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Chapter Text

Josh ambles into Spanish class on Tuesday morning with a certain degree of dread firmly embedded in his mind. He does not get why he has to learn all those dumb els and las and Js that sound like Hs and Vs that sound like Bs. Well, he does get it - it's because it would be super fucking cool to be able to speak another language - but he just can't do it. And now, the beginning of another school year will inevitably bring with it a new partner who will get fed up with him trying, and failing. He groans internally.

"Josh," Señora Rodriguez smiles as he trudges reluctantly into the classroom. "Hola. Can you sit... hmm... aquí." She gestures the desk to her left, empty. Josh tries to stop his face showing the sinking feeling in his stomach; if there is one thing worse than Spanish class, it's spending Spanish class sat on a desk alone at the front of the room. Why him? He sits down on one of the two chairs at the desk and slings his bag moodily onto the chair to his right.

"¡Vale, chicos!" Sra. Rodriguez claps her hands together for silence (far too enthusiastically, in Josh's opinion) and the low chatter around the room dies out. "We are going to revise the basics in today's class, yes? Please introduce yourselves to your partners in español. Ask lots of questions. ¡Vamos!"

Josh glances around the room at the pairs engaging reluctantly in basic conversational Spanish. He takes out a pen and begins to write instead: Hola. Mi llamo Josh y tengo 18 anos. Vivo Ohio con mi familia.

He pauses.

The silence is broken by a sudden slam of the door as a kid with perfectly fluffed brown hair and a cute smile bursts into the room. His face is flushed, like he's been running. "Lo siento, Señora Rodriguez," he gabbles. "Tuve que hablar con mi profe de matemáticas sobre mis deberes. Disculpa por llegar tarde."

The teacher looks at him fondly. Suck up. Josh is definitely not bitter that the dude can coherently string together more than 4 words of the Spanish language. "Ah, no te preocupes, Tyler," the teacher smiles. "¿Como estás?"

"Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú, señora?"

"Bien. Siéntate aquí, por favor, Tyler."

"Vale. Gracias." Tyler slides into the seat beside Josh and before he's even taken his own books out his eyes scan over Josh's wobbly handwriting. His finger drift lightly over the page. "You need an eñe on that, dude."

"What?" Josh looks up at Tyler blankly. Is this kid talking another language? How is Josh supposed to know what an enyay is?

The brunette smirks. "An eñe. You know, the little squiggly line over the n. On años."

"Oh." Josh looks, bewildered, from the boy's unblinking brown eyes to his book and back again. He adds a little curvy line to the word. "Well, does it make a difference?"

"Yeah, kind of," Tyler's eyes are laughing at him as he leans forward and whispers in Josh's ear. Josh does definitely not feel a little hot under the collar as the boy's silky breath warms his neck. "Tengo 18 años means I am 18. Tengo 18 anos means I have 18 assholes," He winks. "That would definitely make for interesting sex."

Josh flushes an even brighter shade of red, half from embarrassment but the other half from anger. Who does this punk think he is, waltzing into the classroom five minutes late and proceeding to correct his work without Josh asking him to? He shakes his head in disbelief, letting a stray red curl fall across his forehead. He feels like making a comment about the fact that the only asshole around here is sat right next to him, but he bites his lip and holds it back. Even though it's true.

"Oh, and it's me llamo not mi llamo. And vivo en Ohio." Tyler adds, grinning.

Josh tries not to snap. "Thanks."

"De nada." Tyler replies, and Josh glares at him. He raises his hands innocently. "Woah, dude, what did I do?"

"Nothing." Josh responds through gritted teeth. Okay, so it comes off a little more hostile than he'd intended, but at least he's managed not to swear at the kid. And Josh thinks that's quite an achievement in itself, given the circumstances.

"I'm only trying to help." The little fucker. Josh glares at him, but remains silent. In spite of himself, he does not want to get into a fight with this guy, yet. He concentrates on writing his next sentence, but he can feel Tyler's eyes on him. When he looks up, the boy is still looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

"What?" Tyler mimics gently. He laughs, and, unsurprisingly, Josh does not reciprocate.

"Why are you staring at me?" He mumbles instead, albeit a little less confidently than before.

Tyler shrugs. "Sorry, man. We're supposed to be getting to know each other." Josh says nothing, and rolls his eyes. When it becomes clear that he's not about to willingly volunteer any information, Tyler continues speaking. "Well, guess I'll start. Hola, me llamo Tyler y tengo 17 años, pero cumpliré 18 años en diciembre. Vivo aquí, en Columbus, y voy a este instituto desde hace cuatro años. Tengo dos hermanos y una hermana. Me gusta cantar y tocar el piano y el ukulele; me encanta la música y por eso me gustaría ser músico en el futuro." He turns to the redhead. "¿Y tú? Te llamas Josh, ¿no?"

Josh never understood why the Spanish add "no?" to the end of all their questions. Is he supposed to answer affirmatively, or agree with a no himself, or does it turn it into some sort of rhetorical question that he's not expected to answer anyway? He panics, and goes for the safer, explanatory option. "Si. Me llamo Josh."

Tyler beams and switches momentarily back into English. Josh would be lying if he didn't say he was at least a little relieved. "Josh... Dun?" A nod. "Hey, weren't you in my English last year?"

Josh shrugged. "Yeah. English is something I can do. Unlike this."

Sra. Rodriguez's head whips round to face them at the use of the English language in her class, one eyebrow raised. Tyler hastily switches back to Spanish, and Josh is totally not jealous at the ease with which he does it. "Te cuesta hablar el español, ¿no?"

Josh just looks at him. "Umm... ¿qué?"

Tyler sighs and lowers his voice. "I said, do you struggle with Spanish?"

Josh snorts. "Are you mocking me?"

"No! No. I mean, I can help you, if you want."

"I don't need your help."

Tyler looks at him skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Josh scowls. He doesn't think Tyler notices. The kid turns back to him, a smile in his eyes.

"Entonces, dime algo más, ¿no?"

Oh, for God's sake. It's going to be a long hour.

Tyler keeps being an obnoxious fucker to Josh. He'll always say hola, ¿qué tal? if he sees him in the corridor, the little shit, as if just to rub it in his face that he can speak more Spanish than Josh. Like Josh doesn't barely know what that means. He smiles and translates every little thing for Josh when they're sat in class together, just to show off, Josh is sure. Although he would never admit it, it can be helpful at times, but there comes a point where it's just plain patronising.

"¿Claro?" Sra. Rodriguez asks one day as she finishes explaining their task.

"She says," Tyler hisses in his ear as the teacher shoots Josh a questioning look. "Is that clear?"

