It occurs to me that I have made Neo incredibly horny when it comes to Trinity. I do not know why I have done this. As for what's up with the Oracle telling Trin that Neo would die... if you've read Death and Rebirth, go back and read the chapter (11, I believe) with Trin's visit to the Oracle. Think carefully, see if you can guess, and then wait for me to get to that part of the movie, and see if you figured it out. : )

Once again, the review junkie humbly begs that you feed her addiction, especially considering the fact that she got something like 120 hits on the last chapter and all of FOUR reviews, even though she explicitly asked for lots of them... Please? Makes cute sad puppy face that no one with a shred of decency could resist.

---

Knowing and Walking

Chapter Seven

Better to Have Loved and Lost...

As he saw her, the familiar nervousness and uncertainty took over him. But it was quickly followed by excitement and a thrill that was becoming more and more common as time progressed. She glanced up at him as he entered the mess hall, and he could swear he saw the slightest hint of a smile on her face. He sheepishly grinned back and continued past her to the counter.

Their relationship - however foggy the lines that defined it - had become decidedly more open over the past two or three weeks. He had taken Tank's advice to heart, and was doing everything in his power to make her trust him. He helped her out where he could, tried his best not to be intimidating, asked her little questions now and then. They had even had several full-blown conversations. And her training... God help him, it had only made him more attracted to her. There was no bullshitting with her, and it had not taken him long to realize that Morpheus really had been holding out on him. Trinity never gave him a moment to rest, always demanding more from him, but never more than he could give. As tough as she was, she was carefully guiding him, always helping him to be better. In retrospect, he was sure that that first morning, nine days ago, was when he had truly fallen for her, as masochistic as that probably was.

He took a deep breath, reminding himself of how successful his attempted conversations had been with her in the past, and took his seat across from her.

It took him a few minutes to work up the nerve to ask his question, but as soon as he had just enough, he jumped at the opportunity. "Hey, um... I was wondering something. About the machines."

She looked up at him, and he instantly felt that the question that had been bothering him for weeks was stupid. But somehow, he knew she would still answer. "Hm?"

"How... how are we supposed to beat them, exactly? I mean, those sentinels... I mean, if that's just the start of it, how can you expect to win?"

Trinity smiled sadly at him, as much at the answer to his question, he assumed, as to Neo's own naivete. "I don't."

He sat in stunned silence, waiting for her to elaborate, explain. When she did not, he ventured on, "But... Morpheus... he wants to defeat them and free everyone in the Matrix." This new revelation confused him beyond reason.

Trinity sighed heavily, seeming to search for the proper words to explain her meaning. "Morpheus. For freeing so many minds, I'm still surprised that he doesn't spend as much time in reality as the rest of us." She noted Neo's furrowed brow. "Don't get me wrong, he's a great leader and fighter, and I trust him with my life, but... He is very unrealistic. Very idealistic. The end that Morpheus would prefer for the war isn't feasible."

"But..." That didn't make any sense. "He's seems so sure about it. That's what he's been working towards."

"I know. That's the thing about him - once he gets his heart set on something, starts believing in it... that's it. No going back."

Neo still wasn't entirely certain. How could a person devote his life to a cause so completely, fight for it with every fiber of his being, and yet have someone so very close to him who was equally convinced that his goal was all but impossible? His eyes searched hers for an explanation, some rhyme or reason.

"There's six billion people in the Matrix, Neo," she explained patiently, setting down her spork to give him her undivided attention. "Zion can only support a tiny fraction of a percent of that, and the surface is uninhabitable. Even if it was, building the cities we'd need, the infrastructure would take decades if not a century or more. They'd either be stuck in the Matrix for that time or they'd die off by the tens of millions. Building underground cities would take even longer. And both of those plans would only work if we had any hope at all of destroying all of the machines."

He waited, eating small bites of his food as he studied her, trying to comprehend her words. He processed them for a long time, but could not come up with a solution. "So what are you fighting for, exactly? How is this supposed to end?" Surely no war, whatever it was fought for, was worth fighting forever.

"Well..." There was something in her eyes, beyond the sadness and longing for a world she had never truly known. There was, just for a fleeting moment, hidden deep in those blue orbs, the slightest bit of hope. Like Pandora's box, he mused. "We can't undo what we did to the sky. Scientists have been working on it for years, but they have yet to figure anything out. So, for the foreseeable future, unfortunately, we rely on each other to survive. One dies, so does the other. The only thing any of us can really hope for is that, one day, they let us free everyone who wants out of the Matrix, no more no less, and leave it at that. No more fighting."

