Behind the Scenes - 11

A/N: We finally get into movie 2! Remember, this isn't necessarily a re-envisioning of the events, just missing moments. So I might use some dialogue from the movies to show where we are in the story, or flesh out their feelings a bit during certain parts. But to me, it's filling in the gaps. In this case, my ~favorite~ parts of the second movie. ;) Then once I get to 4, I may continue on with an epilogue of sorts. (BTW movie 3 was my least favorite, for obvious reasons - I am a hopeless romantic at heart soooo that ending…. Wasn't a fan…. So I may not do much from that one. But I digress.)

Sorry for the big gap between updates but I was on vacation.

Thanks to Victoria and Lucy for their support!

Shortly before Matrix: Reloaded.

The next couple weeks were uneventful. Morpheus told the crew of an important meeting coming up with some of the other captains to discuss the state of the war, so instead of rescuing people from the matrix, they planned on preparing for this meeting and maintaining safety from sentinels. This left for a lot of free time, at least at first, which was something no one was used to or even truly comfortable with.

One evening, a few days after Trinity's visit to the Oracle, she found herself sitting on the floor of the engine room, deep in thought. She had been replaying the conversation with the Oracle over and over in her head, wondering if there was some hidden message she missed the first time due to her emotionally-clouded mind.

She considered the fact that Neo was verbally withdrawing into himself, meaning he wasn't as talkative as he once was. She observed that emotionally though, he seemed as in love with her as ever; stealing glances when he thought she wasn't looking, or squeezing her hand under the table at mealtimes, or even kissing her deeply before she went to sleep. All things considered, he seemed to have a good handle on things so far while actually in the matrix itself, which she was thankful for.

Patience. This is what was being asked of her. With patience came feigned ignorance of the problem, too, in her opinion. However, it dawned on her suddenly that in many ways, women could use their influence over their men to make them do what they wanted them to do, while somehow making the men believe it was their idea in the first place. Trinity knew it wasn't in her to be manipulative; she was too direct. But she knew women who did this. She never thought she'd be one of them, but desperate times called for desperate measures, she supposed. Because Neo needed something, and clearly the Oracle didn't foresee Trinity being the one to help him out.

This train of thought gave her a brilliant idea. She just needed to plant a seed in Neo, and hope it would grow. Then maybe she wouldn't need to be the one to save him, because he would save himself.

She came up with a plan and rose from her seat on the floor. She took a deep breath before opening the door and seeking out Neo. He was cleaning the dishes left over from lunch, and as she entered the dining area, he looked up and smiled at her. She smiled back and leaned against the countertop next to him.

"Hey," she said cheerfully.

"Hey, yourself," he replied, still smiling but turning his attention back to his task.

"I just wanted to let you know that I was planning on going in to see the Oracle."

"Oh?" He looked up at her, unsaid questions in his eyes.

"Yeah. I want to go alone though. I have some things I'd like to talk to her about."

Neo nodded. He looked up at her again, making eye contact but not saying a word.

"I don't want to talk about it, but I'm afraid of something. Something happening in the future. I just know I'd feel better if I got her feedback, to see if there's any merit to any of it." She tried to sound casual.

"You don't want to tell me?" he asked, sounding hurt. She cringed inwardly.

"I will if there's anything to it, but it could just be my overactive imagination. You're not the only one with bad dreams, Neo," she lowered her voice, looking into the sink of soapy water as she spoke.

He tensed, and paused what he was doing. "Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

She nodded. "I will be." Then she kissed his cheek gently and left the room, heading to the cockpit. She hated lying to him, and to be honest, she didn't know if he totally bought it or if he saw right through her. She knew she was not a convincing liar about these kinds of things and most definitely didn't see herself as a manipulative person. Poker was one thing, but this relationship stuff was on a whole other level. But, if this didn't work, she swore to herself she would leave it alone for good and let him truly work it out on his own. After all, she was out of ideas.

The plan was, she would tell Neo she went in to see the Oracle that night while he was asleep. In the morning, she'd make something up about her visit and tell him how much better she felt after having spoken with her. She would then tell Neo about what the Oracle said about going on "vacation." She didn't want him trying to do the same thing; going in while she was sleeping and realizing the Oracle wasn't there. He'd catch her red-handed, for sure.

Besides feeling like shit about the whole thing, she was satisfied with how it played out. She just hoped he took the bait.

