Fourth Lesson: Shaken, not stirred. Shinji and Pen-Pen relaxed as the warm meal in their bellies coupled with the pleasant mind-numbing effects of the TV took over. "Pen-Pen. Change the channel." Shinji complained. He looked extremely relaxed. Almost as if he was one with the couch. Pen-Pen looked over at his roommate and sighed with equal laziness and couch-camouflage. "Wuaaagh." "Oh, yeah." Shinji remembered he had the remote control in his hand, and changed the channel to something more interesting. They continued to watch the Discovery Channel, who had been showing a documentary on the rising numbers of cicadas around Tokyo 3 and how the N2 mines kept making more lakes and marshes for them to find food around. "Shinjiiiiiii?" someone called out from over by the kitchen. Though it wasn't as harsh as usual, both males recognized it as Asuka. Shinji, though he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up at her call, found something strangely appealing about the way she said his name like that. "Hai?" he called back, never looking away from the television. "What goes good with sake?" she asked, poking her head around the corner. Shinji paused, searching and coaxing his lazy brain to answer. "Well, it's rice wine, so I suppose rice would go good with it. I know this one recipe..." "No, baka!" Asuka laughed. "I meant, what do you mix it with? It smells a little strong." "It's not usually mixed with..." Shinji blinked, realizing Misato had no sake in her stock right now. Pen-Pen realized this at the same time and scowled. "HEY! Where did you get that?" he stood and walked over to the kitchen. Asuka backed up, hiding the bottle of sake she had found in Shinji's room. "Uh...what? Nothing!" He frowned. "Pen-Pen gave me a bottle of sake for my birthday last week. Did you find it?" Asuka looked very guilty. "Oh...I didn't know it was a present." She held out the bottle. The top was already opened once, by the look of the foil seal. "I...I'm sorry..." Shinji sighed. "Damn. I was going to save that for a few years and maybe celebrate when we killed all the angels..." Asuka bowed her head slightly. "I didn't know." She smiled. "I thought you were just sneaking around with it in your room so you could get drunk without Misato knowing." Shinji smiled back. "Oh, I suppose it's okay." He paused. "What were you doing in my room???????" She blushed furiously. "Oh, come on..." she tried to act on the offensive. "You mean you haven't been in mine?" He shook his head. "NO! Not even to do your laundry!" "Oh. Sorry." she shrugged it off in her typical arrogance. Pen-Pen walked over to Asuka with a frown. "WUAAAGH!" he scolded her, then smacked her across the leg with his flipper. "Wuaaagh..." he waddled off, disgusted. "I think he's mad I ruined your wine." Asuka smiled shyly. "Care to join me?" Shinji blinked. "Asuka! We're..." She shook her head angrily. "Stop it RIGHT there! I KNOW we're too young. I don't care. I want to see what all the fuss is about." She grumbled. "I want to see what makes all this so damn attractive to Kaji-san." She looked up at Shinji, smiling nervously. In reality, she didn't want her first time getting drunk to be alone, and it wasn't like Shinji was a big pervert, so he'd probably be the safest drinking partner. "Unless...you're scared to." Shinji blinked, then raised an eyebrow. That was exactly what she said before they kissed last time. "If I don't have to hold my nose, I'll be fine." He said proudly, walking over to the counter to get two glasses. "Besides, it's not like sake is TOO strong. We probably won't feel anything." Famous last words, Shinji reminded himself, but ignored his inner warnings. Misato was a hard woman to keep up to when it came to drinks. Not only was she faster, but she could also hold her alcohol better. Kaoru found himself slightly buzzed after his third margarita, while Misato had already gone into the shots of Jack Daniel's. "So, what do YOU do for a living?" Misato asked, cringing as she slammed back the shooter. "I'm a teacher." Kaoru smiled, fiddling with the umbrella on his almost-finished drink. "Philosophy and history." "History?" Misato frowned. "I never got into history myself. Too boring." "It depends." Kaoru said, eyeing the Rye-and-Coke that had been placed before him a little earlier on. "You see, if you just read about it, it's very boring. Just facts and figures and dates and numbers." She smiled, watching him talk. He had a very nice voice. Very safe and familiar. "Really?" He nodded. "However, if you think of it in terms of people, it can be quite amazing." He smiled, taking the pause to finish his last margarita. "For example, how did a person live his or her life, and not just when they were born and died." Misato nodded, gently circling the rim of her glass with her finger before licking it dry. "Mmm, like where they worked. Who they loved. What they accomplished." "Exactly." Kaoru said. "Most specifically, who they loved, and what they accomplished with that love." He smiled warmly. "Great moments in history have been made out of love." "Mmm, I can imagine." Misato whispered. "But...why do you find it all so fascinating?" she cocked her head to the side slightly. "I mean, what good does it do to spy on dead people's love lives." She laughed. "Unless you just like being a voyeur." He paused, thinking