3482 words

the cool october air blows across tyler's face, causing a shiver to run through him. he hugs josh's hoodie tighter against himself, smiling when he feels a warm arm wrap around him. he leans into josh's side, keeping his eyes trained on their dirty shoes walking along the dirt path.

today is their one month anniversary and to celebrate they decided to go to an apple orchard. they found the place online and chose it because it has a bunch of other things for them to do: a hayride, a petting zoo, a corn maze, etc. they're also able to pick their own flowers and vegetables, and they even plan on getting pumpkins to carve.

at the entrance to the farm, josh starts leading them to the line to buy tickets. tyler stops them in their tracks, earning a curious look from josh.

"i may have already secretly bought tickets for us because i knew you wouldn't let me pay for my own," he explains sheepishly.

"you didn't have to do that, hon," josh chuckles, taking the boy's hand in his own, "but that was very sweet of you. which tickets did you get?"

"um," tyler hums, pulling the tickets up on his phone, "the ones with everything included."

"well, okay then. i'm buying your pumpkin for you though."

"okay," he agrees.

they go through the other line and get their tickets scanned, a bright orange wristband fastened snugly on their wrists. once inside, tyler is immediately overwhelmed both at the amount of people and at the amount of activities the place holds. the path splits off into two directions and he isn't sure where to start, eyes anxiously darting back and forth.

"what're you thinking we do first?" josh asks, lacing their fingers together.

tyler inhales sharply, tightly squeezing his hand, "i have no idea."

"how about we start with the hayride?" josh suggests, "that way we'll get to see around the whole farm and we can think about where to go next."

tyler agrees, so they use the wooden signs scattered around to figure out where the hayride starts. while waiting in line to board the next ride, josh has one arm wrapped around tyler's shoulders. he's chatting about some conversation he had with ryan the other day, but all tyler can focus on is the way some of the people around them are staring.

he gulps, his shoulders sinking in a lame attempt to make himself less noticeable. he also happens to realize that, unsurprisingly, he can't spot any other gay couples. it's mostly parents with their young kids. there's a few teenagers and people their age, but they're either clearly with a group of friends or a partner of the opposite sex. they are in the middle of some small, rural farm town so tyler doesn't really know what he was expecting. of course they're getting weird looks.

"josh," he says lowly, interrupting whatever josh was saying. he begins shrinking when he locks eyes with an old man looking at him with his face contorted in disgust.

"what?"

"people are looking at us," he mutters, forcing his gaze towards the ground.

"hm?" josh pauses for a second before saying, "oh. so what?"

"i really don't like it," tyler urges, trying to shrug josh's arm off his shoulders but the older only pulls him in closer. "can we just, like, i don't know... pretend we're just friends or something?"

josh immediately dismisses the idea. "no. you're my boyfriend, not just my friend. i'm on a date with my boyfriend and i'm going to treat him like my boyfriend and if anybody doesn't like it they can kiss my ass," he states, slightly raising his voice with each word.

"josh!" tyler whispers, lightly smacking his stomach with the back of his hand. "you can't swear! there's little kids around."

"oops, sorry," josh says to nobody in particular. he finally drops his arm but instead grabs tyler's hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. "don't worry, honey. if anybody says anything i'll deal with it. you're safe with me."

"i know," tyler sighs, "but i just wish they wouldn't look at us like that. makes me sad."

"why? they don't know us. they don't know anything about us, and you don't know them either. why does it matter what they think?"

"um, i don't know. i guess you're right, but it still just makes me feel bad."

"good thing it's my job to make you feel the opposite of bad," josh grins, lightly jabbing his index finger into tyler's side.

"stop!" he squeaks, dropping josh's hand to protect his ribs. "do not tickle me right now!"

"why not?" josh laughs, pushing his fingers beneath tyler's hands and wiggling them against his ribcage.

"please!" tyler giggles, grabbing josh's wrists and holding them away. "you already know why! this isn't exactly the easiest place to..." he glances around, lowering his voice, "...to stay big!"

"you don't have to stay big," josh points out, tapping the tip of his nose, "that's what you have me for."

"i can't be little in public," he mumbles, rolling his eyes, "that's just embarrassing."

