Chapter 13
...
... ... "Kiss me ... once more ... kiss me …"
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… He lowers his lips to hers in a last kiss, feeling her last breath on his lips ...
.
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… I wished that I had one more chance… to say how much I loved you, how grateful I was for every moment I was with you…
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"I want you to kiss me as if you were kissing her"
"Why?"
"You love her. She loves you. It's all over you both."
.
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"I see that you are in love. Can you tell me what you would give to hold on to that connection?
"...anything."
.
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"you feel this, I'm never letting go"
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"While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific,...vis-a-vis… love."
"Trinity!"
"Apropos, she entered the Matrix to save your life at the cost of her own."
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"Are you really ready to die for this man?"
"Believe it!"
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"she is going to die and there is nothing you can do to stop it"
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"Neo ... I'm sorry."
"Trinity, I know you can hear me… I'm not letting go… I love you too damn much…"
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"You're cuter than I thought. I see why she likes you."
"Who?"
"Not too bright though."
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..."I'm not the One, Trinity. The Oracle hit me with that, too."
"No, you... have to be."
"I'm sorry, I'm not. I'm just another guy."
"No, Neo. That's not true. It can't be true."
"Why?"
"… because"...
.
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..."The Oracle told me that I'd fall in love and that man, the man I loved would be the one. You see? You can't be dead, you can't be... because I love you. You hear me? I love you!"...
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"...six hours ago I told the Merovingian I was ready to give anything and everything for you. Do you know what's changed in the last six hours?"
"...no"
"nothing!"
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… "I can't go with you, Neo. I've gone as far as I can." ...
"Oh no, no, no."
"Trinity, you can't die. You can't!"
… "Kiss me ... once more ... kiss me …" ...
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… "Kiss me ... once more ... kiss me …" …
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Trinity lightly moves in the bed, lingering in there for a moment, still close-eyed. No sounds all around, but she can't help but turning her head to Neo's side (or better to what had been his side of the bed) just as a confirmation that he's not there anymore.
She runs a hand on her forehead and the other one on her belly, asking herself if she didn't just dream about him, but she can still smell his scent on her sheets.
... my God... it's been real then...
Her hand runs on her face again.
... God... she feels a mess... and yet better than she had been in a long time.
She hasn't slept for so long since... when?... well, actually, since her recovery from coma.
Maybe it's just because of the drugs Esc gave her, but she likes to think it's because of Neo's presence near her.
She sits up and looks around in the room, but there's not any trace of him.
Actually she would have liked finding him still in her bed when she woke up, but she's conscious of having slept at least 8 hours in a row. None of them use to sleep more than 5 (6 at the very most) hours, and never during daytime anyway. They say it's because they slept for the main part of their life (in a pod).
She moves the sheets by side, realizing just in that moment that she doesn't wear pants, nor a sweater, nor her undershirt... just her panties... and Neo's shirt. Did she take them off on the previous night? Or... did Neo? ...er, actually, as much as she tries, she can't remember, and for a moment she gets how it has to be for Neo, not being able to catch his memories, just little pieces of them.
They hadn't had sex, right?
She shakes her head. No, she would remember if they did, wouldn't she? And yet, she's just in her underwear, not remembering how she got out of her clothes. And, obviously she wouldn't be upset by the idea, she'd just like to be able of remembering it.
She can remember lying in bed with him, his body close to hers. And she's quite sure her clothes were still on, there.
...what kind of sleeping drug Esc had given her?
She's not sure of having kissed Neo either. She remembers wanting to kiss him. She remembers caressing his face and the warmth of his breath, but she's not sure of having succeeded in kissing him before giving up to unconsciousness again.
Well, whatever happened she's going to find out soon, but, right now, she needs to go to the toilet (as the little one, kicking on her bladder, is reminding her).
She sighs in the total silence of the room, wrapping Neo's shirt tighter to her chest and looking around for her clothes. No sign of them. There's a chance it's a move to prevent her from leaving the room, but this is not her old crew (Tank would have hidden her clothes, and Switch would have surely helped him). So, no, there's no chance anyone of her actual crew could do it. Neither Ghost, since he knows it wouldn't be enough for stopping her. She just buttons up a couple more buttons of the shirt before exiting the door.
