lone star fanfics
Ships included: tk strand/carlos reyes, tommy vega/charles vega, tommy vega/trevor parks, nancy gillian/mateo chavez
Gen. Pairings included: firehouse 126 & firehouse 126, carlos reyes & mateo strand, carlos reyes & firehouse 126, owen strand & carlos reyes, carlos reyes & gabriel reyes
CANON-COMPLIANT/CODA/MISSING SCENE FICS
includes fics compliant with canon plots; missing moments, codas, etc.
we’re too young to drown, deep in dirty waters
tk strand/carlos reyes & gabriel reyes, 2.1k, teen & up. Post-MCD.
The photographs on the walls feature a Gabriel that never existed; a man who had no flaws, a man remembered by everyone as the smartest, the strongest. A family man, apparently. It all makes Carlos scoff mentally, but then the guilt overtakes him, and he returns a few days later to assist his mother with her latest panicked dilemma. Or the one where Gabriel left certain things behind, and Carlos isn’t sure how to feel about it all.
it's worth it, all this time
tk strand/carlos reyes & jonah morgan, 1.8k, teen & up.
It’s been a complicated journey, from then to now, and for a time, TK was terrified he’d harbor some kind of resentment for his little brother. All it’s ever been, since then, is love.
i don't want the world to see me
paul strickland/asha fulton, 1.1k, teen & up
Since the asteroid, things have been so complicated and yet so simple; Captain Strand took off to New York and was sworn in as chief not even a fortnight afterward. Jax has been hanging around, taking whatever guidance Paul wants to give them; Captain Vega returned to her role as Paramedic Captain a few weeks later, and TK quit the 126 to take care of his little brother. It felt like the world didn’t stop. Or the one where Asha sees Paul in a way that most people don’t, and now, he really appreciates it.
this is the last damn thing that i hold close to me
tk strand/carlos reyes, 1.5k, teen & up
It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out what an effort Carlos has been making since TK voiced his concerns of them drifting apart, and the improvement has been both significant and obvious; not just in their relationship, but in Carlos’ mood, in his demeanour. Getting through sex without falling asleep has definitely gotten easier, because they just went for two rounds for the first time since their honeymoon, and Carlos is still pressing languid kisses to TK’s neck. Or the one where Carlos is insatiable, TK’s paramedic instincts kick in, and they’re as strong as ever for all their flaws.
i’m home alone and you’re god knows where
tk strand/carlos reyes, 1k, teen & up
TK’s tone isn’t accusatory, exactly; it’s tinged with something closer to fear, and a strange air of what Carlos can only describe as boredom; which is odd, and concerning, and he’s growing more and more on edge with every second that he stands here in the dark room. Or the one where TK’s past always feels like his future, and Carlos tries to undo the harm Alex did.
can you imagine when this race is won?
tk strand/carlos reyes, 1.2k, teen & up.Post-MCD.
“Carlos Tomas–”
“Don’t do that, please, Tyler.” Carlos winces, walking around the bench and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, sliding a second one across to TK. “I swear I’ve thought this through.”
Or the one where Carlos becomes a Texas Ranger, for reasons TK struggles to understand.
but tonight your apartment had so much appeal
nancy gillian & tk strand, 1k, teen & up
She was hoping that would bring a smile out, but TK’s face remains fairly stony, the quirk at the corner of his mouth coming far more from a place of politeness than genuine amusement. Nancy gestures to the sofa, and TK sits while she grabs two sodas from the fridge, passing one to him and flopping onto her beanbag in the corner with the other. Or the one where TK and Carlos broke up, Nancy doesn’t know how to help, and sometimes the only place you can go is the best place you could be.
i'll always be looking for you, wherever i am
carlos reyes & gabriel reyes, 1.2k, teen & up. Post-MCD.
Carlos knows that this investigation is beyond just him; he isn’t just out of his depth, he’s going out of his mind. Every time he thinks he understands something, there’s a fresh piece of information that changes things, a fresh perspective he hasn’t taken, a fresh alibi that wrecks his theory. If anything, having so many clues and leads should be satisfying; instead, it’s pushing him in circles of suspects and innocence, every hour spent on the case feeling the same as the one before. A waste. Or the one where Carlos is investigating his father’s case, every street leads back to the beginning, and a window takes the brunt of his frustration.
and i still talk to you, when i’m screaming at the sky
owen strand & carlos reyes, 1.7k, teen & up. Post-MCD.
