Happy Sunday! I know y'all are not happy with Tobias but give him a little break :-) Give Max a break too, he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
This is a slow burn; the war will come and so will Tris and Tobias' time! I promise, just enjoy the ride.
Love Y'all!
"I can't wait until this is all over" Christina sighs as she flops on her bunk.
"How was your fear landscape today?" Tris asks as she pulled off her boots one at a time sitting on her bunk which was next to Christina's.
"What kind of questions is that?" Christina rolls her eyes and chuckles.
Tris laughs and sticks her tongue out at Christina.
"So how are things with you and William?" Tris asks, laying down and rolling on her side as Christina does the same. It was nice being able to do this with Christina and talk about things she was always told were self-serving in Abnegation.
"Really good, He's really fun and sweet" Christina sighs as she curls her legs up to her chest.
'That's nice" Tris said with a tight lip.
"Tris…" Christina says with a warning tone and narrowing her eyes.
"I'm not lying" Tris laughs as Christina smiles. "I just know how much Uriah likes you, but I know how much you're into Will. He'll get over his crush on you eventually"
"It's not that I don't like Uriah, I do… Will and I just hit it off and…"
Tris could see Christina was conflicted as she talked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"It's okay, for what it's worth, I think both of them are great, so you really can't go wrong"
Christina smiles a little as she picks at the blanket on her bed.
"Thanks, Tris. How are things with you and Lynn?"
Tris thinks about it for a moment.
"They're good, I mean this is all new to me, dating and it's not how things go in Abnegation especially dating a woman…" Tris sighs. She had no idea what she was doing. She was so thankful she had Christina to talk to about this.
"Take it slow, there's no need to rush, I wish I would have taken things slower with my first two boyfriends"
"You mean sex?"
"You're so cute" Christina teases as she sees Tris blush. "Yes, guys can be so focused on just getting in your pants and it gets messy. I like that Will and I talk, even though we haven't had much alone time during initiation"
Tris understood, she wondered how fast she and Lynn would go when initiation was over, and they had plenty of alone time. She wished she could talk to her mom about all this.
Evelyn sits down at the table surrounded by her fellow Factionless council members.
"So, what is Erudite proposing?" Darcy asks ready to move on with their plans.
"They want to administer aptitude tests to find divergent to have more people available to test their serum" Evelyn explains.
"And what about our seat on the council?" Charlie asks eagerly.
"There's another option…" Natalie tells them finally speaking up and everyone turns to look at her.
"What other option?" Mason inquires.
"We align with Dauntless against Erudite. If we help stop Erudite from taking control of the city the other factions will see our value, be more willing to negotiate with us"
Evelyn leans back in her chair. The others had no idea, but she knew exactly what Natalie was doing, making a play for her family.
"And why would Dauntless even consider that considering the majority of Factionless are ex-Dauntless" Charlie asks. His tone was bitter, Natalie could hear it.
"Because there are people in leadership in Dauntless who would be willing to listen now," Natalie fixes her gaze on Evelyn as she speaks. She needed to get Evelyn to see that Tobias could help them.
"With Erudite in our corner, we don't need the other faction's approval, they won't be able to stand against us" Mason shrugs and Natalie feels her stomach sink as Evelyn smiles.
Natalie feels defeated, there was no one willing to listen to her, the Factionless were going to attack with or without Erudite. The only factor now was if Erudite would agree to what they wanted. She had to tell Max; he couldn't be blindsided on both fronts. Now the question was, could he forgive her for keeping this from him?
Natalie paces in front of her bed. Max radioed that morning to say he was coming. She'd been aching to see him but soon the excitement wore off and gave way to nervousness. It has been two days since the meeting with the other Factionless leaders. She had to tell Max about the Factionless attack and the possibility of them aligning with Erudite. She didn't trust Jeanine or the representatives she sent to speak for her. Unfortunately, Evelyn had swayed Mason, Charlie, Darcy, and Victor that aligning with them was the path forward.
