The Earth

The sun rose on a dead city.

Tokyo-3 had been murdered, shot right through the heart, and now only its rotting corpse remained. An enormous crater consumed its center, opening to the graveyard of failed plots and wasted lies beneath. The once-tall skyscrapers were reduced to burnt and shattered husks, some of them having fallen completely. The streets of the downtown were flooded, the water reaching two stories high in some places. Highways were crumbling graveyards of abandoned vehicles, some of them still containing the empty clothing of their former owners. And looming over it all were the bodies of the city's murderers, gargantuan giants who stood still with their arms still spread wide, as if to embrace their victims.

And yet, though the city was fully dead and would likely never breathe again, life persisted still.

Free of the constraints of their gardeners, plants had begun to spring up all over, finding whatever purchase that they could, consuming the concrete jungle. Green seaweed and other aquatic plant life had taken hold in the drowned streets, and fish now swam between the chunks of asphalt and rusted cars. Birds nested in the crumbling skulls of the giants, and small mammals, from rats to squirrels to raccoons, eked out a living where they could.

And then there were the people.

There weren't many, only a couple thousand or so. Not nearly enough to try to rebuild the city. They lived in their small, ramshackle communities, pieced together from the debris. There was a line of communication between them, a fledgling sort of society, but even after all these years, there was little in the way of organization or government, just a few loosely agreed-upon rules. After all, many of them had done terrible things to one another, and though that damage was all but reversed, tensions lingered still. But it was still something.

Tokyo-4, some jokingly called it. It certainly wasn't Tokyo-3 reborn. Tokyo-3 was exceptionally dead, and they were little more than the bacteria who dwelt upon the carcass. But even so, something was starting to emerge.

As the sun's rays chased the night away from the city, they fell upon a row of shattered apartment buildings. Most of them remained abandoned and rotting, but one at least had seen some attempt at repair, not enough to fix the cratered walls or the large chunk that was missing from the top floor, but many of the shattered windows were boarded up, and the roof now sported several solar panels. One apartment in particular had been especially-well taken care of, in that the windows had been replaced, the walls rebuilt to the best of its inhabitants' abilities, and the apartment itself cleaned out and lived in once again.

The sunlight continued to creep forward, filtering through the thick curtains of one room in particular, to fall upon those inhabitants.

There were three of them, two girls and a boy, all seeming to be in their mid-teens. They lay together in a tangle of limbs, having fallen asleep in each other's arms. The girl on the right was leanly muscled, with orangish-brown hair that flowed down her back and a sharp face suited for scowling. On the left was the boy, trim of frame with dark hair cut short. And in the middle was the second girl, an albino, with porcelain-white skin and a short bob of pale blue hair. Unlike the other two, she was awake. Or at the very least, her bloodred eyes were open.

…

As he stirred from his slumber, Shinji Ikari was met with a pair of empty red eyes, staring vacantly into his own.

The three of them always slept together, being unwilling to be apart from one another for the length of the night. They even had a loose system to go about things, each of them taking turns being the one in the middle. However, their system was kept loose for a reason, as sometimes one of them would have a Bad Day, and would need the extra comfort.

Yesterday, Rei had a Bad Day.

Shinji had hoped that spending the night with him and Asuka holding her tight would help, as it often did, but it seemed that she was still pretty bad off. He sighed, and moved his hand from where it lay on Rei's thigh to cup her cheek.

Rei did not respond to the touch. To anyone that did not know any better, they might think that Shinji was caressing the face of a corpse.

However, though her eyes did not blink and her face did not change, she finally lifted her own hand to lay against the back of Shinji's, giving his fingers a small squeeze.

Then she finally moved, leaning in to bury her face in Shinji's chest.

On the other side of Rei, Shinji heard a sleepy yawn. The covers shifted, and Asuka rose up. She yawned again, rubbing her eyes with her fist, before looking down at the pair.

"Still?" she said, her voice still slurring from sleepiness.

Holding Rei to him, Shinji nodded.

Sighing, Asuka laid herself against Rei's back. "Okay," she said, brushing Rei's hair away to kiss her cheek. "Half an hour. Then we got to get up."

Her face still buried in Shinji's chest, Rei gave a small nod.

Then Asuka glanced up at Shinji. She leaned in, and Shinji raised his head to let her lips briefly brush against his own before she laid herself back again, wrapping her arms around Rei to lay on the back of Shinji's hips. Shinji responded in kind, taking both girls into his arms as he let his eyes close again.