In the restroom Trinity wraps herself in a towel and rubs her hair, drying it partially. It will dry off soon, and she rarely spends time using a hair dryer. Even less now. Having a quick shower had sound as a good idea, but now she doesn't feel that well anymore. She glances at her own image in the mirror. Her blue eyes look bluer because of her still very pale face, and she knows she's supposed to go back to bed, at least for the rest of the day. In any other moment she'd complain that she can't stay twiddling her thumbs all day, but now she feels too weak even for that. Her heart is beginning pumping too fast in her chest and she feels her head a little too lightheaded... not enough for passing out, but enough for forcing her to lean on the sink for a few moments.
What on hell did Esc give her? Or maybe it's just that she needs to eat something...
She sighs and just puts on panties, still watching herself in the mirror. Her fingers move along the line of the scar clearly visible on her white skin, remembering Neo's hand on that exact spot, twice. In the Machine City first, and in her bed then. He remembers her there, just ignoring it was her.
… …"I had a nightmare... about her death. About mourning over her motionless body… I can't see anything. But I feel her... and her blood soaking her clothes… I feel it under my palm,"
... ..."Complicated is having a crush on the most stunning woman I ever met when she's still in love with her dead boyfriend... Complicated is having fallen in love with a woman who's carrying another man's baby, and not giving a fuck about it... Complicated is not knowing if I can tell this to her without being punched hard in the face, even more since I don't know if I should be still mourning over my own girlfriend's death, instead"
Was that real?
If it was, it means things didn't go like she hoped... and yet they did. Neo's memory isn't back, and yet he fell in love with her. Once more.
… ... Complicated is having fallen in love with a woman who's carrying another man's baby, and not giving a fuck about it…
Trinity places a hand on the roundness of her belly, looking down at it and caressing it softy.
"I really have to talk to your daddy, baby" she whispers in the total silence of the room.
Yeah, she needs to talk to Neo. Now.
She puts back on Neo's shirt, taking a mental note of putting on a clean undershirt as soon as she's back in her bedroom. The bra is something that will need to wait till some shopping in Zion instead, since she doesn't fit anymore in her old ones. Thank God she still fits in her tracksuits pants at least, even if she has to settle the elastic band under her belly in order to be comfortable. She smiles to herself at that thought. Honestly she's glad of being forced in not wearing pants at all right now, and if she's lucky she won't meet anyone of her crew in the way back to her bedroom.
As she walks to her quarters again, she ponders if going to look for Neo, or just stopping a moment to check if everything is fine in the main desk, but standing for a long time doesn't seem as easy as it looked like, her legs suddenly heavy again, and she leans for a moment on the handle of her bedroom door for support before opening it.
"Go back to bed, Captain"
Trinity suddenly turns to Neo's voice, and at the way in which he says that 'Captain'. There's a little smirk on his face and it triggers a little one on Trinity's mouth too, despite her tired features.
He opens the door for her with just one hand, and she has the clear feeling that his other arm is ready to catch her, not touching her, but an inch from her, just in case.
"You know, there was a time when I was the one ordering people around," she makes fun of him, passing near him and entering the room as he enters behind her.
Neo smirks again.
"Get used to not being the one in charge anymore"
Trinity turns enough to give him a glare, and a questioning look which stops him exactly where he is. He looks down at her belly and then up in her eyes again.
"The little soldier you carry in there. They already succeeded in knocking you down" Neo eyes her belly again "They're definitely in charge now. I'm afraid you'll have to come to term with it"
Trinity's features definitely soften and she nods this time.
"Yeah, I suppose I'll have to" she replies with a little smile.
She takes a few steps in the room, reaching for the seatback of the chair by her desk in order to steady herself as she takes off her boots. She's wearing them unbuckled so she takes them off easily, slipping out of the first one and then using her bare foot to free the other foot, pushing the boot away and letting them on the floor, partially overturned.
Neo just stares at them, but doesn't comment. She's letting them there on purpose, and since she's too orderly for what she'd consider a mess, it's clear it's because she's not sure she can bend down without her head to spin. And she has one first rule: never let anyone watch your weakness. Never. And none.
