AUTHOR'S NOTES:

So this is Chapter 1 of a roughly 10 Chapter story ... I hope. *Crosses Fingers*
It's gonna be a pretty Waffy ride, so I'd hold on to your luv hats :P
No Waff in this chapter though, that will appear soon.

Anyway, without further ado, here it is. Please R & R!

Special thanks to DeadlyPole for the Pre-read.

If Shinji knew how bad his day was going to be, he probably wouldn't have woken up. He would have stayed in bed all day, listening to his SDAT. Sadly however, he could not see into the future, and as such, could not view the fate which awaited him; the fate in which one particular redheaded girl would bring.

His body gradually began to awaken …

Shinji opened his eyes slowly.

He stared at the familiar ceiling above him. This sight greeted him most mornings. After a few minutes he rolled over, his eyes adjusted to the brightness which streamed in through his semi open blinds.

His alarm clock slowly blinked 7:29 at him through the morning light.

The very faint sound of light morning traffic, construction and squawking of birdlife could be heard drifting through his partly opened window. It was soothing, almost calming.

He felt nice this morning. He couldn't place why. 'One of those mornings I guess', he thought, relieved that he didn't have one of his usual morning headaches. After a few more final moments of savouring the comfort, he slowly began to rise, trying to preserve the calm he was feeling. 'Suppose I should start making breakfast.'

He pulled on his usual school clothes, and still feeling a tad sleepy, waddled down the hall into the kitchen. Within minutes, the delicious aroma of bacon and eggs wafted through the house. Shinji was quite content, moving around the kitchen with confidence he never possessed anywhere else, oblivious as usual to the world around him. He liked cooking; it helped him take his mind off everything that had, and was happening to him. It was strange; making breakfast was something he always subconsciously looked forward to.

Soon he heard a commotion as his other two housemates began to awake from their slumber. The muffled sounds of clothes being thrown, early morning curses, doors opening and showers running could be heard. They were familiar noises. Noises he heard every day. Noises that gave him comfort that he was not alone, however at the same time, noises he dreaded. Soon they would be here and the day would begin. Shinji even let out a small sigh at the thought of everything he would have to go through today, just like the days that had come before.

The sound of footsteps approaching the kitchen brought him out of his thoughts, and he hurriedly scrambled to make sure the food was ready.

Shinji was just putting the last morsels on the table when a fiery redhead entered the room.

"M-morning Asuka," Shinji said, immediately regretting his involuntary stutter.

"Morning Baka," she replied hoarsely. Her tone of voice suggesting she was still waking up, but had not noticed his falter.

She plopped into her usual seat at the table with a sigh and began to shovel food into her open mouth. Shinji was always surprised at the speed at which the Second Child ate. She was like a vacuum cleaner for food.

'Does she even chew?' the Third Child thought with a slight grin, but it was immediately wiped off his face when Asuka noticed him staring.

"Whotcha hell are yew schneering at Third Choild?" she questioned, her mouth still half filled with bacon and eggs, a glare plastered on her food stuffed face.

"N-nothing!" he replied quickly, retreating out of the room with speed.

She gave him one more menacing glare before returning to devour her meal.

As Shinji nervously entered the kitchen, he was startled by a yell. "!"

Misato crushed the empty beer can and chucked it over her shoulder, catching the penguin that was currently waddling through the kitchen on top of his head.

"Damn that's good!" she exclaimed happily, not noticing the circles a certain Penguin was now walking in. Shinji knew just moments before that she had been a zombie, until the holy brown liquid had jumpstarted her brain.

"Mornin' Shin-head," Misato greeted the teenager enthusiastically.

"Good Morning Misato," replied Shinji weakly. 'Shin-head? What the hell was in that beer,' he joked to himself.

With the morning salutes out of the way, Shinji began making lunch for himself and Asuka. When it was complete, he shoved the two lunches into his bag and headed for the door. His roommate waited for him as usual, leaning against the door with her arms crossed. Out of all the things he did with Asuka, this was the only time she ever showed any patience.

"Alright lets go." said Shinji in a spur of light optimism that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Asuka nodded and even let out what could have been a tiny smile.

