Slight trigger:
Tyler gets punched in the face.

"Josh, what the fuck is going on?"

Brendon's voice made Josh want to curl into a ball and roll away, afraid of his friend in that moment. He stuttered to speak, his brain failing to come up with anything to calm Brendon down. Tyler went to step forward but Brendon threw a hand up. "I wasn't talking to you, Joseph," he said in a low voice, "I was talking to Josh."

"And you're scaring the fuck out of him," Tyler shot back, "so how do you expect him to talk to you?"

"Look, I'm glad you're not dead, Ty," Brendon continued, ignoring the man's words, "but unless the last four and a half weeks have just magically been erased, I want to know what right you think you have to be here."

"Well, if you'd let someone fucking talk—"

"I wanna hear it from Josh, not you—"

"I asked him to come home!"

All eyes in the room turned to Josh, who was standing in the door frame with his hands over his ears as he tried to block out all of the yelling. Once he looked up to see everyone looking warily at him, he lowered his hands and cleared his throat. "I asked Tyler to come home. With me."

Brendon and Ryan shared a glance before Ryan took a step toward him. "Is everything okay, J?" Ryan's words were soft, making Josh instantly feel better. "Can you tell us what's going on here?"

Josh nodded gently and then launched into his explanation of what had happened in the last few days. He explained how he had gone to see Tyler in hospital and that they had more or less cleared the air on things as well as come upon an agreement about their living arrangement. "He's here with me," he continued, "but we aren't back together. I'm not sure if we will be, at any point, but I wanted him here with me. If he's trying to get sober, I want to help. We all should help."

All the men shared a look, Ryan speaking up first. "You're right," he said with a soft nod. "We'll help in any way we can."

Dallon, who had been standing outside the room, chimed in. "I know I don't live here," he started, "and I don't know all of this too well, but I'll help. Anything either of you need, I got you."

Josh thanked him gently, looking toward Brendon, who stood off to the side. His face was expressionless, almost as if he was trying to break down what was going on. He was trying to peer into Tyler's eyes, see if he could pinpoint any kind of ulterior motives, but he saw none. Eventually he sighed, shaking his head. "I'll do anything for you, Josh. You know that." He then looked at Tyler again, brows furrowing a bit. "And even though I think this is a very bad idea, you've got my support. Both of you do."

Josh released a sigh of relief, lunging forward to hug his friend tightly. After a brief moment, he whispered, "Thank you," his emotions getting the better of him and small tears slipping past his eyelashes.

Brendon hugged him back just as tight, nodding against his neck. "Of course, J."

Josh pulled back, wiping at his eyes as he laughed. "Okay, um," he trailed off, looking to Tyler. "Ty? I'll come take you to the spare room."

"Hold on," Brendon said, putting a hand on Josh's chest. "Can I talk to him for a sec?"

Josh looked at Tyler, but the other man just smiled. "It's all good, J."

Josh hesitated but nodded after a moment. "Just meet me in the kitchen when you're done."

Tyler nodded as he left the room, then turned to Brendon. "Look, Bren—"

Before he could get any more words out, he was met with Brendon's fist connecting harshly with his left eye. He swore slightly as he stumbled to his knees, taking a moment to compose himself before turning his face to the man, who was rubbing his knuckles slightly. Ryan stood back against the wall, leaning against it with his arms crossed, just watching the interaction. "That's all the anger you're gonna get from me, Ty," he said, eerily calm for someone who just threw that fueled of a punch. "And this is the only warning you're gonna get, too. I swear on everything that you love, you ever hurt Josh the same way you did - or any other way, for that matter - you'll get more than just a black eye. Am I clear?"

Tyler nodded, trying his best to not think about the pain as Brendon leaned down to help him up. "I know I deserved that," Tyler said softly, "but, fuck, Bren."

"Well, it's not like I could tell you I was gonna punch you." His voiced was laced with humor, but Tyler could hear the seriousness in his words. "I know that hurting Josh hurt you, don't think I don't know that, but that's my best friend. Just because he's old enough to handle himself and make his own decisions doesn't mean I don't want what's best for him. Eventually Josh is going to cave and want you two to be boyfriends again, and I can't stop that, but I can make sure you know that if that's not something you think you can fully commit to, don't even let it happen. I'm serious, Ty. I'm not saying I'll kill you, but I wouldn't put it past me."

Tyler hasn't been threatened very many times in his life, but he could feel how genuine Brendon's words were. This was not a threat, this was a promise. Do not hurt Josh, or you will die. "I won't hurt him again, Bren," he said softly. "I promise I won't."

Brendon nodded before going back and sitting on the edge of his and Ryan's bed. "Good. Now, be gone."

Tyler turned and walked from the room to the kitchen, where Josh was sat talking to Hayley and Ash, most likely giving them the rundown of what was going on. "Well, that was a quick talk," Hayley said, causing the other two to look his way.

