Standing in the utility room, Yui folded and set aside her old plugsuit, then the clothes that Misato had so generously let her borrow. She opened the door to the bathroom and saw exactly what she had fretted. Pen-Pen. "You think you're clever, don't you?"

He refused to answer with so much as a squawk, yet Yui continued in her accusations. "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but thrice? Somehow you always get to see new residents naked. Not to sound like Soryu's girl, but I'm led to believe you do this on purpose."

As soon as she moved her hand toward the avian troublemaker he dashed out of the bathroom, only to be pursued by her. "I'm not letting you get away without a judgemental noogie!"

The absurd outcry brought the eyes of the other two residents, falling upon the naked woman standing in the doorway. "Oh for the love of-"

"MOM!"

Both comments were followed by Misato's cackling, thankfully drawing her son's attention off of her and spitting out: "You knew! You knew and you still fell for it!"

This time-honored tradition further altered her perception of the woman. Maybe Misato could accept Yui's presence in her life… Her laughter continued as Yui, silent but grumpy, waltzed back to the bathroom to take her well needed shower.

—

Her first day back continued. That evening, in the living room, she sat with Misato on a pair of bean bags that the latter had impulse bought one night. The former was taking a relaxed position very much unlike her, slouching into it like Michaelangelo depicted Adam in his creation.

"So." She asserted, leaving the subject unsaid.

"So?" Misato didn't understand.

"Where am I going to sleep?"

Misato hadn't thought of that. She hadn't even really thought about Yui staying in her apartment, it had just been a natural conclusion. "Oh. Well, I could set up a bed in that storage room or whatever, like I did when Asuka took Shinji's room. Either that or I can pull out a futon."

"I'll take the latter. Y'know, this might sound strange, but I always feel more comfortable sleeping on the floor. As if a lower potential energy helps me get to sleep, even though that's not true at all. I mean, by that metric, sleeping on the first floor couch should be better than a bed upstairs, and that certainly isn't the case…" She trailed off, feeling as if she'd overstayed her welcome by rambling so long.

Despite her roommate's worries, Misato smiled at Yui's slight awkwardness. It was something she never expected from the woman, but also was kinda thankful for. "I get what you're trying to say, sans all the gobbledygook. I sleep on a futon I keep in the middle of my room."

Yui laughed aloud, such a nice sound. "I haven't done that since college! Not at home, anyway. I've spent more nights than I care to admit on a futon I snuck into my office…"

Misato laughed back. "I don't think you can be a respected NERV employee without it. Thank god those days are over." Misato couldn't help but feel that her preconceptions of the woman, while not faded away, were slowly being covered over, like stickers covering a parking meter.

"Oh, don't give God or what have you all the credit. All those nights spent at HQ were the efforts of people, like you and me." With that out there, the two stayed silent for a moment.

Less confidently, she tacked on. "Sorry, that's always been a little pet peeve of mine. 'Thoughts and Prayers' and everything…"

To reassure her, Misato leaned over a little, hoping to lighten the mood "I get'cha… So, if not 'Thank God'… what should I say?"

Yui perked up and began to ponder that. "I'm not sure… I don't know of any sister expressions that convey the same intent."

For a good while they collectively thought about that conundrum, leading them to a longer conversation about phrases, expressions, and figures of speech that drew long into the night. Somewhere along the line…

Still chatting, Misato got up from her seat and wandered over to the fridge, taking her time to avoid all the crud on the floor while still looking at Yui. "Don't mind me, just getting a beer."

She continued, taking her place on the bean bag, a little closer than before. "That reminds me, whoever came up with 'the hair of the dog that bit you' is a damned liar. Along with making dumb-"

"You got two…" Yui interrupted her, catching her off guard.

"Eh?"

Pointing to Misato's hands, she clarified. "You got two cans."

"Oh yeah! I mean, today has been kinda stressful, so what better way to relax than a nice can of beer?" Misato tilted the aforementioned can in her hand, teasingly.

"Oh, I'm flattered, but no thanks. I'm fine as is." Yui says this plainly, but there's a hint of a reason behind it.

Misato sensed this, choosing to question further. "You sure? Believe it or not, I'm trying to cut down, so I'm not keeping two beers to myself." Not wanting to have to bring the can back out of laziness may have also played a part.

Yui sounded uneasy and looked almost sheepish. "Oh, well… I'm a terrible lightweight, and no offense, but I don't exactly trust your company if alcohol's involved."

"Really? Now I'm curious… But, oh well." She pulls herself up and goes off to return one of the cans to the fridge. "None taken, by the way."

"Oh, good." Yui felt a bit less bad about refusing the offer.

Misato took a sip, trying to read Yui's expression, but for some reason she was having trouble. She tried to speak up, only to be interrupted by her own, loud yawn.

That prompted Yui to check the clock, jolting a bit once she read it. "Oh my, it's gotten late. You don't have the excuse of saving the world anymore young lady, so get off to bed." She held in her laughs at calling the Major that, while herself having a body 2 years younger. That effort was made more difficult by her also being quite sleepy.

The nail in the coffin was when Misato groaned in a tone not unlike a teenager, a sound that last came to her ears (excluding those of the Eva) from Naoko when told to stop smoking. Yui's giggles burst out, prompting Misato to do the same. A better way than any to end her first night, she thought.

—

Misato sat in her room, pondering. After getting home, Yui had been entirely pleasant to be around. It was difficult to really place, but the woman just had charm to her. She seemed to be a sweet, caring woman, and it confused her to no end. She had spent too many sleepless nights untangling the web that was the birth of NERV to not know that it was often Yui that wove it. She just had trouble reconciling the influential scientist behind Project E with the kind, affectionate mother of Shinji Ikari.

But, in a way it wasn't too unbelievable. She herself was an entirely different person at home than at work. That consideration brought new thoughts into her head. Is Yui just masking, feigning happiness despite what festers underneath? Or maybe it was the other way around. Whatever the case, Misato wanted to know.

Now, obviously the woman wouldn't be too keen on spilling her guts to someone willy nilly. Situations like these made Misato wish there was such a thing as truth serum. With a sigh, she took a sip of her beer— then paused. Maybe there was such a thing…

Meanwhile, Shinji wasn't quite sure what to think. He had just been able to accept that his mother was gone, and had already started considering Misato to be his mom well before it had been made formal. But now, out of the blue, his mother had come back into his life. He, too, had mixed feelings about the woman. His brain kept trying to compare her to the cold, foreboding Eva, but it just didn't work. The cognitive dissonance was really getting to him, and he didn't think he'd be able to resolve it any time soon.

Finally, on her futon in the little storage room, Yui slept, having long since learnt to ward off bad thoughts when she went to bed. It was something she had had to learn, just like her son had had to learn how to cook. With an all-honors course, you had to get as much sleep as you could. Now, as she did then, she rested, saving her thoughts for the 'morrow.