#Adriana and Francesca are up to shenanigans

[chicgeekgirl89]

I Won’t Say I’m in Love

Fandom: 911 Lone Star

Characters: Carlos Reyes, T.K. Strand, Michelle Blake, Adriana and Francesca

CW: Tequila and Drinking

Summary: 

“Seriously Carlitos?” Adriana says. “Have you seen your face lately?”

“My face?” Carlos asks.

Adriana rolls her eyes. “The last time you looked this besotted you were six years old and the Blakes had just brought home their new puppy.”

“I—what?”

“You spend all your free time with him. And when you finally deign to give us a couple hours, all you do is talk about him,” Francesca says.

“I do not!”

A fic in which Carlos Reyes cannot possibly be in love with T.K. Strand. 

Read on AO3

“No wait, put that back, use this one,” Carlos says, plucking the bottle from his sister’s fingers and handing her a different one instead.

“Um, what the hell? Why are you giving me the shitty tequila?” Francesca asks incredulously.

“Yeah, what the hell? We don’t rate top shelf?” Adriana echoes as she dumps chips into a bowl.

“That bottle is for special occasions,” Carlos tells them, closing his liquor cabinet firmly. 

Francesca slaps a hand to her chest. “Are you telling me that hanging out with your favorite sister and cousin doesn’t rate as a special occasion?” 

“Oh it’s definitely special,” Carlos says, biting back a chuckle at the snark he’s about to unleash. “But considering that your goal is to outdrink each other in margs tonight, I think I’ll hold onto the good stuff.”

“I bet he lets T.K. drink the good stuff,” Adriana grumbles.

“Actually T.K. doesn’t drink,” Carlos says matter of factly, moving the bowl of chips from  the counter over to the table. 

“You mean he doesn’t drink tequila,” Francesca corrects.

Adriana snorts. “Lightweight.”

“No I mean he’s sober,” Carlos tells them. “He doesn’t drink at all.”

There’s silence, which is terrifying since usually the two of them never shut up, and Carlos snaps his head up looking around frantically for a tornado or a rabid mountain lion or a man with good morals and a steady job, whatever has made the girls go suddenly mute with horror. 

Instead of danger he finds both of them staring at him in shock. “Is he…is he okay?” Adriana asks quietly.

“Yes?” Carlos says in confusion. “Believe it or not some people choose not to drink themselves into oblivion on a regular basis.”

“Well then. Wow. He is a strong man,” Francesca says. 

Carlos’ mind immediately drifts to some very, very sexy things that happened mere hours ago and he smiles. “Yes, he is.”

Adriana and Francesca exchange a glance, but he ignores them, choosing to finish putting the final touches on their margaritas instead. 

He’s just adding decorative limes when the doorbell rings and Adriana runs to get it. “You are my favorite man in the entire universe!” she exclaims as she opens the door, startling the delivery driver on the other side.

He stares open mouthed at the beautiful, exuberant woman in front of him. “Th-thank you?” he stammers. “That’s um, $43.50.”

“Oh.” She turns back and purses her lips into a pout at Carlos. “I—“

“Conveniently forgot your wallet?” he asks, already rifling through his own. He hands over the cash along with a tip and thanks the man while Adriana whisks the bags away to the counter where she and Francesca start eagerly pulling out cartons.

“Wait! Get him back! This isn’t right!” Francesca calls just as Carlos bids the guy goodnight and closes the door.

“What’s wrong with it?” Carlos crosses the room and glances into the bags, not finding anything amiss. 

“There’s no Mongolian beef or scallion pancakes,” Adriana says, checking the labels again. “They gave us sesame chicken instead. And wonton soup.”

“Oh, no, that’s right,” Carlos says as he opens the cabinet to the left of the sink and grabs some plates.

“You always get Mongolian beef,” Francesca says in confusion. “Like, always.”

Carlos shrugs. “T.K. likes sesame chicken and wonton soup. It just sounded good tonight.”

There’s another brief silence full of loaded glances, which Carlos ignores. It’s bait. And he knows better than to take it. “I got extra egg rolls,” he says and that is enough to get them digging back through the bags again.

Carlos has a rule about eating on the couch, but Adriana and Francesca have never once followed it, so he doesn’t even bother wasting his breath reminding them as they settle into place in front of his TV. He does reach over and exaggeratedly put coasters underneath their glasses, sending them pointed looks, which they ignore as they chatter on about how their stocks are doing and what the Kardashians have been up to lately. The women in his life contain shocking multitudes. 

He pulls up Netflix as he takes a bit of chicken. They’ve chosen to watch a couple episodes of Great British Baking Show, one of the few things they can all agree on. 

“Why is Stranger Things in your recently watched?” Adriana asks. “That’s not your kind of show.”

“T.K. likes it. We’ve been watching it together. It’s fun,” Carlos says.

“Wow. Okay. You really are in love,” Francesca says with a laugh.

The words shoot an unexpected bolt of panic through Carlos’ chest and he almost chokes on the bite of rice and chicken in his mouth. “I’m not in love,” he says. “We’ve been together for like a month.”

“Seriously Carlitos?” Adriana says. “Have you seen your face lately?”

“My face?” Carlos asks.

  Adriana rolls her eyes. “The last time you looked this besotted you were six years old and the Blakes had just brought home their new puppy.”

“I—what?”

“You spend all your free time with him. And when you finally deign to give us a couple hours, all you do is talk about him,” Francesca says.

“I do not!”

“Carlos, I can tell you T.K.’s Chinese order, that he was on the track team in high school, that he once rescued a guy from the Chrysler building, hell I can tell you his shoe size,” Adriana says. “You’ve got his hair product in your bathroom, his vitamins on your counter…”

Carlos narrows his eyes. “How do you know I’ve got his hair products in my bathroom?”

Francesca shrugs. “Sometimes we snoop to see if you’ve got anything good in there.”

“You shouldn’t be snooping around in my bathroom!” he cries.

“Don’t change the subject,” Adriana chastises him.

Carlos takes a sip of his margarita. And then another. And then another. He’s not drunk enough for this. Not even close. He might need to go break out the expensive tequila after all. “We’re dating,” he finally says. “That’s all.”

“Okay,” Francesca scoffs.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Carlos asks.

“It means I believe that you believe that all you’re doing is dating.”

Carlos blinks a couple times. “That sentence doesn’t even make sense.”

“What she’s saying is that you’re delusional,” Adriana tells him. “You love this guy. Like love love him.”

“T.K. is…great,” Carlos says. “I mean, he’s better than great. He’s…” Words like “incredible,” “impressive,” and “amazing” all float through his mind, but none of them quite seem to be right. T.K.’s all of those things and more, he’s…

“The love of your life?” Francesca supplies the answer for him, amusement all over her face.

