Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent

Tris wakes up to the insistent buzzing of a cell phone. In her mind, she knows it's been going on for the past couple of minutes, but her subconscious has just now allowed her to wake up. She groans, stretching her limbs dramatically, wondering why she isn't under the covers like normal. Despite this fact, though, she had a pretty peaceful sleep. Her arm collides with something. It feels like someone's shirt, and then their warm skin underneath.

She peeps an eye open and remembers the events of last night when she sees Tobias Eaton fast asleep next to her. His lips are parted and his chest rises and falls evenly. He looks much younger when he's asleep.

Then it dawns on her. She slept in the same bed as Tobias Eaton. Sure, they didn't do anything, and they both just fell asleep because they were so exhausted after turning in Tris's college applications- oh shit. Tris's college applications. She forgot that yesterday she went out on a whim and applied to a bunch of new schools that her mom would never approve of. God, what was she thinking?

The phone starts buzzing again, and evidently, it's Tobias's phone, because really, who would be ringing Tris off the hook at 8 am? Tobias sleeps through all of this miraculously, though, and it warms Tris's heart that he seems to be enjoying her bed so much. She swings her legs over and hops onto the floor, making her way to where Tobias's phone is tossed.

She's just planning on hanging it up, when she sees the caller ID. Christina. It must be work related then. She presses the answer button and holds the phone up to her ear, watching Tobias. He's facing away from her, but he's started to shift a little in his sleep, maybe Tris's movements have started to wake him up.

"Hello?" Tris asks.

"I've been trying to reach you for- wait. Tris?" Christina's frazzled voice rings out from the other end.

"Um, yeah," Tris says embarrassedly. She really didn't think this through. What is Christina going to think of her answering Tobias's phone?

"What are you doing picking up Tobias's cell at 8 in the morning?" Tris can hear Chritsina's teasing grin in this question and her face heats up. It really isn't what it sounds like.

"Um…" Tris says, trying to think of an explanation that would be believable, because Christina would never buy "we fell asleep last night after working late", even though it is the truth.

"You know what, forget it, I'm not sure I wanna know. Well, actually I really do wanna know but I'll just get it out of him. I just need to talk to him right now, is he there?"

Tris eyes Tobias who has now rolled over onto his stomach and is mumbling incoherent things in his sleep. "Um… yes, but he's… asleep."

Christina sighs, "Put the phone next to his ear."

"Why?"

"Just do it, Tris."

Tris walks back over to the bed and hesitantly places Tobias's phone next to his ear. "You're good to go," she says to Christina, cringing in preparation.

"Tobias! Wake! The fuck! Up!" Christina screams.

It works, though, because Tobias jumps awake with a start and glances confusedly at his surroundings. Tris has to laugh, because he really is kind of cute like this.

Tris puts the phone back to her ear.

"Did it work?" Christina asks.

"Yep," Tris replies, as she watches the events of last night sink back into Tobias. He looks up at Tris and grins sheepishly.

"Christina's on for you," Tris holds the phone out.

"Ugh, tell her to fuck off," he mumbles, falling back onto the bed and hugging one of Tris's pillows to him. God, his morning voice is really nice.

"Yeah, yeah, I can hear you," Christina replies, seeming disinterested, "I know you're probably worn out from your time spent with Tris last night…" Tobias drags a hand over his face at this. "But I need to talk to you right now."

Tris hands the phone completely back to Tobias, and then tells him politely that she'll go and get breakfast for him to give them privacy.

By the time that Tris has prepared them both bowls of oatmeal, with strawberries and blueberries in them, Tobias is standing in front of her mirror, trying to fix his bed head. He slept in all his clothes last night, minus his coat and his shoes, so he's basically ready to go now.

"Hey," Tris hands him a bowl of oatmeal and he looks up at her gratefully.

"Hey," he replies, leaning on the edge of her vanity as he takes a spoonful of oatmeal. "Sorry about crashing last night… I should've headed home."

Tris shakes her head. "No, no. I wasn't about to send you into the freezing weather in the dead of night. Plus, you helped me a lot last night so I really owe you one."

He gazes at her sincerely, "Are you feeling good… about everything we did last night?"

