Keeper and Protector (Joshler) ✔️

53

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"We live in cities you'll never see on screen, not very pretty but we sure know how to run things."

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"I'm so nervous, Ty-Ty."

Tyler held his hand out, which Oliver quickly took. "Me too. Josh and Fynnley are already in there, though, so they won't let anything bad happen to us."

Oliver squeezed his hand a little. "I just don't want to see Nico's smug face. Especially after what he did to you through Gabriel."

"I know. But we have to do this so we can give other Keepers a chance at a better future. We need to be strong."

"You already are, Tyler."

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"We now invite Oliver McGuire to address the court, the media and the defendant with his victim impact statement."

Oliver stood up and made his way over to the podium. Staring at the microphone in front of him, he took a deep breath before he started to speak.

"Oliver Averi McGuire, dead at twenty-two. That's the last memory my family and Protector had of me. As far as they knew, I was gone way too soon, but otherwise at peace after a long fight. Unbeknownst to them, though, there was someone out there who wanted to take my body and experiment on it - that person was Nico. I still have nightmares to this day of the horrors inflicted upon me when I woke up. And once I was in captivity, I saw the countless other Keepers that eventually succumbed to their low Time Keepers.

"Those Keepers were strong, brave people -- just like my friend and fellow victim, Tyler. He helped us all escape, something that never would've been possible if he hadn't risked his life to save ours. I'll be forever indebted to him for his sacrifice." Oliver sighed. "There is a lot that Nico took from me. But I got back the most important person in my life: My amazing Protector, Fynnley. Our love is stronger and deeper than ever before... everything a Keeper and Protector relationship should be.

"On one hand, I want Nico to burn in hell for all the things he did to me and the other Keepers. But on the other hand... I just feel sorry for him. What a weak, pathetic excuse of a man. In my mind, whatever sentence the judge hands down today will never be enough for the lives that he took away.

Thank you."

Nothing but silence followed Oliver's statement, yet the force behind his words held more weight than any sort of applause ever could.

"We thank you for your statement, Oliver. Now, we would like to invite Tyler Joseph up to give his statement."

Tyler squeezed Josh's hand before standing up and taking his place at the podium. He cleared his throat a little before he began.

"One of the first childhood memories I can recall is feeling... different. My mother, who may or may not see this later, made sure to remind me of that everyday. As a kid, I thought of my Time Keeper as an anomaly, a result of the horrid "genetic defect" that every parent feared. But as I got older, I realized that wasn't true; my Time Keeper is the most precious part of my body. Loving myself hasn't always been easy, though.

"When I first found out that I needed to go to Ukraine to help the kidnapped Keepers escape, I was... terrified. Why me? What could I do? But somewhere along the way, I realized... I had already escaped before. My ex-Protector kept me in an abusive relationship for almost two years. Abuse in a Keeper-Protector relationship is almost unheard of... but it happened to me. It can happen to anyone.

"One night, though, I finally had enough. So I ran and never looked back. I've now been with my amazing Protector, Joshua, for a little under a year now. He's shown me how to love and be loved. Words can't even begin to describe how... amazing that feels.