#gallyxreader

Halfway there, your heart quieted at last. He was there with everyone and they all seemed to be in a good mood. The exhausted block of people quickly broke up as the began walking their separate ways. Gally caught your gaze as you strode over. 

His smile made him look younger. 

“Y/N!” 

He caught you fully off-guard when he enveloped you in his arms. You melted into him, relaxing for the first time in hours. 

“We’re finished with reporting and debriefing, can we go to one of our rooms?” 

The two of you separated slowly as you nodded. 

“Yeah, that sounds good.” 

You discussed how it went on the short walk back. Everything had gone surprisingly smooth. It was rare to see Gally in a genuinely pleasant mood without any darkness lingering in his eyes. 

Shutting the door, you were about to take off your shoes just as he quickly pressed his lips against yours. He pulled away just as soon as you realized what was happening. Giggling awkwardly and out of character you gave him a pat on the back and took your shoes off the rest of the way. You took a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry, uh, that isn’t what I meant. I… um that was really nice, we can do that again if you want to. Wow I’m so sorry, you just really took me--” 

He cut you off and placed another gentle kiss on the corner of your mouth. You brushed your hands up his back, lacing them around the back of his neck and stood taller in order to kiss him back for yourself. 

Both of you were careful and slow in your actions. You weren’t sure if he had ever had anything like this. For you, it had been a while and you realized that you were woefully out of practice. It didn’t seem to matter though. You fit together beautifully and everything from his clenched hand on your waist to your chests pressed together to your short breath colliding with his told you that this was right. 

“I’m sorry for not reaching out to you sooner.” 

“That’s fine I’m sorry for not getting hurt sooner.” Reaching greedy hands into the back of his shaved head you leaned in again for a singular, passionate kiss. You continued down his neck and to his collarbone. “But really, Gally, please don’t be sorry about that. That sort of thing isn’t anyone’s fault.” 

He sighed into your touch, hands resting at the lowest point of your back. You leaned into his touch. With heaving chests pressed against one another, you mumbled your affections to him. You lightly pecked up his neck, reaching his ear. 

“You can take off your shoes too if you want.” You said. 

Gally bit his lip and gave a small nod to you while he kicked them off. 

You pushed him to sit on the low cot and straddled his hips, lips brushing once again. 

“I don’t deserve this.” He whispered hoarsely. You searched his eyes, only seeing pain and guilt. 

“What? What don’t you deserve?” You held his face in your hands, nearly trembling. It was like a mirror. 

“This…” he choked out. “You, care, touch…” 

“Love?” You asked gently. 

He looked away, sitting up and moving you off of him. 

“You don’t understand. You haven’t done bad things.”

“Gally, that’s not true and you do deserve all of those things. If you’re just panicking because you don’t want to be like this, it’s okay we can just be friends if you’re uncomfortable and everyth--”

“No. You don’t understand. I thought I would be fine with all of this and you, but I know that I’m not worth it.” 

You sat on your heels behind him, rubbing his tense back. 

“Then tell me why you’re not worth it.” You kissed the back of his neck with a sweetness he had never known before. 

“I’ve killed people. Innocent. I’m the reason so many people are dead.” 

You stopped moving for a moment. 

“Is it true that you were in the Maze?” 

His chest was heaving now. 

“Thought you didn’t like gossip.” 

“I don’t. So tell me the whole truth.” 

He took a deep breath. 

“I promise I won’t hate you and you can’t change how I feel about you, I just want to understand you.”

Resilient.

That was the first word he thought when he saw you for the first time. There weren’t many others his age here and although he remembered some things from before the Maze, he couldn’t remember anyone like you. Or the feeling he got when he was near you.

Stories spread like wildfire about your past. He listened to all of them but never spread one himself. He was just curious. It was difficult to approach you with the stern and hard look that never left your eyes. Difficult, but not impossible.

It came with living out in the Scorch for so long. Living was the wrong word for it really. You had just been surviving. At first, you thought that you were brave but soon enough you realized that you were a fool. The Right Arm in your city had been decimated. You had to go somewhere safer. Maybe it was cowardice, but you knew your life there was over. The city was almost gone as it was and you had tried recruiting but it only led to more danger and suffering.  When you left you felt as if there was nothing left for you to lose. That made you all the more foolishly brazen in your actions. Still, somehow you had made it to the city.

