The walk to Shoppers Drug Mart felt like floating through a dream. The late morning sun painted everything in warm golden tones, and the birds seemed to be singing just for them. Traffic was light for a Tuesday, creating pockets of peaceful silence between passing cars.

"Your car?" Eli asked as they stepped onto the sidewalk, her arm linked through his.

"Still at my apartment," Tris replied, suddenly remembering. "We'll have to walk."

She leaned into him, her scent wrapping around him like a spell. "That's fine. As long as I'm with you."

He pulled her into an embrace that said everything words couldn't—about gratitude, about belonging, about the impossible perfection of finding your other half. She melted into him naturally, their bodies fitting together like pieces of a cosmic puzzle.

The drugstore's automatic doors slid open with a soft whoosh, releasing a blast of air-conditioned air that made Eli's hair dance around her face. They made their way to the pharmacy counter at the back, their fingers intertwined. Neither had their phones—Eli's still at the bridal shop, Tris's turned off and forgotten—but neither cared about the mounting missed calls and messages that surely awaited them.

"I don't have my wallet," Eli realized as they approached the counter.

Tris squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about it. I've got this."

The transaction was quick and professional, the pharmacy clerk maintaining a neutral expression as she rang up the Plan B. Just as Tris finished paying and they turned to leave, the automatic doors at the entrance slid open again.

Sarah stood there, frozen mid-step.

Time seemed to crystallize, like amber trapping a moment forever. Sarah's eyes moved from Tris to Eli, then to their joined hands, and finally to the distinctive Shoppers Drug Mart bag that could only contain one thing.

The color drained from her face, then rushed back in a flood of red. "You..." Her voice cracked. "You left my birthday party... for this?"

Eli's grip on Tris's hand tightened imperceptibly. He could feel her stance shift slightly, moving just a fraction closer to him. Protective. Possessive.

"Sarah," Tris started, but she cut him off.

"No." Her voice was rising, drawing attention from other customers. "No, you don't get to 'Sarah' me. Everyone's been looking for you! Your phone's off, you're not at your apartment—my parents have been driving around all night!" Her eyes locked onto the bag again. "And now I find you here, buying... buying..."

"Plan B," Eli finished calmly. Her voice was soft but carried an underlying steel that made Sarah flinch. "That's what you're trying to say, right? We're buying Plan B. Because yes, we made love. Several times, actually. Because we belong together."

Sarah's face contorted with rage and pain. "You don't even know him! I've been with him for five years! Five years! And you just—just—"

"I know his soul," Eli interrupted, still in that calm voice that somehow commanded attention. "I know that his freckles form the Pleiades constellation. I know he's afraid of the dark but pretends not to be. I know he studies the occult and keeps it secret because he thinks people won't understand. I know his favorite One Piece character is Gear 5 Luffy, and I know exactly why."

Each word seemed to hit Sarah like a physical blow. Her eyes widened with each revelation—things she'd never known despite their years together.

"Stop," Sarah whispered, but Eli wasn't finished.

"I know he's been sleepwalking through life, trying to be what everyone else wanted. I know he's never felt truly seen or understood. Until now." Eli's voice softened. "I know him because I am him. We're two halves of the same soul, and we've finally found each other."

Sarah's eyes filled with tears. "We were supposed to get married," she said, her voice breaking. "He was supposed to propose last night. We had it all planned—"

"You had it all planned," Tris finally spoke, his voice gentle but firm. "Everyone had it all planned. My whole life was planned out by other people. But this?" He squeezed Eli's hand. "This is real. This is mine. Ours."

"So you just throw away five years?" Sarah's voice rose again. "For what? Some—some girl you probably randomly met? Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"Sometimes," Tris said softly, "the craziest thing is staying on a path that isn't yours, just because you've already walked so far down it."

Sarah stared at them for a long moment, her breath coming in short gasps. Then her face crumpled. The tears that had been threatening finally spilled over, running mascara down her cheeks in dark rivers.

"I hate you. You’ve ruined everything!" she choked out. "I hate both of you."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

She turned and fled, pushing through the automatic doors so hard they bounced against their tracks. Through the storefront windows, they could see her running to a familiar car—her parents' SUV. Her father's disapproving face was visible through the windshield as Sarah threw herself into the backseat.

Tris felt his stomach lurch. The judgment in those faces, the weight of disappointing everyone who had planned out his life—it hit him all at once. His hand went clammy in Eli's grip.

"Home," she managed to say. "We need to go home."

He wordlessly nodded.

Eli wrapped her arm around his waist, supporting him as they left the store. They walked quickly, almost running, while Tris fought the rising nausea with each step.

They had won this battle, stood their ground together. But the war of breaking free from their old lives was far from over. And sometimes, victory came with its own kind of pain.

The walk home was a blur of mounting nausea and Eli's steady presence. Each step felt like walking through molasses, the summer air suddenly thick and oppressive. The disapproving faces of Sarah's parents kept flashing through Tris's mind—not just their expressions from the car, but years of expectations and carefully laid plans crumbling before their eyes.

