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The first thing that hits him is the noise. It's loud. The streets rumble with tens of speakers blasting music, hundreds of people talking and cheering and laughing, and, of course, the parade itself.
The second thing that overwhelms him is the colors. It's like there's a million different flags—reds, blues, pinks, grays—and Pony barely recognizes any of them. He feels lost and out of place, even knowing he belongs here.
It's only just getting started, but Pony can already feel his heart in his throat.
He looks to his left, where Darry and Soda are both standing. They're both sharing the same look of awe that he is. None of them have ever experienced something like this. He honestly can't believe they're all here together. He can't believe he actually worked up the courage he needed to bring them all here.
It was only a year ago that they almost lost Johnny and Dally in the same night. Watching them both recover in the hospital made Pony realize how short life is. Dally, in his delirium from multiple gunshot wounds and all the drugs the doctors pumped into him, mumbled about regret. About what it felt like dying in regret.
Pony had no way of imagining how it felt, but he knew he never wanted to experience it.
That's why, only a few months ago, Pony pulled his brothers aside and bared his secrets to them. It didn't matter if they didn't accept him—at least, that's what he told himself. He couldn't live with regrets. He couldn't live in hiding.
"I have something important to tell you both. And-and maybe you'll hate me for it and disown me and throw me out onto the street—"
"Pony!" Darry interrupts him, "What are you talkin' about?"
"We wouldn't disown you or kick you out. Not for anything," Soda says. In that moment, his usually comforting voice did nothing to ease Pony's wild imagination. He had already come up with a hundred ways this conversation could go, and none were very good.
"Just say what you need to say, honey. I promise it won't change how we see you," Darry says.
Pony, so badly, wanted to believe that. "I'm...not straight. I don't like women. Well, technically, I don't like anyone. W-What I'm trying to say is, I'm aromantic and asexual, and before you say that isn't real—"
"Pony. Breathe," Darry cuts him off to demand. He hadn't even realized he stopped. To his horror, when he finally took a deep breath, tears welled in his eyes.
He expected so many things from this conversation. Disgust, anger, even hurt or betrayal. What he didn't expect is to be pulled into a hug by Soda or for Darry to look at him so earnestly.
"Kid, just take a breath. Now, I can't say I know exactly what you mean, but you not likin' girls doesn't matter to us. It'd be pretty hypocritical for me to throw you out because of it," Darry says softly.
Pony's jaw drops, and he gapes at his brother. He stutters around twenty different questions. Darry just chuckles, and Pony hears another laugh in his ear as Soda joins in.
"W-Wha..?"
"You really thought you were special, Pone? Didn't expect you to be that blind," Soda jokes.
"Y-You both—wha—g-gay?" Pony asks eloquently.
"Well, I still like girls, but boys are pretty, too," Soda admits.
Darry hums. "Boys."
"B-Boys?" Pony repeats.
"Just boys," he confirms.
"What did you think he and Paul got up to?" Soda asks. Darry immediately starts scolding him for bringing up Paul. This leaves Pony still staring bug-eyed at the two of them.
Now that he's thinking about it, they were all pretty obvious about it.
Pony is brought out of the memory by Soda yelling and waving. He turns to his right to see Johnny and Steve walking over. Well, Johnny is being pushed by Steve, but it's the same principle.
Soda is pulling Steve into a tight hug before the shorter man can protest. Not that he does protest. Sure, he grumbles a little, pouting in that adorable way when he doesn't want to admit he likes the affection.
Thankfully, Steve is released rather quickly, as Soda climbs onto Johnny's lap to shower his face with kisses. Once he's free, Steve slides into the free space next to Pony. There's a blush climbing up his neck as he looks anywhere but at him.
Pony decides to put him out of his misery, grabbing his hand and leaning into him. Steve relaxes and leans into him, too. Pony will never be able to feel what Steve feels for him, but he's still overcome by the warmest of feelings.
Cute cute cute—the mantra always plays through his head around him. He and Steve are almost the same height now, and soon enough Pony might even be taller. He can't wait.
Truly, he can't wait for a lot of things. Pony can't wait to spend his life with Steve. Lord knows their relationship was one that was a long time coming.
Steve has been staring at him.
At first, Pony barely even noticed. He was too caught up helping with Johnny and Dally's recovery. Then, they were busy helping the two of them find their places in the gang again.
Soon enough, it just became normal to feel those green eyes burning holes into him. He got so used to it that it took Johnny pointing it out for him to do anything about it.
So, Pony decided to take a page out of Dally's book.
"What the hell is your problem?"
Steve damn near loses his head on the hood of the car he's working on. Pony winces at the clang his skull makes against the metal. Then, he backs away as Steve lets out a very colorful string of curses.
"What's my—What's your problem!?" Steve demands. Ever since Pony started hitting his growth spurt, Steve has stopped calling him a brat. Incidentally, that's about when the staring started, too.
"Do you hate me again?" Pony asks before he can stop himself. It's a stupid, childish question. He sees how Steve's eyes widen. When Pony first confided in the guys all the horrible thoughts in his head—about how they hate him and want him gone—they were all horrified. But, none of them more than Steve.
