Headcanon That Darrel Did This Thing Where He Would Pick Ponyboy Up And Throw Him Like Half Over His

Headcanon that Darrel did this thing where he would pick Ponyboy up and throw him like half over his shoulder then would walk to his room and toss Ponyboy onto the bed before telling him to go to sleep.

It started when Ponyboy was six and his parents told him it was bed time and he stubbornly crossed his arms and shook his head, saying that he didn’t wanna. After 20 minutes of his parents trying to get him to listen, Darrel had come in and just plucked Ponyboy into his arms and walked him to his bed before tossing him onto the bed, Ponyboy giggling the whole time. Once Ponyboy was fully tucked in, Darrel had put his hands on his hips and asked which story he wanted before going to bed. While all this was happening, Mr and Mrs Curtis sat on the couch, stunned at how easily Pony complied when his oldest brother was asking.

It kept happening, so much so that it became their little tradition. Pony would never admit it, but sometimes he’d refuse to go to bed because he wanted to bond with his brother. That especially started happening when Darrel hit high school and was suddenly at practice, or a game, or a party more often.

Like one time when Darrel was 16 and about to leave for a party. He’d kissed his mama’s cheek and told her he’d be back the next morning. As he was about to open his front door to jog over to Paul’s car, he heard his mama tell Ponyboy it was time for bed, and he’d heard the familiar groan that meant Ponyboy wouldn’t be listening. He’d chuckled, and turned around to run up and grab his little brother, laughing harder when Pony shrieked. He’d walked to his brother’s room and tossed him onto the bed like normal, this time pausing as Pony looked up at him like he wanted to ask for something. Darrel sighed before sitting on Pony’s bed and ruffling his kid brother’s hair. He expected Pony to shake him off or smack his hand away not lunge forward and hug him. He held his little brother and smiled when he felt Pony mumble “I love ya Darry” into his chest, before saying a simple “I love ya too, buddy. g’night”. Once he knew Pony was situated, he got up and flicked off the light, smiling as he watched his baby brother snore quietly. He’d said another goodbye to his mama before running to Paul’s car and recounting the story on the drive to whatever shitty party they were headed to.

The next big time was Darrel’s last night before college. It was a bittersweet time for their family, they were overflowing with pride, but they were going to miss him. When it had gotten late, Mrs. Curtis had turned towards her youngest and told him it was time to go to bed. This time, instead of contradicting her or refusing, Ponyboy had simply turned his gaze to his oldest brother, silently pleading for him to do their tradition. Seeing that look in Pony’s eyes made Darrel’s heart hurt, because Ponyboy was twelve now and constantly insisting that he was getting too old for it, but here he was, sitting on the floor, a movie playing on the tv, silently begging Darrel to be his annoying older brother. So Darrel kissed his mama’s cheek, thanked her for the dinner celebration, and told her he could take care of this. When he started towards Ponyboy, his expression shifted to be a mischievous one, before he started tickling his brother. He let him squirm for a bit before picking him up. Once they were in Pony’s room, Darrel stopped and sat down on the bed. He didn’t miss the tears that threatened to spill out of his brother’s eyes, so he pulled him in close. He felt his shoulder start to dampen, then he heard something that took his heart and stomped on it. “I’m gonna miss you Darry, don’t forget ‘bout me ‘n Soda, okay?” Darrel just rubbed his brother’s back and promised him, “I ain’t never gonna forget ‘bout you, buddy, and I’ll miss ya too, every damn day”. That night, Darrel stayed in Pony’s room. And if Soda crept in and tucked himself against his brother too, that was his business.

It stopped happening once their parents died. Suddenly, Darrel was too tired from work and taking care of the house and the gang. Suddenly, what was once playful banter became screaming matches. Suddenly, Pony’s brother was drifting away.

But then it happened again. It was a normal night with the gang, Soda and Pony and Steve were engaged in an intense card game, where in which Soda was obviously cheating but still managing to lose at the same time. Two Bit was sprawled across the couch, watching Mickey on tv. Darrel was in his chair, watching the game and laughing. When he checked the time, he realized how late it was, so he looked at Ponyboy and told him, “alright time for bed little buddy”. Pony rolled his eyes and whined about how it wasn’t that late and couldn’t he just stay up tonight. Darrel gave him a knowing glance but Pony wouldn’t budge. So Darrel got up, pulled Ponyboy up from where he was sitting and threw him over his shoulder. When he got to his brothers’ room, he plopped pony down on the bed, but was shocked when he looked at Pony, who worse a smile with tear filled eyes. Darrel immediately stopped and looked at him, worrying he’d accidentally hurt his brother again. When he asked what was wrong, Pony choked out “‘s nothin, just, it’s the first time you done that since mama and dad died” all while bringing his arm up to wipe his eyes. Darrel sucked in a short breath before hugging his brother tight to his chest and responding with a simple, “I love ya, honey, don’t you ever forget that, okay?” He felt Ponyboy nod against him before he responded with a quick, “‘course, love ya too Darry”.

Maybe they weren’t perfect, maybe they wouldn’t ever be, but they were getting better. Pony was closer to having his oldest brother back and Darrel was slowly becoming Darry again.