In My Veins - Newtmas

Chapter 7

A few days had passed since arriving at the camp, a few days passed since Thomas's first of many kisses with Newt.

The days were uneventful, thankfully, and people had begun settling into routines. Newt helped with gardening (naturally) and Thomas had busied himself with tending to the few animals the camp kept. He enjoyed his time with them, and Newt enjoyed his time in the garden, but they quickly realized that their time together became a bit crowded.

So, one night, they went exploring. Not too far, just far enough that your ears strained slightly to hear the camp.

They managed to find a large tree thriving atop a small cliff at the edge of the water; the camp sat obscured by a grove of trees a short distance away. It was the perfect spot for privacy.

That night, they hiked the few minutes it took to get there and sat side by side against the tree overlooking the cliff.

For years they had been running and neither of them had quite adjusted to staying still yet, but for once neither of them wanted to run away.

Not when they could stay right there, just being with one another.

"Hey, Newt?"

"Yeah, Tommy?"

"I know what I felt like coming up in that box, seeing you for the first time. What was so special about me, ya know? Of all the greenies to follow after, why me?"

Newt pondered his question for a second before responding.

"Ya know, I actually think I figured it out."

Thomas' curiosity heightened.

"I guess there was this ridiculous lack of fear you had that just kinda erased my fear too, which I guess could also have been arrogance or stupidity, but I didn't think so," Newt replied.

"I think you have no fear because you know it makes everyone else feel better, and that was selflessness that hadn't come around the glade before. Sure, we made you a runner because you were fast" he led his arm over and laid it on Thomas's chest on the place above his heart, "but we made you one more because you created a world where fear somehow didn't exist and we were tired of being afraid."

Thomas smiled, turning his head to look at Newt.

"Now that I'm thinking back through" Newt puzzled, bringing his hand to Thomas's chin, "I did wanna snog you a little bit so maybe it was just because of that." Newt snickered, giving his chin a light shove.

"You dick," Thomas grinned and stared over at Newt.

"I guess your wish came true though, lucky for you"

"Yeah, lucky for me," Newt grinned back.

He beckoned Thomas closer to him with a tug on his sleeve. He spread his legs a little wider so Thomas could scoot over and sit between them.

Thomas used his chest as a backrest, his shoulder as a pillow, and his arms as a blanket, taking them from Newts' sides and wrapping them around his torso.

Newt didn't protest. He laid his head on the top of Thomas's, letting his cheek be tickled by Thomas's short dark hair. He felt Thomas lay his arms on top of his own and smiled into Thomas's hair. He had never been so happy.

"Newt"

"Tommy"

Thomas paused and shifted.

"I love you newt." He held Newts' arms tighter around himself, but Newt didn't know why because he was never going to let Thomas go.

Thomas felt newts chin move against his head, not even having to look up to know how big his smile was.

"I love you too." newt returned, carefully, collected, making sure Thomas understood the sincerity with which he meant it. 

The way the sun fell below the horizon wasn't quite the same as in the glade, but as it sunk further into the never-ending sea, it was enough to remind them of where they came from, how far they had come together, and that their story was never destined to meet its end at the hands of WCKD or the virus. No, their story would never end as long as they had each other.