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Buck hopped out of the fire engine with a happy hum, shaking the pins and needles of the drive out of his legs. They’d just reached the 12-hour mark of their shift, which meant Buck was finally off for the day.
The rest of A-shift was still on for another 12 hours, and as much as Buck would usually hate leaving them to do the rest of a 24 without him, he actually had a reason this time.
Eddie slapped Buck on the back as he jumped out of the truck, shooting him a knowing grin. Buck returned his grin, knocking his shoulder into Eddie’s.
Buck had a date tonight — the one-month anniversary of his first date with Tommy, in fact. Truthfully, he’d wanted this date to be two days earlier, marking the night Tommy had first kissed him, but both of them had been working at the time.
They’d settled on celebrating their first date instead — much to Buck’s chagrin, considering how that had gone. So, instead of letting it ruin the mood for the night, Buck decided he wanted to make this one pretty special. A do-over of sorts. Eddie had even helped him plan it, partially because he was a supportive best friend and partially because he still felt bad for inadvertently ruining said first date.
“So, any reason you wanted out of this shift so badly?” Chimney asked, wiggling his brows at Buck as he slammed the driver’s side door to the ambulance closed. “You worked very hard to get today off.”
“What’s wrong with wanting a free weekend?” Buck shot back playfully. “Maybe I’m catching a soccer game or something.”
“Angel City is playing KC Current tonight.” Ravi piped up, waving at them as he came out of the locker room, already dressed. He must have arrived earlier than usual, Buck thought to himself.
“What he said. Maybe I’m watching that.” Buck said, patting the probie on the shoulder as he passed.
“Don’t lie to us, Buck, you don’t even like soccer,” Hen said, pointing at him accusingly. “You covered Ravi’s full moon shift to get only half of this shift off — what’s so special about this Saturday?”
Buck pursed his lips instead of answering, suppressing a smile. That must have given him away because Hen let out a sharp whistle.
“I’m thinking Buckaroo’s got a date with mystery girl,” She called out. “What do you think, Chimney?”
Buck spluttered. Hen and Chim said some weird things sometimes, but he wasn’t expecting that. “I’m sorry, ‘mystery girl’?”
“I think you’re right,” Chimney nodded sagely, completely ignoring Buck’s reaction. “And this guy—” he pointed to Eddie accusingly—“already knew, didn’t he?”
“Hey, I don’t know anything,” Eddie said, raising his hands, but the smile on his face wasn’t doing him any favours.
“Yes you do,” Hen shot back. “Buck tells us everything, and if he’s trying to keep something a secret, he tells you. Especially when it comes to romance.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”
“Can we please go back to ‘mystery girl’?” Buck cut in, rubbing his face. “What the hell is that about?”
“Let’s put it this way, Buck; you’re very obviously seeing someone you’re not telling us about,” Chimney said. “And don’t even try to deny it, everyone’s been noticing how smiley and happy you’ve been recently. I swear I catch you blushing at your phone at least once per shift.”
“Not to mention, you keep texting someone at the start and end of your shift,” Hen chimed in. “Which is what you used to do with Abby. The only thing that threw us off is you not talking about her yet.”
“There’s nothing to tell!” Buck insisted. “And even if there was — which there isn’t, there is no ‘mystery girl’ — I’m still allowed to have a personal life.”
“Your personal life hasn’t been personal since your first shift here,” Hen pointed out. “You tell us everything.”
“Can’t keep a relationship a secret to save his life,” Chim said with a nod.
“I—”
“Okay, lay off him,” Eddie cut into the conversation, raising his hands. “If Buck wants to tell us something, he will.”
“So you admit there’s something to tell!”
“Thank you, Eddie— wait!” Buck punched his best friend in the arm after he spied the shit-eating grin on his face. “C’mon man, who’s side are you on here?”
“Yours, but that doesn’t change that these two are going to pounce on me the second you leave,” Eddie replied, not looking even the slightest bit sorry. “I think I deserve to have some fun with this before I get interrogated for 12 hours.”
“Which is still your fault for egging them on,” Buck shot back. “And, since there isn’t a mystery girl in the first place, this is more your fault than mine.”
Now it was Eddie’s turn to punch Buck’s shoulder. Buck just laughed, dodging the hit as best as he could.
“I think we’re on the money here.” Chim stage-whispered to Hen. “Hey, Cap! I know you’re listening in up there, any thoughts?”
“Chim—” Buck started, only for Bobby to cut him off from the loft.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bobby stepped over to the railing just above them — yep, definitely listening in— a kitchen towel slung over his shoulder. “But Buck, if you are going on a date, you should get moving. We got back late from that call, and you four have been wasting time arguing.”
“We did?” Buck glanced at his watch, eyes bugging out at the time. “Shit, I’m going to be late—!”
