"You're too slow!"

Asuka was fuming. This had been at least the thirtieth attempt at this goddamn rhythm sequence, and Rei still could not do it right.

"I am as quick as the rhythm demands," Rei defended herself. There was no emotion in her voice, and that riled Asuka up even more. It made it sound like Rei was stating the obvious and that she considered Asuka just too dumb to see it.

"You don't react quickly enough!" Asuka accused her. "That's why we never manage that sequence."

"Most failures have been due to the imprecision of your movements," Rei claimed calmly.

"Imprecision?" Asuka exploded. "You..."

A loud, annoyed grunt by Misato cut the argument short. While Asuka and Rei had tried their best on the dance mat, the Captain had sat at a nearby table and watched. "We already had that same argument ten attempts ago. Look, girls, that's the entire point of this training: You need to take each other into account. If Rei is 'slow', you'll have to adapt to that, Asuka. And Rei, if Asuka is 'imprecise', you will have to adapt to that."

"Oh come on, you don't believe that yourself!" Asuka complained. "That whole plan is ridiculous. Getting into harmony through dancing? Kaji must have been out of his mind! What was he thinking? You don't seriously believe that will help. You just don't want to lose your job."

"If that angel comes through, I'll lose more than just my job," Misato reminded her. "We all will."

"Which is exactly why we shouldn't rely on such... such... petty frivolities!" Asuka shouted, grabbing her right sleeve, holding it up to show it to Misato. "What – the hell – were you thinking?"

"No need not to have a little bit of fun," Misato pouted.

"At our expense," Asuka pointed out. She really hated the clothes Misato had prepared for them, which looked like a cross between yoga clothing and ballet dancer outfits. If I had wanted to become an artsy hippie I could have moved to Kreuzberg...

"Sometimes you can be just as much a buzzkill as Shinji is," Misato muttered.

Asuka glared at her. This was the first day of Misato's plan, which she claimed to have gotten from Kaji, and it already was plenty obvious just how stupid that plan was. The first part of it that for an entire week, Asuka and Rei should never leave one another's side. "Sleep, breath and eat together", as Misato had called it. Yeaaah, no perverted associations there...

That already was bad enough. It was not that Asuka was not happy whenever Rei came out of her 'creepy statue' role, like when she had smiled or the fact that she was now in a more appropriate apartment. She just preferred it when Rei did most of that nicely far away from her. Overall, Asuka still thought the blue-haired girl was at best a dullard, at worst a freak.

The second part of the plan was to get the two to synchronize their movements. And in order to do so, they were supposed to play silly games on dancing mats. It was frankly childish, so it was no wonder Misato was so amused by it all – something that only added to Asuka's frustration.

"Leave Shinji out of this!" she told Misato. Her former guardian raised her eyebrow at that. Urgh. I wonder where her perverted mind has wandered again. So, she added: "Even second-rate pilots like him deserve better than to be living with you."

Misato sighed. "This... isn't getting us anywhere. And I need a beer." She ignored Asuka muttering about how she always does. "Let's have a break. Don't you have about half a million boxes to unpack anyway, Asuka?"

"Well excuse me for actually being civilized and cultured!" Asuka shot back. "That comes with some... necessities. And since I will be here for one week, I need to have those here."

"The amount of boxes seems excessive for containing just necessities," Rei commented calmly.

Asuka was about to yell out that yes, of course Rei would think so, given what a dump the bluehead's apartment was. But she swallowed it down when she did in fact think of that apartment. EVA pilots should not live in such filth. Maybe Rei just did not know better.

Instead Asuka just groaned. "Whatever. I do need to unpack some things. Come and help me, Rei."

"No," the First Child simply replied.

Asuka did a double take. "What?"

"Unpacking boxes is not part of my mission parameters," Rei told her.

Asuka laughed. It was a short, surprised laugh. Okay, that one was good. Who knew she could be defiant? Then she immediately turned that laugh into a further annoyed groan and stepped out into the corridor, which was made nearly impassable by literally dozens of boxes stacked there.

"You don't need to help her, Rei," Asuka heard Misato behind her. "But you do need to be in the same room as her, so off you go."

Asuka groaned again, genuinely this time.

Finally. Home.

That thought came automatically to Shinji as he walked up to 'his' apartment bloc. He wondered about it briefly; it probably showed how things between him and Misato had turned around for the better again. At least until I'm deployable against the next angel...

