A new day dawned in Tokyo-3. Inside a specific apartment located in the east side of the city, a blue-haired girl was sleeping peacefully. Eventually, the girl woke up on her own, without needing an alarm clock, and she realized that something was not as it usually was. Instead of lying on the mattress, the girl was lying on a warm human body. Rei Ayanami opened her eyes wide, and came across the face of Shinji Ikari, sleeping peacefully under her. It was then that the events of the previous day came to her mind. The blue-haired girl smiled brightly and rested her head back on the boy's chest.

Rei remembered the events of the day before, feeling a tingling on her stomach and her chest about to burst with happiness. Since Shinji and her started their romantic relationship a week ago, there had been plenty of joy in the girl's life, but nothing compared to what she experienced the day prior. Becoming one with Shinji had been… wonderful. The bluenette felt that after sharing such an intimate act, their trust and connection with each other was absolute and the bond they shared was now unbreakable. Besides, the act itself... had been very pleasant, the girl thought as her cheeks blushed. Shinji and Rei were complete novices, naturally, but their youthful passion had been more than enough to make up for that. Their first time had been clumsy, their rhythm uneven, their posture improvised, their nerves on edge. Their second, executed after dinner and before falling asleep together in her bed, both exhausted, had been more precise, more efficient, more fulfilling. The First Child was still surprised at how good she had felt. Although she suspected that the act itself had to be pleasant considering what she had learned in health class and what she had occasionally read in books, the reality far exceeded her expectations.

Eventually, Rei noticed her boyfriend moving slightly. Glancing towards his his face, she observed how Shinji opened his eyes slightly, finally waking up as well "Good morning, Shinji" she whispered in a very soft voice.

The Third Child opened his eyes completely upon hearing her voice. It took him a couple of seconds to process where he was, but once he realized, a wide smile spread across his face "It wasn't a dream..." he thought happily "Good morning, Rei..." the boy greeted back, surrounding the girl with his arms and embracing her affectionately before bringing his face closer to hers, promptly joining her lips on a tender kiss "Did you sleep well?" asked the boy once their lips parted ways.

"Yes" Rei nodded "How about you?"

"Wonderfully" Shinji replied, radiating joy from each fiber of his body "How could I not sleep well after last night?" the Third Child thought delighted. If it weren't for the fact that he could feel at that moment Rei's soft body pressed against his skin he would be doubting if the last few hours weren't a product of his imagination. Shinji was overjoyed. He and Rei had made love and it had been wonderful. The act itself had been remarkably pleasurable, obviously, it was significantly better than any other experience he had felt before. But also, he now felt closer to the girl than ever. The shame that he had been feeling until just a day ago for lusting after his girlfriend had disappeared. He felt that now he could be completely honest with her, without the fear of being judged.

Both teenagers stayed in bed for a few more moments, simply enjoying each other's warmth and closeness. Shinji eventually glanced towards his wristwatch, checking the time. It was quarter to eight. If he had woken up at Misato's place, the boy would probably be about to get up in order to take a shower, so he would have enough time afterwards to make their lunches. That wasn't going to be necessary that morning, however. The Third Child directed then her thoughts to his guardian. He was very grateful that Misato had not asked many questions the previous night when he informed her that he would be spending the night away. It was likely that the reason was that the woman was frustrated about having to stay wording until late, otherwise she might have gotten curious about it. Shinji would probably have to make up some excuse if that were the case. If Misato found out that he had spent the night with Rei, the teasing would never end.

Eventually, Rei changed her position slightly over the boy, putting one leg over his, and she came into contact with a very specific part of the Third Child's anatomy. Shinji was a boy in his teens, after all, it was usual for this part of his anatomy to be like that first time at the morning. The bluenette brought one of her hands there, while glancing towards her boyfriend.

"Oh" was the only thing Shinji's mind could process as he felt the girl's hand down there. His eyes met hers, who was gazing at him while her lips curved in a knowing smile "Do you want us to...?"

"Yes" was Rei's immediate reply. Shinji blushed at the girl's eagerness.

