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It was an atypically cool day, by Tokyo-3 standards anyway, as Asuka and Shinji made their way through the park. Eventually, Asuka saw something that caught her eye.
“Hey,” she said, nudging him with her shoulder, “let’s sit over here.” Before he could agree, or protest, she had taken him by the hand and begun walking towards a bench that sat overlooking a pond. She sat down, pulling him down beside her. They sat in silence for a moment before Shinji spoke.
“So, uh. What are we doing, exactly?”
“We’re sitting here,” she replied. “What does it look like we’re doing?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Okay,” he said slowly. “But… why? Why are we sitting here?”
“Because I want to.” Nonchalant, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She closed her eyes as a serene expression crossed her face. He didn’t fail to notice that she hadn’t let go of his hand. He thought about saying something, but decided against it. For one thing, he had to admit that it felt pretty nice. For another, he didn’t want to upset her.
Asuka’s bad moods were somewhat legendary, and Shinji never enjoyed enduring them, but right now it was something more than that. He glanced at her face and saw a small, comfortable smile playing at her lips. Not a wicked grin, or a vicious smirk. A real, genuine smile. It was a nice sight. He didn’t want to see it go away. So he allowed his hand to remain wrapped within her own.
Looking around, he could admit that if they were going to pick any random spot to sit down, there probably weren’t many better than this one. The pond stretched out before them was a decent size, with clear water rippling gently in the soft afternoon breeze.
He also noticed their relative seclusion— much of the park was still visible, if he turned around, and they weren’t hidden away, exactly. But there was certainly a bit of privacy afforded to them. In the few minutes since sitting down Shinji had only seen one other person pass by.
He didn’t know whether Asuka had chosen this spot specifically or not, but he had to commend her choice. It was a nice place to sit and relax. He had just closed his eyes to do so when she finally spoke.
“Hey, Shinji?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever played Truth or Dare?”
His eyes burst open as they widened. “Huh? I, uh— What?”
She giggled. “You know. Truth or Dare. It’s a very simple game. Even someone like you has to have played before.”
He scratched the back of his head, suddenly feeling very nervous. “Uh. I mean, yeah. I’ve played. But—” He paused. “Isn’t it more of a party game? Can you even play it with just two people?”
Another giggle. “Of course you can, idiot. You’ve got one person to ask the question, truth or dare, and another person to answer. Come on, it’ll be fun!” She turned to face him, her big blue eyes boring into his. “Please?”
Shinji felt his resolve weakening. He didn’t know what it was, but this had been happening more and more often lately. When they’d first met, Asuka had been loud, abrasive, and unpleasant. She was still those things, most of the time, but ever since their sync training a couple weeks ago, things had been different.
He could still remember everything about that moment from the last night before the fight against Israfel. The way her hair smelled as she flopped onto the floor beside him. The way her face scrunched as she endured what he assumed was some sort of nightmare. The way her breath tickled his face as she cried out for her mother.
It was all very intimate; certainly moreso than any other moment in his young life. He hadn’t known what to make of it, so he ran away. He still didn’t know what to make of it, honestly. But he had seen a new side of her. And since then, he had started to notice it a bit more often. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he liked it. He didn’t want it to go away. So he did what he could to appease her.
The hand-holding, though, was new. Sure, Asuka had pulled him by the hand before, usually as they ran to one place or another. But she had never let the contact linger like this as they sat comfortably. She had certainly never held his hand for this long. Still, it seemed to please her at the moment, and Shinji was willing to do almost anything to please her.
Which, currently, meant playing childish games in the park. Sighing, he looked into her eyes and, before he could fall into them, he nodded firmly.
“Okay. Let’s play.”
Her face threatened to split as her smile grew exponentially. “Great! I’ll go first, obviously. Truth or dare?”
Shinji contemplated his answer. If he opted for Truth, it wasn’t hard to imagine Asuka asking him a deeply personal, potentially embarrassing question that he would be forced to answer. On the other hand, it also wasn’t hard to imagine her daring him to do something crazy or, equally likely, dangerous. That made the decision pretty easy.
“Truth,” he said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.
She maintained her gleeful expression. “I was hoping you’d say that,” she said with a wink. “So tell me— did you really try to kiss me that night, before the Seventh?”
The cool air seemed to grow colder as her expression shifted. She still had that playful look on her face, but there was a bit of sternness there, as well. He wasn’t in trouble, he gathered, but he very easily could be. He briefly considered denying it, but that thought didn’t last long. Even if he could do it convincingly— something he very much doubted —he didn’t like the idea of lying to Asuka, game or no game.
“Uh, yeah,” he muttered. He turned his gaze out to the pond before lowering it to the ground. “I did. Sorry.”
Asuka was silent for a minute. “Why?” she eventually asked. Before he could answer she spoke again. “Actually, wait. Never mind. It’s not my turn. Don’t answer that!”
“Uh, okay,” he said, baffled. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” she said immediately. “Look at me!”
