#witch buck

I’m subjecting y’all to my below average fanart idc

Buck hadn’t returned to the shop since the date, but then it had only been a few days. Buck mostly couldn’t stop thinking about it. About Tommy. 

He kept his eyes on Bea as he approached the counter. 

“She’s a natural,” Buck informed her. “Only found out she had magic a month ago.” 

“That’s unusual, but not unique,” Cassandra said. “Some flowers bloom late, but you’ve given her a good foundation. I can tell. And your—”

Buck shook his head. “It went great,” Buck jumped in. “Better than great. I’ve never felt this excited about someone before.” 

“That’s wonderful.” 

He glanced at Bea. She had found the sachets, but they didn’t keep her attention long before she found the charms. Spelled jewelry pieces mostly used for protection. Cassandra’s were some of the best. 

“Last time I was here, you mentioned the spell I cast as a kid. You called it wish magic.” 

“Yes.” 

“I’ve seen it there for as long as I’ve known you, Evan, but as you’re likely aware. It is unravelling.” 

“Unravelling,” he repeated.  

“Because your wish is coming true.”

His wish. His mind jumped to Tommy. Wait, did he somehow use his magic to—

“No,” Cassandra said. “Don’t think of it that way. The spell was about you, not anyone else. I told you, wish magic only works when the wish is pure.” 

Bea ran up to the counter, holding a wand. 

“What do you have there, young lady?” Cassandra asked. 

“How do wands work? I didn’t think they were actually a thing.” 

“Well, we don’t really need them, do we? Those are more for those witches that want to show off. Or the humans that want some kind of keepsake.” 

“Oh,” Bea said. 

Buck could tell she was a little disappointed. “But,” he said, “they also do come in handy sometimes. I’ve told you before, Bea, nature has its own magic. Trees are old and wise and full of life. They support their own life, but they also give us oxygen. They support animal life. Their roots can travel so far underground and that makes them deeply connected to the world.” 

She furrowed her brow. “This is dead, though.” 

“Yes, but wood remembers,” Cassandra said. “Buck is right, some wands made from the right kind of wood can help to cast some spells. They form a focal point. It’s the same reason witches used to fly on broomsticks.” 

Bea’s eyes went suddenly wide, her jaw dropped open and she let out a sound that could have been a squeal. “Witches can fly!” 

Buck winced. 

Cassandra chuckled. “Of course. Didn’t you see the brooms?” 

“No. Where are they?” 

“Come on,” Buck said. “We’ll go look at them.” 

Cassandra sent Bea a wink and Buck just shook his head as Bea practically bounced in the direction that Buck pointed for her to go. The brooms were displayed on a wall, held up by magic. They were all made of different types of wood even down to the bristles. 

“How does it work?” Bea asked. 

“The brooms are spelled for flight,” Buck explained. 

“So anyone could use them?” 

Buck hummed. “Yes. In theory, Bea.”

He didn’t realize Cassandra had followed them until she spoke. “Everyone has a little magic, it’s a part of the makeup of the world. That doesn’t mean any human can just pick up a broom and fly it successfully.”

“My daddy can fly,” Bea supplied. “Not on brooms. Helicopters.” 

“It’s a bit similar. Not everyone can fly a helicopter.” 

Bea pondered that. “Makes sense. Can I try one?” 

Buck’s instinct was to say no. Considering Buck was taking Tommy out on a flight for their next date in a few days, Buck didn’t think Tommy would actually be opposed to his daughter exploring it, but Buck couldn’t just jump to that conclusion. It was also something that Tommy might want to be present for himself. If Bea was his kid, Buck would want to be there to see her fly for the first time. 

“That is a question for your dad, kiddo,” Buck said. 

“Aww.” 

Buck ruffled her hair. “Come on, remember we actually came here to buy something.” 

“Right. Right.” 

Her eyes lit up, remembering the potion she wanted to brew. She still looked at the brooms with some longing that amused Buck to no end. Yes, this girl was definitely Tommy’s daughter. They might not share blood, but it was still there. 

-

Tommy had almost forgotten that Evan was taking Bea out to the magic shop. He almost panicked when he arrived home to an empty house. As he was putting away his duffle, he heard his phone ringing. He almost expected it to be Evan, but it was Eddie’s name that flashed on the screen. 

He hit answer and Eddie’s voice came through. “Hey, Tommy.” 

“Hi. What’s up?” 

“Just wanted to check and see if today was a good time to bring the Chevelle over. Chris is at his friend’s house and I have the rest of the afternoon clear.” 

Tommy didn’t really have any plans. He had no idea when Bea and Evan would be back. He’d sort of planned to order pizza or whatever Bea wanted for dinner and maybe convince Evan to stick around. 

“Uh. Sure. Yeah. I’ll text you my address.” 

“Cool. I’ll pick us up some beers too. See you.” 

Tommy chuckled to himself as he set his phone down. He liked Eddie. They’d bonded a little on the ship and since then had texted a bit. Eddie had invited him to a pick up basketball game and they’d gone to the gym together twice. He’d offered to get a look at Eddie’s Chevelle once he mentioned it and not just because Eddie thought it needed a tune up. Tommy loved classic cars. There was something so enchanting about an older car that a lot of the newer models just didn’t have. 

Tommy did a few chores while he waited for Eddie to arrive. No one had ever warned Tommy that little girls had a lot of laundry. He threw in a load and did a bit more cleaning. Bea’s room was becoming more and more full of witchy things, but it was at least not too messy. Bea had even made her bed that morning. Tommy had not. So, he set about doing that and had made it to the kitchen when he heard a knock. 

Eddie stood there rocking on his feet. He held a six pack. 

“Come on in, we can put those in the fridge.” 

Eddie followed him in. 

“You had good timing,” Tommy told him. “I just got home from my shift.” 

“Buck said you’d be off shift in the afternoon. Figured I’d hit you up.” 

Was it weird that he warmed up at hearing that Evan knew his schedule? Of course, Evan kind of had to because of magic lessons. But still. 

Half an hour later, they had Eddie’s car on the carlift and while Tommy got a good look at everything, Eddie was taking in Tommy’s gym set up. 

“You have some great space in here,” Eddie said. “You own the house?” 

“Yup,” Tommy said. “Half the reason I bought it was the garage.” 

And the proximity to a good school and work. It had been the second house he looked at and he’d known it was the one at once. The whole process had been so smooth after that. Almost like luck or magic was on his side. 

He brought the car back down, opened the hood and checked the engine. The car was in great condition, but it was still old and old cars needed some extra care. 

“We’re going to have to spar here some time,” Eddie said. 

“I’m down.” 

“You’re the first person I’ve met I’ve had so much in common with,” Eddie said. “It’s nice. No one at the 118 is really into MMA. Buck hates basketball for some reason. He also knows nothing about cars.” 

Tommy chuckled. 

“I think half the time his car only runs because he uses magic on it,” Eddie added. 

Considering how many problems Tommy had found when he got a look at the Jeep some weeks back, Eddie probably wasn’t wrong. 

The Chevelle didn’t really take long. The noise that he’d heard when he drove it onto the lift was taken care of and all in all, it was as good a car that age was going to be. 

“Test drive?” He asked Eddie. 

“Oh. Sure. You can drive her.” 

They had hardly made it down the block before Eddie was singing his praises. “Man, you’re so good. Did you get trained as a mechanic or something?” 

Tommy chuckled. “Or something.” 

Machinery had always interested Tommy when he was a kid. He liked to know how things worked. He’d started with fixing up his bike when it had problems when it was just a little older than Bea. His parents weren’t willing to shell out the money to get him a car when he was old enough to drive, so Tommy had had to fend for himself there too. He got a job at the local mechanic’s shop cleaning and helping with the phones. Picked up a thing or two and then bought himself a clunker of a car that needed just about everything replaced. He was lucky Carl the owner of the shop liked him enough to let him work on the car there after hours. 

