juice - 27 - they/he/whatever - main @jostxn - 911 sideblog so i dont annoy ppl i know irl - also i write stuff on AO3 so i guess if you like that its @slowmohomos
hello 911 tumblr <3 ive been slightly hesitant to join any of the fandom here bc of bad behavior on both sides of bucktommy v. buddie but im pulling the trigger and getting my ass on here if only so i can have a place to reblog shit without worrying about annoying my irl friends on my main.
this is link to my profile on AO3 - i currently have eight 911 fics posted and like 10 wips percolating for constant thinking about while im at work. this is listed in chrono order of posting, and is all bucktommy for now (mostly oneshots bc i can't write more than one chapter to save my own goddamn life). i will do my best to update as i post!
lay me out across the grey - 3,839 words, 1/1 chapters, post-lightning nightmares + bucktommy and bathena
Buck's not the only one that struggles after his own near-death experiences.
i will not doubt you - 2,685 words, 1/1 chapters, breakfast date chatting + bucktommy
Tommy picks Evan up for their fourth official date at 10am sharp.
He's not nervous, obviously.
just walk, don't run - 3,201 words, 1/1 chapters, minor injury and comfort, Tommy POV + bucktommy, pt 1 of take a walk around the block again
"-live from the scene of this four-alarm fire in South Glendale, where first responders have evacuated the building and fighting to keep the blaze under control. Sources say that arson may be suspected-"
"Whoa, Tommy, look, it's your boy!"
just me and the moon and the long night - 3,814 words, 1/1 chapters, break-up/make-up, Buck POV + bucktommy, pt 1 of you look like you love me
A few hours after Eddie pulls away in the U-Haul, Texas bound, Buck does something stupid.
and baby, i don't blame you - 4,926 words, 1/1 chapters, break-up/make-up, Tommy POV + bucktommy, pt 2 of you look like you love me
It's been three goddamn months. It was supposed to hurt less this way. It doesn't make sense that he could've fallen so hard for Evan in the span of six months.
are you with me? - 6,456 words, 1/1 chapters, minor injury and comfort, Buck POV + bucktommy, pt 2 of take a walk around the block again
The next thing he remembers, Buck is on the ground. His head throbs, the morning sun terrible and blinding, and his face feels wetter, something hotter than sweat smearing over his cheek and chin.
half a mile and we'll see the shore - 6,993 words, 1/1 chapters, minor injury, getting back together, bucktommy
Dr. Copeland is gonna be pissed. Actually, she'll just be sorely disappointed, but she'll take every pain to reassure him that 'healing isn't linear' and 'sometimes, we fall into old coping mechanisms even when we know better' and 'you're going through a hard time right now, Buck, it makes sense.'
this is good land, or at least it was - 6,861 words, 1/1 chapters, post-lawsuit resolution/alternate meeting, bobby+buck and minor bucktommy
Buck waits until end of shift. The faster he can get out of the building after this conversation, the faster he can get back to the loft and cry himself to sleep in his pillow. Not that he's thinking it'll be a conversation, mind you - Bobby's said less than five words to him in the last week, and he doesn't think it passed twenty in the last three he's been stuck man behind. And anyway, as much as he likes to babble, he's gonna do his damnedest to keep it short and sweet. Hand over the paperwork, apologize, and escape.
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One day this will become a whole fic and be posted all together. One day... 😅
Shift starts with a flurry of activity. The crew was just about to sit for their morning briefing when the alarms sounds and 12 pairs of boots start running for their gear.
“Harry,” Chimney shouts over the melee, pulling on his coat. “You're with Diaz.”
Harry pauses and looks at Buck, who only shrugs and grabs his helmet.
“He's the cap. Just follow Eddie's lead, it'll be fine.” He sends Harry a mock salute and runs for the engine, climbing in behind Ravi and closing the door.
Harry runs to the ambulance and gets into the passenger side as Eddie slides behind the wheel and gives him a wide grin. He has no idea why Chimney has paired them together, he's never expressed any interest in being a paramedic, but he knows they’re still a person short while Hen is recovering. Maybe he couldn't find anyone to fill in today and just picked Harry for the experience.
It is actually a pretty good learning experience. While the rest of the team is doing the grunt work of prying the cars involved in the accident open and carefully extracting the victims, Eddie walks him through how to check for a concussion, check for broken bones and possible internal injuries, things that are covered in the academy, but are a totally different ball game out in the field with real people.
When they get back to the station, Eddie shows him around the back of the rig, where supplies are stored and how to restock them, how the different pieces of equipment work, gives him a basic rundown of how a hospital transport usually goes in various situations. That information turns out pretty helpful on their next call, when Harry is squeezing air into the lungs of a girl not much younger than him under Eddie's calm guidance.
“You're doing great, just keep a steady rhythm. Not too hard or too fast.”
It's a whole new kind of adrenaline rush, Harry's hands are shaking when the hospital staff takes over outside of the ER and wheel the girl away. He watches the doors slide closed behind him and Eddie squeezes his shoulder lightly before directing him back to the ambulance, the passenger side inside instead of the back this time.
“How are you feeling?” Eddie asks after a long while of silence that Harry has spent replaying every moment of the ride.
“It felt way more intense than I thought it would,” Harry says. “But it was kind of incredible.”
Eddie nods, a little grin playing over his face.
“You did an awesome job for your first run. More time, a few classes, you'd make a great medic.”
“I don't know about that.” But the idea gets the gears turning in his head. Having those skills, being able to do more than just one job, wouldn't be a bad thing. It's the kind of thing that would make him an asset, just like he and Buck had talked about. Maybe he should consider doing more training in the future.
Chimney keeps him assigned to the ambulance for the next two shifts. He watches Eddie and another paramedic work on a car crash victim with amazingly steady hands as the rig rocks around sharp turns at top speed. He helps support people who are in shock after the worst moments of their lives, assists in stitching up wounds and assessing injuries. It's rough work, but he comes out understanding the job on a different level. When their shift ends on Thursday, he unlocks his phone and finds a text from Hen waiting for him.
A little birdie told me you're trying to steal my job 😂 come over tomorrow night and we can talk about it.
Harry agrees and they plan dinner for the following evening. It will be nice to decompress with Hen, and it will give him time to mine her wealth of experience, a chance to ask about classes, if she thinks he has what it takes to really delve into that kind of work. He is surprised when he arrives at the house and Eddie and Chimney are already there.
“What's going on?” He asks, slipping off his coat and tossing it over the back of the couch. Hen smiles.
“I thought it would be fun to invite the guys. Make it a paramedics night.”
Harry's gut twist a little. It's not that he doesn't like spending time with everyone, he's been breaking bread with them whole life. But something about this feels different. “Paramedics night” feels strangely pointed, a direct exclusion. He frowns.
“I'm not a paramedic,” He points out.
“Not yet,” Chimney grins. “But Diaz told me about your stellar work. I saw some of it. You have the right stuff.”
Hen waves for him to come to the table and he moves on instinct. He sits beside Eddie who slaps his shoulder again, like he has been all week. What he had considered a friendly gesture just yesterday feels different now.
“So, what? You were trying to job trap me?” He asks, feeling his fist clench on his thigh under the table. Chimney frowns.
“Of course not.” He sets his elbows on the table and leans a little closer. “Now that you say it, pairing you with Eddie and then doing this little dinner does make it look that way, I guess. No, Harry. I just…” Chim pauses, thinks about his words for a moment. “When I started at the 118, it was a totally different place. I didn't really feel like I belonged until I started working on the rig. I know you don't have that problem, but we had the opening and I guess I just thought it would be a good idea.”
“It's also great experience,” Hen adds. “It's a part of the job not everyone steps up to do. It also allows you to work with other people. Switch things up.”
“And gives you a little break,” Chimney adds, elbowing Eddie lightly. They laugh like there's some kind of inside joke between them.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Harry felt more exhausted after a run on the ambulance than he ever has after fighting a fire or clearing a scene. Eddie exchanges a look with the other and sighs.
