Hey guys! This is a fic I wrote for an Instagram challenge. It's adorable Jack and Katherine fluff with some passionate kissing but nothing else after that. I just love writing where Jack can comfort Katherine... they are just so cute! 3 Enjoy!

Stop every clock
The stars are in shock
The river would run to the sea
I won't let you fly
I won't say goodbye
I won't let you slip away from me
Can you hear Heaven cry,
"Tears of an angel..."

-"Tears of an Angel", RyanDan/Amy Guess

Jack Kelly couldn't sleep.

Not that he minded, anyhow. He loved to listen to Katherine write away on her typewriter; the clicking of the keys was a bit annoying, but after a while he got used to it. He lay there in his bed at the lodging house, listening to the incessant sound, with occasional pauses when he would hear nothing but his breathing mingling with Katherine's before the noise started up again. He turned over on his side during one of these pauses, seeing the reporter's shadow against the moonlight streaming in the window that lay in front of her; her hand was tightly entwined in her hair in anguish, but Jack thought her pretty despite the stress radiating in waves off of her. The moon's rays gave her an ethereal glow, almost like that of an angel's. Her brunette curls, laying placidly on her back, and her fair yet tall stature appeared pitch black against the near darkness of the room, but Jack could see her light anyhow - if you looked really close, just around the edges of her frame, she seemed to shimmer…

...Or maybe he was just overly tired. He wasn't sure.

"Hey. Hey, Ace-"

"Quiet, Jack. I'm thinking. I'm trying to figure out how I should phrase this and..."

As she trailed off, Jack swung his feet over the bed and rose to his feet, walking over to the girl and standing over her with a wry smile on his face. He was glad she had chosen to stay with him tonight and write - only Jack knew how to alleviate her stress.

"I know you's thinkin'. It's jus'... you's lookin' real pretty tonight, Kath. That's all. An'... I like listenin' to ya type."

Katherine, resting her hand on her chin, looked up at him with the bright blue eyes of a sleepy child. Oh, how his loved those eyes; those cerulean pools of knowledge and sweetness all rolled into one. "Alright, what do you want? You only flatter me when you want something."

Jack only smiled wider. There was something about this night - something that made him very happy he hadn't gone to Santa Fe, and he was here, with her, and only her, and they were together and at peace and nobody, no-way, no-how was ever going to hurt his Katherine. As if to reply to her, he let his raging instinct take over and he lifted her from her chair by her waist, kissing her fiercely on the lips with unadulterated passion, his heart pounding a million miles as a minute as he did so. They hadn't kissed in a while, and as he felt stiff Katherine relax under his grip and entangle her hands in his hair, he knew she needed his touch as badly as he needed hers. He deepened the kiss further and pulled her close to that their bodies met - she smelled like apples and perfume and newspaper ink and rough-edged paper. This reminded him of the time right after the strike, when they had kissed, when he had decided to stay in New York, and all the other newsies were watching, but he couldn't see their faces, no, it was just her and him and nothing else, and there was a floating feeling in his chest when he had whispered, "I love you, Ace," sweet as honey into her ear, but before she could reply he'd been distracted, ready to celebrate. But now, there was none of that. Just her, and her sweetness, and that was all he wanted. He started a stream of kisses down her neck...

But Katherine stopped him short. "Oh, Jack…" She sighed, pulling away so that she could stand a least a few inches away from him. "I… I really need to finish this. I really do. I don't think anyone'll publish it but… it's really important to me…."

Jack could only cut her off; she was passionate about her writing, true, but she had been working night after night for a while now, if he remembered correctly. "I understand, Ace. But you've got… you've got ta stop stressin' over things. The strike's over and everythin'... and I know that writin' is what ya love ta do, Ace. But you've gotta take a break sometimes, or you'll burn yourself out."

"I… I guess… But..."

"Hey. Hey." This time he stepped forward and hugged her, tight as he could. Jack wasn't much of a hugger, but for Katherine, he has some leeway. Burying his forehead in her messy soft hair, he whispered in her ear, "Take a break. Get some sleep. And try again t'morrow. Okay?"

She didn't reply. She only hugged him back, even tighter than Jack could fathom she could, and he rubbed her back slowly, crooning calming 'ssshs' in her ear as he felt her tears fall against his shirt and heard her soft crying. Katherine was his everything; she was so sweet, but strong when she wanted to be; she always stood up for what was right, which was why the strike had succeeded, in part. Due to her. Jack couldn't have been more grateful.

Maybe one day, he would go away. But take her with him, and they would head out at the break of dawn, and make it to Santa Fe like he always thought he would have. And when they got there, he'd see her hair glowing in her mountain sun, and her small bare feet against the rock, and they'd stand high above everything, and she'd look over at him and smile, her nose wrinkling because she was happy, truly happy, and he would be too.

But for now, he was in New York, and they had to make do with what they had. Maybe not Santa Fe, but each other. And that was all he needed, for now. Them together - to keep his angel, Katherine Plumber, radiant as he knew she could be.

Reviews are appreciated!

~Anais