AN: Thank you for the follows and reviews. I'm excited for Super Bowl Sunday here in the US. Enjoy, and see you Wednesday.
After their conversation a week ago, Eric had moved into her room. He was still only comfortable with her, and they spent all of their free time together even if it meant socializing with her friends and the new people they were meeting in the city. Her friends still worried about her, but in all of the surveillance that Four had done on Eric at Harrison's order hadn't shown anything of concern to him. Eric was cooperating with the investigation, even if he remained withdrawn from everyone except Tris, there didn't seem to be anything he was hiding.
Byron Coulter, Jeanine Matthews and Max Powell had finally all undergone a trial with truth serum, with all three being found guilty of the attempt at a government overthrow. Jeanine was also found guilty of crimes against humanity when all of her divergent testing was exposed. Out of the three, only Jeanine received a vote for execution, while Byron and Max would be memory wiped and eventually sent out to other populated cities away from Chicago.
Four knew there was only one other loose end that Jack wanted to tie up, and that was to get the sworn testimony of Eric Coulter, the man who essentially thwarted the war, who was also implicated as a compliant part of the planning by everyone who'd testified thus far. All of the convicted parties had testified to Eric's willing participation in both the war plans and the divergent hunt, and the city leadership had decided his change of heart needed to be explained thoroughly.
He'd been tasked with watching Eric, making sure he stayed inside of the main headquarters. If he was outside he was to be escorted by Four or one of his sponsors within Milwaukee, either George or Amar. So far, the task was simple enough, because Eric never left Tris's side, and today they'd both received their work assignments, which were with Amar and George.
Four knew Tris was in her intake meeting, so he took a chance that he'd find Eric alone. His hunch paid off, as he saw the other man in line for to go meals in the cafeteria.
"They're going to come for you soon." He said to Eric when he approached him in line.
"I figured as much." Eric replied.
"When it happens, I'll travel back with you." Four offered and Eric narrowed his eyes at him.
"Does your surveillance include travel plans?" Eric asked angrily and Four sighed.
"Yes."
"Whatever." Eric dismisses as he pays for his and Tris's lunches.
"We should talk." Four says and Eric glares at him, "I know she's in her intake meeting, just give me five minutes." Four adds and Eric finally stops walking, dropping to an empty table.
"What are you doing with Tris?" Four asks bluntly when they're seated and Eric shakes his head and moves to stand up, "Eric, I'm just concerned, not because I think you're planning anything, I'm concerned about her wellbeing once you're arrested. Please give me a conversation."
"We're together." He replies simply as he drops back down into the chair.
"You and I both know there's a good chance you don't come back from this."
"Do you have a point?" Eric asks dismissively.
"Don't you think you owe her an explanation?" Four asks and Eric finally meets his eyes.
"It's bold of you to assume that I haven't already given her one."
"You need to let her go. If you're memory wiped, thrown in jail or even worse executed she needs to have some sort of closure of whatever the fuck this is between you two."
"Do you know something I don't? Because last time I talked to Jack, he still was fighting against issuing an arrest warrant for me." Eric barks back.
"Eric, Jack is absolutely trying to handle this fairly, but there's a whole panel of leaders who are pressuring Jack to bring you in. Even if he's uncomfortable with it, he has to follow what the law states, and that is the majority will rule. You're not going to have much more time here."
"So let us enjoy the time we've got. Why do you have to stick your goddamn nose into everything that has to do with her?"
"Because Tris deserves better than this. You're leading her on a fucking pipe dream, Eric. She's holding on to an impossible chance that you'll get away with what you did." Four replies angrily.
"Does Lauren know that you're still in love with your ex? I'm going to guess not, since she's here with you. How'd you manage that?" Eric asks, leaning back in his chair and staring at the man across from him.
"Does Tris know that you'll never be capable of loving anyone but yourself?"
Eric pushes away from the table, his chair scraping across the floor, and Four watches his retreating form.
