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your-unfriendlyghost · 6 days ago

Note

this is such an open request BUT you should do anything to do w steviepop we need more of them

Finally I’m writing Ponyboy discovering Steviepop lol. It’s been discussed before on here, by myself and plenty of others, but I don’t think anyone’s written a full thing for it yet, so here we are lol!

Will cross post to Ao3 soon as this is up lol

Ponyboy freezes at the porch, hand hovering over the doorknob.

Through the window, Soda’s on the couch kissing a girl.

That wouldn’t be so strange on its own- sure, Soda usually has the tact to keep all the girl-kissing to his bedroom, but it’s not unheard of- except for one detail.

He’s kissing Evie.

Steve Randle’s girl.

Soda’s best friend’s girl.

“Holy shit,” Curly Shepard whispers, eyes wide as dinner plates.

Pony blinks, making sure he’s seein’ this right.

Evie’s on top of Soda, and Pony can’t think of anyone else who has long curly chestnut-colored hair like that, so he knows it’s gotta be Evie. Beyond that, her arm, which is wrapped around Soda’s neck, is covered in freckles. No other brown-skinned girl Pony’s met has freckles like Evie.

“No way he’s kissin’ Randle’s gal!” Curly exclaims, nudging Ponyboy as if he has somehow missed it. “What’d Randle do to piss him off, ya think?”

“She’s probably forcin’ him?!” Ponyboy tries to rationalize.

“Oh he sure don’t look forced!”

Sure enough, Soda’s kissing back just as hard. His hands are on Evie’s waist under her blouse, and he’s got a look on his face that Ponyboy’s never wanted to see on his brother.

“But- but Steve…” Pony stutters.

How could Soda do this?! How could he sit there necking his best buddy’s girl?!

“They must’ve broken up, right?!” Ponyboy offers, running a sweaty hand through his hair.

“No way…I saw her with Randle just earlier today, holdin’ hands at the DX,” Curly insists.

Pony swallows. “Shit…oh shit.”

Ponyboy swings the door of the DX store open, bells jingling.

“What’re you doin’ here?” Steve asks, his dark eyes narrowed. He’s chewing bubblegum, and leaning on the counter by the register. “Soda ain’t ‘round, and babies don’t get no discount.”

Ponyboy bites back a scowl. Maybe Steve deserves to have his girl two-time him with Soda, he thinks for a second.

“I know,” Ponyboy says, lowering his voice. “I ain’t lookin’ for Soda. I’m lookin’ for you.”

Steve wrinkles his nose. “...Why?”

Ponyboy looks around, confirming that the place is empty of listening eyes. “D’ya have a break comin’ up? It’s…sorta serious,” he murmurs.

Steve frowns, eyebrows raising. “Serious?” he repeats, voice losing its hard edge. “Are you in trouble?” he says, eyes flicking to the door. Quieter, he says “You ain’t in another…murder wrap, are ya?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s about…” Ponyboy swallows, stomach turning. How can he betray Soda like this, Soda who he loves, Soda who gets him in a way no one else does?!

But he’s gotta. It isn’t fair to Steve.

Ponyboy sighs. “...It’s about uh…Soda.”

Bemused, Steve wrings his hands. “Shoot, Pony, I ain’t got a break comin’ up, just closin’ time in half an hour. What’s up with Soda?”

Ponyboy tries to answer, but his mouth is dry.

“He ain’t in…trouble, is he? Is he okay?” Steve says, brows drawing together. The waver in his voice does a lousy job of hiding his concern. God, it kills Ponyboy, hearing Steve so worried about Soda, about his best friend- and Ponyboy’s never much liked the guy, but Steve clearly cares so much about Soda. He wonders for the thousandth time today how the hell Soda could do this to Steve?

Soda, who held Steve at night when his old man kicked him out- Ponyboy wasn’t supposed to see that, but he’d needed water, and he’d seen the two of them on the couch, Steve’s head on Soda’s chest, curled up close and crying. Soda had been whispering things that Ponyboy couldn’t make out and stroking Steve’s hair, trying to sooth him. When he’d caught sight of Pony, he’d tilted his head back at the hall authoritatively, and Pony had ran back to his room as fast as he could…

God, Pony can’t imagine that. How can you care about someone enough to hold him, hug him, cry with him and care for him, but also fall for his girl?!

