A/N: No long note. This is coming to a close soon. Had to break the chapter up or it would have been extremely long. On a side note, a suggestion was made that I might do Eric's POV for this story. Wonder if that would be something you beauties would be interested in? Otherwise, as always, thank you all for the love for this story. The views, reviews, follows and faves are amazing as always but reviews are definitely my favorite candy.

Disclaimer: I own naught but my own plot and the cherry bombs I throw within.

Part 12

I hadn't meant to fall asleep on the couch in the living room. I fully meant to go ahead and sleep in the room given to us. Plans have a way of going astray, especially when wine is involved.

Tris and I had been sitting in the living room talking when Tori burst in with a sly smile, looking flushed and excited.

It seems that some kids had tried to raid the wine and had almost gotten away before a patrol caught them. It wasn't the tainted kind, fortunately, which is the only reason I think they gave a shit enough to stop them, to begin with.

Regardless, Tori had claimed it was only right she confiscate the bottles.

The three of us had split the three bottles between us; talking and drinking the rest of the night. Tris has definitely been corrupted by the Pedrad's. I found this out as she helped me plot and make plans for me confronting Eric the next day. Some of them were extremely, risqué which had me shocked they were coming from the former Abnegation. Tori threw in her own ideas and by the end of it, I had a respectable plan in mind.

My earlier agitation and anger at Eric for having watched my fear landscapes came up. Now that Tori explained things to me, I wasn't as hacked off about it. It still had me wondering if it was only about watching for the investigation or if there had been more for him. I was also wondering about what he meant in regard to sharing my fear. Did it mean he was afraid that I am so damaged because of my past and dependent on peace serum to even be capable of love? Did he mean he fears that about himself? I shared my anger and hurt about the revelation he had watched my fears, but the girls didn't have any more answers for me, other than the suggestion to talk to Eric about it. But it did get Tris talking and reveal how Four had actually let her know about his past, by taking her into his fear landscape.

I told her I couldn't imagine having willingly exposed myself like that to someone. I hadn't loved the idea when it was required for initiation, but to invite someone to see what the worst parts of you could be, is really brave. Especially when it is someone that you care for. She had gotten a sappy smile and shrugged in reply.

It was a good way to end the day, even if Tris and I ended up passed out on the couches. Tori had dismissed herself long before that time.

I only woke up when Eric was prying the bottle of wine from my hand that I was still holding when I passed out. I groggily looked around and saw Four doing something similar with Tris on the other couch, but he was having a harder time because she kept trying to pull him down onto the couch with him, giggling at the same time.

Eric had much more success in getting me up and was carrying me out of the room while Four was still trying to handle Tris.

He put me into the bed wordlessly and I rolled over to my side, snuggling into the covers and pillows, too tired to do more than grunt some kind of thanks to him. I was already on my way back to sleep when I felt him climb into bed behind me. The warmth of his body as he surrounded me matched and intensified the warm fuzzy feeling the night of wine left me with.

Yeah, it wasn't a bad way to end the night at all.

Of course, I was dead asleep and oblivious to Eric waking up and getting out of bed. I didn't even wake a little bit when he got up, I was so dead asleep. I normally sleep hard anyways, but after what was a really emotionally exhausting day topped off by a bottle of wine, I was dead to the world.

The thing that finally did rouse me from my coma-like state were the sounds outside of the window to the bedroom. They were unfamiliar and unsettling after the absence of them for over three years. It took a few minutes to figure out where I was at first and then it took a few minutes longer to figure out what I was finding so annoying about it.

"Damn birds," I mutter angrily as I finally get the sleep out of my eyes enough to make it out of bed and to the bathroom.

The birds continued to chirp merrily outside of the walls while I showered, blissfully unaware how unnatural I was finding their song after years of cave-like silence in the place I now call home. The cow grazing in the pasture did so happily despite my glaring at it through the window of the bathroom while I brushed my teeth.

I could blame this all on Dauntless, me not being a morning person, but it would be a lie. Even with the peace serum, I was horribly moody in the mornings. I tended to stay quiet and slink away to the stables every chance I could.

