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A few weeks had passed since they had arrived at this new paradise to start rebuilding society. Minho had been spearheading the leadership of this new group, trying to bring order as best he could. They had started by building houses for everyone first. The weather was always nice though, so it was okay if people had to sleep outside for a while. Surprisingly, there had been no real objections to Minho's leadership. It was late and most of the people had gone to bed already. Thomas and Minho still sat next to each other by the big campfire they'd built earlier. They were alone. The two of them had been drinking some whiskey they'd found in the stash of supplies. Minho looked like he had something heavy on his mind.
"You know, I still wonder what happened to Newt sometimes," Minho said, looking straight into the fire. "I mean, shuck, we just left him there."
Thomas looked down, not sure how to respond. His mind wasn't exactly clear right now either thanks to the whiskey. He stayed quiet. He had resolved not to tell Minho already.
"Thomas, do you ever think about that?" Minho asked offhandedly.
"I...," Thomas started to stammer as memories of that moment came flooding back to him.
"Hey, you alright? Maybe you had too much."
Thomas sighed. He couldn't keep it in any longer. Some tears sprang to his eyes as he said, "Minho, I know what happened to Newt."
"What? How would you know that? Neither of us saw the shank after we saw him at the crank palace."
"No, I saw him after that. I saw him in Denver."
"What are you talking about, Thomas?"
"It was when they were driving me to the berg. We came across some cranks and he was one of them."
Thomas voice was already starting to get shaky and he felt his throat tighten some. Minho didn't say anything. He just waited for Thomas to continue.
"I got out and went to him. He recognized me and we talked. Well, really more like he yelled at me," continued Thomas
"Why?" asked Minho
"Because I hadn't killed him yet. The same reason he was mad at me in the crank palace."
"When did he ask you to do that?"
"Before we left the WICKED compound, he gave me a message and told me to open it when the time was right. I didn't open it until after we saw him at the crank palace. The note said that if I'd ever been his friend, kill him."
"That's a load of klunk. No way Newt would ask you to do that."
Thomas' expression remained serious and he looked like he was on the verge of completely breaking down.
"He tackled me. He was yelling at me to kill him. I didn't want to. He was jacked, but then he suddenly relaxed and his voice lowered. He was himself again and he asked me... No... Begged me, to shoot him," said Thomas, his voice starting to crack.
Thomas paused for a minute, swallowing a lump that was forming in his throat. He almost couldn't bring himself to say it. But the images of that moment flashed into his mind as vividly as if they had just happened. He could feel the cold metal of the gun in in his hand. Smell of the gunpowder as he pulled the trigger. Smell the metallic scent of Newt's blood as it dripped onto him and feel its warmth on his skin. He could see the life fade from Newt's eyes as his body collapsed limply to the ground.
"I did it. I gave him his last shucking request. I shot him while he was in his right shucking mind. And I... I..."
Thomas couldn't finish his sentence. He just broke down into tears, hanging his head, sure that Minho hated him now. He'd killed their best friend. Minho should hate him. He hated himself even if it was what Newt wanted. Thomas was surprised and caught off guard when he felt himself being pulled and wrapped in strong arms, his face pressed against an equally strong chest. It took a minute for him to realize that Minho had pulled him in for a hug. Thomas couldn't believe it. He had just admitted to killing their best friend and Minho was just trying to comfort him. How was he not mad at him?
It took Thomas a few minutes to finally begin to regain his composure a little bit. He realized the top of his head was wet and it felt like small raindrops were falling on him. He looked up at Minho and saw that he had been silently crying while holding Thomas this entire time. Minho was just as upset as Thomas was, but he wanted to make sure Thomas was okay.
"Minho, I..." Thomas began.
"Shh," said Minho quietly. "It's okay."
Thomas didn't say another word. He just wrapped his arms around Minho and pulled him in closer, returning the embrace. Minho smiled weakly through his tears. They both felt a strong sense of comfort and relief from just being with each other like that. Thomas felt like a great weight had been lifted from him now that he'd told Minho the truth and Minho felt some sort of relief and closure from finally knowing what happened to Newt. It weighed heavily on both of them, but it was good to have it out in the open. They stayed like that throughout the night, watching the fire slowly dwindle. Neither of them spoke. They simply took comfort in each other's presence and the physical embrace of the other. As the fire finally died for good, they saw the sun begin to creep over the horizon. When the sun had fully risen above the horizon, the two of them finally got up and went back to Minho's shack and went to sleep there for a while, laying next to each other.