Trial and error and asking questions. It was what got Tommy all the knowledge he had. These days, there was the internet. 

Tommy only took them on a quick ten minute ride around the neighborhood before heading back to the house. He spotted Evan’s Jeep as he pulled into the driveway and couldn’t help but smile. 

“Looks like Buck is back,” Eddie said. 

“Yeah. He and Bea went to a magic shop today.” 

“You know, it must be nice having Buck around to babysit your kid all the time. You’re probably saving tons on babysitters.” 

“He’s not babysitting,” Tommy said at once. “He’s tutoring her. He’s doing us a huge favor, not the other way around.” 

He didn’t add that it wasn’t saving Tommy any money because since Bea had started school, she had been going over to the neighbor’s house until Tommy got home and Mr and Mrs. Langford refused payment whenever Tommy offered it. So, Tommy usually got them something nice for Christmas and he did his best to help them out however they needed. She still went over there on the days when Evan couldn’t be there to tutor and when Tommy was on shift. 

Tommy got out of the car and handed Eddie the keys before they headed in. He could hear Evan and Bea before he saw them. Bea’s voice was excited and Evan’s tone almost matched it. They didn’t even seem to hear the door open and close. 

Tommy followed their voices to the dining room where Bea had spread the things they’d bought at the shop. 

“Daddy,” Bea said, spotting him. She ran to him, throwing her arms around his middle. There might not be a better feeling. 

“Hey. So shopping went well?” 

“Well. Better than,” Evan said with a chuckle as he glanced at him, warmth in his eyes. “Little miss wanted to buy the whole shop.” 

Bea let him go, but didn’t move too far away. 

“Nooo,” Bea said, dragging out the ‘o’. “Just a broom. And a wand. And some crystal balls. And—”

“So, the whole shop,” Tommy said. 

Bea shook her head. “Not the whole shop. But look, daddy, we bought all the things Buck wanted to make more potions and some more spell books that the lady at the shop said were perfect for witches my age to do on my own.” 

“All perfectly safe,” Evan added. 

“You’ve really taken over the room,” Eddie said, glancing around as he stepped in. “Hey, Buck.” 

“Oh,” Evan said. “Didn’t know you were here.” 

“Tommy tuned up the Chevelle. And hey, I think there’s a game on tonight. Chris is with his friends and won’t be home until late, so I can hang.” 

-

Buck knew that Tommy and Eddie were friends. It was just strange to see it and to see Eddie in Tommy’s house acting like he could dictate what they’d do, like Buck didn’t have a plan already in mind with Bea. They’d gone to the shop to get potions ingredients for a potion she’d picked out. Bea had wanted her dad to be there to help with it. And…well, maybe Buck had wanted Tommy around for that too. 

It was also equally true that Buck hadn’t really hung out with Eddie much recently. He was with Bea almost most of his days off and if he wasn’t then he was catching up on his laundry and other chores and errands. Eddie was just as busy with Marisol and hanging out with Tommy. 

“We can do my potion another day,” Bea said, voice small. She was looking down, but peered up at Buck and then at her dad. 

“No,” Buck said. “No. We’re doing that potion.” 

She brightened a little and Buck knew it was the right move. Bea was fast becoming one of the people that Buck never wanted to disappoint. He smoothed the hair by her forehead down and she beamed at him. 

“I promised we’d do it today, right, and I don’t break promises,” Buck said. “Go and get everything ready in the kitchen, alright. I’ll be right there.” 

“Okay,” she said. 

She scampered off. 

“Wow,” Eddie said. “She’s excited.” 

“Yeah, she’s been looking forward to it,” Buck said.

He tried to hide his annoyance at Eddie being there. The intrusion. Buck knew he had no reason to be annoyed, but he couldn’t help it. He turned away to gather the things Bea had left on the table. Tommy followed after Bea when she called out for him. 

“You’ve really taken over this space. It looks so full of magic stuff.” 

“That is why I’m here,” Buck said. “I, uh, I should get in there.” 

Eddie followed him. 

In the kitchen, Bea had her stool ready. There was a pot with water in it and she’d brought out the stirring rod from last time. 

“All ready,” she said. 

“I guess we should leave them to it,” Eddie said. “I’ll grab us some beers.” 

“Sure, sure,” Tommy said and turned to Buck. “Shout if you need anything?” 

“Alright.” 

He heard them talking as they walked away. Laughing. Having fun. He felt even more irritated. Buck hadn’t seen Tommy since their date. Texts and a couple of phone calls were not the same thing. It hadn’t even been that long, but it was long enough for Buck to feel like he missed him. He’d been looking forward to seeing Tommy and spending time with him. Instead, he was off in another room with Eddie. 

“Who is that guy?” Bea asked. 

Buck almost laughed. He just managed to keep it in. “That’s Eddie. I work with him and he’s friends with your dad. Me too, but I guess they have a lot in common.” 

Bea pursed her lips and tapped them with her pointer finger. She looked cute enough that if Buck had been able to get away with it, he would have taken a picture. 

“Is that daddy’s boyfriend?” 

“What?” Buck asked, louder than intended. “No.” 

“He had a date the other night,” she said. “He didn’t tell me, but I could tell because he changed clothes a bunch of times and he wore his fancy cologne and he had Andrea from down the street come to watch me. And, he was really happy when he came back, he didn’t even care that I stayed up watching movies.” 

Bea was a perceptive kid. She was smart. Of course she could put all of that together. 

“They’re only friends,” Buck said. “Eddie’s straight and anyway he has a girlfriend.” 

She let out a sigh. “My dad still went on a date on Saturday.” 

“Is that okay?” 

“What?” 

“That he went on a date?” 

Buck was walking a tightrope. Tommy didn’t want her to know anything about his love life. He didn’t want her to know that it was Buck that he’d gone on a date with. He probably had no idea that she knew he was even going on a date in the first place. Kids had a way of noticing things, though. On the other hand, what was Buck supposed to do if she said she didn’t want her dad to date? 

Bea shrugged. “It’s always been just us. But most kids have a mom and dad or two moms or two dads. Jack has three dads and one mom. I like it just us, but maybe it’d be nice and if it makes dad happy then it’s okay, right?” 

“Yeah,” Buck said. “Come on, potion time.” 

“Potion time,” she repeated. 

As dedicated as Buck was to the potion, he couldn’t help but listen for Eddie and Tommy out in the living room. The tv was on loud enough that the sounds of the game came through to the kitchen, but he could also hear the murmurs of their conversation and how they laughed or clinked bottles. It was irritating. 

He tried to put his full focus on Bea and the potion. It worked for a while until Eddie made a loud groaning sound. A moment later, he entered the kitchen. 

“How’s the game?” Buck asked. 

Eddie rattled off the score as he went into the fridge. A moment later he was gone. 

Who was Eddie to come in and get in the way? Taking up Tommy’s time and trying to get them all to change their plans at his whim. Tommy laughed from the other room and Buck gritted his teeth. He crushed the pestle into the mortar a little harder than he’d really meant to. 

“We didn’t have to do the potion tonight,” Bea said, voice low. 

“I told you, I don’t break promises.” 

Buck had the book with the potion ingredients floating in front of them. This wasn’t exactly a complicated potion, but it did contain a lot more magical ingredients. Bea had chosen it because it sounded cool. Buck liked leaning into her interests. He liked how excited she got about things and it allowed him to teach her the foundational stuff that applied to all magic. 

So, making an invisibility potion with Bea it was. 

It was the least lasting invisibility potion, but Buck figured Bea could have some fun with it. Magic was supposed to be useful and fun. 

Buck let Bea do as much of the work as she could. He also helped her use her magic as a tool to prepare the ingredients. 

They were halfway through and at a moment where they could leave it to simmer for a bit, when Tommy entered the kitchen. 

