I Will Go Down With Buddie

a place to store my Buddie and Tarlos stories.

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

He’s Never Been Like This

Prompt by @theworld-is-out-there: Drunk Carlos waxing poetic about TK to everyone Also on AO3. A/N: Sorry guys for being away so long.  It’s been a chaotic couple of months.  Hope everyone is staying safe out there.  Enjoy!

T.K. was sitting on the sofa flipping though Netflix for something he hadn’t watched yet while on medical leave.  He had finally been cleared to return to work and was getting extra rest before returning to his life of 24-hour shifts.  Carlos and Own both offered to stay in with T.K. that night instead of joining their friends.  However, T.K. convinced them otherwise, reassuring them that he would be just fine sitting on the couch watching television.

He finally settled on a baking show and picked up his phone to scroll through Instagram as the contestants on the screen were being introduced.  His feed on the app was flooded with images from his makeshift family seeming to have the time of their lives at the nearby bar.  Judd and Grace were laughing at a table.  Paul, Marjan, and Mateo were playing darts in the corner.  His dad was showing off his line dancing skills while surrounded by strangers.  Michelle and Carlos were talking at the bar.  T.K. sighed and glanced up at the television screen.  His plan of sitting around and watching Netflix was suddenly abandoned as he stood up.  He quickly flipped off the TV, slipped on his shoes, and headed out the door, grabbing his jacket and keys before pulling the door shut.

Upon entering the bar, T.K. immediately spotted Grace and Judd still sitting at the table, now munching on a basket of complimentary chips.  Grace saw him and waved him over, greeting him with a tight hug before letting him sit down.  

“What are you doing here?” Grace asked cheerfully as she reached out for a chip.  “Your dad said you wanted to rest up some more before heading back to work at the station.”  She looked at T.K. for an answer as she dipped her tortilla chip into the salsa.  

“I did,” T.K. admitted.  “But then I got online and saw how much fun it seemed like you were having.  Felt a little left out.”

“Just make sure you don’t over-do it,” Judd said, pushing the basket of chips in T.K.’s direction.  “The 126 isn’t the same without you.”

“No thanks,” T.K. said in response to Judd’s offer for chips.  “And trust me, I have no desire to do anything that would jeopardize going back to work.”

When T.K. began to look around the bar, Grace smiled knowingly.  “You looking for that handsome man of yours?”

T.K. blushed, having been caught.  “Maybe.”

Pointing towards the opposite side of the bar, Grace said, “He’s over there with Michelle probably going on and on about everything he adores about you.  He always gets pretty sentimental about you whenever he’s had a beer or two.”

T.K. raised his eyebrows, amused.  “Really?”

“Frankly,” Judd interrupted, “he doesn’t shut up about you.”

T.K. chuckled.  “He’s never had a drink when we’ve gone out.  This should be interesting.  Hop you don’t mind me leaving you guys.”

“Not at all,” Grace said.  “We’ll see you around.”

T.K. stood and made his way across the bar.  He waved at his teammates and dad as he walked towards the bar counter where Michelle and Carlos were having an animated discussion.

As T.K. approached the pair, a bright smile spread across his face.  “Hey there, Handsome,” he said, gaining his boyfriend’s attention.  “Having fun?”

At the sudden sound of T.K.’s voice, Carlos nearly dropped his beer.  Michelle stood next to him, shot glass in hand, laughing at her friend’s sudden clumsiness.

“That’s his third one,” the paramedic captain said, pointing to the bottle in Carlos’ hand.  “I’d say he’s having fun.  I’ll see you boys later.”  With that, Michelle rose from her stool and left to join Owen dancing.

Carlos set his beer down on the counter and moved to walk away from the bar.  “Had I known you were coming, I wouldn’t have ordered a drink, or three.”

T.K. put a hand on Carlos’ shoulder, directing him to sit back down on the barstool.  “Babe, I appreciate you not wanting to drink in front of me, but I'm never going to ask you to not drink when you go out.  If you have a drink or three, I’m not going to mind.”  T.K. sat in Michelle’s abandoned seat and motioned to order a mineral water.

“I won’t do it every time we go out.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you did.”

“I want to be supportive.  I also don’t want you to be the only one not drinking.  Anyway, I thought you were going to stay home and watch Netflix.”

“Changed my mind,” T.K. said softly as he reached for Carlos’ hand, linking their fingers together.  “I’d rather be here with you and the team.  You all looked like you were having fun.  Sorry I broke up your conversation with Michelle, though.”

Carlos smiled as he picked up his beer and took a sip.  “It’s fine.  She was getting bored with me anyway.”

“Really?  How could anyone get bored of you?”

“I’m not the most interesting person to talk to, especially right now.  Seems like everyone is following the rules, which is great, but it makes work boring to talk about.”

“I, personally, thought the call about someone dumpster diving only to find out it was a raccoon was hilarious!”

Carlos chuckled as he finished off his beer.  “Okay, that one was pretty funny, but I can only tell that story so many times before it gets old.”

“You want another one?” T.K. pointing to the empty bottle.  “I’ll drive you home if you do.  I don’t mind.”

“You just want to drive my car.”

“It’s a nice car!”

“It is.  But I think I’ve had enough.  I don’t drink much anymore.”

T.K. dropped his head guiltily.  A few seconds later, he felt a hand lift his chin.  He lifted his eyes to find Carlos looking back at him, eyes filled with care and compassion.

“Tyler,” Carlos said, voice barely above a whisper.  “I’m not going to lie to you.  Yes, I did originally cut back on drinking because of you.  However, because I did that, I found out how much I don’t like the way it feels or the way I act when I’m drunk.  Seriously, look over at Michelle and your dad.”

T.K. chuckled as he looked over to find his dad and Michelle stumbling through line dancing.

“They’re being fools,” Carlos continued.  “Did you know your dad assaulted Iris’ ex once when he was drunk?  And, one time Michelle had to call 9-1-1 because she was drunk off her ass and hit the pavement face first.  Guess which lucky cop got that call?  I don’t want to act like that.  God forbid I end up flat on my face and you end up getting called to that.”

“I would never let you live that one down.”

“See?  That’s exactly what I don’t want.  So please don’t feel guilty about me not drinking.”

“Okay,” T.K. conceded before changing the subject.  “So if work is so boring, what were you and Michelle talking about?”

Carlos ducked his head briefly as he blushed.  “Nothing much.”

“Oh really?” T.K. teased.  “Guess I’ll just go ask her.”

Before Carlos could reach out to stop him, T.K. stood and grinned as he crossed the room to where Michelle and Owen were attempting to line dance.  T.K. reached out and tapped Michelle on the shoulder causing Carlos to groan and set his head down on the counter.

“Oh, hey T.K.!” Michelle smiled as she faced the young firefighter.  

“Hey Michelle!” T.K. responded.  “So Carlos is apparently too embarrassed to tell me what you two were talking about when I interrupted.  I thought maybe you’d tell me.”

Michelle began laughing.  “That’s easy enough.  Anytime you aren’t around, he talks about you!  I’ve heard more about your pretty eyes, your hot and then awkward first hookup, and how head over heels with you my best friend is than I care to admit.  He doesn’t shut up about you.”

