I'm back again! I love this! Then again, these are all pretty short. But still!
Okay, so this one is a fluffy little Romeo centered oneshot for a guest that reviews The Spider's Revenge, a story that I wrote a very long whole ago. That story was intense and violent and scary, and to this guest, If you're reading, I know and I realize that that story was a lot to take in. I realize that it was gruesome and awful, however there were many times throughout the story where I did put in warnings. A lot of my stories are intense and crazy and uncalled for, but I do (most of the time) own up to that fact. I do state in my A/N's that it is going to be awful and there is a warning for that one in the very beginning. I apologize for causing you any distress but a lot of my future stories are going to be that way. I enjoy writing intense scenes and stories. It's just a way for me to destress a little. I know it's weird and violent and awful, but it is what it is. It's like if you were to ask a writer of a horror movie to make the movie less scary. They wouldn't do that. If they've scared you, they've done their job.
I do appreciate the comment that you gave me, believe me I do. And I adored taking a break from the angst to write a little fluff, but I just wanted to help you see things from another point of view for a moment. I understand why you stopped reading that story and I completely respect that. So I do hope you enjoy this one!
Please enjoy!
It was dark. A small chill ran through the room without invitation. Snores rang out loudly as the night went on.
And Romeo couldn't sleep.
He knew he should be sleeping. After a day of work, it should've come naturally. He was tired. Hawking headlines all day and begging people for pennies wasn't exactly an easy task. Especially not when one is forced to run and hide from people trying to take him to a place Jack warned him never to go near.
A shiver shot through his spine at the very thought of that place, that place that all of his brothers were so scared of. Only two had ever been there. Jack and Race. The latter being taken out and immediately brought back to the lodge for the first time. Romeo hated to think about it. It gave them all night terrors that the boy couldn't begin to comprehend. He didn't want to. He just wanted to forget about it.
He wasn't scared or anxious. He wasn't hyper. He wasn't annoyed. He just... couldn't sleep. And that was baffling him.
All he could do was stare up at the ceiling, waiting for the dreariness to come and take him over. But it wouldn't. In fact, as time went on it felt like he was beginning to wake up more and more. He tried to just let his mind wander, but he knew that if he did that all he'd be able to think about were the monsters that might come in the night to swallow him whole. He was, after all, the smallest nine year old that Race consistently told him he'd ever met. Any little demon that was hiding in the shadows would be able to take him without a second thought.
He couldn't think about that right now. He had to think about something happy. Something that calmed him.
What did calm him?
The smell of bread, he supposed, but thinking about that would only make him hungry. Though he did want to walk through that alleyway now, the one with all the different bread factories. It smelled so good. He could think about the clanging of the coins in his pocket while he walked back to the lodge, but that would only get him excited.
No what really calmed Romeo, more than anything else in the world, were his brothers. Not by blood, of course. Those brothers were... well... they were no brothers at all. No, Romeo's real brother were his chosen ones, the ones who had taken him in just a few years ago and given him a home and a love that would last forever.
Being the youngest of the bunch, he got things the easiest. He knew that. The boys made sure of that. Especially Jack. For being nine years old, however, Romeo was smart. He knew that Jack wouldn't eat on the hard days so that the young boy could have a roll of bread. He knew that Race had sacrificed a new box of cigarettes to get him a new pair of shoes. He knew that Crutchie gave up blankets for him whenever he complained about being cold.
He was young. He wasn't stupid.
It broke his heart that they'd do all of these things for him and he had no way to repay them. All he could do was thank Jack repeatedly for pulling him out of that alleyway when he had. Else he feared he'd be another headline in the papes without a name.
These boys got him through. These boys were his family.
The child contemplated getting up, wandering up to the roof where he knew Jack was sleeping. It was getting warmer. It made sense that he'd be up there. But Romeo was beginning to wander if the empty bunk next to him was the discomfort that was keeping him awake. After all, Jack had been there for so long, it had been natural to just look over at him and let the older boy welcome him under his blanket with open arms. But Jack wasn't here tonight. He was up on the roof, trying to forget about that place that always made him go pale.
Romeo noticed that too. The way that the closest thing he'd ever have to a father went stiff at the name Snyder the Spider. The way he'd book it first sight of the bulls. The way he constantly told the littles to make sure they were within sight of one of the older newsies. Romeo always was. He was always near Jack. Because Jack would protect him. No matter what.
The sound of the window sliding open made the kid jump a little bit, before he realized that the boy slipping through it had a newsie cap over his head. It was Jack Kelly himself, walking through the room on the balls of his feet, trying to be as quiet as possible. Romeo watched him silently, unable to read him in the dark, not sure if it would be a good idea to call out for him or not. But Jack knew everything. So the second he passed Romeo's bed, he stopped and turned to face him.
"What are ya still doin' awake, pal?" he whispered gently, a small smile on his face. But Romeo could see the traces of tears on his cheeks. Even in the dark.
With a small shrug, the boy just rubbed at his eyes. "Dunno... can't sleep..." he whispered back, just as quietly as his leader walked over to him slowly ruffled his hair. "Where're ya goin'?"
A quiet laugh escaped Jack at that. "Turns out ya ain't the only one, kid... I w's just gonna try ta take a walk, clear my head... but..." he scratched the back of his head, looking Romeo up and down, not sure what else to do. "Ya wan' some comp'ny?"
Before the boy could even think to stop himself, he was nodding, scooting over, making room for his big brother who just gently hopped up next to him, laying so he was shoulder to shoulder with him. "Why can't you sleep?" the small kid asked curiously, turning on his side to face the sixteen year old next to him.
"I dunno..." Jack replied easily, a little too easily. Romeo knew then. A nightmare. Because growing up on the streets, living as a newsboy, the fairytale notion that big brothers weren't scared of anything was just that... a fairytale. "But ya know what I like ta do when I's can't sleep?" When Romeo shook his head, Jack just grinned and reached over to his old bunk, slipping his hand beneath the mattress easily and pulled out an old newspaper and pencil. The thing was practically covered in small sketches, rushing over and through the stories and articles there. Romeo gazed over them in awe, reaching out to touch them. He barely noticed Jack watching him, amusement clear on his features.
But one of the drawings stood out to Romeo the most. One of a little boy, his back turned, a newsie cap on his head as he walked down the street. He reached for it and Jack wrapped an arm around him. "It's you," he stated, pointing to it. A small giggle escaped the littlest boy in the bunch. Carefully, he maneuvered the child into his lap as they both admired the small sketches on the page, Romeo a bit more than Jack. "Ya wanna try?" Jack asked quietly, resting his chin atop the boy's head as he gently reached out and turned to one of the emptier pages of the thing. He twirled his small pencil in his left hand for a moment before handing it over to little Romeo.
The kid took it hesitantly. For a moment, he just stared at the page, not even knowing where to start, just knowing Jack's breathing was beginning to slow behind him. And so was his own. So he pushed the pencil down on the page and began to sketch anything, beginning to doodle little flowers and trees, allowing himself to get lost in a peaceful world were the air was fresh and the trees were green and the hills rolled for miles.
It wasn't until a small snore sounded from behind Romeo that he knew Jack was truly asleep. His eyes began to droop as he pulled the blanket over his chest just a little further, allowing the paper and pencil to slip from his small hands.
And just like that, with Jack's arms around him, Romeo's sleepless night became peaceful and comfortable and easy.
He went to sleep without a fight.
There you have it folks, short and sweet. Fluff is difficult to write for some reason.
As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, fansies!