"tyler, are you ready!?"
the brunette comes trotting down the stairs, bare feet slapping against the wood floor as he runs to josh. "yes, i'm ready!"
he's dressed in one of josh's hoodies, the hem falling just above his knees and the sleeves covering his fingers. the older smiles. "no you aren't. i told you to put pants on."
"but daddy!" tyler whines. he lifts to hem and reveals he's also wearing a pair of josh's boxers. "they is like shorts on me!"
"yes, i know, but i told you that your legs are going to get cold if you don't put on pants."
"nuh uh, silly!" tyler giggles. "not if i have a blankie!"
josh sighs, patting the top of the boy's head. "okay, fine. will you at least bring a pair just in case?"
"mhm! be right back!"
he watches the little one run back upstairs and smiles to himself as he finishes taking stuff out to the car. by the time josh is done, tyler is waiting by the front door with a pair of winnie the pooh pajama pants in hand.
"thank you, hon," josh says, kissing his cheek and guiding the tyler to the car. he holds the door open, then buckles him in and kisses the tip of his nose. tyler giggles in response.
they start the half-hour drive, planning to meet dallon, ryan, and brendon at the drive-in. tyler flips through radio stations, gasping when he finds one playing queen. "sing wif me daddy!"
"can anybody find meeeee somebody toooo love!"
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they arrive a couple hours earlier, which is both a curse and a blessing. good news is they get to park in the first row, front and center before the big screen. bad news is dallon and josh now have the next two hours or so to keep the littles occupied.
it's kinda hard when ryan wont stop chasing tyler around yelling, "i'm gonna get you!" and brendon is pouting because dallon wouldn't buy him an energy drink. tyler zooms past josh, who sits on the tailgate of dallon's truck as he watches them.
"help me!" he shrieks, gasping for air.
"i'm gonna get you!" ryan repeats for, like, the tenth time. "gotta escape ryro!"
"help!" tyler yells again, this time begging dallon. however, he's too busy trying to cheer brendon up.
"ryan ross," josh finally speaks up, four heads jolting towards him. "just because your daddy is busy doesn't mean you get to torment tyler."
"yeah!" tyler shouts, pointing a finger at the boy.
"you be quiet, mister," josh furrows his eyebrows, attempting to look scary but he can't help but smile. "you two have to settle down. look, more cars are coming in. how about you help me set up the blankets, okay?"
"okay, daddy!" tyler giggles, skipping his way over.
"fine," ryan grumbles, clearly upset that he never got to catch tyler and that josh yelled at him.
the three lay a comforter down in the back of dallon's truck, then place pillows against the truck cab. ryan and tyler argue over which side they want for a moment, before josh steps in and decides for them (taking tyler's side because he might be a little prejudice). then, ryan lays out his blankets on his side while tyler does the same with his own blankets on his own side.
tyler places thumper and penny against the pillows, so ryan copies and does the same with his and brendon's stuffies. meanwhile, the latter has completely forgotten about the energy drink. he's now more concerned with the french fries dallon promised to buy.
"we did it, ryro!" tyler cheers, high-fiving his friend then hugging his daddy. "we did it, daddy!"
"daddy, look-it!" ryan says, tugging on dallon's shirt and pointing at the bed. "me an' tywer an' josh made it!"
"wow, awesome job!" dallon smiles, one arm wrapped around brendon as he kisses ryan's forehead. "is it ready for us to lay in?"
"mhm!"
all except dallon, who is going to get cheesy fries, pile into the back. josh pulls the bag he packed onto his lap, searching through it.
"okay, i got: ring pops, kit-kats, doritos, chocolate pretzels, watermelon sour patch kids, swedish fish... who wants what?" josh looks up at the three littles who stare back in awe.
"kit-kat!" tyler squeals.
"swe'ish fish!" ryan says.
"'ritos!" brendon exclaims.
josh laughs, hanging each little their requested item. he also opens a bug juice, keeping it in his lap because he knows tyler is going to need a drink. dallon is back now, carrying a bucket of fries in one hand and two containers of cheese in the other.
"tadaaa," he says, presenting the food.
everyone, including josh, gasps.
"wow daddy!"
"so much fwench fwies!"
"i has some, daddy?" tyler asks, eyes nearly bulging out of his head.
"it's up to dallon, honey."
"mister dal-"
"yes, you can have some, ty," dallon interrupts, joining everyone in the back of the truck and placing the bucket between them. he opens a container of cheese and sets it beside the bucket. "dig in."
they all start eating their snacks, tyler asking josh for a drink every two minutes and dallon sharing a 64 ounce bottle of juicy juice with his littles. everyone sits like that for a while, pigging out, talking, and laughing. when the sun starts to set, tyler has a blue raspberry ring pop sandwiched between his lips.
he's been sucking on it for nearly thirty minutes, so when he asks josh for a kiss, his lips are sticky and bright blue. josh doesn't mind though, he kisses tyler over and over while ryan whines that he wants a kiss too. suddenly, noise starts coming through the radio as a preview begins playing on screen.
tyler gasps, snuggling into josh's side. "daddy, daddy! the movie is startin'!"