“How’s it going in here?” 

“Great,” Bea said. 

“That’s good. I’m going to order us some pizza.”

“Uh, sure,” Buck said. 

“Pepperoni, Daddy,” Bea said. 

“I know.” 

“How much longer, Buck?” 

“Ten minutes.” 

She gave a short nod and ran. “I’ll be right back.” 

Buck shook his head. Tommy shot him a crinkley smile and he opened the fridge to pull out a couple of bottles. He made a move to step closer to where Buck was standing as he opened one and then the other. 

“Here,” he extended it to Buck. 

“Thanks.” 

Their fingers brushed. sending a spark of electricity. Buck was reminded of sitting on a bench in the cool night air, his lips warmed by Tommy’s and how it had felt for Tommy’s hand to be on his neck. He leaned in closer and Tommy’s eyes flicked to his mouth. 

“Tommy! You coming back, things are getting interesting over here,” Eddie called out. 

It shattered the moment. Buck gritted his teeth and he turned away, taking a pull from the beer. 

Tommy’s hand squeezed his arm and then he was gone. Buck lingered for a moment, but followed. 

Eddie was sitting on the edge of the couch, hands on his knees. He looked up when they entered, but his attention went back to the tv at once. On Tommy’s 65 inch, the players were lining up. Eddie was a Cowboys fan through and through. It was the Texan in him. Buck had no idea if Tommy was rooting for them too or if he preferred the Eagles. Buck supposed he should have been partial to them since he was from Pennsylvania, but sports were actually not his thing at all despite having played football in high school.

“Come on,” Eddie was muttering. 

The pass was made. It was caught. Eddie let out a cheer. He turned and threw his arms around Tommy, let him go and clinked their beer bottles. 

The scores updated with the Cowboys taking the lead. Buck rolled his eyes. He had a sudden want and need for the Eagles to win. He was glad when the timer went off and he and Bea could get back to their potion. 

It took them the better part of another hour to finally finish it, though a dinner break had featured midway when Buck found a good place to stop. Even then the potion needed to sit on a low flame for another half hour. He could tell that Bea was exhausted. She didn’t even fight Tommy when he told her she should get ready for bed. 

“We’ll use the potion tomorrow,” Buck promised. 

Tommy went up to help Bea and Buck found himself back in the living room with Eddie. He was more leaning back on the couch rather than sitting on the edge of the seat. 

“I really like Tommy,” Eddie said. “He’s a cool dude. With him around, I don’t even have to force you to watch sports with me.” 

Buck rolled his eyes. “I just don’t see the point.” 

“Exactly,” Eddie said with a shake of his head. 

They really were like two peas in a pod. Tommy didn’t seem to care too much who won, but he could watch the game with an intensity that spoke of how much he liked the sport itself. Buck felt out of place. 

The potion was officially off the flame and Buck found himself in the kitchen, using his magic to clean up everything. The way things were going, the game didn’t seem to be anywhere near ending. Buck didn’t want to just leave. He’d hoped for a moment alone with Tommy, but Eddie wouldn’t leave until the game was done. So, he headed back into the living room, phone in hand so he could at least read up on something more interesting. 

Tommy beckoned him and Buck sat down next to him. Their thighs were touching and Tommy shot him a smile. God, he wanted to kiss that smile off of him. 

“Not today,” Buck said and winced. Bea looked at him curiously. “Instead, how about we see what you can do.” 

Bea looked unsure, but then she nodded. “Oh. Um. Okay.” 

Buck made himself smile. “Hey, I’m still here. Where did you find that spell and what are you changing?” 

She didn’t nail it on the first try, but Buck hadn’t expected her to. 

The spell required an incantation and more importantly, just like with any magic, it needed her direction and her want and her determination. The pillow that Bea had picked was a dark green. She wanted it to be purple.

“I can’t do it,” Bea said after her third try. 

“Yes, you can,” Buck said. “Every spell starts off the same way. You’ve done other spells already. Just want it and give the words power.” 

“But why can’t you just show me?”

The last thing Buck wanted was to tell her he might not be able to do the spell successfully either. 

“Because you need to find the motivation to use your magic,” Buck said. “Me showing you won’t help you with that.” 

She made a huffing noise and then let out a breath. Buck felt bad. Ordinarily, he would have shown her exactly how he did a spell. Then again, this was also a way for her to learn and it would encourage her to explore new spells on her own. So far, from what Tommy had said a few times, she wasn’t too comfortable doing magic when Buck wasn’t around unless it was a spell that they’d practiced a few times. There hadn’t even been any incident of accidental magic since the first. 

“How about this, close your eyes. Picture the pillow the color you want it to be. Say the words and make it happen.” 

Buck watched her. She closed her eyes and her hands grasped the pillow. Buck heard a floorboard creak and when he turned he found Tommy watching them. His breath caught in his throat and his heart beat faster in his chest. 

Tommy had kissed him. It wasn’t as if Buck had forgotten that. It was just…well,Buck had liked it. More than liked it. He felt nervous, watching as Bea attempted it once more, stumbling over the words. 

It was rare for Tommy to be home during a magic lesson because their schedules didn’t match up too well, and even when he was home he left them to it. This time he watched and Buck hoped it didn’t put any pressure on Bea. She didn’t even seem to be aware of it. It was just Buck that was nervous. 

“You know the words?” Buck asked.

Without opening her eyes, she recited them. 

The pillow glowed. As the glow died down, the purple came through. It was a dark royal purple. 

“You did it,” Buck said. 

Bea’s eyes opened and she gasped. “I did!” 

“See, I said you could do it.” 

“Good job,” Tommy said. 

She beamed at her father. “Daddy, did you see?” 

“I did. That was really impressive.” 

“It was,” Buck agreed. 

Bea squished the pillow to herself. She grinned at Buck proudly. 

“Are you two hungry? I have dinner ready.” 

It did smell good. Better than good. His stomach growled and Tommy raised an eyebrow. 

“I think Buck is hungry,” Bea said.

“I think so too,” Tommy said. 

-

Evan didn’t do any magic over dinner. He was also quieter, which was easy to be when Bea was excited and talking about the pillow whose color she’d changed. Tommy was a bit distracted by looking at Evan, but he’d long perfected the art of agreeing with Bea and nodding and letting her just keep talking. 

“Can we try another spell after dinner?” Bea asked Evan. 

“Actually, I was thinking we could try a potion,” Evan said. 

Bea lit up. As far as Tommy knew, Bea hadn’t made a potion yet. 

Bea scarfed down her food, but she didn’t rush Evan, even though her excitement couldn’t be missed. When Evan did finish, she stood up and Evan didn’t make her wait. Stranger still, even though any time that Evan had eaten with them before, he’d cleared up using his magic. He didn’t do it this time. 

Tommy didn’t mind, it was just odd. 

Evan and Bea were back in the kitchen in no time. Tommy hadn’t even really started cleaning up. 

“Is there a pot we can use?” Evan asked.

He carried some kind of box. Bea was bouncing next to him holding onto a few more things. Tommy first made room on the counter.

“Size?” 

“Medium. Nothing too small or too big.” 

Tommy brought out one of the larger sauce pans. “This good?” 

“Great.” 

Bea went to fetch her kitchen stool. 

Tommy tried to leave them to it, but he couldn’t ignore Evan instructing Bea on potion making. He had no idea where all the ingredients had come from and he didn’t care that Evan raided his spice cabinet too. 

By the time that Tommy had finished loading up the dishwasher and clearing up everything else, he heard Evan chopping something with a knife all while narrating to Bea. He watched them for a while. Evan was so gentle with her, letting her help with full explanations and keeping such a close eye that the couple of times he let her cut something there was no danger of her cutting herself. 

