The next morning, it was time for Tyler to begin his search for Christmas gifts. You would think that he would know what to get his incredible boyfriend, but he was kind of stuck trying to think of something extra special. Josh had made him feel so accepted, so loved, and Tyler was determined to show how much the boy meant to him.
"What am I going to get him?" Tyler whined, while Ashley put a light blush on his face. He had come to her for advice, and she didn't exactly know what to do, either.
"Josh has always been a hard person to shop for.. He never talks about what he wants, or what he likes, really. Not to me, at least."
"Me either... I don't know much about his interests, only that he likes music a lot, and making things and uh.. Me..." Tyler laughed, and Ashley suddenly had an idea.
"Tyler, you're a musician, aren't you?" Ashley asked. Tyler nodded obliviously. "Well then I think I've got the perfect idea..."
...
Tyler was in his room, scribbling out ideas on a notepad. He had started working on this song the moment they met, and he wanted to finish it. He had struggled with the lyrics, not knowing how to put his feelings into words that matched his rhythm.
"I think you would beat the moon in a pretty contest, and the moon would happen to be the very first thing that I missed." Tyler played over the chords on his little keyboard, smiling as the lyrics came together. He thought of Josh's smile, and how caring he was. He thought about the first time they met, how he had thought he was insane. Now he knew, that was just what love felt like. This somehow boosted his stamina to show just how much he understood that, now.
"And give you words as tools that can destroy my heart..." Tyler sang, sinking his fingers onto the piano once more before smiling big. He closed his eyes with satisfaction, as he always did when he finished a song. Yet somehow, this felt different from any other songs. This one wasn't about how he was struggling, but about how he was absolutely infatuated with someone. The lyrics showed he was so deeply in love that someone might even mistake it for a struggle.
Tyler smiled bigger, closing his notepad, turning off his piano, and whispering something into the microphone before stopping the recording.
...
"This is so great," Ashley said as she listened to the recording. It was definitely a love song, but it was also about trusting someone to love you back. And in that, Ashley completely trusted Tyler to not break Josh's sensitive heart.
"Thank you. I've been writing this one for a while, and I just figured out how I was going to end it. Now, how am I going to put this on a CD to give it to Josh?" Tyler asked. Ashley thought for a moment, before grinning.
"It's a good thing my family is a bunch of fancy rich people, we can go get this printed out right at the mall!! Come on, let's go!" Ashley grabbed Tyler's wrist, pulling him out of the room.
...
Meanwhile, Josh was eating a taco at the mall's Taco Bell. He had looked for an hour or so, trying to find something Tyler would like. How do you give someone something as perfect and beautiful as them?
"Ugh, why did I decide to fall in love with a pretty boy... I'm a wreck." Josh sighed, hiding his face in his arms at the table. Suddenly, he felt a hand tap on his shoulder. Josh looked up, startled, only to see some of Ashley's friends, Debby and Jenna.
"Oh! Hi Debs! Hi Jenna!" Josh said, smiling at the girls.
"Hi Josh! What are you doing here, I thought you'd be at work at this time?" Debby asked, bumping hips softly with Jenna. They had been close-to-girlfriends for as long as Josh could remember, although they never came close to confirming it.
"Oh! Yeah I um.. Yeah. I'm just shopping for some people.." Josh blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, not knowing how to even explain the fact that he had to find a beautiful present for a beautiful boy.
"Ok Josh, I know you, and I know you're struggling to shop for a special someone, aren't you?" Debby laughed as Josh blushed and nodded. He had a bit of a feeling of how he should go about telling them, and he hoped Tyler wouldn't mind.
"Ugh, yeah.. I'm trying to shop for my partner, Tyler. They're so beautiful, I literally am so stuck. They really like wearing dresses and skirts and makeup and all that stuff, but they've got a whole different style than what I used to wear.. I'm clueless." Debby nodded as she listened.
"What type of dresses? Are they a more crosshatched leggings kind of person or like.. Pastel princess?" Jenna asked.
"Kind of both?? I don't know." Josh hid his face in his hands. "I'm so not good with this type of thing... I hardly know what I want myself, how am I supposed to do this well?"
"Well first of all.. You've got a fashion major right here, and second of all.. You've got two girls who know how to shop." Debby flared her hands out, and Jenna smiled, doing it too. Josh smiled, and nodded.
"Alright ladies, we're going shopping for a pretty person."
...
At the mall, Tyler and Ashley were searching for cheaper CD options. Tyler had insisted, he wanted it to be bought purely by what he felt was right.
"Ooh, these ones are so cute!" Ashley said, pointing to a row of different abstract covers. She grabbed an orange one, and Tyler shook his head.
"No, it won't have a cover," Tyler said. "Whenever you listen to a song for the first time, you should never know what colors the cover is so you don't think of that color, and get your own experience. And even so, Josh's favorite color is purple, not orange." Tyler explained, and Ashley looked at him with wide eyes.
"Alright, if you say so, Tyler the All Knowing." Ashley laughed, and they kept looking.
At some point, Tyler came to an affordable option. He found a pack of 10 blank CDs, and a burner that could work for a long time so he could record a lot more music than just the one song. It was perfect, and he really liked the design of the burner too.
"This is perfect," Tyler said. "D'you think he's gonna like it?"
"That boy will love anything if it comes from you, sweet cheeks." Ashley teased, and Tyler blushed.
"That's good, I think." Tyler giggled. Ashley bumped his shoulder, and brought out her wallet. Tyler quickly shoved it away. "No, no no. I've got the money for it, I want to do it myself." Tyler took his wallet out of his pocket, and looked through it. He sighed in defeat when he only had 20 bucks.
"Dang, I'm 50 short..." Tyler said sadly.
"Tyler.. I can help you, are you sure you want to do this yourself?" Ashley asked, concerned about how he would even manage to do that.
"Yes, yes I'm sure. I love him, Ash. I want to show him that all by myself." Ashley smiled at Tyler, and put her hand on his shoulder.
"He's very lucky to have you, girl."
YOU ARE READING
Cinnamon
Fanfiction--- It was ok, Tyler always smelled like cinnamon anyway. --- Tyler is just a basic boy who plays piano in his garage sometimes. Josh is a tired barista. This is the Christmas-y story of two lovers who bond over sexuality struggles, art, music, and...
