ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛꜱ ; ɴᴇᴡᴛᴍᴀꜱ

010 ⸺ things to do

"you're just a boy,
you are no man
and nobody you know will understand"
- Things to Do, Alex G

...

Newt yawned, slowly rousing from his half-asleep state. The night was cool, and dark. The space in the bed next to Newt was empty, and cold when it shouldn't have been. It had clearly been unoccupied for hours. It should have been occupied by Thomas, he had promised Newt that he would be there, that he would get a proper night's sleep. But he wasn't there, and Newt knew exactly where he would be.

The blond sighed, and slowly dragged himself out of the tangle of sheets and across the creaky wooden floors of the homestead. He walked out into the cool night air, the breeze kissing his skin gently, and the uncut grass soft under his bare feet.

His eyelids grew more heavy with every passing minute, but he shook his head to clear away the overwhelming urge to sleep. To Newt, Thomas was currently the most important thing in the world. The blond chuckled at that thought. Thomas was always the most important thing in the world, in his eyes.

Newt walked slowly, his bad leg stiff and aching, but he ignored the feeling and made his way over to the other side of the Glade, where the entrance to the map room lay, shrouded in shadows.

He unlocked the door slowly, before peeking his head inside and seeing exactly who he had expected to see. Thomas. Sitting at the table in the center of the room, surrounded by maps and crumpled pieces of paper littered with messy and rushed handwriting. The faint glow of the singular flickering lightbulb cast harsh shadows over the room. Shadows that only lent to the dull, and dreary air of the place.

Thomas had his head buried in a stack of maps, not even noticing that he now had company. Newt exhaled, frowning. He slowly approached the brunette, taking careful note of how exhausted he looked. He had dark bags under his eyes, and he looked thin and gaunt. Although Newt couldn't tell if the light was playing tricks on him, making Thomas seem worse than he really was, or if he had really been pushing himself that much.

Thomas still hadn't noticed Newt, despite him having come to stand right beside him. He slowly reached out, taking the pencil that Thomas was using to scribble down notes, or possible codes for the Maze.

The brunette jumped, quickly turning around to face the person next to him. He blinked, and Newt recognized a flicker of guilt pass over his face.

"Tommy please, you need to get some sleep," Newt bent down so he was eye level with Thomas, who was still sat hunched over the table, "I don't want you to push yourself to far."

Thomas dropped his gaze, and fidgeted with his fingers, a habit of his that Newt had noticed him doing many times over his weeks in the Glade. The blonde reached out, placing one of his hands on top of Thomas'. "I..." Thomas paused, licking his chapped lips, "I'm sorry Newt. But you don't understand I have to figure this out, I have to find a way to escape this place." Thomas sighed, glancing back up at Newt. The blond's heart ached when he saw the tears that were beginning to pool in Thomas' eyes. "I have to get you out of here." He breathed, breaking the few seconds of eye contact that they had just shared.

"Tommy I've survived two years in this place, I think I can survive a few more weeks." Newt smiled, placing a hand on the side of Thomas' face and bringing his gaze back to him. Thomas only sighed, looking back at Newt with those damn puppy dog eyes that Newt had been captivated by ever since Thomas had first stepped out of the box. "Besides, you aren't going to be much help to anyone if you're dead." Newt slowly moved his thumb to wipe a stray tear that had begun to trickle down Thomas' face.

The brunette pulled away, looking back to the mess that was strewn on the table in front of him. "But I have to protect everyone, I have to be strong for Chuck, and for Teresa, and for you. Newt I have to be strong to protect you." Thomas' voice was rising, becoming more desperate every passing second. Tears had finally started flowing freely from his eyes and down his cheeks. Thomas looked back to Newt, his bottom lip quivering as he sniffled.

He felt pathetic. He was telling Newt all about how he was supposed to be strong, yet here he was sniveling and sobbing like a toddler. He could hear the pity in Newt's voice when he talked to him, and that only made him want to cry harder.

"Tommy, look at me please." Thomas reluctantly turned his head to face the blond one again. Newt placed a hand on Thomas' waist, pulling him closer. "You've been strong for so long Tommy, let me protect you this time. Even if it's just this once. Just let me help you. Please."

Thomas met Newt's gaze, only seeing sincerity behind his soft frown. Thomas took in the way his eyebrows knit together, and the slight frown lines forming on his face. Even if his expression was firm, and would have come off as angry to some, Thomas knew better. Thomas knew Newt. He could tell how worried the blond was for him, and his guilt only grew.

He sighed, finally letting himself give in, and lean into Newt's touch. He could feel the exhaustion hit him, and his eyelids instantly felt ten times heavier. Thomas felt Newt's arms being gently wrapped around him, guiding him to his feet and out of the map room.

He barely processed being slowly lowered into Newt's bed. Barely noticed it when Newt slid in next to him and pulled him closer, letting him rest his head on his chest. He could already feel himself slipping into a much needed sleep. But he hung onto consciousness as long as he could, and reveled in the feeling of Newt's fingers brushing through his hair.

Right before he finally drifted off to sleep he felt Newt press a gentle kiss to his forehead.

...

Been a minute I know.

Some parts of this chapter might be a bit cheesy but I really like how this turned out

That's all from me anyways, have a good rest of your day :)

-raven

1098 words <3