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“I’m really sorry. Are you sure this is okay?” Maddie frets in the entry to Tommy’s house, dumping Jee’s day bag off her shoulder and onto the floor.
“Maddie,” Buck responds patiently. “I’m always happy to get some Jee time. Stop fussing and go to work. And maybe tell your husband to be a little more careful with where he orders sushi from.”
Chimney’s out for the count with food poisoning. He’ll be spending the day wrapped around a toilet, and is in no condition to take care of their charming daughter. Which would usually be manageable, except Maddie gets called into dispatch for an emergency shift cover. One slightly panicked phone call later and Maddie’s dropping Jee off for an impromptu playdate with her uncle and his boyfriend.
“Okay, if you’re sure.” Maddie presses her lips together, glancing over towards the kitchen where Tommy’s getting a snack together for Jee. “You and Tommy had plans though, I don’t want to ruin your day.”
“It’s the aquarium. I already bought a ticket for Jee, we’ll make a day of it and have a great time. Now get to work!”
Buck, lovingly, starts corralling his sister towards the door, but at the mention of tickets Maddie reaches into her purse and starts fumbling for her wallet. Buck holds back an eyeroll.
“I swear to God, Maddie – if you try to give us money for Jee, we’re going to have words. I am more than capable of spoiling my niece without any help from you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” his sister grumbles, dropping the wallet back into the purse. “Seriously, though. I know you’re the one who taught her those patented puppy dog eyes, but don’t let her bully you into buying out the whole gift store. And watch her sugar intake!”
“Uh huh. Off you go.”
Buck doesn’t push his sister out the door, but it’s a close thing. Just to make sure she’s actually gone, he locks the door once it’s shut, then pads to the kitchen. Buck leans against the frame, enjoying the sight before him. Jee and Tommy have spent a fair amount of time together, for sure, but mostly in group settings. Barbecues at Bobby’s, dinner with Maddie and Chimney, things like that. Tommy’s always been kind, and Jee enjoyed it a little too much when Buck and Tommy would toss her between them (much to Chimney’s horror and squawking protests, which only made Jee like it more). But they haven’t spent much time with just the three of them. Jee happily munches on a cracker while Tommy…is cutting grapes in half?
“Babe. Jee is six. I’m sure she can manage a whole grape.”
Tommy looks up and points the knife in Buck’s general direction. Bad knife etiquette, Tommy.
“No. I had to hear from Chimney and Hen about your little bread fiasco. You share some DNA, and there will be no tracheotomies at my kitchen table.”
Buck huffs a laugh at his boyfriend’s overprotectiveness as his heart swells. Tommy deposits the bowl of halved grapes onto the table as Jee pipes up.
“What’s a tray-key-o-mommy?”
Tommy looks wide-eyed at Buck. Buck shakes his head. Tommy brought it up: Tommy can explain it. Hopefully in a way that won’t scar Jee, unlike the pale line at the base of his neck Buck sometimes catches himself idly rubbing.
“Uh, well, sweetheart,” Tommy stumbles, turning redder and redder. “Sometimes people need help, uh, breathing. Your Uncle Buck was very silly once, so they had to give him one.”
Jee, mollified, gives Buck a mushy cracker filled smile. “Uncle Buck IS silly.”
“That he is.”
“Okay, okay,” Buck interrupts, only slightly concerned they’re already ganging up on him. “We’re burning daylight. Jee, finish your snack while I pack our bags for our trip to the aquarium, okay?”
🪼🪼🪼
Tommy’s driving, alone in the front of the jeep. Evan is sitting in the back with Jee. At least that means Tommy has complete control over the radio and doesn’t have to deal with Evan changing the station every thirty-five seconds.
Why is his boyfriend crammed back there, knees pinned to chest? So that he and Jee can go over the aquarium map, plotting out their entire day to fit the most things in. It’s adorable and concerning – Tommy’s pretty sure Evan didn’t walk out of the house with a clipboard, which means he must leave at least two in the jeep. There’s one for him and one for Jee.
“Okay Miss Jee, today’s there’s a sea lion show; or we can watch them feed the otters at the same time. Which would you rather do?”
