Author's Note: Warning—not very graphic sex scene toward the end of the chapter. If you're going to be offended, don't read, though I really don't think it's anything to be worried about.


Chapter 3: Unity

Neo's first glance of Zion makes his legs go weak. The city is huge, sprawling out, filling the caverns beneath the Earth's surface with a thousand rock and metal dwellings—a testament to man's will to survive. They are met by a crew of medics who take the still-shivering Tank away to be treated and give Neo strange glances. Morpheus leads the way off of the landing pad and into what appears to be a large cargo elevator. Neo follows, Trinity close on his heels. The older man does not speak until the doors are closed completely.

"Neo, listen to me. Word of your arrival has begun to spread to the city, but the people do not yet know enough to be able to recognize you. If you keep a low profile, you may be able to explore the city this afternoon without being detected. If I were you, I would take that opportunity, as it may be your last chance to spend a day unnoticed. There is a Council meeting tomorrow morning, after which the entire city will know who and what you are."

Neo swallows hard and stares at the grated floor of the still-moving elevator. He does not like the feel of this place, has always been claustrophobic, and now is terrified at the thought of being buried thousands of meters underground. The thought of having to address crowds of followers is more terrifying still.

"What are you saying?" he forces himself to ask as the elevator comes to a rough stop, jolting its passengers. It takes Neo by surprise and he grabs for the wall, nearly falling. Trinity reaches out to steady him and his cheeks burn hot for what seems like the hundredth time already this morning. She offers him a sympathetic little half-smile and his embarrassment grows. HE still cannot comprehend why a woman as brave and strong as she would choose the clumsy, shy shell of a man that he is over the entirety of Zion.

"I am saying," clarifies Morpheus, as they walk out of the elevator and into the city's center, "that if you would like, I will take this afternoon to show you around your new home before anything is expected of you."

Neo feels his heart speed up and his stomach turn over dangerously at the sound of the word "home." He will never, can never feel at home in this place. HE is stranded now, lost, condemned to wander in this buried world for the rest of his life.

"Well?" says Morpheus, jolting him out of his reverie.

Neo casts a longing glance at Trinity; they have hardly had a moment alone since the previous morning, and suddenly the prospect of a room with a door that locks is foremost in his mind. Trinity offers him that grief-tinged smile and shakes her head. This is time he must spend with his mentor.

"Go," she says softly. "There's plenty of time."


Ghost is waiting for her at the door when she arrives, fixing her with that ever-knowing gaze. She sighs. Apparently the Logos has been informed, or at least knows, though she is sure they have not bought into it. Niobe is the most widely known steadfast skeptic in the fleet. Still, Ghost is an old friend, and it is nice to see him, though she had hoped to be alone.

"How long have you been here?" she asks, grinning at him and dialing her code to unlock the door.

Ghost shrugs and follows her inside.

"How did you know I'd come?"

Ghost respectfully takes the chair farthest from the bed and sits down slowly.

"If one waits long enough, he will always achieve his goal." Ghost offers her a hint of a rare smile. "And I heard Morpheus was brining the Neb home for a little shore leave."

Trinity sits on the bed, crossing her long legs, and regards him questioningly. The apartment smells slightly musty; though it has been hers since her eighteenth birthday, she has never slept in it for more than a week at a time. Like her cabin aboard the Nebuchadnezzar, the apartment is empty almost to the point of being barren. She has never had any use for pretty things, has never considered herself deserving of anything beyond the bare necessities. She is a warrior to her crew and all of Zion, a woman only in the most private recesses of her own mind.

"Niobe told me…Morpheus believes he has found the One," says Ghost, shattering her thoughts.

Trinity nods slowly, forcing herself to meet Ghost's dark gaze. He is the only one who knows what the Oracle has told her.

"Has he?"

Trinity nods again, unable to speak past the all-too familiar tightness in her throat. Ghost shakes himself visibly and gets up, neatly pushing the chair back to its original position.

"I'll let you get settled."

"Ghost, I—" She breaks off at the look of shattered devastation in his eyes the moment before he turns away to regain control. For a moment she considers telling him that she knows, that she has always known, that she treasures his love beyond all else and yet is terrified by it. But the words do not come, never come, and the moment passes before she has a chance to say anything. "Thank you. You know you'll always be my brother."

Ghost nods curtly, turns, and walks out without so much as a goodbye.

She sits on the bed for a long time afterward, lost in thought. She always feels lost in Zion, excluded from the community. The ever-present loneliness is most intense here.

The footsteps and voices in the hallway make her jump—it feels as though only a few moments have passed, but she realizes suddenly it must be more like hours. They are back already and she is unprepared. She gets up and goes over to the door but does not open it, feeling strange. She waits until she hears Morpheus leave and Neo's tentative knock. He offers her that shy smile and steps inside at her beckoning. He is carrying a package, something wrapped loosely in the coarse recycled paper used in the Zion shops.

"Back already?" She returns to the bed and sits on it, feeling insecure.

He nods and follows, standing over her and gesturing to the package. It takes a moment for him to find his voice, and even when he does it is soft and uncertain.

"For you. Something I found in one of the shops."

His hands shake as he hands the bundle over. The rough paper falls away to reveal an amulet on a delicate silver chain.
The stone in the center is cerulean blue and seems to glow even in the dim light of the apartment.

"Neo…" She is struck speechless, breathless, unable to respond. She stands and wraps her arms around his neck very slowly, fighting tears. He presses one hand awkwardly to the small of her back, long fingers gently massaging the taut muscles there.

"Hey, hey, it was nothing." He sounds embarrassed. She is not usually so emotional.

