"She was so used to wearing her mind in a corset
that she felt it no more than the silk undergarment
that she took off only at night...."
-Karolina Pavlova, A Double Life
Reverse chronological order published, featuring liner notes with fic commentary and DVD extras when available.
All written with @liminalmemories21 unless otherwise stated.
Heated Rivalry
The Body Issue | Heated Rivalry| 1.9k
Shane/Ilya | Tumblr ficlet | Shane and Ilya say yes to ESPN's Body Issue. Again.
Biscuit in the Basket | Heated Rivalry | 45.6k
Shane/Ilya | Accidental baby acquisition: A problem is something you can fix. Ilya disappears after the cottage and Shane’s determined to find out why. He’s only loved one person in his life -- can he open his heart to another?
Outtake: Ilya POV
The Hard Part? | Heated Rivalry| 9.5k
Shane/Ilya | A 5+1 of Ilya and Shane finding their space together.
Assist for the Score | Heated Rivalry | 1.9k
Shane/Ilya | a quick and dirty introduction to the fandom from us, a follow up to the text / how many times can you cum in an hour? /
9-1-1
As many as six impossible things before breakfast | 9-1-1 | 12.6k
Liner Notes 1
Buck/Tommy. Coda for Which way I ought to go from here. Sugar!Baby Buck takes on politics. Future timestamp.
Which way I ought to go from here | 9-1-1 | 33k
buck/tommy | canon-divergence, post-season 2 | Buck signs the NDA and takes the LAFD offer and doesn’t go back to work.
She's no fire-eater | 9-1-1 | 2k
May character study.
Retain that dear perfection | 9-1-1 | 20.7k
Buck/Tommy, After an injury, Buck loses five years, give or take a couple of months -- and now Tommy's husband looks at him like he's a stranger.
Open Reduction Internal Fixation | 9-1-1 | 24k
buck/tommy, alternate universe - Tommy is Buck's physical therapist after the firetruck bombing.
No flying, no tights | 9-1-1 | 20.3k
Buck/Tommy, superhero/superpower au
Out of myth into history | 9-1-1 | 3.1k
Buck/Tommy, Bringing back the classics -- a soulmark/soulmate au.
Triangulating Happiness | 9-1-1 | 19.2k
Buck/Tommy, Tommy needs a replacement firefighter, and Buck goes to work at the 217. Time passes.
[Placeholder] | 9-1-1 | 2.4k
Buck/Tommy | Explicit | size kink
Failing to cast a shadow | 9-1-1 Inception AU | 22.5k
Buck/Tommy, “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” - Carl Jung. The 9-1-1 team as dream-heisters, à la Inception.
Kobayashi Maru | 9-1-1 | 13.8k
Buck/Tommy, A 10 + 1 about Tommy and Buck being friends. Until they aren't.
half a page of scribbled lines | 9-1-1 | 25.5k
kid fic, post-Lab Rats.
Epiphanies on a bathroom floor | 9-1-1 |
On tumblr | on a03
post 8x17
Flag-bearers | 9-1-1 | 2.8k
On tumblr | on ao3
Lab Rats episode coda. Spoilers abound.
Comedy of Errors | 9-1-1 | 3.6k
Misunderstandings abound
Buck/Tommy
Bingo Card | 9-1-1 | 11.7k
Season 1 Buck meets Tommy on the roof.
Buck/Tommy, Abby/Buck, Abby/Buck/Tommy
Liner Notes 1
the chain I forged | 9-1-1 | 11.6K
Tommy gets Christmas Caroled
Buck/Tommy
A comet's misfortune | 9-1-1 | 17.3k
One day, Buck and Maddie’s past shows up at her door. Buck should have realized that if they’d been able to hide a kid, they could jettison an entire family, too.
Every song has a you | 9-1-1 | 9k
Buck and Tommy talk but do they listen? A fix-it fic that goes AU after 8.06.
In a Yellow Wood | 9-1-1 | 9.8k
It’s been three years since the break-up when Tommy saves a family and it upends his life. AKA give Buck a baby.
Napoleon's Battle Plan | 9-1-1 | 8k
First you show up, then you see what happens. Tommy reevaluates his priorities, one interaction at a time. AKA a 5+1 with the 9-1-1 kids.
Liner notes: 1
Just a bit outside | 9-1-1 | 5.7k
Who wants to see Tommy in baseball pants?
Star Baker | 9-1-1 | 10.6k
Signature Challenge | Technical | Showstopper
Tommy’s down bad for every version of Buck.
Liner Notes: 1
Inside, You've Got Heaven and Earth | 9-1-1 | 11.8k
Tommy and Buck’s world changes in an instant. How do they recover and find their way back home?
Liner Notes: 1
What's with today, today? | 9-1-1 | 4.8k
Library AU: Did you know that some libraries have Stuffed Animal Day? Where kids leave their stuffies overnight, so they can have an adventure…and sometimes those adventures include going to the local fire station?
DVD Extra: Art by Wortwood
Atlas (bound) | 9-1-1 | 16.9k
A behind the scenes look at how you speedrun a relationship, and what happens when the pieces of yourself that you try to hide, embarrassed and afraid, come to the surface. AKA the Buckley parents are shitty
Liner Notes: 1
Your love is better than ice cream | 9-1-1 | 13.8k
An alternative meet-cute, where-in Tommy doesn’t know the 118 and decides Buck is worth it anyway. Buck is confused but figures some things out.
What Binds the Fabric Together series | 9-1-1 | 54.1k
Baggage that goes with mine | 12.9k
Tommy begins
I'll cover you | 12.7k
Gerrard comes back. The 118 tries to adjust and Buck and Tommy accidently acquire a dog.
Leave the past behind | 12k
A funeral and too many text messages. Tommy’s dad dies and everyone...adjusts.
I hear there are great restaurants out west | 16.3k
Tommy and Buck and an open road.
Awful quiet here since love fell asleep | 9-1-1 | 15.6k
The Buck/Tommy break up/make up fic that literally no one was asking for but me. Things don’t always work out, the first time around.
Liner notes: 1
(I'm in love) but I do not speak the language | 9-1-1 | 8.2k
What he does tell Maddie (and Chim) is that he’s never going to push Evan; that whatever this turns out to be, it’s between the two of them. She laughs in his face and Chim chuckles, and Tommy wonders what he really got himself into.
hiiii hello I hope you like this!! (psst hi @911-hiautus)
1. Buck is a WB style actor — lots of teen shows, think One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, that kind of thing. He did some Hallmark movies, straight to DVD stuff, bit roles in good shows but hasn’t broken through as anything other than a teen actor.
Tommy has a Tracker/Reacher style series that’s been optioned for a movie. The main character is kind of stoic with a good heart, has some emotional moments with the character they rescue. Part of his deal is that he gets to be part of the casting process — they’re his characters, after all, he knows them better than anyone.
