#the way carlos looks at tk in that first one is just.... yep

[guardian-angle22]

TK/Carlos + Looks

↳ 2.12 The Big Heat

[paperstorm]

Thanks for the tags @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @heartstringsduet @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @strandnreyes @thisbuildinghasfeelings @birdclowns @orchidscript @whatsintheboxmh @nancys-braids

I have withheld Tarlos from y'all for long enough so have an extra long snippet

“Hey.” TK smiles back. He turns to shut the door and by the time he turns around Carlos is right in front of him, arms opening for TK to tuck himself into. He does, letting Carlos wrap him up and hugging around Carlos’s waist.

“I was wiping down the shower earlier, I probably smell like Mr. Clean,” Carlos says, kissing the side of TK’s head.

TK rests his head on Carlos’s shoulder, extending the hug for just a moment longer because Carlos is warm and his arms have always felt like home. “Lemony fresh.”

“Super sexy, right?” Carlos jokes.

“Mhm.”

“How was work?”

“Fine,” TK answers, in a tone he hopes is a neutral. He isn’t lying, but Carlos has been watching him like a hawk the last week. Sometimes TK feels eyes on him like bright sunlight burning his skin, as if Carlos is waiting with bated breath for TK to break down sobbing in the middle of brushing his teeth.

Nudging his head up, Carlos makes TK look at him. Part of TK wants to look away, but he makes himself hold his boyfriend’s glossy-eyed gaze. This is what he’s always wanted, he reminds himself; someone who sees him, who knows him and loves him as if his numerous flaws aren’t just a floor-length list of deal-breakers.

Carlos brushes his thumb gently underneath TK’s eye. TK supposes they’re still a little puffy, in a way that most people wouldn’t notice but Carlos does. Softly, he asks, “Are you okay?”

TK nods and tries to smile reassuringly. He is okay, he isn’t lying about that either, he just feels like it’s harder to make Carlos believe him recently. He steps away from his boyfriend and moves toward the kitchen. A long moment of silence soundtracks him as he goes into the refrigerator. Carlos must have been shopping today, TK notices three bottles of sparkling flavored Perrier that weren’t there this morning. It makes him smile to himself and he selects the grapefruit one, finding a glass and turning back to Carlos to ask if he wants some.

He finds Carlos still near the door, looking at him with puppy-dog eyes and the little fold between his eyebrows. It’s so endearing it makes TK laugh. He shakes his head fondly. “Baby. I’m fine.”

“You lost your mom really recently, TK,” Carlos counters in a tentative voice. “You don’t have to be fine. I mean, of course I don’t want you to be sad all the time but if you are sad … that’s okay.”

TK nods. “Thank you. Do you want some water?”

“Sure.”

Carlos steps closer as TK pours, taking a seat on one of the barstools and smiling when TK gives him a glass. Their fingers brush and Carlos grabs for his other hand, bring it to his lips to kiss TK’s knuckles over the countertop before letting him go.

“So, coffee with Tommy?” Carlos questions, repeating TK’s earlier text back to him.

“Yep.”

“You’ve been working with her for over a year and you’ve never gone out for coffee with her.”

“We did actually go for coffee,” TK begins after taking a breath, not wanting Carlos to think he was lying. He takes a small sip, the bubbles fizzy against his tongue, and leans his backside against the closed door of the dishwasher. “We just went to a meeting, first.”

Carlos tilts his head to one side in confusion. “What kind of meeting?”

“Like a support group. For people who’ve lost someone, run by a grief counsellor.”

“Oh.” His eyes soften, lips parting slightly. “Oh, I … that sounds like a good thing.”

“It was,” TK agrees. “She’s been going since Charles died and she asked yesterday if I wanted to go with her.”

He doesn’t mention that before she asked, he’d spent a few heart-pounding seconds thinking she was about to fire him for almost stealing from the narcotics safe. The guilt of it eats away at his edges like acid, even though he thinks she was being honest about trusting that he won’t do it again. Whether he’d managed to fool her into believing leaving it unlocked had simply been an accident, he doesn’t know. Whether his father let her in on what TK’d actually been doing that day, he doesn’t know. It all simmers underneath his skin like mosquito bites, and the largest, itchiest one of all is the fact that Carlos doesn’t know anything about any of it.

Part of TK longs to tell him. He wants to give everything to this man, and he wants Carlos to do the same. For the time being, a larger part of him wants to desperately cling to the idea that his addiction and his mess and his jagged edges are all too far in his past to touch them. TK knows Carlos looks at him and sees softness and kindness and a rose-colored glow and he loves that; he loves imagining he could live up to the person Carlos thinks he can be. The idea of shattering that illusion makes his knees want to buckle underneath him.

“Do you mind if I don’t get into it?” TK asks. Nothing he said was a secret, but he already told a room full of people all about how much he misses his mom, and then reiterated it to Tommy 30 minutes later in the back corner of a busy Starbucks. He doesn’t think he has the strength to talk about it a third time tonight.

Carlos frowns for a moment but then he nods and there’s only a trace of tightness in his smile. “Sure, of course.”

Tags under the cut

Tagging @theghostofashton @reyesstrand @carlos-in-glasses @actual-sleeping-beauty @herefortarlos

@goodways @alrightbuckaroo @lightningboltreader @freneticfloetry @mooshkat

@liminalmemories21 @lemonlyman-dotcom @inkweedandlizards @bonheur-cafe @reasonandfaithinharmony

@thebumblecee @never-blooms @sanjuwrites @jesuisici33 @kiwichaeng @fallout-mars

@honeybee-taskforce @vineofroses @fitzherbertssmolder @safeashousespdf @captain-gillian

@firstprince-history-huh @just-inside-her @welcomehometk

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Again - not so short, short story for @tarlosweeklyprompts word of the day: Pain

It started with a concussion (AO3) Different first meeting AU

Carlos runs into TK while chasing a suspect - Literally.

---

“All units be advised, possible code 211 in progress.”

Carlos heard the call over the radio about a robbery in progress. He knew the place was just a few minutes from where he was, so he packed up his sandwich and turned on the lights and sirens of his cruiser and went to check it out. Lunch could wait.

“Officer Reyes, unit 363H20 responding.”

When he arrived on the scene, the suspect had just walked out of the building and tried to blend in with the crowd to get away.

Carlos saw another cruiser pull up and two of his colleagues get out.

“You got eyes on the guy?” one of the other cops asked him.

“Yep. But he thinks I don’t.”

“Go pick him up. We’ll handle things here.”

“Sure thing.” Carlos replied and started casually walking in the direction of the suspect, pretending not to have noticed him or know what he’d just done. He pretended to look in a shop window and check his messages on his phone and the guy seemed to be none the wiser.

At least for a few minutes.

Until Carlos’ radio sprung to life with a request for an update.

“Unit 363H20 what’s your status.”

The guy must’ve heard the radio and Carlos’ cursed himself for not turning it off. He could tell the exact moment he was seen and the guy panicked and started running.

“I wish they wouldn’t do that.” Carlos mumbled to himself and started running after him.

“Dispatch this is officer Reyes, unit 363H20, I’m in pursuit of a suspect on foot, heading west on Fifth. Suspect is wearing blue jeans, black hoodie, and a black baseball cap. Unclear if suspect is armed. Requesting assistance.”

He chased the guy through a busy street, doing his best to avoid shoppers, strollers, small children, and pensioners.

“Stop! Police!” he demanded but the guy kept running.

“Unit 363H20, multiple units dispatched to your location.” Dispatch told him over the radio. He heard police sirens behind him but didn’t bother to check which of his colleagues were joining the chase.

The guy rounded a corner and Carlos ran after him, almost slamming into a woman with a baby in a stroller. He managed to avoid them at the last second, stumbling but just about managing to stay upright and throwing an apology over his shoulder.

He looked around and for a second he thought he’d lost his suspect until he suddenly heard a commotion on the other side of the street and saw the guy push through a group of teenagers.

Carlos blindly crossed the street, ignoring various car horns and angry drivers, and in the back of his mind he could practically hear his mother yell at him to look both ways.

He saw the guy duck into an alley between a Starbucks and a shoe store and that’s when Carlos knew he had him. The alley was a dead end, leading to the back wall of a McDonald’s parking lot. Too high to climb over and no way to go around.

Carlos picked up the pace to close the guy in before he could turn around and get away, only he was so focused on getting to his suspect, he somehow completely missed the person coming out of the Starbucks.

He slammed into the other person and felt something cold seep through his uniform shirt as they hit the ground.

He tried to break his fall by throwing his arms out but landed awkwardly on one arm, and he swore he heard  his wrist break.

And to make matters worse he banged his head on a concrete flower pot.

He was never going to hear the end of this at the precinct.

“Sorry…” he muttered as he tried to get up without hurting the other person, and reached for his radio, only to find it gone from his shoulder. “Shit.” His head hurt and his vision was swimming.

“Yeah...” the other person groaned and Carlos thought he heard dispatch through his radio.

“TK? Are you still there? TK? Hello?”

Not dispatch.

He tried to get up again but suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, hey, take it easy. You’re bleeding.”

“What?”

“TK? Who is bleeding? What’s going on?”

“Nothing mom, I’ll call you back.” Carlos heard the sound of a call being disconnected.

Someone carefully helped him sit up against a lamppost and Carlos did his best to focus on the person helping him.

“Hey, can you look at me? Can you follow my finger?”

“What?” Carlos squeezed his eyes shut, wondering when the sun got so bright.

“Can you see?” someone put a hand on his leg and Carlos tried to figure out if it was the same person that was talking to him. “Officer Reyes?”

Carlos opened his eyes at the mention of his name and saw a guy of about his age, giving him a concerned look.

“Can you see me?” the guy asked again, his green eyes full of worry.

“How do you know my name?” Carlos asked, still trying to process that part of their meeting.

“It’s on your uniform.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah…” Carlos mumbled and squeezed his eyes shut again and shook his head to try and get his brain working enough to process everything that was going on. Which turned out to be a bad idea because it only made his head hurt more.

“Someone call 911! And get me a first aid kit!”

Carlos slowly opened his eyes again and looked at the guy in front of him. He was good looking, if they’d met in a club Carlos would definitely have made a move.

“Are you a doctor?” he asked and the guy smiled.

“Paramedic actually.”

“Lucky me…”

“Yeah I wouldn’t call myself lucky just yet if I were you. You hit the street pretty hard. We both did.”

“Yeah… sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it. The only victim on my part was my iced coffee.” The guy said as he put on gloves from the first aid kit someone had brought him. “I’m TK. What’s your name? Your first name?”

“TK? That’s not a name, those are letters.” Carlos mumbled, trying to get his brain to start co-operating again.

TK laughed.

“Technically it’s a nickname. But nobody except my mother and my doctor know my full name.” He said as he pressed some gauze against Carlos’ head, making him wince in pain. “Sorry, but I have to put pressure on this to stop the bleeding. You’re going to need stitches.”

“Great.”

“Can you hold this for me?” TK lifted Carlos’ good arm up to his head and put his hand on the gauze. “So I can do something about that arm.”

“I think it’s broken.” Carlos said as TK carefully examined him.

“Yeah, looks like it. Or a bad sprain at the very least. I have to immobilise it. It’ll help with the pain.”

Carlos nodded and then groaned when he remembered he’d hit his head.

“Does anyone have a towel or something?” He heard TK ask the gathered crowd. “I need something to make a sling for his arm.”

Carlos was vaguely aware of TK arguing with someone but he found it hard to focus on anything but the pain in his head and his arm.

“Ok, I’ll just use this.” TK told him. “Sorry but this is going to hurt.”

“Already does.” Carlos replied but then only just suppressed a scream when TK moved his arm and strapped it in a makeshift splint before tying it into a hoodie and knotting the sleeves together in his neck.

“I know. I’m sorry.” TK said and he really did sound apologetic. “Let me see that headwound.” He carefully removed Carlos’ hand and the gauze. “Looks like it’s not bleeding as heavily anymore.”

Somewhere in the distance was the sound of a siren coming closer.

“Cavalry is here. They’ll take you to hospital to get you fixed up.”

“I don’t need to go to hospital. I’ll be ok. Just… give me a minute.”

“I’ve given you several minutes, officer, and it’s not looking any better. You need stitches and an x-ray for that arm.”

The ambulance pulled up and the paramedics got out.

“Carlos?” a familiar voice said and Carlos winced. The last thing he needed was his best friend’s sister being on duty.

“Hey Michelle…”

“What happened?”

“We crashed into each other.” TK explained. “He hit his head, the bleeding has slowed but not stopped and I’m pretty sure it needs stitches. Possible concussion and possible fractured wrist.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“I’m a paramedic with AFD station 126. Well… I will be come Monday.”

