Moving Forward (The Maze Runner, M)

[ThatSneezyGirl]

*Hey everyone!!! Been a while but I’m back with another brain child for your entertainment. I finally got around to reading The Maze Runner series (I’m way late I know) and then subsequently rewatched all of the movies, making my love for Thomas/Dylan to re-emerge. This particularly story features Brenda, because I was always very fond of her and liked her way more than Theresa (oops). It takes place after the end of the last movie/book and is a combination of the two. Hope you enjoy 🥰* 

 

 

     Thomas pushed a branch out of his way as he marched forward through the thick jungle, ducking his head to avoid getting smacked in the face by a large tree limb that jetted out along their path.

 

“Don’t we already have this on the map?” An older boy in his late twenties asked.

 

Vince squinted down at the paper map in his hands and let his eyes shift between that and the large rock formation that sat to the right of them for several seconds before speaking up. 

 

“I think you’re right,” He pointed in opposite direction of the earthy slab. “This way.”

 

He scribbled something on the map before waving at the group to follow his pursuit. They did so without arguing and marched behind their leader in a purposeful manner. 

 

When the refugees had first arrived at the Safe Haven, everyone was appointed a task. Vince tried his best to match people to things that highlighted their talents and strong suits, so it was no surprise that Thomas and Minho had been assigned to the group that mapped out the island. In the last month that they had been there, they were able to map out roughly sixty percent of the tropical sanctuary. Other than the occasional snake and random monkey, there were way less obstacles here than in the maze, making it seem like a walk in the park in comparison. The only thing keeping them from finishing the map was the rough terrain and the fact that island was way more vast than they had anticipated. Nonetheless, they set out every day to explore their new home and gain knowledge to help them establish a real colony here. 

 

“HAHTSCHOO!”

 

Thomas turned his head to the side just as a loud sneeze shot out of him, causing a flock of birds to scatter from a tree nearby. Thank god he hadn’t been put into the hunting group, he thought to himself. Suddenly, his nostrils flared again and he inhaled sharply. 

 

“HEHTSCHIEWW!” 

 

“Bless you,” Minho said. “You okay?”

 

“Yeah man I’m fine.” He said, rubbing his still itching nose with the palm of his hand. The action only seemed to irritate his sinuses instead of pacify them and another volley of sneezes tumbled out of him.

 

“HAHTSCHIEW!! HETSCHOO!!HUHTSCHIEWWW!!!”

 

Minho raised his eyebrow and threw him a skeptical glance.

 

“You sure?”

 

“It’s just allergies.” Thomas said, gesturing aimlessly at the towering trees above them. “I’m good.”

 

Minho let the conversation dissipate into the air as he jogged forward to catch up with the rest of the pack, and Thomas was grateful. The last thing he needed was Minho prodding him like an overbearing parent, which was something that he tended to do too often.

 

Thomas, on the other hand, was slower to rejoin the group, but he didn’t mind. He found himself lingering in the back regularly, and today was no exception. He wasn’t in the mood for talking, and the ever so slight ache in his legs forced him to slow down to a moderate walk. He kept his eyes forward and tried to focus at the task at hand rather than the tingling sensation in his nose, although it seemed to be easier said than done. His eyes watered as his sinuses burned, desperate to overpower him and release the irritant that was angering his nasal passages. His breath began to hitch and Thomas could feel himself rapidly losing his battle. In a last ditch effort to somewhat muffle his sneezes, he stopped walking and cupped his hands over his face.

 

“HUHTSCHOOO!! HAHTSCHIEWW!!”

 

A few people from the group glanced back at him, but thankfully, no one stopped. Thomas was a sneezy person at baseline, and none of them seemed to be bothered by it. They took it as part of who he was instead of some weird unsolicited outburst. However, Minho was disconcerted by the scene playing out behind him. He swiftly turned around to face Thomas and stared him down with an intensity that made Thomas mildly uncomfortable.

 

“What’s up with you today greenie? You’re making more noise than usual.” 

 

His half hearted attempt at a joke fell flat like a brick against a wall and he could see Thomas’s face twist into something that mimicked annoyance.

 

“Nothing,” He said harshly. “Focus on the group.”

