#my first official tk fic

[tellmegoodbye]

It's my first (official) Wip Wednesday of 2025!

I couldn't decide which WIP to share, so we're double dipping today.

Thank you @thisbuildinghasfeelings @carlos-in-glasses @paperstorm @strandnreyes @bonheur-cafe @whatsintheboxmh @nisbanisba @carlossreaders @heartstringsduet and @lemonlyman-dotcom for tagging me!

This first snippet is from my spicy d/s fic, and I know @heartstringsduet will appreciate me finally sharing more of this fic.

TK Strand is no stranger to submission. He fancies himself somewhat of an expert on the subject of his own likes and dislikes, and if he happens to enjoy a little bondage here or a little dirty talk there, he's not about to shy away from that. The concept of total submission is so much bigger than that though, and TK isn't sure if he's ever been able to fully wrap his head around it. To him, there's power in being held down, knowing he can give as good as he takes, knowing that he could easily have his partner a shivering mess beneath him, but choosing to give his body over to them instead. Being overpowered and fucked so hard that he could feel it in his marked up thighs all week – that is power. That is freedom. But he would never go as far as to call it subspace – not when every description of it he's ever come across is so much deeper and fulfilling than anything he has ever experienced. Part of him wanted to chalk it up to fantasy, something that might just exist in stories that are created specifically to be thrilling and sexy. And he was okay with that. He never had any desire to create such a feeling and simultaneously turn everything he's ever known about the power of sex on its head. He's never felt safe enough. Then Carlos Reyes came barreling into his life.

This next snippet is from my murder mystery AU!

Sharp gusts of wind nip at his wrists and neck, seeking out every small expanse of exposed skin currently unprotected by the material of his APD windbreaker, which he's come to realize is a size too big on him. It figures that his uniform isn't a perfect fit just yet, but he would have preferred to find out on a warmer day is all. This must be what he gets for transferring in the middle of January. The crime scene is particularly obscured by the medical examiner's van from where he's standing, and TK can't see where Carlos went, but he's not particularly concerned with his whereabouts at the moment. He takes a deep breath and takes an inventory of the scene around him, grounding his senses with each exhale. There's a flurry of flashing lights. From cell phones, from cameras belonging to the local news station. The sound of each snap of a picture mingles with the murmurs and footsteps from onlookers, drowning out the distant sounds of traffic on the other side of the alley, where the rest of the world moves forward in spite of the tragedy before them. There's a muted commotion accumulating along the flimsy police tape. It rattles against the forceful winds, a harsh, piercing noise dragging TK's attention away from the familiar dread that lies beyond the border. He's stepped over that line so many times and faced some of the worst horrors this world has to offer, and yet taking those first steps never seems to get any easier. “Strand,” Carlos’ voice snaps through the hazy chaos. “Get over here.”

Tagging: @ironheartwriter @emsprovisions @sapphic--kiwi @literateowl @eclectic-sassycoweyes @nancys-braids @captain-gillian @alrightbuckaroo @theghostofashton @morganaspendragonss @carlos-tk @henrygrass @futures-tense @goodways @decafdino @lightningboltreader @welcometololaland @rmd-writes @reyesstrand @butchreyes + open tag!

[eclectic-sassycoweyes]

❄️Catch Me Before I Let Go❄️

A teaser of my coming 🎁 for the wonderful @ironheartwriter for the Tarlos Secret Santa gift exchange!

Dearest Lana - it’s me I’m your Santa in Secret (no more)!! I don’t regret to inform you of that, because it has been an absolute delight so far to think up something wintery and fun for you from the prompts you gave me! I do regret to inform you however, that I am running a bit behind😔

The Christmas Chaos simply caught up with me with unexpected intensity and I’ve had to ask the wonderful mods for an extension. I am doing my very best to be able to give you the fic in it’s finished form before New Year’s Eve!! To make up for it, and to hold you over until then, I have prepared this teaser for you including the above collage/mood board, and below a summary and a lil’ snippet to gift you on my posting day<3 I hope brings you both intrigue and enjoyment!

Best wishes for a happy holiday,

Your very own Secret (no more) Santa,

Mar💚🥰🤶

Summary:

As a former member of the school swim team and someone who generally likes to be in charge of whether his feet are moving or not, Carlos Reyes prefers water in its liquid form. As such, a ski resort should not be on his top ten spots to visit. He’s insistent to make an exception though, in order to treat his adventurous, snow-loving husband to some fun downtime before they embark together on the next big step for them, of parenting TK’s little brother, Jonah. He’s booked a cozy wooden lodge in the closest ski resort to Austin, and he’s going to be his most fun and adventurous self while also making sure that his husband is absolutely spoiled. There’s just a few things he hasn’t taken into account: 1) Carlos has never skied before in his life. 2) Carlos really hates doing things he isn’t already good at, especially if they include the risk of falling on your face and 3) One very annoying, and very hot, ski-instructor named Josh who is outrageously obvious in his flirting up a storm with TK.

-In which TK and Carlos go skiing for the holidays, Carlos grapples with the old notion of letting go of control, and has also convinced himself that he has something to make up for.

*****

On the third day Carlos is officially deemed ready to take on the real pistes. At least according to TK. And to.. Josh. Carlos knows it’s probably immature but he still has trouble accepting compliments from the ski-instructor without somehow taking it as the opposite.

Something about the chipper look on his face when he tells Carlos that he’s ‘doing super good’ or he’s a ‘really quick learner’ makes him feel five years old. Carlos might not know the first thing about skiing and yeah, they might have literally paid Josh for his advice and encouragement, but where does he get off telling Carlos what he is and isn’t ready for or that he just needs to try and ‘let go a little’? Ugh. It’s condescending. 

Yesterday Carlos finally managed to slide down the training hill without face planting or tackling any small children along the way, only to be met at the bottom with Josh giving him a way too enthusiastic thumbs up and saying ‘good job!’ Carlos’ own brain had unhelpfully applied the ‘buddy’ to the end of the sentence, making Carlos feel like he was a little kid who had just managed to actually kick the ball at soccer practice for the first time. Carlos had to muster up all his willpower to smile politely and grit out a genuine-sounding ‘thank you’. 

Josh seemed oblivious to the effect he was having on Carlos, and luckily so did TK - his happy smile and rosy cheeks and the hands that Carlos could just barely feel the pressure of as they gripped at his waist over thick layers while he kissed him with lips that felt cool and moist from the snow had quickly improved his mood and made him feel genuinely proud of his accomplishment. 

Despite this, Carlos feels a little less sure about whether he’s really ready for the real thing, especially now as they’re on top of the hill and looking down, the daunting stretch of it is looking longer and more steep than it had seemed from the foot of it. He’ll be fine, he tries to reassure himself. If nothing else, he believes in TK and TK believes in him. According to TK (and Josh but Carlos is trying to reach a state of cool indifference when it comes to him mainly by trying not to think about him too much) it’s good to try the real piste sooner rather than later, to experience the thrill of actually skiing so as to not risk growing tired and frustrated before you’ve even experienced the real fun of it.

Better to fall on your face a few times than to stay on the training piste the whole trip and go thinking you’ve had enough of skiing for good. Carlos is trying to be on board with that sentiment even though he really isn’t the type to normally throw himself into things without feeling like he’s at least prepared enough that the chances of success are somewhat high.

‘Learning by doing’ and ‘crack a few eggs along the way’ are not normally sentiments that resonate with him. He will be the type for those though, for TK. For his wonderful and adventurous boyfriend who has put up with Carlos being a sobbing mess half the time during the past few weeks, carrying the weight for both of them as they’ve embarked on the process of adopting his little brother, and with Carlos’ absent mindedness and late nights even longer. So at least for this week, he’ll be adventurous for TK while he does his best to treat him to everything he desires.

