Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

No POV:

Sodapop woke up feeling like shit already. His entire body was clammy, and his nose was stuffed. Sodapop sighed in anger as he realized he was definitely sick. He wasn’t sure if he should even attempt to go to work or not, but he knew he probably looked as sick as he felt and Darry would not let him go.

Sodapop sits up in bed, slipping his arms out from under Ponyboy. He was surprised to see how dark it still was outside when he looked at the window. Looking at the clock, Sodapop realized it was hours before even Darry got up. 3am was way too early to get up even if he wanted to get ready for the day.

Sodapop sighs and lays back down in bed, wrapping his arms around Ponyboy again. Sodapop knew there was a chance he could get Ponyboy sick if he continued to cuddle this closely with him. But Sodapop wanted to be selfish for once, knowing he would help Ponyboy if he did end up getting sick.

After a few hours of laying there without being able to sleep, Sodapop decided it would be a reasonable time to get up and ready for the day. Sodapop got out of bed and took a shower.

Coming back into his and Ponyboys bedroom with a towel on, he puts on some clothes and goes to wake up Ponyboy. “Pony, it’s time to wake up.” Sodapop was surprised by how hoarse his voice sounded, realizing he should probably have a cup of water soon. He was just hoping Ponyboy didn’t realize how bad his voice sounded.

Ponyboy groaned as he woke up and looked at Sodapop with one cracked open eye. “What time is it..?” Ponyboy’s voice was still sleepy and deep as he yawned.

Sodapop looked at the time and cringed when he realized it was still just a bit too early to wake up Ponyboy, especially since it was a Saturday. “Uhhh… 6am?” Sodapop replied.

Ponyboy immediately glared at Sodapop and turned to his other side. “Don’t even try waking me up this early again…” Ponyboy mumbled as he went back to sleep. Sodapop chuckled softly and gave Ponyboy’s head a few pats before going out to the kitchen.

Sodapop grabbed a glass of water to soothe his aching throat. Sodapop grinned to himself as he realized that since he woke up first, he needed to make breakfast, therefore he had no one to stop him from putting dye in the food.

Sodapop goes to the fridge and grabs some eggs and other ingredients he might need. Sodapop also grabs something to pick the lock Darry put on the cabinet with the food dye in it, picking the lock quickly and grabbing the box of dye. Sodapop picks up the blue food coloring for today.

Sodapop gets to work on making everyone eggs how they like it, and coloring them all blue. Sodapop was half way through with the cooking when he felt the urge to sneeze, turning away from the food so he doesn’t get germs on them. Maybe cooking while I’m sick was a bad idea, Sodapop thought.

“Bless you.” Male reader said. Sodapop nearly jumped out of his skin, turning around quickly and looking at male reader with wide eyes.

“Reader! You scared me half to death!” Sodapop exclaimed as he held a hand to his chest. Reader laughs and leans back against the kitchen counter with a sleepy grin.

“Sorry, Soda. Did you not see me sleeping on the couch?” Reader asks with a curious gaze, wondering how Sodapop managed to miss him. Sodapop sighs and runs a hand through his hair as he realized he completely missed reader sleeping on the couch from how tired and sick he was.

“I guess I didn’t..” Sodapop said with a yawn. Reader looked concerned as he examined Sodapop’s face, seeing the eyebags and how pale he was.

“Are you sick?” Reader asks as he goes to put his hand on Sodapop’s forehead. Reader pulls his hand back with a gasp as he feels how hot Sodapop’s head is. “You’re burning!” Reader said, his voice full of worry.

“Why thank you.” Sodapop grinned. (Stop hanging out with two-Bit, you’re starting to act like him)

Reader glared at Sodapop, “You know that isn’t what I meant. Why are you up and cooking when you’re this sick?! There is no way you couldn’t tell you were sick.” Sodapop chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, uh-” Sodapop tried to make an excuse, but reader cut him off.

“No excuses, you’re getting your ass onto the couch and staying there until Darry wakes up so I can tell him you’re not going to work.” Reader gently pushed Sodapop over to the couch and made him sit down on it.

“What about the food-?” Reader froze as Sodapop said that, since he completely forgot about the food Sodapop was making.

“Uhh, I’ll take care of it.” Reader rushed back into the kitchen, hoping the food wasn’t burnt.

Luckily, the food was not burnt and reader was able to finish making it all without casualties. And by the time reader was done cooking, Darry came into the kitchen.

“Morning, reader.” Darry said as he wasn’t surprised reader slept over. Reader gave Darry his egg sandwich with a smile. “...Did Soda do this, or are you spending too much time with him?” Darry asks as he sees the fact his eggs are blue.

“Soda did it, but he’s sick, so I finished the food.” Reader answered as he started plating food for himself, Ponyboy, and Sodapop.

“Soda’s sick?” Darry said in concern as he sat down at the dining table.

“Yeah, I think he might have a fever.” Reader placed the plates on the table and started eating his own breakfast, forgetting he should tell Sodapop to come eat.

“Where is Soda? Did you send him back to his room?” Darry questions as he takes a bite of his sandwich.

That’s when reader remembered Sodapop who was on the couch. “Oh, uh, no, I told him to stay on the couch so he wouldn’t get Ponyboy sick.” Reader replied and went to go tell Sodapop to come eat.

Reader saw Sodapop sleeping on the couch. Reader shook Sodapop awake gently, “C’mon Soda, it’s time to eat.” Sodapop blinked open his eyes and looked at reader in slight confusion.

“It is? It’s only been like five minutes though..” Sodapop mumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Reader chuckled, “It’s been more like 15 minutes actually.”

Sodapop’s eyes widened and he looked at reader in shock. “Really?!” Sodapop shouted. Reader smiles and nods his head.

“Is Darry or Ponyboy up yet?” Sodapop asked as he stood up and stretched.

“Yeah, Darry’s eating his breakfast.” Reader answered and walked back over to the dining table, sitting down and starting to eat his food again.

They all ate in silence before a tired Ponyboy came into the room. “Morning guys..” Ponyboy said with a yawn, sitting down where the empty chair was and eating his food.

“Morning Pony. Say, are you feeling sick?” Darry asked as he looked Ponyboy up and down for any signs of sickness.

Ponyboy shook his head, “No, why?”

“Because Sodapop is sick, and we want to make sure you aren’t.” Reader replied.

Ponyboy looks at Sodapop in surprise, “Soda’s sick?!” Sodapop sighs and nods his head.

“Yup..” Sodapop glared slightly at reader for exposing him. So much for pretending not to be sick, Sodapop thought.

Chapter Text

It was only like ten minutes since both Ponyboy and Darry left for school and work when Sodapop got restless, trying to sneak into his closet to put on his work clothes and sneak out.

Unfortunately for him, reader already called in Sodapop sick today. So that meant Sodapop’s boss would send him home if he found out Sodapop found his way to work.

Reader forced Sodapop to lay down on the couch as soon as he was done with breakfast, wanting to keep a close eye on him easily. Reader just went to the bathroom for a few minutes to grab some medicine when he heard a thud from the living room where Sodapop was.

Reader speed walks out in confusion, sighing softly when he sees Sodapop on the floor beside the couch. Sodapop seemed to accidentally fall to the floor after trying to get up and walk.

Reader crouches next to Sodapop, setting the medicine on the coffee table so he doesn't have to hold it. “Are you alright, Soda?” Reader asks in worry as he sets a hand on Sodapop’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine-” Sodapop cut himself off with a sneeze, making reader chuckle as he thought Sodapop’s sneezes were cute.

“Bless you; should I grab some tissues as well?” Reader asks. Sodapop nods his head and sits up with a sheepish grin. Reader smiles and ruffles Sodapop’s hair before helping him get situated on the couch again.

“Now no moving this time, got it?” Reader said in a stern tone, pointing a finger at Sodapop. Sodapop nods his head with a sigh. “Good. I'll be right back.” Reader leaves to go grab a glass of water and some tissues.

As promised, it didn’t take long for reader to come back with more supplies. He sets down the tissues on the coffee table and hands Sodapop the glass of water. “You should drink some now; along with the medicine maybe?” Reader says with a reassuring smile.

Sodapop grumbles, not wanting to take the medicine. Reader raises an eyebrow, giving Sodapop a stern look. Sodapop sighs, “Fine fine, I’ll take the medicine.” Reader smiles once more as Sodapop takes the medicine, making a disgusted noise and face at the taste.

Reader rolls his eyes, “Oh come on you big baby, it’s just a bit of medicine.” Sodapop lays down on his back on the couch, closing his eyes to try and get rid of the nausea.

“Okay, before I let you go to sleep, Darry said I need to check your temperature.” Reader pauses for a moment, trying to think about where the thermometer could even be. “Do you know where the thermometer is?” Reader asks.

Sodapop nods his head, “Top drawer in bathroom.” Reader smiles and quickly goes to grab it. Reader comes back quite quickly and crouches down next to Sodapop again.

Reader was about to put the thermometer in Sodapop’s mouth, but Sodapop sneezed. It was silent for a few seconds before reader started gently laughing. “At least it happened before we put it in your mouth.” Reader said.

Sodapop chuckles with a hint of blush on his cheeks, “Dude, that sounds so wrong.”

Reader realizes what he said, blush starting to make its way to his face. “Wa-wait! I didn’t mean it that way!” Reader defended. Sodapop laughs loudly at the look on Reader’s face, and his attempts to defend himself.

“I know dude, ‘m just teasin’.” Sodapop said with a grin. Reader grins back and rolls his eyes.

“Of course; now open wide.” Reader lets out a huff as Sodapop tries not to laugh. Reader was quickly learning that Sodapop had a very dirty mind. Sodapop was at least kind enough to allow reader to get a temperature before laughing again.

Reader rolls his eyes and looks at the thermometer, wincing as it reads 102℉. “You definitely have a fever.” Reader says, making Sodapop groan. “I know, I know.” Reader chuckles at Sodapop’s reaction.