“Yeah, yeah, Randle, Soda’s okay,” Ponyboy says, feeling like the worst person in the world. “Everyone is okay, physically. But there’s a problem you should know about…” he trails off. What if Steve can’t forgive Soda? What if Soda loses his best friend because of Ponyboy?!

“Well spit it out, Racehorse,” Steve says sarcastically.

“Look I don’t know how to say this, and I don’t really know what’s happening, and I coulda seen wrong- But Steve, yesterday I saw…I saw Soda and Evie neckin’ on the couch.” Ponyboy says, closing his eyes tight. He doesn’t wanna see the look that’ll be on Steve’s face. He can’t.

“Oh…yeah…” Steve says finally. And he doesn’t sound distraught, just…unsure…? Ponyboy opens his eyes to get a better look at him.

Steve doesn’t look surprised. His eyes are squinted like he’s trying to pick words to say, and he’s still smacking on his pink bubblegum. It’s like Ponyboy told him that the highschool isn’t doing wrestling this year or something- mildly concerning, but ultimately not connected at all to Steve personally.

“That’s…your Evie, I mean,” Ponyboy clarifies, waiting for some reaction.

Steve nods. “Yeah, Einstein, what other Evies do we know?” he says, without any real heat. “Uh…I ‘ppreciate your tellin’ me, ‘n all,” he says, fiddling with a pen behind the counter. “I guess that musta been hard for ya, so.”

Ponyboy frowns. Yeah, it was, but that’s…not the takeaway he expected at all.

“Ain’t you gonna…say somethin’?” Pony says, in a small voice.

Steve takes a deep breath, glancing at the back office. “Uhm…yeah…somethin’. Right.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Look, kid, I uh…I kinda know…about that,” he says, speaking haltingly.

Ponyboy blinks incredulously. Steve Randle once yelled at him for breathing too loud, and yet he’s this calm about his girlfriend cheating on him?!

“...What?” Ponyboy says.

Steve sucks his teeth. “Yeah…no, we have um…well. You know, Evie’s always dug your brother, and with Sandy outta the picture…uh…shoot. No, I mean…er…” he stammers, nervous in a way Pony has never seen him be before. “I ain’t tellin’ this well,” he grumbles, scrubbing a hand down his face. He sighs. “Look, Ponyboy, you can’t be tellin’ anyone ‘bout this, okay? Because it’s sorta a secret…” he trails off.

“What is it?!”

Steve looks at the office again, making sure the manager can’t hear him. “Okay kid, you wanna know the score?” he says, voice dropping to a whisper. He leans closer. “I’ll tell ya the score: Your brother, Evie, and me have a bit of an…arrangement…with each other,” he explains, waving his hand back and forth. “We both dig Evie, ‘n she digs us, so…”

“You share her?!” Pony whisper-shouts.

Steve cringes. “I mean- I guess that’s a way of puttin’ it,” he says reluctantly. “But it ain’t quite…like that…” he frowns, righting himself. “Look, I dunno what Soda wants his kid brother to know, okay? An’ frankly, I dunno how much I think you gotta know. So…ask him about it, yeah?”

“But you’re…okay with this?!”

“Yeah,” Steve says, eyes half-lidded. He smiles dopily. “I’m real okay with it,” he murmurs.

Ponyboy leans back, getting mental images that he doesn’t like. He’s probably nuts, but for a second, he wonders- do Steve and Soda share…each other, too?!

He shoves the thought outta his head fast, because Soda can’t be a queer. Ponyboy would know if his brother was queer…wouldn’t he? And Steve can’t be either- he’s so tough, so…so…indelicate. …Right?

But then again…Ponyboy never thought Steve would be okay with sharing his girlfriend, either…so maybe he doesn’t know anything at all.

He leaves the DX feeling dazed, with one thought on his mind- What the hell just happened?!

“Hey Pepsi-Cola, get this- your kid brother’s onto us,” Steve says, walking into Evie’s room. He trades his work shirt for one of the sweatshirts he’s left on the floor of her closet.

