Tarlos Masterlist

Basically everything I've written so far, organized by series/oneshots.

Oneshots:

The Space in Between - TKW, CRW, H/C, K

ease my mind - CRW, H/C, 4.18 Coda

The Last Time - H/C

you can breathe now - 5.09 Coda

Series:

every beat of you, every measure and note (Carlos brain damage!AU)

Kindred Spirit (fantasy medieval!au) - 24/24 Chapters

WIPs (aka things you will find in my sneak previews posted to this blog):

BHTB:

Rope Burns - You'll Hear Me Howling Outside Your Door

Going into Hiding - Not the Picture That Comes with the Frame

Barely Conscious - Partners

Infected Wound - let us waltz for the dead

key under the cut.

The door to the daycare is painted a nice baby blue, a happy sun on the corner just like a child's drawing. He tries to turn the handle, but it won't budge.

"Door's locked, Nance. Can you do anything about it?"

"I'll see—shit! Your six!" Nancy alerts him just in time to duck under what is frankly the largest fist TK has ever seen in his life.

"Woah, man. At least ask me out to dinner first," he quips. It lacks his normal annoying energy he normally tries his best to exude, but he'll excuse that. He zaps a block of ice onto the guy's fist, causing it to get stuck balled up.

"Blizzard," the guy drawls. "We've been lookin' for you." In the next second, the guy is swinging again. Ice smashes against the wall only inches from where TK's head is. It leaves a sizable dent.

TK makes a mental note to play defense. He's not going to get anywhere trying to brute strength his was past this unstoppable force. "Look, big guy, I'm flattered, but you're not really my type."

Another swing from his opponent only just catches TK on the chin, but it's enough to leave him stumbling. "Enough talk," the guy growls. "It's been way too long since I've gotten to pulverize a pretty face."

Since Carlos was busy this morning, TK had agreed to meet up with him later in the day, but in classic TK fashion, he's running late. Carlos isn't worried, however; if anything went wrong and TK needed him, the tug in his chest would tell him so. He spends the time throwing sticks out for Buttercup to fetch.

A few minutes later, Carlos spots his partner jogging down the pathway to meet him, very un-prince-like. "Sorry I'm late," TK says, out of breath. He presses a kiss to his cheek. "Mom roped me into another one of her lectures on the importance of Jonah's tummy time." TK rolls his eyes playfully, then bends down to pet the dog. "Have you been a good boy for Sir Reyes?"

Carlos smiles. "You know I don't mind waiting for you," he says. "And I know you secretly love any and all things Jonah-related," he prods.

"Shh." TK puts a finger to his lips. "You can't tell anyone. My mother would be ecstatic and then I'll really never hear the end of it."

His husband looks utterly torn. They both hear the fists and guns pounding against the ice. It won't hold for forever, that much is clear. It's an impossible choice, so the least Carlos can do is make it for him.

"I'm stuck, I'm not going anywhere. Jonah needs you more right now," he says. "I'll be fine."

TK's teeth clench, his jaw tenses. He swipes quickly at his eyes. "I'll be back for you," he says with a quiet certainty, "I promise." He bends down, their lips pressing warmly together.

The moment is cut short by the shattering of ice crystals. The guards have broken in, but TK's visor is already on, his skates flicked out. "You want me? You're gonna have to catch me first," he taunts, icing a path to the door on the opposite side of the room. The majority of them take the bait, racing after him. Only a few pause, their fingers on their earpieces.

"Yes, ma'am," one of them says, glancing at Carlos. "Understood."

Carlos swallows. That can't mean anything good.

He contemplates—very briefly—calling out for TK. He could still be within earshot, would undoubtedly come to his rescue again as the guards uncuff him from the table and drag his weak body out the door. But he can't, not really, because TK needs to go to Jonah. Carlos needs him to go to Jonah.

So he keeps his mouth shut tight as they shove him into an elevator.

Slowly, his smile fades away. "They… they took me away from you," he says. "I remember that."