T.K. smiled softly as he turned to look back at Carlos whose head was still on the counter.  “He doesn’t?”

Placing a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, Michelle smiled softly.  “Nope.  I’ve never seen him like this with anyone.”

T.K. nodded a silent thanks to Michelle before making his way back to his boyfriend at the bar counter.  He gently placed his hand on Carlos’ back causing him to lift his head from his arms.  

“How bad did she embarrass me?” Carlos asked as T.K. reclaimed his seat.

“Not too bad,” T.K. answered as he chuckled.  “I love you.”

Carlos’ eyes widened.  “Are you sure?  I have no idea what she told you, but I never want you to ever feel pressured.”

“Carlos, calm down.  I don’t feel pressured at all!  You know, most people respond to that a little differently.”

Carlos reached over and laced his fingers together with T.K.’s. "I love you, too." He looked around and suddenly had no desire to sit in the bar any longer. "What do you say we get out of here?"

"Are you sure?" T.K. asked. "I don't want to ruin the night you had planned. That was not the plan when I showed up."

"You think I want to sit here and watch Michelle get drunk after you tell me you love me?"

T.K. shook his head. "No, I guess not."

Carlos smirked at T.K. "So let's get out of here?"

"Lead the way," T.K. said as he and Carlos headed out of the bar.

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

Finally felt some inspiration, filled a prompt, hated how I worded things, and completely rewrote the entire thing.

So good news, a new Tarlos story is coming at you this week.

I hope everyone is staying healthy out there.

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

Sorry for disappearing.

The day after my birthday (spent in quarantine), my governor announced that he was closing all public schools for the remainder of the school year. I'm a pre-k teacher and that put me in a very unproductive headspace.

While I'm still heartbroken that I won't get to see my kids again until hopefully mid-summer for a late end of year celebration (I love my boss for this idea) I'm starting to get back into a more productive mindset and will get back to writing soon. :)

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

Running Into Danger

Prompt by @theworld-is-out-there: It's TK's first day as a firefighter, there's a huge call, cue worried/stressed Owen Also on AO3.

“Hey there, Probie,” Owen joked as T.K. walked into Station 252 for the first time as a firefighter.

“Really, Dad?” T.K. said, trying to be annoyed, but he couldn’t help but smile.

“What?” Owen said, laughing.  “You are the probie.  Get ready for a lot of that, by the way, and not just from me.”

T.K. smiled.  He had waited so long for this day, the day that he walked into Station 252 as a firefighter and not just the captain’s kid.  He worked so hard at the academy.  The day Owen came up to him and said “Welcome to the 252, Firefighter Strand,” had been one of the best days of his life.  “So where’s my locker?” T.K. asked excitedly.

Owen led him over to the locker room and showed him the locker that had “T.K. Strand” written across the top.  T.K. couldn’t stop smiling as he put his things in his locker for the first time.  He had just finished and was closing his locker when the alarms blared through the station.

T.K. followed as everyone ran and grabbed their equipment.  He climbed into the ladder truck and sat behind his dad as they headed to the call.

The call was for a fire in an apartment building.  Multiple floors were burning, and it was all hands on deck for search and rescue as well as extinguishing the fire.  They made sure all of their protective equipment was securely on before many of the firefighters ran in, T.K. included.

Owen watched as a handful of his firefighters ran into the burning building.  He looked at the back of their jackets to know exactly who had just volunteered themselves for search and rescue.  The last name he read was “T.K. Strand” and Owen felt as though his heart stopped.

“T.K.” he called into his radio.  “What do you think you’re doing?  It’s your first day!”

“I’m doing my job,” T.K. answered.  

Owen focused his attention on making sure the firefighters outside were doing their parts to put out the fire.  He made sure the water pressure was right and that the hydrant was nearby and ready to go if they needed it.  He did any task he could think of to get his mind off the fact that his son had just run into a burning building.  He knew when he got T.K. on with the 252 that he would have to watch his kid put himself in harm’s way, but he thought that at least on the first day, T.K. would have been on the outside of the building, not the inside.  

He listened to call after call on the radio of floors the team had cleared.

“We’re clearing the first floor now.  We should be out soon,” T.K. called through the radio.  Within seconds of Owen responding, the building started to collapse.  

Owen stood frozen in fear as he watched the building fall.  “Station 252, I need you to check in.”  No one answered.

The next few minutes seemed to last forever, but soon he saw his firefighters emerge from the buildings.  

“Our radios got hit by debris,” one said, after reporting that everyone had made it out okay.  “We’re a little busted up, but we’ll all be fine.”

Owen nodded, but still lead his team towards the paramedics.  He pulled T.K. close to him, though, and into a tight hug.  “You scared me to death.”

T.K. grunted as his father hugged him.  “I was just doing my job.”

“It’s your first day, are you crazy?”

“Maybe,” T.K. laughed, but winced. 

“Are you okay?”

“A beam hit my chest.  That’s what knocked my radio out,” T.K. admitted.  

“Go let EMS check you out,” Owen said, pushing T.K. towards the ambulance.  I’ll help them finish up here.”

After everyone had been checked out and the fire had been extinguished, the team made their way back to the station.  T.K. was sitting on his bunk shirtless, a bandage wrapped around his chest to stabilize his bruised ribs.  Owen came in and sat down next to him.  

“It’s not this intense every day, is it?” T.K. asked jokingly. 

“God, I hope not,” Owen laughed.  “Seriously, though, T.K. What were you thinking?  You’re the probie.  You’re supposed to be a little more apprehensive about running into a 4 story building that’s in flames.”

“I was thinking that I’m the youngest and possibly the fastest.  I was thinking that if I helped, we’d have everyone out of there before the building came down.”

“I guess I’m going to have to get used to watching you run into danger.”

“What?  Did you forget that that would be part of my job as a firefighter?” T.K. teased.  “Imagine 7 year old me watching my dad run into a burning skyscraper on T.V.”

Owen nodded as he thought about what T.K. had gone through during the 9/11 attacks.  “Like I said, I’m going to have to get used to it.  So what did the paramedics say?”

“Most likely bruised ribs.  They didn’t think any of them were broken.  Am I already benched due to an injury?”

Owen nodded.  “Only for a couple days.  Trust me, you do not want to try to carry anyone out of any burning buildings with bruised ribs.  So I have a little time before you go running into danger again.”

“Well, time to get your head wrapped around the fact that I do that for a living now,” T.K. said.  “So light duty?”

“Yep,” Owen answered.  “Which starts with filing some paperwork about the building.  Here you go,” Owen said, handing T.K. a file.  “Get to work, probie.”

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

When You’re Away

Prompt by @theworld-is-out-there: TK dealing with really bad insomnia Also on AO3.

It didn’t happen often, but sometimes T.K.’s mind wouldn’t settle long enough for him to fall asleep.  Even when he did manage to fall asleep on those nights, he wouldn’t ever stay asleep long enough to feel rested.  This was one of those nights that it didn’t matter what he did, T.K. just couldn’t fall asleep.  He tossed and turned in his bedroom for an hour before calling it quits on falling asleep by willpower.

