<Soda's POV>

As the key is placed in her hand, Chris takes a deep breath. Staring down at he key seems to excite her more. "Soda?" She asks in anticipation.

"Yes my love?" I reply kindly, a mischievous smile on my face. This is the first time she will see her new house. My wife looks up at me with her huge doe eyes and smiles.

"We have a house, and I am about to walk in it, changing my life forever," Chris states, more to herself than me. I nod my head slowly, wondering where this conversation is going. "Ok I'm ready now," she says. Taking a deep breath, Chris inserts to key, her eyes closing, and opens the door. After about three seconds she opens her eyes and looks at her new living room. She looks back at me in disbelief and then back at the house. It's empty walls and bare floors hold so much potential. Finally she has something that is hers, ours. Not Darry's or Dally's, or even her father's. This is just for us.

Her feet move slowly across the hardwood, making a soft shuffling sound as she moves around. In utter silence, she travels room to room, grazing her hand over countertops and feeling the doorways slathered in a fresh looking coat of paint. Chris leads me up the stairs where there are more rooms to explore. There are three bedrooms, the master for us and two for each boy. Although, if we ever have more kids, there is an office we can turn into a bedroom. Personally, I really want more kids. Chris nearly cried upon seeing the bedrooms that will later be filled with our children's things, but she holds herself together. Upon finishing her self instructed tour, Chris walks back to the living room and stands in silence for s minute or two. "Soda?"

"Yes?"

"This is not our house," she states. My heart falls, I have failed the love of my life. I should have asked her opinion before I decided on it.

"Chris I-"

"This is our home," Chris continues, breaking out into tears of happiness. A giant smiles spreads across her face, enhancing her bright eyes. I sigh in relief and pull Chris in for a hug, she wraps her legs around my waist, tucking her head in my shoulder. "We have a home!" She hollers, pulling her head away from my neck. I plant my lips on hers. We kiss happily before we are interrupted.

"Ahem, someone call a moving truck?" Dallas asks, his head popping through the door, Steve and Darry right behind him.

"Awe guys thanks for the help! Wait, if your here Darry, who is watching Wesley and Josh?" Chris asks, concerned.

"Pony and Skyler are on it," Darry explains.

"John's not there?" I ask. I assumed since Pony is only back for holiday break that Johnny would be with him at all times. Dallas and Steve share a look.

"He's at Steve's," Dallas claims.

"Ya he's at my place," Steve repeats stupidly. Dallas rolls his eyes and elbows Steve in the gut.

"Anyways, we have your shit so lets get movin' Curtis's!" Dally exclaims.

"And Steve!" Steve corrects Dally. Dal rolls his eyes again and ignores Steve. Chris giggles at her brother and our best friend. The rest of our day is filled with the five of us moving in the little furniture we have, along with our towels and linens, and clothes. Little did I know, Chris, Lena, Leala, and Skyler went house shopping yesterday. They bought curtains and kitchen utensils, just some other necessities. It helps make the place look livable until we go out and buy actual couches and beds and dressers. Since everything we used at the old house is technically Darry and Pony's, Chris and I are going to need to buy our own stuff.

Dallas and I are cleaning the upstairs bathroom when I finally talk to him seriously. "So you two are going to try friends huh?" I ask casually, leaning against the sink. Dallas sighs as he hangs the shower curtains.

"Ya, we need to reconnect or whatever, I don't know, whatever she wants, she gets and it's probably better off that way," Dal claims. I nod my head slowly.

"And the car at Steve's place?"

"It should be done by Christmas," Dallas tells me. I nod slowly.

"You know you two are going to end up together right?" I ask him. Dallas shrugs.

"Maybe."

----------------------------------------

<Chris's POV>

I jump around with joy as we watch all of our friends pile into the house for Christmas Eve dinner. I take Soda's hand and place a sweet kiss on his cheek. Lena and Steve walk into the house followed by Skyler and Dallas who are holding Tibby, Aiden, and Shai. Darry and Leala walk in next, their arms wrapped around each other, Johnny and Ponyboy trailing not far behind them. Everyone comes in laughing, greeting each other, taking off layers and kicking the snow off their boots. Skyler is the first one to stare in awe at our new home and congratulate us. She plants a short kiss on my cheek and I pull her in for a hug. "I love you Skyler."