“So you are going on a date!” Chimney whooped, reaching out to high-five Hen. “You better tell us about her after this, Buckaroo! I think we’re owed it now.”
“Owed it for being such good detectives,” Hen added on smugly, high-fiving Chimney like the date-ruining criminals they were.
Buck flipped them off as he brushed past them on his way to the locker room — If he was late, he was so blaming it on them.
He managed to strip out of his turnouts and sweat-soaked uniform in record time, throwing on the clothes he’d been wearing that morning — just a pair of sweats and a thick LAFD sweater, nothing fancy.
He had planned to shower and change for the date at his apartment. He was severely regretting that now — it would have been much faster to just get changed here and drive to the restaurant, but he’d wanted to freshen up at his apartment properly like an idiot who didn’t take end-of-shift calls into account.
“Bye Eds, bye Cap!” Buck yelled over his shoulder, zipping open his duffel bag and pulling out his car keys.
“No goodbyes for me and Hen, Buck?” Chim called back from the loft. “I’m hurt!”
“So am I, for the record!” Hen tacked on.
“You don’t deserve it!” Buck flipped them off over his shoulder, but still couldn’t stop a huffed laugh from escaping his lips as he jogged into the parking lot to his jeep.
He slid the keys into the ignition, texting Tommy to tell him he’d just gotten out of work as he waited for his car to start up.
He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as he peeled out of the parking lot, switching on the radio and letting himself zone out to the sound of Hozier.
Buck didn’t mean to keep his relationship with Tommy secret from the 118. It just… happened, if that made sense.
Buck had been insecure in his sexuality at first, sure, but that had lasted less than a week. Then he’d spent an afternoon googling labels and queer history with Chris and Eddie, working his way into feeling comfortable calling himself bisexual.
Even with a label figured out and a positively stunning man to help him along his journey, it still felt a little too overwhelming at first, telling anyone but Maddie, Eddie, and Chris. So he’d given himself some time to process, which had been useful.
Then, the problem became less about understanding himself and more about figuring out how to tell people. As it turned out, finding the right moment to come out to the most important people in his life was more difficult than he’d anticipated.
So here he was, a month into his relationship with Tommy, and the 118 still thought he was hiding a relationship with a woman. Technically they weren’t all that far off — just two letters off, in fact, but Buck knew that pointing it out would be a terrible way to come out of the closet.
Something must have gone right today, though, because Buck made it back to his apartment in record time. 10 minutes later than he would have liked, but that still gave him time to clean himself up before he had to rush out the door.
He threw his bag haphazardly onto the counter, leaving his keys next to them on the table so he wouldn’t forget them when he headed out again in 20 minutes.
Buck spent a little extra time scrubbing himself down, making sure there weren’t any remains of the two-alarm fire he’d fought that afternoon. He came out of the shower smelling like the nice coconut shampoo he’d been trying out. He took a moment to brush his teeth and scrunch some hair gel into his curls, before he bustling out of the bathroom to get dressed.
He’d already laid out his clothes for the evening, consisting of a black dress shirt, matching pants, and that nice velvety red suit jacket he’d had hanging in his closet since that poker game with Eddie.
Laid out next to it was a thin gold chain, courtesy of Maddie. Whereas Eddie had been focused on organizing the actual date, Maddie had been committed to dressing Buck nicely for the evening. It was a little ridiculous; the restaurant they were going to didn’t even have a dress code, but Buck didn’t mind indulging his sister when it came to something like this.
He did a little twirl in the mirror before he headed out the door, taking himself in with a sense of satisfaction — there was nothing quite like feeling confident before going on a date. Especially when that date was with a man like Tommy.
Buck made it to the restaurant only 5 minutes late, which felt like an accomplishment considering he left the station 30 minutes later than he should have.
Tommy wasn’t waiting out front; for a moment Buck’s mind was split between whether Tommy was just late or if he’d already left, but before he could panic, someone tapped his shoulder.
Buck turned around to find Tommy waiting for him, a soft smile across his face.
“There you are,” He said, stepping back to rake his eyes over Buck’s body. “You look… really nice.”
That last bit was said breathlessly — Buck was close enough to see Tommy’s pupils dilate slightly as they roamed up and down his body, a large, calloused hand coming up to run a thumb along his jaw.
Buck felt something warm bloom in his chest at the attention, whatever residual nervousness he had from the drive over melting away. Tommy smelled of vanilla and aftershave, that lingering smoky smell all firefighters carried sending shivers up Buck’s spine. That smell was something Buck never knew he liked until he’d smelled it on Tommy, making him wonder a bit absently if Tommy appreciated that same smell on him.
