- Chapter 126 - Safe, Sleeping in the Arms of his Home -
Warnings: mentions of illness, getting soaked/beat up, injuries, and crying
Canon Era/Soulmate AU
Third Person POV

A/N, here's Sprace for dontbehomofobic , I'm extremely sorry that this took forever to write. It's been a long few weeks haha. Enjoy!
Also, it's not a Modern AU like you first requested and I'm sorry, but it is a Soulmate AU and I hope it's still okay.

"Hey, Spot," Dice greeted as they walked past him.

"Hey." Spot didn't look up from what he was doing. He just listened to people's conversations.

"Hey, Tink!" Thunder jogged over to the boy. "Did you hear about what happened in Manhattan?" he asked him.

Hearing his boyfriend's Borough, Spot looked up.

Tink nodded as he continued to try to fix one of his failed projects. "It's really sad. Manhattan's having a rough time right now," he said, looking a bit more focused on his project than the conversation.

Thunder nodded.

Spot instantly got up, folding up his paper. "Hold up."

Thunder and Tink looked at him.

"What happened in Manhattan?" Spot asked, a bit concerned.

Thunder tilted his head. "Race didn't tell you?"

Tink elbowed him. "Race has been leading, idiot," he reminded him. "He has no time."

Spot got more concerned. "Race is leading?" he questioned. "What happened to Jack?"

Tink shot him a look. "Jeez, I thought you'd be more happy for your boyfriend," he muttered, looking back down at my project.

"I would, but Race leading means something bad happened," Spot told him. "That's concerning, especially with the fact that he didn't tell me," he said.

Thunder shrugged. "What if it was that Jack had left?" he asked, looking at Spot out of the corner of his eye.

"From what you've been saying, I know it's not that," Spot responded. "Besides, I'd know if Jack left. He'd tell me, personally," he told him, his voice low.

Thunder nodded.

"Well-" Tink started.

Spot suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, causing him to take a step back, grabbing his chest. He grunted in pain.

"Woah!" Thunder was quick to get up and go to him. "What happened?!"

"Race," Spot croaked out, gripping his chest tightly. "It's Race." His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth gritted in pain.

Thunder and Tink exchanged a look.

"Race?" Tink questioned. "I mean, I guess he has been pretty stressed all week so you'd be able to feel-" he started.

Spot's eyes shot open in realization. "It was Race," he whispered, his eyes wide. He looked at Tink. "I thought I was just stressed and nervous. The overwhelming feeling of anxiety all week wasn't just from me..." he trailed off.

"It was Race," Tink finished.

Spot gritted his teeth again, cringing in pain.

"Spot," Thunder started, looking concerned, "maybe you'd better go lay down," he suggested.

Spot shook his head. "No, I can't. I have to get to Manhattan," he responded, taking a step forward.

"Spot!" Someone came running over. "My God! You look like you're having a heart attack! Are you okay?" Someone fussed over the leader, who was still clutching his chest.

Spot forced open his eyes.

It was Cloth.

Ace was behind him, looking concerned.

"Ace-" Spot croaked out. "I gotta get to Manhattan, it's Race," he told him desperately. "I can physically feel it. It's like when he's sobbing, but worse," he explained, worry shining in his eyes.

Ace looked at Thunder and Tink. "Did you guys tell him?"

Spot tilted his head, coming to the realization that Ace knew too. "Ace..."

Thunder nodded.

Ace sighed deeply. He looked at Spot. "You weren't supposed to know," he informed him.

"Ace..." Spot's gaze hardened into a glare.

"It was Race's idea," Ace explained, calmly walking towards Spot. "I found out pretty quickly what had happened. Last I saw him, he was trying to conceal his emotions so you wouldn't find out from the Soulmate connection," he informed him, clearly trying to hide his nerves about Spot's reaction.

Spot took this information in, before he sighed softly. "I should've known he was trying to hide it," he muttered.

"I'm surprised he held it for so long," Thunder commented.

Cloth sighed. "It's not healthy doing that," he mumbled defeatedly.

Spot stood up tall again, trying to ignore the pain. "Well, it's time this st-"

"ACE!"

Everyone's heads snapped over to Bush as he came stumbling over.

"Ace! Ace! It's Race!! Everything got wo-" Bush stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide as he stared at Spot.

