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Pros of having an apartment to yourself:
-your own space
-a place to come home to at the end of the day
-you can eat whatever you want
-being able to kiss your best friend whenever you want
Cons of having an apartment to yourself:
-never being able to do any of the above because your friends are somehow always around
It’s been a week since Denton has left, heading for London, and leaving his apartment in Davey and Jack’s care, and somehow, they’ve managed to not have a single minute to themselves.
There had always been someone around, whether it had been Les, falling asleep on their couch the first night and Davey refusing to let his father carry him home as to not put any unnecessary strain on his freshly healed arm, his mother and Sarah bringing over food to make sure “you boys don’t starve!”, or any variation of their friends passed out on the couch and floor of the apartment.
Davey doesn’t blame them, of course he doesn’t. The Lodging House isn’t a bad place to live, but it’s nothing compared to your own private place, and after escaping the Refuge, Jack refuses to let Crutchie sleep anywhere but close to him.
The thing is: He gets it, and he’d never, not in a million years, think about complaining, but part of him...worries, because it feels like the weeks they’ve spent living together, Jack kissing him, could have been a dream.
Sometimes Davey catches the other staring at him across the table, while they’re all engrossed in a game of cards, and he feels a slight shiver running down his spine, that makes the whole thing real. Still, by the time they’re done someone, usually Race, is passed out on the couch, snoring, and it’s time to go to sleep.
Jack always lets him have the bed, leaning against the door frame with the hint of a smile on his face. “G’night, Davey.” And Davey? Well, he wants to kiss that smile off Jack’s face and tell him to stay, to share the bed, but he never does.
It makes no goddamn sense, because pretty much all the Newsies have shared a bed, or a space to sleep in before, but it just feels wrong, like that should be something reserved for just the two of them, with no risk of anyone barging in the next day.
-
He’s usually up before everyone else, making coffee and a small breakfast for everyone staying over. He has a little more money now, too, with his father going back to work and Davey still selling papers. He intends to go back to school once the summer break is over, but it’s only one more year for him anyway, and after that? Well, Davey’s not entirely sure, but he’s trying not to think too far ahead anyway, because it makes his chest feel a little tight and he’s never able to shake that feeling off entirely anyway.
“Mornin’,” Jack says, and there he’s again, stepping into the kitchen, buttoning up his shirt with his hair still a little tousled from sleep, and Davey swallows, clearing his throat.
“Good morning.” He finally manages, holding up a mug, “Would you like some coffee?”
“If it’s made by you? Always.” There’s the hint of that familiar smile on Jack’s face, and it makes Davey’s heart stumble in his chest as he hands the mug over.
“It’s good enough to wake us up.” He replies, watching as the other takes a sip and then a step closer.
It feels like the air between them crackles with electricity, and Davey briefly wonders how he’s been able to ignore the way he feels about Jack for so long. It’s not like he’s never had a crush on anyone before, but it’s never been quite like this, which makes the whole thing of not having a minute to themselves even harder.
“Don’t sell ya self short, Davey.” Jack grins, and he’s almost close enough for them to kiss, if Davey only leans in just a little closer...
“Is that coffee I smell?” Race’s voice breaks the spell between them, and Davey almost jumps back so fast he nearly spills his coffee all over the counter, while Jack looks like nothing could phase him.
“And breakfast, Davey’s outdoin’ himself.” Jack claps his shoulder with a smile, “I’m gonna go check on Crutchie.” And with that he’s gone, and it takes all Davey has not to groan in frustration.
-
They sell most of their papers before the sun is high up in the sky, because nobody in their right mind is outside when the temperatures rise, unless they have to be.
They have a few places to go and deliver the paper personally though, which is good, and then end up meeting at Jacobi’s for lunch with a few of the boys.
“The headlines have been pretty good, I think I’mma splurge on some water with ice today,” Specs grins, and Davey rolls his eyes at the other fondly.
“You know, technically it’s recommended you have a warm beverage when the temperatures are high, it’s better for you.” He then says, and Specs waves him off.
“Now that makes no goddamn sense, Davey.”
He wants to protest, but then doesn’t, because he knows when he can win an argument, and this is one he’s definitely going to lose and be annoyed about later if he does.
