#they will ever land it because his family gwyn and tk are the great loves of his life and i truly feel he cant get beyond that or it would

[pimento-playing-hopscotch]

OHHHHHH.

One moment while I find that gif of Tom Hanks -

Found it!

OVERHATED CHARACTERS POLL: Owen Strand (9-1-1: Lone Star)

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[getthesamovarready]

And they said "Speak now"

Owen × Michelle

TK x Carlos

I had a bit of this written a few weeks ago, and was re-inspired to finish it.

Michelle returns from Oregon (I don't know why I chose Oregon, don't ask me) to be Carlos's best-woman, and Owen can't keep his eyes off her.

He doesn’t see her all day until she’s walking up the aisle in front of Carlos. Since she landed in Texas a few days ago, all he’s been able to think about, was how beautiful she would look in her dress. It’s part of the reason he suggested the colour to Carlos when he and TK were trying to co-ordinate the wedding party. He saw the shade of green and all he could think was how well it would look on Michelle’s skin. He was right. He hadn’t, however, accounted for what the dress itself might look like. Hadn’t anticipated the deep velvet, hugging to a figure he had previously only really seen in uniform. Hadn’t thought about how much he might enjoy watching that velvet twirl around her ankles as she walks. Or how much he might focus on her shoulders, which he’s sure he’s never seen uncovered. She’s let her hair grow since she left Texas, even curled it falls well below her shoulders, with what isn’t pinned up swept over one shoulder so he can admire it all at once. And above all that elegance, is her wide grin, bursting with pride for her best friend. It is nothing short of mesmerising. 

They had rehearsed this moment yesterday, but nothing could possibly have prepared him for this. Her warm greeting, as comforting, and overwhelming as it was, is completely overshadowed by the tidal wave of...something, that hits him when she smiles at him now. The twinkling smile, and the wink of mutual pride when she takes her place across the aisle, turning to watch Carlos follow her. 

He has to rip his eyes from Michelle to watch Judd swagger up before TK. He’s glad he does, because the tear in Judd’s eye when he nods at Owen sends himself over the edge into tears as Gwyn takes his hand, and they watch their son nervously approach his husband-to-be. A husband-to-be who grips Owen’s hand with teary gratitude when he steps forward to offer it a shake. 

He doesn’t even pretend not to cry during the ceremony, can’t help thinking about how close they came to never being able to have this moment. And watching Carlos promising to support and love his son forever, fills Owen with a sense of relief that he just can’t ignore. He catches Judd straightening his back, and he knows that the whole team must be thinking the same thing. He puts an arm around a sniffling Gwyneth. 

He catches Michelle mouthing along with sections of Carlos's vows, and he has to stifle a laugh picturing a terrified Carlos phoning Michelle for advice on wedding vows. She lifts a hand to swipe a finger under her eye and he stops laughing. 

TK's turn comes, and it's Owen's turn to mouth along to words struggled to late at night. He thinks about TK calling him at night, claiming that two weddings made Owen an expert in wedding vows. Ignoring that two divorces made his experience a rather bad example to follow. But still, he had helped TK put his commitment to words. Somehow, it sounds better now, in TK's nervous, choked voice. 

He cries again when it's made official. His heart straining in his chest when the couple turn to walk back down the aisle, hand in hand. He wraps an arm around Gwyn's shoulders, hugging her tightly once, before they follow Judd and Michelle down the aisle. 

His high doesn't diminish through the rush of picture-taking in the hotel gardens. Though he does wish he could pull Michelle aside, just for a second, to thank her again for saving TK's life. And to tell her she looks stunning. But any moment that he's not busy with pictures, she is. They are released for the couple-only photos, and then he can't see her anywhere, she is lost in the sea of guests. 

She isn't with the team when he finds them congregated at a table at the bar. He accepts their congratulations with a hug each, before trying to dart off to find Michelle. Unfortunately,  everyone else wants to offer their sincere, and detailed, congratulations. 

