Ruby ~Joshler~

0.9

Ruby's little head tilted in curiosity as she watched the older man walk back and forth in his bedroom. He went from the dresser to his bed, where his worn out bag was wide open. He was grabbing the clothes from the dresser and shoving them into the bag frantically. He also had a big smile on his face. 

"Tyer?" 

Tyler nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the small voice. He sighed and smiled as he bent over to pick of the pair of old jeans he had dropped. "Oh, hi Ruby. Shouldn't you be napping?"

Ruby shook her head as Tyler resumed packing his stuff. "What doing?" She stepped further into the room he was in. 

"I uh-I'm getting all my stuff together." 

"Why?" 

"Ruby?" Tyler and the little girl both turned around and saw Josh standing in the doorway. "Are you bothering Tyler?" 

"Why is Tyler doing that?" Ruby wondered as Josh picked her up. He looked at Tyler, then back at his daughter. "Um, Tyler has to go." 

Ruby's face immediately fell. "What? No! Tyer can't go." 

Josh turned and walked out of the room, leaving Tyler to do his own thing. "Listen Ruby," He placed the girl on the sofa and got down to her level. She was still visibly upset. "I know you don't want Tyler to leave, but he needs to go home. His family misses him. Do you know what it's like to miss someone?" 

Ruby's head fell. "I miss mama." 

Josh sighed. "I know baby. But Tyler's mom needs him and he needs her too, so he has to go home. Okay?" 

Ruby was silent for a moment but nodded in understanding. "Can I say bye?" 

Josh smiled. "Of course." 

"You should ask him to dinner." Ruby giggled. 

Josh chuckled. "Yeah?" She nodded. "Okay, let's go."

"Tyler?" 

"Yeah, Josh?" Tyler responded, not even looking up from his phone. 

"Um-" Josh scratched the back of his neck. "I-we were wondering if you wanted to go to dinner before you left. You know, since this is probably the last time we'll ever see you. Also, Ruby wants to say goodbye." 

Tyler turned and saw Josh and Ruby side-by-side. She was smiling up at him and Josh looked kinda distracted. "Yeah. I would love that." Tyler giggled along with Ruby. 

xoxo

"This is fancy." Tyler looked around in surprise at his surroundings. It was quiet, except the occasional chatter from the kitchen or surrounding tables. The interior was well decorated and the employees had a great attitude about everything. 

"It's just Olive Garden." Josh chuckled, handing Ruby half of a breadstick. She was content with it in her highchair. 

"Well, you gotta remember. I grew up living on scraps, so anything else is fantastic." Tyler laughed, Josh didn't. 

Josh cleared his throat. "So, you must be excited to go back home." 

Tyler smiled. "Yeah! It's amazing! Mom said she'd take me in and that she had been looking for me for years. I can't wait to see everybody." 

The older male smiled. He was truly happy for the younger man. He owed him his life for making sure his daughter was safe and he was happy he was finally going home. "I'm happy for you." Josh didn't smile this time. 

"Thanks." Tyler looked up at Josh, but he was looking down at his hands. "Hey-"

"Okay, are we ready to order?" The male waiter came around the corner, holding his notebook and pen, holding a sickly grin. 

"Um, yeah." Josh picked up his menu again and everyone ordered. 

"Thank you. That'll be out for you guys soon." The waiter took the menus and disappeared into the kitchen. 

"Hey, Josh?" 

"Hm?" Josh looked up from his lap and made eye contact with the brunette across from him. He could tell Tyler wanted to say something. 

"Josh, I-I-" Tyler stammered and picked at his fingers under the table. Finally, he sighed. "I just wanted to thank you. For everything. You gave me everything when I had nothing. A home, food, a bed," Tyler laughed. "A place to shower." They both chuckled. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be living out there on my own with nothing. No one. And for that, I owe you my life." 

"But....you're leaving." 

They both grew silent.

"Dada and Tyer sad?" Ruby's voice broke the silence. 

"I'm sorry." Tyler whispered. 

The older man's eyes grew. "No! Tyler, don't be sorry. They're your family and after all, I should be thanking you. You saved Ruby. If you weren't there for her, she could have been hurt. Or worse. So don't apologize and let's enjoy our food, yeah?" 

Tyler smiled. "Yeah." As if right on cue, the waiter came around the corner, holding a tray full of food. 

xoxo

"Here we are." Josh looked up at the huge building, swarming with all sorts of people, all trying to get somewhere in the world. 

Tyler was scared. He didn't want to leave, but he had to for his family. He needed them. "Yep. This is it." Tyler started opening the door to get out. 

"Oh, let me help you with your bags." Josh hopped out of the driver's side and made his way to the back. Both reached for the handle of the trunk, causing their hands to bump into one another. Tyler was quick to snap his hand away and mumble a 'sorry.' 

Josh chuckled and grabbed both of the boy's bags from the back, making sure he was just a little bit slower than usual. This was probably his last moments with this man and he wanted to make it last. 

"So." Josh mumbled, placing both bags on the ground. 

"So." 

Both men stood there, looking at the ground, neither wanting to say goodbye. "I guess I'd better catch my flight." Tyler finally spoke up. 

Josh sighed. "Yeah. That would probably be a good idea." 

"I'm sure going to miss you guys." Tyler looked through the back window. Ruby was fast asleep. 

"We'll miss you too. Ruby especially." 

"Thanks for everything, Josh." Tyler smiled and grabbed his bags. "I've got to go now. Goodbye Josh." 

Josh watched as Tyler's head disappeared into the sea of people. He stood there for a while, staring at nothing. It was now that Josh was realizing how much Tyler impacted his and Ruby's life. Not having him there was going to be a big change that him and his daughter were going to have to get use to and it was going to be hard. 

"Goodbye."