Whipped
Chapter 5: Self Esteem
Well I guess, I should stick up for myself
But I really think it's better this way
The more you suffer
The more it shows you really care…
Right?
-Offspring, Self Esteem
Shinji was not happy.
His unhappiness largely stemmed from the fact that water was falling on his face. Though he wasn't usually the type to get so easily upset about something as insignificant as water on his face, there were other factors to consider as well. Like the water on his shirt, the water on his legs, the water in his socks and the nagging in his ear.
"Are you trying to get me wet?" asked Asuka for what seemed like the hundredth time, but was probably only the third. He didn't know what the girl could have possibly expected to happen when she all but ordered him to ride her to school on his bicycle… in the rain. He told her as much in response.
"Well the way you're peddling it's near-impossible to keep the umbrella at the right angle to block most of the rain. Could you pick a speed and stick with it?"
Her answer was received in the form of grumbling.
What she failed to mention was that while it was nearly impossible to block most of the rain from herself, it was completely impossible to block any of the rain falling on him. He had sincere doubts that she had even tried. Under normal circumstances he was happy to do almost anything his girlfriend asked of him, but even he had his limits. He had told her that this was a bad idea from the very beginning. Had told her several times actually. But that did nothing to stop her from browbeating him into doing it anyways. Nor had it stopped her from complaining his ear off the whole way. He was so annoyed at this point in the seemingly endless trip, that he was ready to kick the 'chick' off of his 'ride'. The only thing that stopped him was the knowledge that them being late was partially his fault (he'd been watching her sleep again… and it even creeped him out a little when he realized how long he'd been doing so). His guilt in this situation was another fact of which his girlfriend had seemingly thrown at him infinite times.
Lucky for all parties involved, they could see the school in the distance. Shinji sped up his pedaling despite Asuka's previous warnings. When they finally reached the bike rack, the two dismounted. He was awarded with the pleasure of Asuka telling him to "hurry it up!" as she stood under her umbrella watching him lock up his bike, still directly under the protection of nothing. As the two made their way into the building he pretended not to hear her indirect comments regarding him being the worst form of transportation in all of Tokyo-3.
--
They say experience is the greatest teacher of all. Shinji learned from his experience that 2 minutes of drying off with paper towels in the bathroom did nothing to make a person any less soaking wet. He also learned that spending two minutes in the bathroom after the bell has rung, makes a person 2 minutes late.
With a hesitant hand Shinji turned the handle of the door to classroom 2-A. He took note that all of the other students were both dry and on time.
"You're two minutes late," said Mr. Karowsaga.
"Sorry sir," said Shinji with a frantic bow. The action caused water to flick across the room, some of which fell upon other students.
"Ack!" cried Kensuke in outrage. "You've caused water to flick across the room, some of which has fallen upon me!"
"Sorry," said Shinji again, bow omitted. He then turned back to the teacher and said, "It won't happen again."
"It better not, or you'll be cleaning the classroom for a week."
Shinji awkwardly shuffled his way to his desk, a task not made easy by the narrow size of the aisles. He almost knocked several books off the desk of the mousy-faced girl sitting next to him before he was finally able to take his seat.
Kensuke said none-too-quietly, "I wish I were an Eva pilot so I could get away with being rudely wet and late."
"That's another week of clean up duty for you Aida."
Shinji tried not to feel too horrible about it. For some reason or another Kensuke had spent the last month cleaning the classroom after school. By this point Toji had ceased to believe it was Shinji's fault. Whenever Kensuke would complain the jock would shrug and mention something about Mr. Karowsaga probably not liking him very much. However Kensuke had a different theory.
When Shinji opened his laptop there was already a flashing message that read as follows:
KA: Why do you hate me so much?
click
Shinji sighed and closed the window. Another message took its place. It wasn't Asuka so Shinji decided to ignore it. Instead he focused all his attention on how completely wet and miserable he was until the end of class. He was cold to the point of shivering. Every time his foot moved he was assaulted with an awful squishy sound. It wasn't fun. All he could do was thank God it was a Saturday.
