The much anticipated chapter of "The Talk" between Jack and Davey!

Enjoy!


Jack shifted from foot to foot, waiting. She had a gut feeling that Davey would vent his anger, vent on how she had made a mistake, many mistakes, too many of them.

He would vent on how she had failed.

She no longer had Katherine to act as a buffer between the two of them and fear began to grow within her. She still had the same thought going through her mind: she could not handle Davey yelling at her…

Unable to take the silence and anticipation anymore, she turned heel and stared out at the night sky as she said, "I'm sorry, Davey. For everythin'."

Davey watched her for a moment, those words bringing back the memory of what she had said at the Bowery. She had apologized for "everything" then as well and he hadn't had the chance to correct her on that.

Now would be different.

"Why do you keep apologizing, Jack?" he asked slowly.

Jack frowned in confusion, not having expected that question. "Why do youse think?"

He shook his head. "No, I want you to tell me why, because I think you're taking too much responsibility on your shoulders."

She stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief. "Really?" She did not understand this turn of the conversation. However, she figured that it was just so he could point out all her mistakes. She didn't believe that she was taking too much responsibility: it was her fault. Everything was her fault…

"The strike wasn't my idea?" she began, her voice catching. "Puttin' those kids in danger wasn't my idea? Crutchie bein' in the Refuge isn't my fault? You and the others gettin' hurt wasn't my doing? Goin' in front of all those kids and – and betrayin' them wasn't actually me? I messed up, Davey. I's –"

Davey stepped closer, having heard enough. "We voted for the strike, Jack," he explained calmly but firmly, hoping that she'd listen. "We made that choice. We knew the dangers but we knew it would be worth it. Crutchie will get out of the Refuge. Him being there to begin with is all Snyder's fault, not yours. His, not yours. We got hurt but we're all alive and still willing to fight. And Jack," he paused, eyeing her carefully, "you did that to protect us. You took the biggest hit, suffered the most, so that we'd be safe. Never apologize for that."

Jack stared at Davey, her mouth hanging open as she attempted to process everything Davey had said. They stood there, face to face for a while, Jack searching for any signs that Davey had just made all that up, that he didn't actually think her responsible for everything. Davey, at the same time, hoped that Jack would believe him.

She shook her head, snapping out of thoughts. "Even if –?"

"Jack!" cut in Davey, grasping her upper arm, making her choke on the rest of her sentence. They stared at each other before he continued in a softer tone, "You did the right thing."

If only she believed him… "Then why do I feel horrible for doing it?" she asked softly.

Davey was now gripping both of her arms, stepping closer. "The right thing isn't always the easiest," he explained. "But the fellas will forgive you, believe that."

"Ya think?"

"Well, I do. I mean, I forgive you," he offered with a smile. "And they've known you much longer. All of you are a family."

Jack studied Davey for a moment, unsure whether to believe him. She had been expecting a completely different reaction from him and this had thrown her off.

However,…

He had been vocal since they met about telling the truth, about being honest, and she had never once heard him say anything untrue. If there was someone she could trust to not lie to her, it was Davey.

"You drive a hard bargain," she finally said with a sigh. "But I's going to have to believe you. You've been honest with me from the start. I's don't see why you'd start lyin' to me now."

Davey rubbed the back of his neck at that statement. "No, I won't lie to you but," he paused, clearing his throat, "I did lie for you."

Jack's eyes widened, amused. "You did? When? Why?"

"Sarah wanted to know why you didn't come up the other night," he explained, embarrassed. "She saw right through my lie, though. I don't think you'd ever have to worry about that."

Jack's unconsciously smiled at that information. She had been right about him and being honest and, knowing that he was a horrible liar only made her like him more. "I may be a bad influence on you," she remarked with a wink.

"Hopefully I'm a better one on you."

She chuckled, rubbing her nose as she turned slightly away from Davey and stared out onto the city. She already felt he was an influence on her but she didn't need him to know that just yet.

