As he approached the door to his apartment, he looked down at his watch, and saw that is was really still early, only about eight o'clock in the evening. That battle had truly worn him out... in more than one way. He dismissed the distraction from his mind, and entered his apartment. He hung his coat on the hook near the living area, and then walked over to the phone, seeing that his message machine was beeping. He hit the 'play' button and sat down limply. Even a trained fighter could enjoy the finer comforts of life.

The machine whirred and came to life. "Hey, Cirus," Misato's voice came on, "I need to talk to you about something, so give me a call. You know the number. Bye."

Not surprisingly, it was the only message he had. She was definitely still awake at eight in the evening, and so Cirus pondered whether or not he should call her back. The only reason he wouldn�t was because of his weariness, so he opted to avoid being lazy, and picked up the phone. He dialed the number quickly, and then settled into the chair.

Shinji picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Ah, Shinji. This is Cirus. Misato asked me to call her."

"Oh, right. I'll get her."

Cirus waited calmly until the phone made some random noises indicating someone was picking it up.

"Ah, Cirus. I was beginning to think you'd never call me back," Misato said wryly.

The young man smiled in the same tone. "Now where on earth would you get an idea like that, Major Katsuragi?"

"Ha, very funny. Well I wanted to invite you to a celebratory party on Saturday."

"...At your home?" Cirus asked, wary of her cooking.

"Eh... no. A club is reopening in the city, and I thought we could all go. The four kids, me, and Kaji."

"You expect Rei to go to a club?" Cirus asked doubtfully, but with an amused undertone.

"Oh yeah, she already said yes. That's why I invited you," Misato added insinuatingly.

Cirus' face tightened. She was cold. "Ah... how nice of you, Major." If she had really gotten Rei, he couldn't say no, because he knew she'd tell her. "...Yeah, sure. What time and where?"

"Ah, now you're talking. Eight, meet at my place."

Cirus had to admit his throat was tightening just with the thought of going to a club with or without Rei. He hid any sign of his anxiety in his voice. "All right, sounds good. See you Saturday, Misato."

"Great! Yeah, see you. Bye."

And then the prehensile beep of hang-up. Cirus sighed as he put his own phone down. How on earth had she gotten Rei to agree to this? It was completely outside of her taste. Or was Rei just being polite to her friend? Now that seemed to ring true.

Cirus took off his glasses, and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He got very tired of wearing them, but people found looking into black pools instead of eyes rather disturbing and distracting. Most of them couldn't even tell what direction he was looking. Of course, considering who preferred them, the price was easy to pay. Cirus caught himself, and his eyes widened. He really had fallen for her, and badly. That he felt strongly for her was no surprise, but such a deep, automatic response to even her memory... The darkly dressed boy closed his eyes, and exhaled as he rose from the chair. It was time for sleep.

Thanks to the city being completed and no Angels attacking, the rest of the 'work week' was uneventful. Of course everyone was wary to report any odd activity by the systems, but aside from that healthy cautiousness, little was distracting.

Cirus noted with no small amount of relief that Rei seemed to be settling into her new home quite nicely, and was alright on her own there for the next few nights. Others knew she'd moved, but either didn't really care enough to ask about it, or didn't want to invade Rei's privacy. Of course, only Ikari and Fuyutsuki knew that Cirus had been the cause, which was perfectly fine by the dark Eva pilot. He would rather he was forgotten in the whole situation as long as Rei was at least without worry. He was wary to use the word 'happy' with her, because of how pained she still was.

In fact, Cirus seemed to fade into the background during that week. He didn't speak unless addressed, but was still perfectly amiable and polite when he did. He just seemed to fall away from the situation until someone remembered he was there. All this fit the young man quite well.

With the week as uneventful as it was, it passed by quickly, and soon Saturday was upon them. The day went normally until the work was over. People said their good-byes, some of them vowing to see each other again later. They all went home, and started to simply kill time.

