Chapter Text
Carlos was sitting at his desk going through a large stack of paperwork when he got called into his sergeant’s office. “Officer Reyes, please have a seat.” His sergeant smiled before continuing, “This is detective Matthews and they’re with the undercover division of APD.”
“Pleasure to meet you, detective Matthews.” Carlos responded.
“The pleasure is all mine. I’ve seen your work, officer Reyes, and I must say that I’m impressed. Detective Washington has also raved about your work ethic.”
“Thank you, sir. May I ask what I’m doing here?”
“Of course. I’ve asked you here because I have an undercover opportunity, and I think you’re the perfect person for the job.” Detective Matthews stated matter-of-factly.
“I appreciate that sir, but I don’t have any undercover experience.”
“I am very much aware of that, but I don’t doubt you have the capabilities to do well undercover, and if all goes well, it would surely help your future in the department. I have heard rumblings of you taking the detective’s exam.”
“I have been thinking of taking the detective’s exam. I guess my husband hasn’t been that quiet around the station.” Carlos chuckles lightly. They had just gotten married a few months prior and were still very much in the honeymoon stage. Since they had gotten married, TK had gone out of his way to show up at the station whenever possible, either bringing Carlos lunch or simply chatting with his coworkers and embarrassing Carlos (though he’d never say that to TK when he saw the pride emanating from the man).
“He definitely hasn’t been, but it’s a good thing. Now, the case. We’ve been getting intel that a drug cartel is trying to make some roots here in Austin and we want to take it down before that can happen. We want you to go in and get as much information as you can and report back to us. Ideally, you would get initiated into the cartel, but it’s not necessary.” Detective Matthews waited patiently, watching Carlos closely to gauge his reaction.
“I truly appreciate the offer, sir. Could I take the night to decide or do you need a decision now?” Carlos asked, hoping he could take the night and speak with TK.
“You can take the night, but I need an answer first thing in the morning. Now, I understand you’ll most likely want to discuss this with your husband, but you can’t. This is not a case that can be discussed openly, and if you choose to go undercover, your husband knowing will only put him in danger.”
Not enjoying the response, but understanding, Carlos nodded. “Yes, sir, I understand.”
“Good. You’re dismissed.” Carlos’ sergeant stated.
Leaving the office, Carlos went back to his desk and focused back on his paperwork. More often than not, his brain was going back to the conversation, the pros and cons of going undercover weighing heavily on him.
He hadn’t realized his shift was over until his partner, officer Mitchell, came over and shut the case file closed on his desk. “Go home Reyes, you’ve got a husband waiting for you.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve just got to finish this up and then I’ll head home.” Carlos said, not looking away from his computer screen.
“Is this you being thorough on all of your cases or are you procrastinating after being called into the sergeant’s office?” Mitchell paused before asking “Wait, you didn’t get in trouble for how often TK comes in did you?”
“No no, not at all. I just need to finish up this file before I can get out of here.”
“Whatever you say, Reyes.”
Carlos didn’t even notice as his partner walked away, too busy trying to finish up the last of the report. Once he was finally finished, he grabbed his bag and headed out to his car, not bothering to change out of his uniform.
His drive home was quiet as he kept the music down low and just let the smooth ride ease his anxiety over the whole undercover situation. Every part of him wanted to tell TK about the entire situation, but logically and legally he couldn’t. He promised TK he would never lie to him, but here he was, being forced to. As he weighed his options, a plan on how to explain this to TK began to work itself.
Walking in the door, Carlos carefully removed his work boots and placed them on the rack, glancing around the apartment for his husband. “Babe, you home?”
Not getting a response, Carlos made his way towards the kitchen, stopping in his tracks at the sight before him on the couch. TK was sound asleep with his phone still open on instagram, drool slightly pooling on the pillow underneath his head.
Work recently had been stressful for TK, having to pick up extra hours since B-shift was down a paramedic and the city decided it was going to cause mayhem for first responders.
