Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/10583739.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Twenty_One_Pilots
  Relationship:
      Josh_Dun/Tyler_Joseph, Tyler_Joseph/Original_Male_Character
  Character:
      Tyler_Joseph, Josh_Dun, the_Joseph_family, Original_Characters
  Additional Tags:
      Scenes_of_sexual_abuse, highschool, Friends_to_Lovers, Trauma, Mentions
      of_Anxiety, Some_Fluff
  Series:
      Part 1 of the_villians_of_my_youth_(in_color)
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-04-10 Words: 4657
****** Mr. Blue ******
by melodramatic
Summary
     Josh helped to revive everything inside of Tyler that had died.
Notes
See the end of the work for notes
The first time it happened Tyler was almost eight.
He was sitting in his room, playing with two dolls: a king and a queen. All of
his scenes between the two were the same: the queen was taken by an evil
villian, but the king always found her and always rescued her regardless of who
took her where.
Tyler loved the king. Someday, he wanted to be a king.
He was sitting criss-cross on his floor when someone opened the door slowly.
"Hey Ty," Mr. Blue said, coming in the room and shutting it behind him. The
lock clicked, but Tyler wasn't worried. Mr. Blue was family - he trusted him
with his life.
"Hi, Mr. Blue! Wanna play with me? I'm playing King and Queen right now. It's a
game I made up," Tyler said, enthusiatically.
Mr. Blue walked further into the room and got down on his knees in front of
Tyler, "I have a better game we can play."
Tyler was skeptical. There was no way there was a better game than the one he
had made himself.
"What kind of game?"
"It's called Animals. We pretend we're animals and do stuff. It's fun."
Tyler shook his head, "No, I think I'd rather play my game."
"Oh, c'mon Tyler, just give it a shot. Please?"
Tyler pursed his lips and then sighed, "Fine, we can play animals. Only if I
get to choose what kind of animal I get to be."
"Of course you can choose!" Mr. Blue said, his face lighting up, "What kind of
animal do you want to be?"
"A lion!" Tyler said, without hesitation, "I wanna be a lion. Wait, no. The
king of the Lions! I wanna be King of the Lions!" He stood up and pumped his
fist triumphantly in the air.
"Okay, sure. And I'll be another Lion in your pack. Oh, but you need to take
your shirt off," Mr Blue said.
Tyler's face contorted, "What? Why?"
"Well, animals don't wear clothes, silly."
He thought for a moment at the nature documentaries he had seen. He supposed
Mr. Blue was right. Animals didn't wear clothes. 
"Um... okay. Sure," Tyler said, taking his shirt off.
"Pants, too. Pants are clothes."
Tyler silently took his pants off.
"You love me, right Tyler?" Mr Blue asked, beginning to undress himself, as
well.
And although Tyler was too young to really understand love, he knew his parents
loved Mr. Blue, so he guessed, by default, he loved him too.
So he shrugged, "Yeah, I guess."
"Well, do you know what animals do when they love each other?"
Tyler shook his head and shivered.
"Here, I'll show you. Lay down on your back."
::::
Tyler was playing Kings and Queens again. Any toys he had of animals were
tucked under his bed - he didn't like sleeping with his stuffed animals
anymore.
His door opened, and his mother poked her head in, "C'mon, Ty, it's time for
dinner."
He got up and put his king and queen in his pockets, going to go sit down at
the dinner table. He kept his head down, not looking at the chair across from
him where Mr. Blue always sat.
Once they were all served dinner, they began eating and talking. Tyler's mouth
was dry, and his glass was empty.
"Madison, can you pour me some water, please?" He asked his sister.
"I'll do it, I'm closer to the fridge," Mr. Blue offered.
"No!" Tyler shouted, his entire family ceasing their conversation to stare at
him, "I want my sister to do it."
"Tyler, don't be rude," His mother intervened, "Let Mr. Blue pour you the
water."
So Tyler let Mr. Blue pour him water.
After dinner, when everyone else went to bed, Mr. Blue woke Tyler up from his
sleep.
"Hey," He whispered, "You wanna play animals, again?"
Tyler shook his head, "No. Let me sleep."
