A/N: This is just a one-shot.
Prompt: Tris and Tobias meet Andrew and Natalie Prior for the first time after they saved the Abnegation from being killed by the mind-controlled Dauntless. Jeanine Matthews and everyone who helped her was arrested and executed and new leadership was put in place in both factions. The Dauntless chose Tris and Tobias to be their new leaders, as well as Tori, Harrison and Uriah. The story takes place several months after Tris' initiation concluded and the war was prevented. One-shot.
Requested by an anonymous Tumblr.
Tobias' POV
Tris and I are on our way to the Hub for the council meeting. I'm not really looking forward to that. Marcus will probably be there and while I'm not afraid of him anymore I still don't want to face my abuser.
Tris leans next to me as we let the train take us to our destination. She looks tired, but then again we did have a late night yesterday. I chuckle to myself and that catches her attention.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing. I just remembered last night," I tell her and look into her sparkling eyes. The moment I mention our love making she blushes and her pupils dilate at the same time.
"If you don't want me to drop your pants and take you right here, right now, you better stop," she says serious. I know she can be a wild thing sometimes and I love that, but we are close to where we need to get off the train. However, I tease her a little.
"Promise?" I ask and she practically launches herself at me. I hold her in my arms and we kiss passionately and just as I slip my hand under her jacket and search for the hem of her shirt to feel her heated skin she pulls away.
"Rain check," she says with a mischievous grin as she untangles herself from my arms and walks to the door. I look at her dumbfounded and realize we need to jump. As I make a step toward her I feel uncomfortable and stare down. Great, I'm aroused.
"You'll pay for this," I say and point toward my crotch.
"I hope so," she says smirking and pushes the button for the door to open. The cold air that rushes in as the train speeds down is helping with my current predicament. I let Tris jump first and then follow her. The moment I'm steady on my feet I walk toward her and grab her hand in mine.
We walk to the building where the council will hold the meeting. As we get closer I get more and more nervous. I feel myself sweating despite the low temperatures. Tris stops in her tracks right in front of the entrance. I look up and see Marcus there. At first I think she stopped because of him, but then I recognize two other people: Andrew and Natalie Prior, Tris' parents.
"You okay?" I ask her as she keeps staring at them. She doesn't answer so I step in front of her, blocking her view and theirs at the same time. "You okay?" I repeat.
"Uhm, no, I don't know. I haven't seen my parents since, well, since before things changed. I talked on the phone with mom once right after to check if she's alright, but we haven't spoken since. They don't know that I'm a leader now or about you," she says looking at me apologetically. I ponder for a moment if she wants to keep us a secret. But before I can say or ask anything she speaks again. "I want to tell them, but I don't know how."
"Are you ashamed of me?" I ask in a joking manner, but maybe she is. She stares at me, her expression serious.
"No, of course not," she says forceful. "I'm proud of you, over the moon happy that you are my boyfriend. Tobias, I love you more than anything in the world," she says and her expression softens as she speaks about her feelings toward me.
"I love you, too, my Six," I tell her and bend down to capture her lips. They taste of caramel coffee.
"It's just weird. I mean, you grew up in Abnegation, you know what kind of rules they have about dating."
"Yeah, but we're both Dauntless now. But I get what you mean."
"And then there's also Marcus," she says and I stiffen.
"I don't give a shit if he approves or not. He is no longer my father. He lost that right a long time ago," I say sternly and with force. Tris looks at me, a small smile playing on her lips.
"I know, but I didn't mean that. My parents believe him. They don't think the Erudite reports are true. After you left he called you a traitor," Tris tells me. I expected something like that, but I still don't care. "What if my parents think the same way about me?" Tris asks unsure and I see tears gathering in her eyes.
"Tris, they both love you. Don't compare them to a monster like Marcus. Your mom came to visit you on Visiting Day. I don't think she would have done that if she didn't love you. And I doubt your father hates you. How could he?" I ask her smiling, trying to reassure her and comfort her as best as I can.
"You think?"
"I'm certain. But if we really want to find out we need to talk to them," I tell her and grab her hand in mine, giving it a squeeze before we walk toward the Hub entrance.
As the three Abnegation members see us they look us up and down. Natalie smiles as she recognizes us both. I'm sure she must have figured out during her visit back in the summer who I really am, but she didn't say anything. I appreciate that greatly about her. It could have been because of her abnegation, but after I got to know Tris I know this is because Natalie is a genuinely good person.
"Beatrice," Natalie says and comes over to hug her daughter. I let go of Tris' hand so that she can embrace her mom properly while I stand awkwardly next to them watching in silence.
"Mom," Tris says with a sigh.
"I've missed you so much, my baby," Natalie says and a few tears run down her cheeks.
