DISCLAIMER: No…still don't own Evangelion in any way, shape or form (minus DVDs and some various merchandise). Probably never will either, but I'm okay with that. This one takes place in the original series (not Rebuild) after the events of episode 10, "Magma Diver". 'This' is thoughts, "this" is speech. And lastly: I'd say this qualifies as either strong lime or mild lemon depending on the preferences of the reader (which is just semantics, really), but just know it means there's sexual situations of a semi-explicit nature on the horizon; readers under 18 should probably look elsewhere (although we all know how well that warning works, wink wink nudge nudge).

-HANDS ALL OVER-

Ah, night. A quiet and reflective time when the world winds down from the day's pressures. Well, at least most people would find it such. For two, however, that was most certainly not how this night felt.

"Uncomfortable" would have been far more apt.

Shinji Ikari laid out on the somewhat small bed, just trying anything to relax and put on the illusion of being asleep (while maybe trying to get some at the same time). Now why so nervous, you may ask? Well, that had to do with the other occupant of the room, a girl with red hair…and, at times, a short fuse.

The day had been eventful enough for the Third Child. First there was the operation at Mt. Asama, a failed attempt to catch an embryonic Angel. As is the standard way of things at NERV, however, it had turned into an impromptu combat under lava. Asuka had been the one to kill the Angel, but would have nearly died…had he not jumped in with Unit-01 and bridged the gap between broken coolant line and Unit-02.

It had been such an in-the-millisecond decision that it was only later that Shinji made a very astute thought to himself about the choice. 'I must be absolutely crazy,' he mused. But then again, considering every decision he had made since coming to Tokyo-3, it felt accurate. Living with Misato and Asuka certainly was aiding in that conclusion.

Afterwards, the three of them (along with Pen-Pen) had headed to a resort nearby Misato had promised to take them to (as reward for a missed trip to Okinawa and a…semi-successful operation). The onsen had been very nice, Shinji had to admit to himself. What he had heard on the other side of the fence from Asuka and Misato (and, subsequently, the thought of how little they had been wearing), however, had put an awkward damper on the remainder of the evening. 'Just as well,' he thought. 'I just wanted to get some sleep anyway.'

Without moving his head, Shinji cast his eyes very carefully over to where the redhead lay across the room. His lack of movement was to keep previously said 'short fuse' from potentially becoming lit and ruining whatever sleep he was (not likely) to get. Asuka had been…livid, to say the least, when she had been informed about their sleeping arrangement for the evening. Misato had booked a room to herself, but gave her charges one of similar size to share. For a good portion of the evening, he'd heard Asuka fume over and over about their guardian. It ran the gamut from just calling her "unforgivably cheap" to more esoteric insults and ended up somewhere in the 'vulgar' section (and in at least three languages, no less).

But, Shinji being…well, Shinji, he had simply moved the two beds in the room as far as they would go. Better to just make the best of a situation Asuka was pissed about. 'At least there were two beds in here,' he thought with some amusement. 'I can only imagine how angry she'd have gotten if there had been only one.' For just a second, the idea of the two of them sharing a bed made him blush terribly before he quickly banished that thought. 'She'd hurt me for even thinking that.' He glanced again to make sure he had not caught her attention. 'No, she's asleep.' Or, at least, she looked asleep.

Asuka Langley Sohryu was not one to dwell on things. She much preferred to just simply do things and think about them later. Now, most people would tell you this is hardly a good life plan…but anyone who knew her understood that this was not something to tell her. She lived her life by her will and in no way was she going to be led elsewhere. It would be safe to assume this reasoning as "stubborn"…but don't tell her that.

Tonight, however, she sat quiet and awake and mulling over several things in her head. Item number one had been the nerve of Misato in having Shinji room with her. 'She probably thought she was doing us a favor,' she thought. 'No, just couldn't spring for three rooms, could you?' Truth is, she wasn't as mad about this…once she'd had a look at what the resort had charged. 'For those kinds of prices, you'd think these assholes could at least make this place feel four-star.'

Number two had been her capture-turned-kill earlier that day. Oh yes, she still cursed whoever had been responsible for that abomination of a plugsuit and that bulky Type-D equipment on her precious Unit-02. But that had all been nil in light of her first solo victory. Well, except for that part where she almost took a permanent lava bath…

And that led to the third thing which, coincidentally, was the Third Child himself. Asuka's eyes moved around to the side, surreptitiously watching him from across the room. Even in the sort-of dark (the ever-present heat meant an open window and some moonlight), she could tell he was awake; she knew what his nervous shaking looked like. 'Probably afraid to fall asleep in the same room as me,' she thought. 'Hmph, baka should be grateful to receive such a privilege.'

The Second Child wasn't quite sure what to make of Shinji's actions that day. At least a portion of her morning had involved making him uncomfortable poolside. She smiled to herself at his reaction to her offering to demonstrate "thermal expansion". 'Idiot wouldn't know what to do with a girl if had the chance.' But the smile fell from Asuka's face when she remembered what Misato had told her following the removal of Unit-02 from the crater: Shinji hadn't been ordered to leap into the volcano and save Asuka; in fact, he had gone against orders. 'Oh for Gott's sake,' she had thought at the time. 'this is Shinji we're talking about. He's almost as compliant as the First!' In the time she'd known him (around a month-and-a-half by her count), he had always been one to acquiesce to someone else's wants.