“Wait… You’re TK Strand, my new paramedic?”

“Yeah… looks like it.”

“Well at least you know your stuff.” Michelle commented and turned to the other paramedic on scene. “Nancy patch him up and load him up.”

“On it cap.”

Nancy knelt down in front of Carlos and started treating his head wound and the other scrapes on his face. He wished she’d leave TK to it but unlucky for him, TK had seemingly disappeared with Michelle.

Ten minutes later he was being loaded into the waiting ambulance and he heard Michelle instruct Nancy to let the hospital know they were on their way.

“Do you want a ride?” he heard her ask and Carlos wanted to reply and tell her he was already in the back of the ambulance until he heard TK reply and realised she wasn’t talking to him.

“Uh… if that’s ok? I’m not on duty yet… and I didn’t get hurt.”

“I’m the boss and I say it’s ok. Hop on in with Nancy, we’ll show you the city and the bus and you can get to know your new crew.”

When they arrived at the hospital, Carlos was whisked away for tests and treatments and despite his protests he got set up in a room to stay overnight for observation.

Iris stopped by to see him and he knew it would only be a matter of time before his mother found out too and would come fuss over him like he was a baby.

He lay back against the pillows and tried to get comfortable enough to maybe get some sleep before the chaos would inevitably start, when he heard a knock on the door. He opened his eyes and saw TK standing in the doorway.

“Hey… I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

“I didn’t want to intrude on your time with your girlfriend so I just… waited until she left.” TK told him as he sat down next to the bed.

Carlos frowned.

“Girlfriend?”

“Yeah… the brunette that was here earlier? Is she not your girlfriend?”

“Brun-… oh you mean Iris.”

“Is that her name?”

“Yeah. She’s my best friend. Not my girlfriend. I’m gay.” Carlos said and felt stupid for coming out to a total stranger. “We’ve been friends since we were kids. Michelle is her sister. That’s how she found out I’m in here.” He added quickly. “We did make a pact to marry each other when we were 17 if we were still single at 30.”

TK gave him an amused look.

“And how is that working out for you?”

“Well… she has a boyfriend… and I don’t. So I guess the pact is off.”

“You don’t seem to be too heartbroken about that.”

“Yeah… she’s not really my type.”

“What is your type then?” TK asked and Carlos wondered if he was imagining things or if TK really was flirting with him.

“Oh… uh… I don’t know… I don’t really have a type I guess.” Carlos said, suddenly really interested in the loose thread on the hospital blanket.

“So how’s the head?” TK asked after a few minutes, changing the subject, which Carlos was grateful for. “Concussion?”

“Yeah. They’re keeping me in overnight.”

“That’s probably for the best, you hit your head pretty hard earlier.”

“Yeah. And a broken wrist.” He held up the arm with a cast on it. “So I’ll probably be on desk duty for a while.”

“Sounds like a good thing to me. Less dangerous. Less likely to crash into people.” TK commented, a smile tugging at his lips. “I heard some cops talking though that they caught the guy.”

“Have you been eavesdropping on cops?”

“It was for a good cause! I had to make sure your bad guy didn’t get away. For the safety of the city of course.”

Carlos smiled, starting to feel more at ease around TK.

“Of course. So considerate of you.”

“I know right? Maybe I should let my mom call the mayor so I’ll get a medal.” TK joked and they both laughed. “For heroic acts of service for the people of Austin.”

“People? And I thought it was just me. I thought I was special.”

“You are. But I would probably have to expand my business if I want that medal.”

“Oh right, it’s all about that medal. Though I’d say saving a police officer from certain death has to count for something too.” Carlos said, making TK laugh again.

He really liked TK’s laugh.

Suddenly his phone buzzed on the nightstand and he reached out to grab it and check the notification.

“Ugh no…”

“Bad news?”

“My mom knows I’m in here. Iris probably told her.”

“Is that such a bad thing? I can imagine she’ll want to know if something happens to you.”

“Yeah. But she’ll act like I’m dying and none of the doctors and nurses in this hospital know what they’re doing.” He sighed. “So run while you still can.”

“I don’t know, sounds like you need protection from your family. I saved your life once today, I can do it again.” TK joked. “Mothers love me, you know. I’m a good buffer.”

“You don’t want to go up against Andrea Reyes, trust me.” Carlos stressed. “She’s in a league of her own.”

TK laughed and rummaged around in his backpack before pulling out a marker. He got up and carefully leaned over Carlos to write something on his cast.

“I’ll leave you to prepare for your mother’s arrival.” He joked. “But when you get out of here, text me. Maybe you can buy me a new iced coffee.”

[heartstringsduet]

For the tarlos drabble..maybe a peek into the danger zone universe👀

Thanks for being invested in that fic still <3 Had to find y way in and this might not ever be a true part of a sequel because I had to speedwrite to meet my word count, but I had a BLAST writing this. But also...sorry???? 👀😂 The second inspiration is by @strandnreyes prompt for the Speak Now Writing Prompt song "Enchanted" and the line "Please don't be in love with someone else" - liberally interpreted. - Danger Zone Universe

Week 26 - Freshman Year - January

TK lays on the blanket, head in Grace’s lap and hums as his hair is tugged at playfully. UT students rush by, all a mass his eyes never focus on. He should be doing his first assignments for the semester, but he can’t be bothered to. 

Christmas break has made him long to be back and lose himself again in anything that isn’t the mess of his family. Christmas break has made him miss room 126, the meticulously made bed on the other side, the sink filled with only his stuff, the little pad of sticky notes and the cramped space of his own bed. He’s missed strong arms and the familiar little snores and being kissed like he was worth being known.

He misses sharing a room with Carlos. 

It was only made worse by how little time they had to give into the need that had built for months and months of fighting and pining. It’s the second week of the new semester, 10 days of sleeping in the same room, and neither of them has picked up where they left off. TK had felt too vulnerable for once to face rejection if Carlos didn’t want him after he had gotten his fill. TK just hadn’t had the strength to make a move after a week of pretending to be fine in his father’s new house and new life. 

And Carlos… Who knew why Carlos also hadn’t come into the room, pulled TK in and fucked him into the mattress until the neighbors hammered against their door.

Maybe it was a one time thing after all. Maybe once was enough to ebb Carlos’ curiosity. TK thought that maybe Carlos would be different. But in the end, they get what they want from him and they move on. It’s how he is, too. It’s okay. It has to be. They have four months of sharing a room to either go back to being in a war or at least be civil. 

TK has done a good job at pretending that everything is fine. Casual. Carlos is out of the room more often than not and when he’s in, TK slips in his headphones and quietly listens to a podcast, not even in the mood to provoke Carlos by turning the volume up. 

Nights are the hardest. He sees the silhouette of Carlos’ body under the blanket on the other bed and remember how it had felt to feel it against his back. They’d fallen asleep after a second round, Carlos first, then, TK, the arm around his waist keeping him warm and safe.

There’s a party tonight. There’ll be other guys. None which will make his blood boil or his mind go into loops. But there’ll be guys who will show him just how much they want him and that’s what he needs. 

Gracie’s hand in his hair is a nice comfort, a bandaid, but he feels like he is slowly bleeding out the longer Carlos and him are so goddamn polite and distant to each other. He doesn’t even feel like bringing the Danger Zone sign out. It’s tainted now that he thought they’d both use it together. 

So Carlos isn’t actually interested. So what?

TK will just have to find a bathroom or an empty bedroom tonight. Maybe someone who looks like the complete opposite to Carlos, so he can remind his body that it doesn’t truly desire it. TK doesn’t need shyness,  warm brown eyes, sweet fumbling and kind questions, leading into passion that felt incinerating.

All TK needs from tonight is to forget what it felt like the one moment he thought he was in love and loved.

“Darling? You sure you’re okay?”

TK hums under Grace’s gentle hands. “Yep.”

“Really? Been hearing zero complaints about a certain roommate and that is a trademark TK Strand thing.”

“We’ve been getting along this semester.”

“Hmm. That’s nice?”

“Yeah,” TK says, voice carefully light like he has learned to do for both his parents. “It’s nice. What about you and Judd? Didn’t he invite you over to his uncle’s ranch over New Years?”

Grace softly flicks his ear and says, “With a bunch of other friends. And you were invited, remember? So don’t get ideas, mister.”

“What ideas could I possibly have?” TK says, finding genuine joy now that they’ve wandered away from his endlessly hung-up mind. It’s easier to lose himself in trying to see the two friends - the one not-yet couple he might see an actual future for no matter how bitterness about romance was nurtured in him early on - get closer and closer.

They talk about the New Years party he was invited to but couldn’t go to because the night before, his dad had come home from chemo and TK had heard him wretch in the middle of the night. He’d sat up with him after the third time, both of them just watching TV with a tea in hand, silent but together. When TK has slipped into sleep, he’d dreamt of a funeral, of a tombstone, and he had woken up in fear that this was the last New Year’s he might have with his father.

It was a miserable night. Followed by a miserable night. But that had felt right to TK, matching the guilt he carried about being a bad son.

Hearing about the party doesn’t make him feel worse though. Hearing how much fun Grace had dancing on an ancient oak table that creaked under the weight of her and her friend, how they had given each other a friendly kiss on the cheek (yes, all of us, okay, yes Judd gave me one, too, DON’T SAY ANYTHING) and how they had all stayed over, having to sleep on the floor on blankets, TK thinks it’s what his friends deserve. 

He wouldn’t have been able to party the way he usually did with them anyway. Judd and Grace are worriers. The less they know of this side of him, the better.

Grace breaks off in the middle of telling TK about the one box of cereal fifteen of them had to share for breakfast the day after. TK looks up, confused, to see her smile and shout, “Carlos! Hey, Carlos!”

His stomach drops. She waves and TK feels it like motion sickness. He holds his breath until he hears a sigh. Grace finally stops shouting and mumbles, “Doesn’t even hear me.”

TK finally follows her gaze over. It’s in between classes, there are a bunch of people walking between one campus building and the next. It still doesn’t take TK’s eyes more than a second to find the familiar shape of his roommate. It’s the way Carlos moves, like each step is a bit weighted, like his shoulders have finally learned to stay straight, like he can part the sea of people without intended to draw attention.

TK’s eyes also find familiar red curly hair and a slight, sturdy body right next to Carlos. The world shifts upright, more motion sickness, as TK sits up. Carlos is laughing. Laughing at something Oliver is saying. He didn’t know they were talking anymore. Why would they be, after Carlos had chosen TK, had blown Oliver off to fuck him, after the Christmas party?

A question settles in and once it’s there, it’s all TK’s mind can think.

Is Carlos actually into Oliver? Is Carlos actually into Oliver? Is Carlos actually into Oliver?

TK’s hands curl into the dry grass and he rips at it until it comes up with the soil still attached. 

The anger will make him go into their room later, will make him want to not just peel up a corner of Carlos’ fitted sheet but rip it off and to shreds. Instead he will lay in his bed, hands over his eyes and hope he’s wrong. That even if Carlos isn’t in love with TK, he at least isn’t in love with someone else. He can live with the former. If his fear is founded though, then TK just lost a hope he thought he had squashed over the last two weeks.

[pimento-playing-hopscotch]

“T.K.: Hi baby I’m home!

Carlos: T.K. Ask me how my day was.

T.K.:….. How was your day?

Carlos: It wasn’t the best. Now ask me why.

T.K.: Can you skip to the part about what I did wrong? (Heard a chirping noise) What was that?

Carlos: That was my question. It’s a cricket, one of several that were in a box that was on our doorstep.

T.K: Oh the crickets came!

Carlos:……

T.K: Oh. The crickets came here.

Carlos: Two hundred and fifty of them, TK. Which brings us to- why did you have two hundred and fifty crickets delivered to our home?

T.K: Okay so you know how there was a call last week about the old guy and the Komodo dragon…

Carlos: Uh huh….

T.K.: And how the dragon needed a new home and the guy, he had someone to take it and just needed a place for Cosmo to stay in the meantime…

Carlos: Cosmo?

T.K: The dragon.

Carlos: Of course. Was the plan for Cosmo to stay with us?

TK: No, not at all! But since my dad had to go back to New York to testify in that case, Cosmo was going to stay with Mateo.

Carlos: Okay, I need to sit down before you tell me the rest of this.

Carlos: So wait, why were the crickets delivered here?

TK: I have no idea! I ordered them for Mateo but they were supposed to be delivered to the firehouse. Here I can show you- see?

Carlos: (looks at his phone) TK…. You entered the firehouse as the billing address and our home as the shipping address.

TK:….. I did?

Carlos:……

TK: Oh baby I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your day off.

Carlos: I know that. And I didn’t mean ruin your night…. Or possibly your day off tomorrow.

