Complications ~ Chapter 1 ~ Newtmas

Summary: In the darkest days of Newt's life, only Thomas can restore the light.
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It was a day like any other at The Glade. The Glade Hospital Emergency Room, that is. Lots of traumatic injuries and terrified patients. Lots of blood. Lots of stress.

It was Thomas’s second month working as an emergency room nurse at The Glade. The fast-paced, chaotic atmosphere suited him well, and he felt a sense of accomplishment by helping people. After filling out some paperwork on the latest patient, he went on his final ten-minute break of the day.

The brown-eyed brunette took a large swig from his water bottle and turned on his cellphone to check for messages. His roommate had called only minutes earlier. Thomas hit ‘return call’ and hoped his friend was still on his break, as well.

After two rings, a familiar voice filled his ear, a sound that strangely put Thomas at ease whenever he heard it.

“Hey, Tommy,” the lovely accented voice spoke calmly.

“Hey. You called a couple minutes ago?”

“Yeah, could you pick up some take-out on your way home? I’m gonna be working late. Someone botched up the inventory again.”

Thomas smirked as he imagined the reprimanding glare Newt’s careless co-worker received when he informed the sandy blonde of his mistake. “Sure thing, Newt. You want veggie lo mein and chicken wings from that place downtown?”

Newt ran his fingers through his hair as a small smile graced his lips. “Heh. You know me too well, Tommy.”

Thomas smiled fondly at that. For what reason, he wasn’t sure. Maybe because he heard the smile in Newt’s voice as he said it.

“Alright then. I’ll keep it warm for ya. See you later.”

“Good that.”

~~~~~~~~

It was almost ten o’clock by the time Newt got home, nearly three hours later than normal. When he opened the door of the tiny, two-bedroom apartment, the faint smell of food reminded him that he hadn’t eaten since lunch. “I’m buggin’ famished.” Newt put a hand on his aching, empty stomach. Not having anywhere to go on a Friday night, he locked the door behind him.

Newt entered the small living room and saw Thomas playing a video game. He noticed a towel draped over the boy’s bare shoulders, hair still damp from showering after his shift at the hospital. Thomas wore loose sweatpants and sat on the edge of the loveseat, engrossed by his game; there just wasn’t enough room for a regular-sized couch in their little apartment.

Newt smirked at the intense look of concentration on Thomas’s face, brown eyes focused on the TV screen. He noticed a brown bag of take-out next to the brunette, seemingly untouched since it was placed there. Newt raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you’re doing a great job keeping those chicken wings warm for me, Tommy.”

Thomas suddenly turned his attention to Newt, who had a picturesque smile on his face. Seeing that smile made Thomas break into a grin, too distracted by the beautiful boy’s face to notice his video game character get mauled by a tiger, ending the game.

“So, you up for a movie tonight or just in the mood for video games?”

It took a moment for Thomas’s brain to register that Newt had asked him a question. “Huh? Oh, uh, let’s watch a movie. I’m not tired.”

“Great. Me neither.” Newt tossed his keys on the coffee table and took off his light jacket. “Pick something on Netflix while I take a quick rinse.”

“Don’t you wanna eat first? You must be starving. And I’m not picking the movie. You know I always pick lousy ones.” Thomas nearly pouted.

“I still trust your judgement, Tommy,” Newt smirked. “And besides,” he tugged at his royal blue shirt, “I smell like the stockroom at Best Buy. I’d rather not catch a whiff of that stench while I’m eating.”

“Yeah, good point,” Thomas chuckled. “Just don’t blame me if the movie sucks.”

The blonde walked behind the loveseat and took the wet towel from Thomas’s shoulders. “I won’t.” Newt winked playfully at Thomas and went down the short hallway to the bathroom.

The apartment was quite warm in the summer but Thomas still got a chill when Newt grabbed his towel to put it in the laundry hamper. He took a fleeting glance at his friend and realized the boy’s lithe frame looked great even in his ridiculous Best Buy uniform.

Then again, Newt would probably look great in just about anything. Thomas shook his head at the thought and went to the kitchen area to get two glasses of milk. He took a gulp from one of the glasses and set them on the table.

~~~~~~~~

Newt’s stomach growled loudly the whole time he washed up, the pangs of hunger becoming insufferable. He hurriedly finished rinsing off and wrapped a towel around his hips out of common decency, not even bothering to dry his hair or body.

Frustrated with the ridiculous number of movie choices, Thomas finally decided to flip through Netflix movies with his eyes closed. He stopped on a random one just as Newt stepped out of the bathroom. Newt padded his way over and sat down next to Thomas, who thankfully took all the food out of the take-out bag while he was in the shower. “Oh, God, I’m so hungry.”

The sandy-haired boy stabbed at his carton of noodles and slurped a forkful into his mouth. Thomas watched as his friend closed his eyes with relief and sighed happily while he chewed. “Is it hot enough for ya, buddy?”

Newt swallowed his mouthful and took a gulp of milk from Thomas’s glass, not that Thomas mentioned it. He wiped his mouth and smiled brightly at the brunette. “It’s perfect, Tommy. Just what I needed.”

Thomas smiled back happily at Newt, wishing he could always see that carefree, lighthearted glint in his friend’s chocolate-brown eyes. “Let’s start the movie already.” Newt nudged Thomas with his elbow, leaving a patch of dampness on the younger boy’s skin. Only then did Thomas realize Newt was, quite literally, dripping wet and naked under a towel.

