#beanarie

buck is escorting roz out of the lab when bobby notices that the lab extinguishers are almost empty and he sends ravi out behind buck to get some from the rest of the floor.

buck and roz have just cleared the clean room when there's an enormous boom and they get thrown to the floor in the hallway. they're both shook up and off balance and it takes buck a few tries to get to his feet. he's keying the radio before he can get a look inside, trying to raise any of the team. no one answers.

buck takes a deep breath and hauls roz to her feet, keeping his back to the door. the civilians are the first priority, and — "oh my god," roz gasps, staggering back into the wall. buck turns around.

ravi is collapsed in what's left of the clean room, both doors slammed down in the explosion. everything beyond the clean room is up in flames, and buck can't see anyone else.

"go. keep walking straight, you'll be able to get out," buck says to roz on autopilot. he hopes it's true, that nothing else has come down in the explosion and that their way out isn't blocked. he waits until roz has cleared the hallway to key his radio open and leave the channel open, screaming his team's names.

maddie and josh bully their way onto the channel, and buck tells her through hoarse gasps that no one is responding to him.

he can hear josh get on the main channel and start calling for other houses, saying that the 118 is down. maddie does her best to get his attention, but buck is back on the ladder, getting struck by lightning, back on the bridge and watching everyone collapse, back in the helicopter over a roiling ocean and staring at the submerged remains of the domino. "i can't get the doors open, they're industrial medical grade and they stay locked down in an emergency, maddie, you have to find someone who can get them open."

"okay, okay, buck, you have to breathe."

"i have to get them out! ravi! ravi! answer me, probie!'

buck's glad that he's on a 118 only channel, because he screams himself hoarse trying to get someone to respond to him. if he was on an open channel, the rest of the lafd would think he was dying.

he thinks he is dying. did he ever wake up from the coma?

whatever the explosion did to the lab, disabled the sprinklers. there's no water coming in, buck can't see anyone using an extinguisher, and the fire is growing. their turnouts are rated to get them through anything less than the worst chemical fires, and — god, it's a lab. there are so many chemicals in there. if he doesn't get them out now, they won't — they can't —

"dad," buck gasps, pounding on the doors. he can't even hear himself. no one answers.

there's blood on the door. he stares at his hands. the skin on his knuckles is ripped and torn and he has no idea when that happened. was it the explosion?

"kid. kid." there's someone in front of him. it's the captain of the 122 — some guy that bobby knows from before buck started working with him. they've exchanged nods at scenes before. buck can't remember his name. "i need you to go outside. we've got this."

"no, no, i have to— i have to—" buck gasps, his throat wet. he chokes. is he bleeding?

"jonesy, get him out of here and come right back."

"no! no, i'm not leaving—" buck gets pulled bodily away from the doors and dragged down the hallway by jonesy. he swears and curses the whole way, but he can't make his body listen enough to fight his way back to the doors. he's buffeted along behind jonesy's body. there's a triage station outside the lab, and he sees roz and allen there. roz gasps and grabs at buck's hands, the blood draining out of her face. "what happened to your hands?"

okay. okay. that didn't happen in the explosion, then.

"i've got him. go, jonesy."

buck knows that voice. he blinks, looks over his shoulder. tommy's standing by the edge of roz's stretcher, his hands shoved in his pockets. buck watches as he pulls them out, balls them into fists, shoves them back into his pockets.

jonesy's left. buck's not sure when. he's sitting on his own stretcher now, one of the 122 medics carefully dabbing at his hands. he doesn't remember sitting down. roz and allen are sitting across from him, their arms wrapped around each other. "does this hurt?" the medic asks. buck shakes his head. he can't feel anything.

he's sobbing into tommy's shoulder and the medic has pulled back, waiting and glancing back towards the lab. tommy's holding him tightly, he thinks. he can't move. he can't feel it. "my dad," buck says, and he's not sure if he makes any noise. bobby and chim and hen are still in the lab. ravi is in the clean room. everything was on fire. he has no idea how long it's been.

athena appears in the triage station, karen and maddie behind her. buck swallows hard and shakes his head. athena's lips go thin and buck—

wakes up in the hospital. he collapsed. ravi's in the icu, in a coma. everyone else is… everyone else is.

buck hopes that he's still trapped in that fucking coma dream.

tommy's sitting beside his bed. they're not touching, but buck can see the way tommy is oh-so-carefully holding himself back from reaching out. "when did you join the 122?"

