Archive of Our Own

Thomas looked up from his phone (which he had gotten back, courtesy of Minho) when he heard his friend’s voice from the kitchen, a puzzled expression on his face. The blonde had just left Minho and Thomas’s shared apartment a few minutes ago, much to Thomas’s dismay. Both boys had apologized for Thomas’s actions, though Newt simply waved them off, stating that it was no problem at all. Now, Thomas sat on their couch, scrolling through his messages (who knew he could miss so much in one drunken night?).

“What do you mean?” the brunette questioned, watching as Minho came over to the couch, carrying a glass of water. He offered it to Thomas, who took it with a nod of thanks.

“Last time someone he didn’t know crashed at his place, he flipped,” Minho explained as Thomas sipped his water. “I was surprised when he didn’t seem like he wanted to tear your head off. 

“Well, maybe it’s because I told him I knew you?” Thomas offered, shrugging. 

“Really? With the way he was looking at you?” Minho teased, and Thomas felt his cheeks burn. He quickly set his drink down, shaking his head.

“He wasn’t looking at me in any certain way,” Thomas countered, rolling his eyes. “He was just being polite. Anyone would have done the same.”

Minho raised an eyebrow, looking like he was going to comment again, but decided against it after Thomas sent him a death glare. The Asian chuckled before he leaned against the couch, arms propping him up. 

“Anywho, speaking of that shank,” Minho continued. “We did have plans for lunch later on this week.” Thomas tilted his head, shrugging.

“And?” 

“And, I was wondering if your majesty would like to accompany us,” Minho teased, ruffling his friend’s hair. “After all, you both seem to be interested in one another.”

“I just met the guy, Minho,” the brunette countered, hastily swatting his friend’s hands away with a scowl. 

“Love at first sight?” 

“This isn’t Romeo and Juliet, idiot,” Thomas sighed. 

“True - neither of you are girls, and neither of you are little teenagers,” his friend commented. “I’ll take that as a yes, and that you’ll join us, then!” 

“Shut the hell up,” Thomas muttered, making Minho grin as he turned away, headed back towards the kitchen.

“A yes, indeed,” Minho added, and Thomas had to resist the urge to bury his face into a pillow. 

-&-&-&-&-&-

Four seats. Two of them occupied. Five minutes gone by.

Thomas bit his lip, his foot tapping the cafe’s tile flooring as he glanced around the tiny shop. Nervousness and excitement fluttered in his heart like a trapped bird, and he resisted the urge to check his phone for the thousandth time. Instead, he busied himself with trying to count the tiles on the floor. Beside him, Minho played a game on his phone, tapping out a text here and there. He cast a sideways glance towards his friend, raising an eyebrow. 

“Man, chill. Newt just said he was gonna be a few minutes late. He’s picking up Teresa, remember?” Minho said, nudging Thomas with his elbow. The brunette gave him a quick, small smile, nodding maybe a little bit too fast in acknowledgement. A million thoughts raced through his mind, just as they had throughout the rest of the week, ever since the idea of lunch with Newt had been brought up. Thomas had been fretting about it non-stop after the small conversation had ended. He had the luck of not encountering the blonde before then, but it had only built up his nerves even more.

Thomas had checked his outfit at least three times before Minho dragged him out of the apartment, telling him to calm down, that it wasn’t a date. Those words had hit Thomas much like a slap to the face - if it wasn’t a date, then why was he so excited but so nervous at the same time? He was getting all giddy over a guy he barely knew; if he technically knew him at all.

Thomas finally came to the conclusion that the lunch date would be his best opportunity to learn more about his new acquaintance, and silently swore to himself that he wouldn’t get invested in looks only.

-&-&-&-&-&

A few minutes after Minho’s comment and Thomas’s internal lecture, the cafe’s doors opened and a young girl with pale skin strode in, her black hair pushed behind her shoulders, hands tucked into her jacket pockets, and a very familiar blonde on her heels. Beside Thomas, Minho raised a hand, gathering the pair’s attention. The two quickly strode over to their table, settling down across from them. Teresa flashed Thomas a wink as she purposely sat down across from Minho, taking off her coat as she greeted them all. With an internal groan, Thomas realized Minho must have informed her of his apparent “crush” on the blonde.

“Hello, again,” Thomas heard someone say, and his gaze shifted from Teresa to Newt, who was sitting across from him with a small smirk. “Haven’t had any other drunken encounters, have you?”

Thomas rolled his eyes, grinning.

“Haven’t had any strangers pass out on your couch?” he countered, earning a bark of laughter from Newt. He shook his head, still chuckling as he shrugged off his coat.

