Authored by Godsend777
Based off of situations created by GAINAX
Do not post without permission




BIG DATE




The door to the car clicked shut as its passenger shyly stepped out to 
the gate of the zoo.  He stared in awe at the huge wrought-iron fence 
that lead into the place where he had met her.  

"Be careful, okay?"  Misato said as she leaned out the window of the 
car.  "And treat her right!"

He nodded, thankful that she was so kind and caring to him.

"Yeah!"  Asuka continued.  "Don't be a pervert or I'll cream you!"

He nodded again, wishing that she would shut up every once in a while.

"Asuka!"  Hikari scolded.  "Leave him alone!  It's his first date!"  She 
scowled one last time at her friend, then turned to him with an 
extremely radiant, (and very beautiful, in his opinion) smile.  "Good 
luck."  She simply said.

He blushed, and nodded for a final time.

"I'll pick you up at 9:00 tonight.  Seeya!"  Misato yelled and waved as 
she squealed the tires and sped off.  The girls were all going to see a 
movie, leaving him to meet his date.

He looked back up at the fence before proceeding inside.  The guard was 
expecting him and let him through without a comment.  

'Part of being special,' he thought to himself.  He fingered the bow tie 
around his neck for the umpteenth time.  He was nervous, and wanted 
everything to go smoothly.  He wanted himself to look good for her.  
After all, a good first impression might lead to future dates.

As he walked through the zoo, he thought back to just last week when he 
had met her.  He had seen it on television, and Misato thought that it 
would be a good idea to come out here.  Everybody else had been busy, so 
just he and Misato came.  They walked around; staring in awe at the 
various creatures kept in their cages.  He hadn't thought it was the 
right thing to do, but Misato had informed him that this place was also 
trying to breed these animals so that they could replace the numbers 
lost during the Second Impact.  As she was explaining this, he saw her.

She was standing outside one of the animal cages; a fact that was left 
unnoticed as he saw her stunning beauty.  She was tall and slender, and 
moreover, seemed to sense his presence.  She turned around, and he found 
himself in the gaze of two beautiful black eyes.  Shyly, he stepped back 
into Misato and bumped her.  This brought her attention away from the 
animal before her and back onto him.

"Huh?  What's wrong?"  She asked, looking around to find whatever 
surprised him.  She saw the girl he had been staring at just a few 
seconds ago and pleasantly waved to her.

"Why don't you join us?"  She called.  He blushed in embarrassment and 
ran off as fast as he could, followed shortly by a worried Misato.  

For the rest of the week he could think of nothing but her.  He couldn't 
eat, sleep, and didn't feel the urge to do anything.  Misato, although 
burdened with work, had guessed what was wrong with him a few days ago 
and tracked her down.  Then, she arranged the little date between them.  

And now he was here.  In just a few minutes he'd see her again, and the 
date would begin.  He started to worry, and tried to think of something 
that calmed him.  He thought of cool seas, a bath tub filled with hot 
water, even the car ride over.  

The car ride over seemed to work well, particularly the thoughts of 
Misato and Hikari.  Asuka... well, a little.

**

"You look so handsome!"  Hikari squealed.  He blushed in reply.

"Oh, leave him alone, Hikari."  Asuka interjected, spinning him to face 
her.  "Remember to keep your little claws to yourself!  And treat her 
like a lady!"  She yelled.  He cringed back, and was actually about to 
retort, when Hikari protectively slid two arms around his shoulders.  

"How many times will I have to tell you to leave him alone?  It's a big 
day for him!"  

"I'm just giving him advice!"  The redhead retorted with a quick toss of 
her head.

"I hope you're not discouraged..." Hikari began as she fiddled with his 
bow tie.  He shook his head quietly as she continued.

"But what she says is right.  Just be a gentleman and you'll do fine."  
He found himself happy in her presence, more so than usual.  After all, 
not even Misato could compare to her smiling face.

"Yeah, maybe you'll get lucky!"  Misato called from the driver's seat.  

"Misato!" both girls yelled before he could.  

"Well, isn't that the purpose of any date?"  Misato riddled.  Both girls 
thought for a moment, then glared at him.  He shrank back into the seat 
while shaking his head.  Asuka muttered 'whatever...' while Hikari gave 
another bright smile.

"Ah, well," Misato began. "He probably won't, anyways.   Mr. Tachibana 
treats Yukiko like a daughter.  He told me he's very overprotective of 
her."  She finished, and he heard the clicking of the turn signal.  
"We're here!"

**

He saw them standing by the penguin exhibit and rolled his eye up at the 
irony of it.  Then, he purposefully strode over to Mr. Tachibana and, of 
course, Yukiko.  

The friendly older man smiled at him and took his hat off.  Anything he 
began to say was completely ignored.  The only thing to him was Yukiko.  
After a few minutes of impolite staring, he finally listened to what Mr. 
Tachibana was saying.

"So, you two kids ready to go?"  

"Waugh!"  Both penguins said excitedly.  The older man smiled again and 
led the way to the small table he had set up for them.  PenPen offered a 
flipper and winked at Yukiko, who happily took him up on the offer.


The End




Okay, I've wasted enough of your time.  Shoo!