to all the glowing eyes ✎ joshler

june 29

going back to his childhood home feels weird. even though josh goes back for a few holidays, sleeping in his old bed makes him realize that he's long over that part of his life. he can't imagine what would've happened if he stayed in columbus. he prefers to not think about it.

when he woke up this morning, his first action was to text tyler to come over and hang out at his apartment. now that he's thinking about it he should've cleaned up a bit. there are dirty dishes in the sink, his coffee table could use a dusting, his laundry basket is full... it's too late to fix that because he hears a knock on his door.

the knocking causes jim to get up from his kingdom of toys and run to the door. instead of barking at the door, as some dogs would do, he wags his tails in excitement. people say that dogs can judge the character of a person right away; so far it seems like jim approves of tyler.

"coming!" josh stands up from his couch and goes to open the door for his new companion.

on the other side of the door stands tyler, ever glowing with his stunning smile and precious personality. "hi," he says with a smile. his eyes dart down to the dog next to josh. something immediately forces him to dedicate his attention said dog. "oh my god! is that jim?"

josh is about to respond when tyler comes into the apartment to pet his dog. the backpack over his shoulders gets slumped after tyler discarded it on a corner. he needs all the movement liberty he can get right now. "he's so cute! your pictures didn't do him justice," tyler tells the host as he keeps on petting jim.

"i never said i was a good photographer, ty. and hi to you too, by the way." josh chuckles and admires the sight in front of him. his two favorite beings in the world look too adorable together. his comment makes tyler make eye contact with him. it's nothing more than platonic, but something about it feels...different.

tyler grabs his backpack and clears his throat, "sorry. it's been a while since i've gotten the chance to pet a dog. i guess i got a little excited."

his pure eyes get josh's heart to beat faster. he'd do anything for that pretty face. "it's okay," he chuckles, "i'm only messing with you. c'mon. we can talk in the living room." he guides his guest to the aforementioned living room, jim following the two. "you can leave your backpack here if you want." he points to a spot next to the coffee table and tyler does as told.

now that they're sitting down on the couch –jim watching over them in his toy fortress– josh finally get to the moment he's been waiting for these past 24 hours. "how are you? i'm sorry i didn't text you yesterday. i had to do some work for a student and then i took ashley to the dmv which we had rescheduled because of our date, so i had to take her..." he cuts himself off before he continues to ramble. something stupid could escape his lips if he goes on.

"i've been alright," tyler giggles and places a hand over josh's, "don't worry about that. i was writing all day. inspiration hit me really hard."

feeling the tender touch only gets the older man more addicted. he's been so touch starved for so long. this is like the first new high. "really? what were you writing? a new poetry collection? i finished your book last night. you're really good."

"oh no, no. i'm actually working on a novel!"

"damn... a novel? holy crap. what's it about?"

all of this curiosity fuels tyler's self esteem. even if no one else reads his book, at least he's got his boyfriend to read it. wait, no. not boyfriend, it's just josh. nothing more, nothing else. they're friends, friends who go out on dates and kiss but friends nonetheless. "can't tell you. top secret! but if you wanna know so badly, it's about a teen."