Something Y/n hated about being Dauntless was having to deal with unruly factionless. A group of Dauntless including Eric, Four and Y/n had been sent out to deal with a group of factionless that had killed multiple people.
It didn’t take long before they had gotten the situation under control. Y/n was walking around checking to make sure they could leave soon. When all of sudden she felt something run into her.
“Ooph.” Y/n looked down and saw a boy hugging her. “Hello there.”
“Where’s your parent’s?” Y/n asked after the boy didn’t say anything.
“Don’t have any.” he shook his head as he answered.
Y/n raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“They were killed.” The boy mumbled looking at his shoes. Y/n noticed he had some dirt on him and a little blood but he didn’t look hurt.
“By them?” Y/n pointed to the group of factionless behind her. The group who had been responsible for killing a few people. The boy nodded ‘yes’, confirming her perceived thoughts.
“Stay next to me okay?” Y/n told him, holding him to her wanting to comfort the poor child who saw his parents murdered only hours ago. “Eric!”
Eric walked over with a confused expression. “What? Who’s this?”
“I’m Emmett.”The boy spoke up softly.
“That's a great name.” Y/n smiled down at him. Trying to show the child a friendly face after what he had no doubt seen.
“My mommy named me.” Emmett smiled up at her.
“Where is she Emmett?” Eric questioned the boy, he was wondering why his girl was with this boy in the first place.
“Gone.” the boy looked down at the ground sadly with watery eyes.
“Can you stay with my friend Four for a second?” Y/n knelt down hoping the boy would trust her.
“O-okay.” Emmett stuttered anxiously, not liking the idea of being away from her.
“You see that guy right there? That's my friend Four.” Y/n turned them to face where Four was and pointed him out.
“Like the number?” He asked with a smile.
Y/n nodded with a smile. “Just like the number.”
“Four!” Y/n yelled out causing Four to turn around and look at her. He sees the boy and nodd’s to Y/n in understanding. Emmett walked over to Four. Once he was out of ear chot Y/n and Eric turned to each other as Y/n stood back to full height.
“Where are his parents?” Eric asks with crossed arms.
“Gone. Dead. He said they were killed and pointed to the factionless over there.” Y/n explained to him what Emmett had told her.
“His parents were killed in the attack.” Eric sighed, getting even more angry that this happened at all.
“I think so. He’s not dirty, besides from hiding and there is some fresh blood on his clothes. But its not his, I checked.” She told him further.
“God dammit.” he huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.
“Eric, I don’t want to leave him alone.” Y/n spoke with a shaky voice worried to the boy who was no more than 6, having already grown attached to the kid.
“Be with him, We’ll deal with this.” Eric nodded understanding where she was coming from.
“Eric.” Y/n called his name as they walked away from each other. Effectively stopping him. “Make it hurt.”
Y/n referred to what they were gonna do to the murders in the factionless group. She hated that they made this poor boy an orphan.
Y/n walked over to Four and Emmett immediately latched onto her legs.
While Four walked over to Eric and the two watched Y/n and the little boy walked away.
“She’s already fallen in love with that boy. You know that right?” Four spoke up to Eric smiling at Y/n’s behavior.
“Yeah. I can tell. . . His parents were killed in the attack.” Eric agree’s before telling Four what had just happened to the said boy.
“Poor kid.” Four sighed feeling for the boy.
Once Four and Eric talked about what to do about the factionless situation Eric headed over to where Y/n and Emmett were playing tic tac to in the dirt.
“Ready to go?” Eric says as he approached Y/n.
“Yeah.” She nodded.
“Come one kid. You to.” Eric gestured with his hands for the boy to get up to go with them.
“What?” Emmett was confused.
“Your coming home with us.” Eric states, completely shocking the boy.
“Not that I’m not happy but why?” Y/n whispered to Eric so Emmett wouldn’t overhear her.
Eric looked her in the eyes. “He needs a family.”
It was more than that but they could talk about that later. Alone without listening ears.
“Are you serious?” Y/n was shocked but happy and also confused Eric doesn’t like kids as far as Y/n knew.
“He’s grown on me okay.” Eric answered with a shrug of his shoulder. Really what had grown on him was watching Y/n with the boy. How she was acting all motherly towards the boy. It did something to Eric watching that.
“Thank you.” Y/n smiled gratefully up at her man before kissing him on the cheek. Their little family.
Dauntless initiate Sara Sumner is far more interested in her trainer Eric than she should be, but must accept that anything more than friendship between them is strictly off-limits until she can gain an official place in her faction of choice. As she continues her initiation, revelations about Eric’s past soon come to light, and Sara learns why he keeps himself closed off from others, hiding behind his reputation as a harsh and unforgiving leader.
When the time finally comes for them to embark on a tentative relationship, Sara and Eric are immediately forced to contend with the head of Erudite, Jeanine, whose sinister plot to seek out and destroy Divergents involves recruiting Eric to the cause.
Within your first few moments as a Dauntless initiate, you meet two very important people. You know Four because he is your older brother, but Eric Coulter seems like he’s going to have a much larger part of your life than just another Dauntless leader.
masterlist
Wind rushes around your head, under your feet. You’re weightless, hanging freely in the air. There’s a loud sound, clanging out of the emptiness that surrounds you.
Where are you?