She tilts her head, trying to think it over. "I guess… I dunno, it felt really good at the time, and I definitely don't regret it. I'm just… really fucking scared."

He cracks a smile, "I feel like fear in this situation means you're doing something right. Like, something's changing, you know? Which is ultimately what you want."

She nods thoughtfully, "Yeah, I suppose that it is."

"This is really good by the way," Tobias comments, nodding his head toward the oatmeal bowl.

Tris smiles shyly in thanks. She wouldn't mind making breakfast for Tobias on multiple occasions. "So… are you headed into work now?"

"Yeah, it's a Sunday so it's kind of unexpected but Christina needs some help with something so… I guess I'll see where the day takes me."

"Good luck, then," Tris tells him.

He smiles in thanks and finishes his oatmeal quickly. Tris offers to walk him out and on their way to the exit they run into Caleb. Let the shitshow commence.

"Did he spend the night here?!" Caleb demands to know, pointing at Tobias.

Tobias looks at Tris, silently asking her what the best course of action would be for this.

Tris just simply rolls her eyes. "So what if he did, Caleb?"

"Tris, what the hell are you doing? He's older and-"

"Oh my god you psycho. We didn't have sex. We just fell asleep working. And even if we did it's none of your business. Now get out of the way, please." Tris says, shoving her brother to the side.

"You're quite… aggressive with him," Tobias muses as they step into the elevator.

"He deserves it. He likes to pull the caring big brother act to make himself feel better but he can actually be a piece of shit sometimes."

Tobias raises his eyebrows in response.

"Yeah, yeah, I still love him of course. We just give each other a hard time and all that."

"Mm," Tobias responds, not seeming like he fully believes her.

Tris walks him to the door and says goodbye to him, and on her way back up to her apartment she feels bleak and lonely without his company.

Caleb is waiting for her expectantly when she re-enters, and he gives her a look. "What's going on, Beatrice? You're hiding something."

Tris presses her lips together. A part of her wants to tell Caleb about her college debacle, maybe he'd understand and give her good advice. But she's also worried that he would lecture her and rat her out to their mother. Even if he doesn't always intend to snitch, there have been multiple instances where he ended up spilling secrets he shouldn't have. Tris learned not to trust her brother with sensitive information early on, but this is somewhat harder to hide. It's probably the biggest secret she's ever kept from him. "Look… we were just working on something for the volunteer project and we both fell asleep cuz we were up so late. We're friends, that's all." Tris tries to say convincingly, her face warm.

"I mean… I believe you when you say you guys didn't have sex… but the just friends things is bullshit. Also, that's not even what I'm talking about. Something bigger is going on with you, you've been quiet, on edge, and then you lashed out at Susan-"

"Well I'm glad you're finally opening your eyes, just because you want Susan to think you're some doting brother. I've been like this for quite awhile for your information… like hmm… ever since the thing that we pretend never happened occurred… but you and mom just carry on with your perfect little lives like it's all fine. Well guess what? It's not fine at all, and I'm sorry it's taken you this wrong to realize that something is up with me, but I'm not in the mood to play brother and sister right now."

Caleb looks truly taken aback, one of the few times that Tris has ever seen him with nothing to say. Not even some snarky remark or a psychological fact about why she's acting this way. He clenches his jaw, "I'm sorry, Beatrice. I really am. But I'm more perceptive than you know. Ever since your 18th you've been acting strange… I don't know whether it's about the dad stuff or not… but I hope you know you can always come to me."

Tris bites back the urge to scoff and keeps her eyes trained on the floor.

"And please… be mad at me all you want, but don't take it out on Susan. You know what you said to her was out of line, and she has nothing to do with the situation," he tells her gently, before exiting the apartment.

Tris chews her cheek and goes up to her room. She knows Caleb is right, and Susan didn't deserve to be snapped at. After pacing around her room for a couple minutes she makes the decision to ring Susan up. This is a huge step for Tris, as she usually lets pride consume her and her stubbornness get in the way of any genuine apologies. Caleb was right, she has changed since her 18th birthday… but maybe for the better.

On the third ring, Susan answers, "Hello?"

"Hey, Susan. It's Tris."

"Yes, I know Beatrice, I have your contact information saved."