of an answer. Misato could tell the question hit close to home. "I think, it's so I can learn from other's mistakes when it comes to love." He shrugged. "Maybe even help stop history from repeating itself in bad ways." Misato smiled. "I never thought of it like that." She looked up. "Oh, uh...I think the lineup is getting bigger." She sighed. "Maybe we should call it an evening." He nodded, looking down at his drink. She frowned, then smiled. "No!" He looked up. "Pardon?" "Let's move to the bar." She motioned to the bar-head. Most of the stools were still empty. "That would be the most honorable thing to do. Let someone else eat." Kaoru grinned, picked up his glass, and carefully stood. "A lovely suggestion, Miss Katsuragi." "Please don't call me that." She laughed as she took his arm. "I get called that enough where I work." "No problem, Misato-chan." Kaoru corrected himself as they moved to the bar, prompting a very cute smile on her part. Both Shinji and Asuka were eyeing their glasses very carefully. Each had only downed a small section of their liquids. "I don't feel anything." Asuka sighed. "Same." Shinji shrugged. "Just a second..." he put the glass to his lips and tilted his head back, downing the entire contents. Asuka's eyes were wide. "Wow..." Shinji swallowed hard, feeling fire race up around his throat. "AAAAAAAARGH!" he coughed. "That was...was..." he shook his head. "Not so bad...?" he shrugged with a smile. "Maybe this stuff really is weaker than what Misato drinks." Asuka did the same with her glass, cringing as similar sensations raced up into her mouth, then back down her throat when she swallowed them back. "BAKA!" she laughed. "You call that not so bad!!?" They sat on the floor in the living room, in front of the muted TV as it showed unattended gibberish. Between them was the white, glass bottle of sake and their glasses. "Don't tell me the mighty Asuka Langley Sohryu is wimping out!" he laughed with mock drama. "I'm ashamed to know you!" She grabbed the bottle angrily and pressed the mouth of it to her lips. Shinji watched, completely stunned, as Asuka suckled the bottle and swallowed. What was even more stunning were the tiny trails of liquid that had begun to escape her lips. Shinji felt the sudden urge to wipe them off of her... * Asuka stopped after a few gulps and gasped out for air, slamming the bottle down on the floor. "HA!" she said with a raspy voice. "Beat that, Third Child!" Shinji laughed as Asuka tipped over on her ass and fell flat on her back. "I'm very impressed that you're not puking." She sat back up...dizzy, but smiling. "It was nothing. Tell Pen-Pen that when it's MY birthday, he better get me the STRONG stuff!" Not able to hold back any more, Shinji reached over the bottle and gently wiped a glistening fat drop of sake off her chin with his thumb. She blinked, but did not resist. In fact, it was slightly enjoyable the way his hand left a trail of heat down the side of her face. Something she couldn't quite remember feeling before. "Sorry." Shinji smiled shyly as he poured himself another glass. There was still a lot left in the bottle, and they didn't need to worry about running out any time soon. Asuka smiled back, wiping her mouth. "It's okay. Sake probably is hell to get out of the carpet. Thanks for getting it." "Feel anything?" Shinji coughed as he downed another glass in only a few sips. She nodded. "Yeah." Her hand came up and rubbed the tip of her nose. "I feel warm." She laughed. "And a bit dizzy." "Ugh...same." Shinji agreed. "I think we're buzzed." "How do you know?" "Well, Misato is always talking about it." Shinji laughed, snorting out a little bit of sake as he did. That, of course, prompted a hilarious fit of laughing from the redhead. "THAT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUNNY!" Shinji wobbled slightly, but laughed himself. "You think we should include this on our report?" "Why not?" Asuka laughed, laying back for a moment to watch the room slowly rotate around her mind. "I am the Asuka in you mind, Baka!" "And I am the Baka inside your mind!" Shinji laughed, falling over. "Ooh, that was funny!" Pen-Pen had been watching the exchange for a moment. "Wuaaagh. *" < * Translation: "Ha! Lightweights..." > He waddled off to his fridge to get some sleep. "Night, Pen-Pen!" Asuka called out after. "Thanks for the sake!" Shinji was caught staring this time. She frowned. "What?" He grinned. "You look cute when you're drunk." "Yeah?" She blinked...then began to blush as the words sloshed through her head. "I bet you talk like that to ALL the Asukas in your mind." She giggled. "Yeah." Shinji nodded, a little more than was necessary, but it was still a nod. "I mean, your eyes look so bright...and your hair looks all messy, but it's still nice..." Asuka fiddled with her hair for a moment. "Is this better?" she took out her sync-headset and tossed it away. Her long, red hair gently fell out and down, across her shoulders. Shinji began to drool. Luckily, he caught himself before it was too late and she noticed. "Oh yeah..." he nodded again. "A...a lot better." Asuka smiled brightly. "Shinji, you are drunk." "I am not!" he replied quickly. "The room still hasn't spun all the way around." He laughed, prompting more laughter from Asuka. "Let's see something." She grinned, then grabbed her headset