Au: No Au, Set in same exact time period as the original musical
Tw: Severe Homophobia, hate crimes, assault, screams, blood, crying
Jack leaned against the ladder underneath where he slept, drumming his fingers atop the metal. While the better job had allowed Jack an improved living style, he still lacked the stability to buy his own place. So naturally, he remained where he had been years prior with crutchie, his penthouse in the sky. He allowed his eyes to slowly blink close, resting his eyelids as his ears took in the surrounding noises. Blaring sirens scattered throughout the entire city, the rustling of cars underneath him, along with light chatter heard this late at night.
However, Jack's eye twitched as an unfamiliar voice coated the nearby area. The words were followed by various shouts, and the noise of trambling feet running in desperation. He flung his eyes open, jolting himself awake. Jack glared downwards where he began to make out 4 figures, 3 men circling this other boy, who seemed to be clutching his bag.
"I don't know what you want from me!" The boy exasperated, gasping for air as he slowly backed away from the others. And the moment he spoke in that familar tone, the moment the words flowed out of his mouth with that knowing voice, Jack's entire body tensed.
"Davey," Jack mumbled, his arms stiffened as he watched. He could recognize anything about that boy from a mile away, which he did just now as he clocked in his identity even while peering from above.
Davey swallowed the lump of spit welling up inside his throat, heart pounding against his chest. He knew talking to Les in such a public area would be dangerous, but he had to explain everything to him or Les could blurt it out unknowingly.
"Wes heard you talking to ya brother," One of the others spat, slipping a baseball bat out from his bag. "About your little secret."
Davey let out a gasp, gulping in fear. "Please," he began, "I have a family, my mother, my father, my brother,my twin sister. I'm just a newsboy, I don't make much money as it is,"he begged. "I can't take this."
Jack scrunched up his nose, slowly climbing downward from his ladder, however not enough where the people would notice his presence. What the hell were they talking about?! What secret? Surely Jack would know everything about Davey.
A cackle, "Please, I don't think ya poor family would be happy to hear from you anyway, fuckin' queer."
Davey stumbled backwards in an attempt to run off, but he found himself constantly backed into another corner. Suddenly, his view was ungulphed by a bat swinging at his head, and Davey swiftly ducked underneath, heart pounding. He could hear the blood sloshing around his head, and as he regained his breath from that close hit, he felt a surging pain stab his side.
Davey gasped, clutching his side as the fist that had hit it was removed, the pain tingled spreading through his entire body. He tightned his hand to a fist, thoughts spiralling around his head. Davey sucked in a breath, bracing the impact of the previous punch before another hit him before he had enough time to respond. The hit landed square in his face, sending davey tumbling backwards, a trail of blood trickling down his nose.
In desperation, Davey kicked at the boy approaching him, wincing at the pain from the previous hits. He squeezed his eyes closed and spat out a chunk of blood, leaving a copper tang in his mouth. His vision blurred as he felt more pain shoot through his veins, leaving his head spinning. He gripped the sidewalk he sat upon, his knees wobbling as he tried to stand once again.
Meanwhile, Jack was leaping down the fire escape, without much care for his own safety. As long as he'd reach the ground as quick as possible. He swung from each ladder, internally cursing at himself for not heading down there the moment he saw the figures approach. "Fuck Dave, please don't be hurt or worse." The sounds of swinging along with yelps of pain were all Jack could focus on now, drowning out the other sounds throughout the city. Luckily though, at least Davey didn't look completely helpless. He was trying to fight back, not well but trying.
Jack could have sworn Davey had dodged the swing towards his legs with the bat, however he couldn't ignore the bang that came with him collapsing onto the ground. He wasn't sure if maybe he hadn't actually dodged or something else threw him to the ground, but either way Jack felt his heart shatter.
Jack wasn't sure why these people were targeting Davey specifically, though by what they were saying he had an assumption. But that couldn't be true, right? Why would they know about that, Jack knew how unsafe it was to talk about that openly. Hell, the only person who knew Jack was bisexual was Jack himself.