“Thank you,” He replied just as breathlessly. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”
As Buck said it he let his eyes run down Tommy’s body, taking him in properly for the first time that night; he’d worn a nice white dress shirt, the top two buttons popped and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off his muscular forearms. He’d also worn a nice pair of jeans that clung to his thighs in all the right ways, neatly tucked into his polished work boots.
Something must have shown on Buck’s face, because Tommy let out a small laugh, slipping a hand into his and squeezing gently.
“Just ‘not too bad’?” Tommy teased, eyes flicking down to his lips. “Because your face says otherwise.”
Buck felt his cheeks go hot.
“Okay, very much an under-exaggeration,” He replied lightly, squeezing Tommy’s hand. “Sorry I’m late, by the way — we got back from our last call later than I would have liked, and then Hen and Chim decided to interrogate me about the ‘mystery girl’ I’ve been seeing.”
Tommy laughed at that.
“I’m probably not what they have in mind,” He said in return, knocking his shoulder against Buck’s as they made their way to the restaurant’s front doors. “So, what’s the plan for tonight? I tried asking Eddie, but he made it very clear it was supposed to be a surprise.”
“Well, I thought we could have dinner, and then catch a movie. There’s a nice theatre close to my apartment — I can drive,” Buck had already looked up movie showings for that night earlier in the week — the theatre near them had a couple of action movies, a horror movie, and two rom-coms, which were right up Tommy’s alley. “Provided we make it to the movie this time ‘round.”
“Mm, I have a good feeling about our chances tonight,” He replied, bringing Buck’s hand up to brush a kiss across his knuckles, then nodded towards the doors to the restaurant. “Shall we?”
They were seated in the far corner of the restaurant, more isolated than some of the other tables. Compared to the table they’d had on their first date, in the middle of a crowded restaurant where anyone could hear them, it was much more private, more romantic. Buck hadn’t exactly planned it, but it felt perfect nonetheless. No expectations, no interruptions, just the two of them in their own little world as they had a nice, romantic evening.
It didn’t take long for a waiter to come by and take their appetizer and wine orders, leaving them with a rich, smooth merlot to sip on and a basket of breadsticks Buck was not touching.
“So, Harbor’s doing okay?” Buck asked, nipping at his glass of wine. “It’s been a bit since I heard from Lucy — usually she keeps me updated on the more bizarre calls you go on.”
“That’s for a reason — calls have been boring lately. Lucy’s doing good, even though she’s bored out of her mind. I don’t care, personally, but she does keep asking me about the ‘hot boytoy’ I picked up,” Tommy said. “I keep telling her she’s being nosy, but she doesn’t care.”
“That sounds like the Lucy I know,” Buck laughed. “My condolences. Hopefully she’s not being too hard on you.”
Even as he said it, Buck couldn’t help but wince a little — Tommy wouldn’t have to deal with that if Buck just let him tell people they were in a relationship. But it just felt wrong for the people at Harbor, people who, aside from Lucy, he barely knew, to find out he was bisexual and dating Tommy before his family at the 118 did.
“She hasn’t been too bad. But knowing Hen and Chim, they must be driving you up the wall,” If Tommy noticed his shift in mood he didn’t comment on it, instead raising his eyebrows at Buck playfully. “Surprised you managed to make it this far without losing it on them.”
“They’re not that bad,” Buck said, holding his hands up as Tommy raised his brows even more. “Okay fine, they are. At least Eddie’s in the know — I think I would have lost it if he was interrogating me as well.”
Just then, the waiter brought their appetizers out — a salad for Buck, and a plate of fries for Tommy. Eddie had been right about this place, the food was pretty nice.
“Maybe I should just rip off the band-aid,” Buck murmured between bites of stolen french fries, letting his finger absentmindedly drum on the table. “It’s not like they’ll react badly, and I want them to know, it’s just…”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Tommy covered Buck’s hand with his own, stilling it. “Coming out to people you already know is tough.”
“Yeah, but… I should trust them with this, right? I do, at least, I think I trust them with it. I just… can’t tell them. And I don't know why I can't tell them.”
“And that’s normal. Even though I kept in contact with them after transferring to Harbor, even though the 118 itself became a much more inclusive place after Bobby took over as Captain, I never actually told anyone there I was gay— until you, that is.”
“Yeah, but you don’t care if anyone tells them now,” Buck pointed out. He flipped over his hand, lacing their fingers together. “You’re so… put together about it. I’m the one who’s going out of my way to hide it, and making you hide it—”
“Okay, first of all, you’re not making me hide anything,” Tommy cut in swiftly. “There’s a difference between wanting to keep our relationship private so that I don't out you, and making me hide my identity.”
