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Owen and Mateo had been dating for six months and it had been the best six months of mateos life. Dating Owen was even better than he had imagined. In all honesty he had expected it to be abit difficult.
Mateo had heard about his relationship with Gwen and had seen his relationship with Catherine and a few others and they always seemed to be quite heated and full of arguments. He wasn't blind, he knew Owen could be a bit of a hothead and was always arguing with people.
But when they started dating, mateo made them sit down for a conversation about boundaries and what was/wasn't acceptable.
Owen was surprised at first and didn't seem particularly thrilled by it but mateo had explained why it was important to him and also made sure to encourage Owen and listen to his boundaries.
It became clear quite quickly that no one had ever asked Owen about it before so it was all new to him but he adjusted quickly and the relationship was stronger for it.
One of the main boundaries for mateo was arguments and shouting. He hated arguments, in particular shouting during arguments.
Once he explained this, Owen tried his best to avoid doing it. It meant they talked things out instead which was difficult at first but they soon fell into a good routine with it.
That's why today was so surprising. It started out normal enough but soon took a turn for the worst.
12 hours earlier:
Mateo woke up to the sun coming through the blinds. He stretched and rolled over to look at his sleeping boyfriend. He smiled, feeling happy and relaxed. He loved waking up to Owen every morning.
He studied the man's face, taking in the shadow of a beard, his soft pink lips and his bed head hair. The man would never be caught dead with messy hair during the day.
He even hated it being messy in bed when they first got together but mateo assured him he loved it, he loved how carefree and relaxed it made him look and he managed to convince him to just enjoy it rather than worry about it being perfect all the time.
Mateo looked at Owen's strong shoulders and chest and moved his hand to gentle touch them, tracing some of the smaller scars he had. He smiled at how soft his skin was, as much as he teased Owen about his nine step skin care routine he really did appreciate the effects.
He was lost in thought so he jumped when Owen said "don't you know it's rude to stare at people when they are sleeping".
Mateo laughed, resting his hand over owen's heart. "Well don't you know it's rude to look so perfect even when sleeping" he teased.
Owen smiled at him and his eyes crinkled which mateo found cute. He leaned over to kiss him good morning. Owen wrapped his arms around him holding him there while deepening the kiss.
Mateo moaned bu tried to pull back, "We need to get up in 15 minutes so don't start something you can't finish." He mumbled against Owen's lips.
Owen grinned and pulled him back in to a heartstopping kiss before pulling back so they could both breathe, "oh darling, I can do alot with 15 minutes". He smirked.
Mateo felt a shiver run through him. "Well you better get your work done in the shower to save time" He grinned. Owen pulled back the covers and got out of bed, pulling mateo along with him and the pair rushed to the bathroom.
‐-------- 20 minutes later ‐------------
Mateo sat at the kitchen island eating his bowl of froot loops while watching Owen make his breakfast.
He smiled at Owen as he made his smashed avocado and tomato on toast.
Owen looked over at him, "are you sure I can't tempt you with something healthier".
Mateo smiled but shook his head, "I'll stick to my bowl of sugar" he teased.
Owen walked round to join him, kissing his head as he sat down.
They ate in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Half way through his food Owen asked, "do you want a taste?".
Mateo gave him a mischievous smile and leaned into kiss him, licking into his mouth. He pulled back and took a moment to appreciate the dazed look on his boyfriend's face. "Mmm tastes good". Mateo grinned and said "do you like the taste of my breakfast? Think you'll switch to a bowl of froot loops now?".
Owen chuckled and shook his head, "I'm not sure, think I need another taste". He leaned back in and kissed him deeply, mateo grabbed the back of his neck, moving his fingers through owens hair. The both moaned before pulling away.
"I like the taste of you but could do without all the sugar" he winked at mateo. Mateo laughed, "not a fan of sugar? So it wasn't you who ate a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's last month?" He smirked at the older man.
Owen gasped and grabbed his chest, being dramatic as usual which made mateo laugh, "you promised you wouldn't tell anyone about that!". Mateo smirked, "Exactly. I promised I wouldn't tell anyway, not that I wouldn't bring it up to tease you".
Owen laughed and pushed his shoulder, "you're a real menace". He said fondly. Mateo grinned at him, "yeah but you love me". Owen smiled at him, "yeah I really do".