"if you say so."

the hayride pulls up to the line and the people currently onboard start to get off. tyler feels excitement bubbling in his chest as he watches the line start to move, making him bounce up and down on his toes. he won't admit it to josh, but he has to start doing his multiplication facts in his head.

when it's their turn to get on, josh helps tyler up first and follows right behind. tyler picks a seat towards the back by where they boarded, positioning himself in the corner so he can clearly see the rest of the trailer. josh sits so close that their knees touch, and he's quick to take the boy's hand into his lap to hold. tyler is grateful that there's a bench full of people in the middle so the man sitting on the other side can't see them anymore.

throughout the entirety of the ride, tyler gasps and points at everything exciting he sees and josh smiles along, not once letting go of his hand. the hayride goes around the perimeter of the farm, showcasing everything that is to come. by the time the trailer is parked back at the beginning, tyler has aged down considerably. he's very eager to explore the rest of the farm, and the adoring gaze and small grin josh gives him doesn't help either.

"what do you wanna do next?" josh asks, holding the boy's hand as he helps him step down from the hayride.

"corn maze!" he exclaims, waiting for josh's nod of approval before he takes off in the direction of the maze.

"slow down!" josh yells after him, chuckling as he has to jog to catch up. "what's the rush?"

"'m just excited," tyler explains, whining when josh tugs on his shirt and makes him slow down, "wanna get there!"

"it's not going anywhere, hon. this isn't really the best place to run around. it's muddy. the ground is uneven. you could trip and hurt yourself or run into somebody."

tyler rolls his eyes, lower lip jutting out in a slight pout. josh doesn't know what he's talking about; he'd be fine! the faster they get to the corn maze, the faster they can go play in it. what doesn't josh understand about that? besides, tyler has on a sturdy pair of sneakers and he has two perfectly good eyes that can see where he's going.

considering his options, the boy is about to take off in a full-blown sprint before a little girl suddenly crosses his path. she's also running at full speed and trips right in front of him, falling to her hands and knees. her tears start immediately and her parents are very quickly at her side to comfort her. the whole scene makes tyler's eyes go wide.

"see?" josh says, guiding tyler by the small of his back as they side-step to walk past the family. "that could've been you."

"shuddup," tyler mutters, annoyed that josh was completely right and he was completely wrong. if he would've took off running like he wanted, he would've ran right into that little girl!

"hey, that's not very nice."

the boy gasps softly, looking to josh fearfully with his mouth hanging open. he knows josh is right again. "i'm sorry! don't want you to actually shut up. didn't mean it. sorry..."

josh doesn't even try to hide the smile that works its way to his face. he leans down, pressing a kiss to tyler's forehead. "i know, it's okay. look, there's the corn maze."

tyler's gaze follows josh's extended arm. he squeals at the sight of a corn field in the distance. without another word, he grabs josh's hand and starts marching towards the entrance of the maze. his stride is larger than usual, trying to close the distance between them and the maze as quickly as possible.

once they get closer, a single path ahead lined with sunflowers guides their way towards the corn field. josh suddenly yells, "race you there!"

he takes off sprinting before tyler can register what's happening, but the younger is quick to follow. he quickly catches up to josh, giggling and yelling that he's gonna win. josh starts to pull ahead, but tyler uses every muscle in his legs to propel himself forward faster. he bolts all the way to the entrance of the maze, jumping up and down and laughing once he realizes he's beaten the older.

"i win! i win!" he taunts, watching josh come to stop a few feet away and walk the rest of the distance.

tyler now realizes that there's a teenage boy standing outside the entrance wearing the name of the farm on his shirt. he looks like he's fighting a smile. tyler blushes out of embarrassment, quickly hiding himself behind josh. they show the boy their wristbands, earning a nod.

"you're good to go. he totally smoked you, by the way," the boy says to josh, smiling when his eyes meet tyler's.

tyler can't help the giggle that escapes him, seeing josh shake his head. "i let him win."

"did not!" tyler argues, letting josh take his hand and lead him into the maze, "...did you?"

"no..." josh admits, "...you beat me."

the younger smiles triumphantly. "i wanna lead, then. i beat you."

josh agrees, switching spots to let tyler guide them through the maze. they banter back and forth for a while, josh saying silly things mostly just to make tyler laugh. they turn a corner towards the right, causing tyler to come to a standstill.

