Chapter Text
Thomas and Newt had been the hot new couple in Maze for about three months now. It was starting to wear off at last. Their co-workers were used to seeing the two of them standing close and occasionally exchanging quick kisses in the hall. Their friends were just as shuckfaced as ever about it, but they were getting bored with their own jokes.
Thomas and Newt kept it strictly professional when at work, of course. Unless they were in the office Thomas shared with Minho. Or alone in a conference room. Down an abandoned hall. Hiding in a cleaning closet.
Okay the closet had only been once though, so that hardly counted. Newt had been away for a few days, making sure Teresa was settling in at Wicked alright, and Thomas hadn’t been able to resist when he saw him back. Also the ‘with your boss in a closet’ thing was kinda a sexy idea.
So, apart from those times, at work they were Thomas the runner and Newt the second-in-command, who occasionally kissed and were a little more touchy than normal.
That is precisely why Thomas loved to drag Newt from the office and straight back to his place after work was done for the day. There they were Padawan and TheGlue; completely in love and all over each other. Kisses fell everywhere touches had meaning and they could say all the soppy things they never said in public for fear of Minho lurking around a corner.
That was also why Thomas was cursing everything he possibly could right now. His building was being fumigated. He and the twenty or so other occupants of his apartment complex were being asked to leave their homes for the next week.
That meant he had to find somewhere else to stay quickly (thanks for the notice he thought bitterly) and he wouldn’t be able to invite Newt back to his for a whole seven days. Seven days of behaving like professionals around each other without the cuddly closeness Thomas craved like a drug. This was going to be hell.
#####
Minho raised a brow at the suitcase Thomas had dragged with him all the way to work that morning. ‘Moving in, Tommy?’
Thomas threw a pen in his general direction, ‘Don’t call me that. And no. Yes? Maybe?’ Thomas sighed and slunk into his chair, ready to log in.
‘You let Glewt call you that.’ Minho whined. It was his clever name for Newt. Well he called it clever. Thomas called him an idiot. ‘And “maybe”? What’s with the suitcase, man?’
‘Building’s getting fumigated. Got notice last night.’
‘Sucks, man. Got a place to stay?’
‘You offering?’ Thomas said hopefully. He really didn’t want to sleep in the office tonight.
Minho winced slightly. ‘Man, I would. You know I would, you’re my best friend. The parents are in town right now though. You know how they are.’
Thomas nodded, he did know. Minho’s parents had moved to America when they were young and care free. They had lived here happily many years and raised Minho here. About three years ago though they had moved back to Asia, Thomas wasn’t sure precisely what part, but he didn’t really care to know.
Thomas had met them twice. The first time had been enough to put him off and the second made him never want to see them again. They weren’t bad people. Just protective of Minho, they had lots of expectations and didn’t like Thomas much. Little did they know Minho was the bad influence of the pair.
‘Hotel it is.’ Thomas muttered, opening Google to search for cheap ones nearby.
‘Or, ya know, there is one place I can think of.’ Minho said musingly.
‘Yea? Where’s that?’
‘Well, you are in a serious relationship right now. Why not stay with Newt.’ He said it like it was the most obvious answer to Thomas’s problem.
It probably was. Thomas was nervous though. ‘I don’t know...’
‘Why not? It’s not like the two of you aren’t spending every afternoon snuggled up together anyway? So you spend the night? Big deal.’
‘Min, I’ve never been to his place before.’ Thomas confessed.
Minho coughed at that, surprise evident. ‘You haven’t been to his? Seriously, Tom? How is that possible? It’s been three months.’
‘Mine is closer and easier to reach and it just hasn’t come up.’ Thomas replied.
Not true. Not exactly. It had been mentioned once. Thomas was snuggled into Newt’s side, lying back on his bed and he’d thought aloud how he’d never seen Newt place. Newt had shut the idea down pretty quickly: What would you wanna do that for? This place is so much better. We’ll keep coming here, yea? Let’s not go to mine. Thomas had agreed because it hadn’t bothered him at the time.
Newt chose that moment to enter the room. He always came down to Thomas’s in the morning with a coffee and Thomas always went up to visit him in the afternoon with a cup of tea. It was one of the little ways they’d made as an excuse to see each other more during the day.
‘Hey, Newt.’ Thomas greeted, leaning up in his chair to give his boyfriend a kiss.
‘Mornin, Tommy.’ Newt smiled and placed the steaming mug on Thomas’s desk. Then he seemed to notice the huge intrusion in the small space. ‘What’s with the case?’
Thomas went to answer but Minho beat him to it, ‘Shuck’s been kicked out for a week. Nowhere to go. We’re gonna have homeless Thomas stink in here all week.’
Minho smiled broadly and innocently at Thomas and Thomas glared back.
‘Can’t you stay with Min?’ Newt asked.
