Pairing: Tyler Joseph x Reader

Warnings: Angst

Word Count: 1889

Request: hmm. can you kinda do a trench AU with tyler? i'm not exactly sure what should happen but you can switch it up and write it however you want - OhMyJosh_TayTayandTy

Author's Note: You'd think that after Trench being out for more than six months, I would have written something taking place in that universe by now! I really enjoyed writing something a little out of my comfort zone for this! Also, I just realized this is the first Tyler fic I've posted in almost two months! I'm so sorry to those of you in Tyler's lane. Hopefully this makes up for it :)

You flipped the page of the book that was sitting in front of you, kicking up dust as you did so. Your eyes were beginning to slide in and out of focus from staring at books for so long, but you were determined to get through the last few pages. It would be easier to keep track of that way.

There had to be some clue within the pages. Something that the bishops had accidentally let slip through that would offer some explanation as to where he had gone. He hadn't just vanished, you knew that much. No. There was no way that he would have left without you.

Right?

You stopped reading at the end of the sentence and scanned the paragraph before it. It quickly became apparent that you hadn't absorbed any of the information from it, so you zeroed your focus in and read the paragraph again. Even the smallest hint would help you right now. Something to at least give you a starting point.

You closed the book and pushed it away from you. The last few weeks had been spent just like this, sitting in the library for countless hours pouring over records and notes that the bishops allowed residents to have access to. None of them produced anything useful, but at least you felt like you were doing something--anything--to try and find him.

You thought of the last night that you two had spent together. Tyler had insisted you sit out in the courtyard under the stars. You had been hesitant--after all, the bishops didn't take too kindly to people out after dark--but he had looked so excited that you couldn't say no. The two of you had laid outside for a couple hours until you grew tired and wanted to go to bed. Tyler had walked you back to your room and given you a gentle kiss.

The next morning, he was gone.

None of the bishops had offered any explanation. In fact, nobody even seemed to notice that Tyler had gone missing. The only difference people saw was within you, but they knew better than to question why you hadn't been the same. People didn't really question things like that in Dema.

You took your time putting away all the books that you had looked through today, making sure to mentally categorize them. It seemed no matter how many records you looked through, you were never any closer to discovering the reason behind Tyler's disappearance.

Or whatever it was.

There were still a few rays of sunlight filtering through your window as you returned to your room. You walked over and looked out at the courtyard. A few people were still outside, enjoying the last bit of warmth before night set in.

Your eyes wandered to where the vase of flowers sat near the wall. They had been alive at one point, but now they sat withered and dead. You had accumulated them over a number of weeks when Tyler would wake you up in the morning, holding a fresh yellow flower in his hand. No matter how often you asked, he would never tell you where he found them growing.

You had never seen yellow flowers in Dema before.

You walked over to your bed and dropped down to your knees so that you could grab the box that you kept hidden beneath it. It was full of letters--mostly love letters--that Tyler had written to you while you were both in Dema. You had read over them countless times since his disappearance, looking for any hidden message that he may have left, but you had still yet to find anything. If nothing else, it served as reassurance that, no matter where he was, he still loved you.

You neatly folded the pages back up and placed them under your bed with the rest of your few belongings. If you didn't head down to the cafeteria soon, you would miss out on dinner. It would be a lie if you said you weren't hungry after spending all day in the library.

You allowed your mind to wander as you made your way through Dema's streets. Stories that Tyler had told you began to make their way inside your head. Stories of a place called Trench that lay outside the walls. That was where the Banditos lived, or so he had said. It seemed to you that they were no more than a myth that those inside Dema created to feel as if they were less alone.

You hoped that if Tyler was out there, in Trench, that he was with the Banditos.

That is, if they actually existed.

You flipped onto your stomach and sighed, hoping that sleep would take you soon. It had felt like an eternity since you had laid down for bed, but something deep inside of you was keeping you awake. You couldn't help the feeling that you were being watched. No matter how many times you checked the window or the hall, you just couldn't quite shake it.

Just as you were finally beginning to drift off, you were woken up by someone placing a hand over your mouth. You reached up to grab at it, but their grip only tightened, preventing you from making any noise. The dark kept the details of the figure's face hidden, but you could just make out one finger pressed to their lips.