"Let's play," He got on the bed and straddled Tyler, tugging the covers from
over him.
"Stop!" Tyler whisper-shouted, "I don't want to!"
Mr. Blue held Tyler down by the shoulders.
"This is what people do when they love each other."
::::
Tyler was ten now, but he still loved playing with his king and queen. He did
it all the time after school.
Sometimes, the king would save the queen.
But sometimes, Tyler would grab some dental floss from the bathroom and tie it
around the queen's neck, hanging her from his bedpost. The king would weep and
cry, but Tyler didn't care. 
He remembered he had homework, so he took out his math assignment and went into
the dining room, settling himself into the chair.
He was frustrated: he never understood math. It bothered him to his core that
he couldn't just blow through it and it made him angry. His mother walked into
the room.
"Mom, can you help me with my homework, please?" He asked.
"Of course. What do you need help on?"
"Everything," He sighed. 
His mother chuckled, "Oh, I'm no good at math, sweetheart. Your father is
great, though. Too bad he's at work."
The front door opened and closed, and Tyler hoped it was his father.
It was not.
"Mr. Blue, would you mind helping Tyler with his homework? It's math, and I've
always been better at English," His mother asked.
"I'd love to!" Mr. Blue responded.
Tyler swallowed, "Actually, it's okay. I can figure it out myself."
"Nonsense, Ty. C'mon. Let me show you how it's done," He said, walking over to
the dining room table and crowding Tyler from behind.
"You're a lifesaver, Mr. Blue. I'm gonna head out to the store real quick-"
"Can I come with you?" Tyler asked before she could finish her sentence.
She shook her head, "No, finish your homework. I'll be back in a few minutes,
alright?"
"Don't worry," Mr. Blue put a hand on Tyler's shoulder, "I'm gonna show you the
fun version of math."
His mother chuckled, "Have fun, you two."
When the front door open and shut, Tyler's heart dropped, and tears began to
well up in his eyes. Mr. Blue slid his hand from Tyler's shoulder, down to his
crotch, and he unbuttoned Tyler's pants.
"This is gonna be way more fun than math."
::::
Tyler was twelve, and hope was something he had forgotten long ago. One day in
P.E., they were to partner up for Badminton, and Tyler was the only one left
without a partner, right alongside one more kid in his class. 
"I guess we're partners today," The kid said.
"What's your name?" Tyler asked.
"My name's Josh. You're Tyler, right?"
He nodded.
"Are you any good at Badminton?"
Tyler shook his head, and Josh laughed.
"Me neither. Let's go kick some ass."
Tyler laughed and wondered why he never noticed this kid before. They played
horribly, as they both had predicted but they were cracking up the entire time.
At one point, Josh swung so hard that he popped his shoulder, but he still
missed the target. Tyler's face was red with laughter. 
Their P.E. teacher called for a ten minute water break, and Tyler and Josh
leaned up against the fence, drinking their water bottles.
"Hey, why do you always get changed in the bathroom?" Josh asked.
Tyler's heart hurt as he shrugged, "I just like the bathroom better."
"Why? The locker room is bigger."
"I know. I just don't like other people watching me get changed."
"Does it make you nervous?" He asked, looking over to face Tyler.
Tyler nodded, "Yeah. Nervous."
"Sometimes it makes me nervous, too. But I don't change in the bathroom."
Their teacher blew his whistle, and they went right back up to the court, and
Tyler was glad to be steered away from the conversation.
Once again, they played horribly, but they gave it their best. Tyler changed in
the bathroom, and Josh changed in the locker room. 
Josh jogged up to Tyler as he was heading to his next class.
"Hey," He said, startling Tyler from his thoughts.
"Oh, hey."
"You're a pretty good Badminton player."
Tyler laughed, "No, I am not. It was fun, though."
"Yeah it was fun. Wanna be partners for P.E. more often?" He asked.
Tyler nodded, "Sure. Fine with me."
They shook on it, and Josh waved goodbye as he headed the opposite direction to
their classes.
That night, Mr. Blue came into Tyler's room and showed him something they had
never done before. It hurt - oh, it hurt so bad. Tyler sobbed and screamed in
pain, but Mr. Blue covered his mouth with a sweaty palm so that no one heard.