TK:….. We’re not going to get to the thing at the Ryder’s tonight, are we?”

Carlos: Nope. Not unless you want to explain to your dad why a hungry dragon ate Mateo and Buttercup when he gets back.

TK: Come on, Cosmo wouldn’t do that.

Carlos: Remind me why fire and medical were dispatched to Cosmo’s house in the first place?

T.K:….. He got out of his yard and the neighbor thought he would eat her rabbits. Which he didn’t, by the way!

Carlos: TK….

TK: So, crickets?

Carlos: Yep.

TK: Copy that.

TK: Hey, this should be kind of fun. Like a big game of Pokémon- gotta catch ‘em all, right?

Carlos: …. TK-

TK: Right. Crickets now. Jokes later.

Carlos: Or never, possibly”.

[thebumblecee]

I’m doing one word micro-fic prompts:

3. Numb

TK insists he wants to go to the store and pick up ingredients for dinner instead of ordering in. After the shift that Carlos’ had he wouldn’t mind just ordering in but he agrees to come with him. Actually, he agrees to drive him.

“It’s my night to cook, I want to do it.” TK says as the link hands when they get out of the car. TK gets one night a week to make dinner and he usually phones the takeout place so Carlos is interested to see where this goes.

They’re almost at the entrance when Carlos hears his name being called. He spins and there’s a man in motorcycle leathers jogging towards them.

“Carlos! Hey! I thought that was you.” José says grinning. He looks at TK and seems to notice him for the first time.

“This is my fiancé, TK.” Carlos introduces. He’s trying to work out the best way to say the next bit. Truth always wins. “TK, this is an old ex-boyfriend of mine. José.”

José holds out his right hand forcing TK to let go of Carlos’ to shake it. “Nice to meet you, man.”

“Nice to meet you.” TK says and his voice is pitched perfectly neutral it’s almost numb. Carlos’ hates that he can’t get a read on him. He hates when he shuts down.

“You ride, José?” TK asks, nodding to the motorcycle helmet in his other hand.

“Yeah! Never got over that itch.” José grins at Carlos. He looks at TK and Carlos can hear warning bells. “Did Carlos ever tell you about Rosita?”

Carlos makes a noise that sounds a little panicked to his own ears. This isn’t the place to be swapping memories.

“Whose Rosita?”

“Rosita isn’t a who, she’s a what.” José grins. Before he can elaborate Carlos cuts in.

“She was a dual-sport motorcycle that we built when we were teenagers in an old cow barn at my parents ranch. It took us an entire summer.” Even keeping his voice neutral there was a glimmer of nostalgia in his eyes. He always remembers those summers fondly. The bike, their little sanctuary from their parents, the kisses they swapped in the grass. “We used to ride her about the ranch and then eventually got her MOT’d for road use.”

He hopes that sounded bland enough that TK won’t get all TK about it.

“Oh, please,” José laughs. “She was more than a bike, she was our baby.”

Carlos freezes. Oh, here we go.

He looks at TK for any sign of reaction. TK still has that perfectly pleasant smile on his face.

They swap a few more memories, old and new, before parting ways.

TK links their hands together again but instead of pulling him towards the store he pulls him back to the Camaro.

“I’ve decided takeout was a good idea, I really want Thai.” TK says and he sounds so normal. Not pissed off or upset or any of the normal reactions he gets when his jealousy flairs.

Just normal.

It’s disturbing.

“You okay?” Carlos asks as they buckle back into the car. “I’m sorry I never told you about him. It was such a long time ago.”

They pull out of the parking lot and hit the main road before TK speaks. “Oh, don’t worry, these things happen. I can’t know everything about you.”

“Right.” Carlos answers unconvinced. “So you were fine with it?”

He’s not sure why he’s prodding this, if TK’s fine with it why is he trying to make it worse? There’s a selfish part of him that wants TK to be jealous over him.

Which is insane, he knows that.

“Yep.” TK says popping he ‘p’. He reaches over and puts his hand on Carlos’ thigh and squeezes.

Carlos focuses on the road for a minute but can’t help himself. “You didn’t even mind him referring to it as our baby?“

TK’s nails dig into the flesh of his thigh at the word. Victory.

He relaxes his hand and starts rubbing higher and higher. Carlos casts him an alarmed glance. “TK?”

“I don’t mind.” TK says sweetly. His hand wanders too high to be innocent. “Because we’re going to have our own baby, a real one, one day.”

He squeezes over Carlos’ bulge which is regrettably half-hard. Carlos swears and almost swerves the car.

“TK.” He says through gritted teeth as TK’s hand slips into his jeans.

“Anyway, I am going to have so much fun trying to put a baby in you tonight.” TK says so sweetly. Carlos moans and grips the steering wheel until his knuckles turn white. Carlos has always been weak for that kind of talk. TK doesn’t remove his hand for the rest of the car ride and Carlos doesn’t ask him too.

He does try to weigh up what felony he’d rather have reckless driving or indecent exposure, though.

I have a full word list now, thanks for playing ❤️

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Gosh, poor Carlos :(((

Poor honeyy 😭

Him here with Owen :'( <3

I hope Owen already called TK to let him know Carlos is okay xdd

Yep, obsession

Glad we said it :'(

. .

yeah

That's what it does

Hm

There is good left <3 you have TK, and your family, and the others, and everyone :((

You haven't lost it yet

You won't move past it honey :'((( you just move forward

Yeah exactly 😭😭🥺 you don't forget <3

But yeah the deciding is very important :(((

True

G O S H the acting

Yeah :'((( that's so rough

It would be really poignant if we just never found out but also frustrating xdd

Yeah 😭😭😭😭 not the only life he took :'(( don't let him take yours honey <3

AWWWW yeah 😭😭😭

"Te quiero siempre, papá" UAAGHHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

YEAH HE DOES KNOW 🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭

And Carlos needed to hear that :'(((

GOSH that was heartbreaking 😭😭😭

I think he will be able to slightly start to move on though :'((

Not from everything I guess, trying to phrase this is the I guess, but the obsession

AWWW Hi Lou II :'))

Hi honey <33

Aww hey TK :'))

They casual hey 😭😭🥺🥺❤️ just like after everything

I love them so much <333

Aww yeah so hopefully he did call then <3

OOP yeah or that o.o I think probably more the second one though xd

AWWW EXACTLY 😭😭🥺❤️ you kept him from making a mistake <333

UAAGHHHHHH YESSS HE SAVED HIM 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️ <333

EXACTLYYY TKKKK JUST LIKE THEY ALWAYS SAVE EACH OTHER 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️🥺

Because TK said he did first and I was thinking the above

Also so then I assume Carlos was meaning the first just in a positive way xd but I assume both are true lol

Gotta say he definitely looks more hinged

:'O

UAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HE'S ON ONE KNEEEEEE

WE GET A FULL ON ONE KNEE PROPOSAL 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AND HIS FULL NAME 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️🥰!!!!!

LOL "WILL YOU STILL MARRY ME THIS SATURDAY" THAT'S JUST SO THEM 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🥺🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰 THIS IS SO PERFECT

Also I love that both proposals happened in their home 😭

Their expressionssss y'all 😭 <3

AAAAAHHHHHHHHH HIM ASKING CARLOS IF HE'S SURE 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️

AWWWW yeah and it's the only thing he's sure of 😭😭😭🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️

YESSSSSSS YEAAAAHHHHH THE WEDDING'S BACK ONNNN :'DDDD

WHOOOO

OUAGH THAT KISS 😭 SO SWEET <3

G O S H THANK GOODNESS 😭 I LOVE THEM SO MUCH <333

GOSH I know that sigh :'(( :') so many emotions and a lot of pain but just feeling a little something settle, something right

Gosh I love them so much 😭😭

Also the ACTINGGG my goodness amazing 😭😭🥰👏👏👏

Anyway AAAAHHHHHH THAT HUG :'))))

AND CARLOS'S SAD LITTLE SMILE BUT LIKE SAME FEELING AS THAT SIGH 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️🥺

Guys I love them so much <333

[ravens-words]

high on you

"Dad?"

"Your boyfriend's high," his father told him in lieu of a greeting, and even through the phone, TK could hear the amusement in his words.

"What?"

"Carlos- he's high."

《What if Carlos had been there during the factory fire and got accidentally high.》

Shout out to my bud, @tkstrrand for the beta on this fic, you da best.

Owen hadn't noticed the second patrol car until they were about to leave. "Wait," he called out, "is that- is that Carlos?"

Marjan, Paul and Mateo poked their heads out the window.

"Yep," Paul said, barely holding his laughter at bay, "that's him alright."

"We've gotta see this," he heard Marjan say, followed by the sound of the truck doors opening and closing.

Owen made his way over to the patrol car, his team hot on his heels just as Carlos stumbled out of the car, neck craned up, and eyes squinted at the sun.

"Carlos," Owen called, jogging over and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I can smell the sun," he muttered, awed.

Owen sighed. "Come on, kid, let's get you out of here," he told him, holding him by the shoulders and steering him in the direction of the firetruck. "Mateo, call this in, and stay with the car, will you?"

"But, Cap," he whined, "I'm gonna miss it."

Owen rolled his eyes, squeezed Carlos' shoulder and got him moving again, steadying him when he tripped on his own feet. They got him into the firetruck with minimal difficulty, and Owen did his best to ignore the muffled laughter at Carlos' expense.

"Man, will you stop it," he heard Paul exclaim.

"So smooth," was Carlos' muttered reply.

Curiosity getting the best of him, Owen turned, and shook his head when he saw Carlos' hand on Paul's head, the look on his face one of pure fascination.

"This is really weird," Paul announced.

"It really, really is," Marjan told him, phone in hand.

"Are you seriously filming this?"

"Duh," she muttered, laughing.

"Cheese," Carlos suddenly exclaimed, turning abruptly and lunging for the window.

"What the hell," Judd yelped, holding onto Carlos as he leaned out the window, and pulling him back.

"Cheese?" He asked his teammates, bewildered, holding Carlos securely against him.

"Cap?"

"Five minutes," he answered the question before any of them got to ask it.

"You're so pretty," Carlos muttered.

"Thank you, Carlos," Marjan responded

.

"Dad?"

"Your boyfriend's high," his father told him in lieu of a greeting, and even through the phone, TK could hear the amusement in his words.

"What?"

"Carlos- he's high."

TK blinked, struggling to understand how Carlos could have gotten high when he was supposed to be at work. "There was a fire, and-"

"Carlos, man, that's really not-" that was Paul, and this was followed a few seconds of chaos in which everyone started talking at the same time, then the line went dead.

TK stared down at his phone, confused.

"Hey, what's going on?" Nancy asked him as she came to stand beside him, coffee cup in hand.

"Carlos is high?"

Nancy spluttered, then coughed. "What?"

"Carlos," he repeated, "is high."

"How did that happen?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea."

.

When the firetruck pulled up, TK immediately jogged over to the rig.

His father was the first one out, then Paul, Judd, and Marjan followed. "Where's Carlos?"

The second he asked, his boyfriend poked his head out the window, looking at the ground like it personally offended him.

"Carlos?" TK asked softly, hand on the open door, "you wanna come down?"

Carlos continued to stare at the floor, and carefully lowered one foot to the ground, clutching the door tightly. Carlos' frown deepened, and he stretched his leg a little further. TK raised an eyebrow. "Carlos," he tried to get his attention, "other leg."

He didn't seem to hear him, so TK put his hands on his waist and tugged him down until both feet were firmly on the ground. Carlos stumbled into him, then righted himself quickly. "I have a boyfriend," he murmured.

TK huffed out a laugh. "I am your boyfriend."

Carlos' head swiveled towards him quickly, and his eyes lit up. "TK!"

Seconds later, he found himself enveloped in a bear hug, Carlos' face buried in his neck. The other man inhaled deeply, and TK raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"You smell good."

"He's sniffing me," he told his teammates in disbelief and was met with varying looks of amusement.

"Yeah, he does that," Paul said.

"Wait, he sniffed you?"

"Down, boy," Paul teased him, "apparently, his boyfriend smells better."

TK smiled smugly, and Paul shook his head. TK grabbed Carlos' arm and led him up the stairs.

The rest of the day was going to be interesting, that’s for sure.

.

"You're so strong," Carlos whispered, awed, squeezing TK's bicep as he helped him up.

TK smirked. "And you are so high."

"Oh, is he now?" Marjan asked loudly, pushing TK up a stair and nearly causing him to trip in the process, "hey, Carlos, tell me, do you cheat? At games, I mean."

He gaped at her. "Never," he said, vehemently, shaking his head.

"How about TK then?"

He nodded slowly. "TK cheats."

"Hey," he exclaimed.

"I knew it!" Marjan exclaimed, and high fived both Paul and Mateo. "Oh this is gonna be fun," she said gleefully.

