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The first rays of gold illuminated Jack's face as the rush of water reached his ears, pulling him out of slumber into consciousness. A grunt of dissatisfaction tumbled from his throat as he shoved his raggedy pillow on top of his head in a feeble attempt to block out all interruptions. Once that proved pointless, he tossed his pillow away with a huff.
"Why's that old man insist on usin' the shower up here, huh, (Y/N)?" he grumbled as he rolled to face his girlfriend's bunk. It wasn't until he was met with silence that he opened his eyes. Panic gripped his heart upon the sight of (Y/N)'s empty, unmade bed. Did something happen to her? Did Oscar and Morrison get their grubby hands on her? After all, they were always looking to pick a fight with Jack using her as bait.
Jack threw himself to his feet and staggered towards the door, wiping the remnants of sleep from his eyes, and paused just short of the doorknob when he heard the familiar noise of keys clicking in the lock downstairs. If that was the lodge owner...
The boy spun on his heel and shoved the bathroom door open, earning a surprised cry from whoever was in the shower. (Y/N)'s head popped out behind the curtain, tugging the material up to hide her body as she looked fearfully at the intruder. She relaxed when she saw it was just Jack and dropped the curtain to slip back under the stream.
Jack narrowed his eyes through the steam that had obscured the room and inhaled deeply, a medley of unfamiliar scents wafting through his senses. He was able to identify coconut, but the rest remained unknown as he shut the door behind him and stepped further into the room.
"What're you doing up so early, Jackie?" (Y/N) asked as she rinsed her hair.
"Couldn't sleep no more," Jack shrugged. "What're you doin' up this early?"
"I always get up at this hour," (Y/N) replied. She peeked out from behind the curtain to peer at Jack once more, careful to conceal the rest of her.
"No, ya don't," Jack shook his head, "You usually get up wit' us."
(Y/N) chuckled softly, a soft and sweet yet distinctly her sound that perked Jack's ears every time it happened. Once he discovered how much he enjoyed hearing her laughter, he made an effort to be even wittier than normal. A wisecrack or two that sometimes gained him a wallop from a fellow newsie was always worth the smooth giggle he drew from his girlfriend.
"I wake up at dawn to shower before the rest of you. I hate sharing with you guys but I don't have enough time to wait for you all to finish. So, I decided I would do it before you guys got up to save myself the trouble," she explained.
"We ain't that bad," Jack muttered, rubbing his neck with his hand sheepishly because, yea, they were that bad, and he knew it. They always stunk from yesterday's sweat and fought and swore and taunted. It wasn't all that surprising that his girlfriend didn't like such activity so early in the morning.
"Yea, ok," (Y/N) grinned. "Anyways, it's really quite peaceful. Just me and the warm water and sweet, sweet silence. You wanna join?"
Jack's breathing hitched at the offer, and he raised his eyebrow in disbelief. (Y/N) nodded encouragingly and beckoned him with her hand before disappearing once again. The newsie didn't have to be told twice, and he swiftly shucked his clothes before eagerly slipping into the shower with her.
"What's all this stuff?" he asked, studying a green bottle labeled "shampoo", among other things.
"My shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and face wash," (Y/N) explained with a gesture to each respective item. "I saved up a little to get my own products because I was sick of sharing you boys' three-in-one wash. And I wanted to smell a little nicer. Feel free to use any of it, but you probably won't want to smell like blackberry quinoa and coconut milk."
"I ain't ever seen this stuff in here before," Jack remarked as he dipped his head back under the stream of water. The warmth - he actually had warm water for once! - was quite soothing as it rolled down his skin, relieving built up tension and stress carried in his toned muscles. He was eager to try out (Y/N)'s new things regardless of the scents and grabbed for the shampoo (after her redirection from the body wash) after thoroughly wetting his hair.
"I hide it so you boys don't waste it," (Y/N) stated, stepping into the water to rinse the suds from her face as Jack stepped to the side to allow the conditioner he applied next to sit for a few minutes as the bottle directed.
Jack only hummed in response, opting for silence so he could instead focus on (Y/N)'s languid movements. She massaged her scalp gently to cleanse her hair of the conditioner that had also been allowed to sit. He watched as the droplets rolled down her body and couldn't help but be slightly envious, foolish as that was; he wanted to touch her too.
"Wait," he mumbled, gently catching (Y/N)'s wrist when she reached for the container labelled as body wash. She lifted her gaze to him, a perplexed look on her face. "I wanna do it."
