Disclaimer: Don't own Specs or Dutchy, never will, sadly. If I did, trust me, you'd know it. Don't own any of the newsies.

Warning: This is SLASH! Don't like, don't read!

Dutchy and Specs. You say their name and every newsie within hearing distance will stop and give them a moments silence, for their memory still burns strong in all of our memories, no matter how long it's been.
They were the perfect couple. Best friends ever since they walked into the lodging house and laid eyes on eachother. Everyone knew what they felt for eachother. Everyone except them, that is. Everyone but them saw the secret looks of longing they gave eachother when they thought that no one was looking.
You're probably thinking 'Wait just a cotton picking minute. If Dutchy and Specs were gay, didn't they get beat up? I mean, not everyone is going to be accepting of something like that, didn't it bother some of the newsies?' Sure it did. It probably bothered a lot of them a lot more than they let on that two of the boys who slept in the same room with them every night were gay, but there were reasons why they didn't get mauled. Two reasons to be specific. The first reason consisted mainly of two other gay boys. Their names were Spot and Race. They had come out to the whole of Manhattan and Brooklyn about them being together a few months before the strike, and you can bet they got a few bruises to say the least. Then again, so did their attackers; this was Spot after all. See, not everyone was bothered by them being gay. Some of the newsies like Jack, Skittery, Snitch, Blink, me, and especially Dutchy and Specs, they helped to support their friends. Eventually, since they never did anything in public, people forgot that they were even a couple, except for the fact that we would sometimes wake up in the morning and Race wouldn't be there, or if he was, Spot would be with him.

The other reason was Dutchy himself. We all loved. It really was impossible to hate him when he smiled at you like everything in the world was all right. Really, he was just a big kid, a child that had never really matured past the age of seven, when you still have all of your innocence. He was one of those people, you know? The kind that you can't help but share their joy, or feel their pain, one of those people who wore their hearts right out on their sleeves. You could always tell when Specs and Dutchy had had a fight because when you walked into the lodging house, it would be really quiet, because Dutchy wasn't bouncing around talking to everybody. I think he was really the core of the lodging house. You know how most groups have that one person who everyone cares about? The one that keeps all of them together? Yeah, that was him. Jack may have been the leader, and Race may have been the comic relief, but Dutchy was the one that stopped us from killing eachother sometimes with a well placed 'Anyone got a peanut?' or some such random comment.
We had all been urging Specs to tell Dutchy about his feelings for the Gods only know how long. He kept putting it off, saying that he wanted to wait for the right moment or that he didn't want to make Dutchy nervous. Fat chance of that ever happening. Dutchy never got nervous. Ever. It was almost like he wasn't effected by it. He was one the kind of person that always told you exactly what he was thinking, not caring what you thought back. It didn't matter if it had to do with how bad you were at selling headlines or the color of marshmallows, he always told you the truth.
Finally, we convinced Specs that the only thing to do was try and see what happened, and he did. He went right up to Dutchy that night at Tibby's and kissed him, in front of everybody. After that, well, it's history. Very cute, fluffy history.

(exactly one week after Dutchy and Specs have gotten together)
"Hey Specs?" he asked when the other sold his last paper.
"Yeah Dutch?"

"Do you love me?" Specs stopped walking. For a moment he just stood there, staring at Dutchy. 'Do I love him?...' Specs thought, thinking back on the whole time they had known eachother, what he felt for Dutchy. He realized that he didn't even know the real definition of love. 'If love is always wanting him with me, I definitely do.' He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the cringing of metal on cobblestones and horses galloping. He looked past Dutchy to see a black carriage hurtling towards them and showing no signs of stopping.
"Dutchy! Look out!" he yelled, shoving the other boy out of the way. However he tripped when he himself tried to get out of the path, and ended up trying desperately to crawl out of the way. He felt the crunch, the breaking of his bones under the hooves of the horses and the wheels of the carriage. He vaguely heard Duchy's distorted scream of horror, but after that everything went blank as the pain made him pass out.