“I’ll have a coffee,” Jack says with a smile, catching Davey’s eye in the process, and Davey hates himself just a little for the blush that instantly rises to his cheeks.
He doesn’t really have time to do anything about it though, because the door to the deli swings open, and a familiar voice pipes up.
“I figured I’d find you boys here.” Sarah’s sweeping into the establishment, a smile of her own on her face as she looks around, focusing in on them eventually.
They haven’t really spoken about Jack, and he assumes Jack and her haven’t really spoken either besides the pleasantries and short conversations during the move, and Davey has to admit that he’s not exactly looking forward to the inevitable fallout.
Sarah’s too kind and polite to make a scene, and part of Davey hopes she kind of got the hint considering it’s been about 3 weeks, and nothing has happened, but he’s also her brother, and if it were him, he knows he would be holding onto hope.
“Mom wants to have you guys over for dinner. Between you and me: I think she thinks you’re not eating enough.” Sarah continues with a smile, and if Davey didn’t know about the circumstances, he’d have thought nothing had changed.
“We’ve had some great breakfast, and I was planning on making a salad tonight.” Davey points out, though he knows it’s a useless effort, and besides: his mother’s cooking is way better than his own anyway.
“We’ll be there,” Jack says instead, and Sarah’s smile brightens.
“7pm. I’ll let them know,” She replies, and with that she’s turned on her heels and left the deli as quickly as she had arrived.
-
“Boys! Come on in, oh my, you look thin!” his mother gushes and Davey rolls his eyes, though he can’t quite keep the fond smile off his face.
“It’s been a week, Mom.” He then says, watching as she lets go of him and pulls Jack into a hug instead.
“Technically it’s been more than that.” She points out before ushering them inside and closing the door. Mayer is sitting at the table, but stands up to shake Jack’s hand, clasping him on the back while Les wraps his arm around the other boy.
They’ve made a deal to allow him to return to selling papers with them over the summer, but only as long as he keeps up with his schoolwork, which usually means he’s back home after their lunchbreak.
He seems happy enough with that though, even though he complains about missing the fun ever so often, but Davey feels like this is the best compromise for everyone around. Les gets to stick around the Newsies, and they all still get the benefit of having a young kid around when selling their papers.
“Details, Mom.” He says, feeling his father pulling him into a side hug, before settling down at the table.
“Important ones, my dear.” She replies with a smile, but lets the subject rest anyway, in favor of starting dinner.
-
The evening passes in a blur, but for once Davey doesn’t worry about it much. He enjoys his mother’s cooking and the conversations with his father, watching as Jack lets Les beat him in a game of cards.
It’s not until Jack leans in a little closer to Sarah, whispering something to her, and she nods, before they head out onto the fire escape, that reality catches up with him.
Oh.
It feels stupid to worry, because...well, because they’ve talked about this before, and Jack had told him how he feels, both about Davey himself and Sarah. Still, he can’t quite ignore the way his stomach twists ever so slightly at the thought of them alone on the roof, and it doesn’t help that he catches the subtle smiles and looks his parents are exchanging.
He tries his best to busy himself by helping his mother with the dishes, hoping she doesn’t actually want to talk about any of this.
Fortunately, she’s content asking him about the apartment and the rest of the boys, and when Jack and Sarah finally return it’s late enough for them to have a plausible excuse to go back to their place.
He manages to keep the smile on his face long enough to say goodbye to his family but isn’t quite able to look at Jack as they make their way down the street. The sun has already set, and even though it’s not cold, the temperatures have dropped considerably, and Davey has to fight gravitating towards the other, because it feels wrong.
They’ve spent so much time with their arms wrapped around each other, but it had been...different somehow.
Back then he had still been able to pretend he wasn’t actually in love with Jack, and now he feels like everyone would be able to tell just by looking at them.
Davey knows that this is probably their only chance to talk, because they’ve left the apartment window open a crack to make sure the other boys can get in, and yet he feels like every time he tries to string words together, they get stuck in his throat.
It’s during one of those attempts that he suddenly feels Jack’s hand wrap around his wrist, pulling him along and into what Davey realizes is a dark alley.
There’s the hint of a déja vu as he’s being pressed against the cool brick wall, his heart missing a beat before it begins to race in his chest.
