Alby was cold. And it was Newt's fault.
Laying on the floor of the Homestead, Alby had never been so scared in his life. On top of it, he had to share covers with Newt, who was holding all of the blankets hostage. Still, if it was cold, he could put up with it. Honestly, Alby was fine with the cold, because not only did it mean Newt was happy, it also meant he wasn't alone.
Tonight, of all nights he didn't want to be alone. Not with Grievers outside. What made it better was that Newt was the one next to him. With that, he pulled half of the covers out of Newt's clenched fists. Where his hands were, sweat seeped through the layers. Alby sighed, and layer his head on his arm. He would have to ask Newt about it in the morning.
Newt woke up breathing heavy. Almost like a flinch, his hand jerked to press against Alby's arm, to make sure he was still there. Then and there, he promised himself. "I won't let you die, Alby." As he wiped sweat from his forehead, his leftover terror from his dream quickly changed to exasperation.
Alby had the blanket, wrapped up like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Newt almost laughed. Tiredness hit him like a bullet to the head. Terror. Relief, exasperation. This was too much emotion for one night. So carefully, Newt curled up by Alby's side, and let the sleep take him.
When Alby woke, it was to Minho, grinning inches above his face. "What do you want, shank?"
"I wanted to congratulate you, shuck face."
"Congratulate me on what?"
"Finally getting together with Newt. Took ya long enough. Every single person in the Glade could see-" Alby stopped listening to Minho then, as he suddenly noticed Newt, pressed against Alby's side. Alby wanted to smile, but he wasn't about to give Minho that pleasure.
"Shut up, or I'll personally feed you to a Griever. Go away." The grin didn't fade from Minho's face as he left.
Alby turned to look down at Newt. He looked peaceful enough, but every few seconds his face would twitch, and he would let out a small, quiet, out of breath yelp. Alby flicked a piece of hair from Newt's eye. "It's okay, you stupid shank. I'll protect you."