 

Minho shook his head and faced forward, reluctantly not talking to him for the rest of their trip.

 

 

 

 

 

        Everyone dropped what they were doing and abandoned their designated posts when the pack returned, greeting them with smiles and hugs. This odd event seemed to occur every time they made it back to base. Even though they were safe here, no one had gotten used to the fact that getting back from a scouting trip safely was normal and that every day wasn’t a fight for survival anymore. It was an adjustment that was going to take time, way more time than they would probably like.

 

Amidst the subtle chaos of the camp’s reception, he noticed that Brenda was among the gathering of people. Once her eyes met his, she swiftly parted the sea of bodies to make her way over to him, several young kids in tow behind her like a trail of ducklings.

 

“Welcome back loser.” She said, playfully jabbing Thomas in the ribs with her bony elbow. 

 

He winced slightly and groaned, rubbing the spot where she had struck him.

 

“Thanks for that.” 

 

Brenda’s smile fell at his harsh tone. 

 

“Sorry.” She said as she glanced down at her feet. 

 

A not so quiet sniffle grabbed Brenda’s attention and she looked up to see Thomas scrubbing at his slightly pink nose with his knuckles. He scrunched up his face and at first, she thought he had smelled something funny, but a hitch in his breath made her realize that he was about to sneeze. She waited silently for a moment, watching as the tickle overcame him and he brought a shaky finger under his nostrils.

 

“HNXT!!! HNXSHHH!!”

 

“Bless you,” She cooed in a tone that was almost mocking him, but he could tell that she was trying to be coy rather than condescending. 

 

“Thanks.” He mumbled as he dabbed his dripping nose on the sleeve of his shirt.

 

Brenda looked closely at his face and frowned. Dark circles clung to the skin underneath his eyes, which were red rimmed and watery. His skin was paler than normal and the rosy tint in his cheeks only made his ghostly shade stand out even more. 

 

“Are you okay?” 

 

She studied him quizzically for a second before reaching her hand out to place it on his forehead, but he swatted her away prior to her being able to do so.

 

“I’m fine,” He threw up his hands in annoyance. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

 

Brenda and Minho exchanged a look. 

 

“It was just a question slint head. Calm down.” Minho chuckled.

 

Thomas’s face didn’t falter and instead, a look of aggravation washed over his features.

 

“Just leave me alone.” He spat before making his way towards his hut. 

 

“What a ray of sunshine.” Harriet mused from behind them as she rolled her eyes and wandered towards the dining hall to help with dinner set up.

 

Brenda looked over at Thomas’s hut, but he had already made his way inside and closed the door before she could catch another glimpse of him. 

 

“What’s his problem?” Brenda asked begrudgingly.

 

Minho shrugged, seemingly unfazed by the rather unpleasant interaction.

 

“He gets like that sometimes.”

 

She hadn’t quite gotten used to his mood swings, and his angry ones never ceased to sting her chest. She went to say something, but instead, she pursed her lips and swallowed the words in her throat. She stared longingly at the structure for a moment. She wanted to go inside and talk to him, ask him what was wrong and wrap him up in a hug, however, one of the children pulled at her pant leg and she was instantly snapped out of her conscious daydream. 

 

“Are we going to eat?” 

 

The little girl, maybe four or five, looked up at her with a smile and Brenda smiled back. 

 

‘What it would be like to be a child again, when your biggest concern was dinner time’ she thought to herself.

 

“Of course Lucy. Come on.”

 

She wrangled the rampageous group of kids up and stole one last glance at Thomas’s hut from over her shoulder before making her way to the dining hall for dinner. 

 

 

 

 

 

     Darkness had absorbed the camp by the time Brenda got all of the kids to eat and got them to bed. Being in charge of the children was an overwhelming, nonetheless rewarding, duty that she genuinely enjoyed. She had help from a few of the parents that had somehow made it to the Safe Haven and a few other women in the group, but most of the kids that they had rescued were orphans thanks to Wicked, meaning that it was mainly up to her to make sure that the kids were taken care of in every aspect of their lives including teaching, feeding, and loving them. Brenda didn’t mind though. She was happy to be an unofficially mom to them, seeing as how they either didn’t remember or didn’t have their biological parents with them. 

