“Death.”

“Eh?”

“Oh nothing…” Touji said while attempting to straighten Shinji’s bow-tie. “Just suggesting a better alternative to what you’ll be forced to do in half an hour.”

The Third Child groaned. “Knock it off Touji… my nerve’s are frazzled enough as it is…”

The larger man recoiled as if hurt. “How can you say that Ikari? I’m just doing my duty as your best friend and watching out for your welfare!”

“Can’t you just do your duty as my best man instead? Namely making sure I get through the next few hours without dying from a heart attack?”

His friend only grinned. “I dunno Ikari… like I said, I’d take death over marriage to the Demon any day…”

Shinji shook his head and turned towards Kensuke who was busy catching the whole thing on tape. “Talk some sense into him will you?”

The bespectacled young man just laughed. “I’d love to Shinji old pal…  But from where I’m sitting, the Stomach seems to be making perfect sense…”

“See?” Touji crowed in triumph. “Any way you look at it, limiting your future babe-choices to one person – and a Demon at that – for the rest of your virile life is a bad idea Ikari!”

The young Ikari heaved a long-suffering sigh, but then suddenly grinned. “Hey Kensuke… you’re giving me that tape after the wedding right?”

The bespectacled young man nodded. “Yup yup … why do you ask?”

“Oh nothing… just wondering if you could make an extra copy of this portion and send it to Hiakri for me…”

At the mention of their former class-representatives name Touji gave a violent cough and paled slightly. Noticing the effect of his last statement, Shinji grinned as he continued.

“You can label it ‘Touji Suzuhara’s View of Marriage’ – ack!”

Shinji gagged as his bow-tie was pulled violently closed around his neck. Touji smiled smugly as he watched his best friend suffer for a moment before loosening the tie enough for the Third Child to once again catch his breath.

“That was – a dirty – trick…” the young man choked out amidst his loud gasps for air.

“So was bringing Hikari into this,” Touji answered, grinning.

Shinji scowled at his best man before turning to look at himself in the mirror. The tie had been the last part… For better or worse he was ready for his wedding. At the thought of the ‘W’ word he felt his knees go weak and he clutched at a nearby table for support.

Well… At least he looked ready.

His two fellow stooges laughed as they helped steady him. 

“Don’t worry Shinji,” Kensuke began, “At least when you’re sacrificed to the Demon, you’ll be well –dressed.”

“Yeah,” Touji quipped. “A well dressed lamb, ready for slaughter…”

A knock on the door thankfully prevented his ‘friends’ from further eroding his confidence. Touji opened the door and peeked outside. He returned a few seconds later scratching his head and carrying a sealed letter, which he handed to Shinji.

“The guy said it was for you.”

Puzzled, Shinji carefully opened the envelope and withdrew the slip of paper within. As he began to read his eyes widened and he skipped downward to where the senders name was signed in vivid red ink. Upon seeing the name, the Third Child jerked to his feet with a gasp.

“Shinji?” Touji asked, concern evident in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s… it’s from… my Father…”

Shinji,
I have received your invitation. I do not know what favors you called in, or promised, to ensure that I received it but they were unnecessary. Even with my current… situation, I still have my sources. I am well aware of your impending nuptials to the Second Child. Promises to keep my current location secret will forbid my messenger from divulging my location to you and thus will prevent you from realizing how… difficult it would be for me to make an appearance even if I had wished to. You are a grown man now Shinji… you can make your own decisions. You have no need of my approval – you have never needed it. Know however, that I am… not displeased.
                                                                                                                          Regrets,
                                                                                                                                Gendo

Shinji looked down at the note for a long while before folding it carefully and putting it inside his vest pocket.
Father

“Well,” Kensuke asked. “What did he say?”

“He said he won’t be able to make it to the wedding.”

Touji snorted. “I can’t believe you actually even asked him to come… if I were you, his would have been the first name on my ‘uninvited’ list.”

Shinji just shook his head. “If I could be like that… but I can’t Touji. He’s still my father.”

His answer was another snort of disgust. “You need to do more than donate your genes to be called a ‘father’ Shinji.”

Shinji sighed once again. “I know that it’s just… well, I still kind of hoped he’d be here…”

Kensuke came up behind him and put a friendly hand on the groom-to-be’s shoulder. “Hey – hey, enough with the long face! This is a wedding not a wake… It’s supposed to be the happiest day of your life!” The bespectacled boy was grinning broadly, his voice cheerful in an attempt to uplift the spirits of his friend. 

Shinji perked up and grinned at his friend. “It is isn’t it? So you finally agree with me?”

The other grinned and focused his camera on Shinji’s face. “Well… let me put it this way…” he said in a stage whisper. “Remember that I’m getting this all on film – and that you _don’t_ want Asuka believing that you thought this was anything _but_ the most joyful moment of your life...”

Shinji gulped and began to sweat as he backed away from the camera, a nervous smile suddenly appearing on his face. “I’m happy! I’m happy! See?” 

Touji laughed and gave his friend a hearty slap on the back. “Not even married yet and already henpecked… that’s our Shinji alright!”

Kensuke began to chuckle, and after a few moments, Shinji joined in as well. It was then that Shinji noticed that there was another piece of paper attached to his father letter. It was a brief note, written on a hastily ripped piece of notebook paper – a rather crude medium which seemed at odds with the elegant handwriting it contained…

Ikari-kun,
Ignore him. We will be there.

