Chapter Text
3:00 am New York City, New York
Alex rolled over again. He couldn’t sleep. He could always sleep. Mark was away. That was it. Mark was away and Alex missed him. It was that simple. Except that Mark traveled a lot and Alex never had any trouble sleeping before. He stared at the ceiling and rested his hands on his stomach drumming his fingers lightly. Maybe he should have a drink. That could work. A drink would relax him. TK wouldn’t have encouraged him to have a drink. Not TK, Mark. Alex’s current boyfriend is Mark. Alex shook his head. TK? How did TK get in there? He hadn’t thought of TK in years, okay, maybe weeks. Well to be totally honest… days. Molly and Hannah brought TK up the other day at a party when Alex could overhear them. He couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying especially when Molly looked over her shoulder and saw that Alex was close and they stopped talking. Didn’t he have a right to know what his ex-boyfriend, his almost fiance was doing?
Ever since he heard them talking, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that TK was thinking about him too. It was a strange, almost comforting thought. It was as if their minds were intertwined, echoing each other's longing across the miles. He wondered if TK was also restless, unable to sleep, his thoughts drifting to a past they'd shared. Was TK, in his own way, also grappling with the echoes of their relationship? Alex couldn't help but smile at the idea. It was a bittersweet sentiment, a reminder of the love they once had and the pain of its loss. TK was special. Alex was sure that he loved TK still.
TK is somewhere in Texas. Texas for God’s sake! Sleeping off something he is sure. TK, the Manhattanite, surely couldn’t be happy where he was. Alex missed him. If he was being totally honest with himself. He had a Google alert for TK Strand. Alex nearly had a heart attack when TK’s name came up in the news as a firefighter who was shot by a kid and then a couple of years later as a paramedic who was in a coma from trying to save another kid during a blizzard. Alex really wanted to catch planes to Texas to be withTK, but he didn’t think that Owen would let him anywhere near his bedside. He also went to Gywn’s funeral hoping to talk to TK, but he didn’t show up. He just wanted to see TK. To talk to TK. See if there was a chance that they could be together again. To tell TK that he should take those risks with his life anymore. Alex was convinced that if he told him to stop, TK would. Alex couldn’t talk to TK if Owen was around. Owen would convince TK to keep putting his life in danger. That is all Owen ever cared about. TK becoming a firefighter, like him. Alex wanted more for TK. He wanted TK to do more with his life. To really make a difference. He wanted him to go into business or consulting. Afterall, with TK’s charm and charisma and Alex’s knowledge, they would be so rich right now.
They would have to clear up that last discussion after Alex told TK about Jamison…no…that wasn't right….Mitchell. TK was rude. Alex was going to have to tell TK that he couldn’t say things like that about his mother and sister. They only wanted what was best for the family. Alex needed to see TK alone. Not with Owen hanging over his shoulder. Not after the last time, he saw the both of them. Anyway, it didn’t matter now. Alex is sure that TK has reconsidered his attitude towards Alex and might be willing to rekindle their relationship.
If Alex was totally honest with himself. He did try to find TK on IG. He wasn’t surprised that TK blocked him. So, Alex only caught glimpses of bits and pieces of TK from other’s IG posts. TK seems to be living it up in Texas. He is always out partying. Alex started following Firefox to catch updates. She showed him in his paramedic uniform. TK still had a very nice ass. He seems to hang out in some country bar. He has sunk so low. What respectability is there in a country bar. When he lived in Manhattan, Alex tried to do his best for TK to give him stability and respectability. He could have gone farther than his father if he had just applied himself more. Alex’s mother thought TK had potential. TK didn’t grow up like Alex did, but still. TK had life to him. Alex’s sister even suggested that Alex try to get TK away from firefighting and into some consulting work. She was sure that it would have raised TK acceptability among their…well…his friends. Their friends weren’t happy when they broke up and TK moved. His friends were ecstatic that Alex was moving on to Mitchell.
TK was clingy. He wanted to be with Alex all the time. He wanted to move in together. Alex didn’t think it was a good idea. He needed his space. Apparently, he needed space to find the right boyfriend and TK wasn’t it. He really wasn’t. Friends kept asking if he had heard from TK yet and were they getting back together. He’s positive that TK thinks about him still and would want him in his life.
Alex sat up in bed and grabbed his phone and looked up Molly’s IG account. He scrolled through looking for anything that has to do with TK. There had to be a reason she was bringing him up. There it was. TK in a tux with Owen standing next to him. Molly, Hannah, TK with another man, and Owen standing together. TK and the other man kissing. Alex felt his stomach drop. There were rings on their fingers. It hit him like a brick. He was looking at wedding photos. Molly and Hannah had gone to Texas for TK’s wedding to the other man. How dare TK! How dare he get married before Alex! He is supposed to be miserable and lonely! He is supposed to come back to New York and beg forgiveness for his remarks to me!
Alex fumed! He decided that TK had settled. That’s all. Alex convinced himself. He thought I would never forgive him and he settled. He finally got someone to marry him. That’s what he wanted all along. Someone to want him. Someone to marry him. Someone to justify his existence. That’s fine. Alex would just live with it. He would forget all about TK Strand, the Hero Paramedic and Firefighter and Husband to…Alex looked at the name… Carlos Reyes. Alex is absolutely positive that TK still thinks about him all the time and wants to be back in New York with him. This Carlos Reyes is a pale second to Alex.
Alex plugged in his phone again. He hoped that TK was thinking of him right now. He sent him a furious message. “I’m so mad at you right now! How could you have done this to me, TK! We are supposed to be together! You settled for someone else!” He reached over to his side table and snapped off his light and pulled up his covers. As he closed his eyes all he could see were green eyes and a roguish smile haunting and taunting him. He sighed and resigned himself to not sleeping at all.
2:00 am Austin, Texas
TK Strand, husband of Carlos Reyes, rolled over in bed and wrapped his arms around his husband, placed several kisses on his shoulder and on the back of his neck and fell more deeply asleep with his soulmate.