 

As Brenda walked back to her hut, she caught a flash of a figure sitting alone on the beach. She recognized him instantly, and ran into her hut to grab a blanket before making her way down to him. As she got closer, she couldn’t help but notice that he was shivering. The night air was cool, but not enough to make anyone feel chilled. She sighed to herself and walked over to him and draped the thick blanket over his shoulders. He looked up and saw Brenda standing over him, a nervous smile plastered on her face.

 

“You looked cold,” She said quietly. “Mind if I join?”

 

He didn’t say anything, and she took his silence as a yes. She sat down next to him and mirrored his position of hugging his knees to his chest. 

 

“It’s nice out tonight,” She gestured out towards the water. “I think it’s a full moon.”

 

Thomas still didn’t respond and continued to keep his eyes trained in front of him. Brenda bit her lip to hold back her questions and they sat together in silence for a few minutes, letting the sound of the waves crashing on the shore take over their conversation. Finally, Brenda exhaled and turned to look at him.

 

“What are you thinking about?”

 

“Everything.” He said, his voice slightly hoarse.

 

“Like what?” She pressed.

 

She continued to stare at him, admiring the way the moon lit up his side profile and accentuated his features in a way that made her heart beat slowly increase. 

 

“Just... everything. So much has happen in the past few months that it’s tough to process it all sometimes,” He shivered and pulled the blanket tightly around him. “It’s hard to wrap my mind around.”

 

“Yeah, I know. Sometimes I don’t even believe myself when I’m telling the kids stories.” 

 

She let out a small laugh, but Thomas didn’t seem amused. He sniffled and scrubbed at his nose like he had earlier. Brenda smiled inwardly. It was such a childlike thing to do, and for some reason, it was insanely adorable. However, her smirk lowered when Thomas drew in a ragged breath and turned away from her.

 

“HMPSHHH!!”

 

He muffled the sneeze into the blanket, and Brenda made a mental note to leave it with him. He shivered again, more violently this time, much to Brenda’s dismay. 

 

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” She tried to gauge his temperature by placing her hand on his cheek, but he brushed it away as he had a few hours prior. “You shouldn’t be out here in this weather.”

 

“I’m fine Brenda. Stop trying to baby me.”

 

“I’m just worried about you Thomas,” She said in an exacerbated tone. “It’s a not a crime for people to care about you.”

 

“Everyone I’ve ever loved has died, so yeah, it kind of feels like a crime.”

 

Brenda fell silent at that remark. She wasn’t quite sure what to say, but Thomas spoke again so she didn’t have to. 

 

“They deserve to be here,” His voice was low, and Brenda swore she could hear it crack slightly. “It feels so unfair that they’ll never been able to see or enjoy any of it.”

 

“I know.” 

 

Was all she could say, but Thomas continued to rant as is if he hadn’t even heard her comment. 

 

“Newt and Theresa would have loved it here. And Chuck...”

 

He trailed off, choking up slightly before a set of coughs overcame him. Brenda winced at the sound of Theresa’s name and his coughing fit. They were both painful to hear. It took several seconds before the coughing died down enough for him to compose himself again. 

 

“All I ever wanted was for all of us to get here safely and start a new life, but instead, I’m here by myself trying to figure out how to move on now that all of my friends are dead. I just feel so alone.”

 

“You’re not alone,” Brenda protested. “You have Minho and Frypan and Aris.”

 

She paused for a moment. 

 

“And you have me.”

 

“But none of that makes up for the fact that they aren’t ever coming back. I can’t snap my fingers and undo everything that happened. I can’t just walk over and talk to them. I can’t take them into the jungle or show them the ocean or let them taste the berries that I find during my mapping trips. I can’t do anything with them or for them, and it sucks. It’s sucks so bad.”

 

“Thomas...” Brenda said sadly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

 

He wiped a single tear from his cheek and shook her off of him before getting up and walking back towards his hut, leaving Brenda alone on the beach with nothing but her racing thoughts and aching heart.

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by ThatSneezyGirl

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

😮
Is...is there more...?

Please?

Pretty please?

