"DADDY!!!!" Ruby screamed as Josh entered the home.

"Hi, sweetheart!" Josh exclaimed with a wide smile, swooping her up in his arms and spinning around with her in a big hug. "I missed you sooooo much."

"RuRu missed daddy too," Ruby said.

"Look who I brought!" Josh smiled, gesturing to Tyler.

"H-hi, Ruby," Tyler said.

Ruby had never been that fond of Tyler. It was nothing he did, she just didn't really like sharing her daddy. And she really didn't like it when Josh would give Tyler hugs or kisses but not her.

That's why Tyler wanted to have such an intimate honeymoon. Because he knew he wouldn't get to have that time again.

Ruby just looked at him and blinked and couple times before going back to hugging Josh.

Tyler sighed softly and wheeled his and Josh's bags to the room Josh and Tyler would now being sharing since they were married and living together.

"When he go home?" Ruby asked Josh.

Tyler heard but kept walking.

"TyTy lives with us now, RuRu," Josh said.

"Wha?!"

"Yeah," Josh replied.

"Why?!"

"Because TyTy is daddy's husband and he loves him."

Ruby quickly shook her head.

"Yes, RuRu," Josh said. "And you'll need to start being nicer to him, ok? It hurts his feelings when you aren't nice."

"RuRu very nice."

"No, Ruby, not always," Josh said. "Maybe you should go give TyTy a hug now and tell him you missed him."

"RuRu no miss TyTy."

"Just go give him a hug," Josh said.

Just then, Tyler walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen through the living room where Josh and Ruby were.

"Look, there he is," Josh said. "Go give him a hug."

Ruby shook her head.

"Well if you don't give him a hug, I will," Josh said. He set Ruby down and hugged Tyler tightly from behind.

Tyler knew Ruby hated him. He had tried everything in the book to get her to like him, or at least not hate him, but nothing worked.

He didn't say anything when Josh hugged him. He missed the honeymoon already. He missed snuggling and smiling and being goofy and in love like never before.

And he knew he wasn't going to get that again.

Not even at night, because Ruby always had nightmares and would end up sleeping in Josh's bed at some point during the night.

"C'mon, baby," Josh said. "You can still kiss me while she's around."

Tyler sighed and turned around, and as soon as their lips met, Ruby screamed.

Josh turned to see her standing on the couch watching them, shaking her finger in disappointment.

Tyler turned back around and continued making dinner.

About an hour later, it was ready. He made grilled chicken and vegetables for Josh and him, but he knew Ruby didn't like grilled chicken and vegetables so he made her Dino nuggets and macaroni and cheese.

"Look how thoughtful TyTy is, Ruby," Josh said as they sat at the dinner table. "He made you your own special meal."

Ruby wasn't all that impressed. She just sat in Josh's lap and ate, Tyler sitting across from them and eating in silence.

"We had lots of fun on our honeymoon, Ruby," Josh said. "We went to cool museums and had really yummy food and we got to dance and snuggle."

Ruby was very upset to hear they snuggled.

Tyler didn't say anything. He just gathered all their plates and did the dishes. Josh put Ruby in her crib before returning to the kitchen.

"Baby, you don't have to make her her own meals," Josh said. "Don't worry about if she likes it or not. And you certainly don't have to do the dishes after cooking."

"It's fine," Tyler said quietly.

Josh sighed. "I'm sorry she... I don't know. I'm just sorry about her. She's so sweet, I promise. She just-"

"She's used to having you to herself and doesn't want to start sharing with anybody else," Tyler said. "I know, Joshua. I know."

***

That night, the boys got into bed. Tyler was all the way on the edge, but Josh pulled him close so they were spooning. "I love you."

"I love you too," Tyler said.

Josh was asleep pretty fast, but Tyler was wide awake. He just couldn't sleep for some reason.

The bedroom door opened, Ruby climbing onto the bed.

"Hi Ruby," Tyler said quietly.

"TyTy sleep out there," Ruby said, pointing to the door before she got under the covers next to Josh.

Tyler opened his mouth to say something then closed it. He got up and went to the couch, sleeping on there.

Then, around 7:20, 10 minutes before Josh woke up, he went to the bed and got in so he wouldn't suspect anything.

Tyler did this every night, now.

Ruby would order him away, and he'd comply. He thought maybe this would get her to like him.

He'd then, before Josh up, crawl back into bed so he didn't know Ruby was making him sleep on the couch.

This went on for two months, until one day, Josh woke up in the middle of the night to see Tyler wasn't there.

He went to the kitchen to get some water, only to find Tyler asleep on the couch.

"Baby?" He asked, quickly waking Tyler up. "Baby, why're you sleeping on the couch?"

Tyler shrugged.

"Come back to bed with me," Josh said, taking his hand and walking with him to their room.

"AH!" Ruby yelled, standing up on the bed. "NO! TYTY SLEEP OUT THERE!"

That's when it clicked for Josh.

"Oh my god," he said. "How long has she been making you sleep on the couch?"

Tyler shrugged.

"Ty..."

"Two months."

"TWO MONTHS?!"

Tyler nodded. "I-it's not a big deal, though. I-it's fine."

"No, it's not, Tyler," Josh said. "Ruby, this is Tyler and I's room, not you and I's room. Tyler is going to sleep in here, with me, whether you like it or not. If you don't like it, stay in your room. He's not going to sleep on the couch just because you tell him to. You already get all of my attention in the day. It's mean to not let him at least get a little bit at night."

Ruby was not very happy about this.