"I love you too Chris." Dallas hugs me next and soon everyone is exploring the house and grabbing some of the food we put out. Two-Bit finally shows up with little Henry and quickly goes to the kitchen to open a bottle of wine. Everyone crowds around the coffee table I purchased from the thrift store, sitting on my new couch and two big chairs. Some of us sit on the floor as the kids toddle and crawl around our ankles. I never want to forget this. This moment of utter perfection, where there is no abusive father. A completely functional household, well, maybe not completely functional, but pretty damn close.

Steve finally looks away from Lena and talks over everyone else. "So Pony, as the only one of us who has ever made it to college, I think you're required to tell us all about it," Steve announces. Dallas smirks.

"Ya and don't leave out any of he important details," Dallas remarks.

"What do you consider important?" Pony asks amused.

"How hot are those college chicks?" Dallas asks with a giant smirk plastered on his face. The boys break out into laughter and I just shake my head, half amused. Skyler elbows Dallas, who rubs his sore arm. "Ow, what gives Sky?" He asks.

"Those 'hot college chicks' could include your daughters someday," Skyler scolds him playfully.

"Jesus Skyler, don't put that image in my head," Dallas protests.

"Serves you right," Skyler states, clearly proud of herself.

"Anyways college, Pone, explain," Steve reminds the group of the original topic of conversation. Pony takes a deep breath.

"It's difficult, I like my classes though, the parties are overrated, girls are just girls, I'm happy though with the experience so far," Pony finishes. Everyone stares at him blankly. "What?" He asks confused.

"Well you see Pone, you sound like you..." Soda starts trailing off.

"Like you haven't really, hmph," Dallas starts and tries to think of what to say.

"Like you haven't done anything remotely fun," Two-Bit finishes.

"Or meaningful," Skyler throws in.

"Or interesting," Lena remarks. Pony looks around at his friends and family and sighs.

"Alright alright, I wasn't going to tell you guys for a little while longer but I-"

"Oh fuck please tell me out didn't knock up some girl, God damn it Pony, I'd expect this from Steve or Dally or Soda in college but not you! Fucking shit I need a drink, anyone know where the vodka is?" Skyler picks up the bottle and takes a large sip. "God, we're going to have to help pay for all this shit and there's going to be yet another kid to watch. Fuck me, is this a punch in the ti-"

"Sky! I didn't get a girl pregnant, I'm writing a book," Pony interrupts Skyler as he smiles in amusement. Skyler pulls the vodka bottle away from her lips.

"A book? Oh, oh that's quite nice, good for you," Skyler states blushing. We all laugh at her, how could we not? Dallas pats her gently on the back. Skyler just pulls Aiden into her lap as if to comfort her. "Go on Pony, tell us about this book," Skyler tells him shyly.

"Ya Pone, tell us, is it dirty?" Two-But states wiggling his eyebrows.

"No its-"

Pony is interrupted by Leala as she sits comfortably on Darry's lap. "Is it a romance?"

"Kinda, it's a s-"

"Oh please say there's action Pone!" Steve adds.

"And lots of drugs, real dramatic like!" Soda adds in.

"But is it sensitive?" Johnny asks.

"Hey you lot, why don't you let the poor man speak, then you'll know," Darry chimes in over everyone. Pony smiles at his oldest brother.

"Thanks Dare, anyways, I'm writing a book, it's a series of stories, they um, they have a lot of truth to them you could say," Pony states, sounding a little unsure of himself.

"What kind of stories?" I ask my brother in law. Pony sighs.

"Well there's um one chapter that's about a, well it's about a guy who can barely love anyone but his sister, rough past you know," Pony starts. Dallas's face falls. "Then there's another chapter about um, three orphaned siblings." Darry and Soda both sit up in their seats, suddenly paying more attention. "Another chapter is a girl who was hurt as a daughter, she's the sister, and she marries one of the orphaned siblings, partly because she knows he'll be a better father to their kids than her father was to her and her brother." I move around in my seat, smiling slightly. "Um there's a boy who's shy and was abused by his parents and spent most of his time with his friends as a sort of safe house." Johnny smiles slightly, blush rising in his cheeks. "And there's another chapter which focuses on the orphaned siblings separately, a big guy who missed out on college and girls, and the other brother who got married and had kids but is haunted by war memories." Darry looks lovingly at Leala, grateful he has her. I hug Soda closer to my body as Pony continues. "Then there's a boy who can't seem to be an adult until he finds a kid on his doorstep." Two-Bit grins quietly as he glances at Henry who is siting in his lap now. "There's a guys who always slept around until he found this one girl that changed everything and got him through a quite literal battle," Pony proceeds, glancing at Steve who is looking at Lena, only Lena. "And of course this girl has a chapter of her own, mostly about her free spirit and recklessness." Lena smirks mysteriously, as always. "There's a woman who can't conceive a child, increasing her love for her partners nephews." Leala bites her bottom lip and tucks her head farther into Darry's shoulder. By this point, most of us are crying, or just smiling, caught in a daze as Pony speaks. "And then there's a chapter about a girl, a girl who, well a girl who can't seem to love herself, she looses her parents and runs away to a small town. Here she meets this group of people who are almost as screwed up as she is. And she falls hopelessly in love with the boy who can't love. But by some miracle they love each other. Anyways, the chapter about the girl who can't love herself goes on for awhile, it explains her fear of being a mom even though she turns out to be pretty good. It covers her drug addiction and her close to death experiences, and of course ever present in this chapter is her love for the boy who learned to love." Skyler looks directly at Pony and he looks right back at her, his eyes serious, but thoughtful. We all wait for Skyler's response.