Soda and Evie both look at him, Soda looking nervous and Evie amused. “What?”

“You heard me,” Steve says, sprawling out across their thighs so his head’s in Soda’s lap and his shoulders and torso are on Evie’s. “He stopped by today, told me he’d seen yous twos- an’ I quote,” he smirks, “Neckin’ on the couch.”

Soda flushes, cursing under his breath. “The lil’ jerk saw that?!” he says, but his voice is drenched in that sickening affection it always is when talking about his little brother.

“Maybe he heard it. You’re pretty loud,” Evie says, wiggling her sharp eyebrows.

“Aw, shuddup,” Soda says, trying and failing to stifle a smile.

“No, no, she’s right,” Steve grins pointedly. Soda sticks out his tongue and rests his hand on Steve’s face.

“But seriously,” Soda says, paleing, “Ponyboy saw us?”

“Yeah. Poor kid was freakin’ out, too,” Steve says, shaking his head. “He felt real bad about tellin’ me, you could tell he didn’t wanna expose ya, but he said he thought I oughta know.”

“And what’d you tell him?” Evie asks, poking his side.

Steve chews his lip. “Well, to tell ya the truth, I didn’t rightly know what to say. Didn’t think you wanted him to know about uh…our whole deal, an’ all, Soda.”

“But what’d ya tell him?” Evie prods, squeezing his hand.

Steve shrugs, or at least as much as he can lying down. “I told him that the three of us have…an arrangement, ‘cos me an’ you,” he nods at Soda, “both like you,” he says, squeezing Evie’s hand back. “The kid couldn’t get his head ‘round the fact that I’m okay with it,” he adds, chuckling.

“Well, to be fair, you get pretty jealous sometimes, buddy,” Soda teases, ruffling his hair.

“Only of other folks,” Steve defends. Yeah, he’d be real jealous seein’ Soda or Evie flirting with a guy or girl who isn’t him. But when it’s with each other, it just feels…right, or something. Like things are exactly how they should be, and everything is lovely, even on the east side. “Anyhow,” Steve says, “I told him he oughta ask you about it, because I wasn’t sure how much ya wanted me to say.”

Soda hums. “Well gee, Steve, that’s tough. I dunno how much you wanna say. ‘Cos he finds out I’m…queer, then he finds out you ain’t so solid neither.”

Steve swallows. Glory, he knows that. He knows it well.

The thing is, he’s not queer, really. Not exactly. Not like those flits at the bars in New York or San Francisco. Not like those men who dressed like women. He’s not- he’s not like them. He doesn’t care about the looks of other guys, he doesn’t give a damn about abs or muscles if they ain’t his own.

It’s just…Soda.

God, he just. He can’t help loving Soda. He can’t. He tried not to, Lord knows he tried not to, but he does. He loves how Soda looks, how Soda talks, how Soda can make him melt with just a smile. He loves how Soda’s grin’s a little crooked and how his dimples are deeper on one side than the other. Ever since he was a kid, all he’s ever wanted is to run away with Soda, get outta Tulsa, and drive ‘round together forever.

But then, he’d never cared much for girls either, not until Evie. Sure, he’d torn through those Playboy magazines with Johnny and Dally, and yeah, he’d watched those Marilyn Monroe flicks with Two-Bit, but he never got how they could really get anything outta it. He figured he just wasn’t wired to jack off normal-like.

But when Evie first touched him, it was like he’d discovered a whole new feeling. Like he’d been seeing in black and white, and she’d turned it technicolor. She’d sat on his lap in the drive-in, and suddenly he understood what Dally meant when he told him about his exploits.

Except it wasn’t fully new, either. He’d felt something like that for years around Soda.

But he didn’t dig too deep into it, because that was just…Soda.

It’s like Steve can only love Soda and Evie, and no other guy or gal in all the world. So he isn’t…that queer. Not really…not exactly. And so…yeah, he isn’t totally sure he wants Ponyboy to think of him like…that…

But he doesn’t wanna pretend he doesn’t love Soda either.

Steve sighs. “…Just tell the kid the truth, I guess.”

Soda smiles, very slightly. “Really?”

