2750 words

"hey, mom?"

tyler stands in his kitchen, elbows leaning against the countertop of the island while kelly stands with her back to him. she's at the stove, stirring spaghetti noodles into a pot of boiling water.

"yes, honey?"

tyler got home late last night. he wanted to stay with josh for as long as possible before they both made the almost eight hour drive home. they've been texting nonstop all day long, but josh was busy with his family so they couldn't hang out. until now, that is.

"can my boyfriend come over?"

"boyfriend?" kelly's head whips around, a grin accompanying her knitted brows. "since when do you have a boyfriend?"

"i met him this semester. we've been dating for a while," tyler explains, opting to take a seat in one of the kitchen stools. he has a feeling this will take longer than he expected.

"really? why didn't you tell me?" she doesn't sound angry, just genuinely confused.

tyler shrugs. "i dunno. i guess i didn't want to make a big deal out of it until i knew it was, like, a real thing that... that would last, you know?"

she clicks her tongue, setting the pasta spoon aside to fully give her attention to her son. she joins him at the kitchen island, tapping her nails against the countertop. "i guess that makes sense. is he from columbus, or...?"

"he is, actually," tyler nods, smiling. "his name is josh. um... he's pretty cool."

"josh, huh?" she quirks an eyebrow. "he's nice to you? treats you well?"

"of course, mom." he rolls his eyes, huffing a soft chuckle. "probably better than i deserve, actually."

"oh, nonsense, ty." she waves her hand dismissively. "you deserve the world."

"thanks, mom."

"do you love him?"

"mom!" tyler groans, his face immediately burning bright red. he places his head in his hands, giggling to himself.

"what? i'm just curious," she defends, joining in the laughter.

tyler takes a moment to collect himself, dragging his palms down his cheeks. he can't stand the embarrassment radiating from him right now. kelly looks at him expectantly, waiting for his response.

"love is putting it lightly," he says softly. his mom squeaks excitedly, causing him to immediately hide his face back behind his hands. "mommm!"

"oh, i'm sorry! that is just too cute. i'm happy for you, honey. of course he can come over! i'm excited to meet him."

"cool." tyler grins, digging his phone out of his pocket. "can he spend the night?"

"i don't see why not. can i see a picture of him?"

tyler quickly sends josh a message to let him know he's allowed over before opening his camera roll. he scrolls through the pictures he has of them together and of josh alone, deciding he can't choose just one photo of josh because he is so handsome in every single one.

"here, look."

he holds his phone to the side, kelly leaning over the counter to get a better look. he starts with a picture he took at josh one night when they went out to dinner. his dark curls sit messily atop his head, two silver hoops in his nostrils, forearms resting against the table. a bright smile sits on his face, wrinkles adorning his squinted eyes, and a soft blush dusting his cheeks. it's pretty obvious he isn't looking at the camera, but rather behind it at tyler.

"oh my. he's a cutie, isn't he?" kelly wiggles her eyebrows.

tyler grins, admiring the picture for a moment. it really is his favorite. "yeah, he is."

he swipes through the numerous pictures, proud to be showing off the person he loves most in this world. there's quite a few embarrassing pictures where tyler's pretty clearly in little space, but he makes sure to swipe past them before his mom can process what she's looking at. she returns to cooking dinner after a few minutes, but tyler decides to stay and talk to her about josh for a while longer. he can't help it; there's so many good things to share about josh.

tyler completely loses track of time until a knock on the front door pulls him out of their conversation. he glances at his watch, realizing about thirty minutes have passed.

"oh! that's josh!"

he races towards the noise, desperate to see josh again even though they'd only spent a day apart. flinging the door open, he finds josh waiting on the front porch with a backpack slung over his shoulders and a bouquet of pink and white carnations filled with baby's breath. his face lights up in a gleaming smile.

"josh!"

"hi, baby!"

josh holds the bouquet to the side, opening his arms wide. tyler is quick to accept the invitation, wrapping his arms around josh's waist and squeezing him in a tight embrace. upon feeling a kiss to the top of his head, tyler giggles into josh's shoulder. the latter waits for him to end the hug first before pulling back and holding out the flowers.

"i got these for you."

tyler takes them into his hands, pressing his nose against one of the carnations and breathing in the sweet scent. "they're so pretty, josh. thank you."

"pretty flowers for a pretty boy," he states, punctuating his sentence with a quick peck against tyler's lips. "c'mon, it's cold out here. let's go inside."

the snow has fallen early this year, a few inches already resting on the ground. a few stray snowflakes dust josh's coat and sprinkle through his hair. his cheeks and the tip of his nose are stained red from the frigid air, only adding to josh's ever-growing beauty. a shiver ripples through tyler before he decides to take josh up on the request, leading him inside the house.

