dollymixtures | you know we've got your back from way back (Spot and Dodger)

It was rare, very rare, when Brooklyn was outmatched. It was a point of pride for Spot Conlon that there wasn't nobody who could soak Brooklyn, or anybody from Brooklyn, and get away with it.
He didn't intend to break that track record. This upstart gang from Queens is gonna get their asses handed to them.

...just maybe not today.

His eye is stinging and he can already tell he's going to have one hell of a shiner in a couple of hours, it's going to make a nice accompaniment to his split lip and the bruises blossoming up and down his ribs. Half his boys have already scarpered and honestly, Spot doesn't blame them, they're cornered and even Racetrack wouldn't bet on them winning right now, not without reinforcements.

He smacks one of them across the face with his cane and sees a break in the scuffle, Dodger already darting away down an alley. Spot dives after him.

Queens will give chase, he knows they will, but if he can lure them deep enough into Brooklyn then revenge will be swift and merciless. If they decide to fall back, he'll get them another day, when he's healed up and has the satisfaction of soaking them himself.

He makes it down two more side streets, hot on Dodger's heels, when there's a sudden yank on his braces and he's pulled off his feet with a yelp that (thankfully) gets lost in the yelling and pounding of feet.

He swings out wildly with his cane, but it's not long before he's reduced to curling into a protective ball as boots and fist rain down on him - there's four of them and only one of him, and he still ain't that big.

He's starting to feel pretty dazed by the time there's another, more familiar shout, and suddenly his attackers are falling back under a volley of stones. The cavalry's coming.

Most of the newly arrived Brooklyn boys give chase, but a couple haul Spot to his feet and start checking him over. He waves away their fussing.

"Jus' get me back home," he mumbles, jaw stiff and swollen, and they blessedly don't need telling twice. He refuses to be carried, instead slinging his arms around their shoulders for support as he hobbles back to the lodging house - or more accurately, hops; one of his legs refuses to take any of his weight without trying to buckle underneath him.

They get him back to the house, carrying him up to the bunk room and getting him sat down on the edge of his bed. A hoard of newsies crowds around him, conflicting medical advice flying in all directions.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

brooklynishere

Spot pauses, silent and still while Dodger works on wiping away the blood. It's not the first time one of them has said something that verges on speaking about this... tension, whatever it was, that existed between them, and whenever it's happened before it's been backed away from just as quickly. Right now though, Spot's tired, he's tired and in pain and maybe he's okay with just a little more acknowledgement than usual, maybe he just wants the comfort.

"I know," is all he says, quiet and accepting.

From:

artfuldawkins

They don't address. This... whatever it was between them. It's just a general unspoken rule. It's come up, a few times, some sort of admission here or there that verges too close, but they always back away. But the way Spot's looking right now... Well, Dodger isn't in the mood for fighting in.

"This one'll take a while to heal," he just says,still speaking quietly. "Might need to get some stuff for it."

From:

brooklynishere

"We can't afford it," Spot shakes his head. It's not like he doesn't have enough money coming in, between his own work and Dodger's he should have spare coin - but he never does. Anything extra Spot gets will always go on his boys, supporting them if they're having trouble selling or need any extra for food or medicine, Spot looks after Brooklyn.

"It'll heal fine."

From:

artfuldawkins

"I got it covered," Dodger said simply, moving away from that cut to another one.

He had some money hidden. Not much, but stuff he hid just in case he'd need it. At one point he had considered saving to get the money for a ticket back to London but that thought changed. It wasn't as if the money didn't get used. Spot looked after Brooklyn, and Dodger helped out in his own way. Making sure a kid had an extra couple of coins was easiy enough.

"I'll get what we need."

From:

brooklynishere

"You don't need to do that." Spot said bluntly, looking away. He didn't want anybody putting themselves out to help him, accepting even this much help from Dodger was a big enough deal as it was, without taking money from him too.

Still, there's something about the way he says it, the fact he says what we need, that causes something to twist in Spot's stomach in a way that's nothing to do with his injuries. It's getting harder to ignore the way he feels about Dodger, and Spot is very good at ignoring the way he feels about Dodger.

From:

artfuldawkins

"Doin' it," was the quick reply. "Can't stop me," was added on as a cheeky retort, mouth quirking up in a bit of a smile.

He still kept working on cleaning up the blood. It was just... He needed to make sure that Spot was okay, that was it. Try not to think on anything else than making sure he was okay. Dipping the towel and wringing it out again and then looking up. He really needed to start on Spot's face.

"This is goin' to sting," he said, bringing it to one of the ones near an eyebrow.

From:

brooklynishere

Spot just rolled his eyes, and that.. that was all the argument he put up. Either he was in a really bad way or he'd finally given up on arguing with Dodger. Probably the former, he enjoyed the arguments too much. Not that he'd ever admit to it.

"I'll live." he muttered, but the move to his face meant that he had to turn back to actually look at Dodger, catching his gaze and for a moment he just sort of stared, studying his face while he worked. "I could do this myself, you know."

