"I didn't meant to wake you. Go back to sleep." For bucktommy please đ§Ą
Not this turning into the prequel to my prompt from Beans lol
Thank you for the ask â€ïžâ€ïž
Buck's alarm goes off too early, he feels, buzzing and blaring at 3:45 AM. He takes a moment to breathe deeply and rub his palms across his eyes, things coming slowly to him in the dark.
There's a sliver of light coming from the crack in the door of the bathroom, the sound of Tommy showering drifting toward him. Tommy must drop something, because just as Buck was slumping into himself again and his eyes were closing, a thump and quiet curse rings out.
The side of Buck's mouth quirks up, and he shakes off his exhaustion to swing himself out of the bed. He stops at Tommy's dresser to grab the pair of sweats and hoodie Tommy had left on top before bed, slipping them over his t-shirt and boxers. Hearing Tommy continue to shower and hum to himself, Buck allows himself a moment to lean his head against the bathroom doorframe and smile softly.
He pads down to the kitchen, going straight for the coffee maker to turn it on before opening the refrigerator and grabbing eggs, peppers, and cheese out.
Buck loses himself in the east motions of omelet making--mixing, chopping, pouring, flipping. He detours back to the fridge to grab creamer when the coffee finishes, and is sliding his own omelet onto a plate when Tommy's strong arms wrap around his waist.
"Hey," Tommy's quiet but steady voice says, "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."
Buck grins, his eyes slipping closed as he leans his weight back on Tommy and lays his own hands across Tommy's.
"Mmm, and let you eat my omelet? In your dreams, Kinard."
Tommy huffs a laugh, squeezing Buck once before letting him go to shuffle over to the cabinet and grab a coffee mug for himself.
"You caught me. I just can't resist your omelets," Tommy says, wry smile in place, "no coffee for you though. I may be in for a long day but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go back to sleep after I'm gone. You just came off a rough shift, sweetheart."
Buck puts his hands up in surrender, accepting it when Tommy hands him a glass to fill from the tap.
When Buck turns around from the sink, Tommy's gotten silverware out and brought their food to the table, and normally Buck would be fine sitting across from him, but the long stretch of three weeks apart yawns ahead of them and buck grabs his normal chair to swing it around to sit practically on top of Tommy instead.
Tommy, unfazed, simply half stands to grab Buck's plate and silverware, dragging them across the table to his right.
Buck settles in, smiling to himself as he and Tommy dig into their food. The silence of the house is heavy like a warm blanket, broken only by the odd sound from outside--birds twittering, a car rumbling past.
Time passes syrupy slow, for which Buck is thankful as he prepares himself for the sparse phone calls and texts to come for almost a month; a half empty bed when he's gotten so used to a full one in the last 17 months.
Perhaps when they were first together, the prospect of being apart for so long would have been simply disappointing to Buck--his shiny and new relationship being put on hold. Now though he feels only pride for the work his boyfriend does, mixed with the discordant twang of wanting to be near him and know that he's safe.
This is the second deployment to CalFire Tommy was a part of since they got back together, and Buck knows with bone deep certainty that Tommy will return to him; that they're stronger than a bit of distance.
(Buck also knows, with maybe less certainty, when Tommy gets back that he'll say yes to the ring Buck is picking up soon)
"Hey, do we still have some of that Strawberry Rhubarb jelly from Bonnie?" Tommy says, squinting at his phone. Buck smirks softly, thinking also about the eye appointment Buck snuck onto Tommy's calendar that's coming up next month.
"Yeah, should be. If not, there's the raspberry preserves she slipped into our bag."
Tommy chuckles and sets his phone face down, scooping up the last few bits of his omelet.
"God I love that we have a fruit spread dealer at the Farmers Market."
Buck snorts hard, chewing his own last bite as Tommy lays an easy arm across his shoulders. He looks up at Tommy who is grinning at him, and Buck gets lost for a moment just looking at his handsome man.
"Did you want toast and jam then?" Buck asks softly, reaching up to trace his fingertips across Tommy's cheekbone and down his Jaw. Tommy turns to bite gently at his fingers and Buck smiles.
"No, Lucy and Lopez do. Lucy says it's payment for driving us to the airfield."
"Mmmm. I guess I can sacrifice the last loaf of the sourdough I made this weekend for that. There's not much of the jam left anyway, do you just want to take both?"
Tommy pretends to think about it, nodding seriously and laughing himself when Buck rolls his eyes.
"Take my amazing boyfriend's homemade sourdough with me to remind every at CalFire how much better I am than them? Yes."