"Do we have enough time?" Shinji asked "We should probably take a shower before going to school"

"It's still early" the girl said, rising until she was on top of him, resting her hands on his chest and leaving the bed sheets behind her. The Third Child simply marveled at the sight in front of him, unable to take his eyes off his girlfriend or to say another word "We have enough time" Rei murmured before leaning down and joining her lips with his.

Asuka walked inside class 2-A and headed to her desk while frowning, not caring in the slightest to conceal the bad mood she was in at that moment. The previous day, the idiot she had for a roommate had suddenly decided to spend the night outside Misato's apartment, while sending just a measly text message to her cellphone to inform her of that fact. According to said message, Misato was also okay with that, so it was not like she could do much about it. Because of Shinji's absence, not only the redhead had to lower herself to cooking her own dinner, but she also was not going to enjoy his homemade lunch that day either. If that situation wasn't enough to damper her mood, Asuka had also been unsuccessful in contacting Kaji for the last few days. She had left him plenty of voicemails, but it was as if the man was deliberately ignoring them.

The Second Child left her schoolbag over her desk and sat on its chair "Good morning, Asuka" Hikari greeted her, who as usual had been one of the first students to arrive to the classroom.

"Hi, Hikari..." the redhead greeted back, her voice clearly revealing her mood.

"Is something wrong? You look upset" the class representative asked tentatively.

"I live with an idiot, that's what's wrong" replied the red-haired girl.

"Oh… has Shinji done something to upset you...?" the freckled girl asked timidly, guessing what the fuss was about.

"The idiot spent last night away from home, so he didn't cook me dinner" said the German girl. Hikari looked at her, waiting for her to keep explaining. When she didn't, she raised an eyebrow.

"That's... all?" Hikari asked.

"Isn't that enough for you?" protested the redhead "Cooking is his responsibility at our place, Hikari"

"Oh, you guys distribute the chores, then" Hikari concluded. Asuka looked away suddenly feeling a sting of shame, she didn't feel like revealing her that it was actually Shinji who did most of the chores. She took care of some of the chores specifically the ones that were directly related to her, like her laundry, but Misato was a complete disaster regarding chores, so the Third Child was the one taking care of most of them.

Asuka sulked while glancing at the classroom door for a few seconds. It was then that she spotted Touji and Kensuke entering the classroom, chatting nonchalantly as usual. Asuka stared at them for a few seconds, realizing suddenly that Shinji was not with them. She then stared back to the classroom entrance, guessing that perhaps the idiot had gone to the bathroom or something like that. After a couple of minutes without seeing the aforementioned enter the classroom, the redhead began to get suspicious "The idiot spent the night out but he hasn't arrivedschool with any of his stupid friends…" the girl thought while narrowing his eyes. She had assumed that Shinji had slept at either of his friends' house, even more so considering that he had met with them very recently. But if they didn't arrived at school together, that assumption made no sense.

Asuka was immersed in these musings when two students very familiar to her crossed the classroom entrance. Shinji and Rei stepped inside the classroom while holding hands, a gesture that was starting to become an everyday occurrence for those present, since courtship between two of the three Eva pilots was something that inherently involved drawing the attention of their classmates, no matter how reserved the aforementioned pilots were. That is why the vast majority were already aware of the fact that they were a couple and did not pay much attention to the two of them arriving at the classroom together. For Asuka, however, seeing Shinji and Rei do so that day did catch her attention.

"It can't be..." Asuka thought as she followed her classmates with her gaze, who headed towards the back of the classroom, where Touji and Kensuke greeted them like it was the first time meeting them that day, which only made the red-haired girl's suspicions increase "Did the idiot spent last night... with the doll?"

Shinji closed his textbook and stretched his arms, before getting up from his desk chair and laying face up on his bed. The Third Child stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. He was finally done with his schoolwork for the day, so he considered his options for spending that afternoon's free time, which unfortunately for him, that day were less diverse than usual.

