Chapter Text
December 25th
Carlos can’t actually believe that he made it. But he quietly lets himself into his parents’ house just shortly before seven in the morning, only to be greeted with loud squeals the moment he steps into the living room.
“Tíoooooo.”
His nieces and nephews are younger than Camilla’s kids and fewer in number, so Carlos is able to stay on his feet this time, though the reunion is no less enthusiastic. He kneels down to be at their level, hugging them all close, pressing kisses to their heads, and letting them babble a mile a minute in their excitement. How children that age can have so much energy this early in the morning, he’ll never know.
“Look who’s here,” Luisa greets him as she steps into the living room, a plate of cookies in her hands, the first to hug him close. “We weren’t sure you’d make it.”
“It was quite an adventure,” Carlos agrees, stealing a cookie before going over to greet his mother, then Ana, then the men in the room.
After dropping the bags with his presents by the tree, he drops into the last open seat, trying not to slouch into it and fall back asleep. Though he needn’t worry about that, his family urging him right away to relay his story with all the details, starting all the way back at the beginning. All the way back in Omaha.
“So, how did you know TK before this trip?” his mother asks at one point after he’s probably mentioned the man one too many times. “You called him a friend from work, is he with APD as well?”
“Yeah, Carlitos, how do you know TK?” Ana asks, both his sisters giving him mischievous grins.
He ignores them, far too tired to deal with them and their scheming ways today. Instead, he focuses on his mother. “No, he’s a firefighter with the 126. He and his dad moved down here from New York at the beginning of the year to rebuild the station.”
“Oh, I read about that in the papers,” his father joins in, nodding. “Yeah, made me wonder why we had to get a Yankee down here to rebuild the station instead of letting local folks handle it.”
Carlos shrugs. “To be honest, I thought the same. But Michelle tells me he’s done really great with the station, and I share a lot of calls with the house. The new teams are pretty great.”
“And you became close friends with all of them?” Luisa asks, her grin still wide as she’s obviously goading him.
Lucky for him, he can return the grin. “With one team, yeah. We went out together a few times. Some of them were new in town, not just the Strands, so I showed them some nice places around town.”
“How nice of you,” Ana quips, obviously meaning it as a dig – only for their mother to nod, sincerely agreeing. “Sí, really nice. I’ve raised you well, my Carlitos.”
He can see his sisters trying to hide their smirks and giggles, so he decides it’s time to shift the focus again. “Alright, who wants to be the first to get the present I got for them?”
With his nieces and nephews swarming him, he’s able to ignore his sisters for at least a little while.
❄️❄️❄️
Time passes quickly, just like it always does when it’s wonderful.
The kids are occupied by trying all their new toys while the adults sit together and talk, enjoying the company, the atmosphere. They’ve also unwrapped all their gifts, picking some of them up occasionally, checking them over when the conversation doesn’t involve them; putting them away when the conversation shifts again or when there’s a comment that needs to be added to something. It’s calm and peaceful in its buoyant ways, comfortable in the familiarity of a loud family.
Carlos mostly sits back and enjoys it all. He finished his tale at one point, dodged his sisters’ remarks and outright questions when they cornered him somewhere far away from their parents, and most importantly, he got his mother’s delicious Christmas breakfast. And copious amounts of coffee. He’s happy, he’s content; when his eyes wander to the clock hanging above the fireplace and see that it’s almost eleven in the morning, he can’t help that his thoughts wander back to TK. Maybe he should message him, ask if all went well with the rental and if he’s made it to the firehouse safely.
“What do you say, niños?” his mother asks the room at large – because, yes, it doesn’t matter how old the three siblings get, they’ll always be their mother’s kids. “Should we open our wishing cards?”
They all agree, moving one after another to the tree to take off their respective bubble from the previous year. Carlos goes last, smiling at the new addition to the tree. His bubble this year sticks out from the others, it’s the only one with green paper, and the bubbles Camilla uses are slightly different than the ones his mother does.
It makes his wishing bubble unique and Carlos can’t help but acknowledge that it is fitting.