Mateo kissed him sweetly before finishing his breakfast.
------------- at the station ---------------
Owen and Mateo walked into the station about ten minutes before their shift. The rest of the team were in the kitchen already.
"Good Morning Everyone" Owen said while moving to make his coffee.
Everyone returned the greeting. "On time again, that makes four times this week" said TK grinning.
The team groaned and everyone handed him twenty dollars, which he then split between him and marjan.
Owen laughed, "What's the bet this time then?"
Judd who was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed answered him, "We noticed you both arriving on time, when you use to arrive hours early before dating. So a couple weeks back your boy decided to bet how many days a week you come in on time."
Marjan grinned "I've won the past three weeks so thank you boys".
Nancy who was sat next to her pushed her shoulders, "so drinks on you tonight then?" She smirked.
Marjan nodded her head in agreement and the team cheered.
Owen chuckled before asking, "How did you win the past three weeks Marj?"
Judd nodded in agreement, and grinned "yeah how did you win? And why did Tk suddenly agree with you?"
Marjan smirked, "I'm just a genius guys and Tk knows a winning team, forget tarlos it's now tarjan".
The team laughed but Tk grabbed his chest in fake horror. "No one can split up Tarlos marj! And are you accusing me of cheating Judson Ryder?"
The team ooohed and Nancy shouts "oooh full name drop!". And paul said "wow, you're real brave Tk".
Judd glared at tk but you could see the fondness on his face. "If the shoe fits cityboy."
Tk frowned at him but was trying not to smile, "How would I even cheat at this bet?"
Paul nodded, "He makes a good point man".
Nancy said "you could have been working with mateo".
Tk glared at her, "nance! How could you betray me like that!"
The team laughed.
Mateo said, "wait how could I help him win?". Paul answered "you could distract Cap in the mornings to stop him arriving early".
Mateo protested, "Hey! If anyone does the distracting in the morning it's Cap distracting me!"
Owen smirked into his coffee as the team laughed and tk groaned and complained he didn't want to know.
As the laughter died down Nancy smirked and said "wait do you call him Cap in bed? Kinky!".
Mateo grinned mischievously, "of course I don't." He paused for dramatic effect. "I call him daddy". He then winked at Owen for added effect.
The team all reacted at once.
"Omg no way! Hot!" Said Nancy.
"Mateo!" Shouted marjan.
"Too much information bro" said Judd.
"Eww I think I'm going to be sick" said Tk while pretending to vomit.
Paul just laughed knowing he was lying.
Owen choked on his coffee and looked at mateo.
Mateo tried to hold a straight face but couldn't. "You should see your faces! Of course I don't call him that, when I was on the roof I told you I didn't have a daddy kink." He paused before looking at Tk "not that there's anything wrong with that of course" He grinned.
The team oohed again while tk blushed "it's actually Papi thank you very much mateo. Also I no longer agree with this relationship, my dad has clearly corrupted our innocent mateo" He cried.
The team laughed and nodded in agreement. Owen just grinned "Sure, he's the one who corrupted me" He then smirked mischievously and said "Mateo was far from innocent before me. Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks" He walked over to mateo and kissed him before making his way upstairs ignoring the groans of protest from the team.
----------‐--------------------------------------------
The first few hours of the shift went like normal.
The first call they attended was a women stuck up a tree. Her cat had jumped out her bathroom window on to the tree branch and climbed higher before getting stuck. The women in a panic followed the cat but soon realised she too was stuck.
The second call they attended was a small car accident, no one involved had life threatening injuries but the driver in the second car had his legs stuck under the steering wheel so the team had to use their tools to rescue him.
The third call they were dispatched to was a prank gone wrong, a group of teenagers thought it would be funny to put one of them in a paddling pool and then fill it with concrete. Unfortunately when the concrete set it started to burn to poor boy. The team had to try their best to get as much concrete away from him as possible before passing him off to medical. The boy would be fine, burned and scarred but he would live.
It was the fourth call out where it went wrong.
The team had been called out to a house fire. When they arrived the house was up in flames. Owen quickly gave orders and the team got to work.
"Marjan, Judd, Mateo, you're on search and rescue. Paul and I will be on hose duty".
