Week 19
Waking
By Rx7

The car had been quiet for some time – well over a half hour, though time really seemed of no consequence, and the two passengers in the vehicle seemingly had no desire to shatter the silence. The woman, whose eyes had far more lines around them than a mere four weeks ago, was continually changing the radio station, trying to find something worth listening to… but she was thus far unsuccessful.

The boy just sat still, looking at the back of his hands.

“Asuka said she’ll come home in a few days,” Misato said finally, keeping her eyes on the road. “I guess she had some kind of fight with Hikari’s older sister, so… she decided that we’re easier to put up with…”

She forced a smile, but Shinji simply continued staring at his hands.

Misato sighed. “PenPen will be glad to see you,” she pointed out, stopping for a red light and drumming her fingers on the wheel. “I don’t have his food right at the stroke of eight like you do…” she forced another smile, “I think he’s planning to rebel.”

Turning to look out the window, Shinji still refused to say anything.

As the light turned green, Misato’s shoulders slumped. It’s been three days, she told herself, give him some time!

Three days for him… a lifetime for her.

It had taken thirty three long, unimaginably stressful days to prepare Unit 01 for the retrieval operation – and at the end of it all, it looked like it had failed. Misato still did not know why Shinji’s body had reappeared on the gantry in front of the purple mecha, but Ritsuko swore she had nothing to do with it. And now he was next to her, within touching distance, but worlds away. “Are you hungry?” she asked solicitously. “We can stop somewhere if you want.”

“No thanks,” Shinji whispered flatly, “just want to go home…”

Misato drew a deep breath. Though it was rather cold, it was the first time he had spoken to her.

“If you change your mind, let me know,” she said as lightly as she could. “The house is in pretty good shape, I think, but I know your standards are much higher than mine, so if it seems a little off, then… then… sorry…”

I’m completely rambling; she thought dismally, I might as well start talking about how many cicadas are around.

She chose to stay quiet for the remainder of the drive, fearing that she might start filling the void between them with lines from TV shows or inane comments on the weather. When they reached the apartment and got out of the car, though, she could not keep herself from pulling him into her arms.

“I’m glad you’re back…” she whispered unevenly, releasing him as he turned away and kept his arms at his sides.

Silently, they entered the apartment, Misato leading the way.

I am not weak, she told herself, a trace of stubbornness finding its way into her thoughts, I made a promise – to myself and to him – to try to be the kind of person he needs me to be. That isn’t weakness…

She stopped in the doorway, resting a hand on his shoulder and whispering, “Welcome home…”

There was a long pause as she waited for the reply she instinctively felt would come… but there was nothing. She bowed her head as he stepped into the apartment, causing her hand to slip off his shoulder and keeping silent.

She followed him in, closing the door behind her and resting her head against it with a heavy sigh. I mustn’t run away…
**

“Was school ok?”

Shinji shrugged. “It was ok,” he mumbled, lancing a piece of baby corn with the tip of one of his chopsticks and regarding it closely. “Just… yeah, it was ok…” “Did something happen?” Misato asked, twirling some noodles around in her bowl and trying not to fidget.

“No,” Shinji replied shortly.

Misato set her bowl down, staring at the table for a moment before softly whispering, “Did you see Asuka and Rei?”

His silence was the only reply she needed.

Both girls had visited him in the hospital the day he was recovered, Misato knew, but she had no idea what was discussed. All she knew is that neither stayed longer than five minutes, and the following day, Asuka had told her that she was ready to come back. She had also heard a rumor that Rei had put in for a new apartment, though at the present time it had yet to be approved, so she did not know where the girl wanted to go… but somehow she figured it would be a lot closer by.

Great, she thought dismally, so Asuka’s comfortable enough to come home now, and Rei was so inspired by Shinji’s return that she’s actually willing to leave that dump she calls home. She stole a glance at the young man as he took a bite of chicken. Looks like they got their issues resolved… so what about us…?

Abruptly, as if reading her mind, Shinji whispered, “So I guess there’s paperwork I need to fill out to get a place of my own?”

