"ty, baby, i'm sorry. i'll be back in two days, okay?"

"no!" tyler yells, furious tears streaming down cherry cheeks.

ashley stands aside, quietly watching the whole ordeal. josh's grandpa had just passed away the day prior, and he had to drive a state over in order to attend the funeral. in no way did he want tyler to attend such a thing. there was not a single doubt in his mind that the poor boy would be wrecked despite never having even met josh's grandpa.

"please, honey, i have to go. ashley is going to stay with you the whole time. you said you wanted to be friends with her, remember? now's your chance!" josh tries to reason, but tyler's tears don't stop.

"don't weave me, daddy! p'ease!" he sobs, now clinging to the man's side. if he hugs him tight enough, maybe josh won't ever be able to leave!

"hey, tyler?" ashley speaks up, both boys' heads turning to her. "i.. um.. i brought something for you, if you want to see it. i left it in the other room, though."

josh smiles, silently thanking her. he kisses tyler's forehead. "oooh, a surprise. wanna go check it out?"

the little hesitates, pondering if he should continue to cry or stop so he can see his surprise... "yes!"

all three meet in the living room, where a couple of ashley's bags sit on the floor. she picks up the plastic bag and pulls out a block set. tyler gasps, milky brown eyes growing wide.

"woah, baby! look at that! ashley bought you a set of blocks to play with," josh grins, ruffling his hair.

"oh my goodness! t'ank you, ash'ey!" tyler giggles, tear long forgotten. he takes the box from her and shakes it up and down. "wan' pway, daddy?"

"i can't play, hon. i have to leave, remember..?"

tyler frowns, glancing between the box and his daddy. "well... ash'ey pway?"

"of course!" she smiles.

tyler smiles as well, setting the box aside to hug josh. the latter holds the boy tight, a knot forming in his stomach as he tries not to think about how much he's going to miss his little boy. they've hardly been away from each other since they've been together. josh just hopes tyler will be good for ashley.

"wuv 'ou, daddy," tyler hums, smiling sadly as they kiss.

"i love you too, tiny. be good, okay? ashley is going to tell me if you're bad. you don't want daddy to punish you right when he gets back, do you?"

"nuh-uh!"

"okay. if you're good, we'll dress up and play house when i get back. how's that sound?"

"otay!"

josh smiles, kissing the boy once again. "thanks, ash. i'll be back sunday. call me if you need anything."

"will do. ready to play, ty?"

"yes!"

🍼🍯🍼

ashley sits on the bed, her back resting against the headboard. tyler is cradled in her arms, the boy demanding she hold him like josh always does. she doesn't mind, of course. she's happy as long as tyler is. they're watching the little mermaid because it's ashley's favorite and tyler hasn't seen it in a while.

"ash'ey?"

"yeah, ty?"

"sometimes i 'unno why daddy says i's pwetty... i's not pwetty, you is," he says sadly, softly patting her cheek.

she smiles, patting his in return. "well thanks, hon, but you are very pretty. don't tell your daddy i said this, but i think you're even prettier than him."

"what!?" tyler gasps softly. he drops his voice to a whisper, afraid josh will somehow hear them. "no way!"

"yes way!" she whispers back. "do you think flowers are pretty?"

"duh!"

"and do you think sunsets are pretty?"

"mhm!"

"well," she smiles, poking the tip of his nose. "those are two totally different things, and both are considered pretty. so even though we're different, we're both pretty in our own way."

"wow..." tyler whispers, taking time to consider her words. "you's smart!"

ashley chuckles, looking back to the movie. "i guess so. but don't ever think you aren't pretty, okay? i know your daddy probably wouldn't be so happy if i told him that, huh?"

"don't tell!" tyler whispers, eyes wide. "p'ease!"

"i won't, i won't. do you understand, though?"

"uhhh... guess so." tyler smiles, nuzzling himself against her. "ash'ey?"

"yes?"

"you's comfier than daddy... more squishy. him's hard wike a wall."

that one makes her laugh. tyler says the darnedest things sometimes. "that's typically how it goes."

"stuffies!" he gasps, suddenly realizing they aren't in his lap.

"here, i'll get them," ashley says. she sets the boy on the bed and goes to retrieve them. a few moments later, she's back with all three stuffed animals. "one, two, three," she counts, handing each of them over.

they return to the position they were in before, tyler cuddled up in her lap. this time, though, thumper, penny, and simba are snug against the boy's chest. they watch the movie for a while before ashley notices tyler's thumb is resting in his mouth. she takes a pacifier out of her pocket (a little tip josh told her) and holds it in front of him.

"want this, ty?"

the boy nods, removing his thumb and opening his mouth. he hums softly, gently sucking on the paci as they go back to watching the movie.

an hour or so passed and the movie is finished. tyler is still awake, which ashley wasn't planning on. josh told her he usually falls asleep before the movie is even halfway over.

"aren't you tired, little guy?"

"nuh-uh... waitin' fo' daddy."

"you mean for him to call?"

tyler nods, trying to act awake despite hardly being able to keep his eyes open. ashley unlocks her phone and dials josh's number. he answers on the third ring.

"hey, is everything okay?"

"yeah, everything is great. tyler just wanted to talk to you before he went to bed."

"oh," josh sighs, obviously relieved. "okay."

she hands the phone over.

"hewwo?"

"hiii baby! how's my little guy holding up?"

"ti'ed," tyler mumbles, finally letting his eyes shut.

"sleepy, huh? i'm sorry i didn't call, my aunt is having a memorial party thing. i didn't even realize what time it is."

"s'okay," tyler smiles, thinking about how silly his daddy is. "watched wittle mermaid."

"really? that's awesome! is ashley treating you nicely? does daddy need to talk to her?"

"uh-uh, ash'ey is super nice! she lemme have pizza an' fwench fwies fo' dinner!" tyler giggles. he's about to fall asleep just from hearing josh's voice.

"i'm sure you enjoyed that," josh chuckles. he's quiet for a second before saying, "i miss you so much."

"miss 'ou too, daddy..."

"are you about to fall asleep, baby boy?"

"mhm..."

"okay, i'll let you rest up. i love you so much, pumpkin. sleep good. goodnight."

"night night, daddy. wuv 'ou."

ashley takes the phone back and talks with josh for a few minutes. by the time they say goodbye, tyler is fast asleep.

__a/n__

i don't really like this but ya know 🤷🏼‍♀️

sorry for the lack of updates school and stuff has been kicking my butttt