Chapter 9 - A Bumpy Ride

When Minho came back out of Deaton's unofficial inquisition chamber the wolf felt a lot better than someone who'd just been told he was basically eternally bound to a boy who would never remember making such a commitment should. There was a time where Thomas and he were in love and happy together and there was absolutely no reason that couldn't happen again, especially now that Minho remembered it so the teen really saw no reason to be distraught.

Well, there was that and the fact that the boy walked out to a scene he would've thought impossible just a few short weeks ago.

Thomas was practically beaming and totally absorbed in a conversation with the blond Isaac kid about the emotional benefits of eating chocolate ice cream on a daily basis. Scott and Stiles were also in on the conversation, though they were making a strong argument that vanilla was the true answer and even the flame haired girl had put down her phone to throw in the opinion that frozen yogurt was the true king of the cold treat world.

"I can't argue that, I've never had frozen yogurt." Thomas replied breathlessly, as though he'd been laughing, and his declaration earned a huge, collective gasp of untold horror from the room.

"Hey, pup, Deaton teach you how to keep it in your pants?" Derek scoffed suddenly, causing Minho to jump slightly as the guy's voice sounded from directly beside him.

"I don't know, did your mom teach you not to sneak up on people like a fucking creeper?" Minho snorted bitterly, squaring his shoulders and trying to act as if he hadn't just startled like a newborn bunny come face to face with a viper.

"My mom is dead." Derek stated flatley, obviously going for shock value since Minho seriously doubted the guy was trying to have deep, heartfelt discussion with him but the  boy merely grunted in response.

"Mine too." The teen countered dryly, keeping his gaze locked forward, refusing to let this asshole see any emotion that may be visible in his eyes.

"Theirs too." Derek replied blankly, taking Minho off guard as he expected literally anything else to leave this guy's mouth.

"How?" Minho questioned softly, a pang of hurt coursing through him as it was obvious Derek was talking about the twins, the wolf had no reason to be talking about anyone else.

"Flare." Derek answered simply, voice carefully void of emotion though Minho did catch the slight sour edge of sadness that emanated from the guy.

Minho opened his mouth to reply but Thomas, who had somehow won the wheeled chair away from Isaac, suddenly noticed his presence and rolled over to him, kicking out a leg and propping himself up on the headrest so the chair rolled backward while Thomas faced him.

"Min, I wanna buy fifty wheelychairs." Thomas informed the boy excitedly, the chair in question rolling onwards until it bumped against the wolf's leg and was brought to a halt by the dude's thighs of steel.

"Can't we settle for like, forty two wheelychairs?"Minho joked with a roll of his dark eyes but Thomas merely shook his head adamantly and scooted to the side of the cushion, patting the area he'd emptied until Minho sat down beside him.

"Did y'all hear that there's a fair in town tonight?" Stiles quipped interestedly, coming to lean against Derek, who in turn instantly wound his arms around the younger boy and tugged the kid closer, looking a little less like he wanted to kill everyone in the room at the contact.

"A fair?" Thomas whispered softly so only Minho could hear, leaning in and breathing the words directly into the wolf's ear, sounding confused and curious, which seemed to pretty much be the default Thomas emotions at this point.

Minho simply shrugged in response, having no clue what the other kids were talking about nor really caring at the moment. Minho could possess the world's largest information base on fairs and would still probably fail to know what they even were at the moment as Thomas's knee bumped against his and pushed down a dynamite lever in the boy's mind. He was so fucking weak when it came to this boy.

"Yeah! You guys wanna go?" Scott questioned eagerly, casting his excited gaze around the room, letting it rest on each, individual person until they nodded their agreement before he finally let his orbs fall on the Gladers in their shared seat.

Thomas looked excited, honey eyes wide and sparkling with interest so Minho really didn't even bother to hesitate before replying "Yeah, for sure!"

"Nice, we can head out now since meet and greet is out of the way." Stiles suggested eagerly, threading his fingers with Derek's as if nonverbally declaring the brooding wolf would be going with them and excitedly began tugging the alpha persistently toward the front door before the guy could protest.

