A/N 1: This could be a friendship, a romance or both. Make of it what you will

A/N 2: Dedicated to my two friends who love this pairing.


Things were quieter at night, out here on the roof. It may be the refuge, but that didn't mean he couldn't escape to the roof.

He smiled to himself; with Crutchy keeping Sneider occupied, he had at least an hour to do some serious thinkin.

He needed that all right. Serious thinkin. Things had been too busy the last three days to really make sense of anything.

First there had been Sara, the quiet beautiful girl who always had a warm smile and a kind word for him.

And then there was Dave, the guy he had met only two short days ago.

He chuckled lightly. Dave. The boy had been so innocent, so timid, so moral and upstanding, so forthright and prideful when they first met. So forthright that he even insisted on Weasel giving him the last three papes.

"Stupid Dave; nobody asks Weasel for more papes. He ain't ever gonna give ya one."

It was odd though; despite the initial perception, Dave had proven himself to be a born leader. The walking mouth. The one with all the ideas. It if weren't for Dave, they wouldn't be a union.

He stood up, pacing along the rooftop, looking down below. A cool breeze ruffled his hair and he sighed.

Problem was, ever since he had met Dave, his thoughts had been a little jumbled. It didn't seem natural that he should find himself quickly feeling the same way about Dave as he did about Sara. He knew he wasn't smart, but even he knew one thing:

It didn't make sense.

It didn't make sense that just seeing Dave could bring a smile to his face; it didn't make sense that when Dave spoke, whether it was that night on the balcony or spurring the Newsies on to action, he found himself hanging on to every word. It didn't make sense that just looking at Dave could make all the hurt in his life go away. And when Dave stared back at him, those eyes seemed to see something in him that he couldn't. Potential. The fact that he was worth something, the fact that he wasn't just some dumb Newsie hawking papes; he meant something.

"That kind of thing ain't natural," he mused.

And the strangest part? When Dave touched him, he felt a warmth and a comfort he had never felt before. Like…there was something more there. A friendship maybe, but…something more than that it seemed.

He shook his head. "To much thinkin that is. I think anymore, I'm not gonna be able to help Dave tomorrow." A smile spread across his face.

"Hey Jack, you still up there?"

"Yeah Crutch."

"Uh…I think you better come down. I was trying to hold off Sneider, but he was gettin real angry."

He grabbed onto the rope he had used to haul himself to the roof, expertly swinging onto the ledge and ducking into the room. "Thanks Crutch."

"No problem. So, uh, Jack? Did ya figure things out up there?"

He placed an arm around Crutchy's shoulders, helping him to his bed. "No, but ya know what?"

"What?"

"Tomorrow's another day." He smiled thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll figure things out then."

"Yeah. That's good Jack. Real good."