TK rolled his eyes. "You better not ask him anything else."

"Who's gonna stop me?"

Carlos stopped abruptly and blinked. "TK?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Think I'm gonna throw up," he told him, just before he proceeded to do just that- all over TK and Marjan's shoes.

TK looked up from the mess and fixed Marjan with a look. "Still think it's gonna be fun?"

.

Looking after Carlos in this state was very much like what TK imagined looking after a toddler would be like.

"I want cheese," he muttered, standing up and wandering away from where he and TK had been standing.

TK looked up from his phone just in time to see his hand inch towards the pot.

"No, don't touch that!" He exclaimed for what felt like the 100th time, lunging at him and pulling his hand away from the stove.

He grabbed Carlos by the shoulders and steered him away from the kitchen and into the common area.

That was when the bell rang, and their unit was called.

TK cursed.

"Nancy," he called out to her as she was hurrying out of the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"I need to get Carlos settled. Two minutes?"

"Yeah, okay, but," she jiggled the keys in her hand, "I'm driving."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Carlo- what the hell?" He walked over to where Carlos was glued to the wall.

"Carlos?"

"It's so soft," he muttered, his hand caressing the wall gently.

"It's a wall," he muttered as he steered him away gently and sat him on the couch. "Sit. Do not move from this couch, okay?"

Carlos blinked up at him.

TK smiled and shook his head, then grabbed the remote, put on Netflix and selected a documentary on birds. "Here," he said softly, "you like birds, huh?"

Carlos was mesmerized.

TK chuckled, leaned down to press a kiss to his head, and patted him on the head. "Stay."

.

When TK entered the firehouse thirty minutes later, he went straight to the common room and found it empty. "Guys," he exclaimed when he spotted Marjan and Mateo heading his way, "have you seen Carlos?"

Marjan smiled, a little teasing. "He's upstairs."

He raised an eyebrow at her tone, but didn't question her, just made his way up the stairs two at a time.

.

He found him on his bed, bundled up in TK's blanket and hugging his pillow to his chest.

He looked peaceful like this, and incredibly young.

TK smiled, and crouched down beside the bed, one hand running through his hair and the other settling on his hip. He didn't want to wake him, but he also didn't want to move, content to stay where he was and just- taking him in.

Not five seconds later, Carlos's eyes fluttered open, and smiled, dopey and a little lopsided. "Hi," he mumbled.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Tired," he answered, "head kinda hurts."

TK nodded, running a hand through his curls again. "I still have an hour into my shift, but the team are getting ready to leave if you want them to drop you off at home."

Carlos shook his head. "Can I stay here with you?"

"Sure," TK answered immediately, standing up, "get back to sleep, okay? I'll wake you when it's time to leave."

Carlos raised an eyebrow and caught his hand, pulling him down on top of him, and letting out a grunt when TK fell into him. TK laughed and looked down at him, eyes going from Carlos' eyes to his lips. "I really wanna kiss you right now," he whispered, leaning down slowly.

"Oh yeah?" He asked with a small, teasing smile, making himself comfortable on the bed and tightening his arms around TK, "what's stopping you then?"

TK's lips brushed Carlos' in a soft kiss that caught fire rapidly. The kiss was wet and rough, and TK's hand carded into Carlos' messy curls before he yanked him up, swallowing the moan that rose up Carlos' throat.

Seconds, or maybe minutes, later, they pulled away, and TK rested his head on Carlos' chest. "I've been wanting to do that all day."

"Well, why didn't you?"

"Because you were high," he laughed, "and all you cared about was cheese."

He rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around TK's neck, using his other hand to ruffle his hair, only stopping when TK started laughing. He joined him, and once their laughter died off, they settled on the bed more comfortably.

"Get some sleep," TK told him, pressing a kiss to his chest.

Carlos tightened his arms around him. "You're staying, right?"

"Nowhere else I'd rather be"

[noxsoulmate]

📓😭

Girl, I kinda saved my personal favorite for you 😘 buckle up because this is a fic I've been daydreaming about for sooooo long...

So there's this cliff right outside of Austin (are there any cliffs around Austin?! who knows, there are now!) and it's part of the 126 area. For years, first responders and the public have begged the city to do something about it because it's terribly unsafe there, the police constantly patrolling to make sure no one falls down/tries to jump etc.

Of course, when it's Carlos' turn, something happens (not sure what yet), and he and the guy he was trying to get away from the cliff tumble down and land on a ledge. Lucky for them, a news helicopter was currently in the area to report about something else entirely - which means people actually see it live and the 126 is on their way before Carlos even comes to and contact dispatch.

The kicker is: the guy he went down with is Alex. TK knows because he recognized him on the news.

Once the contact with Carlos stands, they assess that Carlos has a broken leg, and Tommy walks Alex through making a makeshift tourniquet, all while they're still on their way. Carlos asks Owen, "Cap, who are you sending down?" and TK's the one to answer, "Well, let's see, there's a dual-certified paramedic slash firefighter on the team... who do you think he's sending down?!"

Of course, that's when Alex recognizes TK's voice, and after confirming that, yep, it's him, Carlos is like, "wait, babe, you telling me I'm sitting down here with your cheating ex?" and of course, everyone is just like 👀👀👀😬😂

Everything seems fine and when they arrive, Owen doesn't even try to stop TK from going down himself, joined by Marjan and Paul. But as they all get ready, Carlos suddenly stops talking, and then there's Alex's panicky voice, saying he stopped breathing. So of course, Tommy walks him through all the steps up until he needs to perform cardiac massage - only for Alex to panic/freeze up and be like "I can't do that, I don't know how to." And while TK knows he shouldn't, he chimes in with, "yes, you do! I know that because I was the one to teach you!" and when Alex still hesitates, he growls, "Alex, if you've ever regretted what you've done, here's your chance to make it up to me. I swear to God, if you let my husband die right now---" and that's what finally shocks Alex into action.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that TK and Carlos are already married? 😏

Anyway, of course, TK now rushes down there, followed closely by Paul and Marjan. TK takes over from Alex immediately, who gets secured and then taken up by Paul, while Marjan helps TK with Carlos. Once they get his heart going again, they secure him, etc, and get him up the cliff. Before they put him in the ambulance, Carlos makes TK take his wedding ring, to keep safe until he can wear it again after the hospital. There's another close call on the way to the hospital, and of course the long wait while the docs take care of Carlos. Andrea and Gabriel are there of course and the whole team...

Finally, they can all go into his room, Carlos is awake, and TK can give him back his ring, everyone cries with relief and so on... and then suddenly, there's Alex at the door, thanking them all for saving him, and checking in on Carlos. He quickly leaves but Carlos just looks at TK and nods, and TK goes after Alex so that they won't part a second time without any real closure. He stops him and tells him that he forgives him for what he has done, that it actually turned out to be the kickstart for a better life for him, and then he thanks him for saving Carlos. They part on good terms this time, and TK goes back to his husband.

In an epilogue, experts talk with Billy Tyson on the news, asking him if it was okay of Captain Strand to send down the victim's own husband or if there aren't rules against that - but Billy basically repeats what TK said: Captain Strand had a dual-certified firefighter slash paramedic on the team, why the heck wouldn't he send him down? And was it okay for Paramedic Reyes-Strand to talk like that to the second victim? Billy's answer: Was it okay for him to get the person to respond and thus save an officer of the APD from certain death? Heck yes, it was, what do you want from me? 😂 Yes, Billy is on the 126's side for once and I love him for that 😁

Could you tell that I've been daydreaming about this A LOT? 😅

Send me a 📓 emoji + one more emoji or a word and I'll tell you about a fic idea I've been daydreaming about

[morganaspendragonss]

“Why are you wearing my sweater?” “Because it smells like you.” With Carlos’ the one wearing the sweater!

holly's august extravaganza day 19: whatever here that's left of me (is yours)

thank you!

34. “Why are you wearing my sweater?” “Because it smells like you.” (from the fluff section of this list)

ao3 | 1.4k | hurt/comfort, post 2.12, supportive tk, softness

The morning after the fire, it’s TK who wakes up first, and for once it makes perfect sense. Carlos had barely been able to sleep, and though it hadn’t exactly been a picnic for TK either, he’s not the one going through the grief of losing years of his life all at once. Not to the extent that Carlos is, anyway.

TK sighs and rolls his head to look at Carlos’s sleeping face. He runs his thumb softly over the crease on his brow, wishing the simple motion could smooth it away and make everything okay again. Make it so last night never happened, and this is just a normal morning in their own bed, in their own house.

He tries to pretend for a little while, but the illusion is shattered all too quickly by a soft knocking at the bedroom door. Carefully, TK removes Carlos’s arm from where it is loosely slung over his hips and gets out of bed, checking to make sure he hasn’t disturbed him before padding across the room.

He keeps the door only cracked open to prevent too much light from getting into the room. His dad is on the other side, smiling sadly, a large box in his hands and several bags at his feet. TK braces himself for a joke; his dad has always been the type to fall back on humour in difficult situations, but he finds himself pleasantly surprised.

“I meant to give these to you guys last night,” he says, lifting the box slightly, “but things were so crazy that… Anyway. You left some clothes here when you moved out, so I figured you might want them.”

“Thanks, Dad.” TK takes the box from him, glancing down into it. There’s not much—a couple of hoodies, some screwed up t-shirts and button ups, a pair of sweats—but it’s all he has, and more than Carlos does. He sighs softly, then turns back into the bedroom and places the box down by the wardrobe. Carlos is still asleep when he glances at him, and all TK wants to do is curl up beside him again.

But when he goes to close the door, he instead finds himself with an arm full of bags.

“Those are from the crew,” he dad explains. “Paul stopped by with them earlier; he said to tell you that if there was anything you two needed, they all want to help out.”

TK nods. He’d thought the crew might do something like this, though that doesn’t make him any less grateful.

His dad shuffles awkwardly, clearly finding the silence uncomfortable. “Mateo wanted to contribute too, but we told him not to. You know, because—”

“Because he’s only just replaced his own clothes, I know.”

“Yeah.”

Silence again, and TK loves his dad, but he can’t deal with this right now. Guilt lies thick in the air, somehow worse than last night, but TK is in no mood to address it now. Maybe later, when they’ve had time to think about it all, but right now he’s too tired. Besides, there’s no way he’s getting into what he’s sure will become an argument when Carlos is sleeping just feet away.

TK takes a step back. “Carlos is still asleep,” he says. “So I’m just gonna…” He tips his head back, gesturing into the bedroom, and his dad understands, also moving back.

“Right, of course. I, uh, I have my follow-up appointment at the hospital today, but I’ll see you guys later. Maybe then we can talk?”

“Sure.”

Without waiting for an answer, TK gently shuts the door and turns to place the bags on top of the box. Carlos stirs when he climbs back in bed, his eyelids cracking open.

“Did something happen?” he mumbles, trying to push himself upright.

TK shushes him. “It was just my dad dropping some clothes off for us,” he whispers. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

Carlos drops back off within seconds, TK watching the steady rhythm of his chest and listening to his soft breaths. He reaches out and lightly runs his fingers through Carlos’s hair, pushing back a few stray curls. It’s almost like any other morning, so TK closes his eyes and pretends for a little while longer.

*

TK would have been happy to stay in bed with Carlos all day, but eventually the grumbling of his stomach becomes too insistent to ignore. He heaves himself up once more and selects a shirt at random from the box of his old stuff, wrinkling his nose when he sees what it is. He’d left this one behind on purpose, the print too much for him to care what happened to the shirt. The same goes for most of the clothes in the box, but it’s not like he’s spoiled for choice, so it’ll have to do.

There’s a pair of jeans his size in one of the bags, so TK bundles everything up and trudges to the bathroom. He’s been running into fires his entire working life; he’s perfected the art of getting rid of unwanted smells, but this time is different. This time, no matter how many times he washes himself, the smoke and grime still feels like it’s sticking to his skin, a permanent cloud around him.

TK blames his dad’s shampoos, because it’s easier than admitting he’s imagining it.

Once he’s showered and dressed, he heads to the kitchen to make breakfast. Carlos joins him not ten minutes later, still looking exhausted, though he attempts a wan smile when their eyes meet. TK returns it and kisses him on the cheek, passing him a cup of coffee.

He studies his boyfriend as they stand in silence, his heart breaking at what he sees. Carlos is a big guy, but right now he’s never looked smaller, shoulders hunched and his eyes darting around the kitchen, as if taking it all in. They’ve hung out here together before, especially right after TK got shot, but it must feel different now, knowing there’s nowhere else for them to go.

Knowing that, technically, this is now their home.

Carlos sets his mug on the counter and scrubs his hands down his face, then puls at his sleeves like he’s trying to stretch them to fit. Which… Wait.

