Author's Note: This chapter is so long but I just couldn't figure out where to end it that didn't feel like we got cheated so I just gave it all to you guys. You're welcome! :)

Ada spent the next couple of days playing it safe.

She didn't attempt another mealtime test, she didn't call Newt out on his still somewhat distant behavior, she didn't even question it when Alby showed up in the garden and insisted on talking to Newt in private.

Well, she had questioned that a bit but purely on logistical grounds.

Ok, logistics and frustration with the particulars if she was being honest.

Alby had led Newt toward the small shed where the Track-Hoes stored their tools with Ada trailing behind.

She suspected the shed had been one of the first things built in the glade if the way it slanted slightly to the left was anything to go on. She didn't think there was any chance it was Gally's handiwork given his exacting standards so she figured it predated his time with the Builders.

Maybe it predated the Builders altogether.

It wasn't very big either.

Ada had been inside it only once when she and Newt had gone looking for a new spade after she had somehow managed to snap the handle off of hers. There had barely been enough space in there for her and Newt to enter at the same time she couldn't imagine two of the boys trying to cram themselves in there especially if one of the two was Alby.

She couldn't say she was super enthusiastic once she realized his plan was actually for her to cram herself in there so that he and Newt could talk outside.

"I'm sorry, what?" She sputtered in disbelief, glancing back and forth between Alby and Newt waiting for one of them to come to their senses and come up with a different plan.

Alby just folded his arms and stared her down while Newt sighed and looked up at the sky as though he was being tested by someone from above.

Well, they all were, probably, since at least metaphorically the damned Creators were certainly toying with them from somewhere up there.

She doubted that's who Newt was sending silent messages to though.

It was more likely to be some mythical religious figure neither of them actually believed in.

Or maybe he was completely sick of both her and Alby and just wanted to look anywhere but at either of them.

Well, that was fine.

Her own patience was wearing increasingly thin these days with all these shucking boys and the hot and cold way they treated her.

"That was actually an order," Alby said.

Ada folded her own arms, and shifted her stance, mirroring the leader's body language.

"Is there some kind of procedure for lodging a formal complaint? Because some of your orders are starting to feel more like petty personal attacks."

"Ada!"

"Greenie!"

Both boys exclaimed at the same time and Ada just shrugged.

It hadn't really been a rhetorical question.

She understood them not fully trusting her after the bag incident but that had been over a month ago and she had shown no sign of betraying them in the slightest.

Alby was supposed to be her leader too and if she couldn't count on him to look out for her best interests how exactly was she supposed to make a life here?

Not that she wanted to stick around long enough for that but still.

It wasn't looking like she had much of a choice so far.

"Ok, come on, it's just for a minute," Newt finally said with another sigh, grabbing her upper arm with one hand as he opened the door to the shed with the other and gently pushed her inside. "We'll be quick I promise."

He released her and the door at the same time and it swung shut leaving Ada standing in the small space surrounded by rakes and buckets. It was mostly dark inside with only a little sunlight filtering in through the cracks and Ada fumed for a moment while she processed what Newt had done.

She liked to think she was someone with pretty good emotional regulation, tending to temper her more extreme feelings with the logical reasons why such a reaction wasn't productive but she was only human.

A human teenage girl at that.

She had been pushed to her limit after being trapped in the Glade, infected with something that caused her near constant pain, distrusted by half of the boys that occupied the place and now kept at an arm's length by the only person she had fully let herself rely on.

Ada kicked the door between her and the two leaders just because she could.

"We'd better talk fast before she starts destroying things in there," Newt said.

"Just so you know, I can in fact still hear you from in here!" Ada called out, rolling her eyes at the fact that Alby's plan was not only rude but also apparently ineffectual.

The door wrenched partially open again and Ada jumped at the unexpected action even as Newt's face appeared in the opening.

"I can still hear you," She repeated quietly, feeling pinned under the intensity of his gaze as he silently begged for her cooperation.

"Sing a song," He instructed.

"What?" She asked, her forehead furrowing in confusion.

"Sing something. Out loud. That way you won't hear us," Newt said way too confidently for such a ridiculous suggestion.

"That's…I mean…" Ada responded in starts and stops. "I don't remember any songs."

"Don't have all day, Newt," Alby's voice carried over from somewhere behind Newt.

"Make one up," Newt ignored his friend in favor of continuing to plead with Ada, his wide eyes locked on hers even in the low light of the shed. "Please."

Then Newt was backing out and letting the door fall shut again leaving Ada to decide if she would comply with his order more willingly than she had Alby's.

