Newsies oneshots

Tommy boy // Bears

(Angsty angst, also reposting cause there were too many mistakes)

Tommy boy loves bears. They are his favourite animal and they have been since he was a toddler. He was too little to remember when he was put in an orphanage, and he didn't have much. But what he did have is a little booklet with a fairytale involving 3 cuddly bears and when he was little, an orphanage worker called Helen told him, "Those are bears." And Tommy loved them. Their soft fur and their little ears, they looked perfect for hugging, and even though he didn't have a family of his own, he never felt lonely when he closed his eyes at night and imagined himself if the little cottage in his story book being tucked into bed by mama bear and told a story by papa bear. He was 6 when a man and his wife came to the orphanage, looking for a child to call their own. They asked for the most well behaved child, and the orphanage workers new exactly who to bring them. And right off the bat, the couple adored Tommy and wanted to bring him home straight away, however, that had to leave Tommy in the orphanage for one more night before they could bring him home, so they gave him alittle gift to invite him into their family.
An adorable plush of a bear, and it was love at first sight for Tommy. He's never had any toys or gifts of his own, and he just spend the rest of the entire day playing with he's own little bear. The caretakers kept a close eye on him, making sure no kids tried to steal the plush from him. Tommy never played with other kids, he usually just sat in a corner looking at his little bear booklet. But this Teddy brought a new side to Tommy, he was speaking to it, showing it around the orphanage, telling him story's, pretty much speaking non stop, which for Tommy was very unusual. The excitement of getting a new family and having something special for him and only him brought a new confidence to the little boy that no-one has ever seen. At night, he tucked himself in with his new friend and cuddled onto him, "Goodnight." He whispered softly. Excited for the next day when he's finally going to be taken home to a real family, not the one he only sees at night.

The next day, Helen took Tommy back into the small office where he met the nice couple the day before. Tommy had his Teddy in hand and the biggest smile on his face. Inside Tommy sat on a chair for him as his 'new parents' sat infront of him. However, the expression on their face made Tommy think, they didn't share his excitement. He kept on smiling, but secretly, he was feeling anxious. The man sighed and decided to take lead, "You had a nice night, Thomas?"
Tommy nodded, holding tightly onto the bear.
The couple smiled sympathetically and looked at eachother before the man continued, this time turning to Helen, "On our way here we came across a young boy- Alexis- he approached us and-"
That was it Tommy's smile disappeared he looked at Helen who had an equally horrified look on her face.
"- we were just wondering if we could have alittle chat with him. Thomas is a wonderful child but Alexis is very expressive and high-spirited and... Thomas you're an adorable child but- you're very quiet... we want a child that wants to go outside and be social-"
Helen stopped it at once, "That isn't fair, you can't just change your mind and pick another child when you feel like it."
"We are sorry, but we just feel a real connection with that boy..."
Tommy's heart was shattered, he thought this was going to be his forever family, that he was going to get to go to school and have his own room. And have a dad to tell him bedtime stories and a mom to tuck him into bed and kiss him goodnight, cuddle him if he gets a nightmare and tell him everything will be OK. After a couple of minutes, Helen decided to take Tommy back to his room. Before she did, the woman said, "Could we please get the bear back- to give it to Alexis?"
That did it, Tommy started tearing up and clinged onto the bear, "No- Please can I keep him-"
Helen realised that it was a very delicate situation, she knew Tommy had grown fond of the toy, and he grew emotionally attached already, he crouched down to him, "You need to give him back Tommy-"
"Please, its my teddy bear, I've been taking care of him-"
"I know you have darling-"
"I gave him a name..." Tommy sniffled, that broke everyone's heart.
"You gave him a name?" Helen tried to confirm, caressing the heartbroken boys cheek.
Tommy nodded.
"What did you name him, sweetie?"
"Honey... Because, his fur is like the colour of honey combs..." more tears fell as Tommy held onto Honey tighter, "Why can't I go to my new home? You said I was going to be part of a family..." He said, barely above a whisper.
Helen, sadly didn't have an answer. So Tommy took a deep breath and asked the couple, "Can I please go home with you? I promise I'll be very good and kind- I'll make my bed everymorning and I'll be well behaved." Tommy was desperately trying to fix this on his own, but this was way too complicated for him. The couple kept quiet. Before Helen whispered, "Come on, you need to give Honey back, sweetie."
Tommy finally relented, he gave Honey a big hug, "Bye..." He sadly whispered and gave the bear to Helen who gave it to the couple before taking Tommy back to his room. There, all the other boys were outside, so Helen sat Tommy on his bed and Tommy burst into tears, "Why don't they like me?"
"Cause they are bad people Thomas, they don't deserve such a sweet boy like you."
"I want my Honey back- can you ask if I can-"
"I know you loved that bear, but it wasn't yours."
Tommy kept crying, "Bears are my favourite..."