To begin with, spending time with Rei, which would had been his go-to option, would not be possible. To his displeasure, the girl had a new data-collecting session at the creepy clone room inside Terminal Dogma, where Dr. Akagi would continue working on the Dummy Plug System with Rei's assistance. Now that he knew about the place, he wasn't happy that his girlfriend had to participate in such sessions, but it was not like either of them could do anything about it "I hope that autopilot system is worth it" the boy thought, irked.

He also couldn't meet his friends Touji and Kensuke. The military nerd was going to camp at the outskirts of the city, while Touji, in an unusual act of bravery, had finally asked out Hikari, the class representative. Shinji wished his friend the best of luck, although in reality, all their classmates knew that the two of them were into each other, so it was more than likely that things would turn out well for him.

Taking all that into account, the only people he could hang out with were Asuka, who since Hikari was busy that afternoon, was home, and Misato, who wouldn't be available until she got home from work. Of course, the boy could also spend the afternoon alone, which wasn't so terrible either.

Finally, Shinji got up from his bed and left the room, deciding to see what Asuka was up to. If the girl had one of those days when it was best to leave her alone he could always go back to his bedroom and listen to some music. The Third Child quickly found the redhead, who was lying in the living room on top of a couple of cushions, while watching television.

"Do you mind if I join?" Shinji asked as he approached the girl.

"Do whatever you want" the girl replied as she absentmindedly changed the channel.

It hadn't been the most welcoming reply, but coming from Asuka it was a pretty standard one. Shinji grabbed a cushion and sat next to the girl "Anything interesting on?"

"Not really" the redhead replied, the channels following one after another on the screen. Eventually the girl found a documentary about marine wildlife and she decided to leave it on. The pilots kept their attention on the television for a few moments in silence, until Asuka decided to break it.

"Aren't you going out today?" the girl asked without taking her attention away from the screen.

"Huh?" Shinji was caught off guard by the question "Um, yeah... I wasn't planning on going out" he replied.

"Mmmm…" Asuka murmured, apparently distracted "Aren't you going to meet the doll today?"

"No, she's busy today" the boy replied "And, Asuka, don't call Rei that, please. I'm pretty sure she doesn't like it"

"Did things went so badly last night that she doesn't want you to come back?" the girl asked next, completely ignoring what Shinji had said. The boy almost choked on air.

"W-what…? Where do you got that from?" asked the Third Child, blushing deeply "We haven't..."

"Do you think I'm stupid, idiot?" Asuka cut him off, glaring at him "This morning you arrived at school together, and your idiot friends got there before you, where else could you have spent last night?"

Shinji felt a shiver run down his back as Asuka glared at him. It was clear at that moment that he and Rei had not been as discreet as he would have liked. He desperately tried to come up with an excuse to explain the situation, but he was unable to think of anything. He sighed resignedly.

"Fine, you're right... I spent last night at her apartment" Shinji acknowledged, looking away.

Asuka frowned deeply. She already knew beforehand that it was the truth, but a part of herself had the stupid hope that she had been wrong. Hearing Shinji openly admit it made her stomach turn "You're a fucking pervert" she muttered through clenched teeth.

"I'm not a pervert..." the boy said, slightly abashed.

"You are the biggest pervert I have ever had the misfortune of meeting!" the redhead snapped, now clearly angry "I can't believe you… did that with the doll!"

"I told you not to call her that! I know it's hard for someone like you to understand, but Rei and I love each other, Asuka!" Shinji exclaimed, Asuka's anger awakening the same emotion in him "Besides, what happens between her and me is our business, what do you care what we do?"

That was an excellent question. It was such a good question, in fact, that Asuka had been asking it herself for several days. Why did she care so much what idiot Shinji and the emotionless doll did? The girl was silent for a few moments, her face revealing the internal conflict she was going through.

"You're an idiot" was the only thing the redhead could say. Before Shinji could say anything else in return, the girl got up and bolted out of the room, leaving through the front door just a couple of seconds later.

Shinji remained seated in the living room, his gaze focused on where Asuka had went a few seconds ago "What was that all about?" the boy asked himself, confused. After several weeks of living with the redhead, Shinji had gotten used to her moodiness and tantrums, but this seemed to come from nowhere. Shinji knew that Asuka had never liked Rei very much, could that be the reason why the girl was angry? Just because she had become close to him?