Then you hit the floor of the train car, catching yourself in a contained roll, and you remember. The Choosing Ceremony. Red blood on black coals, hissing in the fire. Cut hands bandaged, feet running on pavement. You just jumped from the platform to the train car, and it’s carrying you away from here. You’ve barely left, but already you feel your mind taking you somewhere else, to linger on the future. You don’t want to spend another second thinking about the first part of your life, every waking moment that took you to this time right here. The future is the only thing for you now.
A derisive voice sounds from the train car. “You alright there, Stiff? You look a little shaken. Are you sure that Dauntless is right for you?”
You raise your eyebrow, turning slowly and deliberately to face the challenging Candor boy, and shrug.
“Guess I’ll fit in about as much as you. Is it going to hurt that everyone isn’t going to tell the truth, or are you used to living in a place where no one likes you?”
There’s a ripple of surprised laughter from the other initiates in the train car, and you turn around with a slight grin. You may be from Abnegation, but you don’t intend to act like one any longer. And why should you? You’ve left that place behind you now, and you intend to take full advantage of the sudden freedom.
You’ve only been on the train for a short while before one of the Dauntless raises his voice in a shout, gesturing out the open doors to the waiting roofs below.
“Jump.”
He only needs to say the one word before he turns, plummeting out of the speeding train to land decisively on the roof below.
Candor boy, the one who’d challenged you earlier, is clearly looking for a way to gain back his confidence, so he comes and stands by you.
He glances out over the roof. “Think it’ll hurt?”
You grin. “Not in the slightest.”
You’re in the mood for some showboating, so you launch yourself out of the train car, twisting your legs underneath you midair to land after a perfectly timed flip. Your feet don’t waver for a second.
You’re one of the first jumpers from the train, so your little stunt catches the eye of one of the Dauntless trainers standing next to you. He snorts in disbelief.
“Maybe things have changed a bit since I’ve last been there, but of all the initiates to be doing a flip out of the train car, I didn’t expect it to be the Stiff.”
You glance over at the Dauntless, who’s decked out in black from head to toe. Even with his jacket, you can tell he’s covered with tattoos. Despite being only a couple of years older than you, the other trainers seem to look at him with respect.
You realize he’s waiting for an answer, so you cock your head to one side.
“Not all of us are boring,” you grin, “Some of us want to do more than just sit around all day.”
The man’s gaze flickers up and down your form. “I guess that explains the flip.”
More transfers are starting to fill the roof, so the man jerks his chin at you in a goodbye and walks over to rejoin the other Dauntless on the edge of the roof.
Once everyone has started to cluster in around the Dauntless leaders, the man clasps his hands in front of him.
“I’m Eric. I’m one of your leaders.”
He’s standing on the barrier of the roof, pacing back and forth despite the fact that he’s only got a couple of inches in between himself and a seemingly endless drop. Seeing everyone’s gaze on the empty space behind him, Eric gestures a hand loosely backwards.
“You want to enter Dauntless, this is the way in.”
Muttering breaks out around you. You know that being the first one to jump would be the bravest thing to do, certainly the thing to get you noticed. But that drop does seem rather deadly, and you’d prefer to find out that this was all a test to mock those who’d jump blindly from a roof after the first kid dies, rather than be the one with their legs broken in a hospital room.
So, you let some cocky Dauntless-born go first, then push your way through the crowd to go second. You know it’s safe now, why not just get it over with? As you appear out of the throngs, you see Eric’s eyes flash with something that looks almost like approval, or maybe the fact that he’s not surprised the girl flipping out of train cars would be interested in jumping first. You stand for a moment on the precipice, then let yourself fall forward into the dark hole of the roofs. It’s surprisingly freeing, this fall, and you feel yourself grinning despite the fact that you’re hurtling towards the ground.
Your fall is broken by a net, and your eyes travel up the brick walls to the roof at the very top of the building, where you can distantly see figures crowded around the edge to see if you’ve died a particularly painful death. Then, you’re being helped off of the net, and you’re suddenly inches away from a very familiar face.
“Hello,” he says, “My name is Four.”
Your brow furrows in confusion. The young man standing before you is very familiar, but his name has never once been Four. No, you know him as Tobias, your brother. Older by a couple of years, left you when he transferred. He grins at the look of confusion on your face, evidently enjoying the fact that his sister has no idea what he’s talking about.
“What’s your name, initiate?”
You’re about to tell him that he should definitely know your name, as he’s your brother, thank you very much, but then you realize what he’s doing. If there’s one thing you hate, it’s being underestimated or taken for granted. If word got out that Tobias (or Four, now? Still weird) was your older brother, people would assume that you’d only survive in Dauntless because of him. By pretending he doesn’t know you, Tobias is giving you a way out, and an opportunity to make your own way through training. You’re instantly grateful for it.
“Y/N. My name is Y/N.”
Tobias nods, then turns to shout to the room around you.
“Second jumper: Y/N!”
The room erupts in cheering, and Tobias turns away from you to help out the newly arrived third jumper, whose screams of either exhilaration or utter terror have started to echo around the room.
Once everyone has finally jumped (and a few appear to have been pushed, due to the way some initiates are glaring at others), Tobias walks over to the gathered group.
“My name is Four,” he begins, but some loudmouth Candor breaks a smile.
“Four like the number?” She says, and Tobias turns to her with a glare only you can tell is more exasperated than outright murderous.
“Yes, exactly like the number.”
Well, that explains roughly zero things about why he chose that name. That doesn’t matter, though, what matters is that Tobias/Four is threatening this Candor girl and she looks absolutely terrified. It’s strange, seeing him like this- he’s been the caring older brother for all of your life and now he’s almost a completely different person.