A knock comes on the door and Max peaks his head in. Natalie looks up from her pacing, giving him a genuine smile as he comes in and closes the door.
"Hey Baby," Max smiles coming over and grabbing her for a kiss.
"I was worried, are things, okay?" She asks, putting her arms around his neck.
"I know, I'm sorry, it's been a difficult few weeks" Max sighs, enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms once again.
"Erudite?" Natalie looked up at him, seeing the worry in his eyes and it made her even more nervous knowing what she had to tell him.
"Yeah, Jeanine apparently has people planted in Dauntless. We had two Erudite transfers break down. The girl stabbed her lover in the eye and then threw herself into the chasm."
"Wow," Natalie says pulling away and starting to pace again.
"I know, I'm working on some things, I'll stop her, she's just a few steps ahead of me right now," he reassures her.
"Max, I need to tell you something" She wanted to get this over with now, rip the band-aid off.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Max asks sitting on the bed and pulling her hand to make her sit down. She pulls it back and shakes her head.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you when you first found me, I should have but…it's been so confusing"
Max looks at her and feels his heart race.
"Erudite isn't the only threat you need to worry about. The Factionless are planning an attack too…"
"What? Nat, what the hell…." Max exclaims and stands up.
"I'm sorry it's just, you don't know what it's been like living like this all these years, people are angry they are tired of being thrown away and given scraps, I am too, but I don't agree with how it's being done…"
"What do you mean? When is this attack happening?" Max was angry and frustrated.
"We've altered the timeline because Evelyn has been trying to forge an alliance with Erudite"
"Fuck" Max puts his hands on his hips and looks at the ceiling. "What was this Nat, you distracting me?" Natalie could hear the crack in his voice and see the hurt in his eyes.
"No, no, I swear, Max, please believe me…I love you, that's what made this so much more complicated, I couldn't let you get blindsided"
Max needed to think. He was outnumbered and now his enemies were aligning with each other.
"Our daughter is in Dauntless, and you were still going to attack?" Max snaps.
"You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt either of my children" Natalie fires back. "Can you once in your life think about what it's like out here those of us with no faction? The fact that Dauntless throws out people when they have no use anymore is one of the reasons this is happening. I've been the one advocating for a more peaceful approach"
Max doesn't back down.
"So, it's my fault! I didn't set this system up, it's what I inherited, this is the way the city has worked since the great war, you know this. We all have our roles to play. First, you wouldn't run away with me because you said you wanted me to be in a faction, then you didn't want me to leave so I could stay a leader and now you want to tear it all down?" Max bellows.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it, and you can be a voice to change the way things have always been done!" Natalie yells back.
"I gotta get out of here, I need some air" Max growls as he goes to grab his bag and walk out the door.
"Wait, Max please don't go…." Natalie pleads, her voice thick with emotion and her eyes burned as tears started to fall.
She grabs his hand and Max stops moving. Seeing Natalie cry had always gut-punched him.
"I'm already an outcast and here I am betraying the people who took me in, cared for me when I was sick, and have been my friends. I'm betraying them to save you and our family. Where does that leave me when they find out? I have nowhere to go in the walls of this city" Natalie full-on sobs now letting go of Max's hand and sitting back on the bed.
Max is about to walk out the door, but he takes a deep breath. He understood her dilemma now, he'd only been looking at it from Natalie being his, the love of his life, the mother of his child, but she was more than that, she had a life here with the Factionless for almost 20 years, this wasn't easy for her, any of it.
Natalie puts her head in her hands as she continues to cry. After a few minutes, she feels Max tug on her hands. She looked up to see him sit down next to her.
"I'm sorry Nat, you are the most selfless, caring person I've ever met in my life. I should have never thought you were using me; I was just caught off guard, I thought we said no more secrets…"
Natalie sniffles and looks up at him. "I'm sorry too, I've been so conflicted about what to do and how to tell you. I'm so scared"
Max leans over and kisses her forehead. "I love you, Nat, with everything. I will do whatever I have to do to keep our family safe. I'm supposed to be the peacekeeper of this city and it's about to explode, and I don't think I can stop it. I'm about to fight a war that I can't win,"
For the first time, Natalie sees the weight that's on his shoulders, all the burden he's been carrying, and she feels even more ashamed for not being upfront with him about the factionless attack.