“You're spending a lot of time with Buck,” He explains. “Don't get me wrong, Buck is a great guy, he's probably one of the best people I'll ever meet in my life, and he's an awesome fire fighter. But he can be a little…clingy.”
“What Eddie means is,” Hen jumps in quickly, “Buck helped you learn the job, we know you're kind of looking to him as a mentor because of that. And that's not a bad thing, he can teach you a lot. But he doesn't know everything. We don't want you to get so focused on what you're doing with him that you never try to learn the other aspects.”
“You think working with Buck is holding me back?”
Harry almost can't believe what he's hearing. Buck is the third most senior firefighter at the station, second with Hen out on leave. He's done nothing but push Harry since the second he asked for help.
“No, that's not it at all,” Chimney answers with a shake of his head. “Look, we all know how magnetic Buck is. It can be hard to see past him sometimes. I just want to make sure you're getting a well rounded experience during your first year.”
Harry scoffs before he can stop himself. Chimney opens his mouth to keep going, but Hen lays a hand on his shoulder.
“Maybe that's enough for now,” She says. “We should move on to dinner and you can tell me about what you learned this week instead.”
“Actually, I'm not really all that hungry anymore.” Harry stands up a little more roughly than he meant to, his chair scraping across the floor making a noise that sounds as unpleasant as he feels. “I appreciate the invitation, but I'm going to head out.”
“No, Harry–” He shakes his head.
“I'll see you all later.”
He grabs his coat and walks out, ignoring their calls for him to come back.
Harry spends a while driving aimlessly around town in the car he'd borrowed from his mom for the evening. He wants to let his anger simmer down before he goes home, he knows his mom will pick up on his mood immediately and want to talk about whatever is bothering him and he really doesn't even know how to explain it to himself.
The thing is, he can see where Chimney is coming from. It really was a good idea to move him around to learn new things. He had enjoyed working with Eddie and the other paramedics. He's glad he did it. But the way they talked tonight made it all feel kind of underhanded. Like he or Buck would have rejected the idea if Chimney had brought it up outright. It makes him feel like they think he's a dumb kid can't understand the importance of stepping out of his comfort zone.
This place is bad for him.
Ravi's voice echoes around in his head, intermingling with everything the others had had to night. He wonders if maybe that won't end up being true for him, too.
After a while, he decides to drive to Buck's and see if he can stay the night there. He can't get his thoughts to settle and he knows Buck won't push him to talk about it. The house is mostly dark when he pulls up, only a dull light shining through the living curtains, like the glow of a lamp. He uses the key Buck had made for him to let himself in, expecting the man to poke his head around the corner and shoot him a grin before going back to whatever he was doing. But the house stays silent.
Buck is on the couch, snoring lightly, his neck bent at an uncomfortable looking angle. There's a book open in his lap, notes and highlighter lines scattered across the pages and a notepad laying on the couch next to him. Harry walks closer, planning to just wake him up and go to his own guest room and stew some more, but curiosity gets the best of him. He reads over some of the page and looks at Buck's detailed notes. He lays a hand on Buck's arm and shakes him gently.
Buck wakes with a low groan, then a start. Harry takes a quick step back just in case his first instinct is to swing at the intruder in his home. He hadn't been expecting him, after all, it wouldn't be a totally unwarranted move. Buck relaxes quickly when he realizes who has been sneaking around his house uninvited, giving him a small, tired smile before stretching and popping his neck.
“Hey, Harry. When did you get here?”
“Just a minute ago,” Harry shrugs. “I figured you might be more comfortable in your bed.”
Buck nods and moves to stand. The book, forgotten in his sleepy haze, falls to the floor with a thud. Buck looks confused for a moment, and leans down to pick it up before he pauses. He looks up at Harry with wide eyes, almost like he's an animal that's been caught in a trap. Harry holds his gaze and gives him a small nod.
I know there's a popular headcanon that Grace's crew died because of feeding tubes malfunction (based on the paperwork Grace was doing right before the explosion), but — in the book he specifically says that even after the accident he kept dealing with that same paperwork on minor Hail Mary issues, so I doubt that feeding tube problem was left unaddressed. May I offer instead:
Grace was put into coma by the people who cared about him. They (especially Yáo being Yáo) probably double-triple-quadruple checked everything. They watched him sleep for those first few days — I doubt they went into coma immediately after leaving Earth's orbit. They probably talked to him, assuring him that he'll be okay.
Ilyukhina's coma procedure was probably supervised by Yáo. He made sure that everything was in order, but — he is just one man and he is not a doctor. There was much more room for mistakes.
When Yáo went to sleep, he was alone. He had to rely on the technology completely.
bucktommy dispatch au (@911-hiautus prompt from @screamlet here)
after the truck bombing, buck ends up at dispatch instead of fire marshall buck and it turns out he's incredibly good at logistics or something (probably not "actual" dispatch with maddie and josh but behind those scenes)
around the same time, tommy got into an accident (car, helicopter, whatever) and it looks like he might not fly again. he can't stand being on ground duty at harbor, doesn't want to take the offer of an open spot at the 118, but dispatch could always use extra hands (and abby's not there anymore, thank god).
---
are they fast friends but slow burn? are they annoying deskmates turned more? is there some josh/tommy(/buck?!) action? does buck get jealous of his sister trying to steal his work bestie? how does chimney and the 118 fit into this? is there a crisis that requires tommy AND buck stealing a helicopter together? idk i hope there's a bakery's worth of cakes in here!
1. They have to find a non-field position for Buck after the bombing, while he recovers. Theoretically, he could have stayed off longer, but he wants to get back into it as soon as he can. He’s been crossing his fingers for something at the academy, where he can at least feel useful, but of course they don’t have anything. They offer him a position with the fire marshal’s office, or at dispatch. He doesn’t want to be at the fire marshal’s office, but he doesn’t want to work with his sister. He talks to them about what the dispatch job would actually entail, and it’s not answering the phones, it’s actually helping liaising between different stations and hospitals and that kind of thing which like, Buck could probably do that.
2. He gets an office off the main room, and they start him off with regular hours, so he has some overlap with Maddie but they aren’t always working together. Josh gets paired up with him at first, because he’s done a lot of this, and Buck has a couple days of studying and watching before he gets to start taking over. Josh starts him on the minor calls first, but Buck takes to it like a fish to water, and by the end of his second week he’s flying completely solo. It’s weird when he ends up talking to Chim or Hen or Bobby, and it makes him miss the field more than usual, but he can get through it for a little longer.
3. Tommy gets side swiped by a car when he’s working ground detail with the 217. He ends up with two fractured vertebra. The healing process is, well. He basically can’t do anything. Too much friction could cause it too get worse, and if it gets worse it might never heal, the ends of which could be chronic back pain or paralysis. They offer him a spot at dispatch in the meantime; they’d offer him the fire marshal’s office but he’d have to do inspections which would put the LAFD at liability if anything else happens or he doesn’t heal properly. They pair him up with a newer dispatcher when he starts, and she’s super friendly and makes him feel at home right away. It’s so different from what he’s used to, but knowing how things work on the other side makes it easier for him to call in support and know what people might need, updating paramedics and that kind of thing. He gets a lot of positive feedback from his trainer, Maddie, and the shift lead, Josh.
4. Tommy finds out there’s another firefighter working there — it’s actually Maddie’s younger brother — and goes looking for him one day to say hi. He’s surprised by how young Evan looks, and the crutches he’s on. Evan looks less than thrilled to meet another firefighter, which is also surprising to Tommy. He mentions it to Maddie later, and that’s when he finds out that Evan was the firefighter under the fire engine. He feels bad that he kind of sprung himself on Evan like that.
5. Evan’s still working 9-5, so it’s pretty easy for Tommy to know when he’ll be there. He brings Evan a coffee and a pastry on their next overlapping shift, as an apology and an olive branch. Evan’s nearing the end of his shift, and it might be that or the coffee, but they actually have a nice talk. Tommy starts dropping in to see Evan whenever they’re both there — he thinks it must be hard to be with people but alone in his office most of the time. One day he gets caught up with Maddie and Josh and doesn’t get to see Evan before he leaves, though he catches his eye to wave when he sees him headed for the elevator, but Evan just looks down and hurries to the elevator as fast as the crutches will take him.