A smirk plays on Neo's lips almost imperceptibly, and he just bends down in her place, taking her boots, and placing them, perfectly aligned by the door.
She whispers a 'thanks' and she's about speaking again when she spots it. The tray of food on her desk. And, next to it, her clothes, perfectly folded and piled in a stack.
As much as she still feels like her head is partially wrapped in fog, not completely clear, she's sure her clothes were not there when she woke up.
She turns to Neo and her hesitant eyes catch Neo's eyes as they travel from her bare feet to her naked legs and thighs, and then up to the rim of the shirt she wears, long enough to cover her panties, and finally up to her face. The sleeves are now rolled up in order not to cover her hands, since it's clear that Neo's shirt is oversize on her.
Neo's eyes moves again on her cleavage, where a couple of buttons have not been buttoned up, and then they meet Trinity's eyes again.
"It suits you" He just says as she swallows at his words.
Neo always loved when she wore his shirts (in Zion generally), and he used to tease her for her habit of doing it (and always wanting something of him wrapped around herself). She looks away for an instant and then in his eyes again.
"Er..." she turns to the desk to glance at her clothes again, then to him, lifting her eyebrows and then running a hand on her face "I woke up just in my panties. And your half-buttoned shirt. Er.. did you -? Did we -?"
Neo smirks, giving her a teasing look.
"You don't remember,"
It's not a question, it's a statement, and Trinity just stares at him.
Neo chuckles, then he just shakes his head lightly.
"I left your side for less than half an hour, and I found you drenched in sweat, in the throes of a nightmare. Or a memory. I can't tell," he looks at her as she bites on her lower lip and then releases it.
… memories turning in nightmares actually. Always the same recurrent nightmare. The crash of the Logos…
… the ship bores into the tower, plowing through the structure... the windshield explodes and she abruptly loses the grip around Neo's hand… they're torn apart and the ship merges violently with the tower, grinding to a final wrenching stop. She can hear Neo's voice calling her, softly at first then with increasing urge and fear in his voice… but she can't answer his call. She can't move, nor breathe, now aware of the metal shafts entering her body. She should feel pain, but she just feels cold instead... shivers run through her body, and it's cold… too cold…
"I calmed you down, and peeled off your soaked clothes" he smiles at the look on her face "and, well, sex would have been great, if I were into necrophilia"
Trinity lets out a half chuckle at his words, and whispers another 'thank you' instead. She really doesn't remember anything.
"Anyway, I made your laundry instead" he says as she turns to the clothes on her desk "You know, in ancient people it could be count as a marriage proposal" he adds lifting both eyebrows as Trinity lets out another chuckle.
"Careful," she replies with a warm smile this time "I could say 'yes', to a man who always makes my laundry" she teases in turn.
They looks in each other eyes, blue eyes in dark eyes, deep dark eyes, then it's Trinity the first looking away first.
"Neo, we need to talk,"
She's still standing in front of him, but she has taken a step back to lean against the desk, so it can partially take her weight.
"Yeah, we need to talk," he says in turn, watching her as both her hands finds the edge of the same table, clearly to better steady herself "but not before you eat something,"
Trinity lips open, but she doesn't reply. Yeah, she's conscious of her light head and he's right, once again.
... ... I don't remember you ever bringing me dinner...
Trinity just turns to look at the food Neo brought her, as Cypher's words sound in her mind for an instant.
It may sound sugared, but she can't deny how what can be counted just like a polite gesture touches her. It's much more than just a kind act, it's an unspoken way to say I love you.
It is for Neo now, like it had been for her on that night. No matter if she was still scared of her own feelings on that time… she loved him, even if she struggled to admit it to everyone, and to herself. And yet, saving dinner for him had felt so natural on that time that she hadn't paid attention to what it could mean, to the hidden meaning on her gesture… till Cypher's comment.
... ... There's something about him, isn't there? ...