They slowly pulled their hand away from your mouth and took a step back towards the window. Moonlight shined down on them, fully revealing their features.

"Tyler," you whispered.

He looked different than the last time you had seen him. All of the cuts on his face were now healed and his hair had been shaved down close to his head. The clothes he wore were no longer the ones provided by Dema, but rather a camouflage jacket covered in bits and pieces of yellow tape.

They can't see yellow.

"I know you have questions, but I can answer them all later. We need to leave now before we get caught."

You nodded and immediately got out of bed. Tyler helped you pack up your things--he already knew which things held the most value to you--while you grabbed a coat and laced up your shoes. Your mind was racing with questions, but you knew the most important thing was following Tyler's instructions right now.

"Do you have everything?" Tyler asked as you pulled on your backpack.

"One more thing," you said.

You grabbed Tyler's face and pulled him towards you in a kiss. He deepened it for a moment before pulling away.

"We need to go."

You nodded, "I know."

He grabbed your hand and led you out of the room. You didn't even bother to take a second glance back. Anywhere that you were going with Tyler would be much better than the place you were leaving behind.

There were a number of other people waiting in the courtyard below, wearing their own yellow-covered jackets and holding torches. They all turned to face you and Tyler as you exited the building that you had called home for so many years. Tyler nodded to all of them and they began to move.

"Where are we going?" you asked, tightening your grip on his hand.

He turned to you and smiled, "Home."

You stayed silent as you followed the Banditos out of Dema. One of them covered you in your own pieces of tape as you walked, making you feel like less of an outsider. Tyler was just as quiet as you were; his attention was more focused on keeping an eye on your surroundings.

You eventually reached a camp full of hundreds of other Banditos. It was like an entire civilization that you hadn't even known existed, making a living in the hills that lay outside Dema. You looked around in awe as Tyler led you through the camp.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think it's beautiful," you answered.

The people here seemed happier--freer, even--than those who had lived within Dema's walls. You wished that everyone had a chance to make their way out here, away from the harsh rule of the bishops.

Tyler led you over to a small campfire and motioned for you to sit down. He took a seat next to you and immediately wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his side.

"Feel free to ask whatever questions you may have."

"Is this where you've been?" you asked.

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"Since the night that I supposedly disappeared from Dema."

"How?"

"I had been trying to escape before that point, but the bishops always caught up to me before long. It wasn't until that night that the Banditos came to rescue me. They met me in the courtyard and at that point, I knew I had escaped."

You stared into the fire for a moment, contemplating everything that Tyler had just told you.

"Why didn't you ask me to come with you?"

"It was too risky before now. I had to make sure that these people were trustworthy, and I knew that as long as you were in Dema you would keep a low profile and stay safe. The bishops weren't suspicious of you like they were of me. The plan was always to come back for you as soon as I could."

Tyler pulled you a little closer to him and pressed a kiss to your temple. He hardly looked like the Tyler that you had known, but you knew that deep down he was still the same.

"You know, I never stopped trying to find out where you went," you said. "Every day since you left, I sat in the library looking over records to see if the bishops had accidentally let any information slip through. And your letters, I must have read over them a dozen times."

"You did?"

You nodded, "I wasn't going to stop until I knew where you were. It was the only thing that I knew how to do without you there with me, really."

"Didn't you know I was going to come back for you?"

"How could I? I had no idea where you went."

Tyler fully wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his chest. He pressed numerous kisses to the top of your head.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I should have told you."

"It's ok, Tyler. It was too risky for you to leave any information with me. It was what had to be done to get me out of there."

"I love you so much."

You leaned back and grabbed his face, just to take a moment to admire him and the fact that he was really in front of you. Both of you were safe and alive and free.

"I love you too."

He kissed you. It was a gentle kiss, but it was eager. There was a lot of lost time to make up for.

"Speaking of leaving Dema," you whispered. "Where are we?"

Tyler smiled and turned to look out at the sea of yellow that lay before you. Dozens of Banditos moved freely around the camp, chatting with one another and going about their daily lives. He took hold of your hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Welcome to Trench."