6. Josh clocks Tommy pretty quickly, but mostly because Tommy used to date one of Josh’s friends. It took Josh a little while to feel confident it was him because they’d never actually been introduced, and Tommy had certainly never said he was a firefighter; coming out was still a process, okay? Tommy can’t really go to the club while he’s healing, but Josh apparently knows all the queer hangouts between here and Texas, and they do brunch and trivia together, and hang out at a cute coffee shop in between.
7. One day Josh and Tommy go for coffee before shift, and Tommy grabs a coffee and pastry for Evan too. Josh laughs at him as he heads down the hall to Evan’s office and Tommy manages to flip him off without dropping anything. He’s just being a nice guy. Evan’s a little more subdued than usual, but still chats with Tommy for a few minutes before a call comes in and Tommy excuses himself while Evan’s on the phone.
8. Evan seems to be actively avoiding Tommy if he’s with Josh or Maddie. Josh comes to shift holding a takeout coffee from their coffee shop and Evan sees it and wrinkles his nose. Tommy wonders if maybe he got Evan’s order wrong last time? Maddie tells Tommy Evan hadn’t wanted to work here because of her, and that’s probably why he’s not hanging out with them. Tommy says he understands, he used to have an ex who worked here too. Josh corners him later to ask who, and Tommy tells him about Abby. They have a heart to heart in the break room until Evan walks in, his eyes narrowed when Tommy looks up at him. Tommy hesitantly asks Josh later if Evan is homophobic or something. Josh says he doesn’t think so— he’s never had any problems with him, anyway.
9. Maddie and Josh invite Tommy out one night, and Tommy’s surprised to see Howie there, and then Hen and Bobby. He somehow hadn’t realized that Evan was with the 118. There’s a new guy there, Eddie, and he and Tommy get along well when they find out they have a shared history with the army. Tommy thinks he sees Evan near the door at one point, but he never comes over and Tommy doesn’t see him again so it's probably wishful thinking.
10. Evan’s office door is locked. He’s at work, Tommy can hear him on the other side of the door, but he doesn’t respond to Tommy’s knocks. Maddie tells him Evan had a set back in his retraining; the night they went out was supposed to be a celebration for him. He’s been ducking everyone. It’s pretty impressive how little they see of him at Dispatch.
11. Josh teases him about having a crush on Maddie’s straight little brother. Tommy flushes but doesn’t deny it, even though he knows he should. Josh only laughs a little, but gives him a comforting pat and gets him a piece of pie as a consolation prize.
12. Evan’s door is unlocked next shift, even though he’s not at his desk. Tommy drops off a coffee again. When he leaves, he finds a thank you note shoved in his locker.
13. Evan brings him a coffee next shift. It’s — not good, but it is thoughtful. Tommy drinks it all.
14. Tommy finds himself out with Maddie and Howie and Evan more often than not — sometimes Josh is there, sometimes other 118 members, but mostly just the four of them. Tommy calls Maddie out for using him and Evan as a buffer so things aren’t so weird with Howie. Maddie’s less embarrassed by this than he thought she would be, and asks cheekily if he isn’t doing the same thing? Tommy, incredulously, says “are you trying to set me up with your straight brother?” Maddie laughs and pats his shoulder condescendingly. He tries to ask Josh about it, but Josh just gives him the same reaction.
15. Tommy heads to the restaurant when Howie said to meet him, and gets there to find Evan outside on the phone, hands waving frantically while he talks. He spots Tommy and immediately hangs up, face flushing. “Howie didn’t tell me you were coming,” Tommy says. “Maddie didn’t tell me you were coming,” Evan says. “Also, they both ditched us.” He goes redder. “Sorry.” “What are you sorry for?” Tommy asks. “Ithinkthey’retryingtosetusup,” Evan says. “They’re trying to — what?” “They’re trying to set us up,” Evan says, hunching in on himself. “Sorry.” “So — dinner?” Tommy asks. “What?” Evan’s head pops up. “Well, they went through all this work, so, dinner?”
16. Tommy and Evan have dinner. It’s a nice restaurant, clearly a date spot, now that Tommy thinks about it. He can’t believe he didn’t realize it when Howie invited him out. “I guess I wasn’t trying to flirt with Maddie’s straight younger brother, huh?” Evan blushes again. It’s cute. His cheeks match his birthmark. “Bi little brother,” Evan corrects. “But you — you were flirting?” “I was trying not to, but yeah.” “Why were you trying not to?” “Because I thought you were straight.” “In fairness, so did I, for a while,” Evan says. “Talked to Josh and Hen and Karen a lot to figure it out.” “I hope you didn’t feel rushed.” “No, not at all.”
17. Tommy gets the all clear from his doctors to go back to work. He puts it off for a little while, because Evan’s recertifying soon too, and he kind of wants to go back to work together, even if they don’t work together. And maybe he wants to see Evan as much as he can before they’re at different stations. He can’t prove it but he thinks Josh is switching his schedule around so he’s on shift with Evan more.
18. Bobby and Athena are throwing Evan a surprise party to celebrate him coming back to work. Tommy lies about a shift and Evan pouts that he can’t come to dinner, but Maddie says she can go with him. It’s worth it to see the smile on Evan’s face when he realizes they’re all there, it’s not just a quiet dinner with Bobby and Athena. He pulls Tommy aside in the backyard later, and then coughs blood all over Tommy’s chest.
19. Tommy’s with Maddie when Evan wakes up in the hospital. Tommy is there when Evan finds out they’ll have to put him on blood thinners, and finds out he won’t be able to go back to work just yet.
20. Tommy takes a week off to spend with Evan. Evan’s mopey and sad and Tommy just lets him sit with it. He knows what it’s like to feel like things are being taken away from you. He convinces Evan to take him and Chris to the museum, and he gets to see Evan smile for the first time all week.
21. Tommy’s put off going back to work for long enough, and he gets back to Harbour just in time to be part of the tsunami rescues. He’s secretly glad that Evan’s off work and not part of this, until he gets a call from Maddie letting him know Evan’s at the field hospital. His flight hours are almost up, and his co-pilot drops him off when they have to drop off a patient. He finds Evan downstairs and gets to hear all about his day while they have him hooked up to an IV and fix up his scrapes. He wishes he has something other than his flight suit on, because Evan still looks cold, and he’d love to wrap him up in a sweater or a jacket right now. Chris drags Eddie in, telling them both about all the people Evan saved and how Chris ended up in the hospital too. Eddie and Tommy exchange a relieved look as Chris and Evan are busy talking to each other.
22. Evan has surgery on his leg to replace the screws — Tommy had convinced him to go see his surgeon after the tsunami, just to make sure everything was okay, and they’d found the problem with the screws. Evan’s part time at Dispatch, healing up at home, and Tommy’s trying not to spend every spare second with him because he doesn’t want Evan to get tired of him. But he also wants to spend every spare second with Evan. He tries to spend some time with his coworkers and Sal too, though Sal teases him about being attached to his phone whenever they do hang out.
23. Things are a little tough when they’re both back at work. Their shifts don’t always line up, and they depend a lot more on texting and calling than they used to. Tommy finds it tough, harder to read Evan’s mood through a screen, his tone through texts.
24. Two months after they’ve both gone back to work, Tommy walks out of Harbour to see Evan leaning up against his truck, smile big and wide. “I thought you were on shift,” Tommy says, stopping in his tracks. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make the shift swaps, but, um, I’ve got the next 48 off with you,” Evan says. “I’m going to owe Eddie so much babysitting, but.”
25. They find a balance between their shifts, eventually, they make swaps when they can, and it’s fucking tough to date another first responder but it gets so much easier when they move in together about a year later. Tommy loves coming home to Evan, waking up with him, making dinner with him, falling asleep with him. Evan does too. It takes them a while to say it to each other, but once they do, its like the dam bursts, ad they can’t stop saying it. Tommy doesn’t remember ever being this happy.