She didn't answer Cypher's question on that time, just replying with another question (her usual way to deflect, actually), but, yeah, there was something about him back there, exactly like there's something now... a lot actually... and like on that time he's still the only one able to leave her speechless or struggling to find words. Even now, carrying his baby and knowing he's in love with her, she feels once again like the fifteen year-old who exited the Oracle's with a prophecy which changed her life.
"How do you feel right now? Do you still have cramps?" Neo asks, distracting Trinity from her thoughts and catching her attention again. Their eyes meet again and she can't help the light blush which warms her cheeks as she realizes he was watching her, intently.
She swallows and just shakes her head, whispering a barely audible 'I'm fine' and trying to focus in not blushing more at the depth of Neo's dark eyes, but failing miserably. He doesn't seem to notice (maybe because of the dim light of the room), or just ignores it purposely, and he just walks closer to her instead, handing her the cup of hot tea from the tray on the desk.
He watches as she takes a sip, unable not to smirk at the grimace on her face as the hot liquid reaches her taste buds.
"Sorry about that," Neo says before she can comment "Doctor's orders" he specifies with a sort of apologetic looks as a smirk plays on Trinity's lips too.
"How much sugar is in here?" she giggles despite the disgust grimace she tries to keep back "Couldn't it be, don't know, chocolate at least? Did Esc never hear about pregnancy craves?" She teases, shaking her head in disgust, but swallowing a second sip, like it's a medicine.
Neo smiles at her words, but he doesn't answer, and he just rummages in the pocket of his jeans instead.
"Well, maybe I can make amend for that then," Neo says handing her what looks like a protein bar "the most similar thing to chocolate I found in here, so I'm afraid you'll have to settle for this, for now at least" he adds as Trinity's eyes widen and her lips part.
… God, this is, again, the most caring and sweet gesture in a long time. Enough to let her speechless once more. She just whispers a 'thanks', taking the protein bar from his hand and swallowing at the feeling of their fingers grazing each other.
… why on hell she feels like a fifteen years old?
She's not a fifteen years old for Christ sake!
She swallows and tries to deflect with a joke at least.
"You know, I'm almost sure this can be counted as a marriage proposal, again. Rings are overrated"
It's Neo the one looking away this time, but he's smirking, so, well, maybe the joke succeeded in breaking an awkward moment at least.
"I'm afraid there's a cup of slop, too. Sorry, but Esc made me swear to tell you, word for word, that better for you having your food, or he swears he'll give you intravenously,"
Trinity's eyebrows lift and she stares at him this time, apparently pissed off by Esc's words, despite how she holds back a smirk.
"You know he'd never have the gut to say that in my face, don't you?"
Neo chuckles and nods, and Trinity lets that smirk grow larger this time.
"Yeah, you have this effect on men," he says giving her a teasing look this time "not every man though" he adds with a mischievous smile as she licks her lips at his words, holding his stare as long as she can, before having to escape his eyes.
… shit! Is he conscious of the effect he has on her instead?
… tell him. Tell him, Trin… Trinity repeats to herself, in her own mind, inhaling deeply…
It's like being in that subway station again… in front of that telephone box again...
… … "Neo… I have to tell you something… but I'm afraid of what it could mean if I do…"
… … "...everything the Oracle told me came true, everything but this..."
She wants to do it and yet, once again, words don't come.
"Neo..."
They just stares at each other… blue eyes in dark eyes…
"You'd better sit down," Neo says in a calm and low tone, taking a step toward her (trespassing what's the common social distance) and lightly touching her forearm, making her eyes move down to his hand and then up to his eyes again.
Is he afraid she's about passing out again?
She just exhales and swallows again. Her heart is hammering in her chest so fast that there's a chance he can notice it, but she's far from another fainting.
"Er, no need… I'm fine," she just says, and yet her voice doesn't come out as convinced as she would have liked.
"Please, sit down" he just repeats, and this time Neo's fingers travel from her forearm to her arm, and up to her face, moving a lock from her face and putting it behind her ear, as his thumb lingers for a couple of seconds on her cheekbone. Slow and light, like a caress.
She lingers in Neo's touch, not averting her eyes from his.
… Shit, is this enough to give her a lump in her throat? … and goosebumps?