Part of her didn't want to just to prove a point.

Unfortunately part of her was smart enough to know the quickest way for her to escape her current predicament was to do as Newt said.

Even more unfortunately, part of her just wanted to do it.

Because Newt asked her to.

And because Newt was her person here even if he no longer seemed to want to be.

Ada took a deep breath and started out singing quietly before gaining confidence and building up the volume of her voice.

"The box comes up in the Glade, in the Glade…the boys are a bunch of shanks in the Glade, in the Glade…I'm probably going to die in the Glade, in the Glade…what else can I say. The runners run around in the maze, in the maze…nobody will tell me what's in the maze, in the maze…maybe I'll die in the maze, in the maze…what else ca…"

The door was yanked open again leaving Ada to trail off mid-word.

Newt once again appeared in the gap and as he pulled the door open completely Ada caught a glimpse of Alby retreating towards the Mess Hall.

"Nice song," Newt said with the slightest hint of a smile. "A little heavy on the death but…"

And somehow, after everything that had happened since she arrived in the Glade, the stress and the confusion and the hurt and the joy and the fun and the wanting something she couldn't even name…it was Newt's kind face in the half light and the way it contrasted with his expression lately that pushed Ada over the edge.

"Get in here," Ada demanded, reaching out to grasp Newt by the shoulders and yank him into the tiny shed with her.

"Whoa, Greenie, what the hell?" Newt protested as he stumbled against her, the door swinging shut behind him only for Ada to push him against it with a satisfying thump.

She couldn't see his expression properly now that most of the light from the Glade had been extinguished but one of her hands had migrated from his shoulder to his chest and she could feel his heart pounding beneath her palm before she pulled back to put an inch or two between them.

Well, she wasn't that surprised that he was having an anxiety response after what she had just pulled.

Served him right though.

"We need to talk," She said firmly.

"Does it have to be in the shed?" Newt asked, a slight tremble in his voice though he quickly brought it under control.

"You started it," She countered, pushing forward before she had time to second guess her strategy. "What did Alby want?"

She couldn't see his face clearly but she could picture the way it was scrunching together in disappointed consideration while he tried to decide how much to tell her, the exact way the corners of his lips must have tugged down while the line between his eyebrows deepened and took shape.

"Newt."

She spoke his name like a warning.

He sighed and hesitated half a second more before answering reluctantly.

"He wanted to know about dinner the other day," He explained, continuing on as though she possibly could have needed help narrowing down what he meant. "When you ate with Minho and then we left…um…noticeably."

Of course he did.

"And what did you tell him?"

Newt shifted slightly, probably in discomfort, the small space not giving him much room to breathe let alone escape. Ada felt their shoulders brush up against each other and their knees knock gently as he moved. She forced her hands to remain at her sides even as the urge to reach out and lock him into place, force him to face this, face her, flooded her senses.

"I told him you've been trying to build up to separating from me and it didn't go as well as we hoped," Newt answered.

Ada narrowed her eyes.

"That's it?"

"Honestly? I told him the whole idea was bugging stupid and you were doing my head in tagging along while you torture yourself," Newt snapped, his patience apparently wearing thin.

Good.

Hers too.

She could work with that.

"How long is this going to go on?" She demanded, edging forward even more until they were crowded together with barely a breath between them.

Newt for his part seemed too worked up at this point to register their increased proximity.

"Ada, we've been through this. Alby is the leader and he has a lot on his shoulders. It would make my life a lot easier if he trusted you too but I can't just ignore him when he asks me questions I would probably be asking too if we weren't bloody joined at the hip and…"

"I don't care about what Alby thinks!" Ada interrupted, giving in to her instincts and bringing her hands up to rest on his shoulders pinning him in place.

Newt was stunned into temporary silence so she blazed onward.

"I mean…I do…kind of…but that's not what I'm upset about really."

"Then what are you upset about…really?" Newt asked, curiosity and caution equally apparent in his tone.

Ada tightened her grip on his shoulders unsure if she was trying to ensure she had his attention or to ground herself.

"You said you didn't think I was your enemy," She pointed out.

"I don't," Newt confirmed quickly.

Their voices were rising and she knew if anyone was nearby they would hear them but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Then why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what?"

"Like we're not…not…us!"

The silence after their half shouting was deafening, their synchronized heaving breaths the only soundtrack to the waiting for him to respond to that last bit.

She hadn't exactly meant to say it like that but she couldn't regret it now.

She wasn't sure she could have said it any better even with a month to prepare.