That night, while laying next to Soda, Pony would ask him why Steve looked like he wanted to cry. Soda would simpy say, "He's sensitive."
Staring at that same horrified look from that day, Pony feels his chest tightening with guilt. Steve isn't good at this. Despite the endless well of empathy in his chest, he's never been good at...people. That's why he comes off so rough and mean.
Pony knows that. He knows that.
"I didn't mean—" Pony is cut off by the feeling of plush lips on his. It's only a second, a moment really. But, lord, does it feel like forever.
When Steve pulls back, his entire face has erupted bright pink. His eyes are as wide as Pony's probably are. He doesn't know why the guy is so shocked when he's the one who kissed Pony.
"No! That wasn't—this was supposed to—I had a plan!" He squawks. "I had this whole damn plan to confess, and here you come ruining everything like the brat you—"
"You like me?" Pony asks. That effectively shuts Steve up. Somehow, his face gets even redder. For a moment, Pony starts to smile, and a warmth he can't name starts to bloom in his chest. Then, everything gets smothered.
"I'm asexual," Pony says quickly. "And-and aromantic. I don't—I don't feel...that stuff."
Steve blinks at him, clearly waiting for a longer explanation.
"W-We can still be together!" Pony finds himself rushing to say. "But...but it'll be different than a normal relationship, y'know?"
"...is that a yes?" Steve asks slowly.
"It's a 'shut up and listen to me if you want it to be a yes'."
God, did Steve want it to be a yes.
Steve maintains to this day that his confession went way smoother than he remembers. Pony maintains that Steve is a gigantic dork. But, he's Pony's gigantic dork, and he can't imagine a life without him anymore.
Eventually Darry beckons them all to follow through the crowds, deeper into the festival. The good thing about having Johnny around is, people give them a wide berth.
Soda stays firmly in Johnny's lap, getting pushed along by Darry. They all just role their eyes at their shenanigans. Honestly, Pony is guilty of doing the exact same thing. He stays firmly by Steve's side as Two-Bit's death trap of a truck comes into view.
Two-Bit is wearing an "ally" shirt that is so atrocious Pony believes it has to be homophobic. He's humiliated to be around him.
"What's up!?" Two-Bit yells. Pony's only saving grace is that most people ignore yelling idiots during the festival. He still groans and hides his face in Steve's shoulder.
With Two-Bit also came Dallas and Tim. Once they spot them, Tim helps Dallas out of the truck. Then, he dives back in to tug out Dally's rollator. Even though Dallas scowls at the device, Pony is glad he brought it instead of his cane. He'd hate for him to be in pain just because of his pride.
"Hey, how was the drive over?" Darry asks.
"Eh, it was borin' without y'all. These two are no fun!" Two-Bit complains. He dramatically starts weeping into Darry's shoulder. Despite how he rolls his eyes, Darry doesn't push him off. (Lord, when is Two-Bit gonna realize that he's not as straight as he thinks he is?)
"He was complaining the whole time. It sucked majorly," Dallas says. He's sluggishly batting away Tim's worried hands.
"How would you know? You slept through the whole damn ride," Tim challenges, finally steadying Dallas, even with his attempts to fight him off. Their hands linger on each other, which draws Pony's attention to their rings.
The last people you'd ever expect to settle down and get married, yet here they are.
Pony was there the first time Tim proposed. Dally was still droopy and high, having only just woken up after two whole weeks of being unconscious after being gunned down by the cops. Out of nowhere, Tim got on his knees—both of them—and begged Dallas to marry him. The silence is the room was honestly pretty unsettling.
Dallas had blinked at the man kneeling at his feet. Then, he simply said, "Try again with a ring and I might say yes." He promptly passed out again, leaving everyone around him to stare at his sleeping form.
The day that Dallas was discharged, Tim decided to cause a scene at the entrance. He got on his knee—just the one this time—and pulled out a silver ring, with a giant opal center stone, wrapped by small diamonds.
It was only a month later that Buck was walking Dallas down the aisle in the most beautiful and most greaser wedding Pony has ever been to.
They've been together ever since. Honestly, they have the healthiest and most loving marriage ever. Sometimes, Pony finds himself daydreaming about having that kind of life with Steve, which makes his stomach do weird ass things.
He somehow manages to pull his eyes from his very pretty partner to pay attention to Darry's safety briefing.
It's the same speech he's been giving the whole month leading up to this. Don't spend too much money, keep your phone on, don't run off with strangers, don't get too drunk, etc etc.
"We all meet back here when the sun starts setting, alright? Then, we'll get food and start the drive back home," he finishes. The others nod along with varying degrees of devotion. "Alright. Have fun and don't die."
Two-Bit and Sodapop whoop at their freedom. Soda is scrambling up to push Johnny towards the stalls. Meanwhile, Two-Bit is dragging Darry away towards the drinking section. Dallas and Tim wave and also disappear into the crowds.
Pony looks over at Steve. "You ready?"
"Let's do this," Steve says easily.
Pony can't help but grin. With that, they walk into the festival with their heads held high. It's one of the best days he's had in a long time.