Looking around aimlessly, Kaji slumped down into his chair. It was half an hour after he and Misato had agreed to meet, and she was nowhere to be seen.

"...Wouldn't be the first time, I guess."

With a dry, self-deprecating smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth, Kaji poured another glass of lemonade from the pitcher he had ordered. As much as he would have liked to complain, he knew he could be just as bad.

As he sipped on his drink, someone caught his eye. Misato had finally arrived - but something about her was off. She seemed unbalanced and a bit dazed, and there was a small bandage on the top left of her forehead. She was also carrying a familiar bag, which Kaji soon recognized as the overnight bag he'd left at her apartment the night before.

Sitting down across from him, she looked into Kaji's eyes with a dull anger.

"I know I'm late," she began with a subdued, spacy voice, "but you can blame yourself for that."

Reaching down, she slid Kaji's overnight bag over to him. He looked down at it, and back to Misato. She pointed back towards the bag.

"Open it."

Eyeing her uncomfortably, Kaji leant down and opened the bag. On top of everything else was the pair of pants he'd changed out of at Misato's house, slightly damp in places.

"See that?" Misato quietly sniped, in the angriest tone of voice she could muster. Confused, Kaji nodded.

"You left those on my bathroom floor. I slipped on them and hit my head, you jackass."

The words took a few moments to register properly, but looking down at the bag and back to Misato, everything clicked into place. With her behavior and explanation, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that she had a nasty concussion.

"...I'm sorry, we were in a rush and all and I-"

Misato cut him off.

"Save the excuses, it doesn't matter. My head feels fuzzy, I think it's your fault, but this is still a higher priority than going to the hospital. Save all that for later."

Kaji smirked.

"You know, this wouldn't be the first time that my absence of pants has made you light-headed. It's been... what, three weeks?"

As much as she struggled against it, Misato's dull half-glare soon broke into a slight grin.

"Jam it, jackass."

Hearing her lighten up, a wave of tension let itself loose from Kaji's shoulders.

"Will do. Sorry."

With both parties present, Kaji called for a waiter. They both ordered, and were soon exchanging small talk as they waited for their food.

"...You look good tonight. For someone with a concussion, and who must have had a killer hangover this morning, you really cleaned up nicely."

Misato stuck her tongue out at Kaji.

"Thanks, but I can't say the same for you. You look as crappy as ever."

Kaji recoiled in mock offense, caressing his chin. "Hey, I'll have you know I spent a whole half-hour trimming my stubble for you!"

"Your entire lower face looks like someone glued cat fur to it." Misato responded, unfazed.

Despite the initial undercurrent of hostility, the mood between the pair was comfortable. The insults they traded weren't loaded in the least, and with each playful jab they took at each other, the more comfortable they felt.

Soon, without either of them realizing, the back-and-forth between them was replaced by fond words and gestures.

"Lemonade?" Kaji asked in his sleaziest tone of voice as he offered Misato the pitcher. She offered her glass daintily as a sign of confirmation, and he obliged.

"Sure as hell beats alcohol," Misato mumbled to herself as she took a sip.

Their food soon arrived, and they focused on their meals. the banter slowed, but even as the thought of leaving each other gnawed away at the back of their minds, the atmosphere of the restaurant and the comfortable mood kept both Misato and Kaji in good spirits.

It was a few minutes later, as they both slowed their eating, that Misato looked across at Kaji with a serious look in her eye.

"...You know we have to talk about this."

Kaji let out a long sigh.

"I know. I just... we're not great together, but I still like what we have, you know?"

Misato nodded.

"This is hard for me too. We just... have to talk this out, you know?"

Her words rang hollow, and Kaji looked down at his half-finished meal as if to dodge the question. Misato spoke again, a little louder than before.

"...Maybe we'll find a way?"

Kaji picked at his food, avoiding eye contact. Sighing, Misato reached over and gently grabbed his wrist.

"...This is just something that has to happen right now, Kaji. I don't like it any more than you do."

Flinching at the contact, Kaji looked up at Misato's face. She looked tired and defeated - it was clear from the look on her face and from the pit that was burrowing into his stomach that they weren't leaving the restaraunt in one piece.

Well... I guess I'm not the only one hurting at least.

Burying the building sense of dread as best as he could, Kaji stammered out a response.

"Y-yeah."