Misato paled, willing her hand to remain steady as she reached for her can of coffee. “A little bit, yeah,” she said as evenly as she could, “but… do you really… need to…? I mean…” she trailed off, finding it too difficult to go on.

“Well I can't really stay with Touji anymore…” he reminded her coolly, his eyes flicking briefly to hers before returning to his plate as he shrugged.

This statement hit Misato like a gunshot to the stomach, making her gasp under her breath and nearly drop her drink. “That’s… ummm… well…” she stammered.

Shinji pushed his plate back, folding his arms over his chest and leveling an incredibly neutral expression Misato’s way. “And Kensuke’s place isn’t really that big,” he said, ignoring her fumbling attempt to speak. “So, if it’s not too much trouble… you can get me the forms tomorrow.”

Misato nodded dumbly, withering under his icy gaze. And I have to be the one to let you go, she thought sadly, envisioning the line marked ‘current supervisor signature’ on the transfer form, that’s… so cruel…

“I’m going to bed.”

“It’s umm… only eight,” Misato said weakly, “I was thinking I might… I dunno, rent a movie or somethi-“

“I’m tired,” Shinji cut in flatly, his lips compressing into a thin line. “I’m going to bed.”

She nodded again, averting her eyes as Shinji stood, bowing formally and politely thanking her for a nice meal.

Like a stranger, she thought, feeling just a touch faint, oh Shinji… I’m sor-

She cut the thought off, bowing her head as he left because she knew that rather than thinking those words, she should be speaking them –because if she held her silence, there was nothing to stop him from leaving… but she simply did not have the strength to do more than fold her arms on the table and rest her forehead on them.

“Damn it…” she whispered, clenching her eyes closed as his door slid open, then closed. “Damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!!!” She glanced at the clock, remembering that she had a later shift tomorrow. Of course, it really did not matter.

Because no matter what time she went in to NERV, when happened when she came home was what mattered.

And late or early, in twenty-four hours… it would all be over.
**

Shinji blinked in the darkness of his room as the soft knock at his door repeated itself. He frowned, trying to decide if he should just pretend to sleep. There was only one person who could be at his door, and only one reason she could be waking him at 2:35 AM... and he did not want to have the same discussion again.

His mind was made up – and had been since he had fought the last angel.

But if that was true, he asked himself, then why was he here? Why had he come back when everything was so warm and quiet in Unit 01? He shook his head to clear it as a third knock came.

“Come in.”

“Shinji…” Misato ask hesitantly as she opened the door. “Sorry I woke you up… but can I talk to you a sec?”

“What is it, Misato?” Shinji asked, turning his head to glance at her. “I have a test in the morning.”

Misato wrung her hands. “I had a bad dream,” she said quietly, keeping her eyes downcast. “May I please lie down with you?”

Shinji sighed. “I don’t think I’m up for that…” he said tiredly, rolling away from her and onto his side. “Goodnight Misato.”

Misato stepped into his room, walking slowly to his bedside. “It was more like a nightmare,” she whispered, kneeling next to him and folding her arms on his mattress. “I said terrible things to you and pushed you away from me, making you leave when all I wanted to do was hold on to you…”

“Then why didn’t you?” Shinji asked dully, keeping his back to her. “If you wanted to hold me so bad, why did you push me away?”

“I was scared,” the woman said quietly, “I was so scared that you would get tired of me and make me leave – I’ve been hurt so many times, Shinji, I just got scared…”

“Sounds like a bad dream alright,” Shinji muttered, “goodnight…”

He lay in silence for several minutes until he heard a soft, breathless sob behind him… but he could not bring himself to face her. The pain was still too fresh.

“Shinji…?”

“Yes, Misato?” he replied, closing his eyes tightly.

He shivered as she practically sobbed, “I… I want to wake up now, Shinji – I want to see you smile… I want to hold you… I want to make love to you again, and be close to you again, so please… please wake me, Shinji – I need you so… so bad…”

When he made no reply, Misato bowed her head, realizing that the damage was too great. Slowly, she rose to her feet, wiping her eyes with her palm and turning to leave.

