I do not own Newsies or any of the Newsies characters. To the best of my knowledge they are owned by Disney.

I do not own the character Saiorse "Irish" Callan. She is owned by her creator Lady of Tir Na Nog, who has graciously offered the use of "Irish" as a character in this story.

I am making no money from this story. I seriously doubt the sanity of anyone who would pay money to read anything I have written.

Rated M for Slash, Sexual Situations, and Language.

Chapter 7 - The Morning After

The gym was quite.

Jack, David, Chris, and Tony were all relaxing awaiting Reggie's return.

Jack sat on the floor with his back up against the stage. David was asleep with his head in Jack's lap. He hadn't slept for almost two days.

David had been working feverishly on a plan to save his school's artistic programs. His school had suffered a major budget cut. As always the music, art, and theater programs were the first to go.

David organized fund raisers with students and parent groups. He ran bake sales, car washes, and auctions. David knocked on the doors of local merchants, and corporations soliciting donations. He filled out mountains of paperwork applying for local and government grants.

With little to no help, David succeeded in raising the money needed to save the programs. He would be presenting the proposals to the school board on Wednesday.

David had spent the last three days going over figures and polishing the proposal. In addition, he organized Jack's assignment schedule, proofed two of Jack's articles (which were being submitted just under their deadline), made their travel arrangements, and did all of the packing.

David had worked straight through. He never took anything for granted. David made sure everything was completed before they left on their trip home.

Jack sat sipping coffee from a paper cup as he watched David sleep. He was so proud of David.

There would be no banquets hosted in David's honor. He would be given no awards to put on the shelf next to those that Jack has received. In reality, David would probably not even hear a thank you from the parents or his students. But none of that mattered to David, because he didn't do it for himself.

That was David. He took care of Jack, his students, and everything else. He did it all with little thanks from any of them.

Jack gently stroked David's dark curls and thought how very much he loved and admired David. Jack wished that he could give David the one thing that they both wanted.

David was now starting to stir in his sleep.

Jack looked across the room and saw that Tony and Chris were watching him and smiling.

Jack simply raised his cup in their direction and looked back down at David, who was now looking back at him.

"Hi," David said with a sleepy smile. "Hi," Jack answered with a smile that was only for David.

David sat up still half asleep and curled up under Jack's arm. "Go back to sleep" Jack said as he covered David with his jacket.

"No, I'll be okay in a minuet," David mumbled as he drifted back to sleep.

Tony and Chris were snuggled quietly on the other side of the room.

Tony was sitting with his back against the wall, while Chris sat in front leaning his back against Tony's chest.

They had been reminiscing about their weekend at Chris' house, while his mother was away on business.

"That was a great weekend," Chris said happily.

"The first of many," Tony replied. Then he gave Chris a kiss on the neck.

"Yeah," Chris whispered. "But that weekend was extra special because it was our first time."

"You mean that it was the first time we ever did-it as you used to call it." Again they both laughed. "Ya know, Chris. I always thought it was adorable how much you enjoyed doing itbut could never call it by its proper name."

"I still enjoy doing it," Chris said as he leaned back and gave Tony a kiss on the jaw.

"So do I," Tony whispered into Chris' ear . . . "And you're right. That first night was amazing . . . And as I recall, the next morning was pretty amazing as well."

Chris was the first to awaken on the morning after their special night together.

Tony's head was resting easily against Chris's chest.

As Chris watched him sleep, he couldn't believe how much he loved Tony, and how lucky he was to have Tony in his life.

Tony opened his eyes and saw that Chris was looking at him.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Nothing," Chris smiled.

"What, am I drooling or something?"

"No dumb-ass. I was just looking at you is all. I like to look at you."

Tony smiled and snuggled back against Chris.

"I love you, Race," Chris said, as he gently pushed the hair away from Tony's face.

Tony lifted himself up and rolled over on top of Chris. "Good," he said. " I'd hate to think that I love you this much, and you didn't love me back."