After this introduction is over, you’re taken on a tour through the Dauntless building. You’re grateful to get some new clothes, black with orange detailing. It feels nice to remove the drab gray garments of Abnegation, and finally get rid of the target on your back. You’re not weak, no matter what faction you came from, and you’re itching to prove it.
And prove it you do- you win fight after fight, and your ranking soars place after place. It’s strange how easy it is to beat someone into a pulp, and how rewarding it feels. Four notices this, but he keeps his mouth shut other than a nod of approval across the room. You’ve known him long enough to understand all the words it means.
Four isn’t the only one to notice your skill in fighting- Eric, too, exchanges glances over unconscious bodies with cold smiles, words of advice. You appear to be one of the only initiates he can actually stand, which is saying something. Your time in Abnegation may have rubbed off on you a little, because you don’t like bragging about yourself that much, but it does add a little spring to your step to see him leave other matches to watch you fight, or to hear him talk with you after class.
One day, about half of the way through Stage One of training, Eric and Four announce that you’ll be playing Capture the Flag. You’re surprised to see that Eric picks you for his team, even before Four has the chance to draft you himself. It feels good, and especially good when your team ends up winning.
Eric can’t help himself. It’s the perfect opportunity- dark night, sounds of Capture the flag drifting up around him. He practically had to pick Y/N, she’s the best shot and the best with her fists. Practically the best initiate Dauntless has this year, anyway. Plus, she’s somehow forced her way into a soft spot in Eric’s heart, a place he didn’t even know existed until he met her.
Now they’re running side by side, trading expert shots at enemy team members as they make their way steadily closer to Four’s flag. The usually difficult game is oddly easy tonight. It’s almost strange how well he and Y/N work together. They cover each others’ backs without even having to say a word, duck and run with silent understanding. They’re practically made for each other.
They win, of course. It’s not like it was a surprise. Four’s team was good, sure, but Eric’s was better. They’re heading back to the compound now, back to a short night of rest before another long day of training. Y/N’s walking beside him, the different team members exchanging blow-by-blow recaps of the game that are only blown out of proportion by a small amount.
They jump down from a low-hanging building, but the dimly lit night causes Y/N to misjudge her dismount by just a little and she stumbles slightly on some rubble. Eric’s arm flies out before he realizes it, wrapping around her waist and steadying her. Y/N flashes him a grin, which seems to light up the entire night.
Then her eyes leave him, traveling instead to Four, who’s also noticed her slight misstep. She doesn’t say anything, just gives him this silent look that seems to communicate something along the lines of I’m fine, stop bothering me. Four just returns her gaze, raising his eyebrows. Eric can’t help but feel some wave of jealousy cresting over him. No matter how many times Eric talks to Y/N, or makes up excuses to walk with her through the halls of the Dauntless compound, it never seems to be enough to rival whatever’s going on between her and Four. How does the guy do it- just understand her like that? Eric forces himself to look away. If he doesn’t, if he thinks about it for any longer, he might be sick.
Stage One of training is finally over. You join the others pouring into the Pit, excited to see the rankings. Sure enough, your name is one of those clustered at the very top. You grin, rocking back on your heels in silent victory. You sense someone walking up behind you, and turn with a smile to see Eric, whose eyes are fixed not on the board but on you. You feel a blush rising in your cheeks and force it away.
“I’m not surprised you did so well in the rankings. You’ve been killing it so far.”
You beam at him, too full of excitement to maintain the aloof expression you usually try to keep up. “Still feels nice to see it in writing.”
You shiver slightly, then turn to Eric. “Is it true what they’re saying about the second stage? That we’ll have to see our fears in some simulation?”
Eric nods, his expression growing distant. “Yeah, but it’s not that bad. I know you can get through it.”
It’s funny- he hasn’t seen you go through the simulation once, has no idea what you’re like or what fears haunt you. Yet he has every confidence in you. You sigh, wishing you had the same hope in yourself.
Eric, always razor-sharp, notices this, and reaches an arm out to sling around your shoulders. “Don’t worry about it, Y/N. You’ll be fine, if Stage One is any indication.”
You pause for a moment, letting this sink in, then allow yourself to relax. Maybe he’s right. Maybe you really do have nothing to worry about.
You have two options: travel through your fear landscape with your brother, the one who’s seen you through almost all of your life, or with Eric, the man you met at the start of your new life in Dauntless. When you choose the latter, Four tracks you down after dinner, and you cringe slightly at the irritated look on his face.
The two of you walk silently until you’re alone in the halls, and then he turns around to face you. “You want to tell me why you’re doing your fear landscape with Eric?”
You shrug, feigning indifference. “You want to tell me why it matters so much? I thought we were trying to pretend we didn’t know each other.”
Four gives you a withering look. “I’m your brother. I feel like I should be there for you.”
You roll your eyes. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a simulation.”
Four folds his arms across his chest. “Just a simulation? Y/N, it’s your worst fears all forced inside your head.” He sighs, looking away. “I know we didn’t have the best childhood, but I thought you’d at least trust me for this.”
You fix him with a look of outrage. “You think this is because I don’t trust you? Tobias, I’m doing this because of what we went through. Our father didn’t-”
Your voice breaks off, and you force yourself to remain calm, but it’s hard when you think of everything you’re trying to forget. “Our father didn’t stop doing what he did to you when you left. I figure it would be easier to forget it and let it disappear if you’re not in my head every single time.”
