Chapter Text
Carlos walks into the busy fire station of the 126; he nods at Gillian and Rosewater as he spots them restocking their rig.
“Hey guys,” he calls out to them.
“Reyes,” Nancy smiles back. “Are you looking for Michelle?”
Carlos shakes his head, “No, um…” he hesitates for a moment, not sure how much they know about him and the pretty boy he’s come looking for. “TK?”
He watches as the two EMTs share a smirking look with each other. Well, that answers that question.
Tim nods towards the common areas. “He and the rest of the fire crew were hanging out by the Captain’s magical coffee machine. Strickland over packed it again, and the probie was giving a lecture on proper care.”
Carlos raises an eyebrow at the bizarre comment. “That’s a lot to unpack.”
“They’re fire, Carlos. They’re all fucking weird,” he tells him with a shrug, looking at his partner for confirmation.
Nancy nods in agreement.
“Okay, then,” Carlos says uncertainly. “I guess I’ll go to the kitchen.”
“That’s where you’ll find your boyfriend,” Nancy smirks back at him, a teasing glint in her eye like she’s daring him to deny it.
Carlos rolls his eyes, turning on his heel without comment, shaking his head as he hears them snicker at his back.
He walks into the kitchen to find TK and the rest of his crew lounging around, watching Mateo with various degrees of amusement and exasperation as he waves his hands frantically at a chrome monstrosity on the counter.
“This is not just a coffee machine!” Mateo all but shouts. “It’s an artist; it makes masterpieces. You guys can’t just overpack it, Paul –“
“Watch it, probie; I won’t take to slander.”
“It needs soft hands, or it won’t do what it needs to do,” Mateo continues, completely ignoring Paul’s warning.
“So, it won’t make me a simple black coffee?” he asks, interrupting the lecture.
TK turns to look at him; the bright smile he gives him makes Carlos’ insides flutter.
“Hey, you,” he grins as he walks over to him, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, taking Carlos by surprise. They’ve agreed to give this thing between them a real shot, but it’s still new, and it catches Carlos off guard how at ease TK is with his crew knowing they’re together. “What brings you by?”
Carlos shrugs, focusing his eyes on TK even though he can feel the rest of the crew watching them. “I had some free time, wanted to see you,” he answers TK honestly, the happy look he gets in return is worth any smirk thrown in his direction. He smiles back at his boyfriend, turning a little teasing himself. “I also came for some coffee, but it seems like that’s out of the question,” he says, looking over at Mateo. “Right?”
Mateo rolls his eyes at him while TK shakes his head.
“You want coffee; we’ll get you coffee,” TK assures him, patting his chest as he walks towards the machine. He stares Mateo down for a moment until the younger crewmember moves out of his way.
“It’s two sugars, right?” TK looks back at him as he pours him a cup.
“Yeah,” he nods back. “And –“
“And enough creamer, it might as well not be coffee anymore,” TK continues for him, smirking in his direction as he opens the fridge. “I know.”
Carlos watches him with wide eyes; he didn’t think TK knew how he took his coffee. He catches movement to his left, and he sees Paul guiding the rest of the crew out of the kitchen, a look of understanding on his face.
TK turns back to him, coffee in hand. He doesn’t react to the fact that his team has left them alone. Instead, he hands him the cup, waiting for Carlos to taste it.
Carlos takes a sip, smiling when he finds it’s just how he likes it. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
Giving him a shy smile back, TK says, “You’re welcome.”