AN: Thank you for the reviews! Updating on Weds/Friday/Sunday weekly since this story is technically complete but being edited heavily. See you again on Wednesday:)
Tris can feel his eyes on her, but instead of it making her feel nervous like it did in the past, it makes her happier than she thought she could be. Across from her, Tori drinks from her water bottle, having just gotten up from a hard punch to her stomach that knocked the wind out of her. Tris had immediately helped her up, and made sure she was okay while Eric jeered from the sideline.
"Once a Stiff, always a Stiff." He called out and Tris sticks both middle fingers up at him in response.
He gives her shit, but he loves watching her spar.
"Again, Prior, and this time don't be gentle." Tori says with a smirk and the two women circle each other again.
Eric watches them spar, alternating between offering honest critique and watching his girlfriend's fabulous ass in those impossibly short shorts. He's crazy about her, but holds himself back in order not to pressure her into anything she doesn't want. She won't admit that she's officially moved into his apartment with him, but she has been staying there for over three weeks now. Her clothes are mixed into his drawers and closet, her supplies in his shower, and her feminine products in a basket under his bathroom sink.
There are hair ties everywhere, and lip balm, both things she always needs and leaves scattered around like a breadcrumb trail. The disorganization drives him crazy while also making him stupidly happy. It shows that she's comfortable with him, and he's grown to love having her around, even if she leaves a trail of chaos in his otherwise orderly life and still cooks like she's in Abnegation.
She still hasn't said I love you, instead she always dances around it by saying she thinks she's falling for him. He's okay with it, even when he says those three words to her and she doesn't say them back. She will when she's ready, and he's surprisingly okay with that too.
"I wish I could still do that." Veronica says as she sidles up to Eric.
"Roni, you could kick all of our asses on a good day. Don't sell yourself short." He smiles at her.
She barks out in laughter, "Chile, that little girlfriend of yours done softened you right up. You ain't never this nice to me."
"Maybe she has, love makes you do some pretty unexpected shit." He replies.
"I know that's right. Eric, I asked my nephew Zeke to cut the cameras in here, I need to ask you something and I need you to give it to me straight without eyes and ears on us."
Eric turns his full attention on her, "What's going on Roni?" He asks.
"I know Max and Harry are up to their eyeballs in no good, but word is the rest of y'all besides Tori is too. I don't believe for a minute that you and that spitfire girl of yours are actually helping that crazy Erudite bitch, so I'm going to ask you how I can get in on what you two are up to."
"What are you talking about?" Eric asks.
"Harry and Max have both been testing me out. I may be old but I'm not an idiot, and those two are up to no damn good. What I want to know is if you two are too. Because if you're trying to stop them I want in." She says quietly.
He glances over at where Tris and Tori are still sparring and Veronica speaks again.
"I know you need to talk to your girl, and to anyone else y'all got on your side, but I'm here to tell you I've got numbers. My sister, I know you're good friends with both my nephews and that little bald headed girl and you is tied at the hip too. Trust your friends. Let me know when you're ready." She smiles warmly at him and her dark brown eyes crinkle at the edges.
"You got it Roni, I'll be in touch soon."
"I know you will, you might be an ass sometimes but you're damn sure smart. Talk to you later." She grins at him on her way out and he can't help but smile back. "Softie!" She calls out before she disappears.
"What was that about?" Tris comes over and presses a kiss to his lips.
He glances up and sees the camera is back on and he shakes his head slightly, "Later. Want me to come kick your ass?" He asks.
"Usually, yes, however I have plans with Christina. She's back from her assignment in Candor, which means Lynn should be back too." Tris grins at him.
"You don't have to distract me with my own best friend in order to hang out with yours." He grins down at her.
"I'm not, but I know you don't exactly like Chris." She shrugs.
"She doesn't exactly like me." He corrects.
"You did hang her over the chasm during training, Eric." She counters.
"Yeah, I did, and she never conceded a fight again. She's one of the up and coming ambassadors in our faction, had I coddled her she may not have found her inner strength to push herself outside of her comfort zone." He replies.
"Why must you be so logical?" She frowns at him.
"Former Erudite." He shrugs, "Does she know about us?"
"Does Lynn?" She counters and he doesn't miss the edge in her voice.