Four flinches. “You mean-”
You nod slowly. “There are things that I never want to think about again, and I just know that the fear landscape can’t be something I do with you. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
Four nods slowly. “I’m sorry too. At least we’ve got each other now, right?”
He wraps an arm around your shoulders, and you let yourself lean into him. It feels like home, almost. The good parts of home, when it was just you and him when you were small.
Eric is tired. He wants to go to bed and never have to see another terrified initiate again. Some of them have the strangest, most pathetic fears. It’s almost funny, were it not for the fact that he’s the one who has to train all of them through it. Eric heads out of the cafeteria early, wandering down the twisting halls to reach his room and finally go to sleep.
He slows his pace when he hears voices, silencing his footfalls until you couldn’t tell that he was there at all. He recognizes one figure, then two. Y/N, and walking beside her, Four. They’re engaged in some sort of heated argument, which ends with Y/N saying something in a voice too quiet to hear. As he watches, Four reaches out an arm and pulls Y/N close to him. She allows herself to relax into his arms. Eric realizes dully that this is the difference between himself and Four when it comes to Y/N- she trusts Four far more than she ever would with Eric. If it were Eric there, walking alongside her, she would never let herself be that vulnerable. Suddenly, Eric can’t stand another second of this, and he turns and walks away.
You didn’t sleep at all that night, and now you’ve got to go through your fear landscape all over again. It’s difficult, trying to have that much control over your own mind, and you’re worried about what might slip through the cracks today. You slip inside the simulation room, nodding a tired greeting at Eric, who seems a little muted himself. Yet he still notices the heavy bags under your eyes.
“You alright, initiate?”
You wave a hand at him dismissively. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
He shrugs, picking up the needle and bringing it closer to you. For some reason, you flinch just slightly when the cool metal presses against your neck, and Eric draws back.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He says, and his voice almost sounds wounded.
Great, now you’ve managed to insult the one person in this faction who you depend on, the face you unconsciously look for whenever you need someone.
You shake your head softly. “I’m sorry. Guess I’m still tired.”
Eric frowns down at you. “You sure you want to do this today? We can run the simulation later.”
You look back up at him, gesturing towards the needle. “I’m fine. Promise.”
Eric gives you one last look, then places the needle back against your throat. You force yourself to remain still, even when you feel that same cold pinch of metal, and your eyes flutter shut.
The fears are the same as always. Your mind seems to go on autopilot, climbing up buildings and then jumping off of them, taking down your fears like every other run-through of the simulation. You only have one problem, and that’s when you reach the end. You find yourself standing in a dimly lit room, clothes of a faded gray wrapped around you. Your eyes widen as you realize where you are, and you curse softly.
There’s a sound behind you. You turn, almost as if in a dream, although this scene is more nightmarish than anything. There he is, the one person you’ve been dreading. Your father. You squeeze your eyes shut, trying to regain control of the simulation and force yourself into any other situation or other fear, but there’s nothing you can do.
Marcus Eaton steps forward, and you look away, feeling threads of terror starting to wrap themselves around you. This scene could have happened at any time over the last couple of years, every detail in the room so accurate down to the empty glass bottles leaning against the wall. So he’s been drinking. You already know where this is going, and so the blow that cracks across your face isn’t a surprise.
Your eyes flash back to your father, who raises his hand to hit you again. His mouth is moving, forming some sort of sentence that’s most likely an insult or declaration of how disappointed he is in you. If this was a real scene, you would have just stood there, unmoving, until he grew bored of you and stopped his blows. But this isn’t real life, is it? And besides, you refuse to cater to his whims anymore. You’re more than this, more than he could ever be.
Your fist flies up, punching him in the face before his hand reaches you. He rocks back, shocked, clutching a nose that looks like it might be broken. His eyes harden in fury, but you’re already aiming another punch at his throat. You force him back, until the simulation starts to dissolve around you. So you’re finally faced your worst fear.
When you come to, Eric is standing over you. You find you can’t say anything, just wait until you find out whatever he thinks of you. Will he be disappointed, or surprised? Will he not care at all? His voice comes out quietly, as if trying not to be overheard by security cameras or initiates in the outside hallways alike.
“Was that your father?”
You nod quietly, looking away. Eric bites his tongue, and you can feel the anger coursing through him. “I’m going to kill him.”
Your gaze flies back to him. Of all the reactions, this was the one you were least expecting.
“What?”
Eric looks back at you, expression warring between rage and something warm, almost like affection. A want to protect you, maybe.
“He can’t hurt you and get away with it. I’m not letting that happen.”
He starts to walk away, but the soft touch of your hand on his arm stops him. “It doesn’t matter, Eric. It’s in the past. I’ve moved on.”
Eric shakes his head. “He’s your father. He can’t do that to you. I won’t let him do that to you.”
He shakes his head again, but then his rage starts to fade away into confusion.
“Wait. I’ve seen that man before. That’s Marcus Eaton. But that’s-”
You cut him off, eyebrow raised. “Four’s father.”
Eric nods slowly. “Yes.”
He stares at you for a moment longer, then a smile starts to break out across his face. “You’re Four’s sister.”
You wince slightly. “Yeah. We were keeping it a secret because I wanted to be able to prove myself without his help, but it’s true.”
Eric just shakes his head, grinning still. “I wish I’d known that a while ago.”
You frown at him, confused. “Are you mad?”
