#ahh!!!

When Darry pulled up at the house to yellin' that damn near echoed down the block, he wasn't exactly surprised, per se. The boys were always yelling. It didn't matter if they were pleased or hacked off or dangerously close to tears. They didn't have what you might call volume control.

Darry threw the truck in park 'n killed the engine, listenin' carefully. If he was gonna have to go break up a fight he wanted at least some forewarnin'. He can pick out Pony's voice as it rises shrilly. Not a good sign. But he can't quite identify the second voice, or voices?, but if he had to guess, he would play his chips on Steve. He couldn't leave those two alone for five goddamn minutes without them tryin' to kill each other. He rests his head on the steerin' wheel for a moment, bone tired. But there was never any time to just be tired. So out he gets.

He climbs out, easin' the door shut behind him. He doesn't want to give his troublemakers any heads-up. If he had to pry them off one another at least he could deal with it right away instead of havin' to watch them shoot glares 'n jabs 'n ill-placed kicks under the table.

"Tell him to knock it off!" Pony's voice has hit an all-time high note, forget whinin', this was wailin'. The other person isn't yellin' yet, but they're gettin' there. Darry locks the truck, cocks his head. If he didn't know better he would say that it was-

"Soda! I can't believe you're takin' his side over this!" Soda? Now that was not what he had expected.

"Well if you stopped actin' like a brat-" The second Darry hears the word brat leave Soda's mouth he's up the steps before he can blink. Somethin' had to be seriously wrong. Brat was only ever used by Steve and at a high price every time.

Darry's got his hand on the knob but he hasn't quite twisted it when he hears Pony's shocked little gasp and then his vicious "Dropout."

When Darry opens the front door Soda is already on top of Ponyboy. For a moment he just stands there. They don't seem to notice at all. Pony shoves his hand hard into Soda's chest 'n Soda grabs a fist full of Pony's hair 'n yanks. Pony yowls and knees him in the stomach. Soda yelps 'n pins him down to the floor, jabbin' 'n scratchin' 'n not doin' any serious damage at all. Pony wriggles fiercely, manages to worm out from beneath Soda 'n scramble to his feet. He looks like he's seriously considerin' jumpin' back down on him with Darry grabs him by the back of the neck. Soda dives for Pony again and Darry snaps him by the bicep, forcibly keepin' them apart,

"What the hell has gotten into the two of you?" Pony registers shock for a moment, blinkin' up at Darry with big, wet eyes before he refocuses on Soda.

"Ask him. He's the one that jumped on me!" Darry turns to Soda, shakes him when he doesn't say anythin', just keeps on glarin' at Pony.

"Sodapop Curtis, what is goin' on here?" Soda turns his scowl on Darry, anger blazin' in his eyes. He only falters when Darry matches his stare, rattlin' him by the arm for good measure.

"He was bein' a brat." Soda mumbles 'n Darry releases him only to cuff him up the back of his head.

"Ow!"

"Don't call your brother that." Pony smirks 'n Darry rounds on him. "'N don't let me catch you lookin' smug, lil boy, I know better than to think you didn't have a hand in this."

"Aw, lay off him Darry." Soda kicks at the carpet and Darry whips back to him with a scoff, jaw open in bewilderment.

"Lay off? Soda I just yanked you off him!"

"That's different." Soda bats his eyes at Darry like he always does, hopin' for leeway 'n knowin' he was a pushover when it came to his first kid brother. "Pony was bein' an assh-"

"What the hell-" Darry heaves an exasperated sigh 'n Pony at least has the sense to stop while he's ahead. Out of the corner of his eye he catches Soda stick his tongue out. Pony lets out an indignant wail 'n is only stopped from resumin' their scrap by Darry's hand squeezin' the back of his neck.

"Glory God. I don't know what is wrong with you two today but I'm not dealin' with it. Ponyboy Michael, you go to your room. Sodapop Patrick, you go to mine. I don't want to hear a peep from either of you."