Shinji held the note fondly in his hand and grinned. Gendo Ikari was not a man to easily change his mind… But in this case the Third Child knew that his Father had lost before he even began…

The NERV agent yawned as he gazed out at the endless sheets of rain falling outside the Church. His partner, an older agent with graying hair scowled at him from behind dark glasses – the older man was probably about start his lecture again: how such lapses of discipline had not been tolerated under Commander Ikari, how the security of the Children was paramount, how the future of mankind depended on them doing their duty right… the younger agent had heard it all before. He himself had signed up only after all that hullabaloo with the Mass Production Eva's - and the subsequent trial and disappearance of Commander Ikari - were long over and done with. He had no experience with NERV’s more turbulent past and he had even less interest in hearing about it. As to the reason for his present inattention… well, they were guarding a wedding for heavens sake! Sure there had been threats on the Children’s lives in the past, but that sort of thing had petered out as the years went by. In addition to that, this wedding wasn’t exactly common knowledge, and while many things had changed about NERV, if there was one thing it was still able to do, it was keeping its secrets. Frankly all the agent was doing now was keeping all uninvited personnel from entering the church… hardly a task worthy of his concentration as the rain discouraged most from leaving whatever shelter they had found from the storm. Another yawn forced its way out of his mouth as he watched two salarymen unlucky enough to be caught in the downpour hurry to the sanctuary of a nearby waiting shed. Yup… it hardly got more boring than this…

“Long night Agent?”

The young man stiffened at the sound of the familiar voice and he quickly turned around – only to find himself gaping at the purple haired Supreme Commander of NERV. He’d only seen her a few times before today, but his initial impression had been of someone who was always relaxed and cheerful… Right now however she had a scowl on her face, and was clenching and unclenching her right fist spasmodically. 

“S-sir! I mean uhm, Ma-am – er Commander!” he squeaked, snapping to attention.

“Do you have anything to report Agent?”

“Negev – I mean, Negative Commander! N- no problems!”

Her eyes narrowed. “For your sake I hope that’s true – considering I’ve been standing here breathing down your neck for the past five minutes without getting so much as a blink from you, I’m tempted to assume your assessment doesn’t count for much.”

Before the young man could summon enough wits to formulate a reply, the woman turned to the older agent. Her gaze softened and a grin came to her face. “Everything ok Takuya? Children still doing well?”

The older man gave a tight grin. “Yes Commander Katsuragi, they are well. My wife says they miss your visits.”

The Commander nodded and slapped the man on the back. “Well tell them I’ll try to come by sometime next month – as long as their Daddy doesn’t mess up during the next inter-section basketball game and cost me another small fortune in yen!”

“You can count on that Commander.”

“Betcher ass I’m counting on it – next time I lose a bet on you guys its coming out of your collective salaries,” the Commander continued as she began to walk away. “In the meantime keep an eye out for signs flooding… if that rain continues those potholes in the road are going to turn into rather deep water hazards, and I don’t want any of our guests getting splashed later on.”

“Will do Commander.”

The young agent heaved a sigh of relief as the woman’s footsteps receded into the distance. Maybe if he was lucky she’d forget about his little lapse of discipline…

“Oh and Takuya? Tell your partner that if he slacks off again, when I’m through with him it’ll look like a couple of Angels had done a tango on his ass… or other, more sensitive parts of his anatomy.”

Gulp. Then again, maybe not…

Misato sighed as she finished her rounds and re-entered the church interior. She’d have to talk to Intelligence about beefing up the quality of security agents they’d been turning out… Takuya’s partner had not been the only one she’d caught almost napping at his post. Granted, there was a definite lack of urgency now as compared to the old days – she refused to call them ‘good’ – but that was still no excuse for sloppy work. Especially today of all days…
The Commander of NERV paused for a moment by a stone statue of a winged man, ensconed in an alcove by the Church door. It was an old-fashioned, Christian rendition of an angel -  a holy messenger of a benevolent God - and did not bear any resemblance to the Angels of Armageddon that had wrecked havoc upon their lives not ten years ago. Most of them had been surprised when Shinji had announced the venue for the wedding– neither he nor his wife-to-be were officially members of any religion. In the years since the Children had left active duty however, Shinji had been able to dredge up quite a bit of information about his mom… it turned out Yui had been something of a fan of church weddings. Though his mother was no longer around in a physical sense, Shinji wanted to have the wedding in a church as a sort of favor to her. Asuka hadn’t really minded either way… As long as she got to choose the venue for the honeymoon. 

The church itself was rather impressive though, its roof inlaid with gold, its walls decorated with tiny vignettes in addition to the sculptures. Still, the Children’s former guardian found it ironic that their moment of happiness would occur surrounded by ‘angels’.

 “Hey,” the Commander whispered, as she reached out one gloved hand to touch the stone face before her. “If you guys can hear me, tell your Boss to go easy on them ok? They’ve had enough trouble to last several lifetimes… They deserve their happy ending…”

A slightly amused voice interrupted her before she could go on. “You know what they say about a woman who talks to herself Misato… or she who talks to angels in this case…”

“Nice to see you too Ritsuko,” the Commander grinned as she turned towards her old friend. The two women hugged each other for a long moment before stepping back and admiring each other.

