AN: Your reviews, oh my goodness they've been amazing. Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I promise there will be answers soon to the questions you've posed in the reviews! Thank you again, reviews really make my day.
When her office door opens, she's poised to reprimand whoever decided it was okay to open her door without knocking, but she softens a bit when she sees a sheepish looking Four walk through. It had been two tension filled days since their argument in the gym, and during that time she had been avoiding both him and Eric. Her work hours were spent hidden away in the armory helping Lolli and Hank with inventorying the new weapons they had received, and she spent her evenings down at the bar drinking with her friends. Eric had tried to get her to work with him, but she was keeping her distance from him as well, knowing that her growing attraction to him was about to cost her everything.
"Hey, sorry for just barging in. I had a feeling if I knocked you'd tell me to go away once you heard it was me."
"What do you want, Tobias?" She asks.
"We need to talk." He says.
"Fine. Come in."
"You don't have to keep sleeping on the couch, you know." He says after he's shut the door behind him.
"I thought we needed time to cool down. We've not exactly been getting along very well lately." Tris replies, gesturing towards her guest chair for him to take a seat.
"No, we haven't." He rubs the back of his neck in the familiar way he does when he is nervous, "I hate the way things are between us, but I think we both know it's necessary for us to work through our issues to keep everything going."
"You seem to forget that I know exactly how to keep everything going, I've been the one keeping this going for almost two years now. I am handling everything Tobias, and what I need from you is support and understanding, not you constantly on my ass-"
"I'm not the one who's on your ass, Tris. If I'm not mistaken, it's Eric Coulter who's been on your ass, and he is exactly on the other side of what we're working for. Do you want to continue to fuck the literal enemy?" Four asks.
"I'm not fucking him, and I don't think he's the enemy! I've tried to talk to you about this, to reason with you, but you can't even try to trust my judgment here-"
"Your judgment, Tris? You let him fuck you like a whore on the dirty gym mats. If I wasn't watching you like a hawk every day, you'd already have let it happen again. I see you throw yourself at him constantly. What would your parents think Tris?"
"Stop it!" She shouts. "You know what my parents put me through, don't start speaking to me like them!"
"Maybe they were right about you. You are literally about to throw everything we've spent the past two years working for away because you can't keep your fucking legs closed around him. You're finally in leadership, you're exactly where you need to be. I'm finally where I need to be too, I never thought Max would actually make a spot for me-"
"Why did he make a spot for you, Tobias?" She interrupts.
"Because I asked him to." He answers hesitantly.
"Why? Why now?" She presses.
"If you ever expect Marcus to take me seriously I needed to do this. He and I have made a lot of progress, however he didn't understand why I kept refusing to be a leader here. I did it for us-"
"No, you did it to keep me away from Eric." She replies angrily.
"Someone needs to keep you focused. Think about me. Think about your brother." He replies and Tris can feel the anger flushing her entire body.
"That's who I've been thinking of this entire time!" She shouts.
"No, you haven't. I've seen the two of you. I've seen you throwing yourself at him." He accuses.
"Every single thing I do in my life is for someone else's benefit! When do I get to do something for myself? When do I get to be happy?" She asks.
"If you could think with your head instead of your pussy, maybe you'd not be in this predicament."
"Tobias, you will stop speaking to me like this. I can't deal with you right now. Please just go." She replies wearily.
"You need to stay away from him. I'm not asking anymore." He commands.
"You are not going to tell me what to do!" She shouts.
"Oh really? Because Caleb called me-"
"We can't talk about that here, and we've already said too much. This conversation is done. Leave."
"No, I will not until I have talked some sense into you." Four replies.
"You can sit here and talk sense into my fucking walls then." She replies angrily as she leaves the office.
She bursts into the gym and sees Eric there already. He's in a zone, ear buds blaring music while shutting the outside world out and doesn't even notice her there.
She stalks over to him, grabbing the swinging bag with both hands until he stops hitting it.
"What are you doing, Stiff?" He growls.
"Fight me." She commands.
"Get out of the way." He replies, trying to hit his bag but she continues to hold it, staring straight at him.
"Eric, I want you to fucking fight me!" She yells at him and he yanks his ear buds from his ears.
"What is your problem?"
She comes straight for him, crashing into him and toppling them both to the ground.
"What the fuck, Stiff?" He yells at her and flips their positions so he's sitting on top of her.
She bites the inside of his thigh, making him yelp in pain and jump off of her. She pulls herself up and gets into her fighting stance.
The two circle each other like predators, swinging, punching, kicking, slapping and biting as they continue to go back and forth on the mat. He watches her movements and when he sees his chance he knocks her to the mat and puts his weight on her, pinning her completely down.
"Submit to me." He purrs in her ear as she tries to move him off of her, "Submit Stiff." When her ice blue eyes finally meet his he can see the tears in them and he softens a bit, "Tris?"
