#absolutely sobbing over darry turning away from ponyboy

[tending-the-hearth]

i'm so normal about this scene i promise i'm so so normal

[outsidersheadcanons]

Imagine each one of the curtis brothers getting injuries or something and the rest having to tend to him!! Where would they get the injury from? What are they all like when they are hurt? How do they react to being taken care of? I can imagine this somehow being funny and angsty at the same time

I love this prompt!! <3

Darry

Let's start with my bbg Darry <3 he gets himself hurt a lot from roofing :( and sometimes it's bad enough that he needs to take off a few days of work

There was one time where he lifted smth wrong and pulled a muscle in his back. It hurt so bad he practically fell off the roof, so his boss sent him home (it was kinda lucky bc it was a Friday).

For the rest of the weekend, Soda took over his chores and responsibilities (cleaning the house, grocery shopping, laundry, and so on). He and Ponyboy even made Darry breakfast in bed on Saturday (and even though the eggs had wayy too many shells in them. his heart melted)

Darry's pretty self sufficient, so even when he's sick/injured he doesn't need too much help doing anything (and everyone kinda stays away from him, bc he can get pretty grumpy sometimes lol)

Sodapop

So... Soda's injuries usually come from being reckless and showing off. One day he decided that doing backflips on the ground wasn't enough... and uhh let's say after falling flat on his arm off the roof he learned that maybe it was.

Sodapop is whiny as hell when he's sick/injured 😭 (and all he wants is attention. being in pain scares him so he was GLUED to Darry the whole time in the ER)

He loves being taken care of <3 a little too much tbh. If you let him he'll ask you to do EVERYTHING "Pony can you flip the page for me 🥺🥺"

Soda also seems like the type to want everyone and their mom to sign his cast (which is fine bc everyone wrote nice things on it! (except for Dally ofc). Pony even drew a cute picture of a horse on it to cheer him up)

Soda doesn't mind being hurt/having a cast that much because it attracts girls to him even more than before (if that's even possible). But soon the DX is full of pretty girls asking "Soda what happened to your poor arm 🥺" (he'd rather die than admit it but he loves the attention <3)

Ponyboy

When Pony gets hurt man. It's over 😭 he starts panicking and his mind immediately goes to "I'm gonna die 🤯"

ABSOLUTELY hates being hurt and will get all emo about it "I don't even remember what it's like for my (insert injured part here) not to hurt 😔"

WILL not accept any help/intervention at all. One time him and Johnny were climbing an old tree and Ponyboy fell off onto his hand and broke it (it was so swollen it turned. BLUE) and almost ran away again when Darry told him they were going to the ER.

He didn't need a cast, just a brace. But he thought the x rays were pretty cool and showed em to the whole gang (greenstick fracture, if anyone's curious).

Like Soda he's needy as hell and he WILL use his injury to his advantage. "Darry it hurts so bad ☹️ can we get some ice cream??" or he'll suddenly. be unable to do his homework despite writing w/ his left hand and having his right hand be broken 🤔

Also. he gets grumpy when he's in pain (angst goes up 150%). It's very overwhelming for him and sometimes. he'll just break down sobbing.

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

motor oil

read on ao3

Sodapop knows his place in his family. His job is to make people laugh, to hug Ponyboy when he has nightmares, to work his ass off so Darry can work a little less. He keeps the peace. He lightens the mood. That is what he is supposed to do. 

He’s not supposed to be the one with nightmares. 

Yet here he is. 

Soda is sitting up in the bed beside Ponyboy. One of his hands is pressed over his mouth to cover the sound of his rapid breathing. His cheeks are wet from tears. He wants Darry, he wants Ponyboy. He wants to quit crying and go back to sleep. 

But every time he closes his eyes, he sees Pony and Darry’s graves. He sees his brothers black and blue after a rumble. He sees them covered in blood and too pale and lying still. 

Since sleep won’t come, Soda pulls himself out of bed, moving as little as possible so he doesn’t wake Ponyboy. When he steps into the hallway, he sees a light on in the living room. Assuming it’s Steve or Johnny crashing on the couch, Soda wipes his eyes and pads over.

To his surprise, he finds Darry sitting on the couch. His big brother is hunched forward with his elbows on his knees. His hands hang limply and he looks absolutely exhausted. Darry’s been working longer hours than usual this week, he’s probably only been home for an hour or two.

Soda thinks about turning back around, but before he can, Darry looks up.

“Sodapop? Whatcha doing up?” Darry asks. It’s then that he catches sight of Soda’s arms wrapped around his stomach and his red eyes. “You alright, little buddy?”

