Chapter 31

Misato knocked firmly on the apartment door. She had a key, but politeness prevented her from simply barging in. And judging by the sounds she heard through the door, it was a good thing even if it meant less teasing material for later.

The man next to her smirked. "Wonder who it was that fell off the couch," Kaji remarked.

"Asuka. I recognised the swearing," Misato replied, right before the door opened and two teenage faces looked out at them, the boy attempting to stealthily readjust his shirt.

"You guys are early," said Asuka, before ushering them in.

"Didn't interrupt anything, did we?"

The two adults smirked at the nervous looks the younger couple gave each other. "Nothing that can't be picked up again later," Asuka finally said.

When they got to the lounge room, Misato and Kaji took a seat on dining chairs that the redhead moved in for them. Shinji sat down near one end of the loveseat while Asuka elected to sprawl out, covering as much of the remaining room, as well as Shinji's lap, as she could. The moment she was comfortable, he rested a hand on her exposed stomach.

It was then that Misato finally realised what the red-headed teen was wearing.

Asuka was wearing a button-up shirt that was clearly Shinji's, but had apparently not bothered to actually fasten the buttons at all. Underneath, Misato was somewhat surprised at the rather plain bra the former Second Child had on, considering how she was apparently walking around the house in front of her boyfriend. And in front of her two former guardians now.

"...I hope you two are being safe," she cautioned, as she became concerned about what exactly her arrival had interrupted.

Surprisingly for both adults, there was no embarrassed outbursts from either one of them.

"We've already talked about... um... that," Shinji replied. "Asuka and I don't feel that we're ready to take that step yet."

"Once we're both done with university, then we'll discuss... that again," Asuka added.

Kaji raised an impressed eyebrow. "Wow, that's incredibly mature of both of you."

"So then why are you dressing like that in front of your boyfriend?" said Misato.

"What, I'm not allowed to be comfortable while on semester break? Those university uniforms are horribly restricting and give you about as much sex appeal as an old brick wall."

"I've seen some interesting brick walls in my time..." Kaji mused, before an elbow in his side stopped him.

Asuka thanked Misato with a nod of the head before continuing. "Anyway, if I don't have to go to a class, I just put on whatever's nearby. Today that just happened to be Shinji's shirt. Besides, it's not like he's going to complain about how I dress. Isn't that right, Shinji?" She shot her boyfriend a toothy grin over her shoulder, causing him to blush furiously.

Then he grinned back at her, and it was Asuka's turn to go redfaced.

Misato cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the flirting teens back to her. "So... how has your first semester been?"

The redhead snorted. "Definitely a lot less boring than going to school again. And at least this time I don't have people looking at me funny because I'm kicking their academic asses while being nearly half their age."

"My culinary classes have been giving me plenty of new ideas," said Shinji. "And helping me refine what I already know."

Asuka began speaking again, almost before Shinji had finished. "Fortunately, the teacher understands that we're a couple, so we end up working together a lot."

Misato nodded. "What about your Business course, Asuka? Any problems there?"

Asuka shook her head. "Nothing I can't handle."

"What are you actually planning to do once you have your second degree?" Kaji asked.

The former Evangelion pilots looked at each other for a moment before, in perfect synchronisation, replying, "It's a secret."

The two adults stared nonplussed at them for several long seconds. "...I'm still not used to that," Misato muttered.

Asuka did reveal that they were carefully planning out what they were going to do after graduating, and that the money they received just before NERV's dissolution would be going towards it.

"Enough about us, though," the redhead finally said. "How's everybody else been doing?"

"Is Doctor Akagi still grumpy about me losing the prostheses?" Shinji cautiously asked.

"Nah, she's over that," Misato replied with a dismissive wave. "Too busy working on new stuff now, not to mention the fact that she finally proposed to Maya."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "About damn time."

"Yep. And you two are invited to the wedding. Anyway, the next generation of prosthetics WILLE's working on will have... um..." Misato glanced helplessly at Kaji. "What did she say it was? Sub cute-something?"

"Subcutaneous circuitry," Kaji supplied. "To simulate body temperature in order to make them feel more real."

"That would have been nice a while ago," Shinji murmured, looking down at his right arm. Sensing his mood change, Asuka brought up a hand to rest on top of his, and he smiled at her.