This seemed reasonable enough. The machines needed their bioelectricity to keep running, the humans would die without the life support provided to them by the machines, and the Matrix to keep them happy. The thought was almost sickening, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was truly no other way. To destroy the machines was to destroy almost every last member of the human race. But if this were so, he wondered, if it truly was only a matter of simple logic as Neo thought, why was there such resistance to it on both sides? From the machines especially, whom he was led to believe were creatures who knew nothing but logic.

"Well... why do we have to fight them to do it? Why can't we... I don't know, negotiate with them? Come to some sort of agreement." Trinity smiled sadly again. He wished he could go sit beside her, wrap his arms around her and make the horrible reality of the world go away and leave her alone. "It's not such an unreasonable thing to ask."

"We've tried it before," she sighed. "Back when the war first started, and we didn't have the advantage we thought we would. Couple other times. Never worked."

"Why not?"

"When has any conflict ever been as simple as both sides swallowing their pride and doing what's right for themselves?" She smiled a little, though not in such a way that made him feel embarrassed by his own childlike innocence. "The machines don't want to free us, just like most of us don't want to let them survive. They won't let us go because, if in their position, we wouldn't let them go. We created them, Neo. We're their parents, they're our children. Everything they are, they learned from us, for better or worse." She turned away from him, pushing her food around before continuing to eat. Both became comfortably quiet.

Several minutes later, Trinity finished her meal. As she stood and went to the sink to clean it out, she spoke to him over her shoulder. "Honestly, in Zion, that's the politically correct viewpoint. They are what they are because we made them that way, taught them those things or forced them into it. We created our own enemy. But... like anything else, politically correct doesn't exactly equal common opinion and belief." She turned to face him, leaning back against the counter top. She studied him carefully, and quickly came to a decision about something. "Finish up your dinner, I want to show you something."

Intrigued, he ate the remaining goop quickly, and followed her up to the Core. Sitting down in the operator's chair, she thumbed through a set of disks in a small drawer beneath the console. She chose one that was larger than the rest, with a small box-shaped end that protruded from the computer when she inserted it. He stood behind her as she loaded the program, much closer than he needed to be. He inched closer, and it took all of his self control not to wrap his arms around her shoulders and gently kiss the soft skin of her neck. He stepped back just as she stood from the chair. She didn't seem to have noticed.

She led him to the two closest chairs, and they both began setting up. As she plugged him in, he savored the feel of her hand on his forehead. But it was over all too quickly as she loaded him into the Construct, joining him a moment later. "Run program."

They were suddenly plunged into blackness, followed immediately by patterns of red, orange and yellow squares rushing past them as the program loaded. It finally settled on a Buddhist-looking arrangement within this pattern, something like a giant lotus flower, an elaborately dressed woman in each petal, and one in the center. "Welcome to the Zion Historical Archives," said a feminine, though obviously mechanical voice. "Please select file."

"Second Renaissance," instructed Trinity, "through the creation of the Matrix. Especially the B1-66ER trial."

"Accessing file."

"What did Morpheus tell you about the start of the war?" she asked as they waited. Her look to him was slightly concerned. "Did he tell you that we didn't know who attacked first?"

"Yeah..."

She nodded, turning her eyes to the non-existent ground. "Figured as much. It's true, but," she gestured to the women in the lotus blossom, "as you'll see, there's a big difference between firing the first shot and starting the war." She pointed in front of them, to an emerging viewing screen so large it was almost as if they were actually inside the images they were beginning to see. "It's interactive, you can pause it, go back, ask them to access a different file. It's not the complete archives, but it has all of the major events of the war in fair detail, so you can ask them to go into more detail about specific things." She turned to him, and smiled for a brief moment. "Be sure to put the disk back in the drawer when you're done. And don't stay in here all night, your body may be sleeping, but your mind isn't." She stepped back, waving a little as she said, "Exit program," and disappeared.

He grinned a little at the place she no longer occupied, knowing that she was at least a little bit concerned about him. He turned to face forward again, just as the images started to flow. "In the Beginning, there was Man, and for a time, it was good..."

