Title: Boots and the Fairy

Author: ToT

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the newsies. pouts Damn… And I also don't own the tale of the tooth fairy. Read on, dear readers!

Opening Comments: I thought that this would make a very cute li'l ficy thing. It has some humor in it (what else are ya gonna get with Dutchy and Specs and Bumlets?), but I've mostly been told that it's cute. So, yeah. Read on, review, and cheer me on cuz this is my first *ever* posted fic for *anything*!! cheers

*****

"Ise lawst it!" cried an ecstatic you boy, running into the room. "Ise foinally lawst it!"

He ran up to the table where some of his friends were sitting playing poker. They glanced up at him, then looked back to their game.

"Dat's nice, Boots," Racetrack said, laying down his hand.

"Really great," Mush mumbled, folding.

"Uh-huh… Fold," Blink chorused. Jack and David followed suit. [AN: I just caught this while typing it. NO PUN INTENDED.]

Their inattentive behavior, however, did nothing to dounce the boy's happiness in the least.

"Ise is gonna put it undah me pillow tanight. Den da tooth fairy'll gimme some money fer it--maybe Ise'll even git a doime!"

"Boots, knawck if awff, will ya?" Jack said, stopping Boots from skipping by putting out his arm.

"Yeah. Everyone knows dat da tooth fairy don' exist. She's jes' made up," Race added.

Boots' face fell. "Dere…dere's no such t'in' as da tooth fairy?" he asked, tears forming in his large brown eyes.

Not looking up, David said, "Nope. It's just a myth."

Boots looked at the tooth in his hand and put it in his pocket before walking out of the bunkroom.

Walking down a Manhattan street, he blinked back tears that threatened to fall. What else had he been told? What other lies had he been fed? Next thing they'd be telling him was that Saint Nick didn't exist either.

"Hey ya, Boots!" a familiar voice called. "Whatcha up ta?"

Boots looked up to see three of the other newsies--Specs, Dutchy, and Bumlets--walking towards him.

He wiped his eyes and muttered, "Not much."

Bumlets didn't buy it. "Nah, sumpit'in's wrong. What is it?"

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but Dutchy interrupted. "Hey! Lookit dat! Youse lawst yer tooth. Are youse gonna put it undah yer pillow tanight fer da tooth fairy?"

Boots shook his head.

"Why not?" Specs asked.

" 'Cause da others said dat she don' exist. If she don' exist, what's da point a puttin' it dere?"

The three older newsies glanced at each other. Dutchy spoke first.

"Of course dere's a tooth fairy, Boots. She came ta us all da toime when wese lawst our teeth, right guys?" The other two nodded vigorously. "Now den, 's gettin' late, so wese'll walk wid ya back an' jes' youse wait an' see wheddah or not she comes tanight, alright?"

Boots nodded and the other two looked at Dutchy wondered what he had up his sleeve.

*****

That night, after Boots and all the other newsies were asleep, Dutchy crept into the bunkroom with something in his arms and went over to Specs' bunk where he and Bumlets were sitting up.

Bumlets' eyes grew wide as he saw the glint of sequins in Dutchy's arms. "Are youse nuts?!"

"What if he foinds out?" Specs asked skeptically.

"Hey, Ise ain't makin' youse do it, am I?" Dutchy countered, taking off his shirt and pulling something over his head. "Aw, shit."

Bumlets and Specs exchanged glances. "What's wrong?" Bumlets asked.

"I've lawst me glasses in da skoits…" Dutchy mumbled, shuffling around the heavy skirts of the dress he borrowed from Medda.

"Well, Ise don' t'ink dat youse is supposed ta put it on ovah youse's head," Specs noted.

"Now he tells me… What is youse anywho? Da mastah o' skoits?"

"Hm… Ise di'n' t'ink dat Specs had dat much experience wid goils…" Bumlets murmured before getting whacked over the head.

"Ha! Ise found 'em," Dutchy whispered, triumphantly holding his glasses above his head before putting them on. "Now den, which way ta Boots' bunk?"

"Dat way," Specs and Bumlets both said at the same time, pointing in opposite directions.

Dutchy rolled his eyes and started off in the direction he thought was the destination. He didn't get very far, however.

Bumlets, who had the dime in his hand and was following Dutchy, bumped into him. "Why didja stop?"

A pause. Dutchy turned and looked back at his friends. "Ise is stuck on a nail."

