more than an ally 🏳️‍🌈

4. Eddie makes varsity, he's good enough to keep going through senior year. His parents are talking scholarships and scouting and extra coaching, though, and he's ready to give it up. He's at the field after practice ends one night, hitting balls since he promised he'd lock up the pitching machine after. "Goddamn, what'd that last one do to you?" a voice says from behind the backstop. Eddie turns and a ball sails past him, and he flinches when it hits the boards. But he realizes he knows the person. "Tommy?" he says, squinting. Another ball comes, and he jogs out to turn the machine off. When he's done, Tommy's coming around the fence and bends to grab a ball that had drifted near first base. He tosses it to Eddie, hard enough that it stings a little when he catches it barehanded. "How you been, Diaz?" Tommy asks with a grin, and Eddie feels his stomach flutter. Fuck.

5. Tommy's back in town for something family related, he doesn't say what and Eddie doesn't ask. They end up hitting and fielding for each other, and Eddie asks if he's still playing. "Nah, I didn't go to college," Tommy says. "I enlisted. I'm a pilot now." It explains the near buzzcut he's sporting. Tommy used to have longer hair, almost curly. It would stick up weird when he took his cap or helmet off. Eddie asks him about the Army, finds out he's a helicopter pilot. It's pretty cool, honestly. "I don't know what I'm gonna do," Eddie admits. "I thought about enlisting. My parents want me to be an engineer like my dad." "What do you like doing?" Tommy asks, and Eddie shrugs. "What, you hate everything?" "Nah, I like baseball, don't want to try going pro, though," he says. "I used to dance. Can't really do anything with that. I dunno. I just don't want to sit in an office. You said you're doing medevac, and that sounds like it's actually doing something. Helping people." Tommy looks out to the field for a long moment. "There's stuff you hear and see that's hard to shake," he says finally. "So there's a price. I'm glad I'm doing it, though. Maybe not for the military, but I can do it after. Get hired by a city or something." "How long you in town for?" Eddie asks. "Few weeks," Tommy says.

6. Eddie's at a party, and he goes out back and sees Tommy talking to a few guys. They used to be on the team, too, but between Tommy and Eddie. They still played with him, one of them must've invited him. Eddie tries to not make a beeline for him, but it's not long before he's in the circle and talking about whatever the fuck. Every time he makes Tommy laugh, he feels the beer fizz in his stomach. They end up on a beer pong team together, and Tommy nudges him with his elbow and leans in close to whisper what cup to go for next, that he should rerack after so Tommy can clean up the next one. They win, they celebrate loudly and obnoxiously, flexing and roaring while empty Solo cups get pelted at them. Later, Eddie's gotta walk home and walk off some of the beer. If he gets in late enough, his parents won't wake up. But then a hand lands on his shoulder. "Going my way?" Tommy teases, and Eddie nods.

7. They're cutting through a park and trying not to be too loud, because people will absolutely call the cops on them. But Eddie's leaning against a tree and doubled over laughing as Tommy tells a stupid story from flight training, and he leans against the trunk and tries to catch his breath. When he looks over, Tommy's grinning and then he's not, and then Eddie's reaching for Tommy's neck and pulling him into a kiss. He expects to get punched or shoved or laughed at, but Tommy groans deep and low and puts a hand at Eddie's hip and another in his hair as he kisses him back. They make out like that, desperate and messy, and Eddie's hard in his jeans and cums when Tommy pushes against him, trapping him between his body and the tree. "Goddamn, you're so fucking hot," Tommy says against his neck. He pulls his dick out and there's just a couple fast strokes before he's moaning against Eddie's jaw and cumming on the ground.

8. They don't talk about it. Eddie has to do his own laundry in the morning when he's a little hungover, and he blows off plans with Shannon, who definitely wants to get back together, and he tells his mom he doesn't feel good because the burger place the team went to must've undercooked his food. She fusses over him, and he lets it happen and watches TV in his room. When he gets out of the shower that night, there's a pebble being tossed at his window like he's in a fucking movie. He pokes his head out and sees Tommy leaning against a beat up truck. Eddie slips out, and they drive outside of town to a field and get in the bed of the truck on some musty blankets and make out until they've got their hands in each other's jeans. Eddie gets his dick sucked while he's staring up at the stars, and he hauls Tommy up for a kiss after and urges him down until he's being almost crushed by him.

9. They're eating Burger King after, and Eddie asks Tommy if he had a thing for him before. "Fuck no, you were a skinny little freshman," Tommy says, snorting. "You looked thirteen. Why, did you have a crush?" And Eddie shovels fries in his mouth and doesn't answer, which is answer enough.

10. Whatever's going on with Tommy's family is enough to make him quiet and introspective, but it's not enough to keep him from wanting to fool around. Maybe it's a distraction. Eddie's apparently okay with being a distraction, because he can't get enough of Tommy. If he's not at school or practice or a game, he's with Tommy. One afternoon, Tommy picks him up from school and takes him to a motel room and wraps Eddie's tie around his hand and drags him to the bed. They still don't do more than suck each other off at first, but now they can be naked. Or mostly naked. Eddie's uniform is still mostly on, and Tommy confesses he never hooked up with any dudes from school but it made him have a thing for the uniform. And then he disappears when Eddie's napping and comes back and has lube and condoms, and Eddie's surprised when Tommy hands him both and asks if he's ever fucked anyone before. "I'm not about to have your first time be in a random motel, dude," Tommy says flatly. "And I've done it before. And I like it." So Eddie fucks him and then does it again immediately after, feeling like he could do this all night. Except he has to get home, and Tommy says he's gotta take care of some stuff before he leaves.

