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The snow sure was nice, when Newt was there.
It was the last day of Thomas and Newt’s first work trip. Together, at least. After three days of excruciatingly boring conferences –only made fun when either of them made a snarky remark– it was at last time to go back home. Their flight didn’t leave until that evening, though, so Thomas and Newt had a few hours to kill when they left their hotel rooms.
“What’cha wanna do, Tommy?” Newt asked Thomas when they exited the hotel. Newt was the only one who called him Tommy. He liked it. He shivered.
“A bit chilly, isn’t it?” Thomas said, putting on his jacket.
“Think so?” Newt kept walking, cardigan hanging from his arm. “Let’s go to a café? It’s on me,” he suggested.
The day was grayish, fluffy clouds obscuring most of the sunlight. Perfect for a coffee-shop date. Rendezvous. Meeting?
Thomas and Newt had been staying downtown. Though there were many things to do, they hadn’t really had time to do much other than attend their boring conferences. So they went into a coffee shop Newt had been eyeing since the first day, which overlooked a park. It was lovely inside, warm and cozy.
“What will you have?” Newt asked Thomas.
“I um, don’t know really.” He wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, and if he was being honest, he’d only been inside a coffee shop like twice in his life. “Surprise me?”
“I will,” Newt replied with a smile.
He really did surprise Thomas, ordering for him a blend of teas and spices Thomas never even knew existed.
“This is… mind-blowing,” he said with a laugh.
“You should let me surprise you always,” Newt said, laughing too but with a look in his eye that made Thomas shiver despite the tea.
They were sitting in a booth next to the window wall. Outside, dozens of people were ice-skating in the big frozen fountain. Friends and couples and loners all seemed to be having fun, laughing and hugging. Thomas and Newt looked at them while they drank their tea, pointing and giggling at the people that fell. Once, Thomas saw a teen girl flailing her arms around, seemingly unable to stop herself. She slid and slid until a boy caught her in his arms, and both flushed and looked away, but didn’t let go of each other.
He looked over at Newt. Thomas didn’t know if Newt had seen the young couple. He was about to look away again, when he caught the twinkle in Newt’s eye. It was an expression he had never seen in his face. Bright and childlike, his green eyes danced over the ice-skaters. His smile, with his mouth half open, revealed how much he longed to be down there too.
“Go ice-skating with me,” Thomas said in a half-whisper, much to his own surprise.
It took Newt a moment to process that Thomas was speaking to him. “What?” he whispered back.
“I– I mean–” Thomas fumbled. “Let’s go ice-skating. We have time, right?” He cleared his throat and took a last sip of his tea.
“Oh um, yeah, no, no, I don’t think so,” Newt replied, looking away from the window.
“Why not? It looks fun.”
“Yeah, but no thanks.”
“Oh, c’mon, I’m sure it’ll be–”
“My leg, Tommy!” Newt said with finality. He flushed bright red and frowned.
“Right,” Thomas only said, embarrassed. They remained silent for a bit, until Thomas said, “Well, how about we go sit on a bench in the park?”
Newt looked at him long. At last he smiled, the freckles on his nose turning pink, and said, “Yeah, I’d like that.”
They walked, slowly, down a frosted lane and into the heart of the park. The air was cold and crisp. Their cheeks and hands and noses turned pink, vapor escaped from their mouths with every breath, and when they at last sat down on a rock bench among frosted trees, Thomas said, “Maybe this was a bad idea.”
“No no, it’s perfect,” Newt replied.
“But it’s freezing! Geez, how long were we in that coffee shop?”
“I don’t mind the cold, Tommy,” Newt said meaningfully. Carefully –lovingly, even– Newt took one of Thomas’s hands and put his own glove on it. He put the hand down, took the other, and repeated the ritual just as affectionately.
Thomas shivered. He could feel Newt’s eyes on his face, but he couldn’t dare look up. Instead, he cleared his throat and said, “Um, thanks. So you think it’ll snow?”
Newt smiled. “Yeah, probably,” he said.
“I don’t like it much, to be honest,” Thomas confessed.
“Really? I find it so beautiful. The crunch when you walk on it, how glittery it is when the light hits it just right. And the snowflakes themselves? Oh Tommy, there’s nothing more magnificent than a snowflake!” He said with a laugh.
‘There is,’ Thomas thought, catching himself by surprise.
“Well, you make it sound so great,” Thomas said, laughing too, “that I almost want there to be a snowstorm!”
They sat and talked for a while, until Thomas’s stomach grumbled. Then they walked down another frosted path to a small Korean restaurant across the street. It was busy and warm, with a homey air to it.
