleep on the floor and you can take the bed then." Shinji did not approve of this.

"No, I'll sleep on the floor, you'll sleep in the bed, and that's final." Rei started shooting daggers at him with her eyes and started shouting a protest, but could not continue doing this as Shinji swept the feet from under her with a practiced sweeping kick along the floor that was soft enough not to hurt her but hard enough to knock her off her feet. He caught her in the air and heaved laid her on the bed.

"I said it's final, you're still bruised and you could get hurt from sleeping on the floor." He said this as he gently put a hand on her forehead and gently, gently pushed her head down on the pillow.

'It's good that she had already changed her clothes.' Shinji thought as he put the sheet over her and mockingly patted her on the head and smiled.

"Good night." Rei just glared at him and closed her eyes as she turned to face the opposite direction of Shinji and promptly fell asleep. Shinji sighed in relief and lay down on the floor and pulled a blanket from the couch over him and put a pillow from said couch under his head. Despite the discomfort, Shinji soon fell asleep. It was however, not one of the peaceful nature.

'So…wonder girl has finally caught you, eh?'

'What are you talking about Asuka-san?'

'Baka Shinji! You and wonder girl are an item now right? You're dating, hugging, kissing, humping!'

'What on earth are you talking about?'

'You two are having sex, intercourse, you're humping, banging, screwing…'

'Shut up! Just shut up!'

'Oh…now you make me sad, Shinji…sad and angry! Only for that, look what I'll do to your little wonder girl here…look, you just grab her neck and pull! And pull! And pull! And pull! And pull…oh no, it broke…it's all your fault, baka Shinji! All your fault, Baka Shinji! Baka Shinji!'

'Noooooo!" the last scream followed from the dream to the reality, and Shinji shot up. He looked wild-eyed around the room, making sure that no hostile entities were around. The only sound audible now were Misato's drunk snoring (how the heck she should make it through a day at the beach with the hangover was another mystery to add to the list.) and one of those noisy alarm clocks ticking away with high self-esteem without a care in the world. And then the soft voice of Rei.

"What's the matter, Shinji?" Shinji sighed louder than ever before in relief. Rei had not suffered the terrible fate he had dreamed of. Then Asuka popped up behind Rei with a grin over her face.

"Look…it broke again…" Asuka held up Rei's head upside down in the air pipe. Blood trickled down in drops on the bed, making spots that grew, grew, grew. And that horrible red colour spread. And Asuka laughed.

"Noooooo!" the last scream followed from the dream to the reality, and Shinji shot up. He looked wild-eyed around the room, making sure that no hostile entities were around. The only sound audible now were Misato's drunk snoring (how the heck she should make it through a day at the beach with the hangover was another mystery to add to the list.) and one of those noisy alarm clocks ticking away with high self-esteem without a care in the world. And then the soft voice of Rei.

"What's the matter, Shinji?" Shinji sighed louder than ever before in relief. Then he looked absolutely terrified. He sprang onto his feet and ran over to the other side of the room, looking high and low for something.

"What's the matter?" Shinji looked at her, a slightly mad look in his eyes. He ran up to her sitting form in the bed and grabbed her shoulders a bit harder than he had intended.

"Have you seen Asuka-san?" He asked, voice hushed so low he could, but the panic shone through. Rei looked him deep in the eyes and took his head in her hands.

"No. Was it a nightmare?" Shinji nodded slightly to not break Rei's hold of his head. It felt soothing, comforting.

"Do you want to talk about it? I have heard that people tend to feel better after talking about things that the feel is troubling them." Shinji started sobbing slightly and sat down on the bed next to Rei, careful not to break the hold of her hands around his face.

"It was terrible…terrible. Asuka-san shouted…things about you and…me, and accused us of…doing…things…then she…she…" Shinji had started to cry at this point, and Rei held him protectively in her arms. "…she killed…she killed you…she ripped your head…oh, my god…then I woke up, or I thought I did, and then she appeared out of nowhere and…and …did it…again…" He cried without control now, wetting the front of her nightgown. He eventually calmed down and fell asleep, still cradled in Rei's arms. She leaned back against the wall with Shinji's head in her lap and started absentmindedly stroking his hair as she whispered small soothing things. The rest of the night went peacefully along as Rei fell asleep.

Misato sat up in her bed, scratching her head and stretching her back with a yawn that would have made any Mongolian warlord jealous of not having that sound their battle cry. Soon after, Rei ascended from sleep and watched Shinji's head in her lap. The rest of him lay sprawled out over the rest of the bed, covers in a messy heap down at his feet. Following Rei, Shinji also ascended from his coma-like sleep and looked around as good as he could in her lap while his brain booted up. When the brain was almost done, he had the audiovisuals at least, but the memories of last night were still working on coming back. He turned beet red as he got a grip on where his head was. Or where the rest of his body was. Luckily, before he started blabbering excuses, his mind made a last push and flung the memories back in his head with the speed of a concord on the afterburners. He relaxed a bit.

'So…now what?' His brains were still pretty much fried, even if they just got booted up. It worked like that. Despite if the brains of Shinji worked flawlessly, well as flawlessly as Shinji can get, they always fried as soon as she was any closer than two metres from a girl he thought was cute. Shinji thought Rei was absolutely beautiful. And as a result, he's fried.

"Ohayo, Shinji." Rei smiled down on him. His brain restarted and got out of the fried state for the time being. He looked up at her as good as he could.

"Ohayo, Rei." They looked each other deep in the eyes, and for some reason, the distance between their faces seemed to shrink…a scream from the kitchen broke the moment and they looked with murder in their eyes towards the half-dressed drunk with a beer can in her hand standing in the doorway.

"That's how I…" Misato began screaming.

"Start my morning…" Shinji and Rei finished, still in perfect unison. They untangled from each other and both of them blushed as they were done doing the untangling. They both had accidentally brushed against a few "special places" and they tried their best not to look each other directly in the eyes.

At the breakfast table, Misato tried her best to tease the teens that sat directly opposite her at the table. She succeeded in some aspects. Mostly, she tried to lure out of them why Shinji and Rei had shared bed during the night. And Shinji's answer that he had a nightmare did not work with Misato, despite the fact that it was true.

"So…Shinji-kun, what did you and Rei do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, you were all over her in her bed as much as I can recall."

"I just had a nightmare and Rei was there for me. That's all." Rei nodded, with a slight hint of disappointment. Misato decided to drop it for the time being.

"So…what was this nightmare about?" Shinji looked at Rei. She nodded.

"The more you tell, the less the chances of getting seriously traumatized by it later." Shinji sighed and recalled the horrible nightmare.

"It was about…Asuka-san. She accused me of…having something…with Rei. And she got mad at me and…" the sobs re-emerged. "…and…she killed…Rei…and when I woke up, or I thought that I woke up, everything was normal. But then Asuka-san came back…and she…and she…killed…Rei again…" He said the last piece very low, and very interrupted by sobbing. Rei gently embraced him, whispered soothingly in his ear. Misato watched the whole scenario with a raised eyebrow.

'Sure, that was a scary nightmare; just having Asuka in it is surely enough, right? But having her killing Rei, and twice, that's a bit rough for one night. I see why he's upset, if the same thing had happened to the person that I liked I would be devastated. Or that is, if I have someone that I like. Shinji and Rei definitely like each other, they just can't tell each other or maybe not even themselves. Now I've gotten something similar from the wine as I got from the beer, dammit!' Misato sighed and flung the half-full wine bottle in the fireplace. Luckily for the inhabitants, it was not ablaze.