Saints Protect {Fransykes}

4

Josh has never had a hangover before.

Guardian angels consider themselves to be above intoxication, which speaks more to their superiority complex than it does to the inferiority of humans.

He understands not drinking alcohol, though. Josh's head is pounding and he feels sick to his stomach. He hasn't even gotten out of bed yet, but he feels like he has run a marathon and then gotten his ass kicked. Josh has never done either of those things, of course, but he has watched Oliver get his ass kicked, and he understands that humans view marathons as difficult physical challenges. That seems to be enough for him to make the comparison.

Josh groans and hides his face in his pillow. "Fuck." He mutters, wishing he had never decided to try to drink his problems away.

A gentle hand runs through his hair. "Morning Joshie." Oliver's voice is soft, quiet to Josh's sensitive ears. He clearly knows how to interact with someone who is hungover, and his presence is extremely comforting.

"I feel like shit." Josh says, voice muffled by his pillow.

"You don't drink often, do you?" Oliver sounds vaguely amused, but sympathetic all the same.

Josh can hardly say that it was his first time drinking alcohol. That would probably seem strange. Instead he just nods and presses a hand to his forehead, swearing under his breath.

"I'll get you some water." Oliver says, and Josh feels his weight shift on the bed, "Do you have Advil I can get you?"

"What's Advil?" Josh asks, his body aching too much for him to properly think about what these strange human terms mean.

"You've a strange sense of humor." Oliver says, and Josh hears him walk out of the room. Josh wishes that he was kidding, and he searches his aching head for the memory of what Advil is. Right. Painkillers. He could probably use those right about now, but he doesn't have any. He understands now why humans keep painkillers stocked up in their houses and vows to buy some at the first change he gets, just in case. Human bodies register pain much more easily than angelic forms.

Josh sits up and props himself against his pillow as Oliver returns with a glass of water. He passes it to him and Josh gulps the water down quickly. "Thanks." He says, feeling the water settle his stomach, though it does nothing for his aching head.

"What were you drinking last night?" Oliver asks, sitting beside Josh and resting his head tentatively on his shoulder. His presence and his physical touch are comforting in a way that Josh has never experienced before. He smiles despite the pain radiating through his head.

"Tequila." Josh admits, hoping that he is pronouncing it right. After all, he only learned what tequila is the night before.

Oli winces, "Yeah, you might wanna avoid tequila if you don't like hangovers." He advises, still resting his head on Josh's shoulder. Josh has already come to the conclusion that he will never drink tequila again, but he appreciates the advice anyway.

"Does anyone like hangovers?" Josh asks, mostly because he is certain that no one could possibly enjoy feeling like this.

"Masochists." Oliver suggests, earning a little smile from Josh. He knows what masochists are, namely because they are considered sinful.

"Fuck whoever invented tequila."

"How dare you speak about Joe Tequila like that." Oliver says, his cheeky smile telling Josh that he's kidding. Josh is getting better at picking up on when humans are joking, which is helpful. It makes interacting with Oli somewhat easier.

"Joe Tequila is the reason I feel like shit right now, I'll say whatever I want about him." Josh replies, slowly and carefully resting his head on top of Oliver's. This intimacy is new to him, but he's pretty sure that he likes it. Offhand, Joshua wonders what it would be like to kiss Oliver. He has never kissed anyone before, but he has heard that it feels nice, feels intimate. Against his own better judgement, he wants to experience that with Oliver.

Josh is in no way going to initiate anything, though. He wouldn't even know how, and he has no idea how to figure out of Oliver wants that too, so it seems safer to just avoid initiating a kiss altogether. He knows it's stupid, knows he should really just communicate to Oli how he is feeling. But he doesn't know how.

"Josh?"

Oliver's voice brings Josh out of his swirling thoughts and back into the moment. "Hm?"

"What are you thinking about? You seem distracted."

Yeah, Josh is distracted. Distracted by his attraction to the man beside him, the man who was never even supposed to his face, let alone fall asleep next to him and wake up beside him.

Josh is blushing again, and he wonders if humans always blush this easily or if this is just how Oliver impacts him. "Nothing." He says, a little too quickly, earning a raised eyebrow from Oliver.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're bad at lying?" Oliver asks, his pretty eyes fixed on Josh's face.

"My sister tells me that all the time." Josh replies honestly. Elissa is always reminding him that he is a terrible liar, and she's right about that. She has always been a better liar than him, which is one of the many reasons why he incurs their father's wrath far more often than she does.

"You have a sister?"

Josh sighs. He really does not want to think about his sister, about how she always seems to be better than him at everything. "Yeah. We don't really get along though."

Oliver nods understandingly, "Family is complicated."

He has no idea. Guardian angel families are quite different from human ones. There are similarities, like sibling rivalries and parental disapproval. Guardian angels parents are never affectionate in the way that human parents are, and it creates a certain dynamic that humans would consider dysfunctional. They would be right, too. Guardian angels are a dysfunctional bunch, especially the parents. Humans may be complicated, but at least most of them are capable of showing love.

"Don't wanna think about my family." Josh mutters, hiding his face in his hands.

Oliver gently pries Josh's hands away from his face with his good arm. "We don't have to talk about that." He says, "Instead, you can tell me what you were thinking about when you said you were thinking about nothing."

Josh bites his lip, because he isn't too sure he wants to talk about that either. The one and only time that he has lied to Oli, and now he might just have to admit that he was thinking about kissing him.

"Tell meee." Oliver whines, giving Josh a truly irresistible puppy-dog eye look. "Please?"

"I- I was wondering what it would be like to kiss you." Josh admits, looking away so that he doesn't have to see Oliver's reaction.

"You don't have to wonder." Oliver says, and does that mean what Josh thinks it means? He hopes so. "Can I kiss you?" Oliver asks.

Josh turns his head to look at Oliver, and finds his eyes drawn to look at his lips. "Yes." He breathes, his eyes fluttering shut as Oli leans in. Their lips touch softly, gently, and Joshua suddenly understands what all of the fuss is about. Kissing Oliver makes him feel warm and comforted, safe.

As Josh kisses Oliver, he realizes that he can't walk way from this, from him. He wants this to last, wants it to happen again and again. He shouldn't, but he does. He has feelings for this human.

Things just got even more complicated than they already were, and Josh has no idea how this is going to end. He is afraid to find out.

~

based on my own experiences with tequila tbh

fuck joe tequila!! nasty ass hangovers

sometimes i think abt how norman reedus' son is named mingus reedus and i laugh because that's honestly the funniest name ive ever heard

mingus

sorry, the word mingus lives in my head rent free

remember to create and destroy as you see fit

-Samira