Making Things Right 4
Disclaimer; I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. Sure wish I did, though.
As she gently pulls Shinji along behind her, Asuka's smirk goes even wider with what she has in mind. Only…
"Asuka, where are we going? Class is about to start." Asuka can only give a soft snort of mirth at that.
"You know, much as I do, Sweet Shinji, that 'class' only consists of hearing about 2nd Impact on a daily basis." Blushing at being called 'Sweet', Shinji can't help but blink in bewilderment at that.
"But… this is your first day of school here. How can…"
'Oops!' Her smirk going sheepish, Asuka thinks quickly before looking back at him. "It was in the MAGI files we had pulled in Berlin."
"Ahh." Shrugging it off, he then asks, "So then… what do you have in mind?"
"Something a lot better." Their destination comes into view before they go in. Once they're in, Asuka closes and locks the door before covering the solitary window with a floor mat. "For you, that is. Now, take your shirt off."
"O… Okay." Doing so, Shinji notes Asuka grimacing before he asks, "What's wrong, Asuka?"
"Who's the dead asshole that told you to starve yourself?" The vehemence in Asuka's snarl gets him to lightly gulp.
"The… teacher I lived with before… I came here. He told me it'd give me perspective on how the rest of the world scrapes by and… I should follow their example."
"I see. Where is he? I need to pay him a visit. With Unit-02." Shinji uneasily chuckles before Asuka shrugs. "I've my work cut out for me. But, much like you constantly rise to the challenge, I'll do the same. And my challenge is to pump." Clapping her hands together once before pointing at him, she adds, "You up!" Shinji blinks blankly at her before she slightly wilts. "You mean… you've never seen 'Hans and Franz', the goofy exercise guys on SNL?"
"No… I'm afraid not." Asuka's eyes lightly shimmer with tears.
"You poor thing. So deprived." Her tears dissipate as she grins. "I know what we'll be doing eventually! But, for now, I'm going to pump." Clapping and pointing once more, she finishes. "You up!" Shinji gives a faint smile before she directs him to the weight-lifting equipment.
(Two days later)
"Can you believe it? All they talk about is her and Shin-man."
"I can, Touji, but what gets me is their repeated requests for pictures even though I told them my policy."
"Yeah? What do they say to that?"
"Her being with him is a mistake, that she can do better than him. Which is why they keep leaving love letters in her locker."
"Oh, yeah. I also see her burning them, an 'evil' smile of glee on her face." Kensuke lightly chuckles as…
"Hallo! Good morning, Shinji!" Blinking at the shout, Shinji turns back and sees Asuka.
"Oh… Good morn…ing, Asuka." The redhead beams with approval.
"Good. You're getting better. Just a little more timidity to go to get rid of and we'll get you fluent yet." Shinji softly chuckles before she asks, "So where's the 1st Child?"
"Let's see…" Looking around and down, Shinji spots the bluenette. "She's down there. Reading."
"Great. See you in class." Sneaking a quick peck onto his cheek, Asuka goes to where Rei Ayanami, the 1st Child, is reading. As she draws near, she notes the type of book. 'Huh. "Applied Mathematics". Guess my calling her "Wondergirl" isn't too far off.' Clearing her throat, she says, "Hi, you must be Rei Ayanami, the Pilot of Unit-00. I'm Asuka. Asuka Langley Sohryu. Let's be good friends."
"Whatever for?" Rei's voice, a soft monotone, as she reads, gets Asuka to softly roll her eyes, remembering what happened the last time around and wanting to do things differently.
"Life is lonely without friends." That gets Rei to look up at her.
"Life is… lonely?"
"Yup!" Asuka grins gently and adds, "You look lonely too. So that makes things worthwhile. Besides…" Her grin fading slightly, she says, "I'd really like to be able to get along with you." Rei ponders it before replying.
"I… would like that." Asuka beams brightly before Rei asks, "Earlier, you said your last name as Sohryu, correct?"
"That I did."
"Then why did you initially introduce yourself as 'Ikari-to-be' the other day? From what Class Representative Horaki said, it had caused quite a stir."
"Oh, that!" Asuka slightly giggles before she says, "I'm intending to marry Shinji when all's said and done and have children with him."