Thomas pressed a hand against Minho's muscled thigh to push himself up from the chair and Minho of course felt his entire body flush at the touch because pride was basically trampled whenever it came to the adorable brunette who somehow had absolutely no clue what he did to the lovestruck wolf.

"I hope they know we've got no fucking clue what a fair is." Thomas hissed in Minho's ear, standing on his tiptoes to whisper to the wolf after the boy rose to a standing position and began to follow Stiles and his tag along storm cloud out of the clinic.

"Probably a place to perform the ritualistic sacrifice needed to initiate us into their inner circle." Minho scoffed amusedly, bumping his shoulder lightly against the other boy's in an attempt to reassure him. Hopefully, the small gesture communicated what the wolf meant it to: I'll be there.

Minho would always be there. Whether it be a monstrosity beyond the shit of nightmares or the horror of awkward small talk - Minho would always have his friend's back and would ensure the brunette faced nothing alone. Ever.

They ended up back in Stiles's Jeep, though now the layout consisted of Minho, Thomas, and Isaac all squished together in the back and Scott ready to fight tooth and nail with anyone who dare try to steal the passenger seat from him (Minho had seen Isaac try - It didn't end well.)

"What's your favorite ride?" Isaac asked excitedly, supposedly questioning the whole Jeep and oblivious to the fact that forty percent of the occupants would have no idea how to answer that question.

"Roller coasters are definitely the best!" Stiles declared surely. "I heard the one they've got here has a jump and everything!" The brunette added enthusiastically but Isaac visibly shuddered.

"No thanks, I think I'll stick with the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Scrambler." Isaac replied resolutely with a pitying shake of his head. "I'm not really in the mood for high thrills. I've got enough of that in my day to day life already." The blond groaned unhappily, looking as queasy as if he'd just gotten off the stomach twisting rides he'd spoken of.

"Where do you stand Scotty?" Stiles quipped excitedly. "Im totally right, right? High dives over kiddy rides any day, man." The brunette pressed eagerly as the vehicle finally made its way out of the residential section of the town and was able to speed up slightly on the more open roads.

"I actually prefer the games." Scott informed with a casual shrug, earning appalled gasps from both Stiles and Isaac alike.

"Those things just take your money!" Stiles scolded disapprovingly, shaking a finger at his companion.

"You never actually win anything!" Isaac added pointedly, sounding bitter and clearly expressing this was something that he himself had struggled with in the past.

"Not if you're good at them!" Scott countered defensively, crossing his arms and smirking slightly as Stiles huffed and rolled his eyes.

"That's cheating." Their driver deadpanned dryly but did an absolutely horrible job of hiding the obvious note of envy in his voice.

"Get Derek to win you something, he could do it." Isaac suggested helpfully, leaning up over the consul and almost across Thomas, who occupied the middle seat, in the process.

"Just because he could doesn't mean he would." Stiles huffed dejectedly, obviously wanting that but somehow under the impression it wasn't going to happen.

Minho didn't bother to listen as he instead flashed his eyes threateningly at the blond boy before he could stop himself, barely able to bite back a growl as the kid got far too close to his mate for the wolf's liking. The boy stretched an arm out over Thomas's chest to press him back slightly into the seat in an attempt to move the smaller boy away from the blond dude and put himself between his friend and the intrusive person as much as he could.

"He totally would." Scott replied easily, stating it as a simple fact that one just couldn't argue with but Minho still wasn't paying attention, remaining single mindedly focused on guarding his precious mate and glowering at the guy who had dared get too close.

Isaac, however, merely blinked at Minho, seeming to process the display with a hint of amusement glinting in his blue eyes before he slumped back into his own seat with a shrug, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips.

Thomas seemed to miss all of this, however, as the brunette suddenly gripped Minho's arm and shook the wolf slightly, pointing wordlessly out the side window and letting his pink lips fall agape.

