Chapter Text
**Two Years Ago**
Gally is in a world of his own in the coffee shop. He usually is when he’s updating his logbooks. He spent a few days with some of the neighbouring werewolf packs in the last few weeks and he has reams of content he needs to update his research with and the only place in town there’s enough coffee to fuel him through it is Fry’s Coffee House. Gally’s been here since 7am and now it’s almost closing time and he’s lost track of how many coffees he’s had in the meantime. The staff rarely bother him though, only to replace his empty cup with a new one. He has a reputation of being a bit of a grump and they have long since learned it’s best to not try and engage in small talk and just make sure he is never without a refill on his coffee for too long. Nobody bothers him when he’s working.
Until Thomas of course.
Thomas doesn't ask, he just plops himself down in the seat across from Gally on that early December day and Gally swears he hears the whole coffee shop collectively gasp.
“Do you mind?” asks Gally.
The intruder takes a sip of his hot chocolate and swallows quickly. “Oh? Were you waiting on someone?”
“No,” says Gally.
“Good, I’m not taking anyone’s seat then,” he says and he begins unzipping his coat.
Gally sees red. “Actuall-"
“I’m Thomas Greene,” he says unprompted, pulling his beanie off his head. His soft dark hair flopping out at all angles after being freed from the hat. It was like something from a shampoo commercial and Gally finds himself dazzled by the sight of it all and he tries to turn his focus back to his laptop and ignore the gorgeous idiot sitting across from him but he ends up writing the same sentence twice.
Shit.
“Are you a student?” Thomas asks.
“Nope,” Gally says without looking up. He takes the last sip of the final dregs of his coffee.
“You writing some kickass gay fanfic then?”
Gally splutters his coffee all over his keyboard and Thomas laughs.
“Smooth, man,” says Thomas as he hands him a napkin over the table. Gally snatches it from him and tries to ignore the spark he feels as his fingers brush against Thomas’s own.
He dabs at his keyboard angrily. Gally can’t believe this guy. What kinda weirdo sits down beside someone who is obviously working? His keyboard is sticky from the coffee. Ugh.
“I’m new to town,” Thomas says. “Just moved in this week.”
Gally crumples up the napkin and leaves it beside his empty coffee cup. He hopes if he doesn’t say anything that Thomas will get the picture and leave.
“I’m living in one of the apartments by the library,” Thomas continues.
Gally hums again.
“Townsfolk are nice and chatty I’ve found,” says Thomas.
Gally looks up at him then again. Thomas smiles. A genuine soft smile and Gally feels butterflies in his stomach but he isn’t sure if it is Thomas’s dimples or the fact he’d just finished either his fifth or possibly even sixth coffee of the day.
“Lemme buy you a new coffee,” Thomas says.
Gally can feel the heat rise to his cheeks. Nobody has ever asked to buy him a coffee before. He clears his throat and turns his attention back to his laptop and tries to ignore the butterflies. “Pass.”
“What about a cookie then?” Thomas says.
Gally looks up again to see Thomas take a Tupperware box from his backpack. He opens the lid and presents Gally with a box of iced sugar cookies.
“Hard pass.”
Thomas scoffs. “Awh, come on man, I made them myself.”
Gally peers into the Tupperware box again. The cookies are in all different shapes and iced in every colour under the sun. It’s like an explosion in a crayon factory just looking at them.
“They look like a six year old iced them.”
“Well I’m hardly the Michelangelo of sugar cookies but I try my best.”
Gally can feel himself wanting to smile and shoots it down. He turns his attention back to his laptop once more but he’s just typing gibberish now. “Have you had much success making friends by offering them cookies?” he asks.
“You’re the first.”
“We’re not friends.”
“We could be.”
Gally looks at him again and he doesn’t know why he does it but he reaches for a cookie. A vaguely lion shaped one with three legs and a wonky tail.
“I knew you’d go for the lion,” Thomas says.
“How could you possibly know that?” Gally toys with the cookie in his hands. It has purple eyes and a green mane.
“You give off like…,” Thomas waves his arms as if he’s trying to find the word in the air. “Lion vibes,” Thomas says finally.
Gally raises an eyebrow. He breaks off a piece of the cookie. “What the hell does that mean?”
Thomas smiles. “Dunno, I’m just talking bullshit.”
Gally allows himself to smile too. “I’m getting the sense that’s the only language you can speak.” He takes a bite of the cookie and instantly regrets it.
He reaches for the napkin he cleaned his laptop with and spits it into it. “Oh my God,” he says. “That’s awful,” he coughs. "I can’t believe you let me try that.”
Thomas doubles over with laughter. “Yeah, Simba,” he says. “I may have mixed up the salt and sugar a little bit… I hoped the icing would hide the taste.”
“Well it didn’t,” says Gally as he spits into the napkin and throws it into his takeaway cup. He gags. “Disgusting.”
“Sorry, Simba,” Thomas says. “I probably should have warned you but eh Hakuna Matata, right?”
Gally rolls his eyes. He looks back at his laptop. It’s been so long since he typed something that the screen has gone to sleep. “Stop calling me Simba,” he says.
“Well you never told me your name,” Thomas says. He flashes Gally that smile again and he feels his stomach do a flip and it isn’t from the cookie.
“Very observant of you,” Gally says. He wakes up his laptop screen. “I think you failed the friendship test with the salt cookies.”
Thomas laughs again before taking a sip of his own drink. Gally pretends not to notice that Thomas is watching him and he pretends he doesn’t feel hot and flustered under Thomas’s gaze.
“How about if I buy you dinner to make it up to you?” Thomas says.
Gally freezes. He looks up at Thomas. He looks at how the Christmas fairy lights above their booth cast him in a golden hue and the way his burgundy scarf makes his honey eyes glisten and the cream moustache from his hot chocolate coats his upper lip. He doesn’t understand why someone who looks like Thomas would want to even say hello to him, never mind ask him to dinner.
“Really?”
Thomas smiles and Gally melts.
“Really,” Thomas says. “I hear Jorge’s is quite good.”
It’s Gally’s favourite. His heart is pounding and the butterflies in his stomach are going wild. He should say no. He has always thought of his line of work not allowing for dating or a love life. It’s best to stay single and without distractions and make sure he doesn’t put anyone into danger. Especially normal humans.
But…
It’s just dinner.
“Gally,” Gally says.
“Sorry?”
Gally smiles. “If you’re buying me dinner I think you should know my name.”
Thomas smiles and offers Gally his hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Gally.”
And as Gally shakes Thomas’s hand he can’t ignore the sparks this time.
And he finds he doesn’t want to ignore them either.
**
** Present Day **
His alarm blares on his dresser and Gally groans as he’s woken too soon from his sleep. He blindly slaps his palm down on his bedside table to find his phone to switch the damned thing off. He finally stops it and sighs as he rolls back over on the bed. He drapes his arm over the other side of the bed and finds it cold and he groans again. He finally opens his eyes to see that Thomas isn’t there.