Ace realized why he stopped. "It's okay, Bush. Spot knows now," he informed him.

Spot shot Ace a look, not liking the fact that everyone knew except him, even the eleven-year-old.

Bush took a deep breath, clearly panicked as he looked back at Ace. "Race- he- he- after the soaking with- with Mush- he- he tried to sell and- and he's stressed- and they went after him too!" he explained quickly.

Cloth looked over at Spot, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "If they went after Race too... why isn't Spot in more pain?" he mumbled.

Spot frowned. "He's still trying to conceal it." He grabbed his pimp-cane. "Come on, I need to go help him."

Ace nodded. He hugged Bush tightly. "Go see Cloth," he whispered in his ear, pulling away.

Bush nodded and went over to Cloth, who instantly wrapped his arms around him.

Cloth sighed softly as he watched Ace and Spot quickly leave, Spot still wincing in pain. He brushed Bush's hair out of his eyes and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "You did your job," he whispered to Bush. "Race isn't mad, Spot isn't mad. You're amazing," he assured him. "We love you."

Bush didn't respond, just kept holding tightly onto Cloth.

In Manhattan

"I'm fine," Race repeated, trying to get up again.

Specs tried to keep him seated. "You're not fi-" he started, his wet cloth in his hand.

"I'm fine, Specs." Race snapped before he could stop himself.

Specs paused, a bit shocked by his frustration.

Blink and Knobs looked up. Concern flooded Knobs's features and Blink just looked sad.

Race sighed. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking down at his lap.

Specs shrugged it off like it didn't bother him. "It's fine. I know you're stressed," he mumbled, starting to wipe the blood off of his cheek again.

Race winced in pain, but didn't stop him.

"Why hasn't Spot come yet?" Knobs asked, his voice quiet. However, it felt like he was speaking at a normal volume due to the silence that filled the room.

Race bit his lip, looking away.

Albert sighed and pushed himself off of the wall. "Because Spot doesn't know." He crossed his arms.

Blink and Knobs looked at Race, their eyes wide.

"You're blocking the connection?" Blink asked, shocked.

"Yes, I am," Race snapped slightly, not in the mood to deal with their disapproval. "Spot's stressed and doesn't need to deal with this right now," he told them, looking into their eyes. "I don't need to hear that it's bad; I got that from Ace and Cloth."

"You talked to Ace?" Knobs asked softly, looking concerned.

Race nodded. "He knows I'm blocking it. He agreed to keep what's been happening a secret because most of the spies report to him and he reports what they say to Spot," he explained.

"What'd he say?" Knobs asked.

Race shrugged slightly, wincing in pain. "Cloth disapproves, obviously." He rolled his eyes fondly. "Ace was going to tell Spot, but after some begging, I convinced him not to. He said as long as I'm not hurt, he won't tell Spot," he informed them.

Knobs frowned. "But you are hurt now..."

"So is Jack," Race responded, shooting him a look, "and Crutchie, and Mush. They're hurt a lot worse than I am," he told him. "I'm leading right now, yeah, maybe it hurts a bit, but Spot's more stressed than I am. He doesn't need that right now," he said, desperately trying to get him to see his side and stop asking questions. "If this is what I have to do to keep Manhattan strong, I will."

"But it's killing you inside and clearly draining you," Albert mumbled, his eyes soft and a frown on his face as he looked at Race.

Race looked at him. "And so are your emotions when you hold them in," he shot back. "You don't get to criticize my methods when you're killing yourself doing the same thing," he stated, his eyes eyes hard.

Albert swallowed hard and stepped back, shutting his mouth.

Specs frowned and looked at Race. "That was kind of mean..." he mumbled to him.

"I'm sick of seeing my best friend hurting himself," Race mumbled in response, looking out the window. "If he wants to judge me for my health-damaging tactics, he'll get snapped back into the reality that he's not subtle about his unhealthy habits," he said.

Specs frowned. He saw where Race was coming from, but he also knew that both boys were stressed and worried for each other.

Ace stepped into the doorway.

Race instantly shot up, stopping Specs from continuing to treat his injuries. "Ace?"

"I said that I wouldn't tell Spot as long as you weren't hurt," Ace reminded him, his eyes flicking down to Race's injuries before back to his eyes.