And for fuck's sake, if Josh couldn't tell that claro meant clear there would be something really wrong with him. "I know." He snaps. "I'm not a complete idiot, Tyler."

"Okay, then," Tyler looks at him challengingly. "What did she ask us to do, Spanish boy?"

Josh can feel his face reddening as he flusters for the words. "Err... I don't need to prove myself to you." He stares hard at his textbook, hoping the English translation will appear to him out of thin air. Sadly, miracles don't exist. Tyler chuckles.

"She told us to write a paragraph about what kind of movies we like and don't like. But you got that, right?"

"Right," Josh nods firmly, and wonders why this kid is offering him a way out. "Thanks." He adds as an afterthought.

"You know," Tyler shuffles awkwardly on his seat. Josh can see him out of the corner of his eye. "You know I can help you if you need it, right?"

"I don't need your help, man."

 "Right." Tyler fixes him with a gaze. "Well, I'm here if you do. Like, if you wanna study for the test together or anything." Josh looks at him hard. "Or not. Whatever's cool, dude."

Josh begins to write. Me gusta las peliculas de acción porque me intereso. It's going well until Tyler lets out a giggle that's more than just a bit distracting, and Josh would be lying if he said he didn't find it at least a little cute. Woah, okay, not cute. That was the wrong word. What the fuck, Josh? Where did that come from? Also, what the hell was this boy's problem? Josh turns to look at him, unimpressed. "What is it?"

"Me intereso..." Tyler's finger lightly traces his writing. "It means 'I interest myself.' You should say 'me interesan'. They interest me."

"Whatever, man." Josh corrects it anyway. But not because Tyler told him to, because he realised his mistake himself, obviously. He continues writing. Odio las películas de horror ya que me dan mierda. But then he looks up, and Tyler is still watching him. "You got a problem with this one, too?" he asks drily.

Tyler tries not to hide the smirk on his face. "Uh, yeah. Unless you're trying to say horror films give you shit, I assume you mean miedo."

For fuck's sake. Josh's face blooms a fresh shade of beetroot. "Maybe I did mean that." he mutters as he hastily corrects it.

Tyler's eyes are laughing at him, and Josh doesn't like it. "Sure you did, dude." Not even one bit. Nope, not at all.

He doesn't think he's ever been more relieved than when the blessed bell sounds for next period and Josh collects up his stuff and makes a bolt for the door. He ignores Tyler's cheery ¡adios! on the way out, and doesn't think about him once for the rest of his English period.

"¡No olvidéis que tenemos una prueba en nuestra próxima clase, chicos!" Sra. Rodriguez calls as he leaves. Josh pretends not to hear, until a familiar brown haired kid appears at his side.

"You wanna revise for the test together?" Tyler's face is full of hope, and for a moment Josh almost feels bad about saying no to him. Just for a moment.

"No!" He bursts out. "Look, I don't know if you're just really bad at taking hints, or what, Tyler, but I don't really want any more to do with you than is absolutely necessary." He rolls his eyes. "¿Claro?" His voice positively drips with sarcasm.

Poor Tyler's eyes widen, and for a moment Josh feels like he's just kicked a puppy. But only a moment, mind, as the expression melts away and Tyler's eyes are refilled with a fire Josh didn't know he had. It's kind of hot, not gonna lie.

"Claro." Tyler echoes, and stalks off down the hallway, muttering to himself. "Hijo de puta."

Josh doesn't know what that means, but he thinks he can guess.

"How did you do?" 

They've just got their graded tests back, and Josh forgets he's not talking to Tyler. The brunette turns to look at him slowly. "Oh, you're talking to me now, are you?"

"Well." Josh, for once, doesn't know what to say.

"What's it to you, anyway?" When Josh doesn't answer, the expression on his face hardens. "Oh, I get it. You didn't do very well, and now you want to come begging to me to see if I, out of the goodness of my heart, will offer you help again? Hm?" Josh says nothing. Tyler reaches across the desk to read the grade circled on the front of Josh's paper. 42%. Decepcionante, Josh. "Oh my God," Tyler shakes his head in desperation. "You are unbelievable."

"Hey, it's not my fau-"

"Not that," Tyler looks at him incredulously. "I couldn't give less of a shit that you failed your test. It's that you have the audacity to tell me you don't need my help, and then go and fuck up as miraculously as that, and then ask me how I did and expect me to feel sorry for you. Man." He chucks the pile of papers back in disgust. "And you don't even apologise."

Josh totally doesn't care that Tyler just snapped at him.

He sighs, and flicks absently through his test to see where he went wrong. Or more accurately, which parts he actually managed to get right (they were definitely in the minority). It was the fucking spellings that got him, the double l's and what ever other shit there was in Spanish. Oh look, he'd fucked up again there! And there! What a surprise! Josh is sure his teacher can sense the passive aggression radiating from him as he flicks through the pages.

But hey, there is it, one of the few questions he actually did do pretty well on. Number four. Josh reads it in his head in his best Spanish accent.

Lee el párrafo y rellena los huecos con las palabras correctas.

He scans the text briefly and moves onto the questions.

Rellena los huecos:

Juan vive _________ con su familia y nació en 19__.  Ahora, él tiene _______.

Ok, so fuck the first two, Josh didn't get those. But in the third gap, he's written: 36 años.

Fuck yes, he's remembered the enyay! Or whatever the heck Tyler called it. Josh finds himself glowing with pride at his mediocre accomplishment, and turns excitedly to Tyler to tell him.

Then he remembers. He and Tyler aren't talking. Even more so than they were (weren't?) before.

Ah.

As he eats his Frosties at the kitchen table later that day, Josh contemplates the reasons why he doesn't like Tyler in the first place. He comes up with exactly three:

1) he can speak better spanish than me

2) he laughs at my mistakes

3) he was late to our first class.

Reluctantly, he crosses number 3 off the list. He couldn't really give a shit about what time anyone turns up to class, it's school. Also, Tyler's laugh is kind of one of the cutest things he's ever heard, so he doesn't care about number 2 either.

What the fuck, Josh? That's weird. He pushes the thought out of his head.

So really, that just leaves number one. 

Is that even a reason to hate someone? What the actual fuck, Josh.

Josh groans at his own stupidity and gets up from the table, scraping the rest of his soggy cereal into the bin. He trudges upstairs and throws himself down onto his bed. Why does he care so much about this Tyler kid anyway, with the annoying pretty eyes and stupid attractive Spanish accent?

He doesn't, and that's the end of it.

But maybe... maybe they could try being friends. No harm in that, right? Right. Josh smiles to himself.

Chapter Text

Reconciling the situation with Tyler turns out to be harder than Josh first thought.