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“This means… of Rocky, possessive. Of the speaker.”
“My.”
“Correct. But only for names.”
“So you’re calling me…?”
Rocky repeats the word: “My Grace. Yes.”
“Are there other Graces? Why do you need to specify?”
Rocky considers this, tapping his xenonite-encased claws idly against the floor.
“No other Grace,” Rocky says. “We just do this.”
“Like an honorific,” Grace guesses. “It goes before everyone’s name? Everyone you know?”
Rocky whirs in surprise. “No, no, no. Not at all.”
“Okay, then who? What makes me qualify?”
Rocky is silent for a moment.
“...Does this offend Grace?” he asks, voice lower.
Grace blinks. “No! I don’t think so. Is there a reason to be offended?”
“Good,” Rocky says, relieved. Grace is starting to recognize what Eridian relief sounds like. “No, no reason.”
“Who else do you call that?”
“You don’t have this on Earth?”
Grace considers. What for, friends? He couldn’t call Marissa “my Marissa.” That would be weird.
“I still don’t know what it means,” he settles on. “So I couldn’t tell you.”
Rocky groans in frustration. He’s a very impatient tutor. “We just say it.”
“Are you my Rocky?” Grace asks. He hits the two keys to make the my note.
“I don’t know!” Rocky says. “You decide this.”
“I decide? Who do you use it for?”
“You. Adrian. I will use it for my pebbles.”
Grace blinks. “So few?”
Rocky shifts. “I am… you do not have the word yet. Eridian who works alone often, not close to many other Eridians.”
“What, mechanical engineer?”
Rocky chitters with amusement. “Acceptable.”
“Is Adrian your only friend?”
Rocky draws back, like he’s taken offense. “I have friends. Coworkers. But different.”
So just Adrian. And him.
“This worries you,” Rocky says.
“Adrian is your mate,” Grace points out. “I’m not your mate.”
“Correct. You are not. You do not like to be a mate.”
Grace isn’t sure how to respond to that, so he ignores it.
“I’m your friend,” Grace says.
Rocky hesitates, for a second. “...Correct.”
“Like your coworkers.”
“No.”
Grace sighs, rubbing his hand across his face. Okay, maybe that’s fair. It’s not like he felt about any of his coworkers like he feels about Rocky.
“Best friend,” Grace amends. “You’re my best friend, too.”
Rocky hums. “Acceptable.”
“Just acceptable? Now you are offending me. Can you just explain?”
This makes Rocky fall silent for a minute longer than usual. Grace is half-ready to apologize and to say let’s move on and to retype his own name without the superfluous my.
“The Earth ‘best friend’ is not strong enough,” Rocky says finally. “It does not translate this way.”
Grace runs his fingers through his hair, a little nervous, for some reason. “Okay.”
“It is…” Rocky pauses. He has to pause more often, now that they’re not using the translator, to simplify his language. “It means that I am not Rocky without my Grace. You are part of… of the whole. When I wake up, I think of you. When I work. When I eat. When I think I am going to die.”
Rocky speaks slowly, but it’s still a lot of Eridian for Grace to grasp all at once. Even as he works out the sentences in his head, he can feel hot tears rising in his eyes.
“It means that when you are sick, I am sick,” Rocky continues. “And it means I will take care of you, because taking care of you is taking care of myself.”
Grace bunches up his sleeve, wiping it across his face, blinking furiously.
Rocky’s voice is soft. “So Grace is part of Rocky. Grace is like a cell. You see? My Grace.”
Grace is quiet, for a moment, trying to get himself together. When he speaks, his voice is shaky.
“...Oh.”
Rocky hums, pressing his carapace gently against Grace’s arm. “You are leaking. Does this make you sad?”
Grace shakes his head, sniffing, crossing his arms across his knees and resting his chin on his sleeves. “Not at all.”
“Good, good.”
“I feel like that,” Grace mumbles. “Just like that. Just exactly—exactly like that.”
“About your old mate?”
“Don’t act stupid. You know I’m talking about you.”
Rocky hums, burrowing closer. Grace curls one arm around his carapace. That’s not enough, so he leans over, dropping his head down so his forehead presses against the xenonite.
“My Rocky,” Grace whispers in English.
“My Grace,” Rocky echoes in Eridian. Grace can recognize the note at the start. He will add it when he plays Rocky’s name.
“How long have you called me that?” Grace asks. “Must’ve been a while. I didn’t notice it change.”
so i got to watch project hail mary finally!! and in the theater where i saw it, when grace runs from stratt's office, everybody in that bitch laughed while i cried. and it stuck in my brain and i just really needed to vomit this up before i get started on the audiobook tomorrow.
In spite of what the whispers may say behind her back and loudly, to her face, Eva does feel a measure of guilt for the decisions she's had to make. She is, after all, only human, and even when the right thing settles in your stomach like a bag of concrete left in the rain, it still must be done.
She has to choke back a noise when he jumps up on the sideboard and dodges both the security officers and the doctor to take off out the door. It's uncertain if it would come out a laugh or a sob, but now is not the time for either. He passes her windows a second later, a blur of yellow raincoat and dark blue beanie. She calls Carl to let him know - they were practically coworkers, for a moment that lasted months. Perhaps he could offer a word of wisdom, a calming touch that she lacks. The officers are right on his tail, and she knows it's only a matter of time, so she sits back at her desk with a sigh.
There are things to be arranged, regardless. She needs to send someone to his lonely little apartment to pack up his belongings - clothes and personal effects to send with him, the rest to be sent for donation. He has plants, she knows. Maybe she will take them. Maybe they can become office decor. A little personal touch for the dreary buildings that tend to house her offices, and a little reminder. His student loan debt remains, as well. She can have someone look into getting it taken care of - a small price to pay for a life.
There are tears and dirt smeared on his face when the doctors and techs finally wheel his gurney back past the windows in her office, but he is still and silent. The oxygen mask fogs, soon to be replaced with a ventilator, and if not for that, he could be sleeping at his desk, exhausted from long hours studying the astrophage once again. Carl gives her a stone-faced thumbs up as he follows.
Sure feels like you're betraying me.
Sending him to a cold, hungry death certainly feels like it, yes, but when a quarter of the world's population is set to suffer the same fate in the next thirty years, hard decisions must be made. It doesn't stop the aching, gnawing guilt, but the facts remain.
so i got to watch project hail mary finally!! and in the theater where i saw it, when grace runs from stratt's office, everybody in that bitch laughed while i cried. and it stuck in my brain and i just really needed to vomit this up before i get started on the audiobook tomorrow.
In spite of what the whispers may say behind her back and loudly, to her face, Eva does feel a measure of guilt for the decisions she's had to make. She is, after all, only human, and even when the right thing settles in your stomach like a bag of concrete left in the rain, it still must be done.
She has to choke back a noise when he jumps up on the sideboard and dodges both the security officers and the doctor to take off out the door. It's uncertain if it would come out a laugh or a sob, but now is not the time for either. He passes her windows a second later, a blur of yellow raincoat and dark blue beanie. She calls Carl to let him know - they were practically coworkers, for a moment that lasted months. Perhaps he could offer a word of wisdom, a calming touch that she lacks. The officers are right on his tail, and she knows it's only a matter of time, so she sits back at her desk with a sigh.
There are things to be arranged, regardless. She needs to send someone to his lonely little apartment to pack up his belongings - clothes and personal effects to send with him, the rest to be sent for donation. He has plants, she knows. Maybe she will take them. Maybe they can become office decor. A little personal touch for the dreary buildings that tend to house her offices, and a little reminder. His student loan debt remains, as well. She can have someone look into getting it taken care of - a small price to pay for a life.
There are tears and dirt smeared on his face when the doctors and techs finally wheel his gurney back past the windows in her office, but he is still and silent. The oxygen mask fogs, soon to be replaced with a ventilator, and if not for that, he could be sleeping at his desk, exhausted from long hours studying the astrophage once again. Carl gives her a stone-faced thumbs up as he follows.
Sure feels like you're betraying me.
