- Chapter 39 - A Break from Trouble -
Warnings: Soaking, insults
Canon Era
Third Person POV

A sob escaped Buttons lips when he saw Race.

Albert carried Race in his arms, Specs and Jack beside him.

They rushed Race upstairs.

Buttons tried to follow, but Henry pulled him into a hug, stopping him.

Buttons cries in Henry's arms.

Henry frowns, whispering comforts to Buttons.

He didn't know how to help because he didn't know how Race was doing.

Then, Jack came downstairs.

He was frowning and looked really concerned.

Buttons looks up at him. "Jack?" He whispers, silently asking what the boys were all questioning internally.

"I don't know, B." Jack tells him quietly. "He's hurt, bad." He informs him.

Buttons felt another sob escape his lips.

Please, please be okay. Buttons prayed silently. I need you, Race. I need you a lot.

I love you...

They heard someone come down the stairs.

Specs appeared at the bottom of the stairs, a small smile on his face.

Buttons looks up at him.

"He's asleep, but he's whispering for you to be safe in his sleep, B." Specs informs him softly. "He's alive."

Buttons felt more tears stream down his face.

Henry let go of him and he was immediately pulled into a hug with Specs.

"It's actually quite cute." Specs whispers in Buttons' ear. "Want to come see him? Maybe you can help him wake up." He suggests.

Buttons nods softly.

The two boys walk upstairs.

"Keep him safe..." Race whispers groggily, his eyes closed and his voice sounding pained. "I don't want them to hurt mio Amore." He whispers.

Buttons let another sob escape his lips. "Antonio." He whispers.

Buttons sits down on the bunk Race was on.

Specs sits on the bunk across from Buttons', just watching carefully.

"He should wake up within a few minutes, cause it's him and he's a fighter." Specs chuckles a bit. "Be prepared for a snarky remark to notify you that he's awake." He reminds Buttons.

Buttons nods, running his hand lightly over the bruises on Race's face.

His right eye was swollen shut.

He had a cut just under his left eye, on his cheek.

He had a massive cut on the left corner of his lips.

Race's knees had bruises on them, along with his arms.

His arms had multiple cuts on them, now bandaged.

He most likely had a few ribs broken.

The cut on Race's lip starts to bleed again.

Buttons frowns, wiping the blood gently off of his lip. "What did they do to you?" he whispers.

"Race needs to learn how to shut his mouth." Buttons heard a groggy and weak response.

"Well, true." Buttons agrees. "But it's Race, do we really-" he stops.

He looks back at Race.

A small smirk had appeared on Race's lips.

"Oh my God..." Buttons whispers.

Specs covers his mouth to hide his snickers/chuckles.

"How did I get here?" Race asks softly, his eyes opening slightly. "Not that I'm complaining. This is much better than Flushing." He adds quickly.

"I was so worried." Buttons whispers, tears filling his eyes again. "I knew we should've never let you go alone."

"I love you, B." Race whispers, gesturing for Buttons to lay with him.

Buttons lays next to Race, them clinging to each other.

"I'll be back in three hours." Specs tells them softly, getting up. "Then, I'm checking your injuries, Race."

Race nods softly, Buttons playing with his hair.

"Bring Brooklyn." Race requests quietly.

Specs raises an eyebrow.

"I have a bone to pick with their idiot of a leader." He finishes, his eyes closing on their own.

Specs just nods, deciding not to question it.

Buttons felt a sense of relief and normality with Race laying on him, him playing with the younger boy's curly, dirty blonde hair and Race clinging to him.

Three hours later

"There you are, you idiot!" Race exclaims, before cringing in pain at Specs taking a bandage off of his arm.

Spot stares at him. "What did I do now?" He asks, a bit exasperated and annoyed.

"You paired Dice and Brush!" Race exclaims, before wincing in pain again. "And you expected Bucky not to target them?!" He shoots Spot an exasperated look.

"You know what," Spot starts, his hands up in a surrendering motion. "Next time we have to do buddies, you're pairing my borough." He decides.

Race nods, content.

Cloth comes into the room, immediately sitting next to Specs to help him.

Race opens his mouth to speak.

"No." Jack cuts him off before he could speak, shooting him a stern look. "We have to do this. You know that." He tells him.