"I'll tell you everything I know," Natalie promises.
Max pulled her into a hug, she was right in her thinking. If she turned on the Factionless and they found out, she had nowhere to go. He had to figure out a way to keep her safe.
"You can stop this, Max; I know you can" she whispers looking up at him.
"We have to do this together, that's the only way" He whispers, wiping a few stray tears from her cheeks.
"Together" Natalie agrees softly.
The day before the Abnegation final commitment ceremony the initiates are supposed to take the day to reflect on their journey and how they would like to be of service to the city moving forward. Caleb was following the plan to join the council and become his father's assistant. Marlene still wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Susan had decided on the day to care for city workers and Miranda decided on home visits for the elderly in Abnegation, cooking meals, and cleaning. Marlene still wasn't sure what she wanted to do but Ms. Haskins encouraged her to continue working with the donation center and coordination of supply distribution since she had done so well over the past 10 weeks there.
Ms. Haskins approves of Caleb and Marlene spending the day of reflection handing out supplies and Caleb fidgets nervously leading Marlene to their special place by the marsh first thing that morning after they have loaded their bags up with supplies.
"What's wrong?" Why do you look nervous?" Marlene asks curiously as Caleb looked tense and he set their supply bags down on the ground.
Caleb takes a deep breath and breathes through his nose as he turns to face Marlene and grabs both her hands.
"I wanted to do this here because this has been our special place. At first, it was the place where I would come to be alone and over the past 10 weeks since you came to Abnegation it's been the place where you and I can be ourselves"
Marlene smiles as he talks.
"Mar, I love you, and I know that this might be weird for you growing up in Dauntless, but this is how I've always wanted this to be and if you want to think about it, I'm okay with that too"
"Caleb…" Marlene feels her heart rate increase as she sees the love reflected in his eyes and he squeezes her hands.
"Just let me finish…I've been trying to find the right words for the past week. I never thought I would meet anyone like you, you make me feel complete. I know we haven't known each other that long but I want to marry you, Marlene, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know we should court first, and we can take as long as you want…"
Caleb is knocked off balance in the middle of pouring his heart out when Marlene throws her arms around his neck and presses her lips to his. Once the shock wears off, he wraps his arms around her waist, happily returning her kiss.
She pulls back to look up at him after a few minutes of passionate kisses.
"Yes, I love you so much, Yes, yes" she giggles, and he tightens his arms around her and lifts her off her feet and spins her around in a circle.
"I love you, Marlene. I've never met anyone like you, so sweet and caring but brave and fearless at the same time. You make me feel like I can be brave too. You make me feel like I want to be a better man."
"Caleb, I love you too. Maybe everything happens for a reason, that I was supposed to come to Abnegation to find you" she tells him wiping a tear away from her eyes.
She can remember how alone she felt that first day scared of leaving everything she knew in Dauntless behind, still scared from learning she was divergent. From the moment she and Caleb connected the first time they made dinner together she started to feel like her future wasn't as drab and lonely as she had imagined.
"You just made me the happiest man alive" Caleb grins. "Once you get your housing assignment, I'll plan an outing, and see if Ms. Haskins will agree to chaperone us"
"Caleb, I don't want to wait to get married…"
Caleb's eyes go wide at her statement.
"I know I love you; nothing is going to change that. It's kind of strange for me to be so ready for this…but I think it's how sure I am of us. I'm diving into this new life, and I want you to be there with me the entire way"
Caleb leans down and kisses her again.
"You sure you don't just want us to be alone together…" Caleb teases.
"Well now that you mention it…" Marlene says with a flirty smile as she runs her hands up his chest.
Caleb laughs and shakes his head, starting to lean in and kiss her but stopping short when he sees her face fall.
"What's wrong?"
