Chapter Text
friday. july fourth 2025.
Early in the morning, not long after the sun rose, a warm scent wafted through a little earth-toned stucco house on the beach. It’s the smell of salty sea air, fried eggs, and spicy chorizo. The sound of oil popping and splattering echoed through the kitchen, bouncing off the tiled floor. A sturdy man stood in front of the stove, carefully tending to the food in the skillet. Tattoos marked the light brown skin on his strong arms.
“Good morning, enano,” Sean called out upon hearing the creaking of the steps beneath his brother’s feet.
“Morning, cuate,” Daniel groggily said. He rubbed his eyes and sniffed at the air. “You making eggs and-”
“Chorizo?” Sean finished with a nod. “Yeah. Grab a plate, bro. It’s about ready,” he said. Sean usually made breakfast for the two of them because he tended to get up first, and he liked taking care of Daniel. He had settled nicely into his role as big brother and pseudo-parent over the last eight years. Eight years.
Daniel grabbed a plate from the cupboard above the counter and pulled one down for Sean as well. He pulled out some silverware for the two of them from a drawer. “Thanks, Sean.” He smiled at his brother as he held his plate out for Sean.
“I gotchu,” Sean said. He gathered some scrambled eggs and chorizo onto the spatula and tossed them onto Daniel’s plate. “Happy fourth, bro,” he said, a somber smile on his face.
“Oh!” Daniel’s eyes widened, and his voice went up a bit in shock. “Yeah, yeah. I almost forgot. Happy fourth.” His voice settled, and he looked appreciatively down at the hot breakfast on his plate.
The Fourth of July used to hold a very different meaning. Hot dogs, burgers, fireworks. Their father, Esteban, loved any holiday that allowed him to take time off work to spend with his boys. It meant red, white, and blue everything. Back then, Daniel’s favorite part was the American flag cupcakes, and Sean’s was probably sneaking off to smoke cigarettes with Lyla. Neither of them appreciated what they had nearly enough, but they couldn’t have known what was to come for them.
Now, the fourth of July was a reminder of the freedom they clawed for. The innocence they lost 8 years ago. Crossing the border into Mexico and starting a new life in a place they had never been. A country where Daniel didn’t even speak the language. All they knew was that they had each other, and they had to make it to Puerto Lobos, where they believed a house that once belonged to their father waited for them on the beach. Little did they know that everything they would be walking into was a beautiful new life.
“It’s been a long eight years, Daniel. Papito would be so proud of you,” Sean said wistfully as he served some food onto his plate.
“He’d be proud of us , cuate.” Daniel poured coffee into two mugs that Sean must have already set out next to the steaming coffee pot. He left room in his for some sugar and milk, but not Sean’s - he liked his bitter and black.
A relaxed smile formed on Sean’s face. He grabbed the mug of coffee Daniel had poured for him and took a seat at the circular kitchen table. It was one of the many pieces of furniture they found here when they first arrived in Puerto Lobos—an old, but sturdy table with four bare legs and four simple chairs. One day, years ago, Daniel had insisted they paint the set, but couldn’t decide on yellow or blue. So they ended up painting the table a golden sunflower yellow and the chairs bright blue.
Daniel floated his mug, plate, and fork over to the spot across from Sean and took his seat. For a moment, only the sounds of forks clinking against plates, chewing, and slurping coffee were heard.
Then, Sean looked up at his brother. “Daniel,” he started. His good eye focused on Daniel’s dark brown eyes. “I’ve got a surprise for you, enano. For tonight. I wanna celebrate you graduating from your online school, and for us making it 8 years out here. I promise it’ll be chill, just us, if that’s okay.” He gave him a bright smile and raised his thick eyebrows.
“Really?” Daniel’s eyes brightened, and he sat up a little straighter. “I thought Leo was coming over after work today, like usual,” He said nonchalantly. Leo Ramírez was the eldest son of the owner of the mechanic shop where Sean and Daniel worked. He also happened to be just a little older than Sean, and very handsome. Sean liked to act like he was discreet, but Daniel knew they’d been in a sort of on-again, off-again situation for the past several years. He liked Leo and saw him as an older brother in many ways.
“Mm-mm,” Sean hummed as he took a sip of his bitter coffee. “I told him at work yesterday that I was planning on it just being us tonight. I wanna get some quality time with my bro.”
Daniel smirked at this. “We live together, Sean!” He teased.
“But we haven’t hung out together in a while, enano.” Sean rolled his eye and grinned back at his brother. “So, are you down? Just us tonight? I was thinking we could sit up on the balcony and watch some fireworks from down the beach, crack open a couple beers, and I was gonna make some chile rellenos .” Sean waggled his eyebrows when he brought up his planned dinner. Chile rellenos were what Sean had made for dinner the first night that they spent in the house. It had also become Daniel’s favorite meal.
“Bro! You should have started with the chile rellenos! You know I’m in!” Daniel beamed at Sean.
Sean laughed as Daniel excitedly stood up from his chair, running and sliding around the table to pull him into a hug.