Today had been TK’s first day off in a week, so it was no surprise to Carlos that TK had taken the day to do nothing and just relax. Deciding not to wake him up, Carlos grabbed TK’s throw blanket and placed it over him, gently kissing him on the forehead and whispering a soft “I love you.”
Carlos made his way to the bathroom, needing to take a shower before getting started on dinner. Slowly, Carlos had been teaching TK different dishes that were easy to make since Carlos didn’t want him always getting takeout on the nights Carlos was at work, and some nights Carlos just didn’t want to cook. TK had been getting quite good at making the dishes, and normally on days like these TK would cook, but judging by the fact that TK was passed out on the couch, Carlos figured he’d be the one cooking tonight.
Once Carlos dried himself off and got dressed, he headed to the kitchen. He saw a bunch of ingredients already on the counter, which told him TK had the intention to cook dinner, but he ended up being too tired to actually start cooking. Based on the ingredients TK had taken out, it looked like he was planning to make one of the pastas Carlos had taught him a while ago.
Carlos set to work chopping up the peppers and other vegetables and putting them in the pan to fry before adding in some seasoning. Humming softly to himself, Carlos made sure everything was cooking properly and then took a second to look to the living room to check if TK was still sleeping.
TK was still asleep on the couch, but dinner would be ready shortly so Carlos decided to go over and wake TK up. Carlos shook him gently, chucking to himself when TK grunted and shifted a bit, not wanting to get up. “TK, dinner is almost ready. You need to get up.” Carlos said softly.
Carlos let out a sound of surprise when TK’s arms shot out and pulled Carlos down on top of him. “How was your day?” TK managed to get out between laughs.
“Long. There was a lot of paperwork I had to get through.”
“Babe, you seem distracted like you’ve got something on your mind.” TK said, analyzing Carlos’ face.
Instead of answering his question, Carlos pulled both of them up. “I need to go check back on dinner. Could you set the table, please?”
TK stared at Carlos for a second before following him into the kitchen and grabbing the plates and cutlery. Something was obviously on Carlos’ mind, but TK wasn’t going to force Carlos to talk if he didn’t want to. They had had many extensive talks about what they each needed when something was on their mind or if something was bothering them, and for Carlos, he needed time to work out the issue in his head before he talked to TK about it, which TK understood and respected.
Once he finished setting the table, TK walked back to where Carlos was standing at the stove and wrapped his arms around Carlos’ stomach and rested his head on the other man’s shoulder. “You know you could have woken me up when you got home and I could have made dinner. You worked today and I didn’t; really I should have made dinner.”
“Mi amor, this is the first day you’ve had off in quite literally a week of 12-hour shifts. You need your rest, and besides, I like to cook, it helps me focus and calm down.” Slowly Carlos was working his way up to talking to TK about the undercover opportunity, but he was still a bit nervous about the entire situation.
“I know that, but still. I got the ingredients out and had everything ready. I figured I’d take a short nap before starting-”
“Tyler,” Carlos interrupted, turning around to cup his husband’s cheeks, “it’s okay. I already told you I enjoy cooking and frankly, I really needed this.”
“Okay. I’m not pushing you to talk but if you want to, I’m always here.”
“I know. We’ll talk over dinner.” Carlos said, turning around and kissing TK.
Once the pasta was ready and the pair sat down at the table, Carlos finally spoke up. “I got a call into the sergeant’s office today. I can’t tell you why, but I have a decision to make by tomorrow morning.”
“Why can’t you tell me exactly?”
“It’s confidential and it’s a really big decision. If I say yes, it means I’m going to have to leave Austin for a bit.”
“And if you say no?”
“Then nothing happens and I continue on like normal.” Carlos said with a bit of a shrug.
“And you also lose out on an opportunity to further your career.” TK responded with a knowing look on his face.
“Yes, and I know it seems like an easy decision, but it’s not.”