‘No such luck.’ Thomas replied.
‘Parents in town. Don’t much like Thomas, here, think he’s trouble.’
‘They do realise you’re the troublemaker, don’t they?’ Newt teased. He turned back to Thomas, concern etched on his face. ‘Where you staying then?’
Thomas motioned at his screen, results for various hotels in their area already displaying. ‘Wherever is cheap, close and roach free.’
‘For a week?’
‘For a week.’
‘And there’s no other option?’
‘None. Brenda flat shares, Teresa moved to be closer to Wicked and my parents live in another state.’
Newt seemed to be having an internal debate. His forehead scrunched and he licked his lips subconsciously, a tick that Thomas personally adored. He glanced at the case, at Minho and lastly his eyes rested on Thomas.
‘Well, I suppose, if you needed, you could probably, well,’ He was spluttering and Thomas thought it was cute but he also didn’t want to put Newt on the spot like that. Newt was rarely nervous and it was a little unnerving to see.
‘Hey, it’s cool. If you don’t want to offer, you don’t need to.’ Thomas rested a reassuring hand on Newt’s where it rested on his desk.
‘No, it’s fine. I want to. You can stay at mine.’ Newt said, gaining a little more confidence, or coherence at least.
‘You’re sure? I don’t want to intrude.’
‘No, you’re not intruding. You’re bloody well staying at mine.’ Newt kissed Thomas briefly on the lips and then stood straight, ready to get back to today’s work. ‘That’s decided. See ya Tommy, Min.’
‘Min.’ Minho mocked after Newt left, if frustrated him to no end that he couldn’t retaliate by shortening Newt’s name like he did with his other three friends. ‘Well that was like pulling teeth.’
‘Shut up shank. Don’t we have work to do?’
‘Yea, I need to kill the boss of this level and you have to fix the coding in the new Wicked site we were sent.’
Looked like it was going to be a productive day.
#####
At the end of the day Thomas met Newt in the foyer with his case. He’d given Newt several chances to back out of this arrangement, but every time he had mentioned it Newt’s resolve had grown. Thomas was staying at Newt’s for a week while his flat was out of order. That was final.
They caught the subway to Newt’s place. Thomas realised he didn’t even know the address. He did know, however, that they were getting closer and closer to the high class end of town and Newt didn’t look like he was about to get up anytime soon.
Thomas considered this briefly. Newt drank the best tea, he had some good quality brand that he brought into work and left at Thomas’s so he wouldn’t be without. Newt always wore the nicest clothes, he managed to make snazzy look casual but you could still tell that they were designer brand. Newt ate at the Homestead almost every day before he had started dating Thomas, now he often ate at the Caf where Thomas could afford, the Homestead wasn’t cheap. And lastly, of course, Newt was second in command of one of the biggest PR companies in America at one of, perhaps, it’s most successful branches.
Thomas turned to Newt slowly, realisation dawning. ‘Oh shuck, you’re rich.’
Newt turned to him and scowled a little in confusion. ‘What, Tommy?’
‘I mean I guess I knew but I just never really thought about it. Newt you’re rich.’
Newt blushed and started to look a little self-conscious. ‘I guess, Tommy. It really doesn’t matter.’
Anyone might have though Newt was just stating it like a fact. Thomas caught the slight uplift in tone, the question.
‘Course it doesn’t matter. I just never realised.’ He smiled reassuringly at Newt and his boyfriend seemed to relax slightly.
‘Good that.’
They both went back to staring out the windows, Thomas’s arm slung over Newt’s shoulders and Newt’s hand drawing anxious patterns on his leg.
#####
Thomas felt way out of his league when he saw the place Newt lived. They had stayed on the train as it kept going, and going, and going. They had finally gotten off in one of the nicest parts of the city. Thomas would swear politicians must live in these buildings, small time movie stars, successful child actors. These were nice places.
Newt lived in an apartment a few floors up from the ground. The outside looked like a dream, someplace that couldn’t possibly be lived in by anyone Thomas knew, his level of poor must surely drag those around him down.
The inside was as big as any house Thomas had lived in. Large entrance which opened into a lounge room, a large sparkly kitchen tucked in behind with a full space simply for a dinner table and chairs. There was a small hall leading off from these main rooms too. This place was huge.
Thomas stood in the space staring at the nice furniture, the small decorations that made the place feel lived in and generally soaking it in with complete awe. It took him a minute to realise Newt was standing next to him looking unsure and swaying from foot to foot.
‘Wow.’ Thomas said. It was all he could think to say. ‘You live here!’
‘Home sweet home.’ Newt replied, but it didn’t sound happy.
Thomas turned fully to Newt, pulling his face upwards so his eyes were looking at him not the floor. ‘Newt this place is amazing.’
‘It’s a bit much.’
