"Shinji," he tried again, clearing his throat. "I've been made aware of your injuries." Shinji refused to answer, but he shrugged his shoulders even when the movement clearly upset his ribs. Gendo frowned. "You should not be walking in your current state." At last, he managed to, partly at the very least, break the cold indifference he had covered himself in. The boy snorted derisively, refusing to look at him. "So now you give a damn if I should be walking or not?" The former Third Child bit back, his words clipped. "I bet if an Angel attacked, you'd drag me to the Entry Plug if I was half-dead." The elder Ikari's frown deepened considerably. "This is true," he answered in his cold monotone. "But the Angels are no more. You should rest so your healing can be swifter." He watched as Shinji's fists clenched and unclenched with something akin to satisfaction sparking in his chest. So the boy had grown his constant and hindering need of approval, it would seem. Good. "And since when do you give a shit about my health?" The young Ikari snapped back, still refusing to meet his gaze. Gendo pulled up the yellowish glasses with his lingering hand and remained untroubled by the increasingly hostile atmosphere within the elevator. "You never cursed before," he commented dryly, ignoring Shinji's own question. "According to Akagi, your language has become quite… colorful as of late." At last, his head in his general direction and glared viciously at the figure that was his father. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, voice dripping venom. The raw, unbidden hatred and indescribable trauma Gendo saw in those blue eyes, eyes that no longer held Yui's warmth, made the half-dead organ in his chest constrict. "It's just that I lived through the fucking Armageddon you and your buddies designed, so you'll excuse me if my language fucking harsh nowadays." Shinji turned his head back angrily, eyeing the elevator's screen, forcing a knowing smirk on Gendo's face. Twenty-nine stories left. "Besides," the boy added, crossing his arms. "It's not like it's any of your business how I speak or what I do. If I want to go cook Asuka a decent meal, that's exact going to do. Misato told me about you, she said you can't order me around anymore, you're basically a glorified prisoner here. You have no authority over me." In his mind, Ikari Gendo came closer to bursting out laughing than he had in years.
