A/N: Nothing belongs to me, nope. I am neither a Warner Brother, nor a Wachowski Brother, so not a dime is being made from this.
Thanks to everyone who has believed that I'm not plagiarizing. Your support means the world to me!
As for the Italian/French problem, I've just changed it to European to cover all the bases. ;-)
Sorry for those of you who are waiting for Neo. I'm putting him in last. Since Matrix 1 & 2 (my favorites) basically began with Trinity and ended with Neo, that's how I'm going to write this story.
This chapter is Persephone's POV and thoughts.
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The day that the rebels came to us, I recognized something in the One. Neo was what I remembered. I could see love all over him.
After my husband gave his stick up the ass speech, I could see the trio was uneasy about being in the chateau. Yet even through this, the woman almost appeared unaffected.
"Touch me and that hand will never touch anything again," she said to our guard.
They left and I knew that I had to act. I wasn't like my husband. It was that ache for love that caused me to act…well, different.
I once heard of a movie where the character was a cartoon. She had said, "I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way." I felt like that. I wasn't bad, I was just programmed that way.
I retrieved them from the elevator and led them to the men's restroom. I knew my husband was in the ladies' room, so we'd be safe here.
"I am so sick and tired of his bullshit. On and on. Pompous prick. A long time ago, when we first came here, it was so different. He was so different. He was like you," I said, looking to Neo. "I'll give you what you want, but you have to give me something." I wondered how they would react to what I was pondering.
"What?" Neo asked.
"A kiss."
"Excuse me?" Trinity said, with a look in her eye that seemed dangerous. Even with her sunglasses on, I could see her anger.
"I want you to kiss me as if you were kissing her," I said. If I was going to go through with this, I was going to do it big.
"Why?" Neo asked.
I knew exactly why. There were several reasons.
One, I wanted to see just how determined they were to succeed in their mission. How far was he willing to go?
Two, I wanted to test them. Could either of them bear a strain to their relationship?
And three … Love. I wanted the love that they shared. It was so obvious that they had a love that would transcend us all.
"You love her. She loves you. It's all over you both. A long time ago, I knew what that felt like. I want to remember it. I want to sample it. That's all. Just a sample."
"Why don't you sample this instead?" Trinity said, her tone flat and serious. She pulled out her gun and pointed it straight at me. I was very certain that she would pull the trigger, but I was going to chance it anyway.
"Trinity," Morpheus said, knowing that just saying her name would snap her back. She put the gun down, but it was not without some hesitation.
"Such emotion over something so small. It's just a kiss," I said. And I meant it. I knew that he loved only her and that there would be absolutely no love in this kiss. But that didn't mean that I couldn't pretend.
And I also knew that it wasn't just a kiss to either of them. To her, it was a crossing of a boundary. She had walls up, that was obvious. She had let down a wall for him and this was a test of her trust.
To him, it was causing pain for her. He would never hurt her on purpose, but this was something that he never planned on.
"Why should we trust you?" Neo asked me.
"If I don't deliver you to the Keymaker, she can kill me," I replied, knowing that Trinity would take me up on that offer in a heartbeat.
She was probably considering the suggestion thoroughly.
Neo looked to her as if to ask for her consent, but she remained silent. She knew what he had to do, but she couldn't actually say it.
"All right," he said, not nearly as confident as he was trying to sound.
"But you have to make me believe I am her," I said. I was sure that I was pushing my luck with that, but I was desperate – desperate to catch even a moment of the devotion that radiated from them. Wrong as it might have been, I was willing to do just about anything to remember that feeling.
"All right," he repeated, clearly disturbed by the situation he was forced into.
He leaned in and kissed me. Trinity remained still as he gave me a pathetic kiss.
"Terrible. Forget it," I said, because it really was.
I thought she was going to explode on site.
"Wait," Neo said. "Ok."
He removed his sunglasses and attempted to give me a believable kiss. I knew if looks could kill, Trinity would be murdering me over and over.
Part of her wanted the mission to work and this seemed to be the only way, but part of her wanted to stab me in the eyes.
I could tell that he hated it as well. While I was convinced enough that he was kissing her, I knew better. There was a part of him holding back. He couldn't help it; it was an instinct.
I pulled him closer and he held me. It must have killed her to watch.
Once the kiss ended, I couldn't help but whisper, "yes. That's it." I glanced to Trinity. "I envy you. But such a thing is not meant to last."
I didn't mean it. I knew that what they had was something that everyone dreams of and very few find. They had the perfect love.
They passed the test I gave them. Despite the wedge I tried to push between them, they overcame. They were both able to separate the mission and their passion. It was extremely difficult, but their love and their trust remained completely intact – if anything, both grew and became stronger.
I have heard now that she is married to Neo and they have a beautiful little girl. I don't want to say that I am responsible for making Trinity what she is today, but I know that I gave her a taste of knowing how deep her love for Neo was.
I'm willing to bet that she curses me still and I don't blame her. But even she can't blame me for what I did. I was full of jealousy and she should know that I only wanted what she had. To this day, I still envy her, but even a program like me can be happy for what they have. How can anyone not?