"whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."
➳ Please note I do not at all take credit away from Syfy for the creation of this series, I only take credit for the main character and her involvement with the plot :)
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➳After what happened with Garnett, Ten Thousand was not sure how he could ever talk to her again. He had, after all, kept her from saying goodbye to a dear friend. As he watched her empty gaze, all cheerfulness having dissipated, he felt the pain of losing his own father.
And yet, he had gotten to say a proper goodbye. (y/n) was not granted that same luxury. A few times, he nudged her boot with the toe of his own, trying to get her to look at him so he could offer some comfort.
When she finally looked at him, he wished he'd never asked. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, symptoms of her sorrow. The boy's insides turned at how the grief manifested on her face, but he couldn't find it in him to smile.
So, two sharpshooters riding in the back of a truck sat mirroring the other's position, one the picture of loneliness and the other grief. The boy was sure they made for an interesting pair to the eyes of their friends.
They'd driven for some time after Warren stopped to give Garnett mercy, and everyone was a mess. Even he, who had only known Garnett a matter of months, found himself aching dully at his loss.
The sad part was, that he knew all too well that familiar pain that continued to haunt him each day.
Every smile that someone coaxed from his cheeks felt weighed down by the memories of that night, the sound of his knife piercing the brain, growls growing quiet.
As the day drew into dusk and evening began closing in on them, Doc turned the truck off the main road and down a little further, so they could make a small camp with what supplies remained.
Normally, (y/n) would jump out to do a perimeter check, only this time - she just angled her weary head back to gaze up at the sky. The others, including a depressed Warren, began setting up camp in deadly silence.
Ten Thousand himself enjoyed silence, but not when it was like this - laced with pain and grief at the loss of someone so close. Instead of running to help, he stood up and did a quick sweep of the area with his rifle, not seeing anything particularly sketchy.
Still, he stood there just so he could not leave her side until he gathered the courage to apologize.
The girl hadn't even seemed to notice, but he did see her wiping her tears on her navy blue sleeve and then take a few deep breaths, puffy eyes closed.
So, he waited until she opened them to apologize.
➳He had to admit, he was often too busy not-dying that he forgot how pretty the sky was. But, seeing her gaze up at it with such wonder, he followed suit and angled his face to see the colors better.
Today, the sky was laced through with a myriad of warm colors, and due to the bloodshed he'd witnessed he saw more red than any other. For a few minutes, it was quiet between them. The group had begun crawling out of the grief they'd all grown accustomed to and were chatting amongst themselves - swapping stories of the man they'd lost.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled quietly, purposefully not looking in her direction. She released a breath slowly before replying.
"Why," she spoke softly, not really making it sound like a question. He pursed his lips, finally glancing at her face, turned to his with utmost attention.
It made him uneasy.
"You never got a goodbye," he explained gently, not wanting to spark any more tears - lest she began crying because of him.
"Not your fault," (Y/n) shook her head, her voice sounding very tired. He shrugged.
"You would have died," His words sounded like a knife, even to himself. The way his right arm tensed up as what might have happened flooded his mind. The girl nodded, casting him a wan smile, like the sliver of a moon.
"I know," She admitted, finally standing up and stretching her back, grimacing from sitting so long. "He didn't deserve that."
Ten Thousand nodded, finally letting himself gaze at her as she spoke. "No one does." He picked up the girl's rifle and extended it to her.
For a second, she hesitated. But then, her hand reached out to grab it and put it over her shoulder. He thought she almost looked back to her old self, but he knew that beneath the outside she was just as broken as him.
Everyone was, that's what held them together.
"I always believed in," she sighed "some big plan. For everyone, you know? Everything happens for a reason." Her hand movements, which were normally so excited when she talked, were lethargic.
"And?" He inquired, wanting to hear where she was going with this.
"It makes everything a little easier," the girl shared, fiddling with the belt looped around her thigh. A gift from Garnett, he remembered.
For a minute, he thought about telling her. He'd never had friends - true friends - but they'd already been through so much together that he caved. Instead of apologizing, like he'd tried, he opted to tell her a secret.
"Thomas," he mumbled, so quiet his lips barely moved. The girl leaned closer to him to hear, while he kept his eyes pinned on the others.
"What?" she whispered, her hair tickling his arm.
"My name. It's Thomas." He looked down at her for a second, then - for the second time today - wishing he hadn't.
Due to the height difference, he actually could look down at her a little; her eyes staring at him through her eyelashes, the cut from last week healing nicely.
He figured she was pretty, maybe not like the girls he'd seen in loose magazines he'd found - all fake smiles, dyed hair, and fashion he didn't understand.
No, she was pretty because she was real. The apocalypse wasn't kind to anyone's appearance (that he knew for sure), but something about her was breathtaking.
Oh, he was a fool for her smile, the exact same one on her face as she tested his name on her tongue.
"Thomas," she whispered, then she nudged him with her elbow. "It suits you," The duo began climbing off the truck, but 10k held her arm gently to stop her from walking away.
"Don't tell anyone," he nearly begged. "Please. And," a pause as his heart thumped mercilessly against his ribcage "call me Tommy,"
For a few minutes, she seemed to have recovered partially. He wondered how many people she loved had been lost, for her to bounce back like she did.
"Sure," she shrugged, saying his name again "Tommy."
Notes;
OKAY i finally did it! I wanted (y/n) to know his name fairly soon, just because it served my purposes best!
I am living for these little glimpses into his pov as well! Also yes, (y/n) was not as devestated by Garnett's loss. I think that after her family and everyone, she's learned to make peace with it and appreciate the living. I know I do.
