"I won't do it, Gendo. I didn't like what the professor said to me, but that was personal. I'm interested in my work, and if I run away, I won't be able to accomplish anything." Her fingers interlocked with his and she was pleased to feel him squeeze her hand.

A deep scowl settled on his features. "He has no right to make you feel like that. No one does."

"Stop. Just stop worrying about it."

"But Yui..."

"But nothing." As long as she was in control of the situation, she would have no trouble handling Gendo. It was amazing the way he could be so rude and crass to others, but when she said something, all his attention was hers. "The matter is over. As far as I'm concerned, the situation never happened."

"I'll try. But I still don't like it."

"I didn't expect you to, but at least try. It would make me feel better about the whole thing."

Again, his hand squeezed her own, and she smiled.

"Finals coming up. Will you be my study date?"

With the incident with Fuyutsuki pushed to the back of his mind, Gendo was able to smile. "If you think I'm worthy of such a task."

She hugged him, making sounds of contentment. "Worthy enough for me." A study date. Yui wasn't sure she could get any more boring than that; she didn't really want a study date.

She wanted... she wanted a man.

'Never be satisfied with the inferior,' her mother had told her. 'You can always do better if you really try.'

'It doesn't matter if you manipulate the results, they won't be an accurate gauge of your sample.' An early lab with Fuyutsuki in which she had tried to explain the results of one experiment.

"So don't settle for the inferior and don't manipulate the results," she whispered to herself.

"What was that?"

"Just thinking about something I was told..."

"By your mother?"

Yui pushed him away abruptly. "Don't use that tone when you're talking about my mother!" she warned indignantly. "And don't make jokes either!"

"Truce, truce. I didn't mean anything by it." Girls... women were a lot more... touchy now than when he had been a freshman back in the 80's. "It was just a... joke?"

"Not a very funny one. You know my mother i..."

"I feel like I do."

"I'm being serious here!"

Gendo flinched at the volume of her voice. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Damn right you should be. Are you going to be serious here or not? You always do this. Last time I had something to say, you had your little tantrum. Can I say this without your input for once?"

He swallowed and took a step back. "I told you why..."

"I didn't ask for an explanation! I just want to know if you'll let me say one sentence without interrupting." She glared intently at him.

"I didn't..."

"This is a yes or no question." Yui watched him take another step back.

Gendo opened his mouth, ready to defend himself again, but the look in Yui's eyes was unforgiving. Answering with anything other than yes or no, and probably a no as well, would be hazardous to his health. "Yes."

"Good, because if you interrupt me in the middle of 'I love you'..."