Free (Maze Runner fanfic Newtmas Newt x Thomas)

Chapter 28

"So you have knowledge of robotics, then?"

"Minor. I worked more on programming rather than implication."

"I see."

Thomas was his fourth interview, three days on, a job that involved robots in the pharmaceutical area. Now that the old cure -that none of the boys said wore off- was being implemented, research could go into robots to deliver cures and do the procedure, eradicating the risk of a person catching it.

They'd find out about it wearing off eventually, and Minho could possibly get into trouble because of it, but maybe by then WICKED would release their new one to the public. In fairness, it may wear off but Newt may have only caught it again because he was exposed while travelling since it's airborne, so maybe these people would be cured forever if they never got exposed again; if anything, all these scenarios made for good research opportunities; a lot more fruitful than whatever WICKED were trying to do the past few years.

Thomas was given an exercise, to program a robot to do simple tasks, and being able to do so surprised the employer. He received harder and harder tasks until Thomas was completing them better than the current employees, and when he finished he asked if there was more to come. "Well, son, I think you just nabbed yourself a job! When can you start?"

Thomas grinned and shook his hand. "As soon as you want me."

~*~

Newt leant against the worktop, knees pressed against the cupboards to keep himself balanced as he did the dishes in the sink to keep himself busy; since all the boys were always out at work to get as much money as they could on minimum wage, Newt basically became the cleaner. He hoped to join them all at some point, but doing what he hadn't decided yet, but the school route was sounding more and more interesting the more he thought about it. Technically, all ten of them were eligible for school because of their age, and nobody would complain much if they went back a couple of years. It all depended on what they all wanted to do with their lives.

Just a few months ago he'd been scared of what lay outside the glade, what the future held had been so unknown and after discovering his likelihood of becoming a goner, he gave up everything to focus on the present since he knew he'd probably die. Now, here he was, cleaning plates and waiting for his legs to work properly. What on earth could he do? All he ever did was do the gardening and manage people, but doing either of those things for a living would put him to sleep on the spot, he only did it because he had to. Now, he had a choice.

The front door opened and keys were dropped on the counter. A pair of arms snaked round Newt's waist and he smiled, receiving a kiss on the cheek. "You're late." Newt commented, continuing what he was doing.

"Well, my employer kept me late." Thomas grinned. "Guess who's better than the entire facility without any training?"

Newt gasped and spun round, pulling Thomas into a kiss. "Congratulations! I'm so proud of you." Newt beamed, resting his arms around his neck. "So you had your first day today? Even though the try out was this morning?"

"Mhm. He asked when I could start so I said whenever he wanted me, so he showed me to an empty office and let me set up! I haven't really done anything proper today, but I will tomorrow when they start me off easy again to make sure I wasn't faking anything."

"Were you?"

"Well I built two death traps before the age of fifteen, so I'm pretty sure that's the equivalent of hitting the books."

Newt chuckled and kissed him again, then just looked into his eyes. "I guess this is one step forward into our future, isn't it? What's the pay like? Any new beds for the others sometime soon?"