Hikari was frustrated.

Very frustrated.

Why, you may ask?

The answer, my friends, lies in her love problems.

Yes, she had a boyfriend (although if you asked him, he would know nothing of the sort). She was very happy with him and wished to stay with him. And here lies the problem.

Hikari wanted to advance her relationship a little further. She had been dating Shinji and traveling with him for about 7 months now, and at the age of 15, Hikari had never received a kiss.

Well, I guess you could say so if you’re being technical, but I don’t think a peck on the forehead after winning your second major contest trophy counts.

Hikari wanted a real kiss. You know…lip to lip contact.

She had tried to bring up the subject with Shinji before, but…she had never exactly gotten up the guts to really say anything directly. She felt that she had implied very heavily…wasn’t that enough?

Apparently Hikari lived in a strange fantasy world in which Shinji was replaced by kind, mind-reading aliens.

Moving on…

Hikari’s implications as to her desires grew heavier and heavier as the days wore on, but Shinji seemed to give no heed to her. In fact, he just kept acting as if he had no idea what she wanted of him.

Was it too much to ask to get just one little kiss?

Hikari would never actually know if she didn’t directly ask him. Or somehow allow Shinji to obtain mind-reading powers.

Hikari and Shinji had stopped to rest in a wide, grassy area on their way to the next town. Hikari sat motionless in the grass shining in the midday sun, pondering what she would do next to receive a kiss from the one she loved.

Today…today would be different.

Thinking it was worth a try, she quickly grasped his hand, trying to trigger some emotion to at least start. He tightened his hand around hers silently, expression never wavering.

Yes, her plan was working perfectly.

He would never suspect what she was plotting.

She slowly leaned over until her head rested on his shoulder. He made no movement as she did so. She let go of his hand and slipped her slim arms around his torso, completely leaning on him. He shifted his arms up and placed the one on her side over her shoulder.

Yes…yes, it was working.

She patiently sat with him like that, waiting for just the right moment.

Suddenly, she sat up and loosened her arm’s grip around him. He turned his head in reaction to her maneuver, and she stared deep into his eyes, trying to give her most innocent, pleading expression she could muster.

Shinji brought his hand up to cup her cheek and leaned closer. Hikari’s plan was running smoothly. Her eyes fluttered shut as she waited for the wonderful sensation to pass over her lips.

However, instead of feeling his warm lips over hers, she felt something else. Something a little…rougher?

She opened her eyes to see that Shinji had placed his hand over her mouth and had proceeded to lightly kiss the back of it. She had been so close to a kiss, but Shinji had chickened out and blocked the way at the very last moment!

Nonetheless, Hikari knew that this was at least a step in the right direction. She gave Shinji a dirty look in hopes that he would realize that wasn’t the result she yearned for. A smirk flickered over his lips, and his eyes danced before her.

Did…did he just do that on purpose? Was he trying to mess with her?

Oh, Hikari wasn’t so sure she wanted to kiss him anymore. It’s hard to kiss someone when you’re plotting to put a fist in their face.

“So, are you ready to go, stupid girl? Shinji chuckled. Yes, he still called her by every nickname he could bring to mind other than her birth name. It had become almost like a set of pet names for Hikari.

“I guess,” she pouted.

“Something wrong?” Shinji asked innocently.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she lied. Shinji stood up and offered his hand to her.

…I know what you’re thinking. Shinji would NEVER do this in front of anyone else. Hikari was lucky she had gotten him to do that much in front of HER.

She happily took the outstretched hand and “tripped” on a…a…blade of grass that happened to be out of place.

That was her story and she was sticking to it.

She fell into Shinji’s arms with a beautifully acted “Whoops!” and looked up into his eyes once again.

He helped her up completely back onto her own feet with a grumbled, “Clumsy girl.” She began to inch her face closer and closer to his, closing her eyes slightly and eventually stopping, hoping that Shinji would do the rest.

She heard Shinji shuffle slightly and then take a step towards her.

Yes…this is finally it, I’m sure of it, she thought.

Shinji moved closer to her and she closed her eyes completely. She felt his warm breath on her face, and then…

A…handkerchief?

She felt a piece of cloth move over her face, and then Shinji’s lips move in behind it. She could feel his lips behind the cloth, but couldn’t actually feel them, which sent Hikari practically ballistic. He pulled both away and Hikari opened her eyes, enraged.

Now she was absolutely positive that he was trying to mess with her.

She stamped the ground and pouted up at him like a child, an action which caused Shinji to start laughing.

“What’s so funny?” she shrieked.

“You,” he said bluntly. He stuffed the handkerchief (clean, of course) back into his pocket and turned away from the infuriated girl before him, then began walking.

Hikari had never wanted to scream so badly in her life. She stormed up behind Shinji, making sure to let him know that she really was angry with him.

They walked back onto the road, and after a few minutes of Hikari’s loud stomping, Shinji finally turned around, obviously irritated.

“What…is…your…problem?” he breathed.

She childishly stuck her tongue out at him and said nothing.

“Look, if you have a problem, why don’t you just come out and say it?”

“Problem? I don’t have a problem.” Shinji sighed. He knew women were stubborn, but he had never known it was possible for human beings to be quite this stubborn.

He walked closer to her until he stood mere inches away from her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look him straight in the eyes.

“I said, if you have a problem, come out and say it. Don’t act like such a child.” Hikari started to feel a little guilty. If she had said something in the first place, she wouldn’t be in the distressed situation she had created for herself.

“I…I just wanted…a kiss,” she admitted.

Shinji chuckled. “Was that all?” He quickly leaned in, and Hikari found herself being kissed, but not in the way she had expected.

Shinji had planted his lips in a location on her face that drove her even more crazy than the first two kisses had combined. He was kissing the area below her cheek, but just beside her lips. He had kissed her, all right, but not in the way she wanted.

He pulled away and smirked that same playful smirk. Hikari wanted nothing more at that moment than to rip his lips right off his face so that she wouldn’t have to see that smirk ever again.

“What’s the problem now?” he mocked. “Not what you expected?” Hikari glared at him.

“Let’s get something straight, Hikari,” he said sternly.

Uh-oh.

He used the H-word.

He only said Hikari’s name when he was being absolutely serious.

“Don’t ever expect or assume things of me. If you want something from me, ask me. Or,” he added, “in a case like this, just take it. How much more pathetic can you get? Asking for a kiss, feh.”

Hikari was shocked. She…she really had been the whole reason for this. If she had just kissed him when she wanted to, everything would have been fine. Instead, she had angered Shinji by assuming something of him when she shouldn’t have.

“I…Shinji, I’m sorry…” she mumbled. She looked up at him to see that he hadn’t moved. Was he waiting for her to make her move?

She cautiously got closer to him and leaned upwards. Shinji looked down at her unmoving. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach him, but she managed to shakily press her lips to his.

Shinji immediately took over. He leaned his head down and wrapped his arms around her waist, acting as if he had been the one to kiss her.

He eventually broke away and Hikari stared up at him incredulously. She felt even stupider than she had before. All she really had to do was kiss him if she wanted to. Right from the start.

“Are you going to stare at me like an idiot, or are we going to get moving?” Shinji said, tiny smile forming on the corners of his mouth.

Hikari giggled and grabbed his arm, happily agreeing.

Just a random oneshot I wrote off the top of my head at two in the morning orz

No, this isn't connected/linked/based off of any of my other fanfictions. Let me just tell you right now that I don't do sequels. Just letting you know that my fanfictions are all independent of each other. That would be why they're seperate. Maybe I'm just being cranky and need to go to bed. The world may never know.