Everyone nodded and got to work. Mateo pulled his helmet on and entered the house. Judd signaled for mateo to take the third door on the right, marjan to take the second door and he took the first.
As he entered the room, he began calling out. His radio then went off as Owen relayed the information he had gathered from outside.
"Ok guys, you are looking for a young boy and his dad. We have the mom and four kids out here already. Mom said the young boy, matt is in the basement at the back of the house but isn't sure where dad, Phil got too. He went to find matt as the family evacuated".
Mateo nodded and double check the room just in case the boy or his dad were actually in here. He did a quick sweep, noticing that it was the dining room. The table was set like they had left in the middle of dinner.
This probably meant the fire originated in the kitchen. 45% of fires were caused by people forgetting to turn off ovens or fryers after they finished cooking and start eating.
He had been taking advice and lessons from Paul in being more aware of his surroundings and had been working on his observation skills at scenes. He stopped as he noticed the table. It was set for 10 people. Cap said that they were looking for one boy and his dad. He also mentioned that the mom and four kids were outside with him and Paul. That makes seven people. Where were the other three?
Mateo grabbed his radio and asked "you said you have the mom and four kids right Cap. We're looking for matt and Phil?"
Owen confirmed that he had the mom and kids and that they were looking for two people. Mateo felt sick to his stomach. He had a feeling of deja vu and knew he had to move quickly.
He quickly left the room. He saw the back of judd and marjan as they made their way to the basement. He didn't move to follow them.
He raced upstairs and started checking rooms as he went. He checked the closets as he went.
He was entering the fourth room as he heard Cap come through on his radio.
"Time to fall back guys. The structure isn't going to hold much longer. The roof is ready to collapse any moment."
He heard Judd and Marjan confirm they had the boys and were on their way out but he ignored them.
He knew he was close. He entered the fifth room, hearing Cap calling out for him to respond as he opened the closet. He breathed in relief as he found the three missing diners. A young couple and their small child.
The couple were terrified. They were speaking to him in Spanish and begging him to leave them there but he reassured them as best he could, letting them know they had to leave now to get to safety.
They followed him to the door but as he went to leave the room, the ceiling in the hallway collapsed and the fire built in power. He quickly pushed them back into the bedroom and started to think of a new plan.
He decided his best bet would be to break the big front window and get them out that way. Getting the ladder would be too slow so he instructed the young couple to get the mattresses from the bunk beds. He would chuck them out the window and they would have to jump on to them. It wasn't a perfect plan but it was their only plan.
He radioed the team to let them know that he had found three people and his plan. Cap radioed back to confirm they understood the plan and would offer assistance from their end. Mateos felt his stomach drop, cap sounded professional but mateo could tell by his tone that he wasn't happy with him.
He knew he took a risk but once they were back at the station he would explain why he did it and Cap would understand. Hell, mateo knew that Cap would have done the same thing.
He used the small axe he carried as part of his kit to break the window, making sure to clear the sharp edges of the broken glass from the bottom of the frame.
The young man then helped him throw the mattress out of the window. He saw judd and marjan moving it into the right position while Paul and Cap continued fighting the fire. They then moved the second mattress to the window and pushed that one out too.
He then turned back to the young family and instructed them to jump, reassuring them that the team would help them as they landed.
He told the man to go first but he said his wife should go first. She moved to the window and the men helped her get settled ready to jump.
She jumped, letting out a small scream as she fell. She landed safe with a small bounce and marjan helped her up before walking her to Tk, Nancy and Captain Vega.
Mateo helped the man get into position next. He explained that he would hold the kid as he was trained to jump in a way that was designed to protect someone he was holding.
The man looked unsure but mateo reassured him so his kissed his kid on the head and got ready to jump.
He landed with a small bounce and rolled off the mattress but looked to be only slightly bruised.
Judd helped him up and moved him over to medical.
Mateo picked the small child up and moved into position. As he jumped he twisted so that he would land on his back, protecting the child.
As they landed safely there was a giant crashing sound as the roof of the house caved in. He noticed the fire was out now but the damage had been done which is why the room collapsed.
Mateo's heart was pounding at the realisation of how close he had been to being hurt. He also felt a strong sense of relief at having saved the family of three.