Gally hates waking up to his alarm but waking up and Thomas not being there is a million times worse.
A text comes through on his phone and he huffs, realising it’s time to face the day and that he can’t put off getting up any longer. He sits up against the headboard and stretches. He can hear Thomas singing in the kitchen and suddenly his alarm doesn’t sound half as bad…
A second text comes through on his phone and he sighs before checking it. Minho.
Minho: hey ya big tree you and Tomboy heading over to ours to go over the shit for tonight?
Minho: About 12:00 pm?
Gally sighs again and scowls at his phone, he was enjoying the blissful first moments of the new day before reality struck. Being the town Druids and it being his and Minho’s responsibility to ensure the supernaturals are all at peace with one another is nowhere near as fun and sexy a job as one may think. There’s times Gally would much prefer to lock the doors and close the blinds and lay in bed with Thomas all day. Especially today of all days. Thomas’s singing gets louder and somehow worse from downstairs.
Gally sighs again. He sends Minho back the thumbs up emoji before throwing his phone back down on the duvet and reluctantly getting out of bed to get ready for the day. He showers and grabs some fresh clothes from his wardrobe and as he reaches for his socks in his dresser his knuckles brush against the little velvet box hidden away at the back and he snatches his socks quickly and closes the drawer before he can think about it too much. His phone buzzes on the bed. Minho again and for once he’s glad of the distraction.
Minho: you text like my dad and he’s 62.
Gally: Fuck off.
Minho: yeah still texting like my dad x
Gally rolls his eyes and pockets his phone and pads out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Thomas has been left far too long unsupervised in the kitchen.
The smell of burnt pancakes hits him instantly as he enters the kitchen. “Please tell me you didn’t get pancake batter on the ceiling again?” Gally asks.
“Nope,” says Thomas. “I’m getting better! I did get some behind the fridge though.”
Gally looks around the kitchen and it’s a mess as per usual whenever Thomas decides to cook. For Gally’s own sanity he decides not to comment on the mess and just sits down. “You do know you’ll attract every mouse in the county getting food everywhere.”
“Well maybe they can help me cook like that mouse in Ratatouille.”
“That was a rat you jackass.”
Thomas shrugs. “Po-tay-toe, poh-tah-toe,” he says. He puts a mug of coffee down on the table beside Gally before kissing him on the crown of his head. “Happy day-we-met-anniversary by the way,” he says.
Gally pulls him down and kisses him quickly on the lips. “The best-slash-worst day of my life,” Gally teases.
Thomas sticks his tongue out at him as he moves back to the hob and plates out pancakes. “Clearly the best day,” he says. He pads back over to Gally and plops the plate of pancakes down in front of him. The edges are coated in a layer of Nutella and it has a strawberry nose and two blueberries for eyes. There’s abstract and then there’s whatever the hell this is. Gally furrows his brow and tilts his head. Then he realises what the pancakes are supposed to be and he laughs. “Must be said that in the last two years your ability to make lion shaped food has not improved.”
“It’s the thought that counts, they are… lion-y” says Thomas as he makes up a bowl of cereal for himself and sits down across from him. “Also, the Nutella mane is like definitely not covering up burnt bits.. Just saying.”
Gally shakes his head and starts cutting through the pancake and it’s like cutting through cardboard.
“Also!” Thomas says excitedly. “I didn’t set off the fire alarm this time, so like I’m practically Gordon Ramsey now. I don’t need mice- I mean erm rats to help me in the kitchen anymore to make lion shaped confectionery. You could say that I can take… pride in my cooking.”
“Boo,” says Gally as he throws one of the blueberry eyes at him and Thomas catches it in his mouth and cheers like he just scored the penalty to win the World Cup.
Gally laughs and takes a bite of his lion shaped pancake which is somehow raw and burnt at the same time and thinks Thomas may need to reconsider that statement about not needing help in the kitchen.
“So what’s the plan for tonight, Simba?” asks Thomas through a mouthful of cereal.
“Would you ever quit calling me Simba?”
Thomas smiles at him from across the table. “Nope,” he says, popping the p. “I know you love it really.”
Gally blushes and shakes his head.
“See?” says Thomas. “You’re speechless. You love it when I call you Simba.”
Gally opens his mouth to protest again but Thomas reaches over with his foot under the table and runs it up and down Gally’s leg and Gally finds his voice is lost. A common occurrence when it comes to Thomas.
There’s times Gally still can’t believe the last two years have been real. He had thought maybe they would just have a bit of fun at first. Just dinner and maybe a coffee date or two and that would be it. He wasn’t one to fall in love and he had long decided that with being a Druid it was safer for everyone if he didn’t date. If he stayed alone. Hell, it had taken Minho years to convince him to partner up together and Minho was a Druid just like him. Gally had sworn off relationships and said he would never let himself get close to anyone. He’d only agreed to dinner with Thomas because he was cute and had taken him by surprise and he had had a lot of coffees. He swore it would be a one time thing but well one dinner turned into two which turned into three and a coffee date and then Gally brought Thomas to Newt’s and Minho’s New Year’s Eve party and Thomas kissed him at midnight and Gally realised he didn’t just want to start the year with Thomas in his arms but he wanted to end it too. He realised this was more than just a bit of fun and that thought had scared him more than any of vampires and werewolves and banshees and every creature you could think of in between he had ever faced.
But it also was more perfect than anything else he had ever faced before. Gally had always sworn off love but Thomas was the exception.
Always.
Thomas has changed his life in every possible way for the better.
“Earth to Gally!”
Gally looks up to see Thomas frantically waving at him. “What’s the plan for tonight?”
Gally grimaces.
Okay maybe Thomas has made his life slightly more complicated. Gally had made the adjustment to allowing a regular human into his life but he didn’t think the regular human would have an interest in his Druid lifestyle. He’d figured Thomas would just think of it like any other job and maybe they would chat about it over dinner for a few minutes before talking about what they'd watch on Netflix that night.
But no. Thomas was fascinated by the supernatural life and couldn’t believe all these creatures and beings he had obsessed with during his childhood were actually real. Gally had introduced him to Newt and Minho and they both loved him and Thomas loved them too. There were times it was hard to believe Thomas had only been part of their lives for two years. It felt like he’d been there forever and he’d fallen into their life so effortlessly. He’d shown genuine interest in learning more about their lives and became very good friends with Minho and learned how to make potions with Newt and sat in on consults with Gally. He’d recently started going out to meet other supernaturals with Gally and Minho in the evenings too which Gally was apprehensive about.
“It’s going to be dangerous,” Gally said.
“Babe, we both know that is only going to make me want to go more.”
“Thomas,” Gally sighs.
“Galileo,” says Thomas with a grin. Thomas runs his foot higher up Gally’s leg and Gally’s mind goes blank once more.
