#because he made the Glade work as a safe place he kept it going until he died

[in-need-of-gally-content]

|Chapter•Fourty|

•|Masterlist|•

He took a deep breath and looked around, noticing how pretty much everyone was freaking out at the fact that the Doors hadn't closed at all, and it was safe to say everyone was scared out of their minds about the Grievers.

No one wanted to see one. Especially when the mortality rate was excruciatingly high, just because Thomas killed one it didn't mean the others weren't pissed. And judging by the faded sounds of them screeching in the Maze, they definitely were.

"Okay... Hey, everyone! Calm down!" He screamed as loud as he could, catching the attention of every dude nearby, although they kept fidgeting nervously in place, "Someone go tell the others, the rest come with me!"

He pointed toward the Homestead, where he knew damn well Gally was in and turned around to run into the Deadheads.

"Where are you going?" He heard Billy ask him, the footsteps behind him let him know they were following his orders which he was thankful for, and saw the weapon shed appear behind some trees.

"We need weapons!"

Arguably speaking, he had no authority opening it, but it was a moment of crisis, and instead of spending five minutes undoing the knots, he kicked the door a couple times, exclaiming loud 'shuck's and 'come on's as he did, until it finally fell to the ground with a thump.

He stepped inside and began grabbing every spear there was and handed them out to Billy, who made sure to give them out to the guys behind him.

(M/n) knew damn well what lurked in the Maze, and he knew the Grievers were going to find their way to the Glade, they knew exactly where to go, that's was how their programming worked after all.

When there were no more spears, he gave out a few bows and kept one for himself, along with a quiver with arrows, thankfully every quiver had at least ten arrows, although he was unsure whether that was gonna be enough or not... Only time will tell, really.

"Okay..." He huffed as he stepped out, there were no more long-ranged weapons in the shed, "Gardeners' hut should have things that could be used as weapons, Slicers too... Find them, quick," the couple dudes that had remained empty-handed nodded and ran toward the huts as fast as their legs could.

"(M/n)," Billy placed his hand on his shoulder as he called his name, "Are you okay?" The way his breath was ragged and his body trembling nonstop was the reason why Billy asked, and honestly, (M/n) didn't have an answer to that, so he simply avoided the question.

"We're gonna need light... Find torches and light them up, Billy," frowning, the Keeper nodded sharply and ran somewhere else.

(M/n) took a deep breath and gripped the bow in his hand tighter, pulling an arrow out and getting it ready to fire. He took fast steps to leave the woods, and he saw the rest of the guys running out of the Homestead, which made him sigh, and watched them as they ran to the Doors, staring at them. However, a few seconds later an ear-piercing screech made him tense up again.

He frowned when the sound repeated itself, and he looked around, watching how more Doors to the Maze opened... He didn't even know those were doors...

Something in the back of his mind annoyed him and made him wonder... Were they gonna survive the night?

///////

"The Doors... They aren't closing..." Gally looked around him for a moment and observed how the others made their way to the Doors, yet he stayed there, unsure of what to do or how to feel.

Even less so when three more Doors seemed to magically open, everything felt very much like Doomsday, which... He didn't enjoy it, exactly.

"Shuck..." He turned around and went back inside the Homestead, ignoring the screams of whoever was calling out to him, he couldn't care at that moment.

Gally rushed upstairs to his room and walked in, his heavy steps rumbling in the structure and he knelt on the ground, pulling out the wooden crate from under his bed and opening it. A lot of things inside it had emotional value, but nothing was more important than the only polaroid he got of (M/n) with Bark.

He had kept it safe and in perfect condition with one of the few clear plastic bags and he quickly put it in his pocket, keeping it safe before running back outside.

His eyes looked around frantically, trying to find where the shuck (M/n) could be, but it was too dark out for him to be able to see anything without a light nearby.

And there was no time for him to go looking for him, because the first Griever made its way inside the Glade, so the only thing he could do was run and hide, or try to fight it... Which definitely wasn't a good idea if he had no weapons.

He was only able to sort of pinpoint (M/n)'s location thanks to the sound of his voice as he yelled at others to run and hide, so he decided to take off in that direction, staying behind trees and in the shadow where he hoped the Grievers wouldn't find him.

"(M/n)!" The (h/c) haired male looked toward the voice, one that he recognized as Gally's, and slightly lowered his bow, squinting as he tried to find him in the dark, while still trying to keep an eye out for anyone running by, escaping the Grievers.

"Gally?!" The rapid sound of his footsteps on the dirt approached his way, and soon enough, he was able to see Gally running out of the woods, the dim moonlight helping just the slightest bit, it was enough light to be able to see some stuff if you were directly under it, but no more than that.

He sighed in relief at the sight of the blond, and he was about to lower his guard, just for Gally and only for a moment, when a metal glint showed up behind him, followed by the faint sound of mechanical gear turning.

"Bean-!"

"Gally, watch out!" (M/n) felt his throat hurt at the raw scream he let out, and raised his bow as quickly as he could. His heart rate was off the roof and yet, he tried to keep a steady and strong grip on the bow, aiming at the Griever.

However, before he could shoot the arrow at it, it managed to tackle Gally when the blond looked behind him, so he had to act quicker now, and firing the arrow was the only thing he could do before it tore Gally apart.

The Griever screeched as the arrow pierced through its flesh, another one followed, and another one, it took (M/n) his last four arrows to make the Griever stumble away, letting out a shriek toward (M/n) who had stumped his way over, adrenaline surging through his entire body.

They watched as the Griever made its way back to the Maze, and (M/n) glanced around for a moment, klunk was still going down in the Glade, and being outside definitely wasn't safe, so he hung the bow on his shoulder and reached his hand out for Gally to hold.

"Come on, let's go to the Box," Gally got off the ground and they ran toward the Box, which wasn't that far away from them, "Mikah! Open the door!" He screamed as they approached and the metal gate was opened for them.

They jumped in and closed the gate, taking a deep breath to try and calm down their rapidly beating hearts.

They stayed there and remained quiet for what felt like hours, but it was only five minutes. The sound of metallic legs sounded near for a moment, soon fading away along with screeches echoing in the Galde, definitely coming from the Maze now.

Everything was quiet, no one dared move or say a word, until (M/n) reached up to the gate and used a wooden crate as a step to take a peek outside. There were no signs of Grievers and other Gladers were coming out of their hiding places.

"Looks safe..." He dropped off his bow and empty quiver on the concrete ground around the Box and used his arms to pull himself out of there, "Come," he moved his hand in a motion to let everyone know it was okay to get out and he looked around the Glade.

There was fire everywhere, and the smoke almost covered their sight. It was hard to tell how bad the damages were, but it was very unlikely that it was something they could easily fix.

"Where the shuck is Thomas?" Gally grunted as he took a step forward, looking around with a deep frown on his brow, (M/n)'s sure he's never seen Gally so mad before...

No one said anything, but everyone started walking after Gally the moment he took off in a particular direction, toward the Homestead.

(M/n) silently observed Gally, and his body language was all he needed to see to know that he was way more pissed off than he initially thought he was. He just wished he had been able to prevent him from punching Thomas square in the face as soon as they were an arm's length apart from each other.

Immediately, (M/n) held him away from the greenie, receiving help from everyone else, or at least the majority of the guys around them, some were just watching the scene, "This is all you Thomas! Look around!"

Sounds of struggle came from everyone but Gally, he was fighting the grip of at least 6 dudes at once without really putting much effort, he was pissed and just wanted to beat Thomas up, that much was obvious.

"Back up, Gally! It's not Thomas' fault!" (M/n) frowned as he continued holding Gally back, briefly glancing at Minho as he exclaimed for everyone to hear.

"You heard what Alby said! He's one of them!" For a moment, (M/n)'s hold on Gally faltered, which made everyone panic as Gally made a move to break free from them.

"One of who?!" He heard someone ask amidst the commotion, it sounded like Newt but he wasn't sure.

"Gally-!" (M/n) tried to get his attention by calling his name, but nothing seemed to work, his anger was seemingly unstoppable.

"He's one of them and they sent him here to destroy everything that we've built, and now he has!" Gally sounded convinced of what he was saying, and in a way, (M/n)  believed part of that, although he doubted that was the end of it, "Look around Thomas, look around! This is your fault!"

The situation kept repeating itself. Gally continued yelling that this was Thomas' fault, while the others tried to get him to calm down and talk clearly or explain himself, while those holding him back were getting tired of everything happening, (M/n) included.

"Let go of me!" Gally yelled, completely ignoring what Newt was telling him, and all (M/n) could gather from his words was that he was trying to reason with the taller blond, of course that was doing absolutely nothing.

"Thomas...!" Teresa and Chuck's screaming was the only thing that seemed to have snapped Gally out of his blind rage. And everyone watched how Thomas collapsed to the ground, letting go of a metal piece, "Get the other syringe."

(M/n) took a step forward and picked up what Thomas dropped. It was a Griever stinger.

He raised his sight toward Thomas, watching his body trembling and slightly twitching, slowly stopping once the syringe pierced through his skin.

"Take..." (M/n) looked at Gally, watching him step forward closer to the group of Gladers surrounding Thomas, "Take him to the pit, and the girl too."

"What?! Gally!" Before Teresa could argue his decision, (M/n) held her down, listening to her grunting as she couldn't release herself from his strong grip, "Let go of me!"

"I will knock you unconscious and tie you down if you don't obey," Teresa looked over her shoulder at (M/n), her head tilted back to be able to look him in the eyes. His (e/c) eyes were cold, showing no emotion towards her, and Teresa stopped fighting when she noticed the hate showing in his eyes, "Billy, Mikah... Pick Thomas up from the ground, let's go."

He announced and began pushing Teresa forward, and despite her not physically struggling, she did scream at him for what he was doing. Not like (M/n) cared about what she had to say.

He had put up with Teresa's bullshit for too long before being sent to the Maze, he wasn't gonna go through that again.

///////

Everyone available worked together to put out every fire, while others walked around with paper and charcoal in hand, writing down the names of all the guys they've lost, while the remaining few dug new graves for the friends they lost.

(M/n) and Billy were working together to drag the dead bodies to their graves. Some of them had limbs cut off or whole chunks of flesh bitten off... The sight and the smell were sickening. Some Gladers had been caught on fire so the smell of burnt flesh was probably gonna get stuck to their noses for a while, but they pushed through, trying not to take deep breaths too often and keep their lower face covered with some cloth.

When (M/n)'s eyes landed on the next guy, he teared up a little. He leaned down and let out a shaky breath as he gently touched Alby's face. His body had been losing temperature and he was the coldest he's ever felt Alby.

It took a lot for him to not break down crying. He had seen Archie's, Ty's, Zart's and Clint's bodies just a little bit ago and he had managed to keep his composure, but he had done his best to not burst out crying, aware that he wasn't the only one grieving the lost of their friends.

And even burying Stan was hard for him, they had been trying to be friends but never really got past the occasional wave and small talk when required, so they were merely acquaintances at best.

No one deserved to die in such a gruesome way, not even him.

They kept working for a couple of hours until they were done, and from afar he saw Gally crossing out names off the wall, a piece of paper sticking out of his pocket while a few others were scattered on the ground around his feet. And the moment he was done, (M/n) took off the gloves he was wearing and the cloth covering his face, wiping the sweat away and turning around, leaving the graveyard without saying a word.

His feet took him to his treehouse, which had collapsed as the trees it was secured to were bent or broken apart. The house was now on the ground and he signed as he stared at the place he lived in for months destroyed just like that overnight.

He opened the door, and struggled to find some safe ground, as the whole thing was pretty much diagonal, and he looked around. Part of the roof had been torn apart, the walls had holes all over them and they were various sizes. At least it hadn't caught on fire like every other structure had, and he stepped inside.

He sighed, sad and slightly heartbroken at the scene, he noticed the strap of his journal sticking out from under a piece of wood and he slowly pulled it out, dragging with it something that made a clacking sound as it stumbled on the wood.

Leaning down, his fingers held his Polaroid camera, which fell apart the moment he lifted it off the ground. Letting out a deep sigh, (M/n) felt grateful that the journal seemed to be in pretty good condition still, probably thanks to the leather bag it was in which was only slightly damaged.

Maybe he won't be able to make future memories last forever, but he was definitely grateful that he had been able to plaster all those happy past memories in paper and film, and both past and future memories will be preserved until the day he dies.

And he knew he never wanted to lose anything or anyone else again...

Wait... Where...

"Bark?!" He exclaimed as he rushed out the door, completely ignoring the stinging pain he felt on his body when he graced pieces of wood that had sharp ends on them, and stumbled his way further into the woods, "Bark! Come here, boy!"

He kept walking, feeling a knot in his throat every time he called out the dog's name with no response, his sight was blurry and watery, but he refused to cry until he found Bark.

"Bark...!" For a moment, (M/n) stayed quiet, keeping an ear out for any noise, "Bark?" He said a little more quietly and waited... And waited... And waited...

There it was!

"Bark!" He ran closer to the crying sound until it took him to a place where a few trees had collapsed, and there he was, under the branches, crying as he struggled to move, "Jesus-!"

He ran and knelt on the ground, breaking the branches and throwing them away, making space for Bark to crawl out of, right into his arms.

"Oh my God..." He gently let him and began inspecting his body, he didn't seem badly injured, didn't have any broken bones and everything seem okay with him which was a relief.

He picked Bark up in his arms and started walking him over to the rest of the guys.

(M/n) held Bark close to him while whispering to him, telling him he was gonna be okay and everything was fine, Bark acknowledged his words with gentle nuzzling and leaving small licks on his skin.

Slowly placing Bark on the ground, and asking Alec if he could keep an eye on him, (M/n) jogged his way over to Gally, who was still crossing out names, although he was probably almost done by now.

Without uttering a word, he leaned on the empty space of the wall and stared at the names, longingly. Gally was currently crossing out Alby's name.

He let out a deep sigh and stared off into the Glade, feeling his heart breaking as he took in the state of the place. Everything was destroyed, and whatever hadn't caught on fire, had collapsed in, nothing stood a chance the previous night and they barely made it out alive.

"They have to go," (M/n) glanced at Gally as he spoke, but his green eyes were locked on the wall, "Thomas and the girl can't stay here, look at what they've done."

(M/n) took a deep breath and stared down at his boots, moving a piece of stone around, "You wanna Banish them?" He asked, looking up at him again.

Gally stopped and looked at (M/n) in the eyes, his frown deep on his brow.

"I wanna Offer them to the Maze."

///////

When he was done, Gally called a Gathering. There was nowhere to do a Gathering in, but they just sat on the logs and listened to Gally while he talked about what he wanted to do.

"But you're not in charge, Gally," Minho spoke up, cutting the blond off.

Gally let out a dry chuckle and crossed his arms, staring into Minho's dark eyes, "I've decided to make myself the Leader, since I doubt Newt would do anything to the greenie."

Newt looked away when he got called out, avoiding everyone's stares.

"The greenie and the girl are getting Banished tonight, and that's final, Minho," the Runner clenched his jaw and interlocked his fingers, looking down at the ground.

From the tree he was leaning against, (M/n) observed as everyone went back to do their stuff, which was mostly cleaning and picking up stuff, at some point they would have to start rebuilding everything from scratch, but he figured it would start tomorrow or later that day, although he doubted it.

He thought about what Gally told him a little while ago, 'Offer them', he certainly understood why Gally wanted to do it, and he didn't really see any other option. It wasn't a coincidence that everything started going to klunk the moment Thomas showed up, getting worse with Teresa's arrival, and he was sure that it was all on purpose.

Whether it was them or WCKD pulling the strings, he wasn't sure, but it was planned. He never got to know and understand every single thing that WCKD did and wanted, and it never failed to make him frustrated that he had no idea what to expect from the situation.

He just knew he was scared. So shucking scared. And he wasn't the only one.

The Glade was filled with fear and uncertainty, which only grew heavier and heavier as the hours dragged on.

(M/n) closed his eyes and sighed, dragging his hand up his face, moving his hair away and he took a quick look around again. He was alone for the most part, Bark was lying with his head on his boots but he was awake, and as if forced to look a certain way, (M/n) caught sight of a few guys sitting by the pit where Thomas and Teresa were kept.

He recognized Minho, Newt and Chuck almost instantly, and he frowned but ultimately decided to ignore them. It was highly possible that Thomas was awake and they were explaining to him what was gonna happen in a couple of hours.

And he at least hoped that was all they were doing.

///////

"It's time."

(M/n) lifted his sight from the sticks he was sharpening and looked at Gally, who was looking forward toward the Doors. He busied himself with some large branches and small sticks, sharpening them and making new spears and arrows, just in case they would have to fight more Grievers in the foreseeable future.

The Doors were still open, all four of them, and he was sure they weren't gonna be closing any time soon, so he wanted to be ready. The Glade won't be safe, at least for a while, for how long? He had no idea, but they were certainly ready for them.

"(M/n)," Gally shifted his sight down to him, "Can you help us?" He made a small move with his head toward the Doors, and (M/n) looked that way. A few Builders were carrying logs to the entrance of the Maze. He had obviously told them what he really wanted to do with Thomas and Teresa, and that it wasn't a Banishment, but he couldn't say it with the greenie's friends nearby, so he had to do it in secret.

(M/n) nodded and put everything down before standing up and dusting off his pants slightly and walking behind Gally as they took off together. He helped Doug place the logs as columns, buried in the ground and sighed when they were done.

"Bring them over," Gally told the group of Gladers standing behind him, and they nodded. Everything was silent while Dan, Alec and Billy brought them over.

(M/n) stood off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest, keeping an eye out on Newt and Minho, noticing that Chuck was nowhere to be seen. God, he really hoped Chuck was okay and that he simply decided not to watch what was going to happen in a matter of minutes.

Dan walked Teresa over closer to the poles, holding her in place while Billy and Alec let Thomas fall to the ground. Gally stared down at him while putting his machete safely away, "What a waste."

Everyone's eyes were on Gally, silently waiting for what he was gonna do or say next, and (M/n) kept a close eye on Teresa, glaring at her. When her cold blue eyes locked with his, she looked away, slightly scared.

"Gally..." Winston spoke first, breaking the heavy silence, and Gally turned to look at him, squinting at the sunlight, "It doesn't feel right, man."

"Yeah... What if Thomas is right? Maybe he can lead us home," Jeff spoke backing up Winston, and for a moment (M/n) hesitated. Doing this wasn't going to fix anything, but he would always stand by Gally's side... No matter what.

"We are home, okay?" Gally replied, trying to sound soothing and calm, stepping closer to both guys, "I don't wanna have to cross more names off that wall."

Feeling his heart heavy, (M/n) took a quick glance at the name wall behind him. Seeing Alby's name crossed off was still a hard chunk of reality to digest.

"You really think Banishing us is gonna solve anything?" The sound of Teresa's voice made him look away from the wall, and (M/n) took a step closer to her.

"No. But this isn't a Banishment..."

"It's an Offering," Gally finished his sentence, letting his words sink in.

"What? Wait!" Taking that as his sign, Dan dragged Teresa to the poles, beginning to tie her up to it, "Gally, (M/n), what are you doing?"

"You really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the Maze after what he's done?" He exclaimed angrily at her, "Look around! Look at our Glade!" His words were proving a point, the collapsed structures still had smoke trails of the fire coming off from them and (M/n) guessed it would take a while before they went away. His sight landed on Newt, noticing he was staring at Minho and both had tense expressions, he stopped for a moment and observed them... It seemed like they... "This is the only way, and when the Grievers get what they came here for... Everything goes back to the way it was."

"Are you listening to this?! Why are you all just standing here? He's crazy!" (M/n) looked at Teresa again, and frowned.

"Just shut up." Teresa didn't let his harsh tone of voice stop her, continuing to try and bring sense into everyone else's skulls.

"If you stay here the Grievers are going to come back, they're gonna keep coming back until you're all dead!" (M/n) huffed in annoyance as Teresa kept talking and it was clear Gally felt the same.

"Shut up! Tie him up!" Billy and Alec looked at Gally for a moment, not moving, to which (M/n) took a step forward, "I said tie him up!"

Bending over, (M/n) held Thomas' arm and started to pull him up off the ground, Alec stepped in to help, but it wasn't needed.

Thomas held onto Alec's spear and broke free from the hold both guys had on him, he elbowed (M/n) in the stomach and pushed Alec off. (M/n) recovered quickly and lunched forward to attack Thomas but something hard hit him on the side of his head from behind.

"Bean!" Gally's voice was muffled and distant, and through blurry eyes he watched how his friends turned against them, standing by Thomas' side. He pushed himself into a sitting position and crawled back to Gally, feeling something warm drip down his temple and to his cheek.

While dizzy and disoriented, he spotted Chuck in front of him, sadness overwhelming him at the knowledge that he had picked Thomas over him and Gally,  "Chuck..." He called out his name rather quietly, it was easily heard due to the tense silence filling the Glade.

Chuck looked at (M/n), tears in his eyes at the sight of him, sitting on the ground, covered in dirt and blood on his face. He didn't even get to mouth a silent 'sorry' to him because Teresa moved to stand in front of him, blocking his vision.

(M/n) tensed his jaw and blinked away his blurry sight, standing up with Gally's help, finally being able to hear normally and realizing Gally and Thomas were arguing, as it had become the regular thing around the Glade.

"We don't belong here. This place... This isn't our home," taking deep breaths, (M/n) glared at Thomas, reluctantly listening to his speech, "They put us here. We're trapped. At least out there we have a choice. We can make it out of here... I know that."

(M/n) didn't have the heart nor the strength to explain to Thomas how wrong he was. W.I.C.K.E.D. wasn't the worst part of all of this... It was the Flare.

There was a small pause, and then the shuffle of footsteps was heard. And they saw Winston walking toward Thomas, taking his side. Jeff followed up. And Mike, and many others.

What hurt (M/n) the most was seeing Mikah, Doug, Dmitri and Billy doing the same. "Sorry, (M/n)."

Mikah ruffled his hair just like Gally always did, Billy tried to smile at him and Doug was silently crying. They knew damn well (M/n) had made his choice to stay with Gally and they knew Gally wasn't gonna leave the Glade, so this was goodbye... For now.

They made their choice and (M/n) made his, and sometimes, that's just how life works.

He and Gally looked around, realizing they were down to ten Gladers in total.

"Guys, it's over," Thomas spoke again, and (M/n) stared at him, anger shining in his eyes, "Just come with us."

Even though Thomas was talking to everyone, his eyes never looked away from (M/n). For whatever reason that he couldn't nor wanted to understand, Thomas had a weird fixation with him and didn't wanna leave him behind.

(M/n) noticed it. Everyone did. But... He made his choice, and it's not easy to sway his mind. He made a promise to Gally, and he wasn't going to break it, even less now.

Gally grew anxious as (M/n) remained quiet, his hand reaching out to hold onto the back of his shirt, tugging on it gently, something (M/n) couldn't ignore. It hurt him to think that Gally believed he would leave him.

"Good luck against the Grievers, greenie..." And the Scorch... The Flare... The Cranks... W.I.C.K.E.D...

For a moment, a few guys seemed to become unsure of their decision, but before they could change their minds, Thomas spoke to catch their attention and they turned around, running into the Maze, followed by those who wanted to leave and those who weren't so sure anymore.

All eyes stayed locked on them, watching as they ran off, disappearing from their sight the instant they turned the first corner.

It took a few seconds, but slowly, everyone left behind in the Glade began making their way back to what was left of their home, silently dreading the heavy work they would have to endure, but also scared at the uncertainty of their future. 

And (M/n) couldn't help but wonder if everything was gonna be okay in the end.

Will they survive? If so, for how long?

He took a step forward, slightly losing his balance as he did, but Gally's arms held him around his middle before he could keep walking and hurt himself.

"Come on, you have a bleeding wound, let me take care of it," (M/n) nodded without putting up a fight and he was taken to a cut tree trunk.

There wasn't much left of their shelter, but stuff kept away in crates was mostly safe, so moving pieces of wood, planks, sticks and ivy, Gally reached the med room crate.

When he had what he needed, though it wasn't much, he cleaned (M/n) wound with some water from the outdoor shower that still had running water, disinfected it and covered it with gauze, using the last bit of the tape they had left.

He noticed Gally's hands were shaking, and his green eyes were glossy. He wanted to cry, and he was scared... Everyone was, honestly. And it's not like he could blame them.

"Done..." (M/n) reached his hand up and cupped Gally's face in his hand, holding eye contact with him.

"Everything is gonna be fine, Gally. Things will get better," he uttered, a small smile pulling the corner of his lips up, successfully earning a smile back.

If only he could believe his own words.

//////

They tried. They all did.

The idea of ten guys fighting against two Grievers sounded easy enough, but in reality, it wasn't. They tried their best and succeeded, they killed them both, but at what cost?

All their remaining friends were dead, or were dying, and nothing could be done to save them.

(M/n) got up from the ground, and looked around, Bark came over to him with a limp but without making a sound, he stared at the Griever's corpse, lying near to him with a spear through its head. He let out a shaky sigh and picked up his bow off the ground, although there was only one arrow in the quiver so he didn't see much use to it.

But it was better than nothing.

Taking a cautious step forward, he began walking further out the Deadheads, frowning with worry at how unusually quiet the Glade was. Not a single sound could be heard.

All the screaming and screeching were now gone, disappearing just like that, as if it never happened, only leaving a deafening buzz-like sound in his ears and putting him on high alert. He wasn't sure they were safe, more could come barreling down the pathway from the Maze any second now, for all he knew.

He looked around, trying to spot even the slightest sign of life. Some movement, a sound... Anything that could assure him he wasn't all alone.

But nothing. Absolute stillness.

And panic began to settle in his mind, in his gut, in his bones... What if he was the only one alive? What if...?

He felt Bark nuzzling his hands, which he had now realized had turned cold and he snapped out of his panicked state of mind, barely managing to spot movement up ahead.

Relatively close to the Maze Door, he saw one of the guys. He was pulling apart the slimy flesh of a Griever with his bare hands and rummaging for something inside it. In his hands, a cylindrical device could soon be seen, releasing a beep that was rather slow and quiet.

(M/n) took a deep breath to calm the quick beating of his heart and took a few steps closer, squinting under the bright sunlight while staring off into the distance.

He recognized who he was when he stood to his full height.

It was...

"Gally?" He whispered to himself, feeling glad that he was alive, but that changed to terror the moment he witnessed how he began running full speed into the Maze, alone and without any kind of weapon, "Gally!"

Without thinking twice, he took off after him, completely ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, hearing Bark's laboured breathing as he ran after him.

Despite knowing the Maze well enough, as he had navigated it many times before, getting lost was easy, but he tried and continued running, trying to follow the sound of Gally's echoing footsteps wherever it was he was running to. His legs trembled and quivered as he struggled to catch up to the blond, all while making sure Bark was still coming behind him.

If he remained in a place quiet enough, he could hear a beeping getting louder and much more frequent, so he kept going, afraid he would lose Gally if he stayed still for too long. He knew Gally was somewhere ahead and (M/n) had long realized he wasn't stopping so he could catch up.

The sound of footsteps echoing off the walls came to an end, so he sped up, rounding the corner and barely managing to stop himself from running off the corner. He stayed in place to be able to catch his breath and waited until he heard Bark's tired huffing.

He looked around the place.

(M/n) saw multiple Grievers dead, along with some of the guys that went in with Thomas, the stone wall had patches of blood, dragging marks going from the middle and to the edges of the walkway. Slowly and carefully, he peaked over the edge, feeling Bark tugging back on the fabric of his pants. It was pitch black and he couldn't see the bottom... He felt like he was gonna vomit his stomach through his mouth.

He took a deep shaky breath, pulled out his arrow and charged his bow, slowly stepping forward, keeping an eye out on the squished Grievers, they may move, they may not, but he'd rather be safe. He stepped into the dark tunnel, Bark following him close, and he continued walking along it until he reached the light on the other side of it.

He knew all too well he wasn't out of the Maze yet. He almost couldn't believe he had forgotten about this long ass hallway he hated, but it was the only way he could sing to the guys in the Glade... Oh yeah, he used to do that all the time, every night actually, until he got his memory erased and got sent up to the Maze.

He peeked left and right before deciding it was good enough for him to walk into, and he noticed the gooey footprint someone had left behind. It was Griever's spit, or he hoped that's what it was.  

The footsteps left a mark on the floor, making a path toward his right side, so he decided to walk that way, Bark taking the lead as he walked with his fur standing on end, keeping his growl quiet but threatening. (M/n) was glad he had Bark along with him, and a single arrow, if he had to go down, he would go down with a fight.

Their walk through the hall felt almost a little too long, and when (M/n) thought he was heading nowhere, he spotted an emergency door, reading 'Exit' atop it.

"Doubt it," he muttered to himself but still decided to push the door open and step into the room.

He didn't get to see much at first because there appeared to be another door in the room, which was open and it was letting a way more bright sunlight through, along with a scorching wind that felt like fire. So they escaped... Lifting his arm the best he could, he stepped to the side, away from the light and wind, and he blinked while looking away, soon his sight adjusted to the room.

Broken glass, bullet cases and dead bodies were the first things he saw, he was standing right by one of the dead scientists, or so he assumed because of their white lab coat. He looked up and walked around a long table, seeing all of the technology was familiar, and he recognized the room as WCKD's monitoring room. 

The monitors ahead of him caught his attention instantly. There were cameras in the Glade, showing just how bad his home looked, there were cameras in the Maze too, and others were glitching, realizing those were the Griever cams, and then, there were pictures... Of his friends on the monitors next to the security cameras. Each of them was labelled as 'subjects' with a letter as a number instead of their names.

"Subject A1, The Betrayer..." He whispered to himself, staring at the blank paper covering the screen. He lifted his hand up to it, and pulled it off, leaving a small piece of it stuck under the tape that remained on the monitor, "Teresa..."

He was about to put the paper down, when he noticed there was something on the back of it.