A laugh bursts from Buck as he gets up from the table, Tommy playing it up as he slumps down when his arm falls from Buck's shoulders.
"Yeah yeah, okay. Let me get that packed with your other stuff while you get your go bag and everything down here."
Tommy stands himself and darts over to Buck for a smacking kiss on the cheek before heading out of the kitchen to do just that.
Buck gets to work hauling Tommy's ancient Igloo cooler out from the lower cabinets, taking care to fill the bottom with a soft ice pack, the jar of jam, a bag of beef jerky, and a few compostable knives left over from the last time they threw a party and didn't want to spend the next day washing dishes. On top of those he layers the loaf of sourdough, electrolyte drink packets, some of the fruit leather he and Jee made a few days before, and three bars of dark chocolate Buck bought as a surprise for the trip.
He gets it all into the cooler and remembers to grab the big water bottle Tommy keeps on hand for the these trips, filled the night before and chilling in the refrigerator.
Buck grabs it all and takes it into the living room, ready to say goodbye.
Tommy meets him by the front door, go bag in hand and boots on his feet.
"Got everything?" Buck asks, handing over the cooler and water.
"Got everything." Tommy confirms, setting everything down at his feet. He reaches his arms out toward Buck, and Buck lets himself fall into them.
Buck allows himself to be held, suspended in a moment of warmth and quiet, just breathing in Tommy. The smallest part of him doesn't want to let go, doesn't want to send Tommy off somewhere he won't be, but they both feel Tommy's phone vibrate and know that their time is almost up.
"Okay." Tommy says, bending down to grab everything, chuckling softly when Buck slaps his hands away from the cooler in order to grab it himself.
"I'll walk you out, handsome." Buck says, opening the door and immediately seeing Lucy's car idling against the curb. Lopez grins at them and waves from the backseat.
Buck and Tommy walk down the drive way, weak light from the sun just starting to paint the bottom of the sky. When the reach the car Lucy pops the trunk from inside, and Tommy heads to the back to stow away his go-bag.
Lucy rolls down the passenger window when Buck approaches, and when he leans into it she's grinning with far too much energy for 4 AM.
"Buckley tell me that's some sourdough and jam." She calls, and Buck grins.
"Only the best for the best contingent on the front line." He says, and she smacks the steering wheel in triumph.
"Now that's what I'm talking about! Just for that I'll make sure Kinard doesn't fight any of the CalFire dickbags."
"This is why you're my favorite, Lucy." Buck tells her, and Tommy hip checks him away from the door.
"What am I?" He says with a pout, and Buck can see Lucy rolling her eyes through the window.
"Get in the car, loverboy. We're wheels up in an hour." She calls, and Buck can hear Lopez snort in the back.
"Hey," Buck says, just as Tommy's hand is reaching for the handle. Tommy looks up at him and waits. "Come back to me, okay?"
Tommy's face softens, and he reaches out for another hug.
"Always. Love you, Ev." Tommy answers, and Buck squeezes him hard and whispers his own I love you back. When they let go, Tommy comes in for a slow kiss, and Buck relishes it.
Tommy gets in the car without another word, and Buck hands him the cooler through the window.
"Kick ass out there, 217." He says to all three, and they offer nods and grins and affirmative noises.
"Good luck here, 122." Tommy says back, the change still fresh and exciting in his eyes.
Buck watches them drive away until he starts to feel how tired he is again and goes back into the house.
He decides to leave the dishes for later and falls right back into bed after slipping the hoodie and sweats off. He's about to drift off to sleep when his phone buzzes twice in quick succession: a text and an image.
It's Tommy, Lopez, Lucy, and the person who must be another pilot, stood outside of the two helicopters they're taking up, all with a thick piece of sourdough topped witch rich red jam.
this is a bucktommy + theo thing that has been coming to me in literal sentence fragments at a time and i go back and forth between wanting to think about it and hating the very concept. also i didn't watch s9 because, like, lol.
anyway, let's put tommy kinard in a torment nexus!!!
--
âThis is why,â Evan says, throwing out a hand to gesture sharply between them. âYou leave. Thatâs your thing. You give up, and you leave. What am I going to tell the whole story for if youâre just going to leave anyway? Fool me twice, shame on me, right? Iâm not wasting my time on more people I canât count on.â
It is only a lifetime of practice that keeps him from letting the flinch show on his face.
