Sapphire Stones

Bark would kick Gally's ass!!

"Hey, Wonder Boy!" I say as I approach Gally, Bark in my arms. He looks back at me, wrinkling his nose when he sees the dog.

"Gross. Get him away." He mutters, turning back to his rough sketch.

"He's sad. He needs attention."

"It's a dog. It doesn't get sad."

"It is a he. And he does get sad. Dogs can feel the same emotions as a person, y'know. They can be happy, sad, and anxious, just like a human being." I reply, gently rocking Bark in my arms. 

"Then why's it sad right now."

"Maybe because my boyfriend hates him." I mutter, cocking an eyebrow. Gally rolls his eyes. "Fine. He probably just misses Ben. But he's also sad because of you."

"I didn't say anything."

"You deny that he has feelings. You call him gross, hairy, smelly, disgusting, and unsanitary."

"All valid points." He mutters, eyes back on his paper as he adds measurements in small handwriting off to the side of the sketch.

"All rude points. If someone said that about you, you'd be sad."

"I'd punch them." 

"Always so quick to anger." I say, clicking my tongue against my teeth.

"Force of habit. I just love punching people." He replies, rolling his eyes.

"Well lucky for you, Bark has no arms or else he'd kick your ass."

"That's debatable." Gally mutters. "Now can you please get him away from my workspace?"

"Wow, a please from Gally? That's rare. In fact, it's almost never been heard of." I say with a grin, earning a glare from the Builder. "What are you working on?" I ask, ignoring his request and sitting down next to him.

"Get him away and I'll tell you."

"Or you could just tell me and let me keep him because I'm your girlfriend and you want me to be happy." Gally sighs, shaking his head, but I can see the corners of his lips flick up into a small smile.

"It's a good thing I like you." He says, leaning over a kissing my cheek. My cheeks flush red as he pulls away. 

"I agree." I reply with a grin. "Now what're you working on?"

"Right now we're working on expanding the Homestead and adding more rooms so that we move the Gladers inside rather than having them sleep outside all the time."

"And this is the plan?" I ask, nodding at the sketch. Gally nods, penciling in another measurement. I look over at him and smile, studying his face. His eyebrows are furrowed, his eyes narrow, and his mouth is set in a thin line as he studies the sketch, erasing something and adding something new.

I lean my head on his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his arm.

"You're really fucking smart, Galpal." I mutter, nuzzling my head against his shoulder. "I mean, you're really fucking smart." He looks down at me and smiles, placing his free hand on my thigh and giving it a light squeeze.

He leans down, pressing a long, light kiss to my lips. We're both smiling as we pull away, and I'm about to say something when I'm interrupted by someone calling out,

"Aw, is the big bad Gally blushing?" One of the Builders approaches us, sitting across the table from us. It's Rick, one of Morgan's friends. He pushes his long, red hair out of his eyes, shooting me a glance before turning his attention back on Gally.

"What do you want Rick?" Gally snaps. I look up and notice that Gally's face is, in fact, bright red, though whether it's out of embarrassment or anger I can't really tell.

"I need the plan for the Homestead. You said you wanted us to get started on it today."

"Yeah, well it's gonna be a few more minutes."

"But you told us you wanted us to start it by 1:00."

"I'm well aware."

"It's 1:00." He says. Gally glares at him, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Well I got a little distracted."

"Making out with your girlfriend? Yeah, we all know." 

I look up at Gally, noticing the way his eyes narrow at Rick. His fists are clenched tightly, refusing to unclench this time. I place my hand on his leg under the table, drawing small circles on his jeans to try and calm him down.

Luckily, it seems to help. I notice his body relax, but his eyes are still narrowed, fixed on Rick.

"I'm the Keeper, Slinthead. If I tell you it's gonna be a minute, I mean it. Shut up and go away or I'll throw you in the fucking pit." He snaps. Rick scoffs and stands up, walking away towards his group of friends. "Asshole." Gally mutters, his eyes never leaving the back of Rick's head.

"It's okay, Galpal." I whisper, rubbing his arm lightly. "Just let it go."

"He's a complete fucking jerk. I should-"

"What? Get thrown in the Pit because you had to prove something? Because you couldn't control your anger, so you beat him up?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Gally just shrugs. "Then you're an idiot."

Gally's eyebrows furrow as he looks down at me.

"Don't let your anger always get the better of you. You need to learn to calm yourself down before you just start beating people up. He didn't say anything that would deserve even a kick to the shins. Don't waste your breath or energy on someone like him. It's not worth it."

I stand up, pressing a kiss to his lips. Gally smiles back, but it's a halfhearted smile. I run a hand through his hair, brushing it away from his eyes.

"If he starts pissing you off again, think of something good to keep you grounded."

"Like what?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Think about..." I trail off, an idea popping into my head. I gently set Bark down before moving behind Gally and wrapping my arms around his torso. "Think about me." 

I press a kiss to his cheek before starting to move away, but I stop myself, whispering in his ear,

"Naked."

I grin as I step back, biting my bottom lip as I bend back down to pick up Bark. I sneak a peak back at Gally as I walk away. His face is bright red, eyebrows raised, and his mouth curved into a tiny smile. I watch him shake his head, turning back to his work, but the blush is still on his face.

I can't help but grin at myself as I walk over to the Kitchens, Bark held tightly against my body.