"I've missed you, too," Tris says. Then Natalie looks up and smiles at me. Tris sees that and smiles, but then her eyes turn to look at her father, but before either can say anything Marcus walks over, a false smile on his face.
"Tobias?" he asks. He knows it's me.
"My name's Four," I say, my Four persona taking over. I try to be intimidating and I think it works enough to make him smirk.
"What kind of a name is that?" Marcus asks sarcastically.
"A damn good one," Tris says and grabs my hand in hers.
"Beatrice," Andrew says as he looks her up and down. "You've changed," he says, but smiles warmly at her. "You remind me of your mother when she was younger."
"I told you Dauntless would be good for her," Natalie says as she looks at her husband.
"How can Dauntless be good? They are all hellions," Marcus says dismissively.
"If you recall right, my friend," Andrew says looking at Marcus with contempt, "my wife defected from Dauntless, while both our children chose the faction. While they are crazy sometimes I don't think their choice was bad," Andrew says and Marcus scoffs.
"So you don't hate me for choosing Dauntless?" Tris asks her father. Surprised to hear that, Andrew stares at her for a moment and then smiles. He walks closer and opens his arms for his daughter.
"Of course not, sweetheart. I'm very proud of you. You chose what was right for you. I would have loved it if you would have stayed, but you never really belonged in Abnegation, even as a child. I only want what is best for you," he says and kisses her forehead before pulling her into a tight bear hug. "I love you, my little girl."
"I love you, too, dad," she says, probably relieved to hear that. "Hang on. Mom was Dauntless-born?" Tris asks and looks from her father to her mother and I follow her example. I didn't know that either.
"Yes. And your father was Erudite," Natalie tells us, leaving us flabbergasted again.
"Really?" Tris asks looking at her father again.
"Yes," he answers.
"I guess that makes sense now," she says and I wonder what she means. "I chose mom's old faction, while Caleb chose yours," she tells her father. That doesn't really have real logic, but who am I to question her. I smile fondly at my girlfriend.
"Don't you have anything to say to your son, Marcus?" Natalie asks and I look from her to Tris and then briefly to Marcus before my gaze returns to my girlfriend.
"What can I say? He left me," Marcus says defiantly.
"Wasn't like you made a real effort to keep me at home," I challenge. I can see anger rise in him and remind myself that these people still believe his lies. He is a master manipulator. He will find a way to turn this against me even if all that happened in the past is his fault.
"Where did I go wrong?" Marcus asks in a defeated tone, playing the victim.
"A bunch of things come to mind," Tris says and looks at him with hatred.
"Young lady, first of, you don't know how hard it was to be a single parent. Secondly, I'm sure my son blames me for certain things. And thirdly I'm a faction leader. You better respect me," he says calmly but I know him. If he could he would hit her. I ball my fists and step closer to Tris but she detaches herself from her father and steps in front of Marcus.
"First of all, you are right. I don't know what it means to be a single parent. I'm sure when the time comes I won't drive my husband away. He will stick around and help me raise our children. Secondly, whatever Four told me I believe him, because I've seen enough to never doubt his word. And thirdly, you might be a faction leader, but so am I. And Four as well. And if you want respect you need to offer it in return. Unlike Four, who would never harm anyone if he could, I'm not that good of a person. I might start acting all Dauntless and kick your sorry ass. You know, for your own good," she says a little loud. I can sense her anger and hatred toward my father. I'm torn between so many emotions that I don't even know what I feel exactly: I'm proud that she trusts me, I'm happy that I can always count on her to watch my back, I'm angry that she challenged Marcus, I'm scared that he might hurt her in any way, I'm a little concerned of what her parents might ask later and I'm more in love with her than ever for being my Tris.
I watch Marcus carefully. Her words threw him off his game. I know he understood every word she said. She deliberately used the same phrase he always used before he beat me up. They glare at each other before Natalie speaks up.
"Congratulations," she says and we all look at her. Andrew remained still throughout Tris' rant and only now seemed to have snapped out of it.
"Leader?" he asks.
"Yes. After what happened with our former leaders and Jeanine Matthews, Dauntless elected Four, me and three others to be the new leaders," Tris proudly tells her father and returns to his side.
"Did you hear, Nat? Our little girl is a faction leader," Andrew says admiringly. He hugs his daughter again when someone approaches us.
"Four, Tris, good to see you again," Jack Kang, one of Candor's leaders greets.
"Hello Jack," I say and extent my hand and we shake.
"Hello Jack, good to see you again," Tris says as she shakes his hand as well. Since we became leaders we had to deal more often with Candor than the other factions, so Jack became somewhat of a friend.