To say that such an act confounded Asuka was tantamount to saying that "the Second Impact really sucked". So, a good night's sleep had been replaced by a need to understand the 'why' behind it. 'At least means he doesn't harbor any real ill intent toward me,' she concluded. 'Nobody in their right mind risks their life to that degree for someone they truly hate. Then again, maybe that just means he's in need of evaluation.' She groaned silently, this wasn't getting her anywhere.

And even beyond Shinji's reasons for his actions, Asuka was more perturbed by the fact that he had done such a thing for her. Simply put, she felt in debt to him for something like that. There's a lot of things one can do for another person that wouldn't have to involve a feeling of "being owed something", but saving a life? The redhead couldn't think of anything more in need of having a debt attached to it…and she absolutely hated being in debt to anyone for anything. To her, self-sufficiency wasn't just a virtue…it was a way of life.

'Oh, that's just what I needed,' Asuka mused, 'having a favor I owe to the inept Shinji Ikari, hovering above me like some kind of Sword of Damocles.' Her eyes traveled over to him again. He did appear to finally be relaxing, his eyes shut and a more peaceful countenance on his face. She allowed herself a small smile. 'Hmm, I guess he can be cute when he's not-' She held herself back from making an audible gasp, quickly cutting the rest of that thought off. 'What the hell is wrong with me?' she asked herself. But it hadn't been the first time. She'd had much the same thought when she met him on the 'Over the Rainbow'. 'Too bad he had to go and open his mouth and show just how meek he was,' she thought. 'There's potential there…' She sighed heavily, really wishing these thoughts would just make haste out of her head one day. 'He's just a little boy, not manly by any real stretch. Hardly in the same standing as Kaji…'

Opening her eyes once again, Asuka could only let them trace their way over Shinji's still form. Then it came to her: a thought so odd, she almost wondered if it had been her own. But there it had been, conjured up by her own conscious mind. A mix of emotions came along with it: very slight revulsion (although less than she had figured would be) with the others being equal parts fear-of-the-unknown, amusement…and, curiously, something she could only speculate was "excitement". But, even with those things on her mind, she'd be damned if she let a debt remain for long.

"Hey baka-Shinji," came Asuka's voice from across the room, startling the boy in question out of whatever light sleep he had finally managed.

'So much for that,' Shinji thought, sighing. "Y-yes?" he asked, trying to control the nervousness in his voice.

There was a slight laugh from Asuka. "Yeah, thought you wouldn't be asleep," she said, rolling over to face him. She sat up, letting her feet touch the floor. "I want to ask you a question."

'Oh great, now what?' Shinji asked himself. Getting no reply, and realizing he had let the silence linger just a little too long, he spoke up. "I'm listening."

"Misato told me what happened earlier," Asuka stated, no discernable emotional tone in her voice. "You went against orders to save me."

Shinji sighed. Of course, she had to go and bring that up. "Yeah…" he said quietly.

"Why?" was the flat, simple question that Asuka posed next.

Shinji still had no real answer, either for himself or her. Instead, he simply went with something he could call both 'what she wanted to hear' and 'truth'. "I didn't want you to die."

"I get that much, dummy," Asuka replied, "but I mean why? I know you, always doing whatever you're told. Home, school, NERV…you don't exactly have a long track record of saying 'no' to anyone."

'Damn, she's quick,' Shinji thought. Asuka certainly knew how to see through simple, pat answers. "Well, that's the truth," he explained, "but I guess…I don't know, I just couldn't let a friend down." He immediately blushed and began to stumble on his words somewhat. "I…I mean, if that's okay with y -you for me to consider you a f-friend and…" He finished with a sigh, wishing he could control his words better in moments like this.

Another long stretch of silence fell across the room. Shinji was more than happy to let it remain, hoping that had been good enough reasoning for Asuka. But no, that was not to happen. "That means I owe you now, doesn't it?" she asked, some of her usual attitude coming through audibly.

Shinji's head snapped around to face her again, his eyes wide. "W-wait…what?"

"I said, 'I owe you'," Asuka repeated. "And just so you know, I'm not fond of debts."

Shinji sat up, turned himself towards Asuka and held her gaze for a moment before looking down at the floor. "Asuka, you don't owe me anythin-"

"It doesn't matter if you feel like that," Asuka cut him off, her voice rising somewhat. "What matters is that I know that I owe you something." She shook her head at him. "You don't just save someone's life and then not expect anything in return."

"Well, I don't want you to feel like that," Shinji said, not raising his eyes to her.

"That's too bad," Asuka replied. Shinji heard her move from sitting to standing, but she didn't move any closer. "Now then," she continued, in what he considered her 'high-and-mighty' voice, "I have decided upon a form of payment for such a drastic and…uncharacteristic action." She paused for a moment, but he wasn't sure why. "You are permitted, for a little while…to touch my glorious form."

Shinji blinked hard several times. "W…w-what?" There was absolutely no way he had heard that…right?

"I said," Asuka repeated, this time putting a small amount of force behind the words, "that you are being given the chance to touch me." Shinji finally looked up at her. The look in his eyes was priceless. 'Baka,' she thought with some humor. 'He's probably about to pass out just from blushing.'

The idea had caused some initial conflict in her mind, but Asuka had to admit that there were certain merits to it. It was certainly a fair trade-off for his actions earlier, it would give her another adult experience under her belt (good training for Kaji, she told herself), and, truthfully…she trusted him not to overstep boundaries. He might be a baka hentai like all boys his age, but at least he understood rules well enough…especially if behind them was a very real threat of serious physical harm.

And, though she was more reluctant to admit it, Asuka had been feeling that certain little itch nagging at her lately. 'Damn hormones,' she regularly cursed. But, try as she might to ignore them, human needs are still human needs: they need attending. And no way in hell was she going to risk taking care of it herself with him in the same room. 'Not even the bathroom would afford enough privacy.'