The next morning, she woke up to Neo's brown eyes looking back at hers. "Have I ever told you it's weird how often you watch me sleep?" she muttered, exhausted still. To ensure he fell for it, she had spent two hours on shift with Morpehus at 2 in the morning. He had been surprised to see her, but she simply said she couldn't sleep, even though her eyelids had clearly been drooping.

She yawned. "How do you even know whether I watch you sleep or not? You're asleep." he tried to reason. She squinted at him, rubbing the tip of her nose on his.

"I just do. I can feel it in my bones or something."

"Sure, you can. And besides, I don't watch that often." He ran a hand up and down her arm and shoulder. It gave her goosebumps.

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, you don't," she teased.

"And you can honestly say you don't watch me?" he challenged.

She scoffed, but said nothing.

"Thought so." He kissed her gently and she let him, before pulling away. Now or never, she thought.

"I uh… I went and saw the Oracle last night." Trinity looked into Neo's face, waiting to gauge his reaction. He raised his eyebrows, seemingly mildly surprised, and definitely curious.

"How did that go?" he asked delicately.

"It went well, I think. You know how she is, she never gives a straight answer to anything."

"How do you feel? Do you… feel better about your problem?" There it was, written all over his face. Hope. Trinity sucked in a breath, daring to have hope herself.

"Actually, yeah. She didn't need to tell me everything for me to feel better. Just… getting her feedback was enough."

Neo nodded, his eyes suddenly watching her forehead instead of her eyes. He seemed suddenly far away. She prayed he was considering this course of action for himself, but only time would tell.

"She did tell me something interesting though. She was packing when I was there, and she told me to tell Morpheus that she would call soon. So I guess for a little while at least, she might be unavailable. But I'm sure she will be back soon."

Neo looked back down at her and nodded. "And you don't want to tell me what was bothering you in the first place?"

Her stomach lurched. She'd forgotten to come up with something while she waited last night. She'd been too tired. But she didn't want to say nothing, because truly she wanted Neo to open up to her. How would it look if she didn't do the same? So she spoke the first thing that came to mind; something she had used to secretly worry about at the beginning of their relationship but didn't anymore. At least then it might sound legitimate coming from her mouth.

"I was worried someone would come between us. Another woman…" she whispered, and looked at Neo's lips instead of his eyes, just in case he could read the lies in them.

He sucked in a breath and raised his eyebrows. "Are you serious? You can't possibly think I don't love you…" he trailed off. Fuck, maybe saying that was a mistake…she was too tired for this shit.

"No!" Trinity backtracked. "I know you love me. I do. The Oracle just… I don't think anyone is going to come between us anymore. I know how much you love me, and you know I love you. It was just a silly feeling brought on by bad dreams. That's all. It's because I don't want to lose you." She thought she sounded stupid.

But Neo's features smoothed back out and he kissed her lips, this time with more fervor. "I'm glad she could reassure you. But I could have reassured you, too. I don't care how many people… ugh, worship me, or whatever… I would never…"

"I know. You don't have to worry. It's not a problem anymore," she reassured him. "And I hate to say this, but - I think we should get up and get going. Morpheus is probably waiting for us." Trinity sat up, rubbing her eyes and running her hands through her hair. She hoped that would be the end of that god-awful conversation.

Neo followed suit, still frowning. But he dropped it. They stood up, got dressed, and she gave him one last kiss before heading into the Core.

A week later, Trinity overheard Neo speaking with Morpheus about the Oracle. She eavesdropped, knowing full well that she shouldn't. But she couldn't help it. Morpheus was surprised by Neo's request, but informed Neo that the Oracle was unavailable right now, and that he would let Neo know when she called. Neo understood, and thanked Morpheus for his intention to keep him updated. Trinity couldn't help but smile to herself, knowing Neo was going to seek out her wisdom.

Another week went by, and Neo was having the dream almost regularly. He had gotten better at keeping his body still and anticipating it when it happened. Details never changed, so it never came as a surprise when he had to experience the same terror over and over again.

The night before the meeting with the other ships' crews, Morpheus went over the plan minute by minute before allowing his crew to sleep. Trinity was exhausted and could barely kiss Neo goodnight before falling asleep. Though it took him longer to do so, Neo eventually followed suit.

