(Part two of two :) Like or Review if you enjoy it. Special thanks to Gwtw for all the input during the planning stage. I do not own Maze Runner. Updated: 11/27/19)

Thomas and Teresa's kiss had the intensity of the opening skirmish after a declaration of war. Neither would allow the other to maintain a dominant position unchallenged. Teresa pushed Thomas back against the wall. Her mouth locked over his, lips parted, she explored his tongue and teeth with her kiss. Thomas countered by rolling Teresa to her back against the smooth interior wall of the cave continuing a kiss they both felt they'd spent their entire lives deferring. There was a method to Teresa's madness. She had to be sure she severed all possible lines of sight from outside to protect Thomas even if he would never know she had. Once Teresa was convinced their gymnastic foreplay had carried them beyond observation she felt overcome with anticipation knowing her and Thomas, were finally alone.

Teresa reached into her pocket and pulled out a small chemiluminescence tube. As she cracked it, a dim bluish light began to fill the interior of the small secluded chamber. It reminded her of the server room back at WCKD where Thomas summoned her out to try to explain what we'd done before the guards took him away. The lamp further reveals a widening series of descending passageways smooth on all sides but each one asymmetrical like they had carved by water over hundreds of years. Under any other circumstances, Teresa could imagine how she and Thomas would have explored the passages together to satisfy their curiosity. But this was a day like no other, and curiosity wasn't the impulse either of them was there to satisfy. Now that she knew Tom was safe and they were beyond prying eyes Teresa felt the power of the moment more acutely. The pretense of negotiation was eroding. She knew Thomas was too strong to be seduced to her side. Too determined to be persuaded by any argument. All of that just made her want him more.

On some level, they both knew it. Fate was about to tear them apart, and neither could say when or if they'd each see each other again. It broke Teresa's heart even to consider that the next collection of moments could prove to be the final sum of their lifelong, unrequited relationship. But if all she had with Tom was right now, she was determined it would be an experience they'd always cherish and never forget. Teresa spoke where she could between the frenzied kisses Thomas was giving her entirely unwilling to interrupt a single one.

"Tom... I want... all... of you."

Tom's kisses migrated to Teresa's neck as his hands explored up the front of her shirt. Teresa fought blindly with Tom's belt and zipper until they yielded to her efforts. With his pants finally opened she searched Tom out with both hands as they continued kissing. The cave felt even colder inside than the rest of the fridged scorch at night. Both could see their breath in the faint bluish light, but the freezing temperature had done nothing to diminish Tom's enthusiasm. As Teresa's hands freed Tom fully, she had no idea just how cold they'd become until she grabbed onto Thomas. The moment her fingers wrapped around him, the sensation of the heat from his flesh hurt like fire dispelling frostbite. Inadvertently, Teresa winched aloud from the pain.

"Unngh."

Thomas had his head back, and eyes closed. Showing only signs of extasy from Teresa's very touch up until the moment she faintly expressed pain. In an instant, Thomas snapped seamlessly back into the most familiar version of himself Teresa had known. The part of him that always respected and cared for her even when she was too proud to admit she liked it. Thomas spoke.

"Are you ok, Teres?"

Teresa's emotions were surfacing as she stared into Tom's face trying to reconcile her agenda with the reality she'd betrayed this pure soul who had always been her closest confidant. Teresa was terrified of the realization she could no longer deny. Instead of lying to herself, she spoke it aloud.

"...I-I love you, Thomas."

Thomas' breathed in deeply as if Teresa's words were a physical thing carrying on the misty vapor emanating from her mouth. Something Tom could inhale and retain forever if only he learned how never to breathe again. Teresa stared at him in the face and spoke again.

"-I do, I love you."

In a whirlwind motion, Thomas had Teresa's back to the wall again with himself thrown to his knees at her feet. Tom slid the fingertips of both his hands into the waist of Teresa's pants above her pockets. A split second later, he'd yanked Teresa's pants open destroying her zipper and sending a solitary silver button ricocheting around the cave. The sound it made was like a coin bouncing off the walls of a well on its way to fuel a wish. Thomas lurched forward bringing with him an arsenal of exquisitely crafted weaponry. Kisses forged from longing and sharpened with lust; each one hotter than a blacksmith's unquenched blade. Tom placed them slowly at first for maximum effect. Teresa's powers of speech were deserting her, but she tried anyway.