“I’ll go get you a wet cool towel, and then you need to rest until lunch, got it?” Sodapop looked like he wanted to argue with reader, but decided against it for some odd reason. (Is this romance? Jk jk, for now)

Reader smiles and gets up, walking to the kitchen and wetting a towel before walking back. Reader sets the towel on Sodapop’s head and presses it down gently before repulsively kissing Sodapop’s head. Reader freezes, waiting for Sodapop’s reaction.

Luckily Sodapop doesn’t react much, just humming and quickly falling asleep from the combination of medicine and his sickness. Reader sighs in relief and runs his hand through Sodapop’s hair with a smile.

A few hours pass by of reader re-wetting Sodapop’s towel on his head, and doing whatever else to keep himself busy. Reader thinks now is the time to start on some lunch. He goes to the kitchen and sees what they have, glad to see some chicken noodle soup in the pantry.

Reader starts cooking, thinking about the first time he ever met Sodapop.

Chapter Text

No POV kinda? It’s like a flashback ig:

It was just a few weeks after Ponyboy started tutoring reader. Ponyboy and reader were going to go to reader’s house, as Ponyboy said his house was always too loud to get real studying done correctly. Ponyboy wanted to stop at the DX first since it was on the way, and reader agreed.

The door rings as reader and Ponyboy walk into the DX. Ponyboy waved at Sodapop, who was working the front that day. But reader stops in his tracks as he sees Sodapop there. That was the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. Perfectly made hair, big and soft smile, good jawline.. Reader was struck in awe, and Ponyboy had to nudge him out of the way of someone else.

Ponyboy pulls reader with him to the front. Reader blushes as he gets closer to Sodapop, his mouth agape. The two of them ignore him and have a conversation together while Ponyboy gets a Pepsi and chocolate bar. Reader gets pulled from his thoughts when Ponyboy asks him something, “Ya want anything? I got an extra quarter if you need it too.”

Reader shakes his head no and puts his hands into his pockets. He doesn’t want to look away from Sodapop, but he also starts feeling like a bit of a creep, so he looks over the magazines they have. Ponyboy looks at reader with a weird look as he’d never seen reader act like this before.

“Is he like...hot or something?” Sodapop asks his brother in a slightly hushed tone. Ponyboy shakes his head with a slight shrug of confusion. Reader hadn’t even put on a jacket this morning, and he wasn’t wearing a long sleeved shirt either. Sodapop shakes his head with a slight grin of amusement on his face. He was intrigued by this person Ponyboy was supposedly tutoring.

“Anyway, we gotta head over to his house now if we want to get done before dinner time. C’mon, reader.” Ponyboy says, tugging on reader’s arm to get him walking to the front door. Reader follows suit but allows himself one more glance at Sodapop before he disappears from view, looking away with a flush when Sodapop smiles brightly at him.

“Dude, who is that?” Reader asks Ponyboy with still tomato cheeks.

Ponyboy looks at him weirdly, “Uh.. My brother?” Reader’s eyes widen and he stops walking, just looking at Ponyboy in shock. Ponyboy looks over to the side before looking back at reader with a confused gaze, “What?”

“That was your brother?!” Reader shouts, grabbing Ponyboy by the shoulders and making him almost drop his Pepsi.

“Yeah, why?” Ponyboy asks in a slightly defensive and confused tone.

“I guess I just.. I’ve never seen him around before, so.. How old is he?” Reader stutters through his words, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand.

Ponyboy looked at reader with such a confused face, reader almost laughs at it. He doesn’t get how reader could have never seen his brother around here before. Sure, Sodapop doesn’t go to school anymore, but it’s not like reader had just recently moved here or something. “He’s sixteen, like you.” Ponyboy replies as he takes a sip of his Pepsi.

Reader looked surprised, “Really? Why do I never see him in school then?”

Ponyboy sighs at reader’s question. He was used to reader asking questions as he was his tutor after all, but he honestly was getting tired of the questions about his brother. He couldn’t get why reader wanted to know so bad. Ponyboy supposes reader was just a curious person. Ponyboy talked about his brothers, of course, but reader had apparently never seen Sodapop in real life.

“He dropped out of school after my parents died.” Ponyboy replies. His eyes get a little misty, but he ignores it in favor of not crying in front of reader. Reader’s mood immediately diminishes as he realizes why Sodapop had to drop out of school. He starts to feel bad about asking so many questions that eventually led to Ponyboy saying that.

“Sorry..” Reader bites his lip.

Ponyboy sighs and closes his eyes for a moment before responding, “It’s okay, dude. Let’s just go do some school stuff, yeah?” Reader groans softly, making Ponyboy laugh at his misery. “Fine, in twenty minutes. Want a smoke?” Ponyboy asks as he leans against the fence of reader’s house.

“What kind of smokes ya got?” Reader questions with a raised eyebrow.

Ponyboy rolls his eyes with a slight chuckle, “Chesterfield, you picky smoker.” Reader grins and grabs a smoke out of Ponyboy’s hand. Ponyboy lights both of the smokes with his lighter and the two of them stay there for exactly twenty minutes before Ponyboy forces reader inside so he can actually do his job as a tutor.

(Still in the same time, but not technically a flashback anymore as reader isn’t in this scene)

Every single time the two of them have a tutoring session after that, reader asks to stop at the DX now. Ponyboy was honestly starting to get a bit annoyed with all the visits because most of the time, neither of them even bought anything. And he did notice that when Steve was in front or if Sodapop wasn’t working that day, they left quicker than normal.

Ponyboy swears reader was spending his life savings there just to not make it as suspicious. But Ponyboy was quick to catch on to what reader was doing. Ponyboy knew reader went there just to see Sodapop. The only thing he didn’t know was why.
At least not until two weeks later.

Sodapop and Ponyboy were getting ready for bed when Sodapop speaks up, “Hey, you know that kid you’re tutoring?” Ponyboy hums as a reply without looking at his brother. “And you know how he was acting weird when we first met?” Sodapop says. Ponyboy hums again in confirmation, as well as nodding his head. “Well, he’s been showing up every day to the DX ever since. Even Steve realizes he’s always there.” Sodapop remarks with a chuckle.

Ponyboy looks over with a confused expression, as he didn’t know reader was there every single day. He thought reader was only there when he was. Granted, he had seen reader there a few times when he stopped by after school, but he never would have guessed he was always there. “Really?” Ponyboy questions.

“Oh yeah. Barely talks too, like a mouse, that kid is.” Sodapop replies. Now that was even stranger for Ponyboy to stomach, as reader was always talkative when they were together.

“Strange, he always talks when he’s with me.” Ponyboy says quietly, mostly to himself as he tries to figure out why reader was acting this way. It was so weird and unusual of reader to be acting timid for no reason. Reader only acted timid some times, and being at a place in public usually wouldn’t be one of the reasons he’s timid.

“Maybe he has a crush on me.” Sodapop joked as he flops into bed. Ponyboy freezes from where he was putting away some pencils he was using earlier. Oh my god, Ponyboy thought. He had seen friends have crushes before, and reader was acting exactly like that.

Sodapop was about to question why Ponyboy was frozen when Ponyboy let out a small laugh. “What cha’ laughin’ about, bud?” Sodapop asks.

“Nothin’, Soda.” Ponyboy replies. Oh he was so going to interrogate reader later and then poke fun at him for this.

Chapter Text

No POV (No longer a flashback btw):

The soup doesn’t take long to make at all, and reader barely has time to make himself a sandwich before it was done. He’d have to pay Darry back with some cash or food since he was eating from their house. He knew Darry usually didn’t mind others eating at his house so they wouldn’t go hungry, but reader still felt guilty about it.

Now the hard part of actually making Sodapop eat the soup without complaining. Sodapop was always such a big baby when he was sick, which reader honestly loved, but it was still annoying when he needed to take care of him.

Reader places the soup on the bedside table and sighs. He places a hand onto Sodapop’s shoulder and shakes him gently, “C’mon, Soda, I got some soup.” Sodapop only groaned in response. Reader rolls his eyes and shakes Sodapop’s shoulder harder. He gets a louder and more annoyed groan in response to his actions.

“Soda, c’mon, I know you love chicken noodle soup.” Reader says in a pleading tone. Sodapop peaks one eye open and looks at the bowl on the bedside table.

Sodapop hums in thought, “Make the soup blue and we’ll talk…” Sodapop’s words are mumbled and slightly slurred. Reader probably wouldn’t recognize his voice if he wasn’t looking straight at him because of the way his stuffy nose was making him sound, along with the mumbles and slurs.

Reader can only look at Sodapop and blink at him. He wants the soup to be blue? That’s all it will take to get him to eat it? Reader rubs his temple and leaves the room to go grab some blue food dye from the locked cabinet. The only reason he knows the combination to unlock it is from Ponyboy, who trusted him enough with the ability to keep Sodapop away from it while cooking. Reader would like to think he’s done a pretty good job at it. He only ever really goes in it to dye something for Sodapop anyway.

Sodapop is back asleep when reader comes back into the room with the blue food dye in hand, making reader roll his eyes. Reader puts a few drops of the dye into the soup and stirs it around with the spoon. The soup soon turns blue with just the small amount of dye that was put in it, as blue was always really good at covering other colors.

“Soda, I made the soup blue, will you eat it now?” Reader asks as he pokes Sodapop’s shoulder. Sodapop grumbles something reader can’t hear and covers his face with the blanket. The jostling made the wet rag reader had put on Sodapop’s head fall onto the ground. Reader sighs and shakes Sodapop’s shoulder as well as pulling the blanket off of him. Sodapop opens his eyes a little bit and looks at reader, then the soup that was now blue. He smiles at the sight and starts to sit up so he can eat it. He was always a sucker for weirdly colored food.