“You can… lie down for a few minutes…” Shinji said quietly. “If you want to.”

Misato turned back to him, hoping to find him smiling at her… but he was still facing the wall, exactly as he had been when she turned away. Cautiously, she flipped his covers back and slid into bed with him, lying on her back and pulling the sheet up to her chin.

“Thank you…”

“Mm hmm…”

They lay like that for several minutes, the sound of slow breathing all that could be heard. Misato finally closed her eyes. One step at a time, she thought tiredly, maybe… maybe that way I can earn his trust again…

She began drifting, the stress of the day still very much with her, but fading as weariness staked its claim on her. She was almost asleep when Shinji whispered, “I had a dream like that…”

“Oh?” Misato breathed, shivering at the hollowness in his voice.

“Mm hmmm…” the boy nodded. “I was getting closer and closer to you… and you told me you didn’t want that – that it was only a game…”

“It was never a game,” Misato said quickly, barely resisting the urge to touch him, “it was…”

“It was what?” Shinji asked as she trailed off.

Misato took an uneven breath. “It was the worst relationship I’ve ever had,” she said softly, “and the best. You were so good to me that I felt like I was floating on air… and the whole time I was terrified that you would realize how bad I was treating you, or how little I had to offer you.” She sighed deeply. “I can’t blame you for not wanting to be with me anymore,” she said quietly, blinking hard… knowing she did not deserve to cry, “but I can’t forget the feeling I had when we were together…”

Shinji did not say anything.

Closing her eyes again, Misato kept her tears to herself. What did you expect? She asked herself bitterly, a few tears, a lame explanation about being scared, and he’ll fall back into your arms? God, Kaji was right… She bit her lip, wishing life could be easier, and rolled slowly onto her side to face his back, reaching out and tentatively putting her hand on his upper arm. But I won’t let this end… I deserve – WE deserve this…

“Shinji…?”

“Hmmm…?”

“Tell me what I have to do,” she said, softly stroking his arm with her fingertips, “You mean so much to me – I’ll do whatever it takes.” She slid her arms around his stomach, pulling him against her. “I won’t… embarrass you by getting on my knees and begging…” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “unless that’s what you want, Shinji. What I’m trying to say is… I’ll do whatever I have to do to make you see how much I need you…”

There was a long, painful moment of silence.

“Would you…”

Misato’s breath caught. “Yes, Shinji…?” she asked tremulously.

“Would you just hold me for right now?”

The barest hint of warmth in his voice… and Misato’s composure was blasted into nonexistence. She tightened her hold on him, keeping his body firmly against her chest and shaking all over. “Like… like this?” she managed, feeling tears on her cheeks.

“No…”

Misato sobbed quietly as the boy pulled gently away from her and turned over, embracing her with his face less than five inches from hers.

“Like this…”

Shinji averted his eyes as she began to cry, openly shuddering and gasping for air.

“Don’t cry…” he whispered gently. “I didn’t want to make you cry, Misato…”

“Can’t… can’t help it…” the woman moaned miserably. “I just… I want you to be mine again – that’s all! I just wammmm…”

She closed her eyes as Shinji kissed her, covering her mouth with his for a moment before pulling away and slowly, tenderly kissing the tears off of her cheeks. This took some doing, of course, as they continued to fall, harder and harder… until she was wailing uncontrollably in his arms, struggling to see his gentle, concerned face.

“Does… does this mean…”

Shinji kissed her as she trailed off into fresh tears, rolling her carefully onto her back and bunching the front of her pajama shirt in his fist. He slowly pulled her shirt up, breaking their kiss long enough to pull it off and throw it on the floor before finding her lips again.