Evan was one of the few people that Tommy had ever allowed in his daughter’s life to this extent that wasn’t family. By family, Tommy really only meant their next door neighbors and his accountant cousin who they only saw once a month if that. Forget seeing him during tax season. If Tommy’s parents knew that Tommy had adopted a kid, Tommy would be shocked. They had cut contact mutually sometime around when Tommy left the Army. 

“Now, unlike with cooking, intention matters,” Evan said. “The order the ingredients go in matters.” 

Tommy leaned against the counter and watched. Evan had filled the pot with some water and just before it began to boil, he added some of the herbs he’d cut up. It was almost artful the way he dropped them in from the cutting board. 

Tommy had no idea how long he watched. Evan had even brought Bea closer to the stove so she could watch from a better vantage point and he had her stir with a glass rod that Evan must have brought with him or conjured up because he had no idea where else it could have come from. 

Steam rose up from the pot. It smelled good. Rosemary was the main scent coming through. 

“Now, we lower the temperature so it can keep simmering for a bit,” Evan said and Tommy saw him set a timer on his phone. “That also means we get a break.” 

“This is so cool,” Bea said. 

She jumped off her stepping stool and beamed at Tommy. “Daddy, daddy, did you see we’re making potions.” 

“I was watching,” Tommy said. 

Evan glanced his way and smiled. Tommy wanted to kiss him again. He wanted to taste him. He wanted to feel the stubble on Evan’s jaw rub against his skin. 

“What, uh, what kind of potion is this?” Tommy asked. 

“It’s a replenishing potion,” Evan said. “It has a few different uses. Great hang over cure, also good when someone is sick. It’s definitely healthier than an energy drink.” 

Looking at Evan, Tommy thought that it was definitely the kind of potion that Evan needed to take and maybe why he’d decided to make it. Evan took a quick glance at the potion again and then satisfied, walked over to the table, sinking into a chair. 

“How long do we wait?” Bea asked. 

“About twenty more minutes.” 

“I’ll be back. Don’t start without me,” Bea said and ran out of the kitchen. 

Evan looked bemusedly after her. Tommy joined him at the table, trying to tamp down the nervous energy. Evan was watching him. His hands were on the table and Tommy reached over and took grasp of one. 

“Hi,” Evan said, smile growing on his lips. 

“We didn’t get a chance to talk the other day.” 

Evan made a noise. “We didn’t.” 

Evan’s cheeks were pink. His lips were still just as enticing as they always were. Tommy had gotten to kiss him once and now he wanted to do it again. 

“I don’t regret it,” Tommy said. “Kissing you, I mean. I’ve wanted to do that for a while now.” 

Evan’s hand turned over in his hand, fingers curling under Tommy’s. “I don’t think I knew it for certain, but me too.” 

-

Buck’s heart was racing. He was aware that the timer on his phone would go off soon. He was holding hands with Tommy and the way that Tommy was looking at him felt like Tommy understood exactly how Buck was feeling. He’d never felt like this about a guy before, but that was almost an afterthought. 

“I, uh, I wanted to ask if you were free maybe on Saturday?” 

Buck knew he was probably smiling too hard. “Yes,” he said. “I’m free Saturday.” 

“Great,” Tommy said. 

He could have kept holding Tommy’s hand and looking at him. Buck felt like he was a teenager with his first crush and the reality was that Buck hadn’t been this flustered or nervous even when he was a teenager. 

The timer went off and he jumped up out of his seat. “I need to—”

Bea could be heard running down the stairs and he and Tommy shared a smile. Tommy squeezed his hand once more and then let go. 

“Saturday,” Tommy said. 

“Saturday,” Buck repeated. He couldn’t wait. 

The potion looked great when he peered at it. 

“I’m here, I’m here,” Bea said, arriving. 

Buck grinned at her. “You’re just in time. We need to add the rest of the ingredients.” 

A replenishing potion was so simple that ingredient order didn’t matter too much after the base was complete, but he wanted Bea to put importance to that as a basis for other potions she might want to make down the line. The important thing was the magic. Buck knew he had enough to do it on his own, but he wanted to see what Bea could do too. 

“After we add each one, we give it three stirs in one direction and three stirs in the other,” Buck instructed. 

The potion made noises with every magical ingredient added. The first time it happened, Bea jumped back, eyes wide. Buck almost laughed. 

“Do potions always do that?” Bea asked. 

“Sometimes.” 

It had started to change color too and Bea was fascinated by that aspect. 

“Now, we do a bit of magic,” Buck said. 

“We?” 

“Yes, we,” Buck said. “No words needed, just your hands over the pot. Reach for your magic.”

He did the same and he felt the threads of it falling into the pot, knew Bea felt the same because she gasped and giggled. 

“And that is all,” Buck said. “Now it simmers for another fifteen minutes and it’s done.” 

“That was so cool,” Bea said. “Daddy, wasn’t that cool?” 

“It sure was,” Tommy said. 

“And I think we’re done for today, Bea,” Buck said. “You were a great helper.” 

Bea hugged Buck around the waist. She’d never done that before and Buck was shocked before he wrapped an arm around her back. She lingered a moment. 

“Thank you,” she whispered and then she was gone and Buck was left a bit surprised. 

“She really likes you,” Tommy said, walking towards him. 

“I like her too.” 

Buck hadn’t given Bea that much thought, he realized. Not in a bad way. It was just that Tommy was that captivating. What would it mean for her that he and Tommy had kissed. That they were going on a date? Would she care? Would it bother her? How did Tommy navigate dating as a single dad? 

“I can see you’re spiraling a bit there,” Tommy said, stepping closer. 

“What do we tell her?” 

“About what?” 

“About Saturday,” Buck clarified. 

“Nothing,” Tommy said. 

“What do you mean, nothing?” 

“I mean that there are things she doesn’t need to know until she needs to know them. Look, Evan, I’ve been a dad for ten years and that doesn’t mean I’ve been celibate or anything the whole time. It’s just not a part of my life that I share with Bea. That’s a boundary that I don’t want to cross, not until I have to.” 

Buck didn’t know what to make of that, or the way that Tommy was looking at him all serious and like this was a thing he wouldn’t be budging on. He thought about Eddie and Christopher and how quick Eddie had been to introduce Ana and most recently Marisol to Chris. Maybe Tommy’s approach was more cautious, but it wasn’t his place to say anything. 

Tommy reached over and grabbed his hand.

“This is new. She’s never met any of the men I’ve dated. Not that there were many because between being a dad and work I’ve had no time. This is different because she already knows you, but she knows you as her magic tutor and she’s already attached so I wouldn’t want her to jump ahead and just think that we get to keep you when neither of us knows that, right?” 

Was it bad that despite Tommy’s logic it still felt like Tommy was already preparing himself for the end of the thing they hadn’t even started? 

“I get it,” Buck found himself saying. “Yeah, that makes sense. I just…I don’t want to lie to her.” 

Tommy squeezed his hand, moved even closer. “It’s not lying, Evan, it’s omitting for her own good.” 

-

Tommy could tell that Evan was feeling weird about Tommy explaining his dating boundary when it came to his daughter. Ordinarily, a man that Tommy was interested would know just one thing about Bea, that she existed. Tommy never told them her name or showed them pictures. Maybe it was being overtly cautious, but you just never knew. Evan was different. 

Evan already knew Bea and got along with her. Liked her. Spent hours with her without complaint even though he would have been well within his rights to restrict how much time he spent teaching her. They had a rapport and Tommy knew that Bea’s relationship with Evan was important all on its own without adding Tommy and Evan dating.  

If Tommy had met Evan in any other way, he still would have wanted him, but it would have been simpler. 

“We’ll do it your way,” Evan said, taking in a breath. 

“Hey,” Tommy said, “this is just for now.” 

Tommy didn’t know why he was so sure, but he was. There was just something about Evan. Magnetizism. Tommy felt bewitched, but not by magic. It was purely by Evan. 

Evan took a breath. “Alright,” he said. “For now.”