“Are you…” TK leans closer, peering at the hoodie Carlos is wearing, and—yep. “Why are you wearing my hoodie?”

Carlos flushes and tugs at the neckline—another demonstration of how uncomfortable it must be for him to wear it. The height difference between them is miniscule, but sizing is another matter entirely; TK’s hoodie is obviously pulled tight across Carlos’s chest and it doesn’t sit right on his body, too small for his build.

“Babe,” TK starts worriedly, “was there nothing in your size from the crew? You should have said something. We can fix this, you don’t need to be uncomfortable.”

There’s a beat, and then Carlos, studiously avoiding TK’s gaze, clears his throat. “It smells like you.”

TK blinks. “What?”

“I’m wearing it because it smells like you. I don’t— The only clothes I have left of mine smell of the fire, but this is yours and… I don’t know, I guess it makes me feel safe?” He laughs nervously, pulling at the hem as though he’s going to take the hoodie off. “Pretty stupid, right?”

TK puts a hand out and stops him. “No,” he says softly. He honestly has no idea how that hoodie smells even remotely like him after a month abandoned here, but if it makes Carlos feel safe, then who is TK to argue? “Not stupid at all. You should keep it.”

Carlos raises an eyebrow. “You don’t care that I’m probably stretching it?”

“Why would I?” TK asks. “I left it here for a reason, Carlos. Plus, I’d sacrifice a thousand hoodies if I knew it would make you feel safe; one is nothing.”

It’s far from the most romantic thing TK’s ever said, but the way Carlos hugs him makes it feel like it. He presses kiss after kiss to Carlos’s cheek and the shell of his ear, comforting him like he tried to do last night.

“Besides,” he whispers after a moment, “this just means it’ll be big enough for when I inevitably steal it back from you.”

And, for the first time since the fire, Carlos laughs—really, truly laughs. The sound is muffled against TK’s shoulder, but it’s so goddamn beautiful, and TK would do anything to hear it again.

Even if that involves giving up every hoodie he owns.

[buckybarnesalways]

Breakfast in bed

ummm so idk where this came from. I've never written anything like this before so please be nice

Warnings: smut smut smut

Carlos and TK spend the morning in bed while Owen makes breakfast

Carlos stumbled into their room, the first slivers of morning breaking through the window. He couldn't help the broad smile when he saw TK bundled under the covers. After toeing his shoes off, he gently slid in next to his love. Almost as if he sensed his presence, TK shifted closer, turning on his side to face Carlos. His arms wrapped around TK and he let out a content sigh. He knew they didn't have long to hold each other, TK would be getting up for his own shift soon. It had been almost a week of Carlos working nights and then TK leaving in the mornings. They barely saw each other anymore so moments like this were always special. Sometimes, Carlos could swear that Owen would let TK have a few hours extra before he had to come in for work. Owen knew that both men needed each other and needed to be able to just be together after everything that had happened.

After about 20 minutes of TK sleeping and Carlos watching him. TK's eyes slowly opened, looking up and meeting Carlos' gaze.

“Morning…” TK whispered, sleep clouding his voice.

Carlos smiled as he said, “Good morning, indeed!", referring to what he could clearly feel poking him in the hip.

TK didn't miss a beat as he pushed Carlos over onto his back and straddled his hips, pinning Carlos' hands down on the mattress on either side of his head.

“ Oh, it's like that is it?” Carlos said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Yep, I think I like this way better!” TK joked back as he leaned down to press a kiss against Carlos' lips.

His lips barely ghosting across Carlos' when the other man quickly and gracefully flipped them. TK's eyes were wide as his back hit the mattress underneath him and Carlos was now straddling him. TK's hands immediately went above his head almost on instinct, Carlos reached up and gently pinned them with one of his hands.

Carlos smiled down at the man under him as he said, “ Sure you don't like it more like this?”

In answer TK pushed his hips up into Carlos. Carlos groaned at the contact and his eyes closed. A few seconds later he opened them and looked at TK, who had a smirk on his face.

“ Really, TK? You know we don't have time for anything and I doubt your dad would want to hear you screaming my name!”

TK gave him a pleading look, “Please baby? I'll be quiet; I promise,” dropping his voice as he leaned in closer to Carlos whispering in his ear, “I may have already gotten myself ready for you…”

Carlos' eyes snapped to TK’s as he flopped his head back against the pillow.

“Are you serious?” he asked.

TK just shrugged, “I really need you babe; it's been too long.”

Carlos never could deny TK so he said, “Ok babe, but remember, you have to be quiet!” as he reached under the covers pulling both of their boxers off.

“Hmmm, I promise.” TK hummed.

Grinning Carlos reached over into the bedside table, grabbing the lube, after coating himself, he slid into TK. When he was flush against him, TK let out a small moan.

“Shhh, baby.” Carlos reminded him as he let his head fall to TK's shoulder. TK's legs clamped around Carlos' waist and his hands found purchase, one clutching Carlos' shoulder, the other on the back of his head, gripping tightly to the dark curls. Carlos began moving his hips slowly. TK sighed as if he was finally given what he desperately needed. For a while that's all that happened but then TK squeezed down on Carlos, silently asking for more. Carlos was happy to oblige as he increased his tempo. His forehead still resting on TK's shoulder, he turned and whispered huskily into TK's ear. “That's it, Ty” and “Fuck, baby!” were pretty much all he could say.

“Hmmm yes, babe. Right there! Please…don't stop!” TK whispered back, gripping more tightly to Carlos.

“I wouldn't dream of stopping, TK.” Carlos answered back.

Carlos hips were snapping faster and faster into TK wanting nothing more than to see his love fall apart. Watching TK's face, he could tell that TK was trying to be as quiet as possible. His eyes were shut tightly and he was biting his lip almost painfully. Carlos smoothed his thumb across TK's lips. As he did, TK's mouth fell open in a quiet moan. He turned his face, eyes meeting Carlos' as his breath hitched. Carlos knew TK was close, so he started thrusting into him harder. Their eyes locked with each other's as TK reached his climax. “Oh fuck!” he shouted as he came between them, coating both their stomachs. TK's shout pushed Carlos over the edge and he came inside TK.

As both men lay there, chests heaving Carlos said, “You were supposed to keep quiet babe!”

TK laughed and answered back, “I didn't hear you complaining!”

Before Carlos could respond, there was a knock on their door and Owen’s voice called out, “If you boys are finished in there, I made breakfast.”

Both men looked at each other and burst out laughing.

[rogue205]

911: Lone Star ranting.

So first, the whole “Tarlos” thing. I think Carlos dumped TK on the reasoning that he feels TK is not trying as hard as he is for their relationship and TK is being petty about it. I CAN see why Carlos would think and feel this way when watching the show actually. But this does show up in the awkward meeting during work where Carlos essentially can’t look TK in the eye and TK is all but sneering down his nose at him. I don’t know, that scene could also be played as it was TK that initiated the breakup as well but that would then mean he’s acting dickish for no reason unless the show honestly wants us to believe that Carlos did something crappy(like cheating on TK but to me, Carlos does NOT come across as that type of person). If the show goes there, it will simply portray Carlos as ooc in an effort to gain unneeded sympathy for TK when he does not need it. I honestly have more sympathy for Carlos right now.

Carlos is also a little surprised in the hospital that “TK wanted to see him” even though we all know Nancy was the one who called him instead. Also makes me think that TK broke up with Carlos. But again, could also be set as Carlos did the dumping and TK is being petty like we know he can be(and he has been). But we don’t know for sure and the show is clearly going to drag this out for at least half the season if not longer.

Personally, I also really hope the “TK whump” thing is NOT dragged out all the way to episode 6-7 but that’s me. The show needs to play their other hands to keep people interested. Me personally? I love whump. It’s a favorite trope of mine and I live for it in my shows. But I just don’t give a damn about a show nearly full of events that whump TK(physically at least). I mean sure, they whumped Judd twice, Grace once, had the whole cancer thing with Owen but the rest was all TK. Who cares. (At least 911 spreads the whump around as we’ve seen some with ALL of the main cast. Individually or together and that keeps many people happy. A lesson LS really needs.)

And there’s the setup for this one too. TK’s “not my first ice rescue” despite them having no proper equipment for him to do this one plus his history of “rescuing people” that we’ve seen on screen so far. Example, tried to rescue Marjan from sinking in the rice and instead, falls in with her while ignoring Judd’s orders. Because TK apparently knows best. Seriously, what did they THINK was going to happen. And yes, solid point in his favor that he actually managed to still save the victim even after the fact. If he’s with someone, it goes fine like the mine field because Owen was setting it up but if he’s alone, yep, 110% chance he’s headed to the hospital again.

And I really did wonder why they didn’t send Nancy or Tommy out instead because they would be lighter on the ice since there wasn’t proper equipment there anyway. We HAVE seen Tommy do stuff like this before. She climbed to the top of a power pole(or whatever that was) to give medical treatment to an injured man for gods sake. But nope, have to get TK injured and “near death” (again) so Carlos feels guilty for breaking up with him of course. 🙄 Prove me wrong, show runners, prove me wrong. They should seriously just leave him in the damn hospital now. It’ll make life so much easier for everyone else. I’m willing to bet that after they finally end this storyline, TK will be back there again at least once more before season’s end.

EDIT: well the show runners DIDNT prove me wrong really and the breakup WAS more TK’s fault than Carlos. So he was acting like a dick for no real reason other than his own raging issues. Nice.

[paperstorm]

Lone star question: when do you think Tarlos had their first love you’s? Like in 2x04 before TK storms out he says “who you supposedly love” so I guess it was before that?? But then I’m 2x12 during the fire Carlos is freaking out and can’t get the “I love you” out but TK says it. So I guess before 2x04??? But I’ve always wondered but other ppl thought

It is definitely implied that they said it between seasons 1 and 2, because TK (with all his traumas) would definitely have not said "who you supposedly love" to someone who hadn't said that they loved him. I wrote my personal headcanon, which is that they said it outside the honky tonk a few months into dating:

-

“I first kissed you right …” Carlos takes TK by the shoulders and moves him, shuffling him to one side and then the other as his tongue pokes out of the side of his mouth and his forehead twists into a frown like it’s important to find the exact spot, “… here.”   TK looks up at the streetlamp he remembers, and from side to side, checking it out. He nods. “Yep, I think you got it.”   Carlos smiles at him. He takes TK’s face into his hands and kisses him. It’s so much different, this time, from that night. TK knows the way Carlos’s lips will move against his, can anticipate the flavor of him and the way it will make his stomach flip when Carlos flirts with his tongue along the seam of TK’s lips. He also knows how at home he’ll feel when Carlos’s lips fall away but their foreheads stay pressed together.   “I was so nervous to ask you to dance,” Carlos tells him.   “I know.”   Carlos’s hands slide down, over his neck, down his chest, to settle on his hips. TK always feels so small under Carlos’s hands. Small, but not insignificant. “I was so into you from the moment I saw you.”   TK smiles and strokes his thumb along Carlos’s jaw. He hasn’t shaved today, so it’s rough with sandpaper stubble that catches against his skin.   “Beautiful eyes,” Carlos continues, in a dreamy voice, and then it shifts to the cadence of a tease as he adds, “bratty little smile that made me want to put you on your knees.”   TK chuckles and slides his arms around Carlos’s neck, forearms fitting between Carlos and the brick wall behind him. “Oh you did, huh?”   “Mhm.”   “And what d’you think, now that you’ve had me on my knees? Were you right?”   “So right. You’re so good to me. For me.”   “Hey, I, um. I love you,” TK blurts out.   Carlos is still for a moment, and TK’s heart races as he listens to him exhale.   “Maybe this isn’t the best place to tell you that,” he begins, nervously, but Carlos interrupts.   “It’s the perfect place to tell me that. You just beat me to it.”   “What?” TK laughs.   “What do you think we’re doin’ out here?” Carlos asks, a smile apparent in the lilt of his voice as his hands squeeze TK’s hips. “I brought you here to say that to you, asshole.”   TK laughs again, louder this time. “Too slow, Reyes.”   “Apparently.” Carlos laughs too. He kisses TK’s cheek, and into his skin he murmurs, “I love you. I’m so in love with you.”   TK hears himself make a small, pitiful noise as emotion unexpectedly chokes him for a moment, and Carlos drags his nose slowly along TK’s temple.   “What’s wrong?” he whispers.   “Nothing.”   “Please tell me?”   Swallowing first, TK admits, “Alex never said in. In love. Nobody’s … ever said that. And that’s different, isn’t it? I love my parents, I love my job, I love iced coffee. But …”   “It is different. You’re right. And I am in love with you,” Carlos repeats, understanding it’s important that TK hears it said that way. “So completely, disastrously in love with you, TK Strand.”

x

[221bsunsettowers]

TK/Carlos: I Shake and I Shiver Just to Watch You Breathe

(Takes place during Season 2, Episode 6)

As their car pulled in, Carlos leapt out, churning up dust as he took off running. The minute he spotted the 126, he knew.