Jack raced off the fire escape, yanking the boy closest to Davey with his collar, sending him foundering backwards. He lifted him up from the ground, glaring daggers at him. "Aye come on, is spending your time beating up teenagers a good way to boost your ego?" he growled.
The boy stammered, eyes growing wide as he tried to pry himself from Jack's grip. "Jack Kelly?!?" he squeaked.
"The one and only," Jack grinned, "Now heres the deal, you and your little friend leave Davey alone and never bother him or any of the other guys again," he began, "or you won't be able to walk long enough to touch him again."
Despite Jack's reputation, he actually wasn't a fan of threatening people at all. Pulitzer had used threats to take advantage of him, but there was no way in hell Jack was letting some asshole destroy the person who meant the most to him. Plus, he had fought the delanceys for the newsies all the time, along with defending younger kids at the refuge.
So he'd be able to rip this kid to shreds if it called for it.
Jack dragged the boy over to the other, who had froze in his spot, eyebrows raised in fear. Jack could see his chest rise and fall every five seconds.
It'd be funny if his mind wasn't so jittered seeing Davey's current state, because these people were such wimps. Suddenly when someone recognizable comes, they're speechless.
He loosened his grip, letting the boy fall and slam onto the grabble beneath them. The two scurried off, tossing their bags to the side as they ran into the distance.
Jack scoffed, furrowing his eyebrows together and narrowing his eyes before he kneeled down next to the curb. "God Davey please talk to me," he begged, swallowing the lump in his throat.
Jack gently shook the other boy, "Dave," he repeats, puddles under his eyes. Jack shook his head, he hated crying near people he was the strong one, but if he lost Davey his entire life would be over. He couldn't see him like this, he didn't deserve it. Davey didn't deserve anything he'd been through.
Davey groaned, blinking his eyes open ever so slowly. "Jackie?" he muttered, voice strained. He attempted to prop himself up, wincing at the pain in his leg and ribs.
Jack wrapped an arm around Davey's waist, allowing him to lean against him as he helped him stand. The taller boy whimpered in pain, barely processing the fact Jack was there at all. He just wanted the pain to subside, he wanted to go home, he wanted to be safe.
"God I hate new york," Jack mumbled, shaking his head with a deep frown. He rarely ever saw Davey this upset, and he had never seen him this out of it. Something about him was he was always thinking, and typically full of energy and joy. However, now he looked drained of all energy, eyes dark and dried blood scattered over his face.
Jack decided taking Davey all the way up the fire escape wouldn't be a good idea, so he headed towards meddas theatre until davey felt good enough for them to head back to his home. The boy limping beside him looked as if he could pass out any second now, and that made Jack wish he didn't let those kids go off scott free.
The moment Jack flung the doors open, Davey's legs began to shake, causing Jack to tighten his grip around him. "You're okay Dave, I've got ya."
Jack and Davey plopped down onto the floor, waiting for Medda to eventually notice their presence. Though, with how often Jack came here to escape, she probably didn't bat an eye. "How're you feeling?" he asks, his arm still wrapped tightly around Davey's waist. While he could definitely sit on his own, Jack felt comfortable with his arm placed there.
Davey took a deep breath, leaning his head backwards. Everything was still spinning, and when he glanced over to meet Jack's gaze, his face was blurred. The only reason he had even known it was Jack was his voice, his recognizable booming voice. He needed water at the very least, until he could get help for his wounds. He didn't know how to respond to Jack's question, everything hurt but clearly he was better because Jack helped him get to a safe place.
"Better," he eventually decided on, resting his eyes closed for a moment.
"What were you even doing there, Jack?"
Jack scoffed, "Oh?! What was I doing there?! Dave, I'm always out in the city late at night! What were you doing getting yourself caught up in a fight?!" he snapped in response, shaking his head.
