"Hey, Superman, I brought somebody I want you to meet."

Darry saw Steve making his way into the house, a woman at his side. "Hey, Steve. Is this Katie?"

Steve slipped his arm around Katie's waist, as he led her to where Darry, Soda, and Pony were in the living room. "Yes. This is my girlfriend. Katie, these are Soda's brothers, Darry and Ponyboy."

Katie nodded at each of them, as she sat down on the couch beside Steve, her hand immediately claiming his. "Hi. Steve's told me plenty about both of you. Especially you, Ponyboy. Not that it even holds a candle to how much he talks about Sodapop."

Soda tried to tune out the introductions, as he perched on the arm of the couch right next to where Darry was sitting.

Pony shook Katie's hand, not missing the opportunity to tease his middle brother's best friend. "I hope he's been saying nice things about me. He hasn't always."

Steve saw Pony wink at him, as he hit his younger friend with a pillow. "I could say the same thing, Kid. Katie knows you're in college too and that we all pretty much adore your ass."

"You adore my ass? I didn't think it looked that good."

"Geez, Pony, you sound just like Keith. He sure rubbed off on you over the years, didn't he?"

Darry shared a look with Soda, seeing the tension on his younger brother's face, as he also shared in his discomfort. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Katie. I don't know if you know it yet, but Steve means a lot to me too. I consider him my brother."

"Aw, Darry. First, Pony's a smartass, and now, you're making me blush. You sound a lot like Soda did when I introduced Katie to him."

"Well, we have to make sure she knows what she's getting into, don't we?"

"Yeah. Of course. Hey, Soda, want to take me in an arm-wrestling match, buddy?"

Soda, whose eyes had been focused on the carpet, looked up at his best friend. "Sure, Stevie. I can do that." He then glanced at Katie, noticing her unpleasant expression. "We used to hang out like this all the time. Like a buddies night. Of course, there use to be more of us too. But Keith is off on the road a lot now, and we had two more good friends, who passed away not long after our parents."

Katie felt Steve leave her side, seeing him go to the table, as Soda did the same, each man propping an elbow up, as they grasped hands. "Yes. Steve told me about Dallas and Johnny. Nothing has changed much since you guys were teenagers, has it?"

Steve attempted to push Soda's hand down onto the table's surface, his best friend responding in kind. "A lot has changed, but only what needed to. The rest is worth preserving, and we've fought like hell to keep it."

Soda put all his strength into the match, using the physical to distract himself from the emotional. "Yeah. We sure did. And we'll keep doin' that too because we know what we've got is gold."

"You smoke?"

Pony lit his cigarette just as Katie joined him on the back porch. "Not nearly as much as I used to. It was hard to find anyone around here who didn't smoke back then though. Except Darry. He never did."

Katie glanced inside, seeing an arm-wrestling match now taking place between Steve and Darry. "That's awful for your lungs, you know."

"Yeah. I've heard. Not like that's a huge surprise though. Inhaling smoke and nicotine couldn't possibly be healthy. But it's a lot tougher to quit than you'd think."

"Steve told me about those guys almost drowning you."

"Yeah. That whole week made me kind of famous for a while. And not in the way anyone wants to be. But I can't say nothing good came out of it. At least the gang rivalry finally fizzled out once everybody learned that life and death aren't acceptable stakes. I miss Dallas and Johnny, but I know they're better off where they are, especially Johnny."

"How does being dead make someone better off? Where do you think they are?"

"Heaven, I guess. So I know they're safe. Dallas always made things dangerous for himself, and Johnny's parents made his life a living hell. They abused him in just about every way there is, and they didn't even care about what happened to him. We were his family."

"You're religious too then? That's something Steve and I have had to agree to disagree on because I can't find any reason to believe in God."

"You're dating Steve, and you don't believe in God?"

"Is it that surprising?"

"Yeah. It kind of is. Steve's the most religious guy to ever live in our neighborhood. Faith is a big deal to him."

"I've been able to see that. Many things are."

"I don't even feel right using the word religious for him though. It has more of a negative connotation. Maybe spiritual is a better word or even devout or dedicated."

"Is Sodapop all those things too?"

"Yeah. I think Steve just needs it more, but I've seen them in Soda too."

"Why didn't you and Steve get along before?"

"Just dumb kid stuff. We both wanted Soda's time. Which was something we never really had to compete for anyway. He had plenty for both of us and for Darry too."

"And time to get a girl pregnant."

"Uh, yeah. Apparently. But, anyway, Steve and I found our own friendship after a while. We have some common bonds, and we both just grew up."