There’s a moment where Evan makes eye contact with Tommy through the rearview mirror, blue eyes pleading. Right. There’s a surcharge for the sea lion experience, one that Tommy needs to forget exists and never mention to Maddie. Tommy bestows Evan with a wink. He has zero desire to get in between the Buckley siblings, especially where money is involved. (Once while they were all out to eat, Evan had ‘gone to the bathroom’, only to return in a snit. He’d tried to slip his credit card to the server, only to learn that Maddie had called ahead and already given them her card info.)
“Sea lions!” Jee exclaims somewhat dubiously, as if it should’ve been exceedingly obvious to Evan. Tommy sneaks another glance in the rearview and is treated to one of Evan’s soft smiles. One almost exclusively reserved for Christopher and Jee.
“Of course,” replies Evan amiably, crossing off something on his list industriously. Jee mimics the motion on her own clipboard.
As they park, Evan unbuckles Jee as he gives her a patented Buckley safety briefing.
“Alright, and if we get separated, you find a nice worker right away, okay? They have blue polos AND radios. They’ll page us right away.”
Jee, used to these speeches from both her parents, her uncle, and just about every other adult in her life, rolls her eyes. Tommy’s not sure if that’s something she got from Maddie or Chimney, or disturbingly, maybe both.
“Or they’ll call 9-1-1” Tommy leans over and whispers.
“And with my luck, Maddie will be the one who will take the call.”
🐙🐙🐙
Honestly, they should have planned to bring Jee all along. Not that he and Tommy wouldn’t have had a good time regardless; the aquarium is great. But there’s something extra special about experiencing it with a child. The way Jee’s eyes light up with delight at every brightly colored fish? Her giggles as they flit around through the environment, whimsically moving to and fro? The squeals of joy when they do something unexpected? Buck wants to bottle the feeling and save it for the next time he’s feeling down.
Besides, Jee moves at a glacial pace – which is perfect for Buck, who likes to linger and soak it all in. Tommy appreciates it, sure, but he’s a little more efficient by nature. Now it's two against one. Tommy’s a great sport about it; Buck could only imagine the sighs and impatient foot tapping there’d be if he went with someone like Taylor. Even Eddie gets antsy – it’s why zoo dates quickly became just Buck and Chris time. Tommy? Tommy’s content to watch Buck watch Jee, a lopsided smile etched onto his face.
They’ve been watching the clownfish for maybe five minutes, Jee as close to the glass as she can get as the fish zips in and out of the anemone.
“So, the clownfish and the amemories are friends?”
“Anemones,” Buck corrects gently. “And yes. The anemone protects the clownfish from predators. It’ll sting anything that gets too close. In return, the clownfish cleans the anemone, helps keep it fed, and scares off any fish that might try to eat it.”
Jee’s face wrinkles. “It doesn’t look very tasty.”
“I –” Buck pauses. “You know, I think humans eat it in southern Spain. Pretty sure they fry it – and well, everything tastes better fried.”
Jee considers this for a moment, as if Buck had imparted some rare nugget of wisdom and not a basic fact of the universe.
“I’m hungry,” Jee decides, finally pulling away from the glass. “Do you think they have a-nem-o-knees to eat here?”
“Uh, probably not, but let's find out, okay? I’m sure they have something your mom wouldn’t want you to eat.”
Tommy snorts as they start walking towards the nearest snack cart. He leans in close to Buck, “I’m imagining a lot of Finding Nemo in the future at the Han household. Howie is not going to be a happy camper.”
Snack obtained (and really, it's only 95% sugar so maybe Maddie won’t kill Evan at the end of the day) they return to their wandering. Jee marvels at the octopuses as Evan valiantly tries to clean her sticky hands and face with a wet nap. Octopi? Octopodes? Just octopus? Evan once went on a rant about how English is really just four different languages in a trench coat, which was as illuminating as it was hard to follow. At least three minutes of said rant were spent waxing eloquent about the correct plural of octopus – and Tommy can’t remember which. Maybe because there wasn’t actually a correct answer?
