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

Chapter 11

Then his mom nodded, "Good, that's how it's supposed to feel. Well, easier than you think it should be - but it's healthy to have some breathing space like this. You'll come to want a bit of space, as time goes on." She smiled warmly at his dad, and he winked back.

The conversation shifted to other topics and all too soon it was nearly eleven o'clock and his parents were fading fast after they had gathered in the living room. It didn't take him long to read the cues, and stand to leave. No one objected, all of them tired. So, Thomas said his goodbyes and then he was heading home - back to his too-empty bed and badly managed anxious thoughts.

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Several days passed, each one the same as the last as far as Thomas was concerned, until the next Saturday. He'd spent the day in the garden with Frypan and was just finishing up putting away dinner, having said goodbye to Frypan a couple hours before, when his phone buzzed.

He opened it to see a text from Sonya. Surprised, he clicked on the notification to see a picture of Newt laughing at something with his arm around his sister's shoulders, who was leaning on him and also laughing, the overcast sky making their joy stand out all the more. Along with the picture, Sonya texted him.

[Sonya, 5:13pm]

He may look happy in this picture (it's coz I'm too funny for my own good), but he literally hasn't shut up about how much he misses you. Newt's a broken record when it comes to you, Thomas

I think you two need to have a chat when he gets home, mate, just sayin

He didn't deign to reply, though he reacted to the picture she'd sent with a heart emoji. Thomas thought back to nearly a week ago when Newt had fallen asleep still on the line with him after spamming him with approximately a million drunken texts. They hadn't spoken of it since, though not in a way that was avoiding the topic, more like just pretending it never happened and going on with business as usual. By the time Newt came home the next week, Thomas was sure it would be forgotten by the both of them.

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[Thomas, 11:36am]

What time does your flight get in? I'll pick you up from the airport tomorrow

[Newt, 11:36am]

Middle of the afternoon, you'll be at work.

[Thomas, 11:37am]

I can get off early if you want

[Newt, 11:37am]

No it's okay, I'll be there when you get home.

Thomas replied with a thumbs-up emoji and tucked his phone back into his pocket before returning to work. He was fully prepared to take a half day tomorrow to go pick Newt up from the airport, but it was typical for Newt not to want him to take time out of his day to help him, and he couldn't come up with a strong enough argument other than 'I missed you', so he didn't press the issue. He would see him soon enough anyway.

When Thomas got home the next day after work, the first thing he saw when he opened the door was Newt leaning against the counter as if he'd been waiting for him. He sagged a little, and then dropped his bag and sank gladly into Newt's arms. The warmth of his body pressed against him and the tightness of his arms made him sigh. "I missed you." Thomas breathed into his neck, unashamed of how clingy he knew he was being just then.

Newt's arms tightened around him, and replied with a muffled, "Me too." Neither of them let go for far too long.

When they finally parted far enough to make it to the couch, Thomas asked, "So, your mom's alright?"

"She's recovering, yeah. Dad's taking good care of her, won't let her get up for anything and keeps insisting that he take care of her until she's fully healed." Newt's lips quirked into a small smile. "It was good to see them, though. Despite the circumstances and all. We were getting a bit snappy with each other by the end there."

"He'll take good care of her." Thomas chuckled softly, watching Newt closely. He seemed drained, but relieved. The two weeks had taken a toll on him, but had done him a small bit of good, too. And the time away from him had given Thomas some perspective.

From this new perspective he realized one, that he was far more attached to his best friend than he had any right to be. And two, not seeing or talking to him for days on end had been simultaneously good and bad. Good in that having some space wasn't a bad thing, and bad in that he could never seem to get him out of his head. The fact that it had been an abrupt change of pace, there one moment and gone the next was startlingly hard. The house had felt empty. Wrong. Too big, without Newt there. That in itself was alarming. Was he truly so attached to Newt that he couldn't go two weeks without seeing him without losing his mind?

It felt a tad codependent, and that was something Thomas refused to be. They were their own people with their own lives. But they were also each other's support systems whenever things got rough, and not having Newt around when he was dealing with Chuck being sicker than he'd ever seen him had been more difficult than he wanted to admit. Yes, he had Minho, Brenda, Gally, Frypan and the others and they were amazing, but there was something about Newt that made Thomas feel closer to him than to his other best friends. He wasn't sure what it was, yet.

"Y'know," Newt said after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "It was harder than I'd expected to go see my parents and not have you there with me."

"It was weird for me too, to be here by myself." Thomas admitted with an abashed chuckle, relieved Newt had felt the same way about being apart. "Maybe we should spend more days apart more often. To get used to it a little more."

"Maybe," Newt replied noncommittally, "But for now, I don't want to go anywhere but right. Here." With his last word, he slid sideways to lay his head on Thomas' lap with a laugh.

Thomas laughed too, "You won't see me complaining." Then he picked up the TV remote and turned it on with a questioning look down at Newt, "TNG?"

Newt nodded in affirmation, "TNG."

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A/N: Mutual pining intensifies

Drunk Newt is so much fun to write, I hope he's equally as entertaining to read! I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading <33