Work Text:
Some nights I stay up
Cashing in my bad luck
Some nights, I call it a draw
It’s become something of a custom for the 126 to gather outside of work. Where most people would be tired of seeing their co-workers constantly, the station’s team never seems to shy away from any excuse to extend their days. Even after a long shift, just the mere mention of plans gets the crew excited.
Owen affectionately calls it family time, an opportunity for the crew to get together periodically after shifts and try different activities together. TK can’t actually say he minds the opportunity to bond even further with the team. In a lot of ways, in almost no time at all, the 126 has come together and formed quite the family, one that TK is sincerely proud to be a part of.
As an only child, he’d spent a great deal of time on his own, admittedly curious about what it would have been like to have a big brother or sister looking out for him or even what it could be like to be an older brother himself. Life was funny in the way it brought the various members of the crew into his world. Now he knew precisely what it was like to be surrounded by siblings and all the highs and lows that came with that. They could bicker amongst themselves but at the end of the day, there was nothing but love between them all.
Outings like this, bowling on a Friday night after their shift, were moments that TK has quickly come to cherish. It’s made all the more special with tonight’s guest joining in on the fun. TK’s relationship with Carlos is still new, just a month and a half underway but without question the man’s presence is always a welcomed thing at any and all times.
Owen and Michelle head over to the stand to get food and drinks for everyone, the rest of the team piling into their seats. Marjan commandeers the center console, her eyes glossing over the buttons for a moment.
“I’d just like to go on record saying that bowling is not my thing,” Paul announces the second he flops into his seat.
“Josie still hasn’t managed to teach you?” Carlos asks.
Paul smiles and TK can’t help but to do the same. He was all too happy when Josie and Paul amended things, the two of them meeting up and having a serious conversation. It had been a tentative road, one that TK had worried Paul wouldn’t care to repair. He certainly wouldn’t have faulted Paul if he decided not to but TK had easily picked up on the chemistry between them and had been hopeful that one day they’d be able to reconnect.
It’d taken a few weeks for Paul to be open to the idea of putting his heart out there with Josie again and it seemed to be paying off now.
“We, uh, kinda get distracted during lessons,” Paul says with a shrug and a smirk.
“Alright, so you’re definitely not on my team then,” Marjan quips, double checking her laces on her rentals. “How about you, Carlos? Are you any good at bowling?”
“Yeah, I’ve been playing since I was a kid.”
Marjan grins. “Excellent, you’re with me then.”
TK raises a hand in protest. “Wait, wait, wait. You can’t just start stealing all the best players for your team.”
Marjan looks to the left, then the right, then back at him.
“Says who? That’s the whole point of calling dibs,” she says. “It’s not my fault you guys are just slow.”
TK jokingly narrows his eyes at her. “Alright, then we get Judd. We need at least one solid player on our team.”
Her mouth twists to one side in thought. “Fine, I’ll allow it. Judd, I wish your back well. It’s going to take a lot to carry your team.”
“What else is new?” Judd muses.
Paul places a hand over his heart. “Ice cold, Marwani. I knew you were competitive but damn, is it really like that?”
“Oh, that’s precisely how it is.”
Carlos laughs and shakes his head. “Who knew firefighters could be so vicious?”
“Marjan is the worst of all when it comes to games,” Mateo says. “But she’s pretty much undefeated so she’s doing something right.”
TK wishes he could argue the point but Marjan’s competitive nature always gives her an extra edge over the others. Sometimes he gets to bask in the warm glow of victory if they’re paired up. Other times he has to admit defeat.
“Alright, so what are the two teams looking like?” Mateo asks Marjan.
She starts typing in her name first. “So it’s me, you, Carlos, and I think we’ll snag Cap.”
“Pitting me against my father and my boyfriend? A little cruel, don’t you think?”
Marjan laughs. “Clearly I’m out to get you today.”
She continues typing in everyone’s names until all eight are on the board. “Cool, we’re good to go.”