"Hey, I'm not trying to start anything here, I just was asking a question." He replies.
"I'm sorry Eric, I'm just nervous to talk to her. She literally knows nothing about what's been going on here. The only thing she does know is about our incident on the mats that led to you and Four fighting. I didn't even tell her at first because she speaks without a filter and I wasn't ready to hear it. Lynn is who I opened up to, and she helped me tell Chris because she knew I needed my best friend too. Neither of them judged me."
"They shouldn't judge you-" He begins but she pulls on an ear and he remembers to censor his words, "Even if you and Four were in a perfect place in your relationship, no one should be judging you for decisions you make that don't impact them." He replies.
"You're good to me Eric." She replies softly.
"You deserve it. You deserve everything I can give you."
"I have to go shower and get ready to meet Chris. We're grabbing drinks downstairs at the wine bar. She wanted something a little quieter so we could catch up."
"Okay babe. I'll text Lynn and see what she's up to." He replies and moves to kiss her one more time.
"I'll be home later." She replies when they break apart and he smiles at her before turning away. She watches as he walks out of the gym and she can't help but smile as he leaves.
She gets ready quickly and heads directly down to the wine bar, one of the less crowded and definitely less rowdy parts of their faction. Christina is already there, and she sees a bottle and two glasses on the table already.
"I missed you so much!" Christina says as they embrace.
"I missed you. How do you look even more fabulous than the last time I saw you?" Tris asks.
"The spas in Candor were almost enough for me to stay." She smiles as they sit down, "Being sent there for six weeks to work on relations wasn't exactly fun, plus being away from Will for that long is just weird, but massages almost every day took the sting away a bit."
"I'm sure Will was happy to have you home." Tris grins at her.
"Well we are still technically newlyweds so that was the longest we've ever been apart. He definitely welcomed me back." She grins and take a sip of her wine.
Tris laughs and raises her glass to meet Christina's. They continue to catch up and Christina tells her more about her time in Candor. She was able to spend time with her parents, and it made her realize how much she had missed them.
"It also made me think about if Will and I ever have kids, the thought of them one day choosing a new faction and maybe not seeing them more than one sanctioned day a year, it's a little unsettling. I even talked to Jack about the faction before blood laws, but it seems there's no traction to change them at the moment. What about you and Four, have you ever thought about having kids and the possibility of them leaving?" She asks. Tris casts her eyes down at the table and Christina frowns, "Tris, did I say something wrong?"
"We broke up, and before you ask yes I'm good with it. We weren't in a good place really ever, we didn't want the same things, and we were nothing more than roommates like I've told you before." Tris shakes her head.
"Hey, why aren't you looking at me? I'm proud of you, Tris. You've not been happy with him for a long time, we all could see it. I know you wanted more than he could give you, and I may not like Eric I'm still glad you felt comfortable enough to have sex with him. I know one night stands aren't your thing but you scratched an itch." She shrugs.
"It wasn't just one time, and definitely not just scratching an itch." Tris replies and Christina's eyebrows raise, "When he came home we tried to stay away from each other, but we couldn't."
"Oh wow. Okay. So you two are what, fuck buddies?" Christina asks.
"We're together." She replies quietly.
"Together? Eric? The guy who moves from bed to bed like we change our underwear? Tris..." She trails off, shaking her head.
"That's who he was before, but he hasn't been like that since the day between us in the leadership gym. He's in love with me, Chris." Tris replies and Christina sets her glass down on the table.
"That was unexpected. How?" She asks.
"It just happened. He was gone for six months and while he had the opportunity to sleep with someone else, he didn't. He's been back for almost six months and we've gotten so close. He's been with no one but me in almost a year, and it's the same for me. He says it's been more than just sex for him for a long time."
"For you too?" Christina asks, betraying no emotion.
"For me too." Tris nods her head.
"Okay. Wow. This is good." Christina smiles at her.
"You're okay with this?" Tris asks. She brings her glass to her lips and takes a long drink.
"It's your decision, Tris. I know you're a commitment and relationship type of woman, and didn't think he was capable. However, if he's giving you the commitment and relationship you need, and you're happy, I'm happy. Did you really think I wouldn't be?" She asks.
"Well yeah, it's Eric and everyone warns me about him." Tris replies.
"You are more than capable of making your own informed decisions. Stop seeking approval from other people." Christina says.
