Home Is Where You Hold Me (a Joshler story)

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Hi friends! Thanks to Celebrate, it's been a while since I updated this bc I honestly kinda forgot! But here's a new chapter! I wrote this whole thing in only a couple of hours bc I hadn't even started the new chapter after the last update.

But I'm back with another chapter! And I'd appreciate it so much if you could leave one/some/tons of comment(s) and a vote to let me know what you thought of this chapter! And it'll help me out SO much! Let's get this book higher up the charts?

Love you guys so much! Forever and always. Enjoy!

Word count: 4642

(pls no FOB references ok thank u love u, you'll know what I'm talking about when you read it love u)

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"If- if you're gonna go to the police, can you please do that tomorrow? Or- or when I found someone to take care of Jim please? I don't want him to end up on the streets on his own, I don't want him to feel like I left him alone after I saved him, please?" Tyler said softly.

"Ty", Josh said as he rested his hand on his knee. "Are you kidding me? I'm not going to the police", he said. Tyler looked up with a frown. "But-" "No, don't, Ty", Josh told him. "I'm not going to the police. I'm taking this to my grave, I'm never gonna speak about it, I'm never gonna tell anyone, we're never gonna talk about it to each other anymore, and you have to promise me you will never, ever talk about it ever again, okay?" Josh told him. Tyler bit his lip as he looked at his boyfriend. "Are you sure?" He asked. Josh nodded. "One hundred percent", he told his boyfriend. Tyler bit his lip. "I don't deserve you", he softly said.

"That's not true", Josh said as he sat down on the edge of the couch, turned toward Tyler. "Y'know what you don't deserve? Your past haunting you after what you've been through. Your past coming back to you and ruining even more. Especially when it was self defense. You do not deserve this to come back to you, so you're gonna shut up about it and I am gonna shut up about it and we'll never ever tell anyone and we'll never ever talk about it to each other again, you hear me?" Josh said, squeezing Tyler's hands maybe a little too tightly. Tyler nodded firmly, biting his bottom lip, before tears welled up and he cried. He let go of Josh's hands, wrapping his arms around Josh's neck as he tightly hugged him. "T-thank you- thank you so much- I love you so much I love you I-I love you s-so much Joshie", Tyler cried. Josh sighed softly as he held his boy close. "I love you too, my love. So much. We're gonna ignore this and pretend that it never happened, okay? Now that you know you're not alone, now that you know that I know too, and I am telling you to never share this, you can stop thinking about it and feeling guilty and beating yourself up about it. It's over, baby", he told his boyfriend. "You can let it go now."

Tyler nodded as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend even tighter. "Thank you", he whispered. "I'll do anything I can to keep my boy safe, Tyler. Anything. I promise", he said. Tyler nodded, pressing several kisses on Tyler's cheek. "I'll never, ever talk about it again, not to anyone. I promise I'll try to let it go", Tyler whispered. "Good", Josh sighed softly. "I'm here if you struggle with it, okay? I'm here, always. I wish I was able to keep you safe tonight, and all other nights for the years that I wasn't here. I'm gonna do anything I can to keep you safe from now on 'cause I can't handle you getting hurt. I can't", he softly said.

"What happened tonight is not your fault", Tyler told him softly. "It's mine, I wanted to go for a walk because I wasn't tired-"

"Stop", Josh told him. "Do not ever blame yourself for anyone trying to take advantage of you, or harassing you, or... Y'know", he softly said.

Tyler knew what he meant. Josh couldn't speak the word, not when it was about his baby. He didn't know how to handle knowing that his baby had to go through it seven times. It broke him.