What she and Newt had…what they had before that morning he started pushing her away…wasn't easily quantifiable or categorized or recreated through a series of variables and tests but that didn't mean it wasn't real.

And she wasn't letting it go without a fight.

Not when it was all she had.

Not when it might have been all she ever had for all she knew.

"That's not…" Newt trailed off like he might deny it before thinking better of it and starting again. "It's not because I don't trust you."

Ada sighed.

"It's because of the party," She said, frustration adding grit to each of her words. "Because I said I like you."

She felt him stiffen in her hold and that was confirmation enough of her worst fears.

It wasn't enough to stop her though.

Not now that she had finally given herself permission to start.

"I'm sorry if that wasn't something you wanted to hear. I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable or upset or embarrassed but you could have just asked me what I meant. I mean…I'm not even sure what exactly I meant but we could have…we could have talked about it. We could have talked about anything instead of you just freezing me out and treating me like everyone else does."

She took a shuddering breath suddenly unsure if the power behind her words came from rage or despair.

Either way her voice sounded foreign to her as it clawed its way out around the lump in her throat.

"Ada…"

He trailed off again, his voice as tight and hard to decipher as hers.

Why was he using her name now of all bugging times?

As much as she had complained about him calling her Greenie, suddenly it was all she wanted.

She used the hands that were still resting on his shoulders to shove him weakly, no real power behind the action though he allowed himself to be pushed into the door again anyway.

"You didn't have to treat me like I'm dangerous," She finished weakly, most of the fight finally draining out of her.

There was another long moment of near silence while their agitated breaths mingled in the small space, so close Ada could feel it when Newt exhaled somewhere near her forehead. She curled her fingers around the scrap of his shirt that she could reach and tried to reel her mind back to a place of order and logic, a place where she could make sense of things and form a plan that didn't involve her making a fool of herself in a shed.

Apparently Newt had other ideas.

Before she could fully register what was happening he had gripped her arms and spun them forcefully around until it was her back that rested against the door with him leaning over her. His hands came to rest on the door on either side of her and his head lowered down into the convenient hazy half light that traveled through a gap in the wall. He was still breathing heavily, blonde hair flopping over one eye in a way that made her itch to reach up and brush it back.

An eye that was half of a pair that were both currently directed downward toward the general direction of her lips.

Oh.

"You are dangerous," Newt half said, half growled, what she could see of his face shifting into an expression that was somewhere between angry and hopeful.

Like he was the one being tortured for a change.

"I can't think when you're around," He admitted on an exhale, his body somehow sinking even closer to hers. "I can't think and I have to keep my bloody wits about me if I want to keep things going around here and keep everyone safe. Keep you safe."

Ada tried to force herself to offer up some kind of intelligent rebuttal, explain all of those very thoroughly thought out points she had been preparing mentally for the last few weeks about how the best thing the Glade had going for it was teamwork and if they would just let her she knew she could contribute to that.

How she truly believed that she and Newt working together, trusting each other, was the best chance they had at getting out of this shucking place.

Instead she simply curled her hand more tightly around Newt's shirt and edged her chin up slightly bumping gently against his in the process.

"I didn't want to hurt you, Greenie," He said softly. "I just thought we should keep a little distance."

Ada let out a breathy laugh at that.

She knew what he meant but it was a little ridiculous given they were literally tethered together by whatever klunk the Creators had done to her.

Not to mention…

"Then we probably should get out of the shed."

A relieved chuckle burst out of Newt at that, his head tilting even more into her space as one of his hands came up to brush gently against her cheek.

"What am I going to do with you, Greenie?" He murmured, the phrase somehow sending an entirely different feeling rushing through Ada than it had when he used it before.

She found herself acting on pure instinct, inching up onto her toes until her lips were barely a centimeter from Newt's, pausing there in heart pounding anticipation.

Her eyes drifted closed despite the relative darkness of the shed only to snap open less than a second later when the moment was broken by a noise on the roof above them.

It started as a light pattering she couldn't place but built almost immediately to a constant rhythmic hammering that had her gripping at Newt for entirely different reasons than she had been a moment ago.

"What's that?" She asked, half convinced they were under attack despite the lack of reaction from the boy in front of her.

Newt cleared his throat before answering, still entirely too calm for her liking.

"It's nothing," He assured her, his voice still suspiciously scratchy for someone who had been talking only moments ago. "It's just raining."

Rain.

Ada didn't remember her life before the Glade, none of the important details or people or basic facts about herself.

It was safe to say she didn't remember the weather.