"Tell me that I can trust you. Tell me I'm not wrong about you, Eric."
"What's wrong? Who upset you?" He asks.
"Tell me, Eric. Tell me that I can trust you." She chokes out through tears.
"You know that you can trust me, you know me Tris, you know me better than anyone else in this city." He replies as he wipes her tears away gently.
She sits up as much as she can and crashes her lips to his.
Their kiss is like their sparring, lots of clashing together until they find a rhythm that works. Their hands don't stop wandering, and their lips stay on each other's as they grind against each other. It's not unusual to see Dauntless members going at it in public, their faction was known to fuck as hard as it fought, but Tris's boyfriend could easily be watching them from the control room, or even worse walk in at any moment.
"No, you have a boyfriend-"
"Not anymore," She whispers and that's all it takes for him to continue. He trails his tongue over her salty skin and she moans, "Eric, I'm sweaty," She whines when he continues to lap at her skin.
She doesn't know how, but he picks her up from the mat and carries her to the shower. Her legs and arms are wrapped around him, with just their thin training clothes separating them. One hand leaves her long enough to turn the water on, barely waiting for it to heat up before he's removed her clothes and his, leaving them both naked when he pulls her under the hot spray.
"Admit that you missed me when I was gone," He mumbles against her lips before he pulls her bottom lip in between his teeth.
"I missed you so much," She murmurs when he's trailing kisses down her neck, "Did you really miss me?"
"I did. I thought about you all the time." Eric admits.
"Why me?"
"I don't have answers to that. All I know is I couldn't get you off of my mind. All of you, the casual shit we'd do, conversations we'd have, that day on the mat. God Tris after that day on the mat I thought about you every fucking time I jacked off." He growls.
"I always think about you when I do the same." She whispers and that's all it takes to push him over the edge.
When he buries himself inside of her, he lets out almost a feral moan. Since being back Eric hadn't been with anyone, all he could think about was Tris. Right now is better than any fantasy he's had about her.
He has her bent over, and that perfect ass moves against him in rhythm, and their moans meld together. He keeps watching where he disappears inside of her and he knows he's going to cum soon if he doesn't slow down. He pulls out of her and smirks at the whine that escapes her lips. When he turns her around to face him he kisses her again, softer this time, and he enjoys when she wraps her arms around him.
He backs her up to the wall and picks her up, she slides down on him without him asking.
"It's like you were made for me," He whispers, "Every part of you is just for me," His eyes close, so he misses hers opening wide at what he just said.
Tris moves against him, trying to get him to move with her but he stands there still, eyes closed and holding her against the wall.
"Eric," Her voice comes out as a whine.
It's enough to pull him out of his thoughts and he begins to move against her, soon she is bouncing on his cock and taking everything he gives her.
She starts whimpering his name, and when he shouts hers in return as he spills inside of her he can hear someone drop weights in the leadership gym.
He's breathing hard against her, both of them shaky on their legs after their intense orgasms.
"Eric..."
He hears weights drop again, "Someone's out there." He says breathily, effectively breaking any moment there was left between them.
Tris moves out of the shower and away from him wordlessly, and he can hear her start her own shower a few stalls down. He stands under the spray for a long time, trying to both catch his breath and calm his racing mind.
He just fucked Tris again.
He needs to talk to her.
He turns the water off and grabs a towel, walking through the showers looking for her. She's gone, and when he checks the gym he only finds Max, who looks at him with a surprised expression.
"For fucks sake boy, I thought she was in here with Four. What in the hell are you thinking?" Max asks his young leader.
"Obviously I wasn't. They had some sort of fight, Max she came in here for that, I'm not going to be the only one to take the blame for it." Eric argues.
"Whatever this is, do not let it interfere with your work. I'm not kidding when I say if there's more fighting with you and Four your position is done. Be smart, Eric." He warns.
"Why are you making me work with her? You know the issues here-"
"Are you questioning my leadership decisions?" Max asks abruptly.
"No sir-"
"Octavia was the liaison to Erudite before we fast tracked you. When you came along, Jeanine asked for you specifically and I obliged to keep that working relationship up. Now, she's asked for Tris." He explains.
"Why?" Eric asks.
"I'm not sure, but she was adamant that Tris be involved with anything to do with her faction. We need to keep Jeanine happy, you've told me that and Octavia told me the same for years. Erudite is our number one ally, and they're an important one to have. Whatever this is here with you and Tris, I don't give a fuck, as long as the two of you can continue to work together."
"Why are you fast tracking Four?" Eric asks.
Max's dark brown eyes turn hard, "Because we need him. That's all you need to know, Eric. Know your place, young man."
Eric can tell by the stern expression and body language from Max that he's hit a nerve, and he decides not to push, "Yes sir." Eric agrees and he leaves the gym.
Eric texts Tris, but hears nothing in return. He knows that she lives with Four, so he doesn't dare seek her out. Instead he goes home and hopes to hear from her, eventually falling asleep when he doesn't.