He invites us all in and we walk into the lobby. Unfortunately, we need to take the elevator, much to my misfortune, but with Tris by my side things aren't as bleak as they would have been. The elevator is rather small and it is customary for the Abnegation to take the stairs, but Tris ushers her parents inside, while Marcus looks from her to me, unsure if he should get in.
"You coming or not?" Tris asks harshly, her tone cold and threatening even. I see as both her parents look at her surprised but it doesn't faze her. They remain quiet and look at her stunned.
"Watch your tone, young lady," Marcus replies, his usual composed, diplomatic mask falling a little. Tris is on a mission. I can tell by the way she acts and speaks. She is more of a politician than I would ever be. She knows how to persuade people and she knows how to get under their skin. She doesn't do this often, but then again we usually don't have to deal with manipulative assholes like my father.
"Yeah, yeah. Now, in or out. What's it gonna be?" she asks dismissively. Reluctantly, Marcus enters and stands next to Tris on her left, while I'm on her right. I grab her hand firmly in mine and push the button for the elevator to take us up.
The tension in the small space is almost palpable. I guess everyone can tell by now that Tris dislikes Marcus and has no intention of acting nice or even cordial around him. I remain quiet, mainly because I don't want Tris' parents to think badly of me. They don't know me, except for whatever lies Marcus told them. Until they know the truth I won't chance to upset them and be against me dating their daughter. I know that in the eyes of our city Tris and I are adults and since we're both members of a different faction neither of our parents has any right to tell us what to do or with who we should be with. But Tris loves her parents and I would never make her choose.
"So, you two lovebirds set a date yet?" Jack asks from behind Marcus. Natalie is standing between him and her husband smiling at us. Tris and I both turn around to look at our friend.
"A date? What date?" Tris asks obviously as confused as I am.
"To get married," Jack says. Oh boy. Right, he knows that Andrew and Natalie are Tris' parents and he is always teasing us. He is the only one other than our friends in Dauntless who knows about me. He knows I'm Tobias Eaton and he knows that what the Erudite reports said is true. He often teased us that we would go ridiculously slow since we both came from Abnegation. If our friend would know how not slow we take things he would seriously reconsider his teasing.
"What?" Andrew asks incredulous. He is staring from me to his daughter and back and as his eyes remain fixated on me I can see how he gets angry. From the corner of my eye I can see that this not only caught Marcus' attention but he too seems curious of our answer.
"Jack, shut up," Tris says dismissively and turns back around as if nothing, ignoring her father, but I hold his gaze. He looks furious.
"You two are a couple?" Marcus asks.
"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" Tris asks a little bitchy without even sparing him a glance.
The elevator door opens and we all fill out. Tris stops in her tracks right in front of the door toward the large conference room and turns around.
"Beatrice," her father says seriously.
"Dad, before you say anything, listen to me. This is Four and yeah he is his son," Tris says and slightly tilts her head toward Marcus. "Yes, he is my boyfriend. No, we're not getting married," she says and I add.
"Yet. But Mr. Prior, I love your daughter and if she accepts me I will make her happy. She will never know suffering or hurt or pain," I vow. Andrew looks at me, his gaze penetrating my eyes and searching my very soul.
"Dad, we're in love. He is a good guy, even if you heard otherwise. We have absolutely no secrets from each other and I can trust him with my life. I watched you and mom my whole life and wondered if I will ever find someone to love and love me back the way you two do." She grabs my hand firmly in hers and looks up. "I have and I'm not letting him go," she promises, and while she says it to her father, the looks she gives me tells me she means it more as a promise.
"I'm so happy for the two of you," Natalie says and comes to hug us both. We let her and I even chance to embrace her with one arm as best as I can.
"You're okay with this?" Tris asks in a whisper and Natalie pulls back but still holds us both in her arms.
"Of course. I trust you, sweetie, and if you say this young man is good and honest and loves you I believe you. You were always good at figuring people out," Natalie says and looks at me. I smile awkwardly.
"It's not just that, mom. Four took me through his fear landscape. I told you, we don't have secrets," Tris tells her mom, but doesn't go into details, not that I would have feared she would.
"Fear landscape?" Andrew asks.
"Can I explain?" Natalie asks me and I nod. "Each Dauntless initiate goes through a simulation in which all his or her fears unfold. To pass from one fear to the next until there are no more fears left, the person needs to either conquer the fear or calm himself down. The thing about the fear landscape is that it shows you your deepest fears and you can't hide them."
"But what does that have to do with anything?" Andrew asks suspiciously.
"It means Four trusts me to know his deepest fears. And he knows mine. Dad, I know it's strange for you, but we love each other and I can't imagine my life with anyone else than him," Tris says and a proud smile crosses my face and remains there. I decide to speak up.
