A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and to my wonderful beta reader, Rosalie! This chapter overlaps part of Chapter 47 from "Determinant" but then skips ahead. It's my first try ever at writing from Zeke's POV. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 24: Zeke – Fun and Games

When I get home from work, Shauna is in the gathering room with Cara and Christina.

"They're talking," she tells me as I give her a quick kiss and plop onto the sofa closest to her.

I don't have to ask who she means – I haven't forgotten that Tris was due to arrive this afternoon.

"That's a good thing, right?" I ask uncertainly. "I mean, they have to talk at some point, so it's better to just get it over with, isn't it?"

She shrugs, looking nervous. I kind of know how she feels. Four's tough, and he can certainly take care of himself, but he's not exactly experienced in the art of love. And Tris gets to him in ways that no one else does.

"How long have they been at it?" I ask, looking between the three women.

Christina glances at her watch. "Almost half-an-hour." She sounds anxious, but excited too. I know she wants the two of them to get back together as much as the rest of us do, though she never admits it. It's about the only thing her Candor instincts let her hide.

"Mmm." My lips press together. "Has there been any yelling?"

"No," Christina answers, studying her fingernails. "At least not loud enough for us to hear from all the way over here."

"I wouldn't let her eavesdrop," Cara quips, giving her friend a caustic look. The comment makes me laugh. We Pedrads have a long history of successfully overhearing conversations, but even I wouldn't listen to something that private. And not just because Four would kill me if he found out about it.

"Well, if they don't come out for dinner," I offer, "we can always send a sacrificial lamb to knock on the door. Like Uri."

Christina snorts, and Shauna smacks my arm.

"What about me?" my brother asks, stepping into the room with his usual perfect timing.

"We were wondering if you had dinner ready yet," I answer, deadpan.

His eyes widen in panic. "It's not my turn tonight," he says quickly, looking at the others for confirmation. "Is it?" It's not, I'm sure, but he's so easy to play with….

"Yes, it is," Shauna insists, her tone conveying just the right level of irritation. "Are you telling me we'll have to wait while you make it now?"

"And on Tris' first day here, too," Christina scoffs, adding a nice edge of disappointment. "You have got to start paying more attention to the schedule, Uriah!"

As usual, it's Cara who gives the joke away. "You can smell the casseroles cooking, you know," she says, rolling her eyes at Uri. "Seriously, just sniff the air."

I suppose it's my own fault for not noticing what Uri had in his hands when I started the joke, but I still jump when he throws his lunchbox at me. I catch it automatically, but the latch unlocks from the movement, and the lid flies open, allowing the dirty dishes to fling themselves at me.

"Oops," my brother says calmly as I stand, trying to brush the crumbs and sauces from my entire front. I leave his possessions scattered across the sofa and floor as I launch myself at him, chasing him into the dining hall before managing to tackle him to the floor.

We're rolling around in a pile of limbs when Amar comes in. We stop immediately, since he's still hyper-sensitive to violence, but he just raises an eyebrow at us, shaking his head a little.

"Lousy technique, Zeke," he comments drily. "Your elbows were way too far out."

Uri laughs as he hops to his feet, offering me a hand. "See?" he smirks. "I told you I'm a better fighter than you are."

"In your dreams, bro. In your dreams…." But I let him pull me up, and then we go into the kitchen with Cara to help get the food.

We're just setting the last items on the table when the clamor starts.

"Tris!" Uriah and Amar call at the same time, followed almost immediately by the others. I'm at the end of the table closest to the door, so when I turn I get a good view of her and Four. They're holding hands, and it makes me grin more than I expected. But I don't say anything about that yet.

Instead, I cross quickly to them, pulling Tris away from Four and into my arms for a sound hug. I really am glad to see her. Everyone else is, too, of course, and they make that clear as they crowd around, embracing her and talking all at once.

Uri ends up being the last one to reach her, and I can't help narrowing my eyes at him as he throws his arms around her. He's my brother, and I love him, but if he messes this up for Four, I'm going to have to kill him.

