I got you

By: Ambrlupin

Rating: T

OneShot. Docks wasnt sure what woke him up in the middle of the night, but for Shorty, it might have been a good thing he did. FluffSlash. OC/OC practice. !Cameos by Spot & Red!

A/N: yo. Its just me, playin around with two of my original newsies. Docks and Shorty for Brooklyn! Yay. This thing actually didnt start out slash at all, nor did I have plans to make it slash, but will see where it goes. You guys tell me what you like or didnt like, kay?

Disclaimer: uh, well...Spot aint mine. That bout it.

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Docks wasn't sure what exactly woke him up from his deep sleep, but for some reason he was wide awake in the middle of the night, rubbing sleep from his eyes as moonlight poured in from the window, washing over the rest of the Brooklyn newsies, who were all in various stages of unconsciousness.

Moving he threw his legs over the edge of his top bunk and jumped, landing lightly on his feet. He cast a look around and had to stifle a laugh as he saw Red sprawled on his bed, covers tightly wrapped around him, as he lay haphazardly half-off the edge of the mattress.

But the smile faded as he heard it again- a faint splash.

Crossing to the door, he slipped into his boots and gently opened it, careful of the creaking as he tip-toed down the hall. He had to be extra careful, because Spot had his own room near the stairs. Mostly to keep an eye on his boys.

After much careful creeping he managed to make it outside and he shivered in the cold air, wrapping his arms around himself. The river was like a slick expanse of black glass, stretching out all the way to where the bridge could be seen. It was serene, untouched, beautiful.

Until it was broken as something broke the surface, sputtering and cursing. Grabbing a hold of the wooden planks of the dock, the bedraggled person, for it had to be, pulled himself out of the water and onto the top, gasping for air.

Docks eyes widened as the light fell upon their face. Brown eyes flecked with green, a mop of mahogany hair..."Shorty?" He exclaimed in surprise. "What are ya doin?"

The other jumped high in the air, scrambling backwards. "D-Docks!" He licked his lips and tried to manage a strained grin. "W-Why are you out here? Its late..."

"You didn't answer my question." Docks pointed out as he walked toward the other, a concerned look on his face. "Shorty, what the heck are you doing? It's the middle of the night and its winter! Why were you in the water?"

He looked away, pulling his legs to his chest a little. Docks could hardly believe it. Was Shorty afraid of something? It was unnerving to see the usual bubbly and strong willed kid in such a defensive position, much less as quiet as he was now.

"Kid?"

At the prodding, Shorty bowed his head, water dripping from his wet bangs to trail down his face. "I was tryin ta swim." He murmurred, after a long pause. "I...I don't know how."

"You don't know how to swim?" He asked, startled. "But, how is dat possible?"

"I neva learned, thats how!" Shorty snapped, eyes flashing. Apparently he thought the other was making fun of him. "Now sod off!" He got to his feet, turning to stalk away, "I don't even know why I told you!"

"Woah!" Docks reached out and grabbed his wrist, "Woah, that's not what I- Shorty, hold on a second!"

"Let GO of me!" He roared, his fist a blur as he spun.

But Docks had been anything but unprepared for that one. Ducking under the blow, he grabbed both of his wrist's and pinned him to a nearby crate. "Shhh! Are you trying ta wake everyone up?" He hissed.

"No!" He growled, trying to break free from the iron grip. "Docks, LET ME G-"

He was cut off as a pair of soft lips touched his own and all of a sudden his vision was filled with Dock's soft baby fine caramel colored hair. His hands dropped limply from the other's grasp, even as Docks drew back.

"Shhh..." He murmurred, letting his fingertips trail over the younger's lips gently. "Im not here to make fun of you, Shorty, im here ta help..." He paused, "If ya want me to, dat is."It took Shorty a few tries, but he was finally able to form words. "Help me? How would you...do dat..?"

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"GOD, IM GONNA DROWN!" Shorty nearly cried as Docks drew him into the deep water, and he clung instantly to the other's front, legs wrapped tightly around him. "IM GONNA DROWN - IM GONNA DROWN!"

"Ow! OW!" Docks winced as the other attempted to crawl onto his head, or choke him to death with the grip around his throat. "Shorty, leggo!"

"LET GO!" He yelped, "ARE YOU MAD!"

"No!" His eyes narrowed and he tucked his legs up under him, so that they both slid into the water instantly. He bobbed back up to the surface and, with a grin, discovered his tactic had worked. He had shut the other up.

But...he also might have killed him.

Shorty had the most interesting facial expression on, and Docks would have found it incredibly funny were it not for the fact he was also not moving from the death grip he had on the other's windpipe.

Docks cleared his throat a little, "Uh...You okay, man?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Shorty turned his head, eyes losing their 'OH-GOD" look and instead opting for the 'IM-GONNA-KILL-YOU" look. He was in trouble.

"Docks." He hissed, "I highly suggest you watch yer back in the future."