"What happened?" Lauren asks as she slides in next to her boyfriend, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"He's too arrogant to get through to. He assumes my concern about Tris is because I have feelings for her, but all I care about is her wellbeing. She never made it through training, she's technically not a member of any faction, and the only person she's really gotten close to is about to be taken from her, possibly for good."
"What's going to happen to Eric?" She asks and her boyfriend sighs heavily.
"It's likely he'll either be memory wiped or executed if he's found guilty."
"Even though he is who turned them in?" Lauren asks.
Four nods, "Even with that. He was in deep, and it's not looking good. Jack is trying, because Eric turned the rest of them in. The biggest issue is that Jeanine has accused Eric of helping her kill the people she tested on."
"She's saying that Eric killed divergent?" Lauren asks.
"Yeah she said it. Eric will only admit to bringing test subjects to her." Four sighs.
"I know Eric lost his way, but I've known him a long time. I don't think he would just callously kill innocent people."
"I don't know Lauren, he's been in deep this entire time. Jack is doing as much as he can before he arrests Eric, but the decision isn't his alone. If the panel finds Eric guilty of crimes against humanity on top of planning the overthrow, there's no way that he comes back to her. The best that he could hope for is a memory wipe."
"Do you think Tris is prepared for that?" Lauren asks.
"No. He is literally all Tris has known since leaving Abnegation, and Latasha is the only other leader who seems to be on my side when it comes to letting Tris stay in Chicago once this is over. Not only will she lose Eric, she'll potentially lose her home too."
"You're respected, and whatever happens from here you'll have a voice in keeping her in Dauntless. She never deserved any of the shit she's been through, none of the divergent do. People care about her, myself included, and we're not going to let her fail."
He presses his lips to hers and then rests his forehead against hers, "I don't deserve you."
She smiles at him, "I love you. Let's go figure this out."
They were still in a holding pattern, waiting for the sentences to be imposed on Jeanine, Byron and Max. They'd all started working in various roles of the city of Milwaukee, with Four, Lauren and Bud working in their surveillance center, Tori, Christina and Uriah were working various security details within the building, and Tris and Eric would go out on ground patrol missions with Amar and George.
"What is this place?" Tris had asked as they'd started to see various tents and other temporary residences set up haphazardly.
George pulled their jeep to the side of the dirt road, "We call it the Fringe. It's like Factionless back in Chicago."
"Are people cast out of the city here like they are in Chicago?" Tris asks and Amar turns towards her.
"These are people who left Chicago, but also chose not to be governed by Milwaukee." He replies, "George and I were out here at first, but we eventually decided to move."
"What made you move?" Tris asks.
"Jeanine. She found out what's outside the wall, and she started picking the Fringe apart for her divergent shit." George replies.
Tris shakes her head, "How did she know?"
There're several beats of uncomfortable silence before Eric breaks it.
"I told her."
"You took them to her?" Tris asks and the horrified look on her face isn't lost on anyone in the jeep.
"I did." Eric looks away from her and Amar gets out of the jeep and beckons for Eric to walk with him.
George can sense the distress from the young woman in the jeep with him, "He's had a lot of pressure on him, his whole life I can imagine. We would see him come out here, we'd stay hidden because we knew he would recognize Amar, and the kid we would see tearing ass through here isn't the same young man we see now."
"How can you and Amar trust him?"
"Probably the same reason you can, because he's not the person he once was. He was a punk ass kid, and with two years under Max and Jeanine's thumb, along with the shit his father's put him through, it made him a monster. You've changed him."
"I don't know how I did. He was going to turn me in too." She replies quietly and George nods his head.
"Milwaukee watches Chicago in our surveillance center, all of the other cities do. Chicago is the worst of everything out here, and we saw Eric sneak you out of Dauntless. We expected to see him taking you to Erudite, and we watched and waited to see what was going to happen. When he didn't, it shocked us all."
