Well this came to me a lot sooner than I was expecting it to, so this isn't going to be a oneshot after all. Not sure what that actually makes it, but this chapter has been bugging me all day, just begging to be written.

For the purposes of this story (or whatever it is/will be), I am eliminating the romantic interest between Four and Tris entirely, though I will keep his helping her and showing her his fear landscape and such.

With that said, here's more for everyone. Enjoy, and please leave me a review at the end!

Tris awoke early the next morning in a slight daze, and it took her brain a few seconds to catch up with events of the previous night. She felt blood color her cheeks when the memories flooded her brain, and if it weren't for the twinge between her legs and the fact she was naked she might not have believed what her memory was telling her.

When she rolled over her eyes fell on Eric, curled up on his side and fast asleep, looking painfully young. With an unpleasant wave of guilt, Tris realized she was seeing a glimpse of who Eric truly was underneath the persona he wore as a leader of Dauntless. She had taken him at face value, simply written him off as an unfeeling cruel bastard who enjoyed watching others suffer. Now, however, she had seen a side of him she suspected no one else ever had. Maybe not even the family for whom he was now grieving.

Tris got up and wandered silently to the bathroom, wincing as she felt pain in areas she had never felt pain before. She felt warmth in her bloodstream as she recalled the way he had held her and the incredible feeling of him inside her, his quick, powerful thrusts and the passionate way he kissed her... It was an intoxicating feeling, one she wouldn't mind experiencing again.

Tris shook herself mentally, reminding herself that there were more important things than sex and the loss of her virginity. She had inadvertently made herself a friend and support to Eric, which she was happy to do, but he needed her emotionally, not physically. Who would have guessed she would still be lamenting her struggle with selflessness even as a Dauntless initiate?

When Tris returned to the bedroom Eric was in nearly the same position, but his face wasn't as peaceful as it had been when she'd left, and there were wet spots on his pillow that hadn't been there before. She sighed to herself and crawled back in the bed, lying down on her back and tugging his shoulder.

Realizing he had been caught, Eric opened his eyes and regarded her carefully, and Tris could see the shine of tears in his eyes. She held her arms out to him, drawing him to her and coaxing him to lay his head on her shoulder. With some reluctance he did, curling an arm around her waist and clutching her tightly. Tris wrapped her arms around him the best she could, running her fingers through his hair as the dam broke again.

His shoulders shook violently as he cried, fisting his hands in the bedding while his arms stayed wrapped around her. Tris pressed her lips to the top of his head in an instinctive gesture, still astounded that this was the same Eric who had tormented her relentlessly, the same Eric who had hung Christina over the Chasm.

It was a long time before his sobs turned to gasps and finally to a normal breathing rhythm, but still Eric kept his face tucked into the crook of her neck. She continued stroking his hair, waiting patiently for him to be ready to face her. It was obvious he felt weak, even ashamed of his grief and she had no idea how to help him with it, other than just waiting for him. He would have to move at some point.

"You know, you'll have to come out eventually," she teased, stroking his hair tenderly.

"Watch me," she heard him mutter, muffled by her shoulder.

"You have every right to grieve Eric," she told him quietly. "Anyone who ridicules you for hurting and crying over this isn't worth the air they're breathing, no matter who they are."

Finally she felt him move, shifting to his pillow and regarding her with red, swollen eyes. Tris turned to her side, moving to face him and wrap an arm tenderly around his waist in comfort.

"I still can't figure out why you would be so nice to me. I don't deserve it."

Tris decided to take a leaf out of Christina's book. "I don't either," she told him honestly. "All I know is I saw you collapse last night and I couldn't just let you deal with it alone when you didn't have to. It's not right."

"God I've underestimated you," he said softly. "Forgive me?"

Tris nodded, stroking her fingers gently down his face and across his jawline curiously. She had never been this close to someone for an extended amount of time, had never been able or allowed to touch someone to her heart's content before. It was an odd feeling now.

Eric's eyes fluttered closed, and she wondered idly when the last time was someone had touched him without malicious intent. Judging by the way he was reacting now, it had been quite some time. Tris took advantage of the moment, propping herself up on an elbow and gently nudging Eric to lie on his back. He complied without a word, eyes staying closed as she let her fingers gently trace the features of his face.

Her touch was feather light as her fingers brushed across his eyelids, noting their softness before moving to trace down the slope of his nose and across his cheekbones. The pad of her thumb stroked across the dip of his cheeks and down to his lower jaw before moving to his chin and then brushing across his lips, where the lower was just a little too full to match the upper. Tris let her fingers skim across his temple, following the path of his hair back behind his ear before gently cupping the back of his neck.

His eyes opened then, regarding her curiously as she hovered half over him. His hand moved to mirror her own, cupping the back of her neck and stroking the soft spot behind her earlobe gently. It only took the slightest pressure to coax her down to his level, pausing to give her time to pull away, should she want to. When she didn't, however, Eric pulled her the rest of the way down, capturing her lips in a brief, tender kiss. Tris kissed him back uncertainly, still not sure exactly what she was doing, but Eric seemed to catch on to her intent nonetheless.

She felt him smile slightly before kissing her again, lingering this time but still incredibly tender, and in a way it scared her. If he had kissed her the way he had last night, hot and passionate it would have been easier. The intent behind those kisses was clear, it was a means to an end, it meant sex. But these tender, sweet kisses were something else entirely. They meant that he was kissing her simply because he wanted to kiss her, and that was a thought that she couldn't get to make sense. What made even less sense was that she was kissing him back, that she wanted to kiss him back because she enjoyed how it felt, the way it made her heart thump unevenly in her chest.