T.K. quietly left his room as to not disturb his dad whom T.K. was sure was asleep.  He silently made his way down the hall and into the kitchen.  He found a mug and quickly heated up some water to make some hot tea.  Usually that was pretty relaxing and T.K. figured it was worth trying.  

He sipped on the cup of chamomile tea while sitting on the sofa watching some mindless T.V.  However, he still felt like his mind was racing.  He couldn’t settle.

All the shuffling around eventually woke up Owen.  He opened his bedroom door and looked down the hall to see T.K.’s bedroom door wide open.  He looked the other way down the hall and saw that there were lights on.  He walked into the living room and saw T.K. lounging on the sofa watching T.V.  He couldn’t help but notice that while T.K. looked tired, he was wide awake.  

“You okay?” Owen asked, startling T.K.

T.K. jumped, and looked over to his father.  “Damn it.  I was trying not to wake you up.  I know you had a rough day at chemo.”

Owen silently made his way to the sofa and sat down next to T.K.  “I asked if you were okay.”

T.K. shook his head.  “Can’t sleep.”

“What’s on your mind this time?”

T.K. sighed.  “Carlos.  He’s been on this team of officers that’s practically working around the clock to catch some guy who’s armed and dangerous.  He’s shot at the cops before.  They aren’t allowed on their phones except during downtime since they have to be on high alert.  I haven’t heard from him much the past few days.”

“You’re worried about him,” Owen said softly.  

T.K. nodded.  “I just want to know he’s okay, but I haven’t heard from him today.”

Owen chuckled softly.  “Kid, you have it bad.”

T.K. groaned.  “Really, dad?”

“What?” Owen laughed.  “It’s true.  And it’s normal.  You weren’t like this with Alex.”

“Ugh,” T.K. said at the mention of his ex.

Owen knew T.K. hated mentioning his ex.  “I know.  I never cared for him.”

T.K. laughed.  “Sometimes I wonder why I ever did.  Carlos is so different.”

“For starters, I like this one.”

“That’s new,” T.K. said softly.  “You’ve never liked any of my boyfriends before.  You tolerated Alex at best.”

Owen smiled.  “Carlos is good for you.”

“I really like him, Dad.”

“I’d go as far as saying you love him considering you’re up in the middle of the night worried about him.”  Owen could see the light blush spread across T.K.’s face, even in the dim light.

“I do,” T.K. admitted softly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.  Owen frowned, but stood up and made his way over to the door.  He opened it to find a stressed out Carlos standing on the other side.

“Sorry it’s so late,” Carlos admitted.  “I couldn’t wait to see him.”

Owen stepped to the side.  “Don’t apologize.  He couldn’t either.”

At the sound of Carlos’ voice, T.K. stood.  He quickly made his way over to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms tightly around the taller man.  “I was so worried.”

Carlos winced as T.K. tightened his grip.  “I know.”

At Carlos’ wince, T.K. loosened his hold. “I’m so sorry.  What happened?”

Owen smiled as he locked the front door once again and started to make his way back to his bedroom.  “Hey Carlos!” he called out before heading down the hall.  “Remind me in the morning to have a key made for you.”

Carlos looked over to Owen surprised.  “Really?”  

T.K. laughed lightly.  “He likes you.  Take that as a compliment because he’s never liked anyone I’ve been with.”

“Good,” Carlos said turning his attention back to his boyfriend.  “Because I’m pretty sure I love you.”

T.K. looked into Carlos’ eyes and smiled.  “I love you, too.  Now what happened?  I couldn’t sleep because I haven’t heard from you today.”

“We caught the guy, but not before we had a conflict with him,” Carlos admitted softly.  “I was grazed in the side by a bullet.  I got lucky.  They patched me up at the hospital, but I’m on desk duty for a while.”

“Can’t say that I’m too upset about that,” T.K. admitted.  

“I would have been here sooner, but I stopped by the station on the way home to change my emergency contact.  Next time this happens, you’ll be called instead of my mom.”

“There better not be a next time,” T.K. said sternly.

Carlos sighed.  “You know I can’t promise that.  Why don’t we just go to bed?”

T.K. grabbed Carlos’ hand and led him in the direction of the bedroom.  “I know.  I just don’t like not knowing.  And I hate knowing that you’re hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, Ty.”

They made themselves comfortable on T.K.’s bed.  T.K. wrapped an arm around Carlos’ waist, careful of his injured side, and laid his head on the taller man’s chest.  

“I love you,” T.K. whispered as Carlos’ heartbeat lulled him to sleep.

Carlos smiled.  “I love you, too.”

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

To Save His Life

Prompt by @theworld-is-out-there: Owen to whoever “I moved down here to save my sons life.” Also on AO3. A/N: I am absolutely loving the prompts you sent me.  I wrote the first three, and edited this one.  I work on the others tomorrow.

It had been a busy day for everyone.  Between some last minute decisions and then the rehearsal, T.K. and Carlos felt like that hadn’t been able to sit down all day.  Now that they were finally sitting down at the restaurant side by side, they had silently agreed to let everyone else do the moving around and talking.  They linked hands under the table as their friends all got up and talked about how Carlos and T.K. were made for each other.  

They were prepared for the sappy speeches from their friends.  They weren’t prepared, though, for the emotional one that came from Owen.

“It’s no big secret that T.K. and I are from New York.  Moving down here to Austin was an opportunity that I was hesitant to do at first.  You see, I was a firefighter in Manhattan on 9/11.  I watched as my team died in the rubble.  I swore that I would always make sure I would honor them,” Owen started, looking over at Judd as he spoke about honoring his former team.  “Then Deputy Chief Radford from Austin, Texas showed up in my office.  I had just been diagnosed with lung cancer and had no plans of leaving New York or my doctors.”

T.K. leaned into Carlos as his father talked.  He knew where Owen was going with this story, and it still hurt to hear just how scared his dad had been in those moments.  Carlos wrapped a comforting arm around T.K.’s shoulders.

“After Deputy Chief Radford left, it was supposed to be just a normal day at Station 252 in NYC, but then I realized my son hadn’t come in to work yet.  I remembered how he had said he was going to propose to his boyfriend the night before.  I checked my phone and didn’t see any happy announcements.  I just felt this pit of dread in my stomach.  I told the team I’d be right back and headed to his apartment.  He wasn’t answering.  I called the team and we forced our way in.  There was my son, unconscious in his apartment.”

T.K. closed his eyes.  The memory of waking up on his floor and seeing his Dad scared and his team working around him would haunt him forever.  

Carlos leaned over and whispered in T.K.’s ear, “I’ve heard this a million times, but it doesn’t get any easier.”

T.K. turned to look at Carlos.  “Doesn’t get any easier for me either.”

“When T.K. was released from the hospital,” Owen continued, “we sat outside talking.  When I asked him if he was trying to commit suicide, he said no, but he hesitated.  I knew we had to get out of New York at that moment.  I knew if we had stayed, my son wouldn’t be here today.  I told him to pack his stuff and we’re going to get out of town.  I moved down here to save my son’s life.”

T.K. looked up at his father at those words.  He always suspected that his dad had caught on when he hesitated answering that night.  He knew Carlos knew he had been suicidal.  He had always wondered if the move was because of the drugs or something bigger, but now he had that confirmation.  T.K. felt his eyes sting with tears at his dad’s honest confession.  