“I would never want you to hide—”
“I know, sweetheart, that’s my point. You're not asking me to hide any part of myself, okay? Keeping us private is your choice here, I can't and won't force you to come out before you're ready,” Tommy squeezed his hand gently. “Look. I figured myself out 7 years ago. I’m out to the people at Harbor, and I’m comfortable with people casually knowing I’m gay, because I had 7 years to process it.”
“And I get that,” Buck nodded along. “But I already told Maddie and Eddie. Why is telling Bobby, or Hen, or Chim, any different? It feels like I’m keeping some big secret from them.”
“Evan, you only figured out you were bisexual a month and two days ago,” Tommy levelled. “You’re allowed to take time to process. You told Maddie on accident—” Buck winced at that, even though Tommy was right; he didn’t even realize he came out to her until 30 minutes after he left her apartment — “And you told Eddie because he crashed our date. That, and they’re the two most important people in your life.”
“Other than Chris,” Buck said out of habit. “And you. You’re like… fourth up there. Really high up, I promise.”
Tommy just let out a laugh, squeezing Buck's hand a little tighter.
“Exactly,” He chuckled, running his thumb over Buck's knuckles before he retreated to continue eating his food. “What I’m saying is, coming out takes time. Even if it’s people you already know and trust. Sometimes, especially the people you know and trust.”
And Buck… kinda got that. He remembered how Maddie had talked about wanting to tell him about Daniel, but feeling like the secret somehow got bigger and uglier by the day. How it became impossible to tell him after a certain point, because now it wasn’t just about the secret itself, it was about how long you kept the secret as well.
Of course, the situations were different; there was no way anyone would be angry at him for keeping his sexuality a secret — no, taking time to process it, how he referred to this was important — but even so, it still felt the same. Like the topic was impossible to breach now that it wasn’t fresh and new like it had been with Maddie and Eddie.
“…Yeah, you’re right,” Buck finally conceded, watching as Tommy’s face lit up with satisfaction. “When did you become a therapist?”
Tommy laughed, and Buck couldn’t help but laugh with him. He swore Tommy’s laugh was infectious, deep and pretty in a way Buck hadn’t realized was pretty until he’d met Tommy.
“No, seriously — that really helped.” Buck sobered after a moment, placing his hand over Tommy’s.
“Well, I went to therapy, for one,” Tommy said. “But I also have some personal experience. You know, I spent weeks after I came out to my Harbor teammates trying to figure out how to approach Hen and tell her? I was already of the mindset that being gay wasn’t something I was going to hide, nor something I was going to volunteer. But even then, I felt like I owed her an explanation.”
He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself.
“The 118 — myself included — treated Hen terribly under Captain Gerrard,” Buck shivered; Hen and Chim occasionally told stories about what the 118 had been like before Bobby, and none of them were pretty. “Even after the brass removed him and Bobby took over, I never came out to anyone there — not because I didn’t accept myself, but because I felt like it was too late.”
“And… you never did?” Buck asked. “Talk to Hen about it, I mean. I know most of the 118 doesn’t know.”
Tommy chuckled, shaking his head. “I chickened out. But then again, it’s not just the time that’s holding me back, but the way I treated her back then. The way I just sat by and let her suffer without doing anything, or at least offering her some comfort," He grimaced, looking down at his food. "Safe to say, we’re overdue for a very long talk once I come out to her.”
“Once you get there — and you will get there, I promise — I’ll be there if you need me,” Buck offered gently, rubbing what he hoped were comforting circles into the junction of his boyfriend's wrist. “I’ll also be there for Hen, full disclosure, but if you need someone to talk to, about that or-or anything, honestly — I’m here. We’re a team now, right?”
Tommy nodded after a moment, and when he looked up again, his expression seemed suddenly intense in a way Buck couldn’t quite decipher.
“God, you’re such a good boyfriend,” He replied a little shakily, voice surprisingly tender, and fuck if that didn’t make Buck weak all over. Tommy took a deep breath, offering him a smile. “Okay, back to happy topics. Other than Hen and Chim being menaces, what’s been happening over at the 118?”
“A lot more than at Harbor, apparently. You wouldn’t believe the call we went on earlier today…” Buck launched into the story, feeling the last bit of anxiety lift from his chest.
That was probably the best way to describe his relationship with Tommy — a feeling of relief, a weight lifted off of his shoulders he’d never even realized was there. Being with Tommy was easy, Buck found, in a way that both made his heart race and settle in his chest at the same time, as if he was finally good enough on his own.
Buck watched Tommy let out a startled laugh in response to a joke he’d made, the vibrations reaching all the way down to where their hands were connected across the table — in that moment, all Buck could think was, ‘Nothing could ruin this night.’
In hindsight, that’s probably the moment he jinxed it.
