Thanks to Ammadeau, Donny Cheng, Alan Harnum, Richard Lawson,
and the C*B*L for pre-reading duties.
Characters belong to Gainax, and they need the money more than I
do probably - unless they get audited for fun.
P A G E S
by Lara Bartram
---------------
Page 11
Waking up was something Yui really hated when it felt like
her head was going to explode. And she was of two minds about
waking up with Gendo. One was happy and a bit giddy; the other
was a seething pot of blind fury.
"How's your head?" he asked quietly, brushing some hair
from her forehead.
The pot was immediately covered. "Not too bad," she
answered and grimaced from her own too loud voice.
"Don't lie. I can see it in your eyes. I warned you that
you'd be miserable in the morning, but that didn't seem to
matter."
Yui could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn't
telling her everything. "Oh no. Don't hold back. How big of a
fool did I make of myself last night?"
Gendo gave her his lopsided grin. "How much do you
remember?"
"I remember... singing, and not much after that."
He nodded. "Well, that's all you did."
The near-panic in her dissipated.
"For four hours. You sang. Badly."
Yui moaned pitifully. "I feel terrible!" Rolling to her
back, she stared up at the ceiling. "Why didn't you stop me?"
"I wanted to, but you didn't want to go. You must have
really been enjoying yourself."
Yui just shook her head.
"I know everyone else was."
"Oh no."
"Don't worry. I distracted them by beating up a guy who
was feeling you up. Even got some applause for it."
"Gendo..."
"What happened to Gen-chan?"
Yui looked at him. "What?"
"You were calling me Gen-chan last night. It was kind
of... sweet." He kissed her cheek, smiling at her stunned face.
Eventually, Yui managed to speak, though her voice was
small and quiet. "That bad eh? Oh god... This is why I don't
drink more often."
"Oh, I don't know. It wasn't bad last night. Except your
singing. _That_ was bad."
"All right!" Yui said loudly, wincing from the volume of
her voice. "I get the point that my singing is bad. You don't
need to keep harping on it." For a heartbeat, she considered
sitting up, but her body was as willing as a dishrag. "I'm not
going to make it to my appointment with Professor Fuyutsuki
today."
His voice remained the same, but Gendo got a certain look
in his eyes. "What for?"
"The usual. This theory or that experiment..." Yui
sighed. "I should at least make the effort."
"Aspirin's on the desk." Gendo watched her sit up very
slowly, not helping at all. He was just waiting for it.
Yui got her feet on the floor, looking like the postergirl
for hangovers. Her head was down with her hair hanging limply
around her face.
"If it were at all feasible," Gendo said, reaching out to
almost touch her back, "I would love to get you in the shower."
She glanced back at him. "You don't know how good that
sounds right now actually. I feel so disgusting."
"Here, let me help." Sitting up next to her, he put his
arm around her waist, and helped Yui to stand.
"You're not hungover at all? I hate you."
"I told you, lots of practice." He felt her hand clutch
his shoulder as they took a step.
"I hurt all over. Are you sure you're the one that got
into the fight?" It felt like the air itself was jabbing little
needles into her.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I've had plenty of practice with that
too." In a few minutes, he was the one that was going to need a
shower... a cold one.
"Just get me a phone so I can call Professor Fuyutsuki. I
just want to lay down and die right now," Yui moaned, barely
able to stay on her feet. If she hadn't had Gendo's support,
she would have been on the floor.
The sensation of his bare skin against hers was pleasant
though, even if he was... Bare... skin? Yui looked down at
herself, and then Gendo.
---
Page 12
"You were passed out. I thought you'd prefer not to sleep
in your clothes."
"And you?"
"I was... mostly dressed, but you were unstoppable and
wouldn't keep your hands off me." He noted the angry look on
her face. "And maybe I was a little weak, but it was only
because..."
Yui rubbed her forehead. "I bet I can guess."
Gendo waited for her to say something more, but she
didn't, and he didn't think it was a good time to tease her
about it. "That's okay. I don't really think any less of you,
if that's what you're worried about."