"Almost there," Eli murmured, her arm firm around his waist. She matched his increasingly unsteady pace perfectly, as if their bodies were operating on the same wavelength. The scent that usually brought him such comfort now mixed with his rising gorge, creating a dizzying cocktail of sensations.

They barely made it through the front door before Tris stumbled toward the bathroom, his hand clamped over his mouth. Eli was right behind him, closing the door quietly as he fell to his knees in front of the toilet. The contents of his stomach—mostly coffee and bile—came up in violent heaves.

Most people would have turned away, given him privacy in this vulnerable moment. But Eli knelt beside him, one hand rubbing circles on his back while the other gently swept his hair away from his face. Her touch was sure and steady, grounding him through the waves of nausea.

"Let it out," she whispered, her voice carrying that perfect mixture of concern and understanding. "I'm right here. I've got you."

Between heaves, he managed to gasp out, "I'm sorry—you shouldn't have to—"

"Shh," she cut him off gently. "Remember what we said? Everything together. Even this."

The simple truth in her words brought fresh tears to his eyes, mixing with those already caused by retching. Here he was, at his absolute worst, and she wasn't just staying—she was actively caring for him, unphased by the mess and vulnerability of it all.

When the heaving finally subsided, Eli reached up to grab a washcloth from the counter. She wet it with cool water and gently wiped his face, her movements as tender as they were efficient. Then she filled a glass with water, helping him rinse his mouth. He looked like a ghost.

"Their faces," he said quietly, his voice raw. "They all had such plans for me. For us. And I just..."

"Chose yourself," Eli finished, still rubbing his back. "You chose yourself, and you chose me. And that's okay. That's more than okay—it's necessary."

He leaned back against her, exhausted. She adjusted their position so he was cradled between her legs, his back against her chest. Her arms wrapped around him, and he could feel her heartbeat—strong, steady, and consistent—against his spine.

"I've never..." he started, then swallowed hard. "I've never disappointed so many people at once before."

"Look at me," she said softly but firmly. When he turned his head to meet her gaze, she continued, "You haven't disappointed anyone who truly matters. Anyone who would force you to live a life that isn't yours—they're disappointed in losing control, not in you."

Her words hit home with the force of truth. All those carefully laid plans had never been about his happiness—they had been about fitting him into the role others had chosen. A role that would have slowly suffocated his true self.

"Besides," she added, a hint of her playful smile returning, "you've got me now. And I'm way more fun than a lifetime of pretending."

Despite everything—the acidic taste in his mouth, the trembling in his limbs, the emotional exhaustion—he found himself laughing. Because of course she knew exactly what to say, exactly how to lift him from the darkness. Of course she did.

"That's better," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Now, let's get you up and into bed. You need rest."

"The Plan B," he remembered suddenly. "We need to—"

"I already took it," she said, producing the empty package from her pocket. "While you were..." she gestured to the toilet with a small smile. "I told you, I've got everything handled. We're in this together, remember?"

Fresh tears pricked at his eyes, but these were different—tears of gratitude, of amazement at finding someone who could anticipate his needs so perfectly. Someone who could be strong exactly when and how he needed strength.

They helped each other up, Eli's small frame surprisingly sturdy as she supported him. The bathroom light caught her face just right, highlighting those impossible turquoise eyes that seemed to see straight through to his soul. They walked to the bedroom, Tris crying his soul out in her tender yet sturdy support. But beneath the crying. he knew that he had found the one; the only one that would understand him. And the only one he would want and need to be with forever.

"I love you," he said suddenly, the words falling from his lips before he could think about them, tears flowing from his eyes. The words hung in the air between them, heavy with meaning and timing and everything else that should have made them too soon, too much.

But Eli just smiled that perfect smile of hers, the one that made his heart stop and restart in a better rhythm. "I know," she said simply. "I love you too. I think I always have, even before we met."

And somehow, that made perfect sense. Everything about them defied conventional timing and logic. Why should this be any different?

They made their way back to his room, supporting each other though Tris's steps were steadier now. The nausea had passed, leaving behind a bone-deep exhaustion that made his blanket-less bed look like heaven itself.

"Rest," Eli commanded gently, helping him lie down. "I'll be right here."

She went to get a few blankets, of which she just knew where they were, and curled up beside him, fitting perfectly against his side. Her scent was comforting again, washing away the last traces of sickness and stress.

"Everything together," he murmured, already drifting off.

"Everything together," she agreed, pressing a soft kiss to his chest, right over his heart.

They fell asleep like that, tangled in each other, while the afternoon sun painted patterns on the wall through the small basement window. Outside, the world continued turning, lives continued being lived, plans continued being made and broken.

But in this room, in this moment, two souls who had finally found each other rested in the perfect certainty of belonging. Whatever came next—and they both knew there would be more storms to weather—they would face it together.

Just as they were always meant to.