Carlos isn’t sure how he got to that point, that moment; he thought he’d done it right. He thought that he’d figured it out, he’d found the bad guy, he could take the punishment into his own hands and dish out the consequences, and it wouldn’t matter. It wouldn’t affect TK, it wouldn’t affect their yet-to-be marriage, it wouldn’t hurt him. They’ve always been separate, in his mind; his work, his family, and his Tyler. They’ve been three separate things, three separate lives that he leads, and that was how he wanted it. He’s gotten too used to one not affecting another, he realises sharply, his second whiskey pouring down his throat. Or the one where Carlos nearly makes a grave mistake, Owen tries to help him with his grief, and a man being dead doesn’t make him innocent.
losing hope and reason, when will i be alright?
tommy vega/charles vega, tommy vega/trevor parks, 1.4k, teen & up. Post-MCD.
The night after the wedding, Tommy took her ring off; she finally took the ring off, finally gave herself permission to move on, finally realised what direction she wanted things to go in with Trevor. It’s been antagonising, but she’s letting go of the grudges she’s held for so long against so many people, so many memories, because of what she lost. Losing Charles didn’t just cost Tommy her marriage or her husband, it cost her everything bar her girls; it cost her untold hours and months of grief and all of the control she’d felt over life, and now she wants it back. She wants to take the reins again. Or the one where Charles loved candles, Tommy loved Charles, and sometimes a spark is all you need to start over.
CANON DIVERGENT FICS
includes fics that come from a canon background; MCDs, non-canon pairings, etc.
I keep telling myself that it’s them and not me
mateo chavez & carlos reyes, 1.9k, teen & up
Carlos’ knuckles are rough and tender where they meet the fabric of Mateo’s shirt, and his eyes are bleary with tears, stinging and bloodshot from the dust blowing around them. Wind whips around his ears, almost taunting him with howls that feel like agony. The pouring rain does nothing to dampen the brown grit flying through the air around them, the smack of water on the road echoing through the street, accented by screams and the distant intonation of sirens. Or the one where Carlos has to get Mateo to safety, but his own pain falls by the wayside in the process.
something in me keeps on breaking, but you stitch me up every time
tk strand/carlos reyes, 1.6k, teen & up.
Carlos is worried about TK; they all knew that Buttercup would pass eventually. Apparently when he first arrived at the station, his cancer prominent and diagnosed, TK had refused to show any affection or even use his name; the attachment to something that he knew he would lost felt too great, he insists, which has been his outlook as long as Carlos has known him; it’s part of why their relationship, their marriage, is so special. Because TK had insisted that the loss he would face if Carlos were ever to leave would be worth it, the fear of that would be worth it, for every second they had together. Or the one where Buttercup has passed away, TK’s struggling with it more than he’s admitting, and Carlos is his anchor when he’s drifting.
kiss in the kitchen, like it’s a dance floor
tk strand/carlos reyes, 1.6k, teen & up
TK and Carlos are notorious for carrying heavy things badly; considering the number of gurneys TK wheels every day, his instruction should theoretically be much stronger than it is. But whilst their physical direction could use some work, they know where they’re headed in life; on the fast-track to forever. Or the one where TK hates moving, but he loves Carlos, and their worst times created some of their best.
my thoughts will echo your name, until i see you again
tk strand/carlos reyes, 1.6k, teen & up
And he tries to restrain himself from posing the question, he really does. But he can tell from the sharp, knowing glint in Owen’s eye that it’s expected from him now – it wouldn’t be the first time Carlos has brought up the man in a less-than-smooth manner, but it’s still humiliating and degrading and entirely below him, really. And he does it anyway. Or the one where Carlos didn’t ask TK to dance, Buttercup has a habit of exploring Austin, and gratitude plus fate combine into something stronger.
i don’t know who i would be, if you ever leave
tk strand/carlos reyes, 1.7k, teen & up
TK tries not to involve himself in Carlos’ work with the Rangers; it’s complicated, and often confidential, and rarely as life-threatening as his own work. So he tries to stay two steps back, waiting for his husband to open up, to speak his mind, to share whatever case or suspect or civilian is the owner of the weight he’s bearing at the time. It doesn’t often happen, and when it does it’s usually very little, but if he has to go away for work he always makes sure TK knows exactly where he’s going, when he should be finished, and which Rangers or police officers should be with him. Or the one where Rangers Reyes and Campbell disappear during a work trip out to the hill country, and TK takes matters into his own hands to find them.
felt like i was in between somewhere like home and somewhere far away
nancy gillian & firehouse 126 crew, nancy gillian/mateo chavez, 1.2k, teen & up
Nancy’s hair is pulled tight into a braided bun, only serving to pull her brow higher, exacerbating the anger in her expression; if it were a film, and she was a creature, her eyes would’ve flashed red when Paul said that. Her mouth pulls back into a pinched line, and Mateo’s hand on her shoulder tightens slightly, somewhere between a comfort and a reminder. Or the one where Nancy’s struggling to work herself out, and things unintended can still feel personal.