Work Text:
Carlos left for work first, he left before the sun was up and he didn’t want to wake TK up, so he just left a plate of food in the fridge for TK to eat when he woke up. He was nervous to go into work, today being the first day that he was back after his, albeit short-lived, suspension. His partner had given him a lot of shit for making the call and told Carlos that his instincts needed work, but had taken it back after the details were smoothed out.
Carlos had nothing to be anxious about, other than the talk with his sergeant before his shift actually started. His sergeant told him that he had nothing to be worried about, but Carlos couldn’t help the sinking feeling in his gut that told him otherwise. The feeling that he was still going to get in trouble, even though he did everything right and everything got figured out.
The drive into work was quiet, Carlos opted to not put any music on. He hadn’t texted TK, unsure if TK would wake up to the notification or not. His boyfriend had been working overtime at work and was under even more stress than usual because Captain Vega was out and he was working under a different paramedic captain, one he had never worked with, or met for the matter. It shouldn’t stress Carlos out that much, but he just wants TK to have a day off and not have to worry about things like this.
Upon arriving at work, there’s still no text from TK, so Carlos goes ahead and takes the chance that TK wakes up to the quiet notification. He texted TK once and then had to refrain from sending any other texts, lessening the possibility of waking his boyfriend. He knew TK wasn’t a morning person.
Carlos hadn’t heard from TK since yesterday morning, before his shift went to shit - in TK’s words. Carlos knew he shouldn’t be so worried about his boyfriend, he knew TK could take care of himself and knew that TK took care of himself every single day.
He shook the anxiety-riddled thoughts from his head as he pulled into the parking lot at the station. He parked his car in a spot farther away from the building, giving himself extra time to think about how this talk was going to go.
When he got inside, his sergeant let him get dressed, and his sergeant wasn’t the type of person to lead people on. So, the fact that Carlos was allowed to get ready for work was a good sign.
“Reyes, can I speak to you quickly before this morning’s briefing, please?”
Those words sent Carlos into a panic, his brain quickly spiralling, even though he was given absolutely no reason to panic. He nodded wordlessly, walking swiftly into his sergeant’s office, closing the door behind himself.
The talk went quickly, it went smoothly and Carlos had no reason to be worried. All his anxiety about what was going to happen regarding his job was alleviated. He was allowed to go back on patrol immediately, his sergeant had even apologised for not trusting Carlos, even though Carlos had never given him a reason not to.
Before he went out on patrol, he checked his phone one more time, no text from TK. He tried to keep his thoughts on the sane side, but there was a part of him that just wanted to worry about his boyfriend, just because he cared about him.
He sent another message to TK before turning the key in the ignition of his patrol car, slipping his phone into the glove box so he wouldn’t be tempted to check it before he went to lunch.
Work was going by slowly. Carlos felt himself going crazy, desperate to look at his phone to see if TK had texted or called while he was on patrol. There was no way Carlos could allow himself to get distracted for a second today, not when it was his first day back and he felt like all eyes were on him, waiting for him to make a mistake.
By the time lunch came, Carlos was ready to throw in the towel and just go home, even though he knew TK wouldn’t be at home. He knew TK was throwing himself back into work and refused to give himself time off. It’s who TK was.
∆
By the end of the day, Carlos was getting snippy, anxious that he hadn’t spoken to or heard from his boyfriend all day. He was finally able to go home, finally able to go see TK for himself. If TK was even home. So, maybe Carlos drove a little faster than he should’ve, but he wanted to see his MIA boyfriend.
Upon arriving home, he saw that there was one lamp on inside, which meant that TK might be home. He ran up the walk and frantically unlocked the front door, bursting through to find TK lying motionless on the couch, the television turned on, but it was clear he wasn’t watching the show.
“TK,” Carlos let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “You’re okay.”
“Yeah, I’m okay; are you?” TK replied, sitting up on the couch, locking eyes with Carlos.
“I’m fine, what makes you think I’m not?” Carlos let out a nervous laugh. He scratched the back of his head and looked down, no longer wanting to look at TK. He knew TK was staring at him, though. He could feel TK’s eyes on him, even if he couldn’t see them.
“Fine, I’m not okay. I was really worried about you. You never responded to any of my texts and I was anxious, to say the least. I’m sorry.” TK got up from his spot on the couch and went over to Carlos, wrapping his arms around Carlos’ waist.
“I’m sorry, I went radio silent on everyone today. Therapy wasn’t good and it was exhausting and I just haven’t had the energy to talk to anyone all day. I’m sorry I worried you.”