#keith mathews

what chapstick flavor they adore ⟡➺── .✦

starring: Darrel ‘Darry’ Curtis. Sodapop Curtis. Ponyboy Curtis. Johnny Cade. Dallas ‘Dally’ Winston. Keith ‘Two-Bit’ Matthews. Steve Randle. masterlist

✦ Darrel ‘Darry’ Curtis—Mint𓍼

In my mind, Darry is a very simple man. He doesn’t mind the fruity, sweet tasting chapsticks, not by any means, but if he had a specific flavor he loved, it would be mint. I think it is mainly because it’s just a fresh, clean, and normal flavor, no one can really complain.

⟡➺── “M’off to work,” He mumbled, still tired from getting home late and waking up only a few hours later. He snuck up behind you, hand on your waist as he leaned in for a kiss. When he pulled away, his lips felt cool and a minty-sweet flavor touched his tastebuds.

“That’s new.” He was used to the taste of coffee and toast in the morning, so sweet mint was a new mix. “I like it.” He turned you around to give you a proper kiss this time—one hand still on your waist, the other cupping the side of your face. Then he was off to work, roofing houses with the taste of mint on his lips.

✦ Sodapop Curtis—Grape𓍼

Now, I picked this for a silly reason: his breakfast choice. We all know Soda loves his eggs and jelly, so what’s stopping him from loving the taste of jelly outside of his breakfast? He loves the tangy, sweetness of grape and he especially loves the flavor while kissing you.

⟡➺── “Gimme a kiss,” He gently grabbed your wrist, stopping you from leaving. Soda was working a double that day down at the DX, and leaving the house real early with a mind like his meant something got left behind. And that was his lunch you made for him.

A sandwich, some precut fruit, and a thing of Pepsi with a sweet little note left in the fridge. And you being in his life meant getting a call from your boyfriend, asking if you could drop it off. Who would you be saying no? Of course you would. Now you had to go, but he wouldn’t let you leave without a kiss.

“C’mon,” He said, a smirk on his lips. He knew you loved giving him attention. When he pecked your lips, you thought he’d be done. “Is that grape?” He asked before kissing you again. Slower, more deliberate this time. “Wait,” He kissed you again. He was serious about getting this right. “No that’s grape, definitely grape!”

His smile was goofy and dumb, but you couldn’t help but smile back. “Go eat your lunch before the meat spoils in this heat.” You kissed his cheek before turning around and leaving to go home.

✦ Ponyboy Curtis—Caramel𓍼

Pepsi flavor chapstick probably didn’t exist back in the 60s. But caramel probably did. And what do they put in Pepsi? Caramel flavoring. Everyone who read the book knows Pony is a fein for Pepsi, so why not incorporate it into his love for chapstick too?

⟡➺── “Why does it taste familiar?” Pony pulled away, looking at you. You kissed him, then he kissed you, then you kissed him, and you both fell into a war of giving each other the most amount of pecks possible. But now, Pony pulled back to ask a question.

“What do you mean?”

“Tastes…familiar. Not identical, but like familiar.” He says, sitting back to get a better look at you. His fingers gently drummed on the back of his couch.

“My chapstick is caramel…” You admitted, trying to think on why it would taste familiar to him.

“It ain’t bad, I like it.” He admits, leaning into the kiss once more. “Taste like soda. Like Pepsi.” He mumbles against your lips.

✦ Johnny Cade—Tangerine/Orange𓍼

Here’s the truth, I have no clue why I picked this for Johnny. I just did. And I almost want to imagine him being the one to own it, not you. I think that Johnny has a problem with picking at his lips, the same way he touches his nose when he is nervous. So when you started dated, he probably bought—more so stole—some chapstick without looking at the fact there was a flavor to it.

⟡➺── “What?” He pulled back, a smile on his face. You two had went down to the lot, watching the sunset after grabbing a few cokes down at some diner. Johnny had put on some chapstick beforehand, hoping it would help with his slightly picked at lips.

“You taste like an orange.” You teased, going to peck his lips again. Without fail, a giggle slipped past your lips once more.

“Yeah, Yeah, I know. I snagged the thing without realizing the flavor.” He says as he watched you giggle and pull away.

“Its nothing bad…” You bit your bottom lip as you began to think about how to put this. “Just, didn’t expect you to taste like oranges. I guess I expected cigarettes or something.” You admitted as you looked down at the grass, picking at it. “I like it.”

Those were your final words as you leaned back in, placing your lips against his.

✦ Dallas ‘Dally’ Winston—Strawberry𓍼

I think I’m so funny choosing Strawberry. I’ve decided to make a silly little idea that Dally is allergic or just isn’t a fan of the flavor cherry (absolutely targeted—but I love my beautiful gf Cherry). Dally likes the sweet flavor as well as it being basic and easily found.

