JOSH DUN VS THE WORLD ✓

CHAPTER TEN: WE CAN JUST NOT HAVE TEA

YOU'VE DECIDED TO:
GO WITH TYLER.

Bisexual Mode switched ON.

+10 feelings
+5 sexual tension
+2 sexy times
-1 post breakup depression
+1 bisexual awakening

"You don't have to come with me if you're not comfortable," Tyler says, although his hooded eyelids and the knowing grin he sends Josh tells him otherwise.

Josh opens his mouth, but only a strangled noise came out. He wants to say yes, but he needs to hear Tyler say it first.

"If I say yes, will you come home with me?" His laugh is crackly and soft, like crunching snow. All the blood turning Josh bright red now rushed downwards.

"Hell yes."

Tyler grins and grabs Josh by the hand, pulling him towards the front of the house. "I don't have a car, so we're going to have to walk," he says, pushing the door open. Josh's feet barely stays underneath him as Tyler leads him down the street and towards the city, where his apartment is.

He's beautiful in the white snow, flushed cheeks and thick wool hat covering his head and ears. His soft hands are heaven in Josh's calloused ones, like touching silk after years of gripping sandpaper.

His heart is beating so hard he's afraid it'll burst out of his chest, but it's not a bad feeling. He feels alive, something he hasn't felt since graduating.

Even when he was with She-Will-Not-Be-Named, there was always something missing. Now, he's found what he was missing. Tyler was missing.

They slow down once they hit the street, and Tyler's hand slips out of Josh's to tuck itself in pockets of his burly dark green parka. He wrinkles his nose, puffs of breath escaping into the brisk air.

"So, you're American?" Josh asks.

Tyler nods, his eyes trained on the sky. "Full-blooded. How could you tell?"

"I, uh." He can feel his face burning again. "I asked about you."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just-" Josh sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Jesus, it's getting cold. How far do you live?"

Tyler smiles. "Don't worry. We're close."

"Are you always this cryptic?" Josh asks.

"That's for you to find out."

He walks beside him in silence, their arms brushing against each other once in a while. Josh doesn't speak, unsure what to say. His mind is reeling, suddenly thinking about what they're going to do when they got to Tyler's apartment.

Halfway through the thought- and the lovely mental images that accompanied it- Tyler stops.

"There's something up ahead," he says.

"What?" Josh asks.

"A door." Tyler steps forward and glances behind him, holding his hand out for Josh to grab. "Come on. I don't bite."

"What if I want you to?" Josh blurts.

He laughs, revealing a sliver of pearly teeth, and Josh wishes he could kiss him right then and there. Tyler takes Josh's hand and nods behind him. A silvery white door appears, a poorly painted yellow star in the middle of the top panel. Slowly, it creaks open, revealing a black abyss inside.

"Ready?" Tyler asks.

Josh nods. "Ready."

Hand in hand, they step through.

The door somehow connects to the front door of Tyler's apartment, because the darkness gives way to a small kitchen, a living room, and a closed door. A lava lamp on a table illuminates the space with a pinkish glow.

As soon as the door closes, Josh leans in for a kiss, only being stopped by Tyler's hand. He pulls back and pouts, watching the man walk to his kitchen and grab a kettle from a shelf.

"Did you just cockblock me?" He groans.

"Maybe. You want some tea?" He asks, looking over his shoulder with a sly grin.

He knows exactly what he's doing to him. Josh would be mad if Tyler wasn't so cute. Instead of pouting, he sits down at the table, watching red blobs float around in the pinkish liquid. "What type of tea do you have?"

"Let's find out." Tyler turns back and opens a cabinet full of tea boxes. "We have blueberry, raspberry, ginseng, sleepy time, green tea, green tea with lemon, green tea with lemon and honey, liver disaster, ginger with honey, ginger without honey, vanilla almond, white truffel, blueberry chamomile, vanilla walnut, constant comment and... earl grey."

Josh can't tell if he's kidding or not. "You had to make some of those up," he says.

Tyler pulls a thin box out, examining the label. "I think I'll have sleepy time."

"Yeah. Sounds good."

As Tyler sets water to boil, Josh watches him slowly undress. First his fingerless gloves, then his hat and scarf, ending with his coat being shed and his boots being thrown across the room towards the front door. Tyler smiles softly, almost fondly, and pushes off the counter he was leaning on.

"I'm going to change. Can you pour the water into these mugs once it's done boiling?" He asks.

Josh nods, not breaking eye contact until Tyler shuts the bedroom door behind him. He sighs, lying his head on the table. His phone buzzes.

MAX:
j
joshua
sir dun
bitch mcgee
where the hell are u

"Oh, shit." Josh forgot to tell them where he was. He quickly types a rely as the kettle starts to whistle.

JOSH:
im at the love of my life's apartment
dont wait for me

Josh stands and stretches, moving across the room and taking the kettle off the burner. He pours the water and dunks the two tea bags into the mugs, stirring some honey and lemon into it before making his way to Tyler's bedroom. He doesn't bother knocking, pushing the cracked open door and looking inside to tell him the tea's done.

Tyler is facing away from him, standing in front of a small dresser with his shirt on the floor. His pants are unbuttoned and being pushed further and further down his legs as Tyler continues to strip himself of clothing.

He doesn't know what to do, so Josh just screams and covers his eyes with his hands.

"Dude!" Tyler shrieks.

"Sorry!" Josh squeaks back. "The- the tea's done!"

There's an excruciatingly long moment of silence before Tyler speaks again. He sounds deadly close, too close for Josh's heart to handle.

"You're cold," his voice is hushed and hesitant. "Is this better?"

Something soft and warm presses over Josh's hands. He shivers, but not from the cold. Slowly, Josh pulls away his hands to see that Tyler had locked their hands together. His face is inches from Josh's face and gets closer until he seals the space between them.

Tyler kissed his lips softly, taking his time caressing Josh's cheeks and moving downwards, finally resting his hands on his hip. The kiss is only a brush of skin, an exchange of breath, but that's all it takes for Josh to melt under his touch.

A small whine escapes when Tyler draws back, cheeks flushed red. "Our tea."

"We can just... not have tea," Josh suggests shyly.

"Sounds tea-lightful."

"That's it." Josh throws his hands in the air, but they're still connected to Tyler's, so his arms go up too. "I'm going home."