mulling over a Tommy prequel to the Tres the Dog fic. the delicious angst of it!!
Tommy feeling even more alone than before after Bobby’s funeral, after seeing the 118 again, after peripherally being part of this family that Bobby built. After seeing Evan, surrounded by his grieving family, but not really getting to talk to him. Tommy who feels the loss of Bobby, the first captain who gave a shit, but also the loss of Evan and the 118 all over again. Whose house feels far to empty and far too quiet, with nobody to share it with and nothing but himself to fill the hours.
The idea of getting a dog comes to him after he dogsits for a neighbor, remembers what it’s like to have a companion in the house who’s happy to see him, who thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread just for existing. The dog is wrong, of course, he doesn’t that Tommy’s a coward and an idiot, but it’s still nice. It’s not Evan, and it’s not even a person, but it’s still miles better than the perpetual silence and solitude.
He remembers a rant Evan went on, once, about how many dogs get abandoned by bad owners who never should’ve been allowed to have a dog. It’s pathetic, but he can’t ignore the indignation and the heartbroken sympathy even from memory-Evan, so he finds himself at a shelter. Meets a bunch of dogs, but none of them feel quite right—until he meets a three-legged mutt of a dog, all lolling tongue and wagging tail despite the injury and the cruelty that caused it. Imprints on the dog like a baby duckling, doesn’t let himself admit that it reminds him of a certain someone he should not be thinking about. Spends a week or two getting to know Tres, making friends with him, and getting his house set up for a dog.
Goes to pick him up one Thursday morning. And then, well, we already know what happens.