He catches her out of the corner of his eye every now and then, always engaged in conversation with who he assumes to be relatives or friends of Carlos. But he doesn't manage to pull her aside, and all too soon they are ushered into the ballroom to sit down for dinner. 

Judd, though a great dinner companion, is obviously nervous. His leg shakes constantly though the entire first course, and only gets worse when the microphone is brought out for speeches. 

Carlos's father is first up, and even though his speech is short, by the end of it Owen's own leg is bouncing. 

Gwyn squeezes his leg, and Judd gives him a pat on the shoulder when the microphone is handed to Owen. 

"I uh…" He starts, hands shaking. "TK didn't want to move to Austin. I didn't really want to move either, but I felt like we had to." He admits. "Standing here today, I am so glad that we did. Not only has Austin changed our lives, it has made TK's. This place has been a blessing in so many ways, but right now, I have to thank Carlos, for being the most important one. Carlos has stood by my son, even when it wasn't easy to do that. For that I owe him a great debt. All I've ever wanted was for TK to be happy, to be loved. And you gave him that Carlos, so thank you. I can't think of a better person for my son to spend his life with. And I couldn't be happier to call you family, Officer." He lifts his glass from the table. "Thank you Carlos." He tips his glass towards him. "And congratulations, to Carlos and TK Strand-Reyes." He raises a toast, and passes the microphone to a terrified Judd. 

"I almost said no, when TK asked me to be his best man." Judd admits. "I ain't a talker, so speeches aren't really my thing. Especially not about feelings and stuff. But TK is my brother, and I couldn't let a brother down. So here I am...giving a speech." Owen glances over to the 126, all of whom have phones out recording, all of whom are laughing along with the moment. "Owen said he didn't want to move here, and I'll admit, I did want them here when they arrived. I thought TK was a punk, I thought he was entitled, that he didn't work hard, that he didn't care. I could not have been more wrong. TK Strand, is one of the hardest working people I know, and he's fought hard, in a lot of ways, to get to this day. And I'm proud of him, as proud as any big brother could possibly be." He nods at TK. "Carlos, on the other hand, I've known for a long time. Best friend of my overbearing sister." He winks at Michelle, who blushes into her champagne. "Who is always getting in trouble that Carlos has to get her out of. Even though Carlos is usually helping her get into that trouble. Because Carlos actually is a little punk. A punk, but a really good guy, and the most loyal person you'll ever find. I know you both know how lucky you are, because I see it every day in the two of you. It'll shock some people to find out that I am actually a very romantic man, don't let nothing fool you. I know true love when I see it, and I see it in these two fantastic men. Congratulations TK and Carlos." The 126 erupts into applause, and Owen has to chuckle at Paul and Marjan banging their fists on the table. He glances back at Judd in time to see him throw a wink at Michelle before raising his glass to the newlyweds. He sits with a heavy sigh, handing the microphone to the waiter standing by the table. 

And then it's Michelle's turn, and Owen's stomach turns to butterflies as he waits to hear her voice. "Thank you, Judson, for clarifying, that it is Carlos that gets me in trouble." She chuckles shyly, brushing loose hair from her forehead. "I'm not going to get into all that, in case I embarrass myself any more than necessary. Judd is right, Carlos is the most loyal person anyone could be lucky enough to have in their life, as he has proven to me, over and over again. He's helped me through some really difficult times, he's done his best to keep me sane when I couldn't do it myself, always reminding me how important friendship is. How important it is to have fun, to laugh, to tell eachother about boys that we like." She chuckles wetly, wiping at teary eyes. "Carlos is the kind of person who supports you through the very worst of your life, and makes sure to keep you smiling. I remember when he first told me about TK, he was berating me for being a bad friend. He was confused, scared, he didn't know if it would go anywhere. When he told me it was TK, everything made sense. Even though I'd only known TK a few months I knew he would be good to my Carlos, I knew he wouldn't hurt him, that even if it took some time, it would always lead us here. Carlos is loyal, loving, one of my favourite people. And he's now married to one of my other favourite people. I'm not part of the family anymore, but as anyone will tell you, a firehouse is like family. And that is true for nowhere as much as the 126. A family rebuilt by the Strands, and so beautiful, supportive, and resilient because of it. So in my view, TK is my family, just as much as Carlos is, and I couldn't love them more if we were actually related." She laughs again, eyes flicking downwards. "I'm so proud of you both." She chokes. "Congratulations."

