Start the song. It's Coma Baby by Nicole Dollanganger.

Tyler's touch was just as gentle as Josh remembered. He still giggled when Josh kissed his neck, whimpered when he touched him, and kissed Josh like his lips were oxygen and he was drowning. It was just like the first time, but even more intoxicating.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Tyler was snoring next to Josh as the sun rose. Josh soothed his fingers through Tyler's short hair. Their bare skin was warm where it was pressed together, but the cold of the air in the room raised goosebumps along their exposed flesh. Carefully, Josh pulled the blankets up further over their bodies before wrapping an arm around Tyler's waist.

Apart from the soft flutter of his eyelids, Tyler showed no sign of having noticed the action. Somehow, that only made Josh happier. Seeing Tyler sleeping peacefully, knowing he was safe, meant everything to Josh. So long as his husband was able to have gentle dreams, everything would be okay.

He looked up when his window slid open. Hayley climbed inside, opening her mouth excitedly to speak when Josh pressed a finger to his lips. She looked confused, so he pointed to Tyler. Her eyes widened as a smile spread across her face. He smiled back tiredly.

Tyler shifted in his sleep, hiding his face against Josh's chest. He inhaled deeply before a smile spread across his sleeping lips. He mumbled out something that sounded like "Joshua" before relaxing again. A smile came to Josh's lips as well.

"I'm here," he whispered back, and Tyler hummed softly, nuzzling in closer.

Combing his fingers through Tyler's hair softly, Josh looked back over at Hayley. Her eyes were shining slightly with tears, but she was smiling brightly.

"Thank you," he whispered to her.

She nodded, setting Tyler's note from yesterday on top of the desk in the corner. "You guys must've forgotten this," she whispered back.

Josh nodded. "Thanks."

Hayley hesitated before whispering, "If you ever abandon him again, I'll kill you. Got it? He needs you, and you need him."

"I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. "I don't think I could survive losing him again. I couldn't. He's...." Josh struggled to find the right word to describe Tyler, but Hayley smiled as she found it for him.

"Everything?"

Smiling ever wider, Josh nodded. He looked at his husband again. His eyelashes were dark against his rosy cheeks. His lips were parted slightly, blowing hot air against Josh's chest. Everything. Tyler was everything. He pressed a kiss to Tyler's forehead.

"Yeah. He's everything," Josh whispered back.

"Take care of him. I'll see you later, okay?" Hayley whispered as she climbed onto the windowsill.

"I will. Thank you, Hayley. Really. You have no idea how big this is," Josh said quietly. "You're my best friend."

She smiled at him. "You're mine too."

The window closed behind her and she was gone. Just like that, Josh was alone with his husband again. He looked at the sleeping boy beside him, tracing the line of his jaw lightly with his fingertips. He'd missed this so much.

Still, this was unfamiliar territory too. He'd never had a morning alone with Tyler where neither of them had to be scared of something. Tyler could sleep until his body woke up naturally and Josh didn't have anywhere to be. They could just hold each other and relax. That was an entirely foreign concept to Josh.

The only thing that could make this more perfect was if Ashley and the baby were here. If their whole little family was here, Josh wouldn't have any worries at all. Having Tyler was enough though. In fact, it was more than he thought he'd ever have.

Tyler's eyelids fluttered open sleepily. He smiled when he saw Josh, sliding an arm around his husband's waist. "I thought it was a dream," he mumbled sleepily. "I thought I'd wake up and you'd be dead again."

"I'm here," Josh told him softly, rubbing his back. "It was real."

Tyler smiled when Josh kissed his nose. "I love you."

"I love you too," Josh replied easily. He smiled as he massaged Tyler's muscles softly with his thumbs, making him sigh contentedly. "I actually missed your snoring."

"I don't snore," Tyler replied.

Josh smiled. "Yes, you do. It's adorable."

Tyler blushed, hiding his face against Josh's neck. "You smell good."

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" Josh asked with a grin.

"Yeah, but you should tell me again," Tyler replied, yawning against Josh's shoulder before sitting back to look at Josh expectantly.

Josh chuckled. "I love you." He kissed Tyler's lips. "I love you." Kiss. "I love you." Kiss. "I love you." Kiss.

