Tris had never had such a hard time concentrating in her entire life. She tried reading the material in front of her, putting the information together into coherent sentences, and doing the work that was assigned to her. But the only thing she seemed to be able to think about was Tobias; his lips on hers, his hands holding her close, his words making her fall even further. Hearing him say those words, that he was hers, made her heart beat harder even in the stale classroom. She jumped when her instructor cleared her throat, bringing her out of her reverie. "Sorry," she murmured, trying again to focus on the task at hand.

Lunch brought a whole new round of waiting, since Matthew was nowhere to be found, either. She picked at her food, debating on whether she could get away with hanging out wherever he was for a few minutes when Tobias slid into the seat next to her.

"Hey," she said, smiling brightly. It faded as soon as she saw the look on his face. "What? What is it?"

"Nothing major," he said, giving her a small smile. "Remember that I told you we'd be heading out on an assignment outside the city? Well, now it's been moved up to tomorrow. I'll be leaving before you even wake. I have to go pack and make sure all our resources are together for the trip, but I didn't want to wait to tell you."

"Oh." Tris felt herself deflate. She hadn't liked the idea of him leaving when he first mentioned it, and she liked it even less now that he would be leaving so soon. "Three days early?" Tobias nodded. "Any idea why?"

"None. It could be nothing, though." He reached out and rubbed her arm. "Just keep your eyes and ears open, and I'll do the same. I'll see you at dinner, okay?" She nodded as he got up and hurried out the door.

The afternoon dragged on, filled with more useless facts about the Bureau and genes. Tris almost wished she had chosen a different path just so she wouldn't have to read another line about how inferior everyone was compared to her. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door; Tris looked up to see David.

"I'm excusing you early," he said, motioning for Tris to come with him. She gathered her things, following in silence until they ended up at the screen bank. She eyed David curiously as he sat down, motioning for her to do the same.

"There are many different responsibilities that come with a position like ours." He tapped on the screen in front of them, bringing up a split screen. One had Jeanine Matthews on it, the other, her brother and the girl named Cara. "It's a lot of decision-making, and some of it isn't easy. Sometimes we find ourselves at a crossroads, and oftentimes, it involves the people we care about."

Tris was so focused on David's words, trying to pick up on anything she could take back to Tobias and Matthew, that she flinched when he turned to her. He gave her a smile that did little to reassure her of his intentions. "It seems your brother has fallen into Ms. Matthews' favor," he continued. "Is there anything you can tell me about that?"

Tris shook her head. "No. Caleb and I weren't that close growing up. I was just as surprised as everyone else when he chose Erudite."

He nodded his head. "We've been keeping a close eye on things. Are you aware that Ms. Matthews and your brother recently visited Dauntless together?"

Tris could only shake her head no. She looked at the screens again, watching her brother work. He was running a test on a machine of some kind, working equations out on paper before inputting the data back into the computer. David tapped the screen again and brought up different footage; she watched her brother standing with others from Erudite as Jeanine and Max had a discussion. It was odd enough to see him in blue, let alone standing in the virtual darkness that typified Dauntless.

"We've been actively monitoring this for the last week, the same way they have been monitoring Divergents." Tris felt her palms get sweaty. "I just wanted to make sure you were aware of what was happening, and to help you realize that there are many things that we do here at the Bureau that don't directly involve genetics. Our first goal is to keep the city safe; to control it and make sure its inhabitants are behaving. This," he said, motioning to the screen, "Is a stark reminder, Miss Prior, of just how far we have to go, of how much healing there is still left to do."

Tris wasn't sure how to take the information. She smiled at David before turning her attention back to the screen. There was an exchange made between Max and Jeanine before they shook hands and parted ways. She tried to focus on what Max was holding, but it was too small to tell.

