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Evan Buckley is a menace. Tommy knew that from the start; he just knew he never stood a chance when he was first introduced to the man weeks ago. It was a thought that crossed his mind the first time Evan smiled at him before saying his name and shaking his hand. Tommy wasn’t used to having those sorts of thought, but he did back then, and he never stopped ever since.
He was a confident gay man for years now, but, boy, did he feel nervous around the younger firefighter. More than nervous, he felt scared over the possibility of Evan not being interested in the same way Tommy was. Scared that Evan was just naturally flirtatious and just couldn’t help himself, but straight to his last cell. Scared that it was all just in his mind, and he’d never have a chance. Tommy thinks he should have kissed Evan that day during the Harbor Date, he regrets that he didn’t, because what if that was his only chance and he blew it?
He never expected, obviously, to learn about Evan’s 0 to 100 personality trait. When he asked what was happening between them, Tommy was already prepared for the soft blow, to be let down, to force himself to step away and take some time to recover from the fall he brought upon himself. What he was not prepared whatsoever was for Evan Buckley to fucking kiss him silly in the middle of the sidewalk. And then confirm it was a date. And then smile at him. And then hold his fucking hand. And then never stop smiling for the rest of the night – except when he was laser focused on the stupid trivia game.
Tommy was so screwed, and he couldn’t even find in himself to care. He couldn’t even bring himself to pay attention to the silly trivia game that was happening around him – not that Evan seemed to care, the blonde man never even looked at him wondering if Tommy had any input on the answers. He just wrote it down on the piece of paper they gave them, sometimes even before the MC finished asking the question. He remembers, very vaguely, Howie, or Hen, or even Eddie, or maybe it was Bobby, mentioning something about Clipboard Buck, and he does remember the amount of weird facts the firefighter threw at him during that day at Harbor station. He never imagined he would be a beast during trivia night.
The pilot just sits back and enjoys his beer, he smiles fondly when between questions, after he’s done writing down the answer, Evan looks at him. Ever since they sat down, the other man has his hand resting on Tommy’s thigh. It’s comforting, the warmth of his hand sipping through the fabric of his jeans, it’s innocent and tame, as if they’d done that a thousand times before and not like it was their first official date. Tommy knows now that Harbor was also one, but now he has an actual verbal and physical confirmation.
By the end of the third round, they are up ahead by two points and Evan does not like that at all, especially when the MC offers one of the teams to go up to stage and sing for the chance of two bonus points. Evan actually curses under his breath and calls that cheating, and Tommy just laughs, finding it amusing and adorable. The other man just looks at him and all annoyance flees his face. Evan leans in and steals a kiss from Tommy, who goes willingly, already addicted to the other man’s touch, his lips, the taste of his mouth, how soft his lips feel against his own. He wants more, and chases after it when Evan makes to break the kiss. He feels the other man smile against his lips, but gives in, kissing him with intent and purpose, with want. Evan Buckley wants him, how crazy is that?
“Trying to distract me, Kinard?” Evan asks when he finally lets him go, Tommy chuckles.
“I’d never,” he says. “Although, I don’t think you’d mind that much.”
“Hm, I don’t know, I like to win very much,” Evan ponders, but his eyes are heated, and Tommy knows he could drag the other man out of that with just one simple request. He wouldn’t, obviously. He can see how much Evan’s having fun and is also only their first-second date.
“And you wouldn’t be winning with me?” Tommy mouths at his skin, behind his ear and smiles when his skin erupts in goosebumps. The hand on his thigh squeezes hard and the pilot snickers. Evan is about to answer when the music comes to an end and the MC comes back on stage to announce the next round. “Guess we’ll have to wait a bit longer,” Tommy teases, dropping a kiss on the other man’s neck and retreating back to his seat. Evan stares at him in disbelief.
“That’s just so… So evil.” The man says and swallows, Tommy takes his beer to his lips and doesn’t miss how Evan watches his every move, like he feels jealous of the glass, the beer itself.
“Everybody ready?” The MC asks on the stage and Tommy nudges Evan to pay attention. The other man has to physically shake his head to get his focus back, the pilot just smiles swiftly, resting his hand on top of Evan’s.
He finds it interesting to watch the man, and how he gets back to the match as if nothing happened. He knows it’s not that easy, every now and then Evan steals a couple of glances and Tommy’s always ready to offer him a comforting smile. The pilot even tries to help out a little with the game, even though he knows there’s no need for that.