The horses didn't judge me and my surly disposition. In fact, I always rather felt they shared it, being put to work at god awful early hours in the morning.

Today there would be no slinking away to tend to horses. There wouldn't even be the sweet relief of caffeine because that wasn't something Amity had much of unless someone's household preferred it.

It was going to be a long morning without my normal jumpstart. Not to mention I still had to put my plan into action for Eric. Something that required alert senses and my brain to be fully functional. I doubted that was possible without coffee.

I made my way out to the kitchen area, hoping that I might hit pay dirt and find something there for me to make and not having to go to the dome for food. Delicious scents hit me full on when I entered the communal area.

Tris was sitting on one of the bar stools at the island, both hands wrapped around a large ceramic cup and slurping whatever was inside down with slight moans.

She didn't even stop drinking as I came into sight, just used a nod of her head and eyebrow lift to greet me.

I chuckled and used my nose to try and locate what was producing the smells that had my mouth watering.

There were two sources. One was a tray that was loaded with fruit, quiche, sweetbreads and a few breakfast meat selections. The other was one of the large thermos' that dispensed coffee or other hot drinks, like the ones Dauntless has in the mess hall.

Now I understand the moan coming from my friend because I am making that same sound while I fill my own cup, watching the black gold shining at me as it cascades into the ceramic in my hand.

I lean my back against the counter and sip gratefully after the first gulp or two. I close my eyes in bliss before opening them back up and focusing on the tray and the food.

"Where did all this come from?" I ask with a frown, looking between the food and Tris.

"Tori had mentioned arrangements were made for the visitors. This was brought in by Kevin and Jake just after Eric, Tori and Four had to head out to the meeting with the elders."

I nod, tugging my lower lip between my teeth my lip while I think things over. "Do you think it's safe?"

Tris tilts her head in thought after she joins me to stand in front of the tray of food. "I think that I wouldn't want to be anyone in Amity if it wasn't. I do know that Johanna herself was in charge of making sure all the visitors are taken care of and Four said she has been the more reasonable about dealing with the other factions so far."

I let out a low sigh and nod then take a plate and start to fill it up. "She is." I agree softly.

"How well did you know her?" Tris asks me after filling up her own plate.

"I always thought I knew her pretty well, but maybe I didn't know her all that well. I mean, I always saw her as like a mother figure growing up. Especially when my own mom got sick and passed away. They had been close friends," I pause and break open a biscuit, butter it then stuck some sliced ham and tomato between the halves. "Before then, we were already close. She was the one that suggested I train to work with the horses to my family. I wasn't happy at all helping to tend the fields and I don't know how many infractions I got before Johanna stepped in with that suggestion. After mama passed, we became even closer."

We ate for a little bit in silence. Once I actually took a bite of the food that became all I could focus on. Besides I could tell from her thinned lips and the way her eyes were crinkled at the sides, Tris was either trying not to say something or was thinking of a way to say it politely.

"I have an idea what getting an infraction means but I just want to be sure…." She finally starts out saying slowly and carefully.

"I got injected with peace serum," I stated bluntly and with a shrug. "I got warnings before then of course, all suggested nicely that I get an attitude adjustment, or one would be given to me. I was a kid though. I was usually hot and hungry; the work was tiring and even on good days those are horrible combinations for me. I would get moody and silent, pouting basically, or I would mouth off at someone if I lost my temper. So, I would be taken aside and put in a room for reflection time. It wasn't always a physical injection that the peace serum came through. Most times it was in the drink or some sort of food. If you were being punished it was never something that could be considered a treat. So, in the reflection room, it was always a cup of tea that I would be given while someone was there talking to me. Counseling me about my feelings and why they were wrong. By the end of my reflection time, I would see the error of my ways and head out, calm and happy again. Once again content to do whatever I was told without question."

"No wonder they are coming down so hard on that shit! How old were you even? Not that it really makes a bit of difference!" Tris spat out, worked up into a proper snit now that she has personally heard some of my story. I knew she had an idea that I might have been given peace serum in my time at Amity, but I don't think she really knew the extent.

