Chapter Text
Across the apartment, sitting on the couch, Jim had spotted the source of the scent. Oh, how could he have made such a terrible mistake?
"It's fine," Tyler said, welcoming Josh inside; Josh pulled Jim in behind him. "He probably just smells my cat."
Your… what?! Jim thinks, staring at the small white thing on the couch.
“Is Jim okay with cats?” Tyler asks, taking a glance at Jim’s reluctance as Josh closes the door behind them.
“I’d think he’s alright with just about anyone or anything.” Josh shrugs, loosening his grip on Jim’s leash. Jim still eyes the cat cautiously, keeping by his human’s side.
“Ned’s good with people once he gets to know them, well, he was with me. Dogs, I’m not sure, but I think he might already recognize a certain someone’s scent.” Tyler looks at Jim with an eyebrow raised.
“Well now you’ve got a new uke without Jim’s spit and teeth marks on it, so he’ll have that one all to himself!” Josh laughs awkwardly as Tyler cradles his present.
“Yes I do!” Tyler says excitedly, setting it down on the coffee table. “I appreciate it, you really didn’t have to-“ He blushes, removing the red wrapping from his gift. “Woah, how’d you-?”
“I took a good look at it while you were showing it to me.” Josh feels his face get warm and shuffles his feet, careful not to step on Jim’s tail. “I- I hope it’s the same one.”
“A perfect match!” Tyler strums it, flinching, “With some much needed tuning.” He laughs, turning to face Josh, who returns his smile. “Thank you.” Tyler takes a step forward, wrapping his arms around Josh for a quick hug, which Josh barely has time to react to. Jim, however, wags his tail excitedly. “I don’t think you deserve a hug, mister.” Tyler wiggles his finger at Jim, trying to dissolve the awkwardness from the hug.
“Yeah, no, you’re still in trouble.” Josh manages a chuckle, mussing up the fur on Jim’s head. “Not yours.” He says, pointing at Tyler’s new ukulele, which elicits a snort from Tyler. His face quickly contorts as he looks up from the pair.
“Oh, shoot, I just remembered the hot cocoa!” Tyler rushes into the kitchen, leaving Jim, Josh, and Ned the cat in an uncomfortable silence.
Moments later, Tyler returns with two glasses of warm chocolatey drinks.
“You can sit!” Tyler blurts, fearing his hospitality was next to nonexistent. “I promise Ned doesn’t bite, he’s good mostly, except when he’s being a lil gremlin, a-and I promise the stains on the floor are RedBull! He has a habit of knocking over my drinks.” Tyler shoots a glance at his oblivious cat before handing a glass to Josh. “Sorry I’m blabbering, I guess I’m just not used to having guests.” Tyler admits sheepishly.
“It’s alright.” Josh seems slightly more comfortable knowing Tyler is just as nervous as he is, something he hadn’t noticed yesterday when they spent the afternoon talking on his couch. Perhaps it was because he was in his own space, and with Jim too, who definitely helped ease Josh’s anxiety. Tyler sits down first, closer to the cat, but as Josh tries to lead Jim over to the couch to join them, he doesn’t budge. Josh sighs, letting the leash go.
“Suit yourself.” He says, sitting down next to Tyler. “Hi bud.” Josh tries to reach a hand out to Ned, but he just grumbles and turns away.
“Oh, tsk, he’s just being shy.” Tyler goes to pet Ned, who hisses at first, most likely thinking it was Josh trying to touch him, but relaxes as he realizes it’s just Tyler. “So mean.” He coos, lightly pulling Ned’s tail as he pets it.
“How long have you had him?” Josh asks, not sure where to take the conversation.
“Oh I got him just before moving in here. So it’s been a month or two.” Tyler takes a sip of the hot chocolate in his hand, “We’re definitely not as close as you and Jim are, that’s for sure!”
“Yeah, Jim’s been around for years,” Josh smiles at his pup, who has made himself comfortable laying down on the floor, making sure to have eyes on everyone, but especially Josh. “You never realize what a difference a loyal companion will make in your life, and it doesn’t even have to be an emotional support dog to help, either.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize he was an ESA, that’s cool!” Tyler notes with a grin, “I feel like Ned is less concerned with my emotional needs and more with what time I need to feed him.” Josh laughs, watching Tyler pet his cat playfully.