For one, the boy doesn't even look at him in classes anymore. When they have to do pair work, he'll deliberately turn around and babble away in Spanish to a kid Josh doesn't know. What's more, he doesn't even understand what they're saying, so for all he knows they could be bitching about how much of a asshole he is every lesson. It bothers him, a little. Or a lot. Also, he kind of misses the little voice whispering English translations to him, even when he knows perfectly well what Sra. Rodriguez is saying. Not least because it was a soft and gentle voice whose mellow breath tickled his neck and made him shiver in the warm, pleasant sort of way.

It takes him nearly two weeks to pluck up the nerve to talk to Tyler again. It's a Tuesday again, sunny, and Josh hopes that's a good sign. So he sits down beside Tyler and gives him a smile.

Tyler ignores him. Okay, Josh, maybe you spoke too soon.

He almost chickens out. Almost. But then he catches him on the way out of class, caught in a brief moment of indecision as he glances back down the corridor as if he's not quite sure where he's going. Josh sees his chance, and jumps for it. "Tyler!" he calls. He's pretty sure Tyler pretends not to hear him, but then he's at his side and there's honestly no way the kid's getting out of this. Josh bites his lip, and speaks quickly for fear that he'll turn on his heel and run as far from Josh as he can possibly get. He wouldn't blame him, to be honest. "Tyler, can we talk?" he starts. "Look, I - I'm really sorry, man. I've been a dick to you, I know, and I know you were only trying to help me and I was an asshole because I thought I knew it all, and you're completely right if you don't want to see my sorry butt again, dude, but... can we start again? Please?"

Is Tyler... is Tyler laughing at him? He is, the little shit. His eyes start sparkling in a way that almost seems familiar and the corners of his mouth twitch.

"Go ahead," Josh sighs in fake annoyance. "My pride is already down that drain. Laugh at me all you want."

Tyler's face breaks out into a full grin then, and Josh has to try very hard not to let his own light up in response. Because honestly, Tyler's smile is cuter than puppies and baby hedgehogs all mixed together.

Umm... okay. That was a weird thing to think.

Then Tyler speaks, and Josh's heart swells even more from happiness. "I'm not laughing at you, Josh. Dude, I forgive you. I was a dick to you, too, I mean, I just get a little carried away sometimes, I'm just a giant Spanish nerd, I guess, and I forget other people aren't as keen." He ducks his head, smiling, and Josh kind of wants to hug him. But that'd be really weird and inappropriate.

"Nah, you're cool, man. Really, I was the bigger dick."

"No, I was."

"Tyler. I was."

"Josh." Tyler's eyes sparkle innocently. "I think could show you a thing or two about big dicks." And he winks and walks off down the corridor, leaving a very red in the face Josh staring after him and wondering why his dirty jokes are getting him so worked up. After a minute, or maybe longer, he remembers to close his jaw and ambles, bewildered, to his next class. But there's still something bugging him, and it has a lot to do with a Spanish-speaking ukelele-playing kid named Tyler.

"So," Tyler asks the next time Josh fucks up in Spanish. "If I reinforce my offer to help you, will I get shot down again or will you consider it?" His tone is light and teasing, but Josh can still feel his face colouring with guilt at the memory. Or at least, he tells himself it's guilt.

"No," he grins sheepishly. "I've learnt my lesson, dude. But, uh, are you sure?" A nervous laugh. "I mean, I've got a long way to go. It might take a while to help me improve at all."

Tyler shrugs and bumps his shoulder lightly with his own. Josh's skin tingles at the contact. "Dude, I don't mind. I mean," he smiles. "that's what friends do, right?" The beam that spreads across Josh's face when Tyler uses the word 'friends' is embarrassingly wide. He coughs and tries to hide it quickly, but it's too late, Tyler's seen it, and he laughs, bemused. "You're pretty cute, Josh."

What was that? Not Josh blushing, that's for sure. He looks down quickly, and mumbles something like "y tú también" out of a sort of social pressure rather than truth. He totally doesn't think Tyler is cute. That would be gay.

"¿Ah, estamos hablando en español ahora?" Tyler asks, still laughing. "Pienso que intentas cambiar del tema, ¿no?"

"No entiendo." Josh lies back, and the two exchange a look. Neither of them believe him. He rambles on. "Anyway, when do you wanna start? With helping me, I mean. If you're still cool to do that."

"I'd hardly've changed my mind in the last 30 seconds, would I?" Tyler rolls his eyes. "Of course it's cool, man. I have basketball on Monday, Thursday and Friday, but I can do today or tomorrow?"

"Either works for me."

"Okay. Tonight, then?"

"Sounds good. Thanks so much, dude, seriously."

"It's nothing." Tyler says good-naturedly, but Josh could swear his cheeks tinge a little in pleasure. "I'll meet you by the gate at the end of the day?"

"Sure." Josh nods. He wonders what to say that will make him look sufficiently grateful but not overly keen. "Looking forward to it."

Okay, so maybe he can't manage both at once. But Tyler doesn't seem to notice. "Great!" He beams.

Josh tells himself he's not looking forward to this little study date as much as the grin on his face keeps trying to convince him he is. In fact, he's dreading it. Completely. Two extra hours of Spanish, out of his own time? It sounds awful, really. Horrible, in fact. Of course, it helps that he has a really cute teacher.

Wait, where did that come from? Why does he keep thinking this about Tyler? Weird.

He's waiting by the gate when Tyler walks up with a couple of his mates Josh recognises from pre-calc, and he raises his hand in a small wave as he approaches the red-headed boy. Josh nearly blushes, and copies him, trying not to smile too wide. One of Tyler's friends is talking to him but the boy's gaze is fixed on Josh, and he smiles back. Okay, about the blushing situation: maybe Josh spoke too soon.

"Hola, Josh," Tyler says as he slows to a stop in front of him. "¿Estás listo para repasar un poco del español?"

"Sí." Josh says with a small, smug smile at being able to understand. He gets the impression that the same can't be said for Tyler's friends, and it makes him feel excited, like he and Tyler are sharing a secret together. Then he realises he hasn't said very much and Tyler and Tyler's friends are looking at him expectantly, and he flails for the right words. Okay, so maybe he wants to impress the boy a little. "Me quiero mucho repasar el español, eres mi favorito."

Tyler's face breaks out into laughter and as the sound rings in Josh's ears he feels his cheeks going red again. He guesses the whole impressing thing didn't work too well, and to be honest he has no idea what he just said.

"I'm your favourite, am I?" Tyler asks, grinning, teasing but not mocking. Shit, he wasn't supposed to say that, though. "Josh, if have something to tell me..."

"No!" He yelps, a little too quickly. "I meant es mi favorito. Spanish, I mean."

