It was a cold night, one of the first of the year. November brought some chilly weather in Tulsa, but Johnny and Ponyboy were perfectly content with it. They enjoyed being able to wear sweatshirts, and they enjoyed being able to use the other persons body heat for warmth.
The fireplace they were currently sitting in front of did not provide enough warmth to satisfy the young greasers, so they made sure to grab a big blanket, and wrap it around themselves. Johnny's arms were around Ponyboy's waist, while his face was cuddled into the side of him.
Pony smiled lightly, and pulled Johnny closer to him, petting his hair. Johnny looked up at him and laughed. "I really love these moments with you."
Ponyboy grinned and pecked his lips. "You do?"
"Of course, you're my boyfriend; my favorite person in the world." The sixteen year old sighed happily and went back to cuddling into pony's chest.
The younger grease stared down at Johnny, his heart pounding some. It always did whenever they were this close to each other. Being near Johnny made his head spin and his heart swell. They had only been dating for a few months, but he loved Johnny. He was sure of it.
He wanted to tell him really, really bad. But his head always got in the way of what his heart wanted. Every time there was a good moment for him to tell Johnny, he would begin overthinking.
Tell him Pony, his heart said.
I'm taking things too fast, his head argued.
Tell him Pony, his heart yelled.
I'm not ready, his head shot back.
Tell him Pony! This time his heart was pleading.
I'm scared... he finally admitted.
But that wasn't a real reason to keep away his feelings from Johnny. If Johnny didn't love him back, then why should he care? Did he really want to be with someone who didn't love him?
But he did. He'd stay with Johnny no matter what the reason was, because he was in love.
Finally, he mad up his mind, and decided that he was gonna tell Johnny the special words: I love you.
He shifted slightly and tapped Johnny's shoulder. His boyfriend looked up and smiled, but it quickly turned into a frown when he saw Pony's troubled expression. "What's wrong Ponyboy?"
Pony grabbed Johnny's hands and took a deep, shaky breath. "Johnnycakes...we've been dating for a little bit now and I just thought that you should know...I...I-I..."
"Are you...breaking up with me?" Johnny sat up wide eyed. He looked down and pulled his hands away. "I should have known you were just pitying me...I-I--"
"Johnny no, I'm not breaking up with you!" Pony shouted quickly, pulling him close again. "I wanted to say that...that I love you."
Johnny gasped lightly and put a hand over his mouth, tears brimming his eyes. "Oh gosh. You do?"
"Y-yeah...I'm sorry if you don't, I just thought that you should know how I feel."
Johnny grinned and hugged his boyfriend tightly. "Oh baby, I love you too. I love you so much. I just didn't think that you were ready to say it."
Pony grinned back and kissed his cheek. "Well I am honey. I love you so, so much."
Johnny dug his face into Pony's shirt, and squeezed him tightly. "Oh I love you so much. I'm so glad I can say that now. I've wanted to for a while now, I was just scared."
"I was too," Pony admitted. "but I just couldn't hold my feelings back anymore. I love you Johnny."
The two boys kissed and then laid down with each other again, their hands attached. Eventually they fell asleep, pressed up against each other, with silent 'I love you's' on their lips.