Susan is always so sassy in the most polite way. Fuck her. No. She's a nice person. Just flawed like everyone else. "Ha. I just wanted to apologize for how I snapped at you yesterday. I was out of line and irritated and I took it out on you… you didn't deserve that. I'm sorry. I know it reflects poorly on my character and not yours."

"It's… alright Beatrice. I was just taken aback, but I understand you've been going through a lot. I wasn't trying to intrude or act like I know what's been going on. I just merely wanted to lend a listening ear, whenever you're ready…"

"Okay… thanks," Tris replies, desperate to end the conversation now.

However, Susan continues speaking. "As for you and Caleb, I don't exactly know what's going on there. But he loves you a lot Beatrice, I promise. I am not one to often fall for deceit, I would know if he was putting on an act just for my sake. He isn't. Please… just give your brother a chance. I think it would help both of you."

Tris exhales, comforted by Susan's careful and gentle tone. She feels like a preschooler being talked down to by an adult, but in the safest way. "Thank you, Susan. That means a lot. I'll see you at school, goodbye."

Susan says goodbye and once Tris gathers her bearings, feeling proud of the step she just took by apologizing to Susan, she just goes about her lazy Sunday. Doing some homework, cleaning some clutter, reading a bit, taking a noon nap.

At about 2 in the afternoon her phone buzzes with a text from Tobias.

'Hey, wanna come over? Sorry I had to leave so abruptly this morning, I'm ordering a late lunch if you haven't eaten yet.'

Tris takes a few minutes to respond, not wanting to seem desperate while she thinks this over. Yes, she does want to come over. Is it wise? Maybe not, considering her subconscious that seems to have a huge crush on this man, and him probably only seeing her as a little sister type figure. Still the part of her that desperately wants to see him and have some afternoon company wins out. She is hungry anyways.

'ya, i could eat! be there in 10'

She wonders if the exclamation point was a bit much, and she's also a bit humored by the fact that Tobias texts like her mother with proper punctuation and capitalization, meanwhile she just texts like a normal teenager. It does make her a bit aware of the age gap between them, and she begins to feel self conscious as she throws on a thick expensive crew neck and her cozy fleece leggings. She slips on her heavy overcoat and shoots a quick text to Alex, asking him to pick her up.

By the time she's in the car, they're exchanging pleasantries and Tris tries to push down her nerves at the prospect of seeing Tobias. She's been to his apartment before, met his roommates, but she's never been requested over on a planned occasion. It makes her feel like this thing between them has gotten a bit deeper, but she doesn't understand it. She tries to drive it from her mind and remind herself that they're just friends, and they've barely hung out.

Not having very many friends of her own, though, she wonders how often and how long you've had to hang out for two people to be considered close. She feels close with Tobias. They've had some special moments, she's talked about things with him that she can't imagine sharing with anybody else, but what has he shared in return? Not much, besides casually pointing out the ways that they're similar. But was that just for her benefit? Why was he getting so drunk? He did tell her that he wanted to talk to her about everything going on in his life…

"You seem trustworthy. I like you," he had said to her. Tris is pulled from her thoughts by Alex announcing that they've arrived and she thanks him before hopping out of the vehicle and getting in the elevator.

When Tris finally gets up to his floor, she is surprised when an unknown man answers the door. He has shaggy blonde hair and bright green eyes. When he sees Tris, his face breaks out into a smile. "Hey, you must be Tris."

"Um, yeah…" Tris says, trying her best not to sound impolite. "And you are…?"

"Oh! My bad! I'm Will… Christina's boyfriend. Her and Tobias just stepped out to pick up the food they ordered, you should come in!" He ushers her in through the entrance.

Huh? She was not aware that Christina or her boyfriend were going to be here… considering Tobias likes to keep his two worlds very separate. She doesn't see Zeke or Shauna anywhere, though, which is probably why Tobias has invited Christina and Will over.

At Tris's confused look, Will continues, "Chris and Tobias were doing some work this morning. Apparently it carried on pretty late, so her and I missed our brunch reservation. Tobias felt bad so he offered to have us both over… I don't think he wanted to third wheel us, though, so now it's more of a double date."

"Oh. We aren't… um… Tobias and me… just friends…" Tris manages to get out, stumbling over the whole sentence.