"THomMMMHhhhhh!-"

Teresa's mind spun with pleasure. She hooked her fingers into the back of Tom's heads kneading his hair as she fought her damaged trousers lower to give him greater authority over her. After realizing too late she had betrayed the only man she'd ever love, Teresa wanted to be the one on her knees. On some level Tom knew it too, subconsciously defying her with every flick of his tongue. Teresa leaned back against the inclined plane of the cavern wall letting Thomas have any access he wanted. She couldn't take her eyes off him or his glorious perversion of a french kiss. Teresa felt herself edging closer toward a climax she had intended to deny herself realizing too late she'd underestimated Thomas. It was her own fault. He was a natural at everything he put his mind to, and Teresa had let him experiment with her body too long for her will to outlast his deftness. She wanted to snap her legs closed. She thought of shooting her hand to her groin to shield herself from the exquisite gift Tom was almost vindictively giving her, but she didn't.

Instead, Teresa held Tom's head tighter. She bucked wildly against his face, jaws, and lips hating herself for it feeling so good. A sublime tension stirred within Teresa as the tremor gathering within her, suddenly broke loose. It ripped along a never before discovered fault line that ran the full length of Teresa's highest expectations and shattered the bedrock beneath her deepest desires. Teresa breathlessly screamed Tom's name without enough air to fuel proper speech. Mouthing his name again and again in deepening silence until she tantrically writhed to a dead stop. Teresa folded forward as her upper body went slack. Her tar-black hair cascaded over Tom as she hugged and held him for an entirely different reason than she had been just moments before. Cradling him like the star-crossed lover she was. Thomas reached up and brushed Teresa's wild hair from her beautiful face and smiled at her. The boyish smile of the guy who went into the Maze was gone. Replaced with the smoldering charm of the man who came out of it. As Thomas rose to his feet, Teresa grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into yet another kiss. And for a moment, the world stopped being WCKD and the Flare. It wasn't about the horrors of the past or the bleak, uncertain future. It was just about a boy, kissing a girl, trying to express without words that he loved her too.

"...Tom, that's never happened before. I feel so shaky. I think I need to sit down."

It wasn't a lie. But it wasn't the real reason Teresa's wanted to keep him close either. Seeing the look in Tom's eyes with that grenade in his hand was proof that everything was out of control. She needed to keep him here; he wouldn't be safe otherwise.

The afterglow couldn't hold its sway over Teresa, but that had nothing to do with her level of contentment. If physical love was a game, and joy, its currency than Tom had already made her the wealthiest girl in the history of seduction. Teresa loved Thomas deeply and was adamant to prove herself to him. But her life at WCKD had reduced all experiences to outcomes. And within a world where only ends are paramount. The means quickly become a box of broken toys.

Thomas threw his jacket on the floor and spread it out wide enough for both to sit. She rested her hand in his lap and gently began rediscovering him. After Tom's mind-bending performance the heat from Teresa's core had spread through all her extremities. Now her temperature was a match for his. She draped her left arm around Tom's neck, pulling herself closer to better tend him. Teresa kissed Tom's neck as she started to work his flesh. It only took a few seconds, and Teresa had already lost track of where her hand ended, and Tom's body began. She whispered into his ear.

"Am I doing it right, Tom?"

Thomas turned his head to the siren sound of Teresa's voice and let his kiss be her answer. It drove Teresa to quicken her pace as she deepened it. The moment felt blissfully surreal. There was latent passion sublimated into Tom's kiss. The way Thomas used his mouth to draw out Teresa's embrace gave her ideas about another way to use hers.

Teresa's mental faculties had reconstituted themselves in the wake of the selfless onslaught that was Tom's opening gambit. Now she was prepared to launch an attack of her own. Unlike Thomas, whose memories were limited to a few fever dreams brought on by grief serum, Teresa had her memories medically restored. Teresa knew him better than he knew himself. She knew that for all practical purposes, Thomas was immune to coercion. So much so that back at WCKD it was theorized that even torture would only heighten his resolve. That made him the ideal candidate for the Trials, but it also made him a threat.