…

"Wark!"

Pen-Pen the warm-water penguin lunged up to catch the piece of diced fish that Asuka had flipped his way. Over on the stove, the copper teakettle began to sing, its shrill whistle announcing that it had completed its task. Shinji lifted it from the stove's burner as he tried to concentrate on the various hot pans and pots he was managing, but the girl sleepily hanging off of him did make that difficult.

Their home was both cluttered and organized. Though it was only the three of them (plus Pen-Pen), and though their apartment had three bedrooms, they still found a way to make use of every centimeter of space. They shared the largest of the bedrooms, while another had been converted into a game room, complete with a pool table that had taken two whole days to wrestle inside and a large projector screen, while the third had become their combination study and library, the walls lined with a myriad of bookshelves filled with everything from pieces of popular fiction to manga and comic collections to academic works, with several comfortable chairs and couches laid out in-between. The living room and kitchen were still that, albeit extremely hodgepodge with the random assortment of furniture that they had scavenged, along with various personal effect that they all brought in, from Shinji's vintage record collection to the various bladed weapons Asuka had salvaged from the mall to the colorful tapestries that Rei had taken a liking to. Potted plants sat or hung almost everywhere, bringing a sense of life and freshening up the air.

As for the other apartments on their floor, they also saw use, from the one serving as dry storage to the one that served as their workshop and where the generator was installed. Getting all the wires routed to where they needed to go while remaining unobtrusive had been…a challenge, but when that old CTR television finally turned on and the refrigerator hummed to life, it had all been worth it. And yet another apartment served as Shinji's music studio, another had been converted into their gym, while Asuka had turned another into her personal vault, with everything that they had scavenged from NERV in an attempt to piece together just what the fuck they had been up to. Still another was their armory. Shinji didn't like thinking about that one, but they all regularly made sure that it was secure and everything stored inside was in working order.

All in all, an incredible amount of work had gone into making their home not only livable, but actually feeling like a home, and there still was a great deal of work to do. Asuka often spoke of wanting to convert one of the lower stories into an animal nursey of some kind, while Shinji often mused over fixing up the damaged parts of the building just for the sake of it. But those were plans for the future. For now, they were very satisfied with their home.

It had taken some coaxing, but Rei had gotten up, though she had only managed to throw on a gossamer green nightgown and nothing else, and now was now leaning against Shinji's back, arms draped around his neck as she rested her head against his shoulder. Shinji, who honestly wasn't that much more dressed with only a pair of boxers under his apron, did his best to keep an eye on the eggs, potatoes, fish, and rice porridge while keeping his balance.

Asuka stood next to him, at least partially dressed in a long shirt beneath the apron she was wearing, chopping away at vegetables and fresh fruit. She had a small dish of unused chunks of salmon, and every now and then she'd toss one into the waiting beak of Pen-Pen, who hovered at her feet with his mouth open wide in expectation.

Of all the bits and pieces that they had managed to scavenge together to build their new life, Pen-Pen was, by far, the most unexpected but the most welcome. During their first few months in, he and Asuka had gone out to investigate their former schoolfriends' homes, hoping against hope that some had of them had been spared.

Inside, the empty clothes reeking of LCL had dashed all of their hopes. However, to their mutual shock, in Hikari Horaki's apartment they had come across the poor penguin listlessly wandering around. He clearly had been close to starvation, and given their meager supplies at the time, his survival had not been a sure thing. But whoever had been the one to design the genetically-modified penguin clearly wanted their opus to be made of sterner stuff than his lesser cousins, and he had pulled through. Good thing too, as taking care of Pen-Pen had kept Shinji and Asuka's hands from each other's' throats for a time, at least until they had found Rei.

"You know, if you keep that up, he's going to burn something," Asuka remarked as she glanced over to where Rei was still hanging off of Shinji. "Which might be himself."

"Mmmm. But he's so nice and warm," Rei murmured as she nuzzled Shinji's neck. Though the bulk of his attention was on breakfast, Shinji couldn't help but smile a little.

Asuka sighed. "Okay, that's it. Come on, you." Setting her knives aside, she took Rei by the elbow and pulled her away from Shinji. The albino girl mumbled in protest and made a half-hearted attempt to cling to Shinji, but Asuka won out and marched her over to the table and made her sit down, pressing a warm mug of tea into her hands. Rei sighed and settled into place, gently sipping her tea even though she still seemed half-asleep, her body sway back and forth as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Please tell me you at least got some sleep," Asuka said over her shoulder as she returned to the cutting board, giving Pen-Pen's head a little scratch as she passed. "Wark," he warbled happily.