Judd and marjan helped the child up and then him. They both went over to get checked by medical. He had hurt his shoulder when landing but he knew it would only be bruised so wasn't worried.
As he was sat being seen to by Nancy he saw Cap walking past him on the way to speak to the family. He moved to grab his attention as Nancy was trying to remove his shirt to look at his shoulder.
Mateo tried to speak to Owen but he stared at him harshly and said "we will talk in my office when we get back. Once Nancy has checked your shoulder over go and help Paul and Judd with the clear up."
Mateo was shocked but figured he needed time to calm down and once back at the station they could sit and have a conversation about it and talk out their feelings like they usually do.
Once Nancy checked his shoulder and cleared him he helped the team with clear up. He rolled up the hoses and helped put them away.
Once back in the truck the team started to congratulate him on his save and ask him how he knew the family was there.
He wasn't ready to tell the team the reason yet. He wanted to talk to Owen about it first. Instead he told the team that he heard them shouting for help. He could tell the team didn't believe him but thankfully none of them pushed him on it.
Owen didn't speak on the way back to the station. Mateo knew he had to speak to him soon and hoped it would all be fine once he had a chance to explain.
The truck pulled into the station and the team all got out. They took their gear off and hung it back up before making their way to the kitchen. Mateo started to follow them when he heard Owen say "My office, now Chavez."
He knew they needed to talk and that it would probably take awhile so he said, "Sure Cap, let me just grab a drink and go to the toilet and then I'm ready."
Owen glared at him, "I said now!". The team looked around at each other and wondered what was happening. Mateo frowned, "I'll only take a minute Cap, I promise".
Mateo could see Owen was getting angry, his hands starting to shake and it worried him. Sure he disobeyed an order but other members of the team had before and he was never truly angry at them.
Mateo tried to calm him down. "Ok Cap, we can go up and have the chat now. I'll explain everything."
Owen scoffed and crossed his arms in a defensive and intimidating manner. "Explain? There is no explanation needed. You disobeyed a direct order from your captain and as a result you will be suspended for two weeks!"
Mateo felt shocked and it seemed he wasn't the only one going by the faces of the rest of the team. Judd went to open his mouth but mateo shook his head gently at him. He didn't want the others getting involved and possibly getting in trouble too.
Mateo hated arguments but Owen had taught him to stand up for himself when needed so he tried to put that in to practice. He had only done it a few times before. Once at a coffee shop when a lady was being rude to him for no reason other than the colour of his skin and once at a bar when a man was making unwanted advances.
He had never tried it with Owen before though as they usually talked it out rather than argue. In fact this was all new to him. He had seen and dealt with an angry Owen during their relationship but never an Owen that was angry at him.
He could feel the tears building but tried to hold them off and remain steady. "Umm I don't know if you can do that Cap. Since we started dating the Captain of B shift took over my performance review and any disciplinary actions required so it's his decision what happens."
Owen clearly didn't like being told this. He glared at mateo again and said, "I don't give a damn about protocol! If I say you're suspended, you're suspended! And Captain Williams will follow my recommendations!" It made the tears mateo had held back start to fall. He hated being shouted at and it was worse when it was someone in authority but nothing felt as bad as his boyfriend shouting at him in anger.
Mateo nodded and didn't have it in him to argue. He looked down at the floor and tried to make himself smaller.
The team started to protest in his defence but Owen snapped at them. "Enough! Chavez go shower and change and then get out of here."
The tears fell harder but mateo tried to keep them quiet. He nodded and moved to make his way to the locker room. He felt a arm go round his shoulders and looked up to see marjan, he gave a weak smile at her.
"Come on let's get you sorted" She said.
They started to walk away but Owen stopped them. He glared at the pair of them. "He doesn't need help changing! Now let him go".
Mateo felt even worse now at the thought of marjan getting in trouble over him so he nodded at her to let her know he would be fine and quickly made his way to the locker room.
As he left the team all started crowding round Owen and started to protest but Owen pushed through them and headed for the stairs.
The followed him but Judd walked to the locker room instead to check mateo was doing ok.
Tk started arguing with his dad. He was pissed that his dad could treat mateo like this. "What the hell dad! Why did you shout at him like that!"
Owen carried on walking to his office as the team followed him. He was angry and didn't want an argument with the team.