Teresa spoke.

"Tom, do you want me to?"

Teresa glanced down at what her hand was doing biting her lip. She wasn't going to settle for a kiss as affirmation this time. She wanted Tom's words. She wanted him to tell her to do it. Other than their argument the only words Tom had said to her were to make sure she wasn't hurt. Teresa could sense why. She felt the conflict inside Thomas even now. Teresa summoning WCKD had blurred the line between love and hate. The anger Thomas was holding inside churned but didn't break free. Thomas nodded at Teresa with a pleading look in his eyes.

Teresa whispered to him again.

"Tell me what to do."

Her face had become a mirror for the look in Tom's eyes. She needed to hear him ask for her. She wanted the affirmation his words would bring even if she felt she didn't deserve them. Her soul was begging her pride to remain silent just a little longer. Thomas looked Teresa in the eyes deeply and spoke.

"I-I want you to... To put your mouth on me."

Each word in Tom's sentence added more steam and pressure to a boiler that was Teresa's enthusiasm. When Thomas said "me" it was as if a starter pistol had gone off inside her mind. She lurched forward into Tom's lap as fast as her reflexes permitted. A split second later her lips had united with her hand like allies in the center of a battlefield working in tandem towards a common purpose. This was only the second time Teresa had attempted what she was planning. She knew it was unlikely that Thomas remembered the first. But what she lacked in experience she more than made up for with enthusiasm. If this was to be the last time, Teresa was determined to make it a memory Thomas would never forget.

Tom's breathing was ragged. From Teresa's position on her knees beside him, she couldn't see Tom's face with hers buried in his lap, rocking hard back and forth. But she could feel his attention focused on her performance. Thomas reached down and brushed Teresa's hair out of her face leaving it gathered in his hand which remained behind her head. Tom started to guide Teresa. She had felt lust before but never like this. It was like Tom's pleasure was her own. She felt herself craving the end result of her perverted work. Teresa listened to the noises he made. Tom's vocabulary had been reduced to vowels, and long phrases of the letter 'M'. As Tom's core muscles continued tightening Teresa suddenly felt torn. Torn between the sheer joy of pleasing Thomas in this way and her lurid desire to savor his essence in her mouth before devouring it to keep a part of him forever.

Teresa simultaneously loved and hated this moment. Loved it for the chance to finally reveal to Tom the depth of her interest in him, knowing this wouldn't be an experience that WCKD couldn't erase the next day. But Teresa hated it because even now she was serving the same people who kidnapped Tom's memories of her, ransoming Teresa to do their bidding if she ever wanted him to see them again.

Teresa had tried to convince herself she was still doing the right thing. Tom had already demonstrated a willingness to fight WCKD even when fighting was suicide, and it was hopeless to resist. What's worse was that under his leadership, the immunes had become so unified they were willing to die for Thomas. She couldn't let that happen. No one needed to die. But like every other variable that WCKD experimented with, they built in a control in case of emergencies. And the same was true for Thomas. WCKD knew Tom's only weakness, so they kept his countermeasure close at hand. Teresa knew it too because it had always been her. There didn't need to be more bloodshed. Minho was smart but predictable. Teresa knew with Thomas off the field; it was only a matter of time before Janson got the upper hand without further loss of life.

The part of Teresa that wanted to prolong the experience was rapidly losing out to the part of her thirsty for reward. She pivoted her lower body, so she was kneeling in front of Thomas as he leaned back against the sloped wall. Teresa's blue eyes reflected the fading blue light as she stared at Thomas hungrily. Her pace quickened in concert with the urging of Tom's hand still holding fast behind her head. That's when Teresa was ambushed by Tom's words as he looked deep into her eyes.

"I love you, Teresa."

Teresa's eyes snapped shut to contain the torrent of mixed emotions she knew was close behind.