Sending him to a cold, hungry death certainly feels like it, yes, but when a quarter of the world's population is set to suffer the same fate in the next thirty years, hard decisions must be made. It doesn't stop the aching, gnawing guilt, but the facts remain.
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For the AU 5 facts: Buck is a florist and Tommy has spent a ridiculous amount of money going into the shop with the purpose of asking him out, but failing and then buying yet another bouquet.
It’s not just bouquets haha. I hope you like it!
1. Tommy stops at a florist near his house for Mother’s Day. It’s not for his mom, it’s actually for Gina, because Sal texted him in a panic when he found out the flowers he ordered had the wrong delivery date and he couldn’t get it changed on such short notice, and he’s on shift and Gina is going to KILL him because all she wanted was flowers. And he scheduled it for next month because he was trying to be proactive and plan ahead! There’s a pretty brunette at the register, and he explains what he’s looking for.
2. “Buck can help you with that,” she says cheerfully, and points him at the back of the shop. He heads to the counter there, and all of a sudden a man appears, having seemingly been kneeling down below the counter. He’s — fucking gorgeous, if Tommy is being honest, blue blue eyes, a birthmark above the left one, a big wide grin and friendly demeanour. Tommy explains his predicament again, and Buck starts asking questions as he pulls different flowers out of the cooler behind him, creating a beautiful bouquet with all of Gina’s favourite colours, effortlessly wrapping it up and tying a bow around it all while explaining to Tommy how often the water needs to be changed and what can be added to extend the life of them. He pays what seems a criminally low price, and drives them over to Sal’s station before he has to go to work. (Sal later texts him far too many details about how much Gina liked the bouquet. They’re friends, but there are many things Tommy doesn’t need to know about them)
3. Tommy is, arguably, a functional adult who has asked out hot men before. He goes back to the shop a week later, intending to do exactly that, but somehow leaves with an even larger bouquet for Hen. And he’d lied about it being for her birthday. Hen looks at him a little funny when he brings them in for her, and Chimney jokingly asks what he has to do to get a bouquet like that — isn’t saving Tommy’s life enough? Tommy tries to go back again, and leaves with a potted plant for his house. The fourth time, he gets a succulent arrangement for the big dinner table at the firehouse.
4. He can’t. Stop. Going. He’s inventing people and occasions and getting potted plants and outdoor plants and. He’s genuinely going insane. Maybe Cap can get him committed.
Tommy forgot that he had offered to host Chim and Hen for a barbecue, and he’s faced with two identical scary smiles when they see the inside of his house.
“It looks like a funeral home,” Chimney says, oddly delighted.
“Or a plant cemetery,” Hen says, looking at the (several) potted plants Tommy killed by overwatering them. (He hadn’t know you could do that.) “Sooo, how cute is this florist?”
5. Maddie doesn’t even ask what he wants anymore, just calls for Buck or points Tommy to wherever Buck is in the shop. Tommy’s wearing a nice outfit today — not date night nice, but ask a hot guy out nice — and he’s going his nerves aren’t showing as he wipes his hands on his jeans after he waves hi to Maddie and follows the direction of her finger to where Buck is.
He’s reorganizing some of the back shelves, and Tommy takes a second to admire how easily he’s moving around the terracotta pots and bags of dirt. He's been treated to the view more than once, because Buck loves to help people carry things to their car. Or, to Tommy’s car,at least.
Tommy clears his throat so he doesn’t startle Buck too much, waiting until his hands are empty.
“Tommy!” Buck gives him that smile, the one that makes him say yes to every new plant or bouquet, the one that makes his knees feel like they’re going to give out. “What brings you in today?”
“I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me on Saturday?” Hallelujah, actual words that made sense. Tommy had been a little worried he'd say something other than the question he’d been practicing for almost a week.
“I was wondering when you were finally gong to ask,” Buck said with a smile. “Maddie thought I could probably get you to buy a few more cactuses.”
“I actually said the sad, half dead Monstera,” Maddie’s voice came from across the shop.
“You knew?” Tommy didn't want to know what his face was doing.
“Tommy.” Buck smiled gently. “No one buys that many plants. No one.”
“Some of them were bouquets,” Tommy reminds him, then winces, because that doesn’t really make him look any better.
Buck smiles again. “I thought it was really cute. Aunt Jessica from Maine was a dead giveaway though.”
“I didn’t think you’d know Murder, She Wrote,” Tommy admitted.
“He used to watch that and Magnum back to back after school,” Maddie said. She hadn’t gotten any closer but she was clearly enjoying her eavesdropping.
“Please go away,” Buck hollered back.
“I work here too,” Maddie volleyed, but they heard the office door close.
“So, dinner,” Buck said, leaning back against the shelf and looking at Tommy. “Pick me up here?”
“Yeah,” Tommy agreed. “Six o’clock?”
“Perfect.” Buck looked up at him — the way he was leaning made him a little shorter than Tommy. “How do you feel about kissing before the first date?”
How about a bucktommy scifi AU with space explorer Buck and alien Tommy? They're both fascinated and very curious to learn more about each other. Buck is totally willing to find out all the different things Tommy's rippling appendage can be used for. For science!
This is so long and gets horny af with alien Tommy, aka T'my.
1. Lieutenant Evan "Buck" Buckley of the United Galactic Coalition volunteers to go to the planet with the science team, because he misses being a member of the science team. He'd been plucked from its ranks by Cap, and now he's learning to be in charge. He'll get there one day. Hell, Chimney is about to get his own ship. Then it'll be First Officer Buckley. But until then, he wants to go out and see more than the inside of the ship. Even though he loves the ship. So Bobby gives him an okay, puts him in charge of the team, and Buck happily takes the shuttle down to the surface. It's being scouted for terraforming, because it's in a Golden Zone and has the right atmo and liquid water. Just maybe too much, there's not enough land. The tides on the surface are brutal. He lands them on the tallest point he can, which is safe from the water. And they set out.
2. Allen and Roz are scanning, Buck starts checking out the terrain and collecting samples of soil and plant life. There's bugs. Tiny, squirmy little grubs. So they can't terraform, because there's a possibility that these guys can become the next dominant lifeform. They can't interrupt the natural flow. Some captains will make exceptions on their recommendations, Bobby doesn't. But Buck goes over a hill and sees another ship in the flat area low down near the beach. He turns to tell Roz and Allen and is instead face-to-face with a largely bipedal sort of humanoid alien. They're in a suit that looks like it's made of glass or a soap bubble. They're a little taller than him, there's a head with facial features--a strong nose, a cleft at its chin, the mouth is a little wider, the eyes are so blue--and their skin is iridescent and shifting, like they can camouflage. Buck raises a hand and waves, and the alien raises an arm, and it wiggles a little. He laughs, grinning. He's never seen someone like them, has never seen anything in the database, this is first contact.
3. He tries to communicate, but the alien speaks in a low, soothing song-like voice, saying words he doesn't understand. Then it waves him toward the ship down below, and Buck scrambles to follow. They move quickly, and he sees that the legs are really just the same wiggly thing their arm is. He sees holes low on either side of the back of the head, almost like a cephalopod. The alien keeps looking back him, watching as he walks. They tilt their head and let out a low purring noise that makes Buck flush. At the ship, the alien pushes him back a little, so he dutifully waits outside while they disappear inside. They come back with a frame with more of the bubble-like material stretched over it. There's something that gets pressed, and they speak into it. Then they hold it out to Buck. "H-hi," he says, swallowing and looking into their eyes as he speaks. "This is Evan Buckley, Lieutenant of the United Galactic Coalition, representative of its people, more specifically the crew of ship One-One-Eight. It's nice to meet you." The alien presses some more things and makes a noise of distress before pressing an appendage to its own chest and saying something that sort of sounds like rain over wood. Then they touch Buck's chest and hold the tablet out. "Evan Buckley," he says this time. And it's this back and forth with them pointing at things and then saying something before holding the tablet out to Buck and him saying the word in Universal.
