Absolutes and Uncertainties

TITLE: Absolutes and Uncertainties

AUTHOR: TLynn

RATING: R

SUMMARY: For Neo and Trinity, a moment away from the
question of what lies ahead.

SPOILERS: All events of ‘The Matrix’ and ‘The Matrix:
Reloaded’ are fair game. This is set sometime between the
two.

CATEGORIES: Drama/Romance

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Simply put, I wrote this because I’ll
always want more of them.

DISCLAIMER: Neo, Trinity, and the world of “The Matrix”
belong to The Wachowski brothers and the actors who portray
them, not me.

THANKS: To my beta on this, spin, whose kind words of
encouragement will always be treasured.

* * *

The loud rumble of the heavy metal door announced his
arrival before he had even entered the room. From her seat
on the bed, her head snapped up quickly and she watched as
he wordlessly stepped inside, head down, and closed the
door behind him.

“How’d it go?” she asked.

He looked up with tired eyes and shrugged slightly.

“Okay, I guess. I’m not sure they’re convinced, but I
certainly can’t blame them for their hesitation.”

She observed his unease as he spoke, watched as he
constantly shifted his weight, clenched and unclenched his
hands, and surveyed his surroundings. She couldn’t keep the
smile from forming on her face.

“What?” he asked, noticing her amusement.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head and extending her
hand. “Come and sit. You look exhausted.”

He stepped over and placed his hand in hers, accepting the
invitation with careful ease. He remained stiff next to
her, though, and his attention was still focused on the
contents of the room.

“Neo,” she said, bringing her hand up to his face, pulling
him away from his thoughts. “What’s wrong?”

He exhaled in resignation and she could see him searching
for the right words.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I…I’m just not sure how to fit
in here. My head tells me that this is where ‘home’ is now,
but-”

“No one expects you to feel completely at ease right away,
Neo. Take your time in getting comfortable. Soon you’ll
recognize faces and learn the paths around the city. We
have some time before we have to head back out, so don’t
rush it.”

He searched her eyes with his own and she could see the
depths his encompassed. She felt her heartbeat increase at
what she saw, at the raw power he had yet to fully harness,
at the genuine displacement he was feeling since they
arrived at Zion, and at the pure adoration she felt focused
entirely on her.

He looked away again, his head bobbing slightly in
agreement.

“I know how you feel,” she said. “When the reality of Zion
and the number of people hits you, the scope of the
situation suddenly becomes overwhelming. It’s much simpler
on the Neb. The unit we became on the ship is far less
complicated. And part of you wants to go back to what was
in spite of yourself.”

“How long have you been here, Trinity?” he asked, looking
at her now.

“A long time,” she said.

“Do you ever miss it? When you were plugged in?”

“Sometimes,” she said. “I miss small things mostly. Silly
things like down pillows and red licorice. But I try not
to. It just ends up pissing me off.”

He smiled at her, understanding.

“You know, it’s funny,” he said. “When I was standing there
in front of the council, I could see how much they wanted
to believe. They were guarded, of course, but I could feel
their hope. I didn’t have any real answers to their
questions and it didn’t seem to matter.”

He shook his head in disbelief, a slight smile on his face,
at the memory.

“They have faith in you, Neo. They know, just as I do, that
though our future can’t be seen, you play an important part
in it. And right now, that’s enough. When they need more,
they will get it.”

He smiled again, taking her hands in his, hoping that some
of her confidence in him could be transferred over to him
by the simple contact.

“Thank you,” he said.

She leaned her body closer to his, feeling a welcoming
warmth radiating from him. His hands released hers and came
to rest lightly on her hips as her arms snaked around his
neck. She closed her eyes and let her lips brush against
his softly, savoring the sensation of them against her own.

“You’re welcome,” she said against his mouth.