Meanwhile, Davey studied her and was glad to note that she did look better than she had been previously. Not just physically with the weight that seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders, but… He noticed her smile was one of the most genuine he had seen from her for a while, ever since the fight in Newsies Square.

Ever since she lost Crutchie and her newsies had gotten hurt.

He really should have given more importance to her words, that she would do anything for her newsies, for her family.

And Davey admired that.

He just wished she didn't have to shoulder all that weight by herself. When he had to drop out of school with Les to help his family, he had his brother with him, he had his folks and sister to lean on.

Jack didn't seem willing to lean on anyone.

Davey found himself hoping he would be the one she turned to for that. However, if she didn't, he would at least make sure that he had her back.

"Just so we're clear," began Davey with a more serious look. Jack glanced back at him with a tilt of her head. "If we need to see Pulitzer again, I ain't letting you out of my sight."

Jack felt warmth spread through her body at that statement. She normally didn't like it when her newsies made a show of trying to protect her because she always felt that that had been her responsibility. Yes, they all looked out for each other but she never felt comfortable when they even suggested putting themselves in harm's way for her. It always left a knot of worry in her stomach at the mere thought, no matter how well a newsie could defend themselves. She was the leader, she watched out for them so they didn't end up in those situations.

This time, on the other hand, Davey willing to protect her made her feel safe. Not to say she still didn't have a hint of worry for his safety: she had seen firsthand his lack of fighting prowess during the confrontation in Newsies Square.

However, it did feel comforting to know he was willing to protect her.

She just hoped that, if they did have to face Pulitzer once more, that it wouldn't end up like the last time. "But we's running together if things go south," she replied, giving him a look.

"Deal."

Jack eyed him for a moment before an idea came to mind and she spit in her hand, holding it out towards him, smirking. He eyed the hand before taking a deep breath, asking himself not for the first time why all the newsies had that bad habit. However, he quickly spit in his own hand and shook hers, earning him a broad smile from her.

"Ain't too bad, is it?" she teased.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it," he replied with a laugh.

They continued smiling at each other for a moment longer before Jack's gaze lowered and she noticed that they were still holding hands. It brought back the memory of Newsies Square, when they had been close, when they last held hands and Jack felt a wave of giddiness spread through her. She never felt that way when she had done the same thing with any of her newsies and she hoped to never stop feeling that way.

Besides, because Davey hadn't worked all his life, his hand was the softest she had ever felt.

Davey, meanwhile, had been focused on Jack's face, taking advantage of her lowered gaze. With the moonlight, he could still see the bruising and cut on her face but… He also saw the hardened young woman who was slowly lowering her defences, who was smiling softly. Yes, he still could see how he – and many others – could mistake her for a guy, especially when she put up her tough guy mask but, at that moment, with her smiling at…

He then realized she was staring – smiling – at their still joined hands and he felt his face heat up. Unlike his sister's hands, Jack's were calloused but Davey found that they suited her all too well. She was rough around the edges but that because of the life she lived, the hard work she had to put in to survive. He would never want to change the feeling of those hands.

It took a moment longer before both of them finally realized that their handshake had lasted much longer than what was normally expected and released their grip nearly at the same time.

Jack eyed her hand for a moment, still able to feel the lingering sensation of his hand, making her think of all the other times they had been in contact. "You know, I's glad you're so handsy," she remarked with a cheeky smile.

"Sorry, what?" Davey sputtered making Jack laugh.

"Handsy," she repeated, lifting her hands and wagging her fingers. "Noticed it with the other fellas too but I ain't complaining that you like to hug or hold hands."

Davey was growing redder by the moment. He had not never thought how he acted with the other newsies or Jack could be considered 'handsy': that was just the way he was raised! In his family, they were showed affection physically and…

Davey paused, realizing he had just thought of the word 'affection' and how he had shown a lot of that to the young woman in front of him.

"And remember at the Bowery, with the newspaper?" she continued, her cheeky smile still on her face, all too amused as Davey grew even more embarrassed at the memory.

It had been an accident!