4. "Sir?" Roz says over comms. "Where...are you?" "I'm, uh, talking to someone. Can you go back to the ship and let Captain Nash know that I have a friendly first contact situation down here?" Buck replies. "That's an order, not a request." So the shuttle takes off, and Buck settles in for more of their name game. After a while, the alien pulls a piece of the bubble material off, and their helmet opens seamlessly before they press it to their skin. The helmet seals back up again. Then it pulls another piece off and offers it to Buck. Buck hesitates before carefully touching his gloved finger to it. The atmosphere is safe, they just keep the helmets on as protocol in case of unknown bacteria or toxins. He lowers his and presses the piece to his neck on the same spot. "That feels so weird," he says, afraid to rub his hand over it. It's like a sticker made of cling material. "It doesn't feel like anything to me," the alien says, and Buck almost slaps the wrong button to bring his helmet back up.
5. They go through the introductions again, and the alien--T'my, but the closest Buck can get is "Tommy"--laughs musically when Buck goes through the whole spiel again. "No wonder the translator didn't calibrate, do all of your kind carry such long pod names?" T'my asks. "It's my rank and the organization I work for," Buck explains, flushing. "Do you camouflage?" T'my asks, their appendage gesturing to Buck's cheek. "N-no, it's blood coming to the surface of my skin," Buck says. "Because I'm, uh, flustered? It can mean a lot of things." His comm crackles to life, and he hears Bobby, but he's cutting out bad. There's static on the line. "Sir? Please repeat, over," Buck says, frowning. "Ca--storm--nside. Not safe," Bobby says through the static. "Oh no," Buck says, dread in the pit of his stomach as he looks up and sees ominous clouds gathering. "Can we, uh, go inside? There's a storm coming in. And it looks bad." So T'my lets him into the ship, and it's so cool. He finds out the screens aren't black, his eyes just can't see what's on them. T'my has an entire HUD on their helmet that Buck can't see at all. His instruments tell him the atmosphere inside the ship is safe, so he takes off his helmet. T'my takes off their suit entirely. "Hm, it won't pass for several times," T'my says, and Buck uses his own instruments to see that it's probably going to be about six hours. So now's as good a time as any to get to know the alien. And the more they talk, the better the translation will calibrate anyway.
6. T'my's species is another two star systems away on a planet that's also mostly water. They've been sent to find inhabitable planets for their people, because there's a civil war between a tyrannical overlord and the separatist movement, of which T'my recently became a member. They were higher up in the enforcers of the overlord, but then they couldn't make themselves engage in acts of cruelty. "Yeah, I get that," Buck says softly, thinking of the groups he almost fell in with when he was world hopping in his early twenties. They left for this mission because they're unmated and without any offspring, so no one will miss them if they can't return. "That can't be true," Buck says, and they wiggle their appendages in a weird way. After talking about it, he realizes it's a shrug. Buck tells them about his own background, about his ship and its crew. Then they start learning more gestures from each other, laughing at each other when they can't recreate them properly. It's honestly kind of...fun? And nice. T'my seems lonely, so it's nice to see and hear them express joy. Instead of blushing, their skin ripples and shifts color in some spots. And when they're happy, there's ripples around their eyes like they're squinting from smiling.
7. The appendages aren't slimy. They're a little damp, like skin that's gotten too warm but hasn't started sweating, and Buck clenches his hands into fists on his thighs when T'my brushes the tip of one, which splits a little at the end like fingers, to his birthmark and asks its significance. "It's an imperfection on my skin," Buck says. "It's very nice," T'my says. "I have something like it. Camouflage cell damage." They shift and Buck sees what looks like a mark shaped like leaves. He touches it, and the skin ripples under his touch. And T'my goes from an iridescent, pale blue to a bright sky blue. They apologize for their impropriety, and Buck realizes it's something indecent. He chews on his lip before he finally just asks, "I'm asking for science purposes, but...how does your species mate?"
8. T'my tries to show him a chart, but Buck can't see it. It's just blank filmy stuff. "Well--" T'my starts, going indigo and rippling some more. "There's a--it's a vent. Here." They gesture to the space between their lower appendages, and Buck can almost spot a seam there. "And I am of the sexual morphology that can impregnate. So during mating, my vent will open and the organ will extend that allows me to fertilize. Except I don't...prefer that." And Buck's head snaps up from where he's been staring very rudely. "Like, you don't--" "I prefer the forms of other... impregnators," T'my says, and stripes appear on their appendages. "It's not well regarded in my people." "Oh, we used to be like that," Buck says. "Humans did. I like, uh, all? Any? Humans differentiate by something called gender, and I like all of them. All forms. Even some that aren't, uh, human. But by the standard of your species, I'm an... impregnator." He explains that he wears clothes to hide his sexual organs as well as protect his skin from harm and to help regulate his body temperature. "They're just...out?" T'my asks incredulously. "Yeah," Buck says, blushing. "But something similar happens. It...extends. But it's soft and just on the outside of my body the rest of the time." And T'my bends a little to where Buck gestures at his crotch. "Is that why it's rounded here?" T'my asks, and Buck is so close to it not being rounded anymore. "Y-yeah. I'm wearing, uh, something under the clothes you see. It sort of all...keeps it from moving around too much," he says. "So many protective garments," T'my says, almost sounding teasing.
9. There's a brief break when Buck feels faint and thinks he might need to eat. He has rations in his pack and eats some. T'my eats something that's sort of gelatinous. It's apparently kind of like a jellyfish, based on how they describe it. When they're done, they're on their reflective seats and staring at each other. There's three hours left until the storm passes. "Fuck it," Buck says. "Do you want to see?" "Yes," T'my replies, going sky blue again. So Buck strips out of his suit and the clothes underneath. T'my runs tendrils over his tattoos and the hair on his chest and arms and legs, seemingly enchanted by everything that's being revealed. And Buck touches the damaged cells on their side again and feels how their skin isn't too dissimilar from his in feeling, just damp. And there's a firmness under the gentle give of it, like muscle. "Do you kiss?" Buck asks. "Uh, touch mouths? For pleasure?" "...no?" T'my says. So Buck shows them, pressing his lips tentatively to theirs, such as they are. And they let out a soft purr and their tongue, which is wet and slippery and thick, brushes his when Buck gently presses it to T'my's bottom lip. He moves closer and pushes his underwear off, and T'my lets out a soft trill and looks down. "Oh," T'my says, brushing his tendrils over Buck's cock. "That's...it's like this." They touch the birthmark and then Buck's lips. "Pink," Buck says, licking his lips. "Yes," T'my agrees, wrapping their tendrils around him. "It feels...hard." And Buck reaches down and touches the seam lower down on T'my's body, and they turn cerulean and let out a low, deep purr that rumbles through him. "Is that okay?" Buck asks, and they give the gesture that's like a nod. "Okay."
10. Thankfully, T'my uses a bed. It feels like it's filled with gel, which is nice and comfortable. Buck kisses and licks and teases at the vent when T'my warns him that it can take a lot of stimulation. It's like eating out a pussy, and he rubs a finger over it and gets an appendage wrapped around his wrist. "Bad?" he asks, freezing. "Taboo," T'my corrects. "But good?" Buck checks. "Yes," T'my replies, releasing his wrist. "Keep going." And he works the vent over until it starts to part, and then Buck tastes salt, like the sea. T'my reaches with their appendage to Buck's cock and explores his balls and around them and behind them, and Buck has to explain anal sex to an alien. A very intrigued alien. When he finally gets the vent open and T'my's organ extends, it's big. It outright looks like a thick, long tentacle with a hole at the tip. Buck licks and sucks it and rubs at the vent around it until T'my pulls him up and kisses him. They flip him onto his back and start using their tongue on him, finding ticklish and sensitive spots with their tongue. When they get to his cock, the tongue wraps around it. "Oh, fuck," Buck groans.
