Start the song. It's Fuel to Fire by Agnes Obel. ***Again, this will contain mentions of Josh's stitches.***

Tyler woke up to a face-full of Ashley's hair. Josh's face was buried against Ashley's chest with JJ snuggled close against his. Tyler's bed wasn't really big enough to accommodate this many people, but really that was just an excuse to cuddle closer.

He tried to move her hair away carefully, but it woke her up anyways. She pouted at him sleepily, her arms tightening slightly around Josh. Honestly, Tyler had no idea at what point in the night he'd wound up being the big spoon. All he knew was that Josh looked adorable curled up between them, sleeping silently.

"He's never slept longer than us before," Ashley mumbled, letting her eyelids slip shut again.

Tyler smiled slightly. "He must be sleepy."

Ashley smirked without opening her eyes. "Well, yeah. He had a long night."

Tyler snickered, having to bury his face in his pillow to keep from waking Josh up. Their wife was still grinning when he looked at her again. "I take it you enjoyed your first time then?"

"I mean, when I imagined my first time, I never thought it'd be with my two husbands or that I'd already have a baby," Ashley pointed out. "But, yeah. It was totally perfect."

She smiled when Tyler kissed her softly. "Good."

"Who would've thought that all we needed to have sex without feeling awkward was Josh?" Ashley's eyes opened again as she rubbed Josh's bare back. They both smiled when he shivered and snuggled closer to her. "I guess it makes sense since we're both really only married to him."

"Everything makes more sense with him here," Tyler decided.

His wife nodded easily. "We're better together."

"We really are," Tyler agreed.

Tyler pulled the blankets up to cover Ashley's chest when his door opened. Unfortunately, that also meant covering Josh. Their husband didn't seem to notice though. He remained asleep, inhaling and exhaling softly against Ashley's chest.

"Hey, Tyler," Brendon began. "I went to Ashley's house and she wasn't there so I figured she'd be here and your mom said to.... Are you guys naked?"

A blush burnt its way across Tyler's cheeks. Yes, Ashley was their wife, but Tyler also knew that Brendon was in love with her. Even if she wasn't ready to accept that love, it was there. This was awkward to say the least.

"Keep your voice down. They're still sleeping," Ashley told Brendon quietly.

There was clearly still tension between the two of them. Tyler couldn't blame them for that though. Brendon had made Ashley feel even worse about her body, and Ashley had broken his heart.

"Who?" Brendon asked more quietly, sitting down in Tyler's desk chair.

It was in that exact moment that JJ let out a loud cry. It was hard to tell if Brendon was more surprised by the noise or the way it made Josh shoot straight up in bed, already trying to soothe JJ despite having just woken up.

"Hey, it's okay," Tyler assured Josh. "He's just hungry."

Instantly, Josh handed the baby back over to Ashley. She smiled at him. "You're much more helpful than Tyler is."

Josh smiled tiredly. "Be nice to Tyler. He's a princess," Josh mumbled before lying back down, wrapping his arms around Tyler and burying his face against his chest.

Tyler kissed Josh's forehead softly before smirking at Ashley. "Yeah. I'm a princess."

"Be nice to Ashley. She's a princess too," Josh mumbled.

Ashley stuck her tongue out at Tyler as she pulled the blankets further up over her chest and started to feed JJ. As always, their son tried to push the blanket off of his head.

"Brendon, can you just close your eyes or something?" Ashley asked irritably.

"Or he could just accept that JJ needs to eat," Josh grumbled, nuzzling closer to Tyler despite his apparent irritation at the presence of the newcomer.

Tyler smirked. "You're pretty crabby for someone who slept in."

"I'm not crabby," Josh replied defensively. "I just think he's a piece of shit for making Ashley feel bad about her body."

Tyler's eyebrows raised in surprise. So Ashley had told him. He looked at Brendon, who was glaring at Josh. Josh had every right to be protective though. Ashley was his wife and the mother of his baby. Of course he wouldn't stand for someone making her feel bad about herself.

"I'm the one who made her feel bad about her body?" Brendon asked in a low voice.

Anxiety dribbled through Tyler's veins at the feeling of Josh's muscles tensing. Before he could defend Josh at all, Josh sat up, looking at Brendon with a cold glare that Tyler hadn't seen since the meeting with the elders on his second day in the community. Josh wasn't hurt. He was angry.