"Some," Rei muttered. "But it did not help. My dreams were…disturbing."

Shinji, who was finishing up at the stove, couldn't help but wince.

"I dreamed that I was once again Lilith, about to enact Third Impact. I held the whole of humanity in my hands, and tore apart the barriers between their essences. However, rather than tear down the walls that separated their consciousnesses, I instead rent them apart, destroying their souls. Over and over I did this, maliciously destroying ever single human life."

Sighing, Asuka walked over to Rei. "Hey," she said, sitting down next to her. "Idiot. You're not Lilith. What she did isn't on you."

"That is…factually incorrect," Rei said with a shudder. "I was created from her. She and I became one. Her thoughts were mine, and my thoughts were hers. Through me, she destroyed the-"

Growling in annoyance, Asuka flicked her in the head. Rei blinked.

"Oh, just shut up already," Asuka snapped as Shinji gathered the large amount of food onto the serving cart that they had salvaged from the hospital. "I don't remember anyone asking your consent before they stuck a big wad of Angel DNA into you. Or when you got your soul ripped in half. Or when they jammed all those drugs into you. Face it, Rei-Rei: you can weigh yourself down with that bullshit all you want, but we all know who's really at fault."

Rei didn't respond. Shinji didn't either, instead quietly wheeling the cart over to the table. Though part of him felt compelled to point out that while Rei might have been the most essential component of the switch that had destroyed the world, she at least was innocent of the decision to throw it.

That had been his.

He did not mention this, however, mainly because he knew that it would annoy Asuka. And though the hotheaded German had come a long way from her disdainful, almost hostile feelings toward them that she held when they all first met, her tolerance for her companions' frequent bouts of self-loathing had long since been exhausted. Instead, the two of them silently served out the very large breakfast that they had prepared. Scrambled eggs and fried salmon for protein; diced potatoes fried with onions and peppers for the carbs; rice porridge seasoned with honey and raisins; a fruit salad of melon slices, oranges, grapes, and strawberries; and bowl of hot onion broth for each. Green tea for Rei, black tea for Asuka, and mint for Shinji, with a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice to share. For Pen-Pen, Asuka laid out a bowl of the remaining bits of uncooked fish mixed with rice.

Despite her sleepiness, Rei's crimson eyes lit up as soon as she saw the display. "Oh!" she cried, happily clasping her hands. "It all looks so good!" Shinji smiled at her joy. The spread really wasn't any better or worse than it was every other day, but Rei's delight to his cooking was always appreciated.

It was well that they did not lack for food, because they definitely needed a lot of it. The way their bodies were now definitely had its advantages, but one keen disadvantage was how quickly they burned through calories, so much so that Rei eventually had to work her way through her revulsion for meat out of simple necessity. The times before they had been able to produce their own food had been lean and hungry, but then, just about everything about those times had been one flavor of Hell or another.

"Tell you what," Asuka said once all three of them were seated and hungrily going to work. "How about we all head down to main street? Fish up some dinner, and have a little fun? It's been forever since we all went swimming."

Rei's face lit up. "Swimming! Yes. Absolutely, yes."

Shinji frowned. "I don't know. We shouldn't be leaving the herbs-"

"Come ooonnnn, Shinji!" Asuka whined. "We can do that when we get back! The three of us can get it done in no time!"

At this, Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Well, given what happened the last time you messed around in the garden, that's probably not a-" Asuka leaned to one side to kick him in the calf. "-ow!"

"So, you agree, then?" Asuka said, giving Shinji a rather pointed look. "Swimming trip. The three of us. Today."

"I haven't actually agreed to-" Shinji started to say.

"Great. It's decided then!" Asuka declared in triumph. She smugly gestured with her spoon. "You're long overdue to break out that cute little frilly number, and I can finally put that sexy red one I've been saving to good use. If that's not motivation, then I don't know what is."

Shinji briefly glanced at what they were currently wearing. "Asuka, we're practically naked as it is."

"Hmph," Asuka snorted around a mouthful of potatoes. "Trust a blockhead like you to not know the different between casual, around-the-house nudity and stylish provocation."

"Can we hit up the mall when we're doing?" Rei inquired.

"Sure!" Asuka said. "It's been too long since we gave that place a good casing."