Fortunately, he decides to approach this like so many other things – as a joke. He pulls back from the hug, winks at Four, and then leans forward like he's about to kiss Tris. She jerks away sharply, obviously wanting nothing to do with his lips. And I laugh – hard. So does Uri.

"Still with that death wish," Four growls, stepping closer to them. But there's a hint of amusement in his expression.

Uri lifts his hands in a classic gesture of surrender as he grins at Tris. "Hey, don't worry," he exclaims, "I'm not dumb. I picked up on your subtle signals last time."

Turning to Four, he adds, "What can I say? She wants to marry me and have my babies."

My lovely girlfriend snorts beside me. "Yeah," she says, "as long as they're blue-eyed and have four fears." I laugh, but I also automatically lean down and look over her shoulder, trying to see what she must have glimpsed from the height of her wheelchair. She sees interesting things from that angle at times. Such as right now….

The view shows Four and Tris holding hands again.

Christina obviously sees it too, because she smirks and comments loudly, "That didn't take long."

It's a typical Candor statement, but it's too much, too soon for the two former Abnegation. Tris starts to turn red, and Four begins to stiffen, and I know it's time to head this off before it gets ugly.

"And yet," I state just as loudly as Christina, drawing the others' attention, "it's long overdue."

As everyone looks at me, I give Four an encouraging clap on the back while smiling at Tris. It seems to relax them both a bit.

Immediately, the rest of the group erupts into calls of agreement. We were all hoping for this, really. Even Uri, I think. He wants Tris to be happy, and he knows that Four is the one who can give her that.

Surprisingly, though, Amar has the strongest reaction. Placing one hand on each of their shoulders, he declares, "Now, that's a sight for sore eyes." His smile seems to consume his entire face. "You two belong together."

That's the second time today he's seemed more like his old self, and I've got to say, it's nice to see that. It's even nicer when he does it a third time.

Taking George's arm, he turns toward the table and firmly states, "So, I hear there's food. Let's eat it." It's his trainer's voice, the one I haven't heard since I was an initiate years ago, and he's using it to command all of us to leave Four and Tris alone. I can't help grinning in response as I obey the order.

Four and Tris join us, too, both smiling widely. It's strange to see Four that way, but it's a good kind of strange. He's certainly earned this happiness.

After dinner, Christina drags Tris off to her room, undoubtedly to grill her on the conversation with Four. It's a girl thing, Shauna always says.

But hey, guys can do the same thing, right? So, I grab Four's arm and pull him into the game room to play pool. He doesn't resist at all. He just shrugs and comes along without comment. He must be in a good mood.

"So…" I start as I rack up the balls, "I take it things went well?"

His grin is so wide I don't think he can talk through it. But he nods, a bit sheepishly. They must have kissed or something.

"And you're back together?" Somehow, the smile gets even wider – I didn't think his face could stretch that far. But this time he manages to speak.

"We're going to date."

The words make me a little nervous, since Four has always sucked at dating. But then again, Tris has always been the exception to all the rules for him, so maybe it'll work this time. I nod as I remove the triangle from the pool table and grab a stick.

"You want to break?" I ask him, gesturing at the table.

He hesitates for just a second before grabbing another stick and sending the cue ball smashing into the others. He sinks two balls...that are both striped. Lucky bastard.

"I guess you're stripes," I mutter.

It's obvious that he doesn't care in the slightest about the game, but he lines up his next shot anyway.

"She wants me to show her everything that's changed in the city," he comments as he shoots. "I'm not quite sure where to start."

"Hmm," I grunt, watching as another striped ball ends up in the pocket. When did Four get good at pool? But it's not like we're really here for the game, so I focus my attention on figuring out what type of date to recommend for my buddy. Something he won't screw up….

"Well, there's a new bar," I start as he takes yet another shot…and sinks yet another ball. He narrows his eyes at me and shakes his head firmly.

"I'm not taking her to a bar, Zeke. I have never had a good date in any bar. Ever." I laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you have a point there." I scratch the side of my head as I try to come up with other ideas, watching as the fifth striped ball vanishes. Am I getting a turn in this game?

"They're going to be opening the amusement park back up soon," I offer. He looks up at that, his eyes lit, and I suspect he has some kind of attachment to that place.