What followed Asuka's repeated statement was what could only be described as the single-most uncomfortable moment either pilot had ever had. For her end, it was because of Shinji's lack of reaction. He simply sat on his bed, looking down at the floor. 'Jeez, I'd at least expected him to stutter and twitch a little,' she thought, sighing. This was certainly not going as expected.

And then, there it was, the shortest and softest of replies: "No."

Now, it was Asuka's turn to blink hard. 'Did…did he really just turn me down?' She shook her head, thinking maybe she had just misheard him. "…what did you say?"

"I said 'no'," Shinji said, with more volume this time. He really didn't have time for these games of hers. He just wanted to sleep, and Asuka seemed intent to replace that with teasing at his expense.

It wasn't that Shinji was feeling brave, he just wasn't awake enough to stop his brain from spitting out the first thing it came up with. Having finished what he intended to say, he laid back down and rolled towards the wall, hoping Asuka would just take the hint and let the whole thing go.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Asuka hissed.

Of course such a thought had been wishful on Shinji's part, she had already proved she wasn't one to let things go. "Asuka…" he began, "I'm tired and I just want to sleep. Just…drop the whole thing, okay? I don't have the time or energy to play along with your tricks." He stopped, saying the next part much lower. "And I don't like being used…"

Shinji didn't look back up at her, but heard Asuka cross the room and stand over him. He shut his eyes, just hoping that would end this whole ordeal. Instead, he felt her take a seat very gently on the side of the small bed. "Look baka," she started, her tone soft and clear, "I'm not one to do things like this for just any reason. You did something for me freely and I'm offering you something freely, no questions asked, no hidden motives." She breathed a heavy sigh. "You should really learn to appreciate your good fortune, you know?"

Something in her tone told Shinji this may not be as malicious as he was thinking it was. He opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward Asuka. Accented by the moonlight, he did admit that it further softened her delicate features. 'Maybe…maybe this time she's being genuine,' he told himself. "O-okay…" he began, the nervousness in his voice making its presence known again. "So supposing this isn't some kind of game," he paused to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat, "what are the restrictions?"

The smile he saw come over Asuka's face wasn't evil by any stretch, but there was a feeling behind it that made Shinji feel a little less sure about his choice of words.

"I just knew you'd see it my way," Asuka said, still smirking. She was just relieved Shinji had decided on going along with it, having been surprised he had turned her down a few minutes ago. 'Let's just see how far he'll go along with it now,' she thought. At least some part of her was getting amusement out of this. "Alright then," she began, turning her body around to fully face him, "first thing: if at any point I say 'stop', then that's that. No exceptions. Two: no kissing. And three: you shall keep your hands away from there unless told to."

"Um…where?" Shinji asked, confusion clearly on his face. She noted that he had begun to sweat already.

Asuka rolled her eyes at his obliviousness. "I mean there, baka," she replied, pointing toward her lap.

Shinji gulped again, now sweating a bit more. "O-oh."

"Exactly," Asuka said. "Aside from those three things…it's pretty much up to you." She placed her arms behind her, supporting her thin frame and allowing Shinji a look at her. 'I expect he'll get a nosebleed any second now,' she mused, at least wanting to let a small laugh escape. The Third Child's expression was just what she had been hoping for, a slack-jawed stare that normally would have earned him a rough slap on the back of the head. Upon noticing he had yet to move, she gave him that one last verbal nudge. "Well, go on…I'm not going to hand-hold you through this. You have to make that move, Third Child." She made sure to put some force on that last word.

Asuka watched Shinji swallow hard (yet again) and raise his hands toward her. She closed her eyes and allowed herself a small grin. She knew exactly where he would be heading first. It was programmed into all males, after all. 'And I've caught him staring at them often enough,' she thought. 'Oh yes, he'll go right for th-'

Asuka's thoughts were cut short and a sharp intake of breath was heard from her when Shinji's right hand found contact not, on her breasts (as she had been thinking), but her left cheek. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him, a far more calm look on his face (although calling it "calm" would be relative, there was still quite an amount of fear there) and as best of a smile he could manage. "S-sorry, I just wanted to f-feel how smooth it is…" he said, sounding a little dazed.

Asuka closed her eyes again and relaxed into his palm, but made sure to keep her tone all-business. "Keep apologies to a minimum if you don't want this ending early."

"Y-yes ma'am," came Shinji's squeaked reply. Asuka could feel the contours of his hand, the softness of them against her own skin. 'Mmm…' she thought, 'okay, maybe he's good for a few things.' She felt him move over to feel her other cheek with the backside of his hand, sending little tingles through her system. It was relaxing in a way, but it also added to another tingle much further south.

That one, however, was put on hold when the fingers of both of Shinji's hands found their way to her hair. Asuka could feel every stranded being treated like it was fine silk. Maybe a little too softly, really. 'He doesn't need to treat me like I'm made of crystal, for Heaven's sake.' When both hands made their way to her scalp and began to lightly massage, she couldn't stop a soft and appreciative 'ooh' from escaping her lips. She quickly recovered in her customary fashion with a quick, "You didn't hear that." She cracked her eyes to see him nod before resuming what he had been doing.

Asuka had to admit, while not what she had been expecting to happen, this was quite nice. It had been a long time since anyone had ran their hands through her hair. It could be seen as sensual, yes, but there was also a deeply calming element to it. She immediately missed it as Shinji's touch moved lower to her shoulders, where her usual bed attire of a loose-fitting shirt left some of the sensitive skin of that area exposed. She felt his fingers moved shakily over the bare skin where her neck met her right shoulder, sending even more sensations dancing through her body.