'Maybe today would be a good day after all' thought Shinji.

If only he knew how wrong he was.

Shinji and Asuka walked together to school as usual, only interrupting the silence to make small talk. Shinji kept peeking small glances at his explosive roommate, noting that she looked really tired, in contrast to her usual fiery self. Even though she looked like she was going to drop dead of exhaustion, she still produced an aura of beauty.

The last couple of months had been good for them.

After the 7th Angel forced them to work together, they had bonded frequently. She still acted her usual Asuka self, with her taunts, insults and physical violence, but it seemed they had accepted each other into their lives. She was a tad nicer to him, not hitting him as often and Shinji could even recall moments where they had done ordinary things together, like sitting in front of the TV one night, having a heated debate about their favourite show's plotline and where it would lead; it was not their usual arguing however, it was the playful kind. The kind you would do with a family member or friend.

'Friend.'

'Such a strange word to use with Asuka,' he thought, sneaking a glance at her again. 'She really does look quite tired,' he noted, her auburn hair glinting in the morning sun as it spilled over her cute, soft face, only accentuating the bags under her eyes. Noticing her fine features, he suppressed a blush before Asuka could notice.

'She would truly kill me if she saw that' he thought, his sweat dropping.

"Hey Asuka, you ok? You look really tired."

"I'm fine baka," she responded with a yawn, irritation on her face, "I just couldn't sleep last night."

Shinji knew why she couldn't sleep; the nightmares. He had walked past her open door one night to get a drink when he saw her withering around on her bed, deep in sleep. She had kicked her covers off in her movement, and she was mumbling incoherently. With a bit of hesitation, he had crept over, not wanting to upset the beast, and replaced her blanket, wrapping it around her lightly. Immediately she had begun to calm down, but he knew it was temporary; he knew she had those nightmares quite often. He left her room that night slightly pleased he had put her at ease for once, instead of irritating her, but he dared not mention it to anyone. If she found out, she would kill him for sure.

They reached the school in the usual amount of time, heading straight to their classroom. Walking through the door, they took their respective places and began chatting to their friends.

"Sup, Shin-man?" chimed Touji, leaning back on his creaky chair, feet resting on his desk.

"Nothing much," replied Shinji, sitting down at his desk, sneaking a final glance at Asuka. She was chatting with Hikari as usual, but she seemed a bit less tired now.

Shinji noted her cuteness once more, actually blushing this time, before he was yanked back to reality by Kensuke's high pitched excited voice.

"Did ya see the show on Military Aircraft last night? It was sooo cool!" exclaimed Kensuke, waving his arms in the air enthusiastically.

Their conversation continued on briefly until the Sensei arrived. The class rep did her usual "Stand. Bow. Sit" routine and before long they had all slipped into their usual boredom stupor.

Shinji was resting his head in his hands, thinking about the morning. 'Why am I suddenly so interested in Asuka?' He thought, a frown forming on his face. 'Is it because she's kinda nice this morning? Maybe … but I think she's just too tired to do anything mean to me. Still, it seems like there is something else …'

He couldn't quite place why he was feeling so odd, so he sneaked another glance at Asuka. She was lying back in her chair, looking as though she was dying from boredom, mouth open in a suspended yawn.

Shinji looked away quickly. He didn't want Asuka to catch him staring at her. 'I got my reward for that last time' he thought, rubbing the spot on his ribs where she had hit him. He couldn't shake the weird feeling he had … it was freaking him out. He decided to message Touji.

SHINJI: Hey, have you noticed something different about Asuka today?

TOJ-MAN: besides the fact she hasnt killed us yet?

SHINJI: Very funny. Seriously though, does she seem different today or is it just me?

TOJ-MAN: dont know what youre talking bout man seems the same to me

TOJ-MAN: mind you, you live with her you probs know her better than us

Shinji glanced over at Asuka again trying to spot what was bugging him. Suddenly she shifted, and he glanced away slightly too quickly.

'Oh no, please don't let her have caught me watching her!'

Suddenly the message received icon began blinking on his computer.

