A/N: Thank you for all the wishes for my health. I STILL have this flu, but it's not quite as bad as it was, so hopefully there's an end in sight. In the meantime, thank you for the reviews, and thanks to my wonderful beta reader, BK2U!
Chapter 18: Tris – Moving Pains
"Toss me the tape," Tris calls across her room to where Christina is currently folding her clothing.
Her roommate gives a playful grin before launching the packing tape at her at full speed. Tris ducks instinctively, letting it smash into the wall behind her.
"Hey, you won't get your damage deposit back if you do that," Christina complains.
Tris just rolls her eyes. "Ha ha." But then she runs her fingers along the wall, double-checking that there's no mark or indentation. Fortunately, there isn't.
"So, what did Will say?" she asks after another moment. Christina has been waffling for the last month about whether or not to ask her boyfriend to move in instead of looking for a new female roommate.
In all the years that Tris has known her best friend, she can count on one hand the number of times she's seen an evasive expression on her face, but this is one of them. "I haven't asked him yet," Christina admits grudgingly, staring at the dress she's currently packing.
Tris sighs. "And you still haven't advertised the room, have you?" She's answered by silence. "Christina, you can't afford this place by yourself, and I really am leaving, you know. You have to do something."
"I know. I know." Christina drops onto the bed, the dress in her lap, groaning. "But what if he's not ready? I mean, we've only been dating for six months. What if he thinks it's too soon, and I turn him off by bringing it up?"
Tris nods in understanding, walking over to sit beside her friend. "But if you rent out this room, it'll be at least a year before you get another chance. And I don't think you want to wait that long, do you?"
"No…." She lies back, looking up at Tris. "Why did you and Tobias have to get all cute and work out and everything?" At Tris' chuckle, she adds, "Seriously, that was the one thing I thought I could count on – the two of you would never end up together."
Tris lies down next to Christina, turning her head to look at her friend. "Surprise?" The word draws a slow smile from her roommate. But it doesn't distract her from the subject.
"Do you think Will wants to move in?" Christina whispers, rare vulnerability in her voice.
For a second, the shorter woman bites her lip, not wanting to make Christina's decision for her. But then she nods. "Yeah, I do."
"Maybe you could ask him. Surreptitiously or something."
Tris laughs at that. "Are we reverting to middle school now?" In a high-pitched, singsong voice, she continues, "Janie said that John told her that Adam might kind of like you."
Christina nudges her with her shoulder, smiling. "I asked about Will, not Adam." She turns to look at the ceiling, shaking her head with mock sadness. "You never listen."
The sound of their apartment door opening interrupts them, and Tris pulls herself to her feet, knowing that her boyfriend has returned to take more boxes to the truck. "Do you want me to ask Tobias for his opinion?" she teases her roommate, walking backwards toward the exit and grinning mischievously.
Christina's eyes widen. "You wouldn't dare." And ordinarily, she'd be right about that, since Tris is the more sedate one of the pair. But Christina definitely needs a nudge to take action now.
"Oh, Tobias," she calls loudly, increasing her escape speed as her friend comes diving at her, squealing in protest, "do you think Will would want to move in here?"
Christina catches her in her doorway, all but tackling her, and the momentum causes the two of them to tumble down the short hallway and into the living room, laughing. They stop abruptly when they realize that Tobias isn't alone.
"Oh, shit…" Tris mutters, her eyes jumping from her own boyfriend to Christina's. Will's expression is unreadable for a long moment, his gaze moving from Tris to Christina, who is making some sort of strange squeaking sound, her eyes the widest Tris has ever seen them.
"Um," he finally answers, his tone not quite as calm as usual, "as a matter of fact, I would love to." His gaze locks with his girlfriend's. "If that's really what you want."
It takes all of two seconds for Christina to untangle herself from Tris and race across the room, leaping onto Will. He receives her happily, actually twirling her around in an image straight out of a romance movie.
For a few more seconds, Tris and Tobias both watch them, before Tobias walks casually around them, taking Tris' arm and leading her into her room. "You realize you're never going to live this down, right?" he asks with a grin.
