tyler had been in a mental hospital for six months.
he had only seen his boyfriend twice that entire time, but they did write letters back and forth. in his last letter, josh talked about how excited he was to finally get to pick tyler up and take him home where they could finally be back together all the time.
today was the day josh was supposed to pick him up.
tyler was ecstatic. he had all his things packed and said goodbye to his friends and nurses. he waited in the lobby for josh to arrive.
finally, it was noon. josh should be here any minute now.
but he wasn't.
eventually, it was 10pm, and tyler was sobbing. today was supposed to be amazing. his boyfriend who he loved so dearly was supposed to pick him up and they were going to go out on the most romantic date, but he never showed.
he called a taxi and got a ride to their shared apartment.
he arrived and opened the door, wheeling his suitcase inside as he cried.
josh was just sitting on the couch doing work. he didn't even hear tyler enter.
but when tyler walked past him and he heard the loud sobs, his eyes widened.
"baby?" he whispered quietly. "baby! ty! oh my god, i'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, jumping off the couch and running to his boyfriend. he wrapped his arms around him but tyler pushed away. "tyler i'm so so so sorry! i thought that pick up was next week! oh, baby please come here," josh said, running after his boyfriend.
tyler just continued to cry and he dragged his luggage up the stairs, tugging at his own hair, his bad habit.
"here, baby, let me take your bags," josh said, grabbing tyler's luggage and carrying it upstairs for him.
tyler just sat down on one of the steps and broke down sobbing even harder, josh starting to cry too. he returned to his boyfriend after putting his bags up and sat down next to him, gently rubbing his back. "baby, please don't cry. it was all my fault. all, 100%, my fault. i thought i was supposed to pick you up next saturday. i'm so so so sorry, ty. i'm such a fucking terrible boyfriend..."
tyler just sniffled and buried his face in his hands.
josh wrapped his arms around tyler and hugged him tightly, kissing his back gently. "i love you so so so much, ty. i'm so sorry i didn't come. i know that's absolutely awful. i love you."
tyler just sniffled and sat for a little bit before getting up and going to the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
josh sighed and scolded himself before he got up and gently knocked on the door. "ty, baby? do you need anything? water? tea?"
he got no response.
"i love you, ty."
josh sat down right in front of the door, saying everything he loved and missed about tyler. "i really missed your hugs. they always made me forget about everything negative in life and just think about you and me together."
about 150 reasons josh loved him and two hours later, tyler opened the door.
josh stood up and looked into tyler's eyes. he knew the look. tyler wanted a kiss.
he opened his arms wide and his boyfriend walked into them, his head tilted up so josh could kiss him.
and that's exactly what he did. he kissed him softly but with great passion, hugging him tightly.
"i'm sorry, tyler. i-i should have been a better boyfriend and looked at the calendar but i promise you i love you more than life a-"
"it's ok."
"what?"
"i-it's ok. y-you didn't mean to. i-i'm sorry i didn't hug you back at first," tyler said.
"baby do not apologize for anything. it's all my fault."
tyler was silent.
"i have to ask you something," josh said, holding both tyler's hands.
"ok."
"would it be ok if i proposed to you right now?"
tyler nodded and sniffled, not thinking josh was serious. "yes."
"great," josh smiled, getting down on one knee.
he pulled out a box containing a ring.
"tyler robert joseph, i know i'm a pretty terrible boyfriend, but i promise you, i'll be a much better fiancé and an even better husband. i love you with all my heart and that will never change. you're so so so beautiful and perfect and i've missed you so much, i want to take the next step, and i really hope you do too. will you make me the happiest guy on earth, and will you marry me?"
tyler gasped and quickly nodded, allowing josh to slide the ring onto his finger before sinking to the ground and tackling him in a hug.
"i love you, baby," josh smiled through his tears.
"i-i love you more," tyler sniffled, kissing his fiancé deeply.