"Oh… I see." Closing her book, Rei rises and says, "Class is about to commence, Pilot Ikari-to-be." Asuka can't help but chuckle before the 'Angel' sirens scream. "Of course, I could be mistaken." Asuka's chuckles become giggles as Shinji draws near to them.
(shoreline; fifteen minutes later)
"Okay, Shinji! Let's go!" Bounding forward excitedly in Unit-02 toward the 7th Angel, a thought enters Asuka's head. 'Aw crap. This Angel splits off! We haven't even undergone sync training to defeat this Angel yet! Aw crap!'
(NERV; thirty minutes later)
During the debrief of the debacle that ensued, Asuka's still kicking herself for forgetting that crucial point in time. One that was a result of her brash action the first time around.
'Shinji wasn't the screwup that day. I was!' She then hears Vi-Co Fuyutsuki's voice.
"We'll have to redraw the map again!" Turning to the two, he asks, "Just what do you think your job is?"
"Protecting humanity."
"Correct, Pilot Sohryu." With that, Fuyutsuki lowers the dais to below the floor, leaving the Pilots and Kaji together.
"That could've gone better." Shinji's words get a nod of agreement from Asuka and a sigh of self-recrimination from her. "Asuka? What's wrong?"
"I'll… tell you later, Shinji. Kaji, where's Misato at?"
"She's doing the usual. Post battle/disaster paperwork." Asuka gets a gleam in her right eye. One that Kaji notices before she gets up.
"I'll see you later, Shinji." Before Shinji can even speak, Asuka strides out.
(Katsuragi/Ikari apartment; twenty minutes later)
"I'm home." Shinji's voice as he opens the door gets a quick response.
"Welcome home, dear."
'Asuka?! How'd she get in?!' Putting it out of his mind, he asks, "Where are you?"
"Kitchen."
Making his way there, he reaches the doorway and sees Asuka facing the stove, wearing only a blue apron. His face going red, his eyes go wide in shock as Asuka turns around, an impish smirk on her blushing face. He can easily see her nipples poking through the fabric.
"Like what you see?" As he silently nods, his face red, she goes on. "A little something I heard about. 'Naked Apron'. Just thought I'd try it out."
"Wha… Wha…" Understanding what Shinji's getting at, Asuka chimes back in.
"I'm rooming with you and Misato now. Though quite frankly I wish it was just you so it'll be our little love nest." Rolling her hands back toward herself, like she's reeling herself toward him, she wraps her arms around him and presses her lips against his.
Tapping his lips with her tongue, she moans in delight as his tongue meets hers. As they French, Asuka brings her right hand down to the front of Shinji's trousers and gently rubs. Hearing Shinji's moan of delight, she's about to bring his zipper down until she hears a throat clearing.
'Misato's home! Dammit!' Ending the kiss, reluctantly, Asuka looks over and sees Misato scowling.
"Asuka, go put on a shirt, shorts and underwear. When you come back out, I'm going to lay out some ground rules for you two." Asuka sighs and nods before looking back at Shinji.
"I've some pasta cooking, Shinji. Could you please stir every couple minutes until I come back out? It should be ready by then."
"Okay." Sneaking a quick peck onto his cheek, Asuka goes into the bedroom. One that Shinji quickly recognizes. 'My… room?' As Shinji turns to the pot Asuka was at, Misato follows Asuka into the room, but notices the new sign on the door.
"So… 'Shinji and Asuka's Lovely Suite', huh?"
"Yeah." Asuka sheepishly chuckles as she takes off the apron and, upon selecting the proper attire, quickly puts on the items Misato said.
"Uh-huh… by the way… Kaji told me."
"Told you what, Misato?"
"Just enough that you originally weren't very nice to Shinji. So… what exactly is what you're doing? Some kind of penance?"
"More like taking an opportunity to do things differently. Sure, I guess you can call it a penance of sorts. But…"
"But what?"
"I had… something of a crush on Shinji in the old timeline… but I was… such a heartless bitch to him when he did absolutely nothing to warrant it." Tears start shimmering in her eyes as she adds, "During our voyage here… I'd cried myself to sleep… hoping Shinji wouldn't resent me if he… knew what I was previously like. Do you have any idea how much that hurts, Misato?"