“Because it’s probably really dangerous and you’re worried that everyone’s going to be worried about you.” TK paused for a moment, taking in what he had just said and figuring out what the job opportunity most likely was. “They asked you to go undercover, didn’t they?”
“TK,” was all Carlos could say, but it was the exact confirmation TK needed to know he was right. Despite his outward exterior and light-hearted personality, TK was actually a really smart guy.
“I know, I know you can’t say anything. Look, if it’s going to further your career and you want to do it, you should. If not, you don’t have to do it. Regardless, I’m going to support you either way.”
“I know, and I appreciate it. I know I can do the job, I just don’t want to stress you or my parents out.”
“Babe, I’ll be fine and I’ll make sure your parents will be fine too. This is about you and your career, you shouldn’t be worrying about anybody else’s stress.”
“Yes, because you’re a professional at that.” Carlos jabbed at TK, earning a chuckle from him.
“Touché. Seriously though babe, whatever you decide to do, I’m in your corner, just like you were there for me when I made the switch to become a paramedic.”
Carlos smiled fondly at his husband. “I love you.” Pausing for a moment to reflect on the conversation, Carlos made his decision. “I think I am going to do it. It’ll be a good opportunity and it’ll get criminals off the streets.”
“I love you too, and I’m proud of you.” TK stood up, grabbing both of their dirty dishes and brought them over to the sink. As he washed them, he felt Carlos come up behind him and hug him. TK stopped washing the dishes for a moment to lean his head back against Carlos, basking in the domesticity of their relationship.
For years TK had ached for a relationship like this, but had never gotten it until he met Carlos. All of his past relationships were either forced or unhealthy, but all he really wanted was to love someone unconditionally and to have someone love him back just as much even though it might scare him.
He was pulled from his thoughts when Carlos whispered in his ear, “Are you going to tell me where your mind is drifting off to or am I going to have to guess?”
“Nothing, I just love you.” TK said with a light sigh.
“I love you too.” Carlos responded easily, placing a kiss into TK’s hair.
As TK finished washing the dishes, Carlos pulled him towards the bedroom so that they could get pyjamas on and watch some Netflix before going to bed. They decided on some random movie in their recommended, only half paying attention since TK was arguing in the 126 group chat over which animal would make the best president. Carlos was taking a bit of a back seat in the conversation, letting everyone else scream over why they thought they were right and chuckling at how passionate everyone was.
“Babe, I need you to back me up here. Honey bees are extremely important for the Earth’s pollination and without them we would be much worse off so they should be president.”
“TK, I’m not backing you up on honey bees making the best president,” Carlos said, exasperation evident in his tone. “Besides, a horse would make a much better president.”
“You did not just say those words to me.” TK said with mock offense.
“Oh I absolutely did.” Carlos shot back.
TK went to start arguing with him about why Carlos was wrong, but instead, Carlos pulled TK in for a kiss, effectively shutting TK up. “You’re so lucky I love you.” TK said once they parted to take a breath.
“I know,” Carlos said back, pulling TK back in. “I’m going to go to bed. Are you going to join me?” Carlos whispered against TK’s lips. TK responded by stealing another kiss from Carlos and then pulling the man to his feet and leading them both into their bedroom.
Once they were both settled in bed, TK rolled over so that his chest was pressed up against Carlos’ back and threw his arm over Carlos’ stomach. “I know I don’t need to tell you this but please stay safe while you’re undercover. Your life is more important to me.”
“I know, babe. I’ll be careful, I promise.”
“I know you will, I’m just saying. I know I’ve taken a lot of risks in the past that have ended in me being in the hospital but I really don’t want that to be you too.” TK whispered while tracing lines across Carlos’ stomach.
“I’m not going to end up in the hospital. I can pull out at any point and they’ll have backup ready.” Carlos said reassuringly.
“Just promise me that if you feel like you’re in real danger that you’ll pull yourself out and protect yourself.”
“I promise.” Carlos responded, bringing TK’s hand to his lips and kissing it.
The pair let the conversation go after that, both of them drifting off to sleep as they held one another closely.
