Chapter Text
There were lots of things Thomas knew about Newt. One of those things in particular were his intense fear of thunderstorms. One of the very few things he was afraid of. He remembered one night he found the blonde, huddled in a corner in the middle of the night, shaking and on the verge of tears.
He stayed with him until morning that night.
Thomas looked back out the window the fifth time in the past minute, dark storm clouds looming overhead. His work shift didn't end for another four hours, and if he left again he would be fired. It was killing him to be away, especially with the chance for storms. He tapped his pen nervously, both of them needed him to keep his job, and he knew that. Without it, they couldn't pay rent, bills, or buy food. It was their life-line. There wasn't much to the job, it just included a lot of math, which was something he was pretty good at. He wanted Newt to work with him, but math wasn't his strong suit, so he stayed at home. Thomas was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a distant rumble of thunder.
Sit tight, Thomas thought, I'll be home soon.
Newt
Newt had been staring out the window the past ten minutes, watching the overhead when he heard the thunder. He jumped back in his chair, nearly falling out of it. It was distant and quiet, but he knew in no time it would be right above him, booming like a freight train. What scared him almost just as much was how dark the clouds in the horizon were. He shakily rose out of the chair and sat down on the couch, turning on the weather channel. He listened in, praying it would just be a small storm, or it would miss them. To his horror, it was exactly the opposite. He caught the words Super-cell and Rotation before he turned off the T.V. If he knew anything about storms, it was that supercells and rotation meant two things. Heavy storms and Tornadoes. He looked back out the window, it was already darker out, and a beads of rain ran down. In that moment he really wished Thomas was with him. He would always be there during storms, holding and comforting him, but not this time. This time he was at work, twenty minutes away.
Newt would ride this one out alone.
Newt gasped when the lamp next to him flickered, but thankfully stayed on. There was no way he would be able to do this by himself. Not with a tornado, not with the chance of no power. The clock on the wall read 1:03. Thomas was out at 5. He couldn't call, could he? No, he had to make sure Thomas stayed at work, he's left so many times and got in trouble, it wouldn't be fair for him to lose his job. He pulled a nearby blanket over him, breathing in its scent. It smelled just like Thomas. He sat there like that, curled up in his blanket, trying to ignore the sounds of the rain and the whistles of the wind outside. After yet another rumble of thunder, he reached over, picking up his cell phone from the coffee table. With shaking hands, he dialed Thomas’s number.
Thomas
Thomas fumbled with his phone as it went off, on vibrate thank god. He looked down at the caller I.D, already knowing who it was.
“Newt?” He said automatically.
“T-tommy?”
Thomas looked out the window again, the storm was getting worse, he knew that, but he had no idea how bad it was supposed to be.
“Newt are you alright? Here hold up I’ll be right home-”
“No! No you have to keep your job, we both know that. I just..” He paused. “Needed to hear your voice.”
“Newt I would be home in a heartbeat if it didn’t mean losing my job, you know that don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Listen, I’m gonna try working out something to get home earlier, okay? Just remember those breathing techniques we worked on okay?” He said, trying to make himself seem calmer than he actually was, inside he was an anxious mess to get home to him.
“Okay.”
There was a flash outside, then a large boom of thunder. He heard Newts sharp intake of breath over the phone. Thomas looked over at the clock again. It wasn’t even 1:30 yet.
“Mr. Greene, no phone calls at work.”
Thomas turned to see his boss in the doorway, tapping his foot. Thomas put a hand over the phone.
“Please just one more minute.”
“No, wrap it up and get back to work,” He said, then walked away. Thomas flipped him off under the table before returning to Newt.
“Sorry, boss came in and…”
“You have to go?”
The sadness in Newts voice hit Thomas in the chest like a bullet.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It's alright. I-I’ll see you after work then, right?”
“Definitely.”
Newt chuckled.
“Until then. I love you Tommy.”
Thomas smiled. “I love you too. See you later.”
When Newt hung up, Thomas looked back out the window for what had to be the hundredth time. Somehow it had got even darker out.
There was no way he could handle this.