Race tilted his head. "Ace, you don't mean-" he started.

Ace moved away and Spot stood in his place.

Race instantly cringed. He looked at Specs. "I think we may need a moment..." he mumbled.

Specs nodded. He grabbed his stuff. "I'll go check up on Blink and Mush," he decided. He started to leave, before turning back to look at Race. "Make sure to treat your injuries."

Race sighed softly, but nodded.

The Manhattan Newsies left the room.

Race looked at Ace. "I can't even be mad because... I'm really tired and hurt..." he admitted, his voice quiet as he sat back down on the bunk.

Ace frowned. "I'll leave you two," he whispered, leaving the room.

Race watched him leave, before looking at Spot.

"Stop blocking it."

Race's eyebrows furrowed. "That'll send a painful wave of emotions to you," he mumbled.

"Just do it, Racer." Spot sighed softly. "For your sake."

Race swallowed hard, but closed his eyes and slowly tried to let go of his emotions.

Spot gritted his teeth a bit at the sudden wave of pain, frustration, and stress that hit him, but tried to stay calm.

The wave lasted a few minutes, but it wore off after that time and both boys felt a bit better.

Race laid back on the bunk, exhaustion catching up to him.

Spot slowly walked over to the bunk and sat down next to him. "Why didn't you come to me?" he asked quietly.

Race stared at the bunk above the one he was on. He hadn't wanted to answer this, but he knew it would be inevitable. Spot always found out—nothing got past him for long and Race knew he didn't have that long because Ace was a loyal Second—and he'd definitely ask this question. He sighed. "Because I didn't want to bother you," he answered simply, quiet.

Spot frowned, seeing this question coming. "How many times do I have to tell you that you don't bother me?" he asked softly, gently taking Race's hand into his own.

Race swallowed. "Probably a lot," he mumbled.

Spot nodded.

They were silent for a few minutes.

"Jack fell ill first..." Race mumbled, still staring at the bunk above him. "It was like a chain of events happened after that... Crutchie's leg started hurting more and he injured it, Mush was beat up by the Delanceys, Lucky's nightmare got worse, and then the Delanceys came after me..." Tears stung his eyes and he tried to blink them away.

Spot frowned as he listened to him. He had no idea this was happening in Manhattan, and honestly, kinda wanted to scold his whole borough and all of Manhattan for not telling him (though minus Race, Bush, Lucky, and the other littles; they didn't deserve that).

"I'm exhausted, Spot," Race whispered, becoming choked up. "It hurts..."

Spot laid down next to him and wrapped his arms around him. "It's okay," he whispered in his ear. "I've got you, I'm here to help now."

Race turned over and nuzzled his head into the crook of Spot's neck as the tears started to flow freely down his cheeks.

Spot just held him close and whispered comforts to him.

After a bit, Race started to calm down and start crying less.

Clearly, exhaustion was kicking him and he was starting to doze off.

"I've got you," Spot whispered to Race again, adjusting them a bit so the younger boy was more comfortable. "I love you."

Race clung to Spot, his hands gripping Spot's shirt tightly as he closed his eyes. He opened his mouth, wanting to say a million things to him, but only one thing came out: "You make me feel safe, like home."

Those seven words made Spot's heart stop for a moment and he wondered if he'd heard him wrong, but why would Race be clinging to him if he didn't make him feel safe?

But Spot had never heard Race call him his home before. He'd heard Race refer to Manhattan as "mia casa" before, but he'd never referred him as his home before.

Spot tried to shake the shock off, just cuddling closer to his boyfriend. "You are safe," he managed to whisper to him. "I'll keep you safe," he promised.

Spot wasn't sure if Race heard him or not as he was already asleep, but he figured that somewhere deep down inside Race, he already knew that.

2410 Words
I guess the ending is kinda cute, but I'm not sure if this is good.
I feel like my stuff has been crap recently. I have lots of ideas, but the chapters I've been writing recently feel like they're terrible lol (especially some of the Behind the Story chapters). Maybe I'm just being hard on myself. It's probably also lack of motivation, having a long week due to the end of the year, and the constant picking at the skin on my thumbs that's stopping me from writing too.
I hope the chapter is still at least a bit okay lol