"Guys I have a problem." Newt announced in the kitchen where Teresa and Alby were talking and eating. They stopped their conversation quickly though and faced Newt as soon as their Newt got the words out.
"What is it Newt? Is something wrong?" Teresa asked worriedly. Alby was mirroring her expression. Newt was just about to answer when another voice from the living room shouted out the answer instead.
"He wants Thomas to fuck him!" Minho, ever so polite and gentle in any situation, answered for his friend quickly. Teresa and Alby were surprised at the sudden shouting but immediately turned their attention back to Newt, only to find the poor boy bushing and standing there awkwardly.
"Newt, was that what you wanted to tell us?" Teresa asked. Newt nodded slowly. "Oh…" Now Newt was the one that stared at them questioningly.
"What do you mean 'oh?'" Newt asked.
"Well, Newt, I mean, it wasn't really much of a secret if we're being completely honest," Alby replied carefully. Newt stayed quiet for a while, then;
"What?"
"It wasn't that it was so completely obvious, it's just…" Teresa trailed off.
"It was so completely obvious!" Minho called again from the living room.
"Minho! You're not helping anything!" Alby shouted back to him sighing in annoyance.
"So you all knew?" The two nodded, and probably Minho is nodding in the living room as well. "Who else knows? Please don't say everyone. Please." No one said anything, the only sound was Minho coughing from the living room and the faint sounds of the video game he was playing. "Oh my God everyone bloody knew."
Newt collapsed into the chair nearby and hung his head in his hands.
"Newt, it's okay, probably not everybody, just some, you know?" Teresa tried to brighten the mood.
"By some do you mean the only shanks that matter in this situation," Newt asked giving her a blank look. Her warm smile from earlier turned awkward and less convincing. Newt's head went back into his hands.
"Well now that you know that he knows you can confess properly to him!" Minho once again was heard from the living room, you'd think by now he would have just come into the kitchen, but no, his video game was too important to pause for his friends crisis.
"He knows too!" Newt was about to panic now.
"Sorta. Kinda. Maybe. Yeah, shuck it, he knows for sure," Alby said. Newt made an inhuman noise and went back to losing faith in humanity.
"But now you can tell him no problem. He's been waiting you know!" Minho, lazy shuck face, Minho, once again called from the other room.
"Just get in here already stop shouting!" Alby yelled back.
"But he's right," Teresa added, "Now you don't really have to worry. You know he knows, and he's kinda been waiting for you to confess."
"If he's always known and has been waiting for me, why hasn't he just asked me out?" Newt asked timidly looking back up at his friends. The sound from the TV in the living room suddenly stopped and Minho nonchalantly walked in going to the fridge and grabbing a soda.
"Because he knows you're shy and didn't want to be too direct and scare you away, I mean, you would have totally just blushed and ran off if he said anything to you. Especially anything that I told him to tell you," Minho laughed and gulped down his drink. Alby rolled his eyes at his friend and continued talking to Newt.
"I think it's time you did something about those feelings Newt."
"Seriously, we've all been waiting for you two to get together," Teresa smiled encouragingly.
"If you can do it before next week that would be great. Everyone had to extend the days they thought you guys would confess three times in the betting pool because you two are taking too long," Minho winked.
"Betting pool?"
Teresa threw a spoon as Minho.
…
Newt was not ready for this. What was he thinking? Yes Teresa and Alby (and somewhat Minho even if he's a slinthead shank) have confirmed that Thomas definately has feelings for Newt, but he couldn't help himself from shaking like a leaf as he stood in front of Thomas' house. The chilly winter air was biting his skin, his cheeks and nose red, his fingers were numb, but the shaking did not come from the cold. Okay, yeah it did, but it wasn't just the cold.
Breathing in the crisp air, he finally brought his hand up to knock… only for Minho to throw open the door before he even got his hand on it.
"How long are you going to stand there? I've been watching you for five minutes, you're lucky Thomas didn't see you," Minho scolded/teased.
"W-what are you d-doing here?" Shuck he was too cold to speak.
"Visiting a friend. Now get inside before you freeze to death," Minho pulled Newt into the house. Newt stood in the doorway for a few minutes watching Minho grab his bag and coat before coming back to him.
"Where are you going?" Newt asked. He felt warmer now that he was inside and had time to warm up, but he was also feeling better because he didn't think he would have to be alone with Thomas now, even if it was Minho here.
