Tommy opens the door to a defeated looking Evan, worrying his lip between his teeth.
“Can I stay with you for a while? Eddie’s moving back and I have nowhere to go.”
So you decided to come here?
Tommy doesn’t say it out loud, but it’s all he can think of. He knows it’s a bad idea to say yes, when he still feels the way he does, but once upon a time he’d told Evan he would always be there when he needed him, and he hasn’t broken that promise yet. He nods, even though he knows he’s going to regret it, and Evan lights up with the most beautiful smile, like he’s surprised Tommy agreed.
Tommy steps to the side and lets Evan in, taking in the hastily packed duffle bag. It seems like Eddie moving back came as just as much of a surprise to Evan as it did Tommy. Tommy offers to take the bag and Evan lets him, following him through the house to the guest room. Bilbo, Tommy’s cat, is sleeping on the bed when Tommy pushes the door open further and Evan is hit with a burst of affection as the cat stretches at being disturbed and makes his way to the end of the bed for attention.
“This is Bilbo’s napping spot, so you’ll have to share.”
Evan smiles and nods, scratching Bilbo behind the ears.
The two of them settle into a rhythm fairly easy. Evan cooks and Tommy cleans and they watch films on the couch — trying desperately not to cuddle — and they spar in Tommy’s Muay Thai set up. It’s nice. For the first time, Evan feels like he has a home. Tommy doesn’t mention Evan leaving, and eventually Evan stops looking at houses. Neither one of them wants him to leave, anyway.
It all comes to a head after a shift. Tommy’s on his day off, and he takes one look at Evan when he comes through the door and decides their ordering takeout. Evan collapses on the couch and closes his eyes, not moving until Tommy is nudging him to sit up and handing him some Chinese food. Tommy sits close to him and their thighs brush together. Evan can’t stop himself from leaning on Tommy’s shoulder, breathing in his aftershave. He turns his head to tuck his face closer to Tommy’s neck and Tommy lets him, carding a hand through his hair. It makes Evan ache with want and he pulls back, Tommy’s hand still in his hair.
“Can I kiss you?”
Tommy knows he should say no. Tommy knows he shouldn’t let them cross this line again. But Evan looks so innocent asking, and Tommy has been weak for him since the day they met, so he just nods, eyes never leaving Evan’s.
Evan leans forward and presses their lips together, just a soft, slow touch. Tommy melts into the touch and Evan responds in kind. It tastes like coming home.
The last days of the petition against conversion therapy are FASCINATING to watch. I have been following it pretty closely for almost a year now, and the progress was, above all, steady. There was this jump when some algorithm in Finland picked it up, but even that was local.
And now, everyone is panicking.
Which really shows.
These past three or four days, multiple countries have reached the threshold. Even more notably, the number of signatures in total, the ones that we need to get one million of, are growing rapidly. There are only 400'000 signatures missing. Two days ago, it was closer to 600'000.
You can see the progress here:
Give your support !
Consider joining the fun by making everyone around you sign it!
Only 170k signatures needed now! The deadline is May 17th aka TOMORROW - which is close, but it's gaining 100k+ signatures per day - which means there's a real chance the petition could make it! And they've already met enough of the per-country thresholds to qualify on that basis!
Buck’s about to get in the engine with his team to ride back to the station, change, and get home to hopefully pass out for the next ten hours – when he thinks he hears a familiar voice among the usual noise of the scene, chatter, yelling, trucks slowly starting to drive away. He stops with one leg on the step and looks around.
“Evan!” He hears again, this time more clearly, and feels the heavy knot in his chest that’s been there the whole day unfold, a wave of relief and calm crashing over him as he sees the face to match the voice. Tommy walks from the crowd, and maybe Buck’s really tired, but he swears his boyfriend glows among everyone else, getting his attention right away. He’s in his turnouts, hair tousled, a worried look on his face mixed with relief. He’s such a sight for sore eyes, Buck wants to drown in his arms right now. “Hey,” Tommy adds as he gets closer, eyes roaming over Buck’s body. “Just wanted to catch you before you left. You okay?” He asks, and Buck finally turns around, both legs back on the ground.
“Hi, Tommy!” He hears Chimney say as he passes them to get on the truck, before Buck can even open his mouth.
“Hey, Howie.” Tommy responds, eyes not leaving Buck. Chim disappears, taking his place with Eddie and Hen who are already waiting inside, ready to leave. Buck thinks they can spare a couple minutes, though.
“Tommy.” Buck whispers, taking a step towards his boyfriend. Tommy’s hands immediately reach for him. “What are you doing here? I thought this was your day off?” He asks, arms wrapping around Tommy’s waist, not caring that they’re technically still at work. He’s had a day, he almost killed his current Captain, they almost lost Athena, he was almost run over by multiple cars- it’s been a day.
“Got called in. I don’t know if you heard but we had a pretty wild all-hands-on-deck situation on the freeway.” He says with a teasing smirk, hands settling on Buck’s waist. Their warmth is so nice and grounding, and Buck leans a little further into him.
“Hm, it rings a bell. A plane landing, right?” He continues, feeling a little silly and a lot giddy, like any time he’s with Tommy. He just makes him feel so carefree, even after a stressful day like today, before even having time to decompress.
