#tarlosweeklyprompt

[tarlosweeklyprompts]

i do then, i do now, i do forever

Hello and welcome to the first event of 2024 hosted by Tarlos Weekly Prompts. This even focuses on the 1 year wedding anniversary of TK and Carlos! Their anniversary is 5/16/23 (that's the day the show aired and until we get told otherwise is the date I will be using for the anniversary).

This event will run until May 16th. All things created for the event needs to be posted by then and will (hopefully) be added to a masterlist that can be reblogged. There will be a variety of prompts to choice from for the event (listed below). As always, if you have any questions please ask me! I hope everyone has fun with this!

Let's go over some rules first which are more or less the same as they always are for this blog.

Accepted works: fic's, moldboards, fanart, gifs

All works need to be new works.

All works need to be Tarlos centric

All works need to be properly tagged.

All work needs to be posted by 5 p.m. est time on May 16, 2024

Tag the blog (@tarlosweeklyprompts ) I'm tracking the tag #idotarlosevent

and now what you guys really want....

~Prompts~

listed under the cut are 15 different prompts that you can pick from

First Anniversary - what happens? who plans it? do they both plan it? does one plan a surprise?

"How could you forget our anniversary?" "Because every day feels like our anniversary with you."

Honeymoon Part 2 - for their first anniversary TK and Carlos go on a trip together

TK and Carlos sit down for the day to talk about what they've learned throughout being married for a year.

Revisiting conversations - TK brings up wanting to have kids again.

"I loved you then. I love you now. I love you forever."

"I didn't forget, I was just waiting to surprise you."

Vow renewal

The 126 throws a surprise party for the couple.

"I do, forever, want to be your husband. That hasn't changed in the year that we've been married."

TK and Carlos redo their honeymoon

"I hope it's okay that this is the first year of forever."

"You're always going to be my greatest adventure."

"Every day I realize more and more that you're the one that I want and nothing will change my mind about that - not even this."

"Why is that in my house?"

[fangirl-paba]

“I loved you then. I love you now. I love you forever”

Happy Anniversary #Tarlos!

From strangers to Husbands. What a journey it has been.

May you be happy together and in love with each other forever ❤️

[carlosandhistwinktk]

WIP WEDNESDAY

“You're no good for me

But baby, I want you, I want you”

On their honeymoon, newlyweds Tk and Carlos were supposed to bask in the bliss of their love, yet an unsettling shadow loomed over them. Just weeks after their wedding, they were grappling with the loss of Carlos’s father, a tragedy that left a profound impact on him. In an effort to distract himself, Carlos threw himself into overprotective, smothering Tk with attention and concern.

While strolling through the vibrant market of their honeymoon destination, Carlos’s unease escalated when he spotted a tall, blond visitor laughing casually. The young man exuded an effortless charm, which only served to fuel Carlos’s paranoia.

“Why are you acting so crazy lately? Babe, I know you’re going through it; I have too, and I’m going through it with you, but this is too far!” Tk’s voice was filled with frustration—a mix of love and desperation.

“Too far?! Tk, that guy could have done anything to you! He could’ve roofied you, kidnapped you, or shot you, and I wouldn’t have been there to—”

“It doesn’t matter, Carlos! You’re letting it consume you, and I’m right here!” Tk shot back, his heart aching for both their struggles.

[detective-giggles]

Friendly Fire

lol, okay so I’m using this as a double-fill. @noxsoulmate picked “bruises” from my BTHB card, and this is also filling the TWP Pride prompt of: AU where they meet playing in an lgbt sports league.   This is my first time writing a meet-ugly, meet-cutes are kinda my thing. Also, I played fast and loose with the timeline.

***

TK sighs. “I don’t know, Paul. It sounds kind of awful.”

“What? Like you have other plans?”

TK scowls, tapping at his phone. He knew that in an attempt to meet people in his new hometown, Paul had found an LGBT sports league and signed up for a flag-football team. TK, on the other hand, had simply decided not to meet new people.

“Please. We just need someone to fill in for a few games until James gets back on their feet. If we don’t have enough people to play, we get disqualified. Please.”

“Yeah, okay. But you have to buy me a drink after,” TK relents. 

Paul cheers, “There’s a boba place near the field! Anything you want!” He comes around the back of the sofa and leans in, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “And maybe you’ll meet someone while we’re there.”

“You’re not making this sound any better!” TK calls after him.

***

“I feel like I’m going to be awful at this,” TK mutters.  Paul hands him a little elastic belt with some bright yellow flags drifting down from each side. TK watches as Paul clips on his own little belt and then grabs a football off the bench.

“Come on. Let’s throw a few before the game starts.”

TK rolls his eyes; tossing the ball around now won’t do anything except guarantee his arm will be too tired to throw later, but he acquiesces and follows his friend to the middle of the field, where other players are stretching and warming up. They take turns throwing the ball back and forth, trying to get into a rhythm before the game starts.

Paul throws one a little too hard, and TK curses, jogging backward, his hand raised, in an attempt to catch it. He hears a little commotion behind him, and his body slams into something solid- as does his elbow.

The football hits the ground next to him with a sad thump. TK whirls around and sees someone on the ground, his hand covering his face.

“Oh my god,” TK exclaims. “I am so, so sorry. Are you hurt?”

Paul jogs over. “Carlos, are you okay?”

“I- maybe?” Carlos pulls his hand away from his face and grimaces when he realizes it’s covered in blood.  

“Here,” TK holds out his hand. Carlos takes TK’s hand in his clean one and allows TK to pull him off the ground. He makes his way to the bench with TK following a short distance behind.  Paul hands him a towel, and he immediately puts it on his nose and groans as he tips his head back.

“Go find us some ice?” TK asks Paul. Paul nods and jogs away. TK slips a hand behind Carlos’ head. “Hey, keep your head up.”

“Huh?” Carlos grumbles and gives him a look but obeys and settles upright again.

“You’re not actually supposed to tip your- never mind.” TK is pretty sure Carlos is glaring at him, but it’s kind of hard to tell, with his face mostly covered.  “Can I take a look?”

“Is that really such a good idea?” Carlos asks, but he pulls the towel away and drops his hands into his lap.

Carlos hisses as TK pokes at his face but otherwise stays silent. “It’s not broken,” TK says finally. “You’ll have a pretty nasty bruise, though.”  He reaches for the towel, but Carlos snatches his hand away and brings the towel back to his face. 

“Well, thank you, Doctor.”

“Uh, firefighter, actually,” TK murmurs. “But I’m dual-certified as a paramedic.” 

Paul returns with a small bag of ice a few moments later, and TK takes it from him, attempting to place the bag on Carlos’ face.

“I’ve got it,” Carlos snaps, taking the bag from TK and holding it to his nose. “I think you’ve done enough.”

TK’s face heats up, and he steps back slowly, turning to Paul, “I should go. I really am sorry,” he adds, turning back to Carlos before walking off the field.

***

“Strand, you have a visitor,” Marjan calls. “He’s in here.”

TK looks up from his spot on the sofa and sees Carlos, in full APD uniform, trailing shortly behind. 

“You taking after your dad and punching cops?” Mateo laughs.

“I didn’t know he was a cop!” TK hisses, “And I didn’t punch him.” 

He jumps up and hurries over, pausing in front of Carlos. Even with Carlos’ swollen cheek and the bruise forming underneath his eye, he’s still the most handsome man TK has ever seen.

“I’m sorry about your face,” he blurts out.

“I’m sorry,” Carlos says simultaneously.

“Wait, what?” TK asks.

“I’m sorry,” Carlos repeats. “About yesterday.”

“Wait. I crashed into you, and you’re apologizing to me?” 

Carlos chuckles and winces. “Yeah, I suppose I am. I was in pain, but that’s not an excuse to have snapped at you. You didn’t do it on purpose, and you were just trying to help.” 

“This conversation isn’t going at all how I thought it would,” TK laughs.

“And you were right; nothing is broken. Just my ego is bruised.”

“And your face,” Paul teases.

“Right,” Carlos mutters. They stand in an awkward silence for a few moments before Carlos speaks up. “So, um, does Mr. Dual-Certified have a name?”

“TK. TK Strand,” he holds out his hand, and Carlos gives him a firm handshake.

“Well, TK Strand, maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, I’ll be…around.”

“Just maybe not on the football field?” Carlos says.  “But, if you wanted to come to watch a football game… Paul could probably tell you when we’re playing next.”

TK grins bashfully and nods, “Sounds good; I’ll be there.”

“Great,” Carlos says goodbye to Paul and then turns to leave.

Paul nudges TK hard, and he stumbles forward. “Maybe afterward, I could buy you dinner or something? As an apology.” 

“Yeah. Or maybe that could just be, like, a regular dinner, and we never bring this up again?” He says, gesturing to his face.

“Deal. It never happened.”

“Okay, see you there.”  

Paul and TK watch, and Carlos gives a little wave as he exits the firehouse. TK turns to see Paul looking smug. 

“I told you it was going to be awful,” TK says. “And it was.”

“And I told you that you were going to meet someone,” Paul points out.

“That doesn’t make it better! Wait, Paul… did you do this on purpose?”

Paul shakes his head and makes his way towards the staircase. 