Oh. Yep. Love of my life. Following a duffle bag, spray paint and a prayer across an active loaded minefield.

And then TK leapt onto the first circle.

In which Carlos ends up at the minefield right as TK starts his journey across.

Takes place during episode 2x06, because Carlos should be in every episode, and because there was so much potential for Carlos to be there watching TK jump through an active minefield.

CW for a few swear words, panic, anxiety, explosion, fear. No blood, injuries, or medical procedures are described.

Thanks so much to @buddie-buddie  who once again was an amazing support system for me to push through the self doubt and just keep writing.

Title from Run by Matt Nathanson and Sugarland

Can also be read on a03

It definitely wasn't a secret to Carlos' coworkers he was in a serious committed relationship with a firefighter from the 126. When he could, TK would stop by the station to bring coffee and a kiss, especially if he knew Carlos was having a hard day, and Carlos was constantly being good-naturedly teased about the apparently epic heart eyes between him and his boyfriend anytime they were on the same call.

If somehow anyone didn't know by that point, the framed picture of him and TK on his desk would have given that one away.

So Carlos found his cell phone pinging over and over in the seconds before the news came over the radio. His fellow officers had tried to warn him what was coming, not that he could take much comfort in that with what he was hearing.

126. Minefield. Two firefighters attempting a rescue.

His partner didn't even hesitate before responding that they were on their way to the site.

As their car pulled in, Carlos leapt out, churning up dust as he took off running. The minute he spotted the 126, he knew.

Oh. Yep. Love of my life. Following a duffle bag, spray paint and a prayer across an active loaded minefield.

And then TK leapt onto the first circle.

Carlos felt that morning's breakfast rising in his throat, battling with his lung's sudden amnesia regarding breathing, and he was doubling over, head swimming, until he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders.

"We gotcha," Judd's voice rumbled soothingly in his ear, and Carlos suddenly found himself perched on the back of the truck, Tommy's kind eyes meeting his as she reminded him to breathe in and out. The rest of the 126 had pressed closer together, and Carlos felt Paul's shoulder tap reassuringly against his own.

"I--what even--" Shaking his head, Carlos gave up on even trying to ask how they now all found themselves at the scene of this unbelievable situation.

"They needed a medic," Marjan explained softly.

"TK said you guys filled that spot though..." Carlos turned his head to find the eyes of a man who sure as hell looked like a paramedic quickly darting his gaze away. "You son of a bitch," Carlos growled, and that was definitely not a sound he knew he could make, but that bastard stood on this side and TK was on the other, and whose fucking fault was that then.

"Carlos...." Paul's arm was around his chest, gently tugging Carlos back, and Carlos sagged, because that medic was worth nothing and TK was worth everything and wasn't that what really mattered anyway.

And then, as if on cue, explosion.

Smoke shot everywhere, and Carlos felt his knees buckle, and by the time he hit the ground they still couldn't see a damn thing. So he knelt there, holding his breath, trying to will TK's way out of the ashes, and it wasn't until Tommy's radio announced the news that Carlos let out a gasping choke of air.

Rising, Carlos dusted his uniform pants off as the Bomb Squad pulled into view and the injured teenager on the field woke up. He nodded his head at the officers he recognized, tried to smile for his patiently waiting partner, kept his shaking hands concealed inside his pockets and his relieved sobs clenched tight inside his throat. He knocked shoulders with the 126, and he knew they knew him far too well at this point to believe he was fine, but they also knew him well enough to know he was one soft touch away from crumbling.

And TK was suddenly walking towards him, that beautiful sunshine grin quickly shifting into concern as he took in Carlos.

"Los," was all TK got to say before Carlos had his arms around him, hard enough to carry him back against the rear of the engine. Carlos was whimpering, another sound he had no idea he could produce, and TK was holding Carlos together, a tight embrace and soothing murmurs and a kiss to the side of Carlos' jaw.

"Aren't you supposed to be the one shaking here?" Carlos tried to joke, eyes closed as he nosed along TK's hairline, breathing him in.

"Adrenaline crash hasn't happened yet," TK assured him, clutching his fingers in the curls at the nape of Carlos' neck. "Right now I'm worried about you, baby."

"I had to watch that whole thing, Ty," Carlos whispered into TK's skin, the crook of his neck, the curve of his shoulder. "I love you so much and I'm so mad at you."

"I know, sweetheart, I'm so sorry," and TK's hands were clutching at Carlos' back, gripping his uniform tight enough to tear, and Carlos was nodding into TK's shoulder, drawing breath in.

The crew, the Bomb Squad, the kids from the field, everyone was out of sight, blurry visions around the corner from where TK and Carlos now stood. Pulling back slightly, Carlos wiped his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, looking down at their dust-covered shoes.

"TK, just imagine you're standing on the other side of a fence, and there I am, about to enter a field full of, let's say, snipers, to try to save someone who's already been shot.  And every time I move I throw a rock, and if that rock misses the nearest sniper, I get shot." Carlos choked out, shaking his head violently. "That's what that felt like for me to watch you on that minefield."

"Please don't ever make me imagine that," TK's voice was shaking, and Carlos met his eyes, saw them tear-filled, saw the way TK's trembling hands reached for him, and he swept TK up in his arms again.

"Please stay safe for me," Carlos whispered back, words settling along their skin as they both nodded in unison, Carlos knowing TK needed the hopeful promise just as much as he did.

"Are you still mad at me?" TK's voice was so quiet, quivering in uncertainty, and Carlos pulled back just enough to cup his boyfriend's face in his hands.

"You saved a kid's life," Carlos said, voice full of awe and so much love as he brought his forehead to bump gently against TK's. "I knew what I was getting into, Tiger, may not have seen a minefield coming, but still."

They both laughed, TK's head doing that adorable little tilt to the side, just far enough to lay a kiss on Carlos' palm. "I love you so much," TK promised, wrapping his arms around Carlos' waist, leaning into Carlos' waiting arms.

"I love you so much too," Carlos vowed back, pressing their lips together into a soft, steady kiss. Before stepping back, Carlos murmured, "And you better believe I'll be expecting a full body massage tonight since you just took ten years off my life with that stunt." He grinned as TK blushed, giving him no warning as the rest of the had been extremely patient 126 came barrelling over, and TK ended up in a combination headlock hug tackle.

"See you at home!" TK managed to squeak out from where he was currently pinned. "Love you Carlos!"

"Love you too baby," Carlos grinned, shoulders shaking with laughter as TK's hair was forcibly ruffled by Judd's hand. Turning to his also extremely patient partner, Carlos squeezed her arm gratefully. "I owe you the biggest coffee we can find."

"Oh you owe me at least three giant coffees, Officer Heart Eyes Emoji," she bantered back with a laugh and a smirk.

"New nickname for the win!" Marjan crowed, TK shrugging sheepishly as he emerged from under Mateo's arm.

Laughing as he slid back into the car, Carlos just caught her next words before the door closed. "Oh don't worry, we would never leave you out, the Heart Eyes Emoji Formerly Known as Strand!"

@i-had-bucky @bikingthroughhawkins @officereyes @highqualitykhakis @meloingly

Let me know if you would like to be added to my Tarlos tag!

[beeexx]

Meet the Family

Carlos meets Gwyneth Strand for the first time. 

Set before 2x01, a missing scene. 

Word count: 13.3. Read on AO3. 

TK has spent the better part of the week in offices of higher ups, getting cleared for active duty again, which means he hasn’t had the time to see Carlos much at all. But he’s been looking forward to lunch together all week, and therefore, he spends the better part of it sending him looks that Carlos can read into however he wants to, but judging by the slightest tightening of his grip around the fork or how his foot keeps climbing higher up TK’s leg, almost unconsciously, he’s definitely thinking along similar lines as TK is.

Not that the lunch isn’t lovely and being in Carlos’ presence is making TK feel a little like a moth to the flame, Carlos’ undivided attention on him is unlike anything he’s ever experienced before, a little addictive for sure and TK knows all about what that’s like. But this is the good kind of high, the one leaving you with tingles all over, wide smiles that are real and butterflies in your chest.

But putting all the lovey dovey feelings he’s definitely experiencing aside, he’s also, and unashamedly so, a little horny and he hasn’t had sex in ages because of this stupid injury and Carlos’ stupid (and hot) caring side that refuses to give in to TK’s puppy dog eyes because strenious ativities are not yet approved by the doctor. Or they haven’t been, until now, so now he’s going to look at his boyfriend and put all kinds of images in his head that they can later on reenact in his bedroom. 

Yep TK is a genius. 

On the drive over to TK’s he can barely keep his hands to himself though, biting at his lip, hard to prevent himself from reaching out for Carlos and causing an accident, that would defeat the purpose of the car ride altogether, even though it’s really tempting. His house is closer and Owen is on a shift, yes TK double checked so the promise of an empty house and a whole afternoon to take advantage of, is making him feel extremely happy, butterflies in his stomach kind of happy, while he also has to remind himself that they’ll arrive soon and he doesn’t need to attach himself to Carlos just yet.

But it’s proving to be really hard, the anticipation in the air between getting harder and harder to ignore. 

Once they do make it to TK's house, he immediately pulls Carlos close, his patience all but gone now when they’re finally able to touch and Carlos seems to be in a similar position to him. He pulls TK closer, shifts a little so the angle TK is currently in allows him to rub perfectly up against Carlos’s crotch, the outline of his dick digging into the inside of TK’s thigh.

Yep he needs to get them inside now.

Carlos presses up against his back as TK tries to unlock the door, leaving kisses on the exposed skin, making goosebumps erupt all over TK’s body, making it even more difficult to focus on the task at hand. The door finally makes a triumphant click and TK turns, meeting Carlos’ hungry lips before he twists the door open, the both of them stumbling inside, hands never leaving each other. The door shuts and Carlos pushes TK up against it and finally TK thinks, kissing back with the vigor of a man who has not been kissed like this by his boyfriend for days. Carlos hands travel down to the hem of his shirt, ready to throw it off. He feels the slowburn of arousal in the pit of his stomach, making him shift on his feet.

There is a cough and clearing of someone’s throat that makes both TK and Carlos freeze up in each other’s arms. TK closes his eyes and leans his head on Carlos’ sturdy chest before he thinks ‘oh God no’. 

Carlos has gone rigid instead, one hand braced against the door in an awkward fashion, his eyes trained on the ground. TK looks up, blushes all over when he spots Gwyneth sitting by the kitchen island, smirk in place and looking way too comfortable that anyone in her position should have the right to be.

“Honey.” She says teasingly and TK groans and steps out from Carlos’ arms, putting some distance between them, but makes sure to keep close.

“Mom.” He says tightly. “I thought you were arriving on Thursday.”

“It is Thursday.” She says.

“What? Right, right…” He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up, feeling like the floor has been pulled out from underneath the ground, swallowing TK whole. Fuck why is this his life?

Carlos clears his throat a few times and finally turns around, fixing his shirt, eyes flitting nervously around the room before landing on his mom. Gwyneth smirks when he finally dares to meet her eyes.

“Carlos, it’s nice to meet you, I have heard a lot about you.” She smiles, all hard edges and shark like. For all of Owen’s faults, at least he has always been supportive, that cannot be said about his mother. Carlos gulps, clearly sensing that he might not be welcome. 

“Mom.” TK tries intervening but Gwyneth clicks her tongue at him, softening her smile slightly though.

“You really are like your dad aren’t you…” She mutters but she comes forward, chique pantsuit on, hair falling in long messy curls behind her back, light makeup on, looking way too put together for someone who has spent almost 4 hours on a plane should do. 

“Did TK tell you that this isn’t the first time this has happened by the way? I once walked in on him when he was maybe 16, it was his first boy -”

“Mom!” He interrupts, ears the colour of lobsters and he keeps shooting glances at Carlos who looks like he isn’t sure if he’s supposed to leave or not. 

“Mom.” He tries again, shooting her a reproachful glare and she bites her lip, eyes gleeful. But she sips her mouth shut.

“What are you doing here? How did you even get in?”

“Your dad picked me up from the airport and drove me here.”

“Right, and no one thought to tell me?”

“He said you’d be out for lunch with Carlos. I take it the plans changed.” TK groans.

“No those plans were intact, we just decided to come here for dessert.” It’s a terrible terrible joke to make and TK regrets it immediately because Carlos winces and his mother smirks, her quick mind already coming up with ten different ways to match that reply.