“Looking good for an old woman Misato.”

“You’re looking pretty good for a middle-aged retiree yourself Rits-chan,” Misato countered. “Although you might not stay that way for long… Maya wants to claw your eyes out – the Magi have been giving her hell for the past month and you were no where to be found. Poor girl almost had a coronary…”

The former head of Project E shook her head in sympathy. “Mother always was difficult to deal with…”

Misato grinned. Maya would certainly agree with that… for the past few months the former bridge bunny had been handing Misato reports that basically contained nothing but ‘Rit’s mom is a bitch!’ over and over and over again… she had finally simply told Maya to refrain from submitting a report until she actually had something new to say. 

“Besides,” Ritsuko continued. “Like you said I’m retired after all.” 

The Commander laugher at that. “Ritsu you’ve retired 4 times over the last 10 years and every time its never lasted more than three months… you’re just not made for a life without stress.”

“Hey!” her friend protested. “I just might go the distance this time…”

“Really? So what exactly have you been doing then hmmm?”

“Well.” The doctor looked abashed for a moment. “I’ve been taking care of my cats, doing a bit of reading... uhm, I’ve been watching a lot of old western films like Titanic, Fight Club, Gone With The Wind, Children of an Elder God…”

“You mean Children of a Lesser God – I saw that one.”

“Whatever. I’m really quite happy…” Ritsuko trailed off as she saw Misato staring at her with a calculating look on her face.

“I give you two more weeks.”

The doctor sighed. “More like two more days… what did Maya say was giving her problems?”

Misato laughed and wrapped one arm around her friends waist. “Time enough for that later, I think its time we checked on the blushing bride don’t you think?”

Ritsuko shook her head. “I’d rather go see how Asuka’s doing.”

The purple haired woman cocked her head to one side. “That’s who I mean silly…”

Her friend arched an eyebrow at her. “Sorry… the ‘blushing’ part threw me off…”

With that the two old friends headed towards the rear of the Church.

The soft knocking echoed within the dressing room.

“Asuka? It’s almost time…”

Silence. The lithe, red headed form did not acknowledge the voice. Her attention instead was following a line of pale gray skin as it wove its way from her right wrist down and around her arm… snaking its way down her side… slithering from her navel like a web of thorns. Symbols of herself. Her scars. Marks of her battles, of her pain… at least the physical ones. They still ached sometimes, when the weather was cold, but she hardly noticed. She could handle pain… she was used to it. Happiness on the other hand was a new experience. 
And it frightened her.

“Asuka? Are you ready?”

No. I’m scared. I’m not ready. I can’t be ready.

“Almost ready Hikari! Perfection takes time y’know!”

Asuka turned back to the mirror. She sighed. _Perfection_… who was she kidding? That was pure wish fulfillment. Who’d want someone as… broken as she was. For a second Shinji’s face passed before her mind but she shoved it aside violently. He didn’t really know her… hadn’t really seen her, all of her. In mind and in body, she had hidden things from him – how could he really know her? She had only shown him what he wanted to see… it’s no wonder that he thought he loved her. But when he finally saw her… knew her… Against her will the Second Child began to shake.

No!, she screamed in her head. I won’t think that! I’m stronger than that! He – he loves me!

If so why couldn’t she stop shaking? Why couldn’t she bring herself to put on the dress… why couldn’t she stop being so afraid? Slowly Asuka sank to the floor, her arms wrapped around herself. 

“Asuka?” Hikari asked once more, concern lacing her tone.

“J-just a sec-second,” Asuka called out, but her fear betrayed her and she found her voice breaking. In moments Hikari had the door open and had stepped inside. The eyes of her best friend went from the crumpled, discarded pile of lace and satin at the corner of the room to the shaking form of the Second Child. Hikari let out a small cry of distress and rushed, wrapping the red head in her arms.

“Asuka! Asuka what’s wrong?”

“He… he won’t want me Hikari…”

“What are you talking about? Shinji adores you!”

“He doesn’t know me Hikari! Gods… look at me…:

The former class representative shook her head. “Asuka you’re beautiful. You may see your scars as some sort of defect, but Shinji doesn’t care about them!”

Asuka pulled away. “He hasn’t seen them,” she hissed. “I’ve never let him… not the ones on the outside or the ones in my heart. Hikari… I haven’t even told him about… my family…”

Hikari’s eyes widened. “What? But you had it all planned out… I thought you were going to tell him last week…. at the hot springs?”

“I wanted to!” Asuka practically shouted. “I had it all planned out… but then it turned out that stupid Baka had something planned as well. When we got there… the place was empty of people. He’d rented the whole place out just for us… there were candles everywhere, and flowers and… he had his friends from the orchestra come over. They played for us while we ate dinner, my favorite German dish which he had cooked for me before we left and I … I couldn’t tell him. Not then. Not when we were so … happy…”

“Oh Asuka…”

The red head simply sat with her head bowed. “I… I can’t do this.”

“Asuka! Don’t tell me you’re going to back out now!”

“Dammit do you think I want to?!?” Asuka raged, facing her friend so Hikari could see the pain and the frustrated anger in her blue eyes. “They’ll hate me… all of them, including myself! But I don’t care! I don’t care if I have to be some sort of pariah from this point on! Better than to marry him and then have him toss me aside like everyone else has! Better than to let him be disgusted by who I am… by my failures. I… I won’t marry him.” 

