Day 3 - The Aftermath

She was outside early that morning. She wanted to escape the room, away from thoughts of Peter, who had left a very bad taste in her mouth. She had laid her yoga mat out on the deck near the weights and gym equipment before breathing deeply and beginning. She was at it for maybe 5 minutes when Four walked outside and towards her.

"Nice to see another early bird. Peter's snoring is a bit insufferable huh? You can hear him from the couch all the way upstairs." She snorted out a laugh and nodded, holding onto her foot as she stretched out.

"That's not the only part of him that's insufferable." This elicited a quiet chuckle from him as he shed his hoodie. It pulled up his shirt as he did and she almost drooled at the site of his rock hard chest.

"See something you like?" He shot her a cheeky grin and her cheeks flamed up.

He started on burpees and lunges with weights and she tried to stay focused with her yoga. It was proving rather difficult though. She had started to notice some pale white long healed scars that she couldn't quite place. She'd never seen ones like them before. Some were clearly from a blade but others were more circular.

"Uhm…. I don't want to be nosey and you can quite rightly tell me to piss off, but how did you get your scars?" She pondered from her cobra pose as he continued to work out with the communal weights a little way in front of her. He had a black workout mat, a contrast to her soft baby pink yoga mat. He paused what he was doing and looked almost amused at her. He joined her criss cross applesauce on the ground and lifted his shirt to show off the scars.

"I was in the navy for 13 years. For 10 of them I was a navy seal." She got a little wide eyed for a moment before giving him a soft smile and taking his hands in hers, rubbing his knuckles.

"Thank you for your service." He gave her a genuine, soft smile and kissed her hand softly. She thought her face couldn't possibly get any redder, she was wrong. She must have looked like a strawberry.

"Much obliged Ma'am," she giggled "Now I have a question for you." She went into a twisting sage pose and nodded.

"Go ahead." He looked amused by the contorted position she had herself in. He thought she looked like a pretzel.

"You're doing yoga but you're dressed like a sugar plum fairy. Were you ever a ballerina?" She shivered as a cool breeze passed through the villa and he grabbed his discarded hoodie, handing it to her.

"Thanks. I am still technically a practicing ballerina. I've danced since I was a little girl in a pink sparkly tutu. But I love my job. Making memories is so rewarding and I wouldn't want to be a full time dancer, I'm not cut out for that life." She slipped the hoodie on, it was pretty big on her. It smelled amazing. Like ginger, spice, leathery man and vanilla.

"You wear Hugo Boss - The Scent!" His eyes got wide as she inhaled deeply again.

"What are you, a bloodhound?" She giggled, trying to pinpoint the detergent he used.

"I meet a lot of grooms who swear by the fragrance. We also use the same laundry detergent. Eco Twist Vanilla Sky." She declared triumphantly, leaning into another stretch.

"That is impressive. The navy doesn't need dogs, just wedding planners!" She burst into fits of laughter, so much so her eyes started to water.

"I didn't think it was that funny." She was wheezing, desperately trying to control herself.

"I'm imagining a wedding planner as a ship captain, shouting orders like I do on the big days." He joined her in laughter then, imagining the small fiery blonde barking orders at even the scariest of grooms and wedding contractor's.

"You're too sweet to be scary, sugar plum." She leaned forward and harshly jabbed him in the shoulder.

"As if! I'll have you know I am absolutely terrifying. And, is that my nickname now?" He chuckled, shaking his head, still unconvinced at the prospect of her terrifying anyone. He observed how her golden hair shone in the morning sunlight, how the blue in her eyes glittered with a kaleidoscope of different colours, how her heart shaped face turned a light pinkish red when she was embarrassed, flattered or angry. She was, to him, so perfect. It was hard to contain what he thought.

"Sure you are and yes, you're sugar plum from now on." She just giggled, her cheeks flushing her telltale pink.

"What should I call you? BTF?" The corners of her mouth lifted as he let out his telltale deep chuckle. It was so hot, the way his thick muscular chest vibrates as he laughed.

"I'm surprised you know what BTF is." She cocked a cheeky eyebrow at him and her eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Big tough frogman or sometimes big tough fucker." She proudly announced, flipping him a joking bird and sticking her tongue out.

"That's me. Big tough fucker." Her insides turned to mush as he flexed his muscular arms at her in a strongman pose. God he was hot.

"You?! You're a big ol' softy. Big snuggly cuddly teddy bear Four." He raised a finger to his lips and shushed gently.

