CATEGORY: Fluff
FEATURING: timid!Josh and outgoing!Tyler
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mild language
PROMPT: Josh is awoken at two in the morning by his best friend, Tyler, sneaking in through the window.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 3,780

A noise startled Josh Dun from sleep. He opened his eyes blearily, and looked to the clock on his bedside table, which informed him that it was almost two in the morning. Josh rolled over and put his pillow over his head, just about to drift back into sleep.

But then, he heard the noise again, near the foot of his bed. A rustling. Fear suddenly sparking in his heart, Josh quickly sat up and turned on the lamp by his bed.

Crouched at the foot of Josh's bed was a figure, which leaped up as Josh turned on the light, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "Josh, relax, it's me," the figure said in a hushed but urgent voice, hopping up onto the end of his bed. "Turn off the light."

"Why?"

"Just do it, please."

Josh turned off the lamp, and his room was bathed in darkness again. After a few seconds, the stranger's figure was lit up by the light of the cell phone in their hands.

The figure belonged to Josh's best friend, a teen named Tyler Joseph. Tyler and Josh had both graduated a few weeks ago from the same high school, where they'd gone to classes and hung out together since sophomore year.

In terms of personality, Josh and Tyler were near opposites--Josh was timid and shy, where Tyler was brave and outgoing. Josh preferred to stay home and read, while Tyler liked going out and doing things, even if they tended to be on the reckless side. Josh was quiet and polite, while Tyler was bold and spoke with little or no filter.

Despite these differences in personality, the two boys were friends. Even though Josh's parents didn't always approve of Tyler, Josh knew Tyler was good for him; he used to be a socially awkward, near-mute teenager. After hanging out with Tyler all the time, though, Josh was better and interacting with others, and more confident in himself than he once was.

Still, Tyler could be a bit wild at times. Like now, here in Josh's house, at two in the morning. Tyler's dark hair was messy and untamed, as usual, and his brown eyes were bright and alert with excitement. He wore a black sweatshirt with a blue shirt underneath, along with a pair of jeans and dark gray vans.

"What are you doing here?" Josh sighed, rubbing his eyes. The initial shock had mostly worn off, and now he was tired again.

Tyler put a hand on Josh's shoulder, grinning. "Josh, my friend, I am here to accompany and guide you on a night of adventure."

Josh raised a brow. "What kind of adventure?"

"The adventure of being a legal adult." Tyler sat up straighter. Josh's eighteenth birthday had been only yesterday. Tyler had been uncharacteristically quiet about it, only giving Josh a Taco Bell gift card and offering his congratulations. Josh should have known he was planning something.

Josh simply rolled his eyes. "You sound like my mom."

His friend swatted at him playfully. "Just be quiet and get dressed."

"Tyler, it's almost two in the morning. I can't go anywhere, my parents would kill me."

The other boy shrugged. "We'll be back before they wake up. Besides, if we're quiet, they'll never know. Haven't you been the perfect child long enough?" he added, as if sensing Josh's reluctance. "Don't you want to live a little?"

Josh knew that Tyler had a point, as he usually did. Although Josh had gone along with Tyler on some of his 'adventures', he'd never really participated himself. Additionally, he had to admit that he did want to experience...something. Anything, as long as it was Tyler.

He sighed, and climbed out from underneath the covers of his bed. "What kind of events am I dressing for, exactly?"

Tyler beamed in the pale light from his phone, seeming pleased that Josh had agreed to go. "Can't say yet. Dress casual, but not too casual."

While Tyler scrolled through his phone, doing who knows what, Josh dressed into a plain button-up, jeans, and converse. He considered going into the bathroom down the hall to brush his teeth and hair, but it was a little risky. Instead, he ran his fingers through his hair a few times, and grabbed a mint from the bowl on his dresser.

"This good enough?" Josh asked, gesturing to his outfit.

Tyler looked up from his phone, and grinned. "You look great. Might want to bring a hoodie or something, though. It's chilly out."

Josh turned to look for the hoodie he usually had hanging on the back of his desk chair, but it wasn't there. He glanced around on the floor, but it was dark, and there were piles of clothes everywhere. He didn't really want to dig around and look for it, so he sat down on the bed next to Tyler. "I'll go without it."

"Alright." Tyler clicked the button on the top of his phone, and it shut off. The room was dark again, and Josh could only see the general shadow of his best friend sitting next to him. "You ready?"

Josh grabbed his own cell phone from his bedside table. "Yeah, I think so. How are we going to get out without my parents hearing?"

"The same way I got in."

"How did you get in?"

"The window." When Josh didn't say anything, Tyler shrugged. "What? You left it unlocked."