11. Eddie goes outside when he sees Tommy's truck pull up. It's late, his parents are asleep. Tommy's in a suit, his tie taken off, and his eyes are swollen and red. "My mom's funeral was today," he explains, and Eddie hugs him tight. He hugs him while Tommy sobs and howls from the safety of his truck cab. He tells Eddie he's leaving in the morning, and they kiss and kiss until Tommy has to leave. Eddie has his email address, his private one. But then a few days later, Shannon drags him into a corner at school and hisses that she's pregnant.

12. Eddie's wandering through the station and comes across old group photos. He scans them, smiling at the big mustaches and old pictures of Hen and Chimney. But then he sees a guy standing next to Chimney and grinning, and he freezes. He grabs Chimney and asks him if the guy still works for the LAFD, if he was still alive. "Yeah, dude, Tommy's just at Harbor," Chimney says, cracking his gum. "You still talk to him?" Eddie asks, and Chimney nods. "C-can I have his number? We, uh, went to high school together." So Chimney does, and Eddie takes three days to call. When he does, Tommy says, "Hello?" And Eddie smiles and says, "Hey. Uh. It's Eddie. Diaz." And there's a long beat and Tommy says, "Holy shit."

3. It was a blood pressure drop--the guy, Darren, has pretty low blood pressure and got the Viagra from a friend and then sniffed some poppers. He gets put in the back of an ambulance by EMTs, and Hen and Chimney turn and look at him with obvious interest and curiosity. "I came out after I transferred," Tommy says as he pulls on his shirt. "Good for you," Bobby says almost firmly, like he's trying to put a stop to further questions. Tommy appreciates it. He already feels like his neck, ears, and face will be red forever. But the kid--Evan or Buck or Buckley, it depends on who's saying it--carefully tapes a piece of gauze to the spot on Tommy's wrist where he'd rubbed it raw trying to yank the chain through the surprisingly sturdy headboard. "You don't need to," Tommy says softly. "Mm, it's good practice," Evan says, smiling as he works. "I'm, uh, the probie. I just started a few months ago." "Congratulations," Tommy says, smiling. "I think you're my replacement." "Y-yeah, that's what Bobby said," he says, smiling back. "Um, are you really a pilot?"

4. Tommy gives Evan a tour of Harbor. It's good for him to be familiar with other types of houses, or so Tommy reasons. Really, he just likes the way the kid trips over himself and blushes and smiles, and Tommy catches him looking low, like he was checking Tommy's ass out or something. To be fair, he's already seen it. Hell, he saw everything. Thank god Tommy isn't prone to adrenaline boners anymore, because he was soft when they'd shown up. But still, Evan's seen it all. "If you ever want to transfer, you know where to go," he says when he looks over his shoulder, and yeah, Evan's eyes were just on his ass. Caught, Evan's cheeks go more pink as he meets Tommy's eyes. "Or if you just want to hang out," Tommy adds, smiling. "Or whatever." And they're walking through the airfield all the way to the edge, strolling along. There's a fence with a storage shed butted up against it. It holds spare stuff the mechanics use, but no one's ever there unless they're ducking behind it for a smoke. Or, in Tommy's case, to back a cute firefighter up against the wall and kiss him.

5. Evan's panting after just one kiss, and he's looking at Tommy like he's equally scared, curious, and turned on. "Huh," he says, which is a weird response to someone kissing you. But then he pulls Tommy in for another kiss, and then they're making out and Tommy has to put a stop to it, even though he started it. "As much as I want to, not here," he says, and Evan blinks owlishly at him. "Or...not at all?" "I mean, I'm open to it," Evan says before dragging him back in for another kiss, and they end up needing to separate again. Tommy gives him his address, since Evan apparently lives at some kind of fraternity house situation. Evan pulls up to his house a few minutes after Tommy, and he walks in looking like the epitome of "guy who's about to get laid." It's a good thing Tommy's neighbors don't care. But he pulls Evan in and kisses him against the door, and they make out all the way to Tommy's couch, because his room is too far. "I didn't bring handcuffs," Evan teases, and Tommy pinches his ass. It's not until they're both basically naked that Evan looks up from where he's been staring at Tommy's dick for about thirty seconds and says, "I've never done this before." Tommy's happy to make out with him and stroke his dick, and he's expecting it to be pretty one-sided, because he'd been a selfish piece of shit when he'd first hooked up with guys before he was out. But Evan strokes him right back and goes for Tommy's nipples with his mouth and says he's got a great physique. "Thanks," Tommy chokes out with a laugh.

6. After, they're getting dressed, and Evan looks like he's about to say something and Tommy braces himself. "So, uh, am I allowed to ask you out or are you not into that?" Evan asks. "N-no, I'm into it," Tommy says, blinking. "You are, too?" Evan shrugs and smiles. "I like talking to you," he says. "I just, uh, noticed that a lot of people in LA--well, women--don't really want to meet up again after. Which is cool, but--yeah." Tommy tips his chin up and kisses him, soft and gentle. "What are you doing Saturday?" he asks softly.