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Good morning passengers. This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight HA 81 to Oahu – Honolulu. We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes. Thank you.
TK looked over at the check-in desk where a small line of people formed, before looking back down at the boarding passes in his hand and then checking the clock on the wall. It was early morning, their direct flight leaving at 9.25 am, and TK was so terribly tired. They’d been waiting here for a while now and honestly, he couldn’t wait to finally get on the plane to shut his eyes. He wasn’t looking forward to the close to nine hours of sitting in some cramped seats in economy – but it would still be so much better than these plastic chairs at the gate.
Taking a deep breath, TK loosened the tie around his neck, closing his eyes for just a minute. They should’ve definitely taken the time to get changed – but they hadn’t done so back at the ranch, only to later realize that TK had forgotten to put some sweats and t-shirts into their carry-on bag. That’s what happened when he had to be in charge of packing their luggage.
They found themselves at the airport in their wedding suits, with no options of changing for the next several hours.
As if the past couple of days hadn’t been bad enough already.
Had anyone asked TK how he had imagined his wedding night and the morning after to look like, this was certainly not the answer he would’ve given. Not that anyone would’ve ever bothered to ask; or that he had thought much about it beyond the general idea of spending it wrapped up in Carlos and devouring each other until they would both pass out from exhaustion. He certainly hadn’t given it much thought of where that would happen.
Or that it wouldn’t happen at all.
Then again, he had also never imagined that he would spend what was supposed to be their wedding day at the hospital after his fiancé didn’t show up to their own wedding, so there was that.
Carlos’ soft groan pulled him from his thoughts, his eyes snapping open instantly as he looked over, immediately on alert.
“You okay? Does anything hurt?”
“TK, relax,” Carlos chuckled, taking TK’s hand where it was fidgeting with their tickets in his lap. “I just hate these chairs, is all.”
“You’re sure? We can get up, walk around a bit–”
“Babe–”
“I mean, we have a long flight ahead of us and–”
“TK–”
“Maybe I should check if we can get upgraded to first class after all–”
“Tyler–”
“I know, I know, the cost would be insane but the seats there–”
“Tyler Kennedy Reyes,” Carlos finally said, a bit louder but with an adorable chuckle.
And that name…
TK’s mouth snapped shut as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the sound of his new name truly sink in. When he opened them again, he was met with the most beautiful smile.
“Do I have your attention now?” Carlos quipped and TK breathed out a little laugh as he nodded. “Good. Babe, I’m fine. You heard the doctor, just a few cuts and bruises and a slightly cracked rib. Nothing life-threatening.”
“I know. But still…”
TK bit his lip, not finishing the thought. They both knew what he was thinking anyway. When Carlos reached for him with his free hand, gently pulling his head in, he went easily, resting his forehead against Carlos’.
The, ‘I almost lost you,’ hung heavily between them but neither spoke it into existence.
All in all, they truly had gotten lucky that day. The day they’d wanted to say, ‘I do.’
When Carlos hadn’t shown up in time, TK had instantly been worried. Not because he thought Carlos had left him at the altar, God no. He knew Carlos would never do that. So him not being there meant that something had happened to the love of his life; something bad enough that it kept him from showing up at his own wedding. Their wedding.
Soon enough, their friends and family had made that connection as well and began calling all around. The thing with a wedding party full of first responders was that they all had their sources, and not even ten minutes later, they were rushing to the hospital, arriving bare minutes after the ambulance itself had reached it. The whole way over, TK had felt sick to his bones, the reassuring words from both his father and father-in-law not enough to silence his fears.
Really, nothing could do that bar seeing Carlos with his own two eyes. And even that hadn’t been enough. He had rushed to his fiancé’s side, his hands flitting all over the man to check for any injuries the doctors might have missed. It wasn’t until Carlos had caught his hands and pulled him in for a hug that he had slowly calmed down.
A car crash on their wedding day had certainly not been on TK’s bingo card.
But Carlos was right; all things considered, they had gotten lucky. Some cuts that needed a stitch or two, bruises that looked like he’d been on the losing side of a boxing match, and a cracked rib that would bother him for a while. He’d even been allowed to go home a few hours later, and while he’d insisted on being fine to get back to the ranch and go through with their wedding, TK wouldn’t have it. He’d dragged him back to their loft instead, practically forcing him into bed so he could rest.
The only other issue with this whole thing had been the booked honeymoon. Their flight was three days later, on Sunday morning. Their meticulously calculated plan had been to get married on Thursday, spend the night and all of Friday in bed, pack and organize last-minute things on Saturday (as if there were any last-minute details left with a control freak like his husband-to-be, ha!), then go to bed early and leave for the airport in the middle of the night.
But neither of them wanted to spend two weeks in Hawaii while not even married yet.
Thank God some of the women in their lives were nothing short of a force of nature.