Carlos scowls at her. “Stop putting words in my mouth. And how would you know anyway? The two of you go through men at a rate previously unknown to humankind. Have you ever even been in love?”

“Nope,” Adriana says, popping the “p” and then using her chopsticks to pick up another bite.

“Hey! I was in love with Brandon Sanchez in tenth grade!” Francesca says, shoving her cousin with her foot. 

“Oh you were not. You just loved his abs.”

Francesca breaks into a dreamy smile. “He did have really great abs.” She sighs. “Okay, fine, I wasn’t in love. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know what it looks like. I’ve watched every episode of Grey’s Anatomy.”

“Look, admit it or not, it doesn’t matter,” Adriana tells him. “We’re happy that you’re finally happy. When you very stupidly married your fake wife, we weren’t sure you’d ever find your happy ending, but we’re glad you have.” She pauses. “In more ways than one I’d imagine.”

Carlos winces. “Could you not bring up Iris ever again? Thanks.”

He’s beyond grateful that she’s alive, but it’s ripped open some incredibly painful old wounds and he is doing his very best not to think about how it complicates his life in fun new and excruciating ways.

“Whatever hermano,” Francesca says around a mouthful of chow mein. “You want to be in denial about your feelings, that’s between you and T.K.”

“Did Carlos tell you that T.K.’s a male dancer?” Adriana asks, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

Francesca whips her head around to look at her brother accusingly. “Wait I thought you said he was a firefighter!” Light dawns in her eyes. “Ohhhhh. That kind of firefighter.”

“No, he’s an actual firefighter,” Carlos says, taking the last egg roll as punishment for their obnoxiousness. 

“Have you checked? Because if you yank on his pants and they come apart with velcro…”

“His turnouts are real,” Carlos tells them. “I work with him. I’ve seen him in action.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure you’ve seen him in action a lot,” Adriana says with a wicked grin.

Francesca throws a pillow at her. “Perv. I don’t want to think about my brother’s sex life.”

The girls end up getting very drunk (as he knew they would) their margaritas becoming progressively less margarita and significantly more like large shots as the night goes on. They both end up passed out before midnight. He carries Francesca up to his spare room and tucks her in, but Adriana only rouses enough to shove him away and tell him to “fuck off.” He sets a few pillows on the floor next to the couch so she doesn’t die if she falls off in the night and then takes himself to bed.

In the morning they’re both hungover so he makes them omelets and forces them to drink water and take some Tylenol before ejecting them from his home. Their groggy state is probably why they don’t argue much about being awake before ten in the morning, they’re practically docile when they’re like this. He tells them to go home, but he’s pretty sure they’re headed out for bloody marys instead. 

T.K.’s not on shift, but he’s spending time with his dad today and won’t be by until later, so Carlos busies himself by doing some weekend cleaning around the condo, making a quick trip to the farmer’s market to find something for dinner, and then…he doesn’t know what to do.

He tries to read a book, but it doesn’t hold his interest. So he scours his streaming services for a show to watch, but his eyes keep drifting away, and he’s halfway through an episode of some random procedural before he realizes he has no idea what’s happening. He turns it off with a sigh. He’s never struggled to entertain himself on a weekend before and he can’t quite put his finger on why he’s so bored today.

Not until T.K. knocks on his door around five o’clock.

Carlos practically runs, wrenching the door open so fast it nearly goes flying out of his hand and slams into the wall. “Hey,” he says, immediately reaching for T.K.’s waist and pulling him inside, as he presses a kiss to his lips.

“Hey,” T.K. says when they pull apart, his eyes sparkling with fun. “That’s a way nicer welcome than I get at my dad’s house.”

“I missed you,” Carlos says and that’s when the realization strikes him. He wasn’t bored this afternoon. He was lonely.

Adriana and Francesca’s words drift through his mind and he takes a step back, putting some distance between them, not wanting to seem too weirdly eager. “How was your time with your dad?”

“Good,” T.K. says, dropping his bag by the door. “We got lunch at this vegan place he wanted to try and then I helped him set up a new phone.”

Carlos winces in sympathy. “How did that go?”

T.K. sinks down onto a stool at the counter as Carlos heads back to the stove. “You know for a guy who really tries to stay with the times, he’s definitely an old man when it comes to technology.”

That makes Carlos chuckle. “Been there. I had to help my abuelita get on Facebook a couple years ago so she could see pictures of her great grandbabies. It did not go well.”

“I cannot even tell you how many times I had to explain to him that there are no buttons anymore,” T.K. says with a roll of his eyes as he pops a grape from the bowl on the counter into his mouth. “Thanks for rescuing me. I’m sure he’ll call with questions, but I’m going to ignore him and deal with that another day.” He smiles up at Carlos. “Tonight I’m all yours.”

Carlos’ stomach explodes with butterflies so intense that he feels almost like he might need to sit down. What the hell is going on with him?

He turns away to stir the sauce he’s got going and feels T.K. come up behind him. He practically melts when T.K. slides his arms around his waist and plants his head on his shoulder. “Whatcha makin’?” he asks.

“Bolognese,” Carlos says, resisting the urge to whip around and claim his mouth right here and now in the kitchen. “And I got fresh berries from the market today for dessert. I made whipped cream earlier.”

T.K. groans. “I literally don’t know how I survived before I met you. My dad’s cooking trends significantly more healthy than hearty.”

“That’s how I lured you in,” Carlos says, turning a little so he can smirk suggestively. “I know a desperately hungry man when I see one.”

“Oh I was hungry,” T.K. says with a chuckle, and then he drops his voice. “But it wasn’t for your cooking. That’s just a perk.”

He kisses the side of Carlos’ neck and Carlos shivers. “If I leave this it’s going to burn,” he says, sucking in a shaky breath when T.K. doesn’t stop at one kiss but continues to press his lips into Carlos’ skin

T.K. sighs and lets go, hopping up to sit on the counter, swinging his legs and back forth. “Fine. But you owe me later. Now, tell me all about movie night.”

“Well no one got alcohol poisoning, so we’re going to consider it a win,” Carlos says as he puts the pasta on to boil.

T.K. snorts. “They sound like fun. When do I get invited?”

“Ha!” Carlos blurts out a laugh louder than he means to because the thought of T.K. being interrogated by Adriana and Francesa is more terrifying than anything else he can think of. “Trust me, it’s safer if you’re not.”

“Come on!” T.K. says. “They’re important to you! I need to meet your people!”

“You work with Michelle.”

T.K. rolls his eyes. “That’s not the same. Michelle’s not your family.”

