The door swings open and Evan's there, like Tommy knew he would be but it's still a sight that levels something in him.
The dark, lonely days of the past weeks wither away the moment Evan says hi with a small smile on his face.
Tommy says hi back, and steps inside.
He's greeted by boxes. Piled high, almost toppling over. Tommy steadies one as they weave around them on the way to the living room. He doesn't remember a box being there, let alone a tower of them, the last time he was here but then again, he was a little preoccupied to notice much.
Tommy's noticing this time.
"Sorry for the mess," Evan says as they enter the living room. But Tommy's not really sure what he's talking about considering the lack of furniture or anything that would constitute a living space at all, really.
All that's there are two folding lawn chairs and a tv that's sitting on top of more boxes.
Tommy raises an eyebrow at Evan. "Redecorating?"
"Moving, actually," Evan says, like it's not a big deal to move twice in a matter of a couple of months. But before Tommy can respond, Evan moves on. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Do you even have anything still in the fridge?"
Evan pauses to think about it and Tommy's about ready to drop all pretenses and ask what the hell is going on when Evan looks back at him.
"Water."
"Then I guess I'll have a water then."
"Great!" Evan starts back pedaling into the kitchen, but gestures at the lawn chairs as he goes. "You get first pick of where to sit."
"Gee, how generous.," Tommy responds as he takes a seat in the blue and gray chair, which looks exactly the same as the other blue and gray chair. He can hear Evan's laugh from the kitchen.
On the TV screen, The Banshees of Inisherin is pulled up on Amazon prime. Tommy frowns. For someone who's not well-versed in films, Evan sure chose a deep cut. Despite its nine Oscar nominations, Tommy's always found it to be one of the least accessible Oscar films in recent history, genre wise.
The TV is perched precariously on boxes labeled kitchen. He wonders if it's the same box he unpacked last time he was here. Tommy eyes Banshees on the TV, and then the boxes holding the tv up. Keeps his questions to himself as Evan returns with two bottles of water.
"Thanks."
"Cheers," Evan says. He takes a seat and presses play.
They don't talk much as the movie goes on. Tommy's seen this one a couple of times. He likes it well enough that he's fine with sitting back and settling in for a third watch. But his eyes keep drifting over to Evan, who seems locked in on the film more than Tommy's ever seen him before. Missing, too, is Evan's running commentary on all things from the location of the film to tangents about an actor's biography he came across during his research.
The only reaction Evan gives during the whole movie is a quiet "hmm" when Colm cuts his finger off in retaliation to an olive branch. The rest of the film, Evan's brow remains furrowed.
When the credits roll, Evan's still quiet. Tommy's had enough.
"Okay," Tommy says, spinning his chair around so that he faces Evan and not the TV. He taps Evan's leg and twirls his finger at Evan's chair.
Evan sighs, and turns his seat so he's facing Tommy.
"Hi, Evan."
"Hi, Tommy."
"Why'd you pick that movie?"
Evan shrugs. "Was going through a list of recent Oscar nominated movies and found it."
Tommy nods. "Bobby loved watching the Oscars."
Evan hesitates, glaring slightly at Tommy. "Yeah, I know."
They stare at each other for a moment. Evan's glare softens until it turns into the smallest smile Tommy's ever seen.
"Did you like it?" Tommy asks.
"Yeah," Evan says, but doesn't elaborate.
Another beat of silence.
"Evan," Tommy says quietly.
"Hmm," Evan says again.
Tommy huffs, and then rests his elbows on his knees so he's leaning a little closer.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on? Why are you moving again?"
Evan rolls his eyes, but relents. "Eddie's moving back. He's in Texas right now packing up the rest of Chris' stuff."
Tommy frowns.
"He," Evan begins again. "He gave me 72 hours to pack up my things."
"You were subletting, though."
"I know." Evan waves his hand around to indicate the rest of the house. "They need the space more than I do."
Now it's Tommy's turn to "hmm." "Are you and Eddie okay?"
Evan squints at him, and then rests his elbows on his knees, mirroring Tommy's position.
"I was under the impression you had an issue with me being friends with Eddie."
"I never had an issue with your friendship with Eddie."
"Uh huh," Evan says, but he's smirking. "Once upon a time, you were friends with Eddie. Before dating me, even."
Tommy nods. "I was."
The smirk drops from Evan's face and he sits back in his chair again, fiddling with the wrapper on his water bottle. Tommy leans back, too.
"We had a fight," Evan finally says. "About Bobby. Or, about me, I guess. It doesn't really matter, though. We made up, I think. But I don't know .."
Evan trails off, looking over at the TV where the credits for Banshees are still paused.
"You don't know .. ?" Tommy prompts.
And while he's still looking at the TV, Evan says "I guess I'm just not sure if i want to be friends with him anymore."
The phone rings one night a few weeks after Bobby's funeral. The sound startles him, extra loud in the silence of his house and the self-imposed, though unintentional, weeks-long isolation.
He doesn't bother flipping on a light, as if the cover of darkness can hide him from whoever's on the other line.
"hello?" He answers, forgetting to check the caller ID.
There's a silence on the other end, except for a quiet breathing that he'd recognize anywhere. He starts to sit up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Hi," he says, and this time it's not a question.
And without missing a beat, he gets a response.
"hi," Evan says.
The last time Evan called him it was to request a helicopter ride from the roof of a pharmaceutical building. Lucky he had been tinkering with the chopper when the call came through, all suited up, like he'd been waiting to offer his assistance.
He's not exactly in a state to defy the orders of the U.S. military again, under the covers of his bed and still half asleep. But he's slowly waking up.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Evan asks.
"Only a little," Tommy admits, but he doesn't mind.
Evan huffs a little laugh. "I forgot you usually work the night shift on Sundays."
It's barely 9 p.m. on a Monday night but Tommy understands Evan's assumption, though it's misplaced this time.
Tommy hums in answer, not wanting to admit he's taken a mandatory leave of absence, not by choice.
"is everything okay?" He asks instead, because while it's nice to hear Evan's voice, it's been a quiet few weeks since Bobby's death and the image of Evan in the hallway outside the lab has been haunting every waking moment and every dreamless sleep. He should have called.
This time, Evan hums. But instead of answering Tommy's question with an assurance that everything is okay and that no, Tommy doesn't need to be suiting up and getting a chopper ready for another adventure only the 118 can conjure up, he just says, "Do you want to watch a movie?"
And Tommy has just awoken so he's a little slow in responding but he does get out a probably rude "But you hate movies."
"I never said I hated movies," Evan scoffs. Tommy laughs. "I just haven't seen a lot of them."
"And you want to watch one right now?"
"Yeah," Evan sighs. And then, "Come over. Watch a movie with me."
And it's not a helicopter request for a dangerous situation with lives hanging in the balance but there is life here, happening right now. A request that's so simple and so complicated at the same time.
The darkness of his room surrounds him and he stares right back, into the void he threw himself into in the weeks following a funeral he felt he had no right to be there for.
no it really is crazy that the only thing buck did in eddie's house was fuck tommy. that was his only significant storyline in that house. i'm — i have no words. timothy minear, you funny, funny, person. you would be iconic if you weren't so frustrating.
↳ tommy showing up for buck vs the one time he couldn't
"They’re all isolated. They’re all in a plastic bubble or in a tent or Buck’s on the other side of a thing and breaking down, and Tommy’s watching him from a monitor. No one is there to comfort anyone." -> Tim Minear
"This guy is a high-functioning, highly calibrated human being. So, throwing in emotions, it does not work well with his processing. But I think in that moment, he was ready to go in after him." -> Lou Ferrigno Jr
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