Block D, Side 5, Stahlturm, December 4th, 2014
Asuka Soryu-Langley had a rather… contentious relationship with today. So, she did her best to bury it in work. There was a lot of schoolwork that she could chew into, some preparations for the upcoming synch test at the end of the week, and more than enough working out to keep her body in peak condition.
Even still, with all that being done, something still gnawed at her, even after all this time. Words unspoken besides the 'good job's, 'you're so smart's, and other accolades and congratulations she received throughout the day. Words that she'd grown used to not hearing.
Her first birthday after that day, a day she hardly wanted to remember, so close it was to this one, was a lonely one. Quiet and sad, much like today but sharper. So much more distinct. Most of them had been, coupled with the memoriam that so often accompanied them. Less and less, she'd expected something from today. Now, it seemed to simply pass as any other day had. She hadn't told anyone that she knew now, not even Daniel, why today should be anything special. She didn't know why she'd stopped doing that, either. What little part of her pride had been so snuffed where she was so insistent anywhere else?
She didn't want to think about it too hard. So she worked, and worked, and worked, until she plodded instead of strode, eyes blinking wearily instead of flashing sharply as she returned from the last place she needed to get to; a graveyard, within its silent bounds a tombstone and a name she treasured and despised in equal measure as she stood alone before it. She could go to sleep, and get on to the next day, and forget this day, like all the others, had ever happened.
As she finally made her way back into Side 5, stepping off the last piece of public transit that she needed to take, she yawned. No one seemed to notice her in her nondescript clothes. No one seemed to care. A part of her chaffed at the fact. She was the up-and-coming pilot of Unit-02! The greatest pilot in the world!
Yet, at this moment, at the end of this day, it didn't matter. She didn't care. Even she, justly proud of her abilities and wanting to be sure that everyone recognized her talents, had her days when she just wanted to be left to her own devices.
She made her way into the apartment building with a weary sigh, opening the door to her flat.
Then, she paused, as she smelled something… sweet. Chocolatey. The lights were off as well. 'What is going on here?' she thought as she crept into her place. Misato wasn't… trying something, was she? Surely, not after all this time of just letting the day pass on.
She turned a corner, flipping on the lights, and her eyes went wide as she saw Daniel and Misato sitting at the table, a round cake topped with whipped cream, cherries, and chocolate shavings in front of them and a small, wrapped package in Daniel's hand.
"Hello, Asuka," Daniel said, smiling slightly. "Happy Birthday."
Her eyes, wide and wondering, drifted down to the desert in front of her. "A Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte… how did you…"
"I figured," Daniel said, "for a day like this, it'd be nice to have a pick-me-up for all the hard work you've been doing recently."
"Come on…" Asuka said, still finding herself sitting at the table. "All this for a day I barely even told you about?"
"Of course," Daniel said. "You're the pilot of Unit-02, best in the world. You deserve far better than merely this cake and the present we got you."
Asuka chuckled as Misato placed a plate and a carving knife in front of her. "Alright," Misato said, "birthday girl gets the first slice. I'm sure Daniel wants to find out if it turned out alright."
"Alright, alright," Asuka said, taking the knife and cutting into the cake. Soon enough, a fork took a small portion of the slice and carried it to an expectant Asuka's mouth, silent as she chewed thoughtfully.
She swallowed, taking a deep breath and smiling slightly. "Well, damn. You know how to bake a mean cake."
"It took some doing, I'll admit." Daniel chuckled as he and Misato dished up as well. "There's a few failures in the bin at my flat. But at least this one turned out alright."
Asuka nodded, glancing over at the present. "And do I have to wait 'till the cake is done to open my present?"
"Not at all," Daniel said. "Go ahead, if you want to."
Asuka still finished her slice before reaching for the rectangular, hand-sized present wrapped in metallic crimson paper. It came off quickly and revealed an MP3 player and a package of headphones. "I loaded it with some songs you like," Daniel said as she studied the player. "And some songs that you might like."