Those same fingers were soon tracing lines down Asuka's right arm and down to her hand, where Shinji took it into both of his and began to softly massage her knuckles and fingers. 'I can't remember the last time I felt this…at peace,' she thought in a haze. A small part of the back of her mind reminded her that she shouldn't be enjoying this to the extent that she was…but she quickly squelched that idle thought. 'Fuck it,' she thought, 'feel now, think later.'

Asuka felt his hands leave her right and one of them place itself on her left thigh. For a moment, she felt Shinji was about to overstep his boundaries…then the hand slowly made lazy circles, causing her small "inner fire" grow just a bit. He didn't really seem to be trying to make anything happen, just taking in the textures and sensations of her skin. While it felt nice, she wished he would just avoid the less-sensitive places for the moment. Deciding she would need to give him a more obvious cue, she raised her left leg onto the bed and spoke up. "Go ahead…keep moving lower." She opened her eyes to fix him with a look that (she hoped) said the same.

Thankfully, Asuka felt him keep moving lower. Shinji first moved down the remaining length of her thigh and to her knee, where he took care to softly press and feel around with his fingers, more a massage than anything. It helped cool the redhead's growing excitement somewhat. 'Good…I didn't need that yet,' she thought. 'Wait…yet? Am I actually hoping he'll get me off?' For just a second, she wanted to throw that idea away. But, as is her way, she reminded herself, 'Oh well…whatever happens, happens.' It didn't at least sound like a bad idea at the moment.

Shinji, meanwhile, was just waiting at any moment to spring awake. Even at this point, he simply couldn't believe that this was happening. Asuka was allowing him to touch her…and not just simply in a hand-on-the-shoulder kind of way, in a 'touch me' kind of way. To say that he was willing was quite an understatement. Afraid, but still willing. He had already come to the decision that she would back out at any moment, so he chose to get as much out of it as possible.

Up to this point, most of his roaming had been on areas he had previously considered 'non-sexual, but not likely to ever get my hands on'. True, he had wanted to start right at chest-level, but decided he wouldn't push his luck that far. He had always wanted to touch her face and hair, hoping both were as soft and smooth as they looked (they were). And then next had been down her shoulder, arm and hand, making sure to take in as much tactile sensations as he was capable of. There was a very high likelihood this would never happen again, so he wanted to take in as much as his sense of touch could possibly tell him.

When he had laid a hand on Asuka's thigh, Shinji half-expected her to end it there. If she had, he would have been fine with that: he certainly had enough for future…ahem, reference. But no, she had raised a leg and dared him to keep going. Now, he had been called a great many things (most of them by the redhead, her most peculiar one being "turnip")…but stupid was not really accurate. Dense, maybe. Avoidant, yes. But not stupid. Unlike Asuka had said before, he did know how to appreciate his good fortune…sometimes.

So Shinji continued down Asuka's slender left leg, feeling every muscle and tendon. He always wondered if her legs felt as in-shape as they looked, now he had his answer: a definite yes. His hands then made their way to her foot and began to knead slowly, which elicited a small moan from the Second Child. He wisely chose not to acknowledge the sound, figuring it could possibly provoke an angry response from her (or, worse, cause her to end this prematurely). Instead, he just focused on his handiwork…so to speak.

That small sound, however, had planted a thought in Shinji's head. The idea that this had gone from some strange kind of repayment (or, more likely, an abrupt end and her confirming he was as much of a hentai as she accused) to the notion that, 'maybe she actually wants this.' And, try as he might, he couldn't ignore it. 'Maybe she wants me to move this further?' he asked himself. It certainly had the mark of something Asuka would do: don't ask for something, make the other person figure out what you want. Definitely risky…but he had already guessed that Asuka would end this at any point, so why not go for broke? Besides, it wasn't exactly like he had many more options of what to touch.

Shinji's hands released the foot they had been holding and moved up to the Asuka's chest. For just a second, he hesitated and took in exactly what was (he hoped) about to happen. At least part of it he hadn't even allowed himself to fantasize heavily about. 'Oh well…' he thought, amazed he could even think clearly by this point, 'no backing out now.' So he reached out and gingerly placed his hands on her breasts.

There was just a moment of fear as Asuka's eyes snapped open at the sudden contact. "Uh…umm…" Shinji fumbled, trying to control the many thoughts fighting to make their way out of his mouth. "I-if you want to s-stop here…"

"Baka…" the familiar insult came, more of a heavy breath than a word. "I told you…when I say so." Asuka's expression hardened just a bit. "You got that?" Shinji couldn't find the words, only nodding dumbly. "Good…" she finished, her face softening and closing her eyes again.

Clearing his throat and taking a long breath, Shinji slowly began feeling around. He found her breasts were larger than he had anticipated. Apparently, both her plugsuit and school uniform did very good work in hiding the nature of her curves. He didn't get fancy with things, just touching the area above them and around the underside before moving back to the mounds themselves. Trouble is, there was a shirt and bra in his way from getting a more complete experience. He gave the hem of her shirt a light tug, which caused her to open her eyes. "Can…can I r-remove this?" he asked. "I mean…if y-you want to…" Asuka rolled her eyes again and grabbed at the end of the garment, pulling it free of her in an instant.