“Yeah, that one. Crazy, right? I hear my boyfriend was very involved. Had to see it with my own eyes. And make sure he’s alright.” His eyes scan over Buck’s face. “You alright?”
“I’m fine, baby.” Buck smiles pulling Tommy a little closer to himself. “Are you?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. I wasn’t the one right here at the forefront of everything.” Tommy raises an eyebrow, one of his hands coming up to cup Buck’s face. He leans into the touch, not able to keep in a content sigh. All he can think about is getting home, cuddling up next to Tommy in bed, and soaking up his warmth as he falls asleep.
“How did you know I was? It could’ve been anyone from any station.” Buck says, since it wasn’t public knowledge who exactly was flying the plane, but they both know the answer.
“Who else but the 118 would have this much bad luck.” He shakes his head, and his tone goes for joking, but it does crack a little, worry seeping through.
“Technically, it was Athena. Again.” Buck points out, silently begging the universe to please let Bobby and Athena have a break now, after the cruiseship and now this, they really deserve to rest and not worry about each other’s lives. “We just came to help.”
“You were still heavily involved, weren’t you?” Tommy asks and Buck nods. “So, my point stands.”
“Bobby and I stole a truck.” Buck blurts out. He knows now is not the time, but he just wants to tell Tommy every single thing that happened, and every single thought in his head.
“You what?” Tommy eyebrows shoot up.
“Well, we borrowed it- Actually I have a lot to tell you. It’s been a crazy day. Even before all this,” he gestures towards the plane. Tommy frowns, curiosity etched in his face.
“I can’t wait to hear all about it.” He says with a smile, and then from a distance they vaguely hear someone call his last name. Tommy glances back towards the 217 trucks, probably waiting on him now. Before he can say that he has to go, though, Buck speaks up again.
“Oh, and I rode a motorcycle!” He says excitedly and grins, and sees Tommy’s expression turn into something fond but still confused, probably wondering how it all connects, and maybe where Buck got a motorcycle in the first place. Buck can’t wait to tell him everything that happened today. He’s avoiding mentioning this morning, back at the station, leaving it for later, he doesn’t want to bring it up, bring him up just yet. Not when they’re all still on the high from the airplane landing being very successful, considering their chances. Unpleasant stuff – like Buck’s guilt and confusion about what his intent was – can wait for later, when they’re home, and they have time for him to spiral and confide in his man.
“You’re so adorable.” Tommy just says, and glances to the sides for a second, before leaning in to chastely press his lips against Buck’s, and it’s over way too quickly, Buck pulling him back in, deepening the kiss. He feels Tommy smile and then he’s kissing him just as eagerly. Before he knows it, he’s being pressed against the cold metal of the engine behind him, his boyfriend’s big, warm body right against his, and for a few seconds they just get lost in each other. What pulls him out is his team – some teasing cheers and whooping and even whistling, and a couple joking comments about being inappropriate in the workplace (he thinks it’s Chim who said that, but it’s all a blur – besides, technically they’re on the freeway, so, not really the workplace, so Buck will kiss his boyfriend if he wants to).
He hears himself whining in protest when Tommy starts pulling away, and gets a chuckle in response that he feels in his own chest.
“I’m sorry, but I gotta go now. My team’s waiting.” Tommy sounds regretful, at least. Buck still pouts. But now he can hear Tommy’s co-workers yell his name, and some barely audible jokes and teasing, likely having seen them make out. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Tommy asks, thumb caressing Buck’s cheekbone. Buck doesn’t want to let him go. He wants to continue their making out, and he wants to talk to Tommy, tell him all about his crazy day, and of course he wants to hear about Tommy’s day, what he was doing before he got called in, and everything that happened after, too. Lately those conversations have become some of Buck’s favorites. He loves talking to Tommy, he loves that he always listens, so attentive and engaged, and visibly enjoying Buck’s rambling. And he loves listening to Tommy, too, his gorgeous voice, and those dry jokes Buck fell in love with that first night they met. They could talk about anything, their days, the weather, some deep personal stuff, Buck loves it all.
“Tonight.” He decides, not sure if he can handle not seeing Tommy as soon as possible. He knows it’s late, and after the day they had, they’re both probably ready to get in bed and crash, but he just doesn’t want to be without Tommy right now. It sounds silly even just in his own head, but he misses him so much every second they’re apart. He guesses it’s that honeymoon period, but maybe it’s also the fact that in the short time they’ve been dating, Tommy has become a safe space for him, a shoulder to lean on, always there, strong and sturdy, to support him whenever and however he needs. He hopes he’s the same for Tommy. He tries his best, at least. “I’ll get my stuff at the station and come over. If that’s okay?” He asks to make sure, just in case, a seed of doubt seeping in. He doesn't want to overstep or assume. But he should’ve known better, Tommy never says no to seeing him.
“Of course it’s okay.” He smiles, leaning back in for one more sweet kiss. “In the meantime, please don’t get into any more trouble tonight. Especially the life-or-death kind,” he half-jokes, and Buck kind of wants to remind him that it wasn’t his life that was in danger this time, but then again, it was Athena, which means Bobby, which means Buck and the entire 118 ready to follow them into any trouble. So, yeah, he gets Tommy’s worry.