Reader places the bowl of soup onto Sodapop’s lap and gives him a soft smile, “Eat as much as you can, alright? I’m gonna go rewet the towel so it can keep your fever down.” Sodapop nods his head and starts to eat the soup. Reader watches for a moment so he can make sure Sodapop can eat by himself with no problems, then he crouches down and grabs the damp towel that fell off of Sodapop’s head earlier. He goes over to the bathroom and cleans it first since it fell onto the floor, and then wets it with very cold water.

The wet rag drips all over the floor while reader walks back to Sodapop and Ponyboy’s room, but reader doesn’t even notice. Reader sighs softly at the sight of Sodapop staring down the blue soup instead of eating it. “Does it not taste good?” Reader asks, sitting down on a chair he set up next to the bed.

“No, it tastes great, I just.. I feel nauseous..” Sodapop replies with a frown. Reader nods his head in understanding, as he gets the feeling of being so nauseous you can’t eat anything. It doesn’t help the fact that Sodapop was also sick at the same time. (He’s so nauseous he can’t eat BECAUSE he is sick, dude. Why am I arguing with myself-?)

Reader takes the bowl from Sodapop’s lap, “That’s alright, Soda. You can eat the rest of it later, yeah?” Sodapop nods his head to reader’s words. Reader sets the bowl aside so he can help Sodapop lay back down, and he also puts the wet towel back onto Sodapop’s forehead. He laughs as Sodapop snatches the blanket back up and smiles at the warmth that was under it. “Dork.” Reader says, grabbing the bowl of soup and leaving Sodapop alone.

Reader takes care of Sodapop alone for the rest of the day until Ponyboy comes home from school. It was a Saturday, and usually there wasn’t any school, but Ponyboy was helping tutor some of the students so he went there with some kids and teachers. It was a tutor day, and Ponyboy had volunteered to actually tutor to help some people. Reader was pretty sure he was just bored though. (This totally wasn’t just a plot hole I made by accident in the first chapter, shhh.)

Ponyboy sets his bag down onto the floor next to the couch where reader was, “How is he?”

“Still sick, his fever is around the same as it was earlier.” Reader replies with a soft sigh. He was getting worried about Sodapop’s condition not getting better at all. If his fever got any higher, reader would make him take a cold bath. He’d probably be taking care of Sodapop again tomorrow anyway, so it actually was very possible that will happen.

Ponyboy already had plans for tomorrow, and Darry still had work to do, so he was the only one besides the gang who could do it. Not that reader was complaining at all. He enjoyed being closer to Sodapop.

He just didn’t feel like getting sick or being thrown up on.

Chapter Text

Still no POV:

Reader slept on the couch of the Curtis house that night, not wanting to go home if he was just going to come back over immediately. He was woken up by the sounds of Ponyboy making breakfast since he woke up first. He slept alone that night because Darry didn’t want to get him sick. He was sent to Sodapop’s old room, and the nightmares didn’t seem to like the fact he was alone. He didn’t complain though, knowing Darry’s reason was a good one.

Getting up with a groan, reader rubs at his eyes and tosses the blanket he used on top of the couch. He put the pillow back onto Darry’s chair where it belonged before he borrowed it. He walks over to the kitchen, “Mornin’, Pony.”

“Mornin’.” Ponyboy replies, his gaze focused onto the eggs he was cooking. Reader smiles at the delicious smell starting to accumulate in the air. He goes over to the pantry and grabs two slices of bread. One for himself, and one for Darry. He puts them in the toaster and grabs an avocado from the fruit bowl. “You’re stealing’ my ingredients, dude.” Ponyboy says with no real anger behind it.

Reader snickers, “I’m making myself avocado toast to go with the eggs. Just be glad you don’t have to make it yourself.” Ponyboy rolls his eyes and playfully elbows reader’s side roughly. Reader gasps and dramatically sets a hand over his heart, pushing Ponyboy with a hand on his shoulder. Ponyboy only laughs in response, making reader smile.

The two of them finish everyone’s breakfast and plates them on the dining table. Though, they left Sodapop’s purple eggs on the counter to be brought to his bed later. They let him eat at the table with them for the past few days, but they could tell it took a whole lot out of him just to get out of bed for that now.

Darry comes down in his work uniform, his hair wet from just finishing a shower. He smiles at the food on the table and sits down with the other two. “Thanks for making breakfast.” He says, not naming anyone since he didn’t know who made it or even if they both did.

“No problem.”

“You’re welcome.”

They both answer at the same time, making Darry chuckle. That answered his question of who cooked the breakfast at least.

Darry is the first one to leave after breakfast since he needs to get to work. Ponyboy didn’t have school because it’s a Sunday, but he did have plans in like thirty minutes. “Hey, Pony?” Reader asks.

“Yeah?” Ponyboy replies with a questioning tone, his nose buried in yet another book.

Reader puts the dishes in the sink, “Would you mind giving Soda his food so I can shower?” Ponyboy nods his head and sets his book down onto the table, getting up and grabbing Sodapop’s food. Reader hears the door to Sodapop’s room open and close as he puts the last dish in the dishwasher.

He walks over to the bathroom and starts showering.

Once reader is down with his shower, he dries himself off with a towel. He was about to grab the clothes on the counter before realizing those are his dirty ones he wore yesterday and what he slept in. He sighs and peaks his head out of the door, keeping his body covered. “Pony!” He shouts.

Ponyboy jogs over and looks at reader confusedly, “Need somethin’?”

“I have no clothes, do you think I left any here the last time I stayed over? If not, can you give me some of Soda’s clothes to borrow?” Reader asks, sighing softly. His cheeks were tinged red, but he didn’t know if that was from the hot shower or from the embarrassment.

Ponyboy snickers, “Sure, you should have some clothes in me n’ Soda’s closet.” Reader sighs in relief and nods his head, despite knowing he shouldn’t get his hopes up until he actually sees the clothes in Ponyboy’s hands.

Reader waits a few minutes with the door still cracked. Luckily, Ponyboy does return with clothes in his hands. Ponyboy hands the small pile of clothes to reader through the wall, “Here you go.”

“You are such a life saver, Pone.” Reader replies, clutching the clothes to his chest. Ponyboy nods his head and walks away. Setting the clothes on the counter first, reader looks at what Ponyboy picked out for him. A dark forest green shirt with a black stamp of Mickey Mouse’s face in the left corner, dark wash jeans, normal black boxers, and reader’s favorite pair of socks. He had been searching for those socks for a while now actually.. He’s glad he found them at least!

After reader puts on the clothes, he hands up his towel and grabs his old clothes. He puts the old clothes into a bag he had brought with him the other day. He’ll wash them when he gets home. He flinches as he hears a loud sneeze coming from Sodapop and Ponyboy’s room, sighing softly in sympathy.

Reader goes over to the bedroom and knocks on the door, “Soda? It’s reader, ya decent?” He blushes as he pictures Sodapop wearing nothing, his blanket only on from the waist down and teasing him. He shakes his head to get the thought out of his head and takes a deep breath to try and calm the blush creeping onto his cheeks.

“Yeah.” Sodapop replies as best as he can, his voice scratchy and rough. Reader walks in and frowns at the state Sodapop is in. His cheeks were flushed, his hair naturally greasy, and his blanket thrown onto the ground. He was wearing only boxers because he was too hot for any other clothes. An empty plate sits on the bedside table, his breakfast from earlier gone and presumably in his stomach. (Unless Ponyboy ate it lol/j)

Reader frowns at the sight of an empty tissue box on the bed, “You out of tissues? Do you know where you guys keep the rest?”

Sodapop sighs, “This is our last box..” Reader looks at him in shock.

“I’ll go get some more, I’ll be right back. Do you need anything before I go?” Reader says. He was not about to let Sodapop just reuse tissues or use toilet paper or something. Sodapop shakes his head no and reader leaves.

It luckily doesn’t take long for reader to return. He had brought more than just kleenex, which included medicine, more soup, and cough drops. He bought the kind that tastes exactly like candy. (Ludens, my love.. I know you don’t exist yet, but just know this is in your memory.)

He sets the bag down on Sodapop’s bed and gets the stuff out, showing him everything so he knows he has it if he needs it. Sodapop smiles gratefully, “Thank you for getting all of this, reader.”

Reader smiles, “It was really no problem. I don’t want you to be sick anymore, and these things will help with that.” Reader walks closer and gives Sodapop a hug, frowning as he feels how hot he is. He hums and grabs the thermometer. “I’d like to take your temp, open your mouth please.” Reader mentions with another smile on his face.

Sodapop opens his mouth obediently, making reader blush as a thought crosses his mind before he pushes it away in favor of taking care of Sodapop. The two of them wait in silence until the thermometer beeps and tells them it is done calculating Sodapop’s temperature. Reader takes it out of Sodapop’s mouth and reads the number, gasping at it.

“Your temp is at 103°F! We need to get that done as soon as we can.” Reader says, worry filling his tone. Sodapop looked a little shocked and concerned about the number as well. Reader helps Sodapop out of bed and to the bathroom, then starts filling the tub with cool water. It’d help cool him down and clean him at the same time. A win win.

“Alright, do you want to be in your boxers or your swim trunks?” Reader questions as he grabs a fluffy light sage green towel from the pantry-like closet.

Sodapop thinks for a few moments before responding, “Boxers.. I’ll have to change either way, and this will lessen the amount of changing..” Reader nods his head in agreement, liking Sodapop’s thoughts. He was surprisingly thinking well for how high his fever was.

Once the bath was ready, reader helps Sodapop step into it and lower down. Sodapop hisses at the cold water surrounding his body. Reader hums in sympathy and smooths his hair back with a soft frown. (Soda’s hair, not his own. Sorry, I tried re-writing this sentence like five times and it ain’t working out 😔)

Reader grabs the shampoo bottle and squirts some into Sodapop’s hair, working it in gently and massaging his head at the same time. Sodapop groans happily at the feelings which makes a big smile make its way onto reader’s face. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this.” Reader comments. Sodapop giggles softly, almost sounding as if he was delirious.