⟡➺── “Dal-” You started, feeling him practically push you down in the backseat of Buck’s car that he borrowed. His lips messily brushed against yours, slotting himself in between your legs as your back met the leather of the seats. His one hand was beside your head, the other on your waist.

“Taste sweet,” he muttered into your lips, gently nipping at them before pulling back. “You put something in your lipgloss or somethin’?” He asks and he wipes at his lips. He could feel the thin layer of your chapstick that transferred onto his lips.

“Strawberry. My chapstick.” You get out in a few breaths, sitting up a bit.

“I like it.” He said, thumb brushing your bottom lip before leaning in and pressing his lips to yours all over again.

✦ Keith ‘Two-Bit’ Matthews—Vanilla/frosting𓍼

Two-Bit loves the taste of anything sweet or anything that has to do with beer/alcohol. And I really doubt they had beer flavored chapstick and the fact that anyone would choose that. So, vanilla it is! I think it would start as a joke, you picking a flavor and making him guess. And his favorite was the vanilla.

⟡➺── “Okay, guess this one.” You removed your hand from his eyes—to stop him from cheating—and sat up straight. His lips pressed to yours before pulling back.

“That’s sweet….” He says, looking away to think. “Lemme try again,” He leaned in again pressing his lips to yours. And again, again, and again. You nearly got lost in it yourself before bringing yourself back.

“Keith,” You gently pushed him back, trying to bite back a smile. “Guess, what’s the flavor?”

“I don’t care what it is right now, it tastes so good.” He says, leaning back in and pressing his lips back to yours, using his whole body to get you underneath him.

✦ Steve Randle—CHOCOLATE!!!!𓍼

Stevie is a sucker for chocolate. Literally walked into the Curtis house, wrestled with Pony, and then went straight to the fridge for the chocolate cake the boys had. So, when he kissed you the one day and your lips tasted like cake, he fell in love all over again.

⟡➺── “Since when did coke taste like chocolate?” He pulled the bottle away from his lips, looking at the ingredients for the drink.

“It doesn’t?” You shook you head, finally tearing your eyes away from the screen. Some movie on the screen, something that clearly had your attention.

“Taste like it.” He took another sip of it, the same area as before. “Still! Tastes like chocolate!”

Then you finally realized when you saw the small stain. “Steve, honey,” You tried to hide your smile as you took the bottle. “It’s my chapstick.”

“What?” He was genuinely confused. Sure, Steve knew that flavored chapstick existed, but he never used it personally.

“My chapstick, it’s chocolate. Probably why it tastes like that.” You tell him, wiping away the chapstick mark. And as soon as you looked up, he was pressing his lips to yours. His lips were soft, warm, and a bit dry from him constantly licking at them due to the Oklahoma heat.

The movie was completely forgotten about as his lips danced with yours, the coke still in your hands. “Taste like chocolate cake.” He mumbled as his large, warm hand cupped the back of your neck. You smiled into the kiss, kissing him back.

summary: when an old date comes looking for you, it causes ruckus in a house full of boys, whether that's because they're your family or because they're friends who like you more than just that, who knows? wc: 1.4k

The door slams shut almost as soon as it opens, leaving the boy standing on its other side stunned.

“Who’s at the door?” Darry calls out, and you decide that no answer is better than a poor excuse that would have the gang onto you in seconds. The door creeks as you open it once more, inhaling deeply before tiptoeing outside to greet the man holding a bouquet of flowers for you.

“Hey.” You breathe out, shaking your head when he extends the bouquet towards you. “What’s going on?”

He frowns, blinking quickly as he says “I had a really good time with you on our date the other day, and I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend.”

“Oh. Look, that’s really sweet of you Matt, but you shouldn’t have come here. If my brothers see you, all hell will break loose.” You explain, pointedly ignoring answering his question. “Oh, alright,” He says, taking a couple steps back and dropping the bouquet by his side. “Well, what about being my girlfriend?”

You internally cuss yourself out when you pause to think of an answer for him, but unfortunately for you, you’re interrupted by an even bigger inconvenience. The door jerks open behind you, and it’s only when you see Matt cower in front of you, shrinking in on himself, that you know exactly who is looming behind you. “What’s goin’ on here?” Darry asks, arms crossed over his chest as he frowns. Matt immediately hides the bouquet behind his back, and you sigh, knowing that an interrogation is going to follow you around for the next hour.

“Nothing, Darry, he was just leaving.” You tell him, turning to face your older brother and trying to go inside. Darry’s hand slams against the doorway, blocking your entrance, and your eyes go wide in surprise.

“Darry,” You begin, voice quiet so Matt doesn’t hear. “Please trust me on this.” You see Darry’s posture soften, nodding to yourself when he moves aside so you can make your way inside. He stands there for a moment longer to glare at the terrified boy before following you inside and slamming the door behind him.

“You got a boyfriend I should know about?” Any softness Darry had shown for you just moments ago disappears as he’s hit with the thought of his younger sister going out with a boy.