Besides, it’s not like they’re doing the biggest pistes just yet - the plateau they’re on constitutes the starting point to the smaller slopes and they’re doing the smallest one to start with. TK will be with him the whole way, probably bored as they slide slowly down the hill with Carlos pushing the front of the skis inwards to break the whole way. 

He’s already survived the trip up, gripping TK’s hand tight the whole way and trying his best to appreciate the view, mostly managing to appreciate the view of TK appreciating the view, as he found that looking down made him a little lightheaded and made his heart speed up in his chest uncomfortably. 

As Carlos refastens the buckles of his ski-boots (he’s already done it twice, once when they arrived at the pistes and put on their skis, and once right before getting on the ski-lift, images of his skis falling off on the way up and landing right on somebody’s head making him guilty of negligent manslaughter on account of not tightening his boots enough), Carlos ends his little pep talk by sternly telling himself to pull it together. He can do this. This is their second to last day on the trip, and TK deserves to have some fun too, instead of having to spend his whole trip in the training area with Carlos and all the children. 

Speaking of TK, Carlos rights himself and looks around for him. He didn’t want Josh to witness him neurotically double and triple check the buckles of his boots, not feeling sure that he would react nicely to Josh butting in to offer unsolicited advice or, God forbid, crouching down to help him tighten them. So he’d mustered up a confident smile and told himself and TK to go ahead and Carlos would find them.

 Now he’s kind of regretting that. Carlos might allegedly be ready to slide down the smallest of the ‘adult’ hills, but the thing is, he still hasn't completely mastered the whole ‘moving on purpose in a normal walking pace’-thing. He still feels like it’s the skis, not him, deciding when he’s standing still and when he’s moving (and if he’s honest, which direction he moves in). 

Spotting his husband and the ski instructor that Carlos is not currently sparing thoughts for, by the starting point of the slope they’re supposed to try first, Carlos starts slowly making his way there. Luckily they seem to be caught in conversation and Carlos hopes that it stays that way so he doesn’t have to be observed inelegantly and very slowly approaching them. Nothing more awkward than waving and then being stared down for five minutes while you’re sweating and fighting to get within talking distance.

Once Carlos is within hearing range, he picks up bits of their conversation. “Oh,” he hears Josh’s voice say, and Carlos swears he can hear, even from just that one word, that the ski instructor is flirting with his husband. “I don’t suppose they make calendars for those too..?” And at that Carlos has to stop walking to roll his eyes (he can’t do both at the same time). 

Not this again, he thinks angrily. He can’t believe he’s had to witness TK being the victim of this god-awful pickup line twice in the span of their less than five years long relationship and had to fend the guy off (leading to some spectacular sex the first time, but still). Can’t these idiots come up with something better?

Carlos picks up his pace, he needs to stop this conversation before it goes any further and show this Josh-guy, Mr. ‘I’m a hot and blonde ski instructor who probably never gets caught in my head and is a lot of fun’, who TK belongs to. Even if somewhere deep within himself Carlos is finding it hard to measure up at the moment.

Carlos is sweating and panting, his brows furrowed in concentration trying to make his legs move faster, his thighs protesting as he slides one in front of the other in quick succession, using his poles to try and make sure he’s actually causing a forward movement instead of just looking like he’s using the skiing machine at the gym. At one point he gives up and turns so his side is to Josh and TK, awkwardly lifting his skis to take broad steps sideways.

He’s already preparing what to say in his head. Maybe if he interrupts the exact same thing as last time, TK will find it funny and get that wonderful crinkly and shiny eyed laugh he reserves for Carlos’ jokes that always makes his chest feel two sizes bigger, and they can laugh about it later tonight and hopefully have a repeat of the spectacular sex it resulted in last time. 

Deciding he’s as close as he’s gonna get if he’s gonna make it in time before the conversation moves on, he turns towards them again. Trying to make it look deceivingly effortless as he closes the rest of the gap between them, he paints on his cockiest smile and shouts, loud enough to make sure they can hear him even though he’s barely within hearing range, “And his husband is a Texas R-“ 

Unfortunately he doesn’t get further than that because the thing that could absolutely not happen, happens. 

In his eagerness to interrupt the blatant flirting aimed at his husband, Carlos had accidentally turned his skis in the direction of the light downwards slope toward one of the bigger pistes, and, quickly losing forward momentum as soon as he didn’t give it his full attention, has now started to slide backwards. And this time he isn’t in the training area anymore and he won’t be caught by a fence. 

He sees TK’s eyes widen as his form gets smaller and smaller, and Carlos tries desperately to break, but he can barely break while going forwards, let alone when he’s going backwards, and he isn’t succeeding. In fact, he’s picking up speed, and a glance over his shoulder tells him he’s fast approaching the edge where the plateau changes to one of the steeper slopes.

In a last resort to prevent disaster Carlos lets himself fall ungracefully into the snow, but unfortunately, it’s too late. The concerned faces of people clad in ski suits of all colors swim in and out of his vision as he tumbles down the hill. The world spins dizzyingly around him like he’s the immobile center of a spinning snow globe depicting a ski-resort themed winter wonderland.

Through his dizziness, Carlos manages to send a prayer to the universe that he won’t bump into someone and cause some sort of mass casualty event, as he keeps tumbling for what feels like ages. At some point the tip of his left ski seems to catch on something causing a sharp pain to shoot through his ankle, making him cry out in pain.

The world spins a few more times and then he's landing on his back at what he assumes is the bottom of the slope. Squinting dazedly up at the clear blue sky he tries to catch his breath. Trying to move his leg which is bent at an odd ankle so he can sit up, he grimaces and lets out another cry as he’s reminded of twisting his ankle on the way down, the sharp pang settling to dull throb as he stops trying to move.

Turning only his head he sees the bright orange shape of TK in his ski suit zig-zagging down the hill at impressive speed. His hero, his wild heart, come to save him.

[aspenlovesmedia]

I’ve officially started writing the superhero au as while I haven’t figured out all the main plot yet, I do have 2 prequel fics I can write which are the set up to the main story and I haven’t written a fight scene in a while and I need tk get this out of my system.

The first one is “When it all fell” and is how Grian and Scar end up very complicated and the deaths of Skizz and Mumbo.

The second one is “The Watcher’s Deal” and that is when Grian falls deep into his grief and guilt and makes a deal he will later really, really regret.

Then the main story will start and I still have not named this au lol. Listen, the two prequel titles came to me at the same time but the name for the whole au evades me and it’s super annoying. I hate titles, they’re a pain in the ass.

Anyway, it’s super nice for me writing superhero stuff again. It’s my comfort genre lol. Idk when I’ll be done with When it all fell since I’m also writing my TMA AU fic at the same time but oh well, I guess we’ll see.

[sugdenlovesdingle]

This is way way WAY too late (but surely it's still the 19th *somewhere*???) because I kept changing my mind on what I wanted to write...

but here is my @911lonestarevents fic for @ramblingdisaster73 I hope you like it!

View from the taco truck (AO3)

TK and Carlos' relationship through the eyes of their favourite food truck vendor

---

The first time Jessica saw them was a few weeks after officially opening up her taco truck. Business wasn’t exactly booming yet so she spent most of her days people watching.

She’d seen the cop hanging around near her truck for a while and wondered what he was doing.

She had a half a mind to call him over and ask before she saw another guy, in a uniform she didn’t immediately recognise, walk up to him and his face light up.

They were close enough to hear their conversation and she couldn’t help but eavesdrop.

“Hey…” the cop said happily as the other guy walked up to him. Jessica noticed the Austin fire logo on his shirt. He’s a firefighter then. They awkwardly smiled at each other for a moment before the firefighter pulled the cop in for a hug.

“Did you find it alright?” the cop asked.

“Sure.” he replied. “I’m starting to find my way around this small town better every day.” He grinned.

The cop groaned.

“You’re never going to let me forget that are you?”

“You’re the one who called Austin a small town. I looked it up, Austin is the fourth most populous city in the state with a population of almost one million people.”

