Easy to Smile

Shinji didn't get back to Misato's apartment till after dinner that day, and found that Asuka had gone to spend the night with the class rep. Hikari Horaki. 'One day and she was able to make a close friend,' Shinji supposed that he admired his fellow pilot.

"Hey, Shinji," Misato called from the bathroom, "You have a couple of messages on the cellphone I gave you." Shinji decided he would take a shower in the morning. He grabbed his cell phone off his desk, and laid down upon the bed in his room, which was still filled with the red haired pilot's things.

"...You have two new messages. First Message:

"Hey, Shinji! It's Kensuke. We definitely need to throw a celebration party for Misato's promotion. We'll invite Toji, and you can invite Rei! ...Oh, and I guess the class rep. is coming to– I already talked to Asuka about it, and she insisted on it being a moving-in party for her as well. I was thinking tuesday, since we only have morning classes. Call me back!"

"Second Message:

"Hey, stupid Shinji! What was with breakfast this morning? By the time I woke up it was already cold! And where were you? Probably over at the first children's house, huh? God, your such a perv! Anyways, we're having a party Tuesday, so be sure to cook something good: Dewey and Mr. Kaji are going to be there, too!"

Shinji sighed. 'A party, huh? ...I've never been good with things like that.' Another sigh, and then sleep began to overtake Shinji. 'Oh well. . .'

Monday came and went without incident. Asuka abused him all the way to school, ignored him completely after that, and walked with Hikari on her way back home– Rei didn't show up at all that day. She didn't show up for morning classes on tuesday either. Shinji left a message on her Nerv phone, but he doubted she would come to the party that day– or even listen to the message at all.

Shinji began cooking as soon as he arrived home. He was hard at work when Asuka arrived, and began criticizing every thing he did, and occasionally trying to help– with nearly disastrous results. Thankfully, Dewey was the first person to show up: an hour early.

"I live right down the hall," Dewey explained to Shinji. "So I can be more available to Captain Soryu." Asuka smiled deviously at Shinji, as if to say that she was closer to her target than Shinji was to his.

Asuka left the kitchen to "get ready", but Dewey stayed at the table in the kitchen. If there was anyone Shinji could be in a comfortable silence with it was Dewey. Something about him was reassuring. His confidence wasn't like Asuka's at all: it wasn't smothering or intimidating, but seemed to clothe everyone around him with the same self-assurance.

Never the less, Shinji thought he should try to have a conversation with him. Something, as if responding to his desire, jumped out from his memory. "Novak..." Shinji didn't mean to say it that loud, and he immediately turned around to see Dewey's reaction.

Dewey was already staring back at him. "That's right," he said in a cheerful tone, yet without smiling. "My Great-grandfather was Holland Novak: the rebel leader of the Gekko-state. His brother was Colonel Dewey Novak, for who I– and my father, and his father– am named."

"My uncle was a ref-boarded," Shinji tried to excuse himself. "I remember Holland from the cover of an old magazine called Ray=out." They both continued to look at each other, till Shinji forced himself to speak again. "And Dewey Novak– eto– that's the hero who died trying to prevent Second Impact."

"That's the official story, yes." Dewey's face hardened, and his tone was no longer cheerful. "Shinji, you don't know anything about the origins of Nerv, do you?"

Shinji thought he ought to protest and be offended, but he couldn't muster any strength for either. "I don't."

Dewey broke eye contact and sighed. "I don't think it's my place to tell you about Nerv, but let me say this. That story is a lie." Shinji almost faltered under the look Dewey was giving him. "Dewey Novak was a misguided mad-man who attempted to destroy the Scub Coral along with the world. In other words, he tried to initiate the Third Impact that everyone fears. Holland Novak was a rebel of the army, who guided the son of the hero Adrock Thurston– Renton, for who I am also named. This boy, no older than yourself, communicated with the Scub Coral and managed to convinced them to stop the supposed Third Impact. Instead, what we call 'Second Impact' occurred, and half of the world's population– half a billion people– was taken into the Scub Coral itself."

