Boxing Ring

[Fighter Mallory]

Fighter pulled out a cigarette and lit it as she glanced at Davey out of the corner of her eye. "You always seem to be keeping people out of trouble, hasn't anyone ever told you it's fun to find trouble every now and again." A slight smirk crossed her lips as she took a drag of her cigarette. She knew she wasn't fooling him but she wasn't good at talking even if she wanted to talk about what was bothering her.

Fighter paused for half a second when he spoke again before she continued walking only to be stopped a moment later by David stepping in front her her. Raising her hand she brushed the back of her fingers across his face, a sad smile gracing her own. "I'm fine, honestly. I mean I've been having trouble sleeping but I don't think that's unexpected."

Pulling her hand away she stared into his eyes trying her hardest to convince him that she was being honest. She didn't know why she felt this sudden urge to keep how she was feeling from him, out of anyone he should know how she felt but she just couldn't bring herself to talk about it.

[David Jacobs]

"Someone told me that once," David said, a smile tugging at his lips as he looked down at her, resisting the urge to lift his hand and tuck errant strands of hair behind her ear, the touch seeming far to intimate for the middle of a street in the Bronx. "In fact, I think she even showed me just how much fun trouble could be..." He winked then, thinking back to the first time they'd bumped into each other after everything at the warehouse, the way she'd snagged the pocketwatch from the stranger and the ensuing run to the abandoned building and the kiss that had lingered in his mind since that moment.

His smile faded, his eyes searching hers as she spoke, touching his cheek softly. He didn't really believe her, but there was something in her gaze that stopped him from pressing for the moment. He wished that she would talk to him like she had that first day, wished that she knew that she could trust him but his instincts told him that pushing the issue right now wouldn't result in much more than pushing a few of her buttons.

"Sometimes when I have trouble sleeping I go outside on the roof and look up at the stars, what I can see of them anyway," David shrugged and stepped a little closer to her as they began walking again, wanting to be somewhere that he could freely pull her into the hug. "..and think about all the other people in the world and wonder where I fit into it all." He sighed and looked at the ground in front of them, thinking about how he'd just spent the night before doing just that. "Les found me up there once, don't know that he knew what to make of it."

[Fighter Mallory]

As they continued walking a small smile graced her lips once more, “I’m sure…” A slight laugh escaped her at the image of David being found out on the roof by his younger brother. “You know whenever I look at the stars it makes me wonder how much I even matter.” Fighter always remembered the stories her father told her of things that had happened in the past all of the world. The stories of war and famine and countries destroying each other for a little bit of power. Of course, he’d always seemed particularly interested in gaining power even her young mind had grasped that fact.

“My father…” Fight bit her lip and trailed off for a moment, she didn’t talk about her father with anyone but then again she’d never had reason to mention him before. Brooklyn kids just didn’t talk or ask about family, if they had family they wouldn’t be where they are so they usually just kept their mouth shut. “My father always told me stories about other countries and things of the past. Whenever I think about it I feel like my time here really doesn’t matter because if you think about it we’re only here for sixty or seventy years if we’re lucky and what can we accomplish with that amount of time?”

She knew it was a bleak outlook on life but that’s always the way she’d been especially since she’d lost most of the people she’d let herself care about. Fighter glanced around wishing they were alone, she didn’t like talking about this stuff and she especially didn’t like talking about it in public. It didn’t help that being this close to David was making her itch to reach out and take his hand in her own.

[David Jacobs]

"Sometimes that's why I think the stars are there," David commented, resisting the urge to pull her hand into his by shoving them into his pockets and looking straight ahead. "To remind us how small we really are in this great big world." He allowed silence to lapse for a moment, filled by her small tiny admission about her father and he knew with certainty that tidbits about her family weren't something she often shared. It seemed that the window that had opened between them before hadn't closed, and for that he was grateful.

Looking over at her, he glanced around, spotting an alleyway across the street and the long shadows cast by the buildings that created it. "Come here," He said, reaching for her hand and tugging her in the direction of the cloaking shadow. Once they were away from the general foot traffic of the sidewalk and the possible prying eyes that worried them both he reached up a hand to touch her cheek gently. "And then I look at some one I care about and think...I matter to them so I must be at least a little bit important." He bit his lip as he looked down at her, into those eyes that he was just beginning to be able to decipher and wished that things were different and they had more than these few stolen moments.

"You matter to me," He said softly, not even sure why he was saying it, just that he needed her to know it. Whatever was troubling her, he wanted her to know that he was going to be right there beside her if she allowed it.

[Fighter Mallory]

Watching David out of the corner of her eye, Fighter lifted her cigarette to her lips once more to take a long drag from it. She liked his point of view mostly because it seemed to go alongside hers. "Do you ever wonder what the rest of the world looks like?" Fight had never thought any place could be as wonderful as New York to her because Brooklyn had been home for as long as she could remember, but part of her wondered if there was a place she'd find peace.

