Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters below. I can only dream.
Motoko Kusanagi, female commander of Public Security Section Nine, was fast asleep. Her traveling partner, a large cyborg named Batou wasn't really surprised by this- the flight they were on was a long one and the Major (as everyone called her), looked exhausted. It was an amusing sight, nonetheless, to see his tough leader curled up on the expensive leather airline seat. To his credit, he was trying really hard not to laugh. 'She looks so peaceful asleep...' He thought, absently. Awake and she was a pistol. That woman didn't miss a thing. When she was asleep however, that changed. All the lines that had entered her face after the death of the rebel Hideo Kuze had left her, leaving her looking untroubled. Her mouth was slightly opened, and her blood red eyes were closed. Her violet hair was mussed and she shifted. She almost could have passed for a young girl, all innocent and pure.
Batou was captivated.
His obsession, if it could even be called that, had started at some point after they had begun working together at Section Nine. She was his leader, his commander. He would give his life for hers in a heartbeat. But, it had evolved to something deeper than that. A burning pulse that kept him thinking about her constantly.
It was said that cyborgs, or those with cyberized brains, could not love. He begged to differ.
Leaning back on his own couch from across the jet, he looked around for a second and then fastened his gaze back on her. He knew he was staring openly, but they were alone. Besides the pilot, who was an android anyway. There was no way she would know. 'I wonder what Kuze was to her,' he thought after a couple moments of observation. After the discovery of the refugee leader's death, the Major had withdrawn in on herself. She was still her, of course, but the fire of her energy seemed to dim. The fire that he loved about her.
Every so often, she would bite her nails, and touch the white paper crane that they had found with Kuze's body. It was eventually concluded among the unit that something had happened to her in the short time that she had been trapped with the rebel. Something, but no one could determine what. They were all quite certain that it meant death to the one who even brought it up.
Sighing, he stood and retrieved a blanket from the over head compartment and gently tucked it around her shoulders. The Major shifted, causing a lock of her hair to fall in her face. Unconciously, Batou wiped it away, touching her cheek gently. Then, he retreated to his couch and looked out the window. She didn't move.
Two hours later, with six hours still to go on the flight, he stood again. This time, it was to stretch his legs, though he did walk over to the minifridge that had been supplied for them. About to take out a beer, he stopped when he heard a voice that he knew oh-so-well.
"No beer, dumbass. We are still on a mission." Her soprano tones drifted across the space between them, causing him to look in her direction. Motoko hadn't even bothered to even open her eyes.
'She doesn't miss a trick, my Major.'
Selena's Note: That's my fluffly little oneshot for Batou and Motoko. I love 2nd Gig to death, I just wish that Kuze could have lived. He was awesomelyfluffy! Read and Rate!