AN: This is a little ficlet I wrote for the wonderful Shimmerwings on her Birthday. A way of saying 'thank you' for all the wonderful Jack/Davey fics she has written. This is SLASH. Yes, boys liking other boys. In particular Jack/David. If that's not your thing, don't read. Sorry if this is a little cheesy. I said I write, I never said I write well...And as always, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be. I'm just a poor college student who can't even afford Taco Bell...
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Cold Wind, Warm Hands 1/1
The cold air bit into my skin as I pulled tighter the scarf Sarah had knitted my for Christmas. It was February and it was beyond cold. Even the snow had better sense then to fall in this weather. There was a light dusting of it on the ground which whipped around with each strong gust of wind. This was decidedly not paper selling weather. A person would have to be crazy to go walking in the streets on this pale afternoon. And the few that were out had no intention of stopping to buy a paper.
I had been stubborn though. I wasn't going to let bad weather stop me from taking my usual number of papes. It was days like these that made me pay dearly for my reputation. Even someone with my god given talent couldn't sell a hundred papers on a day like this. But I'm Cowboy and people expect me to sell a hundred every day. It's days like these I just take the hundred and absorb the loss. The guys didn't have to know I threw away almost half of them. And what it costs me in money, I gain back with their respect. And I can't ignore the fact that I'm a role model to the younger newsies. The Unbeatable Jack Kelly. No one wants to see their hero fail.
Yet I had to keep reminded myself it was different now. It wasn't just myself I was subjecting to this nasty weather, it was my selling partners too. Well, partner. Mrs. Jacob had the good sense to keep Les inside on a day like this.
I cast a sidelong glance at Davey. He looked worse off than I. He face was red from the wind and the cold. He had his papers shoved under one arm while he rubbed his hands together to keep them warm.
"Where're your gloves, Davey?" I asked, frowning.
"Oh, I loaned to Les yesterday when we were out selling, I forgot to get them back from him before leaving this morning." He said, giving me a weak smile. I didn't even bother to ask why Les didn't have his own pair. Les looses things a lot and poor Sarah probably couldn't knit fast enough to keep up with him.
"Here, give me your hands." Dave shot me a quizzical look before holding out his hands to me. I felt suddenly foolish. Sometimes, when it's cold and I'm out selling with the younger kids, I take their hands, rub them together with mine and blow on them a bit. Just to help the keep warm. This is fine, of course, if it's a little kid. But I had no choice now, I had started the gesture and I had to finish it. I was not going to back down. There I go, being stubborn again.
I tried to smile reassuringly at Davey as I took his hands in my own. I rubbed them vigorously between my hands. I was going to stop there, honestly I was, but before I knew it, I had cupped my hands around his, brought them up to my mouth, and blown. Dave smiled shyly at me and, while it was hard to tell, I think he reddened a bit more in the face. I dropped his hands, suddenly self conscious.
"There, uh, your hands should be a bit warmer," I said, trying not to stumble over my words.
"Yeah, that felt good," Dave replied awkwardly. It was one of those traits about him I always found enduring. I'm always cool around people, I rarely get flustered. But not Davey. He's always been a bit shy and awkward.
"Well, I'm about ready to call it a day. This weather is horrible. We're going to get nothing more out of this day than a bad cold." I suddenly felt very bad for dragging Davey around in this weather. He took very few papes this morning and had already managed to sell most of them off. He was just keeping stubborn old me company at this point.
"But Jack, you still have a ton of papers left," He protested.
"Yeah, but your lips are turning blue, and mine probably ain't much better. Listen, lets go to Tibby's, get a cup of hot chocolate, and then I'll walk you home."
That suggestion got a full blown smile out of him. "Yeah, great idea. Come on, let's hurry, I'm freezing!" He replied with his usual puppy-dog enthusiasm.
His walk seemed lighter as we headed off in the direction of Tibby's. Every few minutes he'd look over at me and smile that infectious smile. That's the thing about Davey, the simplest things make him happy. He's a lot like a little kid at times, wide eyed and full of wonder. He lacks the hardened quality most kids I know have. It's because he didn't grow up on the streets. There's this naivete about him that interests me. Dave's never had to spend a night on the streets, at the end of the day he knows where he's going to sleep. Never has he had to worry about where his food is going to come from, or if he has enough money to make it through the day. Sometimes I wonder if I'd be like him if my life was different.