Clad now in only a bra, shorts, and panties, Misato trembled, forcing herself not to throw him on his back and attack him. “I waited for you…” she gasped suddenly, “I wanted… I went…” She swallowed. “I went to a bar, Shinji,” she whispered, shame flooding her at the memory, “I wanted someone… I needed someone to touch me – to be close to me.” She met his eyes as he stopped, staring down at her uncertainly. “But I couldn’t… make myself do anything. It just felt all wrong… it felt wrong because… because the only one I want to touch me is you, and I-mmmmmmmMMMMM!!”

She let out a sharp, muffled cry as he clamped his mouth over hers, kissing her almost desperately and fondling her right breast in his palm, her nipple instantly hardening and straining against the silken fabric of her bra.

“Sh… Shinji…”

Her breathless sob was the last word between them for some time.

Slowly, Shinji sat up on his bed, waiting for her to do the same before slipping his hands around to the back of her neck and bringing her mouth to his, kissing her with muted, powerfully passionate intensity, keeping her still as he did so in an obvious declaration of control. Misato let him lead, willing herself not to try and force him to move faster. She wanted very badly to have him push her back on the bed and take her – to have him assert himself and demand that which she was willing to give.

If he hurt her a little… that was ok. She deserved some measure of pain for what she had done to him. It’s ok, Shinji, she thought, folding her arms around him and kissing him back with careful diligence, I promised myself that if you ever came back to me, I would let you do anything you wanted to me – anything at all…

For a woman as outspoken and bold as she, it was a powerful, frightening promise, but she fully intended to fulfill it – even if it was only ever in her mind.

Shinji pulled back, reaching down to pull off his shirt, but she stopped him by placing a hand on his forearm. Wetting her lips and looking into his eyes, she slowly ran her fingers across his stomach, her breath becoming slightly uneven as she drew the garment carefully over his head, leaning forward to brush his lips with hers as his face came back into view. She reached for the clasp on her bra, blinking uncertainly as he placed a hand over hers, pushing it away.

I thought you wanted this, she thought, letting her arms fall to her sides and averting her eyes as Shinji gazed at her.

Her attention was brought back around as Shinji put his hands on her breasts, circling them slowly with his palms. She smiled as an unavoidable image of the young man inspecting melons flashed through her mind. He was certainly taking great care in touching her… his brow creased with concentration as he ran his hands around, then under her breasts, feeling their weight in his grasp.

Their eyes met, and Misato felt a brief surge of fear in the pit of her stomach – not that Shinji was going to hurt her, or make her do something disgusting to get back at her… but because the last time she had seen that look in a man’s eyes she had ended their relationship and fled as fast as she could from his presence.

Her chest eased a bit as Shinji smiled, caressing the undersides of her breasts and leaning forward to kiss her on the lips. This isn’t that bad, she thought reasonably, I mean… we usually go faster, but…

She swallowed hard, hearing a dry click in her throat as she felt Shinji’s fingers sliding under the wire of her bra, drawing it slowly up. She bit her lip, exhaling with a faint, gusty whistle as the young man slid the garment inch by inch over the delicate tissue of her breasts, making the simple act of removing one article of clothing last several minutes. A little whimper escaped her as his fingernails scraped her nipples with almost painful lightness, reminding her just how stiff they were – and just how aroused she was becoming from anticipating his lips on her, and she was sure that she moaned when she felt the full weight of her breasts settling unfettered against her ribs.

Misato knew that she had nice breasts. She had read enough women’s magazines and had enough outspoken lovers to know that size wasn’t as important as firmness and resilience… and all modesty aside, she was well aware that God had endowed her with all three

But no one – not even Kaji – had ever done to them what Shinji did at that moment.

Instead of fondling them, or suckling on them, or pinching and tugging at them, the young man put his hands under her breasts, lifting them gently as if to support them, then brought his lips down on her nipples, kissing them very softly, one then the other. It was an oddly reverent gesture, Misato decided, watching his face as he slowly began kissing her all over her breasts.

Like he’s worshiping them, she thought with a shiver, I wonder if he even knows how sexy that makes me feel…

Sexy, she determined suddenly, was what best described Shinji at that time. Words like quiet, polite, and even shy were fitting most of the time… but that night, he was undeniably sexy.

