In the Dark

Title: In the Dark
Author: RavenWolf
Pairing: Neo/Morpheus
Rating: R
Summary: Neo comforts Morpheus in the dark.
A/N: This is an alternate ending to ‘Reloaded’, so expect spoilers accordingly. Also, this is basically un-beta’d and unedited, so there may be a few mistakes. I wrote it in a couple of hours, and wanted to post it ASAP, because the fandom’s been so dull lately.

Neo was tired. He was bone tired, weary in a way he’d never experienced before. And more than that, he was tired of being the reason for that crushed, hopeless look on people’s faces. More than one, of course, but the one that bothered him the most was the look on Morpheus’s face when he destroyed his hope. Morpheus was a man that had lived for one thing his entire life. Neo had never seen such dedicated dogma in his entire life.

It was also a bit overwhelming to have all that overflowing, undeniable belief aimed at him. It made him wary, cautious, and all around nervous. He couldn’t imagine failing Morpheus, or any of those who believed so strongly in him. Somewhere in him, he knew that there was no way he could please all those people, even if he was the One. But he’d always hoped...

Until now. What he’d learned from the Architect...He saw no way for it not to be true, and yet, he felt like it was his failure that had ruined Morpheus. He was not the One. At least, not in a way that meant anything to anyone. The war would be over all right, because tomorrow, everyone would die. Perhaps he’d been foolish, but...

They were no longer at home. The Neb had been destroyed. Somewhat symbolically. Their entire world had come crashing down around their ears, and that was just the last straw.

They’d run, and hidden, after that. Trinity sat crouched over, obviously bent on finding a way for them to survive. Link was looking around, blinking as though he had no idea where they were. Around his neck, something silver glittered and clanked.

And Morpheus...He sat, propped up against a piece of twisted metal, his face blank of emotion. His eyes were empty. Neo sensed that they’d be getting no aid from that quarter anytime soon.

Neo stood up, looking around angrily. So this was it? This is what it all came to? He was special. He knew that! He’d destroyed an Agent, at least partially. He could move faster, do more things, than anyone else.

But that was in the Matrix. Out here, he was no better than anyone else. He was no more special than anyone else. All his talent, his prowess, amounted to nothing more than a pale, weak human with silver plugs on his back and neck.

He blinked. His rage subsided, and he succumbed into feeling useless. He was nothing... He went to Morpheus and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, hauling him to his feet. “Come on, Trin, Link. We’ve gotta keep moving. Those Sentinels will come for us, soon enough. We need to find a place to shelter.”

Trinity looked up at him as though she’d just awoken from a trance. “You’re right. Come on, Link. Let’s go.”

***

Tiredly, they continued to navigate the sewer tunnels. Wreckage and debris was everywhere, promising a false sense of security. Neo knew only that they could not stop. The humming of machinery was forever present, warning them of the danger that followed. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but he knew he would know when he found it.

Exhaustion had set in, and they now had to help each other all along. Morpheus was still almost catatonic, needing prodding to continue moving in the right direction. No one spoke, because really, there was nothing to say. Just the mindless drive to survive.

There was no sign of the passage of time. No night or day, just a dull gray light that seemed omnipresent. Neo toyed idly with the idea that they had fallen into purgatory, and that at any moment, they would turn the corner to find themselves right back where they’d started.

In truth, the passages did seem identical. Everything around them looked the same. Neo’s head hurt as he stared at the endless walls of sheet metal and stone.

And then, just like that, there it was. A gaping, black hole in the side of a tunnel. Obviously not part of the original blueprints. They came to a stop standing in front of it. It disappeared into the side of the tunnel, and continued on into darkness. Neo didn’t know what was down that way. But it was too small for a Sentinel to fit through. And he was willing to take his chances.

He looked back at the tunnels, still illuminated by gray light. And he decided that anything was better than wandering through those tunnels for eternity.

The only communication between the four of them was a glance, and then they were feeling their way into the narrow entryway, hoping for the best.

***

Once they were a significant way in, exhaustion took them, and they made a mutual decision to stop and sleep, without any communication at all. They curled up near each other, not wanting to be alone. Neo laid Morpheus down, and naturally came to rest on one side of him. His head found Morpheus’s arm a much better pillow than the stone. And such warmth...