“Jim is also concerned when it comes to food, just because he’s an ESA doesn’t mean he isn’t a dog!” Josh tilts his head, mimicking Jim’s which turned at the mention of food.
“That’s fair,” Tyler takes another sip of hot cocoa before placing it down on the coffee table, making an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture with his fingers at Ned. He picks up his new ukulele, giving it a quick strum and shaking his head.
The pair sit in silence for quite some time, with Tyler humming along as he tunes the ukulele. Josh watches in awe and slowly starts to sip away at his own glass of cocoa. He goes along each string, plucking and tuning bit by bit, singing as he tries to match the sound to his voice. Josh’s eyes had become transfixed on the whole ordeal, moving from Tyler’s face to his fingers. At one point, Tyler’s cat had gotten up and walked away, off to do cat things most-likely, giving Jim the side-eye as he left the room. Josh goes to take another sip of his hot chocolate and realizes the glass is empty, slowly lowering it from his lips. He notices Jim lift his head up as he places the empty glass down on the coffee table, but immediately returns his attention to Tyler. The room had become less tense, though there was still something in the air that hadn’t felt quite right to Jim. Maybe it was the unknown location of the cat, or perhaps it was something else. It had been quiet for some time, just the sounds of Tyler’s instrument and his voice, but not much communicating happening between the pair of humans. While the music had Josh in a trance, Jim couldn’t help but want his human to talk. He stands up cautiously, still unaware of Ned the cat’s location, and walks over to Josh, nudging his knee gently.
“Hey buddy, what’s up?” Josh asks, looking down at Jim’s puppy dog eyes.
“You alright?” Tyler tilts his head as he looks over at Jim, who whines softly.
“Oh, do you need to go out?” Josh checks the time, “It’s been a while, huh?” He stands up and Jim starts wagging his tail.
“Did you, um, want to come along?” Josh turns to Tyler, who was still lightly strumming his ukulele.
“Oh!” Tyler blushes, “M-maybe another time?” He stutters, caught off guard by the offer.
“That’s alright!” Josh doesn’t seem fazed by the rejection as he picks up Jim’s leash. “Another time.” He smiles, “Thanks for having me over.”
“Of course!” Tyler returns the smile, standing up to get the door for the pair. Jim sniffs Tyler briefly before walking out into the hallway.
“See ya!” Josh calls out as Jim drags him down the hall, clearly on a mission. He’d forgotten his previous mission of getting the pair to talk the second ‘O-U-T’ was mentioned. Once business was taken care of, however, Jim suddenly realized his mistake. On the way back into the complex, he tries pulling Josh in the direction of Tyler’s apartment.
“We already saw Tyler today, bud!” Josh laughs, giving Jim’s leash a quick tug, “Maybe we’ll see him tomorrow, but right now it’s time to go home, okay?” Some begging and pouting occurs, but Josh sees past it, “Come on big brown eyes, let’s go home.” He coos, and Jim can’t help but trot behind Josh down the hall to their apartment.
“Reow” Ned wiggles his way in between Tyler’s arms and his ukulele.
“What, was my playing that bad?” He asks, placing his ukulele to the side as Ned curls up in his lap, purring. “I don’t think it was.” Ned yawns and nuzzles his head up against Tyler. “Maybe it was my singing, I hope I wasn’t boring him.” Tyler suddenly starts overthinking his afternoon with Josh, wondering why it was affecting him so much. He looks over at his ukulele and smiles. “That was pretty sweet of him to replace my uke.” His heart flutters lightly, remembering the chaos that day entailed, and the laughter they shared at the awkwardness of their tie-up and the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.
They were so… close. Tyler’s mouth opens slightly, a sigh escaping his lips. At the exact same moment, Ned decides to start making biscuits on Tyler’s legs. “Ouch! Ned! Ugh…” He picks up the fluffy white cat and plops him down on the end of the couch. Ned spots the bright red wrapping that Josh had placed Tyler’s replacement ukulele in and pounces on the table, nearly missing Josh’s empty hot chocolate glass. Tyler grabs both glasses and takes them into the kitchen, washing them out in the sink. As Tyler stood at his kitchen sink, he’d realized something… something he hadn’t thought about up until this very moment. He was in love.
