A/N: This is a one-shot I originally posted to Tumblr. I decided to take it out and edit it then post it here. My inspiration for Zoe is a character named Cosima on Orphan Black. And as always, my Eric as portrayed by Jai Courtney. Anyway...I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm letting my nerdy side out to play here.
The air crackled with tension, causing the hairs on the arms of people in the area to stand on end. This only happened when anyone was coming or going from a particular corridor and it got worse if they happened to pass a certain scarred black apartment door. There were a few brave souls who might have paused in passing, wondering what might be going on behind that door before they decided they were better off not knowing and carried on with their business.
Some of the current occupants might have been envious of those that were able to escape. But on the whole, all but two were just too stunned to feel much beyond astonishment and disbelief and such a drastic turn of events.
The night started out as their normal get-togethers do. With some general chit chat and catching up before the real fun began. They had really just sat down at the table when their activity was disturbed by a loud banging on the door. The owner of the apartment went to answer...but before he could even get out a greeting he was rudely shoved aside as someone barreled his way in, looking like fury and vengeance incarnate.
This person was Eric Coulter, one of the five higher ranked officers in Dauntless referred to outside of the faction as leaders. It's a pretty well-known fact that Eric has a reputation of being ruthless but only those who know him well, know that if you experience that side of him you probably did something to deserve it. So it was understandable that everyone present was scared shitless, wondering which one of them had incurred his wrath.
If they hadn't been so wrapped up in trying to make themselves magically disappear they would have remembered that there was only one person in the room who had any dealings with Eric...and that person happened to be his girlfriend.
They watched with various expressions as a silent standoff began between the two, wondering what she could have done to bring him here tonight. They didn't know each was taking stock of the situation and wondering how to handle it.
For Eric, what he found in the apartment when he arrived was nothing like he expected he would find when he finally made his move to confront his girlfriend. He had known for a few months that something was up because she started to act differently on the days he was scheduled to go on an overnight patrol.
She hated him going on them, and made it very clear she wasn't happy about it every single time. It became something of a routine for them. First would be her spending an hour or more giving him physical inventive to come back home to her in one piece. Then as he was getting dressed, she would sit in their bed watching him and alternate between rambling lectures and dark humor when her worry got to be too much for her.
In the six months of living together this had been the way things worked for them and he looked forward to this rare show of vulnerability from her. Especially because it was geared towards him...how could he not like knowing there was someone that actually gave a shit about him?
So when that started to change...and she seemed almost eager for him to leave...well there had been only one conclusion he had been able to make. She was cheating on him. Nothing else could have explained this shift in her.
Not that he hadn't tried to come up with something else, anything else to explain it. Even going so far as trying to excuse it as her being in 'that time of the month'. Which had him internally cringing in embarrassment even as he thought it.
It finally got to him enough that he decided to casually ask her what she was going to be doing while he was out. He knew that she usually occupied herself with work until he came back home in the morning but now he had no clue what she was up to.
Her reply was what set off the chain of events that led them to where they are now.
A simple mention that she had plans with a friend. No mention of who that friend was or what they would be doing. That in itself wasn't worrying or even what set of an alarm...they both had their own friends and things they did outside of their relationship with each other. It was the fact that she made sure to distract him enough that he couldn't ask any further questions or get any more details that really planted the seeds of worry, and it only grew until he was forced to act.
Not one to charge into a situation uninformed or without planning it out...he first did some reconnaissance. Well, not him personally...but he had someone he trusted follow her on these nights when he was out of the compound. For an entire month the person watched and confirmed that she went to the same apartment and was there until just before dawn. Which was a little before he was normally scheduled to return from patrols.
The apartment belonged to someone she worked with in R&D. A former Erudite, like themselves, but at least six years older than them both. He remembered her making one or two comments about how well she and Cameron work together. But if Cameron weren't wearing the black of Dauntless you would think he was still an Erudite.
At first, Eric was feeling insulted by her choice in cheating partners. Cameron didn't have the rank or power in Dauntless that he had, not to mention he was significantly weaker physically as well. He's the very definition of a geek in looks and personality.