"The consensus is that it's a serum. For what, though, we haven't yet figured out. So, I would like for you to familiarize yourself with what's going on. I feel like you are our greatest asset right now. Not only are you related to one of the parties involved, but we also believe that you are their target demographic. I do hope you'll agree to assist in any way you can?" Tris nodded, unsure if she was agreeing because she wanted to know, too, or because she felt obligated. "Perfect. I'll arrange your schedule to reflect this. Stop by my office in the morning."

He left her there, watching her brother. While she and Caleb were never that close, she was still having a hard time wrapping her head around him participating in something that could potentially hurt someone else. Caleb was kinder than nearly everyone else she had known in Abnegation, including herself. She also wondered what their parents would think if they knew. She shook her head and cleared the screen, taking her things back to her room.

She paced back and forth, running everything she had learned while at the Bureau over and over in her head. On the outside, what was said made sense: there was damage done to these people that caused them to act the way they did. But then there was someone like Tobias, who was labeled as damaged, yet didn't act how she was told he would. She would even argue the same about Ruby, Jones, and Emma. Why was there such a discrepancy? She flipped through some of the books she had, looking for chapters on genes and how the healed and the damaged truly differed. It wasn't until she heard a knock on the door that she realized how long she had been sitting there.

"Tris," Tobias breathed out, relief flooding his face.

"Oh, Tobias," she said, pulling him inside. She wrapped her arms around his neck, his own encircling her waist. "I was so wrapped up in gene stuff that I didn't even realize what time it was."

He kissed the side of her head before pulling away. "Did you eat?"

"No."

"Stay here, then, and I'll be right back." She smirked as he backed out of her room, closing the door behind him.

She hadn't found anything useful, so she put her books up, straightening the small mess she had made. She sat and waited, mulling things over in her head, the most important thought being: why wasn't there a clear answer to such a simple question? Yes, her genes were different, but she acted no differently than anyone else. According to all the information she could find, the damaged people at the Bureau should be constantly fighting or stealing or killing, yet they weren't. She thought about the false reports that had been filed, too, wondering how those results differed from her own or even Tobias's.

He knocked on the door and she opened it to see him with an armful of containers and drinks. "Thought we could just stay in and maybe break in your kitchen."

She smiled. "Sounds perfect."

They warmed up the soup and made grilled cheese sandwiches. She smiled, remembering this was the first meal they ate together. She wondered if he chose it specifically for that reason. They ate in comfortable silence, Tobias occasionally bumping her arm when she had a spoonful of soup, a smirk on his face. "Whoops," he'd say, grinning ear to ear when she shot him a look.

"How long are you supposed to be gone?"

He took a deep breath, wishing they could forget the seriousness of everything for a little longer. "Nine days, but we could be back in seven or eight if things go smoothly." Tris nodded. "If you need anything, go to Amar first. Ruby will be here, too. You guys could probably spend some time together since Jones will be with me." She nodded again, her mood having gone from cheerful to disheartened.

"David pulled me out of class today. Apparently, Caleb and Jeanine Matthews and some other Erudite have been visiting Dauntless." Tobias looked at her questioningly. "He wants me to watch the screens, see if I can spot anything different because he's my brother."

"You aren't going to find anything," Tobias said coldly. "They asked me to do the same thing with Marcus, but he was the same person he always was in public, so there was nothing to see."

Tris watched him; the hurt was there, buried underneath the anger. She couldn't even begin to imagine the pain and the dread Tobias had faced every day, or how he must have felt being forced to watch Marcus and report back on him. She wanted to take that pain away more than anything. She held her hand out; he took it with a smile as she led him to her couch. He raised an eyebrow when they sat, Tris pulling him down next to her.

"What about the dishes?"

"They can wait," she said. "Right now, I just want this."

"You rebel," he said, grinning and pulling her close.

"Tell me something," she said nestling against him. "I need to take my mind off you leaving."

Tobias felt a pang of guilt in his gut. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Tell me about meeting Amar, or making friends with Emma, or what it was like when you first got here." She winced. "Actually, scratch that last one."

"It's okay. I don't mind."