âFuck you,â Tommy says flatly, mindful to keep his tone even. His right hand trembles at his side, nails digging into his palms, but Evan wonât notice. The hard-learned lesson is that Evan doesnât notice when it comes to him. âI almost lost my wings for you. I committed a fucking felony because you called and asked me to show up. And now Iâm someone you canât count on because I donât want to be your booty call? Fuck you.â
âIt wasnât aâ God, youâre infuriating! You always think you know whatâs going on, but you donât!â
I was tagged by @rcmclachlan for the last line game. Have something from Thought I Was Done/Secret Relationship fic:
âYeah, thatâs right,â Buck says, and his smile is so ugly, so twisted, that Maddie almost doesn't recognize him, âThat wasnât who he was. It was a momentary lapse, and hey, he never did it again, so it doesnât matter. It was years ago! He said sorry, so of course I c-canât, I canât be mad at him. Besides, Iâm a big guy, I can take it, and I was asking for it anyway. But I bet he wouldnât have hit Eddie, no matter what he did. Or Hen. Or B-Bobby. He thinks they're actual people.â
five facts about an au where buck and tommy meet on vacation. is it a road trip? a tour? neighbouring cottages on the lake? who almost runs who over in the boat?
tommy breaks off his relationship, comes out, transfers to harbor, and then his accountant cousin calls him one day. their great-uncle rusty is terminally ill, at his home in... oh, fuck, in stehekin. he needs live-in care and they're having a lot of trouble finding someone who's willing to move to what is basically a fly-in community. does tommy know anyone? tommy thinks about it for a couple minutes. tommy's parents always hated rusty. rusty was always nice to him. rusty never married. rusty had a friend named bob who lived with him for forty years. oh, shit. rusty is - "i do know someone," he says, and he packs up his stuff and breaks his lease and asks forgiveness from the captain at the 217 who is like oh my god of course tommy we love you already but go be with your gay great-uncle. so tommy moves up to stehekin. he never thought he'd move back to central washington but here he is, back on the shores of lake chelan, firing up the engine of a float plane to go take care of a man he hasn't seen since he was sixteen.
howie calls one day. "hey, tommy, are you still with the 217?" he asks, and tommy says no. he's got howie on speakerphone while he flips the laundry. rusty's house is a sweet two-bedroom cabin on the western shore of the lake. there's a rickety dock that keeps threatening to fall into the water and there's a hand-painted sign that says "rusty & bob's place", and rusty had taken it off the nails one day shortly before he passed and in a trembling hand had painted "& tommy too" at the bottom, and it's so quiet, the only sounds the float planes and the boats and the occasional intrepid pilots that land on the runway north of town, and it's lovely up here even without rusty and the ghost of bob hanging out with him. there's a lot of stuff to haul out, but one day he'll get this place cleaned up enough to rent out to vacationers. anyway he says "nope, sorry, why do you ask?" and howie says "shit, our probie's stuck in a house on a leaking gas line and it's about to blow," and tommy says "address? give me a sec," and he calls one of the other pilots at harbor and rattles the address off and doheny park is saved.
buck takes the payout. he takes the money and he drops the lawsuit and with his face hot and his jaw set he starts packing his things. he doesn't know where he's going to go. all he knows is LA isn't for him anymore. LA chewed him up and spit him out and he's leaving. all he wanted to do was to help people. all he wanted to do was to get back to the home he made. whatever. he's tossing one last bag into the back of the jeep when he hears a shout behind him. he knows it's chimney. he slams the trunk shut and heads for the driver's side door but chimney stops him. he has this friend, he explains. moved wayyyyy up north a few years ago. has a lake house. call this number, he says, shoving a piece of paper into buck's hand. buck rolls his eyes and gets in the jeep. he sits for a couple minutes, then he gets out of the jeep and hugs chimney goodbye. "go on," chimney says, looking suspiciously teary. "have a good adventure. you'll always be welcome here." buck doesn't know about that. he leaves.
he doesn't call the number until he's north of sacramento on the 5. he's not sure what "wayyyyy up north" meant. the guy who answers sounds like he just woke up. "chimney said to call you," buck says. "who the fuck is chimney?" the guy asks. buck frowns at the phone, which is on his dashboard on speaker. "uh. howie? han? you are tommy, right?" "oh! yeah. yes. you must be the kid. are you coming up? i can pick you up in chelan." "where's chelan? is that north of sacramento?" "uh, yeah, a fair bit," tommy says. buck pulls off the highway at the next exit and taps it into his maps app. "okay," he says, when tommy picks up again. "i'll be there in fourteen hours."
