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I was barely ten years old
When I met the woman I would call my own
Harriet loved Sonya from the moment she first saw the girl.
Actually, there were two firsts. Once when they were so young she could barely remember it, and once when they both woke up, disoriented, in a giant maze.
Both times, Harriet knew she would spend her life following that girl until they reached the end.
Twenty-two grand-kids now growing old
In that house that your brother bought you
Neither one of them had expected what would come after. The burning maze, the helicopters that lifted them out of it. The desperate fight to survive, the way they knew their guns the same way they knew each other. The boy catalyst, the one that had saved them all. The haven they’d found and grown old in. But they’d made it through.
Harriet loved every part of this life. She loved the vegetable garden she tended, loved the children that ran away laughing after they’d plucked the ripe cherry tomatoes. She loved their cabin, the one that the whole camp had worked together to make. She loved the quiet nights on the porch, when the Gladers would mill around, drawn by the talk of the old days and fresh lemonade spiked with Gally’s strong drink, the recipe he’d remembered all these years later. Most of all, she loved her wife, with her graying hair and smile lines and eyes blue as the sea, still glittering with youth.
On the summer day when I proposed
I made that wedding ring from dentist gold
Harriet remembered the day she’d proposed to Sonya. They’d talked about it before, getting married. They both wanted it, a romantic engagement and ceremony with all of the little details. Harriet had planned it all out, set a picnic out on the seaside cliff. She had made a ring, thin as a wire but strong and beautiful. The hammered strip of gold wound around a tiny piece of sea glass, the same color as Sonya’s eyes. It had taken her long to find it, longer to make the whole ring. It was worth it.
She carried that ring everywhere, went to sleep the night before with it tucked in her front pocket. It was still there when she woke up, rudely shaken by the girl she was about to ask to marry her.
“Harriet! Babe, there’s a storm, we have to get to the safe house!” Sonya yelled over the winds. Harriet swore. The safe house was carved into the cliff face, just enough for everyone in camp to fit with an inch between them. If romance was a scale, the safe house was dead zero. Still, better than getting caught in a hurricane.
“Going, going,” She groused. She pulled a coat over her shoulders, tossing another at Sonya. They pulled the hoods over their heads, breaking into a run as soon as their bare feet hit the soil.
They were feet from the doors when Harriet watched the ring tumble from her pocket, the glint of gold getting lost in the mud.
“Wait! Sonya, I dropped something!” Her girlfriend turned, eyes wide.
“You can get it later! We don’t know how bad this storm is going to get!” Sonya held her hand out, expecting Harriet to take it.
“Exactly! Come on, it’ll just be a second!” She dropped to her knees, hands raking frantically through the mud.
“Fine, fine! What is it?” Sonya joined her, scanning the ground.
“I– Sonya, just go! I’ll find it!” Just then, the door slammed open, Thomas’ head sticking out.
“Let’s go! Did all of our storm drills mean nothing?” His voice carried over the growing wind, and Harriet winced. If she could just find–
“Harriet.” Sonya’s voice is… well, she wasn't screaming anymore, but maybe that was worse. Harriet turned.
Sonya held the ring in trembling fingers. “Found it,” she whispered.
“Fuck, Sonya, this isn’t how I wanted to do this. I had a plan, I was gonna– ugh, you weren’t supposed to know!” She sighed. “Just pretend you didn’t see it! We’ll just–”
“Yes, Harriet, I want to marry you!” Sonya yelled, crashing into her. Harriet let out a soft oomph as the girl kissed her, the rain slicking their cold fingers. Harriet could feel the cold metal of the ring against her cheek. She swooped Sonya down, deepening the kiss. Sonya laughed, her eyes twinkling.
“I love you,” Harriet whispered, smiling. Sonya’s lips parted, probably with the same words on her tongue. Then–
“Congratulations! Now get your asses in here!” Minho yelled, pushing Thomas aside. “Don’t think I won’t close the door on you two!”
Giggling, Sonya pulled Harriet inside. The others teased, about the mud coating their legs and the rainwater falling from their hair and the red in their cheeks, and even in the pouring rain, the atmosphere was light. Harriet and Sonya would have countless years for romantic beachside picnics, but this was special. This was theirs.
Sonya was my yellow rose
And we got married wearing borrowed clothes
After the storm, and the party the Gladers had thrown to celebrate, they’d gotten down to wedding plans. It was just a sentimental thing, really, since there wasn’t any legal system to go through. Others had done it, though, Gladers and Scorch survivors and everyone else. Nobody was about to tell them that after everything, they couldn’t marry the person they loved.
Everything was planned down to the letter, except for their dresses. Harriet would settle for anything as long as she could kiss her fiance at the end of the day, but Sonya had always dreamed of the swooping white princess dress. Considering nothing in the haven could be called snow-white, the task was complicated.
“I can work with this one. It isn’t perfect, but I can get the flowy shape if I borrow needles from the Medjacks.” Molly, one of the ex-Right Arm soldiers, was helping them fit the dresses. Harriet marveled at the deftness of their fingers, the way they crafted the first dress out of a blanket, the deep blue fabric highlighting the warmth of Harriet’s skin. The cloth they’d found for Sonya wasn’t white, but a soft cream that went well with the navy blue.
