#tarlos missing moments collection

[emsprovisions]

I'm actually so proud of what I've achieved as a writer this year! I was looking at my writing stats on ao3 the other day and I pretty much doubled my word count from any other previous year. I also started off the year in a completely different fandom from Lone Star, and only started writing fics for LS in June. So posting nine fics in six months actually seems crazy to me. I have some ambitious (for me) plans for 2025 that I am so excited about! But for now...

I'm the life you chose, and all this terrible danger 2x08 coda // T // 2.6K // Summary: TK has head trauma, but checking on Carlos is still his top priority Read if you're in the mood for soft Tarlos communication after Bad Call, and enjoy fluff and hurt/comfort

sometimes I'd rather be dead, at least then I'm with you 3x08 coda // T // 2.6K // Summary: He feels like a coward for being scared of seeing Carlos’s face when he tells him what will surely break his heart. But he won’t keep this from him. “Carlos?” He whispers. Carlos presses a kiss to the nape of his neck and the dip of his shoulder, and TK’s eyelids drop at the contact. “I have to tell you something.” Read if you're in the mood for a bit of hurt/comfort, and TK dealing with his grief while also opening up to Carlos

Hold onto me T // 6.4K // Summary: Carlos was still on the call when TK got shot, and he's been worried and wondering about their relationship status ever since. Read if you're in the mood for missing moments spanning 1x08-1x10

your back beneath the sun, wishing I could write my name on it E // 11K // Summary: During their vacation in Galveston, TK gets a sunburn and Carlos, being the amazing husband that he is, takes care of him and shows him they can still have fun during their trip. Read if you like fluffy, smutty beach vacations for married Tarlos

Guilty Pleasures E // 6.8K // Summary: Carlos Reyes has a guilty pleasure...he enjoys reading romance novels. Part of the thrill is getting to find the trashiest books he can find just so he can read the bad euphemisms out loud to his husband. But he’s currently reading this series in particular that is causing him issues in the bedroom….. Read if you enjoy silly Tarlos shenanigans, things going wrong in the bedroom, and spicy smut

hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine T // 4.8K // Summary: An exploration of how food has guided TK and Carlos's relationship through the years and how they care for each other through food Read if you enjoy seeing how Tarlos's relationship has evolved around food throughout the years. Technically inspired by 5x01

the brink of a wrinkle in time 5x05 Coda // E // 2.8K // Summary: A 5x05 Coda where TK and Carlos celebrate the morning of their anniversary and continue a much-needed conversation Read if you were not satisfied by the resolution in 5x05 and wanted more communication between the boys

I wish I had a river (It's coming on Christmas) G // 3.8K // Summary: When TK needs to be rushed to the hospital on Christmas Eve for appendicitis, he's worried he's ruined Christmas. Carlos is there to reassure him. Read if you like mild TK whump with Carlos taking care of him, as well as Reyes family fun, and Christmassy vibes

24 Days of Tarlos G // 19.4K // Summary: Enjoy 24 drabbles featuring TK, Carlos, and other members of their family or the 126 in various different holiday or wintry scenarios! There are many aus and also canon-compliant stories in this collection, please check them out, there's a bit of everything!

Tags under the cut!

Thank you so much for the tags @heartstringsduet @bonheur-cafe @whatsintheboxmh @everlastingday @thisbuildinghasfeelings @henrygrass @alrightbuckaroo @lemonlyman-dotcom @carlos-in-glasses @nisbanisba @chicgeekgirl89 💕

No pressure tag for art, gifs, fics, photography, other achievements etc! @ironheartwriter @sapphic--kiwi @eclectic-sassycoweyes @carlossreaders @strandnreyes @reyesstrand @decafdino @lutavero @guardian-angle22 @butchreyes @captain-gillian @nancys-braids @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @lightningboltreader @paperstorm @welcometololaland @herefortarlos @firstprince-history-huh @tellmegoodbye and an open tag ofc

[wtfuckevenknows]

Tarlos rec list (or a whole lot of my favorite fics (because I'm sure I missed some))

Because I can't do anything half assed this has taken me forever AND you're getting it in categories, in no particular order 🙃🤷🏻‍♀️😬 If you find yourself on here and you don't want to be for whatever reason, let me know! Also if you're on here and I didn't @ you it's because I couldn't find you at first glance, but if you want me to @ you also let me know!

Codas/Tags/Specs/Canon Compliant/Canon Divergence/Post Canon:

Out of the Woods (series) by @liminalmemories21 words are all we have, we'll be talking, we'll be talking (series) by inconocible Season 3 Codas (series) by @marjansmarwani Seven Ways (Back to You) (series) by @welcometololaland "You have one new message ..." by @paper-storm get it right, to get around me by welcometololaland Missing Moments (series) by paper-storm Coming Back by @doublel27 Season 3 Codas (series) by @strandnreyes Knight in Shining Armor by doublel27 not lost (not lost) but found by doublel27 More Cow-Eyes (series) doublel27 An Easy Dare by @noxsoulmate Blood on the tracks, fire in the hills by thenorthface Starting Out by sapphireej tout l'univers by @kiras-sunshine In sickness and in health, in speeding and in no speeding by @good-ways all I know since yesterday (is everything has changed) by strandnreyes Precious Love by @rmd-writes

AUs:

Dr Reyes/Paramedic Strand series by marjansmarwani a flower a day by novaksline Detective AU by strandnreyes what if we could risk everything we have by dazedastrophile as if you were a mythical thing by strandnreyes Begged And Borrowed Time by @iboatedhere on a wednesday in a café i watched it begin again by falloutmars The tender things are those we fold away by @beautifulhigh Home is Found series by alipea Safe Space series by xtinyteenyx The knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts by liminalmemories21 The Flying Sparks 'Verse (series) by @the-communist-unicorn i know now i found (the one i love) by ksmalltalk Welcome to the Neighborhood by courtinator Fireproof by Mari_Marie remind me to forget by orphan_account Yours To Keep, Yours To Lose by iboatedhere one single thread by strandnreyes After all of the years, all of the tears, you are here somehow. by lydiamxrtin to live for the hope of it all by strandnreyes

Sports AUs (my beloved):

Swing For The Fences, Run To The Line by iboatedhere Magnetic North by paper-storm Game, Set, Match (series) by welcometololaland Curveball by @bellakitse

One Shot Collections:

Plaid Shirt Days by iboatedhere Tewnty Five Hundred by iboatedhere tangled in the willows by stormss Silence and Patience, Pining in Anticipation by iboatedhere Prompt Fills by strandnreyes All the ways to love you by bellakitse

Sexy Times ❤️‍🔥:

Educating Mateo by @thebumblecee Mark Me Up by brouiller (the whole series is so fucking good) Skin by paper-storm (we're not talking about the amount of times I've read this one in particular) Do you even lift, bro? by rmd-writes Through the Looking Glass by rmd-writes Love this journey for them by rmd-writes Waterproof by welcometololaland The Devil Works Hard (But Mesh Shirts Work Harder) by welcometololaland Seven Days of Sin by welcometololaland

Pride ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜:

rejoice your truth by doublel27 What’s Lost Can Always Be Found by noxsoulmate Let's Talk About that Thong by Sivan325 This Love is Ours, it’s Everything by noxsoulmate Pride 2022 by maddiee96

Fluff 💝 (there’s a whole lot of fluff hiding in the other categories):

What A Weekend by @sapphireej PS: I still love you, too by noxsoulmate with all the sorrow and the joy by @lire-casander love me as if I were forever by rmd-writes (my beloved) A Love Like Theirs by noxsoulmate

Kid Fic (my other beloved):

Austin Series by AliceSchuyler don't go blindly into the dark by kiras-sunshine Falling Like Raindrops by Monstrous_Moonshine Surrender (series) by aleia Strands of Time (series) by alilypea Luca Strand-Reyes (series) by bellakitse SRK❤ Sofia Kennedy Reyes❤ (series) by mtnofgrace Family For Christmas by graspingforwords how did we get here? by @detective-giggles you're tethered to another (and you're worried all the time) by doublel27 Tradition (In the Key of Cookies) by Reese_Taylor27 love like this (the isla strand-reyes verse) (series) by Krissyloowhoo Let Your Heart Find a Home by tkstrands like daylight by @ravens-words Eight Now by darkangelgirl13 oh look, it’s my future by thatnerdmryn all I see is you by ravens-words Do We Want This? by @djdangerloverlove Let's Go to the Mall by bellakitse Of little girls and their cats by bellakitse Lyla by Mangacat Self control? I don't know her (series) by welcometololaland

I was gonna rec some Christmas fics too, but Tumblr is being a bitch and I might just save those for before Christmas!

I'm sure there's more, and most of the most recent ones haven't made it on here but whatever.

[paperstorm]

I have odd taste in fan fiction. I really only like canon stories, missing moments keeping cannon etc. Your Missing Moments collection is my favourite Tarlos fic and my favourite fan fic in general. You should feel very proud of what you’ve written and we all look forward to when inspiration strikes again.

Do you have any favourite Tarlos fics that you’d like to share?

Or does anyone have any (preferably canon) Tarlos fics to recommend or non canon if they are that good?

Hi, thank you! I generally don't like to rec fanfics on here anymore (just me being super neurotic) but here are the Tarlos fics in my bookmarks on AO3! There's lots of great stuff in there and you can sort out AUs if you want to stick to canon compliant ones.

paperstorm - Bookmarks | Archive of Our Own

[howtosingit]

Fic: i long to hear the sound of you again

Carlos throws himself into work.

*

A missing moment from 1x09.

1.5K | Also on AO3

- - - - -

When he doesn’t hear from TK, Carlos throws himself into work.