Shinji closed his eyes as Misato brought her hands slowly up to cradle his head, leaning forward and touching her lips to his temple as he continued to rain her chest with soft, feathery kisses. This was how he wanted to be with her, he thought, not like the other times – all gasping and screams… but soft… and tender…

He shivered as he felt her right hand moved from his neck, down over his chest, and finally… his pants. He made no move to stop her as she caressed him for a moment, then slipped the top of his shorts down, exposing his shaft to the warm air in his room. He frowned as she hesitated, hoping she did not decide that enough was enough and it was time for IT right now, but he relaxed as her cool, slender fingers circled him, slowly stroking him as a soft moan issued from her throat.

Misato knew that she was blushing as Shinji pulled away from her chest, but she continued stimulating him with her hand. I’m not going too fast, am I? she thought with some concern. I just want to make you feel as good as you’re making me feel, Shinji…

If Shinji was upset with her masturbating him, he said nothing – in fact, he scooted a bit closer to her to allow her arm to be at a more comfortable angle, then he finally unclasped her bra (up until then, still around her upper chest) and threw it on the floor. She kept herself from moving fast, or pushing him onto his back and taking him in her mouth, but it was a narrow margin, solidified in her mind by the certainty that he would stop and ask her to leave if she grew too bold or too commanding.

Or, in short, too much like she had been before.

Her eyes slowly opened as he pulled out of her range, and she almost asked if he was angry with her for touching him, but then he put his hands on her shoulders, easing her onto her back. Uncertain as to what the young man was planning, Misato put her hands up over her head, allowing him free reign over her body. Maybe he’ll go down on me, she thought, trembling slightly at the idea of feeling his warm, gentle mouth on her. I never let him before… I was always too scared that it would feel TOO good.

The tremble became full-blown shaking as Shinji put his right hand between her legs, resting it against the front of her shorts and looking down into her eyes. He stayed still for a moment, just touching her through her pants… then he began stroking her, running the full length of his palm over the thin pajamas she wore. Misato felt her shivering slow, growing lesser and lesser as he touched her, pressing lightly with his palm. As intensely sexual as the contact was, it somehow managed to feel comfortable… and soothing.

Because it’s familiar now, she thought suddenly, giving a soft moan as his middle finger pressed a bit of her panties between her wet lips, barely brushing her clitoris. The way he touches me is… God…

She closed her eyes as he moved between her legs, grasping her shorts at the waistband and starting to pull. She lifted her rear off the bed to make it easier for him… finding herself breathless as he all but tore them off.

He still wants me, she thought as she felt the young man’s shaking hands rest on her hips. He’s breathing harder than I am… he still wants me – even after what I did to him.

Opening her eyes, she found that her assessment seemed to be correct. Shinji was shaking as he knelt between her legs, his hands gripping her hips and his eyes focused on the front of her sheer blue panties. He looked up at her, swallowing with some difficulty as he moved his hands up and began pulling her panties down, moving so slowly that it felt like time was at a standstill. He never looked away from her as he worked, and Misato was positive that the simple act of removing the last of her clothes must have taken five minutes at least. She shivered as her sex was uncovered, the night air stealing over her hot, wet skin.

Down, down, down, inch by agonizing inch, Shinji drew her panties over her long, slender legs, the fabric teasing first her thighs, then her knees, and finally her calves – ending their tortuously sensual trip by sliding over the tops of her feet.

And even that felt good.

It ALL feels good, she thought, bringing her right hand to her mouth and biting it to keep herself from begging him to go faster.

She had to close her eyes, though, as he slowly slid down between her legs, pushing gently on her knees to part them further and settling in with his cheek resting against her right thigh. Misato could feel his breath blowing against her vagina for several endless moments before he brought his lips there, kissing her sex with slow, almost graceful movements, treating the center of her being as he had treated her breasts moments before. She smiled to herself as she felt his tongue tentatively slip out, caressing her lips with clumsy, furtive care.