Owen saw the tears forming in his son’s eyes.  His heart hurt briefly at the sight, but within seconds, Owen saw Carlos’ grip on his son tighten.  “When we first moved here, things still weren’t great, but they were getting better.  Part of me wondered if once T.K. was sober for a year that he’d hightail it back to New York, but then this cop came into his life.  He never pushed T.K. into something he didn’t want, even if it broke his own heart in the process.  When the solar storm hit, something happened though.  T.K. started looking at Austin as home.  Specifically, and he’ll never admit it, he started looking at Carlos as home.”  

Owen turned his attention to T.K. and spoke to him directly.  “I knew that day when Carlos showed up at the station just after you told the team about your overdose that one day we’d be here.  We may have moved here to save your life, but Carlos showed you how to live.”  He looked to Carlos next.  “I’ll never be able to thank you for that.”

Carlos nodded at his future father-in-law as he brushed the stray tear away from his eyes.  

T.K. stood from his chair and walked to his father, pulling him into a tight hug.  “Thanks Dad.”

“I promise my best man speech tomorrow will not be that emotional,” Owen said, pulling back from the hug and brushing the back of his hand on his eyes.  “I just had to get that out.  Carlos means a lot to me because he saved you.”

“You just said it yourself.  You saved me,” T.K. argued.  “He helped, but I don’t know if I’d even be here to be with Carlos if we hadn’t left New York.  Hell, if you hadn’t come that morning, I wouldn’t be here.”

Owen pulled T.K. back into another brief hug before letting his son return to his seat next to his fiancé.  

“Good luck with that one, Carlos,” Owen joked.  “He’s a handful.”

“Oh I know!” Carlos teased.

T.K. turned to look at his fiancé offendedly.  “Hey!” he exclaimed.

Carlos laughed.  “Love you.”

T.K. couldn’t even pretend to be mad for long.  “Love you, too,” he said, linking hands once more and turning his attention to the next person to speak.

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

It's a writing kind of day. :)

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

Are you taking tarlos prompts?

Absolutely!

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

I have ALL the prompts, of the TK, Tarlos variety. (I also work in a school and we are also closed down, so I need things to read)

Bring on the prompts! Even though I definitely missed the original and I'm so glad it is back, I still missed T.K. and Tarlos last night.

And me too! I specifically need things to read that aren't the news.

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

One Step At A Time

Also on AO3. A/N: I’m a teacher and my school is closed for at least for the next week (possibly 2 and then spring break).  I’m looking at 7-21 days at home practicing social distancing.  I have a lot of time on my hands.  Feel free to send me prompts.

T.K. paced outside Carlos' door as he waited nervously for the other man to open the door.

"Can we talk?" T.K. asked anxiously as soon as the door was open.

Carlos frowned, but stepped aside, letting T.K. in. "Are you okay?" he asked, pointing to T.K.'s injured shoulder.

"Just a couple of extra stitches. Nothing major."

They sat on the sofa facing each other. T.K. took a deep breath as he willed his hands to stop shaking. Carlos reached out a hand and cautiously placed his steady one on top of T.K.'s shaky ones.

"Whatever it is you need to say, it's okay," Carlos whispered, bracing himself for T.K. to tell him he was moving out of Austin or that he didn't want Carlos around.

T.K. drew in a slow, deep breath. "Remember the night you arrested me? I told you I relapsed on substances."

"I remember," Carlos answered, nodding.

"That wasn't all. I'm an opioid addict, and just before we moved down here, I not only relapsed, but I overdosed."

"T.K." Carlos whispered.

"I didn't show up to work, so Dad went looking for me. I wasn't answering my door, so he called in the team. They forced their way into my apartment and Dad found me unconscious. I had to be resuscitated by my own team. When I was discharged from the hospital, Dad forced me down here to start over."

Carlos couldn't keep himself from placing his fingers through T.K.'s as the other man spoke. "Damn, T.K."

"All that happened because my boyfriend admitted to cheating on me the night I was planning on proposing. Since we moved down here, nothing has felt like it was my choice. Austin FD wasn't my choice. Austin wasn't my choice. My therapist wasn't my choice. Going to meetings wasn't my choice. I've felt out of place just about everywhere I've been since I moved down here to Austin."

"I'm sensing a but in here somewhere."

"But you have always made me feel like I belonged here. Since that night at the car wreck with the baby in the tree, you have tried to welcome me to Austin with open arms. You have tried to let this," T.K. pointed between himself and Carlos, "be my choice. And I've been nothing but a narcissistic jerk to you. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Carlos said, a hopeful smile spreading across his face.

"I choose this," T.K. whispered. "I choose us."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure that I want to try this with you. I have to warn you, I'm a mess. I'm an addict with abandonment issues."

"I'm not perfect either. Just wait and see."

T.K. smiled. "I can't wait."

"So what now?"

"Want to give me a ride over to the station? I want to tell the team about me and that I want to stay. Then maybe we can go out somewhere? Something simple, but an actual date."

Carlos stood and reached for his keys. He held out a hand to his new boyfriend. "Let's go. I know just the place."

T.K. accepted the outstretched hand and stood. Carlos pulled him in and embraced the smaller man as tight as he could while minding the stitches. They stood there for a moment, wrapped up around each other in silence.

"Thank you for trusting me," Carlos whispered as he pulled away from the hug.

They walked outside and got into Carlos' Camero.  Hands linked over the center console, Carlos made the short trip over to the 126. He offered to go inside and wait with T.K. there, but T.K. assured him this was something he needed to do alone. That didn't keep Carlos from watching from down the block as the trucks pulled into the station. He couldn't see much, but he could tell when the team all left, presumably to shower since it was the end of a shift. As soon as Paul stepped away, Carlos was out of his car and walking towards the station.

He stood in the doorway and waited as T.K. said goodbye to his father, chuckling lightly as the older Strand asked, "How many life decisions did you make today?"

Carlos' eyes went up in a silent question as T.K. approached him. He watched as all of the tension left T.K.'s body and smiled. He pressed a quick kiss to the other man's neck and wrapped his arms tightly around him, once again, mindful of the stitches.

"You ready to go?" Carlos asked.

"Yes," T.K. answered, lacing his fingers together with Carlos' and walking back in the direction of the car. "Where are we going?"

"There's this place just outside of town that has the best tamales aside from my grandmother's recipe."

"That sounds amazing."

They were just finishing paying the bill when the sun began to set and the sky lit up in beautiful colors, a much more pleasant effect caused by the solar storm.

"Want to go stargazing?" Carlos asked, standing up from the table.

T.K. admired the sky as he stood. "Absolutely," he answered.

They found themselves in the middle of an empty field, laying on the hood of Carlos' car, hands linked and resting on T.K.'s lap.

"You know, it's hard to really go stargazing in Manhattan," T.K. says quietly. "There are too many lights. It's beautiful, but in a manmade way. This definitely tops it."

"It is pretty incredible," Carlos agrees.

"I'm scared," T.K. admitted, voice barely over a whisper.

