Wow. Ok, that's all I've got to say. Pretty large spoilers.
It was their first quiet moment since the whole mess had started. Aramaki had put them all at a zen temple, telling them to get some rest and gather their thoughts, so here they were.
Batou watched the Major from the back of a room, noting how she stood, her breathing pattern, it was all just second nature now. She wasn't quite herself these days, her shoulders just a bit hunched…tired. Well, he could understand that. He wasn't himself either. They had taken a hard loss – every Tachikoma sacrificed, Proto suffering mild cyber brain damage from his extended dive into the net unprotected, Kuze killed under their noses…
"Batou," the major said without turning around, "Why do you watch me like that?"
He shrugged, padding up to stand beside her in front of the shrine. "It's part of my job."
She smirked. "That's the second time you've come to get me when you were supposed to be doing something else, you know." She said, and he knew she was referring to finding her buried in the rubble weeks ago. "Isn't following orders part of your job too?"
"Some things are more important," he said without hesitation.
"Batou…" she trailed off. Then she shook herself, standing a little straighter. "Thank you," she murmured, and walked off.
He watched her go, something in him longing to make her understand how far he would go for her. But instead he turned back to the shrine, bowed, and went the other way. He would wait. Just as he always had.