On his other side, Trinity curled into his back, draping an arm loosely over his waist. Link laid down on the other side of Morpheus, pillowing his head on their captain’s chest. They were all still shell-shocked, despite their long day of walking. Too many things had happened in too short of time, and truth be told, Neo was still adjusting to even the idea of the Matrix. So etiquette had been abandoned in favor of comfort. Neo breathed in the human smell of Morpheus’s skin, and slept, dreamless and cold.
***

Neo woke because of the cold and uncomfortable feel of his head on concrete. Trinity was still molded to his back, and Link slept soundly a short distance away. But Morpheus was gone.

The tunnel within a tunnel had turned out not to be so dark. Once his eyes got used to the significant depreciation of light, Neo found he could see, in dim gray shapes and black silhouettes. One of those black silhouettes was shaped suspiciously like a man.

Neo got slowly to his feet, his head still muzzy with sleep. His body still felt tired, though, and his muscles ached. Slowly, he managed to crawl his way over to where Morpheus was sitting.

Morpheus turned his head to look at him when he sensed Neo’s presence. “Good morning, Neo. If it is indeed morning.” Morpheus looked up at the colorless gray as if in illustration of the question.

Neo actually felt more like it was the middle of the night. It was quiet now, finally devoid of mechanical humming. Neo had thought the quiet would be peaceful, but instead, it was eerie. He had never experienced such total silence before, in fact. If it weren’t for the soft breathing he could hear if he strained, he would have surely gone mad from the quiet.

So he spoke, to try to fill the immense silence. “Morpheus, are you alright?”

Morpheus hung his head, which Neo could see only dimly. He chuckled, deeply and richly. “No, I’m afraid I’m not.”

Neo was at a loss for a moment, before he settled into a seated position beside Morpheus, and leaned into the other man’s shoulder. Physical comfort would have to do, since Neo had no words that would help.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally. His throat was dusty and raw, and the sounds it made were almost too soft to be words. But Morpheus understood, because he began to shake.

Alarmed, Neo sat up. Tentatively, he reached to touch Morpheus’s back. Then, more boldly, he began to rub the muscles at his shoulders. Morpheus continued to shake, and Neo felt his heart breaking, even as his world finally completed the rotation to completely upside down. Morpheus had never shown this much emotion before. Neo hadn’t even known he was capable of it. All he had in his memory was Morpheus’s voice as a strong and inevitable force. Not this wavering tremble that it was now.

“I don’t understand, Neo. Oh, I don’t understand!” Now it was Morpheus’s turn to lean into Neo. Neo welcomed it, because he felt it was the only form of comfort he could offer. Morpheus’s shaking began to recede, and to lessen. Neo stroked Morpheus’s back gently, becoming more comfortable with every passing second.

“I don’t either, Morpheus. But there’s nothing left to do about it. We must survive, and that is the only thing we can worry about now. The rest of it will sort itself out eventually. We just need to give it time.”

Morpheus seemed to accept that answer, because his shaking stopped completely. He lifted his head, and though Neo could barely see his features, the flash of light on his eyes somehow conveyed hope, and a return to strength and sanity.

On impulse, Neo kissed him. His lips were soft and pliant, though he was a bit slow to react. For an instant, Neo feared that he’d done something wrong, somehow made the wrong play. But then he felt Morpheus responding to him. His mouth opened to Neo’s advance, and he encouraged him gently. Their hands roamed desperately, clutching each other closer. Neo sensed what Morpheus could never say through his body language, and accepted it as enough. He would take what he could get.

They were slow and deliberate in their motions. Their bodies moved together in as much of an effort to ward off the cold as lovemaking. And that was alright with both of them.

They made little sound, only the occasional harsh, indrawn breath, and accidental gentle slap of flesh on flesh. The dark seemed to fade as Neo came to orgasm, and he closed his eyes to experience the flash of pleasure and the light on the inside of his eyelids.

They panted together, sweaty and warm, and coiled together as one. They were warm, and they were satisfied. And for the moment, that was all they could ask for.

When they woke next, Neo could not fight the strong notion of the morning dawning.