This is all Walken's fault
It was creepy.
Shinji Ikari's thoughts were still jumbled and chaotic, still trying to process everything and exacerbated by the echoes of the thoughts of the rest of humanity that he had touched while in the center of Instrumentality. The parts of his mind still capable of creating rational trains of thought were strained at best and could only give the inanest subjects in order to avoid collapsing under the stress of the experience. And guilt. A sort of simple numbness, one step back from madness.
And so, as he stared at the giant bisected head of the girl who'd handed him the power of god, he could only come up with one coherent thought.
Her smile was creepy. Maybe if he'd known how creepy it was, he'd have never told her to smile at all, those many months ago.
Hearing movement, he shifted his gaze down to the one sitting beside him and felt the grip of numbness loosen. More than anything else, his feelings surrounding the girl threatened to unravel him. A pain in his chest and a storm in his head as his mind roiled with emotions he couldn't even name. All but one. Guilt. A crushing, overwhelming mountain of-
"Shinji."
The dead tone broke him from the grasp of his thoughts, dragging him back to reality. Apparently, he'd been so gone he hadn't noticed her stand up.
"A-Asuka?" he croaked, throat raw. Whether it was from the screaming or crying, he didn't know.
"I said, I'm thirsty," the lack of energy in her voice was like a blow to the gut, "we need to find water, food, etc."
Shinji nodded, "Okay. Where should we start?" His brain still struggled to think too hard, but he was eager to latch on to anything to keep from the other thoughts.
Asuka let out a small scoff and he wilted a little. She'd clearly been looking for him to say something more helpful. The wheels in his noggin were shaking the rust off as he realized he did have more to offer.
"Wait. There's a convenience store not too far from here that still has some food."
She raised an eyebrow, not bothering to put the question into words.
"I was using it, after I first washed up, before I came here to… before I came here."
Before I built the graves. Before I tried to kill you. Again.
He didn't bother saying those words either. He didn't have to.
She scowled, although it was muted, as though she didn't have the energy to put in any effort. Then she dropped it, trading it instead for an expression he couldn't place.
"How long were you using it?"
How long have you been alone?
"I don't know," he said, looking down, "I stopped keeping track after a week. Maybe a month?"
"And there's still food?" she asked somewhere between surprise and skepticism.
"I haven't felt like eating much," he muttered.
There was that look again. Shinji tried to figure out what it meant before it was gone. She sagged, and he could feel her exhaustion in his bones.
"Whatever. Let's just go."
She began walking up the beach, no hint of her normal energy or pride in her step. He turned to follow, lengthening his strides a bit in order to catch up and show her the way.
The walk was quiet. Without the waves of the ocean there was no ambient noise to fill the silence. It wasn't pleasant, but neither felt like talking.
Upon coming up on the store, Asuka paused, blinking a few times as she looked at the area.
"I know this place," she muttered.
Seeing Shinji's confused face, she continued, "I've been in this area before. Hikari and I walked through here a few times. And Kaji-" she cut herself off, looking down at the ground as she rode out whatever had overtaken her. Then she sighed, shoulders slumping before looking back up.
"Kaji and I went shopping over there," she gestured her head in a vague direction, "but it doesn't matter. Show me the food."
Shinji nodded, glad to be back on a subject he could actually help with. Entering the building, Asuka gave a small smile, giving a pointed look at the broom and dustpan by the door. Shinji felt a bit of warmth in his chest, now very glad he'd taken the time to clean the store before setting up camp there. Even in the apocalypse, it felt nice to finally be appreciated. Catching her looking at him in the corner of her eye, it dawned on him.
Oh. Oh! She did that on purpose. She'd wanted him to see her notice. He grew a small smile of his own. Maybe they were starting to understand each other, just a bit.
She did an inspection on the supplies he'd gathered together, as well as the inventory he'd passed over, grabbing the occasional thing she'd felt he had missed. Bringing it all back to the pile, she held up a can and looked at it intently.
"Did you have a plan on how to prepare the stuff in here?"
"Yeah," he said. And he had, it just wasn't one he was proud of, "I'd thought about preparing it over a fire. I remember how Kensuke did it camping, I just wasn't sure if those pots would work," he gestured over to some cheap cookware in the back of the pile.
Asuka glanced over to them, then to the supplies for his campfire before shaking her head, "I have a better idea. C'mon."
