Work Text:
'I stabbed him. I stabbed him.'
Ponyboy thought, wrapping a protective arm around his stomach as the blonde soc who was still standing over him pushed him back down. He looked on in horror as the curly-headed soc he nicked in the arm gripped his bicep and stumbled back, his face twisting into an expression of pain rather than the former jeering grin he wore as blood leaked through his sleeve and fingers. Pony watched as another one of the socs focused his attention to his injured friend, abandoning Ponyboy's frozen form on the ground, eyes glued to them until the fourth soc stomped on his hand that still gripped his older brother's switchblade, shocking him out of his stupor and sending sudden jolts of pain up his hand. He let out an involuntary yelp at the action and was hardly able to pull his hand back before a rough and belligerent hand caught his jaw, snapping Pony's head to look at the soc looming over him.
"You think you're so tough, huh? Pulling out a blade and stabbing your very first soc?" The guy asked, and even through the spinning and throbbing of his head, Pony could see the rage in the soc's green eyes. He cringed; he hated green eyes.
Suddenly the soc grabbed the switchblade left dormant at Ponyboy's side, and made quick work with swiping a decently deep cut just along his hairline. Pony gasped sharply, trying to pull his head away, but his hand was still gripping his face, his fingers digging into his cheeks so hard Pony thought the guy would just break his face.
"You're lucky I'm not looking to kill you. You better watch your back, grease," He sneered with venom in his voice, and suddenly shoved Pony back onto the dusty ground. His elbows scraped along the jagged sidewalk when he tried to catch himself, and the soc finished him off with a swift kick to the head. The bottom of his brown leather platform shoe sent his head bouncing off the stiff concrete and he was out before he could even register the pain.
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"...Pony.. Ponyboy!" A voice broke through unconsciousness, and Ponyboy struggled to open his eyes. They felt so heavy and everything was throbbing, couldn't whoever was speaking and shaking his damn shoulders stop? It felt like his head was about to pop off his shoulders.
Pony lifted a heavy arm and flabbily hit one of the people kneeling by him, but clearly it didn't make much of an effect because whoever it was just grabbed his hand. Finally he was able to peel open his eyes, the fright of the possibilities of the socs returning coming to his mind. They were probably still pretty pissed; maybe they changed their minds and came back to finish what they started. He did stab one of them, after all.
Oh God.
He stabbed someone.
Ponyboy didn't wait for his vision to stop blurring before he launched himself up into a sitting position, blindly trying to get away from the two people on either of his sides. But they grabbed his arms, and albeit gently, it didn't stop Ponyboy from freaking out.
"Wait, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" He yelped, trying to fight the hands off and get away. He didn't really mean to stab anyone! Pony didn't even realize he was reaching for the switchblade in his pocket before he jabbed it into the side of the socs arm, and he honestly forgot he even had it on him up until that moment. They had one up to his throat, he thought they were gonna kill him!-
"Pony, calm down! It's just us!" A voice interrupted his hysteria and he stopped thrashing for a moment to see who was speaking to him. He looked to his right and saw Two-Bit, his eyes uncharacteristically wide and troubled. There was no trace of his usual joking grin on his face and his eyebrows were drawn together.
"Two-Bit?" Ponyboy practically whispered, voice meek. Why did Two-Bit look so worried? And, damn, why did he feel so lightheaded?
"Christ kid, what happened to you?" Someone else on the other side of him said, voice harsh and rough. The person suddenly pressed a handkerchief against the long, jagged slash along his hairline, and Ponyboy flinched, his head spinning to the left and seeing Dallas. He regretted it because it made his head pound worse, and his neck, and his ribs, and the cuts and the bruises, and everything else, but at least he was reassured that it was only Dally and not some soc.
His jaw was clenched and his eyes were blazing with hatred and spite. Pony hoped he didn't have spite against him, but maybe he was mad he stabbed someone. Would Darry be mad, too? No, mad is an understatement. He'd be infuriated. He would probably send him straight to a boy's home to protect Sodapop from his terrible, harmful instincts. And then he would only get worse and then his future would slowly go down the drain and-
"Kid! Snap out of it!" Dally's voice boomed, shaking him out of his thoughts for the millionth time today. Pony flinched and just looked at him, trying to figure out why he looked so worried. Worry wasn't a usual look on Dallas Winston's face, and he only ever saw him wear it when Johnny got jumped a few months ago. "What happened?"
