A/N: Hi there. I will probably post two new shorts in A Series of Kinky Events no later than tomorrow.
Thank you all for reading this story and reviewing. I'm really glad you liked the song. It was the first time I wrote something like that.
I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
Tobias called his father first thing in the morning asking for a few days off. He never did that. In fact, his father often had to force vacation days on him to make him relax a little bit. Marcus was proud of his son, but working without taking some time off became counterproductive. It seemed odd to Marcus that Tobias would call him on Sunday morning for that, but he agreed and told his son to take as much time as he needed, but to be available if they had to talk to him. Tobias happily agreed and hung up.
Everyone in the apartment was still asleep. Tris fell asleep around five a.m. but Tobias couldn't close an eye. Her confession was ringing loud in his head and the subsequent talk wasn't really helping. Tris told him that after she found the videos she called Eric first. At the mention of Tris' teacher Tobias got jealous again, but he trusted her when she told him there was absolutely nothing going on between them. She told him everything that happened after she found those horrible videos, how Eric and Cameron convinced her to go to the police, about the closed trial and how she started therapy. He was proud of her. She wanted to work through things and he was hell bent on helping her.
He made pancakes for her since he knew how much she loved them and prepared everything to take it to her room. He made coffee and squeezed some oranges and went into the bedroom with the tray in his hands. He pushed the door open, since it was ajar, and entered the room. He sat the tray down on her nightstand and kissed her lips softly. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him. She gave him a shy smile, but her eyes betrayed her sadness. He swore to make that sadness disappear and replace it with happiness. She deserved it, probably more than anyone.
"Good morning, beautiful," he said and her smile widened a little.
"Morning, handsome," she replied and he kissed her again. It was a chaste kiss. She sat up and leaned against the headboard staring at him.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm glad you stayed," she said. It meant more than it sounded like. He nodded before sitting closer to her and pulling her in his arms.
"I'm not going to leave you, so stop worrying about that," he told her while rubbing her back. He let go of her and she watched him. "I took a few days off," he informed her.
"You shouldn't have," she said quickly. He frowned. He thought she would be happy if he stayed with her.
"I can leave if you don't want me here," he said, trying to sound neutral, but it hurt him that she would send him away.
"I didn't mean it like that," she said. "I don't want you to miss work because of me."
"Work can do without me. But I need to be with you. I know you are strong, Tris, but let me be by your side." She didn't know what to say or if she should say anything at all. She nodded, secretly ecstatic about the prospect of having him with her a while longer. She really thought he might change his mind about her and leave her, but yet here he was offering to stay with her longer than planned.
They ate the scrumptious food he prepared and decided to stay in her room for the rest of the day.
On Monday Tris made an appointment with Johanna and asked Tobias to accompany her. He accepted because he really wanted to show her how much he cared for her and that he would always support her.
They got there by cab and entered the office of the therapist hand in hand. The office smelled of cinnamon again and Tris relaxed a little bit. They sat down and after Tobias introduced himself to the middle-aged woman the session started.
"What brings you here today?" Johanna asked them, a kind smile grazing her features.
"I told Tobias about Drew," Tris said directly. Tobias noticed that Tris never sugar-coated things. She got them out and dealt with the consequences.
"And how did that make you feel?" Johanna asked.
"Which one? Me or him?" Tris asked confused.
"Both."
"I felt like shit. Kept crying like a baby and became paranoid. You know, same old story," Tris said and slumped back on the couch. Tobias watched her concerned.
"Don't worry," Johanna said and Tobias glanced at her. "Initial reaction," is all she said about Tris' behavior. Tobias wondered what that meant. "How did you feel?" Why do shrinks always ask you how you feel about something? But Tobias was there for Tris so he obliged and answered.
"Angry, frustrated, sad, helpless," he listed and was surprised at the sincerity and accuracy of his recollection of his feelings.
"Would you care to elaborate?" Johanna asked.