“Well in my defence, if you knew my mother, you’d understand. I think she knows at least 75% of those people. If not more.” The cop insisted as they walked over to the truck to order.

Jessica tried to compose herself to not let on she’d been listening in on their conversation.

“Would you consider Austin a small town?” The firefighter asked the her before she could even think of taking their order.

“Uh… no not exactly…”

“Thank you!” he exclaimed and turned to the other guy. “See? She agrees with me.” He turned back to the her. “He called Austin a small town.”

“I just meant the community. Cops. Firefighters. First responders. They all know each other.”

“Uh no, that’s not what you said.” The firefighter grinned, clearly enjoying the argument.

The cop laughed and rolled his eyes and gave the Jessica a “See what I have to put up with?” look.

She smiled and tried to figure out why he looked so familiar until she noticed the name on his uniform and the proverbial light bulb switched on.

“Well… I don’t want to take sides…” she started. “But I’m pretty sure we went to high school together. Carlos Reyes right? Two older sisters. Luisa and… Ana?”

“Uh… yeah… yeah that’s right.” Carlos stammered, clearly trying to remember her.

“I looked a little different in high school.” She told him. “My name was Juan back then. I was on the football team. Among other things.”

“Oh… oh right.” Carlos replied, trying to piece together the information.

“My sister Gabriella was best friends with Luisa.”

“Gabriella Suarez? She called you Juanito!”

“Yeah that’s right. I got by Jessica now though. And I own this truck. Have done for a few weeks now.”

“Right, right… I’ve uh… heard good things… about the food…”

“So what’s your speciality?” The other guy cut in. “He promised me tacos that are, and I quote, better than that crap from Taco Bell. So what should I get?”

Jessica took their order and told them to take a seat at one of the picnic tables near the truck while she made their food.

They sat down and from the corner of her eye she watched the firefighter put his hand on the table, smiling when Carlos grabbed it.

“So do you believe me now? About Austin?” Carlos asked while rubbing his thumb across his knuckles.

“What? No.” He protested. “What is it you cops say again? Once is an incident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.”

Carlos laughed.

“So I have to find two more random people I know to prove I’m right?”

The other guy shrugged.

“Depends on how badly you want to be right.”

Their conversation moved on from their bickering to other stuff and every time Jessica glanced over to them, she saw their joined hands on top of the table, and matching dopey smiles on their faces.

“Guys, your order’s up.”

“I’ll get it.” Carlos got up to grab their food.

“I put in a little extra.” Jessica told him. “Since we all know each other in this small town.” She joked and Carlos laughed and shook his head.

“At this rate he’s going to mention that in his wedding vows.” He said and walked back to their table.

---

The second time Jessica saw them and actually had a few minutes to talk to them, they were both in their regular clothes and an older man in a baseball cap was with them.

“I’m telling you dad, the food here is great.” The guy whose name she’d learned was TK told the older man as the three of them walked up to the truck. “Carlos and I come here all the time for lunch.”

“Well I’m always in the mood for tacos, but you two really don’t have to buy me lunch. I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“We just want to say thanks for helping out today and giving up your day off, captain Strand.” Carlos told him.

“It’s Owen. And of course I’m helping my son move in with his boyfriend. Did you really think I’d let you two do everything on your own?”

“No, but we’re still grateful.”

“So let us treat you to lunch. Sit down, we’ll order for you. I know what you like.” TK told the man Jessica had worked out was his father, and the man sat down at one of the tables.

They placed their order and waited by the truck as Jessica worked. Business was starting to pick up, her truck becoming popular with both cops and firefighters, and she had a feeling she knew who was responsible for that.

“So, moving in together?” she asked them, making conversation.

“Yep.” TK replied happily. “He’s officially stuck with me now.”

“I wouldn’t want to be stuck with anyone else.” Carlos told him and kissed him.

Jessica smiled.

“I’m happy for you guys, but have mercy on us single people, ok?”

Carlos chuckled but TK apparently considered it a challenge and leaned on the truck to focus all of his attention on her.

“Maybe we can help you find a date? What are you looking for? Guys? Girls? Both?”

“Guys. But I’m not really looking right now. Me and my ex broke up not too long ago and I’ve got my hands full with this truck.” She told him.

“But you haven’t met our friend Paul yet. He’s single. Or our friend Mateo. If you’re into the Marvel nerd type.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Let me show you a picture.”

“TK.” Carlos said gently and covered TK’s phone screen with his hand. “You don’t have to play matchmaker for the whole of Texas, you know.”

“Jessica is not the whole of Texas! And Paul and Mateo are great guys!” TK protested while Jessica focused on preparing their food. “And it worked for Nancy and Marjan.”

“You’re just going to take credit for that just because you know both of them?”

“No, I gave them a push in the right direction.” TK insisted.

“Just keep telling yourself that, babe.” Carlos teased and thanked Jessica when their food was done and they joined TK’s father at their table.

---

The next time Jessica saw them, was not long after that day, but this time they both looked exhausted and Carlos especially was dressed in an outfit he didn’t seem to be very comfortable in. He was tugging at the neck of his hoodie, and pushed the sleeves up and pulled them back down again, just to apparently give his hands something to do in the few minutes it took for them to order their food.

They took the food to go instead of sitting down at their usual table and didn’t stop to talk like they usually did.

Later, Jessica heard through the grapevine (aka her sister still being friends with Carlos’ sister) their house had burnt down and they’d barely made it out alive.

She wished she had either of their numbers so she could tell them she was sorry for what happened to them and that she’d be happy to help them with anything they might need.

It turned out that was just her taco special with homemade salsa when they showed up at her truck again a few weeks later.

“We’re looking for a place to live.” TK sighed. “Living with my dad is… a lot.” He settled on. “At least he knows to knock now before coming into our room.”

“We’re viewing a couple of places this afternoon.” Carlos told her. “Including this loft downtown that looks pretty great in the pictures.”

“But we’re looking to rent and that loft is for sale only. You heard the estate agent.” TK sighed.

“We can at least go take a look. They might change their mind.”

TK rolled his eyes and gave Jessica a look that said “See what I’m dealing with here?”

Jessica decided it was best to stay out of it and focus on preparing their food.

---

After that day it was a long time before Jessica saw either of them again.

TK had stopped by her truck a few times with a female paramedic she learnt was his coworker Nancy, and Carlos had come by on his own once or twice.

They both looked tired and miserable and while Jessica wasn’t one to pry, she was curious about what was going on.

She decided to bite the bullet and ask the next time Carlos came by.

“No TK today?” she asked, hoping she sounded at least a little casual.

“No.” he said, sounding a little harsher than he’d meant to. “We broke up.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

He shrugged.

“It is what it is.” He paid for his food and left.

The next time she saw him winter had well and truly hit Austin and he’d asked for a favour. Lunch for a group of people seeking shelter from the storm in a nearby furniture store.

It was a big order but business had been slow because of the bad weather so she said yes.

“I know it’s a lot but I can pay extra if needed.”

Jessica shook her head.

“I could use a little help preparing it all though.”

“Sure. Tell me what to do.” Carlos said as he opened the side door, shrugged off his jacket and pushed up his sleeves.

“If you’re ever fed up with being a cop, I could use an extra pair of hands at the truck. And you actually know what you’re doing in a kitchen, unlike some teenager I have to train.”

He’d given her a small smile and told her he’d keep it in mind.

---

Winter turned into spring and business started to pick up again.

Jessica focused on her work but every time she saw someone in either an Austin PD or Austin fire uniform, she wondered how Carlos and TK were doing. If they were back together or had gone their separate ways for good.

She’d considered asking her sister for an update again but with her first nephew being born, it slipped her mind whenever she was with her or they talked on the phone.

Some of TK’s coworkers had become regulars at her truck too but she told herself to stay professional and not ask anything. She didn’t know these people, they were her customers.