Dutchy bent over and attempted to unsnag himself--unsuccessfully.

"Ise t'ink Ise jes' made it woise…" he mumbled.

"Why are youse in a skoit again?" Bumlets asked.

"Jes' in case da kid wakes up. Jeez, Medda's gonna kill me."

"Heah, lemme try." Specs got down on his hands and knees and fiddled around with the skirts, but couldn't make heads or tails of them. Bumlets then joined him on the ground while Dutchy stood around impatiently. Specs then attempted to stand up, hitting his head on the bunk that was above him.

The boy that belonged to the bunk sat up sleepily and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw someone in a dress and two guys on their hands and knees with their hands seemingly up her skirt.

"Um… Excuse me, but, ah…" he began.

Bumlets stood up and started to explain while stuttering. "Blink--it, it ain't whatcha t'ink--really it ain't," he tried.

"Yea. It's me--Dutchy," Dutchy jumped in trying to save his friend. Instead, he got a really weird look from Blink.

"Bumlets," Blink began carefully, "why did youse 'ave yer hands up-- DUTCHY?!" He was silenced by a chorus of shushes. "Dutchy! Whaddya doin' in a skoit?!"

"Well, ya see…" Specs looked from one friend to the other and quickly thought up something. "Blink, youse is dreamin'. Dis is all a dream. Now den, lay down an' it'll all go away."

Blink took one last look at the three of them. "If youse say so." He lay back down and went back to sleep.

"Well dat was easy enough," Dutchy said. "Ise t'ink dat Ise is unsnagged now, so c'mon." He took the lead again with no further interruptions.

They finally reached Boots' bunk and Dutchy turned to Bumlets.

"Youse gots da doime?" Bumlets nodded. "Good." More silence. Dutchy smacked Bumlets' arm. "Well, are youse gonna give me da doime, or what?"

"Right. Sorry. Ise is fallin' asleep back heah." Bumlets shoaled out the dime and placed it in Dutchy's palm. Dutchy reached under the pillow carefully and felt around for the tooth for what seemed like hours. When he found it, he picked it up and replaced it with the palmed coin before quickly withdrawing his hand and forearm.

"Dere. Ise told youse dat he wasn' gonna wake up! Now all's wese gots ta do from heah on out is ta sleep an' go along wid da kid on da tooth fairy issue tamarrah, got it?" Dutchy smiled as the trio headed to the other side of the bunkroom.

As they were about ready to climb into bed, however, Dutchy halted them.

"What is it now, Dutch?" Specs whined.

"Yea. Hurry up cause Ise wants ta go ta bed," Bumlets added.

Although it was dark, Dutchy looked down to hide his blushing face. "Uh…well… Could youse guys help me outta dis dress?"

Specs and Bumlets exchanged glances and rolled their eyes before consenting to their friend's normally outrageous question.

They finally went to bed after hiding the dress under Specs' mattress, pleased with what they had done for their friend.

*****

The next morning, Specs and Dutchy caught up with Boots before the newsies left for the distribution office.

"Boots! Didja check undah yer pillow dis mornin'?" Specs asked. Boots shook his head.

"Well, maybe ya should, jes' in case," Bumlets said, walking up.

Boots looked from one to the other to the other, sighed, and walked back up the stairs to his bunk. The three held their breath collectively in anticipation.

When his hand met the cold metal, Boots' eyes lit up as he pulled the coins from their sanctuary. He gazed down into his hand and counted slowly.

"Youse was right!" he exclaimed. "Dere is a tooth fairy! An' she gave me twenty cents fer dat one tooth!"

Dutchy nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped abruptly. He looked at the other two and they shrugged, obviously as confused as he was.

"Wow, near two bits? Dat must've been some tooth," Specs covered, still puzzled.

Boots left the room to go show Blink and Mush, but the others stayed behind.

"Did youse…?" Dutchy started, pointing at Bumlets who shook his head in disbelief. Dutchy then turned to Specs. "Youse?" Specs shook his head as well. "Den who…?"Dutchy left his question unanswered and the three newsies, still utterly confused, walked to the distribution office.

*****

Closing Comments: Bwahaha!!!! Who was it? The World may never know… ^_^ Review my happy ficy--although it's not my first fic, it's the first one typed/finished and posted. (First posted EVER.) So, yeah. Ise'll be seein' youse around. CARRY DA BANNAH!!!! ~ToT