"melton heard josh's call on the radio. he sent me over."

buck hums and looks towards the wall. he wants to look at tommy. he doesn't want to look at anyone if it's not bobby.

"evan. i'm—"

"don't. don't say it." if tommy says it, it's real. realer than it was when athena came to the scene. even getting called evan again isn't — isn't worth it. he wishes he was still buck. when he was buck everyone was —

he's still crying when maddie comes into the room. "buck."

"maddie," buck gasps. she looks the way he feels.

"they want to keep you for a few days. concussion protocol, making sure there was nothing in the lab that we need to be worried about," maddie says, sitting on the edge of his bed. she's not looking at tommy, but it's not her ignoring him. she just doesn't have the bandwidth to pay attention to anything that isn't buck. he knows that look on her face; she's keeping herself together by the skin of her fingernails. he should have done more to help. "karen asked jee and i to come spend the night with them. we're going to…" she sighs. "i think we're going to stay there for a while. we'll see what happens in the next few days."

"if you need anything," buck starts, and she shakes her head. "just get out of here, okay?" she murmurs, squeezing his ankle. he can't feel it. "that's what you can do for me."

tommy follows her to the door when she leaves and says something to her. buck doesn't try to listen to whatever it is. he doesn't sleep, but he does close his eyes when tommy's back is turned. he can't do this. he can't be a person right now. he can't ask tommy for what he wants and he can't — can't think about why tommy is here.

he falls asleep at some point. may is in the chair beside tommy when he wakes up. she's awake, but tommy is folded up like a pretzel and totally out of it. "mom and harry are checking on ravi before they come up here," she says softly, leaning forward. "i'll go down at some point. we're not going to leave you alone."

"i…" buck swallows hard and trails off. he tries again. "may…"

"i'm glad you're okay, buck."

it's cry again or fall asleep, so buck falls asleep.

athena's staring at him when he wakes up. tommy looks between them and asks harry if he wants a snack, guiding him out of the room and down the hallway. "he sent me away," buck gasps. "i tried. i tried to get back in."

athena reaches out and holds his hands, and buck stares at the casts on both of them. that explains a few things. "i know. you broke both your hands trying to get back in," she says. her voice is flat the way voices only get when someone's trying not to cry. "when they let you out of here, you're coming home with us."

"i can—" the offer makes buck want to recoil, but that takes more energy than he has right now. "…manage."

"i'm sure you can. but bobby couldn't survive losing you, and i'm not waiting to see if you can survive losing him."

buck goes home with athena when they discharge him. tommy shows up every day (is it every day? buck's sleeping a lot.) and drives him back to the hospital so he can sit with ravi. buck's sure that he eats, because you have to eat, but he can't remember a single meal that he's had. maddie and karen call every morning, and maddie does end up staying with her because her doctor is suddenly calling her pregnancy high risk. it's no surprise why. it's ten days before ravi wakes up, and he frowns at buck when he's able to focus on him. "what happened?"

"there was an explosion."

ravi's parents take him home and buck calls him every night. they do a video call because buck isn't really up to talking but he's got to check that ravi is okay, has to make sure that ravi can tell that buck is okay too.

buck can't work with two broken hands but he needs the stuff he left in his locker. tommy drives him to the 118 and waits in the parking lot. buck takes one step outside his truck and has a panic attack. stevens runs out and hooks him up to some oxygen while tommy runs in and cleans out his locker. buck is still breathing hard when tommy comes back, and stevens asks him if he wants some valium. he's not sure if it's from the bus or not, and normally he wouldn't, but his head feels like cotton and it doesn't feel like he's standing on anything.

tommy tucks him into bed when he gets home and buck immediately drops his head into tommy's lap. he hasn't ever cried this much in his entire life. he wakes up to tommy leaning back against the headboard, running his fingers through buck's hair. may brings him water and coffee and a tylenol.

the captain from the 122 drops by to talk to tommy and seems utterly unshocked that buck is there in athena's house. that tommy is there in buck's bed. he drifts off while they talk and when he's back with it again, he and tommy are alone.