Carlos propped himself up on one arm to face T.K. "Of what?"

"Of falling too hard and too fast only to have my heart stomped on again."

"I'm not going to do that," Carlos assured him. "I want this. I want to work for this. I promise you I’m falling just as hard and just as fast. Like I said, I had some pretty strong feelings seeing you there in that hospital bed."

T.K. smiled teasingly. "What kind of strong feelings?"

Carlos rolled back onto his back and returned to gazing at the sky. "Like I could love you. It's a little crazy since you haven't been here that long and we've only officially been a thing for a few hours, but when you were laying in that hospital bed and I didn't know if you were going to wake up, I was scared that I wasn't going to ever be able to tell you."

T.K. reached over once again and took Carlos' hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he did so. "Dad said you were at the hospital every day."

"I was."

"Thank you. And for what it's worth, I feel the same way."

Carlos smiled at his boyfriend laying next to him. "One step at a time, though."

T.K. chuckled. "One step at a time."

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

I have a Tarlos story already typed. I just need to edit it before I post it

My school system shut down for at least one week (and of course it was the one time I was completely prepared for the upcoming week) so I have some time to write some more Buddie and Tarlos stories. :)

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

I’ve Got Your Back, Remember?

Prompt by @justsmilestuffhappens: When Buck keeps getting hit on by strangers but shooting em down and they can’t take a hint Eddie decides to come over and hold his hand to steer him away only buck doesn’t know it’s not just to save him Eddie was getting a little jealous

A/N: I LOVED this prompt.  Anytime I can start writing and the characters just basically take over writing it for me makes writing so much fun.  I end up not knowing where the story is going to go and that is definitely what happened with this one. Also on AO3.

Buck rolled his eyes at the people leering at him as he approached the bar. The whole team had gone out to relax and just hang out together. They were taking turns grabbing more drinks for each other, and it happened to be Buck's turn. While the rings on Bobby's and Hen's fingers deterred the looks from the men and women sitting at the bar, Buck's lack of ring had all the attention on him.

"You alone?" The guy closest to Buck asked as soon as Buck finished ordering.

"Obviously not," Buck replied, pointing at the numerous drinks the bartender was getting ready for him. 

"That's a shame," the woman a few seats down mumbled barely loud enough for Buck to hear.

"You interested in ditching your group? I know a place not far from here," the first guy said, eyeing Buck up and down.

Buck rolled his eyes. "Not at all." He took a step away from the man, starting to feel uncomfortable. 

"I'm sure they won't mind."

"They would and so would I. I'm not interested."

The man huffed. "Come on, man. I'm sure you would have more fun with me than with them."

Meanwhile, at the table that the crew was sitting at, Eddie was frowning. He saw what was happening the second Buck stepped towards the bar to grab them another round of drinks. 

"You okay, Eddie?" Bobby asked, noticing the frown on the younger man's face.

Eddie blinked and looked over at his captain whose voice snapped him out of his head. "Hmm?"

Bobby chuckled. "I asked if you're okay. You looked pretty deep in thought and was frowning over at the bar. I'm sure Buck will be back with the drinks in no time."

"It's not that," Eddie argued. "They're all looking at him like he's a piece of meat and it looks like that one guy over there won't leave him alone. He looks uncomfortable and keeps moving away from him."

Bobby sat down in Buck's seat and gave Eddie a look of understanding. "Are you just upset over Buck being uncomfortable or is there more to this?"

"He's more than his looks. He's kind, compassionate, gentle with kids, absolutely adores my son. He deserves more than being treated like that," Eddie said, pointing at the guy that was still coming on to Buck. 

"Then why don't you go rescue him? And then tell him how you really feel."

Eddie sat silently as he took in what Bobby had just said. Without a word, he stood up from his seat and walked over to the bar, placing himself in between Buck and the mystery man. 

"Hey, Babe," Eddie said with a wink as he linked hands with Buck. "Cap thought that maybe you could use a hand."

Buck looked at Eddie gratefully. He mouthed a quick thank you before speaking. "Thanks, babe." 

Beside him, Eddie heard the man grumble. "I would have been more fun."

Eddie turned to the man in anger. "No you wouldn't have. You need to learn to take no for an answer, man. I heard my boyfriend tell you no numerous times. Maybe if you got to know someone, you wouldn't be annoying everyone who walks up to the bar."

"Didn't know he had a boyfriend, man," the man muttered.

"You didn't ask. You just asked him if he was alone, and when he said no, you still kept going."

Buck put a calming hand on Eddie's shoulder. "Let's go, Eds. Grab those. Let's take these back to the team and then let's get out of here."

Eddie looked in Buck's eyes and nodded. He grabbed half of the drinks from the counter and followed Buck back to the table. He listened, but didn't say a word as Buck explained that they were going to go ahead and head out.

Eddie followed Buck out to his jeep. "Are you okay to drive?" he asked as he climbed into the passenger's seat.

Buck smiled at the man sitting beside him. "I didn't drink. Blood thinners, remember?"

Eddie thought back at what they had been drinking at the table and realized that Buck had only drink water. "I knew that," he said, chuckling lightly.

As Buck pulled out of the parking lot and began driving down the road, he gave a quick smile at Eddie. "Thank you for rescuing me back there," he said, turning his attention to the road in front of him. 

"You looked uncomfortable and he was pissing me off," Eddie responded.

"Are you sober enough to have this conversation?" Buck said, expression turning serious. 

"Yes," Eddie answered. "I was still working on my second beer when you went to order the third round."

"Other than my discomfort, what was pissing you off, Eddie?" Buck asked, hoping he already knew the answer and wasn't reading the signs wrong.

Eddie sighed. "I was jealous"

Buck snorted. "Of that sleazeball? Eddie, you had nothing to worry about."

Eddie shook his head. "But I did. It wouldn't have been him, but I guess it made me realize it could be anyone. Anyone could have snatched you up before I could tell you how I felt."

Buck pulled the jeep into Eddie's driveway, but neither man moved to get out of the car. "You have your chance now, Eds."

"You already know?"

"This conversation practically already said it," Buck said, still dancing around the actual words. "But I guess I've known there's something between us for quite some time."

"Why haven't you said anything?"

"I'd rather be single and have you as my best friend than not have you at all if this blows up."

Eddie reached for Buck's hand and laced their fingers together cautiously. "I won't let it blow up. I've got your back, remember."

Buck looked Eddie in the eyes and smiled hopefully. "And I've got yours."

Slowly, they closed the gap between them and their lips met in a gentle kiss over the console of Buck's jeep. They parted slowly, eyes bright and smiling wide. 

Buck chuckled as he sat back in his seat. "It feels like that should not have been our first kiss."

Eddie, too, was laughing in his seat. "No. It feels like we've been dating for years. I guess because we kind of have been."

Buck smiled. "I mean I am listed as your kid's other emergency contact and I do already have a key to your house."

"You automatically drove here. You spend more time here than you do at your own apartment. I guess this means I could start working on saving money for a ring so people will leave you alone at bars."

Buck blinked at his new boyfriend. "Maybe I'll be the one saving money for a ring."

Eddie mirrored the look on Buck's face before laughing even harder. "Are we really having this conversation? We just got together."

