I've seen a lot of Misato x Shinji cosplays, but this one wins by far.
Jokes aside, if this pairing doesn't pan out, if it's just a tease, if the author in the end has not enough balls to make it true, I'll be a very angry reader.
Not so much because the pairing doesn't happen (I am invested, but I would understand it still), but because the author has spent so many chapters investing the readers into it. If it doesn't happen, it would be an edge.