"Hey, I'm depressed while I'm writing this: my grandmother on my mom's side just died, and, due to family squabbles, I had not seen her in nine years. I'm really mad at my family, and I'm really depressed about my grandmother, but my work still must go on. This one's for you, grandmother; I love you, and I'm really going to miss you" - Shinjidoggysasuka.

Seven Days, Seven Ways to Say "I love you."

or

The Love That Survived the End of the World

Thursday, Day 1

She looked at him for a few seconds, and contemplated about the sobbing boy on top of her. He looked pathetic and horrible. She wanted to say something at that moment, something that would culminate her feelings. "Disgusting." she uttered. He opened his eyes in surprise as she followed up with, "My disgusting and lovable man."

He could not believe his ears. She actually called him loveable. Was she delusional? Did she think that he was Kaji? Asuka must have known he was thinking that because, at that moment, she said, "Yes, stupid, I was talking about you." Shinji promptly turned a bright shade of red and began to cry tears of sorrow, guilt, and happiness. He did not know what to think as he rolled off of Asuka's waist, but after he sat there for a minute, lying on the ground and thinking about what she said, he decided to act like the man she had just said he was.

He stood up and looked at the ruins of Tokyo-3, buildings sticking up out of the desolate lake made of a mixture of water and primordial ooze. Asuka sat up and looked with him. Shinji stared in deep thought, remembering all that had happened to him and thinking about the chance at a new life they had just been given. Then Asuka asked him, "Do you think anyone else is going to come back, or are we the last ones?" Shinji was silent, and for a second, she thought he was mad at her, but then he said, "It doesn't matter to me as long as I have you at my side forever." Now it was Asuka's turn to blush as she took in the full consequence of what Shinji had said.

Shinji smiled at her reaction; he felt good getting a rise out of her. Suddenly, she jumped up and punched Shinji in his groin. He fell to the ground and curled up in a ball. Asuka said, "Okay, casanova, fun time is over; we need to find a place to sleep before it gets dark." He groaned in pain, but as he looked up, he saw Asuka still blushing and smiling at his achievement.

He got up after he recovered from the blow, and they began to walk slowly along that beach of white sand. After walking for a while in silence, Shinji began to feel uncomfortable, so he broke the silence with a question that had just began to bother him, "Hey, Asuka, what are we going to eat and drink?" Asuka thought for a moment and answered, "Well, the shelters have ration supplies in them, don't they? We can eat those, and if we find ou–I mean, Misato's apartment, I'm sure we can find something in the fridge, and I'm sure the water is still running. Let's be optimistic, okay?" Shinji smiled at her and thought to himself that this was a new and different side of Asuka that he had never seen before, and he liked it.

Pretty soon, they came upon the ruins of a shelter. After checking inside, they found the rations. They ate a meal consisting of dry crackers and air packed apple sauce. They talked a bit over dinner, mainly about which way they were going to head tomorrow, how they were going to carry the rations, where they would find clothing for Asuka, and who they thought might come back. After dinner, they took blankets and made little nests for themselves in which to sleep. Before them both fell asleep, Shinji said to Asuka, "I really meant what I said back there."

Friday, Day 2

The next morning, Asuka woke to a magnificent sunrise. As she stared out of the hole in the wall, she began to think about how she would survive. Then, she turned to look at the lump under the blankets, the fairly sized loveable lump that she had neglected for so long, and she smiled. He had been a gentleman all night; he had not made one advance on her, even though she knew he wanted. She silently tiptoed over and sat down in front of him, admiring his handsome face in the morning sun.

Shinji slowly opened his eyes and smiled at the girl, no, the woman that sat in front of his eyes. He yawned and said good morning, then proceeded to remove the blankets. Suddenly, Asuka turned red and struck him while yelling, "Pervert!" Shinji looked down at the lump in his pants and then blushed while apologizing to Asuka. Giving him an indignant look, she said, "It's time for breakfast."

They ate in silence, Shinji was embarrassed and Asuka was fuming about how she could even begin to love a pervert like Shinji. After breakfast, Shinji threw some rations into a blanket and made a bundle. He told Asuka that they would both carry rations in their blankets and after some protest and negotiation, Asuka picked up her bundle, and they began to walk. They walked in silence for the first hour, and then Shinji asked Asuka about her childhood. Asuka told him a few things, only the good parts, and Shinji listened, nodded, and smiled. Then Asuka asked Shinji about his childhood.