"If you and I are going to do this, I don't want there to be any secrets between us."
He nods, feeling the same way.
"The reason I came to Abnegation is because I'm divergent. The woman from Dauntless who administered my aptitude test told me it wasn't safe to stay in Dauntless…
Now it's Marlene's turn to be surprised when Caleb kisses her mid-sentence.
"What was that for?" She asks, wondering why he reacted that way.
"I'm divergent too" Caleb confesses. It felt like such a weight off his shoulders to be able to share that with the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He didn't want any secrets between them, and he knew he had to tell more.
Marlene's eyes grow as big as saucers and then she starts to cry.
"Mar, it's okay. Please don't cry…"
"I've been going crazy, not having anyone to talk to about this and so scared that someone would find out. Is it weird I'm relieved?"
"Not at all" Caleb wraps his arms around her holding her tight. "I'm feeling the same way. Since we're being honest, there's a lot more I need to tell you"
He pulls her to sit down as they often had in this very spot over the past two months.
Marlene cries when Caleb opens up about Andrew's abuse, and she feels sick to her stomach when Caleb describes the events leading up to Choosing Day with his sister.
"If I'm being honest, I was already thinking Natalie was your mother I just didn't say anything" Marlene confesses.
"When I first found out I was adopted I thought about what my birth mother was like, why did she abandon me, but the more time I spent with Mom, I realized it didn't matter. I just wish I'd been able to grow up with her "
"I'm glad you found her, she's amazing. Caleb." She looks at him, and she feels even more connected to him now. Then a look of concern comes across her face, "I'm worried, will you be safe working with your father? And all this business with Erudite, this seems big"
"I know…that's why it's important for us to be honest with each other, and I promise you on my life, Andrew will never lay another hand on me again or on you"
Marlene smiles at how protective Caleb was. She leans into him. As long as they were together, she could believe that everything was okay.
Caleb finds Andrew and Marcus talking amongst themselves, and he decides to get the news of his and Marlene's engagement out of the way before they head off into the Factionless section. Marlene gave him a quick kiss for encouragement before he walked into the main Abnegation office building.
"Father, I would like to inform you that I have asked Marlene to marry me, and she has accepted"
Andrew frowns a little as Caleb stands in front of him trying not to show any signs of nervousness.
"The transfer from Dauntless? I had already planned for you to court Susan Black once initiation was formally concluded, you two seem to get on well" Andrew counters, not liking that Caleb was deviating from his set plans.
"I thought this through thoroughly and Marlene is who I would like to have as my wife" Caleb defends.
"You two haven't even had a formal courtship," Andrew says narrowing his eyes a bit and looking Caleb up and down.
Caleb stands tall ready to argue that he was going to marry Marlene no matter what Andrew had planned but Marcus interjects.
"Oh, that doesn't matter Andrew, Caleb showing initiative and marrying already, the other council members will love it. And think of it as this girl showing a true commitment to Abnegation. Caleb will be an excellent person to continue showing her how to be a model Abnegation member and now a wife" Marcus interjects leaning back in his chair.
Andrew thinks about it for a minute and sees the advantages that Marcus has highlighted. Caleb bites his lip to force himself not to smile. If his father and Marcus knew how much he and Marlene had not been being model Abnegation members, the past few weeks, they would lose their minds.
"Yes, I can agree Marcus, this does show good standing for you Caleb. It will help us as we make a bid for you to have a seat on the council" Andrew concedes.
"Thank you, Father, Marcus, Marlene will be delighted to hear that we have your blessing. We would like to marry in the next week now that initiation will be concluded tomorrow"
"Very well, I'll be happy to perform the wedding ceremony since your father approves"
Andrew nods pleased that Caleb was taking this so seriously and goes back to the papers on his desk.
Caleb walks out of the office with his head held high and takes Marlene's hand as they set out toward the factionless section. He'd stood his ground with Andrew for the first time. It was like a drug; he wasn't under Andrew's thumb anymore and he would never be again. He couldn't wait to tell his mother the good news.