seventeen hours later--buck stopped for gas six times, food three times, and a nap once--he rolls up into the parking lot that he and tommy had agreed on. they'd talked logistics for a while, then tommy had called him back while he'd been passing shasta and they'd shot the shit for an hour, then buck had called him back between medford and eugene, then tommy had called him to walk him through the order he wanted buck to pick up at some warehouse in portland, then buck had called to ask whether tommy knew a physical therapist up in stehekin, and tommy had said there wasn't really one but he knew his way around exercise equipment, and then tommy just sat on the phone with him while he got on 90 and managed the mountain passes and then turned north and puttered into chelan. he really was going to need an oil change, he thinks, putting the jeep in park. there's a plane sitting on the lake, and a guy sitting on a bench in front of him. the guy looks like he could be a model. buck's sure he wasn't lying about knowing his way around exercise equipment. he drops to the ground and winces; his leg's locked up pretty bad from all that driving. "you must be evan," the guy says, and his voice is music to buck's ears.
it's a tight squeeze in the float plane with buck's bags and the floorboards that he'd picked up for tommy but they make it work. they fly low over the lake, between the mountains, and buck could cry at how beautiful it is.
it's so quiet here. it's almost too quiet, at first, but tommy's always around, puttering in the little kitchen, refinishing the floors, rebuilding the place. he's not gutting it. it's not a gut job, he's very adamant about that. he's restoring it. "rusty and bob made this place a home," he says one morning out on the porch overlooking the dock. "they were together for forty-two years. i didn't find that out until bob was dead and rusty was dying." buck looks over at him; tommy looks really sad. "there was this couple who died, almost at the same time," buck says. "it was tragic but it was also so beautiful. they gave me their scrapbook. i brought it with me. thomas and mitchell." tommy's mouth quirks a little at the name. buck shows him the book later, over breakfast. he and tommy deconstruct and rebuild the dock. buck cleans up the flowerbeds. they strip off the wallpaper in the hallway and the landing and buck does some online shopping and gets some really nice new wallpaper to replace it. buck installs a new sink. he can't stop looking at tommy, and he can't stop catching tommy looking at him.
tommy accidentally drills a hole through his finger and buck gets to fly the float plane to chelan while tommy holds a towel firmly around his bleeding hand and keeps it raised to the roof while calmly instructing buck how to take off and how to land. several stitches, a wound debridement, and a splint later, they get a room in one of the lakeside motels; buck never wants to fly the plane again and tommy's hand is in no state to steer. of course the only room available only has one bed. they take turns in the bathroom and then lay down next to each other, the space in between them almost as wide as the lake.
"hey, tommy," buck finally says into the dark room. "i'm really glad chim told me to call you." he feels the bed shift next to him as tommy rolls over to face him. "yeah?" "yeah," he says. "you didn't have to drill a hole in your hand to get me to share a bed with you, though." he can barely see tommy's face but the way it breaks into a smile seems like it could light up the whole room, the whole town. "well, chalk that up to another one of my famous mistakes," tommy says, before he leans in.
they fly home the next morning with matching grins and hickeys and a stupid huge bill from the chelan emergency room. buck's payout is enough to afford to live here without renting the place out, and after the will finishes up its trip through probate, it turns out rusty left the entire property to tommy, including the plane. "we're on permanent vacation now," buck says when he calls chimney later. he moves into tommy's bedroom. they install a sex swing. it's great. rusty and bob and thomas and mitchell are all smiling down on them in gay heaven.
Heâs usually out like a light within a few minutes after going to bed, but his ribs hurt like hell, despite the painkillers he took over an hour ago. Tommy feels like his bruises have bruises, and if thereâs a sleeping position his aching back doesnât hate, he hasnât found it yet.
Next to him, Evan is shivering. Evan rarely gets cold, and right now heâs underneath the blanket next to Tommy, where he usually turns into a furnace during the night. And yet, thereâs a noticeable tremble Tommy canât ignore.
Tommy opens his eyes, although thereâs nothing to see but the faint glow of his alarm clock. âEvan? Are you okay?â He keeps his voice low, in case Evan is asleep and simply a little cold.
But Evan goes rigid, like heâs trying to stop the tremors coursing through his body. âNo?âÂ
The word sounds like a question, and Tommy tries to pull him a little closer despite the pain that stretches from his collarbone down to his hip.Â
Evan presses his face against Tommyâs shoulder, and another full body shiver runs through him. âNo, Iâm not okay, Tommy. You crashed.â
âBarely,â Tommy mutters before he can think better of it.Â
He witnessed a real helicopter crash during his time in the army, saw the large machine trundle while the pilot tried to keep it in the air, until it finally dropped out of the sky. His own crash was just an unpleasantly hard landing by comparison.