2. There are a lot of big names throwing their hats into the ring for the main character. Agents know it’s a series, there’s potential for more films, or a spin off tv show, it’d be great for their clients. Tommy doesn’t want a big name playing the character, he doesn’t want people going ‘Oh that’s so and so from such and such’. He wants them to be his character, he wants an unknown. Production is pushing hard for a big name, they think it’s what’ll sell tickets, even though Tommy’s books have a proven best seller record and people are already writing think pieces on what they’re hoping to see in the adaptation.
3. Tommy really doesn’t want Evan-fucking-Buckley playing his main character, and it’s one of the names being thrown around the most. He can admit that his self tape was decent, but he’s used to cheesy dialogue, almost soap opera camera angles, he’s flat, he connects well with female love interests but almost no other actors. That’s not what Tommy’s story needs. Tommy’s story actually has a male love interest, which is new and different for Hollywood, and Tommy’s pretty sure that Evan-fucking-Buckley will screw it all up.
4. Despite Tommy’s best efforts, Evan gets called in for a chemistry read. The male love interest was actually easier to cast, he’s more indie, he’s done a lot but primarily things that have been shown at small film fests and are hard to find. Noah’s played queer characters before and Tommy would never ask, but he’s pretty sure at least a little of the characterization is coming from personal experience. He feels really confident about this casting. It’s not a huge part in the first book, but if they continue on, he’ll become more and more prominent. Tommy thinks he can handle it. A couple of the guys that Tommy pushed hard for do well on the individual reads but don’t have any chemistry with the love interest, which is disappointing. Evan-fucking-Buckley shows up and — well. He doesn’t look like a teenage tv star anymore. Tommy hadn’t realized just how much he’d filled out when he watched the self tape. He does, physically, look like he could do the things his character can do. Evan shrugs off a jacket to do the reading, and Tommy barely restrains himself from rolling his eyes at the number of tattoos on his arms. People can do whatever they want with their bodies, sure, but he could think about the damn makeup artists? Not every character is going to wear long sleeves and jackets. Tommy can (grudgingly) admit that Evan does well on the individual read, but he’s downright surprised by how well the chemistry read goes. Noah, the love interest, is too, if the way it takes him a minute to snap out of it means anything.
5. Apparently Evan’s acceptance of the role hinges on a meeting with Tommy. He shows up to lunch in a hotel restaurant with a battered copy of Tommy’s first book, visibly dog eared and with a bunch of sticky notes poking out of it. He dives right in, barely even says hi to Tommy before he starts, asking questions about the character backstory and motivation, what scenes will be included in the script, what’s going to be taken out, what does Tommy think is most important for him to portray as the character, by the way here is Evan’s number, but most people call him Buck, can he call Tommy if he has more questions? The only things that stop him from talking are the waitress arriving to take their order and the food arriving.
Tommy has quickly realized that this is Evan’s book, Evan has actually read all of his books, because he’s asking questions about things that don’t come up until way later in the series. He mentions something to that effect and Evan blushes, and admits to Tommy that he’s bought every book as they came out and he’d begged his agent years ago to let him know if anything ever came up for the series. Like, obviously, he’d want to play the main, but ten years ago he would have been too young and maybe it just needed to come around at the right time? Tommy asks to see the book and startles when he sees his own signature at the front. Evan says he had to send his sister to the book signing, he was too well known by then. Tommy doesn’t remember signing it, but can’t stop his finger from running over the Evan that he’d written years ago.
6. Tommy doesn’t know if it’s his agent or Evan that makes sure he gets full access to the filming but. He does have it. He tries not to stop by too often, because he doesn’t want to be a distraction, but he also loves watching them film. It’s weird to see how some of the things are done, the green screens and fake angles to keep people safe while filming. It’s that movie magic, and he gets sucked into it. Evan spots him the first time he shows up, and at lunch drags Noah over to see Tommy and introduce them, blushing a little when he realizes they’ve already met. Someone calls him, and he lopes off with a quick be right back and Tommy and Noah both left out a soft sigh, then catch each other’s eyes and laugh. Evan shoots them a look from where he’s talking to (Tommy thinks) the costume designer. “This is the best fucking job I’ve ever had,” Noah says. “Thank you.” he squeezes Tommy’s arm gently.
7. Tommy comes back a couple days later, because they’re filming a big romantic revelation scene and he wants to see it play out.
It’s. So. Bad.
He pulls Evan aside at lunch, because this is not the Evan he saw in the chemistry read. He’s stiff and awkward and almost flinching away from interacting with Noah.
Evan’s tripping over himself to apologize, and he looks like he’s on the verge of tears. Tommy groans internally, because he doesn’t want to babysit a sad movie star. He hustles Evan to his trailer, because at least there’s probably kleenex there and also Evan probably doesn’t want anyone to see him upset.
Evan just keeps saying it’s an off day, it’s fine, he just needs some food, maybe a cold drink, it’ll be okay. Tommy gets him sitting down and ends up crouching in front of him, because Evan won’t look up.
“Listen, you knew this character was queer when you signed up for this, and you know there might be sequels, so you have got to get over whatever this,” Tommy waves his hands, “is, and find a way to work with him.”
“It’s — no, no, no, it’s not about that,” Evan shakes his head frantically. “I love that he’s queer! I mean, the character. I mean. I don’t have an issue with that, at all.”
“Then what’s up?”
Evan swallows. “I can’t — do that, in front of Noah’s boyfriend.”
Tommy raises an eyebrow. “His boyfriend’s here?”
“Duh.” And Evan nods at him.
“We’re not dating,” Tommy laughs. “Why would you think that?”
“The — last week, at lunch.” Evan’s face can’t decide what expression to land on. He looks ashamed and embarrassed and mortified all at once.
“I’m not dating anyone, and I can’t speak for him, but, no.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Was that it?”
“Yep.” Evan nods but still won’t look at him.
They reshoot after lunch and get it in one take. Tommy’s almost crying now, watching his characters and his words come to life. This is one of the few scenes that survived completely intact from page to screen, and it’s one that he’s always been proud of. Evan gets shuffled off by half a dozen people afterwards, but Tommy manages to give him a thumbs up.
8. Tommy comes back once near the end of filming, but they’re just doing some reshoots of a group scene and Evan isn’t even there that day. An assistant director takes him to see some of the preliminary special effects they’ve added, and Tommy can admit it looks good. Maybe the explosions are a little bigger than he’d pictured, but it looks good.
9. Tommy gets an invite to the red carpet screening. They have a set time to arrive, and they must be putting the boring people first, because it’s all execs and random people. He brings his friend/agent, Sal, and they pose and get a few pictures taken, and Sal kisses his cheek for one of them just to piss Tommy off. Tommy just wants to relax in the seats once they get inside, but Sal goes to network, because despite his gruff exterior with his friends, the man can schmooze like no one else. Tommy’s pretty sure he can tell when the stars get there, because he thinks he can hear the fans and media screaming from inside the theatre.
