Author's Note: Sadly, TMR and Big Hero 6 is not owned by me. Very, very sadly. Apologies for the absence! Here's a Big Hero 6 x Maze Runner crossover.
Part I - Meeting The Greenbean
"Newt, he'll be under your care, got that?"
Newt blinked stupidly at his Asian friend, who - by the looks of it - only had a few cups of coffee that morning and was crankier than him There were noticeable bags under his eyes and and Newt seriously hoped that he didn't snap like last time and throw his handmade sonic screwdriver at him if he got impatient.
"Sorry, didn't catch that mate."
Minho clicked his tongue impatiently before rudely gesturing to the person beside him.
"Him. You. Together. Shut up ."
Newt bit back a sarcastic retort as he turned to look at the new recruit standing beside Minho, as if it was his first time noticing him.
Hell, he'd been hitting two all-nighters and Teresa was already complaining about him constantly staring at her for a few minutes trying to remember her name before abruptly slamming into a pillar on his way to his office.
Newt scrutinized the new recruit with interest.
"Hello, sir."
Sir? Well that's a first.
Minho scoffed, rolling his eyes at Thomas, "This shank ain't no sir, Greenie. He's younger and a hell lot wimpier than most of us here, if you couldn't tell with your shank eyes."
Newt playfully shot his best friend a glare, "And of course that has to be the first bloody thing that comes out of your mouth when introducing me."
"Shank, you told Chuck I had an insatiable sex drive and he had to 'keep away from me at all buggin times'. He almost destroyed my fucking testing room because he was too scared to ask which was the 'power off button'," Minho countered point-blank, mock annoyance in his tone.
"You told Zart that I had a drinking problem you bloody shit. He still sends me very concerned and extremely detailed letters about pressuring me to Alcoholics Anonymous every single buggin' week," Newt shot back jokingly.
"Why the hell is Zart sending you letters?" Minho's grin turned impish. He already knew the answer to that.
Newt exploded.
"Well, you piece of bloody crap. Could the text message telling him that he had to go on a one month excursion to Italy for research that was coincidentally and mysteriously sent from my phone have any bloody thing to do with it!?"
"Poor shank deserves a break, and you know he's been crawling over my ass to go to Italy since he heard Aris speak Italian," Minho broke his annoyed façade as he chuckled good-naturedly, patting the 'mildly' irritated blonde on the back reassuringly and a grin that screamed 'see! We did a good thing!'
"May I remind you, an excursion that had to be paid out of my own bank account?"
Newt could almost feel Minho snort mentally. Newt mentally snorted back and sent Minho a grin of his own. The blonde could probably banter with him all day until he heard a soft chuckle escaping the recruit's mouth, and the blonde politely reverted his attention back to him.
The new recruit was somewhat scrawny and tall. Handsome, if you squinted. His scruffy brown hair was untamed and messy and his eyes held this stinking mischief that made Newt want to smirk at him.
His skin was pale, dotted with moles, more prominently over his cheeks and shoulders. He had a broad chest, covered mostly by a form-fitting white shirt and a black hoodie, followed by baggy sweatpants that somewhat accentuated his lightly muscled legs.
Bloody hell he's cute.
"Name's Newt, Greenie," Newt greeted almost cheerfully, his tiredness mostly gone, replaced with a feigning friendliness that poured from every pore, "current head of this godforsaken department and top of the course."
He stretched out his hand, "Yours?"
The recruit smiled shyly, eyes twinkling. He took the hand nervously and gave it a firm shake.
"Thomas."
Newt's smile only grew wider.
"Thomas Edison?"
Thomas himself blushed considerably, eyes quickly diverting away.
"Y-Yeah, my parents wanted me to become someone brilliant, so yeah, apparently I'm named after the guy who failed a thousand times to make something that potentially blinds our eyes in the morning. "
Much to Thomas's surprise, the disaster duo chuckled in amusement, sending each other a wink that did not went overlooked by the frazzled newbie.
"Sorry, inside joke," Newt apologized fervently.
"You're gonna get a fuckload of inside jokes working here, kid," Minho smirked mischievously, watching as a wave of indignation passed Thomas's face.
"I'm not a kid," he replied softly.
Minho folded his muscly arms, his smirk growing wider as he slowly stalked over to Thomas, eyes glowing in predation.
"Tell us how old you are then, kid."
Thomas's blush rose to atomic, eyes flaring at Minho's challenging order.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell us if you're shy about it," Newt smiled kindly. Newt knew how it felt being one of the youngest in the university. Having eccentric seniors like axe-crazy Minho, wacky Teresa and OCD Frypan did not make his transition process into the course a pleasant one.
"I'm sixteen."
Newt's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets.
Sixteen?
Newt stared at Thomas in disbelief.
"You're pulling my leg."
Thomas raised a tentative eyebrow.
"Um, no."
"Jokes aside, how old are you?"
Thomas's eyes darkened in confusion.
"I. Am. Sixteen."
Impossible.