When the long drawn out discussion of post-2nd impact economics (which somehow ended with reminiscences of the teacher's college roommate who was so cheep he'd never chip in for pizza, but always wanted a slice) had finally come to its conclusion, Shinji had never been happier for a class to end. He hastily set about packing up his books and putting away his laptop before something unknown and unfortunate could happen to him. He took note of the fact that it was no longer raining and decided that there was some mercy in the world. The sky was still overcast, but even if it rained he wouldn't have to ride the bike in it. He was no longer in a hurry.
He set out the room as quickly as was reasonable and made his way to his locker. There he would grab the spare umbrella he kept for emergencies before meeting up with Asuka to walk home. Once he'd entered the combination and grabbed the umbrella the only thing standing in his way was Toji.
"'Sup," said Toji. "What happened to you?"
Shinji frowned. "I rode my bicycle in the rain."
"That's a stupid thing to do," Toji remarked.
"I know."
Shinji glanced around the hallway impatiently. The conversation was doing nothing for him in his wetted state and Asuka would be there any moment.
Toji shrugged. "Anyways… I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at the arcade tomorrow. Me and Kensuke were going to go up there around noon or so and play some games. Ken's still trying to beat that one guy's high score on the pinball machine."
"errr…ummm…uhhh…"
"Come on, it'll be fun. I promise you won't have to pay for the food like last time."
"…. Well …"
"And I'll try to convince Kensuke not to beat the snot out of you in those fighting games."
"… er… Well you see…"
"I don't get you man," said Toji obviously annoyed. "Just the other day you were practically begging to hang out with us-"
"I wouldn't say begging exactly-"
"And now you're going to blow us off?"
"You know I want to but… er…" Shinji wasn't quite sure how to say it without actually saying it. "Well… I would go… but…"
And just when he felt himself losing grip of his conversational control…
"But this dork is already spending his worthless Saturday being tutored by me."
Despite the fact that he was obviously going to say the wrong thing and blow it, Shinji found it funny how helpless and small he felt when Asuka took the reins.
"You're his tutor?" asked Toji in disbelief. "I never figured you'd be able to read the textbooks from that high horse you're always sitting on."
"Said he of the 1.0 GPA."
"If good grades mean spending any amount of time in a room with you, I'd rather fail."
"Looks like that's working out just fine for you," said Asuka expertly deflecting his attack. "Come on Shinji, I want to get home sometime today."
"He's not your dog, you know?" said Toji. "He don't have to scamper away every time you call."
Asuka said nothing in reply and began to make her way toward the exit. Shinji spared Toji an apologetic glance before following. Toji took private notice of the two breast-shaped dry spots on his friend's back.
--
The idea had been simple enough. It sounded harmless, if not a little exciting in a way. A day with Asuka. A nearly uninterrupted day of enjoying each other's company. On paper, it sounded to good to be true. In reality... things turned out well enough.
It all started with cereal. Shinji had woken around nine o'clock and poured himself a bowl of cereal. He thought about making some eggs and bacon, but rarely had the energy to do so on the weekends. Time consuming activities such as these seemed better suited for weekdays when he had a sense of purpose. On this day however, he hadn't even bothered to shower or change out of his bed clothes. It was Saturday after all.
Having bestowed a sparing amount of milk upon his Donut-shaped Grain Oats, he grabbed a spoon and hit the couch. Being the only conscious occupant of the apartment, he felt no shame in taking up the middle seat of the couch and spreading out. So there he ate bowl in lap, enjoying the freedom that came with no responsibilities.
30 minutes later...
"G'morning Shinji"
Asuka's hair was charmingly disheveled. Her eyes squinting slightly in the morning light. She wore a pair of green sweatpants that were rolled to right below the knee. Her long t-shirt hung loosely around her neck in a way that wasn't particularly inviting, but didn't exactly say 'no solicitors' either. A peak of a crevice, not a valley. Shinji rose to put up his bowl and spoon as he took strange interest in the sluggish way she moved. It was kinda funny, in a non-laughable way.
So he smiled and said, "good morning."
When Shinji attempted to rinse his bowl and spoon in the sink, Asuka stopped him.