—
TK woke up a few times throughout the night from a mix of stress for his husband and from the long nap he had taken during the day. When 5am rolled around, TK was awake and he knew Carlos would be getting up shortly for his shift, so TK got himself up and went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.
TK heard Carlos get up so he poured the cups and brought them to the dining room. “TK, what are you doing awake at 5 in the morning? You don’t even work today.”
“I know. I was up anyways because I needed to go to the bathroom and I figured since you’d be up anyways I’d make us both coffee.” TK half lied.
“Your sleep habits never fail to amaze me, you know that?” Carlos chuckled. “But seriously, I know you and you’re not going to be able to fall back asleep after you drink that.”
“Okay, first of all, we went to bed at the same time last night so we had the same sleep and second, I put decaf in my cup.” TK said with a smirk.
“You do realize I’m a cop and your husband, right? I know when you’re lying. That is definitely caffeinated coffee.”
Like the mature man he was, TK stuck out his tongue instead of responding. Carlos shook his head and laughed before finishing his coffee and getting ready for work.
As he was getting ready, TK made Carlos a quick breakfast and got his lunch together for him. As much as Carlos did this for TK when he was getting ready for work, TK loved to reciprocate it back to Carlos. Though TK never voiced it out loud, sometimes he had doubts that he wasn’t contributing enough because of how much Carlos did.
He’s worked through that doubt and he rarely thinks about it anymore, primarily because they’re married so he knows Carlos loves him deeply, but those kinds of thoughts still enter his brain sometimes and to combat them, he’s decided to do something for Carlos, regardless of how big or small it is.
Carlos made his way back to the kitchen and watched as TK moved around the kitchen, love filling his heart. He knew as much as TK was supporting him in his decision, he was still worried for Carlos. This was who TK was: he never hesitated to put himself in danger, but never wanted anyone else he cared about to do the same.
Coming up beside TK, Carlos spun him and pulled him into his chest, feeling the way TK melted into the hug. “I’m going to be okay, TK.”
“I know and I believe you, but I’m your husband so it’s my job to worry about you.”
“If you don’t want me to do this, just say the word and I’ll tell them no. I don’t want you to be stressing about this. Your heart has already been through enough and I don’t want to add to it.” Carlos said, concern evident in his voice.
“No! No, you want to do this and you should. Please don’t worry about me. Me and my heart are doing just fine. My cardiologist confirmed that at our last appointment.”
“Okay. I’ve got to get going anyway, but I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Giving TK a quick kiss, Carlos then headed for the door to leave for work.
—
Arriving at work, Carlos went straight to his sergeant’s office and found detective Matthews already there. “Good morning officer Reyes, I hope you have a response for me.”
“I do, sir. I’ll go undercover.”
“Good. You’re going to come with me and I’ll brief you on the full case and your new identity and safehouse you’ll be staying at for the next while.”
“Safehouse? I thought that I’d still stay at my own place when I wasn’t undercover.”
“No, it’s like I said, the more anyone knows, the greater danger they’re in. This includes you. We need this to work and in order to do so, Carlos Reyes can’t exist right now.” Detective Matthews stated seriously.
“So what am I supposed to tell my husband?”
“That you’ve been asked to assist on a case out of state and you can’t be in contact with anyone at the moment.”
“He’s not going to believe that. He’s going to know something’s up.”
“Then you let myself or your sergeant handle that. If your husband starts asking questions, we’ll have answers ready.”
Contemplating the new information, Carlos took a moment to respond. “Fine. Just please keep him safe while I’m undercover and if anything happens to him I need to know.”
“You’ll have a handler who can take care of all of that. Let me remind you though that when you’re undercover Carlos Reyes, and everything tied to him, no longer exists. If you’re worried about your husband, your family, or your friends, your cover most likely will get blown.”
“With all due respect, I’m very aware of that, sir. I’m only asking to keep the people I care about safe.”
