Keeper and Protector (Joshler) ✔️

13

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"Guess I thought I'd have to change the world to make you see me."

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"Door's open!"

When Josh opened the apartment door, they walked in to see Fynnley curled up on the couch with the TV switched onto old sitcom re-runs.

"Jeez, Fynn, you look a mess," Josh stated as he set the bags down on the coffee table.

"Gee, thanks." Fynn rolled his eyes. "Nice of you two to stop by. I haven't puked in about 30 minutes, in case you wanted to know."

Josh chuckled a little. "Well, that's certainly progress."

"We got you some soup and Gatorade," Tyler said softly. Feeling a little shy in someone else's place, he stood off to the side, unsure of what to do with himself.

"Gatorade sounds amazing." Fynn let out a long, strained groan. "I can't even tell you how much this weekend has sucked."

"Well, you've got your friends helping you out now." Josh smiled. "Do you want some ice with your Gatorade?"

"Please." Fynn sat up before moving over to make room on the couch. "Make yourself at home, Ty. Mi casa es su casa, as they say."

Tyler smiled a little. "Thanks, Fynn." He took a seat on the couch. "I'm sorry you haven't been feeling well."

"It's okay. It was my fault getting sushi from some hole-in-the-wall place." He smiled wryly. "So, how was your weekend?"

Tyler blushed as he thought back to what had happened on Friday night. "It was good." He watched as Josh walked back into the living room with a glass of ice in hand.

"Thanks," Fynn said as he took the glass. "Oh, Ty, did you ever get a chance to jerk off?"

Josh nearly choked on his spit while Tyler's already red face turned crimson. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or hide his face, so he just waited for someone to break the silence.

Josh cleared his throat. "Crude much?"

Fynn opened one of the Gatorades and poured it into the glass. "That's rich coming from the guy who was being a little too vocal while he was jerking it."

"I swear, I'm gonna strangle you one of these days, Fynnley..."

"Love you too, Josh."

Tyler giggled a little, a shy expression on his face. "Um... if you really want to know... yeah, I did. It was nice."

Josh was surprised that Tyler was being so open about all of this, but hey, he certainly wasn't complaining.

Fynn laughed. "See, I told you! But hey, I thought I'd have heard all about it by now."

"Well, he told me first, Fynn," Josh put in.

He rolled his eyes. "Lame."

"I am his Protector."

And just like that, they were at it again, as usual. Tyler just sat back and listened to the two of them bicker while he took a look around Fynnley's apartment.

His eyes fell on a picture sitting on the end table. Reaching over, he picked up the frame to take a closer look at what it was.

A photo of Fynn (albeit younger-looking) and another young man. Just from body language alone, it was obvious to Tyler that Fynn and this mystery guy were a couple. He'd never seen such a bright, truly happy smile like that on Fynn's face before...

Why didn't he smile that way anymore? And who (and where) was this lover of his?

Tyler decided to speak up. "Fynn? Who's this?"

Fynn turned around, face falling as soon as he saw what Tyler was referring to. "Oh..." He took the picture frame out of Tyler's hands, clearing his throat a little as he stared at it. "Um, an old friend."

"Yeah?" Tyler could tell from the chemistry in the picture that this person was much more than just a friend. "What's his name?"

"It's not important. He's not, um... he's not around anymore." Fynn cleared his throat again, a pained look on his face, before getting up from the couch. "I'll be back. I have to go and..." He trailed off. "Yeah."

Tyler opened his mouth to say something but Fynn was already gone. His eyes went to Josh, who had a somber look on his face, desperate to find out what he had said or did wrong. "I... I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay, Tyler. You didn't know."

"Didn't know what?"

"Him and that guy in the picture... it's a touchy subject, to say the least."

"Why? What happened?"

"I'm sorry, I'd love to tell you, Ty, but I think Fynnley should be the one to tell you when he's ready. Can you understand that?"

Tyler nodded. "Yeah. I just feel bad for bringing it up." He looked away, chewing on his bottom lip. "He's already sick and I probably made him feel 100x worse."

"You didn't know," Josh repeated. He moved in closer and gave Tyler a hug. "He'll be okay. Just give him some time. Fynn's a strong guy, but he has his moments too."

Tyler nodded, blinking away as tears pooled in his eyes. "I know, I just don't want to mess things up with you guys."

"Oh, sweetheart," Josh murmured. "Shh, shh, don't cry, baby. It's okay." He pressed a comforting kiss to his forehead. "You're not messing anything up. Promise. You're such a lovely person. Please believe that, okay?"

Sniffling, Tyler wiped away his tears and nodded again. "Thank you, Josh. I don't know what I'd do without you." Pulling away, he stared at the wet spot on Josh's shoulder. "Sorry for messing up your shirt."

"Don't worry about that, hun. It'll dry." Josh swiped his thumbs across Tyler's cheeks to get rid of any remaining tears. "Making sure you're okay is much more important."

"Yeah," Tyler murmured. Leaning in, he gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you."

Josh smiled. "Of course. Let's get you some water."

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Stick with me, frens, I appreciate you.

What is your favorite and least favorite song off of Trench?

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