The next day, Josh had gone back to work, the day after Christmas was no excuse for an extra day off. It was alright though, Josh needed a distraction, as Tyler had started to take up more and more of Josh’s headspace. He comes home later in the day to a very enthusiastic Jim, ready to go outside on their evening walk.
“What do you think, Jim? Should we go see if Tyler wants to come?” Jim happily barks in response. They make their way over to Tyler’s apartment, and Josh knocks a few times on the front door. Strangely, no response, so he tries again, perhaps Tyler hadn’t heard him. Still nothing. Josh furrows his brow, disheartened, as Jim’s ears droop. “I dunno bud, maybe he’s busy.” He says, pulling Jim through the hallway and outside. Their walk wasn’t as pleasant as it usually was, the pair feeling saddened by the lack of Tyler’s presence, understandably.
Tyler, however, was unaware of this, anxiously perusing the grocery store, wondering what he should make for dinner that night. Sure, a small rotisserie chicken, or what was left of it- and a RedBull sounded nice, but he was more focused on the fact that he wanted to make something that both he and Josh would enjoy. Was it going to be a dinner date? Maybe, he wasn’t sure, but he did know he wanted to spend more time with Josh, and if he could invite him over for a simple dinner date night, then that would be enough for now. Indecisive, and a bit giddy at the thought, he might’ve purchased quite a variety of food items, perhaps those that could be made into a taco… Tacos did sound nice right about then, maybe he would test run a taco or two for Josh to try.
“I must be out of my mind.” Tyler sighs, dropping his grocery bags outside of his apartment door as he unlocks it. He throws together a quick snack before putting everything else away. Ned paws at a piece of cheese on the floor, unsure of what to think of it.
“Sss! That is not for you!” Tyler sticks his leg out in Ned’s general direction, causing him to flee. “I’ll get you your food in a second.” He bends down, picking up the piece of cheese, and tosses it into the trash. “Just promise you won’t be a grubby little gremlin when Josh comes over.” Tyler says, but the cat ignores the threat, hopping up onto the counter. “Gremmy-“ He scoops Ned up and plops him back down onto the floor. Tyler grabs a can of cat food and opens the tin, placing the food into a tiny bowl on the floor next to a water dish labeled ‘Chlorine’. Ned happily enjoys his food as Tyler goes to sit down on the couch, and after the pair are well fed, they go to sleep.
The day after was also a work day, meaning Josh’s walks with Jim were earlier in the morning before going off to work. Tyler was up and ready, eagerly waiting for the pair to make their way outside so that he could join them on their walk. It was fairly cold out, given that they had gotten a white Christmas this year. The snow had stuck to the ground, and a few flurries were due in the coming week. Tyler donned his red beanie and a pair of black wool gloves. He paces outside, not only to keep himself warm, but out of nervousness. Tyler wasn’t sure how he was going to act around Josh now because of his newfound feelings.
“You know, I’d been thinking about boots,” Josh says, speaking to the couple with the schnauzer that lived in their apartment complex, “but I don’t think he’d like them very much…” He trails off, noticing Tyler standing out front as they exit the building. The couple say something in response that Tyler couldn’t quite make out, but he was more focused on Jim noticing him, too.
“Alright well, enjoy your walk!” Josh says to the couple and their dog as Jim tugs him forward towards Tyler.
“Tyler!” Josh smiles, trying to control both his and Jim’s excitement.
“Hey guys, mind if I join you?” Tyler asks, returning Josh’s smile.
“We don’t mind at all, do we Jim?” Josh looks down at Jim, who barks in response.
“Good enough for me!” Tyler chuckles as the three of them start to walk along the sidewalk in front of their apartment complex. They stay silent for a minute or two, just taking in each other’s company, and the warmth between them in the brisk air outside.
“So what brings you out and about this early?” Josh questions, breaking the silence.
