Ruby ~Joshler~

0.6

Sleepless nights turned into a full nights rest after that day. Ruby stayed sound asleep all night, not even a peep out of her. Josh got to sleep all night too, making him a lot less grumpy in the mornings. It was the best thing ever. 

As for Tyler? This was the first time in years he's got to sleep in a bed and a warm home. The first night he stayed in the guest bedroom, he cried himself to sleep. Not out of sadness, but happiness. He was so very grateful for this families kindness. This was the first step of getting back on his feet. 

"Tyer!" Ruby's giggled echoed in the small bedroom, slowly awakening the well rested man. "Wake up!" 

Tyler sat up and rubbed his eyes. Josh stood in the doorway watching. "Good morning little one." He smiled, yawning. 

"Breakfast is ready. Come out whenever you're ready." Josh spoke up, motioning for Ruby to give him some privacy and closing the door behind him. 

Tyler took a moment to fully wake up, before throwing the duvet to the side and placing his feet firmly on the carpeted floor beneath him. His eyes scanned the floor until his spotted the t-shirt Josh had let him borrow while his clothes were being washed. 

The fluffy brunette stood up and threw the red shirt over his head and onto his body. After putting on some clothes, Tyler headed for the bathroom next. He always had to use it when he got up. 

"Good morning sleeping beauty." Josh greeting from the dining table. Ruby was to busy playing with her food to notice the man walk out of the bathroom. "Food's there." Josh motioned for the plate of waffles, eggs and toasts siting across the table. 

"Thanks." Tyler sat down at the table and began eating. "Wow. This is amazing." 

Josh shrugged. "I make this all the time. It's not that great." 

"Well, compared to what I've been eating, this is golden." Tyler complimented. 

Josh wanted to ask Tyler so many questions, but at the same time he didn't want to offend him, but he had to know. "So, Tyler." Tyler looked up from his hands and gave Josh his full attention. "I hate to ask, but how exactly did you end up out there? By yourself." 

Tyler sighed. "I-uh shouldn't talk about it around her." He nodded toward the messy girl with syrup all over her face. Josh nodded. "How about you tell me about yourself?" Tyler suggested, changing the subject. 

"Alright. I'm a 26 year old male with a minimum wage job at Walmart who just got over a bad divorce." 

Tyler coughed on his eggs. "Wow. I'm sorry." 

"Nah. It's alright. I didn't like her that much anyway. She-uh cheated on me." 

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." 

Josh shrugged. "Okay, your turn. Tell me something." 

Tyler gulped. "O-okay. I'm a 21 year old male," Tyler put on his best 'Josh' voice. "Who lives out in the streets, begging for money everyday." 

"Lived." 

"Right. I can't thank you enough for this." Tyler ranted. 

"You've thanked me like a thousand times already and it's only been a couple of days." Josh chuckled. 

"Thanks you." 

"A thousand and one." 

xoxo

It was nap time. Ruby laid in her crib that she was slowly outgrowing, drifting into sleep. Tyler and Josh were out in the living room talking about life. The TV played in the background, but the two  couldn't bother listening. 

"You know Tyler," Josh took a swig of the cold beer wrapped in his hand. "I thought I was in love. I thought we were going to have lots of kids and grow out together." Tyler nodded sympathetically. "But, I guess she had other plans, involving a rich, older guy and the beach. Something I couldn't give her." Josh sighed. "Anyway." He turned to the younger man. 

"Yeah. Life's a bitch." 

"What's your story?" Josh wondered. He didn't mean to be so upfront, but the alcohol in his system said otherwise. 

"Like, how I ended up on the streets?" Josh nodded, taking another swig. Josh offered Tyler some earlier, but he politely declined. He was never really a fan of the biter tasting substance. "Well, it was a long time ago. I was still living with my mom and my other three siblings. I was the oldest, so I had to get a job to help pay bills. We really didn't have a lot of money, so I was working a lot, but eventually we couldn't make enough money to survive and it was all my fault. I let people promise me 'I owe yous' and when they never paid me back, my mom got furious and eventually she kicked me out and yeah." Tyler chuckled. "Here I am." 

"Wow." Josh breathed out. "I'm really sorry. I can't imagine being in that situation."

Tyler shrugged. leaning back on the soft cushions. "It was hard at first, but I got the hang of begging for money and sleeping outside everyday. I met this really cool dude who helped me out, but one day he just disappeared."  

Josh and Tyler were silent for a couple of seconds, before Tyler chuckled and turned to Josh. "I'll take that beer now." 

xoxo

"Have you ever been married?" 

Maybe an hour later and both men still sat on couches, talking about anything and everything. Tyler wouldn't admit it, but he may have been a little buzzed. 

"No, but if I ever do, I have a picture in my head of how I want to be purposed to." Tyler smiled while answering. "I want him to take me to a ballpark and halfway through, he gets on one knee and asks me." 

"Oh. Sooo-"

"Yes. I'm gay." Tyler confirms, taking yet another swig of his cold beverage. 

Josh nodded. "That sounds like a fairy tale."

 Tyler just shrugged. "How about you?" Josh looked at the boy confusingly. "Well, you were married with a woman, so I'm assuming you're straight..?"

"Well, I guess I like anyone. Like, I don't care if you're a girl or a boy, if I find you attractive, then that's that." 

Tyler giggled at Josh's little explanation. "So, Pansexual?" 

"If that's what you call it." Josh laughed.

Tyler notices how Josh's tongue pokes out between his teeth and how his eyes crinkle at the corners when he laughs. It was quite intoxicating and he didn't catch himself staring until Josh cleared his throat. 

"O-oh. Sorry." Tyler looked down at his hands and fiddles with the hem of Josh's shirt. 

"It's cool. I get that a lot." He winks at Tyler when he looks up from his hands.