Start the song. It's A Children's Crusade on Acid by Margot and the Nuclear So and So's.

The sun was up when Tyler woke up, but Josh wasn't. He was quietly snoring against Tyler's shoulder, gripping one of the straps of Tyler's overalls a bit too tightly to be relaxed. His muscles were still tense with pain, but he finally looked somewhat comfortable.

There was noise coming from one of the other rooms in the apartment, just the quiet clatter of dishes being taken out of cupboards and utensils clinking against bowls and pans. It smelled like someone was cooking something, which meant Josh's friend was home.

Now would be a good time for Tyler to leave if Josh wasn't still clinging to him. Tyler glanced at the older boy, smiling at the way Josh's mouth hung open slightly and his blue hair stuck out at odd angles. At some point in the night, Josh's friend had spread a light green blanket over the two of them, and Josh's skin looked even more pale beside it. He really did look sick.

Tyler glanced at the clock on the wall. He had class in an hour, but he didn't dare wake Josh up. Josh looked like he really needed sleep, but he was holding Tyler too tightly for him to leave without waking the older man up.

He looked up when a small woman with bleached hair came out of the kitchen. She was wearing a shirt that was too big on her, and Tyler wondered if it was Josh's. In her hands were a glass of water and a small white pill. She smiled when she saw Tyler and leant against the doorframe tiredly.

"Is he still asleep?" She asked quietly. Tyler nodded in response. "I'm not surprised. I feel really bad, but I have to wake him up. Don't let him panic, okay?"

Although he wasn't sure why Josh would panic, he nodded again. The girl walked over to the couch. She woke Josh up by soothing her fingers through his hair and down his back gently.

"Joshua," she said gently, "I'm sorry, honey, but I need you to wake up for a minute. Then you can go back to sleep."

Josh whined sleepily, burrowing even closer against Tyler's shoulder. The girl smiled, continuing to soothe him awake. She seemed really comfortable with him here.

"Are you hungry?" She asked Josh almost hopefully.

He shook his head, exhaling softly against Tyler's skin. Goosebumps rose across Tyler's arm as Josh's warm breath slipped across his skin.

Josh whined again when Tyler started to sit up, clutching onto him even tighter. He relaxed, though, when Tyler simply shifted him into his lap and let the sleepy man keep his head resting against his shoulder. Tyler wasn't even sure if Josh was aware of who was holding him at the moment. He was just grateful to be held.

"You're okay," Tyler reminded him gently when he hid himself away against Tyler's neck.

"I just need you to take this pill and eat something, and then you can go back to sleep. Can you do that for me, honey?" The woman explained to Josh carefully.

Josh sniffled, but lifted his head anyways. He let his friend set the pill in his mouth before helping him drink the water. As soon as the water was gone, he was pressed against Tyler's chest again and starting to doze off.

"Thanks, Hayley," he mumbled tiredly.

"You've gotta eat too," Hayley reminded him. "Do you think you can walk to the kitchen?"

When Josh hesitated, Tyler replied with, "I've got him."

Josh relaxed as Tyler stood, picking the other man up as he did so. He followed a very impressed Hayley into the kitchen as he carried Josh, who was starting to snore again. Tyler glanced at the clock above the stove to find that he was down to forty-five minutes. He'd never missed a college class before. Brendon teased him for it all the time, but he got really anxious about missing anything.

"What time did he fall asleep?" Hayley asked as she set a piece of toast onto each of the three plates on the counter as well as a scoop of scrambled eggs and a couple strips of bacon.

"It was around one, I think," Tyler replied, sitting down at the table when Hayley gestured for him to do so. He kept Josh in his lap, letting him snore into the sleeve of his shirt. "He seemed really tired all night though."

Hayley nodded as she carried two of the plates to the table, setting both of them down in front of Tyler. "Yeah, he's been too sick to sleep for a while."

"He said he had seizures yesterday. That's gotta be exhausting," Tyler said as he nudged Josh awake.