She made small talk with them, just like every other customer, and that was that.

Until one morning, a few days after a building not far from her truck had collapsed, and the street had been full of rubble and people covered in dust, reminding her of the images of 9/11 she’d seen on tv so often over the years, there they were again.

Together. Holding hands, sharing kisses, looking happy. Happier than she’d ever seen them.

It made her happy knowing they had found their way back to each other.

She watched them for a moment, wondering if they would come up to the truck or were simply passing through on their way somewhere.

“Why don’t we just get tacos?” she heard TK ask. “They don’t need all of your fancy snacks, they’re our friends, they won’t mind.”

“I know… but I want it to be special. I want to always remember it.”

“Do you think you’ll forget it if we don’t have four different kinds of cheese?” TK stepped in front of Carlos and slipped his hands into his open jacket, around his waist.

“No…” Carlos trailed off and kissed the grin off TK’s face. “Just humour me ok? Let me have this.”

TK laughed a little.

“You can have everything you want baby, for the rest of our lives.”

They shared another kiss and Jessica almost felt like she was intruding on a private moment and made herself look away.

It was still early but she could do some prep work for the lunch rush.

“Hey, are you open for business yet?” she heard a now familiar voice ask from behind her a little while later. She turned around and saw Carlos and TK standing there with their arms around each other.

She smiled at them.

“For you guys? Always.”

“Good. Because we’re celebrating, and I miss your salsa.” TK told her.

“Apparently my cooking isn’t good enough for him anymore.” Carlos joked.

“You’re the best chef in the world, baby, but nothing compares to Jessica’s salsa.”

“Well my salsa has missed you too.” Jessica told them. “We both haven’t seen you in ages. I was beginning to think you’d moved away.”

“We did almost go to New York a while ago.” TK mused. “But our future is here.”

“My future is wherever you are. Even if that’s in New York.” Carlos vowed and the two of them shared a kiss, completely wrapped up in each other.

Jessica briefly wondered if they realised they were still standing in front of her truck or if they’d forgotten about the world around them altogether.

“We actually got engaged this morning.” TK told her after coming back down to earth when they broke the kiss.

“That’s great! Congratulations!” she said and found she was genuinely happy for them.

“TK proposed to me at 3:18 this morning.” Carlos said, beaming.

“And he said yes.” TK added.

“We haven’t even told our families and friends yet.”

“Wait, I’m the first person you told?” Jessica asked them.

“Yeah, yeah you are.” TK confirmed. “Some of our friends are coming over this afternoon and we’re going to tell them… and we should probably call our parents later too…” he trailed off.

“But this one was craving tacos and well… I can’t say no to him.” Carlos added with a smile.

---

Over the next few months business started to pick up more, Jessica hired someone to help her out part time, and TK and Carlos stopped by regularly for lunch, or just a catch up and some of her now famous salsa.

She’d heard everything from their search for a perfect wedding venue, and their frustrations on their parents taking over, to the giddy happiness when everything had been taken care of.

It was late one night in May when Jessica heard a car coming closer as she was in the middle of cleaning up and closing up for the night.

A pair of headlights turned onto the street and blinded her as they came closer.

She held up her hand to shield her eyes until thankfully the driver parked the car and turned off the engine.

She heard the car doors open and close but it wasn’t until they were right in front of her that she recognised Carlos and TK.

She smiled at them and tried to blink away the lights dancing in front of her eyes.

“Hi guys.”

“Hey.” TK replied and leaned on the truck. “I know we’re super later and you probably just want to go home… but I’m starving and we were hoping you would still have some leftovers? Of anything.”

“Uhm sure, I can throw something together for you.” Jessica told him and took a good look at the two of them. They were dressed in suits, looking smart but also kind of tired.

“You’re the best.” TK said dramatically and closed his eyes briefly as Carlos chuckled and pressed a kiss to his temple. “I feel like the only thing I’ve eaten today is a piece of cake.”

“That’s because that is the only thing you’ve eaten today.” Carlos reminded him. “You didn’t even look at the buffet.”

“Yeah, well, I was kind of busy.” TK said and leaned in for a kiss. “Busy marrying the love of my life.”

Jessica nearly dropped the container she’d been holding.

“You guys got married?”

The two of them nodded and held up their hands to show her their wedding rings.

“Today?”

“Yeah. Officially about…” Carlos started, quickly checking the time on his phone. “10 hours ago now.” He showed her a picture of himself and TK holding hands, standing in front of one of their friends who was officiating their marriage.

“Wow. Congratulations.” Jessica said sincerely. “This is on the house.” She put the take out container on the counter. “Call it my wedding gift for my two most loyal customers.”

They thanked her and showed her a few more pictures.

“We’re flying out to Hawaii in the morning for our honeymoon. 8 days in paradise as a gift from our parents.” Carlos told her while TK devoured the food. “So we should probably get going to get some sleep before our flight.”

TK nodded and held out his taco to feed Carlos a bite.

“Good?”

“Very.”

“Told you late night tacos was a good idea.”

Carlos nodded and stole another bite.

“Hey, get your own!” TK protested but Carlos just grinned.

“You just promised to share your life with me. That includes tacos.” He joked.

“I don’t remember that part of our vows, Reyes.”

“It’s Reyes-Strand now.” Carlos said and Jessica watched TK melt a little at the reminder.

They talked for a few more minutes and promised to stop by with pictures once they were back from their honeymoon.

“Enjoy Hawaii.” Jessica called out to them as they walked back to their car. Carlos’ arm around TK’s waist, TK leaning into him and feeding him bites of his taco.

She smiled to herself, thinking this is what true love looked like, and hoped one day she would find a love like theirs.

[lemonlyman-dotcom]

Thank you for the tags @honeybee-taskforce @heartstringsduet @carlos-in-glasses @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut & @sznofthesticks 💕

From Chapter Three of Eid Fic, aka love in a series of bursts & inches. Coming on Wednesday! Read the first two chapters here!

“It’s official. Eid is my favorite holiday.” TK says, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and reclining as much as he can with Marjan’s feet in his lap. He rests a hand on his belly. “Better than Thanksgiving.”

“So much better than a dusty old Turkey,” Paul’s voice of agreement floats up from the floor, where he’s sprawled out in a food coma of his own. “TK, I can’t believe you ate all those spicy onions.”

Carlos kept telling him to stop, but he couldn’t help going back for a third helping. “They were so good.”

“Uh huh, tell me that when you’ve got indigestion tonight.” Carlos teases as he sets a plate of ma'amoul on the table, making sure they’re well clear of TK’s feet, and takes a seat in a chair on the other side of the coffee table.

“Worth it,” he says, pulling a laugh out of Marjan. Like Carlos won’t be rubbing his belly all night if that happens. TK squints pensively at the ma'amoul, butter cookies filled with fig and pistachio, trying to determine if he can possibly fit any more food in his stomach.

“You gotta teach us how to make those too Marj,” Paul says of the onions in question. “They’d pair really well with my jerk chicken.”

“Only if you share the jerk chicken recipe,” Marjan shoots back. Sparking an idea in the back of TK’s brain.

Tagging @vineofroses @chicgeekgirl89 @whatsintheboxmh @ladytessa74 @alrightbuckaroo @welcometololaland @paperstorm @strandnreyes @thisbuildinghasfeelings @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @orchidscript @bonheur-cafe @fallout-mars @your-catfish-friend @inkweedandlizards @kiwichaeng @carlos-tk @literateowl @freneticfloetry @guardian-angle22 @my-little-tilly @tinyluminaryzombie @basilsunrise @louis-ii-reyes-strand @herefortarlos @apothecarose @rmd-writes @theghostofashton @thebumblecee @reyesstrand @itsrandomnobody7 @lightningboltreader @liminalmemories21 @iboatedhere @never-blooms @ambiguouspenny @noxsoulmate @detective-giggles @decafdino and OPEN TAG 🏷️

[andthenshesaid-write]

Fathers and Sons Fic #3: Update 3

Today is a good day to do another update, but not because of The Jonah Fic, although I do have some progress to report there too.