"Don't tell everyone. That's a secret sugar plum. That can't be known. If anyone else finds out I'll have to kill them." He started to lean in close and was barely inches away from her as his voice dropped to a whisper.

"And… My name's Tobias. But keep that hush hush. That really is a 'if I told you that I'd have to kill you' secret." Their breaths mingled as he was close enough to steal a kiss.

"Okay, Tobias." His name left her soft pink lips and he looked at her with those dark navy eyes. The moment they were sharing was perfect. Almost too perfect.

"Four! I missed you in bed this morning." There was Nita. Damn her and her Sixth sense. The two quickly moved apart and tried to cool off as she came over and just like that, the moment was ruined.

"I'm gonna head up to get changed. Nice chatting to you Four." Nita had a sour look on her face and clearly wasn't happy at the position she had found the pair in.

"You too Sugar Plum." She quickly picked up her stuff and rushed away. She passed a few of the others, completely ignoring Peter's existence as she moved upstairs to the bedroom.

"Don't think I didn't see that steamy moment girl!" Christina yelled softly, pulling her to sit down on the bed.

"Tell me everything."

After she'd spilled everything to Christina, who couldn't contain her excitement, and getting ready for the day, she had put on a cute purple ditsy floral summer dress and a cardigan, she'd headed downstairs to join the others for breakfast. That morning Shauna had made some pancakes, prepped some fruits and yogurts and there was also granola on offer. It looked really good and she'd also made some iced lattes that were just beautiful.

"This is such an amazing spread, Shauna. Thank you." She gave a little curtsey and tugged Zeke into the limelight.

"I had Zeke's help. He really knows how to cut fruit." Lauren was trying to conceal her fury, she wasn't very good at it.

"Tris, can I talk to you after breakfast?" She looked at Peter, nerves bubbling up in her stomach.

"Uhm yeah sure."

After breakfast Peter had wandered off to the day beds for a bit of privacy and she figured now was as good a time as any. She separated from her friends in the group to go and speak to him. She sat down, her leg bouncing nervously, looking anywhere but him.

"So… are you going to apologize?" Rage filled her wide sky blue eyes and she glared daggers at him.

"Me? Apologize?! Are you joking?" She stood up, the anger rolling off her in waves. She could feel the group's eyes on her as she shouted. No one had expected something so loud and authoritative to come from her.

"Yeah! I'm the one who had to sleep on the couch! You're blowing this way out of proportion." He tried to argue. He would be good at that, being a lawyer. They were very good at getting people to see things the way they want them too. She was beyond angry, beyond pissed, she was livid and he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one.

"Urghhhh! You're so dense. You cracked on with me, you kissed me and then said I'm not hot enough for you and that even though we were coupled up you wanted to crack on with the other girls! And I'm the one who needs to apologize?" He looked almost guilty then, like he hadn't realized just how upset she was at him. He hadn't really thought about her feelings or how what he'd done would affect her.

"I- I'm sorry Tris." She was breathing heavy, angry tears were welling up in her eyes and she had to sit back down.

"When you admitted I obviously wasn't your first choice… and seeing the way you were with Four and Zeke and Uriah… it bruised my ego. I went on the defensive, it's ingrained in me from my job. I'm really sorry to have hurt your feelings… I've made a real mess of this haven't I?" She nodded, trying not to flinch as he reached out to grab her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze and wrapped his free arm around her.

"I'm truly sorry Tris… I can't unmake the mess but maybe we could agree to be a little less hostile." She nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Friends?" She smiled then, looking thoughtful.

"Friends."

"So, what's going on with you and number boy then?" He wiggled his eyebrows and she snorted out a laugh, wiping her eyes.

"Too soon?"

She'd moved back over to hang with the group and they'd split off a bit. Lauren and Nita had gone inside, probably to create some evil scheme to kill them all and rule the world. Well, perhaps not so dramatic but when those two were left alone it surely couldn't be good. Her phone beeped loudly and she looked at the text she'd been sent. It was from Four. It read;

'You look so cute right now Sugar Plum. ;)' She smiled stupidly, having completely forgotten they could text one another. It would give her the perfect chance to get to know him discreetly.

'Oh stop it you. Do you think Nita and Lauren are planning my murder upstairs?' This made him visibly chuckle, garnering a few strange looks from the other.