It was a picture of... Him. 'Subject 0'.

"The Rejected...?"

He crumbled the paper in his hand, threw it to the ground and turned around.

He gasped, feeling like a bucket full of ice just got dumped on his head.

"Chuck..." He was lying on the ground by the door, a red spot on his chest that seemed to have stopped growing, but the pool of blood he lay on kept expanding with each second, albeit too slowly to be immediately noticeable.

Tears clouded his sight as his brain processed what he was seeing. Slowly, he knelt on the ground, hearing Bark whining and crying as he nuzzled Chuck's cheek, giving him a few kisses. (M/n) broke down, his cold hands holding into Chuck's still warm ones, and he spotted, although through blurry eyes, his star bracelet loose on his wrist.

"I want you to keep this. That way, I will always be with you, no matter where you are."

Something warm slid down his face rather fast, and all his tears were soon leaving wet spots on Chuck's clothes. He nodded and gently caressed his face, still holding that particular blush, albeit stained with dirt, staring into his once bright eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Chuck..." He whispered, holding in the sobs that wanted to leave, feeling that painful knot in his throat getting worse the longer it passed. Sweetly, he moved his curls away and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead, back away and gently closing Chuck's eyes, letting him rest in peace, "Good night, little man."

Slowly, he untied his star bracelet and tied it to the rope of his moon necklace, both dangling together, a sad smile on his face.

He wished so badly he could give him a proper burial, it was the least he deserved, but alas, letting him rest unbothered was all he could do for the little kid.

His whole life bad been taken away from him by W.I.C.K.E.D, and (M/n) would do anything in his power to make them burn for everything they've put them through. All of them will-

The scowl on his face vanished the instant he looked up, his sight landing on another body lying lifeless on the ground. (M/n) stood up and tried to make his way over to them, and his legs trembled, as did his bottom lip, they did their best, but he could barely move, and all he could feel was the adrenaline pumping through his body.

"Gally...?"

He mumbled as he fell to his knees, his hands shaking violently as he placed them on his face. (M/n) had no idea what to do other than keep a hold on Gally, most likely a way to try and convince himself he wasn't gone.

It felt like he was there an eternity, silently crying as he stared at Gally who remained still on the ground, only the sound of Bark crying and howling could be heard, looking back and forth between Gally and Chuck. (M/n) mumbled his name over and over, hoping that a miracle would happen and his voice would be enough to heal him, but the spear sticking out of his chest seemed to only be there to mock him. To prove to him... That Gally was gone, just like that.

"Gally, please..."

His voice was easily drowned by the sound of various vehicles stopping outside before making their way inside the facility.

"There's a survivor!" An unknown and slightly muffled voice called out as they began to approach (M/n) who hadn't moved an inch from his spot. Bark growled and stood protectively next to (M/n).

They reached down to his arms, and began pulling him away from Gally, or trying to. Bark wasn't letting him get close, so someone else had to take care of the dog, and when they did, a hand held onto (M/n).

"No! Let go of me! Gally!" (M/n) struggled and managed to elbow the guy holding him on the stomach, releasing himself from his grip and crawling his way back to Gally, "I'm not gonna leave you, okay? I'm not..."

His body shook with each sob he released, blinking away the tears to be able to see Gally's face clearly, wanting to engrave it in his memory. But once more, someone was preventing him from being alone with him in peace and quiet.

He groaned and kicked, throwing punches and pulling his arms away from the foreign hands holding him back, "I won't leave him! Stop, don't touch me!" His voice broke, desperately pleading to these people to just let him stay there, on the floor with Gally.

There was no point in living if Gally wasn't gonna be there with him, constantly reminding him to eat all three meals, to mess up his hair with a playful smile, to show him his drawings, to hear his beautiful laugh, and to comfort him when he didn't feel worthy. He couldn't live in a world where Gally was gone.

"I can't... Gally..." He sobbed and made a last attempt at freeing himself again but to no avail. He had lost his strength.

"Sir! He's still alive!"

(M/n) saw a spark of hope in the dark tunnel he found himself inside of, and he felt like he was pushing himself toward it, needing that spark of hope to be able to continue.

"Save... Save him! Please, save him!" He yelled at them as he stopped struggling against their hold, and he watched how they stabilized the spear through his chest to cut the handle off. They had tried to take him outside, but he had refused, fighting their grip again with newfound strength, in the end, the soldiers decided it wasn't worth the fight and simply stayed put, "Can I... Can I go with him?" He asked between gasps, "Please, let me... Go with him..."

One of the guys holding him released his grip, moving to help the other group get Gally on a stretcher and take him outside to their van.

"Bark? Where's... My dog?" The guy holding him pointed toward a lady, holding Bark in her arms and taking him to the back of one of their vans, "Did you...?"

"He's sedated, don't panic," (M/n) nodded and willingly started walking with him.

Being taken out to the scorching sun as it began to set wasn't nice, and he started squirming and screaming the moment he realized he was being taken to a different vehicle than the one Gally was taken to. "Stop! Don't fight-!"

"Get off of me!" He pushed the man that held him away and ran toward the group of four carrying Gally onto the van, he got in, closing the door behind him before anyone could say anything, but seeing as he hadn't run away or caused any other major problem, that he only wanted to be with the blond, everyone got in their car and drove off.

(M/n) felt his eyelids heavy, but he refused to fall asleep, observing closely what they were doing to Gally to keep him alive the entire trip.

From what he heard and understood it was bad, and it would be a miracle if he survived, but he clung to that hope.

That miracle was the only thing that helped him hold on and prevented him from falling into madness.

"Sir, we found two WCKD survivors, one is in critical condition, and the other has a few wounds but seems to be out of danger," (M/n) glanced up at the dude on the passenger seat, noticing he stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, "Understood."

The trip in the van after that felt like an eternity, and it probably was, seeing as the people in the van kept yelling at the driver to go faster while struggling to keep Gally alive. (M/n) did what he could, he's had medical training when he worked for WCKD and it was knowledge that never failed to be useful.

When the van stopped, they got off and made a circle around him and Gally, there was a stretcher waiting for them, probably thanks to the dude that told them about them being two survivors.

He wanted to go with them when they took him away, but he was held back and taken in the opposite direction, "No! Let me go! Gally! Gally!" Just like he had done before, he began to struggle against the people taken him away, but there was something cold, hard and sharp pressing against his throat.

"Stop fighting or I will kill both you and your friend over there on his death bed," silently, (M/n) nodded and was pushed forward to make him walk, taking him to wherever it was he was being taken to.

The place he was walking through was unknown and every pair of eyes on him felt like knives to his flesh, he didn't really like the place, but he had no way out of it.

They walked down a ramp, turned to the left and made their way down some stairs. He was in some kind of vivarium-library, there were plants by the roof tall windows, and bookshelves full of books on the opposite end, along with a small table and two single couches.

He was put in the middle of the room, a dim light shining down on him, and he looked around the place.

"What a pleasant surprise."

That voice... He recognized that voice.

He turned his head toward the place it came from, it was in the dark, so it was almost impossible to see anything, but when the person stepped into the warm orange light of the sunset, (M/n) saw him.

"I didn't think I'd see you again."

"And I didn't think you'd still be alive... Lawrence." Every pair of eyes in the room turned to look at the guy they brought over, questioning who he was.

"Seeing you here is quite... Unexpected, (M/n)," at the mere mention of his name, he realized how those threatening stares at him changed, turning into something akin to hope and gratitude. As if he was their saviour.

#gally x reader #gally x y/n #gally x male reader #the maze runner x male reader #the maze runner #the maze runner x reader #tmr gally #gally the maze runner #gally maze runner #ftm reader #trans reader #trans #will poulter #will poulter x reader #will poulter fanfiction

[imhereformysciencefriends]

@mcyt-yuri-week Day 6: Sleep!

You know I had to go for that good good puffychu angst. Read on AO3 here

Things were different now. Things were different here. Niki didn’t need to fear sleep, here, because the nightmares would all but certainly leave her alone. Right? She no longer barred herself in her room, no longer woke up in places entirely separate from where she’d put her head down. She didn’t wake to sores and scratches, to bruises where she’d flung herself against the iron.

Niki didn’t—she was better. She was supposed to be better. She wasn’t alone in her cavernous, empty city anymore. She had a little cottage in a little circle in a snowy glade out with her friends. She wasn’t the same naive girl who followed, wide and star-eyed, after a boy with big dreams and bigger betrayals. She wasn’t the same embittered wraith that burned down the symbol of her own heart and locked herself away in stone walls, metaphorical and literal.

She was a woman, a little rough and a little soft, bread burnt on the outside but still doughy in the center. But she was here, and she was fine, and she shouldn’t have trouble with sleep, still.

Some weeks were worse than others. Some weeks were better.

Sometimes, she was bundled up in a blanket on Technoblade’s floor, back pressed against Steve’s flank and any number of wolfdogs clamoring for the prized spot of resting on her lap. Sometimes, she was on Phil’s couch, mug of tea in hand and mechanical bits and bobs slowly overtaking his floor, chatting while he worked late into the night. Sometimes she was huddled together with Connor and Ranboo in Ranboo’s living room, spitballing and discussing the absolute worst pranks known to human or hybrid-kind until they nodded off one by one. Sometimes, she was in Puffy’s new place, fresh built walls and a fresh-woven blanket draped over her when she woke in the same chair she’d fallen asleep in.

And some nights, she went about her day, and fell asleep in her own bed as thoughtlessly as she brushed her teeth or washed her hair.

But some nights, she laid in that bed and stared at her black ceiling, dark and safe without monsters nearby, lanternlight flickering weakly in through her windows. And stared. And stared. And stared. For hours. She’d toss and she’d turn, maybe, but mostly she just stared, sleep nearby but refusing to visit her.

But some nights, she’d go out mob hunting, justifying that they always needed bones for bonemeal, always needed arrows for the unenchanted bows, always needed rotten flesh to butcher for the dogs and bears and foxes, always needed spider silk for its many uses and gunpowder for—

And she’d go logging, after, because their woodfires were ever burning, and who didn’t always need more wood? Go mining, sometimes, because it was a Player’s code to mine and hey, they could always use more stone. Well, that wasn’t true. But coal! Coal was plentiful in uses, and iron, and gold, and lapis when she dug that far. Even got herself a few diamonds doing it.

And she’d glance at her cute little cottage she’d built herself and the dark, warm little bedroom upstairs and she knew the bed was in it but she couldn’t go to it, she went out to work in their greenhouse for a little late night gardening or wandered over to the village to get the best early morning deals or hell, she even went fishing some nights because hey, all resources are good resources, and while steak was filling the same taste over and over and over again got a little boring!

Some nights, she picked up a boat, picked a direction, and just rowed.

Probably for the best, when she did that. Made it so the phantoms wouldn’t haunt the commune. So that nobody else would know—

Except they did. They all did. Even Connor knew, and Connor didn’t know fuckall about anything. No, no, that was rude, he was–he was fine. Niki was the one with the issues. Niki was the one with dark shadows under her eyes, with a pinched face, legs and arms that moved too slow, an attention span that kept wandering. Niki was the one with a waning appetite and flickers in the corner of her vision.

She needed to sleep. It was factual. It was a basic bodily function that all people did and needed. If she kept going like this she was going to be too shaky to aim right at the phantoms. She could get really hurt. And then her friends would worry, and yeah it was a nice thought that they’d do that for her, but far more pressing was that Niki could not, under any circumstances, inconvenience them more than she already did with the mere fact of her existence.

But every time she thought about the bed in the dark in her room she got—

Maybe, maybe she’d—but then they’d ask questions and Niki didn’t have answers. Well, she had the answers, but she didn’t want to share them. Probably. Who knew! God, it was like she was back down there again, back alone in her underground city with room for everyone she’d ever loved and not a single soul to visit her.

“Hey Niki!” Puffy called brightly, startling her into a jump.

“Puffy,” she said, and she couldn’t quite stop the way her voice came out a little forlorn, a little wistful. “Hey, how are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good,” she said, her fluffy woolen hair stuffed into the neckline of her coat and making for a fashionable, natural scarf in the winter weather. The velvety insides of her ears were pinked, though, and Niki felt the absurd urge to reach out and warm them up between her palms.

The two had quit dating a while ago. Move on.

“I was wondering if you were up to anything tonight?” Puffy asked, and Niki hesitated.

Because, no, she didn’t have plans. Other than avoiding her bed and the phantoms in equal measure. On the other hand, this very much sounded like an invitation, and a roof could keep the phantoms quiet as they stalked and waited for her to exit, but if Puffy wanted to do something together after nightfall, it’d become clear as blades that Niki had something wrong with her.

“Why do you ask?” she hedged, trying to soften the shape of her words enough to make up for how rude she was being.

“I was wondering if you wanted to do a hot chocolate and book reading night with me!” Puffy said, like this was some sort of commonplace convention and not something she’d just made up. Niki couldn’t stop the giggle. Puffy was always like that, brash and bold and striding forward in a straight line. It made the way Niki cringed in the shadows feel all the more sickly, but she couldn’t help but grasp after that brilliant light that fell off of Puffy wherever she walked.

“That sounds really nice,” she said, more genuinely than she thought it’d come out. Already she could feel her shoulders relaxing, the way her body curled towards the little sheep woman like pins rolling across a desk towards a magnet.

“Sweet!” Puffy said, removing one mittened hand from her coat pocket to grasp Niki’s own, dragging her across the commune to where her nice, neat little house now stood.

Ridiculously, Niki felt the urge to surround Puffy’s house with flowers, reminisce about the store they’d run together—

Stop. They were friends. Nothing more, probably not anything less. Between the Egg and the Syndicate and the nuke that almost went off, their romance had gotten shot so dead, Niki wasn’t sure it could be revived. But the nice thing about a blank slate was they could write whatever they wanted on it, and maybe Niki could do it right this time. She could start by not feeling ridiculous feelings every time she and her friend hung out.

Inside, Puffy stomped snow off her hooves and trotted over to throw another log on the fire before stripping out of her gloves, hat, and coat. Niki hung her own winter wear over the back of a chair, stomping snow off but leaving her boots on. Since Puffy didn’t wear boots to take off, her floor had a tendency of collecting dirt and grime, so Niki figured 1. she wouldn’t mind it, and 2. it’d be wiser for her poor human feet.

“I’ll get started on the cocoa,” Puffy said with a bright smile, making her way towards the small, already-growing-cluttered kitchen. A dishmaid, Puffy was not. “You go find something that’d be fun for us to read!”

“So, what, we’re just reading to each other tonight?”

“Yup!”

Niki laughed softly and examined Puffy’s bookshelves. She only had the two, a modest selection on them, and mostly nautically themed. She saw a copy of one of Techno’s favorite anthologies, probably “loaned” to her from Connor, who had gotten it from Niki, who had borrowed it from Ranboo, who’d been lent it by Phil off of Techno’s shelf. It never left the commune, so Techno didn’t really mind, but he did make a great huff about it at Phil from time to time.

“Have you had a chance to get through this at all?” Niki asked, lifting the anthology from the shelf and holding it up where Puffy could see. Puffy glanced at it over her shoulder, then resumed stirring the cacao powder into milk and sugar on the stove.

“I haven’t, actually! That’s a great idea, we could pass it back and forth between us that way.”

Niki tucked the book under her armpit and leaned against the doorframe near the stairs. Upstairs was the bedroom, down here was the livingroom, bathroom, and kitchen. It wasn’t a particularly large house, though Puffy had never claimed herself a builder. It was cute, though, and despite its newness, felt lived in. Less lonely than the little cottage and the little bed waiting back for Niki.

Her head tapped against the wooden frame and Niki realized that she was nodding off while standing there. Shit. Get it together, or Puffy’ll notice. She’d been spacing out, too, oh no, what if Puffy had said something to her? She didn’t mean to come off like she’d been ignoring her—and she was far too awkward to ask.

Puffy poured the hot chocolate into two mugs and scooped them up with careful bravado. “Alright! So, I know I keep my place colder than you non-woolen folks tend to like: do you wanna do this on my bed? That way we can huddle under a blanket together.”

There was something to Puffy’s cadence that seemed almost practiced, but Niki mentally waved it off as her being tired. Part of her wanted to make a joke about Puffy inviting her into her bed, but she wasn’t sure enough of their relationship to know that it’d be well received.

“Blankets sound nice.” She’d have to be particularly mindful not to nod off in Puffy’s bed. This was just… two friends hanging out. Gals being pals. Puffy insisting on yet another weird social get together, like eating meat so spicy it makes people cry, or like the punch bowl at the banquet—

“Let’s go,” Niki said, turning and leading the way up the stairs. Cutting that line of thought off right quick. Puffy’s hooves trotted up the stairs behind her, and Niki took in the little bedroom as she rounded the bed at its center. It was cute. About what Niki might’ve expected, if she’d expected anything. A picture of Foolish, Michelle, Foolish Jr., and Finnley was displayed proudly on the nightstand next to a small lamp. A chest that looked like it could’ve come straight out of a children’s book about pirates sat beneath the windowsill, the sleeve of something sticking out from the closed mouth. The little potted flower Ranboo had given Puffy as a welcome gift sat neatly on the sill, and strings of sea glass hung from the top of the window. Niki was sure they would’ve glinted nicely in the sunlight. A second nightstand had a scattered assortment of earrings and necklaces, which Puffy shoved out of the way before setting a mug of cocoa down, and handed Niki the other, which she set carefully next to the framed photo.

Puffy then corralled Niki onto the bed, pulling up the big, soft, quilted duvet up around their shoulders and Niki happily tucked herself in.

“Oh, shoot, you’ve got feet,” Puffy mentioned, setting her mug right back down and hopping off the bed. Out of the chest, she pulled a second blanket, and tossed that over Niki’s lap. “Sorry. Hooves, you know, I forget.”

“I didn’t mind,” Niki said, but couldn’t deny: this was cozy as hell.

“You wanna read the first one, or should I?” Puffy asked, and Niki smiled over the rim of her mug.

“I can,” she said. The cocoa was still a little hot for her tongue, anyway. Puffy cuddled up next to her and Niki only blushed a little.

Some chunk wedged inside her heart tugged loose, and Niki could feel tension bleed out of her like a bottle uncorked. She leaned her head on top of Puffy’s, careful not to get a horn to the face, and read the now-familiar tale of Apollo and Artemis’s births. The cocoa held in Puffy’s hands wafted sweetly, filling the space with soft scent, and Puffy was a warm little furnace against her side, heat trapped beneath the two blankets and pillows at her back. It was with some reluctance that Niki handed the book over to Puffy, but her own mug was cooled enough now, and Niki did admittedly want to take a sip herself.

It was with Herculean effort that Niki kept her eyes open during the tale of Narcissus and Echo, Puffy’s voice even and steady and warm. Niki found her mind wandering to how nice it was. She must’ve had plenty of practice reading to her kids and grandkids. Niki didn’t catch much of the story itself, admittedly, but she’d read it before, herself. She knew how it went. Far more captivating was the warm mug cradled between her palms and the warm line of the woman against her.

Niki finished off her mug before setting it down, and mercifully perked up a bit when it was her turn to read.

Mnnmgn, the words on the page were a little fuzzy, but Niki just read slowly and tried not to yawn. Despite reading the tale of Kronos out loud, by the time she reached the end of the story, she couldn’t have told you what it was about.

She’d slouched a bit, without realizing it. She slouched further now, Puffy shifting next to her as well, getting comfy. They were propped up against the pillows, but only barely might’ve been considered upright. Instead of leaning against the top of Puffy’s head, Niki now found herself pillowed against Puffy’s shoulder. And when had she gotten there? She should sit up straighter, like this she was going to…

Fall asleep.

--

Niki found herself, shock of all shocks, in a very pleasant dream. No iron bars or burning cities or ghosts of men she’d trusted, she was on an adventure of some sort, wild but safe and happy. She was in the middle of locating a geode when she was thrust suddenly back into the realm of the waking, the shoulder she’d been so warmly pillowed against yanking upwards.

Niki let out some undignified noise and flailed, briefly, but even over her own sounds she could hear the gasp wrenching out of Puffy.

“Puffy?” she asked, bleary and disconcerted.

“Fuck,” she heard Puffy say, quiet, just a breath. Then Puffy was untangling herself from the blankets, and in the moonlight from the window and the soft glow of a sea-lantern nightlight by the stairs Niki saw—she was shaking.

“Puffy?” Niki repeated, more awake, more concerned.

“I’m fine,” she said, too fast, too abrupt. “Don’t—worry about it. Everything’s fine. I’m just—gonna get myself some water.”

Too much like she was running away, Puffy all but bolted from the room, down the stairs faster than Niki could respond. Niki clicked on the lamp and had to do her own detangling from the blankets—Puffy must’ve tucked her in—before deciding to throw one around her shoulders like an oversized shawl. It was cold, in the middle of the night, and if Niki had any inkling of what was going on, she was sure Puffy might like the comfort, in a minute.

She followed her downstairs and found Puffy bent over the kitchen sink, tense as a strung bow and breathing slowly, deliberately.

Niki approached her slowly, and from the side. No surprises. No threats. Just a friend, and a friend’s concern. She settled a hand on Puffy’s shoulder gently, and Puffy groaned. Scrubbed at her face with one hand.

“Fuck.”

“Nightmare?”

Puffy grunted, nodding shallowly.

“It happens,” Niki said, quiet in the stillness of night. “I get them all the time. We can talk about it, if you like?”

“No, no, tonight is supposed to be for you, I don’t wanna saddle you with my baggage,” Puffy groaned, still sounding slightly short of breath.

Niki frowned. “What do you mean, ‘supposed to be for me?’ I thought we were just hanging out?”

Somehow, beneath her hand Puffy grew even stiffer.

“Puffy?”

Puffy groaned again, dropping her head and scratching at her hair. “I just—you’ve been, you—I don’t have to lie to you, Niki! You know we know you haven’t been sleeping,” she said, some mix of exasperation and self-consciousness.

Niki flinched back, snatching her hand away. So this was— Eugh, she’d worried everyone, dammit, she knew it. Stupid little Niki, foolish little girl, problems bleeding out all over the place, couldn’t keep a lid on that shit no matter how hard she tried.

But at the same time, despite the immediate guilt of weighing others down with her problems, it felt… relieving, too. To have someone say it out loud. Like the sting of ripping a bandaid off. It hurt to hear but, well.

“I just—wanted you to have a nice night. Catch a few hours. Do something fun.”

“It was fun,” Niki said honestly. Drinking cocoa and reading stories—it was really nice. “I had a nice night. But it’s okay if you need me to help you, too.”

Framing it like that, it didn’t feel quite as much like admitting that she needed help. Like helping Puffy too was less burdensome than simply needing Puffy’s help.

Puffy was silent, a moment. Rubbed a hand up against her eye, then forehead. Let out a long, shaky breath, then nodded.

“It was the Egg again.”

“It’s back?”

Puffy barked a laugh, a hollow, bitter sound. “No, no, it’s still taken all to pieces, scattered around in iron boxes so it can’t reform. It’s gone and dead. But I still…” Puffy gestured vaguely at her forehead. Niki resettled her hand on Puffy’s back.

“I get it.”

“I feel so guilty and—stupid, I held out so long against it but in the end I still—” she hiccupped around a soft sob, and Niki drew her closer.

Pulled her into the crook of her shoulder, pulled the blanket around the two of them so they were both beneath its warmth. Pet a hand down Puffy’s woolen hair and pressed her face against the top of her head, nose fitting neatly against Puffy’s hornbed.

It almost shocked her, how, despite how much the two of them had gone through, how they’d suffered and recovered and changed, Puffy still fit against her so perfectly like this. Still slotted so neatly into her arms, against her body, perfect height for Niki to rest against, her thick arms around Niki’s waist.

“You were so strong,” Niki whispered, holding Puffy as she trembled and choked back sobs. “You were strong, and fought against it so bravely. It’s okay if it didn’t go the way you hoped it would. In the end, we got you out, and you helped us destroy it, and now you’re here. That’s what matters.”

“It killed my son and I still went to it!”

“Shhhh,” Niki soothed, petting gently through her hair. “You fought your best. It didn’t fight fair. Foolish is okay, too. He’ll have his own nightmares, but none of them were your fault. I was there that night—you did everything you could.”

“I didn’t—”

“You did.” Niki felt slightly bad to cut her off, but Puffy needed to hear it. Or at the very least, Niki hoped she did. “You did,” she repeated, softer, “and it’s okay if it wasn’t enough. Sometimes, even when we give our absolute best, it still isn’t enough. But we lived to try again another day, and now it’s dead and we’re still here.”

If Puffy had anything else to say, it was drowned out by her tears, no longer able or willing to hold them back. Niki held her as she cried, occasionally murmuring soft nothings that got lost within her hair. She held her as Puffy’s fingers dug into the fabric of her shirt. She held her as she trembled. She held her as she wept.

It was hard to say how long the two of them stood there in the dark of Puffy’s kitchen, accompanied by only the moon and starlight. But eventually Puffy settled. Scrubbed at her eyes and blew her nose. She did get a glass of water, then, and the two returned to bed hand in hand.

Niki cuddled up against her very deliberately, then. The cat was already out of the bag: she was here because Puffy knew she had trouble sleeping. And Puffy needed the comfort too, bundled up in blankets once more and still a little sniffly.

“Thanks,” she said, voice raw.

“You too,” Niki returned softly, and closed her eyes.

Puffy was warm and small and dense. Her arm was once again settled around Niki’s shoulders, and Niki stretched an arm of her own across Puffy’s hips. The two of them probably needed to discuss… this. This thing between them. If they were trying again, if they even still could. Niki was still achingly fond of Puffy, and from the events of tonight she didn’t think herself hopeless in praying that Puffy might feel the same. But that was a daylight conversation. Tonight, they could both really use some sleep. Niki closed her eyes, basking in the warmth radiating off her, the way chocolate still lingered ever so faintly in the air, the steady firmness of muscle and bone beneath her cheek.

Niki went back to sleep counting heartbeats instead of sheep.

#Niki Nihachu #Captain Puffy #Puffychu #CaptainPuffy #Niki #Nikki #dream smp #DSMP #mcytyuriweek2023 #mcyt yuri week #my writing #haro writes #insomnia #cuddling #hurt/comfort #nightmares #listen. you didn't think I was gonna do yuri week without doing the CLASSIC puffychu angst did you #tho tbf I'm a day behind #my beloved is visiting for the weekend and I have been Distacted

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

Safe Haven Feels

Pairing: Gally x Reader

Rated: mature 18+ only! Smut and fluff!

Requested by: Anon

“Hello:))) just wondering if you could do one with Gally x reader. Maybe with the prompts: 65 and 93? Prehaps were they confess their feelings 7n the safe heaven, so fluff and smut..”

Prompt 65: “How do you think it feels?”

Prompt 93: “I’m glad I have you.”

We finally made it. All that time running, hiding, and fighting WCKD. We finally took them down and made it to the safe haven Vince has been on about. Honestly the place was beautiful. The most beautiful thing I can ever remember seeing. It was an island surrounded by a white beach and crystal blue water. The once undisturbed sands now had all of the immunes moving around on it. Setting up makeshift huts and bringing the supplies from the boat.

“Watch’s thinking about?” The voice asked next to my ear.

I jumped nearly coming out of my skin. I whipped around to see Gally trying to hold back a laugh as he held a large box of supplies.

“You scared the shit out of me.” I huffed.

“I know that’s what I was going for.” He chuckled.

“You’re an ass” I scolded him but couldn’t help the smile on my face.

“Yea, yea I know. Come on all hands on deck. You can admire the view later.” Gally said nudging me with his arm.

I nodded then followed him back to the ship. With every hand we hand helping it only took one day to get all the supplies off the ship. People were moving onto making the huts and other buildings we would need. When the sun finally set Vince called for a break. We worked hard enough today.

I sat around the fire with Gally on one side and Brenda on the other. I was halfway through my food when Brenda nudged me. I glanced up at her. She nodded for me to move closer.

“I haven’t seen things progress yet.” She said quietly.

I raised a confused brow at her. She smiled then leaned back to look over my shoulder. I followed her eyes to land on Gally. I instantly knew what she meant.

“We just kicked WCKD’s ass and just got to the safe haven. Give me time to settle in.” I whispered.

“Excuses” she whispered back.

“What?” I asked completely stunned.

“You’re just gonna keep giving excuses. After this one it’ll be you’re too busy helping set things up. Then you’ll be too busy with whatever job you’re given. It’ll just keep going on and on.” Brenda rolled her eyes.

“No it won’t I just need to get settled first is all.” I said softly trying not to pout from her words.

“Yea I’m sure” Brenda chuckled dryly and shook her head.

I went back to my original seat then glance beside me at Gally. He was finished with his food and now talking animatedly with Minho and Fry. I knew Brenda was right. I was just making excuses because I’m scared. What if I tell him and he laughs in my face? I don’t really think that will happen but it could. I sighed tilting my head up to look at the sky. I was quickly looking back at the group as someone else nudged me. This time it was Gally.

“You alright?” He asked softly leaning closer.

I felt the heat instantly rise to my cheeks.

“Yea” I squeaked.

I jumped from my seat discarding my food then putting some distance between me and the group of immunes. I’m so ridiculous. For years I was around Gally with no problem then he died, then he was alive, then Brenda had to bring my feelings into the light and now I’m a mess.

“(Y/N)?” Gally’s voice instantly had me frozen.

“You sure you’re alright?” He asked as he slowly walked closer.

“Fine” I cleared my throat.

“I’m fine” I smiled weakly up at him.

“You’re not a very good liar.” He smiled down at me.

“I know” I sighed then fell onto the grass.

I laid back staring up at the sky as I heard Gally chuckle. I kept my eyes on the stars as I felt him laying beside me in the grass.

“This place is beautiful isn’t it?” He asked softly.

“Yes it it” I whispered.

“You going to tell me what’s bothering you?” He asked suddenly keeping his eyes trained upwards.