Her friend said nothing merely gazing at her friend with disbelief etched on her face. Asuka nodded to herself, once, swiftly, as if confirming her decision. When she spoke however her voice had lost its fire… its emotion.

“It… It’s really for his own good. He wouldn’t have been happy with me anyway…”

The slap came as a complete surprise.

Asuka’s eyes were wide as she stared at Hikari, one hand coming up to touch her reddened cheek. It still stung from the impact. Her best friend looked almost as surprised, her palm still suspended a few inches from where it had hit Asuka’s face. Hikari’s face however was set in a determined expression. The red head felt a battery of emotions cycle through her, from shock to hurt to confusion… in the end she fell back on the emotion she was most familiar with.

Rage.

“You… you bitch! Is that your idea of friendship? How dare you!”

“No how dare you Asuka Langley Sohryu!” Hikari snapped back, and for once Asuka heard real anger in her voice. “If you’re going to ruin Shinji’s life and your own as well, at least be honest and say you’re doing it for your own sake!”

“What !?! What in the hell gives you the right to say that?!?”

“You’re saying you’re doing this for him, but you’re not even giving him a chance. You don’t love him Asuka!”

For an instant Asuka’s world went red and she almost raised her own hand against her friend, but Hikari wasn’t even looking at her anymore, so caught up was she in what she was saying.

“If you loved him, how could you ever think that Shinji would be so low as to to… despise you - just because you’re scarred? Just because – through no fault of your own – you had a horrible childhood. Is that the man you think he is Asuka? You think he’ll just point to you one day, then tell someone: ‘You know, I used to love her – until I got to know her’? And then what, you think he’ll just – dispose of you? Like some used up tool?”

Asuka turned away. Yes, that’s exactly what she was afraid of… everyone else she loved had left her, why should baka-Shinji be any different? And yet… to hear Hikari describe him that way just made Asuka angry. Hikari had no right to speak of Shinji that way… no right!

The brunette seemed to take Asuka’s silence for assent for she snorted in disgust. “Well if you feel that way I guess we were wrong about Shinji all along. I thought he was a great person… turns out that he’s no better than his father after all.”

This time the slap wasn’t a surprise to either of them.

“Shinji is not anything like that – that monster,” the Second Childs voice was low and dangerous as she gazed down at the prone body of Hikari, her body quivering with suppressed anger. “Shinji is the most gentle, patient, kind and understanding person on this planet. You cannot know all that he’s gone through for my sake, for everyone’s sake. Shinji is… Shinji is…” She found that she couldn’t speak, so great was her anger. All she could do was clench her fists so tight that they almost bled. Shinji – like Commander Ikari? No! She had ever heard a more evil, more blatant lie. With effort Asuka took a large calming breath.

“If you ever say that about my Shinji again Hikari… we’re through. Over. Finished. Understand?”

Hikari groggily got to her feet, her head still ringing from Asuka’s blow. Despite that however, the former class rep had a smile on her face.

“Does that rule apply to anyone who says that about Shinji Asuka?”

Asuka scowled at her. “Obviously.”

“Even you?”

Asuka blinked.

“That’s what you’ve been doing this whole time Asuka-chan… making it appear that Shinji was someone other that the kind, gentle, loving soul you know him to be. He doesn’t care about your scars… He won’t care about your past… He loves you Asuka. He really does.”

The redhead talk a long, shuddering breath. She bit her lip and turned away, unable to face her friend.

“It’s just… I’ve never been this happy before Hikari. Hell I don’t think I was _ever_ happy before… before Shinji…”

Finally her best friend closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around the Second Child. “Not all happiness has to be stolen away from you Asuka. This time… this time it’s there for the taking, if you want it.”

Asuka was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. She turned to Hikari, and finally a genuine smile beams from her face. “Really bad case of wedding day jitters huh Hikari?”

Her best friend grinned. “Baka Asuka!”

“Hey that’s my line!”

“Yo! Anyone here?”

Both women turned towards the doorway as they heard shuffling sounds coming from the outside. Soon after the door opened and in popped the head of Touji Suzuhara.“Hey Hikari! Is Asuka ready yet? I think Misato’s looking for… uhm… er.. that is…”

“What’s your problem dummkopf?” Asuka snapped at the suddenly stuttering stooge. It was then that she realized that she and Hikari were still locked in an embrace – and that the red head was wearing nothing but her underwear.

There was a pregnant silence as all three realized the situation. Then two feminine heads nodded in agreement.

Six slaps, three thrown objects and one bruised stooge later, Asuka and Hikari were congratulating themselves on a well administered punishment, their mood light once more. 

“I really don’t know what you see in that jock Hikari – he’s hardly a fit match for the youngest professor in the Okinawan Center for Higher Learning.”

Hikari blushed as she replied. “Don’t say that… he can be caring and kind and sensitive…,” her voice hardened. “When he’s not being a lousy peeking hentai that is.”

Asuka laughed. “Well thank him for me later anyway… I really needed release right about then and he was just what the doctor ordered.”

Touji’s groans were causing Hikari’s brow to wrinkle however. “I dunno Asuka maybe we overdid it… maybe I should get Dr. Akagi to- ”She swallowed what she was about to say when her eyes caught the blinking numerals of a nearby digital clock. Hikari pointed it out to Asuka with a shaking figure. 