“And I understand that. Now, we need to get going and get you prepared. I want you ready to be sent in within the next 24 hours.” Not leaving any room for arguments, detective Matthews walked out of the office, Carlos following quickly behind.
Getting into the car, Carlos slid his phone out of his pocket, hoping to shoot off a quick text to TK about not coming home tonight, when he was interrupted by detective Matthews clearing his throat. “I hope you’re not planning on letting your husband know what’s going on.”
“I’m not, sir. I was just going to let him know I wouldn’t be home tonight. I wasn’t going to tell him why.” Carlos said sheepishly.
“That’s fine, just let me watch you send the message so I know you won’t say anything else. It’s nothing against you personally, it’s just protocol.”
Choosing not to argue against the logic behind it, Carlos showed detective Matthews the message and sent it in front of him. Carlos went to slide the phone back in his pocket when the detective stuck out his hand. “I’m actually going to need your phone. Once you’re no longer undercover you can have it back. For now, you’ll have a burner that can’t be traced.”
Accepting his fate, Carlos begrudgingly handed over his phone. As they kept driving, Carlos looked out the tinted windows, getting himself in the mindset that he was about to pretend to be someone he didn’t wish to become.
—
There were a lot more people involved in the case than Carlos was expecting. There was an entire costume department that was full of clothes they wanted Carlos to try on, there was a team tracking all of the intel they were getting in live time, and there were the detectives handling the case.
Carlos was brought into a secure room where he was given a full briefing of the case. “This cartel we’re tracking has been making roots all over the United States and has decided to make Austin a potential location. We don’t want that. We’re extremely lucky we caught this intel early and can send someone in to dismantle at least some of the cartel before they can make Austin a stomping ground. The cartel is mainly known for drug smuggling, but recent intel is suggesting that they may be expanding to human trafficking to bring in more money. We don’t know this for sure, but we can’t be too careful. We’ve got officer Reyes here who’s going to be going undercover as someone who wishes to join the cartel. Our hope is that Reyes can get himself into the cartel and gain enough information to warrant an arrest for Robert Walsh. Walsh’s name has been popping up in the intel and from what we know, he’s a mid-level cartel member who’s going to be in control of the expansion into Austin. Once Reyes gets enough info on Walsh, we’ll be able to move in and dismantle at least some of the cartel.”
Carlos scanned the room and looked at all the faces staring back at him. He realized at this point that the entire case was riding on his shoulders and his ability to play his role. Squaring his shoulders and setting his jaw, Carlos nodded at the detective Matthews in understanding.
“Alright Reyes, your new name is Emiliano Moreno, you’re 29 years old, and you have priors for possession, robbery, and assault. You’ve lived in Austin all your life, so you know the ins and outs of the city and you have a few connections that have kept you from doing serious time. You’ve started to get into dealing over the past couple of years and you’re ready to get into the game more. You don’t care about anyone but yourself and the people you work for. I’ll give you more time to look over your identity and get comfortable with it, but for now, do you understand?”
Not hesitating, Carlos confirmed he understood. He watched as the room began to clear and followed behind detective Matthews and was led to the racks of clothing, where there were two women waiting for him.
“Officer Reyes, good to meet you. We’re going to get you set up quickly with a wardrobe so you can take with you to get set up in your safehouse.” one of the women said kindly.
Carlos stood a bit awkwardly, glancing at the clothes he would never imagine putting on his body willingly. There were different leather jackets and hoodies, graphic tees, ripped jeans and it was making Carlos’ head spin. It hit him at that moment the weight of what he was about to do. He was about to strip away his own identity, values, everything that made him who he was, and become someone else entirely.
One of the worst parts for Carlos was that he couldn’t go home to TK every night. He loved being able to go home after a stressful day and curl up with TK on the couch, but now he couldn’t. Secretly, he hoped the case wouldn’t last that long, but he also understood that if he was distracted by wanting to finish the case, he would most likely have his cover blown which could end up in him dying.