Paul and Marjan clearly agreed with Tk. Paul was frowning and said "you were quite harsh Cap. He didn't deserve you treating him like that".
That made Owen feel angry and defensive. As he entered his office he turned to look at them. "Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?!".
Tk answered him, "He hasn't been in trouble before dad. Yes he disobeyed a direct order but his quick thinking saved a families life, the most he should.."
Owen cut him off as he sat at his desk. "So what, just because he saved live's he shouldn't be reprimanded? He could have been killed! He put his life at risk and affected how the team worked the scene. What if marjan or judd had followed him? They could have been hurt or killed too. It was irresponsible and reckless of him and he needed to be disciplined for his actions!"
Marjan glared at Owen. "If me or Judd followed him then that would have been our choice. We know the risk everytime we enter a fire. And all of us have disobeyed orders before and you've never reacted like this." Paul nodded in agreement. "Exactly. You've given us a warning or at most written us up but never suspended us."
Tk who was the most angry added, "And that's the excuse you use everytime you are reckless. I've lost track of how many times you've said 'I saved their life so it was worth it' when I've been angry at you for doing some stupid plan that was incredibly risky! You're being a giant hypocrite!"
Owen glared at the three of them but tk wasn't backing down. "This isn't about him disobeying an order and you know it. This is about your boyfriend almost being hurt/killed and you being scared. You've never dated a firefighter before and don't know how to react when they are suddenly in danger." Marjan and Paul nodded in agreement. And Paul added "I get you're scared Cap but you can't react like that. When you guys got together you sat down and told us all that there would be no favouritism. But it also goes the other way, you have to treat him as you would treat us even when he's in trouble." Marjan added "And as mateo pointed out, you don't actually have the power to suspend him and threatening to get Captain Williams to follow your orders is wrong and you know it."
Owen knew they were right but didn't like hearing it. He put his head in his hands and groaned. He felt awful and knew he would have to apologise to mateo. Tk then added, "you made him cry dad! You know how much he hates being shouted at and the person he trusts the most just did that. You need to fix this. Now."
His words felt like a knife to the gut. He hated how he reacted but he was terrified after seeing mateo so close to danger. He would have to swallow his pride and apologise to him. He was surprised that it didn't seem too hard.
If you had asked him to apologise to someone last year he would have found it extremely difficult and damaging to his pride but since dating mateo he has learnt that apologising doesn't make you weak. It doesn't make you less of a man. Since dating mateo he has learnt about toxic masculinity and how that affects not only him but others around him. He found that he wanted to apologise to mateo, he didn't want to be the reason he was upset and certainly didn't like being the reason he was crying.
He told the team they were right but that he needed space to himself for a few minutes before going to speak to mateo.
------------meanwhile in the locker room-----------
Mateo entered the locker room and sat on the bench. He let the tears flow freely. He understood he disobeyed an order from Cap but didn't expect him to react so strongly. He didn't know how long Cap would be angry for so decided he would shower and change and then head home, hoping that Owen was in a better mood when he came home after their shift.
As he moved to stand up he heard someone enter and looked up. Judd was stood in the door way leaning against the frame.
He gave him a small smile. Judd asked "you ok brother" then winced and said "well of course you ain't. Sorry." He moved over and sat by him, putting his hand on his shoulder in an act of comfort. You could see it was awkward for him but that made him appreciate it even more. Judd truly felt like his big brother at times.
He cleared his throat and told Judd he was fine. Judd gave him a look that said 'don't bullshit me brother' and it made him chuckle.
He then sighed and answered "I'm just confused as to why he reacted like that. And I feel hurt that he shouted at me when he knows how much it upsets me. I'm also ashamed because it did send a small bit of fear through me". He looked down as he cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
Judd nodded like he expected that answer but his eyebrow did raise towards the end.
"I think we were all surprised when he reacted like that. Personally I think it was fear. When someone you love is in danger your heart feels like it freezes and you feel absolutely terrified."
Judd looked at mateo to make sure he understood him when he said, "I'm not excusing his actions in anyway I'm just saying that it was most likely out of fear that he reacted that way."
Mateo nodded, that did make sense now that he thought about it. It wasn't how he reacted when he felt that fear but then everyone reacts differently.
