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Thomas doesn't wash his sheets after Newt leaves, and the smell of him lingers for days on end. Every time the smell of him hits Thomas' nose, he loses his mind, and all he wants is to see him again - to touch him again and to be able to hold him without him leaving afterwards.
Weeks have gone by and Thomas has not seen a sign of Newt being around. He was on his mind day and night, and all Thomas could think about was whether or not he was alive or lying on some street without a pulse. The thought scared Thomas, and all he wanted was to know Newt was safe.
Thomas doesn't like the thought of another man putting his hands on Newt, let alone fucking him, and he wants to find him to make sure this doesn't happen again, but he doesn't even know where to look. He goes to the bar every night just to find him, but Newt is nowhere to be seen, and when he asks around, no one seems to know who he's talking about. Even the bartenders give him a look every time he tries to mention Newt.
It gets frustrating, and Thomas was starting to lose his mind over him - over a prostitute. He can barely focus at work, and he can barely sleep at night knowing Newt was getting used in the way he was. He would stay up all night hugging his sheets to his chest and selfishly praying to a god he didn't even believe in that Newt would just come back. But he doesn't. And each night it only gets worse.
He starts getting hopeless, and he finds it hard to speak with Newt constantly on his mind, so he spends most of his time alone in his apartment. He knows it's foolish of him to spend his time worrying about someone he knew nothing about, but he couldn't help himself. There was something about Newt that made him want more, that made him desperate. And Thomas needed him.
Thomas is laying on his bed with his computer on his lap doing work when he hears the buzzer from his apartment door go off. He stands up and huffs in annoyance, knowing it would be Minho trying to get him to go out. His feet practically drag against the floor as he walks to his door, unlocking it and opening it.
But Minho isn't standing there - Newt is.
He has a yellow and purple swell under his eye and he has a faint bruise that resembled hand prints on his neck. His clothes are torn and Thomas scowls just looking at him. He wants to find whoever did this to him and kill them, but he knows that's improbable.
But then Newt gives him a sad smile and murmurs, "Hi," in a quiet tone and Thomas' heart is breaking within his chest. He knows there's nothing he can do to get rid of the pain he's probably in, but he wants to do something, he just doesn't know what.
He opens the door wider and steps aside for Newt to come inside, and Newt does, stepping inside his apartment slowly and shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweater.
"Where have you been?" Thomas interrogates in a worried tone and Newt shrugs gently.
"Around," he responds.
Thomas doesn't know whether or not he should be angered by his response, but he isn't, as he's more concerned about the bruises on Newt's body and where they had come from.
"How've you been?" Newt asks, tearing his eyes away from Thomas' and instead walking around his living room, picking up some of the small objects on his coffee table and observing them with his nimble fingers.
"I should be asking you that," says Thomas, following Newt carefully to make sure he didn't get too far from him.
Newt laughs dryly. "No, you shouldn't. Whores aren't supposed to be cared about."
Thomas frowns at Newt. "Well, I care about you. I've been worried sick about you for weeks, and now you're standing in front of me as if nothing is wrong."
Newt puts the objects down, walking to the other side of the room to look at the things on his end table and acting as if Thomas wasn't even talking to him.
"I don't want anyone else touching you, Newt."
Newt looks up at that and makes a face of confusion. "What?"
"I don't want you selling your body and I don't want you thinking you have to do that. You don't have to."
He sighs and Thomas continues. "I want to know you're safe and I don't want to see you covered in bruises like this. It's not okay, and I don't know why you're acting as if it is."
"Thomas, I don't have a choice-"
"Yes you do-" Thomas tries to but in but Newt cuts him off.
"No, I don't!" he screams suddenly. "I'm fuckin' homeless, Thomas! I have nowhere to sleep besides a sleazy motel that I can't even pay for!"
Newt's screaming tones down a bit, but his facial expression is still harsh, and his voice still trembles. "I have to fuck that disgusting owner to get some sleep. Did you know that?"
Thomas feels another rush of anger wash over him at Newt's words, and he clenches his teeth. He doesn't want Newt on the streets doing what he does and putting himself in danger, so he does what he thinks is best.
"Stay with me."
As soon as the words pass Thomas' lips, Newt's expression softens as he looks at Thomas. He is no longer glaring at him, and instead, he looks perplexed and confused.
"I'll take care of you," Thomas offers.
Newt shakes his head. "No. I can't ask you to do that."
"I'm offering, Newt. Just - please," Thomas practically begs, and Newt is gazing at Thomas dubiously. Thomas takes a few steps towards Newt and Newt doesn't move.
"But you don't know me," Newt murmurs and Thomas shakes his head.
"It doesn't matter. Stay."
Thomas takes Newt's cold hand in his and uses his thumb to gently rub his knuckles. Newt looks down at their hands and says nothing, watching the way Thomas touches him delicately in silence. He's looking at their hands questioningly, but after a while, he seems to calm down and his tense muscles relaxed.
"Do you want me to run you a bath?" he asks, and Newt nods lightly, still staring at their hands. So Thomas takes Newt to the bathroom and has him sit on the toilet while he runs the bath water to make sure it's warm. Then he gets an extra towel and washcloth from the closet and places it the granite of the sink.
When the water is finished filling the tub, Thomas turns the faucet off and Newt stands up to undress himself.
"Uh. I can - I can leave, if you want me to."
He tries to maintain eye contact with Newt, but he can't help but notice the bruises that cover almost his entire body. He has a few bruises on his wrists along chest and Thomas nearly whimpers at the sight of them.
"It's fine," Newt says. "Nothing you haven't seen before."
Newt steps into the tub and slowly takes a seat, hissing at the warm water as it settles on his bruises. Thomas grabs the washcloth off the sink and gets down on his knees in front of the tub, soaking it with water and adding soap before he starts washing Newt's shoulders.
"Is this okay? I just, you know, figured you might need some help."
Newt nods and Thomas scrubs his chest and his arms as carefully as he could, apologizing quickly every time Newt hissed from the pain. Newt leans back in the tub and lays his head against the curve, closing his eyes and sighing.
"You okay?" Thomas asks.
"Yeah," Newt mutters. "Just...tired."
He continues to wash Newt up until he thinks he's clean enough, and when he's done, Newt holds his nose and dunks his head in the water for a few seconds. He rubs his eyes after he comes back up and Thomas grabs the towel to dry him off, but Newt takes the towel from him and does it himself. He steps out of the tub and while Newt dries his hair off, Thomas pulls the plug from the drain so the water in the tub could empty itself out.
They walk to Thomas' room afterwards, and Thomas gives him some spare clothes to put on. He tells Newt he can sleep in his bed if he wants before he takes his laptop to the living room to finish his work.
He can barely focus with the thought of Newt laying in his bed, but he gets enough work done and he closes his laptop, putting it to the side and standing up. He yawns as he walks to his bedroom, and when he opens the door, he sees Newt laying on his side with his back faced to him. He assumes he's asleep, so he gets under the covers carefully and lays on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He can't help but feel grateful that Newt was safe, and he thanks the heavens for bringing Newt back to him in one piece.
When he finally closes his eyes to get some sleep, Newt turns over and lays on his elbow to give Thomas a soft and tender kiss on his lips. The kiss is short, and after Newt pulls away, he lays his head on Thomas' chest and wraps his arm around his middle.
"Thanks, Tommy," he whispers, and Thomas puts his arm on his shoulder and pulls him closer. He kisses Newt's hair and sighs, holding him as they both fell into a deep slumber and never letting go.