Newt
Newt sat on the couch, breathing in and out slowly like Thomas had once taught him to do. He closed his eyes, trying his best to block out the noises of outside. In and out, in and out. He hated storms, not only because they freaked him out, but they made him feel so weak. Nothing makes you feel more helpless than being curled up in a corner, shaking because of a small rumble of thunder. It was pathetic in his opinion, having to be comforted by Thomas just to get him breathing normally. He was grateful, there's no doubt, but it just made him feel bad. In that moment, all hell seemed to break loose. With a loud Pop!, the room went dark, the only light coming from the dull clouds outside. Newt sat for a moment, mostly in shock until a sound ripped him from his dazed state.
The sound of a tornado siren.
Thomas
It was chaos in the workplace, everyone running, trying to gather all the electronics that they could to try saving them. It was a typical thing, save as much money as they could. He thought it was disgusting, but it was far from his mind once the sirens went off. All on his mind was Newt. He sprung up, ignoring the people running past him.
“Thomas! Where are you going!?” Somebody called just as he was about to walk out the door.
“Home!” He called back. He knew exactly who it was, it was his co worker, Teresa. One of the only people he could stand besides Aris and Rachel. They were the only people he could actually call friends.
“Are you insane?” She said, walking up to him. “Are you gonna have enough time to make it there?”
Thomas glanced out the window, then back at her and shrugged his shoulders. She shook her head.
“Be careful, Tom. Why do you need to get home anyways?”
“Newt. He could be having a panic attack right now for all I know, he doesn’t handle storms very well.” He explained, earning a look of sympathy from her.
“Oh. Well then, take the back roads, the main roads are probably jammed and drive fast.”
She wrapped him in a quick hug then he was on his way. He hopped into his car, and turned on the ignition. Rain and hail pelted the windshield so severely, he couldn’t barely see out, and he wasn’t even moving. He put into drive anyways and blew out of the parking lot and onto the road, barely bothering to notice the fallen tree limbs all over the road. He looked nervously for any sign of a tornado in the clouds, but from what he saw there wasn’t one near.
“Hang in there, Newt, I’m almost home.”
Newt
It was hard for Newt to concentrate at that point, with the wind howling outside, mingling with the haunting wails of the tornado sirens, it was enough for anyone to break down in hysterics. He had ran down into the basement, nearly tripping and falling, and was now huddled in the farest corner, covering his ears. He put his head in his knees, trying anything to block out the noises. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, and his breathe getting quicker and quicker with every passing moment.
“Get a grip, Newt.” He told himself as tears threatened to spill.
There was no way he could get himself under control, not without Thomas. A new pang of fear hit him at that moment, only adding the the fuzzy sea of thoughts going through him. Would Thomas be okay? Was his work place safe enough? He tried shaking the thoughts away, but they bounced back. Suddenly the door at the top of the stairs swung open, and over the noises of the storm Newt heard a familiar voice.
“Newt?!? Newt are you down here!?”
Newts heart skipped a beat.
“Tommy!” He cried, looking up, but not daring to stand.
Thomas saw him immediately, and rushed over to him, wrapping him in a tight embrace.
“Hey, hey you're alright, it’s okay, I’m here, okay? You’re safe.” He said comfortingly. Newt buried his head into Thomas’s shirt as Thomas pulled him even closer, running his back soothingly.
For the next ten minutes, Thomas held Newt as the storm passed over, coaching him through breathing exercises, and ultimately calming him down to where he wasn’t hyperventilating. Once the sounds of the storm seemed completely gone, they stood up.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here earlier, Newt.”
“Don’t be sorry, if anyone should be, it's me. You might lose your job.” Newt said sadly, his head down.
“There's a million jobs like that one, it won’t be hard to find one, and hey, maybe we could both work there. Wouldn’t that be cool?”
“I guess, but I still feel bad.”
Thomas looked at him, straight in the eye.
“Well don’t. Come on, let's go up and see if there's any damage.”
They walked up the stairs, and slowly opened the door, to their alleviation, the house was untouched. Newt walked over to the window and sighed with relief.
“The whole neighborhood was spared. We’re pretty lucky, yeah?”
“Indeed we are.” Thomas said, pulling Newt in by his waist. “But you know who’s even more lucky?”
“Who?”
“Me, for having the best freaking boyfriend in the world.” He pressed his lips against Newts, taking him by surprise at first, but then he immediately returned the passion. After a few moments, Newt pulled back and smiled.
“Thanks Tommy, for… everything.”
Thomas smiled back.
“And thank you, for being my everything.”