From: Lara Bartram <lara@emunix.emich.edu>


I changed the dates of certain events ever so slightly to make 
for better story.  Enjoy anyway.

lara@emunix.emich.edu
http://www.thekeep.org/~lara/pages/index.html



  Thanks to Ammadeau, Donny Cheng, Alan Harnum, Richard Lawson, 
              and the C*B*L for pre-reading duties.


   Characters belong to Gainax, and not myself.  They get the 
    credit for the heart of this story (I'll take credit for 
            whatever soul you happen to find in it).




                            P A G E S

                         ---------------

Page 1


	"You're insufferable!"
	"Just like you."
	"Why I put up with you..."
	"I offered to buy the pizza and beer."
	Yui paused.  "Then why haven't you yet?"
	Smiling, Gendo answered, "As the lady wishes."  Another 
night of studying, alone with Yui, and he wasn't afraid to admit 
that he found her... interesting.  "What would you like on the 
pizza?"
	Already looking back at her notes and frowning, Yui waved 
her hand.  "Anything is fine.  Just as long as it doesn't 
resemble a vegetable."
	"No vegetables.  I can do that."

	So maybe it had been one beer too many, but Yui had just 
continued drinking.  He had matched her, and as the night wore 
on, less and less studying was accomplished.
	Instead, stories were exchanged about classes, families, 
friends, jobs...
	"Oh yeah.  The old man looks at me and I can tell he's 
undressing me in his head," Yui said, chomping noisily on 
another piece of pizza.
	"You're surprised?  He's a professor.  They're supposed to 
do that."
	Yui stared at Gendo.  "You're going into teaching, aren't 
you?"
	Laughing, he shook his head.  "No way.  I hate kids.  I'd 
avoid teaching as much for them as myself."
	Yui nodded then let out a sigh.  "I want to have kids 
someday.  I can feel my biological clock ticking..."  She looked 
at Gendo, the look he was giving her, and frowned.  "It's not a 
joke!  There really is a biological clock!"
	Gendo looked at her for a moment, then drained his beer.  
"So," he began, "what time does yours say it is?"
	There was something in his voice, his eyes, the way he was 
seated, that told Yui what was about to happen.  She found she 
didn't really feel like stopping him.
	In fact, when he leaned forward and kissed her, she 
started to kiss him back.  Nothing hot and heavy, but enough to 
go to the next step if they wanted.  But only if they wanted.
	Gendo would never, never ever, force her into something 
she didn't want to do.  He was more considerate, more thoughtful 
than the usual college rabble.  Of course, he was also older 
than the other students...  Older than herself, but that didn't 
matter to her.
	The hesitant touch of his hand on her shoulder reminded 
Yui that they were in awkward positions to be continuing what 
they were doing.
	Yui pulled away.  "You smell like beer, Gendo."
	"So do you."  He smiled, but it wasn't a lecherous or 
greasy smile; it was small, and maybe a little shy.
	When she stood, it was not with the expectation that they 
would move on to the next step, but to simply... maintain the 
status quo.  Now sitting on the simple bed in his room, she 
patted the spot next to her.  "I don't think we got much 
studying done tonight," she said as he stood and walked toward 
her.
	"I think physics, especially of light and heat, is 
something," Gendo said as he sat next to her, "we can study 
without any books."
	Yui watched him, his unusually slim body moving with 
purpose even while he was just sitting.  "Light," she said 
quietly, reaching over to turn the lamp off.
	The room was plunged into darkness except for the safety 
lights outside shining through the window shade, casting shadows 
across them.
	"Heat?" Gendo asked.
	"You still smell like beer."

---

Page 2


	Morning was something Gendo officially hated.  The process 
of waking up when the body was still tired was akin to reverse 
murder.
	This morning was no different... except for one thing.  
Squeezed against him in his small bed was Yui.  They were both 
still fully clothed, though whether that was a good thing or not 
he wasn't sure.
	He remembered, quite clearly, kissing her, and her kissing 
back.  Then they had moved to the bed and continued things.  And 
then... they must have simply fallen asleep.  What a waste of a 
bed and bodily contact.
	"Yui," he whispered, leaving his arms around her.  "It's 
morning."
	Groaning, Yui opened her eyes slowly.  "What happened?" 
she asked, seemingly unfazed by the fact she was in Gendo's bed 
and he had his arms around her.
	"You fell asleep.  Guess I did too."
	"Sleep?  That's all?"
	"Of course.  I wouldn't do anything like that to you."  He 
quickly removed his arms, realizing they weren't exactly helping 
his claim of.  "I think all that studying tired us out."
	Yui looked back at his somewhat sickly smile.  "You... 
didn't have to do that."
	"Do what?"
	Taking one of his hands, Yui placed it so that it rested 
on her stomach.  "I believe you.  I trust you."  She started to 
tilt her head back.
	He started to lean forward.
	The two quickly pulled apart, grimacing.  Morning beer 
breath.
	"That reminds me," Yui said, sitting up.  "I have a class 
I need to get to."  She gave him a charmingly harsh glare.  "And 
so do you, if I'm not mistaken."
	Gendo leaned back and groaned while rubbing his eyes.  At 
least he had possessed enough common sense to remove his glasses 
the previous night.  "I hate that professor.  I didn't think it 
was possible to drone on for that long and not say anything 
useful."
	"France during the industrial revolution isn't completely 
useless, is it?"
	He looked at her evenly.  "Yes."
	Silence hung between them until Gendo finally said, "I 
really want to kiss you now."
	"It wasn't the beer last night?"
	"No.  I've had more than that before exams.  I knew 
exactly what I was doing," he answered cockily.  Then a thought 
struck him.  "What about you?"
	Yui didn't answer right away, instead licking her lips.  
"I... don't think that would be a problem."
	Rejoicing inside, Gendo sat up and put his arm around her 
shoulder.  The morning beer breath didn't deter them this time 
as they kissed again.
	Whatever love was, whatever form it took in each one of 
them, and whatever drew two people together, Gendo found he 
didn't particularly care as long as it meant he was with Yui.  
Stubborn, overconfident, nagging, beautiful Yui.
	The things he should have hated about her he found 
endearing, and it had nothing to do with her looks.  It was 
everything about her as a person.  He had to have her.
	"Gendo," she said when they parted, "we're going to be 
late for class."
	"I know," he replied and kissed her again.
	No other man would live up to it.  It didn't matter how 
old they were, how smart, how much money they had...  When she 
was with Gendo, every moment for Yui was like something waiting 
to happen.  She liked that, was used to it from being around him 
so much.
	She really hoped something happened... soon.

---

Page 3


	"I still need to get ready.  I can't go to class in these 
clothes."
	"They're perfectly fine.  You don't need to go to class 
anyway," Gendo asserted.  "Breakfast would be better than 
sitting in that lecture hall any day."
	Pushing his hands away, Yui stood.  "I probably look 
terrible.  This shirt..."  She looked down at herself and made a 
disgusted sound.  "It's all wrinkled."  Then she began to gather 
her things.  "And all my stuff...  I'm going to end up sitting 
in the front."
	Shaking his head, Gendo stood and grabbed Yui from behind.  
"Relax.  One day won't kill you, will it?  Come on.  Just one 
day."  He turned her around.  "Just one day."
	Her eyes studied his face.  "Just this once.  Since you 
bought the pizza and beer," she said, giving in.
	"Now that you've realized what a waste class is, I'm going 
to skip the breakfast suggestion."  Slipping his arms around 
her, he smiled and tried to kiss her.
	"None of that, Rokubungi.  I am not going to waste my 
entire day acting like some crazed animal," Yui snapped, though 
did nothing to remove his arms.  "I can catch up on the studying 
I should have been doing last night."
	Leaning down, Gendo nuzzled her neck.  "How about I bring 
back breakfast, and then we can study?  No funny business."
	Yui reciprocated his actions, closing her eyes and 
smiling.  After softly kissing his neck, she nodded.  "Okay.  No 
funny business; just studying."
	"As you wish."  He pulled back, their cheeks rubbing 
against each other.  "I'll be back in a little bit then."  
Giving Yui a quick kiss on the lips, he grabbed his glasses from 
the table and left.
	"Why I put up with him..." she muttered to herself.

	"Right again.  I'd almost think you knew what you were 
talking about."  Yui smirked at Gendo.
	"Do I get a reward for being right so often?"
	"What do you think?"
	"Yes."  Gendo smiled suddenly.  "Hey, I'm right again.  
This really deserves a reward then."  Without waiting, he leaned 
over and kissed Yui.
	"No funny business!"  Yui sighed and tossed her pen on the 
table.  "Even if you don't take this seriously, I do.  I'm 
trying to get a degree here."  Looking at the books and papers 
stacked on the table, she frowned.
	"I like you, Gendo, but..."
	"But?"  His smile had fallen at the hesitancy in her 
voice.  "But what?"
	"I need to concentrate on school.  I can't play these 
games."  She looked at him then, still frowning.  "I know you're 
smart.  If you'd just apply yourself..."
	"Why?" he asked angrily.  "So I can get all A's?  All 
perfect test scores?  For what?  So I can sit at some desk and 
tell the other guys I work with how well I did in school?  It's 
not worth it, Yui."
	He smiled, but it was sad.  "I like you.  Maybe more than 
that, but this place...  Before I met you, I was ready to drop 
out.  Except for you."
	"I really think that's sweet, and I like you.  You're even 
a good study partner sometimes, but school is important to me."  
She smiled almost condescendingly at him.  "I'm not against... 
having fun, but classes are my number one priority."
	Didn't she know she was stepping all over him?  Didn't she 
understand?  "I... don't know what to say."
	"You don't need to say anything.  I'm just explaining 
things from my perspective.  School is top priority."
	"And... me?"
	"I'd say you're number two.  Just not for serious 
studying."
	That didn't help at all really.  Rejection hurt no matter 
how politely it was phrased.  "Fine.  If that's the way you want 
it, that's... okay by me."
	"No, that's not what I'm saying," Yui corrected.  "You 
just have to realize there's a time for work... and a time for 
play."

---

Page 4


	The bar.  One place Gendo knew better than his own room.  
Also a place where he didn't have to worry about anything except 
how much money he had left in his pocket.
	No homework, no studying, no...  Swallowing the last of 
his beer, he slammed his glass down on the bar.  Money or not, 
he was done for the night.
	He spun around on the stool and stood, ending up right in 
the chest of a guy carrying his own beer.  The beer was 
summarily spilled all over the two, and neither one was all that 
happy with the situation.
	"Why don't you watch where yer goin', pipsqueak!"
	Gendo shoved the other man.  "Next time walk someplace 
where people won't be standing up, idiot!"
	"Look, four eyes, maybe if you buy me and my friends 
another round, I'll forget you dumped my beer and insulted me."  
He cracked his knuckles.
	Gendo snorted.  "I don't think so.  I'm leaving."  He 
tried to walk around the irate student, but didn't quite make 
it.
	"How about," the larger man said, pushing Gendo, "you do 
it or we'll make you do it?"  Behind him, three more beefy 
students stood, all with snarls on their faces.
	"I don't think so."  Again, Gendo tried to walk by, but 
this time, he was struck across the jaw and sent reeling, his 
glasses flying from his face.  There was suddenly a flurry of 
fists flying at him from all directions.  Before he could even 
try to fight back, the bar's bouncers were separating all 
parties.
	"Yeah!  How do ya like that?  Go ahead and call me an 
idiot again!" the big man taunted while being held back by an 
especially husky bouncer.
	Gendo was being restrained as well, but it was more like 
he was using the bouncer to lean on.  Licking off the blood that 
was running from his nose, he spit it right in the chest of the 
one who had taken the first swing.  "Yeah, and it still took all 
your friends and a cheap shot, you stupid jock."
	In a few minutes, the police were there, and the taunting 
of the guys who had jumped Gendo died out.
	He just gave them a lopsided grin and waved as the police 
began questioning them.  For once, luck was on his side.  
Several other patrons backed up his story that the others had 
started the fight, and he was allowed to leave.
Staggering back to his room at roughly two in the morning, 
far later than he had intended to stay out, Gendo knew he hadn't 
seen the last of those guys, and he'd have to be on from then 
on.
	Snorting, he hawked up some bloody phlegm and spat it on 
the sidewalk.  Yui would have a heart attack when she saw him in 
class.  If she even cared.
	He wasn't sure anymore.  She was friendly, but not as 
friendly as before.  If that meant she didn't like him, he 
needed to know so he wouldn't keep thinking about her every 
minute, every day, awake or asleep...
	But if she did, then he didn't know what she was trying to 
accomplish by keeping her distance.  Not that with the black 
eye, swollen lip, and bleeding nose she'd want him to get any 
closer than necessary.
	Another bloody wad was spit upon the ground before he 
unlocked the door to the building and entered.  He trudged up to 
the third floor, to his room, and sighed before unlocking that 
door.  He had really planned on going to class the next day, but 
after the fight...
	"Damn punks," he muttered, grabbing a tissue as he closed 
the door, turning the room pitch black.  Odd.  Hadn't he left 
the shade open before he had left?
	"Gendo?" a soft, female voice asked.
	Gendo froze.  The voice...  Yui's?  From the... bed?  
"Yui?"
	"It's me.  Come to bed."

---

Page 5


	She dabbed gently at his face.  "The other guy looks 
worse, right?"
	Gendo shook his head.  "The other _four_ guys didn't get a 
scratch, but the police didn't look too happy."  He grinned, 
then winced as Yui put just a bit too much pressure on his 
tender eye.
	"Four men beat you up and you're making jokes?  This is 
serious!"  She wiped the dried blood away.  "You should file a 
complaint with the university."
	"No point.  They were oh so precious athletes.  Nothing 
ever happens to them."  He tested the cut on his lip with his 
tongue.  That was going to take a bit to heal.  "Try to do a 
little drinking in peace and look what happens..."
	"Really.  Why were you out on a class night at the bar?  
You should have been here," Yui scolded.
	"And why is that?  Something you had in mind?"
	Yui flushed suddenly.  "Not really.  I was just..."
	"In my bed."
	She nodded simply.  "Waiting for you."
	"Because?"
	Turning, she dipped the cloth in cold water, not 
answering.
	"Well?" Gendo prodded.
	"Do I need to explain everything I do?"
	"Yui, you were in my bed after ignoring me for a week.  
The least I deserve is an explanation."
	She turned, revealing her lips set in a thin line.  
Dabbing his face more, she seemed to be debating how to answer.  
"Because I..."  She wiped his forehead, then cheek, ignoring the 
fact that there were no injuries there.  "Because I thought 
that's what you wanted."
	"You thought... I wanted..."
	Yui nodded.
	"So you..."
	Again, she nodded.
	"Why?"
	"I didn't want you to think I wasn't interested."
	That familiar feeling was back.  "In... me?"
	Yui nodded, wiping his cheek again.  A bead of water 
rolled down his face, and her eyes were drawn to it.  It was 
easier than looking him in the eye.
	His hand went over hers.  "You didn't have to do that."
	She looked in his eyes, even though one was mostly swollen 
shut, and saw that look in them again.
	"Whether you were interested or not, I couldn't stop 
thinking about you," Gendo continued.  "I was even going to go 
to class tomorrow; I was even going to leave the bar early, but 
got a bit distracted."
	"I guess it was a good thing I showed up anyway," Yui said 
quietly, not sure how to reply.  "Otherwise, who would take care 
of you?"
	"Myself.  Just like I've always done."
	"That's too bad.  It's much better when there's someone to 
take care of all your hurts when you need it."
	Gendo nodded, and the look on his face now one of an 
animal caught in headlights.
	"I'm sorry you took what I said before the wrong way.  I 
really am interested in you, but school is important too."
	Gendo nodded.
	For a moment that seemed like an eternity, the only sound 
was their breathing in the darkness.  Then Yui started to remove 
her shirt.
	"Hey!  Wait!  Stop that!" Gendo exclaimed, panicking.  
"What are you doing?"
	"But don't you want to..."
	Sighing, Gendo shook his head.  "Only if you want to, and 
only for the right reasons.  Right now, I think we could both 
use some sleep," he said, taking her hand in his.

---

Page 6


	"Oh, Gendo.  Your face looks awful."
	"I wish I could say the same about you, but no... you're 
perfect."  He kissed Yui on the cheek, trying not to touch her 
skin with the cut on his lip.
	"They wrecked you last night," she said quietly, looking 
at his face.  "The smartest man in class and this is what they 
do.  Assholes."
	Smirking, Gendo put his arm around his waist.  "Really, 
it's nothing the police can't handle."
	Yui looked completely horrified at the implication.  "And 
have them beat you up again?  No way in hell is that going to 
happen."
	"Why, I'd almost think you care about me."
	"I do, so you don't have to play any of your games to get 
me to say it."
	"This really _has_ put you in a bad mood.  Should I get a 
puppy for you to kick?"
	Yui snarled at him.  "No, but if you set those assholes in 
front of me, I'd enjoy kicking them in the balls."
	Gendo swallowed audibly.  "I'm sure you would, but for 
now, breakfast or straight to class?"
	That brought a warm smile from Yui.  "Class, and stopping 
for a breakfast of champions on the way."  She took his hand in 
hers and headed for the door.

	Two sodas and packages of chips later, they were settling 
into their seats in the lecture hall.
	Leaning over, Gendo whispered, "Last day of class, I'm 
going to yell out 'France can kiss my ass!'  What do you think 
will happen?"
	"People will think you're an idiot and I'll be branded 
insane for going out with you."
	"You don't think they'd agree?"
	"Probably, but you still shouldn't do it."
	"Is that an official request?"
	"Yes.  Here, keep your mouth busy with something else."  
Yui held up a chip and put it in his mouth.  "Now hush, the 
lecture is about to start."
	It was about halfway through the class period that Gendo's 
head settled on Yui's shoulder.  She was about to push him off 
when she saw that he was asleep.
	Setting her pencil down on the desk, she put her arm 
around him and rested her hand on the side of his head.  Only 
listening to the lecture now, she stroked his hair softly.
	Yui continued to do so until the class was almost 
finished.  "Gendo, wake up.  Class is over."
	He stirred, then looked up at her with his one good eye.  
"Over?  And I missed it?"  Gendo sat up quickly, fumbling for 
his pen.  "Let me see your notes," he said and reached for her 
notepad.
	"Don't worry about it.  There wasn't that much anyway... 
all in the book."  Maybe.  She wasn't sure since she hadn't been 
listening too closely.  Most of her concentration had been on 
the man sitting next to her.  No matter how much she said school 
was her top priority, she was having trouble separating it from 
Gendo.
	"Come on.  You're exhausted.  I told you not to take those 
painkillers, that they'd make you drowsy, but did you listen?"
	"I try to tune out your nagging as much as possible."
	"Snot."
	"Who is madly in love with you."
	Yui, who was in the process of standing up, sat roughly 
back down.  With eyes widened in amazement, she looked at Gendo.  
"Did I hear... what I thought I just heard?"
	Grinning with the undamaged side of his mouth, Gendo just 
gave her an enigmatic look.
	"I... don't know what to say."
	He shrugged.  "I'm hungry still.  I'll take you out for 
something."  Standing and taking Yui's hand, he pulled her to 
her feet.  "I know what you're going to say, but trust me.  I 
know what I'm doing."  If only that were the truth.

---

Page 7


	Yui tried not to laugh and spit food all over.  "You're 
kidding."
	"Nope.  It took about two seconds for everyone else to 
start laughing.  The guy ran out of there like he was on fire."
	Smiling, Yui shook her head.  "You know what?"
	"Hm?"
	"You are not a very nice man."
	With a wide smile, Gendo answered, "I know."
	Leaning against him, Yui kissed his cheek.  "What I see in 
you, I'll never know."
	"It's my charm."
	Yui shook her head.  "It's not that."
	"My good looks then."
	"Oh no, not that."
	Gendo frowned.  "Personal hygiene?"
	Touching the swollen area around his eye, Yui shook her 
head.  "No, not that either.  I really don't know what it is."  
She leaned forward and kissed him again, letting it linger this 
time.
	Pausing for a breath, Yui said quietly, "It could be 
something about that."
	"You're not too bad yourself.  You've got to be better 
than me at any rate."  His hand slid under the table and rested 
on her knee.
	Yui arched an eyebrow.  "Funny business?"
	Gendo pulled his hand away quickly.  "Sorry about that.  I 
didn't mean..."
	"Be quiet, Rokubungi," Yui said quietly, putting her hand 
on his cheek, "and kiss me again."

	"What about class?"
	Yui gave Gendo a sidelong glance before taking his hand.  
"I thought I was supposed to trust you.  I thought you knew what 
you were doing."
	"I thought school was your top priority."
	"It is, but... so are you."
	"How do you balance that out?  We're fairly exclusive to 
one another."  His hold on her hand tightened.
	"I worked out a plan," Yui said, smiling.  "You see, when 
I go to class, I bring you along.  When I need to study, I'm 
going to make you study with me.  But every so often, I think it 
would be okay to take a break from school, and I think you could 
help me with that."
	"Gladly."
	"But you have to help with all of it, not just the fun 
stuff," Yui warned, looking at him sternly.
	"Boring stuff too.  Got it."  He moved closer to her and 
put his arm around her waist.  "But since you reminded me, I did 
have a little something in mind for us to do this afternoon."
	"No funny business!"
	"Nothing like that!  Why do you keep jumping to that 
conclusion?"  A sly grin appeared on his lips.  "Maybe it's 
because that's what you want me to do."
	Unwilling to be defeated in one of his games, Yui answered 
simply, "Maybe."  She took the hand that was around her and 
yanked on it, pulling him closer.  "I hope you're not... 
intimidated by my bluntness."
	"Me?  Of course not."  The game was afoot.  Who would give 
in first?  "Feel free any time you'd like."
	Yui was determined.  "Ooh, I think I will.  I couldn't 
pass up an offer like that," she purred.  Offer?  Ha!  It was a 
challenge, pure and simple.  He might have been the smartest man 
she knew, but he wasn't smarter than her.  No way.
	"That'd be great," he whispered into her ear.  "Forget the 
movie.  We can go to a hotel."
	That did it.  Yui pulled away and hit him on the shoulder.  
"How dare you!"
	"But I thought you would have liked it," Gendo said with 
all seriousness, looking completely innocent.
	"Smug bastard.  Fine.  You win this round, but don't think 
it'll be this easy next time," Yui vowed, not going quite so far 
as to shake her fist at him.
	"Next time?  I'm looking forward to it."  Taking her hand 
again, Gendo started to pull her along.  "Don't want to be late 
for the movie now."

---

Page 8


	The overheads dimmed, illuminating the theater in front of 
them in the light from the movie screen.
	"I will get you for that."
	"I don't think so.  Remember, I'm not a very nice man.  
That's something you'll never be able to match."
	Yui looked at him for a moment.  "That's it!"
	"What's it?"
	"Your unflagging arrogance and infuriating attitude.  
That's what I find so attractive about you," Yui said with 
obviously sarcastic cheer.
	"Birds of a feather, my dear."
	"Hush, the movie's about to start."
	The two held hands in the dark.
	"I've noticed," Gendo whispered, looking at the screen, 
"that whenever I make a point, you change the subject.  Why is 
that?"
	"Because I don't want you to make a fool of yourself 
arguing," Yui whispered back.  "You would lose and be publicly 
humiliated."
	"I doubt it, though this show of confidence is... quite 
attractive."
	"You always think you're right, don't you?"
	"Because I _am_ always right."
	"Are you now?  Then why don't you tell me..."  Yui leaned 
over to whisper the rest in Gendo's ear.
	Suffering through the rush of heat to his face, Gendo 
tried to think of something appropriate to say in response.  He 
would not let Yui win this round on a question like that.  "Even 
if I answer, what guarantee is there that you'll tell me that 
I'm right?"
	"Give me your guess first."
	"I'd say...maybe... 34B."
	Yui shifted in her seat so her torso was facing him.  
"Let's find out," she whispered and kissed him hard on the 
mouth.  He brought his hand up to cup her neck as she forced him 
back slightly.  Taking his other hand, she steered it toward her 
stomach, then under her shirt.
	That was all the permission Gendo needed.  His hand moved 
up her stomach until it reached the material of her bra and 
swell of her breast.
	Yui's hands were on his chest, alternately pushing him 
away and pulling him closer.
	"Am... am I right?" he asked, gasping for breath when they 
separated.
	"Why don't you find out?" she said, thrusting her chest 
out, into his hand, and kissed him again.
	Glasses almost falling off, hand worming its way under her 
bra, Gendo promptly forgot what movie that had gone to see.