If you read my last update, you'll know that I had a revelation about the climax of the story and I wrote a 1600-word scene in one hit and things were feeling good. Well, about a week later, I was lying in bed waiting to fall asleep and I thought, "I should have used TK instead of Carlos for that scene." And I was reluctant to admit that this was true, because I first imagined that scene in early September and I've had snippets of dialogue waiting for it since then. I wrote it the way I always imagined it so realising that I needed to scrap it and write the whole thing again was a hard pill to swallow, especially because I'd continued writing and everything that followed would also probably need to change. But I knew it was the right thing to do so I did it. The new version of the scene is a lot more emotionally raw because the relationship between Jonah and TK is very different from the relationship between Jonah and Carlos, and I think that makes the scene better. I think I only wrote it with Carlos in the first place because I thought I needed to draw it out more, but I don't think that's where Jonah's headspace is.

All that being said, I haven't done much work on The Jonah Fic over the last week because I've been hard at work on the other Tarlos writing project I've been doing. And this is why today is a good day for this update, because as of this evening I'm officially halfway through the writing. I was pretty vague in the previous update so I'll tell you now that this other project will be a collection of 26 short stories. I'm going to post the first one on 26 December (AEDT) and I'll post one every day in the lead up to the Lone Star 5x10 premiere. I've got 13 finished now and they range in length from 1400 to 4600 words. I don't anticipate they'll be longer than that, but I also went into this thinking each piece would only be between 1000 and 1500 words long and look how well that turned out. I'm really happy with how all these stories are coming together. The one I wrote tonight broke my heart but in the best way, and I'm really excited to share them with you when the time comes.

[carlos-in-glasses]

(Pressed up against your window, tapping)

POET FIC-

POET FIC-

Poet fic online tomorrow???!!

Please have this picture of my cat and her banana in exchange-

Kerrrryyy!!!! Thank you so much for the cat picture! She looks very happy with her banana.

Posting indeed starts tomorrow unless unforeseen circumstances get in the way. Which hopefully they shall not!

I have just had my penulimate read through of ch1 and I'm excited! I really do love this fic. It's angsty and fluffy and smutty, it's canon compliant but is kind of a sports AU too, it's a cosy tale, it's an odyssey.

Here is another little snippet from chapter 1 (please enjoy how I have said 'law enforcement' for Carlos' job because we don't know if he'll be a ranger straight away in season 5 lol. Until we know that, he is Carlos Reyes: Law Enforcer:

TK pulls away before he coughs straight into Carlos’ mouth. “Oh, baby, I’m so disgusting. I’m going to make you so sick.”

Carlos’ brow furrows with concern, though sweetly he maintains the ink-spill pupils and flushed cheeks of arousal as he presses the pads of his fingers against TK’s neck, feeling his glands before touching his forehead again. As a paramedic, TK finds it hilarious when Carlos launches into nurse-mode with so much confidence. He isn’t poor at it or unknowledgeable by any means – he’s a highly able first-aider, a professional necessity for a career in law enforcement, but he’s always more officious about it than he needs to be, like a matron. “Bed, now,” he commands.

“Yes, sir,” TK grins, doing as he’s told but cupping Carlos’ heavy balls before he goes.

Pleasantly humored by the sense that Carlos might have forgiven him, it seems like a good idea to TK to lie in bed performatively, with [Redacted]. Carlos arrives at the door with two steaming mugs that say Husband No.1 and Husband No.2 respectively, and stops in his tracks.

And here is the banner I've made, sans title....:

[strandnreyes]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

@rmd-writes @welcometololaland @three-drink-amy thanks for providing me with procrastination material <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

58

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

957,577. with the unpublished words of meet you after dark, I'll be very close to 1,000,000. I'm almost certain I'll hit it by the end of the year (at least that's my goal)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

911 Lone Star

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

anchor up to me, love (this being my top fic by kudos is so shocking to me lol it's just a 3x05 coda that I think I wrote the day after the episode aired, I really didn't think it was that special)

pushing boundaries

haunted by the ghost of you

one single thread

yours for the weekend

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, I try to respond to them all! That being said, I've very behind right now but I promise I'll get back to you!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hold on - This is probably the only 'unhappy' ending I have, but it's more so just unresolved because it's a 3x01 coda written before any of the other episodes in that arc aired. and 3x01 is not a happy episode lol

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

they pretty much all do in general so I don't think I could pick one specifically that stands out

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really, but it has happened a few times

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, but usually incorporated within a story, not as a standalone. I think the only PWP fic I wrote is when push comes to shove. and even that has some plot

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No crossovers

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

As far as I'm aware, no

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not officially

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Carlos and TK <3

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

idk if I can call this a WIP, but there's always been an idea in my mind about writing a fic inspired by the book Carlos was writing in as if you were a mythical thing. it's a 1970s camp counselor slasher murder mystery style fic that I wrote a little bit of for this prompt fill, but I don't know if a full au will ever come out of it. shame because the playlist and moodbord would slap

16. What are your writing strengths?

world building, banter, angst that feels like a punch in the gut, giving the happy ending room to breathe

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

smut I feel like. need to learn new ways to say the same exact thing

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I think it makes total sense and feels authentic for it to be there every once in a while for non-crucial story details if a character speaks another language

19. First fandom you wrote for?

911 Lone Star

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm going to go with your first string. I think that has my most full-fledged character arcs and full circle storyline. It's my longest fic and I never really got sick of writing it, which is a pretty good indicator that I enjoyed it

no pressure tagging @reyesstrand @carlos-in-glasses @theghostofashton @orchidscript @freneticfloetry + anyone else!

[reyesstrand]

20 questions for fic writers

thank you for the tags @welcometololaland @strandnreyes & @alrightbuckaroo <33 this was a much needed distraction tonight!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

86

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

335,298

3. what fandoms do you write for?

predominantly 911 lone star. the only other thing i’ve dabbled in recently was the old guard

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos? (i’m going to exclude prompt collections here!)

like a bright new dream (first i love you)

wanna be still with you (2x08 coda)

lit the spark (that set a fire) (firefighter!carlos au)

take me back to the light (1x08 coda)

to be reborn (3x04 coda)

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

i do!! even if it takes a few days (where i’m likely just staring at nice words in my inbox and using them as fuel to brighten my mood) i love having that connection, and seeing maybe what stood out to someone who read my silly little story

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

any of my codas that i wrote immediately after an episode aired—my 3x02 spec fic some and now none of you, or my 3x07 coda/3x08 spec fic not a victory march—simply because we didn’t know the outcome for these storylines yet, and i let myself get angsty.

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i think 95% of my fics have happy endings but to shout one out in particular….hm. i’d say got real love maybe—truly just. fluff. and the boys coming home to each other and making that official. i also think the proposal bliss in (not afraid of) living on a fault line has got to be up there as well

8. do you get hate on fics?

nothing major

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

i’ve always stuck to very implied levels of smut in my fics….idk i always worry i won’t be able to make it sound good when there’s people out there who do it brilliantly. however i’m challenging myself with food fic which does have some smut (with feelings. oh the feelings)

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

crossovers aren’t really my thing!!

