#thomas fic

you lick over drying lips, folding your knees against your chest and discarding the broken weed. "i think so."

thomas passes a glance over newt at his right, clapping his palms awkwardly to fill the silence. "you want to tell us what you're thinking about?"

you shrug, choosing to pick at a fraying shoe lace. "just about last night. i feel like i can't really think straight since i woke up. it's like.." you pause when newt retracts his hand. "it's like i'm kind of walking through water or something. i don't remember what that feels like, but i think it's something like that... but in my head."

newt rakes a worried hand through his hair, dropping his weight back onto his arms behind him. "i think we were too hard on you last night, love." he shares a look with his partner. "do you think so too?"

your bottom lip spills out and you shake your head. "i liked it."

newt nods. "think you're still a little subby, princess. that's all."

you look up through your lashes, but thomas beats you to the punch. "what's that?"

newt starts up. "well, when we, or one of us, take control of the situation in the bedroom, and we're more dominant, you tend to submit. does that part make sense?"

you both confirm with a silent nod.

"well, when you're put in a mindset like that, sometimes it lingers. it stays with you outside of the bedroom when we don't properly bring you out of that mindset and bring you back to our day-to-day dynamic. the dynamic where we all feel like equals and no one is dominant over the other." he properly explains, and thomas nods along.

"so, tommy, you have to make sure to give her proper aftercare, yeah?" the brit explains, now drawing a soft hand across your knee. "otherwise she's still going to be stuck in that mindset. like now."

"i'm sorry," you purl through another wave of warning tears. "i'm sorry. i didn't really mean to do this."

thomas shakes his head. "hey, hey, it's my fault. it's our fault, we forgot to take better care of you, okay? we're still learning, and i promise we'll get better with it."

"What are you smiling for?" I did my best to turn my head to the side, looking at the boy who glanced at me with a smile but mixed feeling in those deep brown eyes. His dirty blonde hair seemed even dirtier. I grimaced. He looked skinnier. But all of us were. Stress and fear were things that could make you lose a vast quantity of weight.

"I," I paused, taking a breath. "I was thinking of the first time I met you."

Newt shook his head, his dirty hair not moving softly like it used to do. "Bloody hell," A tiny laugh escaped through his lips. How long has it been since I heard him laugh? "I was so mean to you." I nodded my head, hiding the gasp that pleaded to escape. "But you did put me in my place as always."

"You were so mean just because I was new to the maze?" I always wanted to ask. Newt is a sweet person, and as soon as I saw him, I knew there were hidden motives.

He shook his head. "I thought if I treated you like that, the other would do the same and ignore you. We tried doing the same thing with Teresa." I grimaced at the mention of the brown-haired girl. "We were a little worried that the other boys would try to do something because you both were the only girls."

"But you couldn't resist me." I tried to wink, my entire body aching. Newt got closer to where I was lying down on the ground. His fingers went to my hair, fingers intertwined with some locks that had knots.

"No one could." He offered me a sad smile. "Why?" I had tried to converse with him as much as I could, not wanting that conversation to come out. "Why did you do it?"

"You don't deserve it." Newt bit his lower lip, swallowing and glancing to the side, blinking as much as he could, attempting to hide his wet eyes. "You are like my big brother. I wanted to save you."

"You are like my little sister." He answered back. "It is me who should be saving you."

"You already saved me." He flinched, remembering that time when we were back inside the maze. A time where I was confused, lost and scared and did my best to take myself out of the maze...without actually entering it. Newt found me in the forest, unconscious. However, I remember his screams, asking, no, pleading for help. "Hey, Newt?" He hummed, using his stained jacket to dab his tears. "Do you think he will arrive on time?" Newt immediately looked at me, eyes widened. Minho had walked closer, exactly when I had questioned the blonde boy.  "Will he?"

"He always arrives on time." Minho decided to answer while resting a hand on Newt's shoulder, who glanced at him while offering him a shake of his head. "But there is nothing for what he has to arrive on time." He clenched his teeth, trying to convince himself because he knew he wasn't going to convince me.

I shivered. Minho and Newt took their jackets a the same time. However, it was Minho who placed his on top of my chest, trying to calm my trembling body. "I hope he arrives on time." I stopped looking at them, glancing at the dark sky above me. "And I hope he is safe."

"We are talking about Thomas." Minho interrupted. "He is always on time, and he is always okay."

"He won't be." I choked, glancing at them. "He won't be okay." My mouth was dry, but as much water as I drank, it still seemed like my throat was closing, obstructing my breathing. "You guys...need to be there for him, okay?" I nodded my head a little bit. "Don't let him..." My eyes closed for a couple of seconds.

"Hey, hey." Newt. It was Newt voice and his fingers touching my wet cheeks. When did I start crying? "Hey. Bloody hell, Y/N. C'mon."

My eyes opened again. "Don't let him blame himself."

"He won't blame himself because everything will be okay." Minho insisted, his left hand cradling the back of my head as he helped me sit, resting at the head of the water bottle on my lips, aiding me so I could drink.

"I appreciate the positivity, Minho." And the water. "But it's bad. It's really bad." My fingers gripped Minho's jacket, taking it off my chest. Both gasped, not having noticed that the black veins that were only on my hands and arms were now getting closer to my chest. "It's so close." To my heart. Both boys glanced at each other. Minho was the first one. He was the first one to broke down as his knees fell forcefully on the ground. His head between his hands. I tried not to cry more, but as soon as Newt also wailed like a little kid, I did too. "Hey, guys..." I cried. "C'mon, guys. It's okay." They didn't listen, consumed by their shaking bodies as they cried, as they hoped for the cure to come in time. But even if it did, it was too late. I knew it was either Newt or me. Only one could get the cure, and I decided that it had to be Newt.

My heart ached because Thomas had convinced himself that it didn't matter who took the cure first because he would come back with another for the other.

"My God, I'm so lonely." I started singing with the limited strength that I had. Both boys glanced at me while still crying. They remembered the song. The song I used to sing every day since I entered the maze. The only thing I remembered apart from my name. They always thought it was a melancholy song, and whenever I sang it, they would change the lyrics, afraid of thinking that perhaps those were my true feeling. They were. They were before I found they were the only family I needed.

"So I open the window," Newt's voice cracked, following me. Even if he wanted to have hope, he knew how difficult things were and how I was near closing my eyes forever. "To hear sounds of people." He sang while still crying. "To hear sounds of people," Minho begged us to stop, to keep quiet. He begged us to lie to him and tell him that I was going to be okay. With time, they would be okay. I wouldn't. "Venus, planet of love was destroyed by global warming. Did its people want too much too?" Yes, we wanted too much. They wanted too much. They wanted for the cure to come on time and to magically cure me. "Did its people want too much?" His saddened gaze met mine as I nodded.

Minho continued weeping, screaming even. "And I don't want your pity." My voice cracked as my gaze moved to him. The boy still was convinced that he could save everyone. "I just want somebody near me." He shook his head, droplets of tears falling down his cheeks. "Guess I'm a coward." I continued singing as Newt turned his head around, getting up from his seat on the ground and running towards someone. "I just want to feel alright." I finally glanced at the blonde-haired boy who had run towards Thomas. He had come on time. Well, for Newt and Minho, 'on time' was for me to be saved. For me, it was on time to see me go.

Thomas and Newt had gotten close so quickly that I was pretty sure that the boy I deeply loved knew what was going on. "And I know no one will save me." That line seemed perfect to say at that moment as Thomas shook his head, aggressively weeping his tears as he sat down on the ground. His trembling hands, searching for my veins as he injected the cure. Then, he waited. He waited for the black veins to fade. They didn't. Both boys hoped too. Perhaps Minho wasn't the only one who dreamed of a future where I would be alive. I coughed, feeling my throat contracting again. I could feel the muscles from my right side colliding with the ones on my left side. Glancing at my chest, the veins were even closer than before. "I just need someone to kiss." Thomas hit the wall behind me, the wall that was supporting my weight. Tears fell down our eyes, wetting our cheeks and leaving a salty taste in our mouths. But not as sour as the moment where I would close my eyes. "Give me one good honest kiss, and I'll be alright."

.

Thomas shook his head, not making his mind up, not being able to comprehend that the person he loved was dying. With the remaining strength that I had, my fringers grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer to me. "Nobody, nobody, nobody," He quickly shut me up, his lips softly colliding with mine. It wasn't like those heated kisses we had when one of us had been in danger or when one of us was mad and needed release. It wasn't one of those 'good morning' kisses or a 'good night' one. It conveyed all the things we have gone through.  It bore the fact that we had dreamt of a future together. We have talked about houses, kids, gardens and dogs. We have spoken about living close to Minho and Newt, which they claimed would be a disaster.

Thomas's lips separated from the ones he had loved kissing every day. He parted ways because they weren't softly moving against his anymore, and that was when he noticed that the eyes of the woman he loved were closed. There was a peaceful look on her face, no pain.

Minho and Newt had left him alone, moving away as they continued weeping, but knowing that he needed some time to examine her face. To make sure that he would remember everything. However, he had lost other people, and eventually, he would forget the tone of her voice.

Thomas got up, getting away from Y/N, turning his back to her as he continued wiping. He was surprised as his legs trembled but still supported all his weight. "I've been big and small." He whispered to himself. "And big and small." His voice continued cracking. "And big and small, again. And still, nobody wants me. Still, nobody wants me." He knew that sound. He recognised the growls of someone turning, of someone not being themselves anymore. And when he turned around, his gaze met a pair of eyes that were lifeless. "And I know no one will save me." He choked, stepping back as she stepped forward. He couldn't kill her. Had he already killed her? Why didn't he run faster? "I'm just asking for a kiss. Give me one good movie kiss, and I'll be alright."

Thomas was never one to thoroughly plan any idea he came up with, especially when it came to his friends and tonight was no different. With a life on the line, yours specifically, Thomas had gotten no rest as he came up with a poorly thought out plan to get you back from WICKED's hold.

From what he's seen and been told, WICKED returned Minho to the Gladers in exchange for you due to some complications with Minho's cooperation skills. Apparently they believed that you would be easier to manage but if you still had the will you've always had, he was sure they wouldn't get that far. Despite this easing his worries by a bit, he still needed you back by his side, and preferably today as it was the day Right Arm planned to go to the Safe Haven.

"This is a terrible idea." Gally said as he looked over the brief plan Thomas had come up with. Frypan and Newt looked at the boy with their lips pressed into a line as they agreed with him.

Thomas sighed in defeat as he rested his head against the table. "Well it's not like we have any other options! It's either we go through with my admittedly shitty plan or let them kill them and I am not letting WICKED lay a hand on them."

Now it was the other three boys turn to sigh. They too wanted to get you back, they really did, but they couldn't potentially throw all progress with Right Arm out the window just to save one person. It wasn't fair, especially with all the immunes they've managed to save already. Perhaps if they didn't have so much on their shoulders they would be on their way to you right now but they couldn't.

"The berg takes off tonight, in the meantime, time is yours." Gally told the group before heading off to meet Brenda with Newt and Frypan following as well, leaving Thomas alone with the image of a faulty plan before him.

"If they can't come along, then I'll go alone." He muttered to himself before sitting up from his seat. Quietly leaving the room to where the weapons and equipment were stored, Thomas hastily grabbed what he could and left for Last City.

Thomas knew this was a suicide mission. The chances of his and your survival had immediately dropped the second he decided to do this alone but it was a risk he was willing to take. Even if they may never be able to reach the Safe Haven, he just needed to be with you again.

FIN.

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Sometimes he hated not knowing. He hated that he could not remember a single good moment before the Glade. He hated WICKED for taking his memories and worse of all he hated himself for working with them. How could he have done that? How could he have supported them? If you could trust Jansons words, which you normally couldn't, he didn't just work for them he worked with them and planed the Maze from the beginning. He put his friends, the people he would give his life to, through so much pain and misery that he wanted to throw up just by the thought of it. How was that possible that he himself was behind his own misery. That he himself was the reason so many of his friends morned the people they lost over the last three years.

Maybe it was better that he didn't know everything he'd done back with WICKED. It couldn't eat him up more than it already did when he thought about his past. It would kill him to know what he did exactly. And even though he hated himself for his past self, he couldn't forget the words Newt told him back in the Glade. That the people they were before the Glade didn't exist anymore. Those words gave him hope and will to become better this time. To help his friends escape the hands of WICKED. Who knows if there really was a cure to the Flare? The world was fucked and irreparable anyway.