"what's wrong?" josh asks, glancing ahead. "wait, didn't we just come from here?"

"oops," tyler frowns, examining the three different pathways leading from the circle ahead of them. "this one."

he takes the middle path, resuming telling josh about the last episode of bluey that he had recently watched. a bit into his spiel, tyler interrupts himself again. they're back at the same circle.

"that's weird," josh comments.

"okay, this way," tyler points towards the right path this time, confidently leading josh down it. he was certain they had already tried the left and the middle didn't get them anywhere. he goes back to babbling about his favorite shows for a minute until they're back at the circle again.

"what the heck!?" he groans. he hears josh chuckle from behind him. "this way, then!"

tyler leads them down the left path now, too determined to find the right way to return back to the conversation. he's silent, listening to the tune josh hums while he tries to figure out which way they haven't gone yet. they seem to be making progress for about five minutes until they're back at the same darned circle.

"no!" he yells, turning towards josh with teary eyes. "we're stuck! we're lost! we're never gonna find our way out of here!"

"c'mere," josh murmurs softly, holding his arms open. tyler is quick to place himself between them, hiding his face in the older's chest. josh rubs his back, quickly dissolving the tears pooling in his eyes. "don't worry, dear. we're not lost. i think i know the way."

"you do?" tyler asks, looking up at the older with wet doe eyes and a slight pout.

"mhm," josh nods, raising his hands to cup tyler's pink cheeks. "i can get us out of here, but it'll cost you."

"what!?" tyler frowns, "don't have no money."

"not money, silly," josh laughs, grazing his thumbs across the boy's cheekbones. "you have to give me a smooch first."

"ohhh," tyler beams, nodding in agreement, "i can give smooches!" he puckers his lips, making kissy noises at josh until he leans down for a few quick pecks. the contact makes the tips of tyler's earns burn, the corners of his mouth lifting into a huge grin.

josh returns the smile, holding his gaze for a few moments before turning his attention to the paths ahead of them. he points towards the one on the right. "i'm pretty sure it's this way. there was a turn that you missed."

tyler follows close behind, the fabric of the back of josh's shirt clenched tightly between his fingers as josh leads him through a series of turns. this time, josh is the one rambling about random stuff. tyler is happy to listen to him but doesn't say much, feeling a bit upset with himself for not being able to find the way out of the maze.

it only takes another twenty minutes or so until they find the exit. josh celebrates with cheers and laughter but tyler can only offer a weak smile. the older is quick to catch on.

"what's wrong, hon?"

"'m too stupid," tyler mumbles, dropping his gaze to his feet. "couldn't find the way."

"don't say that about yourself," josh frowns, stopping outside the exit of the maze to grab tyler's hands. "look at me."

the brunette sighs heavily, slowly lifting his eyes to meet josh's.

"you are not stupid, okay? you're one of the smartest boys i know." josh offers a smile, lifting tyler's hand to press a kiss to the back of it.

"really?" tyler questions, already feeling the heaviness in his chest lighten at josh's actions. "'m smart?"

"super smart," josh nods, then adds, "and super cute. give me a hug."

he takes tyler into his arms, squeezing him tightly for a few moments before pulling away. tyler is already over it, now begging josh to race him to the apple orchard next. against his wishes, the two take a painstakingly slow stroll towards the orchard. they take turns reading the pamphlet about the different kinds of apples and picking out which kinds they want. tyler makes sure he grabs apples that the booklet says are good for apple pie in hopes that ashley will make him one.

when they have an entire bag full of apples, they make their way across the farm to the vegetables and grab some of those too. josh also picks an entire bouquet of flowers while tyler stands and watches, giggling and blushing the whole time. they end up needing to grab a wagon to lug around all of their stuff with them, which josh graciously offers to pull. after they each pick out a decent sized pumpkin, tyler concludes that their last stop has to be the petting zoo.

it's a bit smaller than they both anticipated, having only goats and sheep, but tyler is still content. he tries to split his time equally between each animal so that he doesn't make any feel left out, but he ends up taking a liking to one of the brown goats that keeps following him around.

