No Better Version of Me Than When I'm With You

Chapter 1

Feeling oddly emotional over seeing the smile Newt aimed at him as he spoke, he cleared his throat and then slid a matching gold band onto Newt's ring finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and husband." The officiant said, and Thomas could hear the smile in his tone.

Excitement at having officially married his best friend thrummed through Thomas and he smiled widely, pulling Newt into a tight hug. He was sure his mom was photographing every moment, and had been since they stepped through the doors, but for several moments as he embraced Newt, it was only them two in the room and everything else faded to the background. Newt's arms held him tightly, and he nestled his face into the crook of his neck, breathing him in.

"I can't believe we did this." Thomas laughed incredulously as he pulled away and held up their joined hands, rings glinting in the light.

"Me neither," Newt echoed his sentiment, laughing as well.

Thomas looked out to the small crowd to see everyone cheering and clapping, and as he and Newt stepped down from the raised floor, everyone surrounded them. An elated feeling rose in his chest, and he held onto it for as long as he could. Minho clapped them both on the shoulder with a wide grin and a wink, Thomas' mom pulled him, and then Newt, into a crushing hug, Chuck gave him a high five, and Brenda hugged them both.

It wasn't until they returned to their apartment that they found someone had left them a basket with a bottle of champagne, two flute glasses, and a note that wrote, "For you and your platonic soulmate. Love, Mum and Dad."

Newt snapped a picture of the basket and sent out a thank you to his family, then Thomas gladly opened the bottle and poured them each a glass. He clinked the glass lightly to Newt's, "To tricking the government into giving us a break, and letting you live here permanently."

"I'll drink to that." Newt chuckled as they both took a drink.

"Y'know," Thomas mused as he set his glass down, "I've never worn a ring before." He held up his hand, twisting the ring around on his finger.

"Me neither," Newt agreed, looking down at his own. "Gonna take some gettin' used to."

"Not to mention I'm going to have to field so many questions about you from everyone at work." Thomas added with a grin.

"Oh, you think you have it bad? I work in a place where the same three old ladies come in regularly with their pets and try to learn my life story. They're going to be chomping at the bit about this." Newt laughed, shaking his head.

"They just like your accent." Thomas teased, and Newt rolled his eyes. "But hey – good news about this whole 'getting married' thing. Now we can combine some finances of ours and put it towards a house!" It was funny how excited Thomas was about owning a proper house – even a small one. He didn't think he'd be able to do that in his lifetime, but then he got an excellent paying job at Black Mesa Labs as a biomedical engineer, and now was married to Newt, who worked a none-too-shabby job at Animal Haven as a vet tech, and suddenly the world opened wide with possibilities.

Everything that seemed overwhelming and daunting earlier that day now felt easier and more manageable knowing who would be beside him throughout it.

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In the days that passed he and Newt began to search for a house, as well as researching what it took to get a green card. Neither were simple, but it wasn't long until house-hunting ended in boxes being packed up from their apartment with help from their friends, and a rented moving van carrying everything over to their new place.

It was a modest house, and even though it was small, it was their own and nobody else's and that simple fact made everything else irrelevant. The price, despite the size – they were in California, after all, and nothing was cheap there – was not too unreasonable, though higher than either he or Newt had been expecting. But they could afford it, having created a joint banking account in both their names, and after signing off on the property, it was theirs.

And so, as the first whirlwind of a day moving into their house – their house! – came to a close, Thomas turned off the bedroom light and fell into bed beside Newt. After all the chaos of trying to unpack what they needed for their first night there, it had been much easier to only make up one bed rather than two. It was only temporary, of course, but Thomas found himself comforted by the fact he wasn't lying in the dark alone for his first night in a new place. He sighed, staring up at the dimly lit popcorn ceiling as a lamp clicked on beside Newt. "That's gotta go." He pointed to the ceiling, glancing over at Newt.

"Do you realize how much that is not at the top of our to-do list right now?" Newt replied, arching a brow. "But yeah, eventually, the popcorn ceiling will go." He reached up and grabbed Thomas' hand, looking at the ring on his finger, then held up his own next to it. The lamp cast a warm glow across the bed, and both rings glinted in the low light. Newt met his gaze and gave him a soft, crooked smile. "Aren't you glad we did this, husband?" He emphasized the last word in his question and Thomas grinned.

"Sure am, husband." He winked and Newt laughed, dropping their hands and rolling closer, face pushing into his shoulder. He stayed there for a moment and Thomas relished the warm and comfortable atmosphere. He knew they'd made the right decision, and hoped everything else would go as smoothly.

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A/N: I've created a playlist to listen to as I wrote this fic, so if you would like a soundtrack while you read here's the link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/290S8A1zYiVZXrf9ecTDWC?si=3aacd89f37a84a09