The giggle makes one of reader’s eyebrows raise in questioning, “Somethin’ funny, Sodie?” Sodapop only giggles again in response and shakes his head. Reader rolls his eyes with a smile on his face. He tilts Sodapop’s head back, grabbing a cup and dipping it into the water to fill it up, and then pouring it over Sodapop’s head. He keeps a hand at Sodapop’s hairline to make sure none of the shampoo gets into his eyes. Sodapop smiles gratefully again. He loved when reader took care of him, and was thoughtful of people.

Sodapop soaks in the bath for another fifteen minutes while reader washes his body. He sees a hint of flush on his face, but doesn’t question it. He didn’t know if the house was just hot in general anyway. Reader helps him out of the tub once he was done cooling off, wrapping him in the fluffy light sage green towel he took out earlier.

Reader gets Sodapop situated back in his bed, with fresh and dry new boxers on. The flush hadn’t left his face yet. Sodapop was just about ready to pass the hell out after that bath, snuggling into his blanket. He felt much better from the cold water. Seeing the way Sodapop relaxes in bed, reader smiles. He leans down and places a kiss onto Sodapop’s forehead without another thought. His face flushes a bright red as he realizes what he’s done. Luckily, Sodapop didn’t seem to think much of the small kiss.

He leaves Sodapop alone to rest.

A few hours later, Ponyboy finally returns from his day out with Curly. He takes his shoes off at the door and goes into the living room to see if anyone besides reader and Sodapop are here. He hadn’t seen any cars in the driveway, but that didn’t mean no one else showed up. He frowns as he sees reader sitting on the couch, playing with cards, by himself..?

“The hell are you doing, reader?” Ponyboy asks, confusion clear in his voice and on his face. Reader flinches and looks over at Ponyboy.

Reader blushes in embarrassment, “Playing cards by myself because I’m a loser and got bored?”

Ponyboy sighs and shakes his head. He rubs at his temple and then sits down across from him. “I’ll play with you, loser.” Ponyboy says. Reader smiles and collects the cards he was using earlier, shuffling them and then handing out a hand to himself and to Ponyboy.

The two of them continue playing cards together, the rest of the gang showing up and watching the two of them, or even joining for a few rounds. They kept going until Darry said it was time for dinner. Darry also went and got Sodapop so he could eat with them, knowing he liked to socialize instead of just being locked up in his and Ponyboy’s room.

He helped Sodapop walk to the dining room and sit in his usual chair. The others were already there, sitting on the counter or leaning against the wall if there wasn’t another chair for them to sit down at. They each had to get their own plate, besides Sodapop of course. Reader plated Sodapop’s food for him and sat down next to him.

Dinner was going well; but reader kept looking at Sodapop in concern. He was pale, eating slowly and looking like he was beginning to get nauseous. “Hey, you alright?” Reader whispers to Sodapop with worry clear in his voice.

Sodapop shakes his head and starts to reply, but immediately throws up all over reader instead. The room goes quiet and everyone looks at the two. Reader gags at the feeling of vomit all over himself, but he doesn’t get mad at Sodapop.

Sodapop grows paler as he sees what he’s done, “I’m so sorry, reader! Gosh, I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry-”

Reader cuts him off, “It’s okay.. I can clean up.. How about you go lay down?” His voice was shaky despite the calm tone, he was frozen in shock at what just happened. He honestly didn’t really want to get up in fear of feeling vomit over him more than now. Taking a deep breath, he gets up with a cringe at the sound of throw up falling out of his lap. He walks to the bathroom and closes the door.

“Holy shit..” Two-Bit says, yelping as Darry smacks him on the shoulder.

Darry gestures for Steve to help Sodapop clean up and lay down in his room. Steve nods his head and does so, taking Sodapop to his room first and then starting to clean him up. Darry takes it for himself to start cleaning up the vomit on the chairs, floor, and table.

Reader comes out of the bathroom a while later with no shirt on, and the jeans he wore yesterday. He figured wearing a pair of jeans two days in a row isn’t as bad as wearing vomit soaked jeans for one day. He goes over to Sodapop’s room and walks in, sighing softly as he sees the guilty look on his face.

Sodapop doesn’t notice reader walking in, flinching in surprise when reader sits down on the bed. “H-hey, reader.. I’m really sorry about earlier..” Sodapop says with his knees pulled to his chest.

“Dude, don’t be. I know it was an accident.” Reader responds with a gentle smile on his face.

“I still shouldn’t have done it, I could’ve turned away, or just held it in, or-”

Reader cuts him off with a kiss, a hand on his knee. Sodapop freezes from the contact, not knowing what to do. Reader frowns and starts to pull back since he doesn’t think Sodapop liked the kiss. Sodapop immediately pulls him back in and kisses him back, making reader smile and hum happily.

They pull away and look at each other in shock, their faces like tomatoes from how hard they are blushing. They actually kissed.

Chapter Text

Going to be no POV for now! I’ll change it like halfway through this chapter:

Reader’s eyes go wide, “I shouldn’t have done that without asking, sorry-”

“No, no, don’t worry about it, I… I liked it.” Sodapop replies, not wanting reader to ramble or feel bad for no reason.

The two of them stand there in silence for a few moments. Neither of them knew what to say, and they were honestly too flustered to think about words anyway. Reader fidgets with the edge of his shirt as he glances from the ground to Sodapop a few times.

“So..” Reader says, trying to cut the awkward silence.

“So?” Sodapop responds with a slight smile on his face. Reader relaxes as he sees the smile, realizing Sodapop actually liked the kiss.

Reader puts his hands into his pockets, “So, what does this mean? Do you wanna.. Go out?” Sodapop nods his head, making a big smile show up on reader’s face. “Cool..” Reader says.

Sodapop turns his head away and sneezes into his elbow. Reader groans, “I’m totally gonna get sick now, aren’t I?” Sodapop snickers and grabs a tissue to wipe his nose, blowing into it after and throwing it into the trash.

Reader frowns as he sees the full trash can, as well as a few tissues around it that have fallen out of it. He hums and walks over to it. Sodapop looks at him with a raised eyebrow, wondering what he was doing near his trash can full of tissues.

“I’m gonna go throw these away so you don’t have to worry about it being overfilled.” Reader says as he picks up the trash can. He smiles at Sodapop and walks out with the trash can in his hands. He wasn’t able to fit all the tissues that were next to it, but Sodapop assumes he’ll just put them into the freshly thrown out can.

He stands in the middle of the room for a few minutes as he waits for reader to return. Once four minutes go by though, he decides to sit on his bed instead of standing since he was starting to feel lightheaded.

It’s another ten minutes before reader finally returns with the trash can in his hands. He also put in a new trash bag, which Sodapop was grateful for because Ponyboy always hated when it didn’t have one in it. No one had put one in the last time it was emptied, but that was probably just because they had ran out recently. Sodapop wonders when someone had gotten them more. At least this will make it easier to clean next time.

Reader places the trash can right back to where it was earlier, then puts the tissues that didn’t make it into the trash can earlier in it. Sodapop’s smile gets bigger at the action, his heart swelling with affection from reader taking care of him.

“Alrighty! You are all set up to continue using the trash can.” Reader smiles brightly at him. Sodapop nods his head, noting the hint of pink still on reader’s cheeks. Reader raises an eyebrow as he realizes Sodapop is examining him. “What? Do I have something on my face??” Reader questions, setting a hand on his cheek and feeling around.

Sodapop chuckles, “It’s nothin’, don’t worry about it.” Reader looks at him suspiciously, but decides to leave it alone for now. The look reader gives him makes Sodapop giggle again. He sets a hand over his mouth to try and hide it, but it is obviously unsuccessful as reader glares slightly at him. “What?” Sodapop asks as he puts his hands up in surrender.

Reader shakes his head and sighs as he responds, “Nothing. You’re off the hook for now.”

“Ehehe, okay.” Sodapop replies.

It’s been a few days since this moment, and the two boys have been doing better. Sodapop is no longer sick, and reader is just mildly starting to get sick. They’ve both been happier and hanging out more. Everyone noticed this, but none of them really got suspicious. No one besides Ponyboy questioned anything.

Ponyboy had asked a few times if anything was going on or if something had happened after Sodapop had thrown up on reader, but they both dismissed it as something important to how they changed.

But Ponyboy had been the only one there when they first met, and he knows the two of them pretty well, so he also knows what this could mean. All he needs to do is interrogate one of them or at least do some snooping. And he has the perfect target.

Reader.

Switching over to Ponyboy’s POV now:

I need to find a place to be able to speak to reader alone without him being able to just walk out or escape… I probably shouldn’t corner him either though. Maybe I could ask him to walk me home and talk then? He wouldn’t just abandon me to walk home alone if I ask him, and I can make small talk until we’re halfway so he doesn’t suspect I’m only asking him so I can find out.

That is a great plan. Now to just get through three more classes until then…

Reader is waiting for me by the gate once school is done. I had asked him for the walk in between two of the classes, and he luckily agreed. I would also suggest stopping at the DX if Soda wasn’t sick, but he is, so there isn’t really a reason to.

We started our walk back to my house. The first thing we talk about is the upcoming science project, which is really simple for our grade. It’s about melting ice cubes for some reason. Well, it’s actually about insulating one of them to try and make it last longer than the normal one in a cup, but still. They both melt either way.

Reader seems really excited for this specific project, and I can’t help but agree with him. It does seem like it’ll be a nice break from our normal projects and assignments. I’ll probably use some old towel to insulate my test ice cube, I’m pretty sure those work pretty well to keep things insulated and what not. (I actually did this for my recent science project)

Now it’s time to start my interrogation.

“So.. You and my brother have been gettin’ all buddy-buddy recently?” I say, a hint of questioning in my tone. Reader freezes for a moment before a nervous smile makes its way onto his face.

