tyler sits anxiously, lips sealed as his hands fidget in his lap. josh nudges him, nodding towards his plate which he has yet to touch. the brunette shakes his head stubbornly, feeling too scared to eat anything.

both tyler's and josh's families are currently gathered at josh's house. they'd been planning this dinner for the past few days. it's something they thought was the best way for josh to meet tyler's family and tyler to meet josh's. tyler was doing great at first, but started aging down the second he sat at the dinner table. he can't help it, though. he's anxious and this is his way to cope.

"tyler, honey, aren't you hungry?" tyler's mom asks.

again, he shakes his head. he can't eat! what if he makes a mess? or chokes? or throws up!? goodness, he can't eat right now. "not very hungry..."

"baby," josh mumbles, wrapping his arm around the back of tyler's chair. "please eat for me. you don't want to sit in time out when everybody leaves, do you?"

tyler gasps at that, doe eyes growing wide. he stuffs a few forkfuls of pasta into his mouth, hoping it will please josh. but the latter shakes his head, motioning for tyler to continue eating.

"so what do you do for a living, tyler?" josh's mom, laura, asks, trying to make conversation.

the boy glances at josh, hoping he'll answer for him. he doesn't, though, so tyler says, "work at a lib'ary. 's real nice."

"that's lovely," laura smiles.

tyler looks to josh, wondering if he did a good job answering, to which the older gives him a thumbs up. he grins, shifting in his chair and eating more pasta.

"what about you, josh?" tyler's dad asks.

"i'm a waiter at a local restaurant. i've actually been working there for a while now, and i think they'll be promoting me soon," he responds, dropping his hand to rest on tyler's thigh.

"hey, me too!" tyler's sister, maddy, exclaims. "i'm planning on going back to college, though. i want to be a physical therapist."

"wow, that's awesome," josh smiles. "they make good money."

"exactly."

🍼🍯🍼

"bye, tyler!"

"bye-bye!"

josh shuts the door and immediately scoops the boy into his arms, spinning around.

"little man! i'm so proud of you! you did so, so good today. daddy thinks you deserve a reward. how do you feel about that?" josh chuckles, setting the boy back on his feet.

tyler giggles softly, slightly dizzy. "yes, daddy! makes me happy."

"good," josh hums, ruffling his messy brown locks. "do you want to make arts and crafts?"

"yes! yes, yes, yes!" tyler cheers. he sprints to the tote that josh keeps arts and crafts materials in, curling his fingers around the top and trying to open it. after he struggles for a few seconds, josh easily pops the top off.

"t'ank 'ou."

the brunette gathers as much in his arms as possible, then dumps it on the floor. he sits before it, josh joining him. "what are we gonna make, cutie?"

"hmm..." tyler thinks, gasping when he has an idea. "aminals!"

"okay," josh agrees, grabbing a piece of paper and safety scissors. "let me know if you need any help, okay?"

"otay!"

tyler works sloppily, cutting a choppy circle out of a yellow piece of construction paper. he then glues yellow and orange puffballs along the edge, having to switch from liquid glue to a glue stick because he accidentally squirted some onto the carpet. he then draws a happy face on the circle, making the animal's tongue stick out and also giving him whiskers. next, tyler glues a popsicle stick to the back of the circle.

he giggles and holds out his creation, showing it off. "look it, daddy! i's made simbaaa!!"

"wow!" josh gasps, grinning at the cute little lion. "that's super good, ty. this is mine, i made peppa." he shows tyler his crafted pig, making the latter frown.

"daddy... you's betta den mine," he says sadly, looking between the lion and the pig.

"no way! mine's boring and yours is so pretty and creative!"

"we switch?" tyler asks softly, holding out an open palm.

"sure, hon. here." josh hands tyler peppa and takes simba in exchange.

"now we play!" tyler grins, waving peppa around and snorting like a pig.

the older watches lovingly, muttering a little "oh" when tyler says he has to play too. he roars, making tyler squeal. the little one rushes to his feet and takes off running, shouting, "catch me, daddy!"

"i'm coming for you little piggy! rooooarrr!" josh follows behind, chasing tyler upstairs and into the bedroom. "you're trapped, no where to go now."

"oh no!" tyler squeaks, peppa falling out of his hand as josh picks him up and lays him on the bed. "no, no, no!"

simba drops beside peppa as josh begins tickling the little, his fingers dancing over tyler's sides and stomach. tyler screams and giggles, wiggling beneath josh. however, he's unable to escape the tickles due to josh sitting on his thighs and pinning him down.

"daddy! daddy, stop!" tyler squeals, little fingers squeezing josh's wrists as he tries to hold them still. josh is stronger, though, and easily breaks from the boy's grip. he continues tickling tyler for a few more seconds before finally stopping. he kisses his cheek.

"dada."

"yes?"

"dada."

"mhm, that's me. do you need something?"

"uh-uh."

josh smiles, kissing tyler's other cheek. "you feel tiny, huh?"

"uh-huh!"

"so cute, you know that? my cute little baaabyyyy," josh gushes, rubbing their noses together in an eskimo kiss. tyler smiles so wide his eyes shut, little wrinkles forming around the corners. he doesn't respond, just smiles real big and makes little noises.

"i love you so much, baby. you're always so good for daddy. does my good, little boy wanna take a bath with me? hm?" the older rambles, praising tyler so much he doesn't quite know how to react.

he just continues to smile, cheeks turning red. "uh-huh!"

"good boy. come on, let's go."

josh draws the bath water, adding in the perfect amount of bubbles and tyler's bath toys. he joins the younger in the tug, hugging him against his chest and kissing his cheek repeatedly.

"dada!" tyler whines, despite his huge grin. "noooo..."

"what? daddy can't give you lovings?" josh teases, dropping his head to kiss tyler's shoulder now.

"uhhh.." the brunette hesitates. he doesn't want to stop getting lovings, but it tickles and he wants to play! "dada?"

"yeah, little guy?"

"wan' wuvin's!"

"good, because i wasn't going to stop anyway." josh kisses across tyler's shoulder blade and the back of his neck, lips trailing to his other shoulder.

"tickles! tickles!"

"what's that? you want tickles?"

"nuh-uhhhh!"

josh laughs, turning tyler's head to the side to kiss his lips. the brunette kisses back sloppily, teeth knocking against josh's as he smiles. "wuv dada!"

"dada loves you too, pumpkin. let's get you washed up, okay? then we can cuddle and watch a movie. does that sound good?"

"uh-huh," tyler hums, holding out his arms as josh slides the wash cloth against them. "li' kin'?"

"of course, sweetie. we can watch the lion king, if that's what you want. is it your new favorite movie?"

"uh-huh."

"you're really little right now, huh?"

"uhh.. nuh-uh!"

"yeah right. you can't trick me, little boy," josh chuckles, one hand holding tyler's while the other drags the wash cloth across his chest. "i've never seen you so little before."

"shhhh," tyler giggles, bringing josh's hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. "gimme wuvin's..."

"i will when we get out of the tub, little ty. we just gotta get you all squeaky clean and then daddy will give you all the lovings in the world, okay?"

"kay!"

__a/n__

i'm gonna be publishing a new joshler fic soon ❤️