“I miss Minho,” Newt said with a sigh when the food was brought out.
“Oh?” was all Thomas said. Minho was Newt’s right hand-man and best friend. They knew each other longer than Thomas knew Newt. They worked together most of the time. And now Newt missed him.
“He usually comes to these things with me, y’know.”
“Really?” Thomas wanted a change of subject.
“Yeah, he gets drunk every time and embarrasses himself in front of strangers. Quite funny, really.”
“Yeah well, sorry I didn’t do that,” Thomas said under his breath.
“Kidding me? I have to deal with his drunk arse after. Funny, but annoying as all hell too,” he laughed. “No, Tommy, I’m glad I insisted upon bringing you instead. You’ve been a delight.”
“Oh,” Thomas said, embarrassed and flattered and self-conscious. “You um, you insisted?”
“Of course! I see a future with you, Tommy. For you. In the company, I mean,” Newt added quickly. “I’ve told Alby about your potential, and he agrees with me. You’re gonna make it big, I know it. You’re amazing.”
A warm feeling washed over Thomas. It was the kimchi, or the way Newt was looking at him, or both. Newt vouched for him, he asked that he accompanied him, he believed in him. Thomas had never felt such gratitude for anyone. “Thank you,” he said, and meant it, but somehow it wasn’t enough. He wanted to hug Newt, to give him the world, to scream from the top of his lungs how great he was, he wanted to… to…
He wanted to kiss him.
But the moment passed when the waitress brought the bill.
“Hey, it’s on me this time,” Thomas quickly said as Newt was taking out his wallet. They smiled at each other.
They walked back to the park, having agreed on sitting down next to the frozen fountain to watch the ice-skaters again. It was getting dark now, and the dozens upon dozens of Christmas lights across the park were on. It was beautiful. There were more people skating now, and they realized music had been playing all along. People laughed and talked, even sang, all around them, creating a dream-like atmosphere.
“So Tommy, what’cha think about these past three days?” Newt asked.
“They’ve been great really! I mean,” he hesitated, “conferences were too long for my taste.” He laughed. Newt chuckled too, and didn’t take his eyes off Thomas’s face. This encouraged him. “But well… Spending time with you has definitely been the best part,” Thomas confessed, his voice lowering with each word.
“What a coincidence. I feel the same way.”
Thomas’s heart raced. Newt was so close he could feel the warmth emanating from his body and luring him in. He could reach out with a gloved hand, touch his face and…
A snowflake fell on Newt’s nose. Thomas had never seen one so close and so clearly. Newt had been right all along. It was magnificent. Small, yet incredibly complex, fragmented. Thomas wondered how a thing this tiny could be so incredible. Another snowflake fell on Newt’s cheek and it was completely different from the first. “Whoa,” Thomas murmured, awestruck at this wonder of nature.
“Told you,” Newt whispered. He was smiling, looking up at Thomas’s marveled eyes. Thomas had nearly forgotten Newt was right there. He laughed nervously and Newt laughed with him.
Soon enough, snowflakes were falling all around them, quickly and loosely covering the ground with white. It hadn’t snowed since they’d been in town, but it was worth the wait. It was magical. The ice-skaters knew it too. They seemed to be laughing and singing louder than before. The smile on Thomas’s face was so inviting, Newt wanted to be closer to him. So he held his hand. Thomas, surprised, stopped looking at the snowy sky and lowered his eyes to where Newt’s hand was on top of his. Though Newt wasn’t wearing gloves, his hands were warm.
He’d do it. He’d kiss him.
Thomas looked up at Newt’s green eyes. They were bright and already looking into his own. Carefully, almost afraid he’d break him, Thomas lifted his other hand and placed it gently on Newt’s cheek. Newt leaned into it. Thomas pulled him closer. Shaky breaths. Racing heart. Snow falling. Newt’s lips were so close…
Newt’s phone rang and the spell was broken. It was the alarm he had set for when they had to leave for the airport. They let go of each other, cleared their throats, and laughed nervously.
“Um, we don’t wanna be late, now do we?” Newt asked, not expecting an answer.
They returned to their hotel, where they had left their luggage, and took a taxi to the airport. Neither said a word.
By the time they arrived, snow was falling heavily. It wasn’t as cold, but the snow wet Thomas’s jacket and he didn’t like it. They rushed through check-in, security, and to the gate, only to find their flight was delayed.
“Because of the snow, you think?” Thomas said with disdain.
“Maybe, but let’s not get pessimistic.”