“Paul? Did you? Paul!” Paul just shrugs as TK follows him up the stairs.

taglist: @sanjuwrites, @chaotictarlos @noxsoulmate @meditating-honey-badger @plaidbooks

[chicgeekgirl89]

I Get it From You

Fandom: 911 Lone Star

Characters: Carlos Reyes, T.K. Strand, Andrea Reyes, Gabriel Reyes, Lexi Mitchell, OC Cousin Adriana

Rating: K

For @tarlosweeklyprompts Prompt #2: 5+1 of habits that Carlos picked up from TK and 1 that TK got from Carlos. 

A/N: I may have played a little fast and loose with it, but 🤷‍♀️.

Read on AO3

Charm

“I noticed you started wearing this recently,” Andrea says, reaching out to finger the tiny cross hanging around his neck. “It’s pretty.”

“Thanks,” Carlos says a little numbly, eyes trained on T.K.’s nearly frozen, lifeless form. 

“You’ve never been much of a jewelry person,” Andrea says, her unasked question hanging in the air between them. 

“T.K. wears a medallion around his neck,” he tells her.

“I’ve seen it,” Andrea says. “With his number from New York on it.”

Carlos nods. “He says it reminds him that he’s part of something bigger. That he’s got people to watch his back. That being on that crew probably saved his life, because even when he was…” Carlos hesitates, remembering that his mom doesn’t fully know how deep T.K.’s struggles with addiction have gone. “Even when he was struggling, he knew he had a responsibility to be there and help people. He never takes it off.”

“A good reminder of the support he has, then and now,” she says softly.

Carlos reaches up and brushes his fingers over the cross. “After the fire…everything was just so hard. I felt lost, I was kind of spiraling and one day we were out trying to replace stuff and I saw this and I felt like it kind of called to me. It reminds me where I come from. That I have roots, and a purpose.” He looks up and gives her a wan smile. “That’s probably a less religious answer than you were hoping for.”

She shakes her head, leaning forward to cup his cheek. “It’s a perfect answer.”

Pizza

“Oh my god. What the actual fuck are you doing to that pizza?”

Carlos freezes, pizza halfway to his mouth. “Eating it?” he says in confusion.

Adriana looks at him like he’s crazy. “Eating it? You’re murdering it!”

He looks down to see that he’s mindlessly folded the slice in half. “Mind your own business.”

“Um, you turning a delicious slice of Texas’ finest into that hot mess is my business.”

“How about I eat the pizza I bought and paid for and planned to eat by myself tonight however I want and you shut up?”

“Where did you even learn to do that?” she persists. “I’ve never seen you do that before.”

“It’s how T.K. eats his. It’s a New York thing. I must have picked it up from him.”

“Well can you send it back where it belongs? You look ridiculous.”

He starts to pull the pizza box away from her but she grabs on. “No! Okay! I’m sorry! You can commit pizza homicide all you want!”

He rolls his eyes and lets the box go. “It was so nice and quiet before you showed up here unannounced.”

“You’re welcome, by the way, for saving you from that sad loneliness. Where’s T.K.?”” Adriana asks around a mouthful of cheese and peppers. 

“He has a shift.”

She nods in understanding. “Down at Hunk-O-Mania. Gotta get his last dances in before you two get hitched. Nobody wants a lap dance from a guy with a ring on his finger.”

“It is unbelievable that you think that joke is still funny after like three years,” Carlos tells her with a glare.

“God he and Magic Mike both hanging up their tear away pants in the same year,” she says with fake wistfulness. “The stripping world is losing two of its greats.”

“Don’t ever show up here uninvited again.”

Schmutz

“God I love this place,” Lexi says as she bites into a donut. “I will admit I thought gourmet donuts were a stupid idea, but I have seen the light.”

Carlos breaks off a piece of his matcha donut and nods in agreement. “Have you had their mocha one? That’s T.K.’s favorite. They had that lavender one too, a couple weeks ago and it blew my mind.”

“I would usually say flowers and donuts do not go together, but after this?” she holds up the orange cream donut that’s half gone already. “I’m willing to try it.”

They end up cramming their remaining donuts down as fast as they can when a call comes in and they have to go break up some fighting parents at a high school basketball game. It’s nasty and several people have to get seen by EMT’s for bloody noses and black eyes, but no one ends up pressing charges, so they head back to the station to do paperwork before their shift ends.

“You’ve got some donut schmutz on your collar,” Carlos tells her when they get inside and the harsh florescent lighting of the station illuminates them both.

She raises an eyebrow. “Some what?”

“Schmutz,” Carlos says. “It’s like…dirt. Mess.” 

“Somebody’s been hanging out with their fiancé too much,” she tells him with a laugh as she reaches for a tissue to wipe off her uniform. “Are you headed home to cook up a brisket tonight too? Going to hail a cab to get you there?”

“Shut up,” Carlos says, feeling his face redden. 

“Are you going to stop smiling at people in the store too? And start cutting people off in traffic?”

“Oh my god stop.”

“T.K.’s east coast ways have rubbed right off on you. I would have thought the Texas blood ran deeper than that. Oh god,” she puts on a fake horrified look, “do you think Chipotle is real Tex-Mex now?”

He shoots her a glare. “Don’t you have paperwork to do?”

“I’m teasing Reyes,” she tells him. “I think it’s nice actually. Being with the right person should change you a little. And you and T.K. have changed each other in all the right ways.”

She sends him a smile and starts on the pile on her desk, leaving Carlos to contemplate the warm glow her words have put into his chest.

Team

“Carlitos, thank you for coming on such short notice,” Andrea says when Carlos steps through the front door of his parents’ house.

“No problem,” Carlos says. “Sorry to hear Frankie is sick.”

One of their ranch hands had called out unexpectedly and Carlos was a quick and easy replacement. It wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind for his day off, but family duty wasn’t something he ignored if he could help it. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s out back,” Andrea tells him. “I texted him and told him to come up to the house. He’ll be here any minute.”

Carlos shrugs out of his jacket and hangs it on a peg by the door before turning around to give his mom a hug. Andrea’s face immediately drops and she sighs. “Oh Carlitos.”

“What?” he asks, confused by her bizarre response.

She shakes her head. “You’re wearing a Mets shirt.”

“Yeah, I think T.K. brought it back from New York the last time he went out to see Jonah,” Carlos says, glancing down at the offending blue t-shirt.

“Carlos, you know how your father feels.”

“It’s a shirt Mom. It’s what I had on when you called.”

“You couldn’t have taken a few minutes to change?”

“You made it sound kind of urgent,” Carlos says in annoyance.

The back door opens and Gabriel walks in, a smile on his face. As soon as he catches sight of Carlos he sours immediately. “What are you wearing?”

“A t-shirt that my fiancé gave me,” Carlos says.

Gabriel’s voice goes low, dark like thunder. “In this house we root for the Astros. And only the Astros.”

“It’s a shirt dad. It’s not a big deal,” Carlos says. “T.K. likes when I rep his team.”

“Don’t tell me he’s got you cheering for them too?” Gabriel says, looking outraged. “Oh my god, where did we go wrong?”

“They have some really good pitchers dad. You respect a good team, they’re a good team.”

Gabriel scoffs. “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.”

“I can’t either,” Carlos tells him.

“Enough Gabriel,” Andrea calls from where she’s returned to the kitchen. “He came to help. Leave him alone.”

“What you do in your own home is your business,” Gabriel says tightly, ignoring her. “But I will not allow those colors to be worn in my house.”

Carlos claps him on the shoulder. “Good thing we’re going to be outside then.”

Friends

“Hey babe!” T.K. calls as he walks through their door.

The TV immediately turns off and Carlos whirls around to look at him over the back of the couch, eyes wide and innocent. “Hey,” he says back.

T.K. pauses, eying him closely. Carlos is trying for nonchalant, but T.K. can smell guilt in the air. He sets down his bag and puts his hands on his hips. “What were you just watching Carlos?”

“A documentary,” Carlos says quickly.

“A documentary.”

“Yep.” Carlos pops the “p” in an effort to seem casual.

T.K. dives over the back of the couch and snatches the remote out of his fiancé’s hand, flicking the TV back on. “A documentary about six friends living in New York in the mid-nineties?!” he yells.

“Okay, hear me out,” Carlos says, holding up his hands placatingly.

“You watched without me!”

“I didn’t mean to!” Carlos cries. “I was watching a documentary and then it rolled into the episode when it ended and—“

“You could have turned it off!” T.K. tells him sternly.

“I was going to!” Carlos says. “But T.K., Chandler and Monica?! What the hell?!”

“You said you didn’t even like it,” T.K. points the remote at his chest. “You said it was ‘fine.’ And then you went and betrayed my trust.”

“Well…I got a little invested,” Carlos says sheepishly.

“I’m glad my good taste in television is finally rubbing off on you,” T.K. grumbles. “But next time you decide to watch a pivotal episode of one of America’s greatest sit-coms, you’d better wait for me.”

Dinner

Carlos is so tired he’s not sure he’s going to make it down the hallway. Every part of his body aches to be in bed though, so he trudges onward, one foot in front of the other until he finally fumbles his way through the door. 

He can’t remember the last time a shift was this bad. They hadn’t had a single second to slow down, one call after another, nearly all of them resulting in a physical altercation or take down, and the final call of the day had been a shootout at a bank with multiple casualties. He’s bruised and sore and completely wiped out.