Compassion.

This was the first word you thought when you looked into Gally’s eyes.

He had given you the tour when you first arrived and from then on you were always teamed with him on missions. Outside of missions you never saw him. You had few friends within the Right Arm, but most people were either far too busy or private or afraid to build close relationships with. Not that you were excluding yourself from any of those groups.

It was much easier to put your life on the line when no one was going to miss you. But then if you had no one, then there was no reason to fight. It was a difficult line to straddle. And one that you did not straddle well.

Until you got hurt.

It really took the most dramatic situations to make people act. You had been shot a couple of times. None of them were fatal or really even life-threatening, but there was a good amount of blood. Gally had kept his jaw clenched since the first bullet ripped over your arm. He helped to drag you along through the alleyways and tunnels back to the base in silence.

He sat by you as the medic laced your arms and side up. The chunk of your ear that was missing was bound up with gauze and padding. He held your hand as your shoulder was put back into place. At the end of it all, he stood with you as you slowly walked back to your room.

“There’s a lot of stories about you, ya know?”

Gally finally spoke as you began to walk down the hallway. Although it wasn’t exactly the words you had wanted or expected.

“Well that’s uh… um, I’m sure. There’s a lot of stories about everyone here.”

“None of them are bad.”

“I wouldn’t think so. Everyone here has more important priorities than gossip. So what’s your favorite one?”

“My favorite what?” He just barely cracked a smile. That was something new between the two of you.

“What is your favorite story about me or about yourself?”

Gally bit his lip to stop from grinning.

“My favorite is whatever you tell me.”

“And about yourself?” You asked.

“The truth.” He said, suddenly a little more rigid.

“I was with the Right Arm in a smaller city. WCKD ruined us, took everyone out. I was the only one who was alive and still with the resistance. Some people left to stay alive and I don’t blame them. I left and I managed through the desert and now I’m here. There’s a lot of other details, but you don’t need to hear about me giving up and crying a lot.” You sucked on your teeth, trying to pull back from oversharing.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” His voice was barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat awkwardly soon after speaking.

“Why haven’t we ever talked?”

You didn’t necessarily mean it as a question, but he answered anyway.

“It’s easier to avoid people than to end up caring about them.”

“But it’s lonely.”

He scoffed.

“I don’t see you spending your free time trying to make friends.”

“No, I’ve been a little slow at that. Not that it’s an excuse, but it’s difficult when you’ve had one family die or abandon you. I’m not really any better since I just left without even really trying hard to reform the group. And a lot of alone time in the Scorch made me different. I don’t know if it was in a bad way or not yet. I don’t know if I want more people to care about.”

“Listen, I… I understand and I didn’t mean you had to or I dunno. But I really do understand, my life before the Right Arm was… similar. And for what it’s worth, I like who you are now.” He paused as you turned the corner to your door. Opening it up you leaned in the doorframe, inviting him inside with the wave of your hand. “If you’re lonely you can talk to me.”

A bit unsure, he walked through the doorway and into your small living space.

Smiling sadly you let the door lightly shut behind you and grabbed your canteen from the bed. The medic had given you some water, but not nearly enough. Or maybe you were just nervous around Gally.

You hadn’t met many others your age, but he was here and he was so understanding and kind. He was strong on the inside in a way you couldn’t fathom and so self-sacrificing and unwavering. More importantly, he was compassionate to you. He really truly listened to what you had been saying. And he understood. He really, truly understood. You had heard his own stories about the Maze and his near-death and WCKD. Not that you would press him.

Suddenly he was standing very close to you. Out of a need for touch or desire, you laced your arms around his waist, lightly embracing him. He quickly held you in his arms as well, pulling you closer.

“Thank you, Gally.”

You leaned away from him, only acting on instinct, and you gave him a soft peck on the cheek before leaning back into his chest. He rubbed your back gently, cradling the back of your head.