Shinji tried not to stare too hard, but, well…he can't really be blamed for that, now can he? This had been the most undressed he'd ever seen Asuka (or imagined he'd ever see). He guessed he would have blushed more…if the blood weren't already being directed elsewhere. It was just a plain white bra, but it revealed enough. He placed his hands once again of her chest, a slight shiver coming over her at the moment.

This continued for another couple of minutes until Asuka gently moved his hands away. Shinji's eyes widened even further when he saw one hand move behind her, the garment going limp a few seconds later. It didn't fall, however, because she held it in place. "You want to see?" she asked in a hushed tone. He could barely nod. 'This can't be real…this can't be real…' he thought over and over. He was so sure this would be where the dream would end (much like they usually did). But no, no dream this time. The bra slowly fell away, exposing what lay beneath. This time, the redhead kept herself upright but let her arms fall behind her back.

"Gaped" would be an accurate term for what Shinji was doing. They were indeed larger than he had expected, an average B-cup (he guessed) by anybody's standards. Larger than many girls her age, but not enough to beat Misato…but given Asuka's age, certainly possible one day. Just a shade more pale than the more usually-seen parts of her body, almost the color of crème. And pretty little pink nipples, already half-hard from his earlier squeezing.

Shinji couldn't stand it any more, he had to touch them right then. He hesitantly reached out, trying to gauge Asuka's reaction. If she was going to stop, this would be a perfect time. Luckily, by the way she shivered and moaned, that didn't seem to be coming. So he simply continued to squeeze and knead her flesh, just taking in what places were soft and which were more firm. When he came to her areolas, the Third Child placed both hands on her breasts and tenderly rubbed the soft pink areas with his thumbs. Underneath his palms, he could feel a small tremor move through her. And her nipples fully stood up, poking out into the night air. Feeling somewhat emboldened by his activities, he decided to risk moving things a little more ahead.

After all, given everything else he had been allowed to do…what could just a little taste of her hurt?

Asuka, for her part in all this, was fighting to keep at least a semblance of control. A little massaging touch on her foot had been nice, but when Shinji had started on her breasts, she had a second where she felt like ending this full-stop. Thing was, that little itch in her lower abdomen had become much more of a bonfire by that point. So more (normally) rational ideas were quickly being supplanted by the need to keep these sensations going…all the way to the end if necessary.

When Shinji had (meekly) requested the removal of her shirt, Asuka had to give him a little credit: he actually didn't just settle on getting his hands on her, he wanted them on her bare skin. 'Rubbing off on you, am I?' she thought, quickly shaking away the accompanying mental image. 'Bad Asuka,' she chastised herself, 'keep focused for now.' She granted his wish, the shirt's removal tickling her now-sensitive skin greatly. Although it felt very nice for the next few moments, she simply couldn't get enough of it through the fabric of her bra. So it had to come off.

Oh yes, Shinji's reaction had been priceless, but it also further heightened her excitement. The feeling of skin-to-skin contact in that area was incredible, and when he had finally started working on her nipples…it was all she could to suppress what coursed through her system, only letting a small bit of it out. They had always been very sensitive, even in the best of circumstances. Now, though, she began to feel like if he simply kept his attention there, she would end up having a very strong climax.

So there simply was no way Asuka could hold in the combination of gasp and moan that erupted from her throat when she felt the warmth of lips on her hardened right nub. "I…ah!…I didn't tell y-you to…oh!…" she tried to scold, sounding more unconvincing every second. "Fine, fu…fuck it," she hissed through another wave of pleasure, "j-just don't…mmm…stop y-yet." Shinji said nothing back because, well, it's quite rude to talk with one's mouth full.

Asuka felt like she was in paradise. Or at least as close to it as she could imagine. The voice wanting her to end this and be very angry at Shinji was fast becoming nothing more than a squeak. Maybe she just couldn't hear it anymore over her own moaning. Either way, any last thoughts about not taking this to its conclusion were hastily blown away. This just felt too good not to be right.

Shinji's lips switched from the right tit to the left one, his tongue making small circles on Asuka's tender areolas. Then came the little nibbles and bites all around her breasts, before he finally took one of her nipples between his teeth. Unfortunately, given his inexperience, he bit just a little too hard, causing the redhead to yelp in pain. "Gott verdammt, gentler!" she harshly whispered. He gave out a very quiet "sorry", which, in an unusual show of will, she chose to ignore. 'Don't ruin this,' she reminded herself. 'Be mad at the baka later.' At least he did what he was told, picking up where he left off but being much more careful.

Asuka took the moment to wrap her arms around Shinji's head, ensuring that it wouldn't leave the area until she wished it so. 'His hair's so soft,' she idly thought somewhere during this, 'don't know why I thought it wouldn't be.' Her mind was latching onto anything it could at this point, just trying to stave off the inevitable finish. Trying, though, being the key word. 'Oh Gott, his tongue's so soft, too.'

Deep in her lust-clouded head, Asuka's unconscious mind had already decided on her next actions. Neither of them were what she had been intending from the start, but they simply felt like the only way this could go by now. So she removed her arms from around Shinji's head, took his right hand…and plunged it right into her shorts and panties.

Shinji immediately looked up from the breast he had been diligently working on and stared at Asuka with a look full of both fear and excitement. "A-Asuka…" he said in a cracked voice, "a-are…are you s-sure-"

"No words now," Asuka cut him off, a breeze from the open window causing her saliva-coated nipples to stand even straighter. "If you d-don't keep going…I'll. Do. Very. Bad. Things," she finished, heavily enunciating every word and fixing him with the most serious glare she could manage at the moment.

