#working on my issues with TK's parents through Carlos

[theghostofashton]

I’m a different anon then the ones you have gotten and this is a genuine question whats the racism he gets is?

Why is the criticism he gets called racism  compared to the rest of the cast?

What do they say that’s different or makes them seem racist, again genuine question :)

hi anon! first off i want to say that this is all just my perspective, other poc in the fandom are allowed to have different ones. i'm not speaking for anyone but myself here.

to answer your second question, i think that it's fair to say that the characters most consistently criticized on this show are owen, tk, and carlos. that's not to say that the other characters aren't criticized, but i rarely, if ever, see criticisms of them on here. this is likely because tk and carlos are the most popular characters on the show, and people have.... a lot of feelings about rob lowe and owen. with that in mind, i don't think it makes sense to compare the criticism carlos gets to the criticism that say.... paul, or tommy, or mateo, or any other character gets. they're just not on the same playing field.

as for carlos criticisms that i find racist, the anon that kickstarted all of this would be a good place to start because that's a good chunk of them. holding carlos "accountable" endlessly, no matter what happens on the show, never describing what that actually means. being upset tk has been kind to him when he's made mistakes.

that anon was in response to a post i made about remembering characters of color can have trauma the way white characters can, and they go on to say carlos's "only trauma" is his parents not talking about him coming out after he had. not only does it understate how traumatic that experience can be, it also leaves out him being drugged against his will twice, being held hostage by trudy and her son, him hearing his father be shot and killed in his parents' doorway, him learning that the chief of the rangers was the one who killed his father (and then being shot by him too), etc. there is so much that has happened to him over five seasons that constantly gets erased or discounted in how it would affect him mentally.

broader than that, though, in the lead up to s5 there was a lot of speculation about carlos being a bad husband, neglectful of his marriage, etc. i don't think that speculation was really the issue based on what we knew about s5 leading up to it, but i think it created this expectation that carlos would be those things to a problematic degree. after 5x01 aired, there was all this talk about how carlos had spent his entire lunch date with tk talking about work and then left early, leaving out that tk had insisted they talk about carlos's work and he was the one who decided to end their date early so he could make it back to the station before traffic hit. but these things were used to criticize carlos, omitting the full picture to make him look bad.

this is a post from right after the episode aired for some more context.

but i think something i've had kind of a hard time with throughout the season is the way carlos's grief is talked about. like he's always doing something wrong, like he's an inconvenience and he needs to get over it, or downright erasing it from the conversation entirely and reducing his arc in s5 to overworking or being a workaholic that needs to reassess his priorities. what he and his family went through was such a grave injustice that he had to figure out how to learn to live with.

grief is inextricably tied up in his s5 storyline and coloring so much of his behavior that it feels weird to pretend that's not the case. and i think in the context of what carlos was trying to do throughout most of s5, get justice for his father because the rangers couldn't be bothered to do anything for gabriel's case, that feels really loud.

[pimento-playing-hopscotch]

Favorite Fandom Memories

Thank you for the tag @nancys-braids @annoyingcloudearthquake @nisbanisba @carlos-in-glasses @carlossreaders - 💝

and thanks to @thisbuildinghasfeelings for starting this- Oh I'm not ready for this show to be over in three days!! ���😭😭😭😭😭😭

Finding the show on accident and realizing how special the show was- I remember I found it randomly on Hulu three years ago around this time and was like - I like Rob Lowe in stuff why not- and then by the time the title card appeared I was like WHAT IS THIS SHOW??? I can't think of a show that's had a better pilot in the 2020's, and I already am planning to go back and rewatch the pilot again after the finale

Getting to watch the show live- I respect everyone who is being a trooper about this season, so I won't go there- but there was truly nothing better than getting to watch season four live. That season of LS truly ate and left NO crumbs - I remember standing an inch from my TV during the Carlos kidnapped episode (also saying to myself halfway through; wait-is Trudy General Beckman from Chuck?? Yes, in fact she was. Anyway) Which I did the same for the finale- standing up in shock, barely moving - also - the rest of season four just had this big sense of fun I've missed in this current season - the hang seshes, the parents scheming, the puzzles, getting to see TK and Carlos to go to their respective parents about their issues and talk out their issues with each other; nothing tops that. That season, really and truly just... so well fed.

Finding friends to talk about things with; I love the friends I've made on here so much, and I have been lucky enough that I have been messaged with hey I thought we should talk - and I have also sent that message of okay I want to talk to you but I'm worried I'm bothering you please don't hate me!! And finding someone to message with are you seeing this?? And have that freak out session- that is usually the best part of my day.

Reading people's work - I cannot get over how talented this fandom is as a whole. Like the things people are able to write or draw- I am never not in awe that someone can sit down and that is what comes out. And season five left in the hands of any writer on here would have fared so much better and I truly mean that.

Writing (insert the Willem Defoe meme here, I'm something of a writer myself). And not to get too personal on main, but I hadn't written a thing of any length in thirteen years before I started watching this show. But I loved the characters they created so much and it made me feel like I could still write. Which, I'm trying not to say it gave me a reason to actually want to be alive, but.... 🫣🤐♥️♥️♥️♥️ I'm so not ready for this show to end. Fuck corporate greed so much. 😭😭😭😭😭 Open tag for anyone who wants to share what this show means to them 🫶

[thisbuildinghasfeelings]

Season 6 plot wishes

We meet Enzo and Jonah. Because this show loves killing people off, Enzo dies. Tarlos become his legal guardians.

No disrespect to your wishes, anon, and I'm sure you're not the only one who wants this, but I would not be a fan of this happening. I would love to see TK and Carlos as parents at some point, but I want it to be on their own terms. Especially after the way things were left last season, I think it would be unfortunate to put Carlos in this position. I want him to be able to work through his issues, come to the decision that he's ready to be a parent, and then have them take affirmative steps to make that happen. And I want them to have their own kid, not TK's brother.

Also, I'm not ready to see them as parents yet! I think adding a kid into the mix would put a strain on the kinds of scenes I still want to see from them. My ideal situation would be for them to become parents at the very end of the show, and I'm really not ready for that to happen!

That said, if they want to introduce Enzo and Jonah, I would be all for it!

[paperstorm]

Hi! Would you be willing to talk a little more about HCing Carlos as demi/on that spectrum? Only if you want to of course! Your analysis is always so well thought out and interesting. I've only recently started dipping my toe into seeing if one of those identities might fit me, and working through the lens of beloved characters and the distance afforded by that has been...eye-opening lol. Thank you and even if you don't get to this I hope you're having a good day/night/whatever!

Sure! Really it comes mostly out of Carlos's admission that he didn't realize he wasn't broken until he met TK. That just feels so big to me. It's not a normal romantic "all my life I was looking for you" kind of declaration, because it's more about Carlos himself than it is about TK. It's not just "you make me happy in a way no one ever did" or "I feel whole when I'm with you", it's "I felt wrong until I met you in a way that I didn't even fully realize until that feeling went away." I've always headcanoned that Carlos didn't have a ton of experience with other guys before TK just because it feels to me that that's implied in canon but that line. It makes his marriage to Iris make even more sense if you put him on the demi spectrum, because while he realized that he was gay, compounded with his issues with his parents and the internalized homophobia he needed to work through, Carlos also tried to date and hook up but it never felt like he thought it was supposed to. It wasn't the fireworks revelation he'd been led to believe it would be, but instead of going oh well I just haven't met the right guy yet, he decided there was something wrong with him. That he was broken in a way that was more profound than just being gay in an intolerant world. So he got married to his friend, thinking that would be the closest to a happy ending he would ever get. And then he met TK, and for the very first time he felt all the things he thought he was supposed to feel. He really wanted someone for the first time, so much that he felt like they were soulmates when they barely knew each other, which is not a thing that rational, practical Carlos ever expected to feel. I doubt the writers did this knowingly or intentionally but it fits so well for me that once I thought of it, I kind of cant' stop seeing him this way. He felt wrong in his own skin because he didn't have the deep emotional connection with other men that he needed in order to enjoy being with them. And then TK just made everything make sense.

[onetimetwotimesthreetimess]

KILL ME NOW I CANT TAKE ALL THESE EMOTIONS KANDKNSKA I AM WRECK WITH CARLOS FINDING OUT ABOUT HIS DADS WORK AND GABRIEL DYING JUST LIKE THAT AND COPING WITH THE PAIN AND BEING BLINDED BY IT AND TK GOING TO OWEN AND OWEN ACTING LIKE THE DAD HE HAS JUST LOST AND THE PROPOSAL AGAIN AND AND THE WEDDING AND THE VOWS AND THE SONG IN THE END WITH ALL THE IMAGES I CANNOT KANDKNSJANA

Honestly these are some of the finest hours of television I have watched. I understand that a lot of people are not happy with the finale and it’s valid but I absolutely loved it. I think the issue was with releasing the episodes back to back cause that shit was overwhelming to say the least but I loved loved loved everything.

I wish Gabriel would not have died but like it’s network tv and characters are always killed to raise the stakes and I don’t particularly like it but I’ve braved through 15 seasons of Grey’s where main characters have been brutally killed so as much as I loved him—better secondary characters like Charles/Robert than any of the mains from the 126.

Anyways—on to the good parts.

1. The 126 scene at the beginning lmao they are all so unserious all the time I love them

2. Gabriel and Carlos broke my heart in that scene

3. I didn’t really care much about Robert but he grew on me? I wish we’d seen more of him so that I was more emotionally damaged lmao

4. CARLOS IN HIS VILLAIN ERA IS EVERYTHING TO ME I LOVED THE UNHINGENESS THE CURLS THE ABSOLUTE GOING OFF THE RAILS ARC.

5. TK being the supportive fiancé>>🥺🥺 “we’re not going to say cancelled”

6. DOUBLE PROPOSAL OOF>>

7. THE WEDDING THE HONEYMOON SCENE THE VOWS THEIR SMILES THEIR SUITS THE HAPPIBESS THAT MF SONG TOMMY AND FUCK ALL THE COUPLES BEING HAPPY I—

8. Also did you watch the deleted scenes?? I am so obsessed with them

9. The only thing I didn’t like was the Wyatt and Judd’s storyline. I work in the field of public health and disability and the saviour complex irked me to no end. Wyatt was given absolutely no rights in his entire treatment and I hate that. And the whole “you can do it you can do it” pressure by Judd wasn’t very helpful. I work with a lot of parents too and while I understand and see their pain when their kid has a disability and the mental toll on them—it’s still no excuse for violating their rights.

OKAY BUT I OVERALL I LOVED THE TWO EPISODES. I WISH WE GOT MORE TARLOS WEDDING BUT ITS AN ENSEMBLE AND YET TARLOS GETS SO MUCH SCREENTIME SO I AM 100% CONTENT UNTIL WE GET ALL THOSE DELETED SCENES!!!

[911lonestarfeels]

So I got up this morning at five so I could watch both episodes before work. Thank you Hulu for not posting things until 301. 

I honestly have a lot of different thoughts on the episode I thought it was excellently acted. But I felt like the pacing was off you know?

My ethnic, cultural, and race background is fairly similar to TK. One parent who’s Jewish the other parent is not so maybe I’m not seeing things from the right perspective? Like I had no idea that Carlos had issues with the Rangers until that episode. I thought the discussion between him and Andrea was amazing. An example of having differing positions and facts that will back up what you’re saying being civil about it and agreeing that you can’t agree. I thought that was wonderfully done. 

I also really liked that. TK didn’t try and mediate between Carlos and Gabriel. It isn’t a partners job to be supportive and help them find the right path forward. However, you don’t need to insert yourself in every situation. Especially one that you’re probably not qualified to handle them.  As well as TK and Carlos know each other, he don’t know the totality of the history, both in the father, son, relationship, and the relationship that the Rangers had with minority groups. While TK is technically a minority, some minorities are more in your face than others. For example, I’m a teacher my dad was Jewish, so ethnically, not religiously I’m half Jewish. Well 48% according to ancestry.com but if you walked up to me on the street, you would think I was a pure wasp – you know white Anglo-Saxon protestant. TK has that same guise. I don’t know if it’s passing or just like flipping through the cracks. But in the day today he is not going to experience the same thing as Carlos or Gabriel or Andrea.  Going to Andrea at that point then later Owen, was probably the best plan.

I think overall my issue with the two episodes is this they tried to shove too much into two episodes. The disagreement between Carlos and Gabriel, the half family coming to town and meeting everybody, Owen, being Owen, he makes drama wherever he goes, Gabriel’s death and funeral Being in one episode. And the next one we have Carlos attempting to go through every stage of grief, the postponement of the wedding, which I’m pretty sure all of us knew was going to happen, Carlos beginning to veer a little bit from the normal route, the wedding, all the stuff with Wyatt and Judd quitting, which should be in quotation marks, probably, the five second honeymoon, and then assisted suicide.

