AGALMATOPHILIA

_-:31:-_

Shrill notes from the high end of a piano scream out into the early morning air, Tyler starts awake and listens as a frustrated growl of anger erupts in a violent quick crescendo, followed by the lower end of a piano being slammed upon furiously, Tyler feared the keys were to be ripped off.

Furrowing his brow, Tyler crawls from his bed, creeping towards the combined dining and kitchen to find the dollmaker perched on the piano stool, head in hands, he shakes slightly.

With a quick glance back into his room, Tyler contemplates whether he should approach the unpredictable man before him.

A sigh escapes him, empathy and curiosity gets the better, so he very carefully pads over to where Josh was, delicately placing his hand atop the fire headed mans shoulder.

Now Josh's turn to jump, he flinches away from Tyler's caring touch only to relax once he realises who had interrupted him.

"You shouldn't scare people you know," he grumbles, not daring to make eye contact he scans the whole scale of piano keys.

"Could say the same to you, you play?" With a gesture towards the instrument before them both, Tyler takes the spot beside Josh, letting his fingers glide over just the very surface of the pearly white keys, not enough pressure to actually press them down.

Josh shrugs.

"A little, it started as lessons when I was little, turned into this," Josh also gestures towards the piano.

A thick silence slips between the pair, Tyler watching as Josh lifts his hands and begins to gingerly play a smooth classical tune, Tyler listens intently.

Just as Josh reaches the bridge he slips up, knocking a few wrong keys.

Tyler watches him flinch to his left, blink rapidly a few times before clenching his fists.

Cat like reflexes prevent Josh from slamming the keys once again, Tyler catching his fists on his own hands.

"Hey c'mon it didn't do anything to you,"

"Shut up," with another grumble, Josh shoots a quick glance towards the spare room turned into Tyler's bedroom. "How'd you even get out here?"

"You didn't lock me up,"

"Oh," Josh mumbles, turning back towards his piano, slowly circling his temple with moderate pressure, brow lifted slightly, staring at sheet music scattering the top of the piano.

Clearly his memory had started to slip over keeping Tyler secure, now he was even angrier.

"Maybe try this with you hands next time, you won't mess up as easily, if you flex your fingers up like this it should also feel better," Tyler suggests as he moves Josh's hands into position.

So Josh plays through once again, this time utilising the tip Tyler had given him, and low and behold Josh plays it correctly and continues on with a small smirk on his face.

Once he finishes, with a slightly larger smile he turns to Tyler.

"How'd you know that?"

Tyler shrugs.

"I used to dabble in piano," his nonchalant reply is followed by Tyler rubbing the back of his neck. "When I was actually able to,"

The silence begins again, this time Josh rises from his seat, Tyler follows his movements with just his eyes.

"Where's Brendon?"

"Working," with his back to Tyler, Josh begins to brew himself a cup of coffee, busying himself so he didn't have to interact with Tyler, the weird, pulsating feeling within his gut every time he looked at the boy made him angry and confused.

Tyler doesn't bother to reply, instead he looks around the room, idly wandering up to the dozens of pictures hung upon the wall.

Scanning over them, Tyler spies one with the deadly duo, Josh's hair a soft pastel blue, with Brendon dressed in a button up and tight black jeans.

Furrowing his brow, he thinks that Brendon and Josh look much happier in this picture than any of the others beside.

Moving along, there's a more raunchy one of Josh asleep in obviously their own bed, completely nude, on his stomach with a small strip of sheet draped over his lower back, cradling a pillow firmly to his half scowling face.

The lighting brings out freckles and a beautiful pink-peachy tone on his shoulders, but Tyler can see there's darker purple marks on his back and buttocks.

With a swallow, he goes to turn from the picture only to jump in surprise as a curious Josh had wandered up beside him, cradling the cup munch gentler than the pillow within the picture.

"Brendon loves that photo," he blows at the rim of the cup before sipping. "Says: "when you're asleep you're so peaceful and passive, wish you could be asleep all the time,"" he half chuckles and takes another sip.

Tyler nods and turns back to the photo again, running his fingers down the frame before tapping the glass.

"What are these? Are they from Brendon?" Tyler sheepishly questions the scarring with a flush of a blush thinking about how Brendon could possibly leave scars like that.

Josh noticeably tenses from the question, knowing Tyler was looking at him but no courage let him look back.

"No, that was from- someone else," he quickly stops himself from letting a real answer slip, and disappears from Tyler's side, retreating to his own room.

Tyler decides to follow as well, leaning against the door frame, watching as Josh begins to make the bed.

"How'd you meet?"

Josh's scoffs.

"Long story,"

"Well I've got all day, can't exactly do anything else," Tyler awkwardly chortles under his breath, Josh shooting a glare over his shoulder.

Tucking the sheets tightly under the mattress, Josh straightens the sheets completely flatly, before he perch's on the end on of the bed, sighing as he pats the spot next to him.

"Come, I won't bite despite what you hear," Josh sheepishly smiles, a soft, somehow inviting twinkle within those coffee coloured eyes.

Idly the fluffy haired brunette pads over, plopping down beside the dollmaker.

"What I tell you, you have to promise me, you'll never bring it up to Brendon," with an unexpected jerk, Josh's hand had closed around the upper half of Tyler's throat, thumb and forefinger tight against his bottom jaw.
"Because if you ever upset him, I will break your neck, dollface,"

A sharp nod from a terrified Tyler indicates his sincerity, especially with the petrified expression plastered across his face.

With another, deeper sigh, Josh falls back on the bed, arms spread wide, he closes his eyes.

"He was eighteen..."