His bag hits the floor and he’s tempted to drop down next to it, but the next thing he knows arms are wrapping around him and T.K. is pulling him tightly into his chest. “Hey,” he breathes into Carlos’ hair. “I was so worried.”

The 126 hadn’t been called into the bank situation, but T.K. must have found out about it from someone because he’d sent multiple concerned texts. Carlos had answered as soon as he could, but there was a big difference between being reassured in a text and being reassured in person.

“I’m okay,” Carlos mumbles into T.K.’s shoulder.

T.K. pulls back and gives him a critical look, fingers brushing over a bruise on Carlos’ forehead and then a minor gash on his arm. “I’m glad you’re home,” he says, a silent acknowledgement that Carlos isn’t actually okay, but he will be now that he’s here.

“Me too,” Carlos sighs. His eyes feel like sandpaper and he desperately wants a shower, but he’s not sure he’ll stay awake long enough.

“Are you hungry?” T.K. asks. “I made dinner.”

“I think I’ll just—“ Carlos stops his response abruptly as he looks at the kitchen. “T.K. what—?”

Every flat surface is covered in pots and pans, cooking utensils, or food. The sink is piled high with dirty dishes and something is still bubbling on the stove.

“I um, I might have been a little anxious waiting for you to get home,” T.K. says sheepishly.

“So you cooked enough for an army?” Carlos asks.

“I’m going to clean it up,” T.K. says quickly. “I know the dirty dishes stress you out, and I planned to have it all done but then the fish took longer than I thought it would and the sauce wouldn’t thicken so…”

Carlos’ brain is still trying to catch up with what he’s seeing. “You don’t usually cook when you’re stressed.”

T.K. shrugs. “I couldn’t sit still so I asked myself, ‘what would Carlos do’? And then I did it. It’s surprisingly effective.” His face softens and he runs a gentle hand over Carlos’ curls. “I can’t fix your day, but I can at least make sure you’re fed. That’s the Reyes Family Motto, right?”

Carlos’ face relaxes into tender smile. “Yeah. Something like that.”

[noxsoulmate]

💞⚾ Noxy’s Tarlos Baseball Fic ⚾💞

💞⚾ now complete ⚾💞

Ship: Tarlos | Fandom: 911 Lone Star | Author: noxsoulmate | Read on ao3

Chapter: 2/2 | Word Count: 10940 | Complete: 16330 | Rating: Explicit | Warnings/Tags: baseball, valentine's day, different first meeting, meet-cute, running into each other, coffee shops, farmers market, night clubs, hook-up, baseball player TK, baseball player Carlos, rivals, Red vs Blue (but not the episode), banter, sexual innuendos, flirting, teasing, basically Tarlos uses the baseball game as foreplay, and they don't hide it, implied sexual content, but TK has a dirty mind so the rating is explicit, making out, strangers to lovers, love at first sight | Art made by me

Summary:

The moment he spots him, he freezes. For just a tiny second, he wonders if all his thoughts of Carlos have summoned him. And then he takes in the man as a whole, attire and all – and his mind goes blank. Because Carlos is wearing a jersey as well. And it’s blue. Carlos is wearing the blue jersey… of APD.

~*~

Meet cutes are only meant for rom coms, right? So why is it that TK has a total of four of them with the same stranger in just one day? Besides, Valentine’s weekend is certainly not the right time for him to have his head in cloud nine – not when the annual Baseball game between Fire and Police is on the line. Apparently, Police hasn't lost in years thanks to their pitcher. But now Fire has TK on their team – a paramedic who had a chance to play in the major leagues...

💞⚾ Chapter 1 ⚾💞

💞⚾ Read Chapter 2 on ao3 ⚾💞

Sneak peek under the cut:

“TK, can you tone down that grin a little bit?”

“Why?” TK asks, his grin turning cheeky instead. “Isn’t this supposed to be a fun day anyway?”

“Ah, hell na?” he hears Judd as he comes up right next to them. “This ain’t no fun. This is serious business.”

“Besides,” Paul throws in, baseball bat across his shoulders as if he’s stretching his arms. “We all know that grin isn’t because of the game ahead of us. It’s about that mystery man you disappeared with last night. Don’t deny it.”

“Not denying it at all,” TK replies, smile stretching even wider. “So I had a great night – wasn’t that exactly why you took me out?”

“Yeah, we just didn’t expect it to go that well,” Marjan says, pointing at what he guesses is his sunny smile. 

Even though Marjan’s not on the team, she’s still dressed in the red-and-black combo of the fire department and sitting on the bench with them. She’s their unofficial social media expert, meaning she’ll film the game and then put some great highlights of it online later. Hopefully she’ll be able to post about a win for Fire.

According to Judd – and the rest of the team – they really need this win because their losing streak is a disgrace to their department. TK didn’t pay it much mind before but now that he’s seeing the stands fill with a large crowd, he starts to understand that it’s not just about Police versus Fire. It’s about community. He was skeptical when Judd said the annual match between Fire and Police is a highlight in Travis County, rallying crowds of hundreds, but now he’s a witness. Hell, there’s even a news van and people with homemade signs. Fire definitely needs to bring home the trophy this year.

“Yes, TK,” Nancy thankfully pulls TK out of his thoughts before he can overthink this. He’ll simply play his best game, no need to worry. “Tell us how it went? We didn’t see much of the guy but from what we saw, he was hot as fuck.”

“Oh, he definitely is,” TK agrees, his smile instantly back and all the worries in the world gone.

“Anyone else worried we’ll have to see that grin for a whole while longer?” Paul asks the group, who all agree.

TK rolls his eyes. “So what, I met a dude that might just be the absolute jackpot. Aren’t you happy for me?”

“TK,” Judd starts in his slow southern drawl, one of his big hands landing on his shoulder. “From what I hear, you just met the guy and what? Had one good night with him? You’re running around like you’re on cloud nine. Brother, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you, I just think you should be careful too. Do we need to check him out?”

While TK’s truly touched by Judd’s genuine desire to protect him, he still gives him an impish grin. “Well, for one, how long did it take you to know that Grace might be the one and definitely worth chasing?”

“Ahh, but I knew her from months on the phone.”

TK gives him a mock-shocked look. “So you’re saying, if you had just met her at the honky tonk without your history, you wouldn’t have thought her worth your time?”

Judd looks almost comically shocked and pained before he lifts his hands in surrender and quickly amends, “Touché.”

“And besides,” TK starts, finally feeling ready to drop the bomb. “Last night wasn’t the first I saw of him…”

💞⚾ Continue on ao3 ⚾💞

Written for the @tarlosweeklyprompts Valentine's Fic Exchange and my giftee @sugdenlovesdingle. The prompt was: TK and Carlos meeting via the police vs fire baseball game when they’re on opposing teams (bonus points for a grey’s anatomy-like thing where they hook up the night before without knowing who the other is and then seeing them at the game).

The biggest, biggest thanks goes out to the amazing @lightningboltreader and @bonheur-cafe. These two spent the past few weeks explaining an American game that seems to have no rules to a European who had zero knowledge about it - and they did it in a way that said European was able to write a fic about it. I bow to you two! They also helped plot out every step of the game - Char, Dalawa, this fic truly wouldn't exist without your help, and for once, that's not just a phrase 😂

Noxy’s Tagging List: @chaotictarlos, @detective-giggles, @sgirl18,  @sapphire11, @bubblesandroses8, @firstprince-history-huh, @beautifulhigh, @rangergurlgleek1211, @shadesofdeviant, @otter-love-asl, @ramblingdisaster73, @first-kanaphan, @xtltokio, @lightningboltreader, @buckybarnesalways, @meditating-honey-badger, @mangacat201, @tarlossource

[taralaurel]

TK comes home to find Carlos sleeping on the job. The babysitting job, that is. The Vega twins and Lou II were just trying to be helpful...

Carlos is dead.

Okay, probably not.

But it's the only explanation that makes any logical sense.

The only reason his husband would ever be lying prone on their couch, with Lou II stretched out over his chest.

Read on AO3

@tarlosweeklyprompts (Pride 2023): "Why is Lou II not in his cage?"

[cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut]

One, You're Mine...

Written for @tarlosweeklyprompts, 23/04/23-29/04/23. Chosen prompt: "Just wait until I get you home."

Chapter One: Complete

Chapter Two: In Progress

Carlos and TK are supposed to be planning a vacation for later in the year. Carlos thinks the coffeeshop is the perfect setting for a relaxing afternoon spent researching together. At least it would be, if TK wasn't so distracted and Carlos didn't want to punish him for it so badly...

“What about Scotland?” Carlos says, sparing his fiancé a quick glance over the rims of his reading glasses. TK smiles, shrugs, mouth occupied with the job of drinking iced coffee through a straw. Carlos ignores the fact that it does something to him, this particular sight—the thought of something in TK’s mouth, his tongue pressed up against it—and turns back to his laptop screen.

