A Promise
Fandom: The Maze Runner
Pairing: newtmas
Warnings: Unbetad! Sorry :( A bit of M in the end
Can be found on AO3.
Notes: for blo0dynewtmas, so she would feel better because she’s a cutie and deserve to have anamazing day <3 I’m sorry I can’t do more for you, hun, hope you’ll at least enjoy this little ficlet :)
****
“Congratulations, now you’re old as balls,” Minho patted Thomas’ shoulder when pushing a cake towards him. It had a shape of 30, was wickedly red and blue and each number had one candle in it.
“Geez, thanks,” Thomas snorted and watched Minho lightening up the candles with a grin.
“Now close your eyes and make a wish,” his friend pointed at the cake. “Nothing too pervy though, remember, you have to take things easy now, so you won’t get a heart-attack.”
“You’re so hilarious today,” Thomas gave him an evil eye, but it only made Minho laugh harder, so he rather took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Being thirty hadn’t been as much of a disaster as Minho let it sound. Thomas never thought age was important – it was just a number. But when he was blowing down the lights, his mind suddenly lit up with a distant memory that hadn’t surfaced in forever – basically since he was about fifteen or sixteen years old.
“Hey, Minho,” he straightened up suddenly, making his colleague raise an eyebrow. “Heard about Newt lately?”
“Oh man, Newt was your wish?” Minho shook his head like he couldn’t believe him. “I think the last time I spoke to him he was in London on a business trip, saying something about buying a cat?”
“Does he date somebody?” another question and Minho’s lips widened in a wicked grin.
“So that’s what it’s about, huuuh?” he nudged his shoulder joyfully. “Well, not that I’m surprised, you always had hots for him.”
“I always had hots for him?” Thomas snorted. “I haven’t seen him in forever and we never dated.”
“Yeah, cuz you’re both weird, but hey, life is short,” Minho took him around his shoulders. “You should give it a go. As far as I know he’s single and ready to mingle.”
“Sometimes you’re creepy,” Thomas pushed him away with laughter, but when Minho offered Newt’s phone number, he took it without hesitation.
After all, they both have a promise to keep and the time ran out.
***
“Hello?” a British voice greeted him through the phone and Thomas’ lips immediately stretched in a pleased smile. He hadn’t been talking to this guy for years, and yet his voice evoked the pleasant memories again, nice and enjoyable.
“Hey, guess whose 30th birthday it is?” he answered with a smirk and there was a silence on the other side of the line for a while.
“Um,” Newt spoke up after. “Yours?”
“Mhm,” Thomas grinned happily. “And guess who is still single?”
Another several seconds of silence.
“Thomas?”
“Good job!” the brunet praised him and laughter filled the line, nice and sound.
“Bloody hell, I thought a perv is calling me!” Newt cackled. “I wasn’t that far from the truth.”
“Rude,” Thomas snorted and walked from his kitchen to his bed where he sat down. It was already evening and he felt nicely spent, but calling Newt was like a priority and he was glad he did it. “And here I thought you’d be happy to hear my lovely voice.”
“Oh yeah, your lovely voice,” Newt giggled and there was a rustling sound on the other side of the line. “So I guess happy birthday?”
“You guess right,” Thomas hummed happily. “Also… Since I’m still single. And you’re still single. When are we going to marry?”
“Oh let me look into my schedule, I’m sure I can find a few hours free between my meetings and gardening,” Newt replied with a sarcastic tone. “Geez, don’t tell me you still remember that stupid thing?”
“What?” Thomas shrugged. “It was a legitimate promise. We are both thirty, both single, and the marriage is a nice thing when you’re in it with the right person, right?”
“And since when I’m the right person?” Newt sounded amused. “Or you on that matter?”
“Since like, forever?” Thomas offered. “We haven’t sworn just out of the blue.”
“I don’t remember that well why we did,” he could tell Newt shrugged at it. “But man, it’s like what, fifteen years?”
“Yeah,” Thomas agreed. “But still.”
Quiet again, then a soft sigh.