"When?"

I shrug. "A couple of weeks, I think."

He nods thoughtfully. "That'll work for a later date, then. But I need something for this Saturday. Something really good…."

"You should ask Uri," I tell him before I have a chance to think through it. My brother tends to keep track of all forms of entertainment in this city. But judging by the glare that Four directs at me, he's not interested in hearing that.

"I am not going to ask Uriah how to woo Tris," he snarls. I can't help chuckling at his wording.

"Woo? Seriously? You've been back together for what…an hour? I think it's a bit early to be talking marriage."

I expect him to be embarrassed – to say that it's an Abnegation term for dating – but he doesn't. He does turn a bit red, but he holds his ground, looking at me levelly and lifting a shoulder as if to say, "So what?"

"Obviously, I'm not going to ask her yet," he comments, "but that's where this is going." His gaze is steady. "It's where it was going last time, and I wouldn't open that door again if I weren't just as serious now."

I just stare. He really means it.

"I'm not playing with her, Zeke," he adds more quietly.

"No, I know that, man..." Four is so far from being a player that I can't even imagine the concept. But hell, I still haven't proposed to Shauna, and we've been together for a year and a half without a break. How can he be that sure already?

"I just didn't realize you were willing to admit that, yet," I finally add.

He shrugs again, sliding the pool stick up and down between his hands as he says, "Well, I guess I am."

We're both silent while I watch him sink the last two striped balls, one after the other.

"I sort of understand," I comment as he begins lining up his shot at the eight ball. He stops to look at me.

"Shauna thinks it took me forever to realize that she liked me, and that I liked her." Four raises an eyebrow, and I know he must have thought the same thing. "But I knew it for a long time before I asked her out." I give him a half-smile. "It's just that we'd known each other for years, and I always kind of knew that if we dated, either she'd be the one…or we'd blow it spectacularly."

I shrug. "And I didn't want to lose her. So, I waited until I thought we were both ready for something serious."

Four nods slowly, his expression contemplative.

"I think I'll take her ice-skating," he comments, a bit out of the blue.

Both of my eyebrows lift at that. "Do you know how to skate?" I ask.

"No." He lines up the eight ball again, adding, "Corner pocket."

"Do you think she does?"

"Probably not." The ball drops perfectly into the right hole, and the cue ball rolls to a slow stop in the middle of the table.

"But sometimes it's more fun to do something new," he says as he grabs the triangle and starts racking the balls up for another game. His lips tug into a smile. "And I kind of like the idea of catching her when she falls."

Meals are much more interesting with Tris here, I conclude over the course of the next few days. It's not even just that she brings up new subjects, or asks questions that get everyone talking. It's the way she affects the whole group.

It's most obvious with Four, of course. He's the happiest I've ever seen him – practically giddy compared with his stone-like instructor persona. But it's there with the rest of us, too.

Christina clearly loves having her best friend nearby again. And Amar seems more like himself, which in turn thrills George. Even Uri is more relaxed; he's settled firmly into friend mode, and he seems genuinely content with that role.

Shauna likes her, too. In fact, watching them together, it's hard to believe that my beautiful girlfriend ever distrusted Tris for being Divergent. Fortunately for both of them, Tris doesn't seem to hold a grudge about that. I guess that's where it's helpful to have a focus on forgiveness built into our faction manifesto.

I'm relieved on Saturday night to see that Four's date clearly went well. The two of them come back hand-in-hand, talking quietly and smiling more than I've ever seen from Four. His facial muscles will probably be sore tomorrow from the unusual exercise. But I'm glad to see he overcame his curse of "the bad dates."

Skating. Who'd have thought it?

As I close my eyes Sunday night, thinking back on everything that's happened in the last five days, I realize that things are really good now. I always thought I'd be Dauntless forever, but I have to say I prefer my current life.

Maybe it's time to think about proposing to Shauna.

A/N: This is shaping up to be a long week, with last-minute changes to who is visiting and when, so I'm going to be short on writing time. Because of that, I don't know when I'll be able to post next. In the meantime, though, please take a moment to review this chapter. That would really brighten the week for me!

And happy holidays to everyone! :-)