A/N: This is just a collection of Newsie oneshots I write over time. There is no plot. No stories will connect together unless said. I have my own opinions and I don't own newsies.
I have terrible grammar too. I know.
The wind was still chilly. A cigar couldn't warm a guy up that much. Winter was turning to spring. The snow was melting into puddles and the birds were coming out from their hiding spots. Newsies were already puddle jumping all over the place. I had watched Snipeshooter try to sell covered in water earlier.
Manhattan was calm. It had been a few months since the strike. Jack Kelly was still around, but not for long. You could see the restless look in his eyes. He only thought for himself, sure he tried to be Robin Hood, but he wasn't cut out for it. Just like I'm not cut out for leader.
I had been a bird my whole life. Usually birds were younger kids that could run fast and blend into crowds as little new newsies that no one knew. I was the oldest bird in Brooklyn. I had been under too long, got too attached to a place.
Spot told me I could come back. He told me I could come back and be 2nd in command. It was all waiting for me. But was I even loyal to Brooklyn anymore? I wasn't even sure. Manhattan and Brooklyn were two separate planets.
Manhattan is all about your friends. You'd have each others backs and kept each others secrets. Everyone was happy. No one hesitated when lending someone two bits. Fights didn't break out often either.
You didn't have friends in Brooklyn. You had people who might watch your back or people that'll cut you at the first chance. Brooklyn isn't all gloom and doom though. The docks are fun. The girls are easy. The parties are crazy. Nothing wrong with that.
Brooklyn was where I was born. Manhattan is my home. So why was I still in Manhattan? Spot was in Brooklyn. He had been there the moment I wandered onto the street. Mush and Blink were here. But once I left they would never be able to see me really, or forgive me if they found out I was a Brooklyn bird.
Being under was my best bet. Sure, Spot wasn't happy, but he knew Manhattan was as harmless as a mouse. But once Jack Kelly was out of Manhattan, there would be no reason for me to even stay around.
I wasn't looking forward to that day.
"Heya Race, spot me two bits?" I put out my cigar and put it back into my pocket.
"Course Specs, coming out of winter is always hard. How bout a game of craps tonight?"
Brooklyn was my blood. I'd be there soon enough. Even if I didn't want too.