But the swelling wonder that filled her in that moment?

If that wild and euphoric feeling was any indication she was pretty sure wherever she was from there hadn't been rain.

"Ada?"

Newt interrupted her thoughts but his questioning tone and everything they had just left unfinished wasn't enough to distract her from the first real joy she could remember feeling.

"It rains here?" She demanded with awe in her voice.

The light coming through the wall had faded somewhat, further confirming the change in conditions, but she could still make out that signature frown of his settling over his face.

"Of course it rains sometimes, what…"

"Come on!" She exclaimed, not waiting for him to finish his sentence or to see if he would comply with her command before turning and shoving her way out of the shed and into the Glade.

Into the rain.

"It rains here?" Ada asked with far more weight to that sentence than he thought it deserved.

Newt struggled to force his brain to catch up to the current situation, his equilibrium well and truly jacked as he considered that he and Ada had somehow ended up in the Track-Hoe shed shouting at each other.

Shouting that had somehow devolved into occupying each other's personal space in a way that was extreme even for them.

Sharing space that had somehow devolved into him coming bloody seconds away from kissing her.

He would have too, certifiably terrible cartwheel inducing idea and all, if she hadn't started shouting again only this time about the bugging rain.

"Come on!"

Before he could process any further she was turning and bursting out of the shed like a griever on the hunt and then he didn't have time to consider anything but the need to follow her if he didn't want to cause her pain.

And if the thought of doing that had been uncomfortable before now it bordered on unbearable.

So Newt went.

Didn't mean he was bloody happy about it.

"Greenie, wait up, wait…wait!" He huffed out, his breath hard to catch as they bolted across the Glade.

It had been too long since his running days.

Or he had been breathing too hard for other reasons a minute ago.

Could be that too.

He caught up to Ada just before she careened to a halt in the middle of the Glade, the pounding rain already soaking her through, her wavy blonde locks sticking to her flushed cheeks as she whipped around to face him.

She grinned up at him and threw her arms out with a contagious enthusiasm that just about made up for the fact that he could feel water seeping into his only pair of shoes.

"Newt."

She said his name like an invitation.

Like an opportunity to feel something new for a change.

"Can you feel it?"

He wondered for a brief moment if she had somehow developed the ability to read his mind but no, as he watched her tip her head back he realized she was still talking about the rain.

He felt it.

The cool bordering on cold drops of moisture pounding down on them aggressively, causing his clothes to cling uncomfortably and his hair to drip into his eyes. It wasn't exactly pleasant.

But as he watched Ada giggle and twirl, arms outstretched, he was pretty sure he did feel that feeling she was talking about.

He just couldn't blame it on the rain.

Shuck it.

He surged forward before he could think better of it and wrapped his arms around Ada's waist, lifting her into the air and spinning them both in uncoordinated circles as a surprised laugh escaped her in a joyful burst.

Ada grinned down at him and he realized he was grinning just as hard, his mouth stretching in an unfamiliar direction.

"What are you shanks doing?"

It was Gally, shouting at them from across the Glade, leaning out the door of the Mess Hall where apparently the rest of the Gladers had taken shelter from the sudden shelter from the sudden downpour.

Newt watched as other heads poked out of the door behind Gally, jockeying for position as they tried to catch a glimpse of the two idiots who didn't know enough to get out of the rain.

His hands flexed nervously around Ada's waist, still holding her up and against him, but she only laughed.

"Come on, Gally! Everybody! It feels amazing out here."

Newt let her slide carefully to the ground as she waved enthusiastically, urging the builder and everyone else to join them.

There was a long moment of hesitation with the continued pounding of the rain the only thing breaking the silence then one of the younger gladers named Billy stuck the cup he was holding out into the rain.

Newt narrowed his eyes in confusion until Billy's purpose became suddenly clear when he whipped the now full cup upward, splashing its contents all over Gally's face.

The keeper sputtered and Newt thought for a moment he would lash out in anger.

Instead his face curled into a playful smirk Newt could make out even from a distance.

"Oh you're going to regret that, kid," Gally called out and then Billy was sprinting across the Glade with Gally in hot pursuit.

There was another half second quiet before a chorus of whoops and cheers went up and then boys were pouring out of the Mess Hall in mass, playfully shoving each other as they sprinted through the rain, slipping and sliding as they went.

Something warm settled in Newt's chest as he watched the other boys having innocent fun for a change.

Clint and Jeff were shouting for the others to be careful and not create more work for them but they were smiling too.