“Oh, well, um, I thought I’d take you up on your offer. F-from Christmas I mean.” Tyler laughs nervously.
“What? About not going out with us that night?” Josh raises an eyebrow, “I didn’t mind either way, but I appreciate you coming with us today.”
“I wasn’t sure…” Tyler hesitates, “I enjoy spending time with you, so I thought I’d join you on your walk."
“I like spending time with you, too.” Josh meets Tyler’s eyes and grins. Tyler feels his face get warm and he turns away quickly, wringing his hands. “Must’ve missed you yesterday, Jim dragged me over to your place before our walk, but I guess you weren’t home?” Josh asks, taking note of Tyler’s nervousness. Maybe he was avoiding him?
“I was out, actually. I ran to the grocery store yesterday, probably a bit before you guys went out.”
“That’s alright, get anything good?”
“Yeah I…" Tyler musters up some courage, "Did you wanna come over for dinner- sometime?” Tyler asks, “I got a bunch of stuff for making tacos!” He adds, realizing he hadn’t answered Josh’s question.
“I can’t say no to that!” Josh’s lips curl into a smile, “You or tacos.” He playfully shoves Tyler, who instinctively grabs onto Josh’s arm. “Here.” Josh holds out his hand, and as Tyler tries to take it, Josh takes off Tyler’s glove. He wraps Jim’s leash around his wrist and places Tyler’s glove on his own hand before grabbing back onto the leash. He then takes his bare hand and holds Tyler’s now also bare hand in his, interlacing their fingers.
“Is this okay?” Josh asks gently, watching as Tyler nods, too flustered to say anything. They spend the rest of the walk in silence, taking in each precious moment together. Tyler could’ve sworn he’d felt Josh squeeze his hand a few times, but maybe he was just overthinking the feeling of their hands together. Josh’s hand felt rough and calloused, but still warm and comforting in the cold. Before they knew it, they had made their way back to the apartment complex. As they walked inside, Josh lets go of Tyler’s hand, removing the glove from his other hand and places it back onto Tyler’s ungloved hand.
“I’m off New Years Eve.” Josh says coolly, “Tacos at your place?”
“Okay.” Is all Tyler can manage as he scans Josh’s face. His rosy nose and cheeks were from the cold, though Tyler couldn’t help but wonder if Josh could tell how hard he was blushing. “Yeah, New Years, tacos…” He realized Josh was waiting for confirmation before departing.
“Alrighty, we’ll see you then!” Josh’s eyes twinkle as the pair take one last look at each other before parting ways.
December 31st rolls around, and as the sun starts to set, Tyler hears a knock on his apartment door. He opens it to see Josh and Jim standing there, looking as though they had just come back from a walk.
“Hello!” Josh smiles as Jim sticks his face through the door.
“Hi guys,” Tyler steps aside to let Jim follow his nose, “I guess someone smelled food and decided he’d check it out.” Josh chuckles at the comment, trying his best to keep Jim from bolting towards the kitchen.
“Is it alright if he’s here? I don’t mind dropping him off at my place”
“That’s totally fine, as long as he won’t jump up on the counter or anything.”
“No, no, he’d better not.” Josh gives Jim’s leash a firm tug as they step inside Tyler’s apartment.
“I’m sure Ned will be a good kitchen gremlin- erm, uh, guard.” Tyler laughs anxiously.
“If there’s food involved I’m sure Jim won’t even care that he’s there.” Josh beams, taking off Jim’s leash. “What’re we making?” He asks as he follows Tyler into the kitchen.
Jim takes a moment to scope out the area, smelling general cat smell, but nothing too strong. Distant clamoring is heard from the kitchen, and delicious smells of seasoned meats fill the air. Despite Christmas having already happened, Jim knew that he was going to eat good tonight. It was almost as if it was his long awaited award for pairing Josh together with another human. He knew something was up, if not a romance forming, then something very special indeed. Jim had noticed Josh had taken one of Tyler’s gloves when they walked together, but maybe that was so his hand was warm, too. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed they were happy with just one glove on, and the other hands touching. Sometimes Josh would talk to himself or even Jim about it, but all Jim could do was smile his goofy little grin and pant a bit, letting his big ol’ tongue hang out. Josh was definitely a lot less nervous around Tyler now, at least from what Jim could tell, which meant he was getting comfortable and even liked being around him.
