Second Chances (Eric and Tris)

Figuring it out: Part 21

Eric strode into the sparring room and glanced around. He noticed Kleen at the punching bags. Walking over to him he grabbed the bag from behind to steady it. Kleen thanked him breathlessly. "So take a break. I need you to get some rest. I need a sparring partner and you are no good to me if you are out of energy." Kleen stopped hopping around and dropped his hands as he studied his friend. He took in the tightness of his jaw, the stress around his face and the circles under his eyes. All in all, Eric looked like shit.

"Sure. Let's grab something to eat." Kleen grabbed his water and they made their way to the hub. Grabbing trays, Eric only added another coffee and a muffin. His appetite was not there. Kleen on the other hand, knowing that even when he was feeling under the weather, that Eric could beat the shit out of anyone, was loading his tray up with everything, hoping to load up on his energy while he could. They found a place to sit. After an awkward minute of silence, Kleen finally broke down. "So what's going on?" Eric just raised his pierced eyebrow, shooting him his coldest look, which seemed to have no effect on his friend. "Oh come off it. Something has got you all worked up. It is written all over your face." Still Eric was not willing to talk about it. He was not one that opened up easily. He was not even sure what he was feeling, let alone sharing his jumbled up feelings with someone else. He needed to work things out first, then talk it out. "Fine, but whatever it is, I know that it is about to be taken out on me, so I just thought that I had the right to know what I was going to be beaten up for..." Eric let out a quiet laugh. Hey it was a start...Shaking his head, he let out a sigh.

"Did you ever feel like you thought you knew someone, had them all figured out, then bam? You get smacked in the face with the last thing you wanted to hear? The one thing that could change everything forever?"

"Are we discussing a female? Because if we are, then yes. This has happened to me. And there is nothing more difficult." Eric studied Kleen for a moment to figure out if he was joking or being serious, but for once, his friends deep blue eyes held nothing but sincerity.

"What did you do?"

"What I did and what you do, while the process is the same the outcome might be different. You need to figure out if what you found out is a big enough problem that cannot be overcome. Is this something that you will not be able to get over?" Kleen paused for a moment as Eric stared off into the distance, clearly thinking about what his friend was saying. "Will you look at her differently now that you know? These are the questions that you need to ask yourself. Will you still love her? Once you can answer those questions, you will know what you need to do. If you can stay or if you need to walk away." Eric looked back to Kleen.

"What did you do?" He asked again.

"Eric," Kleen leaned forward so that their heads were mere inches apart, "what I did and what you do are going to be different. I am not in your shoes and you are not in mine. I have a feeling what you learned was not the same as what I did. So therefore what I did does not matter. I am not going to tell you. There is no easy way out of this. You need to answer those questions on your own. I am sorry man. I wish it was easier. If it helps I can write them down for you..."

"Fuck you!" Eric said shoving his friend away. Kleen laughed as he gathered his tray and stood. Eric did the same all the while thinking of the questions Kleen put forth. Those were what he needed to figure out before he saw Tris again. This way, he would know one way or another how this was all going to end.

· * * * *

Tris was going stir crazy in the apartment all alone. Eric had left around 3 hours earlier. When she woke up that morning, she had never expected the day to turn out like it had. Now all she wanted was to go back in time and start over. But no matter how she replayed the conversation in her head it never came out any different. His expression and words were always the same or worse. Given what she had told him, his response was actually rather mild. However, given what she knew of Eric, he could be down at leadership headquarters planning on the best way to take her into custody. Shaking her head, Tris put those thoughts out of her mind. Not only would that never happen, she was part of leadership after all, she trusted Eric. He would not turn her in. What she was truly afraid of, if she let herself admit it, was that he would come back, gather up his things and leave. In the short time that he had lived with Tris, she had grown so used to having him there. Her feelings for him had grown, far faster then she cared to admit. While she had feelings for him before he moved in, which she never acknowledged, with him living there she was forced to face her feelings head on. Working with him so closely in leadership the last few months, living together, and now trusting him with her biggest secret, showed her the obvious truth. She was in love with Eric. Tris threw herself onto the couch. She did not regret telling him the truth. She would never had lied to him. That would have only made things worse when he did find out, and find out he would at some point, of that Tris had no doubt. No she would face the music. She would try and make him see that she was not like those divergent that he knew of in the past. She was not like that. She was good. She was on his side. She would do whatever it took. Taking a deep breath Tris pushed herself off the couch. She would no longer sit here and mope. Going to the cupboard, she grabbed a bottle of wine and headed for Christina's apartment.