Zart was scooping up a handful of dirt that was quickly becoming mud and aiming for Winston's back.

Gally had caught up to Billy and had hauled the smaller boy up and onto his shoulder and was spinning him around at a frankly terrifying speed but the kid seemed to be enjoying it.

All around them gladers were laughing and well…playing.

"This is why we have to get them out of here," Ada said softly, drawing his attention back to her. "They're kids. They should have…this."

She gestured at the chaos surrounding him and he was tempted to make a sarcastic joke about how too many days of this was probably frowned upon anywhere.

He couldn't bring himself to do it though.

He knew exactly what she meant.

There was just one thing she was forgetting though.

"You should have it too," He reminded her earnestly as her head tilted up until their eyes locked in a way that left him feeling short of breath.

Again.

"Well, this is new."

They both nearly jumped out of their skin, heads turning in unison to take in Minho who was standing in front of them, arms folded and wearing a knowing smirk.

"Or…maybe not," Minho continued with a wink. "Who knows what you shanks have been getting up to in Newt's room huh?"

Newt felt a rush of blood color his cheeks which he knew was not helping his case. He opened his mouth to snap back at his friend only for Ada to beat him to it.

"You could just say if you're jealous," She said through another laugh. "Otherwise you can slim it."

Minho seemed to love that, his smirk transforming into a full fledged grin.

"Well played, Newbie."

Newt thought they were through the worst of it when another voice called out.

"We never should have taught you Glade slang."

Gally appeared next to Minho, apparently having decided to insert himself in the conversation now that he was done with nearly making BIlly lose his lunch.

Ada didn't seem to mind, her smile still firmly in place.

"But I'm so good at it."

"Are you now?" Gally asked skeptically.

"Um hm," Ada confirmed playfully. "For instance if I were so inclined I could inform you that you can be a jacked up klunk loving slinthead when you want to be."

All three boys stared at her in shock for a long moment before Gally shook his head, that dangerous grin of his sliding back onto his face.

"Ok, that's enough. Time to each you a lesson."

Then he was stepping forward and pitching her over his shoulder with no more difficulty than it had taken to do the same to Billy a minute ago. He took a couple of steps away, clearly being careful not to get too far away from Newt, and then began spinning them while Ada giggled and tried to use her wet hair as a deterrent, letting it wrap around Gally's face as he sputtered and fought back.

Newt shook his head as he watched them, a fondness that threatened to overwhelm him surging inside his chest.

Minho moved to stand directly to his right and Newt tried to pretend he didn't feel his friend's eyes burning a hole in the side of his head.

"So what's the real story with the former Greenie?" He asked, his voice carefully neutral.

Newt kept his eyes on Ada and her playful struggle.

"Are you asking about why she's here, why we're stuck together, or why we were in the shed together for ten minutes?"

Minho shrugged.

"All three?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Newt admitted with a sigh, finally glancing over to meet his friend's gaze. "But I'm glad she's here."

Minho nodded, and Newt was glad that at least for now it seemed like no further words were needed, their bond deep enough that beneath the jokes and the sarcasm there was a real understanding there.

Running the maze with someone had a way of doing that for you.

That same person finding you crumpled and broken on the floor of that maze even more so.

"I'm glad she's here too," Minho agreed, his hand coming to rest on Newt's shoulder as they watched the other Glader's enjoying the rain.

By the time the rain had stopped and they had all raided the stash of clean towels much to the chagrin of the boys who would now have to wash them for the second time that week, it was dinner time. Frypan complained a bit about how even after drying off everyone's hair was dripping all over his food but it was clear he was mostly joking. Even Alby, who had been conspicuously absent for most of the afternoon, seemed to be enjoying the pervasive good mood among the Gladers. He had clapped Newt on the back and offered a genuine smile as he and Ada passed the leader on the way into the Mess Hall.

It was all just about as perfect as a day in the Glade could be.

Huge, terrifying, perfect almost happenings in the shed aside.

Still.

If Newt thought that the biggest thing he had to worry about was finishing that conversation with Ada when they retreated to their room that night he was very much mistaken.

As soon as they pushed open the door to their room the faint glow from the lanterns in the main room of the Homestead revealed a further complication.

A leak had apparently sprung in the ceiling while they had been frolicking mindlessly outside and it just so happened to be right over the spot where his makeshift mattress was. Newt crossed the room to kneel mournfully by the drenched fabric, poking regretfully at the sodden excuse for a bed.

"That's…not good," Ada observed from over his shoulder.

Newt sighed and hauled himself to his feet.