He pressed against her harder now, forcing her lips open
with his tongue and deepened the kiss. She accepted him
openly, matching his force and sharing his hunger. He
tugged at her torso and eased her upwards until she was on
his lap, straddling him, their mouths never parting. She
felt his heart beating against her chest, felt his love
radiating from his every pore.

“Counselor Hamann offered me my own room,” he said, pulling
away slightly. “But I said I didn’t need it. I hope that’s
okay-”

She stopped the words with another kiss, squelching any
doubts he may have had about staying with her. She leaned
hard against him, forcing him down onto his back as she
blanketed him from above. This wasn’t their first time
together, but the connection was still new and exciting,
the basic sensations often as vital, if not sometimes
surpassing, the emotion behind them.

He slid his hands under the fabric of her shirt and
delighted in the sensation of his fingertips coming into
contact with the warm skin of her body. After several long
passes along the length of her spine, he grasped the bottom
of the shirt and cinched it up slowly. She sat up above him
again, her eyes shining down at him with pure, instinctual
need, and in one fluid movement, shed the garment and
tossed it to the floor. His eyes raked over her, studying
the shape of her body, the lines of her form. He hair was
mussed slightly and her chest heaved up and down with each
heavy breath she took. He was certain she was the most
beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He sat up quickly, his arms wrapping around her, and let
his lips fall upon the swell of her left breast. A small
moan escaped from her mouth as he did so, encouraging him,
inviting him. His tongue darted out to taste her flesh and
tingled with the sweet saltiness that invaded his taste
buds. He could feel her heart beat against his mouth, its
rhythm quick and steady.

Her hands grappled at the back of his own shirt, her
fingers bunching the coarse material and pulling it as best
she could over his head. With one hand still against her,
he pulled the shirt off and cast it aside. Their mouths met
again, furiously and with an expressed purpose, her tongue
curling around his over and over again. He maneuvered their
bodies until he was above her, both their hands deftly
removing the last remaining layers between them, and found
temporary rest in the cradle of her thighs. She reached
down between them and guided him inside of her body,
stopping only when he was completely engulfed. She squeezed
her eyes shut and allowed her body to adjust to the
immaculate intrusion, reveling in the mixed pleasure and
initial pain. Her eyelids fluttered open again and her eyes
locked onto his as he began to move atop her, slowly at
first, his pace deliberate. She shifted her legs to wrap
around his body as best they could, her heels coming to
rest against the backs of his thighs. He gasped as she did
so as the slight change of position allowed him even more
of an entry inside. His movements increased in speed and he
braced himself steadily on his elbows as the lower half of
his body took over all reasoning and control. Time escaped
them both as the simple and pure pleasure overtook them,
her body arching beneath him first, her hands grasping at
his back. Just a few strokes later, he followed, his hips
still moving against her gently even as he withdrew and
collapsed softly upon her.

The air in the small cave hung heavily with their scent,
the sound of their labored breathing filling the room. They
turned as one onto their sides, limbs, covered in a thin
sheet of perspiration, intertwining and lips meeting for a
long, soft kiss. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she didn’t let
them close.

“Tired?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “Hungry.”

He laughed softly.

“I hope there are better meal choices here than on the
ship.”

She smiled and nodded her head, reaching to embrace him.

“But let’s just stay here for a few more minutes, okay?”
she said against his neck. “Just a few more minutes…”

He enveloped her body with his own, sheltering her, sensing
a strange unease within her. But as the seconds extended to
minutes, each one passing as quietly as the previous, he
felt her mind beginning to quiet and she relaxed once
again.

He didn’t know what to expect from moment to moment
anymore, each event holding a new meaning to take in and a
new lesson to be learned. He knew moments like this were
going to be few and far between, however, and he opened his
mind and his heart in an effort to hold on to and preserve
all the details as best he could.

The future was uncertain and the path to the unknown was
even more of a question. But amid the doubt and
uncertainty, he knew there was one absolute: her.

And that would be all he’d ever need.

* * *
end