The Tattoo // Joshler AU

Chapter Nineteen

Tyler's POV

"Tyler! Wake up!" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and saw the love of my life standing above me. Looking to the clock, I saw that is was only 7 in the morning. Why had Jenna gotten me up so early?  

"It's Christmas, babe!"

I made a quiet noise of excitement, and jumped out of the warm bed that we shared. Jenna grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the lounge, the pre-agreed place for us to open our presents.

The room was decorated and incredibly festive, despite it's small size, with tinsel draped along the sofas and the tree standing in its place of honor. Beneath the tree was a small pile of presents for each of us.

We'd said that we wouldn't buy each other too much for Christmas, mostly because of the low balance of our bank accounts. 

"Open this one first, please?" I thrust a small present into Jenna's hands, excited for her to see what I'd given her. I'd put a lot of thought into the presents, more thought than money, if I was completely honest.  

The tearing of paper drew me out from my thoughts, and I saw Jenna clutching the small black box in her hands. She had a puzzled look on her face before opening the box to display a necklace she'd expressed interest in a while ago.

A smile stretched across her face as she enveloped me in a hug, mumbling a faint, "I love you" in my ear.  

"I love you too," I replied before picking up one of the gifts from her. My slender fingers tore into the present, to see a vinyl record of one of my favourite albums. My eyes welled up, and my heart ached at the fact that she knew me so well so as to buy me a vinyl of my favourite album.

She knew me. She loved me. 

I flung myself into her arms, comfortably nestled and encased in her safety. Thumps of her heart beat against my head that rested so well on her chest, alerting me to my reality. Our reality.

Jenna was my reality, my everything. This was real, not some made-up fantasy dreamt up by a teenage boy. She was real, we were real. That realization was better than any present could have ever been. 

"Do you like it?" The gentle shyness and unease of her voice brushed past my ears, and I only snuggled into her further, confirming how perfect it really was.

Her hand played with my hair softly, and, for a little while, we ignored the presents, the time, the inevitability of responsibility, and lay there, content in ourselves and in the other's company.  

How was I so lucky? To have someone who got me completely. The emptiness, the insecurity, the unknown worries, they didn't matter when I was with her. She alleviated all of the terror, calmed my nerves, filled the abyss that lay within my soul.

Maybe not completely, but she was it, she was my soulmate. I knew it. There was a feeling of bliss laying there in her arms, and maybe, just maybe, we had an infinity there. And maybe we had only two minutes. Time would tell.

The dark corner of my mind still whispered in my ear, filling my being with doubts and worries, nerves and constricting thoughts.

There was still that doubt which lingered. I couldn't doubt her anymore though. I couldn't. I knew how she made me feel, and it only confirmed what I already knew: that I never needed anything else. 

And as I lay there, in her arms, my thoughts turned to my family. Did they miss me? I didn't really talk to them as much as I should, considering that I would have to choose between them and Jenna, which wasn't a choice that I was willing to make.  

Was Madison happy? How was her prom? I wish that I could've been there. I saw photos, and she looked so beautiful, I cried. How did that small girl who used to irritate me so much, turn into my gorgeous sister? I missed her. 

Was Zack happy? How was his girlfriend? I hadn't even met her. He'd been with her a while, but he'd only worked up the courage to introduce her after I had left. I hadn't even visited. 

Was Jay happy? Did he have a girlfriend? He was so tall now, not that I'd really know. I'd been a bit of a shit brother, what with not being there for a year or so. What if he'd ever wanted any advice, and I hadn't been there to give it to him? 

I missed my parents. My mom, the one who told me off, but then laughed with me, and sang with me.

I missed my dad too. He was so funny, and the moment I came out, he held me close, and told me that he didn't care, that he'd always love me, that it made no difference. 

A few tears slid down my cheeks as I thought of the moments we had and the ones that I'd missed. Maybe LA was the wrong decision. I could've stayed in Ohio, with my family, I should've waited until I was ready. 

And then I looked at the slender arms wrapped around my middle, and the destructive thoughts dissipated completely. LA gave me her. Things had been tough, but she made it all worth it. All the late nights, all the rejections, all the dead-ends, gave me her in the end.  

Jenna shifted from underneath me, and I turned to her. 

"Open the rest of them." I grinned, and scrambled like a child towards the pile. We sat there in harmony, gradually opening and appreciating what we'd gotten each other.

Jenna wrapped bracelets around her wrist, and I chuckled at the various hair products that had been so neatly wrapped for me.

We decided to forgo a traditional Christmas dinner, and settled with a pre-made pizza in front of the television. The static sound washed over me as I prepared to do something that I'd never done. 

"Jenna?"  

"Yeah, babe?" She sounded vaguely confused, but I had to do this. 

"Why are you with me?" I began, continuing into my reasoning, "I mean, I'm skinny and weird, you're hot. I'm small, you're tall. I'm kind of ew, and you're gorgeous. You could have anyone, yet you settle for me. Why?"

Months of unresolved fears tumbled past my lips, and as I was finishing the last syllable, and preparing for the inevitable blow, her lips connected with mine. 

"Tyler Robert Joseph," she mumbled against my closed mouth, "I do not settle for you. If anything, you are settling for me. What you see as skinny, I see as slight. What you see as small, I see as perfect. What you see as ew, I see as breath-taking, incredible, jaw-dropping. You are something else, Tyler Joseph, and it amazes me that you simply don't see how unique and stunning you are. You are all that I'll ever need, and all that I'll ever want."

My breath caught in my throat as I attempted to process the torrent of loving words leaving her mouth. I didn't expect any of it.

Jenna's arms pulled me closer, and I welcomed her embrace. She was my soulmate, and she was my everything.  

"I love you." 

"I love you too."