Chapter 10

When Tris arrived at work, there was a rose and a card on her desk, as she expected there to be. There was also a picture.

It was of him and her standing next to each other. It was a while back when they weren't "fighting" with each other. They were at Buffalo Wild Wings, just the two of them, and Tobias forced her to take a picture with him. The waitress had taken it.

Since she hated pictures, she had dug her face into his arm. His arm was around her pulling her closer. He was whispering to her to just take the picture.

"For me?" he had asked.

They did end up getting a good, normal picture, but Tobias must've like this one better for some reason. Tris thought because it probably looked like they were closer.

She remembered Tobias's breath tickling her ears, and their faces being so close that it made her heart rate spike.

The looks on their faces in that picture made her smile to herself. The way they looked at each other was so… amazing. Tris just couldn't believe she was looking at him like that. She could only see half her face in the picture, but she was looking up him with happiness all over her face. And he was staring down at her with total admiration.

Maybe Max was right. She'd never seen herself look at him until then in that picture. They really did look at each other like they were each other's world.

Before she realized it, she was giving him the same look as she did in the picture.

And he was giving it right back.

She walked over to him and leaned her hands down on his desk.

"Why this one?" She said as she held the picture up. There was a crack of a smile on her lips.

"Because every time I look at it it reminds me of what we could be."

Tris couldn't withhold the grin spreading on her face, but it soon turned into a frown.

"Why are you doing this? You told me you didn't want to be together because you'd hurt me, but now you're trying to make this all up to me and swoon me over."

"Question is: Is it really gonna work?"

Tris paused. "I myself don't know the answer to that question."

He chuckled. "Better than a flat-out no."

"Well whatever you're doing, it's working. Now please stop," she chuckled.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, laughing.

"I asked you to stop," she laughed.

"If it's working, why would I stop?" he continued to laugh.

"Because if I do end up falling in love, I'll blame you."

"Love isn't a bad thing, Prior."

"Love is delayed pain."

"How so?"

"It's gotta end sometime, like I said before."

Tobias didn't say anything for a minute.

"I guess you're right," he told her with a sigh.

"You see my point now?" she asked.

"Yes, I do." He nodded. "But it doesn't mean I'm willing to give up on us," he said softly. He stood up from his chair and looked down on Tris, who was standing across from him. "Because I know you feel what I feel too. What we have. How we make each other feel. And don't bother denying it. I see right through you, Tris."

She looked down, away from his eyes. "Tobias… I— I can't. Not right now," she said. She turned around to walk away and shoved the picture in her pocket.

He caught up with her though. "Tris, can we please talk about this?"

"Not right now. We're in the middle of the station. If someone overhears us about… us, then tells Max, we could get in serious trouble."

"What? What do you mean?"

"You don't know?"

"Don't know what, Tris?"

"Since we're within the same department, we can't, uh, be together," she said quiet and nervously.

His eyebrows raised and and he looked surprised. "What?"

"Yeah."

"Well"—he scratched the back of his neck—"I guess we're over then."

She was slightly shocked by his words since he was so adamant before about them being together. "A—Are you serious?"

"No, Tris," he said with a laugh. "I'm going to do everything in my power for us to be together. I don't give a fuck about what Max says about this. I want to be with you, and no rule is going to prevent me from doing so."

She softly smiled at him. "Tobias. Later you can profess your love to me." She winked at him and began to walk away.

But, yet again, he caught up with her. "Maybe at, say, your apartment after work?"

She only turned around and winked, giving him no specific answer.

Later that day after work, Tris was at home. She was in her sports bra and leggings eating some carrots with ranch. She was about to go running, so she wanted a snack beforehand.

She heard a knock on the door while she was on the search for her earbuds. She finally found them, then opened the door.

She was slightly surprised at who was standing there, but realized she shouldn't have been.

"Tobias," she said.

"Tris."

"Um, hi?" she said, chuckling.

"I probably should've texted," he said as he laughed. "Sorry."

"Oh, no, it's okay. Come in?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"So what're you doing here?"

"I figured we could talk about… us," he told her.

Oh no, she thought. This was exactly the conversation she wanted to avoid.

"Well," she said, "I was just about to go on a run. Care to join?" He was dressed casually in gym shorts and a t-shirt, so she figured she may as well have invited him.

"Yeah, sure. But, uh, after, maybe we can talk?"

She didn't want to get his hopes up, so she said, "I don't know."

"Tris," he said, "I know you don't want to have this conversation, but we have to eventually."

She sighed. "Then let's just do it now and get it over with," she said irritatedly.

"Prior, don't get pissy with me."

"Eaton, don't get pissy with me," she said, plopping down on the couch. She crossed her legs.

"Okay, Tris, let's just be honest with each other for five straight minutes."

She nodded.

"What are you so scared of?" he asked.

She sighed. "I guess I'm just afraid of getting my heart broken. I mean, who isn't, right?"

