Neon Genesis Evangelion is by Gainax.
I have no right to do this.

Misato's Christmas Party
------------------------
     Shinji and Asuka stood in the door, staring at the
fir tree in the living room. From the hall closet came
the sounds of boxes being moved. Misato emerged in her
usual after-work attire, cutoffs and a tank top,
carrying several boxes stacked precariously in her
arms.
     "I knew I kept these decorations when I moved!
Shinji - you better hurry and get this place cleaned
up. Our guests will be here in a couple of hours."
Misato picked up a beer from the table and took a long
swallow. 
     Shinji's face dropped. "Guests? When did you
decide to have a party?".
     Misato finished off her beer and wiped the foam
from her mouth, and smirked. "Why yesterday of course,
when my three pilots told me how much they needed one!"
She lowered her voice and stared at Asuka and Shinji.
"You didn't *seriously* think I was going to let the
three of you get away with that 'I don't want to
celebrate Christmas' crap did you? Besides, you can't
trim the tree without a party. Say - where's Rei? Why
isn't she here to help?"
     Asuka - who had been silently staring at the tree
- turned and gave Misato a disgusted look. "*How* much
have you been drinking? She doesn't live here, you
know! And we just found out about your stupid party!"
     Misato hiccuped and lifted her nose at Asuka. "I
haven't had any more to drink than usual." She had a
hurt look on her face. Shinji and Asuka both rolled
their eyes.
     "Hey - why are you two doing that!" Misato put her
beer back on the table and placed her hands on her
hips. "Stop goofing off and get to work! Shinji, clean
this place up! And Asuka - go call Rei!"
     "She said she had something to do tonight."
     "Then go find her!"
     "But why should *I* have to go get her! I'm not
the one who's always mooning after her and peeping at
her in her swimsuit! That's what Shinji's for!"
     "Uh-hey! I don't do that! I do not peep at my
fellow pilots in their swimsuits!"
     Asuka narrowed her eyes. "Oh! So you peep at us
without our swimsuits?"
     "Yes - I mean, no! No!"
     Misato got another beer out of the refrigerator.
After living with the two of them for a while, she was
used to their bickering. "Now, now Asuka." She
flourished her hand in the girl's direction. "If you
don't hurry and get Rei, you won't have time to get
ready before Kaji gets here."
     "Kaji? Kaji! He's coming?" Asuka asked excitedly.
     "Well of course! And so is Ritsuko, Hikari, Touji,
Kensuke . . . " Asuka was out the door before Misato
could finish. Shinji had been picking up Misato's empty
beer cans from the table. His face got gloomier as her
list of guests continued to grow.
     "Do you think you have enough alcohol in the
apartment for that many guests?" he asked
sarcastically.
     "Don't be silly, Shinji. Of course not! I'm having
more delivered." She looked  guilty for a moment as she
handed Shinji a slip of paper and said, "Oh yeah, by
the way, this is your portion of the expenses. Don't
worry about paying me now, you can give it to me next
payday!"
     Shinji groaned. He was glad that Asuka had already
left the apartment.

-*-
     
     Shinji  knew the party would be bad when Misato
came out of her room dressed as a reindeer. Shinji
thought that Misato's everyday outfits were very
daring, and she wore even less at home, but the
reindeer outfit . . . the horns . . . the tail . . .
were, well . . .  disturbing. He usually tried not to
think about that sort of thing too much, especially
about Misato, Asuka or Rei. There was too much
potential for embarrassment, and he had been ridiculed
enough as it was.
     Shinji figured that Misato must be pretty loaded,
even by her standards, to wear that outfit. Her face
was red enough to confirm his fears.
     "Shinji! What do you think?" 
     Misato stood in the middle of the room posing. 
     "Well?"
     Shinji looked at her, and then quickly looked at
the floor. A slow blush began to spread across his
cheeks. "Do you have to embarrass me like this?" He
asked quietly.
     Misato leveled a frank stare at Shinji and said:
"Why? Don't you like my outfit? Don't I look good in
it?" 
     "Well, yes . . .  but . . . "
     Misato held Shinji's gaze as she slowly sauntered
over to where he was standing. She slowly leaned
forward until her eyes were looking directly into his,
their faces only inches apart.
     "Shinji, Don't you like to look at me in it?"
Misato's voice was low and voluptuous.
     Shinji's face reddened even more, it was all he
could do to stare at the floor. "Why do you always do
this to me?"
     Misato laughed, gave Shinji her brightest smile
and ruffled his hair. "Because its fun!" With a toss of
her hips she disappeared into the kitchen. "What! No
more beer?! I guess I'll just have to drink something
else until the liquor people arrive. Have you ever had
egg nog Shinji? I've got a great recipe for it here,
you'll love it! Especially with my *secret* ingredient.
I bet you can't guess what it is!"
     Shinji groaned.