Buck laughed as well. "It does seem a little ridiculous. But at least we're on the same page."

"Are we on the same page about getting out of the car?" Eddie asked. "Because I'm excited to go in there and tell our kid about us." He watched and waited as his words clicked in Buck's head.

The moment it clicked, Buck smiled as his eyes teared up slightly. "Let's go tell our kid."

A month later, the team went out to the same bar with the same sleazy man sitting alone at the counter. This time, when Buck's turn to grab drinks came around, he made sure to have his left hand on display the whole time, letting the light catch the shiny piece of metal. 

"Damn," Buck heard the man say. He laughed as he turned to face the man.

"Do you have something to say?" Buck asked.

"Just hoped you would have ditched that boyfriend of yours," the man grumbled.

Buck smirked. "I'd be careful if I were you. My fiancé always has my back. He's sitting right over there, watching, making sure I'm okay since you're here again. You know if you'd spend less time hitting on strangers at a bar and more time getting to know someone, you'd be much better off. See, I'm going to finish up hanging out with my team. Then, my fiancé and I are going to go home, plan our wedding some, and then watch a movie with our son. Meanwhile, you're going to sit here and hit on every man or woman who appears single and then go home alone drunk off your ass."

Without another word, Buck grabbed the drinks and walked over to the table where his friends sat. He handed everyone their respective drinks before grabbing his water and reclaiming his seat next to Eddie.

"You okay?" Eddie asked.

"Oh I'm perfect," Buck answered, laughing

"I saw whatshisface talking to you again."

"And you saw me tell him off too."

Eddie laughed. "The look on his face was priceless. But I was ready to rescue you again if you needed it."

"I knew that," Buck said, smiling. "You always have my back."

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

He’s My World

Prompt by @nikolericasands: "Could you maybe do something in which T.K. has anxiety/panic attack while on duty and Carols and Owen are the only ones that can calm him down." **Trigger Warning** Please don't read if reading about drug use, overdosing, or panic attacks could bother you.   Also on AO3.

The alarms sounded through Station 126, alerting the team to a medical call. T.K. didn't think anything of it, even though his dad gave him a look from across the room. He climbed up into the truck and put his headset on.

"You sure you don't want to sit this one out?" Owen asked before giving the command to leave the station.

"It's just a medical call. I've been on hundreds of these," T.K. answered.

Owen gave one last "are you sure" look to T.K. before nodding to the driver.

When they arrived at the address given over the loudspeaker, the first thing T.K. noticed was the squad car that had pulled in only seconds before them. "What's Austin PD doing here?"

Judd looked at T.K. and furrowed his eyebrows.  "Did you hear anything beyond medical?"

The hopped out of the truck and ran towards the door of the house. Once inside, T.K. realized exactly what kind of medical call this was.

T.K. froze at the scene in front of him. A young boy, looked to be about 16 or 17 years old was lying on the floor, an empty pill bottle beside him. The boy's father was kneeling on the floor beside him, desperately screaming for the boy to wake up. He watched as his team began to work to revive the kid. He watched as Marjan inject Narcan into the kid's leg and Judd started CPR. Carlos was off to the side, taking a statement from the kid's mother. Suddenly, T.K. felt his chest tighten. He couldn't move or breathe. He felt his hands start to shake.

Owen glanced over at his son and frowned as he saw his son in the middle of a panic attack. "Damn it," he muttered. He walked over to where is son was still standing, frozen in place, and placed a gentle hand on T.K.'s shoulder. "Let's get you out of here," he whispered.

T.K. cut his eyes towards his dad. "You can't leave," he managed to squeak out. "You're the captain."

Owen sighed. T.K. was right. When all was said and done, he was the responding captain and paperwork always followed calls. He looked around, wondering who he could trust with T.K. He didn't know who all his son had told about what happened in New York. He was seconds away from having Mateo take him outside to at least get T.K. away from the scene when his son managed to speak a few more words.

"Get Carlos," T.K. whispered.

Owen nodded. "Officer Reyes," he called out, getting the young officer's attention.

Carlos looked over to where the father and son stood. He took one look at T.K. before thanking the frantic mother for her statement and making his way quickly over to his boyfriend.

"Why'd he even come on this call?" Carlos directed at Owen as he grabbed his boyfriend's shaking hands.

Owen shrugged. "I don't think he realized it was a drug-related call. So you know?"

Carlos nodded. "He told me that he's overdosed. I don't know details, though," he whispered.

"Get him out of here," Owen whispered, pointing towards the door.

"Yes sir," Carlos replied, pulling T.K. away from the scene and outside.

Once outside, Carlos led T.K. around to the back of the firetruck and sat the young firefighter on the ledge.  "Head between your knees, Tyler. Deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth." Carlos kept a hand on T.K.'s back, hoping to keep him grounded.

T.K. did as Carlos told him, and just focused on his breath and the hand on his back. After a few minutes, T.K. lifted his head and looked at his boyfriend's concerned face.

"You okay now?" Carlos asked calmly.

T.K. nodded and held out a hand for Carlos to take.

Carlos laced their fingers together as he sat down next to T.K. on the edge of the truck. "You want to talk about it?"

T.K. took in a deep breath. "It reminded me of that night. Seeing the kid there with the bottle next to him and his dad screaming at him to wake up. Before we moved down here, that's exactly what happened with me."

Carlos squeezed his hand. "You don't have to tell me the details."

"I want to."

"Go ahead, then."

"Most of this is what Dad told me happened. He came to my apartment because I hadn't shown up for my shift. When I didn't answer, he called our station down. They had to break down my door and Dad found me like that kid back there. Passed out on the floor with an empty bottle next to me. I wasn't breathing. They did CPR on me and Dad injected me with Narcan. The only thing I actually remember is waking up, being rolled into the recovery position, puking all over my floor, and then my dad hugging me. They took me to the hospital, and once I was released, Dad told me we were moving down here."

Just then, Owen appeared around the corner of the truck. "You okay, kid?"

T.K. looked up at his father and nodded. "Yeah. I was just explaining to Carlos exactly why I freaked out back there."

Owen sat on T.K.'s other side. "It was a bit of a dejavu moment for me, too. That kid's gonna be okay, by the way. Michelle's loading him up on the ambulance as we speak."

"Do they know why he took them?" T.K. asked.

Owen looked up as he thought quietly for a moment. "I heard you telling Carlos about the OD before we moved down here, but do you remember the first time?"

T.K. looked over at his dad and felt sad for the kid. He had a feeling he knew where this was headed.

Owen still avoided eye contact as he spoke once again. "You were 16 years old. Your mom and I rarely talked, but out of nowhere, she's calling me, telling me to get back to my apartment ASAP. You had sent her a text telling her you were sorry. She told me that you had come out to her and that she didn't react well. I ran the rest of the way home after my shift while calling 9-1-1. I ran inside only to find you passed out on the floor and the bottle for my leftover pain killers on the floor beside you."

T.K. felt Carlos' grip on his hand tighten as Owen told the story. "I woke up in the hospital with you and Mom crying by the bed. Mom started apologizing for how she reacted."

