Divergent One Shots (Eric & Tris)

Thirty-Eight-Round Two 11.2

Eric

I grasp Tris by the hand and kiss the back of it before I intertwine our fingers together leading her down the hallway toward the Pit.
"Rock climbing?" I question.  I'm hoping she'll enjoy it since she sounded interested.
"Sure," she easily agrees.
"I'm getting you some shoes," I tell her.
"Thank you," she says quietly.
I take her to my favorite place for accessories and help her select some good climbing shoes. She chooses some with hot pink details. They're very feminine and I realize how I like this—having her a part of my hobbies. It's nice to have someone to share my time with. We walk through the Pit and I observe how busy it's starting to get. I stop her and face her.
"I don't want you to just be gossip. I don't want what we have to be only whispers in passing and speculation. I'm not hiding you like I'm ashamed," I tell her.
She smiles at me and pecks my lips, but I hold her there threading my fingers through her hair and completely take over. I give her the most possessive kiss yet... in front of everyone. The moment the crowd knows what's happening, they all cheer for me... for us. I deepen the kiss and the audience volume increases. We're panting as I slowly back away. She's laughing and hugging me, hiding her face in my chest—probably a little embarrassed by the attention. But I'm actually glad to share this part of my life with them. There will be rumors... but this time, they should be at least based on truth.
"Come on," I nudge her playfully before I grasp her hand once more. I lead her through the gathered crowd. They start to separate letting us pass. I take her back to my apartment since it's close and have her change into her shoes here. I get my pair from my bedroom and sit beside her as I switch mine out, too.
"Did you plan that?" she asks knocking her knee with mine jokingly. I see her grinning and blushing.
"No. It was spontaneous," I admit. "But I'm not going to hide you. With any rumors going around, I'd like there to be some truth in it. I don't want your name or reputation drug through the mud."
"I was never worried about what other people thought. I know the truth," she says meeting my eyes. "I care more about what you think than gossip."
I smile and peck her lips gently, sweetly. She really is incredible.
I take her down and we climb for a good portion of the morning. I teach her technique and give her advice on selecting a path up the wall. There are various finger and footholds but some are actual rock formations. She takes my advice and progresses quickly. I realize she's faster than me but I have to keep up in case she slips. I want to be there as her backup—her support.  She actually attempts the entire height of the wall.  I'm impressed... but a little worried.  I'm experienced and can do this no problem, but this is her first time.  I should've warned her and anchored her to me.  I follow her quickly and she's nearly to the top.  I observe her and see her trying for a hold that might be too far for her reach.  She goes for it and slips.  I rush to her and grab onto her midsection.  Her shirt raises slightly at my touch—my entire hand grasping her toned abdomen—but I've got a firm grip on her. 
"Grab for it.  I've got you," I tell her. 
"Alright," she says a little shakily.  She attempts and with my extra push while I'm holding tight to her, she gets it.  I stay right on top of her since she's trembling. 
"I'm with you," I tell her softly. 
"I know," she responds in a gentle whisper.  There's so much meaning in her tone with me.  I focus on getting her the short distance to the top.  She reaches above and pulls herself up.  I wait until she's fully situated up there before I attempt to join her.  I reach the floor above and pull myself up by my arms first until my midsection is at the upper level.  I pull my knee to the floor and lift myself up the rest of the way. 
Tris is standing up here with a bit of space between her and the edge.  "Are you alright?" I ask her.  She's trembling. 
"Yeah," she nods grinning. 
"You sure?" I question caressing her face. 
She hums a reply and hugs me.  I still feel her shaking as I embrace her. 
"I'll tether you to me in the future," I tell her. 
"You're not going to stop me from coming or tell me I was being careless?" she questions. 
"I probably should have tied us together or warned you but no, I wouldn't tell you that.  Next time, we'll just do it together," I say. 
She looks up at me and I can tell I said the right thing.  She kisses me gently and I pull her closer and deepen the kiss.  I can't help but be glad I took the step forward and asked her out.  I kind of wish I would have done this sooner. She sighs happily as we separate. 
"I'm filthy," she laughs. 
"Me, too," I agree. 
"I didn't know your hobbies were so dirty," she teases. 
"No," I shake my head.  "Good, clean fun."
