band aids ↠ joshler ✔

t w e n t y t h r e e

4 months until

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it'd been a month since tyler and josh confessed, and out of the 1 year and 6 months they've been in the hospital together, neither of them have been happier.

tyler's elated. josh is beaming.

they sit in each other's arms, in their tiny little room, after returning from open.

it was only around 5pm.

josh rests his chin on tyler's head as tyler scratches at one of his band aids.

"guess what i stole from lunch?" josh asks, with just the tiniest hint of playfulness in his words.

"hm?"

 josh slipped a singular peach out from his shirt sleeve.

"a peach for my peach." he said, giving it to tyler.

the brunet smiled widely and tossed the fruit in his palms.

"thank you."

and then tyler kissed josh's knuckles before taking a bite.

and spitting it out.

the inside was green and grey-ish, obviously rotted beyond weeks.

but as tyler sat there scrubbing his tongue, josh just sat there, sorry.

until tyler began to laugh.

and he did too.

and josh fell in love with tyler even more.

-----

tyler is greedy hands, eyes like american money eyeing josh's bare neck.

he's soft, so soft, mouthing at his collarbones and ghosting his lips over his jawline, and strokes his hands down the sides. the band aids rubs roughly over josh's cheekbones. his smile is sweet, so sweet, and it makes josh sticky. josh can't move, can't leave.

and he doesn't want to.

tyleer is medicine for josh, and ever since landing in prison, he hasn't felt so much emotion as he does when he and tyler are together- and not the before together.

not when he and tyler are separately talking. not when they're eating lunch. not when they say goodbyes before one of them leaves for therapy.

it's when they hold hands down the hallway. when they sleep under the warmth of one blanket. when josh kisses every one of tyler's band aids. when tyler stutters out an "i l-love you."

that's when josh is his happiest.

tyler is soft, but at the same time, josh knows that he's finally realized what was wrong with his and jenna's relationship.

tyler loves josh. he never realized it, but as soon as josh said it, he knew.

  he lies flat on his back, and slips his finger under josh's collar and lets josh kiss him dead.