Taking last year’s wish down, he moves back to the loveseat, not really looking forward to opening the bubble. He knows his wish, has written it down every year since he was seventeen, doesn’t want to see it because he knows it still hasn’t come true. But he can’t get away from this, so he braces himself, opens the bubble, and unfolds his piece of paper.
Find the courage to talk to mami and dad!
It’s all that’s written there but it’s enough.
Swallowing, he stares at the paper in his hand, thinking about all the years this wish was the only one he had. Thinking back now, it started even before he was seventeen. He wrote the sentence the first time when he was fourteen – the year he realized he loved boys the way he was supposed to love girls. When he sat his parents down at seventeen and finally came out to them, he thought he could have a new wish from now on.
But then it had to stay the same.
The never written-out addition of Find the courage to talk to mami and dad! *to tell them you’re gay* turned into the never written addition of Find the courage to talk to mami and dad! *to tell them how much they’re hurting you with their silence*.
Ever since, that wish hasn’t changed – because it never came true, just like this year.
And still, for the first time in far over a decade, the card now hanging on his parents’ tree reads something else. Because he has a new wish; because he didn’t even think about his usual wish as he sat next to TK, letting his heart speak.
Because, maybe, it’s time that this wish… finally comes true.
“Mami, Dad?”
“Sí, Carlitos?”
Looking up at his family, his sisters, his brothers-in-law, but mostly at his mother and father, Carlos can feel his heart beating wildly. He’s scared of what might come of this, scared that it will change it all forever.
But still.
It’s time to make room for a new wish.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. For a while now, actually…”
❄️❄️❄️
Stepping into the firehouse and right into their holiday party is not unlike the scene he just left at his parents’ house. It’s loud, it’s buoyant, it’s perfect. It’s filled with love and with laughter, family coming together, celebrating, enjoying each other’s company.
Paul is the first to spot him, waving him over to the table that’s filled with more food than even at the Reyes house – and that’s saying something.
“Reyes, hey! Haven’t seen you in forever, whatcha doing here?”
“Hey, hi,” he greets, a bit reserved in the face of… well, so many faces that aren’t the one he’s here for. “Sorry to crash your party. But is TK around?”
“Yeah, he was here somewhere,” Marjan jumps in, looking around. “Wait, where is he?”
More people join but TK isn’t to be seen, neither in the kitchen nor the common area in the back.
“Maybe he’s upstairs,” Nancy offers, and as if she’s summoned him, the man indeed comes waltzing down the stairs. “Ah, there he is,” Nancy unnecessarily adds, just as Judd’s call booms out with, “Hey, TK, visitor for you.”
“Yeah, TK, what did you do to get a police officer stopping by on Christmas morning?” Paul asks, though there’s no missing his suggestive tone of voice.
Marjan and Nancy are quick to jump in on the fun as well. “Oh, I’m pretty sure Carlos isn’t here on official business.”
“I agree, though I would say something else might soon be official.”
They have the table grinning and given the fact that TK’s face undeniably lights up as soon as he spots Carlos – with him probably not being any better – they also have to endure some catcalls and wolf-whistles. Seemingly unaffected by the ruckus, TK strides right up to him.
“Hey, Carlos, what are you doing here? What about your family? Don’t tell me I made sure you got here in time and you skipped it all.”
“No, I didn’t, I promise. I spent the whole morning with them but I wanted to talk to you about–” Looking back at the table, he finds the entire firehouse watching them, no one even bothering to pretend like they’re occupied with something else. “Uhm… can we–”
Gesturing towards the bay that holds the vehicles, Carlos is relieved when TK catches on right away, nodding and joining him even when the table boos, some calls of, “Don’t deprive us of the show,” or, “Hey, don’t mind us, you can talk here,” or even, “Oh come on, we wanna see the grand finale,” following them.
“Please excuse them,” TK tells him even though the smile on his face says just how much he loves it.
And Carlos understands; chuckles when he says, “And you pretend like you don’t have siblings.”
TK’s soft laugh is delightful and he finds he’s already missed it, even though it’s only been a few hours.
