For a dear friend of mine, LeatherandCardGames

PoV Darry

When I woke up, I had a hazy period of not remembering what happened the day before, and I was in peaceful bliss. Then the day focused and I remembered the day before, and I smiled. I turned over and found that Two-Bit was still in my bed, the blankets snuggly wrapped around his strong body. I rested my head on my hand, my elbow pressing into the pillows. I reached out my other hand to tuck a strand of his hair behind his ear.

He smiled and turned towards me, blearily opening his eyes. Two-Bit moved closer, placing a hand on my shoulder and kissing me. His lips were soft and wonderful, warm and kind. When he pulled away, I had to stop myself from making a sound of displeasure. He chuckled deep in his throat, though, and said displeasure must have shown on my face.

"C'mon, beautiful, it's time to get up," he said, his hands slowly sliding down my chest, towards my hips.

"What do you mean by up?" I asked, my breath hitching in my throat.

"Oh, I think you know."

…

I laughed as Two-Bit turned the blender on without the top. Milk and berries shot everywhere, splattering him with berry guts and lactose. He laughed along with me, his cheeks going rather pink. Pony walked in and frowned at the mess, shaking his head and walking back out.

"No offense, Dar, but there's somethin' wrong with him," Two-Bit said. "He don't laugh like the rest of us."

"He just isn't awake yet," I said, feeling a curl of sadness in my chest. I knew that Two-Bit was right; I just didn't want to tell myself he was weird. He was a kid, not a psychopath.

"Sure," Two-Bit said, wiping milk off his face. "You gonna help clean up or…?"

I smiled and walked over to him, placing my hands on his hips. I kissed his cheek, flicking out my tongue to get some of the berries off. I felt him shudder beneath me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I smiled against his cheek and buried my nose in his neck, breathing in his scent. He laughed slightly, tickled by my stubble.

I heard the pitter patter of feet and quickly pulled away from Two-Bit, and watched as Ponyboy returned to the kitchen with Johnny and Dally in tow.

"Mama, they followed me home, can we keep 'em?" Two-Bit said in a high pitched voice.

Dally flipped him the bird and sat at a kitchen chair, propping his feet up on the table.

"Hey, feet down," I said. "This ain't a pig pen."

Dally rolled his eyes and placed both feet firmly on the floor. Pony stood awkwardly at the door, rubbing his inner arm, where a nasty red rash had popped up.

"You okay, Pone?" I asked. "You need a doctor?"

"No," Ponyboy said. "I don't wanna go back to the hospital."

He was pretty frazzled after his last visit, after Johnny and he saved those kids from the burning church. Johnny was okay, though it had been touch and go for a while, almost tearing up the gang. Dally did nothing but visit Johnny at the hospital, and Ponyboy had taken to locking himself in his room or the bathroom. It turned out Johnny hadn't broken his back; he just slipped a disk, so the operation was simple and straight forward.

Anyway, Soda and Steve walked into the kitchen, making the small room feel cramped and overcrowded. Ponyboy made a strange noise in the back of his throat and back peddled out f the room, furiously scratching his arm.

"And you don't call that weird?" Two-Bit mumbled.

"Hey," Soda said, standing up straighter. "Leave the kid alone, he's been through a lot."

"So's Johnny," Dally said, "but you don't see him squeakin' and runnin' away from us."

"Just leave the kid alone, Dally," Johnny said, blushing to the roots of his hair. "He's different, he ain't had a tough life."

Dally scowled but stayed silent, glaring down at his hands.

"And at that awkward silence, Steve and I are going to go to my room," Soda said, clasping his hands together. "If Ponyboy hasn't locked the door, that is."

So they left, leaving me and Two-Bit with the cleaning up and Dally and Johnny staring awkwardly at each other.

"Jesus," Two-Bit said under his breath to me. "And I thought we were obvious."

I covered my mouth with my hand as I snorted with laughter, watching Johnny "subtly" take Dally's hand under the table. I shook with laughs as Dally blushed, but kept his hand where it was.

"Get a room," I said, too loud.

Johnny shot up out of his chair like it had been electrified, and stalked into the living room. I didn't mean to cause a commotion, but I sure as hell got one. Dally glared at me from across the room and shook his head. I shrugged and walked to the laundry room. I had pants to put away.

When I opened the door, I stopped solid, and stared as Steve slipped his hands down Soda's pants. Soda panted and smiled at Steve, then totally flipped out as he saw me. Steve was shoved away and Soda got off the dryer, blush in his cheeks and bulge in his jeans.

"Don't let me stop you," I said, getting my pants out of the dryer. "Carry on."

They both stood there in silence as I walked away and into my room. I guess Pony had locked himself in his room again. Huh.

After putting away my jeans, I walked back to the kitchen, through the living room. I came upon almost the same scene in the living room as I did in the laundry room, but this time it was Dally with his hands up Johnny's shirt. I frowned and walked into the kitchen, where Two-Bit had just wiped up the last of the spilt milk.

"Why is it that everyone we know is turnin' all flitty?" I asked.

He shrugged. "So I guess it's not just us and them to eating each other in the livin' room?"

"No, Soda and Steve in the laundry, too."

"Huh."

I nodded as he walked over and placed a kiss on my cheek, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"C'mon," I said, mimicking him from this morning. "It's time to get up, big boy."