The soft question brings about more tears to Soda’s eyes. He tries to hold them back, tired of being called a bawl baby, but he can’t. Not like he ever could, anyway. Darry hurries over to him and envelopes him into his arms. Like he’s a child all over again, Soda digs his fingers into the back of Darry’s shirt and presses his face into his brother’s shoulder as he sobs.

“I’ve gotcha,” Darry tells him, rocking him ever so slightly. “You’re okay. I’m right here.”

Darry holds him tight, pressing kisses to his head and rubbing circles between his shoulder blades. It takes a good while for Soda to stop crying and when he finally leans away from Darry, his head hurts something awful.

Darry runs a hand over Soda’s hair, “Let’s sit down.” He takes Soda’s arm and gently guides them to sit on the couch. Soda curls up against his side and leans his head back against Darry’s chest. 

Darry is silent for a long moment and then he asks, “What happened, honey?”

Soda doesn’t want to tell him. Darry doesn’t need to be worried about him too. Ponyboy is the one who needs this kind of comfort, not him. He’s not supposed to be upset like this.

Darry sees his hesitation and nudges him gently, “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“It’s stupid,” Soda murmurs.

Darry rolls his eyes, “Now you sound an awful lot like Pony. Just tell me.”

Soda swallows thickly. “I had a nightmare, a real bad one, like Pony’s. And I woke up and I couldn’t get back to sleep.”

Darry hums thoughtfully, “Why is that stupid?”

Soda shrugs with one shoulder. “Isn’t supposed to happen to me. Not supposed to be upset like this.”

Darry leans over and presses a kiss to his temple. “There ain’t nothing you’re supposed to be.”

Soda shakes his head, “I need to keep you and Pone from fighting. And I need to make sure things don’t get too serious and that you don’t work too hard-”

“You knock that off right now,” Darry says, his voice still so gentle. “The only thing you gotta be is my brother, nothing more than that. Can you get that through your skull?” Darry ruffles Soda’s hair. 

“I guess.” This late at night, Darry is very affectionate, Soda realizes as his brother presses yet another kiss to his head. He likes it a whole lot.

“What’s wrong?” 

The two of them look up to see Pony standing in the doorway. He looks so sweet with his hair flat on one side and sticking up on the other. He’s wearing one of Darry’s old sweatshirts and track sweatpants. 

“Nothing,” Soda says quickly.

Darry smiles and waves their youngest brother over. Pony takes the invitation and sits down on Soda’s other side. Soda wraps his arm around him and tugs him closer. 

Pony frowns at Soda, “You’re upset.”

Soda smiles and just like Darry did, kisses Pony’s head. “I’m okay. Just couldn’t sleep and found Darry out here.” Pony doesn’t need to know the truth, it won’t do him any good to worry about Soda. 

Pony huffs in something like annoyance and cuddles into Soda’s side deeper. Darry and Soda exchange a fond smile. “Go back to bed, baby,” Soda tells him. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Pony grumbles, causing his two brothers to laugh as he pads back into the hallway. Once he’s gone, Darry sits up and turns to Soda, “You don’t gotta lie to him, he’d understand.”

Soda sits up, getting ready to get up. “I know, but it’s bad enough that you’re gonna worry about me now, I don’t need him doin’ it too.”

Darry’s hand falls to the back of Soda’s neck and squeezes gently. “Alright. You gonna be okay tonight?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now. I’ll be able to sleep at least.” Soda kicks Darry’s ankle, “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” 

“You’re gonna sleep too, yeah?” Soda asks as he stands up. Darry chuckles but nods. 

When Soda goes back into his bedroom, Pony is waiting for him, curled up on his side. Soda apologizes softly for waking him and crawls in beside his brother. As expected, Pony moves right over to him and snuggles into his side. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Pony murmurs.

“Yeah, I’m just fine.” And with Pony’s weight against him and the warm memory of Darry’s embrace, he thinks it might just be true.

[christotokos]

Director's Commentary for mirrors please 🙏

mirrors!

this is a good pick up to the last ask. i talked about how ponyboy switches canonical importance in a big way due to mkalpha and mirrors delves into it more. so since it's a sentence set i'm gonna pluck out individual sentences to talk about.