Josh lightly shoved Tyler's shoulder, a smile on his face. "You are one weird friend."

Tyler stood, and gave a slight bow. "Thank you. Now let's get going."

It was a little harder than Josh would have thought to climb out the window. Tyler went first, seeming to slip almost effortlessly through the gap, until he was standing on the ground outside the window. Tyler managed it so easily, in fact, that it made Josh wonder how many other times he'd crawled through a window like this one.

Josh tried to follow him, but this didn't work so well, for a few reasons. One, Josh was bigger than Tyler, so he had more trouble fitting through the rather small window. Two, he had absolutely zero experience with climbing through windows. And three, he tried to go through head first.

With a thump, Josh half climbed, half fell through the window, landing on the cold ground outside. Tyler stood over him. "Not bad, at least for your first try. I'd suggest going feet first next time."

Josh stood up and shook his head a bit. It was definitely cold outside, and he regretted not looking for his hoodie. "I'm just glad I live in a one-story."

Tyler laughed and grabbed Josh's hand, pulling him up. "Come on, my car's parked down the street."

The two of them walked together down the road, with only the faint yellowy glow of street lamps to guide them. After a few moments, Josh realized that Tyler was still holding his hand.

Tyler seemed to notice this, too, and he squeezed Josh's hand. Josh suddenly felt flustered, and so he quickly brushed it off with a joke. "This is so gay."

The other boy rolled his eyes. "Says the gay man walking hand in hand with a bisexual."

Both boys laughed a little as they approached Tyler's vehicle, which was a small, tan car with chipping paint. Tyler finally let go of Josh's hand to unlock the doors, but he put a hand on Josh's shoulder before he could get in the car. "You sure about this?"

That was one of the things that Josh loved most about his best friend: he could always count on him to make sure he was okay.

"Definitely."

----  ----  ----  ----

"Are you gonna tell me where we're going?"

Tyler and Josh were in Josh's car, driving down the street and away from Josh's house. Even in the car, Josh was chilly. He reached over to the center console and turned up the heater.

Behind the steering wheel, Tyler shook his head. "Where would be the fun in that?"

Josh didn't have an answer for his question, so he asked another one. "Can I get a hint?"

"No." Tyler paused. "Well, actually, yes. We're going to need a little money. Did you bring any with you?"

Josh reached into the front pocket of his jeans, where he usually kept his wallet, but it wasn't there. He'd probably left it in his room. "Nope."

"That's fine, I've got some. It should be enough."

There was a pause in the conversation. The only sound was the radio, which was on an R&B station. Josh wanted to listen to something else, but Tyler was a strong believer of the 'driver chooses the music' rule, and so he left the dial where it was.

"Are we going to more than one place?"

Tyler nodded slowly. "Yeah. I have five different things for us to do tonight, actually."

"You didn't get any of these things from a tumblr 'Top Five Things To Do When You're Eighteen' list, did you?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

---- ---- ---- ----

Before long, Tyler had pulled the car into the parking lot of their first stop: the all-night gas station downtown. 

"A gas station? I'm on a special 'legal adult' adventure, and you took me to a gas station?"

Tyler parked the car, then swatted at Josh's arm. "Sassy much?"

Josh got out of the car, glancing at his phone for a moment to check the time. It was couple minutes after two. He headed around to the other side of the car, where Tyler was rifling through his wallet. He pulled out a couple of twenties. "Here, you'll need these."

"What am I doing with them, exactly?"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "You're gonna go in and ask the cashier for two things: a pack of cigarettes, and a lottery ticket. I'd suggest camels."

"I don't smoke."

"Didn't say you did." Tyler put his wallet back in his pocket.

"Who's sassy now?" Josh teased, earning a grin from Tyler. The two walked into the gas station.

Since it was two in the morning, the only other person in the store was an employee behind the counter, who was half-heartedly flipping through a magazine. Tyler disappeared almost the moment they entered the store, so Josh was on his own.

"I'd like  pack of camels, please," he said to the employee, managing to keep his voice steady. "And a lottery ticket."

The employee raised a brow, but shrugged and grabbed the items. "I'll need your ID, please."

Josh gave the man his driver's license, which the employee squinted at for a moment before tallying up Josh's total. "Will that be all for you today?"

Someone set two plastic Icee cups on the counter next to Josh's purchases. "And these." It was Tyler.

Josh handed the employee the two twenties, and waited for his change. He noted that the employee had a prominent lip ring, and his name tag read 'Frankie'.

"Here you are." Frankie slid the change across the counter, and went back to his magazine. "Have a nice day."

Tyler and Josh left the store, Tyler with the Icees and Josh with the cigarettes and lottery ticket. He felt a little strange holding these items in his hands; they'd been basically forbidden to him until now.