He looked at Tommy and smiled and Tommy couldn’t help but step further into his space. Those lips were calling for him and when Tommy leaned in, Evan was there already, meeting him in kind. The kiss was slow and deep, like they were both getting a taste of something they didn’t want to squander. 

Evan hummed as Tommy pulled away, eyes fluttering open. They stayed close together, sharing breaths. What Tommy hadn’t explained to Evan was that he hadn’t really done relationships. Dates, yes. Hook ups, yes. Tommy hadn’t been any guy’s boyfriend ever, not since gaining the title of dad. Before that time, he’d been hiding so deep in a closet that he forced himself to see women as options even when they weren’t. 

“It’s, uh, it’s getting late,” Evan said. “I still need to bottle that.” 

“And drink some?” Tommy asked. 

Evan ducked his head. “Yeah. I overdid it the other day with my magic.” 

“That was a couple of days ago,” Tommy pointed out. 

“Magic can be like a battery,” Evan said as he ladled some of the potion into a mug. Steam still poured off of it. 

“And yours was drained?” 

Evan nodded. He had a bunch of small vials with rubber stoppers and he filled them up one by one. Only once he was done with that, did he pick up the mug and take a sip. He sighed into the cup, holding it tightly between his hands. 

“Good?” Tommy asked. 

“It’s perfect. I’m going to leave most of it here for you and take the rest into work. It will keep for a year, maybe even get more potent. If you or Bea get sick or if you have a headache or a hang over, that will cure it right up.” 

Tommy had taken a potion or two before, but he knew little about them except to know they were effective if brewed right. Potions were also expensive and there were plenty of people that lied and sold things that didn’t work. He trusted Evan’s work, though, and got to see as Evan perked up a bit as it took effect. 

By the time that he was walking Evan to the door, he looked a lot better than when he arrived. 

“Hey, Evan,” he said before Evan could get too far from the door.

“Yeah?” 

“Try not to do that to yourself again.” 

“What?” 

“Use up all your magic.” 

Most kids grew up with parents that exhibited magic their whole lives. Jee-Yun had Maddie and while Maddie was still not too loud with her own powers, she didn’t hide them anymore. Not like she’d done when she went off with Doug, pushing that part of herself away and hiding it so deep down that when she finally left him she had been afraid she didn’t have magic at all anymore. She’d discovered that wasn’t true at the best possible moment, saving herself from him when he showed up in LA searching for her.

“If you’re a witch, why are you a firefighter?” Bea asked one afternoon. 

They were sitting in the Kinard’s dining room. The table there was round with five chairs around it. Bea had confirmed that they never ate there because there was a small table in the kitchen. So, it had become their go to place for magic practice unless they went outside to cause as little damage as possible indoors. Despite all the work Buck had done to make the Kinard home safer, there was no knowing what might happen if a spell went wrong. Buck had seen enough of that at work to know better. 

“Well, to start I needed a job. You can’t magic yourself money and these days there’s magic shops everywhere. No one needs a witch to brew them a potion or to magic them a crystal or stone. They can just go to the magic shop and buy it. But I also love it. I love helping people and my magic can make things a little safer for the team. So I still get to use my magic but I’m not sitting in a backroom brewing potions all day.” 

“Can’t regular people make potions? It’s just ingredients right, like cooking?” 

Bea tended to ask questions about everything and it mostly reminded Buck of himself when he was a kid except that his parents had often grown tired of answering him. So, Buck had searched for the answers himself. In books. Online. From other people. Maddie had been his number one source for a while, but even she hadn’t had all the answers a kid like Buck had wanted. 

“Most potions require some magic to work. There are some that don’t, that’s true, but the ingredients themselves are magical in nature and difficult to get if you aren’t a witch. Some can’t be handled easily and there’s other things to them. Potions are delicate at times. Depending on the potion, they need the right phase of the moon and other particulars that non-magical folk just don’t understand or have the patience for.”

“Oh,” Bea said. 

“But magic isn’t just innate power, Bea, it’s literally everywhere.” 

Magic was everywhere, but that wasn’t very clear to everyone even though any person even non-magical could see it. Non-magical folk just tended to ignore magic and give things some logical explanation even though magic wasn’t even a secret anymore like it had been at some point in recent history. 

“What do you mean?” Bea asked, tilting her head. 

“It’s energy. From the earth. From nature. From magical beings. From belief. Humans give power to so many things just by believing.” 

“I guess that makes sense,” Bea said, but she sounded unsure. 

Buck wasn’t sure he’d explained it well enough, but it was something Bea would find out on her own once she started looking. 

“Don’t worry, a lot of this stuff will get easier for you the longer you use magic. Now, come on, we have to get back on track.” 

Getting back on track was Bea learning how to conjure something. What most people failed to understand was that the thing needed to come from somewhere. It needed to already exist. You needed to picture the item in your mind and want for it. Instruct it to come to you. Then, the item would. It wasn’t the simplest of magic, but it was useful and once you got that down, everything else was easier. 

Bea managed after several attempts, to conjure up one of her socks from her bedroom on the second floor when the front door opened. Bea shot up to her feet and still holding onto her sock she ran out to the hall. Buck busied himself clearing up, smiling to himself at the noises of Bea greeting her dad. 

-

Bea had run off to wash up for dinner, when Tommy found Evan in the rarely used dining room. Evan and Bea had taken it over. Tommy couldn’t actually remember the last time he and Bea had eaten at that table. Maybe the last time that Tommy had invited someone over. These days instead of dust, it was collecting spellbooks and other magical things. Tommy left all of it alone. 

He’d seen Bea do plenty of magic since the first time, mostly in front of Evan, though Bea did practice when Evan wasn’t around. She was getting better, or at least Tommy thought he’d seen improvement in her levitation and she was apparently conjuring socks. 

“Hey,” Evan said. “How was work?” 

“Kinda boring. Not a lot of calls.” 

“I know how that is,” Evan said with a grin. “You know it’s a good thing, but at the same time…”

Evan’s smile was bright. He was the sun after a series of rainy days. Whatever mood Tommy had been in from the long day spent cleaning and cataloguing and restocking went away. It was replaced by something that resembled peace. 

“Not that I was wishing someone said the Q word or anything,” Tommy said. 

“Yeah, you don’t want that,” Evan said. 

“That sounds like a story,” Tommy prompted and then motioned for Evan to follow him to the kitchen. 

As Evan told him about his days as a probie and the unintended mention that the first responder gods took entirely in the wrong way, Tommy got the take out containers out of the bag. 

“It was not great,” Evan said. “Then the probie from B shift, Ravi, went and said it a couple of years back. It was awful. Some guy even stole our engine at one point that day.”

“Wow. Bet that taught the probie well.” 

Bea appeared. “All clean,” she said. 

“I should—” Evan began. 

“Evan, I already put out three plates and I bought extra. Join us.” 

Evan rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and then he nodded. “Sure. Sure. I’ll go wash up. Be right back.” 

By the time Evan returned, Bea was already digging into her food. Tommy meanwhile fetched a couple of beers from the fridge, he offered one to Evan. 

It was actually strange to think that he’d only known Evan for a few weeks. It felt like so much longer, and worse than that like Tommy had known him his whole life. Just the other day, Chim had said it was odd they hadn’t met until Bea’s magic prompted it. 

Bea scarfed down her food as if she hadn’t eaten all day and then asked to be excused as soon as she was done. It was practically a nightly ritual these days and Tommy couldn’t blame her. Post-dinner and through bedtime, they had an agreement, was screen time. She could watch tv or use her tablet. Sometimes it was both. Magic had changed nothing in that regard. 

Evan chuckled. “You have her trained well.” 

Tommy could not begin to explain the ups and downs of being a parent. How excited he’d been to bring Bea home and then how scared he’d mess up and become like his father. 

