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The mornings were the worst part of the day, at least in Johnny’s opinion. He was used to waking up to loud noises, like yelling, arguing, glass clattering against the wall.
Except– all of that disappeared when he got away from the home he used to live in. He didn't wake up to cigarette smoke (at least not all of the time) nor having to tip-toe around the halls to avoid being heard or waking up anyone in the house. Though, he was still careful about the second one, even if there was no one who would yell at him. He tended to sleep in more, mostly since he'd be up late due to tossing or turning and sometimes being distracted with another thing, or he just couldn't sleep.
In the mornings, however, it was either that he woke up around noon (if it was the weekend or summer) or he'd wake up super early due to movement, like the bed he laid in shifting or the person beside him (sometimes against him) moving closer. He didn't prefer waking up early, but it was worth the fresh breakfast and the late-day nap. The person beside him was always his boyfriend, Ponyboy. Johnny hated how he was an early waker, since he'd always end up getting pulled up too, even if they had been up since late into the night. The first thing he heard most of the time was laughter, especially due to his ungreased hair.
It was sort of bad in the mornings. At least it didn't get too badly tangled.
The mornings were still the worst, especially in the summers, due to the heat inside the house. Unfortunately, that apparently had to happen at the moment.
The weight in the mattress shifted, and a warm presence pressed against Johnny’s torso, his hair being pressed up against his neck by another weight. Ankles were tangled with his own, probably why one of his fell asleep. He scrunched up his face in annoyance when he realized he got woken up. Normally, he wasn’t a very annoyed person, though more cautious instead.
"Johnnycakes?" Ponyboy muttered.
"Mornin'," Johnny said drowsily, closing his eyes and tilting his head towards his boyfriend's, though moved his head back to rest against the pillow.
The weight against him moved and a knee hit his shin, the arm around his waist (there was one?) pulling away. "Shoot, did I wake you up?" Ponyboy asked quietly. The older nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
Johnny shrugged. "'S fine, you do that every morning now."
There wasn't any movement for a second before Ponyboy laid back down, but just on his back beside his boyfriend, hands clasped together on his stomach atop the blanket. Sunlight streamed in through the window. The house had a little bit of talking, though it was more obnoxious singing from the kitchen. Johnny opened one eye and looked at him, looking at the small amount of freckles against the pale skin.
Why was Ponyboy so pale? He sure did spend a lot of time outside.
"You're starin'."
"I know."
Ponyboy smiled. "That's weird, y'know."
Johnny raised an eyebrow, propping himself up with one elbow to look down at the other, both eyes open. "Ain't it rude, not weird?"
The younger hummed as he thought, eyes flickering between areas on the ceiling. "Could be both."
There was a tired sigh as Johnny dropped to lay back down, putting his head on his boyfriend's chest this time. A hand moved to the small of his back, which caused him to tense up a little. "What time is it?"
"Probably... eight? I don't know," Ponyboy confessed, "why'd you tense up?"
Johnny relaxed a little when it was pointed out. "No idea." He fixed his position a little, feeling a slight pricking pain in his spine, specifically the middle part. "'M going back to sleep."
"Okay."
"You ain't even goin' to tell me no?"
Ponyboy shook his head. "You sound tired."
Silence engulfed the room. Johnny took a deep breath, then longingly exhaled. They both laid there for a while in pure silence, though the younger not remaining still for very long, shifting his legs or something else. The older grimaced when it happened.
After a few minutes, including a loud clattering from the kitchen, he spoke up. "I can't go back to sleep."
"D'ya want to get up?"
"No."
"...so what?"
Johnny sat up. "We just sit here, plain and simple!"
Ponyboy stared up at him before nodding. "That's sorta borin'," he muttered under his breath. "I've been up for a while."
"Sounds like a you problem," Johnny whispered as he laid back down, back towards his boyfriend.
Ponyboy sat up and put a hand on the other's shoulder, noticing a hole in the shirt's sleeve. "I can get you some breakfast."
"'M okay."
"Okay."
They fell into a silence. Johnny found his boyfriend's hand and held onto it, noticing a slight imprint of where a ring would be. "Didn't know you'd wear rings," he mumbled. A weight settled against his back, head on his shoulder.
"I don't really do that, just found a bread twisty on the countertop," Ponyboy said. "Those are cool."
Johnny hummed and nodded despite being generally uninterested, turning his head to look at the other. He put his head back on the pillow, then lips pressed against his cheek and he smiled, then another kiss a few seconds later, closer to the scar on the side of his face. Ponyboy pulled away after that, intending to get up, though Johnny still held onto his hand. The latter sat up and pulled the former close again, preventing him from getting up. They stared at each other awkwardly.
"What?" Ponyboy asked, his eyebrows knitted together out of confusion.
"I just..." Johnny hesitated, his eyes flickering down to the other's lips. "I don't know, want you to stay."
"But I'm hungry." Ponyboy tried to pull his hand away. The older tilted his head, trying to put on the best pleading expression he could. There was a moment of silence before a reluctant silence. "Fine. Fine, fine, fine."
Johnny smiled widely. "Thank you–" he started.
"But you're comin' out with me for food later, deal?" Ponyboy interrupted, holding up a finger with his free hand.
Hesitation. "Yeah."
"Good."
They lapsed into silence. Johnny was thinking, looking out the window. Ponyboy moved to tuck his legs underneath himself, pulling apart their hands to put a hand on either side of his boyfriend's face. There wasn't a few seconds for everything to be processed before their lips pressed together for a kiss. They pulled apart a few seconds later.
"Is that okay?" Ponyboy hesitantly asked.
Johnny stared at him blankly before quickly nodding. "Yeah, uh– just was surprised, you didn't warn me," he mumbled.
