#one night Strand

[remorsefulkittens]

Arrested

TK Strand/Carlos Reyes (Tarlos)

Owen Strand/Original Female Character

Ratting: Teen

Status: Complete (2,001 words)

@911bingo Square: Saved From a Bad Date

Summary: TK sends Carlos to save Owen from a bad date, and Carlos does, the only way he knows how…

Read on Ao3

Owen’s current companion had been talking for an hour straight, giving Owen plenty of time to regret saying yes to the date in the first place…sure, she was attractive, blonde, busty, and well-dressed, but Owen shouldn’t have let himself be fooled, because she was also self-centered, entitled, and downright boring; things he wished he'd known before she asked him out, and long before they made it to dinner.

“Like, what would she have done if she had been promoted instead of me? Lord it over me you can bet! She claims she has more schooling than me, but what does that even mean? I know how to do the job, so why take a course? I have better things to do with my time.”

Owen nodded along, waving to the waiter to bring another drink. A strong one.

“You’re lucky to be Captain,” she continued on, while Owen scanned the restaurant hoping for an out. A small fire in the kitchen maybe, or someone to heimlich. “No one to boss you around. Like, I feel like I’m still not in charge, even though I am in charge, you know?”

“Well, being a leader is more than a title,” Owen pointed out, the first words he'd spoken since ‘hello’. “You’ve got to earn it.”

Rearing back in her seat, Owen's date was clearly offended. “What is that supposed to mean? I did earn it!”

Owen apologized, and she went back to her original monologue, oblivious to Owen's discomfort, while Owen resumed his survey of the restaurant. Tuning the chatter out, Owen started running practice drills in his mind, nodding at his date every so often, without registering what she was saying. Until…

“Hello?! Did you hear me?” she asked, snapping her fingers near his face.

“Huh? What? Oh, sorry, what was that?” He gave his best smile to placate her.

She rolled her eyes, but he could tell she was charmed. “You’re not paying attention. I asked if we should go to my place or yours after?” She winked at him, and he pretended he wasn’t horrified.

“Oh, wow…” he fumbled for something to turn her off the idea of going home together. “This is only our first date.”

She scoffed, tossing her hair, impossibly long with such body and shine, falling over her shoulders, strands brushing her neck, her cleavage…and damn it! That hair had distracted him before. He couldn’t let it happen again.

“Holy, Owen, this is the 20th century! And we are grown up's, we can do as we please.”

Another hair toss, and then she was drumming manicured fingernails on the table, waiting for his answer.

“Um, it's actually the 21st century, but good point,” he glanced over his shoulder, but the entrance door was too far to bolt. “I just have to hit the men's room, and we'll work out the details.”

Owen was up and moving before she could object, and he shut the bathroom door with a grimace. He needed an out. In New York he might have considered slinking away, having the waiter make an excuse …but Austin was smaller. He would run into Gemma again, she worked at his favorite men's wear store for Pete’s sake! Plus, he was an adult, captain of his own crew! He could tell Gemma the truth…or, he could call someone to rescue him.

He thanked God that he hadn’t left his phone at the table, yanking it from his pocket and dialing TK's number.

TK got his Dad’s call right after he told Tommy he would stay late to help Nancy with the inventory. Poor timing because he couldn’t just leave, but having been on his share of disastrous dates, TK couldn’t just abandon the man either. Obliged to think of something, he told his dad to hang tight, help was coming, at the same time he was texting Carlos to pass the buck. His boyfriend would just be getting off shift, so he could spring Owen on his way home, and maybe pick up take out too.

“Everything ok?” Nancy asked, tearing open boxes, and stacking supplies on the ambulance's bumper.

“All good, my dad just got himself stuck on a bad date,” TK shrugged, slipping his phone into his pocket. “I texted Carlos to go help out.”

Nancy snickered, picking up her clipboard to update her count. “Good that cap is putting himself out there. He's grumpy when he's lonely.”

TK climbed into the ambulance to start packing sterile dressings, gauze, gloves and masks into the cupboards.

“Yep!” TK agreed, “plus he interferes in my life a bit too much. Sounds like THIS one is definitely not THE one though,” he said grimly.

“Got distracted by pretty hair again?” Nancy snorted, and TK laughed out loud.

“Well all he could tell me is that she's blonde, and talks a lot, so sounds about right.”

Nancy picked up another box. “You know, he should just go out with Tommy. Neither of them are good at dating, maybe they'd click.”

Both TK and Nancy paused in their tasks, eyes meeting, before they cracked up.

“That'd be weird,” TK said, catching his breath.

“Yeah sure would,” Nancy agreed.

‘What? Just leaving work…how am I supposed to rescue your dad?’