“You wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Jack asks, and Davey blinks, momentarily distracted by the close proximity they’re in.
“Nothing?” he manages to get out, but it sounds more like a question than anything else, and he can tell that Jack sees right through him.
Of course he does.
“Is this about Sarah?” Davey thinks his face must have given him away, because Jack’s expression changes in the blink of an eye, from confused and slightly angry to something softer. “Davey, I told you how I feel about you two...”
“I know...I know...I just...” He wants to apologize, wants to tell Jack that he’s being stupid, because he just can’t shut his brain up, but instead he feels himself being pushed against the wall a little harder, Jack’s mouth covering his, and Davey nearly melts.
He can actually feel his knees buckling a little, hands coming to reach for Jack’s shirt to have some kind of support at all.
“I told ya, Davey...it’s you.” Jack mutters eventually, pulling back just enough to talk, and it takes all Davey has not to chase the other’s lips with his own. “And now I’m gonna take a step back, before we start somethin’ we can’t finish here...”
That sends a shiver down Davey’s spine, and he feels himself blushing hard, hoping that it’s not all too visible in the darkness that surrounds them.
“Right. Uh. Yeah. We should...probably go home.” He mutters instead, taking another moment to straighten himself and take a deep breath, not quite trusting his legs to work just yet.
-
He’d been right about the apartment though, when they step inside it’s not empty at all. Specs and Romeo are asleep on the couch, and Buttons has fallen asleep on the kitchen table, while Crutchie is in the bed, sound asleep.
“I’ll share with him, you can have the couch in the office.” Jack says, reaching up to run a hand through his hair and goddamn it, Davey wants to kiss him senseless.
“Yeah. Okay.” He says instead, and, to no one’s surprise, finds it hard to sleep that night. He thinks about Sarah, and how she’s probably gotten her heart broken, and how his parents are going to react.
He dreams about Jack though. Jack’s mouth on his and his own hands in Jack’s hair and how it would feel not having to worry about anyone walking in on them doing...well, things.
He wakes to the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen and the chatter of his friends echoing along with it eventually.
“Mornin’ Davey,” Jack smiles at him from across the kitchen and he feels his chest fill with a warmth that’s so familiar he wonders how he’d ever doubted that he’s anything but utterly and completely in love with the other.
“Good morning,” he says with a smile, eyes fixed on Jack, even when Specs hands him a mug of coffee.
“So, we was thinkin’ about playing cards tonight. Invitin’ the rest of the boys, too. “He then continues, and Buttons nods, “Ya know? Like old times,”
“Ya mean like a couple o’ weeks ago?” Jack says, one eyebrow raised while he drinks his coffee.
“Yeah well, that was Davey’s folks’ place. This is yours, kinda. So we’s gotta give you a proper welcome!”
“I don’t think that’s how it works...” Davey mumbles, but his words get lost between the boys trying to figure out who’s going to tell the others and what kind of snacks they’re going to need.
-
He ends up making a bunch of sandwiches for himself and the boys, along with some bowls filled with a mix of different nuts and crackers they could snack on during the games.
It feels nice, to have everyone together, despite the fact that his eyes are drawn to Jack again and again, watching the different emotions wash over his face whenever he gets dealt a good, or a bad, card.
His poker face is good, but Davey, at this point, knows him inside out, and he can tell if it’s going to be a good, or bad round.
He thinks back to the last time they’d played, and the way Jack’s knee had brushed against his own, and the thought, coupled with the memory of the other pushing him against the alley wall, has a blush rising to his cheeks.
“I’m gonna get some more of these...” He mutters to himself, picking up the nearly empty bowls and taking them into the kitchen.
It’s a little easier to breathe in there, with the laughter and voices coming from the other room, and Davey sighs, only startled by Jack’s voice, suddenly much closer than he’s anticipated.
“You sure you don’t wanna play a game?” He asks, leaning against the door frame, and Davey turns to look at him, suspenders off his shoulders and three of his shirt buttons undone, and really, that’s just not fair at this point.
“Ah no, I’m good, I think. Busy here.” He manages eventually, holding up one of the empty bowls, though his eyes flicker back to Jack quickly as he watches the other pushing himself away from the door to close the distance between them.