“Yeah, Darry has been warming up to me more lately. We played some cards the other day..” He replies with a slight chuckle at the end of his sentence. I raise an eyebrow and give him a look. He obviously knows I was talking about my other older brother, I can see it in his facial expression and body language.

Reader sighs and looks away, “Okay, yeah.. I have a crush on Sodapop..” He looks back at me to see my reaction. He seems surprised to see that I wasn’t shocked at his answer.

“Reader, I’ve known you were at least attracted to him since you met him.” I respond with a smirk. He blushes a bright pink and mumbles something under his breath. “But still, are you sure you and Soda aren’t like, dating or something?” I ask more bluntly this time. Last time I covered up my ask with different words, but this time I just decided to say it outright.

“We aren’t dating, I swear!” Reader looks me in the eyes as he responds. I still don’t believe him, but I won't push him to tell me. I’m not a monster, even if I like to know things. I nod my head and then switch the topic to something else.

I can find out more later. That, or they just might tell me soon if they are actually together.

A few days later.

I yawn, rubbing my eyes. I was so exhausted. Nightmares plagued me more than usual last night, which meant both me and Soda barely got any sleep. And then I had to still do school. Which sucked.

All I want to do now is take a nap before dinner. My homework is done, so Darry won't even bother me about that either. Soda was finally not sick too, but he still didn’t have work today, so I’m probably going to be cuddling with him until Steve comes over.

I open the door to me and Sodapop’s bedroom without a second thought. I walk in with my eyes closed from how tired I am, but they immediately fly open as I hear a soft moan. Reader and Sodapop were making out on the bed.

“I KNEW IT!” I shout as soon as my brain registers what is happening. The two of them pull away and look at me in shock, embarrassment starting to show on their face. I soon start to feel disgust as I realize what they were just doing. “Oh, ew. Nevermind, I’m napping on the couch. Have fun with.. Whatever you were doing.” I say, backing out of the room and leaving the two in silence.

Guess I don’t have to try and find out if they’re together or not anymore.

Chapter Text

No POV:

The next day, reader and Sodapop catch Ponyboy giving them a few looks during breakfast. Disgust was definitely in a few of the looks, but neither of them noticed anything that looked like hatred in Ponyboy’s eyes. Sodapop and reader like to assume the disgust is just from walking in on them and not because he was disgusted by them being together. (He’s gay too, why would he be disgusted/hj)

Ponyboy didn’t talk to them much that day. He still gave Sodapop a smile as he left for work, and gave reader some of his lunch food from the cafeteria since he didn’t like some of it, but he didn’t talk to them as much as he usually would. At least it seemed as if he just needed time to process watching one of his friends making out with his older brother. Neither of them blame Ponyboy for reacting like he did yesterday. Who would, honestly?

But now they needed to make a plan to tell Ponybout about them. And, maybe also, perhaps, apologise for what happened yesterday when they didn’t lock the door… no time to dwell on their past mistakes now however. They need to come up with something to tell Ponyboy about them.

“Maybe we could plan Ponyboy a date with someone from school, barge in on them making out, and then we’ll be even?” Reader suggests playfully to try and lighten his lover’s mood. Sodapop rolls his eyes and laughs loudly.

“That sounds mean.” Sodapop replies to reader’s idea. He’d keep it in mind for later though as a last resort. He laughs again at the idea being stored away in his mind. Reader smiles, chuckling in confusion since Sodapop didn’t even mention anything about storing the idea away. “Sorry, sorry.” Sodapop says as he finally calms down enough to start breathing again.

Reader places a hand onto Sodapop’s back and starts to rub it, trying to help soothe him. He still had no idea what Sodapop started laughing at hard enough to almost start hyperventilating, but he doesn’t care. Sodapop smiles at reader and is about to thank him when Ponyboy walks into the room as if he doesn’t even care about what happened last time he walked into a room that has a closed door and only Sodapop and reader in it.

“I want answers.” Ponyboy says as he sits down into the chair at his desk. Sodapop raises an eyebrow as a gesture for Ponyboy to continue with his words and requests. “How long have you two been dating? Are you two even dating yet? Does anyone else know? Have you two done anything in my bed…?” Ponyboy lists off his questions quickly, his fast tone only tapering off towards the end of his last ask. A disgusted look comes onto his face for a moment before he shakes the thought away like a movie character and then focuses back onto the other two men in the room. “Well?” Ponyboy gestures at the two of them so they actually answer him.

Sodapop is the one who answers the questions, “Um.. Like two days, I think so, not besides you, and no, Pony, not anything like that.” Ponyboy nods his head approvingly to the answers he’s given. The last one was definitely much better than his thoughts.

The room is silent for a few more minutes as Ponyboy processes the answers. “How do you feel about this, Pony..?” Reader asks nervously. Ponyboy gives him a look that says, ‘what do you think?’, but less of a mean way than it normally was with Ponyboy. Reader feels his body relaxes at the look, “You’re… You’re okay with this?” The man in questions rolls his eyes with a smile, and then nods his head.

The two lovers both feel like a weight is lifted off of their chest. No one else needed to know just yet, or deserved any sort of explanation. The only person who knew, was accepting.. And it felt dam good.

The three of them talk a bit more about how this came to be, and when the crushes first started. Ponyboy noticed Sodapop and reader blushing like school girls a lot during the conversation. Though, he supposes they basically are at this point. Freshly dating, still teens, neither are girls however. (Not yet. Transgenders your Outsiders/j)

They don’t talk for very long, just around twenty minutes, but no one left angry or confused.

A few weeks later, reader catches Ponyboy on his way to Science class in the school hallway. “Hey.. Me and Soda were thinking that we want to tell Darry about um.. Us, y’know?” Ponyboy nods his head, not getting where reader was going with this. It was great that Sodapop and reader were ready to tell Darry, but how did that involve him? “We wanted you to be there when we do it.” Reader says, finally ending his slow speech. Ponyboy supposes that tells him why reader is telling him this.

“Oh.. Sure.” Ponyboy shrugs and then starts walking to his science classroom. He did not want to be late at all. Reader follows him because he’s just realized his next class is just on the opposite wall from Ponyboy’s class. They continue talking about telling Darry and a few other things before they are separated by the bell ringing.

The two of them meet outside the school gates once school is over, and they walk back to the Curtis house. They chat about the school day on their walk instead of anything that could dampen the mood, or make either of them stressed. Though, school was pretty stressful in itself. Ponyboy figured it wouldn’t compare to coming out to your big brother figure by telling him you're dating his biological younger brother. Ponyboy quietly snorts at the thought. Reader didn’t notice luckily; too busy ranting about their math teacher.

They continue their conversation about school well after they actually arrive and enter the Curtis house. They sit on the couch and just talk on and on about their day and some future plans. Reader was doing most of the talking at this point, so he didn’t notice when Sodapop got home from work. He only notices it when Sodapop places a hand onto his shoulder, making reader flinch and tense up until he realized it was his new boyfriend. “Oh, hey! Didn’t see you there.” Reader says. Sodapop chuckles and shakes his head.

“I love you, dork.” He says.

Reader smiles, “I love you too! Also, Ponyboy agreed to be there when we tell Darry.” Sodapop gives his brother an appreciative look, which is returned with a small shrug and a smile on the other one’s face. Reader starts to ramble on about his day to Sodapop with a huge smile on his face. Sodapop tries keeping up with reader’s rambles, but does lose track a few times.

After reader is done talking, they start making their plan to tell Darry. The idea is to literally just tell Darry after dinner is done and everyone is relaxing in the living room. They know the rest of the gang are busy today, so they aren’t going to worry about them right now. Ponyboy will sit on the couch for morale support as reader and Sodapop stand in front of Darry’s recliner chair and tell him.

If Darry goes berserk, it gives them time to react since he has to stand up. And he won't have to worry about his legs giving out from under him if they tell him while he’s standing. It’s a win win plan. Well, not exactly a win win situation if Darry doesn’t accept, but the thought is still there.

They wait until after Darry is home, after he cooks them burgers for dinner, after everyone has eaten, after the table was cleaned and the dishes were taken care of, and after everyone is settled in the living room. Darry looks up from the book in his hand once he notices the shadow cast over him. It’s Sodapop and reader standing a few feet away from his recliner. Darry smiles at them, “Do you two need something?”

“Um, w-.. We wanted to tell you something..” Sodapop starts, his hands tightening into fists as nerves make it hard for him to look his older brother in the eye or even just speak to him. Darry’s smile turns into a soft frown as he realizes how uneasy his brother is.

“You know you can tell me anything, right, Soda?” Darry says. He meant it when he said he would be available for his brothers even if he was tired from working over 12 hours in one day. It wasn’t exactly their fault that Darry needed to work so much anyway, so why should they be punished by not being able to talk to their older brother and caregiver when they need to?

Sodapop starts to sweat as he looks at his brother. He decides looking down at Darry’s mouth would help him at least look at his brother instead of the wall or the floor. It helped because it wasn’t actual eye contact. Reader did the same thing, though he hasn’t started talking yet. Reader grabs onto one of Sodapop’s hands and makes him look over, giving him a nod to help him grab more courage. Sodapop smiles at his secret lover and then looks back at Darry’s mouth.

“Me and reader are together. Boyfriends.” Sodapop finally gets the confession out of his mouth. He starts to tense as he realizes his brother is staying silent instead of responding. “Are you… Okay with that?” Sodapop asks his older brother, squeezing the life out of reader’s hand.

Darry sighs, “Of course I am, Soda. You know I am not one to judge because of something they can’t control.” Sodapop feels tears fill his eyes as he hears his brother’s words. Darry gets up from his recliner and pulls both reader and Sodapop into a hug. Reader and Sodapop sob into both of Darry’s shoulders, grasping Darry tightly in relief.

Darry looks over to Ponyboy to see if he made any reaction, but finds none. The only surprising thing about that was how he wasn’t surprised Ponyboy already knew about reader and Sodapop being together. Ponyboy smiles and gives a small wave to his eldest brother when he realizes he’s being stared at by him. Darry chuckles and shakes his head in amusement.