Trinity fights against the need to close her eyes at that feeling, but she can't do anything instead to prevent the shiver which runs along her spine, making goosebumps appear on her skin.
Neo doesn't look away from Trinity's dilated pupils, but a minuscule smirk plays on his lips, sign that he's clearly conscious now of the effect he has on her. And probably even conscious of how her nipples just hardened in turn.
"Neo, I really need to tell you something," she says "... I just don't know where to begin from,"
... ... Neo... I have to tell you something... but I'm afraid of what it could mean if I do…
Neo shakes his head lightly at her stubbornness, but his smirk doesn't disappear. And he takes another half step toward her, so he's right in front of her now, an inch from her. Social distance is clearly gone by now.
"Begin from sitting down, please"
Neo tries again as she glares at him this time, despite the very soft tone of Neo's plead.
She's about replying, but she puts a hand on her lower belly instead. She doesn't moan, nor grimaces, she just looks down at her own belly, and Neo's eyes instinctively follow hers.
"Trinity, for Christ's sake,"
She can hear the worry in Neo's voice even if she's not looking at him, and she's about replying that she's fine. She can clearly recognize her baby's kicks now, and it's not painful, just a little uncomfortable sometimes, because of how her belly harden in response.
"So damn stubborn!"
Neo says, looking into her eyes as she just stares back at him. He seems about dropping the subject and looking away, but his eyes lock with the blue of hers instead.
Then, it's an instant.
Abruptly, one of Neo's hands wraps Trinity's waist, pulling her closer to him and trapping her between the cold metal desk and his warm body as his hand moves from her cheek, throughout her hair, to her nape.
As much as she's taken by surprise by the cockiness of Neo's move, the gasp that exits her throat is not because of disapproval. Exactly like the moan she lets out at the feeling of how one of his knee parts her legs lightly, moving even closer to her, to the point that her breasts press against his chest and her belly against his groin. He wears boots, she doesn't and this makes him seem taller.
"As much stubborn as beautiful," Neo whispers an inch from her lips, still looking into her eyes, "Gosh, how can you be even more beautiful?..." he whispers again, looking down at how Trinity's lips part at his words, and then looking up in the blue of her eyes, once again "I suppose it compensates for your complete inability to speak your feeling instead" he makes fun of her as she just stares back at him at the power his deep look has on her.
Again it's an instant, and she has no time to reply, nor to analyze the meaning of his words.
Neo tightens the grip on her nape, bringing her face to his, and his lips find hers, soft but sure, and she gasps again as his tongue moves to find hers confidently.
Once again, she doesn't care about analyzing his self-assured attitude, too lost in the twirl of events. She doesn't care now, for anything that him, and she just wants to get lost in his taste, and smell, and touch.
Everything disappears. Fear, anxiety, uncertainty... and there's just him, kissing her in the most caring and yet passionate way. It's love and desire and lust, mixed so perfectly that she just wants it to last forever.
Breathing doesn't feel like the most important thing now. He is. And she is.
Trinity's hand moves on Neo's nape in turn, deepening the kiss even more if it's somehow possible.
It's Neo's the one moaning in her mouth this time as their tongues entangle in a breathtaking kiss.
He stops just to take a breath, and both his hands cup Trinity's face this time, his eyes still closed. And he savours her lips again, softly this time, like wanting to feel her with all his senses.
"I remember your flavor," He whispers on her lips, finally opening his eyes to meet the blue of hers "I remember us,"
Trinity gasps and exhales, and Neo's hands cup her face tighter, steadying her as her jaw drops, parting her lips in what is clear both astonishment and disbelief. Her eyes mist. His dark eyes still in hers, the blue of hers in his.
She whispers an 'oh my God' and she closes her eyes, like unsure she heard his words correctly.
"Y-you… you remember us?" She stammers. Her lips tremble and she's unable to contain the tears which roll along her cheeks this time, or she's just unaware of them. She bites hard on her lower lip preventing it form trembling more and she inhales in an attempt to calm her laboured breathing at least.