"Uh, sure. I found the sheet with the lyrics to the song Tris wrote. I read it over and over again and listened to it. Tris found me in her living room and then we started talking. Well, she talked, I listened. I was angry about what that bastard did and frustrated that I couldn't get my hands on him. I felt sad for her, but not because I think you are damaged," he said and looked pointedly at her. "I was and still am sad that you had to go through all that in the first place. And I feel helpless because I don't know how to help her," Tobias said looking at the therapist again.
"But you are helping me," Tris said and leaned forward to be closer to him.
"How?" he asked confused, staring at her.
"By staying with me," she said and realized it sounded stupid. "That came out wrong. What I meant was, you chose to stay and hear me out and encouraged me when I was down. I really want to believe that you stay with me because you want to not because you think I might fall apart if you go," she said, although that's exactly what would have happened. She was sure of that. Just as sure as she was about the fact that she fell for him, really bad, but she didn't want him to stay with her because of the wrong reasons. "I wanted to tell you many times about Drew, but I was afraid you would flee the moment you hear about my past," she said and slumped back.
"Tris, I told you, I'm not leaving. And not because I fear you would fall apart. I know you and even if you think you might fall apart I know you won't. You are one of the strongest persons I know and it is certainly not an obligation being with you, but a privilege. Tris, I love you and I'm not going anywhere," he confessed, ignoring the other woman in the room and forgetting he wanted to plan a romantic dinner or something to confess his true feelings towards her, but she needed to know that he chose to stay out of love, not pity.
"What?" she asked incredulously. She sat back up straight and watched his face carefully, scanning it for some sort of sign that it all was just a trick or maybe she misheard him.
"Tris Prior, I'm in love with you. I've fallen for you a while ago, but I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."
"You love me?" she asked, trying her hardest not to fall apart and cry again.
"Yes, I love you very much. You don't have to say it back, because," he got interrupted when she launched herself in his arms and kissed him with all the pent up emotions of the last weeks. She fell for him too but she was afraid that by admitting those feelings she would open herself up to hurt and pain. She knew he wasn't like Drew, but she feared he might distance himself from her if he knew about what happened to her. But his confession and his entire support were genuine.
"I love you, too," she finally said breathless when they parted to draw in much needed air. He looked into her eyes and saw the sincerity behind them. He smiled and kissed her again.
They talked for the remainder of the session and Tobias asked if he could get Johanna's business card. She gave it to him, figuring he might want to talk to her sometime without Tris present. They bid goodbye to the therapist and left.
Tris was over the moon happy. He loved her. Tobias loved her and she loved him. She held his hand the entire time since they confessed their feelings towards each other. Sure, she would have wanted it to be a more romantic setting, maybe a candlelit dinner or a stroll through the park or even after a bathroom break between two "Star Wars" movies. But hey, at least they said it.
Tobias stayed in New York that entire week. When Tris had classes that she couldn't miss he worked either in the café nearby or from the apartment. He still hadn't told anyone, but somehow this whole thing, silly as it seemed, thrilled him. He knew that once they made their relationship official his parents and her parents and everyone else would want to weigh in and give them advice, despite not having asked for it. And then there was Andrew. He loved Tris very much, which is obvious since he is her father, but he couldn't fathom his baby girl was all grown up. He often joked that with her attitude she would never find a husband, but his dad told him that Andrew often sighed in relief when Tris came home and didn't introduce some schmuck as her boyfriend. Tobias could easily imagine that, having it witnessed it himself sometimes. But eventually they would have to tell their families and Tobias wasn't sure if they would be happy for the couple or Andrew would kill him for defiling his baby, not that they did anything like that. Ever since he learned of what she went through he understood her better and tried his hardest not to push her, but it became more difficult every day. He loved her and knowing she loved him back made it increasingly difficult for him to literally keep it in his pants. And for the entire week he spent in the city he had been sleeping in the same bed with her. He didn't suggest it, she came and asked him to stay with her. He knew she didn't want to take it further than just cuddling and he was okay with that. But he was still a guy and for the entirety of his stay he had a few cold showers to calm himself down.