They walk all the way around the engine, hiding away from where they could be seen from the table, out of earshot at last. Right away, TK grabs him by his reindeer sweater, pulling him in as he leans against the engine. Carlos doesn’t complain, a wide grin on his lips as his hands smack against the red surface, caging the man in, pressing up against him.
Their lips are close, so very close, ghosting over each other, TK’s breath tickling his skin. But TK doesn’t close the gap and Carlos is too entranced by the moment to do it himself. Especially not when TK’s grin suddenly broadens, eyes sparkling in amusement.
“I really want to kiss you,” he whispers.
Carlos sways even closer, voice just as quiet. “Then why don’t you?”
“How can I?” he asks, giving it a dramatic pause, before, “There’s no mistletoe here.”
It takes Carlos a second to understand, but when he does, he huffs a little laugh. He’s in love with the biggest dork and he just hopes that he’ll be allowed to say those words in the very near future.
“Well, we’re lucky then.”
“Lucky?”
“Yeah,” Carlos confirms. “Lucky that I don’t need mistletoe to kiss you.”
The kiss is dirty and needy; two starving men clashing together, no care for the world around them. Carlos takes and takes, taking his fill; but he also gives. He gives TK his all, everything he’s got and everything he is. He puts it all in this kiss, unable to stop himself. He wants this man more than anything he ever wanted in his life. And he doesn’t just mean the sex.
Their kiss lasts a small eternity, Carlos not even bothered by the possibility of someone coming over to check on them. All he cares about is TK; all he cares about is his entire world.
“It’s only been a few hours,” TK whispers without stopping to kiss him. “But I’ve fucking missed you.”
“Same here, in case you can’t tell.”
TK huffs a laugh, warm breath fanning over Carlos’ wet lips before TK catches the lower one with his teeth, soothing the sting with his tongue. As the kiss resumes, Carlos presses closer yet, leaving no space between them, not a single inch. TK’s hand is in his hair, fingers scratching his scalp, the other hand on his hip, unabashedly wandering underneath his sweater, smoothing along his naked skin. Those hands are driving him wild and he needs to get TK home soon or he’ll give the entire 126 a show.
Some loud laughter back from the table breaks them apart, TK not letting him go far though. “Hey,” he breathes, smiling wide as his green eyes sparkle.
“Hi,” Carlos replies, swaying back in for just a quick peck on the lips, then another, then another. It has TK giggling by the time Carlos finally pulls back, just gazing at him.
They stay like this for a few heartbeats, just staring at each other, drinking the other one in, elated and happy.
“You wanted to talk to me about something?”
“Yes,” Carlos breathes. “Look, I know we said we would go on a date after the holidays, and I truly hope that means we’re on the same page again. But…” He takes another deep breath, thinking for a second; wondering where to start. “We just opened last year’s wishing cards and I was painfully reminded that I used to write down the same wish year after year for the past decade.” He pauses, brushes his hand through TK’s hair; watches as the man closes his eyes, relishing the feeling, before his eyes open again. Carlos has his full attention. “My coming out was… not so good, I guess. I mean, my parents hugged me and told me they love me, and I know that has never changed; it just… got never talked about again.”
“Yeah, I know,” TK admits, biting his lip. “I might’ve accidentally eavesdropped when you and Camilla talked about it.”
Carlos nods at this new information, part of him even relieved. He’ll tell TK the full story, eventually, but for now, he’s glad he doesn’t have to elaborate. “I’ve always wished for the courage to talk with them about the whole topic. Tell them what their silence means to me, how it hurts. And… reading that wish today again, knowing that for the first time in forever, I wrote down another wish when I sat next to you… I guess I finally did find that courage. I talked to them.”
“How did it go?” TK asks softly, yet a bit guarded.
