Newsies one-shots

You should have been there || Spralmer (canon era)

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The walk over to Brooklyn was long and it gave Elmer time to think. No one knew about the relationship between Spot, Racer, Albert and himself, except for the Manhattan boys, and he was planning to keep it that way. But Spot had let them down. If he had been there, Race and Albert wouldn't be in the refuge with Crutchie and they would've won the strike a long time ago, probably.

He was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard someone call his name. He turned around to see Hot Shot run up to him. Elmer looked around and noticed that he was already at the end of the Brooklyn bridge.
"Where is Spot?" He asked without greeting. He wasn't really in the mood for his normal cheerful smalltalk.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just need to see Spot." He seemed to have little patience that day and his usual smile seemed less convincing then normal.
"The docking. You know your way around, right?" Elmer nodded and gave him a small wave goodbye. The docking was not far away and he soon saw Spot sitting in his 'thrown'.
"Hey, Elmer. What are you doing here?" Spot looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.
"We need to talk. In private." Elmer said bluntly. Spot could see the urgency and how serious it was.
"Guys! Clear out. All of you." He yelled at all the boys that were still there. It wasn't much later that they were alone. "What's wrong?" Spot's soft side, that only showed near Race, Albert and Elmer, turned on.
"You should have been there. You should have done something about it!" Elmer started out soft, but ended up screaming at him. Spot climbed down from where he sat and stood in front of Elmer.
"What do you mean?" Spot placed one of his hands on Elmer's shoulder, but Elmer shrugged it off.
"You should have been there! You should have been by our side! This is all your fault!" Elmer began hitting Spot on the chest. Spot just looked at him with wide eyes. Elmer kept hitting and hitting as tears streamed down his face once more. Spot quickly wrapped Elmer in a hug. He struggled against it at first, but soon wrapped his arm's around Spot's back too.
"What happened, El?" Spot stroke Elmer's dark curls as he spoke.
"We were fighting and the bulls came-" Elmer took a shaky breath. "They got to Crutchie. Al and Race wanted to save him, but those damn Delanceys..."
"I'm so sorry, El. We'll get them home. I promise. Even if it will cost me my own life. We'll get them home."
"No-"
"No what?" Spot looked confused at the boy in his arms.
"I- I can't lose you too."
"You won't lose me or any one. Race and Albert are strong." He looked around to make sure that they were alone. He reached his hand up and rested it on Elmer's cheek. He closed the gab between the two of them and kissed the boy he loved.
"I should head home." Elmer wiped away the tears and separated from Spot.
"I love you, you know. All three of you. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"I know." Elmer sighed before turning around. "I love you too." He whispered before walking back home again.

