Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who continues to read this story, your support means the world to me! I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!
To my Guest reviewer who I couldn't respond to: You would have opened the ring box and spoiled the surprise? I think I would have been tempted, but ultimately I would have put the ring box back where I found it after fighting with myself all day to open it.
To DivergentWitch: Yes, the Colonel isn't one to be trifled with here. A younger me would have opened the ring box, but as I have grown, I would have come to appreciate a good surprise.
Chapter 36 Epilogue: If I'm your Audrey Hepburn Then You're My James Dean
A note is left, tapped to the front wooden door: Captain Eaton, Welcome Home! I'm hiding inside the house with a nerf gun. Here is the other one. . . The loser cooks dinner tonight. May the odds be ever in your favor. Xoxo Tris.
Standing in the corner, dressed in all black, back pressed to the wall, in a darkened house, lights all turned off, I wait for Tobias to get home. He has been gone for two long weeks while the President has been overseas conducting business.
Tobias called every night as he promised, but it wasn't the same. At first, I missed him terribly when he left. Slowly, I fell into a daily routine: one where I focused all of my attention on finding a great nursing job, one that I would love just as much as I loved working in the ER in California.
Headlights pulling into the driveway, draw me from the job hunting fantasy in my mind. I attempt to calm my breathing as keys jingle against the lock. I grip my fingertips into my thighs, I want to run to Tobias, to jump on him as soon as I hear the door handle move, but I stop myself. As I hear the door creak open, he mutters, "What the hell! Oh, you wanna play a game, do you?"
A loud bang bursts through the silent house as he drops his bags in the hallway. A knowing smile spreads across my lips as I push myself deeper into the shadows of the wall, trying to hide. My breathing seems loud to my own ears as he quietly walks past me in his green jumpsuit, gun in hand, fingers on the trigger. A giggle threatens to erupt from my mouth as a sly smile creeps across my lips as I shoot him in the middle back, and take off running up the stairs. "Hey! I didn't even see you there." He yells. I shout, laughing, "All is fair in love and war," running away from him. His heavy footsteps follow me up the stairs. He attempts to shoot me twice, narrowly missing me, the nerf bullets flying past my shoulder into the picture frames hanging on the wall. I taunt him, "You missed me, you missed me, now you have to kiss me."
He taunts, "Don't worry, I will kiss you, once I catch you," as I take off running up the next flight of stairs. I slam the bathroom door, and take off into the linen closet, hoping Tobias will go into another room. The linen closet creeks open. My heart pounds in my ears as Tobias's gun points at me. I scream at the top of my lungs as he stands behind his gun, a grin on his face as he shoots me in the shoulder. "That's for before. Now we are equal. Next time, I won't be so nice," he says. I scurry away into the shadows of the house, taking refuge under our bed in our bedroom. The bedroom door opens slowly, then shuts, hearing his heavy footsteps approach, sends my breathing into erratic spurts. Suddenly, I feel hands grip my ankles, dragging me out from under the bed. I spin and shoot him in the chest, as he straddles me, his gun trained on me. "I hope you have got something good planned for dinner tonight," he whispers, a sly grin plastered on his lips as he shoots his last nerf bullet at me, "because I win."
I smirk, whispering, "Actually, Captain Eaton, I do!" My fingers pull the gun's trigger, shooting him in the stomach twice. He looks shocked. He grabs the gun from me and throws it. He gazes into my eyes as his fingertips touch the hair that has fallen across my forehead from our nerf gun tag game, moving his rough fingertips to caress my cheek. My eyes close as he leans, his nose brushing mine, my heart accelerates as does my breathing, as he tilts his head, and my lips meet his soft full ones. As our lips meet, he pulls me closer to him, his thumb runs through my hair. I am breathless as he pulls his lips away from mine, a smile on his lips, as he leaves me wanting more, he whispers into my ear, "Actually, Miss Prior, I picked up dinner on the way home." His fingertips play with my rose gold diamond wedding band on my ring finger, the one I have been telling everyone is a commitment ring from Tobias instead of a fake wedding band.
Tobias and I had a lot of discussions, on the phone, on the nights he was gone overseas about our fake wedding in Vegas, we agreed our fake wedding wasn't something to hide, and I could tell as we talked, I was actually hurting Tobias when I suggested we ignore our fake wedding. Instead, after our conversations, I told anyone who asked about my ring; we had a commitment ceremony in Vegas, and he did the same to the few people he had become close to on this new base.
"You suck! I was hoping you would cook for me." I smack his chest, grabbing ahold of his chain necklace, pulling his lips to mine for another kiss. When the kiss ends, he helps me off the floor, flipping on the lights in the house, and as we reach the den, he grabs the fried chicken off the floor, going into the kitchen with the bag.
"What places did you go to?" I ask, slightly jealous at the idea he is getting to travel all over the world without me, as he brings me out a plate of mashed potatoes and chicken. He grins, picking up a drumstick, "That is top secret."
"Tobias! You promised me, you would tell me when you got home because you weren't sure if the phone line was secured." I pout at him. He raises an eyebrow at me as he replies, "Let's see, I went to England, Germany, Poland, France, several places in the Middle East, China, and Japan. The list goes on and on."
"Holy crap! You went to all those places in only two weeks?" I ask, wondering how he isn't dead on his feet. He smirks, "Yes, the President travels a lot. It was a hell of a lot of flying, but once Air Force One was safely on the ground, I got to go sightseeing while the less senior ranking member had to stay to guard the planes."
