"This is getting ridiculous," Asuka stated, looking around Rei's apartment with narrowed eyes. She picked up the item she had just tripped over upon entering the place and set it down loudly.

Rei looked over from the stove where she had been preparing a meal for the two of them. Asuka liked to spend the night at Rei's place when she decided she needed a bit of break from Shinji and Misato. She moved towards her and picked it up, inspecting it carefully before looking at her guest with a quizzical expression. "What do you mean?"

Asuka groaned. "Ever since you watched that stupid movie you've been hoarding these things like you're expecting another Impact!"

These things happened to be snowmen. Not real ones, for there was no natural snow to be found. Over the past couple of days, Rei had acquired a plethora of snowmen; plush, ceramic, plastic, candles (which she refused to light) even yarn all portraying the likeness of a fat little snowman. Asuka had no idea where she had managed to find them all, though she had a sneaking suspicion that most of it had been found in the garbage.

The two had been in Misato's apartment just a week ago, lazily cuddled together on the couch and browsing the channels on the television. When the familiar theme of Frosty the Snowman started up on one of the stations, Asuka had groaned softly and was about to change the channel when Rei had stilled her hand. "Don't tell me you wanna watch this, it's for babies!"

"I've never seen it," Rei replied simply, not turning her attention away from the cartoon.

Asuka scoffed and replied condescendingly "You don't have a TV, you've never seen anything."

Rei ignored the comment, instead gently removing the remote from Asuka's hand and turning up the volume of the set instead. Asuka had sighed and allowed it, sitting through the half hour special boredly while Rei took it in with a disturbing interest. When it was over, Rei didn't seem to have a strong opinion about it either way, so Asuka had written it off as just another weird thing her girlfriend did. A lot of things Rei did were not conventional, and Asuka had grown to accept this.

But this, keeping a collection of tacky snowmen strewn about a small apartment, was testing Asuka's limits. She was starting to resent their little coal smiles staring up at her the longer she stood there. "So what do you have to say for yourself?" she demanded of Rei, who hadn't been paying attention to her.

Rei stepped up next to her and held out a yen note for Asuka. "Could you go to the corner and pick up some milk for me? I forgot it earlier."

"Are you even listening to me?" Asuka asked, annoyed.

Rei shrugged. "What does it matter to you? You don't live here."

"I come around often enough! And I happen to think they're creepy."

Rei considered this. "You used to think I was creepy."

"That's different, obviously!"

"Possibly. Regardless, I like having them around and I hope you'll get used to them."

Asuka jabbed a finger at her. "What if I ordered you to get rid of them?"

Rei didn't say anything, merely staring her down with a blank expression. Asuka sighed and grabbed the banknote that Rei had been holding. "At least clear the two off the table so that I don't have them staring at me while I eat."

"Thank you," Rei said softly and moved forward to give her a quick kiss on the lips. It was nothing heavy, but Asuka flushed all the same, hurrying out the door so that Rei wouldn't see. She did not understand how that girl could still give her butterflies even when they had been together for a while now. It was a little embarrassing but at the same time it made her feel warm, even though she would loathe to admit it. Sure, Wonder Girl was cold and weird and a little hard to decipher at times. At the same time though, she had a caring and understanding side, which ultimately won her over.

So in an odd turn of events, Asuka had developed a large attachment to Rei. A need to make someone else other than herself happy, which was a rare thing indeed for her. It's this need that overtakes her as she's paying for the milk and spies a box of cheap snowman charms at the register. She stares at the jolly little men in the box with disdain before muttering "Scheisse," and placing one on the counter.