Archive of Our Own ^beta

Asuka hastily pulled Mari out of the cafeteria by her arm, gripping it tight as she pulled her through the halls of the Wunder, their shoes clanking against the metal flooring. “Princess we talked about thisss, didn’t we agree to just use our room after Misato caught us in the storage closet last time?”

Asuka didn’t answer, her olive green hoodie covering her face as she kept pulling Mari along the familiar turns until they arrived at the storage closet again. Asuka swiped the key card she snagged from Misato, pushing Mari into the dark closet, slinking in herself before closing the door. The inky darkness swallowed them, Mari barely getting her bearings between her naturally poor vision and the pitch black of the room. The sound of Asuka circling Mari raced to her ears, her breathing, her shoes clanking against the cold metal, then a gentle push against the door once more, still not a single word uttered by the princess. Mari could hear every breath that Asuka exhaled, hear every step she took, all of it made her heart beat faster and faster… She was right in front of her now. The princess’s hands were shaking, not that Mari would be able to tell. Her heart threatened to burst out of her ribcage as her emotions finally broke through the floodgates, burying her face in Mari’s shoulder as she gently wrapped her arms around her waist. Her tears started slowly, muffled whimpers and sniffles and choked words all coming out at once until she was gripping the fabric of Mari’s pink sweater, her tears soaking the brunette’s shoulder. Mari reached for the light switch beside her, Asuka quickly pinned her arm to the wall.

“Asuka, talk to me, please” Mari’s voice was hushed and coarse yet somehow so fucking warm as she cupped the German girl’s face with her free hand. The two of them stayed like that for a while, Mari trying to calm Asuka down, her face gently resting on Asuka’s olive hoodie.

“I, I don’t want you to see me… when I’m like this” Asuka managed to say, her breathing erratic, her tears still soaking Mari’s shoulder. “I… I’m supposed to be brave and strong and fearless and a leader and I try so hard to look the part but…”

“But what Asuka?”
Everyone called her that, everyone except Mari, it made her heart flutter a little as it rolled off Mari’s tongue, it gave her enough courage to keep going.

“But I’m fucking scared, I’m a mess, I’m broken and fucked up and just a scared little girl again, I'm so fucking scared Mari!” She sobbed, her voice breaking down as she buried her face in Mari’s shoulder again.

“I'm always going to be here for you Princess, you know that, right?”

“B-but what if one day you don't make it back, what if one day you’re gone and I have to go on without you, what if I fuck up and lose you and and…” Mari’s warm voice cut through it all.

“We could be the last two people left on this stupid planet, sitting on the white sand beaches with the crimson sea splashing against our feet as the remainder of the world falls apart and I would still hold you close, I would still be there for you, I would still love you Asuka. No matter what fucking happens I will be with you and I will stay alive for you because I refuse to leave you alone in this hell.”

“You’re weird but somehow really cheesy and sweet at the same time”

“Is that a compliment from the princess I heard?”

“Shut up and take it before I decide to take it back.”

Mari sighed “Alright, thank you almighty princess Asuka for bestowing such a high compliment upon your humble girlfriend”

Asuka rolled her eyes for no one to see, playfully hitting Mari with her fist. The darkness of the storage room was flooded with light as the door slid open, Asuka fell onto the floor of the Wunder, and Mari clumsily fell on top of her, her glasses crooked as she looked up to see Ritsuko staring down at the two of them. Her lab coat’s top button was undone, her hair was messy, a slight blush lingering on her face Maya poked out from behind her, reddish pink lipstick marks peeking out from under her uniform.

“O-oh Ritsuko, wh-what could you be doing here?” Mari sputtered

“N-nothing, me and Maya were just going to um get supplies for the upcoming Eva testing” Maya’s blush deepened as she tried to hide behind the doctor. Asuka glanced up at the two of them, putting the pieces together

“Ohhh I’m sure you two were definitely, mhm 100% believe you” She said, rolling her eyes. Ritsuko’s face turned redder

“How about this… I don’t tell Misato that someone caught you two in the storage closet for the third time, was it now? And you keep your mouths shut about what you see right now unless you want your lives to become much harder. Asuka gritted her teeth, trying to think of a witty or snarky comeback, Mari beat her to it.

“Fine. Just a word of advice though, your lipstick color is obvious on everything, especially Maya’s neck.”

Mari stood up, pulling Asuka with her, the two of them running through the halls of the Wunder as Ritsuko put the pieces together, screaming Mari’s name as the Eva pilots ran to their quarters, Asuka trailing behind Mari, a faint smile on her face.