Shinji nodded shakily, his head returning to her chest and his hand beginning its cursory examination of her most private section. Asuka felt his fingers run slowly down the small patch of ginger hair there and lower, hoping he wouldn't make some kind of comment on how wet she (most likely) was. But, being his mouth was once again busy, that didn't happen. He ran his palm up and down the length of her vagina, sending some very powerful jolts of pleasure through the redhead's body. She squirmed and bucked with each one, any last vestige of self-control thrown to the wind. She made many sounds, none of them discernable words in any fashion. Then his index finger found its way into her opening, definitely not finding much resistance given how aroused she was already, and made slow (almost hesitant) movements in and out of her.

All of these things made Asuka decide that now was as good a time as it would be to put her "other action" she'd been thinking of into play. Much like she'd done with Shinji's right hand, she took her own and reached into his shorts, taking a firm (but upside-down) hold of his penis. Somewhere between four and five inches, if she had to guess. Which, remembering some of the stories from her collage roommates about their boyfriends, was decent for a boy his age…and warm. Very warm.

"Ah…A-Asuka…" Shinji moaned against her breast, sending another ripple of ecstasy through the redhead. She didn't bother answering (mostly because she simply couldn't), she only tightened her grip and began stroking him.

If one could've gotten a look inside Shinji's mind at the moment, they would have no doubt found that most rational thought had disappeared after Asuka's last few actions. He could not fathom that this was happening. Of course, he was also first-knuckle-deep in her…so it's hard to say which one was more of an overriding priority. His hand and fingers moved as if driven by instinct, no real rhythm or plan.

Shinji would have realized that Asuka was doing pretty much the same thing…but he didn't, mostly because of the fact of exactly just how roughly she was pulling on him. Apparently, after enough arousal, "gentle" stops being part of the equation. At least her sweaty palm helped lubricate things a little. But he was also slightly grateful for it: if she were any less frantic, he would have blown from her simply touching it. So, both good and…violent as her treatment of his manhood was, he chose to focus as much as he could on the warm confines he found his finger inside.

Actually, "warm" was a bit of a misnomer. Hot was much more fitting, Shinji thought, Asuka's inner walls feeling like damp, heated velvet. He had never felt such warmth or softness ever. 'And so wet,' he mused, the moisture that had spread on his palm telling him as much. By now, he'd moved his head away from her breasts, needing more air than he could get with part of her in his mouth. Their positions were much a mirror of each other: sitting up, leaning against the other person, panting and moaning and sweating terribly, right hand in the other's crotch.

All of this continued for almost another three minutes until Asuka's movements became much less consistent, her grip finally relaxing enough to give Shinji his release. He felt the familiar tingle run down his spine before groaning and releasing four (maybe five, he wasn't sure) spurts. Like most teen boys, he had become…well-acquainted with himself recently. But he had never had such a powerful orgasm like that on his own. It could have simply been because it was another person…but he had an inkling that it wouldn't have been as much if it hadn't been her.

While spent and barely able to see through the haze, Shinji kept at his work on Asuka's pussy. He could not even imagine the kind of trouble he'd be in if he didn't make certain she came.

Asuka was only vaguely aware of the warm, sticky feeling on her hand and wrist, instead choosing to concentrate fully on her own genitals. 'So close now…' she managed to think. She could hear words mixed with her moans, a strange mash-up of languages and sounds that was alien to her. She was far too gone past the point of caring, however. All that mattered now was getting there, dammit. The bonfire in her gut had reached the intensity normally reserved for celestial bodies, and was still climbing even higher. She didn't even know she was able to become this aroused, let alone reach it.

But, like all good things, it had to come to an end. Shinji's thumb inadvertently found her clitoris, which had always been where Asuka went to quickly finish. Damned if it didn't work just as expected, sending a blinding flash of pure sensations moving outward from her vagina. There was no scream (that she was aware of), just a long, cracked, choked gasp that lasted what felt like hours. Her grip on "little Shinji" tightened sharply, her ears only dimly hearing him grunt in pain over the wash of white noise all around her. She collapsed against him another minute later, breathing like someone breaking the ocean's surface after nearly drowning.

Asuka spent the next few moments just recovering, feeling her other senses come back into focus and working order. The first thing she managed to feel through her post-orgasm fog was a finger being removed from her, causing one last shiver to run through her. And as more and more of her system returned to normal, she became aware of a few things: one, she was leaning against a very sweaty (although so was she) Shinji; two, her state of undress and dampness; three, exactly what kind of animal she had been during all of that; and four, of course, the fact that her right hand was still in his shorts and covered up to the wrist in a light coat of his semen. She slowly withdrew the appendage, only now taking in its glazed appearance. It was just too much, she needed to get out of there and think for a while. Her voice had been difficult to find, but it finally managed to reach her mouth. "I…I'm going to…go clean up," she spoke after sitting up, her tone both hushed and dazed. She saw him nod slowly, staring off into the room, while she collected her shirt and bra (with her clean hand, of course) and stood from the bed, more than a little shaky.

As soon as she made it into the small bathroom, Asuka locked the door and lost her footing, slumping against the door. It all came rushing back to her, exactly what they had just done. Strangely, she realized, there was no revulsion this time. But there was the shame…she had come completely unhinged and let her libido lead her. And that was the part that truly bothered her: it had been her leading Shinji through the whole thing. Aside from a scant few choices of his own, she had started and pretty much directed how everything had happened. She came much harder than she ever had on her own. And she had really enjoyed how hands-off-the-wheel uncontrolled it had unfolded.