Tyler felt something warm fill him up, and when Mr. Blue left, it trickled out
of him and onto his bedsheets. Tyler was disgusted with himself; he was ashamed
and disgusted. He opened the drawer to his nightstand with shaky hands to check
on his king and queen to make sure they were okay.
They were, for now.
::::
One night, Tyler hung both the king and the queen with dental floss. Neither
one of them saved the other.
::::
Mr. Blue got on his knees for Tyler on several occasions. On each occasion,
Tyler hated it just as much. He laid back and let it happen as he sobbed
quietly, and covered his ears: the disgusting sucking sound making him sick.
Tyler wondered if they had rope. He wanted to hang right alongside his king and
queen.
::::
"Are you okay, Tyler?" Josh had asked them one day as they ate lunch together.
Tyler was silent the entire time, and Josh talked on and on about a new comic
book he had just read.
But Tyler nodded, as he always did.
"You don't look okay."
"I don't feel okay."
"So you're not okay?"
Tyler shrugged.
"Do you want to talk about it? You can tell me, y'know. I'm a really good
listener," Josh said.
Tyler shook his head, "Keep talking about your comic book."
So Josh kept talking about his comic book, and Tyler half-listened.
After the last bell rang, Tyler saw that Mr. Blue was in the parking lot,
waiting for him, which was odd, because it was usually his mother or father
that picked him up from school.
Tyler quickly turned to Josh, "Can I come over to your house?"
Josh stopped mid-sentence from where he had been complaining about the new
science teacher, "Um. I'd have to ask my mom."
"Can you ask her? Please?" Tyler asked, his eyes flicking to Mr. Blue, and then
back to Josh.
Josh followed Tyler's gaze, "Is that your dad waiting for you?"
Tyler shook his head, "No. Just - please, ask your mom if I can come over."
So Josh took out his cellphone and called his mom. They had about a three
minute conversation, and Tyler silently asked him to rush before Mr. Blue
caught sight of him. He could already tell the man was suspicious of the wait
time, and Tyler was deathly afraid that he'd get out of the car to come and
retrieve Tyler. 
"Okay, bye mom. Love you too," Josh said, hanging up.
"What'd she say?"
"She said you can come over. But we have to still get our homework done."
Tyler's eyes lit up, "Great! Awesome! Let's go!"
Josh's house wasn't far away, so they walked the few blocks to get there, and
they both sat on the couch in the living room, doing their homework in silence,
with the occasional bit of dialouge.
"Who was that man who came to get you today?" Josh asked.
Tyler's pencil shook in his hand, "No one. Just a family friend," He lied.
"You seemed afraid of him," Josh said, stopping his homework to face Tyler.
Tyler bit his lip, tears stinging his eyes. He couldn't cry in front of Josh.
If he cried in front of Josh, then he'd have to explain why he was crying, and
there was no way his brain would let him do that. He wanted to tell someone -
but he couldn't. He just couldn't. 
"I - I'm not afraid of him," Tyler said, the newfound high-pitch in his tone
betraying him.
Josh did not say anything, just kept looking at him.
"I just-" And then he broke down. Tears stained his textbook, his shoulder
shook, and he sniffled every other second - Josh didn't know what to do, so he
did what his mother did to him whenever he cried.
He scooted closer to Tyler and moved both of their textbooks to the side,
hugging him into his chest. With one hand, he stroked Tyler's hair, and let the
boy clutch onto his shirt as he continued bawling.
"Why are you crying?" Josh asked. 
Tyler shook his head - he wasn't ready to say anything. He willed himself to
stop crying, but his will was not strong enough and his body disobeyed him.
"It's okay. You don't have to tell me," Josh said, as he continued stroking the
boy's hair. He felt a lump in his throat and a dampness in his heart as he let
Tyler cry and cry until he tired himself out.
"I'm sorry," The boy said, pulling himself back and wiping his nose, "Sorry, I
got your shirt all wet."
Josh looked down, "It's okay. I didn't like this shirt anyways."
Tyler chuckled, and brought his knees up to his chest, hugging himself tight.