They both slept soundly next to each other. After several hours had passed, they woke up. Minho woke first, but Thomas wasn't far behind him. Minho looked over at Thomas.
"You feel better, shuckface?" asked Minho.
Thomas couldn't help but smile at Minho's tease and he replied, "Yeah, I do. Are you okay?"
Minho flashed one his cocky smirks and said, "Of course I'm fine."
They both knew they were lying. It still hurt hurt them, but they could manage it for now. Life wasn't going to stop for them. There was a lot to do. So they would just have to deal.
"We should probably get going. There's a lot to do," said Minho.
"Good that," said Thomas.
They both left Minho's shack and left to help with their respective projects. As Minho worked throughout the day, he noticed his thoughts kept drifting back to Thomas. He also found himself checking in on Thomas' project more frequently than the others. Since he was the leader, he was more or less in charge of overseeing all projects and helping where needed. Still, he always found himself at or near Thomas' project. He couldn't help it. Though he'd never say or show it, Minho often felt overwhelmed by his role as leader. Being around Thomas kind of made him feel more secure in his role.
Thomas had noticed that Minho kept checking on him and his project frequently. It made him smile. Ever since his final encounter with Newt, Thomas had been unsure of himself and his actions. He'd been emotionally and physically drained by everything that he'd done and all the decisions he'd been forced to made. He found himself constantly questioning his choices, decisions, and actions as he lay in bed at night. Ever since last night, when he finally broke down and told Minho everything, he felt better and being around Minho made him feel more confident in his choices, both past and present.
Minho had managed to largely shake off the thoughts by the time dinner time. As usual, he joined Thomas at one of the long tables in their makeshift cafeteria where Frypan whipped up and served meals for everyone, but this time Minho sat right next to Thomas instead of across from him. Thomas smiled and didn't seem to mind. They talked like they always did at dinner. They walked together after dinner and found themselves back at Minho's shack again. Thomas just shrugged and they both went inside.
The two of them sat down on Minho's bed. Minho realized his heart was beating a lot faster than usual and his palms were a bit sweaty. Was he feeling nervous? That didn't make sense. First of all, he rarely felt nervous and secondly, this was far from the first time the he and Thomas had hung out. Still, something was going on. Minho knew what it was. He looked over at Thomas who was giving him a concerned look.
"You alright?" asked Thomas. "You look a bit anxious or something."
"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Minho, poorly hiding the nervousness in his voice.
"That didn't sound alright," said Thomas with a small smile. "What's wrong, Minho? You know you can-"
Thomas was cut short by a pair of lips suddenly pressing against his. Thomas was surprised for about half a second by Minho's sudden advance, but it passed quickly and he kissed Minho back. They continued to kiss passionately for a little bit before finally stopping to breathe. Thomas was smiling at Minho after they separated.
"What?" asked Minho.
"Nothing, I just didn't expect you to feel that way about me," said Thomas. "I'm glad you do."
"Yeah, well, I was only half-kidding when I said, 'If I don't see you on the other side, remember I love you.' back in Denver."
"But are you sure you're okay with this? After what I told you?"
"You really are the shuckiest shuckfaced shuck in the world. It took a lot for you to tell me that and, honestly, I'm glad to know what happened to Newt. I'm happy he didn't have to go through the last stages of the Flare. Going past the Gone..."
Minho trailed off and looked down at the floor for a moment. Thomas quickly through his arm around Minho's shoulder to comfort him.
"Yeah, you're right. Either way, I'm really glad you're not mad at me or hate me for it," said Thomas.
"Thomas, I could never hate you. In case it wasn't obvious before, I kind of love you," said Minho as he finally looked up from the floor.
Thomas laughed and said, "Yeah, I kind of got that."
"Y'know, tomorrow's the off day. We're not doing any work. So, if you want to stay we could...," said Minho tentatively.
"I'd love to stay with you," Thomas replied happily.
"Good that."
Minho smiled and leaned forward to kiss Thomas again. They both ended up falling back on the bed, but they kept kissing playfully. After a while, they stopped and rolled onto their backs to talk some more.