‘It’s just a little spacious.’ Thomas moved into the lounge room, leaving his case by the door, ‘You gonna give me the grand tour or do I get to explore alone?’
Newt seemed to be easing up a little, Thomas had a way of forcing his glee on others and it was working now. Newt could sense the wonder and excitement building up in the brunette.
‘Well, this is the lounge,’ Newt started.
‘Gathered.’
‘Eat what you want in from the fridge,’
‘Bold offer.’ Thomas smirked.
‘I’ll show you where all the plates and things are after,’
‘Boring, go on.’
They started down the hall. There were four doors that lead off from it and Newt pushed the doors open as he passed.
‘Bathroom.’ Was first.
Thomas stopped for a moment, stepping into the bathroom. Who could have thought a bathroom could look like this? He thought that was just for show in magazines. Apparently not.
‘Is the floor in here marble?’ he asked in wonder.
‘No, it’s not bloody marble.’ Newt laughed, but it seemed to be laced with nerves still. ‘Shall we move on?’
The door on the other side of that was a guest bedroom. It was the same size as the bathroom and Thomas thought about how nice it would be to have a bathroom the size of a bedroom. It seemed ridiculous to him.
The next door down the hall was on the same side as the bathroom, Newt’s office. He had papers on the desk, a small computer hidden under them and a bookcase took up one wall.
‘You have an office!’ Thomas exclaimed.
‘I’m second in command of a big business; I don’t get sick days, Tommy. I get work days and work from home days.’ Newt explained.
‘Makes sense.’ Tommy turned to the final door. It could have only one thing behind it, ‘Big reveal for last hey?’ he joked.
Newt motioned Thomas towards the room, he pressed close to Thomas’s back as he reached past him to push the door open. Thomas gasped. Newt could feel himself blushing deeply.
‘Holy klunk.’ Thomas said.
‘It’s just a room.’
‘Just a room was the guest room. Newt, this is not just anything.’
The room was huge, Newt knew that. It had a large modern bed in the centre, walk in closet built in behind it. There was a beautiful wood panelling feature wall and the others were cream with a flat screen hanging on one. Everything in there had an air of expense and finery. Newt had been very proud of his room two years back when he had moved in. After inviting a few dates back to his, however, he had started to have second thoughts.
People got to that room and decided there was no way they could sleep with him. They decided he was way too well off for them and they left. Even the few times he thought he had something more than a casual fling going on, people saw his apartment and ran the other way.
He was scared of this. Of that reaction. The reaction Tommy was having right this moment.
‘Forget it. It’s just a bloody room, Tommy.’ Newt huffed.
‘It’s the Taj Mahal of rooms Newt.’
Newt was hunched defensively when Thomas turned back to him. He expected to see the face of someone trying to break it to him gently. He didn’t expect the pure glee that was in Tommy’s eyes. He only briefly looked at Newt before his eyes were wandering, glancing over everything again, trying to take in each little detail in the curious way Tommy had.
‘You like it?’ Newt asked cautiously.
‘Like it? Newt what’s not to like in here?’
Some of the tension drained out of Newt, ‘So you’re not going to run off, with some excuse about not wanting to accidently smudge something?’
Thomas looked at him in alarm. ‘I can do that? Shit Newt!’ He pulled off his shoes so quickly you’d think they were on fire. ‘You’ve just let me walk through here in my dirty shoes! I’m gonna need to buy slippers tomorrow for sure.’
‘Slippers?’ Newt asked.
‘So I don’t tread dirt on your carpets.’ He motioned at his shoes, which were in fact marked with mud from the slight rain last week.
Newt laughed. ‘So you really wanna stay here?’
‘Of course, Newt. Why wouldn’t I?’ Thomas said, confusion creeping into his tone.
‘Most people don’t.’ Newt confessed.
‘By people do you mean dates?’
‘Yes, Tommy, I mean bloody dates.’ Newt grumbled happily, punching his arm lightly.
‘Is that why you didn’t want me to come here?’ Thomas asked in what counted as his serious tone.
‘Kinda, yea.’
‘Newt, you could live in a pit. You could live in a palace.’ Thomas took a deep breath, ‘Newt I’m happy to be here because it’s your place. And, well, I, kinda, sorta, maybe-’
‘Sentence gonna reach its end anytime soon?’ Newt teased.
‘I love you.’ Thomas said finally. Said, declared, announced, whatever you wanted to call it.
It made Newt’s breath catch in his throat. They had hinted at it, those words, they made jokes implying it. They never said it though. Until now. And he was just standing there staring. And Tommy was looking nervous now. Say something his brain screamed.
‘Shuck me, I bloody love you too.’
Thomas’s smile returned full force and he leant forwards to kiss Newt. It was deep and like a final proof. Lips working in sync, tongues sliding in the perfect ways. Tommy loved Newt. And Newt loved Tommy. That was all that really mattered.