Technically she kind of is, but Carlos isn’t ready to spill those beans yet. “Here, taste this,” he says, changing the subject as he brings a spoon to T.K.’s lips.

“Wow,” T.K. says as he swallows. “That’s incredible.”

“It’ll be ready in like five minutes,” Carlos tells him. 

“Can I help with something?”

“You can set the table.”

T.K. hops off the counter and Carlos’ heart does something funny as he watches him open the silverware drawer and pull plates down from one of the cupboards. He doesn’t need Carlos to tell him where things are; he already knows. He’s not a guest here anymore, he belongs.

They eat and then T.K. helps him wash up the dishes before suggesting they settle down to watch another episode of Stranger Things, which he knows means T.K. is going to watch for about ten minutes before he starts fooling around. It’s therefore not a surprise when they abandon the episode halfway through to make their way up to Carlos’ bedroom.

They hold each other after, sweaty and breathless, and as amazing as the sex was, this is better. Feeling T.K. breathe against him, knowing T.K. is his boyfriend, that he’s not just here for a good time is…everything. The dinners together, the watching TV, the going on dates to movies and the matching toothbrushes in the bathroom, it all feels like everything he’s ever wanted. Like everything he never thought he’d be able to have. 

It feels like…

The word love flickers through his mind and his heart stutters in his chest. It can’t…this can’t…

Before he can examine anything more fully T.K. props himself up on one elbow and runs a hand down Carlos’ chest. “I’m going to take a shower. Want to join me?”

That’s not an offer he’s going to refuse and so that word, those four letters, get pushed from his mind for a little longer.

                                                         XXX 

He has lunch with Michelle two days later. When she finally arrives (late) she looks exhausted and Carlos’ heart squeezes with sympathy. “Hey chica,” he says warmly, pulling her into a hug.

“Hey.” She holds on for longer than normal and Carlos lets her, trying to absorb some of the sadness he can feel radiating off of her.

“How are you?” he asks when they finally break apart.

Her face is drawn and there are dark circles under her eyes. Iris’ decision to stay out on the streets is weighing on her in a different way than her sister’s first disappearance ever did. Michelle fought tooth and nail for years and now that there’s no one left to fight it’s like she’s been emptied out.

Carlos should have checked on her sooner.

“Hungry,” she says, sending him a genuine if somewhat tired smile. “I hope you don’t want any guac because I am going to eat all of this.” She reaches for a chip and digs into the appetizer he’s ordered for them.

“All yours,” he tells her, nudging the basket closer. “I got you a lemonade too.”

“Bless you,” she says gratefully.

“Also just a heads up, my mom wants to bring over tamales for you and your mom on Tuesday. And you know she won’t take no for an answer.”

“Tamales from Andrea? Who could say no to that?” Michelle says with a smile.

“How’s your mom doing?” 

“She’s…okay,” Michelle tells him and he can see the worry wearing at the edges of her. “It’s hard. We both just want Iris home, but she’s still not interested. It’s going to be a long process.”

“Would it help if I went to see her?”

Michelles shakes her head and dips another chip. “I think right now it’s better if she doesn’t feel overwhelmed or pressured. But once we get her back and on some meds, I’m sure she’d love to see you.”

There’s relief and guilt mixed together at those words, but Carlos pushes it all aside. “She’s still on my health insurance. So whatever she needs, let me know and I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you,” she tells him softly, reaching over to place her hand on top of his. “Enough about me though! What’s up with you and T.K.? You guys are official now, right?”

Carlos steals a chip and nods. “We are, yes.”

“And how is that?” Michelle’s face says she already knows exactly how it is.

“It’s good,” Carlos says mildly.

She smacks the table. “Come on Reyes! I’m stuck in the family drama muck over here, let me live vicariously through you and the sexy boyfriend!”

“It doesn’t bother you at all that you are asking for explicit details about your co-worker?”

“Well you don’t have to tell me everything. Just a little. Come on. Is it still the honeymoon period? Or does he snore? Or drool?”

Carlos chuckles. “Yes, no, and no.”

“Good,” she says. “Love looks good on you.”

He sighs, curling a hand around his cup. “What?” she asks in confusion.

“Why does everyone keep saying that? That I’m in love?”

“Well you are, aren’t you?”

“No!” Carlos says it too loudly and immediately looks around to make sure no one else noticed. “It’s too early for that. We barely know each other.”

“Carlos you’ve been head over heels for him since the moment you met. I saw you that night at the honky tonk with stars in your eyes.”

“That was just attraction. And lust,” Carlos says, remembering the sparks that had ignited in him the second T.K. had said yes to a dance. Those sparks have yet to be extinguished.

“I mean, I’m sure he’s good in bed, but nobody is that good in bed,” she tells him, huffing out a laugh. “You talk about him constantly. You spend all your free time together. He pushed you away and then you invited him back in anyway. Sweetie, you sat at his bedside and held his hand while he was in a coma.”

Carlos goes silent as he processes this, thinking about all the feelings he’s been having over the last few months. Feelings he’s never had before. Feelings that have him feeling just barely this side of crazy. “Am I?” he asks, barely more than a whisper. “Am I in love with him?”

“Would it be so bad?” Michelle asks. “If you are?”

“I—I don’t know,” Carlos says. “I don’t want to freak him out.”

“You don’t have to tell him,” she says. “You can wait until the moment feels right. You can even wait for him to say it first if that’s what works best for you.”

“God,” Carlos groans as he buries his face in his free hand. “I don’t know how to do a relationship like this.”

“Hey.” She reaches up and brushes a hand over his cheek, a fond smile on her face. “You deserve to be loved Carlos. So if you love him, then love him. And if he wants to, let him love you back. Don’t listen to that voice in your head telling you it’s too soon or that you’re not worthy or that he couldn’t want someone like you. Let it happen. And enjoy it.”

She winks at him and picks up a menu. “Now, let’s decide what we’re eating because these chips alone are not going to cut it.”

                                                         XXX

He hates days like this. Days where it feels like they can’t save anyone. There’s too much blood, too much crying, too much trauma, and it makes him question whether or not this job is worth it. 

He’ll sleep on it and feel better in the morning, he always does. But right now he’s down a deep, dark hole of grief over lives that will never be the same because there’s too much evil in this world and they didn’t get there in time to stop it today. 

The hole is so deep and so dark that he doesn’t even remember he has a boyfriend until he walks in his front door and sees T.K. sitting on his couch. “Oh, Jesus,” he says in surprise, a hand going to his chest as his heart gives a startled leap the sight of someone else in his space.

“And hello to you too,” T.K. says with a laugh as he mutes the TV. 