"Ever since I shot him, I've questioned all of my choices and decisions including my past ones," said Thomas. "But when I'm with you, I feel more confident. I feel like I can make the right decisions and that I didn't make the wrong choices in the past."
"You didn't make any wrong choices, Thomas," said Minho with a sigh. "You did what was right every time, ever since the beginning when you ran into the maze to help me and Alby. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. And, y'know, this whole leader thing doesn't shucking come so easy."
"But you always seem like you know what you're doing."
"Yeah. Seem. Really, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not even sure if I'm doing things right and I lack actual confidence. But when I'm around you, I feel more confident. You kind of ground me and support me. It helps a lot."
"So, I don't make you nervous?" Thomas asked with a playful smile.
"That was just because I wasn't sure how you'd react!"
"You're cute when you're flustered, Minho."
"Slim it, shuckface. Here I am trying to be serious and let you know how I feel about you and you're going to say klunk like that.
Thomas took Minho's hand in his and squeezed it gently.
"Sorry," said Thomas sincerely. "I was just playing around. You really are cute though."
"Yeah, you better be glad you're cute, too," said Minho as he leaned over to give Thomas a brief kiss.
"But, really, I'm glad to have you here with me at the end of the world," said Minho.
"I feel the same way," replied Thomas. "I'm really happy to have you. But it's not really the end, is it?"
"I guess not. A new beginning. You would look at it that way."
"Yeah, a new beginning. Kind of like with us."
"Oh, shut up, Thomas."
With that, Minho rolled over onto Thomas and kissed him so he couldn't keep talking. Thomas was caught off guard, but he didn't fight it. He liked the feeling of Minho's strong, muscular torso pressed against his own and Minho was a damn good kisser. Thomas wasn't sure where Minho got practice, but he decided not to give it much thought and to just enjoy it. After a minute, Thomas felt Minho's body relax some. He took his chance, wrapped his arms around Minho's chest, and barrel rolled in the bed, landing himself on top of Minho who was momentarily stunned having not expected Thomas to do something like that.
Thomas smiled victoriously at Minho, but Minho just cocked and eyebrow at him as if he didn't care. That worried Thomas for a second and it turned out he was right to be worried. In an instant, Minho had already wrapped Thomas up and was rolling him. Thomas kept the roll going and they rolled off the bed and on to the floor. The end result was a playful and spirited wrestling match where Thomas and Minho rolled around the floor of Minho's shack and knocked over pretty much everything on a shelf, desk, or table. In the end, they both collapsed on the floor next to each other, covered in sweat, breathing heavily, and laughing. It had been a long time since they'd had that much fun.
"That was fun," laughed Thomas. "I can't remember the last time I did something like that."
"Me either," replied Minho. "I don't think we ever did anything like that back in the glade. And we didn't have much time for fun after the glade."
"Yeah. It's nice that we can relax and have fun some now."
"But it definitely made me realize how tired I am," said Minho as he let out a big yawn.
"Yeah, it's gotten pretty late," said Thomas. "We should probably get some sleep."
"Good that."
The two got up and looked and finally noticed the wreck that they'd made of Minho's shack.
"We'll deal with it tomorrow?" suggested Thomas.
"Tomorrow's good," answered Minho with a nod as he walked towards his bed.
They both climbed into Minho's bed and curled up next to each other. Thomas turned his back to Minho who wrapped his arms gently around Thomas, cuddling him and pulling him close to his chest. Thomas relaxed into Minho's embrace and enjoyed the closeness, both physical and emotional, that he shared with Minho.
Minho kissed Thomas on the cheek and sleepily said, "Good night, Thomas."
"Good night, Minho," replied Thomas.
A few seconds later, Tomas could tell Minho had fallen asleep, feeling his slow and shallow breaths against his back and neck. In spite of that, Minho's grip on Thomas didn't loosen; he was still holding Thomas very close to him. Thomas smiled. For the first time that he could remember, Thomas felt safe and secure wrapped in Minho's arms. He felt at peace with things again. Thomas closed his eyes and swiftly drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep where he was no longer haunted by the nightmares of what he'd done or the choices he'd made in the past. He was free and ready to start life again. A new life with Minho by his side.