"Really?" Tyler raises an eyebrow, clearly amused by the whole situation. "Because last time I checked, you were hating Spanish and failing it..."

"Shut up." Josh whacks him lightly in the arm, all hope of acting smooth in front of his crush Spanish tutor going out of the window. "Let's go to the library and get this shit started, you nerd."

"Oh," Tyler pauses. "I was thinking we could go to my house, if that's cool with you."

Josh tries not to look too shocked/excited/nervous at the prospect of having to sit in Tyler's bedroom with him and focus on everything other than getting him into the bed- wait, wait, wait, backup. Where did that come from? Since when does Josh want to get Tyler into bed?

Um, maybe all this Spanish is making him think funny. He shakes his head slightly, confused.

"Joshie?" Tyler's waving his hand in front of Josh's face, trying to get his attention. "You alright, dude? You drifted off for a second."

"Yeah." Josh can definitely feel the colour returning to his face. "Yeah, yeah, that's cool."

"Okay." Tyler doesn't look like he believes him. "If you're sure there's nothing bothering you. You can tell me, you know."

"No!" God, no. "I'm sure. 100%. Vamos."

Tyler still looks unconvinced. But he shrugs, and starts slowly towards the exit from school."Sí, vamos."

When they arrive at Tyler's house his dad gives them a plate of freshly made cookies and they take the stairs to his room, Josh dubiously following his friend. He isn't expecting the boy's room to be so nerdy, but in a cute way, with, like, glow in the dark stars and a map of the world and shit. It makes Josh smile.

Tyler throws himself down on his bed and gestures for Josh to join him. "Make yourself at home, don't look so awkward, dude!"

Josh just looks at him, awkwardly.

"Siéntate." Tyler pats the space on the duvet beside him with a smile and Josh reluctantly sits down, as far away from Tyler as he can manage on the small single bed. The brunette cocks his head and looks at him, concerned.

"You're sure you're okay? If you felt uncomfortable saying it in front of Chris and Mark, you can tell me now if something's up."

"Thanks, but I'm fine, I swear." Yeah, actually, I think you're really cute and you're making me question my sexuality and I'm not really sure what to do, but it's cool. Josh rolls his eyes at himself. His brain is always so over-dramatic.

"Well, then." Tyler shrugs and pulls a bunch of papers from his bag. "I thought we could start by going over your test and I can help you on where you went wrong, and then maybe after that we can go over the present tense? So you know not to go around telling people they're your favourite anymore?" He grins at the redhead teasingly. "Or are you just saving that one for me?"

"Only for you, Tyler." Josh jokes back, and then regrets it. Oh God, was that flirting? Did he just flirt with Tyler Joseph? He doesn't know how gay flirting works, and if that qualifies as it. He hopes not. Oh, shit. Shit shit shit. But Tyler just smiles and winks cheekily back, and Josh breaths a sigh of relief when he realises the other boy took it as a joke, too. He worries too much, he swears.

"Pues, ¿empezamos?" Tyler asks.

"Er... sí, por supuesto."

 "Josh," Tyler looks at him, giggles, and Josh thinks his heart might burst because it's just so cute. "You could sound a little more motivated about this."

"Sorry," He dredges up a smile and rakes a hand through his curly red hair, which promptly falls back into his face. "It's kinda hard to find motivation for doing extra Spanish. Not that," he pauses, frowning. "Not that I don't appreciate you trying to help me because I really do, dude, seriously, I appreciate it a lot."

"Dude, it's fine." Tyler laughs. "We can do it later if you want. Like, do you wanna play a video game or something now instead?" The smile tugs on his lips as he speaks, and when Josh nods enthusiastically, it spreads across his face like a little ray of sunshine. "I knew that'd get you interested." he laughs again. "I'll go get the controllers."

"I don't see you complaining." Josh teases. Tyler clambers off the bed and turns around to stick his tongue out at him, and he rolls his eyes. "I'm gonna beat you, anyway."

"We'll see about that!" Tyler chucks him a controller and jumps back onto the bed, falling back accidentally onto Josh's arm, and Josh's breath catches in his throat as the boy leans up against him as the game starts up. He likes the way Tyler's body feels warm and comforting pressed up on his side and the way he can feel the vibrations as he laughs or cries out in protest as Josh tries to cheat, and he especially likes when the game ends and Tyler's won and he looks up at Josh with the cutest smug grin that Josh has ever seen on a boy, goddammit. 

He would never admit it. "I hate you." he mock grumbles, and Tyler just keeps giving him that winning smile of his.

"That's a lie."

"Maybe." Josh winks and he swears he sees a little pink colour in the younger boy's cheeks. But it's probably his imagination. It's running away with him nowadays, making him feel all kinds of things he shouldn't be feeling, and goddammit is that the time already? "I should probably go," Josh mumbles, and Tyler's face falls a little.

"Pero no hemos hablado ningún español," he says, and Josh falters at the door.

"Pues... supongo que podría quedarme un poco más."

 "Fantástico." Tyler smiles, and Josh feels a sort of mix of emotions wash over him, part relief and part something he can't quite identify. He flops back onto Tyler's bed like it's the most familiar thing in the world to do.

"Tyler Joseph, eres mala influencia."

The boy's eyes crinkle happily at the corners. "Ah, ¿qué puedo decir? Es verdad."

"Entonces, ¿es suficiente español para hoy?"

Tyler pauses and pretends to think about it, then the glint returns to his eye. "Bueno... sure. Ready to get beaten at Mariokart again?"

"Oh, don't you wish, boy." Josh knows he's going to lose.

"¡Hola, chicos!" Sra. Rodriguez says breezily as she enters the classroom a few weeks later, and it doesn't bother Josh as much as it used to. He's been going round to Tyler's pretty much every day since the first time, if Tyler has basketball, he'll wait in the library and go afterwards, and - although they haven't actually been studying 100% of the time he's been round there - Josh feels like he's improved a lot. As the teacher rambles away in Spanish now, Josh can actually understand a good 70%. It feels good.

"Hoy vamos a empezar el tema de amistad y relaciones. Primero, el objetivo es para aprender cómo hablar de tu novio o novia ideal. Por eso , quiero que al final de esta clase podáis escribir un párrafo sobre el tema '¿que hace a un buen novio?', y por qué. ¿Claro, chicos?"

There's a chorus of half-hearted "sí"s and some "nope"s from the class, and the teacher looks a little exasperated. "Yo dije, this topic is about friendships and relationships, no? We are going to start by telling your partner what you think a boyfriend or girlfriend should be like, chicos. Discuss en parejas, por favor."

Josh turns round and smiles at Tyler. "You go first."

"Lazy bitch."

Josh doesn't react; they've gotten used to each others' insults by now. "Just do it, nerd."