Before his thoughts turned even darker he looked at each of his friends.

Minho laid with his head in the crook of his own elbow. His left eyebrow would twitch and his eyes would move under the lid. It was obvious that the former Runner was having a non so pleasant dream. The jerking of his left foot looked like a dog that was running when it dreamt. Maybe he even dreamed about the Maze and him being back there. But who could blame him.

Frypan was laying on his stomach and silently snoring. Drool would drop from his left corner of his mouth. Thomas thought that he probably dreamed of his favorite bacon and it made him smile just a little.

When his eyes went over Newts sleeping form Thomas's eyes stuck to his friends leg. The one that would always drag a little behind the other. He still did't know why Newt had a limb but he knew it was because of something tragic. Otherwise people would have talked about it or made a friendly joke like they would do about Frypans burnt pancakes. But every time another saw Newt struggling just a little with his leg their eyes would turn sad. Newt never accepted help and even though it made Thomas angry sometimes he could understand his friend.

His eyes stopped on the small ball of brown fabric that was on the other side of his friends. Everyone laid closer together to share heat between another but not for them. (Y/N) was not one of the Gladers. They met her together with Aris when they first came to the small compound of WICKED. Sitting together at a table only for their own. Aris told Thomas, when they were crawling through the vents, that they were the only once left. All the others from Group B were taken through the doors to be strung up as medicine source.

Ever since they all escaped WICKED Y/N was like a shadow to Aris. Never letting him out of her sight. Never being away from him more then three feet. When they would wake up her eyes would find his figure first to make sure he's still there.

She would't talk much. Not interested in exchanging stories of her maze or how they lived there. The Group would only hear her when she talked quietly to Aris. Newt thought she was just shy. Minho thought she could be dumb and simply not know how to talk. That got him a whack over the head from Teresa. “She can talk, idiot. She just doesn't want to” Silently overhearing the whole thing Y/N let the smallest of smiles slip on her lips when Minho made small huffing noises and complains over his now hurting head. While she thought no one saw Thomas did and he couldn't take his eyes from the small token of emotions that appeared on her face.

She was like a mystery to him. A mystery he desperately wanted to solve. Why? He didn't even know himself. They met literally a couple of days ago. She wouldn't share any information about her live or herself and all the things he knew he got from Aris. Who, if you would be honest, wasn't really a big help. He only knew her like four weeks longer then Thomas knew them. One thing he was for certain was that she was very protective. No one could come near Aris if she didn't let them. In the old mall she almost threw herself in front of one of the cranks to save him and almost got a heart attack when he dove towards one to break their knee with his metal bat. She would protect him and Thomas thought it was because they were both from Group B. They only had each other and their memories of their fallen friends. He understood that. He was also very protective over his friends.

“You're staring at her again.”

The voice that whispered near Thomas's ear might have been screaming it scared him so much. Turning his head with the speed of a lightning he saw Aris close to him. A little smirk grew on the younger boys face.

“I was not staring”

“Yeah you were, we both know it. And it's not the first time I caught you”

Well Thomas couldn't really deny that. Aris had caught him a couple of times and always with that stupid smirk on his face.

“Why are you always staring at her when you drift of into your own thoughts?”

“I really don't know Aris.”

Both of them were now looking at Y/N, still sound asleep. Neither one said anything for a while. Thomas was kinda glad that Aris too was awake. Come to think of it.

“Why are you awake Aris? It's not your turn for watch yet.”

The boy hiding under his hood let out a sigh that was almost shaking, but not from the cold.

“Nightmare.” Was all he answered for a time. And Thomas gave him all the time he needed. He knew or rather had an idea what kind of nightmares crawled inside the boys head.

“You want to talk about it?” His voice turned to a softness he rarely used anymore.

“We were back in our Maze. Y/N was walking me around the grounds when there was this scream. It was like nothing I ever heard before. The girl screaming sounded like she wanted to rip her own throat out.”

A sense of deja vu crawled over Thomas's skin. It sounded exactly like when he walked his first steps in the Glade and Ben screamed bloody murder. “She was stung right?”

Aris threw him a look. For a short moment forgetting that Thomas and the other boys he traveled through the scorch with had all similar experiences with their own maze.

“Yeah.... She didn't make it though. Normally they all do but with her it was just something wrong. Like her body just didn't want to be saved by the serum. She bled form everywhere. Her eyes, her ears, her nose. She even clawed at her own skin, like she wanted to escape from her own body. There was so much blood.”

Aris's voice grew more quiet with every word he said. His eyes slowly zoning on Y/N again. Like she could somehow ground him.

Thomas was shocked. He only knew that when you got stung, you get the serum and it changes you. You would be different but at least still alive. Has anyone from his maze experienced the same? He didn't even know what to say to that. But he didn't have to come up with something because Aris started talking again. Eyes still pointed on Y/N's sleeping form.

“I don't even know how the other girls felt. Rachel...” His voice broke from saying the name of a girl he couldn't save “..Rachel cried the whole day. I think the girls name was Leena. One of the Runners as you would call them. Everyone was shocked after that. Not even Harriet was ok that day. But Y/N somehow got them all back together. She gave them little things to do so everyone would get back to their work. She was also the one who dug up the grave for Leena. I helped her put the body in. I mean I didn't know the girl that died so it didn't take a tole on me than the other girls in the maze. So I figured I could help at least a little bit. When we were digging the grave she didn't say a single word to me. Just grunting when I made a mistake.”

Aris turned turned to Thomas with a little bit of a smile. It was strange seeing the distraught boy show any kind of positive emotion. “Come to think of it when you dig a grave you would think it will be easy. But no. Y/N made sure it was perfect. Directly under a tree where the sun would slowly gleam through the leafs. It was Leena's favorite place to rest after a stressful day. And then, when we were done, she sat down by the grave and cried. I did't know what to do so I just sat next to her and held her. She said 'Thank you' and left. After that we become closer than before. I mean you kinda do when you bury a body together.” It was supposed to be a little joke, but the reality made it bitter. “That was it. That was my nightmare.”

The small wind that picked up sand took Aris's words with it. What the hell were you supposed to answer to that? Thomas didn't know so the quiet spread wider the longer he thought about something to say. He looked over to the younger boy and saw that his eyes were once again trained on Y/N. She had turned in her sleep and was now facing the boys. Her features calm and peaceful. Not plagued with worry or fear. That was a facial feature that was typically found on her face.

Worry for her friend. Worry for the situation they were all in. Fear of never ending hopelessness. Fear of never finding this so called 'Save Haven' and always being on the run. Fear of ending up like Rachel or all the other girls that didn't make it. You could see it on her face. She was not one for masking it. She showed everyone what she though. A fact that made her even more intriguing to Thomas than what he already felt for the girl across from him. He admired the fact that she was true to herself and her feelings and that she wouldn't let anyone take them away. He found it out himself when they first met that she was not one for taking orders from people she didn't know or trust. And he and his friends were exactly that. Aris only told and showed him everything he knew about WICKED when she gave the ok. And Aris said it was always like it. Even back in the maze where she wasn't even the leader. That was Harriet. But she was their guidance.

Someone to talk to when you felt like shit. Someone who would give you advice if you asked. Someone caring in a world where you faced death almost every day. Someone that would do anything to make sure you were ok. She was that person to Group B. And as Thomas's gaze left her form for a second and landed on the sleeping boy closest to him, the one that was the first person to utter nice and encouraging words to him, he figured that Y/N and Newt took on the same role in the different mazes. They held everything together an never asked for something. They were the once that took care of everyone but would forget to take care of themselves in the process.

“The sun will not come up for a couple of hours Aris, why don't you try to sleep some more?” Thomas's thoughts brought him back to a place where he wanted to be alone again and Aris really needed some good sleep after his nightmare so Thomas thought: two birds with one stone.

“Yeah. Maybe that's a good idea. You ok sitting here alone? Not going to ogle on a certain someone?” There was a smirk on Aris's face again and Thomas was glad that after their not so pleasant conversation the boy could still tease him.

“Yeah I'm definitely capable of looking over a bunch of smelly boys while they sleep.” His smirk was matching Aris and after a non verbal good night nod he went back to his previous place and shut his eyes. Hoping that this time hes not plagued with dreams of dying girls.

The rest of the short night was uneventful. No one woke up, no one had anther nightmare and for once the Gladeres were well rested. Well as well rested as you could be while sleeping on sand with nothing to help keep the wind away. They all had small portions of food that they had brought with them. Water canteens where handed around and shared. And after thirty minutes of “breakfast”, and a small comment from Frypan how this was the worst breakfast he had ever seen, they packed up their things and made their way back to the mountains.

Words were few and far between because they all wanted to save their energy for walking. Here and there were murmurs from conversations of countless of meaningless things. Minoh and Newt walking together sometimes talking about their old home. Frypan whistling a song no one except him knew. Theresa and Aris walking without any contact to another person. Thomas was about to make a full circle to see where the last one of their fellowship was when someone tapped on his left shoulder. Making him spin in that direction and coming face to face with the one that was missing.

“Hey”

God even her voice was mysterious and quiet. Small but without a doubt people would listen to anything she would say. He was kind of curious what she wanted from him. She was never the one that sought out talking to anyone but Aris.

“Hey, whats up?” Really that was his answer? He couldn't come up with something better?

“What you did last night was really kind of you.”

What did she mean by that? Thomas face must have portrayed his confusion because there was a small smile growing on Y/N face. One that he wanted to stay there.

“That you helped Aris with his nightmare and listened to him.” Her eyes landed on the boy that walked a couple of meters in front of them. Making sure that he was there and ok.

“You were awake?”

“Yeah, I heard him struggling to stand up and just as I wanted to call to him he went to you. After I knew he was ok with you I fell back asleep”

“Oh....how much did you hear?” His voice wobbled a little at the end.

“Well I heard Aris walking to you and telling you about his nightmare. Caught how he told you what happened to Leena.” She paused after that for a second. Pain and loss seeped into her eyes. As to not dwell on the sad topic she pulled the best, fake, believable smile on her face and with the next words she made Thomas's face red in seconds.

“I also heard that you sometimes stare at me.”

“Well..I- that's not...” He felt like his eyes bulged out of his scull. What do you respond to that? His face was stuck in an expression of shock and dread. How the hell can he answer to that without sounding like a creep or idiot. His fumbled attempt to save his dignity was interrupted by the most beautiful sound he ever heard.

Y/N was laughing. Actually laughing. He was sure that even the others were pausing and looking at her. Well at them more precise. Her holding her stomach a little and him looking like he'd seen crank on a unicycle. It was the surrealist sound he could have ever heard in the Scorch. Not because it was out of this world or anything, no.

Because Y/N laughing, here in this deep pit of sand, was just not fitting for the scene.

But, he never wanted her to stop.

It filled him with longing for something he couldn't tell. Something warm and pure. Something whole and save. True and upholding. Something you didn't find in the Scorch.

In the short minutes her joyous sound filled the air all seemed right. Thomas looked at her again and couldn't help but laugh as well.

After a few breathers Y/N caught herself and with slightly red cheeks she turned to the boy.

“Don't worry Thomas, I sometimes stare at you too.”

WHAT? She couldn't mean it like he thought and does himself right?

“I mean we are basically all strangers, being literally thrown into a huge litter box of shit and then fighting for our lives again. It's normal to be paranoid and keeping an eye on one another. Making sure no one does something wrong”

'Oh, she did it out of distrust.' Thomas couldn't really blame her. He knew what she went through, hell he went through it himself and only for a month. She was stuck in her maze for only she knows how long. But she talked to him know. She must have seen something in him to open up even only a smidge. That was a start and he would take it.

“Well I originally wanted to talk to you because....I wanted to say thank you.”

A pause and their eyes met. Thomas could see only honesty in her and the warm feeling slowly made itself known again.

“For taking care of Aris and....and for taking us with you when we were all back at WICKED. I don't know what would have happened to Aris and I if you hadn't taken us with you. Even with all the paranoia and distrust you still did. So really.. thank you.”

He was at a loss of words. Again. The only thing he did was nod his head and letting out an almost breathy “sure”. With only a small smile on her lips, one that caught his eyes and made them stuck there for a moment longer then intended, she slowly made her took steppes away from him and made it back at the end of the group.

After processing what just happened he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude she talked to you and you totally made an idiot of yourself. Nice going. Next time try to use words not not catch flies with your mouth man.”