"I don't- I-" Pony tried to say, but couldn't get anything more out; how could he admit to someone that he just stabbed a kid? His breathing became more heavy and erratic, and Two-Bit wrung his arm around Pony's shoulders.
"Dal, we gotta take him back home," Two-Bit said, voice still unusually quiet. "That cut looks real bad, his brothers might need to take 'im to the hospital."
Dally nodded wordlessly and stood to his feet. "Get him on your back. I'll start ahead to the house, see who's there."
Two-Bit nodded, wasting no time as Dally booked it back to the house. Ponyboy was grateful he didn't tell Dallas he stabbed that soc, or else he'd be running to tell Darry and Soda, and they probably wouldn't even let him in the house. Soda would probably be gracious enough to let him get cleaned up, but eventually the social worker, and maybe a cop or two, would be there to take him away.
"C'mon kid, let's get you home," Two-Bit said in a gentle tone, like he was speaking to an injured animal. In a way, he was. Only animals stab people, and he sure as hell was injured. That stupid cut on his forehead wouldn't stop bleeding.
Two-Bit held out a hand to Pony once he stood up, and after staring at it for a second, Ponyboy took it. It took him a bit longer than he'd like to admit to be able to stand without stumbling, but once the vertigo passed, he was alright.
"Alright, kid, hop on," Two-Bit told him, turning around and leaning down so Ponyboy could hoist himself onto his back.
Pony quickly shook his head. "I'm fine, I can walk," He insisted, proving it by taking a few steps. But he hardly got a foot in front of Two-Bit before he grabbed his arm, stopping him in his trackers.
"Like hell, kid. You'll keel over from blood loss before you get home, and I'd rather you do it when I'm already carrying you instead of needing to drag you all the way back." He told Pony, a light smile playing on his face.
Pony almost rolled his eyes but complied, and hoisted himself onto Two-Bit's back when he leaned down again. Once he was adjusted on his back alright, he had to admit it felt ten times better to not need to support his own weight.
"Damn, kid, you're a lot heavier than I thought you'd be, what do Darry and Soda feed you? Straight protein?" Two-Bit asked as he hoisted Pony up higher on his back, his typical joking grin coming back to his face, although it felt forced. Ponyboy just huffed, wrapping his arms around Two-Bit's neck and resting his head on the back of his shoulder. He hissed in pain when Two-Bit started walking too fast, his ribs being jostled uncomfortably. He's pretty sure he heard Two-Bit mutter a quick apology, but he was only half-conscious so he didn't pay much mind.
Ponyboy tried his best to pay attention and answer the questions Two-Bit asked him, but in all honesty, he couldn't even tell you what he asked. His head was still ringing and all he could think about was the look of pain on the curly-headed soc's face. He remembers dimly the other one who sliced his forehead telling him to watch his back. What if they were coming back? He seemed really mad. Pony tried to look behind them, to see if there was anything following them, but his neck ached like never before and he couldn't get a good view. Suddenly, a speeding car passed them and Ponyboy flinched.
"Walk faster Two-Bit," Pony shuddered, numbly aware of the fact that he was interrupting Two-Bit, who was in the middle of talking about something random to fill the silence. "They're gonna come back,"
"No they ain't kid, don't worry. Plus, I could just stick 'em with my blade if they do, finally put this baby to use," He tried to comfort, a hint of worry in his voice, but it only made Pony more jumpy.
"No!" He tensed, just about shouting before he could stop himself.
"Jeez kid, you know my ear is right here, right?" Two-Bit joked, his head flinching away from the noise. "What's got you so worked up? They tell you something?"
"I.." Pony started, scared to tell his friend what he'd done. What if he got mad, too? What if he just dumped him onto the ground and ran back to tell Darry and Soda how he stabbed someone? His mind raced with the possibilities of what could happen and he forgot that he still needed to supply Two-Bit with an answer.
"Pony, if you're in trouble with them, you oughta tell me. I won't be mad or nothing," Two-Bit said, voice uncharacteristically soft. At this point, he had stopped walking entirely and Pony's heart was just about thumping out of his chest.
"Promise?" He asked, voice a light quiver. Two-Bit's head looked back at him, a concerned look on his face.
"Yeah, kiddo," He said softly.