It started just as they were finishing off their appetizers; Tommy drained his wine glass, picking up a fork to snag the last tomato off of Buck’s plate. Given the amount of fries Buck snatched off Tommy’s plate, he couldn’t exactly complain.
“You know, I’m really enjoying this,” Tommy stated, stretching his arms out languidly. “Maybe we should let Eddie plan our dates more often—”
He was interrupted by screams at the other end of the restaurant — Buck’s head whipped around just in time to see a tablecloth go up in flames, the couple sitting at the table jumping away in surprise as their waiter, arm alight with bright orange flames, began to scream.
Before Buck even knew what he was doing he was leaping to his feet, assessing the situation. The surface of the table went up so quickly it was like someone had doused the thing in alcohol beforehand, which — going off of the blue tinge of the flames — was probably what had happened. The flames were already spreading to a set of window curtains pressed up against the edge of the table, turning from a small but dangerous blue to tall, roaring orange.
Tommy sprung up just a moment after Buck, eyes flicking from the fire to his face in a split second. “Buck—”
They locked eyes, and suddenly, Buck knew exactly what Tommy was thinking. That was the beauty of dating a firefighter, he realized — Tommy knew what to do in this situation, was trained the same way Buck was. Neither of them had to speak, they just got to work.
Buck ducked into the kitchen, snatching a foam extinguisher off the wall — it worked on class A and B fires, which is exactly what he needed in this situation — sprinting back into the dining room as Tommy pulled the fire alarm. He was quick to take over crowd control from the staff, yelling over the restaurant guests’ panicked cries for everyone to calmly make their way to the exits, that everything was under control as Buck dragged the three guests who’d been burnt out of the path of the flames and began putting it out.
The fire was still fairly small, which meant he only needed one extinguisher to put it out — the foam easily smothered the curtains and still ignited tablecloth, leaving a thin layer of white foam across the corner of the restaurant.
“Are you guys okay?” Was the first thing he asked, kneeling down next to the three burn victims — the waiter looked to be the most injured, their shirtsleeve burnt and blackened, revealing bright red burns underneath. At a glance the two women looked okay, with only singes to their clothes and arms.
“We’re fine,” One of the women, supplied. Her hair had been partially burnt off, her long, blonde fringe now lopsided and wiry with burns. “God, I’m so sorry about all this.”
“Would you mind walking me through what happened?” Buck asked. “I’m sorry to say I was more busy paying attention to my date than watching your table.”
He meant it as a joke, but the woman just buried her face in her hands. Her partner patted her shoulder gently, offering Buck an apologetic look.
“We were celebrating Heather’s birthday,” The blonde woman explained after a moment, gesturing to her partner. “We were just lighting a birthday candle when I somehow managed to knock the cupcake over, and—” She splayed her hands for effect— “It just went up in flames.”
“It was my fault,” The waiter chimed in, voice thick and croaky with pain. Their name tag read ‘Flynn,’ with a they/them pin fastened to their shirt just below it. “You only knocked the candle over because I dropped your bottle of whiskey across the table.”
Well, that explained why the table had gone up in flames so quickly. Depending on the proof, whiskey was a damn good accelerant.
“Which you wouldn’t have knocked over if I hadn’t insisted on buying a full bottle instead of individual drinks.” The woman argued.
“It’s okay, ma’am, just a freak accident,” Buck reassured her. “I’m an off-duty firefighter, and trust me when I say this wouldn’t even be in the top 100 dumbest fire calls I’ve seen.”
“Oh, that explains the competency,” The woman’s partner — Heather — said, waving her hand at Buck. “Sorry about interrupting your date.”
“If you’ll believe it, this also isn’t in the top 10 worst dates I’ve been on,” Buck chuckled, undoing the heat-warped buttons on Flynn’s dress shirt and ripping the sleeve off as carefully as he could, careful not to disturb the bright red burns marking their arm underneath. “I’m Evan Buckley, by the way — everyone just calls me Buck.”
“Scarlet Chandler,” The woman introduced herself, then pointed at Heather. “And my wife, Heather.”
Instead of giving their name, Flynn just tapped their name tag once, clearly not in the mood to talk. Their face was pinched with pain as the cold air finally hit the burns along their arm,
“Nice to meet you,” Buck nodded. “How’s your arm feeling, Flynn?”
“Really hurts,” They gasped out, squeezing their eyes closed as Buck gently probed the skin around the wound. “Is that bad?”
“No no, in this case it’s a good thing,” Buck explained. “Means your nerve endings are intact. My guess is you only got first or second degree burns, since third degree burns would have destroyed your nerve endings. It’s kinda hard to tell this fast, though — we’ll definitely have to get you to a hospital.”
Buck glanced around, ready to send one of the women — probably Heather, she seemed the least injured — to the kitchen to find the restaurant’s burn kit, when Tommy came sliding around the corner with exactly that in his hands.