---

He decided the moment he woke up that, when a woman like Trinity shows concern for you and gives you advice, it is best to take that advice. He, of course, had not done this, and now found himself barely able to push through his exhaustion enough to sit up, put on his boots, and go eat 'breakfast.' As he dragged his feet through the hallway, Neo loathed the fact that, despite doing so well in combat training - which was nothing but mental strength - he showed almost none when it came to convincing himself to continue forward and not turn around and go back to sleep. It took him far too long to reach the mess hall, and far too much effort to push open the door.

In his own groggy state, he did not notice the states of Trinity, Switch, Apoc and Tank, who, for some reason were all sitting on the same side of the table, backs to the door. He slowly retrieved his food, and stumbled back to the table. Only then did he realize that the four crewmen were snickering behind their hands, barely touching their meals.

Neo set down his tray, asking, "What's going on?" Trinity, who was closest to him, pulled him down to sit by the sleeve. "What?"

She turned to him now, a finger to her smiling lips. "Just wait." She was trying desperately not to laugh, and only partially succeeding. Every now and then, the slightest tremor of suppressed laughter would shake her form. He sat mesmerized by the sight, forcing himself into a fully conscious state in order to enjoy this rare moment.

Dozer came in a few minutes later, sporting a frown as he got his food and sat down. He pushed it around, poked at it and took a few bites before saying anything. "My three-year-old children are more mature than the four of you," he sighed in exasperation.

Tank could not suppress a laugh. "You're just mad because you weren't in on it." Dozer rolled his eyes.

Neo was still clueless, and rather curious as to what exactly was going on. For the moment, though, he was far too intrigued by Trinity, far too interested in burning the image of her smile onto his mind's eye to find out what they had done. And he thought she was beautiful before... She was staring down at her dish, and seemed to realize something. She pointed to Neo's bowl, and spoke without wiping the grin from her face. "Eat." A laugh came out with the word. It was almost as wonderful a sound as her voice. "Before it goes bad." She picked up her spork and managed to get a few spoonfuls into her mouth.

He finally realized that he wasn't moving, and forced himself... okay, his arms - one arm, only needed one arm... bottom half of his arm, that's really all he needed - to move, to pick up the spork and eat. He didn't even have to take his eyes off of her. Over the next two minutes, as he tried with some success to eat, listening to suppressed laughs over the silence, he considered his possible future if this kept up. He might turn into one of those people who pined away for someone they knew they couldn't have for their whole lives and ultimately suffered for it. Like some depressing old novel he would have read in high school. Bad option - those guys usually wound up dead by the end of the story. He cringed at the possibility. There was a crazed, broken heart ending in suicide. There was death by old age, decades gone by, suffering through unrequited love. There was the possibility that Trinity was spoken for, that she had someone back in Zion, or on another ship. That this person would find out about Neo's feelings for her, drag him into some dark corner of the last city, knock him over the head and leave him for dead. He didn't imagine that one was very likely; he'd never heard anyone mention Trinity having a lover, and she didn't act as though she did. That, or you just don't want to accept that she might.

The screeching door caught his attention, and Morpheus entered, unusually rigid and silent, staring straight ahead as he moved. The room was suddenly absolutely silent, with Dozer and the four amused crewmen staring at him as he pulled out a bowl, spork and cup, and got his breakfast. Trinity, he noticed, was holding her breath, covering her mouth with her hand. The tremors were back, barely detectable, but constant now. He turned back to Morpheus. He seemed... downright pissed. He set his things on a tray and turned towards the door, still not looking at any of them.

"Veeery funny," he grumbled, drawing out the words as he left. As the door was shut behind him, the mess hall was plunged into hysterical laughter.

Neo had lost all interest in why. Everything else for him froze as he watched this beautiful woman that he loved - yes, loved, this very moment had solidified that forever - doubled over in unadulterated laughter, filled with mirth and joy as he had never seen before.

---

For the most part, Trinity ignored Cypher, working at the Operator's station as she worked in the back of the Core, silently reprogramming a computer. Most likely, he did not even know that she was there. And she preferred it that way, honestly. That uneasy feeling she had grown to associate with his presence had not dissipated, and she now spent as much time away from him as possible. She was still at a loss for why he was acting so strangely, what was wrong with him. She wondered what he was doing out here this late in the evening, when everyone but the two of them, it seemed, were asleep. She did not think about it, though, and ignored him altogether as she worked.