"I.." Ponyboy tried to start again, his heart racing and his head throbbing. "I stabbed one of them," He finally got out after a few silent seconds, voice almost soundless, but by the way he felt Two-bit tense, he knew he heard him.
"What-" Two-Bit finally got out after a moment, but was hastily cut off by another voice calling his name from down the road.
"Pony!" It was Darry. He was running down the sidewalk, dally not too far behind. Ponyboy realized how close they were to the house, and he could see Soda bounding down the porch steps to them as well. He watched as Steve and Johnny followed him out, sticking to the front lawn and watching from a distance. Oh, jeez, were they all there? Now they're all gonna know what he did, what were they gonna say?-
Pony was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt a pair of hands on his face, one along his cheek and the other seeming to be inspecting the cut on his forehead. He flinched briefly, before he met Darry's eyes. Wait, how'd he get here so fast?
"God, Pony, your head. What'd they do to you?" He muttered, his thumb pulling lightly at the gash to see how deep it was, making Pony wince. He mumbled a sorry, his eyes squinted in the way they usually were when he was concerned.
"Hey, kid brother, what happened?" Sodapop asked, seeming to have teleported to Pony's other side, resting a hand on his back.
"Hi, Soda," He mumbled, not meeting his eyes, knowing his brother would probably never hold the love and care he most likely had in his eyes this moment again after finding out what Pony did. So instead, Ponyboy settled for looking at Dally, who was standing off to this side, arms crossed and jaw clenched, looking around as if he were waiting for something to pop out at him. Maybe he was expecting the socs to come back, too.
"Hey guys, maybe we should take this back to the house... your brother is practically a bag of muscles here from all that track, my back is starting to kill me," Two-Bit half-joked, sounding slightly winded. Darry nodded.
"Here, let me hold 'im." He said, voice gruff, and Two-Bit nodded gratefully. He stood up straight and Ponyboy careful eased his legs down, grimacing when he had to put weight on his knee. Soda grabbed his elbow to help him stand easier, but luckily Darry was quick to take the spot of Two-bit, quickly, hoisting Pony onto his back with a more supporting grip, making it a little more comfortable. They quickly started for home, and Pony wrung his arms around Darry's neck and rested his head on the back of his shoulder, like he did with Two-Bit. He relished the moment, knowing this would be the last time Darry'd ever want him close to him.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Two-Bit leaning over, breathing heavily, with his hands on his hips. Dally slapped the back of his head and Pony heard Two-Bit let out a surprised chortle. That was the last thing he paid attention to before sighing and let his eyes focus on the passing houses, briefly seeing Soda run ahead of them to open the fence gate.
Time felt weird as Darry sped-walked them home. It felt fast and slow at the same time, his head was still spinning and there was a dull ring in his ears. His hand throbbed and his fingers felt hot and swollen, thanks to the soc that stomped on it when he was still clutching the blade. He hoped dimly that someone picked it up; maybe he could get it from them and hide it in case the cops were planning on showing up. His ribs were starting to hurt from where they were pressed against Darry's back, but soon enough they were walking up to their house. He avoided Johnny's big, black eyes that were trailed onto him when they walked on the porch and into the house.
Finally, Darry was sitting him down onto the couch and gently pushing him down onto the pillow. He tried to close his eyes, exhaustion beginning to take over as he was able to relax on their soft, yet worn down couch, but he sensed someone crouch down next to him and pat his cheek lightly.
"No sleeping yet, Pony," Soda said softly. He sighed and cracked his eyes open, wincing when he breathed in too deeply which bothered his ribs. Soda saw this and winced as well.
"Darry's getting you ice, kiddo. Don't worry," He said, his brown eyes soft as he smoothed Pony's hair back, careful to avoid the cut. Pony nodded, and busied himself with scanning the room because otherwise, they'd slip shut again. He saw Darry speaking to the rest of the gang, besides Johnny, who he couldn't see. Ponyboy hoped he hadn't left; he knew he probably wouldn't be too comfortable sticking around when Pony's all beat up after his own ruthless jumping only a few months ago, but he wanted to be able to spend more time with his best friend before he got sent away.
He hoped that Two-Bit hadn't told anyone yet about what he did either, but based on the snippets of words Ponyboy caught and the way Darry was ordering the gang to get things, it seemed like he was still worried enough to care for him.
"What happened, Pony?" He heard Soda ask, and he snapped his eyes from the rest of the gang to Soda. Almost instantly, to his horror, Ponyboy's eyes welled with tears, and Sodapop's widened.
