I came up with this idea after watching Big Time Movie for the second or third time. I like how everything in Carlos's dream, though altered in some way, actually did come true. Except for one part, which I wanted to remedy. So this is what you get. It's Carlos/Katie sibling fluff. Nothing more is intended. I love how, even though Kendall is her only biological big brother, the other three boys obviously view her as their own little sister.
So, anyways, enjoy.
Carlos can't sleep. Which he finds kind of ridiculous considering the day he and his three best friends have had. Said three best friends have clearly had no trouble letting today's adventures drain them completely; all three of them are sleeping peacefully. Kendall had been so tired that he hadn't even made it to his own bed. Just collapsed on Logan's bed, shoes and all (Carlos is pretty sure that it's 80% exhaustion and 20% his friend's extremely overprotective nature, especially where the group's small genius is concerned, that causes their leader to do this). Logan had been too tired to even complain about the invasion of his personal space. He'd just kicked off his shoes, pulled of Kendall's, and crawled into bed next to the blonde, joining him in dreamland. Even James had been too tired to do his nightly cleansing ritual. He'd at least made it into his pajamas though.
Carlos had felt the same weary ache in his body that the rest of his friends had felt. So why, now that everything was finally over and they could relax for the first time since arriving in London, did sleep continue to allude him? He thinks it must have something to do with his dream of being secret agents and saving the world. The world is safe, they'd even gotten the cool secret agent gear and tuxedoes, and the princess (who had really been Katie all along) is out of harm's way. But something just doesn't feel right. The dream doesn't feel complete. And after so much of his dream coming true, to the extent that it helped them actually save the world, it makes him a little uneasy. Like there's unfinished business.
But he doesn't know what it is so there's no way he can prepare his friends for it.
He bolts up in bed as a creak sounds, almost silently. He watches as the door to their suite opens and a small figure slips inside, their identity shrouded by shadows. He's about to call for his friends to wake up, when the figure moves towards him and into the moonlight. He lets out a silent breath of relief as the intruder's face is highlighted by the light of the moon and every sense of danger that had been tightly coiled in his body unravels, leaving nothing left but happiness and a little confusion.
Katie Knights stands at his bedside in a pair of Kendall's old basketball shorts and a too big shirt that Carlos thinks belongs to Logan, or maybe James.
"Hey Katie." Carlos smiles at the girl in front of him because, even though logically he knows she's safe, it's still nice to have the visual reminder that the little girl they all love so dearly is in fact whole and intact.
"Hey." She sounds small and unsure of herself and it catches Carlos off guard. She never sounds like this, like she's scared. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"
The question throws Carlos even more off guard. If there is one thing he's learned about Katie it's that, from the early age of four, she'd stopped needing all the kinds of comfort that young kids usually cling to. Kendall would occasionally sing to her when she had trouble falling asleep, but she'd never needed him there, not the way she seems to need Carlos to say yes her request. So he scoots over and pulls the covers back, making room for the recently turned eleven year old. "Sure."
"Thanks." Katie climbs into bed, settling herself against the pillow and closing her eyes. She doesn't cling to him and cry like any other eleven year old might after the kind of day she's had. Carlos is pretty sure that someone his age would cry after being kidnapped, watching their big brother almost die, and having a gun pointed at their head.
"Is, uh, is everything okay?" He asks before she can fall asleep. He doesn't mind having her there at all, he loves Katie as if she was his own sister, but he can't shake how odd it is for her to venture out here in the first place.
She's silent for a minute before she turns to face him, brown eyes opening to look at the Latino. "I'm fine." She insists. At Carlos' pointed look she smiles slightly and amends her previous statement. "I will be. I swear. I was just, sort of freaked out by everything that's happened and it was really hard to sleep on my own. But tomorrow I'll be fine, I know I will."
She sounds so sure of herself that Carlos can't help but believe her. Kendall had once told him that one of the reasons he had become so fiercely protective of Logan was because his baby sister didn't need protecting. He'd transferred all that pent up need to protect someone onto their newest friend. It had never really gone away either. But Kendall is right, Katie does not need protecting, not usually. Katie doesn't seem to need a hug or a shoulder to cry on after everything she went through, just a presence next to her to remind her that she's not alone, that people are looking out for her and will keep her safe on the rare occasion that she cannot do it herself. "Do you want me to wake up Kendall?"
"No." Her voice is firm, leaving no room for argument. "He'll just freak out if he knows this is bothering me even a little bit. He'll blow it all out of proportion and I'll be eighty before the "big brother" act lets up. And Logan will just tell Kendall and James is great, but he'll probably try to take my mind of it by talking about Cuda products."
It had never occurred to Carlos that she had specifically searched him out. He had simply assumed that she had made her way over to his bed because he had been sitting up, a clear indication that he was awake. He smiles at the girl in front of him. "Don't worry, Katie, your secret is safe with me."
She smiles back, not the devious smile that they've all grown accustomed to seeing on her face, but a genuine one that she only lets slip through every now and then. And only to the four boys and her mother. "Thank you."
"But," Carlos tries to remember and mimic the "stern parent" glare that Kendall and Logan have both used on him and James in the past, "if you have trouble sleeping again tomorrow, you come find me and we'll both tell Kendall."
Katie rolls her eyes, but he figures she must know that she can't ever escape the protective big brother thing entirely since she's acquired three extra big brothers. "Give me three nights." She bargains with him. "If I still can't sleep on the fourth night then we can tell him."
Carlos considers this. It has been a rather terrifying day, so it would only make sense that she might need more than one night to recover from it, although he can't shake off the feeling that she probably won't need them. She doesn't actually think she's got anything to worry about, he realizes, but she's just covering her bases because that's what Hollywood and her venture into talent management have taught her to do. "Okay." He agrees. "But if you do have any trouble sleeping between now and then, you come get me. Deal?"
There's silence for a moment before: "Deal." And she leans over and kisses him on the cheek, before snuggling back down into the pillows and blankets and falling asleep.
He smiles briefly at the sleeping girl before flipping over, making himself comfortable as well. He finally feels the days events catch up to him, feels sleep calling quietly for him to slip into her grasp. All the tension about his unfinished dream has vanished, pushed out of his body at the feel of Katie's lips against his cheek.
There had been nothing romantic in the kiss, no deeper meaning or underlying feeling that Carlos should probably figure out. It had been a simple thank you from a little sister to her big brother for offering protection and the promise of a secret that she wasn't willing to share with anyone else. But nothing else about today had been exactly like it was in his dream. The villain had no eye patch. There had been no Penny Lane in his dream and she had turned out to be an invaluable source of help. They'd arrived in a van instead of a jet, car, and four-wheeler. And Logan had saved Kendall's life with a dart gun pen, not his fists.
So it only makes sense that, when Carlos finally receives his kiss from the princess, it's not exactly how he had imagined it in his dream.
But Katie and his entire Big Time Family are safe and surrounding him so, in a way, it's almost better than what he dreamed. Because this has the promise of forever written all over it and Carlos knows that something like this is even more precious than a beautiful blonde princess who wants to give him a kiss in thanks for saving her life. Carlos gives himself over to the hazy twilight of sleep and this time there are no dreams of the Beatles, secret agents, and saving the world. There's just James, Kendall, Logan, and Katie; all alive, happy, smiling, and safe.
It's his new dream and Carlos knows he will do anything to make sure it comes true.
Well, there it is. I know this is more like a drabble than an actual story, but I couldn't resist writing it. Hope you guys enjoyed it too.
Leave a review, I'd love to know what you think.