11. Buck is on his back with his knees in his armpits while he gets his ass eaten by a large alien who can milk his prostate with their tongue. It's going in his spank bank forever. He cums once that way, and T'my had already been obsessed with the precum. They lick this up and shudder. "Bad?" Buck croaks. "No, it tastes like something we have on celebration days," T'my says, rubbing their tendrils over his hole. "Oh, good, my jizz tastes like champagne," he says. "Or frosting. That's new. Oh, fuck, I need you to get inside me." He reaches down and grabs T'my's sexual organ. "With this." And they have to improvise with the slick stuff around T'my's vent, and Buck not bringing a condom was stupid but how was he to know? T'my works him open with his tendrils and then part of an appendage, and Buck realizes he's basically being fisted by an alien. He sucks on the tendrils of the other arm, and T'my makes purring and cooing noises at him, so it must be good. When they enter him, Buck feels it so deep that he can barely move. So he lays there and takes it and sucks more on the tendrils until T'my presses the others in. "So greedy, little Human," T'my chides as they stroke all the way back to his throat, and Buck should warn them that most humans have gag reflexes. Later, though.
12. It turns out T'my's kind cum a lot, and Buck feels bloated with it. He still manages to get it up again and work the head of his cock into the vent just under T'my's organ where there's the smallest amount of space. It's like docking, he guesses, and T'my thrashes under him and lets out more rumbling noises and there's a rush of slickness and then a little less cum than what was put inside Buck. They push an appendage inside him and milk his next orgasm out of him, licking it up eagerly. They're both a fucking mess by the end. There's a bathing system, but it's more of a mist. "I don't usually get this filthy," T'my says wryly, wiping Buck down with something that kind of feels like if a towel was made out of seaweed.
13. The storm takes nine hours to pass in total. When it does, Buck is dressed again, and T'my is in their atmo suit again. They wait idly near the landing site for the shuttle, and Bobby comes out. "Hey, welcome to the future site of the K'n'rd Separatist Colony," Buck says, grinning, and Tommy turns pleasantly lavender at the declaration. "This is T'my, and we're going to be helping them escort their asylum seeking kin to their new home." "Oh, are we?" Bobby says mildly. "Do they know that?" "Oh, they can understand us. I can understand them," he says, holding out a hand for a new translation implant. With some convincing, Bobby lets Buck put it on his skin. "Hi, I'm Captain Bobby Nash," he says. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Captain," T'my says, holding out an appendage. Buck had explained handshakes to them. And Bobby shakes it, looking amused. Then Buck does a greeting gesture, and Bobby copies it. "Evan has been very...helpful in our unexpected diplomatic meeting," T'my says. "Has he?" Bobby asks, looking pleasantly surprised. Buck explains that their ship doesn't have any fuel anymore. This was a last ditch effort to find something and send a signal back so their people could find a way there. "It would fit in the shuttle bay, we can figure out how to interface the systems," Buck points out. "And they can stay onboard. As a guest." "Where, exactly?" Bobby asks softly as they watch T'my set the shuttle up for pickup by their tractor beam. "My quarters," Buck says nonchalantly. "Uh-huh," Bobby says, giving him a once-over. "Fantastic, go see Hen when we get back onboard. You didn't get them pregnant, did you?" "They can't get pregnant," Buck says without any shame, because T'my is looking at him and turning a pale green. It's a good color, apparently. And the ripples appear around their eyes. Joy.
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Buck sips his beer. It is a little too citrusy for his liking, and that thought pulls him right back to Tommy and his beer opinions, and that languid night in the loft with them test-tasting a selection that Tommy bought right before they–
“You like IPAs?” Sal’s question pulls Buck right back to the present.
“Uh, kinda? An ex got me interested in them. But I’m not snobby about them, I promise,” he replies.
Sal’s eyebrows lift. “Interesting. I have a friend who is a complete snob about them. Can’t drink a Heineken around him without being bitched at for thirty minutes.”
That sounds so much like Tommy when he’s tipsy that it makes Buck chuckle. “Yeah? Sounds like he and my ex-boyfriend would get along.”
The thought of Tommy dating someone else slams into Buck and he has to take a long swallow of his beer.
“I don’t know about that,” Sal drawls after Buck sets his glass on the table. “Tommy Kinard never did get along with himself all that well.”
yeah i'm totally procrastinating on doing my work. shuddup.
Look, we all knew that this was coming, so let's all just buckle in and enjoy the ride.
It had grown dark by the time Tommy took the exit that would take them into town. Buck had watched as Tommy’s shoulders had tightened and inched higher with each passing mile. He did the math; by the time they reached the city limits, Tommy’s shoulders would be above his ears.
“At the risk of starting this argument again,” he said as the roadside sign proclaimed them to be ten miles out from Purpee, Oregon (population eighteen thousand), “but I just want to make sure you’re not having a nervous breakdown right now.”
“And what would you do if I said I was having a nervous breakdown?” Tommy said dryly.
“Well, I’d definitely make you pull over so I could drive because we can’t afford to get into an accident.” He leaned in and dropped his voice. “I heard Purpee doesn’t even have a functioning fire department. They had to bring in a couple of assholes from out of state to try to get it up and running.”
Tommy reached for his hand, pressing a kiss to his knuckles before settling it onto his thigh. “I’m all right. It’s just a town.”
That’s what Tommy had settled on after the interviews and the offer and the endless circular arguments of going versus staying. Purpee was where Tommy had spent a miserable childhood, but it was just a town.
“I always said I would need a good reason to get out,” Tommy had said in that final round of arguing. “This is the best reason there is. Do you trust me enough to believe I mean it?”
Buck could and he did, and so they had set up about packing up their life in Los Angeles and moving it to Purpee.
“You can use that line on me when we go to Hershey and I have a panic attack on the plane.” He gave Tommy’s thigh a squeeze, just a little reminder that Tommy wasn’t doing this alone; I’m here, I’ve got you.
“We’re coming up on it now,” Tommy said. “Prepare to be extremely whelmed.”
They crested the hill and there was Purpee laid out before them. It was a small town—only a couple of miles across and maybe twice that in length—and it was nestled along the river. Buck made a mental note to look into any flooding history and what, if any, emergency plans the previous captain had put into place. He would need to make sure his water certifications were up to date and look into any courses for his firefighters to take.
“It’s going to be a change from LA.” Tommy slowed as they passed a deer crossing sign, frowning out at the darkness.
“Change isn’t a bad thing,” Buck said, as much a reminder for himself and for Tommy.
“Yeah, but there’s no place that will deliver us sesame chicken at two in the morning,” Tommy said. “And you’re going to be so sad when I show you what skipping the lip is.”
“If you really think that I’m not, you know, ravenous for stories about you growing up,” he said in his best impression of Tommy’s bitchy tone, “then you don’t know me at all and we should probablythink this whole thing.”
“I meant,” Tommy said, outdoing him in the bitch department, “that it’s like the saddest little teenage rebellion you’ve ever seen.”
“I bet it’s cute,” Buck argued. “I bet it’s the cutest thing in the world and that little baby Tommy was so cute doing it.”
“Baby Tommy got so drunk on shitty beer at Mike’s that he drove his dad’s car into a tree.” Tommy flicked on the turn signal. “I was cute, though.”
“Do you think the library has a copy of the your yearbook? I need more pictures.” They were in Purpee proper now, and the streets were empty but for the other occasional car, and those were mostly filled with college students heading towards Mike’s. He’d spent the last few weeks leading up to the move studying the town map, trying to learn the streets, figure out the fastest route to each neighborhood. He’d learned from the stories about Bobby’s first day on the job; Purpee’s traffic wasn’t going to get the better of him. “The town really does shut down after six, huh?”
“It’s been this way even back when I was a kid. You can see why I left.”
“It does make Hershey look exciting, and our big claim to fame was a chocolate factory that's gone now. There amusement park is still there.” They turned left instead of right. “Hey, the motel is that way.”
The movers weren’t showing up until tomorrow, and instead of booking one of the weirdly many Airbnbs in town, they had chosen the small motel that mostly catered to those wanting to hike the trail.
“We’re not going to the motel,” Tommy said.
“Where are we going?”