Judd stands up first and gets his ball from the ball return. It’s a weighty all black ball that he sends flying down the lane without much buildup at all.
TK watches it streak down the lane, tipping over eight pins.
“That’s how you knock ‘em down,” he proudly boasts, turning back to the others.
Marjan rolls her eyes but TK can see she’s actually impressed with how well Judd has done right out of the gate. Mateo has his phone out, taking pictures and videos as he always does during their get togethers.
TK sits beside Carlos, placing his head on his shoulder as they all watch Judd set up his next frame. He can feel the press of Carlos’ lips against the crown of his head and he smiles to himself at the move. TK shifts and steals a kiss, a hand resting on Carlos’ chest.
“No fraternizing with the enemy,” Paul grumbles. “Don’t make me get a hose for you two. You know I can make that happen like that,” he says, snapping his fingers for emphasis.
The crew takes turns and before long, Marjan is calling TK up to take his turn. It strikes him how odd his feet feel inside of his rentals. The floor is so much smoother than he was anticipating and he glides a bit as he heads to the ball return.
“You alright there, Happy Feet?” Judd calls out, earning a few laughs from the team.
“I’ve got this,” TK assures, placing his fingers into the holes.
“Famous last words,” Marjan says at the same time as Paul who says, “Dead man walking.”
TK picks up his ball and draws in a breath as he raises in front of him. Bowling is not his forte. The last time he stepped foot in a bowling alley had to have been when he was in high school, if not junior high. He and his friends didn’t know or care to learn the rules and that suited him just fine. This was as simple a concept as any. Even little kids were capable of knocking over pins. Surely he, an adult, could do the same too without incident.
He studies the little arrows on the floor before him all pointing towards the pins as if he needed reminding on which direction to go. TK rolls his eyes at them and lowers his arm, swinging it back. As he goes to release the ball, his wrist locks a bit. His body tugs with the momentum and it dawns on TK that this is not about to end well for him.
The ball slips from his hand clumsily and in his haste to try and maintain control, his left foot slips. It happens in the blink of an eye, the time it takes for the ball to hit the wooden floor and for his butt to do the same.
Marjan’s cackle is the loudest of them all, practically filling every square inch of the bowling alley.
Carlos is beside him quickly, holding out a hand to help him up. TK’s face burns hot with embarrassment, his backside already aching. He looks to where his friends are, Mateo’s phone angled a little too perfectly at him.
There’s only one conclusion to draw from such a sight and TK, as foolish as it is, hopes against hope that he’s wrong.
“Please don’t tell me you filmed that.”
“Of course I filmed it, are you kidding me? I’m totally making this into a boomerang. That was gold,” Mateo laughs, shoving his phone towards the others and tapping the screen.
Judd is wiping away tears from his eyes, Marjan’s cheeks are flushed, and Paul is doubled over in his seat as they watch the video. To his credit, Carlos is doing his best not to join in but his cheekbones are raised so highly on his face, his lips pressed tightly together in a valiant effort to suppress a laugh.
“You too?” TK jokingly reprimands.
“I’m sorry but if you saw it go down like we did…,” he trails off, placing a kiss against TK’s temple.
TK groans and buries his face against the side of Carlos’ neck as he wraps an arm around his waist.
“What’s going on here? We leave you all for five minutes and you guys are falling to pieces,” Owen says, Michelle just a step behind him, their hands filled with packed trays of nachos and drinks.
“I got you, Cap. Look at this,” Mateo says a little too eagerly, surrendering his phone to Owen.
TK groans yet again and Carlos merely pulls him in a little closer as the team watches the two captains view the video. It’s mortifying but the crew relishes in it, watching eagerly. TK can hear the bowling ball thud and a second later himself. The laughter of the crew plays back, only this time with his own father’s laugh and Michelle’s joining the mix in real time.
“Is this online? That’s just what this station needs, another firefighter going viral.”