Carlos' hand has now traveled down to rest on his bicep. TK feels his grip tighten at the mention of what happened. "They did," Carlos confirms. "Tyler, I'm sorry. I should have—"

"Don't." Now, it's TK's turn to cut him off, to reassure him. "It's all still a little jumbled up, but I know that I never blamed you. Never." He raises a hand to cup Carlos' cheek, to make sure he's looking at him. "It's not your fault, baby."

"I should have known," Carlos protests weakly. Now that TK is really taking the time to study him, he can see the dark bags under Carlos' eyes and how his hair is frazzled, like he's forgotten to take care of it. "I should have realized we were being followed sooner. Maybe, if I had—"

"Maybe it all would have happened anyway," TK says. "It doesn't matter. You're here with me now, safe and in one piece."

The woman chuckles. She puts a hand on his shoulder while Carlos continues to glare at her. "He's a little out of sorts right now. The treatments here can do that to a person."

TK's jaw clenches. He studies her face, makes sure to memorize the features of the woman responsible for all of this. He imagines what it will be like to freeze her inside of a block of ice.

Focus.

"I have a deal for you, Blizzard. Our medicine has some very unfortunate side effects—I'm sure you can imagine the kind." She slides a finger across her throat with a wink. She's too bright, too cheery and bubbly in the face of hurting others for her to come across as any level of sane. "I'd be willing to administer an antidote in exchange for some of your DNA.

TK groans again. "I don't want to, baby, but..." His breath starts to quicken, the already shallow inhales pulling in less and less oxygen. His eyes fill with panic. "It's burning me up and I—I can feel it. Carlos, I can't breathe."

And it's as if saying it out loud makes it worse, because TK starts hacking and gasping. His chest heaves, but Carlos can tell he's not getting enough air.

"What can I do, baby? Tell me what to do so I can fix this."

Because that's always been who Carlos is. He's always been the fixer, the compromiser, the one who will always bend over backwards and change himself to be what other people want. After being a chameleon for so long, he thought he'd forgotten who he really was until he was pushed into being himself. TK pushed him. TK forced him to be honest and taught him things about himself he didn't even know and TK is the most important thing in his life and Carlos can't lose this, not now.

"Hold me," TK says, his voice barely there between fleeting breaths. "Please."

"You're a hero," she grits out. Her voice is shaky from the chill, though TK can barely feel it himself. "You're not supposed to kill people."

"I'm a vigilante," TK corrects. "There's a difference."

Carlos always told him that. Vigilante does not a hero make. It doesn't matter how much good you do if there's no way to safeguard against using that same power for bad. Whenever they'd argued about the Blizzard's true intentions, TK would always make a silent promise to only do good. To do no harm. He'd promised Carlos he'd be a hero, even if he'd never said it out loud. He'd never even considered how selfish his power could be, not with something so precious as his husband in his life, there to show him how good the world could be with a little elbow grease and a lot of dedication.

But Carlos isn't here right now.

"Tell me where my family is, and I'll let you keep your fingers and toes."

Chapter 21 of Kindred Spirit is out! Excerpt:

"How sure are we that this is going to work?" Carlos asks. They're hiding in the brush, waiting for the next caravan to come through, but the plan is still up in the air.

Marjan shoots him an annoyed look. "Have a little faith, won't you?"

Carlos shifts from where he's been made to squat. The rest of the group has told him in no uncertain terms that he isn’t participating in this fight. He isn't sure if it's because they still don't trust him, or because they're worried he'll only get himself hurt in this state. The only thing he knows for certain is that Marjan still has a problem with him. She's assigned herself as his babysitter while the rest of them deal with the task at hand: taking out the caravan.

"I have faith," Carlos insists. "I am sure that our friends will be able to take these people out. It's the second part that worries me."

Marjan snorts. "'Our friends'. Right."

He forces himself to take a second and breathe through his mounting frustration. "Marjan, I know that you're upset with me," he says, attempting to be cordial.

"Oh, I'm not upset. I'm pissed." She jabs a finger in his direction. "And before you go thinking that I'm overreacting, let me remind you of this: the king trusted you—you specifically, Carlos—to protect his son and keep him out of danger. He didn't ask anyone else. You—" She cuts herself off as her voice begins to rise. They can't afford to be caught right now and they both know it. "You failed him, and broke our trust."

