Little lies - NEWT

{2.15}

AS THEY HAD BEEN awake and utterly exhausted for days upon end, the group decided it would be best to take a rest for the night. Traveling was easier in the light anyway, it made it easier to see attackers - as Jorge so pronounced as they stepped into the building they would sleep in. The group headed upstairs to a rather large room that was once a living room. Sofas and various chairs were scattered around the room, all with their own collective layer of dust. Everyone got to work making the room safe for them to sleep in. Frypan boarded up the windows, making sure a rogue crank could not get in using the terrace on the outside of the building. The rest of them moved the various chairs into a larger pile in the middle of the room, baring Newt and Eden who went into one of the bedrooms to collect two mattresses as there weren't enough chairs for everyone.

Once their makeshift camp had been curated, everyone settled in for the night. Newt and Eden shared a mattress at the side of the group, "Stay awake so we can talk?" Eden whispered as they both settled down on their shared double mattress at the side of the group. "I feel like we haven't had a moment to ourselves in forever."

"I was just thinking that," he whispered back, smiling softly yet his nose still screwed up in the most adorable way. She knew no better sight than that one. Slowly, as the night darkened, everyone started to say goodnight to each other. It began with Frypan, then filtered through every person until the only person not to utter some form of goodnight to the rest of the group was Jorge. He had pretended to be asleep from the beginning.

As time passed, the intensity of the sleeping breaths around the room only grew. Once they were both sure most people were asleep, Newt and Eden rose from their makeshift bed and snuck out of the room. Once the door to the room where the others were sleeping was closed tight, they drifted towards an alcove Eden had taken interest in on the walk in. The alcove had a huge window which looked out onto the edge of the city and the desert next to it. Eden sat crossed legged on the squishy seat of the alcove as Newt sat with his back against the wall, leaning on the window that they both stared out of.

"It looks so much less sinister now, don't you think?" Eden spoke softly, still wary of the sleeping people in the room opposite where they sitting,

He raised a brow, looking to her instead of out the window, "The desert?"

"It looks much less life threatening under the moonlight," she paused briefly, sighing softly. "Beautiful, even."

He hummed in acknowledgement, rather unsure how she could see any beauty in such a totrous place for them all. Instead he remained fixated on her, watching as she gazed out over the horizon and how for once she actually looked somewhat relaxed. There were no tension lines anywhere on her forehead, no signs of worry, just simply peace. It was a rather refreshing sight and he could not help but smile. She soon caught onto his staring and turned suddenly, catching him in the act. Yet his gaze remained fixed. "What?" she chuckled, biting back a grin as her cheeks turned pink

"Nothing," he replied with a discreet smirk that had her rolling her eyes and looking back out of the window. Moments of silence passed, peaceful silence, where they could only hear an infrequent exhale from the other. That was until Newt cleared his throat, having bucked up the courage to ask the one question that had been playing on his mind, "Pepper."

"Uh oh, serious tone," she frowned, looking away from the window so he could have her full attention.

He looked directly to her, this time not in a way of admiration whatsoever. The loving part of his gaze dulled ever so slightly, a serious shadow casting over his pupils. "Why did you practically leap to get in between me and the cranks?"

Eden took a second to process the question, blinking a little too rapidly. She smiled softly, masking away the panic that had bloomed in her chest, "Because I care about you... I don't want you getting hurt."