“Kids need structure,” Tommy said. “They also need fun. They need to be kids, you know.” 

“Yeah. She’s pretty great. You’ve done a good job.” 

“Thanks,” Tommy said. 

Evan stood as soon as they were done eating and before Tommy could do or say anything, he’d already floated all the plates over to the sink where the sponge began to scrub them. Tommy watched with more than a bit of awe. Evan looked so beautiful focused on his magic. Breathtaking, even. 

The first time Evan came over, he’d done quite a bit of spellwork. Actual incantations that required him to recite words over and over again as he walked around the house. Tommy hadn’t known that doing magic could be so hot. It was when it was Evan doing it, though, especially the casual magic that he didn’t even seem to give much thought to. It was so much a part of him. 

“When did you first do magic?” Tommy asked. 

“Maddie says I was a baby the first time and that I just never stopped.”

There was something about how Evan said it that made Tommy think there was a lot more to the story of his childhood. But if Evan wasn’t willing to open up on that on his own, Tommy wouldn’t push him. Tommy understood difficult childhoods and he had to imagine that even having magic wouldn’t resolve certain issues. 

Evan sent his plates through a quick dry right in the air before he directed them to stack back into the cabinet. 

“You’re good at that,” Tommy said. 

Evan blushed a little and with a few more finger wiggles the whole kitchen was clean again. 

“Anyway, I guess I should—”

Tommy couldn’t think of any excuse to keep Evan longer. Bea was up in her room unlikely to come out until she had to get ready for bed. Evan probably had his own things to do. He was already giving them so much of his time. 

“I’ll walk you out,” he said. 

Evan didn’t protest. So they crossed the house in silence, Evan just a little ahead of Tommy. At the door, Evan turned to face him. 

“Thanks for dinner.” 

“Thanks for teaching my kid magic.” 

Evan smiled at him. It was already dark out and the porch light cast a halo of light around Evan’s head. In any other circumstance, Tommy might have made a move and kissed him. Instead, he just smiled back and watched Evan make his way to his Jeep. 

-

His loft felt empty and lonely as he arrived there. So much so that Buck almost turned right around and went elsewhere. To Bobby’s or maybe Maddie’s. Back to Tommy’s where if he were truthful with himself, was where he really wanted to be. There was just something about Tommy and about Bea, for that matter. It felt like he’d known them forever when in reality it had hardly been more than a couple of weeks. 

When his phone pinged, he pulled it out of his pocket. Tommy’s name made him smile and he opened the message at once. 

Tommy: I think this is entirely your fault

The next message was a picture of Bea with her tablet floating in front of her, she didn’t even seem to know that her picture was being taken. 

Buck: Sorry not sorry

Smiling to himself he walked up the stairs to his bedroom, thinking about the way that Tommy looked at his daughter. How much he just loved her and liked her too for that matter. Outside of Maddie, Buck didn’t think he’d ever had that. Unconditional love. Even with the 118, Buck knew that everyone had their own families. He didn’t begrudge them that or expect more from them than what he got, he just wished that he had that too. 

When Buck was nine and Maddie was sixteen, Buck was used to hearing his sister sneak out of the house. It had been happening for well over a year. She used magic to cover her tracks, but she still needed to climb down from her window on the trellis and then out she went. The few times Buck asked where she was going, she told him not to worry about it. He knew it was about a boy. 

Most of the time, he was already asleep by the time Maddie returned. One night, she hadn’t been gone long before she was back and Buck only heard her because he was on his way back to bed from the bathroom. 

“Maddie?” he’d whispered. 

All he heard back was a sob and that made him push her door open. With her curtains open, the light from the streetlamps and the full moon gave enough light for Buck to see her. She looked a mess, tears pouring down her eyes and her nose snotty. 

She slumped right into her bed and Buck knew she was definitely not in a good way because she didn’t even try to tell him to go away. 

“Are you okay, Maddie?” 

She didn’t answer, still crying. It took several minutes for her to calm down. 

“He broke up with me,” she whispered eventually.  

He was the boy that Maddie had been dating. He was the one that inspired all the late nights out. He was the one that had made Maddie draw all those hearts all over her notebook. Buck didn’t even know his name because Maddie had made it so no one could see what she’d written inside the hearts. 

Buck had no idea what to do or how to help. One thing he did know was that mom and dad wouldn’t be any help. But then…well, magic was what Buck always turned to. Magic at that age had been the balm that solved every problem. 

“Maddie, do you want to do a spell?” 

“A spell?” Maddie asked, still wiping her tears. “For what?” 

“To make you feel better.” 

“I don’t think that’s possible unless it can stop me from loving him.” At that, Maddie let out a few new tears. 

“So then we can give him a love potion so he loves you back.” 

At that age, Buck hadn’t fully understood that love potions didn’t really create real love. An illusion of it. Obsession. Infatuation at the most. Love potions were far more trouble than they were worth because you couldn’t change someone’s real feelings and so when the potion wore off you’d be right back to where you started. 

Maddie had nixed that idea, but it gave her one of her own. So, Buck found himself following her down to the living room and the bookshelf where she found a spellbook that they took into the kitchen. While many spells required an incantation, other spells required ingredients. 

“I don’t want to love him anymore,” Maddie said. “So I’ll take it away.” 

“Why is love so bad?” Buck asked. 

“Because when you love someone, you give them the power to hurt you, Evan, and it sucks.” 

“I don’t want to love anyone either, not unless they love me too,” Buck declared. 

By his nine year old logic, that would mean they wouldn’t hurt him because why would you hurt the person you loved? 

He’d been so young then and Maddie had been caught up in her hurt feelings and perhaps even a bit tipsy. So when Maddie mixed up a spell, Buck also created something. His magic had been getting stronger by the day and while Maddie was busy getting rid of her feelings for that boy, Buck did something for himself. 

Buck’s spell asked to only fall in love with someone that could love him for him. Someone cool that had a cool job and that would take care of Buck. Someone that liked him. Someone that felt like home. Someone that gave him family. Someone that loved him anyway. 

Buck would never fully remember all the silly things he threw out into the world that night as the full moon was at its peak, but for a while he’d been dreading Maddie graduating high school and going off to college. He’d been dreading living in a house that didn’t feel like a home with parents that maybe loved him but mostly tolerated him and didn’t really like him. They saw through him.  He never really thought about it much, especially because by the next morning Maddie was back to normal and Buck had to go hang out at his friend’s house. 

What Buck did know was that he had never fallen in love with anyone he ever dated. Not once. Abby had probably been the closest, but as much as Buck cared for her, he’d known he wasn’t in love with her. With Taylor, Buck had known as soon as he kissed Lucy that he wasn’t in love with Taylor. Not that he didn’t care and love her, just not enough or even romantically. Ali had hardly inspired those feelings in Buck and as for Natalia, they really hadn’t made it very far. So Buck was well aware that he had never been in love because no one had ever loved him right. 

Evan hummed. 

“When did you ride a broom for the first time?” 

“Honestly I can’t remember. Eight. Maybe Nine.”

Evan looked suddenly very far away. 

“I found a broom in the garage and I didn’t even know we owned a flying broom, so I really wanted to try it out.” 

“And your parents?” 

“Honestly, no idea, but my sister was persuaded to come outside and show me how it worked and then I crashed into a tree.” 

Tommy shook his head. “Yeah, Evan, that is not making me want to allow Bea to get on a broom any time soon.” 

Evan laughed. “Come on, maybe you’ll change your mind after I get you up there. I should have never been on a broom on my own. Maddie was just a teenager.” 

“I ask again, your parents?” 

Evan made a face at that. “They, uh, they freaked out a little. My mom was hysterical, but she wouldn’t even come near me. And my dad, he went out and got me a training broom and he helped me the first few times I tried to fly after that.” 

Tommy couldn’t imagine acting like either of Evan’s parents. There was more of a story there, but Tommy didn’t want to press as much as he didn’t want to do a deep dive on his own history with his parents. 