Once he saw that he understood Judd continued, "I know you are upset and you are allowed to be. When you speak to him about it make sure you stand up for yourself. We all know you hate been shouted at and try our best to avoid doing it and he should have done the same. I'm not saying he can't be angry at you about things but there are other ways to express your feelings without shouting."
Mateo was surprised by what judd was saying but when he actually thought about it he realised he wasn't. Judd had a hidden wiseness about him. When he first met Judd, back when he was at the academy and Judd came in for a training day, he did assume he was another redneck in a position of authority but he soon realised how wrong he was. Judd was incredibly helpful and encouraging during the training and was honestly one of the nicest people mateo had ever met. He has never been more glad to be wrong about someone.
Mateo thanked Judd, his words really helped make him feel better. Mateo smiled at him but soon stopped when he noticed the serious look on his face. "What's wrong Judd?" Judd rubbed his hand over his mouth and mateo could see he was building up to say something.
Judd sighed and then said, "I need you to be honest with me now Mateo." He waited for mateo to nod before continuing. "Why did you feel abit of fear when Cap shouted at you? Has he hurt you before when he's been angry? I don't want to assume the worst but we all know how much of a hothead the man can be." Mateo wanted to be defensive but he knew that judd was only asking because he truly cared and was looking out for him.
Mateo shook his head. "No nothing like that Judd. He's never hurt me, in fact before today he's never been angry at me" He laughed at Judds surprised look. "I know it's crazy, but we just seem to compliment each other so well that we don't really argue. We bicker but never argue."
He could feel Judd release the tension in his shoulders, "so why..?" He trailed off, shook his head and said "you don't have to answer that".
Mateo smiled at him. "It's ok Judd, I appreciate you looking out for me". He decided to be honest with Judd. He took a deep breath and then said, "my uncle lived with us for a while when I was younger and he wasn't the nicest. He was quite an angry man, he drank alot and that meant he shouted alot. He only ever hit me once and when he did my mom kicked him out and called the police."
Judd looked sad for him but it wasn't a look of pity he was use too, that he hated. Judd squeezed his shoulder in comfort and said, "I'm glad you had a strong momma looking out for you". Mateo smiled and thanked him.
Before they could say anything else they heard movement at the door. Owen was stood there, rubbing the back of his neck and looking abit embarrassed.
Judd squeezed his shoulder once more before moving to leave. As he left he stopped by Owen and said "I'll let you two talk." He then leaned in to Owen and said, "I'll let it go this once but you ever make my brother cry again and we will be having words. Captain or not. Understood?" Mateo smiled at that, he never felt so accepted as he did with the 126. They looked out for each other like a real family would.
Owen nodded, "I'd expect nothing less". Judd nodded and said "good" before leaving.
Owen stood at the door looking unsure, as if he wasn't sure if mateo wanted to see him. Mateo held his hand out for him to take and Owen breathed out in relief and moved forward to take it and sit by him.
Mateo smiled at him to reassure him. And played with owens fingers in his hand. They sat in silence for a minute both thinking about what they want to say.
Mateo decided to start. "I should probably explain what happened and why I disobeyed orders" Owen raised an eyebrow and said, "besides to save lives" He teased. Mateo smiled and chuckled, he knew they would be fine if they were still teasing each other.
He decided to start at the beginning. "Paul's been teaching me to be more observant". Owen nodded as he knew that already. "Well the room Judd asked me to clear was the dining room. After I checked to make sure no one was in there, I took a moment to look around and noticed the table was set for ten people. I checked with you to see how many people were accounted for and how many we had to find." Owen nodded, "the mom and four girls with me and paul and the missing boys only made seven."
Mateo nodded, he was still looking down at owens hand in his as he played with his fingers. Its something he liked to do when he was anxious or stressed, it always calmed him down. He also loved looking at their skin tones together. "Exactly, and seeing the set up and hearing that people were missing but not mentioned, gave me deja vu."
Owen could see he was struggling so moved to pull him into his arms, mateo's head resting under his chin. Mateo appreciated the comfort. He took a deep breath and continued, "when I was a kid, my neighbours were two families in one house. There was a family of five, a mom, dad and three kids and then a family of two, a mom and a young boy, Miguel. Me and Miguel were best friends and always played together in the front yard."