For a few moments, neither of them said anything. Words and ice-breakers came to both of them, but they were choked out of them by an increasingly tense atmosphere. Seeing each other face to face rather than over the phone made the situation much more uncomfortable.

Misato kicked herself.

Why the hell did I suggest this? Of course it'd be harder in person!

As Misato yelled at herself internally, Kaji quietly spoke.

"...We're friends, right?"

The question shook Misato back into reality, and she looked into Kaji's eyes. The usual spark of life that shone through them was dim, replaced by an uncharacteristic sadness.

Turning away, Misato answered.

"...Yeah. We're definitely friends."

"Well, at least we've got that." Though the tension in his stomach didn't alleviate at all, Kaji let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah."

It was Misato's turn to avoid eye contact. As Kaji relaxed, a crippling anxiety crept through her own mind. The hand that she'd left on Kaji's wrist tightened, and her fingers dug into his skin.

"...Hey. D'you mind?"

Noticing her behavior, she shot her hand back.

"Sorry. I'm just... y'know. This was a bad idea."

As she trailed off, Kaji could see her other hand balled up into a fist. It looked like she was using all of her willpower to keep her composure.

The setting was making him feel increasingly uneasy too. The walls of the restaurant felt like they were going to move at any second, and his head spun as the room seemed to heat up.

Undoing the top button of his shirt, he called for the waiter. Misato jolted in surprise.

"Wh- Kaji! What are you-"

Kaji met her stare with a glare that meant business.

"This was a bad idea, Misato. I feel sick just sitting here," he spat in a hushed tone. "So instead of sitting here and trying to end this relationship like a pair of caricatured adults like you thought we could do, I'm giving us an out to do this our way."

Misato was taken aback, and a mixture of both relief and tension washed over her body. As the waiter came over to provide the check, both of her hands were trembling in her lap as she gritted her teeth.

Looking up as Kaji said something unintelligible to her, she noticed the check sitting on the table. And as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop her composure from breaking.

Forcefully bringing her bag up onto the table, she reached in for her purse and threw it on the table. Then, with a barely concealed sob, she turned and left.

After paying for the meal, Kaji grabbed her things and went after her. It wasn't long until he found Misato crouching by a tree near a park, her dress ripped from her running.

Hearing his approaching footsteps, she looked up at him. Her eyeliner was running as residual tears ran down her face, and her breathing was labored.

"I... really made a scene back there, didn't I?"

"Nah, we've looked worse in public." Crouching down in front of her, Kaji offered Misato a napkin to wipe her face.

Laughing as she wiped off what remained of her makeup, Misato settled down.

"Kaji... do you remember the first time we broke up?"

Taking a seat by the same tree as her, Kaji replied in a breathy voice.

"Yeah, now that was a mess. We got banned from our favorite bar."

"We did," Misato chuckled. "It was a bad time for both of us."

Catching his breath from chasing down Misato, Kaji looked over at her and replied in a serious voice.

"I never did apologize for that. I-"

"I took you back without hearing you out," Misato interrupted. "The situation behind the breakup was too painful, and I missed you. I couldn't let you off the hook for what you did, but I wanted you back. And that was stupid."

"Yeah." Kaji sounded like he was a lifetime away. "I never got to apologize, and it's been eating away at me. I think that's why we're so bad at managing this relationship thing - we never talked about what happened."

Seven years of anxiety and anger flashed through Misato's mind, a package of emotions that she'd been repressing for the sake of having a stable relationship - or so she had told herself. The wall she'd built up began to dissolve, and she began to see clearly as the baggage made itself clear for the first time in years.

"...I never forgave you for what you did, Kaji. You cheated on me with my best friend."

Kaji sighed in resignation.

"I... I've wanted to apologize since we got back together. I tried to, but you'd always stop me. Eventually I just... thought we'd be happy. I thought we could put it behind us."

"Yeah." Misato looked up at the stars that were beginning to show in the sky. "I never let you apologize because I just wanted to forget. Look what that led to."

Shuffling his thin coat to find something, Kaji reached inside and pulled out a rectangular box. Reaching out, he offered the open end to Misato.

"Smoke?"

Misato looked at the box in surprise.

"Wh- wait, did you take up smoking again? Where'd you get these?"

Kaji laughed heartily.

"You'll never guess who I ran into today. Took a walk to clear my head, and I ended up going somewhere familiar."