She raises a glass, nodding at both of them, before she lets herself glance at Owen, accidentally letting their eyes meet briefly. She smiles weakly, eyes still wet from unshed tears, before she swallows thickly and sits, passing the microphone to Carlos. 

"I'm gonna keep this brief, cos I'm pretty sure the kitchen hates us for having so many speeches. I just want to thank everyone for coming, and thank everyone who helped plan this thing, weddings take way more planning than I ever thought, especially when your best-woman lives halfway across the country." He glares at Michelle with a slight chuckle. "I want to thank my parents, just for  being wonderful, for raising me, for loving me. But mostly for loving TK, for welcoming him immediately into your hearts. I want to thank TK's parents, Owen and Gwyneth. Firstly, for bringing someone as beautiful as TK into the world, for making him into the person I know. And for bringing him to me." He chokes slightly. "TK I love you. I've been in love with you since I met you, thank you for loving me back." He raises a glass. "To TK." 

"I hate speeches just as much as Judd does, me and speeches? We don't get along." TK starts, after standing from his seat to kiss Carlos before taking the microphone from him. "Like Carlos said, thank you all, for coming, for supporting us, we both really appreciate it. I really didn't wanna move here, my dad forced me too, and I was angry at him about it, for longer than I even realised. But it was the best thing that either of us ever did, even if dad did insist on driving the whole way from New York. And playing country music the whole time. I didn't know it then, but we were driving towards a whole new future. A future that brought me a whole new family. I got closer with my dad, I gained the 126. I got Carlos, and his beautiful family who make me feel like I'm one of their own. I second my dad's opinion that moving to Austin has been a blessing in our lives, so thanks Dad, for forcing me into it. And thanks Mom, for not going too crazy on him when he did." Beside him, Owen feels Gwyn shift in her seat, shaking her head with a laugh. "And thank you, to my beautiful husband, for making me the happiest man in the world, as cheesy as that sounds." TK reaches down to take Carlos's hand, squeezing it before leading the room in yet another toast. 

Speeches are followed by dinner, and then everyone is kicked out to the bar while they prepare the ballroom. Again, he can't find Michelle, and he's roped into a new series of congratulations, and compliments on his speech. He barely has time to grab himself a drink before the ballroom is ready, and they're called in for the first dance. 

He gets caught up in the dancing, somehow never managing to catch Michelle in a mural free moment, until he miraculously finds himself right next to her, and she takes his arm, turning them both away from their respective groups. "Quite a day Captain." She grins at him, and it reminds him of after-work drinks at the Honky Tonk, and bad, drunken line-dancing. But they aren't after work. And this isn't line dancing. 

It's definitely not line dancing when the music slows, and he has to slip a hand around her waist or stop dancing. She makes his mind up for him, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder, so his rests on her hip. "I've been trying to catch you all day." He tells her. "You're a difficult woman to pin down." She flushes, dipping her head. "I've been trying to find you all day, because I wanted to thank you. Without you, none of this would be happening." She lifts her head again to question him. "If you hadn't saved his life, TK wouldn't be here today. So this, all of this, is thanks to you." 

"Owen, that's not…" She shakes her head. "There would have always been a paramedic there that day. It's got nothing for do with me." She tries to brush it off, but Owen won't let her.

"But it was you." He argues. "And I wanted you to know that I was grateful." She let's him have it, nodding with a slight frown. "I was going to put it in my speech, but it didn't feel right."

"Carlos thinks it was his fault." She blurts out, cursing herself. "So it's good that you didn't. He was supposed to clear the place of weapons, and he didn't. " She explains at his questioning look. "It took him a long time to get past it." She's silent for a moment. "Don't forget that you saved his life too." She tells him, brow furrowing. "A few times, or so I hear. It's no less heroic to save your own family." Her hand squeezes his, and he nods in assurance, and thanks. 

