Work Text:
TK looked around the bay as his Dad gave another one of his 'welcome to the team' inspirational speeches that he'd already heard many times before, briefly catching Marjan's attention, the two of them sharing an amused look.
TK still wasn't used to living in Austin even after a few weeks and he wasn't sure if he ever would be. He missed his Mom and Enzo, facetime just didn't feel the same as dropping by for dinner after a long shift.
New York stopped feeling like home the second Alex rejected his proposal and moved in with his new boyfriend so TK was at a crossroads in his life where nothing felt like home and he had to choose between a rock and a hard place.
"...make sure to treat everyone we work with, with respect as while you will be working as part of a specific team for most of your shifts and getting a lot closer to these people, we are all one big family here and that includes EMS too!" Owen rounded off his speech with an assured nod.
"Excellent speech Captain Strand, I especially liked the last part there." Michelle said as she joined the group.
"Judd and I'm sure Mateo you already know him but I wanted to introduce everyone to Officer Carlos Reyes, he patrols around this area so you'll be seeing him on a majority of our calls." TK zoned back in instantly as Michelle said this and couldn't stop himself from running towards Carlos with a bright grin, wrapping himself around him like a Koala as they hugged.
"Cap is there a reason as to why TK is wrapped around our local patrol officer?" Marjan asked with a raised eyebrow as they all watched the two hugging.
"Carlos Reyes, TK's former best friend and College boyfriend." Owen explained, watching the two of them with a fond smile.
"TK is Tyler? THE Tyler? Well this is certainly going to be interesting." Michelle commented with a small smile.
"I don't think I'll ever be this happy if one of my exes turned up at the place I worked." Mateo said.
"Same here Probie so what gives Cap? Why did they break up if they are so happy to see each other?" Paul asked.
"They only broke up because of the distance, they were this sickeningly cute couple from the very first week of college until the end." Owen started to explain.
"Then Carlos had to move back to Austin after college and TK back to New York and with the breakup being so hard on both of them they just lost contact at one point." Michelle finished off with a small sigh.
Michelle remembered just how heartbroken Carlos was at the time but Iris was the one Carlos originally told all of the details to, she wondered what her sisters reaction to this new development would be.
"Let's give the lovebirds some privacy and get started on lunch before we get called away again." Judd said as he noticed Carlos wiping away a tear from TK's face and cupping his cheek, it felt like they were all intruding on a personal moment.
"Y'all are the hardest people ever to cook for, I hope you know that." Paul said as they walked upstairs, leaving TK and Carlos alone.
"I missed you so much, I can't believe this is real? You are actually here?" TK said as Carlos let him down onto the floor carefully.
"I'm here and I missed you too, you don't understand just how much I missed you."
"Losing contact with you is one of my biggest regrets but I just couldn't go back to us just being friends and pretending like my heart wasn't breaking whenever we spoke." TK said and smiled softly as Carlos wiped his tears away again after kissing his forehead.
Crying at work was definitely not part of his plan for the day but he'll take all of the teasing the team would give him because he finally had his best friend back.
"Us losing contact wasn't all on you Ty, I stopped talking for the same reason. Talking about boring everyday things when all I wanted to do was to carry on planning our future was torture." Carlos smiled sadly and held onto TK's hand, pulling him towards the exit so they could at least get a semblance of privacy.
"Those nights at college where we could ignore the expiration date of our relationship and plan the future we wished we could've had are some of my favourite memories from college." TK smiled as he thought back to the one night under the stars they had in their first year.
"Married with two kids and either a dog or a cat, we could never decide." Carlos sat down with TK and wrapped his arms around his waist.
"I said it back then and I'll say it again now, we could've gotten handled both a cat and a dog." TK laughed, resting his head on Carlos' shoulder.
"So what have I missed these last few years? You make a very attractive firefighter just like I imagined."
"Just wait until you see me in full uniform on a call." TK flirted, easily slipping into old habits.
"I had a rough few years after college, I fell into the wrong crowd and got mixed up in things I shouldn't have but that's a story for another day."
"You don't have to tell me anything you aren't ready for Ty, I'm never letting you go again so we have all of the time in the world." Carlos assured, squeezing TK's hand.
"Even if I say that as much as I'd love to go straight back to how we were during those three years, I'm just not ready for a relationship right now?"
"Even then Tyler, we don't need to rush into anything now we've found each other again, being here with you is enough."
"I love you Ty, you are worth waiting for." Carlos assured softly, wiping away TK's tears one more time.
"I love you too Carlos, more than you'll ever know." TK leaned into Carlos' touch before pressing a short but soft kiss to his lips.