He took a deep breath, settling himself further into the couch. "It was a little hectic when I got here. My mother and I did the blood tests like everyone else; hers came back healed while mine came back damaged, so I didn't have to go through much more. We were offered a place after they nursed her back to health, and she accepted it. I took classes and tried to pretend like everything was normal, like I was just back in school in the city. Evelyn was busy with her own classes or meetings or whatever, until she up and decided that we weren't going to stay. By then I was used to this place. I mean, it's structured, but coming from the city, it felt like freedom. You know." He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye. "Not to mention I liked knowing I would have a roof over my head, clean clothes, and warm food three times a day."

Tris frowned as she looked up at him. "It was surprisingly easy to tell her I was staying, that I wasn't going to go back to anything that was even remotely close to that life. To say it was a huge fight would be an understatement. We both said some pretty hurtful things." He paused for a moment, something like regret crossing his face. "And then the rest is what it is. She left. I kept to myself, got an education. Amar came from Dauntless about two years ago. I was splitting my time around the various areas of the compound by then, trying to find someplace where I belonged, and we met when he was training. He was quiet, didn't ask for much. It was perfect. The decision to go into security came pretty naturally after that."

"It's a good fit," she commented.

"What, security?" Tris nodded. "You haven't even seen me in action."

"Yes, I have. But even if I hadn't, I would still know it's a good fit. You're very protective."

Her lips turned up as he chuckled against her. "Fair enough. Okay, your turn."

"What do you want to know?"

"What it was like to grow up in a normal family."

There was no hesitation before he said it, and Tris felt her chest constrict. He wasn't looking at her, though, choosing to stare at the blank wall in front of him. She could feel his heart thumping against his ribcage. Tris thought about lying, about making her life seem worse than it was, but he had been so open and honest with her, she at least owed him the truth.

"It was normal, I guess. Didn't seem any different from any of the other kids I knew." She scrunched her face, feeling the magnitude of what she said and how it didn't apply to Tobias. "Caleb was… well, Caleb. We got along well enough, though he never missed an opportunity to chastise me when I wasn't performing up to his standards."

"His standards?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not, he was definitely more Abnegation than I was.

"And my mother, she volunteered with the factionless, handing out clothing and food, administering medical care. My father worked on the council with yours. He was good, and kind: the perfect Abnegation role model, really. My parents were strict, but they also gave us more freedom to be who we were than other Abnegation families typically did. Behind closed doors they were even more open. They held hands, and showed Caleb and me affection. Sometimes I think my mom hugged us just to see how many times she could do it before we said anything."

Her mouth went dry. Their lives were complete opposites; his was full of hate and violence, while hers was full of love and nurturing. Again she thought of their genes, and how anyone could possibly call Tobias damaged. She pulled his arm around her, and he held her close. "How long can you stay?" she whispered.

"As long as you want me to." She smiled and made herself comfortable.

Tobias watched the slow rise and fall of her shoulder. She had fallen asleep almost instantly, and he wasn't about to wake her; he needed to be near her, needed every ounce of the strength and energy she gave him to get through the mission. He wondered how he had gotten so lucky, how the two of them had managed to end up in the same place, together. He gave himself a small amount of credit for noticing her, remembering how different she was all those years ago. But if she wasn't who she was — Divergent — they would have never met. He kissed the top of her head and smiled.

Tris heard the beeping before she registered what it was. She opened her eyes to see her living room, and felt a body next to her; she turned her head to see Tobias barely stirring, his watch flashing and beeping loudly. "Tobias!" she said, scrambling to her feet.

He shot up, fumbling with the watch on his wrist until it stopped. "Shit," he said, blinking a few times as he stared at it. "I have to go." He hastily made his way to the door, stopping when he touched the handle. Tobias turned to see her standing there, hair disheveled, eyes red and full of sleep, a look of uncertainty on her face as she bit her lip.

He crossed back to her in two long strides and pulled her up in his arms, tangling his hands in her hair as he kissed her, trying to make it enough to last for the time they would be apart. He pulled away to catch his breath; Tris's chest was rising and falling rapidly, her eyes wide and her lips red. He gave her one last peck and turned to leave.