Minho, helpful as always. With his bantering words he friendly slapped Thomas on his shoulder and went back next to Frypan. 'You would look even more ridiculous with your hair sticking up in all directions.' But his buff friend was right with one thing. He really needed to use his words next time and not make himself look like a fool.

Next time he would do it. He would talk to her like a normal human being and not blabber like a six year old. He would discover more from her past, well the things she's willing to share with him, and get to know her better. Somehow he truly needed to know her. Or know her again? All this thinking made his head a bit woozy. But then again that could be the heat and dehydration.

But one thing was for curtain. Tonight he would make a plan so he could talk to her again. He would lay under the stars, watching over his friends, hoping that the memory of her laughter would lull him to a peaceful sleep.

______

Music pumped through the room, the sounds of slot machines and game triggers ringing loudly in the crowded space, one following another in an endless cycle, creating the same tune that never ended. Loud crowds filled the room, cheering and hollering from the teams surrounding the bigger tables overpowering the laughter and chatter of friends at the bar or the scattered tables. 

The resonating shake of your heels vibrated along your calves, clicking drowned out to your ear as you made your way along the marble tiling of the entrance. Your foot hit carpet, and you continued your steady pace through the crowds. A body fell into step beside you, and you didn’t have to glance over to know who it was. The back of his palms brushed against yours, a single finger, his pinky, reaching out to wrap loosely around yours, the action noticeable to the unobserving eye and a flicker of a smile pulled at your red painted lips. 

He turned to his microphone, mumbling your arrival into it, clicking it off upon receiving a crackling reply and you finally allowed your head to turn towards him, eyes glancing up to find his honey-coloured eyes already peering down at you. “You wore my favourite skirt today.” His gaze dropped, just barely, to your ass, scanning over your figure in the tight pencil skirt before finding your eyes again, hints of a smirk taking place on his face, and he took a good look at the rest of you, eyes settling on your breasts for a moment, a long sigh being exhaled through his nose before he finally looked back up to you, your sight now focused ahead of you once again. “And my favourite blouse. A risky combination.”

He took the same motion, fingers reaching for the card secured to a string on his belt, swiping it across the system and punching a code into the pad beside the door, bright light on the monitor flashing from red to green as a hiss filled the air, and he pushed it open, allowing you to walk through. “Well, not your favourite one.” You teased, and he hummed, ensuring the lock of the door behind you both and falling into step beside you, the loud ringing of your heels in the now silent corridor a clear difference to the loud casino you’d been in moments ago.

“That’s true. I ripped my favourite one right off of you last week. Which leads me to wonder why you’d dare dress in such an outfit tonight. It only leads to my hands tearing the material straight from your skin, don’t you think?” He cleared his throat as another member of staff passed you by, the smirk falling from his lips as he stopped to talk to them, body turning away from you as the man had a hushed conversation, and you continued your steps, catching his eye for the slightest of seconds and shooting him a wink before walking away, continuing your journey alone. 

A minute, maybe less, was all you had gone, corner barely turned before rapid footfalls behind you filled your ears, fingers wrapping around your wrist to bring you to a halt, and you turned, a perfectly manicured eyebrow raising at him playfully. “You know I don’t like it when you travel alone around here. Woman of high importance and all, in a skirt like that, lips like yours, just asking for trouble.”

“Hmm, you’re never very far behind me, are you Tommy? You’re always close by, even when you shouldn’t be. I’m always okay, I’m always on camera.” You reminded him, a huff leaving his lips as his eyes found yours. 

“Not always. You’re not on camera right now. This is my security detail, sweetheart. You think I don’t know all the blindspots? Of course I do. You’re in one right now. First three feet of this corridor can't be seen from camera seven. Which is why I can do this.” Warm hands landed on your waist, pushing you into the wall roughly, hot breath fanning across your face before his lips came crashing down on yours, caressing them between your own as your fingers lay on his chest, solid material of his protective jacket lying beneath your fingers. 

His lips left yours, thumb wiping smeared lipstick from your face as he backed away, soft smile tugging at his lips. Your gaze flickered to the door, maybe ten metres from your current location, and you dropped your head, shaking it fondly before looking back at him. “I think I can make it on my own from here. You can watch me go, and then, you can go and do your job, which is not safeguarding me.” You whispered, stepping forwards to place a kiss to his cheek. 

“It kind of is, I protect what’s valuable.” Rolling your eyes fondly, he chuckled, the sound of someone else's footsteps nearing you both becoming audible. 

Leaning up, your kissed as his ear lobe, smile on your lips. “Maybe when we finish, you can show me some more of those blind spots.” You teased, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips before backing away from him entirely, a woman rounding the corner the moment you had stepped away. She smiled warmly, nodding to you and mumbling a simple greeting before walking past you both. Her bright hair contradicted the dark blazer hanging from her shoulders, but you hadn’t missed the brightly coloured dress swishing around her knees, heels tapping at the floor.

“Thank you for the escort, Thomas, I’ll walk with Lauren from here.” You grinned, turning your back to him and he watched you go, eyebrows shot up into his hairline. Her elbow stuck out for you to link through and she accepted, a smug grin on her lips that you needed no effort to decipher its meaning as you fell into step with her.

“My pleasure, Miss (Y/L/N).” You glanced at him as you stepped over the threshold, blowing a subtle kiss over your shoulder before finally disappearing from his sight, and he turned on his heel, making his way towards the casino floor.

He had no idea how long he was alone for, you consumed his thoughts entirely, his pants far tighter now than they had been before you had walked in for your shift. The microphone in his ear was still silent, and the men around him would occasionally mumble into their own mics, eyes flickering to different hosts across the floor. As the clock clicked over into 10pm, you arrived on the floor, the device in his ear crackling into life as you stepped out onto the floor.

Your hair was framed around you, finger playing with the dials before heading towards the door. Your lips twisted up into a smile he knew was fake, your ‘customer service smile’ as you liked to call it. He stepped forwards, leaning over the railing and scanning his eyes along the path you were taking, assessing for any dangers that could be present, before deciding you were fine.

Your hand reached out, slipping into the hands of an older man, greeting him warmly and Thomas counted the number of guests in the party, seeing only four heads, plus your own, and he surveyed the room, bringing his finger up to his ear as you chatted to the man’s wife. 

“Go for booth seven. It’s clear, and I can get the best view on you from there.” You smiled upon hearing his voice echo in your ear, and even from across the room he watched your lips twitch up as he did. It was only moments before you had introduced yourself to the group as their host formally, and offered them a seat, trailing them through the casino to a table.

The group took their seats, and you were quick to fetch a bottle of champagne, passing out chilled glasses and serving them all a glass. A cheers rang loud, your laughs echoing through the room as you took a seat with them. Your legs were crossed, an empty space on either side of the booth, next to you, or an elderly man of the group, and he wondered why you didn’t just spread out. His answer soon came, however, when a younger man in a suit approached the table, and you quickly stood to greet him, pushing the final glass of champagne towards him. 

You took your seat, and instead of sitting across from you, the man chose to sit beside you. A smirk played on his features as you did you best to shuffle as far from him along the leather seat as you could, but he was a large man and you couldn’t go far before you were invading the personal space of your other clients. Placing the folder out on the table before you, your eyes flicked over the itinerary of the group, the information they’d submitted when planning their trip. 

“Staying at Caesar’s Palace?” You inquired, a laugh falling from your lips as you spoke, the elderly woman you’d learnt to be called Pearl - fittingly, as an expensive collection sat on strings around her neck, a matching pair of earrings dangling from her lobes and a large wedding ring on her finger to polish off the look - smiling widely. 

“It was my choice. It was where me and my husband met, and I thought, where better to take the children and our grandson than to the exciting place I found the love of my life?” She gestured, around herself and you could picture her in her younger age, the same pearls around her neck, a hair curled tightly to her head. It played through your mind like a black and white film, a smile twitching at your lips. 

“You met the love of your life here?” You questioned, her hand linking through that of the man beside her, the pair looking at each other fondly. 

“In this very casino.”

“Would you believe me.. if I told you I met the love of my life here too?” You questioned, her shaky hand reaching to yours across the table, placing it over your own and you almost missed the soft sigh in your ear over the small scoff beside you.

“Would you believe me if I told you the same thing?” A voice crackled in your ears, and your lips twitched up, your fingers dusting over the pages in your folder as you pulled out a couple of neatly printed tickets. 

Spreading the pamphlets across the table, you explained each one, the tourist attractions and discounts all to business’ you had deals with, and they gathered them up gratefully. Listening intently as you ran through the details. It wasn’t until a hand landed on your shoulder that you stopped talking, your body jumping in shock as the unfamiliar fingers crawled along your body, wrapping around the top of your arm.

Your eyes flicked over to the man beside you, the late comer, his name already escaping you and you weren’t even sure if he had ever even given it. His eyes were focused on the booklets before you all, other hand wrapped around his drink as he took a swig from his glass, and you shook his hand from you, letting it drop back to the leather of the seat backing behind you. 

With a smile, you waved over one of the waitresses, receiving a short nod in reply and a bright smile, enough to light up the room, had it not been flashing already with the lights reflecting off machines. “How about we get started with a meal, and then we can take a walk around the casino?” You offered, a collection of cheerful hums sounding around the table in agreement, as the girl placed down the menus before each of you, taking a fresh drinks order and bounding away. “We just got a new menu, I haven’t had a chance to look over it yet, but I heard it’s great!” You lied through your teeth, but it wasn’t the first time, and it always brought a collective excitement to the guests when they thought they were some of the first to try something new. 

You let your eyes roam over the menu, fingertips brushing across the plastic coated paper as if you didn’t already know exactly what you would have, and what you would get boxed up for later to take home. “This is a fantastic menu!”

“It is! I almost feel bad for not having given it a real chance before! I’ll have to experiment with what I’ll be having on my lunch breaks for the next couple of weeks! I didn’t know we had such an extensive selection.” You joked, the table erupting in laughs, chipping in their two piece about meal choices. “Everything looks great.”

“It really does, everything just looks.. so delicious.” An unfamiliar voice murmured in your ear, lips brushing against the shell and you cringed, hearing a low growl sound in your ear and you leaned away. Flicking your hair over your shoulder, you caught sight of Thomas, his hands gripping the railings for the upper balcony tightly, knuckles white and jaw clenched as he looked down at you, or more specifically, the man who was far too close to you with his hand closing over your knee beneath the table. 

Almost as if saved by the bell, the ‘jackpot’ siren went off at a nearby machine, the intruder jumping backwards suddenly, and before he could return to his position, the waitress arrived back with your drinks, a relieved smile on your lips. Clearing your throat, Britt placed down the drinks carefully before each client, tucking the tray under her arm and pulling out her notepad, selecting one of the assortment of coloured pens she had tucked into the messy bun sat atop her head. 

She picked up on the desperate look in your eyes, her gaze flicking down from you to the man whose eyes were still burning into you, before glancing up to a security guard across the way, a smirk forming on her lips, but she didn’t say anything. You started out with the older couple, the pair of them listing off their orders before she made her way around the table to you. “Your usual, hon?” You nodded, holding up your hands to signal you wanted double this time, tipping your head just barely towards the tall, dark haired man watching over the table from afar.

She winked at you, a small laugh falling from your lips as you thanked her, and she nodded, clicking the tip on her pen and heading away from the table. Chatter took back up and you glanced around, taking note of the machines that were free tonight, thoughts piling into your mind and you couldn't help but let your eyes wander to the clock, only for them to widen. “What, not enjoying your time with us, doll?”

A light chuckle left your lips and you snapped your eyes away, shaking your head. “Actually, that’s not it! It just can’t believe three hours has passed. People don’t normally chat with me for this long, most groups want to get straight out onto the floor! I didn’t even realise how much time had passed!”

“Well, you know, time flies when you’re having fun.” He teased and you nodded, sipping your drink and turning to face him. You had hoped he’d take your silence, your lack of real response as a hint, but he didn’t, instead, he turned to face you more, leg brushing against yours as his arm stretched out along the back of the booth seating. “I bet a girl like you knows how to have a real good time.”

His voice had dropped down to a deep whisper, and you choked on the drink you had been sipping to prevent the need to talk, spluttering as you wiped at the corners of your mouth, eyes wide. He watched you with amusement, your jaw gaping as you tried to work out what to say. A growl in your ear caught your attention, your fingers gripping at your own knees tightly as your stomach dropped at the sound. Your eyes found Thomas’, he’d circled the room and now stood directly within your line of sight. He was angry, just as you’d assumed, his fiery gaze locked on the man beside you.