😃

[Mr. Black Cherry Berry Tea]

I really enjoyed this! Looking forward to more if you happen to be inspired again. I’m also definitely a Dylan fan so it was nice to see a fic about one of his characters. And with such strong sneezes too! Thanks again.

[dragonko]

Omg, I just rewatched the movies the other day!! I still think the second and third movies are trash compared to the books, though. Love this story though! Would love to see it continued!

[LifeOfTheMarauders]

I love this!! The angst combined with the great characterization is music to my ears! Please continue

[ThatSneezyGirl]

 

* Hi friends !!! I’m so sorry it took so long to update. Life has been so crazy lately. I know there’s not a lot of sneezing in this chapter, but stay tuned for chapter 3 (which is almost done and will be posted promptly) for more 😊 *

 

 

     Thomas tossed and turned most of the night, leaving him completely exhausted by the time the sun came up. He wasn’t sure exactly what time it was when his body pulled him from his fitful slumber, but judging by the light leaking through the cracks of his hut, he gauged that it was later in the morning. 

 

He sat up with a groan and held his head in his hands as a sharp pain throbbed from deep beneath his skull. As much as he had hoped that sleeping would make his head headache go away, it hadn't in the slightest. Instead, it had brought along some unwelcomed partners in crime; a blocked nose, an aching chest, and chills that he just couldn't shake. 

 

He blinked rapidly as he tried to get his vision to clear enough to get his bearings straight, but everything was still blurry. He went to lay back down when suddenly, an internal alarm rang inside of him, snapping him out of his daze enough for him to realize that he was running late for the day’s scouting trip. 

 

He laid underneath the blanket for a few more moments, trying to absorb as much heat as he could before reluctantly unraveling himself from the comfort of the worn down wool. He swung his legs over the bed and stood up sluggishly. The cold wood against his bare feet sent a chill trickling across his skin and he shuddered violently.

 

He took small, shaky steps as he looked around for his jacket. He spotted it on a hook by the door and stumbled across the room to grab it. He slowly pulled it over his arms, grunting as his muscles cried out in pain. 

 

He took a deep breath to center himself before shuffling towards the door. The bright sun blinded him as soon as he opened it and ignited a forceful tickle within his stuffed nose. He braced himself on the door frame with one hand and haphazardly threw the other one over his face.

 

“HAHTSCHIEWWW!! HUHTSCHOOO!!”

 

The tenacious sneezes seemed to instantly dislodge the solid mucus that had packed itself in his nasal passages like cement and he sniffled thickly, trying to contain the clear liquid that was now trailing down his upper lip. He swiped at it with the back of his hand, but his nose was quick to replace what he had removed. He was reduced to sniffling every few seconds to keep his sinuses from spilling over. 

 

Regardless of this inconvenience, he staggered forward as he tried to make his way towards the group of people standing at the base of the tree line. His body seemed to be getting heavier with each step he took and he could feel his legs start to shutter as they geared up to buckle beneath him. He tried to balance himself, but the world around him was already spinning too much for him to do so.

 

“Thomas?”

 

He heard a voice call out as a fuzzy figure jogged towards him. He couldn’t make out who it was, but it sounded like Minho.

 

“Hey man, are you okay?”

 

It sounded like he was a million miles away rather than a few feet in front of him.

 

Thomas continued to stagger forward to try to find him. Minho, on the other hand, began to panic at the sight of his friend. It was as if Thomas had been replaced by a zombie. A very pale, very weak, zombie. 

 

“I need help!” Minho called out as Thomas swayed back and forth precariously in front of him. He tried placed his hands on his shoulders to try and steady him, but he could feel Thomas’s body giving out under his grip. 

 

Brenda, who was standing nearby outside of the dining hall, heard the commotion and sprinted over, already knowing who Minho was standing next to before she could see who it was. 

 

“Thomas?”

 

Brenda called out. The sound of her voice echoed through his mind for a few seconds before everything went black. 

 

 

 

 

 

     Thomas’s eyes slowly fluttered open to a small figure standing over at him. As his eyes came into focus, he saw Brenda peering down at him, a look of worry plastered on her narrow face. 

 

“What happened?” He asked groggily.

 

“Uh, you kind of fainted.” Minho said with a slight chuckle. 