Unable to tame his happiness, Carlos’ smile breaks loose again. “Better than I could’ve ever hoped for. They were shocked, they apologized; said they never meant to treat me differently, that they just thought I would share any news with them once there was something to share. They didn’t want to pry, didn’t want to make me uncomfortable by asking about boyfriends if maybe I didn’t have one or wasn’t ready to talk about that person. Luisa and Ana and their husbands were also there and they might’ve given our parents a hard time about it, reminding them how they were always bombarded with questions about their love lives. I think… I think my parents understood that unconsciously, they did treat me differently. They apologized, there were a lot of tears and hugs, and…” He stops, huffs a little laugh, “Of course that led to my mother asking right away if there was someone special in my life and Luisa and Ana couldn’t hold it in any longer, mentioning you, teasing me, poking me, and…”
He stops again, cradling TK’s face in his hands, watching him closely, trying to gauge his reaction. There’s a flutter of nerves in his belly – but he still continues.
“And I realized that I didn’t have a definite answer. I told them about our past – very, very boiled down and G-rated, mind you – but then admitted that… that’s to mean…” He groans, frustrated when the words won’t come, shrugging helplessly. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t just want to assume. But, TK,” he adds, looking right into wide, green eyes. “I also don’t want to wait another year for my Christmas wish to come true.”
“Me neither,” TK whispers, smiling up at him. “And I have a hunch that our wishes are very similar.”
“I hope so,” Carlos whispers. “So… what are we? Or rather, what do you want us to be?”
TK never once broke eye contact but now he does, looking down for a few heartbeats. Carlos doesn’t dare rush him, and he’s rewarded for his patience when TK looks back up, smile shy and eyes shining with hope.
“I want to be your boyfriend,” he says, clear and straightforward. “I want to go on dates with you; I want to spend the nights, I want to fall asleep in your arms and wake up next to you; I want us to go out with our friends and I want us to have quiet evenings at home.” He takes a breath, but Carlos can tell he’s not done yet, simply bracing himself for one more step. “I want you to meet my dad as my dad, not my captain, and I also want you to meet my mom. And then, once you feel comfortable with it, I want to meet your parents and sisters. I want to meet your family, Carlos.” There’s a silent tear running down his cheek and Carlos brushes it away with his thumb, feeling the wetness in his own eyes and the happiness bubbling up inside of him. TK smiles even wider. “I want it all, Carlos. I want you. I want us.”
Carlos can’t hold himself back any longer, leaning in and pressing their lips together with a newfound fervor. He wants to taste those words, wants to soak them up and never forget them. He wants TK to know that he’s right there with him, that he wants the same things. He wonders if he can tell him with just his kisses but no. TK just showed so much courage and he deserves the favor returned.
“Me too,” Carlos breathes out as he scatters kisses all over TK’s face. “From the first time I took you home, this is all I ever wanted.”
TK guides him back into another kiss, eager in a new way, the connection between them shifted from one admission to the next. It tastes of so much more, feels so much more profound. They’re still them, but more.
“Carlos,” TK whispers between kisses, hands fisting his sweater once again to keep him close. “Take me home.”
“What about your holiday party?” Carlos whispers back, not truly caring about it but still remembering common courtesy.
TK is quick to shake his head. “I don’t care. And they won’t mind. I’ve been here a few hours, that’s more than enough.” He leans back just enough to grin mischievously up at Carlos. “Right now, all I want is to get home and unwrap my Christmas present before I make sure to be on Santa’s naughty list for the rest of my life.”
If Carlos has any doubts about TK’s intentions, they’re quickly wiped away by TK’s hands sneaking underneath his sweater. Laughing out loud, Carlos nods, steals another kiss, then grabs TK’s hand. He’s pulling him out of the firehouse and over to his car without another thought of TK’s hollering family. Pressing him to the side of his Camaro, he steals a few more kisses, making sure to sate them until they’re back at his condo, if that’s even possible. But he’ll at least try.
It’s not until TK is panting, gaze dazed and lips kiss swollen, that Carlos opens the passenger door and lets him get inside. He’s quick to round the car, looking up at the sky for a moment and thanking whoever is listening for this Christmas miracle. He’s greeted with another kiss before TK settles back, leaving one hand on Carlos’ thigh – a little higher than how it was the night before as they were driving through the snowstorm. Carlos leans over for another kiss, smiling as TK hums in contentment.
And at last, he’s finally starting the car, driving them home for a very, very special Christmas of their own making.