As they began to kiss, their bodies responded accordingly.

"This is a great way to wake up in the morning," Chris murmured.

"It sure is," Tony said. Then he sat up, threw off the covers, and jumped out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Chris asked. "It's Saturday morning. I thought we could stay in bed for a while?"

"Come on Blink, I have a lot to do today. As much as I'd like it, I don't have time to stay curled up in bed with you."

Chris was visibly hurt and disappointed.

"Race, don't you want to . . . you know . . . do it?"

"I don't know what your plans are, Blink But I need to take a shower and get going."

When he reached the doorway, Tony stopped and looked back at Chris. "Well?" . . . Tony asked with one eyebrow raised. "Aren't you coming with me? After last night, I thought we'd decided that showers are definitely a couple's activity!"

Chris almost knocked Tony over as they rushed to the bathroom.

Tony prepared a gourmet breakfast of Lucky Charms and juice.

They wrestled over the sports page, flicked cereal at each other, and did most of the disgusting things that teenage boys do to gross each other out while eating.

When he'd finally gotten up enough nerve to talk about their previous nights activities, Chris blurted out, "I just want you to know that I'm not sorry about what we did last night. It was really great."

"I'm glad," Tony said as he leaned over to give Chris a kiss. "I wanted it to be special. I thought it was great too," he added.

Tony had gone back to reading the sports page, then realized Chris was watching him again.

"Why the hell are you looking at? You have seen me read before. It can't be all that interesting."

"Race, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Tony said as he put down the newspaper to give Chris his full attention "What do you want to know?"

"You don't have to answer me if you don't want to."

"Jeeze! Just spit it out, Blink. What do you want to know?"

"Well . . . I was just wondering about your first time. What was it like?"

"It was good," Tony answered simply and directly. " We didn't do the same kind of stuff you and I did last night. It was more spontaneous, but it was good."

"And before you ask," Tony continued, "Yes. Last night with you was much better than that night."

"I'm glad," Chris said with that smile that Tony loved so much.

After a moment of silence, Tony looked up from his newspaper and saw that Chris was still watching him. "You want to know who I was with the first time, don't you?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if it was someone that I knew? But really, Race. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. I don't mind telling you. It was Spot."

"Spot? You and Spot?" Chris' jaw dropped open, and his eye appeared twice it's normal size.

"Yeah. Spot was my first boyfriend. And don't look so surprised. There is a whole other side to Spot than most people never see."

"Obviously," Chris chuckled.

"I'm serious, Blink. What you . . . What most people see is only the tough side of Spot."

Spot had an awful life with his parents. His mother was a junkie, and his father was a disgusting sadistic dick. I won't go into the details of what that bastard did to Spot and his mother.

Anyway, Spot always knew that he was different sexually. The kind of environment he was from, you learn that kind of stuff early in life.

When Spot's father found out that he was bi, the fucker beat him until he broke Spot's arm and three ribs. Then the father of the year took off for almost two months. He left Spot to take care of himself and his junkie mom. He was nine years old at the time.

Later, Spot's father told him that the reason his mother was a junkie, was because she couldn't deal with the fact that her son was a freak. That prick convinced Spot that she was being punished for his sins.

When Spots mother died of a drug overdose, Spot was the one who found her. She still had the needle sticking out of her arm. He was only ten years old.

Spot was all kinds of fucked up. The fact that he was bi made everything worse.

It's a good thing that Jack's mother is a hard ass. Anyone else would have sent him packing to a foster home or something.

After he moved here, Spot kind of adopted my dad. I guess you could say that they kind of adopted each other. Spot never had anyone to look up to or even talk to before then.

Eventually, my dad got Spot to talk about it.

Dad assured Spot that he had nothing to do with his mother being on drugs. She'd been shooting up since before he was born. Eventually, Dad convinced Spot that he was not the spawn from hell and that being bisexual didn't make him evil.