That she had enjoyed the loss of control unnerved the dominant redhead. "What the hell happened to me?" Asuka asked quietly, to no one in particular. She shook her head, standing again and walking over to the wash basin. Turning on the hot water, she began removing Shinji's (now-dried) seed from her skin. She found it gross, to be certain, but no more than any other person unfamiliar with that bodily fluid would be. It was more the deeper implications that bothered her. The way she had let go, if they hadn't came when they did, she was sure they'd have ended up having sex…and with no protection, at that.

Asuka shivered at the thought. 'Is that what I wanted?' she mused. 'Did I actually want him to fuck me?' She shook her head again, turning off the hot water and turning on the cold before splashing some of it in her face. 'Was it just because he was another person,' she continued thinking, 'or was it because I…trusted him in the first place? Is that it?' At least Shinji had been gentle with her (minus one or two things). But he was just another boy, after all…right? She sighed heavily. Just paying him back after saving her life had ended up opening up a complete new batch of issues to deal with. 'First things first, though.'

Retrieving a new pair of panties and shorts from her bag (which she had left in the bathroom to protect her clothes from, as she put it, "being used by a baka hentai like you for pleasure"), Asuka stripped herself of the soaked garments and gingerly toweled off the area (being careful not to irritate the now-sensitive skin) before putting on her fresh clothes. She then put her bra and shirt back on, wiped away some of the condensation that had built up on the mirror…and took a long, hard look at her reflection. The redhead wasn't sure she was looking back at the same person. She'd seen a side of herself she didn't know was there tonight…maybe it was just something present in everyone? But the fact that it had been there at all (and in front of someone else, no less) was more than she wanted.

Asuka walked softly over to the door and unlocked it, taking a very deep breath. She would have a lot to sort through after this…but what was next would be the most pressing. 'Alright, Asuka. Things have to be said,' she mentally told herself, snapping back into her "great Asuka Langley Sohryu" routine, 'lines have to be redrawn, control has to be reestablished.' She gripped the handle and slowly pulled it down. 'Otherwise…somebody might get the wrong idea.'

Shinji, for his part, had already recovered and done his part in cleaning up after their "fun". He'd changed his underwear, cleaned his hand of Asuka's secretions and replaced the sheets on the bed (silently thankful that no-one had been present in the hallway as he dumped the soiled linens in the laundry chute). Afterwards, he sat on the edge of his bed and watched his hands do their open-and-close nervous twitch while trying to wrap his head around what just happened. His thoughts were a complete mess, unable to focus on any one thing. One thought, however, stuck out: 'Now what?'

The sound of the bathroom door opening drew Shinji's attention over to the redhead returning to their shared room. Asuka walked over to her bed, keeping her eyes downcast and landing with a soft 'thud'. For a minute, a tense silence engulfed them both. But, try as he might not to, the Third Child had to break it. "Umm…Asuka," he started, his voice lacking volume, "I…I think-"

"Stop," Asuka cut in with a single word, her even tone surprising him. "Just…" she paused, taking a breath, "I think some things need to be cleared up." She looked up at Shinji, who barely nodded, but she caught that and continued. "You know, what just…happened, you understand that doesn't mean anything…serious, right?" He nodded again, realizing where this was going. Crush on her or not, this was going to hurt a little. "Okay," she said, rising from the bed to sit down on his (but making sure to keep nearly a foot-and-a-half between them). "And of course, you do know that if anyone finds out about any part of this, you'll wish I had just killed you outright," she threatened, a menacing gleam in her eyes. "Right?" He nodded yet again, knowing full well she could (and most likely would) keep such a promise (not that anyone would believe him if he did tell them).

"Good baka-Shinji," Asuka continued, but he could almost imagine there being a slightly playful quality to the familiar insult. "Now that that's out of the way," she said, looking away from him again. "I want to be honest for a moment." She stopped for a few seconds, breathing a heavy sigh. "I…I really enjoyed that."

Shinji couldn't believe his ears. Had Asuka really just said such a thing? "W-what?"

"Don't make me repeat myself," the Second Child snapped back, still keeping her eyes off him. "But that's to be expected, no sane person doesn't enjoy an orgasm." Asuka's tone-of-voice was moving back towards something Shinji would have best described as 'haughty'. "Especially one that strong…" she cut herself off, shaking her hear slightly. "Although you could have warned me you were going to do that." He barely had time to part his lips before she spoke again. "And, I swear to Gott, you'd better not apologize about it now." He snapped his mouth shut, almost (literally) biting his tongue. "Good boy."

"I…I enjoyed it t-too, A-Asuka…" Shinji managed to say, the nervous tone in his voice trying to compete with the blush on his face for which spoke loudest. "I was just…a-afraid that I'd t-taken advantage of y-you…"

It started as a small thing, but soon enough, Asuka was engulfed in a fit of laughter. Shinji tried his best to laugh along, although he wasn't even sure why she was in the first place. "Jesus, Shinji," she said after a moment, "you…you thought you might be 'taking advantage of me'?" She was overtaken by another bout of giggles. "You're a bigger dummy than I thought." He frowned slightly at her, not nearly as amused by this as she was. "Baka…you can't take advantage of the willing. After all, at no point did I say 'stop', now did I?"

Shinji blinked repeatedly, taking in what she had said. True, she never did tell him to stop…but he just felt this nagging sensation that he'd overstepped some kind of boundary that she laid out (and didn't bother to tell him about, which would be very Asuka-like). But that she had been willing the whole time…well, that was a lot for him to take in. "I'm…I'm glad y-you enjoyed it, Asuka," he said softly, almost a whisper.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shinji could see Asuka nod. "You didn't do half-bad…for the baka hentai you are," she replied, slipping in one of her favorite insults. "At least you finally got to use what you learned from all that porn, right?"

