Asuka woke sprawled face down from a thankfully dreamless sleep even more irritated than when she went to sleep, if that was possible, and groaned.
At least the sound was muffled by the pillow and wouldn't be heard through the paper thin walls.
She hated having to be quiet.
She hadn't even shouted at the idiot in over a week, not since... not since the last attack.
Whimpering, she closed her eyes for a moment. It didn't help.

"We're home" - Misato's voice came faintly from the doorway. It really was the end of the world. Misato was being quiet. And sober. Or she'd have forgotten again and the idiot would be screaming.

The smell of food seeped into her awareness, replacing the feeling of his fingers breaking in her hand, the warmth of blood from somewhere, the words screamed that neither of them could hear. Idiot. What was he thinking.

"Leave her alone!"

Her hearing was just fine now, unlike whatever it was going on in the idiot's head. There wasn't any brain damage and the physical damage had healed almost as fast as her own ears. There was something else going on that meant he'd go from not being able to hear anything to the slightest sharp noise causing enough pain he'd actually complain. Dammit. Baka Shinji.

Fuming to herself she started gathering herself to get up and eat. Not that she wanted to deal with anyone. She'd avoided both of them for days, eating re-heated takeout and keeping to the room she'd kicked the idiot out of. Shit. That wasn't the smell of takeout. It can't be the idiot's cooking. It would be at least another week before the splints came off the hand she hadn't broken. And Misato had said "we're home" but the idiot hadn't gone anywhere today. The endless tests were apparently not endless.

Sighing she lay back down. Dealing with Shinji and Misato was one thing. Dealing with Hikari was another.

And if baka Shinji was defending her in that tone, they were talking about her and they didn't know she was home. Which meant he deliberately hadn't told them and they were talking quietly for his sake, not to avoid her hearing them. Not that hearing them was at all necessary. She'd screwed up. Again. She'd hurt the idiot. Again. They'd be trying to protect him from her. Again. They'd blame her. Again. Try to make him leave. Again. They didn't understand. Dammit. And now she was even thinking like him. Shit.

"... Rei ... ".

She covered her face with her hands. They didn't smell of blood. Wundergirl was here. And he'd called her Rei. This was not good. No male voices though, was that better or worse? At least the nightmares were predictable. These unknown futures might be more terrifying.

"Asuka"

"What?!" she snapped back.

He'd called her. That was pitched so she'd know it was directed at her, not about her and that he wanted her attention.
She stuck her head out of the room to see the concerned faces of three women looking at her. Well, two concerned women and a slightly raised blue eyebrow from whatever the fuck Rei was.
At least she hadn't been crying.

Shinji was mostly facing away from her, the cast covering his forearm and fingers resting on the table, the hand with the splits wasn't visible but from his posture it looked like he was holding it out to Rei. Asuka stared. What the hell was going on.

"Code Red"

Asuka blinked.

"Now?!" she yelled, slamming the flimsy door shut between her and the startled faces and the Idiot gesturing them to sit back down, and before the stabbing pain ripped through her head. Baka Shinji. Baka baka baka baka baka. She was so derailed she forgot how to swear in German. How was that even possible. Baka Asuka, she knew very well.

Pain rapidly fading as she pulled a dress and a small box from the closet where they'd been sitting for some time.
Slipping the dress over her head she steeled herself, she needed the right kind of anger for this.

Opening the door just enough to peek out, no one had moved. Good. She was still faster than their reactions.

Dropping the contents of the box into one hand and closing it into a fist she strode out into the room scowling.

Hauling Shinji up by his shirt and twisting him to face her, she growled.

"You leave me alone for a week, I finally get some sleep and now this?! How are you going to explain this one Mr. Soryu?"

"Well", he said, twisting in her arms to face their friends, fingers of his healed hand entwining with hers so that the bands of woven red gold, blue steel and white gold on their fingers aligned as they rested on the cast, "I liked it better than Mrs. Ikari".

Rei quietly let go of the very firm grasp on Misato's wrist which had been holding her in place, reached out, and placing the back of her hand gently under Hikari's chin closed her mouth.