Jack seemed to be enjoying the moment all too much, all at Davey's expense. However, he figured that, if she could dish it out, she should be able to take it as well.

"It's good to have you back again," he stated, catching her attention and achieving the results he had hoped for.

The way Davey said it had Jack blushing, the cheekiness she previously had vanishing. That simple sentence was so sincere and articulated in such a way that it had her rubbing her nose in embarrassment.

She only managed to utter, "Shuddap," as a response.

She didn't exactly feel the power behind her words but it did make Davey smile.

The score was a little more even to his count.

They were quiet for a moment before Davey realized that the conversation he had wanted to have after the rally with Jack concerning her gender would still be a good idea. He was finally getting straight answers from her and hoped that that would continue.

"So, when where you planning on telling… anyone that you're a girl?" he asked.

Jack shuffled her feet, her gaze lowered. She knew that conversation would happen at some point – no thanks to Bunsen and his big mouth at the Bowery – but she was still hesitant about having it. She would have hoped for more time to think over what she would tell Davey specifically and, if she was being honest with herself, she hadn't really thought it over at all.

She was just going to have to wing it. "I hadn't actually planned on that until reachin' Santa Fe…," she began slowly.

Davey took a deep breath, not quite understanding why Jack wanted to lie for that long.

Or that she was still set on going to Santa Fe…

He opened his mouth to keep his questions going but she interrupted him. "I said 'hadn't'. I hadn't planned… That – that changed when youse showed up."

Davey opened his mouth but closed it just as fast, unsure of why she would change her mind about her secret because of him. What made him so special? Why couldn't she just have told any of the others? Had she? Had she told Crutchie at least?

"For the first time I kinda wanted to tell someone 'cause…" Jack cleared her throat, rubbing her nose. "I's just needed to see if you'd actually like me before I was going to tell you. I mean… I's meant like, as a person, you see?" She cleared her throat once more, cursing inwardly that it seemed to be hard for her to actually say something to the person she liked. When it was harmless flirting, she didn't seem to have any problems.

With Davey…

Instead, she moved the conversation to a slightly more comfortable place. "You do know youse a hard person to get close to, right?" she teased and she already felt more at ease.

Davey, on the other hand, sputtered at that question. Him? Hard to get close to? Considering how close Jack had gotten in only a couple of days seemed to prove that statement wrong. They had gotten comfortable – sometimes overly comfortable – with each other since they met. It almost felt to Davey like they had known each other for much longer, longer than any of his classmates.

However, he did think back to the first day he had met Jack, remembering how cold he had been to the newsie leader. "Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I… What happened to our dad and our family's situation was a lot of stress."

"No, I hear ya!" replied Jack quickly. That had not been her intention when she had make that remark. "I ain't –"

"But that didn't mean I could act like that to you. And I don't think I ever thanked you for helping us, Jack. So, thank you."

She could not keep eye contact with Davey, clearing her throat in embarrassment as she rubbed her nose once more. His tone was one of the sincerest she had ever heard from him and she couldn't help but blush.

"You do that a lot, I noticed," remarked Davey, watching her with an amused smile.

Jack eyed Davey, confused. "Do what?"

"Rub your nose. Or even scrunch it."

"So…?"

Davey shrugged but he was still smiling. "It's cute," he said without thinking, causing both of them to blush. He almost took the comment back but he didn't, realizing that he did mean it. Jack did portray a tough exterior and it was endearing that that mask had its cracks.

Especially in front of him.

Jack went to rub her nose once more but stopped, recognizing what she was doing, and lowered her hand. She unconsciously ended up scrunching her nose instead, making Davey chuckle lightly.

"It's good to know even the infamous Jack Kelly can get embarrassed," he remarked.

Jack frowned slightly. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in, why don't ya? It's a good thing I likes you."

Davey paused before swallowing with difficulty. He had not been expecting that turn in the conversation, he was even sure he had misheard Jack. He cleared his throat nervously before he managed to utter. "Like?"