He’s jotting down a few ideas for a short story that’s been percolating when someone drops into the seat next to him. He looks up expecting to see Sal, and he’s surprised when it’s Evan. Evan’s smiling and about to say something when Sal appears on his other side, handing Tommy a drink. He spots Evan immediately, and holds his hand out to shake hands and introduce himself. Evan does, through tight lips and with the fakest smile Tommy’s ever seen on him, before he escapes to join a shorter woman with long curly brown hair.
“I thought he liked you,” Sal says with a frown.
Tommy sighs. “Me too.”
10. Sal sends him an article while Tommy’s on his way to the afterparty — how he’d been convinced of that, he didn’t know, but Sal had begged off, wanting to go home to his family — and apparently?? Evan Buckley?? had come out as bi on the red carpet before the premiere?? and was crediting his ability to do so to working on the movie?? Suddenly his interactions with Sal make a lot more sense, as does the day Evan had whiffed his scene. Or maybe Tommy just has an inflated sense of self. Though, Evan had shown up to the premiere with a date. So what the fuck, actually??
11. Tommy pulls Noah aside when he gets to the party, and shows him the article. Apparently Evan had told him he was going to do it, because he was a little worried about how people would treat Noah afterward. Noah told Tommy his PR already had a statement ready, but he didn’t want to steal Evan’s thunder, it’d come out some time next week. Tommy’s pretty glad he’s not a movie star, he never had to come out like this, he just mentioned one of his boyfriends in a little interview that like, publishers and a couple hard core fans had read.
12. When Evan shows up, he and Noah take a bunch of photos together. Tommy just hangs around the bar, feeling totally out of place and chatting with anyone who comes over to him, though few people realize he’s the author and not just another guy from set. Which is fine by Tommy, honestly. Noah finally brings Evan over so they can both get a drink, and Tommy can’t help a kind of bitchy “Lose your date?” to Evan. Evan nearly inhales his drink and coughs while Noah thumps his back.
“That was Maddie. My sister?” Evan adds at Tommy’s look. “I always take her to my premieres.”
“Oh.”
Noah grabs his drink and another actor and skedaddles. Tommy and Evan stare awkwardly at each other.
“Uh, who were you with?” Evan asks.
“Sal. My agent.” Tommy adds, “He ditched the party to see his wife.”
“Oh.” Evan fiddles with his drink. “Uh, can I talk to you?”
“Aren’t we doing that right now?”
Evan fixes him with a look.
“Yeah, alright.” Tommy follows him to a stairwell that’s hidden from the rest of the party.
“I, uh,” Evan starts, then just hands Tommy his phone. Tommy looks down at it to see the article that Sal had sent him.
“I saw it,” Tommy says, handing it back.
“Oh, okay. Cool.” Evan’s staring at him. “Any, uh, thoughts?”
“On your personal life?”
Evan huffs. “Maddie said there were better ways to get someone’s attention than a grand—”
Tommy kisses him.
“A grand gesture’s pretty great,” Tommy says, when he can talk again.
Evan nods wordlessly.
“How long do you need to stay at this party?” Tommy asks.
“I already took all my photos with Noah, I can bounce whenever.”
“Bounce,” Tommy repeats, shaking his head. “Don’t suppose you know a back way out of here?”
“Duh, of course I do,” Evan says.
13. Tommy’s next book says simply To EB on the dedication page.
I just read your AU about Buck and Tommy meeting at their kids' high school graduation. I love this idea so much!
If you'd like, I'd love to hear more about Theo and Fiona's perspectives. What do they think? What do they talk about at the party later? What was their plan?
1. Theo has been hearing about some guy named Tommy since he was four. Sometimes from Ravi, sometimes from Aunt Maddie, sometimes from Uncle Chimney, sometimes from Buck-slash-Dad (he used to be Buck, now he's Dad). It's always some vague reference to a pilot or a helicopter or a story about something that happens to involve Tommy. But it usually makes his dad sad, so Theo doesn't like hearing the name. When he's sixteen and thinks he might have a crush on his friend, he tells his dad and wonders what it means, and his dad talks about figuring out he was bisexual in his thirties but also how he had looked back at feelings he had for people (including Dad, the one he barely remembers). And it's the most he talks about Tommy, and it gets him really sad. Theo finally says something to his friend, his friend starts crying and says they're not even sure they're a boy but they're also not a girl, and Theo doesn't know what to do with that except hug them. And he finds out that watching someone figure themselves out and become a happier person is pretty amazing, so the crush only gets worse and he finally says something again and gets kissed this time. It's awesome.
2. Fiona had been quiet when she moved in with Uncle Tommy. She'd turned into a shadow, sad and feeling like she was stretched thin all the time. She'd stare into space and her eyes would fill with tears and she wouldn't know why. One day, Uncle Tommy wedges himself into the space between her bed and her wall where she's curled up and talks about losing his mom when he was a teenager, also to cancer. He says it changes you, losing a parent. You walk around with a different set of eyes, a different heart, and there's a heavy resentment that encases you for a long time. He'd punched a guy in the face for complaining about his mom making the same sandwich every day. She asks if he ever stopped feeling like he was disconnected from the world around him. "Eventually," he says, tipping his head back against the wall. "A long time after. There was other stuff. I was closeted until I was in my thirties. That sort of puts this invisible wall between you and the rest of the world, too. It's just not as...hazy, I guess. It's its own kind of grief, though. You're grieving the life you feel like you're missing out on or your idea of who you should've been. Same thing happens when you get your heart broken or if you lose a friendship." Later, weeks later, she's snooping through the living room and finds a medal from the LAFD. There's also a plaque. "Why are these in a drawer?" she asks him. He stares at them for a long time and reaches into the drawer to pull out a framed photo of himself with other firefighters. "That's why," he says. "I used to be friends with Hen, Chimney, and Eddie--" he points to three of the people "--and Bobby passed away--" he points to one of the men "--and I was in love with Evan." He brushes a finger over one of the men's faces. "Am I love with him, I guess. And I don't have any of them now." He shrugs and puts it all back. And she wonders why he'd even keep something that was filled with so much grief.