Davey can feel his heart skipping another beat, and it’s truly astounding to him how he’s been able to spend so much time ignoring the way he’s felt about Jack for...well, pretty much since the day he’s met him.
“Don’t you have to get back there though?” He mutters, feeling a shock of electricity running up his arm as Jack’s fingers brush against his own on the counter.
He’s close, closer than he should be for Davey to not want to kiss him, really, and it’s getting a little harder to maintain control.
He’s not worried about their friends, the outside world? Absolutely, but the rest of the Newsies probably know what’s going on, considering they seem to be very in the loop about Race’s adventures in Brooklyn, and they couldn’t care less, even if they tease him about it, but Davey doesn’t quite know if he can stop himself from kissing Jack once they’ve started.
“Nah,” the other says then, lips curved into a smile as he brushes his thumb over the back of Davey’s hand again. “Spot’s winning anyway. I know when to cut my losses...”
“Jack...” Davey breathes, catching the other’s thumb with his own to pin it down, just so he can have a chance to even say anything coherent at this point.
Davey’s usually so good with words, but Jack is very good at making him forget about all that with the simple touch of his hand, or his trademark smile.
“Oi Kelly, ya scared of losin’ any more of dat hard earned money...” Spot’s voice makes them jump apart ( a Déja vu of a situation Davey would like to stop having, thank you very much ), but the other’s voice trails off, one eyebrow raised as he takes in the sight of Jack and Davey, now about four feet apart. “Oh...”
Davey’s blushing again, watching as the corners of Spot’s lips curl into a grin. “Gotcha.” He nods, and before either of them can say anything else, he’s turned on his heels, and they can hear him shushing everyone around from the other room.
“Alright, everyone out! Come on! We’s got better places ta be!” He calls, and even though there’s confusion and slight protest, Spot is apparently not having any of it. “Brooklyn’s much nicer anyway! I got more space and all dat!”
It’s a good thing Spot has as much authority as he does, because barely anyone questions his decision or reasoning behind it as he all but shoves everyone out of the door, turning ever so slightly to give Jack and Davey a wink over his shoulder before he’s gone, too.
“Well...that’s new...” Davey mutters, and all of a sudden, it’s strangely quiet in the apartment.
He can’t remember the last time it’s only been the two of them in here, or even at his parents’ place, but before he can voice any of that, he feels himself being pressed against the door frame by Jack, the other crowding into his personal space, and Davey thinks he might have made a sound that’s anything but dignified.
“You got no idea how much I wanted to do ‘dis...” Jack mutters, breath ghosting over Davey’s lips, who swallows hard.
“Oh I think I have a pretty good idea...” He manages to reply before Jack’s kissing him again and Davey feels the ambers glowing at the base of his spine burst into flames.
He’s prone to overthinking, always has been, but somehow there’s absolutely no time for that now, with Jack pushing him towards the bedroom and Davey fumbling to do away with the rest of the other’s buttons so he can get the shirt off of him.
He’s so far out of his depth that it should be terrifying, but somehow, it’s not. Jack’s everywhere once they tumble down onto the bed, his lips on Davey’s neck, his hands running up the other’s arms with their fingers intertwining as he presses Davey down into the mattress.
It’s all lips and hands and the breathless whispers of each other’s names until the world shrinks down to exactly that and Davey loses himself in it.
He’s still breathing hard when he comes back to himself, reality kicking in ever so slightly in the form of him thinking they ought to move to get cleaned up, or things would be awfully sticky, but he feels a little like floating still, and Jack’s warm body is pressing him down into the mattress and well, Davey can’t really be bothered to move.
“I’m pretty sure we owe Spot a favor,” he says instead, watching as the other lifts his head to look at him, hair all tousled and lips still red from kissing.
“Mhm...we can worry about dat tomorrow...” Jack replies, ducking his head down to nip at Davey’s collarbone and the simple motion of it sends a shiver down his spine.
“We sure can,” He’s inclined to agree, because for once in their life, they have time, and Davey can’t help but smile as that thought enters his mind and finds root there, allowing him to tangle his fingers in Jack’s hair to pull him up for another kiss.
“Good.” Jack smiles against his lips and Davey once again loses himself in how completely Jack can surround him with his touch and warmth, and the kisses that are being trailed down his jaw and neck, but he thinks that really, there’s worse things than that, right?