Chapter Text
TK clutched the two bags of takeout in his hands as he led the way to Carlos’ apartment. He desperately wanted to take Quinn’s hand, craved the reassurance, especially this soon after a spanking, but he didn’t want Carlos to get the wrong idea.
Was it even the wrong idea? No, he and Quinn weren’t dating, but he’d definitely tried to jump the man’s bones that first night. Probably would have if he hadn’t been so wrung out after the spanking.
And even though Quinn was hot, and TK trusted him completely in a way he maybe shouldn’t have done so quickly, he’d stopped even wanting to kiss him by the second time he’d been over the man’s knee. It just wasn’t what they were.
But they were something, and what would Carlos think? After he and TK had taken so long to define their own relationship, were they ready for something like this? After TK had been hiding Quinn that whole time?
“Hey.” Quinn’s voice was directly in his ear, his Dom leaning over him in a way that was both reassuring and way too revealing for where they were. “Settle down, kiddo. You look more keyed up than you were the night we met. You need me to find us a place where I can warm that bottom back up for you?”
TK let out a little whine, wiggling his butt without any real thought. It was still sore, but Quinn was right, he’d lost all the calm that usually came after a spanking, and he hated that.
“Okay, boy, here’s how it’s gonna go. You’re either gonna lead the way in there like you think you want to, or you’re gonna get a quick reminder to behave and then you’re gonna hold my hand the whole way in like you actually want. Clock’s ticking.”
Biting his lip, TK chanced a quick glance around but didn’t see anyone.
“Uh-huh,” Quinn said, sounding both amused and vaguely smug. Before TK could gather himself to stop what was about to happen, he felt one of Quinn’s hands on his upper arm just as the other swatted his butt five times in a row, fast but sharp. TK bit back a yelp as the fire in his ass reignited, but he felt himself relax once it was over.
“Oww,” he said, pouting at Quinn.
His Dom just rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the takeout bags TK held before taking his hand. “C’mon, kiddo. In we go.”
“Carlos is gonna freak out,” TK complained, but he held tight to Quinn’s hand.
“He gonna shoot me?”
“What? No!”
“Then I think we’ll be fine,” Quinn said, sounding entirely too relaxed for the entire situation. And maybe TK needed to find out more about what the man did one of these days, but it felt like something best left unexplored. It was enough that Quinn was a good ten years older than him, at least. He didn’t need to go digging into whatever a ‘retrieval specialist’ really was. Probably not retrieving medical records, which was about all Google had given him before he’d thought better of digging.
Quinn was walking into the building, dragging TK along with him despite not knowing exactly where they were going. And as much as TK didn’t want Carlos seeing them holding hands, he wanted to be dragged into his boyfriend’s apartment like a reluctant child even less.
Even if it maybe felt like that, considering Quinn had just spanked him and was now literally escorting him to Carlos.
But no, he could walk in there on even footing at least. And once he drew even with Quinn, his Dom fell back slightly and let him take the lead. It was still intimidating, but with momentum on his side, TK led Quinn to Carlos’ door and released his Dom’s hand to knock lightly before letting himself in. “Baby?”
“Hey,” Carlos said, smiling at TK before his eyes fixed on Quinn. “So, you’re a friend of TK’s?”
All of TK’s nerves came flooding back at the look his boyfriend was giving his Dom. Quinn looked perfectly relaxed, watching Carlos with a slight smile, but TK knew that look Carlos was wearing. He wasn’t glaring, but he wasn’t happy either. It was just shy of Cop Face, like he knew Quinn was up to no good and was inviting him to confess before he had to get the handcuffs out.
And that would end so badly for everyone, oh god.
So before Quinn could finish extending his hand and introduce himself, TK shoved the takeout into his Dom’s hand and latched onto Carlos. “Quinn, this is my boyfriend Carlos. Carlos, this is Quinn. He’s my…” He could feel Carlos tensing as he stalled out, but he couldn’t summon the words.
“Your what, TK?”
Quinn just raised an eyebrow, wearing that fond little smile he always seemed to have around TK, and set the food on the nearby table. “Hey. I’m his Dom.”
