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being in the a line of work that requires you to punish others, whether they are innocent or not is exhausting. joshua knows all too well about the feeling of exhaustion. day in, day out he comes home with a new blood stain on his shoes. it's not like he can back out. his father set the business up, and now he is stuck in the job. the only way he and his younger sibling could stay alive, charge free was to stay in that specific line of work. here joshua was now. receiving an in depth explanation as to why is younger siblings new found love would be a great addition to his team of people.
the brunette, who was now residing in the dun household whilst joshua makes sure the boy's area was safe for him to walk around, was sat on a stool in the kitchen. watching as josh poured coffee into his cup beside a book he had recently picked up from the local library, which was way too often. josh recently discovered writings that belonged to the boy after he caught him using the laptop, typing documents full off meaningful phrases. the older boy liked to see them as motivational documents, but he knew those words meant so much more to the brunette. a simple thing such a wall could hold so much meaning to the younger boy, and that truly fascinated joshua.
walking back over to the island, placing the kettle back in its holder before taking his own beverage, he tried keeping focus on his sister who was begging for josh to let her lover into josh's harsh world. the red head wondered if a small boy such as her boyfriend had even seen a pocket knife, let alone a fully loaded gun. he would have to undergo training, which was something joshua did not want to pay for. a quick snap of her fingers pulled josh out of his trance.
"so do you think you could let him on your team?" abigail beamed, her eyes full of hope. she had convinced her lover that he was certain of a place. after all, she was the sister of joshua.
"it m-might do g-good for him, j-joshua." the brunette softly spoke, he turned around the face the siblings, his features relaxed. abigail gave him a warm smile as he tilted her head slightly.
"i didn't think you were listening, tyler." she laughed softly as josh flickered his eyes between the two. what tyler said next caught him off guard completely.
"m-miss. a beautiful voice s-should never go un-noticed. a s-smart young lady such as y-yourself should be p-proud of doing something like that f-for your lover. i can t-tell he would really enjoy working w-with joshua. i know i would. a p-person shouldn't be d-denied an opportunity to p-prove themselves to the human r-race. i l-lost my opportunity. it's n-not fair that he looses his." his angelic voice was quiet, still afraid of the two. it would make sense as he was not an official member of the family, after having no family for a few years the boy was not quite sure as to what families did.
abigail stepped over to tyler and pulled him into a tight hug. the brunette was surprised at the action, but hugged back eventually. the sight brought josh's mind to ease, satisfied that tyler was beginning to speak up. he sipped his still warm coffee, tasting the strong coffee beans hit his tongue as he swallowed. with the blink of an eye abigail was back beside him and tyler had turned around to face the window once again. it was almost as if the brunette had not spoken.
"i guess tyler is right. i'll let him on. the boy better learn how to do things without regretting it. it would suck if he was a pussy, like half the people in my team." josh sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. he had yet to take care of it, he was too focused on making sure the people inside the house were safe.
"language, j-joshua." tyler mumbled, as josh softly laughed. the sound of his laughter took abigail back completely. not once had she heard a genuine laugh come from her brother.
"brother, you haven't laughed. like, properly in a long time." she whispered, still loud enough for everyone to hear. josh finished the last of his coffee before sitting beside tyler on a more comfortable chair by the window. he shrugged at her comment.
"i s-seem to have an effect on y-your brother, a-abigail." tyler smiled, eyes still watching the world outside. he followed a family walking their dog, as small children ran ahead, hand in hand. just looking at the family made tyler's mind peaceful.
"you sure do, ty." abigail laughed before walking out of the room. tyler's cheeks flushed pink at the nickname, which he had not received in a long time. the last person being his father, minutes before he passed away.
joshua admired every feature tyler had. whether is be the way he couldn't speak properly, to how his blush spread from his ear to nose. the way his eyes glistened, whether is be day or night. his chocolate orbs would light up the room, even if there were several people in the same room as them. tyler was too precious to be taken advantage of, and josh beats himself up for all of the times tyler had gone through pain and josh did not know of him to protect him from it. tyler must have caught him staring, by the way his eyes quickly locked with the red haired boy's. without hesitating, tyler moved to sit in josh's lap. he rested his head on the boy's shoulder, and held onto him tightly. to say joshua was completely startled would be a huge understatement.
"you okay there, buttercup?" josh whispered as he gently rubbed his hand against tyler's back. the brunette slowly nodded as his eyes closed.
"you make m-me feel like i have a f-family, j-joshua." the boy spoke, the sentence making josh's heart flutter.
"that's a good thing then?" josh smiled as the boy lifted his head up, their eyes meeting.
"c-can you close y-your eyes for a second, j-joshua?" the younger boy whispered, nervous about the act he was about to give.
josh nodded as he slowly closed his eyes, anticipation built up inside of him. him, of all people, were afraid of what an innocent boy was going to do to him. he had never been put into this situation before, it was usually the other way around. he jumped when he felt soft lips pressed up against his cheek, dangerously close to his own lips. the way the brunette's lips melted against his skin, sweet drops of lavender fell onto him. he shot his eyes open after the boy pulled away, only to be greeted with tyler biting down on his thumb. he guessed it was a nervous habit, though there was no need to be afraid as joshua surprisingly enjoyed it.
"m' sorry, j-joshua." the brunette looked down to the floor, expecting some sort of scolding or punishment. he knew that josh was used to that kind of thing, he didn't know what to expect when it came to the red haired boy.
"close your eyes." he smiled, as tyler did so. he took a deep breath before doing something he never thought he would be doing anytime soon.