“Sorry,” Carlos says. “Sorry, I just, I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“You gave me a key and said to use it,” T.K. says, eyes going from cheery to wary in a heartbeat. “Did you not want me to—“

“No,” Carlos interrupts quickly. “No, of course I meant for you to use it. You can come whenever you want. You belong here. I just didn’t…it’s been a long day.”

He drops his stuff, not even bothering to put it all away correctly and heads for the kitchen. He’s so tired that if he closes his eyes he could probably fall asleep standing up, but he’s also starving and dinner isn’t going to cook itself. “Did you eat? Do you want um…” he scans the fridge trying to make the contents form a meal. “Tacos? Or I could do like a stir fry?”

He feels T.K. come up behind him. “Why don’t we do takeout tonight? Or I can cook.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

T.K. reaches around Carlos’ body and gently pushes the refrigerator closed. “I know you don’t mind, but you’re exhausted. You don’t need to cook. Let me figure it out for tonight,” he says softly.

Carlos can’t come up with a response. His brain is telling him that he needs to provide a meal, but he’s so tired he can’t come up with words to explain that to T.K.

His silence goes on for too long and T.K. reaches down and laces their hands together. “Come on, come with me,” he says, tugging softly and leading Carlos over to the couch. 

Carlos sinks down into the cushions and T.K. grabs a throw pillow, leaning it against the arm rest. “Lay down,” he says, reaching to help Carlos lift his feet up so that he’s completely horizontal.

Carlos shifts, nestling himself into the cushions until he’s comfortable as T.K. settles onto the edge of the coffee table, eyes searching his. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Carlos shakes his head. Not right now. He can’t. 

“Okay.” T.K. reaches out and brushes a hand over Carlos’ curls, still slicked back from his day at work. “Why don’t you close your eyes for a little bit? I’ll wake you up when the food is ready.”

He hasn’t had someone take care of him like this in years, not since he was a kid. It feels…good. So good. 

T.K. stands up, but Carlos catches his hand. “Thank you,” he says.

“Hey, what are boyfriends for?” T.K. tells him with a smile. 

He watches as T.K. bops around the kitchen pulling out way more pots and pans than necessary and it’s so right it makes his heart ache.

I love you.

The words swell inside of him and this time he feels them without fear. They’re a certainty. Permanent. Something everyone else has been seeing and he feels stupid that he ever doubted their truth. He loves T.K. Has probably loved him since he laid on eyes on him.

“Hey T.K.?” 

“Yeah babe?” T.K. calls back as he rinses vegetables in the sink.

“I—“ 

The words are true, but he hesitates to say them yet. The little voice that tells him they’re real also tells him that he needs to wait, because he might be ready, but he’s not sure T.K. is. So he finds other words instead. “I meant it. What I said before. You belong here.”

T.K. pauses and his face breaks into a smile so big that it’s like the sun has come out. “Thanks babe.”

He goes back to work, already making more of a mess than Carlos usually makes during the entire dinner process. Carlos’ eyes drift closed to the sound of pots and pans clanking around and he feels himself relaxing despite the chaos. 

This is love. And it’s good. 

[lostinthewinterwood]

Id Pro Quo 2021

Hey there!

It seems we share some aspects of id, my friend, so let the letter go forward :3

(also, if anyone is curious—would be delighted at art treats, though I haven’t requested any art)

Here’s the order of things:

-        DNWs

-        Likes

-        Tags I may or may not have requested that would go great with anything (as additions, not instead of requested tags, lol)

-        Mother of Learning

-        Revolutionary Arc

-        Original Work

 General DNW

non-con/dub-con;

explicit sexual content;

incest (incl. adoptive/chosen family);

a/b/o;

mpreg;

non-canonical permanent major character death;

complete downer endings;

hurt no comfort;

heavy angst;

on-page deliberate self-harm*;

on-page suicide;

gore;

graphic physical trauma;

character bashing;

cringe comedy;

fic-as-writer-soapbox;

fic that’s all about real-world bigotries or real-world politics;

canon-typical 2020;

unrequested full-setting AUs;

marginalized identities as focus of fic;

unrequested romance as the main plot.

*I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. However, something like cutting would not be appreciated.

 General Likes

– I really like plotty fics

– Secret identity and disguise shenanigans, the more layers to them and more absurdity the better.

– Casual genderfuckery - guys in skirts and girls in suits, and nobody cares. Not necessarily any deep rumination on gender, just comfort in playing with it.

– Time travel and time loops are always fun

– A focus on family and/or friendship, especially characters realizing they’re not nearly as alone as they think they are, and just generally characters who like each other and enjoy spending time together

– Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding

– Canon-divergence AUs and missing scenes; things set pre- or post-canon; wriggling into canon and poking at it to see what it spits back at you, if that description makes any sense at all.

 Tags that go great with literally any of these (unless contradicted by DNWs) as optional additions, if appropriate:

 after worst day      of A’s life A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without      having to talk

 all the diaspora      feelings

 Alternate      Universe - Canon Divergence

 Alternate      Universe - Daemons

 Alternate      Universe - Fairy Tale

 Alternate      Universe - High Fantasy

 Alternate      Universe - Modern with Magic

 Alternate      Universe - Regency-Inspired Fantasy

 Alternate      Universe - Space Setting with Magic

 Alternate      Universe - Traveling Circus/Carnival

 Badass in      Distress

 Ballroom Dancing

 Bonding over      music

 Catching injured      character as they faint or lose balance

 Character A lost      character B's trust; trying desperately to get it back

 Character      confesses traumatic events to sympathetic friend

 Character Ignores      Their Trauma; Their Friends Try to Help After They Can No Longer Deny It

 Character is      rescued and comforted

 Character tries      to hide their problems but friends are determined to help

 Character who      isn't used to being protected gets protected

 character(s) get      the therapy they so desperately need

 Characters That      Don't Like Each Other Nonetheless Find Comfort In Parallel Traumas

 characters      undercover as whatever seems interesting to you

 characters      understand each other so well they barely need to speak in times of crisis

 Class Differences

 Coming to terms      with the permanent effects of significant injuries

 Conversations In      Liminal Spaces On The Border Of One World And Another

 Conversations in      Mundane Liminal Spaces

 Cuddling &      Snuggling

 Drawing &      Painting

 Emotionally      Repressed Characters Have to Work Through Having Emotions

 Families - Found      Family

 Finding Someone      Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them

 Fire-forged      Friends

 Forgiveness

 Gratuitous      descriptions of hugging

 Gratuitous      Descriptions of Winter

 Grooming - hair      brushing

 Hair Braiding

 Hair Stuff - A is      unexpectedly very good at styling hair; styles B's ornately; B wears it      all day