He at least knows the other man is alive; well, better than just alive, actually. He and Paul have been texting a lot recently, and the man had let it slip that TK stopped by the station a few days ago, looking sore but standing tall on two feet. Carlos had read that message with a painful kind of joy, happy that TK was up and moving, but hurt that TK didn’t seem to have an interest in seeing him.

He’s not mad at the guy, considering Carlos was the one who practically ghosted him right before he got shot. And it’s not even that Carlos thought TK’s incident would magically change their relationship, or that they would suddenly be attached at the hip.

It’s just that Carlos wants to see him. He wants to drown in TK’s bright green eyes and stare at his chest as it moves up and down in time with his breathing. He wants to stand close enough to feel TK’s breath on his skin and the gentle press of his fingers in-between his own. 

He wants to see the proof of TK’s survival with his own two eyes, if for no other reason than to rid himself of the nightmares that keep haunting him every time he sinks into a fitful sleep.

He doesn’t know how far to push, so he keeps his distance. He sent flowers to the hospital, and left a voicemail for TK to listen to whenever he feels like it. It wasn’t exactly how he imagined apologizing to the other man for his distance before the shooting, but it was a start. 

So, now Carlos just waits, throwing himself into his job as a way to distract himself from all of the things outside of his control.

He picks up shifts from co-workers who need the day off, works overtime as much as he can. By the time he gets home from his shifts, he barely has enough energy to shove food into his mouth and take a quick shower before falling into bed. When he’s not working, he runs, pushing himself through his exhaustion until he feels like he’s about to break. It reminds him that he’s alive and here - that TK is too, somewhere out there. It’s all he has, and it’s enough, for now.

Michelle has been laying low for a while, and he can’t really blame her, but he checks in with her every few days to make sure she’s resting and eating and showing up to her shifts. It’s the least he can do, and taking care of someone else comes naturally to him, so he’s glad to have someone else to worry about. 

It’s been eight days since he saw TK in the flesh, twelve since they’ve spoken to one another face-to-face. After a solid week of working himself to the bone, Carlos realizes that he needs to do a grocery run, having nearly cleaned out his pantry without even noticing. 

He’s scanning the collection of protein bars in front of him, his brain only partially invested in making a decision, when he hears a familiar voice behind him.

“I usually go with the peanut butter banana ones, if you haven’t given those a shot.”

He turns, surprised to find Captain Strand standing behind him, a small smile on his face as he points towards the box of peanut butter banana CLIF bars. Carlos looks between the captain and the box, trying to figure out what to say.

The last time he saw this man, he’d been a crying mess as he stared at his comatose, possibly-dying son. He didn’t know when he expected to see the other man again, having been oddly fortunate not to share any recent calls with the 126, but the protein bar aisle of a Trader Joe’s was not very high on his list.

“Captain Strand, I…” Carlos starts, trailing off when the older man immediately shakes his head, waving his words away.

“Please, Officer Reyes, call me Owen,” he says, his voice firm.

Carlos doesn’t know what to do with that request. He’s not exactly sure how much Owen knew about him and TK before he showed up uninvited to the hospital, and he doesn’t want the man to get the wrong idea. This level of familiarity isn’t really necessary if TK plans to never speak to him again.

Something about his face must give away his inner thoughts because he watches as Owen’s smile drops, the man letting out a sigh as he takes a step closer.

“He hasn’t called you yet, has he?” he asks gently.

Carlos feels his breath catch in his throat, his palms sweating as a heat rises on the back of his neck. The reminder punches him right in the gut, and he wonders if he’s been this obvious to everyone for the past week. He’s tried so hard to mask the hurt.

Owen doesn’t seem interested in waiting for an answer. “Listen, son,” he begins, reaching out to rest a hand on Carlos’s shoulder. “It has nothing to do with you, okay? I promise.”

Carlos knows that isn’t true, now sure that Owen doesn’t know about everything that happened before the shooting.

“Sir, I don’t think that’s true,” he starts, his voice breaking against his will. “Before the accident, I-”

“Carlos,” Owen says, speaking over him. “Sorry, hope you don’t mind me dropping the formalities.”

Carlos just stares at him.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Owen continues. “Listen, I don’t know everything that’s happened between you and my son, and I don’t really need to know. He’s an adult, and even though he’s been through a lot, he’s capable of making his own decisions. I trust him to make the right ones.

“But, I also know that getting shot has left him feeling a little lost,” the man presses on, shifting to make eye contact with Carlos. “His mind’s in a hundred different places right now, and he’s searching for answers. If he hasn’t reached out, it’s not because he doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. 

“I think it’s more that he feels like he needs to shield you from all of it,” Owen finishes, looking away. “If there’s one thing I know about my son, it’s that he’ll try to protect anyone from anything, and that includes himself.”

“I don’t want to be protected from him,” Carlos admits, his voice small as he bites down on his bottom lip. “I want to be there for him.”

Owen stares at him for a moment, his eyes wide, before he suddenly moves forward, wrapping his arms around Carlos in a loose hug, patting his back. Though surprised at first, Carlos mirrors the other man after a moment.

“I’m really, really glad to hear that, Carlos,” Owen says, pulling back. “TK needs more people like you in his life.” He pauses, before stepping back with a nod. “There are some answers that he’s gotta find on his own, but he’ll reach out when he’s ready. I know he will.”

Carlos hears the certainty in the older man’s voice, wondering if he can trust it. Not that he has any other choice, under the current circumstances.

“Then I’ll be here,” Carlos assures him, his heart feeling lighter for the first time in over a week. His gaze briefly slides over to Owen’s cart, taking in the contents. “Sir - Owen - do you mind if I say something?” he asks, tone cautionary as turns back to the other man.

“Sure thing, Carlos.”

“You might want to add a few bags of gummy worms to your list,” he says, pointing at the pile of healthy, possibly indigestible snacks that Owen has piled in a corner of his cart. “He likes to shove them in a handful at a time.”

“Oh, Carlos,” Owen scoffs, moving closer to his stash of treats. “Tell me you do not buy a bunch of processed sugar when my son is with you.”

“Well,” Carlos mutters sheepishly, his hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck, a smile pulling at his mouth, “I kind of can’t say no to him.” 

Owen laughs, shaking his head as he reaches for the handle of his cart. “You’ve got it so bad, kid.”

Carlos can’t even defend himself, knowing that what Owen says is true. The man takes a few steps away, clearly planning to continue shopping, before he stops, turning back to look at him.

“Where would I find them?” he asks, his eyes practically twinkling.

“Candy’s down aisle five,” Carlos answers, his smile growing as Owen nods before giving him a wave, continuing down the aisle and disappearing out of sight. 

The next day, when TK texts him asking to meet up on his next day off, Carlos can’t help but to wonder if the gummy worms factored at all into his decision-making process.

[rmd-writes]

911 Lone Star fic list

Episode Codas (in episode order)

I knew your love before I kissed you || 1.01 missing scene, honky tonk hookup | E | 3.6k

ain’t nothing but a heartache || 1.02 missing scene | E | 2.4k

what I want (what you deserve) || 1.04 coda, Carlos POV of lolaland​‘s get it right, to get around me | E | 4k

I’m yours (and you’re mine) || 2.04 missing scene | E | 4.1k

despite it all || 3.04 Push coda | E | 3.2k

i had a dream last night || 3.18 morning after coda | E | 1.3k

Precious Love || 5+1, TK & love introspection, pre-canon, 1.02, 1.03, 3.13 & 3.18 codas | M | 11.6k

the strong will never fall || 4.04 coda | E | 1.6k

to love is to undress our names || 4.16 coda | E | 3.8k

Canon compliant / Post-canon

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (collab with @welcometololaland)|| 5 + 1, married!tarlos, sleep shenanigans | E | 16.9k

kiss you twice 'cause it's gonna be alright || slice of life | T | 520 words

A Christmas Mix Up || Christmas shenanigans | T | 952 words

too stressed to undress || married!tarlos, fluff and smut, Lou II shenanigans | E | 3k

the way you make me feel (so real, so good) || married!tarlos, smut with feelings | E | 5.3k

and this is romance, let’s dance || 5+1, fluff and smut | E | 7.8k

these are the moments i cherish || married!tarlos, fluff and smut | E | 1.9k

Soon || married!tarlos, pwp, edging | E | 3.7k

Through the Looking Glass || married!tarlos, shower smut | E | 4.6k

love me as if I were forever || married!tarlos, fluff | M | 1.1k

what you need (i just need you) || married!tarlos | E | 2.9k

all i see is him right now || married!tarlos | E | 3.6k

every breath you take || future fic, married!tarlos, hurt/comfort | E | 4.2k

AUs / Canon Divergence

green is the colour of grass || AU meeting | M | 1.5k

Call Me (By My Name) (collab with @welcometololaland) || accidental phone sex AU | E | 65.5k

(Un)Professional Services (collab with @welcometololaland) || professional services au | E | 63k

A Helping Hand || Grindr meet cute au | E | 6.7k

I gotta handle you just right || gym au (series) | E | 10.2k

Your Place or Mine || college au | E | 4.5k

Make the Yuletide Gay || college fake dating au | M | 19.7k

Let Me Hear Your Body Talk || gym au (series) | E | 2.4k

Let’s Get Physical || gym au (series) | E | 6k

Other

so kiss me (tarlos version); a collection of ficlets about kisses, ratings vary

[pragmatic-optimist]

In honor of @howtosingit’s birthday today, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite fics in his spectacular catalog.

In no particular order because I have read each of these MANY, MANY times, so ranking them is simply impossible: 

The entire Lifeguard AU and Tarlos S1 Missing Moments collection (required reading tbh)

Fire Meets Gasoline (from the An Officer and A Gentleman: Carlos Reyes series)

From the 30 Days of Tarlos/30 Songs of Tarlos series:

Home for Me is Where You Are

After All This Time I’m Just As Nervous (Special note: I love a well-executed high school reunion trope and Brian knocks it out of the park with this one.)