“Minho and I-"
“You mean you, me and Minho,” Thomas corrects.
“We are confronting witches tonight.”
Thomas cocks his head. “Again with the only making this sound like a fun night out, Simba.”
Gally rolls his eyes. “Tom-"
“Awh, come on, Gal,” Thomas says. “Okay so I wasn’t born into the supernatural balance keeper Druid life like you and Minho but I’ve been working on this.”
“I know that,” says Gally. “I know you’ve been training and doing research. It’s just…”
“What?”
“We’ve never dealt with witches before.”
“Newt’s a witch.”
Gally scowls. “Newt isn’t going around town acting suspiciously and asking questions. Newt isn’t dangerous.”
“Have you ever seen Newt before his first cup of coffee in the morning?” Thomas asks. “He’s lethal.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“I wasn’t joking. I swear I thought he was going to kill me.”
Gally sighs and buries his head in his hands. He hears Thomas’s chair scrape across the kitchen floor and his soft padded footsteps as he rounds the table. Thomas throws his arms around Gally from behind and presses his face against Gally’s neck.
“I ain’t ‘fraid of no witches,” he says. He kisses Gally’s jaw. “I want to help, Gal. Okay? I know it’s dangerous. Everything we do is dangerous. But I wanna be there with you.”
Gally lifts his head from his hands, he glances at Thomas. “You’re such a sap,” he says.
Thomas crinkles his nose and smiles at him. His eyes twinkle in the kitchen light and Gally finds himself wondering how such dark eyes can shine so bright. “Calling me the sap when you’re the one falling over yourself trying to protect me like I’m some Disney Princess.”
Gally turns in his chair and puts his hands on either side of Thomas’s hips. His thumbs rub a pattern on the hem of Thomas’s shirt. “If the shoe fits,” he teases.
Thomas leans his forehead against Gally’s own. “You don’t have to worry about me, Simba,” Thomas says.
Gally kisses him softly. The cinnamon sugar from Thomas’s cereal tingles on his lips. Gally will never not worry about him.
Thomas wraps his arms tighter around his neck and deepens the kiss. Gally hums into it and Thomas laughs. He pulls back but continues to pepper Gally’s lips with soft kisses. “So we still on for tonight?”
“You bribing me with kisses, Tom?” Gally whispers between kisses.
“Depends,” Thomas’s breath tickles against Gally’s neck. “Is it working?”
Every part of him tells him to ask Thomas to stay at home. To stay out of it. To stay with Newt at home and just wait for him and Minho to come back and tell them all about the witches but as Thomas leans back and cocks his head at Gally and looks into his eyes Gally finds he can’t deny him anything.
“Fine,” he huffs. “You can come.”
“Seriously?” Thomas gapes at him.
A thousand thoughts race through Gally’s mind. No. Stay here. Don’t come. It’s too dangerous. We don’t know what will happen tonight. I can’t risk anything happening to you. If you get hurt… If I lose you I will literally lose my mind…
Gally bottles those thoughts. “Sure,” he says instead.
Thomas kisses him again before stepping out from between his legs. “So Minho's and Newt’s place for 12, then?”
“How did you know we were meeting there at 12?”
Thomas winks at him. “Who do you think it was who gave Minho the idea?”
Gally shakes his head. “You’re impossible,” he says.
Thomas takes a big mouthful of cereal. “I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you, Lion Boy.”
There’s milk dribbling down his chin and flour in his hair from making the pancake batter. There’s also jam on his ear. Gally doesn’t know how because there’s no pot of jam anywhere to be seen in the kitchen but Gally does know one thing.
Thomas absolutely is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
Thomas goes into a story about how he got the new pancake recipe from Pinterest and Gally just lets him talk like he usually does and silently prays to whoever will listen to him that everything will be okay tonight.
**
“What the hell is it with witches and little kids?” Minho asks.
Gally looks up from his laptop and pushes his reading glasses into his hair.
“I mean,” continues Minho. “Why do they always go after the kids?”
“For the record I would like it to be noted that I have never once thought to ‘go after the kids’” says Newt.
“Newtie is more of a going after the scarecrow and the tin man kinda witch,” Thomas says without looking up from his phone.
“Shut up, Tommy.”
“That wasn’t a denial!” Thomas says in a sing-song voice.
Newt glares at him and Thomas just looks up at him and grins. Gally tries his best to hide a smile behind his laptop screen.
Minho rolls his eyes. “Anyway,” he says. “What’s the freaking deal with the kiddos?”
Gally sighs through his nose. “Because-"
Minho waves him off. “Nah, I don’t need your textbook answer, I just wanna vent. It’s just all so fucked up. They’re kids.”
Usually Gally is annoyed when Minho dismisses his explanations but he’s not wrong. He always hated supernaturals going after the vulnerable and children.
“None of the kids said the witches were scary,” Thomas says. “They didn’t hurt them. They were just asking about other supernaturals in the area. They seemed very interested to know what the locals thought about supers living around here. Maybe they are looking for a place to settle down. A few of the kids I spoke to said they seemed very interested if there were other witches living in Haven.”
Newt runs his hand through his hair. “I understand wanting to find a supernatural friendly town but since moving to the States I’ve never heard of witches seeking out other witches. Most of them around here just stick to themselves.”
“Maybe they are here to ask you the quickest way to Oz,” says Thomas.
Newt throws a cushion at him. Gally can’t help but smile again at the banter around him. He catches Minho’s eye who gives him a knowing grin and Gally clears his throat. “Okay enough of the jokes,” he says. “Let’s get back to business.”
“That calls for a coffee then methinks,” Thomas says.
“First sensible thing you’ve said all day, Shank,” says Minho. “You go make us some then.”
“Why do I have to make the coffee?” Thomas protests.
“Perks of being the only human of the group,” says Newt.
Minho and Gally both laugh.
“Hey!” Thomas says. “You guys are human too.”
Gally shrugs. “Druid first human second.”
“Just make the damn coffee, Tomboy,” says Minho.
Thomas looks over to Gally pleadingly.
“No sugar for me thanks and just a dash of milk,” Gally says.
Minho laughs harder.
Thomas huffs and stands and drags his feet along the carpet as he walks to Minho’s and Newt’s kitchen. Gally smiles as he watches him leave.
“I can’t believe you are literally the heart eyes emoji over that Shank,” says Minho.
Gally blushes hard which only causes Minho and Newt to laugh harder.
“Shut up,” Gally finally says half heartedly.
“He’s getting good at this shit,” Newt says, gesturing to all their work on the table. “He jokes around but he’s actually a natural at all of this, Gal. He’ll make a good Druid some day.”
Minho nods. “He’s pretty good at this for a Normie,” he says.
Gally shrugs. “I guess. I just… I wish he’d sit it out sometimes. It’s really dangerous and I…”
“Don’t want him to get a booboo?” Minho teases.
“He’d let you kiss it better y’know,” Newt adds.