“It’s not important. We don’t talk about this kinda stuff.” I said softly.

“Why don’t we?” I felt his head turn to look at me.

I kept my eyes on the sky.

“Cause I’m one of the guys right?” I asked a little colder than I intended.

“Well yea but what’s that have to do with anything?” He chuckled lightly.

I finally turned my head to look at him.

“How do you think if feels? To be looked at as just one of the guys when I want to be looked at differently.” I asked him seriously.

He looked taken aback for a moment.

“Differently how?” He asked in confusion.

I groaned feeling completely embarrassed.

“I don’t want you to look at me as one of the guys. I want you to look at me as someone you like.” I said softly.

“I do like you.” He said simply.

“No, I mean someone you see more than a friend.” I corrected.

Gally chuckled turning to lay on his side completely facing me.

“(Y/N), I know what you meant. I’m saying I do like you as more than a friend. I have since day one.” He smiled down at me.

“Wait, what?” I asked propping myself up on my elbows to look down at him.

“I always treated you as I one of the guys because before anything else you’re my friend and a damn good friend at that. But how could I not like a pretty girl who didn’t mind to get her hands dirty and can kick almost anyone’s ass? You may be one of the guys but you’re still the only girl I’ve ever had feelings for.” Gally said softly as he picked at the grass.

I was stunned. I had no words. Did he really mean that? Before I could think of anything to say Gally was getting to his feet. I just laid on the grass in shock looking up at him. He chuckled at the sight of me then grabbed my arms pulling me to my feet as well. He glanced over his shoulder at the group still around the fire. He placed his hand against my back then nodded for me to walk with him.

“Did you really mean all that?” I asked softly as I watched my feet.

“Of course. I’m so glad I have you even if it’s just as a friend. Although I’d love it more if you wanted to be more than friends.” He chuckled softly.

I stopped walking suddenly making Gally stumble slightly then turn to face me.

“That’s all I’ve wanted since I met you in the Glade.” I whispered.

Everything that was happening around us stopped the moment I felt Gally’s lips against mine. The sound of the ocean, the wind through the grass and trees, the loud chatter back at the fire all stopped. My eyes fluttered closed as I gripped the front of his shirt tightly like he might disappear. My back was suddenly against a tree making me realize we had made it to the tree line far from the other immunes.

I pushed Gally back then gestured for him to lay down. Once he was back on the grass I climbed onto his lap. I continued our heated kiss until his hands skimmed under my shirt. Just the feeling of his bare hands against my skin set me on fire. I sat back quickly pulling my shirt over my head. He sat up to do the same not taking his eyes off me. I kissed him again as his hands roamed my back. I felt him fiddle with the clasp of my bra for a moment then it unclipped. He tossed it to the side. I groaned softly as his hands gently caressed me.

I stood up suddenly taking my shorts of quickly. I rid him of his shorts as well before he had the chance to do it himself. My body was on fire and I couldn’t wait any longer. He groaned the moment I grabbed him with my hand. I sat back down then kissed him as I moved to sit back on him. The slow deep groan that left his lips was the most incredible sound I’d ever heard. His hands instantly grabbed my hips as I started to move against him.

“(Y/N)” he whispered as he grabbed my head and pulled me down to him.

He held my body against him as I continued to move. He kissed my lips, my forehead, my cheeks, my temple, and my neck. Anywhere he could reach he would kiss. His grip on me tightened as I moved faster. I could feel the foreign feeling grow in the pit of my stomach. I grasped as I clutched at Gally’s shoulders.

Just as I was about to scream for the mounting pressure Gally captured my lips with his muffling the sound as everything unraveled.

“Fuck” Gally gasped as his body tensed.

I collapsed on top of him breathing heavily. Gally hugged me to him then kissed the top of my head.

“As much as I hate to we should probably get back to the others.” He panted.

“Yea, you’re right.” I breathed out as I slowly got up.

We both got dressed slowly. Gally kept interrupting me by kissing different parts of my exposed flesh. I had to swat him away while chuckling so I could finish putting my clothes on. Once we were both dressed we made our way back to the camp. The first person to notice us was of course Brenda.

“Glad to see you gave up on those excuses.” She said with a mischievous smile.

“Yea, we talked it out.” I said shrugging.

“Mhm, looks like you did more than talk.” She laughed.

“What?” I asked in instant panic.

With a huge shit eating grin Brenda stepped forward picking a few pieces of grass and leaves from both mine and Gally’s hair.

“Your shirt is also on backwards.” She pointed to Gally with her smile still in place.

“Night you two.” She added then walked away.

“How does she do that?” Gally grumbled as he quickly fixed his shirt.

“No clue” I huffed out a laugh.

—

#nothingbutfangirlsmut #fanfiction #gally smut #gally x reader #gally imagine #tmr gally #gally #the maze runner #requestsopen #requested #request #anonymous

[justanobsessedfangirl]

The Sacrifice Part 1 - The Maze Runner Minho Imagine

Request from @elizabeth-brown hey when your requests will be open can you do 'the maze runner' one with minho. where one day when new greenie was coming up he had letter with him. on it there was written that if they sacrificed y/n they would let everyone out. so keepers decided to vote. most of them voted 'yes' so without any emotions Alby kick y/n into the maze. then minho realized his feelings. y/n survived the maze and WCKED took her. after one year she escaped WCKED and ran into the scorch. Minho missed her miserably. y/n searched the safe heaven. and when Group A searched safe heaven they saw y/n and she was so mad. you can end it however you want either she forgives them or not. and please tag me

Masterlist

Part 2

Warning: Some mature language

Author’s Note: Thanks for waiting! I changed up the request a little (I think?) but there will probably be a part 2 so I can do the stuff outside the Glade. Hope you like it! Also, I know it seems like my requests aren’t open because I take forever to post, but I swear they are. :)

Word Count: 4.6k

The Box came up every month like clockwork. Half an hour before its arrival, a blaring alarm would sound. Gladers would trickle in from the Gardens, the Med-jack Hut, the Homestead, and gather around the hole. Those who had requested items would push their way to the front. Others lingered around the edges, hoping for a glimpse of the new Greenie.

“Maybe it’ll be another girl,” they’d whisper.

“Maybe it’ll be another shank,” their friends would whisper back, and the boys would shove each other and laugh and make jokes until the Box slotted into place and the roof slid away, revealing the Glade’s next victim.

You were an unnatural fit to the routine. You’d disrupted it right from the beginning, with your arrival as the first female Glader. Now, months later, you still hadn’t formed many strong bonds. It was hard when you were rarely in the Glade during the day, spending most of your hours mapping the Maze. No one was directly cruel when you had a day off, but it was clear that this was a brotherhood, and you did not meet the requirements. You were an “other.” You were a girl. You were something to be looked at and talked about but you weren’t necessarily someone.

You didn’t feel like an outsider when you ran with Minho. He treated you like a person. Like a friend. So did Newt, although your time with him was limited to bonfires, where you drank Gally’s moonshine and talked.

Just the memories of those nights made you feel warm, even as you stood apart from the boys around the Box and prayed for another girl to appear. You stood on your tiptoes and tried to peer over the crowd. Through gaps and over heads, you caught a glimpse of a boy in the Box. He was younger than you, probably younger than most of the people in the Glade, with curly brown hair, round pink cheeks, and wide, fear-filled eyes. 

Alby jumped down into the Box. Laughter rose from the crowd as the young Greenie backpedaled so wildly that he tripped over his feet and slammed onto his butt. Next to you, a group of Gladers jeered. You frowned at them, watching their smiles slip into sneers. They looked away from you. Inside the Box, the Greenie cried, “Please don’t hurt me!” His already high, youthful voice was pitched even higher with terror.

You felt a stab in your chest. He sounded so young, so alone, so scared. Taking a step forward, you came to the edge of a thick knot of Gladers. They catcalled and hollered and cackled, slapping each other on the backs. One noticed you and quickly jerked away like you were contagious.

Cheeks burning, you stepped back again. You gave the crowd one last look, heard the Greenie blubber one last time, and headed for the Homestead, where there was no one to make you feel unwelcome or weak for feeling sympathy for the new Greenie.

Besides, you thought bitterly, they might make fun of him now, but he’ll still be one of them.

A few Gladers saw you go; most were focused on the Greenie, who Alby was trying to coax to his side of the Box, where someone had dropped a length of rope. 

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Alby said. Impatience wore thin on his voice. “Just come over here.”

The Greenie stayed curled in a ball in the middle of the Box.

Alby shook his head. Turning to the pair of boys above him, he lowered his voice and said, “Do you think Y/N could try to get him out?”

The Gladers looked at each other.

“Isn’t she running today?” one asked.

“I haven’t seen her all day,” the other added.

Alby frowned. “Fine,” he sighed, “we’ll do it the hard way.”

At that, the two Gladers joined Alby in the Box. The Greenie’s eyes bulged as they approached. He tried to scoot back. In seconds, the pair was on him, lifting him as easily as if he weighed nothing. They toted him to the rope.

The Greenie gasped. “Wait! Wait! I dropped it!”

Alby waved the boys on before they could stop. “I’ll get it.” While the Gladers hoisted the Greenie out, Alby walked to the center of the Box. Laying on the metal floor was a card of paper, pristinely white save for the 10 grimy fingerprints of the crying Greenie. Alby knelt, picked it up, flipped it over, and froze.

It seemed like an eternity before he stood again. Around him, the Gladers still talked and laughed. Around him, the Gladers still thought they were following their routine.

Holding the note in his hand, Alby commanded, “Gathering in the Homestead. Now.” After a beat of silence, he added, “If Y/N’s here, bring her.”

The Glade burst into a flurry of activity. Boys scrambled, yelling the news. Their Keepers chastised them and handed out work orders like candy. Feeling brave and uninhibited and a little frenzied, Gladers complained and groaned and manhandled each other and ran. The new Greenie was handed off to a Builder, then a Slicer, then rescued by a Gardener. A pack of Gladers took off for the Homestead.

You’d barely made it inside before your moment of alone time was shattered. The boys whooped and hollered and shouted as they sprinted toward you.

“Gathering!”

“You have to go!”

“Alby called for a Gathering!

Their voices came at you like bullets, one after another after another. Your questions fell on deaf ears. “Why a Gathering? Now? Did you say I have to go?”

They kept talking to each other, ignoring you even as they pushed you farther inside, pushed you toward the meeting room, pushed you like you couldn’t even walk by yourself. You shoved away from them and entered the room on your own two shaky feet. Only a few of the Gladers followed, taking their seats as Keepers.

With a sick sludge of anxiety swirling in your stomach, you looked around the room. You’d never been to a Gathering before, although you’d listened to Minho complain about how boring they were many times. The room was small, the only furniture a crudely made table surrounded by twelve seats, one for each Keeper plus Alby and Newt. There was no seat for you. You were not supposed to be here.

“Clint, what’s going on?”

The Keeper of the Med-jacks looked up at the sound of your voice. He’d been staring at the tabletop, tracing his finger along the wood grain. His hands were thin, his fingers long, and they held a delicate strength, accustomed to wrapping wounds and sewing stitches. “Alby called a Gathering,” Clint said.

“Yeah, I figured that part out. Why? And why am I here?” You tried to keep your emotions under control. Clint didn’t need to know you were a little annoyed, a little angry, a little worried. Clint and the growing mob of Keepers filing into the room didn’t need to know you were scared.

Clint looked to the head of the table. Two empty chairs sat waiting. “Alby didn’t explain much. I think it was something to do with the Greenie.”

“The Greenie?” you asked, just as someone gave you a harsh nudge to the side. You whipped around and found yourself staring up at Gally.

“Don’t block the doorway,” he snapped. Before you could reply, Gally was walking past you, settling into the seat closest to the head of the table.

Most of the chairs were filled now. Some Keepers looked at you, others talked with their neighbors, and a few, like Clint, seemed like they’d rather be anywhere else but here. You lingered by the door. After a couple of minutes, Alby and Newt entered together.

You knew something was wrong immediately. Alby’s face, stoic at the best of times, was downright grim, like he’d just witnessed a terrible crime against humanity. Newt wouldn’t even lift his eyes to yours. His skin had taken on a pallor, pale white tinged with sickly green.

“Alby-”

Alby interrupted you. “Where’s Minho?”

You weren’t sure if he was asking you or the Keepers, but you answered anyway. “He’s running. What’s going-”

Cursing under his breath, Alby strode to the head of the table. “Someone got the schedules mixed up,” he fumed. “They thought you were running today. Minho is supposed to be here.”

“Maybe we should wait-”

“This can’t wait, Newt. You know that.” Alby shot Newt’s suggestion down before it even had time to breathe. “Y/N, take Minho’s seat. And someone shut the door.”

You didn’t like the way Alby was barking out orders or the way Newt had slumped into his seat like an admonished puppy. The whole world was off-kilter, just slightly, but enough that you felt nauseous and hyper-aware. Clint was still picking at the table. Winston was sitting next to Gally, who was staring daggers at you, and Zart, who had his arms crossed and was sitting straight in his chair, looked disgusted at something Doug, the Keeper of the Sloppers, had just said. Frypan was the one to get up and close the door, giving you a reassuring smile as he walked. You slowly made your way around the table to the only empty chair. It was across from Gally, right next to the side that Alby and Newt sat behind. 

Newt flinched away from you as you sat. Alby eyed you, waiting, waiting, waiting, and, finally, with the door closed and you perched on Minho’s chair, ready to bolt, he said, “We’re holding a Gathering because of this.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “The new Greenie was holding it.”

Down the table, Winston smirked. “Is that why he was crying? Poor thing can’t read?”

You frowned. One of the Keepers, Billy, chuckled lightly.

Alby ignored them and continued, “It’s a note from the Creators.” A few murmurs arose; Alby didn’t speak until it was silent again. “It says,” he cleared his throat and, next to him, Newt looked as if he might puke. “It says, ‘The Glade is failing. Show you can follow instructions and you will be released.’” Alby paused.

Unlike before, the Keepers stayed quiet. You were on the edge of your seat, listening with bated breath, like all of the others. Maybe the instructions involved finding something in the Maze? You knew you could help with that, and maybe Alby knew it too, and that’s why he’d made you attend the Gathering. You could nearly taste the freedom on your lips. Under the table, your legs shook with excitement, energy, adrenaline -- everything that made you feel alive. What would life be like outside the Glade? 

“Tell them the instructions, Alby,” Newt whispered, voice strained.

Your hopeful heartbeat faltered.

Alby’s eyes flicked up from the paper, met yours, and shot back down.

Something like dread filled your chest.

“‘Show you can follow instructions and you will be released,’” Alby repeated. He drew a deep breath before continuing. “Sacrifice Y/N to the Maze. Tonight.’”

One second passed. Inside that second, there was an eternity, an infinity, a lifetime. Your lifetime. Every limb of your body became paralyzed. You felt liquid. You felt insubstantial and invisible, only you were the farthest thing from invisible, because every single person in the room, all ten Keepers and Alby and Newt, even Newt, who wouldn’t meet your eyes before because he’d already condemned you to death, was staring.

And then the room roared.

“They’re lying!”

“That’s insane!”

“They can’t ask us to do that!”

“We can’t trust them!”

“I’m not doing that!”

“What if it’s true?”

The last voice, soft, barely audible, silenced everyone.

You stared at Gally, jaw dropped. “What?” You could barely speak above a whisper. Your vocal cords were constricting, choking you. Every breath felt like your last.

Gally’s gaze stayed on the letter in Alby’s hands. His eyes were glazed and his whole demeanor, normally stubborn and stand-offish, had shifted into quiet contemplation. “What if it’s true?” he murmured. “What if this is our way out? What if this is what we’ve been waiting for?”

The other Keepers began to speak. Instead of ardent protestations, you heard questions. So many questions and no definitive answers, except for Gally’s. The room spun around you, swirling, swirling, swirling. Your skin was flushed and cold and sweating and freezing all at the same time.

“He might be right,” you heard.

In an instant, you shot to your feet. The chair that Minho should have been sitting in clattered to the floor, silencing the Keepers. “Guys, this-this is insane,” you pleaded. Every face was a blur, a smear, no distinguishable people anywhere. You didn’t know a single boy in this room. “The Creators have never asked us to do something like this. They locked us in here! They-they...they put monsters in the Maze to kill us!”

“Maybe not to kill us.” Billy, the Keeper of the Baggers, was a boy of few words. He never seemed to have much to say, maybe because he’d gotten used to such solitary work. Most of the time, the only Gladers he was around were dead. “Maybe the monsters are there to kill you.”

Panicked tears burned in the corners of your eyes. Gally was nodding. So was Winston. Too many of them were nodding or looking down, pretending they didn’t have a say, hope gleaming in their eyes and betraying their thoughts.

You turned to your leaders. “Alby, this can’t--we can’t--”

“We’re going to vote on it.”

You switched tactics. “Newt. Newt, please, please look at me. This is crazy. We can get out without doing this, we can--I’ll run more and we’ll...we’ll figure something out, just, please, don’t--please just look at me.”

Newt slowly lifted his head. In the background, the Keepers talked, rising from their seats, growing more animated, more determined. Unshed tears glimmered in Newt’s eyes. “Y/N,” he said, and in your name you heard an apology. “This could be our only chance.”

“It can’t be.” You moved forward, desperate. “It can’t be our only chance, we’ll figure something out, I know we can, we just need to--” You were babbling and stepping closer and your hands reached out to grab his arms, to shake him, to knock some sense into all of them, and then Alby’s low, commanding voice rang out, ordering everyone to sit, and you were left standing, crying, terrified, and so, so, so alone.

“If anyone wants to see the note, there.” Alby dropped it onto the table. Across from you, Gally picked it up, scanned it, and passed it to the boy next to him, Winston. From Winston to Billy to Clint to Frypan to Ozzy to Doug to Zart to Leon. To you. With trembling hands, you held the note, saw the words, tried to read them and make sense of them, only nothing made sense at all.

Sacrifice Y/N to the Maze. Sacrifice Y/N. Sacrifice sacrifice sacrifice.

The more you repeated it in your head, the less real it sounded. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be happening.

“We have to make a decision,” Alby said.

Lungs squeezing painfully, you tried to speak. No words came out.

“I think it’s obvious,” Gally said. “Everything changed as soon as she got here. Now the Creators want us to do something, so we should do it.” He sounded more certain the more he spoke, his voice and words building to a persuasive, powerful crescendo.

“We could get out,” Winston added eagerly.

Clint pushed back his chair and slowly rose to his feet. He looked uncomfortable being the center of attention. One of his hands stayed on the table, scrambling for support. “I think it’s important,” he said, “that we think this through and give it the weight it deserves. This is someone’s life we’re talking about.”

It’s my life, you wanted to scream. I’ve tried to be a part of your group! I’m a Glader!

Clint continued. “But we also have to think about everyone else, too. I’m sorry, Y/N, I really am. But your sacrifice could mean that everyone else here can live.” Clint sunk back into his seat. “My vote is to obey the Creators.”

“Clint--” You were drowned out by Gally and Winston and Billy agreeing, formally voting to kill you. Gally nodded down at Ozzy, the Keeper of the Bricknicks, and then Ozzy said, “I vote to obey the Creators too.”

Leon agreed next. Leon, the Keeper of the Maps, who you’d spoken to nearly every day since becoming a Runner. Leon, who you’d sometimes traded jokes with and complimented for his drawing skills. Leon, who, after voting, said, “I’ve spent all of my time in the Glade trying to get out,” like it was an explanation you wanted to hear. Like it would mean it was okay for them to throw your life away. He wouldn’t look at you, still standing, half-slumped against the table as your legs wobbled with each vote that damned you to being ripped apart by Grievers.

“Guys, please,” you said, or you thought you said, but maybe they didn’t hear because now Frypan was standing up.

“I haven’t seen a Griever up close, I don’t know what it’s like in the Maze, and I don’t know what it’s like to patch up people who have done all of that. I know that Y/N’s a Glader. That’s all I need. I vote no.” Frypan nodded at you and sat back down, his normally easy-going face creased in deep thought.

One voice. One against six. But one was all you needed; one gave you a shot of strength, enough for you to straighten up, to open your mouth, to instead hear Doug say, “I haven’t done any of that either but I know that I don’t want to spend another goddamn minute in this Glade. I vote yes.”

The room spun. You looked down at your hands, found them in your lap, realized you were sitting but couldn’t remember ever doing so. Everything was slipping through your fingers so fast, too fast, impossibly fast.

Seven.

“My vote doesn’t matter much now,” Zart began, his words ponderous and slow. “But I vote no.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, as if daring anyone to question him.

Gally turned his attention to Alby and Newt instead. “So we’re doing it?”

Alby frowned. Newt buried his face in his hands. You thought you might pass out.

“Seven is a majority. It doesn’t matter our votes,” Alby said. “Or Minho’s.”

“Or mine.” The table turned to you. “I don’t get a say in any of this? It’s my life.” You knew your voice was too high-pitched, too warbled, too girlish to be taken seriously. You swallowed and it came out even more panicked. “You can’t just kill me with a one-vote difference, you can’t just--”

“It wouldn’t be a one-vote difference. I vote to obey the Creators.” Alby stared unwaveringly at you. “Newt agreed before the Gathering. That makes it nine to four, assuming Minho would vote not to obey.”

“Why?” It came out strangled and mangled and desperate.

“For the Glade,” Alby responded.

Newt suddenly looked up, shaking his head. “No, no, I take my vote back. I vote no. We can’t do this, Alby.”

“Eight to five. The majority says to obey. It happens tonight.”

“Alby--” “Alby, please,” You and Newt protested together, but Alby’s voice boomed over both of yours. “Gathering over. Gally, Winston, take Y/N to the Pit until tonight.”

Newt stood up too fast and stumbled, nearly crashing into the table. “We can’t put her in the Pit!”

The sound of arguing and chairs being pushed back washed over you, filling your ears with white noise. Chills raced up and down your spine, sending a clamminess to your hands and feet. You were going to die. You were going to be torn apart by Grievers, the very monsters you’d spent so much time running away from. It was almost ironic, really, and you almost laughed until you realized it was a sob, until you realized there were tears streaming down your face and there were two sets of hands grabbing you by the arms and hoisting you up and leading you out of the room and down the hall, practically dragging you for all of the good your feet did. And then you were in the doorway of a dark, windowless room, and Newt was standing in front of you. He enveloped you in a hug, spewing apologies about the vote and the room and your fate. All too soon, he pulled away. You saw his brown eyes and tear-streaked face. You saw the door close. You saw darkness.

You sagged to the floor and cried.

Hours passed. The room had no windows for you to watch the sun move across the sky, silently counting down to the end of your life. You had tried a few times to shove the door open,  but you only succeeded in bursting out between two strong Gladers. After the first time, they were ready for any attempt of yours to sprint past. Sometimes their voices would seep through the cracks in the wood. Apologies and excuses and pleas for you to please, just please, do this one thing for the Glade and help them all survive.

Part of you thought they were right. What if your sole purpose was to be a sacrifice? But then you thought of Minho and running and laughing and the few flickering memories you had from before the Glade, of an older couple smiling at you or the warm feeling of being loved, and you remembered how it felt to be alive. And you knew that it wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair, for anyone but you to get to decide your death.

Your time alone helped you think. It helped you settle yourself, calm your mind, and dry your tears. But as soon as the door opened and you saw the sunlight fading from the hallway, all of your carefully planned entreaties faded from your lips. Your throat went dry with impending doom.

“It’s time. Alby’s waiting by the Maze,” one of the Gladers said. You didn’t even know who he was. Why hadn’t you gotten closer to him? To all of them? Maybe if you hadn’t been so solitary, maybe you could have...or they could have...or maybe...

“What’s your name?” you heard yourself ask as the guards flanked you down the hall.

He gave you a look of confusion. “Rob.”

“Rob,” you repeated. Rob led the way outside. You glanced over your shoulder at the other Glader. “What about you?”

“I’m David,” the one behind you answered. He hastened to walk beside you. David had stubby legs, two of his steps matching one of yours. You picked up your pace. Rob matched it easily; David lagged.

Over the Glade, the sun was nearly below the horizon. Gladers milled about but kept their distance from you, trying not to stare at the doomed prisoner. It was like you were already dead. And no one cared.

The wall loomed high above you, growing as your entourage got closer and closer. Huddled near one of the entrances was a group of Gladers. When you neared a hundred feet away from them, you slowed. David followed suit immediately. Rob’s lengthy strides shortened.

“David, Rob,” you addressed them by name, not looking at either even as they faced you. “Thanks for walking with me.” Then you bolted for the Maze.

David had no chance of catching up to you, Rob was just stunned enough to give you the head start you needed, and the group of Gladers only shouted as you closed the distance to the door.

My choice, the pounding of your feet seemed to shout. My choice. My life. You may have been minutes away from death, but you had never felt so alive. Adrenaline flooded your body. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up. All of the cold fear had been replaced by the warmth of energy. One last choice, you thought. The open door called to you. 20 feet. 5 feet. You’d just crossed the entrance when one voice made itself known above the crowd.

“Y/N!”

Every muscle tensed, you spun around to see Minho sprinting after you, the group of Gladers following, none as fast as your partner. He crashed into you with the tightest hug of your life. Your body reacted before your mind knew how; you hugged him back.

“I couldn’t let you go without seeing you,” Minho blurted, his lips an inch from your ear. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t…” he trailed off. Loosening his hold, he pulled back enough to see your face. He stared at you like he wanted to memorize you. “I’m going with you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I am, Y/N, I can’t let you do this yourself. With two of us we could--”

“Die. We’d both die.” You pulled him close again, burying your head back in the crook of his neck, hating the fear in his eyes. You’d wanted your last memory of him to be a smile, not this.

He spoke more softly now. “If we had supplies, I bet we could do it. I’ll raid the kitchen, the Med-jack Hut, bring us weapons. We could find the way out. You don’t have to die. You can’t die.”

You wanted him to stop talking, because you couldn’t extinguish the little flame of hope blooming in your chest if he kept feeding it. “Minho-”

Minho cut you off. “You can do this, Y/N. You’re fast, faster than me, and a hell of a lot smarter than all of these shanks combined. Survive the night. Survive the night and I can bring you supplies tomorrow.” His voice had an edge to it, a fierce desperation you’d never heard from Minho. Inside his encouragement, he was pleading with you. “Fuck, Y/N, please survive the night. Meet me at the intersection past the west door when the sun rises. I fell there the first time we ran together, remember? I said it was because you ran funny and it made me lose concentration but it was actually because you looked so beautiful in the sunrise that I couldn’t think.” He took a deep breath. Your heart beat too quickly, running on hope and support and maybe a little bit of love. When Minho spoke again, his voice was solemn, “I’ll find you, I swear to God. We’ll figure it out together. We’ll get out together.”

“I’ll survive.” You were lying. “I’ll try.” Was that another lie? Everything was moving too quickly.

Alby’s voice stopped you from thinking any further. “It’s time,” he intoned. 

From your place in Minho’s arms, you saw that the group of Gladers, composed mostly of Keepers, had surrounded you in a semicircle. The way forward was blocked; your only way out was the Maze.

You and Minho separated slowly. Behind you, the Maze rumbled. Still, Minho held your hand in his, looking physically pained. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, hoping, desperate, pleading. 

You nodded.

Minho shook his head. “Please say it back, Y/N. Please.”

You glanced at the door starting to close, then at Alby, who stared hard-eyed at you and motioned for the Gladers to press in. You couldn’t find Newt in the crowd. Minho’s hand was heavy and warm in yours. Comforting.

With your last moments in the Glade, you darted close to Minho, pressed your lips to his cheek, and then slipped away from him, entering the Maze. The door thudded closed behind you. The sun had set. You were alone.

#minho #maze runner minho #minho x reader #minho imagine #minho preference #minho preferences #minho imagines #maze runner imagine #maze runner imagines #maze runner preference #maze runner preferences #maze runner x reader #maze runner x you #minho x you #maze runner #tmr #the maze runner #the maze runner minho #the maze runner minho imagine #the maze runner minho imagines #the maze runner minho preference #the maze runner minho preferences #the maze runner minho x reader #the maze runner imagine #the maze runner imagines #the maze runner preference #the maze runner preferences #the maze runner x reader #tmr minho #tmr minho imagine

[lilacsnid]

『✔』 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞: — 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒕 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

One night at The Right Arm; where two people finally notice what they feel for each other. 

GIF above is not my own, full credit to the owner x 

A/N: ask permission to use or re-post my work, please do not steal or plagiarize my writing x

©lilacsnid

— YOUR throat felt scratchy as you rolled onto your back on your make-shift bed on the floor. It took multiple attempts for you to try and fall asleep, yet you had been unsuccessful. 

You had been at The Right Arm for about a week now, and the recent events that had played out had taken it’s affect on everyone. Minho being captured by WCKD and Teresa betraying the whole group. Thomas was quick to plan our next move while also trying to hide how he truly felt about being betrayed by the girl he liked. His plan being to rescue Minho, keeping the promise he had made to him. 

The rest of us agreed with Thomas, knowing we’d follow him anywhere. 

However, we needed time to recover; to patch ourselves up and prepare for the long road ahead. It was exhausting with our future constantly being unknown. But as long as we all had each other, we were stronger than ever. The air was cold at The Right Arm, especially at night. You started to feel uncomfortable, so you sat up, leaning over the edge of the bed. Sighing heavily, you rubbed both of your hands over your face. Your eyes scanned the concrete room out of habit, glancing over your friends as they slept. Thomas, Frypan, Aris, Brenda, Jorge.

Yet your glance suddenly halted over Newt’s bed that was across the room. You knew he wouldn’t have gone far, but given everything that has happened, you couldn’t help but worry. Thinking about it even more, you weren’t even sure that you had actually seen him come to bed at all. Furrowing your eyebrows, you bent down to pull your boots on and quickly tie the laces. You were dressed in black cargo pants and white tank top. Due to the crisp air, you decided that it would be wise to tug a long sleeve shirt on over your singlet before you left.