-*-

     Once the party began, Shinji found himself paired
up with Rei. He thought it was rather odd to begin
with. After all, he was a quiet person, and Rei was a
positive recluse. But the more he thought about it, the
more he realized that there was really no one else at
the party for either one of them to pal around with. Of
course, Shinji's friends were present, but they were
busy mooning around after Misato. Shinji didn't want to
watch her flirt any more tonight. No one, it seemed,
was safe.
     They had started out by trimming the tree. Some
guests had brought ornaments as gifts, and several of
the boxes Misato had pulled from the closet had
ornaments in them. But, by the time all of these were
hung, the tree still had several yawning bare spots.
Then Misato had the bright idea of wrapping wire around
the necks of her empty liquor bottles and hanging them
from the tree. 
     Ritsuko had pointed out that the heavy bottles
would probably break the branches. But Misato had
countered by retrieving a box of empty miniatures from
her room.
     "Don't you ever throw away your empties, Misato?"
Kaji asked.
     She stuck her tongue out at him. "That's what
Shinji's for!"
     Surprisingly, the empty miniatures actually looked
quite good on the tree. Misato insisted that the
Americans did it all the time, but no one believed her.
     Eventually most of the guests left, leaving only
Ritsuko, Kaji, Rei and Shinji and Asuka's friends.
     Asuka was stalking Kaji, who was trying his best
to avoid her.  Ritsuko seemed to be amused by the whole
thing, and kept trying to tease Misato about losing
Kaji to Asuka. So the merry band simply floated in
circles around the room - Touji and Kensuke chasing
Misato, who flirted with the boys and bantered with
Ritsuko, who was protecting Kaji from Asuka. Shinji and
Rei sat against the wall, watching the whole sordid
affair unwind before their eyes.
     Shinji watched Rei as she followed the
increasingly drunken movements of Misato with calm
disinterest. When Asuka had returned with Rei, she had
not expressed any opinion about the party. Rei had done
as she was asked, and had helped set out the
refreshments, but then she had taken a cup of punch and
sat where she was now. No amount of inducement had led
her toward conversation, and eventually the others had
given up trying to talk to her. Asuka had been more
derogatory than usual about Rei's attitude. But, as
usual, Rei had simply ignored her. Now Shinji watched
her closely, wondering about her silence. 
     "Umm, are you enjoying the party Rei?"
     "No."
     "Really? Why not?"
     "I . . . dislike holidays."
     "Huh! You do?"
     "Yes."
     "Didn't your family celebrate any holidays?"
     ". . ."
     Shinji didn't think it was possible, but Rei
seemed to draw even more into herself, exuding a cold
aura which discouraged conversation. Shinji mentally
kicked himself. Family was a sore point for the Eva
pilots. He pressed on though, determined to talk to
her.
     "My father never celebrated holidays with me.
Never. Even my earliest memories of Christmas, with my
mother, have no images of my father. It almost seemed
like he didn't exist for me until my mother died. Not
that he did anything after her death either." Shinji's
voice was filled with bitterness and self-pity.
     Rei turned her head to look at Shinji. Her eyes
softened a little, but otherwise her face showed no
change in expression. He continued speaking.
     "The first Christmas I really celebrated was after
I left home. That was a few years ago. The school I was
at arranged for me to spend Christmas and New Years
with the family of another student there. I was
uncomfortable, watching people who love each other
express their happiness, when I was alone. That's why I
didn't want to celebrate Christmas this year - I didn't
want to have and try to reach out to others, knowing
that I'm not really a part of their family, that I'm an
outsider."
     Rei considered Shinji, without changing her
expression. "What about Major Katsuragi and Asuka?" 
     Shinji noticed that she did not include herself.
It was just like her to exclude herself from the group. 
     "Well, I live with them. Misato has been very kind
to me. And I even get along with Asuka some now, but
they're not family. I'm not sure I've ever had a real
family." Shinji placed his hands in his lap and stared
at the floor glumly.     
     Rei looked out at the party again. Misato was
teasing Touji mercilessly, and Hikari's face was
getting red as she tried to drag him away. Asuka had
her hand over her eyes and shook her head as she stood
by Hikari. When Rei spoke, her voice was soft, barely
above a whisper. 
      "My first memory is of Commander Ikari, watching
me. Don't talk about family. It makes me
uncomfortable." Rei continued to watch the rest of the
party goers while she spoke.
     Shinji stared at Rei. He didn't think that his
father had real feelings for Rei. It might appear that
he did, but Shinji's own bitter experience told him
that his father only used people. Rei continued to
watch the party, but despite her outburst, she betrayed
no emotion.
     "I don't know what to say, Rei."
     "Then don't say anything."
 