Well, it would seem that their day was actively being replanned. Sipping from his mug, Shinji shot a glance over to Rei, who met his gaze, her eyebrows raised. Shinji rolled his eyes, though he couldn't resist the smile he felt forming. Asuka was nothing but incorrigible, especially when she had a goal in mind, and that goal happened to be cheer one of her companions up.

"Ah! Ah, see! I see that smile!" Asuka smirked. "It's working already!"

Shinji's smile disappeared. "No, it's not."

"Don't lie. I know what I saw."

Rei snorted, a very undignified sound, especially coming from her. It probably was supposed to be derisive, but then she caught sight of the very undignified face that Asuka was making, and that snort dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Wark?" Pen-Pen inquired, lifting his head to stare at his human companions in puzzlement, a strip of fish still dangling from his beak. That set off Rei anew, causing both girls to break out into laughter.

Shinji's smile grew. Good. If Rei was giggling, then the battle was half-won already. Perhaps the swimming trip was unnecessary.

But then, Shinji reflected as he resumed his breakfast, Asuka was right. It had been a while since the three of them had gone swimming together, and it did sound like fun. Besides, he also wanted to see Rei in that cute little frilly number.

"All right," he said. "But we're taking care of the garden first. Besides, the animals still need to be fed, after all."

"Fine, fine," Asuka groused.

"And you're helping me with lunch. If we're packing a meal, then I don't want to be doing all the work."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "That seems…inadvisable. Considering."

"Hey," Asuka said, sounding wounded. "My cooking's just fine. Just because his is better doesn't mean I can't contribute." She turned to Shinji. "But you're riding the rapids afterward."

Shinji paused, his spoon halfway to his porridge. "Hey, nobody said anything about the rapids!"

"I just did. You're doing it."

"No, I'm not! Last time I smashed my leg to pieces!"

"It was a minor fracture that was good as new by lunchtime. You're doing the rapids."

"I quite enjoy the rapids, actually," Rei offered. "They are…" She turned to Asuka. "What is the word?"

"Lunacy?" Shinji darkly suggested, scooping up porridge and irritably shoving it into his mouth.

"Exhilarating?" Asuka suggested. "Exciting? Fun as fuck?"

"Yes! All of those things."

Shinji sighed. "Okay, fine. I better not crack my head open, though."

"If you do, I'll kiss it better," Asuka mumbled through a mouthful of potatoes and onions.

"You'll do that anyway," Rei pointed out.

"Shush."

…

They called it the garden, but in truth, it was more of a small farm, spread over the rooftops of the buildings on their block.

The top of their own building was mostly given over to the solar panels that had taken them an entire summer to set up. Weirdly enough, getting the panels into position had been the easy part, though it really didn't feel like it at the time. It was getting all the wiring hooked up to the downstairs generator in as an unobtrusive way as possible that had really been difficult.

A bridge of metal girders and plywood slats stretched over to the next rooftop. There, about a fifth had been sequestered for the potted plants, from the herbs and spices to the peppers to the berry plants, all in neat rows. A larger section was used for the planters, where the larger vegetables were grown. Though the garden was open-air, they also had a large, plastic tent that could be set up to cover the plants should the weather get bad. On the opposite side of the roof they had the chicken coop, the rabbit hutch, and a small pen with two goats. And on the rooftop on the next building, also joined by a makeshift bridge, was where they had planted their "fields," as they called them. Long planters grew things like rice, corn, and even wheat. Flowering fruit trees sitting in large pots took up a third of that roof.

Putting it all together had taken literal years, but in the end, it was worth it. They could grow their own food, in whatever quantities they wanted. They had power. And though tending to the fields took an immense amount of work, Shinji was glad for it. It kept them busy. It kept them active. It kept them moving.

Humming to himself, Shinji went from planter to planter, checking the state of each plant, pruning away any dead leaves and searching for parasites. Behind him, Asuka followed, wheeling the pump-hose. One of these days, they would figure out how to reconnect all of the building's plumbing and get the rooftop hoses working again, but until then, they worked with what they had.

"Remember to ration it out," Shinji told her from over his shoulder. "Or else you'll have to refill it twice."

"I know, I know," Asuka grumbled. "That only happened once."

From over where she was feeding the animals, Rei called, "If I recall, you ran out of water because you insisted on spraying me every time my back was turned."

The memory perked up the edge of Shinji's mouth. Yeah, that had been pretty funny. Annoying, but funny, especially since Rei hadn't seen it coming.