In the kitchen, while prepping some tacos for themselves, Tyler offered making Jim his own personal taco, to which Josh laughed and said he would probably eat the whole thing in one big gulp. Tyler agrees and hands Josh a small plate for Jim instead. Before sitting down at the kitchen table, Tyler calls Ned so that he could eat with them. He struts past Jim in an 'I'm better than you' type way, perhaps thinking that Jim wouldn't get to eat. Little does Ned know, Jim is the luckiest one in the house, for now. The pair spent more time talking than eating it seemed, or perhaps Jim just ate his tiny taco plate really quickly. He tried begging for more but eventually gave up when Josh gave him a look of 'stop, and I mean it'.
"Go lay down bud, we'll join you in a little bit." Josh says, feeling bad for ignoring his pup. He knew 'a little bit' could feel like- or actually be hours if not days, so he was slightly more aware of the time after he saying that.
"Is he going back by the couch in the living room?" Tyler cranes his neck to see where Jim had slumped off to.
"Yeah, if he's allowed to." Josh realizes he probably should've asked first, but Tyler seems unbothered.
"Of course! Hopefully Ned won't pester him too much. They've both been fed, so I don’t see why a nap isn't in order."
"Ooh I could go for a nap, but first, more tacos." Josh grins, reaching for another.
"Were you planning to head out after dinner? If you're tired, I don’t mind." Tyler seems slightly disheartened at Josh's assumed departure.
"I could stay up a few more hours. Why, did you wanna stay up 'til midnight?" Josh jokes, but blushes as Tyler enthusiastically nods.
"I used to watch the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Time's Square growing up! I honestly don’t remember why I stopped. Maybe ‘cause I moved out?" Tyler scrunches his face, "Or maybe my siblings got bored of it, my youngest brother's in middle school now I think, so that could be it." He shrugs.
"Well if you wanna feel nostalgic, we can go ahead and watch it." Josh suggests, making Tyler's smile return.
"Cool!" He grins ear to ear, "I think it would be a fun memory to have together!"
Josh can feel the heat returning to his cheeks, but for a different reason this time. He would be ringing in the new year with a new friend, and the possibilities of their future were limitless. He hadn't realized how fast he'd scarfed down his last taco, eager to spend the rest of the night talking with Tyler. He stands up, taking his plate with him into the kitchen, with Tyler following behind. He makes it to the kitchen sink and looks to Tyler before turning on the water.
"Is it alright if I-" Josh starts, but a gentle hand on his back stops him in his tracks.
"Don’t worry about cleaning up! You're my guest, please!" Tyler jokingly shoves Josh's hip aside with his own. He takes both of their plates and starts washing them. "Go make sure our animals are getting along!" He nods his head toward the living room, and Josh reluctantly leaves Tyler at the kitchen sink. (A/N: yOu Don’T KnOw wHat THaT meAnS)
Tyler's mind was racing, knowing that watching the TV for the evening was a risky move. It was a New Year's Eve tradition for everyone in Times Square to kiss once the ball dropped at midnight, a way to celebrate the new year. Only, he wasn't sure if that celebration would be happening in his apartment that night. Secretly, he hoped it would, and if he couldn't kiss Josh, at least he knew he'd get a big ol' lick from Jim. Ned would probably hide due to the noise, but Tyler wouldn't mind the absence of his cat, as he wasn't the one that Tyler wanted the attention from tonight. The sound of Jim barking, perhaps at Josh's command, brought him back to the plate that was still in his hands, sparkling clean, as he'd been scrubbing it absentmindedly for the past few minutes.
"Hey Ty!" Josh calls from the living room. Tyler drops the plate with a clank, surprised by the nickname. Josh pops his head into the kitchen, curious about the noise. "You okay?" His brow furrows but his face relaxes as Tyler nods, hoping Josh didn't see how red his face was. "I was just gonna take Jim out if that's alright, we can chill and watch the TV after we get back?"
