✧. ┊ general x reader.
"thank you, mom" - darry's gf!reader is the mother figure to ponyboy / fluff.
life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it - sweetheart!curtis!reader / angst.
older sibilings club - dallas' sister!reader x darry curtis / fluff / crack.
fan favourite - you being both darry's girlfriend and pony's favourite / fluff / crack.
✧. ┊ poly! darbit x reader.
due in twenty - or your boyfriend railing your other boyfriend while you cook / smut.
Summary: Not only are you at the end of your pregnancy, but you’re also at your wit's end with Darry’s overprotective nerves.
Pairing: Darry Curtis x Reader
Warnings: Pregnancy talk
A/N: This request took much longer than I intended, but here it is
“Whatcha doing?” Ponyboy asks curiously as you look through the storage closet. “Trying to find the holiday decorations. “But it’s only November.” He points out. “And it takes two weeks to get the stupid lights untangled since nobody ever stores them properly.” You huff; you’re so deep in the closet looking past the various clothes and crap-filled boxes, you miss the sound of Darry’s truck pulling up.
“Why aren’t you helpin’ out?” Darry questions as soon as he walks into the house, looking at the guys scattered around the living and dining room. “She didn’t ask us to help.” Two-Bit answers. “And she doesn’t need our help.” Dallas adds. “Of course she does.” Darry scolds. “She is right here in earshot.” You butt in, stepping out of the closet with one of the boxes and giving your husband a look. “I don’t need their help, Darry. I’m perfectly capable of getting the decorations out.” "You’re having a baby in a week. Your doctor said you need to be on total bed rest. And I know he also said no heavy lifting.” He says, taking the box of lights out of your hands and setting it on the floor. “The neighborhood stray weighs more than that box.” You mutter with an annoyed huff.
“The doctor said you shouldn’t be doin’ much of anything, you need to get off your feet. At least sit on the couch.” Darry tries to reason. “I’m perfectly capable of walking around and doing things, Darrel. I’ll have time to rest when I spend a week in the hospital.” You say firmly. Steve snickered quietly and mumbles “someone’s in trouble.” “No one is in trouble.” Darry tells him. “She called you ‘Darrel’, you are definitely in trouble.” Two-Bit points out. “I am not.” Darry scoffs. “You will be if you try to make me get back in bed.” You warn.
“I can’t wait for this baby to get here. You’re gonna lose your mind doing everything, Darry.” Sodapop says with a laugh. “Superdope already went nuts baby proofing the entire house.” Steve mutters with a laugh. “Well, excuse me for not wanting my baby to get hurt.” Darry grumbled sarcastically. “All you did was make it impossible to open the toilet when we’re drunk!” Two-Bit jokingly shouts. “Consider it a wake-up call.” Darry counters without missing a beat. “Absolutely not.” Two-Bit scoffs.
You watch them go back and forth for a few minutes before trying to pull Darry onto the porch, an attempt that yields no results when he doesn’t move an inch until you ask him to. “No eavesdropping!” You warn them before closing the front door behind you. “I’m just tryin’ to keep you from overdoin’ it.” He tells you. “I know you have good intentions, Darry, but I’m already home all the time now, and I can’t stay in bed all day. I’m going stir-crazy! You need to let me do things and trust that I won’t get hurt-I’m not some infirm old lady who’s gonna break at any minute. I’ll be okay. We’ve still got plenty of time before anything else happens.” You explain, continuing “I know you’re nervous about this, I am too, but keeping me bedridden isn’t gonna do anyone any good. I’ll already have to stay in the hospital for a week. I’m trying to do things while I can before I’m too tired or stressed. So please, will you stop being such an overbearing, overprotective papa bear?” You plead. “Alright, darling, I’ll try to back off.” He promises. “Thanks, hon.” You smile, giving him a quick kiss.