This is Precious Love (I Can’t Get Enough) (husbands!!!)

I Just Wanted You to Know (This is Me Trying)

I’ll Build My Life Around You 

Brian’s writing is reminiscent of who he is—full of heart, witty AF, and brilliant, displaying a keen understanding of the characters we love. 😍

We are so fortunate to have him in the LS fandom! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[maybe-theres-hope]

Tarlos Fic - Dinner Date

3.2k | T | Warnings: Blood, Injuries (mostly minor) | Contains: Judd/Carlos friendship, Tarlos being perfect, blue Camaro (rip)

Read on AO3

“So, what are your plans for the night?” Nancy asked as they exited the ambulance, their shift nearly over as long as the bell didn’t go off in the next ten minutes. 

TK smiled to himself for a moment before he spoke. “Well, Carlos is taking me to Jeffrey’s, so…”

“Holy mother,” Nancy breathed, looking at him with obvious envy. “Do you guys have a ten year anniversary or something coming up? Did he get some kind of commendation at work? Because I know your last one was like a month ago, so.”

“No, no anniversary, that’s in a couple of months. And its three years, Nance.” He chose to ignore her muttering about their mushiness ‘aging me ten years’. “And nothing from work that I know of. Maybe he just loves me?” TK couldn’t stop grinning while they stocked the bus and readied for the handover. 

“He loves you crap ton! Their wagyu strip steak is a hundred and twenty-five dollars!” Nancy had her phone out, obviously googling the menu. 

“Well at least we’ll save money on wine,” TK said with a chuckle.

“I’ve heard of the place by reputation but like, dude, who ever gets the chance to actually go there?”

“TK it seems,” Tommy cut in. “Why don’t you go on? We got it here and you’re gonna need at least an hour to pick out an outfit.”

“And gel your hair. You and your dad are way more alike than you want to admit,” Nancy added with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. You sure, Cap? I can stay and help?”

“I’m sure, kiddo. Go get dolled up for your man. Eat a few bites for us, yeah?” Tommy yelled at his retreating figure. She and Nancy looked at each other with grins as they caught the little skip in his step. 

“So, what do you think the occasion is?”

Tommy looked back at Nancy with a gleam in her eye. “I can wager a guess, but I don’t want to jinx it.” Nancy just gave her a look and went back to restocking.

--

Around 8 p.m., Owen was sitting in his office toying with his phone in his hand, smiling at his last text exchange. 

we’re just leaving the house now, wish me luck!

you’re not gonna need it, kid :)

“Not if I know my son anyway,” Owen said aloud to the empty room. He wondered if it’d happened yet. No incoherent string of emoji’s from TK yet, so he doubted it. 

He was shoving the phone back into his pocket with the bell went off. 

--

“Alright guys,” Owen said into the mic from the Captain’s chair. “Dispatch says three vehicles involved, two still on the road and one went over the side into the ravine. Police are on their way but we’ll probably beat ‘em there. Strickland, Marwani, soon as we get there I want you to harness up and get down in that ravine. Judd, you too. You’ll be in command down there and I’ll stay up top with the other two vehicles. Everybody else you’re with me, got it?”

A chorus of “Copy that, Cap,” and suddenly they were on the scene. 

--

“Marjan, Paul, we’re goin’ down!” Judd called to them as the rest of the crew went over to the silver Prius and black Mazda that were crumpled in the middle of the two-lane highway. Judd wasn’t a prayin’ man, but he sent up a little something to the man upstairs that this went their way. It looked bad. 

Paul arrived at his side first, strapped into his gear. “Marjan’s grabbing the bag from the truck, she’s coming.” 

“Alright. We’ll go down this way,” Judd said, pointing to a safe-ish stretch of hillside. “Can’t see the other car from here but dispatch said bystanders saw it go over. Probably just hidden in the trees.”

“Okay guys, let’s do this!” Marjan called, harnessed and carrying the medical bag and a backboard. “TK’s gonna be sad he missed this. Medical doesn’t get to harness up a lot and I know he loved it. He coulda helped.”

“Nah, he’s got better things tonight. Carlos was takin’ him to Jeffrey’s,” Paul said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Ohh, fancy,” Marjan said with a smile. “What’s the occasion?”

They’d reached the bottom and were starting to look through the brush and low-hanging trees for a vehicle. 

“Don’t know,” Paul answered. “But I think Cap’s in on it somehow.”

“What?”

“Yeah,” Judd cut in as he whacked a few branches out of his way. “Carlos came by the station a few weeks ago, and they sat up in Cap’s office for an hour before he left grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ a sweet tater.” 

“I have no idea what that means,” Paul said with a laugh. 

“Hey guys, look!” Marjan called from a few yards to the left. The other two went to her position and saw what she’d found. A track in the underbrush where it had been torn at and flattened. “Think this is the place.”

“Let’s go,” said Judd. They followed the path through the brush for a couple of yards before they caught sight of it: taillights. “Alright, Marjan you go on the passenger side, I got the driver. Paul you see if you can clear some of that brush off the back in case the doors are jammed and we gotta get ‘em out that’a way.”

Visibility was still low despite the lights of the car and their flashlights, but as they approached they saw the car wrapped around the trunk of a tree on the passenger side. “I don’t know if I can get in there, Judd, but I’ll try,” Marjan said as she broke out into a jog.

“Wait!” Paul cried. Judd looked over at him, and he would have said such a thing couldn’t happen to a calm and collected person like Paul, but his face had gone ashen. “That’s Carlos’s car,” he said on a breath. 

“What?” In the dark, now that he was really looking, he could see they were coming up on—what used to be—a blue Camaro. 

“I’m sure of it. TK bullied him into putting that sticker on the back because he said it was too pristine and it needed personality.” He shone his flashlight at the rear bumper and sure enough, there was a SXSW sticker half ripped off from the path the car had taken to get there. 

“Come on,” Judd said, heart rate kicking up.

“Should we call Cap?” Paul asked.

“No, we stay down here and do our jobs, and he stays up there and does his. We’ll get ‘em.” His voice sounded numb even to his own ears, but he was determined. 

“They were on their way to dinner,” Paul said lowly.

“Yeah, probably takin’ the backroads to avoid traffic,” Judd said, shaking his head. Fate was hell sometimes.

When they reached the car, Marjan was yelling. “TK! TK can you hear me?” She turned to Judd. “I can’t get in there. The tree trunk is halfway into the car, probably pinning him to the console. He’s unresponsive.” Her face was also pale, but determined. 

Judd went to the driver’s side and saw Carlos, head hanging to the side facing the broken window. He tried the door as he called out. “Carlos? Hey Carlos, come on buddy. Can you hear me?” The door wouldn’t budge; Judd figured the car had rolled a couple of times coming down the hill, crumpling it like a tin can. Then he heard a soft groan.

He looked up, and one of Carlos’s eyes was trying to open. The other was swollen shut, where he’d probably hit his head on the steering wheel before the airbag deployed. Half his face had burn marks from it. 

“Hey, hey Carlos, look at me, that’s it.” That one eye tracked around before it landed on Judd, drawn to the light of the flashlight on his helmet. “Hey man. We’re gonna get you out okay? Now, can you move your fingers and toes for me?” Judd stuck his head into the window to see down in the floor boards. “Alright, likely no spinal damage. How’s your head?”

“Hurts. Shoulder, too.” His voice was barely audible. 

“Okay, it looks like you dislocated it,” Judd said as he prodded his left shoulder. “I don’t see anything broken but we’ll have to get you out to determine that.”

“TK—“ a wheeze, “TK…first. Been out…a while.”

Judd peered over to the passenger side, where TK was shoved almost fully into the center console, head laid back on the headrest and his face covered in blood. Marjan and Paul were still hard at work outside trying to clear a path into the car. 

“We can’t get to his side just yet, but we can get you out first and then we’ll be able to pull him out this way, okay? We wanna focus on you right now.”

“Alive.”

“Yeah, you’re alive, Carlos. You’re not gonna leave us yet,” he said as he assessed the door panels where they could cut through with the saws they brought. 

“No. TK. Weak, but…alive,” Carlos breathed out, coughing through the end.

“We’ll make sure he’s alive, okay?” Judd said, trying not to lose his professionalism at this whole messed up situation.

“He is.” Judd stopped looking around and looked back at Carlos. The man raised his right hand just as much as he was able, showing where he had two fingers on TK’s radial pulse. 

“Good, that’s good Carlos,” Judd assured him. That meant Carlos had had some minutes of consciousness after the accident before they showed up. “Was he talking at all? After you hit the tree?”

“Little. Minutes, maybe.”

“That’s good, that’ll help. Alright Carlos, we’re gonna get this door off so I’m gonna cover you with this while we do okay?” Judd waited for a small nod before he covered Carlos’s face and torso with his own turnout coat. 

After an agonizing four minutes, the door popped off in a shower of metal and broken glass. Judd removed the coat and went back in to assess. “Carlos? How you doin’?”

“Tired. But won’t…sleep. Promise. That’s bad.”

“You learn a few things from your Paramedic boyfriend?” Judd said with a watery smile.

“Mmm.”

“Judd, I got the back cleared. Maybe we can get in there to at least check TK’s vitals,” Paul informed them. 

“Get on it, I’ma try to get Carlos here out onto this backboard. Marjan, radio for another backboard and have two RA’s ready to go topside!”

“Copy that!” Judd had to admire those two. They never let their professionalism slip too far, though he could see they were worried sick. He could relate. He wouldn’t relax until both of the boys were back up the hill and on the way to the hospital.

From the looks of things, maybe not even then. But he had hope.

