Noughts and Crosses: A Collection of Newtmas One Shots {ON HOLD}

Winter

There's a number of things the boys love about Winter. Of course, they both have different reasons for each, but all it proves is that they're a perfect match. 

Bus journeys. Long, tiresome journeys through town to reach a safe haven. To reach home. 

They'll catch the bus coming back from some sort of Winter activity. Usually, Newt drags Thomas ice-skating, laughing at his inelegance. Physically, Thomas is larger than the blonde boy, and so it's always humorous to watch him being held up by someone so much smaller than him. 

However, they're both ridiculously lanky, and when Newt can no longer hold his boyfriend up, they end up as a tangle of limbs, laughing as their backs hit the cold ice beneath their feet. 

"Why do we do this every Winter? We both know I can't do it."

"Practice makes perfect, Tommy."

Thomas' reason for liking the bus journey home is the fact that he no longer has to contend with maintaining his balance, despite the smile on Newt's face. Newt, however, enjoys the solitude the bus provides. Everyone is far too involved in their own lives to take any notice of the two boys at the back, their fingers entwined with each other's. 

The bus means home. Home is with Thomas. 

And that's all Newt needs. 

Scarves. Winter means it's going to get cold, and that means scarves. 

Newt sees scarves as nothing more than a form of warmth, or as he calls it, a hypothermia-prevention device. Thomas sees Newt's scarves as so much more. 

It's only the subtle things that he notices, but they're what makes him love Newt even more. He notices the way Newt will snuggle into the red wool during those particularly cold outings, the way he inhales the lemony scent that dresses the fabric before exhaling with content, his breath forming a cloud in front of his eyes. 

He notices how Newt wears it reflects his mood. It's usually wrapped up around him, in order to ensure that the skin of his neck isn't exposed. To Thomas, it shows how Newt is comfortable in himself. A sense of pride fills him, knowing how self-conscious Newt can be at times. 

A happy Newt is all Thomas needs. 

The final thing about Winter is something that they both enjoy. The evenings. 

Snow falling outside, a roaring fire. Cups of cocoa with four giant marshmallows, two pink, two white. No more, no less. A woolen blanket, patterned with tartan of red, green, and blue. A small stack of books on the coffee table, this Winter's pick including The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Orlando by Virginia Woolf, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to add some variety. 

It's like something out of a Christmas movie. 

Newt sits reading now; he's halfway through Orlando, his eyes skimming Woolf's description of reading being a disease. It's not a criticism, if anything, it explains exactly how he feels whenever he's lost in the world that fiction provides. 

Thomas stands in the doorway clutching those two mugs with the chocolate inside, the marshmallows bobbing absentmindedly. He watches Newt curled up on the sofa, the blanket draped over his knees. 

He smiles. It warms his heart to see Newt doing something he enjoys, and he could watch him for hours. The way he furrows his brow in confusion, the way his eyes widen, the way he chews his bottom lip in anticipation. 

However lost in the fictional world Newt is, he always comes back to Thomas. 

Thomas coughs, walking to the sofa and taking his place under the blanket beside the blonde boy, the heat of the fire lingering on his skin. 

"Just let me finish my page, Tommy."

Thomas doesn't say anything, just places the drinks on the coffee table and threads his fingers through Newt's hair. 

He places a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek, before staring at him intently. 

"Is this supposed to distract me? I've literally got a paragraph left."

"No."

"Then what are you doing?", Newt shuts the book before his eyes meet Thomas'.

"Just telling you I love you."

Newt places the book down on the coffee table, taking his mug and sipping the contents gently, marshmallow residue staining his lips. 

"I love you too."

He snuggles into Thomas, and smiles when he feels a kiss placed on the top of his head. 

Winter is by far the two boys' favourite season. And it's not just because of Christmas. 

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So this was just a little bit of fluff, in which I included a few of my favourite books. Hope you guys all liked this!

Love, 

LJ xx