Oliver was Josh's first everything. His reason for the first time he moved.
Josh learned back. He stared at the wall blankly, almost numb. His eyes widened. He held tightly onto the paper, rushing up and out of his room, almost knocking out the chair.
"Mom!" He shrieked. He ran downstairs, jumping comically. "Mom, I did it!" He rushed into the kitchen. "I got in too!" He went and scooped his confused mother up his arms, twirling her around. She let out a scream, holding onto his shoulder for dear life.
"Put me down, Joshua!" She shouted. Josh was a laughing mess. He stopped twirling around the kitchen slowly and let her go. He smiled wide, holding her shoulder-length.
"I got in! The college accepted me!" He spoke cheeringly. He didn't seem to realize how his mom deflated. "Oh my god, mom! I'll go to college with Oliver!" And he started at her with his sparkly eyes, the largest smile. She beamed weakly.
"I'm so proud of you, Joshua," she mumbled. The nineteen-year-old smiled even more.
"Thank you so much, mom!" He brought her into a tight hug. He chuckled again. And as much as she dreaded being alone, Josh's happiness was too contagious. She laughed a bit, hugging him tightly. "Love you so much, mama," Josh mumbled. Her heart warmed.
"I love you more, my child." And as if on cue, the door opened followed by an 'I'm home.' Josh smiled even harder, eyes squinting. He pulled away and hurried to the door, meeting his lover. He jumped on Oliver, making him stumble back and his back hit the door. He groaned, wincing a bit.
"Hello to you too, Josh," Oliver muttered. Josh hummed, the smile still upon him. He nuzzled his head on Oliver's shoulder, kissing his neck. He pulled back and smiled widely.
"I got you some great news," Josh sang, pulling his arms to himself and walking to the living room, where his mom now was. He sat on the couch, small beam as he watched Oliver expectant. Oliver sighed, letting his hand massage his sore shoulder and walked to the couch, sitting beside Josh. He turned to him, tired eyes staring at his face. He felt his mood go up a little at Josh's... Everything. Josh could always make his mood okay. "Okay, here it is," he extended his acceptance letter to Oliver, waiting as his eyes lazily scanned over the page. He seemed ready to burst, especially when Oliver's eyes widened a bit and a spark lightened up his eyes over his confused face.
Oliver put the paper down. He stared at Josh. "You... You had applied for that one London university too?" He gazed at Josh surprised. Josh nodded quickly, eyes squinting. Oliver exhaled. "Wait, that... Wait. Wait! Oh my god! You... Oh my god, Josh!" Oliver suddenly lunger forward, tackling Josh on the couch. They both were laughing and smiling so hard, it was a gorgeous sight to see.
Ms Franceschi never felt so out of place.
Oliver pulled away from the hug and gazed at her. He didn't miss the sorrow on her eyes too. His smile slipped away, he stood up. He smiled gently at her before he pulled her up, despite her confusion. He let go of her hands and let his arms encircle her middle tightly, his head on her shoulder. No one said anything. She wrapped her arms around Oliver's shoulder, sighing tiredly and resting her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes.
"There's nothing to worry about, dear," Oliver started. "We'll never forget about you. We'll try to visit you whenever we can." And her fragile heart melted on her chest. She teared up and nodded a bit.
"You'll have to be careful, both of you." She mumbled. They both felt some other arms wrap around them. They looked at Josh. He seemed a bit confused as to what was going on. His heart tightened at his mother's tears. It all dawned on him. He looked down. He brought them both closer to him, making them wrap one arm around him too.
"I love you," Josh mumbled. He stared at his mom. She smiled.
"I love you more, pumpkin." And Josh groaned playfully. She laughed, Oliver did too.
"Mom!" Josh whined. As much as he pretended to hate the nicknames, he actually liked them. His mother went on teasing him while Josh kept whining and huffing. Oliver simply laughed watching it all. It was all light and warm. She didn't feel as scared anymore.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
"So," Oliver turned to look at Josh. "What do you think?"
Josh gave another glance at their room and nodded.
"I like it. It's pretty cosy." Oliver nodded at him.
"Yeah." Oliver turned to stare at Josh's mom, the woman that was more of a mother than his own. He smiled gratefully. "It's perfect, dear. Thank you." And she rolled her eyes, shaking her head and dismissing him with his hand. Oliver glanced at Josh and saw how he seemed too distracted with something, so he walked closer to her and gave her another hug. "No," he said softly. "Thank you. I'd probably be dead if it wasn't for you."
She sighed. She hugged him tightly.
"I told you that I'll always be there for you, kid. I would never allow you to be on the streets." Oliver closed his eyes. His heart still heaved at the memory of it all. He sighed.
"You are amazing." He mumbled quietly. He could never thank her enough for taking him in, taking care of him and loving him as she did with her son the way she did. He could never thank her for becoming his somewhat mother. She smiled softly.
"I know," she said playfully. Oliver chuckled, she did too. Then her smile slipped away. She sighed. "Don't dwell on it, kid. They don't deserve you if they can't accept the amazing person you became. They never were good parents, either." She shrugged. Oliver nodded.
"You're right. Like always," he laughed and pulled away. She smiled at him, he did the same.
"I love you. Never forget that, honey," she softly poked his nose with her finger, making him smile even more. He nodded. He loved her too. She was the mother he never had. Well, she was kind of his mother now. But not because incest is not allowed on this fic.
"I love you," he waited a few seconds, smiling more than before. "Mom." And she smiled, heart all melted on her chest. She shook her head.
"Alright," she said loudly. Josh, that was completely spaced out, glanced up at her. "I'm going now. I gotta go see if I find a dog on the streets now that the sun's still out." The boys nodded. They had the idea of her getting a pet so she wouldn't be so lonely. She loved the idea. She kissed both their heads, pulling them down because she was small, and left. Josh forced Oliver to cuddle up to him for the rest of the afternoon. And even though that was the first time Josh moved, Josh wasn't the only one that got a home. Oliver did too. Josh was Oliver's first home.