“Thanks, Sean.” He hugged him tightly. Sean hugged back, just as tightly, and cradled the back of his head.
“You know it, bro.”
Daniel gathered his plate, fork, and mug, floating them to the sink to wash them. Sean finished shortly after, and Daniel followed suit.
“Show off,” Sean teased as he walked up behind his brother to tousle his messy brown hair.
Before long, Sean and Daniel sat in the car in their shop uniforms, which consisted of jeans and a grey button-up shirt with their names embroidered into the left breast pocket. They arrived at Ramírez Mecánico around 8:00 AM. There, they joined the rest of the crew, several of whom were family members of Sr. Ramírez, the owner.
Today, there was a familiar crew. The boys clocked in with Lucía, the eldest Ramírez daughter. She sat in the office at her computer, brow furrowed and pencil between her teeth as she stared at the upcoming week’s schedule. She was only 22 years old, but acted like she was twice her age. Consider her a stereotypical eldest daughter. She could be a real hard-ass, but had a heart of gold.
Sr. Ramírez–Martín, or Tino, as he asked Sean to call him, was in the front reception room speaking with a customer on the phone. He smiled kindly at Sean and Daniel as they walked through to the garage. He was a tough-looking, sturdy, tall man. He had been friends with Esteban way back when and had become a second father to Sean and Daniel since they began living in Puerto Lobos. Sean was especially grateful for Tino’s guidance as he navigated the challenges of becoming a parent to his brother. He looked out for the boys and treated them like they were his own sons.
Then there was Leo, who was already hard at work under the hood of a car in the first vehicle bay. Handsome, suave, sweet Leo. He was the eldest child of Tino. He and Sean found a connection very quickly. Leo had been so patient with Sean as he adjusted to his new life and attempted to heal from the trauma of his treacherous journey to Puerto Lobos. Many nights, Leo had sat with him, smoking cigarettes, letting Sean vent and rip himself open in a way he hadn’t in front of anyone besides Lyla. And then, one day five years ago, they shared a kiss. The first was tender, sweet, and nervous. The next night, it happened again. And again. And before either of them knew it, they found themselves caught in a very casual, loving, lustful whirlwind.
“¡Oye, ojo derecho!” Leo had called as Sean walked past him. “¿No vas a decir buenos días?”
Something Sean appreciated about Leo was that he had always treated him like any other person. He never stared at Sean’s eye, or looked at him with pity, or danced around the fact that he had one good eye and one that was missing. He just accepted Sean exactly as he was–and sometimes, yes, teased him for it. The looks of pity, concern, or disgust were all looks Sean had gotten used to. But he never got those from Leo.
“ Buenos dias , chico bonito,” Sean shot back and clapped his hand on the other man’s back. “Remember, I’m just hanging with Daniel tonight.” He added quietly as he leaned in over the open car hood.
“Aww, pobrecito.” Leo laughed. “How will I ever go on without my dose of Sean Diaz?” He stood up and patted Sean on the back. “I remember. Happy Fourth, man.” His eyes lingered on Sean’s plump bottom lip before flicking back up to his eye.
“Yeah, well,” Sean shrugged. “Gracias, Leo.” He allowed himself a small smile as heat rose to his cheeks. Leo had a way of bringing out Sean’s soft side, something he thought he lost in himself after having to fight tooth and nail to get there with Daniel.
Sean worked up a sweat as he assisted in repair and maintenance appointments at the shops all day. He was always a hard worker in school and when helping his dad growing up, but he felt like he blossomed into a very competent person who took a lot of pride in his work since starting at the shop. Working at the shop could be physically grueling, and he never saw himself following in his dad’s footsteps and becoming a mechanic, but he did find some enjoyment in the work. Sometimes, finding and solving problems with cars could be a rush. He liked the way oil found its way semi-permanently under his nails. He found beauty in the way scars speckled his hands. Leo seemed to like it, too. He called Sean’s hands sexy once when they were cuddling in Sean’s bed early one morning, and Sean loved the way he looked as he said it.
Speaking of Leo, he may have met with Sean during a brief smoke break out back. And they may have made out while he pressed Sean against the wall. And Lucía may have yelled at them to get their asses back to work.
“Had to get a little bit of you while I could before you left today, hermoso,” Leo muttered before sauntering back to the garage. Sean followed him back and finished his work day without another cigarette break or another Leo break.
Five o’clock rolled around, and Sean cautiously skulked into the office to check in with Lucía before he and Daniel took off. There, the woman sat at the desk. A few spirals of dark, curly hair framed her face, but she had pulled most of it back into a tight bun on the crown of her head. Cold black coffee sat on the desk by the computer monitor. He waited a few seconds before disturbing her focus.
“Lulu,” Sean started, and she looked up.
“¿Qué pasa, Sean? ¿Me necesitas?” She asked. Her eyes looked tired, but her features were soft, and she wore a warm smile.