âI am so mad at you,â Evan tells him, enunciating the words like heâs trying to carve them into Tommyâs skin. âYou crashed, and you keep pretending it was nothing. For half an hour, nobody could even tell me if youâre alive. Do you have any idea how terrifying that was?â
Tommy hopes heâll never have to fear for Evanâs life like that, but he also canât help but point out the obvious: âEvan, Iâm right here. I didnât even break anything.â
âIs that supposed to make it okay?â Evan hisses angrily. âAm I supposed to sleep better because you got lucky?â He trembles again, just once and very briefly.Â
Tommy wants to turn on the lights so they can look at each other while they have this conversation, but for some reason he feels like letting go of Evan is the worst thing he can do right now. He knows that Evanâs anger is nothing but fear and love, bubbling over like somebody dropped a pack of Mentos in a bottle of coke, but Tommy has no idea how to stop the process.
âIt wasnât nothing.â Tommy whispers the words into Evanâs hair, hoping that honesty will help. âI got so scared when I realized I didnât have enough time for a safe landing. And the whole way down, I kept thinking: âPlease.â I just wanted to make it home so I could have this.â
Evan makes a sound somewhere between a sigh and a hiccup, but he doesnât shiver again.
âI made it down in one piece,â Tommy continues. âIâm here. Iâm okay. Helicopters donât crash all the time, the same way floors donât collapse under firefighters every day. Thereâs always a risk, but I also know what Iâm doing. Youâve got to trust in that, Evan.â
Evan is quiet for a long moment before he finally says: âI do. Trusting you isnât the problem. But I couldâve lost you today. Iâm so glad youâre okay. But Iâm also angry that it happened, and Iâm mad at you for being soâŠso cool about it. I donât know what to do with that. Am I just supposed to be okay because it wasnât worse?â
âI donât know.â Tommy doesnât feel particularly cool right now, and heâs definitely not looking forward to the nightmares heâll probably have. But for him the truly scary part was over once he was out of that helicopter, while Evan seems to be stuck inside that moment of fear. âYou donât have to be okay. But Iâm still here? And maybe the rest will be easier to process tomorrow.â
âYeah, okay.â Evan puts one arm around him, tightly, like heâs afraid Tommy might disappear in the middle of the night if he doesnât hold on to him. âIâm still mad at you.â
âI know, Evan.â Tommy ribs still hurt, but he doesnât ask Evan to let go. Not yet. Not when he just realized that Evanâs âIâm madâ sounds a whole lot like âI love youâ to him. âI know.â
Tommy and Buck running into each other and despite them both wanting to get back together they end up verbally sniping at one another because theyâre both still hurting about the breakup/hookup
Tommy, being kind of a bitch, takes the opportunity to say âAnd by the way, your friends treat you like crap most of the timeâ - and heâs expecting some pushback on that or at least to be told to fuck off but Evan just yells back âI know!â with tears in his eyes and then it just goes silent
sorry i needed the text of the tags because i'm old and also what the FUCK @rcmclachlan How Dare You
#they end up silently sitting side by side on a park bench #watching kids run around screaming with joy because life hasn't beaten the shit out of them yet #buck finally breaks the silence by tiredly sayingâ 'i was hired to be a firefighterâ not a punchline' #tommy stares at buck's shouldersâ which he assumed were slumped because he always carries the weight of the world on themâ then sighs #he slides his arm around buck and gently presses him downâ taking some of the weight #''you're not a punchlineâ'' tommy murmursâ watching two boys excitedly huddle over something on the ground by the slide #''i'm a jokeâ'' buck says with a voice that sounds like he's been gargling with fiberglass. ''one that's overstayed its welcome.'' #he chokes on a bleak laugh and addsâ ''oh godâ i'm like a walking pull my finger gag to them.'' #tommy tightens his arm around buck. ''you're not a pull my finger gag. know how i know? i'd never date a joke that dumb.'' #buck snorts. ''then what am i?'' #tommy taps his thumb against buck's stomach thoughtfully then saysâ ''two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses.'' #buck goes still against him #''he doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. the other guy whips out his phone and calls 911. #'''my friend is dead! what do i do?!' he asks and the operator saysâ ''calm down. firstâ let's make sure he's dead.'' #''it's quiet for a secondâ then a gun shot rings out. back on the phoneâ the guy saysâ ''okayâ now what?'' #for a second tommy doesn't think it landsâ but then buck bursts out laughing. he laughs and laughs until tommy's pretty sure he's crying. #buck buries his cackling into tommy's shirt and then gaspsâ ''oh my godâ fuck youâ what is that from?'' #''the greatest joke ever toldâ according to scienceâ'' tommy says against buck's hair. ''if you're a jokeâ evanâ then it's that one.'' #buck's gasps and giggles eventually peter outâ and he sits there in the circle of tommy's armâ cheek on tommy's shoulderâ content. #''you never laughed at meâ'' buck whispers. ''you always made me feel like i was in on the joke.'' #''of course i never laughed at youâ'' tommy says gently. ''you're not funny.'' #buck barks a laugh and pinches tommy's side in retaliation. ''just you wait. i'm cooking up a good one.'' #tommy smiles and settles back on the bench. ''take your time.'' (via @rcmclachlan)