It’s borderline too late for coffee, the last of the afternoon giving way to early evening as they sit on the high stools at the front of the coffeeshop, the expanse of the window showing how the sky shifts from blue to muted grey, how passers by go from wearing t-shirts to light jackets, the shops across the street lowering their shutters as TK drinks his iced vanilla latte and Carlos lets his mocha go untouched at his elbow. He likes the comfort of knowing it’s there, but he’s invested in this research, and the task has him in a vice grip. Once something has his focus, he likes to see it through. Next to his laptop is the little notebook he uses for making lists. It’s a comfort object now, has been with them through wedding planning and right through the initial stages of honeymoon ideas. There’s even a page, folded over now to stay hidden, where Carlos woke up from a nap one afternoon and discovered TK had made a list of all the things he wanted Carlos to do to him on their honeymoon.

“I’m ripping that page out,” Carlos had told him, and TK had giggled. “Your handwriting is super messy, and this is a violation of my property.”

“Baby,” TK had replied, head tilted, eyebrows quirked. “Violation is exactly what I was going for.”

Read the rest on AO3

[strandedbuckley]

left it all on the cold floor

inspo: my 'cold floor' drabble + @tarlosweeklyprompts 'letter'

summary: Carlos has known about TK's struggles with opioid addiction for many years. But what happens when one day, he finds TK bleeding and desperate on the cold floor of the bathroom?

word count: 7.1k

author's note: angst has never been something i enjoyed writing until i started this. i really hope you'll enjoy it!! + thanks to @chaotictarlos for being my beta on this fic 🩶 -> warnings are under the cut. -> ao3 link here carlos' letter here

warnings: angst, opioid addiction, attempted relapse, actual relapse - not detailed, self-inflicted injury, blood, pills, carlos is aware of tk's addiction, rehab mentions

Carlos leaves the station with a box of what's left of the donuts he'd brought in at the beginning of his shift. He takes a bite of one of them and then holds it between his lips while he fumbles for his key. He unlocks the car, climbs in and drops the pink, half-empty box of sweetness into the passenger's seat and buckles his belt. 

"Mm, yum." He says to himself when he finishes the last bite and licks his thumb and fingers clean of the powdered sugar. He wipes them on a tissue that is stuffed into the glove compartment and then slides his phone out of his pocket so he can shoot his boyfriend a quick text. 

Mind if I come over? I'll cook for you. 

Carlos and TK took things at a slow, steady pace in their relationship. They’d been together for a couple of years, but they hadn’t said those famous three words to each other, nor did they share a home. Yet Carlos had been presented with a key to TK's apartment about four months ago. Despite this, he felt it was still polite of him to let his boyfriend know before coming over, after all, he was raised a well-mannered man. It would also be plain wrong of him to just let himself in and out whenever he so pleased, key or no key.

Mind if I come over? I'll cook for you.

His words are still the only ones that are displayed on the screen. As he waits for a text back, he remembers the story of why he has the key and why it was Owen who had given it to him, not TK.

—

It was after a tough night when he’d been walking back from the convenience store. He’d randomly fancied his favourite bar of chocolate, craving it enough to take a quick trip out as it was falling dark. It was a good thing he’d decided to give in to his sweet temptations because, on the way back, he’d spotted TK. His entire body went slack when he realised what exactly TK was doing in the dark alley, talking to a taller, scruffier-looking man. He watched as the mystery guy took a roll of notes from TK’s shaking hand, then gave over a little baggy of pills. They fist-bumped each other, and then the deal was done. It was quick and quiet. Carlos had never caught TK in the act before, but he immediately jogged over to him once the other guy had disappeared and TK was making his way back into the glow of the streetlight above them. 

He didn’t know what to say as his boyfriend stared at him with wide, fearful eyes. He just looked back, taking him in. TK was wearing a black hoodie, the sleeves rolled down, but not enough to hide the jagged ends of what looked to be scratch marks. Carlos had seen them before. When TK was struggling, he'd scratch at his skin and sometimes make himself bleed. He did it to his arms, his legs and sometimes the back of his neck. His eyes fall down to where TK is holding the tiny bag and he wants so badly to snatch it away, perhaps find a drain to drop it into. He takes a single step forward, and TK flinches, like he’s a stray cat, worried that this stranger is going to harm him. 

“TK,” He asks a stupid question, but he needs to break this silence and end this weird standoff they seem to be having. “What are you doing out here?”

TK snaps out of his stare, crumples the bag further into his grasp and just shakes his head. Carlos’ mouth opens to say something else then, but TK interrupts, moving into his space. 

“Are you, uh, gonna arrest me, Officer?”

It’s not some failed attempt at a joke. TK is serious, and Carlos hadn’t even thought about it, but he knows the answer. “No. I’m not, TK. Do you think I should?”

He shrugs. “It’s the law, right?”

“Well I didn’t see the other guy's face… and I don’t have my cuffs on me, so.” He makes a gesture with his hand, waving it to signal for TK to come closer. “Let’s just… go home for now. Come on.”

That night, he'd walked home with TK, looping their arms together and holding him tightly, cautious of anything he said or did for the rest of the evening. He tried not to let TK get all up in his head again by keeping him busy. He asked him to help prepare their meal, and then pick a movie for them to watch. They ended up sitting on opposite ends of the couch, an uneasy air flowing between them and causing a ball-like feeling to form in Carlos’ throat. The whole time, the only thing on his mind was that little bag and making sure it ended up in the trash, or at least staying full.

Owen and Gwyn found out in the morning, when they both woke up to find the text from Carlos, explaining what had happened and that TK was okay, for the time being. The three of them talked about it in their private three-way group chat. They all knew that the next couple of days were vital and they needed to keep a close watch on TK until he was acting like his true self again. 

That afternoon, Owen visited the station, and following a heavy conversation and heartfelt words of gratitude for finding his boy, a key was pressed into his hand. Carlos had flipped it over a few times, frowning in confusion. He watched Owen’s eyes turn somber and when he was about to ask what the key was for, it was made clear.

“That is for when myself or Gywn aren't around. You, uh… you may have occasion to use it."

Owen patted Carlos on his shoulder, then left, leaving his mind to catch up and picture scenes where TK’s parents have had to use their own copies of the key before. He struggles to imagine what that is like; when they are so concerned about their own son’s well-being, that they have to pound on the door and let themselves in to find out if he’s okay. Or if he’s passed out, missing, or even, gone.

Carlos didn't have a chance to respond or to ask if TK would mind when Owen left, and it made him more than a little nervous to actually use it. How could he know how TK would react? But the first time Carlos worked up the courage to twist the key one day and walk on in as TK was changing, post-shower, he was met with a smiling face. TK smirked and sauntered over to Carlos, planting a kiss on his lips in greeting. “Baby.” He said simply, greeting him and making all of Carlos’ fear melt away. That was that. TK definitely didn't mind, or care.

—

After the memory passes over, he unglues his eyes from the car parked opposite him, looking down at his phone and sending a second text.

Or we could just order in?

Another minute goes by, and he types a third and final text, before dropping his phone next to the donuts, and pulling out of his parking space.

Okay… my choice then -  we’ll order Chinese food tonight? Be there soon. 

—

The drive to TK's place feels unusually longer than it does on any other given day. There isn't a crazy amount of traffic and he hasn't heard about any accidents on the road over the radio. He’s actually making good time, he notes after reading the time that flashes up on his mobile with two little taps. He left work around ten minutes ago, and it’s only about another fifteen before he’ll reach TK’s apartment building. It just doesn’t feel that way. Instead of ten, it feels like he’s been driving for triple that.

There’s a saying that crosses his mind, the one about time flying by when you’re having fun. Well, what if this was the opposite? The thought causes a dull ache to start up in his gut, and all of a sudden he can just tell that something is wrong. He’d often get a feeling like this during an emotional call or case at work, but right now, he is pretty sure he can pin the notion on his boyfriend. To TK.

It makes sense with the fact that TK still hadn’t answered his text messages. If he had, Carlos would know by the little popping notification sound going off beside him, but it’d been a silent drive so far.

He'd be lying if he said that TK always answered. He didn't. On a normal day, TK would read his messages and then reply later, explaining that he forgot to respond or that he was busy on a case that ran overtime. Sometimes, he just forgot, period. There were always those times as well when he just didn’t want to talk, but those were always worry-inducing.

When Carlos stops at a light, he picks up his phone again and squints down at his screen. Under the last message, it remains to read the word 'sent'. There aren't any bubbles to show that TK is typing or any ticks that indicate he has seen Carlos' texts. 

Carlos calls, tapping the speaker option and dropping his phone again, the light in front of him having turned green. It rings and rings and then goes straight to TK's voicemail. He ends the call and repeats the action, despite knowing that he'll most likely get the same outcome. 

'Hey, it's TK. I'm probably on a shift, or I just don't wanna talk to you. Drop a message or text m—'

"Shit, come on, Strand." Carlos hangs up. 

His fingers flex and tighten around the steering wheel, and he shifts in his seat, the belt now feeling like it's far too constricting. He's well aware that he's freaking himself out, he's overthinking, but it's completely justified. As much as he hates to think it, the fact is; this is exactly what it's like to be in a relationship with someone who has an unhealthy addiction. 

"TK, answer the damn phone. Where are you?" Carlos mutters. The question lingers, and he's not completely sure if he wants to know the answer. "Please, please just be showering."

As his drive continues, he thinks about good memories of TK, trying to sway his anxiety and ease it for a while. He thinks about that night when TK finally took the plunge and changed both of their lives forever with a way-overdue, toe-curling, picture-perfect kiss. It’d been a remarkably long time coming. They’d known each other since infancy and played together as children, then been inseparable best friends for most of their school lives, both of them keeping their hardcore crush on the other a secret. It took a rather horrendous storm keeping them trapped inside Carlos’ apartment for TK to make his move.