Shinji sighed. Whatever was the reason, the best thing he could do at that moment was waiting for the girl to get over her anger before talking to her again. The boy turned off the television and returned to his room. It seemed like he had plenty of alone time ahead of him.

A fleet of military-looking ships sailed over the red-tinged waters of the South Pole, beginning the journey back to Japan after several days of expedition. If there were no setbacks, they would arrive the next morning. In the middle of the fleet, the largest of the ships carried an immense object on its deck, covered with some kind of plastic. On board, the two most important figures of NERV's command chain observed the outside through the windows.

"No life form can exist in this place anymore" a melancholic Fuyutsuki stated while staring at the desolate place "It's truly a shame"

"We, humanity, are life forms, and we are here" Gendo Ikari replied, his voice serious as usual.

"True, but that's because we are protected by the power of science" replied the older man with a hint of amusement in his voice "We wouldn't survive on our own"

"Life forms use their aptitudes to survive: strength, speed, resistance... humanity uses intelligence, and science is its the main weapon of said aptitude" the commander reasoned.

"Yes, and humanity has constantly used it with arrogance" said Fuyutsuki, his amusement gone "That is precisely why the Second Impact was caused fifteen years ago, causing what we see now. Perhaps it is a fair punishment for so much arrogance"

"Perhaps. But we will use science again for remedying this... and for so much more" the commander added, his voice sill stoic.

Fuyutsuki kept staring at the red-tinged waters in silence.

The next afternoon Shinji was, once again, climbing the stairs of the apartment complex where Rei lived.

The Third Child really wanted to see his girlfriend again. The bluenette had not attended school that morning, since she was required at NERV again. What she was required for, specifically, Shinji didn't knew "Did she had to go to Terminal Dogma again? She was there all of yesterday's afternoon…" the boy wondered, not pleased in the slightest if that was the case "I hope they finish the Dummy Plug System soon... although that doesn't completely solve the problem" Shinji thought. If Dr. Akagi and his father still intended to keep recording the girl's memories for her clones, Rei will have to keep spending time at the creepy room inside Terminal Dogma.

The boy shook his head as he approached apartment 402's front door, trying to push those thoughts away. There really wasn't much he could do about it, and the last thing he wanted was to spend his time with Rei sulking. He already had enough of that at Misato's recently, considering that Asuka was still mad at him. The redhead had barely spoken to him since the previous day, and the worst thing was that he still couldn't figure out why. Shinji sighed while knocking on the door and waited, before it was opened a few seconds later by the occupant of the apartment.

"Hello, Shinji" Rei greeted him before wrapping her arms around his back, hugging him affectionately.

"Hi, Rei" the boy returned her greeting and her hug, before kissing her a second later. Once their lips parted, they walked inside the apartment.

"I missed you today" Shinji murmured as he took off his shoes, earning a soft smile from the girl "I hope they finish the Dummy Plug System soon and you don't have to go to Terminal Dogma so often…" he regretfully admitted.

"I didn't assist Dr. Akagi with the Dummy Plug System today" the bluenette said while shaking her head slightly.

"Oh? What were you doing, then?" Shinji asked curiously as they entered the bedroom.

"Commander Ikari ordered me to insert an artifact into the Second Angel's chest" explained the girl.

Shinji's stared at his girlfriend, his eyes widening "My father… ordered you to insert an artifact into the Second Angel?" he asked "What... artifact?"

"The Spear of Longinus. Is a red spear of considerable size, about as long as an Eva. Apparently the NERV fleet brought it back this morning from Antarctica" Rei explained.

"I see... and why did he ordered you to… do that? Does that neutralize the Second Angel or something similar?" was the boy's next question.

"I don't know. They didn't explain the purpose of the task to me" was Rei's response.

"Oh…" was the only thing that Shinji could reply.

Both pilots were silent for a few moments. Shinji looked away, lost in thought. The idea that the Second Angel was inside the Geo-Front facilities was something the Third Child wasn't particularly fond of to begin with, but knowing that they were doing… whatever that was with it worried him, specially considering his recent discovery of Rei's clones. Rei quickly noticed her boyfriend's sour mood.