He had to stop as he grew sad at the memories. Owen rubbed his back to soothe him and placed a kiss on his head.
Which helped settle him a little.
"One day there was a fire. Four of the family of five had managed to escape but one of kids was stuck inside. The firefighters went in to look for him. I couldn't see Miguel or his mom outside anywhere and no one had mentioned them to the firefighters or police. I tried to tell them but no one would listen." He sniffed and a few tears started to fall. Owen continued to rub his back to soothe him.
"After the fire had been put out and the house was secured, they discovered Miguel and his mom hidden inside one of the closets in the bedroom." Owen felt sad, both for mateo and for what happened to Miguel and his mom. He thinks he knows why they were hiding. He had heard about cases like this but never seen one personally.
After a minute mateo felt like he could continue, "turns out that Miguel and his mom were here illegally and staying with distant family." More tears started to fall as he was reminded of memories of his best friend.
Owen continued to soothe him as he softly said, "I've heard about cases like this. The people hide in closets so they are covered and away from the fire. They can't risk being caught so no one mentions them. Sometimes it works out fine because the fire is small or containable but other times the fire burns too hot or for too long and they die." Mateo nodded.
The tears were slowing down because he felt safe wrapped up in his boyfriend's arms. "I'm sorry you went through that darling." He knows his words wouldn't heal mateos trauma but he hoped he knew how much wanted to help and that he understood how mateo felt.
Mateo thanked him and said "that's what made me want to be a firefighter. I wanted to save people. Save future Miguels." Owen nodded, he understood that all too well.
"Thank you for telling me". Mateo played with owens hand as he said, "I was going to explain it to you as soon as we got back. Talk it through like we usually do but then.." He trailed off. Owen was reminded of how awful he had been to him when they got back to the station.
He squeezed mateo tighter as he apologised. "I'm so sorry darling, I never meant to make you cry. I was just so blinded by my anger."
Mateo asked, "but why were you angry, sure I disobeyed your direct order but everyone on the team has done that at one point in time and you've never been this angry with them."
Owen sighed, "when you didn't respond, my heart nearly stopped. It was like my whole life had stopped in time. I knew the structure wouldn't last much longer and I didn't know where you were, and if you were in trouble or not. And then I finally heard you respond and I felt so much relief but then so much anger because you had made me worry, made me imagine you being hurt, possibly dying. I couldn't control the anger. It was like I use to feel before we started dated, before i started regular therapy and I was angry that it felt like I was going backwards in terms of progress."
Mateo turned to kiss him softly. "I'm sorry I made you feel like that. That was never my intention. I was just so focused on saving the people missing that I didn't stop to consider how you and the team would feel." Owen could see he wanted to say something else but was holding back. "What's bothering you darling?" He asked.
Mateo turned back round to snuggle into owen's chest, back into the safety his arms provided. He debated telling him for a minute but remembered that when they started dating they promised to always be honest with each other.
He could see how hard Owen was trying with it so knew he had to also try. "I guess I'm just confused." Owen frowned. "Marjan and Tk always do things like this, always pulling dangerous rescues or making impulsive and sometimes reckless decisions and you've never reacted like this to them."
Owen pressed another kiss to his head and then buried his nose in it to ground himself. It smelled of smoke but also something distinctly mateo which is loved.
"I use to get angry at tk back when we were in New York but then I realised that it didn't help him or me. It took a lot of work to try and rein it it. Instead we would ignore each other for a few days before we started speaking again, never mentioning it again." He could tell mateo was frowning and smiled as he thought about the cute eyebrow furrow he always had when frowning. "I know now that that wasn't a healthy way to deal with it. I've not always been the best father, especially when in New York." He sighed thinking about the times he let Tk down.
Mateo knew what his boyfriend was thinking about so turned to kiss him and reminded him, "you're right, you haven't always been the best father but you are trying to change that. You see a relationship therapist regularly with Tk and both of you are trying to change for the better and that's what matters. That's what's important. I'm proud of you everyday baby."
Owen smiled as he kissed him. "It's mainly thanks to you. Being with you has made me want to be a better person, a better father."
