I just had this idea all of a sudden, and I simply had to write it out. The snippet about the devout/drunk Christian I got from a comment on an old thread on the Hardline. I have no idea who suggested it.

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Offerings

By ZionAngel

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A small collection of offerings had accumulated outside of their door - she could see that even from this far away. Usually she understood, tolerated it even though she truthfully didn't like it. People, with their simple minds, needed something to hold on to - some hope to get them through the day. In the last few months, Neo had become this hope to Zion. It made sense - he was the One, after all, Superman, their savior (although they had once had a run-in with a very devout - and Trinity suspected, very drunk - Christian, yelling at the top of his lungs that Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, would be the one to save them from the machines, not Neo). He could stop bullets, fly, change anything on a whim. It was no wonder they all turned to him.

But today, as was the case every so often, she held a certain level of anger towards them. Not because their reverence and pleas for protection cut sharply into their personal time in Zion, nor because by the end of leave, their tiny apartment was either filled to the brim, or they were forced to take out even more time to haul many of the offerings to the orphanage. Instead, it was their blind faith that angered her. It was one of the few things that she had never in her life, Dreamed or True, been able to tolerate. Even Morpheus, her mentor and captain, sometimes angered her to the point where it was all she could do not to shake him, beat some sense into him. These people did not know Neo, they had not seen him battle in the Matrix. They knew only rumors, stories, legends, and of course, the Prophecy. It was only on these things that they based their hopes and prayers, their pleadings for his guidance and protection. They angered her because they believed he was invincible, they refused to acknowledge that he was not.

Trinity shifted the worn canvas bag filled with food on her shoulder, fishing her key from her pocket. She did not notice the elderly woman approach the door as well, carrying a small wrapped bundle.

"Excuse me," she said, tapping Trinity on the arm, her voice frail. "You're Trinity, yes? You love the One?"

"Yes..." She tensed, nervous. She had been identified as Trinity the soldier, Trinity the first officer of the Neb, The Trinity, who cracked the IRS D-Base, The Trinity, who had survived more Agent encounters than any other... but rarely, even now, was she referred to as Trinity, Lover of the One. On the rare occasion that she was, she was usually called his girlfriend... and that was just so inadequate. "I, uh... were you looking for him, for Neo?" she stuttered out. "He's not here now."

"Oh, no, no." The old woman smiled. "I wanted you."

Trinity eyed the small object she had wrapped in new, sky blue cloth, now clutched in her thin, wrinkled arms.

"My three grandchildren are all adopted, born in the Matrix... now they're all grown up and off on different ships. But I don't just want to ask this for them, I want to ask it for everyone -"

"I'm sorry," Trinity gently interrupted. "But... you should be asking Neo... I'll tell him you were here, and bring that to him if you want..."

"Oh, no dear, I told you I wanted you. I realize it's a little selfish to ask only for my grandchildren, and everyone must want the same thing, so I'll just ask that you watch over all of our soldiers as best you can."

"I'm sorry," Trinity trailed off, at a loss for what to say. "Neo is the One, he protects people inside the Matrix... I'm confused, I don't understand why you want to talk to me."

"Well, you protect our soldiers, too. Everyone's attention has gone to the One since he was found, but I still remember the stories about you, how brave you are. You've already saved two of my grandchildren in the Matrix. I assume you're still the same."

Trinity bit her lip shyly. It was probably true, and she had indeed been fairly well known and respected for her skills and rescues. But... Neo was still The One. She didn't understand.

"And I hope you're not going to tell me the stories about the two of you aren't true, they're such wonderful stories."

The younger woman eyed her questioningly. "What stories?"

"Oh, about the day he went to the Oracle, the day he became the One. They say he died, and you brought him back to us. They say he wouldn't even be the One at all without you, if you didn't love him." She was grinning broadly now, reverently. Trinity simply stood frozen, gaping slightly. "So please, take this." She took Trinity's hand in her own, and gently put the item in it, pressing it into her chest. "Do whatever you can to protect them. And love and protect the One, so that he may protect us, too."

She simply stared, dumbfounded, as the woman smiled brightly yet again, then turned and began making her way back home. She was halfway to the elevator when Trinity finally looked down at the object her arms. Shifting the canvas bag on her shoulder again, she carefully unwrapped the cloth. Buried deep within the folds, wrapped carefully to prevent it from breaking, was a statue. Made of wood, probably polished driftwood salvaged from the surface, the hand-carved icon depicted two simple characters, a man and a woman, each with their arms gently draped around the other's waist, staring into each other's eyes. She gently fingered the piece - a small treasure, in Zion - and looked up to find the woman again, but she was gone. Slowly, Trinity turned, and crossed the last thirty or forty feet to their room, still studying the statue.

Inside, she set down the bag near the refrigerator, and went into their room, coming to rest on their bed. It was an unusual request, the first and probably only one Trinity herself would ever receive. She appreciated the recognition for all that she had done, and still did, though she didn't quite realize that anyone had ever actually noticed.

She ran her fingers over the faces now. They were barely formed, two slight concavities for eyes, a small protrusion for a nose, a barely-formed mouth on each. Yet somehow, they seemed complete, and filled with love.

The countless requests made Trinity feel sorry for Neo, because he could not possibly fulfil all of them, and that made him feel incredibly guilty - they counted on him, whether they realistically should or not. But this woman's request... this was reasonable. This, Trinity knew she could achieve.

She smiled, and placed the statue in the small alcove at the head of their bed, beside the melted candles.