Both boys instantly start whinin'.

"But Darryyy-"

"C'mon Dar-"

"No sirree, I'm not hearin' it. You want to act like lil' kids I'm more than happy to treat you that way. Now not another word before I stick the both of you in corners, too."

Darry releases his grip on both of them, givin' a gentle shove down the hall. The second they're out of his grasp 'n around the corner Darry can hear the sound of a slap on bare skin 'n a shove that sends one of them careenin' into the wall.

"Darry!"

"If I need to escort your asses down that hall neither of you are goin' to like it!" He clenches his fists so hard his knuckles are white. Mercifully, he hears a muttered asshole 'n the respondin' bitch 'n both doors slam without any more fightin'. Glory god, they were gonna make him grey before he was twenty-five.

He sighs again, runs a hand up the back of his neck 'n finally realizes Steve has been standin' stock still in the living room the entire time, lookin' more than a little shell-shocked.

"You alright, kid?"Steve shakes his head to clear it, lookin' just as bewildered as Darry felt.

"Yeah? Yeah. I'm good."

"Am I right to guess you were involved in all this?"

"Uh, kinda? I wasn't fightin' or nothin'." He rubs his hands sheepishly back 'n forth on his jeans in a way Darry knows he picked up from him. "But, uh, I was teasin' the Ponykid. I didn't expect it to get ballistic or nothin'."

Darry sits down heavily at the table, exhausted. "We've talked about you ribbin' on Pony before, yeah?"

Steve bites at the inside of his lip. "Yeah, sorry Darry." Darry didn't mind the two of them goin' back 'n forth a bit. Privately, he thought Soda coddled him too much. Well. Normally. But Steve 'n Pony could never stop when they should. Their digs could turn into brawls before you could blink.

"It's alright. Somehow I don't think I can blame you for Soda jumpin' on the kid." Steve cracks a smile, still lookin' lost. "Tell you what, you get over there 'n wash those dishes 'n I'll call this one even."

Steve nods, ducks into the kitchen 'n flips on the tap. Darry scrubs a hand over his face, tryin' to find his head. Darry knew exactly how to break up a fight between Steve 'n Pony, or Dallas' 'n Steve. He had it down to a science how to navigate the fall out of Two makin' the wrong jokes to the wrong people. Hell, he could settle a fight between nearly any of his kid brothers with practiced ease in five minutes flat.

But Pony 'n Soda? God, they were their own entire world.

Darry remembered, back when they were kids, nothin' was worse than a true Soda/Pony beatdown. They just got each other better. So when they managed to get each other's goat, breakin' them up like steppin' in the middle of a shoot out. They were just as liable to turn on you as they were to go after the other.

There were very few things about how their relationships had changed Darry was grateful for, but if it had made Soda 'n Pony closer so Darry didn't have to deal with any of their fighting, well, he wouldn't lick a gift horse in the mouth.

Apparently, the universe thought things had been goin' too smoothly lately.

Darry sighs again, leaves Steve scrubbin' at the pan Darry had been dreadin' washin' all day. Small favors.

He hesitates in the hall, tryin' to decide which of the two boys to talk to first. He worries his lip, figures he better sit Pony down. He's got a naggin' feelin' that this has more to do with Soda 'n he wants to get one of them dealt with. Plus, bein' alone had a repentant effect on Soda. Pony could sit in a dark room for a week 'n come out more mad than he'd gone in.

Darry swears he got that particular vice from Dallas but it's more likely it came from Darry. They were the same brand of fool-headed stubborn sometimes.

Darry knocks lightly on the door and slips inside, schoolin' his features based on Pony's attitude. He's not surprised when he finds the kid knees up in his chest, forehead down. Darry softens, concedes, if only to himself. They were more similar than he admits, 'n he knows from experience, fightin' with Soda hurts worse than just about anythin'.

"Hey, kid." Pony lifts his head up miserably, he's not quite cryin' but he looks like it wouldn't take much to work him up to it.

