Now Playing: Indestructible – Disturbed

Warnings: mPreg, slash, present medical items and devices, bullshit medical terms mixed with factual ones.

Of Venus and Mercury

Two.

How Salmacis, with weak enfeebling streams Softens the body, and unnerves the limbs,

And what the secret cause, shall here be shown;

The cause is secret, but th' effect is known.

Metamorphoses

By Ovid.

Red and puffy eyed, Ponyboy sat in the old black Ford truck alone with a packet of tissues balled up in his hands. He stared blankly at the dusty dashboard, littered with papers, trying his best to keep his mind as blank as possible.

He didn't even bat an eye when the rusty door let out a long squeak when it was open and again when it was slammed shut, he knew it was his brother Darry and he didn't want to have to face him, not now.

Darry looked over at his little brother and just starred at him, he wanted to say something. But what? Where should he even start? There was so much going through his head. So many questions he wanted answered that the doctors didn't even know.

"W-who?" That was a good place to start, the beginning, but part of him was afraid of a answer, afraid about hearing that not only was his brother really...expecting, the doctors had hammered that into his head plenty enough. No, it was what his brother had to do to even get that way in the first place.

Don't get him wrong, he loved his brothers and always would through thick and thin, through the good and the bad. But, there was so much going on in the world right now, how could he protect him from all of that? He'd try his damndest, that was the Gods honest truth.

"I-I" Ponyboy stuttered before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "I can-can't tell you right now." He finally looked over at his brother, hesitantly looking up into blue-green eyes that normally were pieces of ice but right now, they were blank and guarded. "Ju-just let me tell...him first. Please?"

He looked away again, afraid of his brother getting mad at the request. To his surprise, Darry just sighed but didn't push it...for now.

"Soda should be home." Was all he said, starting up the truck – it roared to life on the third attempt. "He should be home and you're...we're gonna tell him." He gave his brother a look, knowing that the younger boy was going to ask not to. But that wasn't up for debate.

Ponyboy resigned and just starred at his hands as their old Ford truck made its way home, his brain was now working double time, making up for the stillness it had been forced into.

How was he going to tell him? Not just his brother but...the father of his child. This wasn't...normal. None of this was! He wasn't some girl who could just get knocked up. Why him...?

"Darry, I think I'm gonna be sick..." Was the only warning he was able to give. Darry had barely been able to slow down the truck before Ponyboy swung open the truck door and leaned out throwing up what little he still had in his stomach. Something that had been very frequent these last few weeks.

The last few weeks they had thought it was just to be a stomach bug.

"Sorry." Ponyboy mumbled, shutting the door and wiping his face with the mostly destroyed napkins. "Sorry." He repeated.

"It's fine." Darry started down the road again, "Lets get you somethin' to drink and eat, alright?" Again, he wasn't very good at comforting. He just hoped this would help...something.

Sodapop Patrick Curtis, didn't like to think of the far future much. He was a in the now kind of guy, someone who didn't really think about the things or its consequences until he was already doing them. It didn't mean he never thought of the future, he thought about getting married and having kids, especially after meeting his Sandy. Yeah, he thought about those things a lot.

But he didn't like to think about the what-ifs, would be a better explanation. He tried his best to stay positive and upbeat, it was just easier that way.

Then when Ponyboy got sick though, it scared him something awful.

He tired to make light about the sickness, like when he was mowed over nearly everyday or the mornings he was almost thrown up on. But the day his brother fainted, he couldn't laugh about it anymore.

It had taken some convincing on Darry's part to get Soda to go to work that day, promising to call if it was anything serious. Darry never called to the DX, so he tried not to worry. He kept distracted which was easy to do at his job but once he was home his mind started to race when his found that Darry and Ponyboy were still gone.

He tried to keep distracted by working on some random car piece with his best friend Steve or joking with Two-Bit. Johnny had brought up Ponyboy and Darry and Dallas Winston wasn't much of a talker when he was in his current mood, freshly blackened eye and all.

But he got through however long had passed, never in his life had he been so happy to see the old truck pull in front of the house. His brightened mood was sadly short lived, when Darry jumped out of the truck, pulling Ponyboy along with him.