"I wasn't looking for a fight, Jack," Davey clarified with a huff, "I was just walking home. My mom was going to go out to get something for us because we didn't have enough food in the fridge, but she needed to take care of ny father so she sent me. I was jumped on my walk home." His face was burried into his hands and he rubbed his temples gently.
"How'd you even know it was me?"
Jack's scowl slowly faded to a smile, tugging against the corners of his lips. "Davey, I'd know your voice out of anywhere. I knew it was you the moment you started talking."
Silence lingered in the room for a moment before Davey tilting his head up from his hands, squirming out of Jack's grip.
Jack raised his eyebrow, furrowing them together and tilting his head at the others sudden shift. "Can ya stand by yourself now?" he pondered.
"How much did you hear?" Davey interrupted, dissmising Jack's confusion, his eyes darted towards the ground attempting to keep his gaze plush carpet laid upon the theatre floors. His legs were shivering once again, yet for completely different reasons than before. He glanced between different areas of the room, yet never dare looking Jack in his eyes as he spoke.
Jack spat out a bitter laugh, "Come on Dave is that really that important? I heard enough to come and help ya," he replies simply."If I didn't hear what I heard you could be dead!"
"How much did you hear," He repeats, swaying back and forth with his knees up to his chest. His mind was absolutely spiralling.
Jack frowned deeply, scooting himself closer to the other. His sudden closure to Jack's affection was odd, since ever since they met and continuously throughout the strike Davey wasn't scared to wrap his arms around Jack, cup his face, hug him, etc. Hell, he even slapped him with a newspaper when trying to convince him to rejoin the strike.
"I heard everything from when you asked what they even wanted from you," Jack replied, and as he watched Davey's face turn sour, it all seemed to click in his head.
"Davey," he began softly, "Are you gay? Were those assholes attacking you for that?" Davey didn't respond, however Jack could see the tears slowly dripping down his cheek.
"You know I'm okay with it, right? I don't care!" He insisted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll always support ya. "
Honestly, David Jacobs being gay might be one of the best news Jack had recieved in his life, it just sucked he had to find out in such a heartbreaking way.
Davey glanced up at the other, tears staining his face, his eyes were red and puffy and you could visible see him tremble. "Jack," he whispered. Their eye contact was stronger than any more words that could have been spoken. His voice wobbled and he frantically wiped his eyes. "I didn't want you to know," he croaked, shaking his head. "Especially not like this. I was trying so hard to protect myself and my family and all I did was almost get myself killed," he sobbed.
Jack pulled Davey into a tight hug,"Wanna tell me the full story? Might help, plus aint no way in hell I'm lettin you walk home anytime soon so you better get comfortable anyway," he snickered. "You're way too hurt to walk another long distance, at least not without some help first."
Davey burried his face into the crook of Jack's neck, tears pouring down his face. He hiccuped as he spoke, clutching onto Jack and in return his grip tightened on Davey.
He inhaled deeply, "I had to come out to Les, or at least try to. I didn't want to, I didn't want to come out to anyone but I had no choice," he explained.
"You know what hes like, he doesn't really get other peoples lives, he tends to speak without thinking. So when he told me he read my journal and mindlessly blurted things out in front of people, I couldn't just wait till we got home to explain it to him. I didn't want someone saying something awful to him or worse because of me, because I'm not out. "
He shook his head,"So I pulled him over and explained to him thatI don't like girls, I only like guys but that he can't talk about it because alot of people aren't supportive around here and the last thing I want is putting our family in danger because of who I love."
Davey just frowned,"He said that it wasn't right people would be in danger for that, and hes right. Its sad how much more a 10 year old understands than the majority of the country. But apparently some homophobe heard me talking, and happened to run into me later in the day when I had to go out for my mom."
Jack scoffed, shaking his head,"You didn't deserve that, you don't deserve any of this, " he promised.
