Disclaimer: The Outsiders belongs to S. E. Hilton.

The Dead Don't Share Love

The porch that we were sitting on was old. The house was old, too. It had been there long before me and even before Darry and it'd be here long after we're stuck in the ground. This house had memories; memories of love, friendship, even fighting and heartbreak. It holds memories of our childhood, our teenage years, and even from our adult lives.

Our wives, children, and grandchildren were inside, probably waiting for us, but Darry and I decided to stay outside. It was a long trip to travel here for us and we planned on reminiscing in exchange for our troubles. The railing on the porch was falling apart and both me and Darry tried to tell the man who lived there now, Darry's son, Billy, to fix it, but he makes excuses and it is put off. Today, I ran my old, wrinkled hand over the wood, feeling where it splintered and where exactly the holes were. It still amazes me that in a week I shall be celebrating ninety-one years of life. Just yesterday, it feels like I was a greaser, playing soccer in my backyard with my best friend, Johnny.

"I miss owning this old place," I heard Darry say behind me and I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"I miss it, too, Darry. I miss it, too," I said, a hint of nostalgia in my voice.

"I wish Sodapop was here. He would have loved to be here," said Darry. "He was too young. He wasn't even nineteen years old and war ate him alive."

"I miss them, Darry," I said, referring to both to my brother as well as Johnny and Dally, my friends who I had lost at the young age of fourteen.

"I miss them, too, Ponyboy, but we will see them soon," said Darry. Normally, I would have protested this kind of thinking, but I knew he was right. We were old and our lives were coming to a close.

"I can't say I have any regrets," I said then. "I married a beautiful woman and had two beautiful children. And your life was just as amazing as mine."

"No, Pony. I have no regrets, but I never had a chance to ask; why did you marry Cherry in the first place?" asked Darry. "You told me when you were sixteen that you liked men."

"I married Cherry because I loved her. I loved her like a sister. I married her because I felt I could love her more and I eventually did. I realized that I wanted children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I could have that with Cherry. She was pregnant with my mistake; I had to fix it. I don't regret it, Darry. I'll never regret it. I've had more happiness in my entire life than most men do and so I don't regret it."

Darry nodded. "Well, I think we've ignored our spouses long enough. I think I'm going to head inside. You coming?"

"Nah. I want to stay here for a little bit longer," I said. Then, with a nod, Darry headed towards the front door and slowly walked inside, leaving me by myself. With a tired sigh, I walked over to a chair and slowly lowered myself into it.

They say things tend to change, but things really didn't here. There was still the same houses across the street. If I so wanted to, I could probably see the lot that I used to hang out with the old gang in. The gang was all split up; I hadn't talked to Two-bit or Steve in a good fifty years. I wondered where life had taken them. Johnny's house hadn't really changed much either, although that screaming and crying that used to be there can't be heard anymore. I miss Johnny a lot, more than I missed anyone. Even now, I remember his beautiful eyes and the scars that ran all over his face and body. He was small, that Johnnycake, so small and fragile looking that I had wanted to pull him into a warm embrace to protect him from everything that was wrong with the world.

To be perfectly frank, I had loved Johnny Cade. If anything, he had been the most important person to me. I would be happy to give up my wife and my family to see him once again that's how much I loved him, but I know miracles don't happen. I had loved Johnny Cade and I had never even had the courage to tell him. Now he was gone.

Leaning back against the chair, I closed my eyes, wanting to rest for just a little bit right then and there before I walked back inside to see everyone. When I opened my eyes again, I saw a familiar looking boy standing in front of me on the porch. He was smiling, his white teeth dazzling in the sunlight, his eyes sparkling, and his hair and ripped up, dirty clothing flying in the wind, no horrible scars marking his face.

"Ponyboy, there you are. I've been looking all over for you! It really sucked; I couldn't find you for the longest time and I was real lonely," said the boy, his smile growing even wider.

"Well, I'm here now, Johnny, and you won't ever have to look for me ever again like that," I said, standing up. Suddenly, I was fourteen again, with my obnoxious haircut and ratty clothing. I felt Johnny reach out and take my hand, dragging me along. I eagerly followed, never wanting to be out of his sight ever again.

"Ponyboy, I heard there's a new movie out. Wanna head over and see it?" he asked, turning his head back to look at me.

I grinned. "Of course!" I said, knowing I'd follow Johnny to the ends of the Earth. Plus, movies were pretty awesome. Then I stopped and pulled him back towards me, remembering something.

"What is it, Pony?" he asked, concern written all over him.

"It's nothing, really. I just wanted to say that I love you," I said, looking straight at him and smiling wider then I ever had. Even wider than I did on my wedding day.

"I love you, too," said Johnny, leaning up towards me and capturing me in a long, sweet kiss. He felt warm and just as beautiful as I remembered. I pulled him closer, wanting to know that I'd never loose him again.

In the background, an old man lay still, a smile spread wide across his face.

THE END

A/N: Hey, guys. To anyone who still watches me, long time no see. To new comers (and that's probably most of you), I'm Rasko. As to why I wrote this, I read The Outsiders about a week ago and I can proudly say I was pleased. Let me put it this way; mostly all male cast. Mostly all male cast who is for the most part pretty touchy-feely with each other. What's a slash fan not to love? (Don't worry. A South Park fic is coming one of these days. I'm so horrible to my main fandom and I'm so sorry. "OTL)

To be honest, though, I was fairly disappointed with what I found here on FF. I've yet to find anything really amazing. I found a few awesome one shots, most of them on livejournal, but I have to say that this is the worst fandom I have come across in a long time. There's too many Sue fics and the slash fics I've read were VERY disappointing and VERY sex based with no exceptions. I'm not gonna lie; I like my smut. But I like good smut and I like smut with a purpose. And Pony and Johnny getting it on two chapters in is just unrealistic to me.

Anyway, this is my contribution. Honestly, I wish I could have made it longer, but I have no idea how I would do that. I feel like I did Pony and Johnny justice, though. They're my Outsiders OTP~

And before anyone rages, yes, I believe that Pony was just a bit canonly gay. I normally don't think that about characters, but Pony in general acts pretty damn gay to me. I was discussing the book with my best guy friend and even he, who is slightly homophobic, said, "Ponyboy and Johnny are totally gay for each other." xD

I've been working on this for about a week now. I know, long ass time, but I've had finals so excuse me. (This is also part of the reason I haven't been posting. School likes to suck out my free time. "OTL)

In any case, I'd just like to mention that I can't take all the credit for this plot. It was inspired by the manga Complex by Manda Ringo. Please read it. It's very amazing. You might be grossed out a first, but stick with it till the end. It's really worth it in my opinion.

Okay, I'm gonna stop with the tl;dr. Please review; I'll even be happy to get the bad ones. :)

And linking to AMAZINGLY awesome Outsiders slash would be even better. :D