Gally huffs and goes back to his research. The others continue to laugh. Gally can hear Thomas singing in the kitchen and all the worries he had this morning at breakfast come flooding back to him.
“If anything happened to him, I’d-” Gally’s voice cracks. He doesn’t look up at Minho and Newt. He can’t. “If anything happened to him… I’d…”
The others instantly stop laughing.
“Gally, we-” starts Minho.
“We were only teasing,” Newt says, finishing Minho’s sentence for him. “Tommy’s really good at this. Really. He’ll be fine.”
“I know he’s good at this,” says Gally. He leans back on the sofa and sighs. “I know that right. You’d swear he was born into this life sometimes but I guess… Sometimes… I just wish I’d never let him know about this part of me. Kept it hidden, y’know?. Keep him safe.”
“Gally-"
“If anything happens to him…”
Minho sighs. “I’m not going to say nothing will happen ‘cause I can’t promise that but wrapping him up in cotton wool won’t help either Gal. And what do you think hiding this part of us would have achieved? He’s a Shank for sure but he’s also probably the smartest person I know. He’d have figured out you were hiding something from him and then what? He trusts you Gal, k? Sure he can be a bit unhinged but he’s brave as hell and he’s good at this. He wouldn’t have been able to sit at home waiting for you to come back if he thought you were out there looking for werewolves and fairies.”
“Exactly,” says Newt. “Tommy hears sirens and he runs into the danger, he doesn’t run away. It’s who he is.”
Gally huffs.
“And if we went out to find these witches alone and something happened to you he’d never forgive me because he would think I should have done more,” says Minho. “He’d never forgive himself because he’d think he should have been there to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting.”
“I’m sure Tommy would say the same about himself,” says Newt.
Gally sighs again and sits forward on the sofa turning his attention back to his laptop. “I hate when you guys are right.”
“I may be new to this but I’m pretty sure Minewt are always right,” says Thomas as he reenters the room with a tray full of coffees.
Newt stands and takes his coffee and Minho’s one from the tray. “See this is why I like you Tommy, you speak facts.”
Newt takes a sip of his coffee and coughs. “You are godawful at making coffee though.”
Thomas pouts. “Mean,” he says as he sits down on the sofa beside Gally and hands him his cup. Thomas is sitting flush against Gally and Gally thinks it must be some sort of dark magic that even now years into their relationship he still has butterflies in his stomach whenever Thomas sits next to him.
Newt takes another sip of the coffee and makes a face and puts it down. "Y’know what, maybe you guys should just bring a pot of that tar out to the woods with you and the witches will leave just from the smell of it alone.”
Thomas huffs and leans his cheek on Gally’s shoulder. His hand finds Gally’s own between their bodies and he intertwines their fingers. The butterflies in Gally’s stomach are going wild. He takes a sip of his coffee to try and tame them.
“Why is it again that you aren’t coming with us tonight, Newtie?” Thomas asks. “Are you polishing your broomstick?”
Gally coughs and splutters coffee on his laptop. Thomas squeezes his hand. “Smooth, man,” he whispers. Gally blushes as he thinks back to the day they met. He wonders if Thomas remembers he said the same thing then too.
“Actually I was thinking of looking up the benefits of human sacrifices,” Newt says.
Thomas pales.
“Just need to find some smartass twat to sacrifice. I’ve heard that numpties who can’t make coffee make the best candidates.”
“Yeah,” Thomas’s voice cracks. “The witch jokes are only funny when I’m making them.”
Everyone laughs and Thomas just pouts. Gally squeezes Thomas’s hand and Thomas squeezes it back.
“My parents always told me it was bad manners to go to another witch’s land without invitation unless it was 100% necessary. We don’t know yet if these witches are a threat or not so it is best I stay behind tonight to keep the peace.”
“They’ve technically come to our land though, no?” says Thomas. “And they are asking questions about local witches.”
“They could just be travelling through,” says Newt. “It’s not an easy life being a witch, a lot of people have… very strong opinions on our kind and they may just be asking questions to get the feel of the land to see if they would be welcome. I know I’ve definitely done that before I settled down here and after… well after everything that happened back in London.”
Minho puts his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder and kisses his cheek. Thomas bows his head. “Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to bring back bad memories.”
Newt waves him off. “Don’t be daft,” he says. “No need to apologise. My point is that it isn’t always safe for us out here and going town to town and asking questions isn’t in itself alarming,” Newt smiles. “Besides you of all people are one to judge other people asking questions.”
Gally sniggers and Thomas nudges him with his shoulder.
“Point is,” Newt continues. “I was always told to just let other witches be unless they asked for help or I felt I needed to step in and for now I think it’s best I sit this out but if shit hits the fan I’m right here if you guys need me.”
“Thanks man,” says Gally.
Thomas nods. “Thanks, Newt,” he says. “I was only joking about the broomstick.”
Newt smiles. “Whatever Tommy.”
“But like if you do have a flying broomstick that is something I’d very much like you to show me.”
Minho shakes his head. “I can’t believe you thought this Shank was good at the supernatural shit.”
“Well all I’m saying is if we had flying broomsticks we would be able to find these witches a lot quicker,” says Thomas.
“We will also be able to find the witches a lot quicker if we get back to work and stop getting distracted,” says Gally.
They all go back to their research. Thomas scrolls one handed through his phone and doesn’t drop Gally’s hand. Gally finds it a bit awkward working on his laptop one-handed but nothing would make him drop Thomas’s hand.
They’ve made good progress this afternoon despite the distractions. They have narrowed down the area they think the witches are in to about a mile of the woods. As Thomas said, they haven’t done anything overly bad yet per say. There have just been sightings of them talking to the local children and asking questions but witches always have everyone on edge. Even now after being part of the community for years Newt still gets the odd disapproving look from the locals and Minho was almost excommunicated for starting to date him. That had been a rough time. Things are different now of course and most people are friendly towards Newt and Minho but with new witches coming to town things could go south very quickly and that is something Gally hopes they can avoid at all costs.
They work away quietly and share ideas for another hour before it’s time to start heading to the woods.
“I think I’ll make us some more coffees for the road,” Thomas says. “Minho, Simba, do you want one?”
“For the sake of everyone’s health,” Newt says. “I’ll help make the coffee.”
“If Newt is making the coffee, yes if Tomboy is, then no,” says Minho. “Tomboy’s coffee is like death in a cup.”
Thomas grumbles as he and Newt pad into the kitchen. “Is my coffee really that bad?” Thomas asks.
“No,” says Newt.
“Thank you.”
“It’s worse.”
The friends all explode with laughter at Thomas’s expense as he and Newt head into the kitchen. Gally smiles as he powers off his laptop and starts packing up their notes.
“So,” says Minho as he puts some pages into a binder.
Gally looks up.
“How’s things going with you and Tomboy anyway?”
Gally blushes and starts poking at some dust under his laptop’s keyboard.