I gave her a sideways smile and patted her arm a little before sighing and answering her. "I wish I could say I wasn't really young the first time I remember the reflection room, but I would be lying. I can remember being no more than four years old and visiting it for the first time. My first infraction was gained when I had gotten into an argument with one of the other kids that escalated into a bit of a tussle. It was stupid really. I don't even remember what it was about, but something they had said or done to one of my friends had made her cry and that made me mad. So, I reacted. We happened to be visiting the greenhouses that day. The ones with all the flowers that Amity sells to the other factions so there were a few adults nearby when it happened."

"Were your parents nearby that day?"

"My Abuelo was there. He was actually the one that broke it up and took me to the reflection room himself."

"Oh Devi," Tris says sadly, her eyes watering, but I realize mine have been as well.

"I don't want to hate them, Tris," I admit finally after swiping the tears away. "For so long, I refused to really admit they had done anything to me. I hear the word abuse and I think, not my family. They never hurt me. They never beat me or starved me or did anything wrong to me. How could it be abuse when none of that ever happened? Because really this is all just okay here." I gesture wildly with my hands out the window to the area surrounding us. "These were all things they had done to them and probably their parents before them. They don't know it is wrong so how could it be wrong? If they didn't knowingly do it, it wasn't, right?"

My defense of them is weak and I know it. I hear it in my voice and see it in her eyes, but she nods and takes lets out a breath.

"I can say the same thing for some of the ways my dad is and how he treated my brother and me. I think he is a good man, has good intentions, but he isn't the most open or affectionate. He came from Erudite, which wasn't something I knew until I had my mom came to visit me during initiation. My brother and I were in the same year and he chose just before me. He chose Erudite, while I picked Dauntless. I can still see my dad's reaction to my brother and I always compare it to his when I picked. I could see the disapproval and dislike pouring off of him, so much stronger when he looked at me than when he watched Caleb. When visiting day came, he went to Erudite while my mom came to see me, making his displeasure clear then. It was like that my whole life too. Always comparing myself and Caleb. I used to think it was in my mind, that he wasn't really pitting us against each other. But really, he kind of always was. I realized afterward that was how he was raised. Always competing, always trying to be better than some measure that was being imposed on him. I didn't know that he was never shown affection or love when he was growing up. That it was normal and expected in Erudite to treat their children that way."

I nod as I swallow after I finally had felt like trying to eat again. "I know. I found that out myself when I met Eric's brother. He said they were raised the same way."

Tris' lips twist in a smile and she lets out a laugh. "Well, that explains a hell of a lot." I join her in the laughter before we resume eating after a minute or so.

"You know, Four had it worse than me in Abnegation. His parents," She stops and shudders. "Well, let's just say it is a wonder he came out of that at all much less with the few issues he had." She looks at me seriously and tilts her head. "We didn't have an easy time of it at first. Neither of us was exactly equipped to communicate even a little bit what we were thinking or feeling. We still have issues we deal with even now a year later. The biggest hurdle I have found is that we both try to deal with things internally rather than a burden or upset the other person. It usually ends up blowing up in our faces though."

I smirked over at her as I grab a piece of sliced melon. "So, what your telling me is that I can expect a lot more days like yesterday if Eric and I continue to see each other?"

She shrugs and gives a grin as she lifts her cup back up. "I am saying that no one is perfect, and we all make mistakes. But the hardest thing to do in the world for me at times is to admit I have been wrong or to make that first step to working things out. I have literally faced knives being thrown at me with a lot less fear and reluctance than trying to work something out with Four. Take from that what you will." She shrugs again and then concentrates on drinking her coffee.

I ponder her words and my own thoughts as I drink from mine, wondering if I am going to find the nerve to face things myself or am I for once, going to back down?

The day crawled by without anything for me to do. There weren't any meetings I was expected at, and most of the Dauntless that were going to be attending something planned to try and be done by the evening if not before then. Amity was holding a celebration this evening in honor of the other factions visiting. I guess it was their way to try and save face and explain things to their faction as well as butter up the others.