"I've some idea. But… I'm rooting for you two. You look cute together." Asuka beams with a blush before Misato drops the boom. "But, first rule and it's just for you. If the implant fails and you wind up with a bun in the oven, you're automatically off the roster."
"I see nothing wrong with that whatsoever. In fact…" The gleam in Asuka's eyes tell Misato all she needs to know.
"That's only if there's a failure of it. You can't get it extracted just to get Shinji to knock you up."
"But… Misato… he'd make a wonderful Father. Far better than 'him', after all." Misato grins widely at that.
"Oh, and what leads you to that conclusion?"
"Shinji's a far better person than my future… ughk… 'Father-in-Law', Misato."
"No argument there." Eying the solitary bed, with the apron on it, Misato sighs. "Next time you want to do 'Naked Apron', put on a swimsuit and lightly tease him before turning around to show him."
"Is that really how it's supposed to go?"
"It is as far as I'm concerned. I'll be waiting for you in the kitchen. There, I'll be laying out some ground rules for you two."
Asuka lightly sticks her tongue out as Misato exits the room. Quickly putting the apron back on, she exits the room in time to relieve Shinji with a quick peck to his right cheek from behind before Misato giggles.
"You two certainly look domestic. Are you sure you just met each other?"
'Good. She's playing along.' Asuka shrugs at that before saying, "I blame the hormones. Causing me to latch onto the first cute boy my age I see."
"Ahh." Misato rolls her eyes before clearing her throat. "We best get this out of the way. Shinji, put the heat on low, please, and the two of you sit down."
"O… Okay." Putting the heat on low, he sits down beside Asuka before Misato speaks.
"Now, first and foremost, I've no problems with you two being together. But we're going to have restrictions so we, meaning me, can sleep soundly. Clear?"
"It is." At their tandem reply, both teens blush and Misato titters before going serious.
"When I'm around, no hanky-panky. Even if you two try to be quiet. That means bed, bath, kitchen and living room. When I'm out, however…" At their nods, she goes on. "If you're going to express acceptable public displays of affection, at least keep them subtle." Asuka lightly smirks, prompting Misato to roll her eyes. "I know, Asuka. I know. I'm the last person to talk about being subtle, but it's really for your own good. If the Commander gets wind…"
"We understand, Misato. We'll keep them as subtle as possible." Asuka's words get Misato to sigh in relief before going on.
"If I'm out, and you want to express your passion for each other, you'll have to leave some kind of indicator outside the bedroom door in case I come in while you're in the middle of it." Seeing and hearing no objections, she checks the time and groans.
"I'm only going to have enough time to start on your sync training before going back in."
"Sync training, Misato?" Shinji's curiosity is evident while Asuka lightly smirks. Eagerly anticipating what Misato has in mind.
"Yup. Kaji gave me an idea and we're running with it." Her eyes going stern, she adds, "Failure's not an option, you two. I want you both in sync before the week's out." Shinji nods, not noticing the gleam in Asuka's eyes.
(three days later)
"I wonder what's been keeping them away from school for the last three days." Touji's voice gets Kensuke's attention before he gets a response.
"Whatever it is, it's pretty big." Kensuke then blinks before asking, "Isn't that the Class Rep?" Touji looks ahead and blinks himself. Before he can say anything, Hikari does.
"Well now, it's the two Stooges." Her voice slightly amused, she asks, "What brings you two here?"
"Just here to see Shin-man. You?"
"Just here to see Asuka." In three minutes, they reach the door they want before sharing a question.
"Why'd you stop here?" Before any can do anything, the door opens, revealing Shinji and Asuka, wearing dancing leotards. Hikari's face goes red before Asuka cuts her off.
"Relax, Hikari. Shinji and I are training for our rematch against the Angel."
"What kind… wait. How'd you know the two Stooges and I would be here today?" Asuka only gives an enigmatic smirk, prompting Hikari to roll her eyes. "One of these days, Asuka, you're going to come across a situation you don't see coming."
"I'll be looking forward to it." Shinji gives a soft chuckle before chiming in himself.