"Oh my gosh, my bad. Christina just made it sound like- and she said he slept at your house last night? Sorry for assuming…"

Tris laughs nervously, "No, you're good. Honestly… everyone thinks that there's something more going on… but I swear. Just friends. As for last night, he just fell asleep working late on something with me. No big deal." It felt like a huge deal. Tris thinks about how content she felt watching Tobias snuggled up in her bed.

"Ah, I see," Will smirks at her, not seeming like he believes anything she's saying. Tris all of a sudden feels a little uncomfortable, she's never liked being called out on her bullshit, but she decides he likes Will. He's laid back, friendly, perceptive. Christina's frazzled and blunt personality could use a calm, cool, and collected partner to balance her out.

"We're heeere!" Christina's voice sings, and Tris turns around to see her and Tobias carrying brown paper bags through the door. Damn, they smell pretty good.

"Tris! Always a pleasure! I see you met William?" Christina chirps, walking over to him and kissing him hello.

"Yep, I didn't know that you two would be here," she glances at Tobias who just shrugs, "Not that it wasn't a welcome surprise."

"Oh… did we intrude on your alone time with Tobias?" Christina looks remorseful.

"Um-" Tris doesn't know what to say to that.

"Hey! Let's eat! We ordered from that new sushi place down the street," Tobias interrupts, seeming desperate to change the topic. He walks over to his cabinets and pulls out four plates, and Tris makes her way over there to help him while Christina starts rambling about how hard it is to manage being a full time college student and being Tobias's assistant.

"Hey," Tobias murmurs to her, his lips lifting up in a smile, "It's good to see you. Sorry I didn't notify you about Chris or Will, it just seemed kind of hard to fit in a text… and I didn't think you'd mind."

Tris takes a plate from his hands, her fingers grazing his, "It's all good. Just unexpected. Are Zeke and Shauna out?"

She makes her way over to the takeout boxes and begins piling things onto her plate as Tobias responds. "Yep, they've gone to Ikea to look for a new dresser for their room cuz… they broke theirs…"

"Do I even wanna know?"

"No… I don't think you do. Lucky me, I was home when it happened."

"Damn-"

"Tobias!" Christina interrupts, "Where's the wine at?"

"Um… the wine cooler is at the back of the kitchen," he gestures his head. "Please use something relatively cheap… and already opened."

"Yeah, yeah," Christina grumbles, walking over to inspect.

After about 15 minutes, they're all gathered around the kitchen table, sushi adorning their plates, and 4 glasses of rose wine out. "Mmm, this is amazing," Christina says, "I'm gonna go give them 5 stars on yelp."

"Am I the only one seriously struggling with these chopsticks?" Will asks, fumbling them between his fingers.

"Yes," Christina tells him, picking up another piece of Sushi with hers, "I mean… I know how to use them thanks to my semester abroad in Japan, he's Tobias Eaton, and she is Natalie Prior's daughter so…"

"Um…" Tris says, her face heating up.

"No shit, Natalie Prior's daughter, huh?" Will asks.

She swallows a whole piece of sushi before responding, "Yep." She tries not to give Christina a death glare, though Tobias is shaking his head at her.

"Oh sorry…" Christina glances around the table, all of a sudden reading the energy. "I just didn't think it was a secret… my bad."

Tris waves a hand, "It's not a secret. Don't worry."

"Oh okay… then is it okay if I totally fangirl… I love her! Her book is so good! She's so inspiring too, her documentary is what persuaded me to take on college and this job at the same time."

Will cocks his head, "She is pretty awesome, Tris."

Tobias says nothing, though Tris can feel his eyes burning into the side of her head.

"What's it like… being her daughter? I feel like people don't hear about you or your brother a whole lot," Christina continues.

"Yeah, my mom kind of wanted it that way… Being her daughter is fine. Chill," she tries to say nonchalantly. Will and Christina raise their eyebrows at her. "Sorry… I've just been her daughter my whole life… so I don't really know anything else besides it… I wouldn't be very good at describing it." Tris hopes they sense that she doesn't want to talk about this at all, yes, it's cool to see how her mother has impacted people's lives, and she understands that Natalie Prior is an inspiration and an icon, but to her, she's just mom. And their mother-daughter relationship is just about as fucked up as anyone else's.