 Hair Stuff - A      looks up how to do fancy hairstyles so they can do B's hair

 Hair Stuff -      character cuts another character's hair

 Hair Washing

 A has baggage;      doesn’t trust others & (less obviously) doesn’t trust themself/has      guilt

 Holding Hands

 Hurt/Comfort -      Character Doesn't Expect Tenderness But Gets It Anyway

 Hurt/Comfort -      comfort after a nightmare

 Hurt/Comfort -      comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and      unapproachable

 Hurt/Comfort -      Loneliness

 The Inexplicable      Peace That Comes from Stargazing

 Intelligent      Characters Enthusing Over Learning New Things (Especially From Each      Other)

 Learning a New      Language

 Learning to Dance

 Loneliness

 Platonic Life      Partners

 Protectiveness -      Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders

 Protectiveness -      Character being protected isn't used to being cared about

 A rescues B from      trouble B knowingly walked into (B thought they could handle it on their      own)

 Scars - Exchanging      stories about scars

 Scenery Porn

 Snow and Ice

 Teamwork

 that fic genre w/      long lowercase title (&parenthetical) that’s sexy moody      multilayered & complicated

 Thing character      has built a large chunk of their life around comes to an end; finding a      new path

 Touch-Starved Character      gets their hair stroked & gets other kind gentle touches &      cuddles

 two people really      want Found Family but are too emotionally stunted to admit it

 Uncovering a      major secret by gradually putting the pieces together

 Worldbuilding

 Worldbuilding -      Magic Spells & Rituals

 Young      character(s) solving problems in surprisingly mature ways considering      their age(s)

  Mother of Learning - nobody103  

-        Solo: Kirielle Kazinski (Mother of Learning - nobody103)

-        Kirielle Kazinski & Zorian Kazinski (Mother of Learning - nobody103)

-         

-        Mother of Learning - Controller Kirielle Kazinski

-        Mother of Learning - Deaf Kirielle Kazinski

-        Mother of Learning - Time Looper Kirielle Kazinski

fandom-specific dnw: romantic and/or sexual Zach/Zorian; physical parental abuse within the Kazinski family; significant exaggeration of canonical emotional neglect/abuse/general family dysfunction; explicit permanent erasure of time traveler characters in your fic who weren't erased in canon

 Look, I just love Kirielle a lot, okay.  And there are two basic concepts that will not leave my brain when it comes to her, so I’ve requested both here—if not this exchange, when else?  Also, they’d definitely work great together, if you feel so inclined.

Anyway, concept 1—time traveler Kirielle.  I think it would be really interesting to explore how she dealt with all of it—she’s nine, not fifteen, so she’d be growing up while looking like a child, and she’d have to trick her way around people a lot more to get them to take her seriously. It would be different, also, depending on if she were a hanger-on or the Controller; ironically she’d probably have more support in her learning and growing if she were a hanger-on, since there’d be at least one other person looping with her then.  She’d also look like a lot less of a threat to anyone looking for those—physically, she’s nine years old, no matter how long she lives, and children are a lot less threatening than teenagers.

As for concept 2—I really should’ve mentioned this in my sign-up, but it slipped my mind at the time—I really, really don’t want to see fics that infantilize disabled characters—if Kiri’s deaf, she’s still gonna be herself, you know? Not exactly self-sufficient or anything, she is nine after all, but not a helpless little kid who can’t do anything on her own either.  And please don’t cure her—magic (or mundane) adaptive tech is fine, but please no outright cure.

That being said, I’m using “deaf” here in the looser sense, so do what you will with that piece of knowledge.

Anyway.  I’m fascinated by this idea, I think, because it would both fundamentally change Kirielle’s circumstances and be a big opportunity for worldbuilding—all we really know about disability in Eldemar is that modern disability theory is not a thing which is familiar to giant spiders or to fifteen-year-old boys.  But like—if she’s deaf, then that means that she can’t be the perfect little girl Cikan quite clearly wants her to be; I’d be very surprised if they didn’t raise her oral, didn’t try to hide her disability or at least make it as invisible as possible to everyone else.  And I’d imagine that there isn’t much of a Deaf community in Cirin of all places—maybe that makes her want to go to Cyoria even more, find a community there, learn a sign language so she can communicate in a way that’s easier for her.

Actually, I think it really would be interesting to combine these two—I know I already said they go great together, but like, it would just give her more time to find a community and a language and what it means to be a Deaf merchant family’s daughter in Eldemar, when you aren’t restricted to a tiny little village with parents who care too much about appearances.

  Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88 (fanfic)  

-        Solo: Pansy Parkinson | Pandora Parkinson (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Solo: Arcturus Rigel "Archie" Black (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Solo: Adriana "Addy" Potter (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Arcturus Rigel "Archie" Black/Hermione Granger (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Francesca Lam/Aldon Rosier (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Harriet Potter | Rigel Black & Pansy Parkinson (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Hannah Abbott/Blaise Zabini (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Ginny Weasley & Ron Weasley (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Caelum Lestrange & Pansy Parkinson (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Caelum Lestrange & Harriet Potter | Rigel Black (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-         

-        can't go back to school because you're critical to putting your country back together post-civil-war

-        Characters That Don't Like Each Other Nonetheless Find Comfort In Parallel Traumas

-        dissonance of normal college life and the secret civil war you fought overseas as a teenager

-        finally getting a chance to sit down and process all the things you had to do to maintain your cover

-        Fix-it - Last-minute rescue for character who died in canon before they die

-        going back to school after fighting a yearlong civil war against the new dictator of your country

-        going home after the war (but you can't go home again)

-        Post-canon - characters slowly recover from trauma caused by canon

-        A was too young to remember the war but every adult they know was involved in it

-        we both have massive trust issues; it seems like we’re the only reasonable people in the world

-        World-weary broken people find comfort and understanding in each other

 Don’t have any fandom-specific dnws here.

For Rev Arc, what I’m looking for is essentially consequences and fallout; canon is nice! Canon is very nice! But we don’t see a whole lot of what happens afterwards—all these kids who came of age during the war, who have to or can’t go back to school, who have to live with the world that exists after.  The new generation, who are in a lot of ways more akin in circumstance to canon HP’s characters than Rev Arc or RBC characters ever were. There was a war; the war’s been won. What now?

If you happened to be looking at the fix-it tag, I didn’t have any canonically dead characters in my requests, but I was definitely thinking of Draco when I requested it—you wouldn’t even really need to change much else, I don’t think, since he’s injured badly enough by the time Harry and Leo show up to put him out of commission for the rest of the war.  Also, I formatted Pansy’s tag the way I did because I was thinking of her reconciling herself after it all, if that makes sense.