"Is something wrong?" the girl asked, looking at him curiously.

"I… I don't know" Shinji replied "It's just… I'm worried about the Second Angel being there"

"Why?" the bluenette asked.

"It's... it's very strange, Rei" said the Third Child "They have a creature there that we know nothing about, other than that it will destroy the world if another angel reaches it, and they're doing... who knows what with it" he explained "Add that to the rest of questionable stuff they do at NERV, like... your clones and... I can't help to worry about it"

Rei kept her gaze on Shinji, her face turning serious "Shinji... you still don't trust Commander Ikari's work?"

Shinji grimaced "...I would like to trust him, Rei. Believe me, I do. But... I can't" he replied.

"Why?" the scarlet-eyed girl asked. Shinji glanced at her. There were no signs of disapproval in the girl's voice, only genuine curiosity.

The Third Child sighed, gathering the strength to speak "Rei... my mother died when I was four years old. Immediately after that, my father… essentially abandoned me" the boy began to explain "He sent me to live away from him with a legal guardian, and he didn't pay me attention even once until he called me to come to Tokyo-3. Not a visit, not a call, nothing at all. I can imagine that in the meantime he founded what is now NERV, and I understand that that must have taken him a lot of work, but... I'm his son, Rei. And he treats me like I don't mean anything to him" the pain that this fact still caused him was clear in the boy's voice. He was silent for a couple of seconds, before speaking again "And if that wasn't enough, when he finally seems interested in me for the first time in ten years, when he calls me to come here, the first thing he does upon seeing me is forcing me to get on a giant robot that I had never heard of in my life to fight to the death against an extraterrestrial being with the intention of destroying the world we know. And he... used you to convince me. If I didn't pilot Eva 01 that day, you would have had to do it, and you were very injured at that time..." said Shinji, still upset about that "And still, after all these months of risking my life to pilot the Eva, he never said a word of encouragement or thanks until a few days ago. He congratulated me after the operation against the Tenth Angel" recalled the Third Child "He said Well done, Shinji. That's it. Three words. In ten years he has only said three nice words to me"

Shinji finally stopped talking, he didn't feel like saying anything else about the subject. He looked at his girlfriend apprehensively. Rei had silently listened to his words, and now she seemed deeply immersed in her own thoughts. Both teenagers were silent for a few moments, until Shinji felt the need to say something again.

"I'm sorry, Rei, I didn't mean to upset you" the boy apologized "I know you respect my father a lot"

"Yes, you are correct" the girl admitted, taken out of her thoughts "But you don't have to apologize, I'm not upset" Shinji's eyes widened slightly, surprised. Rei approached him and held his hands gently "I didn't know most of what you just told me. I think... now I understand why you feel that way"

Shinji felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders upon hearing those words "...Thank you, Rei"

"You're welcome" the girl replied "I'm sorry that your relationship with your father is not closer"

"Don't worry about that, it's not your fault" said the boy, caressing the bluenette's hands with the tips of his thumbs "Actually, thinking about it... there is one thing I am grateful to my father for, you know?" Rei directed an inquisitive glance at him, waiting for him to keep speaking "...thanks to him I met you"

The bluenette's inquisitive face was replaced by a warm smile. A moment later, she brought her lips to Shinji's and they melted into a kiss.

Hours later, after enjoying several activities together, it was time for Shinji to return to Misato's apartment. Rei accompanied the boy to the entrance of her apartment. They both shared an embrace, as was becoming usual when it was time to say goodbye until the next time they saw each other.

"Rei, I was thinking…" Shinji whispered, not releasing his grip on the girl.

"Yes?" she whispered back.

"The day after tomorrow is the anniversary of my mother's death" the boy murmured "I would like to visit her grave and leave some flowers there... I would also like if you were to come with me"

"I see" Rei mused "I'll go with you"

"Okay, guys, I'll wait for you here" Misato said, sitting in the front seat of her car "Shinji, take all the time you need"

"Thank you, Misato" said the boy, who was holding a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. He then directed his attention to Rei, who was standing outside the car next to him "Shall we go, Rei?" he asked.