She forces herself to pull away and sits back on the bed, grabbing his hands and pulling him down beside her. He cups her cheek in one palm as he leans in to kiss her. His lips work gently over hers, unbelievably soft. She shivers at his touch. She can feel his hunger, his desperation burning hot, but he is holding back out of respect for her. It is nothing like the harsh, bruising kisses she has known in the past, and she is left breathless when he pulls away, though it has only lasted a few seconds.

The guilt hits her almost instantly and she turns away. The purity in his touch makes her feel soiled, contaminated, unworthy of his worship.

"What is it?" he asks softly, sensing her discomfort.

"Neo,I…I have to tell you something. You need to know…and afterward…if you want to leave I'll understand."

"Trinity…" He takes her firmly by the shoulders, his face filled with a dismayed sort of bewilderment. "I would never…"

"Please, just listen," she says firmly.

"All right," he says softly.

"Before Morpheus found me…when I was…"

"With the drug lord?" Neo supplies as she trails off, unable to say it still.

"Yes. The reason he noticed me wasn't for my brilliant hacking skills." She stares at her lap. "I left that part out when we talked earlier. I um…I had to do something to make a living and…I didn't have much to work with."

"Trinity…"

"Being a girl, I…did what all the other street girls did. I never did understand why it worked. Men always tell me I'm beautiful…I don't know where that—"

"Trinity." He cuts her off and leans over, wrapping her in a crushing hug. She leans into him and lets herself be washed in his warmth, a wave of relief making her blissfully weak. "Trinity, listen to me. I don't care what you had to do to get here. I'm just damn glad that you did it. And that you're here now." He pulls one arm away and finds her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. "Feel this, Trinity? I'm never letting go."

She opens her mouth to reply, but he kisses her before she can find the words. His lips move faster now, searching hers, but his touch is still light. When he pulls away after a moment, he is flushed and sweating, short bangs plastered to his forehead.

"Neo," she breathes, struggling to maintain composure. "Stop holding back. You won't hurt me, you know."

He blushes even redder, though she had thought this impossible only a moment before.

"Sorry…I just…don't have much experience with this." He shrugs sheepishly.

"Neo…stop thinking about it and you'll be fine. Come on. What are you waiting for?"

Trinity leans back in, brings one hand up to the back of his neck and kisses him hard, her tongue sweeping across his closed lips. He opens his mouth with a gasp that makes her heart speed up, his hands digging into the rough fabric of her sweater. She swings her legs up onto the side of the bed and roles over onto it without disengaging, forcing him to turn until he's kneeling directly above her. She unwraps her arms from around his neck and gently takes hold of the hem of his shirt, caressing the exposed skin of his stomach with her thumbs. He moans softly, a constricted, desperate sound, then shifts so he's straddling her on the bed. She urges him closer and swiftly rolls the shirt over his head.

"Trin," he gasps, breath coming too raggedly to complete her name. He tentatively slips his fingers under the edge of all her layers of shirts, hands shaking. "May I?"

She laughs a little, shocked at the sudden use of her old nickname, and charmed by the fact that he still feels a need to ask.

"Jesus, Neo, you don't have to ask." She reaches down and pulls the layers of clothing off herself, hoping this will make him less uncertain. He stares at her for a moment, wide-eyed, then seems to make up his mind. His lips trace her sharp collarbone, moving down. Her hands circle his back, her fingers finding their way inside his waistband. He writhes against her, then rolls off just long enough to wrestle his pants off. She does the same, never taking her eyes off his. She grasps his waist, urging him closer. His chest is heaving, entire body wracked with emotion.

"You sure about this?" he asks, fingers digging into her back.

"Could you stop now if I said no?" she asks, a glint of mischief lighting up her eyes.

He looks terrified for a moment, eyes going impossibly wide. She laughs at the look of sheer terror, though she feels a pang of guilt at scaring him so badly. His entire body goes slack at her admittance of the joke.

"Jesus, Trinity, don't do that to me!"

"Then stop asking!" she insists, slightly frustrated. She has never before imagined it like this. In her dreams he has always been completely certain, her match, the knight who can play parry to her warrior woman image. But this, she realizes now that it is here, is the only way it can be. She could never submit to anyone who attempted to sweep her off her feet.

She takes hold of his hips, guiding him down. He groans, visibly biting his lip to keep from crying out. The contact is like a small explosion, an electric shock. It is so intense it is almost too much to bear. He buries his face in her shoulder as he moves against her, lips burning a path over her neck. She grabs his shoulders, clinging desperately as the current of emotion threatens to sweep her away.

It is over too quickly, far too soon, in an explosion of heat and passion. It is a shock, the warmth afterward tainted with desperation, the feeling that something this good can never last. The fear of separation is only intensified by their act of unification.

Neo rolls away at last, onto his side, and Trinity turns to face him. She realizes suddenly that he is crying silently, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks like rain. She moves closer, cupping his chin in one hand, caressing his lips with her thumb.

"What is it?"

He shakes his head, unable to put the feeling into words.

"It's…I just…I'm so scared, Trinity. I don't know if I can do this. I'm so…I've never felt anything…It hurts, Trin. Knowing it'll have to end someday."

She smiles sadly at him, elated and yet filled with a strange pang of melancholy at the same time.

"I know, Neo. Shit, do I know."

She leans up and kisses him again, very softly this time. His lips are salty with tears, and he curls himself around her, huge eyes filled with utter helplessness.

He is still a child, she realizes suddenly, in his own way. Still learning. He will have to, if there is to be any hope for the future.


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