Author's Note: Since sometimes the Merovingian has pale skin, but changes to tan-skinned during the Club Hel scene's, this time he's got a tan.

Cake

All Neo knew was that he felt far too hot and then cold, like he had a fever and his clothes felt far too tight. Gray-eyes glowed as tanned hands wandered over his chest, leaving warm, tingling trails behind. Soft feeling lips broke the rough kiss and he gasped for breath feeling very light-headed.

The words he thought he heard were distant and echoed slightly, "Mon amour, veux-tu de plus ?" *My love, do you want more ?*

His gaze drifted past the graying-black head to the red-bricked alley behind. 'What's…going…on ? God, I feel, why ?' Just because he could and because the little, fuzzy voice in the back of his head said something was wrong, he shook his head.

As those hands were being pulled away, the cold overwhelmed the heat and he shivered, desperately wanting the heat back. Dimly, he heard the sound of something slamming against, and cracking, the wall and an equally familiar dark voice snarling, "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Merovingian ?"

'Smith, swear, no. No, yes ? Cold, cold, fuck.'

If something else was going on, he didn't catch it and so suddenly, that he nearly had a heart attack, startling, icy-blue eyes were looking slightly down at him. The world slowed and he didn't know if it was just whatever had happened to him, or if it was actually, because he'd managed to focus, as Smith wondered, "Are you all right ? Did he give you anything ?"

At any other time, he would've almost thought that Smith sounded concerned about him. This being whatever it was, he didn't know if he was imagining it or not.

He managed to say, "Yes, no, no…ah, gah.", just before everything started tilting sideways until arms wrapped around his back. The thought, 'God, wa-arm.', entered his head as he leaned into Smith, he sighed and gave a welcome shiver from the sudden heat.

Leaned his head on Smith's shoulder as the dark-brown haired, ex-Agent rumbled, "As cute as your being tongue-tied around me is, it is also annoying. Did he or did he not give you a piece of that damned cake ?"

Flashback

Neo struggled as the albino twins slammed him into a wall. The graying black-haired Merovingian in a black-suit walked up holding a piece of cake, "Do you remember this from Levrai ?"

He snarled, "Yes, and no, I don't want that get it the fuck away from me !"

The Information-Trafficker shook his head, "You break my 'eart, quand j'ai eu cette codée spécialement pour vous, Mon Cher. I zuppose we will 'ave to do zis ze 'ard way zen." *When I had this coded especially for you, my dear.*

'This can't be good, I think I just got fucked over.'

It was forced into his mouth, then he was choked into near unconsciousness and released. When he landed splayed on the black marble floor he had to swallow it to breathe at all.

What felt like a few seconds later, it got harder to think, while the floor started feeling like it was made of ice. Surprised, he pulled his cheek away and raised his head, a flash of fire shot through his body it twined with the cold as his heart started pounding in his ears. He wrapped his arms around himself to try to escape the two extremes.

A hand cupped his chin and raised it, "Comment vous sentez-vous ?" *How do you feel ?*

He looked up into a tanned face and dark-gray eyes as the cold disappeared leaving only the warmth. When the man let go he felt cold again, he reached out, desperate for the warmth again he put a hand on the man's wrist and found it…

End Flashback

Again, he raised his head to answer, "Yes, but it's different."

'I…think it's wearing off. God, what the fuck did Frenchie just make me do ?'

The Merovingian laughed, "Et von't go a'vay on et's own. Dans le cas, vous voulez savoir, Smith, il est bon à sucer. Pourtant vous pouvez tout aussi bien baiser et d'en finir avec il est bon à ça aussi." *In case, you want to know, Smith, he's good at sucking. Still, you may as well fuck and get it over with, he's good at that too.*

'What the Hell is that French dick saying now ? Do I even want to know ? Probably not.' It surprised and aroused him when Smith growled then started hissing graphic and enthusiastic curses in his ear.

"Well, it is not happening, no matter that he is half-lucid, again, he is still under cake/drug's influence and unlike you, Merovingian I refuse to stoop so low as to take advantage of him."

That was when he blacked out, when he woke up, he had an arm wrapped around Smith's white-clad chest and his breath ruffled the back of the brown-hair. He stared at the side of Smith's neck, before he muttered, "What the Hell ?"

He groaned as his head started to ache, 'What am I doing here ? I mean, I definitely don't mind being like this, but how'd I get here ?'

As fuzzy and disgusting memories flooded his mind, he let go of Smith to roll over and throw up on the light-wooded floor, "Oh, God, oh God…I can't believe I did that."

Warmth loomed over him as Smith's hand ran through his hair, the dark tones consoling, "It was not your fault, it was the Merovingian's and he will not be doing that to anyone ever, again. I made sure of that."

Slowly, he got out of the bed and made his way along the white-wall into the bathroom. After he rinsed his mouth out, he lifted his head to look in the mirror. His skin was almost deathly pale, so, even paler than his normal tone and his eyes, already dark-brown, looked nearly black in contrast; overall, he looked fucking eerie. 'Yeesh, I look more like a fucking vampire than I do a rebel. Don't tell me I got bit by one of those fuckers too.'

Smith walked into the bathroom to stand a bit behind him, "You still look beautiful and no, you did not get bitten. That is just a side effect of the cake, it made you sleep for two whole days, as you were not used to it and thus you had a stronger reaction as your body tried to get rid of it. It was exasperated by the drugs that Morpheus and the others tried to give you for it."

He met the bright, blue-eyes in the mirror and couldn't help a slight smile as he remembered Smith's last words. "Thank you, Smith, you didn't have to do that. I don't know what I-"

"Nothing, you are safe and that is all that matters to me."

It made him turn and raise an eyebrow, "Why did you save me from him ?"

The ex-Agent returned his smile with a strange, but charming half-smile/half-smirk, "I love you, Neo, that is why."

More than anything else, he learned/remembered this morning that surprised him. Slowly, he nodded and replied, "That's good…I love you too, Smith."

"It is good, now, come, you need to, at least, think you have eaten something today. Do you trust me to make something for you ?"

As he replied, "Yeah, I trust you.", they left the bathroom and went downstairs into the kitchen. Overall, it was a very good day as his health, however faint, color returned.