"Okay…" Christina nods, "I'm guessing that's how you two know each other then? Family friends?" She asks Tris and Tobias.

"Well," Tobias raises his eyebrows at Tris, "We actually met before that."

Tris just shakes her head, smiling, while Will and Christina lean in interestedly.

"Do you wanna tell them, or should I?" Tobias asks her.

"Aww, that is so cute!" Christina gushes.

"Go ahead," Tris says, taking a sip from her wine glass for the first time tonight. Damn, this is pretty good stuff.

Tobias goes into the whole story of how they first encountered each other at the tattoo parlor, leaving out certain details, but he makes the occasion seem far more casual and destined than Tris felt. At the time, Tris was so wracked with nerves and incredibly tipsy, but from Tobias's point of view, he was having the time of his life! Funny, it didn't seem that way to her.

"And then… she bumped into me on her way out. And she was so flustered and probably super drunk too… it was kind of cute…"

Tris raises her eyebrows in shock, her face warming, and Will coughs loudly into his hand, smirking.

Tobias just winks at her… flirtily… and Christina looks like she's a child on Christmas morning. She remembers what Tobias told her about wanting to get reactions out of her, she suspects that this is no different so she just presses her lips together and shakes her head.

After making some more small talk, they decide to curl up on the couch and watch some TV, however the TV was dragged into Zeke and Shauna's room a couple days ago, so Tobias and Will offer to go bring it back out. As soon as they've escaped their earshot, Christina turns excitedly to Tris. "You can't tell me there isn't something romantic going on between you and Tobias. Anybody could see it."

"We're not dating!" Tris says, her voice an octave higher than it usually is. "I don't know why everyone thinks that."

"Okay, number one, your red face? A dead give away. Number two, I never said dating, I said something romantic."

"There's nothing romantic going on. We've just started to become friends, anyways."

"Tris! Give me something to work with! You guys were all over each other that day you two came up to the office, you guys leave meetings together, he spent the night with you!"

"All of those statements are out of context. Also keep your voice down." Tris glances to the bedroom that Will and Tobias disappeared into.

"You like him." Christina states, smirking, and gazing right into Tris's soul.

"How long have you and Will been together?" Tris asks, not responding to Christina's accusation. If she doesn't acknowledge her feelings, there's no possible way that they can be real.

"Okay, deflecting the main point? Totally obvious that you like him. Way more obvious that he likes you, though! I mean… you should see the way he looks at you. And the way he was talking about the first time you guys met… I mean…"

Tris bites her lip. She can't help herself when she asks Christina, "Really?"

"Yes! I-"

"Hellooo…" They both turn to see Shauna and Zeke, looking skeptically at the both of them and the remaining sushi boxes and wine glasses. Well damn, they weren't supposed to be home this early.

"Hey, Tris… Who's this?" Zeke asks cautiously as he picks up a folder laying across the table. It has the Eaton Enterprises name in bold on it, chalk filled with plans and numbers and other fancy stuff.

"Okay guys, we've got-" Tobias and Will are carrying the TV out from Zeke and Shauna's room, but Tobias stops mid sentence when he sees that his roommates have arrived home early. His face drops when he sees the folder in Zeke's hands.

Well, this can't be good.

Tobias, Zeke, and Shauna have been closed up in the bedroom for the past hour. Tris can hear their voices, talking in a serious tone, there's no yelling though. That's good.

Will and Christina decided to head home, but Tris, against her better judgement, stayed. She felt like Tobias needed her. After all, she is the only person who is aware of both sides of his life, and telling Zeke and Shauna the truth was going to be hard for him.

Tris tries to focus on the nature documentary playing on the TV, but her mind keeps trying to decipher any of the words that the 3 of them are saying. It just sounds like muffled noise to her though. Just then, the bedroom door opens, and Tobias emerges, looking rather ashamed.

"Hey, thanks for waiting," he says. "They're… pissed… they're not kicking me out… because it's equally my place too… but they basically insinuated that they wanted me gone for a while. And I feel like I owe at least that to them. So… I'm gonna go pack some stuff."

Tris nods and gets up. She has a lot of questions, but she knows that now is not the time to ask them. Zeke and Shauna have now emerged from their bedroom, and watch quietly as Tobias trails into his. They look solemn.