The next day at work is business as usual with Max saying nothing to either leader, outside of him giving Tris the same talking to as Eric, she's off to a normal start to her day. She's going through email, killing time before her shift to shadow in the control room when she looks up to find Eric leaning in her open doorway.
"Got a minute?" He asks and she nods. He closes the door behind him and sits in the guest chair across from her. "What's your day like today?"
"Shadowing the control room starting at ten." She replies.
"I'm sure that will be awkward." Eric replies and Tris furrows her brow at him, "Number Boy. The breakup."
"We didn't break up." She returns and Eric's eyes widen.
"I thought that you did." He sputters, "Yesterday we-"
"We sparred, like leaders do." She interrupts, "I quite enjoyed sparring with you. You definitely have a different style, one I absolutely cannot get enough of." She licks her full lips, "One I'd love to try again, right now."
She moves from behind her desk towards her door and when Eric hears the click of the lock sliding into place he looks up at her.
"This isn't a good idea." He shakes his head.
"I want you." She purrs as she moves towards him.
"Why are you doing this?" He argues.
"Why not? No one needs to know-"
"Max heard us, Tris. He's warned me about starting shit with Four again." Eric replies, "You know, Four, your boyfriend, the one that I almost killed."
"Four's not here, Eric. I am. It's just you and me. I want you. Please Eric." She begs, "I won't tell him anything. This can be our secret Eric, just ours."
"You told Lynn before-"
"I won't tell her again." She crawls into his lap and kisses him, silencing any other arguments from him.
It doesn't take them long to get what they need, they simply slide their pants down far enough for her to mount him, riding him hard in the new guest chair, kissing each other and swallowing their sounds. His hands are anywhere he can touch her skin, and his teeth scrape against her neck, nipping and sucking along the way as he leaves a dark mark on her shoulder blade.
"You feel so damn good inside of me." Tris pants out.
"Tris..." he hisses as he spills inside of her while her walls are clenching him like a vice.
"See, you do know my name." She smiles at him before tenderly kissing him.
In his mind, he knows what they're doing is wrong, but there's something about having her on top of him, kissing him like she can't get enough of him that makes him forget where they are for a moment.
When they break apart he finally asks the question burning in the back of his mind, "Why didn't you two break up?"
"It's not that simple Eric."
"Why isn't it? You're fucking me behind his back, and the two of you don't seem happy. Why not end it? What's the story here?" He presses.
"It's not only my story to tell." She replies quietly as she cleans both of them up with tissues from a box on her desk, "Why does it matter? You obviously like the idea of fucking his girlfriend behind his back."
"I like the idea of fucking you, but I don't like sharing, especially since we've gone bareback every time." He says as he tucks himself away.
"Four and I don't have sex." She replies as she pulls her own pants back up.
"You obviously aren't a virgin." He scoffs.
"Not anymore."
Eric gapes at her, "I didn't-"
"You did, that day on the mat." She looks down at the floor, "Like you said, we fucked, it wasn't making sweet love. I've used toys for a while, I told you before that I thought about you when I self-stimulated. That day on the mats, you were my first real partner, fantasy becoming reality." She blushes and turns away from him.
"If I had of known... fuck Tris... I wouldn't have done that... it would have been different..."
"No it wouldn't have. You already told me you just give us what we want. I wanted you, and you gave me the only part of you that you are capable of giving me." She says as she looks away.
"You are not like them. You can't say shit like that to me." He growls and she shakes her head at him.
"Oh really? You fuck us and leave us, right? Never in your space because you don't want any actual connection with someone else. This has to be the perfect scenario for you, I mean you get some pretty hot sex, and it happens to be at the expense of the guy you've been in competition with since you two landed on the net."
"Is that what you think this is? Just some shit to get under Number Boys skin?"
A knock at her door interrupts them, and after a once over to ensure they're both presentable she opens it.
"Hey, wanted to see if you want to grab breakfast before our shift together." Four says, eyeing Eric over Tris's shoulder.
"That sounds great, one second please," She turns away from Four and faces Eric, "Yes, that's exactly what I think. Now if you'll excuse us." She replies sweetly and it enrages him.
Eric stands, moving toward the door and pushes past Four on his way out. He's confused, and for some reason angry to know that he just literally had sex with Tris again and yet her confirmed current boyfriend is showing up to take her to breakfast.
He turns on his computer and pulls up the security camera in the leadership hallway, catching Four and Tris walking away hand in hand.
He slams his hand on his desk and then rests his head against his arm, doing whatever he could to calm his anger before it consumed him again. The video alert from his computer gets his attention and he runs a hand over his flushed face before answering it.
"Hello Eric, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Her voice cuts through him and he takes a calming breath in.
"No, you caught me during some downtime. How can I help you Jeanine?" He replies evenly.