“Before I change my mind, wise guy,” Steve growls, but he doesn’t really mean it.

He loves Sodapop Curtis and Evie Peterson, and he wants the whole world to know it. But considering the context…he’ll settle for just Ponyboy.

“Hey, Pony?” Soda says in a hushed voice as he slinks into their shared bedroom. Ponyboy’s seated at his desk, drawing doodles on his homework, and he glances up.

“Hey, Sodapop,” he greets, trying to sound casual. Like he didn’t just find out Soda and Steve had been secretly dating the same girl, and like he didn’t think that was the weirdest thing he’d ever heard.

“How was your day?” Soda asks hesitantly.

“It was…okay,” Pony says, not wanting to be the one to mention the elephant in the room. “So you uh…went out tonight again, I see? How was that?”

“Oh yeah, it was nice,” Soda nods, “Real nice. Hung out at the gal’s house, talked about uh…life and stuff. Turns out she digs horses too, only she learned English style, not Western,” Soda says, shrugging off his jacket.

“So ya talked about horses. How’d…Steve like that?” Pony prompts. Soda freezes for just a fraction of a second, but then he’s flopping onto the bed like nothing’s the matter.

“He didn’t love it,” Soda says, grinning, “but just you wait, we’ll make a cowboy of him yet.”

“You an’…Evie?” Pony says finally.

“…Yes,” Soda says, propping himself up on his elbow, “me an’ Evie.” He’s still smiling, but his expression has grown just a hint guarded.

“So Steve wasn’t lyin’. Y’all do…share her,” Pony mutters.

“No, he wasn’t,” Soda nods. “But y’know…that ain’t the full…story…” he says, voice wavering. He looks at the wall. “Ponyboy, listen, the thing about it is…” he trails off, eyes getting glossy.

Pony hurls himself onto the bed next to his brother, and wraps an arm around his shoulders. “It’s okay, Sodapop, you can tell me.”

Soda smiles feebly. “Oh Pony, I don’t mean to be such a bawl baby about it, I really don’t. I dunno what’s up with me…” he says with a half-baked chuckle. “I just don’t…I don’t want ya seein’ me different, you dig?”

“You’re in love with Steve Randle, ain’t ya?” Pony blurts out. Soda goes stiff under his arm. But when he speaks, his voice is steady.

“Yeah. Pony, I…I’m…I am.” He closes his eyes, and whispers “…Don’t tell Darry.”

“Sodapop, Darry won’t be mad…he loves ya, no matter what,” Pony reassures. Even though you have terrible taste.

“Yeah, but… He’ll worry. He worries too much now. I don’t want him to worry ’bout me, too…” Soda exhales. When he turns to meet Pony’s eyes, Pony sees that Soda’s silently crying, with tears running down his cheeks.

Ponyboy hugs Soda, running his hands through his greasy blond hair. “It’s okay, Pepsi-Cola. It’s okay…” He pauses. “You know, Oscar Wilde was queer.”

Soda laugh-sobs into Pony’s shoulder. “Who the hell is that?”

“Author. Really great one. Real famous. I ain’t read his stuff, but everyone who has says it’s amazing. And he was queer.” Pony says. “So you know. It’s tuff.”

“…Thanks, Pony,” Soda says, slowing his shuddering. He pulls away and rubs his eyes. “…Thanks.”

“I won’t tell no one,” Pony promises. “I think you oughta tell Darry, but you ain’t gotta, and I sure won’t.”

“So you don’t think it’s…” Soda trails off.

“I think it’s alright, man. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with ya. Alls I’m wonderin’ is why you and Evie both want Steve-”

“Aw, shut yer trap,” Soda laughs, tackling Pony onto the bed. “Stevie’s real sweet whenever you ain’t in the room, an’ if you ain’t careful with that mouth of yours, I may just have to tell ya ‘bout all the things he does to get me blushin’-”

“GROSS!” Pony yells, all semblance of support dropped at the mental image of Steve and Soda in…that context. “Gush about that to your girlfriend, and lemme live in my blissful ignorance!”

Soda grins, hopping up off the bed. “Y’know, Darry’s sleepin’…I think I will!”

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