“Alright, Carlos, I’m gonna grab your legs and behind your shoulders here and pull you out, okay? It’s gonna hurt like hell, but it’ll be quick.”

“Wait.”

Judd stopped cold.

“Left…pocket. Please.”

“You want me to get at your left pocket?” A nod. “Alright, hang on.”

Judd carefully shifted Carlos’s leg so he could reach into his slacks, which had probably been part of a very nice suit at the beginning of the night. His fingers searched until they hit a small bump, an object no bigger than a baseball, soft velvet over a hard shell. He sucked his lips between his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as he pulled it free in his hand. 

“Keep it…safe…for me?”

Judd looked down at the little black box for a moment, then clutched it tight in his hand before transferring it one of the innermost pockets of his turnout. 

“Of course, man. I will guard this with my life.” He looked up and saw Marjan coming back with another backboard. “Alright, buddy. It’s go time.”

Carlos gave a weak nod and winced when Judd started to pull. 

--

“Welcome back, man. You had us worried there for a bit.”

Carlos opened his good eye to see Judd sitting at his bedside, smiling softly. It took a moment to remember where he was. Hospital. Accident. Tree.

“TK—“

“Is fine. Banged up and will need crutches for a few weeks, not to mention a killer headache with no meds, but he’s fine. All things considered.”

“Where is he?”

“On his way, so you just stay put, okay? You’re pretty banged up, too, ya’know.”

Carlos shifted a bit and winced. His left arm was in a sling, his head bandaged over his left eye, and his right side hurt like hell.

“Broken rib when the tree went into TK’s door, door went into TK, TK went into the console, then the console went into you. He’s got a femoral fracture in his right leg but like I said, all things considered, you’re both pretty well off for how far you fell and probably rolled.” 

“Yeah, he said his leg had gone numb but he could still move his toes. He made sense for about five minutes, then started talking all jumbled, then went quiet. I uh…freaked out a bit after that. I thought he had…” Carlos trailed off, looking haunted. 

“Yeah, and you kept your fingers on his pulse that whole time. What you were able to tell us at the scene helped us treat him. You did good, Carlos.”

“Not good enough to swerve in time,” he said.

“Not your fault. And don’t you dare go thinkin’ it is. I don’t wanna hear it, Carlos,” Judd said in what TK called his Dad Voice. Stern and no room for argument. Carlos just nodded. 

“And uh, hey. I been waitin’ to give this back to you.” Judd stood and walked over to the bed, holding out a tiny black box. Carlos took it and cradled it against his chest. “It better be a nice one, cuz I about had a heart attack while I was showerin’ thinkin’ someone was gonna come get my pile a’clothes and take ‘em to the laundry while I was gone.”

“You didn’t open it?”

“Nah, I figure the big reveal? TK deserves that all to himself.” 

“Owen’s seen it,” Carlos countered, smirking.

“Uh huh. He approve?”

Carlos laughed. “He whistled and said I spent too much.”

“To impress the Cap it must be a lot,” Judd said with a small whistle of his own.

“Well, what was it Michael Scott said? Three years’ salary?”

Judd’s eyes almost popped out of his head, and Carlos laughed harder before wincing again at his broken rib. “I’m kidding, Judd. But I can tell you, no matter the cost, TK deserves the best and that’s what I hope I got.”

“You gonna make another reservation? Soon as y’all get back into fightin’ shape?”

Carlos looked down at the box again for a moment, contemplating. “I…don’t think so.”

Judd had a confused expression on his face but at that moment, a nurse was wheeling TK into the room, followed by most of the 126. Carlos’s face lit up like starlight at the sight of him.

“Hey, babe,” TK said with a smile. His leg was in a full cast, so the nurse was careful in maneuvering him around to Carlos’s bedside. 

“Hey, I feel like you should be the one in bed! Why are you out and about?”

“Because you were still asleep and he’s an absolute menace. We made multiple apologies to the staff on his behalf for the last hour,” Owen said as he walked into the room behind his crew. “He’s a stubborn little shit. Always has been, always will be. You sure you’re up for that?” He asked knowingly. TK was still looking at Carlos, blushing at his dad’s ribbing. Carlos met his eyes and said, “Yes.” He blushed more. 

“In fact,” Carlos continued. “I’m ready to get started. I’ve waited too long anyway. I mean, how many times do you and I have to beat death before I get the nerve to do this?” He said, looking into TK’s beautiful eyes which were looking confused. 

“What are you talking about, babe?”

“Look, I’m sorry this didn’t go how I planned. And I’m sorry I can’t get down on one knee right now, but. I hope you love me enough not to mind.” He lifted his good arm, his hand holding out the box. “A little help, Judd?”

“It’d be an honor,” the man said before leaning in and opening the box, since Carlos only had one good arm. 

At the sight of the contents of the box, TK’s eyes went as big as saucers. Surprise was written clearly over every inch of his features, which were all still beautiful even scarred and stitched up as they were at the moment. God, Carlos loved this man so much. 

“Tyler Kennedy Strand, you are the love of my life. I tried so many different scenarios in my head of how this speech would go, before I just said screw it, I’ll speak from the heart. You’re kind, funny, sexy, sweet, and everything in between. You can’t boil water and you absolutely can’t properly separate laundry. I have a dozen pink shirts as proof of that.” At this, the gathered group chuckled and TK went bright red. “Ah, but you also know just how to ease the tension from a long day just by hugging me on the doorstep. And I can always count on you to be there for me when the world gets too much, when what we see out there creeps in too far. And I want you to know, that I want to be that for you too, for the rest of our lives. So, TK. Will you marry me?”

The room was silent, apart from the hum and beeps of the machines. Everyone on the edge of their proverbial seats, but no one having any doubt to the outcome. 

“Oh, my God! Of course I’ll marry you! Yes, yes! Yes!” The last was said through TK’s fingers covering his red face, hiding the few tears that had started to fall. He held out his left hand to Carlos, who Judd had kindly helped by removing the ring from its box and handing it back to him. He slid it over TK’s finger, smiling like an idiot the whole time, barely registering the whoops and hollers of the 126 throughout the room. 

He only had eyes for TK. 

“I love you,” TK breathed through his happy tears.

“I love you too, baby. Always.”

“Oh, my God, dude, were you seriously surprised?” Nancy asked incredulously once the commotion had died down.

“Well…yeah? I didn’t expect this at all,” TK said, looking sheepish. 

“TK…my dude…he was taking you to Jeffrey’s! How could you not know?”

Once again, the room erupted in laughter and TK ducked his head again. Carlos reached out and touched his chin, catching his eyes again.

There was nothing but love there. 

CLEARLY every Tarlos fic I write has to have a proposal in it *shrug emoji* 

Also I wrote this in like an hour after I had a dream so please excuse any typos I didn’t catch!

Please reblog if you liked it! I would really really appreciate it :) Thank you for reading!

[detective-giggles]

Flufftober Day 1

Prompt: Winning a Teddy for the Other (Tarlos)

WC: 832

Warnings: None, except for a couple bad puns!

It’s a little early in my timezone but the collection is open and I’m excited! Sarah, thanks for the beta!

***

TK groaned as he hiked his little brother further up on his hip. “Are two-year-olds supposed to be this heavy?” he wondered out loud.

Carlos let out a tiny snort. “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure two-year-olds can walk.”

TK looked around the little carnival and the throngs of people pushing past them and shook his head. “Nah. We’re good.”

Carlos rolled his eyes fondly. “I’m not going to give you a massage tonight if you hurt your back carrying him all day,” he warned.

TK flashed him a shit-eating grin. “Sure you will.” TK turned to his brother. “So, EJ, what should we do first?”

“Also, I’m pretty sure that is not his name, Tyler Kennedy.” Carlos pointed out.

TK shrugged, “He doesn’t seem to mind.”

“Fishie! Fishie!” Elijah lurched forward, interrupting their banter and nearly dislodging himself from TK’s grasp, making grabby hands.

“What’s up, Buddy?”

“I think he wants you to win him a fish.” Carlos pointed across the way to a game booth lined with goldfish in plastic bags.

“Fishie!”

“Ohhh, my mom would kill us if we came home with a fish.” TK muttered. He paused, looking thoughtful. “Then again…” TK smiled mischievously. “She never let me have a pet.”

“TK, no, babe. I think you winning him a fish just sounds like a bad idea.”

TK shrugged again. “Besides, you’re gonna win him the fish.” TK stepped up behind Carlos, patting him on the shoulder.

“Why me?”

“It’s a shooting game!”

Carlos snorted, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re a cop.” TK pointed out needlessly.  “It’s much more your specialty than mine.  But don’t worry, if there’s a game where you shoot the water into the clown’s mouth, I’m there for ya, babe.” TK gave him a playful wink.

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Strand. You know these games are all scams anyway. I’m sure we could go buy him a fish for much cheaper than we can win one.” He protested.

“It’s fun, Carlos! Please!” He turned to Elijah, “Tell Carlos please.”

“Pwease!”

Carlos laughed and ruffled Elijah’s hair before planting a kiss on TK’s temple. “You two are adorable. And impossible to say no to.” He rolled his eyes playfully. “Yeah, yeah. Come on. Let’s spend ten bucks to win a fish that’s gonna die in a week.”

TK followed Carlos across the aisle and watched while Carlos dug his wallet out of his pocket, handing a few bills to the bored-looking teenager working the booth. He raised the rifle and TK took a moment to admire his stance. “I’m gonna need a few practice shots.” He muttered, handing over another couple wrinkled bills. “How many do I have to hit to win the kid a fish?” Carlos’ attention was directed to a sign directly below the row of fish, indicating he needed to hit six targets for the coveted goldfish.

Carlos raised the rifle once more and fired off three quick shots. The first two were close but only the third one hit the mark.

“I think someone needs to spend a little more time at the practice range, what do you think?” TK asked, shifting his brother to his other hip.