Minho's first thought was that something dangerous had appeared and he immediately shifted himself between his companion and the window lest something come bursting through to try and rip the brunette away from him but, upon closer consideration Thomas didn't appear scared.The boy's honey eyes were wide but were void of concern and rather were brimming with entranced wonder and awe as his scent exploded with the enticing aroma of excitement.

God, Minho would love to make Thomas smell that way for other reasons, he could show the boy some real excitement - Oh Jesus fuck, please calm down. Isaac and Scott were definitely gonna be able to smell his arousal from a mile off if he didn't get this shit under control... Under control. Thomas under his control. Pinned, letting him control, letting him bite and - STOP. Stop it right now.

Scott was snickering. Isaac was doing a better job at hiding his giggles but they were still there. Fuck Minho's entire life.

To distract himself from his humiliation and growing, totally-not-Thomas-induced erection Minho turned to see what had caught his friend's attention and immediately felt the same amazement he loved scenting from Thomas swamp himself as he caught sight of what must be the fair.

Flashing lights. Like, a fuck ton of flashing lights was primarily what Minho was getting from the place. All twirling on huge pieces of machinery and blinking sporadic rhythms that spiked the werewolf's adrenaline and stirred the almost foreign feeling of excitement in his guts just looking at them.

Stiles pulled the Jeep into an already overcrowded parking lot with naught but a few empty spaces left to fill and merely a few seconds later the familiar Camaro parked beside it, the engine of the thing roaring obnoxiously in a way that made Minho want to recoil but sparked a sharp note of arousal from Stiles's scent. Gross.

Thomas was apparently extremely over eager to go explore the insane new venue for he scrambled into Minho's lap in an attempt to escape the confines of the vehicle immediately. The brunette struggled with the crappy door of the car, one hand fighting with the plastic handle while the other unfortunately (Okay, maybe it wasn't so unfortunate but Minho would like to think it was, alright?) braced itself between the wolf's legs for leverage.

Hm, said Minho's lungs. Who needs to breathe? Not us!

Minho had just got the stubborn organs into action once more, though his inhales were admittedly shaky and uneven as Thomas was in his fucking lap and his sweet smell, blooming with excitement, flooded the wolf's senses and, oh, need I say it again? Thomas. Was. In. His. Fucking. Lap.

However, all his hard work was laid to ruin as Thomas pushed hard against the door, throwing his entire weight (all of his whole maybe one hundred pounds - Minho really needed to force more food down his throat and maybe other things too - No.) against the metal frame. Of course, the brunette slipped, because why would life ever be easy for Minho?

Thomas's fruitless push against the door did nothing as his hands were swept out from under him at the action and the momentum sent him flying into a full body faceplant right into Minho's spread legs. So much for smothering out that arousal, buddy.

Thomas yelped in surprise as he lost control of his body and his face collided with the course material of his friend's jeans, all flailing limbs and uncoordinated attempt to stop the fall that did absolutely nothing expect maybe clip his companion in the jaw.

Minho yelped louder though, that was for fucking sure and unlike Thomas's sound, the wolf's ended in a far too wanton groan but that was probably due to the fact that his friend didn't have the object of his desire's face buried in his crotch. Understandable.

"Fuck. Sorry, dude." Thomas gasped, the air obviously knocked out of his lungs from the fall and not stolen from him for any other reason whatsoever. Probably.

But oh no. Thomas should definitely stop talking - Or keep talking - Because Minho could feel his hot, breathless words through the now uncomfortable material of his pants and thank the gods Thomas couldn't see his face because the wolf knew for a fact that his eyes were lighting up like the Aurora Borealis at the moment.

"Don't worry about it." Minho croaked scratchily, fighting his every instinct that urged him to lightly tug at those brown locks of hair and praise his perfect mate for doing such a good job until - This is not how you keep a tent down, Minho. Control yourself for five minutes please. You can do this - And no, by "this" I do not mean Thomas.

Finally, Thomas braced a hand on each of Minho's thighs and pushed himself upright.