"Sure, yeah, have fun on your walk." Tyler didn't mean to be short, but wanted the attention off of him as soon as possible. Josh shoots a glance at Jim, who was panting as he wagged his tail, excited by the mention of a walk.
"Alright Jim, let's go!" Josh says, his footsteps get quieter and quieter as they go down the hall. Tyler breathes a sigh of relief, and quickly makes sure he hadn't broken his dinner plate.
It was freezing out, and the winter air was a shock to the system. Josh exhales, watching a warm puff of breath form in front of him. A large cloud was already forming around Jim's head, but dissipates once he starts sniffing around, coating his nose with a light dusting of snow. Josh’s fingers barely grasp Jim’s leash, and he wishes he had Tyler’s gloves or even his hands to warm his own frigid hands. He thinks back to holding Tyler’s hand during their walk together, and hopes he’ll be able to muster up the courage to be more physical with Tyler, maybe even holding hands with him again tonight. After all, Tyler had in fact hugged Josh on Christmas, perhaps they were starting to get more comfortable around each other. These ideas swirled through Josh’s head until the pair returned from their walk, stepping up to Tyler’s apartment door. Josh closes his eyes for a second and breathes, trying to control his nerves. Big breath in… and out. He walks through the door to see Tyler already on the couch, flipping through channels as Jim bounds inside, running over to greet Tyler.
"Hey Jim! How was your walk?" Tyler asks the dog, giving him a pat on the head, "You're so cold, oh my goodness!" Josh smiles, watching the pair interact as he closes the door behind him.
"Absolutely freezing." Josh says walking over to Tyler, and displays his hand, which slowly starts to regain color. Tyler takes it momentarily, holding the back of Josh's hand up against his cheek.
"Brrr!" Tyler says with a chuckle, letting go of Josh’s hand and watches as Jim sniffs it curiously.
"I don't have anything for you, buddy!” Josh shows Jim his empty hands as he sits down on the couch next to Tyler. "Come lay down, we're all done outside." He points to a spot next to his feet and Jim obediently lies down. Josh sighs as he leans back into the couch, closing his eyes. Tyler finds the correct TV channel, and places the remote on the coffee table in front of him. He notices that Josh still has his eyes closed, and that his cheeks were flushed. Tyler hoped it was just from the cold, but wanted to make sure Josh was alright.
“You okay?” Tyler asks, tilting his head to the side.
“Yeah, why?” Josh looks over at Tyler, who had been picking at his bottom lip anxiously.
“Because your face is all-“ Tyler stops as Josh lifts his hand up, pulling Tyler’s hand away from his mouth.
“Red?” Josh asks, taking Tyler’s hand in his. Tyler nods, and feels his teeth drag along his lip, “Don’t-“ Josh starts calmly, giving Tyler’s hand a comforting squeeze, watching as Tyler frees his lips with a pout.
“Sorry, nervous habit.” Tyler mumbles.
“Do… do I make you nervous?” Josh raises his eyebrows, wondering if they were both secretly nervous around each other and Tyler was just better at hiding it.
“No!” Tyler starts to blush, “Yes… sometimes.”
“I know that’s not what you meant…” Josh pauses, letting go of Tyler’s hand, “but I thought I would ask, ‘cause” he wraps his arm around Tyler’s shoulder, lowering his voice “you make me nervous, too.” Tyler instinctively leans his head onto Josh’s shoulder, gently placing his hand onto Josh’s chest.
“I can tell.” Tyler whispers as he feels Josh’s heart beating. They both smile to themselves, unaware of how relieving this new information was to the other. A small meow is heard as Ned hops up onto the couch. “Oh shush, you can share me.” Tyler runs his fingers along the cat's back, watching it arch before he lays down, snuggling up against his legs. "Attaboy." Tyler coos, with one hand on Josh and the other on Ned, petting him for a few minutes until Ned decides he’s had enough social interaction.
Josh relaxes slightly, resting his head on top of Tyler’s, happy to have Tyler all to himself again. They spend the next few hours watching the New Year’s Eve TV special, silently enjoying each other’s company. At some point, Josh starts subconsciously rubbing Tyler’s back, and Tyler doesn’t mind until he begins to yawn.