'Oh shit.'

Glancing around cautiously, he took his time opening the message, before it finally appeared on his screen with a semi-audible Ding of satisfaction.

RED02: Did I just catch the great Shinji Ikari gawking at me?

Shinji went cold, a sweat drop forming on his forehead.

He slowly turned to look at Asuka, only to find her sneering at him from across the classroom. He rotated back to his computer robotically and struggled to come up with something.

'Come on Shinji, think!' His brain screamed. He knew that if he didn't come up with a plausible excuse, and soon, he wouldn't have a brain to come up with anything. His mind had locked up however, and all that came out was dribble. A single thought came out of nowhere, and with no alternative, he typed it in without thinking.

SHINJI: Ah Sorry, I was only hoping you wanted to have lunch with me today?

Shinji stared at what he had just sent her and suddenly realised what he had written. The young boy swore under his breath, causing several people around him to glance up curiously. 'Oh this is just great! Just freakin great! Now I'm going to get my spine ripped out.'

To his immense surprise however, he received a message back instead of a smack.

RED02: Hmmm, well I suppose I could grace you with my magnificent presence. Lunchtime, next to the big maple tree. Don't be late.

Shinji stared at his monitor in disbelief. 'I'm not dead?' His brain was incapable of processing this, and he turned to look at the girl again with a blank look, finding her leaning back on her desk, staring at the ceiling with a grin across her face.

'This is too weird.'

He leant back and sighed. 'Hmmm maybe this is good. It might give me a chance to find out what's been bugging me.' His mood lightened at the thought. He was getting annoyed at this weird feeling which just wouldn't go away.

After what felt like an eternity, the bell finally rang, and students quickly began packing up their stuff, anxious to exit the classroom after their usual pre-lunch bore session.

Touji and Kensuke edged wearily over to Shinji.

"So where are we gonna go for lunch?" asked Touji, rubbing his eyes like he had been sleeping, "The roof as usual?"

"Sorry," Shinji said in his usual apologetic voice, "I'm spending lunchtime with ... Asuka." He said that last word with a weary sigh. Even though he enjoyed Asuka's company (quite a bit in fact, at least when the girl wasn't pummelling him into mush) she could be a handful to put up with, and often he was thankful to get some peace and quiet.

Touji turned to stare at Shinji. "You? Lunch with the devil?" he asked suspiciously, the boy's eyes narrowing, accompanied by an accusatory finger. "Since when?"

Before he could realise what he was about to say, Shinji replied, "Since I asked her." He blushed. 'Damn you brain, I've got to speed you up somehow.'

Touji and Kensuke stared at him in silence for a moment before they both burst out laughing.

"Good one Shinji" they cried through the laughter, "What's next? You gonna take her fishing?"

They both rolled on the floor, sides splitting whilst Shinji stood above them, an annoyed look on his face. "Would you two cut it out?" he hissed, noticing that lots of their fellow classmates had stopped to see what was so funny.

The laughter had attracted the attention of the girl in question, and she strode over. "What the hell are you two stooges guffawing at?" the Second Child said, contempt lacing her every word.

The two boys got up off the floor.

"Just about you and Shinji's date." Kensuke chortled, brushing himself off.

"A date with him!? With that Baka!?" Asuka tilted her head back, "HA! Never in a million years!"

Even though Asuka always said this kinda stuff, the words still stung him every time. He stayed silent however, and the argument unfolding in front of him continued.

"Oh yeah, that's why you're going to lunch all alone together," teased Kensuke.

"Yeah," Touji joined in, "Gonna go make out or summin?"

The two boys both regretted opening their mouths instantly.

"YOU TWO ARE COMPLETE STOOGES! AS IF I WOULD EVER DO ANYTHING WITH THIS BAKA!" she screamed, causing everyone in the classroom to jump a foot. "BESIDES!" she continued, "Why should I care about what you two dummkopfs think!?" she said crossing her arms at that comment.

"Ok ok!" the two boys gave in, realising it would be harmful to their health if they continued. They had already risked their lives once today; that was enough.