"Ah, you know Bren," he said with a laugh, "short, sweet and to the point."

Upon seeing his already swollen eye, Josh scrambled from his seat and over to inspect the man's face. "What the hell is this?"

Tyler chuckled. "Well, let's just say if I had any intention of hurting you again, I don't anymore."

Josh frowned. "Did Brendon punch you?"

Tyler shook his head. "He only gave me what I deserved for everything I put you through."

The younger man whined in protest. "Ty, I'm so sorry—"

The older shushed him gently. "I'm not
mad, J," he said with a smile. "I actually expected way worse. He's your best friend, and he cares about you. I hurt you, so he did what he saw fit. Besides, I think I'll look pretty tough with a black eye, don't you think?"

His words caused Josh to rolls his eyes fondly as he shook his head. "Let me show you to your room, you idiot."

———————

After settling Tyler into his new room, the rest of the gang showed up and they all decided to have lunch together. Hayley said she felt like cooking for once, and Tyler offered to help her. The rest group sat in the living room, Josh and and Dom deep in a game of Uno as they passed a blunt around the room.

"The energy feels so calm around here again," Ash said as they propped their legs up on Dom's knees, twirling a strand of their newly dyed blonde hair between their fingers. "It was so tense for a while."

"I know what you mean, buddy," Dom said as he passed them the blunt and laid a card down. The two of them had ended their romantic relationship not too long ago, but they still remained close friends. Ash said they needed him in their life no matter what, and Dom needed them as well.

"Didn't you say Dallon was coming over, J?" Ryan had one foot up on the coffee table as Brendon's head laid in his lap, the older man's slim fingers carding through his dark hair.

"Yeah," Josh said as he took a drink of his tea, cursing as he was served with a draw four card. "He's bringing his fiancée, too. I'm kind of excited to meet her."

"Me too," Ash said as they handed Brendon the blunt. "It'll be nice to have another girl in the group."

"Honestly," Brendon said as he exhaled his hit, "I agree. I'm getting tired of all the testosterone around here."

Everyone let out gentle laughs as there was a knock on the front door. Josh excused himself to go answer, bounding away with every step. What he answered the door to, however, he was not expecting.

"Good evening," a man in a police uniform said softly. "Is there a Joshua Dun residing here?"

Josh's mouth dried up as he gulped softly. "Y-Yes," he said, "that's me. What is this about?"

"We have an inmate who was recently laid up in Carson Providence Hospital for some pretty serious injuries. He was found outside of a local club the night he was brought in; looked like someone tried to beat him to death." Every word the man said made Josh's chest constrict tighter and tighter, the sensation only slightly calming as Brendon and Ryan appeared behind him. "One of the club promoters provided us with CCTV footage from earlier in the night and it looked like he was giving you some trouble. We just need you to come down to the station and answer some questions about that night, if you don't mind."

Josh stuttered around his words slightly, Brendon catching on and jumping in. "Do you mind if I come with him? I was with him most of the night, and I can answer probably more than he can."

The officer pulled a tiny notebook from his belt and flipped through a page briefly before looking back up. "Are you Brendon Urie or Tyler Joseph?"

Brendon nodded softly. "Brendon, sir."

"We'd actually like to ask you some questions as well," he said as he put the notebook back in place. "Is Mr. Joseph here, too?"

"I'll go get him," Ryan said softly before turning and heading down the hall to the kitchen.

"May I ask what this is about, officer?" Brendon's voice was super professional, it almost made Josh wonder how he was so calm knowing exactly the reason why Brad was out in that alleyway.

"Well, he was released from the hospital about four days ago," the officer answered just as Tyler appeared in the doorway, "but it seems he's something of a repeat offender. We got a call around nine PM last night about an altercation outside of the same club he was found beaten at. When the promoter told us it wasn't the first time someone has called the cops on him, we asked for the most recent and it happened to be that night. If we can build a case, we'll have a reason to give him some actual jail time."

Josh didn't know what to feel. He didn't know if he should be happy that Brad might actually go to jail, or if he should be scared to take the stand against him if necessary. He's also not sure if he's ready to relive what happened to him, again. It had been almost two months, but every time he thought about it, it opened the wound right back up. He knew he needed to do the right thing, but he couldn't help but be afraid.

"I'll be glad to answer any questions, officer," he said softly, his hands trembling at his sides.

The officer nodded. "You can take your own vehicle, since it'll be the three of you. I'll follow behind."

Brendon kissed Ryan goodbye before following in step behind Tyler and Josh as they walked to Josh's car. "You sure you're up for this, J?"

Josh let out a steady breath and nodded. "I need to get past this somehow," he said as they all climbed in, "and I think putting him in jail will definitely help."