Newsies One-Shots

Chapter 127 - Jack and Spot (Part 2)

Ship - Jack and Spot (brotherly)
Era - Cannon
Triggers - memory of injuries and implied past child abuse.

Spot wasn't sure why he was even bothering to wait around in the Manhattan Lodging House. It was getting late and he had to be back in Brooklyn soon. He was mad at Jack too. That was another reason to leave. There was just some reason he couldn't bring himself to leave.

"Hey."

Spot looked over his right shoulder to where Race was standing against the doorway. "Hey, Race."

"I've got soup," Race said, holding up a cup. "Klopp watered it down more to get you and Hotshot some."

He handed over the cup, smiling as Spot took a sip.

"Damn, this is watered down?"

"I know. Kloppman always makes sure we all got something to eat. He's pretty cool like that."

Spot nodded and took another sip.

"It's, uh, awful good of you to hang 'round for Jack."

Spot looked at Race confused for a moment before he remembered what Jack had explained to him; Crutchie was the only person who new they were brothers. Jack seemed close with Race though so he wasn't sure.

That and that Jack had never been good at keeping secrets.

Race blinked at him and Spot realised that he'd spent a bit too long thinking. "Oh, y'know. He weren't all too great so I just wanna see he's okay."

"Oh, right. Sure," Race said with a small frown on his face.

"Do you want to sit with me?" Spot asked.

Race nodded and pulled a chair over beside Spot, a bit closer than Spot would have but he decided not to question it.

For a while they just stayed where they were, enjoying the quiet if they ignored Jack's loud breathing.

"How did you know where Jack would be?" Race asked after a while. "I mean, no one thought he'd be near the Bronx."

"Dunno. Guess I just had a hunch."

"Well, thank you. I dunno how long it'd be 'til we found him and he coulda died or something worse," Race rambled. "Just, thanks."

A quiet groan came from the bed. Almost immediately, Race shot up and grabbed onto one of Jack's hands.

"Hey, Jack, it's okay. You're in the lodgings."

"Sean?"

~~~

It was later in the evening when Jack woke again. He'd barely even been awake earlier, just there for a moment then asleep again in the blink of an eye.

"How'd you find me, Sean? I were nowhere near my selling spot."

Spot didn't say anything, just staring staring out the window. He was sat in the bed with Jack, his little brother lying with his head on his lap.

"You ain't seriously gonna ignore me, are you?"

"I ain't talking to you," Spot grumbled. Granted, he didn't want to ignore his brother but he'd started to he couldn't just stop all of a sudden.