Julia- Waking up was a bad idea. As I thought, napping yesterday messed me up, so now I don't feel refreshed, like I usually do. But I'll be working the Gardens today, so I know that'll improve my mood. And of course, I smirked, looking up at Gally's sleeping face. I wriggled in his arms, wanting just a few more minutes of snuggles before we have to greet the day. He let out a tired groan and tightened his arms around me, pulling me closer. "Morning," I whispered into his neck. "Ugh, no, not yet." I giggled and sat up, straddling him, and running my hands slowly down his bare chest. His arms shot up and snatched at my waist, his eyes were still closed, but he was smirking. "Now, I'm up," he breathed. I leaned down and kissed him, he responded immediately, but he was slow, still trying to wake up.
"We gotta wake up," I complained, jumping out of the hammock to get dressed. This, I knew would get Gally's attention. Sure enough, I looked over my shoulder at the sight of him watching me, looking me up and down. "Don't even think about it," I told him. He pouted and flopped back down. "I couldn't have you yesterday, that's not fair!" Lacing up my boots, I walked over and placed his hand on my cheek, kissing the palm and cradling it. "Maybe later if you get up now," I told him. I let him go and left the hut, going over to the Mess-hall for breakfast. Chuck and Newt were with Thomas, walking over together. Thomas almost reached the front first, but I bumped past him, "Move," I said. "There she is!" Fry greeted me, handing me my food. "Have a good one now, ma'am!" "That's an unspoken rule here; our Princess gets breakfast first," I heard Newt say. I turned around and leaned on his shoulder, scoffing at the look on the Greenie's face.
"Thomas will be joining us today, so be nice, love," Newt told me. I popped a grape in my mouth and pretended to be offended. "I'm always nice, Newt," I chided him. He pulled me closer to him, laughing. "Don't worry, Greenie, she's tough, but she's a big sweetheart if you show proper respect." "Yeah, she's really cool," Chuck chimed in, beaming up at me. Thomas wasn't looking at me, but at my neck. "You got a bruise," he pointed out. Newt snorted, stifling a laugh. I smirked at him. "I know," I said. Next thing I knew, I felt Gally pull my hair back and kiss the mark he left last night, probably darkening it. When he was satisfied, he wrapped an arm around my waist to lead me over to our usual spot. I glanced over my shoulder at Thomas, who had been staring, gob smacked. I laughed. "See ya, Greenie!"
Thomas- "What the hell…" I trailed off, watching them walk away. Newt smiled. "Two years they've been together. Gally was the only one she showed any interest in; they were each other's from the start. And she had him wrapped around her finger." I glanced at Newt as she spoke, he was smiling at them, but there was something in his eyes when he watched Gally attack Julia's neck, almost wistful. "The place needs a little love," he said. Then he smirked at me, "Now you know why the no flirting rule is so important, yeah?" I nodded, not wanting anything to do with that. I didn't know how to feel about Gally, but the guy's intimidating; I'd probably get killed, despite the no harming rule, if I did anything that seemed remotely as showing interest. I studied her though; watching her eat, perched on Gally's lap. She is beautiful; she's like the sun, bright and glowing, and intense. I noticed her nails, sharp like a cats' and she probably isn't afraid to use them, either. "I'd look away before Gally notices and then knocks you on your butt," Chuck whispered, pulling at my elbow. Shaking my head, I sat down with him and Newt as he told me the names of all the other Gardener's and what my dad would look like.
After we finished eating, Julia bound over to us, jumping onto Newt's back. "Hey! Take it easy love, I only got one good leg," Newt scolded her, but he was beaming up at her, her long hair spilling over his shoulder. She was smiling at him too, and I could see the bond they have with each other. I briefly wondered why Newt was allowed to be so affectionate with her, but Gally probably trusted him, and Newt doesn't seem like that kind of person, so I left it alone. She followed Newt over to the vines of food, each of them picking a side, and began picking anything that was ready to be eaten. I started asking questions, thinking of possible ways to escape from here, but Newt shut down all of them. "Anything you can think of, we've already tried. The only way out is through the Maze." Then he threw a bucket at me and told me to go get fertilizer. Julia snickered. "Go on now, Greenie," she said, pointing behind her.
As I walked away, I heard her laughing with Newt, "He won't last a week here!"
