Learning to Let Them In | Fourtris

Chapter 49

Tris's POV

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, TRISSY POO!"

I expertly duck, leaving Uri to stumble over my outstretched foot in his dead sprint. I burst out laughing at the sight of him sprawled on the floor in red footie pajamas.

"What," I laugh, "are you wearing?"

He pouts. "My Christmas pajamas."

I roll my eyes and help him up, grunting for show. He shoves me away and huffs, stomping further into his house. I follow him, taking off my snow boots and coat by the door, dropping my gloves and hat beside them. Hana is the next person I see, currently making breakfast in the kitchen.

Uriah plops into the nearest chair, sulking. He jabs a thumb at me when Hana turns to look and says, "Mom, she's making fun of me!"

Hana laughs and points her spatula at her son. "For good reason, dear."

Uriah looks deeply offended. "You were supposed to defend me!"

"Honey, you brought that upon yourself when you and Zeke bought those."

My jaw drops. "Wait—Zeke has an ugly set of footie pajamas too?!"

"They are not ugly!" the two brothers sound at once, and I spin on my foot to see Zeke pounding down the stairs. And, sure enough, he wears matching pajamas, the green looking atrocious against his skin tone. I burst into laughter again, all air escaping my lungs.

"Please, please, please," I beg, "say that you forced Four into matching white ones."

Arms wrap around me from behind, and I squeal as they pick me up and spin me enough to make me dizzy. When I'm finally put down, Tobias's face swims into view looking quite entertained.

"They tried," he says with a shrug.

"And you hit me for it!" Zeke exclaims, going over to plop beside Uriah. "Look, Tris!"

He moves his shoulder out of the grasp of green fabric and shows me a blooming purple bruise. I laugh again and shoot a not-so-convincing ashamed look Tobias's direction. He rolls his eyes, looking very unbothered by the fact that he punched his best friend on Christmas morning.

"You are definitely on the naughty list for next year," I tut, shaking a finger. Zeke and Uriah look utterly thrilled that I'm scolding him, even if it's mockingly. From Hana's contained laughter and ignorance of the situation, I think it would be safe to guess that she hadn't done anything about the incident. Not that I blame her.

"Right," Tobias says in reply to me.

"Why in the world would you turn down a stylish set of footie pajamas?" I ask, and this seems to shock the Pedrad boys. It even seems to surprise Hana and Tobias, the former bursting into laughter from her place at the griddle and the latter's smirk dropping. "You are so rude, young man. I don't think you deserve a present from me anymore."

Tobias stands agape as Zeke and Uriah laugh.

"Yeah!" Uriah shouts. "You don't get your present now!"

"Looks like the Grinch found that having no Christmas spirit has consequences the hard way this year," Zeke comments, standing and patting Tobias's shoulder. "Tough luck, man. Maybe next year."

Tobias struggles not to retort, and I smile at the change in him. Moving in with the Pedrads had been good for him. It brought a certain boyishness back into his eyes that he hadn't had before.

Hana had been a good influence on him as well: Tobias had gone without a mother for so long that being nurtured and loved had completely escaped his world. Only in memories had he had that, so being given it again had a more than positive influence on him. He no longer walked with the weight of the world on his shoulders, as if each step was a struggle, as if he had to keep everyone he loved at a distance to protect them.