Headspace // Joshler

sᴏᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴍᴇʟᴏᴅʏ

Josh wakes to the calm pitter-pattering of the rain against his bedroom window. The sound brings a calmness to mind, a soothing melody, a natural lullaby. Josh instantly feels like closing his eyes and falling back asleep but he has to wake up to go to work. He glances at his phone, it's still too early to get up but the man wants to have a normal breakfast once in a while then just a handful of dry cereal. Josh feels how early it is, there is still no light seeping through his curtains. He checks the time again, paranoid that he woke up for no reason. Josh tends to wake up in the middle of the night often. He would jolt awake thinking that there's someone walking downstairs when in reality it was just his old house creaking as the wind passed. he got used to that but it still was pretty annoying.

Josh stretches for a few minutes, wiggling in the sheets trying to force his body to stand up. Finally, the boy steps out of the bed, cool floorboards nipping at his soft skin. The boy slips into his bunny slippers. Soon the room is filled with fresh air when the boy opens the window. The curly-haired boy enjoys the breeze for a few seconds before shutting the window. He doesn't want his room to get too cold, he still has to change.

Josh creeps downstairs. The boy is still in his pajamas since his outfit is in the laundry room where he forgot to take it back to the closet when he took it out of the dryer. Josh's outfit consists of pink silky shorts with green t-rexes printed all over the fabric. His oversized shirt is inside out, Josh didn't really care about that, he lived alone. He would've slept naked if he wasn't so insecure about his body. The knee-high socks are hugging his legs comfortably, the boy wishes that he could climb back into his bed and sleep till noon. He can't. He has to go to work.

Josh doesn't notice anything out of ordinary till his feet are almost at the last step. He stops and listens, there's faint music coming out of his kitchen. The boy slows down, trying to remember if he left the radio on. Josh's fingers scratch his curls, the boy is confused. Only when his gaze slips across his dimly lit living room and he notices the messy couch, He remembers the last night.

Suddenly, he's fighting the urge to scurry upstairs and hide under the covers. Josh panics, thinking maybe he can slip past the kitchen and into the laundry room to grab his clothes. There is no way Josh will let Tyler see his inside-out pajamas.

"Hey, good morning," Josh stops dead in his tracks, hands trembling

Tyler is leaning against the door frame, his sleeves rolled back. The man had changed back into his own clothes, they had dried overnight. The older man has an oven mitten on his right hand, Josh senses a pleasant sweet smell coming from the kitchen.

"Mornin'," Josh utters shyly, he tugs at his shirt unconsciously wanting to hide his pudgy thighs

"Breakfast is ready," Tyler gestures at the kitchen with his head

"Y-you made breakfast?" The boy's cheeks light up once again

"Of course I did," Tyler stops leaning against the door frame "Did you think that I was going to leave?"

"I don't-" Josh is flustered again once Tyler's hands wrap around his waist "I don't know."

"I'm not a very good cook but I tried really hard." Tyler leans in, Josh panics not knowing what to do

Tyler stops half-way, biting his lip. He's waiting for Josh to get his composure back but the boy is already a pile of gelatin. Tyler continues leaning in and kisses Josh anyway. The boy is at the verge of a cardiac arrest, his soft heart is beating against his ribs like thunder.

Tyler's lips are so soft compared to Josh's. He didn't even have time to brush his teeth or wash his face. The man is kissing him slowly, with short pauses to let the boy catch his breath. Once he pulls away, Josh is a completely different colour than he was when he woke up. Tyler's thumb caresses the boy's cheek, still warm and rosy from sleep.

A question arises in Josh's mind but the boy is too ashamed to speak up. He just stares the man into his whiskey eyes without saying anything. Tyler is silent, he senses that the boy wants to say something but doesn't know how to approach the situation.

"What is it?" Tyler finally speaks, bringing Josh's cold hands up to his chest

"Are we dating?" Josh blurts out, he's biting his lip in regret moments after

The older man chuckles, his lips plant a kiss on Josh's knuckles

"Do you want us to?" Tyler teases

"Yes," Josh nods, speaking quieter after that "I-if you want to."

"I'd love to,"

Tyler's smile is sweet, sickeningly sweet. Like a child's who finally got what they wanted after numerous attempts and countless tantrums thrown.

Josh gets on his tippy toes to receive a kiss, Tyler is happy to fulfill the boy's wishes.

"Breakfast is gonna get cold," Tyler whispers, their forehead's pressed together

Josh sits down at the table, a plate with three muffins is placed on the table in front of him. Tyler sets a glass of lemon tea in front of Josh. The boy didn't even know that he had lemons. The man sits in front of him with a coffee mug in his hand. The dark liquid is still steaming hot. Josh eyes down the drink, confusion reflecting in them.

"You're drinking black coffee?" Josh asks timidly, Tyler's fingers twitch around the mug.

"Yes," Tyler answers quietly, the mug rises up to his mouth "What?"

"You-" Josh takes a deep breath filled with frustration "Nevermind."

Josh tries to ignore the thought nagging at the back of his brain. Sometimes he couldn't understand Tyler at all. Maybe it was just him or maybe Tyler was a little bit weird. Indecisive. Josh brushed that thought off, everyone had something weird about them. Tyler's weird thing was that he couldn't choose if he likes black coffee or not. It was kinda hilarious if you think about it. Kinda odd as well.

The muffins are delicious, Josh is certain that Tyler lied that he's a bad cook to impress Josh. How could a bad cook make such heaven out of some eggs and flour? Josh cannot finish all of the muffins, he can barely eat one. He shares the other one with Tyler who would rather see Josh finish it himself. The third one is put in the fridge for later consumption.

Josh is on time for work again. He wishes to stay home with Tyler but the man has to go to work as well.

Josh tries as hard as he could to get ready faster but he keeps dropping everything. His toothpaste, his hairbrush, his deodorant. He knows Tyler is waiting for him downstairs so he can walk him to work. Finally, Josh is ready but something catches his attention. The boy rubs his fingers against a dark red spot along his neck, praying that that's just a random smudge. No matter how hard he rubs, it doesn't budge and Josh begins panicking. The boy tries applying makeup and it makes his neck look a little better but the red mark still shines through his concealer.

Finally, the brunet gives up and wraps a scarf around his neck to conceal the love bite at least until he gets to work.

"Cute, " Tyler points at Josh's scarf when he finally walks out the door

"You don't have to walk me, " the boy murmurs

"But I want to, " Tyler keeps on walking, Josh doesn't mind his company

Josh wishes that their trip would've been longer but they have to say goodbye for now.

"We'll meet up after work, okay?" Tyler suggests

"Okay, " Josh wraps his arms around the man for a goodbye hug

"I'll swing by if I have time." Tyler's lips press against Josh's forehead

"Please do, " Josh giggles

"I'll try, love, " Tyler says sweetly

Josh gives Tyler one last kiss before heading into the coffee shop. The boy has the brightest smile on his face and it seems that nothing can erase it from his lips.