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“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking… we make a pretty good team.”
“We really do, don’t we?”
“Afraid so.”
--
Carlos is giddy when he gets home that night - an unfamiliar feeling he’s growing obsessed with.
He’s practically bouncing on his feet as he makes his way up the steps to his townhouse, unlocking the door and letting himself in. He ducks his head and smiles to himself, shutting the door behind him, and thinks back on the day.
It had started out less than ideal - a bubble tea juice date that did not end in him dating TK - and then a freak solar storm that turned his off day into a day where he had to work. He didn’t mind, though, he found it thrilling to work beside TK, watching and helping him save others.
After making sure that TK got to the hospital to fix his stitches, Carlos ducked out to take care of his broken heart and figure out how to move on - which proved to be a very pointless time because his heart was very adamant that it wanted TK and moving on was not an option.
Carlos isn’t used to wanting someone as much as he wants TK. He’s never gotten close enough to anyone for this to be an option or for him to get strong enough feelings that he wanted to try and pursue a person.
It’s almost always been about sex - even though the romantic in his heart wanted it to be more, sex had always been the safer option for him. Lucky for him, nobody caught his eye long enough to warrant thinking past sex.
Then he met TK Strand, got lost in his green eyes, and couldn’t find a way out.
When TK had called him earlier in the day, after things had settled, and asked to see him, he wasn’t sure what he expected. Carlos almost said no, not wanting to have his heart broken for a second time. But he took a leap of faith and picked TK up from the fire station.
It was the best decision he’s made in a long time. Laying out on the hood of his Camaro, TK by his side, watching the lights in the sky was truly a romantic moment, and the happiness he felt when TK reached for his hand… it was hard to explain just how it made him feel. Still makes him feel.
Carlos takes a moment, leans back against his front door, and just lets himself bask in the happiness he’s feeling. It’s been such a long time since he’s felt truly happy - so long he’s not even sure when the last time was.
Of course, he should have known that something would happen to disrupt that happiness.
As he’s toeing his shoes off and putting them in their place, his phone rings and Michelle’s name flashes on the screen. It’s perfect timing, he thinks, because he wants to tell her about TK and thank her for giving him the push that he needed to go for it.
“Hey chica,” he answers, voice bright.
“Carlos, I- I have something to tell you,” Michelle’s voice floats across the line and the way it sounds has Carlos stopping in his tracks, halfway to his kitchen.
His stomach knots up and he gets a feeling that whatever she’s about to say is going to turn his life upside down.
“Carlos, Iris is alive.”
The phone slips from Carlos’ fingers as he gasps, Michelle’s words echoing in his mind.
Iris is alive.
Iris is alive.
Iris is alive.
Carlos feels his chest tighten, the breath seemingly being squeezed out of his lungs, and he hears a rushing sound in his ears.
Iris is alive .
The three words are so simple when stated alone, but put into a sentence together they impact his life more than anything could at that moment.
Three years ago, Iris went missing without a trace.
Two and a half years ago she had been presumed dead and the case went cold, yet Michelle kept pushing and had Carlos help her continue to search for her.
A year ago, Carlos had buried her in his own way. A small box, filled with pictures of them from high school, their wedding, their wedding rings, and a few other mementos that he had held onto, was buried out in the clearing that he took TK to tonight.
It was something he needed to do after spending so long looking for the woman who had been his best friend and knew all of his secrets. It wasn’t helping him to hold onto hope that she would be found the same way it was helping Michelle.
So, he let her go. He buried the mementos, cried over her being gone, then picked up his life and started to move on.
Iris had become a memory - and a situation he didn’t have to figure out or tell TK about beyond that she was Michelle’s little sister, his friend, and someone he was helping look for.
Her being alive, while it was good news, opened up doors that he thought had been firmly shut and locked.
He shakes himself out of his thoughts and bends down to pick up his phone, lifting it to his ear. The line’s dead and he’s sure Michelle is on her way over to talk to him, to tell him the details and figure out what to do next.
Carlos isn’t sure he’s going to be much help for any of that conversation.
He’s sitting on his couch, hands clasped together and head bowed as he thinks and struggles to come to terms with what Michelle had said, when Michelle walks through the front door, letting herself in.
He’s still trying to process the words Iris is alive , but he can’t wrap his head around them.
“Oh, Carlos,” Michelle says, dropping onto the couch beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
“Is she okay?” Carlos asks, voice small. He knows it’s what he should ask, he should be more concerned and should be demanding to go and see her.
Instead, he’s thinking about how this is going to ruin what he’s starting to build with TK.
He feels guilty for thinking that.
“She is, for the most part,” Michelle says. “She’s been living under the bridge I’ve been going to for years now to help people.”
Carlos looks at her. “And you never saw her before now?”
Michelle looks away, eyes shining with tears. “No. All these years, she’s been right there and I never noticed.”
She shakes her head and Carlos reaches over and pulls her in, hugging her tightly.
“I only found her because she found me,” Michelle explains. “Someone wanted drugs that I didn’t have and knocked me out, woke up to Iris taking care of me.”
“I can’t believe she was so close all this time…” Carlos shakes his head, feeling a deep sense of guilt like he hadn’t searched hard enough for her the past three years.
Michelle scoffs. “I go out there all the time and I never saw her once. How blind could I be? She was right there, all this time, and while I helped others I never helped her. I should have been helping her.”
“We didn’t know that she was there to help,” Carlos says. “It wasn’t in the area anyone thought to look.”
Michelle nods and for a while they just stay silent, holding onto each other and processing the information that Iris was alive and relatively okay.
“Carlos Iris has schizophrenia,” Michelle says after a while.
He looks down at her, shocked because the last time he had seen Iris she had been healthy with no signs of having any mental illness. He feels even worse that three years had gone by with nobody knowing where she was.
“Carlos I have a favor to ask of you and I know it’s a big one,” Michelle says after a while.
Carlos' stomach twists and turns, having a hunch that he knows what she’s about to ask.
“I know you and Iris talked about a divorce, and that you had planned on getting one, but right now, with her having schizophrenia the only way she’ll get proper help is if she has insurance.” Michelle pauses for a moment before looking at Carlos. “If you divorce her, she’ll lose her insurance and it’ll be really hard to get her on one that’s going to enable her to get the help that she needs.”
Carlos chews on his lip. It’s a big ask and lowkey might be considered committing insurance fraud. But he loves Iris, she was his best friend and even though things weren’t the best between them before she disappeared, he still cares about her. She’s still someone who meant a lot to him.
“I’ll do it,” Carlos says after a few moments. “I can’t let her suffer. Just… keep me updated on things, okay?”
Michelle nods. “I’ll be forever grateful for this and I know Iris will be too.”
Carlos nods, wondering if he just signed away his chance of ever getting married to someone he loves. TK’s face flashes in his mind and his heart aches, hoping that he didn’t just ruin the chance they had together.