"Leaving. I figure you and Thomas would need some alone time," he winked and held a mischievous grin. Newt loved Minho, he was honestly a great friend, he was just an ass sometimes. "Hurry up and confess, you act like a love-struck girl when you're around Thomas. The sooner you confess the sooner you'll go back to normal. I miss making sarcastic comments about everything with you."
This is one of the times he loved Minho, even if he was annoyed that he kept bringing up his crush.
"Yo, Thomas! I'm heading out!"
"Already? Hold on!" There was a shout from atop the stairs.
"Nah, I'm good. I'm in a bit of a rush." He was lying. "There's someone here for you anyway."
Chuck, Thomas' brother, made his way out of the kitchen. "You're leaving. Hey Newt." He was such a kind kid, with an adorable smile.
"Hey Chuck, wanna come with me? I'll get you some ice cream," Minho grinned at the kid. Chuck's eyes got big and a smile broke out.
"Yeah, definitely!" Chuck grabbed his coat and joined the two at the door. "See you later Newt. Good luck with Thomas." Though he was still a young kid, he was smart. Obviously he would know about his crush too. Newt flushed and nodded.
"Don't worry too much, Thomas has been waiting for this moment for a while."
Chuck also had a way of calming him down, no matter how nervous he was. Newt gave him a smile, because he was adorable and deserved it, and Chuck ran outside with Minho trailing behind smiling the whole way. Newt closed the door just as Thomas made his way down the stairs.
"Oh, Newt! I didn't know you were here. That must have been who Minho was talking about. I was confused what he was talking about when he said there was someone else here," Thomas chuckled and gave Newt a hug in greeting. Newt felt his heart accelerate and was very happy for his thick winter coat so Thomas would not be able to feel it. "I haven't seen you in a while," Thomas said into the crook of his neck. Newt felt the hot breath and soft lips moving against his skin, he held back a shudder, but couldn't stop the blush when Thomas breathed in his scent.
"What are you doing?" Newt asked hoping his voice came out normal and not revealing how much he was affecting him.
"Smelling you. Everyone has their own scent, and I haven't taken in your in a while."
Thomas finally stepped back and smiled, which didn't help because that smile made Newt's knees weak. And he was pretty sure the blush was still there, faint, but there.
"Where have you been? I've been holding gaming sessions for three days and you haven't come at all. We can't win without you," Thomas looked like he was scolding him, with his hands on his hips, he also seemed like he was teasing, but in reality he was actually saddened by not seeing him. Newt felt a twinge of guilt. He'd been putting off hanging out with him and Minho just because he didn't want to deal with the emotions that came when he was around Thomas. They three had been playing a new game, Maze Runner, where they were forced into a maze and had to escape, it was actually terrifying and the monster, Griever they were called, were terrifying. Every time they come out Minho would jump in his seat and Thomas would scream for them to keep running. It was hilarious, but really hard to get out. And it was a plan that over winter break they would meet up at the house of whoever is available and play until they win. Too bad Newt had been too chicken to actually come over. Counting the other two days, that's five days they haven't seen each other.
"Been kind of busy, thinking about a few things," Newt said, carefully choosing his words. He finally moved to take off his coat revealing his Rudolph sweater. His mother made him wear it because it would keep him warm in this weather and he didn't want to disappoint her (she looked so happy giving it to him). He turned from the coat rack and back to Thomas to find him smiling and staring at his shirt. He felt self-conscious then. "Mom made me wear it. Shut up."
"No, no!" Thomas held his hands up in peace. "I like it. It's cute on you."
"Newt forced himself not to blush. Thomas just called him cute. Well his shirt. But he said it looks cute on him, so it means something.
"Come in the kitchen, I have hot chocolate," Thomas grabbed Newt's hand and led him into the kitchen. Newt, even if he shouldn't be, was way too happy thats Thomas was holding his hand. He was also happy that his back was to him so he wouldn't see the smile on Newt's lips.
"Extra marshmallows, right?" Thomas made his way to the cabinets and starting pouring the hot drink in. Newt nodded, which didn't matter since Thomas' back was to him as he made Newt's drink from memory. Newt was filled with so much happiness. Thomas remembering how he likes his drinks. Thomas complimenting in his ugly sweater. Thomas missing him after only three days. Thomas holding his hand. Thomas remembering his scent. Thomas.
He couldn't help the swelling he felt inside. He wanted to cry how happy he was. Not seeing him for five days was emotionally draining. He missed him. So much it hurt.
He loved him.
He loved him.
