Gendo awoke the next morning to see two green eyes peering intently at him, framed by soft brown hair. He blinked a bit, and stretched his legs, earning a few audible pops.

"Good morning," Yui said.

"Mmm…morning," he grunted, sniffing loudly and rubbing his eyes. "…What time is it?"

"10:13," Yui said.

"How long have you been scrutinizing me?"

"Since I woke up. About twenty minutes ago or so."

"You'll get a kink in your neck bending over like that."

"It's worth it," she retorted. "You look cute when you sleep."

"I noticed the very same thing about you last night," he replied, folding his hands on his chest and yawning.

"That was sweet of you, by the way," Yui noted, leaning back and yawning grandly herself. "We didn't do anything, did we?"

"Nope," he grumbled, rolling over and facing the couch. "I dare not impugn your honor, lest I taste of your wrath in the morning."

"Make me sound like a monster," Yui grumped, kneeling and leaning on the armrest and burrowing her nose into Gendo's hair. "You smell like sleep."

"Convenient, since I've been sleeping," he retorted. "Do tell, what does that smell like?"

"Like you've been sleeping, of course," she said. "You ask the oddest things."

"What is it the Americans say? Pot calling the kettle black?" She leaned up and over and nipped Gendo's ear. "Ah! Tender there." He reached up to bat her away, but she intercepted the hand and continued to thup happily on his ear. He resigned himself to it, accepting it so long as teeth were not involved. They sat that way for a few minutes, him resting in his half-asleep haze and her thoughtfully nibbling.

"Take me to lunch," she said.

"Anytime," he murmured. She used her teeth again, and he grumbled. He sat up and turned to glare balefully at her. She gave him a firm look right back.

"Take me to lunch today. Right now, actually."

"Of course," he grumbled, glancing down at his pajama pants. "That means we go as is."

"Go change," she snapped, pointing at him. "If you treat me to lunch, you do it properly." Gendo stood, passed by Yui on the way to the bedroom…and turned to muss her hair grandly. She whined and batted him away, giving him a mean look through her messy hair as he stumbled off to change.

Yui wanted burgers, but Gendo was paying, and he insisted on pizza. After a mighty battle of the wills that took all of the fifteen-minute walk to the pizza parlor, Yui relented, only on the condition that she got to pick the toppings. Magnanimously, Gendo conceded this point, and the two of them nestled into a booth to enjoy a pizza topped with octopus on one half, and chicken and ranch on the other. Yui had eclectic tastes in her food, and liked to generally swing out all over the place when she could. She would also generally eat whatever landed in front of her, whereas Gendo was a bit pickier. Still, the pizza toppings seemed a good choice, and Gendo had already tucked away one slice and was starting on his second.

"Did you have better dreams last night?"

"I didn't dream at all, but I feel quite rested," Gendo noted. "How about you?"

"You're bed is not very comfortable. I'll have to do something about that," she noted. "No wonder you're always such a grump."

"I thought you found that endearing."

"I do," Yui replied, sipping at her soda. "Doesn't mean I don't worry about you."

"How kind," he said.

"I am," she agreed, nudging his shin under the table affectionately. "But only because you deserve it."

"I do, don't I?" he said with a smile. Yui smiled back, rocking in place shyly as Gendo grinned. He continued to eat, and she studied him, watching his jaws work, his hair that just didn't seem to want to stay combed. He was so skinny. He was much more fragile than he wanted to admit, and she liked that about him. He was somebody who needed taking care of, even when he thought he was taking care of others. Her smile faded, and she found a spot somewhere on his chest to focus on.

"Gendo," she said, "Let's get married." She looked up from her wadded napkin. Gendo sat frozen, his mouth open and his pizza halted on its journey. He blinked slowly, lowered his food, and closed his mouth.

"What? Here?" he asked.

"Be serious," she snapped, cocking her head. "We've been talking about it for the last couple of months. Last time I checked, in fact, you pretty much established your goals from the get-go."

"Well, yes, but I always assumed I would be the one asking…not that I have any problem with…I mean…." He dropped his pizza on the plate. "You're talking about right now."

"What?"

"You're talking about getting married immediately. Like, in the next week or so…maybe even today. Is this just a whim or something?"

"No!" she gasped, sitting back and looking insulted. "That's not it at all!"

"Probably not," he agreed, folding his arms, studying her. He nodded. "You can't convince your father." She glowered, and lowered her eyes.

"I haven't tried to convince my father."

"Ah."

"Don't 'ah' me," she grumped, leaning forward. "How badly do you want to be part of Gehirn?"

"Very badly."

"And how are your credentials?"

"…spotty."

"A bit," she agreed. "But I know you to be a talented individual. I can't convince my father of that, however, because we are dating. I'm 'biased'…never mind the fact I'm biased because you're talented." She shrugged. "I digress."

"Do go on."

"If we marry, and you take my last name, and that's how you meet my father, what choice will he have but to help induct you into Gehirn?"