	"Right, as usual," Gendo said with a happy sigh.
	"Lucky guess," Yui responded, her fingers intertwined with 
his.  "I'm glad I took this day off.  I really think I needed 
it."
	"I'm not going to answer that because I think you'd hit 
me, and my fragile body can't take any more abuse after what 
happened in that theater."  Gendo tried his best to sound hurt.
	"Then I guess we should make sure that never happens 
again.  How does that sound?"
	"Very, very bad, actually.  I concede, just this once.  If 
I didn't have you, I'd probably die, and unless you're going 
with me, that's not something..."  He trailed off, realizing it 
wasn't a very pleasant topic to be going on about.  "Sorry."
	"That's okay.  I understand what you were trying to say."
	Yui smiled.  "I think I have something we can do aside 
from talking about morbid things..."  Her eyes sparkled in the 
afternoon sunlight as she looked at him.  "Why don't we... cut 
loose and go to the bar?  It's been ages since I've been."
	"But we could..."
	One stern look from Yui quieted him.  If she wanted to go 
to some loud, smelly bar instead of spending some... quality 
time alone with him, then he wasn't going to argue.  Especially 
not with Yui.
	Maybe it was time to get a TV and VCR in his room, and 
then they could watch all the movies they wanted.

---

Page 9


	Gendo winced when he heard Yui's loud cheer again.  If he 
had been able to get at her, he would have dragged her out of 
the bar forcibly.  But the crowd around her was too large, and 
he didn't think they'd appreciate him removing their source of 
entertainment.
	He drained his glass and relaxed in his chair.  Yui'd get 
tired eventually.  She couldn't sing all night.  He hoped.  Then 
they all started clapping to the beat, and he knew he had to get 
her out of there.
	Standing up, he looked at the mob of people.  Never again 
would he allow her to drink so much; she would be hungover in 
the morning like nobody's business.
	Pushing his way through the people, many of them giving 
him dirty looks, he finally reached the middle where Yui was.  
"It's time to go," he said stiffly.
	Yui looked at him and smiled widely.  "It's just starting 
to get fun!  I can't leave now!"
	Gendo took her hand.  "Come on, Yui."
	"No!"  She jerked her hand out of his and stood on a 
chair, where she continued her drunken singing, much to the 
delight of the crowd.
	Swearing to himself, he was about to physically remove her 
when he saw the hand.  He couldn't see the face, but he didn't 
need to.  Everyone else was having too good a time and Yui was 
too drunk to care as a hand caressed her thigh, even becoming so 
bold as to squeeze her butt.
	Something snapped.  Gendo pushed his way over to the 
offending hand and grabbed it.  "What do you think you're 
doing?" he shouted to be heard over all the noise.
	"You again?  Wasn't last night enough?  You need some 
more?"
	The crowd immediately parted to give them more room, but 
didn't stop clapping.  Half of them were looking at Yui, while 
the other half were watching for the fight that they were sure 
was about to take place.
	It did, but it wasn't nearly as interesting or exciting as 
everyone had hoped it would be.  Gendo's lip twitched in a snarl 
before he punched the student that had attacked him the previous 
night in the gut, sending him to his knees, dry heaving.  A 
solid uppercut tossed him back, leaving him unconscious on the 
floor.
	There were assorted cheers and general applause as Gendo 
turned his attention back to Yui.
	Without another word, he grabbed her around the waist and 
lowered her to the floor where she stood unsteadily.
	"Hey!  I wasn't done with my set yet!" she protested, 
pouting, but also bowing as people gave her enthusiastic 
applause.
	"You're definitely done.  Overdone.  And we need to leave 
before that guy wakes up."
	"What guy?"
	"The guy I beat up."
	Yui's eyes brightened.  "Really?  I wanna see!"  She tried 
to go back, but Gendo held her tightly.
	"No, you don't.  You want to go and get some sleep because 
you're going to be miserable when you wake up.  And if you're 
going to puke, do it now.  Don't wait until we get back."
	"How do you know so much about drinking, Gendo?" Yui 
asked, leaning against him and clutching his arm.
	"Lots of practice.  And next time, I'll be sure to watch 
you closer.  You can't handle that much.  And you're scary 
drunk."
	Yui leaned her head against his shoulder and giggled, 
covering her mouth and nose when she started to snort.  "No I'm 
not."
	"Oh yes you are.  And your singing is horrible."
	"It's not that bad."
	"Yes, it is that bad."
	"No.  Listen..."
	Gendo winced, ready for Yui to start "singing" at the top 
of her lungs, but instead, she began to softly sing in his ear.  
As much as he enjoyed her breath tickling his ear like that...  
"You need sleep worse than I thought."
	She gave him a raspberry, another interesting sensation 
when it was right in his ear.  "I know exactly what I'm doing," 
she answered, imitating him.
	"Oh do you now?" he asked, leading her back to his room.

---

Page 10


	"Stop that."
	"Mm mm..."
	"Yui, stop it."
	"I don't want to."  She leaned up and began kissing up and 
down his neck.
	"You keep this up and you're going to end up doing 
something you're going to regret.  Not that I'd particularly 
regret it..."
	"Oh, Gen-chan, that's what I wanted to hear," Yui said 
softly, putting her arms around him.
	Things were going in a direction he wasn't quite ready 
for.  This was Yui, after all.  There'd be hell to pay in the 
morning if he actually went along with her.  "You know I love 
you, Yui, but this is not a good time."
	"Mm hmm, it is, Gen-chan.  We're both willing..."  Yui 
alternated between taking off her own clothes and trying to 
remove Gendo's.
	"Yui, stop," he said, trying to push her hands away.  She 
was like an octopus though, skillfully maneuvering her hands 
through his defenses.
	This situation went on for a few more minutes, looking 
like a kung fu movie, before Gendo finally barked, "Stop!" and 
grabbed both her hands.  He looked sternly in her eyes while he 
held them tightly.
	Yui's eyes were half-lidded and slightly glazed.  Shaking 
his head, Gendo forced Yui to sit on his bed.  "You stay here.  
Get some sleep.  Understand?"
	Not speaking, Yui fell over sideways on the bed, her body 
limp.  After another moment, her eyes closed.
	"Crazy woman."  Giving her one last disgusted if 
affectionate look, Gendo turned and went to change his clothes.  
They smelled terribly of alcohol and smoke, a fact that he'd 
never noticed before.
	Why did Yui continue to occupy his bed when he knew it was 
all so perfectly innocent?  But she was so... teasingly innocent 
that she probably had no idea what a powder keg she was toying 
with.  He sighed.
	Turning back to his bed to take care of Yui, he shook his 
head again.  Damn, she was gorgeous even when she was 
unconscious.  Indecisive, Gendo wasn't sure whether he should 
try and get her out of most of her clothes, or to just leave 
her.
	Testosterone getting the better of him, he undid Yui's 
shirt the rest of the way and slipped it off her.  Leaving it at 
that, he moved down to her skirt.  He undid the zipper down the 
side and removed the skirt, really trying not to look at her 
panties.
	White, plain, but high cut.  He would have never expected 
such a thing from the outwardly conservative Ikari.  Sleeping in 
the bed with her might prove to be a huge mistake, but... the 
floor was so uncomfortable.
	Gendo pulled back the covers and put Yui's feet on the 
bed.  He then climbed over her, laid between her and the wall, 
and pulled the covers over them both.  Getting comfortable next 
to her, he took her into his arms, much the same way he had done 
that first night.
	Certainly she would understand in the morning.  He wasn't 
really doing anything wrong...  It was far more innocent than 
what Yui had been wanting.  And so comfortable.  He was quite 
prepared to fall asleep with only that limited contact, but 
again, Yui was more demanding.
	She rolled over and leaned her entire body right against 
his, rather tightly, throwing her arm over him, entangling one 
leg with his own.  No details of just what kind of condition she 
was in were spared.
	Taking a deep breath, Gendo removed her arm, then removed 
his shirt with as little movement as possible.  "You really have 
no idea, do you?" he whispered.
	Yui murmured something and turned her face up so it wasn't 
in his chest.
	Ten years younger than he...  It was strange, and he 
hadn't really been able to figure out why, except that Yui had 
very odd taste in men.  She had such... determination, and a 
really annoying habit of keeping at something until she got her 
way.
	His fingers wandered down her back, enjoying the feel of 
her smooth skin, marred only by the strap of her bra.  For a few 
heartbeats, his fingers lingered there.
	Again he was torn.  He was almost desperate to feel her 
body naked against his, but...  Kissing her upturned face, he 
pulled her closer and went to sleep.

---

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 sounded like.  "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.

---

Page 16


	Gendo meandered down the street, hands stuffed in his 
pockets.  There was a reminder running through his head, telling 
him that he couldn't stop at the bar or waste any more money 
than he absolutely had to.  He had a better use for it.
	Not right away or anything, but he was fairly sure there'd 
be something springing up in the future.
	None of that changed the fact that he wasn't comfortable 
with all the work Yui was doing with that Professor Fuyutsuki 
though.  She wouldn't like it if she knew, but he was definitely 
going to have to show up in person to see who seemed like his 
greatest rival.

	"So, when will you be working again?" he asked as they sat 
at the counter, eating lunch.
	Yui looked at her watch.  "Tonight, actually.  In a few 
hours."
	"Working late again?"  Gendo smiled, and it was one she 
was definitely starting to recognize.
	"Maybe.  Any specific reason you ask?"
	"To get you into bed again."
	Yui stopped eating for a moment.  "At least you're honest 
about it.  But I much prefer using the facilities I'm used to, 
and a clean change of clothes."
	"End of the semester that'll change, you know.  Then you 
have won't have anywhere to hide from me."
	She smiled.  "Professor Fuyutsuki's office.  I imagine 
you'd stay away from a research office like a vampire away from 
sunlight."
	Gendo, in response, did not smile.  The only thing that 
might have been a reaction was the tightening of his jaw.
	This did not go unnoticed by Yui.  She looked at him, then 
leaned around to look right in his face.  "What was that?  I saw 
you react.  Why?"
	"Nothing."
	"This again?  What is it?  Something about Professor 
Fuyutsuki?"
	"No."
	"So that's it.  Jealousy."  Yui sat back on her stool a 
bit.  "I don't know why.  I'm just working with him, but I'm 
eating lunch with you."  She rubbed his hand across his back and 
leaned over a bit.  "I've been sleeping your bed, not his," she 
whispered.  "Besides, he's twenty years older than I am."
	"That... doesn't make me feel any better.  You do realize 
there's a decade separating us, don't you?"
	"Of course, but it's not two decades."  She kissed Gendo 
quickly on the cheek.  "Relax.  He's not my type."
	"I don't want to talk about this anymore," he said 
tersely.
	It was Yui's turn to get snappish.  "We're going to or you 
can forget the idea of us getting an apartment."
	Looking at her from the corner of his eye, noting the 
cross expression on her face, he said softly, "You don't hear 
yourself.  When you say his name... I can hear it in your 
voice."
	The answer was immediate.  "Do you remember the other 
night?  And I know you do... Gen-chan.  What does it sound like 
when I say that?"
	"The best thing I've ever heard."
	Yui put her arms around him and rested her chin on his 
shoulder,  "Mm hmm.  You don't sound so jealous now.  I tell 
you, there's _nothing_ for you to be worried about."
	She stayed that way, just looking at him for a moment.  
"What do you want to do until I have to work?"
	"Don't be a tease, Yui.  I'm not in a good mood right 
now."  Gendo frowned, creasing his brow.  "If I knew you 
wouldn't kill me, I would demand you stop going to these 
'appointments' and find work as far away from this professor as 
possible."
	"Ah, but you know better.  That means you're learning.  
You might be worth the trouble after all."

---

Page 17


	"I'll walk you there."
	"You don't have to."
	"I do."
	Yui smiled and started walking at a leisurely pace.  "He's 
nothing at all like you think."
	Gendo remained silent.
	"He's not some old lech who just works with pretty girls.  
He's intelligent and dedicated, and knows we don't have time to 
play games like that."
	"Why don't you have time?  Graduation?"
	Knowing she had made a mistake, Yui shook her head and 
tried to shift the conversation.  "Not graduation.  Actually, I 
was offered to continue on the research project after 
graduation, getting paid and everything."
	"With Fuyutsuki?"
	"Yes.  And some others.  It's an excellent opportunity."  
She paused, waiting for him to say something, but he remained 
silent.  "Aren't you going to say anything about that?"
	"No."
	"And why not?"
	"Would it do any good?"
	"None at all.  But I never thought you'd be one to keep 
quiet like this."
	Gendo shrugged.  "What am I supposed to say?"
	In direct contrast to his dark mood, Yui smiled and hugged 
his arm.  "Nothing.  Besides, I like walking quietly like this."
	"Do you think you have me figured out?" he asked, curious.
	"No," she responded, laughing lightly.
	"Good, because I don't have you figured out at all."

	"Here it is."  Yui stopped in front of a door and faced 
Gendo.
	"Should I pick you up tonight?"
	"If you'd like.  I wouldn't mind."  She looked at her 
watch.  "Six hours.  I'm not going to work myself into the 
ground today."
	"I'll be here."  He stepped forward, not letting Yui 
escape his show of affection.
	She tried to avoid it at first, not wanting to be doing 
such a thing right in front of where she worked, but Gendo 
grabbed her arm gently and pulled her forward.
	Before she could turn her head and take the kiss on the 
cheek, he darted his head forward and proceeded to kiss her with 
everything he could muster.
	"I hope I'm not... interrupting anything."
	Yui pushed Gendo away.  "Professor!  I was just..."
	"Celebrating," Gendo said emotionlessly.
	Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow.  "Oh?"  His level gaze met 
Gendo's practiced disinterested one.  There was immediate 
disliking between the two of them.
	"Professor, this is Gendo Rokubungi, who I told you 
about," Yui said nervously, expecting to get a reprimand later 
for such behavior.  She gestured to the older man.  "This is 
Professor Fuyutsuki."
	"So I gathered."
	Looking between the two men and hearing the tone in 
Gendo's voice, Yui decided to be merciful and put an end to the 
meeting.  She took Gendo's hand, turning his attention to her.  
"Six hours.  I'll be waiting for you."
	"I'll be here," he answered, but there was still that 
cold, emotionless quality to his voice.
	"I'm looking forward to it."  She leaned up and gave him a 
quick kiss.  "Bye."  His hands slowly slid out of his as she 
retreated into the lab.
	Fuyutsuki remained though, looking at Gendo critically.  
"She's quite lovely," he stated.
	"She is.  And she's mine."
	"That was quite a demonstration."  His voice was flat, 
unimpressed.  Looking at Gendo for another moment first, 
Fuyutsuki returned to the lab as well.

---

Page 18


	"He treats you like an object, Yui.  Something to be 
possessed and controlled."
	Yui looked blankly at the papers in front of her.  "I... 
don't agree with that, Professor.  I know he's said things that 
sound old-fashioned..."
	"Old fashioned?  He sounded like a caveman."  Fuyutsuki 
sighed.  "I wish you'd rethink this relationship."
	"No!  He just says things like that because... he loves 
me.  Until you get to know him, he might seem... rough, but he's 
really sweet."
	"Someone his age knows how to be sweet to a young lady to 
get what he wants," warned the professor.  "How much older is he 
than you?"
	Yui's cheeks flushed.  "That doesn't matter."
	"I would seriously think about how this is going to affect 
your work.  How distracted..."
	"I'm sorry, Professor, but this is something I'm 
definitely not changing my mind about."  Yui gathered her 
things, suddenly feeling like she was caught between two 
completely opposite poles.  "Good night.  I'm leaving."
	When Yui left the lab, Fuyutsuki could see Rokubungi 
waiting outside for her.  As the door closed, the last thing he 
saw was the two of them sharing a kiss.
	With a trace of a frown on his face, Fuyutsuki turned away 
from the door.

	"Your turn."
	"For what?"
	"Telling me what's wrong."
	"Nothing."
	"I thought that was my line.  And I know you don't want to 
be like me.  I would be awfully disappointed."
	Yui flashed Gendo a weak smile, more for his benefit than 
anything she felt.  "It was just... something Professor 
Fuyutsuki said.  I would really prefer not to talk about it 
tonight."
	With a frustrated sigh, Gendo nodded.  She would get her 
space unless it seemed to be worse than...  A sniffle.  It was 
worse.
	Stopping their walk, he turned Yui to face him and put his 
finger on her chin.  "Don't be that guy."
	She stared at him, boggle-eyed for a moment, then the 
absurdity of the words coming out of Gendo's mouth struck her.  
She suddenly began giggling.  "That's what it is.  You know how 
to make me feel better, no matter what the problem is," she said 
quietly.
	She stroked his cheek and added, "Even if you think I'm a 
prize, I don't..."
	"Damn it, what did he say to you?  Whatever it was, 
I'll..."
	"You'll do no such thing.  He was just trying to look out 
for me..."  Yui shook her head.  "I see that look in your eyes, 
but there will be no more fighting."
	Gendo raised an eyebrow.
	"Unless they start it first."
	"Only because you say so.  You're sure he didn't..."
	"No, he didn't.  Let's just go; I'm tired after this 
evening."  She linked her arm with his, still thinking about the 
fiery look in his eyes when he had thought she had been hurt.
	"I don't trust him; I don't like him.  He upset you," 
Gendo said in a frighteningly detached voice.
	"Then let's get your mind off of it," Yui suggested.  "A 
movie?"
	"Yui..."  His mood was as far from being "in the mood" as 
possible, and here Yui was trying to...
	She whispered in his ear, "Gen-chan..."
	"I'd really prefer that you found some other place to 
work," he said, trying very hard not to let the anger he felt 
toward Fuyutsuki show.

---

Page 19


	"I won't do it, Gendo.  I didn't like what the professor 
said to me, but that was personal.  I'm interested in my work, 
and if I run away, I won't be able to accomplish anything."  Her 
fingers interlocked with his and she was pleased to feel him 
squeeze her hand.
	A deep scowl settled on his features.  "He has no right to 
make you feel like that.  No one does."
	"Stop.  Just stop worrying about it."
	"But Yui..."
	"But nothing."  As long as she was in control of the 
situation, she would have no trouble handling Gendo.  It was 
amazing the way he could be so rude and crass to others, but 
when she said something, all his attention was hers.  "The 
matter is over.  As far as I'm concerned, the situation never 
happened."
	"I'll try.  But I still don't like it."
	"I didn't expect you to, but at least try.  It would make 
me feel better about the whole thing."
	Again, his hand squeezed her own, and she smiled.

	"Finals coming up.  Will you be my study date?"
	With the incident with Fuyutsuki pushed to the back of his 
mind, Gendo was able to smile.  "If you think I'm worthy of such 
a task."
	She hugged him, making sounds of contentment.  "Worthy 
enough for me."  A study date.  Yui wasn't sure she could get 
any more boring than that; she didn't really want a study date.
	She wanted... she wanted a man.
	'Never be satisfied with the inferior,' her mother had 
told her.  'You can always do better if you really try.'
	'It doesn't matter if you manipulate the results, they 
won't be an accurate gauge of your sample.'  An early lab with 
Fuyutsuki in which she had tried to explain the results of one 
experiment.
	"So don't settle for the inferior and don't manipulate the 
results," she whispered to herself.
	"What was that?"
	"Just thinking about something I was told..."
	"By your mother?"
	Yui pushed him away abruptly.  "Don't use that tone when 
you're talking about my mother!" she warned indignantly.  "And 
don't make jokes either!"
	"Truce, truce.  I didn't mean anything by it."  Girls... 
women were a lot more... touchy now than when he had been a 
freshman back in the 80's.  "It was just a... joke?"
	"Not a very funny one.  You know my mother i..."
	"I feel like I do."
	"I'm being serious here!"
	Gendo flinched at the volume of her voice.  "Sorry," he 
mumbled.
	"Damn right you should be.  Are you going to be serious 
here or not?  You always do this.  Last time I had something to 
say, you had your little tantrum.  Can I say this without your 
input for once?"
	He swallowed and took a step back.  "I told you why..."
	"I didn't ask for an explanation!  I just want to know if 
you'll let me say one sentence without interrupting."  She 
glared intently at him.
	"I didn't..."
	"This is a yes or no question."  Yui watched him take 
another step back.
	Gendo opened his mouth, ready to defend himself again, but 
the look in Yui's eyes was unforgiving.  Answering with anything 
other than yes or no, and probably a no as well, would be 
hazardous to his health.  "Yes."
	"Good, because if you interrupt me in the middle of 'I 
love you'..."

---

Page 20


	What would his mother say?  Her "shiftless" son finally 
settling down, being settled down by a beautiful, intelligent, 
young...
	'Just like your father, chasing all those younger 
women...'
	That was what his mother would say.
	"Well?"
	Gendo blinked.  "Well what?"
	"A... aren't you going to say anything?"
	'Just like your father...'
	"I... I'm glad."  Or had his worst nightmares finally come 
to pass?  He was getting what he wanted, but was it really what 
he wanted now that he had it?
	"You're glad?  You should be glad you didn't miss the bus.  
You should be glad you had change for the vending machine.  I 
tell you that you're the only man who makes me happy, that I 
love with everything I am, and that makes you glad?" she 
seethed, on the verge of choking him.
	"You said all that?"
	"Not in so many words."
	But that was what she had meant.  Really?  That professor 
really wasn't anything to her other than a mentor?  But she was 
so temperamental all the time...
	And he loved her for it, being able to give back ten-fold 
all his jibes and teasing.  "I..."  Gendo's voice faltered.  
Love between two people wasn't always a good thing, wasn't 
always happy.
	What would he do if she ever left him for someone else?  
It was almost a given that he would go insane with rage and 
jealousy...  The horrifying, yet simultaneously joyous thought 
crossed his mind: the apartment would leave them in such close 
quarters to each other at all times.
	"Yui..."
	Looking into his eyes, she saw something there that 
frightened her.  Was he drawing away?  "What?  I thought you 
loved me.  You said so."
	"I do, but..."
	"But now there's something wrong, and I've made a complete 
fool of myself."  Tears trickled down her cheeks as her eyes 
looked unflinchingly into his.
	The openness he saw in them almost caused him physical 
pain.
	"Stupid, stupid Yui.  Getting swept up into this, involved 
with an older man...  Just like Professor Fuyutsuki warned me."
	"No!  He doesn't know anything about me!  He never will!  
He just wants you for himself!" Gendo raged, his love turning to 
bitter jealousy in an instant.
	"Like you do.  Yui the doll, something for the men to 
fight over.  And I just smile and pretend it doesn't happen."  
Her mouth wanted to curl up into a self-pitying smile, but she 
would not allow it to.
	"You're not a doll to me.  You're... the most important 
thing in the world to me.  How can I _not_ be jealous?"  She was 
pulling away and he couldn't stop her.
	"Because you don't need to be.  If you loved me and 
trusted me the way I do you, you wouldn't need to be jealous.  
But," she said, eyes turning to the floor, "I guess you don't 
really feel that way, do you?"
	"Don't... don't say that.  Don't talk like that," Gendo 
pleaded with her.  "What do you want me to say?  That I love you 
again?  I'll say it a hundred times!  Just don't..."
	"All I want is for you to be honest with me.  Tell me how 
you feel.  Everything, because I still don't understand you a 
lot of the time, and I want to be able to.  I want to know all 
the things you would never tell anyone else, but only because 
you trust me."  His face, his cheek felt so rough against her 
hand, and when she turned her gaze back to him, he had his eyes 
closed.
	"I'm... afraid."