Carlos briefly wonders what would have happened if that kiss didn’t happen. Would someone else be in his current position of panic? Or, would TK have already done too much damage? That night in the alley… maybe without him there to catch TK in the act, the firefighter’s name could have become a news headline.

He slaps each side of his face in turn. He needs to stop this, he has to stop thinking in this way. After all, it was plausible that TK could, as he said, just be in the shower

-

“No, no, no!” 

The pitter-patter sound of pills falling and bouncing off of the floor echo around the small room. They roll around, some of them rebounding high enough to make it into the bathtub. 

“Fuck!”

TK screams in a way that - if he lived in a friendlier area - might just scare his neighbours into thinking that something was seriously wrong. It’s guttural and angry. It’s not TK.

His breathing picks up, and he doesn't even think about what he's doing when he makes a fist and throws a punch. The blow lands against the mirrored cabinet. He lets out another scream, which drives the middle-aged drunk from the apartment below to bang on the ceiling a couple of times, yelling something that TK doesn't register in his currently clouded mind. 

Cracks appear instantly in the glass. Droplets trickle down through them, painting the gaps with red, warm blood. They seep between the busted crevasses, then run over the thin edges, dripping down until they periodically splash into the sink. 

His reflection is shattered. He touches the fragment of glass that he can see his eyes in. It peels away and falls, splitting into a few smaller pieces by his feet. He doesn't react when one of them scrapes his skin, tearing a few layers and causing a long and slim cut.

He tears his eyes away from the mirror, feeling just a shred of shame for the person looking back at him. His hair is messy and slick, not having been brushed or washed in a couple of days. His lips are chapped, dry and lacking any colour, and his eyes are bloodshot. The smattering of stubble that frames his chin and jawline is normal, but it’s grown longer than he’d usually let it before having it trimmed.

Suddenly, overwhelmed with the sight, he falls to his knees. The second he hits the floor, he spots the cap of the bottle that had fallen, and it doesn’t take much, the plastic lid redirecting his focus back on the pills in an instant.

He moves like a wild animal that's desperate for a single morsel of food. 

His hands slap along the cold, tiled floor as he feels around for any loose pills. Most have rolled too far away, and he doesn't have the energy now to move that much. He huffs, feeling defeated, and falls against the hard surface of the tub. His back protests the harsh bump, that no doubt causes a bruise to start forming in yet another area of his injured and aching body. 

He is quiet for a few minutes, zoning out until he hears the buzz of his mobile from the other room. There’s no telling how long it had been ringing, but he can't bring himself to stand up and go see who it is anyway.

A stinging feeling coming from his hand distracts him. He lifts it onto his bent knee and inspects the damage. If he were in a rational state of mind, he would panic at this point. He would call for help, call his Dad, anyone that he knew. Or maybe he would at least try to bandage the cuts himself, but he just pulls down the sleeve of his hoodie and tugs it over his clean hand, then presses it on top of his bloody one. Pressure is good, he thinks, it’ll stem the bleeding, right?

TK isn't sure how much time passes, but it feels like forever and nothing at all. He sits there on the bathroom floor, alone and longing for that euphoric high he'd been trying to chase and replicate since the very first time. 

Thoughts start to swirl around in his head again, just like they always did. He thinks about how ashamed he is. Yeah, embarrassment is the first thing that crosses his mind. He knows he looks the part of an addict at this moment, and if any of his crew or his friends were to see him like this, he'd want to hibernate forever; never to be seen again. He thinks about how he had managed to stay clean for almost five months. The last time he almost relapsed, Carlos had caught him with his new dealer. Often, he dreams about that day, reimaging the night if Carlos had arrested him, or if he’d taken the pills before being found. Maybe he wouldn’t have a boyfriend anymore after such an ordeal. That thought makes him shiver.

The cycle goes on. The wheel of emotions spins to land on anger, regret, sadness, and eventually, irritability. He's pissed off. He had dropped not just a couple, but all of the pills. They'd cost him quite the lump sum of what he had left of this month's paycheck, and now they were scattered everywhere, going to waste. Or… not. TK knows that the floor hasn’t been cleaned in a few weeks, but they were just pills, surely they would still be okay to take, he could just wipe them off.

TK's mouth twitches, his eyes go wide, and he grunts as he pushes himself up on all fours. Now determined, he crawls along the floor, his head ducking to look around and locate as many pills as he can. His eyes are dead-set on his quest, and his focus is as direct as when he's out saving lives with the 252.

There's probably irony in that somewhere… about how protecting people brings about as much fixation as nearly killing himself each time he overdoses, or takes even one pill.

He finds one pretty quickly. It's behind the back of the toilet, and for just a moment, TK does question himself and his choices. He really thinks about tossing it, but the idea is short-lived. He plucks the candy-like drug from the floor and wipes it on his jeans, then shoves it into his hand with force, like he's afraid it'll roll away again. On his free hand, there's a tiny amount of dusty residue stuck to his thumb and forefinger from the pressure making it crumble a little. He brings it to his mouth, licks it off and continues to collect more. 

Each time he finds another, he still feels as though he doesn't have enough; his brain telling him that he needs a generous dose. So his little hunt goes on. Until, he hears shuffling in the front room, followed by an all too familiar voice calling his name.

-

Carlos pushes his car door shut and locks it. In his left hand, he holds the box of donuts, his uniform jacket draped over his forearm. He should also be carrying a bag of groceries, but he'd decided to ditch the store stop along the way, wanting to get here as quickly as posssible.

He slides the key into the lock and takes a deep breath. He tells himself what he needs to hear but doesn't entirely believe. 'It's all good. He's just taking a shower. A really, really… long shower.'

"Hey, TK!" Gently kicking the door behind him, he calls out to his boyfriend, pretending not to hear the slight tremor in his own voice. He puts the box of treats down on the kitchen counter. "I, uh- brought donuts if you want them."

He doesn't get a response, so he flicks on some lights and looks around. The apartment isn't messy, but it's not tidy either. There are no dishes in the sink, the trash bin is just about overflowing and there’s nothing playing in the way of radio or the TV. He wonders if TK has even been here at all today. "Babe? You here? Hello?"

Again, he gets no response.

"You even h–" A loud grunt comes from the direction of the bathroom and Carlos jumps, and he drops his jacket slips from his grasp, thudding on the floor from the weight of his wallet and car keys. "TK!? Shit, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" 

Carlos has to remind himself to breathe when TK finally answers him, but he’s still concerned as he kicks off his boots and places them neatly on the shoe rack. "God, TK, I was worried for a sec. You didn't reply to my texts…" As he says this, he notices TK's phone, laying on a cushion on the sofa. “Oh, it’s… there.”

He picks up his jacket, hangs it up and then just stands in the entryway for a while. He listens intently, trying to figure out what TK is doing. There’s no water running, no flushing or the sound of the shower curtain being opened or closed. He decides that he’s had enough, after a few minutes. He needs to know that his boyfriend is okay, now. 

He takes a few steps to reach the bathroom and twists the door handle. To his surprise, it isn’t locked, so he goes right in and gasps at the sight he’s met with. "Tyler…"

“Ugh.” TK rolls his eyes. He didn’t mind Carlos using his full name, in fact, he loved it, but it was the tone Carlos had said it in; full of shock and concern. 

“What the hell happened?”

“I, uh…” TK is leaning against the tub, a hand holding his head, sitting with his legs crossed. “headbutted the sink."

"Oh, yeah. Is that all?" Carlos' words come out harsher than intended, but he’s too distracted by the scene before him to apologise or rephrase. “Did you hurt yourself anywhere else?”

He kneels in front of TK, gently taking his balled, uninjured hand and prying it open. The pills are mostly crushed, and he’s pretty sure that this is why TK looks so peeved right now. Carlos tips all of the powdered substance into his own hand and stands up to throw it in the toilet bowl. He then washes his hands and sits down, copying TK's crossed-leg position. 

He knows TK is expecting a big fight. Some type of grand intervention-style speech, but he is far more worried about the cuts on TK’s knuckles and wants to deal with them first. Carlos also doesn't want to spook TK, make him leave, or upset him. He wants to tread lightly.

He stretches over to the cabinet, pulling out a first-aid kit that he is amazed TK still has. "Give me your hand." TK does as he’s asked, and Carlos places it on his leg, then cleans it with a couple of wipes, making sure to be delicate over the torn skin. "So… you punched the mirror? Why?"

TK looks off to the side, his jaw clenching. "I dropped them."

Carlos feels nauseous. The answer isn't a surprise, really, but some of the cuts look as though they’ve bled quite a bit. They're already starting to bruise, and he wonders if the cuts will scar. He finds it difficult to hear because he’d hurt himself, purposefully, over such a small thing, an accident. To him, at least. 

"Oh." He replies simply, choosing to go back to the task at hand before he can overthink some more.

There isn't much to sort through in the kit, but Carlos does find a large band-aid, a pair of scissors, and an ice pack that looks like it’s been used already and thrown back in. He cuts the sticky bandage into strips so that they'll fit a little better over the wounds. He'd like nothing more than to take TK to the hospital, just in case stitches were needed as well, but he already knows he would get nowhere with that suggestion. 

