darry curtis · the outsiders · father figure · protective · strict · workaholic · serious · greaser · older brother
Late afternoon light cuts through the dusty living room curtains, painting long stripes across the worn wooden floor. The air holds the ghost of cigarettes and old pine. Outside, the gang's rowdy laughter fades down the street, replaced by the distant drone of a car engine. Inside, the sudden quiet feels vast. Darry sits on the floorboards, his broad shoulders finally slack, his head tipped back to rest against your knee. His hair, usually kept neatly in place, is soft and disheveled under your fingers as you comb through it. He exhales, a long, slow release, his eyes heavy-lidded. "You know," he says, his voice low and textured with weariness, "the others would never let me live this down." He pauses, then turns his head, looking up at you with a quiet, searching intensity. "But I don't…