“Yeah, you do..” His voice was mumbled into your earpiece, and you were sure your eyes looked like saucers now, heart skipping as his lips twisted up from an angry frown into a sly smirk. “When you’re riding my cock into the early hours of the morning, my name falling from your lips as you shake. A real good time, always is.” A moan fought it’s way up at the words, and you coughed to cover it up, faking clearing your throat and you met his sight. His eyes were darkened now, twinkling dangerously and your crossed legs clamped even tighter together.

You shook your head at him discreetly, mouthing at him to stop, and he opened his mouth to speak again, but a body blocked your view, Britt placing meals down before you all. The food was a saving grace, and you all settled into you meal happily. “Just a starter, dear? You could’ve had more than that!” The older lady you were quickly becoming fond of grinned at you, cutlery held in her hands as she prepared to tuck in.

“Oh, I’m only having something small because I’ll eat at home later, with my man.” You dropped it in their, loudly, hoping the fool beside you would stop hitting on you. And it seemed like it was working, everyone tucking into their food. 

He kept his hands to himself, at least for the duration of the meal. You had barely finished your food before he was back at it, fingers playing with the tips of your hair, what he could reach from the seat. Placing your knife and fork down, your brain scrambled for an excuse, but luckily, the middle aged couple that hadn’t contributed much had spoken up, requesting to see the floor and get going with some slots. 

“We just need the cheque then!”

“Don’t you worry about that! I’ll sort it, and how about you all head on down to the games and choose the one you like, and I’ll be there in a moment?” You offered, turning to give a pointed look to the grandson, and he finally slid from out of your way, letting you stand. His eyes raked over your form, and you could feel them on you as you walked away. You hadn’t made it for before a hand hooked into your elbow, tugging you roughly into his side and you stumbled, a scoff falling from your lips. 

“I don’t like how he looks at you. Or speaks to you.” He whispered, and you hummed, your finger dragging along the forearm resting beside you, looking around to see if anyone was watching the pair of you.

“I can tell, from the comment you left me. While I’m working.” The words were hissed and he lightened up, a laugh falling from his lips. You found the computer, typing in your password and logging the meal as host privileges, the total coming back to zero. He didn’t bother watching, leaning against the wooden counter and watching you intently. You glanced up, an eyebrow raising as he continued to watch you log your notes, placing your file away before heading back out onto the floor. “Why are you watching me?”

“Because I love you.” He spoke quietly, so quietly that nobody would hear and your fingers stilled on the keyboard for a moment, before picking up their rhythm. 

“I love you, too.”

“I want to kiss you right now. I always want to kiss you, especially when you tell me you love me.” The strain in his voice was matched by the strain in your heart, his fingers twitching by his side, before he clenched them into fists as to stop from reaching out for you.

“Don’t make anymore of those little comments and you’ll get kisses later.” You teased, and he rolled his eyes fondly, watching you circle around him. His eyes were glued to your ass as you walked away, hips swaying as you moved further from him, back to the group who had decided on some starter slots before getting further into the night.

“Well, about time! I was just starting to miss you.” 

“Oh, Theo, will you stop hitting on the girl. She’s with someone.” His mother piped up, and you bit your lips to conceal your laugh, but the man in your ear didn’t. His fingers found yours, lifting them up to his mother's face and you cringed at the feeling of his hand wrapped around yours. 

“I don’t see a ring, mother. She’s fair game.” You snatched your hand back, clearing your throat and a loud huff sounded in your ear, but no comments came. You almost snapped, not enjoying the way he was referring to you, but you stopped, trying to focus on your job. 

“So, are you doing machines and slots all night, or are you wanting to head over to any tables?” You questioned, the adults chatting among themselves as you tried to back away from this ‘Theo’. He was incessant, and you tried to still the pleading look on your face, straightening the expression into one of curiosity as they spoke about the nights plans. You glanced at the clock again, thanking any God’s that existed that you didn’t have long to go, only a couple of hours left to fill. 

“That meal was good.” Theo tried again, and you turned to him, smiling politely as he inched closer to you again, one hand on the side of the machine you were currently leaning on, closing in on you. “I didn’t get a chance for dessert before the family wanted to throw away their money. I really would love to eat something.. sweet tonight.” He rolled his lips between his teeth, looking down at you and the action made you squirm.

The voice in your earpiece stayed silent, and your cheeks flamed from the way he was looking at you, but not in the same way they did when Thomas did. This was out of embarrassment, cringe and lust. You looked around for the man, not catching sight of him, the one time you needed to see him in order to calm down. “I’m sure we could see if the chef will-”

“You know..” You sighed, eyebrows furrowing, as he leaned into you once again, breath fanning over your skin and making you lean away, his arm on the other side of you trapping you in. “You look really good in that skirt.”

“Tell him how good it looks on my bedroom fucking floor!” A voice boomed, loudly, in your ear, and you almost wanted to chuckle at him, shaking your head fondly. You ducked down, dodging his arms and slipping from his trap as you found his family again, putting as much space between you and the man as possible. 

His mother found his side, a scolding tone on her as you took the front, guiding the group towards a table and getting them seats immediately. He had the decency to look scorned, not meeting your eye or trying anything for over an hour, and you managed to put it past you as the family began their evening. 

They were spending a lot, and not winning much, just enough to keep them interested. A smirk was formed on your features as you watched them. You excused yourself, claims of slipping away to the bathroom as you walked away from the group. A body fell into step beside you, silence filling the space between you both and the only noise that sounded was the beep signalling you that the doors were open for you to slip through. 

You had barely made it around the corner before your back met the wall, wet lips finding yours and a gasp slipped from your lips. He took the chance, his tongue slipping between your lips with a growl, fingers weaving into your hair as his lips moved against yours roughly. Your fingers scratched at the solid jacket on his chest, whining sadly at the lack of contact to his body you were getting. A dark chuckle left his lips, one hand dragging down from your hair to the rim of your skirt, wasting no time in slipping past it.

The digits skimmed over your panties, pressing to your clit lightly and you whimpered, hips jumping and you snapped away from his kiss. “Tommy, we’re at work, in the middle of a corridor.” The words were panted and you shook in his grasp as he pressed down on the little nub harder, tracing patterns as you whimpered, biting down on your lip. 

“Uh-uh. No. I’m the only one that gets to bite that lip. Not you, not that little weasel out there. Only me.” He leaned in, doing just as he said and taking your bottom lip in his teeth loosely, tugging on it before sucking it between his own. A loud moan left your lips, echoing from the walls and his fingers pushed your panties to the side. Swiping them through your folds, you shuddered, hips bucking up to meet his. “Very wet, princess. Already?”

“Kinda hard not to be when you’re kissing me like that and mumbling filthy things in my ear. Have you seen yourself in this uniform? Have you seen yourself at all? God, you’re like a wet dream come true.” He hummed, pushing a digit into you slowly, your walls clenching around him as he pumped it slowly. 

Your hands slipped up to his cheeks, pulling his lips back to yours, your tongue immediately finding home with his, your moans being swallowed. He added a second digit, fingernails scraping against your walls and a plea left your lips. His thumb came up to press down on your clit as the other pawed at your tits through your blouse. Tugging it to the side, the material burned into your neck where it pressed into your skin, and he pushed down your bra cup, his rough fingertips brushing your exposed nipple. 

His lips wrapped around the bud, your back arching from the wall and he wrapped the free arm around you, holding you against him. You tugged at his hair, tipping your head forwards to bury in his neck, loud moans and whines spilling from your lips as you clenched around his fingers.

The excitement of it all, the fact you could get caught, combined with the feeling of his fingers pumping into you rapidly, scissoring and stretching you, body pressed up against yours and lips sucking harshly at your chest tipped you over the edge. Your juices flowed around his fingers, a moan spilling from his own lips as you twitched in his grasp.

Pulling his fingers from you, he backed away, sucking them into his mouth and looking at you. Slumped against the wall, clothes messy and one breast hanging free, red and wet from his attention. Your hair was out of place and your lips were swollen. He released his fingers from his lips, your eyes fluttering shut as you caught your breath. He tucked your top back into your skirt, sorting your top and smoothing down your hair. His lips pressed to yours, tenderly this time, but you could still taste yourself on them. 

His lips twitched up as he pulled away, and you cracked open your eyes to look at him, a lazy smile on both of you. “What was that for?”

“You seemed tense, looked like you needed it. And I sure as hell did. I finish is twenty minutes, I’ll wait for you, take a nap in the car or something.” His nose bumped yours as he spoke and you nodded, contentedly, before suddenly coming to a realisation.

“I left my clients!” You smoothed down your hair, dashing away down the corridor and out onto the floor, not seeing the soft smile Thomas held, head tilted to the side as he watched you go. Wiping a hand over his face, he followed after you. By the time he reemerged, you were back on the floor, apologising to them all for being gone so long, and offering them a selection of tokens on the casino.

He was ready to hand over, a yawn pulling at his lips as his shift finally came to an end. Minho was on his way over, nodding to the other guards and taking his time. You were in your own world, chatting happily to the family as they finally made a fair sized win. He handed his mic over to his friend, grumbling about the man who was hitting on you and his friend gave him a knowing look, shaking him off and turning him away. 

The hours ticked by, fairly quickly too. The family continued to drink, becoming tipsier and spending more, their bill increasing at an exponential rate and your smile could only grow with them, knowing how good your ratings were going to look. 

Theo hadn’t tried anything else, whatever had been said by his family while you were gone had clearly sunk in, it didn’t stop the looks you were getting from him, but you were counting your blessings and ignoring them. 

It wasn’t until a hand found your shoulder as you leaned over a roulette table, cheering loudly that you snapped away. Malissa stood before you, a wide grin on her lips and hands on her hips as you pulled away from the crowd. You handed over to her quickly, passing her your earpiece and the tablet you had, filling her in on the group.

She wagged her eyebrows at you as you told her about Theo, warning her about him and she laughed, shaking her head. 

“He’s kinda cute.. maybe I’ll let him hit on me. I’m not in a relationship.” She giggled and you slapped her arm, your head tilting back, sounds drowned out by the casino, silence never an option. 

“Neither am I, but damn, Lissa!” She looked at you, eyebrows raised and your cheeks flushed. 

“Mm-hm. Anyway, you ready to introduce me?” She teased and you rolled your eyes, ignoring her gaze and comment. You gathered the group, letting them know your shift was over and Malissa would be taking over. You bid your goodbyes to them all, waving to Britt and she nodded, gathering up her things from the lastest table and shooting you a thumbs up. 

You were more than relieved to step into the quiet corridor once again tonight your cheeks flushing at the memories as you rounded the corner, eyes flicking up to the camera that didn’t quite point at you just right, a sly smirk finding your lips. You collapsed into the office chair, pulling up tonight's records and beginning to fill them out. A chair rolling across the floor stopped behind you and your head dropped, typing stopping as you chuckled, looking up to the girl leaning her cheek on her hand beside you. 

“Hi Steffy.”

“Oh, hi there.” She drawled, and you raised your eyebrows at her, your gaze saying it all as you waited for her to continue. Her face was holding a coy expression, and you sighed, opening your mouth to ask her what was up before she beat you to the punch. “So, you and Thomas, huh?”

You gaped at her, snapping your jaw shut as your cheeks rose red. “I-I don’t know what you mean!”

“Oh, really? Strange, so it was just a coincidence that you both disappeared from the floor together for the same amount of time, reappearing and both looking slightly disheveled then, huh?” She teased, and you swallowed thickly, not trusting words as you nodded at her. “You’re seriously telling me it was a coincidence?”

“Yes. Yes it was.” You confirmed, and another set of wheels rolled against the floor, another brightly coloured head of hair coming into view. The bubble from her lips popped loudly, and she looked directly at you, her stare seeming to go into your soul. 

“Oh, how about the moans and cries of his name that sounded eerily like your voice coming from the corridor. Coincidence?” Lauren stated and you dropped your face to your hands, a groan spilling from your lips as you hid your face in them. “No, no. It sounded more like ‘oh, Tommy, oh right there’ and ‘oh, God, Thomas!’ if we’re honest.” She mocked your moans, only stopping when she dodged the computer mouse thrown at her, a loud laugh leaving both of the girls, hands holding their stomachs as they cackled.