“Little one’s doing okay, though, right?” He asks nervously. “We’re both completely fine, Darry.” You reassure him with a grin. The two of you headed back inside and, with his help, you took a seat on the floor to begin the long, frustrating process of untangling the string lights. “I’ve been thinking more about names, Dar.” You hum quietly, messing with your lights. “What do you think about Elena or Eilene for a girl?” You ask. “Elena Curtis, Eilene Curtis; I think they both have a nice ring to it.” He says with a smile. “We still don’t have a boy’s name figured out.” He points out. “Because everyone here wants the baby named after them.” “Except me.” Two-Bit says with a grin. “I don’t want any other kid being punished with the name Keith.” He grumbles. “We know, Two-Bit.” You and Darry say simultaneously. “I still think we should name a boy after you and your dad.” You add. “I don’t know, Darrel Shaynne Curtis, III sounds... intense.” He says thoughtfully. “Well, we have about a week to figure this out.”
“I still think it’s a girl.” He hums, put a hand on your bump with a grin. “Feels like a girl to me,” he jokes. “It feels like a five-pound weight sitting on my bladder.” You grumble. “Speaking of; help me up, Dar?” You ask with a small pout. “Sure, darlin’.” He beams, hopping up and gently pulling you up to your feet. “Thanks, baby.”
Tag Team: @bdffkierenwalker @princessconsuela120 @anarchistbeauty
Characters: Darry Curtis, Reader, Sodapop Curtis, Ponyboy Curtis, Mama & Papa Curtis, Dally Winston, Johnny Cade, Steve Randle, Two-Bit Matthews,
Word Count: 1206 // Rating: Teen
Summary: Baby tell me what you think about this
Tags/ Warnings: Established Relationship, Heartache, Dead Parents, Canon Character Death, Dreams, Lost Dreams, New Relationships, Wishing, Parenting, Song Fic [x]
Notes: I’m doing 12 days of Songfic’s for Halloween. Not halloween related just a challenge to write everyday [updated 9/22]
12 Days of Songfic Spooktober (Oct 19th - Oct 31st)
Runnin round in this new truck
Bank lets me borrow from month to month
I’m runnin out of credit, find a little Cash on the radio
Standing still they’re blowing past, numbers on cars goin NASCAR fast
What I wouldn’t give for a slow down, don’t ya know?
Cause where I come from, only the horses run
When the day is done, we take it easy
Darry Curtis used to hate living at home. Growing up he had been the eldest and therefore the tester child for all their parent’s rules and regulations that seemed to melt away when his younger siblings came along. He was expected to be the best in school, do the most to help out at home and still keep his job at the gas station to help keep the family afloat. He was allowed to date though he hated bringing girls back home as he had to share a room with his two younger brothers which gave him no privacy.
Though he loved his brothers and his parents he couldn’t wait to escape. He’d worked hard for four years to keep his grades up and maintain his football career to earn him a scholarship. It wasn’t an ivy league college or anything but it was still respectable. He couldn’t wait to move out. His job at the gas station provided enough income that he could give some money to his folks and have some stashed away for moving into his dorm.
Meanwhile back at Mama’s
The porch light’s on, come on in if you wanna
Supper’s on the stove and beer’s in the fridge
Red sun sinkin’ out low on the ridge
Games on the tube and Daddy smokes cigarettes
Whiskey keeps his whistle wet
Funny the things you thought you’d never miss
In a world gone crazy as this
Then it happened. His parents went out one night and never came home. They were killed in a car accident by a drunk driver sending the boys into a tailspin. Overnight Darry found himself stuck with a dilemma, leave his family and go to college which would mean the boys became wards of the state or quit his dreams and keep his family together. He would like to say it was a hard decision but it wasn’t really. He’d lost his parents and he loved his brothers too much to leave them. So with a heavy heart, he took over everything.