"sal said to call him if you want to come back to work," tommy murmurs, letting the offer linger in between them. buck thinks that's a good idea. he couldn't even go get his bag from his locker; he can't go back to work in bobby's house with no bobby there. he's not sure he's going back to work. "that's okay too," tommy says gently, and buck realizes he said that last one out loud. he closes his eyes and breathes against tommy until he falls asleep.

athena doesn't blink about tommy always being there either. buck's afraid to ask her why, doesn't want to know what she thinks about them. not that there's much of a them; buck sleeps and eats and talks to everyone who wants to know he's still alive. he's haunting her house and he's not even the one that—

buck doesn't go to the memorial ceremony. he and ravi play mario-kart instead. well, tommy plays mario-kart for him and buck bosses him around because it's still a week before the casts come off. athena and harry do, and harry comes home and asks buck what the fire academy was like. buck and ravi immediately say that he isn't allowed to join.

may switches majors and joins the nursing program. buck gets the casts off and starts physical therapy. ravi continues physical therapy. tommy goes back to work after a few weeks, but if he's not on shift he's at athena's. sometimes buck will come downstairs and tommy and athena will be talking over a cup of coffee. he never cares enough to try and eavesdrop, and they're skilled at changing the topic of conversation when he comes into the room.

"what are you doing here?" buck asks, a few months later. "i — no, i want you here, but what are you — why did you—"

"when the call went out, i thought that you…" tommy trails off. "when you collapsed, when you were in the hospital, before you woke up, athena sat me down and said that i had to choose. i was in, or i was out. because she wasn't going to let you get hurt again and if i wasn't sure, i had to go. she said she wouldn't hold either answer against me. that she'd lie if i left, that if you remembered and asked if i was there she'd tell you that it was someone else."

"and?"

"when i thought you were down," tommy says, and buck appreciates that he doesn't say dead. he doesn't react well to the word these days. "i realized that leaving you was the stupidest thing i'd ever done. i wasn't about to repeat my mistakes. the only way i'm leaving now is if you ask me to."

Buck made everything look tiny. The man was huge. Forced perspective wasn’t necessary with Buck there. The first time Buck had ever held Robert, Chimney had spent most of the time weirdly fascinated by the size difference. Of course Flash looked small around Buck.

But Buck was at his car, grabbing the rest of Flash’s stuff, and she was still tiny.

What the fuck.

As if summoned by Chimney’s thoughts, Buck came in through the front door again carrying a familiar litter box and a duffel bag.

“Okay,” he said, carefully setting both down. “This should be all of it.”

“That’s a lot for such a tiny kitty,” Maddie said. Her tone was teasing, but fond, and it made Buck look a little sheepish.

“I know,” he said. “She’s never spent this much time away from home, at least not without me, so I kinda…brought everything.”

Of course he had. Buck was going out of town with Tommy on a real actual vacation for the first time since Chimney had met him. They’d be gone for two weeks. Normally, Mara would go over to Buck’s place every day to take care of Flash when he wasn’t there, but this vacation had accidentally lined up with a summer camp that Mara had been actually excited for. Considering how huge of a step that was, absolutely no one wanted to discourage her from going. But he’d already gotten the PTO approved, as had Tommy. They had booked the hotel and campground site already in an effort to stop Buck from backing out of it (it’d taken weeks of all of them ganging up on him to get him to agree to it). So he couldn’t change the dates.

Denny’s baseball team was doing well and he had practice. Buck had refused to ask Chris, mostly because that involved asking Eddie, and, well, Chimney wasn’t going to think about that. He’d lamented to them over a dinner at their place a few weeks back, because he’d run out of options and was genuinely anxious about boarding Flash, considering the shelter environment had stressed her out so much.

Maddie had asked for Chimney’s help in the kitchen getting dessert, and had whispered, “We should take her.”

Chimney had thought Maddie was out of her mind. Neither one of them had ever had cats. They weren’t allergic, but they already had the two kids, and they both worked a lot.

“No, think about,” Maddie had said, getting excited in a way that reminded Chimney that she was, in fact, Buck’s sister. “He always babysits for us, and John and Anne had a cat for a while, so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind helping out.”

Which was true. And Chimney still felt like he owed Buck. And he did babysit, often, sometimes overnight. Sometimes with little warning. He was a really good uncle.

Fuck it. Chimney had sent the Lees a quick text and gotten an enthusiastic response, so they’d gone back in with dessert and the offer. Buck had been surprised and unsure at first, but Chimney had been fully on board with the idea by that point and even the famous Buckley stubbornness couldn’t hold up to the might of Maddie and Chimney, with a little accidental help from an oblivious Jee.