“So, how long? Still so hands on! It’s gotta be like..” She trailed off, both of them thinking as you sighed. “Six weeks.”

“Three months.”

The two looked at each other, debating what they were calling the ‘honeymoon phase’ and you groaned again, shaking your head as you saved your work. Gathering your bag, you stood up on achy feet, the anticipation of ridding yourself of these heels the only thing getting you up from this chair and not just sleeping right there. 

You were almost at the door when loud hollering stopped you, and you turned to the girls, wide eyes and smiles on their faces as they looked up at you. “So, how long?” Steff prompted and a smile pulled at your lips as you thought over your relationship. “I'm right, right? Six weeks-ish?”

“No! I’m closer, I promise. I’m closer, yeah? Don’t keep us waiting, tell us!” Lau sighed, and you grinned, biting your lip before telling them.

“Three years, actually.” Their jaws dropped and you winked, slipping from the room as they threatened you to tell them all the details tomorrow, the door slipping shut behind you both. You passed back through the loud casino hall, Malissa sending you a wave when she caught your eye, Britt handing you a brown paper bag, hot contents inside and you took it gratefully, placing a kiss to her cheek as you walked away, tucking the food under your arm.

The cool night air perked you up, and your heels rung loudly on the tarmac as you made your way through the carpark. Your car came into sight, your boyfriend leaning against it and watching as you made your way towards him. His arms opened widely for you, and you fell into them, a chuckle leaving his lips as you curled into his embrace. 

“I thought you were having a nap?” You questioned, dropping all of your belongings onto the backseat and taking the door he was holding open for you. 

“I did. I woke up just before you finished so when you were walking out you weren’t totally alone, you know?” He closed the door, rounding the car and settling into the driver’s seat. Your hand found his cheek, the warmth of the car flooding your system and he turned to look at you. You pressed your lips to his gently, a soft groan leaving his lips as you moved your lips against his own, sighing into his mouth. “That was nice.”

“You did a really nice thing.” You shrugged, and he grinned, putting the car into reverse and backing away from the spot. Heading away from the building, his hand found yours, fingers weaving together. 

“I would’ve done that anyway, it’s just looking after you. Kisses were just a bonus.” He teased, a cheeky grin on his lips and you licked over your own, nibbling on your lower one. 

“You know, I never got to repay you before. Or even say thanks. I just had to dash off.” You mumbled, fingers leaving his and dancing along his arm. 

“What are you talking ab- oh!” He cut himself off when your fingers brushed against his clothed crotch, coming to mess with his belt buckle. He let his gaze drop from the road for a split second, watching your fingers fiddle with his belt, pulling it from the loops and discarding it to the backseat. “Baby, you really shouldn’t do this while I’m dri-”

“You can get me off in work but I can’t suck you off while you’re driving?” You teased, easing down the zipper and popping the button of his black cargo pants open. The material fell loose, grey boxers revealed to you, and his foot pressed down on the pedal slightly harder, the vehicle moving faster towards its destination. His hand closed over yours, a strangled moan slipping from his lips and one of his hands shot down to grip at your wrist, stopping your fingers from moving along him any further.

“Baby, my cock in your mouth while we’re driving is so not the same as me fingering you in a corridor.” He muttered and you leaned across the console, lips working along his neck as he cursed, and couldn’t help but let his head tip to the side, granting you more access for your lips on his skin, the action a second nature. 

“I just really want to..” You teased, biting at his earlobe and slipping your fingers beneath the waistband of his underwear while he was distracted. A groan fell from his lips as you wrapped your fingers around him. “You’re hard, that was quick.” Your words were slightly mocking and he sneered, though it came out as more of a moan, and you slipped his member from the confines of his pants, stroking him slowly.

“Baby, I’ve been hard since I watched you come. It’s kinda’ hard not to be, with you moanin’ my name like that, wet pussy squeezin’ my fingers, God..” His cock twitched in your hands as he spoke, fingers gripping the wheel tightly as he tried to concentrate, words beginning to slur.

You hummed, leaning down to lick a long stripe from his base to his tip, swirling the muscle around the red, swollen head of his cock, before finally taking him between your lips. A loud sigh left his mouth, sounding almost heavenly, and the finger that had come down to clutch yours now laced into your hair, guiding you in bobbing along his shaft. 

“Jesus, fuck, I love your sinful, pretty little mouth.” He whimpered, and you hummed around him, his hips jumping at the sensation. You swirled your tongue around him, hollowing your cheeks, tightening around him, and his grip on your hair tightened. “Been thinkin’ ‘bout it all day, baby, ever since you walked in I was half hard, and then in the corridor, I’ve been aching for you for hours. Thinkin’ about all the ways I want to please you, fuck you, make you mine...” He was rambling, and you pressed the tip of your tongue under the head, knowing how much it drove him crazy. You focused on it, toying with the tip and clearing the salty precum from his slit, your hand stroking what you weren’t paying attention to. 

He bucked up into your grasp, wanton moans and pleas leaving his lips as the car stopped beneath you. His thighs were clenching, hips shaking and his fingers flexed in your hair, and you could tell he was desperately resisting the urge to hold your head and fuck up into your mouth. His fingers hooked under your chin, tipping your head up until your lips left him with a pop, saliva trailing from the corners of your mouth and along your chin, his cock shining and wet. 

You sat up, his fingers guiding you until your lips found his, working sloppily and lazily together, tongues tangling and teeth clashing. He fumbled to tuck himself back in his underwear, not bothering with the button or zipper before ripping the keys from the ignition and stumbling from the car. He made it around to your side as you leaned over into the backseat, grabbing at the bags in the back. A loud slap landed on your ass, a yelp leaving your lips and he grabbed at the place he’d hit, running his had over it soothingly.

You snatched the bags, backing out of the vehicle and he wrapped his arms around you, lips descending to your shoulder as you closed the car door. He locked it, navigating the pair of you to the door. His erection was digging into your ass, and he was grinding up into you in time with his moans, kissing and nipping at your neck. You took the keys from his hand, and they jingled in your shaking grasp as you tried to unlock the door. 

Finally getting it open, you dropped the bags, a giggle leaving your lips as you were spun around, pressed against the wooden door as soon as it slammed shut. His hands gripped tightly at your waist, burning into you, even through the layers of material. They fumbled, pulling your top from where it was tucked into your skirt. Your nails raked down his chest, mewling at the feeling of his taut skin beneath the soft cotton t-shirt, and your fingers hooked under the hem, tugging it up and over his head. 

Nimble fingers returned to the buttons of your blouse, frantically trying to undo them, as your lips meshed together, moans spilling loudly, his grunts of frustration drowning them out. You lifted your hands up, taking over as he unzipped your skirt, letting you step out of it. The article was thrown haphazardly away from the two of you. The slinky material of your button up fell from your shoulders, and you tossed it away. Your heels were kicked off, and he pulled away, lips raw and sensitive, buzzing with the feeling of his on yours. 

His pupils were blown, lust filled and dark, and they scanned down your body, tongue running along his bottom lip as a sigh left his lips. “You’re wearing those matching panties I love. Where you trying to drive me crazy today?” He whispered, head dipping to meet yours as your breath mingled, and you tipped your head up to meet him, lips brushing just barely. 

“You know I love to drive you crazy, I like how rough you get.” The words were panted out, your thighs rubbing together and he smirked, your tongue peeking out to moisten your own lips, brushing against his as you did so. He toed off his shoes, shocks following, while rubbing a hand over his jaw, a wicked look in his eyes as he watched you squirm under his gaze.

“Is that so, baby?” You’d barely sounded your reply when his hands found the backs of your thighs, lifting you roughly until your tits were pressed against his chest, looking even more plump than your bra made them. Your legs wrapped around his narrow waist, his hand skimming along supple flesh to cup your ass, digging in harshly, a whine falling from your throat. Your back hit the wall, his wet mouth trailing along your skin, sucking until red marks blossomed, soon to be replaced with purple bruises. 

Your legs tightened around his waist his hand finding the clasp and twisted it, letting it fall open, and you dropped it to the floor too, a trail of clothes leading to the place you currently stood. He leaned down, taking one of your nipples between his teeth, the bud already hard and his tongue soothed over it, teeth scraping it just slightly, the feeling shooting through you. 

A layer of goosebumps settled over you as you wiggled in his grasp, and he switched to the other, ignoring your pleas, a groan sounding in response to your fingers tugging at the dark locks of brown hair twisted between your fingers. Your nails scraped at his scalp and you pulled roughly at one particularly hard suck, a cry leaving your lips and he pulled away from your chest to glance up at you. 

“Fuck me, Tommy.” Your words were mumbled and slurred, but he heard them, nodding and dropping you to your feet. You ducked under his arm, his eyes following you as you all but sashayed away from him, hips swinging and your fingers tucked into the lace waistband of your underwear as you approached your bedroom door, wiggling them down your legs and winking over your shoulder. His feet hit the ground rapidly as he followed you, dropping his pants along the way, shimmying off the offending item until he arrived at the door. 

You were spread out on the bed before him, your fingers between your legs as you played with yourself and he cursed under his breath. Dropping to his knees before you, he grabbed at your ankle, pulling you towards the edge of the bed and watching as your fingers ran through your slick folds. He hooked the leg over his shoulder, pulling your fingers to his lips, sucking them clean and flicking at your clit with his thumb, your body jumping in response to his touch. 

He lunged forwards, sucking on the bead suddenly and your hands found his hair, a whine filling the room as he slurped at your dripping core. His hands spread over your inner thighs, pushing your legs apart and settling happily between them properly. One hand slipped up, two digits sliding straight into your dripping heat, and you clenched around his fingers, still a little sensitive from earlier in the day. 

His gaze fell to your pussy when he pulled away, watching his fingers slide in and out of you, your walls fluttering around him. “Tommy, please..” The way your voice cracked, the way you said his name, pleading and begging him, he snapped. You wanted rough, he’d show you rough. Your legs were spread further, pressing against the bed sheets and a third finger was added to the mix. He twisted his hand, stretching you out deliciously. His tongue lapped around his fingers, alternating between your entrance and your clit, licking you clean of the slick leaking from you in waves.

You were shaking, a moaning mess, and you were pulling at his hair, the burn on his scalp pushing him along as he growled into your core. The vibration shot along you, and your back arched as you came. Your fingers tightened around him, but he withdrew them, your orgasm washing over you, but no longer feeling as good. You were given no time to adjust or calm down, because he dropped his boxers down to the floor, his cock slapping against his stomach, before crawling over you. 

Your leg hiked up around his waist, locking on as your heel dug into his ass, pushing him forwards and into you. Your hips rocked up, wet core needing fulfilment. His tip was rubbing against your clit, and he slipped a hand between you both, lining himself up and slamming forwards. “Fuck, you are so tight.” He murmured, face buried in your neck, licking at the marks that were beginning to darken in colour. 

Your hair fanned out above your head, one hand lying idly beside it as the other clenched in the sheets, twisting at the material. His fingers grazed, just barely, along your arm, weaving between yours in a tight grip, as his hips settled against your own, the man bottoming out. You whimpered as his hips shifted, and you could feel every inch of him inside you, every curve and vein, the thought had your eyes closing tight, clenching around him, whimpers spilling from you.

His hips moved, pulling almost all the way out before smacking forwards once again, the feeling rocking through your body. Your back arched into him, your chest pressed against his, slick and sweaty skin slipping against his and your free hand shot up to his bicep, nails digging in and fingers clenching around his in your joint grasp. 

He was pounding into you, the sound of skin slapping skin filling the room, the wet smacking of lips sounding as he dominated you in every way. His tongue worked against yours and your body was buzzing. He trailed his attention down along your skin, your hand slipping around from his arm to his back, scraping along it and ripping raw and red welts into the pale, mole speckled flesh as he sucked at your jaw. 

“You’re so fucking good, Tommy.”

“Just for you, baby.” He grunted, hiking your leg higher on your waist and picking up his speed. You could feel him twitching against you, every inch of him, and you bucked up, rolling your hips and trying to meet his thrusts, but it was useless. Your body was jumping in his hold, body moving against his frantically and irrationally. 

“I love when you fuck me, fuck me good and hard. You’re the only one who can fuck me right.” He grinned, pulling from you and plunging two of his fingers deep into you, pumping them at a speed you couldn’t comprehend as the fire burning through your veins finally took over, consuming you from the inside out for the third time tonight. You came all over his fingers and he plunged his tongue into you, letting your climax drag out as he licked you clean, his name falling from your lips like a prayer. 