Tris left shortly after our shared breakfast to meet with Four where he was going to go with her to visit the childcare centers that Amity now has set up for all non-school age dependents to be taken care of at when they have no one at home to care for them.

That was a surprising change that hadn't been in any documentation I saw or mentioned before.

No longer would there be homes with too many children and not enough caregivers. There were set centers to send children to for those parents that had no one to stay at home with them.

It makes sense that would be the next step in making sure that dependents aren't being dosed with the serum to control them. I can imagine that those women who had so many children under their care might have used the serum just to keep their sanity. Even when they were the only adult present to tend to a dozen kids, they had seemed fine. They acted happy with their roles, but why wouldn't they be? The kids were docile, happy and all because they were too drugged up to be any other way. Had they not been, then it would be a different story.

I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen area, our room, and bathroom, then wandering the house while imagining the chaos a house full of kids off the serum would become with just one adult present.

I wonder how much crap and resistance the childcare centers had received at first after the sanction was made. I also wonder how fast that tune changed when the women got their first taste of kids operating on all cylinders?

When I had done everything I could inside the house to occupy myself, I set out with an eye on the time. If Tori played her part, Eric would be there just after they broke for lunch and the day. That gave me an hour to get my end set up.

An hour felt like not nearly enough time and an eternity all at once.

"If you'll just follow me…." I heard the lyrical voice floating back towards me as I lit the last candle.

I didn't hear his response if he even gave one, but I could hear heavy steps that could only belong to Eric. Steps that were rapidly coming my way. I scrambled behind the curtained area to be out of sight like I had planned, and stood just behind the curtain, nervously listening as they entered the room.

"What is this?" I could hear the impatience in his tone and knew he was scowling without having to even see his face. "I thought you said Devi was here?"

"All will be revealed." Charity replied in an airy tone, trying to soothe, but I could hear a slight tremor in it. She had been all too willing to help me, but I might have forgotten to mention the name of the person she was going to be helping me pull this off on. "Now, if you will just…."

I frown when I hear a shuffle and a grunt before Eric barks angrily at her. "Get your hands off me." Now I am scowling as I step out from the curtain. Nothing was said about her touching him at all.

"You need to undress. I thought it would be better…."

"You thought wrong. I don't like to be touched." Eric snaps out at her. I see him adjusting his uniform again and looking around in disgust while Charity is shuffling away.

She looks over to me, blushing and wide-eyed. She mouths an apology, but I wave her away with a smirk.

"That will make this a bit difficult, Coulter," I call out, pulling Eric's attention to me and allowing Charity to happily escape.

His head snaps, he whips it around so fast to see me. He pauses and narrows his eyes, trying to get a better look at me, but I kept to the shadows for a reason.

"Make what difficult?" He asks with a frown before he stops and looks to where Charity had been standing before she disappeared. "Wait. Was this some kind of test?" He hisses out angrily taking a step forward.

A test? What kind of test would I…...?

Oh!

Realizing how that might have seemed, I step forward just a bit more and shake my head while holding my hands out in the gesture letting him know to stop.

"No, it wasn't a test, Eric. I completely forgot that for the girls here helping the people feel at ease is part of the process."

He does halt in stepping forward and his eyes move over me for a second, not really able to see more than my outline, then move slowly to look around the room.

I can see he is processing what is around him with what I have said, trying to put it all together.

The tables of varying heights that have different candles on them. The walls are adorned with different things that are all geared towards making the environment a soothing and relaxing place. Woven tapestries in soothing patterns. Carvings of different motifs and themes, usually something tribal or geometric. Chimes of shells and driftwood that create soft sounds as they come together in a gentle breeze.

Shelves are stocked with oils, lotions, candles, and implements of wood or stone to help with will take place here. In one corner sits a tall urn looking thing that is heated from within. On top of it rests a metal bowl that can and is filled with stones. A bucket of water sits beside it with a ladle to pour over the heated stones. This, in combination with some oils, can help to relax further. In close quarters, this would be used for steam baths and is a great help to the skin.