I have issues with that whole storyline, which I will not get into now because this post is incredibly long, but it wasn’t necessary to shoehorn that into the end of the episode. Unless they were trying to be cheaper and not have to film anything for next season? I really love this show And I love those boys. The Reyes parents were growing on me and I hope that Owen turns down his melodrama.

But the season long lead up to the wedding that was like 20 minutes. I was disappointed. Maybe there are outtakes that they’ll post somewhere

Oh!  And where are Enzo and Jonah like you have the random cousins from California that you’ve never met but not your half brother that you share with your dead mom. Color me confused. 

[bellakitse]

Point of Comfort

“Babe, please,” Carlos tries patiently. He tugs on TK’s hair until he moves, turning on his back to look up at Carlos as he rests his head on his legs. “Talk to me.”

+

Escaping his parents’ latest drama, TK goes to the one person that brings him peace.

Written for Day One of Tarlos Corazonados Weekend- “Babe, please, sharing is caring.” @tarlos-valentine

Spoilers for the Owen-Gwyneth reveal of 2.04

*Mentions of TK’s canon-based childhood neglect and Owen/Gwyneth not so great parenting skills.*

Carlos Reyes has his feet up and music playing as he reads the latest paperback on his reading list when his front door is unlocked and in walks his boyfriend. He takes him in, his heart skipping a beat the way it always does when he looks at TK.

He’s dressed in his usual comfortable combo of sweats and a light-weight hoodie, and he’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s a constant source of awe for Carlos just how beautiful TK Strand is, even when he’s frowning like he is now.

“Um, hi?” he questions, both because TK had told him earlier that he was going back home for dinner with his parents, probably spending the night there, and because of the sour expression on his face.

TK grunts a hello in his direction, kicking his shoes off before he makes a beeline for him. He throws himself sideways on the couch Carlos is currently occupying, batting his hands out of the way as he wraps his arms around Carlos’ waist, pressing his face into his stomach before letting out a muffled scream.

Carlos raises an eyebrow at the action; he bends a corner of his book to mark the page he’s stopped at before placing it on the side table. “I take it dinner went well,” he says dryly as he runs his hand through TK’s hair, pressing down on that special spot behind his ear that always makes TK gasp.

TK retaliates by biting him through his shirt, and Carlos shakes with silent laughter at the childish action. Only TK can make bratty behavior cute. It’s either that, or that Carlos is so far gone on him that he finds everything he does adorable.

He keeps scratching TK’s scalp, feeling his body start to lose the tension he’s carrying. “Are you gonna tell me what happened?”

TK shakes his head, not bothering to move his face from Carlos’ mid-section.

“Babe, please,” Carlos tries patiently. He tugs on TK’s hair until he moves, turning on his back to look up at Carlos as he rests his head on his legs. “Talk to me. Sharing is caring after all,” he continues jokingly, pleased when TK lets out a reluctant huff of amusement at his words.

“They’re just being so annoying, bickering nonstop over the baby,” he says tiredly, and Carlos feels a wave of sympathy for his boyfriend. The news that Owen and Gwyn were expecting had been a shock to everyone, but no one more than TK. Since the moment they announced it, Carlos has watched TK carefully, seeing time and time again conflicting feelings play across his features.

“The kid isn’t even born yet, and they’re already arguing,” TK continues, the frustration in his voice loud and clear. “Which would be fine if it was just me,” he rolls his eyes. “I’m used to them, but this baby doesn’t need that shit. They’re falling into familiar patterns, and they can’t even see it. I just don’t know how to fix it,” he finishes helplessly.

Carlos stays quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to address multiple points in TK’s comments. He starts with the last one first. “Well, first of all, it’s not your job to fix it,” he tells him, giving him a serious nod to emphasize his point when TK looks up at him with wide eyes. “It’s just not, baby, I get the impulse, I do. But your parents are adults. It’s up to them to get their shit together for this baby or realize that they don’t work together and figure out how to co-parent apart.”

He frowns as he moves on to the next point that bothers him more than the first. “Second of all, it’s not fine that you are used to them being this way. They shouldn’t be better parents just for this baby that’s coming; they should be better parents for you too,” he says heatedly, realizing for the first time just how angry he is on his boyfriend’s behalf.

He hears a sniffle, it pulls him out of his thoughts, and when he looks down at the man in his lap, he startles to see tears in his pretty green eyes.

“Oh, baby, I’m sorry,” he says anxiously, feeling gutted as the tears spill down TK’s cheeks.

“No, no,” TK says just as fast as he sits up. “Don’t apologize,” he continues with a self-conscious chuckle as he wipes his face. “I’m being ridiculous.”

Carlos frowns again. He takes TK’s hands, intertwining their fingers, tugging on them to get his attention. “You’re not, though,” he says, biting down on his lip before proceeding with caution. “It’s pretty clear that their behavior upsets you, sweetheart.”

Fresh tears spring in TK’s eyes, and Carlos hurts at the sad smile he gives him. “They’re not bad people. They love me.”

“I know that,” he reassures him, meaning it. He’s spent enough time with both TK’s parents to know they are kind and love their son beyond measure. “But they’re not perfect,” he says with a wry smile of his own, remembering a familiar conversation they had about his own parents just weeks ago. “And they don’t seem to notice how they act affects you. How I think it has always affected you?”

TK looks at him for a moment before letting out a sigh. “I hate when they fight,” he whispers, sounding small. It makes Carlos ache. “They can be great, laughing one second and then taking jabs at each other the next. Growing up, it would stress me out, not knowing which way it would go on any given day. I hate that it still makes me feel like that now. I know it’s never going to change. I should have a better handle on it by now.”

Carlos is shaking his head before TK is even done speaking. “Nope, you don’t get to take this responsibility on your shoulders,” he says, still shaking his head when TK opens his mouth. “Nope, nope, nope. You will not be blaming your valid feelings in this house.”

“Carlos,” TK says with a reluctant smile. It slowly grows more genuine when he doesn’t budge on his position. “Defending me even from myself,” he says with a resigned chuckle, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “I love you, you know that, right?”

“I do know,” he answers with a grin of his own. He reaches up, tugging TK towards him. TK comes easily, shifting to place his knees on either side of Carlos’ thighs, settling on his lap. “I love you too,” he tells him softly as he runs his thumb over his cheekbone. TK leans forward, smiling as he presses his lips against his.

Carlos cups his face, holding him in place as he kisses him. Taking his time, he touches his tongue to TK’s bottom lip, slipping inside to taste him when TK parts his lips with a breathy sigh. The kiss is meant to comfort, but as usual, the heat between them quickly ignites, and he feels his stomach clench with want as TK lets out a needy moan and starts to squirm on his lap. He breaks the kiss only when breathing becomes a problem, staring in wonder at how beautiful TK looks like this, skin flushed, his eyes hazy and unfocused, lips red and slick.

He loves this man, and he doesn’t want him farther than he is right now, which is probably why the next words spill out of his mouth. “You should move in with me.”

“What?” TK questions, his expression going from lost in their moment to startled. “Did you just – “

“You should move in,” he repeats. His heart is pounding from nerves, but he realizes just how much he wants this as he speaks again. “You shouldn’t have to deal with your parents’ issues in your own home anymore.”

TK’s face goes tender as the left side of his mouth quirks up in a half-smile. “Carlos, babe, it’s really sweet of you to offer just to save me from my parents’ bickering, but – “

“That’s not why I’m asking,” he rushes to say. “I mean, I do believe that Owen and Gwyneth need to get their shit together for their sake, yours and the baby that’s on the way. I also think that they should do it without dragging you into the middle of it. And I do want you to have a place away from that environment because I don’t think it’s good for you,” he swallows nervously, taking TK’s hands in his once more, bringing them up to his mouth to kiss them.

He looks at TK over them, his lips against his knuckles. “But mostly, I’m asking because I want you here. I want this to be your home. I love that this is the place you seek when you are stressed or frustrated, or scared. I love that this place is a source of peace for you, and I want that to be a permanent thing. I want this place, me, to be your home. I want – “

“Oh my god, shut up,” TK blurts out, kissing him hard before Carlos has a chance to feel hurt by his words. He breaks the kiss just as fast as it starts, bringing their joined hands to his mouth just like Carlos did moments ago, laying a kiss there too. “Yes,” he says with a smile that threatens to take over his whole face. His eyes are shining with tears again, but this time Carlos is relieved to see they’re happy ones. “I want all of that too, so yes.”

“Yes, you’ll move in with me?” he repeats, needing to hear the words in full. His heart all but cartwheels at the indulgent look TK gives him in return.

“Yes,” TK says again, grinning before letting out a happy laugh. “I will move in with you.”

Carlos releases TK’s hands to pull him into a hug, smiling at the peaceful sigh TK lets out as he settles into his hold, all but melting into it, and Carlos promises himself to always be this for TK. He’ll do everything in his power to make sure TK feels safe, loved, and know that he’s home from this moment on.

[doublel27]

Honestly a little surprised that you are "not mad" that Carlos didn't tell TK this huge secret in all the time they've been together. Especially after the way he acted about TK and his sponsor. Yeah the set-up for this storyline was non-existant and that's bad writing, but also, Carlos's complete lack of remorse and TK's complete lack of a reaction to the news makes me feel like I'm watching pod people. Is TK gunning for sainthood? Even if the set-up was there the way they handled the reveal just makes no sense.

Look, this is a man who spent four-six months of a break up lying to his parents about the break up and the fact that they weren’t living together anymore in a time period that included major holidays AND TK’s birthday.

He hates confrontation (I have a whole meta on it) and his anxiety is like for real bad (therapy Carlos my love please)

This is not new or news.

I’m going to detour (but bring it back around): this morning I was catching up on the Drama Queen’s podcast and they were discussing a storyline in which a half a married couple admits he’s lied by omission and his wife was physically injured due to this lie. And Sophia Bush (my angel, my love) brought up how as a person with severe anxiety (like me and Carlos and the queen herself) learns from a very young age to not bring their anxiety and worries to other people but to feel that they have to have a solution to the problem before they let others in.

The need to have an solution ready before he loops anyone else in is a VERY common behavior in Carlos. We see it from season one through season three. This is an area of growth for him.

Do I believe Carlos should have told TK long ago: yes.

Is this a flaw in Carlos’s character: absolutely

Does TK have every right to be pissed and hurt: most certainly.

But it’s Carlos turn to do the growing. We’ve gotten three seasons of TK’s character development arc start with a failed proposal in the series premiere and end with a successful proposal in the season three finale. TK’s ability not to immediately internalize this as Carlos thinking he was too fragile to handle this news and recognizing that Carlos has been drowning in his anxiety and guilt and shame over this and THAT is why he didn’t say anything, is outstanding and amazing and WHY Tarlos works. They take turns being the messy one.

So no, I’m not mad with Carlos. I don’t think not telling TK with the depth of guilt and shame and Carlos’s history of conflict avoidance is out of character. I do not blame others for being mad at Carlos and TK definitely has every right to surface his mad about this later after processing and when Carlos isn’t on an anxiety spiral.

I said it last season and I will say it again this season: we are watching two men with two different manifesting mental health issues navigate a relationship. They’re both doing their best but they will still hurt each other in the process of doing their best. Sometimes their best isn’t enough.

That’s marriage, kids, especially when you throw in depression, anxiety, substance abuse, internalized homophobia, and stressful jobs.