"Anyway, your friends have been doing well too," Misato continued. "Toji and Hikari seem almost as inseparable as you two now, Kensuke's had at least two new girlfriends that I've heard of, and Rei..." She paused, looking at Kaji again, but this time all the man could offer was a shrug.

"What? What's going on with her?" Shinji asked, leaning forward with worry in his eyes.

"Hmm? Oh. No, it's nothing bad, just..." Misato scratched her head. "The best I can say is that she and Kaworu have a... relationship."

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "And just what is happening in this significant pause relationship?"

"No idea. Kaworu's been spending a lot of time with her lately. I wouldn't say they're together, especially since she seems to slap him a lot, but that doesn't seem to have deterred the boy."

"Now who does that remind you of?" Kaji wondered with a grin.

"I have no idea," Asuka exaggeratedly replied. "Shinji, do you know anybody like that?"

Quick on the uptake, Shinji said, "Not a clue."

A knock on the front door paused the conversation, and Asuka got up to find out who it was. Misato heard the door open, followed immediately by a surprised female voice talking in German.

"Asuka, warum bist du so angezogen!?"

"Tschu-tschuldige, Mama!"

For a few seconds there was silence, presumably while Asuka hastily buttoned up her shirt, and then Kyoko Zeppelin-Soryu continued talking in Japanese.

"Well... I suppose I should get down to why I'm here on such short notice. Are you busy at the moment, dear?"

"Nope, just me and Shinji chatting with Misato and Kaji. Want to join us?"

"First, let me show you why I'm here now."

There was more silence, and then...

"Katharina?!"

Asuka stared in shock at the blonde woman, and Katharina Langley looked sheepishly back at her.

"Hello, Asuka," she said in German. "I... hope it's alright that I'm here."

"Uh..." Asuka rubbed the back of her head. "Of course it's fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Did Kyoko not tell you?" Katharina glanced at Kyoko, who shook her head. "Oh. Well... your father never came back from Instrumentality. Since apparently nobody would be able to return after... whatever happened at the end of the Revenant War, it's not really clear if I have any legal relationship with you anymore."

"And what, you think I'd just cut you out of my life?" Asuka more stated than asked. She sighed before continuing. "I know we didn't really exactly get along perfectly when I was younger, but you were still a better person than him. Hell, I still have the violin you gave me. Even brought it with me when I came to this apartment I'm renting with Shinji for university. Look," Asuka stepped back from the doorway, "come on in and join us. Everybody's catching up anyway."

The two women entered the apartment, and Asuka brought two more dining chairs into the lounge room for them. Misato and Kaji rose to greet the new arrivals, both clearly surprised at the sight of Katharina. Shinji, having never actually seen Asuka's stepmother, was confused for a moment until he was filled in. Since everybody in the room could understand and speak German, they spoke in that language for the benefit of Katharina, who was not very fluent in Japanese.

"Ah, you were that boy I talked to on the phone," Katharina realised, and Shinji nodded. "I remember thinking to myself that maybe Asuka had a boyfriend, but I wasn't about to jump to conclusions and ask."

"Yeah, you would have been a year too early for that," replied Asuka. "What have you been up to since that phone call, anyway?"

Her stepmother shrugged. "Just being a nurse, really. Certainly nothing as... interesting as your job. Although..." Her arms fell back to her sides. "I got laid off a couple of weeks ago due to cutbacks. That's why I finally had the time to come and see you."

Kyoko spoke up. "She got in contact with me, and I helped arrange for her to come here. We're both staying at a hotel while we're visiting."

"I'm not sure what I'll do when I head back home though," Katharina admitted. "I've been thinking about selling my house and moving to America for a fresh start."

Asuka noticed Kyoko and Misato looking at each other behind Katharina's back. The purple-haired woman cleared her throat.

"WILLE's got a hospital, and they're apparently a bit understaffed at the moment. If you'd like, I could get it touch with somebody who works there and see if they have room for an experienced nurse."

Katharina looked shocked. "You... you would do that for me? I'll have to learn Japanese to fit in here though..."

"I heard what Asuka said a little while ago. She's as good as stated that you're still a part of her family. If you go to America, you'll be starting over in a place with nobody to help you. As for learning Japanese, well..." Misato threw her arms out to take in the whole room. "Everybody here speaks it, and there's at least three people who have nothing better to do than help you learn."