“Oh well. I haven’t seen you in forever,” Newt said gently. “We should hang out again at least?”
“Vegas?” Thomas suggested with a small smile and Newt laughed.
“How about London?” the blond offered. “If you’re willing to visit my homeland.”
“I’m willing to visit whatever just to see you,” Thomas teased him. “So yeah. London sounds cool.”
“London always sounds cool,” Newt returned the teasing back. “I’ll look forward to you then. Write me details later?”
“Will do,” Thomas assured him. “Hubby.”
“God help me.”
***
Thomas always remembered Newt as a thin blond boy, small and kind of adorable, with big brown eyes and messy blond hair. In school he always wore jeans and hoodies and t-shirts with funny inscriptions, and Thomas considered him laid back and constantly in a good mood. He rarely had a problem with anyone, his peaceful attitude held their little group together like a glue, and Thomas liked him a lot, during their school years together.
When he was looking back at those times, him and Newt were a bit like twins – always together, thinking alike. Maybe that was also a reason why they swore such ridiculous thing, to marry when they reach 30, because they both secretly hoped they were going to end up together at some point. Because at that time, when it was still easy, they just didn’t have the guts.
Thomas wondered if he still felt that way. If there was still the strange anticipation of the other man’s presence, the same gentle understanding of each other, the same comfortableness. It was about two years ago when he saw him last, and it wasn’t as long as he had wanted. But once they grew up, suddenly it wasn’t easy anymore – with no time, with too much work, or with responsibility knocking on their door especially.
Thomas dated, of course, during the years. He had two long-term relationships, but they just didn’t last forever, as if something kept on missing. With Teresa it seemed serious, but they were too young to actually understand what it meant to stay together until they were old and wrinkly. And in the end her different views were too much for both of them, and they broke up.
Brenda was more like Thomas – a bit boyish and active and he never got bored with her. But in the end for how active she had been, she was also very fleeting, and fell in love easily – with somebody else.
And then Thomas just didn’t feel like he needed anyone in his life to be happy, or at least comfortable, so he stopped searching. And suddenly he was thirty and Newt flooded back into his life and it ignited something strange, yet familiar, in his mind.
When he finally got out of the plane and the chilly London air surrounded him, the anticipation hit him like a train. He was there. He was there to meet Newt. Newt, who was just now standing in front of him with his knowing smirk, in a grey hoodie and jeans, as if the time rewound and they were sixteen again. Newt, who made him feel the butterflies in his stomach once more. Newt, who was watching him in amusement, who was maybe a bit taller and lankier than Thomas was used to, with messy hair and deep eyes, and Thomas had an urge to hug him and never let go.
Fifteen years and he still felt that way. Who would have thought?
“Is there something on my face?”
“Not yet,” Thomas’ brain rebooted in time and Newt rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth twitched up. “But I can remedy that.”
“I’m sure,” the blond smirked and nodded towards the exit of the airport. “Shall we?”
“Oh yeah.”
***
“You do realize if we hadn’t been stupid in the high school, we could have been doing this for fifteen years already?”
“Well, aren’t you an optimist,” Newt laughed breathlessly and his body tensed when Thomas bucked up. “Thinking we would last fifteen years.”
“I’m always an optimist,” he told him with a grin and ran his hand through the messy blond hair, down to his neck, feeling the wild beating of heart under his fingers. “You just have to say yes.”
“Bloody hell, T-Thomas,” Newt shuddered and Thomas knew he was never going to get enough of seeing him this hot, this wanton and needy. Touching him was so easy and natural Thomas was never going to understand his past self that let this opportunity escape him for another fifteen years.
“You can’t be still t-talking about the marriage?”
“Mhm,” the brunet pulled him lower to capture his mouth in a chaste kiss, nibbling on his lower lip. “I’m not letting you go. It was a promise.”
“Stubborn arse,” Newt hissed into his mouth but kissed him again anyway. “You’re n-never going to grow up.”
Thomas had to agree and decided to show him the best way possible.
Newt didn’t mind.
