Saccharine //joshler [✔️]

twenty three 🍯

tyler sits anxiously, lips sealed as his hands fidget in his lap. josh nudges him, nodding towards his plate which he has yet to touch. the brunette shakes his head stubbornly, feeling too scared to eat anything.

both tyler's and josh's families are currently gathered at josh's house. they'd been planning this dinner for the past few days. it's something they thought was the best way for josh to meet tyler's family and tyler to meet josh's. tyler was doing great at first, but started aging down the second he sat at the dinner table. he can't help it, though. he's anxious and this is his way to cope.

"tyler, honey, aren't you hungry?" tyler's mom asks.

again, he shakes his head. he can't eat! what if he makes a mess? or chokes? or throws up!? goodness, he can't eat right now. "not very hungry..."

"baby," josh mumbles, wrapping his arm around the back of tyler's chair. "please eat for me. you don't want to sit in time out when everybody leaves, do you?"

tyler gasps at that, doe eyes growing wide. he stuffs a few forkfuls of pasta into his mouth, hoping it will please josh. but the latter shakes his head, motioning for tyler to continue eating.

"so what do you do for a living, tyler?" josh's mom, laura, asks, trying to make conversation.

the boy glances at josh, hoping he'll answer for him. he doesn't, though, so tyler says, "work at a lib'ary. 's real nice."

"that's lovely," laura smiles.

tyler looks to josh, wondering if he did a good job answering, to which the older gives him a thumbs up. he grins, shifting in his chair and eating more pasta.

"what about you, josh?" tyler's dad asks.

"i'm a waiter at a local restaurant. i've actually been working there for a while now, and i think they'll be promoting me soon," he responds, dropping his hand to rest on tyler's thigh.

"hey, me too!" tyler's sister, maddy, exclaims. "i'm planning on going back to college, though. i want to be a physical therapist."

"wow, that's awesome," josh smiles. "they make good money."

"exactly."

🍼🍯🍼

"bye, tyler!"

"bye-bye!"

josh shuts the door and immediately scoops the boy into his arms, spinning around.

"little man! i'm so proud of you! you did so, so good today. daddy thinks you deserve a reward. how do you feel about that?" josh chuckles, setting the boy back on his feet.

tyler giggles softly, slightly dizzy. "yes, daddy! makes me happy."

"good," josh hums, ruffling his messy brown locks. "do you want to make arts and crafts?"

"yes! yes, yes, yes!" tyler cheers. he sprints to the tote that josh keeps arts and crafts materials in, curling his fingers around the top and trying to open it. after he struggles for a few seconds, josh easily pops the top off.