Author's note: First posted fic in the Newsies fandom. So, I'm kind of biting my nails over it. Review, alright? Written and originally posted over on tumblr for inconsequentialramblings who gave me the prompt "Specs/Dutchy, comparing glasses".
Dutchy took his glasses off and scowled at them. Filthy again. He'd really love to know how they got so dirty when they just sat on his face all day, untouched. He cursed when the managed to make one of the smears bigger.
"Problem, Dutchy?"
Dutchy turned to see Specs standing behind him. Or what he assumed was Specs. He couldn't exactly see much without his glasses. Still, the person was about his height and had Specs' voice.
"May I ask what happened to make you say things Kloppman would smack you for?" Specs asked.
"My glasses are dirty." Dutchy muttered, scowling at the spectacles in his hand. "I can't get them clean. How do you keep yours so clean?" He scrubbed at his glasses with the corner of his shirt again and glared at the smear that just got bigger. Specs sighed, and took the glasses from Dutchy, pulling off his own and holding them out.
"See how clean they are?" Specs asked and Dutchy nodded. "That because I don't use the corner of my dirty shirt to clean them." He gave Dutchy's shirt a pointed look and pulled a cloth out of this pocket. "Here, you can use this whenever you need to." Specs cleaned Dutchy's glasses for him and handed them back.
"Thanks, Specs. Oh, here." Dutchy held Specs' glasses out for him to take and then put his own back on. "Wow, this is a lot better. Thank you so much, Specs." Dutchy looked around and blinked a couple of times. "My eyes aren't as bad as I'd thought." Specs looked up from where he was cleaning his own glasses and raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Let me see." He held out his hand and Dutchy pulled off his glasses and handed them to Specs, who did the same. The both put on each other's glasses and blinked a few times. "Wow. Your eyes aren't actually that bad. Mine are much worse."
"I figured that out." Dutchy muttered, blinking rapidly. "Specs, you're almost blind." He squinted in an attempt to see better through Specs' glasses and then blinked again. "These hurt my eyes." He pulled them off and handed them back to Specs, who took Dutchy's off and replaced them with his own.
"Thanks. I can't see a thing without them." Specs smiled and handed Dutchy's glasses back. Dutchy put them back on and blinked for what felt like the millionth time in the last couple of minutes. "Thanks again for helping me clean these. It's nice to be able to see you better." Specs raised his eyebrows and Dutchy turned red. "Oh, don't say it." Specs made the most innocent face he could muster. Dutchy rolled his eyes. "Nice try, Specs. I don't believe it."
"Thanks, Dutchy. Really." Specs reached over and shoved the bill of Dutchy's hat down so it knocked his glasses askew.
"Hey!" Dutchy righted his hat and glasses and glared at Specs, who was still attempting to look innocent. Dutchy reached over, grabbed the brim of Specs' hat, and shoved it down. "Ha! Got you back!" Dutchy grinned as Specs righted his hat and glared.
"Call it a tie?" Specs asked and Dutchy nodded and held out his hand. Specs shook it.
"Tie." Dutchy said and smiled. Specs smiled back.