The control room was in chaos. Red emergency lights flashing in erratic bursts as the operators scrambled to regain control of the situation. Misato’s voice cut through the static. “Unit-02, Unit-04! Regain control of your Evas immediately! You’re compromising the mission!”

Inside their cockpits, both Kaworu and you struggled to respond. Sweat dripped down your temple, hands trembling over the controls.

Another Angel loomed before you both, the flickering remnants of its AT Field fluctuating in and out of existence. It was injured, but not out of the fight.

Your thoughts weren’t here. Not really. They were with him.

Kaworu’s voice filtered through the comms, softer than usual, brittle in a way that made your chest tighten. “You’re distracted.”

You gritted your teeth, fingers curling against the damp fabric of your plugsuit. “So are you.”

You had belonged to each other. A bond deeper than words, deeper than time itself. A love that should have defied everything. And yet, it had fallen apart.

No one truly knew why. Maybe you did. Maybe he did. But neither of you had spoken of it. The weight of it settled in your bones, in the way your hands faltered on the controls.

The Angel surged forward, a last-ditch effort to retaliate, but your sluggish response came too late. A blast of energy struck between your Evas, sending both of you crashing backward.

“Damn it, both of you! Get your heads together or retreat NOW"

“Why did we let it go like this?” His voice, barely above a whisper, still carried through the comms. Your fingers twitched on the controls, but no answer came to your lips. Because there was none. Kaworu’s voice cracked through again, and this time, it was pleading.“We can’t keep doing this.”

You didn’t know if he meant the mission or the way you were slowly, inevitably, destroying each other. A part of you whispered that he was right. That you couldn’t keep this up. That something had to give.

The only question was—what would break first? You, him, or the world around you?