Tragic Kingdom (80s/90s imagines)

85: Darry Curtis (The Outsiders)

For riri3146

Soulmate AU

You would never consider yourself a hopeless romantic. That didn't mean it hurt any less when you read the words on your arm. Those words that your soulmate would say to you just sat the wrong way.

Inked onto your arm were the words I don't do relationships... and you wondered if you would never know a life with your soulmate.

Wasn't that the whole reason for a soulmate? Weren't you meant to be together? Why would they say that?

You'd spent countless nights wiping away silent tears. When your friends gushed and sighed over their soulmate phrases, you plastered on a smile and never let them know that you had all but given up hope.

"Y/n, what does yours say?" they would ask.

But you would shake your head and shrug them off, "Nothing cute. It's boring."

"Oh, well maybe you've already met them!"

"Yeah, maybe," you'd say as your stomach sank. That made it even worse. What if your soulmate was actively avoiding a relationship with you?

You tried to push the thoughts away, but then you met someone that made you think about your soulmate more than ever.

Darry Curtis had played football with your cousin, so you had always known who he was, but you officially met him well into high school.

He was nice, but very stoic. Neither of you really ever said much to each other. Though, had you been asked, you'd say you were friends. When you hung out, it was in groups, and you two being the only ones not paired up with someone, ended up together a lot of the time.

One night out, you were all out at the county fair. You took the initiative and pulled Darry into the Ferris wheel.

"Come on! It'll be fun." You tugged his arm and dragged him into the line.

He just laughed and nodded.

You wanted him to have a movie moment where he saw your face in the lights, outlined against the night sky, and he somehow knew you were the one. Instead, you had that moment. He was looking up, afraid to admit he was a little scared.

"So," you started. "Why haven't you found a girl yet?"

Darry shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I don't do relationships." He glanced at you for a moment. "Or I just haven't found my person yet."

You felt cold all of a sudden. "Oh. Yeah. Soulmates are such a weird concept. The universe just magically knows? Wild." You felt sick now that you had heard it. It wasn't the dramatic rejection you had dreaded, but it was somehow worse.

Instead of letting his words get to you, you let it go. Maybe he didn't feel the same. You couldn't make someone love you. Instead, you'd be his friend.

You were the first one he called when his parents died.

"Y/n," his low, pained voice came through the phone. "I didn't know who else to talk to. I- Can you come over?"

He never cried, but you knew he was hurting.

"I don't know how I'm going to take care of my brothers," he admitted, his head in his hands.

"You're a great brother, Darry," you assured him. "You're going to do your best, and if you ever need help, I'll be here."

And you were. For the next few years, you stopped by regularly to check in with the boys, especially Darry, who shouldered his responsibilities at the expense of his own needs. You let them know you were someone they could be honest with, and you were the only one who really ever saw Darry's vulnerable side.

He called you when his anxieties got the better of him, and you helped ease his emotional pain.

"They wouldn't dare take Sodapop and Ponyboy away," you told him over the phone one particular night. You'd said it before, but you'd say it every day if it would help him. "You provide for them, and you've raised them to be good young men, Darry. I can vouch for that, and so will anyone else if they ask."

Helping him made you forget that your soulmate didn't want to make a life with you, sometimes. Some days, it was all you could do not to cry, but you carried it deep down and tried not to pull it out.

The words on your arm taunted you. I don't do relationships... It all seemed so unfair. The man that may or may not be your soulmate was calling you every other night and making you think that maybe, just maybe, he loved you, but then the words he had basically read from your arm echoed back at you. It was like a slap in the face every time you remembered. Except you just kept letting it happen. And you would forever.

You collected yourself, cleaned up, and did what you needed to get done. Darry called you to tell you that apparently Pony and Soda has begged for you to have dinner with them, and you couldn't refuse your favorite boys, so you relented.

"If they really want me over, then sure. I'll come straight after work," you said.

"They really do," he insisted. "And, I might too."

Your heart leapt to your throat, but you'd grown used to that. "Well, then how can I say no?"

Ponyboy retold stories from his week at school, and Soda told you about his job at the DX. Before you'd finished eating, a couple of the boys in the gang had come around and took Soda and Pony off to the drive-in.

You and Darry stayed behind, cleaning up the dishes and food.

"Thank you," Darry said, when you'd both retired to the couch.

"Oh, no problem," you responded dismissively. "Dinner was really good. It was the least I could do."

Darry looked over at you with unreadable expression, one he wore often. "No. I mean, thank you for everything. You've bent over backwards for me and my brothers countless times for a long time now, and I know just saying thank you is nowhere near enough to show you how grateful I am for you."

Words evaded you. Your mouth opened and closed as you tried to find what to say.

"I'm also sorry," he added softly. He bit his lip and wasn't quite looking at you. "I knew years ago. I knew you were my soulmate." He paused, and when you remained silent, he continued. "I said I don't do relationship, but Y/n, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You're the only person that doesn't expect me to be at my best every single day, and you're always there for me."

You weren't sure how long you'd been holding your breath, or if you had been at all, but your next breath came suddenly. "Are you sure?"

A smile spread across his normally stern face. "I am now."

Oh... oh. I uhhhh idk where this came from. Anyway, I hope you liked it! I ended up writing for Darry since barely anyone ever requests him, and my stepmom and I were just talking about Patrick and I miss him :/

This is kinda like that last soulmate AU but also different bc I didn't feel like working in the color thing if I'm being honest. I hope it wasn't too hard to track.

Thank you for requesting! M'kay.

~Mariah