This is the time Darry lets go of the hug for a moment. “I just want you two to know that I love you for who you are, not who you love.” Darry mentions, making Sodapop and reader burst into another batch of tears. Ponyboy giggles from where he is over on the couch from that reaction from the two lovers.

Maybe there was hope for Sodapop and reader to be accepted?

Chapter Text

No POV:

Johnny first met reader during a study session. It was a Wednesday afternoon, around 4pm. Johnny had asked Ponyboy to help tutor him for history because they had a project coming up for it. He knew Ponyboy had invited someone else to the session, but he didn’t know who.

When he arrived at the public library, he wasn’t surprised to see Ponyboy there already and reading books. There was a person sitting next to him that he didn’t recognize though. He assumes it’s the person Ponyboy had invited to their session. Johnny walks up to the two and sits down next to Ponyboy. The mysterious person was on Ponyboy’s other side.

Ponyboy looks up from his book and smiles as he sees Johnny sitting right next to him. “Hey, Johnny! You ready for some history?” Ponyboy asks as he closes the book he was reading. Johnny sees that it was a random book about the history of Japan. He was probably doing his project on Japan, Johnny thinks. I mean, why else would he be reading a book about it?

“Yeah! Is this your friend that you invited?” Johnny questions, gesturing to the person on Ponyboy’s right. The person looks up from his own book and smiles.

“This is reader! He’s also wanting some tutoring on history, so I thought we could just do it together! Of course, we’re doing history on different places, but it’ll be good to learn about each other’s places anyway, yeah?” Ponyboy replies to Johnny’s question. He sets the book about Japan’s history into his bag and then grabs out a notebook and pencil from it.

Johnny and reader both pull out their own notebooks from their bags and then wait for Ponyboy to continue the session. Ponyboy looks back and forth between the two as he talks, “What country are you two doing your project on?”

Reader answers first, “Scotland.” Ponyboy nods his head and then looks back at Johnny.

Johnny just shows Ponyboy his notebook, which has ‘Canada’ written at the top of the page. Ponyboy nods his head again. Both of them were decent answers. Well, maybe Canada was slightly weird. Ponyboy doesn’t know why he thinks it’s kind of weird that Johnny chose Canada, but he does.

“Alright, let's start with the layout..” Ponyboy says, starting the session.

The next time Johnny sees reader and really notices him is during game night at the Curtis house. It was a Friday night, and Darry even got off work early tonight because the construction crew finished their job and didn’t have anything else to do on the house, and didn’t have any other projects they were allowed to work on that day. I mean, who would willingly go work on another project when your pay would be the same as a normal day because you all finished early?

Reader is sitting between Ponyboy and Sodapop, and Johnny is sitting on Ponyboy’s other side. It reminded him of the first time Johnny and reader met. Sodapop, Steve, Two-Bit and Ponyboy were playing a game called Rack-O. It only went up to four players, but everyone else just wanted to watch for this game anyway.

Johnny raises an eyebrow as he sees just how close Sodapop and reader were sitting. The two of them were touching thighs and arms, as if they were squished in a full car. Except, they aren’t right now, so why would they be so close to each other so willingly? Johnny doesn’t think he remembers a time where Sodapop and Steve sat so close together, and those two were practically inseparable.

Dally looks at Johnny’s confused face and looks to where he’s looking. He grins as he sees reader and Sodapop sitting so close together. He leans towards Johnny and whispers into his ear, “Ya think there’s anythin’ goin’ on with those two?”

The younger one shrugs. “I don’t know… Certainly looks like it, huh?” Johnny whispers back as discreetly as he can so Ponyboy doesn’t notice. Ponyboy luckily was more focused on playing his turn in the game, so he doesn’t hear any of the whispering happening right next to him about his older brother and new friend.

Johnny was confused about how long Sodapop and reader knew each other. It definitely looks like they’ve known each other longer than Johnny has known reader, because of how close they were physically for no apparent reason other than they wanted to be close to each other. He mentally notes about keeping an eye on the two of them just because he’s curious about their dynamic.

Over the next few weeks, Johnny has noticed reader and Sodapop seemed more like friends than Ponyboy and reader, despite them meeting and becoming friends first. He didn’t mind it that much though, as he and Ponyboy still got to hang out about the same amount of time they usually do because of it. And Ponyboy didn’t seem too obviously hurt about his friend drifting towards one of his older brothers instead. And it wasn’t like reader was being rude to Ponyboy in any way.

Johnny likes reader. Even if the two of them never really talked with each other much, Johnny doesn’t remember a time where reader ever was rude to him or the people he liked without it being an actual joke. It took a bit of time to adjust from someone new joining their little gang. But Johnny thinks reader is a nice fit for them. He helps Ponyboy, and anyone who helps Ponyboy is alright in Johnny’s book. Especially if they’re always nice to the other people he knows.

He doesn’t think anyone doesn’t like reader. He knows Steve is a bit salty about reader taking more of Sodapop’s time, but reader makes up for it by also hanging out with Steve. Johnny doesn’t get why Steve likes reader hanging out with them and not Ponyboy. He would think reader actually takes up more of Sodapop’s time than Ponyboy, because Ponyboy usually hangs out with other people. He didn’t get a lot of alone time with his brother. But Johnny tries not to think about it too much because he knows it’ll just make him angry and then put him in a bad mood.

Ponyboy and Johnny are heading to the DX on a random Saturday afternoon. They just got done watching a movie earlier and they wanted to stop and say hi to Sodapop and Steve because it was on the way to their next destination. Johnny was just surprised Ponyboy actually wanted to watch a movie with him, so he was cool to go with anything else Ponyboy wanted to do. Then again, when is he not usually cool with whatever Ponyboy wants to do? Everyone had a soft spot for Ponyboy.

The two of them arrive there but aren’t greeted by either Steve or Sodapop. The store was actually empty.

“That’s weird..” Ponyboy says, a confused look clear on his face. He would get maybe one of them not being out here, but both of them?

Johnny nods his head to agree with Ponyboy, “I’ll go see if I can find one of them.” He walks around the place and then suddenly stops as he sees something he probably isn’t meant to.

Sodapop and reader are making out behind the DX. Johnny quickly turns around and moves behind the wall so they won't notice him. Why would they be kissing in broad daylight where anyone could see it? Johnny knows that the two of them know what people are like around here. Especially Socs… He knows that Sodapop and reader obviously don’t want anyone in the gang to know about them because no one looks like they know about the two of them. He knows Dally and Two-Bit don’t know at least, and that means Darry probably doesn’t know, which in turn means Steve and Ponyboy probably don’t know either.

Crap, Ponyboy is waiting for him to come back with some news. What is he meant to tell Ponyboy? ‘Sorry, your brother is just making out with one of your friends, he’ll be back in a moment’? Definitely not. So what was he meant to say? Sodapop obviously didn’t notice him, so it’s not like he can just go back around there and tell him that he and Ponyboy were waiting. Johnny takes in a deep breath to calm himself down and then thinks for a few more moments.

He walks back inside to where Ponyboy is and smiles as best as he can despite the nerves, “Soda is probably just in the bathroom or something, I’m sure he’ll be ready soon.” Ponyboy deems that a normal answer and nods his head. He continues to look at the small snacks and drinks, wondering if he should buy anything. Johnny decides to look with him to keep up the disguise.

He’ll take this secret to his grave if Sodapop and reader want him to.

Chapter Text

No POV, as usual:

Ponyboy walks up to Two-Bit in the school hallway. The two of them continue walking together to lunch period. “Do you think you could drive my friend to their house tonight, since you’re already driving me?” Ponyboy asks.

Two-Bit grins and wraps an arm around Ponyboy’s shoulders, “Course I can, kid! You just gotta let me know where this mysterious friend of yours lives.” Ponyboy smiles and nods his head.

The red head doesn’t hear more about Ponyboy’s friend until it's time to leave. He’s already waiting in his truck when Ponyboy walks up to it with someone next to him. Two-Bit recognizes them as one of Ponyboy’s classmates and someone he’s hung out with before. It’s not like Two-Bit never saw him during school, he just never really paid attention to him.

Ponyboy and reader both squeeze into the passenger seat. Reader sits on the actual seat while Ponyboy sits on his lap. It definitely wasn’t the most comfortable position, but Two-Bit would rather that to Ponyboy being in the back or where reader’s feet are. In the unlikely scenario of them getting into a bad car wreck, the front of the car where their feet are is often a place where the car caves in, which would mean it caves in on Ponyboy’s whole body, so Two-Bit made him choose between reader’s lap and the back of the truck. Ponyboy chose reader’s lap despite the awkwardness. And reader didn’t seem to really mind, they were friends after all.

They soon arrive to reader’s house after reader helps navigate Two-Bit to it. Ponyboy jumps out of the car so reader can actually get out, then they share a small conversation that Two-Bit doesn’t bother listening to, and then Ponyboy gets back into the car so they can finally drive back to the Curtis residence.

The next time Two-Bit sees reader is during a lunch period on a Thursday afternoon. He, Ponyboy, and Johnny were sitting at a lunch table together when reader walks up nervously with his tray of food in his hands. It was pretty obvious he didn’t have a place to sit.

“Can I sit with you guys?” Reader asks with a smile on his face. Ponyboy scoots a bit on the seat and pats it, letting reader know he can. Reader’s smile widens as he sits down next to Ponyboy. “Thanks guys.” Reader says.

Two-Bit grins, “No problem, dude.” He can tell Johnny has already met reader by this point, probably through Ponyboy or having a shared class with him, because Johnny doesn’t seem surprised or wary around reader. It wasn’t like Johnny was wary of every stranger he meets, but he definitely was on his guard around most people he didn’t know or trusted.

All four of them had a very pleasant lunch that day with reader. And that was also the day that reader started having lunch with them.

