A STUDY IN BLACK ✓

XXVI

Tyler woke up a little while later to find Josh having his millionth mental breakdown of the century. He immediately scrambled to Josh's side, a hand gingerly resting on his shoulder.

Josh flinched hard and bit back a scream, jolting away from Tyler. The reaction was unintentional, the one thing he wanted most was to touch and hold Tyler, but the only thing he could see was the cloudy rage in Tyler's eyes when he tried to choke the life out of Josh.

"Is it really you this time, or am I dealing with the Red Wolf guy?" He sniffed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

Tyler winced at the sound of the name and sat back, his face twisting with hurt. It was frightening how quickly he could go from psycho cult killer to some idiot that broke into his apartment.

Josh spotted a new tattoo just below his left collarbone, a red x inside a black circle the size of a coaster.

"How long was I under?" Tyler asked, his voice raw from what Josh assumed to be screaming. His accent rang clear in his words, and Josh couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign.

He shrugged, feeling a tremor run through his body as the sobbing stopped. "Weeks, months maybe. I- I don't know. You were right. Time isn't real. At least, not here in this hellhole."

"Josh-"

"I don't want to hear any apologies," he interrupted, recognizing Tyler's softened tone as the beginning of im sorry. "It wasn't you. Not really. And I know that. I just... I need time to adjust. All of this, everything that's been happening, I can't wrap my brain around any of it. You broke into my apartment and the next thing I know, I'm part of a cult. It's like I'm in a bad Lifetime movie."

Tyler scratched mindlessly at the back of his hands, his brows furrowing. "What do you mean 'part of a cult?' They- they succeeded? Did they torture you? If so, I will break through this window and hunt down every mother fucker who laid a hand on-"

Josh's voice betrayed him, going up an octave and cracking as he spoke. "They didn't. I mean, they did torture me, but they never broke me. No, I gave them a weakness. I gave them a crack in my armor that I didn't even know I had, and now I wish it never showed up."

"What was it?"

"You."

Tyler stared at Josh, searching for a hint of something in his face. He must not have found it, because he looked down at his now bleeding hand and brought the broken skin to his lips, avoiding looking at Josh.

"I get it, it's weird. We've known each other for barely a month, and the most we did was make out in a German hotel room."

"It's not weird." Tyler lifted his eyes, and Josh felt a pang of guilt when he saw the glint of tears on his cheeks. "You are... one of the best things to ever happen to me. I know our meeting was mostly forced by my hand, but I will tell you that I wouldn't change this it for the world. You're kind and sarcastic and don't take my shit like everybody else. You're not afraid to call me out and you treat me like a person instead of a human time bomb. I couldn't forgive myself if I- just don't."

From what Josh could tell, Tyler had only two different modes. Either a charismatic, maniacal glee or unrefuted rage. This was neither. His eyes were wide and full of a mix of anger and betrayal, but his hands were shaking.

It wasn't really surprising that Tyler reciprocated his feelings- hell, he was the one who initiated their first kiss. Still, it felt nice to have confirmation. Even though he knew they would never get out, now that Heaven's Templar had them both under their control.

Josh leaned his head against the glass, closing his eyes and steadying his breathing so he didn't say anything else he would regret. He reached an arm out, and after a moment of hesitation, he felt Tyler take his hand.

Tyler sat behind him, and Josh opened his eyes to see him resting his head on the glass as well, scanning Josh's face. He leaned over Josh and traced a scar on his jaw from a particular gruesome shattering of the window.

When his lips brushed against the scar, Josh let him kiss his way down his jawline to his mouth, and they stayed like that for as long as Josh could bear before having to pull away for air.

"What happens when you go under again?" Josh asked. "What if I can't reach you again?"

Tyler brought a hand to grip the back of Josh's neck, gently knocking their foreheads together. "I have faith that you will find me."

"And what about Jenna?"

That brought out a violent reaction from Tyler, who pulled back and sat up ramrod straight. "Jenna?"

Josh nodded, limply gesturing in the direction of her cell. "I don't want to be a home wrecker or anything, but I do like you. A lot. Which probably makes me crazier than every other fucking idiot in this place."

Tyler's eyes were moving back and forth in a fraught motion, before settling on Josh's face, and he relaxed.

"We never really loved each other. Neither of us thought we had the capacity to love someone," he said casually.

His statement made Josh frown, and he rested his head on Tyler's shoulder, exhaustion finally setting in. "And what about now?"

Tyler smiled, one that made his lips part to a small, wicked grin that caused Josh's heart to ache. "You've changed my whole world, Josh. Who knows what can happen now."