A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate the support. Thank you also to the wonderful BK2U, who has kindly been my beta-reader for this longer-than-originally-intended story!
By the way, for those who asked, Tris is 31 at this point in the story.
Chapter 5: Reunion
Tobias tries hard to be patient during the three weeks that Tris debates attending her ten-year college reunion. It's expensive, she reasons, and she would have to take a day off work to travel there, and she would need to get a hotel for a couple of nights. Besides, her closest friends, Christina and Will, can't make it, and she reads the alumni/ae news, which keeps her up-to-date on the rest of her class.
Still, she'd like to see the campus again and talk with some of her former professors, and maybe see a few friends she's lost touch with. And she could show Tobias off to them, a thought that makes him grin. So, it could potentially be a fun weekend trip. Plus, the ten-year reunion is a big deal.
By now, Tobias knows her well enough to suspect there's another reason behind her hesitation, but she doesn't voice it despite his gentle nudging, and he doesn't push harder. In the seven months they've been together, he's learned that they both share when they're ready – a dynamic that works well for them – and she clearly isn't there yet.
So, he just lets her know that he'd be happy to go with her and that he'd split the costs, and he otherwise waits while she goes back and forth on the subject.
Four weeks before the event, she finally buys the tickets, biting her lip nervously as she hangs them by the calendar in their kitchen with their other important papers. He smiles a little at the sight, and at his own mental use of that pronoun. It's only been two months since they moved in together, so it's still fresh enough for him to love seeing all the mundane aspects of their daily lives merge together.
She's quiet about the trip after that, and for long stretches of the actual drive the Friday before the event. That silence is interspersed with bursts of chatter whenever they pass a place with particular memories – somewhere that she and her friends used to go when they'd get bored on the weekends.
She hasn't traveled this way in a decade, after all, so it's understandable that sights would bring up memories, both good and bad. She chuckles fondly when she sees a run-down bar, describing a pool game that Will and Al played there when they were far too drunk to be handling long sticks and heavy balls. Apparently, Christina dared Al to try an absurd shot, and he ended up launching the ball halfway across the room – where it hit a motorcyclist who had stopped for a drink.
"And he wasn't the peaceful, just-traveling-across-the-country-on-vacation kind," Tris adds. "No, he was the huge, burly, muscle-covered, leather-clad, tattooed, looks-like-he-could-kill-you-just-for-staring-at-him kind. And he was mad."
She shakes her head a little, still smiling as she adds, "I've never been able to figure out how Christina talked him down, but they exchanged holiday cards for years after that."
Somehow, that doesn't entirely surprise Tobias. Christina has the gift of gab, with just enough flirtatiousness mixed with good looks to win most guys over easily. He's one of the few to prove utterly immune to her charms, and honestly, he probably would have been even if he hadn't already been head-over-heels for Tris by the time he met her. Christina is far too chatty for his taste.
It's late by the time they check into the hotel that's right by the campus, so they grab a quick dinner and decide to get some sleep before the next day's reunion activities.
It's not uncommon for either of them to have bad dreams, given the abuse they've both suffered in the past, but Tris is particularly restless that night. Tobias finally pulls her against his chest, running a hand slowly along her hair and down her back in long, soothing motions until her hushed whimpers cease and she falls into the deepest sleep of the night so far. By then, her small body is pressed so tightly into his side he wonders if it will be possible for her to extract it again.
Saturday proves to be a long day, filled with events of forced cheerfulness and some mock classes that seem to be designed to make everyone glad they're no longer in college. For the most part, Tobias stays by Tris' side, doing his best to be friendly to everyone she introduces him to – or at least to not offend them. Friendly isn't really a term that people use to describe him.
Her former professors seem to like him, though, shaking his hand firmly and sharing stories about problematic computers and boring meetings and difficult students. He wouldn't have thought that his work and his self-defense classes would give him so much in common with them, but it's definitely more enjoyable to talk to them than to Tris' classmates.
He's making his way back from the men's room, crossing the outside quad where the evening's event is taking place, when he spots Tris near a huge oak tree, talking to a man he hasn't met. He's a little too close to her, with no one around them, and it makes Tobias pause. A large part of him would like to interrupt them, making his role as her boyfriend clear and staking his territory in some primal caveman way.
But he's more mature than that, or at least he tries to be, and Tris isn't his property to claim. So instead, he watches, trying to decide if she wants him there right now or not. This guy is probably the reason she was so cautious about attending, which means she has some type of feelings toward him that she needs to work through – either good or bad. He feels selfish for hoping they're not good.
But as the seconds pass, and she doesn't try to move away from the man, Tobias can feel his heart slowly sink. He's on the verge of leaving, planning to distract himself by talking to someone else, when he remembers her whimpers from last night. If this is the asshole who hurt her, Tobias needs to be nearby – just in case.