3. At graduation, Fiona sees Theo taking pictures with his dad, and the guy looks so familiar. When she hears her uncle say his name, she looks to Theo, and he looks back with raised eyebrows. So he knows who her uncle is to his dad. On the bus to Grad Nite, she grabs him from his seat next to Brayden and pulls him to an empty seat. She knows he's adopted, he knows she's got a guardian, and they're both orphans (or might as well be, in her case). They've always had a connection because of that, an ease with each other. So immediately they're comfortable comparing notes. "What're the odds?" Theo says. "Like, really? I know weird shit happens to my dad all the time, but--" "Can you ask anyone about them? Like, what happened? Uncle Tommy won't talk about it," she says. She texts Aunt Gina, because Uncle Sal can't keep a secret. He texts someone named Ravi. They both get similar stories: Tommy and Evan/Buck (depending on who you ask) had a shortlived relationship back in the mid-20s that ended in heartbreak, they both obsessed and pined over each other, there was some kind of hookup situation that didn't end great, they fled the fucking military during some kind of call and someone really important to them died, and then they lost touch. When they ran into each other again later, they were both seeing people. "Fucking Jack," Theo groans. "I hated that guy." And Fiona didn't know the guy that Uncle Tommy was with then, but it couldn't have been worth it. She's not even really a romantic, but this shit is romantic.
4. "Have you ever seen The Parent Trap?" Fiona asks, and Theo shakes his head. After going through a list of movies, she realizes he hasn't seen anything. They can't exactly switch places like the twins in the movie, but they can go to each other's houses until they start school. They can plan to go places at the same time with their guardians. Fiona can invite Theo and Evan/Buck to her birthday hangout. "Well, I'll do that anyway," she decides, and Theo lights up. "But if we just get them to see each other enough, they'll stop being stupid." And it feels weird to care about a grownup's romantic life, but Uncle Tommy's done so much for her, and it feels stupid that they're not figuring this out if they've clearly been in love for fifteen years or whatever. Theo feels the same way about his dad. He's also been hearing about Tommy most of his life, and he knows that his dad won't be as happy with anyone else. "He made sure I was happy, I gotta do it for him, too," he reasons, shrugging.
5. They split up with their respective friend groups through most of the night, but they meet up again outside Space Mountain. "Okay, so I'll ask my uncle to take me to the Santa Monica Pier this weekend," Fiona says, and Theo shakes his head. "Dad doesn't go to the pier because of that time he got caught in a tsunami there," he says, which is batshit. "What about the library?" "Why would I go to the library the weekend after graduation?" she asks. "Because it's fun?" Theo says, and she looks at him incredulously. "What about a hike?" "Okay, so this is why we don't hang out," she says, gesturing between them. By the time they plop into their seats and have the bar pulled down over their thighs, they're grumpy and annoyed with each other. But then he holds her hand when she shrieks really loud, even though she's more thrilled than scared, and it's honestly so sweet and she remembers why she crushed on him sophomore year. They're on their way to Star Tours when Theo asks, "Why don't we just go to the mall?" So they agree on that, and it'll force them to walk around for a few hours and talk.
6. In the morning, Fiona gets home and sees that her uncle's not. Tinkerbell is asleep on his bed, and the shirts he'd been trying to decide between the day before are laid out. She feels herself break out into a cold sweat, because what if something happened after he left the school? What if there was an accident? She fumbles with her phone just as she gets a text from Theo. Her anxiety dissolves immediately, and she laughs and then says, "Oh, gross."
7. When Uncle Tommy comes home, Fiona is sitting in his armchair with Tinkerbell in her lap. "And where have you been?" she asks, petting her cat as he freezes. "You look like a Bond villain," he says, relaxing. "And you look like you're wearing the same clothes," she says, grinning. "You're grounded," he says. "No, I'm not, I was going to Parent Trap you at the mall this weekend so you could get back with the love of your life," she says, and he looks genuinely touched by that. "Can we still go to the mall?" she asks. She likes going to the mall with him, even if he hates the shopping part. The rest of it is always fun. "Yes," he says, bending to kiss her forehead and gently hug her head before he scratches Tinkerbell's head. "And thank you. Why do you care about who I'm dating, though?" "Because I care about you, asshole," she says, and he disappears to make pancakes, which means he's probably crying in the kitchen again.
8. Evan Buckley walks into Tommy's house for the first time in years. He smiles at Fiona when she lets him in, but she doesn't smile back. "If you hurt him," she says, drawing up her full height, which is still a foot shorter than him, "I will have you weighed down and dropped into the ocean. And no one will ever find you." And he believes her, considering he knows she knows Sal and Lucy. "I'd let you," he says, and she looks him up and down before settling back onto her heels. "Okay," she says, and he pulls a container of cookies from his tote bag and hands them to her. "Bribes don't work," she says, popping the lid. "Nah, but they're good cookies," he says, smiling. Then she disappears into the hallway, yelling, "Uncle Tommy, your boyfriend's here!" She's clearly not planning on sharing the cookies. Buck grins when Tommy's head pops out of his room. "Hey, I'll be ready in a minute," Tommy says, smiling. When he pops back in and closes his door, Fiona pokes her head out of what used to be Tommy's guest room and says, "They are good." And then she does the thing where she points at both her eyes and then at his, and he raises his hands in surrender, and he catches a hint of a smile before she disappears back into her room.
9. A month goes by, and Fiona gets up one morning and walks into the living room and sees that a photo, a plaque, and a medal are on display on the mantle. It's next to her graduation photo with him, her senior portrait, a picture of Uncle Tommy with Uncle Sal and Aunt Gina at their wedding, a photo from his captain's retirement party, a photo of his mom and him, and a photo of her mom and her. It's crowded up there, and she pockets her phone and rearranges things so there's some room to add more if he wants. When he comes in from the garage in his workout clothes, he surveys the mantle and nods approvingly. "We might need to start hanging them," he says. "We'll be adding more." And she realizes he really means them. The two of them. It's their life together. She has a life again. There's a big lump in her throat, and her eyes get teary, but she doesn't feel pulled away from it all anymore. She feels it all around her, like it's sat right up against her heart. She slips away to her room and hugs Tinkerbell to her face and cries a little. Uncle Tommy knocks on her door and ends up sitting with her on her bed and hugging her. "I'm just happy, I swear," she says, sniffling. And he laughs at her, gentle instead of mocking, and kisses her hair. "Me, too," he says. "Because of you." And she nods, a silent You, too.
For the 5 facts au prompt: canon-based Time Traveller's Wife. Tommy is unstuck in time.
This is funny because way back when I first joined the fandom in 2024, I started writing a time traveler's husband au where Buck was the one who got unstuck in time. Maybe I'll do a wip amnesty post of it one day.
If I had planned this better and had a better sense of the inevitable passage of time, I would have posted this on you birthday. But I don't and I didn't. So belated happy birthday, my beloved rc. I hope you enjoy time traveling Tommy.
1. Of course Buck only learned about it after they broke up. God forbid Tommy share a single detail about his life. God forbid Buck notice how little he know about Tommy’s life. God forbid they try to fix it.
There was someone waiting on his front steps. Buck knew that silhouette, that nose, that build. He about fell out of the truck, bag full of the overrun muffins Chimney refused to take bouncing against his leg.