"You all watch us but were doing nothing to stop Chicago from experimenting and killing divergent?" She asks.
"We've never been prepared to deal with the chemical warfare Chicago has developed. That's why our lab is here working around the clock, and we've gotten closer, but not comfortable enough to step in as yet. Once we felt we could overcome Chicago, we would have."
She glances at the man who looks so much like Tori and she nods once, "What will happen to Chicago?"
"If Kang can stop it, they'll go back to living their lives as they want. People can either stay there or leave, there are plenty of other cities people can go to. You all don't need to be held inside by a wall."
"What about Eric?" She asks.
"I don't know what Jack will do with him, but the fact that he's letting him live out here tells me they're trying to figure it out before making a move. Eric has changed, he may have started on one path, but his trajectory changed with you. I can't say his hunger for power is gone, but love," George pauses to light a cigarette, blowing the smoke out through his nose, "love is what is changing him."
They're interrupted by Amar and Eric returning to the jeep, and Eric is tense when he slides in next to Tris.
She scoots towards him and rests her chin on his shoulder, "You're not the same person anymore." She says quietly as George starts the jeep and begins driving.
"How are you so sure?" He asks.
"Because you chose me that day, and you continue to choose me every day."
He finally turns towards her and he tips her chin up before pressing his lips to hers chastely.
"I'll make this right." He says quietly.
"I know you will."
"Did you support the idea of overthrowing the government, Eric?" It's another moment of vulnerability for him, when he's lying on their bed and she's straddling him, her naked body covering his while she looks down at him.
"I wasn't opposed to getting the power away from Abnegation." He admits as he rubs his hands up and down her thighs.
"By any means necessary?" She presses.
"At one time, yeah, I didn't care what we had to do to get the power." He replies.
He pulls her down to him and kisses her briefly and she rests her head on his shoulder when they break apart. His fingers are tracing up and down her spine and she relaxes against his firm body.
"Have you ever killed divergent?" She asks.
His hands stop moving, "I take it you've been talking to Four."
"Eric, did you? I need to know. Please." She pleas.
"I'm the reason a lot of people are dead." He replies as he massages her back and shoulders.
"Did you kill them yourself?" She presses.
He doesn't want to answer and she can sense it, and she kisses his neck before leaning back and positioning him at her entrance, sinking slowly onto him.
"Tris..." He breathes out.
"Tell me." She whispers as she slowly moves against him.
"No. I'd bring them to her when she'd force me, and I'd never see them again. I know she either killed them while running rests, or had them killed if she found them useless." He admits.
"You followed her orders." Tris replies.
"I followed Max's. It's what we took an oath to do when we joined Dauntless." He pulls her face down to his and kisses her sloppily as she continues to ride him.
"Do you regret it?" Tris asked.
"I don't regret following my oath. I do regret what happened to the people I brought to her." He admits and he holds her still against him, "Stop asking me questions now."
Her protests are swallowed by his mouth on hers, and they lose themselves in their passion again.
The next day, as soon as they were off work Eric had snuck them out of the headquarters. He knew it was against the rules, but he was tired of everyone watching their every move as if he was going to hurt her.
He'd had a difficult conversation with Harrison that morning, one that included asking Eric what his wishes were for anything that he had in Dauntless if he were unable to return.
Eric had two requests, one was for Tris to be given a chance to finish her initiation. He'd explained to Harrison that even though he'd taken her from her class, she'd kept up with her training, and she would be able to pass all of the benchmarks needed to successfully complete initiation.
The second was once she did, everything that he had was hers.
Harrison had agreed to both.
"Your brother went on trial today." Eric said quietly as they walked around the city. Their hands were threaded together, and they got a few strange glances thrown their way, but neither cared.
He'd suggested they get some air, and do something other than work, eat, or stay in their room. They'd decided to go for a walk, with no real destination in mind, instead just taking advantage of the warmer weather and sunshine, and Tris was basically leading the way.