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The rally had gone as well as Elmer had expected. Jack had betrayed them, chaos had broken lose and Elmer was close to devastation. He missed his boyfriends. He missed being in the lodging house where everyone excepted their relationship and where he could cuddle up with the three most wonderful human beings of the world. Instead he was in an alley next to the lodging house. He couldn't sit inside without being reminded of their absence. JoJo had come out at some point to tell them about Katherine's plan about the Children's Crusade and about the plan to print it. They were going to do it that night. He had also told him that Jack was back and why Jack had betrayed them. Elmer wasn't one to hold a grudge for long and had immediately forgiven him for what he did when he had heard what had happened.
"El?" Elmer was ripped out of his thoughts when a hand touched his shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Elmer looked right into Spot's eyes. Said boy was crouched down in front of him.
"Come with me." Spot said while pulling Elmer to his feet and dragging him along.
"Where are we going?" Elmer asked as they left the alley.
"You'll see." Was the only thing he said. They held hands as long as they could, but Spot's hand left Elmer's when the first stranger came walking past.
Elmer had looked at the ground the whole time until Spot suddenly stopped.
"Where are we?" He asked while looking up. His eyes went wide when he saw the building in front of him.
"We're going to see Race and Albert." Elmer's face lit up. He quickly sprinted to the wall and found his way over it with Spot on his heals. Elmer looked through several barred windows until he finally spotted Crutchie. If Crutchie was there, then Albert and Race should be there too or Crutchie would know where they were. Spot crouched down next to where he sat in front of the window and knocked three times. A dark haired boy came over and opened the window.
"Who are you here for?" He asked bluntly.
"Race, Albert and Crutchie." Spot told him. Elmer was to busy with thinking about what state they would find them in. Jack had told them that Crutchie couldn't walk good anymore, but he hadn't told them anything about Race or Albert. The dark haired boy walked to Crutchie, who looked over at them with a smile. He stood up on his good leg while the dark haired boy walked over to somewhere Spot and Elmer couldn't see anymore. Soon enough Race and Albert were next to Crutchie and helped him to the window. Both had smiles on their faces as if they weren't in the literal hell on earth, but their bodies said something different. Albert had a limp and had bruises and cuts all over him, while Race looked like a ghost with a black eye.
"Spot! Elmer!" Race greeted excitedly.
"Hey." Elmer was a lot softer than him. He felt stupid as another tear fell down his cheek, but he couldn't say if it was from happiness or sadness. The three boys were soon settled on the other side and Albert reached through the bars and wiped away the tear with a soft smile on his face. Elmer took his hand in his own and looked at him. He didn't dare to meet his eyes, afraid of what he may see.
"So what's going on out there?" Crutchie asked to break the silence.
"Well, Katherine came up with an idea that may end the strike and even shut the refuge for good." Spot looked at all three of them with hope in his eyes. He to wanted his boyfriends back and, even though he didn't trust Jack at the moment, he wanted Crutchie to get home too. The boy had been nothing but kind to them and their relationship. He explained the whole plan to them. From the printing press to the confrontation. The three locked up boys smiled, but Elmer didn't move. You would think he was dead if it wasn't for the slow rising of his chest at every breath.
"I leave you four alone." Crutchie said after taking a quick look at Elmer. The same dark haired boy from earlier came up to them and helped Crutchie back to the bed.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let JoJo hold me back. I should've pushed Specs away. I should've-"
"Hey- hey! I'm glad they held you back." Albert interrupted him. He rested his head against the metal bars and Elmer did the same. Their heads didn't touch though. Their hands stayed connected the whole time.
"Me too. I would be devastated if you were in here. Either of you." Race eyed the boys that weren't in the shit hole.
"I really want to be with you, but if being with you means that you are in here, I'd rather spent an entire life time waiting for you." Albert added. Elmer looked up at the boys, his head no longer resting on the cold metal.
"We're going to get you out of here." He said determined.
"Get going. It's getting dark. The boys and Katherine need you both." Race smiled at them. It held more than any word could describe. It gave a sense of comfort, of reassurance, of love. Elmer and Spot gave both boys soft kisses on their bruised knuckles before running off.

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"We won!" Jack yelled at the top of his lungs.
They had won. They had won the strike. A smile was on Elmer's face for the first time in days. He gave Spot a hug and hugged some of his friends that were near him. Governor Roosevelt had said some things too, but Elmer couldn't seem to understand what he was saying.
"Officers! If you please." Elmer turned around quickly, ready to fight. Spot rested his hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Look, Jack, it's Crutchie! And Race and Albert!" Romeo exclaimed.
"Hiya, fellas! You miss us?" Crutchie said excitedly.
"Yeah!" Race and Albert didn't say anything. They just looked around the crowd to look for Spot and Elmer. Said boys rushed forward, Elmer wrapping his arms around Race and Spot around Albert.
"I missed you." Race whispered in Elmer's hair before letting go and hugging Spot. Albert came over to Elmer and wrapped his arms around him too.
"I knew you could do it." Albert told him.

They spend the rest of the day cuddled up on a bed in the lodging house. Spot and Elmer didn't let Race and Albert sell after the whole refuge experience, even though both boys insisted on it. They didn't complain though, once they were in each others warm arms. Spot and Elmer told about the whole Children's crusade and erupted in laughter at the memory of Pulitzer's face when he realized that he had lost.
"What's so funny?"
"That face of him when the governor walked in. He looked so defeated. You should've been there."

I hope this strike related Spralmer fic is to your satisfaction. ;)

~ F