Tapping his feet impatiently, Ponyboy waited for the door to the hospital to open. Today was a very important day. Archer was being released from the hospital. His mom was currently inside, finishing up the rest of the payments and documents. She told him to stay outside to keep the car cool. Ponyboy didn't want to do that. He wanted to be right at Archer's side when he was released. However, he didn't argue with her.

So, when Archer stepped out of the hospital, he was already rushing over to him like he hadn't seen him in months.

"Careful," Archer's mom warned when Ponyboy almost tackled him. "Both of you are still healing."

"Oh, right," Ponyboy said, slowing down to a stop. He beamed at Archer, gently hugging him.

"Why are you so excited?" Archer asked, squeezing him back. "You've been visiting me every day."

"I'm just really relieved."

There was a long pause so the two of them could hug. After a while, Archer spoke up again, glancing at the car longingly. "Can we go now? I'm so sick of the hospital."

"You've only been there for a few days though," Archer's mom pointed out.

"And that's way too long. It's way too boring in there."

"Right, let's get going then!"

The three of them walked over to the car. Archer and Ponyboy hopped into the back seat together. As soon as the car rumbled to life, the younger male leaned his head onto Archer's shoulder. He breathed in his scent, scrunching up his nose in displeasure. Archer didn't smell like himself anymore. He smelt like antiseptic and like rubbing alcohol—like a hospital.

Ponyboy nestled himself closer, shifting his body to not put too much pressure onto his broken arm. He stayed like that even when they got back home. The two of them laid down on the couch together, with Ponyboy on top of Archer. He carefully straddled him to not hurt any of them. The two of them didn't let go of each other for hours.

"Hey, I need to get up," Archer finally announced, patting Ponyboy's back.

"No," Ponyboy stubbornly rejected. "I don't want you to get up."

"But I have to go to the bathroom. You've been hugging me for hours now. Don't you think that this is too much?"

Ponyboy looked at him dejectedly but nodded his head, nonetheless. He didn't feel like his hugging was much at all. However, he had trapped Archer for hours straight without any explanation of his behavior. He must have been so confused. Sighing, he sat up so that he was sitting on Archer's lap.

"You're right," Ponyboy started, subconsciously picking at Archer's shirt. "It's just that… you almost died. I just can't help but think that if I let go of you, you'll disappear."

"Ponyboy…" Archer began, eyes softening. He placed his hands on Ponyboy's, rubbing on the back of them with his thumbs. "You know that I'm way too annoying to do that."

"Archer, I'm being serious. When you were shot, I realized that my greatest fear was losing you. I can't even imagine my life without you and that terrifies me."

Archer stopped petting the back of Ponyboy's hands to just hold them instead. He opened his mouth before closing it again, trying to form the perfect sentence. "Yeah, but what terrifies me the most is something happening to you."

Ponyboy smiled until his cheeks started to hurt, but it quickly fell when Archer decided to continue by saying, "You know… the position that you're in is pretty sexy."

And just like that, Ponyboy's ears turned red. He quickly got off of Archer, clearing his throat. Even though they were in a relationship, they hadn't gotten further than the kissing part of it. Then again, they never had the time nor the chance to go further. Something always stopped them. Besides, Ponyboy didn't feel like he was ready to go further than that just yet. One day, for sure, but not this particular one.

"Just go to the bathroom," he shooed, trying to calm down. Archer chuckled beneath his breath as he got up and left the room. Meanwhile, Ponyboy turned to the TV, chewing on his bottom lip. He walked over to it and turned it on. The first thing that showed up was this western show that had been quite popular lately. Shrugging his shoulders, Ponyboy sat back down on the couch and started to watch it even though he had no idea what was going on in it.

It didn't take long for Archer to leave the bathroom. He glanced at the screen before heading over to the kitchen to grab some snacks. Once he did that, he settled down next to Ponyboy, pressing their thighs together.

"Are we going to watch something?" he asked, handing him a bar of chocolate.

"We don't have to," Ponyboy stated. "I was just thinking that I haven't watched anything on TV or gone out to watch a movie in a while. I wanted something in my life to go back to how it used to be… back to normal, is all."

"We need normal for once. I take it you like to watch movies?"

Ponyboy nodded feverishly. "I love them."

"Then we should watch it then and maybe we could go to the drive-in later when we are both completely healed."