Newt- "Come now, love. Don't be mean; he just bloody got here." Julia was frowning, glancing back at the direction Thomas went. "I don't get good vibes from him, Newt. He's different, he's curious, and that can get someone killed." I sighed. Julia had a knack for reading people, but I was trying to sway her worries. "We don't know him yet, just be patient before you go about making judgments like that." She glanced over at me before going back to her work. We worked silently for a while, and I watched as Julia looked up at the sun, basking in it. I inhaled, enjoying the peace and fresh air, until I heard someone scream in the distance. Julia and I both turned towards the woods, and then Thomas came running out, screaming for help, with Ben chasing him. I grabbed a shovel as Ben got Thomas on the ground, and every one started running over to help, Julia hot on my heels. I swung and made contact with Ben's skull, then Julia and I and some of the other guys grabbed on to Ben to calm him down.
Alby walked over, looking down, worried. Then Ben started panicking, saying he didn't mean it and Alby had us lift Ben's shirt. We did, and we all gasped, shocked; he'd been stung. "In the middle of the day?" Gally asked, looking at Alby. Julia looked scared; there'd only been two others that've been stung, but that happened long before her time. Alby instructed us to take him to the pit, and Ben started to thrash about, screaming and crying for us to let him go or to help. It took a bunch of us to carry him, and I vaguely noticed Julia walking almost trance-like behind us. We locked Ben up, and he flung his hands through the bars, begging for us to come back. "Julia! Please! They'll listen to you, please!" Gally finally noticed she was here and ran to her, caging her away from Ben; she looked like she could cry. Ben was one of the few that would tease her and Gally, but she cared for everyone here, even him.
We knew what would happen now, and no one talked about it. Gally spoke quietly to Julia, rubbing her arms, then walked off with the rest of us. She stood there a moment, then walked over to join Alby, who was going over to check on Tommy. "She alright?" I asked Gally. "Not really; this is a first for her. I'm worried." I sighed, patting his shoulder. "All you can do is be there for her; she looked scared." "I would be too if someone I knew went crazy and then begged for help; I can't believe he said that to her." I looked over at Julia, she was talking to Tommy, probably asking what happened; they both looked uncomfortable. Alby came over and told us to get the poles. When Minho ran past us to grab the collar that would hold Ben, I saw the almost haunted look on his face. I sighed and made my way over to the Doors with everyone else. And we waited.
Author- Several of the Gladers held sharp sticks, while the Keepers stood with poles, all ready and waiting. Chuck stood away from the group with Julia and Thomas, all three sharing the same scared, confused look. Minho finally appeared with Ben, who was growling, begging for someone to listen to him. He called for Minho. He called for Alby. No one answered him. Minho dropped Ben on his knees and cut the collar off his neck. When he looked up and saw Minho standing in front of the Maze Doors, he started crying. Then the Doors started to close, and Alby ordered everyone to start pushing Ben into the Maze. Ben panicked, going back and forth from growling and screaming, to begging and crying, claiming he could get better. Then his feral-looking eyes found Julia, and he started to scream for her again, begging her to make them stop, to let him stay. She turned away sharply, hugging her body, as if to shield herself. Chuck couldn't stand to watch any longer, so he gently took Julia's hand and lead her away. Thomas stayed behind and watched, a horrified look on his face. Then Ben let out one last blood-curling scream as the Doors slammed shut for the night. No one spoke, no one moved.
"He belongs to the Maze now," Alby said. Wordlessly, everyone left to finish work for the day before dinner time. Thomas was the last to leave and walked in a daze to the Gardens. "Tommy," Newt said, gently, which still startled the other boy. "You alright? Dumb question, I know, but I have to ask." Thomas said nothing, just blinked at the blonde boy. Newt sighed and pulled Thomas the rest of the way. "Listen, just try to work until dinner. Working will keep your head busy, no getting sad." Sighing, Thomas did as he was told, although he didn't even register what he was doing; just pulled weeds and plants in a mindless daze. Then Julia walked over, looking more confident than she had earlier. Newt went to comfort her, but she brushed him off, assuring him she was fine and just wanted to work.