-*-

     Asuka was tired of chasing Kaji, and tired of
watching Hikari get jealous of the attention Misato was
giving Touji. She was more or less resigned to the fact
that Kaji wasn't really interested in her as a woman. I
mean, why would he be when he had a woman like Misato
to chase after. Not that Misato was all that hot. Men
were just idiots. Tokyo 3 wasn't what she had expected.
     Bored, she wandered away from the main group. Then
she saw Shinji and Rei sitting together under the
mistletoe. 
     Now, Asuka knew that they weren't sitting there on
purpose. The two of them were so dense that they
probably didn't even know that the mistletoe was there.
Heck! The two of them probably didn't even know what
mistletoe meant! Asuka thought about the situation for
a minute, and struggled with her conscience. She wanted
to make a scene.  Shouldn't she feel some guilt about
it? Probably, but she didn't! Oh well, she couldn't
live with herself if she let this opportunity slip by.
     "Say," she said brightly, "when did this start?" 
     Rei looked at her for a second, and then asked in
a soft voice,  "When did what start?"
     "When did the two of you become an item, eh?"
     Shinji looked away from Rei quickly. "What?" His
voice cracked as he spoke.
     "When did the two of you get so cozy? I mean,
you've spent the whole night together, ignoring
everyone so that you could sit alone in a quiet corner
under the mistletoe."
     Shinji's face began to redden. "M-m-mistletoe?" He
slowly looked up.
     Everyone else had started to gather around the
three of them when they heard Asuka's first
exclamation. Now they began to encourage Shinji and Rei
to kiss. Misato was at the front of the pack. "Yea
Shinji! Kiss 'er! Go on! Be a man about it!" She
slammed down the rest of her beer. "Kaji, gimme anudder
beer!"  
     Rei stared at Misato, who was listing dangerously,
then shifted her gaze to Asuka. Asuka began to sweat
under Rei's cool gaze. Deciding that she preferred to
be in control, Asuka took the offensive again. 
     "Well, what's the matter? Don't you believe in the
holiday spirit?" Asuka arched her eyebrow and looked
down her nose at Shinji and Rei, her hands on her hips.
     Rei's eyes bored into Asuka's. Then she turned
toward Shinji and placed a hand on his cheek. His eyes
began to dart from Rei to Asuka to Misato and back.
Then Rei leaned forward and kissed him gently on the
lips.
     Asuka snickered.
     Rei parted her lips slightly and pulled Shinji's
body closer to hers. Shinji, who had been very still
from the time Rei had placed her hand on his cheek
until now, began to squirm and make muffled noises. Rei
let her tongue slip into Shinji's mouth, where it soon
encountered his. Shinji stopped squirming and
stiffened. His eyes rolled up into his head as his mind
shut down.
     Asuka stared at the two of them, her eyes wide and
her jaw on the floor. "Arrrrrrgh! She's giving him
tongue!" She yelled in disbelief.
     "Awww-right Rei! Yeah! Finally, some action!"
Misato screamed, then passed out. Kaji laughed and
caught her as she collapsed, then he and Ritsuko began
to carry Misato to her room.
     Rei broke the kiss and pulled back from Shinji.
     "Good night, Shinji."
     Rei's voice was soft, for his ears alone. Shinji
could hear the emotion in her words, though her face
betrayed none. Then she stood and left, ignoring the
others.
     Asuka stood staring at Shinji, a look of pure
amazement on her face. "The First Child is weird
Shinji, very weird. Who would ever want to kiss you? I
mean, you weren't very good when I did . . . " The
gasps from behind made her stop, and she realized what
she had just said, and whom she had said it in front
of. She stared in horror at Hikari, who was trying to
stifle a laugh.
     "Ach, Mein Gott!" Asuka screamed, then ran to her
room and slammed the door shut.
     Touji and Kensuke stood around Shinji and slapped
his shoulders. "Shinji! You've kissed them both, you
dog! I never thought you had it in you!" Touji
exclaimed. 
     Kensuke couldn't hold in his excitement. "Yeah!
Why didn't you tell us? That's quite a coup! I wish I'd
brought my camera."
     Shinji ignored them both, and stared at the door
Rei had left through.