Now...

Tommy got home to the lodging house from selling with Henry and Jojo. Barney was going to be home alittle late but Tommy did not mind.
"What do you guys have planned for tonight?" Tommy asked.
"Sleep." Henry chuckled.
Tommy pouted, "Barney is coming home late, I'm gonna get bored. You guys don't wanna hang out?"
"I'd love to Tommy, but I'd love to sleep even more." Jojo laughed.
"Same," Henry said, "sorry, buddy."
Tommy sighed, "Ok, talk to you guys tommorow." He said, before giving Jojo a hug and going to his own bed.

Tommy has a little plush bear Barney got him, the little bear is dressed as a clown and Tommy named her Poppy and he loves her so much. She's small and soft and, when Barney's not around, she's the best source of comfort when Tommy feels sad or anxious. Barney knows Tommy loves bears, but he don't really know how important they are to him, they are a source of comfort, something that was there for Tommy instead of a family. But now Tommy has a family, he has his friends and his boyfriend and that's all he needs in life to be happy, but Poppy I'd still special to him, and Barney loves that. As Tommy went to his bed, he noticed Poppy wasn't in her usual spot, Tommy usually left her on his pillows but she wasn't there, or anywhere on the bed. At first, Tommy thought she might have fell so he quickly looked around and under his bed, but again, she wasnt there. That's when his heart started racing a little, he could not loose something so precious. He quickly ripped his pillows and blankets off his bed, desperately trying to find her.
Jojo was getting ready for bed and Henry was reading with Sniper when they noticed Tommy's panic and instantly went to help him.
"Heyheyhey- Tommy what's wrong," Henry asked gently trying to calm him down,
"Poppy- I can't find her-" Tommy said, his voice rising in panic,
"Who's Poppy?" Jojo asked, sitting on the bed, trying to hold on to Tommy's arms to calm him down.
"My bear- she's gone, I can't find her." Tommy started tearing up, because he felt very light headed.
Henry and Jojo looked at eachother, he was having a panic attack. Jojo placed hid hand on Tommy's shoulder, "I'm sure she's here somewhere, you lay down and focus on your breathing-"
"Nonono- I need to find her-" Tomy kept looking in a panic.
"Tommy, stop, you're going to make yourself faint, " Henry grabbed him and stopped Tommy from moving, "we'll look for her. Lay down now." But that just caused Tommy to feel more overwhelmed, they didn't understand. But he felt like he was annoying them so he shut  up and obeyed as Jojo and Henry looked around for the bear. But, with no luck, she was nowhere to be found. "Maybe someone took it- I know some here who tend to steal other people's stuff all the time." Jojo whispered to Henry, Henry nodded and decided to go around and ask.
Jojo sat beside Tommy, who had his hand clutched to his chest and was trying to regulate his breathing like Barney taught him.
He looked at Jojo, "Did you find her?"
Jojo shook his head, "Not yet, Henry is looking to see if anyone might have taken her by mistake."
"Why would someone take her?"
"I'm not sure." Jojo lay beside his friend, leaving him to regulate his breathing.

Henry went around looking for any culprits when he was approached by Buttons, "Hey- did Tommy lose something?"
Henry nodded, "Yeh- a stuffed bear."
"What does it look like?"
"Uh-" Henry turned to Tommy from the other side of the room, "Tommy? What does Poppy look like?"
Tommy sat up, "Uh, white fur- she's dressed up like a clown with a red nose."
Buttons nodded and went to his bed and pulled out a box, inside, he took out Poppy.
Tommy gasped and got out of bed and grabbed the bear from him, "Why do you have this?!" Tommy asked, angrily, and strangely out of character. Buttons stuttered and tried to explain, "Barney gave it to me-"
"That's a lie!" Tommy teared up, Henry by his side trying to calm him down.
"Nono- I swear- he wanted me to fix the rip in the arm- look- he told me to use yellow thred cause that's your favourite colour."
Tommy quickly looked at Poppy's arm- the story checks out, she had a yellow stitch in her arm where a rip used to be. Tommy sniffled and felt his heart racing again, everyone was mad at him. He cause a big scene and embarrassed himself for nothing. He didn't have the guts to apologise, he just went to his bed, and shut his eyes, feeling his heart beat quickly and his whole body go numb. This was why nobody ever wanted him.