Chapter 2

Everyone in the room turned to look at Trinity. The Merovingian looked rather pleased and smiled, and Morpheus looked at her, and then returned his gaze at the Merovingian. He dared not look at Neo in the moment, but he was happy that they all wore shades right now.

Neo stared, stunned at Trinity. She looked at him, seeing through the shades the largeness of his eyes and knew that what she was about to do would scar him… perhaps even forever. But he had to know that she did this out of love for him, no matter how stupid the act to prove that would be.

" I'll grant you wish. But can I talk to Neo alone for 3 minutes?" she asked and the Merovingian smiled, happy to get his way.

" 3 minutes it is."

Neo and Trinity watched as Morpheus and the Merovingian left the room, closing the door behind them. They knew that they would stop right out in front of the door, and therefore moved further into the room to make their voices un-heard.

" Trinity, " Neo started but Trinity cut him off.

" Neo, I have to. Do you think that this is something I want to do?" She took of her shades, looking into his eyes, still shaded. " Just looking at the man is repugnant, " she continued and reached up to touch his face. He reached to meet her hand with his own, but he had no gloves on, and she could feel the intensity at once.

Shit, she thought, he can't even find the words to say.

" Neo, just know that I love you… you." She touched his face again, marvelling over how real it felt… like it always did between them. " Close your eyes if you have to." She reached up to un-shade him, but he would not meet her gaze. Just as she was about to ask him if he did not understand how hard this was for her, he reached up and looked into her eyes, and she could see the raw emotions in them, tears in the brims of his eyes.

" It's just so hard, " he started, " to watch someone you love so much kiss someone else… even if you know it isn't real." She kissed his forehead, and he closed his eyes.

" Feelings are always real, Neo, even in here. But trust me, I won't feel nothing but disgust to that man…"

He looked up at her again, touching her face now. They were standing embraced into each other's arms, and their faces were merely inches apart.

" I'll always trust you." He closed his eyes, and claimed her lips with his own, as if to claim his territory. She was happy to oblige, she was proud to be called his, and proud to call him hers. It was a raw kiss, emotions on the very brim of their lips, and the intensity purging through every meeting heartbeat, leaving them breathless as they parted.

And with one last look into each other's eyes, they could hear the door being opened.

The Merovingian walked in first, Morpheus soon behind. Neo quickly put his glasses on again, and Trinity already had hers on as she turned to face the man which she would soon make contact with.

Morpheus was not even sure he wanted to be here, wanted to see this but stopped beside Neo, if nothing else than for emotional support.

Words were gone now, as Trinity approached the Merovingian. She stopped in front of him, refusing to make any movements. She would keep her shades on, not wanting him to see anything that would be displayed on her features. And in the moment, it seemed that it would be enough for the creep.

He approached her, standing with his body only a few inches from her, and she had to resist the urge of backing away. She watched as he looked at her from up and down and then back again, and she couldn't help but close her eyes behind her shades… she found it hard to face herself now, even.

He bent down and she could feel his presence as his face was only a brim from hers, and she felt herself frowning. Luckily, he had closed his eyes and missed it. As she felt his lips upon her own, she was shocked, too shocked to do anything- but not that she had wanted to… she was shocked by the coolness of his lips, the raspiness, feeling them chapped, of everything inside her that screamed that this was wrong, these were the wrong lips that were touching hers, the wrong code wanting to grant access…

Suddenly, he fiercely pulled away from her, and she could open her eyes.

" That was terrible, " the Merovingian said and turned away from them, walking over to the sink. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he continued. " Forget the whole deal, that doesn't count." Neo, catching up with himself from the horrible moment, spoke up.

" That sure as hell counts, " he argued. The Merovingian merely sneered at him.

" Then I must say that your love life truly… is very un-passionate."

Trinity watched as Neo was about to walk over to him again, probably intending to do something worse than just slamming him against the wall this time. She stepped in before Neo could move from where he stood, and walked over to the Merovingian.

" OK, " she said. " I'll give you one that counts."

" But you have to make me believe that I am that man, " he said and pointed at Neo, " and that I am the object of that lustfilled desire I know you possess." Trinity nodded, and stepped closer, removing her shades.

Neo gulped.

She stepped into the Merovingian's embrace, and let her mind travel somewhere else. To a time when she would actually have been attracted to a man like this, to the time when she was attracted to men with such great power, and an authority to match. Perhaps, for only this moment, could she be that girl again, no matter how it would feel.

Once, it had been easy to be someone else than who she really was… maybe, if only for a moment, it could be like that again.

As she felt his face moving closer to hers, his lips dangerously closer by the moment, she thought back to a time a long, long time ago. And in that second, she was back in the time when she had lived one life outside her room, and another inside it. One where she had thought so differently about things, thought so differently about herself. When she had been different.

As she felt his lips upon hers, she imagined that the lips she felt was those of a man she had dreamed of at that time. She had never dreamed that a man would complete her life, but her lust that could not be poured into her computers had to go somewhere.

She felt herself moving closer to him, pressing her body tighter against his, and she let his hands roam to her back. She granted him more access into her mouth, and he was fast to move, and she felt the nausea emanate through her body, through her core, and she thought about the person whom she felt so sorry about, who had to endure this…

Neo was amazed to find himself standing up. His insides had gone inside out a long time ago, when she had first removed her shades. Watching her move closer to him, and now kissing him in a way that she usually saved for their private moments was more than he could take, and even though he did not want anything else than to avert his eyes… he couldn't.

It was his love kissing another man. Once, he had promised that they would go through everything together… and he had meant it. No matter how much it would hurt.

Knowing the kiss would soon come to an end, Trinity was thankful. She was failing at keeping the illusion up for herself for much longer, but she had chosen to do so, chose to dream herself away, to dream herself away into a nightmare.

She chose to dream that both she and he were someone else… because she would never betray Neo and believe that another man was him. She could not do that.

It was Neo and her, never anyone else, no matter what happened.