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Rating:
Explicit
Archive Warning:
No Archive Warnings Apply
Category:
M/M
Fandom:
Twenty One Pilots
Relationship:
Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph
Characters:
Josh DunTyler JosephBrendon UrieJenna Black
Additional Tags:
Alternate UniverseAnxietyDepressionFirst KissFirst TimeLack of CommunicationMinor ViolencePainplayRecoveryRecreational Drug UseRelationship StudySelf-HarmSuicide AttemptSuicidal Thoughts
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:2016-08-01Completed:2016-08-05Words:57114Chapters:5/5Comments:123Kudos:220Bookmarks:38Hits:3556
Under a Cherry Tree
edy

Summary:

They meet at a New Year's Eve party.
Notes:

inspiration: "the bed song" by amanda palmer and the grand theft orchestra

this thing is Long (but if you've been following my progress on tumblr, you should know i already have the whole thing written). i might update tomorrow. or the day after tomorrow. every other day. sounds like a plan.
Chapter 1: Exhibit A

Chapter Text

He sits next to Josh, the hem of his sweatshirt dragging across his thighs. Gray, stained, it's comfortable to no one but him. Holes are in the elbows, dark skin showing, pink on the pointed edges, from use, from leaning on hardwood floor for hours. Josh saw him an hour or so ago, stretched out on his stomach, an empty can of beer nearby. His thumb imprint was on the side, though the reason wasn't obvious. He began to shout not long after, a single yellow card in his hand as he declared, "Uno!"

Josh went around him, stepping over legs and alcohol in cans and bottles and red cups. With no destination in sight, Josh's feet carried him upstairs. He dropped on a bed, dropped on three bodies, and he dropped onto the carpet, reverting to the stage of crawling to scurry from the room.

Another bedroom was across the hall, and this one wasn't already occupied with a couple on the bed. It was home to a small cage, a gray rodent running from one end to the next. Its black eyes blinked, and its pink nose twitched, and Josh sat there and watched it.

That's where he finds Josh. Gently, with shaking hands, he sits on his legs, his sweatshirt big and the bottoms of his shoes muddy. His hair is swept back from the wind, and frost coats his long lashes. He had been outside, his friends dragging him, pockets full of cigarettes. He smells of it, too, thick, heavy, lips chapped. His lips are chapped. He's chewing on them, leaning in to squint at the cage. "Is that a rat?"

"Yeah," Josh says. "I mean, it's definitely not a mouse."

"Definitely not a mouse." He peels back layer upon layer of skin from his bottom lip. Josh watches the blood pool, and then Josh watches his tongue swipe it away. It vanishes after a swallow, only to reappear seconds later. Josh understands that pain. He was like that before the evening started—his victim the inside of his cheek. It is still sore, but he still pokes it with his tongue.

"Look at it!" he says, pointing at the rat jumping onto its wheel. It runs, the wheel spinning. He laughs, his finger going into his mouth to pick at the nail. Laughter continues to escape despite the chewing.

Josh smiles. He laughs with him, arm coming around to hug a knee to his chest. "Funny thing, yeah?"

"Yeah." He's nodding, sticking his hand between his calf and thigh muscle. It's an attempt to stop chewing on his nails, but Josh has seen it used to keep from doing too many hand gestures when talking. "This your place?" he asks.

"Not my place."

"Well, you're not drinking." His eyebrows draw together.

"Not big on that."