"He hates me, Darry." Glory God it takes everythin' in him not to roll his eyes.

"No, he does not hate you." Darry plops down on the bed, nudgin' Pony over.

"Yes, he does!"

"Ponyboy, your brother does not hate you now hush." Darry snaps and Pony whimpers. Darry takes a deep breath. Pony feels things different. You gotta be gentler. Glory, when Soda wasn't takin' a chunk out of the kid he was far better at this than Darry.

"Now you hate me too!" And he dissolves into messy tears.

"Oh, baby," Sometimes Pony couldn't see the obvious through all the things he told himself in his head. Now, that was where Darry 'n Pony split. Darry was all ruthless practicality. Soda was where they met in the middle, he supposed. The perfect balance.

Darry cups a hand behind Pony's head and pulls him to his chest. He knows the kid must be feelin' particularly vulnerable when he doesn't protest at all.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Darry asks after a long moment broken only by Pony's sniffles. Pony wipes a hand across his eyes and sniffs.

"Steve called me a baby and a tag-a-long and I said... somethin'... back 'n Soda got mad 'n told us to knock it off but we didn't 'n then he jumped on me." Darry grabs Pony gently by the shoulders, pullin' him away from his chest, 'n fixin' him with a look.

"Stop givin' me the Ponyboy special." The Ponyboy special was what they all called Pony's tendency to recall only the parts of a story that made him look good. "I know you must've said somethin' real nasty to Steve, 'n from what I heard, Soda was doin' a decent job of not yellin' until you kept pushin', kiddo."

Pony at least has the decency to look sheepish. "You heard that?"

"Yes, siree. Wanna explain to me what was goin' through that head a yours?" Pony worries at his lip, runs his hands back 'n forth over his knees in a way that gives Darry deja vu.

"Nothin', Darry. I wasn't thinkin'. I was just real mad at Steve for callin' me those things." Darry sighs, figures that's the closest he's gettin' to the truth.

"That was no reason to carry on that fight with your brother." Pony drops his chin to his chest 'n Darry uses a finger to gently lift his head til he's lookin' him in the eye. "I'm gonna need you to apologize to Soda 'n Steve when all's said 'n done, understand?"

Pony nods miserably 'n Darry presses a kiss to his hair. "Good, honey. I'm not mad, alright? 'N neither is Soda. Now, I want you to stay here until I let you out, savvy?"

Pony bobs his head 'n Darry squeezes his shoulder, standin'. "Love you, kid."

"Love you too, Dar." Darry eases the door shut and takes a steadin' breath. Soda rarely found himself in these predicaments. He'd get himself in trouble until the cows came home but always in the pursuit of a good time. When Soda fell for somethin' serious he fell hard.

Darry turns, puts his hand on the knob of his bedroom door 'n hears the sounds of Soda tryin' to muffle his own sobs. It nearly cracks his heart in two. 'N suddenly he remembers somethin' else about those fights from when they were kids: Soda fought like he smoked- never without a damn good reason.

Darry swings the door open 'n Soda jolts up, runnin' both hands across his face to wipe away the tears.

"Is Pony ok?" God, Soda was the best of them sometimes.

"Pony's fine. Just a lil' shook up." Soda crumbles to the bed, buries his head in his hands.

"Fuck. He's gonna think I hate him." Glory. Sometimes it was hard to tell where Soda ended 'n Pony began.

"He knows you don't." Darry walks to the bed side 'n sits, runnin' a hand up 'n down Soda's back.

"No, he don't." Soda whimpers 'n Darry sighs, enfoldin' him in a hug 'n pullin' him up beside him.

"Soda, if I know the two of you, you'll be right as rain by dinner. Pony'll bounce back. He's a resilient kid." Soda bites the inside of his cheek, shrugs a shoulder, looks generally unconvinced. "I want to hear about you right now, Pepsi."

"You don't gotta worry about me, Dar." Soda gets to his feet, paces once around the bed 'n back.