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

nope, would be honoured though!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

love helping with brainstorming bits, but have never actually co-written anything

14. what’s your all time favourite ship?

tarlos brainrot always and forever

15. what’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i have tons of ideas that i never commit to, which sucks. off the top of my head…the andrea & tk fic that i just never got into a flow with

16. what are your writing strengths?

i think i’m strongest when it comes to setting a scene; when exploring what that character is feeling. i like to think i can kind of evoke a mood through imagery? i’m most comfortable when it comes to introspection and exposition and general narrative

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

i tell myself i’m getting better, but i’d say dialogue is the constant thing that throws me off. i also worry i over-write sometimes

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i like it, if it’s being done with good intentions and suits the character. i’d imagine for heavier dialogue it would make sense to ask for someone who speaks the language to read it over to make sure it’s accurate

19. first fandom you wrote for?

i think the get down, back in like 2017

20. favourite fic you’ve written?

i can’t choose, so i present to you two wildly different honeymoons. first, dream this night away—almost 8.5k words after a seven month gap between posting when my writer’s block was at an ultimate high. then of course, to which there is no reply—i’ve been growing happier and happier with my writing especially with these last few fics of mine, and this one is something i’m just super proud of, and the support on it definitely brought me to tears a bit ajdnskdn

no pressure tagging @carlos-in-glasses @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @paperstorm @tailoredshirt @theghostofashton @inflarescent @birdclowns @liminalmemories21 @rmd-writes @heartstringsduet @freneticfloetry @orchidscript @tellmegoodbye @safeashousespdf and leaving an open tag as well!! <333

[freneticfloetry]

tarlos top five

@rmd-writes asked for my top five tarlos scenes, and after some soul searching (because season four shook some shit up), my list is as follows:

4x16 | “Hi. You’re TK, I’m Carlos, and we’re soulmates.”

GAMECHANGER. Yes, it confirmed what most of us already knew: Carlos was gone from the first second. But the execution is so beautiful, from the impetus to the ease and certainty of Carlos’ declaration to TK’s confession in turn (“why do you think I ran?” is the most TK Strand way ever to do this, and oddly enough, the easiest to believe). My favorite thing, though, will forever be the exact way this was worded and performed — that “Hi,” which is unrivaled levels of perfection (seriously, it sits somewhere between addressing a lost child and a spooked puppy, which is just brilliant as a line read, and every time I hear it I want to toss flowers at Rafa’s feet), but more than that, the fact that he says “you’re TK” before introducing himself, because the most important thing to Carlos is that TK know who he is first. True love at its finest.

3x04 | “Hey, baby. Breathe. Breathe, breathe.”

This was, up until the season three finale, the most fanfic shit I have ever seen aired on national television. Seriously, this is straight out of somebody’s multi-chapter slow burn whump fic wet dream, and watching it live, I was living. His raspy voice. Those hands clenched into terrified little fists. That breathing. The script said “he takes a deep breath” and Rafa was like “BET.” But beyond that, we had that whole bedside missive with Carlos lamenting about consent — that he couldn’t hold TK’s hand, run his fingers through his hair, kiss his head. And the fact that coma TK heard all this, woke up and reached out his hand as permission, and then Carlos did all those things, in that order… Deceased. It still gives me fits. (I am also counting the Tarloft reveal as part of this favorite moment, because I can’t not. “Push” is just perfection.)

4x18 | “We both ended our vows with ‘heart.’”

The vows. The dancing. The Sondheim serenade. The cake cutting (which I’m counting as aired-in-canon, dammit, because it is beyond precious). The honeymoon hand holding. Just, the wedding. All of it.

3x13 l “I love you.” “I know.”

They went Han and Leia on me and it wasn’t even cheesy. Honestly, this whole episode was so important to their growth — their sense of security, their confidence and understanding in each other — to their story, that it couldn’t be left out. Carlos realizes that the best way to help TK is to let him get help where he needs it, even if it leaves him feeling a little helpless, and TK realizes that he still has someone in his corner who’s invested in him, his sobriety, and his happiness, even with his mom gone. The fact that that “I know” holds so much meaning (all while “Transatlanticism” plays on)… Gah. Just beautiful. And on top of all that, Carlos got to be funny!

3x18 | “Marry me.”

“For the first time in my life, the love that I feel is infinitely more powerful than the fear of losing it.” Yep, that’s where I lost it. Because I thought back to baby TK in 1x08, who was being a dick to a cancer dog because he couldn’t fall in love with one more thing that he could lose. The growth. The maturity. The love. 3:18 am, y’all. (The engagement reveal counts as an extension of this as well, because that entire adorable “yes way” exchange between Team Tarloft, with Carlos grinning and TK bouncing and everybody figuring it out from context clues but Mateo is officially the most fanfic thing I’ve ever seen aired on national television, and I love it beyond reason and measure.)

Honorable mention shoutouts to the police station and the airport tarmac, which were knocked down the list by season four things. I still love you!

Tagging @ambiguouspenny, @hoko-onchi-writes, and @mixtapestar, because I know they haven’t been yet.

[welcometololaland]

Round Up - Part 3

Thanks to everyone who participated this week. The theme was: rec a feel-good fanwork (a fanwork that gives you the warm fuzzies). If I've missed any, please let me know.

Disclaimer: This is a compilation of works i've been tagged in or which appear in the #fic rec friday tag relevant to the weekly theme. The recommendations below do not represent a personal curation of works. Please read at your own discretion. Heed tags and ratings on each individual work. Keep yourself safe, friends!

911 Lone Star (Part 3)

GIFS (part 2)

tarlos in the loft by @lutavero

tarlos leg touches by @lutavero

tk/tarlos set by @ronenrubinstein

TK 'feral cat turned domesticated' Strand gifset by @lutavero

TK and social media by @tailoredshirt

TK Being Grossed Out by Owen by @lutavero

tk doing background shit by @maxbegone

TK sleeping on Carlos' arm by @whattarush

TK Strand him, him, him gifset by @maxbegone

tk strand terms of endearment by @lutavero

the 126 + tarot cards by @rafael-silva

The 126 "Barbie" posters by @maygrant

the 126 celebrating each other by @guardian-angle22

the 126 in color by @ayan-sukkhapisit

the women of the 911ls by @rafael-silva

there will be another by @3416

Videos

francesca by @lonestardust

to build a home by @velvet-lnk

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Fan art

Comic by @petricorah

Fic

Ignition Point by Yuu_chi

Check Please!

Podfic

The Haus Official Ship Names (and fic) by @sweatersinthesummer and read by various.

The Mechanics of Poetry written by @omgericzimmermann and read by @cottagepodfics

Due South

Fic

With Six You Get Eggroll by @cesperanza

God of War: Ragnarok

Fan art

prodigal son - a sort of epilogue for God of War Ragnarok by @stil-lindigo

HP

Podfic

Away Childish Things written by @letteredlettered and read by @thirdeye1234

Heartstopper

Podfic

Depollute me (pretty baby) written by firstaidkit and read by rosezain

First fluttering (of its silken wings) written by @swiftlythebest and read by @sweatersinthesummer

Loki

Fan art

Cat variant Loki by @wolfpup026

Fics

this is our time now by fallingintodivinity

GIFs

showing characters are in love without actually saying it by @runnyeggsnham

My Hero Academia

Podfic

Could I but teach the hundredth part written by terra_incognita and read by Annapods

Loss and recovery written by capcapnk and read by sisi_rambles

Too much at stake but too late to change written by Chrome and read by sisi_rambles

[thisbuildinghasfeelings]

I got to 1x08 in my Lone Star rewatch last night, and it did not disappoint! Aside from the introduction of Buttercup, my favorite part of the episode is Carlos by TK's hospital bed. At this point in the season, there's been so little Tarlos content for several episodes, and even here they don't actually interact because TK is unconscious the entire time, but it's still so good. Most (or maybe all) of that is thanks to Rafa, of course. His face! His shiny eyes! His voice when he says, "I don't want to impose"!!! And then when he's sitting there, running his fingers through TK's hair and gently rubbing his arm just under the sleeve of his hospital gown...it's almost too much for me!! It hits even harder now that we know for sure that Carlos believed this man to be his soulmate.

Watching this now, I can't help but think about @paperstorm's installment of the missing moments series for this episode, Collateral damage. In the fic, Carlos tells an unconscious TK that he needs more time because "I haven’t convinced you to let me love you, yet." That line is permanently embedded in my brain. It's basically canon to me because watching the episode, you can see it written all over Carlos' face!