 

Thomas looked around at the group of people staring at him and panicked slightly. 

 

“How long was I out?” 

 

“A solid hour or so.” Minho replied. 

 

He tried to sit up, but a jolt of pain immediately shot through his body and he let a minor groan slip from between his lips which immediately faded into a few stifled coughs. Brenda put her hand on his chest and gently yet firmly pushed him back down onto the bed so that his head was against the pillow. 

 

“Relax Thomas,”

 

Her voice was so smooth, so angelic. She had the kind of voice that he could listen to all day without getting tired of it.

 

“You need to rest.”

 

Her hand moved from his sternum to his upper arm, sending a slight shiver throughout his body. Brenda didn’t fail to notice, but she chalked it up to his quickly rising fever rather than his nerves. Before he could respond, A woman with long reddish blonde hair came into the hut and looked down at him. 

 

“She’s right. The best thing for you right now is to get as much sleep as you can to help your body fight whatever virus this is.”

 

He assumed that she was the island’s doctor, Kathie, that he had heard about and still had never met until that moment. In his defense, it was for good reason. He knew that her intentions were pure, but something about her reminded him of Wicked. Had she worked for them at one point? Was her face actually a memory from his life before the maze? Possibly, however, the buzzing questions were only making his headache worse and he swiftly forced them out of his mind. 

 

“You guys should get back to your duties,”

The woman gestured towards the door. “I can handle it from here.”

 

“I feel like someone should stay with him.” Harriet said with a small frown. 

 

“I will.” Brenda blurted out a little too quickly.

 

Minho raised his eyebrow in amusement and settled on giving her an odd look rather than saying anything. The motley group glanced around at one another and each gave a varying degree of shrugs and passive gazes. To Thomas’s dismay, Kathie objected. 

 

“That’s not necessary dear. We don’t need everyone getting sick-“” I can cover your shift,” Sonya said with a wry smile. “I don’t think they’ll miss me at the farm.” 

 

Brenda looked back over at the older woman and could tell that she wanted protest, but instead, she merely sighed.

 

“Fine.” She answered curtly. 

 

She threw Brenda a disapproving look before exiting the hut without another word. Sonya took the woman’s departure as their cue to leave, and hopped up from her chair, causing the others to follow in suit. They all got up from their various sitting positions and headed to the door behind her, throwing different versions of “get well soon” and “feel better” at him as she ushered them outside. Sonya squeezed Brenda’s arm and winked at her.

 

“You’re welcome. Have fun.” She whispered before joining the rest of them, leaving Brenda and Thomas alone in the rather large hut. 

 

Brenda moved her gaze from the now closed door over to Thomas. His squinted eyes were glazed over as he stared off at the wooden wall on the other side of the room, his nose scrunched up as tightly as his body would let him. Suddenly, he buried his face into the crook of his arm and let out two rather wet sounding sneezes. 

 

“HAHTSCHIEWW!!! HEHTSCHIEWW!!”

 

“Bless you.” 

 

Brenda grabbed a red handkerchief off of the small table that was next to the bed and reached out to hand it to Thomas, however, he was too preoccupied on his stuck sneeze to grab it. Brenda continued to stare at him, studying the way his mouth hung open, his jaw slack as his breath hitched in a rhythmic yet serrated fashion. This went on for another ten or so seconds before his sinuses took over and forced him to once again shove his nose into the back of his elbow. 

 

“HAHTSCHOOO!!!”

 

He could feel the mess that last sneeze produced and refused to detach his face from its current place in the bend of his sleeve. Brenda caught on instantly and had to press her lips together to contain a laugh. 

 

“Need this?”

 

She held the piece of cloth up between her fingers with a playful grin. He felt his cheeks burn hot from embarrassment. Luckily his shirt was still covering his face so Brenda couldn’t tell. He snatched it from her hand and turned away from her and hurriedly cleaned himself up. Once he was finished, he rotated back to face her, punctuating his action with a wet sniffle and nose rub. 

 

“You sure you want to hang out with the sick guy? I feel like there’s better ways to waste your time around here.” He said sheepishly. 

 

“I’m not wasting my time. I want to stay.”

