FicWad

-I-I-I-

It was all Neo could do not laugh out loud in delight as he watched his wife's charge. Going through the flight simulation had turned out to be a stroke of genius, he reflected, as for the first time since the freedom fighter had known him Harry acted his age. Face animated, tales of his exploits tumbling from his lips, he was, Neo was sure, one of the most wonderful things he had ever seen.

He wasn't his only audience, though. Morpheus walked with them, only the slightest of smiles betraying his own pleasure. Glancing sideways at the child, the captain was beginning to understand just why Trinity had insisted on taking him on board, and even blessed her for it. Harry was just what they needed, to relieve the tension and bitter memories of Cipher's betrayal, and the deaths of most of the crew.

Both men looked up automatically as the watch chime rang through the ship, and Neo grimaced. "My turn," he said, sighing. Smiling apologetically at Harry, he split off in the direction of the cockpit, to relieve Tank at the controls.

Harry watched him go, before turning to Morpheus quizzically. "Um, sir? Where are we going?"

Morpheus smiled. "The mess hall. I'm afraid we were so absorbed in the simulation that we both missed lunch."

The boy blinked in surprise, and the captain realized he must not even have noticed. "Oh." After a moment of chagrin, he brightened. "Will Trinity be there?"

"Possibly," he replied, chuckling. As the two resumed their course, the man couldn't help muse over how much having Harry on board had already changed them. Tank had done his best to maintain ship's morale even after the death of his brother Dozer by keeping upbeat, but his cheer had always seemed... forced. Over the last two days, Morpheus had watched his jokes and smiles become more sincere.

And Neo and Trinity. Even if they never said anything, he knew they had always blamed themselves for the mutiny. But Harry had, if not lifted their burden, at least eased their guilt. And even the normally reserved Morpheus found himself enjoying the boy's company.

Trinity looked up as they entered the mess hall, lingering over her dinner. An eyebrow lifted in surprise at the wide grin on her ward's face, before she smiled herself. "So," she said casually, though she couldn't hide the laughter in her eyes. Shoving her tray to the side, she continued. "I heard you were running a flying sim. How'd you like it?"

Morpheus watched as Harry practically bounced over to the woman's side, and went to one of the vacuum-sealed compartment that held food supplies. Keying it open, he pulled out two of the so-called "dinner specials", and placed them in the microwave. Then he turned his head, startled, as a resounding clatter rang from behind.

-I-I-I-

Trinity blinked as the ring of metal echoed through the air, gazing down at what was left of her dinner after Harry's elbow caught the tray and knocked it off the table. As the echo faded, she looked up, and gasped.

The nine-year-old was hugging himself tightly, standing completely still with his eyes squeezed shut. Confused, the woman watched him until she realized his lips were moving, and leaned forward to listen.

"Stupid, stupid boy. Can't do anything right..." he murmured softly, shuddering. "Useless, should have died, shouldn't ever have been born... worthless little freak..."

Oh, fucking hell... Trinity moved, faster than she ever thought she could outside of the Matrix. In an eyeblink she was kneeling beside the child, hands on his shoulders. "Harry!"

Instantly his eyes flew open, and she couldn't help but flinch back at the fear she saw in them. She gathered him into her arms, rocking him back and forth until he relaxed slightly. "Harry, do you remember our promise?" Tremulously he nodded, and she pulled back a few inches. "What did we promise?"

"You... you said, you'd protect me, if I... if I didn't call myself..." The boy dropped green eyes to the floor, ashamed.

"If you never called yourself a freak again," she finished softly, putting a finger under his chin and lifting it up. "Do you know why I wanted you to promise me that?"

Eyes wide, Harry shook his head. "N-no."

"It's because you aren't one. Your bastard of an uncle only told you that because he wanted to hurt you, to make himself feel more important. /You're not a freak/."

"But I am." He shook his head as she started to protest. "I /am/. I have to be. That's the only- the only explanation."

"Harry? What are you talking about?" Trinity asked uneasily, for the first time wondering if maybe she was missing something.

Harry's emerald eyes widened, and he looked away. "Er... do you remember, when we first met, how... you asked why my uncle called me a freak?"

The woman nodded, the memory prompting a frown on her lovely face. "Yeah. You said it was because... things happen around you?" she finished uncertainly, looking at him for confirmation.

He nodded, glancing over at Morpheus for the first time, as though only just recalling his presence. The dark man leaned against the wall, seemingly emotionless as he listened to their conversation, but Trinity's experienced eye could pick out the concern in his features. "Weird things. Things that... shouldn't have happened, shouldn't be able to happen."