"Are you serious?"
Thomas heaved a sigh.
"Yes."
Impossible.
"See? Personified genius, just for you, Department Head," Minho could feel the hairs on his neck raise slightly at the nearly feral glare Thomas was sending him.
"I'm not a damned animal raised for slaughter, sir."
That one comment almost broke Newt out of his dreamy reverie.
Imagine, a sixteen-year-old in a master course in his own department. Even Newt, who was heralded as one of the university's prized students, had only managed to enter the course at the age of eighteen and cop the position of Head of Department less than a year ago.
And here was his future protégé who could by all means be the next Stephen Hawking of WIT.
Remarkable.
"Hello boys!"
The robotics course students swerved their heads instantly at the sound of the head of the chemistry department's voice entering Newt's office.
Who was - of course - none other than Teresa, whose mood was explosive, just like her choice of course, but with a kindness and unimaginable genius unparalleledto her namesake. Newt and Minho respected her just as much as she respected them, and often did the two departments collaborate in joint projects due to their heads' often heated rivalry slash friendship.
"Ooh, a newbie? Haven't had one since I accidentally gave Brenda the wrong instructions and she blew up the lab after that tiny little mix up," Teresa said casually, a smile stretched over her face as she eyed Thomas.
Though, her eccentricities and lack of concern for situations could be managed a bit more carefully, Newt and Minho thought.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," Thomas greeted politely.
"No need for the pleasantries, Tom," Teresa's eyes lighted up teasingly at the sight of Newt and Minho looking at each other in confusion as of how she knew Thomas before them, "I think we know each other pretty well to drop that annoying name addressing of yours."
"Just trying to make a good impression, Teresa," Thomas sighed in defeat, "Seriously, does everyone have a problem with me trying to be polite here?"
"You can call me sir or Master any time you want, my dear Thomas," Minho winked suggestively, earning him a disdainful grunt and a sharp nudge in the ribs from Newt.
"I see you met these two wonderful lads," Teresa interjected, a giggle escaping her lips at the blush Newt had bloomed upon hearing what Minho said to Thomas.
"They're….special, I guess," Thomas scratched his head bashfully, trying not to meet Teresa's penetrating stare, "glad to know I won't be working with a bunch of stuck up nerds with big glasses and pocket calculators strapped to their shirts."
"What kind of impression do you have on nerds, Tommy?" Newt deadpanned at that outdated opinion of nerds. Nowadays 'nerds' wore T-shirts that had 'NERD' on them and had onthose stupid 'hipster glasses' he hated so much, "now that you've met three bonafide 'nerds' and one who works out at the gym more than on his own work."
Newt had intended for that to be aimed at Minho, because bloody hell he could really get so obsessed over his looks that it was getting ridiculous. Minho simply whistled innocently while checking himself out at the full-body mirror.
"You guys make me wanna be a 'nerd'," Thomas's shyness had returned once again as heat rose to his cheeks. He turned slowly to the blonde, who sported his own blush as Thomas walked closer to him, a genuine, sincere smile on his face.
"We'll be working together for now on, and I hope we'll make some excellent innovative inventions while we're at it!" Thomas announced determinedly, his eyes never leaving the blonde's.
Teresa grinned and gave Newt a thumbs-up and a twinkling gaze that screamed trouble.
Newt sighed and reached out to touch Thomas's shoulder.
"Glad to have you in my department, Tommy, and I wish you the same."
Thomas couldn't stop smiling at that.
Well, until Minho decided that his hair was fine and his job of ruining the moment was at stake.
"Yada yada yada….okay….can we get on to work now? I'm sure Newt here is gonna keep you busy all day," Minho shared a knowing look with the blonde, who nodded lazily in return.
"I'll see you boys later then. Good luck, Tom!" Teresa tiptoed over and gave the brunette a quick peck before waving her good-byes. Thomas rubbed the spot where she kissed him and grumbled moodily to himself about bipolar nutcases and their quirks.
For some reason, Newt felt a tiny, tiny prick of jealousy at that gesture.
Sure, Thomas rubbed that kiss away, but still. Teresa shouldn't touch what was clearly his -
Wait what.
"I'm gonna check out whether Chuck hasn't decapacitated his head with the laser saw yet," Minho muttered, reminiscing his protégé's obsession with lasers.
"See you shanks."
Newt didn't reply as Thomas waved good-bye to the other man in reply.
"Newt?"
Newt blinked once, twice, before focusing his attention back to Thomas.
He felt a hesitant hand grab his sleeve and puling it slightly.
"I'm really glad to be working with you, you seem really friendly," Thomas grinned, filled with that youthful, boyish charm Newt once had in his early years at WIT.
Newt couldn't help grinning in return.
"What are you waiting for, Tommy? Let's get back to the lab and I'll show you my greatest works of all time," Newt announced proudly as he pulled the eager brunette along.
Suddenly, the dull, heinous, stressful life at WIT didn't seem so stressful anymore.
Hope you enjoyed it. Leave reviews!
