Living With It

Summary 1: Written for the Lonely Prompts challenge. For this prompt: Any fandom, any/any "If you don't stop it, I'll . . ." Bonus points if the speaker is the spankee.
Summary 2: Gally has to live with what he did. Thomas is making that even more difficult
Pairing: Newt/Thomas
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the Maze Runner movies up to and including The Death Cure; AU; references to violence involving children and teenagers; some hints to sexual situations

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Newt woke from yet another dream where the virus had taken over his mind completely and he rolled over on his back, staring up at the fabric ceiling of the tent.

They'd been here in Safe Haven for nearly two weeks and this was the first morning Newt had woken up without Thomas nestled in close. He hadn't realised how used he'd grown to Thomas' presence until it was no longer there.

Newt dressed quickly, pulling on his threadbare shirt and pants. He was going to have to make some new clothes, or stitch those ones up. But they'd hold out for a bit longer.

As he walked out of the tent, the bright sunlight hit Newt in the eyes and made him squint. There was a lot of noise as children, teenagers and adults moved around, taking care of various jobs. A few nodded or voiced greetings to Newt and he returned them as he walked over to the food tent.

Frypan grinned at Newt as he approached and filled a bowl with stew that steamed, handing it to him. “If you're looking for Thomas, I think he went to find Gally.”

Newt held back a sigh as he took the bowl. “Thanks, Frypan.” He took the bowl and walked over to one of the benches, sitting down and eating.

The stew was hot and filling. Newt didn't know what the chunks of meat floating in the thick liquid were, but he'd learned back in the maze that sometimes, it was better not to ask.

By the time Newt finished the contents of his bowl, there was still no sign of Thomas. Or Gally, for that matter. Realising he was going to need to find his boyfriend – and thinking of Thomas in those terms always made him smile – Newt stood and walked past the food tent and down to the sea, rinsing off his bowl and spoon before returning both to the food tent.

Walking past what they liked to refer to as the civilised area, Newt found himself heading through the forest. Compared to the one he'd been in while living in the Glade, the trees here were more densely packed. Weeds and wildflowers grew in abundance and the chirping of birds in the trees filled the air.

Beneath the sounds of nature, Newt was able to make out raised voices. He paused, cocking his head to one side, listening intently.

“I don't care that you helped us.” Thomas' voice seemed to only come from a few feet away. “Chuck is dead because of you and you don't even care.”

“What do you want me to say?” Gally's voice asked. “It's not like moping around will bring him back. There's nothing more I can do.”

“I don't trust you,” Thomas said. “I don't care we're supposed to cooperate.”

While Thomas was talking, Newt made his way in the direction their voices were coming from. He had to squeeze through a very narrow gap between two trees, but he found himself standing in the middle of a tiny clearing. Thomas and Gally were both there, Thomas standing almost toe to toe with the other boy and neither seemed to have noticed Newt's presence.

It wasn't acceptable. Newt couldn't stand by and watch the two boys tear into each other, even if it was only verbally. He walked over and grasped Thomas' shoulder, pulling him away from Gally and swatting his backside.

The smack was nearly as loud as a gunshot and Thomas' body went ramrod-stiff before he began trying to yank away; tugging at Newt's hand. “Let go.”

This wasn't usual behaviour for Thomas, especially when the other boy had had a chance to calm down. Newt tightened his hold and delivered another firm smack, making Thomas jump. “Settle down, Tommy.”

Once again, Thomas struggled to pull his arm free. “If you don't stop it, I'll....”

“What?” Newt smacked him again. Harder this time. “What are you gonna do, Tommy?” He waited for a response and when none was forthcoming, he gave his boyfriend another firm swat and then looked towards Gally. “Were you doing something?”

“No.” Gally's eyes shifted between Newt and Thomas and he swallowed visibly, a hint of red staining his cheeks. “I just came out because I wanted to be alone,” he admitted.

“Well, you don't have to leave, since this is something that involves you.” Newt took a look around and then sat down on the grass.

“Newt.” Thomas pulled at his hand, his cheeks growing red. When he couldn't free his hand, his shoulders slumped. “Can we at least do this in our tent? Where it's more private?”

