Shinji was currently trying to get some sleep. Tomorrow, he and Asuka would get another chance at defeating the Angel. All they had to do was work together for once, but that was easier said than done. He had his eyes close as he laid on his side.
"Once this angel is defeated, we can stop being stuck together." Shinji sighed. "What even are the Walls of Jericho that she talked about?"
Even after trying for so long, Shinji was unable to fall asleep. He didn't know if he was nervous or if it was one of the many nights he had trouble sleeping, but it annoyed him either way. His focus changed, though, when he heard someone lay down next to him.
"What the..." He slowly opened his eyes and jumped backward. In front of him was a sleeping Asuka. He sweated as he kept staring at her. "What in the world is she doing next to me!? I thought she didn't want to be asleep next to me tonight!"
As he was looking at her, he couldn't help but look down at her loose t-shirt. He blushed as he realized Asuka would kill him if she knew he was doing that. He lifted his eyes back to her face, hearing her talking. Luckily, it looked like she was still asleep. He couldn't help but move closer as he thought about kissing her. He couldn't explain why, but he wanted to kiss her while she was in front of him. He slowly leaned in forward as he kept thinking about...
"M..." Asuka mumbled, making Shinji stop in his tracks. "Mo...Momma..."
"Momma?" Shinji raised an eyebrow as he kept looking at her. He jumped as he saw her starting to cry. Before he could react, Asuka rolled to her side.
"Momma..." Asuka wept as she faced the other direction. "Why did you leave me, Momma? I need you. I don't have anyone else, momma."
Shinji gulped as he watched Asuka in her current state. He knew her as overconfident and not afraid of anything. Now he was watching her cry for her mother like a toddler. He couldn't explain why, but he put his arm over her and curled up to her.
"It's okay." He whispered as he leaned into her ear. "You're not alone."
Asuka started to calm down after Shinji put his arm around her. Shinji could still hear her silently weeping, but he sighed as he saw her sleeping like normal. Without realizing he, Shinji was finally drifting off to sleep.
The next day, Shinji rubbed his eyes as he started to wake up.
"Man, that was some dream." Shinji slowly opened his eyes and jumped back. He saw Asuka still in front of him. Just like the night before. "So that wasn't a dream then."
As Shinji looked down at Asuka. A million things were going through his head. He didn't know how to explain to Asuka why she was there, let alone why he was curled up to her like that. Thankfully she was still asleep, but she'd probably be wondering how she went from one room to another. He then looked at the clock and realized it was earlier than they were supposed to get up.
"What in the world am I supposed to do?" He sighed as he knew it would be over an hour before they'd be picked up. He looked back over at Asuka and saw she was still asleep. Right now, his stomach was growling, and figured that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. He went to the kitchen and started making himself something to eat. Since he just wanted anything, he had a bowl of cereal. As he ate, he couldn't get what he saw last night out of his head. "Was that the real Asuka I saw last night?"
Shinji was still thinking about what he should do about what he saw. If he tried talking to Asuka, chances are she'd kill him or just deny it. If he tried telling Misato, Asuka would do the same thing. Part of him started to feel bad thinking that Asuka is like him and feels alone. He finished his cereal and looked back at the clock.
"Well, I have a lot of time to kill anyway." He stood up and walked to a cupboard.
After some time, Asuka was awoken by the smell of something good. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She jumped up as she saw where she was.
"Why the hell am I in here!?" Asuka stomped as she went looking for Shinji. "You baka! You better have a good explanation for..."
"Good morning, Asuka." Shinji smiled as he sat a plate down at the table. I woke up early and thought I'd make you breakfast."
"You..." Asuka froze as she looked at him and the plate. "You made me that for breakfast?"
"I heard from Kaji awhile ago that you loved waffles. It's my first attempt at trying them, but I thought you'd love some for our fight today."
Asuka approached closer and saw what he made for her. There were two homemade waffles, topped with strawberry syrup and fresh-cut strawberries.
"You did all this for me?" Asuka stared at the plate. "Even though you're supposed to be focused on the battle?"
"Well, I wanted you to be 100 percent and wanted to show I'm happy that we're fighting together."
"How did you even have a waffle maker to make these?"
"Misato had it laying around." Shinji giggled. "I just thought it was time to break it out."
Asuka stood there, unsure what to say. She could indeed get whatever she wanted, but no one ever treated her the same way Shinji was. They've spent the last few days usually fighting, and now he's making breakfast and telling her he wants her by his side.
"Well, that's great that you did that!" Asuka grinned as she crossed her arms. "Of course, an ace pilot like myself wouldn't need this, but I appreciate the thought that went into it!"
"I'm happy to hear that." Shinji continued to smile, making Asuka shocked. He expected him to roll his eyes at her like usual.
"Well, I still need to brush my teeth either way." Asuka turned away and walked to the bathroom. "Don't you dare think about eating my waffles either, baka!"
"I won't." Asuka took one last look and saw he was still smiling. She just kept walking to the bathroom and quickly closed the door. She then started brushing her teeth.
"What in the world is going on with him?" Asuka looked at herself in the mirror. "Why did he put all this effort into making me happy? I thought he hated me and was annoyed with our situation."
Once Asuka brushed her teeth, she rinsed out her mouth and took one last look in the mirror.
"Whatever it is, I'm not going to pass up a tasty breakfast." She smiled as she turned and walked back to the kitchen. "Hopefully, that baka listened and didn't eat any of my waffles."
As Asuka walked back in, she saw the waffles were still there, and Shinji was now in the living room. Asuka decided to ask him about it later and eat her breakfast. She sat down and began cutting off a piece of a waffle. She put it in her mouth and almost screamed in joy from how good it tasted. She continued to eat it until it was completely gone.