As he went from plant to plant, Shinji so happened to cast a look to his right, out over the edge of the building at the rest of Tokyo-3. His smile died.

Though he hadn't been the one to actually kill the city (one could thank the JSSDF for that), he was the reason why it stayed dead. Once it had been a thriving metropolis, and even after so many had fled due to the frequent Angel attacks, it had still boasted a couple hundred thousand. Now, a little over a percent had returned, and those who hadn't had been washed out to sea.

Now, all he saw was the devastation, from the bombed-out buildings to the smashed streets to the wild nature that had rushed in to reclaim the land. Occasionally he'd see some of the survivors passing by, and that would sober him up even further. All of them had once had a perfectly normal life, or as normal as one could have in Tokyo-3, with jobs and modern amenities. Now they were forced to fight for survival, not knowing what their future held, not knowing if their loved ones would ever return. Meanwhile, he and the girls were practically wallowing in luxury by comparison, their futures safe and secure.

No wonder they hate us, Shinji thought. With a sad shake of his head, he turned his attention back to the plants.

Shinji.

Shinji caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and instinctively glanced in its direction. The clippers paused over the stem of a withered leaf. He slowly lowered his hand, and then stood up.

"And I'm not doing that now, am I?" Asuka shot back. "So, no need to lecture me about…Shinji?"

Kaworu.

Standing on the rooftop across from them. Staring at him.

Kaworu.

Wearing his old school uniform. Favoring Shinji with a warm smile. Arm outstretched toward him, beckoning.

Come back to me, Shinji. Come back to me.

Yes. Come back to him. Just walk toward him. Walk off of the edge. Leave. Return to the feeling of oneness. Leave this cold, hard world. Never have to worry about anything ever again. Never-

Then a warm hand gently pried the clippers out his fingers. "Hey," Asuka said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Need a spotter?"

Shinji's face twitched. Without even looking at her, he gave a brief nod.

"Where and what?"

"I…rooftop. Over there. Kaworu Nagisa. Holding his hand out to me."

Asuka looked in the direction that Shinji's eyes were pointed. "Nothing," she said. "There's nothing there. Just the fields."

Shinji's vision misted, and he had to close his eyes and wipe away the tears. When he opened them again, Kaworu was gone.

"Easy, there," Asuka said, drawing him into her arms. "I'm here. He's not. Concentrate on that, okay?"

Shinji slowly exhaled. His arms curled around her as well, feeling the warmth of her body against his, feeling the tickle of her breath against his lips, feeling the life in her. She was here. She was alive. And she was real.

He nodded once. "Okay," he murmured.

"Okay, come here," Asuka said as she took his hand. The German girl led Shinji over to a nearby bench and sat him down. "Take deep breaths. It'll pass."

Nodding again, Shinji did as he was bid. The hallucinations always left them shaken. The ones that were merely auditory were easier to handle, despite how troubling hearing the voices of long-dead friends might be. But it was the ones that you saw that really messed you up.

"Thanks," he said at last. He still shivered, but his head was starting to clear at least.

Still holding his hand, Asuka gave Shinji's shoulder a good rubbing. "Pretty boy isn't coming back, okay? No need to go walking off a rooftop for his sake."

"I know," Shinji said as a full-body shiver swept through him. Though many of those who they had known in the before-times had returned from Instrumentality, Kaworu was one that Shinji did not expect to ever see emerging from the sea of LCL. "But sometimes I really wish that he'd would."

Asuka scowled. "Hey now. Trying to make us jealous?"

Though Shinji knew that Asuka was just trying to lift his spirits through teasing, he couldn't bring himself to smile. "You'd think, after all this time, that I'd forget how it felt. Holding his body in my hand. The way he smiled at me, thanking me for doing it. Feeling him break and shatter as I-"

"Easy, easy!" Asuka's seized Shinji's hand with both of her own and squeezed it tight. "Just relax. Deep breaths. Remember: what do we say?"

Shinji did as he was instructed, inhaling long and slow and exhaling in the same manner. "The past is dead," Shinji said. "And now is now. Now is now. Now is now."

Over and over he repeated that mantra, the words flowing out of him like water, a well-practiced recitation that led him through the fit.

"There you go," Asuka said as Shinji began to calm. She gave his shoulder an encouraging shake. "See? All better now."

Shinji's smile was weak, but genuine. "Well." He gave her fingers a grateful squeeze. "Better than it was."