Asuka put her hands on her hips and let out a triumphant "Hmmph!" before turning to Shinji. "Are we going or what!?"

Shinji jumped, "Ah ... yeah."

Asuka turned to leave, but in the argument that had just occurred, she had forgotten that her bag was still sitting next to her desk, and as the young girl took a blind step forward, her foot suddenly caught the shoulder strap. She tripped and fell face first onto the classroom floor.

Laughter erupted around her as she blushed furiously, trying to untangle herself from the bag.

Shinji suddenly appeared over her, concern on his face and a hand stretched out, "Here, let me help you up."

She slapped his hand away, glaring at him. "I don't need your help!" she yelled, her face still red with embarrassment as the class continued to laugh around her, causing her to blush further.

Shinji could see she was furious and he took a step back, seemingly reluctant to help again, but showing a spine he rarely knew he had, he took a deep breath and stepped forward again.

It really was a shame that the class's laughter had nearly died out when he spoke his next words, because it meant that everyone listening could hear what he uttered next, and it was not good.

"Asuka, you seem really tired today. You don't look well. Maybe I should take you home and get you into bed."

There was a gasp from all the students in the classroom and then silence.

Shinji couldn't comprehend what had happened, but suddenly it dawned on him what he had said.

The blood ran out of his face as Asuka began to tremble, her fists clenching.
'Oh fuck. I am so de-'

SMACK!!!!

Every single student in the class groaned in anguish as the sound reverberated around the room.

Shinji stumbled to the ground with a thud, not even putting up his hands to cushion the impact. He just lay there. Slowly he put a hand up to touch the side of his face, and pain stabbed through his cheek. He could taste blood.

Asuka stood over him, a shocked look on her face. Even though she was infuriated at what he had said, she realised too late that his intentions had been good. She had slapped him pretty hard; a natural reaction after all this time.

She stood in silence over him, her lip suddenly starting to tremble and without warning she screamed at the boy, her voice faltering only for a moment "Y-you idiot! This is all your fault!"

She pushed through the crowd of students and disappeared through the open door. Around Shinji, the whispers and murmurs of his fellow students broke the silence. The sound of his heart thumping loudly through his head drowned them out, but it could not drown out her words which repeated themselves in his mind.

He just lay there, listening.

'No matter what I do, I just push her away.'

Asuka burst through the front door to Misato's flat and slammed it shut behind her, causing several pictures that hung from the walls to come loose and clatter to the floor. Her hair was ruffled, and she was breathing heavily from running all the way from school. The bags which hung under her eyes were even more noticeable than before.

Without missing a beat, she ran to her room and threw herself onto the bed. With her face buried in the pillow, she struggled to keep herself under control.

'I won't cry, I won't cry, I promised I wouldn't cry!' the upset girl yelled inwardly to herself fiercely, punching her pillow as hard as she could as she did. The cushion was left unaffected by the attack however, and she continued her mental assault on herself.

Finally after a few minutes, she managed to regain control, sitting up on the bed slowly. So many emotions filled her body, and she struggled to pick them out of the mess.

'What the hell is happening to me?' she thought angrily, 'How could I feel so stupid, especially over that idiot,' She frowned, 'I just hit him, and I do that all the time, how is this any different?'

Asuka felt disappointed she had come so close to crying, however relieved that she hadn't. After all, she had promised herself. Suddenly she heard a door creak open nearby.

'Oh great, now I have to put up with his stupid apologies' was her first thought, before she realised that her roommate wouldn't be home yet.

She was not surprised, and not pleasantly either, when her door suddenly whipped open and a particular purple haired woman stood in the doorway, dressed simply in short jeans and a baggy yellow T-shirt.

Asuka gulped. She almost wished it was Shinji's stupid face instead of Misato's.

"You. Me. Kitchen. Now!" said the older woman almost growling through gritted teeth.

Asuka sighed, resigned to her fate, and made her way to the kitchen, before sitting down at the table.

Misato grabbed a beer and sat down opposite her, but did not open the can. The older woman glared at the young girl in front of her, her left eye twitching before she began. "What the hell Asuka!?" she almost screamed.

