Multifandom Oneshots

Spot Conlon [Newsies]

title: That Harlem Girl

Spot Conlon x Reader
Newsies (1992)

note: Hoo boy. This is a long one. Anyway I made the mistake of watching Newsies while in the midst of writing a book for a different fandom (Jim Hawkins x Reader) so I may or may not have gotten distracted. Whoops.
BTW the song above is played near the end (if you wanted a fully immersive experience).

~~~

(Y/N) shoved her hands in her pockets to hear the satisfying jingle of coins. She'd just sold her last paper to an elderly gentleman and was finished for the day; earlier than anticipated, due to little competition because a few Harlem Newsies were bedridden in the lodge with a bad cold.

Just as she was about to head back to the lodge to deposit her earnings into a box for safekeeping, a young boy holding a stack of papes on the corner caught her attention. He wasn't from Harlem and was definitely far out of his bounds, so she strode over to intercept him.

"Oi kid, ya in Harlem turf, so scram!" She said, folding her arms. The boy turned around and looked up at her with tears in his eyes, then broke down, sobbing into his grubby hands. (Y/N) instantly softened and crouched down to him, who now was on his knees bawling.

"Oh honey, sorry if I scared ya. Are ya O.K.?" She laid a comforting hand on his back and waited until his sobs died down before she asked him more questions.

"I'se lost," He choked through his tears.

"Where ya from? I'll walk ya back, if ya'd like." (Y/N) said and rubbed his back reassuringly. She was mentally kicking herself for addressing the poor kid so harshly and was more than prepared to walk him back to wherever his borough was.

"...Brooklyn." He sniffed, looking up at her for the first time in a while. Tear tracks cut through the grime on his pale cheeks and his hat was slightly too big for him, resting askew. (Y/N) stood up and outstretched her hand, which he cautiously took and was pulled up.

"Well, I guess we goin' ta Brooklyn then." She smiled goofily at him and took his hand. He giggled at her smile, then wiped his tears away and followed her through the streets.

"You'se a long way from Brooklyn kid, how long was you walkin'?" She asked, curious. It was strange to see any Brooklyn kids anywhere near the Northside as they were at the far South of New York.

"The boy lookin' afta me gots separated and I was lookin' for 'im, but that was dis mornin', and I'se got lost." He sighed.

It took them almost two and a half hours before they were in sight of the Brooklyn Bridge. In that extensively long time, (Y/N) found out that the boy's name was Tails, that he was seven and a half years old, and that this was his second day being a newsie, along with some of his various stories about the Brooklyn boys.

At some point, Tails had been overcome with fatigue from the 3 o'clock sun and (Y/N) noticed his feet dragging, so she hoisted him up onto her shoulders just before crossing the bridge to give him a break. In all honesty, she was a tad concerned about crossing into Brooklyn territory due to their fierce reputation but didn't want to leave Tails on his own, so she trudged on.

Spot was sitting up on his crate when he saw a newsie with someone on their shoulders approaching the docks. A few of his boys gave the intruder strange looks but didn't stop her because of the boy she was carrying: Tails, whom Archie had lost earlier that day.

Jumping down from his crates, he waltzed to meet her before she came any further.

"Found one 'a your's in Harlem, might wanna teach him somethin' about the boundaries." She said, and he folded his arms at her 'recommendation'.