"What ate the Icees for?" Josh asked as he climbed back into Tyler's car.

Tyler got into the driver's seat. "To wake us up. Plus, they're sick." He held out the cups to Josh. "Red or blue?"

Josh took the blue cup, and Tyler kept the red one. They both sat there for a moment, sipping their respective frozen drinks. It certainly did the trick--Josh was starting to feel a little more awake, although he didn't know if it was from the ice or the sugar.

Eventually, Tyler put his cup in the cupholder and started the engine.

----  ----  ----  ----

It was almost peaceful, driving down the dark city streets. There were few other cars out, and it was mostly quiet. Josh was able to relax a little, sipping his blue Icee and staring out the window as Tyler drove. It was a little odd to see this dark, almost unfamiliar world that he knew so well in daylight.

Tyler abruptly pulled into a parking spot on the street, startling Josh out of his thoughts. There were lights on the street lamps and strung onto the trees, but most of the stores and businesses were dark outside.

"What are we doing on Main Street?" Josh asked once they were outside of the car. He had finished the last of his Icee, and he threw it in a trash can.

Tyler was standing underneath one of the light-wrapped trees, texting on his phone. "Give me a moment, and you'll see soon."

While he waited for Tyler to finish his text, Josh glanced around. There was one place down the street that appeared to be open--he recognized it from the lit-up neon sign as an all-night bar and nightclub. He knew that couldn't be what Tyler had planned, though; both of them were still underage when it came to drinking.

Josh looked to his best friend, who was still texting on his phone. Tyler had zipped his black sweatshirt almost up to his throat, and his dark brown eyes were focused intently on his phone as he tapped on it with his thumbs. His figure, clothed in mostly dark colors, still seemed to almost glow in the faint light. Maybe it was a strange thing to think, but Josh had to admit that he looked...pretty good.

Then Tyler glanced up at him. Embarrassed, Josh looked away. Had he just been checking out his best friend?

Tyler slipped his phone in his pocket, his face uncharacteristically expressionless. Josh was worried for a moment, but then Tyler gave him a grin. "Ready?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be ready for," Josh said. "But yes."

"Let's go, then." Tyler turned and started walking down the street, and Josh obediently followed.

The dark-clothed boy stopped in front of a small building about halfway down the block. The sign out front read 'Columbus Tattoos & Piercings'.

Josh knew that this was most definitely crazy, but he didn't say a word as Tyler knocked hard on the door. It was dark inside, but upon Tyler's knocking, the door opened to reveal a man with a skull t-shirt and a big smile. "Hey, Tyler. Come on in."

Inside the building was a small waiting room-type area, and then a door leading to a back room. The man wasted no time heading into the back room, and Tyler and Josh followed.

The back room was lit up. Inside were a few chairs, and equipment for tattooing and piercing. The walls were covered in pictures of different tattoos, so full of the bodily artwork that you could hardly see the red paint underneath.

"Tyler, what are we doing here?" Josh asked, although he was afraid of the answer.

"You didn't even tell him?" Tyler's friend said, approaching the tattoo equipment and starting to wipe it down.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Tyler sighed. "Josh, there are two things on the list here. One, we're both getting at least one tattoo here, since we're both legally old enough now. And two, you're going to get a piercing. I'd get one myself, but I'm not too fond of them on me."

"Are you--are you crazy?" Josh stammered. "My parents are going to kill me!"

Tyler waved his hand dismissively. "They'll never know, as long as it's something small. And as for the piercings, well, they'll probably get over it."

Josh's brain scrambled to find an explanation to this whole situation. "Why is this place even open so late, anyway?" was all he could manage.

"I told Brendon about my plan, and he set it up," Tyler explained. Brendon, who was seemingly the man who had let them in, paused in cleaning the equipment to give Josh a nod in greeting.

Josh still looked nervous, and Tyler seemed to soften. "Hey. We don't have to do this if you don't want to, okay?" He took Josh's hand. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"No. I'll do it." Josh took a deep breath, and nodded. He'd always secretly wanted gauges, anyway. "Yeah, I'll do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Josh squeezed Tyler's hand. Was that a blush on his friend's face?

"Got anything specific in mind?" Brendon asked.

"I was thinking I could tattoo my name on you, and you could tattoo your name on me." Tyler gave Josh a bright grin, and sat down in one of the chairs next to the equipment.

"I don't know how to use one of those things," Josh said, glancing at the tattoo gun.

"It's not as hard as it looks," Brendon reassured him. "Just go slow and steady. Where are you thinking about doing it?"

