Crutchie loved the side of Jack that could turn anything into a beautiful drawing, and loved even more that he was the only one Jack trusted enough to show it to. Sometimes, the two of them would be on the roof late at night, talking, and Jack would just stop in the middle of a sentence. Crutchie would always smile, and then Jack would pull out a pencil and a fresh sheet of paper, and start sketching. He would continue his conversation, but his attention would mostly focus on the paper, where he was constructing an image of a shooting star, or of the lights on the Brooklyn Bridge reflecting off the river. Crutchie would often say goofy, random things to see how much attention Jack was paying.

"Jack, I saw Finch eat a pape yestiday."

"Dats neat."

"Ate da whole thing right up. Jist chewed an' swallowed."

"When?"

"Yestiday. Den he ate a tree."

"Nice." Crutchie would laugh quietly at his replies, knowing that he wasn't really listening. It didn't bother him, because when Crutchie really needed to talk, when he had a nightmare or had trouble with something, all he had to do was tell Jack, and Jack would drop everything and listen. If Crutchie was crying, Jack would help, or if he was scared, or sick. So it didn't bother Crutchie at all when Jack didn't really pay attention when he was drawing. He got to watch the artist work, see the world how Jack saw as it come together. Little marks turned into shapes, then images, until finally a whole scene was on the paper. Crutchie was the only one who ever got to see Jack draw; usually he hid his work until it was done. But with Crutchie, he kept the paper right in front of him, muttering and scratching with his pencil as Crutchie watched.

Crutchie also got to see that part of Jack that was always, always kept inside when anybody else was around. The vulnerable part, the part that showed that Jack Kelly wasn't always the brave, the fearless, the perfect. Yes, he was brave, but he had just as many fears and flaws as a normal human. He showed that side to Crutchie only, the part that cried at nightmares sometimes, and that wasn't perfect. That snapped at random stupid things and made stupid mistakes. Crutchie saw Jack get mad over nothing, and in those moments, Crutchie was the strong one. He saw Jack dissolve into tears and Crutchie held him, told him that everything was going to be okay, that everything would work out, that it was just a dream, that he would recover. Sometimes Jack fell asleep crying into Crutchie's shoulder after a particularly bad nightmare, and Crutchie would just lie back and fall asleep with him. It was worth any awkwardness in the morning to know that he had helped, that he'd helped Jack get the sleep he so desperately needed. Crutchie knew that side of Jack was a secret, and never talked about it to anybody, but he knew it was there. He saw it escape at night. It was those moments that Crutchie knew Jack needed him as much as he needed Jack. So Crutchie loved those moments.

Jack was freer around Crutchie than he was around anybody else. Out of all the newsies, Crutchie was the one Jack trusted, and Crutchie was the only one that he allowed to see the sides of him that were normally hidden. The imperfect, dreamy, artistic sides that most people wouldn't understand was part of the same person who was strong and brave and even-tempered and comforting. Crutchie understood and accepted that, and he was always there for the moments that those sides came out. That, more than anything else was what made Jack and Crutchie brothes. The fact that around each other, they didn't need to hide anything. Everything could be set free.

This was a random idea, but it seems that often my random ideas end up being the stories I like best, and this is no exception. This is how I think of the friendship between Jack and Crutchie. Reviews are welcomed!