"And I told you that your mom and I had just come up with a new custody agreement where you went to your mom's only when you wanted to instead of every weekend."

T.K. remembered that day. He remembered waking up in the hospital and his mom apologizing before walking out of the room. "You had gone and bought a pride flag pin and was wearing it."

"I just gave it to that kid's dad," Owen told him, finally confirming what T.K. had been thinking.

"Did anyone notice?" T.K. asked timidly.

Owen shook his head. "I don't think so. But you may want to tell them, kid. That way they can help you whenever Carlos or I can't. And maybe stay away from drug-related calls?"

T.K. smiled. "I think I can do that."

Owen clapped a hand on T.K.'s shoulder. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? There's only an hour or so left on your shift."

"I can take you," Carlos offered, looking at his watch. "My shift technically just ended. Then you won't have to ride back to the station and face any questions they might have just yet."

"But my stuff," T.K. argued weakly.

"I'll grab it," Owen offered. "Go, T.K. I'll see you later."

"Okay," T.K. agreed, wrapping his arms around his dad in a tight hug.

"Take care of my kid," Owen said to Carlos, offering a hand for the young man to shake. "Kid's my world."

Carlos shook Owen's hand in a firm handshake and nodded. "Always. He's mine too."

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

Jumbled

Prompt by @comablog2: “Buck is very smart but is dyslexic and had trouble reading the team doesn’t know and tease him at first, but when they find out, they’re supportive an dhelp him read whatever he needs.” Also on AO3. A/N: Thanks for the prompt!  This was really fun to write.  Definitely gave me some Mateo vibes from last week’s episode.  :)

Buck groaned as he looked up from his book.  He rubbed his eyes, dog-earred the page, and closed the book.  

“You only on chapter 2?” Chim asked as he walked towards Buck.  “We had those issued out like a week ago.”

“Reading isn't really my thing,” Buck muttered.  

“Good luck getting that finished then in the timeframe the chief gave all of us,” Chim laughed as he walked away.

Buck wasn’t having a problem absorbing the new information that all firefighters in Los Angeles were being required to read within the month.  He was smart.  He absorbed new information quickly.  He could memorize pictures of tools within minutes.  With the new medical manual, he had already gone through all of the diagrams and memorized them.  He still had to read the chapters, just in case there was additional information within the words.  This was the hard part.  It was a secret Buck kept to himself, only having told people who absolutely needed to know.  Buck being dyslexic was something that didn’t come up in everyday conversation.

A few days later, Buck was halfway through the 3rd chapter when he had to stop once again.  The letters on the page were starting to give him a headache.  He dog-earred the page once again and slammed the book down.

“What did that book ever do to you?” Hen laughed as she walked past him.  

“It’s just giving me a headache,” Buck groaned, crossing his arms and putting his head down on the table.  

“It’s not that bad,” Hen said.  “It’s a little repetitive, but not so bad that it’s headache inducing.”

“Easy for you to say,” Buck muttered once Hen was out of an earshot.

Before the crew knew it, it was just three days before the chief was quizzing them on the medical manual and Buck was only three quarters of the way done with the book.  The rest of the team had been lightly teasing Buck on not being done with the manual, but Eddie was starting to get concerned.  The manual, while boring, hadn’t been a very hard book to read.  He had finished it within a few days.  He glanced over at Buck in their bedroom.  Buck was frowning at the book.

“Buck? What's wrong?" Eddie asked, reaching out one hand to gently touch Buck's arm.

"It's this stupid thing," Buck sighed. "I'm not going to be able to finish it in time."

Eddie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I read so damn slow. It takes me forever to read a paragraph. The stupid letters keep jumping around and getting messed up," Buck admitted.

It was like a lightbulb went off in Eddie's head. "You're dyslexic?"

Buck nodded. "Severely. I had the SAT read to me. That poor Proctor had to read that 4 hour test to me." Buck chuckled at the memory of that person sitting in front of him reading the SAT to him. "I had my written exam read to me, too, when I finished the academy."

"I never would have guessed."

"I don't tell people. I say I'm dyslexic and people just start assuming I'm dumb. I'm not. I graduated high school with a 4.0. I got into some of the top colleges in the country. Give me math, science, history, any subject and I got it. It's not even that I can't read, it's just really hard. Maddie only knows because she used to help me with my homework. The chief knows, too. He's quizzing me orally on Saturday."

Eddie nodded. "But how is that going to help if you can't get the book read to begin with? How'd you do it for the academy's written exam?"

Buck smiled. "I started reading the LAFD manual before even joining the academy."

“So what are you going to do about this?” Eddie asked, pointing to the book in Buck’s hands.  

Buck sighed.  “I don’t know.  I guess I’m just going to wing it?”

Eddie shook his head.  “Uh no.  Hand it here.”

Buck blinked at Eddie and handed over the book.  “You aren’t reading it to me, babe.”

“Yes, I am.  Makes for a perfect bedtime story,” Eddie responded, laughing.  “It’s some of the most boring shit I’ve ever read.  I am certain that it will put you to sleep in minutes.”  With that, Eddie finished reading the current chapter for Buck before turning off their bedside lamps and drifting off to sleep.  

The next day, Eddie continued reading the book for Buck during any down time they had during the day.  It didn’t take long before Hen and Chimney were walking up to the pair sitting on the sofa and asking about it.

“Wait,” Chimney started.  “You’re still not done with that, and now Eddie’s reading it to you?”

Hen looked at Buck and Eddie while quietly putting the pieces together in her head like how frustrated Buck had been reading and how long it was taking him to read.  “Chim, just be quiet before you say something you regret.”

“What could I say that I would regret about this?”

Hen simply rolled her eyes before sitting down on the arm of the sofa.  “Buckaroo, why didn’t you just tell us you’re dyslexic?”

Buck looked at her with wide eyes.  “I don’t tell anyone,” he whispered as he leaned closer into Eddie.

“Buck, I would never have judged you for that.  I hope you know that.”

“I know,” Buck responded.  “I’m just so used to other people assuming.”

“Assuming what?  That you’re not smart?  Because I know for a fact that you’re one of the smartest people I know,” Hen declared.  “I would have read that for you as soon as we got them if I had known.”

“We all would have,” Chimney interrupted.  “And I’m sorry if I’ve said anything insensitive about it.”

Hen reached over and took the book from Eddie.  “Why don’t you take a break, Eddie?” she said.  Then she began reading where Eddie had left off.  

For the rest of the day, the team took turns reading the remainder of the new medical manual to Buck.  They even went through the first part of the book to answer any questions Buck had about the material he had already read.  By the end of their shift, they finished the book with Buck confident enough about the material to take the quiz on Saturday which he aced. 

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

I'm stuck staying with the afterschoolers in my classroom today because of early release. Feel free to send me some prompts!

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

The Best Don’t Go As Planned

Written for Day 4 of @buddietinesweek. Also on AO3.

“Damn it,” Eddie grumbled as his hands hit the steering wheel impatiently.  He was stuck in late afternoon traffic on Valentine’s Day.  He had left the station at 4:30, in his suit, ring tucked away in his pocket.  He was going to run by the house to pick up his boys, and then head to the restaurant, all three of them.  He glanced at the clock that read “5:32 pm” in glaring red numbers.  He was supposed to be at the restaurant right now with his family, not sitting in traffic. 

