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TK realizes he hasn’t taken a truly full relieved breath until he walks through Carlos’ door to find his boyfriend asleep on the couch. The sight of him finally loosens the tension in TK’s shoulders for the first time since he and his team left Austin to fight the wildfires. He quietly makes his way towards the sleeping figure, feeling more at ease with every step he takes.
Before they left the station, his father had asked him if he was coming home with him only for a knowing smile to appear on his face when TK hesitated.
TK had asked if he needed him; after all, it had only been hours since he almost lost him, but his father had simply shaken his head, assured him he was fine, and that he was going home to TK’s mother. Pulling him into a tight, rib-crushing hug – which TK returned just as fiercely, his father told him to go see Carlos, knowing that it’s the only thing that would help release TK’s excess nervous energy now that the job was finally done.
He’d said, ‘Go on, go see your guy. You’ll feel better after you do. Give him my best.’. Knowing how true it was, TK left in search of his main source of comfort.
He takes a seat on the floor by Carlos’ head, dropping his chin onto the couch. This close to his boyfriend, TK can feel the small puffs of air passing Carlos’ parted lips against his skin with every exhale. He studies Carlos’ face, taking in every tiny detail, committing them to memory the way he always does when he gets a chance to marvel at the beautiful man he’s lucky enough to call his. His strong thick brows, his lashes so long they touch his cheeks as he sleeps. A beautiful full mouth that drives TK to distraction with the desire to have it under his each and every time he’s in the same room with him.
He reaches out, touching his finger to Carlos’ brow and then slowly down his nose, smiling as Carlos scrunches it up adorably in his sleep. He watches, holding his breath as Carlos’ eyes open, revealing the beautiful shade of brown he gets lost in every time he looks at him.
“Hey, you,” he whispers, feeling his heart leap at the sleepy smile Carlos gives him.
“Hi, baby,” Carlos greets him back through a yawn. “Are you okay? When did you get back?”
“Just a little while ago, and yeah, I’m fine, babe,” he answers reassuringly. He reaches up to comb his fingers through Carlos’ hair, his fingernails lightly scratching his scalp. He’s rewarded with an appreciative moan from Carlos. He’s learned just how much Carlos likes to have his head scratched in the months of dating. “We stopped to drop off the truck at the station, and I showered while I was there before I came here,” he tells him softly, shifting his face closer to Carlos’, touching the tip of his nose to his. “I missed you so much.”
Carlos turns on his side before reaching out to him, his fingers skimming over TK’s cheek before he cups the back of his neck. “I missed you too,” he sighs softly as he presses his forehead against his. “I kept annoying the hell out of Grace for any information coming in from dispatch about the situation. She teased me all the way through dinner last night.”
“You had dinner with Grace?” he questions, curious. The last few months, as their relationship has gotten stronger, so has Carlos’ relationship with the rest of the crew, much to his pleasure, but this is the first time he’s heard of Carlos and Grace bonding too.
“Mmhmm,” Carlos nods gently, obviously still a little sleepy. “She’s been on the line a few times recently when I’m answering a call, and like I said, I was driving her nuts while I worried about you. I guess she finally had enough and invited me to dinner so we could worry together,” he pauses, giving him a bashful smile, his cheeks turning pink before he continues. “She said the ‘spouses’ should sit together while we waited for our husbands to come back.”
TK chuckles softly at the comment, his heart fluttering at the meaning behind it. Even though it’s too soon for that, he can’t deny he likes the idea of it in the future. More than likes it, really.
“Did it help?” he asks. He lays his head on his arm, making himself comfortable on the floor to stay close to Carlos.
“Yeah, it did actually,” Carlos says with a smile. “Grace is really nice, and she and Judd have been together for so long and been through so much. If anyone knows best what it feels like to worry about the person you love in a dangerous situation, it’s probably her.”
TK’s breath hitches at Carlos’ words and the easy way he seems to say he loves him. He doesn’t even think Carlos fully realizes what he’s said. That’s how natural it seems to be to him.
“She said I’m always going to worry, which I already know,” Carlos continues, not noticing that TK’s world has stopped turning at his words. “I mean, I worry about you when you go to the grocery store,” he laughs gently. “So, of course, I’m going to worry about you when you’re on a mountain fighting a wildfire. But like Grace said, you are great at your job, and you’re always going to work hard to come home to me, just like I work hard to come home to you.”
“Always, Carlos,” TK whispers, swallowing hard around the lump of emotion he’s been carrying around for the last few days as he worked. “I’ll always do everything in my power to come home to you.”
Carlos’ expression goes impossibly soft. “I know, sweetheart,” he assures him as he gently tugs him forward.
TK goes to his knees right as his and Carlos’ lips meet. He tries to pour all he’s feeling into the kiss, meeting Carlos for every stroke of his tongue. It’s not enough, and without breaking the kiss, TK stands up quickly, moving to join Carlos on the couch, covering him with his body.
Carlos turns onto his back as he drops on top of him, his arms wrapping around TK to hold him closer still.
TK groans softly, that bursting feeling he gets when he touches Carlos roaring to life as he gets his hands on him. He lets out a low whine as Carlos sucks on his bottom lip until it throbs from the attention he’s giving it. They keep going as hands find their way under clothes, seeking warm skin.
He breaks the kiss, needing to take a calming breath to say what his heart is desperate to come out. He looks down at Carlos, taking in the beautiful flush of his skin, the haziness of his eyes as he looks up at him with nothing but love shining from them. It makes the words come out as easily as breathing, with zero fear behind them.
“I love you, Carlos,” he whispers, his insides quivering as Carlos lights up at his words, the smile on his face the most beautiful thing TK has ever seen. “With everything I have inside me. I love you.”
Carlos brings a hand to his face, his thumb tracing TK’s mouth like he needs to touch where the words came from as much as hear them.
TK understands.
When Carlos tells him he loves him too, the words said against his mouth, the feel and taste of them is as sweet as hearing it.