Tris told Eric almost immediately about her relationship with Tobias. She didn't want him to find out from someone else or find out by coincidence. They became really good friends and she sincerely hoped he would find someone and get over his crush on her.
They were discussing her paper when Eric suddenly grabbed his head with both hands and slumped back into his desk chair.
"What's wrong?" Tris asked him concerned.
"Headache," was all Eric could say.
"Do you need me to get you something?" she asked standing up.
"No, it's fine. It's not a big deal. I have them sometimes," he told her but the frown on her face told him she wouldn't let go. "It just startled me. I'm fine, Tris. Really," he insisted. She didn't really believe him, but she didn't want to annoy him while he was in pain. They wrapped things up, since she didn't want to keep him any longer.
"See you soon," she told him as she left his office. They had decided to go out that Friday for drinks and that Eric could meet Tris' boyfriend. She thought by allowing those two to meet Eric would move on and look for a girl to be with , since it wouldn't be Tris and Tobias would finally see that he had nothing to worry about. She was his and she was happy about that.
When she got home she found her boyfriend lying on the couch, sleeping and snoring lightly. His laptop was on the coffee table and she could see that he had been working. She went to the closet where they kept a few fleece blankets and covered him with it. It was almost June but sometimes it got chilly in the apartment. She bent forward and kissed his forehead and noticed he was a little warm. She frowned and went to her bathroom to check the medicine cabinet. She had a lot of pills: antidepressants, chill out pills (as she called them), some vitamins, ibuprofen, but nothing for the common cold. Her medicine cabinet lacked another sort of pill and Tris decided to call Johanna and ask her about it.
Tris left the apartment and went to the pharmacy nearby. It wasn't too far to require a cab, but it was quite a bit of a walk. She dialed Johanna's number and waited for the older woman to answer.
"Hello, Tris," she greeted.
"Hello, Johanna. How have you been?" she asked.
"Good, thank you for asking," Johanna answered cheerful.
"I was wondering if you think, I mean, would it be okay to, you know, get busy with my boyfriend?" Tris stuttered. The moment those words left her mouth she stopped in her tracks and slapped her hand on her forehead. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Tris could hear the therapist chuckle and she blushed violently. Damn.
"Tris, you know I can't tell you if it is okay. It has to be your decision. The question is: are you ready?" Johanna asked a little more serious now. Tris remained silent for a moment and thought about the question. Was she ready? She loved Tobias and he loved her. She trusted him and knew he wouldn't betray her or hurt her. She didn't just want to have sex; she wanted to be with him all the way. She knew he did everything humanly possible to avoid the "talk", he was the epitome of a loving and trustworthy man. Yes, she wanted to be with him. She wanted to be his as much as she wanted him to be hers.
"Yes," Tris answered confidently.
"Well, then, don't forget to use protection," Johanna joked a little. Tris smiled. She thanked the therapist and hung up.
She browsed through the drug store picking up some medicine for the cold; she got her birth control pills, some tampons and other stuff to have at home, just in case she needed it. She paid for her purchase and left the store heading back home. Her friends had something planned and wouldn't be back home until later that evening.
The moment she entered the apartment Tobias came to the door to greet her.
"Hey, baby," he said and kissed her cheek.
"Hey. How are you feeling?" she asked and kissed his lips quickly.
"Good. Why? How are you feeling?" he asked confused by the way she asked him.
"I'm good, thank you for asking," she said with a chuckle. "What I meant was, I was home earlier and you were sleeping on the couch. You seemed to have a fever," she said as she stretched her hand to feel his forehead. He didn't seem to have a temperature now, but she would check him again later. He smiled at her as she retracted her arm. "What?"
"That's such a mom thing to do," he said laughing. He laughed even harder when she pouted and he couldn't help it but pick her up in his arms and kiss her thoroughly.