Buck and Natalia are still together but their relationship is kind of limping along, she wants to talk about death (and his death) a lot and Buck is kind of Over It now
Theyâre out for a coffee date and he tries to keep the conversation away from death but sheâs bringing it up a lot and itâs kind of awkward and out of the corner of his eye Buck can see the guy sitting behind them going on a Face Journey of second hand embarrassment for them
Natalia leaves to go to work and Buck sighs, stands up, walks a few paces and slumps down opposite Bitchy Face Journey Guy (Tommy) and is like âI have to break up with her donât Iâ
AU five facts: Tommy finally finds out the specifics of how Abby left Buck and maybe starts to understand a little bit why Evan didnât chase after him, the way heâd half hoped he would
Ohhh honestly this barely needs to be an AU, we could have this! ArthurFist.jpeg but I will AU it.
1. Sometime before the hookup and before Eddie moves, Abby reaches out to ask him if he still talks to an old mutual friend of theirs. Abby's pretty sure she doesn't use Facebook anymore, her phone number changed, and she's been trying to get in touch for months. The only other person who knew her is Tommy, because she was his friend first, so she calls him and it's awkward at first. He does, in fact, still have Mel's number. Well, her new one. She'd changed it after her divorce, Tommy's had the same one since he moved to LA. He asks her if she still talks to Alan and Stacy. "Eh, here and there," she says. "Why?" "Because they were saying some really unkind shit about you and Ev--Buck," he says, having replayed that whole thing in his head so many times. "How do you know Buck?" she asks, and he tells her. She's shocked and more than a little morbidly curious and also apparently only found out he was gay because she Instagram stalked him a few years before after her exes came up in a conversation with a friend.
2. He remembers what Evan said about Abby's relationship with him being transformative, which contradicts the shitshow he'd heard about. So he asks her what exactly happened. He knew her well enough back then to read between the lines of what she says now, and she's apparently done some therapy and realized some things weren't okay, like stringing this young guy along after she'd left the country. She kept giving him hope, and she knew it. He kept messaging her, taking her calls, calling her, and it all ended up the way it did. After she openly told him everything going on in her head for months. She opened up, strung him along, and then that was it. "Goddammit," he sighs. "What?" she asks. "Nothing," he says, even though he wants to ask her some pointed questions. "I gotta go."
3. Tommy builds a bench for an outdoor table he's building, and he sands and tries to think back on things Evan had said about past relationships. There's not a ton. They hadn't really talked about that. But he knows about the traveling, the fact that Maddie was supposed to join him and then basically stood him up because of her ex. Tommy knows what he's been wanting out of this situation, which is to have Evan show that he actually understands their relationship, that he cares enough about Tommy as a person rather than an idea. But maybe he got scared off from chasing after people. He remembers how Evan had asked if he was breaking up with him, when that hadn't been Tommy's plan. Tommy had thought it was what he wanted, but maybe it's just what he expected. He turns off the sander and goes inside to shower.
4. He drives to the loft. Evan's car is in its spot, and Tommy has to circle the block four times before he can find somewhere to park. He goes up and knocks on the door, and Evan opens it. He's in an apron, there's flour all down the front of it, and the place smells kind of like Christmas. He looks tired and surprised and so, so beautiful. "T-Tommy," he says, like he can't believe Tommy's there. "Hey, is this a bad time?" Tommy asks, and Evan steps aside. His hands itch to reach out, to hold his waist so he can kiss him, quick and easy and automatic. "It smells good, whatever that is," Tommy says. "Uh, it's a spice cake," Evan says, and Tommy sees a few cooling racks with cupcakes or muffins. Also cookies. "Did you forget something here? I checked, but--" "Yeah," Tommy says, turning to look at him. "You." And Evan blinks a couple of times and then smiles a little, and Tommy can't help but return it.