For the first few months, they survived on some of their parent’s savings whilst Darry ran around to see to odds and ends that he hadn’t fathomed would be a problem. Getting a lawyer to oversee the transference of the house to be legally his was more of a hassle than he had anticipated. After that, he had to search around town for a job. Though his job at the gas station was good he couldn’t get any more hours and his parent’s savings wouldn’t last forever so he was forced to leave and get a job as a roofer. Though he could bring in enough money it meant he was home less. This meant that life became work and sleep and his eye was off the ball ‘parenting’ wise. Sodapop dropped out of school and took up his old gas station job against his wishes.
He struggled. He was trying to keep Ponyboy on the straight and narrow whilst pinning down a job and corralling Sodapop into some sort of line. This was also a challenge because with Sodapop came a raft of waifs and strays who seemed to adopt their house as their own. Even with fewer people living there it was still jammed packed every day meaning that the only solace Darry got usually was in his own room, formally that of his parents. And bringing girls back was also a no-go. He didn’t want to promote a promiscuous lifestyle to the boys but he also didn’t want girls to think he was trying to make a new family.
Well I found a girl and we don’t fit in here
Talk about how hard it is to breathe here
Even with the windows down can’t catch a southern breeze here
One of these days gonna pack it up and leave here
Then along came Y/N. She was a whirlwind who came into his life without warning. She was a cousin of Dally’s in town for the summer. She was a year or two younger than him but she seemed to be the maturest of the bunch and took to him like a duck to water. Whilst the boys played games in the living room she seemed to favour hanging out in the dining area/kitchen with him. She started coming over at night. Then earlier to have dinner. Then she ended up cooking dinner for the whole troop much to Darry’s delight as he hated having to cook each night. She had dropped out of school, not having much interest in it, and had been sent to stay with her aunt who was trying to convince her to go to college. Whilst in town she got a job as a waitress and when Darry had a day off the two of them would head into town to a bar or to a movie giving them both a rest from the boys. Over the course of the summer they had come to realise how much they meant to one another and when the time was approaching for her to head home Darry knew he couldn’t let her go. Without thinking he blurted out at dinner one night how she could stay with them until she found a place in town if she didn’t want to go home.
Oh I miss yeah a little dirt on the road, I miss corn growing in a row
I miss being somebody everybody knows, there everybody knows everybody
I miss those small-town routes, walkin around in muddy boots
The sound of rain on an old tin roof
It’s time we head on back
She never left. The two fell into a comfortable relationship which turned intimate just after that Christmas and Darry felt a little more comfortable with his decision not to go into the big wide world. They still had the occasional itch. When Sodapop moved out and Ponyboy went to college Darry became wistful for the things he could have done if tragedy hadn’t struck him so young. But then he’d look at Y/N. Sitting in the cab of his truck singing to the radio or sitting on the front porch drinking sweet tea and he’d rethink it.
They were happy. Though their routines were going to work, having dinner and sleeping they didn’t mind. It was mundane but it was enough.
Cause meanwhile back at Mama’s
The for-sale signs goin up and I’m gonna
Dump this truck and the little I got
On a loan to own and a three-acre lot
Put supper on the stove and beer in the fridge
Goin’ for broke and we’re gonna be rich
Watch the sun setting on the ridge
Baby tell me what you think about this
Me and you back at Mama’s
Yeah me and you back at Mama’s
Title: Later
Fandom: The Outsiders
Word Count: 425
Characters: Darry Curtis x Reader, Two-Bit Matthews
Warnings: Jealousy, a bit of suggestiveness
Notes: Request from anon for “I am in love with big protective Darry from the outsiders, do you think you could write a thing where he gets jealous and pulls her into his lap and roughly kisses her and spends the night cuddling”
There are approximately five types of drunks: happy, sad, reckless, philosophical, and promiscuous.
Unfortunately for you, Two-Bit Matthews was the promiscuous type.
It’s unfortunate because he had been repeatedly trying to grab at you, and making various sleazy comments to you, during the entirety of Sodapop’s birthday celebration. It wasn’t your first encounter with a drunken Two-Bit, but he was far more persistent with his flirtations than normal. For the most part, you were able to tell him to piss off, or shove him away, but the last straw was when he came up behind you and grabbed two handfuls of your ass.