"I know I give you such a hard time about your lack of filter, but today I thank you for it." Tris smiles and Christina returns it.
"Are you in love too?" She asks.
"I keep saying that I think I am. I don't know what love is." Tris replies with a blush.
"It's different for everyone." Christina replies.
"How'd you know that you loved Will?" Tris asks.
"Something shifted. It went from just the butterflies of getting to know someone new, and it wasn't just 'oh my God, he's so hot' when I saw him. I wanted to know everything about him, when we spent time together alone, it wasn't just a rush to get into the bedroom anymore, we would spent time just talking. Or making meals together. Hell even brushing our damn teeth together." Christina laughs and Tris joins her, clinking her glass to hers, "I guess it changed for me when I didn't think about making plans or decisions without him. Even though I kept saying I was too young to think about forever, I started doing it and he was always in it."
"That all makes so much sense." Tris replies and Christina smiles at her best friend.
"My baby is in love." She says softly.
"Maybe." Tris nods her head.
"How'd it happen? How'd the two of you shift?" Christina asks.
"We should get out of here to talk about that." Tris says. She gestures her head towards the cameras and Christina nods at her. They quickly pay their bill and take some wine to go.
When Christina follows Tris to Eric's apartment, she's only slightly surprised after their talk this evening. She follows Tris inside and looks around, always curious about how Eric lived. Tris opens one of the bottles they brought home with them and pours them each a glass before joining Christina on the couch.
"I'm about to share some heavy shit." Tris says, "I'm not kidding, Chris, what I say here can't leave this apartment. If you hear stuff that makes you not want to be my friend anymore, I just need you to promise me you'll just keep it to yourself."
"Tris, what's wrong?"
"Chris, please promise me. No matter what happens here tonight, you don't talk about it outside of here." Tris says.
"Okay, you know I always have your back. Talk to me."
She tells her everything, starting with how she found out about Jeanine being her birth mother. She explains that her relationship with Tobias, as Christina always suspected, was more for convenience due to their shared interest in bringing Jeanine down. She leaves out his sexual orientation, as that isn't her story to share, but Christina guesses that he's also Divergent based on his involvement in bringing Jeanine down.
"Eric's right, bringing an accusation to Jack without solid proof could actually come back onto you. However, if this plan expands a bit, you'd have the proof you'd need without violence." Christina says once she's had a chance to absorb everything Tris has told her.
"How?" Tris asks and they hear the familiar sound of the keypad before the apartment door opens and Eric comes in with Lynn on his heels.
"Sorry babe, I thought you'd still be out. We can come back." He says as Tris stands and presses a kiss to his lips.
Lynn and Christina exchange smiles as they watch the two interact.
"No, stay, Chris and I were just talking about heavy stuff. Something light could be helpful." Tris replies.
"If it's as heavy as what Eric told me earlier, we may all need to continue." Lynn says and Tris raises her eyebrows at Eric.
He nods once, and Tris realizes he confided in Lynn much like she did with Chris. He leans in towards her ear and whispers, "She knows about Jeanine."
"Okay, well Christina knows too, and she had some ideas. Maybe we can talk?" Tris asks and the four sit on the oversized sectional couch.
"Just to level set, we stopped at the point of talking to Jack." Christina says and Lynn nods.
"Eric and I were at my place and had gotten to the same point before my roommate got home. We came here to continue." Lynn replies.
"Good. So I was telling Tris there may be a way to get Jeanine caught without violence. We get the box to her first." Christina says.
"How though?" Lynn asks.
"The box is supposedly with my parents, I could just go there and ask them for it." Tris says slowly.
"Does Natalie know about the box?" Eric asks and Tris shakes her head.
"I don't think so, but I don't know. I don't even know that the box is there or if it actually exists." Tris says shakily.
"This isn't a bad idea. We're both leaders, we can have a reason to go to Abnegation for a meeting. We'd just need to avoid the cameras and find a way to make it to their home."
"That won't work, faction before blood laws. We'd need to go for an official meeting with my father." Tris says.
"This is all good, if you can at least talk to him and explain the situation he's bound to help, right?" Lynn asks.