While Carlos spent all day Friday in bed, recovering, TK had been instructed in no uncertain terms to go ahead and pack as planned. Not daring to question it, TK had combined the assigned task with taking care of Carlos and making sure he wouldn’t lift a finger.
Maybe if he had allowed him to at least check the luggage, they now would have some comfortable clothes to change into, but that was neither here nor there.
On Saturday around noon, they were picked up at home and driven to a not-so-surprise surprise wedding at the ranch. TK didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that it was even more beautiful than the originally planned one would’ve been. They danced and laughed and ate the delicious food that had been salvaged from two days before. In between, they took plenty of little breaks for Carlos to catch his breath and not overtax himself, but not once did his husband lose his smile. They shared kisses and bites of the cake, played silly wedding games and posed for pictures, and then danced some more.
Maybe it all went a bit slower, maybe they rested a bit more than they would have had Carlos been at one hundred percent. But none of that ruined either of their smiles nor their good moods because, at the end of the day, all that mattered was that they’d finally been able to say, ‘I do,’ and that TK Strand had finally become TK Reyes.
Ladies and gentlemen, regular boarding for flight HA 81 to Oahu – Honolulu is now open. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Thank you.
The announcement pulled both of them back to the present, and TK took one last deep breath before straightening up and looking at his husband. There were dark circles underneath Carlos’ eyes, his husband most likely even more beat than TK himself. They hadn’t slept all night, not really. The celebration had lasted well into the night, or more accurately until early morning, and there had just been no time. Of course they had originally planned to at least rest a bit before they needed to get to the airport, but they were only getting married once. So neither had wanted to leave the reception until the last possible minute.
After all, there would be enough time to catch up on sleep while they were about six miles above ground.
Eager now to get them out of the plastic chairs and on the plane, TK brushed his thumb over Carlos’ cheek, smiling at him. “Ready?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Much to TK’s relief they got into line quick enough to not be too far back. He didn’t want Carlos to be standing for too long with the condition he was in. Not that TK was faring much better, sleep-wise, but he was too worried about his husband to think about himself.
Husband.
Grinning to himself, TK clasped Carlos’ hand a bit tighter, brushing his thumb over the cool metal of his wedding band. When he saw Carlos’ questioning look, he simply smiled back at him.
They were finally married!
Carlos’ quizzical look quickly morphed into a sweet one as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
“You happy?” he whispered, to which TK nodded and briefly rested his head on Carlos’ shoulder.
The line moved quickly and before they knew it, they passed the check-in and were on their way down the gangway. It wasn’t until they were already close to the plane’s entrance that the typical backlog of people finding their seats began. At least it wouldn’t be long, thank God. Trying to be patient, TK held on tight to Carlos’ hand and their carry-on while Carlos was now in charge of their tickets to find them their seats.
They had just stepped on board when the line came to a complete standstill.
“Just a minute,” the flight attendant told them politely. “It seems someone is having issues with their carry-on.”
“We’re not in a rush,” Carlos assured her, receiving a small nod and generic smile in return.
TK caught the name on her tag – Kate – and he could tell the moment her eyes took in their attire, then trailed down to their clasped hands. Instantly, the smile turned far more natural.
“Newlyweds?”
“Just left the reception,” TK confirmed, unable to tame his own smile. “I’m sure our friends are still partying.”
“Well, congratulations,” she told them sincerely, clapping her hands together. “Once we’re up in the sky, I’ll be happy to serve you some champagne.”
“Oh, that’s not–”
“Uhm, thanks but–”
They both spoke at the same time, only to look at each other, chuckling slightly. It was TK who turned back to Kate and explained. “That’s sweet, thank you. But I don’t drink and he’s currently not allowed.” Looking back at Carlos, he gave him a playfully chiding look. “Not after he decided to get in a car crash on Thursday and is now on painkillers.”
Carlos had the audacity to roll his eyes before giving him a fond look. Meanwhile, Kate gasped in shock.
“Oh, no, how awful. And only two days before the wedding?”
“Actually,” Carlos admitted with a wince, “it was our wedding day. We were lucky to be able to push the ceremony back two days.”
“And lucky that you didn’t die,” TK mumbled with a fake smile, sighing when Carlos squeezed his hand.
He could tell that Kate wanted to reply, but that was the moment the line finally moved along, so all she did was to smile once again and then direct them along before attending to the next passenger.
They had no trouble locating their seats, even though Carlos was limping a little bit by now. All the more reason for TK to just be glad when they were finally, finally seated. They busied themselves with getting comfortable, TK fussing over Carlos until the man had enough of it and simply caught one of his hands, holding on tight. And TK let him.
But it wasn’t until a few minutes later when the flight attendants already made their rounds to check that everything was ready for take-off, that TK slowly allowed himself to relax as well. Closing his eyes in relief, he took a deep, deep breath.
Wishing not for the first time that he had remembered a damn change of clothes.
“How are you feeling?”