The Eva pilot jumped slightly, but did not respond. She sat in silence, staring blankly at Misato.

"What on Earth possessed you to hit that poor kid?"

Asuka's defensive nature suddenly jumpstarted back into operation.

"Poor kid? That idiot embarrassed me in front of the entire class!" she exclaimed, one hand on her chest, almost as if to protect herself, and the other waving through the air.

"I don't care what he did!" yelled Misato, temporarily quieting the young girl once more as she hit the table with a fist; Asuka had never seen Misato this mad before.

"I don't care if he tried to grope you, and on purpose this time, you are never to hit him like that ever again, do you understand me!?" continued Misato, anger spilling into every word, her eyes piercing Asuka's soul like lasers.

Realising this was a battle she was better off losing, Asuka lowered her head, "Yes Misato," she replied dejectedly.

Misato cracked open her beer and sculled it. She knocked back the last few dregs and finished with a sigh, before she turned again to the redhead. "What did he do anyway? He wouldn't say." Her rant was now over, and she seemed to calm down a bit.

Asuka looked up at her as she reached for another can, "You talked to him?"

With the hiss of escaping gas, Misato leant back with her second beer, "Yeah I got a call from the school and they put him on the phone. I said he could come home if he wanted, but he said he would stay. I guess he couldn't face seeing you just yet," she finished, giving Asuka a guilty glare, but the redhead ignored it.

"So what happened?" urged Misato again after a moment of silence.

The redhead put on her angry face, "That idiot said …" she faltered, reluctant to embarrass herself further.

"Go on," urged Misato rather forcefully.

"He said … I better get you home and into bed."

Misato actually chuckled slightly, "That's it?"

Asuka glared at her, "That's it? The idiot embarrassed me in front of the entire class! Right after I had fallen over too!"

The fiery girl's face went red as she remembered the humiliation, the pain she had felt, and then the weird feelings she had endured when she returned home. Asuka could feel the anger rising inside her again, and the young girl clenched her fists under the table, trying to calm herself.

Misato looked at her with sympathy. "You know he was only trying to help." she said sadly, taking a quick sip from her can.

Asuka averted her gaze, "I know but … I didn't … need that baka's help …" she finished, those last few words coming out as a whisper. She could feel the emotions she had felt earlier bursting to get out, but she held it all in place, gritting her teeth, determined not to show weakness again.

"You know," Misato began, taking another swill of beer from a fresh can, "No one will ever become close to you if you keep pushing them away."

The young girl looked at her guardian, shocked for a moment, before her face turned into her patented Sohryu scowl.

'Shut up Misato, I didn't mean to hit him THAT hard ...,' she yelled inwardly at the woman, but she could feel her anger slowly melting away, being replaced by a different, unfamiliar emotion, '... and it's not like I asked for his help, besides it was that idiot's fault in the first place ...' However her anger barrier finally broke when the weight of what she had done finally came crashing down on her, all her anger replaced by a sense of guilt '... but I suppose Misato is right in her own stupid way. Fine, I guess I will have to apologise to that baka.'

The young girl reflected back to when she had hit her fellow pilot and uncharacteristically, Asuka felt annoyed at herself for it. The redhead teased him all the time, even hit him on several occasions, but she knew this time, she had hit him just that little bit too hard. Asuka knew she had hurt more than just his jaw. She sighed. 'What am I going to do now?'

Misato seemed to read her mind, "I think you should do something to make it up to Shinji."

Asuka looked up at her, her trademark scowl returning "Why should I? He was the one who started this whole thing," her facade questioned.

As the girl looked at her guardian, with the midday sun streaming in through the half opened blinds which lit up the woman's soft face, Misato suddenly smiled. It was an evil smile, the kind of smile she put on when she was teasing the two of them, and Asuka began to feel slightly uncomfortable.

'This can't be good,' she thought as she looked back at her guardian with a suspicious look.

Finally, Misato reached behind her and pulled something out of her pocket, before silently placing it on the table in front of Asuka.