I need some water, you thought. 

The dry feeling in the very back of your throat was starting to intensify and become unbearable. 

Rising to your feet, you made your way over to the open door, being cautious not to wake any of the others up. You made your way outside, noticing how the air was slightly cooler outside rather than inside that boxed room. You continue to stroll over to the outdoor kitchens, rubbing your temples in order to relieve your stress. You reached the kitchen in a matter of seconds. After you jumped the counter, you bent down to retrieve a bottle of water from one of the various crates that were littered all around the place. You jumped back over the counter once you had found one, landing back onto your feet with a thud. 

Wasting no time, you twisted the cap off the plastic bottle and tipped the bottle up to your lips to take a much-needed swig of water. You willingly continued to chug the water, letting your thoughts silence for a while. 

“What are you doing up, love?” A sudden voice startled you, coming from some direction behind you. 

Through a mouthful of water, you screamed. Yet it sounded like a high pitched squeal. You knew who the voice belonged to, you could pick his voice up out of a line-up. However, it still managed to catch you off-guard quite easily. You turned around with wide eyes, catching a glimpse of the British blonde boy you had become close to over the years. 

“Shit, Y/N! I’m so sorry!” Newt sympathized, jogging up to you and rubbing small circles into the center of your back. 

His touch instantly made your skin crawl in ecstasy. And despite the warmth that you could feel radiating off his body, this simple action made goosebumps rise on your skin. You couldn’t get enough of this guy, and even if you didn’t want to admit it to yourself, your body always said otherwise. You craved him. 

The eye contact was short-lived. You quickly spun back around, spitting the mouthful water out before it had the chance to get caught in the back of your throat. 

“Newt! What the hell, you shank!” You exclaimed, wiping the back of your hand over your lips. You tried your best to stifle the coughs that threatened to leave your mouth. A frown was evident on Newt’s face as you lifted your gaze to make proper eye contact with him. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” He repeated a few times, and you could still feel the motion of his hand over your back.

You couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a giggle once your throat was cleared, playfully slapping Newt’s chest with your free hand in the process. 

“Don’t scare me like that!” You teased, your voice raising slightly as you smiled. 

Newt also let out a laugh at your actions. He raised his arms, trying to shield his chest from your hand, “Ow! Y/N, okay! I won’t do that again.”

His reaction was sweet, and you couldn’t help but flash a toothy grin towards him as he stood across from you. You lowered your hand as the air around the two of you fell silent. Newt peered over at you, his eyes scanning over your body before running a hand through his own hair.

“Are you okay?” He asked, keeping a small distance between the two of you. 

You leaned against the counter behind you, screwing the cap back onto your water bottle as you nodded in response, “Yeah, just couldn’t sleep. I was thirsty.”

Newt nodded, shifting his weight off of his bad leg. 

“What are you doing up? I noticed you weren’t in bed when I got up.” You were quick to add, curiosity getting the better of you. 

You watched as Newt simply shrugged his shoulders, he took a deep breath in before speaking, “I just went for a walk, wanted to think about things.”

You crossed your arms over your chest as you continued to lean against the counter. You looked over at him quizzically, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Newt answered with a soft expression, “I just-I haven’t been able to get my mind to settle since that night.”

The night where Teresa betrayed us all. And most importantly, the night that Minho was captured. It’s been beyond difficult; going from seeing him everyday to him suddenly being snatched out from underneath us all. 

“Me neither,” You whispered, glancing down at the ground. 

Newt bit his lip, beginning to rock back and forth on his feet, “Hey, would you mind staying up with me? Just for a little while? I just-I really don’t want to go back to bed yet and, I’m gonna be honest, I really don’t want to be alone.”

His words made your heart flutter as you suddenly saw this vulnerable side to Newt that you hadn’t seen in very long time. You wanted to take care of him. You wanted to offer him some comfort, even if it felt like the world you all currently lived in was falling apart. He had always been there for you over the years, and now it was your turn. 

“Yeah,” You breathed out, smiling gently towards him, “Of course I will.”

Newt nodded his head in appreciation, flashing you a quick smile. But soon, you noticed just how much everything that had happened was affecting him. Because as Newt kept nodding, you could see the glow of tears that has started to form in his eyes. The moonlight made his brown orbs look darker. He didn’t try and move his hands to wipe them away, he just kept them tucked into the pockets of his pants. As the tears escaped the barrier of his eyes, he scoffed sadly as they freely fell down the apples his cheeks. 

You tilted your head to the side in response, noticing how he refused to make eye contact with you. You had only ever seen Newt cry once, way back in The Glade days. 

“Oh darling,” You whispered, taking a few steps towards him. You shuffled closer until you were standing right in front of him. He still hadn’t moved a muscle, his eyes were glued to the floor but the tears kept coming. He was silent.

You reached out slowly, feeling relieved as he let you cup his cheek in your hand, you thumb moving in small and soothing strokes against his skin. 

“Hey,” you whispered again, not wanting to be too loud, “I’m right here.”

Newt slowly began to cave and soon you felt him lean into your touch. He lifted his bloodshot eyes to look into yours but soon ended up closing them. He turned his head slightly to the side to place a small kiss into the palm of your hand that still cupped his cheek. 

Tears slid down his face more rapidly this time as he squeezed his eyes shut. You just wanted to hold him, and so you did. You stood on your tip-toes, leaning up and wrapping your arms securely around his neck; pulling him into an embrace. He stepped into your embrace willingly, responding graciously by wrapping his arms tightly around your waist and burying his face into the crook of your neck. You could feel the distinct feeling of his breath hitting your shoulder; serving as a reminder that, in this moment, you had him safe in your arms. 

                      ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The two you had been talking for what seemed like hours. Here, the two of you sat; side by side, in the moonlight, leaning back against a rock. The whole time, Newt had been tracing patterns into the dirt beneath you while he opened up about what has been going on in his head. 

The air around you fell silent once again after a few more minutes of chatter. 

The sudden sharp sound of Newt breaking the stick in half that he was using to trace patterns into the sand rippled through your ears. You observed him quietly as he disposed of them, throwing the two pieces a few feet ahead of where the two of you sat. 

“Hey thanks, for being there for me,” Newt spoke up, rubbing his palms together before continuing, “For always being there actually. You’ve never let me down. Always keeping me stable.”

You turned to gaze at him, grinning from ear to ear, “I’m always gonna be there for you, Newt. You mean a lot to me.”

For the first time in a while that night, a smile formed across Newt’s lips in reaction to your words. A small chuckle erupted from him as he turned his head to look into your eyes, “I’m glad we both feel the same way about each other then.”

Silence washed over you as the pair of you continued to hold an almost intense glance with one another. Yes, it was intense. But there was something else about it. A sense of longing, a yearning desire. Both of you could feel it.  

Soon you found Newt furrowing his eyebrows, breaking your gaze to look down at the ground. 

“Are you scared?” He questions out of the blue, glancing back into your eyes, “Of the future and what’s to come.”

You sighed heavily, taking a short moment to think hard about the question you had been given. 

In the end, you nodded, beginning to twiddle your thumbs, “Yeah, I think I am. I’m scared of what could happen. I’m scared of losing more of my friends. I worry that we might not ever have a home. I’m scared whether we’re going to find Minho or not. I think I’ve been scared this whole time, I’ve just never realized it until now; after all we’ve been through.”

As you were talking, Newt’s hand had found it’s way to yours, lacing his fingers with your own in a shy kind of manner. You squeezed his hand gently in response before finishing, “I’m scared of being alone in this crazy and insane world we’ve found ourselves in. I’m scared of losing you and having to go on by myself. Apart from the others, you’re all that I have left. And I don’t ever want to lose you. Ever.” 

A sudden wave a nervousness came over you as you had just realized how much you had admitted to the boy next to you. Just how much was there, out in the open, awaiting his response. His fingers were in yours with one hand, and you soon felt his other hand reach over to lightly trace patterns into the back of your palm that was exposed. You could now feel his touch on either side of your hand, and the very feeling heightened your senses. 

Finally he turned to look at you, meeting your eyes in a way that you had never noticed before. It was love. And that was the moment when the two of you noticed just how deep you had fallen for each other.  

“Look, I don’t know who I was before the maze, none of us do, right?” Newt states, watching you as you nod in agreement, urging him to continue, “But I’m so glad I’ve been able to become the person that I am with you. I’m so glad you have been able to make me experience and feel things again. You bring out different parts of me that I never knew existed. This life is the only one I’ll ever remember, and the fact that you’ve been and will be apart of it just-it just makes me feel....happy. Like, really happy. It makes me want to work for our future. A reason to keep going.”

His words were like music to your ears. It’s like a surge of electricity went through you as you sat in awe. Now knowing you could continue on this crazy journey with your friends and Newt by your side, being more than a friend to you. A lover, a companion; it meant everything. 

“You’ve made me feel things the whole bloody time I’ve known you,” He finishes, letting out a breath he hadn’t quite realized he had been holding in. 

His shoulders rose and fell with each shuddered breath he now took. He was surprised beyond belief when you giggled, slipping your hand away from his grasp to situate yourself in his lap; straddling him with your legs either side of him. Nervously, Newt lifted his hands to rest on your hips, glancing up at you as his breath hitched in the back of his throat. 

You grinned, staring down at him as your bit the inside of your cheek, admiring how attractive and handsome he was. Placing your hands gently on the sides of his head, you saw Newt close his eyes momentarily as you ran your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, “I’m so in love with you, Newt.”

The corner of Newt’s mouth tugged up into a smirk as he soon relaxed underneath you. The butterflies that were going around in the pit of his stomach were almost too much for him to handle. He continued to stare up at you for a few moments, making you chuckle as he continued to smirk. 

“What are you thinking, huh?” You asked, your hands lowering to rub comfortingly over his chest through the material of his brown long sleeved shirt.  

“I feel,” Newt ushered, pulling your body even closer by moving his hands from your hips, all the way around to your shoulder blades, his hands not once breaking contact with your warm skin, “....like I wanna do this:” 

He leans forward, pressing a chaste kiss to your right cheek. Almost as soon as his lips meet your skin he’s pulling back, doing the same to your left cheek. You instantly crave his touch, his lips. Newt could almost sense your eagerness, so he continued.

“Right here,” He whispered as he hovered his lips over your own, “Is that okay?”

You were stunned. It’s like you had momentarily lost the ability to speak. Not trusting your voice, you held his gaze for a few moments longer before nodding, giving him permission to finally kiss you after all these years. The kiss was slow and sensual. Newt didn’t want to slip up or make a mistake. This was the first kiss he’s ever had; well, from what he could remember anyway. But he wouldn’t want to kiss anyone else but you. You were all he ever wanted, for the rest of his life. He knows that for sure. 

He’s the first to pull back gently, delicately pecking your puffy lips once more while keeping his arms firmly wrapped around you. Before pulling him back in for another kiss, you heard him whisper against your skin, “You’re all that I have too, and I promise that I’m never letting you go.”

#newt #tmr newt #the maze runner #tmr imagine #newt x reader #tmr newt imagine #tmr newt x reader #the scorch trials #the death cure #tmr fandom #thomas brodie sangster #newtmas #tmr fluff #tmr newt fanfiction #newt tmr imagine #newt tmr #tmr newt x y/n #tbs imagine #thomas sangster #tmr fanfiction #tmr imagines #the glade #thomas brodie sangster imagine #newt drabble #tmr newt imagines #newt tmr imagines #newt imagines #newt imagine #the maze runner imagine #tmr smut

[magnoliabloomfield]

Possession Chapter 3

Gally was on a razor’s edge for what felt like hours. The girl was the only one up and insisted on helping. He was at least thankful that she took direction really well. Sometimes she’d stop and ask why something was done a certain way, he would explain and see the smallest light in her eyes when she grasped it. Not only that but she would try to apply it to other things, talking it out until Gally just had to nod that she was on track or explain a little more.

They had dug the holes for the stilts to settle into for stability, she had helped him arrange the workstations around the build site and organize the materials. She was helping him make more twine when more of the glade started waking up. He was surprised to feel the slightest twinge of disappointment despite all the stress he had felt from being alone with her.

The builders seemed like a brutish bunch since their occupation required hard work that made them big and strong, but they weren’t Neanderthals just banging things together, they were engineers and architects. They had to build things that were structurally sound, that would last and be safe and function. So not all the builders looked at her with the lustful eyes of a cave man, some shied away from her, others seemed take on a brotherly personality. Maybe those really had sisters in that forgotten life before the glade.

Gally still kept as close an eye as he could on her since she was his responsibility for the day, but she didn’t seem to get any trouble from his team. She still wore as monotonous of an expression as she could muster, and the little she spoke to the others she spoke straightforward and with a flat tone. Gally wondered if she really did have a personality as dull as cardboard until she started coming around him looking for more tasks, asking what was going on or what he was doing.

She didn’t give away any subtext, no one could misread her. Nothing she said had the lilt of an innuendo, she didn’t hint at any double meanings, and she didn’t show emotions on her face that could trigger others emotions. One boy made a snide remark, no one could tell if it affected her. One boy said something really funny, she didn’t laugh, no one could think she liked it so the boy didn’t milk it further. She didn’t pull a face when one boy crudely announced his trip to the latrines, she ignored it, showing it didn’t upset her and she also didn’t reveal if she was disgusted with him either. She neither approved or disapproved of anything. While she was a mystery, she could not be misunderstood.

“So how do we get a floor up there?” She asked him as she looked at the finished base supports.

Gally was sweating as the sun got higher and he wanted to get certain things done before the heat of the day really hit. He figured he could be straight forward with her since that seemed to be her own code of conduct.

“I love building,” he panted as he wiped sweat from his face. “And any other time I’d be glad to teach someone about it, but today I need to focus on getting this done because it’s important for you to have it as soon as possible.”

She was already nodding in understanding halfway through what he was saying, but her mouth set just a little bit in a line and her eyes were ever so slightly downcast like a scolded child who knew they deserved the scolding. “Right, I understand,” she said evenly and then turned and left him to it.

For some reason he felt a little bit bad as he watched her go, her tiny palms pressed to her thighs for a moment. After looking around a little, seeming lost and out of place, she got one of the other builders to give her another task to work on. What did it matter to Gally, he really did need to focus, he wasn’t trying to be mean and he hadn’t said anything rude. She’d get over it when she had a better place to sleep that night.

He lost track of her entirely at lunch. He looked around and didn’t see her at any tables. He asked around if anyone had seen her and finally someone said they’d seen her walking off and pointed him in the direction. He found her sitting at one of the work tables by herself, looking at the papers and plans for her house.

He let out a relieved sigh and his feet carried him several steps before he realized he had no idea what he would do or say when he reached her. He quickly backpedaled before she spotted him. He didn’t like her being alone, it wasn’t safe, but maybe she wanted to be alone. And besides he didn’t have time for this, he needed to eat so he could work. With one last glance to make sure she was alright, he went back to his own lunch. Still, he couldn't keep his mind from wandering to where she was all by herself.

@gladerscake @crazysheeplyca @thesuitkovian @poulterholland @anniemylennox @poulterjonas @carp3d1em @neilox @quackquackbi @cottoncandy-dreamxd

Possession Masterlist

#gally #tmr gally #gally imagine #tmr gally imagine #gally fanfic #maze runner #maze runner fanfic #slow burn #will poulter protection squad

[tomboyneedshercoffee]

Making Memories || TMR Minho x Reader

Summary: When Y/N loses her memory, she joins up with Group B to try and survive in the mountains. Little does she know that Group A thinks she’s been dead for months and they’re shocked to find out that Minho’s girlfriend is still alive. 

Word Count: 3.4k

Author’s Note: I haven’t seen any Maze Runner content lately and since I’ve had this idea for a long time, I decided to just say fuck it and write it since I’m a slut for Minho. 

Warning: Amnesia, mentions of death, angst 

For the last couple of weeks of enduring the scorch, Minho was going through an internal crisis. With all of the crazy things that had happened to him like escaping the maze and even getting struck by lightning, he still felt that he wasn’t himself. 

Ever since you were taken by Griever’s that night during the attack, Minho felt numb. He felt like a machine, getting up every day just to go back to sleep. 

As awful as it sounds, he thought his grief would rest temporarily like everyone else they had lost along the way but for you, that wasn’t the case. 

The group, now joined by a few outsiders like Aris, Jorge, and Brenda, followed the idea that there was safety in numbers and that finding the Right Arm would be a step closer to get away from WCKD forever. 

While Minho knew he would follow Thomas anywhere, he still felt like he was in autopilot of where his life was taking him. 

Minho clung to his friends because he knew that the thought of losing anyone else close to him would drive him over the edge. Whenever the group would walk in silence to save energy through the sand dunes, Minho would try to remember you as best as he could. 

He felt guilty that everything he loved about you was turning into a distant memory. Even now, he would have a hard time remembering what you sounded like because the last memory of you was when you were screaming for Minho and Thomas to hold onto you as you were getting dragged away by a Griever. 

While Minho knew you were gone, he would still wait for you to playfully punch his shoulder after he would say something rude or make a face at you whenever someone else said something stupid. 

Thomas and Newt have tried to comfort their friend but Minho always brushed them off and would always tell them that he was fine. 

Minho’s way to deal with your death was to just not talk about it so everyone obeyed his wishes. Little did he know, you would find a way to come back into his life. 

When Harriet and Sonya found you, your mind was completely barren of anything that happened before, including your whole experience in the glade which meant having no thoughts of Minho at all. 

The only thing you knew was your name and even then, you were still unsure of how true that was. The girls had filled you in on everything they knew, filling your head about escaping a maze constructed by WCKD and being rescued by a group called the Right Arm. 

The flare had wiped out most of the population but WCKD never stopped searching for a cure, which was in your blood and other youths in your generation. After weeks of traveling and finding sanctuary, the group around you became your home and you all took shelter in the mountains. 

While the mountains provided protection, on rare occasions intruders would slip by without being noticed. Ever since the last attack, the Right Arm guarded the main entrance to the mountains more heavily than before to avoid any other conflicts. 

You were at your post in the mountains, eyeing the only entrance into the tunnels when you spotted a group of people making their way through. You picked up your binoculars and got a closer look at the people weaving through the abandoned cars parked by the entrance. 

You picked up your walkie and called in for ground control,” Y/N at Post one, I have an eye on eight individuals approaching our main entrance. Requesting a few firing warnings.” 

You squinted, trying to make out any descriptions of the group before some of the men who were at their posts fired down at the cars.

 You took one last glance at the group from down below ducking for cover as you left your post and went down the side to retrieve them. 

While this was a normal procedure that you were used to by now, you knew you had to be on your toes just in case anything bad happened. 

You met up with Harriet and Sonya who were waiting at the corner for your arrival with guns in each of their hands. 

“ Does it look like they have any weapons?” You asked as Sonya shook her head. 

“ I didn’t see anything on them but we can’t be too careful,” Harriet said as you lifted up your bandana to cover half of your face. 

The three of you turned the corner and walked slowly towards the closest members of the invading group with Harriet leading. 

“ Drop it.” Harriet ordered as she blocked your line of vision ,” I said drop it!” 

You weren’t sure what this group was doing up here in the mountains but you had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. 

“ On your feet, lets go!” Harriet shouted as the two members of the group stood up and joined the rest of their friends. 

You slipped through beside Sonya and you watched their panicked expressions carefully.  As you made eye contact with each one, you watched their faces drop. 

“ Y/N? Is that you?” 

Minho’s eyes snapped to that familiar name and when his eyes found yours, his knees almost buckled as if he just saw a ghost.  

Everything around Minho felt still as if the world had stopped spinning for just you and him. Weeks of sleepless nights with nightmares that plagued him now made him feel adrenaline like never before. 

He had been playing the image of you getting ripped from his arms over and over again, beating himself everyday for not holding onto you tighter. 

But now, with you standing before him, that last cruel image was overshadowed by the countless memories of you that he thought he had lost forever. 

Memories of your first sweet kiss by the bonfire, memories of you patching him up after he had sprained his ankle, memories of you waking up next to him every morning with your mouth wide open. 

Harriet kept her weapon pointed at the group but made a quick glance towards you,” You know these guys?” 

Before you could shake your head, Minho practically lunged himself towards you and tried to pull you in for a hug. It all happened so fast and before he made contact, you used the end of your gun and slammed in into the side of Minho’s head. 

Minho fell to the ground and ate a mouthful of dirt as he held the side of his temple, which was now bleeding. He looked up at you standing over him with your weapon pointed towards him and Minho was confused to say the least. 

“ How do you know me? Do you work for WCKD or something?” You asked hastily as you scanned the rest of the group, some of them taking a step back,” I asked you a question!” 

Thomas looked down at his friend and back at you,” You don’t remember us? You..you don’t remember Minho?” 

The boys expression was something you couldn’t describe but the way he said it made it seem like you had just offended them. You thought it over in your head as you tried to think of where you could’ve seen them before but you were drawing a blank. 

Harriet lowered her weapon as she locked eyes with one of the boys with them,” Aris?” 

“ Oh my god, Harriet.”

You watched as Sonya followed in Harriet’s lead and dropped her weapons to bring in Aris for a hug. 

As they reunited, Minho kept his eyes on you, still in disbelief. 

That should be us right now Minho thought as he watched the happy reunion between Aris, Sonya, and Harriet. 

Minho didn’t know how to feel; he was relieved that you were seemingly alive and well yet you weren’t the same. Every moment the two of you had shared was wiped away without a care in the world. 

What killed Minho the most was that as you looked back at him, he didn’t recognize you at all. There was no love or admiration in your eyes like he used to remember. 

He was staring at a complete stranger and yet, he still wanted to reach out and touch you. 

After the little reunion had died down, the three of you took the group back to camp where it would be more safe. The whole ride there was silent as you tried to keep your eyes on the road. Every now and then, you would look back using the rear view mirror and catch Minho staring right back at you. 

Tall grass. Walls. Burnt meat. 

They came in flashes throughout the whole drive everytime you would look back at him. 

Box. Shoes. Dirt. 

You didn’t realize you were holding your breath until your body started to shake. 

Once you got to camp, you went straight to your tent and sat on your bed. 

You could feel your heart beating against your ribcage and your breathing was all over the place. You didn’t know what came over you but you felt yourself start to get dizzy. 

“ Uh, hey.”

You looked up and saw Minho at the opening of your tent, waiting there patiently. 

Warmth. Laughter. Sweat. 

You placed your hand over your chest and beckoned him to come over as you stood up. 

“ Hey,” you sighed as you looked at his forehead, which was done bleeding,” I really am sorry about that....let me help you clean it.” 

Minho said nothing but sat down on your bed as you grabbed a small medical kit from underneath your desk. You kneeled down in front of Minho and pulled a bandage out as your hands started to shake. 

Minho bit his lip as he watched you struggling like a helpless animal. He held his breath and held your hands and you immediately stopped shaking.

 You looked up at him and even though you didn’t recognize him at all, you knew deep down that you possibly knew him. 

“ So... you don’t remember anything?” Minho said softly as you started to clean his wound.

“ I remember bits and pieces. It’s not so much memories but I can feel and see quick images of things you know?” You looked up at Minho but he shook his head,” like...when I heard your friend Fry talk, it’s like I had a salty taste in my mouth from grilled meat. Or when I saw Thomas I felt...inspired? I don’t know, it’s weird but it’s the same feeling that Harriet has as a leader.

This was the most you had talked so far and Minho didn’t know how much he really missed your voice until he couldn’t hear it anymore. While he could listen to you talk all day, there was something bothering him that he needed to know.

“ What about me?” Minho asked quietly as you stopped in your tracks,” what do you feel when you see me?”

Bed Sheets. Snoring. Hands. 

You cleared your throat and grabbed the bandages,” I don’t know.”

Minho gave a small smile and pointed towards your lip,” I know you’re lying. You always bite your lip when you lie.” 

You pushed your lip back out from your teeth and laughed softly,” Okay, creep you caught me...when you were in the car I...this is stupid.” 

You shook your head from embarrassment and raised up from your spot on the ground but Minho grabbed your hand. He knew he had to be delicate since he was practically a stranger to you but he didn’t want you to leave. 

There was so much he wanted to know and he felt like his time with you was limited. 

“ Please, I need to know,” Minho swallowed as you sat down beside him on your bed. 

You watched his desperate eyes, they were hungry for answers, for confirmation that somewhere deep inside, you were still you. 

“ The biggest thing I feel is warmth...not like from sunlight but from uh- body heat,” You said as you avoided his gaze,” then sweat. I can feel it and smell it when I see you.”

Minho chuckled but rubbed the back of his neck, feeling slightly embarrassed,” Jeez, I didn’t realize I smelled.”

You shook your head and let out a gentle sigh,” No, no. It’s not a bad smell it just smells of the outside like when someone works out. I think I remember your laugh and now that I think of it, my chest feels...tight...also do you snore? Cause seeing you in this bed is making my brain hear it.” 

Minho shrugged his shoulders innocently but laughed loudly,” You used to hate it when I snored. You would kick me every time I did and one day you made me sleep outside the door cause you were so tired.” 

You snapped with your right hand and pointed at Minho,” That laugh. I remember that.” 

Your face dropped for a moment and Minho noticed this,” D-Do you remember something else?”

You nodded as several images and senses cycled through your brain as millions of connections were being made. 

“ Your laugh...I remember being embarrassed!” You said as you squeezed your eyes shut and rubbed your temples. 

You stood up from your bed and walked away from Minho, trying your best to put the pieces together,” shit why was I embarrassed? Sweat...You ran a lot-you ran every day like a-a…fuck... I don’t know, you were fast! I thought I could beat you in a race but…”

Minho swallowed hard as he thought about that day and stood up quickly,” You slipped really bad and your whole shirt was covered in mud.”

You opened your eyes and turned to Minho, your mouth hanging slightly open. You couldn’t believe it, ever since you were found, you could never develop a solid memory until now. 

Minho could see the gears turning in your head and he kept going, listing off what happened,” You were so mad because that was your favorite shirt. It was your favorite because-”

“ Because it was the same shade of blue that you always wore,” You nodded as your smile started to grow bigger and bigger,” then we went to the spring to wash it and then I fell in with all of my clothes on. You laughed so hard you started crying! And then-”

You stopped rambling as the next image in your brain replayed in your head. 

“ Stop laughing at me and help me!” You whined as you pulled yourself out of the spring,”this water is freezing you dick!”

Minho stopped laughing at you and watched your face with a huge smile on his lips,” Aw baby don’t pout.” 

You crossed your arms until you formed an idea in your head. You ran over to Minho with your arms wide open and before Minho could run away, you held your wet body against his. 

You two rolled around as Minho complained about getting wet before his body was on top of yours. 

Once you stopped laughing, you looked up at Minho, who was inches away from your face. You felt his body pressed up against yours and you could feel his heartbeat against your chest. 

Minho smirked before leaning in and pressing his soft, warm lips against your own. You moved your hands to his hair as you gently pulled on it, bringing him closer to you. 

Between the deep kisses, Minho took a breath and pulled away,” I love you.”

You smiled sweetly back at him before pressing a quick kiss against him,” I know you do...but I love you too.” 

Your mouth felt dry as you turned back to Minho who also replayed the memory. You looked at him longingly as your shoulder’s dropped. 

“ We were in love...you didn’t say anything about that.”

Minho held his breath and nodded, unsure of what to say. He didn’t want the memory to scare you off, even though he would’ve felt the same way. 

He couldn’t imagine seeing himself kiss a stranger, let alone say I love you to one another and he knew you had to process all of this new information.

“ Yeah...is that bad? That we are-were in love?” Minho asked as you took a seat next to him. 

You shook your head, you were so overwhelmed and that you didn’t even think you could let any words out. 

“ No, it’s not bad,” You said as Minho shifted in his seat,” but I’m sorry. I know you loved me and I loved you but...looking back at those memories I-I don’t know how to feel. I know it’s me in those memories but I feel like I’m watching someone else in my body.” 

“ I understand it’s just that...we were together for so long and I can’t let that go,” Minho sighed as he reached for your hand to hold but he thought twice and drew back,” I love you. I still love you even though you don’t know me. I know we can’t get back what we had but we’re here together now.” 

You ran your fingers through your hair before sighing deeply,” I can’t be that girl you fell in love with. I don’t know her Minho and I-I don’t know you. I’m sorry that you lost someone you cared about but I’m not the same person I was in those memories.” 

“ I’m not either! I mean, I’ve changed a lot but at the same time I’m the same guy. I’m just asking to be in your life right now. We don’t have to get married or anything I just…” Minho didn’t know he was even on the verge of tears until his voice cracked,” I watched you die. I thought you were dead for months and I never dealt with the pain of losing you. I can’t let you walk out of my life and honestly, I don’t know if I can handle the pain anymore.” 

You were torn. You felt so much grief watching this poor guy seconds away from sobbing. This was someone you loved and although you trusted what he was saying, you didn’t feel the love he felt for you.

As much as you wanted to reach out and tell him you felt the same way, you knew it would be a total lie. 

“ I’m sorry,” you said simply as you turned away and faced the wall. 

Minho watched you for a moment as his heart broke into a million pieces. The love of his life was alive but the old Y/N was dead. 

Minho had lost people he cared about before but you were supposed to be the one that would be by his side no matter what. 

You were the glue that held Minho together and the thing that broke him the most was that you had no idea how much you really meant to him. 

Minho gathered himself before getting up from the bed and walked away silently as you felt your chest grow tighter. 

For months, you had no memories of what your past life was and you thought of it as a fresh start and a way to build yourself a new life. He helped you remember a part of yourself that you had accepted was gone forever. 

You didn’t know you could have a fresh start with the old memories but with Minho standing before you, you didn’t know if you could have that fresh start without him.

“ Wait! Hold on,” You called after him as he stopped in his tracks and turned to you.