“Asuka!” She gasped. “Look!”

“Mein Gott! I’m going to be married in 15 minutes! I don’t even have the dress on! Hikari – help!”

As Hikari rushed off to straighten the crumpled wedding dress, one emergency replaced by a more urgent need, Asuka Langley Sohryu once again stood in front of the mirror. Her body had not changed, the scars had not disappeared… this time there was but one thing that was different. 

She was ready.

Let’s go, Asuka.

“Ok let’s have a nice shot at the altar here… yes, yes, quite impressive. Just the right size for the bloody sacrifice that is about to occur…”

“Kenuske why are you mumbling into your camera like that?”

The bespectacled man turned his Sony Camcorder in the direction of the speaker as Shinji walked up the steps towards the podium. “Ah and here it is! The ascension of the lamb! A willing oblation to satiate the appetite of the ravenous demon! Alas poor lamb! Alas!”

The groom-to-be shook his head and was about to reply when he caught sight of a bedraggled figure making his way towards them. “Whoa… uhm, I think your pity is about to acquire a better target…”

Kensuke blinked and trained his camera at a tattered being that bore a vague resemblance to Touji. “Oo-kay… I’m sure you have a reasonable explanation for all of this…”

“Since when has reason had anything to do with that stuck-up bitch,” the ex-jock muttered, trying in vain to straighten his clothing. “I swear if she wasn’t technically a woman I’d kick her ass.”

“Right,” Kensuke laughed. “Let’s conveniently forget for a moment that she’s a black belt in more martial arts than I know the names of.”

“All I’m saying is that I hope she looses that uptight attitude come your honeymoon Ikari or you’re going to have a looong two weeks…”

Shinji sighed. He hoped so too… the young Ikari was trying very hard not to think about the honeymoon – he was nervous enough about the wedding. Strange as it seemed _he_ didn’t even know where it was going to be… the agreement with Asuka was that since he had chosen the venue for the wedding, Asuka got to pick the location of their honeymoon. In that twisted logic of hers, she also reasoned that it was also her right to keep it a surprise. 
He just hoped wasn’t as… exotic as her previous surprises. He remembered the surprise she had given him for his sweet sixteen… the young Ikari had never been able to look at chocolate cake in quite the same way again…

“I can’t believe it - she wasn’t even dressed yet! And from the bruises on her cheek and Hikari’s… you don’t think they were fighting do you?”

Ritsuko sighed as she and Misato took their positions at the rear of the bridal procession. “Actually I can’t think of any other reason why they’d look that way… Of course they threw us out of there too quickly for me to get a good look at them.”

Beside her the purple haired Commander of NERV continued to fume. “That’s another thing! We just wanted to help…  God knows those two need all the help they can get if they want to get Asuka ready in time… I swear if things weren’t so behind schedule already, I’d give that little girl a piece of my mind!”

The doctor just smiled bemusedly at Misato as the latter scowled in the direction of the bridal chamber, her fists clenching and unclenching. Misato had gotten that habit from Shinji, a momento of the years she had spent as guardian of the Second and Third Children. Well… maybe ‘guardian’ was too formal a word… Misato and the Children had always had an ambiguous relationship. Even now Misato’s predicament remained the same, not quite sure whether to treat her two former charges as her surrogate children or her younger friends. Still… it was hard to imagine the three of them relating any other way.

Ritsuko’s thoughts were interrupted by a surprisingly subdued Misato. “You know, even though on the surface those two are as mismatched as any pair I’ve ever seen,” she began, in a thoughtful voice, “Looking back I think we all knew that if both of them survived, things would eventually end up this way.”

“Really? In the old days, I hardly ever heard any of them say a kind word about the other… the Second Child in particular. Asuka’s project when not piloting the Eva had always seemed to be finding new and interesting ways to torment poor Shinji…”

“Yeah I know but there were hints… I always knew that beneath all that arguing there was a romance waiting to bloom,” the Commander of NERV let out with a romantic sigh. 

While Ritsuko doubted that Misato had actually been as observant as she made out, the former head of Project E decided that she would let her friend have her little illusion. “I suppose that’s just the fate of hearts… especially lonely hearts… That they seek out each other in order to be complete, a union of the body, the heart, the soul…”

Misato laughed. “Aren’t we the romantic? A little rest and relaxation has done you good Doctor Akagi!”

“Hmmm, I suppose. Maybe Kaji was right about me after all…” Ritsuko’s smile faded as she realized what she had just said. “Oh Misato, I’m sorry I…”

The Commander waved her apologies away. “It’s alright Ritsu…. He’s never far from my thoughts anyway.” Misato sighed. “I just wish he was here… I wish all of us could have been here. Even the Commander, and Professor Fuyutsuki… and especially Rei. It wasn’t right for her to have died before she could really live…”

At the last name Ritsuko grew silent for a moment. Despite all these years, there were still some secrets she kept from her old friend – though not without reluctance. As she turned away to avoid seeing the sadness in Misato’s expression, she caught a glimpse of a slight commotion at the entrance to the church. Three new arrivals had just entered… two men and a young woman… Suddenly Ritsuko found herself grinning.

“I see dead people…”

Misato gave her a strange look. “What was that?”

