𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙎 || 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿

20 - Boyfriend

Friday, December 24th:

Josh and Tyler had spent the whole week together, and Tyler was loving it. They had been having a Christmas movie marathon, and cuddling with Josh had quickly become his favorite pastime. He adored how it felt to have the other boy's arms wrapped around him, or have his arms tightly around Josh. He never wanted to let go.

It was Christmas Eve, and the two were once again sitting in Tyler's room, the TV playing movies from a Christmas channel they'd found, but it was forgotten as they sat on Tyler's bed. Josh was laying in between Tyler's legs as Tyler fiddled with his fingers mindlessly, his brain focused on other things.

"What's on your mind?" Josh spoke into the silence of the room.

"Just what I'm gonna do tomorrow. Usually, my family tries to spend the day together, fails miserably, and then I get dragged to some boring Christmas party that my parents' friends host after we suffer through dinner together," Tyler explained.

Josh stayed silent for a moment, and Tyler wished he could see his face, to try and decipher what he was thinking. After a couple moments, Josh spoke up again.

"Do you think you'd be able to get out of going to the party?" he asked.

"No," Tyler said with a shake of his head that Josh couldn't even see. "I tried one year and got scolded for it. I was told that I was ungrateful or something."

Josh went silent again before saying, "What if I came with you?"

Tyler contemplated this. He wasn't sure how his parents would react, but it had to be better than if he asked to not go at all.

"I could ask," Tyler muttered, uncertain, but he liked the thought of going with Josh. At least, he liked it better than the thought of having to go with his family.

Tyler buried his face in the other boy's neck, planting small kisses on it.

"Thank you," he spoke against Josh's skin.

"For what?"

"For a lot. But, right now, for trying to save me from another miserable Christmas."

"Anytime," Josh said, and Tyler knew he was smiling. He could basically hear it in his tone, and he loved that he knew what that sounded like now. He loved that he knew Josh so well. He just loved Josh.

He thought about himself a few months prior, and how he would have freaked out that he not only knew Josh, but he was romantically involved with him. The thought made him smile. He was so glad the other boy had given him a chance.

He continued pressing small kisses to Josh's neck, relishing the moment and how it felt to have his lips on Josh's skin.

"Tyler," Josh said after a few moments, making Tyler pick his head up. Josh then flipped himself around so that he was on his knees in between Tyler's legs, leaning over the younger boy. Josh looked at him intently for a few moments before a small smile came onto his face. One of his hands went to Tyler's hair, and he whispered, "You're so pretty," into his ear before planting a little kiss on his cheek.

Tyler felt his face heat up at the compliment, and he gave Josh a shy smile. Not knowing how to reply, he leaned forward a little and laid his lips on Josh's lightly. Josh deepened the kiss, tilting Tyler's head back by pulling on his hair gently. They pulled away, but only slightly, still breathing each other's air. Tyler let out an involuntary sigh of contentment, feeling like everything was perfect.

"I care about you so much, Ty," Josh muttered, and Tyler smiled, putting another little kiss onto Josh's lips.

"I care about you too, Josh. So, so much."

They went quiet. Tyler looked at Josh, who had his eyes shut and a small smile on his face, and he thought he looked so perfect, so serene. Tyler was convinced that he couldn't possibly be more in love with Josh than he was then, but he knew that, the more time he spent with the other boy, the more he'd continuously be proven wrong.

In that moment, Tyler almost blurted out that he loved Josh, but thought better of it. They weren't even dating, really; it was definitely too soon. Then Tyler started thinking about the fact that they weren't actually dating. Josh wasn't really his, technically. And the thought bothered him.

When he looked back at Josh again, having been looking down, he found the boy's eyes on him.

"What's bothering you?" Josh asked, looking concerned, knowing Tyler too well.

The younger boy sighed. "It's nothing, really," he muttered.

"You can tell me, Ty," Josh said, holding Tyler's hands in his own.

Tyler sucked in a deep breath, looking away from Josh. He didn't know why he was so nervous. He knew Josh liked him; of course he'd say yes if Tyler asked him to be his boyfriend. For some reason, he got it into his head that maybe Josh would say no. Maybe when things got too real, he'd leave.

Still, he forced himself to ask, "Will you be my boyfriend?"

Tyler gnawed on his bottom lip nervously while he looked at Josh, who looked a little surprised at first, but then smiled.

"Of course I will."

The words took a few moments for Tyler to process, but when they hit him, he grinned. He had a boyfriend. Not just a boyfriend, but the boy of his dreams. The boy he'd been pining after for many, many years.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Josh questioned, his own grin plastered on his face. "You had to know that I was gonna say yes."

"Well, I don't know," Tyler said sheepishly. "What if you changed your mind?"

"I don't think that's possible," Josh admitted, making Tyler blush. "I'm thoroughly yours, Ty."

Tyler smiled up at him, keening up and pressing another kiss to his lips.

"And I'm yours, Josh."