The hospital scene also provides us with the first really good Owen and Carlos moment of the series. I don't know if Owen previously had any idea that something might be going on between TK and Carlos...he would have potentially seen them on calls together and he would probably have picked up on the fact that TK had been seeing someone, but I'm thinking that he didn't have much of an idea or at least not anything too concrete to go on. (This is definitely supported by the fact that Owen had clearly never asked TK about Carlos until after TK wakes up from the coma) But the second he saw Carlos' face in that hospital room, he knew. Owen sees Carlos there and I think he realizes, "this is someone who loves my son." And he's so grateful for it. After everything TK has been through, both before coming to Austin and also in the very moment since he's currently in a coma, it means so much to Owen to see someone caring about him. Even though Owen doesn't know Carlos all that well yet, I think he can already tell that Carlos is a good person and someone who will be good for his son. I have so many feelings about Owen and Carlos, even more so now after the season 4 finale and the fact that they're official father/son-in-law!

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

AAAAHHHHHHH THEY'RE HOME!!!

YESSSS MY LOVELIES

AWWW the girls going to Tommy immediately :')) they must be so glad she's okay <33

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH CARLOS BEE LINING IT FOR TK 🥺🥺🥰❤️❤️❤️😭😭❤️❤️

STOPPPPP I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

THAT HUGGGGGGG 😭😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺🥰🥰❤️

Sobbing screaming crying shaking throwing up thank you <333

"Babe" STOOOOPPPPPP (never stop) 😭😭🥰🥰🥰

I love them so much guys <333

Sorry just had to appreciate the little Tarlos moment 🥰🥰

AAAAHHHHHHH them y'all :'))

(I'm not sorry at all lol)

Awww hey guys :')))

It is really nice that he was there <333 it shows that he cares about them (Tommy and the girls) first, before other stuff (not like Melody but yk)

Oop lol o.o true though, kinda creepy, Mel xD (as in true what she said, not that she's creepy)

Yeahh maybe go help xD

TK and Carlos just standing there being in love like 👀😐😐😳👀 xD

I mean hey they first talked about it at your wedding :')) you're a great example guys <333

Aww yeah bye guys too lol <3

Aww as in cute, but I will miss them xD

Also I love TK's jacket lol

Anyway goodbye Tarlos <3333 see you next episode 🥰

I love them so much <33

LOL "Good luck" XDDD iconic

Carlosss you not sharing that it's also you was crazyyy

I need the missing scene fic where he told him guys xD or I'll have to write it lol

Aww hey guys :'))

Yesss thank you for apologizing Trevor <33 needed

I do think meeting his ex wife should happen at some point but it should not be an ultimatum <33 exactly

:'OO yeahh Tommy!!! Aww that's sweet and great :'D I'm glad she's willing to, I think it will genuinely help things <33

Yeah, today certainly puts some stuff into perspective :'))

How specifically though?

Ohhhh :'oooo knowing who's gonna be with her girls 🥺🥺🥺 STOPPPP THAT'S SO CUUTE 😭😭😭😭💔❤️🥺 <333

I love them so much guys <333 🥰🥰🥰

AWWW yeahhh yayyy they're so cute :')))

AAAAHHHHHH happy for them :')) I love them <33

OOP Judd and Owen talking in the office o.o

Awww I'm glad they're back :'))

Aww come on guys :( xdd don't be like that

Nahh I don't think he is ;)

I've got a feeling he ain't lol

They wouldn't just do that to you, writers or Owen lol

XD Mateo

Lol not the inside thoughts 💀 crazy Paul

Do you think Marjan's making them do the work since she can't really use her hands lol

Because that would be funny xD

Ooop okay

Ayy aww all my babeys gathering together :))

Ooh lol "I'd like your team to hear this" professional to immediate ":oo :)) It's tiiiime" they know xD

Also hi guys <3

Glad everybody's okay 🥰🥰

Oop!

YAYYYY!!!! :DDDD

JUDD'S BACK 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️!!!! :DDD

YEAAHHHH JUDD'S BACK Y'ALL :D!! HE'S BACK GUYS :)))!!

OFFICIALLY 🥳🥳

YAYYYY

Awww :'))

No guys! I don't think so

Yeahhh no

OUAGHOOP

PROBIE :OOO!!!

I was thinking that would be it (from seeing some interview stuff pre season) :O :DD

Impressed they actually had the guts to do it!

WHOOO NICE JUDD :D

Either way you're back 🥰🥰

LOL he's being a little silly with it, as is his right xD

See because you can kinda push him around a bit and joke with him but ultimately he does have that experience, he's not like a leave behind on calls if you need to leave someone type of guy you know lol

They know <3 and hopefully no one forgets it

OOOOP tiiiime!!!

Imagine if it was some random guy xD like some random background character lol

Imagine how funny that would be XD

I don't think they'll actually do it but that would be amazing lol

Oop okay wrote it down!

LOL yeah waffling for real xD

"Two probies" crazyyy 💀 xD

Okayy okayyy

Oop Marjan speaking up :o

XD poor Owen, he just keeps going through it with this lol

Is it about her defying orders?

I mean she doesn't care toooo much but this was important soo idk ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌ 😬

Ohhh because she rushed over the hat :O :'O

And still didn't notice because she thought of it as done o.o :'o

Crazyyy

Good point, but it's understandable Marjan :((

Just like "Uhh. . well, it doesn't really, but I appreciate it. I was gonna say James" XDD

Anyway lol

Yeah, it's understandable, but understandable mistakes aren't for going for lieutenant - it's being above the expectations :( :'/ <33.

And that's Paul :'))

They both would've done really well, for real, but I'm glad it's Paul (presumably; and just like I would be if it was Marjan, but especially after what happened in the episode - the only other way would've been to have her feeling guilty and like she doesn't deserve it, I think) and I'm glad they're gonna be okay over it <33

Aaand. . ?

OWEN WAS GONNA SAY THE EXACT SAME THING

WHOOOOOOO 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️!!

CONGRATULATIONS PAUL :'DDDD 🥳🥳🎊🎉!!!

On becoming the new Lieutenant of the 126 :'))) 🥳🥳🥰🥰🥰���!!!

LIEUTENANT PAUL STRICKLAND :DDD!!!! WELCOME ABOARD 🥰🥰🥰🥳🥳🎊🎉🎉🎉❤️❤️🎊!!!

I love him so much <3333 🥰

And all of them :') :D

Awww lol look at them <333

Awww, all them hugging him 🥰🥰

Hmm, what's he whispering in her ear?

Was she the original one on the paper o.o?

I was thinking he maybe wasn't being completely honest when he said he couldn't have put it better himself - besides just that he probably wouldn't have not-quite-berated Marjan lol

Hmmm, interesting :o 🤔!

LOL the sandwich is crazy xD

LOLL his look XDD

Mateo knows his place a little bit ("unless you have a problem with that")

But also he deserves it a little bit and Judd knows his too :'))

LOL "Crunchy or creamy" YEAHHH we love him being cool about it :'DD

So different from the Judd of season one <333 I absolutely love that for him, this character development and his journey throughout the 5 seasons :')) really great, iconic <333

LOL the others adding on to xD

Nahhh that's all crazy xD

Not the tea too 💀

XDD loll y'allllll

He's like "ahh nah I don't think so" with all that lol

Ahh I'm glad they can be silly with it, and that he's back home ❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰

Awww them y'all <33

The sillies 🥰🥰🥰❤️ :')

YESSS I love the music and just them hanging out and loving each other <333 and slo mo a bit I believe

I was just thinking about how I'd love the season to end the same way season 3 did, moments like this (and this is the beginning of season 3 - season 3 was really good and especially good at having bookends and feeling really satisfying and tied up :) <3) - absolutely love this <333

Aww Owen :'))

Come on, go down and join them and party with them <3 🥰

?