"Do you wanna watch TV? Or we can play some videogames?" Josh asked.
"Let's watch TV."
Josh nodded and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on, "I'll put on something
funny. You can tell me if you wanna change it."
Tyler sighed and kept his eyes focused on the screen. When Josh put his arm
back around the boy, and Tyler leaned into his shoulder he decided that he may
not have known Josh for very long, but he wanted to become his best friend. He
was the nicest person he had ever met. 
Josh put on a TV show that Tyler had never even seen before, but the both of
them watched it, laughing harder and harder with each scene.
Tyler liked it here.
He wished he lived here.
"I wished I lived here instead of with my family," Tyler said quietly.
Josh turned to him, but didn't pause the TV, "Why?"
He shrugged.
Josh caressed the side of Tyler's arm with his hand, and they continued
watching television together.
Josh's mom came home and smiled at the two boys on the couch, sleeping side by
side.
She gently shook Josh's arm, "Josh. We have to take your friend home. It's
almost eight o'clock."
Josh blinked himself awake and mumbled an "okay" as he shook Tyler's arm, as
well.
"Tyler, we have to take you home now," He said.
Tyler squeezed his eyes tighter and sighed.
"C'mon. It's almost eight o'clock and we still have school in the morning," He
said, reminding himself that it was only a Wednesday.
The boy opened his eyes and sat up from the couch, a frown on his face.
Josh looked at him and removed some fringe from his eyes, "Are you feeling
better?"
He shook his head.
"Are you afraid to go home?"
He nodded.
"I can ask my mom if you can stay the night, if you want."
But Tyler shook his head again, "It's alright. I'll just lock my door when I go
to bed."
Josh didn't know what he meant by that, but he gave him a polite smile and
gathered his things for him as Josh's mom lead them both to the car.
The ride there was silent, besides a few questions from Josh's mom about Tyler.
Tyler answered each question with short and succinct answers. There was a knot
in his gut that prevented him from talking too much.
 "He's a bit of an odd boy," Josh's mom commented when Tyler left the car.
Josh nodded, "Yeah, he is."
Silence.
"He says he's afraid of going home. That's why he wanted to come over today."
Josh's mom looked at him through the rear-view mirror, "Afraid of going home?
Why?"
Josh shrugged, "He didn't say."
His mother hummed in recognition, and they drove back home quietly, the both of
them in deep thought.
That night Tyler went home and locked the door, even though he knew it would be
fruitless. Mr. Blue had a key.
He opened Tyler's door and entered silently.
"Where were you today?" He asked.
Tyler didn't answer. He faced the wall and closed his eyes, hoping the man
would go away.
"I asked you a question, Tyler."
"Can you just leave me alone, please? I just want to go to sleep. Please, Mr.
Blue."
"No. Only good boys get rest. You haven't been good, Tyler."
Tyler wanted to scream. He just wanted to go to sleep. That's all he wanted.
Some sleep.
The bed dipped behind him, and Mr. Blue grabbed his arms, straddling him and
pinning him down to the bed.
Tyler grimaced and turned his face as Mr. Blue started kissing down his neck. 
"Kiss me," He commanded.
Tyler closed his mouth tightly and shook his head.
"I said kiss me, bitch," He spat, pinning both of Tyler's wrists with only one
hand so that he could grab Tyler's face with his other hand and connect their
lips.
Tyler kicked his feet against the bed frowned, unsuccessfully trying to get
away from Mr. Blue's tight grip. 
The rest of the night was spent in silent screams and wishes of death, and
Tyler was left to cry himself to sleep yet again. He thought about Josh's
household, and hoped Josh never had to endure this.
::::
"Mom?" Tyler asked one day, as he sat on the couch next to his mom, where she
was typing away on her laptop.
"Hm?" She responded disinterestedly, not taking her eyes off of the screen.
"I don't like being alone with Mr. Blue," He whispered.
"What? Why not?" She asked, now turning to look at him.
"He -" Tyler looked around the living room, and they were the only ones in
there, "He makes me do weird stuff. Gross stuff."
"What are you talking about?" She shut her laptop screen and put it on the
coffee table in front of her, focusing fully on her twelve-year-old son.
