That night, Tyler packed a sandwich, like normal, and walked to the trees, like normal. What he was feeling, however, was rather abnormal. He was surrounded by a mix of emotions; affection, surely, but he was also apprehensive. Was that the right word? As he walked, Tyler tried to focus on finding the perfect term for what he was feeling, but all he could think about was Josh.

When Tyler arrived in the clearing, his eyes landed on Josh immediately. He was pacing back and forth in front of the vessel. "J-Josh?"

The alien boy looked to Tyler, quickly went to him, and kissed him, catching Tyler completely off guard.

The kiss was soft, like the ones from last night, and it made Tyler's heart melt; he didn't know how much he needed this until it happened. His lips, already bruised, began to ache from the light pressure from Josh's mouth, but Tyler ignored it. He kissed him back for a few moments, before Josh finally pulled away.

"Hey," Josh said in a soft voice. His breath tickled Tyler's face, and it made him giggle lightly. "Hi."

Not that they were separated (although not by much), Josh brushed his thumb over Tyler's cheeks. The concealer on his face brushed away, revealing his bruises. Realizing what he had done, Josh took a step back from Tyler. The other boy frowned. "What?"

"You must be covered in bruises..."

Tyler shrugged slightly. It made his shoulders ache, though they did feel better than earlier this morning. "A little bit."

The alien boy hesitated. "Can I see?" (A/N: 1,000 points and a free nacho to anyone who gets that reference)

In response, Tyler tugged aside the collar of his shirt, revealing the edges of the violet bruises that lay there. Josh came close again to look at the marks. He almost reached out to touch them, in a comforting sort of way, but remembered that he would only cause Tyler more pain, so he stopped himself. "Is that all?"

"No." Tyler pulled up his sleeves to show Josh the bruises on his arms, and then wiped the rest of the concealer off his face with his hands.

Tyler was patched with purple. 

A violet masterpiece.