Buck had warmed to the idea considerably when Maddie had pointed out that their house was babyproofed, that the Lees would also be helping out, and that Flash already knew them. Chimney had felt weirdly pleased that he’d agreed without much more of a fight. It felt like a victory.

Like they’d proven to Buck that he could count on them again.

Including with this tiny cat that meant so much to him. That felt important.

“She’ll be okay,” Maddie said reassuringly. “It’s only two weeks.”

“We’ll show her pictures of you every day,” Chimney said.

Buck rolled his eyes, but seemed satisfied. He knelt down and opened the duffel bag. “This is just her bed, her favorite blanket, and her toys, really. And, uh, I was worried about separation anxiety, so I did some research and someone said that if she had a piece of my clothing it might help? So,” he pulled a hoodie out. Chimney recognized it as one Buck wore often.

“That’s kind of cute,” Maddie said, taking the hoodie from him.

“Yeah,” Buck said. “Uh, I know it’d be easier to just put the blanket on her bed, but she won’t sleep on them that way. I don’t know why. You can just put it on the floor next to it, though. Just don’t put it next to the litter box, she’ll try to move it away from it. She usually sleeps in bed with me overnight, but if Tommy’s there and I’m not, she won’t sleep in the bed, so I don’t know what she’ll do here?”

Chimney made a mental note to tease Tommy about that at some point. Then he immediately erased that mental note. Tommy knew about Theodore. He wasn’t going to push his luck.

“And her food - the dry food is taken care of by the automatic feeder, it’ll need to be refilled on Monday,” Buck said, gesturing to where it was sitting on the table. “You just open the top and dump it in to the line on it. Make sure the lid is on tight afterwards, she will try to climb in and eat as much as possible if she can.”

“The way to her heart is through her stomach, got it,” Chimney said.

Buck laughed. “She is pretty food-motivated. Uh, I make her wet food, but I made a bunch and vacuum-sealed it? It can go in the fridge, I sectioned it out already and you can just add a little bit of hot water and mix it and give it to her. It should last, it’s supposed to last a few weeks.”

“Is it gross?” Chimney asked, peering down at the cooler Buck was opening.

“No, it’s mostly chicken, chicken liver, and sardines with some cat-safe additions,” Buck said. “Perfectly safe for people to eat, too. Don’t, though, it’s measured for her. She’s a little underweight.”

“At that size, it’s hard not to be,” Chimney said. Buck tilted his head as if agreeing.

“She won’t do much jumping,” he continued. “Without her back paw, it’s harder for her. Beds are usually an okay height, and she can get on the table if she’s determined enough, but she won’t go for counters, there’s nothing to help her on the way up. I don’t know what she’ll do about Robert’s crib.”

“We were going to keep her out of his nursery as much as possible,” Maddie said. “We didn’t think it’d be the best idea for them to be alone unsupervised.”

Buck looked a little relieved at that and nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Okay.”

As he finished giving them the rest of his list, Chimney could tell Buck was getting more and more anxious about leaving her. He was having a hard time looking at the carrier, and was obviously upset as he helped them set up the stuff for her.

Chimney didn’t know what to say. He’d been surprised when Buck had adopted a cat on a whim and had been worried it’d work out like the dog before, but it had been nothing like that. Flash seemed to help Buck more than almost anything else had after Bobby. Honestly, it was kind of amazing that Buck was even willing to leave her with them at all, considering everything.

He kept that in mind as he watched Buck show Flash where they’d set up her litter box. Once that was done, and Flash was carefully sniffing around, Buck watched her, almost looking like he was shrinking in on himself. How, Chimney didn’t know, but he seemed physically smaller.

“She’s going to be okay,” Maddie said softly.

Buck jolted, like he’d forgotten they were there, then made a sound that was probably supposed to be a laugh. “Yeah, I just. Are you guys sure you’re okay with this?”

Chimney bit back a joke about him not trusting them. He was getting better at that. Buck was upset, and making that joke wouldn’t help. They all wanted him to go on this vacation, and not worry. And not feel guilty.

“Hey,” he said, tone as light as he could keep it. “It’s no trouble. We don’t even have to change her diaper or potty train her, so it’s already less work than you do for us.”

That startled a laugh out of Buck.

