A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I've been quite amazed at the response to this story. Thank you also to the wonderful BK2U, who has been beta-reading this story for me!

This chapter is very short, but it will be followed soon by another one. At this point, I'm planning at least eleven chapters in total. It just keeps growing...

Chapter 6: Making the Leap

Tris is far too excited to notice Tobias' increasing discomfort. She keeps her face glued to the window, watching the scenery below them get smaller and smaller the higher the airplane goes.

"I can't believe we're doing this," she calls over the noise of the small propeller craft. "I've always wanted to go parachuting."

Tobias tries to respond, wanting to state that nothing is too good for the love of his life on her birthday, but the sheer force of the gravity between them and the way-too-distant ground seems to make the words too heavy to utter. He knew he was afraid of heights when he decided on this gift, but he didn't realize just how deep that fear ran until now.

"Are you going to make it?" one of the instructors, Megan, asks from across the aisle. Her expression shows unmistakable humor through her concern.

He gives some semblance of a nod, assuming that a millimeter's movement of the head can count as that.

She chuckles, patting his rigid arm reassuringly. "Don't worry. Kyle will get you to the ground safely." Tobias tries to nod again, wondering if he's even capable of movement at this point. At least this is a guided jump, so if he completely freezes on the way down, it won't really matter. Kyle will pull the chute either way.

"Look!" Tris cries enthusiastically, grabbing his arm as she points out the window. But whatever she was about to indicate dies in her throat as she sees his expression.

"Tobias, are you all right?"

"Fine." He's pretty sure he answers aloud, but perhaps he doesn't, given the way her eyes widen as she stares at him.

"Oh, shit," she murmurs. "You're afraid of heights, aren't you?"

"I'd say that one's pretty obvious," Megan answers, chuckling. Tris barely glances at her.

Instead, she leans closer to Tobias, trying to get him to focus on her instead of their surroundings. "Why did you sign us up for this?" she asks, just loudly enough for him to hear her over the constant vibrations thrumming through the aircraft.

This time, he does find his voice, even if it sounds somewhat like a dying cat. "Like you said, you always wanted to do this."

Her gaze locks with his, and he can see the disbelief there, as well as the love and amazement pushing it aside. She leans closer, kissing him fiercely. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she scoots over in her seat until she's partially in his lap. His arms wrap around her automatically, and he buries his face in her hair, breathing in her scent and trying to draw courage from it.

Or at least let it distract him.

"You are incredible, Tobias," she tells him firmly. It's almost enough to make him smile.

"You don't have to jump," Megan reminds him as he shrinks back yet again from the doorway. "I can still take Tris down, and you can stay in the plane. It's got to land anyway."

"She's right," Kyle says from where he's strapped behind him, just loudly enough for Tobias to hear over the raging wind. "I know you want to do this for your girl, but there are easier ways to ask her."

The words somehow pierce the blind panic that is racing through Tobias, reminding him of exactly why he's here. Tris faced her fear of living with someone for him. He wants to face something equally strong for her.

"Let's…let's just go," he grunts. And no matter how impossible it seems, he finds the strength to do exactly that.

The fall is every bit as terrifying as he expected, his screams lost in the thunderous winds as they plummet toward the ground.

"I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this," he repeats over and over until Kyle finally manages to catch his attention.

"I'm going to deploy the chute now," he shouts. "So, you probably want to compose yourself. Your girl will see you when she passes."

Tobias' response is to gulp loudly, trying to swallow his fear enough to face his girlfriend at this crucial moment. Because he knows exactly what she's going to see when his parachute opens.

Kyle tugs, and the chute deploys, yanking at them hard as it abruptly stops their descent. The straps dig into Tobias, but he's too busy noticing their motion to pay much attention. They actually seem to be moving upwards at first, before they start swaying back and forth. It's dizzying, particularly with how much trouble Tobias is already having breathing, but he tries desperately to focus all of his thoughts on the white cloth above them that is keeping death at bay.

The cloth with the words "Marry me?" printed on it in bold, blue letters.

He forces his mind to stay on that question, letting it clear the fear from his expression and replace it with hope. Kyle rotates them expertly so Tobias is facing toward Tris as she drops past him.

Their eyes lock for a brief eternity as gravity draws her farther away from him. She shouts something, but he can't hear her over the air that is buffeting them around. But then her chute deploys, followed almost immediately by a second, smaller chute. He grins wildly when he sees what it says.

"Yes."

It makes the entire drop worthwhile.

A/N: Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Also, thank you to everyone who voted in my poll (posted on my Windchimed account). I have now closed that. The winner is "Safe House #4," which I was leaning toward writing anyway, so I plan to move forward with that within the next few months. I'm not quite sure if I'll write it with "Divergent" characters or original characters; if you want to make a case for one or the other, please feel free to do that in a review or PM. Thanks again!