once more. Leaning over the bottle, she reached up to Shinji's head. Shinji found himself unable to turn away from her leaning over. Her shirt was actually fairly loose, and a white, cotton bra had grabbed his attention and was refusing to let go. "Uh..." had all the blood in his body not been rushing elsewhere, he would have developed a nose- bleed. "A-Asuka?" "Don't worry, Baka-kun." She whispered sweetly. Her other hand came up and they began to fix the red headset into his hair. "You'll look beautiful!" she laughed. Shinji was too busy trying not to be aroused from both the sight of Asuka's skin, and the soft, warm hands on his head. He really didn't notice the bottle had been tipped over until it was already glugging it's contents all over the carpet. Asuka noticed a wet sensation on her knee, however, and gasped when she realized what it was. "OH NO! THE BOTTLE!" she pushed Shinji away, who fell onto his back, useless. She grabbed the bottle before any more sake could pour out. Sadly, she held up the bottle and swished it around. "Oh no!" she gasped. "Shinji...I'm so..." Asuka blinked as she realized she had pushed him away, and he was still lying on the floor, breathing shallowly. She almost threw the bottle away in panic, even after she just saved it. "Shin-kun!" she rushed over on her knees to lean over him. "Are you alright?" Shinji shook off the haze in his head, but she still looked to be surrounded by a kind of glowing, white light. His smile said more than any words ever could. "A...are you my angel?" he whispered, looking up into her shimmering blue eyes. Asuka couldn't find words for a long time. Shinji gazed up at her with such purity and...? "Baka..." she whispered. "I'd never try to hurt you...not like they do..." He smiled. "Not that kind of angel..." his hand came up and gently brushed up against her face. "S...Shinji..." she closed her eyes as his warm hand held her cheek. "I'm not your angel..." she sat back down with a sigh. There was a long, uncomfortable pause. This moment had to end...now...but it wasn't. Not for a long time. Shinji sat back up, slowly but still without much difficulty. "Sorry." He smiled. She looked up at him and saw his smile, instantly producing one on her lips as well. "Baka...now I KNOW you're drunk." He looked over to the bottle. "ARGH! How much is left?" he crawled over to it and swished it around. "Maybe enough for a quarter glass each." Asuka guessed. He quickly poured the rest into their glasses. "Well then, let's have a toast." He said with a hiccup. Asuka nodded. "YES! A toast!" she frowned. "What should we toast to?" "Uh, world peace?" Shinji suggested. "NO!" Asuka giggled back. "I'm not wasting my first toast on world peace!" "How noble of you." Shinji smirked. "Shut up!" she replied with a stern look. "I want this to be special." She took a deep breath and concentrated. "How 'bout to us." She raised her glass. Shinji blushed slightly. She coughed. "Uh...to us kicking the asses of all those unholy butt- fucking Angels!" she laughed. Shinji had never heard her swear quite like that before, and promptly laughed until he almost threw up. She waited with a smile for him to calm down. "Okay. To us." He raised his glass. "To us, Unit-01 and Unit-02. And may all them Angels die really quick and easily." "Yeah!" they clacked glasses and downed their respectful drinks in one swoop. "Uh... Mazel Tov!" Shinji laughed, standing up. "What are you doing now, Baka?" Asuka smiled. "You have to go puke?" "Hell no!" he nodded. "I'm going to get something stronger." Asuka raised an eyebrow as she watched Shinji walk to the kitchen. "Wow! Maybe you're not such a weakling after all." She stood and followed him on shaky feet. "Whoa, that stuff sure hits when you stand..." To be continued! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * VERY muchos thanks to Draxel! He caught my horrible error of giving Asuka an Adam's Apple (only in males). I feel very ashamed. All those years gawking at female anime characters...FOR NOTHIGN!!! Oh why! why! WhyyYY!! My brain can be so cruel. First thing's first. Why was it that EVERYONE thought I was going to do horrible, hostile things to Rei this Lesson? I had no less than 5 or 7 distinct references to Rei getting smacked around emotionally, physically, or otherwise! ^_^ I would never do that! At least not any more than the original Eva series did....Oy, and probably not even that bad. And, as a personal side note to aspiring young authors out there: To write drunk, you must first GET drunk. Try it out. It sounds so simple, but really, even if you're morally against drinking. Try it out when you need some writing inspiration. It's not that bad, so long as you use it for good instead of evil. ^_^ And...Gomen! I was going to have more plot in this Lesson, but I was stuck working on my website and a few other projects, so this was basically a Copy/Paste from my archive of what I have finished of Higher Learning. Not much time to fix it up. At least I'm keeping with my promise of one per week, so don't complain. ^_^ And who can ever have enough WAFF? Not me. :P I have a strong stomach! Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9110 E-Mail: strikef@bigfoot.com Archive: Go for it, just mail me first if I don't already know! Strike Fiss, Ninja Crowbotics 2000. Khattam-Shud, EOF.