A/N: In general, I'm winding down my "Divergent" fanfiction and am starting original fiction instead, but this particular story came to mind and insisted on being written. So, here you go... I anticipate it having about 15 chapters.

The story is rated M for mature themes, some language, and later sex scenes. Please only read it if you're an appropriate age. Chapters will alternate between Tris' and Tobias' POV. Overall, the story will be darker than my "Waiting" story but not tremendously dark.

And thank you to my wonderful beta reader, Rosalie!

Disclaimer: I do not own the "Divergent" characters or any ideas or dialogue that came from that series. All of that belongs to Veronica Roth.

Chapter 1: Tobias – We Meet Again

The café is unusually crowded this morning, and Tobias sighs as he glances at his watch, wondering if he should just settle for the "coffee" that his office provides instead of waiting here. But for a change, he doesn't have any morning meetings, so he can afford to be late, and he really would prefer something that doesn't taste like it was scraped off a burner.

So, he makes his way to the back of the shorter line, gritting his teeth every time someone bumps into him as he tries to squeeze through the swarm. It's one of the problems with being over six feet tall – he's not particularly bulky, but he simply takes up more space than average.

It doesn't help that both lines are moving slowly, being tended by a small group of very-harassed-looking-workers. Someone is probably out sick today, or perhaps they lost some of their staff now that all of the local schools have started their fall terms. He hasn't seen what this particular café is like during the school year yet, since he only moved back here from Boston a couple of months ago.

He tries to occupy his time by watching the other patrons as he makes his gradual way toward the counter. He recognizes some of the other regulars – the ones who are always here at the same time he is – and he nods in acknowledgement to the middle-aged woman whose name he's never learned. She gives him a small smile in return before turning away. It's the little dance that people do every day in the city, not wanting to make too much eye contact, because then you'll be forced to have an actual conversation….

His gaze moves on the same way hers does, passing over a young man with green spiked hair and so many piercings it's almost impossible to see his face. Tobias wonders vaguely how he expects to ever find a job, but the thought makes him feel like his father, and he shakes it away quickly. Marcus has already damaged his life too much.

His eyes stop on a petite figure with short blond hair, and he finds himself watching her for longer than he should. It's not surprising, since he's been drawn to that type ever since his first girlfriend back in high school. Tris' hair was longer, but this woman otherwise bears a strong resemblance to her, and he finds it difficult to look away.

Even after he finally does, he keeps sneaking peeks, unable to shake the similarities from his mind. She looks like she's probably in her mid-twenties, with the same narrow face and large eyes. But it's a big city, after all. The odds are certainly against him running into someone he last saw a decade ago….

It's not until she happens to glance his way that his uncertainty disappears. No one else has eyes that striking shade of grayish-blue.

"Tris?" he asks, abandoning his place in line to step closer to her. "Beatrice Prior?"

She freezes, staring at him for a second before recognition hits. "Tobias?" Her voice reverberates with surprise, but when he breaks into a wide grin, she does too. "Oh, my god. What are you doing here?"

"I moved back." His hands lift on their own, reaching toward her for an embrace. It's not a conscious decision, really, but he spent the last year they knew each other touching her at every opportunity, and the instinct apparently runs deep.

He stops at her guarded expression. His voice hesitant, he adds, "In July." For a moment, they're both caught in the awkwardness that occurs whenever old habits meet current reality, but then he opens his arms wider, making it clear that he's offering a hug if she's willing to accept it.

She's still for slightly too long, and he's beginning to pull back dispiritedly when she finally steps up to him, wrapping her arms around him the way she has a thousand times before. He closes his own around her, pulling her to him and breathing her scent as a plethora of questions and thoughts and memories flit through his mind. Mostly of what might have been.

She releases him first, and he feels reluctance through his entire body as he lets go. But he does it anyway, knowing that he lost any right to hope for more a long time ago.

"How have you been?" he asks, his eyes taking in every nuance of her face. The last time he saw her, she was only sixteen, so she's definitely matured since then. Still, now that he's close, he can't imagine how he didn't recognize her immediately. Even if he hadn't thought about her so often, the fundamental Tris is unchanged.

"Um, I've been well," she answers, her head bobbing up and down with little connection to her voice. "I…uh…work at Miller and Company as a business analyst. It's…good." She glances around at the throng of people, clearly struggling with how to sum up her life. "And everything else is fine, too."

He nods, his gaze soaking in more of her as he listens to the voice that he hasn't heard in far too long. An involuntary smile touches his mouth when he registers her lack of a wedding ring.

"What about you?" she adds.

"Oh, um, I'm fine, too." He pauses, part of his brain slapping the rest at the insipidity of his response. "I'm working for Samson Technologies as a lead developer." There's a flash behind her eyes, and he wonders if that irritates her. Maybe it sounds like bragging – having a position like that when he's only twenty-eight. "They transferred me here for a new project."

They both step forward as the line nudges them. "I've heard that Samson moves its people around a lot," she comments a bit warily, and abruptly he understands the flash. She assumes that he's only here short-term – that he'll leave again the way he did last time.

"Sometimes they do," he admits with a shrug. "But they told me this would be permanent." He meets her eyes briefly, the side of his mouth tightening as he tries to judge her reaction to that.

All he gets is "Oh" as she looks around uncomfortably. His hand is reaching for her arm, hoping to erase the distance between them, when she finally adds, "Is that what you want? I mean, obviously you didn't like it here at one point."

He's almost glad when someone bumps into him from behind, breaking the tension. "You're next," the balding man behind them snaps in irritation.

