A/N: I'm literally crying from this okay guys, it's my first time writing a fic for The Outsiders and as Sodapop so I hope I did alright! Send requests, I honestly love writing these things *especially war centric ones*

"You promised!" June screamed from the kitchen as soon as her boyfriend of two years, Sodapop Curtis walked through the front door. She was clutching an envelope and a piece of folded paper as she glared at him, hot tears running down her face faster than she could hide them. "Darling, I really didn't th-"Soda was cut off by an abrupt turn as June turned away from him both in a fit of anger and betrayal and also because she couldn't stand for him to see her cry.

"You promised Soda, you fucking promised!"

"Look, I know you're upset but there's nothing I can do!"

He moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist not caring if he got oil all over her dress, he kissed her neck fondly and massaged her shoulders but June wasn't having any of it. "I'm sorry June" he whispered into her ear. She brushed him off and quickly wiped at her eyes and leaned over the kitchen sink shaking slightly.

"This isn't happening. This is some kind of sick joke right?"

Soda smoothed his hand through his greasy hair before sighing and shaking his head "I wish it was Junebug, I really wish it was."

"When are you leaving?"

"Two weeks, at the latest."

"Can't you just not go?"

She heard him chuckle from behind her as he once again wrapped his arms around her, giving a slight squeeze. "You know I wish I could, but it's not that simple babe. A draft is a draft." She could have sworn that she heard a slight amusement in his voice, almost as if he were happy about leaving and part of her deep down knew that he was. It was always his dream to go to war. To be someone. Not just a mechanic working at the local DX but a hero, somebody that someone could look up to.

"I don't want you to go, Soda. What if you don't come back?"

"I will."

A small smile lifted at the corner of her lips for a moment at how sure he was, it was one thing she loved about him. His confidence. But the happiness soon gave way to the sadness again and she turned burying her face into his chest. "Don't go." She whispered meekly as the tears came again and so did the rage until she was sobbing so hard that the world blurred together and she was pounding her fists against his chest.

"You can't leave! What about Darry? And Ponyboy? They need you."

He held her fists tightly tears threatening to fall from his own eyes but he wouldn't let them show. He let out a breath before looking down at her and answering calmly.

"Pony is nearly done with school, and work is good for Darry. They'll be fine."

A scowl graced her lips at his answer as she struggled from his grasp too afraid to voice the question that she desperately needed an answer to. She adverted her eyes to the floor and stopped struggling "What about me? What about us, Soda?" she whispered barely loud enough for him to hear, and then she looked up.

"You promised you were going to build a house for us! That we'd have our own lives and get out of this town! I need you!"

"You're talking about this as if I have a choice, I don't have a choice June! I've going to Vietnam in two weeks, I'm going to war. There's nothing either of us can do about!"

That's when he broke down.

She wasn't expecting that; Soda had always been the strong one. She watched him as he went to the table and sat down resting his elbows on the tabletop and burying his face into his hands. Even if he wouldn't admit it, she could tell that he was crying by the way his back heaved. Walking over to him she knelt down and cradle his head into her breast smoothing over his hair in the only comfort she knew how to give.

Then he looked up.

His eyes were red and his face wet with tears that she tried to wipe but he turned away and shook his head. "You really think I want to leave? I've never been outside of Tusla, let alone the entire state of Oklahoma. This is new to me too." He brushed his palm across his face and smiled mockingly

"Y'know, everyone thinks that I'm so tough. Sodapop the peace keeper, right? No one ever expects me to break down too, but sometimes I can't handle it either! Y'know, I don't want to admit it but I'm scared June, I'm scared shitless. I don't want to die. I don't want to leave you. Or Ponyboy and Darry, Two-Bit and Steve either. But I have to."

He sniffed and dried his eyes but still refused to look at her, she had no idea that this would be hard for him. She had always expected him to want to go to war with all the talk he did about it. "C'mere." She heard him whisper as his arms opened and he pulled her onto his lap, hugging her tightly.

"I'm coming back, okay? I promise."

"But what if you don't?"

He paused and the quite in the room was enough to give her chills. She heard his breathing and she heard it hitch knowing that he knew that the nightmare they both thought would never come was knocking on their front door, and there was no way to stop it.

"If I don't come back,"

He paused again and she could see that he realized the reality of those words "If I don't come back, you start your own family you hear? You get out of this town and never look back. You live your life the way I never would be able to give you, alright? June, listen to me. I'm serious."

Her breathing was coming fast as she felt the sting of tears again, because she knew that this was all too real for her to handle. She felt his callous hand graze her face and he kissed her nose "Baby, listen. I know it's hard. But you have to promise me that you'll do that if I don't come back." June meekly nodded her head and sniff burying her face into his shoulder.

"I love you, Sodapop."

"I love you too, Junebug."

"I'm gonna write to you every chance I get, baby. You won't miss a thing; it'll be like I never left."

Nine months later and she was clutching the letter Soda wrote to her pretending that it was his hand as she gave birth to their little girl.

She could hear the words he wrote to her as if he were whispering them into her ear "I hope she looks like you, I hope she fights like me." And his beautiful laugh as she cradled their daughter in her arms.

Two years and seven hundred and thirty letters later, she drove up her driveway to be met with a silver car.

"Ma'am, I'm terribly sorry."

"…You promised."