"I'll use those," she said taking the dishes in hand. She then lifted her gaze to the refrigerator and surveyed the available selection. "Fortunate Marshmallows, Cinnamon Swirl Squares, Sweetened Corn Puffs, and Donut-shaped Grain Oats." She said the last one with an air of distaste. "Hmm... which one did you eat?"
Shinji felt mild shame as he said, "Donut-Shaped Grain Oats..."
"Figures," said Asuka. She stretched up on her tippy-toes and grabbed the Cinnamon Swirl Squares. Without sparing him another glance she poured said cereal into previously mentioned bowl. Shinji took this as a sign of dismissal made his way back to the couch where he turned on the television. Switching through the channels he settled upon a morning program. A popular comedian was talking to the host about his new more popular celebrity love interest, while plugging his upcoming movie. A clip of the movie was shown where the comedian kisses a completely different beautiful actress while making lewd hand signs to his friend behind her back.
The audience claps in it's controlled studio roar.
"oooohhh," said the female host. "Funny stuff. But how does Yukari feel about you kissing all these other beautiful women. Does it make her a jealous?"
The comedian laughed nervously. "Well she did give me some grief about it when she first heard. But then I told her that every time I did it, I was thinking about her. And then she asks if I'm thinking all these lewd things as I'm kissing her and... "
"Are you?" the host interrupted.
Asuka took a seat on the couch next to him. He tried to scoot over to accommodate her. It was a two cushion couch so there was certainly room for the two of them to spread out. Yet somehow or another their legs were still in contact. Shinji tried not to make too much of it. But it did feel nice.
"Well... you know..."
Laugher exploded from the television.
"But I wasn't going to tell her that. So I said, 'honey, the truth is..."
Asuka grabbed the remote from his lap and changed the channel. Shinji turned to her in his perplexed state.
"You weren't watching that." Not a question...
Shinji frowned, then shrugged.
Asuka flicked through channel after channel. She never stayed on one station long enough for Shinji to get anything but the briefest idea what show was on. However, the dutiful way she clicked convinced him that she must know what she was doing. Indeed, moments later her surfing came to an end. She had found her target: Saturday morning cartoons.
It was a familiar show to be sure, though one that Shinji had never particularly cared for. Senseless violence had never appealed to him. Not even when of the cartoon variety.
"You like this?" asked Shinji.
"Who doesn't?"
Shinji shook his head. "eh... I guess."
"Don't tell me you don't like Jon and Henry. The world's favorite feline and rodent duo."
Shinji decided not to tell her.
Fortunately, at that moment Morning Misato chose to barge into the kitchen, gracing the two of them with her marvelous presence.
"Good morning," Shinji whispered. He'd learned long ago that Morning Misato and regular volume voices did not mix.
Misato said, "aahhggrraah-uh."
Shinji wasn't terribly surprised. As Asuka continued to watch her pointless cartoon, he watched his guardian stumble her way to the fridge. She instantly turned her head upon opening the door as a means to shield herself from the appliances bright light source. Wildly thrusting her hand into the fridge, she blindly searched for her morning beverage, her sense of touch her only guide. It was fortunate that there were cans of the stuff virtually everywhere.
Misato stumbled her way back to the table, beverage in hand. Ta-shhhhh. An opened tab. She took the can straight to the head and did not take prisoners.
"AAAAAYYyyeeeeeeHHHHh!"
At this unearthly (yet expected) noise even Asuka turned to look. Misato's face was notably blank. A moment passed. Then another. And yet another before...
"Good morning Shinji. Good morning Asuka." said Misato with a smile.
Asuka said, "You're disgusting."
"Love you too."
Misato threw her beer in the trash and started to make herself breakfast. After pouring a nutrition filled bowl of cereal, she unbashfully exclaimed, "I love Fortunate Marshmallows."
"You say that every morning," said Asuka.
"And every morning it's true."
"Shinji would disagree."
Misato glared at Shinji dangerously from the kitchen. "Is that so?"
"He likes Donut-Shaped Grain Oats. Thinks they're the tastiest cereal ever."
"I never said..."
"He told me that Donut-Shaped Grain Oat's dad would beat the crap out of Fortunate Marshmallow's dad any day of the week."