"You did not!" Misato slapped Kaji's arm lightly. "You ran into that bum Toji?!"

He laughed harder.

"I just bought these today, don't have a heart attack." Closing the box, he withdrew his arm.

Misato spoke up from where she sat.

"...I'm really controlling about you smoking, aren't I?"

Placing a cigarette in his mouth, Kaji replied as he grabbed a lighter.

"You pushed really hard for me to quit, but I was okay with it. I loved you back then, and I saw where you were coming from."

A few seconds passed as Kaji exhaled. The chilly evening air was creeping up Misato's ripped skirt, and she shivered.

"I... wasn't worried about your health, you know."

"Hmm?"

Misato shuffled closer to Kaji, until she was cuddling up to him. She kept her face away from his sight.

"...The taste of cigarettes in your mouth reminded me of who you used to be. And I couldn't stand it."

Looking down at her, Kaji couldn't help but notice how different Misato looked. The usually headstrong woman that he had fallen in love with felt like a completely different person, shivering at his side.

"You really wanted to bury the past, didn't you?

Misato nodded.

"I wanted my cake, and I wanted to eat it too. I tried to have you without having to think about what you'd done, and that was selfish of me."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up." Caressing her face with a warm hand, Kaji brought her stare to meet his own. "I shouldn't have gotten back together with you without talking about the past. We're partners in crime, you know."

Feeling the warmth spread through her cold cheek, Misato smiled.

"...Yeah. We are."

Throwing his arm around her, covering her shoulder with his coat in the process, Kaji sat with Misato in a comfortable silence.

"...Hey, Kaji."

He looked down as his smoke burnt out. "Yeah?"

"You said that you 'loved' me earlier." Misato looked at him with sad eyes. "Does that mean you don't love me any more?"

Gently holding her chin between his thumb and forefinger, Kaji leant in and whispered into Misato's ear.

"Misato Katsuragi, I have always loved you. Even as our relationship has stagnated, I have never stopped loving you from the moment I first met you."

Pulling back, he stopped at Misato's mouth and gave her a long, sensual kiss.

"And that's the truth. I promise."

Looking into Kaji's eyes, Misato couldn't help tearing up again - but instead of sadness or frustration, they were tears of happiness.

Eventually, the sun set. And as the last rays of sunlight sank below the tops of the buildings, Misato tore herself out of Kaji's grasp. Before he could ask what was going on, Misato shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Jeez Misato, what are y-"

"I feel so good for once, damn!" Misato yelled out to an empty park. "I've been so bitchy and irregular, and now I actually feel something for once! Took long enough if you ask me!"

Standing over a bewildered Kaji, she bent over and gave him an ample view of her cleavage. His bewildered look spoke volumes.

"You're not off the hook, Ryoji Kaji - we're going to talk about this! For real!"

"Y-yes, Misato!" Unable to find a suitable rebuttal, Kaji blabbered whatever came to his mind first.

Misato smirked confidently. "Good! Now we're going to my place, getting some crappy paperwork done, and if you're lucky you might get some fanservice~"

With a single baffled "Buh?" from Kaji, Misato dragged him out of his sitting position and led him towards a nearby taxi rank. Both her and Kaji knew that their relationship wouldn't mend that easily - as carefree as they both were, they knew that a night of rushed paperwork and wild sex couldn't heal seven years of ignored tension and hostility.

But as far as Misato cared, it was a damn good start.

AN: What. A. Wait. There's so much to talk about, but I want to keep this AN as short as possible. First of all - I neglected this story for nearly a year, directly after celebrating the one-year anniversary. I am so sorry - I got sidetracked, and to be completely honest I stopped caring. I'm interested in at least another chapter before disappearing again, you can count on it.

Second - I made a joke back in chapter 12 about chapter 13 coming out after the Rebuild 3.33 dub came out. This chapter is out two months after the release of the Rebuild dub. I thought that was pretty funny as I read through the story again, to prepare for this chapter.

Half of this has been sitting as-is from August 2015. I only just wrote the rest tonight. I'm probably going to regret posting this, but I need to post this now - I'm feeling pretty guilty over the hiatus and I need to get this out. I'll make another post on the devblog - the link to my personal A Shared Existence blog is on my profile, please visit if you're interested in more of my rambling.

I said I'd keep this AN short, and now look at it. Thank you so much for reading, and I'm so sorry for leaving the story in limbo for so long.