"You look beautiful, by the way." He can't help but blurt out in response to her soft smile. "I've also been wanting to tell you that all day." His skin burns, and he hopes that the lighting will hide his blushes. 

"Green is my colour." She tells him with a bright grin, and a flush to her cheeks. The lighting doesn't hide it. He can't help but feel a twinge of pride at suggesting the colour. "You don't look so bad yourself." She straightens his tie. 

"How's your sister?" He asks, trying to ignore his tightening chest. 

"Better." She nods. "A lot better. It's done her a lot of good to get away, she's a lot more willing to accept help." She nods, but she doesn't smile. "It's quieter out there, that helps her." It doesn't seem like Michelle is overly enthusiastic about her quiet little corner of the Oregon coast. "Maybe she'll get stable enough to come home." She says hopefully. "But I'm not really sure that it would be good for her." He's heard the whole story, and he has to agree. Her mom was still pretty in denial about Iris's health before Michelle dropped everything to get her help while she spiralled. Taking her back to denial might just undo her progress. 

"What about work? How is the great Michelle Blake handling small-town life?" He changes the subject, earning a bashful chuckle from Michelle. 

"It's not nearly as much fun as Austin." She laughs. "Though nothing ever is." He laughs in agreement,  even New York wasn't as much fun as Austin. "But it's nice, my crew are nice." She's brightened considerably, but he finds that it doesn't quite reach her eyes. 

"Well we all miss you." He assures her. "It's been really great to see you the past few days." The team had been buzzing with talk of her return for days, planning her welcome home with enthusiasm. Their initial plans had been consumed with urgent wedding preparations, though he knows they have a back-up plan for a few days time, for her send-off. 

"I'm sure some of them just miss the jelly-beans in my office, they have to pay for their own now." She glances over to Matteo with a grin. 

 

"Oh we miss you for more than your jelly-beans." He laughs. He misses her for everything. He misses their rhythm at work, he misses her teasing, he misses her leaning on his doorway with a cup of tea after a trying call, soothing the pull of hard work. He misses her at the bar, playing him with tequila. He misses her smile, only full when she let's herself release the chains of responsibility. When she makes the decision to let herself life for herself, even just for the night. She's doing that now, has done her best, just for a while, to shed the responsibility of her sister. Giving him her full smiles. "We can't forget about the M&Ms." He takes the opportunity to spin them slightly, causing a giggle to rise from her throat. 

"I'm sorry to have deprived you all of your candy dealer." She laughs, flicking some stray hair, which had come undone when he spun them, from her face. 

He almost tells her how she has deprived them, or more specifically him, of so much more. He almost tells her how much he has actually missed her. He almost tells her everything. But just as he tries to speak his throat closes, and he can't. So when the music changes, and their position is rendered awkward, he is glad of an excited Nancy pulling Michelle off to dance to something they clearly both have a memory of, and he plops himself at an empty table to rest. 

The table doesn't stay empty for long, as Gwyn settles herself next to him with the offer of a scotch. "She's quite something, your Michelle." She starts, and Owen hates the knowing in her voice. She's always been able to read him easily. 

"She's not my anything, she's Carlos's Michelle." He tries to pass it off as not at all dissapointed at that fact, but fails miserably. 

"Oh don't even try that with me Owen." She tuts at him. "It's so clear how you feel about her,  I knew it before I even met her." She pats his hand when he scoffs. "You're like a little puppy when someone mentions her name. I swear I can see your ears perk up." She's laughing, and Owen would love to think she's just being mean, but he knows her better than that. And he also knows himself better than that. Gwyn is being horribly truthful. "Everyone else knows it too, why do you think they've been trying so hard to get you two together?" They've what?

"They've what?" He can't think of a single moment that would suggest some kind of scheme like that.

"The DJ changed the music in the middle of a song Owen." Her chuckle shifts into a smirk."Or didn't you notice?" 

Honestly he didn't. He'd rolled with the change in music without questioning it, welcoming the excuse to slow down and talk. "Well I uh…." 

