Adore // Oneshots

Safer Ground (Joshler)

CATEGORY: A combination of fluff, drama, and angst
FEATURING: dating!Joshler
TRIGGER WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF PAST ASSAULT! PLEASE READ SAFELY!!
PROMPT: Tyler needs to get out of Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Luckily, his boyfriend comes to the rescue.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 700

"Tyler, come downstairs! Your cousins are here!"

"I'll be there in a second!" Carefully, Tyler took his black jacket from his closet, slipped it over his white t-shirt, and zipped it up to his neck, although it wasn't really cold. He wasn't eager to go downstairs.

He glanced at himself in the mirror on his desk, and tried not to remember a Thanksgiving so much like this one, six years ago.

"Tyler, now!"

"Coming!" Reluctantly, Tyler left his room and went down the hallway, stopping at the top of the stairs.

His aunt and uncle were just inside the front door, with Tyler's mom smiling and greeting them. His cousins were gone already, they were probably in the backyard with Tyler's brothers and sister.

Unfortunately, Tyler's aunt saw him. "Oh, Tyler! Honey, you've gotten so tall!"

He didn't want to, but he slowly made his way down the stairs to meet his extended family. His aunt hugged him, and briefly, he felt a flash of guilt. She meant well. She didn't know. None of this was her fault.

"He sure has," Tyler's uncle chuckled, and he patted his nephew on the back a little harder than he should have, making the boy flinch.

Several years ago, something had happened with Tyler's uncle. He was lucky it was only once. Since then, Tyler had avoided him as best as he could, and his uncle had never bothered him agian. He didn't like to think about it much.

Tyler's mother led his aunt into the kitchen, talking about the big dinner ahead of them. His uncle looked him over, just a bit more than he should have, and then he went into the living room to greet Tyler's father.

Without a word, Tyler slipped out the front door. His hands were shaking in his pockets.

He didn't want to go back in the house, but he didn't know what to do, so he just sat on the front porch instead. The Joesph house had always had a nice front porch, with decent outdoor furniture and even one of those swinging benches. Tyler sat on the bench, his hands in his lap.

In truth, Tyler was taller and at least somewhat stronger now than he had been when he was eleven, so his uncle probably wouldn't do anything. Still, he fretted. This really wasn't good for him.

"Hey, Tyler!" He looked up to see a boy with dyed red hair quickly cross the empty street. Tyler didn't stop the boy as he came up onto the porch and gave him a brief kiss. This boy was Josh, Tyler's neighbor and boyfriend of four months.

Tyler's family didn't know about Josh, and ultimately, it was probably better that way. They shouldn't have been kissing so openly, in that moment, but Tyler needed this right now, and his family was probably too busy with things inside the house to bother looking out the window.

After the kiss was over, Josh sat next to Tyler on the bench. "You okay? You seem quieter than usual."

Tyler just shrugged.

"Hey." Josh put his hand over Tyler's. "You can tell me. It's okay."

"My uncle's here," he mumbled, not meeting Josh's eyes.

Josh frowned. He didn't know the whole story with Tyler's uncle, only what his boyfriend had told him--that his uncle was a bad person, and had done something awful to him when he was younger. He knew enough to know that Tyler had a right to be upset.

The red-haired boy held Tyler's hand in his, and pulled him up from the bench.  "C'mon."

"Where are we going?" Tyler asked quietly, standing with Josh.

"My house. You'll be safe there."

Tyler shook his head slowly, reluctantly, eyes cast downward. "I can't. My family would notice I was gone."

"Look at me," Josh said gently, and the boy did. "Tyler, if you don't feel safe with your uncle around, then you don't have to be around him. No explanation needed." He tugged on Tyler's hand lightly, a hint of a smile on his face. "Come on, you can have your Thanksgiving dinner at my house. You can say you had to go, for my mom's cranberry sauce."

Tyler smiled faintly, feeling a little better, and he nodded. The two boys crossed the street, hand in hand, heading for safer ground.

A/N: Might come back to this one and extend it, or make a part two