Not getting pessimistic worked for perhaps an hour. Two hours after they’d agreed not to get pessimistic, their flight was announced to be officially canceled.
“A snowstorm?!” Thomas exclaimed.
“You jinxed us,” Newt teased him.
Thomas looked at him in disbelief. They had to wait forever to go home now, and he was being funny?
They returned to the hotel almost at midnight. There were more people in the lobby than they expected.
“Please tell me you have rooms,” Newt asked an overwhelmed receptionist.
“Welcome back, sir. You’re in luck, I have one left. But I’m afraid it’s a single,” she said, apologetic.
Thomas and Newt looked at each other, blushing. Share a bed? They had spent the past three nights in separate rooms, and after what had almost happened at the park, Thomas was mortified to even share the space with Newt.
“Will you take it?” the receptionist asked, eyeing the people that kept arriving.
“Uh…” Newt hesitated.
“Sure, we’ll take it,” Thomas answered.
The room they got was a bit smaller than the ones they had been staying in, with a queen-sized bed instead of king-sized. They’d be sleeping pretty close to each other. Really close.
Thomas turned on the TV and pretended to watch the news while Newt took a quick shower and got ready for bed. He tried to be as nonchalant as possible, though his ragged breathing and his constant lip-biting would have given him away had Newt paid closer attention to him.
“Well uh, g’night, Tommy,” Newt said, laying down, facing away from Thomas.
“Night,” Thomas whispered.
He waited for a while, hoping to hear Newt’s deep breathing before he dared to move. When he thought he did, he slowly rose up, washed his face, changed into his pajamas, and lay down on the other side of the bed, facing away from Newt.
He couldn’t sleep, not when he could feel Newt next to him. His warmth, his breathing, his smell even. Everything about him kept him awake.
“You asleep, Tommy?” Newt’s faint whisper reached Thomas about an hour later.
He hesitated. Should he answer? Should he pretend to be asleep?
“No,” Thomas replied at last. “I’m not.”
“Me neither,” Newt whispered.
Ruffling of blankets. A sigh. Newt’s eyes piercing the back of his head.
Nervous but pretending to be brave, Thomas turned over too. Newt’s green eyes were just as bright as they had been at the park. He could faintly see the heavy snowfall through the window beyond Newt’s face. Suddenly he didn’t dislike it so much.
“What is it?” Thomas asked.
Newt didn’t reply. Instead, he looked at Thomas’s face for a long time. Thomas thought he would feel self-conscious, but he didn’t. He held Newt’s gaze, swallowing and sighing.
Newt reached out and touched his face. Thomas didn’t move. He couldn’t remember what he had wanted to do. To kiss him, was it? His mind was racing, gathering up the strength.
He didn’t have to, though.
Newt had closed the space between them. He was looking down at Thomas’s lips. His hands were warm and his lips soft.
His lips.
Newt had kissed Thomas. He was kissing him. He kept kissing him for a long time.
The morning was quiet and cold. The light coming in from the window was white, crisp. Thomas didn’t need to open his eyes to know Newt was right there with him. His lean body was curled up against his. Both hearts beating in sync.
Thomas didn’t move for a while. He remembered the night before: Newt’s hands tangled up in his hair, his own hands touching Newt’s chest. It seemed too much like a dream, that Thomas was scared it would all go away if he moved even one bit.
But the dream continued even when Newt opened his eyes. He smiled up at Thomas, a smile so radiant it could melt all the snow outside. They looked at each other and laughed. They were like teenagers, nervous and flustered. They kissed again and again, and would’ve stayed cuddled up in bed if Newt’s phone hadn’t rung.
“Ayo bud,” Minho’s booming voice reached Thomas, “we got ya two shanks a new flight for today. You wouldn’t answer my email so I thought I’d call ya. Ya busy? Gotta run, it leaves in two hours.”
“Oh shit,” Thomas exclaimed.
“Who’s– Is that Thomas?” Minho’s voice asked. “What’s he doing with you? Oh you naughty little–”
“Ok thanks Minho bye.”
They both laughed again. Thomas didn’t want to get up, he wanted to stay in bed with Newt forever. But reality couldn't be avoided and soon enough they were both ready to go.
Down in the lobby, more people were coming and going. Outside, a thick bed of snow covered everything. Newt was so right. The snow did glitter and crunch deliciously with every step they took.
“It’s lovely,” Thomas muttered.
“Told you,” Newt said, holding Thomas’s hand.
It really was nice, with Newt holding on to him like that. That morning, Thomas swore that he would never, ever let him go.