Chapter Text
This wasn’t how Pony wanted things to go, but that’s how they went.
Cloud Gazing was one of the many overly-poetic things Pony had dreamed of doing for a while, but had been too scared to ask the gang.
Since the fire, though, sentimental stuff like that was talked about more often, so when Pony popped the question, the gang was all for it.
But there were no clouds.
The greasers sat in silence for long minutes, as Ponyboy tried to figure out how to fix this.
He couldn’t just have them all go home. He didn’t drag them all out of town, to this one specific spot, for nothing.
But now it was nothing.
…Until Two-Bit broke the silence.
“Y’know," he began, shifting in his spot on the grass, "The clouds not being here and all… it still looks like my old man.”
Dallas was first to laugh. Then he covered his mouth and tried to act like nothing happened. Steve laughed too, but was not as nice about hiding it. Two-Bit didn’t mind either way—he was laughing along with them.
Soda turned to give him a high five, struggling to keep his giggling under control. “No way, ours too!”
Two moved to return it, but covered his mouth before he stated cackling.
Darry laughed and tried to stop himself, and that set of Sodapop at last. Nobody told him, but damn his laugh was infectious. As soon as he started cackling Two-Bit gave in, and eventually everyone else.
Darry was disappointed in himself for laughing—it shouldn’t have been funny. But damn, it was. “Shut the hell up!”
“You’re laughing, too!” Pony said.
So was Ponyboy, but he hid it way better, laughing into Johnny’s jacket. Johnny didn’t try hiding it at all, but he apologized profusely through the giggles.
Well, Pony thought in the end, after he decided not to hide his laughter anymore and join in one the dark jokes that were being made, at least the day wasn’t a total loss.
They could always make the most out of their days, clouds or not.