Two-Bit took it upon himself to say hi to reader in the hallway when he sees him, or when he sees him out in public. He felt like reader wasn’t a bad person, and he might as well get to know Ponyboy’s friends just to make sure they weren’t actually a bad person for real. That wasn’t the only reason he said hi to reader, of course. The two of them were actually becoming friends too.

Reader liked the way Two-Bit lit up the room whenever he walked in with his crappy jokes that everyone would either roll their eyes at or laugh with him. And Two-Bit liked the way reader was nice to everyone while also being sarcastic at the same time. Reader was like Sodapop and Ponyboy mixed together in Two-Bit’s opinion. In a good way, of course.

He could tell something was going on between Sodapop and reader though. He was always good at spotting people in love or people who have a secret, and the two of them fit both descriptions. They were being pretty obvious though, because Two-Bit also sees all the looks everyone else gives them. They acted like Ponyboy when Ponyboy lies about seeing any of the Shepards. And everyone knows how Ponyboy looks when he tries lying about something obvious. He can be a good liar sometimes, but that was not one of his moments.

But his suspicions were proven correct on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Two-Bit was visiting the Curtis house, as he usually does, when he realized he needed something back that he let Sodapop borrow a few weeks ago. He walks to Sodapop and Ponyboy’s room because he knew Sodapop and reader had gone there earlier to do something that Two-Bit didn’t hear because he was focused on watching Mickey, and he hadn’t seen them come out yet.

The red head doesn’t bother to knock on the door and he just walks in. He was about to say something when he saw Sodapop and reader are cuddling on the bed, both asleep. Two-Bit’s eyebrows raise up into his hairline as he realizes what’s happening between the two of them. The glances, the being close to each other, the private hangouts. The two of them were together.

Instead of waking up the two and ask about them, Two-Bit quietly backs out of the room and gently closes the door behind him, and then he walks back to the living room and sits on the couch and continues watching Mickey. It wasn’t his place to pry into their relationship. And he certainly was not going to tell anyone about the two of them. He wouldn’t want someone exposing his relationship. And he definitely wouldn’t want someone exposing his relationship if it was with a man, and people didn’t know he was gay yet. Society was too cruel to just out someone like that right now. Maybe the future would be different, but it isn’t now, so Two-Bit won't say anything or imply that he even knows about the relationship. That’ll just stress the two of them out.

Besides, he’s sure they’ll tell him at some point.

Chapter Text

No POV:

Dally walks down the street, his hands in his pockets. He has nothing to do for his day, and doesn’t feel like just sitting around or sleeping, so he’s walking the streets and looking around shops. He would’ve asked Johnny or Ponyboy to come, or literally anyone else so he wasn’t alone, but everyone was busy at work or with other friends.

He walks by the place he, Johnny, and Ponyboy usually get milkshakes and peaks in for a moment before continuing his walk. Then he stops in his tracks and walks back to the door and peaks in. There Ponyboy is, sitting in a booth and talking to some random guy Dally has never seen before. His eyebrows furrow as he looks at Ponyboy’s friend up and down. He wanted to make sure Ponyboy didn’t get into the wrong crowd, despite not caring as much if he hangs out with the Shepards or maybe does some mischievous things with them. Ponyboy didn’t usually do anything like that normally by his choice, so Dally saw nothing wrong with that. But Dally didn’t know this person at all.

It wasn’t like Ponyboy couldn’t have friends that none of the gang knows, or friends that only one or two of the gang knows, but Dally usually knows everyone Ponyboy hangs out with because Johnny usually knows and talks about Ponyboy’s new friends to him just to see if he knew anything about them and if they were any bad news. They usually weren’t. But… Dally could barely tell if this person was a greaser or a less rich Soc. It’s possible to be a Soc and nice, and reader didn’t seem to be wearing what Socs or greasers usually wore. It both intrigued and confused Dally at the same time.

Making up his mind, Dally walks over to the duo and leans against Ponyboy’s side of the booth. Ponyboy looks up and smiles, “Hey, Dally.” Reader politely waves at him. That still doesn't prove whether he is a Soc or not.

“Whose your friend, Pony?” Dally questions, staring at reader intently.

Ponyboy, not noticing the tension because he’s oblivious sometimes, just smiles wider as he starts to introduce the two of them to each other. “Dally, this is reader, one of my friends from school. Reader, this is Dally.” Ponyboy says. He looks back and forth between the two, his smile lowering as he realizes just how intently Dally is staring at his friend.

Reader chuckles nervously and taps on the glass that holds his milkshake, “Nice to meet you..” Dally stares at reader for a few more moments. He notes some things down, realizing that this is indeed another greaser in front of him, and not a Soc. He seems nice, Dally thinks.

“Nice to meet you too, reader.” Dally says with a slight smirk. The tension eases and reader sighs in relief. Dally sets a hand onto Ponyboy’s shoulder, says a goodbye, and then leaves the two alone. He’s glad Ponyboy is making more friends than just the gang and Shepards.

The next time they meet, reader isn’t with Ponyboy. He was with a Soc that Dally recognizes as Michael Jones. He was young, but looked older. Only 15 and 6’3ft tall with great muscles. He didn’t luck out in the personality gene though. Got all of it from his dad, while his poor mom only had the eyes. You could barely tell she was his mother. She was nice to Dally before, but he could barely stand her husband and son.

And that son is picking on reader right now. Dally glares at the scene happening in front of him and walks up to the two of them. He always loved picking fights with Socs, and he wasn't just going to let Ponyboy’s friend get beat up. He would probably step in for any other greaser though. He knows some greasers would never do that and would rather just not get in trouble with Socs, but Dally could care less.

Michael looks up at Dally and grins, “Oh look who it is? Your own mom not care about you enough that you needed to find a new one?” Dally doesn’t respond. Instead, he immediately punches Michael hard in the face and breaks his nose. “What the hell, man!?” Michael shouts. His eyes go wide as he sees the murderous look on Dally’s face, and he promptly turns around and runs away.

Dally looks back at reader, glad to notice he just has a reddening check and nothing else. Reader looks at Dally gratefully, “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” Dally says in response. He grabs reader by the bicep and helps him to a less dangerous place, and then he leaves him to handle himself.

Dally and reader don’t talk much. They usually just greet each other every time they see each other, and then move on. But Dally already knows he has a crush on Sodapop. And he also knows Sodapop likes him back. He’s already figured out that the two of them are likely together. Because c’mon, sneaking away with each other and having no one else with them most of the time, being in Sodapop’s room for hours, and the touches and glances? They aren’t really being discreet. And he knows he’s correct once he sees the knowing looks Ponyboy, Johnny, Two-Bit, and Darry send them. He wasn’t the first to figure it out, but he knew before everyone besides maybe Ponyboy. And he also knows Steve has no clue yet despite being Sodapop’s best friend because of how jealous Steve looks at the two of them hanging out so much. Dally knows that Steve isn’t jealous when Sodapop flirts with anyone else, so Steve probably thinks reader is trying to take his place and be Sodapop’s friend instead.

He’s so wrong about that. He’ll probably find out soon enough, Dally thinks.

Chapter Text

No POV:

Steve and Sodapop are working on a Sunday afternoon. Steve was restocking some of the drinks, and Sodapop was just hanging out while he waits for customers to show up. It was both common and uncommon for them to have basically nothing to do. No cars, no customers, no cleaning, no restocking. After Steve was done with restocking the drinks, they literally had nothing to do until a customer showed up. Gave them plenty of time to talk and play some cards at least.

Steve sets the last drink into the fridge when the bell dings. Someone finally came in. Steve raises an eyebrow as he sees Sodapop smile happily at the person. He assumes it’s Ponyboy or one of the gang, but he stands up and finds someone he doesn’t know in the slightest. It was only weird because he thought he knew all of Sodapop’s friends. Well, at least the ones that made him smile like that.

“Whose your friend, Soda?” Steve asks with a slight smirk on his face.

Sodapop’s smile widens at Steve’s question. He gestures to reader and then introduces him, “This is my friend, reader! He goes to school with Pony.” Steve hums and nods his head, filing away the information for later. He could probably talk about school problems with this guy if he proves to be chill. Maybe even they could become friends.

“Well, it is nice to meet you, reader. Can I get ya anythin’?” Steve questions as he starts to fold the now empty box that the specific drinks he was restocking came in. Ponyboy will be pleased to know that they are no longer out of Pepsi.

Reader shakes his head with a smile, “No thanks. I just came to talk with Soda, I didn’t bring any money.” Steve raises an eyebrow at that. Ponyboy usually bought something when he comes to visit Sodapop, even if it’s something small like a candy bar or a can of Pepsi. Maybe reader is struggling with money, Steve thinks. But that wouldn’t be very plausible, since his clothes don’t look like that of a greasers. They didn’t particularly look like Soc clothes either, more in between the two of them.

Steve sits on a stool silently as he observes Sodapop and reader chatting away like they had all the time in the world. He can’t help the twinge of guilt and jealousy that swirls around his body and lives through his veins. Jealousy because of how close reader and Sodapop look. And guilt because he knows Sodapop deserves more close friends than just him and the gang. But what was he meant to feel when his best friend has a friend that he doesn’t even know about, and they look close. Steve sighs and shakes his head. He should just stop thinking about it and go do some cleaning that doesn’t need to be done, but will help keep his mind busy.

“Hey, Soda, wanna go hang out? I found this really cool area in the woods we could go to.” Steve asks as he wraps an arm around Sodapop’s shoulders. It was a random Tuesday evening after work, and Steve wanted to hang out with his best and closest friend.

Sodapop smiles, “Course I do!” he glances at reader, who was sitting on the concrete while doing some homework. He was hanging out with Sodapop while he was at work earlier, but he decided to come out here to finish homework so he doesn’t bother any customers or Sodapop. “Hey reader, do you wanna come explore the woods with us? Steve says he found a cool spot!” Sodapop questions with a huge puppy-like smile on his face. Reader can just picture a tail wagging behind him.

