"I-I can't," Tyler cried. "I-I can't do this anymore."

He got up, searching for his wallet and his keys.

"W-What?" Josh asked, standing up. "C-can't do what anymore?"

"T-this," Tyler sobbed. "I-I can't. I-I just can't."

He found his keys and went to his car, finding his wallet already in it. He got in the driver's seat and pressed the button to open the garage door.

"T-Tyler!" Josh exclaimed, running after the car. "W-where are you going?!"

But Tyler was speeding off to some unknown destination.

Josh immediately called his phone, being sent straight to voicemail.

"T-Tyler," he cried. "T-tyler, baby, I'm so sorry. I-I'm so sorry that I cheated on you a-and went behind your back a-and joined in the first place. Y-you can divorce me. I-i won't put up a fight against it. J-just give me the papers and I'll sign them, i-I'll do it as quickly as you want me to s-so you can have the chance to marry someone else who'll actually treat you right and be there for you. I-I don't know where you're going, b-but please, please don't hurt yourself. I-I love you so much. I-I know that doesn't mean anything to you, b-but I love you so, so incredibly much."

Josh went back inside, sleeping on the couch.

It didn't feel right sleeping in what used to be their shared bed. It didn't feel right sleeping in what used to be where they made love after having sex with someone else. It didn't feel right bringing himself, someone so disgusting, into a place that provides someone as perfect as Tyler a sense of comfort.

***

"Daddy," he heard a soft voice say. "Daddy, wake up."

He opened his eyes. "H-hey, RuRu."

"It's waffle day," Ruby grinned goofily.

"What?"

"TyTy and I always have waffles every Saturday mornin'. But I dunno where TyTy is."

"I-I um..." Josh said. "Daddy went out on a trip. He'll be back sometime, I'm sure. Until then, though, you and I can have waffles."

Ruby grinned, nodding her head.

So Josh tried to make waffles, but he ended up burning them so badly that the smoke detectors went off, causing Ruby to scream and sob for hours because of how loud they were.

He didn't know what to do, even after he disabled the loud noises Ruby was still sobbing, asking for Tyler.

"T-TyTy's... um... TyTy's gone right now. B-but I'm here," Josh would say. "I-I'm here and I'll protect you from the loud noises. Promise."

He asked Ruby if she wanted to go get ice cream to make her feel better, but after learning from her that she needed a car seat, he couldn't figure out how the car seat worked, so they didn't get ice cream.

It was a bad day.

A really, really bad day.

He called Tyler that night, after putting Ruby to bed.

"Tyler," he said. "P-please tell me you're okay. I-I can't do this. I-I don't know how to be a dad. I-I have no idea how to do any of this. I-I'll leave as soon as you get back. Y-you'll never have to see me again, just please, please come take care of Ruby."

***

14 days and 19 voicemails later, around midnight one night, Josh heard the door open.

A figure emerged, looking nothing like his Tyler.

"Oh, Tyler..." he said softly, getting up off the couch and approaching the figure. "O-oh, Tyler, baby..."

Tyler just blinked at Josh before walking to their room.

Josh had never seen someone so pale and thin. He looked about as close to a skeleton as he could get.

He had dark circles under his eyes, his skin almost translucent. Like he hadn't eaten in days.

He followed quietly, Tyler not knowing.

He saw Tyler lift his shirt up off his head, his back facing the door where Josh watched him from.

His ribs were visible, and he was shaking from being so cold.

He entered the room, gently touching Tyler's back. His skin was cold to the touch.

Josh had no idea how to approach this. He figured that it would be best to just put Tyler first.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked him softly.

Tyler shook his head.

"When's the last time you've eaten?"

Tyler shrugged.

Josh sighed, knowing that meant it had been a long time.

"Are you cold?" Josh asked.

Tyler nodded.

He helped him lie down in the bed, covering him with multiple blankets and handing him the TV remote.

"Here you go," he said as he gave it to him.

Tyler blinked at him again, his look was haunting. It made Josh feel genuinely... scared, almost. Like the person who was before him wasn't Tyler.

He left the room and went to the kitchen, beginning to cook every single food he could think of that Tyler loved.

He knew he had to get food into Tyler's system someway, or else he'd pass out soon. He already looked a bit unsteady from just taking his shirt off.

Chicken strips, Mac n cheese, chocolate chip cookies, fruit salad, mini hot dogs, mashed potatoes, baked apples, peanut butter sandwiches without the crust, and more.

He brought in the multiple trays of food, setting them all down beside Tyler.

"Eat however much you want of whatever you want," Josh told him. "T-there's more of everything in the kitchen."

Tyler nodded, staring down at his lap.

Josh just stood there for a while, watching Tyler, but his husband didn't move.

"Tell me about him," he eventually said softly.

It didn't even sound like his voice anymore.

"I'm sorry, baby, what did you say?" Josh asked, gently holding Tyler's hand.

"Tell me about him," Tyler repeated quietly. "The one you cheated on me with."