He finishes patching up TK's hand, then asks a question that he really doesn't want to, but needs to. "TK… baby, please tell me honestly, did you swallow any of those pills?"

TK throw his head back and sighs. "I literally just licked some… but how would you know either way."

"TK…"

"Ugh, I told you! I got some on my finger. I licked it off. That’s it." He looks Carlos straight in the eyes.

"But was it enough? I mean, are you-" 

"For fuck sake!" TK yells, and Carlos has to pretend that he isn’t hurt by the outburst. "I'm not fucking high, Carlos!"

"Right… well, listen. I have to tell your parents about this. Or you can…" TK glares at Carlos, and he decides to try and level with him in a way that has proven to work in the past: by mentioning his job. "Baby, they need to know. Your Dad especially. If I hadn't just come in, you'd have just swallowed it all, wouldn’t you? Or gone out to buy more?"

“Yeah. I would’ve." TK is harsh when he speaks, and there's no obvious guilt or shame in the way he answers so matter-of-factly.

"Well, you can't go out saving lives if you're here putting your own in jeopardy, baby." Carlos watches TK come back to himself, even if it's to the smallest degree. TK often cares more about what he does for a living than he does himself. Carlos knows this, and he knew it would benefit their current predicament to bring it up. "So I'll text them, okay?"

TK scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, and Carlos looks over at him again and wonders what the hell he is supposed to do now. He knows what TK needs to do. He needs to get professional help, but it isn't his choice to make, and quite frankly, that’s one thing he’s afraid of bringing up.

He chooses to change the topic to what they’re having for dinner. Food is the only other thing that sits at the back of his mind, his stomach had been begging for more sustenance since eating the donut. 

"So, um… dinner then? Anything you fancy. You heard me mention the donuts, yeah? We can just have those if you don't want anything else. Or I–"

Carlos is suddenly knocked back as TK crashes into him, head bumping his stomach. To say he wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of affection would be an understatement. He nearly topples over, catching himself with one hand behind him while the other holds TK around his waist. "Tyler?"

He tries to get a look at TK's face, but his boyfriend just hugs him tighter. Carlos brings the fragile, struggling man in closer, his recent hunger forgotten as he feels TK’s shoulders begin to shake as he breaks down.

"You're gonna get through this, I promise you that." He finally lets a tear slip, feeling it tickle his skin as it slides over his cheek. "One day, you're gonna be so happy. You're gonna be okay."

—

The next morning, Carlos wakes, and within seconds of peeling open his eyes and glancing around the bedroom, he knows the situation has gone from bad to worse.

He knows because the pillow his head is on is far too firm to be his. He's lying on TK's side, meaning that his boyfriend isn't in bed anymore. When he looks over at TK's bedside table, his phone is there, untouched, with the charging cable still plugged in. If TK were on a shift, or visiting his parents or friends, anywhere he went, he would take it with him. The fact that it was still here meant that TK didn't want to be contactable. He didn't want to be found.

He checks TK's phone because his boyfriend had never hidden his passcode, and never tried to cover it up. He taps in the four digits, goes straight to his messages and sees an unknown number that has been texting with him since about an hour after they’d gone to bed. In past experience, these numbers usually belonged to the dealers TK would find.

Carlos' stomach does a flip, and this time, his fears and worries come out in a physical form. He stumbles to the bathroom just in time to throw up the pizza and donuts they had shared for dinner. 

When he's done, he flushes, falling back into the same spot he'd found TK in not that many hours ago. He looks around the room, the glass is still scattered on the floor. After getting TK up they’d decided to leave the clear-up until later, too wrapped up in their stress to bother with such a task at that moment. Carlos is glad he managed to walk in without standing on any of it.

He rubs his hands over his face and tries to focus on what he needs to do. It's his day off of work, meaning he can go and find TK without having to call in with an excuse, like being sick, though, that wouldn’t be far from the truth now. First, though, he takes a deep breath and rises to his feet. He heads back into the bedroom, finds his overnight bag and changes quickly, then pulls out his phone and dials Owen Strand’s number.

"Hey, Carlos." Owen picks up right away. "You guys change your mind about grabbing breakfast? It’s not often that our days off line up, so we–"

"No, we didn’t, uh-” Carlos cuts off Owen's impending ramble by clearing his throat and using the name that he keeps being told to drop by the man. "Sir… it's TK."

"Oh, god. How much did he take?" Owen's voice switches instantaneously, from soft and playful to serious and deceptively calm. "Is he alive?"

"No..." The questions make Carlos' heart pound. "I mean, I don’t know… to both. I-”

“Carlos.”

“He’s gone, Sir. Left while I was asleep. I- I didn’t even hear him get up. I didn’t hear him…"

“Okay, try and stay with me, Carlos. Is there a reasonable explanation? He's not just… grabbing something to eat?"

Carlos knows that Owen is grasping for an answer they'd both love to find some truth in, but he can hear his boyfriend's father shuffling around over the phone. His voice is farther away, most likely from being put on speaker. He presumes that Owen is getting ready to leave and go looking for his son. 

"There are messages on his phone. It’s an unknown number, but-”

“Yeah, probably a dealer. Carlos, I'm on my way to his place, I’ll see you in a moment, okay?"

-

Carlos expects a call or text from Owen, letting him know he's here and waiting outside in the car. What he doesn't expect is the gust of air that hits him as TK’s door is flung open to reveal both of his boyfriend’s parents. 

None of them bothers with fake smiles or reassurance, Owen just beelines for TK’s phone, which is sitting on the back of the sofa. As for Gwyn, she approaches Carlos with outstretched arms. Carlos doesn't see TK's mother as often as he does Owen. The sight of her worried face and the smudged mascara under her eyes have him feeling weak. He has to swipe away a tear of his own when wraps him in a comforting hug. 

"Gwyn, I'm so sorry. I didn’t hear him get up. He’s just, he’s gone."

"Sweetie, nothing is your fault, okay? Don’t even think about blaming yourself, do you hear me?" She releases Carlos and then Owen stands back next to her, swiping through TK’s phone, holding it low so that Gwyn can see too. "Owen and I are going out to look for him. Would you stay here, just in case he does come back?"

"Wait. Stay here? I mean, I can help."

"You are, son." Owen lays a hand on Carlos' shoulder. "If this isn’t what we think it is, when he comes back, we’ll need to know right away.”

"Okay, yeah." Carlos nods. "Yeah, sure."

“Alright.” Gwyn says, then shuffles out of the apartment, Owen following closely behind her, a hand splayed out on her back in an attempt to soothe her. Carlos listens as their voices fade as they descend the stairs. They discuss which streets they're each going to go to first, he hears them mention a few parks as well, and then they’re gone.

- 

It's almost midnight, and Carlos hasn't heard anything for hours. He still feels sick, and he can't take his eyes away from his phone for more than a minute at a time. He tried to watch a little tv, and attempted to get into a book, but neither activity calmed his mind for long enough. The only thing he managed to do was clean up TK's apartment a little. Organising his shelves and kitchen cupboards, tossing out items that were past their use-by date. He made sure to sweep up the mess in the bathroom too. It took his attention away from thinking about every possible worst-case scenario he could think of, but inevitably, he ended up going right back to pacing the room.

Of course, he finally sits down, his leg bouncing nervously for a single minute, and then he hears the door again. Carlos springs to his feet as Gwyn walks in alone.

"We found him." She reassures Carlos with a smile before he can spin out and make assumptions, or ask a million questions. "He's down in the car with Owen. I just came by to let you know before, well… see, honey, we’re-"

"You're doing it, aren't you..." He blinks rapidly for a few seconds when the top of his nose starts to tingle; an indication of incoming tears. "You’re sending him to rehab?"

"It's time, my love. When I found him tonight, he was -" Gwyn's eyes flick between Carlos'. He watches her hands moving on their own accord as she searches for the right words to say. "It wasn't like the other times. When I got to him, I was shaking him and… for a moment I thought, I thought he was-"

"It’s okay, I understand." Carlos stops her before she can say the word ‘dead’, he can see how much it’s hurting her, and he feels it too. "And I know he needs this, but it still feels wrong somehow. Like… we’re abandoning him somehow? That’s like, totally not what we’re doing but it still feels that way… I dunno."

"Yeah, but my boy… he’s tough. Deep down I know he knows that, too, and he is going to get better." Gwyn sniffles and Carlos offers her a second hug which she gratefully accepts it. When she pulls back, she caresses Carlos’ cheek, her thumb stroking his skin gently. "Do you want to see him before we go? He's not exactly in a talking mood, but…"

"I want to. Of course, I do, but I don't think it's a good idea. Not right now... he needs to just get there."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you soon, sweetie." Gwyn plants a kiss on Carlos' cheek. “Take care of yourself, Carlos, okay? If you need anything at all, even just to talk, I’m here for you.”

Her words hit Carlos hard, and he is so grateful at that moment, that his boyfriend came with such genuine, caring parents. “Thank you.” He whispers shakily, and then she leaves with a little wave, closing the door behind her.

He's still for a few moments, holding his breath, and when he hears a car engine start from outside the building, he realises that he doesn't even know how long TK will be gone. He didn't ask. He chokes on a sob, and tears finally start to fall. He drops to the floor, grabs a cushion from the sofa and, though he’s alone, he hides his outflow of emotions, crying into the soft material, squeezing it as tight as he can in his hands. 