That's what drew me to Davey in the first place, I think. He's unlike any kid I've ever known, like a window into a different life. It's also what makes me so protective of him. I know that there's a lot of stuff that goes on that he has no clue about, simply because he's never been exposed to such things. He doesn't know Boots ran away from an abusive father, or that Cruthcy's parent gave him up simply because he was born a cripple. He has no idea the number of times I've slept under benches, or huddled in alleys. Never has he had to choose between a warm bed at the lodging house and food for a day. He's never spent a night in jail. And I will try has hard as I can to keep it that way. He's not an idiot, he knows we don't all have it as well as he does, but he never really sees the full truth of things either.
Yet he smiles and I have to smile back. It's that smile that reminds me that sometimes things are tough, but if you've got good friends, you can get through just about anything.
I hold the door open for him when we finally get to Tibby's. Some other of the newsies are there, but they're scattered, sitting in small groups of their own. Davey and I take a booth to ourselves in the corner. I smile as I listen to him talk on and on about one thing or another, just taking pleasure in his company.
"Listen Jack, I'm serious," He was saying, "stay with us tonight. You always refuse, but just this once take us up on the offer. It's got to be warmer in our apartment than in that drafty lodging house. Ma will have something warm for dinner, and Les will be thrilled to see you. Ma had such a hard time getting him to stay home today..."
I had to cut him off or I knew he'd just keep talking. "Yeah, Davey, I'll stay the night, don't worry," I say, smiling at him as our hot chocolates arrived. Truth was, I was glad for the offer. My stubbornness today had cost me more than I had originally expected and I wasn't sure how much I was going to have for food and lodging for the rest of the week, especially if this nasty weather didn't change. And it wasn't really charity if he didn't know how much I needed it.
I blinked and realized Dave was looking at me, a goofy grin plastered all over his face.
"What?" I asked, feeling like I had missed something.
"I'm the one that should be asking you that," He responded and I looked at him quizzically. "You keep staring at me. Do I have hot chocolate all over my face or something?"
I had been staring at him, hadn't I? "Oh, no it's just...I mean, you know it's, uhh nice to spend some time just me and you," I finally managed to sputter out. I didn't think it was possibly, but his grin got even bigger.
"Yeah, I mean, Less, he's great and I love him, but he can get kind of annoying," David said. He completely missed my point.
"No I mean, it's nice, just me and you alone...talkin' and stuff," He looked up when I said that we held each other's gaze. I could read warmth and understanding in his eyes.
"Yeah, I know," He said in almost a whisper, his big goofy grin replaced by a small, shy smile. He hadn't missed the point after all.
I returned his smile and we drank the rest of our hot chocolate companionable silence. He grabbed the check when it was brought to the table.
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Out on the street, the sun was beginning to set, taking with it whatever warmth it had offered the frigid day. Without breaking our silence, we turned and headed towards the Jacobs' apartment.
As we walked I noticed David trying to rub warmth into his hands again. When he let his hands drop to his sides, I reached over and wrapped my hand around his slightly smaller one. His skin was smooth and cool under my touch.
Dave stopped in his tracks and I froze, afraid I had crossed the line. But he just looked at me with a strange smile and a look of wonder in his eyes. Then he started chuckling, small and quiet enough that it was barely perceptible.
"What?" I demanded, feeling suddenly self conscious. But it didn't last, his laughter and his smile were contagious. Pretty soon we were both standing, alone, hand in hand, in the middle of a deserted side walk, at the end of a cold day, laughing our heads off. We would have been a sight to see had any one been out on the streets.
Finally, stopping to catch his breath David said, "Come on, let's get home, Ma's probably holding dinner for us."
We started walking again, Davey huddling closer to me as the cold wind picked up. We didn't release hands until we came with in a few blocks of the apartment. Davey let go of my hand and stood facing me for a few moments before letting a wicked grin take over his face. He then turned and took off as fast as he could towards his place.
"Come on Jack, I'm going to beat you this time!" He called behind him.
"Oh no you won't!" I responded, taking the bait. My body started to warm up as I raced toward my home, toward my David.
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