"my mom's very excited to meet you," tyler shares, watching josh toe off his shoes and shrug off his jacket.

"oh yeah?"

"mhm," the brunette hums. "she called you a cutie."

"oh, did she?" josh raises an eyebrow, hanging his coat beside the door overtop of where tyler's rests. "i'm a little nervous."

"don't be! she's super nice, i promise."

"i'll take your word for it." josh glances around, taking in his surroundings, until his eyes settle back on tyler. "where is she?"

"making dinner. c'mon," tyler says, waving his hand for josh to follow him.

he makes their presence known in the kitchen by clearing his throat, garnering his mom's attention. kelly glances over her shoulder, her eyes widening at the sight of the boys. she quickly finishes attending to the pot on the stove before turning towards them fully. with her arms open, she closes the space between them and pulls josh in for a hug.

"josh! it's so nice to meet you."

"i forgot to mention that we're huggers," tyler says quietly, carefully gauging josh's reaction.

"it's nice to meet you too, mrs. joseph," josh says politely, returning her hug. "don't worry, my family is too. i'm used to it."

"oh, please," she beams, "call me kelly."

tyler grabs a vase from one of the kitchen counters, filling it with water before tucking the flowers into their new home. he leaves the vase in the middle of the island, catching his mom's eye as she grins over the sight.

"wanna go up to my room?" tyler asks, his eyes flicking to josh as he shifts his bag to the other shoulder.

"oh, don't let me keep you," kelly insists. "dinner will be ready soon, ty."

"thanks, mom."

he leads josh to his bedroom, making sure to lock the door behind them so his little siblings won't be a bother. josh places his bag down and glances around tyler's room, the latter watching while wringing his hands. his room is rather barren since most of his belongings are on campus, but he has a lot of photos of him and his old friends, some of which include dallon.

"it's kinda empty because my stuff's at school," he feels the need to explain.

"yeah, mine is too." josh touches his index finger to one of the photos taped to the soft blue walls. "who're they? high school friends?"

"yeah." tyler swallows, standing beside him. josh's arm closes around his shoulder, pulling the boy against his side. "i don't talk to them much anymore."

"why not?"

the age old question. why did tyler fall out with his high school friends? well, they were hardly friends to begin with, more so just people for tyler to hang out with so he didn't hang himself out of boredom. they didn't know him, really, and he barely knew them. plus, there was the dallon situation... that pretty much put him out of commission for being a good friend. he was too busy learning about his little space and begging dallon to love him.

"it's complicated," tyler says, finally, and sighs when josh looks at him to continue. "we were never really that close. besides-" he pauses, pointing at dallon in the picture, "-he made it pretty hard for me."

"who's that?"

"dallon." the name leaves a bad taste in his mouth, a painful reminder.

josh huffs, squinting at the picture. "really? him?"

"yeah, yeah, i know."

"why do you have these pictures up still if... well, if they're not really in your life anymore?"

"i dunno." tyler shrugs, his face turning hot when josh turns to him, placing his hands on his shoulders.

"we'll print off new ones for you. how bout that?"

"okay," he agrees, smiling. "i like that idea."

downstairs, kelly yells for everybody to come eat dinner. a knock sounds on tyler's door only a moment later, making him groan. flinging the door opens reveals tyler's sister, maddy.

"dinner's ready," she shares, her eyes shifting behind him. "oh, hey! josh, right?"

"that's me. maddy?"

"yep!" she beams, looking between the two for a moment before tyler sends her downstairs.

"sorry, she's weird," tyler chuckles, grabbing josh by the hand. "she's the only one who's seen you on my instagram. i don't let zack follow me because he's a jerk and jay is too young for that stuff still."

he leads josh to the table, sighing at the seating options. either he has to sit next to zack or josh does, and the other will need to sit at the head of the table. that seat usually stays empty; it's where his dad always sat. deciding to spare josh the horror of sitting next to his brother, tyler opts to sit beside him which leaves josh to sit on the end, directly opposite his mom.

"who's this?" zack asks, giving josh a funny look.

"zack, be nice!" kelly scolds. "this is josh, tyler's boyfriend."

"another boyfriend?"

tyler's face grows hot with embarrassment. he shoots josh an apologetic look before turning to argue with his brother. "another? i've only had two! last i knew, you cheated on your, like, fourth girlfriend with her best friend. so that makes it... what? five?"