Spot and my dad spent a lot of hours talking about stuff. They still do.

Then when I finally admitted to myself that I was gay, Spot was there for me. I talked and he listened. He showed me that I wasn't the spawn from hell either. He taught me to accept myself. It was only natural that we would hook up.

It was Spot who convinced me to come out to my dad. When I did, it was great. We had the best talk ever. Dad told me that he loved me and that he was proud of me. The fact that I liked boys didn't change anything between us. The strangest part was that when I told him about Spot and me he just laughed. He had known about it all along.

Blink, you have to understand that what I just told you is between you and me, okay? Nobody except my parents, and now you know about any of this. That's the way Spot wants it, and I respect that.

"Sure, Race. Thanks for telling me. I won't say anything about it."

"Enough of this sentimental shit. Lets go over to Specs house and find out what those two were doing last night . . . As if I didn't know."

"Yeah, that was a great weekend," Tony said as he kissed his way down Chris, neck. "It was our first weekend together, we took out first shower together, and it was the first time we did it together," Tony chuckled.

"Damn I love it when you kiss me on that spot," Chris murmured.

"Did I hear someone mention my name?" a voice called from the doorway.

"Spot!" Jack shouted from across the room

"Nevah feah . . . Conlon is heah!" Spot announced as he sauntered into the gym.

Jack began to run in Spot's direction. Jack looked as if he were about to tackle the smaller man and throw him to the ground.

Instead, Jack grabbed Spot around the waist and threw Spot over his shoulder. Then, Jack spun Spot around propeller style like he did when they were kids.

"Put me down, jackass!" Spot shouted.

"Make me!" Jack replied.

With that, Spot reached down and grabbed Jack by the crotch. This immediately made Jack put Spot down. Then with a couple of quick movements, Jack was down on the floor with Spot's knee on his chest.

Struggling to catch his breath, Jack sputtered, "Damn, Spot. Where the fuck did you learn to do that?"

"The United States Marine Corps," Spot said with a smirk.

"Bullshit!" a voice boomed from the doorway. "I taught him that in the Police Academy."

It was Specs. He was accompanied by Dutchy as always. Specs dropped his backpack and approached Spot. They starred at each other smiling for a few seconds.

"Hey, brother," Specs said.

"Hey, brother," Spot replied.

Then they embraced as if they hadn't seen each other for years. It hadn't been all that long though. They had been partners until Spot transferred to the youth division.

"So, Spot. You gonna stop playing with the kiddies and come back to do some real police work?"

"I can't do that," Spot answered. "How about you coming to join me?"

"I can't do that," Specs answered. "I need to be where I am."

"Well, I need ta be where I am. I wanna try and head them off before they become your problem."

They nodded in agreement then shook hands.

"Okay," Jack said. "Let me guess. You got a letter or phone call telling you to be here before 5:00 today right?"

"You guessed it," Spot replied.

"This is beginning to sound like a really bad mystery novel," Chris laughed.

"I think that it is more like someone wants us all to get together," Jack said. "There may very well be something wrong with the sale of this place, but why not take the information to the D.A.s office? Why go through all the trouble of rounding us up like this?"

"I guess we'll find out at 5:00," David mused.

"What do we know so far?" Spot asked.

"We know that something doesn't look right with the latest financial report," said Tony. "It seems as though Old Weasel is getting quite a pension out of this place. More than three times what Denton is getting. We've just been sitting around here waiting for the Administration Office to clear out, so Reggie can get a look at the pension contracts."

"So what have you been doing to pass the time?" Dutchy asked.

"Well," said Jack as he gestured toward Chris and Tony. "Basically these two have been trying to recapture their youth by doing each other in every conceivable place they can find. Then while they recuperate we've been talking over old times."

"Ah . . . The good old days," Spot said sarcastically.