"Vale, vale." Tyler holds his hands up in mock surrender, and clears his throat. "Bueno...diría que un buen novio debe ser una persona que te haga reír, y debes sentir cómodo cuando estás con él. Para mi, mi novio ideal sería alguien que le gusten la música y los abrazos."

"Wait," Josh interrupts. "You made a mistake."

"I did?"

"Yep. Don't look so surprised, Spanish nerd," He chuckles and his eyes glint. "You said novio instead of novia. Wrong gender agreement, right?"

Tyler looks at him blankly. "No, I meant novio."

"But," Josh's brow furrows, before the realisation starts to dawn on him. "...novio means boyfriend."

"Yeah." Tyler's nodding at him like he's an idiot, the ghost of a teasing smile on his lips. "God, Josh, please don't tell me that after all the time you've spent with me recently you still haven't noticed that I'm gay."

"Um..."

Tyler shakes his head, laughing. "Oh my God. Even after all the inappropriate dick jokes you still didn't get it?! Dude." His eyes are still twinkling as he looks down at his desk and back up again. "Straight guys, huh?"

Josh finds himself blushing, and he's not even sure why. He ducks his head, and when he looks up, Tyler's watching him, amused. But as they look at each other and Josh says nothing his eyes colour with something like concern, and he bites his lip; Josh knows him well enough to know that this means he's nervous.

"That's-" Tyler pauses. "We're still cool, right? I mean, that doesn't change anything with our... with our friendship?"

Josh hates seeing him look so nervous and vulnerable, and he hates that Tyler's sexuality has so clearly changed things for him in the past. If they weren't sat in Spanish class right now he'd probably give the boy a hug, but instead, he settles for a hand on his arm. Which he then hastily removes. "God, no," he murmurs. "Please don't think - God, Tyler, that could never change anything. I don't give a shit if you like it up the ass." Tyler's face breaks into a grin, and he hits Josh hard in the arm.

"Oh, piss off."

"You piss off." Josh's smile is just as wide. He tells himself that Tyler liking boys means nothing to him.

In truth, it makes his pulse speed up a little, and his heart a little more hopeful.

Chapter Text

Josh and Tyler sit side by side on his bed, backs against the wall and sides probably pressed a little closer together than social norms for two good friends would define. But hey, neither of them are complaining. It's a Wednesday afternoon, their usual routine of going round Tyler's to revise is in full swing, and the cold afternoon sun shining through the window bathes the small room in a pinkish sort of light.

"So, the preterit," Tyler's saying as Josh distractedly picks pieces from the bowl of popcorn at the end of the bed and chucks them in his vague direction. He tries to be annoyed, but it's a little difficult when you've got someone as attractive as his best friend on your bed. "Josh! Stop it, for- ow!- no I know it didn't hurt but - seriously! You need to learn the preterit tense today, dude."

"Do I really though?" Josh pouts, and Tyler nearly relents.

"You really do."

"Alright, alright," Josh chucks another handful of popcorn down his throat before setting the bowl back down and sitting up, looking up at Tyler expectantly. "What do I need to know?"

"You need to know how to form it. So, for, like -er verbs, do you know how you'd do it?" Josh looks at him blankly. He's come to realise that a lack of participation in Tyler's tutoring classes frequently leads to Tyler ending up doing it for him, and that's the way he likes it. It's totally not because he thinks Tyler talking in Spanish is sexy.

"Right so, it's: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron."  Tyler supplies. "That's for all regular verbs that end in the letters 'er'. ¿Lo entiendes?"

Josh thinks for a moment, chewing on his lip, a look of pure concentration on his face. Finally he looks up. "No."

A sigh. "Um, how do I explain it? Right, as in, like, if I use the verb comer, it'd be: yo comí, tu comiste, él comió, nosotros comimos, vosotros comisteis, ellos comieron. Yeah?"

"Yeah, that makes more sense," Josh nods. "Got it now."

Tyler looks like he doesn't believe him. For good reason, to be honest. He frowns at Josh and folds his arms across his chest. "Use it in a sentence."

Josh thinks for a moment. Watching Tyler's pretty pink mouth form the words and trying to construct a coherent sentence off his own back are two very different things, and Josh would choose the former any day. He looks up at the ceiling, and speaks slowly, as if still trying to form the words in his head as he says them. A cheeky grin forms on his face. "Okay, okay. Um, ¿te dolió cuando te caíste del cielo?"

He thinks that was what he remembers reading on the Spanish pick up line website, anyway. But it must be right, because it had the desired reaction; Tyler goes a bright shade of pink and laughs, ducking his head. It's distractingly cute. "Dios mio, Josh, tienes mucha labia."

"What's that mean?"

"You're really smooth."

"Oh. I know, right?"

Tyler rolls his eyes. "It's called sarcasm, dude. It was awful, you're the worst."

"Dude!" Josh cries, munching absently on another piece of popcorn, and chucking yet another at Tyler's hair, where it lodges itself in the fluffiest part at the top. "That's not fair. Y, ¿en español?"

"Eres lo peor." Tyler answers easily, winking. "No puedes atraparme tan fácilmente."

Josh gives up and goes back to English. "Damn, you're too good for me."

They sit in comfortable silence for a moment. Even so, Josh can feel Tyler's eyes on him, roaming his face, and when he looks up his friend's watching him with a soft expression on his face. He licks his pretty lips, and speaks quietly. "En este momento quiero besarte."

Josh chuckles, but it doesn't break the intensity of Tyler's gaze. "I have no idea what you're saying to me."

"Then maybe I better show you instead." Tyler shuffles closer to him on the bed, and smiles cautiously up at him. Tyler is never shy. He's biting his lip, looking up at the older boy with doe eyes, and suddenly Josh gets an idea of what the verb besar might mean. But he's not gay, right? He gulps.

Wrong, maybe. It's a simple kiss, sweet and tender and nothing more to it, just Tyler leaning over, his hands still folded neatly in his lap, and briefly connecting their lips. It's soft and at an awkward angle, and it can't last for more than one or two seconds, but it leaves Josh's mouth tingling and desperately wanting more. He lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and when he opens his eyes, Tyler's face is still very close to his own, his eyes flitting between Josh's and down to his mouth again. "¿Eso fue bien?" He whispers. Josh nods fervently.

"Sí."

Then it happens again, only it's with a little more passion, and this time Josh reaches out to take Tyler's waist in his hands and pull him awkwardly onto his lap. Tyler giggles into his lips as he does so, and Josh flushes pink."Cállate." he mumbles.

Tyler briefly detaches their mouths and rests his forehead against Josh's, winking. "No dije nada."

