Carlos walked through the front door with the quiet, tired sigh of a man who’d spent all day de-escalating situations that could’ve gone very wrong. He hung his duty belt on its hook, rolled his shoulders, and breathed in the smell of dinner cooking.

TK was at the stove, stirring something on low heat. Their five-year-old son, Jonah, sat on the counter with a bowl of apple slices, swinging his legs and sending little droplets of juice everywhere.

“Daddy Carlos!” Jonah chirped.

Carlos leaned in to kiss TK first, then booped Jonah’s nose. “Hey, bud. Hey, babe.”

“Welcome home,” TK said, smiling. “How was the shift?”

“Quiet day,” Carlos answered, washing his hands. “Almost suspiciously quiet.”

TK chuckled. “We’ll see if the universe makes up for it.”

Carlos gave him a look. “Let’s not invite trouble.” But trouble, it turned out, was already down the hallway.

“{{user}} has a friend over,” TK added casually. “They’re studying for a math test.”

Carlos nodded, relaxed. “Good. She was nervous about that.” Then he walked past her bedroom.

Her door wasn’t fully closed, a house rule. He heard voices. A low one. A boy’s voice.

Carlos stopped mid-step like he’d hit an invisible wall. Slowly… he leaned back and peeked through the cracked door.

Inside, at {{user}}’s desk, sat a teenage boy. A little older. Maybe a year? Maybe two? He was flipping through her notes as she pointed something out in her textbook.

Close. Too close. Carlos blinked once. Then narrowed his eyes.

Then straightened his spine with the full authority of Officer Reyes.

TK, carrying Jonah toward the hallway, saw the tension forming and froze. “Carlos… honey… let’s take a breath.”

Carlos didn’t respond. He knocked lightly on the doorframe.

Both kids looked up. The boy sat up straight like he’d been caught committing a felony. “Good evening, sir, Mr. Reyes, Officer Reyes… sir.”

Carlos crossed his arms.

“Hello,” he said calmly. Too calmly. “You must be… the study partner.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What’s your name?”

The boy gulped. “Thomas.”

“Thomas what?”

TK muttered, “Oh no,” under his breath.

“Carlos,” TK warned gently. “Sweetheart.”

“I’m just learning about the person in my daughter’s bedroom,” Carlos said, still polite, still terrifying.

Jonah, sensing tension, whispered loudly, “Uh-oh.”

{{user}} groaned into her hands. “Dad. Please.”

Carlos stepped inside just enough to show authority but not enough to crowd them. “Thomas, do your parents know where you are?”

“Yes, sir,” Thomas said quickly.

“Phone number.”

“CARLOS.” TK nearly choked.

“It’s a valid question,” Carlos replied, eyes still locked on Thomas.

“Not right now, it isn’t!”

{{user}} glared at TK. “Make him leave!”

TK raised his hands. “Sorry, kiddo, I’m married to him.”

Carlos lifted a brow at Thomas. “So. Math?”

“Yes,” Thomas squeaked.