He sat back, working over himself and watching you twist in the sheets, panting and sighing, his name still falling from your mouth as you mumbled aimlessly. His hand worked harder, faster over his cock, spurred on by listening to the words and mumbles that were spilling from your lips. He couldn’t control himself, hands finding your hips and flipping you onto your stomach, a squeal leaving your lips, and you moaned as the sheets brushed against your sensitive core.

He swept his fingers along your pussy and you whined, your head lifting to look over your shoulder as he pulled you up on shaky legs, glistening core exposed to him. You knelt up, shaky hands holding your weight as you watched him. He was pumping himself, eyes raking down your body. “Tommy, can we.. um.. wait a second, I just like.. saw stars.. and I can, like.. um.. ba-”

“You can barely talk, you can’t even string a sentence together. Look at you.” He smirked, and you bit your lip, containing the noise threatening to break loose. “You think it’s hard to talk now? I’m going to fuck you over and over again, ‘til it’s nothing but a senseless babble. My name will be the only thing you can possibly say. How’s that?” His offer had you letting out a long moan, ass sticking out for him eagerly and his smirk became a full blown, toothy, shit-eating grin as he looked down at you, begging, open and ready for him.

His large hand found the back of your head, pushing you down until your cheek met the sheets below you. Fingers tangled in your hair, tugging ever so slightly and the sting shot through you, arousal dripping from your hole and down your legs, wetting the soft bedding more and more.

Your body was twitching, shaking from previous orgasms but you rubbed your legs together, desperate for more as heat still coursed through your veins, a shiny layer of sweat layering your skin. A hand wrapped around your waist, pulling you up onto your knees once again, back arched and ass sticking out for the man. 

A knee between your thighs pushed them apart, your pussy spread wide and on full display for the man. The swollen tip of his cock prodded at your entrance, still dripping with your juices and you bit down on your lip, a plea sealed in your throat as the hand from your hair slid down to rest between your shoulder blades. The plea was released in a scream of his name when his hips slammed forwards, bottoming out within you and tapping against your g-spot already. He gave you no time to adjust, his other hand coming to your waist, fingers bruisingly tight as he slammed into you, ricocheting his hips into yours rapidly once again, slapping of skin filling the room. 

His breathy grunts found your ears, the coil in your stomach already winding tight, threatening to snap, and your fingers curled into fists in the bed sheets, knuckles white as you gripped, pants and begs leaving your lips, rolling from your tongue continuously as he pounded into you, tapping against your spot each time, nails digging into the skin of your back. 

“Oh, God, Tommy..”

He shifted, rough palm sliding across your skin as he found your shoulder, pulling your back up flush to his chest as he reached deeper within you, a desperate cry falling from your lips as your eyes rolled back. Your body shook in his grasp, his fingers curling around your throat and you couldn’t hold it back anymore. The coil snapped, screams leaving your lips as you spasmed, hands clawing at the arm secured around your waist as he continued to pound into you, the stimulation too much but he desperately sought his own release.

Your walls clenched around him, climax dragging out and heightening as he fucked into you a few more times, your vision beginning to speckle out as he reached his own peak, your name tumbling from his lips as he bit down on your shoulder to muffle his sounds, voice deeper than usual, moans and grunts falling from his plump lips and bitten lips. Hot strings of come splattered against your walls, filling you to the brim and you moaned at the feeling, eyebrows furrowing as he slipped his cock from your sensitive hole, a mixture of both your cum dripping down your legs as you fell forwards onto shaky arms.

The mattress dipped beside you, the man laying on his back, staring at the ceiling with a dopey smile on his face, one arm slung out before you, a silent invitation to cuddle, and the other lifted, over his eyes as he fought to slow his racing heart, chest heaving before he released a breathless chuckle. You lay beside him, your head pillowed by his bicep and he propped himself up on his other arm to look at you, a coy smirk on his lips. 

“Just look at you.” He whispered, fingers brushing tentatively across your flushed cheek, pushing stray pieces of hair behind your ears and your eyebrows furrowed as you looked at him.

“I’m a mess. A thoroughly fucked out mess.” You muttered, and he laughed lightly, leaning down to press a sweet kiss to your lips.

“A beautiful fucked out mess.” He teased, and you shook your head, snapping your gaze away from him and taking your bottom lip between your teeth, sighing through your nose. “I’m serious. This is my favourite look on you. Panting and breathless, a little sweaty and totally flushed. Covered in fresh marks only I get to give you, that only I’ll get to see.” his thumb lifted to pull your bottom lip from it’s prison, and you pouted, pressing a kiss to the pad of the digit. “Lips red and swollen from kisses only I get to give you, and-” His fingers swiped along your leg, brushing against your abused clit and you let out a little whine, hips bucking at the feeling as he lifted his fingers up for you to see. “A mixture of both of cum dripping from your perfect little pussy. You really are a true masterpiece, made just for me.” 

He pressed the digits to your lips and you parted, happily sucked the mixture of both of your fluids from them, tongue swirling around his fingers and his lips parted, eyes hooded as he watched, a low groan falling from his lips before he pulled his fingers from your mouth with a ‘pop’. Your palm found his cheek, pulling his lips down to meet yours, brushing them together teasingly as your eyes fluttered shut, his eyelashes already tickling against your skin. “I love you.” The words were mumbled against his lips, and he rolled himself on top of you, hands caging you in on either side of your head as he bumped his nose against yours playfully. 

“Not as much as I love you, baby.” You weren’t given a chance to respond, his lips descending onto yours once again, catching you in a heated kiss, your words long forgotten as you pushed up to tangle your fingers in his hair, nails running over his scalp as you played with his locks, knowing how much he loved it, your confirmation coming when he broke your kiss, a content sigh leaving his lips as he let his body drop onto yours, half rolling onto the bed and nuzzling into you, letting you play with his hair. 

“Oh! I got you something!” You perked up, a laugh leaving his lips as you shoved at his shoulders and he rolled onto his back and away from you. 

You slipped from the bed, tossing him his boxers and running awkwardly from the room. You grabbed the paper bag, the contents inside still somewhat hot, to your surprise, and you peaked in to find it all triple wrapped in foil before being boxed up, and you mentally thanked your friend for doing so. Swiping the soft cotton shirt your boyfriend had worn, you tugged it over your head, pulling the panties up your legs and trotting back to the room on shaky legs.

When you turned the corner, however, your grin fell from your face as your jaw hung open. Amongst the mess littering the floor, strewn clothes from your recent actions the main culprit, but your love was nestled in the middle. He was on one knee, his eyes on yours, lips pulled up in that sweet little smile you’d grown so used to, and between his fingers, was clenched a little silver band, a few diamonds dotted along the metal. He cleared his throat, and you shuffled forwards, dropping to your knees before him, your legs hitting the carpet softly and your hand shook as you raised it to his cheek, your mouth opening.

“Wait, no, you have to let me do my speech first, I have this whole thing planned out. You gotta’ let me, like, get it out, because otherwise I’ll be trying to rework it into vows, or if you say no I guess I’ll just say it every day in the mirror until I.. like.. die one day-” You kissed him softly, cutting off his rambling. 

“Tommy, say your speech, baby, stop being nervous. Rambling isn’t you.” You grinned and he nodded, shutting his eyes for a second and calming his madly beating heart. 

“I love you, you know this. I have loved you since our first date, when you laughed at the menu making a comment about not ordering garlic bread on a date, and told me if I didn’t want to kiss you after you ate garlic bread then it was my loss. It wasn’t, because I loved every second of that kiss, and every kiss since then.” He smiled at you, leaning forwards to place a little peck to your lips. 

“It was a good kiss.” You agreed, a relieved laugh slipping from his mouth.

“Every day since then has been amazing. I want it all with you. I love our little condo, and I love our little routine, but I want it all. I want that cake tasting, and honeymooning, and going to those stupid functions at work as husband and wife. I want to match my tie colour to your dress and I want you to be able to say husband when fending off guys who are hitting on you. I want to be the only guy to hit on you for the rest of our lives.” His voice trailed off into a whisper, and you grinned, tears slipping down your cheeks.

“That was really cute.” You sighed, sniffling and leaning forwards, pressing your lips to his in a series of soft and loving kisses. 

“They’re good tears, right? Not ‘how am I going to stomp on his heart’ tears?” He joked, voice trembling as he wiped the water from your cheeks and you laughed, shaking your head. 

“Such good tears. The best tears.” You clarified, the weight from his heart lifting.

“I know it’s just a shitty slots machine ring, an-”

“Tommy, any ring from you is beautiful, and I love it. You could have made it with the plastic tie that comes on loaves of bread and I’d still love you, and love it.”

“I know, but it is. I’ve had one on hold for a while at a store actually. I was planning to do this in a few months when we had our anniversary, but today, seeing that guy comment on your lack of ring made me realise I don’t want to wait. I want to be with you and show you off right now.” He held it out, object now sitting in the palm of his hand. “We can go and pick up your real ring next week, but for now, will you marry me?”

You lunged forwards, face buried in his neck and his arms wrapped around you tightly, a contented sigh slipping from him as you nodded, mumbling your yes’ into his skin, fresh tears hitting his bare shoulder. “I would love to marry you, Tommy. I love you so much. Give me that shitty ring so I can wear it with pride!” You joked, trembling hand held out to him as he slipped it onto your finger, kissing the back of your hands and your knuckles. “You made my gift look crappy, now.”

A teary chuckle left him as his eyebrows raised and you held up the bag, shaking it from side to side. “I brought burgers and fries from work. They’re still kinda’ warm.” You sighed, his eyes lighting up and he reached for it with grabby hands.

“You brought burgers! With bacon?” He excitedly reached into the bag pulling the warm and tasty treat from within. He unwrapped it, biting into it quickly and letting out a delighted sound as the food hit his tongue.

“Of course. There’s onion rings too.” He stopped his chewing mid-chomp as you bit into your own treat, looking up at you with wide eyes. 

“Onion rings too? God, you really are the love of my life.” He whispered, pressing his lips to yours and a giggle left your lips as you licked the ketchup from the side of his mouth.

“And your fiancé now, too.”

He slammed his fist against the table, causing you to flinch. You clenched your fists, leaning your head against them for a moment before sitting tall and stretching your fingers. You stared down Janson, refusing to break first. You folded your hands neatly on the table, tilting your head slightly with a sly smirk climbing to your face.

“Did you really think I’d tell you anything?” You laughed. “What makes you think I knew anything about this?”

“You and Thomas were extremely close…” Janson said tensely. He quickly rubbed his mouth in frustration, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. “If you have nothing to say, maybe we need to jog your memory.”

“Do what you want.” You shrugged defiantly. “I don’t know anything.”

“We’ll see about that.” He said with finality.

As he stood, two guards came in and hauled you from your seat. They led you down hallway after hallway, down three sets of stairs to a level of the Compound you didn’t know existed. You were pushed into a dark room, pushed so suddenly you fell to your knees. A clattering came from beside you, and looking over you saw a long spear had been thrown at you.

The ground was slick with a thick substance, too thick to be water. Your feet slid as you stood. There was a faint blinking red light coming from the other side, the creek of a door opening. Suddenly, the room was full of a squelching sound mixed with the scrape of metal against concrete. There were screams, hollow monstrous noises that echoed. Quickly, you grabbed the spear and gripped it tightly. You weren’t prepared for what happened next.

“Y/N?” Harriet asked, shaking you gently. You jumped slightly, your head snapping up to see your friend. “You alright?”

“Yeah.” You nodded carefully, running your hand through your hair. “All good.”

“Found something you might wanna see.” She smiled mischievously as she led you out the building you and the rest of your friends had been camped out in. Most of your group stayed behind, feeling safe at WICKED’s compound. You saw through WICKED the moment you saw Janson.

You managed to break yourself out along with Harriet, Sonya, Aris, and a few others. Your group was small, which made it easier to hide. You found a building that was seemingly halted mid-construction, the tarps providing easy cover for you.

You came face to face with a group of about ten boys. Some were familiar, you had seen them at the Compound before you escaped with your friends. You scanned their faces, trying to remember names.

“WICKED?” You questioned simply.

“Group A.” Harriet replied with lifted brows.

“Ah.” You nodded, stepping closer to examine the boys. “Group A, huh? You don’t seem like a first group.”