Mateo smiled. Owen turned him back round to snuggle him. Finding comfort and peace in having him curled up in his arms like this. "So in answer to your question. I use to get angry at tk but then changed that to ignoring him and since being in Austin I've found that I have come to expect trouble when it comes to the danger magnets." They shared a laugh at that.
Mateo thought that made sense. Tk and marjan did usually attract trouble. And if anyone was being reckless or impulsive on a call it was nine times out of ten one of those two.
Owen continued "I've never had a situation where I had to watch you be in danger." Mateo turned to look at him over his shoulder and Owen could see his raised eyebrows. He chuckled "I meant outside of the usual danger of the job. I know that anytime we get called out it could be dangerous but I've never had a situation like today before, a situation where you were so close to being hurt."
Mateo thought back over the past year and realised that was true. "Well in that case, I am doubly sorry about what happened but I also don't regret saving that family, just that I caused you to feel scared and angry."
Owen kissed his head again. "Apology accepted. And I'm sorry for reacting like that and for shouting at you. I won't do that again. As I was calming down I remember what you told me, that my feelings are always valid but how I respond isn't always valid' so I apologise for my behaviour not for my feelings." He sighed and buried his nose is mateos hair for a moment. "I hated seeing you cry, hated it more that I caused it."
Mateo smiled. He was so proud of Owen for his apology. He knew that it didn't come naturally to him, that he had to work on it. He told him so and received a deep kiss in response. He loved kissing Owen, it always felt like a fire had been lit in his heart, hot enough to warm his soul.
Owen tried to turn him round and get him to straddle him lap but mateo resisted. He wanted to, he wanted nothing more than to have a proper make out session with his boyfriend but they were at work and he was sure everyone was waiting for them. He reminded Owen of this which caused him to curse against mateo's lips. Mateo laughed, delighted that he could make his boyfriend forget where he was just by kissing him.
They were silent as they tried to calm down, they spend a few minutes just looking at each other, admiring the others lips, that were red and slightly swollen from kissing. The bubble they were in was broken as they heard people arguing and someone aggressively shushing them.
They shared a look at the madness that was their team. Mateo knew it would be Tk and Nancy arguing and shoving each other to get a better look and marjan shushing them to try and hear anything being said.
Owen winked at mateo before calling out, "what if we were having sex in here?" Mateo laughed as he heard groans of displeasure from the team before tk shouted, "real funny dad. You forget you're dating mateo, who we know wouldn't do that here."
Mateo blushed as Owen gave him a look with raised eyebrows. They shared a laugh and mateo felt brave as he said, "Does the office and shower room count? If so we definitely ticked them off the list."
Owen buried his face in mateo's hair to hide his laugh at the fake retching noise tk made and the sound of Paul saying, "and I'm out" as he walked away shouting for judd to see if he wanted to play something on the xbox.
Mateo shouted back, "oh please as if you and carlos haven't done it in practically every room here." Nancy laughed, and there was the sound of someone slapping someone, based in the noise tk made it was likely marjan hitting his arm.
Owen decided to add to his sons embarrassing, its what a dad was for after all. "Yeah Tk, isn't the gym a favourite spot for you two?". Mateo pulled back to grin at him.
He heard Nancy say, "hot!", marjan say, "Tk, we all use the gym! You better wipe it down afterwards!" The pair of them laughed when Tk popped his head round the door way and said, "I can't believe you would betray me like that dad!". Owen looked at him with an eyebrow raised and tk looked at him said, "yeah of course I should have expected this. But just you wait. I'll find something to tease you two about and then you'll be sorry." They all laughed.
Owen tapped mateo to get him to move, he kissed mateos head and then said, "have a shower darling and then come and find me". Mateo nodded and said, "so I'm not suspended?" Owen looked briefly ashamed but relaxed at the smile mateo gave him. "No, turns out your boss was just being a grumpy bastard for a minute. Captain Williams will give you a warning tomorrow". Mateo nodded, he stood up and pulled Owen into a kiss, then said, "you're my grumpy bastard and I love you." Owen smiled at him "I love you too darling". And then left the room, trying to rein the others into getting back to work.
As mateo moved to his locker he heard tk say, "I'm glad you've sorted it out dad. You've come a long way with apologies and I'm proud of you. He's really good for you." And Owen replied "He's the best".
Mateo decided that maybe today wasn't the worst after all.