As soon as the elevator doors closed behind her, Asuka pulled out her compact mirror and scrutinized her reflection. She'd already done so several times today, but something could have fallen out of place during her walk home. She smoothed her hair, eyes narrowed.

The girl in the mirror looked perfect. Pretty. As always.

"Damn, girl. I think you've gotten even prettier lately. How's that even possible? Jeez." One of the girls at school - Maki, probably - had said this while they were all sitting together and eating bentos. Asuka's was the product of her and Shinji's joint effort. They'd been cooking together more and more often lately. He stayed back home, the suspension still not over, but promised to eat Asuka's food for lunch.

That particular exchange had happened on Wednesday. When the burn of their first kiss was still fresh on her lips. The heat of it was prolonged by many more kisses that followed. Asuka was already used to the other girls' incessant flattery, but that particular comment flustered her.

"What are you talking about? I'm always pretty." Asuka replied, masking her discomfort by fumbling at the lid of her bento. Everyone laughed.

But Maki didn't want to let the topic go. When the laughter died down, she leaned toward Asuka. "But, Asuka, I'm serious. You're practically glowing these days. Something's changed."

Asuka sat still with her lips slightly parted, unable to come up with a reply. Then Keiko came to her rescue. "Skincare? Diet change?"

"It's probably diet," said another girl whose name Asuka couldn't remember. "You see, I quit eating pizza last semester and it did wonders for my skin."

Maki giggled at that. "I wish I had someone to cook for me and pack me a lunch. Maybe that would make me glow like Asuka! What is Ikari feeding you these days?"

His spit. Turning her face to her bento to hide her blush, Asuka had mumbled something indistinct. She was lucky Hikari wasn't there to notice. The Class Rep was eating with Suzuhara these days, their relationship all but official.

The memory brought heat to Asuka's face again and put butterflies in her stomach. Asuka cupped her cheek with the hand that had been running through her hair. It felt cool against her face.

They kissed whenever they had the slightest chance. Shyly, hesitantly at first, then a little bolder as time went by. Each time was as exciting as the last. Asuka could feel her heart fluttering in anticipation. Surprisingly (or perhaps not so), it was Shinji who took the lead more often than not. Just like he was the first to use tongue. Honestly, Asuka wasn't one hundred percent sure what to make of this change in his behavior.

Of course, that didn't mean Shinji was overbearing. He was still Shinji. He hadn't tried to get too physical with her since that first time, much to her chagrin. Instead, Asuka, sensing a chance, would look at Shinji, and he'd look back at her, and then they'd slip off to some quiet corner of the apartment.

This was a side of Shinji that she'd never seen before, a side she never would have guessed he possessed. The looks he gave her pierced her body like a javelin with their scalding intensity, a sharp and jarring contrast to their usual soft shyness. It made him seem older, somehow, and that put Asuka off-balance. Whenever he looked at her with those heavy eyes, it sent a bolt of electricity arcing through her, stronger than anything she'd ever felt. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and her limbs feel almost numb. The raw, naked desire with which he kissed her afterwards made her wonder if she should put up a token resistance, but then Shinji's hands would grip her roughly and her knees turned to jelly. He was stronger than he looked.

It was almost surreal. There she was, moaning and whimpering like a damsel in distress, not just in anyone's arms, but Idiot Shinji's, trembling beneath his ministrations. In a way, it was disgusting, both figuratively and literally. They called it kissing, but it was more them mashing their open mouths together, tongues tangling and licking whatever they could reach, breath and spit mingling to the point she couldn't tell whose was whose.

What she couldn't understand was that all those things didn't feel disgusting at all in the moment. Quite the opposite, actually. When Shinji's body pressed hers against the wall, when drool escaped their joined mouths, Asuka didn't feel repulsed. Rather, she just wanted it to go on forever. It was only later, when she was alone, or when she was lying nude on her bed basking in the afterglow of masturbation, that she became fully aware of the absurdity of her actions. And how seriously disgusting they objectively were. The fact that she didn't find them disgusting disgusted her even more. She grimaced. There were layers to this. It was like a great big lasagna of disgust that for some incomprehensible reason was the most appetizing thing in the world.