"Oh? Who are they?" Kaji asked, before rocking forward as Misato's hand caught the back of his head on the return swing.

Katharina's head drooped, but not before Asuka saw the glistening in her eyes. "You're all... too kind to me..."

"Hey, hey." Kyoko laid a hand on the blonde woman's shoulder. "You got suckered in by my bastard of a husband just like I did. I'm not about to leave you out in the cold."

"...Thank you," Katharina finally managed to say.

"Alright. Time for some cheering up," Asuka announced as she stood up. She turned to her boyfriend. "Shinji Katsuragi, you know what to do."

Shinji nodded and moved off to the kitchen. As soon as he was out of sight, Katharina hesitantly said, "I thought his family name was Ikari?"

"It was," Misato replied. "But since his father was the Bastard King of NERV, the Ikari name is somewhat... tarnished. I pulled some strings for a name change, and since I'm his adoptive mother, my name made things easier."

"Thanks for that by the way, Misato," said Asuka. "I've heard people talking about that asshole at the university. I'm not exactly keen on finding out how many people believe in that whole 'sins of the father' thing."

As the conversation turned towards more mundane topics, Asuka headed into the kitchen to see Shinji getting things out of the fridge. Though the rented apartment's cooking facilities weren't as great as what Rei Ayanami had gotten for Shinji's sixteenth birthday, the young man still worked veritable miracles.

"Will you be fine serving six people?" Asuka inquired. "It is kind of short notice."

Shinji drew a knife out of its block and turned his head to grin at her. "Are you honestly asking me that now?"

Asuka chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. I guess it's just good practise for our plan."

"I just hope it works out. It is kind of a big undertaking."

"We'll make it work! The Great Asuka Langley-Soryu and the Invincible Shinji Ik- er... Katsuragi cannot be stopped!"

"So this is what you were planning?" Hikari asked as she stared in awe. "What you decided to go back to university for?"

Standing next to the brown-haired young woman, Asuka grinned. "Yep. What do you think?" she asked as she waved a hand at their surroundings.

Hikari hummed in thought. "It'll take a bit of work to fix up, but I can already imagine the possibilities. Have you decided what you're going to do with the interior design?"

"Nothing concrete yet," Asuka admitted. "Shinji and I want to get the essentials sorted out first."

The redhead raised an eyebrow as her friend moved to the centre of the room and began to slowly spin around, taking in every aspect of the moderately-sized building.

"Before you do anything major, I want you to give me a floor plan along with your budget and any ideas you and Shinji have come up with," said Hikari. Her eyes sparkled. "I can help with this."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Just leave Husband-Stooge out of any plans, unless he's part of the labour."

Hikari mock-pouted at the friendly jab against Toji, but then smiled. "No need to worry about that. My darling husband has been permanently banned from anything remotely related to decoration."

"...I won't ask."

"And I won't tell." The former class representative shuddered. "Where's Shinji, anyway?"

Asuka jerked a thumb towards the nearby swinging door. "Checking out the kitchen, of course. He's back-of-house, I'm front-of-house. This is my domain, and that's his. We've both got more than enough cash left over from NERV that we can essentially do whatever we like here."

Hikari glanced at the door, before lowering her voice and saying, "Hey, um... it's been a while now. How has he been doing with... you know..."

Asuka caught on quickly. "He's better. Still gets the odd nightmare, but it's been months since the last one and he knows I'll always be there for him. He's really shy and quiet around strangers, which is actually kind of normal for him, but he can at least hold a decent conversation with them. We decided on a smaller place because Shinji didn't want to be in charge of a horde of kitchen staff. Not to mention that we're just starting out."

Hikari nodded. "That's understandable. Oh, and speaking of staff, will it just be you two?"

Red hair cascaded about as Asuka shook her head. "Hell no. I'm great, but not that great. We'll be aiming for two or three more people for the front, and one or two for the kitchen. Surprisingly, Rei asked if we could give her some part time work here."

"In that case... I have a favour to ask," Hikari began hesitantly.

"Of course your little sister can have a job here."

Hikari sputtered in surprise, her eyes widening. "Can-... wh-... How did you know?!"

Though she tried to contain it, it wasn't long before Asuka began to laugh. "Double university graduate, remember?"

"That's no explanation!"

"We were talking about Shinji, then staff. Kodama already has a job, you know I would find it hard to trust a friend of yours that I don't already know, and Nozomi's standing outside, staring in at us."

