MulticoloredGypsy > A Soldier's Blood
- AUTHOR: MulticoloredGypsy
- TITLE: A Soldier's Blood
- CATEGORY: Romance
- RATING: PG
- SUMMARY: They were fireworks - explosions, but not bombs. Signs of celebration, bursting in bright colors that Trinity would never see.
- AUTHOR'S NOTES: This fic is elaborating on the ideas stated in my fic ‘Old Soldiers Never Die.’ It takes place after the war. If you haven‘t read ‘Old Soldiers,’ you might get a bit lost, so shall now shamelessly plug my fic, a necessary read before you read this. ^-^*
- DISCLAIMER: The Matrix doesn’t belong to me, I am simply borrowing the concept and the characters to expand on an idea of my own. And all the harm done here will have no affect on the sequels, don’t worry.
A Soldier's Blood
They were fireworks - explosions, but not bombs. Signs of celebration, bursting in bright colors that Trinity would never see, blues and greens, oranges and reds not unlike the flames that took away her sight. Every single free human that had survived the battle was out of confinement and bondage. They celebrated, setting off ancient fireworks, dancing, singing, crying, embracing loved ones. All but two took part in the celebration, one of them being the man who was responsible for saving all of humanity. It would seem ironic that he chose to remain in an empty makeshift hospital, lying on a cot in a room that was empty save for an overturned chair, the cot and his love, Trinity, resting peacefully in his arms.
Peace. It had finally come to them after the war, after so long, so many deaths, so much suffering, centuries of hardship. The world was finally in the hands of its rightful owners again. At last, humanity was at peace.
Trinity’s head lay on Neo’s chest, giving him a clear view of her eyes, a bloody mess of burnt flesh. The skin around her eyes was scorched and now resembled a desert that had cracked and bled dust into the air, weeping and begging for rain. Her eyes were too far gone to save, fire having burnt too deep. Below her bloody lids was nothing besides burnt tissue, the remains of her eyes, and of course, blood. In their rush to celebrate no one even bothered to bandage them, almost as if to guide infection in.
Neo got up, gently letting Trinity’s head down on the pillow. He slipped quietly down the deserted hallway, returning shortly after with a roll of bandages and a wet cloth, taking a seat on the side of the bed closer to Trinity. He lightly patted the cloth on her eyes, moving silently to let her sleep, but she woke anyways. She jumped when she felt a hand upon her, but relaxed almost instantly when she held it in her own, recognizing the smooth skin and long fingers of Neo.
“Shh,” He whispered merely out of habit. “You can rest, it’s over.”
Trinity felt something cool and wet at the corner of her mouth with her tongue, reaching up with her hand to wipe away the line of water that had escaped Neo’s cloth. Then she shook her head, keeping her eyes safely shut, “Can’t fall asleep now,” letting go of Neo’s hand, “I’m already awake.”
Neo caressed her cheek with his hand, helping Trinity sit up and re-located her back to rest against his chest. “I’m going to bandage your eyes, so just relax.” He spoke calmly, relaxing Trinity, but when the coarse bandage touched the skin around her eyes, a burning arose and she reached for something to squeeze to keep from crying, which would only worsen the pain. Neo quickly withdrew the bandages, afraid to hurt Trinity.
“Come on, you have to do it.” She said, finding the leg of Neo’s pants and holding onto the fabric like a lifeline as Neo wrapped the bandages around and around, covering the red, scorched flesh with clean white material. As he worked, his fingers drifted over her face, her firm cheek, the bridge of her nose, and then the other cheek. Once she was focused on his touch and not the pain of the bandages, Trinity felt no pain, for Neo’s touch was more gentle than a light summer breeze, or the way a mother held her newborn child. She could picture him, in her mind, his tight forehead, nose, soft lips curving down slightly at the corners in a visage of concentration.
“Sorry.” He breathed when he had finished, Trinity finding a more comfortable position, resting her head against his shoulder. A sarcastic smile played on her lips before she spoke, her voice soft yet fearful.
“I’m blind.”
Neo was never one for words and Trinity knew it. That’s why she took his wrists and guided his arms around her shoulders. And they held each other, listening to the distant sounds of the free humans and the fireworks. “I’m blind, but I can still see you.”