"He was willingly working with her?" She asks, glancing over at him.
"Yes. He is also who initially confirmed that you are divergent." He replies and he feels her stop walking. He squeezes their entwined hands and she just looks down at the pavement.
"Will they execute him?" She asks.
"We don't know yet, the sentencing portion for everyone is what has taken the longest so far." Eric replies.
She starts walking again, and he doesn't protest when she drags him into a bakery. They eventually get their order, instead of any dinner she'd ordered chocolate cake and coffee, and he leads them over to an outdoor table. She's turned slightly away from him, enjoying the sunshine on her face, and he sips on his coffee and watches her. The way the sun hits her hair just right, it makes it almost look blonde in places. She has freckles, something he didn't notice before when they lived underground, but now that they spend more time outside he's noticed them more. She slips her light jacket off and he looks at the creamy skin of her exposed shoulders, leaning over and pressing his lips slowly to one.
She turns toward him and smiles, cupping his cheek in her hand and pressing her lips to his briefly before turning away towards the sun again. He's always been attracted to her, but seeing her here, where she finally feels a sense of security and freedom, she's beautiful.
Living with her has been easy, she's just as neat as he is, she deals with his clinginess and mood swings, and she's incredibly patient with him. He wants to know more about her, but the looming worry of what will happen to him has kept him closed off.
He realizes that she deserves more.
"Were you and your brother close?"
She nods her head without looking at him and then finally turns towards him again, "We were. We shared a bedroom our entire life, well at least until we transferred. I don't know if you've ever heard about the connection between twins, but we definitely felt it. We talked all the time, we even had our own secret language, we were always laughing, we played pranks on our friends. I wouldn't have ever imagined he'd work with her."
"Jeanine is very persuasive. She has a way of getting you to do her dirty work."
She meets his eyes, "Is that what she did with you?"
He shakes his head, "No. She's been sleeping with my father for as long as I can remember. He was the one she'd persuade, and he'd issue the orders. I always wanted to be as important to him as his job and his mistress were, I guess."
"That had to be incredibly hard for you to grow up like that." She says quietly.
He shrugs, "Erudite isn't known for their nourishing relationships."
"Were you close to your mom?" She asks and he scoffs.
"Fuck no, she only had me to try to hold on to my father. She needed his money and social status, and having me guaranteed her both. I had a few friends, I did what my parents expected, and I left when I could."
"You started talking to her before we left though, didn't you?" She asks and he nods.
"Yeah, I did."
"Do you feel like you made any progress in repairing your relationship?" She asks him.
He looks over at her and the sincerity in her eyes makes him actually want to answer her, "I think so. I talked to her the day that Byron and Jeanine forced me under the truth serum, we were supposed to have dinner, but I was in a rush to get back to you, so we just had tea."
"A tea party?" She giggles at him and he scowls playfully before laughing with her.
"Okay, I know that sounds ridiculous but she likes afternoon tea." He shrugged.
"I'm sorry for laughing, all I can think about is you trying to be dainty and hold a teacup." She replies.
"You don't think I can be prim and proper?" He asks and she shakes her head, laughing harder and he chuckles along with her.
"You're about as far from prim and proper as one could be." She smirks.
He presses his lips to hers briefly, "You're not exactly the picture of prim and proper, Miss Prior."
"No?" She asks, feigning ignorance.
"Absolutely not." He grins at her and slings an arm around her, pulling her flush against his side. She rests her head on his shoulder and then decides to try again.
"How did the tea go with your mom?"
She feels him rest his head against hers, and the deep inhale of breath he takes before he answers, "She apologized to me for spending less time mothering me, and more time chasing my father."
"That must have been incredibly hard for her to admit." Tris says carefully.
"It must have considering she's had twenty years to fucking say it." He replies angrily.
She can feel his tension and she looks up at him, "Have you talked since you left?"
"A few times, yeah."