He glances back at you. “Mad? No. Just- relieved.”
You tilt your head to the side. “Why are you relieved?”
Eric walks closer to you, stopping only when you’re a few inches away. “Because it means that I can do this.”
He leans forward, cupping your face in his hand and bringing your lips to his. Suddenly, you don’t care about your father, or about anything you’ve left behind. The only thing that matters is Eric, right in front of you. Eric, who loves you just as much as you love him.
A/N: Requests from two anons. No crying involved but definitely an anxiety-inducing situation for RC if that makes any sense. Enjoy! ♥
Words: 2118
Warnings: brief mention of past abusive relationship, attempted rape
“Honey, don’t you think you have enough candy by now? Who’s gonna eat all that?”
“Me!” Your niece stuck out her tongue as she half-walked, half-jumped through one of the many dimly-lit hallways. Her pumpkin basket was full to the brim already but, as you had suspected, there was no stopping her. You did not mind. You weren’t exactly keen on the annual Dauntless Halloween party in the pit. Lots of alcohol, sweaty bodies and so much fake blood it would take you weeks to get it all out of your clothes, off of your body and your hair. You didn’t hate Halloween, in fact you loved it. But you would rather curl up on the sofa in your tiny apartment reading a good book instead of drinking yourself into a coma.
Your niece looked unbelievably cute in her witch costume. Long ginger hair stuck out from under the pointy hat with the fluffy spider sitting on top. She’d had a little black broom as well—and you were not surprised you had had to keep carrying it after only three apartments already.
She was bound to get tired soon, so you kept telling yourself. You could already see yourself becoming a blanket burrito with a steaming mug full of hot chocolate and some of the leftover sweets you yourself had bought for the other children prior to trick or treating with your niece. You were so lost in thought that you only realised too late she had already started at the next apartment door and gave it a vigorous knock.
“Honey, no, not this one!” Shit. Only a few heartbeats later, the door opened.
“Trick or Treat!” She cried out. She was grinning as she held out her pumpkin basket, waiting patiently for her next victim to give her even more sweets. Only the person who had opened her hardly seemed impressed and instead raised an eyebrow at her. Eric used one of his muscly arms to lean against the threshold, his gaze wandering back and forth between your niece and you.
No one ever dared to knock on Eric’s door, presuming he would breathe down their neck for even considering he would give out candy to enthusiastic little children. Unfortunately, your niece did not know that.
Eventually, his gaze came to rest on you.
“I am so sorry, she was too fast.”
“What happened to your face?” He asked instead of reacting to your half-hearted apology. Oh, right. Embarrassed, you felt your cheeks turning crimson red. You had let your niece put some Halloween make-up on you. There was a giant spider with big orange eyes sitting on your right cheek while she had decorated the left with a black spider web. One thing was for sure, your niece would not become the next Picasso.
“Nothing… my niece thought we should match.” And perhaps next Halloween, she should turn you into a mouse so you could hide in a mouse hole to save yourself from Eric’s scrutinising—and now also downright amused—glance. There was a slight hint of mockery sparkling in his blue eyes as well, so you noticed when he stirred.
“Let me see if I can find something.” Oh. That was unexpected. As he disappeared, leaving his apartment door open, you just stood there dumbfounded all the while your niece tripped on the spot all carefree and blithe. This wasn’t really happening, was it? This was literally your nightmare before Christmas!
About a minute later, Eric returned. In his hands, he held a massive bar of Hershey’s chocolate. It was one of those treats only the leaders of Dauntless were privileged enough to receive every now and then. Your niece’s jaw dropped, eyes widening.
“There you go. You think you’ll be able to carry that?”
“Yes! I’m strong!” She pointed out, emphasising her words by making a muscle with her free arm. “Thank you!” As soon as she had accepted the chocolate, she was already off to the next apartment door. Only you still stood there, seemingly frozen in place.
“Uh… thank you.” You managed to choke out sheepishly.
“You’re welcome…” He mumbled in response. “I’ll see you at the party later.” And with that, he closed the door on you, once again leaving you standing there completely dumbfounded.
You had seen him around on Halloween. Eric never dressed up. Instead, he spent the night sitting at the bar all by himself, occasionally chatting to his fellow leaders and sipping some whiskey—completely unimpressed by his fellow Dauntless members’ craziness and excessive alcohol consumption. In that aspect, he was pretty much like you.
You spent the rest of your niece’s trick or treating pondering over his words. You were certainly overthinking it but what exactly had he meant by that? Did he expect you to show up? You had not planned on going. Would it be rude not to show up now? Jesus, it wasn’t like he had asked you out on a date. Eric was merely not as cold and condescending towards you than to others, perhaps because you always made an effort to be nice and polite to him, especially during your initiation.
And yet, once your niece was returned to your sister and you finally rid yourself of all that make-up on your face, you found yourself picking out something to wear to the party. It was almost like your hot chocolate, book and blanket sighed when you left your apartment and headed to the pit instead.
Halloween was on a full moon this year. Maybe you were going crazy. What were you even expecting? In the end, you settled for wanting to prove to Eric that you were a social person who would not curl up all alone on a day like Halloween—that you were tough; that you were Dauntless.
But you were beginning to regret your decision as soon as you reached the pit. Exuberant laughter and chatting along with loud music nearly blew your ears off, the smell of sweat and alcohol immediately numbing your senses. You coughed a little as you started fighting your way through the dancing crowd, your legs stirring you towards the bar almost automatically. Yep, definitely crazy, you thought to yourself.