At seven o'clock that evening, Shinji and Asuka were in the kitchen of Misato's apartment. Asuka was wearing a very tight-fitting purple dress that shone slightly thanks to the fabric. She also had decked herself out with earrings, make-up, and other forms of ornamentation. Shinji was wearing his best, as Misato put it, 'casual dress-up' out-fit: A loose, long-sleeve gray shirt, with black pants and a belt. Asuka sighed as she laid her elbows on the table, propping her chin up with her left hand idly, her pinky fingering her lip. "Why does she always take so long to get dressed?"

"I think she has to find a balance between 'slutty' and 'trampy'," Shinji commented dryly.

Asuka looked at Shinji. "Don't be so mean. She's not that bad."

His tone was sour this time, "You don't know her like I do."

Misato stepped out into the kitchen, and spread her arms out for them to see. Shinji had to admit she was very attractive. She was wearing a dark blue dress that died away about halfway down her thighs, and a dark, light-fitting sweater over it.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Spending the night at Kaji's?" Asuka retorted dryly.

Misato glared at the girl, but then quickly dismissed it, looking to Shinji. He numbly nodded at her.

Asuka shook her head. "Typical boy."

"I think it's charming," Misato countered, obviously vexed.

"What? The drooling or the ogling?" Asuka persisted.

Misato frowned, but didn't reply.

When the doorbell rang the elder woman smiled mischievously. She ran out, into the hall, and opened the door. "Hello, Rei!" she said happily, and let the girl walk in.

"Hello, Miss Katsuragi," Rei replied calmly.

"Come on, come on. I have yours all picked out!" Misato said energetically, and practically dragged Rei back to her room.

"I can't believe she got Ayanami to come," Shinji commented, coming out of his shocked stupor.

"Me neither. I just hope she doesn't ruin the evening," Asuka replied.

Thirty minutes later, Rei was looking at Misato, who was gently applying eyeliner to her eyes. "Why is this needed?" she asked in her usual, neutral tone.

"Oh, trust me!" Misato answered, switching to a brush and dabbling something all over Rei's face.

Rei gently sneezed, and her cheeks turned pink. Misato smiled at her. "You're so cute, Rei. No wonder he likes you," she commented.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked calmly as Misato started to rub something across her eyes.

"Cirus, of course."

Rei blushed again, but the make-up hid most of it. "I still do not know what you mean."

Misato smiled again. "I think you do, Rei," she drew out her name knowingly. "Someone is embarrassed," she drew out the syllables in a tune.

Rei looked down at the ground. She was very much embarrassed. "But he is not coming tonight."

"Yes he is."

Rei looked up in surprise.

"I invited him of course. He's a pilot, too."

"...Of course."

Misato reached down to the dresser and pulled some earrings out. "Here, these are clip-on so we don't have to worry about your ears," she explained, gently putting them on for Rei. They were thin green plates with jeweled bangles attached at the bottom. They jingled slightly with each movement of the blue-haired girl's head.

Misato stood up, motioning for Rei to do the same. She did so, and Misato stepped back to admire her handy work. She smiled. "You look so beautiful, Rei. You'll knock him off his feet." Rei looked down at the ground again. Misato picked her chin up with a finger and looked down into her eyes. "Come on. We'll practice on Shinji," she said mischievously.

As she hurried out of her room, Rei followed calmly, and they entered the kitchen.

Shinji looked up from his and Asuka's conversation first. He blushed, and his eyes widened.

"Hey, Shinji, what�s wrong with you?" Asuka asked irritatedly, but then looked up to see what he was staring at. Her eyes widened as well, if not a little more than Shinji's.

Rei was standing at the entrance to the kitchen. She was wearing a single piece red dress, similar to Misato's, but with spaghetti strings for shoulders instead of short sleeves and an actual skirt. A light shade of purple eye make-up and deep red lipstick colored her otherwise porcelain face. Her earrings jingled slightly as she walked further into the kitchen, noticeably embarrassed by the two people gawking at her. "...Please, you're embarrassing me."

Asuka shook her head. "I don't believe it..."