"What did you see?" I ask, bouncing up and down as Tobias pulls his phone out, revealing pictures of him attempting to take a selfie with the Eiffel Tower in France and Big Ben in London. "I wish, I could have gone with you. I have always wanted to travel overseas." I lament as Tobias sighs, "One day, I will take you, but in the meantime, this will have to do." His fingertips flip to another picture, revealing him, holding his wallet photograph of me, smiling next to him.
"Tobias, that is seriously the sweetest thing, anyone has ever done for me," I whisper as tears fill my eyes as I look at picture after picture of him, posing with his photograph of me, next to Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, a huge stone castle in Germany, the Great Wall of China, and everywhere else he visited. He replies, "Well, I couldn't physically take you with me, but I figured until I can finally take you, this will have to do. I did bring you home some things."
"Really, I thought that wasn't allowed?" I ask as Tobias brings his fingers up to his lips, "Shh, what my higher-ups don't know, won't hurt them, especially the Colonel. I had to sneak it into my bag, since, we technically aren't supposed to be bringing anything back. Here, let me get my duffle bags." As he opens his duffle bag, he tosses me a box of my favorite English tea, he hands me a beer stein from Germany, and then he hands me two teacups from Poland wrapped in red Chinese silk.
"I couldn't fit anymore into my bags. If I could have, I would have brought you home some baked goods from France, more Polish pottery, dishes, Japanese ceramics. Almost everything, I looked at, I know you would have loved, but there was no way, I was fitting it into my duffle. I would have brought you back everything I saw if I could have. I would give you the world, Tris if I could. I'm sorry, I'm not home as much as I used to be. I still feel awful about it." He says, as he stares into my eyes, I whisper, cuddling into his side, "It's fine, Tobias, I don't need material things. I'm happy getting to spend time with you. Do I like how much your job makes you travel now, no, I don't, but I love you, and nothing is going to change that."
He mutters, "We are only here for a few months, I have good news and bad news for you." He cradles his arm around me.
"What?" I ask, not wanting to know what his bad news is, as he draws me further into his arms, "Good news, I won't be leaving anymore with the President for the time being. The bad news, my squadron is scheduled for deployment next. I don't want to go, Tris. I don't want to leave you. I feel like I just got you back. I feel like I just got home again." He whispers, looking into my eyes. My breath feels like it is knocked out of my chest, as I ask, "When?" He sighs, "In a few months, we are scheduled for deployment."
"Tobias, forever and always, I will be by your side, nothing is going to change that, no deployment or anything," I whisper as he kisses my temple, then leaves the room for a moment, when he returns, he draws me to my feet as he gets down on his knees. My heart beats quickly as my mind races, wondering if this is the moment.
"Tris, you are what dreams are made of. When we first met, you described yourself as broken, as damaged goods. You are anything but either of those things. I fell in love with you from the moment that we kissed, maybe even before then. Please stay forever with me. They say love is forever. Your forever is all that I need. I can't promise you forever or that things won't be broken, but I swear that I will never leave you. Will you live your life with me with no regrets? Because you and I are all I need in this life, Tris. Will you promise to slow dance with me when it is cold outside or in every new house that we move into? I promise to light up the darkness for you, to be the light at the end of the tunnel, you are the light on my darkest days. You asked me once, what my dreams are made of, and they are made of you marrying me again like, you did that night in Vegas. Let's get married again, Tris, and right this time, legally. I want to shout it from the rooftops! That is how much I want you to be my wife forever. So Beatrice Elizabeth Prior, will you marry me again?"
"Of course Tobias, I will marry you again. I will marry you every single day for the rest of my life." I say excitedly, as I fling myself at him on his knees. He tugs me into his arms, his soft lips meet mine as my fingers tug at his short hair. As the kiss ends, I am breathless as I playfully grin, "Are we going to have a marriage license this time?" The hazy memory of Tobias's drunken proposal swirls around in my memory as Tobias says, "Absolutely! There is no way, I am letting that happen twice in my life. I still can't believe, I was stupid enough not to give you this ring, I have had it for so long, buried. And how could I not remember to get a marriage license?" He laughs then adds "It's a good thing, I have a real engagement ring this time." He grins as he flips open the small black velvet ring box. In it, is nestled a 14 carat rose gold cushion cut diamond set in a retro vintage floral art deco design that matches my wedding band perfectly. "It's beautiful Tobias!" I whisper, tears in my eyes.
"So, is that a yes?" He asks, uncertainty evident in his voice.
"Yes! I will marry you again, Tobias." He jumps to his feet, pulling me with him. He lifts me up, spins me around, while his lips meet mine in another searing kiss that takes my breath away, and, in that instant, I can see my future with him, for the rest of my life, as long as Tobias and I are by each other's sides we can overcome anything as long as we are together.
End of book one. To be Continued?
Thoughts? Opinions? What did you think of Tobias's proposal? Would you have accepted it, if you were Tris? If anyone is interested in what Tris's engagement ring actually looks like her ring inspiration can be found on the Pinterest board that I have made for this story. The link is in my profile. I know, I ended this story without giving anyone a warning, but this story was always intended to end here. However, I'm going to give everyone a chance to voice their opinions, I will have by the end a total of 3 books, the next one is longer, written for this version of Tobias and Tris. Do you want to read the next one? Please review, let me know what you thought of this chapter, and if you are interested in reading the next book in this trilogy that I have written. If I do decide to continue with publishing the next part of the story here, I won't be putting it up until early November probably. I need a little bit of time off, and I will be sure to add a note to this story to let you all know it is up. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to review and read!