“Really? You wanna hit the other five?” Carlos huffed. TK shook his head and Carlos turned back to the game again. Three more hits, a miss, and two hits later, Carlos was trading the rifle for a little bagged fish.

“YAY! Fishie!” Elijah clapped and reached for the prize.

“Yeah, why don’t I carry him while you two think of a name?” Carlos turned and headed down the midway.

“Gil?” TK suggested, “Fin?” he chuckled at his own lame suggestion, nearly bumping into Carlos who had stopped suddenly.  “What?”

“You’re up.” Carlos gestured to a nearby booth.  TK followed his gaze and locked eyes with a creepy plastic clown.

“Ohhh, I promised, didn’t I?”

“You did.” TK led the way to the game and Carlos followed closely behind. TK gave his brother to Carlos before taking a seat at the last available water gun and handing over a dollar.

A bell rang, signaling the beginning of the round and TK pressed the button, aiming the stream of water directly at the clown’s head.  His balloon inflated quickly, getting larger than any balloon should, before it finally popped, followed closely by half a dozen others.  He stood, choosing his prize and made his way back over to where Carlos was standing with Elijah.

“So you’ll think of me whenever you see it.” TK held out his offering, a small stuffed bear wearing a red firefighter helmet and a little turnout coat.

“He’s un-bear-ably cute. Just like you.”

TK pulled the toy from Carlos’ grasp. “Leave the puns to me.”

“Deal.” Carlos laughed and snatched the bear back. “He’d make a pretty crappy firefighter though. He doesn’t even have the right koala-fications.”

“It’s not even a koala!” He protested before turning to Elijah. “It’s not even a koala!”

Tags: @flufftober2021

[reyeslonestar]

an incomplete list of lone star fics that I love 4/?

this is mainly an opportunity for me to collect my favourite fics into a system that makes more sense to me, and spread a little love to the fabulous writers who create these amazing stories

fics containing explicit smut are marked with an *

Finding You Beneath the Bruises by @djdangerlove/DjDangerLove

“Babe,” Carlos’ voice seems to reverberate in the bathroom, in his ears, in this moment of time. “You gotta let me in.” TK flinches, the request feeling like another open wound among the many he’s forced to bare to everyone. TK meets his gaze in the mirror again, shame distorting his eyes with unshed tears. “There’s no hiding this.”

Or: TK tries to deal with the aftermath of being held hostage. Carlos helps.

I dont think ive ever read a fic quite like this. it is honestly out of this world. the descriptions are so evocative and create such a beautiful image. if you read one fic today, or this week, or this month, read this one.

swimming up against the tide by @buckleymanes/Ravens_World

He should have been honest with him from the beginning; should have explained why the mere idea of telling his parents about them terrified him, instead of spouting off those godawful words.

Missing scene from 2x04

I absolutely love this, it fills in that gap in 2x04 so well and I love seeing Carlos’ friendships - its a really good use of Michelle and Carlos’ interactions. the angst is so good and the resolution is wonderful :) 

wanna hide in your light by @reyesstrand/stormss

The thing is, TK doesn't mean to make a habit of it. It just kind of happens. (Three times TK steals Carlos' clothes, and one time Carlos retaliates).

*

Tarlos Week, Day 1: "Are you wearing my hoodie?" + Fluff

tk and Carlos sharing clothes - what’s not to love?? yeah I love the trope of tk stealing Carlos’ clothing, particularly his shirts, and this +1 moment is a brilliant finish to this.

The Boss's Son by @marjansmarwani/brilliantbanshee

Firefighter Carlos Reyes is thrilled to join the new 126, but things get complicated when he falls for the boss's son - APD Officer TK Strand.

this reverse au ticks so many boxes for me and I really like where their arcs end up. an excellent au rewrite of s1. it also features jillian’s wonderful oc mya, who is always amazing.

Learning To Speak by @lonestarbabe/Pigeonsplotinsecrecy

A look into TK's time in therapy.

a really interesting fic looking into TK’s experience of therapy from his early days in Austin and how he feels about tackling the challenges that are thrown his way.

Green-eyed Monster by @freddie-fox-baxter/FreddieFoxBaxter

Meeting Carlos’ ex sends TK for a hell of a spin.

so im not a massive fan of jealousy as a trope but I think that this fic handles it really well, using it to explore tk’s insecurities and how Carlos reassures him that he’s not going anywhere.

[marjansmarwani]

I’m gonna hold you forever

14. “Do you ever think about running away?”

Tarlos // 641 words // ao3

Requested by an anon. I’m going to see if I can get through a few more of these prompts today (although I should be working on my last piece for Carlos week). Requests are still open, it just may take me a while to get to it! I am working off this list and this list.

----------

TK let himself into his boyfriend’s condo and took a moment to savor the calm silence that emanated from every inch. He leaned against the door and closed his eyes, soaking in this feeling of calm and contentedness. It was a far cry from the chaos of his parents co-existing and even after just a moment of entering the space he could feel the residual tension leaking from his body. 

He likely would have stood there, silently, for another few minutes if a far more appealing option had not presented itself. 

“Ty? Is that you?” 

Carlos’s voice, drifting to him from the direction of the kitchen, was an even better balm than the silence. He pushed himself off the door and towards his voice, “Yeah, it’s me, babe.” 

He turned the corner and was met with the full force of his boyfriend’s smile; warm and bright enough to rival the sun. It chased any lingering tension from his body as he approached, stepping up to the counter to lean across it and give his boyfriend a kiss in greeting. 

Carlos smiled into the kiss and is still smiling when he pulls away, “This is a pleasant surprise, I wasn’t expecting you until later.” 

The comment was a reminder of the scene he had fled at home and he could feel the weight of it settling into his bones again. He plastered on a grin and quipped, “I figured I’d try to lend a hand, see if I could give you any help before anyone else got here.” 

Carlos studied him for a moment before setting down the glass in his hand and leaning across the counter so he was at TK’s eye-level, “That’s sweet, but why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?” 

“Is it that obvious?” 

“To me? Yes.” 

TK grinned for a fleeting moment, the idea of being known a special kind of intimacy he had never truly experienced with any other partner. But Carlos was looking at him expectantly so he sighed and offered another question instead: “Do you ever think about running away?”

Carlos furrowed his brow, “From what?” 

“Just, everything. Family, people, all the chaos of everyday life. Do you ever think that maybe we could just go start fresh somewhere, just to two of us and leave all the mess behind?”

“What brought this on?” 

TK shrugged, “Nothing really. Just, my parents…” 

He trails off, not knowing what to say next, but he doesn’t need to. Carlos can read between the lines - this is far from the first time a shouting match between his parents has driven TK from the house in the past few months. He reaches across the counter to cover TK’s hands in his own, running his thumb over the back of them as TK continues, “it’s so stupid, it shouldn’t bother me this way.” 

“It’s not stupid,” Carlos reassures him firmly, “it’s actually perfectly reasonable. As for the running away bit, you know you’d miss them. Not to mention your team.” 

TK shoulders sag in defeat, knowing that Carlos is right. Carlos gives him a sad smile and leans closer, pressing a tender kiss to his forehead, “but you are always welcome here, no matter what. As often and as long as you want.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Carlos confirmed, a smile spreading across his face, “I know it might come as a shock after 4 months, but I kind of like having you around. I don’t give keys to just anyone, you know.” 

“Mateo is going to be so disappointed.” 

“Brat,” Carlos admonished even as he laughed. TK returned his grin and leaned in, pulling him into a deep and lingering kiss. When the pulled apart TK rested his forehead on Carlos’s, savoring the closeness. 

“Thank you,” he said softly, his words barely audible over the sound of their matching breaths. 

[read the whole collection on ao3]

[reyescarlos]

#30 from the Prompt list for Tarlos! Please :3

yesss, thank you for sending in a request! hope you like it!

#30 “I love you, okay? I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it.”

TK looks up at the sky, watching clouds drift lazily above him. This is truly a perfect day, his mind at ease in a way it always seems to be whenever he’s spending quality time with Carlos, the man who has had his heart for eleven months now. There may be other people around enjoying the warm weather too but everything outside the perimeter of the blanket they’re stretched out on now doesn’t affect him.

A Sunday picnic in the park is just one of the many simple pleasures in life that he’s been relishing in. The simplicity of being in Carlos’ company is a comfort, one that TK never takes for granted.

Carlos’ head is beside his own, his body facing the opposite direction. Carlos sighs heavily and TK turns his head to read his expression. The man looks pensive, brows furrowed slightly, his lips now pursed in thought as his gaze remains on the sky. TK lifts a hand and smooths one of Carlos’ brows with his index finger, coaxing him from his deep thoughts.

“Where’d you go?”

Carlos faces him then, a small smile on his lips though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. TK lowers his hand but Carlos takes a hold of it and clutches it to his chest.

“I’m right here with you.”

TK can’t help but to smile at the gesture, especially at the quickening thump of Carlos’ heart as the man peers over at him. Nothing seems to ground them more than physical touch; holding hands, hugging, a gentle squeeze. These little instances never fail to bring them back to base.

“Can I ask you something?” Carlos says.

There’s a note of hesitancy in the question that makes TK sit upright. Carlos very rarely sounds unsure of himself and if the look on his face now is any indicator, he appears to be truly nervous about whatever it is he intends to ask.

“Of course you can. What’s on your mind?”

Carlos falters for a fraction of a second before pushing through.

“It’s sort of about your relationship with Alex.”

The name comes out with some disdain. TK does his best to mask his surprise though he doesn’t think he’s doing a very good job of it. Carlos never mentions his ex and TK certainly hasn’t had any interest in thinking about the man, let alone bringing him up either.

“Oh? Um, sure. What about it?”

