To Save a City (Divergent/Eric) 2 of 3 COH Series

Chapter 34

Kalley Heiligenthal(Bethel Church)-'Spirit Move'

((Author's Note at the end of the chapter for those who've read this previously or if you're interested.))

(Hosanna's POV)

It's time and I'm so ready to go home. We signed the paperwork making our marriage official—legal.  We say goodbye to our friends and family. My brother promises to walk Liz down to the garage for us—the waiting driver will take her back home to Erudite. The rest of our guests bid us farewell and good luck.
Eric and I approach the stairwell but Jax is standing at the first step. He shouts down the stairs at the still waiting members of Dauntless—some his guards, some not—but they all respond in kind, quiet and focused on his words. "Attention Dauntless! I have the privilege to introduce you to your leaders, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Franklin," he announces.
There are shouts and whistling through the staircase in his wake... but I can hear the start of something epic beginning—I can feel it in my bones. A pulse is coming through the compound, slowly and quietly at first, but it's growing in both volume and tempo. They are pounding their fists on the walls and stomping their feet in a rhythm of both encouragement and anticipation—to witness the first marriage of two Dauntless leaders in the history of our city. 
Eric and I approach the top step and the shouts magnify, echoing off of the walls.  "Did you know about this?" I scream to him.  He wouldn't hear me otherwise. 
"No," he responds at the same volume.  He slides his fingers through my hair at the nape of my neck gently and kisses me.  I respond throwing my arms around his neck while he deepens the kiss.  The shouts gets wilder as he continues his passionate assault on me.  When he finally pulls back enough to look in my eyes, he says to me smirking, "Darling, let's go home." 
I smile in response as he takes my hand in his, my other grasping the lovely bouquet he selected for me firmly.  We step together, moving through the parted crowd down the stairs.  The sound pulses through my body and stirs a wildness in my heart that I've only felt twice before.  The commotion causes a rush of adrenaline pumping through my veins that matches what I felt skydiving from the airplane and when we went zip lining together. Yet this time it's different.  This feels like a blessing, too. The faction is congratulating us. I feel like the hand of God is pounding with them, his approval on our union, His Spirit is flowing through me. He's been so prevalent today in my heart and I welcome the light feeling in my chest. I smile, radiating with the assurance that I am fulfilling my destiny, what has been planned out for my life. I'm following what my God has laid out for me and grasping it fully into my hands. I don't think I've ever felt this kind of happiness before and it's becoming difficult to put into words or even think straight since I'm so unbelievably overwhelmed.
We circle the long corridor of stairs surrounded by members joining in the joy of our union. We reach the lowest level of the Pire to see it filled in with Dauntless—the only exception is a path for us to walk through. We run across the clearing quickly to be met by the same crowds on either side of the next set of stairs leading down to the Pit.
As I observe our surroundings, the vast majority of the pounding must've come from here—the crowd below. From this point at the top of the stairs, we can see the entirety of the Pit which extends so far that it's difficult to see the other side. It looks as if the massive expance of the Pit is completely filled with every member of Dauntless. Every level walkway is crowded with people cheering and stomping.  I didn't even think there were this many members since this amount of people weren't present for my speech. I can see the lights hanging from the ceiling are even rattling at the commotion of our entire faction.
Eric and I raise our free hands—well, his hand and my hand holding the bouquet. The crowd explodes in cheers in addition to the drumming. We descend the stairscase between the members cautiously. There is less room for us on these stairs and I'm careful not to knock anyone off on the side free of a railing as we descend.
We arrive to the ground level of the Pit and there is another small trail leading toward our building's stairwell—the remainder overflowing with members cheering for us encouragingly. We follow it home and begin to ascend our building's stairs to find that only the first few levels had members gathered.
The moment we're completely alone with the pounding still coursing through the compound, Eric gently backs me up against the wall in the stairwell kissing me sensuously, embracing and caressing me. My heart strums rapidly in delight, in sync with the beat of the faction. This feels so incredibly different than any other kisses of his. Before today, they felt amazing still, but now that I'm his wife, I'm assured that he will only be kissing me. These touches from him are mine—mine alone—and the sensation they give me makes my legs weak, my heart ache and yearn for him. I feel special—predestined almost—as my one and only touches me with such immense affection. He releases my lips and kisses my cheek, my neck, my ear. I whimper softy in response, feeling the sensation he's rarely caused before overflowing from within, but I don't stop him this time. The feeling is unique, too—to anything I've felt previously. I don't have the shame or awkwardness as I did before; I feel like this is right—for the first time ever.  He's committed his life to me as I have to him.  We belong to one another now.  He's my husband and anything he wants from me he's entitled to.
Eric oddly releases me for a brief moment as I catch my breath. He shockingly picks me up to carry me the rest of the way home. I laugh in surprise at the sweet gesture. He's such a classic romantic—such a gentleman. I wrap my arms around his neck for support and kiss his cheek affectionately.  He chuckles, unable to keep the massive smile from his face—my favorite of his that I usually get to be the sole witness of.  We only have a few levels to climb before he arrives at the top floor—our floor—and strides quickly down the hall still carrying me in his arms. I wait patiently while kicking my feet in the air in enthusiasm as he pulls out his keys to unlock my door.  My heart pounds wildly from the excitement of tonight and the anticipation of what's to come.
He opens the door and crosses the threshold with me remaining in his tender embrace. He sets me on the floor and we're met by lights strung up throughout my apartment and rose petals scattered along the floor leading down the hallway.
"Did you do this?" he whispers on my skin as he's shutting the door and kissing my neck.
"No," I say breathlessly from the sensation of his lips on me.
He reaches for my hand gently and leads me toward my bedroom. We cross the trail of petals to my bed where the vast majority of them are strewed onto my sheets. The same lights surround my bedroom illuminating the room with a romantic, soft yellow glow similar to that of candlelight. I stride over and set my beautiful bouquet onto the nightstand.
Eric is behind me waiting...  His hand cautiously grazes the side of my waist, the other my neck. His touch still causes the exact same feeling as the very first within me; my skin tingles at the contact.  I breathe deeply as I realize what tonight is.  This is my wedding night—the first time I believe this kind of love should be awoken in me.  I move my hair forward over my left shoulder once more, welcoming him to remove my dress. I peek over my right shoulder and glance at my husband through my lashes.  Our eyes meet for a moment and I smile at him.  "I love you," I whisper.  He accepts the invitation, grasping my zipper.  Slowly, he unzips it kissing my bare shoulder delicately.  "I love you, too," he responds back just as softly. 