---

Page 21


	It was almost enough to make her leave, run out on him.  
Yet, she had asked him to tell, and here he was, opening up to 
her with something he wasn't comfortable with at all.
	If he had said he was afraid at any time before, Yui would 
have laughed right in his face.  "Why?"
	Saying it had been hard enough, but explaining it wasn't 
going to be any easier.  In fact, he wasn't completely sure why 
he felt that way.  If it was Yui, or himself, or just the sudden 
turn of events, it was a little... overwhelming.
	There were suddenly so many things to make him doubt the 
situation it wasn't possible to give voice to them all.  
"Because of what I feel for you.  I don't want..."  Gendo 
finally opened his eyes, enjoying the warmth of her hand on his 
face, and was hypnotized by her worried gaze.
	"Don't want what?" Yui asked, genuinely concerned.
	"I don't want... to ever change the way I feel about you.  
I don't want to lose you."  The volume of his voice dropped.  "I 
think I would really die if I didn't have you around."
	"Then why are you pushing me away?  Why do you act like 
this?"  There was more there that he wasn't telling her.
	"At the same time, I'm afraid... of you, for you.  How you 
might change me, or that I might change you."  Her hand was 
still touching him, like a beacon in the darkness of his doubt.
	"We all change over time, Gendo," Yui said, trying to 
sound reassuring.  "That's nothing to be afraid of.  You've 
already changed me just by... being there, being the person you 
are."
	It was too late.  He had contaminated her, changed her in 
ways she would never recover from.  The scathing words of his 
mother couldn't be true; he would not allow them to be.  "Don't 
say that, Yui.  I don't want you to become like me.  That's why 
I don't think moving in together is such a good idea."
	"So you're afraid of commitment?"  It was weird.  She 
didn't quite know what he was trying to say.  If it was that he 
was a bad person, he was wrong.  Yui knew he wasn't bad;  
perhaps a bit misguided, but... there was a sweetness in that 
she couldn't deny.  "Gendo, why would I have ever suggested 
living together, for financial reasons or otherwise, if I didn't 
want you more in my life?  That's why I want to know as much as 
I can about you.
	"I see things going on behind your eyes, but have no idea 
what they are.  So I'm going to ask you one thing, and if you 
really don't want to, you have to say so.  Okay?"
	Gendo nodded miserably.
	"Trust me enough to know that I love you.  And trust me 
enough to let me know what's going on behind your eyes.  If you 
don't trust me that much, then... we won't move in together."  
Yui removed her hand from his cheek and stepped back.  'Trust 
me,' she thought.  'It's the only thing.'
	Of course he trusted her, but then why did he have to be 
so jealous?  Because he... didn't believe her.  It wasn't about 
trust, but self-worth.  Why wouldn't she run off with a man like 
Fuyutsuki who could provide her with everything she wanted?  He 
was, after all, smart and had a stable income, and a comfortable 
place to live probably...
	And who was Gendo Rokubungi?  Nobody.  Nothing.  A man 
just like his father, doomed to a life of mediocrity, with a 
mediocre wife and mediocre children who would carry on the quite 
mediocre family name.
	Someone like Yui would only make people notice just how 
inadequate he was in comparison to her.  What a failure he was, 
what a... completely inferior person he was.  "I'm... so sorry, 
Yui," he finally whispered.
	"So that's it.  Then I guess..."  Yui paused and wiped her 
eyes.  "I guess we're through, because I can't do this again.  
Not like this."
	She was about to turn away, but his voice stopped her.  "I 
trust you, but I'm... I'm not nearly as good a person as you 
think I am."

---

Page 22


	"Do you trust me?  I really believe you do."
	"I do, but I could never be..."
	"You already are, so just relax and let me in, because I 
want to help."
	Gendo sat in the chair at his desk and looked at his 
hands, his fingers twisted together.  "I'll... never amount to 
anything.  Just like my father.  In a small apartment, with a 
dull job, and... and no-account kids and an ungrateful wife."
	He looked up to see her staring at him in shock.  "I don't 
want to drag you down into the only life I've ever known."
	"You don't have to end up like that.  You can be different 
than your father," Yui said softly, sitting down on the bed, 
resting her hands primly in her lap.  "You can break that cycle, 
and I'd like to help you."
	"Don't you understand?  After all these years, I'm still 
in college with no real prospects, I don't have a life...  I'm 
just like my father!"
	"No, you're not.  You can't be because you will never have 
an ungrateful wife.  Not while you have me."
	The two looked at each other, no words being spoken.  It 
was far too late for anything to be retracted; everything was 
out there to be... not discussed.
	"That's what I mean.  That's what scares me.  I just don't 
know.  Everything's so... unstable.  Should I move in with you, 
shouldn't I...  Should I..."  Gendo growled in frustration.  "I 
want... more than maybe I deserve, but I don't want to be denied 
it either."
	Yui considered it for a moment.  "Maybe you haven't said 
as much, but I believe you trust me, and since you do...  Move 
in with me.  This isn't a question."
	"I can't make you..."
	"You're right.  This is why I'm telling you that you're 
going to be doing this.  My choice, and what I think is your 
choice too.  Now don't bother arguing because it won't change my 
mind.  I'm going to keep a close watch on you, and the easiest 
way to do that is to have you living with me."  Her voice was 
quiet and understanding, but also commanding.
	"Okay," he replied meekly.
	"And don't act like that.  It doesn't become you; it's not 
really who you are.  Maybe it's how you think you are, or think 
you should be."  Yui stood and stalked toward Gendo.
	She put her hands on either arm of the chair he was in and 
leaned down.  "Gendo, please..."  Yui really had nothing else to 
say, but it was obvious that he just wasn't able to deal with 
the root of his problems.
	"Sometimes, at night, when I'm not with you, I feel like 
I'm in a completely different place, and it's cold and dark.  
But then, when I see you in the morning, before class, you're 
like an angel, and I would do anything for you."  Gendo stood 
slowly, his body pushing Yui's away, their noses touching.
	"So is my angel going to save me?  Because I think I'm in 
desperate need of it, and I only want it from her."
	"Happily.  Just don't think that you won't amount to 
anything again.  It's not true, and I'll make you see that, no 
matter what."  They were standing, face to face, their bodies 
barely in contact, and the tension that had been thick between 
them dissipated.
	"I hate feeling like that.  I try to not think about it, 
but sometimes I just can't help it."  That was exactly it; with 
her so close, so willing to help, she was his light when the 
darkness of depression threatened to swallow him whole.  "I need 
you."
	Yui smiled.  "That's good because I'm not leaving any time 
soon.  So how does me making you move in with me sound?  Better 
than before?"
	"Yeah.  And I think now I can say, a bit tentatively, that 
I trust you.  And I love you."
	"I will never be an ungrateful wife.  Never."

---

Page 23


	"You could do all of this in your sleep.  Why don't you 
talk to the profes..."
	"I don't think so.  I have no interest in working with 
him, and he probably feels the same about me."  Gendo didn't 
remove his eyes from the pile of notes he was going over.
	"But that's not the point," Yui said, snatching them from 
his hands.  "I mean, we all get along in a professional sense, 
but we're certainly not all friends."  She shuffled through the 
notes until she found what she was looking for.  "Here, quiz 
me."
	Gendo sighed.  "If you think I know this in my sleep, you 
could recite it when you're dead.  Can't we take a break?"
	"Two more chapters and then we can stop.  What's the big 
deal?  It's not like this is over your head."
	Shrugging, Gendo said simply, "It's pretty easy.  I don't 
know why you need to study so much."
	"Remember?  I'm a studying fiend."  Yui poked him in the 
chest.  "I think you would benefit from being a bit more... 
fiendish yourself."
	Gendo looked up at her slowly.  "You have... quite a way 
with words, Yui.  You should be a little more careful."
	"Oh?  And why is that?"
	"Because someone might take it the wrong way."
	"Someone?"
	"It could be me."
	Yui shrugged.  "Maybe I want you to take it the wrong 
way."
	"Hmm.  And what happened to all that talk about no funny 
business?"
	"I didn't say never, did I?"
	This time, Gendo pulled the notes from Yui's hands and 
dropped them to the floor.  "I'm taking you out tonight, finals 
or no finals."
	"But I..." Yui started to protest.
	"You should have thought about that before you started 
your little word games.  And since I _know_ you wouldn't want 
any of that funny business you're so fond of teasing me with, 
I'm going to take you out."  As he figured, Yui didn't protest.
	"Okay then.  Where are we going?" she asked, smiling, 
though quickly added, "And it had better not be back to your 
place for pizza."
	Gendo looked genuinely hurt, but Yui didn't believe it for 
a moment.  "What happened to that whole trust thing?  I really 
am trying to take into account how serious you are about class 
and all."
	For a moment, Yui just looked at him.  "You know, our 
moods don't agree often enough.  I'm serious, you're silly...  I 
want to relax, and you're a stick in the mud.  We need to 
coordinate better," she said, wagging her finger at him.
	"Fine.  Then right now we need to agree to go out."  Gendo 
stood and took Yui's hands.  He hauled her to her feet and 
jerked her against him slightly.  "I'm going to take you out," 
he repeated quietly, looking in her eyes, "and we're going to 
have fun."
	One corner of Yui's mouth turned up and she nodded.  "This 
won't work all the time with me."
	"As long as it works now, I'm not going to worry about it.  
So let's go before you change your mind."  Gendo pulled her 
toward the door, leaving their study materials all over the 
floor.
	"Why are you forceful in a situation like this?" Yui 
asked, careful not to step on anything.
	"Because it's for your own good, and you don't look after 
that enough."  He opened the door.  "So I'm going to watch it 
for you.  And this is just a little something to eat.  No harm."
	"You need a haircut."
	Gendo stopped and looked back at Yui, perplexed by her 
sudden change of subject.
	"A haircut.  Actually, it looks like you could use a 
weedwhacker on that mop of yours.  And I bet with the shape of 
your face, you'd look really good in some smaller glasses."
	The look Yui was giving him was enough to make him want to 
slink back to his room.  "Are sure that's all that's wrong?"

---

Page 24


	The table was to the rear of the restaurant, but that only 
afforded them a little more privacy.
	"You have something on the corner of your mouth," Yui 
warned in a whisper.
	Gendo wiped his mouth as inconspicuously as possible.  
"Did I get it?"
	"It's still there."
	He tried again.  "Now?"
	Yui shook her head.  "Let me get it."  With her own 
napkin, she reached over and wiped gently at the side of his 
mouth, letting her other fingers caress his face.  "Are you sure 
you can afford this?" she asked, trying not to damage his pride.
	"Easily.  Don't worry about it; just enjoy yourself."  He 
couldn't afford it that easily, but there was no way he was 
going Dutch.  That would have been flat-out tacky.
	"Gendo, do you really not want me to work with Professor 
Fuyutsuki any longer?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue.
	Gendo took a drink of water, not answering soon enough to 
calm her worries.  He set his glass down carefully and looked at 
his dinner companion.  "I would like to, but..."
	Yui, who had been grimacing, perked up.  "But what?"
	"But I can't.  I can't ask you to do something like that.  
I know how much it means to you."  Gendo sighed helplessly and 
looked at the table.  "As long as you say it's just work, I 
can't really... make you do anything."
	It was Yui's turn to sigh, but it was more... relaxed.  
"I'm glad you told me that.  Even if I don't necessarily agree, 
I'm glad you told me what you were thinking."
	"I guess.  It still feels... wrong to me.  To just... not 
care about what's happening with you..."
	"Don't be silly.  I know you care," Yui scolded.  "If you 
didn't, you wouldn't act like such a Neanderthal.  I don't like 
it, but I know men, and that in some way, you can't help it.  
You're just born that way."
	"Gee, thanks.  You really know how to put the whole thing 
into perspective, don't you?"
	"You do that on purpose, don't you?  That sad look on your 
face doesn't work the way you think it does, so just give it a 
rest."  She reached across the table and took Gendo's hand.  "I 
don't mind, really.  I like spending time with you, so I 
overlook your behavior."
	"Every time you talk to me like this, I have to wonder 
why.  Why would you ever want to go out with me?  You know 
how..."
	"I know plenty.  Not everything, but enough to make me 
want to know everything about you.  And maybe cure you of some 
of those problems."
	"You sound like an animal trainer when you talk like that, 
Yui.  Am I really that pathetic?  I need someone to pity me and 
set me straight?"  For once, Yui's touch didn't help him, didn't 
make him feel better.
	"Gendo, don't say things like that.  I just want...  I 
want you to..."
	"To depend on you?  I don't depend on anyone for anything.  
I don't want you to take care of me!"  Suddenly realizing the 
volume of his voice, Gendo lowered it.  "I don't need you to 
take care of me."
	Lips pursed, Yui stood and went to the other side of the 
table.  She leaned down to whisper in his ear, "But I want to 
take care of you.  That's how you make me feel."  Yui stood up 
straight again and looked down.  "I don't want to act like your 
mother.  I want to act like your... your..."
	Gendo watched her as her voice faltered.  Like his... 
girlfriend?  Like something more than that?  That was hard to 
contemplate.  "Yui, I told you all those things before, and I 
hope you... realize that those feelings just aren't going to go 
away.  And that bothers me.  I just can't understand..."
	"Don't try to understand.  Just accept the fact that I 
love you."

---

Page 25


	"It was a mistake to come here," Gendo said quietly.  
"This is... all wrong."
	Yui smiled gently, hoping it would put him at ease, as she 
retook her seat.  "It's not wrong.  I don't think there's 
anything wrong with us being together and talking like this."
	"We should have been having a nice dinner, not listening 
to me go on and on about..."
	"Gendo, hush.  Let's just eat now and we can talk about it 
later.  I don't think we'll accomplish much here."
	Propping his head in his hands, Gendo found himself no 
longer hungry.  "I really shouldn't have brought this up when 
you have finals to worry about."
	"You have finals too.  Aren't you worried about them?"
	Gendo looked up at her, his eyes sparkling with mischief.  
"No.  It's not worth it to get worried over finals."
	"Oh, that's right.  You know everything."  Yui stuck her 
tongue out at him, just glad that his mood had lifted.
	"That's just what I'd expect from a mature woman like 
yourself.  Always so proper and refined..."
	"And how refined do you think this is?" she said quietly, 
and very briefly flipped him off so no one else would see.
	Gendo grinned.  "Yeah, that's what I'm used to from you.  
You like to pretend you're so concerned about school and work, 
but..."
	"But what?"
	"But I see that person inside, just waiting to come out, 
waiting to throw off all this working and studying."
	Yui shook her head.  "Well it's nice to know Rokubungi the 
Magnificent doesn't know everything, even if you've fooled 
everyone else."
	"I think the only one I've fooled is you.  The professors 
sure don't think much of me," Gendo countered, trading easy 
smiles with Yui.
	"I also know you better than that.  The overall effect is 
quite... cute."  At the wince her comment received, Yui's smile 
widened.  "Are we done here yet?  Sitting around at my place 
would be more fun than here, I think."
	"Let's get the rest of it to go then.  It is a bit 
pretentious here, isn't it?"  He was losing his edge and it was 
all because of Yui.  There was something like a warm glow in 
him, especially when she expressed something that he agreed 
with.
	Did she know?  Did he have the same affect on her?  He 
certainly didn't have the nerve to ask.  Instead, he just sighed 
quietly as he looked at her.
	"I recognize that look and that sigh," Yui said, though 
bringing up specific examples as to why would probably have been 
a bad thing.
	"Get used to it."
	"Your attitude has really changed, and I like that a lot."  
It was becoming more and more obvious to her that this apartment 
wasn't simply a financial decision.  In the beginning, she had 
done a very good job of convincing herself otherwise, but now...
	"I doubt you're thinking what I'm thinking," Gendo said, 
noting the far-away look in Yui's eyes.
	"You're probably right."
	"There's one good thing to come out of this dinner, even 
if the food was overpriced."
	"What's that?"
	"You look great in this light."
	For some reason, Yui blushed and looked down at the table, 
smiling shyly.  "You're just saying that," she whispered.
	"You know I'm not.  Now who's pushing who away?  You'll 
just have to accept the truth."
	Yui's blush deepened.  "Stop kidding around, Gendo."
	"I'm not, and I'll tell you something else."
	Lifting her head, Yui was almost afraid to meet Gendo's 
gaze.
	"I'm really looking forward to moving in with you."

---

Page 26


	The end of yet another semester.  Almost.  Yui stood out 
in the hall as other students exited the auditorium.  It was all 
rather... anti-climactic.  She was that much closer to 
graduation and she didn't feel anything like she thought she 
should have.
	If it weren't for the project, she would have definitely 
been finished with school.  Then, perhaps, there wouldn't be 
such a battle for her attention; Gendo wanted it all, naturally.
	But the project was probably more important than school, 
so over spring and summer, her attention would turn to it.
	"Easy as pie," a voice whispered in her ear as arms 
wrapped around her from behind.
	The project still had competition though.  "You think you 
did well?" Yui asked, turning around.
	"Absolutely.  Couldn't have been easier, unless it was 
basic math," he answered, grinning.
	"Or French history?"
	The grin disappeared.  "That's not... until tomorrow, 
right?" Gendo asked nervously.
	"Tomorrow."  Yui watched him fidget for a bit before 
taking pity on him.  "Come on.  I'll help you study.  I know you 
need it."

	"I get it now; you're ready to fail the class just so you 
can mess around, aren't you?"
	"No, not specifically.  I am ready to 'mess around' as you 
put it, and if I happen to fail because of that, oh well."  
Gendo shrugged.
	"Are you always going to do this?  Act like you want 
something only so you can get something else out of someone?  
You could have just asked," Yui said, annoyed about the 
deception.  "You didn't need to pretend you wanted to study."
	"But I do want to study.  I just want to do other things 
too."
	"Priorities!  Get some!  You can't always do this."
	Properly chastised, Gendo started to pack his few 
remaining things.  "Fine.  So start studying."
	Yui watched him fill the final box.  "You're so immature 
sometimes.  How do you manage it?"
	"I'm good at everything I do," Gendo answered listlessly.
	That should have been a lot more energetic than it was.  
She hadn't wanted to put him in one of his moods.  "I just want 
you to take this a little seriously.  It's only one more day."
	"I just want to know why you put me down every chance you 
get.  Why am I fair game to insult when I just want to have some 
fun?" he asked, gripping a full cardboard box tightly.
	"Because this is your future," Yui replied just as 
intensely.  "Remember?  You weren't going to end up like your 
father?  And I was going to help you?  I'm trying to help you 
right now."
	Gendo's grip continued to tighten on the box, and he 
closed his eyes.  After what felt like an eternity to him in 
that position, he released the box and opened his eyes.  He 
pulled the chair from the desk over and sat in it.  "Fine.  Then 
let's study."
	"I'm cutting you slack because I said I'd help," Yui said, 
looking at Gendo, one lip wanting to curl into a snarl.  "I sure 
as hell am not happy about it though.  I feel used and pretty 
much spit on right now.  What's your reply to that?"
	"Sorry."
	"You're not.  Why do you even bother?"
	"Because it's what you want to hear."
	"Yeah, well, thanks, and don't bother.  If you want to 
fail..."  Yui stopped speaking, reminding herself that she had 
to help, not walk out.  "Damn it," she swore quietly.  "I'll be 
back," she said, then stood and left.

	She stood in front of his door.  She wasn't even sure if 
he'd be there or not, or if he'd be sober.  Pushing away the 
anger that hadn't left during her walk, Yui opened the door and 
looked inside the room.  Gendo was there, quietly looking 
through her notes.

---

Page 27


	Finished, Gendo slapped his pencil down on the desk and 
glanced over at Yui.  She still had half a page to go, so he 
went back over his scantron.
	It was a minute or so later that Yui rose, gathered her 
things, and headed to the front.
	Gendo followed quickly, even going so far as to bid 
farewell to the professor; he was so glad to be done with the 
class.  He managed to walk out of the auditorium calmly, without 
drawing unneeded attention to himself.
	Out in the hall was another matter completely.  He grabbed 
Yui around the waist and spun her around.  "You're going to make 
me apologize, aren't you?"
	"Only if you mean it.  You really think you did that 
well?" Yui asked, her arms around his neck.
	He set her down gently.  "I don't know how well I did, but 
I felt like I knew more.  And I really am sorry.  For real."
	With her arms still around him, Yui smiled.  "Apology 
accepted.  I take it you're all packed?"
	"What little I have."
	"Good.  Now we can celebrate."

	He didn't see it happen.  All he knew was that when he got 
back from getting takeout, she was in his bed again.  "Aren't 
you hungry?" Gendo asked.
	"A little."
	He looked around the room.  "Um, you want to eat 
something?"
	"Not really."
	Gendo swallowed audibly and set the food down.  "So..."
	"Quit playing around."
	What was she trying to do to him!?  "Damn it..."
	"You want me to leave?"
	"I want you to stop getting in my bed unless you really 
mean it.  And I don't think you mean it."  Oh how he wished she 
did though.
	"I mean it."
	"No, you don't.  I remember how worried you were about 
your roommate walking in on us, but it wasn't about her, was 
it?"  He could tell that she was subtly holding back, not 
allowing herself to give in to the moments when they were alone.
	"Is it my fault I want things to be... right?  I'd like it 
to mean something, not just be some... zipless fuck."  Yui 
frowned at her own choice of words.
	"Which is exactly why I don't think you mean it now."  
Gendo shook his head, smiling ruefully.  "You're too nice for 
this, Yui."
	"I know you're not."
	"You're right, but I also care about you and don't think 
this is the right time or place.  No matter how big a tease you 
are."  He could see her smile in the faint light coming in 
through the window.
	"I never teased you on purpose, Gen-chan."
	"I know, which makes it that much worse.  Not only are you 
a tease, but you're an _innocent_ tease.  It drives me crazy."
	"In a good way, I hope."
	Gendo released a breath.  "Oh, exactly the way you think.  
You're just very fortunate I'm not ruled by my hormones."
	"I know I am.  I'm very lucky to have you."
	There was no reply Gendo could think of to that.
	"Don't say anything arrogant to ruin the moment."
	"I wasn't going to," he replied in a whisper.
	"Good.  I like it when you're quiet.  Then I can 
concentrate on the real you and not what a jerk you are to other 
people."  She smiled again and adjusted the covers, giving a 
brief glimpse of bare skin.
	"I like it when you're not nagging me."
	"Hush yourself and get into bed."
	"You don't mean it, Yui.  Don't do this to me..."

---

Page 28


	Gendo pulled off his shirt and tossed it on one of the 
boxes.  Looking at Yui, who was looking at him, he turned and 
unbuckled his belt.  Taking a deep breath, he undid his pants 
and pushed them down.
	He heard the rustle of covers again, and when he turned 
around, kicking his pants away, Yui was holding up the blanket 
for him.
	"I can almost hear it," she said quietly.
	"Hear what?" Gendo squeaked.
	"Your heart beat."
	He wondered if she also heard his heart stop right then.  
If she talked like that all the time, he would do anything she 
wanted him to.  Shuffling across the floor, his bare feet like 
lumps of concrete, Gendo stopped at the side of the bed.
	Resist.  Don't' do such a crazy thing.  She's too young.  
You're too old.  What's wrong with you?
	Gendo turned off his internal warning system and slid 
beneath the covers.  The first sensation, her bare legs against 
his sent his temperature right up.  When they were both awake 
and sober, when it wasn't a hazy dream...
	Then his bare chest against hers, stomachs pressed against 
one another, pelvises almost grinding together, separated only 
by two thin layers of material...  "Yui," Gendo gasped, his 
hands moving over her skin.
	She didn't bother to answer with words, merely capturing 
his mouth with her own, putting her arm over him.  It took 
everything she had not to move wildly against him and burn off 
the lust that was eating her up.  His skin against hers...  That 
was all it took.
	Almost.  Almost, but not quite.  Gendo had been right.  
When his hands moved lower, to push down her panties, her arms 
worked their way between his and his body, forcing them away.
	Understanding her actions, Gendo moved his hands back up 
and stopped moving as forcefully against her as he had been.  
Needing to breathe, he pulled back and took a big gulp of air.
	"I'm sorry," Yui whispered.  "You're right."
	"Don't be sorry.  Especially not for that."
	His fingertips wandered down her cheek.  "That was... 
almost more than I could handle."
	"I... I didn't want to be a tease.  I wanted..."
	"Shh."  A tease?  Not really.  More of a... vixen really.  
"I think you just need to learn how much power you have over me, 
and how dangerous that can be at times."
	"Stop joking, Gendo."
	"What happened to Gen-chan?  I liked that.  Coming from 
you."
	Instead of answering, Yui kissed him again, with the same 
intensity as before.  All questions and answers were lost in it.
	Gasping again, for oxygen and his wits, Gendo shook his 
head.  "It's not right, is it?"
	"Not... quite," Yui spoke quietly.  "Even though I'd like 
it to be."  Two layers...  It'd be so easy to overcome, and he'd 
be willing...  If only she could bring herself to do it.
	"I love you, you little tease," whispered Gendo, kissing 
her on the cheek.
	"The time is going to be right one day," Yui promised, 
kissing him in return.
	"And until then... you don't mind..."  He let his words 
trail off, confident she would know exactly what he was 
thinking.
	The smile she flashed was all he needed.  "Until then," 
she said anyway, "yes.  I wouldn't want you walking around and 
being a grump all day."
	"You definitely know how to... lift my mood."
	"Now who's playing word games?" Yui asked, noting his 
grin.  "Besides... I'm hungry."
	Gendo laid back and groaned.  A cold shower... 
necessary... fast.

---

Page 29


	"It's small."
	"I don't take up much room.  Besides..."  Yui looked at 
Gendo and smiled devilishly.  "Just enough room for two in the 
bedroom."
	"Yui," he warned.
	"It was a joke.  What happened to your sense of humor?  
Besides, you should be happy since you saw the results of your 
finals."
	"Yeah, but now it's... job season, and I'm not looking 
forward to that."
	Yui shrugged, setting down a box.  "I don't know.  I think 
I'd rather work than go to school.  That way I feel like I'm 
accomplishing something."
	"Yeah, but you're strange."
	She elbowed Gendo in the gut.  "Then what does that say 
about you?"
	"I'm easily charmed by good looks, of course."
	"Of course, how silly of me."  Looking at the small 
apartment, Yui had a hard time believing that she'd be living 
there.  It was always either the dorm or, well, the dorm when 
the project paid for her residence over the previous spring and 
summer.  Going home was definitely out of the question, though 
she'd need to find a way to tell everything to her parents.
	"You know," she said thoughtfully as Gendo began moving 
boxes, "if you really want a job..."
	"No.  How many times are you going to make me say it?  
Your professor and I don't get along," he answered, stopping 
her.
	"You only met him once."
	"And that was enough."
	Sighing, Yui dropped the subject for the time being.