“Oh uhm, nothing… just a line I picked up from one of those old movies I watched,” With effort the Doctor managed to return her face to a neutral expression. “Don’t worry Misato… I’m sure that Ayanami will be with us today… in one form or another…”

Agent Takuya scowled at his young partner as the latter stifled another yawn. The quality of NERV agents today… Well at least the boy was trying now, after being chewed out by the Commander. His partner was lucky that it was Katsuragi who controlled NERV now… if he had done the same thing ten years ago…

Takuya’s thoughts were interrupted by his partner suddenly snapping to attention. The older man followed the eyes of the boy to see three figures walking towards them through the rain.
“Halt!” The boy cried. “This is a NERV function, if you do not have proper invitations then I will have to ask you to leave.”

The three figures continued forward however. Takuya could make out their shapes now… two tall men with a young woman between them… something was vaguely familiar about the three but he couldn’t quite put a finger on what…

“Stop! I mean it! This is a restricted area! State your purpose or be removed from the premises!”

Their forms were clearer now… an older man with white hair, a young woman with brown hair… and finally a dark haired man who looked remarkably like… like…

Oh shit...

“That’s it, I warned you folks!” The boy declared, ready to bring out his gun and move towards the trio but Takuya quickly restrained him.

“What the - ? Takuya what are you doing? Only invited guests can come in here!”

“Quiet boy,” the older agent hissed. “These folks of all people don’t need any invitations – and you couldn’t stop them if you tried.”

As Takuya restrained his partner the three passed the threshold and proceeded into the church. As Takuya snapped a quick salute the dark haired man paused briefly, artificial light casting dancing reflections on his dark yellow glasses before he too entered the interior of the church.

“Dammit,” Takuya’s partner cursed as the older man let him go. “Mind telling me who the hell that was?”

“The father of the groom.”

“What the hell is taking them so long?” Kensuke whined as his camera panned the crowd. “If I’d known this would take so much time, I would have brought more batteries…”

“Well if they hadn’t taken a time out to pick on me they would’ve been done by now,” Touji growled. “

Shinji in the meantime was looking increasingly nervous… “M-maybe Asuka-chan isn’t feeling well. Maybe they decided we should do this some other time…”

“Shinji, you don’t just postpone weddings at the last minute,” Kensuke replied.

“How do you know? Maybe – maybe I should go check…” Shinji had already started to turn around before Touji grabbed him by the collar.

“Oh no Ikari, you’re not getting off that easily… Time to face death like a man!”

“Unless you’re having second thoughts,” Kensuke grinned, focusing the camera on Shinji. “If so you’d better bolt now while you have the chance… in a few minutes you’ll be crossing the rubicon and there won’t be any turning back.”

“Yeah,” Touji chuckled. “Coz Sohryu will be within sprinting distance by then…”

Shinji was about to reply when the sound of commotion towards the back of the church caught his eye. The entourage was hurriedly falling into place, partners pairing up, people getting in line… Finally a harassed looking Misato rushed forward and gave a signal to the orchestra. In response the musicians ceased their rendition of ‘Moonlight Sonata’ and struck up the piece that everyone had been waiting to hear…

“Here we go Shinji…” Kensuke whispered, but Shinji hardly heard him, so loud was the pounding of his heart in his ears.

The procession passed by like a blur to Shinji. He hardly noticed the smile Maya gave him, nor the laughter of Makoto and Shigeru, even Pen-Pen waddling forward as ring bearer. He hardly noticed when Touji’s breath caught at the sight of Hikari. He even almost missed Misato’s enthusiastic thumbs up sign, had it not been for Ristuko’s audible groan. The Third Child had eyes only for one thing… the glowing, crimson clad form of Asuka Langley Sohryu. Shinji couldn’t find the words to describe the waves of emotions that poured from his heart… rapture, ecstasy, bliss… no word even came close.

Beside him Touji whistled. “Come, sweet death…”

Shinji was more than happy to agree.

“Pssst…”

He remained staring straight ahead, either listening to the pontifications of the priest or lost in thought. 

“Pssst...!”

He blinked at that, but then seemed to shrug it off. Oblivious as usual, the Baka…

“Hey! Shinji!” Asuka whispered, tugging at his sleeve.

“A-asuka?” Shinji whispered in return. He stared at her for a moment, then, realizing what he was doing, turned away with a blush on his cheeks. “We… we really shouldn’t be talking right now…  the priest-”

“Who cares about that windbag?” Asuka hissed. The priest was even more boring that their old sensei – and that was saying a lot. He had just finished the reading – something from the Gospel of Malachel or Michael or Matthew or whoever the hell it was – she’d never really had much interest in religion. The only time she had even opened a Bible was when she had been doing a study on Medieval texts for a course in College, and even then she had been more interested with the stylized Gryffyns and Unicorns decorating the pages than with the actual content. “This is really just between you and me Shinji…”

“I – I suppose…”

“Besides, I have something to ask you.” Asuka paused for a moment, gathering her scattered thoughts and emotions. Hikari had knocked some sense into her, literally almost, and she had never been more certain that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the man kneeling beside her, that he’d accept her for who she was. Still though… it would be different if she could hear it from his own mouth.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this Shinji?”

“Wha – what?” He looked shocked, maybe a little hurt. “You’re… you’re not having second thoughts are you?”

Asuka resisted the urge to whack him on the head. “Anta Baka? Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t want to be? Me? The great Asuka Langley Sohryu?”