She slammed her mouth down on to Tom's flesh trying to create an alibi for her tears. Pass them off as nothing more than an involuntary relax brought on by over-enthusiasm. Deep down she knew that the joy she felt to hear Tom make such an admission would be eclipsed by sadness after he discovered what authored her reasoning. Tom's body began to seize. Teresa was relentless as she intensified her methodology. But she felt the joy quickly going out of her endeavor. She was determined not to let her sadness be reflected in her performance, so she pushed her body harder still. Every muscle in Tom's body pulsed. Teresa forced herself to open her eyes knowing the blurry view of Thomas through her veil of tears might be the last time he ever let her this close. A moment later she had her received her bounty. Tom tasted sweet in her mouth, but somehow that just made Teresa even sadder. She pulled back from Thomas as she sat up and wiped her eyes. Tom Spoke.

"Teresa. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm glad you enjoyed it. We should-"

Tom scooted forward and held Teresa. He had a look of consternation on his face. He interrupted her as he spoke.

"-Teresa, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Tom-"

"Stop lying to me, Teresa! I remember!"

Teresa looked dismayed. Thomas took a deep breath and spoke.

"When I came up to see you. You know, before all this started. That's what I was coming to tell you. That I remembered us."

Teresa stared at Thomas suddenly seeing the difference in the look in his eyes. Teresa spoke.

"That we were the bad guys?"

Thomas shook his head.

"-That we were lovers. That's the other reason I wanted to find you."

Teresa knew what Thomas wanted. To make love to her in a mutual embrace, kissing and passionately trading place as equals. And deep down that's what she wanted too. But it wasn't what she deserved. And if Thomas knew what was likely going on outside, that most if not all of his friends were likely being collared and collected, Teresa was sure he'd agree. Even after what he knew she'd already done Teresa could practically hear Tom thinking that she deserved better. It made her angry that Thomas couldn't see the gray in the situation that in this case the states to find a cure were so high that the ends did justify the means. Teresa spoke with an acerbic attitude.

"I guess that's another thing I gave up to try to save the world, Thomas."

Thomas and Teresa were both getting their clothes back on when the glint of a shiny disc caught Tom's eye. Even in the dull blue light something about it called to him. Thomas stretched out to pick it up the flat round object. Tom's fingers felt some detail to it the low light refused to reveal. It was the button he'd sent flying when his lust overwhelmed his patience.

"Keeping a trophy, Tom?"

Thomas glanced at Teresa with a look of disappointment in his eyes and spoke.

"I guess I wouldn't expect you to understand."

Thomas dropped the button as he stood.

"What do you mean Tom? Understand what?"

Thomas ignored Teresa's question and scanned the entrance of the chamber. He could hear the WCKD helicopters were back in the air and circling nearby. Teresa spoke.

"Tom, answer me. I wouldn't understand what?"

Tom spoke without turning to face Teresa.

"It's nothing. You're right. I only wanted it for a trophy."

"Tom please, I don't want to fight-"

"-Then maybe you'd shouldn't have brought an army, Teresa."

Teresa shook her head out of exasperation. With or without his memories, Thomas knew how to stonewall her when he didn't want to play nice. The next moment Thomas felt himself being turned around as Teresa pulled on his shoulder so he'd face her.

"Why are you lying to me?"

Thomas looked incensed.

"You're calling me a liar?"

Teresa wasn't going to be cowed by Tom's insinuation. She looked him in the eye even though she had to look up to do it.

"I never called you a liar! I asked you a question. So treat me like a person and answer me! Why would you want a stupid button off a pair of pants I hate, that I've worn for the past three days? Why is it worth picking a fight with me, during the last conversation we might ever have, to keep some worthless piece of metal?"

Tom spoke.

"-It isn't worthless to me! I wanted a connection to you, something! Even if it was just a stupid button that means nothing to you!"

Thomas shut his mouth for a moment and forced himself to calm down. If this was to be their last conversation he didn't want to regret how he treated Teresa, whether he was angry with her or not. Thomas continued.

"...Maybe I just thought it would be nice if I could hold something in my hand since I'll never get to hold yours..."

Teresa's time a WCKD had stripped away any sense of sentimentality. Thomas' honesty had her taken aback. As each second passed, Thomas felt more and more foolish for his admission. Teresa smiled. Thomas spoke.

"You think it's stupid?"

"It's not stupid; it's sweet."

"You think it's stupid."

Teresa reached up and put her arms around Tom's neck.