"Yeah, but here I am in my underwear, sitting on your bed,
and I've got the hangover from hell... Never again. No more
bars." Disgust. That was what she felt.
Gendo was on the phone; it was the sound of him that made
Yui look up. "Professor Fuyutsuki? Yes, I will."
Yui's eyes widened. "No, don't! I don't want you to..."
"Yes, Professor. I'm afraid Yui Ikari won't be able to
make her appointment today. She's under the weather."
Yui just stared at him, her hand over her mouth.
"Reschedule? I'll have her call you back when she's
feeling up to it. Oh, I'm sure it'll pass quickly. Thank you,
Professor." Gendo smiled as he looked back at Yui. "There, you
can just reschedule and everything's fine."
"Are you crazy?" Yui nearly yelled.
"I think you've referred to me as such before."
"Do you know how far back that could have set me?"
Gendo blinked. "A day?"
"A _year_!" Yui shook her head, pulling on her shirt.
"So much work wasted... You wouldn't believe..."
"Why do you say that? You called me the smartest man in
class, and here you treat me like a little boy." His eyes
narrowed momentarily as he frowned. "I _do_ understand the
concept of research work, you know. But I also understand when
someone is in no shape to be doing that work."
"But I needed..."
"What you need now is to get yourself cleaned up; it might
not help your hangover, but it will make you feel better. Some
clean clothes, call your professor..." He took her hands and
looked in her eyes. "I have done work in my life."
"I'm sorry. It's just that... we've worked for so long on
this. A single day really _can_ set us back that far, and I owe
it to the others to pull my fair share." A weak smile graced
her lips. "I take my work very seriously."
Gendo nodded, looking at Yui with sincerity. "That's
fine, but if you're not in shape to work or study, or even have
fun, you just won't be able to accomplish what you want to.
Wait, let me guess. You went to class, even the bullshit
lecture classes, when you were sick enough that you should have
stayed home."
Yui flushed and nodded. "It's a hard habit to break, and
now with this project... I just don't want to disappoint
Fuyutsuki."
That name again. Gendo was beginning to not like it,
especially with the way Yui's voice softened when she spoke it.
Maybe he would have to accompany her to one of these
appointments some day.
The next words he had to force from his mouth. "I'm sure
you won't disappoint him. And if he is, that's his problem.
You shouldn't go do important work in the shape you're in."
"Thank you, Gendo," Yui said softly, looking down at the
floor.
"Everyone needs someone to take care of them sometimes,"
he replied in the same manner. He kneeled on the floor in front
of her and looked at her face. "You know... to make the hurts
go away."
It was getting to Yui in a bad way. Even in their
compromising states on undress, she was getting choked up.
"Even you?"
"Even me. Especially me... by you."
---
Page 13
"Who was it that called in for you?"
"Gendo Rokubungi, my... a friend." Yui set her things
down and wanted to get straight to work, but there was an
unspoken question hanging in the air between them. She didn't
have to answer it, but maybe she felt she owed it to him. "I've
gone out with him a few times, Professor."
"Ah."
The question was answered, but there was still something
there. "He's good to me," Yui said finally. "He treats me
right, like an equal, not just a 'girl'. And he's smart, but
you know I wouldn't go out with someone who was... soft."
Fuyutsuki watched her as she continued to talk, doing
anything to keep herself busy and her gaze from meeting his. No
matter how much she extolled Rokubungi's virtues, there was
obviously something she didn't want to say. "This sounds like
love."
Yui stopped, her entire body unmoving. "It's not," she
said.
"If you say. We have a lot of work to get done, so let's
get started." Fuyutsuki clapped his hands.
Gendo managed to get one opened as the phone chirped
obnoxiously at him. Grabbing the handset, he placed it roughly
near his mouth and ear. "Nn?"
"Gendo? It sounds like I woke you up. What are you
doing, sleeping at this time of evening?"
"Nn."