'I think there's a good chance. Nita is just threatened by you because it's clear to everyone I like you a lot more than her.' She had to strongly fight the blush that was threatening to coat her cheeks bright pink.

It was then she received another text. This one was from Tori. She quickly scanned it before calling out,

"Guys I have a text!" Everyone rushed over and she waited for Nita and Lauren to come outside, both looking quite pleased with themselves. They were most certainly up to something and she didn't trust either of them one little bit.

"Tris, We will be sending you out of the villa to a grocery store to gather supplies to make dinner. You can choose any islander to take with you and help you prepare dinner. Make your choice and be ready to leave in 5 minutes." She really had to ponder it for a moment. She wondered if she should take one of her girl friends or whether she should take one of the boys. Her eyes scanned around the group and finally landed on Four. She could feel the horrible look Nita was sending her way but she couldn't bring herself to give a shit.

"Four, would you like to come with me?" He nodded, drawing her into a tight hug. He held her for a second longer than maybe he should've and she realized everyone was around them, watching.

"Of course. Let's get ready to go." She grinned, stifling a laugh as she caught Christina's wiggling eyebrows and Shauna obscene gestures.

"Four, can we talk for a second before you go please, honey buns?" Four looked down at Nita and nodded, letting her lead him away from the group. She rushed inside to get her shoes on and grab a purse to keep her phone in. She fluffed her hair and reapplied her lippy. She heard someone coming upstairs and she smiled at Four as he appeared in the bedroom.

"Everything okay?" She asked softly, realizing he looked quite irate at something or someone. She figured Nita had said something to upset him. She really was unbearable. Tris couldn't stand her. She was possessive of Four and was trying to prevent any chance for him to get to know anyone else, even though he was making it pretty clear to her that he wasn't interested. She imagined it must be quite stressful.

"Yeah yeah. I'm fine." He grabbed his brown dress boots, sitting down on his bed and slipping on some socks. He put his boots on and laced them up tightly, glancing back up at her.

"What did she say to you?" She spun around and sat at the end of her bed, giving him a reassuring, warm look. Her face was soft and she could see he was clearly pretty upset by whatever had transpired.

"She just tried to warn me off you. Reminding me I'm coupled up with her and that she saved me from getting dumped. She said that if I kept on like this then she would start grafting on the other boys. I think she was trying to make me jealous. All she did was irk me." She snickered, bursting into a fit of side splitting laughter. He chuckled, standing up from his spot and offered her a hand up. She took his unsurprisingly strong hand and he pulled her up, drawing her in close.

"Ooo cheeky." Her phone buzzed, indicating their ride to the grocery store was waiting for them outside.

"Only for you." She did a mock swoon, linking arms with him as they went downstairs to catch their ride.

"Good luck guys."

"Have fun!"

"Bitch." That last one was quiet but most certainly came from Nita. She could only laugh at the whole topsy turvy situation. She and Four were bonding more and more as the days went on and Nita still seemed to think Four was head over heels for her.

It was so nice to get some breathing space from the Villa and some breathing space. It was crazy to her that it had only been less than a handful of days since they'd gone in but it felt like a lifetime. The next recoupling could be the next day or it could be a week away. It sucked, she felt like she was sort of alone while everyone else was happy in their couples. Well everyone but Herself, Peter and Four. She did almost feel bad for Nita, she was so desperate for things to work out with Four but she just didn't seem like his kind of girl. He was pretty down to earth and calm while she was so much all the time. Their personalities clashed. But she and Four, they just got on so well. They meshed, they both flirted terribly and had this understanding with one another. They didn't even need to say anything to understand each other's jokes. She wasn't a big believer in love at first sight, until now. It was a little crazy. She wasn't even sure he felt the same way. He could be a complete tool just leading her on. That thought terrified her a little. She had spent her entire life bending over backwards to please everyone else, so much so that she often passed up on things that would make her happy for the sake of someone else's happiness. She had been trying hard to change that though, to be more open and forceful with what she wanted. Starting now for sure. She knew what she wanted and was willing to fight for it.

"So, what are we going to make for chow?" Four pondered as they entered the grocery store.

"Chow? Alright BTF. What do you know how to make?" She winked, looking over the shelves with so many different options.

"Hmm, how do you feel about Tacos? I feel like they're a safe bet and very much a 'help yourself' kind of food. We used to love making them on base when we had a night off." She hmmd, looking at all the meats in front of them.