Fighter glanced around when Davey grabbed her hand before following him to the alley and pulling up short as he placed a hand on her cheek. A slight smile tugged at her lips as she leaned into the touch almost unconsciously. She'd missed even being able to have the slightest interaction with him. As he spoke she focused on his eyes and her smile widened a bit. "More than a little bit, Davey..." She reached out and caught his free hand in hers.

Fight blinked and glanced away when he said she mattered to him, she knew he meant it and it comforted her but it also made her a small bit uncomfortable. Part of her didn't think she deserved to matter to someone like him. Forcing that thought away, Fight looked back at him and smirked slightly. "I know."

[David Jacobs]

"Sure I wonder," David said, looking off into the distance a little as he considered her questions. "Denton used to tell me all about the places he'd been," David explained, remembering the newspaper man describing parts of the country that David had trouble believing existed. "I've always wanted to go out...see what's out there, you know? Maybe experience things a little and see what it's like outside of the city."

He smiled a little as she said he was more than a little bit important and he looked down at her, frowning a little when she looked away at his compliment. They weren't merely words to him, he did mean them and after everything they had all been through, he couldn't imagine his life without Fight in it, without the hope of her...the promise of her, in it. "Do you?" He said softly, giving in to temptation and leaning forward to press a quick kiss to the top of her hair, his fingers squeezing around hers.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked after a moment, because something just didn't feel right and while he didn't claim to be any sort of expert on Fighter and her moods, he thought he could read her at least well enough to know when something was eating at her.

[Fighter Mallory]

Fighter smiled as he spoke, mentioning how Denton would tell him about the world. She nodded her head just a bit, "I've never really been anywhere else. I was born in Philadelphia, but I was so young when I came to Brooklyn that I don't remember much." Fighter bit her lower lip gently, wondering what the city was like these days. She remembered the house she'd lived in with her father and she remembered a bit about where they'd lived but not much. Most of her memories were of Brooklyn and her uncle.

Fighter glanced up at him from beneath her lashes when he spoke again and kissed the top of her head. "Of course, Davey," And she was telling the truth. She knew he cared for her she just couldn't fathom why sometimes. She was glad she had him though because she knew that without their stolen moments she wouldn't have lasted. She was falling apart as it was and he was the only thing that made her feel a bit of normalcy.

"I'm fine.." Fighter smiled, making herself look at ease. She wanted to enjoy her time with him and didn't want to bring either of them down by speaking about what was on her mind. Gently squeezing his fingers, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Really."

[David Jacobs]

"Jack told me a little about Santa Fe," David offered, though the stories had been few and with Jack's flare for dramatics, no doubt exaggerated to a certain degree. "I've read in books about the places overseas, you know Paris and Italy and all those places some of our friends are from." David shrugged, lifting a hand to scrub his fingers through his curls. "It's amazing to me sometimes to think about how all of us from all these different places ended up here...in the same city."

He felt his heartbeat quicken a little as she pressed a kiss to his cheek, her lips gentle and soft and he was reminded of their stolen kiss in the abandoned warehouse. Oh how he hoped they could do that again. He pulled back slightly to look down into her face, the cloudiness that he thought he'd seen earlier now gone, replaced by the simple, brilliant blue of her eyes and he smiled. "Just checkin'..." He murmured, allowing his fingertips to graze along her cheekbone and linger at her jaw.

"You got some time? Maybe we can go grab something to eat while we're here," He wasnt ready to leave and didn't have to be back for awhile. Besides, it had been far too long since he'd had anything but the smallest moments with Fighter...and he wanted more.

[Fighter Mallory]

A small smile crossed Fighters lips as she thought of the pictures or posters she'd seen depicting foreign places. "My parents and my uncle came over from Ireland when they were our age." Her uncle hadn't talked about it much but when she pleaded and begged he would tell her a story or two. She always had the feeling that his stories hadn't been completely truthful. Now that she was older she could understand her uncles need to leave the past in the past. She wished she had the control he had shown.

"I don't mind...you checkin' that is..." She smiled, staring into his eyes for a moment longer before glancing around and taking a step back. She had forgotten that they weren't entirely alone and she didn't need to be caught just yet. Being with David brought out a different part of her that she hadn't shown anyone in longer than she could remember and she wasn't ready for that to be tainted.

"I don't have any plans for the day," Fighter glanced back at him and smiled. "And, I'm starving so that sounds like a good idea." She wasn't sure how much she had on her but it would be enough for a sandwich at least. She wasn't really that interested in eating anyway, she just wanted an excuse to be with him longer.

[David Jacobs]

He smiled a little, it fading when she pulled away and looked around. They were getting a bit more daring the last few times, the fact that they weren't able to see each other very often weighing heavily on them both. David knew they had to be careful, but sometimes he didn't wonder if it was all worth for just the touch of her hand, the look in her blue eyes or the softness of her hair between his fingers. Shaking his head a little to clear his mind of somewhat dangerous thoughts that he was flirting with, he smiled down at her.