“Seriously,” Chimney said, not bothering to fight back his grin. “We’ve got her. Go have fun with Tommy.”

“And stay safe,” Maddie said, absolutely firm.

“I’ll do my best,” Buck said. “And thanks. Sorry for,” he gestured at himself in a way that indicated he was apologizing for everything about him.

“You’re fine, Buck,” Maddie said. “We’ll keep you up to date. Don’t worry.”

“Say hi to Tommy for us,” Chimney said. “Don’t make it weird.”

“Pretty sure I make everything weird,” Buck said, but his shoulders had lowered and he had a small smile on his face.

“Don’t make it weirder, then,” Chimney said, clapping him on the shoulder. “We’ll take good care of Flash. You go take care of you.”

“Thanks, Chim,” Buck said. There was a weight to his words, a little glint in his eye, but he didn’t say anything more and turned to say goodbye and hug Maddie. And then he gave Flash a pat on the head and a kiss on her tiny head before leaving.

“Do you think if we tried to reverse psychology the universe it’ll let him have a good and relaxing vacation?” Chimney asked.

Maddie laughed. “Feel free to try.”

-

Having Flash around didn’t change as much as Chimney thought it would. She was curious, but not as bold as she usually was when he’d seen her in Buck’s apartment. She wasn’t scared of him or Maddie, but she wasn’t quite as friendly with them, either.

But with Jee? Flash loved Jee.

She followed Jee around the house, much to Jee’s delight. She climbed onto Jee’s lap when she was sitting on the couch, and curled up next to her chair at the table. She sat on Jee’s coloring book, making Jee giggle even though she couldn’t color.

And in return, Jee was good with her. Buck had been patient when introducing Jee to Flash, and it was clearly paying off. She played with Flash nonstop, wearing the kitty out, and was gentle when Flash was laying down, petting her carefully.

It was, frankly, some of the cutest shit Chimney had ever seen.

“Daddy?” Jee said one night, a few days after Buck had left. Flash was sprawled out on her bed in the living room, fast asleep after Jee had exhausted her with a fish on a string toy.

“Yeah?” Chimney said, pulling her blanket up.

“Flash is still Uncle Buck’s cat, right?” she asked, looking up at him. She’d pretty much inherited the Buckley ability for puppy dog eyes. God help them when she learned how to do it intentionally.

“Yes, she’s still Uncle Buck’s cat,” Chimney said. “She’ll go back to his place when he and Tommy get back.”

“Oh,” Jee said. “Do you think she’ll still like me?”

“I think she will,” Chimney said, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. “You’re very likeable.”

“I like her, too,” Jee said, then yawned.

“I can tell,” Chimney said. “Uncle Buck will be happy to hear that. Get some sleep. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Jee said, eyes already slipping closed. God, this kid could fall asleep so fast. Now if only they could convince Robert to do the same.

He watched her for a few moments before getting up and going to the living room. Robert had been put to bed a bit ago, but he was fussing, so Maddie was still in his room comforting him.

Flash blinked her big eyes open as he passed, raising her head slightly, then laid back down. Chimney felt his heart squeeze a bit, and knelt down, reaching out a hand. Flash made a sound like ‘mrrp’ when he got close, but sniffed his head, then rubbed her head against it. He gently started scratching her head.

Okay, he could see why Buck loved this cat. Petting her tiny head was weirdly soothing. And her purring was also soothing. She stretched out her front legs, then rolled slightly, moving to lay her head on his hand like a pillow.

That was how Maddie found him twenty minutes later, his legs falling asleep.

“Oh, no,” Maddie whispered.

“I can’t move,” Chimney whispered back. “Help.”

“Wait, hang on,” Maddie said, and reached for her phone. Chimney stuck his tongue out when she took a picture, but he didn’t move his hand. Flash was too goddamn cute.

“Buck will love that,” Maddie said cheerfully.

“That’s evil,” Chimney said. He still wasn’t moving his hand. He didn’t want to betray her like that.

“Oh, come on, it’ll make sure Buck knows we’re taking good care of her,” Maddie said, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. Then she knelt down, too, and ran a gentle hand down Flash’s back. Flash snuggled into the bed even deeper.

“We’re gonna have to get a cat, you realize this, right?” Chimney said.

Maddie’s face was a little too innocent.

“Maddie,” Chimney groaned. “Was that your goal all along?”