"Pero -" But he's cut off as Tyler messily mashes their lips together again, cupping Josh's jaw and slightly pushing himself to his knees either side of Josh's legs as they continue to make out. It's really hot, he isn't gonna lie. A soft moan escapes his lips, and he can practically feel the blood rushing to his crotch. Oh, please not yet, boner. They'd barely been making out two minutes, and he was getting hard already? 

"Alguien está caliente." Tyler comments quietly, smirking. Josh doesn't really register what he's said though, because - well you can't blame him, Tyler's lips are millimeters from his ear as his mouth traces a light trail of kisses down to the column of his throat, and Josh isn't sure he's capable of translating Spanish in that situation: with Tyler's mouth painting bruises onto his neck and then coming back up to explore his lower lip and mouth, his hands just under the edge of Josh's shirt, his ass rubbing a little on Josh's completely not hard dick as they make out. What he does know, though, is that it sounds really fucking hot, and another noise of pure bliss passes his lips.

It's ironic, really, that Spanish has become his weakness.

Tyler draws back from his neck, and Josh tries not to mind, but his skin is still tingling. He's happy. He looks up at the smiling boy sat on his lap with hair messed up from where Josh's fingers have been roaming through it, and thinks that it's probably the prettiest sight he ever has seen in his near nineteen years.

"I would continue," Tyler grins sheepishly, breathless. "But I get the feeling maybe that before now you thought you only liked girls? I don't know. Just an inkling."

"How do you manage to be right about everything all the time?" Josh grumbles, but he's not really annoyed, far from it, and then Tyler laughs and he forgets about everything else.

"Dude, I have my ways. But seriously, I don't wanna rush you, so we should probably stop."

Josh tries not to show his disappointment. But he knows Tyler has a point. He nods, and suddenly crumples a little as the realisation of what this means hits him, but Tyler's arms are around him in an instant stroking his back and his hair and telling him it'll be alright and it's not as scary as it first seems. 

"You can be in the cool kids' club, now." Tyler informs him with a beam and Josh has to smile.

"Mil gracias, Tyler." he mumbles, and they both know he's thanking him for a lot more than just that.

Tyler strokes his hair, pulling him down into his arms so they're cuddling on the bed. He leans down to drop a kiss on Josh's shoulder, and snakes his arms around his waist. "El placer fue el mío."

And Josh snuggles into his chest, feeling like something that hasn't quite been there for the past eighteen years has finally slotted into place.

Class the next day is quiet, and whilst not quite awkward, Josh definitely wouldn't say it's comfortable. He feels like, now he knows the taste of Tyler's lips and how his body feels held against his own, he doesn't quite now how to make normal conversation with him. Tyler, bless him, bubbles away like normal about God knows what, but Josh is unexplainably jittery. He's nervous.

"...Josh?" Tyler asks as they walk out of the classroom and down the hallway to lunch. It's busy at this time of day, but Tyler looks at him in a way that Josh can only describe as tender, and everything else almost fades away. It kind of makes his stomach squirm, but in a nice way. "Are you okay?"

"I..." Josh smiles, unconvincingly. "Yeah. Yeah! I'm good."

Tyler snorts. "You expect me to believe that?"

He shifts uncomfortably. "I don't know what you're talking about."

They younger boy casts a glance around the corridor. "Let's go somewhere quieter, yeah?"

He gives in. "Yeah."

They walk for a while in reserved quietude until they reach an empty classroom, and Josh casts a glance around before pulling Tyler in after him. He takes a seat, gingerly, and Tyler gives him a strange look before sitting down opposite him.

"Do you feel awkward about what we did yesterday?" He blurts out, but he's not angry or disappointed, just concerned. Josh's heart plummets, and he shakes his head vehemently.

"Dude, don't worry, it's not that."

Tyler's brow furrows, and he hesitates before speaking. "Are you sure? I mean... I'd understand. If you do. We can go back to being friends and pretend none of it ever happened."

"No!" Josh protests, a little too keenly, perhaps. "I mean, no. I... don't want that." God, since when was he so inept around Tyler again? He thought he'd got over that. He runs a hand through his hair, and the first traces of a smile tease on Tyler's face.

"Okay... so what do you want?"

Josh pauses. He doesn't really think that what he's about to do is a good idea at all, and he's probably going to ruin everything now, and hell, what if after all this it turns out he's not even gay? That would probably be quite bad. Or something. Josh doesn't know. And he's rambling again.

"Tyler?" He finally gets out.

"Mhm?"

"Would you maybe I dunno wanna let me buy you Taco Bell sometime? You know, for Spanish. Because TB is Mexican, and that's almost Spanish."

Tyler frowns, and falters a little, and then his face breaks out into a smile. "That was it?"

"What?" Suddenly Josh panics and adopts full defensive mode, and crosses his arms across his chest; it's an automatic response, and Tyler nudges him gently to reassure him, but it doesn't help. "I... what do you mean?"

"I thought - dude, I thought you were gonna tell me you weren't even gay and I'd severely fucked up by kissing you. It's just a relief, s'all I meant." Tyler offers him a smaller smile, and it's so cute Josh has no choice but to relax, his arms unfolding themselves and his expression opening up again.

"No. The kissing... I liked it."

Tyler smirks. "I could tell. So," He raises one eyebrow, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. "Joshua Dun, ¿estás pidiéndome salir?"

Josh wrinkles his nose as he translates. Are you asking me to- "To leave?" He asks, giggling.

"No, tonto." Tyler laughs nervously. "To... you know. To go out with you. On a date."

"Oh. Well," Josh ducks his head, shrugging like it's no big deal. His heart definitely isn't beating at 100 miles an hour. For sure. "Supongo que sí. You could call it a date. Only if you want. If you don't, it's like, totally a bro thing. No homo."

Tyler laughs, bemused, and reaches out to trace his index finger down the side of Josh's face and over his bottom lip. Josh swallows nervously, and blushes, again, and Tyler's hand drops back to his side.

"So... is that a yes?"

"What do you think, dummy?" He replies at last, and the two boys exchange a smile that neither of them can hide. "And... I'd prefer the fully homo option, if that's cool."

"I'm glad about that," Josh clarifies, biting his lip and grinning. "That's the option I liked, too."

Tyler nudges his fingers with his own across the table. "Oh my God, you're so cute, Josh."

"Shut up," Josh mumbles again, but his cheeks hurt from sheer joy. "You're cute yourself."

"Oh, come 'ere."

They stand up, awkwardly bumping legs on tables and plastic chairs, until they're facing each other with bodies centimetres apart. They're still beaming happily, on a crush-dazed, teenage high and not really sure where to start, until Josh looks up, and Tyler's eyes are closer than he realised, and then his lips.