"Blasphemy!" cried Misato as she entered the living area. Somehow, beyond all rational reason, Misato managed to transform the two person seating couch into a three person seating couch without asking Shinji to move over and make room. She accomplished this through a strange yet violent hip nudging motion, that was perfectly executed in a manner designed not to spill a single drop of milk. Also she was glaring at him with that playful anger that he knew was fake and harmless. It still made him incredibly nervous.
"How could you not like Fortunate Marshmallows?" she asked. "They're luckily delicious!"
"I never said I didn't like them... I just felt like Donut-Shaped Grain Oats is all..."
Misato wasn't taking any excuses. "All other brands are inferior."
"But Asuka's eating Cinnamon Swirl Squares!"
Asuka looked up from the TV and said, "At least those don't taste like cardboard."
"They don't taste like..."
"And you know what else? Shinji hates Jon and Henry."
"Double Blasphemy!"
"It's only the single greatest cartoon to ever be animated."
"Darn tootin'"
"And this loser hates it."
Shinji felt himself growing red. "I mean, it's okay... I just don't get it, is all."
"It's science, Shinji," explained Misato. "Science. The cat is hungry and wants to eat the mouse. The mouse must fight off the cat for self-preservation. Survival of the fittest. Something about stepping on rakes and having them hit you in the face... (almost happened to me once)..."
"Also explosions," chimed in Asuka. "Can't forget about the explosions."
"Right. Explosions. And guns and knives of all shapes and sizes. 'Oh lucky me, I didn't get hit' but take a drink and water comes out the holes. It's comedic science."
"I guess... I just don't get the point."
"He doesn't get the point?" cried Misato. "This is a work of art we're talking about."
"Genius is what it is," said Asuka.
"Pure genius indeed. Look at the helpless baby duck for example. He's revived a stale and repeated formula. Instead of simply watching Jon chase Henry (while Henry generally gets the better of him), we are now introduced to a new character that is just as vulnerable to a big cat like Jon. But there is a twist. The baby duck shares none of Henry's intellect and wit."
"Thus the phrase, 'helpless baby duck'" said Asuka.
"Exactly. The helpless baby duck (hereafter referred to as the HBD) does not know the danger represented by Jon, and thus walks blindly into said danger. And many times it seems as if the HBD is going to meet his untimely demise. But suddenly... out of nowhere comes Henry, our shining hero. In order to protect the HBD he is forced to inflict even more violence against Jon. Thus revitalizing our entertainment in the show." She paused. "Now do you see its brilliance?"
Shinji looked to his left and right and knew despair. He saw the expectant faces of his two roommates and could no longer tell whether they were joking or not. If they weren't, this was a weird topic to make such a passionate stand about. If they were... he didn't think it was very funny.
Time ticked.
If he said the wrong thing they would continue to berate him with how great the show was. There was also the possibility that they would dismiss him entirely, invalidating his opinion forever. Shinji eats Donut-Shaped Grain Oats and doesn't like Jon and Henry. What does he know about the world? What does he know about anything? He would be a social outcast, discriminated against for his beliefs. Though likewise a favorable answer would only serve to show how easily swayed he was. He would be labeled a flip-flopper. His policies would be subjected to any outward force, like leaves in the wind. He would only like movies that had good reviews and live a life dictated to him by others.
"Well... I... er..."
Was it so wrong to dislike Jon and Henry? Was this an issue of important conformity? Was his dislike of a popular television show the equivalent of saying "I support murder" in a society such as this?
"I guess it's...
He felt the walls closing in. Their eyes were upon him. They saw his weakness and grinned with fanged teeth. Their mouths opened in animalistic snarls, waiting to devour him. One wrong word... all it took was one wrong word and then they would come down on him, as surely as Jon would devour the HBD if given the chance. But then...
"I mean it has its merits in ways that are really... uh... brilliant and genius and... er...
Misato placed her hand on his chin and playfully shook his face.
"You're too easy," she said smiling from ear to ear.
"Isn't he, though?"
"Yeah, you're definitely right about him, that's for sure."
Shinji's face flushed red again.
"I told you."
"Look at his face!"
"Mein Gott, he's blushing!"
"Too cute. I wish I had my camera."
"He's so sensitive."