“No,” Maddie said, then grinned. “But Jee did ask me yesterday if this meant we could get one. I didn’t say yes or no. But she’s so cute with Flash.”

“I know,” Chimney said.

Flash yawned and rolled again, her head slipping off of Chimney’s hand on its own. He felt kind of disappointed, but tried to not let it show as Maddie got back to her feet and held a hand out.

“Come on,” she said. “We have a little bit before Robert wakes back up and I got some ice cream earlier.”

“You’re trying bribery now, too, huh?” Chimney asked as he accepted her hand and got to his feet. “You’re a criminal mastermind, you know that?”

“Criminal, huh?” Maddie laughed. “What’s the crime here?”

“Giving our daughter those puppy dog eyes when we all know I can’t resist them,” Chimney grumbled, following her to the kitchen.

(They managed to both finish their bowls of ice cream before Robert woke up, so Chimney considered it a win.)

-

The night started out normal, but when Chimney came back from making sure Robert was still asleep, he saw Maddie looking a little wide-eyed in the living room.

“What?” he asked.

“I can’t find Flash,” she said. “And I know she’s a tiny cat, but she isn’t in any of her usual spots.”

“Okay,” Chimney said calmly. “She’s probably just somewhere she wasn’t noticed. She’s mostly black, in the dark it’d be hard to see her. Did you check our room?”

They’d given Flash free reign of their room, mostly because she seemed distressed when they’d closed all the doors her first night there. She hadn’t gotten into anything or made a mess (though she’d scared the living hell out of Chimney in the middle of the night when he’d gotten up to get a glass of water), so it’d worked out.

“I did, but can you check, too?” Maddie asked.

“Of course,” Chimney said, and they both went to the bedroom.

A thorough investigation of the room showed that Flash wasn’t anywhere in there. Nor the bathroom, nor their closet. Not in the living room, not the kitchen, not in the dining room. They even checked her litterbox. Nothing.

And okay, Chimney was officially getting a little bit worried. None of the other bedroom doors were open. Flash was tiny, but not invisible or incorporeal.

“We fed her dinner,” Chimney said. “So she didn’t get outside.”

“You took the trash out,” Maddie said, and now her worry was starting to show. “And I brought Jee’s toys inside. That was after she ate.”

“I didn’t see her, and I’m sure you would’ve noticed her, too,” Chimney said with a confidence he didn’t feel.

Flash was tiny and quicker than she looked. She moved quietly. She had a collar on, but it didn’t have a bell - Buck had said he’d tried it for a few days, but the noise had driven him nuts, especially since she slept in bed with him.

“I don’t know if I would’ve,” Maddie said. “I was a little distracted. What if she got out?”

“We can look around outside,” Chimney said. Shit, if she had gotten outside, how the fuck were they supposed to admit that to Buck? They wouldn’t be able to hide it, would they? Especially not if she got hurt. Fuck, please let her not get hurt.

Oh, God, her collar had Buck’s info on it.

They both looked around outside as long as they dared, but there was no sign of a tiny cat, and Chimney didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

Robert was fussing when they came back inside, so Chimney went to soothe him again while Maddie looked around some more in case they’d missed her. She was starting to look upset, and Chimney really couldn’t blame her. He was starting to feel it, too.

That cat meant everything to Buck. He’d trusted them, they could not have lost her, even momentarily.

Robert calmed down after a few moments, falling asleep again. Chimney left the room quietly, and gave into the urge to peek in on Jee, too. He quietly inched the door open, poking his head through.

Then he almost laughed.

There, stretched out along Jee’s side, was Flash, fast asleep. Jee had her arm over Flash, almost like she was a stuffed animal.

Chimney’s legs actually felt a bit weak with relief. He leaned back and whisper-yelled, “Maddie!”

Maddie must have been just down the hall, because she appeared faster than he’d expected. He beckoned her closer, then let her peek through the door.

He saw the moment Maddie spotted Flash, because she practically melted in relief, leaning her weight against him.

“Oh, thank God,” she whispered.

“No kidding,” Chimney agreed. He leaned forward, looking in the room again. Jee hadn’t moved, but Flash had shifted slightly. She was clearly very comfy.

“I thought -,” Maddie said, then shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. She must have snuck in the room when I put Jee to bed.”

“Must have,” Chimney agreed. “We probably should’ve seen that coming.”

