Divergent One Shots (Eric & Tris)

Eighty-One-Beyond Boarders 23.4

Tris

I wake the next morning to the familiar patter of a downpour.  I shake Eric awake and run outside with my bundle of laundry.  I drop my towel at the door.  We both handle ourselves first and then our clothes.  The collection is already set out and has been waiting for the next rain. 
"I love the rain," I tell him chuckling. 
"So do I," he replies seriously. 
"The marsh stinks," I point out. 
"Yeah," he agrees. 
It'll do to wash but the rain is better.  We can boil the marsh water and filter it but I prefer the freshness of the rain. 
I walk toward my towel with my bundle.  I wrap the towel around myself.  I squeeze out my hair and clothes.  Eric's beside me.  He knows I'm uncomfortable with the nudity and he covers himself mostly to appease me.  I glance at him though and I realize he's checking me out.  I flush at that and turn away.  I slip my clothes on with the towel still covering myself and don't look back at him.  I dry my hair better and wring my clothes out again without glancing in his direction. 
The downpour continues all day.  We decide to wash our bedsheets and towels outside together.  I put on some already damp clothes while he goes out in just his current boxers.  After that, we fill the bathtub with water and replace the containers outside, continually filling the tub to capacity.  We fill some of the empty glass jars we have and anything else that we can find. 
We're stuck inside for the remainder of the day because of the significant rainfall.  We lounge around on the sofa together—I lay down partly with my legs across the cushions between us and my knees bent up, Eric sits upright beside me.  He reads a bit while I stare out the window admiring the splendor of the rain.  He picks up my feet and rests them gently on his lap as I continue to lay beside him on the sofa.  I stare at him in surprise. I feel him stroking my feet absentmindedly. 
I move onto observing him as he reads on.  He really is a beautiful male.  His features are chiseled and perfect.  His muscles are enormous and powerful.  His body... well, I'm not going to look too much.  His eyes are a bit darker than mine.  He has a dark ring around them that's more pronounced than mine.  His jaw is strong and covered in a stubble from more than a week or two of being out here—I honestly haven't been counting the days.  I've noticed his short hair that's growing out is curly when wet.  I bite my lip as I continue to examine him.  He is incredibly attractive and I can't believe I've never noticed before.  The more time we've spent together, I have to admit that I've grown quite fond of him.  He's so smart and clever.  He can be tender and caring when he wants to be.  I honestly wouldn't mind spending more time with him out here than just the month. 
When he puts the book down midday, he moves my feet aside.  He doesn't acknowledge that he was just caressing me for more than an hour but I still feel the residual sensation of his touch and my entire being is singing in pleasure.  I've never felt physical contact such as that before and I actually crave him as more time passes. 
He brings us back some dried meat, some greens, fruit, and nuts along with some water. 
"I saw a black walnut tree nearby," I mention to him taking a sip of the water he hands me.  He takes the glass back and drinks from the same vessel as well. 
"I like walnuts," he comments.  "We could go soon and explore that area."
"Okay," I nod.  "If I remember correctly, it was near the end of the fallen building—that street.  I saw some squirrels over there already gathering them."
"Are you sure there will be some left?" he questions. 
"I'm sure," I nod.  The tree was enormous. 
"We could trap them, too," he adds. 
I snort at that and eat some meat.  It's not fish but it's good. 
"I saw some deer by the marsh the other morning.  I'm thinking of sacrificing a few bullets to take one out," he mentions. 
"That would be a lot of meat," I agree. 
I shiver. 
"Cold?" Eric asks. 
"Yeah, I think the temperature has dropped," I nod. 
Without asking permission, he pulls me closer to him.  I don't protest.  He's so warm... and familiar and comfortable.  He smells incredible and I bury my head in his chest.  He sighs softly and holds me.  We finish our lunch wrapped in each other's arms.  I stop shivering but he still holds me.  I rest my head on his shoulder and I feel him rubbing my back.  I know I have feelings for him now.  They grow stronger as we become closer. 
I wake in the early morning still in Eric's embrace on the sofa.  I think we both grew so comfortable last night that neither of us wanted to move.  I look to him and he's watching me. 
"The sun isn't up yet.  We could go hunting for deer," he offers. 
I realize the patter of rain has stopped.
"Alright.  We can handle the water quickly and head out... or get it when we come back," I mention. 
"Water," he insists.  "We'll just bring it in.  I don't want anything contaminating it."
I agree.  We fill everything we can find with it and head out together on a hunt.  I've never done this before and he says he hasn't either—nothing this large anyway. 
"They're skittish," he warns me in a whisper.  "Light feet and stay quiet."
I nod in understanding. 
We gently make the brief trek to the marsh.  I see them drinking in the distance.  There's an entire herd of them.  We stay downwind and gingerly approach.  I observe Eric ready for a shot.  I decide to aim for another.  There are two males with horns—I think of them like peacocks, the male more noticeable.  We take our shots and they scatter.  I laugh in surprise as we approach them.  There are two large males that we took out—the biggest one he aimed for and me the slightly smaller one. 
"Steak tonight," he grins. 
He actually takes me in his arms and hugs me.  I smile and hug him back.  I hear a sigh and feel a kiss to the top of my head.  I can't keep the smile off of my face and it has nothing to do with the food.  I observe as he field preps them, gutting them.  He saves some parts he says should be edible—heart and liver—but loses the rest.  He hauls his massive one and I take my smaller one. 