"When you kissed me a few hours ago... it's been like all my cells could remember yours... like an electricity wave run through me, waking my mind up and putting the pieces all together" His thumb caresses her wet cheek "And this means..." he stares at her and she's almost sure he's about smiling, but he doesn't smile "that I fell in love with you twice"
Trinity shuts her eyes, throwing her arms around his shoulders and she clings to him, holding him as he holds her back in a tight embrace. Her eyes fill with tears as she lets herself go, moving on tiptoe to hold on to Neo's shoulders. She hides her face in the crook of his neck as Neo's hand moves on her nape and through her hair, holding her exactly there as her fingers dig in his shoulders muscles like she's afraid he can disappear at any moment.
"Trin, it's ok, I'm here"
She doesn't answer at Neo comforting words. Right now she just wants to be in his embrace, wrapped by his scent and by the warmth of his body and not letting him go. She tries to focus on Neo's palm between her shoulder blades, moving up and down in a slow caring caress, but the twirl of emotions inside her is overwhelming. Imagines in black and white of so similar and yet so different embraces come in front of her eyes, no matter if they're still closed.
... ... in the golden light of temple, in Zion...
... ... ... ... ... 'I missed you'
... ... ... ... ... 'I can tell'
... ... on the roof, after Neo saved her, reviving her...
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... ... the run toward him, and the embrace (and kiss) which followed, in that white train station...
... ... ... ... ... 'are you really ready to die for this man?' ... 'believe it!'...
.
... ... their hug after Bane (or better Smith)'s attack...
... ... ... ... ... 'Neo... your eyes...'
... ... ... ... ... her fingers on Neo's face as she sees the wound, realizing that he can't see her...
She gasps on the last one, releasing her grip around Neo's shoulders just to cup his face, looking into his eyes. Her thumbs graze his cheekbones and the corners of his eyes, as again she can see herself rushing up the ladder and moving out of the hatch Neo opened to free her... his wounds... his blind eyes... the pain, like a hole in her chest, at the realization of his pain, his lost...
And taking him back in the real world it had been her worst fear... after death, obviously, the chance of his blindness had been her worst fear. Because she could stand everything, even living a life without him, but not his rage against her, his blame. What if, after waking up in the real world again, but blind, he would blame her for not letting him just die? She had thought a lot about that, in the endless nights by his bed... till his awakening.
And now... now he's looking at her, with those beautiful dark eyes of him... the ones she'd never thought she would have been able to look into again. And she has to look away, painfully.
"Trinity"
Neo's voice steadies her and it's like he can read her mind now, or her eyes. He takes her face in turn, forcing her to look up at him again.
"I'm fine. You feel me? I'm here, and fine"
She nods, biting on her lower lip, but she looks away for an instant before looking again in Neo's eyes. She runs a hand on her forehead, and the through her hair, swallowing the lump she can't push away from her throat, despite her efforts.
"Er," she inhales and swallows again "It's just that I feel like... like there's a chance I'm still dreaming, and I don't want to wake up"
Neo smiles, moving both his hands on her lower back and pulling her even more in his embrace, so her belly presses against Neo's body. They both can feel the baby moving.
"Or we're both in a pod and this is another kind of computer-generated reality," he says in which could seem a serious tone to someone who doesn't know him as well as she does. He's smirking instead, and he kisses her forehead "But, see, if this reality implies both you and our child in it, then I'm good like this, Trin"
It's Trinity's turn to smile softly, lifting her head to kiss his lips in just a little kiss this time, then bowing her head as he kisses the spot between her forehead and hair this time. She rests her head against his chest, feeling his heart beat, and just stays like that, again, in his arms. There's not another place she wants to be.
He caresses her back again, holding her and kissing again the top of her head.
The baby kicks and kicks again and Trinity can somehow feel the curling up of Neo's lips against her hair. One of his hands moves on the side of her belly, stroking it.
"What are they doing in here?" he chuckles this time at the frenetic movements of their baby inside her, and Trinity softly chuckles in turn, running a hand on her cheeks to dry her tears and meeting Neo's eyes.
She just smiles despite how her belly suddenly tightens again.
