Chapter Text
His house was a mess. He had moved there two weeks ago and there were still unpacked boxes. Most of his time he had dedicated to clean – no one had lived there in months and dust was everywhere. The first thing he unpacked were his clothes so that he could wash them as soon as possible. He hadn’t found a job yet, and he didn’t like to go to the interviews wearing the first thing he saw. After that, he had the phone and the Internet installed and made some minor reparations on the water system. The building was old, and his neighbours didn’t seem very friendly, but it was all he could afford and was in fact happy with it.
Thomas was now lying in his bed, with a book resting upon his abdomen. He had fallen asleep while reading some architecture book. It was nearly 2:00 a. m. He had been remodelling his living room that afternoon, changing the location of the sofa and the TV to make the space look bigger. He had also tried to replace some shelves, but they were too heavy and he started to feel tired.
A couple of minutes later some screams woke him up. Behind all that yelling there was an alarm ringing through the whole building. It was definitely a fire. He threw the book into the ground and rushed outside, barefoot, dressed only with a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved blue T-shirt.
He joined his neighbours across the streets. The source of the fire was two floors above his. He had been lucky. What if it had been the one next to his, or the one below? Maybe the heat or the smoke would have woken him up. But it was just a possibility.
“I don’t think you can come back to your houses tonight, ma’am”, a firefighter was explaining to an old lady, “not until we make sure that the building is safe again. If the fire keeps spreading, it could collapse. I’m sorry. If you don’t have any relatives nearby, we could offer you some shelter, but only for tonight.”
Thomas’ attention on the firefighter didn’t last long. He was now concentrating in a blonde man, more or less his age, who was only wearing loose trunks. His body was shaking because of the night breeze. It didn’t matter how hard he tried to hide it – the way he hugged himself and his little shivers gave him away. Thomas studied the back of his hair, his wide and strong shoulders, his slim but strong arms, his vertebrae, which stood out on his back, his solid thighs, his ankles, and his also naked feet.
The brunette stepped forward. He raised one of his hands, but put it back on its place slowly. It would be a stupid movement, to get his attention by touching him. Besides, it was a violation of his privacy.
“You’re crazy, you know that, right?” Thomas moved to his left. Staying behind him would have been weird. He turn his head, discovering how his face looked. “I mean… you’ll end up getting a cold or a pneumonia if you stay here any longer.”
He wasn’t good at starting conversations, but he had to try. The blonde guy looked at his phone before locking it. No one was answering on the other line. He had been trying to reach his best friend, but he seemed to be asleep or partying.
“Thanks for the memo”, the shirtless one said with a sarcastic voice. “Give me just one minute and I’ll go and get my trousers out of the flames and the ashes. It’s not like my flat is burning, or anything, you know? Besides, who doesn’t love to go out in their underwear at this hour?”
“All right, forgive me, Mister I-Love-To-Show-Off-In-Front-Of-My-Neighbours.” He stepped back, breaking any visual contact with the blonde one. It wasn’t long until he went to his original position, sighing. “I’m sorry, that was totally out of the line. It’s just that… you should’ve asked for a blanket, you know?” Thomas clicked his tongue and offered his hand to the other one, waiting for him to shake it. “My name is Thomas. I live on the fourth floor, I can get some clothes for you if you need them. Is your flat too burnt?” He leaned his head, full of curiosity. If his house was indeed the focus of the fire, he would feel the necessity and almost obligation to invite him to his own house and let him sleep there if he had nowhere to go.
In the few seconds that Thomas turn, Newt had unlocked his phone again and dialled a different number. Alby’s and Thomas’ voices overlapped. “I’ll call you later, shank.” He hung up and looked at Thomas, listening to him. “It’s okay, I’ve been a complete shuck-face. That’s fair. Newt”, he revealed his name when he shook Thomas’ hand. “Well, if my eyes aren’t cheating me, it’s pretty wrecked. I had just managed to get some sleep when I heard the alarm. I didn’t have time to take anything, but that’s fine… I can survive with a bit of cold.”
They both stayed silent. If he was so reluctant on not needing a blanket, Thomas wouldn’t insist anymore.
“Are you new, or do you live with someone here?” Newt wanted to know.
“I’ve been here for a couple of weeks now, maybe less. I’ve lost track of time. The alarm freaked me out, but well, here I am, safe and sound. How long have you lived here for?”
“It’s been… three years now since I first move to this rat hole. It’s not that bad, in the end. It’s just another roof to live under, anyway. And the sight is not that bad. I hope you enjoy it.”
Thomas smiled and nodded, full of doubts. His eyes examined his body once more. He scratched one of his temples before letting it go.
“Are you sure you really don’t need anything? Not even a bloody T-shirt? We can sneak in through the fire escape.”
Newt licked his lips and stared at his flat on the fifth floor. He wouldn’t be able to wait until the next morning, or whenever the authorities would let them return to their houses, and he didn’t want to freeze there, so the idea was tempting.
“Okay, let’s do it. But only if you accept some favour back. I wouldn’t want to be a burden.” It would be useless to be proud now, he thought as he rubbed one of his arms, with its skin turn into gooseflesh.
“I do not need any favour back, Newt. Well, maybe one,” he added once they were out of the group of neighbours, walking around them and reaching the side of the building, avoiding policemen and firefighters. “Don’t let me become as grouch as those people we have as neighbours, please. Wasn’t any of them worried about you? Really?” He turned to Newt and used both of his hands to point his body, from his shoulders to his feet, to make evident what he was referring to.
Newt laughed and shook his head. “Not in a million years, Thomas. Besides, I would regret not to have the opportunity of breaking into your apartment whenever I feel like it.” He grinned even though Thomas wasn’t seeing him. They had reached the stairs and were now about to go up. Newt took a deep breath. He trusted his leg. It would be horrible if it failed him now.
Up they went, trying not to be too much noisy. Once they were in Thomas’ floor, the foresaid opened the metal door that was separating them from the corridor. Thomas headed to his door and stepped aside.
“Come in. Make yourself comfortable.” He was whispering, afraid that they might get caught.
Newt stepped in, shivering when he noticed the warm temperature that the apartment radiated. He looked around, still rubbing his arms with his hands. “Is it me or you actually own a pachyderm, Tommy?”