For now, and my purposes, it will help set the tone with warm and the light citrus scent I prefer to other flowery ones. Should I wish to use them, the stones that are on the shelf will be heated in the room behind the curtain where I already have a few oils being warmed for use. All this will depend on Eric and how open he is to all this.

"So, what is all this?" Eric finally asks after he let a long glance linger over the platform on the ground.

"All this." I gesture to the room. "Is where I show you what all 'that herb and massage crap' can do for you," I answer him with a smirk remembering how he referred to things when he first questioned me about them not too long ago, even though it feels like months now.

In the flickering light, I can see his eyebrow go up at my words. His lips twitch and his head tilts. "I don't believe I ever asked to be made a part of a show and tell."

"Well, actions speak louder than words, and since you clearly weren't grasping the meaning of them, I thought a practical application might be better suited to your learning style."

I taunt him with my words haughtily feeling a surge of confidence that we are in a domain I feel comfortable in and daring him.

He sucks in air between his teeth loudly enough that it truly does sound like the hissing of some serpent and I wonder if maybe I have gone too far. "Fine." He grinds out firmly. "Where do you want me?"

I smile and use my hand to gesture towards the platform. "On there, but you will need to get completely undressed first."

I swallow a little nervously as I wait for his reaction. This is honestly a first for me. What I have planned. My massages until now have centered on specific areas and generally on mostly clothed if not fully clothed patients. Never before have I had someone fully undressed and never have, I ever contemplated doing the kind of massage I am about to now.

He doesn't reply but he does look skeptical at first. That doesn't prevent him from starting the process of removing his clothes. He steps further across the room where a bench is and sits on it.

I don't stay to watch him after I saw him pull his boots off. I dip back behind the curtain to grab what I need and put it all on the tray for me to carry out. I listen to him though. Grunting occasionally or the odd grumble.

"How the hell am I supposed to be on this thing?" Eric calls out to me, and I can hear the discomfort in his tone.

I keep my laugh in but smile as I reply.

"It's just like a bed, It just has firmer and thinner padding. Lay on your stomach but don't use the pillows like you normally would. Those are for positioning later."

I let the last bit slip out before realizing how it would sound and groan softly at his deep chuckle.

"Good to know."

I want to snap at him to shut up and just get on the fucking bed while I blush furiously, but I don't.

I miraculously hold it together.

When I feel enough time has passed for him to be on the platform and ready for me, I grab the tray and make my way out to him. I almost expect him to be lounging on his back with his hands laced behind his head with a cocky smirk on his face, but he isn't.

He is naked laying on his stomach like I asked, and his head turned away from where I am walking into the room. His hands do appear laced together, but he is using them to rest his head on. When he hears me enter the room, he starts to turn but I am already out of his line of sight.

"Do I need to be worried about that big bowl of volcanic rock over there in the corner and what it might be used for?" He asks me with just a tinge of worry in the words.

I snort out a laugh and shake my head. "Not today," I reply before turning towards him. "Let your arms go to either side of your body, down at your sides with the palms pointing up."

I watch him as he moves without question, laying his head back onto the mat. "Okay," Eric says softly. "Now what?"

I take a deep breath and grab the tie of the robe I have been wearing, let out the breath and undo the tie before shrugging out of it. "Now we begin."

At first, he is so stiff that it takes me repeatedly telling him to relax, in as soothing a tone I can, for him to even get to a state to let me begin. The first touch of the warm oil to him causes him to tighten so bad I am afraid muscles are going to snap they are being pulled so tightly.

Eventually, he does relax, and I do as well. Almost forgetting I am just as naked as he is.

I start out as I would a normal massage. The big differences for me are that one, I am completely and awkwardly naked. Two, the platform bed/table is different than I am used to and requires the person to climb up onto it next to the person they are working on. This does allow for different angles and better pressure to be applied. But it also brings our bodies into contact more often.

