"No, no way, absolutely not!" exclaimed TK, pacing back and forth in the living room with his hands on his hips.
"Oh, come on, babe. It'll be fun!" replied Carlos from the bedroom as he hunted for his phone. There was a muffled ouch as Carlos hit his head on the bedside table, before a cry of victory came moments later.
"Fun?!" TK asked, finally stopping in his tracks as he saw his husband appear in the doorway. "Fun is going to the beach, or I don't know, going bowling. This will not be fun."
"Fine, romantic then," Carlos said strolling over to TK pressing a kiss to his forehead.
"Romantic?!" TK asked, "Have you ever seen The Cabin in the Woods?"
"Is that that film where loads of teenagers have sex in the forest? Because if that's how this week turns out, I won't be complaining," Carlos wiggled his eyebrows before strolling into the kitchen. There was brief moment where TK heard the door of the refrigerator open and then close. Seconds later, Carlos reappeared in his eye line with two bottles of water, handing one to TK.
"Yeah, but like, where they all get fucking murdered in between."
Carlos chuckled. "I think you're overreacting."
"Am I?" asked TK, mockingly outraged. "The last time a Strand went to a cabin he almost got massacred by a cartel and a police officer, and managed to attract the obsession of psycho Sadie!"
"Babe," Carlos replied, amused, "those were just freak occurrences. I've checked the reviews and this place looks great – no murdering cartels or police officers, and no Annie Wilkes knockoff's."
"First of all," TK responded, "Annie Wilkes was obsessed with an author not a firefighter." Carlos rolled his eyes. "Secondly, you don't know that these things won't happen. We didn't think they would happen to us until they did!"
"Babe," Carlos sauntered over to TK, gently snaking his hands around his waist, pressing a light kiss to his lips. "I promise that those things are highly unlikely. And clearly you're forgetting that you're married to a sexy police officer who will be packing a piece.' Carlos winked at TK, whose heart fluttered. "If any cartels, psycho's, or bent police officers come busting through the door, I'll put a bullet in them before they can even blink."
TK sighed, resting his head on Carlos' shoulder, his hands moving to Carlos' chest. The hands around his waist squeezed him, one hand gently tracing circles on his back. His husband was right, as usual. Damn him for being the more mature one in the relationship.
"Alright," TK conceded, pulling away from the hug, "but-but who's going to look after Lou? He's like our baby and I'll be devastated if anything happens to him."
"Your dad will look after him, it's already taken care of." Carlos lightly ran his hands up and down TK's arms, before clasping his hands in his own.
"But-"
"No buts. Mateo will be there if your dad needs a hand, but I'm sure he can manage to look after a lizard for a week. I mean, he raised you, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but raising a child is different to looking after a pet!"
"Really? Because I'm pretty sure both need feeding, both need attention, and both tend to poop twenty-four seven. And besides, your dad looks after Buttercup. "
"Speaking of– what if Buttercup eats him?"
"Your dad has already assured me that Buttercup has been trained to not eat lizards… apparently they're too scaly for his liking, which, I don't disagree with."
"But-"
"TK!" Carlos smiled, sighing. "I just want us to get away for a few days – just the two of us. No interruptions, no distractions. Just us."
"Babe, we've literally just had a honeymoon where it was nothing but us for two weeks."
"I know," Carlos replied, looking into TK's eyes. He could feel TK recoil in the shy way he did when Carlos looked at him intensely, as if Carlos was seeing him naked for the very first time, in every sense of the word. "But, after the past few weeks, I just want to spend as much one-on-one time with you as I possibly can before, you know, real life catches up with us and we have to go back to saving the world. Is that so bad?"
"No," TK replied softly, "it's not so bad."
Carlos pressed another kiss to his lips, lingering for just a moment. He felt TK smile.
"So," Carlos asked, "can we go to the cabin?"
TK sighed. His husband wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Okay," TK muttered.
"Okay?"
"Yes, Carlos. We can go." TK paused. "But, I do have one condition."
"Which is?"
"You're driving."
"Good, because I can't afford another ding on my bumper."
"For the last time, it was not my fault. If the lamppost didn't want to be hit, it shouldn't have been in my way."
Carlos smirked. "And they let you drive an ambulance?"