"Mr. Prior, I understand your concerns, but I would never hurt Tris and I will always make sure she is safe and happy. Allow me to show you just how much I love her. I'm asking for just one chance," I say. I don't need more. I'm confident that he will see that my intentions are true, because they are, and maybe one day he will give me his daughter's hand in marriage. I know we're young and I' not planning to get married anytime soon. I'm happy the way we are right now and I'm sure Tris is too. Andrew remains quiet for a while, but unfortunately Marcus speaks up again.
"You are too young to get married. What kind of nonsense is this?" he asks.
"None of your God damn business," Tris says swearing.
"Beatrice," her mother scolds.
"Young lady, you might be a Dauntless leader, but I'm head of the city council," he says and steps closer to her. I step between her and him to shield her. I know she is strong enough to beat the shit out of him, but I won't allow him to get close to her.
"Take a step back," I growl.
"Tobias," he says shocked, although it's all acting.
"What is going on?" Natalie asks surprised and I can see from the corner of my eye how she looks from me to my father and back.
"My name is Four," I correct him.
"You're name is Tobias," he says firmly.
"Marcus," Natalie speaks up. "If he prefers Four we should all respect that," she says and a warm smile settles on her face. She reminds me of Tris. She talked very calmly and yet her words carried a finality that made Marcus nod in agreement.
"We should enter. It's not polite to let everyone waiting for us," Marcus says and walks past us. I wait until he is inside and turn around to stare at Tris.
"Stop doing that," I tell her.
"No. I won't pretend I like him or respect him. He lost every bit of respect when he did what he did," she says sternly and holds my gaze. I don't want to go into details, especially not in front of the Priors.
"I don't understand why you are so hostile with Marcus," Andrew finally speaks. I turn around to look at him.
"He knows why," Tris says ambiguously.
We all enter and Tris and I sit at the Dauntless table with two of our ambassadors, who are taking notes. During the entire meeting I keep thinking of what happened so far and can't help but wonder if this encounter blew my chances of winning Tris' parents over. I guess Natalie is already on our side. But Tris' father is a different story. I can understand his hesitance. Even if it wouldn't have been for Marcus and the lies he must have told about me after I chose Dauntless instead of Abnegation more than two years ago, Andrew Prior must have a hard time accepting that his daughter is an adult now. I wonder if I would feel the same way about my daughter. At the thought of having kids someday I have conflicted feelings. On one hand I want them; I didn't before, but now that I have Tris I can see myself sire her children. But on the other hand I'm terrified I might end up like Marcus. No, that will never happen. I love Tris more than anything in the world and I could never lay a finger on her. And she is so different from Evelyn. She would never allow me to hurt her. She would probably kick my ass for even trying.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts when everybody stands up and starts leaving the conference room. I realize the meeting is over and I look at Tris who has a serious expression on her face.
"What?" I ask confused. I didn't pay attention and I have no clue what was decided or even talked about.
"Where were you?" she asks with furrowed eyebrows.
"I was thinking if I have any chance with your dad," I tell her. We decided right away to always tell each other the truth and never keep secrets.
"Relax, baby. We both knew dad would be shocked. Give him some time to wrap his head around the idea. Besides, you already won mom over and she'll eventually persuade dad," Tris says smiling and takes my hand in both of hers, caressing it lightly before lifting it up to her lips and pressing them against the rough back of my hand. I smile at her. She always knows how to calm me. I don't even think she knows the calming effect she has on me whenever I'm nervous or scared. I feel safe with her and at home. I never felt like that before, especially not in the hell I lived before my Choosing.
"I just want a chance, that's all," I say and I'm trapped in her eyes. I don't even register when two figures approach our table. When someone coughs Tris is the first to break eye contact and I follow her gaze seeing Andrew and Natalie Prior standing there. I stand up and Tris does the same.
"Four, I want you to know that I don't think of you as a traitor. My wife and I were transfers and I know how difficult that is. We chose Abnegation because it was right for us. You two," he says and looks from me to his daughter, "chose Dauntless because it was right for you. I have no right to pass judgment. The only thing I want is for my little girl to be happy. I'm still not convinced that you are right for her," he says and I feel Tris stepping closer. She wants to protest but her mother holds her hand up for Tris to be quiet. "But Natalie and I both decided to find out just who you are. I'm not giving you my blessing, young man, I'm just giving you the chance you asked for."
"That's all I ever wanted, Mr. Prior. I won't fail you. I love Tris with all my heart. I know we are young and I assure you, while we know we want to be together forever, we are in no rush."
"I'm happy to hear that. I am not yet ready to see my little girl married," Andrew says and we all laugh.
I know there is much to tell and secrets to be revealed. I hope they will believe me, like Tris did. But with her by my side I am certain I will be strong for whatever life throws at me.