God, Buck could kiss him right now.
“Figured you’d need the kit,” Tommy called, sliding to the ground next to Buck and offering him the burn kit. “Before you ask, everyone’s safely evacuated, and I already got the hostess to call 911. How are we doing over here?”
“First and second-degree burns from what I can tell. Flynn here got the worst of it, but the couple — Scarlet and Heather — also got a few burns,” Buck supplied, pulling on the gloves and ripping open a packet of burn dressing with his teeth. “You take care of these two, I take care of Flynn?”
A nod from Tommy. He squeezed Buck’s shoulder for just a moment, then got to work pulling on his own gloves and ripping open packets of burn gel.
“I’m guessing he’s your date?” Scarlet groaned when Buck gave her a nod, holding out her hands to let Tommy gently probe the burns covering them. “I’m so sorry about this.”
“It’s fine, ma’am, happens to the best of us,” Tommy reassured her, pulling on his own pair of gloves. “My name’s Tommy, I’m an off-duty firefighter.”
“Oh, like Buck,” Heather noted. “Did you two meet on the job?”
Buck and Tommy looked at each other. Technically— yes? No? Did it count if you were doing your job against your job’s wishes?
“Something like that,” Buck settled on. “Our jobs definitely brought us together.”
After that, it was easy — Scarlet and Heather kept up a healthy level of chatter, distracting Flynn and themselves and Buck and Tommy made their way through burn dressings and conforming bandages, slowly treating their burns.
“With a good haircut you should be able to save about half of your hair,” Buck was saying, halfway through repacking the first aid kit when he heard sirens outside. “Sounds like the ambulance is here for you.”
“Oh, good. I’m just ready for this night to be over,” Heather sighed. “Hopefully you two can still finish your date.”
“You did promise me a movie,” Tommy said, reaching out to squeeze Buck’s free hand. “Any idea what they’re showing?”
Buck smiled, leaning into Tommy’s space as his gaze flicked to his boyfriend’s lips. “Mhm, there’s a couple romcoms I thought you’d like. ”
“You know me so well.” Tommy hummed, the two of them now close enough for Buck to feel Tommy’s soft exhale fan across his face, lips parting ever so slightly in invitation.
Buck was about to lean in when—
“LAFD, is everyone okay in here?” Bobby’s strong voice echoed through the empty restaurant, and Buck jumped back as if he’d been burned.
His eyes connected with Tommy’s, who had a similar deer-in-headlights look Buck was sure was on his own face right now.
“Fuck,” Buck rubbed his face. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Tommy murmured, squeezing his hand and then letting go, shifting away so his thigh wasn’t pressed against Buck’s anymore.
Buck couldn’t help but feel cold at the loss of contact, shooting Tommy another apologetic look before standing up and waving over to his crew.
“Uh, hey guys,” He called. “I promise it wasn’t my fault.”
“Oh my god, of course it would be you.” Hen groaned.
Buck was tempted to scream the same thing at Eddie right now, but based on his expression, Eddie was getting that message loud and clear.
Chimney, on the other hand, was very obviously doing his best to suppress a laugh. He failed after a moment, placing a hand on Hen’s shoulder as he doubled over laughing.
“Hey, I just said it wasn’t my fault,” Buck replied indignantly, waiting impatiently as the crew picked their way through the wreckage of knocked over chairs and upturned tables. “The fire was caused by a birthday candle and spilled whiskey. Sprinklers didn’t go off, so I had to put it out with an extinguisher.”
“Well, looks like you did a good job containing it, Buck,” Bobby praised, looking up and down the damaged wall. “We’ll have to talk to the owners about their sprinklers. Any burn victims?”
“Three,” Buck said, glancing down to where they were sitting with Tommy behind an overturned table. “We already took care of their injuries with an on-site burn kit. None of the burns seemed third degree from what I could tell, but I still think at least one of them is going to need a hospital trip.”
Chim nodded, stepping towards the table and then stopping in his tracks. “Wait — we?”
Buck’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d said — it wasn’t like he could hide Tommy, but it still sent a jolt of panic down his spine, knowing how dangerously close he was to being found out.
“Uh, hey,” Tommy chose that moment to stand up, waving a little awkwardly at the group. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Nice to see you again, Tommy,” Bobby greeted him. “Good to know our Buck had someone watching his back on this.”
“Seriously though, hat are the chances you two go to the same restaurant on the same night?” Hen asked, wrapping a blood pressure cuff around Scarlet’s arm as Chim checked Flynn’s oxygen level and pulse.
Tommy glanced at Buck; his expression was careful, letting Buck know he wasn’t going to say anything without his permission.