-*-

     Shinji sat alone in front of the Christmas tree.
After Rei left, with Misato passed out in her room and
Asuka barricaded in hers, the others had left. As
usual, it had been up to him to see them out and thank
them for coming, then clean up the mess everyone else
had made. Still, staring at the tree shining softly in
the corner made him think of the good things that were
in his life, even if there were few enough of them.
     Despite the horror of the Angels, Shinji realized
that these past months had been the best in his life.
He could finally see the worth in himself, that he was
valued by others. Although awkward at first, he really
enjoyed living with Misato and Asuka. They did pick on
him a lot. Misato was always making him cook and clean,
and Asuka insulted him as much at the apartment as
anywhere else. Yet Shinji thought that this must be
what a real family was like. He had told Rei that he
didn't consider the two to be his family, but now, as
he thought back to the party, he realized that Misato,
Asuka, and even Rei, might be the only family he would
ever have. 
     The thought made him sigh.
     The door buzzed as someone rang the bell. Shinji
glanced at the clock, and wondered who it might be. He
stood up and went to answer the door.

-*-

     Rei walked slowly back to the door of Shinji's
apartment. In the shadows she had waited until the
others left, watching them disappear into the night.
Then she had returned to the apartment. She leaned her
head against the door and breathed slowly. Why had she
kissed him? It would only confuse him. She would have
never kissed Shinji if Asuka hadn't been goading her,
and yet . . .  Shinji intruded more frequently into her
thoughts recently. Of all of her teammates, the only
one Rei found of any interest was Shinji. Asuka she
could ignore, Major Katsuragi was just another person
to be obeyed. Dr. Akagi kept her distance. Commander
Ikari . . .  well. But Shinji seemed to touch part of
her that no one else did. She reacted to him in ways
that she couldn't for anyone else. He embarrassed her,
he made her smile, he made her sad, he made her angry.
The kiss she shared with Shinji tonight had made Rei
realize how empty her life was. Rei had felt alive when
she kissed Shinji, had felt she was living her own
life, and not someone else's. 
     She wanted more. 
     Rei rang the buzzer on the apartment door and
waited.

-*-

     When he opened the door, Shinji was surprised to
see Rei standing at the rail, looking at him. Rei's
eyes seemed to be glowing in the dim half-light coming
from inside the apartment. Her eyes locked with his,
and Shinji could not look away. He watched as she
spoke.
     "We should talk."
     "Ahhh . . . "
     Shinji swallowed. He could feel his hands
trembling. Rei's stare held his eyes.
     "Oh, ummm . . . " Shinji could feel chills running
up his spine from Rei's gaze. "Of c-course. C-come in .
. . "
     Rei held Shinji's eyes for several long seconds.
Then she walked past Shinji into the apartment.