"I asked her about that before we came to the door and she just smirked." Shrugging, he adds, "I find it's easier to just go with the flow and not overthink it."
"Uh… huh." Shrugging it off, Hikari's about to speak more before Misato chimes in.
"Well now. This is a nice surprise. Why don't you three come on in?" Hikari looks aside and sees Misato and Rei standing together. Misato with an amused expression on her face. Rei with an impassioned expression on her face.
"Oh… okay." As Shinji and Asuka recede, Hikari notices how fluidly the two move together before asking, "Is this what you've spent the last three days doing?"
"Yep." Their tandem reply gets her to blink before they go on. "In order to become synchronized, we have to do what we can together. Except for some things, if you get our drift." Hikari's face goes deep red in blush before she screeches out.
"Why'd you put that image into my head?!"
"You're the one that did it. Not us." Touji's chortles at their words get their attention before they go on. "When're you going to ask the Class Rep out? Or you asking Touji out, Class Rep?"
"What was that?!" Touji and Hikari's faces are red, with Kensuke's chuckles not helping matters any before Touji looks at him. "What gives?!"
"I was wondering who else noticed the Class Rep having a crush on you." Touji's right eye twitches before Rei silently raised her right hand before speaking
"I was not exactly sure what was going on, so I elected to maintain observation. The words from Aida just now were most enlightening." Asuka blinks at the bluenette's words before thinking.
'That's the most I ever heard "Wondergirl" say. And her "electing" to do something? Something is off. Way off. You don't think… nah!' Somewhat wary, Asuka refocuses and the task at hand. "Shall we, Shinji?"
"Okay." As they go back to their training, the others sit down, with a blushing Hikari noticing Pen-Pen and softly squealing. Hikari hears Asuka softly chuckling and could faintly hear what she says next.
"Just like what happened last time. Somewhat." Perplexed by that, Hikari watches the two go through the motions before ending on a flawless note.
"Well now. Seeing as you two are synced… Rei, you wanna try with them?"
"Yes, ma'am. However, I do not have my own outfit."
"It's okay, Rei. You're fine as you are." Asuka's words get Rei to nod as Asuka steps aside and lets Rei take her place. The sync between Shinji and Rei is instant. Asuka can only be awed once they're finished. "Wow. It took us three days to get synced with each other, Shinji. Yet you and Rei were instant. It's a shame Unit-00 hasn't been re-armored yet and the Angel only has two halves."
"Yeah… it is." Unsure as to what's going on, Shinji notes Asuka exiting. "Asuka!" Taking off after her, Shinji quickly catches up to her. "Asuka! What's wrong?!" Asuka smiles softly at him while palming his cheek.
"Nothing. I feel like getting some juice. Could use some company."
"Okay." The walk side-by-side, not noticing the ruby red eyes of Rei Ayanami watching them.
'Everything is proceeding according to the true Scenario.'
As the two walk along, Shinji notices Asuka's pensively regretful demeanor.
"Is something… wrong, Asuka?" Asuka looks aside before he goes on. "It's just that… you don't look happy about something." Asuka, thinking fast, gives a gentle smirk.
"Okay. You got me. I was just thinking about how terrible I was to a boy before we met." At his head kink, she goes on. "He was incredibly kind, a great cook and… pretty cute."
"What happened?"
"I abused him on pretty much a daily basis. Called him stupid for asking questions because he wanted to make sense of things. Kicked him, punched him, yelled at him… not once did he fight back."
"What… what happened to him?"
"He finally had enough and left in the middle of the night." Giving a soft snort of sadness, she adds, "Can't really say I blame him either."
"What would you do and say… if you ever saw him again?"
"I'd deeply apologize and wish him happiness."
(The night before rematch; Ikari/Sohryu/Katsuragi apartment)
As Shinji slumbers beside Asuka, her blue eyes rove over his form before tears start shimmering in her eyes.
"Oh… Shinji…" Ensuring to keep her voice as quiet as possible, she goes on. "I've… so much to… make up for. And I… can't even begin to tell you because while it happened, it's also not happening. Things will be much different." With that, she plants a gentle kiss on his cheek before snuggling into him and closing her eyes. However…
Shinji's eyes slowly open before he looks over at Asuka, a ponderous expression on his face.