Just then, Eddie’s cell phone rang.  He hit the phone button on his steering wheel and sighed.  “Hey babe,” he said, dejectedly.

“You okay?” Buck asked.  “Thought we’d all be there by now.”  

“I’m stuck in this stupid traffic.  It’s terrible.  We can’t be moving faster than 15 miles an hour.  I left the station an hour ago, and I could put the truck in park now and walk back there in 10 minutes.”

“Want me to call the restaurant to see if they have a later reservation open?”

“I doubt they do.  It’s Valentines.”

“I’ll at least call them to let them know we won’t be there.”

Traffic was at a standstill once again.  Eddie rested his head on the steering wheel for a moment.  “I’m so sorry.”

Buck chuckled softly.  “Babe, you didn’t cause what looks like a multiple-vehicle pile up from what the news is showing.”

“This wasn’t how this night was supposed to go,” Eddie admitted.  “It was supposed to be perfect.  There are so many things I wanted to go right tonight, Buck.”

“Eddie, I’ll still make sure it ends perfectly.  From what I can see, they’re opening the left two lanes.  Maybe traffic will start moving soon.”

Eddie lifted his head up to check to make sure he was already in one of the left lanes.  “I certainly hope so.”

“I’m going to hang up now so I can get a few things done.  I’ll see you when you get home.”

“I love you,” Eddie said, thumb reaching for the button to hang up.

“Love you, too.”

An hour later, Eddie was finally walking up the sidewalk and into his house.  However, instead of the normal decor, his house was decorated with balloons and rose petals.  Eddie heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen.  He entered the room as was immediately greeted by the smell of Italian food wafting through the air.  He looked over to see his boyfriend and son, still dressed in their suits that they were going to wear to the restaurant.  

“Daddy!” Christopher exclaimed before carefully making his way over to Eddie since he had left his crutches in his room.  

“Hey mijo,” Eddie said, wrapping his arms around his son.  “What’s all this?”

“Buck said we were having Valentines here.  We walked to the store down the street and bought all this stuff.”

Buck crossed the room to greet Eddie with brief kiss.  “We sure did!  We bought the balloons, the flowers, and the ingredients for chicken parmesan.  Happy Valentines Day, babe.”

Eddie smiled at the man standing next to him.  “Happy Valentines Day.”

“Christopher, why don’t you go set the table?” Buck said.  As soon as Christopher was out of the kitchen, Buck turned to look Eddie in the eyes.  “I know it’s not what you had planned, but just so you know, I’m still going to say yes whether we’re in some fancy restaurant in downtown or if we’re sitting at our dining room table.”

Eddie groaned.  “You knew?  How on earth did you know?”

Buck laughed.  “We share a dresser, a closet, hell sometimes we share a bag when we both have a shift at the same time.  You really didn’t think I’d see the box?”

“I thought I had it pretty well hidden!”

“Nope, pretty well hidden would be where I’ve hidden your ring,” Buck revealed.

Eddie blinked his eyes at Buck in stunned silence.  “You were…  Wait…  What?  You’re planning a proposal?”

Buck didn’t say a word, but walked out of the room and into Christopher’s bedroom.  He opened the young boy’s closet and reached towards the back of the top shelf.  He slipped the item into his jacket pocket before returning back to the kitchen.  “Just know, I’ve got one for you too.”

“You little sneak,” Eddie laughed.  “Let’s at least enjoy this first,” he said pointing to the food.  “It smells amazing.”

Half an hour later, the small family was still sitting at the table, chatting about their days.  Eddie looked over at Buck and smiled.  “Buck,” he said, getting the younger man’s attention.

“Hmm?” Buck said, looking from Christopher to his boyfriend.

Suddenly, Eddie’s mind went blank.  Everything he had thought about saying in this moment, he completely forgot.  “I… um…  I swear I had a speech planned out.”

Buck chuckled.  “Just ask me, Eddie.  I don’t need a speech.”

Eddie moved from his chair and knelt on the floor in front of Buck.  “Evan Buckley, will you marry me?”  He pulled the box out of his pocket and held it in front of him.  

Instead of answering right away, Buck reached in his pocket and knelt as well.  “Only if you agree to marry me, too.”

[iwillgodownwithbuddie]

Set Up

Written for Day 3 of @buddietinesweek. Also on AO3.

The alarms were blaring through the fire station.  Everyone was headed towards the trucks when they heard a voice call out through the sirens.

“Buckley!  Diaz!” Bobby yelled.

Buck and Eddie stopped running and turned to face Bobby.  “Yeah, Cap?” they responded in unison.  

“You two stay here.  It’s not a major call.  Watch some TV.  Cook some lunch.  Do whatever, just stay here.”

Eddie and Buck looked at each other and then back to their captain.  

“You sure?” Buck asked.

“Yeah.  I mean, we don’t mind just riding along in case you need some extra hands,” Eddie added.

“Yeah.  I’m sure,” Bobby answered before running towards the trucks.

As the trucks pulled away, Eddie and Buck made their way back up the stairs.  Buck unceremoniously fell back onto the sofa and flipped on the television. Eddie rolled his eyes, but joined him on the couch.  They sat in silence for a few minutes as Buck flipped through the television channels before settling on some movie channel playing movies for Valentines Day.

“Really?” Eddie laughed.  “Romantic comedies?”

“You try finding something on!” Buck argued as he laughed.  “There’s nothing on.”

“We have DVDs.  You don’t have to stick to the TV channels.”

“But that means getting up, and we have permission from our captain to be lazy.  I’m taking advantage of that.”  Buck put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned back, turning his attention to the movie that was currently playing.  

For the next several minutes, the two men sat quietly.  Even though their eyes were focused on the movies, their minds were wandering off.  They had been dancing on the line between friends and something more.  As they watched the fairytale love story unfold on screen, they couldn’t help but think that they could become something more.  

“It’s a shame that they don’t realize that they are both hopelessly in love with each other,” Eddie said softly, breaking the silence.

“It’s Disney.  You know they’re going to get together in the end,” Buck assured him.  “Besides, I think he’s much more attractive than the other guy.  She’d be missing out.”

Eddie sat and processed what Buck just said.  He smiled cautiously.  “Yeah,” he agreed.  “I’d take Robert over Prince Edward any day.”

They returned to silence once again, the tension in the air somewhat different.

“Um, Eddie?” Buck whispered as Robert and Giselle danced around the apartment.  “So this hasn’t just been my imagination?”

Eddie looked over at Buck’s unsure expression.  “That we’re somewhere between friends and more?”  Buck nodded before Eddie spoke again.  “No, it’s not your imagination.”  

Half an hour later, Bobby climbed the stairs, having just returned from the call.  He turned to the sofa and saw Eddie sitting on the couch with Buck curled into his side.  He chuckled softly as he left the room, not letting his presence known to the young men on the sofa.  As he stepped into his office and closed the door behind him, he pulled out his cell phone.

“Hey Maddie,” he said into the phone.  “Thanks for sending us on that call and telling me to leave Buck and Eddie here.  It worked.”