A/N- Hi guys! This is just one of the little somethings that was on my mind and so I got my butt into gear and got it done. Enjoy! (I had to do the 'copy n paste' thing to upload this. Never done it before but I hope it just turns out as if I uploaded the document as normal. My laptop is being annoying).

~ E x

Thomas was nervous.

He was finally alone with Newt, which was what he'd been after for the better part of the evening ever since he and Minho brought Alby back from the Maze.

But Newt refused to talk to him, wouldn't acknowledge him, and appeared hardly able to look at him and that made Thomas mad. So naturally he did what he always did when things didn't go his way: he chased the thing and pushed and pushed until he got what he wanted.

"Newt, come on man, talk to me," Thomas pleads as he tosses more wood onto the fire.

"What do you want me to say?" Newt asks as he fiddles with his knife, wrapping twine around the junction where blade meets handle.

Thomas's heart stutters weakly at the sound of his voice, turning his head instantly to face him. "Anything. Say anything."

Newt lowers the knife to his lap and lifts his head to stare impassively at Thomas. "I'm pissed off at you."

Thomas barely resists the urge to roll to his eyes. "Well I know that. Although I don't know why…

"Don't know why?" Newt demands, eyes flashing in the dancing firelight. "Don't tell me you're that much of a shuck-face Greenie."

Thomas bristles. "Don't call me that."

Newt twists and slings an arm along the back of the log the pair is leaning crossed-legged against. "What, 'shuck-face'?" A deliberate mistake.

"No," Thomas snaps. "Greenie."

Newt leans in closer, invading Thomas's personal space. "Stop acting like one and I'll stop calling you one."

"How am I acting like one?" Thomas asks, exasperated. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You went into the Maze!" Newt growls, his body tensing. His hair is liquid gold as it falls in his eyes.

Thomas flounders with his mouth open for a moment. "Well, yes," he concedes at Newt's raised eyebrow. "But only to help Minho!"

"You ignored the rules," Newt snaps, unrelenting.

Thomas swivels in the dirt to face Newt fully. They're sat so close Thomas's shins are pressed against Newt's thigh. "I couldn't just leave him alone out there Newt." Newt is all sharp angles and shadows in the flickering firelight. It's a compelling image, so upon taking a deep breath Thomas adds, "Just like I couldn't have left you out there."

Newt's eyes roll up and lock solidly with Thomas's. "Really," he says quietly, and Thomas can't tell whether it's a question or not. "You just left me here instead."

Thomas's heart aches in his chest and he has to look away from those probing eyes. "Newt…" he says desperately, lost for words at the broken statement coming from such an otherwise calm collected guy.

"Tommy…" Newt counters, voice uneven. Thomas whips his head up. "Don't do it again."

Thomas yearns to obey, to agree, to promise he won't. But, "I can't just sit around here for the next however long," he whispers, feeling wrecked.

Newt turns his head, long neck arching gracefully as he gazes into the heart of the flames. "Then don't, "he finally says. "Just stay here. With me. Tonight."

Thomas falls forward against Newt's chest, legs scrabbling to unfold beneath him. "Yes. I will."

Arms come up to encircle his shoulders and he shudders out the tension thrumming through his body until all that's left is a hollow ache washed aside by a blistering wave of hurt and anger and fear.

But mostly a sense of helplessness. And need.

"This is so…" he gasps, pressing his face tight into the crook of Newt's neck. "So…it's…it's a pile of klunk."

Newt chuckles lowly; his chest rising and falling quickly.

"Why is it happening? Why?" Thomas demands, hands clawing at Newt's shirt urgently. "What are we supposed to do?"

Newt's hands grab his shoulders and force him back. "Hey, look at me. Look at me."

Thomas focuses wild eyes on the boy in front of him. "Newt—"

"Slim it shank," Newt says sternly. "Quit your freakin'."

"But—" Thomas insists, the irrational surge of panic astonishing even himself. What was wrong with him?!

"No," Newt says firmly. "You've had a long day. That's all. It always gets to you after a long day. Gets to each and every one of us…" Newt eyes him, a small smile tilting his cheek up. "Granted it doesn't normally get to you but there's a first time for everything."

A burst of laughter spews out of Thomas's mouth and suddenly everything feels alright. It'd been a crappy day but being here with Newt…it made Thomas feel strong. Empowered.

Safe.

"Newt, what will tomorrow bring?" Thomas asks softly, pushing forward against the arms still holding him away.

Newt huffs and tosses his head. "Shucked if I know, but don't worry Tommy, I'm sure whatever's to come you won't miss it. You have a knack for throwing yourself in front of trouble." He slowly pulls his arms back, allowing Thomas to gain some ground.

"I'm starting to think trouble finds me…" Thomas chuckles self-deprecatingly.

Newt smirks, and Thomas's stomach flips excitedly, and then their chests are touching, and their noses, and finally their mouths.

Thomas presses hard against Newt's mouth and feels a thrill when Newt pushes back, lips slotting together hotly. His hands knot tightly in Newt's shirt before relaxing and sliding up to cup his neck, fingers interlocking and holding him fast. Newt tilts his head and Thomas follows suit, acting on a pure instinctual drive because he can't remember anything else to go on. But surprisingly, for the first time since he'd entered the Glade the notion didn't frustrate him or scare him. In fact it felt nice. Because this meant he had no comparison running through his mind, no thoughts of anyone else he might've kissed, simply Newt.

It was made nicer still by the fact that Newt wouldn't be comparing him to anyone else either. They were both in this, together, and to Thomas, in this moment, there was nothing better than that.

Newt was tracing lines up and down his back so Thomas takes the plunge and opens his mouth, slowly at first, barely a quarter of an inch but Newt's suddenly there, parting them further, pressing closer, begging for more.

Thomas can't help a grin stretching across his face. "Hey Newt," he mumbles lowly. A tongue brushes against his own and his heart jerks in his chest. It's a moment before he can find words again. "You sure you haven't done this before?"

He expects Newt to laugh or call him out for being a smart-arse. What he does not expect is the reply. "Probably, judging by the way things are going."

Thomas feels his jaw go slack and Newt nips his lip before pulling back four inches. He raises an eyebrow, eyes sparkling wickedly. "What's wrong Tommy, cat got your tongue?"

Regaining himself, Thomas leans back in, tugging Newt in close. "Well, something's got my tongue…"

Newt juts his chin up and captures their mouths together once more. His hands skim Thomas's sides, trace along his chest until his long fingers slide into Thomas's short hair. "Slim it Tommy," he laughs quietly.

They kiss and explore late into the evening, late enough for the night to blacken the sky fully and the fading embers of the fire are the only source of light. Thomas feels his eyelids droop as he Newt strokes soothing fingers along his scalp, the other hand entwined with Thomas's across his stomach.

Another day over and another ready to start. The cycle never ends, Thomas thinks, until it does. And it will. He knows this. It has to end. The point of the Maze isn't to keep them trapped forever. The point of a Maze is for it to be solved, and the solution is coming whether they're ready for it or not.

It should be a good thing, Thomas know this. A solution is what he's been after since he got here. But lying here with Newt, with no one else around, the darkness blanketing them from the Glade feels right. It feels like home.

And Thomas doesn't want to lose that; doesn't want to lose this sudden stability amongst the pandemonium.

But change is coming- everything is going to change.

Thomas squeezes his eyes shut and nestles closer to Newt. For now things are okay, and for now, Thomas thinks sleepily as Newt grips his hand tighter, that will have to be enough.

A/N- So what did you think? Leave a review!