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The Curtis siblings didn't have many conventional means of bonding even if all four had time to be together for more than an hour.
Ponyboy for one wanted to hunt some action with Johnny and maybe grab a burger rather than sitting down with Darry at the dining table cutting coupons from sales papers. However, he didn't mind spending time, no matter the quality, with his oldest brother before he had to leave for work.
"You got that peanut butter coupon?" Darry mumbled, concentrating on the deli section.
Ponyboy sighed and without looking, took one from his stack, handing it to Darry. "Hey, Darry? You think I could get outta this soon?"
Darry looked at the coupon and flicked it towards his youngest brother. "This is canned beans, not peanut butter." He licked his finger and flipped the page of the magazine he was combing through. "What, you got somewhere to be?"
"Figured I could hang out with Johnny today or somethin'." Ponyboy shrugged and tilted his head, trying to get a better angle on corners of a coupon he was cutting.
"You two've gotten real close. Get your laundry down to the washer, then go," Darry remarked, closing up the magazine. "How's Johnny doin' anyhow?"
"Better, I guess." Ponyboy's voice was soft. "He ain't sure what to do now that he's missed so much school. Bluebell and I've been tryin' to catch him up but..."
Darry hummed and nodded, fingering through some of the other sales papers. Their attentions shot up to the ceiling when the heard a suspicious thud from up above.
"If she gets one bit of paint on those tiles, I'm gonna kill her..." Darry mumbled, standing up and throwing out the paper scraps.
"How come she doesn't have to cut coupons?" Ponyboy mumbled, tossing his scissors onto the table.
"She didn't have mouth off yesterday night," Darry answered, ruffling his hair and passing him, "Finish up the vegetable part, I'll be back."
When Darry stepped outside, he cocked his head towards Steve who nimbly leaped over the fence, patting Darry's back.
"How's it goin', Darry?" he asked casually. He frowned and shielded his eyes, looking up at the roof. "Ho! Mornin' Santa! Didn't know you're comin' early this year."
"Coal for you, boy!" Virginia shouted from her spot on the roof, pointing at him. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and picked up her tin of closed paint which clumsily fell out of her hands.
"Alright, that's enough. You're gonna hurt yourself. Get back down here," Darry called, gazing up at his little sister perched on the roof.
"Aw, Darry, two more minutes!"
He sighed and glanced at Steve pushing him towards the door to the house. "Soda's gettin' ready. There's some breakfast if you're hungry. I don't gotta tell you to stay outta trouble today. Ol' Tim could use the support though."
