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sunlight had a way of making things more beautiful. there was something about it that made things seem a little lovelier, almost ethereal. but sunlight had nothing on josh. there were very few things that were too beautiful to be improved by sunlight, but he was one of them.
they usually kept their bedroom curtains shut on days off, usually preferred to be as shut off from the rest of the world as possible. but it'd been forgotten the night before, the thought lost in the chaos of hands and lips and discarded clothes. now the result was a thick strip of sunlight, impossibly bright, falling down the center of the room like a ribbon of spotlight, highlighting every detail of the boy next to tyler.
he loved every moment with josh, the careful ones in the back of a nearly empty bus, the loud ones spent with overzealous fans, the slow ones in the comfort of their hometown after tour and all the mayhem that came with it had died down for a while, but these. the moments he had to himself to simply be here and watch (admire) his boy. these were his favorite. these were moments he knew they didn't have enough of, probably wouldn't as long as they kept up this life. but as long as he had them.
josh was still perfectly unaware, dead to the world, breathing still slow and quiet, and tyler wanted him to stay this way as long as he could, was grateful for any relief josh could find from his own head. he knew the feeling. touring had a tendency to leave them both a bit on edge, a bit empty, until they fell back into the routine of being home.
the strip of sunlight was gradually widening, capturing more and more of josh's features in its glow. the sharp curve of his shoulder, the pale skin spattered with freckles, the newly dyed unruly yellow hair. it suited him, tyler thought, though most colors did.
josh stirred slightly, sharper intake of breath, hand tightening around the blankets in his grasp. tyler slid his hand up to josh's, ran a thumb over his too-cold fingers. josh was still plenty asleep, despite the movement, and though tyler usually felt bad about waking him up on a day off, he was impatient. he resorted to tapping josh's nose, not his favorite way of waking the older boy up but effective enough. it didn't take long for josh to blink up at tyler with those tired brown eyes he'd grown so fond of waking up to.
"there he is," tyler murmured, tracing a slow line up josh's nose. josh's smile was small and still half-asleep, eyes sliding shut again to revel in the affection it was undoubtedly too early for. a quiet "hey," muffled by his pillow and sleep.
tyler shifted a bit closer, fingers finding their way to josh's hair to card through the tangles, "morning sunshine." josh opened one eye, smile widening, and tyler only tugged on a bright yellow strand for emphasis. the new name elicited a soft laugh, and josh hid his face in the covers, "oh my gosh." sometimes tyler's affinity for petnames bordered on ridiculous.
tyler grinned, pressed a kiss to the top of his head, "couldn't help myself." josh tugged the covers down and opted instead to rest his forehead on tyler's chest, head tucked under his chin, "you're such a sap," tyler could feel the smile against his skin.
tyler hummed in agreement, traced idle patterns along josh's spine, knew it probably wouldn't be long before they both drifted back off. he sighed contently through his nose, pulled the covers back up around the two of them. "all your fault."