“Tommy,” he said.
Tommy lifted his head. It was all wrong.
If this was Tommy then it was a Tommy missing twenty years. He had the height but none of the muscles, so lean and thin that Buck might actually have a shot at winning a Muay Thai match. His face was sharp and made sharper by his buzzed hair, even sharper than the few photos Chim dug up from when Tommy was a probie. His ears were pierced, and he couldn’t be older than twenty.
“Oh,” Tommy said, grinning so wide that his nose, still the same, scrunched, “I’m so glad it’s you.”
2. Twenty year old Tommy ate the muffins, most of a chocolate pumpkin loaf—“I really like pumpkin," Tommy had said like it was a secret, as if Buck didn't already know—and was on his second piece of lasagna. Buck remembered being that young and perpetually hungry, and he hadn’t been trying to get survive a tour of Afghanistan.
“So you're unstuck in time," he said when Tommy came up from air.
“It doesn't happen a lot. I just slip.” Tommy shoved another forkful of lasagna in his mouth. “This is really good.”
“It’s one of your favorites,” Buck said. When they were dating, Tommy had been so quietly thrilled to eat Bobby's cooking again that Buck collected the few recipes Bobby hadn't already shared. He paused. “Wait, should I be telling you that?”
“You can’t cause a time paradox,” Tommy said, scooping up another huge forkful. “What happens is gonna happen, no matter how hard you wish it didn't.”
The last part was said in a tone Buck knew well: Tommy was trying to pretend he wasn’t bleeding hurt everywhere.
“But I’ve never tried,” Buck said. “I bet I could do it. I’m a firefighter. We help people.”
In the twenty years between this Tommy and Buck’s Tommy, Tommy had perfected his inoffensivelu bland mask. This Tommy was still learning and wore it poorly, and what slipped through broke Buck’s heart.
“You won’t have to put up with me for long,” Tommy said, a subject so obvious it nearly made Buck laugh. “I usually snap back in an hour or so.”
“What’s the longest you ever been unstuck?” he asked.
Tommy diverted his entire attention to scooping up the last of the lasagna. “Most of day, once.” He smiled, such a small and tender thing. “It was nice.”
Buck knew better than to ask where Tommy spent that day, and instead said, “Can you take anything back with you? I can load you up with loaves.”
Tommy regretfully shook his head; the only thing he could take was himself. Buck better feed him while he was there. He reached for the brownies.
An hour later when he went to pull out the chocolate chip cookies he was saving for Jee, displaced air sent his ears popping. When he turned around, Tommy was gone.
3. Buck spent the new week drafting texts to Tommy he never sent:
you were a string bean back in the day
why didn’t you tell me
what does it feel like being unstuck
how long have you known me
In the end, he sent none of them. If Tommy wanted him to know then Buck would know. He was tired of giving Tommy chances to tell him.
4. Buck was halfway home when he saw a Tommy walking down the sidewalk, head down and missing his shoes. Buck cut across a lane of traffic, ignoring the angry car horns, and rolled down the window. “Need a lift?” he called.
Tommy’s head jerked around and he said, hopeful and soft, “Evan?”
Buck reached across to fumble the door open. “Get in.”
Tommy climbed in with a wince. His feet were lightly abraded rather than torn up, although Buck wished they had time to take him for a tetanus shot. This was a slightly older Tommy, late twenties rather than early twenties, his hair grown out enough he could brush it into a mohawk. His ears were pierced.
Buck reached into the back and pulled out a container of leftover french toast casserole. “It’s not exactly warm anymore but you’re welcome to it. Oh, wait.” Another rummage unearthed his travel utensils, and he passed those over.
“Thanks,” said Tommy, and wasted no time in digging in. “Fuck, this is so good. I spent my entire tour in Afghanistan thinking about that lasagna. Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“My captain taught me,” Evan said as he carefully pulled back out into traffic and carefully did not think that Tommy had known that the entire time they were together. “He’s, uh, really good.”
Tommy twitched. “Captain?”
“Firefighter captain. I’m a firefighter, remember?” Buck glanced over to invite Tommy in on the joke. “I would not have made in the army.”
Tommy’s gaze darted away and then back again. Buck used to think Tommy was simply avoidant, but he knew better now; he was shy. “You wouldn’t have.” Tommy said it like that was a good thing.
Buck cleared his throat. “I like the earrings.”
“My dad would hate them.” Now Tommy’s was inviting him in on the joke. “It’s why I got them.”
“That’s the same reason I once bought a motorcycle,” Buck said, and was so pleased by the way Tommy smiled. “Hey, do me a favor and finish that. I don’t want to deal with the leftovers.”
By the time he pulled into the driveway, Tommy was gone and Buck was left with an empty container.
5. He limped out of the 118. It had been a long, grueling shift and Buck was very worried that if Chimney made one more joke at his expense he might actually let loose and pop him one. What a fucking awful feeling. Was this how Eddie spent his days, skin so small he had to work to keep from scratching it off? He could almost see the appeal of a secret fight club.
There was someone standing by his truck. Buck’s stomach curled up small and scared. It was Tommy dressed in that black tank top and button up shirt, his date outfit from their anniversary.
“Tommy,” Evan said.
“Jesus Christ,” Tommy said, eyes red and wet, voice hoarse like the tears had scoured his throat. Tommy had only just started to cry when he opened the door and stepped out of the loft. “Why is it always you?”
“I don’t know,” Buck said, body betraying him by locking down. “Why is it always you?”
“I wish I fucking knew,” Tommy said, and was gone.
6. Buck was so furious that he had to take fifteen minutes to calm himself down before it was safe to drive, which meant he got stuck in the morning rush hour., and that meant he was in a truly foul mood when he got home and saw a kid sitting on the giant tire in his background. Most of the neighborhood kids—who called him Mr. Buckley and made him feel so unbelievably old—had gotten used to cutting through the yard when the house was empty. Most days Buck was happy enough to remind them it wasn’t safe, especially when he wasn’t around, and unloading some cookies or brownies or a loaf or two for their parents.
But this wasn’t most days. He threw open the back door and snapped, “You can’t be here.”
The kid scrubbed the hoodie cuff over his face. “I’m not doing anything,” the kid said, mustering a defiant glare. He couldn’t be older than thirteen. “I don’t even want to be here.”
“That makes two of us,” Buck muttered. There was something about the way the kid was dressed—beat up sneakers, baggy pants, baggy hoodie—that softened his irritation. He had only the passing knowledge of what kids thought was cool, and that only came from the few times he saw Denny, but the clothes were off. Old, maybe.
And then the kid lifted his head, and there was no mistaking that nose or that chin, even if they were now on a face still round with baby fat.
“Tommy,” he said.
