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This is for my prequel, TK's growing up years fic -
Dad:
Hey, kiddo! We have finally set a date. Your old man is getting hitched on July 23rd, 2013. Be there or be square!
TK had received this text message from his dad a week ago. At the time, he’d replied, “Sounds great!”
And he’d seen his dad several times at work since then. But TK couldn’t get this text out of his head.
First, the word “finally” really did not need to be used. There was no room for “finally” for two people who were engaged after they had been dating for seven months.
The wedding date his dad had sent him, that was six weeks from now. And on that day, it still wouldn’t have been a year since his dad started dating Lorraine. It would be a year in October that he started dating her.
The following January, it would be a year since she moved in with him. TK felt like he was still trying to understand that when his dad told him that they were engaged. There was a part of TK that wondered if Lorraine really had a roommate that she had problems with, or if that was made up.
Every single one of the twenty days between when his dad told him he was engaged and the text with the date, TK had been hoping for the call saying that it was called off. But no; Lorraine and her knives of décor were here to stay (but seriously, who has a hobby of making wind chimes made of KNIVES?! His soon-to-be stepmother, that’s who).
TK was pretty deep into his thoughts that he didn’t pay much attention to the feeling of fingers flicking the tip of his ear. But the back of the same meaty hand colliding with the side of his face — now that he felt.
“Fuck!” TK exclaimed. “Malcolm, what the hell?”
“What?” snapped the 26-year-old firefighter who was straddling TK. “You were like a million miles away. Sue me for trying to get your attention”.
“Try?” TK repeated. “Dude, my ears are ringing”.
“God, you’re dramatic, Probie”. Malcolm rolled his eyes.
“I’m not your probie,” TK snapped. “And you know I’ve had concussions. I have a shift in four hours; I’m not trying to get a migraine”.
“You’re not trying to get off either, man,” Malcolm retorted. TK couldn’t argue with that.
“Yeah, well, I think I’m good”. TK moved to sit up, but Malcolm pushed him back into the mattress.
“I didn’t say we were done”.
TK glared up at him. “Well, I did. Lobster roll. Enough”. Malcolm muttered something under his breath that TK didn’t catch, but he acknowledged that TK had used his safe word. He moved enough for TK to sit up. “I’m sorry”. TK sighed. “You’re right. My head’s not there. Could we talk, actually?” Malcolm looked at him quizzically. “Talk?” he repeated, like it was a new concept.
“Yes. Talk”. TK sighed. “I’ve got a lot on my mind”.
“Well, I know a surefire way to get your pretty little head clear,” Malcolm purred, rubbing his hands up and down TK’s arms. “And besides TK, I can think of six better uses for your mouth… than to talk”. TK hated himself a little bit that it made him blush when Malcolm said shit like that.
“I’m serious,” TK said, grabbing Malcolm’s hands in his. “I’m really worried about my dad”. Malcolm sighed.
“You know, you’ve said that way too many times for someone who is legally an adult?” Malcolm told him. “TK. You don’t come here to talk. Your dad is a big boy. And Topher is going to be back in twenty minutes, and he can’t know you’re here, so…”
“Yeah, got it”. TK rolled off the bed and reached for his jeans. He knew that Malcolm was implying that they could still do something in that time, but TK really wasn’t in the mood for something. At least, not with Malcolm. There were times where he wished that he and Malcolm were in the same firehouse, but times like this made him glad that they weren’t.
As TK went back out into the humid New York summer air, he scolded himself for trying to open up to Malcolm in the first place.
Malcolm had been very clear on that several times over, that there was only one thing he wanted TK for.
And, TK thought bitterly, he couldn’t even really complain; at least this time he didn’t have to sit in Malcolm’s closet buck naked because Malcolm’s parents had stopped by their son’s (who they thought was straight) apartment unexpectedly.
But not talking with Malcolm hadn’t allayed TK’s need to talk to someone about this, he realized as he tried not to be jostled around too much by the subway train. After all, he was supposed to be the best man at this wedding; a wedding which he thought had no business taking place. A wedding that had severely dwindled down the list of people he could talk to. He did think of one person, though.
TK was fighting against the current of college students exiting their federal income taxation class at Columbia university. TK was trying to get into the lecture hall, because he needed to speak with the professor who was teaching it.
“TK?” Enzo said when TK had finally reached the front of the hall. “This is certainly a surprise,” he said, greeting him with a hug. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine”. TK nodded. That wasn’t a huge lie. “But Enzo, could we talk for a minute?”
“Of course, acorn,” Enzo smiled. “Do you want to sit, or…”
“I’ll sit”. TK nodded and sat in the swivel chair behind the desk at the front of the hall. “It spins,” TK said as he used his foot to turn the chair around a few times. “Cool”.
“I don’t know why they have that in here, to be honest,” Enzo chuckled. “If I were to sit there while teaching, I wouldn’t be able to actually see any of the students I’m addressing”.
“Huh”. TK said as he moved side to side in the chair.
“TK,” Enzo cleared his throat. “I know you didn’t come down here to play with the chair. What’s going on, acorn?”
TK brought the chair to a stop. “My dad set his wedding date. It’s in July”.
“Ah”. Enzo nodded as he leaned on the desk. “That’s soon”.
“Right!” TK exclaimed. “Why is it so soon?” He was struck by an unsettling thought. “Oh God, what if it’s that’s soon because they’re having a baby together? She doesn’t look pregnant, though. Would he tell me if that were the reason?”
“TK”. Enzo said gently. “I’m going to take a guess that you’re here in the event that isn’t the reason?” TK nodded. Enzo was otherworldly smart, the same way his mom was. If those two ever had a kid, that kid would find the cure for cancer before they started kindergarten.
“It’s just…” TK sighed. “I’ve never felt like I couldn’t talk to him about something. But I can’t talk to him about himself. I can’t talk to Mom about this. And Sophie’s thrilled, she loves Lorraine”. He started to nibble on his thumbnail. “Soph has spent a lot more time with her than I have, though”.
“But you don’t love Lorraine”. Enzo guessed.
“I don’t know her well enough”. TK shrugged. “But neither does he. They were barely together six months before getting engaged. This is the man who wants to plan everything in his life to death; what part of the plan is this?”
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