Carlos bites back a groan. "You think I don't know that?" he hisses. "You think it hasn't been eating me alive this entire time?"

yes, I am! it's part of a prompt fill for my bthb, I just got distracted by another wip (sort of the story of my life atm) rest assured once that's done, i'll go back to finishing it. It's just very disorganized rn and without an actual plot, just shameless whump lol 😅

"Even so, now that she's been found, I'll need to let her family know." He rubs a hand over his face. "And figure out a way to document this in my file without admitting that you've been assisting me."

"Hmph. No need to sound so ungrateful."

Carlos feels his shoulders tense in slight annoyance. This guy just knows how to push all his buttons, and Carlos doesn't even know his real name. "It's not that. This whole… thing," he gestures between them, "it's illegal. And dangerous. If anyone found out…" He could be fired. His family could be put at risk. He'd be interrogated until the Rangers squeezed every last detail about the Blizzard out of him, and then they'd probably arrest him for working with a vigilante.

"I know." He softens. "I don't want anything to happen to you, either." He puts a hand on Carlos' shoulder, his touch as cold as always. "I promise you, I'm doing everything I can to cover my tracks. I'd never do anything to put you in danger."

Carlos would like to promise the same thing, but it wouldn't be entirely truthful. There would be one—and only one—exception. If it was to save his family, he would sell out the Blizzard in a heartbeat. Hell, he's such a good guy that he might not even blame him for it. It isn't like the thought hasn't crossed his mind.

But the Blizzard probably has a family. Just like Carlos, he probably has people that care for him, too. People that would miss him if anything happened. It only drives home just how much is at stake by doing this, working together. It's utterly exhausting, always having to be one step ahead of his coworkers, always covering his tracks, always looking over his shoulder.

But it's for the greater good.

"You're going to kill me," TK says bluntly. "I'm basically an infinite source of magical power, once I'm given the time to recharge." He pointedly leaves out the part about his limited capacity. "Killing me means once my font is used up, it's gone forever. My magic becomes a finite resource, which is fine when you have other magic princes laying around."

"But we don't have—" Anthony's eyes widen as he finally gets what TK is saying. "Lords, what are we doing?"

"I'll tell you what you're doing. You're thinking in the short-term. Wolfe knows he can supercharge my font and gain levels of power he otherwise wouldn't, but once it's gone, it's gone. And," he says, shaking his head disappointedly, "no one else gets to use it but him."

Anthony recoils. It truly must have never occurred to him that would happen, because he exclaims, "What the actual fuck? That's so messed up!"

"So messed up," TK echoes. "The way I see it, you're the smartest guy here. That's why I'm willing to make you an offer."

"TK!" Carlos comes running. He still has Jonah in his arms, his eyes full of wonder. "Baby, are you okay? What happened?"

TK looks around, really playing up the shock. "I don't know. One second, I was chasing after this guy," he jabs a thumb at the thief, who is complaining that his hands are cold, "to stop him from stealing. The next, I don't know. I guess the Blizzard must have gotten to him first."

Carlos pulls him into a hug. "You know I hate it when you try and play the hero."

If only he could tell him there is no 'try' about it. His husband has always been protective, but especially since TK became a full-time dad and civilian. It's very silly considering what he likes to do for a hobby.

TK allows himself to sink into the hug. It's comforting for Carlos, which means it's comforting for him, even if he was never in any real danger. He smiles when Jonah's little fist also grabs at his shirt.

"Babe," he says into Carlos' chest, "I promise you, I'm okay."

"Once, after a raid, we decided to go out for a drink to celebrate. I overheard his right hand, Anthony Marlowe, say something after a few too many. Something about how they were on the verge of figuring out how to completely transfer one vessel's magic to another." She shrugged. "I never really believed in magic back then, so I chalked it up to him being drunk."

"But if the rumor is true?"

“Carlos, I—”

“Please, Elena.”

"I...I can't guarantee there will be anything left of your prince to save."