"Yeah." She shakes her head, bemused. "Who knew the middle school approach would work?"
The cats definitely don't like the moving process. Perhaps it reminds them of their own trip from Boston to Chicago, or perhaps they're simply bothered by the rush of strangers and the frequent, loud thumping, but either way, Tris ends up sitting with them in the locked bathroom for the half-hour of the greatest activity, trying to calm them down. She has never heard such pitiful mewling.
Largely out of sympathy for the poor felines, their friends take off immediately after bringing in the last boxes, agreeing to go out for dinner another day instead of celebrating with pizza now. As a result, Tris and Tobias end up alone in the apartment, staring at Tris' accumulated belongings while Marvel sniffs warily at every single box. DC, in the meantime, has retreated under the bed, his distressed cries echoing through the wooden frame.
"I'm thinking it's better not to rearrange the furniture," Tris comments as yet another plaintive wail sounds from the tabby.
Tobias nods apologetically. "Maybe in a few weeks," he offers, but Tris isn't worried about it. The current arrangement should work fine, even if her bureau is a little farther from the bathroom than would be ideal. "And maybe we should just unpack the minimum for now to avoid more noise."
"Yeah." Marvel begins meowing in sympathy with his friend, and Tris finds the corners of her mouth tugging upwards at their strangled chorus. She tries to suppress the laughter that's fighting to escape, knowing this really isn't funny, but God, the sounds they're making….
"I should have gotten some sedatives from the vet," Tobias complains over the cacophony. "That's the only thing that kept them quiet when I moved out here."
It's Tris' turn to nod, her amused expression meeting his. "It's all right. I'll try to think of it as a welcoming serenade."
He grins, pulling her to him and moving his mouth down to hers. "Well, I'm happy you're here."
"I am, too," she murmurs, kissing him briefly. Her fingers trail up his chest. "And since the cats are forcing us to take a break from unpacking, I think we should celebrate properly." His grin widens.
With a single glance at the bed, and the meows emanating from beneath it, he abruptly lifts Tris onto his shoulder and carries her to the couch instead, dropping her unceremoniously on it. She giggles.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day," he breathes as he joins her, his fingers moving up her front and unbuttoning her shirt. "The day I get to make love to you in our apartment."
"My, my, aren't you presumptuous," she teases him, her own hands working their way under his shirt and enjoying the feel of his muscles under his smooth skin. He may be sweaty and grimy from all the moving, but he's still the sexiest man she's ever known. "Maybe I just wanted to have dinner to celebrate."
"Mmm, really." He has her top off now, as well as her sports bra, and his tongue is tracing her right nipple. "Well, I could eat, I suppose." Reaching down, he undoes the button on her pants. "Depending on what's on the menu."
She raises her hips so he can slide her jeans down, taking her shoes and socks with them. Before she can return the favor, he pushes her back down on the couch, his head moving between her legs. "Personally, though," he adds as he finds her most sensitive area, "I'm starting with dessert."
"What do you think about when we're having sex?" Tris asks curiously as they lie together afterwards, their naked bodies squeezed together on the couch.
"You." He says it like it's a no-brainer, drawing a smile from her.
"No, I mean more specifically. When you get that look in your eye, and that mischievous little grin, what exactly are you imagining?" She can tell from his expression that he knows precisely what she's referring to – but he hesitates to answer. Rolling her eyes, she adds, "You can tell me if you're thinking about wanting to…go for my other hole or something."
He laughs at that. "Okay, in fairness, I'm a guy, so I certainly wouldn't turn that down, but no, that's not it." At her questioning eyebrow, he sighs. "It will make me sound like a romantic wuss or something."
"I hate to break it to you, but women actually like the whole romance thing."
His gaze meets hers for a second before he seems to remember his promise to always be honest. "Okay," he mutters, clearly still uncomfortable. "I, um, picture you pretty much as you are, with one little difference." Pausing, he reaches out, twining his right hand with her left one. Bringing it to his mouth, he kisses her knuckles, looking away as he tries to buy time. Finally, he flushes slightly and blurts out, "You're wearing my wedding ring."