"Not all so good," said Tony. "We were just talking about the day after the fall dance. When Chris and I went over to Specs' house to see why you didn't show up." Tony looked over at Dutchy. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up?" he asked.

"Nah. It's okay Race. That was a long time ago. I was pretty fucked up for a while, but I've been clean for more than twelve years now. Specs and I have a good life together. Really good."

"Well, I'm glad to know that you're planning to keep me around for a while," Specs said as he put his arm around Dutchy's waist.

"Hell yeah," Dutchy replied as he leaned into Specs' embrace. "It's taken me thirty years to break you in. I'm not about to start looking for someone else when I've finally got you the way I want you!"

"Okay," Specs chuckled. "Lets get comfortable and you can fill us in on whatever part of the story we missed."

"I'm sure that Tony's version of the story started out with him and Chris having mad passionate sex," Jack laughed.

"Right again Jackie-boy," said Spot. "From what I heard they did the nasty in the shower, then they ate breakfast while discussing how Tony lost his virginity."

Tony glared at Spot. "How the hell long were you standing there listening, you pervert?"

"Long enough, pal. So tell us, Race? Who did you make it with the first time?"

"Sorry, Spot. I don't kiss and tell. There are only three people who know that story. It's just me, Chris, and the guy in question. That's as far as the story will ever go."

Spot smiled at Tony and nodded approvingly.

"All right already," said Dutchy. "Get back to the story. What did we miss?"

"Well, like I said," Jack chuckled. "Race and Blink had just had sex, and . . . "

"Excuse me!" Tony huffed. "We weren't the only ones. That was the weekend you came out to the entire universe. I'm sure that there was plenty of testosterone working over at your house."

"I'll testify to that!" Spot interrupted. "I had to sleep out on the couch that night. Oh yeah, and don't forget about Snoddy and Irish. That was the night that they first hooked up. They didn't go all the way or anything. But there was plenty of over the sweater action going on."

"How do you know what went on between the two if them?" David asked.

"I know because they offered me a ride home from Tibbini's Restaurant. Snoddy drove with one hand on the wheel and the other on Irish's headlights. I ended up walking home because Snoddy decided that he was going to take Irish to his make out place."

"Oh, poor Spottie," Jack teased. "He was upset because we were all getting some and he didn't."

"Who said I was alone that night?" Spot asked playfully. "All I said was that I slept on the couch. I didn't tell you what happened before I got home."

"Oh yeah? Well who were you with?" Jack asked smugly.

"In the example of my good friend, Racetrack. Dat's between me and da cutie in question."

"Okay, Race," Dutchy said trying to get back to the story. "You and Chris had wild sex as usual. Then what happened?"

"Then we headed over to Specs' house to find out why you didn't show up at the dance? . . . Are you sure you don't mind us talking about this, Dutchy?"

"It's okay Race. Really it is," Dutchy assured him as he reached for Specs hand. "I came to terms with it a long time ago."

"Yeah," said Specs. "Get on with the damn story already!"

When Tony and Chris arrived at Specs' house, they knocked on the door but nobody answered.

"They've gotta be here," Chris said. "Both of their cars are in the driveway."

"Those two are probably trying to climb each other as we speak," Tony grumbled.

Tony kept knocking until Specs finally opened the door.

Specs didn't look directly at them. He turned, and without saying a word, proceeded to the family room.

As they went down the stairs, they saw Dutchy sitting on the couch. The room was dimly lit so Tony went over to the switch and turned on the lights. "What did we do, disturb your . . . Shit, Specs! What happened to you!"

Specs' eye was black and his lips and face were bruised and swollen.

Chris walked around the couch and looked at Dutchy. He looked almost as bad as Specs.

"Dutchy, what happened? Did you get into an accident of something?"

Dutchy just turned away from Chris and curled up on the couch. Specs sat down and put his arms around Dutchy.

"Come on," Tony urged. "What the fuck happened?"

"The Delancey's happened" Specs shouted!

END CHAPTER 7

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