‘TK? What am I doing?’

‘Are you serious about take out? That place is pricey.”

‘TK? Hello?’

‘TK you know it bugs me when you don’t answer…’

Carlos slid into his car, annoyed with TK's habit of texting, then going radio silent, without waiting for his answer. He had no idea how to extricate someone from a date, and Owen was an adult, couldn’t he just be honest with the woman? All Carlos wanted was to go home, get into sweats, and binge TV until TK joined him…and then he had some other, less PG ideas, about how to finish their evening…but first he needed to focus.

Take-out wasn’t a bad idea because he wouldn’t have to cook…plus if he did this TK would owe him and that was always fun. He thought for a second, tapping his fingers on the wheel, gaze wandering down to the uniform he was still wearing, and it hit him; he was a cop, how hard could it be to force someone out of a restaurant? He was sure his inspiration would work, and if he ordered food on his way over, he could grab it on the way out. Smiling at his own resourcefulness, Carlos put the car in gear, steered his way out of the parking lot and onto the road.

Back at the table, Owen could only pray his son would come through for him. He had stalled as long as he could in the bathroom, and now Gemma was looking pretty irritable…though it hadn’t stopped her from talking.

“My fish is dry,” she complained, glancing around for the waiter. “I’m going to let them know. This place gets such good reviews, but I’m not sure why.”

Owen managed not to groan, instead adopting an upbeat tone.

“Mine's great,” he said, stuffing a bite into his mouth, then talking while he chewed, “You should have gotten the steak.”

Gemma was clearly grossed out, and Owen figured being generally unpleasant would have to be his back-up plan if TK didn’t show soon.

“Yeah, well, red meat is terrible for you,” Gemma informed him, then shrugged. “But I guess it's a man thing. Whatever. Did you decide while you were in the bathroom?” She moved on, leaving Owen behind.

“Huh?” He blurted.

She rolled her eyes for probably the fifth time of the evening, because apparently Owen was slow.

“Your place or mine?” She prompted, giving him the same flirtatious grin that had gotten him here in the first place. Damn whatever hormonal process made him lose his common sense when pretty women looked at him that way.

“Wow, um…” he took another huge bite of his dinner to buy some time, chewing a full twenty times before swallowing. She reached over and put her hand over his, and he suddenly knew exactly how deer felt when the headlights hit them.

“I’d have to say your place,” he finally spit out, defeated. At least she wouldn’t know where he lived this way.

She smiled wide, like an extra creepy Cheshire cat, and he slumped in his chair, wishing for another drink.

“Good choice, Captain,” she drawled, leaning in closer, “At my place we can be as loud as we want.”

TK was going to an earful for this one, Owen swore, after all the things he had done for his son!

“Ha, yeah well that’s me,” he stammered, tipping his drink, hoping for a few more drops of tequila, “always making sound decisions and-"

“Owen Strand?”

Owen was startled by the commanding voice, fumbling his glass, nearly dropping it in his lap. Gemma's eyes went wide, and Owen swiveled in his seat to face Carlos Reyes, in full uniform, stone-faced, feet planted, thumbs tucked into his belt. Owen had seen Carlos in action before, but he didn’t think he'd ever seen him look quite so intimidating.

“Car-" Owen started to greet, only to be cut off by Carlos' raised hand.

“Owen Strand, you are under arrest,” Carlos stated, moving to pull the cuffs from his belt. “Stand up,” he ordered, without a hint of humor.

“Car-officer-I’m sure I have no idea-"

“You are Owen Strand correct?” Carlos questioned, eyebrow raised.

“Yes, I-well-yeah-you know that,” Owen stuttered, eyes darting from Carlos, to Gemma, to all the other faces staring at them.

“I do, and like I said, you're under arrest, so you need to stand up and come with me,” Carlos ordered, and Owen gaped.

“Easy or hard Strand! You decide,” Carlos barked, and Owen jumped to obey.

Catching Owen’s wrists, Carlos yanked them to his back, slapped on the cuffs, and spun Owen toward the door with impressive strength.

“What are the charges?” Owen managed to squeak, and without pausing the frog march, Carlos leaned in to whisper.

“TK texted me. Keep walking and I’ll tell you in the car.”

“Are you freaking serious?” TK couldn’t quite wrap his head around Carlos’ choice to arrest his father in the middle of a crowded restaurant. “You couldn’t have just said his son was sick and needed him? Or, I don’t know, anything but dragging him out in cuffs?!”

Carlos shrugged, dishing food from take out containers onto plates. “Well, I’m pretty sure there’s no chance that woman he wanted to get away from will be calling him now. Do you want salad, or just steamed vegetables?”