"We'll see about that." Asuka retorted, but there was no bite in the words.
It felt… good, to celebrate on a day like this again. It had been so long since it had been that way.
. . .
December 26th, 2014
Daniel Theisman wondered what was bringing him to the top of the Stahlturm on this cold, somewhat overcast and rainy day. All he knew for certain is that Misato had been stockpiling both beer and Bundaberg and that she'd been rather absent from the latter half of the Christmas party setting up this 'tradition', as her text referred to it.
The elevator opened, and Daniel stepped into a maintenance tunnel, Misato waiting for him with a knowing grin. "Hey there," Misato said. "Follow me."
"So," he asked with an arched brow. "Where are we going, exactly?"
"Aw, c'mon," Misato replied. "You really want the surprise spoiled for you?"
"I suppose not," Daniel said with a slight grin.
After several minutes of climbing and twisting through maintenance corridors, they emerged on the top of the Stahlturm, a rare snow covering those portions of the surface that weren't the open vents of heating and the massive window above the main park. Walking towards the edge of the massive tower, they looked out over the frosted, white landscape, a great inland sea stretching out before them. At where they stopped, there were two folding chairs, two crates containing drinks and boxes of ammo, and two G36 rifles leaning against the chairs.
"Is this going to be… legal?" Daniel asked.
"Well, as long as we don't get caught," Misato said, "it's just a nice relaxing break from all the noise and crowds. Come the holidays, this whole place becomes the worst sort of echo chamber. Besides, I know a few people. Comes with the territory of being a part of NERV."
"And where does the 'tradition' come in?" Daniel smiled slightly as Misato opened a bottle of lager with a practiced ease.
"Well," Misato began, "after the SSDF pulled out of South America, we took something we learned from Brasilian soldiers we served with; you drain a bottle, fill it with a regret, a memory, a truth, something like that, and then toss it out for your partner to shoot. The bottle shatters and then… well it's in God's hands, if you want to put it that way."
She paused for a moment, her mouth twisting slightly. "Now usually, it becomes a competition the more drunk you become, but because of how squeaky clean you are…"
Daniel chuckled softly. "Well, I'll at least make sure your whispers into the bottle get out just fine. I won't even hold it against you if you miss."
"Lucky me," Misato said before taking a long chug. "Now get to drinking."
It was largely silent for a moment as Daniel cracked open a Bundaberg, looking at the seemingly tiny vessel before he took a drink. There were so many things he could fill this bottle with. 'Would that I could put the eyes in here.' he mused. 'Just… toss them away and never worry about my sleep again.'
But he couldn't do that. The memories, the regrets, the terrors he'd seen and caused, all had burned down into a spiked, simmering coal that he could not let go of, pricking and bleeding his soul as he squeezed it against him. There was no leaving that behind. Not if he didn't want to fall back into what he'd been before, however well-meaning he might be going down that road. It was a constant talisman to blunt his pride, however effective or not it could be.
No. He couldn't cast it aside. But he could temper its bite, give tribute to the specters that haunted him.
Misato finished her bottle first with a contented sigh, looking at it critically in silence as she considered. "To the little boy that my bullet couldn't save in time," she finally decided, speaking quietly and with a distant look on her face. "I got him for you."
She looked over to Daniel, nodding at the rifle. "Alright. You're up."
Daniel set his drink aside, picking up the rifle. He checked the magazine, then the chamber, before flicking the safety off and shouldering it. "Alright. Ready when you are."
Misato gave the bottle a heft, then tossed it as hard as she could. Daniel zeroed in on the tumbling bottle. Crack.
A second went by before the bottle disappeared into so many glittering particles.
They returned to drinking, sitting in silence for a moment. "So," Daniel said quietly, "are you able to talk about that?"
Misato shrugged. "Not much to talk about, really," she admitted. "We were in Bogota. There was a village with a kid that fed us info. He took a shine to me. I took a shine to him."
She shook her head slightly. "He couldn't have been more than… 12, 13? We sprang a trap on the occupying force there, and he got caught in the crossfire."