[hexie-mountain]

given what we know, this is both tk and carlos’ first proper serious relationship so their missteps aren’t as surprising imo they’re trying to work through past trauma and mental health issues while also trying to show up for each other

owen and gwyn’s divorce, enzo picking up the slack during owens absence when tk was growing up and tk’s addiction are all traumas that can greatly affect a person’s self worth and perception so it’s understandable that he sees himself in a slightly distorted negative light

see: tk immediately jumping to a conclusion of carlos thinking he’ll be a bad father when thats not even close to what carlos meant when he said he’s not ready for kids in present time.

tk trying to convince gwyn in the flashback while coming down from a high that he doesn’t need help and how he shows up to work on time and clean and doesn’t fuck up. his addiction and parental issues left him with this deep seated need to prove his own capabilities in every facet of his life and if you consider the way he reacted to iris seeing herself in him then its clear that its a wound thats still healing with his new found stability and love in austin

and carlos’ trauma growing up a gay man of colour in a traditional family and a conservative state, the rejection led him to believe he’s pretty much unlovable and left him scrambling for control thinking his only hope at any kind of a semi-happy future was iris. and all this weight of responsibility of being the only son with 2 sisters and being raised with pretty rigid views of what a man is supposed to behave like and be.

carlos clearly having trouble communicating his feelings and having some kind of anxiety based conflict avoidance and people pleasing ingrained into his core that he’s trying to balance and ultimately fails at because he’s just now realising that he cannot keep everyone happy whether its trying to love tk while also maintaining the illusion of a perfect son to his parents cuz he thinks he’s disappointing them or trying to fix himself to please his parents and help iris as a friend with his insurance etc etc and now that he feels slightly in control and sure of his life with tk he probably feels the need to celebrate and enjoy it fully and kids do seem like a daunting step when he’s just now feeling in control of his life

til i get my damn carlos begins episode im going to be blindly filling in blanks that lame square tim minear does not care to fill 🧑🏽‍💻

[morganaspendragonss]

maybe it will turn out this time

finally posting my @911lsbb!!! i'm so excited for you all to read this 💚 it will be three chapters and they will be posted every two days. word counts and warnings will be in the separate posts for each individual chapter fic title and chapter titles from road to hell from the hadestown soundtrack

summary: Falling in love with TK Strand wasn't part of Carlos's five-year-plan. Falling in love with anyone wasn't part of his five-year-plan, but TK... He blew like a whirlwind into Carlos's life and brought him a happiness he couldn't have even dreamed of. But tragedy is never far around the corner, and when it strikes, that happiness feels like a distant memory. * orpheus and eurydice, with a tarlos twist art by the absolutely wonderful and talented @dangermagnetstrand here! ao3 | 5.2k | hadestown references, first meeting, developing relationship, non-linear narrative

banner by @maomarty-blog

chapter 01: it's a love song

TK wakes up to warm, strong arms holding him close to a firm chest. A lazy smile curls on his lips and he doesn’t bother to open his eyes, snuggling back further into the embrace instead. The grip tightens around him and lips press into his hair. TK doesn’t know how long it’s been since he was this happy.

Too long; weeks, months — or that’s what it feels like.

But, really, any time away from Carlos would be too long.

*

Carlos’s five-year plan is simple: work hard, establish himself in the department and in his captain’s eyes, and make (or at least start the process of making) detective. His friends like to mock him for it; they say he’s turning into a workaholic and he needs to lighten up, that he’s going to forget how to have fun.

It’s stupid. Carlos knows how to have fun. He’s just not interested in the type of fun his friends usually mean.

Carlos isn’t a relationship guy.

He used to be, or he could have been had his first real relationship not blown up rather spectacularly when the parents issue came up. He can’t be the one to start this conversation again, so they’re at an impasse, and it’s not an obstacle Carlos feels comfortable removing right now. The avoidance is even comforting, now; it means he can still pretend that things are okay. 

Anyway, he figures that, while that’s the case, no guy is going to be willing to give him the time of day. And, sure, Carlos is open to being surprised. If love, somehow, appears in his life, and this guy, somehow, has no problem with Carlos’s ridiculous hang-ups, then he’ll happily eat his words.

He’s just not planning on it, is all.

He’s not planning (though he doesn’t know it yet) on TK Strand.

“I still don’t know how I let you talk me into this,” he grumbles, though he only makes a half-hearted attempt to get out of Lena’s grasp. His youngest-elder sister is famous in their family for always getting what she wants, and she can strong-arm anyone into anything. This was true of even their abuelo on their father’s side, who was a hard nut if one ever existed.

So it’s hardly surprising to Carlos that she’s succeeded in dragging him out to an open-mic night on his evening off, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.

“Stop whining, Carlitos,” Lena huffs, smirking as he rolls his eyes at the nickname. “No one ‘talked’ you into anything; you want to be here and I can tell.”

“I really don’t.”

“You really do.” She speeds up and Carlos has no choice but to let her drag him through the bar, lest he get swallowed by the crowd around them. Hopefully, he’ll be able to sneak out before it gets too late, but he’ll play along for now — at least that way she won’t be able to say he didn’t try.

An hour in, he’s seriously regretting that decision. Most of the singers are drunk and so out-of-tune that Carlos thinks his ears will be ringing for days, the beer is warm and overpriced, and Lena abandoned him at the table fifteen minutes ago to talk to a couple of friends she spotted.

Carlos would use that fact as an out, but she’d asked him to watch her drink and, as both a cop and her brother, he can’t in good conscience leave.

So he remains, sipping at bottom-of-the-barrel beer and fantasising about his bed. He’s barely aware of it when a hush starts to fall over the bar, too in his head and regretting his decisions to bother with this whole thing. It’s been fairly loud all night, most of the crowd not even really quieting for the performers.

Until now.

Now, the bar is near silent, with most turning toward the stage for the first time all night. It draws Carlos’s attention to the stage where a guy who looks to be about his age is just starting to sing. He’s attractive, Carlos won’t deny noticing it, with bright green eyes and a smile that could probably charm even the most hardened criminals into telling the truth. He actually looks kind of familiar, come to think of it, but all thoughts of the man’s identity are knocked from Carlos’s head as his voice starts to wash over the bar.

King of shadows,

King of shades…

Carlos stops focusing on the lyrics and lets himself be carried away by the mystery singer’s voice. It’s as though he’s put a spell over the bar; even the bartender has ceased polishing glasses and is staring at the man on the stage. The song has a haunting melody, beautiful and lilting, and, though he’d never even heard it before this moment, Carlos finds he can’t imagine it being sung by anybody else.

This song was made for him; he was made for it. 

Maybe it’s the singer’s manner. His eyes are closed and there’s a small, private smile on his face, as though he’s forgotten he’s in front of an audience. He sways in time to the rhythm, his fingers moving expertly across the strings of his guitar. It’s this that captures Carlos’s attention the most — he doesn’t know why, but he finds himself lost in the moment. All he sees is those skilled hands; all he hears is that gentle voice and the beautiful notes of the song.

Then, suddenly, silence falls again.

It takes a moment for Carlos to pull himself out of his stupor, and by that point, the singer is already giving his thanks and walking off the stage. Someone else takes his place, and just like the flipping of a switch, everything goes back to how it was. Another out-of-tune voice fills the bar, loud shouts start to drown it out, and the crowd, so still a minute ago, is once again almost suffocating with how close the bodies press in.

Carlos isn’t entirely sure he didn’t dream the entire thing. He tries pinching his arm to check, but it turns out there’s no need; he’s very abruptly reminded of reality when Lena suddenly grabs his shoulders from behind, making him jump.

“Do you mind?” he demands, the grouch firmly back in place.

Lena just winks at him and leans to whisper in his ear. “Told you you’d like it here.”

His cheeks flame, but Lena is gone before he can get any stammered protests out.

*

He’s missed this.

It’s a strange thought to have, TK realises — he sees his husband almost every day, shifts allowing — but it’s true nonetheless. He’s missed watching Carlos bustle around the kitchen, whistling a soft little tune and juggling more pots and pans than the TK of a few years ago would have believed were needed for breakfast.

That’s the least of the things that have changed since he met Carlos; the TK of a few years ago would never have believed that one day he would have mornings like this in the home he shares with the love of his life — a man who accepts him for everything he is and isn’t.

The TK of a few years ago was more likely to end up dead in a ditch than with all of this.

But he does have this, and so TK takes a moment to bask in it, to soothe this strange feeling in his chest. He leans against the bedroom door frame, a small smile growing on his face as he watches Carlos, who is still oblivious to his presence. 

The ache flares up again and TK rubs at it, but it just continues to grow, stealing his breath and sending a chill over him. TK closes his eyes and shakes his head, hoping it will knock this sudden sensation of wrongness from him, but it doesn’t work, and when he opens his eyes…

When he opens his eyes…

Carlos is gone.

*

He can’t get the singer out of his head.

Carlos doesn’t know what’s wrong with him. This isn’t him. He doesn’t fall in love with guys at first sight — fuck, he doesn’t even think be believes in love at first sight. But ever since he went to that bar with Lena, his thoughts have been filled with flashes of green eyes around every corner and soft strums of a guitar in every song.

And, speaking of songs, he can’t find the one the guy sang at the bar. It apparently doesn’t exist outside of those three minutes, which is not helping to dissuade him from his theory that he was hallucinating or dreaming or — or something. 

Except, his heart lurches in a very real way every time he thinks about the stranger, and Carlos isn’t sure he could have dreamed up a guy like that. 

Then, there is the fact that Lena is taking every opportunity to tease, which is something Carlos wishes he was dreaming. It’s inescapable; when she can’t get to him in person, she’s blowing up his phone in every way she knows how, asking how the ‘love of his life’ is doing and when the wedding will be.

Carlos tries to ignore her — this is generally the best tack to take with Lena. If he lets her see for a second that she might even be slightly right she’ll become unbearable. 

It’s just a crush though, or that’s what it’s going to be. Austin may be a small town, but it isn’t that small; his chances of ever seeing the guy again are below zero, and his chances of talking to him are even lower. 

It’s a thought that helps him in his quest to forget the singer. Though Carlos knows that haunting melody will stay with him for a long time yet, he can make his peace with this, at least, remaining a mystery.

Then the storm hits.

*

“Babe?”

TK blinks and Carlos is in front of him again. He gapes at him and blinks again, and again, finally reaching out to touch him. Carlos’s chest is solid under TK’s hand, just as it always has been, and it stays that way when TK collapses into him, his heart finally slowing from the rabbit’s pace that came when Carlos disappeared.

Carlos’s hands come up to hold TK, but there’s a hesitancy to them that belies the frown that must be on his face. “Babe?” he repeats, more worried this time. “Are you okay?”

TK nods into the crook of Carlos’s neck. “I am, now that you're back.”

“Back? When did I leave?”

TK pulls away, though he refuses to let go of Carlos just yet. There’s this feeling inside him, inexplicable, that if he moves away now, he’ll never see his husband again. That Carlos will vanish, and never return.

His silence is obviously worrying Carlos, so TK pastes a smile on and leans in to press a kiss to his cheek. It’s a stupid thought anyway; Carlos would never just leave him like that. That’s always been TK’s move.

“Nothing,” he says. “For a minute, I thought… It’s nothing. Guess I’m still half asleep.”

Carlos raises an eyebrow, so much fondness in his expression that it aggravates the ache. It’s like a longing, but it can’t be, because all TK longs for is right here in front of him. 

“You do realise it’s nearly twelve, right?”

He shouldn’t be surprised. He’s never been an early riser on his days off, but Carlos’s words still catch him off guard. He could have sworn…

Carlos laughs and finally detaches TK from him, pulling him out of his thoughts. TK mourns the loss of contact, but he tries not to focus on just how deep that loss seems to feel, instead trailing after Carlos and instantly latching back on as soon as he stops in front of the stove.

“Clingy this morning, are we?”

TK isn’t sure himself what the mumble that escapes his mouth is supposed to mean, but Carlos doesn’t object when he holds on tighter.

TK relaxes into his husband, and he wishes they could stay this way forever.

*

Carlos keeps his hood up and his head ducked, shivering as cold drops of rain still manage to work their way underneath his clothes. The weather took a turn a few days ago, scorching hot sunshine suddenly becoming bullet-like rain and winds so strong it sometimes feels like he’s going to fall over. 

He still has his job to do, of course, but fortunately his only job at this scene in particular is to keep the public and press back — something that’s a lot easier than normal; even Fox News doesn’t want to risk potentially losing a reporter for a bit of gossip. So Carlos is able to stand at the edge of the scene, mind on the warm coffee he has waiting for him back at the precinct, and feeling more than a little bit sorry for himself.

That is until Lexi grabs his shoulder and snaps him out of it, directing his attention to an argument that’s apparently broken out between a patient and one of the paramedics. He can’t hear what’s being said over the storm, but the body language is enough to know that the argument is heated and the patient is showing no signs of calming down.

The guy takes another step forward; the paramedic one back. Carlos groans — why can’t people just be grateful for their help — and strides forward, covering the distance as quickly as possible.

“Excuse me, sir,” he says, muscling his way between the paramedic and the patient. “Is there a problem here?”

“Yeah. Yeah, there is a damn problem.” The man glares around Carlos, presumably at where the paramedic is. “The problem is that this bastard is trying to force himself on me.”

Carlos raises a brow.  “That’s quite a serious allegation, sir. Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m fucking sure! Ask him!”

He turns to the paramedic, who looks at him wearily and holds up a wad of now soaked gauze. “He cut himself on some glass; I was just trying to help.”

“And I told you no!” The man lunges forward again, causing Carlos to stumble a little bit as he tries to hold him back. The paramedic has backed off completely now, but Carlos feels no real need to pursue him; the concern radiating from him and the untreated gash he can now see on the patient’s arm indicate that he was telling the truth. 

Not that the patient is doing much — or anything — to discredit him, either. He puts his full weight into Carlos, screaming about waste of my time and healthcare costs and anything else he can seem to think of. It takes a while, and a lot of self-control, to get the guy to listen to him, and by then Carlos is more drenched than he ever thought he could be, and thoroughly out of patience to boot.

He wants to just stomp off to the cruiser and get on with the miserable journey back, but he’s stopped quite literally in his tracks by a voice calling him. 

“Officer! Hey, Officer!”