"Oh," (Y/N) breathed. "Ok. Here's the rag. Only one pump will do."
The thought of Jack washing her so intimately was admittedly embarrassing, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited. Besides, it wasn't as if the two hadn't already explored each other's bodies in other ways.
Jack did as he was told and pumped one squirt of the wash onto the rag before sudsing it up. He registered the scent as the coconut smell from earlier and as the one he had recently found lingering on (Y/N)'s clothes; he was geeked to have found the source of the lovely scent.
A comfortable silence settled between the two as Jack lifted one of (Y/N)'s arms and kissed it once before ever-so-gently rubbing the rag across her soft skin. He repeated the action with the rest of her, a cheeky smile gracing his features when he didn't neglect her breasts as he made his way down her body. (Y/N) could feel her face heating up and she wanted to duck away, but luckily for Jack, there was no way for her to hide her beautiful body from him here.
Once he finished, he turned (Y/N) around and carefully pushed her under the water, helping it in its task of washing away the suds before clasping his hands around her waist. He kissed and nibbled the sweet spot on her neck, leaving her weak in the knees.
"How'd I do?"
"Lovely," (Y/N) replied, her calm voice barely above a whisper.
"Good." Jack spun her around and claimed her lips with his in a loving kiss that made her knees weak all over again. Pulling back but not releasing his grip pinning her to his body, Jack reached over and turned the water off and then grabbed a towel.
"You aren't going to wash?" (Y/N) asked, allowing his fingertips to acquaint themselves with her skin once more as he toweled her dry. He reached for her clothes next, happy to partake in such domestic tasks with his love.
He shook his head, not wanting his voice, still gravelly from sleep, to shatter the stillness and silence of yet another intimate moment. His practiced fingers hooked her bra behind her back and tugged the silky blouse she was to wear to work over her shoulders. Narrowing his eyes, he buttoned it all the way up to the top button.
"You aren't slick. I know why you did that," (Y/N) laughed.
"Then you'll also know I don't like other guys gawkin' at what's mine," Jack replied with a roll of his eyes when she unbuttoned a few.
"Yes, but you know it's a requirement! Medda said I have to keep a few unbuttoned while on stage, and that's if I don't have to change into something even more revealing," (Y/N) reminded him. Jack stepped back to dry himself off. He didn't miss the way (Y/N)'s eyes scanned his toned body and he looked down, smirking a bit as he wrapped the towel securely around his hips.
"Yea, yea, I know," he grumbled. (Y/N) worked as an actress and stage assistant for Medda and knew she had to keep in line with the risqué themes of the theatre, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Actually, he did like it. What he didn't like was other guys liking it too. "C'mon, doll, I need to go grab my clothes."
(Y/N) finished dressing and collected her things, then followed her boyfriend back into the bedroom. None of the other newsies were up yet. She squatted down and shoved the various bottles under her bunk, knowing none of the boys would dare to look under there after what happened last time.
"Y'know, you're right about it being much more peaceful without the other guys," Jack remarked as he pulled his shirt over his head.
"I know," (Y/N) giggled. "I can wake you up with me and we can do it every day, if you want."
"Yes, please," Jack hummed while buttoning up his pants. He made for his red bandana but (Y/N) beat him to it, snatching it up in her sneaky hands.
"On one condition," she smirked, twirling the weathered fabric in her hands.
"What is it?" Jack raised an eyebrow, making a half-assed attempt to grab his bandana back. His girlfriend stepped forward and wrapped the bandana around his neck, tying it off the way he liked before answering.
"You can't disturb the peace. Got that, Cowboy?"
Jack smirked, knowing exactly what she was referring to. He bit his lip and looked at the ground, snaking an arm around (Y/N)'s waist and pulling her into him for a hot kiss.
"No promises, Cowgirl," he mumbled against her lips. He reveled in the surprised gasp she never failed to release as he squeezed her butt, kissing her a little bit harder.
"Knock it off, you two." A gruff voice broke their kiss for them as the lodge owner entered the room to get the newsies up. "Don't need any little Jack Kellys running the streets of New York. One is enough. Alright boys, get up! Get up! It's time to go sell papes!"
(Y/N) and Jack exchanged a glance, an amused grin on his face while hers was a bit sheepish. She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek and bid him farewell, promising to be home when he finished selling for the evening. Jack watched her weave past the scattering newsboys and sighed before turning to the window, ready to start another day of hawking headlines.