Darry was on him before you could even react, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and viciously whispering “You better back the hell off. This is your one and only warning.” Darry shoved Two-Bit away, and the latter’s jovial attitude had vanished.
Two-Bit silently stared at Darry with wide eyes for a few moments, as did everyone else – then Two-Bit dissolved into a fit of giggles and walked off. Darry muttered something under his breath, then pulled you into the living room with him. He sat in the recliner and pulled you into his lap, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder.
“I could have handled him,” you said stubbornly. Instead of responding, Darry cupped your face in his hands and brought your lips to his roughly.
He wasn’t normally one for public displays of affection, so you were a bit surprised – but not surprised enough that you didn’t instantly wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer. One of his large hands tangled itself in your hair, and the other fell to your hip.
By the time you broke apart for air, you were both gripping each other tightly. He rested his forehead against yours, both of you breathing heavily, and wrapped his arms around your waist once more. You pouted at him, and he smiled.
“Later,” Darry promised, his voice hardly above a whisper.
Darry was certainly a man of his word, and that night, long after everyone had either left, or passed out in the living room, you laid naked in his arms. He had one arm under his head, and the other wrapped around your shoulders as your head rested on his chest. You knew he was thoroughly exhausted – you had made sure of that. His breathing gradually slowed, and eventually, he began his quiet snoring. You smiled sleepily, pressing a kiss to his chest, before quickly falling asleep.
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Summary: With no peace at home, you and Darry decide to go camping for a night, just the two of you.
Pairing: Darry Curtis x Reader
Word Count: 1,775
Warnings: Smut, lazy smut, faintest breeding kink ever written.
Darry woke you up by kissing your neck languidly, his arm draped over your waist holding your back flush against his chest. "What're you doin'?" You asked tiredly with a yawn before tilting your head some. "Can't a guy just show his girl how much he loves her first thing in the morning?" He asked with a lazy smile. "You can, but I can feel just how much you love me pressed against my lower back," you teased, wiggling your hips some and smirking at the small groan he let out. "Can you blame me, baby? I get see your pretty face first thing in the mornin' and last thing at night, and it's sorta been a while," he started kissing your neck again, a small smirk on his face he did. "I suppose it has been a while," you said with a soft hum, moving to lay on your back instead of your side. "And we've both still got some time before we gotta get dressed for work," he pressed, nipping softly as he trailed kissed down your neck to your collarbone.
"Just get over here before we run out of time," you mumbled as you pulled him into a kiss, one of your hands already moving down to push his sweatpants off. "Yes ma'am," he chuckled quietly and lightly nibbled your bottom lip, his hand slowly finding its way beneath the waistband of your shorts. Just when his hand was almost where you needed it to be, the loud, piercing sound of the smoke alarm filled the house. Just like that, the mood passed, both of you letting out groans of frustration as you listened to the chaos downstairs as the guys tried to open windows and clear out the house. The sound of something breaking loudly let you both know Dallas probably used the hammer to silence the device, again. "Well, there goes that opportunity," he grumbled tiredly. "We need a night out," you said as you let yourself fall back into bed.
Your shared room fell quiet for a bit before he spoke, propping himself up on his elbow "how about we go camping this weekend? Just the two of us; we can get a bunch of blankets and pillows, drive to the outskirts of town and spend the night by that little lake my dad used to take us fishin' at." "Are we really going to be the married couple that has to plan for sex when we're only 20?" You asked jokingly with a smile. He shrugged with a quiet laugh and tucked some hair out of your face "well, it's either plan for it or just wait for some peace and quiet in this house." "Fair point, that sounds like a plan," you pecked his lips softly and reluctantly got out of bed so you could get ready for the day.
