Work Text:
TK loved animals. And Carlos loved that TK loved animals. But sometimes, it was a little too much for him to handle.
They had spent many afternoons driving stray animals TK had found over to local shelters. They couldn’t walk three steps down the street without TK stopping to pet a cat that had come over to brush against his leg. Twice now, Carlos and TK had hosted an animal of someone TK had treated who was going to be in the hospital for a while.
When TK regressed, it was worse. Carlos had had to coax TK to remove frogs from his pockets more times than he could count. The whole ordeal usually ending with Carlos standing behind TK and helping him put on gloves—gloves they both deemed necessary for holding frogs, but for very different reasons—and then watching him solemnly release them into the grass.
And then there was Lou. That stupid wild lizard TK had brought home from a call, insisting was their pet.
Carlos had hated it. TK knew he hated it. After hours of searching behind bookshelves, inside shoes, and under the couch cushions, he’d finally caught the damn thing and when TK got home, they released it back outside.
“Papi!” TK squealed as he came through the front door.
“Hey, Cariño. I didn’t think you’d be little today,” Carlos looked up from stirring the pan on the stove, “Did you get home safe?”
“Yeah, Dada drived me,” TK said.
As if on cue, Carlos’s phone chimed.
Owen Strand: I’m so sorry, Carlos.
“…TK,” he said slowly, “what do you have?”
TK blinked up at him with huge eyes, hands flying protectively to his chest, with the biggest grin spreading on his smug little face. “Is a baby.”
Carlos closed his eyes.
Carlos: You can’t stop your kid from picking up animals?
Owen Strand: He said I’m not the boss of him anymore. That's Papi's job.
Carlos pinched the bridge of his nose.
Owen Strand: But I did call parks and wildlife.
“Okay,” he said carefully, cautiously rubbing TK's arms, just hoping something doesn't lunge out at him. “Buddy. We talked about this.”
TK’s lip wobbled. “But he was lonely. And he was cold. And he cried.”
Carlos opened the jacket just enough to see inside.
Two beady eyes stared back at him.
Carlos jumped back a bit, “Is that a opossum?”
“Is a baby opossum,” TK corrected seriously. “He needs a daddy, he didn’t have a mama.”
Carlos looked at the tiny gray face peeking out of TK’s hoodie, then back at TK—regressed and clutching a wild animal like it was the most precious thing in the world.
He loved this man. He loved this boy.
He was also going to lose his mind.
“TK, I love you,” Carlos said gently, keeping his voice calm and soft even though his brain was screaming, “but we cannot keep wild animals. It could have rabies or something.”
“Opossums can’t get rabies!” TK protested, stomping his foot, “And I’ll wash my hands when I'm done holding him. And I’ll feed him all by myself. And give him a bath. He can use my bath toys, you don't even hafta buy him his own.”
“We can’t keep him.”
“Why not? I’ll take good care of him. I’ll read lots of books about opossums. You won't even hafta take care of him. Promise!”
“TK, we—" God, he could not believe he was having this conversation, "You don't know how to take care of a opossum."
"That's why I'll read!"
Carlos pinched the bridge of his nose, "Uh... We don’t even have an opossum bed." He shrugged with an over dramatic sigh, "Where’s he gonna sleep? Huh? He’s too little for our bed, and he’ll get lost on the couch."
“Oh,” TK darted his eyes away. He didn't want his friend to not have a comfy bed.
“Yes, oh. Go, uhh—go put it in the bathtub until wildlife services are here.”
TK huffed, and looked back to Carlos, unsure, “Will they take care of him?”
“Yes,” Carlos sighed and nodded, "Yes, I promise."
Carlos: You did not let that thing into your car.
Owen Strand: I didn’t need to. It was abandoned outside of your building.
Owen Strand: Which is exactly why it's more of a boyfriend problem than a dad problem that he refused to put it down.
Carlos watched TK head down to the bathroom, arms wrapped carefully around the very alive, very blinking baby opossum, murmuring soft nonsense to it like it might shatter if he spoke too loud.
“Be careful,” Carlos called after him.
“I knowww,” TK sing-songed, already pushing the bathroom door open with his foot. “I’m a good daddy.”
***
Carlos kept TK close to him when help arrived for the opossum, not wanting him to do something stupid. TK clung to his arm like an oversized koala, eyes wide and worried.
Carlos did the talking when needed, but mostly, they just kept quiet until they were alone.
“They’re going to take care of it, Baby,” Carlos murmured, brushing a stray lock of hair from TK’s forehead. “They know exactly what to do.”
TK shook his head, refusing to let go of the hoodie where the tiny opossum had been nestled. “But… But I wanted to be his daddy,” he whispered.
“I know,” Carlos said softly, holding TK’s hands in his own. "And I love that you have such a big heart, but taking wild animals home is dangerous."
TK pouted, his lower lip quivering. “But he was so small! And he cried!”
Carlos sighed, pulling him into a gentle hug. “Yeah… And it’s okay to feel sad about that. But we have to be safe, TK. Opossums, frogs, creepy lizards… they’re fun to love, but they’re wild. They don’t belong in our house.”
"Do I hafta sit in timeout?" TK sniffled.
Carlos paused, "Um... Well, you did break the rules, but you were trying to be nice, and you let him go away where everybody could be safe. Which was very brave. Only five minutes, okay?"
"Five?! That's like forever!" TK whined.
"That's the least amount of time out you've ever had."
"Still forever," TK glared at him as he trudged over to turn one of the dining room chairs to the wall.
"And by the way," TK turned to look at Carlos, "I looked it up. Opossums can carry rabies. They just don't contract it often."