Bandom Bingo

Love You Too

Pairing: Tyler Joseph x Reader

Word Count: 1194

Warnings: Angst

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone for being patient with me while I took a little break last weekend, it was much needed :) I hope you enjoy this one!

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You watched as droplets of rain pattered against the skylight in the den, creating a quiet backdrop to the conversation that you and Tyler were having. The two of you were laying on the floor, your head resting on his stomach as you looked up at the falling rain. His fingers brushed steadily up and down your arm.

"I know you were looking forward to going to the conservatory today, but I have to admit that this is a pretty nice alternative," Tyler said.

"Agreed. I like spending time with you like this."

Between Tyler's busy tour schedule and your work, time for the two of you to sit around and just enjoy each other's company was few and far between. More often than not, one of you was dragging the other out of the house to distract them from work and sitting around left too much time for stress to creep in and ruin the moment. Today, however, you were both relaxed and able to enjoy the afternoon.

Or so you thought.

"I love you."

It came out of nowhere. Your shoulders involuntarily tensed. Your hands, which had previously been rested flat against your stomach, tightened and gripped at your shirt. Tyler's hand continued to brush against your arm as if this was nothing out of the ordinary. In many ways it wasn't, Tyler had told you countless times before that he loved you. The problem was that you had never said it back.

"Thanks, Ty," you said, rolling onto your stomach so that you could give him a quick kiss. He didn't return the gesture, leaving you placing an awkward sort of half-kiss onto the corner of his mouth. You pressed your lips together and leaned back.

"So you don't love me?" he asked, putting his arms behind him so that he could rest on his elbows.

Your nerves instantly jumped from a two to a ten. Usually Tyler was upset for a bit when this happened, but he never outright confronted you about it. Hearing him ask you so directly sent a chill down your spine.

"I- it's complicated, Ty."

"It's a yes or no question, Y/N."

You opened your mouth to say something, but quickly caught yourself. This discussion was already escalating and you really weren't looking to get into a screaming match with the guy you... liked.

"Why does it matter if I put words to how I feel? Love or not, I still have really strong feelings about you."

You crossed your arms, satisfied with the response. Tyler fully pulled himself up to a sitting position, sticking one leg out so that it only missed your hip by a few centimeters. He ran one hand through his dark hair, twisting the strands around his finger.

"Listen, Y/N, every day that we're together I fall in love with you a little bit more. I've never felt this strongly about someone before and, if I'm being honest, I'm scared to fall more in love with you if you're only going to end up dumping me because you don't feel the same."

"Isn't that a risk you run in any relationship?"

He shrugged. "Sure it is, but there's also a level of reassurance that comes along with hearing that someone loves you. It's been six months now, isn't there at least some part of you that loves me?"

You hated how innocent Tyler seemed as he looked at you. His eyebrows were slightly raised in question and he was still twisting his hair around his finger. It was almost like he hadn't just stabbed a knife through your heart.

"I feel awfully pressured to lie about how I feel for the sake of making you comfortable," you said, your tone suddenly icy.

Tyler's innocent look was gone. His hands dropped to his lap and he immediately pulled his eyes away from yours. Your regret was immediate.

"So you don't love me."

"No, Ty, let me explain," you said, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. He pulled away. "Please."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Because..." you paused, trying hard to swallow the lump in your throat. It was now or never. "Because I do love you and I need to explain."

He finally turned to look at you again, revealing the tears that had welled up at the bottom of his eyes. In one quick motion he wiped them away with the back of his hand.

"You love me?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you say that?"

You took a deep breath before talking. "Like I said, it's complicated. I... I have a history of... not being very nice in relationships. I knew as soon as I told you I loved you too there was a chance that it could happen again and I didn't want to do that to you. You deserve the whole world, Ty, and I'm not sure that I can be that for you."

"Of course you can, Y/N. You are."

You shook your head, already feeling the tears beginning to build up. You brought your hands to your face in a vain attempt to hide it from Tyler.

"I'm only going to hurt you. I already have," you sniffled. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Tyler reached out and carefully wrapped his arms around you, drawing you into his chest.

"It was a misunderstanding. I'm sorry that I made you feel pressured to say how you feel."

"It wasn't you." You shook your head against his chest. "Please don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong."

"But-"

"No buts," you cut him off. "And no apologies."

Tyler breathed in deeply, but didn't argue. "Ok."

"I should have told you earlier, but I let the fear win. I love you, Tyler, so much. I'm sorry that I hurt you, I promise I'll never do it again."

"Y/N, hey," Tyler said softly, rubbing his hand along your back. "It's ok. You don't need to apologize anymore."

You barely even heard him over the sounds of your sniffles and continued apology. "I understand if you still want to end things. It's probably for the best. You deserve so much better than I could ever give you."

Tyler finally grabbed hold of your arms and pushed you away from his chest so that you were at arm's length. You quickly wiped at your tears with the back of your hand, even though it wouldn't really change much. He already knew you were crying.

"Will you listen to me?" You nodded. "Nothing has changed between us, ok? Yes, I was upset about how you handled this, but you explained it and I understand your reservations now. You never need to apologize for being scared, but it does help if you communicate these things with me. My feelings are just the same as they were before, if not stronger. I love you, Y/N."

A small smile tugged at the corner of your lips. "I love you too."

With that, Tyler pulled you into a kiss. It was gentle, but exactly what you needed to remind yourself that he really did love you.

And you loved him too.