He stood up, shaking his head to banish the last of the ghost wisps. As he did, he caught sight of Rei, standing over by the chicken coop, watching the pair in concern.

He gave her a small half-wave to reassure her that he was okay. She slowly nodded. It wasn't as if he had to explain what had just happened. All three of them were haunted.

…

Asuka could be pretty pushy sometimes, but she had good reason. None of them could be said to be in the best of mental health. Much, much better than they had been, certainly, but there was no denying the deep emotional scars that they all bore.

One thing that they all had learned was that the important thing was to Keep Moving. Find something to do. Keep the body and mind occupied, lest they succumb fully to the soul's pain. It wasn't a perfect system, and did little to actually address the dark clouds that constantly swirled at the backs of their minds. But it did help keep their heads above water. Which, Shinji noted as he got ready to go, was a sort of ironic comparison, as they would soon be submerged in it.

Though Rei had happily agreed to Asuka's plans, she still needed something of a minder to keep her going, lest she slip back into the deep end. If left alone, she might shut down completely. As such, after she and Shinji had finished packing their part for the trip, Shinji decided to help her change.

Rei was compliant as he led her back to their room. She even undressed on her own and headed over to her dresser to retrieve her swimsuit. However, as she was bending over, she caught sight of Shinji standing still and watching her.

"What is it?" she said, looking over her shoulder with one silver-blue eyebrow raised.

In times past, Shinji might have blushed in embarrassment and hastily turned away with a stammered apology. But too much had happened since those days. "You know what," he said, taking the time to give her slender body a slow, appreciative look.

There. Another smile. Shaking her head in amusement, Rei retrieved the swimsuit Asuka had requested and stood up, her hands coming up behind her back to unclasp her bra.

Finally deciding to be at least a bit of a gentleman, Shinji turned and pulled his dark blue swim trunks from his own dresser. He had only just dropped his boxers when he felt a pair of eyes on him.

Turning his head, he saw Rei standing there in nothing but her swimsuit bottoms, staring openly at him.

Shinji paused, and then pulled his trunks up. "What?" he said, turning toward her. "Come on, it's nothing you haven't seen before."

"True," she agreed, finally slipping her top on. "However, the same could be said of you. Besides, I still enjoy looking at you. It is…pleasing to me."

Rei's swimsuit was cute two-piece of a dark blue, one with a frilly skirt that fell just past the curve of her hips and more frills draped over her breasts. Asuka had been right. It did look good on her.

Unfortunately, even that small smile he had managed to coax out of her did not last, and soon her lovely face was downcast, while the energy seemed to drain from her shoulders, taking the enthusiasm she had showed that morning with it.

Shinji was there before she started to droop. "Hey, easy," he said, drawing her into his arms. "Don't want you to fall again."

Sighing, Rei leaned her head into his bare shoulder. "I am fine. I just…became very sleepy all of a sudden."

Shinji's mouth set into a straight line. "You really didn't get any sleep at all, did you?"

"I did. Enough to dream. But it was…insufficient."

Shinji nodded. He knew what that felt like. "Rei, are you really feeling up to this? Because if you're not-"

"No, it's fine," Rei insisted. "I do want to. After all, I have to keep moving." Moving back, she reached up with one warm hand to gently caress Shinji's face. "But what of you? You already hallucinated once today."

Shinji slowly breathed out. "Yeah," he said. "It's been three days, so I guess I was due."

"Are you going to have a Bad Day?"

"Not if Asuka has anything to say about," Shinji said with a small chuckle. "But maybe she's right. If it happens, then it'll happen no matter where I am." He drew Rei in closer. "Might as well have some fun in the meantime."

The soft patter of Rei's heart droned comfortingly against Shinji's chest as he tightened his arms around her warm body. To think, there had been a time when the mere thought of touching her had filled him with revulsion.

But that had been a different time. A dark time. A time of black and red, when all he knew was an unending cycle of misery and pain, where the drive to survive had been fueled by little more than his inability to die, when all he had for company was Asuka, and the two of them thoroughly despised one another at the time.

But when forced to fester on the corpse of a world murdered by your hands, even the company of a loathed enemy was preferable to silence and solitude. In time, they grew to tolerate one another, perhaps even appreciate each other's presence. Bringing Pen-Pen into their lives helped immensely, and for a little bit, it seemed that the gulf between him and the redhead looked to be healing.