"I didn't have a choice when I did what I did. You consciously decided to shame her for something that isn't her fault when she was trusting you enough to be vulnerable in front of you. So, yeah. I would say you are the one who made her feel that way about her body, and you perpetuate that every time you make her have to cover up when she feeds JJ, who hates being covered up anyways."

"There's nothing wrong with her boobs, and I never said there was. I just think-" Brendon began, but Josh cut him off.

"That they're only acceptable when they're there for your benefit? Fuck you," Josh fired back.

Tyler was surprised when Ashley giggled. All eyes went to her. She shrugged. "He's not wrong."

"Are you kidding me?" Brendon demanded. "You're seriously siding with him?"

Ashley reached one hand out, combing her fingers through Josh's curls. "Of course, I am. He's my little spoon."

Tyler watched as Josh's ability to be angry faltered at that. He smiled at Ashley, brushing her hair off of her face before softly smoothing his hand along JJ's hair. Despite their current situation, pride swelled in Tyler's chest at the sight of his little family.

"What time is it?" Josh asked Tyler tiredly.

He glanced at his alarm clock, sighing at the time. "Half past six. We should get up."

Anxiety immediately crossed Josh's features. It broke Tyler's heart how scared Josh really was of school. He wrapped his arms around Josh, pulling him back down so he could hold him close. As if by instinct, Josh burrowed in close to Tyler immediately. Tyler smiled as he kissed his husband's forehead.

"Don't be scared, sweetheart," Ashley said softly. "If anyone bothers you, even a little, Tyler will knock them out."

"I will," Tyler confirmed. Josh smiled slightly at that, making it impossible for Tyler not to kiss his forehead again. "You're so cute."

"I'm not," Josh mumbled, already falling back to sleep.

"You are," Tyler and Ashley said at the same time.

"We're all just ignoring the part where he ditched you guys and your baby for a year?" Brendon asked irritably.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "You mean the year where he had to learn how to live outside of a fence? The year where he didn't know if other members of The Family were looking for him? The year where he was more scared than he'd ever been in his entire life, but was still too protective of us to let us take care of him? That year?"

"You need to stop talking," Ashley told Brendon. "You don't know enough to judge Josh. No one does. You can't imagine what he had to go through before he was ready to let us back in. Why do you think we aren't mad? We know why he disappeared. We trust him. We love him unconditionally. Until you know Josh, you don't get to say shit."

Tyler nodded his agreement although he was more focused on Josh, who was back asleep already. He rubbed Josh's back softly. "Baby, you've gotta wake up," he said gently. Josh grumbled, but didn't move. "You can wear my clothes if you want." No response. "I'll make you coffee." Josh peeked one eye open, making Tyler laugh.

"Keep going," Josh whispered.

"Um, I'll kiss you every time I see you today," Tyler added, and Josh's other eye opened. He didn't move though. Tyler had to go bigger. "If you get up right now, you can shower with me."

Josh sat up quickly, making Ashley and Tyler both laugh. Even Brendon smiled before he caught himself and forced a frown once again. Josh grabbed his boxers off of the floor, pulling them on under the covers before sliding out of the bed. He located Tyler's boxers tossing them to him. He also found Ashley's panties, and handed her his shirt when she gave him puppy dog eyes.

It was then that Brendon seemed to realized. "Oh my God. Did you guys have sex last night? Like...all of you?"

Ashley and Tyler both blushed, but Josh was unaffected as he scooped a now slightly decent Tyler up out of the bed. "Yep," he replied simply. He kissed the top of Ashley's head and stroked JJ's as he passed them. "I love you," he told them.

"I love you too. You two better be fast, okay? No funny business. You aren't going to be late for your first day of school," Ashley told them sternly.

"Yes, ma'am," Josh replied. He looked at Brendon then. "Be nice to my wife while I'm gone or I'll turn you inside out. Got it?"

Brendon's eyes widened as he nodded fearfully. Tyler snickered from Josh's arms. "You're too sweet to turn him inside out, Joshua."

"He made Ashley cry. Sweetness doesn't mean shit after that. He's lucky I'm too tired to beat him up," Josh replied as he left Tyler's room.

Tyler smirked at Brendon's frightened expression. "Be right back. Behave. Josh probably won't like it too much if you get too comfortable around Ashley before he gets back. He clearly doesn't like you right now."

Ashley laughed as she slid out of bed, laying a milk-sated JJ down on top of Tyler's bed. "Joshua?" She asked loudly enough for him to hear her.

"Yeah?" He called back, still tugging Tyler to the bathroom.