He closes his eyes and breathes deeply, making sure a pleasant smile is on his face when he turns back around. 

To find the paramedic he’d helped standing barely a foot from him, and Carlos feels like he’s been punched in the chest.

Because, it’s…

Well, it’s him.

It sounds ridiculous and clichéd, but Carlos knows it to be true anyway; he would recognise those eyes anywhere. They’ve been living in his mind for weeks, this pretty, sparkling green that he’s certain he’s never seen in any other person. The smile, too — gentle, but slightly crooked — is familiar, and suddenly it hits him like a bolt out of the blue.

Of course the singer at the bar had been familiar to him.

Carlos works with firehouses all around town, but the 126, which this paramedic clearly belongs to, is kind of a legend in Austin. Brought back from tragedy, spearheaded by a new, fancy captain, filled with transfers who all seem to individually attract more problems than entire firehouses put together.

Everyone knows who the 126 is.

Carlos isn’t really sure how he didn’t put the pieces together before, but he’s not given time to think on it. The paramedic — Strand, his chest patch reads — is starting to frown, probably a bit confused by the staring.

“Uh, Officer Reyes, right?” he says, laughing a little nervously. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did back there.”

Carlos blinks, mentally shaking himself. “Just doing my job.”

Strand smiles again, his gaze very obviously raking up and down Carlos’s body. “And doing it very well, if I may say so.”

He’ll deny this to anyone who asks; he’ll tell them it was just an effect of the cold. But, in reality, it’s Strand’s words that set off the hot flare on Carlos’s cheeks, making him suddenly feel like he’s burning up rather than standing in the middle of one of Austin’s worst thunderstorms in years.

“Um, I, ah—” He bites his lip and swallows — get it together, Reyes. “Happy to be of service.”

Because that sounded completely normal and not at all like he’d been strangled.

Whatever Strand was looking for earlier, he seems to have found it; he grins widely and reaches out to lightly touch Carlos’s arm. 

The shiver that runs through him at that action is just yet another effect of the cold. Or so he’ll say.

“Yeah,” Strand says, so quiet that Carlos swears he shouldn’t be able to hear it. “I’m TK, by the way. Maybe I’ll see you around, Reyes.”

Then, he gives Carlos one last grin and heads back to the ambulance, shaking himself like a wet dog before climbing into the driver’s seat.

It doesn’t occur to Carlos until the sirens are well off in the distance that he never gave TK his own name.

It’s ridiculous how quickly his crush grows from there. Carlos tries to remind himself that a relationship is not what he’s looking for, that he needs to be focusing on his career rather than an attractive guy who has the gift of charm and knows how to use it. 

Unfortunately, the TK Strand living in his brain doesn’t seem to get the memo.

“What is wrong with you?” Lena demands, slumping down next to him on the sofa and smacking his shoulder. 

They’re at Tía Lucy’s for the weekly Sunday dinner, and while Carlos normally enjoys these gatherings, it’s hard to be fully present when he can’t stop thinking about the glimpse he’d caught of TK yesterday. He’d been wearing his long-sleeved uniform shirt which looked too good to be real, and he was smiling and nodding along as the little girl he was treating rambled on at him. 

It had been painfully endearing, but maybe Carlos could have dealt with it if it hadn’t been for the Look. 

The girl apparently hadn’t needed a hospital, so when TK was done with her, she’d danced happily off to her mother. Not wanting to be caught staring, Carlos tried to pull his gaze away, but he hadn’t been quick enough. His eyes locked with TK’s, and he’d watched as a downright sinful smirk crept onto TK’s face, followed by a wink that set Carlos’s cheeks — and several other body parts — ablaze. 

But explaining all that to Lena would be a serious mistake, so he just shrugs, keeping his gaze fixed on the TV, though he doesn’t know for the life of him what the show is.

“Nothing’s up,” he says, but even he can tell that he doesn’t sound convincing.

Lena huffs. “Carlossssss,” she whines, like the dog with a bone that she is. “You’ve been acting weird for ages, and as your older sister I have a right to know why.”

“No, you don’t,” he corrects, but because Carlos knows she won’t let it go, he continues, “It’s just work stuff; you wouldn’t care.”

“Wrong.”

Carlos raises an eyebrow at her; it’s well-documented in their family that Lena does not and will not — in her words — give a singular shit about any part of her brother’s or father’s line of work. “So you suddenly care about my job now?”

“What? No.” She pulls a disgusted face, looking briefly offended that Carlos would even suggest that, before her expression returns to one of determination. “I meant, you’re obviously lying about it being about work. You always get really boring and serious whenever it’s that — more than usual, anyway — but now you just look kind of constipated.”

“Do not.”

“Do so.” Suddenly, Lena grins in a way Carlos definitely doesn’t like and leans in conspiratorially. “Is it about a boy?”

“And we’re done here.”

Carlos gets up, intending to remove himself as far away from his sister as he can — which is his next mistake.

“Oh my god, it is!” Lena shrieks, loud enough that it catches the attention of several other family members in the room. Thankfully, none of them are their parents and none of them seem inclined to carry on listening, but it still makes Carlos’s heart skip a beat in panic. He glares at his sister, and for once she actually looks contrite. She stands and follows him to the front porch, away from everyone else.

“Sorry,” she whispers. “You know I’d never—”

“I know,” he interrupts, smiling weakly in her direction. “Just, can you please drop this now?”

“Nope,” she says, because of course she does. “I won’t say anything in there, but you owe me more deets. Who is he? Where did you meet? What does he look like? Is he hot? When can I meet him?”

Carlos whips around, and he takes great pleasure in her indignation when he returns the smack from earlier. “Nobody’s meeting anybody,” he says firmly. “It’s just… It’s a stupid crush, alright? Nothing’s going to happen except for me getting over it.”

Lena nods at him, eyebrows raised condescendingly. “Mm-hmm, sure you will.” Then, at Carlos’s hard look, she sighs dramatically and flings her head back. “Come on, Carlos. Are you telling me you’re not going to even try to make a move?”

“I don’t need a relationship right now, Lena.”

“Okay?” She shakes her head at him, eyes wide with disbelief. “You don’t have to have one. Ever heard of friends with benefits? Or even just benefits, I mean, I don’t judge… Where are you going?”

Carlos doesn’t dignify her with a reply as he walks back into the house. He makes sure to spend the rest of the day away from Lena, and ignores all her glares and annoyed text messages, but it’s harder to ignore the thoughts she’s put in his head.

After all… What would really be the harm?

*

They’re curled up together on the couch, music playing softly in the background, when TK hears a soft chuckle come from above him. 

He cranes his neck to look at Carlos’s face, unable to keep from smiling at the fond look on his husband’s face. “What?”

Carlos sighs softly, almost wistfully, and kisses the top of TK’s head. “I was just thinking about that night at the open-mic.”

TK’s grin widens — the night in question doesn’t need specifying. It was the beginning of their relationship after all: the night that TK spotted Carlos in the crowd at the bar and went over to talk to him after his performance. 

One thing led to another, and TK woke up the next morning in a bed that was not his own with a real life Adonis snoring softly next to him. He had taken his time that morning to gaze over every visible inch of Carlos’s body — whose name he had finally found out in a breathy whisper as they made out in the bar’s bathroom — trying to commit it to memory. Probably a bit creepy in hindsight, but at the time TK was convinced that it would just be a one-time thing.

He had no idea he was lying right next to his future husband.

“That was a good night,” he says, settling his weight further back into Carlos. “The best.”

But then Carlos shifts upright, forcing TK to move from where he was actually very comfortable, thanks very much. He glares at Carlos, only to be met with a matching, albeit playful, one directed straight back at him.

“Five years together and our first night is still the best one for you?”

“Well.” TK pretends to consider and laughs at the mock offended look Carlos sends him. “Top five at least.”

Carlos huffs, but there’s a grin creeping across his face. He suddenly pulls TK back on top of him, hugging him tight, with an intensity that suggests it’s the last time he’ll ever get to do so. TK makes a noise of surprise, but when he’s recovered, he shifts to face Carlos and returns the hug, burying his head in his shoulder.

“This is nice,” he mumbles, eyes drifting shut. Carlos’s hand ghosts over his back softly — almost imperceptibly so.

“I just love you,” Carlos whispers, so quiet that TK struggles to hear him despite how close they are. “I always will, no matter what you choose.”

*

He doesn’t know how he got here.

Carlos is clearing out some drawer space and he doesn’t know how he got here.

It was supposed to be a hookup.

It was supposed to be a single night of fun, and now Carlos is clearing out a drawer for the boyfriend he somehow acquired along the way. The boyfriend who is sweet and kind and has the prettiest green eyes and the most amazing voice, and who didn’t even run when Carlos messed things up with his parents.

Or, well. The boyfriend who had run, but who also came back.

A drawer doesn’t really feel like enough for the man who is in Carlos’s home more often than not, but it’s only been a few months since they started dating seriously. And it’s not like there haven’t been bumps along the way; first his parents, then TK had confided in Carlos about his addiction, which had taken a while for him to fully understand, and things haven’t…

Objectively, logically, Carlos knows things haven’t been perfect.

But, oh, they have.

He never realised how lonely he was before TK entered his life. Sure, he had friends and he went out occasionally, but his mind was always elsewhere, always on the next thing, always on the job and how he can do better, be better.

Then he brought a hot paramedic-singer home with him, and suddenly found himself with a whole other family.

TK’s friends are loud and every bit as much trouble as their reputation says, and they immediately adopt Carlos into the fold. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that they were TK’s friends first; Paul has a habit of stopping by occasionally with food and seems to know everything about Carlos, despite Carlos being fairly sure he never explicitly told Paul half of it.

Mateo instantly takes on the role of the younger brother Carlos never had and his exuberance is infectious wherever he goes. Marjan and Nancy are both slightly intimidating at first, but they drop the act pretty quickly; Nancy actually ends up becoming one of his best friends.

It’s during one of their now weekly game nights that it strikes him how different his life is to a few months ago. And then the second realisation — he loves it.

Carlos always thought he liked his life as it was. He didn’t think he was missing anything or needed more than what he had. But now he has a whole other family, and a boyfriend his parents love, and a half-empty drawer in his bedroom that he’s already thinking about turning into half a closet.

And he’s happy.

TK Strand came into his life in a whirlwind, and, for once, Carlos is content to let himself get carried away by it.

But the thing about whirlwinds is, if you’re not careful, they might become a tornado.

*

He tries not to let Carlos’s comment get to him. Something about this whole day has felt off, almost like it’s… Well, like it’s too perfect. TK doesn’t even know what time it is; there are no clocks in sight and he can’t find either of their phones or watches anywhere. Carlos said it was noon when he woke up, but it’s like the sun hasn’t so much as twitched since then, like time has stopped completely. And Carlos is just… He’s too perfect, too. Unsettlingly so.

Of course, if anyone asked TK, he would immediately say that Carlos is the perfect man. It wouldn’t be a lie either because he is perfect for TK, but the Carlos he has before him now isn’t his Carlos.

He smiles the same and walks the same and his body feels the same as it always has, but there’s something nagging at TK, telling him that all of this is too good to be true. Even the loft feels wrong somehow.

“Babe?” he says quietly, because the knot of anxiety in his chest telling him that this isn’t where he’s supposed to be is too great to ignore, even as his brain screams at him to let things be. “Is everything… Are we…” He huffs, frustrated; he’s never been the best at articulating his feelings, but this time it’s just impossible.

Literally — every time TK tries to come up with the words, he draws a complete blank.

Carlos frowns. “Are we what?” he asks, his voice so soft and caring and Carlos that TK almost tells him it’s nothing.

The word is halfway out of his mouth, in fact, when he manages to catch himself. “I don’t… Is there something we’re supposed to do today? I feel like I’ve forgotten something.”

Carlos’s face clears and he smiles sympathetically, as if this is a regular occurrence for them. And, okay, TK will admit that he does have a slight tendency to be forgetful, but he’s not this bad, right?

“You haven’t forgotten anything,” Carlos soothes — soothes? — as he strokes TK’s cheek. He must read the confusion on TK’s face as something else, because he follows up with, “Don’t be embarrassed, the doctor said memory loss was to be expected, remember? It’s okay.”

If Carlos says anything else, TK doesn’t hear it. A wave of static fills his senses and he feels suddenly off balance, like the loft is literally disintegrating around him. He pushes away from Carlos’s embrace and lurches to his feet, breathing heavily as he tries to centre himself again.

“What are you talking about?” he gasps. “Doctor…memory loss…what… What is this?”

He searches his memories for something that could explain this, but again and again he comes up empty. He can’t remember anything. And it’s not that he doesn’t have memories — he remembers his life in broad strokes, he remembers meeting Carlos and their wedding day and the last vacation they went on — but yesterday, last week, last month, even, is entirely a blank.

He doesn’t remember anything.