It made him doubt his theory until he remembered something else. He remembered that Cameron was exactly the kind of guy Zoe dated back in Erudite and even here before they got together and that knowledge threw him for a loop.
Eric fully admits that 99.9 percent of the time he's a very self-assured kind of guy. Some would even call him cocky...and that's when they're being nice about it. There's still that one percent though...that slight chink in his armor...and it's always been Zoe. Even when they were nothing but friends in Erudite, he always questioned how someone as brilliant and beautiful as Zoe gave him the fucking time of day.
When they got together, when they finally admitted their feelings to each other, he vowed he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way of being with her again. They've been through their hard times and come out the other side together...this was no different as far as he was concerned.
Once he had all the pertinent information confirmed, he put the rest of the plan in place. This time he went right to his office after leaving their apartment and waited their for precisely an hour.
Plenty of time for her to make it to her destination and to be caught red-handed. Or so he had thought.
He couldn't fault his intel or his instincts really. There was definitely something going on with her, and she was definitely going to the same place every time and there was definitely another man involved. What he got wrong was the activities she was involved with...they were nothing like he expected.
Now he's standing with all his carefully made plans completely shot to hell. What's worse is her glarring daggers at him, knowing exactly what he barged in here thinking about her. Instead of his plan to remind her of why she picked him in first place and then have her begging for forgiveness…Eric finds the positions reversed. The problem here is that Zoe might look sweet and innocent to some, but she will find ways to make a man pay for their mistakes.
Unless…..
"Well, Eric...as you can see I am not in the throes of coital bliss that you clearly barged your way in here thinking I would be. Now you can run along back to your patrol." Zoe seethed from the other side of the table while glaring at him.
"Nonsense," Thinking quickly, Eric waved her words away. Besides the fact that he knew leaving things like this would a be a bad idea, he refused to turn and run like a coward. Rolling his shoulders and puffing out his chest, he walked over and pulled a free chair to take a seat beside her. "You heard what Cameron said, I'm welcome to join in. Besides, I have the night free since Four is training the new junior leader tonight."
Cameron, sensing that he's avoided the death he thought for sure he was going to suffer when he saw Eric looming in his doorway. He gladly offered the leader a chance to join his group of friends. He didn't expect the man to actually accept based on what they were doing.
Eric Coulter didn't seem like the guy who would be caught dead playing Dungeons & Dragons much less even know what it is.
"Ummm," Cameron cleared his throat and watched as Eric spun the chair into place beside Zoe and while he gave her a cocky smirk. Zoe shot him a venom filled flare before looking at the others in clear apology. "So...we're starting a new campaign." Cameron said, trying not to sound too shrill.
"Perfect timing then," Eric responded with a wide grin, showing perfect white teeth.
"Yes, it's a new campaign, but we already have a perfect party set up. We don't need you coming in causing trouble." Zoe hissed over at her boyfriend.
Eric mock-pouted at her then chuckled when she narrowed her eyes in return. "I'll be on my best behavior. Promise."
Zoe didn't believe him for a second...and for very good reason. She knew very well what Eric was capable of when he got going on any game..much less this particular one. It might have been a few years since he last played but she didn't doubt he forgot a trick.
Just like he wasn't missing a trick in getting his way, using those damnable blue eyes and the guilt he knew she was feeling about having kept her activities secret for so long. The final nail in her coffin was the flash of excitement she saw as he looked over the books and other various gaming paraphanalia. It reminded her of those times back in Erudite when they were much younger and she had to drag him along and him loving it, even if he tried not to.
"Fine." She grumbled and then yanked out her bag of dice sets. "Pick your dice out from there and then make a character."
The atmosphere in the room immediately changed. It was like a bubble of tension was popped and everyone was allowed to breathe again. Now that was over, everyone waited for Eric to make a character. There almost an eagerness to see what he came up with. At least, everyone but Zoe was feeling that way. She had to hold in the groan when she saw Eric pull Cameron to the side of the room where they began to speak in hushed whispers.
Zoe let her head fall to the table and thumped her forehead against it. She just knew this wasn't going to be good and it didn't take long for that prediction to come true.