She walked out of the store and headed down in the direction she'd indicated earlier, the one where Kaji had taken her. Shinji took just a second to make sure everything was in order before scrambling after her.
The silence was back, only broken up by their footsteps. This time though, Shinji decided it was too much.
"So, where are we going?" he asked.
"To the one place I know is still standing," she said, a certainty in her voice at odds with her obvious exhaustion.
"Uhm, how do you know?" Shinji asked, bracing himself for a potential outburst for daring to question her.
Thankfully for him, it seemed she was too tired to even be grumpy, "Because it's always standing. Always open. There should still be a propane stove they keep for emergencies."
This just left him even more confused, but he decided to quit while he was ahead and not risk an outburst. Miracles usually only happened once.
He didn't have to wonder much longer. After turning the corner, it became obvious which building they were heading for. Standing between two buildings that were barely more than rubble was a short, unashamedly square building, with a glowing yellow bar running along the top and an equally glowing yellow sign that said:
Waffle House
The building was dirty and slightly run down, but it was clearly from age and not anything recent. Although how the building looked to be so worn in a city barely ten years old, Shinji didn't know.
"Waffle House?" Shinji asked, not completely confident in his English.
Asuka gave a short nod, "Yep. I thought it was weird when Kaji and I saw it. It's an American chain that I only ever saw one of in Europe. I hadn't thought they had them in Japan."
"Is it any good?" Shinji asked.
The look he got was almost comical, "How would I know?" she asked, her voiced slightly raised, "I've never eaten here before."
"You didn't try it?"
"No!" she shouted, throwing her hands in the air, "You don't eat at Waffle House. Only crazy people actually go to Waffle House."
Shinji opened his mouth to say something but paused. He looked at the Waffle House, then back at Asuka, his face one of utter confusion.
Asuka rolled her eyes, "I think we've crossed and burned that bridge already," she said darkly.
Shinji's face fell. He couldn't argue with her there.
They made to go inside but both froze halfway through the doorway upon seeing they weren't alone.
Standing behind the counter was a squat older woman, wearing a hairnet and apron. She looked up at them upon hearing the bell, giving them a look at her weathered face and pinched eyes. If she was surprised to see other people, she didn't show it, instead opting to give a small scowl.
"Well, are you coming in or what? You're letting the cold out," she said, her voice rough.
The pair jumped at hearing another human being before hurrying into the building and letting the door close behind them.
"What are you doing here?" Asuka asked.
The lady raised a brow, "I'm on shift. Pam is pregnant again. What are you doing here? And what the heck are you wearing?"
"But, why aren't you, you know, your AT field…" Shinji stammered, not able to put all the words together about the sore subject.
"What he means is, why aren't you trapped in the Fanta-Sea like the rest of humanity," Asuka interrupted, running out of patience.
"Honey, I don't drink soda anymore."
Asuka groaned before Shinji tried another track, "Didn't Ayanami try and pull you in?"
The lady tapped her double chin, "You mean the blue-haired brat? I threw her out when I realized she wasn't gonna order anything. Speaking of," she put one hand on her hip, "you kids gonna order anything, or am I gonna have to throw you out too?"
Asuka didn't respond, instead just gaping at the woman in disbelief. Shinji sighed, lightly taking her by the hand and guiding her to a nearby mostly clean booth. Sitting her down in one seat, he took the one across the table just in time for the lady to set two menus in front of them.
"I'll be in the back, ring the bell when you're ready to order," she said, before heading into the kitchen to do god knows what.
After taking a few minutes to gather herself, Asuka shook her head. "I should have known," she muttered.
"Should have known what?" Shinji asked, picking up the menu but keeping it aside so he could see Asuka.
"Not even Third Impact would take down Waffle House."
She sighed, before giving a small chuckle, "Hey idiot, you got any money on you?"
Shinji blinked dumbly before digging around in his pockets, finding some bills in his rarely used back ones.
Asuka nodded, "Good. A girl shouldn't have to pay for the first date."
"Date?!" Shinji choked out, dropping the bills in surprise.
She rolled her eyes, "Yes idiot, date. I saw inside your head just like you saw in mine. Don't get me wrong, you and I have some shit to work through. And some very, very long talks."
She then gave a soft smile that caught the breath in his throat, "But if Waffle House can keep running through the end of the world, and some old hag can chuck freaky godly Wondergirl out the store like yesterday's trash, then you and I can work this out. Now hurry up and pick your poison," she opened the menu, "I'm going with pancakes."