#trobias

“It’s okay. It’s always okay, Tris. You need to sleep. And I don’t mind.”

“Thank you,” Tris replied, voice quiet. Four nodded his head in response. As he did every night, he removed his black shirt and walked it over to the corner of his room.

Tris reached towards Four’s back. She trailed her finger along his spine, stopping at each faction’s symbol.

“How did I manage to gain the attention of someone like you? You are brave,” she said, finger tracing the flames of the Dauntless symbol. “You are selfless.” Her finger pausing at the clasped hands of the Abnegation symbol. “And honest,” she continued, brushing the scales of the Candor emblem. “You are intelligent.” She covered the eye of the Erudite with her fingers. “And peaceful,” she ended, fingers following the contour of the leaves of the Amity tree.

“Because you are too,” Four replied, turning to face Tris. He brushed aside her shirt to reveal her tattoos. His lips fluttered along Tris’ collarbone.

“You are strong. You are powerful. You are beautiful.” He punctuated each adjective by pressing his lips to the flying ravens. “Now let’s get some sleep so we can continue kicking ass tomorrow.”

“Really? Right now?” Tris asked as Four swung his feet to the floor.

“Come on. Before I change my mind,” Four teased. Tris climbed to her feet and followed Four towards the tattoo shop within the Dauntless compound.

“So I know what we should do,” Four said as they continued walking down the halls, hands intertwined.

“And what would that be?”

“Well, since we’re both from Abnegation and chose Dauntless instead, I thought we could get two hands holding a fire. My mom used to have a ring, a Claddagh ring, it’s two hands holding a heart. We could replace the heart with a flame. I think it would be interesting to get it on my thumb.”

“I’ve heard about that type of ring. I love the idea. Please can we do that?” Tris stopped in her tracks to look at Four earnestly.

“Well I didn’t suggest it for my health, Tris.” Tris smiled in response before beginning to walk again.

“There’s something else I want to get. Something personal. Would you mind if I got it done at the same time?”

“I actually could use some touching up on my back. So not at all,” Four replied.

When the couple reached the tattoo parlor, they stepped inside and finally separated to sit in individual chairs. A few hours later, they rejoined hands to return to Four’s room, carefully maneuvering around the tattooed rings. Once in the confines of the bedroom, Four cautiously removed his shirt to allow his back to allow the gel to dry. Tris noticed a small addition to Four’s tree.

“Is that what I think it is?” Tris asked tentatively. She walked closer to look at the small dark mark. Sitting on one of the branches was a raven, next to which was her name in light cursive letters.

“Do you mind?” Four sounded hesitant.

“Well if I did, it would make this incredibly awkward.” Tris turned Four to face her and lifted the side of her shirt to reveal black script on her ribs: “Becoming fearless isn't the point. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”

“I think I may love you, Tris.”