Tommy popped up, gaze darting around the yard. There were no visible bruises, but Tommy was holding himself so careful and still, the same way Buck had after the bombing and the tsunami and the lightning strike; Tommy was hurt.
“You know me?” Tommy asked, sour wariness seeping from him.
“Yeah, I do. I’m Evan.” That wasn’t strictly true, but he could no more explain they were ex-boyfriends to thirteen year old Tommy than he could to twenty year old Tommy. “I’m Evan.”
Tommy impossibly grew more suspicious. “Do you know why I’m here?”
“Well, I’m guessing you got unstuck again,” he said. “Are you hungry?”
Hunger beat wariness, and Tommy sat at the island and ate everything Buck put in front of him. Buck remembered being that young and hungry all the time, but he got the feeling his parents provided a lot more regular meals than Tommy’s did.
“Do I show up a lot?” Tommy asked after polishing off a second slice of french silk pie. Good to know Tommy always had a terrible sweet tooth.
“More lately,” Buck said.
Tommy sighed a sigh much too heavy for someone who hadn’t hit his first big growth spurt. “Sorry about that.”
Oh, so Tommy could break his heart more than once.
“Hey, I’m not.” He waited until Tommy looked at him. “I like hanging out with you.”
Tommy ducked his head too slow to hide his smile.
I’m gonna love the hell out of you one day, Buck thought, but said, “So what do you want to do while you’re here?”
What Tommy wanted to do was play Pokemon—like the very first Pokemon game—but his Gameboy, an old black and white one his friend Ellis gave him when he got a colored one, was back in 1998. Lucky for him, Chris wasn’t too cool for Pokemon yet, and Buck had picked up the latest Switch game.
“This is gonna blow your mind,” he said, and Tommy’s mind was blown.
They played Pokemon and Buck made them lunch and then dinner. As night crept in, Tommy’s face went pinched and tight.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Buck said, digging out his phone. This was the longest Tommy had hung around. Maybe some cellular degradation was happening, like in that one animated Spiderman movie Chris made him watch. This wasn’t the way he wanted to talk to Tommy, his Tommy, again, but he might be the only one who could help.
“I’m supposed to go back.” Tommy set his baby soft jaw. “I want to stay here.”
There went his heart again.
“I know,” Buck said. “It’s going to be okay.”
Tommy shook his head wildly, hands balled up into fists on his thighs. “It’s not. You don’t know what it’s like.”
Buck ducked his head and met Tommy’s gaze. “I do. It’s going to be hard for a little longer, but you’re get out and it gets better. It gets good.”
“You promise?” Tommy asked, desperate and hopeful and so achingly trusting.
“I promise,” Buck said, and his ears popped as air rushed into the void Tommy left behind.
7. why didn’t you tell me, he texted Tommy.
The bubble appeared. The bubble disappeared.
Buck threw his phone across the room.
8. It was suffocatingly hot, and Buck kicked one leg free from the covers and rolled over into the lee of Tommy’s body. That’s why he was burning up; Tommy was his own personal heater.
“Hot,” he muttered, draping himself along Tommy’s side. “Your fault.”
He had mostly dropped off again when Tommy, so lightly he barely felt it, brushed knuckled along his shoulder and then down his spine. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He burrowed closer, sighing happily when Tommy hesitantly touched the curling hair at the nape of his neck. “I still like you.”
“I like you,” Tommy said, hushed and quiet like it was a secret, but Buck was already asleep.
He woke up with the sheets neatly tucked around him, last night’s dream already slipping away.
9. Buck frantically tugged at the duct tape. He was not going to die in this desert. Eddie was not going to die in this desert. He was going to get free and he was going to find Eddie and they were going home. They were—they were—the tape didn’t give and a howl clawed at his throat.
“Evan.”
Buck blinked. There was Tommy crouched before him, but this was a Tommy he’d never seen before. This Tommy was at least twenty years older, hair gone completely white, those beautiful laugh lines now dug deep and permanent, skin spotted and thinner, jawline softened with age, that cleft still just as devastating.
“What are you doing here?” Buck asked, the fever burning up all this thoughts. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” Tommy said. Even his voice was older, still with that bitchy lilt, but softened the same way his jaw had softened.
“Wait,” he said as Tommy pulled out a pen knife. “You gotta leave me. They’re gonna kill Eddie. You have to save him.”
“Sweetheart,” Tommy said, “we both know there is absolutely no timeline where I leave you here. Hold still.”
Tommy sawed through the tape. Buck was free, and Tommy helped him to his feet.
“I gotta get to Eddie,” Buck said, swaying.
Tommy gently cupped his cheek. His eyes were still so blue. “I know.”
Buck forced himself away and out into the harsh light. He had to save Eddie. They had to live. Tommy was wearing a wedding ring.
10. Buck woke in the hospital to Tommy holding his hand. His body was muffled and far away; maybe he left it back in Derek’s room.
“Hey, honey,” Tommy said, his smile creating even more breathtaking lines and furrows. “You’re safe now.”
“Safe,” Buck repeated. He touched Tommy’s wedding ring. “Can I?”
“Of course,” Tommy said softly.
It took two tries but Buck slid the ring down over the knuckle. There was a band of pale skin where the ring had sat. Tommy had been wearing it for a very long time.
“Is it me?” he asked, only for remorse to sour his mouth. “Wait, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.” He didn’t know what would hurt more, if Tommy married him or if he hadn’t.
“I won’t,” Tommy said, sliding his ring back into place and gathering Buck’s hand in between his wrinkled ones.
“You’re so old,” Buck said, too tired and hurt to keep the tears away. “You got to grow old.”
Tommy leaned forward like he was sharing a secret. “Someone told me it was going to get good. Turns out he was right. He’s a pretty smart guy.”
“Not that smart,” Buck said, wishing he could move over and Tommy could lay beside him. “I let you get away.”
Tommy laughed at that, and then pressed an apologetic kiss to Buck’s knuckles. “You’ll also find that funny when you get to be my age.”
Oh. They could grow old together.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. “Did you think I would leave? Is that why you left?”
His Tommy carried sadness like an old friend, but it sat poorly on this Tommy, like he had so much happiness in his life he forgot what it was like to be anything else. “I couldn’t believe it was you when I saw you at Harbor,” Tommy said, cradling their joined hands to his chest. “I’d been waiting years to find you and then there you were. But you didn’t know me. We were out of sync.” Tommy paused to press another kiss to his hand, his knuckles, his palm. “You were this beautiful, kind man who always made sure I had enough to eat and who stayed with me. I was already half in love with you and you didn’t know who I was, even after six months. That’s why I left.”
“You asshole,” he said, furious. “That’s not fair. You could have tried. You could still try.”
“I know,” Tommy said with all the infuriating knowledge of twenty years that Buck didn’t have. “Would you believe me if I tell you it gets better?”