Hikari spun around to see that her friend was right. She huffed and strode out of the partially renovated restaurant, squinting slightly as her eyes readjusted to the bright sun hanging over Tokyo-2.

Outside, Asuka saw the reason for the surprise appearance of Hikari's younger sister. A familiar blue sports car was sitting at the kerb, with two familiar faces sitting in the front seats.

"What part of 'surprise' don't you get, Misato?" Asuka growled at the car's driver, who offered a sheepish grin in response.

"Well she was going to find out soon anyway," Misato replied. "Met her at the mall and she wanted to know where Big Sis had disappeared to. So how are things in there, anyway?"

"Pretty good. Hikari's now in charge of prettying the place up. Hopefully by this time next month we'll be nearly ready to open. Now then..." Asuka turned to Nozomi. "You want to be a waitress here when we open for business?"

"I'd love to, if you're hiring that is," Nozomi replied. "I don't exactly have a resume, but I can give you the phone number of a reference."

"How much experience do you have?"

"Nine months part-time, before the place had to close down."

"Alright, that's fine with me, and Shinji should be happy with it too," said Asuka after a moment of thought. "You've obviously been working long enough to know what to do and how, but do you enjoy it?"

Several more questions and answers went back and forth. During that time, Shinji came out and greeted everybody. Finally, Asuka shook hands with Nozomi and congratulated her on becoming their first employee.

The weeks quickly passed, and the restaurant took shape. Hikari worked wonders, her plan transforming the interior and making it appear to have much more space. Shinji ended up bringing in a classmate from his culinary course at university for an assistant chef, and two more waiters were hired to fill out the staff roster.

Opening night came, and Misato was surprised at how quickly the place filled up. She and Kaji had been there for most of the day already, helping to set things up for opening night, while Kyoko and Katharina arrived almost as soon as the doors opened to the public. Toji, Hikari, Kensuke, Rei and Kaworu all came in slightly later. They were now all seated at a long table near the entrance, watching people trickle into the restaurant until they had to be turned away.

Asuka took their orders, and came back a few minutes later. She asked to speak to Misato, and the two of them moved to a quieter spot near the kitchen door.

"What's up?" Misato asked, once she saw the nervousness on her former ward's face. Asuka was pacing back and forth for a few seconds, one hand covering her mouth and the other in the pocket of her uniform. Eventually she looked up at Misato.

"Something big is going to happen tonight," she said. "I don't know if it's a good idea for it to happen now, but it's been put off for too long."

Misato folded her arms. "Mind filling in some of those gaps?"

Asuka looked around furtively, focusing on the door to the kitchen for a moment, before withdrawing the hand that was in her pocket. Misato's eyes shot wide open when she saw the small jewellery box clenched tightly in the younger woman's fingers.

"...Are you serious?!" she whispered, barely keeping a shriek of joy down. "You're going to propose to Shinji?"

"Yeah," Asuka quietly replied, glancing towards the kitchen again. "Look, I love Shinji. We've been together for ages now, so I know that he still has... insecurities. As much as I'd like for him to be the one to bend a knee, I know it's going to be a while longer before he can get up the courage."

"So you're going to do it instead." Misato looked at the box. "May I?" At Asuka's small nod of the head, she took the jewellery box and opened it up.

"It was Katharina's," Asuka explained. "She and Mama are the only other ones that know about what I want to do. Mama had obviously lost her engagement ring, so Katharina jumped in and offered her own instead."

"Pretty," Misato remarked as she closed the box and gave it back, watching it swiftly disappear into Asuka's pocket. "So when are you going to propose?"

"Soon. Just waiting for things to settle down a little. I'm going to get everybody's attention and thank them for coming to the opening night, then bring Shinji out to give his thanks."

"Shinji? Talking to a room full of people?"

"We've practised what he's going to say; he just doesn't know about the proposal at the end."

Misato chuckled. "Well, you've given me something else to look forward to tonight."

Asuka smiled, then blinked a few times. "Oh right. Shinji said he wanted to talk to you."

"Did he say what it was about?"

Asuka shrugged. "No, just that he's too busy to come out, and that you were welcome to go into the kitchen. He probably wants to thank you for coming out tonight."

"Alright, I'll go chat to him now and let you get back to work," Misato said with a smile and a pat on the young woman's shoulder.