"Be careful," she called after him.

"I will."

She stood there for a moment before cleaning up their mess from dinner. Tris was both wide awake and exhausted when she flopped into bed afterwards. She looked at her own watch; if she skipped the gym, she could get five more hours of sleep. She curled around a pillow after some time, trying to bring back the comfort and warmth that came from sleeping with Tobias. She smiled, feeling the heat on the back of her neck, wishing these things didn't embarrass her so easily when they felt so natural.

Tobias skidded to a halt, his bag falling off his shoulder. "Cutting it a little close," Amar quipped, not looking up from his tablet. Tobias narrowed his eyes but said nothing. They loaded the vans with their supplies and went over the routes again before checking for the third time that there was enough ammunition for each person on the mission. When they were given the all clear, Amar shook his hand, looking him right in the eye. "Good luck and safe travels." Tobias gave him a firm nod.

He and Matthew were in the same van as George. They weren't free to discuss much, but exchanged looks often when George would speak up, designating the types of people they would need to pull samples from, and from which areas of the city. "Why Indianapolis again?" Tobias asked.

"We're just trying to get a more comprehensive overview of the entire city."

"Why only certain demographics, then?" George looked up from his tablet. Tobias kept his face neutral; if they were going to get anywhere, one of them was going to have to start asking questions.

"Right now we're just seeking out the worst and checking for improvements. It's why we've been in some of the rougher neighborhoods." Tobias nodded, acting satisfied.

His eyes flicked to Matthew who was pretending to busy himself with his own work. He gave him a subtle nod, though, and Tobias knew he was paying attention. He wondered if perhaps their results weren't being manipulated, but their sample sizes were.

Tris sat in front of her screen, watching her brother do the same boring thing for the sixth day in a row; she'd had no idea how monotonous things were in Erudite. Listening to the conversations around her, she realized that almost nobody was discounting the good things Erudite had done for the city, often commenting that they had to keep in mind that not everyone was a part of whatever was happening between them and Dauntless. She couldn't help but wonder what their exact motivations were. She had a feeling David knew more than he was letting on; he always seemed to dangle whatever information he had right over her head without giving her a chance to reach up and grab it.

Caleb stood up, snatching a piece of paper before running out of the room he was working in; the other Erudite were just as confused as she was. The cameras were set to auto-track him with facial recognition, so Tris waited until the program could catch up and find him again. The last she saw of him, he was pressing a code into a keypad and going into Jeanine's office.

"Great," she muttered. "Unrestricted access, too."

"It is a problem, isn't it?" She turned to see David standing behind her. "Why don't you take a break? You and I can have lunch and discuss this."

Tris was nervous as she followed David to his office instead of the cafeteria. Zoe came in moments later with two plates, setting one down in front of each of them. Tris smiled, clearing her throat when she didn't recognize what was in front of her.

"Steak," David said, picking up his fork and knife. She watched him cut it, placing a piece of the pink meat in his mouth before picking up her own utensils. She had never seen it before, not in the city, nor in the cafeteria. David watched her for a moment as she cut the smallest piece possible, tasting it.

"It's beef. But this comes from the finest part of the cow, the most tender, the most desired. It's a rare treat to have this anymore, as most beef is just ground up and used as filler for whatever meal is being prepared. It's also very expensive." The situation was awkward; Tris felt as though she were being rewarded, only she didn't know for what. She took another bite.

"Tell me, what have you observed lately?"

"With Caleb?" David nodded. "Honestly? Nothing more than you already know. He doesn't seem all that different than when we were growing up. He's just in blue now."

"Did he have many friends in Abnegation?"

"No. None of us did." Tris wondered why he asked this question. Even at the Bureau it was obvious how the Abnegation interacted with each other.

"I see. And does he seem to be getting along with his new faction mates?"