	"How did the move go?"
	"Just fine."
	"If you need more time, just let me know and I'm sure we 
can work something out."
	"No, it's really okay, Professor.  All moved in; just the 
unpacking left to do."
	"I still have my concerns about it."
	Yui smiled, slipping on a lab coat.  "Don't worry.  I can 
handle Gendo.  He's just a big kitten."
	Fuyutsuki shook his head when Yui wasn't looking.  It 
looked like he was too late, hadn't been assertive enough to 
stop her from continuing in what he considered a complete farce 
of a relationship.
	"He's really smart, maybe even smarter than I am, but I 
wouldn't admit that to anyone else," she continued.
	Smiling faintly, Fuyutsuki nodded.  She sounded the same, 
but there was a look to her...
	"I... asked him if he was interested in joining the 
project."
	The smile immediately fell from his face, which Yui _did_ 
see.
	"I hope you don't mind, Professor.  I really think he 
could be an asset here."  Yui briefly got an annoyed look on her 
face.  "If I can ever get him to shape up."
	Adopting a perfectly normal smile, Fuyutsuki said, "Oh, 
that's fine.  I have confidence in your judgment.  The more good 
people we have working, the better."
	"That's what I thought, and I'm not exaggerating when I 
say how smart he is.  But he seems more interested in working at 
a burger counter than doing anything worthwhile."
	Kozo Fuyutsuki maintained the smile that didn't reach his 
eyes, and nodded.  "You know how busy we'll be..."  Busy enough 
to keep her away from Rokubungi.
	"I could ask again if he wanted to join, but I don't think 
he'll change his mind.  He's pretty stubborn like that."  Yui 
shrugged, feeling a bit odd when the older man patted her 
shoulder.
	"Do your best."  And he hoped to never see the face of 
that other man again.

---

Page 30


	The alarm went off, jarring Yui from sleep.  She opened 
her eyes and stared at the clock.  A quarter to nine.  Groaning, 
she slapped at the alarm and turned it off.
	Working as much as she had over the past week was taking 
its toll.  Even after almost nine hours sleep she was tired and 
lacked energy.  The one positive about the morning...  She 
listened and heard sounds from the kitchen.
	From the state of Gendo's sleeping mat, he had been up a 
while, and Yui envied him for that.  The ability to wake up in 
the morning and be able to do something other than stare at the 
wall was something she wished she could do again.
	Crawling out from under the blanket, Yui forced herself to 
stand and put on a robe.  Maybe breakfast would wake her up; she 
didn't want to have to start drinking coffee.
	The door opened and Gendo looked in.  "Oh good.  I didn't 
want to have to pull the covers off you."
	Yui just grunted and pushed past him.
	"Chipper as usual.  Food is almost done," Gendo informed 
her, watching her plop down at the table.  "Sure you don't want 
to try some coffee?"
	Shaking her head was almost too much, and Yui had to brace 
herself to keep from falling over and going back to sleep.
	"I think you're working too much, Yui," Gendo said and set 
breakfast down.  "It's not good for you."
	Yui waved her hand vaguely in the air, her eyes mostly 
closed.  "Food, not lectures."
	Gendo frowned as he watched her eat slowly.  It really 
wasn't healthy, and was probably detrimental to her work.  No 
one could work reliably for twelve hours a day, five days a 
week.  In fact, Yui would have been working seven days a week, 
but he had strictly forbidden her to overwork herself.
	There was one person in his mind, and kind thoughts were 
not directed at it: Fuyutsuki.  "He's doing this on purpose, 
Yui."
	She was too absorbed in breakfast and he had said it too 
quietly for her to hear.
	"Tomorrow's a day off, right?" he asked, sitting down to 
start into breakfast himself.
	Yui nodded.
	"Going to work late again tonight?"
	She nodded.
	Gendo stood and went to use the phone where Yui wouldn't 
hear him.  Working late...  Probably encouraged by Fuyutsuki to 
work as hard as she could for as long as possible.  Bastard.  
"Yes, Professor Fuyutsuki," he said quietly into the phone when 
the secretary answered.
	He was going to give it to the pompous, over-inflated 
know-it-all son of a bitch.  "Professor, it's nice to talk to 
you again," he said with as much unpleasantness in his voice as 
possible.
	/"Is there something you wanted, young man?"/
	The mocking was unmistakable to Gendo.  "Stop pushing her.  
She's going to get hurt, and then what?  Pretty good way to get 
back at me, but how will that make you feel?"
	/"Don't call me here again, Rokubungi.  I don't want to 
hear your voice, see your face, have to share the same air with 
you."/
	The line went dead in Gendo's ear and he slammed the phone 
down.  "Asshole!"
	"Gen-chan, what's wrong?"  She had picked that up almost 
right away.  If he was in a bad mood, the utterance of that pet 
name would settle him down.
	"Yui, why don't you cut tonight a little short, leave two 
hours early?" he asked, a hint of pleading in his voice.
	"I can't.  I have to..."
	"Do more work than the others?  Stay there late _every_ 
night?  I don't think so.  He's using your dedication."
	"For what?  To what end?" Yui asked, quite awake now.
	"I don't know, but I know I don't like it.  There is 
something not right going on with him, and I'm going to find out 
what."

---

Page 31


	He glanced at the clock again.  Yui had been gone eight 
hours already and he didn't think she'd be back any time soon.  
Looking around the apartment, the preparations he had made, 
Gendo frowned.
	This was ridiculous; he couldn't sit around and wait, and 
she shouldn't have been working so much.  Cursing under his 
breath, Gendo left everything as it was and exited the 
apartment.

	Yui had skipped lunch, and that had been a huge mistake.  
If she had been tired in the morning, then she was dead now, and 
still had a couple hours to finish things up for the day.
	"I'll see you Tuesday, Yui," Satoshi said as he was about 
to leave.
	"Bye, Satoshi."  She didn't remove her eyes from the data 
she was looking over though.  The sound of the door opening 
registered to her, but not the fact that Satoshi had left.  Or 
that someone else had arrived.
	"You really shouldn't be here when we're trying to do 
serious work."
	Yui looked up at the sound of Professor Fuyutsuki's voice.  
For a moment, she thought he was talking to her and was very 
confused.  But he wasn't looking in her direction.
	"It's time to go, Yui."
	She turned and saw Gendo standing just inside the doorway.  
Her face lit up immediately.  "Gen... do!  What are you doing 
here?"
	"My question exactly," Fuyutsuki said, obviously without 
the delight that Yui had expressed.
	Ignoring Fuyutsuki completely, Gendo fixed his solemn gaze 
on Yui.  "I'm here to take you home, Yui.  So you can get a 
decent meal and get some rest.  You don't need to work yourself 
this hard for anything."
	"Gendo, I shouldn't," she said apologetically.
	"Yes, we're trying to do work, something you probably 
wouldn't really know anything about."  Fuyutsuki folded his arms 
and glared at Gendo.
	"Professor, I'm going to step out for a few moments to 
speak with Gendo," Yui said quietly, keeping her eyes trained on 
her visitor.  She wasn't angry with him at all; she was just...
	"No, you're not.  If you're going to 'step outside' it'll 
be for the evening, not for a few moments," Gendo said evenly.
	"I suggest you leave before I call security.  Ms. Ikari 
has made it perfectly clear that she's not going to..."
	"Shut your mouth before I knock you unconscious," warned 
Gendo, his teeth clenched.
	It did quiet Fuyutsuki out of sheer surprise.
	"Gendo!  What are you talking about?"
	Gendo grabbed everything of Yui's he could identify, the 
strode forward and took her hand.  "I'm looking after your best 
interests.  I'm not asking you to quit; I'm making you leave two 
hours early _one_ night."
	He began pulling her toward the door, disregarding all her 
half-hearted protests.
	"I guess I'm leaving early tonight, Professor," she said 
finally as Gendo opened the door.  She gave him a weak smile and 
an even weaker wave.
	As the door closed, Kozo could only release a muted growl 
of frustration.

	"Gendo, why did you do that?" Yui asked.  She wasn't mad, 
but still wanted an explanation.
	"Because you're working too much, and I think you need 
someone to pamper you.  And not just on the days you're too 
tired to do anything."
	Excitement began to bubble up in Yui.  With every step 
closer to the apartment, the more she clutched at Gendo's arm

---

Page 32


	"I have candles, but..."
	Yui stared at the dinner waiting for her and almost 
started crying.  "You did this for me?"
	"Of course I did.  I wouldn't for anyone else, and you 
deserve it, instead of just eating something instant before 
bed."
	"Why didn't you just say something?"
	Gendo scoffed.  "That wouldn't have mattered, and you know 
it."  He removed the lab coat she was still in, and then the 
pull-over sweater.  "Sit down.  I'm sure it's still warm.  I was 
stupidly thinking you might be back early tonight, without me 
having to get you."
	Yui nodded and sat at the table, watching Gendo hurry to 
the kitchen in the dimmed lamplight.  She swallowed nervously, 
not sure why.
	It was simple, but it was hot and it wasn't instant, and 
that was good enough for Yui.  There was candlelight, just 
enough steaming sake for two, and hot tea for after the ice 
cream.
	Gendo leaned back, sipping his tea, against the small 
couch.  Looking at Yui over the lip of his glass, he rubbed his 
thigh in invitation.
	Yui went to him and sat against him, his arm going around 
her waist.  They sat quietly that way, drinking their tea and 
just gazing at the flickering candlelight.
	"The time is right, isn't it?" she whispered, holding her 
now empty glass tightly.
	"I can't answer that, Yui.  Only you can, but... it 
doesn't matter to me what you decide.  I'll still love you.  
That's why I did this for you."  He kissed the side of her head 
and set his glass on the floor.
	"It hasn't been very long in this apartment.  Does it feel 
like home to you?" she asked, now staring at the glass in her 
hand while her other held Gendo's hand tightly.
	"Only because you're here."
	Yui sighed.  Setting her glass down first, she stood and 
tugged Gendo's hand.  When he stood, she led him back to the 
bedroom.  "Just so you know..." she started to say.
	"Don't say anything like I think you were just going to," 
Gendo said, stopping in the bedroom doorway.
	"Can I just say... I think it's... right?"
	"If that's what you think."
	"You're not helping me at all."
	Smiling softly, Gendo shrugged.  "I can't help you.  In 
fact, I don't want to help you.  This is your decision, but... 
I'll go along with whatever you want."
	"You're infuriating."
	"Just like you."
	Yui pulled away from Gendo and crossed the room to lean 
against the wall next to their shared sleeping space.  Her mouth 
was very dry as she watched him approach, unbuttoning his shirt 
and pulling it off.  Nervousness, but no fear.
	For some reason, she expected him to say something, to 
play the movie-style romantic predator, but there was none of 
that.  He just leaned forward and kissed her, using the 
distraction to begin removing her shirt.  It was finally time 
that she wasn't going to hold back.
	As Gendo pulled her shirt off, her hands blindly worked at 
his belt.  Yui's mind was in a pleasant haze of... nothing 
basically as Gendo didn't stop with her shirt, and she got his 
pants the rest of the way undone.
	She went so far as to help him when he started on her 
slacks, and before Yui even realized it, she was, along with 
Gendo, mostly naked.
	"Still the right time?" Gendo whispered, breathing heavily 
as he moved his hands over every portion of her bare skin he 
could reach.
	Yui, eyes half-lidded, nodded.  Stopping, at that moment, 
would probably be something she would hate herself for.  "Still 
right," she said and laid down on their sleeping mats.  "So what 
are you waiting for?"
	"One last thing."  Gendo laid down next to her and pulled 
the blankets over them before removing the final obstacles 
between them.

---

Mysterion

You still remain
My power, my pleasure, my pain
	- Seal


	Even in the darkness of the bedroom, it felt too open.  
Under the covers, there was a measure of freedom, there was 
complete privacy and solitude.
	"I have to say this..."
	"You don't have to say anything."
	"No, this I do.  I love you.  I wouldn't be doing this 
unless I did."  She wanted to tell him the rest, but it felt 
silly and ultimately unnecessary.
	Fortunately, he sensed her hesitation.  "You are perfect," 
he whispered and kissed her lips gently.  With one arm bracing 
his body, he brushed the hair away from her face with his 
opposite hand.  "I love you too, and... I'll be gentle."
	Guilty relief washed over Yui.  She was just happy she 
hadn't been forced to say it; it was just too embarrassing.  
Instead of speaking further, she kissed him, deep, languid 
contact.
	The feel of his body against her own, both bare and slick 
with sweat from the summer heat, was new and a little 
frightening.  Yet she wouldn't have wanted it any other way, 
with anyone else.
	There was a distinct image in her mind, of the final two 
pieces of a puzzle fitting together, and then fitting in to the 
whole.  Whether that puzzle was her, just her life or something 
larger, she didn't care; the only thing that mattered was that 
the two pieces separated for so long were finally united.
	Yui broke the kiss and smiled, feeling her heart pound in 
her chest.  If only she could vocalize, explain just how right 
it was...
	"What is it?" he whispered, panting on her cheek.
	"Nothing.  Just keep going," she replied, running one hand 
down Gendo's back.  "I don't want you to stop."
	His entire body quivering with need, Gendo kissed down her 
neck, his need intensifying as their bodies slid against one 
another.
	There was a powerful urge in him to just complete the 
deed, find his own satisfaction, but just looking at Yui's face 
would not allow him to do that.  Making her happy really was the 
single goal he had in his previously empty life.
	Shifting his body so he was on his side next to her, he 
continued to cover her neck with kisses, letting his hand travel 
slowly down from her shoulder.  The skin was smooth, flawless as 
he moved over the initial swell of her breast, and then finally 
he felt her nipple jutting out.
	Yui sighed with pleasure and excitement.  This contact was 
familiar, but the circumstances were new and more thrilling than 
she had imagined they'd be.  This was a moment she'd thought 
about, dreamt about, fantasized about more than she'd ever 
admit, even to Gendo.
	But if he continued to tease her, torture her, he'd find 
that she wasn't content to just allow him to lead.  She'd take 
matters into her own hands.
	Her hands weren't idle though; she liked the way his body 
had been so close to hers, his weight pressing down on her.  
Letting her own hand trail over his shoulder, her fingertips 
tracing a path down his upper arm, stopping to squeeze it 
briefly...
	A soft cry escaped her lips and her body arched 
involuntarily as Gendo's fingers pinched her sensitive flesh 
while he suckled intently on her earlobe.  Only for a moment did 
she allow herself to get distracted; her hand was soon moving 
down his forearm, across her chest, until it was over his, 
squeezing it lovingly, exerting gentle pressure.
	He responded, covering her breast with his hand and 
cupping it.  It was getting more difficult to control himself 
though, and he let his hand drift down.
	With Yui's hand still covering his, Gendo moved over her 
smooth stomach, rubbing it gently and then continuing on.  She 
was bold, he would give her that, feeling her other hand begin 
to stroke his thigh while he moved their hands together to her 
inner thigh.
	Squirming a little at the ticklish feeling, Yui almost 
inadvertently moved Gendo's hand up to her eagerly awaiting sex.  
His touch, when it finally came, was foreign, but exciting, and 
she knew she couldn't wait any longer or risk exploding.
	Forcing his hand away, Yui tried to pull him over so he 
would be on top of her, but couldn't quite manage it.  "Damn 
it," she growled quietly in frustration.
	Grinning to himself, Gendo did as she wished and retook 
his position on top of her, moving her hand over her head.  
Making a deep, thoughtful noise from the back of his throat, he 
just looked at her for a moment.
	"Gen-chan."  Her eyes were half-lidded as she looked at 
him, running her fingers through his hair.
	He smiled gently at her.  "Yui."  He closed his eyes as he 
lowered his head to kiss her.  The feeling was like everything 
he had ever wanted in the world was contained within this single 
moment.
	Yui cried out in pain.  It was sharp, but didn't linger, 
and it wasn't unexpected.  Still, it was uncomfortable, and left 
her a bit shaken.  For several breath-catching moments, she lay 
there, clinging to him with her arms around his neck, and just 
experienced the act.
	It was a bit odd that Gendo didn't stop, but then, if she 
had really wanted him to, she would have said something.  A 
child she was not and couldn't expect to be treated like one in 
the midst of such an adult activity.
	"Gen-chan," she whispered, her fingers moving through his 
hair.
	Eyes still closed, Gendo paused, though he didn't speak.  
Yui was a mystery to him, and even if he never solved her, this 
really was the one thing in the world he wanted.  To be so 
ultimately close, to be one with her...
	In the darkness, Yui saw a single tear slide down Gendo's 
cheek.  Feeling the sudden lump in her throat, she touched his 
face and felt the track of the tear.  "Oh, Gen-chan..."  Not 
knowing anything else to say, she pulled him down and kissed 
him, feeling his body tremble ever so slightly.
	His arms went under her body and held her tightly, his 
eyes closed.  As long as they were close, the moment wouldn't 
end; they would always be together.
	The emotion of it all overcoming her, Yui started to move 
against him, her earlier pain forgotten.  For some reason, maybe 
stereotypes or cliches, she expected him to go into a frenzy, 
but she certainly didn't expect him to move so tenderly.
	Holding her to him, as if she might be snatched away, 
Gendo treasured the experience.  So entrenched in the moment, he 
missed the pleasure he had caused Yui.
	"Tell me what's wrong," she said, more concerned with his 
odd behavior than the euphoria she had experienced.
	"I... don't ever want this to end.  I don't ever want to 
lose you."
	She could almost hear the desperation in his voice.  "You 
won't," Yui whispered, just holding him.  "You'll always have 
this moment with me; no one can ever take that away."
	Upon hearing those words, with a single grunt, he 
stiffened against her for a moment, moved briefly and stiffened 
again.
	Her concern for the lack of birth control flashed briefly 
in Yui's mind until she really looked at Gendo's face.  The 
expression she saw there was almost tortured.  "Gendo..."
	"Everything I am is for you," he said in a voice so low 
Yui could barely hear it.  After that, he pulled away, leaving 
his arms around her body loosely.
	Confused by his behavior, Yui simply looked up into the 
darkness.  There was one definite she found in their act: their 
love was never to be in doubt again.
	She smiled then, arranging herself closer to him so she 
could hear his deep, even breathing and feel it on her skin.  
Softly so she didn't wake him, she kissed him, then whispered, 
"I won't let go."

---

Page 33


	Yui woke up, and for the first time since she had started 
on the project full time, Gendo was still asleep next to her.  
Gazing at him for a few short moments, she let her eyes close 
and went back to sleep.

	The smell coming from the kitchen was heavenly.  It was 
accompanied by a gentle humming that was music to his ears.  
Gendo sat up and scratched his head.  He didn't regret what they 
had done, but...
	That was it.  They were as good as hitched.  At least that 
was probably what Yui was thinking.  He certainly didn't...  
Well, not just because they...
	What was the use in denying it?  Sighing, Gendo got up and 
put on some clothes.  Before exiting the room, he tossed their 
discarded clothing into a pile against the wall and fished their 
undergarments out of the blankets as well.  It was a small 
thing, cleaning up, when Yui did so much more.
	"How did you do this to me, Yui?" he asked himself, not 
even aware how she had taken over his life so completely.
	"Well good morning!"  Yui almost threw herself into his 
arms as she kissed him.  "Glad to see you awake finally."
	"And why is that?" Gendo asked, putting his arms around 
her waist.
	"Because you're so much more entertaining when you're 
awake," Yui said, grinning at him.
	"Who would have known you'd turn out to be such a..."
	"Quiet, you."
	Gendo smiled as Yui put her fingers over his lips.  
"Okay," he said and kissed her fingertips.  "So how are you this 
morning?"
	"Better than fine," she replied and moved back into the 
kitchen.  "It might sound silly, but I want to thank you."
	Gendo followed and poured himself a glass of juice.  
"Why?"
	"For not pushing."
	"Well, I don't know about that.  I mean, it's a two step 
process."
	"Not that!  You _know_ what I mean!"
	"Yeah, but... I like to see you riled up."
	Yui blushed and turned her attention back to breakfast.  
She tried to reply with something, but was just too embarrassed.
	"I... I just made you speechless?"  Gendo gasped.  "I need 
to write this on a calendar.  Quick!  Get me a calendar!"
	"Ha ha.  Very funny.  But I'm serious."  She turned and 
smiled.  "It really was right."
	"I'm glad."  The sudden cross look on her face made him 
rethink his words.  "I'm happy it worked out then."
	"You make it sound like... like some plan when you talk 
like that.  Like you've lost your emotions and can only respond 
with logic and ration."  Yui looked up from the still-cooking 
breakfast.
	Gendo was looking at her flatly.  He arched an eyebrow.  
"I see."
	Yui grinned in spite of herself.  "As long as you don't 
try that tonight we won't have a problem."
	"Eager too.  That's definitely in your favor."  Not that 
she really needed anything else in her favor, but he thought it 
would be tasteless to mention a thing like that to her.
	"What's that look on your face?  What are you daydreaming 
about?"
	"Not a thing," Gendo answered, trying not to think too far 
ahead.  He would have to wait all day, and that wouldn't be fun.
	Yui wasn't fooled.  "Ruled by your hormones," she said, 
shaking her head.  "Just as I thought."
	"It's not hormones, Yui.  It's emotion.  I've... done the 
hormone thing, and this isn't it."
	"And you didn't love those others?" she asked, skeptical.
	"Not the way I love you.  Not even close."

---

Page 34


	"Her?"
	"Are you trying to set me up?"
	"No, I'm just curious."
	"Fine, just because you're curious though.  I'm fully 
expecting you to get mad at me for this, but... she's not bad."
	"Better than me?"
	"Of course not."
	Yui smiled.  "Are you sure?"
	"Positive.  She's not nearly as shapely as you are.  And 
her breasts are..."
	"That's enough!  I believe you."  Every chance he got, he 
was sure to demonstrate his...  Superiority was the wrong word.  
But he sure liked to shoot his mouth off.  "Besides, she doesn't 
know how to coordinate," Yui added.
	"And nothing beats a woman that can coordinate," Gendo 
said, raising his glass in a toast.
	"Don't be so silly.  That's just..."  Yui shrugged.  "That 
was how I was raised: to always be doubtful of how I compared to 
other women."  She looked down at her drink, swirling it around 
a bit.  "Gendo."
	"Yeah?"
	She looked up at him, and the change in her mood was like 
night and day.  "How many others have there been?"
	Gendo blinked.  "Other what?"
	"Women, of course.  How many women before me have you been 
with?"
	"Uh... I don't..."
	"The truth."
	"Not many."  Gendo laughed a little.  "I've been 'switched 
on' for seventeen years.  You can't really expect me to not..."
	Yui shook her head.  "Oh, I don't.  I'm just curious to 
know.  I mean, hormones and all..."
	"When are you going to drop that?"
	"Not as long as it continues to apply.  And you're so much 
fun to tease."
	"Quiet yourself.  I'm trying to tell you something."
	Yui snorted.
	"Three.  Before you.  Nothing all that serious."
	"Before me."
	Gendo grinned.  "Before you."  Just as he thought.  "Now 
it's my turn to ask you something."
	"Uh oh."
	"What do you expect from me?  Honestly, what do you want 
from me?"  He leaned on his elbows on the table.
	"What do I want from you?  Well... I don't know."  She 
shrugged and wrinkled her nose in a way that said she knew, but 
was too embarrassed to say.
	"Yes, I'm stupid.  Tell me anything and I'll believe it."
	"Well..."  Yui avoided looking at Gendo, keeping a close 
eye on her fingers instead.  "Just... you know.  The usual 
stuff."
	"The usual stuff?  No, I'm afraid I don't know what that 
is."
	Sighing, Yui glanced up at Gendo, then looked back at her 
fingers.  This was a lot harder than she'd imagined.  After... 
after the sex, it should have been a snap.  "Just... the two of 
us.  Together."  She shrugged and meant it.  "You know."
	She looked at him, and there was an openness, innocence 
there that had helped him fall so completely for her so that he 
knew exactly what she meant.
	"You... don't have to say anything else, Yui," he managed 
to say.  "I... think I know what you're getting at."  Lord help 
him, he knew.  'Just don't ask it, please.'
	"You do?" she asked hopefully.  "Then... can I ask you 
something?"