"Specs! NO!" Dutchy scrambled up from where he lay, staring at the boy he loved. He knew that it had to be some trick. Specs couldn't be lying there motionless, he couldn't have been run over, he just couldn't. That wasn't the way it was supposed to be. He loved Specs, he was supposed to be with Specs for the rest of his life. He picked up Specs' body, carrying him gently to the sidewalk to make sure nothing else happened.
In the back of his mind somewhere he noted that a crowd was gathering, and the carriage hadn't even stopped, but his attention was fully on the boy in his arms. on....wake up!" he pleaded, tears streaking his face. He knew full well that Specs couldn't get up, but he had to try anyway. "Specs! Get up! This ain't funny any more. Come on...you gotta...you gotta get up." He collapsed into sobs, not being able to talk anymore. Then, with his head on Specs' chest, he noted a faint heartbeat, and the fact that Specs' body was still warm. Because of this, he held on tight to Specs. Even when the other newsies came, crowding him and trying to comfort him, ask him what had happened, he wouldn't let go of Specs. He would never let go of Specs.[1]

Specs feebly opened his eyes, feeling someone holding him. He shut them tight again when the light hit him, making pain shoot through his face. He noticed that Dutchy was holding him, and sobbing, and that there were other people around. He couldn't tell if the other people were newsies or not, all he heard was a dull murmur. The only reason he could even tell that it was Dutchy holding him was the fact that he could smell Dutchy's scent, the faint smell of honeysuckles and chocolate, was close, and he could feel someones arms around him. He opened his mouth to speak, wanting to tell Dutchy one more thing before he died. "Dutch...?" he whispered, his voice weak and laced with the pain he felt.
He felt Dutchy hug him tighter, making the pain intensify, but he knew that Dutchy needed to know he was there, that he was alive. "Specs...oh Gods, Specs! Don't go. Please. I need you. Don't go!" Dutchy sobbed, burying his head into Specs shoulder.
"I gotta Dutch...but...I...Dutchy....I love yo-..." He never even finished the sentence, or heard Dutchy's reply, because he was dead before he got the chance. There was no doubt in his mind as he died though, that Dutchy knew what he meant.

"Specs...I love you too."


It wasn't long after Specs died that we lost Dutchy too. I don't know why we were so shocked. I mean, Specs had been his other half, and without half of yourself, how could you live? I know that if anything ever happened to Blink I wouldn't be able to live. I can remember that day we lost him. We had just come back from Tibby's and we were actually in a good mood because the headlines had been really good for the past week and we had all sold a lot papes. Needless to say though, when we saw Dutchy lying on the floor in a puddle of blood, our good mood vanished. I think we must have stared at him for a good 10 minutes before any of us got over the shock of seeing him dead on the lodging house floor. Race was the first to snap out of it, running over to check Dutchy's pulse.
Almost as soon as he touched Dutchy's wrist though, he dropped it, and we couldn't miss the tear that ran down his face. We all knew it for sure then, even without asking. Dutchy was gone.

End

{swims through piles of cheeeeesy sap}

[1] Sorry, but this really reminds me of the Lion King. Where Mufasa just died and Simba's like 'Help!!' 'Somebdy! Anybody' Then he's like 'C'mon, you gotta get up! we gotta go home!'....{everybody stares} or maybe i've just been watching too many Disney movies....

OH! and if you can guess who the POV is, I'll give !!, (he's Spot's brother!!, They're twins!, cept, Collin's taller. {to Spot}HA! Even your own BROTHER is taller than you!

okay, Sorry if the paragraphs and stuff don't come out, is being a biotch. HA. Not a bad word! Fic is still PG!!

Oh. My. God. I cannot belive I just did that. Yeah. This was sort of inspired at the beginning and not at the end, so sorry if it's bad, but, eh.{starts putting fluff into cotton candy machine}Yummy. Fluff ala cotton candy.

Dutchy: YOU KILLED ME!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU KILLED ME!
Collin: Oh, she'll be doing a lot of that, don't worry.
Specs: DON'T TOUCH HIM YOU MURDERER!
Collin: Get over it, your dead too.
Myya:{attempts to make peace offering} DUTCHY!!{holds up cotton candy fluff} HERE BOY!! Fetch!!{throws cotton candy, which Dutchy eagerly runs after, Specs following him} Besides, it WAS Ryu's idea. SHE'S my angst muse. Don't shoot the messanger....geez.

Tell me what you think, K? THAT MEANS REVIEW!
We know Collin, we know.
Myya Conlon, and her big bro, Collin Conlon, who dares you to try and say his name ten times fast...o0...