Tris shrugged. "I haven't seen him do much outside of the labs."

David eyed her for a moment before asking his final question. "Would you consider your brother to be someone who is loyal?"

Tris furrowed her brow. David's questions weren't making any sense to her. "I would say yes, but things are different now. I feel like I don't really know the person I see on the screen."

David nodded, taking a moment to digest her answer. "How different is he, say, compared to you?"

Tris set down her knife and fork. "I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to ask me."

David smiled, setting his own utensils down. "What I mean, Miss Prior, is are you also loyal?"

Tris could feel a lump forming in her throat. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible. She wished she could come up with a reason for David's questions, but her mind was drawing a blank. "Well, I, umm… I'm still not sure what you are trying to ask me." She was quiet as David sat forward; it felt like his eyes were piercing right through her.

"It's a very simple, straightforward question. Are. You. Loyal?" He punctuated every word as though she were unable to comprehend them.

"Yes," she said, uncertainty lacing her voice.

"Good." He didn't elaborate, making her even more nervous.

They sat, unmoving, staring at each other as Tris tried to wrap her head around what was going on. The only thing she could come up with was that David was going to ask her to do something that she didn't want to do, or he was trying to test her, to find out where her loyalties truly lay. She knew, though, that this was part of the risk of getting close to him.

"What is it that you want, David?" she finally asked. She was tired of the cat and mouse game he was playing.

His face broke into a wide grin. "There's that superiority, showing itself yet again." He pulled a folder out from a drawer and set it next to her plate. She opened it to reveal a date and a time. She looked up at him, expecting more information.

"It's time I send someone into the city to keep a closer eye on things. There are things happening that we cannot monitor from our position on the outside. It only makes sense to put our best asset — you — to work."

"Oh." She looked back at the date again; it was just shy of two weeks later. "Where?"

"Erudite."

Tris looked up at him, incredulity on her face. "That won't work. My brother's there, and he's close to Jeanine. He'll notice me."

"Easily fixable," David dismissed.

Tris shook her head, disliking that David had not only referred to her again as merely an asset to be deployed, but that he had made plans that involved her without even asking. "What if I don't want to?" The truth was the idea appealed to her, but not at the risk of hurting her brother or anyone else. She sat up taller, holding her head up as David examined her.

"You will," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"What makes you say that?"

"You think I haven't seen your fears, Miss Prior?" Tris felt her blood run cold. She knew Matthew had sent a summary of her fear simulations, but she didn't think David would actually view the footage, too. "You think I don't know about your little trysts, or your incessant need to surround yourself with undesirables? Your purity has no business being dragged down to their level. You are far better than that, and it is time you start acting like it. Besides," he added, the corner of his mouth twitching up just slightly, "There are certain… vulnerabilities I can exploit, if necessary. You are really in no position to decide anything."

"What vulnerabilities?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her heart was hammering so hard, it was practically all she could hear. David only smiled. "What vulnerabilities?!" she yelled this time, flying to her feet. The gleam of her knife caught her eye; she briefly considered using it.

David shrugged. "Certainly, Miss Prior, this should be an easy problem for you to solve." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, unwilling to play his game; David shook his head at her condescendingly. "Four has surrounded himself with people who answer to me and me alone. All it would take is a very simple command."

It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to keep her hands to herself. "You wouldn't."

"Well, what I do depends solely on you."

Tris wondered if David knew about Matthew, and if he was in danger as well. Even worse, she let the idea cross her mind that Matthew might not be the person she thought he was. She felt stupid, like she had been played from the moment she walked into the Bureau. "Fine," she muttered through gritted teeth. She hated herself for giving in so easily, but she wasn't going to allow anyone to be hurt simply because she was being stubborn and trying to prove a point.

"Perfect," he said, picking up his utensils again. "I'll call a meeting as soon as Four returns home, and we can tell him together."

A/N:

If this site let you use gifs, I would simply put something evil here and call it a day. Instead I will thank you for your reviews. You guys are awesome.