Unsurprisingly, Josh just whined and wrapped his arms around Tyler's neck, hiding away. Tyler rubbed Josh's back, feeling his tense muscles relax slightly at the touch. Hayley laughed, picking up a piece of bacon off of Josh's plate.

"Okay, little kitten. You still have to eat though. Open," she told him.

Josh opened his mouth, allowing her to rip off a piece of bacon and set it in his mouth. He ate it quickly, and then he was back to snoring. It was unbelievable how tired he was. There was no way Tyler could leave Josh when he was being so needy and was obviously in so much pain.

The clock above the stove told Tyler that he wouldn't even be able to get to class on time anyways, so for the first time, he was going to miss a college class. It was hard to feel guilty for it, though, when Josh was clinging to him like this. He didn't know Josh super well, but for some reason it felt like he always had. He'd miss one class for Josh. It was okay. He'd just text the kid who sat next to him and ask to borrow his notes. Everything would be fine. Besides, this was the one class he had with Brendon. He could borrow his notes too.

"Do you wanna just take him into the bedroom and let him sleep on an actual bed? I don't think he's going to eat. He's too tired," Hayley told Tyler as she gently smoothed Josh's hair back off of his forehead.

"Yeah, sure," Tyler agreed.

Hayley nodded, letting Tyler stand up-still holding Josh carefully-before leading him through the apartment to a little blue bedroom. She pulled the covers back so Tyler could slide the sleeping man right into bed. Josh curled up in a little ball as soon as Tyler set him down, and Tyler could see the tremors running through Josh's body. It was only then that Tyler realized how skinny Josh was. He looked so small and helpless as his body tried to fight off whatever illness was making him ache like this.

The look on Josh's face when he woke up and realized he'd been set down broke Tyler's heart. Tears filled his dark eyes as he looked up at Tyler, and he looked scared. It really did seem like Debby babied Josh because he needed her to. He'd seemed better when Tyler had given him his undivided attention. He just looked lost without it.

Without a second thought, Tyler climbed into the bed beside Josh, wrapping him up in his arms. Instantly, Josh buried his face against Tyler's chest and let out a shaky breath of relief. Tyler kissed the top of Josh's head softly. Hayley smiled sadly as she left the room.

"It's okay. I'm here if you need me," Tyler told him gently.

Josh was still shaking as he nodded, and he had a death grip on Tyler. "I'm sorry," Josh whimpered out.

Tyler hushed him carefully. "Don't be sorry. Everyone's a little needy when they're sick. I don't mind."

"I don't wanna be sick anymore, Tyler," Josh whispered weakly. His voice was becoming thick with tears.

Tyler pulled Josh closer, making the older man's muscles relax a bit more. "You won't be sick for long. You're gonna be better really soon. I promise."

Josh pulled away from where he'd been hiding against Tyler's chest then. Something about the way he looked at Tyler both made his heart flutter and snap in half at the same time. He looked hopeful, but in a way that suggested he'd been empty of hope before.

"We're friends, right?" Josh asked quietly.

Friends. Right. They had to stay friends. Tyler had promised himself they'd stay friends. He was okay with friends. Friends was good. That was fine. They were friends.

"Of course," Tyler replied, running his fingers through Josh's hair soothingly. Just like last night, the action made Josh's eyelids look heavier.

"Even when I'm not sick and needy?" Josh asked, and Tyler almost laughed until he saw the fear in Josh's eyes.

Was that why Josh had left Debby? She wanted him to stay sick? It was becoming harder to ignore the signs now. If Josh had the sickness he'd grown up around, it wasn't good for him to be alone in this. Tyler couldn't carry him through it either, though. That would mean devoting every second of his life to taking care of Josh for a while, and he couldn't put his education on the back burner for anyone.

"Especially when you're not sick," Tyler replied despite his doubts. He couldn't help but add, "and I like that you're needy. It's cute."

Josh laughed, but it was a weak sound. He burrowed himself against Tyler again, and Tyler could tell he was trying and failing to will his body to relax. Tyler rubbed the other man's back gently with one hand while the other continued to play with his hair.

