Prompts, you say?
How about the first time Bucktommy see each other again?
Dealer's choice about how and where, more or less canon compliant thus far (although feel free to ignore the bits you don't like) annnnnnddddd...yeah I guess that's it! Thanks!
Okay, uhhhhh sorry? This one went both angsty and open-ended. But, uh, anyone who knows me knows eventually things work out... just. Not here or now. But with that warning...
It had taken some doing to find a time that worked for both Buck and Diana. She was a nurse who was also in school (working on her doctorate of nursing which Buck had never thought about as a thing and found fascinating) and of course his schedule was difficult to mesh with most people's. So when she suggested a Sunday afternoon that he happened to be off, he quickly agreed.
Buck had pictured a nice walk in the park followed by a late lunch, hopefully with more of the easy banter they'd shared over text since she'd flirted with him when he'd gotten stitches after a minor injury.
What he had not pictured was seeing Tommy.
What he never could have guessed was that Tommy would be in an orange vest picking up trash.
“Tommy,” Buck said, his feet suddenly stuck in place and his tongue having difficulty forming the name.
“Do you know that guy?” Diana asked, her eyes following his gaze.
“Uh. Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
Tommy hadn't noticed him yet. He was working a plastic grocery bag out from where it was caught around a bench leg, his expression focused in a way that stole every bit of moisture from Buck's mouth.
When he finally freed it, Tommy grinned and straightened, reaching to put the trash in his bag. As he stood, his eyes caught on Buck watching him.
His grin disappeared.
“H-hey,” Buck called, stepping forward, his long legs quickly closing the distance between them. He pulled on a friendly smile that he knew Tommy knew sat uneasily. “What are you…?” His eyes went to the vest and the bag and the gloves.
“Community service.”
The answer was entirely affectless, empty of even the slightest ghost of familiarity.
Buck frowned. “Community service?”
Tommy adjusted his gloves rather than look at Buck. “Yeah. Almost done with my hours and public works had some spare hours this week.”
Buck's frown deepened. “Your hours?”
Tommy looked up. “Don't pretend like you didn't know.”
“Know what? What are you talking about?”
Tommy glanced to Buck's left and belatedly Buck realized Diana was standing beside him.
Tommy's jaw clenched. He shook his head and looked over his shoulder. A twenty-something with a vest and a walkie-talkie was watching them. “Don't worry about it, Evan. I've got to get back to work. Have a nice… day.”
“Wait. Tommy!”
But Tommy didn't wait or turn back around. He held up his nearly full bag, earning a nod from that twenty-something who had been watching. The guy kept his eye on Tommy until Tommy reached a Public Works truck parked twenty feet away. For a moment he and Buck watched Tommy tie off and load the bag in the back of the truck, then his attention moved onward to one of the other vest wearers currently gathering litter.
“How do you know someone doing community service?” Diana asked.
Eyes still watching Tommy’s back, Buck answered distractedly, “He's my… friend.”
“Your friend?” Diana asked doubtfully. “That you didn't know was sentenced to community service?”
Buck ran a hand over his neck. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.”
Finally tearing his eyes away from Tommy, Buck looked back at Diana. “Sorry, I-” He glanced over his shoulder. Tommy was still not looking at him.
“I think I'm going to go,” Diana interrupted. “I've got something to finish for class tomorrow and…”
Buck nodded. “Yeah. Got it. Good luck.”
“You too,” she answered dismissively, already pulling out her phone. “Keep those stitches clean and dry,” she said as she put the phone to her ear.
She was walking away and talking to whoever she'd called before Buck could respond.
Sighing, Buck turned back towards the way Tommy had gone. The person who was clearly a supervisor was still devoting half of his attention to watching Tommy who was, with the stiffest, squarest shoulders Buck had ever seen, opening a new garbage bag, very much not looking at Buck.
He pulled his phone out and called Lucy.
“What?”
“What's going on with Tommy?”
A bark of laughter was his only response.
“What?” Buck pushed.
“Don't start with the guy, Buckley. He's almost got his life back together. The last thing he needs is you blowing it apart again.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
“Don't you have people of your own to call?” she asked. And then she hung up.