Newt raised his eyebrows. “Really? Because the tents are less private than here, where the sound doesn't carry so much.” But, of course, he knew it wasn't the sound carrying that bothered Thomas so much. He wasn't going to send Gally away, or move them away from the other boy. Instead, he pulled on Thomas' wrist. “Come on, love,” he murmured, his voice low enough to only carry to his boyfriend's ears. “You know we can't have those kinds of conflicts here. Let's take care of this.”

Thomas took a deep breath and slowly lowered himself down over Newt's legs. He shuffled a bit and then stilled, holding his whole body stiff.

Holding back a sigh, Newt hooked his fingers in the waistband of Thomas' pants and pulled them down, tugging his underwear down as well. “You don't speak to people like that, Tommy.” He let his other hand rest on his boyfriend's lower back, while he landed a firm smack with his dominant hand.

Thomas let out a quiet whimper, but as Newt continued to bring his hand down in firm, sharp swats, he barely moved and only tiny huffs of air escaped him when Newt swatted an area he'd already covered once.

Realising that Thomas wasn't going to respond the way he needed to unless he did things differently, Newt stopped swatting in a pattern and, tightening his hold around his boyfriend's waist, he began to swat more randomly, letting several smacks fall on Thomas' right cheek, then swatting once on the left before returning to the right.

After several moments of doing that, quiet sniffles began to escape Thomas and he slumped more over Newt's legs, breath catching. “Newt....” The word was nearly a whine.

Newt didn't reply, instead focusing swats to Thomas' sit spots and thighs. The skin turned pink and then red under his palm and Thomas responded by kicking his legs out and then finally by throwing his hand back to cover his bottom.

Thomas' attempt to shield his backside didn't faze Newt, who just smacked around the other boy's hand as Thomas tried to predict where his hand would fall next.

When Thomas' whole bottom, from the crest down to his thighs, was a nearly uniform red, Newt began to speak. “No matter how upset you are with Gally, you have to remember that he wasn't entirely in his right mind. And that, no matter how the two of you felt about each other, no one wanted Chuck to get caught in the crossfire.”

A quiet sob escaped from Thomas and his fingers gripped tighter around Newt's hand, almost hard enough to hurt. “No.” It sounded like he was fighting to get the words out. “Wasn't...Gally's fault. It was mine. I promised to take him out of there....” He slumped over Newt's lap and began to sob without ceasing.

Newt stopped spanking. He didn't need to continue. It had done what it was supposed to and he pulled Thomas' clothing back into place and then tugged and moved Thomas until the other boy was nestled in his arms, almost on top of Newt.

It took a long time for Thomas to stop crying, but Newt continued to hold him through it. His entire world had shrunk down to the two of them and how warm and good Thomas felt pressed in so close to him.

Finally, Thomas sniffled wearily and pulled back enough so he could wipe his eyes. While they had dark shadows under them and his cheekbones had taken on a hollow appearance, he seemed more at peace. “I'm sorry,” he whispered.

“I know, love,” Newt answered, smiling when he saw Thomas' lips curl up. His fingers grazed Thomas' chin and he leaned forward, pressing their lips together.

Thomas gave a tiny huff that might have been a moan and pressed in, deepening the kiss, his tongue ghosting over Newt's lips.

His body's reactions were beginning to make Newt feel very uncomfortable and he adjusted his position, then glimpsed Gally out of the corner of his eye.

The third boy stood a little to one side, almost to the edge of the tiny clearing, his head lowered as he fidgeted, staring at the grass.

Newt gently patted Thomas' waist. “Up you get,” he murmured. “Let me talk to Gally.”

Thomas stiffened slightly, but held his tongue and, after nodding once in acknowledgement, he stood up, giving his backside a quick rub.

Standing up, Newt walked over to stand in front of Gally. “I'm sorry you had to see that,” he began.

A soft snort escaped the other boy and he shook his head, looking up and into Newt's eyes. “No you're not,” he replied. “You wanted to teach either him or me a lesson.” Pausing, he added, “Maybe even both of us.”