  Original Work  

Mentor angle

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & His Older Female Mentor

-         

-        Abused Child Grows To Trust New Authority Figures/Guardians

-        Bonding over music

-        Catching injured character as they faint or lose balance

-        Character Discovers a Horrible Political Secret

-        Character who isn't used to being protected gets protected

-        Drawing & Painting

-        Families - Found Family

-        Finding Someone Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them

-        Gratuitous Descriptions of Winter

-        Grooming - hair brushing

-        Hair Braiding

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character A discovers Character B's biggest secret

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character expects to be punished but is comforted instead

-        The Inexplicable Peace That Comes from Stargazing

-        Learning to Dance

-        A rescues B from trouble B knowingly walked into (B thought they could handle it on their own)

-        song of the lioness style gender disguise plot

-        teaching moments while rescues are taking place

-        Thing character has built a large chunk of their life around comes to an end; finding a new path

-        Uncovering a major secret by gradually putting the pieces together

Gen angle

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & Male Student Warrior

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & Female Student Warrior Disguised as a Boy

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & Female Fellow Student Mage

-         

-        Character tries to hide their problems but friends are determined to help

-        characters understand each other so well they barely need to speak in times of crisis

-        Epic Friendship Slowburn

-        Finding Someone Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them

-        Fire-forged Friends

-        Found Family - characters come to unspoken acknowledgement that that's what they are

-        going back to school after fighting a yearlong civil war against the new dictator of your country

-        Hair Stuff - A is unexpectedly very good at styling hair; styles B's ornately; B wears it all day

-        A has baggage; doesn’t trust others & (less obviously) doesn’t trust themself/has guilt

-        Hurt/Comfort - Being comforted by someone character distrusts

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character A discovers Character B's biggest secret

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character overuses magic/powers/etc. to protect a loved one

-        I would do anything to save you from yourself (including physically fight you if it comes to it)

-        Intelligent Characters Enthusing Over Learning New Things (Especially From Each Other)

-        Learning a New Language

-        A rescues B from trouble B knowingly walked into (B thought they could handle it on their own)

-        song of the lioness style gender disguise plot

-        Uncovering a major secret by gradually putting the pieces together

-        Villain undercover as a good guy; grows to care about good guys leading to heel-face turn

-        X tells Y the (outlandish) truth; Y thinks it’s a joke until something proves X’s truthfulness

Ship angle

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Male Student Warrior

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Female Student Warrior Disguised as a Boy

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Female Fellow Student Mage

-         

-        A Admires B's Fighting Skills

-        all the diaspora feelings

-        Ballroom Dancing

-        Character sees color for the first time upon meeting soulmate; it's a highly inconvenient time

-        Characters Didn't Realise The Relationship Was Secret; They Thought It Was Obvious

-        characters understand each other so well they barely need to speak in times of crisis

-        Fake Dating Leads to Feelings Despite Characters' Best Attempts

-        Hair Stuff - A is unexpectedly very good at styling hair; styles B's ornately; B wears it all day

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character A discovers Character B's biggest secret

-        I would do anything to save you from yourself (including physically fight you if it comes to it)

-        Intelligent Characters Enthusing Over Learning New Things (Especially From Each Other)

-        Language of Flowers

-        A rescues B from trouble B knowingly walked into (B thought they could handle it on their own)

-        song of the lioness style gender disguise plot

-        Soulmates - Scars appear on each other's skin

-        Soulmates- Name on the wrist is not the one character goes by

-        Uncovering a major secret by gradually putting the pieces together

-        Undercover - Masquerade Party

-        Villain undercover as a good guy; grows to care about good guys leading to heel-face turn

-        X tells Y the (outlandish) truth; Y thinks it’s a joke until something proves X’s truthfulness

fandom-specific dnw: age gaps in ships of more than 3 or so years when one character is underage; predatory manipulation between characters in the relationship in service of the relationship; transphobia directed at cisgender characters; crossdressing as fetish. I’d also rather not see any kind of serious relationship with at least one character disguising their gender pre-reveal of that disguise–flirting, starting to date a little is okay but if it’s going further please have them reveal it. Please don’t play into the idea of gender-disguised character as “trap”. If actual trans characters are present, then some transphobia isn’t a hard dnw—my gift in Heart Attack didn’t bother me at all.

also dnw characters requested as gender-disguised to be written as trans or to be written as absolutely loathing their disguise. other characters are fair game. if writing trans characters, dnw them to be explicitly nondysphoric (but not addressing it is fine).

 So, uh, I’m sure you can see the… theme in all these requests.  For these ones especially, the freeforms aren’t the really iddy part; I just picked the ones I liked best and thought I suited the relationships best. It’s the ship tags that are the iddy part.

Look, I fell in love with Song of the Lioness as a kid, then I grew up and realized there was a tragic dearth of gender-flipped versions, and now I’m fishing for them in exchanges.

So give me this boy and the people in his life! Tell me a story—what is this world, that this is necessary?  How does he handle various aspects of it?  Or just let them go on an adventure or have a nice quiet day tbh, those would both be rad too.

[chicgeekgirl89]

Fic Rec Friday

Thanks @detective-giggles for the tag!

So wanted to get some hiatus rec lists going and encourage some self promo in my friends so how about sharing your top fics no matter how big or small - give us the links to your wonderful words with the Most hits/Most kudos/Most comments/Most bookmarks /Most words/Least words.

Most Hits/Most Kudos:

The Good, The Bad, and the Very Ugly- I’m actually surprised, I didn’t realize this one had become my fic with the highest hits and kudos! Carlos gets hit with what he thinks is a minor stomach bug, but ends up needing help from our favorite paramedic trio. I looooooved writing sicky Carlos and concerned T.K. in this one!

Most Comments: 

Tied between The Way Our Horizons Meet- My fic about Tarlos throughout season 1, one of the first fics I wrote for them and still one of my favorites.

And Hold Onto Me- a 6+1 about the way T.K. and Carlos touch each other and again, one of my favorites. All the little moments feel so them! 

Most Bookmarks:

The House in the Pines Where the Road Ends- This one is a bingo fic and the beginnings of Adriana and Francesca and my version of the Reyes family. These girls bring me so much joy, the first OC’s I’ve ever written!

Most Words:

A Little Bit Broken- This is actually a SEAL Team fic featuring Sonny and Lisa. God I loved them so deeply for such a short time lol! Very whumpy, lots of shenanigans!

Least Words:

T.K. and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day- This one is so cute and sweet all about T.K. being a grumpus and Carlos making him feel better.

Tagging @bonheur-cafe, @irispurpurea, @carlos-in-glasses, and @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut!