"It's me, Yui. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be
here late, so don't wait for me. Go out and have some fun.
I'll see you tomorrow."
"Nn."
The dial tone buzzed in his ear after that. Damn awake
and enthusiastic woman, always sounding so damn perky...
Gendo tossed the handset on the floor and went back to
sleep.
It was less than an hour later that he awoke again. This
time, he was unfortunately wide awake. His earlier nap meant
he'd most likely be up until all hours of the morning. But what
Yui had said came back to him...
Working late, have fun, don't wait... Well, if she
insisted. He didn't want to anger her by doing anything
contrary to what she said.
One conservative dark blue shirt and a pair of black
trousers later, he was ready to hit the bar. 'Maybe you
shouldn't tonight,' a little voice inside him nagged. 'Go see
Yui.'
Nah. She had her work, and he respected that. To the
bar!
Yui could barely keep her eyes open. All day and into the
night she had worked unflaggingly, trying to make up for the day
she had missed. Long after the others had gone, leaving her
only with Professor Fuyutsuki, she had worked.
"Go home, Yui."
She jerked her head up, realizing she had fallen asleep,
using a pile of papers as a pillow. Yui shook her head slowly.
"I should really..."
"You should get some rest. You've done enough."
Looking up at him, her eyes threatening to close, she
nodded. Gathering her things and bidding the professor
farewell, she left.
The bar was disappointingly less energetic, though only
because of the lack of one drunken enthusiastic singer. Gendo
could forgive it for that. As last call rolled around, he found
himself not regretful in the least.
Too much hard liquor, too much... Well, it just wasn't as
much as it used to be. "Home" sweet home for a few hours sleep,
and then in the morning... He still didn't quite believe Yui
that school was worth it. Except for the fact that that he'd
met her there.
Back in the pleasing darkness of his room, he changed for
bed, but again, he had a visitor. This time, her pale shape
that was visible above the covers had no other covering. Gendo
slid into bed gently beside her.
---
Page 14
Yawning, Yui let her eyes drift open. Her nighttime
companion was gone, taking a substantial amount of heat and
comfort with him.
"Work late?"
Closing her eyes again, she nodded. "Professor Fuyutsuki
made me leave; I was asleep on a desk." She smiled, expecting
some mildly scornful reply from him. When there was none, she
opened her eyes again.
Gendo was at the desk, on the other side of the room,
using the computer.
A frown settled on her lips before she sat up, holding the
covers to her chest. "Is there something wrong?"
"No," he answered curtly. It wasn't possible to see the
reflection of the dark look on his face from the other side of
the room.
"Can I ask you something seriously?"
"I don't know. Can you?"
Yui's frown grew. That should have been a playful jibe,
but it hadn't sounded like it at all. Annoyed was closer to
what she thought it was. "Well, I was going to ask you
something fairly important, but since you seem to be in some
sort of mood, I'll ask you what your problem is instead."
"I don't have one."
"You're lying and you're not even trying to hide it.
What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
He hadn't looked at her at all. Not in the mood for
dealing with whatever front he was putting up, Yui quickly
redressed. "Be this way. I have better things to be doing
today than sitting and watching you pretend to be a statue."
She opened the door and was about to step out, but had one
last thing for him. "And I enjoyed waking up where I did." The
door slammed as she walked out.
It was only after she was gone that Gendo turned. His
left hand was clenched into a fist so tight he could barely feel
it. When he finally let his hand relax, he wanted nothing more
than to re-clench it and put it through the face of Professor
Fuyutsuki.
And after he calmed down a bit, he would have to apologize
to Yui. There was no way he was going to let something that
good get away from him.
"Just a second." Yui finished changing into a pair of
slacks and went to answer the door. When she opened it, she
couldn't contain her surprise. "What do you want?"
"I didn't mean to... act like that with you. When it
comes to you, I..."
Yui looked at him closely. He looked like he was ready to
give a sincere apology and not some sarcastic excuse. She stood
back and allowed him to enter the apartment. "I just wanted to
know what the problem was. I'm not blind; I could see something
was wrong."
