Warnings: None

Word Count: 1826

Request: A request from @iona_trooper! They asked me to write a fic where the reader has a stutter/stammer. Just a little disclaimer: I did some research to find out the best way to write the reader in this instance. If anyone is curious as to where I got that information, I am happy to share. It was my goal to portray this as accurately as possible!

You stared down at your beaten up shoes. Had you made the wrong choice in wearing them? Josh's parents might think that they were gross. There were plenty of other, nicer, shoes that you could have worn. Why didn't you pick one of them?

"Are you doing alright?" Josh asked, reaching over and grabbing your hand from your lap.

You looked over to him and nodded, hoping that it would reassure him. He glanced at you and gave your hand a light squeeze.

After six months of dating, you had finally gone home to Ohio with Josh to meet his family. Luckily for you, only his parents would be home this weekend. You weren't so sure that you would be able to handle meeting all of his siblings at the same time too.

"They're going to love you, I promise. My mom hasn't been able to stop talking about you since I sent her some pictures of us."

"T... t-hat's good to hear," you said, forcing your mouth into a lopsided smile.

"And you know that at the end of the day, I'm always going to have your back."

Josh turned off the main road onto a little side street. You felt your heartbeat begin to pick up as rows of suburban houses came into view. Your grip on Josh's hand grew tighter.

"This is it," Josh said as he pulled up against the curb.

"It's nice," you said.

The house was about how you had pictured it with brick walls and brightly colored siding. A nice manicured lawn was out front and you could practically picture Josh and his siblings playing out in the yard during the summer. It matched all the childhood stories Josh had told you perfectly.

"Ready?" Josh asked, shutting off the car.

"Yeah, let's go."

Josh wrapped an arm around you as you walked up the pathway that led to the front door. You took deep breaths and nervously tapped your fingers against Josh's torso. He removed his arm from around you once you reached the porch so that he could knock. You fiddled with the end of your shirt.

His mom was the one to open the door. She smiled widely once she realized that it was the two of you.

"Josh! Y/N! I'm so glad that you made it."

Josh stepped inside so you followed suit. She pulled him into a hug and then turned to you, still holding her arms out widely. You hesitantly stepped forward and allowed yourself to be pulled into her embrace.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Y/N. Josh has told me so much about you. You're even more beautiful than your pictures. I'm Laura, by the way."

"Thank you," you smiled. "It's nice to finally m... nice to finally m-meet you too."

Josh's dad appeared around the corner. He also began smiling once he realized that you and Josh had arrived.

"I was wondering when you two were going to arrive!"

He pulled Josh into a hug but settled on giving you a handshake as he introduced himself. You tried your best to keep your arm stiff and give him a solid handshake.

"Where's all your stuff?" Laura asked.

"Still in the car," Josh explained. "I just wanted to let you guys know that we made it."

"Why don't we go carry it in?" Bill asked, clapping a hand down on Josh's shoulder.

Josh nodded and followed his dad back out the door. You wanted to go with him, but didn't want to appear rude.

"You two made it just in time for dinner," Laura said, beginning to walk down the hallway. You followed after her. "Josh mentioned that you like pasta, so that's what I made."

A variety of foods were laid out on the kitchen counter. Laura had pulled out all the stops for tonight's dinner, and you weren't sure whether to be flattered or terrified.

"T... t-his looks amazing," you smiled.

"You think so?" she grinned. "I was so worried that you wouldn't like the food that I made."

"Are you kidding? It smells amazing in here."

She waved a hand at you, "Oh, stop flattering me."

Your head turned towards the front door as you heard it swing open again. Josh and his dad were carrying your luggage through the door.

"Y/N, do you want to come upstairs with me so you know where my room is?"

"Sure," you smiled, pushing away from the counter to walk towards Josh.

You took your bags from Bill and followed Josh's lead in kicking your shoes off at the bottom of the stairs. It was a bit awkward to get your bags up the narrow staircase, but you eventually managed to do it without damaging anything.

"That's Jordan's room," Josh explained, pointing to one of the closed doors. "Then Abigail's, Ashley's, and mine."

He pushed the door open and you finally got a good look at Josh's childhood room. There was a small drum set pushed into a corner between his bed and a wall, next to a small tv on a stand. The desk in the far corner was covered in papers and band stuff. It was just big enough for you and Josh to stand in the middle of the room with your luggage without bumping into anything.