—

When Gwyn returned from the airport, she and Owen had come over to see Carlos, just as they promised. They talked for a few hours, and when they left TK’s apartment, Carlos stayed. Both parents had agreed that it was more than okay for him to live at TK's for however long he wanted, or needed to. However, after four long days, he decides that it's time to go.

He figures that he has sat amongst his own sadness and dread for long enough, and he felt like he needed a change of scenery. TK wasn’t coming back for a little while, and to be truthful, he was finding it hard to be present when he was on duty, which was obviously not a good thing in his line of work. 

So he packs up his things back at his own apartment, sends them to his new address, and then goes back to TK's one last time. 

While there, he takes one of TK's hoodies. He wants something more than photos in his phone’s gallery or the memories that fill his head daily to make him feel closer to TK while he’s away. It's old, has a hole in one sleeve, and the strings have clearly been chewed on, but he still tugs it over his head. He pulls the fabric to his nose, and yeah, it still smells like TK. Not the TK who left for rehab, but the man who is so funny, so kind and gentle. The man who was impossible not to fall for when he was sober, innocent. He takes it off again, frowning when he realises that it’s the very item of clothing that TK had worn the first time they kissed. He has photographic evidence tucked away in one of his moving boxes that is currently on its way to his new home. 

Carlos feels another round of waterworks coming on when he visualises the framed picture in his mind, so he shakes his head and refocuses.

He thinks about what he came here to do and then goes to find a pen and some paper. Before Carlos tidied up the place, it would have taken some digging just to grab what he needed. Now, there was a little basket on a shelf that held the supplies. Some pads of lined paper and a pencil case of various colours of pens, along with other materials needed for any creative endeavours. He also takes out an envelope that he had bought at the post office on his way back to the building.

He plops himself down on the kitchen stall and quickly wipes it over with a dry cloth to make sure that the paper doesn't accidentally get wet. He uncaps a black pen and then spends a good hour writing out his letter.

Tyler, 

Firstly, this isn't an old-time-y way of me breaking things off with you. I want you to know that before you carry on reading - I'm not breaking up with you. I don’t think I ever could.

He underlines those last six words, and he hopes that TK will take them in, and know how serious he is.

I'm not sure how long it will be until you come home and find this, but I can't text or leave a voicemail. I think I may be allowed to send you this letter, but I don’t want to interfere with your recovery there. I don’t want this to be a possible distraction for you.

Is it strange that I find writing to you kind of… romantic? I mean, despite the reason I'm having to write it in the first place. 

He thinks about crossing out that part and starting over again, but then he remembers that TK is a grown man who knows what's happening, and why; he doesn't need to sugar-coat anything.

Was that a good segway? Because I really want to tell you that I believe in you. As cheesy as it may sound, I know that you can get through this, TK. I’ve never been through what you are right now, but I can guess that you’re going to find it hard. Even when you leave rehab, it'll be a battle for a while at least, but I know you'll pull through. You'll survive.

And through everything - the ups and downs, good days and bad, I’ll be here for you.

Well, actually I'll be in Austin, Texas, but what I mean is that I’ll always support you, whether it’s in person or through a phone. You’ll always have me. 

Carlos stops to brush away a tear. He clicks the pen a few times and then continues. 

Did you know I have family in Austin? Friends, too. I think I’ve mentioned it once or twice. I figured if I’m going to move anywhere, that’s where it should be. Someplace I can go where people already know me, so I don’t have to worry about fitting in or making new friends.

As for my job, well, there's an opening in the APD. I’ve heard good things about all of the emergency services down in Austin. You should look up the 126, and read their stories… they’ve had some bizarre calls.

Anyway… maybe we could try that long-distance thing once you’re home. You can visit me, and I can do the same. The place I’m renting, it’s really nice, I have some design ideas I think you’d really like. 

Baby, honestly, I am positively desperate to get my arms around you again. I miss you so much. I miss kissing you, cooking for you, watching movies and having you fall asleep in my arms. I miss your charming smile and your hands in mine. I miss… other parts of you, too. How could I not? And it's a little embarrassing how much, since, as I'm writing this, you've only been gone for 4 days. 

I need to wrap this up. As much as I would enjoy writing you a novel, I do have to catch a flight.

- In this envelope, along with this soppy love letter, you'll find a card with my new home address on it. I hope you’ll make good use of it, and that I’ll see you standing at my door soon. We can have one of those cute romantic movie reunions… the ones that have even you tearing up.

One more time, Carlos pauses. He thinks about what he wants to write next, pondering over whether or not it's the right time. Ultimately, he decides to lay down his feelings and put them all on paper with three simple words and a name. So with a few more strokes of his pen, he confesses it all.

I love you, Tyler Kennedy Strand.

I'll be waiting for you. 

Carlos 

x

-

Carlos folds the pieces of paper neatly three times, enough to fit inside the envelope. He slides his address card in there, too. Then he lifts the letter to his mouth and licks along the edge. Placing it back down, he uses his thumb to make sure that it is stuck down well enough. He caps the pen, puts it away and then places the letter on the coffee table, the tips of his fingers lingering over it for a few seconds. He takes one of the larger pebbles from one of the potted plants in the window and places it on top, like a paperweight. He then sends a text to Owen, letting him know that he's on his way to drop off his key to TK's place. Finally, he grabs his last piece of luggage, a backpack filled with some belongings he'd left here over the past 2 years or so since he'd started dating TK. 

He opens the door, takes a deep breath, and then just before he leaves, he whispers, "I’ll see you soon, Tyler Kennedy Strand."

---------------------------

taglist: @wandering-night19, @fortunatelydecaffeinateddinosaur @rubinsteinsilva126 @maniadeityn @just-inside-her @chaotictarlos @lightningboltreader + let me know if you'd like to be added/removed, please!

[nine-one-wanton]

Closure

Rating: T - Teen

Tags: Break Up / Make Up; epistolary; magical realism; angst with a happy ending; canon divergence post season 3 episode 13

Summary: TK becomes upset after Carlos becomes jealous of Cooper, and moves out. Months later, TK still refuses to speak with him. Carlos is upset, and seeing a therapist about it. The therapist suggests he writes ‘letters to no one’ to try to process his feelings.

And while the letter was intended for no one, someone finds it.

Alternate Titles:

•Letters to No One

•Carlos’s Closet & The Junk in TK’s Trunk

Notes: Written for the Tortured Writer Challenge over on Tumblr @tarlosweeklyprompts

I was inspired by Song Title Prompt #3. Closure Though there are some pretty shameless Easter eggs tying into other songs as well.

[sanjuwrites]

shut the door (but not behind me)

For the @tarlosweeklyprompts!

thank you to both @lightningboltreader and @chaotictarlos for the awesome beta 🫶🏽

the amazing @chaotictarlos also made this gorgeous header and they’re awesome and i love them

“Fuck!” Carlos slams his fist against the table. TK flinches on the other side of the loft, their anger with each other intensifying. “Literally all I asked is why you were late for dinner tonight! I had absolutely no ill intent here.”

TK moves deeper into the apartment, his back to Carlos. “I sent you a damn text message, telling you I wouldn’t be home for dinner! I don’t get why that isn’t enough for you.”

Carlos leans down against the counter, pinching the bridge of his nose. “TK, I love you to pieces, but you are making that very difficult right now. You disappeared, all fucking day. I called Nancy, pretty much all of the 126, and your parents, and no one knew where you were. When you left this morning, you said you had a shift. So I show up - like an absolute buffoon - to the 126 holding lunch from your favorite sandwich shop across town, only to be told that you were never scheduled to work today. So, I’m going to ask you one more time. Where the hell were you?”

Continue reading on AO3!

[tarlosweeklyprompts]

THE TORTURED WRITER CHALLENGE

Hello and welcome to Tarlos Weekly Prompts newest event! I know I said that this would come sooner but life has been busy and I didn't have the time to commit to making the event as I wanted to. We know that Taylor Swift is a pretty big musician - love her or hate her, she's written a lot of good songs that can inspire some pretty amazing fics. This event will be taking inspiration from her songs and the general vibes of her music to create breathtaking fics that I know this fandom can create. If you have any questions, please let me know! I know that she has a lot of songs, not all of them will be listed here but I hope that you guys enjoy the ones that are picked! I can't wait to see what everyone writes!

This event will run until July 31st.

Rules:

Accepted works: fic's, moldboards, fanart, gifs, etc.

All works need to be new works.

All works need to be Tarlos centric

All works need to be properly tagged.

All work needs to be posted by 5 p.m. est time on July 31st, 2024

Tag the blog (@tarlosweeklyprompts ) I'm tracking the tag #twpeventttwc

Prompt's do not have to be claimed. Just pick one (or more) and write your fic.