“Tyler,” a voice says, Carlos’s he thinks, but he’s suddenly not sure because a cacophony of beeping has started in his brain and there’s yelling coming from somewhere and hands grabbing him and—

[ramblingdisaster73]

This is me trying to work my way through the current storyline – what we are seeing and hearing on screen only. Not what we want to see, what we think they mean, or who they include in what words they say. I know that we have only seen 3 of the 4 acts, I get there is still another piece of the puzzle left for us to see. I do. I know plenty of people will disagree, so read ahead at your own risk.

In 4x01: Carlos gets a call from this “dream venue” telling him that they have an opening in 8 weeks.

-He then tells his mom, she gets happy until she realizes he isn’t – that he hadn’t told TK the truth yet (her words)

-He only then agrees that he needs to tell TK that day, decides that telling him in the middle of a shift is the best time – Also by the way he tells TK that they have 8 weeks – it does make it appear as if he already agreed to the date – but it isn’t specifically said.

*When TK is asking him questions, with no raised voices, no judgement – Carlos responds in a fairly defensive way to TK’s questions until they get to the part about the “dream venue” then he is happier.

-He says he is a bad "friend" he is specific with friend and they were talking about Michelle and Iris - (just a strange line when you are admitting to the man you agreed to marry that you are already married.)

-When he goes to Iris, he does talk up TK, but for some reason the writers found it necessary to point out that TK wasn’t currently in a coma – just a weird throwaway line.

Then we get 4x02: Carlos somewhat dismisses TK’s nervousness about meeting Iris. Then he just orders him how to react to the way Iris speaks. – Sorry, but his tone was off to me here.

-He goes with a joke about not meeting his parents, just his wife – wife by the face TK makes, isn’t really all that appreciated. He doesn’t smile at it, he doesn’t laugh, he looked very uncomfortable.

-He is physically supportive to a point – but only a point. He is at all times more concerned with Iris.

-When we get to the loft scene at the end, is the only time that they seem at all like Tarlos – the couple that got engaged in 3x18.

4x03: I can understand in the moment of panic acting the way Carlos did in the loft. Why he would be concerned. I know that people (and articles) have said that he blames himself, but on screen we only see him blaming TK – then not speak or look at him, pointedly.  That bad relationship line, while pointedly ignoring TK either had something cut or was a dig at TK.

-We then see him call TK only to lie to him. We can argue about whether that I love you from him in reply to TK’s was just an auto response to hearing it from TK or not – that is how it looks from the expression on his face, that he called TK to lie, and that he just hung up right after.

Rafa said that Carlos trips up pretty big at the beginning of the season and that it impacts the way he approaches the rest of the season. I thought the trip up would have been the multi-year lie, or that he hadn’t reconnected with Iris a long time ago, then I thought it was maybe the controlling issues or how he deals with shit (or rather doesn’t).

If I thought that we would have real resolution to any of this (We really didn’t get it after Push either), then it wouldn’t be so frustrating. Do we think Carlos will actually learn something from this arc? Will any type of ‘reunion’ between TK & Carlos make sense at this point?

[guardian-angle22]

TK in his next coma dream to his figment-of-my imagination mother: "And then he said – Surprise! I'm already married!"

I don’t know if coma cookies can help with this one.

Oh my god wait—I now desperately need a parallel scene (preferably not a coma dream actually) of Andrea and Carlos having a conversation and her knocking some sense into him.

I would love for Carlos to have a conversation with his parents finally working through his issues with them and why he got married in the first place.. but then also Andrea being like ~I can’t believe your dumb ass didn’t tell your boyfriend of years about this what were you thinking, there’s no way he’s actually this okay with it~

[wanderingwomanwondering]

Tarlos Meta - Lone Star 304

My brain is finally back online after that Tarlos scene in Lone Star (ep 304) on Monday. Just. Wow.

Aside from the amazing performance by Rafael Silva. Like seriously. Phenomenal. I’ve been thinking about the way TK’s waking up process unfolded.

The character dev set up for the season makes it clear that TK’s issue this season is about stepping into his own power and control over his own life. He started that work in the beginning of the series by letting himself love Carlos and also later down the line switching from fire to being an emt. But i think there’s still a part of TK that doesn’t truly feel in control and is also tired of having to be “rescued” by others. We all need help sometimes but I think it’s starting to bother him because he wants to stand on his own more in various ways.

Anyway the hospital life support symbolism speaks directly to TK’s core issues/worries around regaining control of himself and on his own terms. His body literally has to come back on line so he can breathe/function on his own. He has to do the same thing figuratively too and his relationship with Carlos is going to be an interesting ICU for that process. I think plenty of drama is going to unfold with his parents too (but frankly I’m way less interested in that aspect 👀).

So I don’t think it was an accident that when TK wakes up he tries to pull the breathing tube out on his own. He wants control now. But the audience and Carlos know that ripping the tube out himself will do more damage; it has to be removed properly/slowly. That’s why I thought it was a great decision to have Carlos pull TK’s hands away from the tube when TK was waking up.

Carlos is swooping in the protect him and it’s also interference in a way because Carlos didn’t then immediately let the medical team take over. Carlos had to be removed from the room before TK could fully take control of his own life functions. Carlos isn’t completely gone during that time though because they love each other obvi. He’s just outside watching and waiting while TK regains control. TK literally and figuratively needed breathing room.

It’ll be interesting to see over the course of the season what “everything was perfect”, “sweet power move”, “you’re such a control freak”, “crushing disappointment”, “without telling me”, etc really mean to Tarlos and how they navigate all of it since Carlos is legit minimizing the control freak power move issues that TK started to express concerns about AND they really are wildly in love with each other.

I love the whole 304 scene tho because it is symbolic of what happened during the midseason time jump and it’s symbolic of the work that TK & Tarlos still have to do so that TK can truly feel like he’s in charge of his own life. I think we catch a glimpse of some interesting potential dynamics in the scene too because once TK can breathe he communicates that. The role shifts and he helps Carlos to breathe…to see that he (TK) is okay individually AND they’re okay as a couple. I’m speculating but I think Carlos is (past and present) maybe more anxious or insecure in the relationship than he lets on. The stated perfectionism and fear of letting people down are real for Carlos and i think they have an impact on him in big ways. As Tarlos push and pull through the season, I wonder if that’s a thing and if tptb will delve into any of that. It feels like there’s more to all of this from Carlos’ side too and he’s maybe hiding some fears???

Yeah this post got long. Anyway some exciting and interesting times to come in the Tarlosverse!

[beautifulhigh]

I'm catching up on Tumblr - some rare downtime on this holiday which is supposed to be all about me having downtime! - so I'm pretty sure it's not fic writer appreciation day anymore. But every day should be fic writer appreciation day so there's that.

I was tagged by @sapphire11​ who is a gem for still tagging me in things, even when I take an age to get around to them.

My favourite five of my fics

1. The tender things are those we fold away (911 Lone Star, Tarlos)

That had been a surprise, a good one. An amazing one, really, and something Carlos had privately cherished for years. New York Firefly became someone who had made a difference to his life and Carlos would carry that gratitude with him for the rest of his life, along with the knowledge that this was some random guy on the internet who posted pictures and videos on a website which was infamous for its explicit content. He was some firefighter in New York, being himself and being amazing while doing it.

Except he wasn't.

New York Firefly, the man who'd changed Carlos' whole life and outlook without even realising it, was TK Strand and he was sitting in Carlos' living room.

And Carlos wasn't quite sure how he was still remembering to breathe.

The fic I wrote in a week because the Discord crew made a comment about TK having an Only Fans account. This was so much fun to write and I loved playing in the season 1 timeline.

2. Life, believe, is not a dream, so dark as sages say (911 Lone Star, 126 fire fam with a side of Tarlos)

Carlos had gotten to know TK intimately well over the last few years, in more ways than one. He knew how to read the slope of his shoulders to know if he was angry, sad, or overwhelmed. He knew how his mouth quirked up when he was teasing or playful or flirty, he knew how his chest flared with pride or defiance. He had seen him suffering and joyous and every emotion in between. Even from halfway across the room, seeped in the situation they were, he could read TK. He knew that look of horror and realisation, knew that TK understood something that he didn't.

He wished they could talk, swap notes on the situation. They were always better problem solving together, even when the issue wasn't in the other's area of expertise. TK had listened to Carlos talk through situations and cases he'd been involved with over the years; Carlos had listened while TK had talked about procedures and treatment options for patients in the field. They'd learned from each other in that time which had been half the reason he'd been confident to help treat Kyle's wound.

He wondered if TK had a plan, or an idea of what was coming next. If they could talk then maybe they could work it out, he could help or do something to get everyone out of here. The itch within him to help was almost unbearable: he was more than his career but it was also part of who he was.

He wondered if TK was as scared for him, as he was for TK.

Ah, the bank fic. God this one was hard going but it was so much fun to publish it and to see people enjoy the action and drama. I loved working out how each of the characters could play to their strengths, how they could work together, all when they weren’t able to talk to each other.

3. In the burned house I am eating breakfast (911 Lone Star, Tarlos - Carlos centric)

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Carlos says, his eyes wide with fear. “I’m not ready for people to know but you were going on about us maybe getting together and I love you but not like that and I couldn’t not tell you and—”

“Carlos, it’s OK,” Jessica says. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you think your parents will OK with it?”

“I think so,” he says. “I hope so.”

Jessica leans in and gives him a hug but she doesn’t smell like he remembers. She smells of smoke and something metallic and she’s cold and hard to the touch.

“You need to work out what you want,” she says in a voice that isn’t hers.

God the love I have for this fic is feral. Rafa made the comment about wanting Carlos getting hurt on the way to the wedding, we all want a Carlos Begins, and my brain went “hey, how about we have them both?” and this was the result. Written in one day because the idea was just there, fully formed, and I just love it. A lot.

4. Rumours (Emmerdale, Robron)

"No.  Pat... my real mum, she was Divinus.  The crash killed her outright, that's why she died, and she never got a chance to tell Dad what I was.  But Mum – Sarah – she knew.  She saw some of the symptoms I guess.  She cut her hand on a knife and I just... fixed it.  Didn't think twice about it apparently, just held her hand and fixed it.  I don't remember much about what I did, but I just remember looking at the cut on her finger and seeing what the problem was, knowing I could put things back together.

"After that she took me to the doctor's and they confirmed it."

"You make it sound like an illness: symptoms and doctors."

"Curse more like," Robert said sadly.  "This isn't something I wanted, Aaron. I've worked so hard to not let this define who I am.  I don't want to be the Divinus everyone says they know, I don't want people to see me as a commodity or a secret weapon.  But like I said to you yesterday, I just want to be myself now, with you.  And this is who I am.  What I am."

My Emmerdale Big Bang fic and the longest one I’ve ever written. The world building I did for this fic, the detail and planning that went into it, the fact that so many places in this fic (especially the places in Ireland where I am right now) are real places. I put months into this fic and I’m still really proud of it.

5. Exponential (Emmerdale, Robron with a Robert focus)

6.

"Why do I feel like you're always hiding something?" she asks.

"Because you don't trust me," Robert replies.  "And without trust we can't survive."

It's always easier when it's always their fault.

Speaking of being proud of a fic, this one was the most technically challenging. I remember driving to work one morning, mulling over the concept I had of writing a fic to explore Robert’s bisexuality and the impact it had on him and his relationships over the years. And then I had this line about how his love for Aaron just kept growing exponentially. Which then turned into a structural idea where each part would have a word count double of the last part. And so it went, exponentially.

Since I’m super late to this I’m giving YOU the excuse you want to post the five fics of your own that you love. Yes, you. Go for it, you wonderful writer you.

[paperstorm]

Wait I want to hear the thousand year rant about the scene in s1e3 👀 If you feel like sharing. No pressure!