“No, I don’t. You actually just saved him from a rejection.”

“A rejection!?” Dally’s voice barges in, and there’s a scuffle in the living room as the boys all rush to get a look at Matt through the window. “You went out with that kid?” Two-bit asks, and you put your hands on your hips as you reply “He’s not a kid, he’s my age.”

“So a kid.” Dally shoots again, despite only being months older than you. You hum disapprovingly, glancing around the room to see if anyone has more comments to make. Luckily, no one looks like they have anything to say, Steve and Sodapop too busy playing a game of cards to care about any more of your rendezvous than they already know about. Two-Bit, however, despite having his lips tightly pressed together, is cradling his beer with a tighter hold than usual, eyes trained directly in front of him in an attempt not to look at you. You shift your weight from one foot to another, biting the inside of your cheek.

For months, there’s been a weird, unspoken thing between the two of you. It started not long after Sodapop and Steve dropped out, leaving you and Two-Bit to be the last of your group in school. You stuck together like two pieces of tape that weren’t supposed to come in contact, but now that you’ve graduated, you don’t get as much time alone. So he makes the most of it. He always makes the most of the brief moments you’re alone together, cracking a joke that he knows will make you laugh and touching you in a way that just about crosses the line from friendly. You do it too, asking him for a sip of his beer that you hate so much just to fluster him, or asking his advice on situations you’d usually go to Sodapop for.

And yet, nothing has happened.

He was the reason you decided to take up Matt’s offer of a date, but he only teased you at the news, leaning on your doorway while watching you put on a nice dress for someone you didn’t care about. He didn’t need to know that last bit though.

You clear your throat uncomfortably, mumbling quietly “I think it’s my turn to do the dishes.” Sodapop glances up from his game of cards, hoping you don’t check the chore chart on the fridge as you walk into the kitchen. Lathering the sponge with dish soap, you swallow up all of your feelings. Only a week ago, you had been so sure that Two-Bit liked you, and even worse than that, you had been convinced that he would tell you how he felt about you. But now here you were, boyfriendless and washing dishes when you should be out partying with your friends and kissing boys in dark bars.

“Hey, you got a tweezer I can use?” You jump up at the close voice, dropping a plate into the sink and flinching hard at the noise it makes while silently hoping the glass stays intact. “I think I got a splinter in my finger.” You spin around to stare back at Keith, hands still soapy as you hold them out over the floor with your palms up to stop the soap from dripping to the floor. You nod twice, muttering “Yeah, hold on.”

It’s deafeningly quiet as you wash your hands off, and you pat them dry on your jeans as you lead Two-Bit down the hallway. Two-Bit silently follows you into your room, and whilst Darry usually lets the boys into your room, his eyes catch on the two of you, and he considers telling Keith to get out of there. Instead, Darry watches as Keith hesitantly sits on the edge of your bed, adam’s apple bobbing in this throat when he swallows thickly. You approach the boy with a pair of silver tweezers in your hand, and Keith lifts his hand up for you, his breath hitching when you hold it in yours and move it around to spot the little brown splinter stuck between his skin.

“I’m sorry.”

You glance up at Two-Bit’s words, blinking in surprise. “About your date.” He clarifies, then adds “About not telling you how I feel before you get involved with someone.” You inhale deeply, returning your gaze to his hand, squinting your eyes to find his splinter.

“I don’t have a splinter.” Two-Bit admits, and you freeze on the spot before straightening up. “And that’s why you’re the only one of those boys who graduated.” You joke, settling the tweezers on your bedside table. “Yeah? That the only reason?” Two-Bit questions with a smirk, and you cross your arms over your chest as a smile breaks out onto your face. Two-Bit leans forward, hooking his hands around the back of your legs and gently tugging you forward. Your smile turns shy at his touch, and though he still smiles up at you, his expression softens.

“I’m a smart guy, you know?” He says, and you nod, mumbling “I know.”

“Yeah, and not just in the way that let me graduate high school.” He says, and you feel your cheeks go hot. “I know you like me, but I’ve been too stupid to do something about it.”

“Is this you trying to do something about it Keith?” You ask quietly, staring into the boy’s eyes. He doesn’t answer, only brings a hand up to the back of your neck to lower your face down onto his. He straightens up to meet your lips, and you instantly melt against each other when your lips make contact. You bring a knee down onto your mattress, lowering your body so you can kiss Two-Bit better, and he parts his lips slightly, kissing you with as much passion as he can muster.

And just as you pull away from him, lips still touching but with matching smiles, it gets ruined.

“Keith, you better get your filthy hands off my sister!”

two would accidentally eat those poppers you throw at the ground

pony would hide with johnny under the snack table whenever the fireworks were going off to comfort him

steve would try to knock the firework box over and aim it at someone’s house but darry catches him every time

soda makes sure they buy the colored sparklers and draws dicks in the air with them