89Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion and all rights got to there respective owners. Also all OC's are the creation of JimmyWolk himself.
SPOILER WARNING: This contains spoilers for the fanfic "The 2nd Try" and it's sequel comic Aki-Chan's Life" which is all done by JimmyWolk. So If you haven't read that then you should definitely stop right here and check those out first before continuing.
Summary:
A few days after the final battle with Seele, Misato Katsuragi is now witnessing the antics of the Ikari family.
"The Ikari Family"
Even after months of seeing it herself firsthand, it was still an unusual sight in her eyes, watching Shinji and Asuka being together and not just as a couple of newfound lovers but acting as a proper young married couple.
But now right as she was sitting down in the kitchen area of the apartment in the late evening while drinking her fresh cup of coffee, her mind was still processing a more strange and a more unusual sight she had been seeing in the last couple of days. Seeing both her charges being dotting and loving parents to their three year old daughter Aki.
"NOOOOOO!"
The said daughter who was now currently in the bathroom, being forced to take a her long awaited bath by her father.
"Aki, come on, please stop struggling," Shinji said, clearly he was struggling himself from the sounds in the bathroom that the two women could hear. The sound of water splashing around could be heard soon after.
Misato looking towards Asuka who was currently washing the dishes from the dinner everyone had before. Or at least, she was doing her best, considering that while no longer in a sling, her left shoulder hadn't fully recovered from her phantom pain she experienced in the last battle.
"Jeez you weren't kidding. The kid really doesn't like taking baths does she." Misato stated, remembering the conversations she had with Asuka about the little girl before.
Sighing heavily as she did her best at the dishes, Asuka could only look at the older woman with a tired yet genuine smile. "Oh believe me it gets much worse as this is just the start of getting her in the bath. Give it a minute and she'll really put up a struggle when trying to wash her.
Misato just chuckled at this. "That bad huh?"
"Oh yes and after she's had her bath the next battle is trying to get her to properly brush her teeth. The payoff is when that's all done she'll be too tuckered out that when reading her a bedtime story she'll be out like a light before the tale is halfway over."
Misato laughed slightly at Asuka's detail description of what tonight's events would be. The fact that this was a recurring thing for the small family just made it more funnier in her eyes.
Misato couldn't help but be truly happy for Shinji and Asuka, who after enduring the pain of the thought of never seeing their daughter again only to be reunited when the war was finally over was a miracle in itself. What also surprised Misato was when she was told that it was Rei Ayanami herself that not only found Aki but took care of the child and brought her back to Asuka and Shinji.
Also remembering when she was presented to the young girl by her parents, after her shock she tried to greet Aki but the child became incredibly shy, much to the surprise of her parents, hiding behind her mother's leg at first and only coming out after being reassured by her parents that Misato was a friend.
To further reassure the little girl as well as be less intimidating, Misato went down on her knees at Aki's level and introduced herself to her, even telling Aki to call her 'Auntie Misato', a title she now did kind of regretted giving herself, though none the less it worked and Aki became more open towards the older woman and Misato clearly could see the hyperactive energy that Asuka had spoken of to her before.
Before Misato could continue her train of thought both her and Asuka heard a great splash of water from the bathroom, followed shortly by Shinji cry of distress. Misato also saw Asuka sigh and began to walk towards the bathroom.
"Shinji, is everything ok in there?" Asuka said before she was opening the bathroom door.
"Asuka, wait! Don't open the...arg door!" Shinji tried to warn her but unfortunately the warning came too late.
"YAAAY FREEDOM!" Aki shouted while running out of the bathroom naked just as her mother opened the door, only thick bath bubbles still covering her hair and body as she ran out.
Shocked for a few seconds after seeing her daughter run out past her, Asuka then quickly proceed to chase after the little girl.
"Hey, you get back here right now, kleines Fräulein."
"Noooo!" Was the only reply back to her Mama. Still running about the apartment all while dodging her mother's attempt to catch her. Eventually Shinji joined in the chase soon after wiping away the soapy water from his eyes with a towel.
"Seriously baka, how could you let her escape!?" Asuka asked while still trying to catch Aki.
"I couldn't help it, she splashed water in my eyes and it was very soapy too." Shinji responded with the excuse.
"Honestly Shinji, you had one job," Asuka said while still trying to catch the soapy runaway girl. Eventually she stopped running to catch her breath and then noticed the older purple haired woman wasn't helping in the chase nor showing signs of getting up to help.
"A little help here Katsuragi?" Asuka said while catching her breath and at this point Shinji joined the two women at the kitchen table, breathing more heavily then Asuka was and looked like he was about to collapse.
Misato just looked at her while sipping her coffee, hiding her smirk behind it. "Hey, she's your kid not mine."
Asuka's response to that was to give Misato a low growl. "Oh just wait till you start having children, Misato." Asuka started saying before once again restarting the chase to catch their daughter with Shinji, now having recovered his breath to sigh heavily before following his wife.
Till I start having children huh, Misato thought. Taking in Asuka and Shinji was one thing, with them being teenage kids but she had zero experience with actual children let alone babies and the thought of motherhood terrified her. Memories of her own parents and childhood before second impact did not help ease her worries either.
"Aki Ikari you get out of there this minute, kleines Fräulein!" Asuka's loud voice broke Misato out of her thoughts and the older woman looked up to see that during the chase Aki had somehow gotten into PenPen's fridge and locked herself inside to avoid her parents from catching her.
"No!"
"Aki if you don't come out this instant then there will be no bedti…" Asuka didn't get to finish her sentence as the familiar sound of the doorbell was heard throughout the apartment.