“No. Tell me anyway.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Tommy said, so tender that it hurt. “It gets so fucking good.”
He was crying now. “I miss you so much.”
“I miss you, too.” Tommy sweetly thumbed away the tears. “When you see me next, ask me why I keep going to you.”
“Okay,” he said, and tucked Tommy’s hand to his cheek. “Can you stay? Just for a little while.”
“Of course.” Tommy kissed the corner of his mouth, and Buck would give up just about anything if it meant he got to keep that. “I’ll stay.”
Buck held his hand until he fell asleep.
10. Tommy answered the door in bare feet and slung low sweatpants, hair tangled in great tufts, and Buck knew what he looked like at thirteen and twenty and sixty-five. He was beautiful.
“Why do you always find me when you get unstuck?” Buck asked.
Tommy sighed. There was the sadness that he always carried, but there was hope, too. “Because,” Tommy said, “you make me feel safe.”
I’m gonna love the hell out of you, Buck vowed, for as long as you’ll have me. But he said, “Can I come in?”
Tommy stepped back and held the door open.
11. Buck finished weeding their small vegetable patch and stood with a wince. Another year, he promised himself, and then Nichols would be ready to take over as captain and he could join Tommy in retirement.
“For someone who wanted a victory garden,” Buck called as he entered the kitchen, taking care that his gloves didn’t snag on his wedding ring as he tugged them off, “you sure do weasel out of taking care of it.”
There was no sarcastic retort how Buck had been the one to draft literal plans. His ears popped from displaced air.
His husband leaned against the island, looking like he hadn’t slept all night. Tommy was older now, they both were, and even if he no longer carried the same muscle mass from his youth and even if his hair was thinning in the back and even if he was gaining new wrinkles every day, he was still the most beautiful man Buck had ever seen. Buck loved him endlessly.
“Where were you?” he asked.
“The same place I always am,” Tommy said with the smile that scrunched his nose and sent Buck’s heart tripping. “I was with you.”
Tagged by @rcmclachlan, @ambernotember, and @beanarie.
Like @liminalmemories21, I've got two for you.
From the Ilya-think piece , here's the last line that made me laugh:
“I speak as much Russian as your dog.” Anya’s ears perk up where she’s lying at the end of the couch.
Ilya considers several responses before he grabs hold of Shane’s ankles and tugs him over into his lap, ignoring his sputtering. “You think?” Pats his lap. Tells him, “Sit.”
From the old-school Tommy/Buck piece (and how had I forgotten having to police names?):
It's not just his paperwork that he texts Evan about; it's his emails, his Teams messages, whenever he just wants to curse at someone and knows he shouldn't, he texts Evan.
"How have you not been fired before?" Evan asks into the back of Tommy's neck, curled around him.
Sometimes you just need to write. @liminalmemories21 and I were in that place where we wanted to get something on a page that was fun (and done!). Everyone likes a good timestamp, right? We went back to Biscuit in the Basket and wrote a slice of life for Sergei and his dads. Specifically -- these boys are definitely going to get walked in on having sex, right?
Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov
Characters: Original Children of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov
Additional Tags: Coitus Interruptus, Kid Fic, Accidental Baby Acquisition
Series: Part 2 of Shimmy, Shimmy Cocoa Puffs
Summary: Sergei walks in at absolutely the wrong time.
We made this a series and if you’re curious where Shimmy, Shimmy Cocoa Puffs came from -- every time I say biscuit, in my head, I hear the song from Big -- “she said a triscuit, a biscuit.” And yes, apparently he says Cocoa Pop? But I’ve sang Cocoa Puff for way too many years to stop now.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Look! @cecilyv and I remembered how to write.
Timestamp post-Biscuit in a Basket - Sergei is about three here.
“Lander? Shane shakes his head, can’t possibly have heard— his orgasm is right there, if he just clenches— “Lander, are you okay?” A small voice, right behind him and he collapses like a puppet with his strings cut. He buries his forehead on Ilya’s chest, which moves his cock just slightly inside him, lighting him up like a roman candle at the absolute worst time. He wants to be anywhere but here but also can’t imagine moving. Ilya’s gripping his hip, hard, five sharp points of contact, while he adjusts the blanket which (thank god) is mostly covering them still, against the chill of a February in ottawa.
“Lander’s fine, malysh,” Ilya says through his teeth. They are so, so lucky that he is three.
“Lander?” Sergei asks again, not believing ilya and Shane has never wished for Sergei to not be inquisitive more than right this second.
“Papa is right. I’m fine.”
“You sound hurt,” he says belligerently, lower lip stuck out, standing his ground. “You were making noise? Like when you step on my lego.” He shifts on his feet, looking more and more worried. "Did I leave lego in the bed? I didn’t mean to. I promise.“
And abruptly Ilya is laughing. Shane glares at him, hissing, "I’m glad you find this funny.”
New Fic: Awful quiet here since love fell asleep (911)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Things don’t always work out, the first time around.
“There was a time when Tommy would have given him anything, when the answer to every question was “of course,” like there was no doubt, like it was obvious that everything Tommy had was Buck’s.”
The Buck/Tommy break up/make up fic that literally no one was asking for but me, and @liminalmemories21 indulged me in the best way.
(I'm in love) but I do not speak the language may have been the fic that @liminalmemories21 said she'd help write and pulled me out of retirement, but Awful Quiet is the one that brought me back to tumblr -- and that's the community I want to celebrate today. Thank y'all for being so supportive and amazing.
....especially since I really introduced myself with a break up fic.
tagged by @adiprose, @paperstorm, @cha-melodius, and @three-drink-amy sometime in the last week. Thank you!
@cecilyv and I keep plugging away at our WIP, and it gets a little more coherent, and a little less messy by the day. I think? (I hope?)
Also, before I post this, I need to say - I have no skin in the game in the St Viatur vs Fairmont Montreal bagel debate. I have been to Montreal, once, many years ago. It was lovely. We did eat bagels - they were delicious. I don't remember anymore if we got them from St Viatur or Fairmont, and we unfortunately did not do a taste test. Clearly I need to go back.
Harris is set up on the seating side of the boards, and he’s catching the team as they come down the corridor just before they hit the ice. “It’s meet the team week,” Harris had told them when he pitched this. “Just quick Question of the Day type stuff, nothing heavy, just to give the public some idea of who you guys are off the ice.
The question of the day today is apparently, food you can’t get in Ottawa.
[.....]
“Shane?”
“Umm, I’m from here, so…?”
“Oh, right, I forgot. Okay, dealer’s choice - either something you missed while you were in Montreal, or something from Montreal you’re missing here.”
Montreal bagels,” Shane says promptly, which makes Ilya side eye him, because since when are bagels on Shane’s diet? Shane catches him looking and says, “Off season, obviously.”