Tommy still didn’t know a lot about how flying worked for witches. He’d asked about it on a whim thinking that it wasn’t really a thing witches did. He didn’t regret it. Evan had said something about a combination of a spelled broom and the witch’s very magic. He saw Evan step over the broom so it lay between his legs. He looked almost comical with how long his legs were. Somehow, he did still pull it off. Maybe that was just Tommy’s perception of Evan. 

“Come here,” Evan said. 

Tommy moved closer. 

“Behind me,” Evan said. “I, uh, I spelled it to cushion us so it won’t be too uncomfortable.” 

It wasn’t a thought that Tommy had even had. Sure enough as Evan brought the broom up and closer to their crotches, it felt more like he was sitting on something similar but softer than a motorcycle seat. 

“Okay?” Evan asked. 

“Yeah,” Tommy said. 

“Hold onto me,” Evan said. 

Tommy’s arms wound around Evan’s waist and he felt Evan lean into him for a moment. He smelled distractingly good. Evan leaned forward again. His hands were on the broom handle and he angled it up and before Tommy knew it his feet were leaving the ground. He clutched Evan tighter. 

It felt a little jostling at first, but then smoothed out. It wasn’t a windy day, but there was a slight breeze. Evan had them hover some feet above Tommy’s house. 

“You open your eyes yet?” Evan asked, amused. 

“Never closed them,” Tommy said. 

Over Evan’s shoulder he could see the tops of the houses in the neighborhood. The sky was shot through with purples and pinks and the sun was just starting to dip into the horizon. It was beautiful. It was very different than flying in a helicopter. It also felt strange to not be in charge of what happened when he was in the sky and to be so freely in the air. 

Evan’s magic surrounded them and Tommy had been getting better and better at recognizing it. Feeling it. Evan angled the broom and they moved forward and up and away from the house. It wasn’t fast. Evan had told him it wasn’t fast unless the broom was spelled for speed. 

Evan took them around the neighborhood, actually flying over Bea’s best friend’s house where she was having a sleep over. 

“So?” Evan asked. 

“It’d be awful if I was afraid of heights.” 

Evan laughed. “Good thing you’re not.” 

The best part about it was probably how close it brought him to Evan. The longer they flew, the more Tommy got used to it. The low speed meant he could see more and really take in LA and they could talk without the wind being too loud. Evan explained about flying some more. How it had been useful way back before technology made travel faster. 

“They used it to get away from witch hunters,” Evan said. “The brooms made it easier so you didn’t exhaust your magic.” 

“Interesting,” Tommy said. 

“How is it for our second date?” 

“Well, I’m sitting here with my life in your hands and yet I’m also holding onto you. Pretty great so far.” 

“And not over,” Evan said. 

Evan flew them all the way to the balcony of his loft. Tommy had lost track of time, but the sky had gotten darker and darker as they went. They touched down gently and Evan turned at once to look at him. As if he’d missed actually looking at Tommy in the time they were flying. Tommy could relate.

“Hi,” Tommy said. 

Evan’s lips quirked up. He was still holding the broom, so he propped it up against the wall. 

“I took you flying,” Evan said.

“Hmm, so you did. It was impressive.” 

“Yeah?” 

Tommy inched closer and Evan met him, reaching for his jaw to bring him even closer. Their lips met and it was just as good as it had been the times before. He would never be tired of kissing Evan. He had to remind himself as Evan drew him even closer, kissed him harder, that it was just a second date. It was still so new and yet maybe there was something to when people said they knew about forever with someone as early on as the first few dates. 

The thing was, Tommy knew that feeling of something being right. He’d felt it once before, when he first held Bea in his arms fresh out of the baby box. Holding Evan. Kissing Evan. Even just being around him. It felt just as right. That had to be some kind of magic all on its own. 

-

Buck felt like he was still in the air flying by the time the date was over with another planned for his next night off. Tommy had left around midnight and a part of Buck wished he’d found a way to ask him to stay, but Tommy had to pick Bea up early and Buck had a shift. So, Buck was left to just remember the way that it had felt to be pressed up against Tommy while they kissed. The way that Tommy’s lips felt on his neck and how all Buck wanted was more and more and more. Everything. 

“You look happy,” Hen said when he arrived at the station the next day. 

“Guess I am,” Buck said. 

She eyed him and then smiled. “It’s a good look on you.” 

The first call of the day was magical in nature. A kidnapping gone wrong, or rather right. A teenage witch who’d been targeted by two men. Her magic had protected her. Turned one into a frog and the other had been stabbed in the stomach by a fence post. 

Police was already on the scene when they arrived. Athena was holding the frog in a glass jar. 

“Are we sure that’s the guy?” Hen asked as she walked to the guy with the fence post sticking out of him. 

“She captured him herself,” Athena said motioning to the teen. 

The witch was slight. Waify. She was sixteen, Buck thought. Just a kid that shouldn’t have had to protect herself from something like this. She looked like she was one strong gust of wind away from falling down. 

“How is she doing?” Bobby asked, motioning to the teenager. 

“Her parents are on their way. She’s shaken up. She got lucky. Unfortunately, I’m stuck with this guy until the department sends a witch to take care of him.” 

Buck would have offered to help, but he knew it could be seen as interference. LAPD had its own witches. Still, he did ask Hen to give Athena a replenishing potion just in case the spellwork had taken it out of her on top of everything else. 

Chim and Hen got the stabbed guy taken care of and loaded into the ambulance. Athena said her goodbyes after handing the young witch the potion, taking the frog with her as she got back into her patrol car to follow the ambulance. 

Buck, turned to the witch. She was sitting on the curb. He’d seen her talking to one of the other officers, looking a little perked up after drinking some of the potion, but now she was on her own with a blanket thrown over her shoulders. Before he could think about what he might say to comfort her, a car pulled up and a woman ran out. 

“Briana!” 

The girl looked up and stood. They fell into each other’s arms whispering and crying. 

“Come on,” Bobby said. “Time to head back.” 

“That poor girl,” Hen said. “This would have gone so much worse if she didn’t have magic.” 

Most of the time, they weren’t the ones facing the cruelty of the world and catching bad guys. They showed up to put out a fire or rescue someone from something. The bad guy was bad luck or bad weather. 

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing if that one guy got stuck as a frog forever,” Eddie added. 

At that they all laughed. Buck thought that maybe it was a spell worth teaching Bea. Maybe Jee-Yun too in a few years. 

He texted Tommy about it and got a reply that kept him focused on his phone. 

“What’s up, Buck, seriously, you’ve been acting odd all day.” 

“This has been going on for longer than a day,” Eddie threw in. 

He looked at Hen, met Chim’s eyes. Even Bobby had turned to look at him. 

“I’m dating someone,” he said.

He was nudged by Eddie. Hen and Chim smiled at him. Bobby grinned.

“And you haven’t told us every detail about it?” 

Buck took a breath. He could steer the conversation away from the who and the gender, but he didn’t really want to hide it. He wasn’t ashamed and he wasn’t scared that they wouldn’t accept it. It was more that it felt so big. Important. He hadn’t even told Maddie yet and maybe that should come first except…well, everyone in the rig was his family too. 

“Do we know this person?” Chim asked. 

“Don’t tell me it’s Taylor again,” Eddie said. 

“It’s not Taylor.” 

“But we do know them,” Hen pressed. 

Buck gave a nod. 

He could tell that Bobby was about to put a stop to it. They were nearing the station. It was now or never. Well, not never, but eventually. If Buck had his way, he and Tommy would make it. 

“It’s…it’s Tommy,” Buck said. 

He was greeted with silence. It lasted just a beat and then they all reacted. Bobby smiling. Hen clapping her hands. 

“That’s awesome,” Chim said. 