In any case, it was difficult not to feel relieved about coming home. School had been same old, same old, but it had actually, really bothered him that, of course, Ayanami had not been in her usual place, waiting for him to come. The thought of a whole week without that usual daily highlight made him feel vaguely sad. And then he had needed to go straight to NERV, for yet another attempt to get him synched with EVA-01. Having a synch-test all by himself had been uncomfortably reminiscent of his earliest days as a pilot. When the thought of having to pilot had driven him to such despair that he had even considered if this was a life worth living. And of course the test had been another failure; he still could not synch with his Evangelion. Or more properly now, Ayanami's Evangelion... Worse, Dr Akagi had told him they would repeat the test again in two days.

"Home" was definitely preferable to all of that. He wondered how things would go from here. It was... liberating to de facto not be an active pilot anymore, but how long would they still put up with him if he continued to fail to synch? And besides, it was somewhat irresponsible to feel relieved over his failures. There were after all good reasons why he had to pilot EVA. It was just that those good reasons did not at all change how he felt. He still hated piloting. In a way, the knowledge that it was necessary only made it worse, as this meant there really was no escape from it.

Except for failure. But what then about the need to stop the angels?

There was a difference now, though, to his earliest days at NERV. He still hated piloting, but he now also had things besides piloting. Misato was changing, now seemingly caring about more than just teasing him and about his piloting capabilities. He had Touji and Kensuke as friends. He had Ayanami, who would always listen to him and reply in that soft, soothing voice of hers to which he could, frankly, listen for hours. He really meant to keep his promise to keep her safe; she was too unique and precious to be lost. And then there was Soryu... Asuka... He had not had the opportunity to speak with her since the angel attack. But to have found someone who could easily and immediately understand what had happened to him... because something so similar had happened to her... The prospect made Shinji's head whirl.

Maybe that was why he passed the door to Misato's apartment. Instead, he walked three apartments further. Of course, the official reason was to deliver homework and class notes to Asuka and Ayanami. But it would be good to see the two girls...

...Shinji stopped when he realized that. He immediately got going again, but when he stood in front of Asuka's and Ayanami's temporary apartment, he felt... concerned. That all those good things were happening to him in a time when he failed to synched, failed to be a pilot, that felt wrong.

Now feeling a bit down again he rang the doorbell and waited. And waited. And waited a bit more. He was about to turn around to lurch towards Misato's apartment, when the door finally opened. Rei stood at the other side, clothed in what looked like an almost cliched aerobics attire. What? Shinji did not think he had ever seen her in something else than plugsuit, school uniform or swimming attire. Or a towel... Aaanyway, this is new. And odd. And he had to admit, also damn cute. She looked at him and then... breathed out? Shinji was confused.

The bluehead turned her head around and spoke: "It is as I have said. There is someone at the door. It is Ikari."

In an instant, Asuka came rushing to the door. She was wearing mostly a much too large shirt. "Finally somebody sane!" she exclaimed.

"Uhm... hello?" Shinji tried.

"Yes, yes, hello to you, too," Asuka answered. "Come in."

"Well, I just wanted to..." Shinji began.

"Come in. Now." Asuka ordered. "My own sanity may depend on it."

"Please," Ayanami added softly, in almost a whisper.

Slightly confused about the situation, he entered. Not that he could say no to Ayanami, and he probably also could not say no to Asuka, either.

"It's terrible!" Asuka exclaimed. "Do you know what your guardian makes us do?"

"She, uh, told me, yesterday," Shinji answered. In fact, in his opinion she had sounded all too gleeful about the prospect. She really doesn't know how to separate professional work from personal amusement...

"It's crazy!" Asuka almost shouted, and continued ranting as they walked towards the living room... or at least as much as the giant amount of carton boxes everywhere allowed. "Musical games as pilots training? That's so demeaning! I'm an elite pilot! I have fought and defeated angels! I deserve professional training! Not that this the worst thing, mind! Worse is that I have to live together with... with... her!" She gestured towards Ayanami. "And not just living together. In theory, we're supposed to be in the same damn room at all times! Yes, of course, as if that will somehow make us move in concert! Damn, neural surgeons must make a killing here in Japan, what with the copious amounts of brain removals NERV employees apparently undergo!"

The living room was only sparsely furnished. There was a small table with four chairs around it and a couch with a fabric that already looked a bit unhygienic. Between the two there was a mat on the floor, surrounded by loudspeakers and what appeared to be some sort of electronic displays.