"But some women find that attractive, right Asuka?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh you know exactly what I mean..."
ect.
They were talking about him as if he wasn't even there.
And maybe he wasn't. There was this world of other people that he failed to understand. He could see the world of others. Sometimes he could even affect it. But mostly things seemed to move with or without him. Him saying that he didn't like Jon and Henry would not have changed either woman's opinion of it. It probably wouldn't have changed their opinion of him either. And he wondered...
"Are you happy now, kid?"
It was a week after he and Asuka had reconciled their differences. Kaji was at a pop machine pressing the glowing button that would lead to the deliverance of a Pepsi. Shinji was sitting at a table in the rec room waiting (always waiting) for Asuka to finish changing out of her plugsuit so they could go home. This was the first time he'd seen the man since buying his bike.
Shinji smiled and nodded. He was indeed happy.
"I'm glad you think so," said Kaji. "We'll see how long that lasts, won't we?"
And suddenly Shinji wasn't happy. He stared at a point on the soda machine that was very close to Kaji's face and said, "Why do you always have to bring me down? Can't you just... leave it alone?"
The bottle of soda unceremoniously fell through the machine to the dispensing tray.
"I forgot you're so sensitive," said Kaji with a smile. Shinji failed to see the humor. "Look kid, I'm not trying to bring you down. I'm just trying to keep you thinking. Complacency is the bedmate of folly."
The man bent down to grab his beverage.
"What?"
"Don't get me wrong. I couldn't be happier you kids are back together."
Shinji supposed that did mesh with the man's previous generosity.
"Honestly, I'm kinda jealous. I never got to the whole 'innocent youths in love' stage. My initiation to the world of romance was a little more direct, and a little less sweet. If you catch my drift."
He didn't.
"But when I got into the game, I already understood some basic things that I think you're missing. I never approached women as a solution to my problems. They're more of a supplement, you see. Like the spoonful of sugar with your medicine. The sugar doesn't fix the problem, but it sure does make it a heck of a lot more bearable."
Shinji's face was decidedly blank.
"I get it kid. It feels like a world shattering, you complete me, can't live without you kinda thing. And maybe that's not a bad thing as a whole. To feel that way. A lot people feel like that, and then when it's over it seems like the sky fell. Then they find some other girl who they 'can't live without' and they say, 'first girl who?' But the real problem is when you actually can't live without the person. Because that isn't love kid. That's asking someone to carry you on their backs across the freakin desert. At a certain point you should stop looking for crutches, and start trying to fix your broken legs. You'll find that if you lean too heavily on those crutches for too long, more than likely they're going to break."
"Mr. Kaji?"
"Yeah Shinji."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Kaji opened the pop bottle with a resounding hiss.
"I know Shinji. That's the problem." Shinji watched as the older man took a long drink. "What I'm trying to tell you is that you're happy now... and that's good. And one day, hopefully not too soon, you're going to come to me. I'm going to ask you, 'are you happy now, kid?' If you're as smart as I think you are, you'll at least have a rough idea about why you're so miserable. And you know what? I'll be more than happy to listen. I'm a nice guy like that."
Shinji glared at him without much malice.
"Oh... right. I almost forgot. You owe me a lot of money kid."
Shinji dropped his glare.
Before either of them had the chance to speak again Asuka walked calmly into the room. She spotted Kaji and was all over him in a matter of seconds. A long drawn out hug ensued. Kaji looked at Shinji with something akin to embarrassment and raised his hands in a gesture that said, "See look where my hands are".
Shinji's glare returned.
After brief pleasantries they all left Nerv together, Asuka on Kaji's arm and Shinji walking behind them. It wasn't the most enjoyable walk for him, but watching his girlfriend fawning over an older man did give him plenty of time to think. Yes there were downsides to this relationship. There were downsides to this life. But there were also the upsides too. Like...
Like the realization that both Asuka and Misato couldn't possibly be sitting any closer to him without somehow being on top of him. Asuka... he could live with Asuka. Her cotton sweatpants pressed firmly against his leg and her moving ever so often brushing her arms and side against his shoulder. It bothered him yes... but it was a good type of bother. It was something he could get used to.