"I'll get the Builders to patch up the ceiling tomorrow," He said, already resigning himself to a less than comfortable night. "Clint and Jeff can help me sort another mattress too or I can just get another hammock strung up. My leg will let me manage one these days."

"What about tonight?" She asked skeptically.

Newt shrugged.

"I've slept on the floor before, Greenie. You've seen it."

Ada frowned.

"I know but that was…"

She trailed off but he had a distinct feeling she had been about to say that was before.

He just wished he knew what exactly she meant by that.

Before they knew each other well enough for Ada to make her opinion about his sleeping arrangements known?

Or…before they had the kind of relationship where they almost kissed in the Track-Hoe shed and then avoided the topic in favor of preserving the peace they had just found playing in a downpour?

Ok, that second one was a bit specific and unlikely, but it illustrated where his head was at the moment.

"Let's just get changed and get some sleep," Newt said firmly, temporing his words with a soft smile. "I'm worn out. Thanks to someone."

She still looked like she had more to say but she did as he said, both of them retreating to their separate corners to change into sleeping clothes before they joined back up semi-awkwardly in the middle of the room.

It definitely didn't escape his notice that despite having received an extra set of clothes from the Creators Ada still chose to sleep in that oversized shirt of his that he had offered her when she first arrived.

Best not to focus on that if he could help it.

Which he couldn't.

But.

"Let's turn in," He managed to get out, preparing to pick a dry patch of dirt to curl up on when Ada's hand grasped his arm.

"Just share with me," She said as though it were the obvious solution and he was sure to her it was.

She was good like that, always able to see the practical, logical answer to any question that popped up.

But all he could think about was what it had felt like to be pressed up against her in the confines of the shed a scant few hours ago and how much that feeling would be amplified if they were both sleeping in one hammock.

No.

No way.

Absolutely not.

"Please," Ada interrupted his thought spiral, her voice soft and pleading. "I won't be able to rest knowing you're probably in pain and I could really use a good night's sleep."

Bloody hell.

Leave it to her to find the one argument he had no response to.

"Greenie…" He said hesitantly, his resolve already fading away as she stared up at him with a mixture of determination and affection.

"It's just one night," She insisted. "It's no big deal."

Well, he was pretty sure they both knew that was a lie.

But he was one of the only ones in the Glade who knew that the maze was already completely mapped and the Runners mostly ran to keep up appearances.

Of course he understood that sometimes a lie was kinder than the truth.

"Ok," He agreed. "Just for one night."

Ada nodded, clearly satisfied with the outcome of the discussion then turned her attention to the hammock, biting her lower lip as she considered their next move.

"You'd better get in first," She decided, pushing him forward gently. "Once you're balanced I'll climb in."

Newt nodded, stepping forward and turning to sit in the hammock. He raised his good leg in first then used his hands to help in the other one, grateful that Ada let him work out himself rather than rushing into help. Once he was entirely in the hammock, he lay back, happy to see that he had in fact healed enough to make the use of one easy enough on one of his good days.

Ada approached the side of the hammock before he had time to think things through any further, the girl gripping the side of the fabric and climbing in with only half a second's hesitation.

For a moment he thought they would both end up on the ground, the entire set up tipping precariously to the side prompting a small shriek from Ada even as Newt reached over to tug her into his side and stop her slide toward a fall.

The hammock evened out but Ada made no move to retreat from her new position, her head and one hand resting on Newt's chest with one of his arms wrapped around her back, their legs tangled messily together.

Newt hoped she couldn't feel how furiously his heart was pounding but he knew that was probably asking for too much.

"You ok?" He asked, unsure why he suddenly felt the need to whisper.

"Mmmm," She hummed in response, her body relaxing further against his. "You?"

Newt shifted slightly, tucking his head more comfortably over the top of hers, her hair tickling his face but not in an unpleasant way.

"I'm good, Greenie."

They were both quiet for a few minutes after that, the gentle swaying of the hammock and the warmth of the girl in his arms very nearly lulling Newt into an uncharacteristically quick sleep when her voice broke the silence.

"I missed you."

Newt felt that familiar painful squeezing in his chest that he already associated with her but this was so much more intense it stole the air from his lungs for a long moment.

It was a ridiculous thing to say really.

They hadn't been more than 6 feet apart (well, except that one time with the gathering but he didn't like to think about that) since they met.

But it wasn't ridiculous.

Because he knew exactly what she meant.

"I missed you too, Greenie."

And then he really was dropping off to sleep, Ada's hand somehow finding its way into his for the rest of the night.