The other boy shrugged, "Don't think you'd think that if ya knew absolutely everything about me, but thanks Jackie," he replies with a sniffle, wiping his eyes.
Jack furrowed his eyebrows, stammering in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me, Dave?!" he chided, "I don't care what else you think is wrong with you, you would never ever deserve something like that," Jack fumed.
He took a deep breath, feeling Davey's muscles tense when his voice raised. "First of all, I'm bisexual. I know I already said I supported ya but I felt like this would make you actually believe me. Secondly, you're like the best person I've ever met. You're so smart, way smarter than me. Plus you're much braver than you let on, hell when I left the union you ran it without me and you stood up to weasal first day! You couldn't do anything in the world for me to have a bad opinion of ya, Davey. "
Davey's eyes widened and he felt blush rise to the apples of his cheeks, warming the rest of his face. His heart pounded against his chest once again, though for an entirely different reason. Everyday Jack's passion was able to sent butterflies fluttering around Davey's stomach, he just loved him so much. He also couldn't ignore the twinge of excitement that hit him once Jack mentioned he was bi.
Jack shot a tender smile towards him, which was enough to make Davey's heart burst out of his chest. "Are you feeling any better now? Like your mind and like your body too?" he asks.
Davey let out a quiet chuckle, "Do you mean physically and mentally?" to which Jack nodded, "My headache is splitting but I can see you properly now which is good, my leg is still killing me but I'm willing to bet its just fully broken. Mentally though, a million times better," he replied with a sigh. "You're seriously admirable Jack, you inspire everyone around you."
Jack shook his head,"Not letting you change the topic to complimenting me now, we're still focussing on you." To which Davey just smiled, his beaming bright smile that Jack always found himself dreaming about. "I meant everything I just said about you."
Davey felt the blush on darken, highlighting his cheeks a light red color. "My god Jackie," he swooned, glancing up at him. His gaze fell down towards his lips for a moment before quickly bouncing back up.
Jack watched Davey's eyes dart and he smirked, scooting himself closer. "Plus, I also found out you're gay today. Granted I didn't want what happened to happen how it did, but still. "
Davey's breath hitched as Jack's words repeated inside his mind. He stumbled over his words, "Jack can I," he started before his words were interrupted by Jack closing the space between them.
Eyelids fluttering shut, Davey's own hands came up to Cover Jack's on his face, leaning forward into the touch. And suddenly, all the splitting pain through Davey's body was overpowered by the wave of emotions in the kiss. He hesitantly pulled away, though Jack chased after his lips as he did.
"Sorry Jackie," Davey gasped,"I just really need to get home and while my leg still hurts, I think I can walk better than before now after sitting down with you."
Jack ruffled his hair, "I'm still walking you home though, you can't fight that," he says, propping himself up and offering his hand to Davey to help him up, which he gladly took.
"I hope that gestured showed that I like you by the way," Jack comments as he snaked his arm around the other's waist once again. Davey leaned against him like he did before, attempting to walk with his better leg.
"It did, and I love you too Jackie, so much," Davey replied, "But I desperately need to go home."
Jack chuckled, "Okay Okay! I just wanted to wait until I could guarentee you weren't gonna pass out on me!"
The two eventually hiked their way home, going much slower than Davey had wanted, however he knew that was the safest possible option. He gulped as they eventually approached his apartment.
"Please god don't let my parents freak out, " Davey mumbled under his breath before slowly creaking open the door, Jack still attached to his side.
Sarah jolted up out of her seat, rushing towards her brother before pulling him into a tight hug.
"David what the hell?!" she scolded,"Where have you been? Mom is about to call the cops!"
Davey winced at the sudden tighteness, clucthing onto his ribs. "Don't worry about it I'm fine, but the only reason I'm fine is because Jack was there to help me. Can he stay?"
Sarah raised an eyebrow, one hand placed on her hip. She huffed, "Okay, but go tell mom not to call the cops."
"Fine."
Word Count: 3296