Right. Not in this alone.
“Actually — I invited Tommy out with me.” Buck found himself saying carefully, heartbeat picking up in his chest against his will.
He watched as each member of his team digested that information — Hen looked up from Scarlet to affix Buck with a look he couldn’t quite decipher, Bobby looked mildly confused, Eddie was clearly fighting a smile, and Chim—
“Oh, so mystery girl stood you up?” He asked, not even looking up from where he was checking the dressings Buck had applied on Flynn’s arms. “Or canceled on you — no way you’d be that obsessed with her if she was the type to ditch you at a place this nice.”
“Good thing Tommy agreed to go with you, those reservations must have been expensive,” Hen commented, standing up from where she was examining Scarlet and Heather. “You two are good to go. Do you want one of us to walk you out to your car?”
“No, that’s okay,” Scarlet shot Buck a pained look — it took him a minute to realize she must have felt sorry for him. “Thank you so much. Please enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You too.” Buck waved them off, feeling a little numb.
“Really, though, when are we going to get a chance to meet your mystery gal?” Chimney asked. “Tommy, I’m recruiting you to our cause. You gotta interrogate him, he’s gatekeeping his girlfriend for some reason and it’s driving me insane.”
Tommy was clearly doing his best to keep his face even, but Buck could tell he was suppressing a laugh. “I don’t think Evan would want me intruding on his privacy.”
Buck almost snorted at that.
“You know, at this point I’m not even fully convinced there is a mystery girl,” Hen said. “The one night there’s a fire at the restaurant you’re going to with her, she cancels on you? Seems unlikely.”
“Like I said back at the firehouse, Buck can’t keep his dates a secret to save his life.” Chim said flippantly.
Buck wasn’t sure what exactly came over him. Maybe it was his conversation with Tommy earlier settling the part of him that still felt guilty, or maybe he just finally hit the wall with Hen and Chim’s teasing.
One second he was staring incredulously at his annoying coworkers, wondering if he could get away with murdering them, and the next he had Tommy pressed up against the edge of a nearby table with both hands fisted into the loose lapels of his dress shirt, kissing him senseless.
After a moment Tommy’s mind finally seemed to catch up, the older man humming into the kiss and sliding an arm around Buck’s waist. His other hand came up to run a thumb along his chin, tilting Buck’s head ever so slightly to deepen the kiss.
Buck released Tommy’s shirt to cup the sides of his face, stubble biting into his palms and fingertips brushing through the downy hair at the nape of his neck. It was intoxicating, kissing Tommy; he tasted like wine and that cinnamon toothpaste he used instead of regular mint, his lips soft and warm against Buck’s.
Buck pulled away after a slightly inappropriate amount of time, leaving a trail of spit still linking their mouths as he examined his work — Tommy’s face was flushed, pupils blown and lips red and slightly swollen.
“Fuck you, I kept that a secret.” Buck declared, slightly out of breath from the kiss.
A beat — just enough time for a bead of sweat to run down his neck, just long enough to second-guess whether or not this was a good idea. Before Chimney broke the silence.
“Oh,” Chim exclaimed. “Oh, fuck! You’re telling me Tommy was mystery girl this whole time??”
That was all it took for Eddie to finally break. He cackled, full on cackled, bending over to slap his knees as Chim flushed bright red.
“I should have guessed it,” Hen finally admitted, rubbing her face. “Shut up, Eddie, just because you knew first doesn’t mean you get to make fun of us for not knowing.”
“Yeah Eddie.” Chim snarked, having regained some of his wits even if the tips of his ears were still flushed with embarrassment.
“Congratulations, you two,” Bobby cut in before they could devolve into bickering, his expression… prideful? “Buck, you’re bringing Tommy to family dinner next week. Athena’s going to want to meet him properly.”
“Yeah yeah, of course,” Buck replied, heart clenching uncomfortably. “Can— can I tell her myself first? I’m having breakfast with her tomorrow morning, after her shift.”
Bobby’s gaze softened. “Of course, kid.”
Bobby then clapped loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Okay. Chim, Hen, get our patient loaded up in the ambulance. Eddie, you and I are going to find the owner of this establishment and give him a lecture on sprinkler maintenance.”
“Can do, Cap,” Eddie nodded, still grinning like a madman. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Buck.”
“Uh, yeah,” Chim stuttered, expression suddenly turning panicked. “Oh fuck, does Maddie know—?”
“Yes, she does,” Eddie swiftly cut him off. “Let’s leave them to enjoy the rest of their night, okay?”
Nods all around, and Buck couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief.
The 118 was quick to clear out after that, getting Flynn — who made sure to give Buck a congratulatory pat on the shoulder before they left — out of the restaurant doors. Bobby and Eddie were quick to follow after a cursory examination of the sprinklers on the ceiling.