"Who could that be at this hour?" Shinji muttered.
"Don't worry I'll get it." Misato announced to the two while getting up from her chair and making her way to the hallway. "Just don't dismantle or break PenPen's fridge trying to get little miss terror out of there ok."
Finally reaching the door, Misato was pleasantly surprised to see to her lover Ryoji Kaji with his already familiar charming smile.
"Hey Misato." Kaji managed to say before Misato wordlessly threw her arms around him and kissed him deeply for moment before they both pulled back. "Guess you really missed me huh."
Misato slightly blushed at that, feeling embarrassed at her spontaneous reaction to seeing him since their 'emotional reunion' at the NERV HQ several days ago. Remembering how she had rushed into Kaji arms upon seeing him again months after his supposed 'death', which lead to her crying on him, slapping him for worrying her to eventually kissing him to finally dragging him to her office for passionate sex.
Breaking out of her trip on memory lane she soon enough gave a deep frown towards him and Kaji knew he was in trouble.
"Where in the world have you been?" Misato asked interrogating. "You left without a word except a note saying 'I'll be right back' and that was several days ago!"
Kaji sighed while rubbing his hand behind his neck. "Sorry about that Misato, had to take care of a few lose ends with the JSSDF as well as the situation with the prime minister, so I'm sorry for leaving you unexpectedly like that."
Giving him a puzzled look at the mention of the prime minister, Misato had to ask. "Wait, what about the prime minister?"
Before Kaji could tell her, small footsteps were heard, quickly coming from within the apartment.
"Mister Kaji you're here!"
Both of the older adults looked back in the apartment only to see Aki staring back in the entrance hallway still slightly wet with a few thick bubbles covering her small body.
The sight of seeing the kid again was enough to give Kaji a momentary look of confusion while Misato had a slight panic look on her face. How was she gonna explain the whole Ikari family situation with him?
Just as Misato was trying to figure out what to say, Aki was quickly grabbed from behind by Asuka, making the little girl shriek in surprise.
"Got you!" Asuka said triumphantly while slightly out of breath. "You are gonna finish your bath kleines Fräulein and then you will brush your….Kaji!"
Shinji who was once again more out of breath than Asuka just arrived behind her and also saw the older unshaven man and was just as surprised and happy to physically see him alive again too.
After a brief pause of confusion, Kaji's face changed to that of his classic charming smile. "So are you kids finally gonna let me in on the big secret?"
x-x-x-x-x-x
After the event in the hallway, everyone agreed to take the conversation back into the kitchen as Asuka and Shinji did owe Kaji an explanation but before that, Aki was once again forced to take and finish her bath. While the three year old did once again put a bit of a struggle, this time neither of her parents took any chances and washed her together. Plus, her running around the apartment somewhat tired her out, making the task of cleaning her easier to do.
After now having washed, dried and making Aki brush her teeth as well as putting the girl to bed (with a short story as compromise – her stunt deserved some form of punishment after all, but neither parent could bring themselves to skip it entirely either) the two members of the Ikari family joined the two older adults at the kitchen table. Though just when they sat down, a very tired Aki came back to remind her parents that she still needed to say her goodnight to everyone present in the apartment. Once she corrected that oversight to everyone's amusement, Shinji tucked her back in before rejoining everyone. At first no one knew what to say for a few minute but the silence was finally broken by Shinji.
"So Kaji, I guess you read the letter I gave you." Shinji managed to say which earn a slight chuckle from the unshaven man.
"Well to be honest Shinji, at first I threw the letter you gave me in the trash. But in the end my curiosity got the better of me and I did eventually read it. Thanks for the warning by the way, you saved my life." Kaji said, earning a small smile from Shinji.
"And thanks for helping us. You have no idea what you helped prevent."
"Kaji how much do you know already?" Asuka was able to ask the man.
Kaji took a sip of his tea before given his answer. "Well at first I assumed that you two are either time travellers or have some sort of future sight thing going on. But now I'm all for the first since I've meet your kid from the future," Kaji said and his honest answer earned him the surprise looks from all not only Asuka and Shinji but Misato as well.
"Wait, so you knew she was our daughter!?" Asuka said before turning to look at the purpled hair woman next to Kaji. "Did you tell him?"
"I didn't say anything. Nor did I have the chance to say anything to him."
Kaji looked at the two pilots. "When I first met her while she was travelling with Rei in the country side, I had a strong feeling but I wasn't a hundred percent sure. But now having seen her here with you and how you two take care of her, loving her as any parents would I'm now most certainly sure that she your kid." Kaji drank the last of his tea before giving another charming look but in Asuka's direction. "Plus that little lady's got your blue eyes, Asuka."
Asuka blushed slightly at that compliment before she smiled. "Thanks."
Soon after that, Asuka and Shinji told their whole story to Kaji like they had once done to Misato, telling him of what happened in the original timeline, their survival and lives in the post third impact world and how and when they where sent back and their goal to prevent the end of the world to the present now.
By the time they had finished it was well late into the night and everyone went off to bed and for once Kaji decided to stay the night in the apartment. Initially he had planned to sleep on the couch or the living room floor but to his surprise he was more or less pulled by his lover Misato to her room and slept together holding each other.
End.
Notes:
Hey everyone surprise!
After doing The 2nd Try shorts stories I've finally got the courage to start doing this story which will focuses on the Ikari family after the end of official story of 2nd Try and during the events of the sequel comic Aki-Chan's Life.
So hope to see more of your support for this fic too, as well as continuing to support the author JimmyWolk himself on his fantastic works.