 

Her comment bought her a smile from Thomas, and if the lighting wasn’t so bad, she would’ve been able to see his cheeks turn a deeper shade of crimson.

 

 

 

 

     Hours passed before Brenda heard the door to the hut creep open. She turned to see Sonya tiptoeing into the now dimly lit hut. She set a bowl full of a sweet smelling liquid on the table before pulling up a chair next to Brenda. 

 

“How is he?” Sonya asked quietly, her eyes falling on the sleeping boy in front of her. 

 

“Decent, I guess. He’s been in and out of sleep all day.” 

 

“I can only stay for a few minutes. Just wanted to bring him some soup from the dining hall. Apparently Kathie requested it. I have no idea what’s in it.”

 

“Thank you,” Brenda said. “That was really nice of you.”

 

Even after all this time, Brenda wasn’t quite sure what to make of Sonya. When they had first met, Sonya had basically wanted Thomas and Brenda dead, and now here she was, being the nicest person on the island. It was odd, but then again, maybe Sonya was just doing what she had to do to survive out in the Scorch, just as the rest of them had. 

 

“I think it’s sweet that you wanted to stay with him. I can tell how much you care about him, which is why I offered to take your shift,” Sonya said, pulling Brenda out of her thoughts. “And plus I think he would much rather have you here than Minho or that bitchy doctor”

 

Brenda felt herself blush slightly, but instead of responding to Sonya’s comment, she asked, 

 

“How are the kids?”

 

Luckily Sonya was just oblivious enough to not notice Brenda’s hasty conversation changer. 

 

“They’re good. They keep asking where you are. I told them that you had to go on an important top secret mission and now they all think you’re a spy.” She responded with a laugh. 

 

A pang of guilt shot through her at the idea of the clueless children wondering about her, and for a moment she regretted choosing to stay. She felt selfish. It was ridiculous that she had even wanted to stay in the first place. Sonya saw Brenda shift in her chair and reassuringly placed her hand on her shoulder.

 

“Relax. They’ll be okay until tomorrow.”

 

It didn’t help to settle her remorse, but Brenda feigned a smile anyway, for Sonya’s sake. Despite everything, she always meant well, and Brenda would hate to worry her. 

 

“I have to get back before the realize that I left. If you need anything, let me know.”

 

And with that, she was gone, once again leaving Brenda alone like she had been for the majority of the day. 

 

Brenda looked over at Thomas and watched his unsteady breathing as he slept, feeling slightly anxious now that she was by herself again. She had been continuously reminding herself that it was just a cold and that he would be fine. Still, the uneasiness in her stomach refused to subside. 

 

As if her anxiety had alerted a high power, Thomas’s breath caught in his throat and he sucked in before a volley of coughs overpowered him. He sat up quickly, much to his body’s dismay, throwing his face into the crook of his arm to try and keep his germs to himself. Brenda immediately jumped up out of her chair and sat next to him on the bed. She hesitated before giving his arm a comforting rub. She didn’t fail to notice how blazing his skin had become. 

 

“Good morning, or good evening, I guess.” Brenda said with a chuckle that was more nervous than inviting. 

 

“What time is it?” He croaked, his voice thick with congestion

 

“Around five, I think,”

 

It was the first time that he had been lucid since Brenda had offered to stay that morning, and hearing him ask semi coherent questions helped melt away some of the apprehension that had been clinging to her all day.

 

“Are you hungry? Sonya brought you soup. Kathie’s recipe apparently.”

 

She grabbed it off of the table and held it out to him. Thomas’s appetite was shot, yet, when he turned to meet Brenda’s gaze, he could see the slight glimmer in her eyes and there was no way he could say anything other than yes to her.

 

“Um a little, I guess.”

 

He cringed slightly at how scratchy his voice sounded 

 

“Here,” She placed the bowl in his hand a little too excitedly. “She forgot to bring a spoon though.”

 

“That’s okay.” He flashed her a weak smile. 

 

Thomas held the bowl up to his lips with shaky hands, and Brenda placed hers on top of his to steady it. His fingers were ice cold, but she still enjoyed the feeling of them underneath hers. 