Once more, the dream plagued him, and he woke up with his arm wrapped around Trinity's waist. Clearly, he had sought her out in the night, because he distinctly remembered falling asleep facing the other way. Either way, his throat felt raw and dry and he knew he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep at this point.

He disentangled himself, carefully left the room, and found his way to the dining area. He drank some water and sat down at the table, lost in thought. He didn't know how long he sat there, wondering about what was to come, when Trinity quietly slipped into the room and joined him at the table.

"Still can't sleep?" she asked, knowing full well what the answer was. It had just been a while since she'd woken up with Neo gone. Usually he stayed by her side, even if he couldn't fall back asleep. "Wanna talk about it?" She knew he didn't, but wanted to give him the chance, just in case. It had been a while since she'd asked him so directly.

"They're just dreams…" he responded, trying to downplay his feelings.

"If you're afraid of something…" she prompted.

"I just wish I knew what I was supposed to do, that's all. I just wish I knew."

Well… that was a first. He'd never given her a glimpse into his feelings about his dreams like that before. She could only guess he was seeing some future event, but she didn't know what.

"She's gonna call. Don't worry." Thankfully, he had finally told her two days ago about his plans to talk with the Oracle. She encouraged it, and had since left the topic alone.

They glanced at each other for a moment, both not knowing what to say. Suddenly, they were saved by Link, telling them they were late. Neo's eyes widened. Apparently he'd been sitting there for nearly an hour.

Link left the room and Trinity and Neo stood up from their seats. Before she could leave, Neo grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug. "I'm not ready to talk about it yet. I hope you understand," he whispered into her hair. She nodded, figuring that was going to be the case. He hugged her fiercely, kissed her forehead, and they left the room together.

The meeting went as well as could be expected. They did have some unexpected visitors, but Neo dealt with them. Trinity's intel on the Oracle was crucial to the plan, and though Morpheus knew that disobeying orders was not going to be tolerated by the council, he truly believed this was the only way.

Once they were back on the Neb, the captain set his sights on reaching Zion as fast as possible. It only took a little over two days, and the crew was working almost around the clock to prepare the ship for a quick charge.

By the time they arrived, everyone was exhausted. They had slept very little over the last four days, and as such, it had been a little while since Neo and Trinity could have any alone time. Over a week, actually. And that afternoon at lunch, a couple hours before their estimated arrival, Link noticed how grumpy Trinity was and how quiet Neo was. He gazed back and forth between the two of them, the sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. Everytime anyone so much as touched Trinity she jerked away and grumbled. Neo kept shifting uncomfortably everytime he so much as glanced at Trinity. Link had had enough.

"You're awfully grumpy today, Trin. Not excited to be back in Zion?" he asked, baiting her.

She grumbled. "No, I'm excited to go back." Her tone said otherwise. But Link saw her eyes flash to Neo's, and he rolled his eyes in response.

"How 'bout you, Neo? Happy to be back in the city?"

Neo just nodded and scratched the back of his neck.

"Goddamn, y'all just need to get it over with. I can't take this. I get a day and a half with my woman. Y'all live together. You shouldn't be this… I dunno, pent up or whatever!" He slammed his bowl into the sink and walked out of the room, Trinity and Neo staring at his retreating figure, completely astonished at his declaration.

"What the hell was that about?" Trinity asked Neo, completely unaware of her behavior. Neo gave her a pointed look. He knew what Link meant. His cheeks flushed, but he continued eating his lunch anyway.

When they finally arrived, they all grabbed their bags and made their way off the ship. Morpheus and Jason had a bit of a standoff, and Trinity had to explain why. How Niobe had come between the two, because Morpheus went to see the Oracle and was never the same afterwards. Just as they started to feel true excitement to be back in their apartment, they saw the Kid running up to them, shouting Neo's name. It took everything in him not to roll his eyes in annoyance.

Neo didn't have younger siblings, but if he did, he imagined it would feel like this. Only, he was 30 years old and Kid acted like he was 10. He always knows when we come back… how does he always know!? Neo thought.

Trinity made a joke about what happens when you save someone, but Neo scoffed. He didn't save the Kid. The Kid saved himself. However, the comment did stir something in Neo, and he gave Trinity an affectionate look. They had saved each other many times before, and once, she even brought him back from the dead.