Sonya pouted, and Harriet sighed.
“Baby, I know you wanted something else, but you look beautiful.” Harriet smiled, taking Sonya’s hand. “You’ll be beautiful no matter what.”
“I know,” she grinned as Harriet stuck her tongue out. “I just– I wanted something, you know? WICKED took everything else, I just– one normal thing.”
Harriet stepped closer, cupping Sonya’s cheeks.
“I get it. You want something that they haven’t touched. But we have this, Sonya, they didn’t win! We’re here, together, and I love you. So much. And that’s what matters.” Sonya smiled sweetly, brushing their noses together.
“You’re right. I love you.” She kissed Harriet, just for a second, before there was a cough behind them.
“I can leave!” Molly piped up, cheeks flushed. The girls exchanged a glance before cracking up.
“No, it’s fine. We’ll finish with this fabric,” Sonya laughed. Harriet smiled, dropping her hand so Molly could bustle around, pinning the dress. As long as this girl was her wife by the end of the day, the wedding would be perfect.
She and I went on the run
Don't care about religion
I’m gonna marry the woman I love
Down by the Wexford border
The sun had set over the ocean, painting the waves a glowing gold. The girls were alone, finally, toes digging into the crumbling sand as the ocean spray misted their faces. The sounds of the wedding party carried, and Harriet was pretty sure she could hear Minho’s off-kilter singing in the mix.
“If he’s that drunk, I’d say the party’s a roaring success.” Sonya grinned as she slipped an arm around Harriet’s waist.
Harriet smiled back at her wife. “Mmm, at least they’re distracted enough for us to have a break.”
Sonya’s head rested in the crook of Harriet’s neck, and she sighed contentedly.
The party had been a happy whirl, the written vows from both of them followed by the chaos of the party. Frypan and Brenda had taken care of food and drinks, and some people from the Scorch had salvaged instruments, remnants of their old lives, and the party had been full of dancing and laughter. Harriet loved it, but they both needed just a moment, just to be alone with each other.
“I can’t believe we made it,” she murmured, twining her fingers in Sonya’s. “After everything, we really made it out.”
“Told you we would. We’re fighters.” Sonya pulled back, searching Harriet’s eyes. “I know a lot’s happened since then. Sometimes– sometimes I feel like we should’ve stayed, helped the other girls escape. But I know that they would’ve done the same. And they would’ve gone back for us, too, just like we did. After all of it, I just… I don’t regret it. Any of it. Because I love you, and I’d do it all again just to be here.”
Harriet wiped at her eyes even as she smiled ear-to-ear. “God, Sonya. Have I mentioned how much I love you? Aw, seriously,” she teased, sweeping her into a bridal carry.
“Ah! Put me down, you’re gonna drop me! Harriet!” Sonya squealed, laughing as she clung onto the other girl’s shoulders. Harriet swooped her around, spinning in a circle. The scent of the cooling ocean air and the music from the party made it all feel like a dream, but she knew it was real, because she could feel Sonya’s fluttering heartbeat against her chest. They’d really made it here, both of them, and they’d earned the happy life ahead of them.
From the snow white streak in her wheat gold hair
Over sixty years I've been loving her
Now we're sat by the fire in our old armchairs
You know Sonya, I adore you
All these years later, Harriet still felt the same. It was still just her and Sonya, but now it was different. The haven was a community, all of them like a little family. They loved the kids, and the kids loved them. They didn’t have to work anymore, leaving the labor to the younger kids as they spent their days peacefully, finally finding rest.
From a farm girl born near Belfast town
I never worried about the king and crown
'Cause I found my heart upon the southern ground
There’s no difference, I assure you
“Are you okay?” Harriet turned to see Sonya leaning on the doorway. She stood up, dusting her knees.
“Just checking on the flowers. The honeysuckle’s growing nicely.” Sonya pulled her close, both of them looking over the porch at the rest of the haven. The sun was rising, and with it the smoke of cooking fires and sounds of people waking began to rustle the camp.
“I was thinking, how about we go back down to the ocean today? Just you and me, pack some food, spend the night there?” Harriet smiled at her wife’s suggestion.
“You’ve already packed, haven't you?” She asked.
“Mmm, maybe. We haven’t gone in a long time, but if you don’t want to, we can just have a nice romantic day here.” Sonya gave her a shy grin.
“No, I’d like to go. It’ll be nice.” Harriet twirled Sonya, pulling her back against her chest. “As long as I’m with my wife, it’ll be a perfect day.”
Sonya giggled, letting go of the other woman. “I’ll get our things, then!”
Harriet watched her disappear back into the house, smiling. She’d loved this woman since the moment she’d seen her, and she couldn’t believe that she was lucky enough to still have her after all of these years, to have this perfect life with her, so full of love for her beautiful Sonya.
She took my name and then we were one
Down by the Wexford border