"Much better," Tyler replied with a satisfied smile. "I love you too." He kissed Josh softly before laying back. He ran his fingers through Josh's hair gently. "I really do love the pink."

"Hayley wanted to do red, but it looked too much like blood or wine and I stopped breathing," Josh admitted. He hesitated before asking Tyler, "Do you ever wonder if they drugged other stuff we ate? Not with mistletoe and cyanide, but with other stuff. Like, what was in the wine from our consummation? Was there anything?"

Tyler nodded his understanding, soothing his fingers through Josh's hair as he looked at him with warm eyes. "I've wondered, but I also know that we made it out. That Hell still is inside of us, and that might never go away, but we're alive. We're together. We're safe. They didn't kill us, even though they tried."

Somehow, Tyler had found the exact words Josh had been needing for the past year. For the first time since he'd escaped the community, he wasn't simply being told to forget everything he went through and learn to be a person. He was being told that he'd survived all of that, and it was still relevant to who he was, but he still had potential. That was all Josh needed: validation.

A sound filled the air that took Josh a moment to identify as a ringtone. Tyler gasped as he scrambled up, picking up Josh's pants off of the floor before finding his own. He pulled a phone out of the pocket, wincing when he saw the screen before answering.

"Hello?" He asked, clearly trying hide his nerves as he climbed back onto the bed with Josh. He climbed into Josh's lap when the older boy sat up, resting his forehead against Josh's shoulder. "No, I'm okay. I didn't go to Ashley's. Yeah, I know." The was a pause, in which Josh wrapped his arms around Tyler, massaging his back again. "Okay but wouldn't it be stupid for someone to kidnap me right after I got back?"

Josh frowned as he rubbed out the stiffness in Tyler's muscles. Were Tyler's parents still scared he'd disappear again? Josh's parents would've just moved on by now.

"No, I'm safe. I can-" He sighed. "Okay, well tell Ashley that I'm sorry. I didn't meant to scare her."

It was so strange thinking about Ashley being somewhere on the other end of that phone call. For so long, she'd been buried in the back of Josh's mind. He'd had to bury her. His strongest memory of her was that day in the Sanctuary, and remembering that would kill him. She'd told him he was forgiven, but Josh knew it wasn't that easy. A part of her would always be scared of him, and he didn't blame her. This wasn't her fault. None of it was.

"No, Mom. Wait! I don't-Hi, Ashley." Tyler sighed as he wrapped his free arm around Josh's waist. "I can explain-"

"You scared the shit out of me, you asshole!" Ashley yelled so loudly into the phone that Josh heard it. His eyes widened, but even when tainted with anger, her voice soothed the worries in his mind. She was alive. She was safe.

"I'm sorry. Something important happened," Tyler tried to explain. There was a pause again. Tyler lifted his head, looking nervously at Josh, who kissed his nose gently. "No one is going to hurt me, Ashley. I'm safe."

"You don't know that!" Ashley exclaimed loudly, but Josh could hear the concern in her voice. She was scared for Tyler, and Josh didn't blame her.

"Yes, I do. Our husband would never let anything hurt me," Tyler replied defensively.

His eyes widened as he realised what he'd said. Josh's eyes widened as well. Ashley was going to kill him. He hadn't prepared himself for seeing her again yet. Maybe he couldn't. After hurting her like that and leaving her with a son, maybe there was no way to prepare to talk to her.

Tyler lowered the phone as he looked nervously at Josh. "What's your address?" He whispered.

"315 Chestnut Street, I think," Josh whispered back.

"315 Chestnut Street. Ashley, are you sure you don't want to-" He sighed as he pulled his phone away from his ear, looking up at Josh as he locked it and set it down. "She hung up on me. She's going to kill both of us."

Josh sighed as well, pulling the blankets up around Tyler when he hid his face against Josh's neck. His soft skin was covered in goosebumps as he snuggled against Josh. Having the opportunity to focus on something as mundane as keeping Tyler warm was soothing for Josh. It allowed him to protect his husband without it having to be from something life threatening.

"If she's going to kill us, we should probably be wearing pants," Josh decided, making Tyler laugh against his skin.