So silent was her presence that, when Neo came up the ladder from the lower levels, he did not see her, either. He simply walked past her, apparently getting the feel for walking silently over the metal floors. Her task finished, she could not help but think how alike they were. Both quiet, somewhat lacking in social skills. Despite their difficult beginnings, both had quickly come to accept the Truth. Both good fighters. She realized that she was staring, her eyes trailing after him as he moved across the room. Spurred forward by the twinge of fear she still could not eradicated, she snatched up all of her things from around her. Over the weeks, it had become not so much a fear of loving Neo, as a fear of losing Neo that crippled her. She hated to think what his death would do to her. Losing other friends and fellow soldiers had been hard enough in the past, when they were people she did not want to give her whole heart and soul to. Never had she cared for anyone as she cared for Neo. Although she could not bring her mind to imagine what it would feel like, she had little doubt that his death would mean hers as well.

She could not help but wonder, as he approached Cypher and stood behind him, why the Oracle would tell her this. Why life would do this. Give her Neo, then rip him away before she could truly be in love with him. Why was life so goddamn cruel?

How could he even be the One if he died? She had never really believed in the Prophecy, never really believed that there was a single individual out there somewhere who could wave his hand and magically end the war. Regardless, this made no sense. He couldn't help them at all if he was dead. For a moment, she thought, again, that maybe he was in fact, not the One, just another poor soul Morpheus had unplugged; but that didn't make sense either. If it was not him, and the Oracle was correct, the true One would still face the same fate.

She sighed, trying to shake away her impending headache as she made her way towards the ladder, unable to completely suppress her thoughts. The One is not the One if he is dead.

"Whoa!" She spun around at Cypher's yell, barely able to see the two men through the spaces between the monitors. "Neo... You scared the bejeezus outta me."

"Sorry..."

Trinity turned back and continued to the lower levels. In the future, months, maybe weeks later, Neo would tell her of that night, of what was said by both men. Though the initial horror would fade, she would never truly be able to forgive herself, knowing that, had she stayed in the Core just two minutes longer, she may have been able to save her friends' lives.

"It's okay," Cypher muttered as he hit one button beside a screen, and all but three of them went black.

Neo frowned a little at this - he knew he was still "the new guy" around here, but he had hoped that by now he had earned enough trust that people wouldn't turn of computer screens whenever he showed up, especially the ones he didn't know how to read. He fished for something to say, something to get rid of the slight awkwardness, and his eyes fell on the three screens of falling green symbols. "Is that..." he began, hesitating because he already knew the answer.

But Cypher bit anyway. "The Matrix? Yeah."

Might as well take the ball and run with it. "Do you always look at it encoded?"

"Well, you have to..." He said something about there being too much information, how you got used to it, all things Neo had already surmised on his own. He didn't know why, but of all eight crew members on the Nebuchadnezzar, he felt the least comfortable around Cypher. He was just so introverted, and not in the shy way, like Neo was. "All I see is blond, brunette, readhead." He gestured to each screen and trailed off. He couldn't read the code, but somehow, he suspected that was not what he was really looking at. "Hey, you, uh..." he looked around, as if to make sure they were really alone. "You want a drink?"

"Sure." He had to build up a tolerance in the real world sooner or later. Cypher pulled a large jug from under the computer and poured the liquid into a cup.

"You know, I know what you're thinking," he mused as he handed Neo his cup. "'Cause right now, I'm thinkin' the same thing. Actually, I've been thinkin' it ever since I got here." He sighed, staring almost longingly at the screens. "Why, oh why didn't I take the blue pill?"

Yes, Neo had indeed considered that very question many times in the last few weeks, but he always came back to the same reasons. He laughed a little at Cypher's joke, but it took him only a fraction of a second to realize that he was the only one doing so. He stared at the man for a moment, not sure what to think. He couldn't... Morpheus had told him, and several others had confirmed, that sometimes, people regretted their choices. Missed their families, their lavish, carefree lives, their money and the precious food that could only be found within the Matrix. If Cypher really was one of those individuals, Neo felt sorry for him, but at the same time, almost admired him for sticking with it because he knew it was the right thing.

He decided to forget it, and took a drink from his cup. He instantly began coughing violently.

Cypher patted him heavily on the back. "Good shit, huh? Dozer makes it." Neo was just barely able to catch his breath and force himself to be still. "Good for two things: degreasing engines and killing brain cells." Neo stared at his cup with distaste, but did not hesitate to drink more. "Did he tell you why he did it?" Cypher continued after a moment of silence. Neo glanced up at him, not understanding. "Why you're here?"