At least your make-up was a little more on fleek now. You had gone for a mysterious vamp-look, with smoky eyes and dark-red lipstick, a black dress and your knee-high combat boots to complete your appearance. You felt quite sexy but then again, nothing could quite compete with some cosy pumpkin pyjamas.
“Hey, sweetheart… Can I buy you a drink?” Great. There went another reason for which you hated parties like that. Glancing to your left from the corner of your eye, you spotted an already tipsy man dressed up like a zombie approaching you.
“No, thank you. I can pay for it myself.”
“Don’t have to. I’ll pay for it if you’ll dance with me.”
“No, thank you.” You repeated, a little louder and sterner this time. But instead of letting it go, the man stepped right in front of you. He looked still young, probably among the new recruits who had recently passed initiation.
“What are you so scared of? It’s just a drink.” Only ‘just a drink’ was usually accompanied by the expectation of more than just dancing. You were not wary because of prejudice. You were wary because of personal experience in your old faction and an abusive ex-boyfriend.
“Come on, Drake.” The young man joining him was dressed like a zombie as well. They had done well with their make-up. They were nearly unrecognisable. “It’s not your fault you look like a troll. Allow me to buy the lady a drink.”
Annoyed, you rolled your eyes. “I appreciate it but I don’t want either of you to buy me a drink. Let me through, please.” Perhaps you should go find your friends.
Oh, it had been such a stupid idea to ditch hot chocolate and your warm blanket for this, for Eric. But whatever had gotten into you, you were too stubborn to accept the consequences. Only when you attempted to move past them, they cornered you. Two warm bodies pressed against you, one from the front, one from behind. You shuddered when their hands made a move to wander up and down your arms and waist, moving to the rhythm of the ear-piercing music—and even though everything inside of you screamed to lash out at them and make use of your combat skills, you forced yourself to keep calm.
“Let go of me, you scumbags.” You hissed. You’d give them ten seconds at most. If they did not let go of you until then you would kick the shit out of them. One, two, three…
“You’re in Dauntless, act like it.” They were not entirely wrong, so you hated to admit. The majority of men and women here in Dauntless made no secret out of their countless one-nightstands. Sneaking off and making out in semi-public places was risky, reckless and brave all at the same time—even your friends had told you about the adrenaline rush.
Four, five, six…
“She said no.” A stern voice suddenly came to your rescue. You did not need to turn around to know who it belonged to. Eric stood like a particularly intimidating bouncer. You could practically feel the heat radiating off of his body as he positioned himself behind you with his arms crossed.
“Eric! Come join us. We should take this happy ensemble to a quieter place. Ever had a foursome, love?”
“She said no. Take your hands off her before I rip them out and throw them down the chasm. Don’t think you’re safe just because you’ve passed initiation now.”
“Geez, spoilsport. Come on, Drake.”
“I was about to handle this myself.” You hastened to explain when they finally staggered off, lifting your chin up in a proud and independent manner. Eric slightly raised his eyebrows. Well, at least the reason for your presence at this uncomfortable party was here now.
“I know.” Apparently, he’d been headed for the bar as well. With your heart in your mouth, you found yourself following him until you finally reached your destination and asked the barkeeper for a cold beer. Eric went with his traditional whiskey.
“You’re shaking.” He remarked, arms crossed on the counter.
“I’m cold.”
“Cold? This is a sauna. You were afraid of what they might do to you.” He said matter-of-factly and oddly, without any hint of scorn in his voice. The urge to react all defensive overwhelmed you nonetheless.
“So? I went through one abusive relationship, I’m not keen on going through that again because some arseholes believe I have to have one-nightstands for the sake of being Dauntless.”
Eric hummed; in silent agreement, probably. For a brief moment, he was still. You took the time to take a few eager sips from your beer. At least that compensated you a little for relinquishing Halloween night as a blanket burrito.
“Your face looks better than before.” He said then.
“Yeah… thanks. I told my niece begged me to do my make-up for her candy hunt. I didn’t have much choice in the matter.”
The Dauntless leader smirked. “I take it you did not intend for her to knock on my door.”
“No.” No one ever does, you added quietly.
“Well, she seems tough. She should stay in Dauntless once she’s old enough to choose.” He paused.
“I hope so too. ‘Faction before blood’ only sounds easy.”
“Tomorrow, nine o’clock in the training hall. I’m going for a run.” He suddenly commented out of the blue. Your eyes widened. Excuse me?
“Huh?” Frowning, you studied his face, searching for the joke you quite apparently did not understand. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
Eric raised his eyebrows once more. “Was I being unclear?”
“Well, no but—“ There was one thing you knew about Eric for certain. You did not defy him. Ever. There was a part of you which wanted to, simply out of spite but the other… the other had dragged you all the way to this party merely because Eric had suggested to ‘see you there’. Heavens, was this really happening? Was the most fearful Dauntless leader of them all actually taking an interest in you? Should you thank your niece for being the trigger… or damn her?
“Good,” He interrupted you harshly, “Tomorrow, nine o’clock in the training hall.” When you said nothing, too flabbergasted to even respond, he simply downed his whiskey and ordered a new one. Well, Happy Halloween to you. It honestly seemed like this was going to be a promising night after all.
