The first press of her lips against mine was like coming home to a place I'd never been. The second was like discovering a new color. The third was like understanding every mystery I'd ever studied, all at once.
We kept kissing, each one a new revelation. Some truths don't need words. Some connections transcend explanation. And some kisses contain entire universes within them.
The One Piece was real, and I'd found it in a cemetery, on a summer evening, when two souls who were always meant to find each other finally collided. Everything else—the chaos we'd left behind, the challenges ahead, the whole multiverse outside this divine present moment—could wait.
Right now, in this moment, we had found our treasure. A treasure so vast that it made us one.
We melted into each other that morning, passion becoming physical, destiny becoming material.
And nothing else mattered.
—August 5th, 2025, Late Morning—
They lay tangled in each other's arms, both breathing heavily in the aftermath of their passion. Eli was collapsed on Tris's chest, her golden hair splayed across his skin like sunlight made tangible. The scent that seemed to emanate from her very being mixed with the heady atmosphere of their lovemaking, creating an intoxicating blend that made Tris's head swim.
Neither spoke for several long moments, content to exist in the perfect silence of their shared afterglow. The small basement window cast a gentle light across them, illuminating the slight sheen of sweat on their skin. Time felt suspended, as if the universe itself was allowing them this moment of pure, uninterrupted bliss.
"I think I'm ovulating," Eli murmured against his chest, her voice still carrying traces of breathlessness.
The words took a moment to register in Tris's pleasure-addled mind. When they did, his heart performed a small stumble. In all his years with Sarah, they'd never done anything without protection—her insistence, not his. This was entirely new territory.
"Plan B," he said softly, his hand still tracing lazy patterns on her back. "We should probably get some."
He made to move, but Eli pressed her palm against his chest, pushing him back down with gentle firmness. She raised herself just enough to look into his eyes, her turquoise gaze holding that impossible mixture of playfulness and intensity that made his soul quiver.
"That was the first time," she said, punctuating her words with a soft kiss to his collarbone, "that I've ever done anything without protection." Another kiss, this time to his neck. "I never let him..." She trailed off, then smiled that knowing smile of hers. "My ex, I mean."
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The word 'ex' sent a thrill through Tris's entire being. It was real—she was his now, completely and utterly his. Just as he was hers. The thought made his head spin with a possessive joy he'd never experienced before.
"It felt like I was waiting," she continued, her fingers tracing the constellation of freckles on his face. "Waiting for the right moment. The right person." She leaned down, capturing his lips in a kiss that contained universes of meaning.
He returned her kiss with equal passion, his hands finding their way into her hair. The familiar electricity sparked between them, and he could feel both their bodies responding, ready to dive back into the ocean of pleasure they'd just emerged from. Her soft gasp against his mouth told him she felt it too—of course she did. They were mirrors of each other, two halves of the same soul finally reunited.
But they both pulled back at the same moment, sharing a look of understanding. The Plan B couldn't wait, no matter how much their bodies craved each other.
"Together?" Eli asked, though it wasn't really a question. "We'll go together."
"Everything together," Tris agreed, his heart swelling at the way her face lit up at his words.
She climbed off him with practiced grace, though he noticed her slight wobble with a mixture of pride and concern. She grabbed his discarded t-shirt, pressing it between her thighs with a playful wink that made him blush despite everything they'd just shared.
The shower was quick but intimate, filled with soft touches and knowing looks. Afterward, while Tris gathered their bedding for the wash, Eli rummaged through the clothes his mother had mysteriously provided and then went through Tris’s closet. She pulled out two outfits—one for each of them—that somehow managed to complement each other perfectly without being overly matching.
"Look," she said, holding up the clothes with that radiant smile of hers. "We'll match, but not too much. Just enough."
The sight filled Tris with a warmth he couldn't quite explain. With Sarah, matching outfits had always felt forced, like playing dress-up for someone else's amusement. But with Eli, it felt natural. Right.
"I'd wear anything with you," he found himself saying. "Go anywhere. Do anything."
She set the clothes down and approached him, wrapping her arms around his neck in that way that made everything else fade away. Her smile—that impossible, perfect smile that seemed designed specifically to melt every defense he'd ever built—lit up her entire face.
"I know," she said softly, standing on her tiptoes to press a gentle kiss to his lips. "Because we're meant to do everything together."
He could feel it happening again—the way she seemed to chip away at the armor he'd built around himself over the years. Each smile, each touch, each kiss revealed more of his true self, the person he was always meant to be. And somehow, impossibly, that person was exactly who Eli wanted.
They dressed quickly, though their hands kept finding excuses to brush against each other. The clothes fit perfectly, as if they'd been chosen specifically for this moment. Tris found himself admiring how the simple black dress hugged Eli's curves, while she kept stealing glances at how his dark jeans and fitted shirt emphasized his frame.
"Ready?" she asked, lacing her fingers through his.
He squeezed her hand, marveling at how perfectly it fit in his. "Ready."
They had a lot to figure out—their former relationships, their jobs, their entire futures. But right now, none of that mattered. Right now, they just needed to make it to the drugstore and back. Everything else could wait.
Because they would face it all together. Just like they were always meant to.