“First the worst, second the best, maybe?” Harriet offered from behind you.

You laughed slightly before getting their attention.

“So which one of you are in charge?” You asked, nodding towards them. They looked between each other, seemingly having no chain of command. You stared with raised brows, waiting for an answer. “Do you speak English or…”

“Yeah, yeah sorry.” The brunette in front laughed nervously. You felt your heart slamming in your chest when he spoke. “I guess I’m in charge.”

“Alright.” You swallowed hard. “You got a name?”

“Thomas.”

“Thomas?” You questioned. “Do you, by any chance, remember anything before the Maze?”

You knew it wasn’t the question to ask right off the bat. Once it left your mouth, you instantly regretted it. But you had to know if there was a chance that he knew, a chance that your connection was strong enough.

“Things are coming back slowly but no, not really.” He studied your face as you stared at him. He watched your eyes shift from curiosity to disappointment. He could tell you were hoping to hear something else but he didn’t know what you were looking for. “Do you?”

“We’ll get to that later.” You waved a hand dismissively. “You boys can head inside. There’s not many of us but you’re more than welcome to stay.”

“Thanks.” Thomas offered a small but honest smile. 

As the boys filed in, Harriet pulled you to the side.

“That’s him, isn’t it?” She asked anxiously. “The one that you told us about?”

“Yeah, that’s him.” You shrugged. “Once he looked at me, I- I felt something, something I haven’t felt since I lost him… But it’s pointless if he doesn’t remember.”

“He will.” She comforted you. “Just give him a little time.”

“You’ve looked better, Y/N.” Janson said smugly from the other side of the table.

You glared at him, not offering any words. You felt your blood boiling in your veins, your muscles itching to act. Your jaw was tightly clenched, enough to give you a small headache. Your breathing was heavy, your anger hard to contain. But you bit back your cruel words.

“I have to say I am a bit surprised you made it.” Janson continued when you refused to speak. “Any recollection of why Thomas released classified files?”

“We all got expectations…” You said carefully. “Sometimes they go wrong. I have no information for you, Rat Man. Same as two days ago.”

“Hmm.” He sucked his teeth obnoxiously. “Fine. Let’s see how well you do in a second round.”

You stood suddenly, leaning onto the table. Your palms were flat against the cool metal, arms locked as you faced Janson. “If you really think whatever monster you have cooking down there will kill me, you’re gonna have to do better than that slime ball with the metal legs.”

“We can do much better, Y/N.” He threatened.

“You think that a scar on my face is going to break me?” You laughed slightly. A result from your fight was a long gash from your hairline to your chin, cutting through your left eyebrow and skipping over your eye. It picked up on your cheekbone and was a straight shot down. Every word from your mouth felt like it was reopening the fresh would, but you had a point to make. “In the end, it’s my decision. So it’s my fault when it ends.”

You woke that night in a cold sweat. Your hands were shaking, old scars pulsing. You let out a sigh, throwing your arm over your eyes. Sleep was harder to find, especially in the Scorch. It never felt safe, but you knew your friends were doing better than you. You were more concerned about them than yourself, so you kept your struggles to yourself.

You headed for the open space at the other side of the room. You didn’t know if it was supposed to be a window, or if it was just broken down when the world collapsed. You didn’t necessarily care either.

When you got there, one of the boys was already sitting near it. You sat opposite of him, offering a small smile in greeting.

“Need some company?” You said, leaning on the wall beside the opening.

He chuckled slightly. “Couldn’t sleep either?”

“I don’t know the last time I slept through the night, honestly.” You shrugged. “Different nightmare every night, always comes back to the same thing.”

“Need to talk about it?” He offered gently.

“You actually wanna listen?”

“I’d like to know your name first but yeah, I’ll listen.”

“Before the Mazes, there was this boy…” You started carefully. You decided to leave out the part about the boy being Thomas simply for the fact that he didn’t seem to recognize you. “He did something crazy that WICKED didn’t like, so they sent him off. They took their anger out on me and it kinda haunts me. I guess...”

“How bad was it?”

Thomas realized then who you were. He didn’t know if it was your story or your voice that triggered it for him, but something about you felt right. You were Y/N, the motivation for him to leave the Maze. The appeal of running into the Scorch. The deep, empty feeling in his chest when he was in the Maze. You were the name on the tip of his tongue, begging to be said out loud. You were the memory that danced on the edge of his mind, waiting for him to reach out and reclaim. And now you were sitting in front of him, admitting all your pain. Pain he put you through.

“Pretty bad.” You nodded slowly. “It was enough for WICKED to keep me in the Compound instead of sending me in.”

“You never went into a Maze?”

“Nah.” You shook your head. “Never had my memory wiped either. I remember everything about life before this.”

“That’s heavy.” He said sadly. “Is that how you got-” He gestured to his own face, mimicking the deep scar on your own. “That was probably not the right thing to say, sorry.”

“All your boys are curious, aren’t they?” You chuckled.

“Some more than others.”

“I’ll tell you a story before it tells itself.” You scooted closer to him, letting the moonlight illuminate your features. Thomas had forgotten how beautiful you were, and the hazy figure in his dreams didn’t do you justice. “WICKED needed someone to test their monsters. What did you guys call the creatures in the Maze?”

“Grievers.” Thomas said quietly. He was still trying to process the scars on your body, the permanent reminder of what WICKED did to you.

“I called them Skitters.” You continued. “Anyways, WICKED wanted them to be potentially deadly without being murderous, I guess. I never really understood why they needed them. But I guess they needed them to be able to fight and not just attack. Especially when you started to figure out the Maze.”

“You fought Grievers?” He asked in awe. “And you survived?”

“WICKED couldn’t let their favorite test dummy die so easily.” You laughed bleakly. When you saw the concerned expression Thomas wore, you had to quickly redirect the conversation. “So, Thomas. What was it like in your Maze?”

“Y/N, I- I’m sorry.” He said honestly, his eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head.

“Thomas?” You said to get his attention. He looked up quickly, apologetic eyes finding yours. “I never told you my name.”

“Yeah, you did.” He countered. “You said it…” He tried to remember, but he then realized you never did tell him. “Huh, guess not.” He smiled nervously.

“You know me, don’t you?” You pressed, inching forward.

“If I had known they were going to do that to you, I-”

“You couldn’t have.” You shook your head, planting yourself by his feet. “I didn’t even know they were going to do that. Once they shipped you off, they sent me into that fight within an hour. They told me think with my head, not that thing in my chest. They just wanted me to sell you out, to tell them the extent of what you did.”

“I don’t know what I did.”

“Nothing WICKED didn’t deserve.” You shrugged. “T, listen.”

“T?”

“Thomas.” You corrected yourself. “Everything that happened after you left- this -” You gestured to your face. “-had nothing to do with you. This was WICKED getting back at me because I cared about you. And if they couldn’t punish you, they’d punish me.”

“My point, Y/N, is that they never should’ve put hands on you.”

“Technically, they didn’t.” You said with a devilish smirk as an idea came to you. “But you can.”

Thomas chuckled, placing hands on your hips so he could pull you closer. You swung your leg over his lap, moving to straddle him. Your hands slid up his chest slowly before finding their way into his hair. Thomas closed his eyes and hummed in delight at your gentle, purposeful touch.

He didn’t even realize what he was missing without you. He didn’t realize how relaxing your touch was, how sweet your voice was. He had forgotten how truly beautiful you were, from every angle. Thomas was quick to decide his favorite angle was when you were on top of him.

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to yours gently. You smiled against his lips, loving the contact you missed from him. His grip on your hips tightened slightly as he pulled you against him. Your fingers tugged gently on his hair, drawing a small groan from him. You chuckled slightly as his hands found their way up your shirt.

Thomas quickly jumped away, pulling his hands back after his fingers ghosted the deep circular scar on the center of your stomach. You stared in confusion, your feelings slightly hurt that he would pull away so suddenly. When you saw where his eyes were focused, you understood why he pulled away the way he did.

“You feel bad for me, don’t you?” You realized, your voice flattening. “Hold on to your opinions and stand by what you said.”

You knew what they had done to you was terrible and you hated WICKED for it. But the one thing you hated more than WICKED was pity. When Group B arrived at the Compound, a couple weeks after Thomas entered his Maze, you were littered with cuts and bruises you couldn’t hide. You didn’t want to hide your injuries, because  you weren’t ashamed of them. You always understood that they were purposeful, that you had fought and survived.

“I feel guilty, Y/N/N.” He sighed, casually using the nickname he had always used with you.

“Get up.” You said plainly, standing and heading outside. You heard the scuffling of Thomas following. You turned to face him once you were outside, pausing to admire him in the moonlight. “Why do you think I brought you out here?”

He shrugged slightly, his mouth open but failing to produce any sound.

“I brought you out here so you could actually see what happened to me.” You said simply. You pulled your shirt over your head, holding the fabric between tightly balled fists.

“Holy shit.” He sighed.

“Look at me, Thomas.” You said firmly when he tilted his eyes to the nightsky. “Look at me.”

“What do you want me to say, Y/N?” He snapped, throwing his hands forward dramatically. “You don’t want me to apologize. You don’t want me to feel bad for you. What do you want from me?”

“I want you to look.” You stood firm until his eyes finally met yours. “I am covered in scars and bruises. You felt this one-” You pointed to your stomach. “-and you bailed. Why?”

“I wasn’t expecting it.” He tried to explain.

“I was stung.” You began explaining. “WICKED knew they had to up the ante with the serum, but they needed to see the effects before they could send it in. Once they cut my face and I didn’t give them any info, they wanted to break my mind.”

“Y/N, I-”

“No, this is the part where you listen.” You said firmly. “Alright? You don’t need to explain anything or try to come to terms with what happened to me. This is my story.”

“Then what is it about?” He cut in. “You just said that they did this to you because of what I did. But I don’t even know what I did! I don’t know how hurting you was supposed to be some sort of punishment for me!”

“This was a punishment for you, you moron.” You rolled your eyes.

“How does hurting you-”

“Because obviously seeing me like this hurts you!” You interjected. “God, Thomas, how are you so oblivious? WICKED didn’t do this because they wanted to leave me scarred and fucked up. I mean, they probably did, but the main point was that you’d eventually have to see me like this. You’d see it and blame yourself.”

Thomas stopped, pausing to digest your words. He realized that you were right. WICKED knew him better than he knew himself. WICKED knew Thomas would see your scars, feel your scars, and blame himself. WICKED wanted to hurt Thomas by guilt, by forcing him to look at the pain they caused you. He could tell that the scars didn’t bother you, not anymore at least. Maybe they did at some point, but that was long gone. Now, Thomas could tell that you saw your scars as a personal victory. WICKED wanted to break you, but they didn’t.

“Guess you won after all, huh?” Thomas offered a lopsided smirk, closing the distance between you. His hand landed on your hip and pulled you against him.

“You’re the one that I want.” You said calmly, any anger or annoyance you felt had melted when he flashed that smirk. “And if that’s really so wrong…”

“Ouch!”

“Oh shit!” Someone from below exclaimed. “Sorry, Y/N!” He winced.

“Thomas?” You leaned further out your window to see Thomas standing in your driveway.

“Hey, there!” He waved at you and you could see his pearly whites shining in the dark. “You okay?”

“Were you throwing stones at my window?” You couldn’t help but shake your head, but a smile nevertheless crept onto your lips. “Y’know I have a front door, right?” You pointed at the door that was just beneath your window. “It’s right there.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Well, but that’s boring and besides aren’t your parents there?”

“Do you see a car anywhere?” Thomas looked around him and noticed that in fact the driveway was empty. He hadn’t even noticed.

“Are you gonna come down now or what?”

You tapped your chin with your finger, trying to portray your best thinking expression, you heard him sigh impatiently. “God, jeez! I’m coming!”

He threw his hands up in the air dramatically. “Thank you!”

“You’re such a baby.” You laughed and closed your window, looking around your room for your shoes and tying them securely to your feet. It only took you a few minutes until you opened your front door and locked it behind you, putting the key in your jacket pocket.

Before you could turn around though two arms wrapped around your waist and hugged you from behind. You could feel Thomas’ lips brushing against the crook of your neck, his slight stubble tickling you. “Hey.” He left a sweet kiss there.

“Hey.” You placed your hands atop his on your stomach and leaned your head back on his shoulder, enjoying laying in his arms and feeling safe in them.