"Promise me you won't kill Brendon?" She asked, and Tyler laughed at the fear Brendon's face.

Josh laughed too. "Baby, I won't kill him. Maim? Sure. Kill? Never."

"That's my boy," she replied.

Tyler grinned as he finally went into the bathroom with Josh. He pulled the door shut, already sliding his boxers back off, just like Josh was. Josh's eyes were dazed from sleep, but they were still oozing with affection as he watched Tyler turn on the shower.

"I love you," Josh told him. "Just in case you forgot."

It seemed like Tyler would never stop smiling. "I love you too."

He climbed into the shower, smiling as Josh followed him in. Instantly, Josh's arms wrapped around his waist. His lips trailed delicately along Tyler's shoulder, making him shiver.

"I still love you," Tyler reminded Josh, making him laugh.

"I still love you too, princess."

Josh released Tyler in favour of washing his hair for him. His touch was so gentle and soothing that it made Tyler blush. There was no one on earth he was more comfortable around, yet Josh also made his heart beat so fast that it could probably break his ribs.

"We've never done this before," Josh realized quietly as he helped Tyler rinse the soap out of his hair.

"What?" Tyler asked.

"Shower together. Like, we've all three bathed each other, but never showers," Josh explained as he moved on to washing Tyler's body.

"We've always been injured or dying though, so this isn't really the same," Tyler pointed out. "I gave Ashley baths a lot when she was pregnant. I did it for a while after too. It helped her with the postpartum stuff."

Josh sighed. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help."

"You're here now, and that's all that matters," Tyler replied easily. "Come here and let me wash you."

Josh's freshly dyed curls couldn't get wet yet, so he had to stand partially out of the way of the showerhead. It made Tyler's job easier, allowing him to focus only on washing Josh's body. Nearly every inch of Josh's skin was scarred or scabbed, making Tyler's chest hurt slightly as he washed him. The uncovered stitches hurt his heart too, but he persisted.

As soon as he was done rinsing away the soap on Josh's body, Tyler kissed his husband. It was slow and soft, but it was hungry. Although everything was gentle, Tyler needed Josh to know how important he was to him. He needed him to understand that this one-on-one time was a means of proving to the older boy that he wasn't alone. Tyler would always take care of his husband-his little spoon.

-----

Tyler's mom was making breakfast when they came downstairs, and his dad was drinking a cup of coffee as he read the newspaper. Their family all thought it was hilarious that he actually read the newspaper, but Tyler didn't joke about it this morning. Josh looked extremely nervous around Mr. Joseph as he carried JJ. Ashley held his hand, much to Brendon's annoyance.

Maddy smiled from her seat beside their father when she saw Josh, creating the perfect opportunity for Jay to swipe a piece of sausage off of her plate. Zack took the stolen food and set it back on Maddy's plate before giving the youngest Joseph one from his own plate.

"Hi, Josh," Maddy said in her usual quiet voice, smiling sweetly at Tyler's husband.

The kitchen fell silent. "Hi," Josh said quietly, looking at Tyler nervously.

Tyler's father instantly smiled, the same warm smile he gave all of his kids-Ashley included. "Good morning. Did you all sleep okay?"

"I know Tyler did," Zack said with a smirk, earning a thump on the back of his head with an oven mitt as their mom set a pan of muffins down on the table.

"Oh, hush. You don't even share a room with him anymore," she told him.

"Right, because it's so much quieter next door. You're lucky Jay is a deep sleeper," Zack told Tyler, who rolled his eyes as he helped Josh put JJ into his high chair.

Josh's hands were shaking, so Tyler took the one Ashley wasn't holding already before leading his lovers to the kitchen table to sit down. He flinched slightly when Tyler's dad stood up, but he was just going over to make another pot of coffee. Tyler could see Brendon watching Josh carefully, clearly struggling to comprehend why Josh was so afraid right now.

"Josh, do you like coffee?" Mr. Joseph asked in a kind voice. Josh still shrunk anxiously against Tyler.

"Yes, sir," he said quietly.

Tyler watched his parents glance at each other, instantly picking up on the fact that Josh was scared to death of the patriarch. Ashley kissed Josh's cheek softly. "Are you hungry?" She asked him.

He shook his head quickly, and Tyler's chest felt tight. Josh was terrified right now, even if he was trying as hard as he could not to show it. Even Brendon looked worried when Josh buried his face against Tyler's shoulder, clearly struggling to keep his breathing even.

