Divergent One Shots (Eric & Tris)

Twenty-Two-Sweet Dreams 6.3

Eric

At breakfast she's still a no show and I'm wondering if she'll even be in or if she's taking a sick day—or several. Then, I really do hope she's not actually sick. I workout in the morning and shower but make it to the office for a little over an hour before lunch. I see Tris at her desk and I sigh in relief that she's okay. I go to my desk and enter in all of the figures for the raises, notifying the companies and departments who have been granted the additional allowance for their employees. It'll be my responsibility to speak with Tris. I'll talk to her when she comes in this afternoon since there's generally no other occasion that I have the opportunity.
I sort through my inbox and organize my work for the day according to importance. I glance to my email and see there's nothing too pressing for my immediate attention. I start to go through my paperwork until I hear various people heading to lunch. I close up the file I'm working on and head down as well. The aides' are mostly all cleared out with a few stragglers still chatting. I don't see Tris so I figure she's already down there. I get in line and get my meal heading up to the leadership table. I oddly don't see Tris at her table. Christina and Will aren't there either. I sit beside Ryan and start on my meal. I notice Will sitting with a couple of the aides on the far side of the cafeteria. Then I see the silhouette of Tris across from him, who I'm assuming is Christina and Wendy on either side of her. I wonder why she's over there...
I finish my meal and see that the aides are all gone. I go back upstairs and continue on my stack of work. I finish most of the pile before there's that gentle knock on my door. I call her in and glance at the paperwork I set aside to speak with her about. She sets a cookie and a cup of coffee in front of me and I notice something's different... something's missing?
"Did you bend your ring working out or something?" I ask thinking that might have happened since I've heard a few of the married officers mention that happening in the training room with the weights.
I look up at Tris to see her eyes on mine... and they're bloodshot. The ring is missing and it's obvious she's been crying.
"I'm sorry," I tell her realizing what has happened.
"It's okay," she says softly. She reaches for my stack of paperwork.
"I... have something I wanted to discuss with you. Would another day be better?" I ask her gently.
She stops what she's doing and looks to me. "I don't think the day is going to change anything," she says quietly to me.
"Alright," I nod. "Let's talk business," I say.
She actually laughs lightly, relief evident in her expression. I lead her over to my couch. I sit on one side and motion for her to sit on the other. I honestly think this is the most casual of all the experiences I've ever had with her. I see her fidgeting with her finger for a moment and then it's like she realizes what she's doing and immediately stops and moves her hands apart.
"So, I don't know if you've realized what I was working on on Friday or the reason behind our meeting," I start. She shakes her head in reply. "I was dealing with the budget a bit but it's time for our annual evaluations. Each department head in all of Dauntless goes through and decides if there are members on their staff who have gone above and beyond what they're expected to do. We just decide who stands out, who has done their job well. I've handled acknowledging each department's model employees except this office."
She nods a little confused.
"Out of all the staff in the leadership offices in my time here, I think we acknowledged Wendy when she was first brought up but that's it. Anyway, this year you stood out to all of us," I tell her.
"Oh," she responds surprised. "Thank you." She laughs again, her expression changing and she appears completely flattered.
"This isn't just a thank you and a congratulatory good job," I tell her—though I think she, of all people, would be good with just that. "You're getting a pay increase."
I hand her the copy of the breakdown I made. She reaches for it shakily. She glances at me a little befuddled before looking at the paperwork. She laughs in surprise and glances at me with a real smile on her face.
"Thank you for this," she says still in disbelief reading over the paper.
"You've earned it," I tell her.
She meets my eyes and she actually seems happy.
"How's work going today?" I ask her.
"It's fine," she shrugs.
"Do you want to get out of here early?" I question.
She laughs lightly like I'm joking.
"How about you give me twenty minutes to drink my coffee and finish a few things and we'll get out of here?" I suggest.
"You're letting me leave early?" she asks surprised raising an eyebrow.
"I left the compound the other day. I think some fresh air would do you some good," I reply.
"Alright," she agrees.
"Finish up what you're working on quickly. The rest can wait until tomorrow," I say rising up from the sofa.
She tells me she will. I take her hands to help her up. I pull her to standing. She stares up at me a moment before taking the stack from my desk and excusing herself.
I sit down at my desk and start on the cup of coffee examining the cookie. It's a sugar cookie in the shape of a cloud. It's dark—like a storm cloud. It's perfect-looking. I take a bite and look at it again. It's cute... but probably demonstrating her mood. I sit back in my seat and enjoy it together. I think over what this means... they broke up. This is like the end of an era. Everyone was always talking about them as a couple. I honestly wonder what happened because they seemed so happy together. They were getting married... and then one day she comes into work without the ring, crying all weekend. Is it terrible that I'm glad they're not together...?  But she's hurting and I don't want that. I sigh and finish my coffee and cookie, getting back to work. I go through my email and the rest of the paperwork can wait until tomorrow.
I take my cup and finished stack with me. I set the dishes in the sink and the stack of paperwork, I place on Wendy's desk to divvy out. She looks up and nods to me that she'll handle it. I motion to Tris and she sets the last paper in her hand down and joins me. I lead her to the elevator and we descend to the lowest level before walking through the fear landscape area and climbing setup. We walk down the staircase through the Pit to the ground floor—technically underground. I take her toward the train tracks. We climb the single level of stairs and I open the door for her. We step outside and she looks like she's already feeling better. I lead her on the route I walked the other day. It's nice. She's quiet but it's completely understandable. We stroll leisurely through the commercial area again. I see several workshops open with trades like welding, furniture making, metal casting. This area is quite industrial. I hear some sort of metal tools being made, a rhythmic pounding sound leading Tris curiously close to seeing what's going on.
"What are they manufacturing?" she questions intrigued.
"I don't know. I could look it up or we could ask," I shrug.
I hear a sizzling sound as a man puts some metal pieces into water.
"Those look like throwing stars," she grins.
"Do you have some?" I ask.
"No," she laughs lightly as she turns from the building and keeps walking down the path.
"I've got some. We could practice in the training room sometime. It's pretty similar to knife throwing," I offer shrugging.
She looks up to me kind of surprised.
"Alright," she agrees. "I always enjoyed knife throwing. I have my own set of them."
"You were pretty skilled in initiation," I nod in agreement.
She glances at me grinning. "Thank you," she says softly looking away.
We make it to the creek—the boarder between Candor and Dauntless and she stops and stares for a minute.
"It's beautiful here," she whispers.
"I thought so, too," I reply. "I think the leaves will be changing more this week."
"I miss walking outside every day. This view is much better than my old one," she says.
"Why's that?" I ask as we continue to walk.
"This is more picturesque. I had to walk through Factionless to get to school and home," she explains.
"Yeah, not a pretty sight," I nod.
We look around for a while in silence and it is nice. Her eyes look clearer, his disposition improved vastly. I'm grateful that she seems so much better.