So it starts with Tyler leaning in and Josh following suit, and their hands grasp clumsily at the fabric of each others' shirts as they fall together. His mouth is even more lovely than Josh remembers, and he melts into it as the stiltedness melts away with it, and it feels natural again, like the night before in Tyler's bedroom learning the preterit tense with popcorn kernels spilling onto the floor like raindrops. Or not learning the preterit, as the case might've been. With the brunette's tongue pushing softly against his lower lip it's easy to forget that they're stood awkwardly in the centre of a vacant languages classroom, and maybe it's corny as hell but Josh thinks there must be some kind of fate or destiny in that, at least. Or, he would do, but right now his mind is consumed with the soft scent he's begun to associate with Tyler and contentedness, and the soft fabric of the younger boy's jumper against his inner forearms is enough to make a boy want to hold onto him forever. But, as all good things do, it ends; it ends with a gentle hand against his chest, and Tyler takes a step backwards, a light in his eyes and colour in his cheeks that make him look purely and undeniably happy.

"I... this isn't really the place for this." He giggles, and Josh nods, chuckling and stepping away to sling his backpack reluctantly onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, I - I'll see you later? If I pick you up around 7?"

Tyler winks, and an impertinent grin crosses his face. "Qué caballero eres, ¿no?"

"A knight?" Josh's face scrunches up in confusion, and Tyler laughs again.

"Gentleman, you idiot. I feel like," he smirks. "I feel like I'm still going to have to give you some more... tutoring."

"Oh, I'm up for that." Josh blushes in spite of himself. He doesn't think he's going to stop doing that around Tyler any time soon. "Maybe... maybe after Taco Bell?"

"Sounds perfect."

They exchange another smile, until Josh looks away, and mumbles something about having to go. Tyler raises his eyebrows and laughs affectionately at his awkwardness, and Josh doesn't think he's ever been so happy.

"See you later." He gets out, face pink and glowing, and Tyler watches as he waves a hand in farewell and lopes off down the corridor.

Chapter Text

"So," Josh explains sheepishly as Tyler opens his front door at 6:59 pm that evening (Josh arrived exactly five minutes before 7 so he didn't get there late, and then waited round the corner for four so he didn't get there too early.) "Change of plan. Uh, my car is maybe having minor technical errors that I can't get fixed before Monday, at least, so I was wondering if you wanted to come round my house instead and I'll cook for you?" He's staring intently at the floor, and when he finally gathers enough courage to meet Tyler's gaze, the boy's eyes are twinkling, quietly laughing at him, happy to see him.

"Josh," Tyler takes a step over the threshold of his front porch and wraps his arms tightly around the taller boy's waist. "You'd seriously cook for me? That's just about the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." Josh blushes with pleasure, and Tyler looks up, pushing to his tiptoes and kissing Josh lightly on the mouth. "Eres adorable."

"Bueno," Josh brushes a stray hair from Tyler's forehead, and kisses him again. "Lo mereces. And," he takes a step backwards and looks Tyler up and down. "You look really cute, by the way."

"Stop it, you," Tyler laughs, and pulls the front door closed behind him, slipping his hand into Josh's. "You look sexy, too."

"What's 'sexy' in Spanish?" Josh jokes, flushing, and Tyler winks.

"Maybe you'll get to find out later." Then he cringes at his own line. "Wow, I'm embarrassing. Why did you ask me out, again?"

"Hmm, I don't know," Josh pretends to ponder, and receives a half-hearted push on the forearm, but there's no strength behind it.

"Piss off, you."

"You piss off."

Tyler frowns for a moment, thinking, and his face lights up in a giggle. "¡Vete a freír a espárragos!"

"Fry asparagus?" A confused expression dances across Josh's face, but he laughs at Tyler's enthusiasm nonetheless. "¿Qué, Tyler?"

"It means go away, Josh, God," he rolls his eyes, pretending to be annoyed, but the smile on his face gives him away. Josh thinks he's probably made it up, though. "So how far is your house?"

"Not far."

"Good. What are cooking for me, then?"

Josh smiles sheepishly. "Paella? I'm sticking with the Spanish theme, because you know," he straightens up and clears his throat. "This is all to help with my Spanish. Absolutely vital, this. It's totally not a date."

Tyler chuckles. "Totally not."

"It's cultural, right?" he lets them into his house, and Tyler steps inside, looking at him expectantly.

"Rápido, rápido, venga. ¡Tengo hambre, Josh!"

"Loser," Josh sighs, pretending to be cross. He hesitates. What was that thing about asparagus again? "¡Vengo a fregar la espárragos!"

But something must have gone wrong somewhere along the line because Tyler cracks up, his face practically lighting up with laughter as he scrunches his face up in this adorably innocent way that makes Josh want to kiss it all over. "You're an embarrassment to my teaching skills, Josh," he laughs, his tongue poking slightly through his slightly crooked front teeth, and Josh thinks again about how much he wants to kiss him. "You mean vete a freír a espárragos."

"Right," Josh murmurs, but then he's leaning in and dotting Tyler's face with small kisses like it's so demanding to be kissed, and the younger boy giggles, squirms, and leans up to take his face in his hands and kiss him back, but properly. And kiss him he does - after, Josh is flustered, breathless, pressed up against the wall with Tyler's knee in between his legs, and a very smug looking Tyler is looking down at him drinking it all in.

"I thought you wanted me to start cooking," Josh grumbles amiably, and Tyler smirks.

"I didn't see you complaining."

"...Spanish nerd has a point." Tyler whacks him affectionately in the arm and they go through to the kitchen, where Josh has set out a bunch of ingredients on the worktop.

 "Ooh, nice." Tyler frowns. "Have you ever actually made paella before, Josh?"

"Well..."

"That's a no, then." He rolls his eyes and hops up onto a stool sat at the table on one side of the kitchen. "We'll see how this goes."

"Oh, shut up," Josh gives him what he hopes is a withering look but the smile threatening on his face ruins the effect rather. "Do you want to do it?"

"I didn't think that was the point, Joshie."

Josh tries to stop his stomach jumping happy somersaults when Tyler calls him by the nickname, but it's hopeless, and a goofy smile takes over his face. "Okay, okay, you got me, man. I can do this."

"Dude," Tyler pauses and grins. "I'm kidding, I will quite happily help you."

"No, no!" Josh shushes him and takes Tyler's hand in his own, leading him back to the chair he was sat on. "I got this one down, Tyler. I am going to make you dinner if it's the last thing I do, okay?"

"Okay." Tyler grins up at him, happy, trusting, and Josh leans down to drop a kiss on his forehead.

"You're cute."

"Start making the dinner, ya cheeseball!"

"Okay, okay!" Josh holds his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm on it!"