Jack eyed him for a moment, her nose scrunching once more. However, she figured, she already said it once, she might as well say it again. "If it ain't obvious yet, yes, I likes you," she said, rolling her eyes.

Davey slowly nodded as he reached for his back pocket and slowly pulled out the newspaper Katherine had given him when they had arrived at the rooftop. At first, he had only glanced at it without giving it too much thought. However, a double take on the image drawn made him pause, staring at it with a mixture of awe and confusion.

Awe because the portrait was beautifully done and Davey could feel the care that was put into the drawing.

Confusion because the portrait was of him.

"What…?"

"Jack," had answered Katherine, handing him the newspaper. "At the Bowery."

Davey had thought back to when he had gone to see Jack the last time at that theater and had frowned, confused. Jack hadn't seemed to be in any mood to draw anyone that day as she had focused on her backdrop of Santa Fe.

He had then thought of the rally but Jack would not have drawn anything then either…

His first day as a newsie suddenly came to mind. The first day he had met Jack, when they had run away from Snyder and had hidden at the Bowery. Jack had disappeared for a while that night and Davey realized the drawing had been the reason why.

With what Jack had just said about liking him along with the drawing, it dawned on Davey that she had liked him from the very beginning. That cleared up so much for him, on why she insisted they work together, that they go to Brooklyn together.

I really don't notice girls, do I? thought Davey with frustrated sigh.

He couldn't believe Sarah had been that right…

"To be fair," he began slowly, "last time a girl liked me, Les had to point it out… I was too embarrassed to even go near her for weeks afterwards…"

Jack eyed Davey carefully, thinking he was joking. However, he looked much too sincere and much to embarrassed for that. "Really?" she wondered, trying to hide her chuckle.

Davey rubbed the back of his neck, groaning slightly at the teasing. "I don't have much experience with girls…"

"S'okay, me neither," she replied with a mischievous smile, making Davey chuckle slightly. Her smile brightened upon hearing his laugh. "Well, at least Les didn't have to tell you this time," joked Jack, punching him playfully on the arm as she winked at him.

He cleared his throat. "No, but… I probably should have noticed something earlier," he managed to utter as he unfolded the newspaper still in his hands and showed it to Jack.

Jack froze at the sight of the drawing, her smile shrinking until her mouth was just hanging open in shock. She had thought the newspaper had been the one he had shown her about the strike, the one with their picture on the front page. She had not been expecting the one with the drawing of Davey on it.

She thought back, trying to remember when she had last seen it to attempt to understand how Davey had gotten hold of it.

It then hit her. "Katherine?" she gasped. The reporter had had the newspaper last, having shown it to Jack after the meeting at Jacobi's.

Jack had completely forgotten that Katherine had kept it.

"Yeah, she showed it to me before you arrived," explained Davey, glancing at it once more. "And I really do mean it when I say you're good, Jack."

She turned to the side slightly, attempting to rub her nose discreetly as she smiled at the praise. She didn't fully understand why receiving the compliment from Davey was different from when others had said the same thing but she had sensed it was because of her feelings towards him.

Jack caught herself at that point, realizing what she was doing. She may be interested in Davey and he may know that overtly well now but the reverse may not be true at all. For her, he had just found out her secret only an hour ago and here she was flirting with him, being very forward with her advances and she inwardly cursed.

She took a step back, guilty. "Uh… Yeah. But youse don't have to… I mean, don't feel like you needs… Well–"

Davey reacted on instinct, reaching out for her hand and stopping her. "Jack, stop pulling away, please."

"I's just don't want youse to feel forced into anything," she mumbled. "'Specially if youse just found out about me bein' a girl and –"

"I didn't."

Jack paused, processing those words. "You… what?"

"Well, Sarah apparently knew from the moment she saw you and thought I was lying to her and our folks," explained Davey and Jack's eyes widened. "But that made me actually look at you and finally see that… she was right."

"And youse didn't say anythin'? Not even to the others?"

Davey shook his head. "Why would I, Jack? Besides, I wanted to talk to you about it after the rally and, well… here we are."