“Alright, I think we’re gonna need reinforcements!” Tyler says mid yawn, startling Josh, who was also trying to stay awake.
“Re-huh?” Josh shakes his head and sits up as Tyler nearly jumps up off the couch. He disappears into the kitchen and Josh is left wondering what in the world Tyler was getting. Seconds later, his question is answered as Tyler walks back into the living room with two RedBull cans, one in each hand.
“RedBull?” He asks, extending a can to Josh, who takes it.
“How’d you know?” Josh raises an eyebrow as he opens his can, taking a sip that sends a chill through him. He hadn’t expected it to be cold, or maybe he was just feeling hot from Tyler previously laying on him.
“I didn’t,” Tyler opens his own can, “but I’m kind of addicted so…” he admits sheepishly as he folds his legs up onto the couch.
“I wouldn’t say I’m addicted,” Josh laughs, “but I’m not opposed to them!”
“Well good, ‘cause water won’t keep us up until midnight, and I’m not going out to get coffee at this hour.” Tyler takes a huge gulp of his drink before setting the can down on the coffee table. The noise spooks Jim and he stands up, placing his head on Josh’s knee.
“You’re fine! Look, it was just the can on the table.” He demonstrates with his own RedBull can. Jim watches, but his gaze returns to Josh.
“You’ve already had a whole taco and a half, you’re not getting any- do you need to go out again?” Josh gets up from the couch, not even bothering to grab Jim’s leash, which he hung on the door knob of Tyler’s apartment front door. Josh crosses his arms, trying to stay warm as he watches Jim sniff around outside for a moment before deciding it was time to go back inside. On his way up the stairs he licks at a random pile of snow.
“No you’re not eating that, c’mon lets go.” Josh figures that if he turned and walked away that Jim would follow. He does, but not before taking a huge chomp of snow.
“Didn’t even do anything.” Josh sighs as the pair re-enter Tyler’s apartment moments later.
“No?” Tyler asks, looking at Jim’s sopping wet face. “Something tells me he might’ve just been thirsty.”
“Jim! Did you eat snow?” Josh bends down to look at his panting pup. Tyler goes into the kitchen and comes out with a towel and bowl with some water in it. He gently tries to dry off Jim’s face before putting the bowl on top of the now slightly wet towel. Jim doesn’t fuss, but also isn’t too interested in the water, now that the snow had quenched his thirst.
“Look bud, Ty got you some water, huh? Refreshing!” Josh tries to convince Jim to take a drink, but no luck. Tyler blushes again at the nickname, but tries to distract himself as Ned comes trotting into the living room, having heard the kitchen sink running. Jim takes a few sniffs of him before Ned jumps up onto the couch after realizing there was nothing for him on the floor. He stretches out and purrs, trying to get Tyler’s attention. He scoffs, noticing that Ned had stretched out across the middle of the couch. Tyler leans over and attempts to give Ned belly rubs, which only lasts a few seconds before he rolls over and curls up, not wanting to be disturbed.
“Well, looks like we’re gonna be squished in tight.” Tyler sits down, trying to make enough room for Josh to join without scaring away his cat.
“I don’t mind.” Josh says as he sits down, placing one of his hands on the arm of the couch, and the other on Tyler’s thigh, which immediately tenses up. No longer needing the support, Josh quickly pulls his hand away, only to have Tyler gently lead it back to his leg.
“It’s okay.” He whispers, lacing their fingers together as he rests his head back onto Josh’s shoulder. "Just spooked me is all."
They barely change positions throughout the night, only sitting up to drink their RedBulls, and they hadn’t even considered spreading out after Ned left the couch. If anything, they’d only gotten closer, if that was even possible.
The night somehow flew by faster with the energy drinks in their bloodstream. Perhaps it was that they were getting anxious for the end of the evening, and thought the time that they had to spend together was slipping away.
Before they knew it, it was 11:59 PM, and the crowd on TV were anxiously waiting to ring in the new year. It wasn’t until the countdown began that Josh realized what was about to happen. These were possibly the slowest 10 seconds of his life, and his brain scrambled to make a decision or form a plan of any sorts, but of course, he froze instead, eyes glued to the TV.