-
A/N: If you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate it so much if you considered supporting me on Kofi! It’s either for caffeine or red wine, I’ll take both. ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥
Imagine: Only a few of your younger siblings escaping the slaughter of your family, ordered by Jeanine and you plan your revenge against her
Warnings: Possibly triggering to people who lost their family to homicide (or not, but it is a very sensitive theme)
She was gonna pay! That was for sure! When you saw your younger siblings running towards you on the Dauntless training ground, crying their eyes out, you knew something was wrong. You had a very big family back in Amity, but you chose to follow your heart and choose Dauntless. You are actually the oldest of 5 siblings, and your cousins also lived with you, but your entire world came crashing down when you found out from your 3 youngest siblings that they were the only ones who managed to survive, because they hid in their closets until everything was over. You were already plotting how you were gonna make Jeanine pay for what she did to your family. Four tried to calm you down and ask you to find a more focused and more hurtful way to get revenge than death. And he managed to talk you into it and offered his help for his own scores he needed to settle with Jeanine.
---***---
@cokecola4211 I hope you like it <3
I have a similar fic to this one, but I wanted to answer to the request, and it is a pretty sad fic, but I still hope you guys might like it :)
Sorry for the lack of posting for a long ass while, I work full time and go to school full time. But I have had many request to come back so here is a little something to restart. I will get back to writing your ask and I will try to post on here regularly. Thanks for understanding, -Megan
“Self care isn't just for women, guys can do it too.”
“I don’t care i'm not putting that on my face.”
“Nobody will see you what does it matter, im the only one. It's just a face mask it gets rid of all the dead skin on your face when you rip it off, it will make it nice and smooth, get rid of all those blackheads.”
“No, im not”
“Eric stop being a baby i'm trying to help you. It's not like i'm asking you to paint your nails. You don't even have to anything i'll do it.”
Eric rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in surrender. “Fine but this is the only time so you better enjoy it as much as you can.”
y/n’s lips turned up into a grin and she leaped off the bed and ran into the bathroom grabbing the bottle and a brush. She looked at him a moment then ran back into the bathroom coming out with a headband. Eric had just gotten out of the shower so his hair was in his face. Crawling onto the bed she straddled his outstretched pajama covered legs. He looked up at her and sighed and she squirted liquid onto brush then painted it onto his face. He pulled his head back quickly from the brush being a reaction from the cold goo. She grabbed his chin and pulled it back into place. She delicately stroked the brush looking intent and focusing on getting none of it on his stubble or eyebrows.
Once she finished she ran into the bathroom and did her own. Coming out smiling bright at Eric. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone to read emails before bed. While he wasn't looking she pulled hers out and took a quick picture with him in the background of herself and him in the back completely unaware. Keeping it too herself to laugh at later to his expense and maybe use as leverage.
15 minutes later both were dry and time to peel off. He sat on the edge of the bed and she stood above him peeling up an end so she could rip it off. She yanked quickly. Eric grunted and pulled away. “What the hell” he had furled eyebrows pointed in his direction.
“What that's how you get it off” Y/N explained and reached to grab the edge again. Eric pulled away from her quickly. “Eric!” She snached his head in her hand and held it tight. “The quicker the better” she said as she grabbed it and yanked quickly leaving Eric letting out a huge profanity and pushing her away.
“Self care my ass.” she reached in again but her grabbed both her arms and held them. “No.”
She sighed, “Please just let me do it,” he squinted at her.
“Slow”
“Slow doesn't work, you have to go fast.”
“Do it slow or your not doing it”
“Fine. so much for leader of the dauntless.” she snorted, he let go of her hands slowly. She pushed him onto his back and sat on his chest. “We will do this more relaxed.” She said then quickly pinned his two arms under her legs so he had a harder time fighting back to what she was about to do. She yanked on the edge and he fought back trying to break his hands free. “Almost done.” she said then yanked the rest of it off. She quickly jumped off of him then ran to the other side of the room holding up the floppy rubbery mask she ripped off. “Look your done” she defended as he quickly got off the bed.
He charged at her making her squealed as he grabbed her by her legs and threw her over his shoulder and marched to the bathroom. “Your turn” he said as he carried her into the bathroom.
(A/N) So…this…is…the last part! There, I said it! I hope you liked the series even though I wasn’t able to upload regularly. Maybe Eric, Sarah and Y/N will return one day, but for now, this is the end.
Thank you for your support. I really appreciated it!
“Your father was here, and you didn’t tell me?!” I was standing in the living room of the apartment I shared with Y/N, totally enraged. “Chill Eric, Max was there too. He would’ve done something if that guy would’ve tried to hurt me.” Y/N calmly stirred the pasta and tasted the tomato sauce. She didn’t quite catch the gravity of the situation. That man could have hurt her, her and our baby. I…I don’t think I’d survive that.
“Y/N…” I wrapped my arms around her from behind and rested my hands on her swollen belly. Our daughter kicked against my hand. A smile spread over my face and Y/N chuckled softly. “She’s so going to be a daddy’s girl.” “I sure hope so.” I pressed my lips against her neck. Y/N moved her head to the right, allowing me more space. “Eric…not here.” Her right hand landed on mine that rested on her belly, stroking it gently. “I love you Eric.” She turned her head to the side and pressed her lips against mine in a sweet kiss. God, this woman. “I love you too.” I pressed my lips against hers again, before I let go of her and walked back to my tablet to continue my report of the day.
Soon, Y/N called me to the table to eat. Well, at least that was what I thought, but just as I closed my report, a body let itself fall down onto the couch, right next to me.