"Thanks," Josh said quietly against Tyler's chest.

"For what?" Tyler asked, twisting a lock of Josh's hair around his finger before releasing it in favour of running his fingers through the soft blue curls.

Josh shrugged, leaning into Tyler's touch without seeming to notice it. He was starting to fall asleep again. "Being a good sugar daddy, I guess."

The response startled a laugh out of Tyler. Josh smiled at the sound. He practically beamed when Tyler cuddled him close and kissed the top of his head again. Maybe Josh wasn't the only one who needed this kind of exchange. Babying Josh was just as comforting for Tyler as it seemed to be for Josh.

"You're a good sugar baby too. Some day, I'll buy you every cat," Tyler assured the other man.

Josh smiled. "All of them?"

"All of them," Tyler agreed.

He smiled when Josh nuzzled his jaw sleepily before relaxing. "I already owe you so much sugar," Josh mumbled.

Tyler laughed. "You don't owe me anything. I like helping you. I especially like helping you when it means you cuddle me like a little kitten."

Instead of responding, Josh tangled their legs together beneath the sheets and burrowed even closer. His arms wrapped around Tyler before his hands found the straps of Tyler's overalls again, which he instantly grabbed onto. Tyler laughed when Josh made a purring sound, but held him tighter anyways. Josh laughed against his chest, seeming much less anxious than he had a moment ago.

"Really though. Thank you," Josh said quietly, resting his chin on Tyler's chest and meeting his eyes. "Besides Hayley, you're all I got right now. I have no fucking idea why you wanna be around me, but I'm glad you do."

Something in those words made Tyler feel extremely protective of Josh. He couldn't let him be alone in whatever he was trying to get through. If Josh was going through what Tyler thought he was, he was going to need more than just Hayley here to help him. Although he knew it was a bad idea, some part of him had already signed his heart away to the cause. If Josh needed him, he was here.

"I wanna be around you because you're the nicest person I've ever met, and for some reason, we keep winding up in the same place. That's gotta mean something, right?" Tyler looked at Josh hopefully.

The other boy studied his eyes tiredly before shifting to lay with his head on the pillow beside Tyler's. They looked at each other silently for a moment before Josh spoke so quietly it was almost a whisper.

"Do you believe in miracles, Tyler?" The hope was back in his voice.

Tyler nodded, smiling slightly. "You're the one who gave me a cross tattoo. You know I do."

"Right," Josh said tiredly, but he was smiling a little bit too. "That was kind of a miracle too. Most of this is. I don't know. I used to pray all the time that...." He trailed off, his eyes looking distant. He was quiet for a moment before meeting Tyler's eyes again. "I wanna be twenty-seven really fucking bad."

Tyler reached out and smoothed Josh's hair back off of his forehead again as he smiled. "When's your birthday?"

"June eighteenth," Josh replied quietly.

"Okay so how about this? It's October now, which means you've got plenty of time before you turn twenty-three. Our goal right now is to get you to twenty-three. We'll work our way up to twenty-seven. There's no need to rush it. We've got five whole years to get there," Tyler decided, absent-mindedly tracing the tattoo on Josh's arm as he spoke. He was still keeping eye contact with the other man, but gentle touches seemed to soothe him too.

Josh smiled a little. "I like that idea."

"Good!" Tyler said, smiling widely. "See? We'll get you there. You've just gotta be patient with yourself."

Instead of responding, Josh rolled Tyler over onto his back. He rested his head on Tyler's chest and wrapped an arm around his waist. His body felt a lot more relaxed right now, although there was still tension in his body. Whatever Hayley gave him must've been helping though because Josh fell asleep in no time. His legs were still twitchy, and he was trembling all over, but he seemed to be a bit more at peace for a moment.

Tyler carefully slid his phone out of his pocket when he felt it vibrate. Brendon had texted him. He opened the message and read it quickly.