Eric sat up then, effectively ending her internal musing as he stretched and groaned, rubbing his eyes viciously.

"My eyes are going to look like this all day aren't they?" He asked her, sounding defeated.

"Yeah probably," she responded honestly.

"Fuck."

"Don't worry about it," she soothed gently. "Ignore anyone that says anything."

Eric nodded. "I don't really have a choice."

Tris wrapped her arm around him gently, resting her head against his shoulder. "Feel free to find me if you want to, or need to. Okay?"

"I'll probably take you up on that," he admitted. Tris could see the pain creeping up into his expression again, taking root in the depths of his eyes and the set of his mouth. He slipped his arm around her, allowing her to curl into his side and lean against his chest. She wasn't sure how he managed to take comfort from her when it was him holding her, but if it worked for him then she wouldn't argue.

"Why don't you get dressed and go on to breakfast Tris, I'll be right behind you."

Tris nearly protested before realizing that he probably just needed a few minutes to himself, and nodded. "Yeah sure. I'll get you something when I get mine, yeah?"

"If you wouldn't mind," he answered, trying and failing to smile.

Tris kissed him softly on the cheek after she dressed. "You know where to find me."

...

Tris expected Christina and Will to grill her about where she had been the night before, but when she reached their table, she noticed immediately their attention was elsewhere. She looked around suddenly, noticing for the first time the mood of everyone in the room. Tense, uneasy.

"What's going on?" She asked quietly as she sat down, carrying two plates as she had promised him. Christina barely glanced at the second plate as she leaned in.

"An Erudite family was murdered yesterday evening," Christina informed her in a hushed tone. Tris felt her eyes widen. Not at the news of course, but at the fact that everyone seemed to know about it. What was even stranger was the fact everyone knew it was murder. Jeanine seemed the type to arrange an accident.

"Not just any family either," Will piped up. "That's why everyone here is talking about it. It's Eric's family, his parents and little sister. The girl was just thirteen, they're saying she was killed last, so she had to watch their parents die."

Tris felt her jaw drop and bile rose in her throat. Suddenly Eric's staggering grief and anger made more sense.

"And everyone knows?"

Christina nodded. "No one's seen him since yesterday."

Tris shook her head. "I have. I ran into him in the training room late last night, he was distraught."

"Did you stay with him last night?" Christina whispered. Surprisingly, she didn't sound disgusted, simply curious.

Tris nodded. "I couldn't just leave him like that, it was heartbreaking. I have to go warn him," she muttered, making to get up from the table. At that moment, however, Eric appeared in the doorway. Silence fell slowly as people noticed him, and Tris's heart squeezed in sympathy. His eyes searched the hall frantically, and finally landed on her frozen form, still half out of her seat.

He strode quickly over to their table and sat down, ducking his head away from the attention.

"I was just coming to warn you," she told him quietly as the buzz of chatter picked up again. "I don't know how, but everyone knows."

"Of course they do," he muttered bitterly. Tris grasped his shoulder in sympathy, wishing there was more she could do for him.

Christina reached out and took one of Eric's hands in her own, squeezing briefly before letting go.

Out of nowhere another black clad person seated themselves on Eric's other side without a word. Tris leaned around him and was shocked to see that it was Four. Evidently Eric felt the same shock, judging by the stunned expression on his face.

"Keep the food simple," he instructed, pushing a plate of toast, scrambled eggs and a couple rolls toward Eric. "Don't eat anything rich or you'll probably throw it back up, you're too upset to digest anything overly heavy right now but your body still needs the calories."

Eric blinked at Four in shock for a couple of seconds before turning to the food that had been placed in front of him. Eric reached for one of the rolls, but when pinched it to tear it in half he hissed in pain and dropped it. Tris looked down at his hands and felt her stomach curl. His knuckles were a swollen, black and blue mess interspersed with heavy scabbing. It was an automatic gesture for her to reach out and tear the roll herself.

Christina and Will watched Tris with understanding half smiles, looking amused at her automatic Abnegation habits. Their expressions changed to shock, however, when Four reached to tear the other, seemingly without thinking about it.

Will's eyes flicked rapidly between Tris and Four, and she could see the conclusion forming there, the one she already knew. Tris wondered if Four had just given up on hiding his identity, or if he hadn't suppressed his own upbringing as much as he pretended.

"Well I have to admit, I didn't see that coming," Will remarked easily. Christina gave him a confused look, not having caught on yet.

"See what coming?"

Will nodded his head toward Four, who had frozen in the act of setting the other roll back on the plate, and then toward Tris, who was posed almost identically on Eric's other side.

"Don't worry Four," Will told him, "your secret is safe with us."

"It better be," he muttered. "I worked hard to make people forget that."

Christina gave Four a confused look, still not making the connection. Eric chuckled then, taking his food back from Four and Tris.

"Yeah, you stiffs aren't so bad," he remarked lightly. "Thanks guys, all of you."

"No problem man," Will responded. "We've got your back."

Eric sighed wearily as he dug into his food, barely noticing the shocked look on Christina's face as his comment registered. He paused and looked up, briefly studying the four people around him. Though he'd treated all of them terribly, they had rallied around him in his time of need without a second thought. Those that he had considered friends had not sought him out, had not so much as looked at him since he walked in the room.

Though the pain was drowning him, Eric realized that in a sick, twisted way, Jeanine had done him a favor. She had shown him who would and would not stand by his side when he needed someone. And the fact that the people surrounding him would certainly be against everything Jeanine had planned was only further proof that he was in the right place.