If you think I'm going to start writing happy things any time soon, you are very much mistaken.
I have a very sad headcanon that I couldn't resist writing about, and this is the first chapter of the product of my twisted mind. It was orignally going to be a oneshot, bur eventually I decided to make it a multichapter story, mostly because I needed to post something and because Midnight is giving me unnecessary amounts of difficulty at the moment. Anyway, here's a thing.
Enjoy!
-Marcelle
Romeo adjusts his tie in the mirror. At twenty years old, it's the first one he's ever owned. Jack is the one to give it to him.
"Look, kid, this is real important," he says, holding the tie in both palms as though it was a sacred item. Jack refuses to stop referring to Romeo as "kid," even when he'd turned eighteen, but Romeo has found that he doesn't mind as much today. It's nice to hear something familiar before his life changes for good. Reassuring, almost, reminding him of where he's been and where he's going. He'll always be a kid to Jack, and that's fine with him.
"This is gonna be the biggest day of your life, you understand?" Jack continues, looking Romeo dead in the eyes. Romeo has grown considerably in the years following the strike, but even his growth spurt hasn't made him taller than Jack.
"Yeah, I know."
He still looks up at his big brother, and prepares himself for the speech he knows he's about to hear. Jack has always been a man of many words, and Romeo thinks he can predict his next ones.
It'll be a speech about growing up, about how it's time to be serious, but also that he's about to enter the best years of his life. Jack will mention himself and Katherine, the happy marriage they share with their daughter Elizabeth. He'll promise that things won't always be perfect, but they'll always be a family. Romeo has known this before Jack even opens his mouth.
"So you can't think about...him, alright? Don't let that son of a - don't let him get to you."
Romeo's eyes grow wider at the words. No, this isn't what he had been expecting at all.
"No, I...I know," He takes a deep breath, forcing his mind to stop searching for the memory that automatically accompanies Jack's advice. Their former leader is right, he can't allow the past to spoil his future. He can't let himself wish for something that was ruined a long time ago. It's haunted him for four years, and four years is enough.
"Good. This is about you, Romeo, not about him. You deserve this," Jack assures him, and proceedes to fasten the tie around Romeo's neck. He doesn't protest, because he knows this is the kind of thing Jack misses the most. Jack is a caregiver by nature, and so Romeo stands and lets him fuss over him for a few moments.
It provides a decent enough distraction from the one thought that threatens to ruin him, because he knows that in any other circumstances, there would have be someone else in the room with him now. But this person is gone. He isn't coming back, and Romeo has to accept that.
He has to, or he'll be stuck as a broken sixteen-year-old forever. And he can't be that on his wedding day.
"You ready for this, kid?" Jack takes a step back and allows Romeo to admire himself in the mirror, the tie around his neck a new and strangely fascinating sight to him. It seems to spark something in him, a flash of sudden illumination that shows him that this is real. He's going to get married.
He's going to have a wife, a family. Not that the newsies have ever been less than family to Romeo, but Isabelle is someone he can call his own, and the tie somehow affirms the idea in his own mind. He's almost in a certain awe of the clothing article before reminding himself that he had an audience.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm as ready as I'll ever be," he admits, sheepishly ducking his head a bit before looking back into the mirror. Jack smiles at his reflection, seeming happy, but Romeo catches the glint of pity in his eyes, pity that he does want in the slightest. Jack has no reason to pity him today.
"Then let's getting the wedding ball rollin', huh?" Jack declares instead, clapping Romeo on the back to snap him out of his thoughts and making him grin at the thought of what he's about to do. Jack twists the doorknob, holding it open for Romeo as he takes a final deep breath. It's time to start a new chapter.
He leaves the room and heads down the aisle to the alter. He passes each of his brothers, except for one.
Even Davey and Les are here, Davey having returned from Harvard Law for the occasion despite Romeo's insistence that he wasn't worth the trip. But Davey had assured him that it wasn't an issue, and now he beams as Romeo stands near the only priest the newsies had been able to afford.
They had all chipped in to make this wedding happen, just as they had done for Jack and just as they swore they'd do for each one of their brothers. Everyone had contributed whatever they could, and Romeo swells with gratitude as he gazes out at each one of them now.
They're all grinning at him, dressed in their relative finery and looking at him with such a pride in their eyes that Romeo isn't entirely sure he's earned. Because even now, after he's sworn to them that he's moved on, he's still searching the crowd for one face he knows he'll never see again.
Instead, he finds Jack's smile and returns it, letting his childhood role model steady him in the final moments he has left to be a child. He treasures this time, and it seems as though not even a second has gone by before Romeo turns his head to see Isabelle walking down the aisle. Her face is veiled, but Romeo knows from the countless times he's admired her, whether she had known it or not, that she'll be as beautiful as she somehow manages to always be.
Soon, the veil is lifted, the vows are exchanged, a kiss is shared, a rowdy crowd of former newsboys is cheering much louder than necessary, and Romeo is leading his new wife out of the church and to Jacobi's, where the reception is being held. It's right down the street, a convience that has spared them the expense of finding their own transportation, and Mr. Jacobi has been the epitome of cooperation.
Not only has he allowed his loyal customers back into their old haunt, he's even hired a band and cleared away the tables to form a makeshift dance floor. It's much more than Romeo would have expected, but he doesn't discourage the purchases. He knows Mr. Jacobi would not have done any of this if he hadn't wanted to.
He twirls Isabelle around time after time to the beat of the music, takes in the sight and sounds of his family enjoying themselves around him, and it is almost enough to distract him. It is almost enough to make him forget everything his sixteen year old self has forced him to remember. Romeo begins to think that he can leave it all behind him.
That's when he feels a tap on his shoulder, and a voice in his ear.
"Looks like you found your Juliet, huh?"
Ooh, mystery! I know this was not very clear as to who the person was, but it might be clear to anyone familiar with my other works and my percieved relationships between the characters. Then it's probably easy. XD Well, as always, please don't forget to review! Prompts and suggestions are happily welcomed and accepted as well! Midnight is not abandoned, I swear, in case there was confusion. Thanks for reading!