[chicgeekgirl89]

A Firefighter, a Cop, and a Construction Worker Walk Into a Bachelor Party

Fandom: 911 Lone Star

Characters: T.K. Strand, Carlos Reyes, Marjan Marwani, Nancy Gillian, Judd Ryder, Mateo Chavez, Paul Strickland, Francesca Reyes, Cousin Adriana

Summary: A combined bachelor party with all their friends promises a night of fun and celebration. But when some unexpected guests show up, the party goes from Rated G to XXX.

Rating: T

A/N: This came at a suggestion from @bluenet13 involving Adriana and Francesca and strippers and I could not have been more delighted to cause some chaos for our sweet boys.

Read on AO3

“All right, who needs a top off?” Judd asks and several people respond with an affirmative as he walks around with a bottle of whiskey and pours it into their raised cups. “T.K.? What can I get you? Another bubbly water? Mocktail?”

“It’s my own loft,” T.K. says with a laugh. “If I need anything I can go get it myself.”

“Yeah but it’s your bachelor party,” Judd tells him. “You don’t need to be getting anything when we can get it for you.”

“Yeah dude, just sit back a relax!” Mateo says, slapping him good-naturedly on the leg. “Let your people serve you for the night! Hey Carlos!” he yells over his shoulder. “Tell T.K. to relax and enjoy his bachelor party!”

“T.K. relax and enjoy your bachelor party,” Carlos calls back obediently from where he’s leaning against the wall, chatting with his brothers-in-law, Javier, Justin, and Elías. 

The day had started with the two of them doing separate activities, T.K. hanging with the 126 crew and driving go-karts, while Carlos had gone to the batting cages with his brothers-in-law and a couple buddies from work. Both groups had met back up for dinner and were now hanging out in the loft, drinking and laughing and playing games. 

“This from the man who keeps circling the room and picking up garbage,” T.K. says with a fond roll of his eyes. 

It had been a good idea to do this together. The room was full of people they both loved and cared about. 

And Adriana and Francesca. Who had shown up despite Carlos explicitly telling them they weren’t invited. 

They were currently deep in conversation with Carlos’ work friends. T.K. had heard the words “community policing” and “deescalation” being thrown around and he didn’t envy Carlos’ friends in the slightest. If they all weren’t considering career changes before the night ended, he would be shocked.

“Hey!” Marjan calls over the din, holding up her cup with one hand while she scrolls through her phone with the other. “I found a drinking game! I’m going to ask a question and the answer will be either T.K. or Carlos. If you get it right, you drink.”

There are cheers of agreement and Judd makes the rounds once more to make sure everyone has a full glass. 

“Question number one,” Marjan pauses for dramatic effect, clearly happy to be holding court. “Who fell in love first?”

There are laughs all around and when Marjan says Carlos’ name, every hand goes up. Carlos and T.K. exchange amused looks. “That would be true,” Carlos says and everyone yells and laughs and takes a sip.

“Next question,” Nancy reaches over and pulls Marjan’s phone from her hand, scrolling down the list. “Who is the neat freak in the relationship?”

“Carlos,” everyone choruses, taking a drink without even waiting for confirmation.

“This going to be a short game if all the questions are like this,” T.K. says, sipping on the mock-jito someone made for him. 

“Well the next one is: who’s louder in bed?” Marjan says, smiling wickedly.

T.K. immediately bites his lip and looks at Carlos who is blushing deeply as everyone laughs. “That depends on the situation,” he says coyly and Carlos looks like he wants to melt into the floor. 

Their fun is interrupted by a knock at the door and Carlos’ forehead wrinkles as he scans the room to see if anyone is missing, coming up empty. He wanders over to open it anyway as the game continues with Nancy taking over the questioning. He wouldn’t put it past Mateo or one of his buddies to have ordered pizza in the middle of the party.

But when he opens the door, it’s not a pizza delivery.

“Is this the Reyes-Strand residence?” asks the police officer standing in their hallway.

“Yes,” Carlos says slowly. “Is there some kind of problem?”

“I need to speak with T.K. Strand,” the officer says, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and brushing past Carlos to get inside the loft.

Carlos turns around, eyes finding T.K. who looks completely stunned, the exhilaration in the room replaced by surprised murmurs and silence. “T.K. what—?”

“I have no idea,” T.K. says. “I—“

“Sir, what’s your badge number?” Carlos says, already pulling out his phone to call his captain and figure out what the hell is going on.

“You’re T.K.?” the officer asks.

“Yes,” T.K. replies in confusion.

“Can you stand up for me please?”

T.K. slowly complies, looking nervous. Carlos takes a step toward them both. “Now wait a second—“

“I hope you’re ready,” the officer says.

T.K. swallows hard. “Ready for…?” 

The officer pulls a portable speaker out of nowhere and grins. “Ready for a strip search.”

He pushes a button, music suddenly blasting through the room, and then rips open his shirt revealing an incredible six pack. 

Everyone’s jaw drops as the man begins moving in time to the music with truly astonishing hip rolls and pelvic thrusts. 

“Oh my god, I cannot see this,” Judd says, putting a hand over his eyes and turning toward the kitchen. “Gracie’ll murder me.”

“He’s a guy Judd!” Mateo says.

“Don’t matter,” Judd says with a shake of his head.

T.K. looks at Carlos in total shock. “You hired a stripper?!”

“No I didn’t—“ Carlos’ eyes search the room, landing on Marjan and Nancy.

“Don’t look at us,” Marjan says quickly, although she’s clearly enjoying the scene. “We wouldn’t dare.”

It couldn’t have been his brothers-in-law, his sisters would kill them, and his work friends know better too.

That’s when he spots his sister and his cousin in the corner, grinning like maniacs, their phones out recording every second of this chaos. “Happy Bachelor Party T.K.!” Francesca yells, glee all over her face.

“Oh my god. I am going to KILL you,” Carlos bellows over the music.

“Hi, oh, hi, yeah, no thanks,” T.K. says as the cop stripper moves closer.

The man stops, confused. “No thanks? Do you want something different? I can do a lap dance? Or—“

“No, no, no,” T.K. says as Paul finally gets the music shut off. “You’re great, and very attractive, it’s just, I am marrying that really hot guy over there and I don’t need…this.”

“Oh okay, that’s cool, I’m all about consent,” the guy says. He looks Carlos up and down. “You’re the fiancé?”

Carlos crosses his arms over his chest, eyes going hard. “Yeah. I am.”

“Damn. Respect bro.” He holds out a fist and T.K. bumps it. 