His heart fell into the pit of his stomach when he caught his little brothers eyes. Puffy and red with renewed tears quickly filling them.

"Soda, inside!" Darry barked, not even looking around, "Everyone else, gotta' go." He left go of Ponyboy and stormed into the house, the brittle screen door slamming behind him.

"Glory what the hell did you do now?" Steve asked, eyeing the youngest of them with a snarl on his lips. But Soda pushed him away with a nod to the street, not wanting him to start on his brother. Now, just wasn't the time.

With looks and shoulder pats, the others left in a group all their minds wondering what was going on. But right now, they'd give the brothers time to themselves.

Ponyboy sat, curled up on their old couch with a pillow pressed tightly to his chest. The brothers were silent, with Sodapop looking from his oldest brother and then to the youngest, waiting for one of them to say something.

"C'mon, what's goin' on?" He finally asked, the silence was driving him crazy.

"Pony-" Darry gave Pony a look, but the other boy kept his head down – he just wanted to avoid him, avoid it all. To be honest, he was afraid. He was afraid of telling Sodapop the most even more then Darry.

If Soda turned his back on him, it would destroy him.

After a few passing moments, heavy with silence and sniffs Ponyboy finally spoke, not looking up his voice muffled from being pressed into his arms. He said it, too quickly and too quietly, but he'd done it and so he jumped up and ran into his room, slamming the door shut.

Soda sat there, starring at the place his brother had just occupied, he tilted his head and confused look marred his handsome features. "He...what?" He wasn't sure if he heard right, he was hoping he hadn't heard right. "He got some girl pregnant?" He didn't hear right.

Darry sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "No." Soda looked relived for a second – for just a second. "He is, Pepsi."

The middle child, didn't move for a long time, trying to process what his older brother had just said. No, it couldn't be. It wasn't possible. "Is this some kinda joke?" He hollered, "Tell me whats goin' on! I deserve to know whats wrong with him!" Then, his anger quickly dissipated when he looked into Darrys tired eyes that didn't hold a lick of funny in them.

Soda sat back down and Darry explained.

Thirty minutes later, Sodapop softly knocked on the door of the room he shared with his little brother. Without waiting for a response he pushed it open, he didn't immediately go in. He stood in the doorway and just watched his little brother who was laying on the bed with his back to the door.

He walked over to the bed and sat on it, placing a hand gently on the other boys shoulder, "I know you're awake, Pone." He said.

Ponyboy sniffed, "Yeah."

"It's goin' to be okay, honey. You'll see."

He let out a harsh laugh, "How-how can any of you say that?" He shook his head, still not turning to look at his brother. "I'm a boy and...and I'm -" he couldn't finish, saying it would make it real and he didn't want it to be real. "a freak. Now ya'll hate me" He finished with another harsh laugh that quickly turned into sobs.

Soda got up and went around the bed, after hearing that he couldn't stand not looking at the other boy in the eyes, "No, honey. There is no way we can ever hate you!"

"How! I'm a freak some kinda of creature that goes against nature." Ponyboy tired to cover his head with a pillow, but Soda quickly grabbed it and tossed it away.

"How?" Soda returned, "How does this go against anythin' when you're born the way you are?"

"Because...! Because of what I did wi-with another guy, Soda!" He covered his face, he just wanted to hide away for the rest of his life. He'd been so ashamed but at least it was a secret and now it was out, now they knew and they could hate him.

"It doesn't make you a freak." Soda said softly, gently tugging away the hands. "Baby, it makes you different but you're you -" He pushed back a strand of hair from his brothers face. "and I love you with all my heart."

Then he found his arms full with the body of his baby brother, his shirt quickly dampening with tears but he didn't care. He wrapped his arms tightly around the smaller boy, trying to comfort him in anyway he could.

He wasn't good with thinking out things and planning. But, comforting was something he was good at and he loved to do. His heart broke for his brother and he just wanted to take away all the pain he could.

Later, they would sit down and talk.

Right now, just wasn't the time for anymore words.

To be continued

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