next door » joshler [book #1]

forty seven » i listened to emperors new clothes 250 times in 1 day

when he wakes up, mitch's arms around him, josh has to take a moment to smile. apart from the crazy stalker ex-boyfriend that is tyler, his life is perfect. he can't believe he didn't go back to mitch sooner. god, he was wasting his time on tyler...

a small part of him wonders how mitch knew that tyler almost- almost- raped josh. god. that is such an ugly word. but then again, it applies to tyler. but still- how did mitch know about it?

deciding not to trouble himself with such trivial matters- josh had probably told him and forgotten about it- josh smiles and snuggles back against mitch. he smells nice.

"kitten," mitch mumbles sleepily, "you're awake."

"mhm!" josh perks up and climbs on top of mitch, pushing down on his chest slightly, like a young child would do to his father.

"whoa," says mitch, raising an eyebrow at the hyper boy sitting on his chest, "we're awfully needy today, aren't we?"

josh looks down and bites his lip, knowing mitch will appreciate it. "s-sorry, daddy," he murmurs, and mitch laughs, stroking his hair. his other hand rests on josh's hip.

"s'okay, baby boy," he reassures josh. "you look cute."

josh beams. "yay!"

mitch yawns and stretches, one hand rifling through his nightstand. he pulls out a pale blue pill and hands it to josh, smiling. "here you go, kitten," he says, and josh pops it in his mouth obediently.

"thank you, daddy," he answers, swallowing the pill. his hands play with the hem of the loose, pale pink shirt that hangs too big on his small frame.

"good," mitch says affectionately, ruffling josh's hair. "c'mon, now, baby doll, time for breakfast." he gently pushes josh off of him and josh gets to his feet, padding into the kitchen.

"what are we having?" he asks eagerly, swinging up onto the counter. mitch stands between his legs, stroking his hair thoughtfully.

"what d'you want?"

josh's eyes go wide. "i-i don't know," he says shyly, his cheeks pink. "sorry, daddy."

"that's okay," mitch answers, "how bout cereal?"

"okay," josh bobs his head. mitch smiles at him and kisses him softly, josh immediately wrapping his legs around the taller man's waist.

"eager kitten, aren't we?" mitch looks down and pats josh's thigh. the younger boy mewls quietly and nods, biting his lip. "breakfast first, okay?"

josh nods and drops his legs. "i'm gonna go wash up," he announces, padding off into the bathroom.

-

it's fucking stupid.

tyler stares at his phone and swallows angrily. he's crying because of a fucking emoji.

see, they finally added a taco emoji. the one josh always wanted. and now he's not- even- here.

tyler wants to crawl into bed and cry for five years, but everything smells like josh. this chair was where josh liked to sit. this side of the bed was always his. this part of the couch always had a pile of his clothes on it.

fuck, fuck, fuck.

he tries calling josh again, gets voicemail, and hangs up. the term 'heart-broken' floats through his mind.

"fuck off," tyler mumbles. "you know what, joshua dun? fuck. you."

it feels good to finally let the words out. he hurls his phone as strongly as he can, hearing it thud against the couch, and falls to his knees, sobbing loudly. josh. josh. josh.