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It’s Marjan who says it first.
“You know,” she starts, once Paul has left for the hospital and Mateo has gone off to the gym, “now that Pearce is gone, Vega’s going to have to start looking all over again.”
TK snorts. “Bet that’ll be fun.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she just came down here and asked you.”
He almost chokes, turning to gape at Marjan. “What are you talking about?”
She raises an eyebrow. “After today? You definitely impressed her, dude.”
“Yeah, but…” TK trails off, anxiety erupting in his stomach, and he feels a sudden need to throw Marjan off the scent. “Look, it was just a spur of the moment thing. That kid needed help and, well, I knew I could give it. Besides, I haven’t even applied.”
“I know that.” Marjan looks surprised, as if she hadn’t expected him to take her quite so seriously. Which...is more than fair. TK’s hardly been forthcoming about his recent lack of job satisfaction, the most he’s dared to admit asking Judd to help him with his fire specialist certification under the guise of wanting a challenge.
Marjan leans forward, her eyes boring into him. “Wait. Are you actually thinking about it?”
“No?” he tries, and it’s not exactly a lie. He hadn’t considered it until the call, until he realised just how good actually saving someone had felt. It’s something he hasn’t had in a long time - maybe ever - and it’s brought up all the questions he thought he’d answered after the solar storm. Difference this time is, now there’s an actual path in front of him, and TK’s almost scared by how tempting it seems.
Marjan sends him a disbelieving look, and TK groans, finding he can’t pretend with her.
“Okay,” he says, dropping his voice even though there’s no-one else around. “ Please don’t tell anyone else, but… Truth is, I don’t know. All I do know is that I’ve never felt as good in the job as I did out there today. It wasn’t the adrenaline either; when that boy came back, it felt amazing to know I’d helped. I want to save people, Marj, and I’m wondering if this could be the way for me to do it. I don’t know; I need to think.”
Marjan chuckles. “Well, don’t strain yourself,” she quips, but then her eyes soften. “Seriously, though, TK. If it feels right, you should go for it. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I get rejected and still have to show my face here every shift?”
She shoves his shoulder. “Stop it. You’d be an amazing paramedic, and she’d be crazy not to see it.”
“Thanks, Marj.” He grins, quirking an eyebrow at her. “So you think I’m amazing, huh?”
“Tell anyone I said that and you’re dead.”
TK groans, pushing his laptop away and resting his head on the countertop, wondering for the fifth time this hour what, exactly, he thinks he’s doing.
“This is stupid,” he declares, hearing Carlos walk in. His boyfriend comes up behind him, dropping a kiss on the back of his head.
“I can assure you it’s probably not,” he says, a smile in his voice. “But it might help if you actually told me what it is.”
TK rolls his head so his cheek rests on the unit, facing Carlos on the stool next to him. He’s smiling, but his eyes betray his concern, and TK feels a twinge of guilt. It’s been like this since the minefield, since their conversation got cut short before he could tell Carlos his thoughts about becoming a paramedic. TK knows he should have said something sooner; he knows Carlos just wants to help. But saying it out loud makes it very real and, even if he’s fairly sure this is what he wants, he can’t deny the nerves and doubt plaguing his mind.
Carlos gently raps his knuckles on TK’s forehead. “Come on, Ty,” he says. “What’s going on up there?”
TK sighs, propping his chin up on his hand. “How does Paramedic Strand sound to you?”
Carlos’s eyes wide, mouth forming a perfect O. And TK knows it’s just surprise, but the sight snaps his tenuous hold on composure, words spilling forth even as Carlos seems about to respond.
“It’s stupid, right? I don’t know what I was thinking, there’s no way I’ll get it -”
“TK.”
“- and even if I did, I’d probably fuck it up, and -”
“ TK. ”
“- I’m probably too late anyway, Captain Vega’s probably got a bunch of applicants lined up -”
“ Tyler!”
The sound of his full name finally gets TK to shut up, a flush rising high on his cheeks. He still manages to muster up a pout, directed at Carlos. “I regret telling you my name,” he grumbles.
“You didn’t,” Carlos reminds him. “And, you’re wrong, you know.”
“About this?” TK gestures to his laptop. “Yeah, I know -”
Carlos presses a hand against his mouth. “Yeah, we’re not doing that again,” he says drily, shaking his head at TK’s whines of protest. TK tries licking his palm, but Carlos just raises an eyebrow. “Do whatever you want, I’m not moving unless you promise not to start spiralling again.”
TK rolls his eyes, but nods. Carlos removes his hand, and he’s tempted to launch into a rant about how that was actually extremely rude, Reyes , but that would be childish, even for him. Plus, Carlos probably has a point - not that TK would admit it.