Ponyboy frowned, running his thumb over a small faint scratch on his boyfriend's cheek. "'M sorry."
"Don't even apologize, it's fine." Johnny moved a hand to the back of the other's neck, pulling him back in for another kiss.
They both sat close to each other, both of their eyes closing out of habit. The younger felt a hand slide up into his auburn hair, though he didn't really think about much other than the person he was kissing. The older was pretty much the same way, and their thoughts remained like that when the kiss deepened.
They quickly pulled apart after a minute when the sound of the front door shooting open and slamming shut echoed through the house, causing Johnny to flinch. They looked towards the closed bedroom door. Ponyboy mumbled something under his breath, looking away and pressing his forehead against Johnny’s, hands slipping down to his shoulders. The latter looked at him and smiled nervously. They pulled apart after a few seconds, hands pulling away from each other as Ponyboy got up, flattening out his hair that had frizzed out. He exhaled slowly and looked at his boyfriend before grabbing his hand and pulling him off of the bed.
"Hey!" Johnny whisper-shouted.
"You agreed to this," Ponyboy reminded him, opening the door as they walked out.
Johnny opened and closed his mouth before deciding against arguing. They walked into the kitchen, then paused in the doorway when they saw Two-Bit helping Sodapop clean up eggs off of the floor.
"Mornin', you two!" The latter exclaimed happily.
Ponyboy stared at his brother. "Do I even want to know what happened?"
"I do," Johnny added.
Sodapop sighed and stood up, frowning at the cloth he was holding. He folded it up to hide the egg contents. Two-Bit soon stood up too, then went to the fridge to get a beer. "He– uh–" he trailed off, snapping his fingers a little as he looked out the window.
Ponyboy tilted his head. "Soda."
"What? Oh– uhm..." Sodapop paused. "He scared me." He waved his hand.
"Yeah, ugly guys are scary," Johnny joked, grinning.
Two-Bit looked over with an offended stare, now holding a plate of chocolate cake too. "Are you callin' me ugly?" Johnny nodded. "Wow! Ponykid, can you tell Johnnycakes to not insult me?"
"What?" Ponyboy asked, confused.
Two-Bit looked between him and Sodapop. "Jeez, y'all are both squirrels." The two brothers frowned.
"He's tellin' you to... keep me on a leash or somethin'," Johnny whispered.
Ponyboy silently processed that. "He ain't a dog, Keith!" He exclaimed after a few seconds.
"When did I say that!?" Two-Bit headed towards the living room after saying that. Sodapop soon followed after him, though went to another room. The other two moved out of the way, eventually moving into the kitchen to get breakfast. Johnny hesitated before hopping up onto the countertop, since it was a free spot. He fidgeted with his fingers, spotting a hole near the knee in his pajama pants. Ponyboy moved to make some toast, humming an Elvis song under his breath.
"Pony?"
"Mmm?"
"Why are you making toast? It's real bland."
"'Cause I want grape jelly."
Johnny stared at him blankly before laughing shortly. "I love you."
Ponyboy tilted his head. "I love you too? Why're you..." he paused and gasped in offense, putting down the bread bag before adding, "do you find me stupid?!"
"Sometimes, yeah," Johnny admitted, smiling.
The younger stared at the other before going over to the countertop, hands on his hips like he was going to give a lecture, though he seemed like he forgot it. "That's– you're wrong. I'm not stupid."
The older slowly nodded. "Mmmhhhmmm."
Ponyboy scrunched up his nose. "That's mean."
Johnny widened his eyes a little. "Are you actually hurt?" He hesitantly asked.
"What? No– I'm just jokin', sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound like that," Ponyboy reassured him, quickly taking his hands. "I'm sorry, I was just jokin'."
"Stop panickin'," Johnny whispered, running his thumb over the other's knuckles, "I get you were just being fun."
Ponyboy quietly nodded. He hesitated before leaning in and kissing his boyfriend again, feeling a smile appear against his own lips. Their hands pulled apart from each other, the older wrapping his arms around the other's shoulders, the younger's hands on the sides of his neck.
Neither of them heard the sound of footsteps approaching the kitchen until the person spoke. "Johnny, you're sleepin' on the couch tonight," Darry's tired voice echoed through the silence of the kitchen. "Don't know why you're not doin' that already, but you need to start."
Ponyboy pulled away quickly, stepping away and going back to making breakfast. His ears were a bright pink, along with his face. Johnny quickly put his hands back in his lap. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Darry shook his head as he stopped to get some water. "Don't apologize, kid. Pony?"
Ponyboy side eyed his older brother. "What?" He asked snarkly.
Darry raised his eyebrows, looking back at his younger brother. "The attitude isn't needed."
"Ooh!" Sodapop yelled from the living room, which he apparently sat now. Johnny grimaced out of second hand embarrassment adding onto his already embarrassed state, staring down at his hands.
"Hey, you're the one makin' him sleep on the couch!" Ponyboy hissed, gesturing at his boyfriend with a piece of bread.
"You're going to drop the bread, Pone," Johnny gently said. Ponyboy quickly put down the piece of bread.
Darry inhaled and exhaled slowly. "You can sleep on the couch, then, just not in the same bed."
"Sleepover privileges taken away!" Sodapop exclaimed, grinning.
"Pepsi-Cola, stay out of it," Darry called back.
"Darn it."
Ponyboy scowled. "Fine. Whatever," he mumbled, going back to making toast.
Johnny picked at his cuticles and looked at Darry with an apologetic look that was ignored, since the door opened and slammed shut, and in walked Steve and Dallas. The oldest Curtis brother went out into the living room.
Ponyboy quietly mocked his brother under his breath as he turned a butter knife over in his hand. Johnny smiled a little.
Maybe he liked the mornings a little, though not that much. They were still the hardest part of the day.