I'm back! :) Thanks to everyone who requested for this story to be updated. I know it's been awhile...like previously stated, sometimes it's good to leave a story for awhile (or even a long while) and then come back to it later with fresh perspective.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Matrix Trilogy, its characters or any related entities.
With that said, enjoy!

Over the next week or so, Theo could tolerate most of the attitude changes toward her. It seemed as if any room she entered, the person within it would suddenly become very involved in whatever they were doing. Or if they had not been doing anything at that moment, they quickly found something to do so as not to have to look at her directly when they said hello. Morpheous had already firmly scolded her for running off the way she did. She'd already apologized to the crew collectively, especially to Neo, whom she heard had to quickly carry her to a nearby phone booth after the fall. She could only imagine the panic she had caused, when agents could have appeared at any moment. She was right to blame herself for the change of atmosphere aboard the Nebuchadnezzar.

But Tank...Tank was another story altogether. He seemed to go out of his way to get away from Theo. And it was never too difficult to outrun her since she was on crutches. He seemed to have become very good at ducking into rooms when they were about to pass in the hallway. One night after the accident, she went to sit with him at the construct. He muttered hello and looked so tense that Theo had to excuse herself and go back to her room. She was heartbroken. Was he really that mad at her?

Theo wasn't the only one who had noticed Tank's change in demeanor. One day, Dozer approached Tank with knowing intrigue. "You've been quiet lately, T," he said. Here he was, burly and hands covered with grease, sitting down to have a heart-to-heart with his younger brother. Tank continued tapping away at the construct screen without even looking in Dozer's direction. "Have I?" he answered. "I didn't notice."

"Well yeah, ever since that incident with Theo you've been walking around like a robot."

"I've been busy."

"Really?"

"We've all been busy."

"No more than usual."

"I've just had things on my mind."

"Like what?"

"Just..things."

"Like what, T?"

Tank sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look...I'm fine. Nothing's wrong, I just...just..."

He knew he was losing ground. Dozer gave a sympathetic smile.

"I've seen how you look at her Tank. Just admit it. You like Theo but you don't wanna show it."

Tank felt the blood rushing to his face. He had helped pilot the Neb at high speeds across miles of jagged rock while being pursued by sentinals. He had successfully retrieved his shipmates from the matrix while agents were hot on their trail. He had never lost a single person. Now here he was, being brought to his knees by a crush on a girl.

"I can't do this right now," he said and rose to leave his seat.

"No, nuh uh. Sit." Dozer's mighty frame rose to block his path. Tank knew he didn't stand much of a chance, so he reluctantly returned to his chair.

"You need to tell her, man," said Dozer once Tank was seated. Tank scoffed.

"Yeah right," he said. "I'm ten years older than her, man. And why would she bother with a grease monkey like me?"

Dozer chuckled. "Yeah, good point," he said. Tank punched him in his shoulder.

"Who the hell asked you?" he said sarcastically. And they both laughed.

"Seriously though, I know you haven't had that much luck with women since Leti..."

Tank smiled again.

"I dunno. Theo just seems...different."

"I know she's different." A thoughtful look settled on Tank's face. "She's sweet as hell...always smiling."

"And she's cute."

Tank smirked. Those full lips...the way her cheeks plumped when she smiled. Those crystalline brown eyes that, despite her sadness, always sparkled with some hidden laughter. Theo touched a part of him that he didn't know had existed before. He was a man. A man in the midst of a revolution. To let your guard down could mean the end of your life. He was thoroughly uncomfortable with how vulnerable the new girl made him feel. Yet at the same time, he wanted more of her. He wanted her to feel the same. This wasn't anything like the handful of semi-relatonships he'd had in the past. This felt like more than that. It felt....deeper. More real. Like something real could happen between him and Theo. Tank felt a bit embarassed that Dozer had noticed that he had been acting strangely, but he knew that if anyone had his best interest at heart, it was brother.

"We'll be docking in Zion next week," Dozer said. Of course Tank already knew that. But he heard something behind Dozer's voice.
"And?"

"And you know they'll be having a big party when we get there."

Tank smiled. "I got you. I'll talk to her then."

"That's if you've grown a pair by then, lil brother."

Tank went to punch Dozer again but this time Dozer dodged him.

"Too fast for ya!" he laughed. "I'll see you later man."

"Alright, D."

So that was it...Tank was going to tell Theo that he was into her...or that he wanted to be her old man...or...what was it exactly that he was going to tell her? He closed his eyes and sighed. He had no idea what he was doing. In the past he'd never had a serious relationship. Just a few shallow flings that kept his libido satisfied.

When he was eight or nine there had been a girl who lived nearby, Leti. Leti was shy...she was tall and thin with big green eyes. The first time they saw each other was in front of his family's house. She just stared at him. He stared back. They stared for a good thirty seconds before she turned around and dashed back to her house. The next day he saw her again. They stared at each other again. This time she took a few steps toward him. He asked her name. She smiled and told him. "I'm Tank," he said. And after that they were best of friends. Almost every day, he, Dozer, Leti and some other kids would run off and play agents and heroes near the giant resivoire. Tank was very protective of Leti, and whenever anyone started to play to rough with her, he'd promptly run them off. Once the dam operator caught Tank climbing over the railings and chased them all away, forbidding them from ever playing there again. Not long after, Leti discovered a small enclave that became their "house." Tank was the husband and Leti was the wife. Dozer and some of the other kids would visit "Tank's house" from time to time. Leti would bake dirt pies in their oven and Tank would tend to the "garden" in front of the house where the fruits and vegetables grew. Their parents had always told them that a long time ago, there were these organisms called plants, and they weren't human or machine or even animals, but they grew out of the ground and humans would use them for food, shelter and clothing. The children always thought it strange. How could something just grow up out of the ground? But it sounded like a cool idea to have plants of your own. So Tank was quite proud of his garden.

One day he had to say goodbye to Leti. Her parents had been killed in a sentinal attack. A family on the other side of Zion had offered to take her in. He saw her less and less after that. For some reason, her new family wasn't too keen on letting her go to see Tank often. He found out why when he was in his early twenties, that Leti had gone on to marry the family's oldest son. Tank and Leti remained good friends. But that was the closest he'd ever come to having a real girlfriend.

He really wasn't that proficient with women when he was eight. So how was it going to be now?