Tyler Robert Joseph, where the fuck are you? You better be skipping class and not dead somewhere in a fucking ditch. You didn't come home last night and I refuse to be the shitty roommate on the news who didn't report their missing friend and therefore allowed a group of crazy people to dismember him and throw him in a ditch. I saw a documentary about it once. That shit happens.

Tyler grinned as he typed back his response.

Don't worry. They chose the comfiest ditch in Oklahoma to hide my body. I'll just hang out here until the cops find me.

He played with Josh's hair while he waited for a response from his best friend. Josh let out a tiny sigh of contentment as he nuzzled closer to Tyler.

I'm going to fucking kill you. You scared the shit out of me. Where are you?

Tyler rolled his eyes, typing back a response quickly.

Calm down, Mom. I'm at a friend's house.

The reply came before he could even lock his phone.

Wtf you don't have friends besides me

Technically, that was true. This friendship with Josh was a new development though. Tyler had two friends now, which was kind of exciting.

Well I'm with Josh. Remember Josh? The one I'm not dating because we're friends? That Josh? He calls me Daddy? Yeah, we're friends now. Just friends. Only friends. Friends.

It took about five minutes for Brendon to respond. Tyler didn't mind though. That was just more time he got to spend playing with Josh's hair and soothing the stiff muscles in his back. If Josh was going through what Tyler thought he was, he was nowhere near the hardest part, but he was doing really well. Tyler was pretty proud of him. Still, he took a break from soothing Josh to read Brendon's response.

Yikes. You good?

For a moment, Tyler considered lying, but Brendon had known him long enough to see right through that. Instead, he responded with a question.

How do you know Ashley?

Brendon responded fairly quickly.

High school. Why?

Tyler didn't answer that question either.

What do you know about her relationship with Debby and Josh?

Again, a quick response.

I know as much as you know. Why?

Tyler sent the next question before he really had a chance to think it through.

Does she do drugs?

His phone began to buzz as Brendon called him. He had to have left class to make the call, which meant Tyler had scared him enough to warrant walking out of a college class. Unfortunately, Tyler wasn't in a position to answer a phone call right now, so he ignored the call and quickly texted back:

Josh is literally asleep on top of me right now. I can't answer. Just text me. I swear I'm safe right now. I'm fine. I'm just asking.

That definitely got a response.

ON TOP OF YOU???? TYLER YOU CAN'T SLEEP WITH A GUY WHO HAS LIKE 2 GIRLFRIENDS!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!!

Tyler sighed.

I'm not sleeping with him, Brendon. He's asleep. He has a fever and he's asleep. No one is sleeping with anyone. And for the record, he currently has 0 girlfriends. We're friends though. Just friends. We just talked about it.

Josh lifted his head and looked at Tyler tiredly. He looked like a grumpy puppy as he took Tyler's phone, locked it, and set it on the nightstand by the bed. Without a word, he wrapped Tyler's arms around himself and snuggled against him once again before closing his eyes.

It was impossible not to smile. "Everything okay, sleepyhead?" Tyler asked quietly, keeping his arms around Josh's shaking body.

Josh nodded, letting out a tiny sigh. "Just need you to hold me, okay?" He mumbled against Tyler's chest as he started to drift off again.

It would've been easy to laugh that off, but Tyler could see just how vulnerable Josh was feeling right now, so he wrapped his arms around him even tighter. "Okay. Daddy's got you."

He expected the words to make Josh laugh, but he just nodded sleepily. "Don't let go, okay?"

That urge to protect Josh was resurfacing again. He nodded, rubbing Josh's back lightly as he held him. "I won't. I swear."

Tyler watched Josh drift back off to sleep. He knew right then and there that there was nothing that could ever stop him from protecting Josh now. Tyler knew the consequences of trying to get through this sickness alone. He knew what the aftermath could look like. Josh wasn't going to be like that. He was going to be happy and healthy and have the best twenty-seventh birthday ever. Tyler was sure of that. He was going to get Josh out of this town before it killed him like it had killed Zack.