Shinji blinked and began making small soothing motions with his hands. “Ok ok, keep it down Asuka-chan…” Then he smiled. “I’m…glad you feel that way… But then why ask me that question?”

“Because I know you’ve done a lot of things against your will… and I – I just don’t want this to be one of them…”

This time Shinji turned to look at her. He had such a gentle expression on his face, such a loving look in his eyes, that it was all she could do to stop herself from reaching out to touch him… 

“Do you remember what I told you the night of our high school graduation ball?”

Asuka cringed inwardly at the memory. She had been absolutely terrible to Shinji during that time… It was only during that year that Shinji had mustered up enough nerve to actually make his feelings known to her. But the more he had tried to get closer to her, the more she had pushed him away, to the point of actually moving out of the apartment they shared with Misato… But somehow, in the time since the end of the Angel War, the Third Child had grown a backbone – he had never given up. It had all come to a head when he had asked her to the graduation ball – Asuka had gone ballistic. She had not only screamed ‘no!’, she had afterwards casually called one of her many suitors and – right in front of Shinji – agreed to be the boys date. Shinji had left without a word. She had thought she would never see him again… Imagine her surprise when he had shown up on the night of the ball, alone, in front of her doorstep. She had slapped him then, harder than she had ever hit anyone in her life, she had punched him and kicked him, almost blind with rage before she had realized that the red on her hands was his blood. Lying on the pavement, his formal clothes ripped and torn, he had turned sad eyes towards her and spoke to her in a voice dead of emotion. The words that followed were etched forever in her heart:

“Asuka, I don’t know why you hate me so much. But no matter what you do you will never get me to feel the same. No matter who you’re with or what you do I just want you to remember this – the one I love is you Asuka Langley Sohryu.”

That had been one of the turning points in their relationship. They had each given the other a graduation ball they would remember for the rest of their lives…

 “Of course I remember Shinji… how could I forget?”

“I meant what I said then and I mean it more than ever now. I love you Asuka. Always and forever.”

A warmth filled Asuka at those words… words which had been repeated countless times but which never seemed to lose their magic for her. Maybe… maybe this time Hikari was right. Maybe this time she could allow herself to be happy… Maybe this time it would last. She would make it last.

“I love you too Baka…”

At that point she realized that the priest was winding down his sermon. The old man lifted his arms and indicated that they should rise from their seats. 

“Together, we stand to profess our faith…”

As Asuka stood she caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of her eye. She turned slightly to see three familiar faces looking down on them from the upper tier of the church, the one that had supposedly been closed off for security reasons. Two older men and a young woman…

“Hmmph… it looks like they made it after all…”

The vows.

Asuka Langley Sohryu:
“When I first met you, I didn’t think you were much to look at – just a baka. As I got to know you better I realized I was wrong… you weren’t just a baka – you were a hentai as well!”

Laughter from the assembled. 

“But… you were my hentai… my baka-Shinji, and no matter how badly I treated you or how often I pushed you away, you were always there for me. That’s why I love you Shinji, and why I can say these words today:

I take you as my husband Shinji Ikari, with all that entails. Not part of you, but all of you:
Gentle voice to reassure me, as I stare into myself…
Strong arms to hold me, though I push you away…
Kind heart to love me, in my success and my failure…
From this moment on, I no longer live for myself, but for us.”

Shinji Ikari:
“When I first met you I couldn’t quite believe that such a beautiful girl could be such a bi-“

Whack! Laughter from the assembled.

“Uhm, I mean, could be so hot – tempered. I guess that’s why I was always a bit afraid of you when we were roommates. But no matter how much you teased me or bossed me around I always admired you – your strength, your courage, your smarts. You had a drive, a confidence that said you could overcome anything – and you were the one who taught me to believe that I could as well. That’s why I love you Asuka, and why I can say these words today:

I take you as my wife Asuka Langley Sohryu, with all that entails. Not part of you, but all of you:
Firm hand to support me, when I am lost and afraid…
Joyful smile to inspire me, when life is drab and gray…
Fierce heart to love me, and accept me for who I am…
From now on I no longer run away from you, but run with you, towards our future.”

“I now pronounce you, husband and wife.”

The ceremony was over before she knew it – there had been far too many familiar faces to see, joyous voices to hear, for the young woman to have the opportunity to grow bored. It was ironic that of all the participants, it was the bride who had seemed most impatient with the ceremony… then again the Second Child had never been fond of waiting. On the other hand, it was also possible that Sohryu merely longed for the opportunity to have Ikari-kun all to herself, and thus begin the more exciting portion of the marital event…

At that thought Rei Ayanami smiled.