---

Page 35


	"I can still picture the look on your face."
	"Something else you'll never let me live down.  That was 
four days ago.  Can we stop now?"
	Yui pouted.  "You're no fun."
	"Yeah, yeah.  Tell the jokes at my expense while I just 
stand here and don't say anything."
	"I could never imagine you not saying something.  It's 
just not who you are."  As was customary with their walks, she 
was leaning against Gendo, holding his arm.  She sighed.
	"You know," Gendo started quietly, "I will get you for 
that one day, and then who'll be laughing?"
	"It was worth it," she answered almost dreamily.
	"It really wasn't a joke, was it?" Gendo asked, looking 
down at her as they walked.
	"Yes, it was a joke."  Yui paused long enough to take a 
deep breath.  "Sort of."
	"That's what I thought."  Not that it was a bad thing, he 
just wasn't sure what to say, how to handle it.  "That kind of 
thing is a bit... sudden, don't you think?"
	Yui's shrugs were like a language in themselves.  The one 
she gave him said that she knew, but didn't know what else to do 
about it.
	"What about your family?"
	"What about yours?" she shot back defensively.
	So that was what she had meant.  Not a joke, but not that 
big step either.  Just a... hope of things to come.  "I don't 
particularly care.  My life is not my family's concern.  
Certainly not who I'm seeing or what we might have planned for 
the future."
	"Do you not like your family?  I've never heard you talk 
about them... positively."
	It was Gendo's turn to shrug, but his revealed nothing.  
"Not much to say.  I don't see them much anymore."
	"Oh.  I haven't seen my parents since last holiday break.  
But I think that's probably for the best.  My mother..."  Yui 
looked at Gendo, who raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent.  
"She's a bit nosy, a little bossy.  Under certain circumstances, 
she can be hard to deal with."
	"Certain circumstances...  Let me guess.  Dating and 
living with a man ten years older than you."
	"Those would definitely qualify, but it doesn't even need 
to be that big a deal.  There's no reason to even be talking 
about it really.  This is my life and my decision."
	"Parents are a bit... sticky like that."
	Yui snickered.  "Sticky.  I would have never thought about 
it like that."
	"Maybe you need to be a little more imaginative then."  
Gendo gave her a smile that bordered dangerously on a wicked 
grin.
	She returned it.  "But I'm so young and sweet and 
innocent," Yui exclaimed, flashing a forlorn puppy-like 
expression up at Gendo.
	That made him laugh immediately.  "Sweet I'll give you.  
Innocent, no way in hell.  Maybe a bit... inexperienced, but 
that's perfectly okay with me."
	Gendo laughed a little again, shaking his head.  
"Innocent..." he muttered under his breath.
	"Isn't that what all men like?  A woman who's so innocent 
she's helpless?" Yui asked.
	"Not me.  I don't think it's possible to be that innocent 
anyway.  Everyone is a little corrupt inside."  Gendo looked at 
her from the corner of his eye.  "I like to think I'm a pretty 
good judge of character, and you are not innocent at all."
	"And what about you?"
	"Oh, I know I'm not innocent."
	Yui chuckled softly.  "If you had said you were, I would 
have known you were off your rocker."  She smiled, more to 
herself than anything.  "I don't find innocence all that 
attractive anyway."

---

Page 36


	"I'm sorry, Professor.  I can't stay late tonight.  Gendo 
and I are going out."
	"What about..."
	"I'm all caught up.  I'll see you tomorrow."  Yui 
collected her things and left, not paying any further attention 
to the lab behind her.
	Fuyutsuki frowned.  She was caught up.  And she was going 
out with Rokubungi.  What had happened to turn her attitude 
around so completely?  Each morning she'd be chipper and alert, 
talkative, not tired at all, sometimes even excited.
	It certainly couldn't have been just because of Rokubungi, 
could it?

	Gendo was just getting changed as Yui arrived.  
"Reservations are for seven.  Will you make it?" he called out 
from the bathroom.
	"Time me!"
	Twenty-four minutes later, Yui was running a brush through 
her hair for the last time.  "Will we make it?"
	"Shouldn't be too tough."  Gendo held the door open for 
Yui as they left the apartment.  Just as they headed down the 
walk, they took each other's hands.

	She managed to hold off until the door was closed.  After 
that, Gendo had his hands more than full.  "That was great," Yui 
whispered to him, her arms encircling him from behind.  "And 
it's still too early to go to bed."
	"I wasn't going to suggest it."
	"Then we can do something else."
	Gendo rolled his eyes.  The woman was almost out of 
control.  "Not for twenty minutes after eating," he warned 
seriously, hoping she would believe him.
	"You're such a party pooper."
	"Yui, you are the biggest party girl I have ever met, so I 
wouldn't rely on those types of insults."  He turned his head 
and looked at her as best he could.  "You are aware of the 
trouble this could get us both into, aren't you?"
	Yui sighed and released him.  "Fine, fine.  You really 
aren't any fun."
	"That's not what you said that first night."
	"I don't recall saying anything if you want to get picky."
	Gendo turned around to face her, grinning.  "What was that 
I heard in my ear then?  It sounded like..."
	"Heavy breathing.  Anything else and you need your hearing 
checked," Yui answered quickly to cut him off.  There was a very 
healthy blush in her cheeks.
	Eyebrows lifting slowly, he gave Yui an amused look.  
"Check my hearing?"  He took a step backward, which Yui 
followed.  "And where might I get my hearing checked?"
	"The doctor probably."  She followed each of his 
retreating steps.  "But I could probably be convinced to check 
those big Dumbo ears of yours."
	"How closely?"
	His one step back was countered by Yui's two steps 
forward, and she was suddenly leaning against him.  "Very 
closely," she whispered in his ear and then nibbled delicately 
on it.
	Gendo flushed, goosebumps traveling up and down his back.  
"I can't really call you a tease anymore, can I?"
	"If that's what you want.  I don't see how it matters one 
way or the other."  Yui smiled coyly.  "Unless that's what you 
want me to do."
	"You're still a tease.  You always will be.  But you're my 
tease."  They stayed that way for a few moments, just looking at 
each other.  "It's been twenty minutes."
	Yui grinned and glanced at her watch.  "Only eighteen."
	"Two minutes to get undressed then.  Come on, tease."

---

Page 37


	"Sorry, Satoshi.  I'm meeting Gendo for a n... lunch."  
Yui smiled a bit too widely to just be talking about lunch.
	"Sounds like you and Rokubungi are pretty serious," her 
co-worker commented.
	"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
	"I might also say a little more than serious."  He gave 
her a friendly smile.
	Yui returned it.  "You could say that too."
	"Just send me an invitation," he said, then walked off to 
get his own lunch.
	Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki shook his head slightly.  A 
ridiculous idea, but one that seemed... inevitable.  That didn't 
change his opinion of Yui though, or of Rokubungi.
	He supposed she would just have to learn the hard way 
about men like that; then he would be there to console her when 
it all fell apart.
	The phone rang, jarring him from his contemplation.  He 
looked back to see that Yui was already gone, then picked up the 
phone.  "Yes?  Yes, put her through."
	While listening with half an ear, he looked at the stack 
of paper on his desk.  So much work still to be done.
	"Yes, yes, Doctor.  I've seen them, and I must admit that 
they're quite... ambitious.  Funding for something like that..."  
No matter how glorious the end product would be, money would be 
hard to find without definite end results.
	"You've done what?  Doctor, that was highly..."  Fuyutsuki 
paused, and irritated look crossing his face.  "I understand the 
way funding works as well as anyone, but to use our data and 
demonstrate it...  That's..."
	Releasing an annoyed sigh, Kozo shook his head.  "If you 
knew it was insecure, why did you do it?"
	He knew that she couldn't be trusted, but she was also 
necessary, and that meant putting up with her stunts and playing 
damage control.
	And calling her "Doctor".  "Doctor Akagi, even if you did 
procure funding, I don't approve.  People just wouldn't 
understand what it is..."
	Just agree.  Just keep agreeing to get her off the phone.  
"Very well.  Just as long as you realize my objections."
	Without another word, he hung up the phone, glad to not 
have to speak to the woman any longer.
	The people he needed were so difficult to work with, and 
the ones he wanted were... out of reach.
	Sighing, he turned his attention back to the papers on his 
desk.

	"I'm going to the doctor next week."
	"No sooner?"
	"I had to fit it in on one of my days off."
	"Maybe we should hold off until then."
	Yui looked absolutely horrified at the suggestion.  "No!"
	"It was just a suggestion."
	She frowned in response, but not at Gendo.  "What would 
you do if... an accident did happen?"
	"You're not..."
	"No, but I'm curious."
	There was no point in telling her something just to make 
her feel better.  "I'd... marry you, get a job and help raise 
it."
	"Don't say it just because you think that's what I want to 
hear.  I want the truth."
	"I just gave it to you.  I am... aware," he continued 
slowly, "of personal responsibility.  I won't run from it."
	"But would you really want all that?  With me?"
	"With you?  Definitely."

---

Page 38


	They were in the kitchen together, cooking dinner and 
sharing a bottle of beer.
	"Don't backwash in that," Yui warned as she watched Gendo 
take a drink.
	"You couldn't tell mine from yours so don't worry about 
it."
	"Just knowing you spit up in something I'm drinking is 
enough.  Whether it's mixed with mine or not."  Yui had a 
disgusted look on her face as she watched Gendo drink.
	After she said that though, he looked at her, then the 
bottle in his hand, and then poured the rest of it down the 
sink.  "Thanks.  That was just what I wanted to hear _while_ I 
was drinking."
	"Now that you're done finishing off another beer can you 
help me here?  I'm sure you'll end up eating at least half of 
it."
	"Probably more.  Yui, you just don't eat enough."
	"You want me to get fat?  If I ate like you, I would."
	"Then who bought the ice cream in the freezer?  It sure 
wasn't me since I wouldn't eat butter pecan," Gendo said, 
looking at Yui skeptically as he stirred the cooking noodles.
	"Hey, there's nothing wrong with ice cream.  As long as 
it's eaten in moderation."
	Gendo smiled.  "You don't need to make excuses for 
yourself.  We'll work off the extra calories together."
	Putting her arm around his waist, Yui just shook her head.  
There was no reason to battle him in his current mood.  It would 
probably pass shortly and he'd back to his usual self.
	"Besides, I don't think you have any extra calories to 
work off," she said anyway.  Her fingers moved lightly over his 
ribs.
	"Stop that!"  Gendo twisted away from Yui, who started 
laughing.
	"I know your weak point now."  She reached out for him 
again, smiling, and watched him quickly move to the other side 
of the kitchen.
	"Hmph.  It's not a weak point; you just caught me by 
surprise."  He had his arms crossed over his stomach, hands 
guarding his ribs.
	Giving him a knowing look, Yui nodded.  "Of course.  
Caught by surprise."  She knew his weak points anyway, and they 
weren't really related to how ticklish his ribs were.
	"Come back over here, Gen-chan," she beckoned.  "I won't 
do it again since I know how it wounds your pride."  She held 
her arm out to invite him to stand next to her.
	"I hate when you do that," he mumbled and walked to her.  
He stood, arms still crossed, next to her and let her put her 
arm around him.
	She glanced at him, still smiling.  "I said I wasn't going 
to do it again.  Are you going to help me or not?"
	"Yui..."
	"Gen-chan, don't be so touchy.  You take things too 
seriously.  I remember when you were accusing me of that."  She 
tightened her hold on him.  "Just because I get the best of you 
every now and then."
	"It's not that."
	"Then what is it?"
	Gendo paused, then slowly put his arm around Yui.  "I 
suppose it might be that."
	"I always knew you were a closet control freak.  If you 
want to take over dinner, be my guest."
	He shook his head.  "I wouldn't say that.  I'm a 
little..."
	"Possessive?  Controlling?"
	"There you go again.  Really know how to improve my mood.  
If I was nearly as bad as you say I am, I would have gotten you 
out of that lab a long time ago."

---

Page 39


	He watched her as the sun shone through the window, 
periodically interrupted by the buildings they passed.  "Yui," 
he said, his voice seeming like it was coming from somewhere 
outside of himself.
	Yui turned her head to look at him, moving like she was in 
slow motion, a smile on her lips.  Her mouth opened and she 
spoke, but he couldn't hear what she said.
	"It's... nothing," he replied shakily, not even sure what 
he had been meaning to say.  He turned his head away, thanking 
silently whatever had made the strange feeling pass.
	Smiling slightly, Yui just shook her head, then turned her 
gaze back out the window of the train.

	"Have you always had this wandering eye?"
	The woman disappeared around a corner and Gendo returned 
his attention to Yui.  "Hm?"
	"I'll take that as a yes.  I certainly feel special on 
this date."
	"What?"
	Yui couldn't help but laugh.  "Sometimes you are so 
adorably thick-headed.  But really, could you at least try not 
to look while we're out on a date?"
	Her meaning finally caught up to him.  "Oh, right.  Sorry.  
Habit."
	"One I hope you grow out of soon enough, at least long 
enough to hold an uninterrupted conversation."  Yui gave Gendo a 
look that was sure to leave him no doubt that she meant 
business.
	His reply was to completely change the subject.  "I'm just 
surprised you could get this evening off on such short notice."
	Yui smiled knowingly.  "Whatever you think of the 
professor, he's not a slave driver.  I just said I'd make up the 
time over the rest of the week."
	"When is this going to stop, Yui?  When will you be able 
to cut back your hours?"
	"Probably not for a while.  And I've cut them back once 
already.  Isn't that enough?"
	"No," Gendo answered, frowning.  "When will I get more 
time?  I thought that was what you wanted, for us to be 
together."
	"It sounds like what you want is to have me all to 
yourself.  Don't be so selfish.  Someone has to support us."
	That stung, and they both knew it.  Gendo looked away, 
ashamed.  "Well excuse me for being in love with you.  Next time 
I'll just keep quiet."
	"Damn it.  You know I've cut back as much as I can.  
Things aren't getting easier; they're getting more... urgent.  
And this is already a long-term project.  You just don't have 
any idea," lectured Yui.
	"I don't understand because you don't tell me.  You talk 
about this project every day, how important it is, but never 
give any details.  Like you're going to take over the world or 
something."  Gendo paused, finding the courage to say the words 
he had been dreading.  "If it's Fuyutsuki, tell me now.  Don't 
spare me."
	"It's nothing like that!  I thought we were beyond this.  
I can't tell you about the work, and you keep refusing the offer 
for a job.  Even Professor Fuyutsuki said he wouldn't mind," Yui 
said, confused and a little desperate.  This was not how she 
wanted to spend the evening.
	Unwilling to fight over it, Gendo just sighed.  "That's 
not the point and you know it.  And it's not about keeping track 
of you either.  You're just gone so much."
	Yui stroked his cheek.  "I'm doing the best I can.  This 
is the most important thing right now, after you, but...  It 
needs my attention."
	"I need your attention."
	"And you have it, but... work is work.  And this is the 
most important thing I've ever done."
	Gendo just looked at her, still frowning.  'So far,' he 
thought to himself.

---

Page 40


	He would make her understand.  It was that simple.  He 
couldn't wait for her to do it by herself; it might be too late 
then. And maybe she thought he wasn't serious, but he hadn't 
been more so in his entire life when he had said he couldn't 
live without her.
	Gendo quashed any doubts in his mind as he rode the train.  
She wouldn't refuse.  To think otherwise was...  It weakened his 
resolve, and that would not do.  This was not something he could 
be weak or wishy-washy for.
	He had to be confident in his decision, his words forceful 
and direct so she would know he was serious.  If he had doubts, 
Yui wouldn't have confidence in him.  There could be no doubts, 
no going back.  This was the right decision.
	Yui would accept.  She would understand.

	"Yui."
	She turned at the sound of his voice.  There was something 
different about it.  It was... deeper, more commanding.  "Is 
there something wrong?"  That was the only reason she could 
imagine he'd speak to her with that tone.
	"No problem.  I just need to tell you something."  He 
stood there, sunlight reflecting off his glasses and hiding his 
eyes.
	His eyes.  That had always been one way she could read his 
mood without fail.  "What is it?"
	"Not here."  Gendo beckoned her into the living room.
	She followed him, very confused about what he wanted.  He 
had never acted so... weird.  "What is it?" she repeated.
	When she was standing where he wanted her, back to the 
window, early afternoon sun shining behind her, Gendo struck.  
It was easier since he couldn't see her face that well.
	Reaching into his pocket, he removed the box and held it 
out to Yui.  "Yui," he began.
	Her hand flew up to her mouth, and she stared at what he 
was holding.  Eyes widened with surprise, they were locked on 
the box.
	"Would you..." Gendo started to say.
	Tentatively, Yui reached out and touched the box as if 
confirming its reality.  It was certainly real, and this was all 
definitely happening.
	Gendo's hand went over hers, brushing it delicately as he 
opened the box for her to see the contents.
	It was small, but Yui wouldn't have expected much more 
really.  She didn't need more.  In fact, she didn't need a ring 
at all, but...  "It's... it's..."
	"An engagement ring.  Will you marry me?"
	Yui just stood there, her entire body frozen, unable to 
make a sound.
	After a few moments of silence, Gendo spoke.  "If you're 
not sure, you can..."
	"Yes!"  Suddenly her arms were around him and she was 
hugging him fiercely.  "I will," she said, her face pressed into 
his shoulder.
	With an inaudible sigh of relief, Gendo returned her hug, 
kissing her temple.  "I bought this so you have to wear it 
though," he whispered, holding the box tightly.
	"Of course," she answered hurriedly, releasing his neck.  
Yui wiped her eyes on her arm before looking back at the open 
box.  She held out her hand, embarrassed at how badly it was 
shaking.
	Gendo removed the ring and tossed the box to the side.  
Taking her hand to steady it, he slipped the ring on her finger.  
He smiled a little, liking the way the sun made it sparkle.
	Yui turned and held her hand up, allowing the ring to 
catch direct sunlight.  "It's... perfect."

---

Page 41


	He gazed impassively at the ring and wondered where 
Rokubungi had gotten the money to pay for it, wondered what Yui 
saw in that man.
	Enough, apparently, to agree to marry him.  Such a shame, 
such a waste.  Not only did she deserve more, the two of them 
could have done so much more on the project together...  He 
couldn't even manage to fool himself on that point.
	Of course the potential had been there, but she just 
wasn't interested.  And all that time, he'd been hoping they'd 
progress beyond the limited teacher/student relationship.
	Not fast enough.  But Rokubungi... had moved quickly.  A 
little too quickly to believe actually.  There was no doubt some 
underlying reason for it all, maybe money or...  It was possible 
that if Yui had talked just a little too much about the 
project...
	No, she wouldn't do that though; she was as serious about 
it as he, and doing anything, _anything_, to jeopardize it would 
be tantamount to treason.  As serious as he...  If anything, she 
was more, driven almost, and now...
	"Congratulations," he said, trying to mask the 
disappointment in his voice.  Trying to crush the jealousy.  If 
it had been possible, he would have tossed it all away; it just 
wouldn't work, no matter how beautiful and intelligent she was.
	"We haven't set a date or anything yet."
	She was so happy, excited.  She didn't see how wrong it 
all was.  "I'm sure..."  The words were so hard to force out, 
and certainly not with any genuine feeling.  "You'll be very 
happy."
	"Thank you, Professor."
	She hugged him, and Kozo Fuyutsuki knew he was in hell.

	"Yui?"
	"Hm?"  All she wanted was to relax and go to sleep.  The 
slightly grave tone he was using told her she wouldn't get that 
chance.
	"Where's your ring?"
	Feeling her hand and realizing it was naked, Yui reached 
into her pocket.  "I forgot to put it on after I finished up 
today."  She pulled it out and slipped it on her finger.
	Gendo nodded and looked at her hand.  Everything was as it 
should be once again.  He stood, holding on to Yui's hand.  "You 
look exhausted.  I'd like to know what you're doing that does 
this to you every day."
	"Just hard work.  I'm not the only one that looks like 
this at the end of the day."
	"A small comfort.  You're lucky I'm here or who would look 
after you?  Each night, you're too tired to even cook for 
yourself."
	Yui stood at the gentle insistence of Gendo's pulling.  "I 
can take care of myself just fine," she insisted.  "I can eat 
well enough without your help."
	"Maybe, but that's a non-issue now.  As long as you insist 
on working yourself to exhaustion, I'm going to take care of 
you."  He led her to the bedroom.  "And then, after it's 
official, we can move into a decent place with a big kitchen, 
and then you're going to eat right."
	"Mm hm."  She shrugged out of her clothes with Gendo's 
assistance.  Before laying down, she put on a nightshirt and 
sighed.
	"What is it?" Gendo asked as he covered her.
	"I'll be glad when this is all over."  Smiling tiredly, 
she reached up and stroked his cheek.  "You need to shave."
	When it was all over?  What did she mean?  Surely not the 
two of them.  "If you insist, I will."  He leaned down and 
kissed her forehead.
	"Don't stay up so late tonight."
	"I'll be in in a little bit.  You just get some sleep."  
He frowned imperceptibly, watching her settle into bed.  "I love 
you."
	"Good night," Yui mumbled.  "I love you too."

---

Page 42


	"No, I don't think I'll wait around.  Even though you know 
how I like to keep up with the latest gossip."
	"I didn't think you would, but I can never be sure with 
you.  You go on; I doubt we'll be much later than ten."  Yui 
thumped Gendo on the back as she steered him toward the door.
	"You're anxious to get rid of me.  Embarrassed to show me 
off to your friends?"
	"You know it's not that."
	"So did you get a stripper or something then?  I wouldn't 
mind."
	"No!"  Yui opened the door and shoved Gendo out.  "You 
said you didn't want to be here, so go!"
	"I'm leaving.  Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
	"I don't know.  That really limits my choices," she said 
sarcastically, then waved at him.  As Yui watched him walk away, 
she could predict exactly where he was heading.  She didn't 
really approve, but he needed his personal time too.
	And the bar hadn't really been an issue since the night 
she had gotten drunk.  Still, Yui knew he didn't have a good 
history there and didn't want him to get in anymore trouble.
	She was very aware of his temper and what could happen, 
especially if those four creeps happened to show up.  Next time, 
it might be worse than a black eye, bloody nose and cut lip.  
Next time, they might take it outside and not be satisfied with 
rendering him unconscious.
	Taking a deep breath and willing herself to relax, Yui 
shut the door.

	"What's he like?"
	Yui blinked at the question.
	"What's he _really_ like?" asked a different friend.  "You 
said yes, right?  So what is it about him?"
	Blushing a little, knowing some of the things they wanted 
to hear, Yui shook her head.  "He's kind of quiet, but funny.  
And very sweet."
	"You'd never know by the way he acts.  He's creepy, always 
standing around like he's going to rob someone.  That look on 
his face..."
	Yui shrugged, not taking the comments of her friend badly.  
"He doesn't have a lot of friends, mostly because he's so smart, 
I think.  And he doesn't like crowds, like parties."
	The others nodded.
	"So he doesn't like to go out like that.  Usually it's 
just dinner or a movie or a walk."
	"That sounds romantic.  You know 'Hiko's idea of romance 
is not stinking like beer before he comes to bed," Yui's closest 
friend of the bunch said.  "He's not romantic very often."
	The others laughed good-naturedly at the comment.  Their 
own experiences weren't all that different with college "men".
	"But... it's not exactly the same," another said.  "He's 
not exactly your typical college guy."  She stopped, wanting the 
others to get her meaning and not make her say it.  They just 
looked at her blankly though.  "I mean, he's... old."
	The look on Yui's face immediately turned sour.  "He's not 
old.  Only thirty one.  And I know you all would rather have 
someone who is more responsible, knows how to treat you right 
than someone who throws up on himself because he's too drunk to 
move."  She would just not mention that unfortunate incident 
with Gendo just after they had moved in together.
	"Well, yeah," said the one who had made the offending 
statement.  "But..."
	"He's not bad looking," offered another.
	"All that really matters is that we love each other.  
That's the most important thing.  Ten years difference isn't so 
much when you're both adults," Yui said, getting the final say.
	"He could be thirty years older and it'd be fine if he 
took me out to eat at someplace fancier than the bar," another 
said, and started the others giggling.