And yet, despite everything, she found herself constantly fantasizing about Shinji when they were apart. Eagerly wondering how far he'd go this time, where he would touch her next, only to be disappointed that the boy's boldness had apparently peaked with their first kiss.

Even now, Asuka was wondering what exactly would push Shinji to be that bold again. Maybe she had to be the one to push him. Her lips quirked upward into a smirk. She wanted to feel the undeniable proof of his desire for her grinding against her again. When he'd done it the first time, all she could think of was how much she'd wanted more. How much she'd wanted to make the layers of fabric separating them disappear, how much she'd wanted to go all the way. It didn't matter that they'd only been on a single date. They'd been living together for months. She had known him for even less time when she'd proclaimed Misato's flimsy paper door to be the Wall of Jericho. If he'd understood her hint then and torn down the barrier and pinned her down, she would have wrapped her legs around his waist and…

Asuka forcibly cut off her wild train of thought. Her legs were already trembling involuntarily, thighs rubbing each other. A sigh escaped her mouth.

"What the hell happened to me?"

Muttering to herself, Asuka pulled her cell phone out. There was a text message, under the name Third Child. A reply to the text Asuka had sent earlier.

Yeah, come right away. Lunch is ready and waiting. Ms. Misato has a dinner appointment again, by the way.

The short text was oozing with anticipation and it gave Asuka another tingle. Her thighs clenched together again. The idiot was really not helping.

Gritting her teeth slightly, she turned to the mirror again. She found a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar. It was definitely her face, features unchanged from the last month, but something about it was different. Asuka realized that Maki wasn't wrong. She obsessively studied her reflection, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed. Flushed cheeks. Soft, smiling eyes. Slightly curled up lips. Nothing unusual. It's not like she never smiled. But somehow the overall impression had changed.

It's because I'm happy, she thought suddenly. But it was strange. Wrong, even. Yes, she liked the boy, but it was almost humiliating that he was able to affect her feelings this much. Anger, until recently. Happiness, now. Both directly caused by him. Was it right for the mind of the great Asuka Langley Soryu to be this obsessed with one silly boy? It wasn't like she was completely unhappy and miserable until she started dating Shinji.

Just as her thoughts reached that point, the elevator stopped. Asuka cleared her throat and checked herself in the mirror one last time. Despite what was going on inside her head, the girl in the mirror was smiling softly, so innocently happy to return to the home where someone was waiting for her.

The smile turned bitter as she snapped the mirror shut.

You're just overcomplicating things again, Asuka, she muttered silently. He's yours. Nothing's going to change that now. The boy's yours. You can do whatever you want, at your own pace. You were the one who thought there was no point in rushing things, remember?

Walking down the hallway that led to home, Asuka untied the ribbon of her blouse and opened the top two buttons. Her slightly reddened face was full of mischief by the time she reached the door.

It went exactly as she expected. His hand went straight to her breasts. She would have laughed if her lips weren't fully swallowed by his hot, hungry mouth. One of her hands tried to push him away, and was rewarded by a vise-like grip on her wrist, something she also expected to happen. The whole thing was like an old familiar dance, both of them knowing exactly what to expect and yet still finding the thing irresistible. Even now, the rational part of her mind was warning her that she should stop, but the tongue that was scraping the inside of her mouth was like anesthetic, putting her into a dazed state she couldn't quite escape. Truthfully, she didn't really want to.

A loud buzz from her cell phone made Misato finally come to her senses. She pushed Kaji away. He quickly returned to the driver's seat, settling back into the chair. Misato ran a hand through her messy hair while using the other to pull out the phone. Coldness sluiced through her veins at the sight of the short, simple message on the screen.

"It's an emergency call. Need to report to H.Q ASAP."

She coughed and cleared her throat, because her voice was surprisingly raspy. Kaji made a thoughtful noise.

"At ten o'clock? Did they tell you the reason?"

Misato narrowed her eyes and looked at Kaji sideways. He was staring out the front windshield nonchalantly, as if his question was purely innocent and the answer wasn't going to be passed on to some godforsaken contact later. Misato briefly considered lying, but that would be as meaningful as refusing a kiss after agreeing to a car date by the lakeshore after dinner. A sigh escaped her mouth.

"No. Just demanding to appear at once."

"Which could only mean..."