“Don’t.” He warns and she chuckles, holds her hands up, backing off. 

But she doesn’t stay placated for long, she never has, and she comes forward, smile intact but somehow managing to wear an expression of impassiveness as well, her eyes fixed on Carlos as she puts her hand forward for him to shake. He looks at it for a moment, obviously confused before he puts his hand in hers in a jerky movement. She shakes it, firmly but Carlos has pulled himself together enough to match it and she looks a little less hostile immediately.

“Carlos, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Gwyneth.” Their eyes meet, and her eyes are sharp and alert, probably already having categorised everything she’s gauged about Carlos’ down in her head, already started a mental list of hers. 

His mother’s sharpness and her uncanny ability to be too adept at reading a room, any room, has served her well in her professional life. It hasn’t served TK well at all, and he learnt quickly that lying to her never worked well at all. Well apart from the drugs, that one TK hid so well that he would have probably been able to get away with it for years longer, had his dad not accidentally come home one evening and found him puking his guts out in the bathroom. Apart from that it’s been a major argument between him and his mother, her inability, that he called judgment and she called intuition, to leave that by the door or at her job, and not make up her mind about TK’s friends and boyfriends, before they were even able to make a case for themselves. 

So TK feels bad for Carlos, because he knows all too well what it feels like to be on the other side of her scrutiny. 

“Yes, Mrs. Strand, it’s nice to meet you too.” Carlos says and he looks a little more at ease, probably faking it well, but Gwyneth studies his face a moment longer before she nods admicabally, and it’s as good of an improval from her that it can be at the moment. 

“So, do you want to stay?”

“He’s not staying.” TK interrupts, he isn’t putting himself nor Carlos through an interrogation from her right now. He might need to prep Carlos for that and himself too for that matter. 

“I guess I’m not staying.” Carlos says, and it makes Gwyneth chuckle, looking between the two of them before her eyes land on TK, her eyebrow lifting in a silent question.

“But it was nice to meet you, if you’re in town for some time I’m sure we can find a time for dinner or coffee or something.”

“Yes, you know what I’m sure that’s possible.” But it’s sais genuinely so thank fuck for that. 

Carlos nods his goodbye and TK follows him to the door, feeling his mother’s eyes at the back of his neck, very obviously listening to them. He opens the door to give them some privacy and steps outside with Carlos, closing the door firmly behind them. He leans against it, feeling the air go out of him completely. Carlos is silent, waiting for him to speak.

“Soooo, that’s my mother.”

“She’s intense…”

“Tell me about it...I’m sorry, I forgot she was coming to town this week.”

“Well I guess I’m not the first to meet her this way.” Carlos jokes but it lightens the mood between them and honestly TK’s never been happier to date someone who can joke about something that could have become a massive thorn in their side going forward. Not everyone is fond of overprotective mothers. 

“Yeah… no, that was way worse than this though. She can be vicious when she wants to, that's all I’m saying, you’ve already passed her first test.”

“There are tests I need to pass?” TK shrugs awkwardly.

“Probably…”

“Well, I better bring my A game then.” TK huffs, but it turns into a soft little smile because he really can’t believe Carlos. Most people would have run for the hills by now and decided this is not worth it. Well most people would have probably run for the hills when they found out he was an addict. 

Carlos is proving to be the exception to most of the rules. 

TK steps up close and pulls him in, kissing him hard on the mouth, pulling a groan and a hiss out of Carlos who cradles his face close to slow it down before they both get too lost in each other.

Carlos is the one to stop it completely though, his eyes dark and flush high on his cheeks, looking absolutely gorgeous, and he holds TK’s head in his hands, stroking a thumb up and down his cheek gently before he smiles softly.

“I’ll call you.”

“Yeah, yeah, do that.” TK says breathlessly and Carlos leans forward to gently kiss his lips, before he steps away, TK missing him immediately. 

Before he goes back in to face his mother he needs a moment to catch his breath. He counts to 5 in his head before he opens the door and goes back in.

She’s sitting where he left her, typing away on her phone, but she puts it down when he comes towards her, lifting an eyebrow.

“Can I say hi to my son now?”

“You probably shouldn’t be allowed to after you scared my boyfriend off.” But he’s already opening his arms and she huffs, steps in close and hugs him tightly, her hard exterior melting away now when it’s just the two of them. He closes his eyes, admitting that it is nice to see her. She steps back, cups his face in her hands to look at him properly. He lets her, knows she will not calm down until she’s allowed her little ritual.  

“How are you?” She asks.

“I’m good.” She gives him a piercing look and doesn’t say anything.

“I am good! I swear.” He defends and she huffs, kisses his cheek before she steps away. 

“Good, good.” She takes out her suitcase, it’s massive, and opens it up.

“Mom, you are here for 10 days, why have you packed like you’re going to be here for months?” She heaves an unimpressed sigh and grunts, flipping the suitcase on its back before she opens it up.

“Now, now. One never knows, there could be an emergency.”

“That requires these?” He holds up the Prada heels skeptically and she rolls her eyes, grabs them out of his hands.

“These are the latest in my suede collection, they’re gorgeous right?”

“Yes, yes, they are. Still, it doesn’t answer my earlier question.” He points out. She ignores him and starts to riffle through her things before she picks up a baby blue paper bag that’s been wrapped securely in an airtight plastic bag.

“Now, that’s no way to treat your mother that comes bearing gifts.” She hands it to him and he can’t help but let out the little happy squeal as he rips it out of her hands.

“Aw you shouldn't have.” She chuckles at his delight and he immediately stands up and puts the bag down on the counter, hands twitching in anticipation, just staring at it lovingly. 

“You’re not a child, you can eat cookies whenever you want.”

“I’m 27 and I live at home.” He points out.

“Well, that is all your own doing.” But she kisses his cheek lovingly and he huffs, happy that they can still joke about the elephant in the room. He rips the bag open, mouth salivating at the sight, can’t wait any longer when the smell of freshly baked cookies hit him. 

“How is Fred? Did you tell him hi for me?” He asks, mouth around a chocolate chip cookie, munching away happily as the heavenly taste spreads around in his mouth. The cookie is still soft in the middle, it’s beautiful. 

“He is good, he says hi back and that he misses his favorite customer. Apparently Lily has started high school, can you believe?”

TK can’t, he used to remember her being so young, but she’s always been sassy and she’s going to give poor Fred hell.

Fred’s bakery was a little corner place a few blocks away from TK’s apartment. He used to go there way too often and buy all the sweet pastries in his way. The cookies quickly became a favorite, and he became Fred’s favourite customer because of it. He misses the place dearly. He still hasn’t found a bakery here in Austin he likes as much as that one, and when he keeps telling Carlos that he huffs, having become set on finding a place that will make TK just as happy as Fred’s did back in New York. TK isn’t going to complain, it’s been a fun little activity to play while he’s been on the mend and Carlos’ is almost ridiculous in his categorically organised note taking of the whole thing, dead set on finding him the perfect pastry. If it were anyone else, it would be ridiculous, but because it is Carlos and it’s a thing that’s been made to be about him, TK is just so touched and charmed by it that he’s willing to admit that Texas does have an amazing food scene, even the posh New Yorker in him is willing to admit as much. 

“Did you give me this do distract me from all the clothes you brought?” He asks again.

“No, don’t be a smartass, clothes are no joke. Also are you sure you should be mouthing off to me? You own like 20 jumpers in the same colour alone, don’t come at me.” He snorts and it brings a laugh out of her, he’s missed their banter, he really has. 

“They are not all in the same colour.” He pouts, but it shortly melts into a smile instead. “I’ve missed you.” He admits and her smile goes soft before she steps in close allowing him to pull her into a hug. 

“I’ve missed you too kiddo, so coffee, I’m in desperate need of some.”

“Yeah, yeah, let me.”

“Don’t be silly, do you even know how to work that ridiculous coffee maker?”

“You have the exact same one at your apartment, I’ve used that plenty.” He points out, making her smirk but she walks over, easily enough making herself one, looking way too familiar with the setup.

“You want one?” He shakes his head. She lifts an eyebrow.

“One a day.” He says and she nods.

TK can drink coffee, sometimes he indulges. But he tries not to have any on the days he’s off, it tends to make him a little jittery and being prone to anxiety, he tends to avoid getting his heart rate up unnecessarily high normally, or at least when it comes to drinks and food. When it comes to other stuff he’s none too happy to overindulge a bit in, particularly if their name is Carlos Reyes. 

He goes over to the fridge and takes out the tropical green smoothie from Whole Foods his dad stocks up on and Gwyneth snorts.

“That looks blergh.”

“You’re like a child.” He laughs. “It’s not the worst of his insane food ideas.” 

“No, it really isn't.” She agrees.

“His food regime hasn’t totally gone down at the station, not as well as he’d hoped at least. He tried a cheese burger a while back.”

“Did he now? Wow he’s a changed man.” She jokes and TK delights in having an ally to make fun of his dad with, someone that knows him and loves him enough that it’s okay.

And even after the divorce Owen and Gwyneth usually ganged up on him, it’s nice to have someone to side with from time to time. He sits down beside her as she sips at her coffee.

“It’s a nice place.” She comments, looks around, taking note.

“The prices are insanely low compared to New York.”

“Yes, one of the many advantages. Speaking of New York, a nice little couple moved into your apartment, did you know?”

“Yeah, dad said.”

“They seem nice.”

“Did you threaten them about the carpet in the bedroom?”

“I did, I told them how expensive it was.” She winks.

“You’re menace.”

“Yep, so what should we talk about first?”

“You really don’t know subtlety”

“I do, but I haven’t seen you in months and you are either too busy with work to reply to my texts or calls, or in a coma, or with your boyfriend, so I don’t have the time to beat around the bush.”

“In my defence, the coma wasn’t on purpose.”

“So, are you cleared for duty?” She ignores him and he nods, her eyes studying him close.

“Yeah just got cleared.”

“Good, 100%?”

“No, part time for a while.” She draws in a breath, relieved to hear.

“And therapy?” He sighs.

“She’s not like Doctor Harris, but she’s not bad either, just different.”

“Well I vetted her so.” He rolls his eyes.

“I know, you and dad really have no chill.”

“Not when it comes to you no. And so how are you?”

“Good, and that’s not a lie. Life has been weird, all over the place, crazy and hectic and in it I met Carlos who seems to have been the only stable thing in it all. But yes, it’s actually good for once.” Gwyneth smiles, proud.

“Good, I am happy to hear, really happy to hear. He seems -”

“If you insult him I’m leaving.” Her eyes widen and she burst out laughing. 

“I was going to say that I like him actually.”

“Oh? Oh, okay well that’s good.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting him properly and not when you try and rip his clothes off.” He blushes and groans.

“God, I’m never living that down am I?”

“Honey, you have a tendency to be a little bit of a mess, I’m sure you’ll find something to do soon enough that I can tease you about, in the meantime, nope, you’re not living it down.”

“Great.” She laughs and ruffles his hair lovingly. 

“I’m good at reading people, you know this, I like him, he’s different to all your previous boyfriends.”

“Different from Alex you mean.” She sighs, takes her hand away.

It’s no secret that Gwyneth has never been a fan of Alex. While Owen has almost always been supportive and hidden his disagreements when TK makes decisions he doesn’t like, Gwyneth has always been very vocal about what she thinks. Almost too vocal at times when he does things she really doesn’t like, and TK being TK and definitely his parent’s child, he’s done a lot of things she didn’t approve of. 

Alex being one of them. 

“TK I don’t want to fight, but yes, very different from Alex.” TK sighs, he doesn’t want to fight either and particularly not over fucking Alex.

“Yeah, fine…”

“I’ll have to get to know Carlos better but he clearly adores you.” TK’s eyes snap to hers trying to see if she’s lying, she isn’t. She is looking back at him with a knowing look in her eyes and TK averts his eyes, blushing and she giggles.

“Oh wow, you’re really taken by him too?”

“Shut up.” She laughs.

“I’m happy for you. I really am.”

“Thanks.” He whispers.

“Tell me everything.” He groans but sits up.

“It started badly.” But TK’s got to admit, gossiping about his love life or his life in general is something he’s missed doing with his mother. Owen is good at it but he’s just not her, doesn’t have her sharpness and wit.

“Really?”

“Terribly, which is why you have to be nice to him, he put up with me and that’s hard enough for anyone.”

“Oh shut up, you’re not a burden.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She scoffs when he doesn’t take her seriously, and moves forward, grabbing his face forcing him to look at her. She looks sad, the look she gets when TK is either being difficult or when she feels powerless and heartbroken, unable to reach him at all. He’s used to being on the receiving end of it, particularly after becoming an addict, and her face has often been shrouded in soft concern when they talk about it. 