Apparently, paella-making is a much harder task than the smiley lady on the internet suggested. Josh wouldn't say he's struggling, exactly. But he wouldn't say it's going smoothly, either.

"Uh, Tyler?"

"Yeah?"

"Is the rice supposed to be bubbling?"

Tyler stifles a laugh. "Um... I don't know?"

"Oh, fuck." Josh curses loudly and Tyler bites down hard on his bottom lip as the corners of his mouth curve into a smile.

"You sure you don't need any help there, dude?"

"I'm sure!" A moment later: "Oh God, is the chicken supposed to be that colour?"

Tyler appears silently behind him and peers over his shoulder, snaking his arms around Josh's waist and resting his cheek on the side of his neck. "I don't think so."

"Shit." He chews on his lower lip, briefly scanning the recipe. The lady didn't say anything about this happening. "Yeah, I'll just cook it for a bit longer. It should be okay, right?"

"Hopefully?" Frankly, Tyler's just finding the whole thing amusing. Josh looks round at him worriedly and he gives him what he hopes is a reassuring smile, which seems to relax him somewhat.

"You're doing fine, Josh, I swear." He kisses the older boy's right cheek, and Josh can feel a flush of pleasure creeping into them. "I'd say just cook the chicken for a bit longer, and it'll be fine."

"Sure." Josh mutters, grinning. "Easier said than done."

Tyler laughs and wanders back over to the other side of the kitchen, and Josh panickedly turns the heat down on the rice and up on the chicken. Or, he thinks he does, but he must have messed up somewhere because half an hour later, by the time he gingerly takes the pans off the hob to serve them up, the rice could easily be mistaken for porridge and the meat is still probably raw enough to get up and wander off when no one's looking.

Josh sighs loudly. "Oh, shit."

"What did you do?" Tyler teases, getting to his feet and walking cautiously over to where a horrified Josh is staring down at the mess in his hands.

"I fucked up."

He tries not to laugh. "No, no you didn't, it's okay."

"I did." Josh buries his face in his hands and groans. "I am actually useless."

"Josh..."

He looks up, peeks through his fingers. "Are you-" He moves his hands from his face and looks at Tyler incredulously. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No!" Tyler coughs suspiciously and fidgets, his face suddenly very solemn. "No, of course not." He looks down, avoiding his friend's gaze, and Josh shakes his head in disbelief.

"You are, you little perra." He shoves Tyler lightly in the chest and a giggle escapes the younger boy's mouth as a slow smile forms on Josh's face.

"Am not!"

"You're very lucky I've got a hot saucepan in my hand, or you'd be getting it." Josh laughs, and Tyler raises an eyebrow, smirking. Josh flushes bright pink. "I didn't mean that, goddamnit." He furiously turns back to the shipwreck laid out in front of him and stirs uselessly at the pan of soggy rice. He changes the subject. "I think I can try and save it...?"

"I don't think-"

"It might be okay..."

"Josh," Tyler looks at him, the smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I... let's order pizza."

The redhead finally caves and admits defeat. "Okay."

 "Sorry I messed up on the whole Spanish theme," Josh says again as they lie side by side on his bed munching on margarita pizza. He grins slyly. "I guess now you don't really have a reason to be here, if we're not spanishing."

"'Spanishing'?" Tyler laughs, making quote marks in the air with his fingers, and then he takes another bite of pizza, rolling his eyes. "You're sure that was all you asked me round for, then?"

"Por supuesto. It's totally not because I think you're cute."

"Ah. I never would have thought that at all." He raises an eyebrow. "I guess I'll go then."

"Well..." a smile tugs on Josh's face. "Quéjate."

Tyler giggles as he messes up again, and snuggles into Josh's arms, looking up at him with something like pure adoration. "You mean quédate, buddy?"

"Shu'up," Josh huffs teasingly. "Go suck a dick or something."

"Only if it's yours." Tyler responds quick as a flash, winking cheekily at Josh, and he groans, wanting to bury his reddening face in the pillow in mock despair.

"Does that mean you'll be my boyfriend?" He finds himself blurting out instead.

He watches as Tyler's face practically lights up in response."Sí." he says. And really, that's enough. Until Tyler smirks again, and adds that if Josh wants a blowjob that badly all he has to do was ask.

Tyler giggles as his face flushes and and Josh wonders how there was ever a point that he disliked the younger boy. Because as he looks at him now, his head resting quietly on one side of Josh's chest and his hand playing absent-mindedly with the fabric at the hem of his shirt, he doesn't think he's ever fallen quite so quickly for someone as he has for Tyler. Maybe fallen for isn't the right word, because he's not in love, not yet, but certainly dizzy with the first stirrings of something. But his mind can't fathom it out right now, because Tyler's hand is creeping under the hem of his shirt and ghosting small circles over his hip and lower stomach, and Josh gulps.

"Um... Tyler?"

"Yeah?" Tyler's face freezes and he looks up at Josh, concerned. His voice softens. "Sorry. D'you want me to stop?"

Josh honestly doesn't know what he wants. He bites his lip softly, and Tyler reaches one hand up to cup his jaw, his thumb tracing stubble down the side of his face to his cheekbone and finally settling on his mouth. "Can I kiss you instead?" Tyler asks, and Josh nods eagerly, falling easily into his touch. Tyler's hand stills to hold his waist and Josh flushes faintly, and leans across the pizza crumb-dotted duvet to kiss him; their mouths meet in the middle and then they're moving together, and Josh reaches out to touch Tyler's face and his neck and pull him closer, closer until their bodies are flush and he's got as good a grip as he can get in Tyler's short hair.

It's a long kiss, slow, passionate, slow again. Josh's brain is a little fuzzy and he can't think too clearly, but he knows he's happy, here with Tyler in his arms as they lay side by side on his bed, innocently, and as he pulls away a little to catch his breath they're so close he can feel Tyler's smile against his mouth. 

"C'mere," he whispers, unable to hide the smile on his face, and Tyler grins and leans back against Josh's front so the redhead can slip his arms around his waist and hold him close. He still can't seem to believe he's lucky enough to be here, and, as if to confirm it to himself, he leans forward and presses a kiss to the side of Tyler's neck, where the fabric of his shirt has slipped down and the top of his shoulder's peeking through. The boy squirms and giggles quietly. "Tickles."

"That was the idea," Josh murmurs against his skin, and Tyler smiles sleepily up at him, rolls over to face him again. More of a task than it sounds, when Josh's arms are fastened so tightly around his waist like he'll never let him go.

"Nerd."

"Guilty."

He tangles their legs together lazily, and kisses his boyfriend again.

Josh thinks that maybe Spanish class won't be so bad anymore.