Gendo shuffled his feet in an odd display of weakness. "I
don't like..." He looked right in her eyes, his gaze fierce and
uncompromising. "You're mine, Yui, and I won't let you get
away."
"Yours? I'm yours?"
He marched forward and put his hands on her hips, the same
intense look on his face. When he spoke, his voice was soft,
almost frighteningly so. "You are mine as much as, I hope, I am
yours."
Yui gulped and gave him a small nod. She had never seen
him be so... intimidating. "I didn't mean to..."
"No," Gendo interrupted, silencing her. "It's not your
fault at all. It's mine, and I'm sorry. I... don't ever want
to hurt you."
The process of making up took only that long. "I forgive
you."
---
Page 15
"I really did have something to ask you earlier," Yui
said, managing to speak between Gendo's ravenous kisses. "So...
stop that for a second."
"But I want to make up for how I treated you earlier." He
pulled back Yui's shirt a little, revealing her neck so he could
kiss it.
"I know, but this is really important. Stop before I
forget what I wanted to say." She ran her hands down his arms
and stopped his hands from roaming. "Please."
Gendo ended his assault with a last kiss on her mouth.
"Okay, what did you want to ask instead of that?"
Eyelids fluttering, Yui said, "Umm... oh yeah. Well, just
as an economic venture, I was wondering if you'd perhaps
consider moving into a modest apartment with me."
Living with Yui? With possibly a private bath? Gendo
nodded, his jaw a bit slack. They already were innocently
sharing a bed and they didn't even live in the same building.
If they lived in an apartment...
"It might seem a bit forward and inappropriate, but it
will work to both our advantages, I'm sure. Splitting expenses
would be so much more practical," Yui continued, missing the
glazed look Gendo had on his face. "Of course, if my mother
found out I was living with a man and not married..."
Yui cleared her throat. "Anyway, just so you know, this
is a financial decision and has nothing to do with the past
three days."
Gendo nodded slowly, an action that made Yui look more
closely at him.
"No fu..."
"But that's all I want to do with you!" he exclaimed in a
rare burst of emotion, lifting her in the air.
The look on Yui's face was stern and unflinching.
"Rokubungi, put me down this instant."
Lowering her to the floor slowly, allowing Yui's body to
slide against his own, Gendo asked, "You're not changing your
mind, are you?"
"No. I just wanted you to get your hormones under
control," she said flatly.
"I will have you know that at my age, I am not ruled by my
hormones. I am cool and sophisticated and..."
"Apparently a master bullshitter. All men are ruled by
their hormones, no matter how old. That was something I learned
in junior high."
"Your mother?"
Yui nodded. "She was just looking out for me."
"Hormones or not, you asked, and I accept, of course. I
would be a fool not to." Kissing her softly on the cheek, Gendo
smiled. "A real refrigerator..."
Yui sighed and shook her head. "Will you ever grow up?"
"Maybe. If I have someone to help me settle down. You
know, you might end up being a positive influence on me." His
hands twitched, but he resisted lifting her again.
She smiled at him and his resistance snapped. Gendo
lifted her, kissing all over her face as he did, and carried her
to her bed on the opposite side of the room. Setting her down
upon it, Gendo leaned over and continued kissing her.
Yui finally pushed him away. "Damn... wait until we have
some privacy before you start that. My roommate could walk in
any time," Yui hissed, smiling the entire time.
Gendo sat up and exhaled. "Another movie then?" he
suggested.
"I thought you weren't ruled by your hormones?"
"Ruled? No. Heavily influenced? Quite possibly.
But..." He shrugged and just looked at her.
That look... The heat was almost tangible, and Yui had to
quickly rethink her proposition. She knew, positively, that if
they had the kind of privacy their own place provided them,
they'd end up doing a lot more together and get a lot closer to
one another.
"So when can you move out?" she asked eagerly.
---
lara@emunix.emich.edu
http://www.thekeep.org/~lara/index.html
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