It used to make his skin crawl in discomfort, the pity too much for him to bear. Now, he thinks she’s earned the right to care about him this way, she’s been through it all with him, and she’s the only one he can tolerate the pity with.

“I mean it, not a burden, not now and not ever and if Carlos thinks so he doesn’t deserve you at all.” TK’s mouth twitches, Gwyneth’s overprotectiveness can be worse than Owen’s aloofness to all his decisions. It’s a fine line to walk between two parents that sometimes either care too little or way too much about what he does. TK still hasn’t found a perfect way to walk between it yet. 

“He definitely doesn’t think so.”

“No?”

“No, mom, god, he’s been nothing but nice and supportive.” She studies his face closer, slightly frowning.

“I take it he knows about the addiction then?” TK nods, shrugs.

“It kind of became inevitable after a while, especially after I got arrested…”

“You did what now?!” TK flinches because whoops.

“Erm, I mean...kind of.”

“Tyler Kennedy Strand, no one gets kind of arrested.” He hates it when she uses his full name, he groans.

“Okay well you can’t be mad.”

“You know when you tell me that I can’t be mad it’s usually because you’ve done something bad.” But she lets go of his face and sits back, tapping her foot against the stool impatiently, backing off, something she rarely used to do when he was younger. 

“Yeah okay, this was stupid. He made me dinner because he’s a nice thoughtful man that misread my signals of just wanting a casul hook up, and then said something about a marriage proposal and that struck a nerve because of Alex and the cheating, so I freaked, found myself a perfect little bar where a gay man can get beat up, got into a fight and then got arrested. He was the one to process me…”

“For real? Were you drunk? Or high?!”

“No, no, of course not. Mom, you would have heard about that. I was sober.”

“Well considering your track record, sober is better, but really? What in the world made you feel compelled to do something so stupid?” TK can’t help but chuckle.

“Yeah funny, Carlos said the exact same thing.”

“Oh, smart man.”

“So I told him why because I had been a complete dick and then I continued kind of blowing him off about the whole thing which was a relationship but also wasn’t. It was very undefined for a while. He obviously wanted us to be more serious but he wouldn’t pressure me into anything, not until I wanted it too and expressed that to him. He’s just an extremely good guy, and then shit happened and here we are.”

“Huh? Shit happened, is that how you would explain it?” She smirks. “I think I like this Carlos the more I hear about him though.”

“Told you, he is a good guy.”

“Well that’s what you deserve, a really good guy.”

“Thanks.” He says, eyes flitting away, but smiling because TK cannot remember the last time he felt so good about being with someone.

As hard as it is to admit, it’s easy being with Carlos and he makes him feel really happy, a feeling TK isn’t too used to experiencing. 

“So, is there a guest bedroom here or? Owen wasn’t exactly specific.” She changes the subject, satisfied for now, but he knows his mother, there will be more words and a longer conversation about everything that has happened since he left New York.

And for once he doesn’t actually mind it, it doesn’t bring him the usual dread or irrational fear of judgement that it used to when his mother wanted to talk to him about his life. TK feels different, he probably is different from when he left New York all those months ago, feeling more stable and secure in himself than he has in ages, unable to not let those emotions merge into his growing relationship with Carlos, so unable to not admit that Carlos has alighten something in his chest that is spreading like wildfire to every part of his body, igniting every cell in its way. Yeah, being with Carlos is unlike anything else. 

Apart from that it’s nice being at a point in his life where talking about his past doesn't make him want to run away in fear. 

“Yes, there is, I’ll show you.” 

“Perfect.”

For some it might be weird having your 50+ divorced parents of 20 years live under the same roof when one visits from out of state, for the Strands/Morgans it just isn’t. His parents should have probably gotten divorced sooner than they did, but once the conversation was actually out there the fighting and the yelling stopped, both of them realising it was for the best for all of them. And ever since they started co parenting, everything kind of settled and became better for all of them. Owen became more present, involved himself in TK’s life and Gwyneth stopped bearing resentment towards having to be a stay at home mom full time and finally had the time to build a career, a very long and successful career that was, while TK finally had the undivided attention of both his parents. And underneath the anger, his parents loved each other very much and after a while they learnt to be friends again.

Then TK screwed his life up a few times and put both of his parents through hell so yeah, it was good until it wasn’t. 

But he can’t deny it’s nice to see her after so long apart. He really has missed her.

*

Read the rest on AO3.

[bellakitse]

A Witness to their Love

Owen doesn’t call attention to himself for a moment as TK and Carlos get lost in each other. His heart squeezes tight as he watches. His son looks happier than he can remember in the longest time.

*

Owen is a witness to his son falling in love.

30 days of Tarlos - Day 4

Owen is in the kitchen, working on a power green smoothie when he hears the beginning of the debate.

“I’m just saying Brad Pitt is one of the greatest actors of our time.”

He hears TK, his voice firm in his convictions, and Owen finds himself already amused by the conversation. This isn’t the first time he’s listened to this argument from his son; it’s always passionate and a little hilarious.

“And I’m just saying Pedro Pascal has him beat.”

Carlos answers calmly, and Owen’s smile grows as he hears his son scoff, his voice is tinted with enough of the green-eyed monster that Owen can hear his jealousy from the kitchen.

“You’re just saying that because you have a crush on him.”

Carlos snorts, and Owen is impressed by the young cop’s guts, a pissy TK is no joke.

“Oh, and what do you call your Brad thing?”

“Recognizing talent,” TK barely gets out before Carlos is laughing mockingly.

“Yeah, okay, Tyler.”

Owen makes his way out of the kitchen as not to miss the exchange. He’s still not used to someone using TK’s name without his son throwing a fit. In the last two weeks since TK’s been home on medical, it’s become his new favorite pastime to watch him react to Carlos using it against him.

He finds them in a position he’s quickly become used to seeing them since TK got released from the hospital. On the couch, with Carlos sitting up, while TK rests back against the armrest as he sits sideways, his legs thrown over Carlos’. They’re as close as they can get, their faces inches away from each other.

“You can’t keep using my name against me,” TK tells Carlos seriously, or at least it would be if there wasn’t a soft dream-like smile on his face.

Carlos seems to agree with him by the smile on his own face. He watches as the man touches his son’s face, cupping his cheek gently, his thumb pressing against the corner of his mouth. His son has always been a soft-hearted kid, gentle, and yet Owen is amazed to see just how much he melts under the soft stroke his boyfriend gives him.

“I’ll stop when saying it no longer makes you look like this,” Carlos says softly, it’s both tender and teasing.

TK blushes under the attention, but he doesn’t lose his smile. He wraps his fingers around Carlos’s shirt, reeling him in. Carlos goes easily, smile still in place as TK kisses him.

Owen doesn’t call attention to himself for a moment as TK and Carlos get lost in each other. His heart squeezes tight as he watches. His son looks happier than he can remember in the longest time; it fills him with hope for him.

He clears his throat loudly when it looks like the kiss between the two young men isn’t going to end any time soon, and he can’t stop the smirk that takes over his face when they both spring back at the noise.

“Dad,” TK startles, looking much younger than his 26 years as he’s caught making out like a teenager.

He’s laughing before he can rein in the impulse, the moment getting funnier as both men blush something fierce.

“Sorry, sorry,” he says, still chuckling as TK glares at him half-heartedly. “I had to interrupt before you two get caught in the moment and forget about your stitches, kid.”

“Dad,” TK drags out the word, dropping his head back as he lets out a groan, while Carlos coughs once into his hand.

“I, ah –“ he starts awkwardly. “I was going to go pick up some food for us, so I’m going to go do that now.”

TK lifts his head to look at his boyfriend incredulously. “You’re going to leave me to deal with him by myself?”

Carlos looks at him and then back at TK.

“Yep,” he nods, and Owen has to cover his mouth to hide his grin at the look of betrayal on TK’s face.

Carlos seems to be having the same problem, his mouth curving up at the corners as TK gives him a pout. “I’ll get pizza from Russo’s, you liked them before, and brownies from the bakery next door,” he says, trying to appease him. Carlos might be embarrassed at being caught by him, but it doesn’t stop him from leaning in to kiss TK under his ear. He whispers something Owen can’t hear, but whatever it is, it seems to work as TK smiles again blissfully.

“Fine,” he says, rolling his eyes playfully. “Run away to get food while I deal with my dad, but don’t think brownies are going to satisfy me. You better come up with something sweeter for later,” he finishes with a leer, and this time Owen can’t stop the snort that escapes his throat as Carlos sputters.

He scowls in TK’s direction. “Just adding fuel to the fire, aren’t we?” he says dryly, his cheeks red.

Still, as he gets up from under TK’s legs, he does it gently as not to shift TK too much. Once he’s up, he stands by TK’s head, leaning down to kiss his temple. “I’ll be back soon, sweetheart,” he says softly, earning another dreamy smile from TK.

Carlos looks over at him, hesitating for a moment. “Veggie supreme for you too, Sir?” he questions respectfully. With his back to TK, he misses the way he rolls his eyes at his politeness.

“And a brownie, if you please, Carlos,” he says with a cheeky smile. “Unlike my son, I don’t need any more sugar than that from you, thanks.”

Carlos gawks at him for a moment as he grins, it’s only when TK starts giggling that he snaps out of it.

“Smartass Yankees,” he mutters, walking away towards the door.

Owen shares a grin with his son when the front door closes a little harder than needed.

“He’s fun to mess with,” he comments, and although TK doesn’t answer, the amused twinkle in his eye is more than enough.

“Stop teasing him when he gets back,” TK scolds him, even as his mouth twitches. “He really respects you and embarrasses easy.”

“I was just protecting your injury,” he protests innocently, chuckling when TK rolls his eyes.

“Go try that innocent act with someone who doesn’t know you, dad,” he scoffs. “I’m not buying it.”

Owen chuckles as he walks over to his son, sitting down next to him. He looks at him, taking him in. He looks so much better; it’s hard to believe he was in a hospital bed not too long ago, or even in a burning bus almost drowning. He looks healthy, happy, and at peace.

“You good, kid?” he asks, needing to hear the words.

“Yeah, dad, I’m good,” TK answers with a nod and a smile. “I’m really good.”

Owen smiles back at him, the weight he’s been carrying since New York slightly lifting.

He’s always going to worry about his son, just like he’s always going to be there for him. But now he thinks there is someone else who cares about TK as much as him who is willing to help be there for him.

“I really like him, TK,” he says quietly, and the smile TK gives him is unlike any he’s ever seen.

There is so much love and pride in his son’s green eyes.

“I really like him too,” he says softly, pausing for a moment to pick at a loose thread of his shirt before looking up at him with awe. “I think I might even – “

“Love him?” Owen questions gently when TK hesitates.

“It’s too soon for that, right?” TK questions uncertainly. “We are only just now defining what we are, what we were before doesn’t count.”

“Says who?” he asks. “Maybe it didn’t have a title, but it’s pretty obvious that boy has cared about you from the start. I saw just how much the night you were shot, and you care about him too. Who says it’s too soon to love him?”

“You don’t think I’m jumping the gun?” TK asks, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth.

Owen reaches over to him, running a hand through his hair before cupping his neck to give it a gentle squeeze. TK immediately leans into his touch the way he has since he was a kid. “I think there is no timetable for love when it’s real and honest.”

TK swallows audibly, letting out a slow breath at his words.

“And this is just my observation, but I’d bet good money that he feels the same way.”

“Yeah?” TK asks, hopefully. “You think so?”

Owen rolls his eyes hard, laughing when TK slaps his shoulder in response.

“Kid,” he starts, making sure his amusement at the question comes across loud and clear. “That man looks at you like you’re the most wonderful thing on this planet,” he says, his smile going soft. “Which you are. Which is why I like him, it means he’s smart enough to recognize just how precious you are.”

“You’re such a dad,” TK mocks for a moment before he leans into his side, throwing his arm around his waist. Owen chuckles softly as he wraps his arm around him, returning the hug.

“I love you, dad,” TK whispers into his shirt.

“I love you too, son,” he answers, holding him closer. They stay like this until there is a knock on the door.

Grinning happily like it’s been hours since he’s seen Carlos instead of only thirty minutes, TK all but skips to open the door. He gives them a moment to reunite at his doorstep, smiling as he hears soft words and kisses.

“Okay, love birds, your romance is cute, but I want my pizza and brownie,” he yells out, chuckling when he hears his son grumble.

He’s happy TK is in love again, and that he’s lucky enough to be a witness to it. He’s glad it’s with a good man that he genuinely believes is going to treat him right.

But that doesn’t mean he’s not going to tease them while being happy for them, it’s his right as a parent, and since he’s pretty sure Carlos isn’t going anywhere, he’s going to enjoy every opportunity they give him.