TK cracked one eye open, only to be met by Carlos’ worried gaze. Frowning, he turned so he was angled towards his husband, head still resting against his seat.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
“You did,” Carlos quipped. “Multiple times.” His thumb was gently brushing over the back of TK’s hand, pulling TK’s gaze down to their interlaced fingers for a moment. “But I’m also not the one who was in an airplane a few months ago when it had an emergency landing.”
It was at that moment that Kate reached their row, her sudden intake of breath alerting TK to her presence. Judging by the stricken look on her face, she had definitely heard Carlos’ words. TK gave her a sheepish smile.
“Yeah, we might be a couple of danger magnets.”
“It sure sounds like it,” she replied with a soft laugh, sounding almost concerned.
Carlos gripped his hand a bit tighter as he smiled up at her. “Believe me, you don’t even know half of it. The hospital in Austin is already considering naming a wing after him.”
“Shut up,” TK admonished, softly slapping his shoulder with the back of his hand. “You’ll scare her and she might ask us to leave the plane.”
“Well, then we’ll spend our honeymoon in bed at home instead of in bed in Hawaii. I don’t see a problem there.”
Try as he might to stay stern, Carlos’ sweet teasing pulled a laugh from TK, and to his relief, he saw Kate chuckle as well. She gave them one last smile and then carried on.
He wanted to tease Carlos some more about this, maybe suggesting truly spending all their time in bed instead of on the beach or on trips. But he was interrupted by a big yawn. Deciding to drop it for now, he snuggled into Carlos’ side – careful to avoid all the bruises and the cracked rib – and closed his eyes. The seats really were rather uncomfortable, and by now, his tiredness had reached the point where he was running on adrenaline and nervous energy. All that combined led to TK mostly drifting in and out of sleep as the plane rolled down the tarmac and finally took off. There wasn’t a chance at actual rest, especially with a crying child the aisle over and the guy in front of him wafting the smell of stale smoke. But then again, he had Carlos right by his side, alive and breathing and finally his, and that was more than enough.
About to drift off for real, TK was pulled awake once again when Carlos moved, as if turning towards someone. A moment later, he heard Kate’s voice right next to them.
“Gentlemen, I have a little surprise for you.”
Frowning, TK opened his eyes and blinked up at Kate’s smiling face as she continued.
“In celebration of your wedding, the crew would like to upgrade your tickets. We have two seats available in first class; would you like those?”
Instantly, TK’s eyes snapped up at Carlos, who looked as startled as TK felt. But at least his husband was able to get some words out.
“We don’t want to inconvenience you–”
“You don’t,” Kate promised with a wink in their direction, then straightened up and waited patiently.
Carlos’ eyes found his, and once they both broke into a smile, they hastened to gather their things. Following Kate down the aisle, they soon found themselves in first class. TK couldn’t believe their luck as they settled down in the most comfortable seats he’d ever sat in.
It wasn’t long until they had arranged everything to their liking and had also accepted a bottle of sparkling cider from Kate. Glasses in hand, the couple grinned at each other, TK clinking his glass against Carlos’.
“Well, to us, my dearest husband,” he toasted with a playfully haughty voice that had Carlos snorting. Chuckling, he dipped over to steal a kiss from his husband before they both took a few sips. In a far more normal voice, he added, “I’d say this is the perfect start of our honeymoon.”
“And I’d say,” Carlos replied, leaning in with a mischievous grin, hovering close to his lips as he whispered, “It’s a perfect start of our future.”
“God, you’re such a sap,” TK told him with a little laugh but nevertheless cupped his jaw just as their lips met again.
It took forever after that until he could stop gazing into Carlos’ eyes, only pulling away when he could see his husband struggle to stay awake. Taking his glass and settling them both down on the table, TK found the buttons to recline their seats while Carlos wrapped one of the blankets over them.
“I almost don’t wanna go to sleep,” Carlos confessed in a whisper as they lay down and snuggled into each other. “This will most likely be the only time we’ll ever fly first class.”
TK huffed a laugh and rested his hand on Carlos’ chest. “Same. But babe, we need sleep. Besides,” he added with a sweet smile. “Who knows what the future will hold.”
“So philosophical,” Carlos quipped, kissing the tip of his nose.
Forgoing any more banter, TK snuggled further into his side, letting out a deep sigh of contentment.
“I love you, Carlos Reyes.”
“I love you, too, TK Reyes.”
And with a smile and the wonderful sound of his new name in his ear, TK finally gave in to his exhaustion. Together, they fell asleep, unaware of the fond gaze Kate gave them whenever she passed their seats.
Once they woke up, they would be in Hawaii, ready for two weeks of a blissful honeymoon. But it didn’t matter where they were or what they did; if they were asleep together on a plane, or spent the next two weeks in bed instead of on the beach. All that mattered was that they were together. All that mattered was that they had each other. As long as that was the case, they were looking forward to whatever the future had planned for them.