Shinji stopped and a shadow passed over his face. Asuka looked worried and told Shinji, "It's okay, you don't have to tell me." Shinji looked at her and said, "No, it's okay, I'm fine; it's just that I don't have very fond memories, but I'll tell you a bit." So as they walked, Shinji told her about his childhood. As she listened, Asuka's heart began to melt; she actually began to feel sorry for Shinji. She felt like she knew him, and now he was not just perverted idiot Shinji; no, now he was a poor, dread ridden Shinji, a boy who needed her sympathy and love, not her scorn and disdain.

At noon, they stopped for lunch, and Asuka told him that she was glad she came back with him in a way, since they had a little bit of history. Shinji blushed and Asuka laughed. Asuka said, "You're such a fool, but since you're the last fool on Earth, you're my fool, my stupid boyfriend." Shinji turned beet red. Asuka laughed and said, "But don't think this means your getting some; you need to earn that, but you can have a kiss."

After saying this, she smiled and gave Shinji a peck on the cheek. "Any more of this and I might pass out; all of the blood in my body is rushing to the wrong place." Asuka laughed, and they finished eating. They kept walking for a while, and as they walked, they talked about things like television, books, school, things like that, things they might never experience again. They laughed and enjoyed each other's company. Asuka hit him in the side a few time, but they had lots of fun.

Around dark, they finally came to the apartment building. They found their old apartment and ate dinner. After dinner, they lit a few candles and went to their separate rooms. Before they closed the doors, the both kissed. As Shinji lay there in his bed, he smiled. Finally he was happy with his life, which was a little sad since it took then end of the world to get there.

Saturday, Day 3

Asuka woke up early again. She crept over to Shinji's room and looked at her little heart throb, who snored under the blanket. Usually, he was up before her, but for the last few days, he had been sleeping longer. Perhaps he was still tired from all that he went through in the Evangelion. After staring at him for a while, she decided to do something romantic.

She checked the refrigerator and found eggs and bread that were still good. The milk was bad, however, so it did not look like cereal was going to be on the menu. Still, she had decided to make her boy a breakfast in bed. After a few minutes, the skillet was sizzling, and Asuka was making scrambled eggs, and the smell began to fill the house. She was glad that she had at least learned to make that with her grandmother.

After she had managed to make some toast, slightly burnt but still good, she put everything onto a tray and brought it into Shinji's room. She kissed him on the head, and he slowly opened his eyes. He got up, being sure to cover his manhood this time unless he get another beating, and said good morning to Asuka. He smiled a sunny smile as she presented him with breakfast, and so they ate together in his bed. Shinji stared at Asuka. She looked good in her T-shirt and panties, and he was pleased that she was comfortable enough to be around him in nothing but that.

After breakfast, Shinji washed the dishes despite Asuka's protests, and when he was done, he suggested they go down to the basement and turn on the emergency generator. The generator drew its energy from solar power, but the storage and distribution unit was in the basement. They promptly walked down the five stories of stairs and into the basement. After fumbling around for a bit, they found the switch and pulled it, causing the mechanisms to whir to life. They spent the rest of the day on the roof cleaning the solar panels.

That evening, Shinji made them an Italian dinner: spaghetti with sprinkled parmesan cheese. He had found all of the ingredients in one of the apartments down the hallway. While eating, Shinji told Asuka about Misato's plan to adopt him and move to Okinawa. Asuka asked Shinji if he would have missed her. Shinji said, "I would have missed you a lot. I actually thought of asking Misato to bring you, too; it wouldn't have been the same without you."

Asuka stared at him and said, "How could I've neglected you all this time? I can't believe the sweetest man in the world was right under my nose, and I had been neglecting him all this time." Shinji frowned and said, "It's okay; I'm not really all that good."

"No, Shinji, you're the best. Don't say bad things about yourself." Asuka shouted. "You truly are the best. You're kind, considerate, loving, handsome, and gentlemanlike; you're a good cook, you can play the cello, you're so great, and you need to stop second guessing yourself."

Shinji stared at Asuka, then smiled and thanked her saying, "I'll never need to as long as I have you at my side." Shinji got up and brought in the Italian dessert – two cream filled cannoli. After dinner, they sat on the couch and watched old movies. Shinji felt like a man with Asuka's head on his chest. As they fell asleep together on the couch, Asuka said, "I love you, Shinji."

Sunday, Day 4

This time, Shinji and Asuka woke up at the same time. They smiled at each other and kissed. They had slept the entire night on the couch together, and they were both wanted to sleep longer, but they knew they had to get something done that day. Shinji made breakfast, but this time he tried to teach Asuka while cooking. She watched him and tried to remember each step he taught her. She did not want Shinji to come always to the rescue.