Clearly, Shinji had no idea what he was doing.

He’s gentle, though, Misato thought, biting her bottom lip and smiling as she reached down with her right hand to stroke his short, sweat-damp hair. I’ll tell him what to do next time…

There would be a next time – she knew that now. He may not have forgiven her entirely, and he may never forget how she had pushed him away… but, for now at least, he was hers again.

After several minutes of his inexperienced attempt, Shinji pulled back, moving to the side and placing his right hand where his mouth had just been, smiling at her apologetically.

‘It’s ok,’ she mouthed, stroking his forearm, ‘don’t stop…’

He nodded, putting his free hand on her forehead and brushing her hair back off of her face… and began stroking her clitoris with long, slow, languid strokes, staring deep into her wide eyes as he stimulated the little nub. Misato felt hypnotized, watching him watching her as he brought her steadily closer and closer to the edge. There was no ambiguity here, she realized – none whatsoever. Shinji was touching her… Shinji was staring so openly and lustfully into her eyes… Shinji was in control of her…

Shinji was going to make her come.

She realized this fact at almost the same moment it happened, his gentle, unrelenting caress on the most sensitive place on her body delivering the desired results with unforeseen intensity. Unwilling (or unable, she did not really know which) to look away, Misato’s lips barely parted in a breathy gasp as she climaxed, the hand on his forearm squeezing lightly as he watched her eyes, wetting his lip unconsciously and pressing his fingers into her with a bit more force.

Misato climaxed again, the second orgasm coming so close to the first that they were practically indistinguishable. What if he doesn’t stop? She thought suddenly, feeling her legs opening wider still as he continued to caress her. He could just keep going… just making me come over and over and over until I pass out… oh God… I think I’m going to come again…

She drew a deep, thankful breath, though, as Shinji finally relented, moving his fingers down from her clitoris and gently stroking her lips as the third orgasm faded away unrealized. A soft, whispery moan drifted through the air as Misato felt Shinji’s fingers dip into her for a moment, seemingly gauging how wet she was. He needn’t have bothered, she thought, smiling languidly.

I’m so hot I think I’m dripping…

She let her arm fall back over her head as he withdrew, moving down and positioning himself over her with no further hesitation… but waiting with the tip of his shaft inches from her wet opening, seemingly waiting for some unknown sign. Finally, he nodded to himself and began to move.

Misato groaned deeply as he pushed slowly forward, the head of his penis carefully penetrating her swollen labia. She was tender from having climaxed so recently, but he was moving so gradually, and she was so very wet, that the feeling never quite escalated into pain.

Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. God, she thought dizzily, I can feel… oh god I can feel everything…

Her head rolled from side to side on her shoulders as he stroked her with unbelievable slowness. It was unlike the handful of times they had slept together before, this time he was showing her how he felt… this time he was worshiping her with his body, showing her physically just what she meant to him…

This time he was loving her.

Carefully, she lifted her head and kissed his shoulder, trying to remember a time she had let herself be this close to someone. Years, she thought sadly, even with… all those other men, there was something missing…

She groaned again as he thrust all the way into her, his pubic hair brushing her clitoris as he ground himself against her. A perplexed expression was on her face as he leaned forward and kissed her, as if she could not quite understand what was happening to her body… then, as she felt another intense climax building in her loins, she began babbling. Words of apology and affection began spilling out of her as he put his right hand just under her arm and began tenderly stroking her face with his left, smiling warmly down into her eyes.

What am I even saying? She thought uncertainly, feeling detached and outside of herself as her lips and tongue continued pouring out what sounded like nonsense.

Then she was scratching him, her long nails digging deep, cruel trails in his back as she locked her ankles behind his slowly thrusting buttocks and screamed his name, a cacophony of passion erupting inside of her and destroying her sense of self. The person named Misato was gone… washed away in the flood that only a lover can start inside of you until only the creature known as Woman remained.