"How does it end?" Skyler asks Pony.

"You tell me," Pony replies softly. I see Dally looking longingly at Skyler, she tries not to look back at him, but eventually she catches his gaze. Her grey eyes lock with his own icy ones.

"I can tell you," Dallas cuts in.

<Skyler's POV>

My whole body begins to shake with nerves. I catch Dallas give Steve and Soda a look. They both nod at him. Dallas takes a deep breath, standing up, "wanna follow me Skyler Elizabeth?" Dallas offers me a hand and I hold my breath. Skyler Elizabeth. I live for the times he calls me this. Taking his hand, I stand up shakily. He leads me outside, everyone trailing behind us, Lena and Steve make sure to grab Aiden, Shai, and Tibby for Dallas and I. I grasp Dallas's hand for dear life, needing him desperately because of my nerves.

Grabbing the handle of the front door, Dallas looks at me and begins to talk, "it's about time we start opening our gifts, don't ya think?" I nod slowly, hesitantly. Dallas opens the door slowly and I look outside. Parked in front of the house is a black car, not new, but it definitely had some work done that makes it look nice. I hold my breath and look quickly to Dallas who is smirking now.

"Dallas Winston did you do this?" I exclaim joyfully. Dallas smiles even brighter.

"Remember how you freaked out because I was never home? I was at Steve's, working on this with him and Soda, and John," Dallas informs me. I cover my mouth in surprise. Glancing at Steve, Soda, and Johnny, I see them smirking knowingly.

"Fuck me, I'm sorry," I apologize while giggling. Dallas laughs at me.

"C'mon, lets see the inside, you lot stay here will ya?" Dallas asks of our crowd of friends. With smiles on all of their faces, they return to the living area. I walk quickly to my new car and jump into the driver side seat. Dallas joins me in the passenger side. I cover my mouth in awe.

"Dallas this is, this is great! Thank you so much!" I began to search through all the tiny compartments. "I really love it, oh, god this is so beaut-" I open the center consul and find a small black box. I almost miss it because it's so dark in the car.
Glancing up at Dallas with wide eyes, my mouth hangs open a bit. The streetlight a few feet away casts dark shadows on Dallas's eyes, along with his Cupid's bow. As I stare at him in a daze of nerves, he grabs the small box from the compartment. "Dal," I murmur softly.

"Skyler Elizabeth Hills Winston, I've been thinking, and those two last names are quite a mouthful," Dallas begins. 

"Dally," I whisper. Dallas once again ignores me.

"Pony is right, I was the boy who couldn't love. Then you came into my life and shook me up so bad Skyler Elizabeth. And I couldn't be happier that you did. I love to say your name and I love the way you say mine. I love our children, and I love my life with you. I never thought in a million years I would be where I'm at now. You suggested marriage to me and I wanted to run screaming. Your intimidating Skyler Elizabeth, and I love it. I want to be with you. I want to love you. I want to grow old with you. I want you to want me. I want all these things and I want to have them with you, and only you," Dallas preaches.

My entire body begins to shake. "Dallas," I mutter.

"Skyler Elizabeth, this is long overdue, but the best things come to people who wait."

"Dallas."

"Skyler Elizabeth, will you marry me?" I take a deep breath, everything I've ever wanted is right in front of me. I just have to grab it.

"No."

A/N heh I haven't updated in months heh my bad heh heh... ya

I love you all for sticking with me!!

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