Both Neo and Trinity decided they didn't have the energy for the Kid right now, but Neo tried to placate him as they walked towards the elevators. Trinity on the other hand barely listened. She was too anxious to get back to her second home. She was looking forward to her time with Neo. Though Link was right and they did in fact live together, coming to Zion felt different. They would finally be off duty and Neo could at least pretend to be stress-free.

Finally, they reached the elevator and Trinity counted down the seconds til they were finally alone. It came sooner than expected, however, when Link forced the Kid to get off on his floor. He flashed a look over his shoulder as he told the Kid, "these two have things to do." Trinity felt her cheeks warm at his insinuation, as that morning's conversation finally dawned on her. God, how embarrassing… Apparently their discretion was not good enough for Link who saw right through them.

But as the doors closed, Neo and Trinity looked up at each other simultaneously, longing in their eyes. They were finally going to have some such deserved alone time, and an, albeit short, vacation.

Before they even knew what was happening, their bags were dropped haphazardly to the ground and they were kissing furiously. He pushed her up against the elevator wall and she ran her hands up and down his back. Apparently they could communicate even without words at this point in their relationship.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I am if you're thinking this elevator is too damn slow."

"How long do we charge the Neb?" They were breathless with need now.

"Twenty-four, maybe thirty hours."

"Some people go their entire lives without hearing news that good."

Trinity was in heaven. That is, until she opened her eyes and saw the throngs of people waiting to greet Neo. Each time they docked, more and more people showed up to see him; their savior. But it had never been this bad before.

They were both stunned. Neo, especially; he didn't want to be their messiah. Everything about this made him incredibly uncomfortable.

Trinity grabbed their bags from the floor and carefully exited to the right, headed toward their apartment.

"No wait!" he called out, anxiety in his eyes.

"It's alright, they need you," she whispered assuringly.

"I need you," he admitted. And he did. He hated doing this, but everything was easier if Trinity was by his side.

She smiled at him, knowing what he was trying to say. "I know. There's time." She turned around and continued on her way, leaving Neo behind to do his duties. She knew he didn't sign up for this, and she knew there was nothing he could really do for those people, but it was important to give the people hope. Whether he liked it or not, he was the only one who could do that.

She arrived at their room and put their bags down. She contemplated unpacking, but decided against it since they were only here another day, maybe day and a half. She didn't know how long Neo would be, so she decided to tidy up, take a shower, and do their laundry while she waited. Still, Neo did not return. Trinity knew about the event meant to take place in the next hour, so she wondered to herself if Neo had perhaps decided to meet her downstairs. She got dressed, went downstairs and had a modest dinner, and still saw no sign of Neo. She made one final pit stop before heading to the temple, and that was to check on the Neb. She wanted to ask the dockworkers to make some adjustments to the ship before they left the next day, and being second-in-command, she was able to do so without argument.

Finally, she decided to give up looking for Neo and headed to the temple. She could hear the music and feel the drumbeats in the floor of the cave before she'd even gotten close to entering its doors.

Neo, on the other hand, had been tied up with Zion's citizens for almost two hours before he got the chance to go back to their apartment. He'd hoped Trinity would still be there, but she wasn't. So he showered quickly, put on clean clothes, and headed down to the temple. He thought about getting dinner but he wasn't hungry. He'd hoped to see Trinity when he arrived at the celebration, but she was nowhere in sight.

Not wanting to miss her arrival, Neo decided to hang by the doors. On the one hand, he had a clear view of everyone who entered or exited the temple, but on the other hand, everyone seemed to want to talk to him when they arrived. Neo had always been an introvert and occasions like this were close to torture for him. But, he knew it was part of his 'duties' to show up to these events, if only to save face.

Neo hadn't been at the temple for more than twenty minutes when she finally arrived. He politely excused himself and sought her out. This is the longest they'd been apart in weeks and he genuinely missed her. As he approached, he couldn't help but let his eyes roam her body. She was wearing a halter top that split into a V, showing her bare stomach. Neo couldn't help it; his mouth watered.

Trinity's eyes landed on Neo as he excused himself from a group of people she recognized, but didn't know the names of. She smiled as he approached her. She could tell how uncomfortable he had been and saw him light up at her appearance. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in close, kissing him as she did so. He wrapped his arms around her waist in turn, and kissed her back with desperation.

"I missed you," he practically moaned into her mouth.

She laughed. "I can tell." She couldn't help it; she licked her lips after his delicious kiss.