"Thomas if you remember us from before then you remember I already gave you something I can only give once and never to anyone else. And that's something I promise, meant a lot to giveaway. I'm glad it was you that took it."

Just then the sound of an explosion and launcher fire outside preceded the high pitched sound of electronic feedback. Teresa winced in pain and reached for her right ear retrieving a tiny device. Janson's voice played.

"Teresa we're under attack! Most of them are escaping! Do you have Thomas secured?"

Tom's face flashed with equal parts shock and rage. He spoke.

"You had that in the whole time!"

Teresa motioned for him to be quiet. For reasons Thomas didn't understand, he complied, and Teresa activated the device to speak.

"Negative, I told you radio silence! He's fleeing down the south passageway! Move all units to intercept!"

Teresa grabbed a rock and quickly smashed her comlink before speaking again.

"-Take the north passage! It leads behind their perimeter!"

"Why should I trust you, Teresa!"

"-Because you know you can, Tom!"

Thomas took several halting steps back from her. Teresa looked up the tunnel her reinforcements would be arriving from. She could see distant shadows approaching. Teresa turned back to Thomas, handing him another chemiluminescence tube.

"Take this; you'll need it and Thomas listen to me! -Follow the train tracks and transmission lines. They all run the same way. They lead to a city; I think it's the only city left. Are you listening? That's where they'll take anyone they capture. That's where they'll all be going. And if you change your mind and want to join me, that's where I'll be. Trying to do this without you..."

Thomas took the small chemical light without activating it or saying another word. He turned and ran into the widening north passage as Teresa instructed, disappearing into the velvet blackness. Teresa watched Tom leave knowing that even after he escaped Tom would never trust her again. Her heart sank, and a single tear streamed down her flushed cheek.

Teresa turned the opposite direction preparing to leave when she suddenly remembered the memento Tom wanted to take but abandoned after she teased him. Tom had been right. At the time it meant nothing to her. It was just a bent garment clasp with no intrinsic value. But now she understood how nothing could mean so much. Because now for Teresa it was a bridge back to a moment when she still had a chance with Tom. A moment when he wanted to hold a piece of her in his hand. Suddenly it felt priceless to her. Teresa strained to remember where Thomas dropped it. She grabbed her fading light out of the sand, fell to her knees, and crawled swiftly across the gritty cavern floor to collect it.

Teresa rifled around the cavern, sifting through the sand, recovering only several small stones at first. As her light was fading, she felt herself becoming frantic. She couldn't be in such a state when the guards arrived. She was moments from total surrender when she found the precise spot. But her button was already gone. Only it's impression in the cold sand remained. The indentation surrounded by three faint ruts, like ones made by quick fingers snapping it up. Thomas had taken it after all. Teresa wept as a smile spread across her face. Looking toward the descending tunnel, Tom used to make his escape. As her light went all the way out, she spoke toward the darkness.

"Someday."

WCKD troops arrived from above with bright flashlights mounted on their weapons to collect her. The modulated voice of one guard spoke.

"Are you alright Miss?"

Teresa nodded and stood without speaking. The guards fell in around her escorting her back to the life; she knew needed her, without looking back again.

The guards searched the cavern and surrounding tunnels for several minutes for Thomas to no avail. Janson's voice called over coms,

"All units retreat to fallback points for evac."

Several minutes later, the cavern was pitch black again and silent...

The sound of plastic cracking heralded a faint blue glow illuminating Tom's face. He hadn't fled after all. He climbed down from a high position within the cave overlooking where he and Teresa had been. He pulls out the shiny silver button holding it up to the fresh chemical light. The detail Thomas could finally see revealed Teresa's 'button' to be a repurposed coin. After witnessing her heroic effort to try to find what he held in his hand, Thomas couldn't cast it away.

"Hmmm, no wonder you sounded like a wishing well. Maybe your good luck after all."

Thomas flipped the coin, caught it in the air and slid it into his pocket. He got the feeling he'd always keep it there. Tom turned and raced into the north passage. Back to the friends who'd become his family.

(Thanks for reading! Movie rewrites for TDC as well as an epilogue taking place after are forthcoming. As always, it is a pleasure to write for you)