Chapter Three: Arguments

Trinity angrily twisted a wrench around and around a bolt, ignoring the fact that the bolt was already tightened as much as it could be.

Why did I have to go to his room? Crying? she asked herself, pausing for a moment to brush a piece of hair out of her eye. Now he 's going to think I'm just some weak, crybaby -

"Shit!" she exclaimed, dropping the wrench and grabbing her thumb. She had pinched it under the wrench, not paying attention to what she was doing.

"You okay?" she heard a voice call from behind her. Standing up, she turned. Neo was standing a few feet behind her; she hadn't even heard him coming.

"I'm fine," she snapped, dropping her throbbing thumb. He held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just asking!" he said, smiling. He took a few steps forward and his face suddenly turned serious. "Trinity, about -" he paused for a moment, wondering if he should continue, considering how much those eyes of hers looked like ice at that moment. Taking a breath, he plunged forward. "-about last night-"

"Neo, I really don't have time for this," she cut him off, turning away. He took a final step forward and hesitantly placed a hand on her arm. She turned back towards him. "I have to get this finished, Neo!" she said with a sigh.

"Trinity, you can't just keep doing this! You can't just keep brushing me off, shutting me out, telling me that you're fine! There's something wrong, I know there is, so don't try to tell me that there isn't. Do you really think that I would believe that after last night?" he practically shouted. Her face didn't register any emotion except annoyance. It certainly didn't show how surprised she was that he was yelling at her.

Just stay calm, Trinity, just stay calm... a voice whispered in her mind. She completely ignored it. So he wanted to shout, did he? Well she could yell too.

"Just leave me alone, Neo! I don't have time for this!" she repeated, yelling right back into his face. She threw his hand off her arm, her eyes locked with his. "I have to get back to work," she said, speaking in a perfectly normal tone now. He just shook his head. She turned away, grabbing the wrench from where it lay on the floor. As she started to work again, she heard footsteps going away- but then they stopped. Glancing in the dull reflection a pipe gave she saw that he had stopped in the doorway.

"Trin, please, just talk to me-" she heard from behind her. His voice was soft, apologetic.

"I can't deal with this, Neo! Just back off, okay?" she yelled, her control shattered. She shut her eyes for a moment, willing herself to be calm.

When she looked again, he was gone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Morpheus had been sitting in the mess, eating lunch - if you could call that gooey mess lunch, that is. He had been calculating how much more work the Nebuchadnezzar would need to make her flyable. Unfortunately, it was quite a lot. And there were no other ships in the area that could be spared to help. Sighing, he got up and prepared to leave.

"Trinity, you can't just keep doing this! You can't just keep brushing me off, shutting me out, telling me that you're fine. There's something wrong, I know there is, so don't try to tell me that there isn't. Do you really think that I would believe that after last night?"

He froze as the sound wafted through an air vent. It was Neo's voice, but why would he be yelling - at Trinity of all people? That was tantamount to suicide!

"Just leave me alone, Neo! I don't have time for this!"

Now Trinity was yelling back. Morpheus shifted uncomfortably; he had never been one to eavesdrop. He headed for the door, hoping that he wouldn't happen to hear anything else before he could make it out of the mess.

He didn't make it to the door quite fast enough. Just as his hand touched the handle, the voice of Trinity came again.

"I can't deal with this, Neo! Just back off, okay?"

Morpheus frowned and hurriedly left the room, walking towards the control room.

Why would Neo and Trinity be fighting? he wondered. And when can Trinity not deal with anything? The thought troubled him. He needed everyone to work together if they were to get out of here any time soon. But after all, it didn't sound any more serious than a lovers' quarrel- The thought quite literally stopped him in his tracks. If Neo and Trinity were having a lovers' quarrel, than that implied that they were-

No. Impossible. I would have noticed something. As much as he tried to dissuade himself otherwise, his thoughts kept leading to that conclusion. Had he noticed anything? Morpheus thought long and hard. They had seemed to always be together in the mess whenever he went in.

But that doesn't mean anything. More than half the time Tank was in there with them. But what about when Neo had first come back from dead, the way he kept looking at her? I could have been imagining it. he insisted to himself. As he began walking again, though, he found that he was finding more and more reasons to think that Neo and Trinity had been having a. . . lovers quarrel...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neo regretted the words the second they had left his mouth.

What am I doing? he had thought, practically panicked. She had yelled back at him, and that made it worse. The last thing he wanted in the world was for Trinity, the person he cared most about, to be mad at him.

And oh, was she mad at him. He had been about to leave, not wanting to make things worse. But something bad made him turn back. If she would just tell him what was wrong...

"I can't deal with this, Neo! Just back off, okay?"

Her words echoed in his mind as he reconnected two wires that had been severed in the electrical system. Can't deal with what? Us? Me? he worried. What if what if I just ruined the best thing that ever happened to me?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trinity sighed as she fiddled with a wire that was perfectly fine.

You really blew it this time, Trinity. she snapped at herself. Looking around the room, she saw that there was nothing else that needed to be fixed. But she couldn't leave. What if she ran into him?

This is just great. There was no reason for you to yell at him. Just because you have issues doesn't mean that you have to take it out on him... Suddenly she began pacing the small room.

So what do you do now? a nagging, mocking voice murmured in her mind.

I'll just go talk to him...tell him I didn't mean it... she thought. But she had meant it. She couldn't deal with it, with him, with them. Sometimes she just didn't know how to.

So what now? How can you fix this mess? Trinity leaned against one of the walls, closing her eyes. It would take a while to figure this one out.

*Well thanks to everybody who reviewed! It might take a little longer to get the next chapter up, I've been busy with summer school, so sorry. Probably within a couple days though!*