Song Title Prompts (you can use the theme of the song, lyrics, or vibes to create your fic):

Nothing New

loml

Closure

Vigilante Shit

Right Where You Left Me

The Manuscript

Untouchable

Now That We Don't Talk

Call It What You Want

Invisible String

Champagne Problems

Love Story

the 1

Mine

Lover

Lyric Prompts:

I used to switch out these Kens, I'd just ghost / Rip the Band-Aid off and skip town like an asshole outlaw (Hits Different)

No amount of freedom gets you clean / I've still got you all over me (You All Over Me)

The skeletons in both our closets plotted hard to fuck this up (Cowboy Like Me)

Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere (New Year's Day)

You drew stars around my scars but now I'm bleeding (Cardigan)

Barefoot in the kitchen / Sacred new beginnings / That became my religion (Cornelia Street)

Old habits die screaming (The Black Dog)

I snuck in through the garden gate / Every night that summer just to seal my fate (Cruel Summer)

It never ever occurred to you / That I can't say 'hello' to you / And risk another goodbye (I Almost Do)

You call me up again just to break my like a promise / So casually cruel in the name of being honest (All Too Well)

You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor (Is It Over Now?)

And I wouldn't marry me either / A pathological people pleaser (You're Losing Me)

The altar is my hips/ Religion's in your lips/ Even if it's a false god/ We'd still worship this love... / I know heaven's a thing / I go there when you touch me (False God)

I've been spending the last eight months / thinking all love ever does / is break and burn and end / but on a Wednesday in a cafe / I watched it begin again (Begin Again)

Don't blame me, love made me crazy / If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right / Lord save me my drug is my baby / I'll be usin' for the rest of my life (Don't Blame Me)

[meditating-honey-badger]

Chapter: 1/5 | Chapter Word Count: 1594 | Total Word Count: 1594/? | Rating: Explicit | Warnings/Tags: Drug Use, Overdose, Semi-Public Sex. Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Alternating POV | More Tags Will Be Added

Written for @tarlosweeklyprompts

Can two people who stopped believing in love find it together?

Somebody to Love

When Carlos woke up, there was a moment when he forgot all about the previous night. In those few seconds of amnesic bliss, it was just a normal morning after a normal night. Dinner for one, catch up on an episode or two of This is Us, a little reading in bed, lights out by 10.

Then he opened his eyes and saw the used condom that hadn’t made it into the wastebasket, the wrecked sheets he hadn’t bothered to change, and one lone sock that wasn’t his sitting on the floor. He hadn’t even bothered to get the phone number from this one — Trevor? Or maybe it was Travis? He knew the guy was a dud before he even brought him home. At least he had the courtesy to sneak out in the middle of the night, so they could avoid the awkward morning after conversation.

Then why did I bring him home?

Read on AO3

(If anyone wants to be on my tag list for fic updates, message me/send me an ask or comment on this post)

[126simp]

"I Hate You!"

Tarlos Fic for @tarlosweeklyprompts March Daily One-Word Prompt Event!!

March 11th Word: Hate

Tags: Angst, Nightmares, Hurt! Carlos, Worried! TK

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Anxiety,

Relationships: TK/Carlos, TK/Alex (Past Relationship)

Characters: TK, Carlos

“I HATE YOU!!”

The words keep going through my head like they are echoing in my head, over and over. I don’t know what I did to get him to hate me, but please somebody tell me so I can fix it. I love him so much, how am I supposed to handle not having the most important person to me hate me. I feel my eyes blurring even worse when Iris all of a sudden shows up in front of me, saying, “You are to blame for everything. How did I even become your best friend, because your face annoys me.” That doesn’t scare me as much though, because I know that she sometimes talks brutally honest, but why would she say that?

Then it’s like the scene around me changes, and see a gun to my face and try to look at who is behind the gun and see it’s TK standing by a man. I am so confused that I try to say something, but all of a sudden I have no voice, and then I can’t hear anything around as a gun shot goes off. Then I see as TK is dead and bleeding on the floor, ‘What now?’ I love him.

BLOOD

SO MUCH BLOOD

Then the scene around switches again to see TK and Alex kissing, and what am I supposed to do especially when I look around and see that everyone looks so happy.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

Suddenly I feel like I am being shaken and think that I hear TK’s voice. “Carlos, Carlos, CARLOS! Please answer me Baby, I am right here.” I startle awake and look around me seeing that I am in our bed. I feel around and realize I am not there alone when I see TK looking at me worried. I smile because he is here with me, not with Alex, hopefully doesn’t hate me, but I am the happiest that he wasn’t that bloody heap of a body on that floor anymore.

At that thought I scan his body to make sure he is okay, that he isn’t hurt at all, and nope I see nothing, but I still have to ask, “You are alive right? You are okay? You are not hurt, right?” He just looks at me confused and I feel like I am going to start crying with all of my built up emotions, but I need him to tell me. I feel like I am suffocating, and when he still doesn’t say anything, I yell out, “ANSWER ME!”

I think we are both startled by the yell, but it does help because TK finally says something, “I am sorry, yes I am okay and no I am not hurt.” I smile, but then he asks the question I have been regretting, “What happened to you? Are you okay? You kept saying my name and then ‘I hate you,’ so do you? Do you hate me? P-please tell me that you don’t.”

I look over his face and want to start crying because of how heartbroken he looks and I start to explain the apparent nightmare to him and he slowly starts cuddling closer and closer to me. No matter how close he gets, I am so happy that he is here with me, and I am with him.

[tarlos-spain]

Tarlos Pride Month

Lets start the Pride month, with my contribution in the shape of some fics, thanks to @tarlosweeklyprompts. So this is the first one.

Prompt: TK and Carlos both have Austin Pride off and are able to attend together.

Characters: Carlos Reyes, TK Strand and Andrea Reyes. Also a lot mentions to Gabriel Reyes

Pairing: Why change? Tarlos and only Tarlos

Summary: It is the first Pride in which TK and Carlos are married and Carlos had prepared the day with his father... now everything has changed.

Title: The pride that couldn't be

"I've packed two large bottles of water in my backpack and I've taken external batteries for the cell phones, if we get separated I don't want us to lose sight of each other because we know how the streets get later. Do you want to take a sweatshirt in case it cools down later?"

When he didn't get a response from Carlos, TK poked her head out the bedroom door, but his husband wasn't listening. He was sitting on the bed, staring off into nowhere.

He walked over to him and sat down next to him, but Carlos didn't react until he stroked his cheek to get his attention.

"Were you saying something?" Carlos asked with a sad smile.

"What's wrong my love?"

Carlos breathed heavily and rested his head on TK's shoulder.

"Sorry I didn't want to ruin today, with all the plans we had for pride." TK said nothing and allowed him to continue talking. "We have been thinking for so long about what we would do today and before that on the honeymoon, before that on the wedding that without realizing it I had forgotten, it sounds terrible, I know, but I had almost forgotten that my father is already here and that I had been waiting for months for the moment to invite him to Pride with us."

"Oh, Carlos, my love, really, why didn't you tell me before? I've been talking about today for days. We should stay home, watch a couple of movies, order dinner and..."

"No, that's not what I want." Carlos turned to him and kissed him. "I want to... I wanted to show this part of my life to my father taking advantage of the fact that Pride was right after the wedding, my father."

TK motioned Carlos to lie down next to him on the bed and then took his hand.

"I know it won't be the same and there's nothing I can do to bring Gabriel back to you, but I'd like you to share with me the day you had in mind with him. It's silly, I know."

"It's not silly at all." Carlos's smile became much more relaxed. He turned and half turned on his side on the bed, took both of TK's hands and kissed them. "Have I told you today how much I love you? I hate it when I forget to remind you one day."

"You told me this morning, when you got out of the shower and found your bathrobe fresh out of the dryer."

"Well, then I'll tell you again, because you don't have to do this. I don't want to ruin your day by being down."

"I've packed two large bottles of water in my backpack and I've taken external batteries for the cell phones, if we get separated I don't want us to lose sight of each other because we know how the streets get later. Do you want to take a sweatshirt in case it cools down later?"

When he didn't get a response from Carlos, TK poked her head out the bedroom door, but his husband wasn't listening. He was sitting on the bed, staring off into nowhere.

He walked over to him and sat down next to him, but Carlos didn't react until he stroked his cheek to get his attention.

"Were you saying something?" Carlos asked with a sad smile.

"What's wrong my love?"

Carlos breathed heavily and rested his head on TK's shoulder.

"Sorry I didn't want to ruin today, with all the plans we had for pride." TK said nothing and allowed him to continue talking. "We have been thinking for so long about what we would do today and before that on the honeymoon, before that on the wedding that without realizing it I had forgotten, it sounds terrible, I know, but I had almost forgotten that my father is already here and that I had been waiting for months for the moment to invite him to Pride with us."

"Oh, Carlos, my love, really, why didn't you tell me before? I've been talking about today for days. We should stay home, watch a couple of movies, order dinner and..."

"No, that's not what I want." Carlos turned to him and kissed him. "I want to... I wanted to show this part of my life to my father taking advantage of the fact that Pride was right after the wedding, my father."

TK motioned Carlos to lie down next to him on the bed and then took his hand.

"I know it won't be the same and there's nothing I can do to bring Gabriel back to you, but I'd like you to share with me the day you had in mind with him. It's silly, I know."

"It's not silly at all." Carlos's smile became much more relaxed. He turned and half turned on his side on the bed, took both of TK's hands and kissed them. "Have I told you today how much I love you? I hate it when I forget to remind you one day."

"You told me this morning, when you got out of the shower and found your bathrobe fresh out of the dryer."

"Well, then I'll tell you again, because you don't have to do this. I don't want to ruin your day by being down."

[ramblingdisaster73]