"I don't know." Tris takes a deep breath, "My parents and I don't have the best relationship, but even so I don't want them to get hurt in all of this. If Jeanine can get her damn box and open it up, maybe she'll have enough. Maybe she'll just call the war off."
Eric doesn't miss the look on Lynn and Christina's faces and when he sees Christina about to say something he shakes his head briefly, stopping her.
"When do you think you two could find a way to meet with Abnegation?" Christina asks.
"It would be odd for Tris and I to go there by ourselves, we are assigned to Erudite, however Veronica works with Abnegation and she told me earlier she wants in on whatever we're working on. I am pretty sure she'll get Tris to Abnegation." Eric answers.
"Our team expands." Tris replies.
"Four is also assigned to Abnegation, we may need to talk to him as well." Eric adds.
"Thank you both for this, seriously. You have no idea how much this means to me." Tris chokes up a little and Eric wraps an arm around her.
"We love you, this may be heavy shit but we're never going to let you carry it alone." Christina says.
"Ditto." Lynn grins and they all laugh.
More wine is opened and the four move on to lighter subjects. They hear about the very new relationship between Lauren and Lynn, and how her friendship with Lauren blossomed into something more while Lynn was out of the faction and they were only able to video chat. Over those calls they started opening up a little more each day about their shared feelings of something more, and they have their first official date is this weekend.
Tris has a nice buzz, and she's enjoying the way that it feels when Eric plays with the end of her ponytail. His arm remains around her shoulder and he's pulled her hair over with it, and continuously plays with it while they talk and drink with their friends. She thinks back to the conversation she had with Christina earlier, about how it went from just a physical thing for her and Will to moments where they just were together, enjoying each other's company.
Christina and Lynn leave, with promises to help and be in touch soon, and Tris feels the slightest bit lighter. She helps Eric to rinse out the empty bottles for recycling, and load everything into the dishwasher, once again aware of just how easy and domestic their relationship feels.
"Do you feel a little better?" He asks.
"I do. Every time I'm able to just be myself and let someone in, it feels like a little more weight is lifted off of me. I know I will eventually need to talk to Tobias, but not tonight." She says.
"No, not tonight. I'm starving and kind of buzzed. Neither would bode well for him." Eric grins at her.
"Can we please make pasta again?" She asks.
"You seriously want to try to make homemade pasta after we've drank a couple bottles of wine?" He asks and when he sees her enthusiastic response he laughs, "Okay babe, whatever you want."
They work together, making pasta for the second time since she started staying with him. It takes them longer, and they make a mess of each other, but when they finally sit down with the homemade pasta and sauce it's more than worth it.
"This is so good. I can't believe the difference in making it versus buying it. How'd you learn?" She asks.
"My mom has Italian roots. When I was a kid, I would help her cook. I've always loved it, there's something calming about making food. I don't know." He shrugs.
"You were close to your parents?" She asks and he nods.
"Very. They both worked a lot, but on the weekends we'd have these traditional Italian family dishes. I learned how to make pasta from scratch, gravy-"
"Gravy? Like the holiday meals downstairs?" She asks.
"It's red sauce like this. Traditional Italian families sometimes call it gravy. We would have a lot of food on Sunday, and a lot of family over, and no matter what there was always some sort of pasta and gravy. It reminds me of home." He smiles briefly.
"Why'd you leave?" She asks.
"It was a last minute decision. I loved my parents, I loved my extended family, but things changed when my brother got sick." He pauses and Tris reaches for his hand across the table and they thread their fingers together, "He had leukemia, and my parents worked around the clock trying to find a cure. They were so close, but never quite there, and Jason just got sicker and sicker. He died a few months before my choosing ceremony, and three days after we buried him my dads serum had a breakthrough and the test patients who were receiving his version started to improve. He couldn't cure his own son, he was too late, and it took him to a dark place. My brother always wanted to come here, so I manipulated my aptitude test to give me a Dauntless result, and I got the hell out of Erudite." He sighs and shakes his head, "Jesus babe," He says as he runs a hand over his face, "I didn't mean to bring the mood down."
"It's okay Eric, you can tell me anything. I want to know everything about you. Even the parts you feel like could bring the mood down." Tris says and she squeezes his hand, "The good stuff and the bad stuff, I'm here for it all of it."
His tugs her chair closer to him and drops his lips to hers, "I'm glad you're here." He says softly.