Oh. That. Yeah, he had been told, far too quickly and bluntly for his own liking. The man couldn't have waited twenty-four hours at the very least?

"Gee-zus! What a mindjob." No shit. "So you're here to save the world... What do you say to something like that?"

I really hope I don't let you down and get everyone killed in the process. But he remained silent for a long time.

Finally, Cypher sighed, scanning the room again. When he seemed to have decided that they were alone, he spoke, voice just above a whisper. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret here. Now, don't tell him I told you this, but you're not the first guy Morpheus thought was the One."

Neo nearly dropped his cup in shock. He stared at the other man for several seconds before he could convince his mouth to work again. "Really?"

Cypher nodded, stroking his goatee. "Yep." He repositioned himself on the chair, resting his feet on the console near the floor. "You bet your ass. Keeps him going. I think it keeps a lot of people going."

Neo had not been the least bit sure of himself at first, or ever, really. But, on Morpheus' word, some part of him seemed to believe. And now all of that had suddenly gone flying out the window. "How... how many others were there?"

"Five, that I know of."

"What happened to them?"

"Dead. All dead, except for one." He held up a single finger to emphasize his point, and Neo suddenly wondered how much of this engine degreaser he'd had to drink that night. "Only one of 'em came out of their first encounter with an Agent alive. Care to guess who it was?" He grinned sideways at Neo, who didn't have a clue. Cypher rolled his eyes and turned back to the screens. "The Neb's own resident Ice Queen."

"Trinity?" Cypher nodded, almost looking as though he was laughing to himself.

Morpheus had thought Trinity was the One? Neo was suddenly swimming in an insurmountable ocean of doubt. Trinity, despite her training and insistence that he was improving tremendously, was still better than him at... well, everything. Fighting, weapons, strategy, keeping her cool. He couldn't do even one tenth of what she could do with telekinesis, and whatever other powers the Matrix bestowed on a free mind. He could not imagine himself ever being as good as her at any of these things. If Morpheus had thought that this incredible woman was the One, and had been wrong, what chance did Neo stand? There was no possible way that he could be the One.

"I was only around for the two he pulled out after her, but from what I hear, he got them all amped up believing in bullshit. I was standing right where you are now when I watched both of them take on an Agent and die. From what I've been told, Trin's only alive 'cause she didn't buy into any of his shit. Don't ask me why, kicking ass like she does, you'd think she would." He took another long drink, and turned back to Neo. "Little piece of advice. You see an Agent, you do what we do. Run. You run your ass off."

Leave. He had to get out of there, he didn't know if it was this sudden revelation about Trinity, his own doubt, the man's cold, brutal view on reality. He just had to be anywhere but in that room. "Thanks for the drink." He gave the cup back without finishing the alcohol, turned, and left.

"Sweet dreams."

---

Apparently, even when he was nowhere near her, Cypher seemed hell-bent on tormenting Trinity. Now, as she tried to get ready for bed, tried to coax her mind into sleep, she could not be rid of him. That night, many weeks ago when he had cornered her outside of Neo's room, would not stop replaying in her mind.

I just can't help wondering, if Morpheus is so sure, why doesn't he take him to see the Oracle?

Morpheus will take him when he's ready.

And that was just it - she was fairly certain that he was ready. He'd grown so much in the last few weeks, in every conceivable way. He had surpassed all of their expectations already, just by living so long. In the century-long war, she had never heard of anyone over the age of 30 who had lived more than a week, if they were not so atrophied that they drowned in the sewers. His initial reaction to the Truth had been only slightly more dramatic than that of your average coppertop, and he had adjusted quite well.

And... Morpheus had told him, about why he was unplugged, she knew. He had told her so later that same evening. None of them, not even Neo himself, spoke of it, partly on her order, as she recalled. She was not sure how he felt about it, and had never been able to work up the courage to talk to him about it, but it was clearly not hindering or bothering him terribly. She had watched him for many months - he was not nearly that good at hiding his emotions. In some strange, inexplicable way that could only be understood by one who felt it too, he seemed to have come to know himself, to understand himself and truly meet himself as he never had before, finding an inner strength he had not known existed.

If he was not ready to see the Oracle now, he never would be.

Finally, she gave up trying to sleep and pulled her boots and sweaters back on. She silently made her way down the hall - the rest of the crew was asleep by now, but chances were, her captain would not be. She quietly knocked on his door, and after a moment, it squeaked open. Looking almost as if he had expected to see her, he motioned her into his cabin, and shut the door behind her.