"Me. I'm willing to take risks in life, even if I know I'll get hurt in the end. I advise you to do the same. Life is too short not to."

"Why do you keep persisting? Why can't you just go get some other girl?" she asked, exasperated.

"Because I don't want any other girl. I want you, Tris."

"But why?" she chuckled. "I'm just… plain Tris. You could have any other girl, I'm sure."

"I don't think you understand how much I look up to you. I mean, you're the best detective Chicago has ever had. You're younger than me, too. Not only that, but you're beautiful, brave, intelligent, kind, strong, and… everything I could imagine in my dream girl. You are my dream girl, Tris. That's why I will not stop until I get what I want. More so, who I want."

She smiled, then got up. She didn't know what to say.

Tris walked into the kitchen, putting the carrots away along with the ranch dressing.

Tobias followed her into the kitchen.

"No response, huh?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh," she said, "I've got plenty of responses for ya."

He chuckled. "Why don't you tell me these responses of yours?"

"Well, first off, thanks. Second: All of those are false. Third and last: It's really hard for me to be a dream girl when everything about me sucks," she said with a laugh.

"False," he said. "Very, very false. Everything about you is amazing." He stepped closer. "Everything."

Tris felt like she was back where she was a week ago when they had their first kiss. When he made her feel like a masterpiece, pinned up against the wall.

"This reminds me of a few things," he said as he put his palms against the wall behind her.

"Please don't stand so close to me," she whispered softly.

"Why?" he asked, even though she knew he already knew the answer.

"I'm having trouble breathing." Her breathing was uneven, and his closeness didn't help whatsoever.

"How long can we keep this up, Tris?" he asked quietly as he leaned his lips toward hers.

"Good question," she answered. "Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to it."

"Good thing I do."

"And what might that be?" she said, slowly tilting her head toward him.

"Well, first we're gonna kiss tonight. Maybe more than once." Tobias grazed his lips against hers slightly. "Then at work I'll leave a nice rose on your desk. Then we'll pretend like nothing happened. Then maybe two, three nights later we'll kiss again. And repeat. Over and over you will not acknowledge what we have and we won't become something."

"Oh," she said, "I've acknowledged it. I'm just too scared to see what we'll become."

"Tris," he said. "I know this is probably a dick move, but I don't care. I don't care that you're scared, because I just… I want to kiss you so badly that I just flat-out do not care. It's like you're breaking and entering into my life, accept I want you here."

"You aren't a dick. And I wouldn't be totally upset if you kissed me."

"Am I ever going to be able to have you? Just… have you. Where there will be no second guessing. No job to get in the way…"

"I don't know if you'll have me in future," she said. "But you do right now."

"I guess I just want something I can never have."

"Again," she told him, "you have me now."

So Tobias lightly brushed his lips against hers. He seemed like he was going to actually kiss her, but said, "Tris… I don't kn—"

"Dammit, Tobias," she said. "Just kiss me already."

And then she kissed him, putting her hands on his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, and kissing her deeper. He made her feel like… like she was worth something. Like she could matter.

It didn't help that she was only in her sports bra and leggings, and that he looked very, very built in that tight t-shirt of his. As much as she loved it, she wanted it off.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and tangled her hands in his hair as she pressed her against the wall. She took his shirt off ran her hands up and down his toned upper half.

His hands ran around her waist, going left and right, up and down.

She just realized how minty his lips tasted, and how delicious they were.

His nice and minty lips travelled down her jawline and then down her neck.

He made her go weak, so luckily it was the other way around for him. She made him feel strong and powerful. Her breathing was so uneven the entire time that she couldn't catch her breath.

"Tobias," she breathed as he met her lips again.

She kissed him again, then said, "Tobias, we shouldn't. If we go any further…," she warned.

He pulled his head away. "Yeah. Sorry."

She unwrapped her legs from his waist, and could barely stand. He made her so weak, yet so strong.

They still were close together, neither of them having the willpower to move.

Tris was shamelessly staring at his torso with muscles.

She laid her palms on his waist, dragged them up, up, and up, and then wrapped them around his neck. She stood on her tiptoes and softly kissed him.

"Remind me to go shirtless more often," he whispered as he chuckled.

"I have no shame when I say this: You do have a very, very nice body, Eaton."

He smirked. "It's available anytime to you."

She laughed and pulled away. She walked past him as she said, "Man, that sounds like something Four would say."

"You could say I'm a bit schizophrenic," he chuckled.

"Are not."

"Just a little," he said, following her into the living room.

She smiled. "You should probably go home before I start making out with you again," she said, eyeing his chest.

He laughed. "No, I think I'll just stay here. Shirtless."

Tobias sat down on the couch, opened his legs, and Tris said in between them. She was quite comfortable as she leaned back against his bare chest. He entwined their hands together before she could form a coherent thought. So, just like that, she fell asleep cuddling with Tobias and their hands interlocked.