Tris wants to say something to them, to assure them that Tobias doesn't deserve this treatment, but she doesn't want to overstep her boundaries. So instead, she just stands there awkwardly. A few minutes later, Tobias re-emerges from the room and doesn't look at Zeke and Shauna as he exits the apartment with Tris in tow.

Tris waits till they're outside before she starts questioning him. "So… what happened in there?"

"I told them the truth. About my dad, my job, my life, my money… they know how we met now, too."

"I mean surely you could've come up with a-"

"Lie? I'm so sick of lying, it felt good to tell them the truth, even if they were looking at me like I was a complete stranger by the time I had finished. Like I said, I've been trying to find a medium between my two worlds… conjoin them into one. They're supposed to be my best friends. How can they be, when they don't even know much about me? It's… freeing. Even if they hate me now."

"I'm sure they don't hate you… what'd they say?"

"Basically that they got a place with me, took me into their families, and have been great and honest friends with me for 2 years… only for me to have been dishonest and secretive in return. I mean I get it, who doesn't know what their supposed best friend does for a living?"

"They're just upset right now… they'll come around… what did they know about you anyways?"

"I had… told them about some of the more unfortunate aspects of my childhood… like my mom leaving and just stuff with my dad…" he scratches the back of his head. "But not too much about my wealth or the Eaton name. I didn't want them to treat me differently, as I mentioned to you before… but they knew about me as a person, you know. My demeanor, my likes, my dislikes. It's not enough, though. Which I get."

Tris nods, "That makes a lot of sense. I'm sure this whole situation will resolve itself."

"Yup… in the meantime I'll probably have to check into one of my dad's hotels…"

"You… don't have to do that. You could stay with me? The guest room this time, though," Tris says cheekily.

"Tris… you don't have to…"

"Shush, I owe you one. Also, I don't think you'd wanna explain to your dad why you've checked into a hotel spontaneously… if that would raise questions. Ultimately it's your call though…" Tris tells him, now feeling a bit embarrassed that she offered him up the chance to stay with her so quickly.

"Okay… well I'd love to stay with you then. And yeah, you're right. It would raise some uncomfortable questions with my father. I just don't want to impose. Your brother doesn't seem to be my biggest fan."

"Well, he can get over that," Tris rolls her eyes, "But I think he's starting to come around. And realize that he's being a dick. Come on, it's Cinnamon Roll Sunday and Maria makes the best ones." Tris tugs on his arm and they turn onto the block in the direction of her building.

"¡Que deliciosa!" Tobias comments to Maria, taking a bite out of his 4th cinnamon roll. He still seemed to be down their entire walk home, but luckily Maria's incredible baking seemed to cheer him up.

Maria beams and pinches his cheek. "Gracias, guapo."

He winks at her and Tris just shakes her head. Caleb has not arrived home yet, so it's just the 3 of them.

"Wanna watch something on TV?" Tris asks him.

"Sure…" Tobias makes his way over to the living room.

"Oh, we can go up to the one in my room. It's connected to my Netflix and my HBO."

Tobias raises his eyebrows, and Tris realizes that she basically just invited him to netflix and chill. Oops. "Okay, sounds good," he answers, grinning.

Maria says nothing, but she gives Tris a look as her and Tobias make their way upstairs. Tobias sits down on her bed hesitantly. "It looks cleaner in here today," he comments.

"Yeah, I tidied up after you left."

"Mmm, so what are we watching?" He leans back on Tris's bed, his legs still hanging over the front of it. Tris climbs into "her side" of the bed and lays her head down on her satin pillow.

Tris scrolls through her HBO, trying to find something interesting to watch, and eventually they settle on 'Euphoria' because Tobias has never seen it before. Tris started watching it when it first came out, but now that the show has garnered more popularity she's been in the mood for a rewatch. After all, it's phenomenal.

"Damn, this show is fucking intense," Tobias says after an hour or so of watching. He's gripping Tris's covers and to be on the edge of his seat. Tris has watched this knows how this scene goes already, but it's entertaining to witness the reactions of someone who has never watched it before.