Carlos sighs and sits up too, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“I’m just wondering if that experience has spoiled your views on the subject of marriage.”

TK’s eyes widen and he tries to say something but comes up short. Things have been going perfectly for them since they made their relationship official. This is without a doubt the healthiest and most stable relationship TK has ever been in. To have such a connection to someone, especially on the heels of his last relationship, TK has been pinching himself over his luck.

He and Carlos always talk about loving each other forever but now that TK thinks on it now, they’ve never explicitly talked about it in terms of marriage. It just felt like a given.

He’d love nothing more than to always have this, to be this beside himself with joy and gratitude. In Carlos he’s found true love, one that doesn’t leave him feeling drained and yet still somehow as if he’s not enough. It’s the complete opposite of life with Alex and all the failed relationships that came before.

TK hadn’t been expecting Carlos to have marriage on his mind at this moment and he’s so stunned that he can’t even say anything.

Carlos cringes a bit at his silence and TK could just kick himself for it. But before he can clarify what his silence means, Carlos keeps talking.

“I’m not saying we’re there yet, of course. I know we haven’t even been together for a full year. But I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t easily picture that kind of future with you. And if, hopefully when, the time comes for us to actually reach that stage...I don’t know. I’ve never loved someone this deeply before.

“I don’t know if it’s too soon to even be talking like this. Or if I’m bringing up things you’d rather forget. All I know is that I always want us to be on the same page because I want a happy ending with you, TK, whatever that may look like for us.”

Carlos stops then and shakes his head. “This went a lot smoother in my head,” he jokes nervously. “Sorry for being all over the place.”

TK smiles softly. “You’re doing just fine, babe.”

Seemingly reassured, Carlos pulls in a long breath and nods before continuing.

“He was important to you. You loved him enough to want to make the ultimate commitment. But since things didn’t pan out as you would have hoped,” he says, a polite understatement TK thinks, “I’m curious if you’ve written off the idea of one day marrying someone.”

TK takes notice of the word someone but doesn’t press it. He can already see how vulnerable Carlos feels now even mentioning any of this. He supposes it may just make it easier for Carlos to discuss, phrasing it this way.

“Honestly, no, he hasn’t ruined the concept for me. I’ll admit, when it first happened, I didn’t see a way out of that hopeless feeling. I didn’t think I’d ever be ready to date again. Then you came along and proved me wrong.”

Carlos smiles faintly at this, placing a hand on TK’s knee.

“I’m not ruling anything out. My life has taken turns I never saw coming, some surprises much better than others,” he says, bumping his knee softly against Carlos’ with a smile. “But through it all, all those highs and lows, I’ve grown and I’ve changed.”

“So, you could see it in the cards for us?”

TK touches a hand to Carlos’ face, stroking his cheek.

“I could. Anytime I think about our future, it looks so damn bright to me...all of this potential. You make me the happiest I’ve ever been.”

It’s the honest truth. Each morning he wakes up grateful to have Carlos and on those particular mornings he sees Carlos in the spot beside him, he has to wonder how he’s even the same person that suffered so greatly in New York to be thriving so well in Austin.

“No has ever mattered to me this much. I know we’re in a good place with each other,” Carlos says. “ I don’t ever want to lose you or this feeling. And I know that’s a lot of pressure to put on someone, I know. I just had to put that out there.”

TK frowns. “You don’t ever have to worry about that sort of thing with me. I love you, okay? I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it. I’ll invent a whole new language just to find another way to tell you how in love with you I am, if that’s what it takes for the message to sink in,” he muses. “I don’t think I really knew what love could actually feel like until this.”

“Even with…,” Carlos trails off but TK can fill in the blanks easily.

“I’ve been realizing that what I had with him wasn’t actually love. Not in its truest form like what I have here with you, anyway. It took my life blowing up to find something real.”

TK looks off for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

“Proposing to him was a last-ditch effort to save a relationship that was so broken. I just couldn’t see it at the time...I didn’t want to, more like it. Things had been off between us for a while and I got this idea going that we just needed to be closer to fix it. I was holding on to something that I should have let go of. Loving him almost cost me everything.”

“It’s a scary thought, imagining what it’d be like if we never met. The love of my life was up in New York that whole time,” Carlos says softly. “It’s scary to think what we could have missed out on. More importantly that the world could have lost you.”

Carlos lets out a shaky breath. “I’m really glad you survived all of that. You’re the strongest person I know and I’m really, really proud of you, TK.”

TK feels his eyes stinging at the sentiment and he blinks back his tears. This isn’t something they talk about often, never mind so openly. But TK is glad for it now. As much as he hates the difficult parts of his past, it’s still a component of his present, something he’ll have to be mindful of his whole life.

But with the support of his loved ones and this man who has become his entire world, he feels confident about his successes on the road ahead.

Carlos looks down, picking at blades of grass at the blanket’s edge.

“I hate even the idea of you ever hurting but it brought you down here to me. Maybe that makes me a bad person, I don’t know. It’s selfish and so wrong to be glad that you got uprooted. I hate the circumstances but I’m glad for the result.”

TK smiles, taking Carlos’ face in his hands. He stares at him for a moment, watching the way the sunlight brings out the honey tones in his brown eyes. It’s enough to make TK melt.

His last few days in New York had been some of the harrowing and challenging days he’d ever faced. Happiness was such an abstract concept, something he didn’t think he’d ever be able to experience again. It made the unexpectedness of finding Carlos just that much more special.

“It’s not selfish and you, Carlos Reyes, are a remarkable person. I’ve never met anyone with a heart like yours. I’m glad for the second chance I got.”

He rests his forehead against Carlos’, kissing the tip of his nose, a hand cradling the nape of his neck.

“Any road that led here would have been worth it. It took a few tries but I know I’ve got it right this time. I want it all with you, Carlos. No doubts about it.”

[lonestarbabe]

Hey I’ve seen this talked about on other blogs before but I wish lone star had filler episodes with lighter content. I mean, I wish lone star had episodes like 911 does in between the dramatic and intense episodes where funny and silly plots happen. Lone star literally never has that. So far in season 2, we had the paramedic dying, Owen nearly dying in the crossover, TK/Nancy/Tommy kidnapped, Grace and Judd in a car accident, Mateo’s house burning down, an arsonist sets Carlos and TK’s house on fire with them nearly dying INSIDE OF IT, and now we have Charles dying I think for what???? (I still don’t like that storyline), and apparently there’s gonna be an active shooter in the hospital like wtf even is that? AND THEN in the last episode of the season, there’s gonna be a big huge dust storm or whatever. Do you see what I mean? It’s just too much tragedy. I’ve said this before, this isn’t a Shonda Rhimes production cut this shit out. In order for a tv show to be great, you don’t need to cram a million tragic things into one season or even each episode. It’s about the writing- if they actually took the time to properly plan out the character arcs for EVERY character not just Owen and the season 2 storyline as whole then maybe they wouldn’t need to cram so much crazy stuff into the season or each episode. Because the vibe I’m getting from the writers is that they feel the need to prove that they can write good dramatic moments to keep the audience hooked and interested in lone star. When that’s not what’s keeping us hooked. We are hooked because of the diverse characters you guys neglect in favor of Owen. We are hooked because sometimes you guys get it right (Tonya Kong im looking at you, queen) and give us episodes and moments that are SO good and character arcs that are SO good but for the most part, it’s not there in the show. I wish lone star would just realize that in order for the show to be good they don’t have to attack us with tragic plot lines and so many dramatic moments. It’s ok to sprinkle in some lighthearted moments. And we HAVE gotten that - like TK and Carlos moving in together scene and also that scene of the guys cheering on Marjan at roller derby. We get these short moments but I want entire episodes of this sweet and lighthearted moments. We never get that and I feel that if we did, it would be a nice breather from the constant dramatic stuff that is season 2. Maybe the writers thought they didn’t have enough of that in S1 and wanted to show that they can ‘go there’ and write dramatic stuff but it’s just a lot lol and I KNOW this is a drama show so there’s gonna be dramatic moments of course but damn it just feels like it’s nonstop and the characters themselves never even have time to breathe because there’s something bad that’s happening to them each following episode after the next, like some weird cycle of tragedy that never ends. There are some lighthearted moments but honestly I could count them all on one hand probably and they’re always overshadowed by something intense and tragic happening afterward. I like the show and I’m not trying to tell the writers how to do their job of course but I mean they could lay off of piling on so much tragedy and it wouldn’t hurt to not have the characters always dying or crying or having emotional breakdowns like that’s not even asking for much. It’s a drama show, of course, but I hope you get what I mean

You’re spot on with everything you’ve said!! I feel like Lone Star’s storytelling elements are often tacky and fail to create the emotional weight that they could. They offer storylines that could be highly emotional, but they end them before they can build the emotions and show the lasting impacts. All of this is probably shadowed by the fact that I love seeing the ramifications of tragedy more than the tragedy itself, but I think this issue does go beyond my personal preferences because stories need resolutions, and I think they usually rush those portions of their stories!

This is something I have definitely complained about to various people haha, so I get exactly what you mean. With all the drama they keep trying to force in to create excitement, they’re missing out on important character development moments. The characters never have a chance to be impacted by what happens to them because they’re always just moving on to the next disaster without any buffer. Andddd yeahhhh, it feels way too much like Shondaland for my liking. The shooter thing could very much be an episode of Grey’s Anatomy lol because they pull those shenanigans all the time. 

And the thing about drama shows is that good ones don’t rely on putting as many dramatic plots as they can into the show. Instead, they show how events impact characters and they build up the character responses as a way of showing character development; that’s my view at least. I hate drama for the sake of drama, and if it doesn’t have greater consequence for the overall storytelling, then what’s the point?