Y/N held two plates, full of pasta and tomato sauce, and handed me one. After that, she pulled two spoons and two forks from the pouch in her, well my, jumper and handed me one of each. “Thanks hon.” I kissed her cheek and immediately stuffed my mouth with pasta. “God, you eat like a pig!” Y/N laughed, leaning slightly against me. “I didn’t eat all day! I’m hungry as hell!” “Language!” She hit my shoulder, glaring at me. I rolled my eyes with a small smile on my lips. “I know, I know. But that little fucker is going to swear like an A as soon as she is out of that womb.” I got hit again. “I swear to fucking god Eric…” “See! You’re no better!” Now I had to laugh. Y/N rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “I love you. Both of you.” I smiled at her and her eyes almost instantly watered. “Damned hormones!” She wiped at her eyes and I laughed at her reaction. “Just say you love me.” “I love you. And I know that Sarah will feel the same way.” She put her plate on the coffee table and hugged my arm. “Wait, Sarah?” I never heard about this name before. We were still discussing the names! “Yeah, Four and Max agreed on that one.” She acted nonchalant, but I could feel the mischievousness radiating off of her.
That evening, I tried to convince her to choose another name, but she was set on ‘Sarah’ and you know, I didn’t want to piss off a pregnant woman.
Y/N POV
“WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!” Four and Max were standing to my right, while the doctors and nurses ran around the small room. “I’m trying to reach him, but the connection is real-“ “Get him here or I’ll slit your throat o-Aaagh!” I let go of Four’s collar, that I used to pull him close to my face.
I’ve been excited for my baby to be born, but this pain! God!
Four ran out of the room in search of my boyfriend. Max stood next to me and took my hand.
“You’re ready Y/N. When I tell you, I need you to push, okay?” The doctor sat between my spread legs. I nodded at him to show I understood and braced myself.
“Okay, push!” “Aaarrgh!” I pushed and squeezed Max’s hand as hard as I could. The funny thing, Max screamed louder than me. Because of the pain I caused him or because of the scene before him. I’ll never know.
“I’m here! I’m here!” Eric and Four busted through the door and Max let go of my hand. Eric immediately took his place and began kissing my hand. “I’m sorry, I’m late.”
“Push!” I pushed again, using Eric’s hand for comfort.
It went like this for some time, until I finally heard my baby’s first cry. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped from my mouth. My body relaxed while Eric got our baby and carried her to me.
“Hey there.” I stroked her soft cheeks and one of her hands immediately wrapped around my finger. “She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Eric stood beside me, looking over my shoulder at our little princess. Max and Four were still standing behind him, starring at our little family.
“I love you so much Y/N. You just made me the happiest man in Dauntless.” Eric kissed my forehead before he kissed Sarah’s.
“I love you too.”
Timeskip
“Mommy!” I was barely open to open the door to our apartment before my daughter ran up to me. “Hey honey! How’s my little girl? Did you enjoy your time with uncle Four?” If you’re wondering, that was Eric, not me. He just pushed right past me and scooped up our daughter. “If I’m correct, she asked for her mommy, not her daddy.” I took my daughter from her father’s arms and walked to the man lying on the couch. “Thanks for taking care of her, Four.” The man in question stood up and laughed. “No problem! I enjoy spending time with my niece.” He kissed Sarah goodbye and left the apartment after chatting a little bit with Eric.
“Okay honey, let’s get you cleaned up and in bed.” I took her to the bathroom and cleaned her while she played with her rubber ducks. “How much longer, darling? I need to use the toilet.” Eric stood outside the bathroom door, yelling through it. Laughing I rolled my eyes, together with my daughter. “Two seconds. We’ll be out real soon.”
Not wanting Eric to piss himself, I picked up our daughter and wrapped her in her towel. Placing her on my hip, I waltzed out the door and by Eric. Before I got to far, he wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his lips on mine. “Ewwww.”
I laughed into the kiss and pulled away. “Let’s continue this later, yeah?” I pecked his lips once more, before I walked to Sarah’s room.
I put on ´her pjs and tucked her in. “Mommy? Do you love daddy?” “Of course, I do. Why do you ask?” I sat down next to her, frowning. “Do you love me?” Her blue eyes looked at me curiously. “Of course, baby. But why do you ask?” “I love you too, mommy!” She sat up and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I know sweetheart.” I hugged her back and as soon as she released me, I tucked her back in and read her a story.
She was already asleep after only a few pages. I turned the light off and closed the door.
“Hey, pretty lady.” Eric stood in the kitchen and watched me walking up to him. As soon as I was in reaching distant, he pulled me to him. “Before you start kissing me, I have a surprise.” My hands were flat against his chest, trying to keep him at bay. “I hate waiting. But, what is it?” He rubbed his nose against mine, smiling gently. “Here.” I reached in my back pocket and pulled out an envelope. Eric took it and opened it, looking at me suspiciously. My smile probably didn’t help.
“So, what is thi-“ He stopped his sentence as he pulled out the ultrasound picture. “You-You-“ He just stares at me, while my smile widens. It took him a few seconds, but realisation finally caught up and he picked me up and whirled me around.
“You’re pregnant!” He put me down again and kissed me. “We’re getting another one.” He smiled like a mad man. “Yeah. We are.” I pressed my lips to his. “I love you. I love you so, so much.” Foreheads pressed together, we smiled at each other. “I love you too.”
This is my family. I found it, all on my own. It’s little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.