"Like, sometimes, he-"
"Hey, guys!" Mr. Blue entered the room in his usual cheery spirit, "I'm going
out to the store. Anyone need anything?"
Tyler's mom raised her hand to Mr. Blue, as if silencing him, "Hold on. Stay
here," She turned back to Tyler, "What does Mr. Blue do to you?"
Behind his mother's back Mr. Blue shot a look so menacing at Tyler - so fearful
that suddenly Tyler's chest felt tight, and his heart felt like a congregation
of sharp knives.
"Tyler, tell me what you were about to tell me."
He shook his head, "Nevermind. I forgot."
His mother raised an eyebrow and looked back at Mr. Blue who suddenly changed
his expression.
Tyler got up and ran to his room, ignoring the shout of his name. A few minutes
later, his mother knocked on the door, and then opened it. She sat down next to
him and placed a hand on his thigh.
"Tyler, honey. Tell me what you were going to tell me. I know you didn't
forget."
He bit his lip, and tears stung at his eyes. Somewhere in the back of his mind
he thought of Josh.
"He - he," Tyler hiccuped, "He comes into my room at night. He makes me
do gross things. And, he calls me sexy. Or bitch. Or -" His chest got tighter
and tighter, and he didn't feel the tears streaming down his face as his entire
body began to tingle with numbness, and he couldn't finish his sentence before
his chest restricted completely, keeping him from breathing.
His mother covered her mouth with her hand, as she began to cry aswell, tucking
her son closely to her chest.
She didn't say anything, and they both cried together.
"I'm so sorry, Ty. I'm so sorry."
Now that everything was out on the table, he wanted to tell her more.
"He touches me all over, and he always," He pounded his fist on the bed,
"Always," pound, "Always makes me get on my knees and-"
"Okay, okay, okay, I get it, Tyler. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, just don't
say anymore. I'm so sorry," She cried, as she now leaned on Tyler more than he
did on her.
There was a knot in his gut after she told him to stop talking. He wanted to
tell her more. He wanted to get it all out of his system. But he couldn't. Not
even his own mother would listen to him. 
They sat there crying and crying more, and that night, when Tyler's father came
home, he went into his bedroom with Tyler's mom and the light shut off. He
wondered if maybe they were talking about what Tyler had told her.
Mr. Blue came into Tyler's room that night, and Tyler got punished for not
keeping his big mouth shut.
::::
It was three days before Tyler saw any change in the household arrangement.
Suddenly, Tyler came home from school, and Mr. Blue wasn't there. 
His parents sat him down at the dining room table, "Mr. Blue is at the police
station, Tyler. And we're going to take you down there tomorrow so that you
they can talk to you, alright?"
He nodded, and asked if he could go over to his friend's house.
A few minutes later, he knocked on Josh's door.
"Hey, Ty. Wanna play some games?" He asked.
Tyler shook his head.
"Just wanted to get away from your house?"
Tyler nodded.
"Okay. We can watch TV. I'll make some popcorn."
::::
Josh was the most understanding person Tyler had ever met. He had yet to tell
Josh why he didn't like being at his house, he had yet to tell Josh what he was
afraid of, but Josh always listened to Tyler when he did tell him things.
"I'm gonna tell you something, but you can't look at me or pause the game,
okay?" Tyler said one day, when they were playing Donkey Kong together. They
were fiteen - it had been three and a half years since Tyler had seen Mr. Blue,
but he still didn't like being in his house. The walls were still stained with
memories that he regretting taking part in.
"Okay," Josh said without missing a beat.
"Remember the first time I ever asked to come over to your house?" 
"Of course. The start of our friendship."
Tyler chuckled, despite the lump in his throat, "Yeah."
"What about it?" Josh asked.
"Well, the whole reason I asked to come over was 'cause I didn't want to go
home."
"I know."
"'Cause I was scared."
"I know. You told me."
Tyler didn't say anything for a few minutes.
"Why were you scared?" Josh asked, his tone soft, but his attention still on
the video game, just as Tyler had requested.
"Because there was someone that used to live with us. And he - he hurt me
constantly."
Josh was quiet as he thought.
