Pairing: Tyler Joseph x Reader

Word Count: 1398

Warnings: Angst, arguments, & insults

Author's Note: Where Did We Go (Book Three of Rose Colored Boy) starts a week from today, so I hope all of you are ready for that! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one :)

*     *     *

You carefully balanced the lunch you had made for Tyler on one hand as you made your way down to the basement, being extra careful not to spill the Red Bull you had cracked open for him all over the stairs. The sound of Tyler messing with his computer and shuffling papers around steadily became louder as you grew closer to the door.

"Ty!" you called. "Can I come in?"

There was some grumbling before your question was met with a gruff, "Yeah."

You carefully balanced the Red Bull on the plate so that your hand was free to open the door. Tyler didn't turn around as you entered the room, his attention was too focused on his keyboard. He normally paused what he was doing when you came down to see him, but you shrugged it off. There was probably just an idea in his head that he didn't want to forget.

"I made you lunch," you said softly, setting the food down on an untouched part of his desk. "You've been down here awhile, so I thought you might be hungry."

"Thanks."

You stood at the end of Tyler's desk a little longer, waiting to see if he would say anything else. He just continued to play his keyboard, acting as if you weren't even in the room.

"Ok, well, I'm going to go back upstairs now."

Before you left, you walked closer to where Tyler was sitting and bent down to kiss him. When he didn't turn to give you a proper kiss, you settled for a quick peck to his temple before starting to leave the room. Your lips had just barely touched his skin when he pulled away and finally looked at you.

"Is it not obvious that I want space right now?" he snapped.

A chill ran down your spine. Tyler rarely raised his voice at you because he knew you hated it, so the fact that he was doing it now over seemingly nothing was quickly pushing you over the edge. You swallowed down the lump in your throat.

"I'm sorry."

"You do this every day!" he continued, ignoring your apology. "You come down here like six times while I'm trying to get work done and start talking my ear off when I pretty clearly don't want to hear it and you never pick up on hints that I want you to leave until I outright tell you and it throws me off my rhythm every time. I would get so much more done if you would just leave me alone."

You wiped a tear away from your cheek while you waited for any more insults that Tyler was going to throw at you. As much as you wanted to write off his actions as a result of stress, you couldn't help the physical pain in your chest from his words.

"Fine."

Without another word, you turned and walked out of the basement, using all the self control you had to not slam the door as you left. You were determined to make it upstairs and out of the house - and ideally, to your destination - without completely losing your cool, but each time Tyler's words ran through your head a fresh wave of tears brimmed your eyes.

If Tyler wanted space, that's exactly what you would give him.

*     *     *

It had been nearly a week since your fight, if you could even call it that, with Tyler and you hadn't heard a single word from him. You were beginning to think that you would have to be the one to break the silence, even if it was just to ask him when you should be by to pick up your things. At this point, you weren't sure what hurt more: the initial fight or the fact that he hadn't reached out to see if you were ok since then.

You refilled your mug with a fresh cup of coffee and took a seat on the couch. Your friend had already left for work for the day, leaving you in their quiet house. It had been nice the first few days, but now it was just giving you too much time to think. So much so, in fact, that when your phone started ringing you didn't immediately reach for it because you were so wrapped up in your own head.

"Hello?" you answered, expecting to be met with the silence of some automated call.

"Y/N?"

The sound of Tyler's voice sent a chill down your spine. It was weird to hear him say something quietly after reliving the sound of him yelling so often over the last few days.

"What?" Your tone was harsh, unwilling to allow yourself to be hurt by him again.

"Can you come home, please? I really miss you."

"Are we going to talk about what happened?"

"Yes. There's a lot of things that I need to say to you, but I don't want to do it over the phone."

"Ok, I'll pack up my stuff and be home soon."

"Drive safe."

"I will."

There was a pause. For a moment, you thought he had hung up, but then he spoke softly through the phone.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

*     *     *

Tyler sat a few feet away from you, nervously tapping his fingers against the edge of his cup. The two of you had only exchanged a few words since you arrived back at the house. You were letting him guide the conversation, since there was no way you were going to give him an apology until you got one from him first.

He finally cleared his throat. You stopped staring out a nearby window and looked at him.

"I'm so sorry," he started. It took him a moment to finally work up the courage to meet your eyes. "For everything I said. I was under a lot of stress, which is by no means an excuse for what I did, and I took it out on you. I regretted it immediately, but by the time I was ready to admit that, you were already gone."

"Why didn't you reach out, then?"

"I was scared and embarrassed. I had no idea what was going on through your head and I was afraid that I had messed things up for good, so I just didn't reach out to you. I guess I thought it was easier to let it eat me up inside instead of just asking."

"I'm not gonna lie, Tyler, the things you said really hurt. I check in so often because I know you're not always the best about taking care of yourself so I want to make sure you're eating and getting rest and not overworking yourself."

"No, I know," he shook his head. "I hate that I got upset about that because it's not true. I look forward to when you come down to see me because it always gives me the strength to get just a little bit more done and I would be in a way worse state if it weren't for you looking out for me. I was just frustrated that one day and blew it way out of proportion and I'm so sorry. I'm never going to forgive myself for that." You held your hands out to him. He happily slid his fingers between yours and pulled you a little closer to him. "Especially because I didn't take the time that day to tell you how much I love you. Or how much you mean to me. Or how knowing that when I'm done for the day, I get to come upstairs to you is sometimes the only thing that keeps me going. That's what I should be telling you and I'm sorry if I've ever made you doubt that."

"I appreciate the apology, Ty. I only want the best for you, but I understand how that can be a little overwhelming when you're stressed. I'll try to be more aware of that in the future. I love you so much."

"I love you too. I'm glad we were able to work this out."

"Me too."

He pulled you into a kiss and you wrapped your arms around him, immediately curling up against him once he pulled away.

"Never let me go another day without telling you I love you, ok?" he whispered.

You smiled against his chest. "Deal."