"Because no one would ever pull the wool over the eyes of Saito Ikari. He would have to acknowledge the marriage, and pretend it was his decision, or he would be made to look like a…fool." A creeping realization came over Gendo, and he glanced into the somewhat-empty parlor, feeling suddenly paranoid. "Why did you come to my apartment last night?"

"I was worried about you," Yui insisted. "Why else would I?"

"Yui, don't do that," Gendo said. "Why did you come? Your father has me under observation, doesn't he? He knows we're involved." Gendo narrowed his eyes, and leaned forward. "You came because you made yourself a hostage." Yui sat back, her eyes wide with shock at the implication…then relaxed, a self-deprecating look spreading across her face.

"I forget how quick you are, Gendo," she sighed. Gendo leaned back, and glanced outside. There was no one inside, but sure enough, at an odd corner of the street, just in an alleyway, was a van. It was a beat-up delivery van, but something about the way it sat there felt…it felt wrong. It rankled his instincts and insisted upon his attention. He studied Yui.

"What was he going to do?"

"I don't know," she said. "I doubt he was going to…vanish you, so to speak, but I wouldn't put it past him to send someone to beat you up. I remember the last time I saw you after you had been in a fight. Didn't want to see that again, if you don't mind."

"If you had the chance to see me again, at all. Why doesn't he just lock the princess up in a tower?"

"Oh, you're sweet," Yui said, blushing at being called a 'princess.' "I stand to take a large role in Gehirn, you know that. It wouldn't do if his daughter was just locked away under key. That would damage my credentials as an independent mover within the organization, and he wants to push the Ikari name forward quite a bit. That doesn't mean he won't interfere if he thinks he can get away with it."

"He'll know that, now. I wouldn't be surprised if he's listened to this whole conversation, thanks to our friends down there," Gendo said, nodding gently but surreptitiously in the direction of the van. Yui turned around in her chair and pressed her face against the glass to see the van, earning a dismayed groan from Gendo. "Don't let them see you," he mumbled. In response, she pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at the van. The engine started, and the vehicle backed noticeably into the alley.

"Let them chew on that, for a bit," she said, turning back to Gendo. "I wouldn't worry about it, anyway. Really, Gendo Rokubungi, do you think I would be completely unprepared to hide our conversations?"

"All right, it would not be above me to assume that…somehow…you're carrying a magic device that can baffle noise," he sighed.

"Don't patronize me, it's not magic. The technology is quite sound and discreet," Yui said in a testy tone.

"A magic device," Gendo insisted. Yui kicked his shin under the table, and he grunted, but continued. "That being said, what about them reading lips? You could have let me known we were being watched."

"Now, Gendo, do you really want me to think you aren't smart enough to assume that all on your own?" she sighed. Gendo glared for a moment, but it wasn't a mean glare. Yui smirked. "I knew that you could figure it out all on your own. Besides, you don't move your lips when you talk."

"I…beg your pardon?"

"You probably don't realize it, but when we're in public, and talking like this? Just you and me? You have a habit of hiding your mouth, or not moving your lips altogether. It's very impressive! I want you to teach me when you can."

"I wasn't even aware of it," Gendo mumbled, and truly he wasn't.

"Great: now that you're thinking about it, you're not doing it," she sighed. "Ah, well. The point is, you do have that talent, that is a fact. I don't know how you picked it up, and frankly, it might be a bit of a tragic tale if you did. I'm in a good mood, and so are you, so let's keep it going, shall we?"

"I'm in a good mood?" Gendo snapped, feeling peevish. "And what could possibly imply that—" Impulsively, Yui leaned across the table and kissed Gendo sweetly on the lips. It was not a chaste kiss, either, but an open kiss that left Gendo's heart beating and his stomach twisting. Yui pulled back a bit, but still sat in front of him, her green eyes fixed on Gendo's and her expression impish.

"That tasted like pizza and octopus," she said, "But it was still nice. I like kissing you, Gendo. I might take it up as a hobby."

"…You are a devil, you know that?" Gendo managed. Yui's expression became a pout.

"Really, I say such nice things about you and this is the thanks I get," she grumped. Gendo leaned forward and nuzzled her nose with his own, and her eyes fluttered close. She gasped lightly and sweetly and the gentle contact, and shivered slightly. For a moment, they simply sat quietly like that, their foreheads just barely touching. Finally, Yui sat back, and gave a full shudder this time as she relaxed. It was not a motion of revulsion, but more like she had just touched a live-wire, that she had just released as much tension as she could. When she opened her eyes, she was blushing and smiling widely. "Who's the devil, now?" she giggled. "God, my heart is pounding."

"All I did was nudge your nose," Gendo said, laughing.

"Sometimes, the most simple gesture can mean so much to a person," Yui said. "You actually made me dizzy. Ooh, I liked that…."

"Yui, angel, you're all right," Gendo said, smiling like an idiot. Yui dipped her fingers into her soda and flicked them in Gendo's face. He blinked at the assault, but continued to smile at her.

Notes from GobHobblin: As I was writing about Gendo's contagious yawn at the start of the chapter, I kid you not, I yawned two times in succession. And now I just did it again. What the heck is up with yawns and the brain?