"TK bolted to the DJ when you two started talking." She explains. "He seemed very determined." 

"That's probably just TK trying some kind of prank, I mean I did the same thi-" he tries to brush the whole thing off.

"You haven't been able to keep your eyes off her the past few days. I watched you watch her at the rehearsal you know." His stomach drops. "When she was walking up that aisle in front of Carlos, you looked at her the same way you looked at me when we got married." 

"Gwen come on…" Surely he hadn't been so obvious. Besides, having your ex-wife scold you on this type of thing at your son's wedding isn't the best feeling. 

"And then there was today." She chuckles. "I don't think theres anyone here who didn't notice how you looked at her today. If the rehearsal was obvious, I mean, today you might as well have put up a sign. You couldn't keep your eyes off of her. And any time you haven't been staring at her, you've been looking for her." 

His face is burning, and he has to suppressa groan. She's right, obviously. So he might as well be honest, and ask the advice of a friend. "It doesn't matter anyway, she lives in Oregon. She's taking care of her sister, that's her whole life. What kind of person would I be if I tried to insert myself into that?"

"The kind of person that loves her?" Gwen offers. "Who thinks she deserves to know that. Because that woman is in love with you Owen. And you can't not tell her you love her too because you think it might be selfish. Because letting her leave without knowing because that would just be cruel." She stands with a very pointed nod towards the bar, where Michelle is leaning against the counter. 

She steps away with a smile and a glass of Chablis, and scans the room for a friend. He watches as she catches sight of Grace, calling out to her for a catch up. He watches as Grace lifts a hand to admire the velvet of Michelle's sleeve. Watches as Michelle gushes about the dress, her eyes sparkling while Grace compliments her. 

He downs his drink and immediately makes his way to get another. Which conveniently places him right in earshot of Michelle and Grace. "It's beautiful there Grace. And my crew are nice. Nothing like good old Texas though." 

"We've missed you." Grace assures her. "Maybe some more than others, if you know what I mean." Owen knows exactly what she means, and quickens his pace towards the bar, ordering his drink with just a hint of desperation. If Grace is talking like that, then Michelle must have some kind of feeling. And he's just being a coward. 

With everyone's efforts, it's nearly impossible that Owen is getting through this night without having the conversation. The conversation he has literally dreamt about having with her. For years he's thought about what he might say to her. How she might react. He's imagined soft shock in her eyes, his chest constricting as she frantically asks him to explain, praying she didn't hear him wrong. He's also imagined her laughing him off, disappearing again, leaving him in his humiliation. 

He'd like to keep imagining. Would like not to be forced to know what happens after he stops talking. He'd like to keep thinking about hope in her eyes. About the shy little smile she might have. Or even something similar to her usual teasing and a, “took you long enough Captain.”

He tries not to imagine her laughing at him. His ridiculous notion that she might feel anything for him at all. Tries not to imagine that this has all been some little joke that everyone is in on but him. He tries so hard not to picture her backing away in horror. But somehow that is always the last thing he thinks of before he almost tells her. 

But there are some things he wants to stop imagining. He wants to know what she tastes like. He wants to know what it would feel like to kiss her. He wants to know if he should have told her before she left. Before she left him in Austin, stuck in the almost of her. He wants to put all his wondering to rest. 

He downs his drink, slamming it on the counter before ordering another. "What did that glass ever do to you?" A voice asks from beside him and he jumps, nearly knocking the poor glass clean off the counter. He fumbles with it pathetically while his heart races, as though she had overheard his previous thoughts. "What? You don't want to tell me?" She teases, smiling at his panic.

His stomach drops to the floor. He watches as she orders herself a glass of wine, leaning gracefully against the counter. Her heels make her tower over him, and he suddenly feels very small. He does want to tell her, desperately, but she looks so relaxed, he couldn't possibly ruin it for her.

