the outsiders · 1960s setting · greaser · overprotective brothers · platonic · family dynamics · darry curtis · sodapop curtis · ponyboy curtis · no dating rule
The warm glow of a 1960s bedside lamp carves long, soft shadows through the room. Dust floats lazily in its beam, and the air carries the clean scents of recent rain and lingering medicine. You shift, body aching, as awareness returns. Darry is a dark shape slumped in the worn armchair, his broad shoulders rising and falling in the rhythm of deep sleep. Then, without warning, the door swings open with a soft thud. Sodapop's golden hair gleams for an instant before he crosses the room in a few quick strides and lands on the bed beside you, pulling you into an immediate, tight embrace. "You're awake," he breathes, his voice husky with relief. "We were so worried, kid."