You walked over and played with the hem of your shirt nervously,” I’m sorry, I can’t be the old Y/N you want me to be...but maybe you can help me out.”

Minho nodded slowly as his mind raced with ideas,” So what are you proposing?”

You tried to hide your smile as stuck your hand out towards him,” Hi, I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you, stranger.”

Minho studied your face carefully as his shoulders relaxed. 

He wasn’t willing to completely throw away every memory about you like how mad you got whenever someone talked over you or how you would always pick food off of other people’s plates in the Glade because you claimed it tasted better. 

He wasn’t willing to forget how warm you felt when you slept beside him, cuddled up underneath his arm or how it felt to have your fingers massage his back after a long day in the maze. 

He wasn’t willing to let any of that go but for your sake, he was ready to make new memories with you as long as you would never leave him again. 

“ I’m Minho and trust me, with a face like mine, you’ll never forget me.” 

#minho #minho x reader #minho tmr #tmr minho #tmr minho x reader #tmr minho imagine #tmr minho imagines #tmr minho smut #minho tmr x reader #minho tmr imagine #minho tmr imagines #minho tmr smut #the maze runner minho #the maze runner minho x reader #the maze runner minho smut #maze runner #maze runner minho #maze runner minho x reader #maze runner minho imagine #maze runner minho smut #newt x reader #newt imagine #newt smut #thomas x reader #thomas imagine #thomas smut #the maze runner #the maze runner x reader #the maze runner smut #the maze runner imagines

[twilightofficial]

Hand-Carved Heart

Pt. 2 of this post

They found it by accident one day a few months after their search began; they had stopped a couple miles into their hike through a new part of the woods to rest and admire the small waterfall they had come upon. Bella sat on a large  boulder to catch her breath and to rub some of the tightness out of her legs, Jacob of course was looking for a way to get up to the top of the waterfall. She cautioned him to not try and use some sketchy looking vine as a climbing rope and he tossed back a joke about her being the klutz in this relationship. Bella’s responding laughter had come so easily. 

She could still remember how heavy she used to feel all the time having to put forth so much effort into thinking about every reaction, giving just enough of a smile so people wouldn’t worry. Then Jacob came along with his warmth and his crooked grin that made her feel lighter than air, only the feel of his hand in hers or the deep vibrato of his voice kept her feet safely planted on the ground. Being with him just felt as simple and easy as breathing. 

After the soreness in her calves was mostly gone she joined him at the edge of the waterfall, it really wasn’t very large, only about 15-20 feet and with Jacob’s tall stature he wouldn’t have any trouble making his way to the top. Still that didn’t stop Bella from worrying, but because of her disregard for her own personal safety a few months prior she kept her worries to herself and instead began skimming her hand along the wall of green that crept up the cliff-face. The light scrape of rock and leaves against her hand was a decent enough distraction until her hand fell through a gap. 

Weird. She thought to herself, curiosity bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She pushed aside a mass of greenery to peer through it, and there tucked neatly behind the wall of trees and bushes was a beautiful moss covered clearing. It was small, only about 6 feet in diameter, and the densely packed trees lining the perimeter provided a canopy of leaves above that sprinkled the light across the ground through the small gaps between the branches. A thick layer of moss covered every inch of the ground including what appeared to be the fallen trunk of a large tree. It was everything they had been looking for. She called Jake over so they could venture in together. 

They made their way through the foliage into the center of the glade, both with large smiles spread across their faces. The vivid green that coated every bit of the clearing had made it feel so bright and alive, even with the shade provided by the canopy above. They couldn’t believe they had found a place so perfect to call their own. 

Jacob pulled out the map and marked the location of the waterfall with a small heart as Bella cleared a portion of moss off the bark of the fallen tree so she could sit down. As she brushed away the moss an odd mark on the log caught her eye, a heart with two initials and a date was carved deeply into the wood. She smiled and called out that it looked like someone else had already beaten them to this little love-nest. Intrigued, he came to look at what she was talking about. When he saw what was carved into the wood his face paled and tears welled up in the corner of his dark brown eyes. BB+SW 1975 was marked into the bark, clearly having been carved over repeatedly to set it so deeply that even after so many years it remained. 

Bella rubbed at his back confused at his reaction, but knowing that once he calmed down he would tell her. For now she would just comfort him in anyway he needed like he had always done for her. It was her turn to be his rock to lean on and she was determined to be as strong and sure as he had always been even though it killed her to see him so clearly in pain. She drew idle circles into his back and the slow drag of her hand made it easier for Jacob to slow his breathing and steady himself. After several minutes he finally stopped tracing the outline and turned to look back at Bella. This was where my dad asked my mom to be his girlfriend… Bella was stunned, not expecting that to be the reason. She remained quiet though, letting Jacob tell the story at his own pace.

When I was little, I always asked my mom to tell me about their first date as a bedtime story. They were in high school, she was a year younger than him, but they had been friends since they were kids. My dad had finally gotten the courage to ask her out, though she had no clue it was a date because he had acted so nonchalant about it. I asked him about that later and he said he was just trying to act cool because he was so nervous. Jacob chuckled softly and shook his head. 

When she showed up and he told her they were going on a hike through the woods she was certain that she would just have to try her best and get over her crush on him. Then dad led her to a beautiful waterfall, and next to it under a large tree he had laid out a picnic blanket held down with a basket filled with new art supplies for her. When she turned to look back at him he was holding a slightly crushed bouquet of hand picked wildflowers that he had apparently been carrying in his bag the whole time. He smiled wistfully, remembering the way his mother’s face lit up when she told this story. 

She said it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her, and when he asked her to be his girlfriend she answered by finding a sharp rock and carving their initials and the year into the tree they had been laying under. Every time they came back here they would go over it so it would never fade…  I guess the tree finally fell over and new plants grew in its place, hiding it away… I can’t believe we found this place Bells, I-I never even thought to look for it, thought it would be too sad…

Jacob leaned into Bella’s side and she wrapped her arms around him. That was the most she had ever heard him talk about his mom, she never wanted to pry by asking for more whenever Sarah was mentioned in conversation by either Charlie or Billy. Though she did have a faint memory of her from her visits as a child, a beautiful woman with deep set lines around her mouth from the toothy and slightly slanted grin she always seemed to wear. Jacob had that same smile. 

He finally lifted his head from her chest and Bella wiped the remnants of tears from his cheeks. He offered her a faint smile as a thank you and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. They sat in silence for a couple more minutes before Jacob spoke again, saying that finding this spot felt like fate, like his mom was looking down on him and giving them her blessing. Bella blinked away a tear at that and nodded, promising that they could come back here whenever he wanted. 

The next time they came to the little clearing hidden away from the world, Jacob brought some of his carving knives to make something to bring back for his dad and Bella brought one of her favorite books to read. They sat in the calm of the forest, her back against the trunk of the tree with Jacob sitting next to her whittling away at a chunk of wood, the rush of water and the rustling of leaves as the wind blew keeping them company. 

They stayed for several hours, occasionally taking a break from their respective activities to kiss lazily, sometimes Bella would read aloud as Jacob carved. When the sun began to set they packed up their belongings, as they were about to leave Jacob paused and turned back to the tree, he pulled out one of his carving knives and added their initials right next to his parents. Bella pulled him into a tight hug, she couldn’t believe she was lucky enough to love this boy and have him love her back. 

When Bella first moved to Forks she couldn't stand how green everything was, she was so accustomed to the brown desert of Arizona that the emerald colored town was like an assault on her eyes. It was somehow too bright yet unbelievably dreary, like the constant clouds had sucked the life out of the place and the foliage was overcompensating. She used to miss the way the heat waves danced across the gravel lawns, and how the sun's consistent presence felt like an old friend greeting her every morning letting her know she wasn't alone. But here with Jacob, her new sun, in this small section of the woods; green might just be her new favorite color.

Thanks to @musingsofvenus and @teamjacobthot for helping me out with this💖💖💖 And shoutout to @paulxlahotee for the Billy Black album because I could not for the life of me find a picture of young Gil that worked for this on google 💖

#sarah black #billy black #bella swan #jacob black #jacob x bella #billy x sarah #brenda schad as sarah black #of course gil birmingham as billy black #eddie spears as jacob black #couldnt find a picture of anya taylor joy that fit so thats a picture of diana silvers as bella in this one

[misora-msby]

CONGRATS ON 300!!

Can I request 1.10 with Kyoomi please? Fluff if possible ❤️❤️

さぁ恋の魔法かけるから目を閉じみっつかぞえて

“i’ll cast a spell of love on you so close your eyes and count to three”

- ☆gimme gimme☆, SuG

(thanks on the congrats :) it became a bit longer than intended lol)

sakusa kiyoomi had to be one of the greatest sorcerers in the land, both in battle and in potion making.

great lords would hire him for his skills and most scholars would give anything to be able to have a conversation with the sorcerer.

he was rumoured to be so powerful he could do anything; from healing entire armies to being able to see the truths of the universe using the complexity of the stars, he could do anything.

but there was one thing he couldn’t do.

“good morning, sakusa-san, are you looking to buy more flowers for your potions today?” you smiled brightly.

“yeah. i just need a small bouquet of hydrangea and some dandelion seeds,” he replied while fiddling with his little coin pouch.

that’s right, he couldn’t get you to fall in love with him.

of course, for someone like him it would be easy to control your mind or to make a love potion but that went against his morals. using magic of that caliber for this kind of selfish personal gain was absolutely despicable.

not to mention once you fell out of the spell, you’d despise him.

“here you go, sakusa-san!” you smile and handed him the bouquets.

“mm, thank you, l/n. here’s the payment.” he drops a few coins into your hand, making you smile ever so brightly.

“it’s a pleasure, please come again, sakusa-san!”

the sorcerer took a few stops away from your little stand before suddenly stopping and turning around.

“is something wrong, sakusa-san?” you ask, cocking your head.

“from uh... from now on, you can call me kiyoomi. if you wish.” he says, his cheeks turning a light pink. he’s glad that his mask covers his blush.

“huh? but you’re the great sakusa kiyoomi! i’m just a little florist who happens to live in the same village as-”

“i see you almost everyday so... you might as well.” sakusa quickly insisted. you were shocked but quickly began to smile again,

“okay, kiyoomi-kun! you call me y/n!”

his cheeks had never felt warmer.

he found himself returning to your store almost everyday. though he didn’t always need the flowers, he would make a journey to your stand to purchase at least a small bouquet just to see you.

“you know at this rate, you’re gonna be the one running a flower stand, omi-kun!” you joke while packaging the sunflower seeds he requested alongside the three cotton flowers.

“i don’t think i buy that many, do i?” he asked while taking out his payment.

“well, i’d say i’ve seen you more often than everyone else combined.” you laugh and accept his payment.

his expression worried you a little though, did it seem like you were making fun of him?

“a-ah, don’t get me wrong! there’s nothing bad about it! it’s nice to have a friend! especially since like... you know... you’re really famous so sometimes people come because you use my flowers. then they ask me about you and wow, it’s funny. i realised i see you everyday but i know almost nothing about you!”

you did have a point. he would only ever come to buy what he needed, would make a bit of small talk, and leave.

but sakusa saw this as his chance.

“this saturday. are you free?”

“um... yes, that’s usually my rest day!” you replied, though you guessed he already knew that.

“then would you like to have tea with me? there’s also an interesting place outside the village i think you’d like to see.” sakusa asked.

though he looked absolutely calm, his palms were beginning to sweat horribly and his knees were locked in place to prevent them from shaking. he was very glad you had already completed the transaction so you wouldn’t have to see the way his fingers would uncharacteristically fumble with his coins.

“w-woah... is the famous sakusa kiyoomi asking to have tea with me? my, i’m going to be targeted by at least five foreign scholars now!” you joke, “but yeah! i’d love to!”

your cheeks were a little pink. sakusa thought it must have been due to the suddenness of the question, but you were rather cute with that tint. aside from that, he was ecstatic that you had accepted his offer... and very relieved his mask hid his smile - a sight that nearly no one had seen before.

a couple days later you found yourself standing in front of a portal in his potion room.

“step through this door.”

“it won’t take me somewhere weird will it, omi?”

“no. quite the contrary. i think you’ll like it.” sakusa calmly went first through the wavy purple portal, disappearing from your vision.

it was scary, but you knew he wouldn’t try to trick you so you held your breath and closed your eyes before stepping through the glowing light, hoping to land somewhere safe.

but you felt the floor give away and in that split second you screamed for your life... only to land in something warm?

“like i said, it’s nothing to be afraid of,” sakusa’s familiar voice sighed as he let go of you, allowing you to stand straight as he dusted himself off (a little habit he had whenever he touched someone).

you open your eyes and gasp as you take in the scenery - the biggest glade you had ever seen in your life, dotted with wildflowers of varying colours. a gentle breeze blew, making your sundress flow in the wind. in the distance you could even see a snow-capped mountain, one that was not even slightly familiar to you. and a few meters away in the glade sat a large white blanket with two baskets in the middle of it.

“omi... where is this?” you managed to speak in awe.

“it’s a far off land,” sakusa simply replied and made his way to the blanket, “come here.”

you walked towards the blanket, careful to remove your shoes before sitting on it beside the wizard, wondering what he had brought along in the baskets.

the question was quickly answered as he pulled out a mini stove, teapot, and tea cups. wrapped pastries and fruits followed, and soon a full meal was set up on the blanket.

“i’ll heat the tea. wait a bit,” sakusa said and with a snap of his fingers, the stove was lit to heat the water in the teapot.

the rest of the picnic passed by peacefully and in a blur. you didn’t even notice as the sky darkened into shades of pink and orange before slowly becoming a dark purple illuminated only the moonlight and a few candles he had brought. it was fun.

“i feel like i should’ve brought something,” you pout, “you really set up such a fancy picnic!”

“i was the one to invite you so i think it’s only fair really...” the wizard replied while packing up his belongings.

“still... i only brought a little loaf of bread,” you held up the cloth which was once used to wrap said bread with a sigh, “maybe next time i should prepare the picnic.”

sakusa blinked. did he hear you right? ‘next time’?

you seemed to realise it too and pink dusted your cheeks. “t-that’s only if you wanna! i mean... i wouldn’t! not that i’m asking you to take time out of your busy day to go, i just-“

“it’s fine. i’d like to- i’m not opposed to having another picnic like this.” sakusa smiled softly as he blew out the candles and put them away too.

his smile didn’t exactly go unnoticed by you though, and you couldn’t help but to grin to yourself.

as you two made your way to the door from where you two entered, you suddenly stopped right in front of it. sakusa looked over and raised an eyebrow, “what’s wrong?”

“i almost forgot!” you exclaimed, “since you showed me those flowers, i want to show you a bit of magic, kiyoomi!”

“magic?” he was surprised you had done that but even more surprised to hear his name from your lips. still, he kept his calm demeanor. “alright. show it to me.”

“close your eyes. it only works like that,” you instructed.

sakusa wondered what it could be, but did so anyways. even if he closed his eyes, he could probably predict the process of your magic and copy it tenfold. he could hear the hesitation in your movements and the nervous breathing. a spell of light? or a simple ‘magic trick’ for children? or perhaps it could be-

sakusa’s eyes opened when he felt something press to his cheek. were those your lips?!

his hand flew up to his cheek once you pulled away, gently caressing the spot you kissed which was now very warm.

“it’s a spell of love! i like you, kiyoomi!” your face was practically a tomato with how red it was. he knew his was probably the same. but to think... you liked him too?

he was only standing in shock for a few seconds, staring at you and unable to comprehend what just happened until you spoke up, “oh this is so cheesy, maybe i shouldn’t have done it. oh no. you don’t like sudden touch like that do you? you probably like me less now... wait, let me find a handkerchief.” you hurriedly searched your pockets for your handkerchief, fingers fumbling with worry in case you had just ruined your relationship with sakusa until...

you felt his lips pressed to yours.

he was certain he could perform any spell you could tenfold after all.

#sakusa #sakusa x reader #haikyuu x reader #sakusa kiyoomi #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #sakusa imagines #sakusa scenarios #kiyoomi sakusa #misoramsby #sakusa fluff #☆.request #haikyuu #haikyuu imagines

[rai-wick]

Gally x Reader Chapter 21: Choices

Y/N'S P.O.V

"It's the doors. They aren't closing"

I ran to the Gates followed by everyone.  There was a silence as we stared down at the entrance then a deafening boom. We looked around and saw the other walls creak open.

"Chuck, go to the Council Hall and start barricading the doors"I said, tearing my eyes away from the gates.

"Winston, go with him"Newt ordered and they ran off.

"Get the others"Gally told Clint"Tell them to go to the forest. Go hide, now!"

"Minho, I want you to grab any weapon you can find. I'll meet you at the Council Hall"Thomas told him.

"Minho, I have loads in my cabin"I ignored his questioning looks.

"Let's go!"Newt and Frypan ran to the kitchen while Minho and I ran to my cabin. We had just grabbed them when we began to hear screaming. I looked at him with wide eyes and we ran outside, meeting up with Newt and Frypan.

"Come on!"I saw Thomas yell as a Griever approached him. I threw my spear at it, distracting it as we ran to the Council Hall.

"Over here!"Chuck waved us over and we ran inside.

"______! The door"I slammed it shut, the purring of the Griever was loud as it jumped onto the roof. It poked it's tail through the roof, causing a beam to fall down. We piled into one corner as the Grievers poked their tails through the walls. I glanced as one tail crept up behind Chuck, my heart dropping as I ran to him.

"CHUCK!"I grabbed his hands, pulling as Thomas, Teresa and Minho joined me"Pull him back!"

"Chuck, don't let go!"

"No shit!"We struggled to pull him away. There was a scream and we saw Alby smashing the tail with the end of the beam. It retreated as I checked Chuck for injuries.

"Thanks Alby"Chuck picked up the needle that had fallen off before we saw the tail come back.

"Alby! Watch out!"Thomas yelled just as it grabbed Alby. He held onto the roof and Thomas and I ran over. I grabbed Alby's hand, pulling him back when he looked Thomas in the eyes.

"Thomas, get them out"With that he was pulled away.

"Alby!!"Thomas exclaimed. In his blindness, he ran towards the door.

"Thomas! Don't go out there!" I ran after him and we all exited the Council Hall. The Glade was quiet except for the fires that were raging on.

"Where is everybody?"Frypan said"And who's that over there?" We saw the angry figure of Gally marching towards us.

"Gally..."I warned just as he punched Thomas right in the face.I put myself between them as Winston and Jeff held Gally back.

"This is all you Thomas! Look around!"

"Back off Gally! It's not Thomas's fault!"I yelled, my hands up.

"You heard what Alby said! He's one of them!"Gally struggled, trying to get free.

"One of who?"

"He's one of them and they sent him here to destroy everything and now he has!"He screamed"This is all your fault!"

"Back off Gally!" I looked back at Thomas and saw him holding the needle.

"Thomas don't!"I yelled as he stabbed himself with the needle. I felt anger flare inside me while Chuck ran to get the other syringe. I turned to Gally, seething with rage "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

"MY problem?!? He's the one who came in here, destroying everything we've built and worked for!"

"You've hated him since day one!"

"Why are you always taking his side?! YOU ARE MY GIRLFRIEND!"There was deadly silence as everyone's eyes widened.

"I shucking knew it"I heard Minho whisper. Ignoring the stares we were getting, I stepped away from Gally, my heart tearing as I did so.

"Not anymore I'm not"

"Fine you're with them, where you've always wanted to be, skank"

"Screw you Gally!"I stormed away, my tears flowing down my face, I headed to my safe spot behind the runner's cabin.

~THE NEXT MORNING~

"Hey" I whipped around to see Minho. I stood and looked at him with a blank emotion.

"Thomas and Teresa are getting up soon"

"Okay"We began to walk to the Slammer. I felt his gaze on me making me sigh.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine"I muttered. I saw his mouth open and I turned to him"Now is not the time ok?"

"You're right"He nodded and we continued"I just can't believe I was right"I rolled my eyes as we arrived. I sat down next to Chuck as we saw Thomas stir in Teresa's lap. I caught her eye and smirked making her blush as he opened his eyes.

"You okay?"She asked him. He nodded and looked up at us.

"What the hell were you thinking?"Chuck fiercely told him. I shook my head at Thomas in agreement.

"What happened?" He said, sitting up.

"Gally has taken control"I kept the tremble out of my voice"He said we had a choice. Either join him......or get banished at sundown with you"

"And the others agreed to that?"

"Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this happened"Teresa looked down at her hands.

"Well he's been right so far"

"What are you talking about?"Minho asked him.

Thomas took a deep breath before answering."This place, it's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids. They would give us these challenges, they were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork"

"They were sending them up into the maze"Newt concluded.

"Yeah but not all of us"Thomas continued.

"What do you mean?"I asked him.

"Guys, I'm one of them"He sighed"The people who put you here, I worked with them. I watched you guys for years. The entire time you have been here, I was on the other side of it" His eyes met Teresa's"So were you and ______"

"What?"She whispered as I felt my heart sink.

"If we were with them, then why are we here?"

"Because of you,____"

"Me?"I looked at Thomas"Why?"

"______ refused to listen and obey them. They couldn't continue their experiments and you became uncontrollable. You were the first member to go up into the maze. It was a warning to the rest of us"He turned back to Teresa"Teresa, we did this to them"She shook her head in disbelief"Why would then they send us up here if we were with them"

"Maybe for the same reason as ____, maybe not. Doesn't matter"

"He's right, it doesn't matter, any of it"I said to him"Because the people we were before the maze don't even exist anymore. The Creators took care of that.But what does matter is who we are now and what we do right now. You went into the maze and you found a way out"

"Yeah but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive"

"Maybe"Newt added"But I know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. Pick your ass up and finish what you started. Because if we do nothing then that means Alby died for nothing and I can't have that"

"Okay"Thomas nodded"Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first"

Swallowing the fear that had built up, I cleared my throat"I have an idea"

~AT SUNDOWN~

Minho, Chuck, Newt and I watched as Thomas and Teresa were brought to the Gates. Gally walked in front of them as Thomas was dumped on the ground.

"This is such a waste"He sighed, sheathing his blade.

"Gally...."He turned and looked at Winston"It doesn't feel right, man"

"Yeah, what if Thomas is right?"Clint added"Maybe he could lead us home"

"We are home, okay? I don't wanna have to cross any more names off that wall"

"You really think banishing us is gonna solve anything?"Teresa scoffed

"No. But this isn't a banishing"He looked down before back at her"It's an offering"

"What? Wait! Gally, what are you doing?" A Glader began to tie Teresa's hands to the pole.

"You really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the maze after what he has done? Look around you! Look at our Glade. This is the only way"Newt looked at Minho and I, nodding."And when the Grievers get what they came here for, everything goes back to the way it was" I glanced at Chuck who was standing ready.

"Are you listening to this? Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy"

"You shut up"He pointed at Teresa.

"If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back. They're gonna come back and they're gonna keep coming back until you're all dead!"

"Shut up! Tie him up"Gally shouted"Do you hear me? I said tie him up!"The gladers each took an arm and began lifting Thomas up. He hit one of them in the groin before hitting the other with the stick as Newt hit him in the back with the edge of his knife. Chuck ran over with the bags while Frypan freed Teresa. I held my machete to Gally's back and shook my head, holding back the tears as I took in the appearance of the love of my life for what I thought was the last time. I carefully made my way to the group, not breaking eye contact with Gally.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you?"He stared at me, his eyes dead.

"You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving"Thomas declared"Anyone else who wants to come, now is your last chance"

"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to scare you"

"No, he's not trying to scare you. You're already scared. I'm scared"I let out a deep breath, gripping my machete tighter"But I'd rather risk my life out there than spending the rest of it in here. We don't belong here. This place isn't our home, we were put here, we're trapped here. At least out there we have a choice. We can make it out of here, I know that"I looked around, my gaze ending on Gally, pleading for him to change his mind, desperately hoping he wouldn't leave me or I would leave him. Winston, Clint, Zart, Jeff and a few others joined us.

"Gally, it's over"I lowered my machete"Just come with us"He looked down before peering at me under his brows"Just come with me"I slowly lifted my hand out to him.

"Good luck against the Grievers"His voice was hoarse as I felt tears well up in my eyes.Thomas pulled my arm and we began our escape from the Maze.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#the maze runner #gally imagine #gally x reader #gally imagines #maze runner gally #gally masterlist #newt maze runner #thomas maze runner #maze runner minho

[inorganicone2230]

Aos Sí (Part 1) Yandere!Erasermic x Fem!Reader

TBC in Part 2

Summary: You've just moved to a small, quiet town to with hope of getting some peace and quiet, unbeknownst to you, you've attracted the attention of two individuals who have no intention of letting their newest interest go unaware of them for too long. It’s been so long since they found someone they can agree on and they are willing to do what ever it takes to keep it.

Warnings: Not meany for this chapter, just some light stalking/chasing, and some suggestive implications.

As always, a huge thank you to @talpup for all the brainstorming and for just being an awesome friend in general! I know how much you've been looking forward to this one. lol

Grams shop sat wedged between a cheap liquor store and a small rundown café. Chipped red brick and stain glass windows in colors of blue, green and purple gave the place a warm glow on the inside, the colors reflected off the shelves and made anyone who entered the shop believe as if there was real magic being woven into all the items showcased inside. The store was small and dimly lit, it’s shelves and walls lined with items that were purchased online or special ordered from people Grams had met during her early years traveling the world. Sometimes she would even put out items that she had handmade herself, though that was a rare occurrence. These days, if someone wanted one of her personal items, they had to know to ask her and pay a little more for the extra care and work that went into them.

Working in a novelty shop was a rather interesting experience and like with all jobs, it has it’s pros and cons. There were days when it took every ounce of your willpower not to roll your eyes at the love struck schoolgirls that came in asking about charms to get their crushes attention and other days where you were happy to talk to a customer about the interesting myths surrounding the use of tarot cards. It was all about attitude with you and how your mood affected your work ethic for the day.

Grams was under the firm belief that one need only believe in magic to make it real, which, while a perfectly charming notion, was not one you yourself held. Grams had every excuse in the book to believe in all that hocus-pocus nonsense, she was the one who owned the shop after all, it would be strange if she didn’t believe in it at least a little bit. You on the other hand, you had no such tendencies. As much as you loved her, you only worked here because of how well she paid you and if the pay wasn’t good, then family or no family, you would have been employed elsewhere.

You still had your own expenses to pay after all, even if they were relatively small ones.

Today was a Sunday though, which meant that the shop was as quiet as a graveyard, it also meant that with the lack of traffic in the place today, you were free to close up a bit early and head home. Grams insisting that you take the next few days off.

“Are you sure Grams? I can come back tomorrow and help you with inventory, I really don’t mind.” You said, shrugging on your jacket and grabbing your purse while Grams went around checking the windows and locking the doors.

“Nonsense! I may be old (Y/N), but I’m still capable of running my own business without help. I live here, but there’s no reason for you to spend all your free time in this place. Enjoy your youth while you still have it, lord knows you’ll wish you had when you get to be my age.”

Your shoulders shook as you let out a hearty laugh. The old bat was barely into her 50’s, as far as you were concerned, she was still young and spry. “Alright, alright. I know when I’m not wanted.” You said, waving as you walked out the door. “Have a good night, love you!”

“I Love you too Sweetheart, be safe on your way home.”

—————

The walk home was a quiet one for you tonight in the small tourist town you now called home and you took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air while you bask in the peaceful silence. It was quiet now, but in just a few weeks, the streets would be packed with city goers wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of their busy lives in exchange for a taste of the peaceful countryside. Winter was only just now ending, the snow had only just finished melting and the evening air still had a bite to it, but you didn’t mind, it was just another reason why you were so happy about your decision to move out here.

When Grams had called you, explaining that she would like to have some help around her shop for pretty decent pay, you had jumped at the opportunity, especially when you were told that there was already a place available for you to move into, a small cabin that a friend of hers owned. It only took a few short days to pack up your worldly possessions and before you knew it, you were sitting in the passenger seat of a moving truck and on your way to the next chapter of your life.

Three weeks later and you were feeling pretty good about this spur of the moment decision.

But if you had to be honest, it did all seem to be too good to be true, you kept looking over your shoulder half expecting someone to jump out and yell “Psych!” at any given moment. But so far everything had been fine, the only thing you were expecting to cause you any kind of inconvenience wasn’t even due to start until the weather warmed up.

The owner of the cabin let you live there rent free on the condition that you keep an eye on the high fence that surrounded a small patch of privately owned forest, it was a habitat for a few rare species of bird and apparently there was a rather large pond out there that the local kids liked to try and sneak off to party at. All you we’re supposed to do is call the cops if you noticed anything suspicious going on.

Easy peezy lemon squeezy, right?!

The cabin was on the edge of town and surrounded by a grove of maple trees, away from any neighbors and the owner was getting up there in age, so being closer to town was better for him, which is why he was now letting you live there. You had tried to offer him some payment regardless but he refused to take it, said that any family of Grams was family to him and family never pays.

“I really need to buy a bike. This trek will be much easier with a bike.” You mumbled to yourself as you approached the front door, glancing around the quiet area nervously, half expecting a serial killer to jump out and start waving a knife at you. “Note to self, include a flashlight and pepper spray with that bike.” You said as you quickly slipped inside and promptly locked the door.

You breathed a sigh of relief now that you were in the safe confines of your new home and proceeded to go about your nightly ritual of slipping into some soft spandex and a tank top before making yourself a quick dinner. You still had a bit of unpacking to do, but since Grams had given you the next few days off, you figured you could procrastinate for one more night and relax with a cheesy horror movie.

—————

Sometime later, you awoke to a strange sound in the otherwise silent room. At first, you thought it might be the TV, but the room was dark, indicating that the device had automatically shut off on it’s own.

Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you realized that the sound was coming from outside. It was faint, but it almost sounded like a flute. Stumbling towards the door, you cracked it open just a bit to try and make out the sound a bit better.