So, he finds himself doing something that he hasn't done in decades, and which certainly doesn't feel mature or appropriate. He sneaks around the other side of the tree, getting just close enough to hear their conversation.
"It really is a relief to hear that, Peter," Tris is saying, her voice genuine. "I worried about you a lot afterwards."
"I'm sorry about that, too," the man – Peter – says with a low chuckle. He's silent for a few seconds before adding, "You were always better than I deserved, Beatrice."
"That's probably true." Her voice is deadpan, and something inside Tobias clenches at hearing the type of humor that she usually reserves for him.
"I'd like to think I'm more worthy of you now," Peter continues, "if you'd ever consider giving us a second chance."
Tobias doesn't quite realize that he's stopped breathing until Tris answers. "I'm sorry, but that isn't going to happen. I'm living with someone. He's…he's a really good guy."
There's another moment of silence before Peter asks softly, "Do you love him?" There's no answer, but Tris must have nodded, because he adds, "More than you loved me?"
"You don't really want to hear the answer to that," Tris murmurs. It eases the knot in Tobias' stomach.
It clearly has a very different effect on Peter. "I don't believe that. We were good together, Beatrice, in between me being a jerk. We could be great now. We really could."
There's a sound of movement, and Tris must step back, because suddenly Tobias can see her past the edge of the tree. She has her hands out to keep the man from getting too close.
"Peter," she says warningly, "I don't want you touching me."
"Beatrice…." He edges closer to her, moving into Tobias' line of sight. "Just think about it, okay? I know you still have feelings for me. It's obvious. Please don't give that up just because of some new guy."
Tris sighs. "You're hanging onto a fantasy, Peter, not a reality." She sounds more tired than anything else. "Because the thing is, we were never good. We were young, and you had…a lot of issues, and I convinced myself that I felt more than I did. But it was never real, not for either of us. You must know that."
The anger in his voice shows his resistance. "So, what we had was fake, and what you have with him is real? Is that it?"
"Yes." It's a single word, but there's no doubt in it, and Tobias feels it all the way through him.
Peter swears, turning away in frustration, and for a split second, Tobias feels bad for him. He can't even imagine how hard it would be to have Tris reject him like this.
But then there's a shift in Peter's body language, one that causes Tobias' stomach to clench painfully and his hands to form fists before he even processes it consciously. The younger man has now adopted a dominating posture, one that reminds Tobias far too much of the way his father always stood.
When he turns back toward Tris, he reaches out so fast that Tobias wouldn't have seen it coming if he hadn't spent so many years learning karate.
Tobias leaps forward, every protective instinct he has on full alert as he moves to intervene. But as it turns out, Tris doesn't need his help. Stepping fluidly to the side, she grabs Peter's hand in a lock, twisting it as she moves around him in a perfectly-executed motion, ending up behind him with his arm held tightly at an angle it does not want to bend. He doubles up in agony, still gripped helplessly in her lock.
"Let me be very clear, Peter," she hisses as she leans closer, applying more pressure and causing him to cry out in pain. "What we had was never love. It was about control, and possessiveness, and torture. I truly hope that you get your life together, and that you never inflict that on anyone else. But no matter what, you and I are done. So, you need to stay the hell away from me."
She twists his hand even more, bringing him fully to the ground as he emits strange, anguished gasping sounds. "If you ever try to touch me again," she continues, placing her foot on his back now and clearly applying weight. "Ever. I. Will. Kill. You." She gives one more twist. "Got it?"
He nods rapidly, rubbing his face in the dirt in the process as he tries to utter assurances of his understanding in a tortured voice.
Tobias feels like every muscle in his body has frozen in place as he stares at his girlfriend with a new level of awe. If only his mother had done this, or if he himself had, his childhood might have been very different. But clearly neither of them was as strong as Tris.
With a final shove of her hand and foot, Tris turns away from her former boyfriend, leaving him moaning in the dirt. He makes no attempt to rise.
Her eyes meet Tobias' for a long moment, both beyond words, before she links her hand with his and walks away from the man who used to torment her.
By unspoken consent, they leave the crowd behind, moving to a quiet spot that's closer to their hotel.
Finally, Tris pulls him to a stop, meeting his gaze again. "How much of that did you hear?"
He shakes his head a little, not certain if he wants to admit to eavesdropping. Particularly not when she did everything right – staying firm about their relationship while she stood up to her abuser. But he isn't willing to lie to her, either, not in general and definitely not when she's staring at him this way, with her eyes filled with a fierce energy that draws him in like nothing else ever has in his life. God, she's gorgeous.
"I heard enough," he finally answers, "to know what was going on, and why you did that to him." He squeezes the hand he's still holding. "I was about to cream him when he made that move, but you…." He can't help smiling. "You were incredible."
