Josh Dun x Reader

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Josh nodded. You watched as his eyebrows furrowed for a moment, then relaxed again. He turned to you, making sure to meet your eyes.

"What's going on with you, love?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not acting quite like yourself. I don't how to explain it, but I can tell that something is bothering you that you're not talking about."

You shook your head, maybe a little too much, "No. No, I'm ok."

You tried to force a smile to go along with it, but your lip began to quiver. Josh took notice of this and wrapped both of his arms around you, completely enveloping you. You reached past him and set your drink on the side table next to his so that you could totally wrap your arms around him and hold him close.

"I'm sorry," you mumbled into his chest. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to break down because I know you've had a hard day but- Josh, I don't know what to do."

"Hey, don't apologize for being upset," he said, though you could hear the worry in his voice. His hand started to move along your back, rubbing it gently. You kept your face buried in his shirt, trying your best to hold back sobs. "I don't want you to ever hide anything from me, ok? Even if I've had a bad day, my main priority is taking care of you. I can forget about my own problems for awhile to help you with yours."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, so why don't you tell me what's going on?"

"When my mom called, she told me that my cousin Sam got in a bad car accident and," you paused to take a shaky breath, "they took him in for surgery, but he didn't make it. I don't know what to do with myself, Josh. How do you move past something like that?"

"Oh, Y/N," he said, tightening his grip around you even more. "Losing family is hard, I know, but it's going to be ok. You don't need to make sense of anything right now. Sometimes it's ok to just be upset."

"It's just so unfair. He was so young and was going to go so far in life and that was all taken from him. And I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to him because I just assumed I would see him at the next reunion, but now my whole family just has this hole in our lives. I'm angry and sad and confused."

Josh tucked your head under his chin, moving you slightly so that your ear was right over his heartbeat. His arms were still tight around you, reminding you that you weren't alone in any of this. He was going to be by your side.

"Life just doesn't make sense, sometimes. Terrible things happen and we lose people we love, but it doesn't mean that they're gone. Your family isn't going to forget him anytime soon and I bet he's still watching over you, ready to laugh along with all your jokes just like he did when he was alive. And you still have all your memories together; those won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

You nodded against Josh's chest. It was rising and falling steadily, giving you something to match your own breathing to.

"Thank you, Josh. That means a lot. Really."

"Your welcome. Just don't beat yourself up for feeling a lot of different emotions, ok? It's ok to feel them."

"I'll try not to."

"Now I vote we spend the rest of the night right here on this couch cuddling and eating snacks and watching whatever terrible TV our hearts desire."

"Am I allowed to cry?"

"Crying is encouraged," Josh said before pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head.

"Ok."

Josh began to find a TV show for you two to watch while you readjusted into a more comfortable position to watch TV. Your heart still felt heavy, but Josh's encouragement and the simple knowledge that he was going to be there to comfort you was enough to put a small smile on your face.

When the oven eventually went off, Josh immediately got up and went to the kitchen to finish making dinner so you could remain curled up on the couch. He came back a few minutes later, carrying two filled plates and fresh drinks for the both of you.

"Thank you," you smiled as he carefully rested your plate on your lap.

"Of course."

You waited until Josh sat down and got comfortable before starting the TV show again. It had only been on a few minutes before you paused it again and set your fork on your plate.

"Are you ok?" Josh asked. He had made a habit of asking every time you did something that seemed a little off.

"Yeah, I just... wanted to say thank you again."

"For what?"

"For noticing that I was upset and asking about it, even though I tried to brush it off. It means a lot that you care about me that much because a lot of people wouldn't do that for me."

Josh's mouth curled up into a smile. He reached out and grabbed one of your hands, squeezing it tightly. "It helps that your emotions are easy to read," he laughed quietly. "But you know I care about you, Y/N, and I would do anything for you. And although I didn't agree with the decision, it means a lot that you were willing to stop worrying about your own problems to take care of me after a stressful day."

"I think we both need to be a little bit more selfish about our problems," you laughed.

"Yeah, maybe."

"I love you, Josh.

"I love you too, Y/N."

You both leaned forward and gave each other a quick kiss before going back to watching TV like nothing had happened.