Additionally, the comedic moments and the crazy emergencies are such a major marker of the show, and when they keep having these major dramas, they’re not leaving time for those moments that are so inherent to the show’s tone. Thus, the episodes don’t always feel fully satisfying as a collection of episodes. They feel choppy, and I really need some time to process the tragedy because having tragedy after tragedy isn’t the best writing. It’s so much like a soap opera, and I love a good soap opera, but that’s not what I want from this show lol.

They have so many good characters that they don’t need to fabricate drama to make them compelling. I always say that there’s so much interest in even the most basic of activities if those moments are written well (Tonya Kong please come help us and give us the moments we adore). For example, when the one true crew was playing games together, it wasn’t that BIG of a moment in the action department, but it was also one of the best of that episode. Or Marjan’s whole storyline wasn’t over the top, but it was compelling. A scene with Tarlos doing something as simple as grocery shopping could, in theory, be just as satisfying as the convoluted and complex storylines.’=

There’s just so much more they could do with the characters, and if they took some buffer episodes, they could have more time to develop the characters because when you don’t have to build up a huge plot and show the viewer all those details, you can focus on showing the details of the characters and their arcs. When plots become too complicated, something has to give, so I think they need to find a balance with their plots so that every episode isn’t building a big plotline, and then by the next episode, they’re having to rebuild that plotline up without much room for showing the reactions of the characters to trauma. 

[bluenet13]

Last Line Tag

Thanks @ravens-words for the tag!

From a story spanning most of season 1 (possibly also 2), showing various Tarlos missing moments:

“Thank you,” T.K. responded this time around, looking up from his knees to stare at Carlos with a teary smile.

“Anytime,” Carlos promised, smiling to himself when T.K. leaned sideways until his head came to rest on his shoulder.

“Do you want to stay here tonight?” Carlos asked after a while, “I can take the couch if you want.”

“No, I mean, thank you. But I need to go to my dad,” T.K. explained, “but can we just stay like this for a little while longer?”

“For however long you want, T.K.”

From Bingo Square #14, featuring Tarlos and the paramedics crew, plus a side of the dream team that's Owen and Gabriel:

Each fear and doubt expanding its roots and taking hold of his heart until TK was convinced that he would never again be in the presence of his boyfriend and crew.

From story #3 in my new prompts collection, taking place when TK was shot:

So, Carlos had spent the whole night doing some fidgeting and bouncing of his own, his nerves and emotions on edge, making sleep elusive. His own mind creating its own storm as he constantly fought the desire to reach out and touch TK, not wanting to take advantage of the man, or fool his hopeful heart into believing they were more.

From a Chicago Fire story that I'll hopefully finish someday for another BTHB square:

It wasn’t until a month and a half after Casey had gotten hurt that he was finally ready to return to work. His injuries had healed after three weeks, but his lungs had needed an additional seven days, and his arm about three weeks of pt. But the day eventually came on a quiet Monday morning, with the whole firehouse cheering and clapping as soon as captain Matthew Casey stepped into the briefing room.

All of these will probably change in some form or another before I end up posting these stories but this is what they look like now.

Tagging @chicgeekgirl89 @ejzah @wanna-be-bold

[howtosingit]

Fic: when the world’s on fire, all i need is you

Concerned about his lack of culinary experience, Carlos teaches TK how to make fajitas.

*

A missing moment from 1x06.

1.7K | Also on AO3

- - - - -

Carlos stands in front of his refrigerator, staring inside and having no idea what he wants to make for dinner. 

He’s glad to have the night off at home, but ever since TK texted him to unexpectedly cancel their evening plans, he’s been wandering aimlessly around his apartment, trying to find things to keep himself busy. Unfortunately, he only has so much dirty laundry, and living alone means that his place is already pretty clean.

It’s not that he feels like he has nothing to do without TK around, it’s just that… Well, they’ve been spending a lot of time together - as friends - and he looks forward to the few nights that the both have off work. Tonight, they had planned a whole cooking lesson, with Carlos showing TK how to make chicken fajitas. Ever since he found out about TK’s limited culinary experience, Carlos has taken it upon himself to ensure that the man knows how to at least cook a few easy recipes for himself. They’ve spent many nights in his kitchen, music playing low as they circle around one another, making dinner together.

He’s not upset that TK cancelled on him; from his texts, he gathers that something came up with his dad at work. Carlos had offered any help that his friend might need, or at the very least his presence, but TK hadn’t responded to his messages. He’s trying not to worry too much; last he’d heard, Captain Strand’s treatments had been going as well as they could expect. In the past few weeks, TK has even seemed a little lighter, like a heavy weight has been lifted from his shoulders, if only a bit. 

With a sigh, Carlos reaches into his fridge to grab the chicken and peppers, deciding that he might as well have the dinner that he’d planned, even if he’ll be having it alone. He turns on some music, prepping his work station, and has just started to slice the chicken into strips when there’s a knock at his door.

He looks up, wondering who in the world could be here to see him. A glance down at his phone shows no missed calls or messages, and everyone that might visit typically lets him know when they’re coming over. He puts down his knife, quickly washing his hands at the sink before moving towards the door and pulling it open.

“Hey,” TK says, standing on his front step with his hands hidden in the front pocket of his hoodie.

“TK,” Carlos says, his surprise clear in his tone. “Hey.”

“Sorry I’m late,” the other man apologizes, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, “but I was hoping dinner might still be on the table?”

Carlos scans his face, trying to get a read on what exactly TK might be thinking. Based on his texts, he wasn’t expecting to see him this evening, and he can’t tell if TK being here is good news or bad news. 

“I actually just started,” he finally responds, opening the door a little wider, “and I’d love an assistant.”

TK smiles, his face morphing into a grateful expression as he steps across the threshold and into the apartment. Carlos follows him over to the kitchen, wondering if he should ask about TK’s day, or if it’s better to wait until TK offers something. There’s soft music in the background, the only sound breaking the somewhat tense silence between them as TK washes his hands at the sink.

“So, MasterChef Reyes,” TK jokes, turning to face him, “where do you need me?”

Carlos stares at him for a moment, noticing how the other man is avoiding eye contact and fiddling with the sting of his hoodie. It’s clear that TK’s in need of a distraction, and he is more than happy to provide him with one.

“Okay,” Carlos nods, turning back to his workstation. “So, I’ve been cutting the chicken into strips, and then I’m going to cook them. While I do that, you can start cutting the peppers and onions.”

“Yes, sir,” TK teases, coming over to stand at his side and nudging him gently. Carlos briefly shows TK how he wants the vegetables cut, then goes back to his chicken. When he’s finished, he carries his cutting board over to the stove, turning on the heat and adding oil before tossing the chicken in and adding all of his spices and seasonings. 

His mind races with a possible conversation starter, anything that might pull them out of this awkward silence that exists between them, but following his quiet day at work, nothing really comes to mind. He’s just begun to hum along to the music under his breath, hoping that might fill some of the void left by their lack of conversation, when he hears the sound of forceful chopping behind him.

He turns to find TK huffing heavily over the cutting board, the knife in his hand a newfound weapon as he slices into the onion in front of him. Carlos watches him for a moment, taking in the tense set of his shoulders and the way his head is bowed over the counter, hiding his face from view. It’s only when his fear of a possible injury outweighs his desire to let TK destress in his own way that Carlos steps forward.

“Hey, hey, be careful,” he says calmly, his right hand coming up to grip TK’s weapon-wielding arm as his left arm circles around his waist to press against TK’s hip. “No one needs to lose a finger tonight,” he jokes quietly, guiding the knife down to the board, where TK finally releases it.

“You want to tell me whose face you were picturing on that cutting board?” Carlos hedges when TK doesn’t speak. Instead, the man presses his palms into the counter, his breathing heavy and his eyes wet - whether from the onion that he was just cutting or something else, Carlos can’t tell. 

“Fuck!” TK cries, pushing away from the counter and Carlos to pace on the other side of the island, near the table. He runs his hands through his hair, clearly agitated, as he turns and faces Carlos. “I’m so sorry, Carlos, I’m not trying to ruin your night, it’s just…”

He trails off, throwing his hands into the air. Carlos hasn’t seen him this frustrated since he cooked him dinner all of those months ago and then watched as TK stormed out of his apartment into the night.

He would give anything for that to not happen again.

“TK, it’s fine, you don’t have to apologize,” Carlos says gently, backing up to turn the heat down on the chicken before circling around to join TK on the other side of the counter. “Just, tell me what’s wrong. Let me help, I want to help.”

TK stares at him for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth between Carlos’s own, almost like he’s weighing his ways forward. Then, with a nod, he steps closer, his shoulders dropping as he lets out a deep breath.

“My dad’s gonna lose his job,” TK says, his voice shaky.

Carlos’s eyes widen, and he instinctively reaches out to take TK’s hand, the other man gripping him tightly. “What?” he asks, sure he must’ve misheard.

“Judd introduced my dad to this fire captain buddy of his,” TK explains, an edge of anger in his voice now, “and my dad started spending time with him. He revealed all these things, including his cancer diagnosis. Turns out, the guy actually wants to take his job, so he turned him into the chief.”

“Shit,” Carlos breathes, his mind racing with all of this new information. 

“Yeah,” TK agrees, nodding as he clenches his jaw. “So now he’s got to take the CPAT in full gear or they’ll replace him.”

He pulls away again, letting out a frustrated groan. 

“Why is it that every single time I feel like I’m finally finding my footing in this place, something comes along to fuck it all up?” he cries, his voice thin as he drops down into a chair at the table. “Every time I start to get a really good look at things, to start to understand them, they shift and I’m just left trying to figure out where I am and what I’m supposed to do.”

“Hey,” Carlos says soothingly, coming up behind TK. Before he can think too hard about it, he bends over to give him a hug from behind, wrapping his arms around the firefighter’s shoulders as he presses their faces together. “It’s going to be okay, TK.”