Newt nodded, conceding the point. It had been more about teaching Thomas the lesson, but as he watched Gally – saw the way the other boy stared at the ground and fidgeted – he wondered if Gally would also benefit from a good spanking. He could recognise the signs of guilt and shame; the indications that Gally, like Thomas, hadn't been sleeping well.

When Newt reached for Gally's wrist, the other boy only closed his eyes and slanted a little towards Newt. He didn't fight as Newt sat down on the grass and drew him down across his lap, only adjusting his position slightly before he tugged Gally's pants and underwear down to bare his bottom.

As he lifted his hand and brought it down in a firm swat, Newt looked up and locked eyes with Thomas.

Spanking in a steady rhythm, going down to Gally's thighs before he started over from the top, Newt paid as much attention to Thomas' reactions as he did to those of the boy across his lap.

It was clear that Gally was trying to hold in his reactions. Apart from a slight squirming when Newt swatted his sit spots and thighs, he was still. And only tiny gasps escaped him every so often.

It took maybe two minutes for Thomas to drop his gaze. As Newt began to swat even harder and faster, and Gally began to shift more vigorously, Thomas turned his back entirely and stood with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Newt rested his hand on Gally's lower back, even as he began to focus more smacks to the other boy's sit spots and thighs. When he'd turned the sensitive areas a bright, almost rosy pink, he said, “I know you feel guilty for what happened to Chuck, but you have to know you weren't responsible for what happened. The real ones responsible, who killed Chuck and all the others? They're the same ones who put us in the maze. It's Wicked who killed Chuck. Not you.”

That brought a quiet sob from Gally and he clenched his fists in the grass. “I should have...been strong enough to fight it,” he choked out, his voice catching.

“You think so?” Newt patted his back. “Get up. Cut me a switch.”

Gally drew in his breath sharply, but he didn't protest. Instead, he pushed himself up and stumbled over to the nearest tree. His pants were still around his ankles, but he made no attempt to pull them back into place, instead just reaching down to pull a penknife from the pocket and, after selecting a suitable branch from one of the trees, he cut it free and began to strip it of twigs and leaves.

Newt could feel Thomas' eyes on him, but he didn't speak to or look at his boyfriend as he stood up and walked over to Gally.

Wordlessly, Gally handed the switch to Newt, who ran his hand along the wooden surface, checking for any sharp pieces sticking out. Satisfied there were none, he swished it through the air a couple of times to test the weight and then nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Gally turned and leaned his hands against the nearest trunk, bending forward slightly until his bare, pink bottom stuck out prominently.

Newt swung the switch backwards, but when he went to bring it forward, he found it was stuck fast. He glanced back over his shoulder.

Thomas stood there, holding onto the switch. He swallowed and met Newt's gaze. “You shouldn't switch him,” he whispered. “He doesn't deserve it.”

“You think I deserve a whole lot more,” Gally muttered.

“No. It wasn't your fault.” Releasing the switch, Thomas said softly, “You were right, Newt.”

“We could have saved an awful lot of heartache if you'd just accepted that from the start.” Dropping the switch, Newt gently patted Gally's back. “Are you ready to accept that you're forgiven, or do you think you need some with the switch?”

Gally drew in a deep breath and let his forehead drop gently against the tree trunk. “I don't know if any amount of switching is going to help, but maybe...if neither of you blame me....” His voice trailed off uncertainly.

Thomas took a step closer and spoke in a soft voice. “I don't. Not anymore.”

“Is that good enough?” Newt moved his hand to Gally's shoulder and squeezed gently. “Is it enough? At least for now? Because if you need more to feel better later, we can do this then.”

“At least for now,” Gally agreed, pushing away from the trunk and pulling his pants back into place.

Newt stepped back and next to Thomas, wrapping his arm around his brother's waist. “Then do you want to head back to the camp without us? We'll just be a few minutes.”

“Yeah.” Gally nodded, looking between them. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, before he finally said, “Thank you,” and slipped out of the clearing.

As soon as he was sure Gally was out of earshot, Newt turned to Thomas. He leaned forward and pinned the other boy against the tree, kissing him hard and deeply.

As Thomas responded, Newt finally felt like he could relax. Finally felt like everything was right here in Safe Haven.

The End