| The Rejected | The Maze Runner; Gally Fic [x reader ver.]

|chapter•eighteen|

Gally's words made (M/n) sigh and shrug, immediately regretting his action as the pain shot up his whole back. He lifted the back of his shirt and Gally moved to sit behind him.

It was quiet between them before the cap being opened was heard and Gally put some cream on his fingers before taking a breath in and inching his hand closer to (M/n)'s bruised back.

Very gently, he put the cool cream on his skin, watching how goosebumps began showing up at the feeling, almost making him chuckle. It felt like time was going slower than usual, but Gally was just making sure he covered every inch of the purple bruise on his back, and only a few minutes went by when changed from sitting to kneeling on the floor, crawling until he was sitting in front of (M/n), who had started to feel a little self-conscious.

And it seemed like Gally intended to tend to every bruise he had, and the thought had spiralled in his mind, making him feel insecure, "I'll do the front-," he rushed to speak, his hands lifting to take the cream from the blond's hands, who prevented that by raising it high enough to be away from his reach.

"(M/n)."

"It's fine, I can do it by myself," he added quickly, a pained frown on his face as he tried to reach for the cream, but it was just out of the reach of his grasp.

Gally placed it behind him on the floor and gently wrapped his hands around (M/n)'s, "Please, let me do it."

Well, he couldn't say no to those sad puppy eyes Gally was giving him to make him give in, and again, he reluctantly accepted, and he ended up having to take his shift off, otherwise, it would've gotten in the way.

For a few seconds, silence engulfed them, unsure of what to do next. (M/n) was avoiding any kind of eye contact with Gally, looking everywhere except directly in front of him, which Gally was kinda glad for, otherwise (M/n) would've been able to see the obvious blush colouring his face, and how flustered he had become at the sight of the shirtless male.

While (M/n) was self-conscious of the sports bra he was wearing, Gally wasn't paying attention to that detail, noticing his body felt hotter, of course it did, but he didn't let that distract him from what he wanted to do, which was take care of (M/n), and so, he continued applying the cream all over his bruises, immediately apologizing if he heard the quietest hiss coming from him.

There was Gally, being gentle and kind to him, as he has always been, and it warmed (M/n)'s heart seeing how much Gally cared about his wellbeing. He felt as if he had been wearing a blindfold or had been refusing to acknowledge that anyone could care about him, and the realization that Gally worried and cared for him was a little bit overwhelming.

And for the first time since the incident, (M/n) seemed to become aware of what had happened, making his eyes tear up and a knot tightened in his throat, but he held back his urge to cry, blinking the tears away while still refusing to look at Gally directly, deciding on giving him a few glances here and there. He was frowning, focused on his task with a subtle pink tint shading his face and the tip of his ears.

He took a deep breath, and bit his bottom lip for a moment, "Sorry..." (M/n) saw out of the corner of his eye how Gally looked up at him, the movement of his hand stopping, "I'm sorry I... I didn't tell you what happened, Gally," he added rather quietly.

Gally sighed, and tilted his head, trying to get a better look at (M/n)'s face, but the (h/c) haired male didn't let him, making him sigh again.

"You don't have to apologize for anything, (M/n)," he uttered with a soft tone, "If anything, Stan should apologize to you," he received a scoff in response, and (M/n)'s eyes finally stared at him, just the lightest bit glossy and watery.