"Find the bad guy, push him aside!" Anastasia smiled, making a sliding motion.

"Then move on forward with your friend at your side." Race nodded.

"It's a two-player game, so when they make an attack, you know you got a brother, gonna have your back!" They high-fived through the bars.

"Then you stay on track and..Ah! Remain on course. And if they give you a smack, you.. Gah! You use your force! And if you leave your brother behind, it's lame 'Cause it's an effed-up world but it's a two-player game!" The newsies grinned brightly at each other.

"Hey!"

Six months in the refuge can do a lot to people.

Sure it can be bad and potentially scar you forever, but, it's not so bad when you have a friend.

"Hey Race?" Anastasia asked through the bars.

"Yeh Stasia?"

"I'm glad wese friends now." She smiled.

"Me too." He grinned back. "And in a couple weeks, we'll be out. Free from this place."

"Yeah." She smiled, eyes filled with hope. "I heard according to Jack we'll be there for their annual snowball fights, and- and we can go to their picnic on Valentine's Day! Have you been to a picnic? Or a snowball fight? Or-"

"Youse rambling again Stupid." He smiled softly.

"Oh- right."

In a couple of weeks the two kids would be out.

Free from the monstrous place.

~~~~~~📰~~~~~~

"Have you ever dreamed of goin' somewhere with yer life?" Anastasia asked one night after a particularly hard beating.

"Nah, why?" Race walked up to the bars separating them, Anastasia doing the same.

"No it's just-" She let in a sigh. "Jack told me about dis place... Santa Fe? Open fields, bright yellow sun, the Rio Grande? Evah wanna just leave New York and all it's troubles?"

Race thought for a moment before slipping his fingers through the bars.

Instinctively Anastasia did the same, them interlocking pinkies. That had become their thing since they couldn't fit their arms through the bars without risking it getting stuck.

"What's life without troubles Stasia." He smiled softly, gazing into her eyes. "Dat's Jack's dream, what's yers?"

It was Anastasia's time to think.

"I- I don't know." She admitted, smiling sheepishly. "I guess- I don't know- do more than survive." Her pinkie clutched onto his harder. "We have an okay life now I guess, I wanna do more than just survive this crazy world. Do something fun, crazy- it- it's stupid I know." The young girl looked down. [THE BMC REFERENCES IZZY PLSBDBEBEDNBDJDB] (lol) (iM gLaD yOu cAuGht iT)

"It's not stupid." Race for once was empathetic. "Although, when we get out of here you'll need to find a new one." A wacky smile settled on his face.

"How come?" Anastasia's eyes snapped up to meet Race's blue ones.

"Because when I get out, I'll make yer life more interesting than surviving." He grinned. "You made the right friend!"

Anastasia smiled softly.

"You know that you are my favorite person... that doesn't mean that I can't still dream." A smile settled onto the blonde newsie's face.

"Is it really true? I'm your favowite person?"

Anastasia grinned back.

"Yeah, we're never not gonna be a team!"

"Street life is sh*t," Race huffed, crossing his arms. "and you gotta help me conquer it...It's just what we do!" [*ray molina voice* lAnGuAgE!]

"Thanks Joik." Anastasia smiled, locking their pinkies again.

"Anytime Stoopid." A small smile snaked it's way up to Race's face.

"We make it a two-player game!"

~~~~~~📰~~~~~~

"Out ya go! You got dat?" A guard shoved both kids out and harshly to the ground.

"Wese out." Race's eyes widened.

"Wese out." Anastasia nodded, both frozen in happiness. "Wese out!" She yelled abruptly, throwing her arms around Race and burying her head into the crook of his neck.

"Wese out!" He cheered, wrapping his arms around the shorter girl.

"Remind you of someone?" Fox laughed, elbowing Jack.

"Hey!" He whined, elbowing the twelve year old back.

Fox and Temper were the youngest leaders of Manhattan, but they did a great job.

"Nevah steal clothes for us again, evah." Fox's stern gaze made Jack nod. "I don't evah wanna see any of youse in that torture zone again."

"JACK! FOX!" Both kids ran up to the older boys, engulfing them in hugs.

"Don't ever scare us like that again." Fox mumbled, holding both of the children close, as if he would let them go and they'd disappear. "Temper wouldn't stop worrying."

"Temper? Worried?" Anastasia looked up, tilting her head to the side.

"Of course," Fox nearly cried at the sight of the beat up children. "He cares more about you little rascals then he lets on."

Jack watched from the side as the two little newsies clung onto Fox, just as Fox clung on back.