"Hey, it's okay, Pony," Soda comforted, his voice impossibly soft. He resumed smoothing Pony's hair back, but he just shook his head.
"No," Pony whimpered, not meeting his brother's eyes. "You're gonna be mad,"
"No, I won't, honey," Soda said soothingly, "What, did you stab someone or something?"
Ponyboy knew it was meant to be a joke with the way Soda's face spread into a smile and the way he let out a little chuckle afterwards. But whether it was the probable concussion, the blood loss, the pain, or a little bit of everything, the satirical undertone went completely over Pony's head. After all, it wasn't really a joke. He did stab someone.
Pony's breath hitched, and he tried to console a sob. Unfortunately, it didn't really work, and it came out as a strangled cry, and he saw Darry's head shoot over to their direction and he quickly sent the gang scattering around the house to do what he told them to. Pony covered his face with his hands, flinching a bit when he felt this finger graze the stupid cut on his forehead, that was still bleeding, he noted.
"Pony, what's wrong?" Darry asked, voice alarmed. He tried to pull Pony's hands away from his face, but he didn't budge.
"I tried asking him what happened and he just started crying, Dar'," Sodapop fretted, his voice high like how it always did when he got worked up. Ponyboy cursed himself; he always managed to ruin things. He hadn't even told Soda straight out that he stabbed someone, and he already made his brother upset.
"Alright, Pony, c'mon. You're bothering your cut," Darry said again after a second, and Pony let him pull his face away from his hands. Luckily he wasn't really crying anymore, but seeing Darry's face made him want to cry again; he looked impossibly tired and sad, and Ponyboy knew he was only going to make it worse. A few more tears slipped from his eyes and Darry wiped them away with his thumb, gently running it over a bruise on his cheek as well.
"I know it hurts, buddy. But we're gonna help you, alright? Johnny's getting you a warm rag or the cuts and Steve and Two-Bit are finding the first-aid kit. Dally's finding mom's old-" Suddenly, Darry cut himself off. "Well, he's gonna help you, too. But don't worry right now, okay?"
Ponyboy nodded, not even curious about what Darry was going to say. He tried to focus himself on something, anything else, and settled for watching the cartoon that were still playing on the tv.
But Sodapop was curious.
"Finding what, Darry?" Soda asked apprehensively. He had an idea of what he was finding; they only ever needed one thing from their mom's stuff when patching someone up and that was for stitches. He took another look at the cut on his brother's forehead and his stomach twisted.
"Mom's old sewing stuff." Darry confirmed, his voice close to a mutter. Soda sighed but nodded, rubbing Ponyby's shoulder comfortingly. Ponyboy nodded as well, but he didn't really process what was said. Why would they need mom's sewing supplies? Maybe his shirt got cut up in the jumping or something, and they wanted him to be presentable when the social worker came. But then he felt someone push his hair back again to look at the cut.
"Wait, stitches?" Pony blurted out, his heart sinking.
Ponyboy had been lucky to not need stitches up until this point. Sure, when he was younger his parents brought him to the emergency room once because he tripped when playing and slammed his chin onto the corner of the coffee table, but he didn't even remember it. But that was when his parents were around, and his family didn't have the money for a hospital visit right now. And even though Pony knew Darry wouldn't hesitate to take him to the emergency room if needed, whether they had the money or not, they wouldn't go if they had the same supplies at home that the doctors did. That included stitches. You'd think it'd be unsafe, but in reality it really wasn't; Darry and Dally both knew how to put in stitches well enough and the people they stitched up (which mainly just consisted of Two-Bit because he got rowdy when drunk) never got an infection.
"Don't worry about it right now, Pony," Darry repeated, offering him a smile, but it didn't soothe Ponyboy in the slightest. But, maybe he deserved it.
He focused back on the tv, trying not to pay attention to the conversation that was going on around him. Darry and Soda were whispering about something, and Soda kept giving him worried looks as he spoke. Pony tried to tune them out, but he couldn't ignore the word 'blade'. Ponyboy didn't really even have a clue what they were talking about, but he couldn't stop the tears that flooded into his eyes again.
"I didn't mean to," He mumbled, his voice shaking as he spoke. Darry and Soda's whispering ceased abruptly, and they gave each other a look before looking down to him.