"O-oh," Josh said. "U-um... w-well, u-um... what uh... what do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"I um... h-his name was James," Josh started. "A-and we shared a room at the base. H-he was 26. H-he sings, h-he's really tall. H-he has tattoos," Josh shrugged. "T-that's really all I can think of."

Tyler continued to stay in the exact same position, staring at the wall ahead of him.

"A-and I'm the one who came onto him," Josh admitted. "I-I know it's no excuse, b-but I just... I-I missed not getting t-to have physical touch with someone romantically. A-and I don't blame you for not touching me a-at all. W-what I did, g-going behind your back, w-was absolutely disgusting, b-but I've just always relied o-on physical touch for giving me a sense of worth that I... I-I just... I had to have it. A-and I'm so, so sorry, Tyler. I-it only happened once."

"W-we had sex once a-and that was it," Josh continued. "I-I requested to change bases completely, s-so I wasn't near him at all the rest of my deployment. I-I'm so sorry, Tyler. I-I promise I never felt any sort of love for him. O-or anyone who wasn't you, for that matter. I-it's always been you and you only who really, truly has my heart. A-and I know I don't have yours anymore, b-but Ruby needs you. I-I can move out by tomorrow. I-it'll be like I was never here, b-but you have to be here for Ruby. S-She needs you."

Tyler stayed in the same position, still.

"I-is there anything I can do?" Josh asked. "A-anything I can do to gain your trust back o-or make you love me again o-or even just feel better? Anything I can do to help you?"

"She has a daddy-daughter dance at school on Friday night," Tyler said quietly. "She wants you to go with her."

"W-What?" Josh asked softly. "I-I'm not even her dad. I-I mean, I am technically, b-but I haven't been here for over half her life. W-why does she want me to go?"

"She said she doesn't have any memories with you and she wants to start making them as soon as she can," Tyler said.

Josh sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he shut his eyes. "What do you want me to do?" He asked.

"Go with her."

"What? I-I can't. S-She can't be calling somebody who cheated on her single-parent and went behind his back and destroyed everyone in the family's lives her dad. I-I don't deserve to go to that dance, Tyler. You should go. You're the one who's her real dad. You deserve the memories so much more than I do."

"That's why she isn't going to find out," Tyler said softly. "About any of this."

"W-What?"

"She isn't going to know you cheated, she isn't going to know you went behind my back, she's going to think that I just left to go visit a friend for two weeks."

"A-are you sure?" Josh asked.

"Yes."

"W-What if she catches me sleeping on the couch? Or walks in on us talking?"

"Sleep in here."

"Oh, no, Tyler, you know you aren't comfortable with that," Josh said.

And he was right.

Tyler was really, really uncomfortable around Josh, especially sleeping in the same bed as him.

"Better than her knowing," Tyler said quietly, a tear rolling down his cheek.

***

"TYTY!" Ruby yelled as she saw Tyler in the kitchen. "YOU'RE HOME!!!"

"Yeah," Tyler said softly, hugging her.

"Where were ya?? I missed ya!"

"I had to go see a friend of mine who was sick in the hospital," Tyler lied. "But I missed you too."

"Is your fren okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. He's fine now."

Ruby smiled and nodded, hugging Tyler tightly.

"I'm gonna ask daddy the big question today," she grinned.

Tyler nodded, running his fingers through his hair tiredly.

Ruby found Josh, plopping down on his lap.

"Jish," she grinned.

"Hm?"

"I've got a real cool daddy-daughter dance comin' up at pre-school on Friday," she grinned. "Will ya be my date?"

"Y-yeah," Josh said, forcing a smile. "Y-yeah, o-of course, RuRu."

Ruby smiled excitedly, kissing his nose.

He immediately asked Tyler to take her dress shopping, Josh's heart breaking as he saw the look of defeat and exhaustion on Tyler's face.

"I-I'll take you, sweetheart," Josh said. "Daddy's been really stressed lately. He needs to get some rest."

"But I want it to be a surprise for you," Ruby said.

"It's fine," Tyler said. "I'll go."

So Tyler and Ruby went dress shopping, Ruby so excited when she found a pretty pink sparkly one.

Meanwhile, Josh was at home trying desperately to think of what he could do to make things back to how they used to be, thought he knew it would never be the same.

***

Friday night, as Josh was walking towards the front door in a suit and tie while carrying Ruby in her pretty dress for the dance, someone kicked in the door.

Josh opened it. "Hi, there," he said. "You must be Dr. Black."

"Yes," she smiled, shaking his hand. "Are you Joshua?"

Josh nodded. "Yes. Um... Tyler, honey, someone's here to see you."

Tyler went to the front door, seeing the woman. "Um... hello....?"

"Hi, there, Tyler," she smiled, shaking his hand as well. "I'm Dr. Black, licensed psychologist."

Tyler was beyond confused.

"Check your texts," Josh whispered in his ear. "I love you. Have a great night."

And with that, he left the house, getting Ruby in the car and driving to the dance.