Misato snorted, slipping the phone into her pocket again.

"They're not about to let anyone overindulge, I guess. Have to throw something at us semi-periodically."

Kaji let out a small laugh. "I don't even think we enjoyed ourselves that much."

Misato smiled grimly at that. What she just said wasn't entirely about her and Kaji. She thought of the two kids back at her house who were attached at the mouth whenever Misato looked the other way.

It had been an awkward week. Misato was well aware of what those kids were doing, even if they thought they were being sneaky. Section 2 had been reporting their every move with an almost malicious meticulousness, and thanks to that, as of last Monday Misato knew the minute by minute route of Asuka and Shinji's first date. On Tuesday and Thursday, grocery shopping, hands clasped together. Now with Shinji's suspension ending, their outdoor activities would likely become more overt and frequent.

In truth, Misato didn't even need a series of photos with timestamps and notes to know what was up with the kids. Asuka had made the announcement in the first place, and neither of them had made much of an effort to hide that they were cooked side by side in the kitchen, and at night Misato heard them talking in soft voices in Asuka's room.

Misato just shrugged it all off, pretending to not notice anything. One time, she had gone to bed early after several consecutive night shifts. She'd woken up thirsty at eleven PM, but the kitchen lights were still on. When she peered around the doorframe, she was greeted by the sight of Asuka and Shinji hugging each other tightly and attempting to devour each other's faces. She grimaced and silently went back to her room.

This subject was almost untouchable with Asuka, and Shinji kept deflecting Misato's few attempts to talk about their budding relationship. Admittedly, she wasn't trying very hard. She wasn't sure what to tell them. Advice? A warning? She felt that nothing she could say would make a difference in the end.

Who am I to tell someone else what to do on that subject? Perhaps because of that, the Katsuragi household had come to an unspoken agreement this past week. Misato knew everything that went on between them, and they both knew that Misato knew. They would hopefully not cross the line, and in return, Misato would not say anything, and stay away from home as much as possible to prevent awkward situations.

Maybe the last part was all just an excuse. An excuse to abandon her responsibilities and indulge herself. The uneasy peace she'd gotten from doing so. Fleeting pleasure that she knew from the start would end abruptly.

Misato tried to suppress her rising dread. This was not the end of the world. Just her nasty old habit of doubting the possibility of happiness. It was only an Angel. It was a ridiculous statement to some degree, but it was true. They had three fully functioning and armed Evangelions plus an almost fully functioning defense grid. At this point, NERV and Misato could not have asked for a more complete defense against an Angel's attack even if they tried.

She felt Kaji's eyes on her. She must have shown too much open anxiety. Misato shook her head and started to rise. "I'll go."

Misato was halfway out the door when Kaji's hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. She gave him a questioning glance. The orange light that came on when the door opened cast a deep shadow across Kaji's brow. His other hand was clasped around the steering wheel, a cell phone in it. A different model than the one she had seen earlier today. A chill ran down her spine as she realized what it implied.

"Let's go together," he said.

Misato swallowed hard, her spit still thick after the kiss, and pointed to Kaji's phone. "I don't think you got an invitation."

"I'm a UN inspector. I can invite myself anywhere."

"I doubt that."

"I doubt your doubt."

Misato shook her head. She wasn't about to engage in pointless bickering. "You can tell that to the Commander. Besides, I don't want to be seen walking in with you. Ride to the base on your own. I'll take a cab to the station."

The corners of Kaji's mouth curled up slightly into his trademark roguish smile. It was the kind of smile that said I know something you don't and it's the most hilarious thing in the world. That look on Kaji's face usually sent shivers down her spine and made her tingle everywhere, but at times like this, she couldn't think of anything she hated more.

"Katsuragi. If you think they don't know about us, about the children, about everything, then you're in for a rude awakening."

Misato narrowed her eyes. Something almost resembling mischief was flashing in Kaji's deep-set eyes. What's so funny? Misato wanted to ask, but she twisted her wrist out of his grip and slammed the door shut. Beyond the blurry window, in the slowly dying light, Kaji was bowing his head like a tuxedo-wearing gentleman in a baroque banquet hall, his right hand over his heart. Misato shook her head in disgust and turned away, feeling an odd tightness in her chest.