TK slams his glass of water down so hard onto the table that it sloshes out. The kitten is big mad. His brag about saving someone from the Crysler Building, lol okay sweetheart we see you. You're mad but you also want Carlos to think you're impressive, and relatable tbh, Carlos is a snack and a half and I would also want him to like me. Carlos's "if I was a less secure MAN" and the face he makes idk that's just so funny to me but also so stupidly sexy. And also fascinating because Carlos is kind of not a super secure man? Like in some ways he is, he's very confident and direct, but also he's so hung up on the fact that he thinks his dad thinks he's soft, right. Like he doesn't think his father thinks he's good enough, or tough enough or manly enough, and he lowkey thinks Gabriel thinks that because Carlos is gay, and that's kind of a massive issue for him. I guess probably the show didn't know that at this time, it's such an early episode and I'm positive they don't put as much thought into these things as we do lol because they're just doing their jobs meanwhile we (I) am over here losing our minds over every tiny detail. But still. Also the fact that Carlos had to work up the nerve to ask him out idk that's just so freaking sweet. That part of the line gets me every single time. Carlos liked him SO MUCH right from the very beginning. Carlos has one of those hopeless romantic hearts and he saw TK and just went "that one. him. that one's mine." TK just FUMING, the feral cat is absolutely furious but also kind of in the wrong here, and Carlos calling him on it. I LOVE a relationship where one person is used to getting their way and the other one just comes in like a bulldozer and holds up a mirror to them. One of the best things Carlos does for TK is allow TK to truly see himself. Carlos doesn't let him get away with his shit. He loves him, but he holds him accountable, and TK needed that. I headcanon that TK had very ... let's say indulgent parents lol. Owen was the absent father who probably showed up now and then with a bunch of presents, and Gwyn strikes me as a very "my baby has never done anything wrong in his life" type of mother, at least when TK was little. TK really is used to getting absolutely anything he wants and used to being a brat and Carlos doesn't let him and I love that. TK grows up so much through their relationship. And then obviously the 'and I'm packing a piece' line LIKE. I am obsessed, OBSESSED, with the way Ronen plays that moment. It's like 3 seconds but you can see like 8 different emotions pass over his face. The way he just stops in his tracks, his whole tantrum completely forgotten. The way he sort of looks down a little bit, like he's going "... where. Where is it tho. I've been with you all night how did I not know you have a gun on you. Where is it Carlos." The way you can see him almost surprised by the fact that he's so instantly turned on?? This man is a liberal gay from Manhattan he didn't ever think he would find a gun sexy but in this moment he does and it fully catches him off guard. The way Carlos can so easily disarm him with just a few quipped words??? TK is so shocked by it, he's so used to being in control I think and Carlos takes that away from him and it surprises him but he's so into it. TK in this moment is still in the headspace of not really WANTING to like Carlos, but boy does he. He was all up on his bitchy high horse and then Carlos said five words and TK just started hearing circus music in his head. See it is a mistake to get me going. I have a lot of thoughts and I really need to be told to be quiet.

[marjansmarwani]

tender-hearted sadness pulls me through the day

7.9k || ao3

Carlos is hurt, badly, and TK is faced both with the awful possibility of losing him and the fact that his parents still don't know about them. He promised Carlos he could tell them in his own time though, and he doesn't intend to break that promise for anything. Even if it means he can't be there, even if it means he has to hope from a distance. He would do anything for Carlos, after all.

aka that Carlos’s parent’s fic I’ve been working on for what feels like forever. It’s finally done and since @officereyes was the one who insisted I write it in the first place and it is her birthday, it feels only right to offer it as a part 2/on the actual correct day gift (surprise). I hope you enjoy it Jamie! 

This idea was also requested by @noxsoulmate after I had already started writing it so I also hope you enjoy, and that it was worth the wait! This was started around the same time that 2x04 aired so it is definitely no longer canon compliant, though I did tweak a few things as the season progressed. Thanks to @justaswampdemon for reading through it last night to tell me if any of it actually made sense or not because I wasn’t sure after working on it for so long!

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

TK couldn’t stop staring at his hands. 

They were shaking and though he had nearly scrubbed them raw he could still feel the memory of the blood that had coated them only a half-hour before. It was Carlos’s blood and the reminder sent his hands trembling all over again. The sight of the accident was still so fresh in his mind. It was everywhere, trapped in all of his senses — the fear of realizing just who it was trapped in the crushed vehicle, the overwhelming scent of the blood stuck in his head, the sound of the heart monitor flatlining and his own desperate pleas for Carlos to stay with them, the helplessness of Carlos’s life leaking away under his fingers — he couldn't shake it. He knew he wasn’t likely to until he saw Carlos, until he had proof that he was okay. 

But he was also a medic and he knew that the alternative, the thing he was trying so hard not to think about, to not put any energy into, was just as likely an outcome as any.  

His anxiety spiral is interrupted by the sound of frantic footsteps that pause as they grow closer to his seat. 

“TJ?” 

He sat bolt upright at the sight of Carlos’s parents, expressions tense and eyes full of fear, before him. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Reyes,” he stammered, standing up and shoving his shaking hands into the pockets of his pants, “hi. Uh, have they told you anything yet?”

“No,” Mrs. Reyes said fearfully, “we just got here.” 

TK nodded, anxiously twisting at the interior of his pockets, “I’m sure someone will be by soon,” he assured her, “he’s only been here for about an hour.”

“And how long have you been here?” Carlos’s father asked him, studying him with a piercing gaze. 

“About an hour,” TK repeated, “I was on shift, we responded to the accident. I rode in on the ambulance with him and since it was the end of my shift anyways and my Captain knows Carlos and I are...close, she told me just to stay.” 

He met Mr. Reyes’s gaze, refusing to look away and hoping desperately that he hadn’t noticed his falter. It wasn’t a lie, but the omission weighed on him. Never once since their start had he denied his feelings for Carlos. He had made that mistake once, in the very beginning, and it had nearly prevented what they had become. But he had no other choice; he had made Carlos a promise. And he wouldn’t break it, not for anything. 

The other man’s father nodded, eyes zeroing in on the paramedic badge on his shirt. “I thought you said you were a firefighter?” 

“I was, the paramedic thing is pretty new. We lost one at our station, during the volcano, and I was already dual certified from New York so…” he trailed off with a shrug, his gaze drifting from the parents before him to the doors of the trauma wing Carlos had been wheeled into upon their arrival. 

“You treated him?” 

TK snapped his gaze back to find Mrs. Reyes looking at him with wide eyes. He swallowed, and nodded, “I did, ma’am,” he confirmed, voice soft with repressed emotion. 

“And?” she asked him desperately, eyes shining with unshed tears, “How is he? How is my boy?”

How did he tell them? How did you tell your boyfriend’s parents that not even an hour ago you had been scared out of your mind that he was going to die in your arms even as you and your team worked desperately to save him? How did you do all of that without showing the emotion, how did you do that when they don’t know — when they can’t know — that his presence is what allows you to sleep soundly each night, that his smile is the thing you most look forward to seeing each and every day? 

They were both looking at him as if he held all the answers and to be fair, he did. In terms of what had happened, at least. He was just as clueless as anyone else as to what would come next.

“He was involved in a very serious accident,” he settled on. “He lost a lot of blood but we managed to get him stabilized in the field. That’s all I know though. If I knew more…” 

He trailed off but Carlos’s mother shook her head, reaching out to place a warm and trembling hand on his arm, “Thank you,” she told him, “for telling us, and for saving him. Carlitos is so lucky to have such a wonderful friend.” 

“Of course,” he said without hesitation, even though her well-intentioned words stung, even though he had to swallow what would have come next: he would do anything for Carlos. 

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

It’s another few hours before his dad and the rest of the 126 show up. He may have been exaggerating when he had told Mrs. Reyes that his shift was ending when they arrived at the hospital. The reality was that Tommy had told him to stay. She had said that she and Nancy could handle the last few hours without him and that he would be too distracted to focus for the remainder of the shift so he may as well just stay. She had been right, but that meant there had still been a shift to be finished before anyone else was available to join his vigil. 

A doctor had come by, a short while ago to give them an update. The surgery had gone well and while they had repaired the damage, they cautioned them that he was not out of danger yet, that the next several hours would be key. The knowledge had settled like a lead weight in TK’s stomach, the dread seeping through his veins. He saw his own fear clearly reflected in the eyes of Carlos’s parents and knows that they are all connected by it, even if they don’t know it. 

When the doctor told them that Carlos was being moved to a recovery room where he would be closely monitored and that a nurse would be by when he was settled to let them know, TK realized a whole other layer to this nightmare. He won’t be able to be there. There is no way he can justify sitting by Carlos’s bedside to his parents as a “friend from work.” In order to be there for Carlos, he would have to tell them the truth, and he can’t do that. Not when he made Carlos a promise. 

That’s how his team finds him: alone in the waiting room, leg anxiously bouncing against the floor as he stares in the direction of the recovery rooms, wanting nothing more than to be able to be beside Carlos, to have concrete evidence that he hadn’t lost him. 

He allowed himself to be pulled into hugs and subjected to comforting pats before anyone asks the question he’s been dreading. It’s Marjan that does, her unwavering and empathetic gaze studying him as she speaks the words: “Is he still in surgery?” 

“No, he’s in recovery now.” TK assured them, allowing them a moment to take a breath of relief before he continued, “The doctors said that the next few hours will be crucial, that those will be what really makes the difference. So we’re just...hoping for the best.” 

They all nodded, but Paul’s piercing gaze studied him, “If he’s in recovery, why are you out here and not in there?” 

TK bit his lip, turning his gaze downwards. He and Carlos hadn’t exactly shared their conflict about his parents with their friends. If TK was being honest, he had been hoping they wouldn’t ever have to, that they would cross that bridge before it ever became an issue. Clearly, the universe had other plans. 

“His parents are in there,” he replied, hoping that maybe they wouldn’t push, that maybe they could just leave it there. 

But these were their friends, and they wouldn't be so easily satisfied. 

“Is he not out to them?” Marjan asked gently, taking the seat beside him. 

“No, he’s out to them it’s just...complicated.” 

“How complicated can it be?” Judd asked as he settled into a seat across from them, “he’s out and you two are solid. Seems pretty uncomplicated to me.” 

TK didn’t know how to explain it, exactly. “They don’t know he’s in a relationship,” he settled on, “and he’s not ready to tell them. We...talked about it a few months ago, and I told him that was fine. That we could move at his pace. I mean,” he broke off here with a shrug, meeting the eyes of his teammates, “it’s the least I can do for him, right? Extend him the same understanding he gave me?”

The others exchanged glances that TK couldn’t read. Judd looked in the direction of the recovery rooms, “This ain’t right kid,” he said softly, “Carlos would want you there. You should be there.” 

TK shook his head firmly, “I promised him he could tell them on his own terms, Judd. I told him I would wait as long as he needed. I can’t make that choice for him, and I won’t. I made him a promise.” 

There was silence in the wake of his words. The others exchanged glances and TK looked away, not wanting to see their pity. He knew he was making the right choice, but that didn’t make the reality of it any easier to face. Carlos had nearly died in his arms just a few hours ago. The cold fear of losing him was still fresh in his mind, he still hadn’t been able to shake the chill from his bones. And now he was in a room just down the hall and TK couldn’t be there. Of all the challenges they had faced, this might just be the worst one yet. 

Paul let out a low breath and shook his head, “I hear you man, and it’s admirable. I get you wanting to respect Carlos’s wishes, but you’ve got to think about yourself too. Maybe it would be easier for you to not be here? Sitting here and not being able to be with him has to be hard. You could go home, wait there instead. We’ll let you know if there are any updates.” 

TK gave him a tight smile, “I appreciate it, but no. Even though I can’t be with him, I can’t imagine not being as close to him as possible. I’m not going anywhere.” 

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

His friends come and go, but TK simply waits. He assures them that he’s fine when asked, but otherwise, he is not great company. All he can manage to do is sit quietly and wait. And hope. He takes a turn around the waiting room, he bounces his leg anxiously at his seat, he fiddles with his necklace. He does everything he can to keep his body busy while his mind is fully occupied. 

He knows that right down the hall his boyfriend, the person who he might just love more than anyone else on this planet, is in a medically induced coma. He knows that he can’t be there, and he knows why. 

That doesn’t mean he hates it any less. 

That also doesn’t mean that the last image he has of Carlos — bloody and crashing on a gurney being rushed to a trauma room — is going to leave his mind any time soon. He needs to see him. He needs visual confirmation to cancel out the nightmare image running through his head. He knows that he can’t, not right now, but he won’t leave until he can. 

The waiting room empties and fills again several times during his vigil. The daylight he had entered in had faded long ago and the dark night sky was visible each time the hospital doors slid open. It was still a few hours before he saw Mr. and Mrs. Reyes leave from his corner of the waiting room. They stepped through the hospital doors hand in hand, Mr. Reyes rubbing comforting circles on his wife’s back as they headed back to their car, presumably to go home and get a few hours of sleep. 

TK, who had been coming close to dozing off in his seat, was suddenly wide awake. Carlos’s parents were gone, he could go see him.  He was out of his seat in an instant, his feet carrying him towards the door he had been staring at all day before his head could properly catch up. It wasn’t until he neared the door that he slowed, that he processed. 

It felt almost wrong to be sneaking in. He felt almost guilty for waiting for Carlos’s parents to leave, for jumping on the opportunity the moment it presented itself. But he needed to see Carlos. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to settle until he did. He could not have the last image of him in his mind be what he had looked like when they exited the ambulance. He may have gotten the same updates from the doctor but that did nothing to ease his fear. He had nearly felt Carlos die under his hands all those hours ago. He needed to feel him breathing too. 