“Sure, why not!” Reader says as he begins to pack his homework into his backpack.

Steve’s eyebrows furrow and he lets out an angry sigh, which no one hears. This was worse than Sodapop inviting Ponyboy to go along with them. At least Ponyboy felt more like a tagalong than reader did. And Sodapop probably just asks Ponyboy out of obligation of being his older brother. But reader was actually Sodapop’s friend, and he has no obligation to ask him to come with, which means Sodapop actually wants him to come along with the two of them. And that just bothers Steve so much.

It made him feel as if he was starting to lose his place as Sodapop’s closest friend.

“I don’t know what he has that I don’t, and why Soda has been talking to him way more than me.” Steve says, running a hand down his face as he rants to Dally. He just needed someone to talk to, and to make sure he wasn’t actually crazy about the difference. Dally nods his head and urges for Steve to continue. Of course, he knows why Sodapop is talking to reader more, but he’s not gonna tell Steve right away. Maybe he’ll find out along the way.

Steve crosses his arms and sinks into the couch. There’s a slight frown on his face as he continues talking, “It just sorta feels like I’m not good enough for him anymore, y’know?” Dally nods his head in agreement. “I don’t know what I should do about it..” Steve bites his lip and goes silent.

Dally sighs, “Soda and reader aren’t close like you think they are, they’re.. Something more.” Steve looks at Dally in confusion, an eyebrow raised. Dally gives him a knowing look and then glances to where Sodapop and reader are wrestling outside in the grass. Steve looks at them for a few moments before his mouth falls open as he realizes.

“Oh my god, Soda and reader are together.” Steve says in shock, making Dally snort.

“About time you figured it out.” Dally comments.

At least Steve doesn’t feel as jealous anymore, knowing that reader isn’t trying to take Sodapop away from him in that way. He’s still Sodapop’s best friend. Reader is just something more.

Chapter Text

No POV:

It’s been three months since Sodapop and reader got together, and everything was going well. Mostly. None of the gang has yet to tell the duo that they know about them being together, so they were still under the impression that only Ponyboy and Darry know about them being together. However, they do know that they were suspicious about them. They may be dense, but not that dense.

The relationship itself has been going amazing. The two of them had a date night at least once a week, and they saw each other daily. Reader also noticed how Steve had opened up to him more, which means the three of them could actually hang out without it being awkward at all. That made Sodapop especially happy. He had noticed how Steve would get this look whenever he mentioned reader while they hung out without him. But now that look never showed up when reader is mentioned around Steve.

But there was one thing reader had noticed. Sodapop has been spacing out a lot lately, and asking questions that begin with ‘hypothetically’ more than he usually does. It was starting to worry reader a whole lot. He doesn’t remember the last time he saw Sodapop so... Spacy. It wasn’t like he was distant in the relationship, reader just noticed how Sodapop seemed to be thinking a lot more than he usually does, and zones out while he does.

Today, reader decides to talk to him about him spacing out. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and Sodapop just got home from work. Reader is waiting in Sodapop and Ponyboy’s room, sitting on the bed and doing some homework. Sodapop doesn’t seem surprised when he sees reader in the room. “Hey honey.” Sodapop says, starting to change into his normal clothes instead of his work uniform. It wasn’t that the uniform wasn’t comfortable, he just had grease and oil on him from it. Rust too. Basically anything that can come from a car.

Reader continues his work as he begins talking, “Is there a reason you’ve been spacy and asking hypothetical questions, dear?” Sodapop stops midway through unbuttoning his shirt at the question.

“What do you mean?” Sodapop replies, asking a question as an answer.

Setting down his homework, reader responds with, “You’ve been zoning out more often, and asking questions that worry me. I just want to know if you’re alright.” Sodapop sighs and nods his head. He continues to unbutton his shirt while reader watches his back with a slight frown on his face. The two of them sit in silence while Sodapop thinks about what to say.

“I’m just..” Sodapop starts after a few moments, “I guess I’m worried you’ll realize you’re too good for me, and then you’ll leave me.” Sodapop shrugs slightly as he ends his sentence. The frown on reader’s face gets bigger as he processes his lover’s words. It didn’t make sense why Sodapop would have those types of thoughts about their relationship. Reader didn’t think that he did anything that would warrant he would leave Sodapop, and he definitely wasn’t as good as Sodapop seemed to think.

Reader sighs, “Love, there is no way I’d leave you, even if I was as good as you think I am.” Sodapop glances over his shoulder and is surprised as he sees how genuine reader looks. But he knows he shouldn’t be so shocked at that. Reader had always treated him as if they were equals, despite Sodapop dropping out of school. Maybe it’s the balance reader sees because he knows how hard work is, and how hard school is. Sodapop smiles and walks over to reader with his shirt fully unbuttoned but not off. He leans down and captures reader’s lips into a soft and gentle kiss. Reader kisses Sodapop back just as gently.

They pull back after a few moments. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” Sodapop asks, looking deeply into reader’s eyes. He loved the color of them almost as much as he loved reader. Then again, it’s a part of reader, so that technically should count in the category of just reader. Either way, Sodapop loved reader’s eyes very much.

“Exist.” Reader replies, going in for another kiss.

Chapter Text

No POV:

Sodapop nervously fidgets with his shirt. Today was the day he’s going to bring up telling everyone to reader. The two of them have been dating for six months now, and Sodapop was starting to think telling everyone would be better than hiding it. The only times the two of them talked about telling everyone was at the beginning where they said to hide it for a while, then with Darry, because Ponyboy didn’t really count. But this wasn’t just a single person. No, Sodapop wanted to rip off the bandaid and tell everyone in the gang. There was no reason to tell anyone outside of the gang anyway.

He’s currently sitting on a rock in one of their hang out spots in the woods, waiting for reader to meet him there. He had called him that morning before reader had to go to school so the two of them could talk privately. He’s been anxiously waiting for about thirty minutes already, but he also knows that’s his fault for getting there too early.

Eventually, reader shows up with a smile on his face. “Hey, Soda!” Reader shouts, setting his backpack down onto the ground and then walking up to Sodapop and kissing him gently on the lips. They part after a few seconds and then sit on the rocks. “So, why’d you want to meet?” Reader questions, smile still on his face.

Sodapop nervously tugs at his shirt and glances away for a second before looking back at reader. Noticing Sodapop’s weird and nervous behavior, reader’s eyebrows furrow. He doesn’t say anything though, wanting Sodapop to tell him when he was ready and knowing questions wont help.

“I was thinking… Maybe it’s time to tell the gang about us?” Sodapop says, fidgeting with his hands as he swallows nervously. Reader blinks twice. He looks around, thinking about Sodapop’s words. It’s been long enough to tell them by now. Though, there was always the chance of one of them not accepting the relationship, reader knows at least Ponyboy and Darry would come to their defense. He doesn’t honestly think they wouldn’t accept the two of them though. He’s pretty sure some of them are closeted queers themselves, so it’d be weird to not accept them.

Reader looks back at Sodapop, “I think it is finally time to tell them.” Sodapop breaks out into a big smile and knocks reader off of the rock, hugging him tightly. Reader laughs loudly and hugs Sodapop back. He has a feeling he won't regret this decision at all.

Sodapop hums softly, “How do you think we should tell them?” Reader thinks about his question. They could write everyone a letter and be dramatic about the whole thing. They could also just casually mention it during game night, or just randomly kiss in front of them.

“I think we should gather everyone, and then tell them. Not too extra, not too casual.” Reader replies with a soft smile on his face. Sodapop smiles brightly back and nods his head in agreement to reader’s plan. It was a pretty good one after all. Then again, that’s probably what most people do for any sort of dating announcement. Before Sodapop can ask about when they should do it, reader speaks up. “Let’s do it after Darry gets home from work on Wednesday.” Reader says. Sodapop nods his head, and then the two of them begin to talk about other things going on.

Wednesday comes sooner than they were ready for. But there was no backing out now, because reader had already told Dally to come over. Two-Bit, Steve, and Johnny are pretty much always over, so it was only Dally he had to make sure came. If Johnny wasn’t there by the time Darry was off work, they could just find him and he’d likely come over. He doesn’t have much to do besides hangout with the gang.

Luckily, they didn’t have to rangle in anyone. Everyone was there when Darry was home. Reader drags Darry to the living room before he can start on dinner, partly because he didn’t want to stew in nerves during it, and he knows Sodapop appreciates that too. It was likely that the gang already saw how nervous the two of them were. They weren’t exactly hard to read anyway.

Sodapop and reader stand in front of everyone. They glance at each other before Sodapop speaks up, “We have something to tell you guys..” Then, with one final glance, the two of them hold hands and then look at the gang. “We’re together.” Sodapop finishes. The duo wait nervously for everyone to speak.

Two-Bit glances around, “I’ve already known for some time now.” Everyone makes noises of agreement and says they’ve also already known.

“What?!” Reader shouts in shock. He knew Darry and Ponyboy already knew about the two of them, but everyone else shouldn’t know already. But he also knows Sodapop didn’t tell them because he was the one who brought up telling them in the first place. And Ponyboy and Darry were not the type of people to spill that sort of secret to people, even their best friends.

“Yeah, I found you two cuddling in bed and realized.” Two-Bit says with a slight grin on his face.

Johnny speaks up next, “I saw you two making out behind the DX…” Ponyboy grimaces as he remembers when he walked in on the two of them doing the same thing. And Darry raises an eyebrow, giving his brother a look. He was just glad neither of them could get pregnant. Both reader and Sodapop are beet red by now. They really need to learn how to be more secretive about that sort of stuff…

“I just figured it out, and then helped Steve realize with some hints.” Dally says with a shrug. Steve nods his head, blushing a bit in embarrassment as he remembers the conversation and how dumb he had been to not realize that Sodapop and reader were in love with each other.

Sodapop and reader stand there in silence, rethinking all of their life choices. At least they’re accepting?