Hiya, everyone! Sita's back in action! *grins* Okay, kids, here's the deal. This fic right here is my baby. *cuddles it* It's been in the works since... August-ish. Anyway. I love it very much. *cuddles again* It should be a lot of fun, for me and for you guys. At least I hope it'll be fun. *beams* On with the story! *charges forward*

Disclaimers: Sita does not own Newsies or any of the original characters in this fic, except for Mayfly. *waves pocket watch* Lawsuits are baaaad... lawsuits are baaaad...

Warnings: Eventual slash, violence... other stuff? ^^;;;

Angelsight

Prologue

Without a doubt, the sunset was Snitch's favorite time of the day.

More often than not, the lanky seventeen-year-old would find himself scrambling up the fire escape of a tall building after selling his last newspaper, covered in grime and ink from head to toe. He would remove his hat, scrub the dust from his forehead, and then settle himself on the roof to watch the sun disappear.

First, the sun would begin to sink slowly, very slowly. Snitch could never tell just when it began to happen. It would change from a bright, cheerful yellow to a darker, more subdued gold and red. The colors would seep into the blue sky around it, lacing it with scarlet and gold. And, all the while, the sun was slowly falling behind the horizon. Snitch would watch until the last sliver of gold faded from view, and the sky turned a dark, midnight blue. He watched until the stars popped into view, one by one, like a needle poking tiny holes into black cloth. He watched until the moon rose up, proud and iridescent, over the city of Manhattan.

Then, he looked down.

The city at night wasn't at all like the city during the day. It was dark and shadowy, like one of the mysterious towns in the stories his father would read him. Those hazy cities always seemed to be home to mystical creatures, like shapeshifters and faeries. Snitch loved to pretend that Manhattan was one of those fictional cities, filled with secrets waiting to be explored by curious young men like himself.

Then, he would start to shiver, and he would reluctantly leave the top of the building.

The picture of after-dark Manhattan that Snitch had mentally painted shattered as his bare feet hit the rough, cobblestone street. Once he was back on the ground, he found himself faced with reality. The smoke in the air was not dust left from a faerie's wings; it was smog from a nearby factory. The shadowy figure leaning against the dirty, brick wall was not a wandering spirit searching for its lost love; it was just a normal man, staring at his watch and tapping his foot impatiently. Snitch sighed as a small, pretty woman jogged up the street towards the man. The man stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself as perfectly normal, smiled as the woman arrived, and walked down the street with his arm hooked through hers.

The tall newsboy watched them wistfully for a few seconds, then sighed and trudged down the dark street towards the looming Lodging House in the distance.

*~*~*

"Hey, Pie?"

"Yeah?"

"You asleep?"

"I just answered you, didn't I?"

"Yeah... I got a question."

"What, Snitch?"

"You ever wish that... I dunno, that you were different?"

Pie Eater blinked, then sat up in his bed and looked over at Snitch. The tall boy was sitting, cross-legged, at the end of the bed so as not to wake Itey, who was snoring loudly. A sliver of moonlight escaped through the window and fell directly across Snitch's left eye. That combined with the way that he was hunched over in the shadows gave him an almost monster-like appearance. He leaned forward, his face lighting up as he hit a patch of moonlight.

"Well, do you?"

Pie blinked and ran his fingers through his short, messy, dark hair. "I dunno, Snitch. What do you mean by 'different?'"

"You know. Just... wanting to be someone else. Different. Maybe... not so normal."

"I still don't get it."

Snitch sighed and leaned forward a bit more. "We do the same things every day. We get up, we sell, we eat, we fight, we sleep, we do it all over again. Sometimes... okay, a lotta times, I was I was like a character in one of those books. Y'know, the fairy tales with the princesses and the shapeshifters and people with wings."

Pie bit his lip and looked away. "I... I can't read."

"That's okay. I can't read too good, either. I just remember that my dad used to tell me these stories all the time when I was younger."

"Oh." Snitch looked up and out of the window, watching the clouds drift across the crescent moon. "But Snitch?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I do feel like that sometimes."

Snitch smiled across the room at Pie Eater.

"I guess everybody does."

"Could you..."

"What?"

"Could you maybe... tell me some of the stories?"

Snitch grinned broadly. "Sure, Pie."

He began reciting every story he could remember. He told of rushing rivers where mischievous sprites lived. He told of murderous vampires who stalked the streets, searching for their next victim. He told of places far, far away where the lines between imagination and reality were blurry and unclear.

And as he spoke, something told him that Pie Eater wasn't the only one listening. He glanced around at the other boys, all of whom were sleeping peacefully.

Then, slowly, he turned his gaze towards the ceiling.

And he smiled.

"We live our lives

Wandering to the ends of the earth

Believing in you, now I begin my journey with you

In search of the light." - "Fukai Mori," Do As Infinity

End Prologue

*grins* My baby actually came out well. I think I like the ending; it didn't come out nearly as awkward as I thought it would! Anyway. I would love you vewy, vewy much if you could spare some time for a review, since this fic is the love of my life. *beams cheerily and disppears*