From:

artfuldawkins

The lack of argument just proved to Dodger that Spot was not in the best way. He could spare some coin to get what was needed to get him back in the right way. He'd send some of the younger ones out for it later, keep them from crowding too much. He had just finished the cuts on the forehead when Spot spoke up.

"...Do you want me to go?" It's asked carefully, trying not to sound too... Well, he wasn't quite sure there. It's different, a new tone than something they've spoken before but... It's not the moment to slide back into old behaviours.

From:

brooklynishere

Yes. The word is right on the tip of his tongue, his default state being the desire to keep anybody else from seeing the slightest hint of weakness. Dodger should be out there telling the kids that Spot was fine, stopping any of them from going after Queens without a plan, he shouldn't be in here looking after Spot.

But he can't bring himself to actually say it. And for a moment he thinks why? Why is he letting Dodger see him like this, why can't he tell him to go, and why, if he wasn't here, would Spot trust him to take charge? Dodger isn't his second in command, not in any kind of official capacity, so why. The answer scares him, so he doesn't think about it.

"No." He admits instead, looking down.

From:

artfuldawkins

He knows what Spot should say. He knows what he would say if he was in Spot's position. There's kids to round up, and make sure they don't go and do something stupid that they can't fix. That would cause a war between the boroughs and a massive headache as they tried to sort it out.

But he doesn't want that answer. So when he gets the answer, he just gives a slow nod. Trying not to think of what it means.

"Okay, then," he shrugs, continuing cleaning Spot up. He's a lot slower while working on the face his touch is careful, more gentle.

From:

brooklynishere

It's hard not to look at him while he's cleaning up his face, so without even thinking about it Spot finds himself watching Dodger. There's a faintly puzzled expression on his face like he's trying to figure him out - which is weird, because Spot knows Dodger, almost as well as he knows himself. They understand one another - even when they're fighting.

He falls silent while Dodger finishes cleaning him up. Once all the dried (or still dripping) blood is washed away he looks... not a whole lot better, in truth. Most of the cuts are shallow enough and have already stopped bleeding, the messy gouge on his chest is still bleeding a little bit not too freely, the bruises are looking nastier by the second as they begin to properly blossom across his face and body, but ultimately he doesn't have any overly serious injuries - it's more the volume of them that are making him feel like crap. His legs, still covered, are just as badly bruised, and he's pretty sure he needs to bandage up his ankle, but once he's feeling a little less stiff he figures he'll just do that himself. Anything that needs dressing right now, he thinks, can probably be done - there's a box under his bed with some antiseptic, dressings and bandages, bits and pieces they've collected just in case kids got hurt, it isn't much but it'll cover him for just now until he can restock. He knows Dodger knows the box is there, so he doesn't move, figuring that's what's coming next whether he likes it or not.

"We're going to get them back." he says after a while, the silence feeling far more awkward than it normally does between them.

From:

artfuldawkins

It's a bit odd, Spot looking at him so intently when he's cleaning up his face, but Dodger does his best to ignore it. He just kept his focus on the job he had to do, and make sure the dried blood was completely gone. That being said, it doesn't make things look any better, but at least he was clean.

Dodger set the bowl down, and went under the bed to grab the box of stuff to start dressing what he could. Start with the antiseptic, maybe a dressing for the worst of the cuts. He's going through the box when Spot speaks, and he looks up.

"'Course we will," he smirked at Spot. "The idiots don't know what they got comin' to them."

From:

brooklynishere

Spot nods. They really don't. Queens have all kinds of fucked up on this one, not only was it a point of pride for Spot to get them back, every newsie in Brooklyn was going to want a piece of them for what they've done - even if Spot would rather the extent of his injuries not be known, he's well aware half of Brooklyn already saw the state he was in and the other half are being told about it already - probably with some significant exaggeration.

He wants to be up and about quicker, knowing that if he's not careful a full on war was going to break out between the boroughs - he'd get his revenge, sure, but he was going to do it while also making sure things stayed safe and peaceful for his boys. He also knows it's going to be a while before he can really do anything about this.

"Without starting a war." so he tells Dodger, because for all he doesn't want to acknowledge the reason, Spot does trust him "We get the kids what did this, and only them. 'Less Queens decides to run their mouth and rally behind 'em... then we can show them all why you don't mess with Brooklyn."

From:

artfuldawkins

Dodger knows he should get out there to try to stop the newsies storming to Queens to get their vegence for Spot, but there was one big issue with it all, that was going to be a big issue.

"I'm thinkin' up solutions," he wasn't a fighter, not really. He was a thinker. Mess with them in their head and they didn't want to fight you. "Anyone from Queens that's gotten real pissed at you lately? Before this?"

Maybe if they could work out the who, it might stop the big trouble.

From:

brooklynishere

Spot shrugs. People are pissed at him a lot, mostly because he won't put up with their shit, but he's pretty sure nobody from Queens has gotten on his bad side lately. He assumes, or hopes, it's just some upstart gang trying to make a name for themselves and doing it without backing from the people in charge - a lapse on Queens' part, of course, letting it happen, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with the right retribution.