Carlos waits a moment longer, then cocks his head to the side, a smile playing at his lips. “Paramedic Strand, huh?” he says, drawing the syllables out, and TK would be lying if he said he didn’t love the sound of it in Carlos’s mouth. “It’s got a nice ring to it.”
TK softens, biting his lip. “You think so?” he asks quietly, hesitantly meeting his boyfriend’s eyes.
“I know so,” Carlos answers, the certainty in his voice warming TK’s entire body. “Just as I know you’re going to be an incredible paramedic.”
TK’s breath catches in his throat, a sudden rush of love for his boyfriend overwhelming him. It’s a familiar feeling at this point, and TK knows it’s not going away any time soon, but it still catches him off guard. He surges forward to kiss him, arms thrown around Carlos’s neck, and he clings on tight even after they part.
“Thank you,” he breathes, head buried in Carlos’s shoulder. Carlos strokes his hair, nails scratching along TK’s scalp, and, god , he loves this man. He exhales shakily, finally feeling like he can begin to let go of his fears.
“I really want this, Carlos,” he admits. “I don’t know if she’ll even offer it to me, but it’s worth a shot, right?”
He sits up, hands sliding down Carlos’s shoulders to rest on his forearms. Carlos nods, the same lovesick smile TK suspects he himself is wearing, lighting up his features.
“Definitely,” he asserts, not a hint of doubt in his tone. He pulls his arm from TK’s grip and leans over, to wake his laptop up, shoving it towards him. “And she will offer it to you, but not if you don’t finish this application.”
TK groans, but it’s just for show. He turns back to his half-finished resume, this comforting press of Carlos’s body against his own suddenly making it seem not quite so daunting anymore.
The whole team is waiting for him when he walks out of Captain Vega’s office a few days later. He’s only a little surprised to see them; it’s their day off, as Tommy had wanted to do this without worrying about alarms, but he knows he’d do the same for any one of them. Carlos is here too, having insisted on both dropping TK off and waiting around to take him home.
The sight brings a smile to his face, though he can’t help but protest. “You guys didn’t have to come,” he starts, but he’s immediately drowned out by a chorus of assertions that they did, in fact, have to.
“We’re family, brother,” Judd says. “Where else would we be?”
TK grins. “Thanks, guys.”
“Come on, then,” Marjan says, bumping their shoulders together. “Spill. How’d it go?”
He lets the silence drag out a few moments longer, enjoying keeping them in suspense too much, but he eventually relents, holding his arms out. “How does Paramedic Strand sound?”
TK barely has time to prepare himself before he’s buried in hugs, Marjan and Mateo almost sending him to the ground in their force. He laughs, wrapping his arms around them as best he can. He’d been nervous to tell them at first, worried they wouldn’t take his switching teams well, but he really should have known better. This is his family, after all.
A throat clears behind them, and TK’s released from the hug.
“Alright, Reyes, we get it,” Paul laughs, shaking his head.
TK turns, stepping forward to kiss his boyfriend. The others wolf whistle at them, but he’s grown pretty skilled at ignoring them after all these months. He winds his fingers in Carlos’s hair, holding him close.
“I’m proud of you,” Carlos whispers, like a secret just for the two of them.
“I love you,” TK replies, though those three words hardly seem enough any more to convey just how much he feels for him. It doesn’t matter, though; Carlos knows.
They sway together for a while, wrapped up in their own little world. TK knows he’s going to have to let go at some point, but he wants to drag this moment out as long as he can.
“Alright, this is just getting weird now,” Paul says eventually. “I know you two are sickeningly in love, but please remember that some of us in the room are still single.”
They laugh, sharing one last smile just for them before they move away, though TK still keeps an arm around Carlos’s waist, and Carlos one across TK’s shoulders.
Judd tilts his chin at Carlos. “We still heading to yours, Reyes? Fair warning, Grace will be bringing food.”
TK frowns, but Carlos just nods. “Who am I to turn down Grace Ryder’s cooking?” he jokes.
TK taps his arm, raising his eyebrows when Carlos looks over. “Are you going to explain what you’re talking about?”
“I, uh.” Carlos flushes, licking his lips nervously. “I kind of organised a party for you? Nothing major, just food, people, you know. Is that okay?”
TK gapes at him. “But… You didn’t even know if I’d get the job.”
“Oh, love,” Carlos murmurs, smiling fondly and shaking his head. “We knew.”
And TK… Well, he does what any rational person would do. He throws himself at his boyfriend, kissing his mouth, his cheek, his jaw. And when he meets Carlos’s eyes, sparkling with mirth and joy, everything feels like it’s finally falling into place.
TK knows - this is who he’s meant to be.