By the end of the fifth round, Tommy’s pretty sure they are up ahead. Evan is precise, he never doubts anything. He seems to know a lot more than what is expected of a silly trivia night at a karaoke bar, and Tommy finds it endearing. He had tried, in the past, to bring other dates here, but they never seemed to understand what the fun of the activity was, some were really bored before the first round was over. Tommy, for his part, was never a hard core try hard, he just wanted to have fun and he liked to learn interesting things. He liked the ambiance and the energy of the place; getting some questions right was just some added bonus. Now with Evan, it was the first time he felt himself had actual fun even if he had so little participation on the game. For the first time he had someone next to him who could actually enjoy not only his company, but also what he proposed for them to do. And although he knew where part of Evan’s mind was, he knew the other firefighter was not in a rush to get out of there and get into Tommy’s pants – like most of his previous partners were.
In between rounds, Evan didn’t just steal kisses and touches, they talked, they made comments about other participants, they made future possible plans that didn’t involve a dark corner of a bar filled with people who couldn’t care less about them. Evan even went as far as suggesting a picnic. Tommy couldn’t remember the last time he went to a park to sit on the grass and eat some sandwiches. But he wanted to do that now with Evan. He wanted anything Evan offered him, and he was happy to know the other man felt the same.
He was eager and energetic, the complete opposite of Tommy, but not in an overwhelming way. Tommy saw the man as a golden retriever, a very adorable one: full of energy and so much love to give he could barely contain himself. Evan was big, tall, and still his body wasn’t enough to contain all his feelings, everything he was willing to offer to people.
Tommy wasn’t used to that. He normally dated more quiet and reserved people, and since he was very quiet and reserved himself, it wasn’t really a wonder that they never worked. For a moment, in the beginning, he felt quite scared by Evan’s ways, but it didn’t take him long to understand that not only he needed that, but he also craved that. Someone who would make him get out of his shell, to explore the world, to smile and laugh more freely. Sure, they barely knew each other, but on the two dates they had – and even during the hurricane incident – Tommy already had way more fun than in the past ten years combined – maybe even his entire life. He felt like Evan had this power over him, this ability of bringing out the best in people; like he wanted to have fun, to be happier, to be more open to possibilities and happiness because of Evan.
“So, hm, did you talk to Eddie? About the Vegas thing?” Evan asks all of the sudden, when the fifth-round ends and another group goes up on stage to get ready to sing. He doesn’t think they are actually participating in the trivia game, just a drunk group of friends having fun.
“I did,” Tommy looks at him, curious. Evan seems quite nervous. He actually reached out to Eddie on the next day, apologizing for what happened. “Told him something came up and I forgot we had plans; he was very understanding. The fight wasn’t so good, so I don’t think he was that upset either way.”
“You didn’t say it was my fault?” Evan looks somewhat relieved by that, and Tommy finds it even more curious. He smiles softly at the man in front of him and squeezes his hand.
“Why would I? It wasn’t.” He reassures and Evan smiles, a little smitten if Tommy’s seeing it right. “But, just so we’re clear, I didn’t mention you, no. Did you say anything?”
“No, not yet.” Evan takes a sip of his beer, as if trying to gather his thoughts. He looks nervous again when he looks at Tommy. “I know I should, and I will… I just wanted to… I don’t know, figure this out, you know?” Tommy hums, leaning closer to tease him a little. He found out very early on he doesn’t like to see Evan nervous or doubting himself.
“And have you?”
“You still have doubts?” Evan asks, looking at him with a smirk, the flirtatious fucker. “I’m happy to prove it all again if you need a reminder.” He leans in, mouth on Tommy’s neck and he can feel the damn goosebumps again, the same way he did when Evan put his hand on his bare skin outside on the sidewalk.
He knows this is Evan’s first experience with a man, but it’s definitely not his first time at dating and, damn, he’s good at it. So confident. So aware and purposeful with his touches, his kisses. It drives Tommy insane. How they barely know each other and barely had time to get acquainted with each other’s body but Evan already seems to know every single thing that makes Tommy tick, and writhe under his touch. His mouth is hot and burns his skin when it touches him; his tongue soft and warm, trying to tame the fire from his teasing. Before Tommy can dive in harder, Evan pulls away with a sheepish smile on his own lips.
“I actually told my sister about you,” he adds. Talk about a bucket of cold water being poured on him. If Tommy didn’t know better, this was payback for earlier. A very Evan way of saying two could play this game.
“You what?” Tommy asks, but Evan already has his attention back on the stage for the last round. “Evan.”
“Shh… Let me win this.”