And then came that fateful day, when Asuka had insisted that they return to NERV headquarters in seek of some answers. Answers they did find, though truthfully, Shinji often felt that he was better off not knowing.

But they also found something else.

What is she doing here? How is she even alive? She's dead! I felt her die!

His throat tightened. The faces and voices of their long-dead friends weren't the only ghosts that haunted them still.

You evil bitch! You did this! You-Get off of me, idiot! Don't you dare defend her, not after what she did, what you both did!

Rei's rediscovery had not been pleasant. But then, nothing was in those days.

And that had been a long time ago.

Rei shifted herself against him, drawing back just enough to lift her mouth to his own. He reciprocated, allowing himself to be drawn into the sweetness of those soft lips.

Of course, Asuka had to ruin it.

"Shinji!" she called from the other room. "Where's the spear-gun?"

Sighing, Shinji parted from Rei. "I thought you had it last!" he called back.

"I didn't ask who had it last; I asked where it was! Ugh, Rei, have you seen the spear-gun?"

"Many times," Rei said neutrally, stepping back. She stuck her finger into the back of her swimsuit's bottom to adjust how it fit around her rear cheeks.

"Smartass, you know what I meant!"

"Did you check in the kitchen cabinet?" Shinji called. "You know, above the cups?"

"What? Why the hell would it be there? Are you seriously-Oh."

A small smirk tugged at Shinji's mouth.

Asuka stuck her head into the room to scowl at the pair, the spear-gun in question held in one hand. "Okay, how the hell did you know that it would be there? There is-" The German brunette paused. She blinked once, and then fully entered the room to openly stare.

"Well," she said, holding up her hands, pointer fingers and thumbs extended to mime a photographer making a portrait. "Was I right or was I right? Damn, that looks good on you!"

"Thank you," Rei said.

Smirking, Asuka then turned her attention to Shinji. She frowned, and so did he.

"What?" he said, spreading his hands.

"Shinji, you've worn those old things for years," Asuka complained, gesturing at his trunks in disappointment. "Don't you think it's time to trade up?"

Shinji's frown deepened into a scowl. "You picked these out, remember?"

"Yeah! Four years ago! Come on, don't you ever think of getting a little more, I don't know, daring? I'm sure we could find you a cute speedo."

"No," Shinji said in a flat tone.

"Ugh. Fine. Boy thong, then."

"Wouldn't that be more-or-less the same thing?" Rei wondered.

"Doesn't matter," Shinji said as firmly as he could. "I'm not doing it."

"Shinji, who's even going to see except us?" Asuka said in exasperation.

Shinji folded his arms over his chest. "Don't care. It's not me. I'm not doing it."

"Oh fine," Asuka complained as she stomped over to her own dresser, easily the largest of the three. She began stripping off her clothing as she went. "Fashionless troglodyte. I swear, if it weren't for me, you two would still be wearing those same stupid uniforms until they dissolved to strips!"

"What would it matter?" Rei inquired as the now nude Asuka rummaged around her drawers. "As you said: there is no one to see us except each other."

"Yes! Exactly! And that is also the only people that matter! Ah, there you are!"

The scarlet swimsuit that Asuka pulled out and began to slip on was technically a one-piece, though in true Asuka fashion, it was designed to bare as much skin as possible, consisting of three slings that passed over her crotch and both breasts to join together over her navel. "There!" she declared, tying it off behind her back and turning toward the other two. Grinning fetchingly, she struck a rather sensual pose, imitating that of a pin-up model.

"It is fine," Rei said calmly. Shinji frowned, pursing his lips out as he examined Asuka with a critical eye. Then he stuck a hand out and waggled it.

Asuka's cheeky grin darkened into a glare. "Ass," she complained, throwing her shirt at him.

Shinji caught it with a laugh. "It looks amazing on you," he said, tossing the shirt onto the bed. And that wasn't just simple flattery. Asuka had always been alarmingly attractive, something that nine years under harsh survival conditions had done nothing to dull. But then, when time and change have both forgotten you, that wasn't that difficult.

Not that Asuka was completely unchanged. In fact, there were a few things that those who knew her from before Third Impact would immediately take notice of. Namely, the red scars covering her torso with memories of teeth and claws, that now bisected one arm, and now covered one eye. But to Shinji and Rei, those were now as much a part of her as any of her other assets, and did nothing to take away from how attractive they found her.

"Of course it does," Asuka huffed. Then she marched over to the other two to insert herself between them. "Now, come on, my lovelies. Our pool date awaits."