TK gave his head a shake, but Carlos did have a point. “Just vegetables,” he answered. “Was my dad mad?”

Carlos slid the plates aside. “No, in fact he thought it was petty funny once we got out to my car,” Carlos grinned, stepping into TK's space, kissing his forehead, cheek, and then his lips, long and slow. “I also think he was impressed.”

“Mmmmn…” TK moaned, reaching around to squeeze Carlos' ass.

“He asked me why I was wearing my uniform home,” Carlos murmured into the crook of TK's neck, “I told him it's because it makes you crazy for me.”

TK squirmed, backing up out of Carlos' hold.

“Wait-ew! Don’t tell my dad that Carlos!”

Carlos gave him a devilish grin, pulling TK back to him roughly. “It's true isn’t it?”

TK melted into Carlos' arms, shuddering as Carlos nipped at his shoulder and neck. “It's true,” he moaned, “So true!”

“Good,” Carlos said, “and now you owe me, so let’s eat fast, then take this to the bedroom. You can be the second Strand I cuff tonight.”

TK’s groaned loudly, the growing fire in his belly doused.

“That was gross Carlos! Now you ruined handcuffs for me!”

Carlos tightened his grip on TK, forgetting about dinner, and manhandling his boyfriend toward the bedroom.

“No I didn’t,” Carlos growled, and with an excited a squeal, TK agreed.

[obsessedwithstarwars]

Question for the DP fandom:

Do you think Danny’s hair turns white when it falls out? It’s technically dead cells anyway but when it naturally falls off his head, do you think it turns white? Because I think it would be hilarious if his hairbrush just has white hair, no black strands whatsoever, and his significant other thought the worst until they know his secret.

[guardian-angle22]

911: Lone Star | Owen & Carlos ↳ for @paperstorm

[hitokiri-izou]

traveling like a dream one night

[hearts401]

Silly gal

[quirkle2]

flutter slimes are his favorite

[treestomeetyou]

When I say I don't care about Owen plotlines, NEVER am I talking about when the entire team bullies him for the entire duration of an episode

[sparkles-oflight]

Oooooo you want to pet my hair to help me sleep so badly ooooooo you want it so badly

[fairysteve]

how long before anyone noticed if steve was the one to disappear instead of will

[takecarelove]

forgot to post this last night but the moment I got out of work I literally took off my shirt and reclined my car seat and laid down and like disassociated and the far next to me was a family of three and the mother looked so concerned (I WAS WEARING A TANK TOP BTW DW) but I literally could no longer be a functioning human being and then I finally rebooted and went for a drive on the highway at 100 mph (do not follow my example please) with my windows down AND WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS IS girlhood is putting your hair up all cute with the slut strands out (taking out two little strands from like a ponytail for ex.) except then they get in your face when you're driving with your windows down so one hand is off the steering wheel literally on the back of your head holding back your hair while you're screaming at the top of the lungs and being a road hazard ❤️ (me last night)

[alrightbuckaroo]

Happy Wednesday everyone! Thanks for the tag @lemonlyman-dotcom and @jesuisici33, as always!

Here's more of my study abroad summer romance AU fic in which TK and Carlos are essentially both thinking that one F. Scott Fitzgerald quote, "I don't want to fall in love with you, but I probably will" on a loop.

---

TK joins Carlos back on the beach towel, grains of sand joining those that were already making a home there. TK leans over him, smiling down at him like he has a secret. “Are you seeing something you like, Reyes?” He takes Carlos’ sunglasses off his eyes, and places them on top of his head. Carlos doesn’t know if he’ll get them back now, but he doesn’t mind buying another pair. 

When Carlos doesn’t respond, TK continues. “You’ve got a tell, you know.”

No, Carlos doesn’t know and even in this moment, he’s having a hard time of caching that realization. It’s hard to focus while TK trails a finger down his chest, his skin feeling like it’s sunburned in the wake of TK’s touch. “You do this thing, when you’re looking at something you really like, like a really nice view or a really well plated meal, or” 

“You?” Carlos finishes the statement with an absolute. Even if it wasn’t what TK was going to say, it’s what Carlos was always going to mean. He doesn’t even process that he’s said it out loud, and part of him wishes he could take it back. Not because he doesn’t mean it, but because he does.

TK’s green eyes brighten, rivaling the light of the sun shining around him. Carlos can’t take back what he’s said, but it doesn’t look like TK wants him to. Carlos chooses to move past it, and not backtrack. It’s easier to stop a thought from trickling through you and flooding your every notion, if you stop the leak before it's too late. “So, what’s this tell?” 