It was an expression which would have caused many a heart attack ten years ago, but which occurred with increasing regularity now. The First Child had come a long way from the strange blue haired girl who had lived in Apartment 403 This was most evident in the physical sense: she was still almost as pale as ever, but her hair had been dyed brown and the crimson of her eyes were concealed by black contacts. The changes went much deeper than the cosmetic changes however – those had been performed for security reasons, but the changes in her personality had been the result of both personal growth and conscious effort. In the ten years since she had left the service of NERV, Ayanami had slowly begun to act differently… Sohryu had once described her as being more ‘alive’, and the First Child had assented to this observation after careful consideration.  This was not to say that Ayanami had grown up to become the most expressive of women, nor the most sociable… the First Child was still a woman of few words and was ill at ease when at the center of attention. The end of the Angel War however had entailed more to her than a cessation of hostilities… it had also meant a discarding of the purpose and destiny to which she had seemingly been chained to.  For a while Ayanami had been lost, the joy of freedom overcome by the abyss which was uncertainty, a future which was no longer decided for her. Ikari-kun had helped her through that period of unease, encouraged her to take that step beyond the abyss, and in the process Rei had learned a valuable lesson. Her purpose had not been the only thing in her life that gave it value. The bond she shared with Ikari-kun, with Sohryu, Major Katsuragi, the Commander and the others… the feeling of affinity she had for life itself, this made all of them valuable to her – and made her valuable in turn to them. It was this realization of her own importance – of an importance that could not be taken away – that had freed her from her passive emptiness of her previous incarnations and began her schooling in the art which Dr. Akagi called ‘living.’ I am myself, I am no one’s doll. Even while she asserted that declaration however, Ayanami knew that many found it strange that she had used her newfound freedom to follow the man who they would say relieved her of it in the first place.

To the left of the young woman, Gendo Ikari looked down solemnly at the joyful procession as the new husband and wife began to make their way out of the church. He still looked like the man who had demanded blind obedience form her that horrible day so long ago… but even when she rejected him she had known that it had not been evil behind his actions. She had seen the good in the Commander on many occasions, and she had resolved, with her new freedom, that she would not permit him any longer to casually bury that side of him beneath the icy veneer of necessity. On the Commanders other side stood another such as her, one who had given his loyalty freely, one who shared her goals. Professor Kozou Fuyutsuki, hands loosely held behind his back and a benign smile on his face looked from the Commander towards the people milling about beneath them.

“They look so happy together don’t they?” the older man opined as he watched the two former pilots holding hands as they beamed their bliss at the crowd of well-wishers who were gathered outside, some of whom were crying in the rain. “ I’m glad Rei was able to convince you to come today.”

The former Supreme Commander of NERV remained silent for a moment before replying. “You are mistaken Professor. I had intended to come – the letter I sent was merely meant as misinformation in the event that it was intercepted.”

Fuyutsuki’s smile widened at that and he turned his head slightly and gave Ayanami a surreptitious wink. The Professor had almost seemed a changed man ever since the three of them had left NERV almost eight years ago… he had recovered the gentle demeanor, almost wondering demeanor he had possessed in the earlier days of his life and had turned out to have a dry sense of humor that Ayanami had seen only rare evidence of in their time together at NERV. The situation at the time had probably left little to joke about… or perhaps Ayanami’s previous incarnations had merely lacked the humor to appreciate it.

With a deliberate effort to keep her face expressionless, the First Child winked back. She then turned to address the Commander. “Will we be following to the reception?”
The elder Ikari shook his head. “I doubt I will be welcome Rei, though you and the Professor may go if you wish. My presence would only cast a shadow on the occasion.”

“We all cast shadows Commander,” Ayanami responded. “Some may be longer and darker than others, but they are merely indications of a brighter light. The fact that Ikari-kun extended an invitation to you means that he wishes you to join him for this celebration, and it is known among many that you have been seeking to make amends.”

“Not all think my intentions are as noble as that Rei… And even if they were, redemption is not so easily bought.” 

At his side Professor Fuyutsuki shook his head. “One would think that you would have enjoyed enough separation from your son over the past two decades… when will you stop running from the boy? Tomorrow? Next year? 2055? If it is redemption that you seek, it will not be found in avoiding those you have wronged.  I agree with Ayanami: afternoons where an opportunity such as this presents itself to you will be few and far between – if you want to begin erasing unfortunate memories there is no better time to start than now.”

Gendo Ikari remained silent and unmoving, yet Ayanami knew he was pondering their words. Below them the newlyweds were waving one last time to the crowd before they entered a sleek black limousine which would take them to the nearby hotel where the reception would be held. As the car was pulling away the elder Ikari finally spoke.

“After all this time… I would not even know where to begin…”

As if on cue Ayanami reached into her shoulder bag and withdrew a sheaf of cut out articles and handed them to a bewildered commander.

“Rei? What is all this?”

“I took the liberty of providing you with a convenient excuse. These are articles which I found which decry the low standard of Tokyo-3 babysitting agencies as recently as last month. These will provide you with sufficient evidence when you inform Ikari-kun and Sohryu that we shall be the best choices for such a task when they acquire children…”

“You can’t be serious… We must remain constantly on the move to avoid arrest…”

“You have ways around that problem, you only need to acquire the will to apply them more often.”

Gendo Ikari, who had remained calm and unmovable in the face of Angel attacks, dark conspiracies and the Third Impact paled at the notion of baby sitting his grand children. The look on Ayanami’s face however would brook no opposition. Fuyutsuki looked back and forth between them before bursting into laughter.

“I think we should get to the car now before the rain gets even stronger… and before Ikari can change his mind…”

As the three walked away Ayanami thought back on the events that had lead to this day. The Angels… the Eva’s… SEELE… the drama of their past almost seemed like a movie, a play, one that never ended. They all still had their roles to perform, their destinies to act out – but now at least they would be chosen through desire, not necessity. The play of their lives did not allow for many endings… but today, if only for a day, there was a chance for something else… something more…

A new beginning…