“You don’t know that, Carlos,” TK says in defeat. He reaches up to run his palms along Carlos’s forearms, gripping his wrists tightly.

“Yeah, I guess I don’t,” Carlos admits, ducking his head to press his chin against TK’s shoulder. “But I do know that no matter how crazy things get, you are surrounded by an army of people who want to help you. So, be there for you dad. Do whatever you need to do to get him through this, but let others help you when you need it, okay?”

There’s a pause before TK turns to look at him, their faces close as their eyes lock. 

“Even you?”

Carlos sucks in a breath, a small smile pulling at his lips.

“All you have to do is ask, Ty. I’m right here, always.”

TK nods, his eyes shining as he presses their foreheads together. For Carlos, this moment seems completely outside of their normal friendly behavior, the lines blurring more and more as the seconds pass, but he can’t bring himself to pull away. He wants this, more than he’s ever wanted anything, so if TK’s willing to let him, he’s going to stay by his side for as long as he can.

The moment is finally broken by the sound of TK’s stomach rumbling, reminding them of the half-cooked dinner waiting for them in the kitchen. They both pull away, laughing softly. 

“C’mon,” Carlos says, holding out his hand. “Let’s make sure I haven’t burned the chicken.”

“I’ll forgive you if you have,” TK says, his tone light as he takes Carlos’s hand, rising from the chair. “Nobody’s perfect after all.”

Carlos laughs, shoving him away as he moves over to the stove. TK follows behind him, pressing up against his side to listen to his instructions, the small smile resting on his lips a far cry from his cloudy countenance when he first arrived.

The music plays on around them, keeping the roaring fire of their unexpected futures at bay for just a little longer.

[howtosingit]

Fic: this space between us is weighing me down

Carlos finds out about TK’s life-threatening incident.

*

A missing moment from 1x08.

1.4K | Also on AO3

- - - - - -

It’s actually Paul who texts him. 

He’d been driving the Ackermans back home when he heard the call from dispatch, a report of shots fired at the location that he’d just left. Two other officers were already on the scene - the ones who had originally been called to the Crump’s house before he had unexpectedly come across Mrs. Ackerman and the two calls had converged. They’d agreed that Carlos should get the Ackermans home as soon as possible, for Mr. Ackerman’s safety, so he’d briefly watched the 126 gather their gear before he’d pulled away. 

And now, gunshots.

He waits with bated breath, listening for the call for backup, wondering if he should just turn around. He looks in the rearview mirror, taking in the distressed state of both of his backseat passengers. Carlos doesn’t want to take them back there, knowing that it could very well be another trigger for Mr. Ackerman. He turns to his partner, opening his mouth to ask what she thinks they should do, but before he can speak, the radio crackles to life again.

“Scene is secure, no backup required. Dispatch, alert the nearest hospital that we have an incoming adult male gunshot victim, through and through to the left shoulder.”

Carlos’s heart pounds in his chest, but he refuses to let himself consider the worst. There were so many people on the scene, and while he likes everyone that he’s met from the 126 and would hate to see any of them hurt, he can’t be sure that the victim is one of them. He really, really can’t be sure that it’s the one person he needs it to not be.

It takes another 40 minutes before he gets the text.

He’s at his desk, filing his report for the evening, his mind struggling to make sense of the truly bizarre sequence of events. He glances down at his phone, sighing at the confirmation that he still has a few hours left of his shift. Carlos rubs at his tired eyes, reaching over to grab his coffee from the corner of his desk, and hears his phone vibrate next to him.

It’s a text from Paul, and the message causes him to freeze, the blood draining from his face as a cold shiver runs through him. 

Hey, man. TK’s in surgery right now at St. David’s North. It’s looking pretty bad, so I thought you’d want to know.

The words roll through him, churning into a destructive storm in the pit of his stomach. His eyes prickle with the threat of tears, and he grips the edge of his desk tightly, trying to control his emotions. His breathing is shallow, the air pushing painfully through his lungs, and the room begins to spin slowly around him. He closes his eyes, trying to make it all stop.

He’s at work, he’s in the middle of a shift, and he cannot afford to freak out right now.

Somewhere beneath it all, he feels this huge onslaught of guilt and regret. 

It’s been four days since TK had come over and they’d gone for a run. Four days since his grief over losing Iris again caused him to step over the line that he had so firmly drawn and kiss TK. Four days since he and TK had last spoken to one another.

It’s his fault, the silence. TK has acknowledged him on pretty much every call they’ve responded to, his mouth pulled into a thin line as he waved across the scene. Carlos always waved back, hoping that his own expression might convey everything that he has yet to say. TK always responds with a nod, as if he understands that Carlos just needs time.

Time that he might no longer have, now that TK is fighting for more.

Carlos thinks back to the past few nights, sitting on his couch with his phone in his hand, his fingers hovering over TK’s number, daring himself to call the other man. He wanted to reach out, to be near TK again, to talk to him and touch him and make things right. But, every time he came close, the guilt would overwhelm him, and he’d decide that the right thing to do was to give TK space. 

The truth is, there’s a chasm between them, and it’s one of his own making.

More than anything, he wants to drive to the hospital right this minute and be by TK’s side. He wants to hold him and kiss him and tell him how sorry he is for pushing him away. He wants to tell TK that, while he knows things will be messy and hard and scary, that he wants all of that if it means that he gets to have him, too. 

He just wants to be with him, no matter what.

The reality is, he can’t leave. There’s three hours left of his shift, and his sergeant won’t just let him leave for a person who, to an outsider, is just a one-time hookup-turned-friend. Besides, if TK is in surgery for a gunshot wound to his shoulder, there’s no telling how long it’ll be before he can have visitors.

So, Carlos stays where he is, trapped at his desk with his heart somewhere inside St. David’s North Medical Center, miles away from the precinct.

The rest of his shift passes in a blur, with him pushing paperwork and filling out a number of forms that all begin to look the same after a few hours.

When he finally clocks out, locking up his desk and grabbing his keys, he doesn’t even hesitate before driving in the direction of the hospital. Paul had updated him on TK’s condition only a few minutes ago, letting him know that he’d made it out of surgery, but that his blood loss had been a major concern for the doctors. They’d apparently repaired the firefighter’s collapsed lung, but currently had no idea what kind of long-term damage may have happened to his brain before they were able to get him into surgery.

Paul doesn’t say it directly, but Carlos knows how to read between the lines, all too familiar with the dangers of blood loss from a gunshot wound. 

His heart refuses to believe that he’s spoken to TK for the last time, even when his brain tries to prepare for the possibility.

Carlos angrily wipes away the tears on his cheeks as he makes his way down the halls of St. David’s, the bright fluorescent hospital lights giving him no shadows to hide in. Nurses and doctors pass by, some looking worried as they stare up at him. He’s sure he’s quite a sight to see: a police officer on the edge of losing it. 

He can’t be bothered by their concern.

The moment he spots TK’s pale face resting against the pillow, he nearly lets out an anguished cry, his feet stopping in the doorway of the room. He swallows down the sudden urge to vomit, his stomach rolling around like a monster that refuses to be tamed. 

Captain Strand finally spots him, inviting him inside. Carlos responds, the polite lie coming after years and years of conditioning, though he can’t stop the way his breath hitches. His brain screams at him to run towards TK, to hold him tight and never let him go, but he pushes that thought down. He can’t lose it, not now that he’s so close.

TK’s dad passes him, resting a comforting hand on his neck. He wants to say something, possibly thank you or I’m sorry or something else that feels equally inadequate, but he doesn’t. Now that the room has been cleared for him, all he wants to do is be with TK.

He moves slowly towards the bed, taking in TK’s stillness. It’s not a trait that he associates with the other man, and it takes a moment for his brain to reconcile the person before him with the man that he’s known for months. 

Seated by the bed, he hesitates only a moment before reaching out, his fingers dancing across TK’s knuckles where his hand lays near his hip. He lets out a breath, the sound stuttering through him, as he drags his palm up TK’s forearm to gently grip his elbow, feeling the faint pulse of blood coursing through his veins. 

Another tear falls, but this time Carlos ignores it, his vision blurring as he stares at the blank face of the man in front of him. 

The man who holds him in his orbit, the man Carlos is pretty sure he won’t be able to handle losing.

The man he’s falling in love with.

It’s the closest they’ve been in days, and yet they’ve never felt farther apart.

[howtosingit]

Series Masterlist -- more time with you: a tarlos missing moments collection

Missing moments from 9-1-1: Lone Star, featuring Carlos Reyes and TK Strand.

Series on AO3

⭑

season one

episode one: can’t take my eyes off of you - 1.2K Carlos Reyes is thrown by the arrival of a new firefighter in Austin.

episode two: you make me breathe so heavily - 1.5K Rolling off the couch onto the floor does nothing to douse the fire between them.

episode three: don’t wanna lose me, don’t wanna lose you - 1.7K Carlos drives TK home after their date.

episode four: shatter every window ‘til it’s all blown away - 2.1K Carlos visits family in San Antonio while TK faces multiple storms in Austin.

episode five: i'll be there for you, ‘cause you’re there for me too - 1.9K Following her accident, Carlos worries about Michelle. Luckily, he has TK at his side.

episode six: when the world’s on fire, all i need is you - 1.7K Concerned about his lack of culinary experience, Carlos teaches TK how to make fajitas.

episode seven: the crash and the fall and you there through it all - 2.3K Carlos faces the loss of Iris Blake for the second time in three years.

episode eight: this space between us is weighing me down - 1.4K Carlos finds out about TK’s life-threatening incident.

episode nine: i long to hear the sound of you again - 1.5K Carlos throws himself into work.

episode ten: under haunted skies i see you - 1.7K In the eye of a solar storm, Carlos and TK share a quiet moment.

⭑