*****Thanks for reading.*****

Words of Wisdom:
Marriage is about unconditional love, intimacy, and understanding. It's not just something you agree on once at a fairytale reception and hope everything will go well as you live happily ever after. Daily, it requires serious work and commitment—compromise. It's a constant choice to love one another, support one another, and be considerate in everything you do towards each other. You have to choose each day to love the same person for the rest of your lives. It's a wonderful time, where you can awaken and share yourself completely with your one and only. You become one—stirring up desires in yourself that ought to only be satisfied by the one you chose and promised to remain faithful to until death. 

"Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits."
‭‭Song of Songs‬ ‭4:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love."
‭‭Song of Songs‬ ‭5:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.""
‭‭Mark‬ ‭10:8-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

((Author's Note:  I'll admit I've gone back and forth over this one, cutting quite a bit from the chapter but this and many others are the reason why I pulled my story initially.  It's back up but with less intimate details.  I feel like this chapter is getting the point across—how marriage is a sacred and blessed bond between a man and a woman, not a relationship to be entered into lightly.  It is a covenant—a promise—not a detour between several relationships.  Husband and wife were made for each other, not several others.
I hope those who have read the other version are not disappointed and I apologize if you are. Please understand that I desire to present the best possible version of what I believe marriage is and the decency to be readable by all audiences since I know that regardless of me listing my story as mature—you know for 18+, I'm quite aware of 13 year olds reading it. I desire to reach a broad audience and make this story to represent what I believe is right.))