"You look very nice, Ayanami," Shinji replied at last.

Rei nodded her head slightly. "...Thank you."

The doorbell rung again, and Misato ran over to check it. She opened it with a smile. "Hello, Kaji."

"Ah, hello, Katsuragi," Kaji replied with his own smile as he stepped in.

"I think we'll wait for our last member to arrive in the sitting room," Misato replied motioning for Kaji to go on ahead.

He nodded and went in. Misato stopped by the kitchen, and told Shinji and Asuka to go in next.

"Kaji will be the next test run, Rei," Misato said with a wink, and then disappeared into the sitting room herself.

Rei couldn't catch her soon enough to stop her. She didn't understand any of this, it was so odd and embarrassing. Embarrassing... but she did like it when the others reacted to her the way they did. The young woman looked down at herself a moment. She didn't exactly like the color red, it reminded her of blood, but the dress seemed to be fine. Raising her eyes, she walked out of the kitchen, and waited outside the sitting room.

"Okay, Rei," Misato called out. "I think you'll really be surprised, Kaji," she added quietly.

"Judging by Shinji's face, I wouldn't doubt it," Kaji replied with his own smile.

As Rei walked in, his smile quickly turned to shock and amazement. He looked at her from head to toe with wide eyes.

Trying to remember what she was supposed to do, Rei asked, "Do you like it?"

Kaji regained his composure, noticing Misato's growing glare. "...Very much so, Rei. I would have to be insane to not like that," he added with a slight laugh.

Rei smiled faintly, and quietly sat down beside Asuka. Both Misato and Asuka noted with some irritation that Kaji's eyes followed her the whole way. He caught on and broke his stare. "So when should Cirus get here?" he asked lightly.

"Eh, well you got here pretty early, Kaji. I told him eight, so I bet he's not coming for at least twenty more minutes," Misato answered.

Kaji nodded and so they all kicked up a casual conversation. This lasted for about fifteen minutes when the doorbell rang again.

"I guess he's early, too," Misato commented as she stood up, then walked out of the sitting room, and out to the door. She looked out the eye-hole and nodded to herself, turning on her smile as she opened the door. "Hello, Cirus. Glad you could make it."

Cirus bowed his head to her. "And good to see you, Misato," he replied with a slight smile.

Misato smiled mischievously. "I want to show you something before we all go."

Cirus knew what that smile meant, and it made dread settle over him. "As you wish," he replied calmly.

Misato turned from the door. "Rei, would you come out here please?"

Cirus walked into the hall as he heard Rei do the same. He looked up... and stopped short, causing Misato to smile ever more.

"...Hello, Cirus," Rei said quietly. She was also rather embarrassed.

Cirus forced himself to regain his composure. "H-hello, Miss Ayanami. ...You look... magnificent this evening," he replied, rather distracted.

He saw Rei blush, and realized he was doing the same.

"Thank you," she replied.

Misato walked over toward Rei. "Cirus come on in. We won't be leaving for a few minutes." And then she walked straight into the living room.

Cirus walked up to Rei, swallowing a lump in his throat. "...I didn't mean to embarrass you in front of Misato, I'm sorry. You just... look very..." he couldn�t find the right word.

Rei looked up at him, and slightly tipped her head in thanks. She raised her red eyes back to him, and a slight smile played over her lips. "I'm glad you came," she said softly.

Cirus thought it couldn't have gotten harder to breathe... he was wrong. "...And I you..." he managed to get out halfway calmly. She was smiling...

"Well, would you two get in here?" Misato called.

Rei blushed again, and started to go to the sitting room. Cirus stepped up to her, and slowed her down so that her cheeks would be normal when they walked in. When they did Kaji looked up with a wry smile.

"Awe-struck by the young lady, I take it?" he asked.

Cirus smiled back in kind. "It would be hard not to," he admitted.

Kaji nodded his own agreement, which, of course, made Asuka eye Rei warily.

"Well, are we ready to go?" Misato asked.

General affirmative replies met her in response.

"All right then, let's go."