Tyler's arms wrapped around Josh's waist as his lips brushed against his shoulder. "Not yet, okay? Just give me a minute."

"A minute for what?" Josh asked curiously. He soothed his palm along Tyler's spine, making him shiver.

Tyler shrugged, kissing Josh's shoulder again. "Just to feel you, I guess. It seems more real when I can feel your skin. My brain doesn't worry about whether or not you're really here when I can see all of you."

"I'm here," Josh whispered for what was probably the millionth time. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I didn't have nightmares last night," Tyler whispered suddenly. "I usually do."

Josh nodded, rocking Tyler lightly. "I do too. I think that's normal."

"Ashley and I wake each other up screaming a lot. It scares JJ," Tyler told him. "Sometimes I see Mathias or your dad or Titus in my dreams. I know they're dead, but they feel alive when I'm asleep."

"They can't hurt you anymore," Josh promised him. "Even if they weren't dead, I'd never let any of them touch you ever again."

"They can't hurt you either," Tyler replied quietly. "You're safe too."

It seemed like false hope. Of course they could still hurt Josh. He heard his father's voice daily. Over and over in his dreams, he heard the knife smashing into Mathias's skull or smelt the stench of his burning flesh. What Titus had forced him to do followed him around like heavy chains, shackled to his wrists and ankles. For Josh, there was no way to escape The Family. Not completely.

"What did you dream about last night?" Josh asked Tyler, needing the positivity.

Thankfully, Tyler was able to provide. "I dreamt that we were at my house and I was teaching you to play piano. You weren't very good at it, but the look on your face whenever you got it right was adorable."

"Do you really play piano?" Josh asked, realizing he didn't actually know.

Tyler sat back and smiled at Josh. "I do. It's kind of my favourite thing to do."

"Are you good at it?" Josh asked, smiling when the question made Tyler blush.

"I think so," Tyler replied shyly. Blushing furiously, he quickly redirected the attention away from himself. "What did you dream about?"

Josh shrugged. "I don't remember. I don't think I had a dream."

"You must've been sleepy," Tyler replied, running his fingers through Josh's hair again. He smiled, and Josh knew it was because of the colour again.

"Let's get dressed, okay?" Josh said, shifting Tyler out of his lap carefully. He pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before going over to his closet.

"Can I wear your clothes?" Tyler asked as he picked up his boxers from off of the floor.

The question made Josh smile. "Absolutely."

Tyler caught the black tee shirt and black jeans Josh tossed him. Josh pulled out clean boxers for himself and slid them on while his husband pulled the shirt on. A small part of him, one that was still influenced by his father, found great satisfaction in seeing Tyler wearing not just black clothes, but black clothes that belonged to him. Even if it wasn't particularly the case anymore, seeing him like this gave Josh a sense of ownership. Tyler was his husband. Tyler had given him his innocence. Tyler was his.

As soon as they were both dressed, Josh led Tyler downstairs. It was eight in the morning on a Saturday, so the only people awake were Josh's grandparents, his mother, and Ash. The television on the counter was on, playing some news story about something terrible that had happened. His grandparents were completely enraptured. His mother was watching in horror. Ash was reading something and eating a banana.

Josh didn't talk to any of them as he made coffee, smiling slightly when Tyler's fingers remained hooked in his back belt loop as he completed his task. His husband followed him around like a sleepy puppy.

"Do you want to just sit down?" Josh asked Tyler as he closed the top of the coffee maker and pushed the button that made the water start to heat up.

Tyler shook his head, but stayed quiet. He didn't have to elaborate. Josh understood. He would rather be close to Josh. This still felt surreal to him too. Keeping Tyler as close as possible was the only thing that seemed to soothe his mind. He wrapped his arms around Tyler's waist, letting him hide his face again as the coffee brewed. Warm air fanned against his neck when Tyler let out a contented sigh.

In a few minutes, Josh would have to face Ashley. He would have to look her in the eye after what he'd done to her, what he'd left her with. It was time to unbury her, to excavate the tomb he'd made for her in the furthest corner of his mind. As much as it terrified him, he had no choice. He owed her that much.