She stares at him, at a loss on how to respond for a long moment. "That is so much better than anal sex," she eventually manages to say. He gives a dry chuckle, and her lips curve upwards as she adds, "But I'm kind of curious just how that habit started."
"I don't entirely know," he admits, lying back and pulling her to his chest again. "I suppose it was a way of trying to take control of my future." His fingers run idly down her left arm. "I haven't exactly had a lot of permanent people in my life. For a very long time, the only one who seemed to fill that role was my father." His voice grows tight. "During my entire childhood, I felt like I would never get out from under him, and even after I left, I still had nightmares about him showing up and finding a way to get to me again. So, I naturally equated the concept of 'forever' with him. And with all of the bad feelings that go with him."
He's silent for a few seconds before adding, "At some point, I guess I started to rebel against that, and I began dreaming about other things that could be permanent. Things that could make me happy instead. And those images ended up in my fantasies."
Tris runs her fingertips over the tattoo that covers Tobias' heart, knowing that indelible ink is probably part of the process he's describing. "How long have you been picturing that, Tobias?"
His shoulder lifts. "It's hard to say. I didn't fully realize I was doing it until I started keeping a dream diary for therapy. And then when I thought back, I couldn't remember ever not imagining that detail. So, a long time, apparently."
She nods, processing the idea, when a related thought occurs to her. "You didn't use that image when you were with other women, did you?"
"I didn't picture anyone else with a ring, no." It takes him a second to realize that wasn't her question. "Oh." Red creeps up his face. "You mean did I picture you while I was…." There's an awkward pause before he adds, "Would it make you feel better or worse if I say yes?"
"Tobias….." But then she shakes her head, realizing this isn't a direction she wants the conversation to go. Besides, she certainly can't claim innocence after all the times she visualized him. "You know what – never mind," she decides. "I'm not any better."
Judging by the way his chest rumbles, he doesn't mind her admission. "So, you still think it's a better fantasy than anal sex?" He gives a sly grin. "Because I'm pretty sure I could switch to that if you prefer."
She laughs, swatting him on the chest. "Yeah, better than that." For a moment longer, they're both quiet as she grows more serious. "We are moving in that direction, you know." She clears her throat. "Not the anal thing, but the ring part. I wouldn't have moved in otherwise."
His arms tighten around her hips. "Good." His voice is deep. "Because it's not just an old fantasy at this point. I've thought about it a lot since we got back together, and I know it's what I want."
Tris makes a point of meeting his eyes, refusing to let herself deflect. "I do, too, but there's this stubborn part inside of me that says we should wait. At least until we've been back together as long as we were last time." She brushes her fingers over his tattoo again, searching for words. "And I've learned to listen to that part, because it's often right." Her lips pull upwards a little. "It convinced me to give you another try."
Tobias' deep blue eyes hold hers as he nods. "I'm not in a hurry, Tris." His fingers drift slowly up her back before he registers the full impact of what she said. "Wait a minute — does that mean you'll say yes if I ask you in November?"
"Um…." She bites her lip, suddenly nervous. "Obviously, I can't fully answer that yet." But he's grinning widely now, clearly drawing his own conclusions as he pulls her closer to him, rotating his torso so she's underneath him. And his excitement wins her over. "But I'd say there's a strong likelihood of it."
His gaze doesn't leave hers as he fumbles for another condom, his fervor evident in every part of his body. "That more than works for me, Tris," he murmurs as she wraps her legs around him, inviting him in.
This time, while he's moving in and out of her, raising her to highs that she can't even imagine experiencing with anyone else, she finds herself picturing his left hand. And she rather likes the thought of a wedding ring on it, too.
A/N: The next two chapters involve the final twist/downturn before the end of this story, so they're going to take a little while to write. I might wait and post them together - I haven't decided yet. In the meantime, please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Reviews always brighten my day! :-)