I am surprised that he doesn't notice or mention this fact. I feel like he has to know when I lean down close to work his neck, shoulders and back, that my bare chest is brushing against him.

I come to a point in my work that I know if I am going to actually go through with it, I need to just do it already. I start slowly, shyly, and more than a little scared of how he will react to this.

I move down to his feet and let my fingers slide against his legs, over his calf muscles up until just above the knee. My touch and how I am touching him has completely changed.

I use the back of my fingernails in one direction while using the tips of my fingers in the other. I use one hand to trace circle patterns in his skin while sliding the full length of my hand over his other leg, caressing and lovingly.

Playful even.

I hear his moan and feel a flexing of the muscle beneath my hand. But he doesn't speak otherwise, and it doesn't seem to me he knows what is really going on now.

I get a little bolder and start to use more of my body other than my hands to touch him. To rub in the dribbles of oil that I reach for and apply to both my body and his.

It is just about the time when the swell of my breasts first brush against the cheeks of his ass that he gets a clue.

"Oh fuck, Devi." He groans out in pleasure. More of me comes into contact with him and there can be no doubt now what is going on, but he still asks. It is hushed and so soft I might have missed it if I weren't tuned to catch any reaction from him. "What are you doing to me, little one?"

"I would think that it would be obvious, Eric," I reply with a breathy tone as I slide more of my body along his.

He groans again, and I feel him tense, getting ready to move. Maybe turn over or something. So, I pull my body away but put a hand on his back to firmly keep him place.

He huffs in frustration but stays put. "What is this, Devi." He demands of me. "Is this really…." He trails off and I can see his jaw tightening. "Is this something you do normally? A normal massage?"

Yesterday, if he had asked that question of me, and in the emotionless tone he asked it, I would've snapped. I would have gotten pissed thinking he was implying something about me or just completely gotten in my own head and not been able to read, not so much what he asked but the way he asked.

Eric doesn't know the right words and he knows this. The best he can do is to make his tone as devoid of anything, trying to let me know with the tone alone the question he can't put to words.

"This is called a Nuru massage, and it is one I have only read and studied about but have never done before," I admit softly and wait and wait a little more until I don't think I am going to get any kind of response or reaction.

But he lets out a breath that I realize he had been holding only when he slowly exhales. His body releases a tension that built up without me knowing in my own tense waiting and the sides of his lips are curled in a smile when I look at his face for confirmation of it all.

I figure that is as good as it will get, and I continue on. I start again. Just like I did before with the small bits until it is time for the larger bits. Occasionally he shifts and groans. Sounding as if he is in pain but protesting when I asked if he is.

After the second time he shifts, I realize he is also trying to adjust himself and that is where his groaning is coming from. Feeling that must be pretty painful and knowing I have done his backside pretty well by now, I tell him to turn over.

He moves faster than I can back up. Pulling me in for a kiss before I know what is happening. When he breaks away again, I am panting and looking out through glazed eyes to see him easing back. He is sitting in front of me with one leg laid out and the other bent forward, one arm resting on it almost casually except for the clench of his fist. His blue eyes burning me as they move to take me in and he licks his lips.

"Are we really going to keep this up?" He asks after his eyes snap back up to mine.

I nod numbly at first, swallow and then nod more firmly. "Yes. Lay back so I can finish."

He growls then flops back. I bite my lip to hold back the almost hysterical chuckle bubbling inside of me. He flops back, and his cock tries to mimic the action, only it just ends up going straight up to attention looking both extremely proud and angry at the same time.

Paciencia, Devi. Eso será todo tuyo de nuevo pronto.

"Fuck. You better make good on that soon, little one." Eric's growled words startled me, making me realize I have yet again spoken my thoughts out loud.

My entire body blushes, heating up and making me squirm uncomfortably.

I might need to reevaluate my next moves. I don't think either of us is going to last much longer.

"You think?" I can hear the smirk in his voice and in his words.

I glare at Eric while cursing my inability to keep my internal musings internal. I take his words as a challenge and watch as his cock twitches, mocking me back.

"Bueno, mira quién rompe primero." I reply with a smirk.