-*-  

     Rei sat on the couch in front of the tree, and
watched the blinking lights. She could hear Shinji in
the kitchen. Soon he reappeared, carrying two cups of
steaming tea. He handed one to Rei, then sat on the
couch at the opposite end from her.
     Rei sipped her tea. "The tea is good."
     "Thanks. I've gotten a lot of practice in the
kitchen recently. Misato and Asuka don't cook much."
Shinji looked at Rei, who was still staring at the
tree. He placed his cup back on the saucer and held it
in his lap. He watched the steam rise from the tea. 
     Rei looked out the window. In the crisp winter sky
she could just make out the sparkle of stars over the
glow from the city.
     "Ummm, what did you want to talk to about?" Shinji
asked.
     Rei still stared intently out the window. "Do you
like me?"
     Shinji watched Rei quietly. Her voice was calm and
impenetrable, as always. He was getting worried about
what Rei wanted to know. It seemed like the
conversation was sure to result in his embarrassment.
"Yes, I like you, Rei. You're a friend."
     "A friend?" There was still no change in Rei's
voice.
     "Y-yes." 
     Rei turned and looked into his eyes. "I want . . . 
need . . .  more than friendship from you."
     Now Shinji was embarrassed. "What do you mean
'm-more than friendship'?"
     Rei dropped her gaze from Shinji to the floor.
Shinji thought that he had never seen Rei look so . . . 
nervous?
     Rei spoke, in her usual voice, but not meeting
Shinji's eyes. "I hold myself away from the others. I
must, to perform my duties. Until you came I was
satisfied. I was Rei. That was enough. Since your
arrival, you have made me . . . reconsider. I cannot
remain outside of life."
     Shinji stared at Rei. He was worried about this
conversation. He didn't think his father would approve
of him causing Rei discomfort.  "I'm sorry, I don't
mean to . . . "
     "Don't be sorry." Rei raised her eyes to meet
Shinji's. "I'm not."
     Shinji stood up and faced Rei. "What can I do Rei?
If you want me to, I could stay away from you, not
speak with you."
     Rei stood and walked forward until she stood in
front of Shinji, then wrapped her arms around his neck.
She rested her head on his shoulder. She could feel
Shinji tremble. She smiled her small smile. Rei enjoyed
knowing that she had this effect on him, as he had on
her. 
     Shinji could not stop trembling. He could feel
Rei's body pressed against his. He slowly lifted his
arms and placed them around Rei's waist. She squeezed
him tightly. Rei whispered softly in Shinji's ear.
     "It's too late to stop now Shinji. I need you
Shinji. I need you to be part of my life, need you to
complete the parts of me that I cannot."
     Rei lifted her head and gazed deeply into his
eyes. Shinji was really worried now. "Ummm . . .  Rei .
. . "
     Then she pulled Shinji's head down and kissed him
deeply.
     Shinji was stiff at first, but gradually relaxed
and began to return Rei's kiss. After a few minutes,
Rei broke off the kiss and took Shinji's hand. He still
trembled, but followed her willingly.
     
-*-

     Asuka silently slid her door shut and fumed. First
Kaji chased after Misato. Then 'Wonder Girl' actually
kissed that idiot Shinji, and now this.
     "Asuka, " she thought, "your life is crap."

-*-

     When Misato dragged herself out of bed the next
morning, she had a terrible hangover. "Why did I let
myself go off and drink like that last night?"
     Misato pulled a housecoat on, and stumbled into
the hall. "A hot bath and an ice cold beer are what I
need," she thought to herself.
     She walked to the kitchen and pulled the
refrigerator door open. She could see that Shinji had
already wrapped the party leftovers and put them away.
"Damn, I hate neat freaks," Misato thought to herself.
She took a beer and shuffled toward the bath, still
only half-awake.
     She saw Shinji coming out of the bath drying his
hair. When he saw Misato, he quickly slid the door shut
behind him.
      "G-g-good morning," he stuttered.
     Not in the mood to talk, Misato grunted and waited
for him to move out of her way. When he still stood
frozen in place, she placed her free hand on his
shoulder and started pushing until she could get to the
door.
     "Let that be a lesson to you Shinji," Misato said.
"Never come between me and my bath when I have a
hangover." She turned and entered the bath, shutting
the door behind her, ignoring Shinji's wide eyes and
trembling body.
     "Good morning Major." 
     Misato screamed and spun around when she heard the
disembodied voice floating out of the steam. She saw a
shape emerging from the mist. The figure paused and
looked at her intently as she pressed her back to the
tile wall.
     "Are you feeling well?" the blurry figure asked in
an emotionless voice. Misato just nodded quickly. The
figure watched for another few seconds before exiting
the bath.
     Misato slumped down against the wall and sipped
her beer. She must have had a *lot* more to drink last
night than she thought. She could've sworn that was
Rei!
     Half a beer later, as she relaxed in the steaming
water of the bath, Misato decided that she had just
imagined the entire affair. 
     Rei wouldn't have stayed over last night.
     Would she? 
------------------------------
This is, I think, the final version, unless I get any major
complaints. The only change was to try and tighten up Rei's
dialog. Its almost all in the last 1/3 of the story. (thanks to
 TJ Hamilton <ryougaecho@abraxis.com> for the
suggestion.)

In general I would like to thank everyone for all the positive responses
It's a real moral booster to get that sort of attention. I look forward to 
getting some more stories out on the net!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Steve Pardue
spardue@zebra.net