5. Tommy tells him what was going through his head, why he felt like he needed to walk away from the situation, how he unfairly thought Evan would try to stop him if he cared. "But I know that hasn't worked out for you in the past," Tommy says, and Evan looks away. "We don't know enough about each other yet to move in together. Clearly. But maybe we could figure out how to get there? Except not...here. I'm sorry, but there's no garage space and nowhere to woodwork and--" He can't even complain about the parking, because Evan is reaching across and kissing him. Tommy's fingers twist in the apron, and he's got flour on him, too, when they pull away, but he doesn't care. "I missed you so much," he confesses. "Y-yeah, I--" Evan looks over his shoulder at the cooling racks and chokes out a laugh, looking back at Tommy with tears in his eyes. "I bake when I want to text you." The chair creaks under Tommy when he pulls Evan nearly onto his lap for another kiss, and he can't believe he ever walked away from this.
"Are you smelling my neck?" For Bucktommy, please đ„čđ«¶
ooohoohoo yay <3
(can i go so fluffy ??? i'm just gonna go so goofy and fluffy and fun)
It was maybe a little silly to have separate bachelor parties, but Buck liked the idea of one last celebration of themselves as individuals before they got married and became more of a unit. Tommy was just happy to go along with whatever he wanted. Buck's party was next week, and Chim had been overtaken with gleeful malice at the idea of planning it.
"You didn't even come to yours," Buck had whined, looking over a piece of paper where Chim had scribbled some ideas down (including "shark cage - just Buck ???").
"No, but Hen complained about it." Chim shooed him away from his notes, looking smug. "And besides, you pestered me enough about it, despite me saying I didn't want it how many times?"
So Buck had no idea what Chim and Eddie were actually planning, but Tommy's friends had stayed simple, and they were going to some brewery for a craft beer tasting.
Their friend groups didn't really overlap, outside of Tommy already knowing the 118. But his friends had been warm and welcoming to Buck, especially after the break-up, and they said they were just glad that Tommy could quit moping.
"We'll take good care of him," Tommy's friend Joel had told Buck when they'd picked him up from their place. He clapped Tommy on the shoulder and winked. "Returned to you in the same conditions he left in."
"Maybe with a little more beer in him," another guy said, and they all laughed as Buck wished them a good night.
It was a little earlier than expected when the doorbell rang. Tommy would have just used his key, and for a moment he was terrified that something had happened to him, that the worst case scenario popped up and there was a brewery explosion, or someone had needed a helicopter and Tommy'd been coopted into flying for criminals on the run, or there was a pile-up on the freeway, or---
"Chim?" Buck looked at his brother-in-law, who had a loose-looking Tommy draped over him, arms wrapped around his neck to keep himself upright. "Is everything okay?"
Chim grunted and grabbed Tommy's arm, tugging him forward. "Oh, he's fine," Chim said, walking Tommy into the house. "Just maybe a little less sober than he'd planned."
"M fine," Tommy muttered.
Chim rolled his eyes. "Okay, big guy, whatever you say." He tried to pass Tommy off to Buck, but Tommy only held on tighter. Chim stiffened for a moment and then let out a big, full-body sigh, rolling his eyes again. "Are you smelling my neck?"
"You don't smell like Evan," Tommy whined. ""S not as good. I want--"
"Yeah, you want Evan, believe me, I know. The whole bar knows. Half of LA knows." He wriggled out of Tommy's grip, and then pushed him over to Buck. Tommy staggered forward and Buck caught him, helplessly fond of Tommy's bleary smile.
"Hey," he whispered. He cupped Buck's face with a clumsy hand. "You look almost like the guy I'm gonna marry." His lids get heavier and his smile goes crooked and playful. "Maybe even a little more handsome, though."
"Oh my god," Chim muttered from the door. "I am not going to put up with more of this guy's rhapsodizing," he said. "Buck, he's your problem now."
Tommy had already wrapped himself around Buck, his nose digging into the juncture of neck and shoulder.
"I got him, Chim," Buck said. "You're good." He pulled one of Tommy's hands back from where it had been sneakily palming his ass. Maybe not while Chim was still there.
"I'm off, then. The rest of the group are good, too--though you might want to warn Tommy that he's going to get so much shit the next time they see him. Seriously, he would not shut up about you. Evan this, and Evan that." Chim cocks his head and gives Buck a big grin. "It's almost like he likes you or something."
Buck laughs. "Maybe I better marry him about it."