"Ooo I can make a mean BBQ pulled chicken…" She trailed off, reaching into the cabinet to grab 3 packs. They were feeding a lot of people so better to go overboard then not enough.

"Are there any veggies in the villa?" Tris wondered as they got over to the veggies section.

"I think Marlene is vegetarian." She couldn't believe she didn't know that. Just showed how little they knew about one another. She grabbed a jackfruit, so she could bbq pull it just in case there were any veggies.

"Okay so what else do we need?"

They arrived back at the villa with all the ingredients and supplies for making tacos and Nita immediately came over and planted a kiss on Fours lips. He seemed shocked but pushed her off almost instantly.

"What are you doing?" She started to creep towards the kitchen carrying some of the bags, not wanting to watch anymore. She kept having to remind herself that she and Four weren't coupled up. They may like each other but they may not actually get a chance to be together.

"You know, just giving my man some sugar." Four rolled his eyes and started towards the kitchen. It made her heart swell that he didn't seem at all interested in Nita.

"Don't do that again. If I wanted to kiss you, I would." Nita pouted and stomped her foot like a petulant child before disappearing outside, clearly to hang out with someone else.

"Sorry about that." She looked at him sweetly, grabbing hold of one of his hands and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's alright. You can't control the actions of other people. Now, Let's get cooking."

The food was well underway, chicken and jackfruit in the oven, Four was whipping up some red rice and she was cooking up a nacho cheese sauce for the nacho table. She was adding flour and he had cheekily left a handprint on her bum without her realizing. It wasn't until Zeke came in and started wetting himself laughing that she found out. She gasped and picked up a handful of flour, chucking it on him.

"Oh now you're gonna get it!" He chucked some more flour over her and she squealed, running around the table, trying to escape the onslaught of flour.

"Weapons Free men!" She laughed as he went full Navy mode on her. This was war and he was determined to win. He bombarded her with well placed attacks and even though she tried to duck under the table he got to her, grabbing her around her waist and hauling her up.

"Enough, enough I give I give!" She relented, looking at her ruined outfit and the mess they'd made. He set her down and laughed, brushing the flour out of her sunshine locks.

"I'll clean up, you finish up dinner." He started cleaning the flour and she made sure everything was pretty much ready. She started pulling the chicken and jackfruit, mixing tons of bbq sauce into them and sticking them back in the oven for a few minutes. Four started foiling the table and they put together their taco table.

"Chow time!" Fours shout made her jump and he chuckled. Everyone reported to the table and some of the boys did mocking salutes.

"Old habits die hard, sugar plum." She sat down and umfed as Nita shoved her way in next to her between Tris and Four.

"This looks amazing babe. You're such a good cook." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as everyone dug in.

"Tris is the wonder in the kitchen! I've only really got experience cooking chow and scran. Navy food. During one of my first tours of duty I was the chef on a navy ship for a week, I hated it. As did all of my fellow sailors. I was fucking awful. I've gotten a bit better since then but I'll admit my range isn't very broad." Zeke and Uriah seemed to find this very funny. As did Eric, she imagined being a firefighter he probably knew some killer high calorie high carb comfort meals to get his brothers and sisters through the long nights on call.

"What does scran actually mean?" Ah Will, always so curious about the meaning of everything. She found it quite endearing and he always seemed to know the most random facts about everything. If she said anything he would seemingly always know something about it. It made conversation flow a lot easier than she'd thought it might with him. He was a nice enough guy, still not really her type but he was quite lovely to be around. He and Marlene seemed solid, though she had overheard Will expressing interest in Christina which could be interesting as time moved on.

"So I served with a few guys from the Royal Australian Navy and according to them Scran is shit cooked by the Royal Australian navy. I think if you asked some of the Brits they may disagree."

She had just finished clearing up, having insisted she wanted to do it while everyone got ready for bed. As she'd come through the house to head up too she saw Peter settling down on the couch for the night.

"Don't sleep on the couch tonight. I'm sure we can be grown up about this." Peter gave her his signature crooked grin and followed her upstairs.

"Made up, have we?" Lauren pondered from her bed as Zeke rubbed her shoulders.

"We've reached an understanding of sorts." Four's face was unreadable, he was stoic and not even his usually quite expressive eyes gave away any readable emotion.

"Aww. That's good, babes." Mhm, She hummed sarcastically, looking at Four with sad eyes. She picked up her phone as the lights went out and tried to text him but he ignored the message. She sighed, feeling very deflated and quite upset at the thought he might be upset with her.