Minho laughs. “That good, huh?”
“It’s the anniversary of the day we met today,” Gally says.
“And you’re bringing him on a witch hunt?” Minho asks. He starts packing some of their notebooks into his backpack. “And they say romance is dead.”
Gally clears his throat but says nothing. He thinks of the ring box he’s hidden in the back of his dresser and the question he hasn’t been able to ask Thomas yet.
“I’m gonna see if we still have some of those granola bars left to take as a snack,” says Minho standing up. “Do you wan-"
“I’m gonna ask him to marry me,” Gally blurts out.
“OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS?”
“Shhhhh!” Gally hisses.
“You lot alright in there?” Newt calls from the kitchen.
“Fine!” Gally snappily yells back.
“Are you seriously gonna ask him?” Minho whispers. “Oh my God, Gal! When did you decide this?”
Gally toys with the drawstring on his hoodie. “I think I’ve known since about five minutes after meeting him.”
Minho pushes the last of the papers about the witches off the table and sits down. Gally opens his mouth to protest but Minho silences him. “Nope,” he says. “Screw the damn witches this is far more interesting. Spill. Now.”
I love him,” Gally says.
“Well clearly,” Minho says.
“I've a ring picked out and hidden at home I just... I'm waiting for the right time to ask."
“Damn, Gal,” says Minho. “I’m so proud of you.”
Gally raises an eyebrow.
“Seriously man,” says Minho. “I remember you going on these dorky rants about how you’d never fall for anyone and this lone wolf bullshit-"
“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with being on your own.”
“Obviously you Shank but it’s a pain in the ass when you make it your whole personality.”
Gally huffs.
“I’m trying to give you a compliment here,” Minho says.
“Badly.”
Minho sighs. “I’ll start again,” he says. “What I’m trying to say is I’m happy for you, man. I’m happy you have decided that your own happiness is important, alright? I know what we do is major but we deserve to be happy and live our lives too y’know? Newt is the best thing that has ever ever happened to me and I’m so happy you have found that with Thomas.”
Gally smiles. “Thanks man.”
Minho returns his smile. “I’m also really looking forward to you two Shanks fighting over yours truly to be your Best Man.”
Gally rolls his eyes and Minho just laughs.
Newt and Thomas reenter the room. “Y’all are laughing and I’m not the butt of the joke, that’s new,” Thomas says as he hands Gally a travel cup and kisses him quickly. Gally eyes the travel cup suspiciously. Thomas huffs. “Newt made it, it’s safe,” he says.
Gally puts the cup down and kisses Thomas. “Good to know you’re not trying to poison me,” he says.
Thomas hugs him. “The night is still young, we will see how I feel later on.”
Gally laughs and hugs him back. Minho makes a heart with his hands and kissy faces behind him and Gally just flips him off which only sends Minho into hysterics again. Gally holds Thomas tighter. He thinks about what Minho said and Thomas is the best thing that has ever happened to him and he thinks about the ring in his dresser back home and how maybe tonight will be the perfect time to ask him.
**
The sun is going down by the time Minho stops his car by the woods. They all just look out at the windows at the trees and none of them move. “Y’know,” says Thomas from the back. “In hindsight going into the woods in the dark looking for witches doesn’t sound like the best idea we have ever had.”
Minho undoes his seatbelt and turns the engine off. “You can stay in the car if you want,” he says.
Gally silently hopes he will do just that.
“Nuh uh,” says Thomas as he unbuckles his seatbelt and opens his car door. “If you guys are going all Blair Witch Project on me then I’m coming with.”
Gally sighs and undoes his own seatbelt. Thomas opens his car door for him. He offers Gally his hand and Gally takes it. Thomas flashes him a toothy grin. “Let’s go find some witches,” he says, his smile falls, “but if they like get us to go into the basement of their house and tell us to stand in the corner, let's not do that though.”
“Does everything you know about witches come from movies?”
Thomas shrugs. “Maybe. Is any of it helpful?”
Minho locks the car and joins them on their side. “Not even a little bit,” he says as he turns on a torch and begins marching into the woods.
“Oh,” says Thomas.
Gally squeezes Thomas’s hand. “Come on,” he says as he starts to follow Minho. “The sooner we find these witches and figure out what their deal is the sooner we can go home.”
Thomas skips to catch up with him. “I’m already thinking about those triple chocolate chip cookies we got in the store yesterday,” he says. “I think our first Witch Adventure calls for cookies and hot chocolate in bed, Simba.”
“Hard pass,” says Gally.
“Why?” Thomas stops walking and pouts at him.
“I just washed the sheets, you are not getting them covered in cookie crumbs.”
Thomas scoffs. “Didn’t you hear me? I said TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHIP I won’t be spilling no crumbs.”
Minho stops walking ahead of them and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”
“Yeah, man,” says Thomas. “I can’t believe he’d think I’d waste good cookies.”
“Can we just focus on finding the witches, please?” Minho says.
Thomas stomps forward and drags Gally along. “Yeah, Gal,” he says. “Focus. Can’t believe we are out here on Serious Business and you’re just babbling on about cookies,” He winks at Gally and it takes everything in him not to swoon. His mind goes back to the little box in his dresser once more.
Gally blushes and clears his throat. “Do you think the witches will know a spell to put manners on this Shank?”
“Ain’t no witch powerful enough to do that man,” says Minho.
The boys continue to make their way through the woods in silence only the sound of crunching leaves and cracking twigs breaking the quiet night air and so far they have found no sign of life aside from the woodland animals. There’s nothing out of the ordinary.
“Do you think we have a dud lead?” Minho eventually asks after they’ve been walking for twenty minutes or so.
Gally hums. “Hard to tell. We could always split up?”
“Immediately no," says Thomas. "I know I’m the newbie here but even I know that’s an awful idea. Literally no movie ends well when the group of friends decide to split up in the middle of the night in the freaking woods.”
Gally opens his mouth to say something when a booming voice echoes through the trees. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
Thomas startles beside Gally but rights himself quickly. The boys look at each other, silently asking who should answer the voice. Thomas nods and steps forward, Gally reaches for him but Thomas is just out of reach.
“We’re friends!” Thomas yells. Gally tries to pull him behind him but Thomas stands his ground. "We're not here to hurt you, we just want to talk!"
"In the middle of the night in the middle of the woods?" a second voice asks.
Thomas turns back and faces the others. "I told you this was a bad idea," he hisses.“Literally every horror movie ever said so!”
"For God's sake," mutters Minho. He raises his voice. "We're local Druids and a token human."
Thomas huffs. "I'm a Druid-In-Training!"
"Token human," Minho clarifies. "We just want to talk. We don't want to fight, okay? We just have a few questions."
A beat.
Nothing happens, the woods are eerily quiet and Gally wonders if perhaps they have just walked straight into danger.
“Please?” Thomas asks into the silence.