Newt crunched down on a water chestnut and looked at Thomas expectantly. “Well? You did pick a movie, right?”

Thomas didn’t fully hear him. He was too busy watching water droplets trickle down Newt’s neck and down over his sharp collar bone. Newt lowered his head to meet Thomas’s gaze and raised an eyebrow at his roommate. “Oi, Tommy, you alright? You keep spacing out.” And staring at me, Newt thought to himself.

That snapped Thomas out of his odd trance. “Huh? Oh, I’m fine. Yeah.” Thomas stood up and turned off the lights. He sat back down beside Newt and picked up the Xbox controller to hit ‘play’. Newt arched his brow at his friend’s weird behavior once again before shrugging it off and taking a bite of a chicken wing.

The movie loaded slowly, and the silence felt strange. “What’s this flick called?” Newt asked. “Chloe,” Thomas replied, reaching for his glass of milk. Newt thought for a moment. “Hmm. Never heard of it.”

~~~~~~~~

Thomas nearly spit his milk back into the glass when the image of a half-naked young woman putting on her bra appeared on screen. Newt was slightly taken aback. “Woah, Tommy, what kind of movie is this?”

“I don’t know. I had my eyes closed when I picked it,” Thomas admitted. He quickly paused it and pulled up the description to check the genre. “It’s an… erotic thriller. What?” Thomas didn’t even know that existed. Newt just laughed. “I think you found a buggin’ Netflix porno, mate.”

“Here. Pick something else.” The brunette held the controller out to Newt, a bit embarrassed. The blonde took the controller, but instead of looking for another movie, he simply hit ‘play’ and set it aside. “What are you doing? Find a different movie,” Thomas insisted. “Nah. Let’s just give it a shot. I said I wouldn’t blame you if the movie sucks, remember?”

Newt looked at Thomas with a warm smile. He couldn’t help but smile back. “Okay. Hopefully it won’t get too weird…”

Thomas silently hoped he wouldn’t get turned on by the movie while sitting less than a foot away from his best friend, though he doubted that would ever happen. He seriously couldn’t believe that out of all the movies on Netflix, he just had to pick this one. Nice job, Thomas. Way to make your Friday night awkward as hell.

About a half-way into the movie, Thomas wondered just how much more fucked up it was going to get. As comfortable as he was being around Newt and talking to him about personal stuff, Thomas really wished the blonde was wearing more than a towel. The amount of sexual content in this movie was just… unsettling, to say the least.

He didn’t dare glance over at Newt, who hadn’t said anything since he finished eating about ten minutes ago. A few minutes later, Newt suddenly paused the movie and pinched his brow before he turned to face Thomas, who was hoping Newt wanted to stop watching. No such luck.

“Okay, please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this Chloe girl is just creepy,” Newt remarked, waiting for Thomas to respond. Thomas was a bit surprised. “Yeah. She’s pretty and all, but I honestly wouldn’t wanna be in the same room as her. She freaks me out.”

Newt nodded in agreement. He turned back toward the TV and continued the movie.

~~~~~~~~

Newt exited out of the film once the credits appeared. “That was just…” he trailed off as he raked his fingers through his damp hair. “Hell, I don’t even know what that was.” Newt looked at Thomas. “I’m picking the next movie. Agreed?”

Thomas laughed and tried not to think about how disturbing the movie actually was. “Please, be my guest, man. I don’t think I’ve chosen one decent movie yet.” Thomas thought for a second. “Oh, wait, wait, there was that one… what was it called? I remember there was a waltz in it that went something like this…” Thomas hummed the first five notes and Newt’s face lit up. He recognized it immediately. It was the first movie they watched together when they settled into their apartment.

“That’s from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I think that’s the only repeat-worthy movie you’ve picked yet, Tommy,” Newt smiled and handed the controller to Thomas. “Here. Get it loading while I put on something that isn’t soaking wet,” Newt got off the loveseat, holding up the edge of the unpleasantly damp towel to keep it from falling. He yawned as he stood up and stretched his back.

“You sure you’re up for another movie?” Thomas asked. “I’m good,” Newt nodded in reply before going to his room to put on some comfy, dry clothes. Thomas browsed through the sci-fi section on Netflix when a wave of exhaustion suddenly swept over him. He soon found the movie and closed his eyes while he waited for Newt to return.

Thomas couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the bizarre erotic thriller they just watched. It really made him appreciate the simplistic bliss of platonic relationships.

~~~~~~~

“Open the pod bay doors, HAL.”

“I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.”

“What's the problem?”

“I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do…”

Thomas awoke around three in the morning to the sound of the conversation between HAL 9000 and Dave. “Huh? Damn, how long have I been asleep, Newt?” The brunette rubbed his eyes and waited for an answer, but heard nothing. “Newt?”

It took a moment for Thomas to realize that Newt had also fallen asleep at some point during the movie. He looked to his left and saw the blonde lying on his back, one arm draped across his chest, the other simply laying at his side. Newt’s legs were stretched over Thomas, his bare feet propped up on the arm of the loveseat. His hair was a shaggy mess, and his shirt rode up past his belly button while he slept.

I knew he was tired, Thomas thought with a smile. The peacefully dim lighting of the TV screen quickly lulled Thomas back to sleep.