"I love you." It was quiet after that. Thomas stopped midway to giving Newt his drink, his eyes were wide open, his mouth hanging slightly as he stared at Newt. Newt was also frozen. He didn't mean to say anything aloud. He stared at Thomas, holding his breath, afraid that breathing would shatter the silence that hung around them like dainty glass.
He was mentally berating himself when Thomas finally moved, putting down the drinks he was holding, very slowly. He turned back to Newt, his face giving nothing away, it was blank and Newt was actually afraid he would be rejected. There was no emotion to show Thomas feeling anything towards him. Maybe Teresa and Alby and Minho and even Chuck were wrong. Maybe Thomas didn't feeling anything towards him. Maybe he just shucked everything up.
Before he could say anything to fix his mishap, before he could do anything, Thomas' lips were on his. Newt was once again in shock, not moving, until he realized he should probably respond because Thomas was kissing him.
He kissed back hesitantly afraid he was dreaming right now now and he would wake up any second, and that would not be ideal for him. It wasn't until he almost fell out of his chair and Thomas chuckled and held him up that he realized this wasn't a dream, this was actually happening. Thomas actually kissed him. And was not laughing at him because he was so enthusiastic about kissing him that he fell out of a chair.
"I have been waiting for you to say something like that for a while," Thomas had the biggest smile on his face and Newt's heart skipped a beat. "I've also been waiting to kiss you for the longest time. Honestly, at some point I was just going to do it out of impulse. I was just afraid I'd scare you away."
"I always thought it was impossible to confess to you because you didn't feel the same. I was afraid I'd ruin our friendship and everything would just fall apart," Newt was slightly breathless after the kiss, but managed to finally get something out. Thomas' eyes were warm as he caressed Newt's cheek.
"Newt. I love you."
Newt's breath hitched in his throat. He didn't know how completely happy he would be at this moment. His eyes watered and he sniffed, catching Thomas off guard. His face twisted into worry.
"Wait why are you crying?" He panicked and it really funny. Newt chuckled to himself and rubbed his eyes.
"Sorry, I was too happy and it kind of just happened," Newt said. Thomas let out a relieved breath and brought Newt into his embrace. He held him tight, it was warm, safe. Newt felt at home, so he hugged back just as tight, clinging to him like a lifeline. They stayed that way for a while until Thomas pulled back, pecked him on the lips and grabbed their mugs of hot chocolate.
"Come on, lets play Maze Runner," Thomas grinned and made his way to living room with Newt right behind him.
The two spent their time playing the game, teasing each other when they did something stupid, kissing when they died and waited for their character to come back to life and distracted each other at random times, messing up the game in the process. Whenever a Griever would come out the two would jump in their seat and laugh it off after.
It was after three replays that Minho and Chuck came back. Minho made a scene that is friends were playing their game without him, but he looked extremely happy to see the two curled up next to each other. He grabbed the other controller and sat in front of the couple on the floor and joined the game. Chuck congratulated the two for finally "growing a pair" and confessing. He was genuinely happy about the development.
He ended up going next door to play with the neighbor as the teens stayed inside to continue their game.
…
"You're under mistletoe guys," Minho grinned looking over Newt's and Thomas' head. The two blushed and quickly kissed. There were hoot calls and whistling after, which were quickly shushed by Teresa.
"Stop messing with them guys. Especially you Minho," she threatened. Minho put on his most innocent face, which wasn't so innocent. He looked like he killed a man and was trying to hide the evidence.
"Who? Me?"
"Minho, don't be a slinthead and come help me bring out the food," Frypan was carrying plates of food, amazing food that only Frypan can make because he is magical and everyone is grateful for him.
It was Christmas time and everyone was gathered at Thomas' house. The parents have gone to a grown-up party and the kids decided to hold their own party, refusing to go to any boring event. Chuck was throwing streamers around people already in the spirit and Ably was chasing him to get him to stop. It was way too funny to see.
"Don't eat all the food Minho," Newt called after the kid as he made his way to Frypan. Brenda and Teresa followed warily to make sure that didn't happen
Thomas and Newt collapsed on the couch laughing with each other. It was peaceful. It easy nice. And they were happy. They kissed again, passionately this time smiling in the kiss. It was snowing outside, the snow growing and it was cold. Inside was cozy, laughter filled the house. Alby caught Chuck and they were laughing as he and Frypan lifted him to put the star on the tree.
"Merry Newtmas!" Minho called followed by the others.
"We are not doing this again!" Newt yelled about to stand, but was dragged back down by Thomas as they kissed again. Newt figured he would let it go this time.