Jack x Crutchie Oneshots (Newsies)

Coming Out

A/N: Hi! Hope you're having a wonderful day! Thank you so much for 900+ reads you guys are insane! Thought I'd give you some fluff after the last chapter, lol. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to request any story ideas you have :)

(Time frame: After strike, Jack and Crutchie have been dating for a while)

Crutchie PoV:

I don't think I've ever been this nervous in my whole life. The walls seemed to close in on me as Jack and I stood in front of all the newsies. I gripped my crutch so tightly I worried I might break it.

Despite all this, I was ready. I didn't want to hide anymore. Jack and I had talked about this for months and we were ready.

Jack sent me an encouraging smile before he began to speak.

"Okay," he started, causing all the newsies (plus Katherine. Jack thought it was only right if she was there too) to quiet down, "Ya all are probably wondering why I called this meetin'."

Everyone murmured in agreement. Jack rarely called meetings unless it was something important like the time someone had stolen Spec's glasses and he had broken his nose walking into a tree (it had been Romeo who had stolen them, surprise surprise).

"Yeah, what's wrong Jack?" Race asked, shooting me a 'you good?' look. I managed a small nod.

"Nothin's wrong." Jack said.

For now, I thought. The only person's reaction I could predict was Race's since he already knew about us. Everyone else, I had no idea. They could turn on us faster than the flip of a coin once we told them.

"If nothin's wrong then why is we havin' this meetin'?" Elmer asked, tilting his head sideways.

"Well, uh... I met someone." Jack said slowly, picking his words carefully. All of the newsies whistled and jeered approvingly. All except Race, who turned to me, all eyes wide as saucers. I nodded again to answer Race's unasked question.

"So Jack, Who's the lucky lady?" Mush asked, wiggling his eyebrows with a smirk. Jack took a deep breath before answering,

"It ain't a lady."

The room went very still. You could hear a pin drop.

"It's a guy." Jack continued, his chin tilted up in defiance. He wasn't embarrassed or scared.

"I know some of you might think less of me now but I don't care. He means the world to me and I wouldn't be where I am today without 'im."

Jack inhaled slowly, turning to look at me. I didn't have to be a part of this yet. They didn't have to connect the dots.

No. I was doing this. I wasn't going to let Jack face this alone. If he's going down, we're going together.

My heart pounded in my ears as I reached over and linked hands with Jack.

"Jack and I is datin'."

The room was as silent as a tomb. My heart rate increased rapidly. I held on tightly to Jack's hand. I tried to even my irregular breathing. Had we messed up? Were our friends going to report us? Were we gonna spend the rest of our lives sharing a prison cell instead of the rooftop? Katherine spoke first.

"I'm sorry," She said, a smile starting to spread across her face, "Are we supposed to be surprised by this?"

I blinked. "What?" I asked, confused.

"I mean, you two haven't been super inconspicuous." Davey supplied. We all stared at him in confusion. Davey sighed, "Sneaky." He corrected.

"So... you guys ain't gonna report us?" Jack questioned.

A chorus of "No!"s and "'Course not!"s echoed around the room.

"'Sides, if we did we'd be the biggest group of hypocrites to ever live." Race said with a laugh. Everyone chuckled, the tension in the room dissipating.

"Wait... you'se a queer too?" Romeo asked Race.

Race rolled his eyes, "Duh! Why else do ya think I go to Brooklyn everyday?" Race said, "Wait, no—"

"I knew it!" Albert screeched, "You and Spot is datin'!"

I laughed, relief crashing over me like a tidal wave. I turned to Jack who was smiling wider than he had in a while. Jack cupped my face in his hands and leaned down, connecting our lips.

My eyes fluttered closed and I wrapped my arms around Jack's neck. I didn't flinch as my crutch clattered to the ground. I couldn't care less.

The number of times I had wanted to kiss Jack in front of the others but couldn't was enormous. Now nothing was stopping us. We still couldn't do stuff like this in public, but not having to hide from our friends anymore felt like the weight of 100 papes being lifted off my shoulders.

Jack moved his hands to my waist, supporting me so I didn't fall.

Suddenly, the lodge house was filled with whistling and cheering as everyone noticed our passionate kissing.

"Ew!" Les cried, burying his head in Davey's vest.

"Les that's not nice." Davey scolded.

"I don't care if Jack's kissin' a guy or a girl. Kissin's still gross!" Les explained, still covering his eyes.

Davey laughed, ruffling his younger brother's hair with a smile.

"Alright! Knock it off you two!" Finch yelled, throwing his hat at Jack and me, "We get it, you'se adorable."

Jack grinned as we broke apart, and I gripped his shoulders so I wouldn't fall. I couldn't stop smiling.

"Jokes aside, I'm really happy for you two." Katherine said with a smile.

"Thanks Kath." I replied.

Everyone stopped harassing Race long enough to congratulate Jack and me. I don't think my hair has been ruffled that much in my whole life.

Albert and Race cornered Jack and said something to him too quietly for me to hear. Jack turned as red as a Brooklyn newsie's shirt, chasing after the pair, yelling a long list of profanities.

I sat down on Jack and my bunk, listening to the chaos. I was exhausted. After a full day of stressing about this, now that it was over, I wanted to sleep for 1000 years.

"Hey." Jack said breathlessly as he collapsed next to me.

"What did Race and Albert—"

"You don't wanna know." Jack interrupted, running a hand through his hair. I glanced over to where Race and Albert were sitting, snickering with each other. Race caught my eye and the two of them dissolved into another fit of laughter.

"You're right. I don't wanna know." I replied.

We sat together, talking to anyone who had questions for us about our relationship or just wanted to congratulate us. After a while I turned to Jack.

"Wanna head to the penthouse? I'se pretty tired." I asked, leaning against him.

"Sure. Come on." Jack grabbed my wrist, leading me carefully towards the window.

"OoOOoOoOOoOoo. Where are you two goin'?" Romeo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"The roof...?" I supplied. Everyone began to whistle and jeer causing me to blush. Jack simply flipped them all off. I slapped his hand down, causing him to grin.

We made our way up to the rooftop, laying down on our shared mattress to watch the sun set. As the stars slowly began to blink into existence, I pressed closer to Jack as he wrapped a blanket around us.

"We did it." I breathed.

"We did it." He repeated, "I know it sucks that the world ain't ready to accept our relationship, but it's good to know our friends got our backs."

I nodded, pressing a kiss to Jack's cheek. We held hands in comfortable silence as the blanket of night covered the rooftop. The stars twinkled above us, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I was calm.