He winced at her sharp tone as he obliged her, lifting his head to see her smiling at him. “Truth,” she repeated, gently. “Ask me anything you want.”
“Okay. Uhh.” Shinji thought long and hard about what to ask. Despite spending so much time trying to solve the puzzle that was Asuka, he couldn’t think of a single question for her now that the spotlight was on him. Feeling the pressure, he blurted the first thing that came to mind.
“What’s your favorite class in school?”
“My fa— Huh?” Her expression fell. “What the hell kind of question is that?!”
Shinji winced again as the shrillness returned to her voice. “I don’t know,” he said. “Just the first thing I thought of. I’m not very good at this.”
Asuka snorted. “Yeah, I’m starting to get that.” She sighed. “Fine. My favorite class, hmm. That’s tough. They’re all so boring. I guess gym isn’t so bad. At least we’re getting exercise. And I’m sure you like it too, eh, with all of us in those tight little shorts?” She winked and squeezed his hand.
He felt his face heat up. “Wha— no! No, it’s not like that! I hardly ever look! I— What?” he asked as she began laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“You,” she said between giggles. “It’s funny when you get so defensive over being a pervert.”
“I’m not a pervert!” he protested. She only giggled again.
“Alright, my turn again. Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” he grumbled. Despite his embarrassment, he still wasn’t willing to endure whatever crazy thing she might dare him to do.
“Why?” she asked. He looked at her, confused. “Why didn’t you do it?”
His cheeks burned once more. She hadn’t clarified what she meant, but he had a pretty good idea. “Well,” he began. “I, uh, don’t know if I should say.”
Asuka scowled at him. “You have to! That’s the game!”
“But it’s embarrassing,” he protested weakly.
“That’s the whole point, idiot! We ask each other embarrassing questions and watch each other squirm.”
“How is that fun?”
She bristled. “It just is! Stop trying to change the subject! Why didn’t you kiss me that night? You already said that you wanted to. I want to know why you didn’t. I don’t care if it’s embarrassing for you.”
“It’s embarrassing for you!” he cried. “I was going to kiss you but then you started crying. I couldn’t do it after that. It felt too creepy.”
Asuka’s own cheeks turned pink as she averted her gaze. An uncomfortable silence developed as they both stared out over the pond. Shinji felt like a fool. He should have found something else to say, some other way to put it that would have spared her feelings. Now he had gone and upset her, the one thing he’d been trying not to do.
She cleared her throat beside him, drawing his attention back her way. “Um, it’s your turn,” she said quietly. He stared at her with an eyebrow raised. She really wanted to keep playing after that? He had to admit, he was impressed. He almost certainly would have ended the game if their roles had been reversed.
“Right. Uh, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
He contemplated his next question. For a moment he considered asking something benign again. Her favorite color, or a pizza preference. But he reconsidered after seeing the look on her face. She still had a light blush from his prior outburst, but there was an unmistakable determination in her expression as well.
He realized that she was serious about this. She’d said herself that she didn’t mind things getting awkward, that she even wanted that. So he decided to push past his discomfort and ask the question he’d had for a while now.
“Why did you do that?” he asked. “That night. Why were you, um, crying?”
He could see her body tense as her grip on his hand tightened to the point it almost hurt.
“Ask me something else,” she said quietly. “Anything else. I— I can’t talk about that.”
He was surprised. He hadn’t expected that response. “But didn’t you say—”
“I know what I said,” she interrupted. She sighed. “Just… please?” She found his gaze with her own. He briefly considered denying her, pushing her own logic that being uncomfortable was the whole point of this game.
But something in her eyes made him decide against that. She looked almost in pain. And she never said please when she asked for something, on the rare occasions that she did ask rather than demand. He couldn’t bring himself to say no.
“Yeah, okay,” he said softly. He felt a jolt as she gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand lightly. He returned it as he tried to think of something else to ask. Suddenly, he had it.
“Why, uh,” he began awkwardly. “I mean, why— do you like this?” He held up his hand, encased in her own.
She blinked. “What? Of course I do. Do you think I just forgot to let go or something?” She winked.
“Well, no, I just—”
“Why?” she asked, looking serious now. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No!” he blurted. She raised an eyebrow and giggled. “No, it’s… nice. I like it too.”
Asuka smiled as she gave his hand another squeeze. “Good. I’m glad that’s settled. Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” he said. Despite his initial misgivings, not to mention the heaps of awkwardness, he found himself enjoying the game. Being vulnerable was scary, but for some reason it wasn’t so bad when it was Asuka he was opening up to. Maybe it was because she was in the same position as him, equally vulnerable.
“Have you noticed that neither of us has chosen a dare yet?” She brought him out of his thoughts with a start. Reflecting on the conversation, he realized that she was right.
“Huh. I didn’t notice. I guess you’re right.”
“As always,” she told him with a wink. “Your turn.”