After breakfast, they began to search the apartment building. Asuka found some clothing for Shinji, a package of unused boxer briefs that were his size. She was glad that she had asked such intimate questions; they came in handy from time to time. Shinji found some cooking supplies, some jewelry for Asuka, and some milk cartons that someone had frozen in a block of ice. He could not figure out why, but he was glad they had, this was probably the last milk they would have in a long while.

After a quick lunch at noon, Asuka made peanut butter sandwiches. They left the building to search the area. They found a grocery store that was still very dry. While stocking up on dry goods, Asuka asked Shinji about when he realized that he loved her. Shinji told her it was the night before the battle with Israfel, when he tried to kiss her in her sleep. She blushed and smiled saying, "I was pissed about that then, but now I'm happy.

They both smiled and got back to work. They were both glad of each others company. A few days ago, Asuka would have been at Shinji's throat, but now she would not have picked anyone else in the world with whom to survive. A few days ago, Shinji would have been afraid to even smile at Asuka, but now, it was the only thing that he could do when their eyes meet. Even through all of the pain they felt as a result, even though the world was over and civilization was dead, they had to admit the Third Impact had changed their lives for the better and made it easier to show their feelings for each other. They would be happy just having each other for the rest of their lives, and from the looks of it, that was how things were going to turn out.

When they got back to their apartment, they both went to their rooms and changed. Shinji tried on the boxer briefs Asuka gave him. They felt good, they were soft, and they did not squeeze his manhood as much as the briefs. He decided since that, since they were the only ones around, he would show Asuka his new boxers. He walked out of his room with only them on.

Because Asuka was in the kitchen, he sneaked up behind her and caught her with a hug. Asuka elbowed Shinji and said, "What did I tell you about getting some?" Shinji groaned and sat on the floor holding his sides. Asuka turned and grinned at the sight of the boy in nothing but his skivvies. She thought that he looked shot: his leaned sides, his tan-ish complexion, his fuzzy black hair, his pitiful face, and his lean feet. At that moment, he was beautiful to her.

She smiled and helped him up. After that, Shinji cooked dinner in his boxers. Then they watched television with Shinji still in his boxers, and they went to bed. Still, Asuka had held him that night in his boxers, and that felt like an achievement to him; after all, if he had hugged her in his boxers a few months earlier, she would have sent him to the hospital.

Monday, Day 5

The next morning, Shinji woke to see Asuka staring in his face. He smiled and asked her what was going on. She told him that they would not be able to get out that day since it was raining, so Shinji went back to sleep. Asuka let him sleep till noon and woke him up for lunch. After lunch, they sat in the living room and watched old movies.

Around 3:00PM, the showers let up so Shinji insisted upon getting some work done. He did not want to feel like he had not done anything today. He did have to set a standard after all as the last man on Earth, since he apparently would be holding that title. There was something that tickled him about this little paradox, seeing as how he was such a pitiful excuse for a man. Still, he was the last one in existence, and, because he had Asuka, he was the last and happiest man in the world. He was glad that Asuka had chosen him in the end, instead of following through on past comments to the effect of "not even if you were the last guy on the planet."

Shinji decided to go all the way back to the bomb shelter to get some of the frozen dried food. As he walked, he wished Asuka had come along, but she had decided to stay back because it was to wet and slippery for her to go out. He could not wait to get back to sit on the couch with her, him in his brown shorts and blue t-shirt, her in her sun yellow dress. He blushed at the thought. She may have been making him take the brunt of the work, but he did not mind; she had been kinder to him in the last few days then when they had first met. He had never seen her act this tender towards anyone, not even Kaji. He felt special.

He was exhausted by the time he got to the shelter, so he decided to rest for a bit. While he sat he thought about everything that had happened, all that had been lost, all that he had gained. He felt guilty that so many people had to die: Kaworu, Kaji, Hyuga, Misato, Maya, Hikari; they all died while he had survived to live in this moment. It hurts to think that, but his one consolation was the thought that they would have been happy to see him happy. That thought cut the edge off of the pain and guilt.

After his little rest, he put as much food as he could into the blankets and made a humongous bundle. Then, he began the trip back to the apartment. As he walked, he noticed that the sky was still cloudy. When he was half of the way back, it began to rain again, so he ran to get the rest of the way home. It was a torrential downpour, and Shinji was quickly soaked from head to toe. Shinji could not wait to get home and change into some warm cloths, have a warm meal, and enjoy holding Asuka under a warm blanket.

When he got to the apartment, he saw Asuka waiting for him at the door. He began to quickly run up the stairs, forgetting that the soles of his shoes were muddy and wet. On the fourth flight of stairs, he slipped and fell down to the landing. The fall knocked him unconscious, and Asuka, worried that he was seriously hurt, came rushing down the stairs. She caressed his head while checking his pulse, and after confirming it, brought him up to the apartment.

