Realize That It's Gone

Chapter Twenty One

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2119

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

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"Tyler!" you squealed as you felt him press a kiss to your cheek. "Kisses are cheating!"

"Says who?" he laughed from behind you.

"Says me. Add it to the list of rules."

You were currently sitting in between Tyler's legs, your back pressed to his chest, playing one of your classic Mario Kart tournaments. It had been smooth sailing for the most part, until Tyler decided to use how you were sitting to his advantage. He would give you kisses every now and again or wrap his arms around you when he finished a race, all of which proved to be excellent ways to keep you from scoring enough points to get ahead of him.

"But what if I don't agree?"

"Too bad."

Tyler wrapped his arms around you and rested his head on your shoulder, making sure to stick out his bottom lip for you to see.

"Not fair," he whined.

"You only think it isn't fair because it means I'll have a better chance of getting first place."

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is! Or you wouldn't have a problem with the no kisses rule."

"Fine. What if we do one more race with no kisses and if you win, then we can make that rule. If I win, then I can keep kissing you during Mario Kart."

"Deal."

You and Tyler shook hands and you clicked on the next race button. Tyler tensed up a little bit behind you as you waited for the race to begin.

"Scared, Joseph?"

"You wish."

The race began and you took off. Tyler's arms bumped against yours occasionally, but you knew it was only a side effect of sitting against him and not intentional sabotage on his part. By some miracle, you were actually managing to stay ahead of Tyler, despite all of his best attempts to take you down in game.

"Come back here!" Tyler laughed. He had nearly caught up to you, but a well-timed drift had given you just enough of a boost to keep your lead.

"Never! I can and will win this race and make the rule official."

One lap later, you successfully crossed the finish line in first place. You waited for Tyler to finish before jumping up and dancing around the room, celebrating your victory.

"Take that, Joseph! No more kissing me as a distraction during races."

"That was your favorite level! Of course you beat me at it!"

"Then you shouldn't have agreed to the deal," you grinned, sitting back down next to Tyler.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, twisting a couple of the strands through his fingers. He looked so disappointed that it almost made you feel bad, so you leaned forward and kissed him, which had him smiling again in no time. Shortly after, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his chest. You laughed and threw your arms around him, steadying yourself.

"You know, I'm going to miss days like this when you leave for tour again," you said.

"Hey, I'm not leaving for a long time. We just got back from our last tour, plus we have to do the final touches on Vessel and get in contact with venues and all sorts of technical stuff that you don't care about," he smiled. "I'm not leaving for a long time."