Dewey took a breath, and his face softened. "Dr. Katsuragi, the greatest researcher of the Scub Coral, since Adrok himself– and yes, Misato's father," he added in response to Shinji's perplexed countenance. "He believed that these people did not die, but simply became apart of the Scub Coral– living in a world with no pain, doubt, or death– completely synchronized with the Coralians' mass consciousness."

Dewey stopped speaking, and took a sip of his tea. "Of course," his tone was casual again. "With my families' background, I was the natural choice to oversee Captain Soryu. More than that, I felt it was my responsibility. I believe that she, along with you and the Miss Ayanami, can prevent Third Impact. She is an amazing pilot. And I know she seems brash, but she has a remarkably kind heart. Please try to work well with her."

"She likes you," Shinji couldn't think of anything else to say– the words just blurted out from his mouth.

"Eh?" Dewey looked up once more from his tea.

"Asuka, I mean," Shinji clarified. "She likes you. . .uh, I thought it was obvious," he finished quietly.

Dewey sighed and took another sip of tea. "I know." Now Shinji was startled. "I feel the same way about her. We've known each other since she was five and I was nine. My father worked at the Tresor laboratory where she was raised. For a long time she felt like a sister to me; but a couple of years ago she started stalking a foreign inspector who was working at the base–"

"Mr. Kaji," Shinji supplied.

Dewey almost laughed. "Yeah: and I was surprised as anyone to find that I was jealous. But Shinji, listen," A fixed look came over his face once again. "Don't be getting any romantic notions. You're both Eva pilots, who live together– I'm sure you've heard the way she talks about it. If it came down to either me or the Eva...she would choose the Eva."

Shinji was ready to protest, but Dewey silenced him by simply lifting his hand. "I feel the same way, Shinji. If it comes down to preventing Third Impact, and living carefree with her somewhere far off: I'd choose the former. More than that, I would never force her to make that choice with me. I wouldn't want her to run away. It's our responsibility...and it's yours too, Shinji."

The last words struck Shinji like a bullet, but before he could process everything that was just said to him, the door bell rang and Kensuke arrived. A second later, Toji burst through the door as well.

By the time Shinji had finished cooking, Hikari had also arrived and Asuka had finished "getting ready". Oddly enough, though Shinji was sure that Asuka had put on a dress and her make-up for Dewey's sake, she wasn't paying him any special attention. She was talking to Hikari, and eyeing Toji suspiciously.

"So, you're really living with Ikari?" Hikari asked.

"Yep," Asuka said, taking a drink. "I have to: strategic reasons."

"Say, Asuka," Hikari asked after complimenting Shinji on his cooking. "Is Mr. Kaji coming over, too? You keep talking about him." Shinji glanced over at Dewey, who was sipping his tea as if no one else was there.

"Well," Asuka wondered, "I've been calling him...but not a word in three days. I want to see him, too."

"HA!" Misato gave a loud, sardonic scoff. "He saaaiid he was off on a 'business trip'," Misato gave a loud snort. "Dog! Probably sniffing some girls butt even as we–"

"Hey, everybody!" A robust, handsome-sounding voice came from somewhere near the front door. Then–

"Mr. Kaji!" Asuka shouted with the same false sweetness, energy, and jump that she had greeted Dewey with the first day Shinji saw them on top of the roof. In seconds, Asuka was around Kaji's neck, then leading him by the hand to the table, only a few feet away. Misato nearly choked on her beer.

Asuka looked over to Misato, then back to Kaji, then back to Misato. "Do you two...know each other?"

Misato downed the rest of her beer, opened another, and began chugging that one. Kaji surveyed the room with a look of pleasant surprise on his face. "Ooohh, so you haven't told anyone, eh, Katsuragi?"

"What do you mean?" Asuka pleaded with a pathetic tone to her voice.

Kaji ignored her. Instead, he looked toward Shinji. "I thought, as her roommate, you would at least know, Shinji Ikari." Shinji looked up with a confused indifference. With a wink Kaji said, "You're not the only one who knows how she looks in bed."