Then Gally sees them, emerging from the trees are the two witches. They are in normal clothing. Most supernaturals wear modern fashions these days to keep a low profile and keep the peace especially when they are on the move so it isn’t unusual but Gally still eyes them suspiciously. Both of them have their hands in their pockets and that unsettles him but he doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it; there’s already a tension in the air. He brushes his thumb against his own weapon on his belt. He has a pact with Minho to never give into violence unless necessary but they always carry a stun launcher with them just in case.
“Hi,” Thomas says, seemingly unfazed by the tense feeling around them. “I’m Thomas and this is Gally and Minho. We’re not here to hurt you or anything, we just want to check in and ask what brought you to our town ehhh?,” Thomas gestures gently prompting them to give their names.
“We’re just passing through,” says the first witch. She has dark hair and a serious face. She doesn’t offer Thomas her name and Gally’s feeling of unease increases. He feels for his weapon again.
“I’m Sonya and this is Harriet,” says the second witch as she steps forward. Her long blonde hair practically glows in the moonlight. Harriet turns and scowls at her and hisses something that none of the boys catch. “It’s okay, Hari,” Sonya says. “We’re looking for a new place to call home.”
“Hunters destroyed our last colony,” Harriet says. “Hunters destroyed Son’s last two colonies. She thought things would be better in this country but it’s the same shit just a different place nowhere is safe for our kind.”
“Oh,” Thomas says. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Harriet rolls her eyes. “Yeah,” she says. “Everyone is always sorry to hear shit.”
Gally looks towards Minho and wonders if he is feeling as uneasy about all this as he is feeling. Thomas takes a cautious step forward. Gally wants to reach for him. “We’re different here in Haven,” says Thomas. “Hell the place is literally called Haven you know it’s gotta be good! And we like witches here. Minho’s boyfriend’s a witch and-”
“What Thomas is trying to say is we won’t force you to leave,” Minho says. “We welcome all supernaturals to our town; we just greet everyone to make sure we are all on the same page. We value all life here. Our town is hunter free and supers and humans alike live safely here.”
Harriet and Sonya look at each other and back towards the boys. Harriet’s hands shift in her pockets and Gally reaches for his weapon again, this time he puts his hand on it entirely. He hopes he’s being subtle but Harriet’s eyes follow him.
Then everything goes to shit.
“They’re lying!” Harriet barks.
“What?” Thomas goes to step forward again but Gally pulls him back and pulls his weapon from his belt. It glistens in the moonlight.
“He’s armed!” Harriet yells. “Sonya, run!”
The blonde witch takes off into the night.
“No,” says Thomas. “Wait!” He pulls forward again out of Gally’s grip. Gally reaches for him again and pushes him behind himself just as Harriet sends a blast of blue energy at their feet and the woods fill with a thick indigo smoke.
“Fuck,” curses. Minho. “Great job, Gal. Stellar work.”
“We have to find them!” Thomas yells and he charges forward out of the smoke.
“Tom!” Gally and Minho sprint after him but he’s nowhere to be seen.
“Shit,” breathes Gally.
The friends catch their breath and turn back on their torches but they can see no sign of Thomas or the witches anywhere. “Shit,” breathes Gally again.
“The fuck did you reach for your weapon for?” Minho asks.
“I thought- I…”
Minho tuts. “We don’t have time for this,” he says. “You’ve just pissed two witches off and Tomboy is racing after them like a klunking lapdog. We gotta find the Shank and now. We’ll split up.”
Before Gally can say anything Minho darts off yelling Thomas’s name. All Gally had wanted to do was keep him safe and he thinks he might have just made everything worse. He needs to find Thomas.
Gally stumbles through the woods. “TOM!” He crashes through the undergrowth and scratches himself against branches and almost falls once or twice. He isn’t even sure now if he’s running deeper into the woods or getting closer to the car. He doesn’t know where he is. Shit. “TOM!”
He reaches a clearing in the woods and he spins on his heel not sure where to run now.
Another blast of energy is shot at him from the trees. Green flames explode at his feet and hot sparks shoot up his legs.
Gally stumbles but manages not to fall. He looks up towards where the sparks came from. He pulls his weapon from his belt again.
“Leave,” says Harriet. “Just go. We will be gone in the morning.”
“Where’s Tom?”
“Leave,” Harriet repeats. Her fists are clenched at her sides and glowing pink. Gally flicks the safety off his launcher. Two can play at this game.
“I just want to know where my boyfr-Tom is,” Gally says. “Then I’ll go. We all will. Nobody needs to get hurt.”
Harriet laughs. “That’s what they all say,” she says.
“Well, I mean it.”
“Put your launcher down then,” says Harriet.
Gally’s eyes flash to Harriet’s hands that are still glowing. “”Stop your spell,” Gally retorts.
Her hands glow brighter. Gally’s finger twitches on the trigger of the launcher.
“Hari?” says Sonya beside her. “Hari, stop.”
“GALLY!” Thomas’s voice echoes through the woods. Gally spins, he can’t tell where it’s coming from. He’s distracted for only a moment and that’s all it takes.
“HARI, DON’T!”
Gally spins back around just in time to see the blast of pink energy hurtling towards him. He rolls to the side to dodge and without even thinking lifts his launcher and fires.
Sonya crumples to the forest floor and Gally swears his heart stops. He didn’t mean to hit her. He drops the launcher.
Harriet’s eyes widen in shock. “Son, Son!!”
She falls to the floor beside Sonya and shakes her. “Son? Wake up. Please. Wake up.”
“I-"
Harriet looks up at Gally daggers in her eyes. “What did you do?”
“I-I-"
He didn’t mean to do that. He never meant to hurt her so badly. Harriet had fired at him so he had just fired back. He never meant to hurt anyone. Not really. “I’m… I’m sorry,” he breathes. “I didn’t mean to…”
Harriet wails. She shakes Sonya again but she won’t wake up.
Gally doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t understand. They only ever set their launchers to stun. She shouldn’t be this seriously hurt. What can he do? He wishes they had just convinced Newt to come along.
Newt!
“I know a witch we can bring her to, we-"
Harriet clutches Sonya closer. “Why do you think I would go anywhere with you? Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”
“GALLY!” Thomas yells from the woods again. Gally jumps at the sound of his name. He sounds like he is getting closer. Gally’s eyes dart to the sound of his voice and then back to the witch.
She smirks and Gally’s blood runs cold.
“I know that look,” she says. “He’s important to you. You don’t want him to find us because you’re afraid of what I’ll do when I see him.”
Gally swears his heart is gonna explode right out of his chest. “Don’t,” his voice cracks. His eyes drop to the launcher on the forest floor.
“GALLY!” Thomas yells again. “Babe? Where are you?”
Gally prays to whoever will listen to him that Thomas will go the other way and that he won’t find them.
Nobody answers his prayers.
Thomas bursts into the clearing like a wave. He smiles when he sees Gally but then his gaze drifts to the witches and his smile falls. “What hap-"
“For your sake I hope your witch friend is as good as me,” says Harriet.