Tyler kicked his feet up on the stool thoughtfully. "How do you feel about matching butt tattoos, Josh?" he said in a casual tone, although there was a joking grin on his face. "I'm the only one who would ever see it, after all."

"Shut up."

Tyler just blew him a kiss. "Aw, you know you love me."

And there, in that moment, he did.

----  ----  ----  ----

Almost an hour later, Tyler and Josh walked out of the tattoo and piercing parlor together. They had eventually settled on leg tattoos, and know Josh's knee really stung. His ears hurt, too--he'd gotten the smallest gauges they had, which luckily the sort of professional Brendon had done--but not as bad as he'd thought they would.

Once they climbed into the car, Tyler dug around in the center console compartment for a moment, until he pulled out a pair of scissors. He smoothly lifted up his knee and cut a hole in his jeans to show the red skin where Josh had tattooed his name. He handed the scissors to Josh with a slight smile on his face.

Without even a bit of protest, Josh cut a hole in the knee of his jeans to show the tattoo. He was actually kind of proud to have it visible, and he had other pairs of jeans, anyway.

Tyler took the scissors back and stuffed them into the compartment again. To Josh's surprise, however, he didn't start the car, but sat back in his seat, looking out the front window of the car. He had his Icee from before, which he'd left in the cupholder while they were in the parlor. It was mostly just cherry-flavored water now, but he took a sip anyways as he stared outside thoughtfully. "You mean a lot to me, Josh, you know that?"

Josh swallowed. His heart was beating just a little faster in his chest than it should have been, but he kept his voice steady. "I know. You mean a lot to me, too."

The two sat in silence as Tyler finished up the last bit of his melted Icee. Then, he got out of the car. "Final appointment."

"We're not driving anywhere?" Josh asked as he got out of the car after him.

Tyler smiled, and linked his arm with Josh's. "Nope."

The two walked, arm in arm, down the street. According to the old clock tower, which was lit up by a light yellowed with age, it was almost four in the morning.

It was almost four in the morning, and Josh had slipped out of his house without a word to his parents, bought cigarettes and a lottery ticket, gotten a tattoo, and pierced his ears, all with Tyler at his side. Josh wouldn't rather be anywhere else.

Just as they reached the nightclub, Tyler grabbed Josh's hand, and pulled him inside.

"Tyler, this is a nightclub. We can't be here," Josh fretted. He wasn't willing to go along with Tyler's adventure if it involved anything illegal.

"Relax, Joshy," Tyler said, leading the way don the front hall. "Eighteen is the legal age for entering a nightclub. We just can't drink."

The man at the end of the hall stopped them before they could enter the main club. "ID, please."

Tyler pulled his driver's license out of his pocket, and Josh did the same. After glancing at them, the man stamped both of their right hands. "No drinks," he deadpanned. "Have fun."

The nightclub was dark, and the music playing over the loudspeakers was just an octave too loud. Unsurprisingly, it was almost empty, although there were a few patrons at the bar.

Tyler was still holding Josh's hand, and it made him a bit nervous. "What do we do now?"

The other boy shrugged, a smile playing out on his lips. "Want to dance?"

Josh felt his face grow hot. "I can't dance."

"Sure you can." Tyler pulled him out onto the main floor, and close to his chest. He put his hands on Josh's waist, and started swaying back and forth.

"This isn't a slow song," Josh mumbled. He'd never been this close to Tyler before.

"So?" Tyler hummed. "I don't think anyone here is going to care," he added, with a slight shrug towards the bar. There were only two people there, not including the bartender, and they both looked wasted.

Without a word, Josh wrapped his arms around Tyler's neck, and started moving with Tyler to a tune that neither of them could hear.

They slow danced for a little while, and Tyler rested his head on Josh's shoulder. Josh knew that none of this could possibly be platonic, but he didn't care. He just swayed back and forth with Tyler, and ignored the rest of the world.

"Can I kiss you?" Tyler mumbled form Josh's shoulder.

Josh could hardly believe what he was hearing. "What?"

The other boy lifted his head, and Josh could see that he was sincere. "Can I kiss you?" he said again, softer.

Josh answered him by pressing his lips to his.

----  ----  ----  ----

Josh blearily blinked open his eyes and glanced to the clock by his bed. It was nearly noon; he must have slept in late.

He was still dressed in his clothes, rather than pajamas, and his knee hurt for some reason. His head kind of hurt, too, like he'd slept badly.

He almost got up, but felt someone stir next to him, and he saw Tyler. All the memories of the previous hours flooded him, and he smiled, wrapping an arm around the still sleeping boy and closing his eyes again.

What a birthday.

A/N: Boy this was long XD

Also I'm working on a sequel to Pink Roses, a previous oneshot! Expect the new chapter soon