02. Heart — It becomes normal, after Ponyboy's reappearance, that Ponyboy gravitates naturally to Dallas and vice versa, and that everyone understands that if you wanted to pick on Ponyboy, Dallas was who was going to settle the score first. 10. Subdued — It makes Dallas' subdued reaction suspicious as he bites out, "You just leave that kid alone." 17. Power — "Can you leave her alone?" Ponyboy huffs at Dallas, glaring at him in a harsh way no one else would dare level at that hood, afraid they'd be struck, "You said you'd take me to see a movie not hit on girls!" 18. Protect — Steve groans on the ground, whimpering as he's pretty sure his wrist is broken; Dallas stands about him, holding the football, not a fucking scratch on him, message clear: he wasn't ever gonna tackle Ponyboy in a game ever again.

these i think are four sentences that really emphasize how things have changed. everyone knows here that ponyboy "belongs" to dallas in a way, that the protection dallas gives ponyboy is absolutely and not to be fucked with. steve, i usually have that he and ponyboy have friction due to his jealousy that soda hangs out with ponyboy more and he takes it out on ponyboy in more subtle ways like tackling him too hard during a game or being meaner.

dallas is not with that shit in the slightest. here, dallas deliberately caught him hurting pony on purpose and because dallas is much stronegr than what people understand was able to break steve's wrist almost in immediate retaliation. he does things like that for ponyboy in small and large ways, and in turn ponyboy has a measure of power over dallas in this relationship.

johnny cowered in canon and sort of called out dallas. ponyboy outright snaps at dallas in front of everyone and basically tells him to heel like a good dog so he can watch the movie they were promised in canon. no one would ever do that, and everyone knows only ponyboy could get away with it. with dallas in full agreement. they understand this is their relationship, a protector and protected and at the same time, ponyboy isn't just allowing dallas to do what he wants. he knows dallas can sometimes be a dick and lose focus and he sorta redirects it.

29. Weakness — "Dallas isn't the one who's in charge around here, Ponyboy!" Darry snaps, looking at Ponyboy's sullen form against the door, "Did you know we couldn't even call the cops?" 30. Love — "You're just pissed I like hanging out with Dallas!" Ponyboy screams back, his eyes flashing, "He don't treat me like I'm five years old! He doesn't yell at me for just wanting to go see my friends or not getting a perfect grade!" 31. Hate — The anger that Darry feels in that moment intertwines with a sudden hatred for Dallas, for this situation, for Ponyboy's defiance and he moves, commits the worst mistake of his life when he hits Ponyboy so hard he hits the floor, Soda gasping. 32. Silence — A horrible silence spreads in the Curtis house at that moment, only broken by the sob from Ponyboy's throat.

this is gonna be something longer eventually (when? who can never be sure.gif) — i love recontextualizing this moment or fucking it up. it kills me that dallas never knows what happened and that wouldn't abide here.

more importantly, i think it does something the musical failed at, in showing that if ponyboy cleaves closer to dallas, it creates friction with darry. and in the pack dynamics of omegaverse it really changes things when ponyboy is in the throes of grief, jealousy and want with dallas. he's utterly defiant to darry and yet he doesn't mind doing what dallas says?

darry would be upset and that would come out so messily which is so, so much fun!

[eliniei]

Those Hard Days - Chapter 40

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: *shrug* 

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

Previous Chapter |  Next Chapter

Chapter 40 - Strong

"No!" Rae shrieked, her voice carrying over her friends’. 

But she knew it was too late. She heard the gunshots and saw her brother drop to his knees. 

"Dally!" She screamed until her voice gave out. She took off, shoving Two-Bit and Soda out of her way. 

And finally, finally, he turned his head towards her. He had bullet wounds dripping blood all down the front of his shirt. She saw his blue eyes fading as they met hers. The look on his face almost made her crumble. He-he wanted this.

"Rae…?" he whispered, staring at her as she approached. She watched as a tear escaped his eye and his body dropped to the ground.

Her legs gave out as soon as she reached him and she fell to the ground, scraping her knees on the pavement. She should’ve felt pain, but she didn’t. She didn’t feel anything but despair. She had been too late. 

He’d saved her countless times and she couldn’t even save him once. She was useless.

"Dally...," she started, looking down at his face, a few stray tears dropping on to his skin. "Dally, don't leave me." She’d beg. She’d do anything if he’d just- She saw him look up at her with soft eyes, a barely perceptible smile on his lips.

But then, he was gone. Shock coursed through Rae’s body.

"You...you promised me, Dally,” she whispered, lip quivering. “You said you’d always be here to help me.” The police who had just pumped him full of bullets started gathering in front of her. She didn’t care. A sudden jolt of anger shot through her veins. She hit the hard pavement with clenched fists. She felt loose rocks embed themselves in the sides of her hands. When she lifted them, blood dripped down to the ground. It ran down her arm and soaked her sleeve. "You promised!" Her voice echoed through the park. One of the boys came up from behind her and took hold of one of her hands. 