:'OOO Ohh it's the brother :'ooo

STOPPPPPP y'all I'm not okay 😭😭😭❤️❤️🥺🥺🥺🥰

Yes Owen, thank you for keeping your promise :')

Aww Robert I bet :(?

Yep <333 💔❤️🥺❤️

It always sneaks up on you in those moments :'/ :'( :')

It'll be okay Owen <3

Not his death, that's not okay, but you'll feel okay again, eventually <333

Gosh what a good episode, and such a great ending :')))

AUAGH loved it :')) :DD 🥰🥰🥰🥰❤️!!

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

Ok this is super hard because I feel like I always mention the same fics for this kind of thing so I'm going to try limit myself to the past year.

Date night (buck/tommy) Bobby and Athena spot Buck and Tommy out on a date together. A little outsider POV-ish that I wrote in an hour and my first time really writing bucktommy AND bathena. I just really want Buck's pseudo parents to "officially" give Tommy their stamp of approval. I know we've already had the scene of Bobby approving, but I want Athena too - though judging by Angela smiling in that zoom interview when Oliver was talking about Buck's relationship with Tommy, we might just get it.

Buck's bisexual speedrun (buck/tommy) taking it slow? we don't know her. Buck and Tommy both going from 0 to 60 in their relationship in .02 seconds. The bucktommy brainrot is real, people. This was based on a post (or ask i don't remember) I saw in the tag where someone said the way things were going with them, Buck would probably show up to work one day soon and be like "Oh yeah Tommy and I got married in Vegas, my name is Kinard now. How was your weekend?"

Love online (tarlos) Luisa takes matters into her own hands to fix Carlos' love life. I just really liked the idea of interfering sisters - and the last line that I basically wrote the rest of the fic around.

Undercover (tarlos) A season 4 what if...? Where Carlos' big secret is him going undercover instead of his marriage to Iris. Inspired by this gifset of Rafa in some other show (I think) playing a barman. (I wanted to link it but the link on my AO3 is dead - the OP might have deleted it or something) This is a little older but I got a comment on this a few days ago asking for more. I'd kind of abandoned it/forgotten about it but it made me dig up the file on my computer and found a half finished next chapter, so I'm going to try (not making any promises) to update it in the not too distant future.

View from the taco truck (tarlos) My season 5 countdown exchange fic - TK and Carlos' relationship through the eyes of their favourite food truck vendor. The idea has been knocking around my head for ages and I finally (eventually) decided to write it... but I'm honestly not sure about it. it "sounded" better in my head (as usual). But thank you to everyone that's read it and liked it and left kudos or a comment!!

Thanks for including me ❤ I'm a little late to the party so I think all of my fic writing mutuals have done this by now. If you haven't and want to - consider this your 'tag'!

[lemonlyman-dotcom]

Five Under 500

Jumping on @strandnreyes & @liminalmemories21 open tags 💕

Rules: list five of your fics with less than 500 kudos

(Hi that is all of them 😂)

Make Me Laugh 'till I Die, I Stand Beside You With Pride - T | 2k

The first fic I ever wrote! 4x06 coda, TK confesses an insecurity to Carlos about his relationship with Owen. Carlos reflects on his own insecurities about his relationship with his father, and also how much he admires TK and the way he’s fought for his close relationship with Owen.

Sunshine On My Body, Rainbows Bloomin' In My Skies - T | 7.8k

Building upon the throwaway line from Carlos in 4x12, TK reveals he’d been an avid hiker before moving to Austin. Follow their journey as they prepare for their first hike, and then join them for their hike where they discover new wildlife and learn that they’re nowhere near being done learning new things about each other. TK reveals a bit more about how he got into hiking with adventure therapy in rehab, and how he used it as a way to heal himself and relationships he’d damaged due to his addiction.

Call Me If You Get Lost - T | 11k

My favorite fic I’ve written! This screwball comedy offers a twist on how Tarlos could have found out about Nancy and Mateo. Nancy tells TK she’s going alone on the anniversary weekend getaway that she’d booked with her ex and, naturally, TK gets worried and over-invested. He forces Carlos to go away with him to the fancy estate so they can keep an eye on Nancy. Hijinks ensue. Carlos’s detective skills are put to the test. A sexy time is had in the jacuzzi.

All Your Colors Make Me Feel Alive - T | 7k

I think this might actually be the best thing I’ve ever written. A look at the ways TK has brought color into Carlos’s life through music, specifically through the music of one artist (Beck). Carlos goes from hating it on the night of their first 126 hang as an official couple, to commiserating with it while missing TK during the breakup, to asking to borrow Gwyn’s favorite song to remember his own lost parent.

getting past the wounds of love - G | 4.6k

I love this one!! I feel like it’s my cult classic 😂 I put so much of my own personality in it and I was so delighted by the lovely response it got. Set midway through Season One, Paul, TK & Marjan go to an estate sale while exploring Austin and Paul finds a rare record he’s been hunting for. He hosts an impromptu listening party and invites Carlos, sending TK into a bit of a tailspin. It’s Carlos’s first-ever 126 hang and the gang’s all here! Featuring music nerd TK, snarky Paul, matchmaker Marjan and sweet-as-pie Carlos 🥰

Tagging @your-catfish-friend @thisbuildinghasfeelings @guardian-angle22 @alrightbuckaroo @carlos-in-glasses @iboatedhere @bonheur-cafe @chicgeekgirl89 @reyesstrand @ambiguouspenny @birdclowns @ladytessa74 @basilsunrise @thebumblecee @chaotictarlos @wandering-night19 @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @rmd-writes @lightningboltreader @never-blooms @rosedavid @theghostofashton @freneticfloetry @welcometololaland @heartstringsduet @hoko-onchi-writes and OPEN TAG 🏷️

[beautifulhigh]

♦️◻️ | for the headcanon asks ~

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

TK is much more into working out than Carlos is. It's his way of making things up to his body: I'm sorry I put all that crap into you, I promise I will take care of you now. He goes running at least three times a week, although it took him a while to get used to doing it in the Texas heat. He and Carlos tried to go running together a few times but it always got competative with bets which ranged from fun ("I'll let you do that thing you like") to less fun ("you're not allowed to complain about the radio station in the car for a month").

Carlos is a reader and you can tell what's going on with him by what he's reading. The more stressed out he is the more involved his books are because he needs something to lose himself in and take his mind off things. For that reason TK loves it when Carlos is reading trashy and irreverant magazines.

■ - Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon

Generally speaking, they fell into living together easily and it just seemed like it was meant to be when TK officially moved in. Carlos made space in the closet (which TK made multiple jokes about) and they spent a week sorting through what things they now had double of to blend their stuff.

And then, when they settled into the every day, something seemed to shift. The reality of being around the other person 24/7 (work excepting) wore off and all the little annoyances that they couldn't get away from anymore became big annoyances.

TK making his smoothies of a morning before his shift when Carlos was coming off an overnight. Carlos' need to have everything in its place at all times.

It never got into anything huge but they both started to worry about whether they could do this - neither of them had had a relationship be this kind of serious before. They both talked independently to their parents and both sets reassured their boy that they just needed time to settle in to this. The honeymoon phase was over and they were finding out the bits of real life but it would be OK.

Two days later TK comes home off the shift from hell and he just wants to curl up and eat junk food and watch trashy TV. He doesn't even realise that he's been able to put on his favourite hoodie and pull the snacks from the cupboard with ease until he's halfway through the first episode of some design show. He knew exactly where everything was because it was where it was supposed to be.

Carlos had to pull a double shift the next week and he pretty much sleeps through the whole of the next day out of exhaustion. He's woken up with a soft hand through his hair and smoothie on the bedside table because TK knows it will be easier for him to drink some nutrients rather than try to eat something in this state.

Ask me stuff about characters, 'ships, or my fics