Newsies oneshots

Redfinch // Birdie

Albert hates his boyfriend, absolutely despise him. Just looking at his face is enough to fill him with rage. "Can you not look at me like that?" Albert frowned. They stood in an allyway together, each leaning on a wall facing eachother. They just had a heated argument and Jack made them go outside to talk it out. Finch sighed and looked down, he just wanted to get it over with, but Albert is stubborn and instead of apologising, he just found other things to argue about.
"What are we even arguing about?" Finch asked.
"Cause you kept embarrassing me in there." Albert clarified.
"All I did was ask for a kiss..." Finch mumbled.
"Yeah, infront of everyone. And you also call me baby infront of people too."
"Just cause I like to show I love you." Finch whispered, sadly.
Albert sighed, "I hate you."
Finch looked up and smiled. It's that smile that Albert h a t e s.
"Don't smile at me, I'm still mad at you." Albert pouted.
Finch just laughed and pulled by his waist into a hug, "Albert?..."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," Finch kissed him softly on his neck, "I'm sorry I embarrassed you. To be honest, I did it on purpose to tease you which wasn't fair."
"I knew it..." Albert whispered.
Finch laughed, and sat down, Albert following and sitting beside him. "But you can also apologise for telling me you hate me." Finch lay his head on Albert's lap.
Albert blushed and sighed and started playing with his hair, "I'm sorry I said I hated you."
"'Birdie...'" Finch smirked, repeating Albert's usual nickname for him. Albert chuckled, "My little birdie..." before leaning down to place a soft kiss on Finch's lips. Which actually caused Finch to blush- for the first time ever Albert managed to make Finch blush! He thought nothing could fluster him but apparently there is. Albert smiled, "Aw..."
"What?" Finch nervously laughed.
"Nothing, I've just never managed to make you blush before."
Finch then got even redder and had to cover his face with his had, "Ok then." He said, trying to act cool. But Albert could tell Finch was hiding something so he lifted up his hat, "Hi." He smiled.
"Hi." Finch responded. They just spend a moment looking at eachother, Albert playing with Finch's hair. They need more sweet moments like this, where Finch isn't hyper and Albert isn't grumpy. And they are alone so Albert doesn't have a reason to not embrace Finch's love an affection.
"You're my everything, you know that right?"

Months later:

"What's your favourite thing about Finch's physical appearance?" Race asked. Albert sighed and thought, "His hair. I like his curls. Especially when I'm reading and he falls asleep on my chest, I like to run my hands through them."
Race grinned "Aw, is someone's in love-"
Albert blushed and quickly caught himself, "NO- I SAID ALL THAT IRONICALLY!"
"No you didn't-" They were outside, 'selling', and Race was so happy he managed to pull that cute quote from Albert, planning to tell Finch all about it later.
"How is Finch feeling, anyway?"
Albert sighed, "He doesn't seem to be getting better, but hes not fainting which is good..."
"Do you know what it might be?"
"No, but he'll get better." Albert hopefully smiled. Race nodded, equally as worried for his friend, not just Albert but Finch too.
"I'm gonna buy him something to eat, he says he has no appetite but as soon as his headache is gone he'll want to eat."
Race nodded, "Good idea."
Finally, they finish up and Albert decides to go to the lodging house to check on Finch before he goes out to buy them dinner. But... when they get there, Davey and Jack are waiting for them with a mournful expression...

Finch is gone...

Albert didn't know what to say. His eyes swelled up with tears, "No... this isn't funny..."
"I'm sorry." Jack said simply.
"No- Please tell me its not true- no!" Albert yelled, his mind fizzing. In that moment, Jack wished it was a sick joke. Gone. He's always made himself a leader but he never knew he'd loose one of his brothers. Or have to break the news to the others that one of them... died. But Albert was beside himself, "What happened?"
"Um... Specs explained that it might have something to do with his heart... remember yesterday it was beating really quickly..." Jack explained, but Davey stopped him from speaking anymore and instructed him to go inside. Davey then made Albert sit down as he struggled to process everything, "I know this is a lot to take in. I'm so sorry this happened..."
But Albert's mind was still blank,
"This is all my fault, I left him alone..."
"Hey, no- its no-one fault... Finch was very unwell and his heart gave out..."
"He needed a doctor," Albert cried, "I should have taken him to see a doctor."
"No-one could have known he was that bad."
"Everyone told me he would get better, I told him he would get better. I lied to him, I lied my boyfriend before he died." Albert covered his face and finally started fully crying. Processing the fact his boyfriend just passed away, "And he was all alone..."
Davey knew he wasn't the best person for Albert to talk to as he wasn't that close with him, "You wanna talk to someone? Race maybe?"
Albert kept crying, "I just want to be alone... please?"
Davey nodded and went inside and left Albert alone. And Albert remembered sitting in the exact allyway with Finch months ago. Having Finch lay on his lap. Remembering what he said to him, "You're my everything..." Finch would say that often. He didn't have a family or anyone other than the other newsies in his life, so Albert had always been his priority. To Finch, Albert was his everything. But while Finch was suffering and died, Albert was joking with Race and that didn't seem fair, if he couldn't have done anything, be could have held him and comforted him in his last minutes.

Hours later, Albert found the courage to go inside. It was getting dark and he needed some rest. He stood up and headed in. He looked down as he walked to his bunk. Everybody was quiet, but he heard some crying, which he assumed were the twins because Finch was always so close to them. Albert felt awful. He felt like it was all his fault. Finally, he got to his bed and lay down, but then looked to the bed on his left... it was Finch's bed. They kept the covers and pillow and someone made his bed and placed Finch's slingshot on the pillow. Albert sat up, remembering how because Finch's bed was beside him, after a fight Albert would still find a way to snuggle up in his bed. Or when it was summer and too hot to cuddle, they'd still hold hands while in separate beds. They were both so clingy it was stupid. Albert took the slingshot and lay down on Finch's bed. The covers still smelled like him. He brought the slingshot to his chest and he started crying again. He wanted his boyfriend back so bad. He would have done anything. "I love you..." He whispered, "I love you, did you have to leave..." He wish he could kiss him again, hug him again, tell him he loved him. And Finch would make him laugh, then annoy him like he always does. And they would get into an argument and Albert will tell Finch he hates him. And Finch would get upset, so Albert apologises, and Finch would say something stupid like, "Aww, baby..." and Albert will tell him to shut up while bushing, as they cuddled into bed and Albert would read with his boyfriend on his chest and occasionally kiss behind Finch's ears, and Finch would cover his face cause it was ticklish and try to push Albert away, but Albert kept going because for a small moment, he was the one making Finch blush and laugh.
"Albert, stop-"
"Not a chance."
But he did stop, at some point, so they can go to sleep. And just hold eachother close, "I love you, Birdie." Albert would silently whisper when Finch fell asleep.
Finch loved being called Birdie, it was his own little nickname, only Albert could use. Albert held the slingshot tighter, looking into nothingness before closing his eyes...

"You were my everything, I hope you know that... I never hated you... I loved you... I'll always love you, Birdie."