"this one likes me, daddy!" he giggles, kneeling in the dirt and soiling the gray sweatpants he's currently wearing. he pays no mind to that, too focused on petting the goat with as much love as he possibly can. he babbles to the animal about how cute it is and how much he loves it, begging josh to take him home with them.

"we can't, sweetie. this is his home; we can't take him away from here."

"aw man," tyler whines, pouting for only a second until the goat bleats at him. he laughs at the sound, making a baa sound back at it. he could totally stay all day and hang out with the goat, but josh starts complaining that he's hungry and it's going to get dark soon so they have to leave.

they exit through the farm's store, josh purchasing both of the pumpkins since it was the only thing not included with their tickets. he also pulls the wagon through the dirt all the way back to the car.

"i'll help!" tyler offers, lifting his pumpkin to load into the back before josh stops him.

"no, no, no, i got it," he says, taking the pumpkin from the boy and setting it back in the wagon. "let's get you in the car."

"whyyy?" tyler complains, jutting his lower lip out and crossing his arms over his chest.

"because silly," josh grins, opening the passenger door, "princes don't have to help out."

tyler suspects josh doesn't trust him to not drop the heavy items, but he probably isn't wrong to think that. he's been right about everything else today! so, tyler caves, sliding into the passenger seat. a pink hue dusts his cheeks, deepening further as josh plants a kiss on one of them. he watches through the mirror as josh loads their stuff into the back of his car, grinning when the bouquet that he picked gets handed to him.

"s'pretty," tyler compliments, bringing the flowers to his nose and inhaling deeply. "t'ank you!"

"pretty flowers for a pretty boy," josh states, punctuating his sentence with another kiss to tyler's cheek. "i gotta return the wagon. i'll be right back."

josh shuts tyler's door, the boy watching him walk back with the wagon until he's out of sight. tyler keeps his eyes in the same spot, patiently waiting for josh's return. he smiles upon seeing the head full of dark curls making its way back towards him only a minute later.

once josh is situated in the driver's seat, he reaches across tyler and grabs his seatbelt, buckling him in snugly. "gotta keep you safe," he murmurs more to himself than to tyler, then fastens his own seatbelt. "did you have fun?"

"mhm! i had lotsa fun with you," he gushes, smiling down at the flowers he holds.

"oh yeah? you had a good day?"

"yep! always have a good day with you." tyler glances at josh, finding a toothy grin placed upon his lips while he looks at the road ahead. it makes tyler's heart flutter. josh is always telling him how pretty he is, but josh totally has him beat.

from where tyler currently sits, he takes time to admire the slope of josh's slightly downturned nose and the silver stud that adorns his nostril. he adores the contrasting roughness of the stubble framing his jawline and the curve of his pink lips. his hooded eyes, which are currently focused straight ahead, have quickly become one of tyler's favorite colors. he especially loves the way the amber color turns to more of a honey in direct sunlight.

josh is just pretty in every single way. tyler wonders if he knows that.

he's completely swooning over him, totally lost in thought about how he ended up with someone as perfect as josh, when the older suddenly clears his throat. he casts a sideways glance towards tyler, face lighting up as a smile spreads across his features.

gosh, his smile is extra pretty. it's not crooked and flawed like tyler's. josh's smile is bright and perfect and never fails to lighten tyler's mood.

"baby?" josh speaks, pulling the boy from his thoughts.

"hm?"

"i can feel you staring at me."

"you're so pretty," the younger whispers, pride bubbling in his chest when his comment makes josh smile harder. he would do anything to see that smile everyday for the rest of his life.

"you're the pretty one here," josh counters, reaching a hand across the center console. tyler is quick to lace their fingers together.

"you're pretty too," he insists, kissing the back of josh's hand the way he does to tyler. seeing the way josh's face turns pink in response, he completely understands now why josh always does the same to him.

"you're too sweet," josh blushes. he looks to tyler briefly, seeming to battle with himself for a moment before he returns to smiling. "i've never liked anyone as much as i like you."

"me too," tyler utters quietly.

a/n: hiiii how are you guys!!

this was super fluffy & cheesy loll :')

i'm a slut for comments pls leave me some pls pls pls i loveee to see what you guys are thinking

also i haven't stopped streaming clancy since it came out i'm literally obsessed and its actually impossible for me to pick a favorite song okay byeee