The rest of the week dragged on slowly, it felt like Saturday night would never arrive, but when it finally did, you were both filled with excitement. Darry had more or less thrown a bunch of pillows and blankets into the truck bed, an eager grin on his face. "We'll see y'all tomorrow, just try not to burn the damn house down while we're gone, okay?" He asked when he was done, looking at his brothers and friends sternly. "We can survive without you guys for a night, do you think we're a bunch of helpless children or somethin'?" Two-Bit said with a slight scoff. Darry smirked as he got into the truck, opening his mouth to answer before being cut off "don't answer that." He snickered to himself "I would've said 'what do you think'." "I would've said 'what do you think'," Two-Bit repeated under his breath in a mocking tone.
An hour later, shortly before the sun was done setting, Darry had parked the old pickup truck and you were both cozied up in the back. You were snuggled up to his side with his arm wrapped around your shoulders; you both silently drank your beers as you watched the sun fall below the horizon, taking the light blue, orange, and yellow tones with it and replacing them with deep purples and dark blues until all that could be seen was an endless blanket of dark blue that was almost black with millions of little specks of light scattered around at random. His hand innocently rubbed your shoulder as you gazed at the stars above before finally breaking the silence and asking: "you like astrology and all that, right doll?" You gave a small nod, glancing up at him for a second before looking back at the sky "yeah, I do, why?" You felt him shrug some "I was just rememberin' all the times you used to show Ponyboy the different constellations and everything when he was a kid, I always liked listenin' in."
Silence settled comfortably over you for a few more minutes before you smiled "you wanna hear one of the stories now?" "Yeah, I do," he said softly, his voice sounding so peaceful. "Okay, so you see the big dipper up there right?" You asked as you pointed up in the sky. You felt him nod and continued, taking his hand and moving it to point a little more to the north "now, notice how those stars up here form a 'W', well the brightest of those stars is called Perseus and right next to that is one named Andromeda. They actually have an interesting story together." "Well don't keep me waitin', baby," he planted a soft kiss on your shoulder as he looked at the stars while you began to explain. "Okay, so Andromeda was a princess and her mom went around claiming they were more beautiful than these sea goddesses which, naturally, pissed them off. They went to go tell Poseidon who gets even more pissed off and threatens the entire country with a flood and a sea monster all because of one woman's ego. Poseidon tells them the only way to make things right is if the king and queen sacrifice their daughter, Andromeda, to the monster Cetus so they chain her to a rock to be eaten," you begin to explain.
"Wow, mom and dad of the year," he mumbled, making you both laugh quietly. "Oh, it gets worse, baby," you tease before continuing. "After slaying Medusa, Perseus just happens to fly over and see the princess, and he immediately falls in love with her. He flies down and kills Cetus by either driving his sword into the creature's back or showing him the severed head of Medusa and turning it to stone. When the monster is dead, Perseus takes Andromeda back to the palace and asks to marry her. However, this angers her uncle to whom Andromeda was promised. Naturally, the two men fought, and again, Perseus won by turning him to stone. Perseus and Andromeda got married and left her parent's kingdom for Perseus' home, and they lived happily together," you finished, punctuating the last few words by pressing kisses along his jawline and finally his lips. "Hm, that sounds eerily familiar," he said with a quiet snicker, fingers gently playing with your hair. "It does a bit, doesn't it?" You grinned.
"I might not have slain a monster for you but I beat up a guy ugly enough to be one for ya," he joked with a laugh. "I know you did, baby, you're my hero," you wrapped your arms around his neck when he moved to lightly straddle your hips, a teasing smile on his face. "Anyway, after they got married, how was their life?" He asked while his thumbs rubbed light circles just under the hem of your shirt. "He became a king, then they had seven sons and two daughters," you answered happily. "Well, it kinda feels like we've got six already, huh?" He said with a faint chuckle but you saw the look in his eyes, you had a pretty good feeling as to where he was going.