She threw a tantrum. Tyler was overwhelmed by the screaming and the crying and Josh was as well.

He didn't know what to do. Ruby had never thrown a tantrum before.

Tyler gently picked Ruby up, bouncing her in his arms as she thrashed trying to get out of them, humming softly.

She eventually calmed down, allowing Tyler to hold her and bounce her and sing to her for the first time ever.

She fell asleep and he put her in her crib before going back to his and Josh's bedroom.

Josh was sitting on the bed, tugging at his hair frustratedly.

Tyler got into bed with him, wrapping his arms around him.

"I'm such a bad dad," Josh said. "But I'm an even worse husband."

"No you're not, Joshua," Tyler said softly. "You're neither of those things."

"I didn't even notice my kid was kicking my husband out of my room for two months!" Josh exclaimed.

"I-it's Fine," Tyler said. "I-it's not big deal."

"A-and you had to deal with the tantrum because I didn't know how a-and you put her to bed and you make us dinner and do the dishes and do all the chores around the house when we do nothing for you in return," Josh said.

"Y-you do everything for me in return," Tyler said. "Y-you work so we can have money to spend on food and cool stuff, a-and you love me and sometimes hold my hand."

"That's it," Josh said. "That's all I do. Sometimes I hold your hand. I'm your husband, Tyler. We're 28 and have been married for 3 months. We should be having sex all the time and laughing and snuggling and going on dates b-but all I do is sometimes hold your hand."

Tyler shrugged. It would be his dream to do all that stuff with Josh, but with Ruby, it just wasn't possible. "You're a dad, Josh. I-I knew we wouldn't be able to do that stuff when I married you. I-I knew that when we were dating and we were at my apartment alone that would be the closest we ever got to being a normal young couple. B-but it's fine because I love you for so much more than just going on dates and having romantic sex and snuggling while we watch movies in bed when it rains. I love you for you."

Josh hugged Tyler tightly in his arms. "I promise I'm doing my best."

"I-I know you are, Josh," Tyler said. "I know you're doing your best and that's all I could ever ask for."

"Maybe we should try to have a night to ourselves like every two weeks," Josh said. "We can drop Ruby off at my mom's and we can have a date night and snuggle and have sex."

"That would be amazing, Joshua," Tyler said softly.

***

The boys started doing date nights, and it was a dream.

It was like they were normal young newlyweds.

But it would only last a night, then things would return back to Ruby screaming and crying whenever Tyler came through the door.

***

One day, about six months into Tyler living with Josh and Ruby, he asked Ruby something.

"Do you want to go get ice cream with me?" Tyler asked her.

"I think you should," Josh told her.

Ruby thought about it for a while before agreeing.

Tyler put her car seat in the back of his car, driving to the ice cream place with her.

He got her all three flavors she wanted, sitting at a table with her.

"So," Tyler said. "Which flavor is your favorite?"

"Mmmmm..." Ruby hummed. "Dat one," she said, pointing to the strawberry cup.

"I like strawberry too," Tyler said. "Do you like the color pink?"

Ruby nodded. "Pink is RuRu's favorite."

"That's cool," Tyler said. "I like pink too."

So they had a simple conversation, Tyler just waiting for her to throw a tantrum as soon as she remembered who she was talking to.

But she didn't.

They finished their ice cream and went back out to the car.

"Tank TyTy for ice cream," she said as he buckled her car seat.

Tyler smiled softly. "You're welcome, Ruby. Anytime."

She even let him carry her inside the house.

"Hi guys!" Josh smiled. "Did you have fun?"

Ruby hummed and nodded as she made her way into his lap.

"We had a nice time," Tyler said.

"That's great," Josh replied.

That night, after Ruby was in bed, Tyler and Josh snuggled up on the couch and watched a movie.

"Things really went okay at the ice cream place?" Josh asked.

Tyler nodded. "She even thanked me afterward and let me carry her."

"Wow," Josh said.

"Yeah," Tyler replied.

It was quiet for a while before Josh pulled Tyler into his lap and started kissing him.

Tyler kissed him back, but Josh could tell it wasn't an 'I love you' kiss, more of a 'you're kissing me so I'm gonna kiss you back so I don't hurt your feelings' kind of kiss.

"What's up?" Josh asked as he pulled back.

"I wish she liked me."

"She's still trying to get used to sharing me," Josh said. "Just give her some time."

"I know," Tyler sighed.

"I love you," Josh said.

"I love you too," Tyler said quietly.

Josh kissed his cheek softly. "We get a night alone Friday," he smiled softly. "That's exciting, right?"

"Yeah," Tyler nodded.

"What do you wanna do?"

Tyler shrugged.

"Definitely make love," Josh said. "And have dinner somewhere. But what's something you've been dying to do?"

Tyler shrugged again.

"We can go on a romantic walk," Josh said. "How about that? We just leave our phones at home and take a long walk while holding hands and talking about how much we love each other. How's that?"

Tyler nodded.

***

About an hour later, Ruby waddled out of her room and into the living room. She saw Josh and Tyler in the couch, and to the boys' surprise, she crawled into Tyler's lap.

"H-hi," Tyler said as she snuggled up in his lap.

"Hello."

Tyler slowly wrapped his arms around her, unable but to smile shyly as she slipped her hand into his.

Josh was grinning widely.

Ruby yawned, giving Tyler a gentle kiss on the cheek before she fell asleep in his lap.

"Oh my god," Tyler said softly.

Josh couldn't stop smiling.

Just for this second, it was like they were a normal family.