"Didn't mean to do what, Pony?" Darry asked, moving Pony's unruly and dirty hair out of his face. Sodapop's hand was still firm on his brother's shoulder, squeezing slightly when he saw the tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," He whimpered, shaking his head again. Tears began to spill over again, and this time Soda wiped them away. Soda opened his mouth again to speak, but soft footsteps padded into the room and spoke up.
"We got the stuff," Steve said, and he, Two-Bit, and Johnny placed their things onto the table. Johnny handed Darry the warm rag, who pressed it against the cut along Pony's hairline. He gasped at the contact, trying to turn his head away, but Soda's hand stopped him.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Darry apologized, but didn't let up on the pressure. Luckily, it seemed to have staunch the bleeding a bit, and after a second the warmth of the water seeped in and it felt almost comforting. He saw Johnny continue to stand by, standing just behind soda and looking down on him with his big, worried eyes, and Ponyboy was a tiny bit more relieved that he was till there.
Steve walked around the coffee table as well, and handed Sodapop a frozen bag of peas. He muttered a thanks, and Soda pressed it to his ribs. Two-Bit walked around as well to where Pony's legs were and grabbed the pillow on the other side of the couch by his feet and fluffed it, before placing it under Ponyboy's injured knee to elevate it. All these actions brought tears to Pony's eyes for the millionth time that day, and he would've been embarrassed if he knew half of what was going on, because he knew he wouldn't ever feel this comfort again in the boy's home. Hell, the kids there would probably mess him up this bad and leave him for dead. He's heard horror stories from other greasers who needed to go there and it's not a place he'd ever want to find himself in. Too bad you can't get everything you ask for.
The next few minutes, or maybe hours, Pony didn't even know anymore, passed in a blur. He vaguely remembered Darry giving him a concussion test, but all he could remember was Darry dragging a finger across his vision, so he probably failed it pretty hard. Johnny had taken Darry's place in holding the rag to his forehead, and it was nice to have him sit near his head for a change. But then he thought how afraid Johnny'd be of him when he figured out what he did to that soc, knowing he turned into what Johnny feared most, and he didn't feel so hot anymore. But Two-Bit stuck by his side, watching cartoons with him and cracking jokes here and there, and so far he was the only one who knew. He was grateful he wasn't asking anything else or bringing it up, but Pony was overly aware of the looks Two-Bit gave him and he felt bad that he had to stick around him.
Soda had busied himself with cleaning up some of the other scrapes on him, specifically the scrapes on his elbows. It burned like hell when he rubbed the alcohol-soaked napkins on them, but he felt a little better when he put the bandaids on. They were obviously kid ones and had little cars on them, but no one really cared. Not even Steve said anything, who was sitting by and holding the bag of peas against Pony's ribs.
A little bit after Soda had stopped poking and burning him with the alcohol, he started drifting off. The couch was real comfortable and the cold against the ribs and the wet rag against his forehead made it all a little less painful. Soda was wrapping his injured hand in gauze when he dropped off, only blinking awake every time Johnny re-pressed against the cut or Steve moved the bag of peas. It's funny, because all of this probably happened over a span of less than ten minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. Not that Pony was complaining, he knew his time at home was limited now.
Eventually he heard some shuffling around him. He didn't pay any mind to it, too exhausted to open his eyes to see what was going on.
"Is he out?" A gruff voice asked, probably Dally.
"Guess so," He heard Darry sigh. He wasn't, but maybe if he pretended to be asleep he wouldn't need to tell them what happened and he wouldn't have to leave.
There was some more shuffling and hushed voices.
The lamp was turned on and something that must've been a flashlight was angled toward his face.
Hands grabbed the side of his face, keeping his head in place, and someone else grabbed his hands in theirs.
Maybe the police had come... they had their flashlight to interrogate him and they were putting his hands in handcuffs.
That was until he felt a sharp, fiery hot, piercing pain through that blasted cut on his forehead.
Ponyboy gasped sharply and his eyes shot open. He tried to pull his head away from the source of the pain, but the hands on the sides of his face stopped him. The hands grabbing his turned restrictive quickly, and the light above him blinded him from seeing any of the figures sitting by him.
The socs must've been back to hurt him. They probably dragged him into some dank alleyway while he was sleeping, and the gang didn't stop them because they told them what Pony'd done and figured it's what he deserved!