Jack stared at Davey for a moment before slowly nodding. "Thanks," she whispered, smiling ever so slightly before remembering how that whole part of the conversation had started. "But… That doesn't change what I said…"

Davey eyed the drawing once more, thinking over all the information that swirled within his head. Yes, Jack was a girl, that had been confirmed. However, Jack was a girl that liked Davey, something he had not been expecting.

He thought back to all the time he had spent with Jack, at the times she had brightened his mood, made him take chances, learn to be brave. He thought back on her laugh, on her smile, on the way she rubbed her nose when she was embarrassed, something he had only seen Crutchie do previously: any other time, it was in front of him.

He then thought about the way she cared about her newsies – about her family. She took care of them and she quickly and willingly took care of him and Les. Yes, there had been the ulterior motive of getting close to him because she liked him but, even when he had been cold to her at the beginning, even when he didn't want to start a union, she never gave up on him.

Davey may not logically know if he returned Jack's feelings but his gut was giving him an answer and, if there was something he learned after spending so much time around Jack was to trust his gut.

He glanced at the drawing once more before folding it and putting it back into his pocket. He took a deep breath as he lifted his gaze, meeting Jack's. She was partially hopeful, partially hesitant as she waited for Davey's response. When he seemed to have been debating with himself, she had distracted herself with enjoying the feel of his hand once more but, now that his intense gaze was locked with hers, she couldn't focus on anything else.

Davey cleared his throat and began talking, thinking that it would be best to just let his instincts take over on what to say or else he would never find the right words. "You really did take me by surprise, Jack Kelly, from the very first day we met. I may be oblivious to a lot, that I fully admit to but… I shouldn't be oblivious that I like spending time with you, that I admire your resolve and how much you care."

"Just so we's clear," began Jack, trying to keep her voice even after that overwhelming string of compliments. "Youse saying all that still knowing I's just some homeless newsie with a big mouth and –"

"Jack, the only way this is gonna work is if you stop beatin' yourself up and bringin' yourself down," explained Davey with a sigh.

Jack stopped, stunned. She wasn't sure if she had understood the meaning behind his words or if she was looking too much into it, if she hoped for the meaning instead of hearing it. "Just to be clear…?" she began slowly. "This meaning…?" She pointed to him and then to herself slowly and back to him, raising an eyebrow.

Davey clears his throat and managed to say, "Just promise me you'll stop takin' blame for everythin'."

"And if I do?" she wondered, a smile starting to grow as she took a slow step forward. Davey just stared at her, waiting for her to acknowledge his conditions. Jack rolled her eyes before nodding, "Alright, I promise. Happy?"

Davey returned her smile before also stepping closer, fully giving into his instincts. "Very, especially considering this should work."

He gently cupped her face, leaning down and kissing her softly.

Jack melted into the kiss, grasping at Davey's clothes to keep herself steady. It was even better than she had imagined; than she had dreamed. She moved even closer to him just to feel his warmth and his body pressed against hers. It was just as she remembered it from the times she had fallen on top of him and the memories made her smile even more.

For those fleeting moments, she allowed herself to forget the strike, to forget the everything bad that had happened and just enjoy kissing her crush.

Davey had had his shares of regrets in the past, of moments he wished he could take back, to redo. However, initiating a kiss with Jack would never be one of those. The instant their lips locked together, he felt deep down that he had made the right decision. He breathed in the lingering scent of newspapers and charcoal, something he had never registered before but, now that he could smell it all too well, he automatically associated it to Jack.

He hoped it would never change.

The two of them slowly broke apart, breathing heavily as they blearily opened their eyes and stared at the other, giddy smiles on their faces.

"For someone without much experience with girls," started Jack softly, trying to catch her breath, "that was magical."

Davey nearly groaned out loud in embarrassment and was saved from any further mortification when Jack pulled him back in for another kiss.


It may have taken 8 pages and over 4000 words but... they kissed! Huzzah!

Let me know what you thought!