"How about we just start with one of our own and see what happ-" before you could finish your sentence, his lips were on yours in a passionate, loving kiss, his hand cupping your cheek. Clothes were thrown off in a matter of seconds. His lips on yours muffled the moan that escaped your lips as he slowly sunk into you, inch by inch until he was fully sheathed. He wrapped your legs around his waist and rocked his hips slowly. His kisses trailed from your lips to your neck and down to your collarbone until he took one of your hardened peaks into his mouth, sucking softly and grazing his teeth over the bud. Your fingers tangled in his hair and tugged at the tufts lightly, his name leaving your lips in breathy moans as your hips rocked to match his pace. A sudden rough thrust made your moan come out almost as a squeak and you heard him chuckle to himself.
Slowly, he picked up his pace, setting a rhythm that quickly had you approaching your climax, only for him to slow down and leave you frustrated while he smirked each time you made a sound of objection or frustration. Thankfully, one of the upsides of being alone in the middle of nowhere meant there was no need for either of you to try and be quiet. Your hand found its way between your bodies to rub your clit with your thumb, eyes fluttering shut in pleasure as you rubbed circles over the bundle of nerves. He swore under his breath as he watched for a moment before replacing your hand with his; instead of the light, slow touches you'd been giving yourself, his thumb circled your bud in fast, rough circles while his hips settled in a harsh, almost brutally fast pace.
You grabbed his face and pulled him into a bruising kiss, lightly biting at his bottom lip. A small groan escaped him and his own eyes fell closed, seeming to melt into the kiss. His hips slowed until the movements were slow and gentle, more intimate than they were before. His forehead rested against yours while his palm cradled your face. His lips again met yours, this time much softer than the bruising, wanton kisses before. Slowly approaching was your orgasm with each meaningful thrust of his hips, with every swipe of his thumb over your clit. The only word that could describe your climax was euphoria; a white-hot pleasure seared through your veins and reached every last nerve ending, sending you into a state of pure bliss. Your mind barely registered Darry's swearing as your nails left angry red marks down his back or his entire frame tensing as he came with a groan.
All that could be heard was the sound of nocturnal nature as you both caught your breath. He planted a bunch of soft, loving kisses on your face before getting comfortable next to you. "I didn't draw blood did I? Let me see," you started to sit up so you could look at his back, just to be sure you hadn't actually hurt him while you clung for dear life. "Baby I'm fine, the only time you've ever drawn blood is when we were 14 and you elbowed me in the face and broke my nose," he teased as he pulled you to his chest. "I've told you a thousand times not to sneak up on me like that," you scolded with an eye roll, letting your head rest comfortably on his chest. He laughed softly before settling down, letting the sounds of nature fill the silence.
"I love you so much, darlin', I don't know what I'd do without you," he whispered as he placed a gentle kiss on your forehead. "I love you too, baby, there's not a single person in the entire universe I'd rather be with," you muttered back before yawning. Neither of you was awake for much longer, between the peaceful sounds of nature and the week's-worth of exhaustion, it was a miracle you both stayed awake as long as you did. It felt like the best night's sleep you'd had in weeks. The two of you wound up staying out most of the next day too, not getting back home until eight the next night. You actually found more time to spend together, you two just had to be careful and quiet so none of the guys knew since you'd never hear the end of it. Though that didn't stop Two-Bit from loudly observing how much closer you'd been since your little getaway and how much more relaxed you both looked. The only response came from Dallas and in one sentence he made you equal parts annoyed surprised. His response: "well ain't it obvious? They're having sex again, of course, they look more relaxed."
Summary: As much as you love your husband, when he comes home there’s nobody happier to see him than your son.
Pairing: Darry Curtis x Reader
Word Count: 1,700
Warnings: Fluffy fluff, Domestic!Darry, Daddy!Darry, Darry generally being the loml
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and I do not claim to own the characters.