He stepped in quietly, though he knew there was no danger of waking him. He had barely made it over the threshold before he froze, nearly toppled by the wrongness of seeing Carlos so still. To the casual observer, he probably looked like he was sleeping. But TK knew Carlos Reyes. The man was an energetic sleeper. He moved constantly in the night, always shifting and reaching out to pull TK closer when he felt he had strayed too far away. Always striving to press his body against his, always keeping them close; even in sleep. But it was more than that. His face was all wrong. Carlos’s face was expressive, even in sleep. Whatever he was thinking or feeling or dreaming was always laid out in full display for TK to read but now his face was blank. That more than anything struck TK as so foreign, so unusual. 

He took a deep, wavering breath as he crossed the room, running his eyes over him as he drew closer. From the outside, he didn’t look too badly injured, but TK knew with a cold certainty that most of the damage was hidden by bandages under the blankets. He knew that there was so much more to this than met the eye, that as wrong as Carlos looked in this bed it was a far sight better than the alternative — than what he had feared from the moment they arrived on the scene. 

“Hey babe,” he said softly as he reached the side of the bed, reaching out to run a hand through Carlos’s curls, “you look better than you did earlier. I hope you’re feeling better too.” 

He paused here, taking another moment to study him up close now. He bit his lip against the tears that wanted to come. He didn’t know how much time he would have here, he wasn’t going to waste any of it crying. 

“I know it’s going to take some time,” he said instead when he managed to steady his voice, “and I want you to know you should take all the time you need. We’ll be fine until you’re ready. I’ll be fine. I just,” he broke off, took a steadying breath, and started again, “I just want you to know that I probably won’t be here a lot, just in case you ever wonder why you can’t hear me, if you can hear any of us. I need you to know it’s not because I don’t want to be here or that I don’t love you. Because I do, so much. And there is nowhere I would rather be than right here with you at all times. But I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. It’s…” he trailed off, taking another breath as he leaned forward, taking Carlos’s hand in his own, “it’s the least I can do,” he finished softly. 

He lapsed into silence then, savoring in the sight of his chest lightly rising and falling with each breath. Not so long ago he thought he might never see that again. He had never realized just how much he had taken the concept for granted. He vowed that he never would again. 

He leaned forward now, resting his head on the arm not intertwined with Carlos’s. “I just need you to come back to us,” he said quietly. “I need you to come back to me. I don’t want to face life without you. Don’t make me, please.” 

Even though he knew there would be no reaction, even though he knew the other man was heavily sedated, he studied his face for any hint of recognition, any glimmer of hope he could sustain himself with. There was none and it was that truth and the weight of Carlos’s hand in his that saw him off into a fitful sleep. 

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

The sound of footsteps woke TK, causing him to sit bolt upright and glance around frantically, heart thudding in his chest. 

“Relax,” an unfamiliar voice instructed, “we definitely don’t need a cardiac patient on our hands, on top of everything else.” 

It took several tries to blink the sleep out his eyes before he could make out the scene in front of him. He was in Carlos’s room. He must have fallen asleep here. He pulled himself fully upright, stretching and rubbing at the back of his neck with a grimace as he studied the nurse checking Carlos’s vitals. She glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow, “Good morning.” 

“What time is it?” he croaked out. 

“Just past 6, so I’d imagine if anyone were to come back after going home to sleep for the night they’d likely be back soon.”

“How’d you…” 

She shrugged as she checked Carlos’s IV, “Call it an educated guess. I mean, I know you paramedics are pretty dedicated but I have yet to see any of you spend an entire day in the waiting room for a patient. Figured there had to be a bit more to it than meets the eye. That, or I have to call security on you.”

“He’s my boyfriend,” TK said softly, reaching out to take Carlos’s limp hand in his own, tenderly rubbing his thumb across it, “but his parents don’t really know. It’s...complicated.” 

The nurse’s eyes softened as she studied him, “You probably have almost an hour before anyone else shows up, visiting hours don’t officially start until 7 anyways. After that, you should try to get some sleep. You’re starting to look like you should have a bed of your own.”

TK shook his head, “I’m fine, thanks.” 

“Uh-huh,” she said, sounding wholly unconvinced. “Well if you are around later and want an update feel free to ask for me at the nurses’ station. My name’s Becky.” 

“Thank you, Becky,” he said with a small smile, “you have no idea how much I appreciate that.” 

She waved off his thanks as she headed towards the door. She paused on the threshold, turning back to study him again, “Hey, Paramedic?” 

“TK,” he provided. 

“TK, then. If I find out you’re lying to me and that I should have called security…” 

He gave her a grin and a tired laugh, “Then you know where I work,” he reminded her, gesturing towards his uniform, “pretty sure you’ll be able to track me down.” 

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I hope everything works out for you two and for what it’s worth, he’s doing okay.” 

“Thanks, Becky,” he said softly, turning his gaze back to Carlos’s still form before Becky smiled at them from the doorway and stepped quietly out of the room, shutting the door behind her. 

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

 “This is an intervention,” Paul announced. 

TK looked up sharply to see his team gathered around him several hours later. He had slipped back into the waiting room around 6:30, heedful of Becky’s warning. It was now just past 10 and he was currently being stared down by his team. He furrowed his brow in confusion and was just about to ask exactly what the hell Paul meant by that when Marjan continued. 

“You’ve been here for over 24 hours now, TK. You’re still wearing yesterday’s uniform, you haven’t eaten and I doubt you’ve slept much.”

“I got a few hours!” he interjected but faltered when he was met with 4 equally unimpressed looks. 

“And while I’m sure that was adequate sleep,” she continued in a tone that made it clear she did not in fact believe that, “you need more than that. Preferably in a bed. Preferably in your own bed.” 

TK looked down and Judd continued, voice gentle, “You need to take care of yourself, kid. You can’t be there for him if you keel over. Let us help you out.”

TK bit at his lip. He knew they were right, logically. There was only so long he could keep this up. Soon enough his body would start protesting. He could already feel the effects of little sleep and no food in his sluggish thoughts. Realistically he knew they were right, but he couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Carlos. He wasn’t out of the woods yet. The thought that something might happen when he wasn’t there was enough to keep him rooted to his spot in the waiting room, consequences be damned. “I can’t leave him,” he choked out, “if something were to happen…” 

He trailed off, but Paul simply shook his head, “Nope, you’re coming with us. Judd and I are going to take you home. You’re going to shower, change, eat something and get at least 4 hours of sleep. Then - and only then - we’ll bring you back. Marjan and Mateo will stay here and let us know if anything changes. If it does we’ll bring you right back, promise.” 

TK scanned the faces of his friends. They wore matching looks of determination, and he knew that this was not an argument he was going to win. He nodded, pulling himself out of his seat and throwing another glance in the direction of Carlos’s room. He felt a hand on his arm and looked over to see Marjan giving him a sad smile, “Don’t worry, we won’t let you miss anything.” 

“Yeah dude, we’ve got this!” Mateo assured him as he plopped into an empty seat. 

TK gave them both a grateful smile. He wished he could have offered more, but he couldn’t find the words. Nothing his mind produced seemed adequate enough to express the level of gratitude he felt for each and every one of them. He hoped they knew. 

He allowed himself to be led to Judd’s truck and as they pulled away from the hospital, his mind began to wander. Logically, he knew Carlos was in good hands, that leaving the hospital did nothing to hurt his chances. But not being there just felt wrong, as if he was tempting fate. As if his desperate hope could only have an effect from within the same building.

TK was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice how close they were to their destination until the truck came to a halt outside of the condo. He froze as he looked at it, the thought of stepping foot inside their shared home without Carlos washing over him. He knew he was being too quiet, he knew that the other two had noticed that something was wrong. Judd eyed him in the rearview mirror.

“Is this okay?” he asked. “I can bring you to your dad’s if you’d rather, but I figured all your stuff is here so…” 

“No,” TK said, voice too soft. “No,” he tried again, voice a little more sure this time, “you’re right Judd, all my stuff is here. It’s fine, really. Thanks for driving me.” 

“Yeah, we’re not just going to leave you,” Paul told him, pushing open the passenger side door and climbing out, “we’re staying with you to make sure you actually do the things covered in our bargain. Plus,” he added in a gentler tone as he opened TK’s door and met his eyes, “you don’t need to be alone right now.” 

TK swallowed and nodded. He slid out of the truck without a word, crossing to the front door and pulling his keys out of his pocket. He inserted his key into the door with trembling hands and pushed it open, holding it open behind him for Judd and Paul. Once they were all inside he shut it behind them, the sound of the lock clicking into place the only sound. They stood in silence as TK looked around, trying to take in the once familiar surroundings that now felt so foreign. The clutter of day to day life was scattered throughout the living space, left waiting for them to return home and resume their lives. It was a cruel reminder of just how sudden this had been; of how much they stood to lose. 

Paul gave him a gentle shove towards the stairs, interrupting his reverie, “Go and get showered and changed, we’ll work on the food. Come back down when you’re ready.” 

TK nodded and ascended the stairs without a word. He entered their bedroom without really looking at anything, making a beeline for the dresser so as to avoid the sight of the haphazardly made bed; left rumpled when they had both decided on a late start the previous morning, abandoning their usual morning routine in favor of other pursuits. He grabbed the first pants and hoodie he found, pulling them out and heading to the bathroom without even a glance at the garments in his hand. 

Several minutes later he was forced to admit that the hot water felt good. It revived him in a way the restless sleep at Carlos’s bedside hadn’t, and it allowed him to peel back the layers of everything to find some of the positives. Namely that Carlos had survived surgery, that while he wasn’t out of the woods there had been no changes for the worst (or for the better, but a hot shower was a place for optimism.)

He stepped out feeling renewed. As he reached for his towel he reminded himself that it hadn’t even been 36 hours. In the grand scheme of things, that was practically nothing. For injuries like those, it was perfectly normal. There was no reason to expect the worst, not yet. 

He pulled on the clothes he had grabbed, soft joggers and one of Carlos’s APD hoodies that he had claimed as his own months ago and tried to keep focusing on the positives, but his optimism faded along with the lingering warmth of the shower. Maybe the worst hadn’t happened and he was certainly grateful for that, but where they were was a world away from “good.” 

He made his way down the stairs, turning the corner to find Judd and Paul in quiet conversation in the kitchen. They looked up when he appeared, Judd answering the question on his lips before he could even ask it: “No, no updates from the other two. Seems like all’s quiet there.” 

TK nodded gratefully and slid into the seat across from them. Judd slid a bowl of something that TK knew objectively should smell amazing in front of him, but all he could do was stare at it. 

“Thank you, but…” 

“No,” Judd cut him off firmly, “you need to eat. Unless you want to be the one to tell my wife that you wouldn’t eat the food she sent over for you?” 

TK sighed and picked up the fork pointedly taking a bite, and Judd huffed out a laugh, “Smart choice.”  

The other two returned to their own bowls and they ate in companionable silence. TK appreciated their understanding. He was beyond grateful to his friends for everything, but even the thought of any conversation right in this moment felt like torture. The only thoughts he could manage right now were of Carlos, and the checklist of tasks required by his team before he would be allowed to return. 

He finished his food in silence, getting up and crossing to the sink to rinse it out and place it in the dishwasher. He had just reached the sink when a hand stopped him, taking the bowl from his grasp. 

“I’ve got this,” Judd told him, “you need sleep.”

“4 hours,” Paul reminded him from the counter, “in a bed.” 

“If there are any updates…”

“We’ll let you know,” Paul assured him. 

TK swallowed and nodded, turning and heading back upstairs with a soft thanks. He entered their bedroom again, this time unable to ignore the queen-sized elephant in the room. He lowered himself onto his side of the bed, muscle memory guiding him to lay on his left side, giving him a full view of Carlos’s empty pillow. 

The sight of him hit him harder than anything else and suddenly he felt as if walls were closing in around him. All the feelings he had been pushing back, holding at bay so he didn’t fall apart at the wrong moment breached his tenuous barriers. The catalyst grew harder to see as his vision was clouded with tears. He rolled over, turning his back to the reminder as his body shook with sobs too long repressed. He let 36 hours of pain and fear and panic out as he lay in their bed, hoping desperately that the aching emptiness beside him did not become his new reality. 

Eventually, he drifted off into a fitful sleep; head resting on his tear-soaked pillow and clinging to the desperate hope that when he woke up, things would look better. 

————-

Things didn’t look much better when he woke up, but his head did feel a little clearer. 

He woke with a jolt at the sensation of someone lightly shaking him. He sat up quickly to find Paul standing next to him, hands raised in a placating manner, “Easy man, it’s just me.” 

TK could feel fear creeping through his mind. If Paul was waking him up then…

“What happened?” he choked out. He knew he shouldn’t have left. He should have fought them more, he should have insisted on staying, no matter what. 

“Nothing,” Paul assured him, voice even and soothing, “everything’s fine. It’s just been a bit over 4 hours and while personally, I would love to let you sleep longer I figured it was only fair to wake you up and let you decide. There are no new updates and no one is going to judge you for taking the time to get a little more sleep.” 

