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love_sacrificedTitle: Clearing the Air
Author: JE /immortalje
Pairing: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Summary: Kneeling down, he reached out with his hand only to stop short of actually touching Carlos. He could just barely make out the tear tracks in what little light made its way into the room. Did he really want to leave this fight to fester until the next morning? TK sighed before he tentatively touched Carlos’ cheek to wipe away the tears.
TK and Carlos talk it out after they had a fight after visiting a potential wedding venue.
Rating: FRT
Words: 1217
Beta: None
Challenge: This was written for the prompt "Tentative" on the table "Touch" (my table) at10prompts
Other Locations: Ao3
Clearing the Air
The leftover tears were still stinging in his eyes as he made his way from the front door to the bedroom in the darkened loft. It had been a rather trying day when his shift had run over by nearly two hours and he’d been a few minutes late to their appointment at a potential venue for their wedding. He’d texted Carlos so he’d go without him to make sure that at least one of them would be on time. Nancy, who’d agreed to take him to the venue, had driven like a speed demon to make good on time. Thankfully, without them being stopped.
Still, their last call of the day had not only been a lengthy one, but also a tremendously bad one. Just the right mood to go into wedding planning. Not. Things had only gone downhill from there. Although, he hoped that they’d both been able to cover it up enough not to be overly noted. It had come to blows once they were back home though. His already bad mood from work had encountered Carlos’ anxiety and need for organized planning and fretting. He was sure that neither of them actually meant any of what had been said.
He halted in the partially open door and observed Carlos in the bed. He was lying on the side facing away from his side. Shoulders were tensed up, meaning that he probably was still awake and facing that side was more of a deliberate choice then how he felt most comfortable.
TK looked at the floor as he considered what to do next. He wasn’t sure if Carlos was ready to talk about their fight just yet. Still, they tried not to go to bed angry at each other. Gently biting on his tongue enough to be felt without actually causing damage, he decided that his next course of action would be to get ready for bed. It wouldn’t matter where he’d be sleeping, he still needed to change for it. He tried to be as quite as possible so he wouldn’t draw Carlos’ attention. He didn’t want to sleep on the couch and as long as Carlos didn’t banish him from their bed, he intended to sleep in it. If Carlos ignored him then he couldn’t tell him to sleep on the couch.
Before he knew it, he was done changing. Instead of crawling into bed, he walked around it to Carlos’s side. His eyes were closed, but his posture and breathing were just further indicators telling TK that he was just pretending. Kneeling down, he reached out with his hand only to stop short of actually touching Carlos. He could just barely make out the tear tracks in what little light made its way into the room. Did he really want to leave this fight to fester until the next morning? TK sighed, before he tentatively touched Carlos’ cheek to wipe away the tears.
Quietly, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of the things I said. I’m sorry I was late and in a bad mood. Cap had wanted to leave me behind for any calls that came in about half an hour to an hour before shift ended, but we got a major trauma call with multiple victims and she couldn’t go out short staffed. It was bad. Not exactly a call that puts you in the mood for wedding planning. I didn’t want to bring that up at the venue, but maybe I should have found a way. I know you were nervous about this – about all of the planning.”
Carlos sighed and opened his eyes, capturing his hand.
“I’m sorry, too,” Carlos said, “I know that it can be unpredictable when we actually get off and you did let me know about it as soon as it became clear that you’d be working late.”
Carlos pulled the hand he was holding to him and kissed it softly before he reached out to wipe some of the dried tears from TK’s face as tentatively as he had done just moments before.
“I didn’t –,” Carlos said hesitantly.
TK frowned as he wondered where Carlos’ mind had gone to. They’d been working on Carlos actually voicing his worries over swallowing his hurt and anxiety down, but that didn’t mean it was always an easy thing to do. He could feel Carlos’ shaking from where he was holding onto him.
Quietly, just barely loud enough to be heard, Carlos finally said, “Did you go to a meeting?”
“I spend most of the time sitting at the bus stop down the street. I didn’t feel like going too far,” TK said softly.
“Okay.”