“No,” Sean shook his head and leaned against the doorframe. “Daniel y yo nos vamos.”
“Oh, yeah! Head on home. And stop making out with my brother on the clock.” Her eyes narrowed, and for a moment Sean felt his heart stop. “I’m kidding, relax!” She laughs. “But seriously. Stop. Buenas noches, Sean.” And she turned back to some spreadsheets on the computer screen.
“Night, Lulu.” He rolled his eye as he left Lucía to her work in the office. “You go home soon, too!” He called back.
Upon their return to the little house on the beach, Sean quickly got to work in the kitchen. Eggs, green chile peppers, ground beef, and spices lay out on the counter. Daniel helped by slicing and removing the seeds and flesh from the peppers. The two of them worked happily side by side without words. They didn’t always need to speak to enjoy each other’s company. Sean appreciated that about Daniel at his age. When they were younger, Daniel had a tendency to ramble, and Sean had a tendency to tune him out after a while.
Sean cooked up their chile rellenos while he sent Daniel to wash up before dinner. When Daniel emerged from the bathroom freshly showered, dinner was ready. “Smells awesome! I’m so hungry.”
“Good, because dinner is ready.” Sean smiled at him, moving away from the plates he had just finished piling their food onto. “Do you mind, you know,” Sean makes a lifting gesture with his hands. “Do your thing? Take ‘em up to the balcony, I’ll meet you up there.”
Daniel gladly floated their plates and silverware in front of him, guiding them up the stairs, into Sean’s room, and out of the door to the balcony. A moment later, Sean appeared with a pack of ice-cold Coronas. “¿Quieres una cerveza?” He held one he had already opened out to Daniel.
Daniel nodded, his mouth already full of a bite of food. “Thanks, Sean.”
Sean took his seat and pulled the bottle opener from his pocket to open a bottle for himself. They ate and drank happily in a comfortable silence for a few moments.
“It’s so good, Sean. Reminds me of that first night we got here. You remember?” Daniel paused as he held a bite of food on his fork.
Sean nodded before taking a sip of his beer. “Of course I remember, enano.” He remembered it like it was yesterday
It was eight years ago—the Fourth of July, 2017. Before crossing the border, Daniel had asked Sean how the story of the Wolf Brothers ended. “They make it to the other side, enano,” Sean told him. And they did, thanks to Daniel’s power.
Once they crossed the border, Sean just drove. They drove into the night and didn’t arrive at Esteban’s beachhouse until after the sun fell behind the sea. They were both starving, so Sean used some of the little money they had left to get three cheap ingredients at a small local store: green chiles, ground meat, and eggs. Sean was pretty sure that the shop owner was trying to close, but took pity on the hungry-looking kids.
All of the spices in the house were long expired, so the chili rellenos weren’t nearly flavorful enough, but they were sustenance.
The Wolf Brothers had a hot meal and each other. They shared the bland dinner on the balcony and watched as fireworks shot out above a tourist town down the beach from them. Daniel had watched in awe. He had loved the fireworks since he got old enough to actually stay up and enjoy them. Bright reds, blues, greens, purples, whites. All the colors lit up the sky. The sounds of popping, whirring, and whistling were music to his ears. Sean felt something soften in his hardened heart as he watched the look on Daniel’s face that night.
“My favorite part of that night was watching you watch the fireworks.” Sean spoke with a glint of melancholy and nostalgia in his eye.
“Oh, man! I remember them being especially colorful and cool that year. Nothing has ever topped the fireworks we saw!” Daniel said. His eyebrows moved with so much animation that Sean thought they might fly away.
“For real. They were pretty fucking cool that year,” Sean said.
As if on cue, the light of the first firework of the night brightened the darkening sky. A delayed pop! Followed seconds later. Both boys craned their necks to look down the beach for the bright lights that would begin adorning their sightline.
“Look, Sean!” Daniel pointed and jumped to his feet. “They’re starting!”
Sean chuckled at the way Daniel almost instantly became that excitable kid he was all those years ago. His eyes misted over as he watched his brother gaze adoringly at the distant sky. Sean stood, setting his plate on a small side table, and took a deep breath. He allowed himself to let one streak of a tear fall down his face. He wiped it away and slowly walked over to join his brother by the railing at the edge of the balcony. He wrapped an arm around Daniel’s shoulder, and Daniel put his arm under Sean’s shoulder without hesitation.
“I wish Dad were here with us to see this,” Daniel said after a moment or two of quiet and awe at the fireworks.
“Me too, enano,” Sean nodded. ‘I’d give anything to have you here with us, papito.’ Sean thought to himself.
A while passed. No words. Just watching the beautiful lights in the sky, being present with one another. After the fireworks had slowed, Daniel went to collect their dishes and take them to the kitchen. Sean was just about to call it a night and head in when he heard the warm voice of a stranger from the beach below him.
“Sean?”
Sean peered over the railing, and at first, he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. Then, it became clear, and he almost fell right over the rail.
It wasn’t a stranger at all.
“ Finn? ”