David had been surprised when Jack had shown up at the small apartment that the Jacobs' family called home. It was only 6 a.m., and David was surprised to learn that Jack had taken the day off from delivering newspapers.

"Why so early?" David asked as they walked down the street towards Brooklyn. "And what are we going to be doing this early?" He continued.

"I, uh, I talked to Spot a week ago and told him that we would visit him in Brooklyn. I figured, ya know, since it's such a warm summer that we could go swimming. Don't worry, it won't be just the Brooklyn newsies; Racetrack, Blink, and Mush are gonna be there, too."

"Oh," David said, turning his head away from Jack to conseal his blush. He really didn't like how often he found himself blushing around Jack now, but he knew that it couldn't be helped. It was due to his feelings for the newsie; the feelings he had only recently discovered he possessed.

"Yeah. Is that alright? We don't have to; we could go get ice cream or something..."

"No!" David exclaimed. "I mean, no," he said again, this time without the squeak in his voice.

"Right," Jack said, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. He was just as uncomfortable as David, even if the other boy didn't notice.


"Hey there, Cowboy," Spot said, smiling down on his visitors from above. He moved over to the edge of his 'nest', then climbed down.

Shading his eyes from the sun, David looked up at the leader of the Brooklyn newsies.

"Hey, Spot," Jack replied, looking first at the leader, then at the various other newsies. It was obvious that he was looking for another familiar face, someone like Racetrack.

"Davey," Spot said as he hit the ground. He moved to stand between his two friends, slinging his arms over both boy's shoulders. "You know, Davey, I haven't seen you 'round here much," he said, looking towards David. "I hope you aren't... Afraid, of me. Are you?"

"No," David said. He was telling the truth. He wasn't afraid of the Brooklyn newsies.

"Spot, leave him alone. Davey's been busy. He's going to school," Jack said, lightly nudging Spot with his shoulder. David thought that he heard a sense of pride in his friends voice.

"Davey!" A familiar voice exclaimed as they got closer to the water.

"Hey, Racetrack," David replied, smiling at the boy. The gambler was already in the water, but was now climbing out with one of the nets that was on the side of the dock. "Hey Cowboy. Think you guys are late enough?" Racetrack asked once he was on the dock, looking at the older boy.

"Sorry, Race. Took a while to convince Davey here to get out of bed.

David gave Jack a light punch in the shoulder in response to his comment. What started as a simple punch quickly became a wrestling match, one that only ended because Jack fell into the water.

"Haha! He got ya good, Jacky Boy!" Race track exclaimed, bending over in laughter.

David quickly took off his top layers of clothing, leaving himself in just his white underpants. After folding his clothing up carefully, he dived into the water.


"So... Did ya have a good day?" Jack asked as the two boys walked by the statue . They had decided it was time to go when David noticed that the sun was starting to go down, knowing that they would need to get back to their neighborhood before nightfall.

"Yeah," David answered, looking towards Jack with a smile on his face. "Yeah, I did. I forgot how much fun it was to swim. It's been forever since I've been in the water."

Suddenly, David was being tugged into an alley by his friend. Looking into his friends eyes, he saw a familiar emotion reflected in the brown pools.

It was an emotion that he often felt himself.

"Look, Davey, I've been thinking about this for a while," Jack said, breaking eye contact with his friend. Instead of looking at David, Jack was looking anywhere but David. "I, uh," he paused again, obviously not comfortable with the thoughts running through his head.

"Jack," David said slowly, tapping Cowboy on the shoulder. "What have you been thinking about?"

Without looking at the other boy, Jack whispered his answer.

"You."


"David, how was your day?" Esther asked over dinner that night.

"Alright," David answered, giving a casual shrug.

Nobody was fooled.


A.N.


I feel that this was somewhat anti-climactic. I'm sorry if this disappointed you. I was hoping to go for a more implied ending; one that leaves what happened in the alleyway to your imagination.

Now, for a handful of mentions!

Elisabeth Harker = One of the two reviews I got before publishing this final installment! She is currently writing a Newsies story also, and one I can highly recommend. So, go read her story 'New Days' Resolutions'!

shinigami nanoda = Second of my two reviewers! She has written several Newsies stories for all kinds of pairings. Lots of Spot/Race, but also a handful of Jack/David stories.

Brooke = The first of a handful of people I actually now. Brooke is actually the one who kicked my butt into gear with this last chapter. We were talking about the Newsies this afternoon, and how we'd love to re-write the movie and make it even more homoerotic. Then I recalled that I have a chance to do so!

Emma = My other real life friend, Emma, is my grammar-nazi-by-proxy. She's the one I use big words around, and the way I wrote this story is very much the way we carry on our conversations.

Peek-a-Boo = My loyal best friend, and the only one who walks on four legs. My furry little mascot was silently, and sometimes not so quietly, cheering me on.

So, thanks to all of these people! I have only given them a small mention in comparison to the large role they played in getting this last chapter up! Also, thanks to you; the reader.