Tobias is now sitting upright against Tris's headboard next to her. Their shoulders are touching and they're both under the covers. Tris can feel his bodily warmth exuding from him. She resists the urge to scoot closer to him, no matter how fucking good he smells. "Yeah, it's so hooking though."

"Oh, I fucking hate this guy," Tobias comments as Nate Jacobs appears.

"Jacob Elordi is hot as hell though," Tris admits.

"Family friend?" Tobias asks teasingly.

"Well… my mom actually did work with him and Zendaya for a magazine shoot once…"

"You're fucking kidding," Tobias deadpans.

"Oh, the perks of being Natalie Prior's daughter," Tris sighs dramatically.

They've reached the part where Nate is beating Tyler senselessly, and she notices that Tobias stills up a little next to her. She glances over to him to see that he's not entrapped in the TV anymore, and is staring off into space. His hands have started trembling a little.

"Hey… Tobias?" She asks concernedly, pausing the TV. "Sorry… it can be a little triggering at times… I should have warned you…" He doesn't respond or even acknowledge her words, so she puts a comforting hand on his back and rubs soothing circles into it. Shit, is this how you help someone who's having a panic attack?

"Fuck…" Tobias murmurs. "Sorry…" he turns back to Tris now, but his eyes are incredibly dilated and he looks shaken up. "Just… um… bad memories…"

"I see…" Tris continues massaging his shoulders, hoping it's helping but not really knowing what else to do. It seems to be working though, cuz he closes his eyes and sighs.

"God, I'm sorry you have to see me like this…"

"Well… maybe um… talking a little bit about it… would help? Sorry, only if you want to…"

He lets out a choked laugh, "Shit. Uh- Well… You're not an idiot. You can guess that my relationship with my father isn't stellar."

Tris's stomach drops, because she thinks she knows where this is going, but she keeps her cool for Tobias's sake. She feels the sudden urge to kick the wall in though.

"Some nights… shit would get bad… and he would hit me. Not as… viciously or as insanely as that… but there were definitely times when I saw that same animalistic look in his eyes. Violent and inhumane… like he was detaching himself from what he was doing…"

Tris stops rubbing his back and grabs his chin so he's looking at her. "I'm… sorry to make you relive that… I didn't mean to pry. You're really strong, though. And twice the man your father will ever be." And if I'm ever in the same room with him again, it's going to be really hard for me to not hurt him.

"No, Tris. Don't be sorry… I've been wanting to find a good time to tell you for a while… It's sort of the source of all my issues I guess."

"Your drinking? And smoking?"

He laughs mirthlessly, "Our relationship is so fucking fucked up and I thought it would end when I moved out, but he still finds ways to lord over my head and ruin my life. I just want to be done with him so badly… but everything I do… everything I am is tied to him."

"Does he still…?"

"No. He stopped when I was about 17… I started getting stronger, started going to the gym more, became taller than him. Still, whenever I'm around him I just feel like the powerless 9 year old again."

"He hit you when you were 9?" Tris asks incredulously, trying her hardest not to picture a 9 year old child with dark blue orbs and a shy smile getting hit and kicked around by the vicious Marcus Eaton. Her fists clench in anger.

"Yep. I'm sorry I'm such a shitshow… So dumb… still carrying this shit with me and letting stuff like a TV show affect me like this."

"Don't apologize… I couldn't imagine… ever going through that. You don't ever need to apologize."

"Sometimes I feel like I'm exaggerating it in my head. He used to try to gaslight me when I was down after a good beating, telling me that I was fine and I was being overdramatic and he was doing me a favor because it was out of love. 'This is for your own good' he used to say. Bullshit."

I am going to kill Marcus Eaton. "I'm… so sorry Tobias…"

"You aren't giving me that look though. Which I appreciate."

"What look?"

"Like I'm a kicked puppy. You're still looking at me like I'm strong. And capable."

"Well… you are. A strong and capable person who has been through quite an ordeal but you're still standing. With lots of life ahead of you. I'm proud… You are so much more than your past, no matter how much it seems to follow you around." She wraps her arms around his shoulders from behind. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're the only person who I've really told… thank you for being so trustworthy…" he places a hand over hers and idly strokes her knuckles.

"So… Zeke and Shauna? They don't know?"