The bluenette nodded, holding the left hand of the Third Child with her right. Both teenagers walked inside the cemetery, and began their path towards Yui Ikari's grave. Misato stared at them with a smile on her lips for a few moments "I'm so glad that things are going well for these two. Being together has done them a lot of good" the woman thought as the pilots walked away. Shinji's mood had improved considerably in the last week and, although Misato was not with Rei that often, she had also noticed that the girl smiled a lot more than before, especially when she was around him "If only Asuka was in such a good mood as them..." the purple-haired woman later lamented, remembering how the Second Child had been the complete opposite of her fellow pilots for the last few days. Misato sighed and decided to watch the sunset while she waited.

Shinji and Rei walked through the deserted cemetery for a few moments, the solitary headstones stretched as far as the eye could see being their only company. It wasn't until they were closer to their destination that Shinji realized the presence of another person, precisely in front of the grave they were going to visit. Shinji's surprise was enormous when he recognized the man who was there with his back towards them, but the closer they got, the clearer it became that his eyes weren't lying.

"Father?" the boy asked once they were close enough, still surprised.

Gendo Ikari was brought out of his reflections and turned his head slightly in the boy's direction. It seemed like he hadn't noticed his presence until that moment, but he did recognize the boy's voice before turning around "Shinji..." the man uttered before establishing eye contact with his son. He did not expect, however, to also come across the First Child along with him "...Rei"

"Good afternoon, commander" the girl greeted, bowing her head slightly.

Gendo was a stoic man like few others. Seeing the scarlet-eyed girl there, with her son, surprised him, but it was not enough to break his stoic demeanor. At least, not until he saw that they were holding hands. The man's eyes widened ever so slightly… before he immediately regained his composure.

"I didn't expect to find you here, father" Shinji murmured, releasing Rei's hand to approach the grave and place the bouquet of flowers he brought with him. It was then that he realized that there was already another bouquet similar to his in front of the grave, undoubtedly brought by his father "Do you come... often?"

"I come every year" the commander replied, directing his attention to the gravestone again.

All three of them stayed silent for a few moments. Shinji directed his attention to the gravestone, with the words Yui Ikari 1977-2004 inscribed on it "It's been more than ten years since Mom died... I can't even remember her face anymore" the boy thought sadly.

"Father... do you have any photos of mom?" the boy asked timidly after a few moments.

"No" the man replied seriously.

"Oh… you got rid of them all, then" the Third Child muttered.

"I have no need for them. I keep everything I need inside my heart" replied the man "That's enough for me for now"

"For now...? What does he mean by that?" Shinji wondered curiously. He glanced discreetly towards his father. His face was serious and stoic as usual, but it seemed as if… there was a hint of sadness as well. For the first time in a long time, Shinji thought that perhaps his father was not the emotionless being he thought he was "Well done, Shinji" the words were repeated in the boy's mind. Maybe… his father wasn't as terrible as he thought. Maybe she could try trusting him again.

Shinji's thoughts were interrupted by the noise of a military plane approaching their location. The commander turned around, heading towards it as it landed "It's time. I have to go" he said while starting to walk in its direction.

"Father, wait" Shinji said, causing the man to stop for a moment and turn to look at him "I… I'm glad we were able to talk today" the boy added timidly.

"I see" was the man's brief response, who turned around and continued walking towards the plane.

Shinji watched for a few seconds as the man walked away from them. After that, he returned his attention to the grave of his mother. The boy remained thoughtful for a few moments, until he noticed Rei's hand holding his own again. Shinji looked into her eyes, and she looked back at him "Are you feeling better?" the girl asked.

"Yes" Shinji agreed with a soft smile, which Rei soon mirrored "Thank you for coming with me, Rei" the boy said.

"You're welcome" the girl whispered, then wrapped her arms around him, a gesture that Shinji gladly reciprocated. The pilots stayed like that for a long time, enjoying each other's warmth and closeness.

Through the windows of the plane, Gendo Ikari observed the scene with a stoic face.

To be continued...