“Okay. Truth or dare?” he asked, fully expecting her to choose Dare.
“Truth!” Another wink.
Shinji couldn’t help chuckling. “Alright. Um…” He trailed off. He couldn’t think of anything to ask. Long gone was the time for innocuous questions, but nothing came to mind for the somewhat more serious turn the game had taken, either. All at once it came to him.
“Why did you want to play this game so badly?”
She froze. Clearly she hadn’t been expecting that. Her cheeks turned a light red as she averted her gaze and squirmed a bit in her seat. Shinji had to admit that she’d had a point earlier— it was kind of fun to see her like this.
“Well,” she began slowly. “I—” She let out a heavy sigh before finding his eyes again with her own. “I noticed that you’ve been being really nice to me lately. I don’t know why— all I do is yell at you all the time. But… it’s nice. I like it.” Her blush intensified.
“But I couldn’t stop thinking about that night. Why would somebody so nice do something like that? I wanted to think of you as a pervert, and maybe I’m wrong and you are, but I just felt like I had to know the truth.” She paused. “So, I decided to ask you about it and find out for myself.”
Shinji felt his eyes widen. “All of this, for that?” he asked. She nodded her head. “But… why not just ask me, normally?”
Asuka rolled her eyes. “Because there’s no way you would have even admitted to it otherwise, never mind telling me why. Besides,” she smiled again. “It’s such a nice day out, isn’t it? And we’re having fun. Would you really rather be at home, moping around with that music player?”
He shook his head. “No, I guess not.” He felt a smile of his own crossing his face. “Uh. Thanks, I guess.”
His chest tightened as she beamed at him. “Don’t mention it! Now, truth or dare?”
He’d been staring into her eyes for so long that he’d almost forgotten they were playing a game. “Uh, truth,” he said.
Asuka gave a playful harrumph. “Pfft. Lame. Fine then.” She paused, suddenly seeming nervous. She couldn’t meet his gaze, and her blush was back with a vengeance. When she eventually spoke it was at a volume far too low to understand. He’d barely heard her speak at all.
“Sorry, what?”
She tried again. “Do you, um…” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Do you still want to do it?”
Shinji was confused. “Do what?”
She opened her eyes to glare at him. “Idiot,” she muttered. “Do you still want to kiss me?”
Now it was Shinji’s turn to look away as his face heated up. It was a natural thing to ask, he supposed, but he hadn’t been expecting it. He nodded his head, too afraid to look at her. “Yeah,” he managed weakly. “I do.”
She squeezed his hand, hard. “Okay then. Truth.”
“Huh?”
“It’s your turn,” she explained. “And I pick truth.”
He looked back over and found her staring at him. Despite the color in her cheeks she had an expectant look on her face. Even though he could ask her any question he wanted, he got the sense that there was only one that she wanted to hear. Plucking up his courage, he took a chance and prayed he was picking up the right signal.
“Do—” He paused to swallow the lump in his throat. “Do you want me to do it?”
A relieved expression crossed her face. Shinji felt an immense gratitude that his gamble had paid off as she nodded her head, intensifying the warmth in his chest.
“My turn,” she said in a shaky voice. “Truth or d—”
She was cut off as, in an uncharacteristically bold move, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. It was awkward at first, as she’d been in midsentence and unprepared, but after a moment she adjusted and began returning the kiss.
Spending time with Asuka was nice. Seeing her smile, making her laugh, that all felt great. Holding her hand, even though it was new, was something he’d like to do a lot more of.
None of that held a candle to the feeling of her lips against his. The powerful feeling coursing through his veins was what he imagined a drug to feel like. He could certainly see himself getting addicted to this. That feeling amplified as she raised her free hand to the back of his head, snaking it into his hair and pulling him further towards her.
Eventually they broke apart, panting softly as they caught their breath. “Sorry,” he said quietly.
She looked at him, confused. “Sorry? For what?”
“For interrupting you,” he said with a grin.
She rolled her eyes as her blush returned. “Don’t be an idiot. If you’re going to do that, it’s fine. But don’t do it again!” They shared a light laugh, turning to sit facing forward on the bench. She leaned her head onto his shoulder as they stared out over the pond. They still hadn’t let go of each other’s hand, Shinji noticed. He adjusted his grip to snake his fingers through her own, drawing a contented hum from beside him.
They sat there for a while, calmly enjoying the peaceful scene as the sun began to dip towards the horizon. Eventually Asuka spoke again, breaking the silence without moving away from him.
“Hey, Shinji.”
“Yeah?”
“Truth or dare?”
He chuckled quietly. “Well, I think we’ve had enough truth for today. Give me a dare.”
He could hear the grin in her voice as she responded. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She sat up straight and turned him by the shoulder to face her. She had a mischievous look as she stared into his eyes.
“I dare you to do it again.”
Shinji, who had been nervous at the expression on her face, chuckled again as he leaned in to oblige her.
Anything to please Asuka.