Dear god, you were tired. Between the two-year-old wrecking havoc in the living room with Two-Bit and the fussy three-month-old you were trying to bottle feed, there seemed to be little time for peace. It was a lot of things; it was tiring, draining, frustrating, and sometimes annoying, but it was also rewarding, heartwarming, beautiful, and most of all, it was happy. This was your family; your husband, your two sons, your two brothers-in-law, and their four friends who you loved. A loud thud from the living room pulled your attention away from the infant refusing the bottle. Before you could ask what happened, Keith called out, “everything’s fine! I just dropped my shirt... with me in it!” Following his statement was the sound of quiet giggles from your son James.
“Oh thank god,” you mumbled to yourself when Tommy finally accepted the bottle, a sigh of relief leaving you. You needed to get him used to the bottle so Darry could feed him at night and so he’d be ready for daycare when you went back to work. Taking a seat at the kitchen table, you smiled as you watched him. So far, both boys were the spitting image of Darry when he was at these ages, except that James's eyes were closer to yours than to Darry’s. “You shoulda stuck to breastfeeding the little man, none of us minded,” Dallas said as he passed by on his way to the fridge, snickering to himself. “Wanna try sayin’ that again when Darry gets home, Dal?” You teased. “No ma’am, I do not,” he shot back after grabbing a beer. He came over to the table and looked over your shoulder. “He’s a pretty cute little shit; I can’t wait to teach him how to pick up girls.” “I’ll skin ya if you do, Dally,” you said with a small hum and a smile, not even looking away from your son. You heard him gulp quietly and mumble, “noted.”
You finally looked up at him with a small smile. “Since you’re here, can you finish feeding him so I can get dinner started?” “Nope,” he said, making the ‘p’ pop. “C'mon, Dally, please? All you’d need to do is hold him and the bottle until he’s done,” you pleaded lightly. “Fine, but I ain’t doin’ nothin’ else,” he said with a huff, though you could see the little gleam in his eyes as you positioned his arms and placed the infant. “Thank you, Dallas,” you shot him a grin before gathering everything you’d need. You always found it adorable how Dallas still pretended not to like kids, even though he’d bend over backward for James and Danny. “Is everything still goin’ okay with you and Val? I know you were nervous about moving in together,” you asked him as you got dinner ready. “I’m still gettin’ used to it, but I don’t hate it. It ain’t the worst thing in the world,” he answered, trying to sound casual. But you knew, you knew how much he cared about her.
Not long after you put dinner in the oven and you’d taken Danny back from Dallas, the living room went silent for a minute before James squealed happily, “daddy!” When you walked into the living room, you saw your husband prying your son off of his leg and scooping him up. “There’s my big guy! Did you help your mom while I was gone?” “Yeah!” he replied excitedly. Your son clung to Darry like his life depended on it, squeezing him as tightly as his little arms could manage. “How was work?” You asked, giving him a gentle peck on the lips and ruffling James' hair a bit. “It was good, baby. How was everything here at home?” He asked happily. “As chaotic as every other day is, we had fun. I had to drag little man there home from the park this morning,” you told him with a quiet laugh, gently bouncing Joey on your hip some. “Dinner will be ready in about half an hour, so why don’t you and little man there take a seat and read the paper while I go put the littlest man in his crib,” you suggested, nodding over to his chair.
“Thanks, darlin',” he sent you a tired grin, kissing the top of the infant’s head before taking his seat, letting the toddler get as comfortable as possible in his lap. Darry opened the paper, letting James hold one side as he read. “What’s that say?” He asked, pointing to something in the sports section. “It says ’Sooners suffer a humiliating 2-6 loss in against Longhorns’,” he read aloud, moving his finger along with the words so James could see which words were what. “What’s that mean?” He asked curiously, squinting some to look like he was reading the details of the game. “That means that our favorite team, the Sooners, lost their baseball game to the Texas Longhorns this weekend,” he explained.