"What? No hugs to Jack?" He huffed, crossing his arms, a pout on his face. (nO AUTOCORRECT!) (JACK DOES NOT WANT BUGS!)

Anastasia detached herself from Fox and Race and ran over, crushing Jack in a hug.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to the older boy.

"You scared me kid." He whispered back before pulling away. "If you little children decide to pull a stunt like this-"

"I'm not a child!" Anastasia huffed. (AUTOCORRECT!) (WHAT IN HADES NAME IS A CHIKID?!)

Jack crossed his arms. "You haven't aged from the little five year old I met you as so shush."

"I'm six. You met me when I was si-"

"Uh." Jack put a finger to her lips. "Same thing, stop arguing with your superior authority."

"More like superior annoyance." Race snickered.

"I'm Jack Kelly and I'm the newsies' superior annoyance." Anastasia made her voice much lower than it is while striking a pose. [same energy as "iM aGeNt GrAnT wArD"] (e x a c t l y)

"Shut up children." Jack huffed.

"C'mon, let's go home." Fox laughed, putting his arms around the three newsies.

~~~~~~📰~~~~~~

"We're home!" Fox pushed open the door to the lodging house.

"RACE! ANDREW!" Crutchie scurried from his seat and quickly limped over.

Temper quickly stood up, letting a sigh of relief.

"RACE!" Albert ran, embracing his friend in a hug. Mush, Blink, and JoJo were quick to follow. [me, a ralbert shipper: *conflicted*] [this is also me with reggie peters, luke patterson, and julie molina] [c o n f l i c t e d] (yEaH)

Anastasia awkwardly stood to the side until she was pulled into the hug.

Soon it turned into a big newsie hug.

"Never scare us like that again." Crutchie mumbled, resting his chin on top of Anastasia's head.

"I won't." She reassured.

~~~~~~📰~~~~~~

"Drew, can wese speak ta ya." Fox made a 'c'mere' motion with his hand.

Anastasia, being completely oblivious, skipped over.

Jack and Crutchie however, shared a frightened look.

"Heya Foxy! Tempah!" The little girl grinned brightly. Nearly making the two thirteen-year-olds hearts melt.

"Look kid..." Fox crouched down to the seven-year-olds level.

"I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!" Temper burst out, only to quickly turn bright red. Fox gave the leader a pointed look. "Gosh that sounds creepy." He rubbed the back of his neck. [no kidding temp] [*underland flashbacks*]

"What Temp was trying to say." Fox glared at his friend. "We know ya's ain't a boy kid." His gaze softening as he looked at the scared child.

"S- so." She stuttered, backing away slightly. "I don't wanna go back there. I don't- I don't-"

"I know kid." This time it was Tempers turn to soften down.

How could he not? The little girl was practically shaking in fear, a big difference from the bubbly child.

"I can't go back." Anastasia whispered softly. "I don't- I don't wanna- please- pl-"

Her sentence was stopped short as Temper wrapped his arms around the small girl, sealing her in a tight embrace.

"Yer safe kid. Ya's safe." He muttered sweet reassuring phrases into her ear until she calmed down.

Fox watched the sight, smiling softly.

"You're not mad at me?" Anastasia finally looked up from the hug. "Either of you?"

"Of course not kid." Fox gently removed her hat, short brown hair tumbling down. "How could we evah be mad at a beautiful goil with a puss like yours." He ruffled Anastasia's hair, making the small girl giggle.

"We're family, okay kid? No mattah what, I don't care if ya's a goil, a boy, wese family." Temper stared straight into the younger girls eyes. "Got that?"

"Just one question." Anastasia smiled sweetly, directing her gaze to Fox. "Am I really pwetty?"

"Da prettiest." Fox grinned back, in which the younger girl jumped, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. She quickly pulled Temper over to the hug (in which the older boy was quite surprised by her strength).

"Youse da best big bruddas." She mumbled. "Well, excluding Jack."

"Really?" Fox pulled away, smirking.

"Yep." She grinned back.

"Oh we'll just have to see about that!" He picked the small girl up, spinning her around. Both were giggling like maniacs.

"Brudda, huh." Temper smiled sadly.

It had been a while since he was called that.

Never a big brother.

Now, he knew, it was his time to protect someone.

A sister....

Perhaps... a little one for once? [izzy you can't make me sad like this it's tuesday morning i-] (wHoOps) (o H w E l L)

AND THAT'S A RAP!

possibly some shadow into temper's past???

Anyway,

Hope you all have an amazing rest of your Sunday- away from moi

and yea!

Before you go, don't forget tooooooo

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This is Izzy,
Over and out!