Carlos was shook out of his thoughts by an outfit being shoved into his hands and being ushered into a dressing room. “Once you’re dressed, come out and we’ll check that the sizing is appropriate.”
Getting changed quickly, Carlos then took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. Staring back at him was not Carlos Reyes, and Carlos didn’t know how to feel about it. He could feel his heartbeat pick up and somehow get heavier. Taking a deep breath and swallowing down the anxiety threatening to take over, Carlos stepped out of the change room. “I don’t really know how I feel about this outfit.” Carlos said, picking at the rips on the jeans.
“That’s because you’re thinking like Carlos Reyes. You need to be thinking like Emiliano Moreno, then you’ll be comfortable.” The woman that spoke gave Carlos a knowing look, but there was also a serious edge to it.
Closing his eyes, Carlos went over the information he was given about Emiliano and put himself in those shoes. When he finally opened his eyes, Carlos shook out his shoulders and looked back in the mirror. He finally saw himself as Emiliano Moreno and not Carlos Reyes. He could feel the confidence shifting in his body and an aura of rebellion seep into his bones. Taking another deep breath, Carlos turned back around to address the two women. “Okay, I think it works.”
“Trust me, it works. Does everything fit okay?” Carlos took a mental note about how everything felt on his body, but before confirming, he reached for his service weapon and situated it in his waistband. Deciding everything was comfortable enough, Carlos nodded. “This is good. As long as the waistband has enough give to fit my gun we’ll be okay.”
“We’ll make sure of it. If you feel good, we’ll get all of your clothes ready and you can go with Detective Matthews and review your cover in more depth.” The same woman who’d been speaking then turned Carlos towards the door where Detective Matthews was waiting.
“Shouldn’t I change back into my uniform?” Carlos asked, confused.
“Nope, as of now, you’re no longer an officer and it's best if you get in the mindset now before you head out into the field tomorrow.” Understanding where the woman was coming from, Carlos said his thanks and walked over to where Detective Matthews was standing.
“Reyes, let's get you more familiar with your cover before you head over to your new house for the foreseeable future.” Detective Matthews said while walking towards a random room.
Carlos took the next hour getting comfortable with the backstory and coming up with his own tweaks to the personality that he felt would be important to add. Once he felt good, detective Matthews gave Carlos the set of keys to the car he’d be driving and another set of keys for the safehouse. Detective Matthews then gave Carlos the address to the safehouse, his cover IDs and bank cards, a burner cell, and then sent him on his way.
As Carlos was driving, he put on music he felt Emilio would listen to and got himself in the right headspace. He knew that if he wanted to do well and not get his cover blown, he needed to be all in. Carlos then relaxed his shoulder and settled a smug look on his face as he drove towards the safehouse.
Once he arrived, Carlos made sure everything in the house was set up as if he’d been living there for a while and put all of his clothes away that were placed in the trunk of the car for him. He was glad the fridge and cupboards were already stocked which saved him a trip to the grocery store.
Grabbing a bunch of different ingredients, Carlos methodically prepared himself dinner and consciously reminded himself he only needed to cook for one, not two. Carlos hoped TK understood the message he sent and that TK would know that Carlos wouldn’t be home for the next while. Everything in him was saying to text TK from the burner cell, but that would only put TK and himself in potential danger, and blow the whole case.
Time passed as Carlos continued to study his cover while eating dinner, and next thing he knew it was pushing on midnight. He knew he needed a good sleep before tomorrow considering there was a chance he’d be losing out on a lot of sleep in the near future, especially if he had to do things he really didn’t want to.
The bed was comfortable enough, but Carlos already missed having TK beside him. He was so used to having TK curl up against him and mumble soft “I love you’s” into his neck as he drifted off to sleep. Knowing tomorrow would be an important day, Carlos did his best to push away the thoughts of TK in bed with him and focused on trying to fall asleep. Carlos eventually managed to fall asleep, albeit much more slowly than he normally did, his back feeling unnaturally cooler, missing his fiancé’s presence.