Carlos takes a breath and tries to salvage the evening’s dignity. “Okay, sorry about this everyone,” he says. “Apparently my sister and my cousin decided to have a little fun at our expense. Let’s all just—“

“Excuse me?”

Carlos turns to find a man in a fireman’s uniform striding into the loft. “Are you Carlos Reyes?” he asks.

“Yes, but—“

It’s too late. The man pulls out a speaker identical to the cop’s and yanks at his pants, which come flying off, leaving nothing but an incredibly revealing thong. 

“Oh, those are definitely not regulation,” Marjan says, eyes wide.

“Carlos Reyes, I’m here to get you fired up!” the man shouts, swinging the pants around over his head.

“Actually, technically firefighters are there to put the fire down,” Paul says as Mateo nods in agreement. 

Carlos rounds on his cousin and his sister. “I am calling Tía Maria and letting her send BOTH of you to a convent, I swear to GOD  Cesca—No, no, no!” he interrupts himself as the man gyrates toward him. “If you touch me I will have you arrested for assaulting an officer!”

The man stops and frowns. “I’m not even close to that guy,” he says, nodding toward the stripper cop who has been handed a beer and a slice of cake. 

“Not him. Me,” Carlos says, eyes like thunder.

“Oh come on Carlitos!” Adriana calls. “Have a little fun!”

“Babe, hey, it’s okay,” T.K. says, coming around the couch and taking his hand. “It’s fine, we will laugh about this later.”

“Oh I’ll laugh,” Carlos says. “I’ll laugh when I CALL MOM AND TELL HER WHAT THEY DID!”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Francesca says, her eyes still sparkling with mirth.

“Hi, sorry, what’s happening?” stripper firefighter asks.

“We’re not going to be needing your services tonight,” T.K. says smoothly. “But you’re welcome to stay and have some cake.”

“Oh cool, thanks,” the guy says. “I’m Matt by the way.”

“Joel!” the cop stripper calls.

“Matt why don’t you come on in here we’ll get you a beer,” Judd says, having reappeared now that the imminent threat of nudity has ended.

“Carlos, breathe,” T.K. says, rubbing his hands soothingly up and down Carlos’ arms. “You can’t kill them. They’re family. And you’re a cop.”

“Which means no one will ever find their bodies,” Carlos grinds out, glaring at his sister and his cousin who are sauntering toward them. “I wouldn’t come over here right now if I were you!” he snaps.

“Don’t be such a prude!” Francesca says with a roll of her eyes. “It’s your bachelor party! It’s what people do!”

“People!” Carlos practically yells it. “Not us!”

“Hello?” 

Everyone turns as a construction worker steps in through the still open door. “I’m looking for Carlos and T.K.?”

“What did you do, invite all the village people to my house?” Carlos cries.

“We thought maybe a cop and firefighter were too on the nose,” Francesca says. “Thought we’d add a little variety.” 

“Hey, you know I’m not a firefighter anymore, right?” T.K. asks.

“Yeah, we tried, but apparently paramedic strippers aren’t very in demand,” Adriana tells him. “So unless you want to brush off some of your own stripper moves…”

“Dude, you’re a dancer too?” Matt asks as he walks by with a plate of cheese and crackers, still pants-less. “Right on! What clubs do you work?”

“No, I—I am not a stripper,” T.K. says.

Carlos is seething. “I swear to god, if a sailor or a biker walks through that door…”

“What, do you think we’re made of money?” Adriana scoffs. “You may be special primo, but you’re not four strippers in one night special.”

T.K. reaches around Carlos and shakes the construction worker’s hand. “Hi…?”

“Dylan,” the man supplies.

“Hi Dylan, I’m T.K., this is my fiancé Carlos, and we are so sorry about all the confusion. How do you feel about cake?”

“I can just go…” Dylan says slowly, clearly realizing he’s stepped into something.

“No, please stay,” T.K. says. “We have plenty of food and it’s the least we can do for your trouble, right Carlos?”

He squeezes Carlos’ hand reassuringly. “Fine,” Carlos says, his voice tired and resigned. “But everyone who’s staying needs to be wearing all their clothes! And please use a coaster!”

Despite the unexpected arrival of extra guests, the rest of the night goes off without a hitch. T.K. keeps his fiancé well away from Adriana and Francesca who are refusing to apologize and honestly really feel they deserve a little more gratitude for making the party so much more fun.

It’s nearly two am by the time they say goodbye to the last of their guests. Carlos locks the door and then slumps against it. “Never again,” he says.

“Well I hope not,” T.K. says with a smile, letting his hands slide from Carlos’ ribs down to his hips. “If we’re both bachelors again, something has gone seriously wrong.”

“What did I do to deserve Adriana and Francesca?” Carlos moans. “I mean, what were they thinking?”

“They were thinking that you like hot guys and they like hot guys,” T.K. tells him. “They’re really smart babe, but their people skills need work. You know that.”

“I don’t like hot guys. I just like you,” Carlos tells him, a slight pout on his face.

T.K. chuckles. “That’s a little offensive, but thanks. I like you too.” 

“You know what I mean,” Carlos says with a sigh. 

“I do.” T.K. reaches up and runs a thumb gently over the crease in his fiancé’s forehead. “Stop worrying about tonight. Everyone had fun. Your brothers-in-law already know what Cesca and Adriana are like. The 126 doesn’t care, in fact, I’m sure they all found it very hilarious and will be making jokes at my expense for the rest of my life. And your work buddies didn’t seem to mind either.”

“I know, I know,” Carlos says. “I just…they drive me so crazy sometimes. How is that possible? We’re grown adults and they still know how to push all my buttons.”

“Because they’re family,” T.K. tells him. “It’s what they do.”

“Well I wish they didn’t,” Carlos grumbles.

T.K. studies him for a minute and then casually hooks a finger through one of Carlos’ belt loops, tugging just a little. “You know, I was thinking…”

Carlos raises his eyebrows. “Oh were you?”

T.K. nods, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. “I was thinking that it’s not fair that I got the full stripper cop experience tonight, but you didn’t get the full stripper paramedic experience.”

“Yeah, I really think I’m okay with that,” Carlos says.

“Are you sure?” T.K. asks, running a finger down Carlos’ chest. “Because if you’d like a paramedic stripper experience, I might know a guy.”

Carlos’ dour expression shifts as he bites his lip, fighting a grin at T.K.’s overt flirtation. “Oh you might huh?”

“Yeah I might.” T.K. smirks as he leans in and kisses Carlos once, then again, then gently pulls him away from the door so that he’s walking backward toward the bedroom. “Is that something you’d be interested in?”

“I think I could be.”

“Oh you think you could be?” T.K. teases.

“Yes, I think I could be.”

“I think you could be too.”