"Like... he hit you?"
"No."
"How did he hurt you?"
Tyler swallowed and pressed the controller buttons hard, "The other way."
"What other way?"
"The other way, Josh."
Despite Tyler's requests, Josh paused the video game and turned to Tyler, who
kept his gaze forward at the paused screen.
"Like..." Josh lowered his tone, "Sexually?"
Tyler nodded and tucked his legs close to his chest, resting his chin on his
knees.
Josh stared at him for a moment, as if he were expecting Tyler to say something
else.
He didn't.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Josh asked.
Tyler shrugged and tears stung his eyes - he cursed himself for being so damn
emotional.
Josh wrapped him up in a hug, and Tyler tried to defy himself by not letting
any tears fall. But, much to his dismay, they fell, staining Josh's shirt. 
"I'm so sorry. I can't believe I never knew," Josh said, more to himself than
to Tyler. 
And that night, Tyler stayed over at Josh's house, even though he hadn't been
planning to. He borrowed some of Josh's pajamas, but they were rather large on
him, and he blushed when Josh said he looked cute.
Josh stayed up with Tyler as they faced each other under the sheets, his hand
soothingly smoothing it's way up and down Tyler's arm. 
Tyler confessed everything to him that night - why he didn't like changing in
the locker rooms, why sometimes his chest got really tight and he couldn't
breathe, why he he held a slight resentment towards his parents, and why he
didn't like being left alone with people.
"What about me? Are you okay being left alone with me?" Josh asked, concern all
over his face.
"Yeah," Tyler nodded, "It's different with you. I like you."
Josh chuckled and rested his hand on the back of Tyler's elbow, "I like you
too."
They smiled softly at each other, and Tyler yawned.
"Thank you for listening to me. No one ever wants me to talk about it. Even my
therapist acts weird sometimes," Tyler said, looking down at the sheets.
"I'm glad you told me," Josh replied.
Tyler smiled and yawned again.
"Let's go to bed," He suggested.
Josh went to go flick off the bedroom lights, but Tyler stopped him.
"Wait. Can you leave them on, actually? I don't - I can't sleep in the dark."
"Yeah, sure. Of course."
Josh cuddled up closely to Tyler, and kissed him on the forehead. Tyler sighed
and hummed happily.
He wished he could live here, with Josh.
He'd be so happy here.
::::
When Tyler was seventeen, he opened the drawer to his nightstand, and saw his
king and queen still being choked by dental floss. He removed the dental floss
from their necks and placed them side by side, right where they should be. 
There was still a knot in his gut - there was almost always a knot in his gut
nowadays. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he didn't do anything
wrong, but there was still such a strong sense if guilt in the pit of his
stomach, that sometimes he had trouble eating.
But Josh was always there. 
On a particularly bad night, Tyler slept over at Josh's, and cried himself to
sleep, while Josh held him close to his chest and whispered sweet sayings in
his ear.
"You're safe now," He'd say.
"No one is going to hurt you again. I promise."
And Tyler believed him with every last bit of his heart. 
The first time they actually kissed, they were playing video games as usual.
Tyler lost and he pouted, and Josh leaned forward to kiss the pout away.
For a few minutes, they had forgotten completely about the video game.
Josh kissed Tyler a lot, and he reminded Tyler how much he loved him a lot.
He fixed Tyler small meals when his stomach was feeling particularly bad, and
Tyler couldn't have been more greatful.
He was 24 before he was actually happy.
Josh proposed to him on a summer day.
It was beautiful, and that night was the first night that either of them saw
the other get fully undressed.
It was slow, sensual, and Tyler loved the way Josh kissed him.
There was still a knot in his gut, but there was no tightness in his chest, and
no knives in his heart, and he figured that as long as he still had Josh, the
knot in his gut was irrelevant.
Because his king and queen were no longer hanging by floss - they were happily
spending eternity beside each other. 
Happily spending an eternity beside each other, much like Tyler and Josh were
going to do.
There wasn't another toy that hung by dental floss again.
End Notes
     I'm sorry if this was hard to read.
     I'd love some feedback, and to know what you thought of this.
     Stay alive
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
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