Asuka quickly whisked the boy out of his wet clothing and wrapped him in a blanket. When she was sure he would be okay, she made some warm broth and tried to feed him. She had never been so worried in her life. The bruised boy in front of her looked vulnerable, and the only thought that she could form was a wish for his well being. She fell asleep worrying over the poor unconscious teenager.

Tuesday, Day 6

When Asuka woke up the next morning, Shinji was still unconscious. She was worried, but the most she could do was to start breakfast so Shinji would have something to eat when he woke up. As she finished putting bacon and eggs onto a plate, she heard a groan from the living room. She smiled, and then prepared a glass of water for Shinji. She brought the eggs out and said, "Good morning, Shinji. I made some breakfast for you. How are you feeling?"

Shinji groaned and replied, "Like someone decided to use me as a piñata. I feel miserable." Asuka clicked her tongue and said, "It'll be okay. I'll take care of you, and you'll be my big sexy baby for the day." Shinji gave her an apathetic look, and she laughed. Then, she went to the bathroom to get him some aspirin. When she came back, she gave him the aspirin and watched him how he ate.

When he was done, she put on some more old movies. They sat in the entire day watching every DVD and VHS they could find, excluding Misato's pornography. Shinji was feeling better in the evening, so he helped Asuka make dinner. They had a wonderful dinner together, and when they finished cleaning up, they sat down for another movie. It was an old love movie, an American classic known as "Casablanca".

After the movie, Asuka looked at Shinji and asked him out of the blue, "You want to have sex?" Shinji looked startled for a second, and then he asked her why she wanted it all of a sudden. She kissed him and said, "I think we are ready. When you fell yesterday, I thought I lost you for a second. I was worried, and now, I know that I want all of you – body, mind, and soul." Shinji saw the passionate look in her eyes and knew that at that moment, he would never love anyone as much as he loved her at this moment. Shinji replied, "I love you, Asuka, and I want to show you that love."

Asuka slipped Shinji's shirt over his head, tenderly kissing his abdomen. Shinji unbuttoned her tight shorts and slowly slipped them over her feet. They kissed for another fifteen minutes, while slowly slipping of articles of clothing till they were both naked on the floor. Asuka decided to take the lead, so she grabbed his rock-hard member and guided it to her tight wet spot. Shinji gave her a look as if asking for permission, and, after she nodded, plunged it into her tightness.

He slowly moved into her; pulled slowly out, pushed slowly forward. He repeated this motion until Asuka got frustrated and said, "It's okay, you can go as fast as you want; I want this to be good for both of us." Shinji gave her an embarrassing look, and began to thrust faster till they were both moaning in the throes of ecstasy. Both of them had never felt so good. Sure, they had had sex before, but this time, it was different. It was not just pure pleasure. They felt like they were one. They felt as if they were one body, one mind, one soul. It was the most passionate and pleasure filled moment either of them had ever shared.

After a few minutes, both of them had reached their limits. Asuka climaxed as Shinji came, and both cried out at that moment. They lay there for a while, just breathing. Shinji's member was still inside Asuka, but neither of them made an effort to separate, by now this, felt like second nature to them; they did not even need to go for another round. They were content just to lay there with each other, enjoying one another's presence as they fell asleep.

Wednesday, Day 7

They woke up the next morning at the same time. After kissing Shinji, Asuka got up and made him breakfast. After she put the bacon on the stove, she got Shinji a glass of water and some aspirin and handed them to him saying, "You're feeling sore, are you, lover boy?" Shinji blushed and nodded saying, "I am, but I can get used to feeling sore like this if I can feel as good as you made me feel last night. Asuka blushed and said, "Oh, your just saying that to make me feel better."

Shinji slowly got up, then grabbed her waist and said, "No, I really mean it. Those were the best seven minutes of my life." Asuka smiled and kissed Shinji and then walked back to the kitchen to finish breakfast. Shinji slipped on his boxer-briefs. Then, he came to the kitchen to help her, but before he even picked up a pan, he grabbed her in a passionate embrace, kissed her and whispered, "I love you." Asuka smiled, and they cooked breakfast together, enjoying every moment, thankful that they had each other.

"Well, it's finally over, and, as I sit here at 5:00 in the morning, listening to Utada Hikaru's "Beautiful World", I feel a sense of achievement, and an empty feeling, too. But still, because we finally have a happy ending after all of that depressing stuff, I would say that this story is a success. One last time, I would like to thank my fans. I do this for you really, and I hope that you all will enjoy my next fan fiction. Till then, I wish you good luck and good health." – Shinjidoggysasuka