**** I'll Be Your Dungeon Master ****
Everyone is settled around the table, with characters made and dice ready to be rolled when called upon. Cameron is at the head of the table and in fine form, ready to set the scene for his players.
Plans had to change a little. The campaign was a new one but with returning characters. Eric's addition has thrown him for a loop in more than one way. He nervously begins to speak while looking at those gathered at the table.
"After you return to the city, your group is called to come before the Lords of Waterdeep. You are to be given a new quest and will be joined by your new party member." Cameron begins in his normal dungeon master tone, setting the mood and specifics. He looks around the table and continues a little more nervously. "Malice Baenre, an emissary for the Drow."
Zoe's eyes immediately snap over to Eric, who looks to be barely holding in his glee. There is a definite gleam of menace in his eyes that he's not even bothering to hide. He looks at her and shrugs casually then smirks. Almost as if to say that if Cameronwas dumb enough to allow it, then he deserves what's about to happen.
While he had a point, Zoe wasn't for a second fooled that Eric hadn't played up Cameron's obvious belief that he's new to the game. He did the same damn thing the last time she took him to a game run by a guy she had been dating at the time.
No, Cameron had no idea what he just condemned this party to.
A drow among sheep. This was not good, not good at all.
**** I'll Be Your Dungeon Master ****
Later the next day, in the privacy of their own home, Zoe wearily crawled her way into bed trying to put the horrors of the last several hours out of her mind.
Eric's still moving around the bedroom, getting ready for bed while wearing a pleased smile. It's a smile that hadn't left his face since they exited Cameron's apartment. He finally slides into bed beside her and stretches out on his back, putting his hands under his head and sighing.
After a few seconds, he turns his head to look over at Zoe and finds her staring blankly up at the ceiling.
"Well, that was fun." His voice booms with enthusiasm and energy in the near tomb like silence.
Zoe turns her head slowly, towards his smiling face and her blank expression doesn't change an iota. "Yes. So fun to watch you systematically destroy the party by either corrupting, disabling or just outright assasination. It was such a pleasure to watch you pervert their alignments by convincing them that war is good before sending the entirety of the realms into full-blown chaos. It was one big party." She drones in a dry and bored turn before turning away and looking back at the ceiling. "So fun," She whispers, sounding strained and exhausted.
Eric shrugs off her sarcasm and gleefully continues. "Yeah...it was a bummer the campaign ended so soon but the next game should be interesting."
All apathy gone, Zoe pops up until she sitting up in bed and glares down at him. "What next game!" She shrieks out. "There will be no next game after that! You broke them all. Cameron ended up in a corner muttering about failing the party and the others could barely speak, they were that traumatized by what their characters did. I'll be lucky if I get invited for fucking Jenga after tonight!"
Eric raises up and tries to reach out and stroke her cheek but she slaps his hand away with a hiss. "Well, then I guess it's a good thing I arranged to run the next game before this one even started."
Zoe jerks back in surprise. "What?"
Eric's smile falls and he shrugs while looking at the bed. "I felt bad about barging in and you know…" He waved his hand around vaguel...leaving unspoken what he was really feeling bad about. "So, I told Cameron I would run the game so he could play. We can meet here."
"What about your patrols? You said it was important you be there so you could assert your new position in leadership." Zoe asks cautiously while looking at Eric with narrowed eyes.
"Yeah, but you had a point. There are other ways for me to do that and I don't need to always be there. Four took leadership for a reason and it's time I start trusting him to do his job."
"So you won't be going out on any more overnight patrols?" The hope and tears shining in her eyes, the absolute relief in them, let him know he made the right decision.
"Nope." He replied while popping the p.
Zoe tackles him to the bed, and kissing him hungrily. He happily returns them while laying her out under him on the bed. After a minute or so of heavy kissing, as he's making his way down her body, he looks up at her with a smirk.
"Besides, think of all the interesting and wicked things I'm going to be able to do as your dungeon master."
He chuckles darkly when her eyes widen in horror but he barely gives her time to do more than that as he lowers his mouth and proceeds to show him what else he's master of.