AU five facts: Tommy finally finds out the specifics of how Abby left Buck and maybe starts to understand a little bit why Evan didn’t chase after him, the way he’d 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.