"More or less."

"Um, I'm not sure what to say to that, but Steve's a great guy." Pony looked inside the house, seeing Steve and Darry caught up in conversation, as Soda shuffled a deck of cards. "I wouldn't have always said that either, but a lot has changed about him. Enough that I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't watched it with my own eyes."

"I didn't tell her that part of the story, Superman. Come on, I wasn't about to throw somebody I love right under the damn bus."

Soda shuffled the deck of cards, silent, as he listened to the discussion between Steve and Darry.

"I appreciate it, Steve. When I think about that night, it's still the first place my mind goes."

Soda looked down at the bridge, as it formed underneath his thumbs, the cards rising, then falling together.

"Yeah. I know what you mean. But I sure wasn't going to tell her about your mistake when I haven't even told her about mine yet."

"Hey, little buddy, are you going to deal the cards?"

Soda finished the shuffle, dealing a card each to Steve and Darry. He started to give one to himself, then saw Pony come back inside, Katie right behind him. He instead handed the deck over to his big brother. "Here, Dar. Ya'll can play. I really don't feel like it anymore."

Steve reached for Soda's arm, as his best friend was getting up from the table. "Hey, you want to talk later, buddy?"

"Yeah, sure, Stevie. That would help a lot."

Katie watched the exchange, her eyes moving from Soda to Steve. "But you said you're coming over to my place when we leave here."

Steve picked up the cards he had, as Darry dealt Pony in as well. "I am. That doesn't mean I can't talk with Soda too."

Soda walked away from the table, seeing Darry's gaze focus on him just before he went out the front door and sat down on the swing. "I really do have to get this off my chest, God. I've gotta tell him what happened." He heard laughter from inside, looking through the window to see a smile lighting up Steve's face, as Pony shoved him. "But I can't believe this. I can't believe I have to be the one to chase that away."

"So did you have a good time tonight?"

Katie led Steve inside her apartment, setting her purse down on the couch, as she put her hands on his waist. "I did. But I can see we're about to have an even better time."

Steve felt Katie's fingers underneath his shirt, the touch making his skin crave more, as she began to kiss his neck.

"So what do you think? Should we get to know each other properly tonight?"

Steve gave in to the ache in his body, letting it take precedence over his head and heart, as he gently pushed Katie onto the couch, his lips kissing hers.

Katie smiled, as she looked up at Steve, able to feel his hands going beneath her clothes, his body pressing against hers. "Is this a 'yes' then?"

"It is. Let's go to your bedroom and find out what else we've got."

"I'm going to tell him, Dar. Tonight. Besides him needing to know anyway, he's noticin' too much with me."

Darry hugged Soda, amazed how, even at 23, his brother still melted right into his arms. "It'll be fine, Soda. Just tell him the truth, and let him decide how to handle it."

Pony saw the long embrace, putting his hand on Soda's back. "Hey, are you all right? What do ya'll think of Katie?"

Soda pulled away from Darry, his eyes moving to his younger brother. "Why? She say somethin' to you?"

"Nothing bad. She's just kind of weird, I think. Overly critical and blunt."

"Yeah. That explains it in a couple of words anyway, Pone. Though there is even more to it."

"So you don't like her?"

"I've tried. She's made it awful hard."

Darry caught Soda's gaze, as he squeezed his shoulders. "When you talk to Steve, you stick to facts. Some of what you've told me is subject to opinion. The rest is not, so stay factual because the minute she put her hands on you, she was clearly and objectively over the line."

"Before we do this, I need to tell you something about Sodapop."

"Why are you talking about my best friend when we're naked in your bed together?"

"Because I think he likes me."

"Likes you? Well, I hope he likes you. You're my girlfriend."

"No. I mean I think he likes me romantically."

"What? Why would you say that?"

"He touched me, Steve. At the cookout yesterday. He followed me into the house, and he was trying to hold my hand and touch my waist."

"You must've misunderstood something. Soda's an affectionate guy too, so if he touched you, there was nothing sexual to it."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"No! I'm just saying something sounds off here. Even aside from the fact that you're dating me, Soda just got out of a serious relationship. He's not interested in seeing anyone right now."

"He and Penny broke up? That's the perfect excuse for him to hit on me then."

"There's no way he was hitting on you. This is my brother we're talking about here."

"He's not actually your brother. Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving."

"But we didn't even-"

"No. And I'm not in the mood now. What did you expect? I've got to go home and talk to Soda, so I can straighten out whatever the hell is going on here."