“I didn’t know Tommy was gay,” Eddie threw in. 

“Thanks for telling us, Buck,” Bobby added. 

Eddie turned to Buck. “Wait, so you’re into guys now?” 

“It’s not new, I just didn’t know. Not until Tommy.” 

It felt like a relief to have it out there. When they arrived at the station and everyone was climbing out, Hen pulled him into a hug. 

“I’m happy for you,” she said. 

Chim clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, does your sister know?” 

“No. And I want to tell her myself, so just—”

“Damn it, Buck, you know I suck at secrets.” 

“Do you want me to spell you so it won’t slip out? I will. You know I will.” 

Chim rolled his eyes. “No.” 

-

The invisibility potion came in handy the night that Evan accidentally fell asleep in Tommy’s bed and stayed there instead of sneaking out and going back to his place. It was the second time things had gone beyond just making out, their hands wandering below the belt and more skin being revealed. Evan was new to being with a man, but that did not wane any of his excitement or how eager he was. How into it he was. 

So, worn out and more than a little clingy, Evan had stayed in Tommy’s bed and they’d both fallen asleep. 

Bea calling for Tommy the next morning woke them and because she was just used to barging in, the door handle had jiggled and Evan had jumped off the bed and it was lucky they had the potion in the room. Lucky and necessary because Bea had had a little too much fun the morning after they’d brewed it. Evan drank just a few sips and he started to fade. 

By the time the door opened, Evan was gone and Tommy was glad that he’d had the presence of mind the night before to put pants on after cleaning him and Evan up. 

“Hey, Bea. What’s up?” 

“I’m hungry,” she said as if she couldn’t have just gone down and gotten herself something to eat like a bowl of cereal. “Can we have pancakes?” 

Ah. That’s what she was after. He felt Evan’s hands land on his shoulders, fingers pressing into him. 

“Sure. Get the ingredients out and I’ll be right there.” 

As soon as she left, Evan’s hands drifted down to his waist, wrapping around his middle and pressing up into him from behind. His lips were on Tommy’s neck. 

“Menace,” he whispered. 

Evan chuckled. “Hmm, considering I’m now stuck invisible for the next hour or so, that could be arranged.” 

“Don’t you dare.” 

Which began the wildest breakfast that Tommy had ever had. Evan lived up the word menace, moving stuff out of Tommy’s reach either with magic or with his own hands. He touched Tommy in passing. Pulled his hair. Flipped his pancakes when Tommy had let them go for too long. He had to rush over to make sure Bea saw nothing. He was stressed, but it was also fun. Bea was in her own world and noticed nothing. For all the trouble he caused, Tommy would have been within his rights to not save him any pancakes. But he did. 

When Bea asked about it, he told her Evan was coming over. 

So, when Evan snuck out of the house and knocked on the door still invisible, Bea was surprised but elated and invited him right in for pancakes. 

“Daddy, Buck took the invisibility potion,” Bea announced. 

Bea had had her own fun with the invisibility potion in the days following the brewing of it. She’d used it on things around the house and they’d played a game of “which item is invisible”. Tommy had allowed Bea to take some just for the experience, but he and Evan had both told her potions were serious things not to be taken or used lightly. Still, they all spent a few hours invisible one night. Bea had gotten being invisible out of her system after that. Instead, she was putting all her efforts into convincing Tommy that she should be allowed to go flying on a broomstick. 

It took another month for a combination of Bea begging him to let her, and Evan pointing out it’d be perfectly safe, for Tommy to agree to letting Bea go on a broom. Not on her own. Evan had to be with her. Tommy also wanted a few extra protection spells to be added just in case. 

It had all come to a head, when Bea had joked she’d just take some invisibility potion and take the broom out herself, both Tommy and Evan had said no. 

As a precaution, Evan had taken the remaining potion with him and donated it to a magic shop. Bea had had enough fun turning herself and other things around the house invisible. At least the potion had the limit of an hour or so before it faded, but neither Evan or Tommy wanted Bea to actually use it and do something stupid. She was a kid after all. Tommy was aware that there would be other potions that created all kinds of mischief, but he could worry about that when it came. 

So, on a sunny afternoon, Tommy found himself watching Evan prepare Bea for her first flight lesson. Evan had promised they wouldn’t go too high or too far and for all that Tommy was nervous, he knew that Evan would never let anything happen to Bea. 

“Okay, kid, I think we’re ready,” Evan said. 

Tommy had his phone ready and as Evan settled Bea in front of him, her legs already dangling on either side of the broom that Evan held steady. Tommy snapped a few pictures. Evan was looking down at Bea and she was smiling right back at him. Evan helped her place her hands on the broom and he said something to make her laugh. They both turned to him. 

“Bye, Daddy,” Bea said. “We’ll be back soon.” 

“Real soon,” Evan added as he lifted them into the air, hovering just a few feet and checking with Bea. 

Bea didn’t look the least bit scared. Tommy took a few more pictures. 

He watched them go a bit higher. Bea was laughing and it sounded so happy that Tommy allowed himself to smile. He watched as they climbed up and up and then started horizontally. 

There was no one else that Tommy would have trusted with Bea. He’d known that for a while. Probably since the first time that Evan had come over to start giving Bea magic lessons. It was no surprise, then, that falling for Evan had been so easy. If he could trust him with his daughter, he could trust him with Tommy’s heart. 

They’d been dating for a couple of months already. Two magical, wonderful months. Evan was everything and more that Tommy could have ever expected. Tommy could blush thinking about a few days earlier. Bea’s friend had a birthday sleepover and so Tommy and Evan had had their own sleepover. Neither of them had done much sleeping.  

They were back before Tommy knew it. He’d watched from afar, still able to just about make them out and then they got bigger and bigger as they flew back to him. As they came down, a little windswept and grinning, Tommy couldn’t help but grin back. 

Evan looked gorgeous, his curls a little mussed and a glint in his eye. Bea looked less dishevelled, but her eyes were glinting too. 

“That was so cool! Daddy, daddy, you have to go flying too. Please.” 

He had flown with Evan. A few times since the first. It had been as much a tactic from Evan to convince him to let Bea fly as it had been because Tommy loved the feeling of letting Evan be in complete control. 

Tommy couldn’t lie to her. 

“I have, Bea.” 

“You did?” she asked, frowning. 

Evan saved the day. “Why do you think he let you go flying? Had to show him it was safe.” 

“Oh,” Bea said. She looked between them. “Did you like it, Daddy?” 

“Yeah. I did. Evan’s a good flyer.” He smiled at Evan and Evan smiled back. Tommy turned back to Bea.“So you had a good time?” 

“The best!” 

As soon as Evan had put the broom against the nearest wall, she hugged him. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” 

Evan hugged her back, placed a kiss atop her head. “It’s your dad, you should thank.” 

She hugged Tommy too. Still one of the best feelings in the world. When Tommy glanced at Evan, he was just watching them and Tommy wanted him to be closer, for him to be with them. 

“Ev—”

He reached a hand out. Evan looked surprised, but he reached back. 

“Hey, Bea,” Tommy said. “There’s something we need to tell you.” 

“What is it?” 

Tommy didn’t know how to say it. He looked at Evan and Evan took pity on him. 

“What your dad is trying to say, is that your dad and I are dating.” 

“You’re my dad’s boyfriend,” Bea said. 

“Yeah,” Evan said. “I am.” 

“How, uh, how do you feel about that?” Tommy asked. 

He was bracing for the worst. Bea might like Evan enough as her teacher and as a fellow witch, but would she like him dating her father? Would she like if Evan eventually became more to them both? Because Tommy could see things lasting. 

Bea looked between them and she shrugged. “I like it,” she settled on. 

Evan laughed. Tommy let out a sigh of relief. Tommy leaned over, kissing Evan in little more than a peck. 

“If you guys are going to be gross,” Bea said. “I’m going inside.”