Split (Tyler Joseph x Reader x Josh Dun)

Øne

Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun had been in your life since... well, since what seemed like forever. The two boys had been close friends prior to knowing you, so when you met Tyler at some small concert in the basement of a local bar, he and Josh had been a package deal. Not that you were complaining, you're already in on all the inside jokes and god knows that you all have created some together.

You had hit it off with the two of them that night in Columbus, Ohio almost immediately. Sure, you typically weren't the kind to make friends with two unfamiliar men at a bar but how could you resist? They had seemed so carefree and joyous in that moment, a feeling that was rare for you, and you envied the way the laughed and danced and cheered with the crowd. One of them had a colorful sleeve of tattoos on his arm, while the other had a few smaller ones that were harder to see in the dim light of the basement.

It had been the split-second of awkward eye contact between you and the two strangers that had made them approach you. Stumbling through the moving crowd of people, they finally reached you and stood against the wall across from you.

"Hey," the one with the smaller tattoos and shorter hair greeted, his voice a bit louder than usual because of the music. "I'm Tyler, and that's Josh!" He motioned to his friend with the colorful tattoo, who kept his curlier hair underneath a snapback hat.

You had smiled a bit awkwardly, unsure of what to do or what to say, although they seemed like very approachable people, you socially awkward-ness got in the way. Soon enough you finally got the cue to introduce yourself. After introductions had been made, you found that Tyler and Josh had lived in Columbus their whole lives, and were regular attendants of shows like this one. They invited you to come back to the pit with them, and a bit reluctantly, you accepted.

Following them back to the crowd was quite possibly the best decision you could have ever made. That was what had led you to becoming the third member of what became a trio, one of yourself, Tyler Joseph, and Josh Dun. That night, you had all exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet up again. The rest was, to you at least, history.

***

That had been years ago. Now you were 29 years old, working as a sound technician for a radio station, and still as close as ever with Tyler and Josh.

Things had changed over the years, that was true. Boyfriends and girlfriends had come and gone for the three of you. And, of course, the amount of success the boys had gotten with their band had changed the dynamics of your friendship. But no matter what, you loved the guys who saved your life dearly.

The matter of dating was rarely discussed when it came to you three. It was always an unstated fact that it wouldn't work out if you tried dating either Josh or Tyler. Besides, you would remind yourself, nobody as good as them would ever be interested in you.

All of that aside, you couldn't help but think that sometimes you would receive lingering stares and more-than-just-friendly words from them. But it was probably all in your head. Right?