Race shuts his mouth, wincing in pain again.

"Race," Specs starts softly, his eyes trained on the injury. "I know it hurts, but we really need you to stay still." He tells him.

"While we're doing that, you can explain what happened." Jack tells Race, sitting across from him.

Race rolls his eyes, but nods.

A week later

Race found himself standing with Buttons, just behind Jack and Spot and slightly next to Ace.

Buttons (and Specs and Cloths) weren't happy that Race was there, but they couldn't stop him.

Jack and Spot could've, but they didn't feel like dealing with the Higgins stubbornness and needed to get to the meeting place.

"Wow." Bucky looks at Race, a glint of cruel amusement in his eye. "The Higgins kid is still here." He comments.

Race smirks at him. "Still kicking, Bucky." He responds. "Cause, unlike you, I don't give up when things get hard." He shoots him a sarcastic smile.

Bucky rolls his eyes.

Race noticed the Queens and Bronx Newsies blocking Flushing from the opposite side of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Race smirks to himself.

"Wanna come by again, Racer?" Acid asks him with a smirk, cracking his knuckles.

"No thanks." Race shoots him a sarcastic smile. "I don't hang with people who crack their knuckles to try to make them look tough and don't even succeed." He comments.

Acid glares at Race.

Some of the boys in the Brooklyn and Manhattan groups laugh/snicker.

Buttons smacks Race's hat off of his head, before immediately apologizing and picking it back up as Race wasn't supposed to bend down yet.

He wasn't supposed to be walking either, but it's Race.

"You need to learn to shut your mouth." Buttons whispers to Race, his tone concerned. "You're going to get yourself killed one day."

Race shrugs, starting to put his hat back on his head.

Buttons stops him, taking the hat out of his hands and putting it on for him so he didn't strain/hurt his arms.

Race rolls his eyes, muttering a small 'thank you'.

Buttons smiles, content with himself.

"I'd just like to see your Second." He heard Bucky tell Jack. "He has some stuff he needs to pay for."

Jack immediately makes a motion for Ace to go see Race.

Race opens his mouth to speak, but Ace shoots him a stern look and he shuts his mouth.

"They'll defend you." Ace whispers to him, standing next to him and Buttons, Race in the middle of the two (slightly and not slightly) older boys. "But if you anger him more, he's going to snap."

Race rolls his eyes.

"What he did was purely self defense, Bucky." Spot tells him. "You not only kidnapped him and one of my eight-year olds," he starts angrily. "But you hurt them- both of them- bad."

Bucky smirks cruelly. "He's a Second, can't he take it?" He asks.

Race clenches his fists. I can.

Ace grabs his fist, squeezing it to comfort him, but Race could tell that he was getting angry, too.

Smokes moves to stand on the other side of Ace and Blink stands next to Buttons, who was still helping Race stand.

"Yes, he can," Spot starts. "But my eight-year old couldn't and even Race has a breaking point." He responds. "You can't just break someone's ribs, cut them, and torture them for answers and expect them to be okay." He states.

Bucky smirks.

Race didn't know what happened next, but the next thing he knew, he was on the ground, on his back, and the Queens Leader, Second, and Third were tying Bucky, Acid, and Base's hands behind their backs.

The three Flushing Newsies were glaring so hard at so many people (Race included) that it took multiple slaps to the face to get them to stop.

And even then, Bucky's gaze as he looked over at Race was angry.

Really, really angry.

"Ow..." Race mutters, holding his head and closing his eyes. "That hurt." He winces in pain.

Specs was now leaning over him, looking concerned. "I told you that you shouldn't have come." He tells him softly.

Race rolls his eyes. "If it helps, I'm going to stop getting in trouble for a bit." He mutters.

"How you manage that is unknown to me." He heard Spot mutter.

Race rolls his eyes. "Oh trust me, I'm probably not selling on my own, or at all, for a bit." He points out.

Jack, Buttons, and Specs nod.

Race figured out his head was in Buttons' lap.

He let his eyes close and himself drift out of consciousness to the muffled sounds of his friends speaking and the feel of Buttons playing with his hair.

He loved that.

1582 Words
This is not great lol, sorry.
It's been a long and hard day.