After the fallout had settled from their night out, Shinji and Rei as well as Misato and Kaji had returned to their regular pace at work. Gendo had returned from the conference he attended with Fuyutsuki, and after a few days without mentioning his office to her, Misato had figured that she was in the clear for the mess she'd made.

Gendo did know about the mess, however - the cleaning crew had told him about it the second he got back. Considering the state of everyone's work and how clean the office was upon his return, however, he had decided not to push the issue - aside from sending Misato a quick warning, threatening an official strike against her name if it were to happen again.

Aside from that, everything was back to normal. For the first few days, everyone was on-schedule - even Asuka had managed to pick up the slack it seemed, and both her and Rei's department was moving along smoothly with the addition of Maya Ibuki. Rei had noticed Asuka's improved work ethic, and to her it seemed like she was trying to set an example of sorts - to somehow put Maya "in her place", like a territorial display of superiority. Without the usual interruptions, however, she never had a chance to vocalize her theory.

Shinji was doing well too, although he felt like something was off about Misato and Kaji. They hadn't been speaking to him ouside of lunch, which was a relief in ways, but their relative silence was bothering him. Considering what Kaji had said about the state of their relationship and the advice Shinji had given him, it was a bit worrying to see them keep to themselves.

It was a few days after returning to work that Misato and Kaji decided to break the news.

"You... broke up?"

Shinji was the first to hear the news, having reached their lunch area first. Misato had a fairly modest pile of vending machine food, and Kaji had a bottle of sparkling water in place of his usual canned coffee.

"I wouldn't say broken up, just..." Kaji trailed off, trying to find a better term.

"...Seperated for a while, just to clear our heads."

Kaji nodded at Misato's addition.

"We decided that we still care about each other, but we've got a lot of baggage to sort out. And we're still close, we're taking the whole process pretty slow."

Shinji furrowed his brow. The news had him shaken, but they sounded pretty neutral about the whole thing - considering the drama that had come out of their first breakup, he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

Finally, he spoke up.

"...So nothing new happened to bring this on?"

"No, we've been pretty good this time around," Misato said as she unwrapped something to eat. "We just didn't clear the air properly from the first time."

"Hmm."

Not really knowing how to take the news, Shinji began on his own lunch. It wasn't long until Rei and Asuka arrived, and the news was repeated to them.

"...I'm glad that this has been a mutual decision for you both, and I wish for your well-being during this process." Rei had thought for a moment, before saying a single sentence and unwrapping her lunch.

Asuka, in comparison, was livid.

"What?! You don't have anything else to say?!"

Rei looked at her co-worker calmly.

"I saw them just last weekend going through a rough patch. To my understanding, they want to remain as friends or even partners, but take enough time to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get all that!" Asuka interrupted, slamming her food down onto the table. "But you know how bad they were the first time, how it managed to affect all of us! This should be a bigger deal! Hell, how does Shinji feel about this?"

"I told you," Shinji replied nonchalantly, "I'm happy that they're working this out. It's a bit sad and confusing, but I think they're doing the right thing for their relationship."

Grumbling, Asuka sat back down. The group spent an awkward few minutes eating in total silence, with the occasional clack of utensils or sip of water sounding out.

Eventually, near the end of their lunch period, Asuka spoke up again in a more neutral tone of voice - still a bit angry, but noticably calmer.

"Just tell me one thing. If something does hit a nerve, or if you don't get back together - can you promise not to create a big deal out of it?"

Both Kaji and Misato looked up from their meals with a confused look on their face. Asuka scrowled.

"Look, if you guys screw up, is it going to make our lives harder? Will we have to choose sides, will it spill over into our work lives?"

Misato shook her head.

"No, we're handling this pretty calmly. We're handling our personal issues in our own spare time. And even if we do break up, we'll organize something that doesn't rock the boat too much."

"Yeah, this is nothing like last time," Kaji added. "Our break-up affected you guys because it involved the school. This is just between us."

"...Hmph." With a satisfied grunt, Asuka stood up to go back to work. Everyone else stayed to clean the area, and to say a quick goodbye before the lunch bell rang.

"I know I didn't say much, but..."

While speaking to Misato, Rei trailed off. With a smirk, Misato threw an arm over her shoulder, to Rei's surprise.

"It's okay, say what you need to. We know this is weird, but if we weren't looking for input, we would have said so!"

Unwrapping herself from Misato's arm, Rei looked away.

"...I hope you can both work this out. I want you both to be happy however you decide to resolve your issues, but... I especially hope you'll find happiness together."

Looking at her, both Kaji and Misato froze in their tracks. The half-hearted grin that Kaji had been wearing all lunch soon softened into a genuine smile, and he put his hand on Rei's shoulder.

"...We'll try our best."

And with the lunch bell ringing, the group parted.

Walking back to their department, Misato nudged Shinji.

"I didn't think Rei would be so cut up about this, y'know."

Shinji smiled softly.

"She took your words to heart last weekend, Misato. She told me what you said, and she really appreciated it."

"Y-yeah, I was pretty drunk." Misato shook her head in embarrassment.

"You were sincere, though." Kaji snaked up to Misato and put an arm around her shoulder. "I've never known you to be an insincere drunk."

"Keep your damn hands to yourself!"

As Misato flipped out at Kaji, Shinji laughed. He knew as well as Kaji that he was telling the truth.

I'm sure she wants the best for you, just like you said that you wanted the best for us.

AN: This marks the end of the beginning, I guess. If I hadn't been so boneheaded and posted chapter 15 the same night I finished it, I probably would have written this as the epilogue. Now it's a short interlude chapter.

Next chapter is something different. Maybe a little angsty. Maybe a flashback, even? Maybe both, or maybe neither. Please leave a review if you have the chance, let me know what you think and how you'd like the story to go or something. I'd appreciate any input you have.