We get closer to home and he builds a gigantic fire.  He cuts off steaks for us, then thinly slices the rest for jerky.  We put salt that we've found in homes and some ground peppercorn on them.  They're old but hopefully still good.  He tastes a liquid seasoning he says is traditional but it's extremely ancient. 
"It tastes fine to me.  What do you think?" he asks my opinion.
"Really salty," I point out.  "It's not bad, though."
"We'll try it on some.  We've got so much that it's worth the risk," he explains.  "It'll help it last longer."
I nod in agreement. 
We eat our steaks with a smile on each of our faces.  This is good.  It's definitely a reason to get excited. 
"We'll finish drying these today and go out for your tree tomorrow," he decides. 
"Alright boss," I tease jokingly. 
"I would think we're equals here," he says softly to me meeting my eyes.
"You're still my leader," I point out gently, with the utmost respect. 
"We're partners," he whispers caressing my cheek. 
I smile and nod.  I think I'm falling for him. 
We remove the jerky and use some dry packs we've found in a sealed container at home to store them.  We still had a few cases of clean glass jars left and we put the majority of the meat in there.  By nightfall, the temperature has dropped substantially.  We break apart the remnants of our fire and head home with our massive score. 
I put on some oddly colored clothing I've found at home that's still wearable and grab a spare blanket.  We sit together on the sofa for a little while in front of the fireplace in the living room before the sunlight is completely gone.  He holds me close to him, using the excuse that I'm cold.  But he eventually turns my chin to face him and captures my lips.  I gasp in surprise at first before I absolutely surrender to him.  His kiss is so warm, soft and gentle. I melt into him completely addicted to the sweetness of it. He deepens the kiss and I allow him to do as he pleases—feeling a passion I've never experienced before. The sensation is new, nothing like anything I've experienced in the past. I feel it in my heart, an aching in my core, but also a tingling throughout my entire being telling me, He's the one.
"I love you," he whispers to me and my heart sings at hearing that. I know in this moment that I do as well.  "It's always been you, Tris," he says softly across my skin. 
I tell him I feel the same—that I love him as well because I know it in my heart.  He smiles and kisses me again. I grin and kiss him back, so completely addicted. I've got to have more. I need him.  He leads me up to bed but seems disappointed when I separate from him.  He agrees and kisses me again wishing me goodnight. 
We wake with the sun and a mission.  We load up our packs and head out for the tree.  We drive this time, though.  We climb the tree and collect bag upon bag of walnuts practically filling the truck interior. 
"We still have to process them," I point out.
He nods in understanding but he's smiling. 
"You sure these are walnuts?" he questions skeptically. 
I look around on the ground.  I pick up an empty shell from another and show it to him. 
"Alright," he nods.  "You know your stuff."
I grin at him and he reaches out and kisses me so softly, so sweetly. I bite my lip and smile up at him as he parts from me. Yeah, I'm in love. 
We leave the bags in the truck and search nearby homes.  We have this unspoken rule that we refuse to enter anywhere that has fallen pieces or looks dilapidated.  It's just not worth the risk.  We only inspect solid-looking buildings.  I discover several useful things like empty milk crates for the nut processing.  There's also several rolls of mesh screening.  I find some industrial-looking rubber gloves—even a pair that might actually fit him, too.  I take everything with me and load it up.
I come across Eric in another room upon my return into the building.  I see him pocketing some jewelry... which he's never done before.  I don't mind, though.  This entire trip is not for personal gain.  He's doing this for a reason.  He steps aside and shows me what else he's found.  It looks kind of like a trumpet or lampshade or something. 
"What is it?" I ask curiously. 
He winds a large crank reminding me of his fishing pole causing something to spin around horizontally.  He takes a plastic disk and sets it down moving a long arm-like device with a needle.  Music plays and I jump back and laugh in surprise. 
"It's an old record player," he smiles at me. 
"That's incredible," I say in shock. 
"I want this," he tells me. 
"Alright," I agree nodding.  "Let's move the nuts over and I'll help you carry it.  I feel like I've seen those paper covered disks before."
"I've seen a few, too.  I guess we have something to add to my search list," he smirks. 
I peck his lips and we carry the record player.  We come back and take the entire shelf with his records, too. 
"What's all this?" he asks me about the supplies I've collected in the truck. 
"Just some stuff to help with processing them," I shrug.  I'll explain it later. 
We rearrange everything and close up the doors before we return in the truck. I dump the heaps of nuts out on a main road not too close but not too far away from home.  I have him drive gently over the nuts to help remove the husks.  We pick them out wearing the gloves and load up the milk crates with the nuts.  We go toward the marsh and dump marsh water on the nuts to clean them off before we return home with them.  I spread them out on the screens and wrap them in additional screening material to deter any animals that might want to steal our haul away.  We let them dry in the sun and return inside. 
"I can't believe how much protein we have," he says in awe.  "A man could live here happily for the rest of his life."
I smile at him and kiss him gently.  He looks like he wants to tell me something... but he's still deciding, searching my eyes.  I'll leave him be until he's ready.