“Probably,” Maddie said, and leaned her forehead on his shoulder. “Sorry for worrying you, too.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry,” Chimney said. Then he grinned. “I think Buck would want to see that, though.”

Maddie raised her head, and grinned back. “Probably.”

He slid his phone out of his pocket and did his best to take a picture, even in the dark. It was a little blurry, but easy enough to see Jee and Flash, which was all he wanted.

Chimney: we couldn’t find Flash for a bit. and then we found her. [image attached] Buck: chim oh my fucking god Buck: that is the cutest thing i’ve ever seen oh my god Buck: wait what do you mean you couldn’t find her are you guys okay Chimney: all good. she’s sneaky Buck: oh god she got you guys didn’t she? Chimney: we’re good. don’t worry about it Buck: if you say so???

-

“Uncle Buck!” Jee cheered.

“Jee!” Buck said, equally as cheerful. He knelt down and caught Jee as she launched herself at him. Chimney watched, smiling.

Buck looked like he’d had a good vacation. Apparently they’d helped out a hiker with a broken leg, but otherwise he and Tommy had had a peaceful and relaxing time. It was a miracle, truly. Chimney was kind of jealous.

“Flash loves me,” Jee said as Buck let go. “She slept in my bed!”

“I heard,” Buck said.

After Flash had proven to like sleeping in Jee’s bed, they’d ended up leaving the door open at night and letting Flash go in and out. Chimney hadn’t been there every night, because he still had to work, but apparently Flash had spent at least part of every night in bed with Jee.

“Thanks for taking such good care of her,” Buck said to Jee.

It was then that Flash came around the corner, having just finished eating. She paused as she came in the room, then dashed to Buck, looking up at him and meowing pitifully. God, she really was a Buckley.

“Hi!” Buck said happily, shifting to sit on the floor. He reached to pick her up, but she’d already leapt into his lap.

“Aw, she missed you,” Jee said.

“I missed her, too,” Buck said. “And you. And your brother. And your mom and dad.”

Jee giggled. “We missed you, too!”

“Sounded like you had a good time,” Chimney said.

“Yeah, a great time,” Buck said, giving him an actual smile, too. He really was starting to look steadier, something easing in his eyes that in turn made something inside Chimney also ease. Something that made it a little easier to breathe. He wondered if Buck felt the same way.

“Can I come and see Flash?” Jee asked.

Buck blinked and looked at her. “What? Of course. Any time you’d like. Well, not any time, but maybe we can set up a time for you to come play with her.”

Jee turned to look at Chimney, those puppy dog eyes already in full force. “Can we?”

“We’ll have to check with your mom, too, but probably,” Chimney said.

“Can we get a cat, too?” Jee asked.

Buck choked on a laugh, but Chimney just sighed. He’d been waiting for this.

“Not yet,” he said. “Maybe later.”

“Aw,” Jee said, pouting. It didn’t last long, because Flash butted her head against Jee’s arm, demanding attention, and that distracted her.

Buck, on the other hand, was giving him a knowing and slightly apologetic look. Chimney shook his head.

“Glad you had a good time,” he said. “Maddie said to invite you and Tommy to dinner next week, if you’d like.”

“Depends on the day, but we’d love to,” Buck said. “Thanks for watching Flash. It really means a lot.”

“Of course,” Chimney said. “We loved having her.”

Buck gave another smile, this one brighter than any smile Chimney had seen in - fuck, ever, really. Definitely before Bobby, probably even before that. He couldn’t remember.

“We were happy to help,” he added. “Especially Jee.”

“Yeah!” Jee said. “Right, Flash?”

Flash blinked up at her, then meowed.

“She says yes,” Jee said.

“If you say so,” Chimney said. “We should let Buck and Flash get home, they’re probably tired.”

“Okay,” Jee said, and petted Flash’s head again. “Bye, Flash. Be a good kitty.”

Chimney watched her give Flash a kiss on the head and knew that they were probably getting a cat in the future. He needed to start learning about cats, apparently, because he still knew fuckall.

“Hey, Buck?”