Amused, Shinji led himself be led along with Rei, only separating from Asuka's arms to grab up their bundles, Shinji with the food, Asuka with the fishing and gathering gear, and Rei with the basic necessities. Once everyone had something, they headed out of their apartment to descend toward the lower levels.

By agreement with Tokyo-4's fledgling communities, the three of them were the only inhabitants of not only the building, but the whole block. Those who knew of them left them well enough alone, and in his infrequent dealings with other people, Shinji had started to get the feeling that those who lived in those camps had come to regard the surviving Evangelion pilots as living urban legends. There was a sort of cryptid mystique to them, which he had no problem with, as it kept people away.

However, as they passed one open door, he still clearly heard someone call out, Well, well, well, my little Shinji. You really have become a player, haven't you. Didn't even need that grown-up kiss that I gave you!

Out of the corner of his eye, Shinji caught sight of a couch, sitting in the darkness. And on that couch was a human figure, that of a lazily lounging woman. He hastily looked away.

"Spotter," he mumbled. "Apartment to my right. Misato on the couch."

What, you won't even look at me? That hurts my feelings, Shinji!

Asuka and Rei both exchanged looks. Them they leaned over to check inside of the apartment.

"No one," Rei said at last. "The apartment is empty."

"She's right," Asuka added. "There's nobody."

Shinji slowly exhaled, though his heart pounded still. Then, though he dreaded to do so, he slowly turned to look.

An empty couch in an empty apartment.

Rei closed the door. "We should be more be more careful about leaving unused rooms open," she said.

"Right," Shinji said after a beat had gone by. "Agreed."

The girls both fell silent, and then Rei walked up to Shinji's side, across from Asuka, and took his hand.

"It is not yet noon, and you have already had two hallucinations," she noted. Her thumb gently caressed the back of his hand.

"Yeah," Shinji said after a bit. "I did." He glanced over to Rei. "Guess it's my turn to have a Bad Day."

"Oh, no," Asuka growled. "You're not. You're having a good day; we all are! And no stupid, annoying ghosts are going to stop us, understand?"

"Understood," Shinji said without hesitation.

That only increased Asuka's glower. "Oh no," she said, releasing his hand so that she could flick him in the nose. "None of this 'Asuka's angry, so I better agree to everything that she says' crap! I need to know that you mean it! Understand?"

Rubbing where Asuka's fingers had hit his nose, Shinji shot her a look and said, "Ah, yes ma'am?"

"Was that an answer, or a question?" Asuka barked.

Shinji sighed. "Sor-I mean, okay. Got it. We will have fun. Nobody's day will be ruined."

"Better damned not be!" Asuka said in smug triumph. Then her scowl reappeared, and she leaned forward to glower at Rei, who still stood at Shinji's other side. "Hey! Didn't hear any confirmation from you, Rei-Rei!"

"I understand, Pilot Soryu," Rei calmly responded. "We will spend the day engaged in recreational aquatic activities as means of initiating a dopamine response in hopes of cleansing our minds of all negative emotion still lingering from my psychotic break from yesterday."

Before Asuka could come up with a response, Rei suddenly thrusted both fists into the air and yelled, "So let's fucking GOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOOO!"

With that, she ran ahead, fists still in the air, still whooping as she disappeared into the stairwell to the lower floors.

Shinji and Asuka gawked after her. Then Shinji burst out laughing.

"Okay, that proves it," Asuka growled as Shinji doubled over in hysterics. "That proves it! Every time she starts doing the monotone doll thing again, it's specifically to fuck with me!"

Struggling to breathe, Shinji forced himself back up. "I…woo…I don't think it's every time," he said, wiping away tears of mirth. "But definitely some of the time."

Asuka rolled her eyes, but then she gave a small chuckle of her own. "Well, good for her, then!" Then, with a twinkle in her eye, she ran forward as well, hauling Shinji behind her. "Hurry up then, idiot! Let's go release some dopamine!"

…

Okay, unlike the other (After)Life installments, this one's actually going to be chaptered, with four chapters total, and is the first scenario I came up with for this project.

Look, I had just finished rewatching the series, felt really bad for the core trio, and really wanted them to settle into a polyamorous post-apocalyptic paradise, okay?

Also, if anyone so happens to be familiar with certain doujins by Studio Wallaby and finds certain aspects of this story familiar, then it's not a coincidence.

Until next time, everyone!