He hugged her before walking back to his spot near Zart. Julia walked by Thomas and went to the end of the Gardens by herself. Thomas stood, following her. Newt and Zart glanced at each other, worried. "Hey, Julia?" Thomas called to her. She glanced at him, frowning. "What, Greenie?" Thomas sighed. "I do have a name, you know," he told her. "I'll call you whatever I want. Now what do you want? You're supposed to be working. Just because you get attacked doesn't give you an excuse to slack off." Thomas backed up, slight disgust and annoyance on his face. "Now I get why you're with Gally; you're both assholes," he told her. She cocked her eyebrows and looked at him dangerously. Glancing at the other side of the Glade, she waved sweetly to someone, which Thomas saw was Gally. He and the other Builders were watching them. Before Thomas could contemplate what he had said, Julia had grabbed the back of his head, her nails nearly piercing skin. "Listen, shank, you need to learn your place, quick. Say what you want, but you know nothing about me, or him."
Her tone was like a caress, soft but all the promise of danger laced her words, anger shimmering in her eyes. Newt and the other Gardeners were all watching now, but no one moved to step in. Julia threw Thomas's head back in disgust and growled, "I won't ask again, Thomas; what do you want?" She spat his name, and Thomas quickly backed up, hands thrown up. He looked at her and realized she probably felt the same way he did after seeing what happened. "You've never seen that happen, have you?" he asked, cautiously. Julia inhaled sharply, then her shoulders sagged, as if a large weight had been lifted off her. "No. And it scared the shucking Hell out of me. He was like an animal! The boys told me about it once, but…" she trailed off, looking down, defeated.
Thomas felt bad for her. She knew Ben, and she was just as scared as Thomas was. "Look, I'm sorry, I mean it. I just wondered why Ben would call for you like that." Julia scoffed lightly. "I hold just as much sway here as Alby and the other Keepers. It's a respect thing; Newt told you about it." Thomas nodded. "Well, yeah, he mentioned it, I just assumed that meant you were allowed to boss us around, not that you had control here." When Julia scoffed again, it held more confidence. She straightened herself up and reached for some herbs that needed to be picked. "Like I said, you'll learn your place here real quick." Then she smirked at the boy. "Greenie." Thomas rolled his eyes, but he chuckled softly. Now he understood this girl, it was just as Newt said, tough but sweet. Her attitude wasn't bravado or to prove something, it was real. "Everything okay over here?" Gally asked, walking up behind Julia. Thomas took a few steps back, in case Gally was here to swing at him. She nodded and rested her head on his chest.
He kissed the back of her head with a gentleness Thomas didn't except from the bigger boy, then lovingly stroked her cheek before walking off to the Builder's hut. "Come on, Tommy. Leave our Princess alone to work," Newt called, focused again on his own work. Thomas took one last glance at Julia, then nodded to her. She looked surprised but gave him a slight nod in return.
*Skip*
*Very, very light smut-nothing explicit*
After everyone had eaten their fill and gone to bed, the Glade was cloaked in darkness, with the exception of torches. The only people awake were Thomas, who was pondering Ben's chances of survival, and Alby, who looked out at the Maze with a broken expression. Over in the hut that stood away from the Homestead were Julia and Gally. Gally held his lover in his arms, caressing and kissing her body with the utmost care. The only sounds that came from Julia were breathless moans, as she relished the feeling of being in Gally's arms. "I know you were scared, but I'm proud of how well you handled it," he whispered in her ear, pressing soft kisses on it. "I watched you put the Greenie in his place; it was hot." Julia giggled softly, leaning into Gally as he cradled her neck. "I'll be up early with Newt tomorrow to see Minho off," she told Gally, gently pushing him away. He smirked and grabbed her body, turning them over so she lay beneath him. "Then I guess I'll have to be quick" he growled, biting her ear. He kissed her stomach, traveling lower and lower until he reached the most private part of her only he had seen, that belonged to him alone.
*Skip*
Later, after he had dressed Julia, Gally smiled to himself as he watched his lover sleep peacefully in his arms. At times, even two years later, he wondered what he did to deserve her. He thought back to earlier when he'd seen her get in Thomas's face. He wasn't worried about the Greenie; Julia can hold her own. He sighed, looking down at her. He prayed she'd sleep through the night without nightmares, but he'd be there for her if she had them. I might kill Newt though for getting her early, he thought to himself. But he had been satisfied, as she had been. She could always satisfy him. At night, when they were alone, she was his; wholly and completely. Kissing her head, Gally turned over to cradle her, as his mind emptied of today's events, and replaced them with his Princess. His girl.