"Does it feel like you're making progress?" She asks and she feels him nod, "That's good. You deserve to have a loving parent in your life."
"Like yours?" He asks and she nods, "Have you talked to them?"
"I have."
"I take it that it's not gone well." Eric presses.
"It did before I told them that I was involved with you. They are having a hard time separating you from your previous involvement with Jeanine." She replies.
"I deserve that."
They're both quiet, and when he moves slightly away from her she leans up and presses her lips to his cheek. He turns to face her, kissing her softly, and threading his fingers through her silky hair.
"I don't want to be the reason you have a rift with your parents." He finally says.
"You're not. They make their decisions and I make mine."
"Tris." He sighs.
She pushes the cake towards him and smiles, "Cake makes everything better."
"You're a bad influence on me." He grins at her.
Tris laughs as he takes several bites of the cake, and when he swipes at the icing and wipes it on her nose she pulls his face down and rubs it on him. They kiss, and eventually she licks the icing off of the side of his face. He grins at her before kissing her nose and then his lips travel to her ear.
"I can think of better places for you to lick icing off of than my face." He almost growls and she pulls back and grins at him.
"I'm sure you can."
They clean each other up and continue talking, finally sharing small parts of themselves with each other. She learns that Eric is an only child, with only his mother in Erudite now that he'd broken away from his father's influences, and that he's not overly close to anyone from back home or in Dauntless.
"I've just worked. It sounds ridiculous, I'm only twenty, I didn't have anything in my life other than my job."
"No girlfriends?" Tris asks before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Not before you. I've not really dated, I hooked up once in a while, but I focused on my job. I wasn't looking for anything that could distract me from the plans." He shrugs.
"Is that what I am?" She asks quietly and he quirks an eyebrow up at her, "A distraction?"
"No."
"You thought I was at one time, didn't you?" She asks.
"Tris." He sighs.
"Eric, talking about it helps."
He looks at her, his eyes are icy but his expression is surprisingly soft, "I tried to convince myself that's all you were. I kept you at arms length purposely, and I was a complete fucking idiot. I'm not proud of how I treated you, at all."
"You're changing, Eric. People see that."
"I chose to be a dick. I had no time for anyone, and yeah I even considered you a distraction at first. That day when I gave you the first fear sim, I was angry and stressed and I took it out on you." She watches as he runs his hands through his messy hair and begins to pull it.
She rubs her hands up his arms and gently takes his hands in hers, "I know you're not ready to talk about it yet, and that's okay because I can tell that you regret it."
"I don't regret being with you." He protests and she nods.
"I know. You are dealing with regret on how we started. It's not a sweet or romantic way to start a relationship, but we're not sweet or romantic people. We chose each other, and we continue to choose each other every day."
He is overwhelmed by her response, and it's as if she knows it because she moves closer to him and presses her lips to his.
"Weren't you ever lonely?" She asks and he looks at her, appreciating her more than ever because she's once again giving him a chance to collect his thoughts and ease into the more difficult conversations.
He doesn't deserve her.
"Yeah, I guess in a way I was. Leadership in other factions doesn't accept people right out of training. Jack became a leader at twenty-eight and that seemed downright scandalous outside of Dauntless. Max really just flipped them all the middle finger and took two eighteen-year-old kids straight out of training." Eric replies, "I've been singly focused on being taken seriously at my job the entirety of my time in Dauntless."
"The two of you worked hard in your initiation, I'd say you deserved it."
He quirks an eyebrow at her, "What did Number Boy tell you about our initiation?"
"That you were really outstanding in everything and had he not surpassed you during the sims he'd never have beaten you."
"I used to think he cheated, that he manipulated his fears, but even I have to admit defeat when it's staring me in the face." He admits.
"How did you hide your divergence for so long?" She asks quietly.
"I grew up in Erudite, I knew exactly what to do to manipulate things to get the aptitude I wanted." He shrugs like it's no big deal and Tris gapes at him.
