A FRACTURE IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS ✓

JOSH

"We're engaged."

Tyler said this the week before their leave was over, both of them in the shower after a grueling day of physical therapy and movie binging. He still had conditioner in his hair (Tyler insisted that if Josh kept using the 3 in 1 shampoo he'd divorce him) and was talking to a wall instead of Josh's face.

"Yes we are," Josh laughed, running his hands through his own outgrown hair to remove the shampoo. He really needed a haircut, as did Tyler. The mustache just wasn't cutting it anymore. "We have been for quite some time now."

"Well, you never properly proposed."

"That doesn't mean we're not getting married."

Tyler spun and shot Josh a mouth splitting grin, his eyes squeezed shut. "If I didn't have soap in my eyes, I'd kiss you so hard right now."

Josh gently grabbed his shoulders and switched them so Tyler was under the spray of the shower head. He wiped the conditioner from Tyler's face, waiting for him to open his eyes before pulling him into a soul crushing kiss.

"I." Kiss. "Love." Kiss. "You." Kiss. "So." Kiss. "Fucking." Kiss. "Much."

He felt Tyler slip his arms around Josh's shoulders. "I don't deserve you. You're too good for me."

"Baby, you're the light of my life," Josh chuckled. "If anyone's too good, it's you."

"You know what we should do with one week of freedom left?" Tyler nuzzled Josh's neck.

"What?"

"Honeymoon."

Josh massaged Tyler's hair, watching him sigh and tilt his head back with his eyes closed. He looked so beautiful like this, peaceful, happy, and without any terrors holding him down. "We're not even married, yet, sweetheart."

"Then let's get married," Tyler smiled to himself.

"Yeah. Let's get married." Josh kissed the scars on the corners of Tyler's mouth, getting the rest of the conditioner out of his hair. "Where would we go?"

"How about... New York? Or Las Vegas. Or we could finally go visit your folks at Los Angeles."

Something in his chest ached. Josh still hadn't taken Tyler to meet his family, but even though they'd been together for years now and he knew about his familial situation, he still wasn't so sure how Tyler would react.

"Or, maybe we can go downtown, it'll be a hell of a lot cheaper for both of us," he laughed.

Tyler rubbed his eyes. "We get a judge, make it official, then we go to see your family."

"I can't talk you out of that, huh?"

"Nope."

Josh reached behind him and turned the water off, stepping out of the shower. Tyler followed and took the towel from the rack. He threw it over Josh's shoulders, kissing the back of his neck.

"Sounds like a plan."

—

Jenna held a party for them the night before their 'official' wedding day at Kiyoko's Dine-In. Dallon and Judah's family's were there, along with most of their team. Sarah couldn't attend the party because of unspecified reasons, Tyler suspected rehab, but she sent them her best wishes.

"It's about time you two got hitched," Dallon said, drunk from all of the shots he'd had. He wore a neon pink suit with his black tie undone and shirt unbuttoned halfway down. "Does that mean I can't flirt with you anymore?"

Tyler laughed, arm draped around Josh's waist. He was drunk, but not as much. "It's not like we can stop you."

"Fair enough."

Josh grinned, kissing Tyler's hairline, and steered them away to get a refill on their sushi dish. He grabbed a plate of pink lady and handed it to Tyler, who tried to drink from his cup, but his hand was shaking too much and he couldn't reach his mouth.

"Hey, baby, are you okay?" He asked, putting a hand on the small of Tyler's back.

Tyler nodded slowly, but the glass slipped between his fingers. It shattered on the ground, and Hayley, who was behind the counter, jumped. Tyler winced at the sound.

"Jesus, that was... loud," he muttered, rubbing his head. "Wait- oh, shit. Did I drop that?"

Dallon looked up, his posture turning sober. He shot Josh a concerned look, but he just shook his head.

"Tyler, you're drunk. Let's get you some water, okay?" Josh took the plate from Tyler and tried to pull him away from the circle of broken glass around them. "Hey, come on, don't be a stubborn ass."

"Right, right, whatever," Tyler slurred, rubbing his eyes. "Stop being so loud."

"Loud, I'm not being-"

"And why are the lights so bright? Did someone turn more on or am I just going crazy?"

He looked up, blinking rapidly, his body turned to jello. If Josh hadn't had a grip on him and Mark wasn't there to help, Tyler would've fallen right into the broken glass.

"Oh, my god, Tyler?" Josh choked, fear causing his throat to close up.

Tyler's body shook with gentle tremors, his eyes rolled back so Josh could see the whites. His face started to turn red. Josh couldn't breathe.

"I think he's having a seizure," Mark said beside him, but it sounded far away and Josh wasn't listening anyways. "Josh, help me out him in his side."

Josh did as he said, and he heard someone behind him on the phone calling 911, but he couldn't concentrate long enough to figure out who.

"Ty, baby, can you hear me?"

All he could think about was that he and Tyler couldn't have one fucking day that was perfect. Not even the day that they get married. No nightmares, so breakdowns, no fights. Just all smiles and laughs.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Josh groaned, being pulled away by Brad and Judah.

Mark pulled Tyler's tie loose and unbuttoned his shirt. "Has this ever happened before?" He looked up at Josh, who couldn't see much through his tears. "Josh? Has Tyler ever had a seizure before?"

Josh managed to shake his head, trying to calm himself down enough to be able to speak. He saw that it was Dallon on the phone, talking to the operator.

"He- he's been having dizzy spells for a while now, but I thought it was part of the adjustment. I didn't think that- he's too young to be having seizures," he stammered.

"Or could be a sensory seizure," Jenna said. "When Brad and I recruited Tyler, he had a history of being sensitive to sensory overload, which is why he started off as a consultant and not a full on agent."

"We didn't know what would trigger an episode," Brad added.

Josh could see how hard they were trying to keep it together for him, even when Jenna looked to be on the verge of tears, so he took a deep breath and swallowed down his dread crawling up his throat.

"O-okay. What now?"

"We wait for an ambulance," Mark said.

After a couple minutes, Tyler stopped seizing, and moments after that, the ambulance arrived. They let Josh ride with them to the hospital, and on the way, Tyler regained consciousness.

"What happened?" He asked when he came to completely, staring at Josh.

"You don't remember?"

"No. I was trying to drink, and then I'm-" Tyler looked around. "In an ambulance?"

"You had a seizure at the party," Josh mumbled, taking one of Tyler's hands and kissing his scarred knuckles. "If you scare me like that again, I'm going to murder you."

Tyler sent him a soft smile, one that was sorry and reassuring all at once. "You couldn't if you tried."