Yeah, not a happy title :(

Yeah, not as much fluff as the last chapter :(

But together, they'll stand tall and face it all.

Enjoy! :)

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All their hearts stop as those three words came out of Race's mouth. I got drafted.

They all know what this means. 

Race is going to have to fight in the war.

He's going to have to go to Europe.

And if he's unlucky, he might not come back.

Spot backs away and turns around, hand cupped over his mouth, blinking, trying not to cry, trying not to show how emotional he is right now.

Mush, Jack, and David look at Race, devastated.

Race just stays there, frozen, feelings so many things at once, yet also nothing at all.

"How..." he croaks, voice suddenly hoarse, "how did this happen?"

No one says anything.

"How did this happen?" Race repeats, voice stronger, but still raw with emotion. "The circus ... they protected personal information for all their members ... and all us in this house, unrecorded ... I shouldn't have records for the government to find, they shouldn't know I'm here, I thought I was safe..."

Suddenly, Spot wraps Race in a tight embrace, hugging him as close to his body as he can.

"And it'll be worse if you stay here instead of going where they tell you to," Mush says quietly. He doesn't want this to happen.

This wasn't supposed to happen. 

They were all supposed to live happily together, no more problems. They weren't supposed to have more weight on their shoulders than they could handle.

This is a living nightmare.

And the real nightmare hasn't even started yet. It'll only get worse once Race actually has to go to Europe.

"Maybe ... maybe I'll see him..." Race murmurs, trying to be brave. "We might reunite in Italy or Ireland or something,"

Trust Race to try to find some light amidst the darkness, even if he is only dreaming. 

For his sake, they hope that the army does send him wherever they sent his brother, so they can reunite.

"Does it say when you have to leave?" Spot asks.

Race shakes his head and pushes the letter away. "I don't want to know. I don't want to think about any of it."

Spot hugs him tighter. "We don't have to think about it any longer than you have to."

Race closes his eyes as a tear slides down the left side of his face.

"Hey," Jack strokes Race's face with his thumb, wiping away the tear. "We're here for you. You know that, right?" He joins their hug.

Mush joins the hug next. "We all are."

David joins the hug too. "Always have been, always will be."

And so they all hug each other, like they're each other's whole world, which they are, with Race in the center, feeling truly loved.

If only he could stay here.

If only he could stay here in this house. If only he could stay here in this embrace. Here, he feels safe. The outside world can't get him when he's here. He's surrounded by his favorite people in the world. Nothing can hurt him. Here, he has safety, love, and happiness.

He'll cherish this moment while it still lasts.

He's had a great four years here. All the memories from before Jack found him again sit idle in the back of his mind, unimportant. These past four years have been the best four years of his life since his newsie life back in 1899. He's had Spot, who is the love of his life, by his side, as well as Jack who is like a brother to him, as well as Mush and David, friends who he wouldn't exchange for anyone. Of course it hasn't been easy, but they had all been together, and that's what matters most.

And now he's about to lose it all.

He's about to experience what will probably be the hardest time of his life.

He is so, so not ready for this. He doesn't think he ever will be.

"Thanks for this, guys," Race tells them appreciatively, in the center of their group hug. "This means a lot to me, truly."

"I don't want to let you go," Spot murmurs in Race's ear.

Race holds on tighter to Spot. "Then don't."

Spot holds on tighter too.

"We can stay like this, Race," Jack tells him softly.

"For as long as you need," Mush adds in the same soft voice.

"Thanks, guys. Truly."

He relishes the embrace, for as long as it lasts.

Until finally, they all break apart from the group hug. Race probably could have stayed there longer, but he knows how unrealistic that is.

"Well, then." Race wipes his eyes. He offers a small smirk. "What's for dessert?"

They all laugh, glad to think of something else.

"I wasn't planning on making dessert, but I bet I can find something," Mush says, smile on his face.

"What! No dessert in the original dinner plan! What is this?"

"You and your sweet tooth," Spot says adoringly.

"You say this as if you didn't devour pies along everyone else in the lodging house on Christmas day."

They continue their banter, and Jack and Mush watch them, both smiling. This is the kind of banter that they missed in their years apart. They love watching the natural flow of it. They don't want it to end.

There's still something not sitting right with David. There's a lot of mail. More mail than usual. Most of what they get is daily newspapers and bills, but surely there can't be this many now.

He looks through the mail. His heart starts beating faster when he notices that there are four with their names--their true names instead of just old newsie names--on them, in the same format as Race's was.

He opens the one with his name on it. It looks exactly like what Race just opened. It looks exactly like the ones for Jack, Spot, and Mush. Which can only mean one thing.

"Guys," David says, wanting to get their attention. He holds up the envelope with his name on it, and then points to the other three. "We all got drafted."

He watches painfully as all their expressions go from happy to horrified.

They had thought they were safe.

Turns out, they never were.

And they never will be.

Because soon, they're going to head off to fight in a war.

Their peaceful and happy future is gone.

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Well hello barel 1000 word chapter of angst.

Especially that ending.

Again, I almost never write pure fluff, or pure angst. There's pretty much always something that can make the moment lighter, or make it darker.

So ... how are we feeling?

Time for me to do research haha.

But at least now I know what direction I want this to go.

I hope you stay with me for it.

Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section at all times.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who is grateful that their writing spark is back but wishes that it would have been for a happier story)