And he does. By a huge margin. The last question had bonus points for how hard it was, and they were the only team to get it right, everyone was surprised by it, and they now have a year-long free everything at the bar, Evan just smiles proudly at him, while Tommy just stares at the man in awe. They’d have won either way if it wasn’t for the last question, but the fact that he was the only one to get it right did something to Tommy. He never thought he would find intelligence so hot and sexy, but that was before he knew Encyclopedia Evan Buckley.
“So, wanna leave?” The man asks after the ending of the trivia, as if he hadn’t just blow everyone’s mind over his knowledge. Not only did he get the last question right, but he also got all of the questions right. It was a never seen before event at the bar. The MC and the owners were very impressed – and, for the time being, Evan was pretty much forbidden to play again. He took that with a lot more grace than Tommy expected.
“How the fuck did you know that?” Tommy asks once they are out of the pub.
“I go to the zoo a lot with Christopher,” Evan just shrugs as if it’s no big deal.
“So, at the zoo you learned that koalas have fingerprints so indistinguishable from humans that they have occasionally been wrongfully collected as evidence at crime scenes?” Tommy asks, he has no idea how he remembers that question, but he’s also very surprised. He doesn’t even care about the prize they just won; he just wants to study Evan’s brain.
“Oh, no, that I saw on some true crime documentary I think, or maybe it was one from National Geo, I don’t remember.” The fact is that: anyone else would be acting all modest but gloating from the inside out; but this is Evan, and he just acts as if it’s the normal thing for someone to know.
“What else do you know?” Tommy hears himself asking.
“You have to narrow it down a little,” the man jokes. He sighs and stops at the sidewalk. Tommy doesn’t even know where they are going, he’s just following Evan. “I like to learn things, you know? Like, we had a call that involved some radiation exposure and Bobby was very affected by it, so I was worried and curious, so I looked it up and learned some things. Like when I was on the tsunami at the pier and lived to tell the story, so I was curious about survivors of other rare events like that one. I like to know stuff.”
“And you just store all of this away in your brain like it’s nothing big? And pull it out when the need arises?” Tommy questions. He wants to kiss that man, to worship his body, his brain, the ground he walks on. Evan studies his face for a moment with curiosity and a hint of arousal.
“Do you…” He takes a few steps towards Tommy, their bodies so close he can feel the warmth of the other man’s body. It’s a lot chilly now than when they first arrived. Tommy has his jacket on, but Evan didn’t bring any. Not that he seems to need one, his body is hot and not just on the physical attractive side, but he really emanates warmth as if he’s a freaking radiator. Evan bites his bottom lip as his hand grabs Tommy’s jacket, mimicking his gesture from earlier, before their first kiss. Tommy goes willingly, much like he did then. “Does that turn you on? Me knowing things?” He has a devilish smile on his lips and Tommy swallows, because this is as much of a surprise to him as it is to Evan.
“Smart people are hot,” Tommy concedes. Giving in to some of his want and kissing Evan’s birth mark, the closest thing to his brain he can reach right now. Tommy feels Evan’s warm breathe against his skin and smiles, pulling out to look at the man. “But you’re definitely on another level, so it’s scorching hot.” He attempts a joke, it’s awful but it makes Evan laugh either way.
“You’re lucky you’re cute.” He adds before closing the distance between their mouths and kissing him.
Evan Buckley is dangerous, and Tommy Kinard couldn’t care less. He knows it’s dangerous to fall for the man, but it’s something he realizes now that can’t be stopped. From his clear blue eyes to his long, long legs, every inch of that man screams trouble. Not exactly the bad kind, but something Tommy has never experienced before. It’s easy to fall for him, he understands why people love him so much, why people are so drawn to him. They are all like moths to a flame. And Evan is the brightest one out there, they all want to bathe in it.
What makes it even more dangerous is how unaware he is of his abilities, of what he’s capable of. Of how effortlessly charming, charismatic, hot he is. Tommy never stood a chance, he knows that now and he’s fine with it, because he doesn’t mind being burned by Evan’s touch, his flame, his fire. On the contrary, he craves it, he wants his attention, his touch, his soft, sweet words being whispered into his skin.
He’d be willing to forget anything and anybody just for an extra minute of this man’s attention. And this is scary, but he doesn’t care. Because it’s so easy to fall for Evan, and he knows how heartbreaking it will be if - and hopefully this never happens - they break up. This is the kind of man that can wreck you and make you stop believing in love and happily ever after when he leaves your life.
Tommy hopes he’ll never have to re-learn what life is without the presence and love and attention of Evan Buckley.
You're starting up a wildfire in my heart
Hope it's what you want
Not just what you do