Carlos tensed a little further, and TK found himself running his hands up and down his boyfriend’s arm. “TK?”
“Let’s go sit down,” TK urged, pulling Carlos over to the sofa. Carlos let himself be coaxed into a seat, but both eyebrows leapt up when TK sat next to him and immediately winced.
“I think you both need to explain this right now,” Carlos said, in that serious voice TK enjoyed so much when Carlos was in the field and absolutely hated hearing in private.
“It’s not- I mean…” TK found himself licking his lips in a desperate stall for time as he tried to figure out how to explain this to his boyfriend. It wasn’t that bad, was it? Then why did it feel like the worst thing he could possibly confess?
“Just say it, kiddo,” Quinn said, his voice quiet but threaded through with that command that TK always responded to.
He took a deep breath and looked Carlos in the eye. “Quinn is my Dom. Whenever he’s in town, we get together, and he spanks me.”
Carlos’ gaze flew to Quinn, eyes narrowed, before he turned back to study TK. “And you’re okay?”
“What? Yeah, I mean, I’m kinda sore right now, but that’s not- I consented, okay? Like in general. I could tell him no, just. I don’t want to. Not really.”
Carlos just kept watching him, those big eyes boring into him in a way that made him squirm, which just reminded him of how much his ass still hurt.
“And this thing with you two- is it romantic?”
“No,” TK said immediately, watching Quinn shake his head in his peripheral vision. “I mean. Maybe I was tempted the first time we met- I mean, look at him, babe-”
“Tyler,” Quinn said, half-laughing, and Carlos’ attention snapped right back to him.
“No,” TK repeated and laid his hand on Carlos’ cheek, drawing his focus back. “No, baby, I love you, Quinn is just… I need the discipline. You know? I need him to punish me, and forgive me, or the guilt just eats me up, but it’s not anything more than that. It doesn’t take anything away from how I feel about you. I promise.”
Carlos nodded slowly, looking back and forth between the two of them before his gaze finally dropped to where TK was still shifting a little on the couch. “So he spanked you today?”
“Yeah.”
“As a punishment?”
“Yeah.” TK nodded, chewing his lip nervously.
“What for?”
“What?”
“Tell him why I punished you,” Quinn directed.
“Oh.” TK felt himself settle again at the command. “Um. I lied when Quinn texted to ask if I’d be around. Said I was working the night shift, and sleeping all day, and then I ran into him on the street, so…” He gave a rueful shrug, watching as Carlos smothered a smile.
“Why else, kiddo?”
TK sighed and grabbed Carlos’ hands in his. “He spanked me because I hadn’t told you about us yet. And it wasn’t fair to either of you. And then we came over here right after.”
“That really wasn’t fair,” Carlos said, his eyes going a little wider like it wasn’t a knife straight into TK’s chest every time he did that.
“I know, baby. I’m so sorry.” He squeezed Carlos’ hands and gathered up his courage. “But. I need this, Carlos. I don’t want to lose you. But I don’t want to lose Quinn either.”
Carlos nodded, slowly, like he was thinking out every implication of the situation. God, he probably was. “Okay. I wish you’d told me sooner, but yeah, that’s okay. We can work that out.”
“Thank you.” TK couldn’t help but lean in for a kiss. And when Carlos returned it just as sweetly as he always did, he finally started to believe that this might be okay.
Of course, he started reconsidering that all of five minutes later, when the three of them were settled around the table with their food.
“So, Quinn,” Carlos started, and TK’s eyes went wide.
“Carlos, no,” he said, grabbing for his boyfriend’s hand.
Quinn sat across the table, smirking, but TK wasn’t worried about him. Because Carlos was either going to try to interrogate his Dom, which TK didn’t think would end well for anybody, or they were about to bond, which just wouldn’t end well for TK. Either way, this had to be stopped.
“What?” Carlos asked, turning those cow eyes on TK, and dammit, it was all over now. “You don’t want me getting to know your Dom?”
There was no good way out of this, so TK just sighed and reached for the dumplings. This would be fine. No one was fighting, no one was breaking up, no one was actively dying, nothing was on fire.
Who cared that he might be more comfortable if something was?