Keeper and Protector (Joshler) ✔️

23

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"There's a fire inside of my bed made of coals that I deeply regret. Oh, you left me burning with the embers and I barely made it out alive."

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It'd been almost six months since Josh and Tyler had sealed their alliance as Keeper and Protector. Aside from the occasional disagreement, things had been going well and they were to the point that they knew so many little details about each other.

On the eve of their anniversary, early in the morning, Tyler found his way into Josh's bed.

"Good morning," Tyler whispered into Josh's ear before throwing his arms around him, wanting to be as close as physically possible.

"Morning, baby boy," Josh greeted him, voice still a bit hoarse. He cleared his throat a little before wrapping his arm around Tyler's shoulder. "You're awfully cuddly today."

"Am I?" Tyler smiled. "I love cuddling with you, you always smell so nice."

"Do I?" Josh smiled back. "You smell like... body wash and adorableness."

Tyler giggled. "J, I'm pretty sure 'adorableness' isn't a smell."

"It is when it comes to you. What do I smell like?"

"Coffee and Joshua-ness." Tyler giggled again before ducking his face into the crook of Josh's neck. "Sorry, I'm being silly."

"No, I like it when you're silly." Josh kissed Tyler's forehead. "What's on your mind, sweetness?"

"You." Tyler smiled. "Tomorrow's our six-month anniversary."

Josh grinned back. "I know, isn't it exciting?! Hope you aren't too tired of me yet."

"No, you dork," Tyler said, chuckling a little, though it sounded a bit drier than usual. "More like I hope you aren't too tired of me... I know I'm needy and I whine too much." He sighed. "I haven't been the best Keeper to you lately. It's the depression, even though I know that's not really an excuse, so I wanna apologize because--"

"Ty, Ty," Josh cut in, putting a finger up to Tyler's lips. "Shh. First off, you don't whine too much. Second, I don't mind if you're needy. I'm your Protector and part of being that is making sure you feel secure. You don't need to apologize for any of that, okay?"

Tyler nodded. "Thank you. I'm really happy, Josh, and I remind myself all the time of how blessed I am to be with you. But sometimes I feel like I'm being so... ungrateful."

"Oh, sweetheart..." Pulling Tyler close, Josh pressed soft kisses to his cheek, heart pulling when he tasted warm, salty tears on his lips. "Shh, shh, don't cry, baby boy. Please listen to me. You're not ungrateful. Even people who have everything they could ever dream of still deal with depression. I know you're going to have your good days and your bad days." He wiped away any leftover tears on Tyler's face. "But none of that changes how I feel about you. No matter what happens, I'm still your Jishwa and you're still my baby boy. I promise."

Tyler wanted to cry again, this time from how thankful he was to have Josh. "Thank you, Joshua. I don't deserve you."

"You deserve everything you could ever want and more." Josh gave Tyler a gentle kiss. "So dry your eyes, lovebug," he said softly. "I wanna see that beautiful smile of yours."