"Let me go!" she shrieked as loud as she could, she forced her hand out of his grasp. She glared up at him, her eyes, her heart, going icy. Steve stood above her. He took a step back, staring down at her with wide eyes.

“Rae,” he said, barely above a whisper. His words quivered, voice breaking. “You-your eyes…” She looked away from him and back down to her brother’s cooling body, trying to memorize his face. Steve dropped to his knees on the ground next to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he wiped away his own tears and reached out to her. “Rae?”

She smacked his hands away, but he forcefully grabbed her face and made her look at him. She exhaled a loud, angry breath through her nose and tried to pull herself out of his grasp.

"No," he said. She tried again, but his hold grew tighter. "No." 

She needed to look away. She couldn't face him now. She couldn’t face anyone now. She couldn't look anyone in the eyes or she might break. Dally would hate that. Dally would be disappointed if she broke. Dally was always telling her to be strong, right? Right? 

"Rae, please." She heard Steve begging her to look at him. Her chest was heaving, eyes burning. What should she do? If she looked at him, the strength her brother distilled in her would definitely dissolve. She wasn't supposed to. She couldn’t…

"Rae…" She felt strong arms wrap around her waist from behind, Two-Bit’s voice filtering through her thoughts. She felt him press his body against hers. "Rae, this isn’t you. Dally wouldn’t want you to be hard like him." 

Her body started shaking. She couldn’t hold it back much longer. They couldn’t just say his name. She couldn’t breathe-

"It's okay," Steve said. Finally, when she couldn’t avoid it any longer, she looked at her friend. He nodded, new tears spilling from his eyes. “It doesn’t make you weak. It’ll make you stronger.” 

At his words, Rae felt all of the fight leave her body. The hardness in her eyes faded and she felt a hole open up in her chest. Tears started flowing out as sobs wracked her entire body. Steve released her head, and she dropped into his chest. She grabbed on to his jean vest, shoving her wet face into his shirt as she cried. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her tightly against him. Two-Bit released her, but she could hear him sniffling behind her.

"Dally…," she whined, her words muffled by Steve’s mud-caked shirt. 

In the time it took her to calm down, Ponyboy had fainted and fell to the hard ground. Two-Bit came clean, crying as he confessed the youngest Curtis brother had a fever earlier in the day, but made him promise not to tell. They were all just a huge, fucking mess.

By the time the ambulances arrived, Rae was completely devoid of tears. Her body was still shaking, but she had nothing left in her. The police had laid a white sheet over Dally’s body, and Steve had pulled her to her feet, wanting to move her farther away, but she was too weak to stay upright, and he set her back down again. As Darry lifted Pony from the pavement to take him over to the medics, she heard fast footsteps coming up from behind them.

"Oh my god," Carrie’s voice said. Weakly, Rae turned her head to see her friend and Tim approaching, with wide eyes and mouths hanging open. "We-we heard screaming and gunshots. What-," Carrie started, but stopped suddenly when she saw the white sheet in the middle of the park. Tears formed in her eyes. “Oh, god.” When she found Rae amongst the boys, her lip quivered and she quickly dropped Tim’s hand to make her way over. 

“Rae…”

One of the medics approached their group and informed them that everyone needed to be checked out and give their statements before they were released. Carrie helped as Steve lifted her to her feet again. She had almost forgotten that she needed medical attention. 

A while later, Rae sat on the back bumper of the ambulance, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her hands and knees were clean, and wrapped in gauze bandages. Carrie sat next to her, shoulder-to-shoulder, in companionable silence, as they both stared out into the darkness. She dropped her head on to her friend’s shoulder, who in response, wrapped an arm around her back. They didn’t need words. There didn’t seem to be any words available, anyway.

"Let's go," Two-Bit’s voice sighed. Rae opened her eyes. Carrie’s head was resting on top of hers, now. They must have fallen asleep. She sat up straight, causing her friend to rouse, as well. “The cops have given the go-ahead for you to come home with me tonight. We’ll meet with your caseworker again tomorrow.”

Once Carrie was awake, she helped Rae to her feet and supported her as they all slowly made their way back to the Curtis house. An ambulance delivered Ponyboy, absolutely delirious, and deposited him in his own bed. It was well after midnight when the rest of them walked through the door and nearly collapsed in on each other.

When she opened her eyes again, Rae could hear the telephone ringing from down the hall. Her eyes still felt heavy and swollen. There was a dreary light filtering in through the blinds, just enough so that she could see Carrie, fast asleep, in bed with her. She slipped out of Soda’s room as someone picked up the phone. When she passed the living room, she saw Two-Bit stretched out on the couch, Tim laid out across an armchair, and Steve, covered with a thin blanket, completely passed out on the floor.