---

Page 43


	Gendo took a small drink of his beer and set it back down 
on the bar.  He wasn't really looking forward to sitting there 
until Yui's friends left, but he had nothing else to do.  No 
friends to visit, no place to go and relax.
	He took another drink of beer and frowned.  It was more 
bitter than he remembered, and he knew he was in for a long 
evening.
	Back to real life, Gendo hunched over his beer and stayed 
that way.  It was probably as good a time as any to start... 
planning.  Even though it was almost frightening, it needed to 
be done.  They wouldn't just go to some office and put their 
stamps on a piece of paper; there would be a proper ceremony.
	Yui wouldn't do without one, no matter how he felt about 
it.  Or how his bank account felt, which was what he was most 
worried about.  And that meant... a job.  Something better than 
the table scraps he was making at his current job.
	There was always...  Just as Yui had suggested.  Yet, 
there were complications in that too.  Or possibly just one.  
There wasn't quite the same animosity toward Fuyutsuki in him 
that there had been, but there was definite dislike.
	It was probably worse for the professor too.  There was no 
doubt in Gendo's mind that the older man had some sort of 
feelings for Yui, and to watch her...
	There was no point in thinking about it.  Yui was going to 
be his wife, and that was that.  But that wouldn't make whatever 
this mysterious job Yui was offering him any easier.  God, what 
melancholy thoughts for a time that was supposed to be of 
celebration.
	But celebrating now wouldn't help at all for the things 
that needed to be planned for in the future.  And money was 
still his top concern.  Yui supporting them...  The thought was 
disgusting if only because it meant he was failing.  Failing on 
all fronts.  Failing right in front of Yui.
	And the curiosity ate at him.  There was some secret, 
something people weren't meant to find out about, something that 
Yui thought was _that_ important.  So what could it be?
	"You again.  I thought you were gone.  Or wasn't it enough 
the first time we broke your face?"
	Gendo turned on the stool and faced the person speaking to 
him.  Same guy, same three friends, and it looked like a few new 
ones.  There was probably going to be another fight, but this 
time, he would actually make it a fight.  "Fuck off."
	"Look, Dad, I don't know why you're here," the guy said 
and put his hand on Gendo's shoulder, "but I'm going stomp your 
ass into the ground, and my friends are going to help."
	The only thing Gendo could really think of was how upset 
Yui would be when he got home with his face looking like a train 
wreck.  He wouldn't be the only one though.  His hand clenched 
into a fist as he slid forward and sat on the edge of the stool.  
The look on his face never wavered from bored indifference.
	The bartender, watching the scene unfold, waved the 
bouncers over to put a quick stop to things.  They really didn't 
need another fight.
	"Gentlemen, we don't want to see any trouble here," the 
bouncer said calmly and was completely ignored.
	Gendo saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and 
slid out of the way, allowing the bottle to smash against the 
bar, hitting two other patrons with glass.  He moved his head 
just enough so that the incoming fist glanced off the top of his 
head before punching back.  His fist impacted with something 
firm, but which gave way with a gush of warm fluid.
	With flying glass, tumbling bodies, and the sheer number 
of participants, the fight was soon a full-fledged brawl.

---

Page 44


	Yui looked at the darkness outside the window and frowned.  
Her friends were long gone, but there was no sign of Gendo, not 
even a phone call.  Beyond going to the bar and seeing if he was 
still there, she had no idea what to do.
	Everything inside her was yelling that there was something 
wrong, that he wasn't just late, but...  She could just call the 
bar and see if he was there.  It was simple, and when he got on 
the phone and spoke to her in that certain tone of voice, she 
could laugh it all off.
	That was it.  She's just call and find out how silly she 
was being.

	They had done just enough so that he didn't bleed all 
over.  Though he hadn't expected much more from the police 
either.  This detention center thing though...  Gendo needed to 
get the hell out.  None of it was his fault, but they didn't 
seem to care.
	Gendo paced the holding cell, waiting for... something.  
They had just tossed him and a few others in there and left 
them.  Not even a phone call.  He needed to call Yui... he 
needed some ice.  And on second thought, he didn't want to call 
her because she'd have an attack.
	There wasn't any need to worry her; after he was out, he'd 
explain the entire thing to her calmly.  But first, he had to 
get out of this damned cage.  No way he'd bang on the bars and 
demand to see a lawyer or get his one phone call though.  He 
could wait them out.

	Wait them out.  Easy, no problem.  Gendo leaned against 
the wall and felt his eyes close.  Helpless to stop them, the 
fatigue consuming him, he started to half-dream about things he 
couldn't remember.
	"Rokubungi!"
	Immediately, his eyes snapped open at the voice shouting 
out his name.  There was an officer standing at the door, 
looking at him with contempt, and behind him...
	"Professor.  Surprising seeing you here."  An almost 
malicious grin made its way to Gendo's lips.
	"I don't even know why I bothered really.  You disgust me, 
Rokubungi."  Fuyutsuki's eyes narrowed.  "And why did you use me 
as a contact?"
	"Who else would I use?  It's not like I have a lot of 
university contacts."  Gendo stood on just on the other side of 
the bars now, looking intently at Fuyutsuki.
	"I'll release him into your custody if you'll just..." the 
guard began.
	"No.  I guess I just came down here to see this for 
myself," Fuyutsuki answered with disdain and turned to leave.
	"Surely," Gendo added nonchalantly, "I couldn't have put 
down Yui, could I?  She would be so upset.  And I suspect when 
she hears what's happened she'll be even more upset, but it 
won't be at me.  Right, Professor?"
	Kozo stopped, in complete disbelief that Rokubungi was 
actually...  "Let him out."
	One corner of Gendo's mouth twitched into a smile.
	"Rokubungi, you are a bastard."
	"I do what's necessary, Professor."
	"And Yui?  What's necessary that you need to use her?"
	It took Gendo a moment to answer.  "Nothing.  I love her, 
and she loves me."
	"You've fooled her very well.  But I'm watching, and I 
won't let you hurt her.  Remember that, and remember what I'm 
doing for you now."  Fuyutsuki filled out the appropriate 
papers, wanting to leave Rokubungi to rot, but knowing Yui would 
never forgive him if he did.
	"Don't worry.  I'll keep it in mind."  Gendo watched 
Fuyutsuki as he was freed from the cell.  "I'll be sure to tell 
Yui what a favor you've done for me."
	"Don't push your luck.  This is for her, not you," Kozo 
said icily as the two left the building, walking side by side 
like they were the closest of friends.
	"For yourself.  I'm not stupid.  Yui will be grateful, but 
she won't be that grateful.  You'll never get the better of me."
	On that last note, the two parted ways in the night.

---

Page 45


	The only sounds were of water dripping and their 
breathing.
	"Never again," Yui whispered, breaking the silence.  She 
ran the washcloth across Gendo's shoulders, frowning.  "I don't 
care who, I don't care why, I just won't allow it."
	"Yui..."
	"Don't 'Yui' me.  You won't talk your way out of this one.  
You don't go to the bar anymore.  End of story."  She pulled him 
back to lean against her as they relaxed in the steaming water.  
With her arms around him, she idly rubbed the cloth over his 
chest.
	"Yes, Yui."
	"Damn it.  Did you want to get a face full of broken 
glass?  Did you want to be permanently scared?  Lose an eye?"
	"No, Yui."
	"What would you have done if Professor Fuyutsuki hadn't 
been there to bail you out?"  How he could stay so calm was 
beyond her.
	"Probably not much... sat there for a while."
	"Why didn't you call me!?" she exploded at last, more 
worried than anything.
	"I wasn't even given a band-aid; you think they let me use 
the phone?"
	Yui backed down from that, knowing he was hurting more 
than he would ever tell her.  "Well... I'm just glad you're 
okay."
	"I'm glad to be home.  I never thought a hot bath would 
feel so good."  He slipped a bit lower in the bath until the 
water reached the middle of his chest.
	"I'll have to thank the professor.  I really don't know 
what I would have done.  And if you had been seriously hurt..."
	"But I wasn't.  I can take care of myself, and you'll be a 
lot less stressed out when you learn that."
	"I'll be less stressed when you stop getting yourself beat 
up."  After everything, the only place she felt he was 
guaranteed any safety was right in her arms.
	"It's not my fault that those punks didn't like me.  
Besides, that one guy was still upset from when I knocked him 
out cold."  Gendo started to grin, but concern niggled at him.  
"Speaking of, Yui, I don't think you should go to the bar alone.  
That guy might recognize you."
	"Hush now.  We're supposed to be relaxing.  And you need 
to let those cuts heal."  On top of the old ones.  If he 
continued that type of behavior, Yui was afraid she'd have to 
call the whole thing off.  She just couldn't deal with someone 
she always had to worry about.
	Yui suddenly hugged him tightly.  "I love you and I don't 
want to lose you."
	Gendo's hand ran over her leg under the water.  "You 
won't.  I won't ever let that happen."

	That was that.  Rokubungi, even when he was at a 
disadvantage, had been able to maneuver, to manipulate things to 
get exactly what he had wanted.  It was just another reason for 
Kozo to dislike... Yui's husband to be.
	The gall Rokubungi had to blackmail him like that, to take 
advantage of... his feelings.  How did he even know about them?
	"I hope you know what you're doing, Yui," he said aloud.  
Rokubungi knew how to get to him, and that meant it would be 
impossible to protect her.
	Maybe there was only one thing to do then.  Maybe he just 
had to... give up the idea that he would rescue her, and 
understand that it was best to be there if she needed him, even 
if it meant getting Rokubungi out of jail again.
	He still wished he knew what was it that attracted Yui to 
what he considered an inferior human being.  Perhaps then he 
wouldn't feel so jealous, angry.  Perhaps, but with that 
personality, Kozo didn't think his anger toward Rokubungi would 
ever fade.
	Looking out the window at the darkness evident beneath the 
city lights, Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki wondered what Yui Ikari 
was doing at that moment.
	Or maybe he didn't want to know.

---

Page 46


	"Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself."
	"Don't be silly.  You're a woman, and women as a whole are 
impossible to figure out."
	"You're just saying that and I know it.  Your eyes are too 
honest; they'd never lie to me."
	"Sometimes... you think too highly of me.  You should be 
less trusting, less open."
	"I'll leave that all up to you.  I like things... the 
way... they are."
	Gendo noted her odd hesitancy.  "Something wrong?  What 
about things?"
	"It's nothing," Yui answered, shaking her head.  "I'm 
happy right here, right now.  That won't ever change."

	Staring up at the ceiling, listening to the rain fall, 
Gendo thought.  He thought about Yui and their future together.  
Pleasant, but only... a distraction from what was really 
consuming him.
	"You're keeping secrets from me, Yui.  I'd have to be 
blind not to know," he whispered.
	As if she were trying to apologize for it in her sleep, 
she rolled over and put her arm across his chest.
	"We can't have that now.  We can't keep secrets from each 
other."  He would find out no matter what it took because there 
were those moments when Yui would just... blank out.  There was 
something that was bothering her quite severely.
	Not only could he find out what was bothering her, but 
he'd also be able to keep that professor in line.  There was no 
specific interest in the older man, but a man in his position 
could probably prove useful at some point in the future.
	"I don't know if I'll regret this later or not, but..."
	The money.  That would help too, and was a better 
incentive really than the mystery of the work itself.  Gendo 
almost laughed out loud.  Knowing Yui, it was probably something 
silly and insignificant, steroid-laced pet food or something.  
Somehow, that would have made it all perfect considering how 
much he was obsessing over it.
	But the darker side of him, the part that had no problem 
manipulating a university professor, smashing a kid over the 
head with a beer bottle, even ruining his own life, needed to 
know everything, wanted to keep track of everything Yui did.  It 
didn't want her to get away.
	That part of him would stop at nothing to get what he 
wanted, and in the dark, alone with his thoughts, that scared 
him a little.  The things it meant he was capable of in regards 
to Yui were more threatening than he wanted to think about.
	It could very easily mean the end of them if he got too... 
aggressive, and that would be the worst thing to ever happen to 
him.

	"Yui, I've come to a decision."
	"About?"  She was hurriedly getting dressed, annoyed that 
she had let herself oversleep.
	"About... you know."
	She froze.  There were lots of things she had been 
thinking about, but had been so busy she couldn't quite remember 
what she had discussed with Gendo.  If it was _that_...  But no, 
she was fairly sure she hadn't spoken with him about that.  "I'm 
not sure..."
	"The project.  Your project, Yui."  He had expected a 
slightly better reaction from her the way she had been pushing.
	"You'll..."  A part of her was elated, but another didn't 
want to bring him in, make him deal with the things she had to.  
She wasn't even sure he'd be able to handle it since he avoided 
work like the plague.
	"I will."  Gendo lowered his head slightly, still meeting 
her somewhat surprised gaze.
	Instantly, Yui felt like she was under the close watch of 
a large predator.  "Don't look at me like that," she said, her 
brow furrowing.
	And like that, he was back to his normal self, that 
menacing look gone.  "I suppose we should go in then," she 
continued, though for some reason, it didn't seem like a very 
good idea any longer.

---

Page 47


	"What is your problem?"  It was like the old days when she 
had to fight him off at night.
	"You're my problem," he answered breathily, standing 
behind her.  "Don't tell me you're not enjoying this."
	"Why are you acting like this now?"
	"I'm inspired."  Exactly why he was inspired would remain 
his secret though.  The project just dripped with power and 
money, and Yui didn't even seem to care.
	Naturally Fuyutsuki hadn't been happy to see him, but he 
had very few options.  Gendo's influence over Yui was too 
powerful for the professor to fight.
	"It's exciting, isn't it?  Now that you know."
	"Very exciting."  He tried to steer Yui to the bedroom, 
but she resisted.
	"Not this!  The project!  Don't you want to..."
	"No, Yui.  There's only one thing I want right now."
	"Rokubungi..."  She pulled away and turned around.  The 
words to scold him were on her lips, but before she could speak, 
he kissed her.  For a bare second, she considered fighting him 
off, but then, arriving home from work had never been quite so 
exciting before.

	The mystery had been intriguing, but the things Yui had 
told him about the group behind it...  That had really 
interested him.
	The work itself looked to be... fairly tedious, but 
nothing he couldn't handle.  And the money had been far better 
than he had anticipated.  Yui really could have supported them 
both easily.
	But now they could move someplace nice.  Gendo's mind just 
kept taking that monetary figure and working at it, analyzing it 
and all the things he could do with it.  It was like the whole 
world had been thrust into his hands.
	And all for a little number crunching for something he 
wasn't even sure was possible.  Instrumentality... whatever the 
hell that meant.  Yet, Yui took it all very seriously, so he 
would try not to be too skeptical.
	Just like that, easier than Gendo would have ever 
imagined, his life, their lives, were looking up.  The ceremony, 
a constant thorn ever since Yui had accepted his proposal, was 
now a non-issue. Just what would his mother have to say now?  
Not that he really cared.
	"Gen-chan, stop," murmured Yui, trying to find a 
comfortable spot next to him.
	Realizing he had been tossing and turning a bit, Gendo 
rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling.  There was 
something about it that made his mind contemplate, whether he 
wanted to or not.  He simply didn't have any choice.
	Invariably, his thoughts turned to Yui and what he could 
do to ensure her happiness, to keep her with him.  If she ever 
got wind of the things he thought about at night, especially 
about keeping her with him, she'd yell and hit him for it.
	Yui understood a little, that he loved her and always 
wanted to be with her, but she didn't understand it all.  He 
didn't understand it all either, but he realized he couldn't 
remember much from the point before he started spending serious 
time with Yui.
	Maybe she believed, or maybe she didn't, in fate, destiny, 
horoscopes or whatever, but he didn't.  He didn't really believe 
it was all "meant to be," but that it was merely a lucky 
coincidence. The luckiest in his life that he had met her, but 
luck nonetheless.
	However, there would be no luck involved in the success of 
their relationship.  Anything necessary, anything he had to do 
to keep them together...
	For Gendo Rokubungi, there would never be a step too far, 
a line to cross.  There would never be enough.  How could there 
be when it came to his very life?
	That was one thing Fuyutsuki would never understand, or 
possibly even care about.  Yui was untouchable; she wasn't under 
his protection or anything, but separating them would be like 
taking away the atmosphere from the planet: only an immense 
catastrophe could manage to do it.
	Gendo was confident no man could ever do that.  The only 
thing that could stop them was... themselves.

---

Page 48


	"Seele...  I still think it's a silly name."
	"Maybe, but they're the ones paying us, basically.  I know 
you don't think there's anything wrong with that."  In fact, it 
had been the week they had each gotten paid that they had 
started looking for a new place to live.
	Someplace less... college student-ish and more permanent.  
Two moves in the space of six months was perhaps a bit much, but 
Yui hoped it would be their last for a while.  It even had a 
second bedroom that could be for...
	Yui stopped herself.  They hadn't made a final decision, 
and there was no guarantee they'd get accepted.  And there was 
no guarantee for anything else either.  She hasn't talked about 
it with Gendo yet; they weren't even married!  There weren't any 
biological definites either, and sometimes she wavered in her 
own assuredness.
	If she hadn't been sure she had wanted to subject Gendo to 
the pressures of the project, how could she do that to a child, 
however indirectly?  But some things seemed to work 
independently of her logic and common sense.  Her desire to be a 
mother was one of those things.
	"What are you thinking about?"
	"Nothing," she answered automatically, absently.
	"Whenever you get that glazed look on your face, I know 
you're thinking about something; I've seen it happen enough.  So 
what is it this time?"
	Using the only method she knew effective of resisting his 
prodding, Yui avoided looking at Gendo.  "Really, it's nothing.  
Just a daydream."
	Gendo sat back a little and looked at her.  "I bet I know 
what it's about," he said finally.
	"You don't."  She could feel herself starting to blush, 
and she knew that he did.
	"You tried to hide it, which is a good thing, but you 
really like that last place.  You were happy about the view and 
the privacy, but you were more excited about the second 
bedroom."
	"It's more room and for such a reasonable price," she 
tried to explain.
	"It is more room, but not for the two of us.  Right?"
	"I'm allowed to think about it, aren't I?  There's nothing 
wrong with that."
	Gendo chuckled and shook his head.  "Nothing wrong with 
that at all, but then... I wasn't the one trying to hide it."
	Yui sighed.  "I just don't know.  Sometimes I feel like 
there'd be nothing better in the world than to have someone call 
me Mommy, to have them rely on me, and for me to take care of...  
Then I think about it and that's the scariest thing in the 
entire world.  And... I have no idea what you think about it."
	"I haven't really thought about it.  But... I think you're 
getting a little ahead of yourself; give it a little more time, 
until we're more settled.  You might feel a little more 
strongly, one way or the other, then."  Gendo smiled gently, 
waiting for the inevitable question.
	"So..."
	'Here it comes.'
	"What _do_ you think about it?" Yui asked, sounding timid 
and unsure.
	"I think... we should wait and talk about it later.  
But... if you really like the place, it's fine with me."
	Sometimes Yui felt like a child with Gendo, and it had 
nothing to do with age.  He just spoke to her sometimes in a way 
that was almost condescending, always giving in to what she 
wanted like she was his spoiled daughter.  Yet, there were 
plenty of times that he acted immature.  She would never forget 
when he had confessed to her, the look in his eyes.
	His eyes that would never lie to her...  As long as they 
said that he loved her she wouldn't rock the boat too much.  And 
one day, some time in the future, they would be a family, a real 
family.
	Yui would look in his eyes then and see the love there for 
their child.  Sighing happily, she nodded.  "I do like it.  The 
morning sun will shine in through the window right across the 
head of the bed and..."
	"If you've already started to interior decorate, that's 
the end of it.  Let's go."  He took her hands.  "Really, 
wherever you go is home for me."

---

Page 49


	The new semester approached.  The weather didn't much care 
and remained hot and humid.
	"I'm going to die.  I'm leaving everything to you."  The 
electric fan combined with her paper one only helped Yui so 
much.  It was by far the worst heat wave of the summer.
	"No dying allowed.  I'm not sleeping in that bed with 
those flowery sheets alone."
	"I'm so hot I can't sleep.  How am I going to be able to 
work tomorrow if I can't get any sleep?"
	"I'm going out for a bit.  I'll bring you back something," 
Gendo said abruptly, leaving before Yui even had a chance to 
question him.
	"Bastard," she muttered.  "Leaving like that.  He's 
probably going someplace with air conditioning."
	That had been awfully close.  So close, Gendo hadn't even 
put his shoes on.  Yui had that... tone to her voice, the one 
that meant he was to give her plenty of space.  The heat wasn't 
helping either. Or the fact that they had come to a decision 
finally and set the date to get married just three months down 
the road.
	All of that was enough to give Gendo a headache.  Sitting 
on the edge of a concrete planter filled with bright flowers, he 
looked up at the sky.  What had he gotten himself into?

	A key rattled in the lock before Yui heard the door open. 
"And where have you been?" she demanded, marching out to meet 
Gendo.
	"Eat at least one of these before they all melt."  He 
thrust a wrapped ice cream treat at her before taking the box to 
the kitchen.
	Yui looked at it quizzically, feeling like she had just 
missed something.  "What..." she started.
	"Just eat it or it'll melt all over," Gendo answered from 
in front of the freezer, hot and more than a little annoyed.
	"But you didn't have to..."
	"Yes, I did," he snapped at her.  "I'm taking a shower."
	"Then I'll..."
	"Alone.  I can handle this by myself, thanks."
	Yui heard the door to the bathroom slam shut and bit down 
hard enough on her lower lip to almost draw blood.  It was the 
only way she could stop herself from immediately crying.

	The constant flow of cool water over his skin was 
refreshing. That was what he concentrated on, keeping Yui from 
invading his thoughts.  He could just imagine the look on her 
face, about to cry, lower lip quivering...
	Gendo leaned his hands against the tiled wall and hung his 
head.  Damn, he didn't want to do that, start thinking about 
her. Pounding the wall once with frustration, he turned off the 
water. He'd be surprised if she was still even in the apartment.
	Grabbing his towel and wrapping it around himself, Gendo 
quietly exited the bathroom.  Yui wasn't in the living room, as 
he had expected, but the bedroom was pitch black.  That was even 
worse.  If she had just gone in there and... and...
	"Yui?" he whispered, standing in the doorway.
	"Leave me alone," was her muffled reply.
	"I'm sorry, Yui.  I was just... I was hot and irritable.  
I didn't mean anything."
	"I don't want to see you."  Her voice was still muffled.
	She must have had her head under the covers.  "I'm sorry.  
I really am."  Gendo's footsteps were light as he approached the 
bed. It was just a dark mass; she wasn't discernible in it, and 
that was... oddly painful.  To know that she wasn't waiting to 
make up, to hear him out.
	"Please, Yui.  Anything to make it up to you.  I didn't 
mean it.  I know I was being mean; just don't be like this."  
Gendo was almost begging, not even aware of it.
	"All I wanted was to be with you," she answered, her 
crying evident now.
	Gendo wasn't quite sure how that fit into everything, but 
it was still his fault she was upset.  "I know.  I'm sorry.  
Yui, let's... let's have a baby."
	...
	What had he just said?

---

Page 50


	The world ground to a halt.  As much as he wanted to take 
those words back, it seemed his vocal chords had frozen along 
with time.
	Yui sat up, casting the sheet aside, and stared.  First, 
it was right through him, but took only a few moments to be 
right at him, into him.  "What did you say?"
	His mouth moved, but no sound came out.
	"That's what I thought."  She continued to look at him.  
"You're not serious, are you?"
	Gendo swallowed and was sure Yui had heard it in the 
absolute stillness of the room.  "And if I was?"
	"I... don't know.  But I don't think you are.  I think you 
said that to distract me from the fact you acted like an asshole 
earlier.  I'm still mad at you."
	"But I..."
	"But nothing.  You somehow manage to piss me off at 
exactly the wrong time, and then try something lame to make up 
for it.  I'm not an idiot, and I'm not a child, though you 
insist on treating me like one."
	"You're too insincere.  Everything is a game to you," Yui 
continued.  The comments of her friends came back to her, about 
how they thought Gendo was creepy and weird and too old for her.
	"That's not true.  I do what I think is best, and I would 
never do anything to hurt you on purpose.  You know that!" he 
protested, finding himself on the defensive in a way he had 
never been before.
	"You'd never hurt me on purpose...  What about other 
people?  Could you hurt other people on purpose?"
	"No!"  Except at the bar, but that was an isolated 
incident.  Definitely.  He had never done that before.
	"Sometimes... I think... Professor Fuyutsuki was right."
	Those words from Yui were like acid dripping onto his 
heart.  "Yui," Gendo said weakly.  "Yui, don't say that.  He 
doesn't know..."
	"Know what?"
	"What we have, how much I love you.  He doesn't 
understand.  I'd do anything for you.  All you have to do is 
ask.  Please, Yui."
	"Anything?  Then right now I want you to leave.  Just go.  
See if you can manage not to hurt someone."
	"For God's sake, Yui.  I said I was sorry!"
	"But you're not.  It's the same every time, and every time 
I just forgive you even though I know you're not sincere."
	"You think I... lied to you?  This doesn't make any sense, 
Yui.  You know me better than that.  Stop kidding around."  He 
growled in frustration.  "First you want a baby, and then you 
don't want one.  What's next?  You don't want to get married?"
	Yui looked down at her hands.  "No, I don't want to go 
that far, but... I don't know what else to do."  She looked back 
at him, her eyes piercing.  "You take advantage of the fact that 
I love you."
	"All these things you're saying...  I don't know how to 
answer.  What do you want me to say if you don't believe me when 
I apologize?"  It didn't matter anyway.  The anger he should 
have felt wasn't there.  It was just a great void that spread 
inside him like hoar frost, freezing his limbs.
	"I don't know.  I just want... I just want you to be 
honest.  Stop doing things because you think they'll get you 
somewhere.  You weren't like this before; what's happened?"
	"I... I don't know.  I can only think how much I need to 
be with you, and I'll do anything to make you happy, but now 
you're saying... you don't want that."  It was more confusing 
than anything he had considered.  "I can't imagine doing 
anything other than making you happy."
	Yui didn't answer that, allowing the words to hang in the 
air between them.
	"Please," Gendo said in a whisper.
	"What will I do with you?  I can't get rid of you..."
	Relief flooded through Gendo, but he knew he wasn't out of 
the woods yet.  "I'll... sleep in the other room," he said 
sadly, and went to get a blanket.
	"No, you don't have to.  Just think about what I said.  
Please."
	"Why such a quick change of heart?"
	"Your voice.  When you really mean it, I can hear it.  
Face it, you'll never be able to lie to me."

