Neo's story truly made Aliyah respect him more. He had gone through so much, and he had gone through most of it alone. She wanted to care for him and show him that he was worthy of being loved. She wanted him to know it was okay to be vulnerable and that he wasn't alone.
Aliyah propped up blankets and a pillow behind her back and motioned for Neo to sit in front of her. He grunted on his way down and nestled his back into Aliyah's stomach and his head on her chest. She removed his hat and smoothed out his hair.
Neo relaxed into it and let her play with his hair and massage his scalp. This was probably one of the most intimate things he'd done with anyone. But it wasn't so intimate because of their physical proximity, it was intimate because they'd just bared their hearts to each other.