"How do you just know?" She asks.
"It's easy to do if you'd been taught what a divergent was for years. My father has always had a vested interest in studying divergence, so I heard a lot about it growing up. Once I realized I was one, I used what I knew about it to my advantage."
"Why was would you hunt others down?" She asks.
"Because I knew what they were capable of. I'm both aware and in control of my divergence, and if I could manipulate it for my own gain, so could others." He replies.
"Do you still feel that way?" She asks.
He shakes his head, "No."
He leans towards her again and kisses her softly, and when they break apart he rests his forehead against hers.
"What are you thinking about?" She asks him.
"You seem happy." He says and he feels her grin against him when she presses her lips to his.
"I'm happy with you." She replies.
He pulls away from her, and he smiles briefly, "I lo-"
"What the hell are you two doing out of headquarters?" An angry voice interrupts them.
They turn and see Four standing at their table and Eric's mood immediately darkens.
"For fucks sake-" Eric begins but Four interrupts him.
"You've both been out of the compound for over two hours. It was unauthorized leave." He explains.
"And now you can see we're both safe, and I didn't fucking take her back to Chicago and whatever idiotic followers Jeanine still has out there. Did I pass your latest surveillance test?" Eric asks angrily.
"We're guests here, we follow their rules until this shit blows over, and that means requesting permission to leave the compound. You both agreed to that when they gave us a safe place to live." He replies in a similar tone, "When you want to leave the compound, you get a pass. Neither of you filed for one, and that puts George and Amar in a bad position since they are our sponsors."
"Eric and I wanted some fresh air and some time alone, it's just as much my fault as it is his." Tris adds and Four sighs.
"I get it, I really do. We are all going a little stir crazy being stuck here, but we have to abide by their rules, especially you." He looks at Eric, "Every single person who's testified has implicated you as a part of the planning-"
"I was a part of the planning. We've already established that I willingly participated in this until getting involved with Tris."
The two men stare at each other, and Tris shifts uncomfortably in her chair, "I'm going to go make an order for our dinner to go and then we can head back." She says and Eric pulls her towards him for a chaste kiss before she walks away.
"You know they're going to come for you. Let her go." Four says.
"I have no idea how long I have left with her, so fuck off. She has a choice, and she's choosing me." Eric spits.
"Until she realizes she will lose you in one way or another, fucking be honest with her, Eric. You finally figured it out, you want to be with her, and Tris is willing to forgive you for what you've done, but that's not how the law works. The leadership at home isn't going to forgive you because they love you."
"I already know this." Eric replies, "How long do I have?"
"A day or two, if you're lucky. Are you going to run?"
He shakes his head, "No. She doesn't deserve that. I need to face this, and I need to do it in a way that doesn't hurt her any more than I already have. I promised her I'd make things right, and I intend to keep that promise."
"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Four asks. He knows that he accused Eric of never being able to love her earlier, but that was out of anger during the argument they were having, and he thinks he was wrong about his accusation.
Eric doesn't verbally answer, but he nods once, "I've hurt her a lot, and I refuse to do it again. I won't run, that would only continue to hurt her, and I won't put her in another situation where she has to hide. I'll do this peacefully, I need to face this."
"Okay." Four replies.
"Are we ready?" Tris asks as she approaches the tense men.
"We're right behind you." Eric says, looking at Four and the other man nods once.
Tris looks up at Eric, "Thank you for today. When all of this mess is over, I would love to do this again."
"Yeah, me too." He agrees before he pulls her lips to his again, "I'll take you on all the dates you want when this shit is done."
"You promise?"
He nods, "Absolutely."
She pulls away and smiles brightly, threading her hand with his and he grabs the bag with their food before heading back to the compound.
He would give her anything, he's finally figured out what he wants, but he also knows it'll never happen, because very soon he'll have to face the consequences of his earlier actions.
It's just a matter of time.