A collective: "EEEEHHHHHHH?" –issued from the room. Misato simultaneously chocked on her beer and did a spit take. Dewey, peaceful as a buddha, took another sip of his tea.

"Oh, Kaji!" Asuka's voice was as falsely sweet and pleading as ever. "Don't tell me you and her were...were...together."

"That was a long time ago," Kaji said reminiscently. "Not long enough," Misato retorted.

Toji was the first one to move on to a new topic, after he had realized that Kaji and Dewey were the only two men on the planet that could rouse Asuka's sweetness. "I think it's just laudatory, da glowin' manner you bestow on dese dude. Can we possibly hope for summadat indulgeneceness upon our unwor'dy selves?"

In a whisper, Asuka said while chewing her food, "In your dreams."

Without skipping a beat, Toji skooted over to Dewey and said, blocking from Asuka's view his mouth with his hand, "Hey Mister, awordda advice. She 'as a pretty face, but she's bitch t'da bone."

"–Hey!" Asuka yelled, "What are you saying to Dewey!"

Toji continued, "She's vicious, vulgar, n'violent."

"Shut up, stooge!"

Ignoring her, "She plays all sugar-sweet, but ya know..." Toji was really getting theatrical with his monologue. "Beneath dat frosted goodness lies–"

"I said," Asuka cocked her arm. "SHUT UP!" Toji was on the floor: Shinji had a flashback of his first meeting with Toji– he thought that he had taken the hit better. Whether it be his face or his pride, Asuka's punch had injured Toji bad enough to knock him out cold.

Asuka snapped out of her rage, and looked back to the rest of the room. Everyone, including Dewey, was up and out of their seats, staring at what had just transpired. "Um–err...Gee!" Asuka adopted her sweet tone once again. "I just nudged him and he fell right over."

Now, Shinji thought it must have been Toji's pride, for the added injury of Asuka's lie woke him from his stooper. With a shout he rose from the ground, "You lie like a mattress! It ain't gonna work! Yer true colors's exposed!"

Misato said, trying to lighten the mood, "It doesn't exactly come as a surprise."

Swallowing a bite of food, Kaji added, "Asuka's not that good an actress."

"But–!" Asuka looked away from everyone, "I'm not acting."

"Asuka," Dewey had gotten up and laid his hand on her shoulder. She couldn't look at him. He said in a whisper, that Shinji managed to hear, "Look, your foster parents aren't here. You don't have to force yourself to be a good girl."

Asuka looked back to see everyone– save Toji, who was rubbing his cheek– smiling at her. Shinji smiled, and Asuka rubbed something out of her eye. Her eyes narrowed as she walked toward Shinji. "There's something I've been meaning to say, Shinji." Shinji didn't like where this was going, but before he could get away, Asuka had him in a head lock. "I CAN'T STAND YOU!"

"Ow! Lay off me! Lemmo Go!"

By the end of the night, everyone was worn out from the great party. Kaji and Hikari were the first to leave, the latter because she had a curfew, followed by Toji and Kensuke– and finally Dewey.

Shinji took a shower, lay down in his bed, and tried to calm the headache– he had never talked so much with so many people, and his brain raged against the overwork. His thoughts were filled with reliving the night, and slowly they drifted to Rei.

'Tonight was the first time in my life I was ever at a real party...with real friends. Even Asuka, I think.' His neck was still stiff from Asuka's beating. 'I didn't know anything could feel so good. . .But, I wish Rei would have been there.'

Shinji thought that even if she had come, he wouldn't have been able to talk to her in front of the others– Toji and Kensuke would probably have made things between him and Rei worse by pressuring both of them to "confess" or something. Yet, he couldn't deny that he was sad that Rei wasn't there. 'I miss, Rei.' Shinji smiled at the thought that he actually wanted to be around someone. He stopped thinking so that sleep would grip him and tomorrow would come sooner. Hopefully, Rei would be back at school.