She stood awkwardly in front of his dresser for a moment, arms folded tightly as her eyes darted around the room. She knew what she had come here to say, and yet could not find the words. Finally, something came to her - not the words she would have hoped for, but they would do. "When, um... when were you planning on taking Neo to see the Oracle?"

She glanced up, then away just as quickly. But in that instant, she had seen the surprise and hesitation on his face. He didn't know why she was asking, and seemed apprehensive, as though he thought this was some sort of trick question. "I actually spoke with one of her priestesses just yesterday," he said quietly. "She's agreed to see him in a few days."

"When?"

"The fourteenth."

Trinity nodded slowly. She didn't have anything else to say, really. She should have told him not to get his hopes up, that he probably wasn't the One, but she knew she couldn't tell him something she herself didn't completely believe. "All right. Thank you." She took a quick step towards the door.

"Wait, Trinity..."

She turned, but it appeared that he couldn't find his words, either. "Look, Morpheus, I'm done trying to convince you that he's not the One. I stopped that a long time ago. I was just curious. Good night." She let herself out before he could stop her again.

She returned to her cabin, but was still plagued by her insomnia. Thirteen years, and it had never left her. For one reason or another, it stayed with her through thick and thin. Tonight, it was her fear. Of everything, really. She had come to realize that it was not only Neo, or his death, that she was afraid of, but also what he might do to her. How he might change her, for the worse. Part of her, though, was glad to hear Morpheus' news. As much as she didn't want to know, she was sick and tired of this limbo. She could not be with him, she could not be rid of him. She was stuck in the middle, and even if it resulted in something horrible - which she had no doubt that it would - she wanted the Oracle to deliver her prophecy and let her out. Maybe then she could at least try and deal with everything, and get on with her life, wherever it may go from there.

She felt a few tears welling up in her eyes, and she did not question why. She knew full well that "getting on with her life" might mean Neo's death. When you tell him you love him, he will die.

The tears began to flow as she came to a horrible realization, a tiny subtlety in the wording of it that made a huge difference in what would happen, and it terrified her. If she told him she loved him, he would not simply die. He would die because of a willful choice she had made, knowing all the potential ramifications. If I tell him I love him, I will kill him.

---

Neo had quickly learned that the Neb was never truly warm. Being underground, the sewers usually hovered around fifty degrees. With the heater, which he honestly thought wasn't worth shit, the ship was typically in the mid sixties. Still, that was cold for him, and he hated it. He'd lived his whole life in Chicago, for God's sake, he should be used to it. Apoc had told him it was because his body had never really felt such cold and it would take him a long time to get used to it.

Today was the worst he had felt yet. Even with three sweaters and a hat, he was freezing. And this had been designated his day off - no training. He couldn't even jack in and at least pretend it wasn't cold. So after a morning of trying every other conceivably possible way of staying warm, he finally got desperate and headed for the engine room.

Even before he opened the door, the noise began to bother him. The walls in that room were fairly well soundproofed, so the sound didn't carry through the ship too much. But actually being inside was a whole other story, he remembered grimly as he went in and sat down. Warm, yes, but it echoed with hisses, clicks and low, constant rumbles. But as he sat on a large pipe, rubbing his hands together to hurry the heat back into them, he heard something else. Irregular banging and squeaks, and, he could have sworn, quiet, muttered curses.

He stood, venturing farther into the room. "Hello?"

The unusual sounds stopped instantly, and he rounded a large piece of equipment just as Trinity was pulling herself out from under some monstrous part of the engine. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her. The first thing that caught his attention was the look of intense concentration on her face, the fierce determination in her eyes. But his attention was quickly drawn to other... more enticing aspects of her appearance. She was only wearing a tank top and pants, no boots or sweater. He was fairly certain that he had never seen her without long sleeves, at least not in the real world. Somehow, the sight of the tiny black plugs in her arms did not make him recoil, as his own had done for so long. They were simply part of her, and he could not be repulsed by that.

His eyes moved on to her collarbones, up her neck, and back down again. She ran a hand through her hair, and he could see small droplets of sweat on her forehead, chest and arms, along with faint smudges of engine grease. He swallowed hard when he noticed how she was sitting. One leg bent in front of her, shoulders back, chest pushed forward slightly. It didn't help that her shirt was so low cut and... very, very tight. He tried to force his eyes away, but he could not stop them from tracing the curve of her breasts before complying.