He looked down at her lips as she did so, and she smiled slyly. "I was thinking… everyone is here…" he said, hoping she heard his unspoken words. She absolutely did.

"Follow me," she smirked.

She led him by the hand at first, until they reached a crowd of people; then she let go. She knew she had to, but she missed his touch regardless. They walked to the elevators in silence and rode up to their floor with one other couple, who stayed on after Neo and Trinity got off. Trinity immediately grabbed Neo's hand again once they were alone in the deserted hallway and led him to their apartment.

Her heart was hammering. She knew it was ridiculous, it hadn't been that long, especially when compared to someone like Link, but she couldn't help herself. She loved this man so much and every moment alone with him was something to be appreciated.

Once they arrived, they quickly unlocked the door and headed inside. Trinity was almost immediately pinned up against the back of the door with Neo's hands in her hair.

In between fervent kisses, Trinity whispered, "I missed you."

This time it was Neo's turn to chuckle. "I can tell," he whispered back, amused at the repetition.

"I hate being apart," she groaned.

"I know."

Neo picked her up suddenly, cupping her thighs as he held her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him in tight against her. They stayed this way for another minute before Neo walked Trinity to the bed and laid her down gently. She pulled away just long enough to light the candles near the foot and side of the bed. Neo waited impatiently for her to finish. When she finally did, he smiled as she pulled him back down to her.

For some reason, it was as if they were making up for lost time, which Neo figured they kind of were, though it hadn't truly been that long. Their kisses were passionate and hungry and he could see this ending quickly for the both of them. So, he slowed down their pace, and gently removed his and her clothing before telling her he wanted to take his time. She smiled and agreed, relishing in the feel of his warm skin against hers.

For over an hour, they took their time. They never really made love like this on the Neb. Danger seemed to lurk around every corner, so they felt they needed to be quick and efficient with their time together. But here? Here it was different. They could spend time doing things they didn't normally do, and not just jump right to the end.

Neo saw Trinity was getting close. He kept up his rhythm and soon enough, pure ecstasy came across her face. She was gripping him hard, and when he looked down and saw her face, he was transported.

Trinity falling; mouth open in shock and pain; blood coating her.

Everything froze for Neo. Time seemed to slow down. His breath caught in his throat and he felt panic rising within him. He rolled off of her, which only confused her.

"Neo, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

He couldn't even look her in the eye. He was afraid if he did, the tears would come or he'd finally tell her what he saw, and he didn't want to do either.

"It's okay… you can tell me." Trinity was desperate. She wanted so badly for him to open up to her.

"Trinity…" he started.

"Don't be afraid."

He didn't know what to say. So he spoke his greatest fear out loud, hoping it would be enough to sum up what he was experiencing right now. "I can't lose you."

She shook her head. "You're not gonna lose me." She took his hand in hers - the hand that she would hold til the world ended around her. She brought it up to her pounding heart. "You feel this? I'm never letting go," she whispered. His eyes finally met hers, and he saw pure love and strength reflected in them. For a moment, he really believed her. He had no words, so he hugged her instead. She wrapped her leg around his and pulled him as close as possible. Their bodies were sweaty with exertion and he could feel her heart pounding against his chest.

Trinity finally understood now. Whatever it was that Neo dreamt of, it involved her. And it involved him losing her, for good. Her heart broke for him. To have to suffer through that, night after night… she couldn't fathom. Even one night of feeling the pain of Neo being taken from her seemed like too much to bear.

After a minute of holding him, Trinity felt him stir. He kissed her chest, on the skin just above her heart, before kissing her shoulder, and then her neck, and finally her lips. He nodded, not needing words to express that he was okay again. She could feel just how ready he was. He picked up where he left off, and soon enough, he finished, too.

This time when he rolled over, she laid her head on his chest and felt his heart hammering. She hoped that she had been able to bring Neo comfort. He deserved this; a glimmer of normalcy and happiness, if only for a little while.

He rubbed her back in slow, lazy circles before covering them both back up with the blankets. Soon enough, sleep overtook them, and for once, Neo fell asleep with a small smile on his lips.

A/N: Thanks so much for those still reading! Please leave a review, they make me happpyyyy.

I will try and post at least bi-weekly, but I am neck deep in my third rewatch of Lost right now and writing for that show is also my happy place. :)