“Obviously,” he echoes.
Harris is about to wave Shane onto the ice, and then holds up a finger. “Wait, St Viatur or Fairmount?”
He can see Shane gear up for a polite non-committal answer and then visibly realize he’s not in Montreal anymore and say firmly, “Fairmount.”
Hazy elbows him. “How long have you been holding that in?”
“Since my rookie season,” Shane admits, to the assembled team’s laughter.
tagging @freneticfloetry, and @geddyqueer, and @welcometololaland
@liminalmemories21 and I are typing away at this, but instead of our usual quick production, it's like we forgot how to touch type and are just pounding at keyboards with our index fingers.
----------------------
They have a week when they get home from Spain, before they need to be in Ottawa for training camp. It feels right to go to the cottage - full circle, or something like it. See the Hollanders. Spoil Anya, not that she hasn’t been spoiled by David and Yuna, but he has missed her, his constant companion these last few years when Shane could not be there.
Sveta comes up the last weekend they are there.
“You are sure you do not mind?” he asks Shane for probably the third time, as they wait in the Ottawa parking lot for her plane to arrive. Probably too late if Shane decides he does.
But Shane just says again, “I didn’t have time at the wedding to ask her for embarrassing stories about you as a kid, but now I do. She said she’d bring pictures.”
He blinks. “Maybe I should be the one who minds.”
“Too late now,” Shane says and nods at where Sveta is coming out of the terminal, squinting against the summer sun.
He gets out to help her with her bag, because he is a gentleman. “You have been talking to Shane behind my back?” he asks her.
“Hello to you too Ilyusha, yes my flight was good, thank you for asking.”
Kisses her cheek and cedes the front seat to her. “Yes, yes, and I am glad to see you too. But, you have been talking to Shane without me?”
“You sound worried,” Shane says. And then, “Hello Svetlana, we’re really glad you could make it.” Spares Ilya an amused glance, and asks Sveta earnestly, “How was your flight?”
“And I am the asshole?” he asks the air and Sveta laughs at him.
They all hide from the world for a week. He tries to limit Shane's time on his phone, keep him from scrolling through twitter to read all the toxic takes. He sacrifices himself by putting on last year's Centaur's games so that Shane, Sveta and Yuna can dissect them. Lays on his couch, stretched out with his head on Shane's legs, feeling a little like Anya, a fat, content lap dog as Shane pets his hair. Sveta scoops up his feet, rests her hand on him while she focuses on the TV. It feels perfect, bookended between the people he loves. He sees Yuna look over with soft eyes from her chair, wipe away tears. He understands.
Watches Shane look at his new team with fresh eyes, as teammates not opponents, have ideas about how to better use everyone's skills. He compiles a long list for Wiebe.
He knows Shane is nervous, even if he will not say so out loud. He is too. He is also not willing to say so out loud.
He wants Shane to like them. Wants them to like Shane. Remembers how hard it was for him to go from Boston to Ottawa, and not all of that was about going from winning to losing. It is hard to learn how to play with new people. How to trust them to be where you need them to be.
It's more than that too. The Centaurs aren't just his team;, they're his friends. More than anyone except maybe Marly had been in Boston. He's not worried that Shane won't impress them on the ice, but he wants them to see Shane for who he is off the ice too, and that is harder.
He can't really help Shane with that; they know him, his tricks -- would see through it, see his fingerprints all over any attempts to be sneaky. He worries -- he's not sure if Shane ever let anyone in who wasn't Hayden. Doesn't know how to get him to do it now.
Sveta sneaks up behind him, puts her chin on his shoulder. He doesn’t flinch. “He makes you happy.” Ilya keeps looking over at Shane, playing cards with his parents. Playing may be a weak term for the fierceness of the battle.
“He does.” They’re speaking in Russian, though the volume of the argument breaking out at the dining room table would keep any of them from overhearing.
“I’m glad.” She squeezes his side. “I would not trust just anyone with you.”
I will trade you one learning English (for values of Boston English), for another learning English. @cecilyv and I got all up in our feels about early 2000s CW TV. This is oddly enough, I think one of the only parts of the original chat dump about Ilya that has so far made it verbatim into the fic.
Hand to god, we're actually going to finish this .... sometime.
He’d learned most of his English from TV. Or at least the kind of English that was useful, not the ‘my aunt is a nurse, and my cousin has a bird, and the man at the table is reading a newspaper’ that English lessons in school had him translating. When it becomes clear that he is good enough that hockey can be a way out, that if he spins it right (promises them money) he can get his father to push for him to be drafted to the MHL, Sveta teaches him how to pirate tv shows; he stars with sports news highlights but they don’t talk about hockey that much.
“You’ll never learn watching hockey,” Sveta admonished him. “You already know the hockey.” He knows some of the hockey. He knows how to chirp.
She introduces him to Vampire Diaries. Then Smallville. She puts on Gilmore Girls, ignoring his grumbling.
“They talk too fast.”
“That’s good for you.”
He gets strangely invested.
(Years later Yuna makes some snide comment referencing and he answers, and everyone at the table turns in unison. It’s creepy.)
He finds Dawson's Creek on his own - does not tell Sveta, because she would never let him hear the end of it.
She finds out anyway, and he doesn't know why he ever bothers to pretend like he can hide things from her.
He tells her with dignity, "We are Team Pacey."
She gives him a look. "Of course we are Team Pacey, who is Team Dawson? Nobody."
She holds his hand when they watch Jack come out. Neither of them say anything.
DUE SOUTH DUE SOUTH DUE SOUTH !!!!! pretty please??
Ah the due South au in which Thomas Kinard of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police first came to Los Angeles on the trail of the killers of his friend's father and, for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, has remained, attached as a liaison officer with the Canadian Consulate.
Did I originally come up with the au based solely on how good lfj would look in the red serge? Yes. Am I now struggling to come up with a coherent storyline? Yes. Am I enjoying the vibe of it? Also yes.
For this to work I think it's going to be more episodic and set in s4ish but also I'm going to bring in events from later seasons (lightening strike, landing a plane on the highway) just because. The timeline has no power here.
Will Tommy somehow always find a horse to ride when he needs one? Yes. Is there a ghost in a closet? Yes. Do I have plans to work on this this year? Future unclear.
RULES: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder. People send an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then tell them something about it!
@liminalmemories21 and I have a few things almost all Heated Rivalry. I have to admit that I... haven't watched an episode of 9-1-1 this season? And I feel kinda okay about that? I follow along with y'all on the tumblrs, so thank you for watching, so I don't have to.
-The odd ilya thing from chat
-Yuna character study
-5+1 of things they hadn't done before
-Pegasus Obscured*
*I wouldn't say this one is active any longer but @dharmaavocado put it back on our radar so we've opened the file recently at least?