Slowly, very slowly, Misato’s senses returned. Shinji was on top of her, panting almost as hard as she was and trembling against her chest. She could taste blood in her mouth, and knew that she had bitten her own tongue… but she could not have cared less. Any pain… any suffering or degradation in the world… would be worth having this boy – this man – in her arms.

Her nose wrinkled slightly and she smiled tiredly up at the ceiling. Of course… she thought hazily, it would be nice if the bed wasn’t QUITE so wet when we were done… it would be sooooo nice to just fall asleep like this…

In spite of her distaste for the dampness under them, Misato found herself dozing, cradling Shinji’s body against her – completely unwilling to let him go. She stirred some time later, feeling him pull slightly away from her. Slowly, her eyes opened and she smiled… but it fell almost immediately as she felt two tears drop onto her chest.

“What’s wro-“ she began.

“Did you mean it?” Shinji demanded abruptly, shaking from head to toe. “Did… you… mean it??”

Quite taken aback, Misato wet her lips. “Ummm… yes…?” she whispered, praying to God that she had chosen correctly, as she honestly had no idea what he was asking her.

Her eyes widened as Shinji’s face crumpled. Slowly, he rolled off of her and sat up, burying his face in his hands.

“Sh… Shinji?” she managed, “Shinji, I-“

Shinji shook his head quickly. “I’m… s-sorry,” he gasped, wiping his eyes and turning to face her.

He was smiling.

“I love you too, Misato…”

Misato opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about… then slowly closed it, blushing as she remembered what she had been screaming when he made love to her. “Yeah…” she sighed, smiling foolishly, “I guess… ‘I love you’ fits pretty well… doesn’t it…”

“Yeah…”

Sitting up beside him, Misato stared at the back of her hands. “So, umm…” she whispered, still blushing brightly, “what happens now?” She raised her hands as his head swiveled to gape at her. “Well don’t look at me!” she laughed, “I’ve never… never said that before…”

“Oh…” Shinji mused, “well then, umm… I guess… we just… try to be good to each other…?”

Smiling, Misato laid her head on his shoulder and took his hand in hers. “That sounds ok to me,” she sighed.

With that, Shinji put his finger under her chin and raised her head, kissing her tenderly. Then, they made love once more, moving even slower than the last time, and whispering those three magic words to each other over and over again until they fell asleep, still joined, and dreamt of what tomorrow would bring.

The End

Author’s Notes: There you have it… the finale for The Lifespan of a Love Affair. LeperMessiah persuaded me to write this instead of my originally planned side for week 8, citing that this much WAFF would serve as a much more fitting conclusion to a story with so much sadness in it. So thank him if you liked it, blame me if you don’t – I’m just the medium. ^_^ Oh and why did I stress that this was an alternate ending? *shrugs* no reason, really… just… no reason… *walks away, whistling under his breath*
^_~

LeperMessiah pre-read, encouraged, and generally forced this fic into being… he also asked that this note be added to the final draft:
When I first pre-read this fic, and saw chapter 8…I was shaking my head since I can safely guess that this dolt might be doing a side-story lemon and frankly, his side story lemon stories suck so bad I’d rather read Itchy Trigger Finger for two weeks straight.

I also had some premonition that he’s gonna write a dark, ominous ending. It was inevitable with the way he weaved this story. It doesn’t take a guy with a 158 IQ to know that this will end ugly. I for one liked that ending…

But his fucking fans want a happy ending, so I fucking told him if he’s gonna write a fucking lame ass lemon like this one - I think I said this to him a few weeks or a month or two ago, he should just go for an alternate ”happy” ending since that’s what the fucking general public want. So, in hindsight – you fucking fuckers got what you wanted. A fucking happy ending and a fucking lemon to boot also. This is as close to a waffy fucking porn as he could get.

Fucking pervert in here has so many projects and ideas that I have to fucking push him to fucking finish this so that we could fucking move on with his other fucking endeavors.

Good fucking reading btw, you fucking choads!

FUCK FUCK FUCK ^_^

So, umm… yeah… *shrug*

Thanks for reading.