TK lies flat down on the towel, lowering Carlos’ sunglasses over his eyes. He smiles again, like he’s finally sharing a secret. “You let your guard down. You smile like you’re finally allowing yourself to be happy.” 

---

no pressure tagging: @carlos-in-glasses, @heartstringsduet, @catanisspicy, @reyesstrand, @strandnreyes, @welcometololaland, @rmd-writes, @rosedavid, @chaotictarlos, @sanjuwrites, @bonheur-cafe, @irispurpurea, @basilsunrise, @wandering-night19 and here's an open tag for anyone who wants to join in on the fun (tag me back, i want to read!)

[guardian-angle22]

This or That: Tarlos Edition -> Catan gang hangs or private date night

[novantinuum]

man speaking of connverse fankids i really do need to like. draw them eventually. they're relevant in my post canon OC riddled storyline, and all lmao. i even have names picked out for them already

Jason Quinn, Aanya, and Riya

Jason's the firstborn- they both choose the first name, and the middle name was Steven's idea. At first he was envisioning like... starting a 'Q' middle name tradition, but then in practice he and Connie both realized what a mouthful this kiddo's name is with their last names hyphenated, and. Because of that, the next kids don't have middle names at all.

Aanya and Riya, identical twins, come next- and are named after distant family members on Connie's side.

I like to imagine Jason as the very ordinary, straight laced one who ultimately grows up to have the most Ordinary Human life ever. Like. He ends up being an architect, or whatever. Idk. (There's some Internal Conflict with him, re: being the absolutely ordinary kid of two very extraordinary parents, I might delve into later, though.)

Whereas Aanya and Riya both end up pressing more towards the extraterrestrial aspects of their heritage, in various ways. Aanya ends up doing engineering work for humanity's leading space agency, and Riya is the pioneering researcher on the theoretics of post-gestation human-Gem hybridization.

[umbracirrus]

A few days ago I wanted to mess about with new brushes on clip studio and found a paintbrush-like one that I really liked, then decked my back in before I could finish it. But I've finished my drawing now!

My dragonborn Elyse, with a dragon's tongue flower! And two different coloured dresses because I couldn't decide which colour I preferred.

[nightly-ruse]

ART! IVE DONE ART FINALLY! The opposite of Star Crossed Lovers is them, Star Torn Lovers? Sharing their feelings only under the dark moon in fear of persecution. Always crossing paths but still just out of reach. How sad

[Anthro piece of Mothwing and Leafpool from warrior cats, Moth on the left and Leaf on the right. At the bottom is a paw with the left side tinged red with inky blood on the claws and the other with faint stars and blue tinge. A large moon is above Leafpool and a Sun is above Mothwing. Between them is three stars layered on top of each other, the largest yellow, middle on blue, and inner one dark green which has been broken apart. Three diamond stars point towards Leafpool’s belly.

Mothwing is a yellow tabby with rosette spots and longer white claws she’s filed down, her eyes are a bright amber with a streak of icy blue and she’s looking back to Leaf. She wears a blue dress that has a ombré of yellow to orange on the bottom and sleeves. She has a belt across her mid section that’s leather. She has a pouch with a leaf pin holding it closed, a dark purple necklace falls down from it along with a piece of wisteria. Along with a knife holster with her brother’s knife which has a northern goshawk’s tail feather hanging off the hilt. Her left ear is torn in half breaking apart the moth shaped tuft on her ears along with three more scars on her cheek. On her head is a orangish gray bandanna to shield herself from the stars as a show to her not trusting them list most other clan cats. On her paw that’s holding Leafpool’s paw is a leaf bracelet.

Leafpool is a dark brown tabby with yellowish patches under her eye in a moon shape, fringe, and paws. She has very curly hair and folded ears that look like a heart with a fern like shape on the top half of it with a yellow patch. She is looking back to Moth with hazel eyes that are green and amber with a orangish pink heart nose. She wears a flowy green dress with lighter collar and wrist cuffs over it being a apron with a big pocket full of plants. The pocket has a stitched diamond over it. Inside the pocket is a few leaves, petals, burnet sprig, and yew branch along with similar leaves in her hair. At the corner of her apron is a stitched with a patch that has bramble tendrils with claws instead of thorns, being the sign she got for Brambleclaw to be deputy. Beside it under her pocket is the “Blood Will Spill Blood” patch that is a sunset over a red lake with blood dripping into it. Her last patch is of the Moonpool which she found showing the moon over the pool with stars reflected in its water along with leaves around the moon. On her paw is a bracelet with a moth wing on it.

The faint signature “Nightly-Ruse 2023” is near the bottom. End ID]

[nikkiissleepy]

finally dyed yunikina hair so i could stack-dye it black 👍