second chance romance
day 1 for @bucktommyweek , 745 words, rating: g, mention of alive!bobby
“Shit, fuck, goddamn motherfucker,” Buck cursed as the pipe under the kitchen sink spewed water at him. He hastily grabbed the towel hanging off the oven handle and wrapped it around the pipe, hoping that would keep the flow of water under control while he dug up more towels. Where was his toolbox? Moving sucked.
“Hey Siri,” he called out as he went back under the sink with more towels, “text Bobby. Ask him to bring over his toolbox, the door’s open. And send location!”
Siri responded in the affirmative, or at least he hoped it did, because that was when the towel slipped and the water blasted him in the face.
When he heard the front door open, he called out “In the kitchen!” He'd managed to find a bucket in the meantime, and had been emptying it into the bathroom sink whenever it filled up, and wringing out the towels in between.
“What happened?”
Buck whirled around to see Tommy standing in his kitchen, complete with toolbox in hand. “Uh, what are — how did — what are you doing here?”
“You texted me?” Tommy held up his phone as proof.
“Shit, sorry, I told Siri to text Bobby but I was under the sink…” Buck’s voice trailed off.
“Oh,” Tommy said. “I can leave the toolbox if you — I can go.”
“No,” Buck blurted out. “No, stay, please. Um, new place, pipe burst, I have no idea where my tools are,” he said in answer to Tommy’s initial question.
“Okay,” Tommy placed his toolbox on the counter and opened it. “Do you know where the water shutoff is?”
“Yeah, it’s in the garage,” Buck wiped his forehead and grimaced at the damp feeling.
“Go turn that off, I’ll keep watch in here,” Tommy gently nudged him out of the way.
“Thanks.” Buck hurried to the garage and turned the shutoff valve as tight as he could. “Anything?” he called through the door back into the house.
“Yeah, that got it,” Tommy called back.
Buck got back to the kitchen as fast as possible, practically skidding around the corner.
“You didn't need to run,” Tommy said with a hint of amusement from where he was kneeling in front of the sink. “I think it might just be a seal problem, but we’ll know more when we take it apart.”
“Thanks,” Buck said, throat dry.
“Can you hand me that wrench?” Tommy nodded at the toolbox, and Buck picked up the wrench on top and handed it to him.
Buck tried not to stare at the sliver of stomach that was visible when Tommy leaned back under the sink to disconnect the pipe.
“Evan?”
“Huh? Sorry?” Buck tore his eyes away from that sliver of skin to see Tommy’s amused expression.
“Do you have a dry towel?” Tommy repeated. “And can you get me the plumber’s tape? It's near the bottom.”
“Yeah,” Buck nodded, getting another towel and the requested tape. When had he gotten so many tea towels? Oh, the baking. Right. They'd been good for proofing his bread.
“I’m pretty sure it’s just the tape that failed, everything else looks fine,” Tommy said, his voice muffled from under the sink. “I can make a list of supplies for when we — when you go to the hardware store, if you want. In case it’s something else.”
“We could go to the hardware store together,” Buck suggested, leaning on the kitchen counter and watching Tommy shamelessly.
Tommy’s movements paused for a second, then Buck saw his body visibly relax. “We could do that.”
“Maybe have dinner?” Buck suggested.
“You could give me a tour of your new place,” Tommy said, sliding out from under the sink, apparently done with the tape and the pipe. “I am assuming it’s yours?”
“It is,” Buck said with a grin. “Maybe we should start with the shower, after all this hard work. You can borrow a shirt.”
Tommy looked down at his now damp t-shirt. “That would work.”
Buck held out a hand and helped him up off the floor. “Any plans for the rest of the day?”
“Nope.” Tommy shook his head.
“Then I think we have time for a shower, a tour, the hardware store, and dinner.”
“Let’s leave the hardware store for last, in case we run out of time.” Tommy suggested.
Buck laughed and pulled him down the hallway towards the bathroom. The size of the shower had been one of the selling points, after all.