"This is nice," you said, walking over and taking a seat on his bed.

"Not as nice as my house back home," he said, pushing your suitcases into the bottom of the closet.

"Yeah, well you bought that after you got super famous."

"You've got me there," he smiled. "So what do you think about my parents so far?"

"They're really cool! Your mom was so s...s... nice to make dinner for us."

"She loves to cook for everyone. There's a reason that she always hosts holidays."

"Josh! Y/N! The food is getting cold!"

"You ready?" Josh asked.

You nodded and stood up from his bed. He followed you back out into the hallway and down the stairs.

Bill and Laura were already filling their plates with food. Josh grabbed you a plate from the cabinet and the two of you followed suit. There were so many different things that you weren't sure if you would be able to get it all onto a single plate.

Once everyone had their food, you took a seat at the dining table. Josh took the place next to you and Laura sat down across from you, giving you a smile as she did so.

"So, Y/N," Bill started. "Josh tells us that you have been going on tour with them."

"Yeah, I have. It's been really fun to s... s-pend time with the boys and see Josh in his element."

"I know what you mean," Laura chimed in. "Watching him and Tyler perform is truly something else. I remember when they were playing tiny shows here in Ohio and now they're playing sold out shows all over the world."

"Mom," Josh sighed, although you could tell that she was really proud of her son.

Laura shook her head, "He always gets embarrassed when we talk about him."

"I know what you mean. He gets embarrassed when I t... t-alk about him too."

This earned Josh a look from his mom, causing you to giggle.

"Why don't you tell us more about you, Y/N?" Bill chimed in. "Josh has been talked about enough these days."

Josh smiled and shook his head. You pushed around some of your food.

"Um, well I grew up in Y/H/N. Before I m... m-et Josh, I had gone to college and gotten a degree, but I wasn't really interested in getting a job in that field yet." Josh reached over and rested a hand on your leg. "I was actually working in a record shop while I was figuring out what I wanted to do, which is when I met Josh. We really hit it off and before l... l-ong I was joining them on tour and helping out with that. I don't know what else there is to tell," you laughed nervously.

Josh gave your leg a reassuring squeeze and smiled at you. His parents seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say, which was nice.

"Well, you seem like a great fit for Josh and I can see that you make him very happy."

"Thank you," you grinned.

The rest of the night went by faster than you had expected. The four of you sat around swapping stories--many of which involved Josh doing embarrassing things as a child--, playing card games, and eating the dessert that Laura had graciously made for you. You were laughing so hard that your stomach hurt and you were slowly beginning to feel more relaxed.

Bill and Laura finally announced that they were going to bed, so you and Josh decided to do the same. He laced his fingers with yours and practically pulled you up the steps. You were so tired that you collapsed on his bed at the first opportunity.

"Today was fun," you smiled, burying your face into his pillow. "I like your family."

"From the looks of it, they like you too," Josh smiled as he hopped out of his jeans.

"Can I wear your s... wear your s-shirt to bed?" you asked.

"Of course," he answered, stripping his shirt off and tossing it over to you.

You changed out of your clothes into Josh's shirt. He finished pulling on his sweatpants and then walked over to flip the light off. The only light in the room was from the streetlamp out on the street.

"How are we going to do this?" you asked, looking down at the twin bed that you were sitting on. It was much different than the king bed you were used to being in when you slept over at Josh's.

"Um." You could just make out the shape of Josh slowly making his way across the bedroom. "I guess we'll have to-"

He stopped speaking as he bumped into you sitting on the bed.

"Josh!" you giggled, reaching up to rub your arm. "That hurt."

"Sorry, I thought you were already laying down."

"No, I was waiting for you. Did you want to be by the wall or should I?"

"I'll go by the wall."

Josh slowly climbed past you and slid under the covers. Once he was settled, he held his arms out so that you had space to get comfortable. You crawled under the covers and snuggled up next to him.

"Thank you for coming with me to see my family," he said, wrapping an arm around you.

"Of course. T... t-hey're so nice. I see where you get it from now."

Josh leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your temple. You smiled and wrapped one of your hands around his forearm, holding him close to you.

"Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight, Josh."