Asuka nodded and walked off, casting another glance at the kitchen as she went.

Misato walked over to the kitchen door, stepping aside as Nozomi bustled out and gave her a quick greeting, before pushing through the still-swinging door like she owned the building. In the kitchen, Shinji and his assistant were rushing about, preparing several dishes at once. She soon caught her adopted son's eye, who offered a quick wave before returning his attention to the cutting board.

"Asuka said you wanted to talk to me," said Misato as Shinji swiftly diced some vegetables. The chef's jacket made him look rather smart, she idly noted.

"Um, yes," Shinji absently replied. In his hands, a large cabbage became dozens of pieces in a few seconds. "There's... um... something I'm planning to do tonight."

"Yeah, Asuka told me about how you two are going to thank everybody for coming tonight."

Shinji nodded. "After that... I'm going to do something else."

Shock and amusement dawned on Misato's face as Shinji spoke, detailing his plan to propose to Asuka. She had to struggle mightily to force her expression back to neutral, and she was thankful for the young man's distractedness.

"I just hope she likes the ring I decided on," Shinji sighed. "It would have been nice to use my mother's ring instead, but..." He looked up at Misato and shrugged, and she nodded in understanding. Behind her relaxed expression, she was internally cheering and laughing at what was going to happen tonight.

"I'll let you get back to work then," she said. Shinji nodded, and Misato left the kitchen and made her way back to her table.

"What was that about?" Kaji quietly asked as he leaned closer to Misato.

The former Supreme Commander of NERV and foster mother of Shinji Katsuragi put an arm around the former triple-agent's shoulder. "Something is going to happen tonight," she whispered in his ear. "Something amazing."

The food soon arrived, and it was everything Misato had expected and more. She cast a casual eye around the restaurant as she ate. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves, as well as their meals. After half an hour of pleasant conversation with the others at her table, mostly revolving around the restaurant, Misato heard the sound of cutlery tapping against glass.

"Can I have everybody's attention please?"

Every customer turned their gaze to the front counter, where Asuka was now standing. Misato listened intently as the young woman gave her sincere thanks to the customers for coming to the opening night of the restaurant. Shinji was brought out from the kitchen, and he bowed as he gave his thanks as well.

"Before I let you all get back to your meals," said Asuka. "There's one more thing..."

Misato leaned forward, a grin slowly forming on her face. She tried not to blink as she didn't want to miss a second of the scene that was about to unfold. Under the table, she felt Kaji's hand brush her leg as it slowly reached down to her handbag. She had a good idea just what he was taking out, and she patted his knee in approval.

Shinji and Asuka were already accidentally talking in perfect sync, each attempting to announce that they had something important to say. They turned their heads and eyed each other as the patrons began to chuckle. The impromptu show continued as they attempted to let the other person take the lead, and the synchronised palm to the face elicited more laughter. After a minute, the couple seemed to give up.

In perfect sync, they put a hand in their pocket. In perfect sync, they dropped to one knee as they drew small boxes out of the pockets. Misato heard nearby customers whisper as they began to realise what was about to happen.

"Shinji/Asuka..." they said at once. "Will you marry me?"

As one, they both smiled. As one, they both said a single word: "Yes."

A camera flash went off next to Misato, and the patrons began to cheer and clap as the newly engaged couple stood up and kissed, slipping their ring onto their partner's finger.

Misato felt wetness on her cheeks. She didn't bother to wipe it away, as she wanted nothing to come between her and the wonderful scene playing out in front of her.

The sad teenager she had met almost ten years ago was now a fine young man. The angry German girl was now a beautiful young woman. Shinji and Asuka had been through the worst the universe could throw at them, and while there had been stumbling blocks, they had managed to overcome them.

"Come on, let's go congratulate them," said Kaji as he stood up, breaking her out of her musing. The rest of the table was already heading towards Shinji and Asuka.

Misato laughed quietly as she rested a hand on her belly for a few seconds. "I guess our little surprise can wait a bit longer," she whispered, before standing up and heading over towards her former wards.

A/N: It's the end, so you get two chapters this time!

Thank you to everybody who took the time to read my first foray into fanfiction, and thank you to those that left a review. Big thanks again to Strypgia (Panther2G), Ranma-Sensei and Gryphon for their help in making sure my story made sense.