“You have to tell me how you managed that, by the way,” Teresa told Thomas, a playful smile on her lips. “Climbing through a window? While you were drunk?”

“He can barely manage it sober,” Minho added. Thomas scoffed lightly as the rest of them laughed, but he couldn’t help the smile that seemed to be stuck on his face.

The group chatted quietly about miscellaneous things - childhood memories, school, family, and even where Newt worked (turned out he worked part-time at a local bakery). Minho chided Thomas on the fact that he was still searching for a job (Thomas partly blamed his classes - they were at odd times, even Minho had to agree). Newt ended up joining Minho in his teasing, and Thomas was surprised at how easy it was to give him a snarky reply, and even more surprised when the blonde shot one back just as quickly. Teresa joined in on Thomas’s defense, creating a good-humoured argument on the importance of a job in college in this day and age.

Throughout it all, Thomas realized it was almost as if he hadn’t just met Newt a few days ago; it felt as though he had known the witty Brit his whole life, and they were just catching up after a few days apart. The way Thomas seemed drawn into every sentence Newt said should have been a warning sign to the brunette, but it was more like a friendly pat on the back, almost reassuring him that it was okay. Almost more than okay.

-&-&-&-&-&-

“Alright, hate to end the party so soon, but I have to get back to my apartment.”

The sound of Teresa’s voice cut through Thomas’s brain like a knife, and it drew him back to reality. He blinked, and looked around, noticing that Minho and Teresa had begun to put their jackets back on. Meanwhile, Newt still sat across from him, and also seemed to be startled by the sudden shift in the mood.

Thomas glanced down at his watch - 5:30 pm.

They had been sitting in that cafe for almost four hours. Thomas hadn’t even noticed - Newt and him had began talking about the blonde’s job again, and about places Thomas could possibly work.

Now, it was already pretty dark outside, and the cafe had cleared out for the most part. Thomas licked his lips, stretching his arms out and letting out a satisfied grunt when 

he heard his back crack. Across from him, Newt was rubbing his face, and yawning 

“Already tired, old man?” Thomas teased. Newt shot him a glare, but Thomas caught the hint of a smile on his lips.

“C’mon, lovebirds,” Minho said, nudging Thomas’s shoulder. “We should head back, anyways. God knows you probably left the stove on, and our apartment is probably burnt to a crisp.”

Thomas rolled his eyes, but got up regardless. A yawn stubbornly made it’s way past his lips, and he swore he heard Newt snickering.

The little group slowly began to make their way out of the cafe, small goodbyes exchanged between the four of them. Just as Newt and Teresa were about to part ways with Thomas and Minho, the brunette quickly remembered something.

“Oh, shucks - Newt, could I ask you something really quick?” Thomas asked, biting his lip. Newt nodded, and when Teresa gave him a frustrated glare, he dug his keys out of his pockets, handing them to the black-haired girl, commenting that he’d be there in a minute. Minho quickly followed suit, telling Thomas he’d wait for him at the sidewalk. The brunette was about to object, but the Asian was gone before he could say anything.

“So, what’s on your mind, Tommy?” Newt said, smiling warmly at him. Thomas couldn’t help but feel like that smile was almost reserved for him - he’d never seen such a gentle expression on the blonde’s face before that moment, not even around the others.

“Ah, I was just curious when your next shift at the bakery was,” Thomas responded, trying to ignore his pounding heart. “Ah, and maybe we could exchange numbers? You know, in case you wanna hang out again. Or just talk. If you want to, that is.”

Newt chuckled softly and nodded in agreement. He quickly told his new friend his phone number, and the next shift he had (which was that Saturday at 2 pm; Thomas repeated it to himself the whole way home). Thomas smiled after they exchanged numbers, feeling his nervousness fall away bit by bit. He laughed when Newt made him promise that he’d look for places to work, but agreed nonetheless.

“We should probably get going; Minho is probably wondering where the bloody hell you went, while Teresa might drive off without me any second now,” Newt finally said after a few minutes of small talk.

“Well, guess I’ll see you around, then,” Thomas answered with a wink. The blonde chuckled, and after a quick goodbye that seemed like eternity, Thomas found himself walking towards Minho with a grin on his face. His friend raised an eyebrow as he came over, and immediately began to ask questions (“Did you get his number?” “Are you gonna hang out soon?” “Did you two kiss?!” - “Yes, possibly, and no”) that Thomas only gave minimal replies to.

Minho gave up trying to squeeze details out of Thomas - even though the brunette insisted there were none to give - once they reached their apartment.

“Whatever happened, obviously it was enough to make you happy,” his friend commented.

And Thomas knew his friend had never been more right.