tyler buried his face deep into josh's chest as he breathed in his comforting scent, his lower half resting in brendon's lap as he was comfortably squished between his two boyfriends who were sharing a passionate kiss. he giggled quietly to himself as brendon let out a tiny groan, trying to keep his laughter to himself as to not disturb the atmosphere. it didn't work and not before long he was being spun around to face brendon who had a fake expression of anger on his face.

"what's so funny, mister?" he asked, voice holding faux strictness as tyler tried to hold back giggles once again.

"nothing," tyler shrugged, turning back to look at josh who looked amused at what was going on.

"how did i get so lucky to be able to have the cutest boyfriends in the whole universe?" josh mused and brought his hand over brendon's that was holding tyler up by his waist. he laced their fingers together and gently squeezed tyler's hips, making the brunette squirm away because he was extremely ticklish.

"i thought we were gonna watch a movie," tyler whined, still trying to wiggle away from josh's teasing tickles.

"josh, stop tickling him," brendon sighed, swatting josh's hand away from the younger boy. "he keeps kicking me."

"sorry," tyler mumbled as he wrapped his arms around brendon and snuggled closely against his chest, loving the heat he provided to his cold skin.

"do you guys want to sleep over tonight?" josh questioned, his voice holding so much hope.

"my parents will be fine with it," brendon said as he soothed a hand up and down tyler's back when the brunette started to cough.

"i don't know..." tyler trailed off, the fact that he wasn't the same as josh and brendon becoming much more prominent in his mind, something he tried to forget about.

"why not?" josh sounded concerned and tyler frowned at the reaction.

"my medications are at home."

"oh, that's all right. i completely understand, babe," josh assured, leaning forward and pressing a kiss on the brunette's neck.

"i really wish i could," tyler grumbled, pressing back into josh's comforting touch.

"i can drive you home to get what you need," brendon suggested and tyler perked up at the offer, nodding his head happily.

"would you really? oh goodness, thank you so much," tyler giggled, kissing all over brendon's face excitedly.

the three drove the short distance to tyler's house, a comfortable silence surrounding them, minus the quiet hum of the radio. as they pulled into the driveway josh was quick to make his way to tyler's door, opening it for him and motioning for the small brunette to get onto his back for a piggyback ride. brendon carried the tank for them and knocked on the door, smiling brightly once mrs. joseph opened it for them.

"can i sleep over at josh's house tonight?" tyler rushed out, tumbling over his words as he gauged his mother's reaction.

"it's a school night." she raised her eyebrows expectantly and tyler slumped against josh's back in defeat.

"i'll make sure he goes to bed early, ma'am. and no funny business, i promise," josh said with his most charming grin on his face, watching as the woman hesitantly nodded.

"you have to take your medicine and do your breathing treatments, got it?" she questioned, her son mumbling an agreement as she told them to pack an overnight bag for him and she went to get his meds ready.

"what do you do for breathing treatments?" brendon spoke up, gathering tyler's pajamas as josh got his toothbrush and toothpaste for him.

"well, i have a vest that vibrates to loosen up all the gunk in my lungs, and then i have my IPV which forces short bursts of air down my airways to open my lungs up, and i also have to inhale pulmozyme solution once a day and sodium chloride twice a day. and i do all of these everyday," tyler shrugged as he stuffed his clothes into his bag and let out an exasperated sigh, just then realizing how much he had to do for the disease.

"you're so strong, boo," brendon muttered into tyler's hair as he pulled him in for a hug, the pet name making tyler's heart flutter. "i admire your perseverance."

"it took me a few minutes but i found the- why do you guys always cuddle without me?" josh's voice was whiny and obnoxious, very obvious that his goal was to make tyler laugh (which he succeeded in doing so). "make some room, i want in."

josh wrapped his arms around brendon and tyler, pulling them into his chest as he peppered kisses over their foreheads. they sat like that for what felt like a hour, but realistically was only five minutes, before kelly called them down, saying how it was getting late and they needed to get going so they could get enough sleep.

josh and brendon agreed to helping tyler with his treatments once they got back to josh's house, loading his things into the trunk of the car as they drove off once again in the direction of their destination.

tyler warily slipped the vest over his chest, connecting it to the generator with the hoses. his boyfriends watched on in concentration, curious as to how the process worked so they would be able to help tyler in the future.

the petite brunette closed his eyes once the vest began to vibrate, reaching his hands out to clasp together with brendon, as josh played with his hair. more than anything he found the breathing treatments boring. it was difficult to sit still for elongated periods of time, unable to speak as he let himself slip away to his thoughts. having people to comfort him through it that weren't just his mother was a new feeling but he was quick to decide that he enjoyed it. the way josh twirled his golden waves around his fingers was soothing beyond words, and the short squeezes of his hand in brendon's, as if he was letting tyler know that he was there, were a perfect reminder that he wasn't going through this alone.

his phone buzzed, the five minute alarm going off, and he turned the vest off so he could cough up the mucus that had loosened up. it wasn't the most attractive thing in the world, and as he felt josh and brendon's eyes trained on him he couldn't help the way he grew self conscious. tyler didn't want to gross them out.

he swallowed his pride and began huffing and coughing, getting as much mucus up as possible before he turned the vest back on. he looked at his boyfriends' faces, smiling gently to himself as they seemed unfazed by the coughing.

he repeated that process every five minutes; turning the vest off, coughing up all of the mucus that loosened up, and resuming the vibrations once again, for another twenty minutes.

tyler felt better knowing they weren't turned off by the treatment, but it didn't last long as he remembered his intrapulmonary percussive ventilation treatment was next. it was uncomfortable and not a pleasant feeling but he knew it helped so he sucked it up and closed his lips tightly around the mouthpiece, switching the dial up to 'easy' as the short puffs of air began filling up his airways.

not only did this clear out the mucus, but it aided in expanding his lungs, something vital for him to be as healthy as possible. after a few minutes he turned the dial up again, squeezing brendon's hand tighter to keep his mind occupied on something else. tyler would normally use his phone during his treatments, but it was plugged in the charger on the other side of the room and he was out of luck, forced to make do with what he had.

he finally brought the dial up to 'hard', the bursts of air increasing as he did so. josh traced his fingers down tyler's jaw, booping his nose with a small chuckle as he resumed caressing the young boy's cheek. the action was full of endearment and it made tyler want to take the mouthpiece out and show his gratitude with a kiss, but he ignored the urge and waited out the treatment.

fifteen minutes passed and he was able to turn the IPV off, bringing his lips up to joshs's for a quick peck before he went on to the last part of his routine, inhaling the sodium chloride. it was the most simple part of the whole thing and didn't take much time, his nightly treatment finally being done and over with once he took all of his needed medications.

as the three boys cuddled together on josh's king sized bed they let the comfortable silence encapsulate their beings, filling their veins with nothing but fondness for one another. they wouldn't have it any other way.

"hey, tyler?" josh whispered, gaining the brunette's attention.

"yeah?"

"you're a warrior, angel. you inspire me."

and with that it was quiet once again, smiles taking over all of their faces as they allowed themselves to drift off into a state of unconsciousness.

•••

i've been so busy and its been a while since i've updated :(( i'm gonna try to write more since it's summer now and i have more time!!!

i love you all so much!
-carina