“3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!” The crowd chants, cheers echoing throughout Time’s Square as millions of confetti pieces swirled around in the sky. In his peripheral, Josh can see Tyler moving, but is still fixated on the screen, watching various celebrants kissing each other to ring in the new year. A soft finger traces his jawline, tugging gently just below Josh’s ear. He turns to see Tyler, with rosy cheeks that accompany a bashful smile.
“Happy New Year, Josh.” Tyler says quietly, waiting for some form of acknowledgment. Josh’s eyes flicker down to Tyler’s lips as he nods ever so slightly. As he feels Tyler’s fingers pulling him in, he couldn’t help but lean forward. The show of the fireworks on the television echoed what was going through both of their minds as their lips met. One kiss turned to two, then three, and eventually they had to break away to breathe. Josh shyly looks away, catching his breath, and he hears Tyler sigh heavily.
“Hmm?” Josh asks, and follows Tyler’s eyes to the clock. 12:01 AM
"Does this mean I have to wait until next year to kiss you again?"
"No." Josh places his forehead up against Tyler's. "You can kiss me whenever you want." He bites his lip as Tyler lets out a light chuckle.
“Good. ‘Cause I’ve been wanting to.”
“Ever since my goober of a dog tied us up, I’ve been dying to get this close to you again.” Josh turns to look at Jim, who was happily looking back up at him, tongue out, no thoughts, head empty. Or so it seemed, if only they knew of his plans leading up to that fateful day.
“Who would’ve thought, huh?” Tyler gives Jim a pet on the head. “That we’d end up here.”
“Well if I were to give him any credit, I suppose I could say that Jim saved Christmas.” Josh scratches under Jim’s chin, making him press his big ol’ head up against Josh’s leg.
“And New Years!” Tyler says, and Josh raises an eyebrow at him.
“I’d like to think you get all the credit for saving date night tonight.” Josh’s eyes twinkle as Tyler blushes.
“Yeah?” He asks with a giggle.
“Yeah.” Josh takes Tyler’s chin in between his thumb and index finger, carefully lowering his head so that he can plant a kiss on Tyler’s forehead. Tyler looks back up at Josh with almost a saddened expression.
“We should probably call it a night, huh?”
“You tired?” Josh looks concerned.
“Exhausted.” Tyler moans, dropping his head. “You know how much stressing I’ve done today?”
“I can imagine.” Josh takes Tyler’s hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.
“Getting tacos ready and wondering when you were gonna be here, and then waiting hours until I got to kiss you.” Tyler lifts his head back up with a grin.
“And you knew the whole time.” Josh shakes his head in disbelief, “I don’t know how I forgot about that part of New Years tradition.”
“I did know the whole time!” Tyler seems proud of himself, “Only thing I didn’t know was that you were gonna be such a good kisser.” He can barely finish his sentence before Josh starts attacking his face with kisses.
“Neither. Did. I.” He manages between kisses, but the second Tyler registers what he meant, he pulls away in shock.
“You’re joking.” Tyler furrows his brow as Josh shakes his head no. “There’s no way.”
“You were a good first.” Josh’s eyes linger around Tyler’s lips, avoiding his wide eyes. Tyler goes to lean in, trying to further disprove the fact that he was somehow Josh’s first and only kiss, but he’s interrupted by Jim, who barks quite loudly.
“I know, it’s past your bed time.” Josh sighs, slowly standing up from the couch. Tyler also stands up, taking hold of Josh’s hand.
“I think he’s more upset that I’m stealing all your kisses from him.” Tyler teases, finally able to meet Josh’s eyes.
“I’d be jealous, too.” Josh takes a step towards Tyler and they kiss a few more times. Tyler hesitates to pull away, but knows he’s kept Josh long enough.
“I should probably let you guys go, though.” Tyler says as Jim’s big brown eyes catch his attention.
“Yeah, probably.” Josh starts heading toward the front door, Jim obediently following behind. “Come walk with us again sometime?”
“Sure.” Tyler smiles, watching as Josh opens the front door and Jim nearly sprints out. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight Tyler.” Josh takes a step through the doorway, “Happy New Year.”