A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review, favorite, and/or follow this story! Thank you also to the wonderful BK2U, who beta-read this chapter super-fast so I could post it before leaving on vacation. Otherwise, you would all have had to wait another week.
Anyway, this is the final chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 13: Delightful Marriage Venue (DMV)
Their wedding party gets more than a few strange looks as they gather in the waiting area of the DMV, slowly claiming a larger and larger space until they have enough room for the ceremony.
"What?" Amar asks a woman who stares at them with a vaguely irritated expression. "If you wait here long enough, I'm sure you'll meet someone, too." Tobias can't help chuckling at the way the woman huffs before turning back to the announcement board, glancing at her ticket as if wondering just how long the waiting time really is.
Tris' brother, Caleb, shakes his head. "You two really met here?" he mutters to Tobias.
"Yep." He grins. "Best day of my life." His eyes roam over their friends, all wearing nice suits and dresses, before he adds, "Well, before that, I mean. I've had even better days since then." He straightens his own tie. "Today, for example."
The slightly nervous correction draws a smile out of his soon-to-be-brother-in-law. "I'll take your word for it," Caleb comments. "Personally, it's hard to imagine comparing my wedding day to renewing my driver's license."
Tobias just shrugs, knowing that it's impossible to explain exactly how fond he is of that particular day. Realistically, he would have met Tris at some point no matter what, with both of them taking karate at the same gym and with Amar leaning toward introducing them, but that doesn't change how he feels. He wouldn't want to modify a single thing about that first day – or night.
His eyes catch movement as Will leads a balding, middle-aged man with a slightly frayed briefcase towards him, and he straightens eagerly. This must be the justice of the peace.
And sure enough, the man introduces himself cheerily, indicating that his name is Marvin and that he'll be conducting today's service. "Interesting choice of venue," he adds, quirking an eyebrow as he looks around. "It's certainly the first ceremony I've conducted here."
"We're a bit unusual," Tobias begins, but he loses the train of thought when Tris approaches and he suddenly becomes unable to notice anything except her. She's wearing a simple white dress and is carrying an understated bouquet of red roses, but he doesn't think she's ever looked more beautiful.
Perhaps it's the way her hair sits in its intricate bun, or the slight glimmer of blue from the earrings that dangle by her jaw, or the way her eyes are lit with joy as she fixes her gaze on his, but in that moment, she takes his breath away even more than usual.
They're getting married.
He spent so much of his life feeling absolutely certain that he would never do this – that he would never want to do it – and yet as he stares at his bride, he realizes that he's not even nervous. There's no room for that emotion when his chest is this full.
It doesn't take long to get the ceremony started. The bride and groom stand side-by-side, their hands linked, as Marvin talks about the meaning of marriage and has Tobias recite the standard vows. But in reality, Tobias is too lost in Tris' presence to catch most of the words that he repeats. For all he knows, he could be narrating a recipe for beef stew instead of promising to be a loving and faithful husband until death do them part.
It's not until Marvin gives him the opportunity to add something that Tobias manages to focus again.
"Tris," he begins, "it's ironic that we met while waiting here, since we've never been good at waiting for anything else with each other." There's a chuckle from their watching friends.
"It took me a long time to figure out exactly why that is." His gaze claims hers with an intensity that is uniquely theirs. "But I finally realized that it's because I'd already spent my whole life waiting for you, and I wasn't going to waste another moment of it without you."
He lifts her hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss to it. "Before you, I had resigned myself to thinking that my life was as good as it was going to get. That love and marriage and happiness and…all of it…weren't real. Or if they were, they were only for other people, not for me."
A tender smile touches his face. "I've never been so glad to be wrong."
A small sound emerges from Tris, and he sees the spark of tears in her eyes despite the way her lips lift to match his. His voice is deep as he adds, "I can't wait to spend every day of the rest of my life with you, Tris. And I look forward to every moment of not waiting still to come."
Apparently, she takes the message to heart, because she stands on tiptoe, pulling his lips to hers and kissing him deeply, clearly not caring that the kiss usually takes place later in the ceremony. When they finally draw apart, she glances briefly at Marvin before beginning her own custom vows, not even giving him a chance to have her recite the standard ones first.