 

He tipped the bowl back and swallowed, relishing the feeling of the hot liquid coating his sore throat. He couldn’t smell it and could barely taste it, however, Brenda’s soft, warm hands on top of his were enough to instantly make him feel better. 

 

Unfortunately for Thomas, the brief moment of relief vanished as a wave of nausea washed over him. He put the bowl back down on the table and closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the wall. 

 

“You okay?” Brenda asked with a frown. 

 

“Yeah,” He exhaled. “I’m just.... tired.”

 

The room fell quiet for a moment as he continued to keep his eyes closed. Suddenly, he felt gentle fingers brushing against his forehead and pushing his damp hair back in one quick swoop before settling on his glowing red cheek. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Brenda, who was leaning forward, inspecting him with a certain expression that his groggy brain was unable to read.

 

He figured she was looking at him with concern, but instead, she was admiring him as she had the night before. She could see his face more clearly now, even in the lantern lit room, and the little details that she had missed before were on full display. She looked closely at his face, studying his features with an intensity that she hadn’t found herself doing before. She couldn’t help but marvel at the light colored freckles that were splattered on his cheeks, as if God had painted them himself. She followed the speckled trail down to his cheekbones, which seemed more prominent than normal, or maybe she just hadn’t noticed. Her fingers grazed over them and down his face before landing on the bridge of his nose. It sloped at a perfect angle that even the pre-apocalypse surgeons couldn’t recreate.

 

Brenda didn’t realize how entranced she had been until Thomas coughed, and she shook her head ever so slightly to help regain her composure.

 

“You’re burning up.” She stated matter of factly. 

 

She took her hand away from his face and picked up the wet rag that was laying on the small bedside table. She began to wipe away the small beads of sweat on his forehead. Her touch was so tender, so docile. It was almost like the badass warrior who had helped him take down WICKED had existed in a different lifetime. 

 

Thomas was too tired and nauseous to say anything, so instead, he watched the entire scene play out through a fevered daze. Despite his blurry vision, her beauty was front and center, as it always ways. He found himself looking down at her lips, wanting so badly to kiss her in that moment, but the tickle that had been kind enough to hide itself for a few minutes roared to life and he twisted his upper body away from Brenda while simultaneously covering his face with his hands.

 

“HAHTSCHOO!! HUHTSCHIEWWW!!”

 

He sniffled thickly and groaned before grabbing the handkerchief off the table to dab at his chapped, irritated nose. 

 

“This sucks.” Thomas grumbled, more to himself than to her. 

 

“Why don’t you lie back down.” Brenda offered.

 

Instead of protesting like he normally would, he complied. Sleep was his only escape from this horrible virus that had taken over his entire body and all its systems. He settled his head on his pillow while Brenda pulled her chair over and sat down. She tilted herself forward and draped her arm along his mattress, positioning her chin on top so that she was the same eye level as Thomas. This sequence of events caused them to make eye contact, and for a while they both held their gazes, neither wanting to look away. Despite Thomas’s best efforts to fight to stay awake, he could feel himself quickly slipping into slumber. 

 

“You need to sleep.” Brenda said, taking note of this stubborn yet sweet action. 

 

She took her free hand and raked her soothing fingers through his hair, making small, soft strokes. Thomas hummed in content, his heavy eyelids already starting droop

 

“Thank you for staying” He mumbled sleepily. 

 

Brenda paused for a moment before speaking.

 

“There’s no one else I would want to spend my time with.”

 

Even through his now closed eyes, he could hear the smile in her voice. 

 

Edited December 10, 2020 by ThatSneezyGirl

[MiraKarat]

I’m so in love with your work🥺🥺🥺 thank you so much!!

[Professor_s]

Ok, that was an awesome read! Very creative!

[emten10]

This was the literal sweetest! I never thought of shipping Brenda and Thomas, but now I do! Also I loved the bit about Newt. I was so devastated when he died 😭 

[Kolen]

On 4/27/2021 at 9:21 PM, emten10 said:

This was the literal sweetest! I never thought of shipping Brenda and Thomas, but now I do! Also I loved the bit about Newt. I was so devastated when he died 😭 

I was torn apart, too. And I'd have to agree,  this IS super sweet. Keep up the wonderful writing!