She hesitates for only a second before her own lips lift in response. "Well, I've had good teachers." The words make his grin spread. She just did more than he ever managed in a similar situation, and she's crediting it to him and Amar? He's never been more attracted to her – or to anyone else for that matter.
"Do you want to get out of here?" he asks as he rubs a hand up and down her bare arm. She's wearing a light summer dress, appropriate for the warm weather, but suddenly he's aware of just how much skin she has exposed.
"No, I'm fine," she reassures him quickly. "He doesn't scare me anymore. I won't let him have that power over me ever again."
Tobias nods, but the truth is that he wasn't even thinking about Peter right then. He decides to say that.
"You misunderstand." His voice is low. "I'm not offering to take you away because you're fragile and need to be protected or anything like that." He leans closer, making sure his words are for her ears alone. "I'm asking because seeing you like that – standing up for yourself and being so strong and confident and fiercely independent – that's got to be the hottest thing I've ever seen."
Her eyes shoot to his before slowly dropping to where he knows the evidence of his reaction is showing. "So," he continues, "I'd really like to go back to the hotel now. Or, you know, find a private spot somewhere." He clears his throat. "Either one."
A smirk spreads across her face as she brings her gaze back up to his. "Well," she murmurs, running a hand teasingly over his chest, "when you put it like that, I'm certainly not going to say no."
They barely make it through the door of the hotel room before he's grabbing her under the thighs and pressing her against the wall. She's never liked pantyhose, so his fingers find skin easily beneath her dress, and he groans outright when he realizes that she's not even wearing underwear.
By now, he's hard enough for Tris to have difficulty undoing his pants, and he has to set her down briefly so he can push them out of the way himself, along with his boxers. He doesn't bother taking them all the way off – it's not worth the hassle with his shoes, not when every second he's not inside her is an eternity of waiting.
Instead, he lifts her again, plunging into her with some type of guttural sound as her arms and legs wrap around him, her grasp and warmth and wetness welcoming him where he most wants to be. It's a good thing they switched birth control methods, he realizes vaguely, because he's not at all sure he could have waited long enough to get a condom out right now.
"You are incredible, Tris," he moans into her ear as they match each other's pushes and pulls in the ecstasy that is uniquely them. "Strong, and brave, and fierce, and perfect."
Her response is less coherent, consisting more of appreciative gasps and groans than actual words, but it's clear that she reciprocates the sentiment wholeheartedly.
"I love you," he adds, his lips finding the corner of her jaw as the rest of his body continues its coordinated thrusts and circles. He may not be particularly intelligible, since he's grunting with each breath rather than speaking fluidly, but he continues anyway. "I never used to think I could feel this way, but you bring it out in me." Her body tightens around him as her breathing quickens, and he knows she's nearing her first peak. "I love you so much, Tris."
Her hands grab at his head, pulling it over to hers as she pants back, "I love you, too, Tobias."
Their lips lock together, trying to keep up with the rest of their bodies as they do their very best to merge into one being, giving and taking in a way he never could have imagined before he met her. He doesn't know how she manages to affect him this way – every single time – but he does know that he never wants it to end. She's made it impossible for him to ever want someone else.
So, as they try to recover afterwards, her legs still wrapped around him while they lean against each other and the wall and struggle to breathe, he no longer fights the words he's been wanting to say for months.
"Will you marry me, Tris?"
There's a pause while she pulls back far enough to look at him, her face showing her incredulity as her eyes move from his down to where they're still joined and then back up again.
"Tobias," she says sternly, "I already can't tell people about our first date, or the first time you said you loved me, or what we did the first day we moved into our apartment. If I can't tell Christina how you proposed, she'll kill me."
She looks him levelly in the eyes. "You need to ask me again later – in a way we can tell our kids about someday."
The response makes him grin despite the lack of an actual answer. "Okay," he says, leaning forward again to rest his forehead on hers. "I will." His voice is quieter when he adds, "Will you say yes?"
The smile that spreads across her face is clearer than any words, but he's reassured anyway when she whispers, "I'll always say yes to you, Tobias."
It draws a response from every part of him, and he lets his lips claim hers again in a long, loving kiss. As far as Tobias is concerned, it's their first kiss as an engaged couple, though he opts not to express that opinion aloud. Instead, he finally steps away from the wall, disconnecting their bodies just enough to set Tris on her feet and to pull his pants up.
"On a completely unrelated subject," he comments as he takes her hand again, examining her fingers with interest. "What size ring do you wear?"
A/N: I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted, but at this point I'm expecting to add at least four more chapters, probably five, so it's looking like it will be an even ten. :-) Anyway, please let me know what you thought of this chapter.