"I can still picture the look on your face."

"Something else you'll never let me live down. That was four days ago. Can we stop now?"

Yui pouted. "You're no fun."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell the jokes at my expense while I just stand here and don't say anything."

"I could never imagine you not saying something. It's just not who you are." As was customary with their walks, she was leaning against Gendo, holding his arm. She sighed.

"You know," Gendo started quietly, "I will get you for that one day, and then who'll be laughing?"

"It was worth it," she answered almost dreamily.

"It really wasn't a joke, was it?" Gendo asked, looking down at her as they walked.

"Yes, it was a joke." Yui paused long enough to take a deep breath. "Sort of."

"That's what I thought." Not that it was a bad thing, he just wasn't sure what to say, how to handle it. "That kind of thing is a bit... sudden, don't you think?"

Yui's shrugs were like a language in themselves. The one she gave him said that she knew, but didn't know what else to do about it.

"What about your family?"

"What about yours?" she shot back defensively.

So that was what she had meant. Not a joke, but not that big step either. Just a... hope of things to come. "I don't particularly care. My life is not my family's concern. Certainly not who I'm seeing or what we might have planned for the future."

"Do you not like your family? I've never heard you talk about them... positively."

It was Gendo's turn to shrug, but his revealed nothing. "Not much to say. I don't see them much anymore."

"Oh. I haven't seen my parents since last holiday break. But I think that's probably for the best. My mother..." Yui looked at Gendo, who raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent. "She's a bit nosy, a little bossy. Under certain circumstances, she can be hard to deal with."

"Certain circumstances... Let me guess. Dating and living with a man ten years older than you."

"Those would definitely qualify, but it doesn't even need to be that big a deal. There's no reason to even be talking about it really. This is my life and my decision."

"Parents are a bit... sticky like that."

Yui snickered. "Sticky. I would have never thought about it like that."

"Maybe you need to be a little more imaginative then." Gendo gave her a smile that bordered dangerously on a wicked grin.

She returned it. "But I'm so young and sweet and innocent," Yui exclaimed, flashing a forlorn puppy-like expression up at Gendo.

That made him laugh immediately. "Sweet I'll give you. Innocent, no way in hell. Maybe a bit... inexperienced, but that's perfectly okay with me."

Gendo laughed a little again, shaking his head. "Innocent..." he muttered under his breath.

"Isn't that what all men like? A woman who's so innocent she's helpless?" Yui asked.

"Not me. I don't think it's possible to be that innocent anyway. Everyone is a little corrupt inside." Gendo looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character, and you are not innocent at all."

"And what about you?"

"Oh, I know I'm not innocent."

Yui chuckled softly. "If you had said you were, I would have known you were off your rocker." She smiled, more to herself than anything. "I don't find innocence all that attractive anyway."