The light at the intersection turned red, and Tommy dutifully rolled to a stop. “You’ve been studying the map. Downtown is six blocks that way.” He pointed to the left. “And the university is to the north. So we’re at…”
Buck rolled his eyes. “We’re about to turn onto Spruce, which means we’re at—wait. Tommy.”
“I knew you’d get there,” Tommy said smugly. The light turned green, and they took a right and a left and pulled into the lot of Purpee Fire Company No. 1.
Buck didn’t even wait for Tommy to put the truck into park before he was throwing open the door and stumbling out. The original station from the 1850s was still standing. It was a beautiful building, tall and narrow and built from weathered brick with high windows and a bay that was barely large enough to fit the ladder truck and the engine, although those were no longer housed there. A modern extension had been added on in the ‘80s and then renovated again in the the mid aughts. That bay was large enough to hold the ladder truck, two engines, and the ambulance, which hadn’t been used since the station closed. The volunteers had to use their own vehicles to get to scenes, which was frankly one of the most insane things he’d ever heard.
He’d have to get someone in to inspect the engines and the equipment, and new turnouts would need to be ordered. In fact, both the whole building would need to be inspected, make sure it was structurally sound and hat there was no mold or exposed wiring. He hoped the pole in the old wing was still there. The kids from the local schools would get a kick sliding down it during a field trip. Oh, they were going to have to put together a whole presentation on fire safety. Maybe some of the high school kids would want to volunteer. Please let the kitchen be in good shape. He already had the first menu planned out: Bobby’s mac and cheese.
There was so much to do. He couldn’t wait to get started.
“What do you think, Cap?” Tommy asked, rounding the truck to stand at his side.
“I think,” Buck said slowly, “that I can make this work.”
“You’re ready for this,” Tommy said, sliding an arm around his waist. “You’re going to rebuild this place and it’s going to be the better for it because it’s you.”
His cheeks burns and his eyes embarrassingly burned. “You can’t just say something like that,” he said, leaning into Tommy and trusting him to take his weight. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Tommy said. “I know I was afraid to come back, but I’m so glad to be here with you.”
“What did I just say?” He groped in Tommy’s back pocket for one of his ubiquitous handkerchiefs he never went anywhere without. God, he was going to have to blow his nose and ruin the entire moment
“My deepest apologies,” Tommy said because he was an absolute bitch, but a bitch who pressed a tender kiss to his birthmark so Buck was willing to overlook it. “I think this is going to be good.”
“Yeah, me too,” Buck said, and then ruined it by blowing his nose.
Tommy was still laughing when someone said, “That is him! I told you they’d be here. A man wants to see what he’s working with.”
He and Tommy turned in unison to find two men approaching on—lime scooters? Tommy’s eyebrows jumped and Buck’s wasn’t far behind.
“Good evening,” the man said, bringing his scooter to a neat stop. He was a handsome black man with a Jheri curl and a suit that seemed out of place, a little too big in the shoulders to be modern. “I am LaVonte Worthy and this is my associate.”
“HJ Wingstreet,” said the white man, voice trailing off on the last syllable like he was falling down a well. HJ had a narrow face and slicked back hair, and there was something odd about his suit, too. Both of them had a strange timeless quality to them, like they’d been plucked from a different era. It was probably just the scooters.
“And you must be Captain Buckley,” LaVonte continued. “We’re so excited that you’re here.”
“Oh, uh, it’s Kinard actually. You can call me Buck.” He reached for Tommy’s hand. “We’re married.”
It was one of the first things they did when they began planning the move. Part of it was just logistically—his name needed to be added to the deed for the house, they had to update their benefit forms, draw up new wills, get their new shared finances in order if they decided to buy a house in Purpee—and part of it was just they didn’t want to wait any longer. Why be apart when they could be together?
“Mazel tov!” HJ said, pulling out his phone. “Where are you registered? We’ll get you a wedding gift.”
“We’re not registered,” Tommy said, with a quiet, assessing gaze.
HJ pouted in disappointment, and LaVonte said, “We’ll get Tyler on it. You’re newlyweds. You deserve a gift.”
“You really don’t have to.” He nudged Tommy forward. “This is my husband, Tommy. He’s going to be heading up the local Search and Rescue detachment.”
“And we are excited to have you here as well,” LaVonte said as they all exchanged handshakes. “I’m sure there’s plenty of dangerous creatures in these woods.”
“Just the usual,” Tommy said mildly. “I don’t remember you from the interviews.”
There had been a lot of interviews—the retired captain, the fire chief, the town council members, the fire chief again, not the mayor since the mayor was a dog, the joint one with HR to make sure there was no ethical issues or conflict of interest as he and Tommy would need to coordinate on any potential rescues—and none of them had featured the two men or their scooters.
“We’re new to town just like yourselves,” HJ said with a big smile that made Buck want to take a step or three back. “We’re investing in Purpee. We think this town has real potential. Small town community but big city dreams.”
“It can be the new Paris,” LaVonte added.
Tommy’s eyebrows reach a bitchy height that RuPaul could only dream about achieving. “Paris,” Tommy repeated, incredulous. “You think Purpee can be the new Paris? The local diner keeps their key on a ladle on a track.”
LaVonte lit up. “You’re a local boy. This is what I’m talking about, HJ! The people are returning!”
“I literally joined the army right after Bush declared war on Iraq,” Tommy said dryly, “that’s how bad I wanted to get out of this town.”
“But you came back,” HJ pointed out.
“My husband was offered an incredible career opportunity,” Tommy said in a tone that implied that if it weren’t for that he would still choose going to an active warzone over living in Purpee any day.
Buck dug his elbow into Tommy’s side. “What my husband means is that everyone has complicated feelings about returning their hometowns. But the diner is still open?”
“Mama Angie’s is great,” HJ said, rallying admirably. “Just don’t follow the ladle all the way down.”
Buck laughed politely, but LaVonte leaned in and said, “Seriously don’t. It’s on the mugs.”
“It is on the mugs,” Tommy agreed.
“We’ll let you two settle in.” LaVonte pulled out a business card. It was heavy with gold embossment. “Call us if you need anything. The big budget fight is coming up, but we may be able to help with raising some money for the fire department. Maybe do a calendar, a fun little fireman auction, pancake breakfast. Things like that.” He turned to HJ. “Let’s get Tyler on it.” To them he said, “Tyler is our junior associate. He’s sharp.”
“He could have gone to Stanford,” HJ added. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “We have a candidate running to replace the mayor. That should help with the budget negotiations.”
“Isn’t the mayor a dog?” Buck said.
HJ tapped the side of his nose.
“Where are you boys staying?” LaVonte asked. “We’ll send over a fruit basket.
“Oh, we’re on Shady Street?” He glanced to Tommy, who nodded. “Yeah, Shady Street by Downtown.
HJ’s grin stretched wider. “That’s where we are. We’re neighbors!”
“Well, neighbors, we’ll let you get back to it,” LaVonte said, clapping first Tommy and then him on the shoulder. “We need to get going anyway. Nights are our days and we have a busy day ahead of us. Welcome again!”
And with that they got back on their lime green scooters and began to make their slow departure.
“So,” Buck said once he was sure they were out of earshot, HJ waving one last time before turning the corner, “I feel like you maybe downplayed how weird your hometown is.”
“It was a lot more boring when I was growing up,” Tommy said. “You want to hit up Mama Angie’s and see the ladle?”
“I feel like I have to at this point. How far down does it go?”
“No one knows.” Tommy steered him back to the truck with a hand at the small of his back. “You’re not supposed to follow it all the way down.”
He shoots Tommy a look. “But you did, didn’t you?”
Tommy holds out for an impressive four seconds before cracking. “I was a seventeen year old shithead. Of course I went all the way.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I can show you.”
“You have to,” Buck said, darting in for a quick kiss. “It was in our marriage vows, sharing our lives.”
Tommy predictably went soft eyed and adoring, and the next kiss was sweetly lush. When it was over, Tommy patted his ass, and said, “Get in the truck, Mr. Kinard. I’ll give you a tour of my misspent youth.”
Buck felt his grin grow to Joker proportions and didn’t care. “I can’t wait,” he said, and got into the truck.