---

Page 51


	"Yui."
	"Hm?"  She really wasn't paying close attention to him.
	"I'm... I'm thinking about dropping out."
	That quickly got her attention.  "What?  Why?"
	"Because there's nothing there.  This job is enough money 
and experience that a piece of paper could never match it.  I 
don't need to be there any longer."
	She stared.  "I'd say you were insane, but I know you're 
not.  Where did you get such a... crazy idea?"  It was almost a 
betrayal.  All the work they'd done together, and then Gendo 
just deciding to bail out.  "I don't believe this."
	"I never really was cut out for college.  It's just coming 
to terms with the fact..."
	"That you're running away."  Yui shook her head.  "I can't 
believe this.  I can't believe you'd do this to me."
	"I'm not doing anything to you.  I'm just saving myself 
time, money, and a lot of hassle.  Besides, I thought you only 
had one semester to go, so what are you complaining about?"
	"When it comes to personal relationships, you're almost a 
complete failure.  You really have no clue..."  Yui sighed.  
"Fine.  Drop out.  It's not really my business anyway."
	Being completely open and truthful while not doing 
everything for her was harder than Gendo had anticipated.  He'd 
have to prepare for her reaction differently next time.  As it 
was, he had nothing meaningful to say in response.  "It just... 
seemed to make sense."
	"Not to me," she said indignantly.
	"So you'd be embarrassed of me?"
	"No, I wouldn't be.  The paper isn't a testament to your 
intelligence, but to your... commitment, dedication.  It says 
something about your character."
	"Nothing I care about.  Besides, people don't seem to like 
me, no matter what paper I have in my hand."
	Yui looked up at him.  "That's because you need to shave."
	Gendo scratched his chin.  "Really?  I was thinking of 
growing it out."
	"Not if I have a say in it.  I don't want you looking like 
some rodents nested on your face."
	"Woman, you are so picky.  When do you stop?"
	Yui grinned.  "Never."  She took hold of his hand and led 
him to the bathroom.  "Come on.  If you won't, I will."
	"You think I'd willingly allow you to put a razor to my 
skin?" Gendo asked, but followed her anyway.
	"I think if you were properly motivated..."  She smiled 
back at him, a look that was at once haunting and intriguing.
	"Really, this isn't a good idea.  I can't work if I'm 
missing half my face."
	"Trust me.  I have to sleep next to you; I don't want to 
wake up to you bleeding all over."  Finally, she forced him to 
sit on the edge of the tub.  "Just hold still and you'll barely 
know it's even happening," she promised, still smiling.
	Seeing him stay seated, Yui turned on the hot water and 
stopped the drain.  Running a washcloth under the water first, 
she wetted Gendo's face with it.  "Not too hot, is it?"
	Gendo shook his head, entranced by the sight of Yui doing 
this chore that had annoyed him for so long.
	"Good," she said and turned her back to him.  She shut off 
the water, smiling faintly at the fogged mirror, and mixed the 
lather.
	"Wh... what's my incentive?" Gendo finally choked out.
	"You'll just have to wait and see when we're done, when 
your skin is smooth enough to rub...  Well, who knows?"
	Yui was an expert, almost too good, at teasing.  If Gendo 
had been thinking about walking out, he no longer was.  He 
watched her closely as she stood in front of him, the cup and 
brush in her hands.  "Face only," he warned.

---

Page 52


	"Don't worry.  Just relax."
	Unfortunately, that had the exact opposite affect on 
Gendo. "Yui..." he said as the brush neared his cheek.
	Yui stopped just before she touched the implement to his 
skin. "This might get a little messy.  Take off your shirt."  
She stood back as he removed is shirt and tossed it aside.  
"Good, now why don't you sit up here?  I'll have an easier 
time."
	Gendo was feeling even more nervous with Yui ordering him 
around.  "Yui, I can shave by myself.  It's okay."
	"No, you sit here while I do it for you.  I've heard you 
complain enough about how much you hate it."
	Sighing in defeat, Gendo sat on the toilet after Yui had 
lowered the lid.  He hadn't liked the bathroom in the first 
place, and this was just giving him more ammunition to use 
against it.
	"Face away from me now."  She smiled the entire time as he 
willingly followed her directions.  Holding the cup in one hand 
and the brush in the other, Yui said, "Let's begin."
	The first touch of the bristles on Gendo's cheek almost 
made him jerk away, but he controlled that reaction.  "I don't 
know if I can sit through this."
	"Don't worry; you will."  Her voice was soothing and 
mellow, like a nurse speaking to a patient just before an 
operation.  She finished applying the lather and went for the 
razor.
	"Yui," he whispered, looking at the distorted reflections 
on the shower door.  The blade of the razor seemed to gleam 
especially brightly.
	Standing behind him, bending over slightly, Yui brought 
the razor to Gendo's face.  "Hold still now," she said and felt 
his body go absolutely rock still.  He even held his breath.
	As Yui dragged the blade down his face, she held her own 
breath, just waiting for him to jerk away with a bloody.  But he 
didn't.
	Pulling the razor away, Yui acted like it was the most 
natural thing in the world, like she shaved men's faces for a 
living.  Inside, she was immensely relieved.  "See?  Nothing to 
worry about," she said and cleaned the razor in the sink.  
"Ready to go for two?"
	"You're going to kill me, Yui."
	"I'll take that as a yes."
	He felt her take her place behind him, her breasts 
pressing into his upper back.  Out of the corner of his eye, 
Gendo saw her hand, holding the razor, get closer to his cheek.  
The thought clung to his mind that if he moved, he would bleed.  
"This isn't funny any longer," he said, eyes looking back at the 
reflection of her hovering over him like some angel of death.
	"Quiet.  Just let me do this."  Before he could protest 
again, she swiped the razor down the other cheek, holding him 
with her opposite arm.
	If Gendo hadn't been distracted by her holding him, he 
knew he would have flat-out fainted.
	"Tilt your head back, please," Yui said pleasantly, 
putting her finger on his chin and forcing it back anyway.
	Again, silence dominated as each of them held their 
breath. Gendo fixated on two things to keep him steady...  Three 
things really: the feel of the blade on his neck, the steady 
drip of the faucet, and Yui's breasts, with very erect nipples.  
"Are you getting off on this?" he dared ask with as little 
movement as possible.
	Yui grinned.  "Oh definitely.  As soon as I'm done..."
	"Hurry up then."  He shuddered a little as she took the 
blade up his neck and ended at his chin, then traced the path it 
had just made with her fingers.
	"Smooth.  Very smooth.  This will do nicely."
	The way she spoke those four words was almost as good as 
what she planned on doing later.  "Hurry..." Gendo whined.
	"Don't want to spoil all of this wonderful anticipation, 
do I?" Yui asked, placing the blade against his neck for another 
stroke.
	Gendo started to squirm, then remembered the razor and 
held still.  "No, ma'am."
	"And you're such a good boy too," she answered, tweaking 
his ear.  "Next time it will all go much faster, I'm sure."
	Next time...  Gendo whimpered.

---

Page 53


	"So can I shave your legs?"
	"No, and quit being silly."
	"I'm not.  I'm just wondering the status of this... quid 
pro quo thing."
	"There isn't one.  I wouldn't let you shave my legs 
anymore than I'd let you shave my head."
	"Armpits?"
	"No!"
	Gendo grinned at her then.
	"No!" Yui repeated, knowing exactly what he was thinking.  
"But... if you really don't want me to do it again, I won't."
	"It wasn't so bad," he admitted casually.  "Just a 
little... weird to have someone else shave me like that.  The 
sensation of a blade against my neck that someone else is 
controlling is terrifying."
	"You should make more friends than enemies then."
	"I don't need friends.  I've gotten along without them so 
far.  And I sure wouldn't let them shave me even if I did have 
any."
	Tossing a pillow at Gendo, Yui said, "Don't be such a 
grouch.  I know it wasn't that bad."
	"You have steady hands, and that's all I'm going to say."
	Yui was about to go and torture an answer out of him, but 
Gendo was able to stop her with two simple words.
	"One month."  He didn't use it exclusively to annoy her; 
it was weighing heavily on his mind as each day passed as well.  
Even if Yui had been upset that he had continued on full-time on 
the project, the fact that she was going to be married in a 
month kept her from bothering him about it.
	She was almost able to ignore the comment, but in the end, 
she flopped down in a chair.  "Is it really that soon?  Just the 
other day it was still the middle of August."  A more disturbing 
thought occurred to her.  "So that means my parents will be..."
	"Here in a week.  Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up," 
Gendo finished for her, smiling slightly.  "You need to relax 
though," he continued, standing behind her to massage her 
shoulders.  "If you get too tense..."  He leaned down and 
whispered in her ear, "You might explode."
	Yui grinned, her eyes closed.  "That sounds wonderful."
	"I know what you need right now."
	"Mm, what?"
	"Something hot, wet, deep, long..."
	"Yes, a bath sounds great.  You always know exactly what I 
need."
	Gendo smiled, still loosening up her tight muscles.  "I'll 
go start one for you then.  Relax."
	"Thank you, Gen-chan."
	Sighing a little at the tone of her voice, he kissed her 
cheek, then went to start to water.
	Work, classes, her parents, the... wedding...  It was all 
starting to come down on her.  The pressure was really adding 
up.  Especially concerning her parents and their visit.  If she 
hadn't been in the middle of it, it might have been something 
she would have liked to see.  On the other hand...
	"Yui, your bath's ready."
	Blinking, Yui sat up.  "Oh, okay," she said quietly.  "How 
long was I asleep?"
	"Not long.  Just enough to fill the tub."  Gendo helped 
Yui to her feet and escorted her to the bathroom.  "Do I have to 
watch you when you bathe so you don't fall asleep and drown?"
	"I can manage on my own without you using it as an excuse  
to see me naked."
	"I don't need excuses," he responded calmly and started to 
lift up her shirt.
	Yui slapped his hands away.  "Maybe you don't, but that 
doesn't mean I'll let you.  Pig."  She retreated into the 
bathroom and shut the door.
	"You're lucky chivalry still exists," he said loud enough 
for her to hear.
	"Oh really?  You'll have to show me where some time."
	"Smartass."  The phone rang, putting an end to further 
conversation.  Gendo went to answer it, allowing it to ring 
several times before finally picking it up.  "Hello?"  There was 
a voice on the other end he didn't recognize.  "No, she can't 
come to the phone right now.  Yes, I am."  Silence, time 
freezing.  "I'll... tell her."
	Gendo dropped the phone back in the cradle.

---

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	He didn't bother knocking before he entered the bathroom.  
"Yui..." Gendo said.
	"Who was that on the phone?" she asked, surprised by his 
sudden entrance, and confused by the way his eyes avoided 
looking at her.
	"It was your father."
	The smile almost made it to her face, but his voice and 
manner made it die before it reached her lips.  "What did he 
want?  What's wrong?" she asked, looking at Gendo fearfully.
	"It was about..."  He hesitated, then looked directly at 
Yui.  "It's your mother.  She..."
	"No!  Stop making jokes!" she snapped, tears forming in 
her eyes.  "This isn't funny and I don't appreciate it!"
	"It's not a joke," he said quietly, his brow furrowing.  
"He said it was sudden, a freak occurrence."
	Yui knew he wouldn't joke about such a thing, but she had 
to believe he was.  Better than the idea that her mother was...
	"She's dead.  A heart attack."
	"Liar!  She was only forty...  It couldn't have been a 
heart attack.  That doesn't happen to people so young.  It's a 
lie..."
	Gendo was torn.  He wasn't sure if he should try and 
comfort her, or give her privacy.  This was a completely new 
situation.  "Yui," he said softly, but loud enough for her to 
hear over her intermittent bouts of crying.
	"Get out!" she screamed, and if there had been anything 
worth throwing at hand, she would have done so.  "Get out of 
here!  It can't be!  It's a mistake!"
	When that outburst disintegrated into crying, Gendo went 
and crouched next to the tub.  Unmindful of the water or his 
clothing, he reached over and hugged her.
	Immediately, her arms went around him, squeezing, and she 
buried her face into his shoulder and cried.  Half-formed words 
spilled from her mouth, but none of them made sense, or even 
mattered.  There was only a great flood of sorrow and shock, 
with the only thought in Yui's mind being that it wasn't really 
happening.

	Yui's hand quivered as it hovered over the numberpad.  "I 
can't do it," she murmured.  In truth, she wanted to take the 
phone and hurl it into the other room, but...
	"Do you want me to dial?"
	Hanging her head, avoiding looking at the phone or Gendo, 
Yui shrugged, not one of indecision, but of complete 
helplessness.  "I... I don't know what I'll say..."
	"Just tell him," Gendo spoke gently, taking her shaking 
hand in his, "that you're here.  He'll understand."
	She nodded, but before Gendo could dial, asked one more 
question.  "Can... can he still come?  This... is more important 
than ever now."
	"Of course.  Just relax, breathe deep, and don't be 
ashamed to let loose if you have to."  His other hand moved 
methodically up and down her back in an effort to soothe.  "Sit 
down, drink some water..."  The words were so inadequate, but it 
was the only thing he knew to do.
	Yui took comfort in the words though, and in the contact.    
She sat down, the phone still in her hand, and stared blankly 
ahead.  "I don't know what I'm going to do," she said, her face 
streaked with dried tears.
	Gently, Gendo told her, "You're going to call your father 
right now, and after that get some sleep.  You need it."
	"It's too soon.  I can't.  I don't know what to say.  What 
if I..."  Yui watched as Gendo began dialing the number and 
shook her head.  "No, stop.  I don't want..."  But it was too 
late.  There was already a phone ringing at the dialed number.
	"Please don't make me do this," she said quietly, still 
trying to deny the reality of the situation.
	"You have to.  You can't hide from it; that won't help 
anything."  This was one of those situations where a sharp slap 
would have been delivered as a wake-up call, but there was no 
way Gendo could ever do that to Yui.  "You just need to..."
	/"Hello?  Who's there?"/ came the voice from over the 
phone.
	"Yui, talk to him.  It's the only thing you can do."
	/"Who is that?  Yui?  Are you there?  Yui, I... I'm sorry.  
I don't know what to tell you."/
	"Dad?  It's me.  What... what happened?"

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	If not for the current circumstances, Yui might have been 
inclined to think Gendo looked almost handsome.  The dark 
clothing looked much better on him than the white lab coat he 
wore every day.
	But that was one of the many things she wasn't thinking 
much about.  The only thing she was consciously aware of was how 
many people she had thanked for their offered condolences, and 
to just keep saying the words and bowing her head.
	The voice of her father performing similar duties filtered 
in through the myriad voices, and she vaguely wondered what was 
going through his mind.  Was he numb like she was, or was he 
ready to break down at a moment's notice?
	And there was Gendo sitting next to her, holding her hand 
tightly, his expression grim, never speaking a word.  If only 
she could manage that, to look grim, to feel... something, but 
it was as if every bit of life, emotion had been sucked out of 
her; nothing mattered any longer.
	None too soon the chore ended and the well-wishers left, 
leaving the house silent, but Yui remained seated and generally 
unresponsive.
	"Take her upstairs.  Her room is at the end of the hall.  
We... never..."
	Gendo looked up at the older man and nodded.  It was plain 
to see the venerable head of the Ikari clan didn't like him 
much, but then... his daughter was being taken away from him.  
Gendo found it hard to begrudge the man for it.
	"Come on, Yui," he said quietly, his voice sounding very 
loud in the empty house.  With one hand on her elbow and the 
other on her back, he guided her to a standing position and led 
her upstairs.
	"We can stay as long as you want," he whispered, trying to 
reassure her, trying to get any response at all.  "If you don't 
feel like going back home..."
	"I just want to sleep."  Yui's voice was like that of a 
ghost, a whisper.
	"Then you can sleep.  Here."  In the bedroom, still 
decorated like a teenager's, Gendo helped her lie down and 
covered her.  She immediately turned away from him, but remained 
deathly still otherwise.
	Sighing unhappily, he left the room, shut the door, and 
headed back downstairs.  What a way to start off the week.
	"You're too old for her."
	"As I've been told before.  Would you mind if I had a 
drink?"
	"Be my guest."
	Gendo walked past Yui's father to the refrigerator.  
Inside, he grabbed the first thing that was cold and alcoholic.  
Ignoring the critical and slightly disapproving stare he was 
receiving, he opened it and drank almost half before pausing.
	"My wife didn't like you."
	"A shame.  She was a lovely lady.  Yui talked about her 
quite a bit."  He finished his drink and looked his would-be 
father-in-law in the eye.  "I'm going to marry her.  You can't 
do anything about that."
	"I can't stop her; she'll do what she wants...  But I 
swear, you hurt her, I get one call from her, and I will hunt 
you down and remove everything that is vital to your existence."
	Gendo looked at him calmly.  "Don't threaten me; it 
wouldn't work even if I thought you could carry that out.  The 
only thing vital to my existence is Yui."
	"She's the only thing I have left."
	"She's the only thing I have.  Hurting her would be 
like..."
	"Hurting you?  Yes, that's something I'd expect a man like 
you to say."
	"Hurting her would be like killing me.  You have no idea 
how much she means to me.  Don't presuppose to tell me whether 
I'm right for her or not."  Gendo's tone was firm and 
unyielding, but not nasty.  There was no need to foster any more 
bad blood than there already was between them.
	"It's too soon.  It won't go over well."
	Gendo finally looked away and sighed.  "I... don't know.  
Maybe, but... there's something to going on with life.  Move on 
or... baby the situation.  I don't think Yui wants to be coddled 
or protected."
	"I... agree.  I just don't see how this can go on the 
way..."
	"It used to be?  Nothing is ever 'the way it used to be'.  
In the end, she'll be stronger for making it through this.  Stop 
trying to protect her."
	"You know nothing about being a parent.  If I ever end up 
with a grandchild, I hope Yui has enough sense not to leave the 
child in your care."
	Mouth curved into a frown, Gendo just looked out the 
window at the trees and the sun and their false cheeriness.

---

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	"You look fabulous!  It's not too tight, is it?"
	Yui shook her head.
	"Oh, this is just perfect!"  Chisa stood back, hands on 
hips and shook her head.  "Does he know what he's getting in 
this deal?"
	That brought a ghost of a smile to Yui's lips.  "Yes, he 
does," she said quietly.
	"Well there goes the honeymoon."  Chisa went back to 
straightening Yui's dress.  "I know I'll never look this good in 
a wedding dress, not that 'Hiko would notice even if I did," she 
said, just prattling on.  "I swear, he couldn't even pass basic 
math unless I was there to tell him how to do long division."
	Yui wasn't listening though.  There was still an emptiness 
in her that left her listless and incommunicative, even to 
Gendo.  She had been plagued by nightmares as well, though they 
were far worse when she woke up.  That was when she had to face 
the fact that she had only been dreaming.
	"I don't know if I can go through with this," she said 
abruptly.  "I want to, but at the same time..."
	Chisa put a hand on her shoulder.  "I'm not going to tell 
you whether you should or shouldn't, but I will tell you this: 
I'm your best friend, and you're mine, and I love you.  And he 
loves you too."
	"He has a name.  He's not a bad guy, unlike popular 
opinion."
	"Fine.  I love you, your father loves you, and Gendo loves 
you.  We all want to see you happy, so do whatever makes you 
happy, marriage or not."
	"Gendo would kill me, and then Dad would kill Gendo," Yui 
mused.
	"I don't think you're giving him enough credit.  He's 
smart; I don't think he'd get mad at you for it.  This isn't an 
easy time at all."  For some reason, Chisa could never come up 
with any helpful wisdom for her own life.
	"I had been saving this too.  I wanted it to be a surprise 
for my m... mother."
	Chisa grimaced and put her arm around Yui, who had started 
to cry again.  "She knows.  She can see," she said quietly, 
offering a tissue.
	Somehow, Yui managed to laugh a little.  "You know, 
sometimes I'm fine.  I don't think about it, and then it's like 
someone just taps me on the shoulder."  She blew her nose and 
looked upwards.  "I just want things to be normal again."
	Chisa sighed, offering another tissue.  "I don't think 
they ever were."
	"Get me out of this," Yui said suddenly.  "I can't stand 
to wear this right now."  Doing anything to impress anyone 
seemed so... pointless.  It was so fleeting, just like 
everything else about life.

	"Yui, your work is suffering."
	The words she had been waiting for really.  She was 
actually surprised they hadn't come sooner.  "I know.  It's just 
been a very difficult time."
	"Of course it has, and I know how busy you are, so I've 
let it go, but... we need your dedication in the here and now."
	Yui looked up at the man, his sympathetic, pitying eyes 
looking down on her...  She missed Professor Fuyutsuki and found 
it odd that he had declined to join the move to the Seele 
facilities, where all people and resources could be pooled.  "I 
know.  I'm trying to get back into things, but it's difficult."
	"Of course.  I don't mean this as a reprimand or anything, 
but we really do need your input and full concentration."
	Yui nodded then stood.  "I'll... do my best."  She exited 
the office quickly and ran right into Gendo.  She sagged against 
him, barely stopping herself from crying.  "I just want to go 
home," she said in a shaky voice.  "I hate this place.  It makes 
me think of a prison."
	From the outside, she had a very valid point.  Bland, 
featureless, and almost completely windowless, the buildings 
were state of the art anonymity.  That didn't make coming to 
work each day a pleasant experience.  "Let's take a break, have 
some tea."
	Yui nodded and started down the hall to the lounge.  "This 
all couldn't have happened at a worse time, could it?" she 
asked.
	"I don't think so," replied Gendo, knowing there probably 
was a worse time for Yui or anyone else to collapse.
	In the well-appointed lounge, Gendo ignored the others 
looking at them curiously and made Yui sit on one of the 
couches.  "I'll be right back with the tea."  Crossing the 
lounge, for the briefest moment, his eye was caught by that of a 
woman.  He looked away quickly, but couldn't help to glance 
again when he felt her gaze linger on him.

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	"She looks pretty broken up."
	Gendo nodded, finishing off a little cup of water.
	"It must be hard."
	Gendo finally looked at the woman, crushing the cup in his 
hand.  There was something about her tone that he didn't like at 
all.  "That's life.  Life is hard," he answered stiffly.
	She smiled at that and spared a glance back at Yui.  "It's 
always nice to have someone to turn to in the middle of the 
night.  Don't you think?"
	Looking at Yui, vaguely hearing the woman speak, Gendo 
nodded.  The touch of her hand on his own turned his attention 
to her though.  "And is there a point to your rambling?" he 
asked, looking at her with a cold gaze, completely opposite of 
what he had been directing at Yui.
	"Oh... nothing.  If you ever..."  Her voice lowered so it 
could only by heard by the two of them.  "Get tired of the 
school girl..."  The invitation was left unspoken.
	"Don't touch me, don't look at me, don't look at Yui, and 
don't talk about her."  Gendo's hand clamped down on the wrist 
of his "co-worker" and pulled her hand off him.  He gave her one 
last withering look before grabbing the tea he had prepared and 
returned to Yui with it.
	"What was wrong?" Yui asked, taking a glass of tea.
	"Nothing," Gendo answered tersely, his forehead creased.
	"Don't lie.  What was that about?"
	Resisting the urge to look back at the woman, Gendo shook 
his head.  "She thought I would find her more appealing than 
you."
	In a small voice, Yui said, "Oh," and sipped her tea.
	"We're going to get married in less than two weeks, Yui.  
If someone tried to change my mind about that, they'd find that 
they were far too late."  He set his tea down, then put his 
hands over hers, warming them.  "Don't think I would be swayed 
so easily."
	Yui nodded, but stared at the steam rising from her glass.  
"I know, but..."
	"You know, but you're not sure.  It's fine, Yui."  Gendo 
smiled, trying to get her to look at him.  "I felt that way 
before too, you know.  I know what it's like."
	"I... I don't think I should come back here.  I don't know 
if I can do the work.  It's all too much..."
	"No, it's not too much.  I just want you to take it easy.  
Once the time actually rolls around, you'll feel better.  It'll 
be one less thing to worry about.  And when the semester is 
over, it'll be one less thing to worry about.  See how it 
works?"
	"It still doesn't make me feel any better."