"They know enough. I don't think I'll ever be comfortable enough to tell them the extent of it… And I have to fucking work with the guy. Look him in the eyes every day as if he didn't nearly puncture my rib."

A rib? Holy shit.

"Hey… you're helping me change my life. It's only fair that I help you change yours. I know money and jobs are more complicated and stuff, but you deserve to be happy and free too. You know, like a fully uncaged bird," she references his tattoo.

"I'm… trying," he breathes out. "My life is definitely better than what it used to be, but I want to escape this hellhole so fucking bad."

"Me too."

After that, Tris turned the TV off and her and Tobias lay side by side, their fingertips grazing, talking about childhood memories. Tobias told her some stories of his mother, ones he can remember since she left them pretty early on. Tris talked about her father, but reluctantly. Not wanting to give too much away. If she talks about him like he's really gone she feels like she might fall apart.

Eventually Tobias dozed off, facing Tris. Tris wasn't tired, but she felt odd just sitting there and watching Tobias sleep, so she closed her eyes too and fell into a messy haze of confusing dreams. Around 8:00, she's woken up by a text from Caleb, saying that dinner's ready. She looks at Tobias who is still in a deep sleep. He must be incredibly tired. She's a bit reluctant to wake him, but she knows that he needs to get food in his stomach.

"Hey," she taps his shoulder and his eyes blink open a couple of times.

He smiles softly, "Hey. Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you again."

"No, it's okay, you looked like you needed it. Dinner's ready though… if you want something."

He nods slowly, getting out of bed and stretching his limbs. His shirt rides up a little, and Tris admires the patch of tan skin and taut back muscles it reveals before she slides out of bed herself.

As they make their way to the dining table, Tris is very shocked to see her mother, who wasn't supposed to be back until Wednesday. Her mother looks equally shocked to see Tobias, and Caleb wears a dipshit smirk on his face.

Tobias handles the situation very gracefully though. "Mrs Prior! Always a pleasure."

"Well, hello Tobias. I wasn't expecting any guests tonight, but this is such a welcome surprise!" She gives Tris a sharp look as she walks over to shake Tobias's hand and ushers him to sit down. Tris sits down awkwardly next to him as Maria walks out and begins serving everyone some fancy garlic pasta.

"So…" Mrs. Prior says once the food is all served, "Tobias and Beatrice… what have you two been up to? Upstairs? Alone?"

Tris laughs airily, "Mom, we've just become good friends with all the work on the Eaton charity project. I mean, it's in our DNA right? Considering how close our fathers were?" she asks innocently.

"Yes. That is quite right. It's nice to see you two getting close then."

"Mom… is it okay if Tobias spends the night? In the guest room of course. Maria said she already made it up for him."

Her mom shoots Tris a curious look but smiles brightly and nods, "Of course! You're always welcome here Tobias. Give your father my regards as well."

Tobias nods, looking rather uncomfortable. "Of course. Thank you so much."

The rest of dinner continues with this awkward tension. Natalie tries to be a "normal" mother and ask the kids about school, to which Caleb answers most of her questions arrogantly. She asks Tobias a little bit about his work, and to his credit he answers the questions quite gracefully, though that's probably just the practice of living in high society for your entire life.

Once everyone is retiring upstairs, Tris walks Tobias over to the guest room. "Sorry about dinner… I had no idea my mom was flying in early. I know that was horrible."

Tobias just lifts a shoulder. "I've definitely experienced worse dinners in my lifetimes, and I'm sure you have as well. I'm really grateful to your mom for letting me crash though…" he studies her face for a few more moments, and Tris starts to become self conscious under the weight of his gaze. "I'm really grateful to you as well. For everything today."

Tris opens her mouth to say that it's nothing, but he interrupts her by pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. She looks up at him in surprise and blinks a few times, trying to compose herself.

"Good night, Tris." Tobias enters his room and shuts the door behind him before she can respond.

She stands there, with her hand pressed to her cheek. "Night," she murmurs, and then practically skips back to her bedroom.

UGH IDEK how I feel about this chapter? If it's even any good or not? Let me know your thoughts please! Sorry about the late update. As I've mentioned on my other stories, I've been busy. Thanks so much for the support and the patience. Stay tuned cuz we may or may not get a Tobias POV next chapter ;)

-Kiki