Rekindling

Chapter 5: Tobias - Will Power

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is continuing to support this story! I truly appreciate the reviews, favorites, and follows. Thank you also to the wonderful BK2U, who is kindly beta reading this story for me!

To answer the concerns that many of you expressed about Tris having herpes, you might find it interesting to do a little reading on the subject, since it's quite different from what people tend to think at first. 90% of the population has HSV 1, which is usually just associated with cold sores; it's so common that it's not considered to be a sexually transmitted disease, though it can in fact be transmitted down there through oral sex. 25% of women and 10-20% of men have HSV 2, but the kicker is that a whopping 85% percent of those don't know they have it because they either have no symptoms or have atypical symptoms. So, Tris is literally in the same boat as one out of every four of you reading this. Tobias, in turn, has probably already been exposed to it at least once, and he undoubtedly would be again if he continued to date other women, so please don't feel too bad for either of them. It's just a fact of life at their age.

Anyway, I'm not going to dwell a lot on the virus - I just wanted to bring a dose of reality into the fic with it, since it is so common and so frequently ignored. :-)

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Chapter 5: Tobias – Will Power

Tobias never used to mind Friday afternoons. Half of the office leaves early, so there are rarely meetings, making it a good time to catch up on work that requires concentrated attention. But over the last few weeks, he has found it increasingly difficult to stay focused in those final hours of the workweek. All he can think about is that he'll get to see Tris again soon.

Sighing, he lets his eyes drift from the program that he's supposed to be analyzing to the photo of Tris that is tacked above his monitor. It's the first personal adornment he's ever added to his workspace, and it garnered more than a few comments from his coworkers as a result. He doesn't let it bother him, though – being able to look at her whenever he wants is more than worth any ribbing.

His gaze lingers on the image for a while as he thinks about how tonight will go. He'll be eating at Tris' apartment, with her and Christina – and Christina's new boyfriend. It will be the first time he's seen Tris' best friend since he left for college, and he's sure that she will have plenty to say to him. None of it is likely to be good, but he can't find it in himself to object. Not while part of him thoroughly agrees with her.

It's strange, really, to simultaneously hold two completely different views of an event in his mind. He still remembers his thought process when he wrote that letter a decade ago. Back then, he was utterly convinced that he was doing the right thing – being selfless and causing Tris the least amount of pain out of the extremely limited choices he had.

That was his viewpoint for years, and he reiterated it to himself every time his will weakened and he came close to picking up the phone and begging for another chance. He was always able to shut that thought down by telling himself to be strong for Tris, and to do what was best for her. It was a harsh blow to see how wrong he was.

He shakes his head, trying to force his attention back to the program displayed on his monitor. It doesn't help that it's badly written – a frustration that he's had with Greg all too often since they hired him. He knows that there's always a learning curve with new developers, but this is getting ridiculous....

His focus is drawn away yet again when his phone chimes, and Tris' image displays on it. It's amazing how much that sight lifts his spirits. "Are we still on for tonight?" her text asks.