"I would really love that." Ponyboy took a bite of his chocolate, turning his eyes back to the show. They fell silent as they watched it. The only sound that came from them was the chewing of food. At one point, however, Ponyboy's eyes drifted towards Archer. He watched his boyfriend pick up an animal cracker and examined it, turning it around so that it would go into his mouth headfirst. He brought it up to his lips and bit off the animal cracker's head before plopping the rest of it in his mouth. He then did the same thing to the others.

"Hey, why do you do that?" Ponyboy asked, pointing to the animal cracker that was currently being beheaded.

"Do what?" Archer questioned after he swallowed the cracker down.

"Why do you bite the head off of the animal crackers first?"

Archer froze, blinking heavily in surprise. He turned to Ponyboy incredulously. "You noticed that?"

"I notice a lot of things that you do. So why do you do it?"

The Soc swallowed another cracker before putting the box down on the coffee table. "It's silly, but it's a habit from when I was a kid. I used to think that the animal crackers could actually feel pain. But they were so good that I didn't want to stop eating them. So, I figured that I would at least make sure that they would suffer less… by eating their head first."

A short laugh left Ponyboy's mouth. He shook his head joyously. "Golly, that is the most considerate and morbid thing that I have ever heard."

Archer moved, turning his body so that he was blocking Ponyboy's view of the TV. "Animal crackers aren't the only thing that I can bite."

Another blush bloomed across Ponyboy's face. He sputtered out with a shaky voice, "Hey, I'm trying to watch the show."

"I am the show," Archer said huskily. He brought their faces closer together, lips tracing Ponyboy's.

"But that would mean that you're fictional. I don't want you to be fake."

"Then I'm a documentary."

Ponyboy couldn't help but chuckle at that, rolling his eyes playfully. "Our life is complicated enough to be one, that's for sure."

Laughing, Archer closed the distance between them. They kissed slowly and carefully at first. Warmth filled their veins and their hearts skipping. Ponyboy's toes curled in as he brought a hand up to rest on Archer's cheek. His touch felt hot, burning his skin wherever he touched. His hands went under his shirt, stroking his sides while being mindful of his bruises. Ponyboy leaned forward, pressing himself closer to Archer. He parted his lips when he felt a tongue swipe across it. Archer slipped his tongue in, causing Pony to groan and melt on the couch. His tongue pushed against his own, both tenderly yet passionately, until they ran out of breath.

Both of them pulled away from each other, panting heavily. They locked eyes with each other, pupils blown wide. Then Archer moved in again, this time trailing small pecks starting from the corner of his mouth, to his jaw, and then finally to his neck. He grabbed ahold of Ponyboy's shirt, slowly pulling him forward while he went to lay down. He continued to suck on his neck, causing Ponyboy to moan.

"Wait, your mom is still here," Ponyboy whispered, voice so shaky that it was almost incomprehensible.

Sighing, Archer stopped, but not before leaving a mark on his neck. He agreed, "Yeah… We probably shouldn't go any further anyway. I don't want to accidentally hurt you. How are your bones anyway?"

Somehow, Ponyboy had forgotten about his injuries. He calmed down his shaky breath, making sure to not show any discomfort. He smiled gently at Archer. "I'll be alright."

Gunfire from the TV snapped their attention towards, reminding them that they were watching something before. Ponyboy rested his head on Archer's chest, listening to his steady heartbeats. It hurt his chest to be in that position, but it was manageable.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" Ponyboy asked.

"Nah. I'm all good," Archer replied, wrapping his arms around Ponyboy.

Ponyboy reached up and played with Archer's hair, letting out a content sigh. "Hey, I really like us, Robin Hood."

"I really like us too, Roadrunner."

The two of them continued to watch the show. At one point, Ponyboy fell asleep. He snored lightly on Archer's chest. Archer smiled at him, petting his back. His chest hurt and his body was falling asleep, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Ponyboy was so peaceful and the fact that he trusted him enough to do that really meant a lot to him. Besides, there was no need for him to move.

It was crazy to think back to when they had first met—how they hated each other's guts. But a lot of time had passed since then. They've been through a lot together—way more than what an average person should go through in their lifetime. But everything that they went through ended up strengthening their relationship. They had thought that Ponyboy had walked in at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, now that they were together, they both felt complete. They now knew that both of them were at the right place at the right time.

o-o-o

Thank you so much for reading through this entire story! It is now officially complete. I really hope that you will continue to support me as a writer by reading my works.

My next main story is uploaded if you want to read that. It is called: So Close, Yet So Far.

Thank you again!