“NO!”
Harriet screeches like an eagle and claps her palms together and fires a beam of orange energy at Thomas. Time stands still and seems to speed up all at once. The blast hits him in the chest and Thomas is sent flying backwards crashing into a tree behind him. He falls limp as a rag doll to the forest floor.
He doesn’t move. He doesn’t scream out in pain. He doesn’t make a noise.
Gally feels frozen to the spot. He just watches Thomas for what feels like an eternity begging him to move, to get up, to dust himself off and make a dumb joke.
He doesn’t.
“Tom,” he breathes. “Tom…. THOMAS!”
Gally finds his feet again and races towards him and collapses onto his knees beside him. “Tom?”
He’s lying face down. He isn’t moving. Gally can’t even tell if he’s breathing. He reaches to touch him but he is scared he will hurt him. He’s never been so damn scared in his life.
“Tom?” he breathes again. “Tom can you-can you hear me? Thomas please.”
Gally reaches for him again and turns him over. Thomas is usually a light sleeper. There’s times Gally has woken him up by breathing too loudly.
Thomas doesn’t wake up.
Gally checks his pulse. It’s fluttering weakly. His breathing is shallow. Gally feels lost. Lost. Lost. Lost.
“Thomas, please,” he breathes.
A shuffle to his right reminds him of the witch and he turns to face her. “What did you do?”
She smirks. “Payback,” she says. “You hurt the person I care about the most so I’ve returned the favour.”
“He was trying to help you!” Gally yells.
“And Sonya was trying to help you,” replies Harriet. “Sad, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry,” Gally says. He clutches Thomas closer to himself and he doesn’t so much as stir in his arms. “I’m sorry, please.”
A single tear runs down Harriett’s face and she shakes her head. She casts a second spell around her and is engulfed in smoke and when the clouds fade she and Sonya are gone.
Gally should care but he doesn’t. He doesn’t care where they have gone.
“GALLY? THOMAS? C’MON GUYS THIS AIN’T FUNNY! WHERE ARE YOU?”
Gally pulls Thomas into his lap and rocks him gently. They need to get out of the woods. They need to get Thomas help but Gally doesn’t know what to do.
All his thoughts are filled with Thomas and why he won’t wake up and he can’t come up with a single idea of how to fix this.
He just holds him and whispers his name like a prayer.
Minho crashes down onto his knees beside him. Gally didn’t even hear him coming.
He tries to take Thomas from him and Gally holds him tighter.
“Gally?” There’s an urgency to Minho’s voice Gally has never heard before. “Gally. I don’t know what happened but we need to get Thomas help. We can’t help him here.”
“We can’t take him to the hospital,” Gally says. His voice doesn’t seem like his own and sounds weird when he hears it back.
“Newt can help. What-whatever magic was done to him… Newt can help.”
“He won’t wake up.”
“Newt will-"
“What if he doesn’t wake up?”
“He will-"
“What if I… I can’t lose- I can’t.”
“Gally,” Minho puts his hand on Gally’s shoulder. “Come on, okay? Let’s get Thomas back to Newt. He’ll know what to do. Just… come on. Let’s get back to the car.”
“He just wanted to go home and eat cookies in bed,” Gally says.
Minho gives him a sad smile. “I know, man,” he says. “Look Newt will patch him up and maybe you guys can still do that but first we gotta get the hell out of here, okay?”
Gally nods and scoops Thomas up as he stands. Two weeks ago he carried Thomas to bed after he’d fallen asleep on the couch watching Gilmore Girls. Gally’s heart was warm with love then but now he’s sick with dread.
Gally has no idea where they are but Minho seems to know the way and he follows him through the trees. Gally is on autopilot as they run, he’s barely aware of anything around him, he crashes into trees and scratches his arms off branches but he feels none of it. He just keeps running. They make it back to the car and Minho helps him lie Thomas across the back seats. Gally sits with him and pillows Thomas's head in his lap. Minho tears down the empty country roads back towards his house. Gally runs his hand through Thomas’s hair and begs him to wake up over and over only stopping to yell at Minho to drive faster.
“Come back to me, Tom,” he breathes. “Please.”
Minho brings the car to a sudden stop in his driveway. Gally hadn’t even realised they made it back into town. Minho is flinging the backseat door open. “We've got to get him inside,” he says. “Come on.”
Minho helps Gally get Thomas out of the car and Newt is at the front door waiting for them. Gally vaguely remembers hearing him through the Bluetooth on the ride over here. Gally looks at him. Newt takes one look at the limp Thomas in his arms and visibly pales.
Gally didn’t think his heart could sink further but it just did.
“Bring him in,” says Newt and he leads the way through the house and into the kitchen. Newt has cleared the kitchen table and he gestures for Gally to lay Thomas down.
They were here for dinner last month. Thomas had joked that the kitchen table looked like the kinda place a witch would perform spells on random humans.
Gally had laughed.
But as he places Thomas down on the table and Thomas’s head lolls to the side he isn’t laughing anymore.
Minho pulls a chair up to the table and Gally practically collapses into it. He reaches for Thomas’s hand and clasps it in both of his own.
He kisses his knuckles as Newt begins to examine him.
“Did the witch say anything as she cast the spell? Did she verbalise the spell in any way?”
“She-” Gally’s voice breaks. “She said she hopes you’re as good of a witch as she is.”
“Fuck,” says Minho.
Newt grimaces. He checks Thomas’s pulse and hums to himself before checking his temperature and his breathing. “His heart rate is on the slow side, same with his breathing and his temperature is low.”
“Why won’t he wake up?”
Newt shakes his head as he gently pulls Thomas’s jacket and shirt away to check the site of the spell. There isn’t a mark on the skin. Not so much as a blemish or scratch to his chest.
“There’s no mark,” says Minho as he looks over them. “That’s… that’s good right?”
Newt bites his lip as he runs his hand over Thomas’s chest. “There’s no swelling or bruising or any signs of burning or irritation,” he says. He looks up at Gally. “What did the spell look like?”
Gally can only focus on the rise and fall of Thomas’s chest as he breathes too shallowly. Harriet only did this to hurt him, not Thomas. She didn’t care about Thomas; she had only wanted to hurt him.
“Gally?”
It was all his fault. All he wanted to do was keep him safe and he put him in even more danger. If he had just left everything alone none of this would have happened. He holds Thomas’s hand tighter still.
Minho shakes Gally’s shoulder and wakes him from his thoughts.
“Gally, what do you remember about the spell?” Newt asks again. “The more you can tell me the better a chance I have of being able to help him.”
Gally nods. “Okay.”
“So what did the spell look like? What colour was it?”
“Orange like… like a neon orange.”
Newt pushes his hair back and grimaces. Gally wonders if neon orange is the worst kind of orange.
“Was is like a cloud or a spark or a beam or something else?”