"I'll make Josh's coffee in a minute," Tyler told his dad. "We'll be right back."

Tyler's dad grabbed a mug out of the cabinet, clearly understanding that Josh wasn't eating because he didn't know them. He had no way of knowing if they'd poisoned his food or if this was all some elaborate trap to get back at him for Tyler's disappearance. Josh was making great strides, but asking him to trust another male religious leader was too much right now.

Tyler helped Josh off of the bench, leading him out of the kitchen and into the living room without releasing his hand. He should've known that his would've been too much for Josh.

"Come here," Tyler said quietly as he wrapped his arms around Josh and held him tightly. "You can cry."

As much as Tyler knew it ripped Josh apart to show weakness in an unfamiliar place, he did. He was shaking so hard that Tyler had to hold him up as he sobbed against Tyler's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Josh sobbed out weakly.

Tyler shook his head. "Don't be, sweetheart. You're doing so well. Some things are just harder than others. We'll get there, okay? Don't worry. I'll protect you."

He felt Josh nod against his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he repeated again.

Tyler glanced around the room warily in an attempt to find something-anything-that would comfort Josh or remind him of home. He smiled slightly before leading Josh to his piano. The older boy stumbled slightly as he followed Tyler, letting himself be guided to sit down on the piano bench. Tyler sat down next to him.

"Want to hear a song I wrote you?" Tyler asked his husband.

Josh sniffled, smiling slightly. "You wrote me a song?"
"I've written you more than one, Josh. You're my best friend. I always write you songs," Tyler told Josh easily.

Josh's tiny smile widened just a little bit. "Okay."

Josh didn't say a word as Tyler's fingers slid across the keys, playing a soft song. He'd written this one the day JJ was born, when he'd gotten to see Josh's eyes again after so long. He knew it by heart. It wasn't the most complex or impressive of the songs he'd written, but it meant a lot to him.

When he was finished, he looked to Josh, who was speechless. He was watching Tyler with wide eyes, and it didn't take long for Tyler to get insecure about it.

"I know it's not-" Tyler began, just as Josh said: "You wrote that?" Tyler nodded, squeaking in surprise when Josh kissed him.

Josh's lips were soft and delicate against his, making him shiver. Whenever Josh touched him like this, like he was precious, it made his heart swell. Josh was still looking at Tyler in awe when he broke the kiss.

"You're amazing," Josh told him.

Tyler blushed. "Not really."

"No, you are. You're perfect. How do you...Your brain just comes up with stuff like that?" Josh looked so enamoured by all of this that Tyler couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah," he replied quietly.

Josh kissed him again, and this time Tyler was smiling into it. All of Josh's anxiety had been replaced by wonder, and Tyler had no idea how he'd done that. All he'd done was play a song. Josh kept kissing him though, over and over again.

"I love you," Josh told him before pecking his lips again. "So much."

Tyler was beaming. "I love you too."

"I'm sorry I freaked out," Josh said quietly.

Tyler shook his head, kissing Josh again. "You're allowed to freak out. No one's judging you. My dad was just worried about you. Do you want me to make you some coffee?" Josh was quiet for a second, and Tyler knew he wanted to say yes. "Come on. We can put cinnamon in the filter and make it extra yummy."

"Okay," Josh replied anxiously.

Tyler kissed his forehead softly. "I won't let anyone hurt you, Josh. It's just coffee, okay? You can watch me make it and everything."

Josh nodded, letting Tyler take his shaky hand and lead him back into the kitchen. Tyler's dad was careful to give Josh space, and no one said anything even remotely rude to him about panicking. By the time they'd all finished eating and were ready for school, Josh didn't seem as nervous. He was surprised when Maddy hugged him goodbye, and Jay followed suit.

"I'm so glad I have more brothers than sisters again," Jay told Josh as he hugged him goodbye. "You're gonna come back, right?"

It was very clear that this was overwhelming for Josh, but he smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, I'll come back."

Mrs. Joseph hugged each of the teenagers-Tyler, Ashley, Brendon, and finally Josh. Tyler smiled when he realized Josh didn't look scared of her. He let her kiss the top of his head.

"Remember what I said last night. If you need anything, you just let me know. We'll keep praying for you today, okay?" She told him softly.

Tyler had no idea at what point in the night Josh had spoken to his mother, but the older boy smiled gratefully. "Thanks, ma'am," he said quietly.