"Where shall we go? We could head deeper into the Bronx, there's Lombardi's Pizza over in Morris Park," David suggested, leaning back against the building and watching her, finding that it was quickly becoming one of his favorite pastimes to watch the emotions and light flicker and dance in her eyes. "Stu's is over there too..." They stood a risk of bumping into a Newsie who might recognize one or both of them at Stu's, but the food was good.

Mentally, David was thinking over the coins in his pocket, he'd done well that day and had enough to splurge, maybe even buy Fight her meal if she'd let him. He grinned at the thought, almost like a real date.

[Joe]

>>>New Day<<<
Joe spit blood. It had been a good punch. The first and the last for the guy that stood in front of him. Right now Joe was death itself. He had no issue with it. He had no fear. And he wasnt even pissed. He just needed to feel the crack of a guys skull under his hands. See the blood and know it was good. Death was life. And during this time the newsies had been reminded of it. He had been reminded. To witness death, to see blood you knew you were alive with a sense of conviction you could never feel in any other situation. Some people drank. He fought.

Joe threw punches away, giving his opponent openings and then closing them before they could be used. Ran the kid ragged. Letting him give glancing blows to make him feel accomplished. The entire time Joe kept his left close. Punching with his right. He waited. Then threw his left. The kid went down. With a crunch and blood. He'd live but his nose wouldnt be the same again.

Joe walked to the side of the ring, swished his mouth and waited for his next opponent.

[Sweets]

Sweets hawked headlines as she shoved her way through the rowdy crowd, not even glancing at the brutal fight happening not ten feet from her. Her usual spot on fifth avenue never did as well in the cold winter months, and though she wasn't fond of the fights, Bumlets had convinced her it was a prime location for profit.

As the match intensified the crowd responded, and in the chaos a young man grabbed one of her papers with a grin and a snicker. Heaving a sigh Sweets tightened her grip on the rest of her papers, angrily and blindly shoving her away through the mob to distance herself from the obnoxious thief. It wasn't rare in locations full of such commotion to lose a few papers, though it was more often the girls who fell victim to such crimes. Sweets was especially careful since the ordeal at the warehouse and avoided any confrontation with strange men.

As she pushed through a particularly tightly packed line of men she found herself right along side the ring and frowned in annoyance, standing on her tiptoes and attempting to find an escape route. When the crowd erupted in an outburst that indicated the end of a fight she attempted to dart along the edge of the ring to a distant break in the crowd. With her destination in view she took off, but was abruptly stopped short by the sudden appearance of someone exiting the ring right in front of her. As she fell back to the ground her eyes squeezed shut and in what felt like slow motion she awaited contact with the filthy, blood spattered street. She would be having a chat with Bumlets later about his suggestions and keeping them to himself.

[Joe]

Joe took another swig of his water. He watched the kid get up off the mat. As he rose he was already cursing his manager. Blaming his trainer. The young never found fault in themselves but in only those around him.

Joe spit. The young made him feel bitter and old. He watched. Not turning his back on the kid. He knew his type. They worked themselves up. Got it in their heads the fight wasnt over. And if he didnt pick it with Joe he'd pick it with someone else.

Joe waited. Watched him abuse his waterboy and verbally assault all within lashing distance. Rolled his shoulders keeping them loose. Then his eyes watched the oncoming detonation as it made its way streaking along the side of the ring.

"Shit, Bridge." out of everyone in all the newsie world this was one of the few that he couldnt just watch from where he was. Her name itself explained it.

With skills honed from years on the street and fighting he was over the ropes and behind the girl his arm catching her around the waist and putting her behind him in one move that not even the crowd could follow. One minute she was there the next she wasnt and the kid's fury without looking to see who it was he was throwing a punch at came towards joe.

Joe just smirked as the fist came at him. A knock out would be a pleasure. He caught the punch and tapped the kids fist with his right distracting before he brought his left up. The kid hit the ground hard where sweets would have landed.

"Grow up before you enter the ring again kid or next time you might not come out alive."

[Sweets]

It was all a bit of a mental blur as Sweets suddenly felt arms around her, turning her around and protecting her from some uncomprehended foe. As she regained her senses she manged to peer around her defender just in time to see one of the men who had just been boxing violently drop to the cobblestone. The intensity of the crowd around them seemed to swell at this altercation, and though the threat would seem to have passed, Sweets found her instincts taking hold and forcing her to slink backward through the multitude. Unable to stop until she had found some sense of stability she ended up outside the dense group that encircled the ring, leaning upon a waiting wagon and attempting to steady her breathing.

It wasn't entirely clear to her what had just occurred, but as she rested against the wood wheel and absently counted her remaining papers the pieces quickly came together. Someone had moved her, someone had ended up in the dirt, and someone likely deserved her thanks.