“Can’t really promise that. Don’t wanna tempt the universe,” he shrugs. Tommy chuckles lightly. “But I’ll try.”
“Just get to me in one piece,” he shakes his head, taking a step away. It takes everything in Buck not to follow and squeeze himself into a 217 truck just to be with Tommy for a while more. But he’ll see him soon. Around an hour if they leave now. Maybe a little more with the traffic, the freeway being closed now probably causing some issues. But tonight.
“I will. I’ll see you soon.” He answers, and not for the first time the three little words he desperately wants to say try to force themselves onto his tongue. On one hand, there’s no time to waste, life is short, and especially with their profession, and his luck. But on the other hand, he doesn’t want them to come out like this, while he’s still buzzing with adrenaline, and it might be easy to think it’s a heat of the moment thing. He wants to say it in a quiet moment, at home, just the two of them, putting all the feelings and intention behind it, really letting Tommy know how serious and genuine he is about it.
Tommy is his person. The one he wants to go home to at the end of the day – whether an uneventful one, or full of chaos and danger, like tonight. He’s the one Buck wants to talk to for hours and hours, about everything and nothing, spill his every thought. The one he wants to wake up to and fall asleep with. The one he wants to love for the rest of his life.
He can’t stop smiling as he takes a second to watch as Tommy walks away, turns around to flash Buck one more adorable smile, before disappearing in the sea of people. Then, with a shout to hurry up from Eddie, Buck finally turns back to the truck and climbs in. He’s so ready for this day to be over. And what better way to end it than in the arms of his love, while telling him about his crazy day? They definitely need to hurry up and get back to the station, Buck has places to be. Or, one place specifically, the one he already secretly calls home.
Prompt idea: the day after the mini funeral for Billy, Buck's boils are gone. Tommy's bewildered, Buck's ecstatic.
When Buck opened his eyes, the loft was still dark but he could see the sun starting to rise through the little gap between the blinds.
Tommy was still dead to the world on the sofa that really wasn't big enough for him. His neck was bent at an awkward angle and the blanket not long enough to cover him completely.
Buck had tried to convince him to sleep in the bed but he'd insisted he'd be fine on the sofa so he'd be close if Buck needed anything.
It had made him melt a little, or a lot, but he couldn't let Tommy spend another night on that sofa. He'd figure something out so they could both sleep in the bed again without making his shoulder worse.
He carefully extracted himself from the mountain of pillows and blankets Tommy had wrapped around him the night before and made his way to the bathroom.
He didn't bother turning on any lights, mostly because he didnt want to wake Tommy and took care of business.
"Evan?" Tommy's voice was thick with sleep.
"I'm here. Just had to go to the bathroom. Go back to sleep, it's early."
"How's your arm? Are you in pain?"
"I'm ok. I can get my pills and a glass of water myself."
Tommy threw the blanket off himself and got up, shuffling into the kitchen.
"The doctor said no lifting anything above your head." he mumbled around a yawn and reached up to grab a glass from the kitchen cabinet.
"Only with my bad arm. I've got two arms." Buck said, slipping his right arm around Tommy's waist and kissing his cheek. "You're sweet but Billy only took my left arm. The other one is fine."
Tommy mumbled something Buck wasn't even sure was English as he filled the glass with water and put it on the counter while he opened the pill bottle.
Buck but back a laugh. Tommy was most definitely not a morning person and sleeping on the sofa instead of an actual bed did not help.
"You need rest." Tommy reminded him. "Doctor's orders. Medic's orders." he handed him the pills. "Boyfriend's orders."
Buck knocked the pills back and washed them down with some water.
"Do those boyfriend orders work the other way around too?"
"Hmm?"
"If I tell you to go sleep upstairs in the bed will you do it?"
Tommy shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Evan, I told you, I'm fi-what the hell?"
"What?"
"Your face!"
Buck groaned.
"Don't tell me it's gotten worse." he carefully lifted his good hand up his face, frowning when he didn't feel any bumps.
"It's gone." Tommy said staring at him in disbelief.
Buck rushed back into the bathroom, turning on the light to look at himself in the mirror. His reflection stared back at him, a slight redness where the largest boils had been but otherwise nothing to suggest they'd ever been there.
"Did you take anything?" Tommy asked, appearing behind him, their eyes meeting in the mirror.
"No, nothing." Buck said, rubbing a hand over his face, smiling when the only thing he felt was his stubble. He turned around to face Tommy. "You know what this means right?"
And like, can I just? The telegraphing here is insane. Buck’s head goes back, because he’s taken off guard, he’s in shock -> hand up, oh? He’s… he’s into this? -> he pushes back into the kiss, an active participant -> they break apart, Buck’s eyes open a little, but Tommy? Tommy’s still are still closed, he’s taking a deep breath, he just took a big risk and wants to live in the moment for another couple seconds before he finds out how this is gonna go.
I’m sure this has been covered to hell and back but I’ll never be over it!
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