	There was a soft knock on the door.  "Come in," he said 
without looking up.
	"Professor..."
	He looked up in surprise.  "Yui, I wasn't expecting you."
	"I know.  If this is a bad time, I can go."
	"No, no."  He stood, looking flustered.  "Come in, sit 
down.  I was just in the middle of some paperwork."  He watched 
her as she shut the office door and sat in the chair in front of 
his desk.  The distress on her face was clear.  "What's wrong?"
	"Nothing," she answered at first, then her hands tightened 
on her bag and she looked down.  "Everything.  I... I really 
wish you had moved with us.  It's not the same without you."
	Hope soared irrationally in his heart, but he restrained 
it.  "I'm sorry, Yui.  It just wasn't right any longer.  Not for 
me, but you...  You still have a lot to do, a long way to go."
	Yui nodded, but stayed quiet.
	"I... was very sorry to hear about your mother," Fuyutsuki 
said awkwardly.
	Again she nodded.  "The flowers were very nice."
	"I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it."
	"Don't apologize.  It wasn't pleasant and I'm glad you 
didn't see me like that."  She lifted her head and looked right 
at him with reddened eyes.  "Professor, will you please be at 
the wedding?  Please..."
	Heart sinking, Kozo looked at Yui's grief-stricken face.  
"Of course I will be," he said quietly, feeling utterly crushed.

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	"You look beyond great."  Chisa smiled, holding Yui's 
hands.  "Are you ready?"
	Yui shook her head.  "Not at all.  Take my place."
	Chisa laughed.  "No way.  He's your choice, not mine.  Now 
don't be nervous; you look better than anyone else here."  
Giving Yui a thumbs up, not wanting to ruin anything with a hug, 
Chisa went to take her seat with the other few guests.
	Her father, dressed in his best suit, took a moment to 
talk with her.  "Yui..."
	"No, Dad.  Don't talk to me about this now.  It's too 
late.  I just..."
	"Yui, I just wanted to say... I love you and... good luck.  
I hope you're happy with him."  He smiled, somewhat awkwardly, 
and just looked at her.  "You look wonderful; I'm sad to see you 
grow up so soon."
	Yui sniffled before hugging him, not caring how it might 
wrinkle or muss her dress.  "Thank you.  This is the most 
important day in my life."
	Patting her back, her father did his best to control his 
own emotions.  "I should go sit down so we can get this 
underway."
	"Okay, Dad."
	The two maintained the hug.

	If he had thought it possible, she was even more 
beautiful.  The look on her face, one of mingled sorrow and joy, 
just added to it.  When she walked by, giving him a small 
reserved smile, he couldn't help but smile back.  Even if she 
was breaking his heart.
	Sighing wistfully, Kozo leaned back as much as the chair 
would allow him.  A small consolation was that it would be a 
short ceremony, something simple, but elegant, as Yui had 
demanded.  One thing Fuyutsuki had to admit about Rokubungi was 
that he seemed quite willing to do whatever Yui asked of him.
	And perhaps that was all he could expect because he would 
have been the same way.  If Yui had been his.  But she was not.
	Fate.  That's what it was.  Things just weren't meant to 
be.  Things weren't meant to go his way.  He was, after all, 
just an old...  No, he wasn't old yet; he just felt like it.  He 
was certainly a loner though, nearly socially inept.  And here 
went Yui.
	A chance lost.  An opportunity never to be regained.
	He heard a woman weeping softly from somewhere off to his 
left, but when he spared a glance, there was no crying woman in 
the row.  An odd thing, but the world was an odd place, full of 
mysteries and injustices.

	Yui looked at Gendo, into his almost uninterested eyes, 
and could nearly tell what he was thinking.  No doubt it was 
about the woman that had been crying non-stop ever since Yui had 
emerged for everyone to see.
	And now rings were being exchanged, and she could almost 
feel the excitement emanating from Chisa in the front row.    
The moment was just like when he had proposed, her hand shaking 
so badly he had to hold it to get the ring on...
	He smiled then and looked... so tired.  Like the weight of 
the world was on his shoulders, the burden of every secret held 
by every person, even of life and death...  So weary...
	Before she could ponder the meaning of her thoughts, 
everything was over.  The words had been automatic out of her 
mouth, a testament to her true desire to go through with it, and 
now...  She was smiling, but it was restrained, a fact that the 
guests overlooked.
	People surrounded her, Gendo holding her arm gently, 
always acting as her strength when she needed it, smiling and 
congratulating them both.  Yui picked out a few specific faces: 
her father's, somewhat melancholy; Chisa's, a smile as wide as 
Japan itself plastered there; Professor Fuyutsuki, smiling 
gently, but not seeming all that happy.
	She looked up as Gendo moved his hand from her arm and 
slipped his arm around her waist.  He appeared quite serious, 
obviously uncomfortable with the crowd and unwilling to show his 
happiness.  At least some things never changed, and with a warm 
feeling settling in his stomach, Yui put her arm around Gendo as 
well.
	"You holding up okay?" Chisa managed to get close enough 
to ask.
	Looking at the people around her, the house she had grown 
up in and the memories there, Yui looked at Chisa and nodded.  
"I think... I'm going to be okay."

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	Gendo stood back and accepted the assorted well-wishes, 
though he did not receive nearly as many as Yui.  Or maybe they 
just preferred to talk to her, which was probably the case.  It 
was preferable to him anyway.  Leave Yui with the attention, all 
her friends, and he would stay back and...
	His eyes locked on to Yui, and more specifically who she 
was talking to, smiling at, holding the hands of.  Gendo's jaw 
clenched, but that was the only reaction visible as he watched 
Y... his wife interact with Fuyutsuki.

	"Thank you for coming," she said after kissing his cheek.  
"I hope you don't think it's too odd."
	"Not at all."  He stood at his full height, the scent of 
her perfume lingering in the air around him.  "I'm just... glad 
to see you happy."  He wanted to squeeze her hands and never let 
go, but knew that wouldn't be proper.  Not with another man's 
wife.
	"I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for 
me.  And Gendo.  You've been... too generous all this time."
	"It was... the least I could do."  Those were the only 
words he could think of, the only words that wouldn't be 
awkward, alienating.  The ones that didn't say how much he 
envied Rokubungi, how he had wanted to be the one with a future 
with her because no one made him feel quite the way she did.
	"I'll still talk to you.  I'm not dropping off the planet 
or anything.  We can have lunch when I'm on campus," Yui said, 
trying to put the best possible spin on things since she could 
see the unhappiness on his face.
	"Thank you, but... things are changing faster than we can 
compensate for.  I don't think... your husband would approve 
of..."
	"You think too little of me."  She held up her hand, 
little finger extended.  "I can keep a handle on Gendo," she 
said with a little smirk.
	"You're a treasure, Yui," Fuyutsuki replied, a genuine 
smile creeping on his face.  "Go on.  You have other things to 
be doing besides talking to me."
	"Thank you again... Kozo," she said before pulling her 
hand from his.

	"How is your family?"
	Gendo turned his gaze to Yui's father, standing next to 
him.  "My family?"  He shrugged.
	"Yui is my only daughter so I'm sure you can see why I'm 
rather protective of her."  He waited, but received no reply 
from Gendo so continued.  "She is also my only child..."
	"I assumed this wasn't just going to be a friendly chat.  
So what is it you want exactly?"
	"You make it hard to hold a friendly conversation, even 
when I put forth the effort.  Your relationship with your father 
must not have been a very good one."  For a moment he saw Gendo 
get angry, furious.  "But that's not unforgivable, and my 
concern is not your family..."
	"But your own.  I think I can see right where this is 
heading, and if you pardon my bluntness, I think you're out of 
line asking me such a thing."
	Progress.  There was some there, even if it wasn't totally 
obvious.  "Then refuse; no need to be rude."
	"I didn't say no either.  I'll think about it."
	As much as to be expected.  "Of course.  And 
congratulations.  I think I'm as qualified as anyone to say what 
a wonderful gir... woman Yui is."
	"Biased, but it seems everyone is in Yui's favor.  Makes 
me wonder sometimes."  Aside from her monthly mood swings, she 
seemed too good to be true.  But then, he'd put up with anything 
she had, for better or worse.
	"If you had known her mother, you might know better."
	"It doesn't matter anyway.  We'll manage to deal with 
anything that comes up."
	"You're not a fan of that professor fellow, are you?  I 
saw the way you looked at him when Yui was talking with him.  He 
seemed nice enough."
	Gendo's lip twitched.  "Nice enough... and far too 
interested in Yui.  She called me possessive and I don't deny 
it, but..."  Gendo looked again at his new wife.  "I wouldn't be 
if I thought I could live without her."
	"In a way, you frighten me, but... I can't argue with 
Yui's judgment.  She wouldn't listen."
	"Yes," Gendo said without any real reply for that.  "I 
think it's time for us to go now."
	"Yes, I suppose it is.  Be sure to take care of her... 
always."

---

Page 60


	"I'm sorry this isn't much of a honeymoon.  We're both in 
the middle of things right now..."
	Yui kissed Gendo to quiet him.  "I understand.  It's 
enough... for now."  She smiled as he looked at her, leaning on 
one elbow.
	"Here, try this," Gendo offered, holding a small orange 
candy near her mouth.
	"What is it?"
	"I don't know.  That's why I wanted you to try it.  
besides, it's free."
	"Your generosity amazes me," Yui deadpanned before trying 
to take the candy from his fingers.
	Gendo pulled it away though, tsking.  "You thought it 
would be that easy?"
	"Why are you such a pain in the ass?  You want me to try 
the stupid thing, then let me," Yui snapped, not in the mood to 
play a game of keep-away.
	"So the tease doesn't like to be teased...  Too bad."  He 
allowed Yui to take the candy, keeping his fingers away from 
where they might be bitten.  "So... what should we do now?"
	"What's wrong with what we were doing?"
	"On general principle nothing, but I'm getting hungry.  
What can I say?  You wear me out."
	"You could shave..."
	"God no!  Not with you in one of your moods.  I'm not 
insane enough for that."
	"You will be eventually.  Then I'll be at it every 
evening, and you'll love it."  She ran her fingers lightly over 
his ribs.
	"You don't want to ruin this weekend by doing that, do 
you?" Gendo warned.
	Yui just smiled.  "Maybe...  Besides, you teased me, and I 
don't like that.  And you don't like that, so we're even."
	Gendo rolled on top of her and growled.  "You like to play 
with fire, don't you?"
	"The hotter the better."

	"Yui?"
	"Hm?" she asked sleepily from his side.
	"Your father was going to ask me something and I told him 
I'd think about it.  I wanted to hear what you thought."
	"What was it?"
	"If I would take your name."
	Yui's eyes popped open.  "You're kidding.  He actually 
asked you that?"
	"No, but he was going to.  I told him I'd think about it."
	"You didn't have to say that.  You should have just told 
him no."  How embarrassing for her father to go and do something 
like that.
	Gendo shrugged.  "Why?  I wasn't insulted.  A little 
surprised, but..."
	"You're seriously considering it?"
	"Yes, I said I would.  It's not terrible, is it?"
	"No, but... but..."
	"You're Yui Ikari and I'd be Gendo Ikari."  He actually 
laughed then.  "It sounds quite a but different from Rokubungi.  
That would take some getting used to."
	"Why though?"
	Gendo looked at her with one eyebrow raised.  "Because, 
you see, Ikari is much shorter than Rokubungi, and they don't 
sound anything alike..."
	"Thank you.  I suppose I should have been expecting it, 
but I hold out hope that someday I'll get a straight answer from 
you."
	"Not likely."  He kissed her, silencing any comebacks.  
"Mm, fruity," Gendo commented after breaking the contact.  "I 
think I will."
	"You will what?"
	"Change my name.  The Ikari family has produced far too 
lovely a daughter for it to go to waste."
	"You're so sweet.  Sometimes I wonder how other women 
resist you."
	"They know you'd kick their butts if they got too close. 
After all, I'm legally spoken for now.  The government said so."
	"I have to admit, that was one of the best and worst 
places to start a honeymoon.  You could have let me change 
first; I felt silly with all those people staring at me."
	"As they should have.  There's never been anyone more 
beautiful than you in that building."

---

Page 61


	For the first time in almost a month, Yui wore white to 
work.  And she smiled with real feeling.
	"Hey there, Mrs. Rokubungi."
	"Nope, Satoshi.  You may refer to me as Mrs. Ikari.  Or, 
if you must, Doctor."  Yui turned her nose up a little and did 
her best to look snooty.
	Satoshi blinked.  "Doctor?  When did that happen?"
	"Well, it didn't, but you can call me that if you want 
to."  She smiled at her long-time co-worker and shared a chuckle 
with him.
	"But seriously, Mrs. Ikari?  What happened that I missed?"  
He hoped that the wedding hadn't been abandoned and his gift 
gone to waste.
	"We talked about it and... he took my name."  Cheeks 
glowing pink, sharing more information than Gendo would have 
approved of, Yui added quietly, "He said he didn't want the name 
to go to waste."
	Satoshi blinked again.  "Roku... Ikar..."  That was too 
weird to say aloud.  "He said that?  Wow, Yui.  I never thought 
anyone could make him lighten up."
	"He takes work very seriously, otherwise he's very nice.  
You should get to know him."
	Laughing a bit nervously, Satoshi scratched the back of 
his head.  "Ah... I wouldn't even know what to say to him.  He 
just looks at me and... and I have no idea what to say."  He 
studied his shoes in embarrassment.  "He's pretty intimidating."
	"Let me tell you a secret," Yui whispered.  "He practices 
very hard.  The easier to get what he wants from people."
	Nodding, Satoshi whispered back.  "It works."
	
	"Some time, you'll have to come over for dinner.  Then 
you'll see."  Yui put her hand on Satoshi's shoulder and started 
walking slowly down the hall.  "Let's go out for lunch today.  
What do you say?"
	"Uh, sure.  If... if your husband doesn't mind."
	"Don't you worry about it."

	"I was thinking about having a little get-together."
	"Ah."
	"Just some people from..."
	"Uh huh."
	Yui looked at Gendo to find his nose buried in the 
newspaper.  "I thought we'd play some naked Twister."
	"I see."
	"And you could take pictures and post them on the 
internet."
	"Of course."
	Yui smirked.  "Gendo, pay attention or who knows what I 
might slip by you."  That didn't earn her any response at all.  
"I'm quitting."
	Gendo turned to the next page of the paper.
	"I'm having an affair."
	Silence.  She knew he had to have heard her.
	"I'm pregnant."
	"By who?"
	Yui glowered.  Not bothering with a spoken response, she 
walked over to him and dumped her glass of juice in his lap.  
"Certainly not by you."  To punctuate her annoyance, she smacked 
him in the back of the head.
	Gendo just sat there, pants soaked with juice, glasses 
knocked askew, and stared sightlessly at the paper.  "What'd I 
say?" he asked quietly.
	That earned him another smack to the head.  "Remember?  
Innocent doesn't work for you.  Don't try it," Yui warned, then 
marched off to finish getting ready.
	"What'd I say?"  Sighing, Gendo would remember next time 
that Yui was not to be teased in the morning.
	"Still," Yui said, returning a moment later, seeming to 
have forgotten what had just happened, "I was going to invite 
some people over, have a little party.  You don't mind, do you?"
	"Of course not.  Just don't let it turn into a drunken 
orgy."
	Yui laughed and put her arms around him.  "I get enough of 
that from you; I don't need anyone else."
	"You know, I do need to change my pants...  I think you 
planned this all out.  Sneaky woman."
	"You wish I would put that much effort into having sex 
with you.  Don't flatter yourself."

---

Page 62


	"Yeah, a Christmas party.  And then we'll exchange gifts 
or something, and just have fun."
	Satoshi returned Yui's infectious smile.  "I think it's a 
great idea!  I'd..."  Then he saw Gendo standing back, just... 
looking at him.  "Er..."
	Yui looked back at Gendo and made a face.  "I know you 
want to.  Don't let the Grinch scare you off.  He just thinks 
with all those people over, someone will find the bodies he's 
been hiding in the closet."
	Satoshi swallowed hard, still held by Gendo's disapproving 
gaze.
	Laughing lightly and chucking his shoulder, Yui told him, 
"You'll have fun, and I know you need to get out more than you 
do."
	Tearing his eyes away from Gendo, Satoshi looked at Yui 
and nodded hesitantly.  "Okay, I'll be there."
	"Great!"  Yui gave him a quick peck on the cheek, much to 
his horror.
	The smile, turned sickly, stayed on his face as he watched 
Gendo scowl.  That look didn't change, nor did it move off him 
when Yui started to drag her husband down the hall.  Or maybe it 
was just his imagination, but either way, he didn't think Gendo 
would ever be his friend.

	"Were you trying to scare him to death?"
	"What do you mean?"
	"I saw the way you were looking at him; he's just a 
friend.  You didn't need to scare him away."
	"I know I didn't.  I wasn't."
	Yui made a disbelieving noise.  "You still look upset.  
I've known Satoshi for over a year.  You've been aware of his 
existence for three months, and you've managed to convince him 
you eat human flesh for breakfast."
	"So you want me to make an effort not to scare people?"
	"Basically.  Can you handle it?"
	"I guess.  You're so demanding."

	"I'd ask who spiked the punch, but that would be 
pointless, wouldn't it?"
	"Probably.  You were going to do it anyway so don't get 
self-righteous on me now."
	"You're right," Yui admitted, nodding her head slowly.  "I 
have to say you've been doing much better over the last couple 
of weeks.  Satoshi almost has the courage to start a 
conversation with you."  She giggled, putting her hand over her 
mouth.
	Tsking, Gendo shook his head.  "How much of that punch 
have you had to drink already?"
	"Too much," Yui answered.  For the most part she felt 
fine.  Things were just... funnier now.
	"If you even start to _hum_ a song, I'm locking you in the 
bedroom.  Do you hear me?  No singing."
	"Party pooper."  She pouted comically, not realizing how 
ridiculous she looked.
	"Keep that look on your face and you'll certainly be the 
life of the party."  Something finally caught his eye.  Going to 
stand in front of her, he gently admonished, "Leave your shirt 
undone that far and you'll be the entertainment too."  Gendo did 
up a couple buttons and kissed her cheek.  "Silly."
	Yui smiled.  "I'll never be like you.  Being a grouch 
isn't as much fun."
	"But you could scare off anyone who bothered you while you 
were working with just a look."
	"Look," she explained, putting her hand on his chest, 
"that's not necessarily a good thing.  At least not in my book."
	"But it can be.  And besides..."  Gendo's hands lingered 
on the buttons of her shirt, tugging them slightly.  "I have you 
and I don't need anyone else."
	"Sweet, but impractical.  Friends or not, you're going to 
need other people in life.  I won't always be here."
	"Sure you will.  And now I think you need to finish 
getting ready.  Really, Yui, you drank far too much of that 
punch."  He smirked at the confused look on her face.
	The confusion turned to embarrassed realization, and Yui 
hurried back to the bedroom.  "And I'm sure you would have let 
me answer the door like that!"
	"No, but if you want to walk around without pants on when 
it's just us, who am I to protest?"

---

Page 63


	"I saved one more for you."  Gendo pulled out a small box 
and held it up for her to see in the flickering candlelight.
	"You didn't have to.  I don't have anything else for you," 
Yui cooed with delight.
	"Here.  I just thought the mood would be better now as 
opposed to this morning.  It seems more personal."
	The smile on Yui's face stayed for a moment, then she 
looked hard at him.  "This had better not be anything... kinky."
	"No.  You always think the worst of me.  But if you don't 
want it..."  Gendo started to put the box back on the floor.
	"I never think the worst of you.  Sometimes I... question 
your motives, but I don't think badly of you."  She grabbed his 
arm, pulling it back toward her.  "Don't tease."
	"Here."
	Yui took the box and opened it, revealing a delicate gold 
chain with a small oval pendant on it.  "What's this for?" she 
asked, holding it up to swing slowly in the light.
	"Whatever you want.  You can put pictures in the locket 
too.  I just thought..."
	"I know.  When they day comes, _when_, I'll put a picture 
of our son or daughter in it."  She slipped it over her head.
	Gendo sighed.  "That was a huge mistake..."
	"No, it was perfect."

                             ~  ~  ~

	"It's a little early to be opening the champagne."
	"No, it's the end of the 1900's.  I think we can open it a 
little early."
	Yui watched Gendo pour two glasses.  "I should give my 
father a call..."
	"It's been a week since you last saw him; the call can 
wait until tomorrow."
	Taking the glass, Yui sat down slowly.  "I suppose.  I 
just think now is a good time to keep tabs on him.  You know... 
holiday depression."
	"I know, but I don't think he needs mothering either.  
Give him some space.  Mother me for a change."
	"Mothering is the last thing you want.  I know better.  
Let's just get drunk together and ring in the new year with a 
snore."  Yui held up her glass for a toast.
	"How could I resist that offer?"  Gendo touched his glass 
to hers, and the subdued celebration began.
	The only extra celebration when the clock switched from 
11:59 to 12:00 was a simple kiss and a fresh glass of champagne.
	"You want to head to bed now?" Gendo asked after draining 
his glass.
	Sitting for a moment in the darkness, Yui then stood and 
went over to the glass sliding doors.  She opened them and 
stepped out into the chill air on the balcony.  She stood still 
and just listened, letting the sounds of celebration drift to 
her ears.
	"Would you ever celebrate like that?  Loud and rowdy?" Yui 
asked quietly as Gendo stepped up beside her.
	"No," he admitted, standing close enough so that their 
arms touched, but that was the only contact.
	"They all sound so happy."
	"Aren't you happy?"
	Yui couldn't answer immediately, looking at the lights 
that spread out before her.  "Yes, but... not like that.  Not 
because of the new year."
	"Why are you happy then?"
	"You.  And even if you didn't mean it like this, what this 
locket means."  She held the gold locket in her fingers, waiting 
for the day she would be able to put something in it.
	"You're too sentimental.  You always will be, and that's 
one of the reasons I love you."  His arm slipped around her 
shoulders and pulled her against him.
	They stayed that way as the noise of celebration died down 
into the morning.  The sky darkened until it was a piece of 
black velvet draped over them, and the entire world seemed to be 
hushed.
	"Always darkest before the dawn," Yui whispered.
	"Not always."
	The sky lightened gradually, coloring the few clouds dusky 
orange, then shades of pink and purple until the sun finally 
cast the first light of the new year on the two people watching 
it.

---

Epilogue


[9 MONTHS LATER]

	"Was it cold?"
	"It was Antarctica; of course it was cold."
	"You didn't need to bring it back with you."
	"I'm sorry."  Gendo leaned forward and accepted Yui's 
kiss.  "I'm just looking forward to relaxing someplace where 
there isn't any snow for a little while."
	Yui smiled, and that was as much warmth as he needed.  
"There's no snow in the bedroom."
	"The homecoming I was looking forward to..."

	The phone was off the hook, and all pagers and cellular 
phones and other means of contact were turned off.  It was just 
the two of them.
	"I missed you.  I missed coming home at night and having 
someone here," Yui whispered, using Gendo's shoulder as her 
pillow.  She lay close to him, missing his presence in bed.  It 
was... cold, and lonely, without him there.
	The gentle breeze coming in the window made her want to 
pull the covers up, but after being in Antarctica, the mild Fall 
must have been a picnic for Gendo.
	"I'd think you'd be used to it by now."  The one arm 
around her squeezed briefly, pulling her closer.
	"There's a difference between you working late and not 
coming home at all.  You were half a world away.  That's nothing 
like just being down the hall in a different office."
	"You didn't visit that office enough."
	"I know.  But you're always busy... and I'm busy.  It 
would be inappropriate for us to... in the middle of work."
	"Yui, you're too concerned about propriety.  We could 
just..."
	"Get caught by someone, and I think I would probably die 
from embarrassment.  Just stop with those silly ideas.  Besides, 
we're here together; we don't need to worry about any of that."
	"Mm, very true."
	Yui looked at Gendo's face, not moving her head at all.  
"Just after you left, I stopped taking the pill," she said 
quietly.
	"Oh really?  Planning on something?" he answered with a 
hint of amusement in his voice.
	"Perhaps.  Why don't we just... see what happens?"
	Gendo turned his head and looked down at Yui.  "You mean 
it this time?  You're sure?"
	"No, but I'm willing to take the risk.  What about you?  
Are you ready to change some diapers?"
	Instead of answering, he kissed her, rolling her on to her 
back and pinning her to the bed.
	"I know," she said, short of breath after the kiss had 
ended, "that you won't disappoint me."
	"Have I yet?"
	Running her hands across his back, she shook her head and 
smiled.  "No."


                          - [ E N D ] -


                          And I wonder
         If everything could ever feel this real forever
            If anything could ever be this good again


                         - Foo Fighters