Money Hungry //joshler [✔️]

twenty-øne (pilots)

tyler awakes the next morning to felix shaking him. he groans, swatting his hands away and rolling over. he feels exhausted. what time was it when he fell asleep? what time is it now?

"get up, sleeping beauty. josh's orders."

"ughhh," he groans, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "did you tell him i slept in here?"

"i had to, i'm sorry. he saw you weren't in your room and panicked. he didn't seem mad, just confused," felix explains, chuckling as tyler throws the covers off himself. "you should probably put some pants on before you go downstairs, though."

"shut up," he mutters, smiling slightly. "creep."

"you're the one who slept half-naked in my bed," felix counters.

"only 'cuz you're my best friend," tyler defends. "okay, i am gonna go put pants on now, though."

"have fun."

"will do," he chuckles, returning to his own room and throwing on some sweatpants and a t-shirt. he finds josh downstairs in his office, typing away at his computer.

"good morning, dear," josh greets him, relieving tyler of any anxiety.

"morning," he smiles, taking a seat. "why did you need me?"

"is it wrong of me to ask why you slept in felix's room?" he asks, frowning ever-so-slightly.

"no," tyler shakes his head, trying hard not to let himself smile. is it possible josh, himself, is now the jealous one? that wasn't tyler's intent in the slightest, but he's glad to know the jealousy isn't one-sided. "i just... couldn't sleep. my brain wouldn't shut off."

"why didn't you come talk to me?" josh asks, genuinely confused. he doesn't look hurt, but the tone in his voice tells a different story. god, now he just feels awful again.

"i'm sorry," he says, shamefully looking towards his lap. before he can explain, josh is reaching out and lifting his chin.

"hey, don't apologize. it's alright, i promise, i just don't understand."

"i didn't want to annoy you anymore," tyler admits, gulping as josh's confusion grows by the second.

"annoy me anymore? you don't ever annoy me."

"i feel like i do, though. i just... i don't know. it doesn't make sense, i guess." the brunette sighs heavily, watching josh's features soften. he leans across the desk to kiss tyler's forehead, an action so simple yet so comforting.

"it's okay, you don't have to explain if you can't. seriously, though, you don't annoy me. not at all. i love you, dear. i'm supposed to be there for you when your thoughts are too loud, aren't i? am i not doing this right?"

the fact that josh is so concerned makes tyler feel a bit better, but mostly worse. he always does this to himself. he gets worked up over nothing, only for josh to prove him wrong over and over again. why hasn't he learned by now?

"no, you're doing everything right. you are. it's just me, i guess, and my stupid brain..."

"how many times do i have to tell you that your brain isn't stupid?" josh chuckles weakly, opting to join tyler on the other side of the desk. he kneels down before the brunette, holding both of the boy's hands in each of his own. "i love you and your brain, even if that seems hard to believe. i don't mind having to help you take care of those bad thoughts, silly. in fact, i want to be the one to help with that."