It was silent again, and Daniel pondered on how that might affect the future as he drained his bottle fully.
"Alright," Misato said as she noticed. "First one. I'd say make it count, but you just put whatever you need to in there."
Daniel considered the bottle again, frowning slightly. "For…"
He sighed quietly. "For the home I left behind. I hope you're patching up without me."
He stood, waiting for Misato to get her rifle ready, then threw. Once again, the tumbling meteor of brown glass shattered over the bay.
They sat down, Daniel getting another Bundaberg and opening it before taking a long draught.
"Do you want to explain that one?" Misato asked.
Daniel considered the question. Cities aflame. Buildings cast down and sending up cries, screams, and curses into a heaven filled with gods, demons, and monsters. His monsters, all gathered together as he lay exhausted and resigned in the prison of his skull.
"I don't think I can," Daniel replied. "Not in a way that would make any sense."
"Fair enough, I suppose," Misato replied.
Misato nodded, and the little ritual continued, largely silent.
"For Hayasaki. I still miss your noodles."
"For my comrades." Betrayed. Slaughtered in the defense of all they held dear, even their home.
"For Esteban. I hope your wife is doing well."
"For the woman I tried to save." A foolish risk, for a single life. A gamble that had cost Reality untold lives.
"For Rio. A home away from home."
"For Percy." Chief among the first of his students. A nephew. A friend. A compatriot. Last to face him before… her.
"For Ritsuko. I hope I'll see you again. Make up for some of my mistakes."
"For… for Guts." The boy he'd raised to become a man in a world filled with darkness and the chaos of worlds colliding.
As the bottle of Bundaberg burst, somewhat surprisingly, from Misato's now slightly faltering aim, she looked over at him. "Guts?" she asked.
Daniel smiled slightly. "Kid in Brasilia, grew up post-Impact with a mercenary crew. Lived a real rough life. Especially after his commanding officer, barely older than him, betrayed him and his mercs, raped his newly found love, and left him for dead. He got his revenge. Made it out of the country with his life, some friends, and an environmentalist friend I made. Even then, it was a close thing."
A part of him wondered where he and his friends were now. As long as they were living, making a new, decent life… well, how much did it matter, really?
Misato nodded, and they returned to their drinks.
"For…" Misato began again, Daniel waiting for her patiently. "For NERV, and the new chances it brings."
"For Duncan." Daniel rejoined after a few moments. A comrade. A friend. Confident in new lives and the betterment of one's self after a harsh prologue. Daniel could not save him from his death.
"For Asuka, and getting to meet the little stinker." Misato smiled slightly.
Finally, Daniel finished his next drink again, hesitating for long moments. Who else left but…
"For Elle." Beloved. Healer. Fighter, in so many different ways. Fighting for him, even when he had all but disappeared. The last life he'd taken that day. After she'd freed him…
Toss. Crack.
"Is that…" Misato asked, somewhat hesitantly. "Your… girlfriend?"
Daniel opened his mouth. Words failed him for all too long. "It's… complicated."
Misato sighed quietly. "You know what? I get 'complicated'."
'Not this kind of complicated.' Daniel promised silently. 'And I hope you never do.'
And so they continued, bottle after bottle consecrated then disappearing, releasing what had been ephemerally stuffed into the winds of a cold and seemingly uncaring world. Though, Daniel noted with some slight amusement, some of those bottles would sink into the bay unshattered as Misato's aim sank into her rising intoxication. There was something poetic about that as well, Daniel mused.
Then, at last, the bottles were gone. For long moments afterward, they simply… sat there. "Y'know," Misato began, her voice slurring. "It's good t' do this with s'mone again. It gets… awful boring, doing it alone. Real depressing, too."
Daniel nodded. "It's a hell of a tradition. I like it," he said with a slight smile.
"We should do this at the end of each year," Misato nodded. "Good for the soul."
Another pause. "Now, let's get out of here. I think the rain's about to pick up again, 'nd I don't wanna get soaked."