The Outsiders Oneshots

Johnny and Pony

   My Boys

Warnings- It's supposed to be cute.

Note- It's a Kid!Johnny and Kid!Ponyboy fic. Pony is five and Johnny is seven.

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   Ponyboy and Johnny were in the lot with Soda's old bike. Pony had seen Johnny looking at it one day, so he decided to surprise his best friend by letting him ride it. Johnny's black eyes were wide and he was smiling, revealing his missing front teeth. He'd lost them a few weeks ago and he had a cute little slur with his words now. Mrs. Curtis adored it.

   "C'mon, Johnny! You can go first." Pony walked it over to the older boy. Pony was only a few inches shorter than Johnny, but he was catching up to him. Johnny insisted Pony was going to be the taller of the two. Pony didn't believe him.

   "I, uh, I don't know how to ride a bike." Johnny's tan face had little pink tints to the cheeks. Pony grinned broadly at his friend.

   "I'll teach you. Get on!" Pony helped his friend onto the bike and gripped the back of the seat. He tried to balance it. He knew Johnny was pretty clumsy. He always had bruises on his body. He had a black eye at least once a month. Pony wondered how anyone could be so clumsy, but the funny thing was he couldn't ever remember seeing Johnny fall.

   Johnny took his feet and started to pedal. The bike was wobbling a lot, but Pony made sure the bike stayed up. He could still see Johnny's smile in his head and he didn't smile often. Maybe he was shy and didn't like his missing teeth.

   The lot had a bunch of grass, but was relatively flat. Pony was walking beside Johnny, still gripping the back of his seat and a handle bar, and keeping him up. Johnny had begun to control how much the bike was wobbling. It was pretty even now. Pony remembered what Darry had done for him when he was teaching Pony to ride.

   Pony removed his hand from the handle bar but kept it on the seat. Johnny licked his bottom lip but kept pedaling.

   "Try to go faster." Pony said. Johnny nodded and pedaled faster. After a couple more feet, Pony let go of the back of the bike. Johnny pedaled for a few more feet before he noticed Pony wasn't there. Johnny fell off the bike and landed in the only place, in the lot, without grass. Ponyboy rushed forward.

   "Are you okay?" The younger boy grabbed his friend's hands and looked at them. They were scrapped a little bit and the knee of his right pant leg had torn open. His knee was bleeding, too. Pony grinned and pulled a band-aid out of his pocket. He'd crashed his first try and Darry had band-aids on him, too. Johnny wasn't crying he just watched as Pony peeled the paper of the band-aid and smoothed it along his knee.

   "Yeah. Thanks, Pony." Johnny stood up and got back on the bike. They repeated the action again. Johnny was gripping the handlebars so hard, his fingers were white. Pony patted him on the back and kept running along side of him. Johnny was getting way better with the wobbling of the bike.

   "Let go. I think I've got it." Johnny bit his bottom lip and Pony let go. Pony was waiting for him to fall off or quit pedaling. He didn't. Johnny did an entire lap around the lot. Pony was laughing and jumping up and down. He was proud of the black-eyed boy. He was glad he'd learned something new. Johnny rode up to Pony, who was standing in the middle of the lot.

   "You did it!" Pony exclaimed. He was a very energetic little guy and Johnny loved that. Johnny laughed and nodded happily. Johnny motioned to the space between both handle bars. Pony sat down in the spot and held his legs away from the wheel. Johnny began to peddle and try for another lap around the lot. The two boys laughed and giggled with each other. They crashed a couple times, but never really saw an issue.

   Before long the sun was starting to set and the boys were worn out. Johnny walked Pony to the Curtis house and they sat on the front steps. Johnny yawned and stretched his arms above his head. Pony grabbed him around his waist and hugged him tightly. Johnny was surprised at the sudden contact but held his friend close.

   "Thanks for teaching me how to ride a bike." Johnny ruffled the younger boy's hair. Pony, who was nearly asleep, mumbled out a 'you're welcome' and passed out. Johnny yawned once more before he fell asleep too.

   A few hours later Mrs. Curtis walked out onto the porch and smiled down at them. She'd been wondering where they'd been. She motioned for Mr. Curtis to come out onto the porch and help her. She picked up Johnny and he grabbed Ponyboy. They carried them to the couch and laid them down next to a sleeping Steve and Soda, who were wrapped around each other. All of the boys were so scrawny and small they could all fit on one couch. A young Kieth Mathews was asleep in the floor next to a dozing Darry.

   Mrs. Curtis moved Johnny's bangs out of his face and kissed his forehead. She knew what kind of home he had and what shitty drunks his parents were. She felt horribly guilty every time he left her house. She kept him over as much as possible. Same went for Steve, who's father was an arrogant prick. She'd steal those two boys if she could. She glanced down at Keith and was reminded of how much he was like his mother. She was a sweet women.

   "My boys." Mrs. Curtis smiled and walked into the kitchen. She was going to be fixing another big supper. She couldn't complain, though. She'd do anything for her boys.