Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Fan Fiction ❯ Lanslide ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

He woke up alone. He hadn't expected anything else, not really; still, it stung a bit. She'd hacked the security system and locked the door behind her, at least.
It was afternoon. A glance at the security system told him she'd left only an hour before. Damn it, he'd stayed awake for hours, holding her while she slept. Why did he have to doze off just before she got up?
The balcony door was open. They'd stumbled inside, he unwilling to let her go long enough to close it. She'd clung to him as if she was drowning. There had been nothing desperate or frenzied in their actions; only a slow, deliberate ferocity, a hunger that had nothing to do with sex.
Neither of them had spoken afterward. She'd fallen asleep quickly, her exhaustion outweighing the scant three hours' sleep she'd had. She stretched out beside him, tucked her head in the crook of his arm, and closed her eyes. Batou lay very still so as not to disturb her. He was fascinated by the rise and fall of her chest as he breathed, how her eyelashes lay on her cheeks, the place where her neck curved into her shoulder. Finally he too was lured into sleep by her warmth.
And now he had to drag himself out of bed and go to work.
And see her again.

Converting /tmp/phpwm22wa to /dev/stdout