“Okay,” Darry’s soft voice said. “I’ll have them ready when you get here.” She heard him set the phone back on the hook and saw a soft light in the kitchen blossom as he opened the fridge.

“What time is it?” she asked, quietly, when she approached the open doorway. She squinted in the light, watching him take a swig out of the milk carton. He turned to her. 

“Rae?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s just about five. What are you doing up?”

“Phone woke me up. How’s Ponyboy?”

“He’s...he’ll be okay once the fever passes.” 

“Who was on the phone?”

“Mrs. Mathews. She heard from the Children’s Bureau that you were supposed to be there with her last night. She was callin’ to make sure you were here and that she would pick ya’ll up in the mornin’ to go meet with your social worker.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll be goin’ too. Gotta chat with ours about…” Darry sighed. “Everything.” She nodded, but stayed silent. “You want somethin’ to drink?” He held out the milk. Rae went up him and took the carton from his hands. She took a long drink, letting the cold liquid slide down her throat, and then set it bad into the fridge. 

“Gonna go back to bed,” she said. He nodded, and she slowly made her way back to the bedroom she was sharing with Carrie. She felt his eyes on her the whole way back. 

For a while, Rae laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling as the sun rose, the light in the room growing brighter, her brother’s face flashing in her mind. Eventually, her eyes grew heavy again and she finally found peace in the darkness of a dreamless sleep.

[johnny-fairycakes]

Your Ponyboy

Words - 566 Warnings - angst, mentions of death Pairing - ponyboy x reader Request - “Ponyboy with prompt 15” by, @ravenna323 Prompt - “Don’t die on me - Please.”

—–

You couldn’t believe it. This was all your fault. This was all your fault!

You gripped onto your hair as you sank down next to Ponyboy, who was lying uncomfortably on the Curtis’ couch. You sniffled and reached out to touch him. Your shaking hands gently brushed Ponyboy’s face, but no matter how careful you were, he still moaned in pain.

You drew in a sharp breath, causing a painful sob to sound from your throat. You took your hand away and placed it over your mouth, not wanting your cries to disturb Ponyboy. Your Ponyboy…

You were an idiot for doing it, you shouldn’t of done that, you were so careless! You repeated these words over and over in your head as you looked down on Ponyboy. His handsome face was covered in dry blood, one particular side of his head absolutely caked in it.

Ponyboy had warned you not to go to the rumble. He said that it was too dangerous, and you informed him that you could take care of yourself. You thought you could, but as it turns out, you couldn’t.

With every sob you took, your ribs ached, but you ignored it. All you could focus on was Ponyboy. He was more injured than you. He was more injured than any one else. He took a blow to head, shielding you. His eyes were swollen shut, the edges red, purple and black.

But what really scared you, what frightened you the most was the stab wound to his side. The knife hadn’t gone in far, and he wasn’t bleeding that much, but your Ponyboy had been stabbed nonetheless, and that alone was enough to make you shake and feel sick to the stomach.

As you sucked in breaths, Pony writhed around slightly, and even through the blood, you could see pain on his face. You bit your lip harshly and wondered why Darry wouldn’t just take him to the hospital. Yes, you understood that rumbles weren’t allowed, but Pony had been stabbed!

Just as you were about to confront Darry about it, Pony opened his mouth and held out a grazed hand.

“Y/N…” He breathed, wincing as he swallowed. You shifted closer, looking over him, wanting to stroke his hair, to comfort him. “You there?”

“Yes, Ponyboy.” You whispered, fresh tears falling, making your eyes sting. “I’m here. It’s okay…”

“I know,” he began, shuddering a little. “I know it’s okay. You’re, you’re safe.” His words made you sob, his words made your ribs sting, his words made your heart ache. You wanted him to tell you that’s he’s safe. You know you’re okay! Your Ponyboy should be okay too!

“You’re safe…” He repeated and his hand fell. Your breathing halted and you were almost lost for words.

“Don’t die on me-” You gasped and took hold of his arm. “Please.” He didn’t answer for a few seconds and you shook his arm.

“Not dying.” He sighed and you let out an audible gasp of relief. Tears fell again, but you were oblivious to any stinging. “Just sleeping.” You nodded, even though you knew he couldn’t see you.

Exhausted, you rest your head gently on his arm, feeling his heart beat. As long as you could hear that, he would be okay. You would be okay - Ponyboy said you would. Your Pony said you’d be okay.

And he was right.