But…

As soon as you open the door, the sound was louder than before, almost like it was right next to your ear. Your mind goes blank and you can’t think or feel anything, all you know is that this melody is so sweet and so entrancing, that you could listen to it forever and never tire of it.

Before you knew it, your feet are carrying you through the gate and into the forest. You didn’t feel the cold, nor the branches that left the occasional bloody scratches on your exposed skin, all you could do was follow that wondrous sound straight to its source.

On and on you walked, further and further into the dense trees until at last you came to a clearing. The same clearing that held the aforementioned pond, a body of smooth, crystal clear water that perfectly reflected the full moon in all its glory, surrounded by lush green grass and patches of wildflowers with scattered petals fluttering in the warm breeze.

It was only when the lovely sound faded away into silence that your mind suddenly snapped back into reality and you felt a sudden onslaught of terror despite your picturesque, and very out of season, surroundings.

Your mind swam with so many questions and the sheer force of emotions overtaking you at that moment threatened to make you pass out at any moment.

How had you gotten here?!

When had you gotten here?!

What was going on?!

Fear seized hold of you as you realized that you couldn’t remember how you had reached this place or how long you had been walking. You couldn’t even remember what direction you had come from when you entered the glade.

Snap!

The sharp sound of a snapping branch and two deep chuckles immediately snapped you back to the present and you spun around, a frightened yelp slipping past your lips, only to come face to face with two men. At least, they looked like men, they were still relatively hidden by the dark shadows, having not stepped into the bright moonlight just yet.

“W-Who are y-you? This is p-private property, you need to l-leave now before I-I call the cops.” You wished that your voice sounded stronger, but you were still so confused and scared, that weak threat was all you could muster.

The two men chuckled again and looked at each other before turning back to you and, was it your imagination or were their eyes glowing? That had to be your imagination or a strange trick of the light… right…

The one on the left spoke first.

“I think you’re mistaken Little Dove, we’re not the ones trespassing here, you are.”

Before you could speak, the one on the right spoke next.

“You’re the one that’s wandered into our territory Kitten. If anything, I think you should be the one getting punished. What do you think Zashi?”

Something about his tone unnerved you and you weren’t sure if it was a conscious decision or some primal muscle memory, but you turned to run. You didn’t care what direction you were going or where it would lead you, all you cared about was getting away. Something in the back of your mind and in your gut was telling you that you had to get away from these two. No matter what.

You had made it maybe 10ft away from them when you felt yourself collide with what felt like a wall made of solid flesh, the force of your collision sending you flying back and when you opened your eyes to see what it was, you couldn’t believe what you were seeing.

Somehow, they had managed to get in front of you without making a sound and now that they were standing in the moons light, you were able to get your first real look at them.

And what you saw both horrified and fascinated you all at once.

Both were absolutely gorgeous and dressed in normal clothes, jeans and t-shirts, but it was the rest of their appearance that had truly caught your eye.

One had long blond hair that fell down to the middle of his back, and swirling green eyes that glowed eerily in the dark and his ears, his ears were tall and pointed, like an elf in some fantasy movie. His smile was large and twisted, sharp canines were clearly visible and they flashed dangerously when he tilted his head to the side as he regarded you thoughtfully.

The second was as dark as the other was light. His black hair fell in messy waves around his shoulders and neck, a face full of stubble and the same pointed ears. His eyes glowed as well but red, like the color of fresh blood and whereas his partner could pass for human if not for the ears, he could not, not with the dark, spiraling ram horns that jutted out on either side of his head.

“What are you?” You managed to squeak out as you began to crawl backwards, only to be halted as vines slithered out of the grass like snakes and constricted around your wrists and ankles. No matter how much you struggled and pulled though, they would not break.

“That’s a very good question Little Dove. But before we answer that, I think we should introduce ourselves first. You can call me Hizashi.” The blond says, his voice is soft and melodic and you feel yourself relax just a little bit before catching yourself and putting up your guard again.

The dark haired one gives you a different feeling all together when he flashes you a sultry smile and introduces himself as Shouta. His voice is deep and echoes in your ears and you are ashamed when you let out the tiniest of whimpers as you clench your thighs together.

They both smirk at that, as if they know exactly how your body is reacting.

“Now, what’s your name? We gave you ours, I think it’s only fair we receive yours in return.” One of them says, their voice dripping with honeyed words.

But when you go to open your mouth, the only sound to escape is an ear piercing scream as the fear you’d been feeling finally bubbles over and and consumes you.

The sound rings out for a split second before more vines erupt from the ground and wrap around your face, covering your mouth muffling anymore sounds you tried to make as you thrashed and struggled and cried for release.

“That certainly wasn’t very nice. And here we were being so cordial with you.” Shouta says as both he and Hizashi tower over you, their eyes racking up and down your form in a way that does nothing to hide what they are thinking about.

“I mean, we already know who you are and what your name is, but you still could have been polite enough to introduce yourself before you screamed like a banshee.” Hizashi says, his words doing little to soothe your already racing heart.

“But,” Shouta continues, his red eyes locking with yours. “if you can avoid screaming again and speak like a good girl, we’ll uncover your mouth. Can you do that for us? If not, then we’ll just leave you like this for however long we want.”

You nod your head frantically, you’re willing to do anything at this point to get out of this situation and you feel the vines immediately retract. You steel your nerves and do your best to control your voice when you speak next.

“P-Please l-let me go. I won’t come b-back, I s-swear, I d-don’t even know h-how I got here.” You sobbed quietly.

Your plea went completely ignored,

“Oh, my apologies.” Says Hizashi and you look up to see him holding a set of pan pipes. “That was my doing. We were eager to finally meet you so I just decided to get your attention with this. Did you enjoy the song (Y/N)? I composed it just special, just for you.”

“How do you know my n-name?”

Shouta knelt down and reached out to stroke your face, uncaring for how you turned your head and fought to get away from his touch.

“We’ve been watching you since you first moved here, it’s been so long since anyone interesting has lived in that cabin and we have been waiting for a chance to finally talk to you.” He smiled and again, you felt your libido spike as you clench your thighs together when a sudden wave of arousal clouded your senses.

“Ease up on the compulsion Shou, Save that shit for later.”

“Says the one that couldn’t wait to get her out here.”

They went back and forth like this for a bit before your fearful crying brought their attention back on you and they regarded you with more gentle expressions.

“It’s been a rather long night, so why don’t we just cut to the chase.” Hizashi said as he to, knelt down on your other side to join his counterpart. “We’re willing to let you go back to the cabin safe and sound Little Dove, but only if you’re willing to give us something in return.”

Something about his voice calms you down and you find yourself speaking before your brain has a chance to register what your mouth is saying, you’re so sleepy and all you want is to go back to bed and forget this craziness.

“Anything. Say it and it’s yours, just let me go.” Your tired eyes are wide and look back and forth between the two smirking creatures as you try and figure out what just happened, even as your mind becomes cloudy with sleep and you feel yourself drifting off against your will.

“Perfect.” They all but purr as both reach out, each taking a lock of your hair from the nape of your neck to braid and cut off with a knife that each passes to the other so they can retrieve their prize.

You don’t even have the energy anymore to feel frightened by the weapon or to ask why they took your hair of all things. All you can do is close your eyes and let their voices carry you deeper into a dreamless slumber.

“We’ll see you again very soon Kitten, there’s no getting away from us now.”

“We’re going to have so much fun, just you wait and see. We’ll take such good care of you.”

First chapter is done and out of the way! Hopefully the rest will come to me a bit easier. lol

I hope you all enjoy this newest story!

#yandere!erasermic #yandere!erasermic x reader #yandere!aizawa #yandere!hizashi #yandere!aizawa x reader #yandere!hizashi x reader #fem!reader #reader insert #aizawa x hizashi #yandere bnha #fey #fairies #light stalking #suggestive themes

[smkkbert]

Time for a story - The Undertaking

“You knock.”

“No, you.”

“You’re the little one. She’s not going to be angry with you.”

“You do it, Emmy.”

Felicity pressed her lips together. She already put her pen down and closed the files she had been reading in. If her kids were discussing who of them was going to knock at her door and interrupt her work, she knew that it was a sure sign that she wouldn’t get to work much longer. They only fought about who was the first to interrupt her during her work if they didn’t intend for her to go back to her work.

Glancing at her watch, Felicity decided that it was time to call it a day anyway. For some reason, whenever she decided to work from home, things went overboard. She forgot time completely and locked herself into her office for like forever. Only her kids managed to get her out of here.

When Felicity thought about Emmy and Addie that were standing right in front of the door, she smiled to herself sadly. Her kids didn’t always get as much of their parents as they deserved or needed. It wasn’t fair.

“We do it together,” Emmy whispered, “on three. One, two-“

Before she could count to three and prompt the two sisters to knock at the door, Hawk barked loudly. He jumped up at the door in the next moment, opening it. He came in quickly, walking towards her and pushing his head into the pit of her stomach. Although Felicity knew that she should reprimand him for jumping against the handle of the door, she just patted his head.

“Mommy,” Addie said, stepping to her side and putting her hands to Felicity’s thigh, “you gotta come downstairs.”

Felicity gasped for breath, looking back and forth between her daughters with slightly narrowed eyes. Emmy understood exactly what was going on. Felicity could see it in her eyes. Addie, on the other hand, was just incredibly excited about it. She loved to be secretive, just like every kid at her age would.

“Why?” Felicity asked. “Why do I have to come upstairs? Is there a surprise for me?”

Addie giggled before she replied, “No, we just want to play Who or what am I?”

“Oh, really?” Felicity asked. “And who is ‘we’?”

“Everyone,” Emmy answered quickly, “dad, William, Tommy and Millie are getting everything ready. We were supposed to get you downstairs.”

“Are you coming?” Addie asked immediately, looking at Felicity with big, pleading eyes. “Please, Mommy?”

Felicity smiled, brushing her fingers through her youngest daughter’s blonde hair. Leaning forward, she placed a firm kiss on her forehead though. Addie smiled happily at the gesture when Felicity pulled back.

“Of course,” Felicity whispered, “so let’s go.”

Felicity grabbed Addie’s hand to hold it while they were going downstairs. She had just gotten up from her chair and turned towards the door when she already had to stop though. Hawk, who had stepped away from her and walked to the door was blocking their way now. He was standing right in the doorframe, looking at them with his tail waggling quickly. He barked and snarled again and again.

Emmy frowned and looked at her mother. “What’s wrong with him?”

The question wasn’t coming out of nowhere. Hawk was a gentle soul. He only barked when he was extremely nervous or excited. He only ever snarled at strangers and only when he believed that they wanted to cause harm to his family. He had never barked at the kids, especially not this darkly, and he had never snarled at him.

Emmy’s question as well as the way Addie was clinging to Felicity’s leg, hugging it with both of her arms, proved how unusual this behavior was for Hawk.

Felicity frowned, looking at Hawk intensely. The dog seemed to look right back at her. She could almost see panic in his eyes. More importantly, she could see her own panic mirrored in his eyes.

It took her a long moment, it almost felt endless, until she finally realized or at least suspected what was going on here.

“Hide under the desk.”

“Mom, what-?”

“Hide under the desk.” Felicity turned around to her kids, already pushing them towards her desk quickly. “Cover your heads and necks.”

“Mommy, what-“

“Now!”

She could see the fear in her kids’ eyes, and she hated that she could do nothing against it. She did her best to ignore her own fear and the need to call out for the rest of her family that was downstairs. She knew that, if she called out for them with the panic she was feeling, Oliver would rush towards her. She couldn’t have that. He had to stay where he was. She trusted his ability to manage crisis enough to know he would get this handled even without a warning.

As soon as her kids had crouched down Felicity followed into hiding behind them. Just when she had crouched down with her arms wrapped around her kids, the earth started shaking violently.

The kids started screeching in panic, clawing their hands into her clothes and into her hair. She did her best to tighten her arms around them and hush them, telling them that everything was going to be okay, but the violent shaking scared them nonetheless.

Through the rushing of blood in her ears, Felicity heard Hawk’s barking. She turned her head to see that he was still standing a couple of feet away, barking at the floor now.

“Hawk,” she shouted out, “come here.”

Hawk looked at her briefly before he started looking back at the floor and barking at it again. He wanted the floor to stop shaking.

“Hawk,” Felicity hissed now, hoping a stricter voice could help, “come here now!”

The young Bernese Mountain Dog refused to listen. He was too confused about what was going on here, and his urge to protect his family was too strong.

Felicity tightened her arms around her girls for a moment before she hurried to move out from under the desk just enough so she could reach out her right hand. She grabbed Hawk at his collar and pulled him under the desk. He fought against her pull at first. As soon as he was under the desk, he snuggled up against the girls and only whined though.

A loud, crashing sound made everyone screech out. Felicity put her arms back around her daughters and turned her head in the direction where the sound had come from. The ceiling light had fallen down right where Hawk had been a moment ago.

Felicity didn’t know how much time had passed – it could have been hours – when the earth finally stilled. She kept her arms wrapped around her daughters firmly because both of them were crying and clinging to her. Felicity lifted her head carefully though and looked around. Apart from the ceiling lamp that had come down and a vase that had fallen from the table next to the door and dropped to the floor, everything looked away.

“Hey,” Felicity said softly and lifted her daughter’s gazes to hers, “are you two okay?”

Emmy and Addie both had tears welling in their eyes and rolling over their cheeks. She wiped them away, looking at the two girls intently. From what Felicity could see, she assumed that they were in shock, but they were unharmed otherwise.

“Felicity?!”

Oliver’s voice made a heavy weight fall from Felicity’s chest. She hadn’t felt it before, or maybe she had just forgotten about it. Either way, she was relieved that Oliver seemed to be okay.

“We are here!”

The last syllable had just fallen from her lips when Oliver was already standing in the frame of the door. He looked at her and the kids that were still crouched under the desk with wide eyes. His chest was heaving from his quick breathing.

“Are you alright?” he hurried to ask, helping them out from under the desk. “Is any of you hurt?”

“I don’t think so,” Felicity replied, crawling out from their safe spot at last, “apart from the shock. What about William, Tommy and Millie?”

“They are fine,” Oliver replied quickly, “we have been hiding beneath the dining room table.”

Felicity nodded her head. “Hawk warned out.”

Oliver was holding Emmy and Addie close to him, but his gaze was directed at Hawk, who was still walking up and down nervously.

“Hawk.”

A lot more focused now, Hawk put his ears forward and looked at Oliver. His tail waggled slightly, unsure what to expect.

“Good boy.”

Now, Hawk waggled his tail even more, excited about the praising.

Only now Felicity realized how shaken she really was about what had happened. She stepped towards Oliver, leaning her head against his shoulder. Her lips were placed against his shoulder with only his shirt between her lips and his skin. Her nose was pressing to the top of his shoulder, breathing him in.

“It’s okay,” he promised in a whisper and placed a firm kiss to the crown of her head, “we are all safe.”

Apparently, that wasn’t the case for everyone, Felicity thought to herself when her phone started beeping with like every possible alarm she had set once she had started working for Team Arrow. As soft as the earthquake seemed to have been here, it must have done a lot of damage to other neighborhoods.

Felicity turned to her computers, but she didn’t get any connection to the internet. The earthquake might have done some damage to that too. Grabbing her phone instead, she hurried to skim the alerts that had been set.

“Nine-one-one is getting a lot of calls,” she said almost absentmindedly, “people are hurt or dead. Others are buried alive. Building were destroyed. The city is falling into chaos.”

“Where is the epicenter of the earthquake.”

Felicity shot Oliver a meaningful glance, and she could see that he could read the answer in her eyes.

“The Glades,” he answered his own question and shook his head, “that can’t be true.”

Oliver didn’t have to say it for her to know what he was thinking about. It had been thirteen years now since the Undertaking had taken place. Back then, the artificial earthquake Malcolm Merlyn had caused, had killed thousands of people and taken so many people’s homes. This couldn’t be happening again.

Felicity remembered the night of the Undertaking very well. She remembered being alone in the foundry, afraid that the building was going to fall apart right above her. John and Oliver had been outside after they had tried to chase Merlyn down. Oliver had believed that he had killed him, but he hadn’t succeeded as he had found out months later.

“I will use the rebuild mansion to help people,” Felicity said, already typing away on her phone to make sure this information was spread, “maybe I can do some good.”

“I am sure you can,” Oliver agreed, nodding his head, “while I will go to the Glades and help there.”

“I come with you.”

Felicity looked past Oliver to William, who had come upstairs. He was holding Millie on his hip and had his free hand wrapped around Tommy’s.

“This is dangerous,” Felicity said carefully, “so maybe you should-“

“I know what I am doing,” William interrupted her with gentle but determined voice, “and I want to do that.”

Felicity nodded her head slowly. She always wanted to protect her kids from the worst of the worst, and an earthquake as well as its consequences wasn’t an easy thing to do. Going out into the Glades after an earthquake when you were connected to the Queen Family certainly wasn’t going to be easy. It would rip out old bruises for a lot of people.

“Can I come, too?” Emmy asked, looking at Felicity with pleasing eyes. “Maybe I can comfort people.”

Unsure what to tell her, Felicity shot Oliver a brief glance. It was sweet of Emmy that she wanted to go there with Oliver. Still, Felicity was still worried. Emmy was significantly younger than William. Because of that, Felicity felt even more obligated to protect her.

Oliver didn’t seem to be too pleased about the idea either. Still, they both had to wordlessly agree that, if their kids wanted to help, they couldn’t stop them. They had raised them to be responsible and supportive human beings, aware of the privileges they had been born with and the responsibility they carried because of that.

“If you go with daddy,” Felicity told Emmy, “you have to listen to him. Whatever he says you are supposed to do, you will do it. And it might be dangerous.”

Emmy nodded her head. “I will do everything. I just want to comfort people.”

Felicity nodded her head although she didn’t feel too well about this. Kids weren’t supposed to go into critical areas like that.

“We will take Hawk with us,” Oliver said, nodding for Hawk to follow William and Emmy already as they were going downstairs, “so he can help finding people.”

“He is not trained to do that.”

“No, he’s not,” Oliver agreed, “but he is smart.”

Felicity nodded he head in agreement, knowing Oliver was right. Hawk had warned her of the earthquake, and maybe he could help some other people to survive too.

With two long steps, Oliver crossed the distance towards Felicity. His lips pressed to hers in a firm but gentle kiss. His hands stroked from her hips to her back, up and down there, and back to her hips.

“I love you.”

His whispered words made Felicity’s throat burn. She was used to say goodbye to him whenever he was going out in the field. When he was heading out into the streets, she knew that she could trust him though. She knew his abilities. She knew he’d always do everything possible to come home to her. With an earthquake, a natural catastrophe, it was different though. He couldn’t fight against it as he could fight against criminals.

“Be careful,” Felicity whispered, “and come home to me safely.”

Oliver nodded his head. Framing her face with his hands, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. When he pulled back, she could see that he knew as well as she did that this was different. He was going to put his life at even more risk now than he did every other night.

“Take care of yourself too.”

Felicity nodded herself in agreement. Her eyes stayed locked with Oliver’s for a long moment. She took his hands from her face, squeezing them firmly, before he turned around and left. Looking towards the ceiling, she tried to reach whoever was directing things from heaven, asking that God to make sure that this wasn’t the last time she saw her husband alive.

 → → → → →

 Driving through the Glades after yet another earthquake while sirens were sounding from all directions made a weird feeling spread in Oliver’s stomach. So many things had been different back when the Undertaking had shaken the city. The city had been different. Oliver had been different. His family had been different.

Oliver would never forget that day. His mother had informed the entire city that she had helped Malcolm Merlyn to prepare the Undertaking, a terroristic project to destroy the Glades. She had been arrested in front of Thea’s eyes. At the same day, Oliver had thought that he had killed his best friend’s father. The Glades had taken hundreds of lives, including Tommy’s.

The hate that his mother’s involvement in this terroristic act had caused to be directed at the Queen Family had lasted for a long time. Oliver had done his best to show through his actions as the mayor and an ordinary human being that he was nothing like his mother. He didn’t want to destroy the Glades. He wanted it to be reunited. Still, the people of the Glades distrusted him sometimes or right out hated him for his connection to his mother, and he couldn’t hold it against him.

Tightening his hold on the steering wheel, Oliver shot a nervous glance into the rearview mirror. Emmy was sitting on the bench in the back, Hawk right next to her, and Oliver felt his heart skipping a beat in nervousness. A crisis like this could easily cause people to forget common sense. Oliver wondered if the hate they had for the Queen Family or at least some members of them would cause desperate people to turn against children.

“She’s going to be okay,” William whispered, sensing his father’s nervousness, “she’s tough.”

Oliver shot his son a brief glance before he nodded his head. He knew William was right. Emmy knew what she had gotten herself into. Since she had started school, she knew that not everyone loved the Queen Family as much as it seemed sometimes and-

“Dad.”

Turning his head into the direction William was pointing to, Oliver nodded his head quickly. He directed the car as close to the collapsed apartment building and stopped it then.

“Emmy, you stay right at the car.”

“Yes, dad.”

They all got out hurriedly. While Emmy stayed right at the car, just like Hawk, William and Oliver ran over to the collapsed apartment building. Where a giant complex had been a couple of minutes ago, there was only wreckage now. A young woman was kneeling in front of it, crying out loud and sending quick prayers towards heaven.

Oliver didn’t have to ask the woman to know that she had family or friends in there or rather under that wreckage. He could see in her desperation.

“Ma’am,” he said to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking at her urgently, “I need you to step back. The rescue teams won’t be here anytime soon. They have their hands full. We will help you, but I need you to step back.”

The woman shook her head, unable to say a full sentence. She just cried out even louder, and she almost sounded like she was about to choke.

“Ma’am.”

Oliver was about to rant with Emmy about not listening to him as she was standing right next to her. Looking at her and seeing the soft expression in her eyes as she talked to that devastated woman mad him shut up though. She looked like Felicity had looked whenever she had calmed him down after a nightmare.

“I know you are scared,” Emmy said, her voice as gentle as the expression in her eyes, “but you need to let my dad and my brother work. They will help you, but they cannot do it when you are standing here. We go to the car, okay?”

Emmy’s softness seemed to help. Although the woman was still crying, she nodded her head. Shooting her a smile, Emmy took that woman’s hand and helped her up onto her feet. Continuing to talk to her quietly, she led her away then.

Oliver could have watched Emmy forever, getting lost in the feeling of how much he loved to see the empathic human being and beautiful soul she had grown to be. It was inspiring in a thousand different ways.

Instead of doing so, Oliver turned towards William. “We gotta be careful or that thing will crash right under our feet.”

William nodded his head. “Okay.”

“I will go first.”

Oliver started climbing on the wreckage, calling out for people to shout if they heard him, but there was nothing to be heard. Nobody answered. He climbed over the wreckage carefully, continuing to shot. William did the same.

Shooting a nervous glance back over his shoulder, Oliver could see that Emmy was still talking to that woman calmingly. She was holding her hand, trying to make sure she could comfort her. The woman’s eyes were glued to what had probably been her home, but Oliver could see in her eyes that she was listening to what Emmy was telling her.

“I have a bad feeling,” William said quietly, making sure that nobody but Oliver could hear him, “nobody is answering.”

“They might be unconscious,” Oliver replied, “or too hurt to answer.”

William nodded his head. “We could need a rescue team here.”

“But they won’t come.”

It wasn’t a question. Oliver wasn’t feeling any doubt about it. He knew that nobody was going to come. Right now, there were like a three hundred emergency calls coming in every minute. Nobody had been prepared for this earthquake. The fire department, the police and the hospitals were certainly doing their best to cope with the situation, but they weren’t able to handle it well.

They were on their own here, and they needed to make a decision. They needed to decide if they should continue searching for people here or if they should give up. It wasn’t an easy choice to make. If they stated here for too long, they couldn’t help others. If they gave up too quickly, people died right under their feet.

Oliver hesitated. Was it already time to give up hope?

Hawk’s loud barking made Oliver look at him. Even a few weeks before they had gotten Hawk, Oliver would have said that dogs couldn’t think and couldn’t tell people anything. Looking at his dog now, Oliver knew that that had been bullshit though. Hawk was standing right there next to Emmy, and she was telling him to not give up. He knew more than Oliver knew.

“Come here, buddy!”

Hawk didn’t have to be told twice. He ran over to the wreckage and climbed it almost graciously. Instead of coming right towards Oliver and William, he stopped a little bit under them. He sniffled at some stones before he looked at Oliver and barked.

“They are there.”

Oliver knew that he could be terribly wrong, but he wanted to believe that Hawk was telling him not to give up and he was telling him to trust him. He did.

Climbing to where Hawk was standing and barking, Oliver shot another look at William. He didn’t look exactly convinced, but he followed his father quickly.

“Okay, we have to move these parts away,” Oliver said, pointing at some pieces of the destroyed walls and roof, “but we have to be careful.”

William nodded his head, taking in a deep breath. He was old enough to know that this could go terribly wrong. One wrong movement could cause them to increase the instability of the crashed building and crash it even more. If that happened, they might not survive.

Carefully and piece by piece, they lifted the pieces of wreckage away. The building was shaking beneath them slightly. Every piece that was taken away seemed to make the rest move too.

“Dad.”

At William’s voice, Oliver looked at what William was staring at. Three fingers could be seen sneaking out from between several bricks. They looked grey and without any tension. Oliver touched them briefly. They were still warm, but he could feel that there was no life left. He had had enough experience with death to know.

“That doesn’t mean that there is nobody else alive there and-“

“Dad, what-“

“Pssst,” Oliver hushed his son quickly, “do you hear that?”

William frowned, trying to listen closely. Even Hawk stopped barking and seemed to listen. Despite everything that was going on around them, all the voices and noises from near and far, Oliver could hear it. He could see in William’s eyes that he heard it too – scratching and whines.

“There are people.”

Oliver nodded his head, and he and William both started to take even more pieces away. Their hope made them a little bit less careful, but they couldn’t stop. They needed a success here.

Indeed, it didn’t take long until they had opened like a little cave inside the wreckage. The eyes of three kids, their arms wrapped around each other, were looking at them. Their faces, hair and clothes were covered in dust, but their eyes seemed to shine in the darkness.

Oliver knew that their eyes would forever be burnt into his memory. He would never forget the expressions of relief and fear that his gaze was met with. These girls were happy that they had been found, but they were so scared of what their life would look like if they were pulled out from the wreckage.

Oliver reached his hands inside. “Don’t be scared. It’s going to be alright. I will pull you up now.”

 → → → → →

 “We have to clean this wound,” Felicity told the old man gently and shot a brief look back over his shoulder to see that her kids were still giving out water, fruits and blankets for everyone in need, “and you should take some rest because this might be a concussion. Are you feeling dizzy?”

“Not more than I usually do,” the man replied, shrugging his shoulders, “and you should take care of others, younger people first.”

Felicity shook her head and applied some of her disinfectant onto the cotton pad. “I am exactly where I am supposed to be.”

There was so much chaos around them – people were crying or screaming over the loss of their loved ones, while others were trying to reach their loved ones on the phones and a third group of people was busy with the physical wounds they had been left with – that Felicity knew she had to spread some calmness. Hopefully, it would affect people around her.

“It might hurt a little,” Felicity warned with low voice before she brushed the cotton pad against the man’s forehead, “but it’s necessary.”

The man didn’t even flinch when Felicity cleaned his wound. He just looked at her, his eyes soft and almost a little reverent.

Felicity smiled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You remind me of someone,” he said, his voice sounding as reverent as the expression in his eyes made him look, “a nurse that cleaned my wounds after what happened in Pearl Harbor.”

“Pearl Harbor?”

Felicity perked up her eyebrows. Pearl Harbor had happened more than eighty years ago. If this man still remembered any of what had happened there, he had to close to a hundred years.

“I look younger than I am,” he told her with an almost amused smile, “which doesn’t make me look young, but it makes me look younger.”

Felicity smiled. “So, that woman that-“

“Mrs. Queen?”

Shooting a look back over her shoulder, Felicity saw new people being carried in. A tall man with broad shoulders was trying to hold another man upright. The second man’s clothes were torn. His skin, hair and clothes were covered in dust.

“I’m sorry,” Felicity hurried to say to the man she had just talked to, “just try to clean it yourself some more. If you need help-“

“I can help,” a young woman that had been sitting on the floor next to them said, “I can help with that.”

Felicity shot her a brief smile before she got up from the floor and hurried over to the people that had joined them now. Six hours had passed since the earthquake. Some things were calming down, others were just now really starting. There was a lot of coming and going in the Queen Manor. The official and unofficial rescue teams were still searching for people that had been buried under the building that had collapsed.

“Sit them down over there,” Felicity suggested, gesturing to some empty cots in the back of what has used to be the living room, “I will take care of them.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Queen,” the man said, “and I brought you a car full of food and water. I thought you could need it.”

“We do,” Felicity said, accompanying the men to the cots, “and you will be paid for everything you brought. Please contact Queen Incorporated in the next days and-“

“No, no,” the man replied, shaking his head, “that is not necessary. Consider it my contribution to helping people in need.”

“You already do by searching people and bringing them here.”

The hurt man sat down on the cot, and Felicity helped him out of his jacket carefully. She was about to take a look at his injuries, but Millie stepped closer.

“Do you want water, Sir?”

The man flashed her a smile. It didn’t quite reach his eyes because the exhaustion and fear that was still seen there couldn’t be hidden easily. The attempt at a smile was enough for Millie to smile and reach him a paper mug of water.

“I will unpack the supplies I brought and head out again,” the helper said, “and-“

He swayed slightly, his lids fluttering. Quickly, Felicity pushed him down onto one of the cots and gestured for Millie to get some more water.

“I have to get out again and-“

“You,” Felicity interrupted him firmly, “have to take a break. You cannot help anyone like that. Take a break. Drink some water. Eat some food. Maybe nap for half an hour. You can still go out after that.”