Gally can’t remember. He closes his eyes to try and visualise it but all he can see is Thomas’s lifeless body hit the forest floor.
“Gally,” Newt tries again delicately. “I know this is hard but the more you can tell me the-”
Gally leans back in the chair. “He shouldn’t have been there,” he says. “I told him it was dangerous and he wouldn’t-he wouldn’t listen and now… now he’s… he’s-”
He thinks he’s gonna be sick. It’s all his fault. He should’ve insisted Thomas stayed at home. He should’ve done more. He should’ve… Now he can’t even remember what the fucking spell looked like to try and help Thomas. He feels useless.
Utterly useless. He was useless at protecting him and now he can’t help Newt try to save him. He’s going to lose him.
He’s going to lose him.
He looks at his prone form on the kitchen table and a voice in his head taunts him.
"You’ve already lost him."
His stomach lurches and he pushes back from the table so quickly he topples the chair. He dashes out the backdoor to the porch and throws up the content of his stomach on the grass. He falls to his knees narrowly missing his own vomit and screams.
He hears the door behind him open and close softly.
“Gal?” Minho puts a hand on his shoulder and Gally stiffens at his touch. “Gal, come on. Come back inside.”
Gally doesn’t move. He can’t. The dewy grass is soaking through his jeans. “He’s dying.”
“He isn’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“And you don’t know if he’s dying.”
Gally slams his fist into the grass and growls. “I told him! I told him not to-not to come… Why…why wouldn’t he just… just listen to me… Why doesn’t he ever just fucking listen to me? I can’t… I can’t lose… lose him… I can’t…”
Minho pulls Gally around and into a crushing hug. Gally wraps his arms around Minho and buries his head into his shoulder. They don’t say anything. They just hold each other.
It’s all they can do.
“He’ll be fine,” Minho says. Gally isn’t sure if he is trying to convince him or himself.
“Hey,” says Newt from the door. Gally pulls back from hugging Minho and looks up at Newt. He looks as tired as Gally feels. “Is he aw-"
Newt shakes his head and Gally’s heart sinks.
“I was thinking of moving him to the spare bed upstairs,” Newt says. “It’ll be more comfortable for him.”
Gally nods and drags himself to his feet. “Do you know what spell the witch used on him?”
Newt shrugs. “I’ve a couple of ideas but I won’t know for sure until he wakes up.”
If he wakes up, thinks Gally. His heart stutters in his chest.
Thomas is still lying across the kitchen table. Gally is reminded once more of how small he is. How fragile he is.
He scoops him up into his arms and follows Newt up the stairs to the guest bedroom. Newt makes up the bed and Gally places Thomas down on it softly. He still hasn’t so much as grunted. Minho fetches a pair of his old pyjamas and places them on the bed. Gally smiles a thanks. There’s nothing else that can be done tonight and Gally just wants to cry at the helplessness of it all.
Gally starts to gently take off some of Thomas’s clothes so he can put the pyjamas on him.
“Medically he’s fine,” Newt says.
Gally looks up at him.
“I’ve done a thorough check of him,” Newt says. “Medically he’s absolutely fine. No burns or scratches of signs of internal injuries or anything like that. He’s just out cold. The spell could have just been one that would knock him out for a day or two. I know it’s scary Gally, I know it is. But he’ll come back to us.”
Gally gives Newt a soft smile. “Thanks, Newt.”
“Get some rest, okay?” Newt says.
“I’ll try.”
“We’re just down the hall if you need us, k? Night, Gal.”
“Night.”
Minho leans over and ruffles his hand through Thomas’s hair. “I know you like being a drama queen but just come back quickly to us, Shank. Alright?”
Thomas says nothing. Minho gives him a sad smile and squeezes Gally’s shoulder before he leaves. “He’ll be okay, Gal,” he says again before leaving. “He has to be.”
Minho softly closes the door behind him and Gally has never felt more alone in his life. He takes Thomas’s hand in his own once more and squeezes it. “Come back to me, Tom,” he whispers. He runs his other hand through Thomas’s hair. “Please.”
He doesn’t.
Gally isn’t sure how long he sits there holding his hand and combing through his hair. It could have been minutes or hours he hasn’t a single clue. Eventually he changes Thomas into the pyjamas before kicking off his own boots and stepping out of his jeans and getting into the bed beside him.
Usually when Gally gets into bed with him Thomas curls up beside him and kisses his jaw.
Tonight Thomas stays frustratingly silent and still.
Gally sits up on his elbow and cards through Thomas’s hair once more with his free hand. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I wasn’t able to protect you tonight. I’m sorry, Tom. I’m so sorry.”
Thomas just breathes silently beside him.
“I’ll do better,” Gally adds. “Whatever it takes I’ll protect you better, k? I’m the one who brought you into this messy life and I’m sorry… If I could change things I would but I’ll protect you better going forward. I’ll never let them hurt you again. I promise.”
Gally plops down onto the bed and his hand finds Thomas’s own under the covers. “I promise.”
**
A barking dog down the street wakes Gally. He blearily opens his eyes and finds himself in a strange bed with Thomas. For a blissful second he thinks they have spent the night in a hotel for a mini romantic break then he remembers the night before.
He pushes himself up on the bed and looks down at Thomas. “Tom?” he says. “Hey, babe… come on… Time to wake up.”
He runs his hand through Thomas’s hair and Thomas groans.
Groans.
Gally’s whole body feels like it freezes.
“Tom?”
Thomas groans again and shifts under the covers.
“NEWT! MINHO!” Gally yells. “He’s waking up!”
Gally kisses Thomas on the forehead. “Come on,” he says softly.
Thomas groans again before blinking up at Gally.
Gally smiles down at him. He feels like his heart is about to burst. “Hey.”
Thomas furrows his brow. “I-"
The bedroom door crashes open and Newt and Minho practically topple into the room. Thomas flinches in the bed and sits up against the headboard.
“Damn, Slinthead,” Minho says. “It’s good to see you.”
“Slinthead?” Thomas repeats.
“Ignore him,” Newt says. “How’re ya feeling, Tommy?”
Gally sits up so his shoulder brushes against Thomas’s and he takes Thomas’s hand in his own. Thomas looks down at their joined hands before looking back up at Gally and then at Newt and Minho. “I-I don’t understand,” Thomas says. His breathing quickens. “I don’t know where-"
Gally glances over at Newt quickly and sees as his smile falters slightly.
Damn,” says Minho. “That witch got you good. You were knocked out by a witch so we brought you back here to our place.”
“I don’t know who you are,” Thomas says.
Thomas glances around the room and he takes his hand from Gally’s grip. Gally feels as if his heart has been torn from his chest.
“Babe,” he says. Thomas looks at him like a deer in the headlights. “Tom, it’s me.”
Thomas shuffles in the bed away from him. His next four words are like a knife through Gally’s chest. “I don’t know you.”