Asuka sighed when she noticed Shinji's very much non-impressed look. "And yes, that is where they make us live. I mean, I get it's a temporary residence, and that they simply scrounged furniture together as they could find it, but I also understand we are to be in top condition to fight that angel in one week, and these surroundings are not helping."

"The surroundings are adequate," Ayanami opined.

Asuka growled, but to Shinji's surprise did not use that chance to take a jab at the bluehead. Instead Shinji said: "You can live here, yes, but... It's not very pretty."

"I doubt aesthetic concerns will affect our mission against the enemy," Ayanami stated.

"Well, no," Shinji admitted. "But don't you want to live somewhere nice for... your own... sake..." His voice trailed off, remembering her own apartment. He had not thought about it before, mostly because he had tried as much as possible not to think of his visit there, but now he suddenly felt very concerned with how she was normally living.

"We do not live just to defeat the angels!" Asuka exclaimed. She breathed out heavily. "You really should keep that in mind, you know. We're pretty much fighting for the fate of humanity here, are we not?"

"Yes," Ayanami confirmed.

"Good. Then let's live like humans!" Asuka concluded. "Might as well not fight, otherwise!"

Ayanami did not respond. That seemed to be her usual habit: When she had nothing to say, she simply remained silent. She had no affectations and no use for senseless blabbering. It was one factor that often made her presence so comforting to Shinji: She was enigmatic, yes, but also straightforward. She did not play games with people. In that regard, as in many others, Asuka was her direct opposite, and yet... Shinji could not say he disliked Asuka's habit to talk at length. He had never met someone who spoke so bluntly and irreverently and energetically. He liked how lively it was.

"Right," the redhead hence declared after several moments of silence. "Back to being hungry then, I guess." She grabbed a chair from the table and let herself fall onto it.

"Uh..." Shinji voiced.

"Wondergirl here thinks cooking isn't necessary," Asuka explained. "After all, we have the cold NERV military rations. Or, I should say, the military rations NERV acquired from the JSDF. Yes, one S. From before Second Impact."

"They are sufficient," Ayanami stated. "If you disagree, you are free to prepare your own meals."

Asuka groaned. "I thought there would be some sort of household plan for that stuff. If I want to start preparing a meal now, I'd have to go out, buy stuff, get back here, prepare it... urrrgh."

"Uh... actually..." Shinji spoke up hesitantly. He had an idea, but he was not the type to simply state it. That's one thing where Asuka and Ayanami are alike. Neither of them would have a problem with that.

"Yes?" Asuka prompted him. "Do people have to beat every single word out of you?"

"That would be unwise," Ayanami warned her.

Asuka looked at her dumbfounded. "I... shouldn't be surprised anymore. I definitely still have too much faith in humanity. So, Shinji, what were you stuttering?"

"Well, we have more than enough ingredients stocked," Shinji told her.

"Misato has?" Asuka exclaimed in surprise

"More like I have," Shinji admitted, muttering. "I'd rather not rely on her household logistics."

"That's probably a good idea," Asuka agreed. "So, you could lend me some stuff?"

"Ah... actually... I mean, if you really only have military rations here..." Shinji stammered. "And I'm cooking for Misato today, anyway... I could, uh, include you two."

Asuka tried her hardest to keep her face even, but her eyes lit up. Shinji was oddly pleased with himself that he could cause such a reaction, as much as Asuka tried to hide it.

"I suppose..." she mused, trying to appear as if to consider the offer. "It can only be better than those rations."

"What about you, Ayanami?" Shinji asked the bluehead.

He half expected her to refuse. Sad as it was, but keeping with what was "adequate" seemed to be in her nature. And she did remain quiet for a while. But then she surprised him. "Your soup was nice. You seem to be a good cook."

Shinji was fairly certain he was blushing now. Asuka shot dark glares over to Rei. He ignored it; he was used to not quite comprehending her behaviour. "So you'll come?" he asked Rei. The bluehead nodded quietly.

Asuka's mouth worked. She seemed to be unhappy again. But then she just sighed. "I suppose that's for the better. Maybe you will yet learn to live like a human being."

Shinji felt happy. Probably nobody was more surprised at that than him.

He had just wanted to offer his help to Asuka and Ayanami so he could be at least a little bit useful. If he could not synch with his EVA, thus forcing Ayanami to take over his job, then he could at least help them with their household problems. At least cook for them. He did not have a high opinion on his cooking skills, but it would at least be something he could do.

The whole thing had turned out better than he had expected.

Misato, Asuka, even Ayanami had all been positively enthusiastic in eating his food (Ayanami in her own, quiet way, of course). In fact, Asuka even had found some compliments for it... if probably only to needle Misato, saying that things sure had improved in her apartment since Germany.

This was the first time he had actually had people over in Misato's apartment, and the first time he had cooked for guests in Tokyo-3... or really, in general. He found he liked listening to Asuka's usually agitated talk. It even made him respond in kind now and then. Around her, he could imagine himself being more active and forthright than he actually was. He admired how she had experienced the same as him in life, and yet had gotten away so much better, so much brighter. Sure, she could get carried away with her verbal energy now and then, but that was okay. She still was one of the very few people in the world who could maybe understand him, understand what had happened to him, because the same had happened to her. That was worth a lot.

But he also liked sitting next to Ayanami, watching her quietly enjoy her meal. Whenever he got the chance to ask her something, in the short pauses Asuka used to catch her breath, her answers were short, precise and quiet. She was maybe not the most sociable person, but he found her calm nature to be soothing and relaxing. Besides, it was not like he was an outgoing person, either. They were both of a nature that could enjoy the quiet.

Both girls really were special in their own ways. It was not difficult to see why they would draw people's attention, between Asuka's fiery mane and Ayanami's even more exotic looks. They were both easy on the eye. Shinji liked Asuka's lively face and Ayanami's serene one, and they both also had... curves. He really hoped nobody would take too much note of where his eyes had just gone.

Misato now laid down her chopsticks, grabbed the beer can next to her finished meal and took a huge chug. "Ah... perfect," she declared. "So, Shin-chan, how does it feel cooking for three attractive girls?"

Shinji looked at her aghast. Asuka groaned. Only Ayanami did not react.

Before Shinji could stutter something, Asuka spoke up firmly: "I don't think you fall into that category anymore, Misato."

"Now..." Misato began cheerily. All heads suddenly turned when Ayanami, of all people, talked over her: "Do you mean the 'attractive' or the 'girls' part, Soryu?"

Asuka grinned triumphantly. "Yes."

"Hey now!" Misato complained. "I do understand the difference between OR and XOR, thank you very much. In fact, you made sure of that."

"Sure did," Asuka confirmed. "My genius level knowledge needed some practical applications, after all, like teaching you."

Misato snorted. "Genius like your inability to sort out a schedule for your first semester?"

"I was twelve!" Asuka protested.

Misato sighed. "So you were..." Suddenly setting up a bright and cheery face, she asked: "So, what do you all think? Did Shin-chan here do good?"

"You should not call him that, Captain Katsuragi," Ayanami spoke up. "It may be considered inappropriate, and he seems embarrassed by it."

Thank you... However, her intercession did not have the desired effect: "Well, that's the point, Rei!" Misato exclaimed. "A world without teasing would be dour and boring."

Ayanami tilted her head. "I will keep that in mind." Oh gods, please no... "And I... liked his food. It..." She stopped. Searching for words? "It tasted good."

Asuka had been looking at Ayanami while she spoke, and then nodded abruptly. "Better than military rations, that's for damn sure! Seriously, Misato, what the hell is NERV thinking?"

"We didn't think!" Misato protested. Shinji and Asuka snickered. "Ah, I mean, we didn't plan for Rei to sustain herself on those. That was her own decision. I thought you would just make your own food."

"You could have told us that, so that we could have prepared!" Asuka accused her.

"Well... hm... maybe..." Misato muttered, unwilling to fully concede a point. "Well, now you know!"

"You would think that if I'm already required to dance around in a ridiculous outfit all day long by a frankly insane mission plan, then at least my basic necessities would be taken care of!" Asuka complained.

"That's what the rations are there for," Misato pointed out.

"Besides, it isn't so bad," Shinji spoke up. "It isn't all that much work if you two share it. I think you can both be trusted with access to the stove and oven."

"Unlike Misato here?" Asuka asked mischievously.

"I... I didn't say that!" Shinji protested.

"Don't mind me, I've only become a running gag," Misato muttered, waving her beer can.