2) emma, the owner of the helicopter rental company, notices him taking a camera up and one day asks if he has any shots she could use for promotional material. tommy’s initially reluctant, so much that it surprises him. partly it’s that he’s not a professional and doesn’t feel qualified to do that kind of photography; but emma’s not asking for a whole photoshoot and an ad campaign, just a few nice photos to use on their website and maybe as the header photo on a pamphlet. mostly it’s that being asked to share his photos feels roughly like being asked to take off his clothes and stand stark naked to be stared at—or maybe more like being asked to take his shriveled and trembling heart out of his own chest and hand it over on a silver platter, bloody and still beating. his photos are in some way a part of him, of the world through his eyes, and he’s both deeply precious about them and deeply terrified that it’ll look ugly through someone else’s eyes. emma offers a pretty irresistible discount on his rentals, though, and he’s not exactly swimming in cash as an army vet without a steady job, so in the end he gives in and lets her use them. 

3) he gets into photographing people mostly by accident, and a little friendly coercion again. emma’s best friend’s cousin’s roommate’s baby brother is getting married, only their wedding photographer got terrible food poisoning the night before and can’t make it anymore. somehow this information reaches emma, and somehow tommy gets voluntold into being their emergency wedding photographer despite his very reasonable protests that he is absolutely not that kind of photographer. emma says any kind of photographer is better than no photographer, and it’s unfortunately hard to argue against that logic. he takes their wedding photos, and it turns out he really has an eye for that kind of thing. all that time he spent watching people, being on guard, trying to learn them so he’d be safe—turns out all that translates surprisingly well to capturing the exact right moment in a camera. the flicker of a smile, the softening of a gaze, the tenderness of a lingering touch. emma’s best friend’s cousin’s roommate’s baby brother and his wife love them, and somehow tommy is booked for three other weddings that summer just by word of mouth. and then one of his clients (clients!!!!) has a friend desperately in need of new headshots for an audition, and then that headshot client’s agent’s friend with a tiny niche magazine needs an emergency photographer, and well. it’s la, there’s never a shortage of struggling actors who need headshots or magazines in need of photos, and within six months tommy’s working a pretty steady job as a freelance photographer. of course he still flies, and still takes his aerial photography, but it’s the portraiture that’s actually bringing home a paycheck. 

4) buck gets introduced to modelling after he moves to la with connor and his friends. at first it’s a good way to earn some spending money while he continues on his wild twenties find-himself adventure. buck’s been ogled and called hot enough times to know what he looks like, and he’s not exactly body-shy, so when one of connor’s friends drags him along to a modelling audition he’s happy enough to play along. turns out those long long legs are catnip to a lot of fashion brands, and the birthmark gives him just enough of a je ne sais quoi effect to stand out in a sea of pretty boys with perfectly sculpted faces and literal supermodel physiques. what starts as a fun way to make rent turns into a real career when he meets bobby nash, a creative director who kicks buck out in the middle of a photo shoot and tells him buck’s got talent, but he has no interest in working with buck if he’s not gonna take the job seriously. he tells buck about how everyone there is doing their utmost to make him look good, so that he can make the clothes look good; about how the designers and the seamstresses and the tailors put months and months of blood and sweat and tears into the clothes he’s modeling, how their hearts and souls and lives are in the fabric, buck’s doing them all a dishonour with his flagrant disregard for the sum total of their efforts. buck is all puffed-chest i know what i’m doing and i’m working hard too! as he huffs away, but once he’s alone he feels genuinely chastised because well. he really hadn’t actually thought about it that hard before. he goes back at the end of the day to apologize and beg bobby for another chance, and bobby’s surprise enough by this kid coming back that he takes him under his wing. buck flourishes under bobby’s tutelage, and actually starts treating modeling as a serious career.

5) when buck and tommy meet, it’s a shoot for a magazine that bobby’s wife athena edits for. buck thrives under tommy’s lens, in tommy’s eyes. he’s felt hot and sexy and handsome and even pretty before, but something about tommy’s photos makes him feel cared for, adored, maybe even cherished. the attention is intoxicating. tommy, meanwhile, is thoroughly charmed by this kid who looks at the camera like he’s staring straight through the lens at the viewer’s soul, who’s got enough legs to make almost anything look good. plus, he’s so eager and curious and takes direction so well that it’s genuinely a pleasure working with him, not just a job. they end that photoshoot with a round of drinks with bobby and athena, and also with each other’s phone numbers. six weeks later, when the issue is printed and the photos go live, they go from a small talented fish in a giant pond teeming with talented fish to overnight viral sensations, la’s hottest new up-and-coming photographer and model. the sudden attention is overwhelming, the fame a little scary, and they grow even closer fighting to navigate it together.