Chapter Text
It was two days before Tyler’s little brother Zack’s birthday, and he had yet to buy him a gift.
“Fuck,” Tyler exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair. He had been pacing around his apartment for far too long, tapping against every surface and biting at his nails. “What do nine-year-old boys even like? Video games? Toys??”
“Chill, my man,” Mark snickered, lounging back on their couch and taking a sip of his beer. “Just ask him.”
“It’s too late!” Tyler groaned. He settled down on the couch beside Mark and snatched his booze, muttering something barely coherent about Mark not being any help. He took a long swig and set it down on the coffee table in front of them.
“He likes Star Wars, yeah?” Mark shrugged, nudging Tyler’s shoulder. “Get him a figurine set from the toy shop downtown.”
Tyler’s eyes lit up, and he turned to face Mark slowly. “You smart son-of-a-bitch, Mark!” He grinned widely. “Oh, I could kiss you right now!”
“Please don’t,” Mark huffed in laughter, bending over and grabbing Tyler’s keys for him. “Now go and buy it already.”
Tyler snatched the keys out of Mark’s hand and scampered to the door, hustling down the stairs and crawling into the driver’s seat of his car. He jammed the keys in and twisted, off to the toy store.
-
It was sprinkling outside, the droplets of water tickling Tyler’s skin. Early September brought a weird, almost uncomfortable temperature to Ohio; cold enough to warrant wearing a jacket, but too warm to actually enjoy wearing one. Tyler pulled the hoodie of his thin puffer jacket over his hair to keep it dry, scuffing his feet in the shallow puddles.
He had finally found the damn toy store; apparently, Google Maps had told him to park two whole blocks down. Already irritated, he huffed and puffed his way into Big Fun Columbus, the enthusiastic ding! sound the door made doing little to ease his frustration. His gaze roamed around the small shop, slightly in awe of the many shelves of vintage figurines and toys lining the walls. He wondered how they fit so much into such little space. He also wondered how the employees weren’t constantly knocking shelves down when restocking.
He picked up a figure from one of the columns in the back, grazing over it with his fingers. It was still in the package, corners frayed by the wear of time and dusty around every edge. It was Ash from Pokémon, a series that Tyler recalled loving when he was younger.
“You can’t touch that,” a firm voice boomed from the side of the store.
Tyler’s eyes widened, and he turned to find the owner of the voice. A young man—early 20s, Tyler presumed—was lounging at the front desk and reading a book of which Tyler couldn’t make out the title. He had thick, nearly black curls that framed his face, and gauged ears that shimmered in the bright flourescent lights of the store. His eyes were deep and rich, latching onto Tyler’s figure and assessing him.
“Oh,” Tyler said, a little panicked. “Oh, shit—my bad.” He chuckled awkwardly and frantically put the figure back in place.
“I’m fuckin’ with you,” the man laughed hardily, putting his book down to fully focus on Tyler. “You can touch that thing. I don’t care.”
Tyler sighed in relief and took a step back from the shelf, fidgeting with his hair. “Oh. Kay.”
“I mean, I dont even think I would care if you stole it,” The man shrugged casually, leaning back in his chair. “I really don’t get paid enough to care.”
“Oh,” Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Good to know…?” His eye caught a name tag attached to the man’s vibrant uniform—Josh. He gave Josh a once-over and was quickly starting to realize that this guy was cute. Like, really cute. Weird, but cute.
“I haven’t seen you around,” Josh rested his cheek onto his knuckles. “You new to Columbus?”
“Born and raised, actually,” Tyler corrected, letting out a soft chuckle before adding, “Just… don’t play with toys often. Birthday gift for my little brother.”
“Brother, huh? That’s sweet of you.” Josh leaned in even further, and Tyler suddenly felt awkward. Did the room get hotter?
“Eh, I kind of have to,” he shrugged nonchalantly. “Mom would kick my ass if I didn’t come to Zach’s ‘super special’ ninth birthday party and buy him a gift.”
Josh laughed, toying with the spine of his book. “Still. Sweet.”
Tyler cleared his throat nervously and eyed the shelf. On the top row, a set of small Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith figurines was on display. That was his and Zach’s favorite movie. He snatched the box and eyed it before shoving it across the cashier’s desk.
Josh scanned the barcode of the toy, discreetly catching glances of Tyler as he did so. “That’ll be fifty bucks, my man.”
Tyler’s mouth went dry. “Fifty bucks?!” he whispered sharply. “That’s insane!”
“What, can’t get a little frivolous with your money for a relative?” Josh joked, smirking.
“I-I’m in college debt! I can’t just drop fifty fuckin’ dollars on some Star Wars figures! I need to pay rent, I need to pay for food, I-” he groaned and ran a hand down his face. “I’ll buy something else.”
Josh’s smile fell into a more sympathetic expression. He looked around the room carefully before sighing. “Here,” he spoke, his voice soft, “I’ll pay for it.”
Tyler’s jaw went slack. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Hey, it’s okay, my man,” Josh smiled, shifting around in his pocket and pulling out two 20-dollar bills and a 10. He passed it to Tyler without hesitation. “I’m doing pretty well financially lately. Let me be charitable.” His eyebrows furrowed kindly, staring deep into Tyler’s soul as if egging him on to take it.
“I… alright,” Tyler nodded, passing the money back to Josh so he could ring up the toy.
“Perfect,” Josh grinned wider. “On one condition.”
“I’m not sucking your dick,” Tyler said quickly.
Josh let out a bark of laughter, his hands freezing in the position they were in. “Dude, I was gonna ask for your number! God, you are cute.”
“Oh, shit,” Tyler chuckled along, fidgeting with his shirt sleeve. “Well, uh, alright.”
Josh passed him his phone, and he typed in his number. He even made a contact for himself, naming it ‘Tyler Toy Store Guy’.
Josh took it back eagerly. “Your name is Tyler Toy Store Guy?” he chuckled.
“You’re not funny,” Tyler huffed, but despite himself, he let out a soft laugh. “Alright, Josh. Do you actually want me to text you, or are you just being nice?”
“Text me,” Josh nodded, finishing scanning up the figurines and passing it back to Tyler. “You seem dope.”
Tyler took the box and looked into it, staring at the little characters in it. “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice flooded with true gratitude. “So much.”
“Good luck with those student loans, yeah?” Josh tilted his head to the left like a dog. “And your little brother.”
“Yeah,” Tyler nodded, tearing his body away from the desk and walking for the door, “Yeah, alright. I’ll text you!” He called out. He could feel Josh’s eyes lingering on the back of his head as he exited the store.