"enough!" kelly narrows her eyes at them, a warning to stop.

tyler lowers his head, picking at the food on his plate. he feels a nudge under the table, josh's foot lightly tapping his own. meeting the older's eyes, he offers tyler a small smile. tyler inhales sharply, forcing his mouth to curl upwards before lowering his eyes back to his meal.

"that's where dad sits," jay's voice calls out, the ten-year-old staring at josh.

"where he used to sit," maddy corrects, elbowing the kid. "that can be josh's spot now."

god, is it hot in here? is this whole thing terribly awkward and embarrassing or is that just tyler? he should have never even invited him over. it probably would've been better to go to josh's house instead. his siblings are probably normal.

they eat in silence for a few minutes, until tyler's mom finally breaks the awkward silence by asking josh about himself. tyler is grateful for the normal topic, carefully adding to the conversation in moments where josh is selling himself short. it's not that he feels the need to brag about him, just that josh tends to downplay how great he is.

after a painstakingly long, rather awkward dinner, tyler is eager to slip away. being away from home, it's easy for him to forget just how much he actually hates being here. his house, this town... they hold bad memories and bad people.

"i am so sorry for all of that," he tells josh, shutting them back into the only place he deems safe enough—his room.

"don't be, hon. it's okay." josh pulls him in for a hug, soothing his hands down his back and pressing his lips against the top of his head. tyler sighs against him, his fingers gripping the sides of his shirt.

"it's really not. zack is such a prick, always has been. he reminds me so much of my dad. i hate it. and jay is just... he doesn't get it. he was pretty young when my dad left. he doesn't know everything he did. i'm sorry. that was so awkward," he rambles, the words spilling from his mouth before his brain can even process.

"i didn't take it personal," he assures, pulling back from the hug to hold tyler's face in his hands. "let's do something fun, hm? something to make you feel better?"

"like what?" tyler stares up at him, his lower lip pouting slightly. josh's thumbs brush over his cheeks, soft and tender. it's impossible for tyler to not melt into his touch.

"well, there's snow. we could go play outside."

"it's dark outside!" tyler argues, shaking his head. "scary... and cold."

"my bad," josh chuckles, his lips pecking the tip of tyler's nose. "we could get all cozy in your bed and watch a movie?"

"maaaybe... what movie?"

"anything you want."

"i dunno what i want," tyler states, glancing behind josh. pablo rests on his bed amidst the array of pillows and blankets. tucking his lower lip between his teeth, he resits the urge to smile at the sight of the stuffed penguin.

they both know exactly what he wants.

"c'mon."

josh locks the door before urging him towards the bed, following him beneath the covers. tyler giggles excitedly, already having shoved the interactions at dinner to the back of his mind to be forgotten about. josh is too good at this stuff.

he takes pablo into his arms and hugs him against his chest, quick to take his spot beneath josh's arm. his head rests on the older's shoulder, their legs tangling together while josh turns on the tv.

"bluey!" tyler gasps, spotting the colorful dogs on the screen.

"i thought you wanted to watch a movie," josh teases, kissing away the frown that tyler gives him. "i'm only kidding! of course we can watch bluey."

tyler squeaks in excitement, nuzzling himself against josh in an attempt to get more comfortable as the familiar opening tune begins to play. the brunette hums along, announcing each character in timing with the theme song. he falls silent as the show starts, completely enthralled by the puppies.

josh nuzzles his cheek against the top of tyler's head before smushing a kiss against his temple. "i love you so much, baby boy."

"i love you, daddy," tyler murmurs, his hand finding it's way to the hem of josh's shirt and rolling the fabric between his fingers.

"feeling better now?" josh soothes a hand through his hair, his fingertips gently raking against his scalp.

"mhm," tyler hums, eyes falling shut instinctively. "always make me feel better, daddy."

"that's my job."

"too good at it." tyler forces his eyes open, trying to focus his attention on bluey and bingo playing outside. it's difficult to fight the heaviness that settles on his eyelids when he's got a full belly and josh's hand in his hair.

"well, it's not hard when i love you so much. i'll always make you feel better, tiny."

a lazy smile tugs on tyler's lips, the nickname making his stomach do cartwheels. he squeezes pablo tighter.

"always?" he has to check.

"always," josh confirms, patting the top of his head.

"m'kay. good thing cuz i'll always need you to make me feel better."

"yeah? always?"

"always," tyler confirms this time.

(a/n: hi everyone!

i'm back from vacation (unfortunately) so it was about time to finally update again! sorry this chapter is mostly dialogue but it felt important :)

thanks for reading! <3)