She kissed Josh's forehead before smiling at him with teary eyes. Tyler glanced at Zack in surprise, finding his younger brother to be just as shocked by their mother's instant love of Josh. Maybe this was why Josh wasn't scared of her. She was already treating him the way his mom had inside the community when he was hurt or scared. She was protecting him.

"We're so proud of you," she told Josh. "Don't you forget that."

He smiled slightly, and Tyler's heart felt like it was going to burst. Josh didn't look scared. He just looked relieved. "Thank you, ma'am," he said again.

She collected all four of the teenagers into a hug then. It was hard to tell who was more annoyed by being squished against the other: Brendon or Josh. Tyler's mom had to be practically pried off of them by her husband. If she had it her way, she'd be homeschooling all of her kids after everything they'd been through. Sending out Tyler, Ashley, and Josh to a school that had never protected them was hard on her, and Tyler knew that. She'd do anything to make sure they knew they were safe here.

"Have a good day! I love you!" She told them as Tyler took Josh's hand and led their small group to the front door. Ashley kissed JJ's forehead before following.

"Love you too!" Tyler and Ashley called back.

As soon as they were out of the house, Tyler said, "I'm so sorry about her."

"Why?" Josh asked as they walked through the snow to where all of their cars were parked.

"She's very touchy and emotional," Tyler said with a grin.

"She's a good mom," Josh assured him as Tyler led him to Brendon's car.

Out of the three of them with vehicles, Brendon was the only person with snow tires, so he drove them to school. While he wasn't exactly thrilled to be driving Josh, he didn't complain. Ashley climbed into the passenger's seat, letting Tyler sit by Josh. Brendon climbed into the driver's seat, turning the car on to get the heat going.

The tension in the car was heavy as everyone put their seatbelts on, but Tyler tried not to let it get the best of him. He took Josh's hand, kissing each of his knuckles before turning it around and kissing along his stitches. His husband smiled when he repeated the process on the other hand.

"Today's going to be good," Tyler told him. "If anyone bothers you, you let me know, okay? I'll kick their ass."

Josh nodded, letting out a soft breath as he rested his head on Tyler's shoulder. "What if you aren't there?" He asked.

The car was quiet for a moment before Brendon cleared his throat. "Then I'll kick their ass."

"Why?" Josh asked, narrowing his eyes as he studied Brendon.

"Because they don't know anything about you," Brendon said as he put the car into drive. "I only get to not like you because I'm being a baby, and I'll get over it. They don't get to not like you when they don't know you. That's bullshit."

Brendon seemed surprised when Ashley leant over and kissed his cheek. She didn't say anything, reaching a hand back for Josh to hold as she looked out of the window.

"For the record," she began, looking at Josh again, "I miss your pink hair. It was really cute."

"You had pink hair?" Brendon asked, raising his eyebrows.

"His girlfriend dyed it," Ashley told him, making Brendon's eyes widen.

Josh rolled his eyes. "She wasn't my girlfriend."

"Oh right. Sorry. Not his girlfriend. Just the girl he was fucking that convinced him to find us again," Ashley said with a smirk.

Tyler laughed, wrapping an arm around Josh and kissing his forehead. "For the record, I like Josh's not-girlfriend. She's awesome."

"I do too," Ashley agreed regretfully. "Hey, Josh, are you sure you only want to be married to two people?"

Josh groaned, burying his face against Tyler's shoulder. "Can we not do this?"

"Does she know you're going back to school?" Tyler asked.

Josh shook his head. "No."

Tyler took his phone out and snapped a picture of Josh quickly, making him whine. Tyler laughed as he sent it to Hayley, writing:

Our little Joshua has his first day of school today. They grow up so fast.

Her reply was quick.

DID THAT LITTLE SHIT DYE HIS HAIR AGAIN????

Tyler snickered showing it to Josh, who laughed. "She's going to make me dye it back. I know she will."

"She can't make you. What is she? Your wife?" Brendon asked with a smirk. Then his smirk faltered. "She's not your wife, is she?"

"No, I already have one of those," Josh laughed out. "I don't need another one."

"That's right," Ashley said with a grin. "You're so smart."

Josh smiled at her. "I love you, princess."

Tyler watched Brendon bite his lip to keep from complaining about that. He looked especially annoyed when Ashley said, "I love you too, sweet boy."

"And I love you," Josh told Tyler, kissing his cheek.

Tyler smiled. "I love you too."

Josh glanced at Brendon. "I don't love you, but I'd still probably be kind of bummed if you died."

"The feeling is mutual," Brendon replied.