Unbidden, her mind flashed back to the memory of the Agent, gazing down at hem and none the wiser... On the other side of the room, Morpheus spoke quietly. "Like what?"

Harry shuddered, a flicker of fear crossing his face, before settling into a mask of wariness, and Trinity realized what was wrong.

With the slightest of smiles, she took the boy by the shoulders again, waiting until he looked into her face before speaking. "Harry, we won't abandon you, no matter what you tell us. You need to know that. We couldn't- you're one of us now. You're safe/." /Well, as safe as a human being can be in this world, she thought cynically.

Gently, she gathered him into a hug, only releasing him when she felt his muscles relax slightly. Pulling away, Harry looked over at Morpheus, who nodded in silent agreement. After a moment of obviously gathering his courage, he nodded as well.

"Last year, during school- my cousin Dudley and his gang were chasing me around. I tried to get away by jumping on a dumpster, and ended up on the roof instead. I was suspended for three days for climbing on school property. And just... other stuff like that."

When for a minute there was silence, the boy began to back away. "I- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" Shock appeared on his face as Trinity laughed in relief.

"Harry, Harry, it's all right! Things like that..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "Look, remember what I told you about the Matrix? About how it's a different world, a fake one? It's not real/; therefore you can do things in it that aren't real. You can be faster, stronger-" here she stared at him pointedly, "and /jump higher/. You're not a freak, Harry. We /all can do that in the Matrix."

The dark-haired boy watched her doubtfully. "But-"

The woman cut him off, shaking her head and ignoring the little niggling feeling at the back of her mind that said she was forgetting something important. "You need proof, right?" She turned to Morpheus. "Can you load the Jump program for us?"

The older man nodded, and led the way.

-I-I-I-

This time as Harry approached the jacks he felt far less apprehensible than before, having seen they could hold both terror and wonder in equal measure. Admittedly, he was curious about the proof his new foster-mother said she could give him about his not being one of those freaks/, but he was still skeptical. After all, she /had brushed him off when he tried to remind her that it hadn't all been in the Matrix.

His hair'd regrown right here, in the so-called /real world/.

Shrugging mentally, he lay down in the chair, shifting around in an attempt to find the most comfortable position. He watched as Morpheus jacked Trinity in, and circled around behind the boy. There was the burst of light behind his eyes, rapidly becoming familiar, if not comforting, and then he was standing next to Trinity on the blank field.

"Ready, Harry?" she asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

"You know, you people seem to be asking me that a lot," he replied, trying to recover from his embarrassing nervous breakdown. He was rewarded with a laugh, before Trinity spoke to the open air.

"All right, load it."

Harry jumped as it seemed like buildings rushed up from beneath them, and yet had been there all along. When the odd feeling ended, the duo was standing on the flat roof of a skyscraper, in an unfamiliar city.

A hand touched his shoulder, and the boy looked up to see Trinity watching him intently. "You never said whether you were ready or not."

He blinked as he really thought about it for the first time. "How can someone tell whether they're ready for something they know nothing about? I should be asking you if I'm ready."

Her lips twitched as she conceded the point. "You know... I think you might just be." Hand still on his shoulder, she led the boy a bit closer to the edge. "Now... remember. The Matrix isn't real, so you can do impossible things here."

She leaned down, to stare him in the eyes. "All you have to do is /believe/."

And with that, she turned and took a running leap off the building.

Harry cried out in shock as she left the edge, only to swallow it as she kept going, flying up in a leap that would have left Olympians throwing in the towel and muttering hopelessly about steroids. He watched, breathlessly, until she landed safely with a thud on the next building, over fifty meters away.

He then proceeded to gulp as the distant figure turned and beckoned for him to join her. Edging forward slightly, he peered over the lip of the building, barely holding in a gasp as he realized just how high he was off the ground.

This wasn't anything like hang gliding.

As Trinity waved again, shouting incomprehensible encouragement, Harry backed away a couple meters, rubbing his temples. Trying to block out the sight of the giddying height before him, he clenched his eyes shut as hard as he could, telling himself he could do this.

But damn it all, he didn't want to do it! What he wanted, more than anything, was to have it already be over, and to be standing there next to Trinity, safe, like she always made him feel.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry never heard the pop, like someone bursting a balloon next to his ear. But he did hear the startled gasp that came from no more than a short distance in front of him.

Confused, he opened his eyes, to find himself looking into Trinity's stunned features.