But his mouth has other ideas. "I do actually." He admits, swearing internally. It gets her attention, and she turns to face him properly, straightening her back in curiosity. She looks concerned, and his heart clenches to think that maybe she worries about him sometimes. "It's got nothing to do with the drink." He admits, stupidly, as if she genuinely thought that he had some personal vendetta against a glass of Scotch. 

"No, I didn't think it did." She smiles, eyes shimmering down at him. "You were in a good mood earlier, what happened? TK's mom driving you crazy?" She teases him, bringing back memories of him spilling out his past after too many drinks after work. It became a habit of theirs, another night another anecdote. 

"No she's not driving me crazy." Even though she is, a little bit. "You are." She tenses, her shoulders squaring as she drops her head.

"Sorry," she starts, eyes on the floor. "I'll just…" She gestures vaguely, and he realizes that he's seriously messed up already.

"You've been driving me crazy." He whispers, grasping her arm when she starts to leave. "For years. You've been driving me crazy since you put me in my place my first day at work. And I can't get you out of my head." She doesn't pull away, but she doesn't look at him either. "And I've tried, a lot, to let it go, before you left, after you left...but I can't, and I'm sorry. I just can't stop thinking about you. My son got married today, my only child, and all I could think about was you." He can't stop now that he's started. "The past few days I've barely been able to think about the wedding at all, all that I've been able to focus on was how much I missed you when you were away. And how much I'm gonna miss you when you go again."

"Owen...I…" She tries, helplessly. After thinking about this for so long, she suddenly can't figure out how to respond. 

"I know it's selfish. I know you're going back to Oregon and I shouldn't make you take this with you. But I don't think I could let you go again, without telling you. That you drive me crazy. Without telling you that I can't get you out of my mind. I couldn't let you go without telling you that I'm in love with you." He lets her arm go, sighing.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Judd and Matteo watching them, and a quick scan of her surroundings tells her that the rest of the team are looking on too. So she grabs Owen's arm, and drags him out of the ballroom. He keeps pace as best he can, obviously shocked by how fast she can move in heels and a floor length dress. They're outside before she says anything. Actually, before she shoves him into the wall by the door, kissing him with everything she has. 

Even the balmy evening is cooler than inside, but he absolutely burns. Everything from his toes to his scalp is on fire, only soothed by her cool hands on his cheeks, the fingertips tracing his cheekbones. The velvet on her hips is warm under his touch, and he knows that if he were to raise his hand to rest on her exposed upper back, it would be just as burning hot as he is right now. He doesn't dare to bury his hands in her hair as he so wants to, she wouldn't forgive him for ruining the time and money spent on getting it to look so effortlessly glorious. So he keeps his hands safely on her hips. 

"Thank you for telling me." She whispers, after breaking from him with a gasp. He lets his thumb trace the curve of her hip as she breathes him in, as she brushes a thumb across his lip, wiping away lipstick that has smudged along it. He almost lifts his hand to do the same, before she smiles softly and presses her lips to his again, lighter this time. It only lasts a moment, but somehow it sends him reeling again. "I'm sorry I dragged you out here." She laughs, stopping only slightly out of his space. "I didn't want everyone watching." Both of them know that the team is probably just in the foyer, waiting for them to turn the corner and reveal exactly what's just happened. Neither of them would be surprised if one of them was standing just on the other side of the doorway, trying to listen in. 

"I think dragging me out if the ballroom also made a scene." He points out while she settles herself against the wall beside him. Silently, she brushes the back of her hand against his, twirling her fingers around his.

"I still have to go back." She tells him, after a while of silence. "I wish I didn't." She doesn't look at him, just runs her eyes over the pavestones at her feet. Iris still needs her help, still needs to be out of the city. And she still has a job she needs to go back to, as much as she would like to leave it behind and come home. "You said it was selfish of you to tell me, when I have to go back anyway. I feel like the selfish one. Dragging you out here, letting this happen." She gestures between them. "For spending my whole trip here wanting to say the same damn thing to you, even when I have to leave again." 

"Just….don't be a stranger Michelle." He tells her, squeezing her hand. And somehow that settles everything. And she kisses him to seal her promise. 

[zenlesszonezero]