"soon, buddy," josh chuckles. he covers them with a blanket so he can lift them hem of tyler's (well, his) hoodie and rub his back without the boy getting chilly.
all five manage to fit side-by-side in the back of the truck, the order going: brendon, dallon, ryan, josh, tyler. dallon is sandwiched between his littles, while josh is sandwiched between two littles who won't leave each other alone. it's the reason why tyler isn't next to ryan in the first place; they would not stop annoying each other.
the screen goes dark for a moment, then suddenly a red glow casts over the screen as a bright yellow sun rises over the horizon.
"nants ingonyama bagithi baba!"
tyler squeals right in josh's ear, shaking his daddy harshly. "daddy, daddy, daddy! oh my gosh! is' startin'! look-it! so pwetty!"
"i know, honey," josh whispers in response. "we have to be quiet now, okay? people are trying to watch the movie."
tyler nods, stuffing his thumb in his mouth and hugging both stuffies to his chest as he glues his eyes to the screen. josh figured that would happen, so he pulls the boy's thumb out of his mouth and plops a pacifier in instead.
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"no, daddy! no, no, no, no, no! no, no! hate scar! hate 'em! don' wan' mufasa to die," tyler cries, watching the lion struggle to climb up the gorge. "no, p'ease!"
"shhhh," josh hums, tightening his arms around tyler. ryan is also crying beside him, brendon sniffling. he presses his lips against tyler's forehead, mumbling, "it's okay, baby boy. it's alright. you don't have to watch, it's okay. do you want daddy to cover your eyes?" tyler shakes his head stubbornly, clinging to the older.
"long... live... the king."
tyler gasps, tears flowing freely as he watches scar hit mufasa off the cliff. the sobs don't stop for a second, especially not when simba tells mufasa to wake up, cries for help, then lays next to him.
"him's d-dead, daddy," tyler sobs, clutching the man's shirt as it grows wet with tears. "s-scar so mean! wan' 'em gone!"
"shhh," josh replies, too focused on the movie and trying not to cry himself to say anything else.
"simba! what have you done?"
"nothin'!" tyler whispers-yells furiously. "stupid scar! stupid!"
"it was a stampede! he tried to save me! it was an accident. i didn't mean for it to-"
"of course you didn't. no one ever means for these things to happen... but the king is dead. and if it weren't for you, he'd still be alive."
"no!" tyler whines, banging his fist against josh in frustration. "simba just a baby! why scar so mean!?"
"a son who causes his fathers death. a boy... who kills a king..."
"what am i gonna do!?"
"run. run away, simba. run away and never return!"
the tears continue to flow as tyler watches the frightened cub turn and run. the hyenas appear behind scar, who says, "kill him."
"nooo!" tyler yells, watching fearfully as they chase simba. it's as if he's never seen the original movie before and has no idea simba will be okay. "make it stop!"
"baby," josh says lowly, lips moving against his ear. it gives the brunette shivers. "you have to be quiet. simba will be okay, i promise. do i have to take you to the bathroom? you don't want to miss the movie, do you?"
tyler quiets down, his sobs now sniffles. he shakes his head, nuzzling himself impossibly closer. "'m so sad...."
"i know, little guy. daddy's sad too. here." josh picks up the pacifier that fell out of tyler's mouth and places it back between his lips. "it's okay to be sad, but we have to be sad quietly. can you do that for daddy?"
tyler nods, heart racing as he watches the hyenas chase little simba.
"my good, little boy."
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by the time the movie is finished, all three littles are nearly passed out. toy story 4 plays next, but dallon, brendon, and ryan have already seen it. it's almost 11:30, too, and tyler is too tired to even care to stay for the next movie. so, as the credits roll, josh helps dallon pack everything into their vehicles while the littles sit in their vehicles.
"i'm not ashamed to admit i cried," dallon says, shutting the tailgate and grinning at josh.
"i wanted to, but couldn't. if i would've cried tyler would've absolutely lost it," josh chuckles. "that was a seriously great movie, though."
"yeah, i know. i'm sure i'll be buying it the second it comes out on dvd."
"me too," josh laughs.
"alright, man. we'll see you later. tell tyler we say goodnight."
"will do, tell bren and ryan the same. goodnight."
josh gets in his car and glances over, seeing tyler fast asleep in the passenger seat. he smiles, reaching over and brushing a strand of hair out of his face.
he couldn't wait for tomorrow so he could talk with the boy for hours and hours about the movie.
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tyler was my ACTUAL mood when i watched the movie 😌 i'm sure i was annoying my boyfriend cuz i wouldn't stop saying how much i hate scar 😌😌 seriously, dude deserved to die 😌😌😌