"No, I'm sorry!" He shouted, trying to yank his head from the source of pain, but he figured out quickly that it only made it worse. One of the people above him cursed loudly, and the hands grabbing his head held him tighter.
He heard voices around him trying to speak to him, but he disregarded them. Fight or flight had kicked in at this point and he tried to kick his legs out to get away, but someone else just held them down, too. Gosh, there weren't this many socs here when he was jumped earlier, were there?
"I didn't mean to stab him! I'm sorry, stop!" Pony cried, squeezing his eyes shut and let out a sob. That seemed to do the trick, because the tugging and piercing at the cut on his forehead quickly stopped and the hands holding him down faltered just a bit.
"Please," He choked, and the hands on his face thumbed away the tears Ponyboy didn't even realize began to fall.
Unfortunately it didn't calm his racing heart or eratic breathing; but suddenly the flashlight clicked off and he was able to distinguish the people above him.
"Pony," A voice spoke, and he realized it was Darry as his face loomed above him. "You're alright, you're home,"
It was meant to comfort Pony, but it only upset him more. The truth was out; Darry and Soda and everyone else knew what he did.
"I'm sorry, Darry," Pony whimpered, his voice quivering, "Please don't be mad,"
"It's okay, honey, calm down," Darry tried to calm him down, raking his hair through Pony's hair. Unshed tears glistened in his eyes and Ponyboy wondered why. He hadn't seen Darry cry in years, maybe he was disappointed in him.
"Please don't send me away," Pony begged, shaking his head. The hands that were holding his were rubbing their thumb over his knuckles, and he heard a sniffle come from that direction. Other than that, the room was dead silent.
"Oh, Pony," Darry said, his eyes lining with more tears, "You're not going anywhere, it's okay,"
"I only got 'im in the arm, I swear," Ponyboy continued anyway, his breath hitching between his words. "They wouldn't stop," He sobbed.
Darry just nodded, a single tear finally falling from his eye. "I know, Pony, I know. It's okay." He assured Pony, smoothing his hair back again. "Can you let Dally finish stitching you up? I promise it'll be over before you know it."
Pony looked away from Darry and instead to the other figure standing over him, finding Dally standing there. He tried to give Pony a smile, but it was kind of hard to smile when you're stitching up a delirious, horrified kid that you've known for half of his life.
Ponyboy took a shaky breath, nodding his head which he soon regretted because it tugged at the stitches still on his head. Darry placed his hands back onto the side of his face, rubbing his cheekbones with his thumbs, getting rid of any new tears. The hands grabbing his own continued to rub his knuckles, which a comfort that Pony knew could only be Soda.
The flashlight clicked and on and the stitching proceeded. It wasn't any less painful, but at least he knew that he was around people he trusted. At least, he was more sure he could trust them than he was before. He trusted Darry when he said he wouldn't send him away; when he's crying when telling you something, you can't not trust it.
He tried not to pull away at each pierce of the skin, but it was hard not to when you're getting stitches with no medicine whatsoever, but Darry was right when saying that it would be over before he knew it.
"Alright, done," Dally announced, snipping the last stitch and you could practically feel a tenfold of the tension leave the room. "You did good, kid," He told Pony with a pat on the shoulder with a wink, and if Ponyboy knew what was going on at all, he'd wouldn've understood that he wasn't just talking about the stitches.
"We'll make dinner, Darry," Johnny said quietly, and Darry nodded with gratitude, sending him a smile. The rest of the guys left the room into the kitchen, and Pony was slightly surprised to see they all stuck around.
"You're gonna be the death of us, kid," Sodapop said, crouching back down onto the floor to be face to face with Pony. Pony grimaced when he saw the tear tracks on Sodapop's face and the redness of his eyes, knowing he was the one sniffling.
"Sorry," Pony muttered again, completely tuckered out from the night's events.
"Stop apologizing, you did enough of that for one lifetime tonight," Soda joked with a smile on his face. Pony let a little smile slip through as well.
"Scoot over, kiddo," Darry said, and Pony shuffled himself down the couch a little bit to let Darry sit. He put an arm around Pony and Darry let him settle into his side, and Soda sat on the other side of the couch, resting Pony's legs into his lap, making sure his knee was comfortable.
Total exhaustion quickly pulled Pony under, and he didn't have a single worry that social services, the police, or the socs would get to him. He wasn't worried because he knew he had his brothers.