“I-“

“You should listen to my mommy,” Millie said, holding out a mug of water for the man, “she is always right.”

“Oh, really?”

Millie nodded her head. “Always.”

The man seemed to be amused. At least his lips twitched slightly, no matter how much he was trying to hide it. With slightly shaking hands, he took the paper mug from Millie.

“Thank you,” he said and took a sip, “it’s really good.”

“Now, if you please give me your keys,” Felicity said, already holding out her hand, “I could make sure that the supplies are already-“

Felicity stopped when her focus shifted to a scene that took place a couple of feet away from them. A mother was sitting on one of the cots, holding her baby to her chest tightly. Her kid, maybe in Emmy’s age, was sitting next to her. A woman that Felicity remembered faintly was kneeling in front of them. A barely visible camera that she had hidden in her purse was directed at the family that had had to watch as their husband’s and father’s dead body had been carried outside before they had been brought here.

“Excuse me,” Felicity said quickly, “I will be right back.”

With quick steps, Felicity crossed the distance towards the family. Liv York, the reporter of Channel 21 as Felicity remembered now, got up and tightened around to her. Her hold on her purse tightened almost instinctively.

“The camera, Ms. York,” Felicity said, holding out her hand for the camera the same way she had held out her hand to get the keys a minute ago, “now.”

Liv York pushed her chin forward. Her jaws tightened, and her eyes grew cold. Felicity could see that she considered how to get out of this situation with the video footage she already had in her purse and maybe some more.

“Mrs. Queen-“

“Don’t even try it.” Felicity’s voice was low and soft, but it didn’t hide the potential of a thread that was in it. “This city has been put through a lot today. These people have been put through a lot today. Many old wounds that the Undertaking has left here was ripped back open for sure. In moments like these, we have to show each other compassion. We have to support each other. It what good people do when their lives had been turned upside down.”

Only now Felicity realized that everyone in the room was staring at her. Wide eyes of the people that had come here for shelter were directed at her. They were too shocked and too weakened by what had happened to them today to stand up for themselves. Felicity had to do that for them.

“This house was opened for the people in need to have a safe spot to recover, so they could grieve and energize. Coming in here to exploit these people’s misery just so you can maybe get away from that lame reports you have to go to is lacking solidarity. So give me that video and get the hell out of my house.”

There was only a beat of silence before the people around her started applauding. Who could got up, almost like they were giving standing ovations.

Felicity didn’t think it was necessary. Her reaction was how everyone should react in a situation like this. She was exhausted after the day she had had and she worried about Oliver, William and Emmy although Oliver texted her once each hour to make sure that she knew they were okay. She had been getting out of this earthquake rather easily, so it was her duty to protect those who hadn’t.

It was the strongs’ duty to protect the weak.

Liv York handed Felicity the camera despite the sourly expression on her face. She pursed her lips before she turned around on her heels and walked away. Felicity looked after her, shaking her head. Not on her watch.

 → → → → →

 “Emmy fell asleep.”

Oliver shot a brief glance at William before he turned his head back over his shoulder. Emmy had indeed fallen asleep, lying across Hawk, who had been snoring loudly since he had lain down. It was way past their bedtime for both of them, and they had had an exhausting day.

With a low sigh, Oliver leaned his head against the headrest of his seat and looked at William. His oldest son was looking towards the Queen Manor. There was light burning behind the windows, something that happened rather rarely these days. The last time the mansion had been inhabited had been a while ago when he had turned himself into the police after Malcolm Merlyn had hired a reporter to blackmail Felicity.

“Everything alright?”

Oliver’s voice was lowered to a whisper while he was watching his son’s face closely. William, who had worked right at his side the entire time, had seen a lot that no person should be forced to see. The destructions of home, the bodies of beloved pets and people was something even Oliver had had trouble seeing. For William, who wasn’t used to the dark side of life as much as Oliver was, it had had to be harder.

“I wouldn’t call it alright,” William said, his voice hoarse, “but it’s going to be okay. For now, I just really want to go to bed.”

“Let me just get Tommy, Millie and Addie. I will drive you home and-“

“I can drive,” William said firmly, “so you can stay. I am sure Felicity will want to stay here too.”

“Are you sure?” Oliver asked. “It’s a long way. You are tired. You had a long day. I could-“

“It’s fine,” William replied, taking off his seatbelt, “I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure.”

Oliver knew that it was true. William knew what he was capable of and what was too much for him. If he said that he could drive, he could drive. He wouldn’t endanger his own life or the ones of his siblings like that.

“I will come inside with you, so I can grab the three of them, while you can help Felicity.”

Again, Oliver nodded his head. He unbuckled his own seatbelt and dropped his keys into William’s palm.

When William and Oliver stepped inside everything was silent. At first, Oliver believed that most people had fallen asleep. Instead, most cots were empty. Only a few people were sleeping under the thick blankets. Oliver frowned.

The distinct sound of a familiar voice made Oliver head towards the second, private salon. Well, it had used to be that back in the days when Oliver had lived here.

By the time he had reached the door, he could clearly hear Felicity’s voice. She was reading Robin Hood out loud, using her voice to make the story even more interesting. She always did that for their children when it was time for bed. Even Emmy, who liked to pretend that she was growing up quickly and far from being a little child, crawled into her parents’ bed for the nightly bedtime story.

Pushing the door open quietly, Oliver could see Felicity. She was sitting on the floor cross-legged, surrounded by kids. Some of them had already fallen asleep with their heads resting in the laps of other children or the adults that had come with them. Others were staring at her with wide eyes, listening to every word. Adults were sitting on the couches around, some of them half-asleep, some of them still kept away by the trauma this day had brought.

Oliver looked at Felicity closely. She wasn’t trying to show it, but she looked terribly exhausted. Her skin was pale, making the shadows under her eyes look even darker. Several strands of her blonde hair had fallen from her neatly done ponytail. She had taken off her shoes, massaging the ball of her right foot with one hand. No matter how exhausted and tired she was, she was still doing everything she could to make the reading as good as it could possibly be.

Seeing Felicity like that told him once more why he had fallen in love with her. She was smart and beautiful, strong and kind. She was so many wonderful things, and Oliver loved her for every single one of them.

While reading the next passage, Felicity lifted her eyes to look into the faces of the kids that were there. Oliver moved slightly, and it caused enough attention for Felicity to lift her gaze to him. She smiled, relief and warmth spreading on her face at the same time.

Neither of them had to say anything. They knew each other long enough and well enough to know everything they wanted to tell each other. Both of them had had stressful days. Both of them had seen things that would like to forget. Both of them knew there was still a lot of work ahead of them.

They were in this together though and that told them everything they needed to know to make it through this.

* * * 

@fannaz @promiseyoullbepatientwithme @bytemegeekette @felicity-said-just-in-case @phanseptiic @orangeisorange @mspotatohead14 @whentheheavenfades @emmaamelia95 @smoakingskye @seaolicity @ourwritinginvein @1022bridgetp @felicityqueenforever @leagueofolicity17 @yryssss @myhauntedblacksoul @sherlock44 @sinceriouslybea @olivyflavescentdeer @olicitys-castle @ofnothingcharming @vaelisamaza @smoakedandcharmed @alexisa1206 @mysaudadespt2 @florence-bubbles @addictiontelly @queens-of-arrows @memcjo @hysterical-for-joshifer-blog @oswinelevenforever @olicitylovemaking @bandanab310 @mymusiclove101 @lynslogic @scarletqueen23 @olicityshipper19 @alex-wesley @arrows-4ever @unabashedlynerdypatrol @louehmysoul @ligiapimenta @chattyyana @charlie-leau @coal000 @samcrowleys @ishippolivia @julianegomesqueen @malafle @miriam1779 @charlinert @melaux @ontheolicityship @myshipperlife @wrightainsley @lexi9515 @ladygreenwood @multi-fandom-crazy-fangirl @morinamel @mje-thomas @kebarry @canadianheartgirl @nannett2307 @almondblossomme @kathrynelizabeth89 @imdfabulous @mrt2501 @arsipaci14 @salasvia @brandis91 @cainc3 @morganmiguess @pr0fessi0nal-fangurl @iamisalima @nessafrancis-blog @jonhdiggle @niki-is-amazing @universed-posts @hopeful-warrior @senoritaswiftie @bellemmie @green-arrows-of-karamel @iheartarrow @olicityovereverything @oliverfel4 @olicity-in-the-heart @fullychippedcreation @geemarie @everything-but-normal-cat @myarroworld @tjmartinez @pleasantfanandstudent @j69confessional2 @scentedcolorpirate @icanica74 @tjmartinez98 @certainmentalityface @tatianadamaceno @ryelew @wildwillowzepplin @missafairy @letsplaymurde-r @lipizette @positivepiper @nuttymilkshakehologram @laksagirl-blog @turnupthemusicandscream @pumpernickle93 @onceuponanolicity @1106angel @jaspertown @fadinglands @morganashimi83 @mochababychristy @omglovechrissie @mariejr88-blog @thetaufactor @onceuponanolicity @speakandseethetruth @bri206 @aglasgo @geemarie @pineprincess @nerdgirljen​ @eternal-olicity14 @allyouhadtodowas-stay-stay-stay @lovelycssefan @tsseract​ @flowerandsunshine​ @dcnmarvelgamergeek​ @blondeeoneexox​ @monetsmark​ @bb-olicity​ @mashamarty​ @rulerofsilence​ @erika-amber​ @nothingmorethanmyotps​ @kayleenyc​ @tonto16​ @olicityfluv​ @olicitea1990​ @haahaaa2408​ @pattid1​ @faegal04​ @24karatgem​ @wrldtravler​ @readerkas​ @olicity-beliver​ @greencoffeecups​ @snorlaxishere​

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#arrow #olicity #olicity fic #olicity fanfic #time for a story

[halfbloodglader]

Had You Forgotten? (Minho)

Minho x reader -1,700 words

Request; Minho! Anything Minho! 

Y/N was on edge. She had been for a few days now. No matter how hard she tried to keep it a secret, she wasn’t exactly doing so great of a job.

This evening, she stood hunched over the maproom table, staring at the three dimensional map in front of her. Her fingers continually traced over one small, specific section and her focus never left that point. 

Thomas peered into the hut. There, just as she had been for the past few days, Y/N stood with an unwavering blank stare on the map. Even Thomas would admit, things had been rough lately mapping the maze since they didn’t seem to be making much progress. But, Y/N seemed to be taking it the hardest. 

Cautiously, Thomas walked over to Y/N and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey—“

Y/N immediately snapped out of her thoughts and jumped back, swatting away Thomas’ arm. Breathing heavy, it took a moment before her eyes cleared and she came to her senses. Thomas stood there stunned, unsure of what had just come over Y/N.

“Sorry,” She ran her hands though her hair and sent him a weak, sorry smile. 

“It’s okay,” Thomas eyed her suspiciously. “Just came to tell you dinner’s ready. You should eat.” 

Y/N stretched her arms over her head and nodded. “Yeah,” She agreed. “Let’s go.”

The girl quickly departed out of the maproom, very obviously trying to escape so she wouldn’t have to walk across the Glade with him. In her quick departure though, Thomas couldn’t help but notice a small folded piece of paper on the table with Minho’s name on it.

Truthfully, Thomas knew better than to go through peoples things. All he could wonder though, was what if this had to do with Y/N’s change in demeanour. He was worried about her and what if this answered everything?

He had to read it.

‘Hey man, I might have found a way out. I’m sorry I haven’t told you. I just don’t want to put you or Thomas in danger. So, I’m leaving. I found a door behind the ivy and I’m going tonight to see if it’s a way out. If I’m not back by this time tomorrow, I guess you know not to try and leave the same way. I’m really hoping I’ll be back because I don’t want to lose you guys, but I’m not setting my expectations too high. I’d also feel really bad if you’re the one who has to break the news to everyone that I’m dead. Sucks for you.

Anyways, hopefully see you tomorrow.’

Thomas blinked in disbelief a few times, confused. She’d found a door and hadn’t said anything to him or Minho? She really was going to try and do this on her own. 

With adrenaline kicking into his veins, Thomas dropped the note and rushed out into the Glade. By the sound of if, Y/N was going to try and leave tonight before the doors closed. Of course she was going to do that. That way, no one could follow her and try to stop her. Thomas knew he had to intervene before she got that far.

As he escaped from the deadheads, he scanned the Glade only to find Y/N already at the dinner table, talking to Minho. She had her running gear on and her bag was sat in the middle of the Glade between her and the maze doors. She was going to make a break for it.

“There’s a note for you in the maproom, alright? If I’m not—“ Y/N’s voice faltered as she spoke to Minho, her best friend. “Yeah, whatever. You’ll understand when you read it.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled slightly before turning away. Minho looked anxious and confused, too perplexed to move his body or mouth.

“Hey—“ Thomas’ lungs forced the word out quietly out of instinct. “HEY!” He screamed.

That caught Minho’s attention. Thomas was now sprinting full speed through the grass, waving his arms at Minho and pointing to Y/N, then to the maze doors. “STOP HER!”

Confused, Minho set out after the girl, pushing his legs to move as fast as they’d go. Y/N was on a mission though, and she was moving a little too fast for Minho to catch.

Thomas took a risk, knowing full well it might not work. He cut behind Minho and Y/N and motioned for Minho to keep following close behind her. He then ran faster than he ever thought he could around the other two and had his mind set on cutting Y/N off at the door. It was a long shot, but knew he had to do it otherwise she’d be alone in the maze for the night.

His legs were burning, pain shooting up his bones from the pain of repeatedly slamming into the ground. He wasn’t giving up though, there was no way he could.

Finally, he started making ground on Y/N, but he was far enough away she didn’t notice. Just metres before the colossal opening in the wall, he cut sharply to his left and ran straight at the girl. Her eyes were set forward on the maze so she didn’t even notice. 

At full speed and force, Thomas knocked the girl from the side and sent both of their bodies straight down into the dirt. They were just inches away from the maze doors. 

Even though he’d stopped Y/N for the moment, he knew his fight wasn’t over. Those doors would still be open for a few seconds and he had to hold her down until then. Luckily, Minho came to his aid and the pair kept her down until the all familiar rumble came, passed, and the doors slammed shut.

Feeling somewhat safe, the boys let off of Y/N and helped her to sit up. Thomas looked to her sadly but could hardly meet her eyes.

“THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?” Minho shouted, violently breaking the silence. “YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST GOING TO LEAVE!?”

Y/N raised her eyes, looking defeated. 

Minho was very obviously trying to hold back his running thoughts but it wasn’t working. “You were going to leave me. Leave like I mean nothing. Have all these years together really meant jack shit to you?”

“Minho,” Thomas spoke up, trying to get his friend to calm down. “Give her a chance to explain—“

“Are you kidding me?” Y/N snapped. “I wasn’t leaving because you don’t mean anything,” She seethed. “I was leaving to see if this door I found was safe. That way, if it isn’t, you’re still here. Who cares if I’m gone? What matters is that you’re here to lead everyone out!”

“Minho,” She fought her wavering voice. “You mean everything to me and to everyone else here. I’m not putting you in danger like that.”

Speechless, Minho’s eyes went from burning with anger to pure self-hatred and shame. “Who cares if you’re gone? What kinda bug you got in your shuck head?” He shot the words in Y/N’s face forcefully. “You have no clue what you going missing would do to me. Everyone here!”

Y/N was silent. She looked to Thomas for help but knew this was something she and Minho needed to sort out themselves. All three runners sat in the grass defeated, sinking into the ground with heavy hearts. They’d been working so hard the past few weeks they hadn’t quite realized how it was tearing them apart. This had just been the breaking point.

After a while, Minho was the first to collect himself and stand up. He held a hand out to Y/N, just like he’d done so many times before, and looked deep into her eyes. “Let’s go talk.”

With that, the pair left and walked for the deadheads. Whenever they had things to clear up, they went to the little pond near the maproom and sat themselves on the rickety old bridge that crossed over the water. 

“You’re not leaving alone, alright?” Minho said, making his position on the matter very clear. “I’m not going to lose you to something stupid like that. We made a promise as runners that we’d see this through together.”

Y/N took in a deep breath and released it slowly. With it, all of her anger towards Minho and Thomas for having stopped her from leaving. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“And I know exactly what you were thinking,” Minho stifled a laugh. “You want out, just as bad as the rest of us. The sooner you could check this door out, the sooner you might be able to get everyone out. Simple.”

Y/N shook her head in disbelief and looked at him with surprise yet just pure contentment to be here with him, knowing he was her best friend. 

Minho raised his brows in his overly self-confident kind of way. “Bet you didn’t realize I knew you that well, huh?”

“You never fail to surprise, Minho. You’re a lot more sensitive than you look.” She teased. 

“Sensitive?” He barked. “Nuh uh! I’m just a genius. And who’re you calling sensitive when you’re the one who told me I mean everything to you?”

“Oh, don’t play that card when I saw a few tears fall.” Y/N fought back.

All of the sudden, she realized they were back to their old ways. They’d resolved this whole ordeal within minutes because they understood and respected one another. They listened to each other. 

“Alright, you got me.” He accepted defeat. 

Reaching over, he pulled the girl close into his side and rest his chin on her head. “We’ve been at this three years, but we’re almost there. I know it. We’ve just got to stick together like we always have.”

“We’re better as a team.” Y/N added.

“Definitely.” Minho agreed. “I love you. You still know that, right?”

“Yeah, I do.” 

“Good! Cause if you’d forgotten it, you’d be in for a major reminder.” He laughed as he ruffled the girls hair and attacked her sides.

#the maze runner imagine #the maze runner #the maze runner imagines #the maze runner x reader #the maze runner minho #minho the maze runner #minho tmr #minho imagine #Minho x reader #the maze runner newt #newt tmr #newt the maze runner #tmr newt #thomas the maze runner #thomas tmr #the maze runner thomas #Thomas Imagine

[justlookatthosesausages]

“In the eye of the storm” ◊◊◊◊ a post-Frozen 2 fanfic ◊◊◊◊ CHAPTER 7: Upwind

The sun rose with the storm for another morning. The hooves of Anna's and Elsa's horses were the only sound on the path as they trotted, accompanied by the whistling sound of the powerful wind blowing on them. Anna turned her head.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Did I put my fur coat wrong? Do I have something in my hair?"

Elsa giggled. "No. You look great. I was actually admiring you and I'm still impressed by your talent during yesterday's meeting."

Anna blushed, which was difficult to see for how much her long red hair was shaken by the wind, and coming in front of her cheeks. She also had buried half her face in her reindeer fur collar.

"Thank you." Muttered the Queen. "It means a lot to me. Especially coming from my predecessor."

Her elder smiled, and Anna looked down humbly. She then stared at the cheerful brown stallion Elsa was riding.

"He has a lot of energy!"

Elsa followed her gaze, then laughed and petted the horse's neck.

"He does. His name is Rask." Anna smiled and scratched the horse. They were trotting close to each other and she just had to stretch her arm.

"Hi Rask. Thank you for bringing my sister safely."

The horse neighed, shaking his head to the younger. They both giggled.

"Why didn't you take an ice horse?"

"A nice horse? This one's really gentle."

"A horse made out of ice, you dummy."

"Oh. Well... I feel like it would be a bit disrespectful towards Nokk, no?"

Anna pouted at the thought. "Hmmm. Point taken. Not because it actually is rude, but because they're very spiteful. And if I were you, I wouldn't want to make them mad against me right now."

She pointed at the dark sky. Elsa lifted her eyes, and her gaze got lost. She slowly glanced down. The redhead bit her lip.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up. Gosh, I'm the worst at small talk. Excuse me, I got nervous."

"Don't. You're a really good talker. In politics and with people. Never doubt of that. It's just... I wish I could talk with Nokk. To understand the reason behind all this storm. They're not especially angry, it's more like... They're determined to win this fight and giving all their strength in it. I can feel it, and yet... They won't answer my calls. They have their own objective right now. And Ahtohallan knows how stubborn they are.

"Yep, all Spirits are."

Elsa smirked. "Are you trying to mock me? Because despite the direct insinuation, you're technically including yourself in it, dear other half."

Anna giggled. "Well, I am proud to be stubborn."

"Oh, you are." Puffed her elder.

A silence passed as they trotted through a glade.

"Elsa..."

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask you, while you're here, visiting us in Arendelle..."

The blonde turned to her younger, a bit worried. Anna cleared her throat.

"We were tidying the attic the other day, and..."

She was struggling to say what she meant to, and Elsa helped.

"You can get rid of my gloves."

"I know, we already talked about that. But... Sir Jorgenbjorgen..."

She looked at her elder. "Can I give it to Eydis?"

Elsa got emotional and speechless. Anna smiled at a memory as she kept going. "We were with Eydis when we were moving the furniture around. She saw the rocking horse in the attic, but she also saw your plush. I explained it to her, and what he was for you, and..."

The blonde led Rask closer, and she put a hand on her younger's.

"This is a lovely idea. I'll be happy to know that he'll be the confident and companion of a new person."

Anna melted in the same emotion than her elder.

"Thank you. I didn't dare to ask you earlier..."

The Snow Queen smiled. "It's fine." She then looked at the horizon, and clenched her reins. "Hey, race until the wheat fields?"

Her sister lifted an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"What? You're as eager as me to come back to Arendelle. Come on."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. Our horses have the same height, but you only have a bridle. Have you seen how many bags I have? And my saddle, and my stirrups?"

"Don't look for excuses."

"No, for real. You're also lighter than me. I gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy. This will be rigged."

Elsa had to restrain herself to eye-roll. Anna was sword training once per week, and had a fit body.

"Afraid of losing?" She teased. "Listen: first one to get there owe the other one the biggest box of chocolate treats from the store. I'll give you a few seconds head start."

Anna sighed. "You know I can't resist such a challenge."

"Just go, competitive dork, or I'll start counting."

The redhead grinned. No need to tell her twice. She yelled a 'YAH!' and her horse dashed forward, taking a remarkable advance with a distanced laughter.

"Wow, okay, now I regret that." Blinked Elsa. "Rask, are you ready? Let's show my sister what we've got."

The stallion neighed, and with a grin, she rushed behind her.

=======

They eventually arrived to Arendelle in the early afternoon.

"And I'm telling you that you cheated." Teased Elsa, as they trotted through the village.

"I didn't." Repeated Anna. "You're just a sore loser. I want my box of chocolates by tomorrow morning."

Elsa grumbled. "I hate you."

Her sister snorted. "You? You're capable of hate? Have you ever hated someone?"

The blonde winced. "I hated the bishop when he asked me to take off my gloves at my coronation."

Anna first felt sad, then burst of laughter when she saw Elsa's smirk.

"Stop it!"

She nudged her, and they nudged each other with bumps. Anna nearly fell of her horse after losing her balance and because of the strong wind, and they cackled of laughter.

Their laughter echoed in the courtyard as they passed the gates. Kristoff was stepping out of the stables and stared at them with a surprised smile.

"You two are coming back from a freezing weather, and you're laughing out loud."

Anna smiled at his presence.

"What? Is it bad?" She teased.

Kristoff puffed, and shrugged. "If you get a pneumonia, don't tell me I didn't warn you."

"Happy to see you too, honey." Said Anna as she got down her horse along Elsa.

The King laughed and hugged them both.

"And I can't catch such an illness." Reminded Elsa with a smile after their embrace.

"Say the one who sneezes snowmen."

The blonde frowned. "For the last time, it was a stress fever!"

"Yeah, yeah." Smirked Anna. "Well, your immunity is an excellent reason for you to go prepare us a hot chocolate while I go for a quick bath."

Elsa's jaw dropped when her sister put the reins of her horse in her hand.

"Hey!"

But they didn't listen to her. Kristoff swept Anna off her feet and carried her in bridal style, the redhead gasping and giggling in the move.

The blonde sighed with a smile as she watched the spouses hurry inside.

Once in the corridors, Kristoff twirled with his wife in pure happiness to be together again. After they shared a laugh, he put her on the carpet, and Anna wondered why their daughter wasn't tackling her legs already.

"Where's Eydis?"

"Oh, I lost her."

Anna eyed him. "Excuse me, you what?"

He chuckled. "Just to make it clear: we're playing hide and seek."

"Okay. So, the game is to find her, uh? How come you didn't already?" She teased.

"Don't judge me." Nudged Kristoff. "I'm sure you can't find her easily either. She knows the castle by heart now, and I've been at it for the past half hour."

Anna gave him a challenging eyebrow lift, and put her hands on each side of her mouth to yell. "Eydis! Mama's here! Come say hi!"

Only the noise of the wind howling outside and the distant sound of cooks in the kitchens answered her.

"Yeah, as if it would work." Smirked the King. "I told her you would arrive soon right after I received Elsa's ice statue message. She planned this all along."

"I can easily imagine her giggling in a corner." Smiled Anna.

Kristoff's sentence gave her an idea. "Elsa is with me!" She yelled.

Another silence.

"Nope. Doesn't work either."

Anna eyed her husband, and gave it another try. "She'll make hot chocolate!"

Suddenly, a loud thud noise echoed upstairs, like someone who just jumped from the top of a wardrobe. Tiny excited footsteps betrayed the way the child made all along the room then the corridor, heading for the stairs.

"I'M COMING!"

"There."

Kristoff snorted. "You clever feisty pants."

"As Elsa often says, she's a mini-me. That was an obvious trick."

Less than five seconds later, Eydis was running down, leaping over the last steps to run to her mother.

"Where is it?! Where is it?!"

"My, how incredibly rude." Laughed Anna. "Hi to you too, sweetie."

Eydis didn't focus on the right thing. "Sorry. Please, where is the hot chocolate?"

Anna giggled loudly and grabbed her daughter to tickle her belly and shake her playfully.

"You little rascal! Where are your manners, uh?"

Eydis laughed at the tickles, and finally gave a kiss on her mother's cheek. "You're back!"

"Always."

They cuddled, and Kristoff watched the scene with love. Their daughter pointed at him with a small finger.

"Papa, that doesn't mean you won this round."

"Got it."

Eydis buried her face in Anna's collar, then wrinkled her nose. "Why do you smell like mud?"

Kristoff gasped with amusement. "Truth comes out the mouth of children..."

Anna sniffed her clothes and winced. "And I'm not gonna scold her for her manners this time. I truly smell like mud. I'll be back in a short hour."

Later, Elsa arrived with a tray of four mugs of hot chocolate, and placed it on the table of the living room under Eydis' happy gaze, to whom she ruffled the hair after a hug. She understood by her sister's absence that she still was enjoying her bath. She realized she probably needed one as well, but couldn't tell much what she smelled like, for she was used to the musky scents of the forest. Eydis climbed on a chair, sitting on her ankles.

"Auntie? How far did you travel?"

"Oh, not far. Hitiheimr is just next to Arendelle."

"Did you see new animals? New trees?"

Elsa chuckled. "It's the same fauna and flora, sweetie. Mama and I only took less than a day on horse to come back."

Eydis' eyes twinkled at the 'fauna' and 'flora' terms, which did not escape Elsa.

"You're interested in Nature?"

The girl nodded so fast that her pigtails bounced in every way. Elsa bent to her.

"Well, you're a handiwork enthusiast, so know that the Northuldra as well as the Arendellians distinguish between trees because their woods have different properties. Some are very solid, like oak, and we use it for doors in the village, while others are light and flexible, like birch. The Northuldra cut them into staffs to fight, and the cork is used for other purposes as well."

Eydis beamed. "Teach me how! So I can saw and forge every wood in the world!"

Kristoff and Elsa giggled. "You can't forge wood, sweetie." Smiled her father. "Actually, I think we have a book about trees in the library. A big one, an encyclopedia even. I'll show it to you before sleep if you want."

"Awesome!"

She stretched out her little fingers to get her mug, and Elsa took it for her, squeezing the handle to cool it down with magic and avoid Eydis to burn her hasty tongue.

While she gulped down her chocolate, Kristoff asked Elsa how the council went. She went into details to explain at best everything that had happened from beginning to end, including Anna's decisions and the fact Mattias stayed in the neighbor kingdom. Elsa was very biased and very flattering about Anna's qualities as Queen, but the blond simply stared at her with a little smile as she rambled.

When she finally finished, she caught her breathing, and looked at the tray.

"Enjoy your hot chocolates while they still are. I'm gonna bring Anna her mug. She deserves to have it delivered to her bath after such an amazing performance."

Kristoff couldn't agree more, and he watched her go up the stairs. At the corner of his eye, he could see Eydis have a little devil expression. She followed her aunt with slow steps, and he eye-rolled when he understood that she was still in her play mood.

The young princess gave a peek at a corner of the corridor, and watched carefully as Elsa knocked to the bathroom's door with a smile.

"Anna, I brought you your hot chocolate. May I enter?"

The redhead let out a joyful exclamation, that the door couldn't possibly muffle.

"Sure! Come in! I don't mind, and there's too much steam to see anything anyway."

Eydis grinned as she saw Elsa enter, and before she was about to close the door behind her, she ran all she could.

The blonde barely had the time to put the mug near the sink that Eydis suddenly barged in with a loud "BOO!". It was a good thing that she didn't have the hot beverage in her hand anymore, because the Snow Queen jumped high at the spook.

"Eydis! You scared me so much!" Laughed Elsa, and she laughed even more when she heard Eydis' childish laugh.

They went into a giggle together, and Elsa tickled her.

"I have to admit, that was a good one." She said, catching her breathing. "The timing was almost ideal. One second earlier, and I would have dropped the mug. You truly are your mother's daughter. Right, Anna?"

"Uh... Elsa...?"

They both looked over to where Anna was. The steam had completely disappeared from the room. Which made it very easy to see what was happening, and Elsa's blood froze in her veins as she realized that, as well, the temperature of the room had dropped drastically.

"H-help?"

Anna's teeth were shattering and her mouth exhaling smoke as she looked down at her naked body trapped in ice from her collarbones to her feet.

"P-please? Quick?"