"Wait, that kid mighta been Queens, the one who was followin' you." The last person Spot had soaked personally, some punk who kept coming into Brooklyn and hanging around Dodger all starry-eyed. They'd rubbed Spot up the wrong way for some reason - and then when they started trying to sell in Brooklyn without his permission, well, it was just the excuse Spot needed to rough 'em up and send them home. It hadn't been that bad, a single punch and they ran off with their tail between their legs, but maybe they had brothers or something who'd been out for revenge.

Not that he'd told Dodger he'd done it. Until now.

From:

artfuldawkins

Dodger doesn't groan, but he wants to.

It wasn't that being followed was unusual to either of them. They each had their own reputations that made kids starting out in the trade want to learn from the best there was. Occasionally there was an older one, one nearer them in age, and they had different reasons, but it was never anything that could be dealt with in their own simple ways. There had been a couple that kept following Spot, like devoted little puppies, that he had seen to.

(Rumor was one of them had left the state. He liked that rumour.)

"So how bad did you soak 'im?" Felt like the right question to be asking here.

From:

brooklynishere

"Not even that bad," Spot says, and maybe it's a little defensive, but Dodger was about the only person who ever dared question Spot's motivations most of the time, especially when it came to who he got in a fight with. "Gave him a black eye is all."

A black eye that he absolutely deserved, for... well, for selling in his territory. And absolutely nothing else.

From:

artfuldawkins

"Black eye big enough to want to come soak you worse?" He's trying here, even if he's not entirely sure if this is the right angle to go down. He remembers the kid was selling in Brooklyn despite being one of the Queens newsies. Honestly, for that one, he was lucky it was just Spot that blacked his eye.

"Or is this somethin' else?"

From:

brooklynishere

"I don't know Dodge, maybe?" Spot throws up his hands in frustration, wincing at the pain of it. He's aching and sore and angry and frustrated and caught up in a sudden flurry of god damn emotions, trying to puzzle out who decided to attack him (or any of the boys that had been with him) is a little beyond his capabilities right this second. So, of course, he deals with it the only way he knows how - by lashing out.

"Maybe it was him, maybe it was somebody else, maybe you need to get off my fuckin' case."

From:

artfuldawkins

Dodger expected it really, and he gives a groan of his own. Of all the times for Spot to lash out, this was one of them that just felt a bit too much considering the state he was in. It's one of the rare times he gives in, and lets out the frustrated groan.

"Maybe you need to calm the fuck down," he snapped back. "I figure if you can work out who it was, we might be able to stop this lot goin' an' fightin' all of Queens."

From:

brooklynishere

"How about we just fuckin' tell them not do and they do as they're god damn ordered." Spot snarled back, not even noticing the 'we' he'd slipped in there himself. Somewhere along the way he and Dodger had become a team, and that was... that was just how it was, even when they were at each other's throats.

"I ain't got the energy to think about this right now." he added, quieter - still combative and sullen but with just a little of that tiredness creeping into his voice, a little weakness he was letting Dodger see.

From:

artfuldawkins

"'Cause seein' you'll just rile them up again, an' they'll start somethin' we don't want to be dealin' with," was the quick reply. He doesn't notice slipping the we in either, even though he somewhat knows he has no claim in the hierarchy of Brooklyn. He and Spot worked together, that's... how it was.

A team. Partners. That was it.

"... Yeah," he nodded, anger dying down. "Gonna put some of this stuff on yer cuts an' that." He held up the antiseptic. "You know it's goin' to sting."

From:

brooklynishere

"Yea, I know." Spot nods, and it's not overly clear if he's talking about Dodger's point or the antiseptic, it might be both, but he's not going to offer up anymore if Dodger is willing to drop the conversation. He'll keep thinking about it, because ultimately he knows that Dodger's right and they need to figure out what triggered the fight - if anything - so they can fix it. He just doesn't want to talk about it right now.

Unfortunately with that argument by the wayside, he's left to fall silent again, and his brain seems insistent on dragging his thoughts towards Dodger and their unspoken connection.

From:

artfuldawkins

Dodger isn't going to question it, not right now. Right now, he's a lot more focused on trying to get the antiseptic on the cuts. He zeros in on the smaller ones, since all they needed was a quick dab. He was avoiding the big one until he couldn't. He pulled out a dressing.

"This one is goin' to hurt the most," he said, pausing before doing anything. "You okay?"

From:

brooklynishere

"I'm fine, Dodge, quit worrying so much." Spot rolls his eyes. Sure, every touch to his wounds stung like a bitch and he knew this one was going to sting worst of all, but it wasn't any worse than getting the damn things in the first place and he knew it was better to get it done than not.

Still, there's that unfamiliar hint of softness in his expression, despite his grumbling. The fact that Dodger is putting up with him in order to do this is... nice. And Spot is not a guy used to nice.