TK took a shuddering breath, willing his heart rate to go back to normal. He shook his head and pulled himself out of the bed, “No, I should be getting back. Thank you though,” he added to Paul, “for waking me up, for everything, really.” 

“Of course man. We meant what we said: we’re here for you. I can’t imagine how hard this is, especially given everything, but you’re not alone in this. Don’t forget that. We all care about Carlos too, and we care about you.” 

TK looked down, not sure quite how to respond to that. Thankfully, Paul knew him well. His friend put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. TK looked up and gave him a smile that Paul returned, “Take some time to get ready, Judd and I will be ready to leave when you are.” 

He nodded again and watched as Paul stepped out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He then took a breath to steady himself before he surveyed the room, actually thinking about what he might need this time around. He grabbed his phone charger and shoved it into his pocket but couldn’t think of anything else he might need. All he could think about was getting back to the hospital as soon as possible. He met the other two downstairs and at his nod they head out without a word, TK only pausing on the threshold for a moment as he glanced back at the empty condo. Soon he would be coming back here, with Carlos. He was sure of it; no other option was acceptable. 

He shut the door behind him, turning his key in the lock until he heard the telltale click, and climbed into Judd’s truck for a silent ride to the hospital. When they arrived, he went to climb out but was stopped by Judd’s voice as the older man turned to look at him from the driver’s seat. 

“I know you’re worried about him brother,” he said softly. “I can’t even imagine what it must feel like and what a mess I would be if it were Grace, but you still need to take care of yourself, remember that.”  

TK swallowed down the emotions that rose up as he met Judd’s eyes.There was so much understanding in them and he knew that the other man knew what he was going through more than most. He gave him a nod, and a promise: “I’ll try.” 

Judd nodded in satisfaction and TK climbed the rest of the way out of the backseat, giving his two friends a wave before he stepped out and headed back inside. He immediately headed to the nurses’ station and was about to ask for Becky when a familiar voice sounded behind him. 

“TJ? What are you doing back here.” 

TK froze at the sound of Mrs. Reyes’s voice. “Hi, Mrs. Reyes,” he began, “I was just checking in to see how Carlos was doing.”

The older woman’s expression softened and she reached out a hand to lay on his arm, “You are such a good person, my son is so lucky to have you as a friend.” 

TK swallowed down the bile at the word, at the reminder of why he couldn’t be in there with Carlos. “How is he?” he managed to ask in a normal tone, “Has there been any change?” 

Mrs. Reyes shook her head sadly, “No, but the doctors say that is to be expected right now. They say that if things remain as they are they will likely start weaning him off the sedation soon, so I guess that’s a good sign.” 

“It is, he assured her, because despite everything she looked worried and he didn’t want her to suffer. “It’s a very good sign. Normal means that nothing is wrong, that things are healing. Paramedic,” he reminded her with a shrug when she shot him a curious glance, “I’m no doctor but I do know a decent amount about traumatic injuries.” 

She smiled at him and squeezed his arm, “And I am so glad my Carlitos had someone like you working on him. I know it couldn’t have been easy to see someone you care about hurt like that but you helped to give him a fighting chance. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that.” 

“No thanks needed,” he told her softly, “it’s my job.” 

“Still,” she insisted, pulling him into a hug. “I am so glad you are my son’s friend. He deserves wonderful people like you in his life.” 

TK stiffened in the hug, her words hitting wounds she didn’t even know existed. He cleared his throat as he gently pulled away. “Thank you for the update,” he told her, “I appreciate it.” 

She nodded, “Would you like to come sit with him for a bit? We don’t mind, there is plenty of room.” 

The thought of being so close to Carlos but not being able to hold him, of having to stay distant so as not to blow their secret in front of his parents was too much. He was certain he wasn’t strong enough for that. 

“Thank you,” he told her, “but I should get going. I don’t want to intrude and I just wanted to see how he was doing.”

“Of course,” she told him warmly, “but if you change your mind, feel free to stop by.” 

He nodded and with one last hug she let him go and he stepped away, heading towards the doors. He didn’t know where he was going, there was nowhere else for him to go. He needed to be here, but he couldn’t be in there with them. He couldn’t be so close without revealing their relationship and he refused to do that to Carlos. 

He stepped outside into the late afternoon sunlight, trying to decide what to do next. Trying to tamp down on the tears threatening to rise. It was too much. He had thought he was strong enough to handle this but he wasn’t. He couldn’t do this. 

“TK?” 

His name, said like a question from a familiar voice, caused him to turn to see Marjan heading towards him, a tray of coffees in her hand and a frown on her face. 

“Hey Marj,” he said, hoping his voice sounded normal. Judging by the look on her face, he failed. 

“What happened? Paul said you just got back. Is there any news? Mateo and I have been keeping an eye out but we didn’t see…” 

“No,” he assured her, “no, you didn’t miss anything. Things are still fine. I just…” he trailed off, took a breath and started again. “I just ran into Carlos’s mother. She was very pleasant; offered to let me sit in the room with them. Told me what a good friend I was to her son.” 

Marjan’s face dropped, “TK,” she said softly, but any response he could have given was swallowed by the tears he couldn’t stop. He thought he had gotten them all out a few hours ago as he lay in their bed, but clearly he was wrong. There were still plenty more. He felt arms wrap around him as Marjan pulled him into a hug, simply holding him as he cried. 

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

TK was thumbing through the book Paul left him when Becky approached him. His heart was immediately in his throat and he was about to ask her what was wrong when he noticed that she was grinning. 

“He’s awake,” she informed him, “has been for a little bit now. The doctors are running some tests right now so his parents have stepped out, but they should be done shortly, if you want to go see him.” 

“Yes,” TK said immediately, “of course. Thank you.” 

Becky gave him a warm smile, “It’s the least I could do. I do love a happy ending, after all. Give it about 5 minutes and then the doctors should be done.” 

TK nodded, hardly daring to believe that this was real. Carlos was awake. He was okay. “Thank you,” he called out to Becky again as she walked away, “really.” 

She gave him another smile before she disappeared around the corner and he was left to wait. He pulled out his phone to send a quick update in the group chat: Carlos was awake and he’d give them more details when he had them. There was a flurry of enthusiastic responses and well wishes before TK realized the 5 minutes were almost up and pulled himself out of his seat, heading towards Carlos. 

He crossed to the door almost hesitantly, not quite able to shake the fear that maybe Becky had been wrong, that maybe he was somehow imagining this whole thing. But when he stepped inside and was met with a warm, exhausted gaze from familiar brown eyes, he almost staggered in relief. 

“Carlos,” TK breathed and the weak, tired smile he received in return was without a doubt the best sight he had seen in days. 

“What are you doing way over there?” Carlos asked him and TK was across the room in an instant, skidding to a halt at Carlos’s beside and placing a tender kiss to the top of his head. He blinked away the tears threatening to fall as he studied Carlos. There was so much he wanted to say to him, so much he needed to say. He just wasn’t sure where to start. 

“Hi,” he settled on, and winced. As bedside greetings after a traumatic injury went, it wasn’t a good one. 

Thankfully, Carlos chuckled, “Hi to you too. How are you doing?”

“Me?” TK asked incredulously, “Carlos, I’m not the one who nearly died.” 

“No,” Carlos agreed, voice growing more serious as he studied him, “but my mom spent some time going on about how my friend ‘TJ’ saved my life. If that had been me and it had been you, I don’t think I would be okay.” 

TK shook his head, “Can’t you just worry about yourself for once like a normal person,” he gripped, but there was no heat in his words. Carlos raised an eyebrow at him before he sighed. “It’s been rough,” he admitted, “it wasn’t easy and definitely not an experience I am ever looking to relive, but if it meant saving you I would do it a thousand more times.” He held Carlos’s gaze for several long moments in the wake of his words, making sure that his boyfriend understood just how much he meant it. Any amount of pain or suffering on his own part was acceptable long as Carlos was alive and well at the end of it all.  

“But you’re awake now and you’re going to be okay,” he concluded after some time, “nothing else matters.” 

“From what I’ve heard, there might be one more thing that matters.” At TK’s questioning look he explained, “My parents. They referred to you as my friend. Did you…?” 

He trailed off but TK shook his head vigorously, “No,” he said firmly, “of course not. I promised you you could tell them on your own terms, that I was fine with being the friend as long as it took. I meant that.” 

“Ty,” Carlos said softly, squeezing their linked hands and giving him a sad look, “babe. You could have said something. I wouldn’t have been mad. Thinking about you going through this by yourself is worse than any possibility of my parents’ reaction.”

“I wasn’t by myself,” he reminded Carlos, “I had my team. Our friends. I was never alone in this.” 

“Remind me to thank them.” 

“Oh don’t worry,” TK quipped lightly, leaning into this new topic in an effort to leave talk of his parents and the endless waiting behind, “I am sure they will be here the moment you are allowed more visitors.” 

Carlos laughed lightly until he broke off with a grimace of pain. TK leaned forward anxiously, “Are you okay? Does it hurt too badly? Should I get a nurse? Do you--” 

“Ty,” Carlos said firmly, “it’s okay. I’m okay. I just jostled things a bit, stop worrying.” 

“I don’t think you are ever going to make that possible, Carlos Reyes.” 

“Look who’s talking.” 

TK opened his mouth to fire a response back but any retort he may have made was interrupted by the arrival of Andrea and Gabriel Reyes in the doorway. TK froze and went to pull his hand out of Carlos’s grasp, but Carlos held tight. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

“Uh, out of here?” TK answered, though it came out more like a question, “To give you some time with your parents?” 

Carlos shook his head, “You’re not going anywhere. You belong here.” He turned to his parents, who were watching with curious gazes from the doorway, “Mom, Dad, there’s something I need to tell you.” 

TK leaned in closer, voice low in Carlos’s ear, “Maybe waking up from a medically induced coma is not the time for major life decisions, babe. You don’t have to do this now.” 

Carlos turned his head to meet TK’s dubious expression with his own, “If not now, when? You said it yourself: nothing ever stays the same.” 

“Are you sure?”

Carlos smiled at him and squeezed their still intertwined hands, “Yeah, I am.” 

He turned his gaze back to his parents, who were watching the proceedings curiously, “I know you’ve already met TK,” he told them, “and I told you he was a friend from work. But I lied to you, he is so much more than that. I’d like you to formally meet my boyfriend, TK Strand.” 

TK anxiously watched their reactions only to see that while there were many emotions playing out on the Reyes’ faces, surprise was not amongst them. 

“You knew,” he blurts out, unable to help himself. 

Gabriel Reyes shrugged, “We were pretty sure after we met y’all at the market, but when you didn’t say anything when we got here we weren’t so sure and we didn’t want to press,” he began. “But seeing how worried you were, and how often you were here, I figured there was something we didn’t know. Plus, you’re wearing his shirt.” 

TK looked down at the old APD sweatshirt he barely remembered grabbing on his trip home sheepishly and he could feel Carlos laughing light beside him. 

“Why didn’t you say something?” Andrea asked him, eyes wide with sympathy, “All that time you spent waiting by yourself…” 

“I made Carlos a promise,” he said simply, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand even as he spoke to his parents. “I promised him he could tell you on his own terms in his own time, and I would never break a promise I made to him for anything.”

The next thing he knew Andrea’s arms were around him again, squeezing him in a bone crushing hug. He nearly staggered back from the force of it, shooting a bewildered look over her shoulder to Carlos, who is smiling fondly at them. 

“I was hoping we were right,” she told him softly, “all that time you were, how deeply you cared for him. I am so glad we were, and so happy that my son has someone to love him as much as you do.” 

She pulled away to give him a teary smile that he returned. Gabriel stepped forward to wrap an arm around his wife’s shoulder and lean forward to offer TK an outstretched hand. 

“It’s a pleasure to properly meet you, TK,” he said warmly. TK smiled at him before taking the offered hand. 

“Likewise, sir.” 

They ended the handshake and TK looked back to Carlos to see him beaming at him. He shifted over in his bed to make room for TK to perch on the edge beside him. TK did, happily, readjusting the grip of their joined hands so they could rest comfortably in Carlos’s lap. 

“I always knew they would like you,” Carlos told him with a grin, raising an eyebrow at his parents, “but I didn’t know what detectives they were.” 

“I am a Texas Ranger son,” Gabriel deadpanned, “in case you have forgotten.” 

Carlos rolled his eyes at his father, earning him a lackluster admonishment from his mother and TK let the warmth of this moment settle around him. He could tell Carlos’s parents still had questions, he knew there would be some hard conversations to be had in the coming days. But for now they were all here together, and Carlos was okay. Their secret was out and TK didn’t have to hide the love he felt for this man for anyone ever again. He leaned over to press a soft kiss to the top of Carlos’s head, savoring the ability to do so and the way Carlos leaned into him in turn. 

Things weren’t perfect but at this moment they were pretty close, and that was more than enough.