Asuka leant over slowly and examined what she now realised were two pieces of paper, revealing to Misato a substantial amount of cleavage, before she suddenly realised what they were.

She recoiled in horror, almost falling off the chair. "T-t-tickets to Okinawa!?"

Misato continued to smile maniacally, and Asuka panicked. 'She isn't suggesting what I think she is suggesting is she? Please, anything but that!'

Misato finally opened her mouth, the sheepish grin still plastered on her face.

"I won these in some stupid lottery," she began, picking the tickets up and waving them in front of her face, "and since I have no one to take with me, I thought this would be a perfect way for you two to learn to get along," she finished cheerily, throwing the tickets down on the table again, enjoying Asuka's look of horror.

"WHAT!?" the redhead snapped, "You have got to be kidding me!?"

Misato giggled, taking another sip of her beer before adding in a suggestive tone, "Did I mention you two will be all alone for 5 days?"

Asuka exploded as Misato half heartedly attempted to block the incoming attacks from the redhead, but it was hard to fend off a pissed teenager when you were laughing so hard. Asuka finally ceased her attacks and dropped her head onto the table with a dull thud. "This can't be happening," she mumbled, her voice muffled by the wood. She looked up at her guardian quickly; determination filling her voice, "I refuse to do it!"

Misato's expression changed so fast that Asuka almost jumped in surprise.

"I think you better take Shinji to Okinawa with you," said Misato, her voice filled with a mix of serious and more serious as she stared down the young girl, "and make sure he has a good time. You owe it to him."

Asuka opened her mouth to retort, but Misato cut her off.

"That's an order."

Asuka sat in stunned silence for a moment before letting out a huge sigh, reluctantly accepting the mission ahead of her.

"Fine!" she snapped, her tone suggesting she was only 6, before adding quickly under her breath, "Hündin."

Misato stood up, confident that her mission was successfully accomplished and turned to leave the room before adding, "Oh and Asuka?"

The redhead looked up at her, and Misato felt a motherly sense of pride as she noted the teenager was turning into one fine young lady.

"Be nice to the kid for once," said the purple haired women with a quick smile, exiting the room before Asuka could retort, leaving the usually exuberant redhead sitting at the table in silence.

'Today has been weird,' she thought lamely, before getting up and drifting back to her room, dragging her feet as she did.

For the next several hours, she attempted to empty her mind, but no matter how hard the young girl strived to forget it, the situation with Shinji and the trip kept pushing its way back into her mind.

'Go away,' she willed her mind fiercely, but the boy's stupid face kept popping back into her head.

At first she had been horrified at the thought of spending 5 days alone with that baka, but now that she thought about it a bit more, there were many benefits. She would be at a 5 star resort, she could go shopping and work on her tan, all the things she could barely find time to do here. Besides, Shinji wasn't that bad, just a bit stupid and cowardly. In a weird way, she often found herself liking Shinji's company. Unlike their fellow students, he was the only boy who didn't treat her like a piece of meat on display, or equally annoying, the spawn of Satan.

Although the young girl would never admit it, her fellow pilot was the only boy she felt comfortable around. Even Kaji made her feel a mixture of annoying emotions, including irritation when he chased after Misato.

'As long as that baka doesn't do anything stupid, I suppose there is no reason why we can't have a good time,' she thought, checking her alarm clock, surprised to find it had been almost 2 hours since she had gotten home.

'FINE!' she finally gave into herself after she could not remove her thoughts of the boy, 'I guess I just have to figure out what I'm going to say to him.'

It took her awhile, as she paced around her room, figuring out what she was going to say. Coincidently, she finished just as she heard the front door slam shut.

She may have been stubborn, but when Asuka realised she had done something wrong (which was almost never) she would at least accept it and take responsibility for her actions, unlike that spineless wimp Shinji. As much as she didn't care for that baka, she had a strange feeling inside, almost as if she didn't want to be on bad terms with him. She shrugged it off in her usual Asuka way.

Remembering the slap he had endured, she almost felt sorry for him, but only for a moment.

'I suppose I'll have to make sure I make it up to him.'

With that, she hoisted herself up off the bed, and went to meet the boy.