Misato? Not so much. The woman's shorts were true to their name's sake. They rode up to the point of near non-existence. A bare thigh wastouching him and he had no idea how to cope with that reality. It was a large meaty section of flesh. He could feel direct heat emanating from the contact. Some of her lower thigh was even touching his skin. And this was Misato. A fully developed woman. Overkill.
Shinji found himself wishing that Jon and Henry was half as interesting to him as it was to Misato and Asuka. He wasn't exactly pitching at tent, but he at least had what Toji would call a "halfy". Had he not been sure that Misato and Asuka were completely engrossed in things not concerning him, he would have already fled the situation. However, if something even slightly more arousing were to happen, he had already prepared an escape route. It involved hastily grabbing both female's dirty dishes from their hands and running to the kitchen under the guise of doing a good deed.
He needn't have worried. Neither of them seemed particularly interested in him at all. Both simply sat beside him watching the TV, laughing at the appropriate intervals. Occasionally Misato would say, "Oh that Henry" with a strange sort of fondness. The only real movement on either woman's part was the minor shuffling of position, or the unconscious stroking of some appendage (both actions which Shinji tried not to pay too much attention).
After a while it occurred to him that it was perfectly safe to relax. His halfy was reduced to a "fourthy" and his anxiety was reduced as well. This wasn't an act of sexual advance on either side of the fence. It was something much more benign, and in a way even more surprising. With Asuka and Shinji's reconciliation, a sort of easiness had settled upon the household that had never existed before. In the past, neither Misato or Asuka would have ever sat so close to him. Misato would not have playfully grabbed his face. And if either of them had tried to do so before... well he most likely wouldn't have responded so well. It was a weird thing for sure, but he supposed it was a good thing as well.
The touch barrier was down in the Katsuragi household... nothing would ever be the same.
--
The funny thing about Asuka's purposed day of solitude was that it was significantly marred by Misato's presence. It wasn't so much that Shinji himself minded the woman being around the two of them as it was that he could see his girlfriend's (?) obvious annoyance with it. Shinji understood that Asuka did not want to do anything remotely romantic with Misato around. That was just proper. But what he didn't understand was why Asuka tried to pretend that their relationship was non-existent. With everyone in Nerv knowing of them it was kinda hard to figure out just who the girl was trying to kid.
Surely it wasn't Misato, who made it her personal duty to make the two of them feel as uncomfortable as possible. While watching TV that morning on several occasions, she randomly shouted "Hand check!" and made a spectacle of finding out exactly where each of their hands lay in proportion to the other person. She also allowed for a bevy of little hints and jabs which she surprisingly directed mostly at Asuka. So by the time she left for her half-day shift at work with the ominous warning "I don't want to come back and find anyone pregnant" Asuka was more than happy to be rid of her.
"Finally," she said with angry frustration. "I thought she was never going to leave."
"Hmm," said Shinji as he scooted over to give her more room on the couch. He was only mildly surprised when Asuka scooted over as well.
"She can be so annoying sometimes."
"... I guess..."
"I mean she just kept going on and on. It was barely funny the first time... but after a while it wears on you."
For some reason Shinji absolutely needed to say, "But you didn't have any problem when you were talking about me."
"Well that WAS funny. I mean come on... you're a pushover."
Shinji turned toward the TV and muttered, "Thanks."
"I call'em like a see'em. If you don't like people making fun of you, then you should grow a pair."
He thought those were wonderful words to hear from your loving girlfriend. He was so overwhelmed by her touching sincerity that he found himself speechless.
"But don't worry about it too much, Shinji. Misato was right. Some girls do find that attractive..."
He looked over briefly and caught the glint in her eye. And then suddenly her lips were on his. And that was that.
She pulled back briefly, and both of them smiled. Then she went in again... this time for the kill. It was fun... fun and something else. Significant. Like maybe the most important thing he'd ever done in his entire life was to sit there with his girlfriend and make out. It consumed his mind and turned it inside out. The only thoughts he could think of involved how good it felt. Her tongue probing his mouth and exploring. Without much thought he brought a shaky hand up and placed it around her back. It kinda surprised him when Asuka reached down and removed that hand, but continued the saliva exchange. She then snaked both of her arms around his back and pushed him firmly against the couch.