She knows Neo can feel it, against his palm, as she does, even if she's trying to focus on everything but the growing hardness of her abdomen. It's hardest to ignore how her head suddenly feels lightheaded again instead and she's forced to place her palm on Neo's chest to steady herself. Again, something there's no chance he can't notice. Exactly like he doesn't miss how she exhales and swallows, closing her eyes for an instant.
It doesn't mind if it's just a second, he doesn't ask this time, and she finds herself scooped up in Neo's arms in a fast move before she has time to say anything else. He just lays her on the bed, her back against the pillow, then sitting down on the bed near her.
"Try to move again and I swear to God that I'm gonna tie you to this bed, Trin,"
She smiles lightly at the serious look in Neo's eyes, and she runs her tongue on her lips.
"Careful. You swore" she says with a smut look, despite her red-rimmed eyes, looking straight into his eyes and clearly teasing him "I remind you that we first met in a kinky club," she lifts both eyebrows giving time to a clear image to form into Neo's mind "bondage is one of the few things we haven't tried... yet"
Neo smirks at the tone she purposely uses on that 'yet', and as much as he perfectly knows what she's doing (distracting him from worrying about her) he can't deny the effect her words have on him. The effect she has on him.
He just smirks again, shaking his head and looking away from her mischievous blue eyes.
The shirt she's wearing is now rolled up to her waist, enough to cover her breasts but not her belly, and Neo's eyes can't help but traveling along her body now, from her stomach and belly to her panties and down along her long legs. Then back. And his eyes linger for an instant on the contrast between her white skin and the reddish line running from under her rib cage to her flank.
His hand moves there, making her shiver as the tip of his fingers makes contact with her scar, tracing it. His eyes darken and he swallows, closing his eyes for an instant. It's clear that her attempt to distract him didn't work this time, and his mind is back there once more. On the Logos... feeling her wounds under his palm... feeling the long shafts of metal entering her body...
"Neo,"
He doesn't look up at the sound of Trinity's voice and his hand moves down on her belly instead. Their eyes meet again. Deep dark eyes. Beautiful dark eyes.
He's the one swallowing this time, and Trinity watches his Adam's apple moving down and up and his eyes misting with tears.
"Don't,"
Trinity's voice is soft and her hand finds his face, forcing him to look at her, as the other hand guides Neo's hand on her belly. The hint of a smile plays on Neo's lips at the feeling against his palm, and he just swallows again.
"You feel this? We didn't let go. And we never will. I promised you once, and I still do"
When their eyes meet again Neo's eyes are even deeper.
Neo's palm is warm against her skin, and it's somehow weird how their baby seems to like his touch, and his voice.
"This is... incredible..." he whispers looking at his own hand, somehow mesmerized by the sensation under his fingers "God, Trin, you and I… did we really make...this? How..."
Their eyes meet again.
She knows what he means with that 'how'... how is it possible that their baby survived to all she went through. She asked the same to herself so many times... and she reminds both the force of the impact of the Logos against the metal tower and the so many kicks Bane gave to her stomach, to the point she began seeing dark spots in front of her eyes... but this is a path she doesn't want to go through... not again... not now...
"Uhm, I have a clear memory about 'how' we conceived them, love" she says with the most cheerful tone she can as Neo gives her a smirk that clearly means he can remember too.
He cups her face this time, moving closer to her lips but not kissing her at first.
"Uhm, yeah. And hard for you to forget the couple of orgasms I gave you there, love" he teases, in turn in a playful tone, with the clear purpose to lighten the mood.
And she smiles this time, a real smile. The one he can live for. The one he can die for.
His lips graze hers and he teases her lower lip with the tip of his tongue. She moans as he deepens the kiss, soft and slow at first, then it turns in a most passionate one.
"You found me, Trin, once again" he whispers on her lips caressing her cheekbone as a little smile plays on her lips.
"I would have searched for you, through 1,000 worlds and 10,000 lifetimes, until I'd find you, Neo"
He smiles in turn, his eyes in the blue of hers.
"I missed you so damn much" Trinity whispers a millimeter from Neo's lips.
"I love you so damn much..."
His words dissolve on Trinity's lips again, and he meets her tongue in another deeper kiss.
He'd kiss her forever, filling every day, every hour, every minute he didn't kiss her in the last months.