"Sorry," Tobias mutters, turning his attention to the frazzled brunette behind the counter while gesturing politely for Tris to order. She frowns, pulling out cash, and he knows that she doesn't want him to pay for her. It makes something inside him sink a little – a reminder of what he's lost.

"Yes," he tells her as they move to the side to wait for their drinks. "It's what I want." Their gaze meets for longer this time, and he holds it as he adds gruffly, "I let my father chase me away for too long. This is my city, too."

Her brows furrow at that, but she doesn't voice whatever she's thinking, instead just nodding in silence. The crowd around them shifts, and Tobias extends a quick hand to block a burly man who is about to run into Tris. That was always a problem, he recalls, given her short stature.

She grants him a small smile in return. "I'm surprised Uriah didn't tell me you were moving back here." The words bite into him more than they should. He knows that she's not dating his best friend's brother anymore, but he still hates the thought of the two of them together.

"I didn't get much advance notice," he explains, "so Zeke didn't find out until I was here. I don't know if he's told Uriah or not."

She nods again, glancing toward the counter to see if her coffee is ready yet. "It must be hard to leave Boston, though, after how long you were there." Her voice is strained. "I imagine your girlfriend – or whoever – misses you."

He can't help grimacing at that, given their history. "There's no girlfriend," he says after an awkward moment. "I haven't been with anyone for quite a while."

"Ah." She's staring fixedly at the counter now. "Well, it's a big city. I'm sure you'll meet someone soon."

She manages to keep her tone neutral, but the statement digs deeply into him anyway.

"I'm not worried about it," he says back. "I've gotten used to being alone." Her gaze finally meets his again, and he quirks the side of his mouth ruefully. "My social life isn't exactly buzzing."

For several long seconds, they just stare at each other as she digests that. "I know the feeling," she finally admits, her voice soft. "I haven't even been on a date in months."

The words make something tighten inside his chest, but he doesn't have a chance to respond before a harried voice yells, "Tris!" She steps forward instantly, grabbing her cup of coffee as his own name is called.

"Well…" she starts as they step away from the counter, "I guess I'll be seeing you around sometime. You know, at Zeke's or wherever."

"Yeah." He can feel his brows furrow, and his heartbeat seems to be speeding up at the realization that she's about to walk away from him. She gives him a half-smile and a small wave with her free hand before turning her back on him. And it turns to full-out racing.

"Tris, wait!" It's hard to breathe as she turns around again, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Do you have a little time?" He knows he's supposed to be at work himself, and she undoubtedly is, too, but he asks anyway. "I'd love to just sit and catch up."

She hesitates, checking her watch and biting her lip, for long enough that his hope all but dies. But then she nods unexpectedly. "Yeah, I can…make that work." She nods again as if convincing herself. "Just give me a minute to call my office."

They end up sitting together for more than two hours, talking about anything and everything as they gradually fill in their decade apart. The only topic they're careful about is who they've dated. They didn't part on the best of terms, after all, and neither really wants to think about the other being with anyone else.

"I can't believe you still hang out with Uriah," Tobias says with a chuckle as Tris finishes a long story about a prank that he pulled on his brother, Zeke. "I mean, he's a nice guy and all, but he's kind of an idiot."

"Oh, he's not so bad." Tris takes a sip of what is now her third cup of coffee. Her expression turns more serious. "Besides, he's stuck by me through a lot. He's earned lifetime friend status."

Tobias lifts his own cup, letting it hide his face for a second as he swallows the remnants of his espresso. He's not fond of the role Uriah played in Tris' life after he left.

"Doesn't change the fact that he's kind of an idiot," he comments instead, trying to look more amused than he feels.

Apparently, it works, because Tris laughs. "You haven't even seen him in ten years. For all you know, he could be a rocket scientist now."

Tobias snorts. "Yeah, right." With a sly grin, he adds, "Though his head always did belong in space."

Tris laughs again. "All right, he hasn't changed much that way. But he has matured, particularly since he started dating Marlene." She smiles fondly. "They're good for each other."

Tobias probably shouldn't be as glad as he is to hear that, but he can't help it. She's Tris. His first girlfriend. And truth be told, the only woman he's ever loved. He'd be lying if he said that she wasn't part of why he returned to this city, even if he was still working up the courage to contact her when fate intervened.

So, he lets himself savor the feeling as they continue their conversation, his gaze hanging on her more and more the longer they talk.

"Well," she finally says somewhat somberly as she checks her watch again. It's almost eleven. "I really do have to go now."

He nods, feeling the clenching through his chest again that makes it difficult to speak. He rises when she does, though, and for a moment longer, they just watch each other.

"I'm glad I ran into you, Tobias." Her voice is soft and genuine, and it releases the lock on his tongue.

"Would you…maybe like to go out to dinner sometime?" The moment the words are out of his mouth, he feels panic racing through every part of him, but he forces himself to keep breathing as he waits for her answer.

She doesn't give one for entirely too long, looking a bit like a deer in the headlights as she stares at him, wide-eyed. Finally, she clears her throat. "I guess that depends on your definition of sometime."

It takes his brain a moment to register that she didn't turn him down outright – that she sounds more like she doubts he's serious. And another moment to remember what day of the week it is. Thursday.

"Tomorrow night?" He tries to sound confident, though he doubts very much that he succeeds.

It's debatably reassuring that she's clearly as nervous as he is, biting her lip as she stares at the table. An eternity passes before she answers. "I could do tomorrow night."

A/N: I have this story outlined thoroughly and have parts of it written, so hopefully I'll be able to update frequently. However, my real life schedule is often demanding, so it might be as little as once a week. Those of you who have read my other stories know that I don't abandon them, so you can rest assured that I will definitely finish this one, too. :-)

In the meantime, please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Your reviews are always much appreciated!