TK sighed and then climbed over Carlos to get into bed as if they were actually situated on the couch. Against expectations, Carlos didn’t actually comment on it, simply turning around so they were still face to face. He reached out slowly, clearly still hesitant, to hug TK who readily welcomed the hug.
“I didn’t really like the layout of the venue,” Carlos said, “And the guy was a bit awkward.”
“Yeah, not sure he realized that we’re gay in our communication prior to the appointment. Still, the cake was good.”
“It was a great cake. The best we’ve tried so far.”
“They’re an independent business, right?” TK said.
Carlos hummed.
“We could hire them separately.”
Carlos sighed. Every venue had had their own favorite contractors for flowers, cakes and so on when they weren’t offered inhouse.
“Carlos, I’d be happy to marry you in the simplest of weddings without a lavish celebration. We don’t need that. Mind you, I’m never going to say no to shout it out to the world with a big celebration. Just – I’d be okay if we don’t pick a venue, but go with the family ranch as a location. It’s our wedding. It should reflect both of us. That doesn’t mean that every single piece should scream both of us. There can be pieces that are more one of us and then there are others that symbolize the other.”
TK felt Carlos’ head tilt downwards at the topic. It had featured in their initial brainstorming about what they wanted for their wedding, but Carlos had been hesitant to actually ask his parents. He couldn’t help but feel like that was part of the problem of finding the perfect venue. It was hard to find something that came close to the family ranch when you excluded the family ranch as an option.
As gently as he could, TK lifted Carlos’ head so he could look into Carlos’ eyes as much as the darkness allowed.
“I mean it babe,” TK said, “And I’m sure that your mom would love it.”
“I’ll think on it,” Carlos said, “But I think it’s time to sleep now. Tomorrow will be an early day for me.”
“Okay. Fine. I’ll rest my case for tonight. We’re in no rush to make a decision as long as we’ll get married eventually.”
“You’d just prefer sooner than later?”
“While I absolutely love calling you my fiancé, I’m even giddier about calling you my husband.”
Carlos chuckled at that, pulling TK even closer. Within a short amount of time, they both fell asleep, basking in the assurance that everything was okay between them.
Author: JE /
immortaljePairing: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Summary: Kneeling down, he reached out with his hand only to stop short of actually touching Carlos. He could just barely make out the tear tracks in what little light made its way into the room. Did he really want to leave this fight to fester until the next morning? TK sighed before he tentatively touched Carlos’ cheek to wipe away the tears.
TK and Carlos talk it out after they had a fight after visiting a potential wedding venue.
Rating: FRT
Words: 1217
Beta: None
Challenge: This was written for the prompt "Tentative" on the table "Touch" (my table) at
10promptsOther Locations: Ao3
Clearing the Air
The leftover tears were still stinging in his eyes as he made his way from the front door to the bedroom in the darkened loft. It had been a rather trying day when his shift had run over by nearly two hours and he’d been a few minutes late to their appointment at a potential venue for their wedding. He’d texted Carlos so he’d go without him to make sure that at least one of them would be on time. Nancy, who’d agreed to take him to the venue, had driven like a speed demon to make good on time. Thankfully, without them being stopped.
Still, their last call of the day had not only been a lengthy one, but also a tremendously bad one. Just the right mood to go into wedding planning. Not. Things had only gone downhill from there. Although, he hoped that they’d both been able to cover it up enough not to be overly noted. It had come to blows once they were back home though. His already bad mood from work had encountered Carlos’ anxiety and need for organized planning and fretting. He was sure that neither of them actually meant any of what had been said.
He halted in the partially open door and observed Carlos in the bed. He was lying on the side facing away from his side. Shoulders were tensed up, meaning that he probably was still awake and facing that side was more of a deliberate choice then how he felt most comfortable.
TK looked at the floor as he considered what to do next. He wasn’t sure if Carlos was ready to talk about their fight just yet. Still, they tried not to go to bed angry at each other. Gently biting on his tongue enough to be felt without actually causing damage, he decided that his next course of action would be to get ready for bed. It wouldn’t matter where he’d be sleeping, he still needed to change for it. He tried to be as quite as possible so he wouldn’t draw Carlos’ attention. He didn’t want to sleep on the couch and as long as Carlos didn’t banish him from their bed, he intended to sleep in it. If Carlos ignored him then he couldn’t tell him to sleep on the couch.
