#he has anger issues and gets overwhelmed and hates being touched so finch is like dying when albert hugs him

[the-racer]

okay. he knows albert isn't a hugging kind of person. he never has been. he's never seen albert hug anyone.

"well, i just ain't touchy like that," albert had said at one point. it's true. he pulls away from anyone who tries to touch him, yells at people for getting too close, and is generally a very closed off person. defensive and angry and aggressive when people get near.

"it makes me itchy," he'd said. finch had never tried to touch him, even though albert said he really did like him. they aren't anything. they just are. finch gets as close as albert has ever let anyone. so close he can sometimes feel albert's breath on his neck. he doesn't touch albert.

"i'm violent. people who touch me get hurt." finch nodded, even though it hurt to know albert thought like that about himself. albert is violent. everyone knows that, knows that he shows up at the lodging house with blood pouring from his nose and bruises all over his face. but he can be gentle. finch has seen it.

"i like ya so much but i can't- i can't hug ya." albert scares himself. he hates that he's violent and wants to be normal. he can't have finch touching him because he'll get addicted to it, addicted to finch holding him. and then he'll end up hurting him, bruising him, and he'll feel worse than he ever has before.

so finch stands by albert at all times. near enough he can almost feel heat radiating off of him. he takes as much as he can get. when they get soaked by the bulls for striking, he stays up, laying in albert's bed until he gets back. albert stumbles in, bloodied and bruised, and gasping for breath. finch sits near as albert strips off his shirt and cleans up every cut and bruised he has, on his chest and stomach and neck and face and-

"i'm okay. just don't want ya helping me." albert bandages his hands. finch watches because albert won't let him help. he itches to hold albert, to hug him and make him feel better. tell him everything's gonna be okay. but albert jumps away when he tries, angry and scared.

"it'll be fine. we're gonna win." he wishes he had albert's confidence in their strike. jack comes out of the building, smirking like usual. he hoists les up on his shoulders, grabs davey, and announces that they won.

everyone screams, grabs at each other, jumps around. finch screams with albert, jumping with him. and then stops as albert yanks him into a bone-crushing hug. albert holds him so hard he can't breathe right, squeezing him. finch doesn't say anything, wraps his wrms back around albert's waist. he feels albert press his forehead against his neck and then his lips brush against his shoulder.

albert doesn't hug right. his arms dig hard into finch's sides, his hands grip his hips too tight, he's too warm, he doesn't quite know how to hold someone. but he fits against finch painfully well.

"am i hurting you?" finch shakes his head. because how could albert be hurting him when he's holding finch so tight? he's not hurting him, albert can't hurt him when he's hugging him- neither albert's bruising grip on his hips nor his too-warm skin against finch's hurts.

finch just smiles.

#like... ew but also i love this #i think alberts just a mean dudr who doesnt hug people #he has anger issues and gets overwhelmed and hates being touched so finch is like dying when albert hugs him #albert also overheats and feels like he has a fever all the time #redfinch #albert dasilva #finch cortez #albert newsies #finch newsies #finch x albert #albert x finch #newsies #92sies #livesies #mars' writing!!