"Noted." The elder newsie flashed him a smile, "Okay now...I want you to let go of my neck- don't give me that look, I wont let you drown- and just move your legs to keep yourself afloat."

Apparently, after the first few attempts at that, and some sputtering and hacking on Shorty's part, Docks found that the conventional methods just weren't going to work. "Al right den!" He exclaimed, maneuvering so Shorty was pressed to his front- they were nearly the same size, so it worked quite well- and drew them back so he was just holding on to his hands.

"Keep yer head above da watah!" He said sternly as Shorty began to drift under the dark expansion again. "Move your legs!"

"I am!" He snarled, head tilted back so he could gulp at the air. "DANG-" He yelped as he went under again, popping back up to finish his curse. "-IT!"

Docks drew him back in and frowned, deep in thought. His hands went around the other's back to keep him steady, and his eyes widened in surprise when he felt the other's tense muscles. "Shorty..." He asked, realization dawning. "Are you scared of da watah?"

The look he received answered his question quite well. It was one of those looks. "Of COURSE im scared! Things live in here!" At this his eyes widened again and he curled up against the elder. "THINGS, Docks, THINGS!"

Trying not to laugh out loud at the utterly terrified look on the other's face, Docks let his arm drift around Shorty's waist. "Hey, nothing lives in here but fish. Are you scared of fish, Shorty?"

Yet another 'look'. "Of course not!"

Well then. Grinning, he cocked his head to the side, "If I can show you there are no...things...livin in here, will you trust me?"

Shorty appraised him with a sharp eye, then nodded slightly, "Yeah, sure...But how are ya gonna do dat?"

"Like dis." He whispered, drawing him in closer, lips coming to rest against the others, deepening the kiss even as he let his feet leave the bottom and they started to drift under. At first Shorty panicked, but after a second he just tightened his hold around the other's neck and let Docks take them down. He had to admit...

It was beautiful.

Sure, the bottom was littered with trash the closer you got to the docks, but out here, it was nothing but open water, dark and mysterious in the moonlight. Fish swam by lazily, coming up to them for a moment before darting away, not sure whether to accept the strangers in their home or not.

Finally, Docks' lung began to burn and he pushed off from the sandy bottom, bringing them back to the land of air, breaking the surface- and the kiss- with a small gasp. Shaking his wet hair from his eyes, he looked down at Shorty, who was being oddly quiet, and frowned.

He might have overstepped his bounds a bit.

"Shorty?" He murmurred, "Im sorry...I..." What was he supposed to say?

I like you a lot?

Yeah, that had been made pretty apparent.

However, he was saved from that one as Shorty threw his arms around his shoulders, crushing their mouths together, nearly knocking the other over backwards. Blinking, Docks was slightly shocked, but he got over it quickly enough.

Neither knew how long they floated there, just kissing, before they pulled apart, breathless and pretty self-conscious of themselves. Shorty turned away slightly, arms around himself, not able to believe he had just done that.

Docks cleared his throat again, and ran a hand through his hair before he gasped. "Shorty! You..." A wide grin split his face, "You're swimmin!"

Indeed he was.

"What?" He exclaimed, looking down at himself, floating easily in the water. "I am swi- ARGH!" With a splash he flailed back down, gripping onto one of Docks' arms and pulling himself back up.

"Er...Maybe not." Docks grinned despite himself, pulling the youth back into his arms. "Don't worry bout it, you'll get it eventually."

"Yeah." He sighed and laid his head on the other's shoulder, before a thought struck him, "Hey, how did you know I was out here?"

"I heard the splashin." He nuzzled the top of the other's wet head.

"But I had just gotten in when you came out..."

He paused, that was a good point, but he wanted to make another one while he had the chance. "What were you doin, practicing in the middle of da night, anyway, Shorty?"

"Oh...uh, I.." He turned his face away, "Does it mattah?"

"Not really, no." He gave him a kiss on the forehead, "Im just glad ya didn't drown yourself fore I got here."

Shorty laughed, "Me too, Docks. Me too."

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Crossing his arms, Spot leaned against the wall, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight as he looked out over the water from his window. His breath played on the glass, fogging it up briefly before it faded again.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, just as the door opened and a figure slipped in. Without turning from his vantage point, he commented lightly, "Just had to wake Docks up, didn't you, Red?"

"Just had to tell Shorty da best time ta practice would be two in da mornin, didn't you, Spot?" Red shot back in good humor.

Spot finally turned to the other, eyebrow raised, "Can ya prove it?"

"Don't make me humiliate you, kid."

Rolling his eyes, the leader of Brooklyn tapped the glass thoughtfully. "I will say dis, though. You're meddlin seems ta have paid off."

Red smirked as he came over to see for himself. "As always."

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Just a little something I did today, cause

A) I stayed home sick

B) I needed ta practice with those two anyway.

So, drop me a line using that nice button on the bottom left that says 'submit review' and tell me what you think of these two. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!