𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 - TMR, Gally

043 - Nightmares

I woke up by a nightmare, panting in sweat with heavy breaths. I had seen Luke, Ben, and Alby. All three of them got stung right in front of my eyes, and after that a Griever attacked me. I couldn't escape the dream and was forced to watch three different banishments, where in one Alby even attacked me.

Tears were streaming down my face. Stung people somehow scared the living shit out of me, and I was having a hard time catching my breath again. I sat straight up in my bed, finally allowing myself to sob quietly after all those days.

I looked at the time, too. Two a.m. was way too early to get up. But I couldn't fall back asleep either, because it seemed impossible to stop my shoulders from shaking and my eyes from watering.

Gally, was where my thoughts went. But he was angry and I was supposed to be angry at him, too.

A lump was in my throat. I sniffed shakily, let out a quiet sob, and sucked in a lot of air repeatedly, though the air wasn't much.

I did end up walking out of my hut in just a shirt and shorts; my pajamas. I put on flip-flops and went on my way to Gally's hut, feeling guilty but proud to hopefully make it up, even though he must've been asleep.

I knocked on the door, no answer. As quiet as possible, I slowly opened it, sneaking into his dark hut. I did hear his steady breaths compared to my heavy and shaky ones.

I tiptoed over to him, freezing at the cold air already. Tapped him on the shoulder. He groaned and rolled over.

"G-Gally." I cried out, desperate for help. I felt like I could explode from pain in my heart. That if I didn't have someone to hold me I would scream super loud.

"Valerie?" His voice was so sleepy I thought he was still half asleep.

"Yes." I sniffed, wiping my nose. "C-can I... can I lie down?"

There was no reply for a while. I rubbed my arms, hoping to wipe away the goosebumps from coldness. "Please." I added. Another cry escaped my mouth.

Then he scooter to the side and let me lie down, which I was super grateful for. I buried nearly my whole body under the warm blanket, my back turned to Gally though. And yet I felt his hot body temperature hit my skin even from such a distance.

"Thank you." I whispered. My last sobs slowly started to lower in tone. "Thank you."

Hesitantly, his arm wrapped around me. He pulled me to his body, so we were touching more.  And wow, I had missed that. I made a satisfied noise and snuggled close to his chest.

My breathing wasn't as heavy. I wasn't shivering anymore, and I wasn't afraid of getting any more dreams, either.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "For everything that I said."

"It's okay." I muttered, half asleep already. "You weren't being the most unreasonable."

He nodded, pulling me closer, and kissing the back of my head. "Good night, Val."

"Night." I yawned, soon falling asleep again.

~

I woke up by Gally too soon. He was clearly awake and I was tired as hell. My eyelids wanted to stay closed and I was so, so comfortable.

"Val." He whispered.

"Let me sleep." I crawled under the blanket more.

"It's morning. People might be having breakfast already." He added, rubbing my shoulder to get me awake.

"I don't care. I'm tired. But feel free to go." I was muttering all the words, close to slugging.

"Why are you so tired?"

"The last time I slept was like two days ago."

He tensed up. "And you didn't take a nap yesterday or something?"

"You think I had time?" I snapped. Three seconds later I regretted it. "Sorry."

He sighed and turned me around, so we were face-to-face. "I'm still proud you made it through the night."

The corners of my mouth begged to move up. "Really?"

"Yes." He looked down. "I was just so afraid something would happen to you. I got angry that you left me, and I don't trust Thomas, so I was even more scared for you."

I smiled at him. "Thomas is like-able. It's okay that you don't trust him, but really, he's kind. Annoying, but kind."

"I don't need any other close friends. And especially not Thomas." He groaned, lying down on his back again.

"We're close to finding a way out." I then said softly, still hoping he would trust the situation and come with us once it was time.

He hummed.

"Will you come with me, Gally?"

"That's what she said."

"Gally."

His jaw tightened. "I don't know yet. I would want to, but I can't just leave this place."

I swallowed. "Okay."

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again. "How about you stay here until you're not tired anymore? I have to work, but you have all the time."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." A pause. "Thomas and Minho are in the maze, aren't they?"

"Yeah."

Unfair. I bit my lip, having to remind myself I couldn't go into the maze anyway. But still.

"Okay."

He kissed me fast. "Want me to bring any breakfast?"

"No, thanks."

Gally nodded and got out of the bed. "Stay safe."

"You too." A small smile was all I could manage. Things weren't as before between us. The ice had to break a little before both of us got normal again, but it was okay.