"But, uh, if I remember the plan correctly... you'll still be living together for six more days, right?" Shinji asked. "So, you could, uh, make a household plan. About who takes up what chores when."

"That could be efficient," Ayanami agreed.

"Hrmm. Better than the alternative," Asuka judged.

"I'll go get pens and paper," Misato said and stood up.

It was a... long-drawn process. And truth be told, Misato took over most actual mediation. Shinji tried, but he just could not get himself to speak against Asuka's energetic demands. And Ayanami's quiet, unspoken pleas were a devastating weapon when used against him. So he spent half an hour sweating and stuttering, before Misato finally took up a more commanding role. Shinji did successfully prevent her from suggesting rock-scissor-papers as a way to assign chores, though.

"I still think NERV should just send, like, cooks and cleaning personnel and stuff," Asuka finally muttered. "I mean, we are saving their arses out there, don't we? So that's really the least they could do."

"Maybe it could have worked that way in Germany," Misato allowed. "Here in Japan, well, NERV simply expects you to do your duty. And really, cooking and cleaning is not that big of a deal, is it?"

Asuka scoffed. "Have the Japanese heard of the concept of professional division of labour? And Misato, you really don't exactly make your organization look very bright and shining there."

A glum silence followed that statement. Misato opened another can of beer and slowly drank from it.

Finally, Asuka grabbed the paper they had just worked on, stood up and declared: "Very well then. Since Misato wants us to dance around tomorrow as well, I better get some rest." She was about to turn around, but before she did she muttered. "Andthanksforeverythingshinji..." Then she walked off.

"Soryu's reasoning is surprisingly on point," Ayanami declared. "I should not go to bed too late, either. Thank you for the meal and for your efforts, Ikari. And thank you for allowing us to come to your residence, Captain Katsuragi."

Misato sighed. "If you don't want to call me Misato, fine, but at least drop the rank. You make me feel like I'm at work."

Ayanami stood up and tilted her head. "I will consider that. Goodbye, Ikari, Captain." She thus left the apartment as well.

"That went well," Misato judged.

Shinji nodded. Then he narrowed his eyes and starred at his guardian. "Let me guess. You spent the whole dinner thinking about how you can tease me about having two female coworkers over."

Misato had a sudden difficulty keeping the beer she had just drunk down. Her suppressed laugh turned into coughs. "That's..." She coughed again. "That's surprisingly bold coming from you, Shinji."

"Even I can learn from experience," he muttered.

"Awww. Don't worry. I wouldn't want to sour this event for you," Misato reassured him. Her mischievous grin made Shinji mentally prepare. "After all, what boy can say that his first date at home was with two girls."

Shinji groaned. "So, do you have that out of your system then?"

Misato held a finger under her chin and seemed to ponder that. "Hmm... yes, I think so." She suddenly became serious. "I hope this will help with whatever it is that is bothering you."

"Bothering me?" Shinji asked back.

"There's something on your mind," Misato said and took another sip from the can. "I know of it because it makes you unable to synch with your Evangelion, but that isn't what I'm concerned about. I'm more concerned with the reason for it. Something is bothering you, and I want to know if I can help."

Shit. Shinji looked down. He was of course fully aware of what prevented him from synching with EVA-01. But he still was reluctant to tell Misato. Asuka's prompt not to made sense: NERV was keeping the way his mother died a secret, so telling a NERV employee about knowing about that secret might be a bad idea. Even if it was Misato.

"You don't need to tell me," Misato reassured him after he had stayed quiet for a while. "It's just... I figure if it keeps you from synching it must be something major. Something where you might want a bit of help or support, maybe."

"Don't worry," Shinji answered. "I... I'll find a way to synch again."

"I'm not worried about that!" Misato exclaimed, suddenly sounding angry. "I don't care if it's Rei or you in EVA-01! I told you, if you want to quit, I'd support you. But it isn't your decision to quit. You simply have a problem. And I care about that, Shinji. Because I want to help you."

Shinji looked at her. Even now, her outbursts still managed to catch him by surprise. "Even so..." he finally answered, very quietly. "Even so it's something I need to deal with myself." This was about his family after all. He was not sure how proper it would be to tell Misato. "Thank you for your offer, but..." He shook his head.

"You already pilot EVA," Misato told him softly. "You've already saved the world twice. You don't also need to deal with... whatever it is. At least, not alone."

Again, Shinji shook his head. Then he stood up and went to his room.