She chuckles.  I smile at her and kiss her again gently. 
"Do you want to get cleaned up and we can go out for lunch?" I offer. 
"Sure," she grins. 
I walk her down the Pit stairs and kiss her as we separate, promising to meet her at her apartment with her shoes.  She smiles as I slowly release her fingers.  I get to my apartment and shower quickly before grabbing her shoes and heading toward her place. I knock on her door and it takes her a moment to answer.
"Hey, sorry," she says opening the door for me with damp hair and a towel in hand. "Thanks," she says taking the bag with her shoes and the new ones' box. "I'll be right back."
I nod and take a seat on her sofa again.  I hear what sounds like a hair dryer in the distance.  I see the flowers I gave her last night and it feels like an eternity ago.  I close my eyes at how amazing my time with her has been. 
"I'm done," Tris says coming down the hall.  "Sorry."
"No problem," I reply.  I rise and kiss her gently.  We both sigh.  I realize she cares for me as much as I do her. 
"Where do you want to go?  The cafeteria?" she asks. 
"I was thinking of taking you out again," I tell her.  "Do you mind?  I'd rather sit with you... just the two of us," I explain lacing my fingers with hers. 
"Alright," she grins. 
I lead her through the Pit. 
"Where do you want to go?" I ask. 
"I haven't eaten at any of these places," she admits. 
"Do you want me to choose?" I ask. 
"Sure," she nods. 
I take her to a quiet restaurant with good food midday—not too heavy or light. It's a little early and not busy yet. We're seated right away outside of the restaurant. I pull her chair out for her again but take the seat beside her. I know members will be watching us from here and I really don't care. I'm used to ignoring them. I'm hoping she can, too. I kind of want them to see us though, to have something nice to say about her, not assuming the worst. 
I order for the both of us since she's unfamiliar.  I put my arm around her and kiss her temple. 
"This is nice," she whispers caressing my hand on her shoulder. 
I agree with her and think about how I wouldn't mind her being with me all the time in the future.  She could only join me with leadership if we're married, though... but that's definitely a consideration with her in the future. I think about what those girls this morning were gossiping about... me settling down. I kiss her shoulder and pull her close to me. It's definitely a thought of mine... but I doubt she'd consider something like that so soon.
We chat about climbing and workouts a bit. I ask her about her field work, how patrols have moved to Factionless again. She tells me she enjoys them for the most part. They're generally uneventful but she says there were a few incidents when she and Jax have accompanied the soldiers.
"What happened?" I inquire nuzzling her neck.
She laughs lightly and glances to me.
"I saw Edward once. He's gone kind of crazy. I don't think he recognized me. He's sort of a troublemaker," she explains.
"What'd he do?" I question.
"He was just bothering us while we were making our rounds," she shrugs. "He was attempting to be quarrelsome. Picking verbal fights with the soldiers and when they ignored him, he tried shoving some."
"What'd you do?" I inquire concerned.
"Several soldiers held him down while we did our inspections. I explained that we were just passing through and making sure they're keeping the peace. If he's a problem again, I told him they may not just hold him and he better not test them," she explains.
I nod in understanding.
"What else has happened?" I ask concerned.
"There's another guy who is more aggressive. His name is Edgar.  He's much more hostile and violent.  The soldiers have had to slap him around a bit.  Drew was with him and their group was throwing glass bottles and pieces of metal at us once," she explains. 
"Who was the report given to?" I ask concerned pulling her tighter to me. 
"Max," she replies.  "He said that was common in his days and they always wore riot gear with helmets and shields."
"He would know," I nod but I'm concerned about her safety.  "Did anyone ever get hurt?"
"They mostly throw things at the ground," she explains.  "They weren't aiming for people.  Edgar never has anyone throw anything near me, though."
"Why is that?" I question. 
"He has a crush on me," she says. 
"Fabulous," I mumble. 
"He's no competition," she laughs lightly. 
Our meal arrives and we make pleasant conversation but I think I'm going to have this Edgar guy looked into.  I eat my grilled chicken and vegetables with brown rice.  I got her the same.  She eats about half. 
"Not hungry?" I question stabbing a piece of her chicken. 
"I'm less than half your size," she points out. 
"Are you full?" I ask. 
"Almost," she admits. 
I help her to finish her plate. I pay for us before we leave through the Pit on our next adventure.