Before he knew it, he was done changing. Instead of crawling into bed, he walked around it to Carlos’s side. His eyes were closed, but his posture and breathing were just further indicators telling TK that he was just pretending. Kneeling down, he reached out with his hand only to stop short of actually touching Carlos. He could just barely make out the tear tracks in what little light made its way into the room. Did he really want to leave this fight to fester until the next morning? TK sighed, before he tentatively touched Carlos’ cheek to wipe away the tears.
Quietly, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of the things I said. I’m sorry I was late and in a bad mood. Cap had wanted to leave me behind for any calls that came in about half an hour to an hour before shift ended, but we got a major trauma call with multiple victims and she couldn’t go out short staffed. It was bad. Not exactly a call that puts you in the mood for wedding planning. I didn’t want to bring that up at the venue, but maybe I should have found a way. I know you were nervous about this – about all of the planning.”
Carlos sighed and opened his eyes, capturing his hand.
“I’m sorry, too,” Carlos said, “I know that it can be unpredictable when we actually get off and you did let me know about it as soon as it became clear that you’d be working late.”
Carlos pulled the hand he was holding to him and kissed it softly before he reached out to wipe some of the dried tears from TK’s face as tentatively as he had done just moments before.
“I didn’t –,” Carlos said hesitantly.
TK frowned as he wondered where Carlos’ mind had gone to. They’d been working on Carlos actually voicing his worries over swallowing his hurt and anxiety down, but that didn’t mean it was always an easy thing to do. He could feel Carlos’ shaking from where he was holding onto him.
Quietly, just barely loud enough to be heard, Carlos finally said, “Did you go to a meeting?”
“I spend most of the time sitting at the bus stop down the street. I didn’t feel like going too far,” TK said softly.
“Okay.”
TK sighed and then climbed over Carlos to get into bed as if they were actually situated on the couch. Against expectations, Carlos didn’t actually comment on it, simply turning around so they were still face to face. He reached out slowly, clearly still hesitant, to hug TK who readily welcomed the hug.
“I didn’t really like the layout of the venue,” Carlos said, “And the guy was a bit awkward.”
“Yeah, not sure he realized that we’re gay in our communication prior to the appointment. Still, the cake was good.”
“It was a great cake. The best we’ve tried so far.”
“They’re an independent business, right?” TK said.
Carlos hummed.
“We could hire them separately.”
Carlos sighed. Every venue had had their own favorite contractors for flowers, cakes and so on when they weren’t offered inhouse.
“Carlos, I’d be happy to marry you in the simplest of weddings without a lavish celebration. We don’t need that. Mind you, I’m never going to say no to shout it out to the world with a big celebration. Just – I’d be okay if we don’t pick a venue, but go with the family ranch as a location. It’s our wedding. It should reflect both of us. That doesn’t mean that every single piece should scream both of us. There can be pieces that are more one of us and then there are others that symbolize the other.”
TK felt Carlos’ head tilt downwards at the topic. It had featured in their initial brainstorming about what they wanted for their wedding, but Carlos had been hesitant to actually ask his parents. He couldn’t help but feel like that was part of the problem of finding the perfect venue. It was hard to find something that came close to the family ranch when you excluded the family ranch as an option.
As gently as he could, TK lifted Carlos’ head so he could look into Carlos’ eyes as much as the darkness allowed.
“I mean it babe,” TK said, “And I’m sure that your mom would love it.”
“I’ll think on it,” Carlos said, “But I think it’s time to sleep now. Tomorrow will be an early day for me.”
“Okay. Fine. I’ll rest my case for tonight. We’re in no rush to make a decision as long as we’ll get married eventually.”
“You’d just prefer sooner than later?”
“While I absolutely love calling you my fiancé, I’m even giddier about calling you my husband.”
Carlos chuckled at that, pulling TK even closer. Within a short amount of time, they both fell asleep, basking in the assurance that everything was okay between them.