"Tobias, I had given up on many things in life before I met you. I had come to think that love and trust and respect were just empty words. That I would never find someone I could truly share my life with the way my parents did with each other."
She blinks away the tears. "But even from the very beginning, some part of me knew that you were different." Her hand squeezes his. "We didn't meet until the day we were both here, but before that, I used to watch you after karate every chance I got. And it wasn't just because you're drop-dead gorgeous…."
Her lips twitch, the same way his do at her words. "It was because I recognized something in you, something that drew me to you and made me feel like you were the one person in the world I most needed to meet."
Emotion fills her eyes. "It took me a while to understand what it was, but I now realize that it's goodness. You are a good man, Tobias, all the way to your core. You are smart, and brave, and giving, and loving, and honest. You are the most worthwhile person I know. The best person I know." She traces his cheek lovingly. "And I still can't believe that I'm lucky enough to be marrying you."
If she was planning to add anything else, it disappears in that moment, because suddenly Tobias' lips are on hers, and his arms are around her, and he's lifting her off the floor as he kisses her with a passion that is debatably appropriate in a room full of strangers.
After spending so much of his life feeling worthless and broken and afraid, there are no words for how much Tris' vows mean to him – how much it means to have the woman he loves tell him that he's the opposite of all that.
It's not until Caleb clears his throat very loudly that Tobias reluctantly sets Tris back on the floor.
"Um," Marvin says, trying to gather their attention again, "we do have to finish the vows, you know."
A bubble of laughter comes from their assembled audience – and from the crowd behind them. Apparently, everyone within eyesight is watching them now.
But Tobias doesn't care. He can't take his eyes off his bride, and he certainly can't remove the grin from his face. As far as he is concerned, the rest of the world doesn't matter in the slightest right now.
Still, he manages to hold his enthusiasm in check long enough to complete the ceremony and to sign the papers that make everything official – and to thank Marvin – before he finds himself crouching the way he did last year, when he and Tris met.
"Climb on," he says with a smirk. The others look at them like they're nuts, and Christina steps forward to intervene, squeaking something about ruining the dress, but Tris doesn't even hesitate. Tossing her bouquet to Marlene, she climbs onto her husband's shoulders, and he carries her through the room, both of them laughing with pure and utter joy as the crowd around them cheers and as Zeke and Uriah race ahead of them, whooping and crowing.
"I'm so glad I grabbed your number the first time we were here," Tobias calls to Tris as they pass by the machine that dispensed their tickets that fateful day.
Tris' chuckle carries to his ears. "That's not entirely true, you know." The amusement makes Tobias pause, looking up at her questioningly. "I'd been trying to get across the room for ten minutes when you came waltzing by, and I was annoyed that everyone made room for you and not me…." She shrugs. "So, I followed in your wake and then tried to grab a number before you could." Her lips twitch. "It seemed only fair."
For a second, he just stares. "Let me make sure I have this straight," he finally says, his mouth puckering from the effort not to laugh. "The first words you ever spoke to me were a lie?"
She's far less successful at suppressing her grin. "More of an exaggeration." Leaning down to kiss him on the top of the head, she adds, "And I'd have given it back to you if it was the last number called for the day."
"Mmm." He shifts his weight, pulling her abruptly down so she's face-to-face with him, though hers is upside down. "I bet you would have." He nuzzles his nose against hers. "But I still think you owe me one."
She smirks as their lips meet in a long, deep kiss. "I'm pretty sure we can work that out, Tobias."
The promise makes his smile break through. "I will definitely hold you to that, Mrs. Forrester."
And as she sits back up, her hands gripping his so they can each feel the other's wedding ring, he can't help but compare how he feels today with the last time they left this building together. He was nervous then, but filled with hope at the same time. Today, there's more of that emotion than ever, but it's mixed with a certainty that is more absolute than he's ever felt.
No matter what else comes up in their lives, and no matter how much other people try to bring them down, none of it matters. He and Tris will be there for each other, and as long as that is the case, life will always – always – turn out right.
A/N: Please take a moment to let me know what you thought of this chapter - and the story in general. Also, if you haven't read my other stories, please give them a try (some are posted under this account, while others are under my "Windchimed" account). Thank you for all of the support you've given me as I've written!