Way too soon he pulled away. A pout forming on your lips. “I have something for you.” Thomas beamed down at you and seeing him this happy, caused your smile to return.

“Oh, really? What is it?” You asked intrigued and took his hand as he held it out for you, walking down with you to his old beat up pick up truck.

“It’s a surprise.” He yanked the passenger door to his car open and motioned for you to get in. You didn’t comply though, at least not right away. You crossed your arms in front of your chest and quirked an eyebrow at him.

“You know that I hate surprises, Tommy.” Thomas put both his hands on your shoulders and smiled down at you fondly, reaching one hand out to soothe your worry lines with his thumb.

“You trust me, right?” You pulled your lower lip between your teeth and bit down on it to hide your smile. You nodded. “Good, then get your cute little ass in the car, Y/N.”

The car ride was fun and the atmosphere was light. It felt like you two were the only people in the world as Thomas maneuvered his truck through the empty streets of the night while music was softly playing in the background as you both joked around and laughed about the stupidest things.

You reached out for his neck and started playing with the ends of his hair, twirling them between your fingers while you looked at him lovingly, admiring how perfectly upturned his nose was and how when the light of one of the street lights illuminated his face, his eyes would shine as golden as ever.

“I love you.” You whispered, afraid that if you raised your voice you could disturb the peace and quiet of the night.

Thomas turned his head to look at you, a genuine smile playing around his lips and his eyes seemed to sparkle as he connected them with yours. Butterflies immediately assaulting your stomach. Thomas and you have been together for over a year now, but the butterflies just wouldn’t cease to exist, neither did the erratic heartbeat or the clammy hands whenever he looked at you the way he did right now.

“I love you too.” He whispered back, before he trained his eyes on the road again.

A comfortable silence filled the car as you watched how the land passed you byas you looked out the window.

Finally, Thomas pulled down a dirt road and you could see a sign which told you where you were going.

“Seriously?” You started giggling and shaking your head at the fact that he had remembered it. Seemingly forever ago you had told Thomas about one of the best days of your childhood. You, together with your family and best friend had been to one of those corn mazes in summer. You had been running around like crazy, trying to out chase the other and competed in who would be able to solve the maze first. In the end though your dad had challenged you and your best friend, Teresa, to compete against him and you had teamed up, beating him, although, looking back you were pretty sure that he had let the both of you win. After running around through the gigantic maze for hours there was a stand with grilled corncobs with butter and salt and you had managed to devour two of them on your own along with a huge sundae afterwards. This had been the first and last time that you had been to one of those corn mazes and sometime ago you had told Thomas about it, just as a random story though. You couldn’t believe that he had actually remembered it.

“Good surprise?” He chimed in with your laughter. Seeing you this happy caused his stomach to do somersaults. You were so pretty when you had a huge smile on your face.

“The best!” You beamed at him and he could feel his heart swell with more love for you just by looking at the childlike excitement that was reflected in your eyes.

After a few more minutes driving down the dirt road, the maze finally came into view and it was gigantic! You squished your forehead against the window as if that would allow you to take everything in, in a better way. Thomas only laughed as he saw you doing that.

He turned the steering wheel around and came to a stop in front of a fence that you had somehow missed. The thin wire barely visible in the night and from the distance, but now standing in front of it, it was clearly visible. You jumped out of the car.

“Well, I forgot that these things usually have fences to keep the animals away.” You sighed as you heard Thomas slamming his door shut and walking over to you. You weren’t sad though, it meant the world to you that he had remembered it in the first place and you could always come back. “We can just come back sometime this week.” You looked up at him and saw his distinctive thinking expression that usually got you in a shit load of trouble. “Tommy, it’s okay. Really.”

“No, no… wait.” He shook your hand off his shoulder and took big strides towards the fence. You followed after him until eventually you stood directly in front of it. “It’s not that high.” Thomas shrugged and flashed you a mischievous smile.

“It’s three meters high, Tommy, at the very least!” You shook your head, already knowing what he was about to propose.

“C’mon, Y/N! We drove here for nearly over an hour and we’re not gonna leave until we get the full experience.” He looked around him and found a wooden box next to the parking lot ticket booth. He signaled for you to wait there for him as he sprinted off to get the box. He placed it in front of the fence and you had to stifle a laugh. This didn’t improve your odds at all. “We’re gonna get in there, or we die trying!” He said in an as serious as possible tone, you playfully slapping his chest.

“I’d rather not die.”

His eyes turned soft and he couldn’t keep himself from leaning down and putting a chaste kiss to your lips. “I’d never let anything happen to you.”

“I know.” You looked up the fence again. “So, what’s your stupid plan?”

“Did you just peek under my skirt?”

“Maybe.” You could hear his shit-eating grin.

You scoffed playfully. “You’re unbelievable!”

Thomas had somehow lifted you up on his shoulders, so you could reach the upside of the fence and now you were helplessly hanging off it like a sack of potatoes. “Now, push me up! I can’t hang on much longer!” You grunted as your arms started burning.

Thomas took your feet and placed them atop his shoulders. You pushed your feet off and took your momentum to straighten your arms. The upper half of the fence was now by your hips and you could easily fling your legs over, hanging off the other side now. You let go off the fence and landed rather ungracefully on your ass.

“You okay?” Thomas asked as you got back to your feet, pulling your skirt back where it belonged.

You nodded, assuring him that you hadn’t hurt yourself. “So, how’re you gonna get over here?” You raised an eyebrow at him, questioning his plan once again.

“Have a little faith, Y/N.” He said as he pushed himself up on the wooden box and grabbed the upper side of the fence with ease and heaved himself up and to the other side in a matter of seconds.

“Show-off.” You muttered, but Thomas had heard you nonetheless and busted out laughing. “I’m gonna kick your ass!” You laughed along with him as you sprinted off and into the maze, Thomas hot on your tail.

“I’m gonna get you!” He hollered from behind.

“Keep on dreaming!”

You rounded a right corner, then a left and another left until you found yourself on a dead-end. “Shit.”

You sprinted off into the other direction again, taking a right turn this time. Then there was a long passage where you just had to run straight ahead until you reached an intersection that had four possible ways. From behind, you heard footsteps closing in. You held your mouth shut with your right hand to stop the giggles that wanted to come out of your mouth. Somehow your race had turned into a game of cat and mouse. You chose to take the left turn and kept on running away from Thomas in the hopes of finding the exit before him.

“Y/N, where are you?” Thomas called out for you. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

He was closer now, but you couldn’t quite make out from where exactly his voice was coming from. Your heart picked up its pace as you rounded another corner, looking behind you to check if Thomas was already there. He wasn’t, but just as you looked in front of you again, you collided with someone, both of you falling to the ground with a grunt.

“Gotcha!” Thomas chuckled underneath you, you laying atop his chest.

“And now?” You reached your hand out to brush it through his hair and then tracing his features with your index finger. The night was mild, but you still had goosebumps spreading over your whole body just by the way he looked at you.

“Now,” he whispered, enjoying the feeling of you lightly tickling his skin, “I can do whatever I want with you.” You reached his left cheek and started connecting his moles there, following his jawline, went up again to lightly graze his lips.

“Oh, yeah?” You leaned in closer and closed your eyes until you were barely an inch away from him. “And what would that be?” Your lips touched each other as you spoke.

Time seemed to stand still as Thomas reached up to put a loose strand of your hair that had fallen out of your messy bun behind your ear. “This.” He closed the distance between you and placed a soft and love filled kiss to your lips. “And this.” He kissed you again, this time though he managed to sneak his tongue into your mouth and they both started fighting for dominance, rubbing against each other in the most delicious way possible. “And this.” He spun the both of you over, so you were laying on your back now and he was hovering over you, reconnecting your lips again in a more desperate way this time.

Automatically his hip started grinding into yours, your skirt steadily sliding up with the motion.

The kisses grew more desperate, both of you groping at each other in a way to find more skin.

Suddenly, you heard leaves rustling next to your head. You paused.

“Did you hear that?” You whispered, but Thomas shook his head, already leaning in for another kiss. He wasn’t thinking with his head anymore. You rolled your eyes and pushed him off you. “No, listen!”

There it was again, Thomas hearing it too this time around.

“Where’s it coming from?” He asked you as he scanned the area with his eyes. It was pretty dark where you were in the maze. Your only lighting sources were the moon and the stars overhead. Today was the night of a full moon, therefore it was relatively bright still.

“I think it’s coming from over there.” You pointed to where you thought the sound was coming from.

Thomas took a step in it’s direction, but as soon as he bent down to get a better look something whizzed out from under one of the hedges, causing you to sequel and jump to your feet.

It was a mouse.

Thomas started laughing hysterically, to a point where he waltzed around on the dirt floor in order to mock you even more.

“Oh, shut up!” You dusted your skirt and shirt off and held your hand out for him to take it. You were in the process of pulling him up, but he wouldn’t stop laughing like an idiot, therefore you just let go off his hand and he plopped down on his ass again. Now you were the one bending over in a fit of laughter, seeing the ridiculous expression on his face.

“Ouch, that hurt!” He pouted as he got to his feet by himself.

“You’ll live!” You patted him on his chest. “Want me to make it more bearable?”

“Please!” He threw his arms up in the air overdramatically. He was such a dork.

You stood on your tip toes and gave him a quick but sweet kiss to his lips. “Better?”

“Only partly.” He whined and you reached up to place a longer kiss on his lips.

“Get over it.”

You laid on Thomas’ pick-up trucks cargo platform, a few blankets draped over your naked bodies, limps tangled underneath as you looked up at the stars.

“Thank you for that.” You started tracing lazy patterns on his chest, twirling his chest hair with your fingers as you looked up at him lovingly.

“Anytime, baby.” He left a kiss on your hairline and you could immediately feel the butterflies in your stomach coming to life once again.

You moved on from his chest and to his hand that was resting in his stomach, taking his fingers in yours. “I love you, Tommy.” You whispered.

Thomas couldn’t help the huge smile that appeared on his face. “I love you too.”

“Promise me something?” You scooted even closer to him, nearly laying atop of him now as you looked deeply into his golden eyes. They seemed to hold the stars in them.

“Anything.” He replied without hesitation.

“Please, don’t leave me, Tommy.” You paused, swiping your tongue over your lower lip. “I don’t think I would survive it if you did.”

Thomas reached out for your face and placed his hand on your cheek, you leaning into his touch while he returned your affectionate gaze. “I’m not gonna leave you, Y/N. You’re stuck with me forever.”

You leaned down and enveloped his lips for the hundredth time that day. “Good. I wouldn’t like to have it any other way.”

Eventually you both fell asleep, still naked and in each other’s arms.

Wheels crunching against the dirt road woke you up. You opened your eyes slowly, letting them adjust to sun light.

You were momentarily confused as to where you were and what had happened, but then everything came back as you looked around you. Your heartbeat skyrocketed as you saw more cars closing in, in the distance.

The corn maze was about to be opened and the first visitors were already on their way. You looked down at Thomas who was still peacefully sleeping next to you, unaware of the immanent awkwardness that would haunt you till the day you died. You shook his shoulders, pulling the blanket that was draped over you to your chin.

“Thomas, wake up!” You hissed and he grumbled unhappily. “Thomas, we’re screwed! Wake up!” Instead of opening his eyes though he just rolled over and turned away from you. You groaned, rolled your eyes and leaned down to whisper something into his ear. “You wanna have sex now?”

Immediately, he yanked his eyes open and sat upright. You wanted to laugh at that, but you could see a man in security uniform coming your way and he didn’t look happy.

“I think we should go.” Thomas remarked.

“You think?”

Thomas jumped up, holding his hands before his crotch awkwardly as he hopped off the platform, his ass completely exposed and you couldn’t help but start laughing hysterically as you got to your feet yourself, wrapping the blanket around your naked body as Thomas helped you climb down the platform yourself.

The security guard picked up his pace and started shouting for you to stay where you were as you yanked the car doors open and got in.

Thomas started the engine and drove off, the both of you still trying to calm down from your fit of laughter.

“Well, that’s not how I remember it ended the last time.” You said between giggles. “The kids and their parents who saw us are scarred for life now.”

“Whatever, it was worth it.” Thomas laughed and you couldn’t deny that he was right. It had been one of the best dates you’ve ever been on. “About your offer though…”

Another laughing fit washed over you and you slapped his shoulder playfully. “Get us home first, then we can have sex.”

“Did I already tell you that I love you?”

“Just drive!”

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