Buck watched them go, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. He couldn’t tell if that was worse or better than what he’d expected — in the moment, he hadn’t really thought about it, just… kissed his boyfriend.
Right. Boyfriend.
Buck turned his head back to Tommy. They hadn’t let go of each other yet, so comfortable in each other’s arms Buck was half-convinced they’d been created with each other in mind.
“Sorry, I should have asked before doing that,” Buck murmured. “Was that okay?”
“Uh huh,” Tommy nodded dumbly, his pupils blown so wide his blue eyes were almost black. “You’re a really good kisser.”
Buck laughed quietly, pressing another kiss — short, but no less sweet — to his boyfriend’s lips. “You still up for that movie?”
“Not sure if I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself,” Tommy murmured, pressing his face into Buck’s neck. “But, in the interest of not letting your coworkers ruin another one of our dates, I’d love to.”
Buck laughed again. He stepped out of Tommy’s embrace, threading their fingers together.
“Let’s go, then,” He said. “And don’t worry about keeping your hands to yourself. I happen to really like it when you touch me.”
This time Tommy was the one to reel him in, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth and pulling over to the door insistently.
By the time they made it outside the ambulance was still there, Hen and Chim just closing the door.
Instead of heading directly to the driver’s side door, Hen beelined for Buck and Tommy.
“Hey,” She said, a soft look on her face Buck couldn’t quite pin down. “I’m proud of you, you know.”
“Thanks, Hen,” Buck replied just as quietly. “Promise I’ll tell you the details once we’re back at work.”
“You better,” She said, letting out a laugh, clear and happy as day, when Buck whacked her shoulder. She sobered after a moment, that soft look reappearing as she looked up at Tommy. “And, Tommy…”
“It’s okay, I know,” Tommy held up a hand, the other squeezing Buck’s a little tighter. “I know I owe you an explanation.”
“First of all, you don’t owe me anything,” Hen refuted, brows pulling together. “But, if you want to talk… I’d be happy to.”
“Yeah, of course,” Tommy nodded a little too quickly, his eyes suspiciously shiny. “How about breakfast?”
“I get off shift tomorrow night,” Hen said. “Monday morning work?”
Tommy nodded. “Yeah, uh… my shift doesn’t start until Monday night, so we have time.”
Hen nodded, placing a gentle hand on Tommy’s arm and squeezing.
“Now, Eddie mentioned you two had a movie to get to?” She asked, and suddenly Buck wasn’t coming out, he was just talking to Hen like usual. “Did you even get to finish dinner?”
“We do, and we made it to the appetizers before the fire broke out,” Buck supplied. “So, we’ll probably watch a romcom and get takeout, or get takeout and watch a romcom if the next showing isn’t for another few hours.”
“Well, you two have fun,” Hen called. “Wait — can I tell Karen?”
Buck laughed. “Yeah, of course.”
Tommy startled when Hen poked him in the shoulder, clearly expecting an answer from him as well.
“Oh— I’m out, I just don’t volunteer that I’m gay unless it comes up, or someone asks,” Tommy explained quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You can tell Chim and Bobby that too. Not sure who they’d tell, but—”
“Don’t worry, I get it,” Hen winked. “You two lovebirds enjoy your movie.”
Buck felt himself grin, unable to suppress the urge to press a quick kiss to Tommy’s cheek. “Talk to you tomorrow, Hen.”
Hen waved them off from the ambulance, leaving Buck and Tommy to walk back to the car hand in hand, the air drenched in a comfortable silence.
“So,” Tommy said, leaning his shoulder against Buck’s. “How are you feeling?”
Buck… wasn’t really sure how he was feeling, if he was honest.
“Light,” He finally settled on after a moment. “Feels like a relief, y’know? Kinda like how I felt when you first kissed me. Even if they’re going to want every detail at our next shift — hell, my phone’s probably going to be blowing up the second their shift ends tomorrow — it feels… relieving.”
Tommy just hummed in response.
“There is a silver lining here, though.” He stated as they reached the car, tapping his keys to unlock the doors.
“And what’s what, Evan?”
“I finally get to tell them about you, for one,” Buck said, feeling a smile pull at his features as he slipped into the driver’s side seat. “And I get to tell them about Eddie accidentally crashing our first date.”
Tommy let out a startled laugh at that.
“Now that’s a good silver lining,” He chuckled, his hand a comforting weight on Buck’s thigh as they peeled out of the parking lot. “So, what do you say to getting falafel after that movie?”
“That does sound pretty good, but there’s also this Thai place down the street from my loft I really like, if you want we can eat back at my place…”
Their date may have been ruined, but if Buck was honest, he wouldn’t have had it go any other way.