They kissed like that for a while. The "fourthy" was now a "fully".
A few times Shinji's hands snaked back around her, but were gently rebuffed. It took several such exchanges before Shinji finally recognized that this was completely intentional.
When they came up for air Shinji said, "Why won't you...?"
But Asuka stopped him by putting a finger on his lips. Her smile was small and knowing.
"Shhhh... you don't have to do anything. I know you think you have to... but you really don't."
Shinji stared up at her in confusion.
"I'm going to take care of you," she said happily. Seductively. It was certainly a conscious thing. "You don't have to worry anymore... because you're may HBD."
She leaned down to capture his lips again and Shinji worried no more.
--
After that, they watched TV. Asuka's arm was firmly wrapped around Shinji's waist. It was comfortable. It was nice. Eventually they got around to the homework that both of them really did need to do. Asuka's intuitive understanding of the subjects was only marred by her slow and error filled reading, which was something Shinji did his best to tip-toe around. He knew she was sensitive about it, which is why he didn't use it as a comeback when she directly insulted his math skills.
Later that evening they decided to make out again. Well... Asuka decided they would make out again. Shinji told her that Misato would be home soon and that maybe it wasn't a good idea. And then Asuka started kissing him. They were interrupted 5 minutes later when said guardian entered the room. They sprung apart as if on fire. Upon seeing Shinji in a rather worked up state, Misato pulled the boy aside and explained to him the social folly of having a "fully" in the presence of women. It was a brief, awkward conversation made even more awkward by the fact that his guardian was taking the subject matter completely seriously, and explained it to him as one would explain an ethical issue to a child. At that point, Shinji decided to call it a night.
Sometime that week, Shinji and Asuka went to the mall. Shinji watched her purse in a clothes store.
Misato treated the three of them to cheep ramen at a restaurant. It was a nice time. Asuka grabbed Shinji's hand under the table. Misato pretended not to notice, but Shinji noticed her noticing. Nothing else became of it.
Asuka and Misato engaged in a heated argument over whose turn it was to do the laundry. Shinji volunteered to do it for them, hoping to end the fighting. Asuka told him, "quiet Third, we're talking here." The argument continued for another 5 minutes. Misato pulled rank and Asuka was stuck with the chore. She asked Shinji to do it for her. Shinji did the laundry.
When Hikari wanted to go shopping, Asuka told him she was sorry that she couldn't help him with his homework, but that she would make it up to him.
When Shinji wanted to go to the arcade Asuka said, "We gotta do that homework." Shinji did not go to the arcade.
One day Asuka and Shinji stayed up all night watching television on the couch. She whispered in his ear and said very kindly, "You know Third, you're a pretty okay guy." Then she kissed his cheek. And he felt... amazing. They fell asleep on the couch. The next morning Misato did not let up on the jokes.
While walking home from school with Asuka, Shinji turned around to see Rei walking behind them. He only looked briefly, but he thought she was smiling.
On a really hot day when Asuka was away at Hikari's, Misato came out of her room wearing only a bra and panties. She walked into the kitchen, made a sandwich, and sat down next to him on the couch with it. Shinji made a successful effort not to stare at her. They did not touch at all and that was for the best. Misato made several colorful comments about the sitcom they were watching and Shinji smiled in agreement. It wasn't as awkward as he would have thought. He almost managed to relax.
For six straight days Shinji did all the dishes, cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed the floors, and cooked all the meals. On the seventh, day Shinji Rested. On the eighth day, his roommates complained.
After the fifth rejection in two weeks time Toji asked, "What, Do we have to kidnap the guy to hang out with him?"
Once while in a heated kissing session, Asuka bit Shinji's neck. It left a mark that was clearly visible. When he complained about it, he was told to "suck it up, it's not that bad." She provided him with a reasonable excuse: acne. Nobody even asked about it.
Life continued.
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Inside a small little office in a remote corner of Nerv, Ryoji Kaji asked, "Are you happy now, kid?"
Shinji said, "No."
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AN: Hope you like it. It's not the best stuff I've ever written, but I'll keep on writing it till I get to the good parts. Assuming you all stick with me till then. Thanks for reading.