Another interesting fantasy was sure to come of this incident, too.

"What are you doing down here, Neo?"

Fuck. Even her voice was sexier, somehow. "I was just - I got cold, so..."

He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye. "We're pretty close to the surface right now. Colder than usual."

Neo nodded, and only looked back when she lay back down, and would not be looking at his face. Unfortunately, this only provided him with an even more sensuous view of her as she pulled herself back under the engine a little. Now the tank top just accentuated her flat stomach... and emphasized her breasts even more. This time, he did not want to pull his eyes away. "So, um... What are you doing down here?" he asked, instantly feeling stupid.

She sighed heavily and glared at the machinery above her. "Trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with this thing. She's flying, but something's not right. Acting weird."

So persistent. So caring towards her home, as if it were part of her family. "You, um... you need some help?"

---

It was there again, creeping back up on Trinity as she propped herself up on her elbows to look at him. That drug-like quality. It would disappear as soon as he left her, just minutes after she was out of his presence. The fear grew less and less terrifying with each day, as she felt them growing closer and closer together. She had never imagined that she would allow herself to be this open with him, this close to a man she had not been able to stop herself from falling in love with. She sighed as she reflected on how hopelessly addicted she had become to him. Despite the shrinking though still palpable fear, she loved every moment they were together. She could not get enough of him.

"You know anything about mechanics?" He suddenly looked embarrassed, muttering something as his eyes darted around. She grinned a little, and said, "Figured. I'd have thought that Tank would have uploaded the operations programs by now." He hung his head in defeat, obviously thinking that her words meant "no."

In a flash, Trinity realized that Switch had been right. She could see it in his disappointment now, and she had seen the fixated gaze he sent her way a minute ago, and the many glances in past weeks he didn't know she could interpret. His actions, his blatant attempts to gain her trust and confidence.

He really was falling in love with her.

She tightly shut her eyes against the emotions, trying to fight them back. She was afraid, incredibly so. The end of it was fast approaching, and she had no delusions about finding some way out of it. Five days from now, she would loose what they had now. They weren't together, exactly, but there was something. That attraction, that hidden love that she could feel nonetheless. That would be gone. In her desperation to stave it off, to wait just a few days more, she somehow came to the decision that she would savor her every moment with Neo now, while she still had the chance.

Just as he was turning away in defeat, thinking she had turned down his offer, she spoke up. "Come on. I could use the help."

He sported a huge, boyish grin on his face as he took off his hat and sweater, and came to lay beside her. As he did so, the awful thought occurred to her - that her emotions were growing too much, becoming too strong to be sated by just confiding in Switch. She realized that she might not posses the self control necessary to be able to stop herself from telling him, no matter the consequences.

---

He didn't wind up doing much - just handing her tools, holding things out of her way. Neo felt fairly useless, but was resolute to stay as long as she would have him. They were there for perhaps an hour, speaking occasionally through the otherwise comfortable silence. In that time, they frequently brushed arms, or were flat-out pressed against each other for several seconds or even minutes. It seemed to him that she was often doing it on purpose, but he chided himself for the wishful thinking.

Finally, whatever was wrong seemed to have been fixed, and she smiled beside him. As she sat up, he surprised her by standing first, and offering her a hand up. She hesitated, then took it with a very small smile of thanks, noting the reversal of their usual roles.

"Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome, Trinity." He loved the way her name sounded, felt when he spoke it. Unfortunately, he was not as quick to reach the ladder, and was forced to stay below for several long, painful seconds. The last thing he needed right now was to be staring at her... well... best not to think of that now.

After eventually following her up, he could not help but grin sheepishly at her, hoping it would illicit another smile. Amazingly, he succeeded. "Thanks, Neo." She turned, and he watched her saunter down the hall without looking back. It was only when she followed the bend at the far end that he realized where she was going. The showers. It made sense, after all, after having spent so long in the engine room, she had gotten so hot, and sweaty, and... He really needed to go to his room now.

When he got there and closed the door, he remembered that little fantasy he was sure would come of that day. But now there were two. He wondered which would be better, sweating or showering... It did not take him long to figure out a compromise, a way to take the two heavenly images and combine them to be greater than the sum of their parts. Sexy sweating Trinity, and then sexy showering Trinity.