Divergent One Shots (Eric & Tris)

Sixty-Two-Have I Changed That Much? 19.2

Eric

I see her throughout the weekend around the Pit.  She waves to me when she notices me and I smile at her.  Monday morning I go to exercise and I observe her taking the kids out of the hallway near the care center and through the Pit. I know she's busy but I can't help but wave to her when she notices me.  She has the kids greet me and I chuckle at their voices in unison.  She does as well.  She waves goodbye as she holds one's hand.  Each child is linked together by hands.  They all have bright green hats and vests on to make them easily identifiable.  I watch them swerve through the Pit and go outdoors. I wonder where they're headed...
I start to jog the exterior perimeter of Dauntless territory. I decide to take a different path than usual veering through the neighborhoods outside of the compound.  I see kids playing at a park.  As I approach, I notice those bright green hats and vests.  I slow—I'm near the end anyway.  I see Tris observing them.  On occasion, she assists one with climbing.  I walk up beside her and tap her other shoulder.  She looks and sees no one there.  I chuckle and she turns around fully and slaps me playfully. 
"Hi," she greets. 
"Hey," I nod.  "Do you come out here often?"
"Every day—weather permitting," she nods. 
"I must've just missed you," I tell her. 
She smiles.  "Do you want to see them run?  We're practicing for the train next week."
"Choosing Day," I realize.  Those of age will choose, those who aren't are promoted to the next grade.  Some of the preschoolers are leaving.  "Which ones?" I ask. 
"Two boys, two girls," she says pointing them out. 
"That's all?" I question. 
"Well... a lot of mothers stay home with their children.  Most here have only one parent or two that work," she explains.  "I've got to get them ready for the train."
I nod thinking that's an impossible task.  I watch her call them over and line up.  She gives direction and they follow.  Paula waves to me and I nod.  She's very quiet. 
I observe as they race.  Some are faster than others.
"What time do you go in in the mornings?" I ask her.
"Eight," she says.
"And you're off around five," I nod. "When do you workout?"
"I don't need to," she chuckles.
The kids finish the race and she has them line up according to size.
"Watch this," she grins.
I observe as she picks up a kid and does curls with him. I can't hold in the chuckle that bursts out of my chest. The kids are giggling, too.
"Let me try that," I say picking one up.
I lift him easily and have to grab one for each arm.
"Me next, me next," the kids say running up to me. They tug on my shirt and grab my legs jumping excitedly.
"Alright, one at a time," I agree setting the two boys down.
They actually line up for me and I smirk at Tris.
"You've got them trained," I tell her.
"It doesn't take much," she admits. "Just patience, kindness, and love. Well, that and you've got to be willing to play with them."
"Yeah," I say looking into her eyes. She looks back at me and I'm hoping that expression in her eyes is interest.
I feel a tap on my leg and I see the kids lined up.
"Okay," I give in grinning. "You're Cole, right?"
"Uh huh," he nods happily.
I pick him up and he's substantial—definitely moving on to kindergarten soon. I do an overhead shoulder press with him and he's laughing and squirming a little. This isn't a regular exercise for me—just playing like she said, but it is like a little warm up.  I glance to Tris again and she's looking at me and biting her lip. I think I've found my way in...
I leave them to play and get some energy out for her but it was nice visiting. I workout harder in the training room and shower before going to lunch. I run into Tris walking through the Pit.
"Funny seeing you here," I say in greeting.
"I'm taking my lunch break," she smiles. "I only get thirty minutes, though."
"You better hurry," I tease but I walk with her.
She laughs lightly.
We chat a little on the way and stand in line together. Apparently I'm all the kids were talking about afterwards. I chuckle at that. I never knew I'd be so popular with them. She's telling me about how she's not looking forward to the Choosing Ceremony.
"Why?" I ask confused.
"Because the oldest are leaving," she frowns.
She's become attached. I smile sadly at her and rub her back. She smiles at me. We grab our wrap sandwiches, vegetables, and chips. I walk her to her table and she waves to me, "See you around."
"See ya, Stiff," I smirk.
She chuckles.
Yeah, I might've got a foot in.
I can't stop glancing at her throughout lunch. I see her at about time for her to leave go back through the staff room. She pushes the cart with the kids lunch on it back to the nursery. They must do that on a rotation. Now that I think about it, it was Paula on Friday.
"What's got your attention?" Ryan asks sitting beside me.
"He's crushing on Tris," Max responds.
I grin unable to deny it. I finish my lunch and go up to the office. I decide to look into her birthday since I'm curious. I request a birth record from Abnegation while I'm working on my computer. Robert Black, Sr. responds fairly quickly. I open up the information and he sent me a copy of her birth certificate along with her other records—medical, school, and test results. I'm curious so I flip through them. I decide to print out her birth certificate. I look it over and see the date. I check my calendar and think that's impeccable timing. I send a copy of her medical records to the infirmary. Soon after that I get a response from Dana. She's updated her medical charts. I see the difference over the years—she'd always been small for her age until she arrived at Dauntless and she's shot up in height. She's actually in the top ten percent of females her age in the city and I find that surprising. She 5'10" and weighs 117 lbs. Dana has notation beside that on her chart that she's technically underweight but she has a smaller frame than most and her weight is appropriate for her body type. I decide to give her a copy of that, too. I get a blank sheet of thicker paper from my printer and make her a card. I put her age on the outside. Inside, I write:

Happy Birthday, Little Stiff!

As you can see, you're not so little anymore. Have a great one.

Eric

I grab an envelope from my desk drawer. I fold the medical forms in half. I pick up her birth certificate and look over the little imprints of baby feet and fingerprints. I see the time was in the late afternoon. Perhaps I'll leave early and bring this to her. I look over her files once more. I see school records and test results are listed. I open it up to see she did remarkably well in school. I'm surprised by that... and that she chose to babysit for a living. She's good with them though, and she enjoys it. I click on her test results in curiosity. I wonder what this is because her school testing was listed on the other. As it opens, I realize this is her Aptitude results. I sit up in surprise. I look them over to see she got Abnegation... and it was manually entered. Usually that's what Abnegation does to hide Divergents... but she ranked number one here. Maybe they made a mistake because she's clearly Dauntless. I dismiss that and close up the envelope. I finish my work and leave early to run a quick errand and stop by her work.
I see the kids running around. She's chasing them. She grabs one kid and tickles him. She sets him down and he sits off to the side. One of the kids dodges her attempts. She's fast. She ducks under her legs and Tris chuckles. She continues on the game until everyone is caught.
"Okay everyone. Let's take a break," she says a little breathlessly. I see her getting a drink of water and they take turns drinking as well.
Tris notices me and waves. She approaches me while they're still distracted with the water.
"Hi," she smiles. "What brings you by?"
"I have something for you," I admit.
I give her the single dark red rose and the card. It has her name printed on the outside. She looks at me.
"It's today," I shrug. "Right now, actually," I tell her looking to my watch.
She glances at me again and smiles. She's got a slight blush on her cheeks. She bites her lip and opens the card. She sees the number on the cover and then notices the birth certificate and medical records. She chuckles. "Oh man, I was always way below average before," she laughs lightly.
"But Dauntless suits you," I point out.
She meets my eyes and smiles before reading the card. She grins in reply but looks touched that I would do this. I know she's never celebrated before but this is something small. I don't think this took her out of her comfort zone.
"Thank you for this, Eric," she says holding the card to her chest.
"You're welcome," I reply. "Happy birthday," I tell her softly.
"It's Miss Tris's birthday?" one of the kids asks excitedly as she gets between us and kind of hangs on her.
The kids come rushing over around her jumping up and down excitedly. One brings a special golden crown—plastic, of course—but they make her put it on.
I chuckle at seeing her wear it.
"Queen for the day," she laughs.
I realize this means something to her—small things, not a party but her favorite people doing something nice for her. They all dance around her holding hands and singing happy birthday with their little voices. She looks back up to me and waves. She mouths thank you to me.
I nod and wave before leaving her to enjoy what time she has left with her little munchkins.

*****

I run into her with the kids often during my jogs throughout the week.  I visit with them and play with the kids a bit each day before going to the training room.  I usually run faster before, then workout harder with weights and the heavy bags. 
On occasion, I see her in the Pit or cafeteria.  I love it when she's with the kids.  They're easily identifiable and she always has such a radiant smile when she's with them. 
I'm disappointed when I don't see her over most of the weekend but she shows up for lunch on Sunday.  She looks incredible in more formalwear.  Her hair and makeup are done.  I observe that I'm not the only one who notices.  Several guys approach her.  She smiles at them and speaks with them momentarily before they walk away appearing dejected.  She doesn't date... but she'll be friends with me.  I sigh and stare at her longingly. 
Sadly, I don't see her even at dinner.  I'm not sure what's going on but I honestly miss her.