When you came back downstairs, you smiled as you watched your husband explain baseball to your son, who nodded along, even though you could practically see the words going in one ear and out of the other. Some days, you thought you could watch him with your boys all day long. He was amazing with them from day one. You leaned against the banister with a grin as you watched them read the funny pages together, the toddler’s laughter ringing out even when he didn’t completely understand the jokes. When he settled down some, he leaned against his father’s chest, half paying attention to what Darry was reading and half looking at Mickey Mouse on the TV with one hand fisting his dad’s shirt.
You finally pushed yourself away from the railing and walked over, wrapping your arms around Darry’s neck, and rested your head on his shoulder after kissing his cheek softly “if there was an award for it, you’d definitely receive a father of the year award, honey.” Your son leaned against your arm comfortably, his attention fully focused on the cartoon on TV. “I’m just followin’ your lead darlin’, you are one supermom for doin’ as much as you do,” he countered, looking up at you with an adoring gleam in his eyes. When you leaned down to give him a quick kiss, you both chuckled at the 'blegh’ you heard from your son. Darry ruffled his hair and teased “you hush, one of these days you’re gonna find a nice girl and you won’t be sayin’ 'blegh’ when she wants a kiss.” “Nu-uh!” He argued immediately. “Yuh-huh,” Darry countered, as any mature adult would “a nice, pretty girl’s gonna ask you for a kiss when you’re older, and you’re gonna look into her eyes and realize you’d give her anything she wants in a heartbeat because you’re head over heels in love with her already.”
“You love her because she laughs at your jokes. She’s as smart as she is beautiful, even if she doesn’t always think she is. She’s sweet too, she always shares her snacks with you and doesn’t get mad when you throw sand at her on the playground, instead, she throws some back. Then when you’re both older, she helps you when you struggle in classes and waits for you after football practice so you can walk home together and she even goes to your games, even though she doesn’t care about sports. You sit next to each other on field trips, too. There will be times when you don’t like her that much, but you’ll always love her,” Darry recalled fondly, looking up at you with a grin, making you blush some and grin at the memories. “Are you talkin’ about mommy?” Your son asked after looking at you both curiously for a bit. “I sure am,” he answered proudly.
You started to add something but the oven timer interrupted you. You kissed them both on the cheeks and smiled. “C'mon, dinner’s ready.” They both cheered happily and jumped up; like father like son. Darry followed you to the kitchen, carrying the squirming, giggling child. While you took the pot roast out of the oven and got everything situated at the table, Darry set your son up in his high chair with his own food. Dinner went smoothly. You and Darry talked about your days and James talked about his day, telling Darry every little detail from the spots on the dog at the park to the colors of the sprinkles on his ice cream cone. Darry offered to clean up dinner while you bathed James and got him ready for bed. He came to stand in the doorway to his room while you finished reading 'Goodnight Moon’, his little chest rising and falling slowly as he was fast asleep. As quietly as possible, you got up and turned on the nightlight on your way out of the room, leaving the door open a crack.
Once back in your bedroom, you both let yourselves just collapse onto the bed, immediately snuggling up to one another. You were surrounded in comfortable silence for a few minutes, almost drifting off to sleep, until Darry spoke up. "So, when are we gonna talk about number three?” “When Danny turns 1 and not a day before that,” you mumbled with a yawn. He laughed quietly and wraps his arms around your body, holding you close to him. “Fine.” This time, he yawned. “Y'know, he’ll be in our bed by the time we wake up in the morning, right?” You nodded tiredly. “yup, he’s a snuggler. Just like his daddy.” Sure enough, when the alarm went off (i.e. Danny crying) at a quarter of 7 in the morning, James was happily wedged in between you, his thumb in his mouth and his other hand holding his most prized possession; a blue shark plushie Darry won for him at the carnival. This sight was too cute, almost too cute to disturb, but you had a crying baby to nurse and breakfast to make and Darry had to get dressed for work, eat, and get out the front door without the toddler clinging to his leg begging him to stay home for the day. They were your perfect little family.
