𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍 & 𝐄𝐂𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘-𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮

THREE

I thanked Jasper for the escort and opened Gally's door, walking in and closing it lightly. There was a small lamp that probably ran on batteries. It was on, but barely illuminated the room. I was grateful for its small light, but I would have to scold him for his misuse of the light. Batteries had to be hard to come by.

My eyes raked over the room, taking in every detail of Gally's life since they had found him and brought him here. I found pages of building plans scattered on the desk. A Builder at heart.

His bed was wide, big enough for two people, but the sheets were rumpled by the wall. He didn't need the whole bed.

He didn't have much of anything in here. No personal items except for a small dresser with clothes. I pulled out a shirt, holding it close to my nose and breathing in Gally's scent. It was by no means the same as I remembered, considering he wasn't out in the Glade anymore, but I could smell the faint trace of him. I became accustomed to his new smell and it was comforting.

I put the shirt on the dresser and pulled off my clothes, leaving them where they fell and put on Gally's shirt. It was refreshing to be in clothes that didn't smell like survival. It was gross having to put on dirty clothes after a shower. But I had to make do.

I made my way to Gally's bed, pulling the sheets over me and laying on his pillow. The bed was cold and I shivered until my body heat enveloped me.

I felt my eyes getting heavy and didn't fight the sleep that overtook me.

TW: mention of suicidal ideation
GALLY
I walked to my room feeling as though my plan was falling apart. I should have known it wouldn't be easy for Thomas to agree right away when he saw Teresa, but I thought if she was here and they were trying to get Minho back, then it would have been a no brainer.

But Thomas wasn't always for other people's plans and I guess everything he has been through to get him here hasn't really changed that. Though, I had a feeling that same thinking is what allowed them to survive long enough.

I opened my door to a dark room. I stood frozen for a second, remembering that I hadn't turned the light off this morning. My room had no windows and if I didn't leave it on I was stumbling around like a blind bat.

I closed the door and heard a click, light casting my shadow on the door. I turned and saw Flor sitting up, her hair messy from sleep. She rubbed her eyes, having blinded herself.

I felt a feeling in my chest that I haven't felt in forever and walked over to the bed, sitting on the bed. Her hands were now in her lap and the sleep that was in her eyes a moment ago was gone. It was replaced now with tears and pain. I felt the familiar pain of tears as I held her face.

"I thought I would never see you again." The pain in her voice broke my heart and I heard the faint sounds of her screams as she held me in that room beneath the Maze. They were the last sounds I heard from her and they haunted me every night I fell asleep.

"It's okay. I'm here now." I didn't hide the hitch in my breath as I tried to swallow down the ball in my throat.

She fell into my chest and her tears soaked my shirt but I didn't care. She was here. I was holding her. That was all that mattered to me.

"I thought about finding my way to you." She said, weakly, her voice muffled. "I thought about it so many times, but I couldn't bring myself to do it." It took me a moment to realize what she was saying. She thought I was dead, so there was only one way for her to be with me. Or what she thought would be with me.

"Flore." My voice cracked and I cleared my throat.

She moved back, wiping her face. She somehow found a way to smile. "I'm just glad that I didn't go through with it."

I felt the tears fall down and held her face in my hands. "So am I." Her lips were chapped on mine, but it didn't stop me from kissing her. Now that I had her back, I don't think anything could.

Anything but air. She backed away first and looked up at me through her eyelashes, everything that I remember swimming beneath the murky green sea of her eyes. Everything I had fallen in love with was still there. Only now were her experiences she went through just to get here.

"I missed you." She whispered.

"I missed you more." I whispered back, smiling down at her.

She smiled back. "Let's not make this a competition." She wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing her face close to mine. "Let's just say we missed each other equally."

"I'm okay with that." I wrapped my arms around her waist and realized that the shirt she was wearing was baggy. I looked down and laughed. "Are you wearing my shirt?"

She pouted. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is." I pulled her close to me. "I always like you in my clothes." I didn't understand the feeling I was getting. It was the same one I had gotten when she had worn my old clothes back in the Glade, but it was stronger now. I didn't know if she felt it too.

She blushed and looked away, smiling slightly. "Jasper told me you bragged to them about how beautiful I was."

"I wasn't lying. And it wasn't the only thing I said about you."

She nodded, looking at me from the side of her eyes. "You said I was innocent as a puppy."

"You are. To most things. I don't know about it now..."

She looked at me now, a look of disbelief overtaking her features. I smiled. "I'm not that innocent."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Flore, you're wearing my shirt-and I'm assuming nothing else considering all of your clothes are on the floor-in my bed." Her face turned bright red and her eyes widened. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. My voice dropped and I brought my face close to hers, our lips almost touching. I wasn't sure what I was doing, so I just let my instincts take over. "You don't understand what you're doing to me. You never have."

Her eyes searched mine and I saw the exact moment everything clicked in her head. If it was possible her eyes got wider. She tried to back away but I kept my hold tight. "I didn't do it on purpose. I just needed something clean to wear." She was a stuttering mess and I just smiled.

"I know, I know." I let my hands slip under the shirt and I felt her shiver against my touch. "I'm not complaining. I will never complain about you." She gasped as my lips caught hers and I felt her body heat up.

She tried to pull me closer, but there was no more space between us. I kicked my boots off and leaned forward so she was laying down. Her hands moved from my neck to my arms and then my chest. She slipped her hands under my shirt and her fingertips were cold as they traced against my skin.

She pulled my shirt up and I moved to take it off. Her eyes raked my skin and stopped in one spot. I stopped in shock, moving back to grab my shirt.

She stopped me, her hand moving over my scar. It was still pink from healing and it tingled from her touch. "It's okay. It's just proof that you're alive." She looked at me with so much love and I couldn't hold the feeling back anymore.

I wasn't soft as I kissed her, and she was okay with that, matching my energy with a force I had never expected from her. My hands found their way back to her skin, pulling the shirt up until her midsection was exposed. My assumption had been correct. She was completely bare underneath my shirt.

I felt the tension in her muscles as I moved the shirt higher and she pulled away, hesitation in her eyes. "Hey, it's okay. We can stop if you want."

She looked away. "I don't want to, it's just..."

I held onto her. "You don't have to explain. I get it." I remember the first and last time I saw her bare. She was practically dying in my arms. What she had gone through was probably still fresh in her mind.

"This isn't just because I'm a girl right?"

I stared at her in wonder. "Flore, I didn't lie when I told you that you weren't just a girl to me. I love you. And I'm not saying that because you're lying underneath me practically naked. I love you for everything you are. I love your mind and your heart."

She blushed and smiled. "I never knew you for a poet."

"We have a lot to catch up on."

"We do."