"Yeah." Chim nodded, emphatic, his hand already on the doorknob. "You better. The two of you are perfect for each other, I don't know who else could take it. You better get married quick and lock it down so no one else ever has to deal with either one of you again. Seriously." Chim shook his head, pulling open the door. "Perfect for each other."
"Don't worry," Buck said, waving Chim off. "I'm not letting him go."
And he knew Tommy, wrapped around him like an octopus, happily smelling the last vestiges of the day on Buck's skin, felt the same.
"Ugh. I hate some of these CalFire guys. Absolute douchebags."
"Mhmm," Buck replies, wondering how the hell Tommy is still going after the three shifts he just had up on the front lines of this year's wildfire. "You're way better at everything then they are."
"ExACTLY, thank you, Evan! I swear they've got some twenty-one year old that can't tell a fire line from a pile of dead leaves! His drop time was way off, and the other CalFire dudes just want to act like it's not that big a deal, 'he'll learn'!"
"What, after the fire spreads to three states?"
"Yes! Yes, babe, you get it. Why aren't you here?"
Buck laughs, phone slipping slightly from where Buck had it jammed in-between his shoulder and ear, trying to get his kitchen floor mopped before heading to bed himself.
"Well," Buck drawls, grinning, "I did just get a small little promotion and started a new house a few weeks ago, so it may be a little bit of a bad idea to follow you out of the city for three weeks."
"Oh, you're right, how could I forget? I was just telling Richards--our IC for the pilots--that this wildfire is clearly homophobic if it's stopping me from continually celebrating Leutenient Evan Buckley of the LAFD 122."
Buck barks out a laugh, feeling warmth spread down to his toes.
"And she tried to say that I was homophobic for making her listen to that when she was missing her wife so much! Can you believe that, Evan?"
"Unbelievable, babe." Buck says, bending at the waist to push the mop under the table.
"Yes. So then I countered and said, 'okay but my husband saved a baby from falling out of a window the other day! What did your wife do?"
Buck's breath catches, and the phone slips from his shoulder to the floor. Tommy's exhaustion and indignation means he doesn't notice, so he's still ranting when Buck scrambles to get the phone back to his ear. He drops the mop in exchange, standing up straight and waiting for Tommy to take a breath.
"...and okay yeah your wife is a pediatric surgeon. Sure that's cool and 'extremely valuable to society' but my--"
"Your what?" Buck asks, feeling breathless.
"My IC!" Tommy repeats, and before he can fully fill his lungs to continue his rant, Buck comes in.
"No, who were you telling her about? Your what?"
Tommy's words seem to catch up with him, and a stark silence fills the space.
"...This is a butt dial. Please ignore." Tommy says quickly.
"I called you!" Buck says, laughter bubbling up. He can practically see Tommy's inflamed cheeks and shifty eyes.
"No, no, sorry. Total butt dial. My name isn't even Tommy I just found this phone. Goodbye strange man."
Buck bursts out laughing as the call ends, and immediately flips his phone down to both hands to shoot off a text.
Nothing to do but wait, he keeps mopping, finishing the kitchen and putting everything away in the closet. He sits on the couch to wait.
About 15 minutes have passed when his phone lights up with a call, not Tommy this time.
"--ow, ow OW! LUCY! Stop fuckin-get OFF ME!" Buck can here the sounds of a struggle on the other end of the call, cot springs creaking inbetween bitten off curses.
There's more scuffling sounds before Tommy's winded breathing fills the line.
"--Donato you are damaging government property right now."
"Shut the hell up, Kinard." Lucy's voice floats past, and Buck gears up to bulldoze the conversation.
"Tommy Kinard, listen up. You've got a week left of this deployment. When you come back, you're gonna take a shower, sleep for 18 hours, eat the lasagna I'm gonna make; and when all of that is over and we're sitting here on this couch, I'm gonna give you the ring I bought 6-months ago. I just picked it up today."
There's only silence on the line for a moment, and suddenly Buck is met with a wall of hoots and whistles. He realizes then that Lucy had him on speaker.
"Hell yeah!" Lucy cries, and Buck can only imagine how hard Tommy is trying to hold onto his tough guy demeanor in the middle of a wildfire barracks with his coworker sitting on him.
"...yeah, okay." Tommy says, quiet and close to the phone.
"Shows over, firefighters. You gonna get my man back to me?" Buck says, feeling bold, and there's another round of loud cheering before another scramble the get the phone. The call hangs up, but Buck doesn't mind this time. He's getting up to lock the doors and head to bed when he gets a photo from Lucy--Tommy red faced but smiling, surrounded by Lucy and everyone at the basecamp, cheering.
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