"Soda, don't lie to me. I'm not in the mood. It's my job to worry about you." Soda pauses by the foot 'n studies Darry with those piercin' honey headlights that can see straight through any of them. Apparently findin' Darry wasn't foolin' he sighs, drops back to the mattress.

"I'm sorry, Dar."

"I know, honey. Why don't you tell me what's buggin' you?" Soda opens his mouth 'n Darry cuts him off. "'N if you tell me nothin' I'm not gonna let you out of this room until next week." Soda shuts his mouth, pulls at a straw thread at the bottom of his DX shirt.

"Some guys from my old class dropped by the DX today." Darry lets out a low hiss of understandin'. Soda's year would be graduatin' before the end of the month.

Now, Soda was real good at actin' like he didn't care. He was a master at shruggin' off digs 'n laughin' off punches. If Soda decided the world would see him as just fine? Well, no one would ever know the difference. 'N Soda had decided everyone would see him as someone who didn't care he'd dropped out.

Just about the only person who didn't believe that routine was Darry.

"They were ribbin' about savin' up for caps 'n gowns 'n all that bullshit 'n... I dunno. 'N then I got off 'n came home 'n Pony 'n Steve were at it again 'n I just couldn't take it." Soda doesn't wait for Darry to offer, just collapses against his chest. "I just couldn't take the fightin' on top of it all. 'N I know he didn't mean it but then Pony called me a dropout 'n I-"

"Oh, Pepsi-Cola." Soda lets out a weak little sob at the nickname and Darry hauls him against his side. "I'm sorry."

Soda sits back up suddenly, scrubbin' tears away with blunt nails that leave red trails along his freckled cheeks. "It's fine! I mean I'm fine with it! I like workin' at the DX 'n I hated school because I'm too stupid for it 'n-"

"Sodapop Patrick you are not stupid. You hear me? I won't let anyone talk about you that way 'n I'm not gonna listen to it from you. You are smarter than I will ever be in all the ways it matters- you hear me? And sometimes... sometimes it's ok to not be fine."

Soda takes a big hiccupin' breath 'n looks at Darry with those big eyes that Darry would let him get away with murder for. "Ok." He sniffles 'n Darry gently wipes the last of his tears away. He's quiet for a long moment, just blinkin' at Darry. "You're allowed to not be tough all the time too."

God, Soda.

"Fine. We'll make a deal then. No more actin' like were tuff when we don't feel it, alright?" Soda smiles wetly, runs his sleeve under his nose.

"Deal."

"Good, now c'mere." Darry pulls him into a hug 'n Soda melts against him. Darry could have let him stay there forever, but Soda isn't one to be held still. He pulls back 'n runs his hands through his hair, pats at his pockets for his cigs.

"Can I go see Pony?" Darry ruffles his hair 'n smiles at him fondly.

"If Pony wants, yes." He doesn't know why he bothers. Pony would forgive Soda highway robbery 'n Soda would do anything' for that kid.

Darry drops one final kiss to Soda's temple 'n he peels out of the room 'n into Pony's, not botherin' to shut either door. Darry takes a deep breath, listens as Soda 'n Pony babble incoherent apologies over each other.

He ducks out of the room to give them more privacy 'n moves back down the hall. Steve's finished the dishes 'n is awkwardly shufflin' back 'n forth in the kitchen.

"Good job, Stevie." Darry pats him on the back 'n Steve lets out a sigh of relief. Soda 'n Pony tear back out, hootin' at some joke 'n Darry thanks his lucky stars he was right. Soda 'n Pony fall hard. But they always somehow manage to land on their feet.

"You ok, Superman?" Steve drops into a chair at the table as Darry kicks the stove on for dinner.

Darry turns 'n find Soda's sharp eyes already on him. "You know, Steve? A little tired, but I am." Soda grins, drops beside Steve 'n pulls a chair up beside him for Pony.

"Are you alright, Soda?" Darry leans back against the counter 'n watches the automatic of course! come 'n go in Soda's mouth.