Shinji attempted to muster some kind of a defense to her statement, but it came out more or less as a jumble of half-hearted, half-formed sentences. Asuka gave a small laugh at this before he stopped. "Jeez, you should learn to take a joke every once in a while, Ikari," she said, standing back up and in front of him. "There is just one more thing, though," she stated, her face and pose becoming very statuesque.

Shinji inwardly flinched. Of course, he wasn't about to get away with…well, whatever he had done…without some kind of retaliation. "Close your eyes," Asuka ordered, which he readily did. No use in adding to his punishment (but for what, he wasn't sure). The incoming slap or smack never materialized, however: instead, his breath caught in his throat when he felt something warm and soft against his lips for a few moments. Although he could guess what it was, he didn't dare open his eyes out of fear. As the pleasant (very, very pleasant) sensation left, he could barely hear Asuka say, "Now we're even, Third."

When he opened his eyes, Shinji found that Asuka had returned to her bed and was facing away from him. "W-what was that?" he asked.

Asuka didn't bother turning around look at him. "I said, 'get some sleep already'," she spoke up. "Understand?"

Shinji nodded, although why he did was unclear; it wasn't as if Asuka could see him. "Y-yes, ma'am," he replied, getting her meaning loud-and-clear. He pulled the fresh sheet back and laid down, hoping for even a little rest tonight. "Good night, Asuka," he told her. The grumble he got in return was good enough for him. So he simply laid back and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him…or at least he hoped it would.

And so, another night ends for the world. For those two, however, a night that began as "uncomfortable" has only been enhanced. Some hormonal release, yes…and while said uncomfortable feeling in the room isn't the same one that had been there earlier, it was still in the air nonetheless.

Still, both Children managed to fall asleep this time…with, of course, thoughts and dreams about their previous "activities" being well-in-mind.

There was one thing that was certain, however: mornings at the kitchen table would be awkward for a while, to say the least.

-END-

A/N: Y'see, this is the kind of thing that pops into your head when you've had Blood Sugar Sex Magik on repeat too often in the same week (along with Koi no Yokan, Night Time and the first two Sunny Day Real Estate albums, but none of those contributed much to this one…well, maybe "Tempest"). Otherwise, there's just too much sex to leave in your head unattended. It has to come out somewhere. Kinda figures the first thing that pops out of my head after another long-ish hiatus (at least this one was shorter) would be citrus, doesn't it?

If anyone is wondering if the little awkward moments in the story's content was intentional…yeah, they were. It's not something approached in Evangelion lemons very often (if at all), but let's get honest for a moment: we've all been teenagers (or still are) at one point, and I'm 95 percent certain most of you had awkward first experiences (some maybe not even worth remembering). I just wanted to convey that here: it's not all awesome first time 'round. Well, it does feel awesome at least…but I digress. I simply looked to make it an authentic teenage moment. And if it doesn't feel as WAFFy or romantic as most of my previous? Again, kind of the point. It's not always gonna end with "I love you"s being passed around all pell-mell. At least I hinted at it, though…

Also, this time around, I wanted to keep the tone light and irreverent at times. Not comedy (or is it porn-medy in this case?), but less serious than my usual. Never tried it before, figured this was as good a time as any to try. Couldn't resist veering back towards drama a little there near the end, though, could I?

Now, in an interesting change-up, the beta-reading/pre-reading for this one was done outside of the usual community/communities. Instead, I enlisted a very important lady in my life (no, not my mother…talk about one hell of an Oedipus moment): Ash, the "very nice young woman" I made mention of in the A/N of THERE IS A LIGHT. Yep, still together and quite happy after almost two years. I've already brought her into the circle in regards to Evangelion…and therefore, Evafiction. She's definitely taken a liking to both (funny enough, with absolutely no leading her there, she arrived at being an A/S 'shipper as well). In a sense, it means that anything I write for the foreseeable future will be more of a collaborative effort from the both of us. Definitely a trial-by-fire for her in this case, the first one she's involved in being vaguely in the "erotica" section and all. Ah well, at least she humored me by playing along…and contributed nicely to both Asuka's perspective and ideas for the flow of the, ahem, "activities". Plus, her being right there really helped make that stage go along quicker (what you've just read was, essentially, less than a week's work).

But you must also be asking, "Bardi, how did you manage to talk Mitsumi into being okay with you writing this?" Real simple: ever since her "metamorphosis" (documented in THERE IS A LIGHT's first omake) she's been much more…mature, for lack of a better word. Hell, I even caught her perusing my Evangelion doujinshi collection recently (she referred to the act as "research"…for what, I don't even begin to know). So that's a good thing…I guess. I think. Maybe. She (and her sisters) are a bit busy at the time, but they will be back eventually.

One last thing: on the subject of the title, I would like to clarify that it is not a Maroon 5 reference (no, just…no) but a Soundgarden one. Yeah, I'm well aware that particular song is about environmental degradation. But the title kinda…jumped at me, like most of them do. Just wanted to clear that up in case someone thought I was referencing less-than-awesome music. You folks know me better than that.

As I mentioned above, pre-read for this fic (as well as nearly half of the writing) was done by Ash. Thanks, ma'am…for a lot, really. And most of it isn't Eva-related.

As usual: good comments will be appreciated, bad ones will be ignored (or kept for firewood). But I do favor good/helpful criticism, so send it my way!

Until our paths next cross,
-AngelNo13Bardiel-