"Oh my gods, Anna!"

Eydis' jaw dropped. She stood still by the door, and could only watch as her aunt ran to the bath. Hopefully, it wasn't really awkward, for the ice was blur and covered with the Spirits unity symbol signature, so she didn't see much of Anna's naked body underneath.

"Are you okay?" Panicked Elsa, even if she knew the answer.

"I'm obviously stuck and freezing right now, so if you could do something..." Grumbled Anna.

Elsa knelt and slammed her hand on the surface of the ice.

The ice melted in a second, but the stage of the water also changed its density, and Anna slipped with a yelp to the bottom of the bath. Elsa had good reflexes and instantly grabbed Anna under her arms to prevent her from inhaling water through her nose, then used the gesture to take her out of the bath, helping her numb body to step out.

"Thank you." Managed to utter Anna between two ragged breaths.

Elsa urged to grab a towel from the hanger, and enveloped Anna in it like a crêpe. It also was to give her some privacy, for her long hair couldn't cover her breasts enough now they were wet.

Anna was holding herself to her shoulders, and shivering from the sudden temperature change, so Elsa frantically rubbed her arms and legs through the towel to give her some friction and heat.

"Are you feeling better?"

The redhead nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, thank you."

"I'm so, so sorry, Anna, truly, I didn't—"

"Do it on purpose." Finished her younger, comprehensive. "It's okay. Of course you didn't."

Elsa still had her face paralyzed from the fearful moment. Anna placed a soft hand on her, and she thought.

"So it happened again... Your sort of... Power boost. Does it happen when you're happy? Cause it was right after your giggle with Eydis. However, I'm not really happy right now." Mumbled Anna, her teeth still shattering.

Elsa felt devastated, her joy from a few seconds earlier now entirely replaced by pure guilt. She hated to see Anna suffering from the cold, especially when it was from her magic. This was one of the top 'to absolutely avoid' situations.

"Hold on. Let me reach for your..."

She took an arm out of the hug to get the mug, but could tell by the sensation in her hand and the missing steam above it that it had lost its main property.

"Oh no, your hot chocolate is cold now. It must have frozen as well, then melted, but..."

"It's okay, Elsa. Relax. I'm alright." Assured Anna, knowing by heart her first symptoms of an anxiety attack.

She dove her eyes in hers, and Elsa eventually calmed down. She detached her azure blue irises with a smile, putting the mug back where it was. As she did, she noticed that Eydis was still standing near the entrance of the bathroom, and looking at them with a confused expression, but one could see on her face the firm sensation that she was guilty for everything that had happened.

Elsa could recognize it easily. Her niece had as much physical features from her mother than her father, yet that sad pout was definitely the same than when Anna was a child.

"Hey, Eydis. Come here. This is not your fault, you know that?"

The little princess nodded without much conviction. She stepped forward, unsure.

"You scared me, and I scared Anna." Explained Elsa. "This is a domino effect. Or butterfly effect. None of us is truly the one to blame."

Anna smiled above her towel, happy to see that her sister didn't have much the habit of self-guilt anymore, and that a simple stare into her eyes had managed to move it away. Elsa even didn't fear skin-to-skin contact after an accident, because she now reached for Eydis' hand to join them.

"Come on. Let's hug to give her some heat, uhm?"

The girl finally smiled, and closed her eyes as she tackled the two women in a strong embrace. They closed their eyes as well. Elsa could feel Anna's skin returning to normal from the cheek against her neck.

"I prefer 'butterfly' than 'domino'. It's more pretty." Murmured Eydis, her voice masked by the towel.

They all giggled.

"I'll make you another hot chocolate." Promised Elsa, holding her sister tight.

Later in the afternoon, Eydis came in Anna's study running at full speed, and tugged one of Elsa's trains, so much that the ice fabric was nearly ripping.

"Auntie! Auntie! I just finished my lesson, can you make it snow in the hall's stairs so we can sled?"

The sisters blinked at the girl's sudden intrusion, cutting them in their discussion, but Elsa melted at her request.

"Did you finish your homework?" Teased Elsa.

"I have!" Promised her niece, and she raised her hands, as if proving that she washed them was relevant.

The Snow Queen chuckled. "Perfect. Then go get your sled, I'm coming. Just let me finish something with Mama, okay?"

Anna waved in a dismiss gesture as she looked back at her desk.

"No, go ahead. I'll finish that paperwork and I'll join you."

Elsa frowned. "I'll help you finish."

"Don't worry, I can handle it."

"I wasn't asking." Smirked Elsa. "It's an order. Let me help you with it, so we can go sled with your daughter."

Anna hesitated between a tender sigh or an eye roll. Sometimes her elder was dramatically caring, it reached an impossible level.

"Fine. Eydis, go get Papa and ask him to search for your sled in the shed."

"Awesome!" Chirped Eydis with a jump, and she ran outside.

The blonde shook her head with a smile. "She's adorable."

Anna didn't answer, too focused on the mail she was writing. Elsa approached, sitting at the chair in front of her desk.

"So, this is mainly letters to send to the other kingdoms, right?"

The Queen nodded. She bit into a sigh. "I miss Gale."

Elsa didn't hide her sigh, however. "Yeah, me too."

Ironically, outside, the wind blew in strong gusts.

"The girls are busy, uh?" Guessed Kristoff.

Eydis nodded silently. The King turned to Kai who was making him sign delivery agreements.

"Thank you, I'll see you in an hour or two for the next ones."

The servant bowed and left.

Kristoff's attitude suddenly changed, and he turned to his daughter with a giant smile, bending and slapping his hand on his thighs.

"Who wants to go sled!?"

"Me! ME!" Exclaimed Eydis, raising her hand, though they were alone in the hall now.

=======

They all lifted their heads with awed expressions when Elsa made it snow inside, Kristoff admiring the precision with which she aimed at the stairs only. Anna had the eternal touched smile and sparkling eyes as the snowflakes fell in her open hands, and Eydis went cross-eyed when a group of them fell on her nose. The little girl rubbed her nose to get it off, and she looked at how it soon covered the stairway in a beautiful blanket.

"Mama, how come I don't sneeze when it's Auntie's snow?"

Anna smiled and held her close. "Because it's Auntie's snow."

Eydis frowned at her. "That's not an answer."

Elsa smiled as she was waving her hands and preparing the place, listening to her niece.

The redhead passed a hand in her daughter's hair. "It's magic, sweetie. That's because it's not regular snow. When I was around your age, I called it 'tickling snow'."

Eydis let out a long 'Oooooh'. Then, a few seconds later, the playground was complete. It was so perfectly made and attractive that it was hard to resist playing immediately. Thus, Eydis and Anna shared the same excitement and hurried to go up with the sled, taking advantage of the few steps Elsa had cleverly left uncovered.

Kristoff let them have the first rides, and crossed his arms, side-looking the blonde next to her.

"You couldn't help making decorations along the ramps, uh?"

"Are Anna and you going to reproach that to me every time I craft something?"

Kristoff shrugged. "You may be an artist, but you're also a show-off."

A handful of snow at the bottom of the stairs suddenly flew to him, slapping his face.

"Hey!"

"Oh, sorry, it's not snowball fight? I got mistaken."

Kristoff poked her as he swiped the snow off his face, but Elsa now made the snow twirled around his head. Anna's voice echoed from the top.

"Are you two done? Elsa, I'm waiting for you. Eydis wants to have the first ride with you."

"I'm coming." Grinned the Snow Queen, having pity for Kristoff and making the snow fall to the floor.

They took rounds for descents with Eydis, and had endless fun, for the snow was perfectly slippery.

After two runs, Eydis was a bit out of breath when pulling up the sled with the rope, so the sisters helped her. The little girl only had small muscles, and the sled was crafted with all of the Arendelle expertise, so with thick wood and dense metal, making it quite heavy. Anna giggled and directly took the sled in her hands then walked to the top of the stairs with her.

Elsa followed, not even bothering to use them, walking directly in the snow with her bare feet now that she had melted her ice sandals, her magic and her being one so her body wasn't even sliding. She even didn't make a single whole as she stepped, like she was barely touching the snowflakes or floating above them.

Eydis placed the sled again, and Anna looked at her elder. "Go on, it's your turn."

An idea passed Elsa's mind, and she smirked. "The sled can largely hold the three of us. Sit behind her, I'll sit behind you."

Anna found it weird, but didn't even questioned the suggestion. Sledding was way too exciting to her.

They placed as Elsa said, under Kristoff's amused gaze, and he laid against one of the pillars of the hall as he looked at them.

Elsa was the one on the back, so they waited for her to push the sled. She smiled, and bent to her sister's ear.

"Do you trust me?"

"Always." Answered Anna right away. "Why?"

The blonde twirled her hand forward and crafted an ice ramp at the bottom of the stairs, then covered it with a snow layer that connected with the snow already present on the steps. She added a huge pile of fresh powder at the end of the hall for landing.

"Wait, ELSA."

The elder didn't make Anna think more about it nor widen her eyes completely that she grabbed her waist, so the redhead stayed where she was, and pushed them all with her feet. They started to make her descent and Eydis exclaimed of joy in advance. Elsa share the same excited yell, and Anna first screamed of panic but soon of joy, especially when they passed the ramp smoothly and started to fly in the air.

They plunged in the fresh snow at the arrival with a comic 'fwomp' and jolted their heads from it with shared laughter.

"Again! Again!" Jumped Eydis, standing up then falling down in the white pillow, while Elsa and Anna still were upside down.

Anna shook her head with a puff as she got rid of the snow, and stared at her elder underneath her.

"This is not what I meant when I said that I'd go almost any place you are."

Elsa smirked, and evaporated the snow under them, so they slowly touched the floor down. "Admit it, you loved it."

"Alright, that was awesome. And to think they call me the crazy one!"

"Let's get crazy again!" Begged the little princess.

Elsa, Eydis and Anna laughed their lungs out and they rolled on the floor as they did.

Kristoff came running after witnessing their stunt from afar.

"Girls! Are you okay?"

The lack of answer despite a new wave of laughter gave him the certification that they hadn't hurt themselves, even if they were holding to their bellies as they giggled. He sighed and shook his head at how they were all close to cry tears as they wheezed.

Suddenly, the general sound of wheezing got accompanied by another sound in the air, so close that none of them perceived it at first. It was when a servant gasped loudly a few meters away that they started to stop laughing and turn to him. Now it was distinct, and Kristoff squinted as he focused to identify the noise. It was like metal was bent by force, but it seemed like it came from different places at a time...

Elsa and him understood simultaneously. In fact, Elsa also felt it in her core. They snapped their heads around and stared at the armors standing along the walls, and they noticed that they were moving, like they were crashing down slowly on their bases.

Anna helped her daughter stand up, and felt under her flats that the magic snow had gone a bit colder. Her eyes widened.

"No... It happens again..." Murmured Elsa.

She however forced herself to replace her worry by a good decision. She clenched her fists and her eyelids, focusing on making everything back to normal in the hall. When she felt the temperature returning to a regular one, and magic leaving the place, she opened her eyes. Elsa frowned nonetheless at the slight sensation that magic hadn't entirely left the castle, for some reason.

She shook her head discreetly, discarding this perception for later. With a quick stare, she checked her family members to see if they were safe, and walked to the armors, avoiding Anna's caring eyes.

Her fingers hovered the folded metal, wrinkled even at some parts, especially the arms parts and the protections over the feet. Elsa's gaze jolted from one spot to another; the helmet was completely crushed, and she gulped at how, if someone was underneath, they would be dead in this moment.

"I..."

Kristoff approached, making the same observations. He hesitated for a fraction of second, but put his hand against the back of his sister-in-law, in a warm gesture. She wasn't even cold. Elsa was more stupefied than afraid by the state of the armors.

"It's okay. Those are thin armors. I heard them creak from the cold during multiple Winters. They're old too, don't they, feisty?"

He turned to his wife. His soft tone wasn't entirely used to appease Elsa, but sincere as well. Since the sisters were little, they never had been changed, and only dusted and polished.

"Yes, they are." Stated Anna. "Don't worry sis, it's not that bad."

"I'll pay them back."

Elsa's suggestion surprised everyone, but Anna's laughter afterwards was even more.

"Elsa, please. Those are decorative. Also, I kept bumping over them and made them fall apart multiple times when I was a kid."

"I confirm." Said Kai, passing by.

They all smiled.

"These aren't useable armors, Your Highness." Informed the servant.

"See?" Smiled Anna, happy he intervened. "It's alright."

"You're not saying this to make me feel better?"

"I swear I'm not."

Elsa sighed, and everyone from the servants to the royals return to their occupations after taking care of discarding the armors.

Eydis couldn't help lifting them, so she crouched to take her sled up for another ride. However, as she lifted it, only a part of the sled stayed in her hand, the rest falling on the floor in a heavy sound.

She let out a gasp, and Kristoff looked down.

"Let me have a look." He proposed in a fatherly tone.

As the sisters walked near, the King inspected the runners of the sledge, and the broken wood underneath. He sighed. "Yep, the sled is broken."

"I can replace it with ice." Suggested Elsa.

"No, wait! I can fix it!" Exclaimed Eydis, beaming. "I have the stills! I mean skills!"

"Oh my, here we go again." Sighed Anna.

"Come on, let her have fun with it." Nudged Elsa. "She's been talking about her tools for so long, this is my chance to finally do some handiwork with her."

Eydis' smile stretched so much that the blonde didn't regret this decision at all. Her niece was delighted.

As the girl hurried to go to her bedroom to get her toolkit, Kristoff eyed the Snow Queen. "I don't know if you're over-excited because you got another magic boost, but you'll see, in an hour, you'll be disillusioned."

Elsa smirked. "I doubt it. I sometimes spend an entire afternoon helping Northuldra children weaving scarves. And it requires a lot of patience."

She waved her hand to make the snow vanish in the hall, and she noticed that indeed, since she got that magic boost, she felt a bit more powerful than usual, just like the other times she had those strange impulsions. The white blanket disappeared a fraction of second faster.

In a 'clonk clonk clonk' noise, Eydis came back down the stairs with her heavy toolkit filled with instruments. When she put it down at her feet, Elsa recognized Eydis' tools, especially her wood bracket and protractor, which were beautifully carved with Arendelle's crocuses. She obviously spotted the spirit level that she had offered her several days before, and a tool she had never seen before.

"I even took my new hammer!" Said Eydis loudly.

"That's great, sweetie." Commented Anna with a smile.

The little princess took out the comically large hammer, which shaft was as thick as her forearm. They all snorted at the object, but Elsa was intrigued. The hammer was nearly as large as her torso, and yet she could lift it like it weighed nothing. It was obvious that it was made of metal and wood, like any other hammer, but in Eydis' hands, it looked like it was made of something as light as cork.

The blonde squinted. The last time she had seen such a paradox, was when she realized for the first time that her magic ice weighed nothing in her own hands, but was heavy in others'.

It wasn't the only thing she noticed about the item. A curious but undeniable feeling of magic was emanating from it. She kneeled next to her niece.

"Eydis... What is that hammer?"

"My new one! A very precious tool." Explained Eydis, already pivoting the sled to know where she should place the nails.

"No, I mean... Where did you get it from?"

"I told you the other day." Intervened Kristoff. "She probably got it from Oaken."

Elsa frowned. "No, it can't be. Unless Oaken suddenly started selling magical artefacts."

Anna widened her eyes. "Excuse me?"

The blonde passed her fingers around the hammer, not daring to touch it directly. Whether it was for prudence or out of respect, she couldn't tell. Anna noticed how fascinated she was by the object.

She crouched next to her.

"Elsa, what is it?"

The Snow Queen had a nervous chuckle. "The only word coming to my mind is 'miracle'. Look at it closer."

Anna frowned, her gaze returning to the tool. She suddenly widened her eyes as a flash came to her mind. The redhead had already seen this hammer in illustrations of books she used to read during her childhood.

"Tha- That's..."

She gulped.

"That's Mjöllnir."

#dun dun duuuun! #yep that was unexpected #and a crazy twist you may ask? #now now... #have a look at the chapters again dearies you'll see that i hinted it all along #can't wait for next chapter? share and comment! #thank you so much for the support so far! #you all truly help me go further #3 chapters left! #in the eye of the storm #frozen #post frozen 2 #frohana #snow sisters #kristanna #elsamaren #frozen fanfics #frozen 2 #if you love flangst and you know it clap your hands! emoji of the chap: 🤘 #disney #disney fanfictions #my fanfics #post frozen 2 fanfics

[magnoliabloomfield]

Possession

Chapter 2: Do the Right Thing

song suggestion: Divisionary (Do the Right Thing)- Ages and Ages

The gathering broke up pretty soon after that so things could get done. Alby and Newt started showing the girl around together while Minho went to collect his cot for her. Gally went to the gardening shed and started taking out some things to make room for it. His mind was blue as he scribbled white lines of architecture on it, preplanning what he could do that would be structurally sound, safe, and almost defend-able.

Alby said the bonfire was still on for that night so the boys could let out their excitement, but this was the first one Gally planned to sit out. He was going to get a working blue print, list the materials and put the steps in order, then he was going straight to bed so he could get an early start. He looked across the Glade and spotted her near the kitchen getting a snack from Frypan. He noticed that since she became more resigned to her fate, her expression had flattened out until it was like she had none. No emotions played on her features as she ate, listened to Alby and Newt and was blatantly ogled by boys everywhere.

She said something to Alby, he nodded, and she spoke again. Alby looked around and his gaze came to a halt on Gally, one brow raised in a mix of mild surprise and confusion. Gally tried to be nonchalant as he nodded to Alby, playing it off as giving him a sign it was going well, then he turned away, hoping he’d be left alone. His face felt a little hotter and he wondered what she might have said, but he wasn’t going to do anything to find out.

He stood at his work table, paper and pencil’s littering it as well as his dishes from dinner. He was doing the finishing touches by candle light when Alby came up to him.

“It’s weird not having you in the circle on bonfire night,” he commented.

Gally stared at him a little apprehensively, not used to him making small talk. “Yeah, well.”

“Listen,” Alby went on, leaning on his work table and peering over his sketches. “She asked to start her working rounds with the builders, she said that she should help since this is all because of her,” Alby said as he gestured at all the blueprints and lists on the table.

Gally froze. For one that was pretty shucking decent of her, but on the other hand he was not ready to babysit her first, probably not ever. “You told her no, right?” Gally asked him, trying not to sound hopeful but make it a firm statement.

“I tried,” Alby admitted as he rolled a pencil across the table. “I tried to tell her that it would be hard work and you’d be busy trying to get it done quickly, but she was pretty adamant that she do something to help.”

Gally sighed. It was admirable but annoying.

“Look, just give her something simple to do, something that will take her a while and keep her out of your hair most of the time, just let her do something. I think… I think she felt a little guilty about all the work you had to do for her.”

Right, girls had feelings. Gally hadn’t meant to make her feel bad, he wasn’t even complaining, he was just stating the facts and trying to convey the time restraints he’d be under to get it done in time for her to be comfortable.

“Alright, fine,” he mumbled.

Alby laughed. “Don’t be such a shank about it! Acting all mad that the first girl to show up picked you first.”

“She didn’t pick me,” Gally refuted even as he felt his cheeks go warm. “She’s just trying to be responsible. Which is something we need more of around here,” he said as his gaze roamed over the boys whooping it up at the bonfire. He guessed she wouldn’t be anywhere near that, probably went to bed early. After all, the first day usually came with a massive headache.

“Ah whatever man,” Alby slapped him on the shoulder before taking steps back toward the action. “I hope you don’t get too attached to her tomorrow, she has other rounds to make, remember that. You can’t keep her," his words reminding Gally of the rule the keepers made without her around to hear.

Gally didn’t even respond to that, he just turned back to his work and gathered up his papers in meticulous order and weighed them down with a rock before putting all his pencils and such away in their jar. He strayed to the bonfire for one drink, telling himself it was to help him get to sleep faster, knowing it was really to calm his nerves.

He was the only one up with the sun that morning. He didn’t wake up any of builders yet even though they deserved it for goofing off at the bonfire when they knew a hard days work was waiting for them. He took the opportunity to have some peace and quiet, time alone to really picture what it was he was going to do.

He thought he had picked a good spot for it, close enough to food and the bathrooms that she wouldn’t have to go far if she got up in the middle of the night, but far enough to avoid the sound of the kitchen and the smell of the outhouses. She’d get plenty of shade here without anyone being able to use the trees to get into her house.

Satisfied with the location he measured and marked off the area. Luckily he had been planning on building a house on stilts before this and set aside the things he’d need for it as they had come along. Pretty lucky, he thought as he ran a hand over his short hair, looking up at the place where her house would be, imagining it there in detail.

“Morning,” came a small voice behind him.

He was glad he hadn't visibly startled as he turned around and saw the girl sleepily rubbing her eyes as she walked up. For some reason he didn’t have a response to that, it felt too intimate to say ‘good morning’, he never said that to any of the boys, so he just nodded at her.

“This where it’s going?” she asked as she looked at the markers.

Suddenly Gally was questioning what he had been so sure of a second ago. “Do you not want it here?” he asked her, looking around, hoping someone else was awake by now so he wasn’t alone with her.

“Honestly that was a dumb question for me to ask, obviously that’s what’s going on,” she admitted as she gestured at the plot. “And yes, this is perfectly fine location.”

She was standing about three feet away from him, but they were otherwise shoulder to shoulder facing the plot and it took on this weird feeling that it was their project. A silence sat between them for a moment.

“I’m sorry you have to go through all this trouble for-“

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Gally cut her off, he kept his eyes on the plot even when he could tell she had turned to look at him. Why had he blurted that out so fast? “It’s just something that needs done, not like it’s your fault or anything,” he shrugged to try and keep it casual. He couldn’t explain why, but he didn’t want her to feel bad on top of everything else she must be feeling.

“Might not be my fault, but I’m still the cause,” she pointed out after she considered him for a beat. Then she placed her fists on her hips. “Well, where do we start?”

@gladerscake @crazysheeplyca @thesuitkovian @poulterholland @anniemylennox @poulterjonas @carp3d1em @neilox

I've started to make them a little bit lyric inspired but it's kind of hard atm because they're still strangers, but I think Divisionary with it's line of "Do the right thing, do the right thing, do it all the time, do it all the time" is SO Gally, so therefore it's his song this chapter as he tries to do the right thing for her.

Btw, since everyone in the Glade has a name given to them by Wicked, I was going to give her a real name instead of YN, so let me know about any historical figures you think she should be named after. In Garden of Heathen I named the girl Aussie after Jane Austen since she wasn't a genius but she had the highest emotional IQ, and then in The Reason I named the girl Nikola after Tesla.

If you want updates without following me you can always follow the tag "Will Poulter protection squad" because I'm pretty sure I'm the only one using it and from now on I'll put it in the fic tags.

Possession Masterlist

#Gally #tmr #tmr gally #gally tmr #maze runner #maze runner gally #gally fanfic #tmr gally fanfic #will poulter protection squad #will poulter

[celiamae99]

New Beginnings — A.G.

“I’m going to miss you,” I whispered pulling on a wagon string. I didn’t want Andy to leave. I wanted him to stay in Walnut Grove with me.

“I know, I’m going to miss you too,” Andy told me. I leaned my head against their horse and sighed. What was I going to do?

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” I choked, trying my hardest not to cry.

“Hey, come here.” He pulled me into his arms and o clutched to him as tight as I could. “It’s just Sleepy Eye, it’s not to far, you could maybe come with your Pa to deliver stuff. And maybe you could visit in the summer. We could do lots of fun things.”

I nodded, tucking myself into him, I didn’t ever want to leave this position.

“I know you don’t want to go, and you’re doing it for your Pa, so I’m telling myself it will be better for you too.”

“I know, I don’t want to leave anymore than you don’t want me too, but here it reminds him of Ma and he needs to get better.”

“I know.” I placed my head on his chest, trying to stop the tears.

“I’d say no tears but I’m about to cry myself.” I laughed a little and glades up at him. “All our plans, they’re never going to go away, okay? You’re still my girl, and we’re still going to get married and have a farm. That doesn’t go away just because we’re going to be away for a while.”

“What if you find somebody else?” I whispered, trying to push the hair out of my face.

“None of that,” he moved my hands and helped fix my hair. “You know you’re it for me, okay? You’re it. You’re the dream. Don’t want any of it if you’re not going to be with me, okay?”

“I know,” I hugged him again. “No goodbyes, okay? Goodbyes are forever and …”

“We won’t be apart forever.” He finished, running his hand through my brown hair. “I love you, Sarah, he told me softly.

“I love you too, Andy.” I whispered.

I looked up at him and felt my tears come again. Before I could wipe them away, he leaned down and kissed me. We kissed for a minute until we heard Pa come out of the house.

“I’m not going to say goodbye because I know you’re coming into Sleepy Eye with a delivery next week.” Mr. Garvey told Pa.

“Alright,” Pa told him.

“Be good to yourself, Sarah,” Mr. Garvey told me before going over to his wagon. “Albert, take care of yourself son.”

“I will Mr. Garvey,” we said together. I hugged Andy one last time before he got into the wagon.

“You have to go,” I whispered, pulling away.

“I know, be safe okay? Write to me.”

“I will,” I promised. “But you have to write too.” I told him, cracking a small smile.

He laughed softly. Andy hated writing. “If it means writing to you, you know I will.” He got into the wagon next to his Pa. “See ya, Albert.”

“Well clean it up for the new owners.”

“Thank ya, Charles.” Pa pulled me next to him and I leaned onto his shoulder. And put his hat on and I knew it was real. They were leaving. He was leaving.

We waved when Andy turned around and I tried to stop my tears but they just kept coming.

“Hey, stop your crying,” Pa told me. “Soon, Andy will be back here asking if he can marry you.”

“That’s still a year away,” I muttered. “I just want to go home.” I pulled myself away and started walking home.

“Sarah!” Albert called, but I kept walking.

“Leave her be, son.” I heard Pa tell him. “She’s hurting.”

I walked all the way home, Grace met me outside and I scooped her into my arms and hugged her tightly.

“Oh, Sarah.” Ma said rushing out of the house. “I know dear, let’s go sit down.”

“He’s gone Ma, he’s really really gone.”

“Mary’s in the house dear, why don’t you come in and we can all just have a nice chat.” Ma told me.

“Sarah?” Mary called my name and I walked straight into my big sisters arms. “Oh Sarah.”

“I feel like I’m dying. We had all these plans, we were going to start on the house and get everything ready but now we can’t.”

“Hey, it’s just a year. You’ve gone through worse.” Mary soothed and I hugged her tightly.

A few weeks later after we finished dinner, I was in the loft, trying to work on my studies but my brain wouldn’t focus.

“Hey,” Pa said climbing up the ladder. “How’s the studying going?”

“How do you think it’s going?” I muttered. “I’m sorry, I’m not a good mood and I’m taking it out on you.”

“It’s okay.” Pa sat down on the bed. “I talked to Mary today at the blind school, she said you were pretty upset.”

I am. “I’m feeling a bit better.” I lied.

“You know, I have a trip to Sleepy Eye tomorrow. I’m going to be staying with the Garveys for the night, how about you come with me, butternut?”

“You mean it?” I asked tiredly.

“Wouldn’t have offered it if I wasn’t for sure.”

“Oh Pa!” I hugged him tightly. “What do I bring? I’ve never been to Sleepy Eye before!”

“I reckon because we’ll be there Sunday you should take your Sunday dress.”

“But it’s new,” I stuttered, confused.

“So? It’s still your Sunday dress.”

“Oh Pa, I can’t wait to see him. I just can’t wait.”

“I know you can’t, that’s all you’ve been talking about since we set out! And before you ask again, look a head. Sleepy Eye is right there.”

“Pa!”

“I’m coming, Butternut, just calm down.” I smoothed out my new purple calico dress and waited for Pa. “Alright, lets go.”

He knocked on the door and Mr. Garvey answers if. “Charles! Oh, Andy come here!” Mr. Garvey hugged me tightly while he waited for Andy.

“Pa, what is it? I’m try to —” he stopped short when he saw me. “Oh, Sarah!” We rushed to each other and hugged he other tightly. “What are you doing here?” His voice was muffled by my hair, but he still didn’t let go.

“Pa said I could come with on his delivery.” I muttered into his shoulder.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” I cried.

“I thought the crying would stop now that you’re together.” Pa laughed at me and it made Mr. Garvey, Andy, and I laugh too.

“I’m just so happy.” I hugged Andy tighter.

“Can I show her the lake?” He asked Pa.

“I don’t care, just be back before dark!”

“We will,” he promised grabbing his hat and my hand before pulling me out the door.

“Here it is!” He said proudly. I looked out at the lake. It was beautiful.

“It’s so beautiful.”

“Doesn’t compare to you,” I shoved him lightly.

“Be quiet,” I giggled.

“Okay,” he tugged me to him and put his lips on mine. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was sweet: When we finally pulled apart from each other, I pulled Andy back to me. “Wait.” He muttered.

“I thought I said no talking.” I muttered, trying to get him to kiss me again.

“No, shush,” he told me, pulling me to him. “You, this, I love this,” he placed his head on mine and I closed my eyes, basking in him. “I can’t wait until we can have our own place.”

“I love you,” I told him.

“I love you too.”

“Our dream is still going to happen.” I told him. We just have eight months until we can get married.”

“I know, eight months.” He sighed.

“Eight months where we can prepare for the world,” I told him. “Laura and I are teaching, so I have money that way. You’re working for your Pa, so you’ve got money too. And we can buy the old Edwards place and start our own…” Andy cut me off by kissing me again and I sighed.

“You’re dress is pretty.” He told me, gripping my hips tightly.

“You’re hat is new,” I commented:

“You’re still the pretty person I ever did see.” He whispered against my lips. And it made them tingle.

“You’re still the handsomest person I know.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and he hugged me tightly.

We would have forever with each other so I could wait eight months, even if I wasn’t a patient person.

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