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Pie-eater was in a bad mood. His shoes had gotten holes in them, he hadn’t managed to sell all his morning papers, he’d gotten into a fight with Oscar and Morris, and to top it off, it had been raining all day. He couldn’t feel his feet, he was sore, he was soaking wet, and lost money. Pie-eater knew he wouldn’t be able to eat tonight, which soured his mood further. When he reached the square, a young lady stopped him. Despite his foul mood, he didn’t want to be rude so he stopped and chatted with the lady for a couple of minutes before Snoddy wandered up. Pie-eater internally groaned when he saw his secret boyfriend. Snoddy didn’t like Pie-eater talking to the ladies, he thought they flirted too much, and Pie was too oblivious to notice. Despite how many times Pie-eater told him to be careful in public, Snoddy didn’t listen well. So when Snoddy came up and wrapped an arm around Pie-eater’s waist, Pie wasn’t happy. The last thing he needed was someone to make assumptions about him and Snoddy. As a result, he shoved Snoddy away and stalked off into a nearby alleyway. The lady left and Snoddy followed Pie-eater.
“Hey, what’s the matter with you?” Snoddy asked, slightly bitter
“How many times have I told you not to do that?! How many times have I told you to be careful?!” Pie-eater yelled, balling his hands up into fists to keep them from shaking.
Snoddy waved his hand dismissively, “It’s not like I kissed you. People aren’t going notice or even care where my arm is on you.”
Pie-eater scowled, “They aren’t? Then why did Oscar and Morris corner me earlier and threaten me about it? I had to fight my way out, they weren’t going to let me go!”
“Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Snoddy took a step forward to hug his boyfriend, who was completely shaking now.
Pie-eater shoved him away, “Leave me alone!”
Snoddy didn’t back away but he didn’t make another move forward either, “Pie, let’s talk about this. Please. If you-” Snoddy never finished the sentence because a fist came flying at his face. He stumbled back, blinking, trying to process what had just happened. Pie-eater had just punched him. Hard. He could feel blood coming out of his nose and touched it, just to be sure it was real. Sure, he’d seen Pie get into fights before. He’d seen guys stagger back far enough that they’d hit their head on a wall behind them . He just never expected to be on the receiving end of one of those punches. He watched Pie-eater leave him alone in the alley. Snoddy was dumbfounded and just stood there wordlessly for several minutes before deciding he should head back to the lodging house.
When Snoddy got to the lodging house he immediately went up stairs after he paid. The nosebleed had stopped but the blood had dried and was getting uncomfortable. As he washed his face, he heard muffled sobbing coming from the direction of the beds. After drying his face he wandered over and saw a lump in the bed where Pie-eater normally slept.
“Pie-eater?” Snoddy whispered, unsure of exactly what to do.
“Go away Steven,” came the muffled reply from the blanket mound. Steven. Pie-eater had used his real name. This must be serious.
“Jason, we won’t get anything resolved like this. You gotta talk to me,” Snoddy whispered again. If Pie wanted to use Snoddy’s real name on him, two could play at that game. Snoddy meant business. He knew nothing would get solved by ignoring the problem.
Pie-eater poked his head from under the covers, wiping his eyes, “I shouldn’t have punched you.”
Snoddy climbed up into his own bed, which was opposite of Pie-eater’s. “I’ll admit I didn’t expect that. Tell me what made you do it so we can work through this.” He looked his boyfriend in the eyes, “Please. Ignoring problems don’t make them go away.”
Pie-eater sighed and sat up, “I just had a bad day. Everything built up. My shoes have holes in them now, which wouldn’t be too big a deal but it was raining so it got my feet wet so my feet were cold all day. Then the Delancey brothers got me cornered in an alleyway, talking about how someone like me doesn’t deserve to live. How they were planning on killing me then going after you. I managed to knock them out but it just made me mad. Then only a few minutes after you come up and practically throw yourself at me. It’s not safe for us to do that, Snoddy. We’re not kids anymore.” Pie-eater took a shaky breath, “And on top of it all, I didn’t even finish selling. It’s just been a shit day and I took it out on you.”
Snoddy ran his fingers through his hair. He hadn’t even thought about the people that did notice what he was like with Pie-eater. He was possessive sure, but he didn’t realize it had gotten to the point where people like the Delancey brothers had taken notice. Pie was right, he had to be more careful. “I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you. You’re right. We aren’t kids anymore, I’ll back off. But for now,” Snoddy jumped off his bed and opened his arms, “hug?”
Pie-eater smiled and jumped off his bed, wrapping his arms around Snoddy, “Hug.” The two stood like that for a long time, arms wrapped around each other tightly, Snoddy occasionally kissing the side of Pie-eater’s head. Neither are quite sure how much time passed, but when they let go it’s because the other newsies are starting to come up the stairs. The couple shares a quick peck on the lips before going to sleep in their own beds, content with the peace made between them.