Minho should be relieved, really, but it turned out this wasn't actually much better because now the brunette was practically straddling the wolf and his pretty face was all of two inches away from the boy's, not to mention flushed in such a way that Minho just wanted to throw him over the middle consul and do things Stiles would probably not appreciate being done in his car.

This would all be fine, except that Thomas wasn't moving immediately and Minho's self control was being blown away by a tornado of teenage hormones more and more with each passing moment. Maybe the Runner was still dazed from his fall, maybe he had caught Minho's horrible attempt to hide his revolting dick that had decided to rise up against him in all senses of the word and was too shocked to move; either way, the boy made no indication that he planned on leaving right off the bat.

"Sorry." Thomas mumbled again after a few seconds in which Minho could have probably spontaneously combusted at any given time - Whether that meant creaming his jeans or literally exploding on the spot, the boy wasn't quite sure, nor was he really positive there was any actual difference between the two with Thomas perched in his lap.

Finally, the kid scrambled backwards off the stunned Keeper, who was really too lost in his own silent mantra of "Don't fuck your best friend, don't fuck your best friend..." to react for a minute or so but finally shook himself out of his own head and popped the door open with significantly less difficulty than his companion.

"Dude, do you have like, supernatural strength or something?" Thomas inquired jealously as the door swung open with ease and the brunette proceeded to scramble over Minho once more as if nothing had gone wrong the last time.

"No!" Minho startled defensively, internally punching himself in the nose for reacting so suspiciously but with the open door came an influx of sound that seemed to have captivated his companion's attention.

Music blared, children screamed, announcers screeched into their microphones at the top of their lungs and left Minho to wonder why they'd even bothered with microphones to begin with.

Besides that, there was the smell. Minho was sure even a human would be overwhelmed by the horrible symphony of scents colliding in his nostrils at the moment. Grease popping in a fryer, the sickeningly sweet aroma of sticky sugar, buttery popcorn, all over an underlying tone of vomit that made the wolf want to hurl before getting on a single ride.

"We're a long way from the Glade." Thomas mumbled softly, suddenly seeming intimidated by the display as he finally crawled over Minho and planted his feet on the earth outside.

Minho merely grunted in agreement and pulled his body reluctantly out of the vehicle, feeling displaced as he gazed around and saw the rest of the gathered group looking entirely unbothered by the overwhelming situation at all.

Isaac was already bounding speedily away towards the large, chain link front gate, the fire haired girl Minho still hadn't caught the name of on his heels, though trailing much slower and obviously trying to look uninterested.

Gathered around the car still stood Stiles, who looked just as eager as his already departed companions as a childlike excitement blazed in his hazel orbs and he was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. The kid was pulling at ever stoic Derek's sleeve but the Alpha was leaned over so Scott could whisper something to him, preventing the broody guy from giving in to Stiles's fruitless yet persistent tugs.

"I'm glad you're here, Minho." Thomas whispered so soft that even the wolf with his highly attuned hearing almost missed it but the quiet words still blew his fragile heart to smithereens. Oh yeah, he was fucked. Thomas never got any less endearing. Shit.

"Me too." Minho replied in a whisper and, feeling brave, let his fingers ghost against Thomas's hand, feeling the boy's digits twitch in response. It was a small caress, not quite romantic, but an admittance of reliance on both sides.

They were far from everything they had ever known and the world they once believed in was gone - But they didn't need that to be home. They had each other. Thomas was Minho's home. Minho was Thomas's home. The other's presence was the only stability they'd ever know and they could do this, wherever they were, as long as they were together.

"Hey, Derek, slow down!" Stiles yelped suddenly, jarring Minho from his soft moment as he turned to see the brunette being tugged along by the Alpha. "What are you doing?" The younger boy tried again, jogging to keep up with the guy that held his smaller hand clasped tightly in his own.

"Going to win you some shit." Derek huffed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and the rest of the group ran after the pair, following them into the steel gate and walking after them into the luminescent light show that was the fair.