Nonetheless, there are several of those creatures, which means dozens of tentacles for Jee to be enamored with.
“Hey, Jee. Did I ever tell you about the time -mmmph” Tommy slaps a hand over Evan’s mouth. He knows exactly what story Evan was about to tell, and it’s not one Howie or Maddie would be pleased for their daughter to hear. A woman had gotten an octopus to the face, and it was an entire experience to get the octopus to detach. He gives Evan a warning look before removing his hand. Jee is looking suspiciously at the two of them.
“The time that I learned some octopuses have donut shaped brains?”
“That’s so silly, Uncle Buck.”
“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”
Jee spends another minute pondering the mysteries of octopi brains before deciding to move onto the next great adventure. They round the corner and come face to face with the gift shop. Tommy isn’t sure whose eyes light up more, but both Evan and Jee are off like flashes, leaving Tommy to follow in their wake. By the time he catches up with them, Buck’s already got a stack of books (“They’re educational, they don’t count!”) and Jee has made her way to a wall of stuffed animals.
“Wow, lots of choices here, Miss Jee. Anything catch your eye?”
There’s some hemming and hawing from the six-year-old, debating the merits of a lion or a jellyfish, but Tommy can’t help but notice how she keeps looking longingly at a stuffed blue whale. A whale that’s about the same size she is.
Maddie and Howie would have a conniption.
Tommy grabs it.
“What about this one? Whales are super cool, right?”
“Yea-yeah,” Jee admits, awed, as she accepts the whale, hugging it.
“Tommy…” Evan hisses, peering over his shoulder at the price tag while Jee’s distracted. “That’s a car payment. Besides, Maddie will kill you.”
A car payment is a slight exaggeration. But only slightly.
“Nope,” Tommy answers, turning towards Evan and giving him a wink. “Maddie’s gonna kill you, which works just fine for me.”
“C’mon Jee. Let’s check out before your Uncle Buck buys anything else.” Tommy takes Jee’s hand and heads towards the registers, leaving a spluttering Evan to chase after them while grabbing even more gifts along the way.
🐋🐋🐋
They’re leaving the gift store when Jee spots the sea lions. (If anyone asks about the bulging bags, Buck is stocking up for Christmas and birthdays for all of the kids. It certainly isn’t all for Jee. Especially since the stuffie Tommy got for her is clearly her favorite, not that Buck is jealous or anything). They’ll be seeing them a little later for the show, but the sea lions are swimming now and Buck doesn’t have it in him to redirect Jee towards the Lorikeet Forest.
You know, the next stop on the plan they agreed to a couple hours ago.
Buck lets himself be dragged over while Jee positively thrums with delight, Tommy tagging dutifully after them. While the three of them watch the funny mammals dive and swim, Buck’s phone starts buzzing. And buzzing. And buzzing.
“Your mom must be on a break, Jee! She’s sending so many messages”
Buck pulls out his phone and ignores the first five or so messages, responding only to the latest.
How’s everything going?
Great! Jee is having a wonderful time 😊
How about you and Tommy?
Oh yeah. It’s been a great day! We’re about to feed the lorikeets
Don’t you have to pay for that? Let me know how much and I’ll venmo you
…
I am offended.
Okay, okay! Just don’t go too buck wild in the gift shop. Our house isn’t that big.
😇
Sister suitably mollified, Buck looks up from his phone to realize there is a distinct lack of Jee standing next to him. Buck frantically pivots, scanning the area for his niece.
Shark Lagoon? No Jee.
Jellyfish? No Jee.
Gift Store? No Jee.
Buck freezes. You’re supposed to stay in the area when a kid goes missing; they usually haven’t gone very far. But you’re also supposed to tell an employee right away, and there’s not one within reach. He swings his head side to side wildly, rooted to the spot. Usually when his fight or flight is activated, he’s a fighter. Right now, he’s frozen. He needs to move. They need to lock down the park, do a sweep, call in the scent dogs. Helicopter search and rescue. Full press. Buck will turn over every stone at the aquarium and personally search every guest.
Maddie’s going to kill him.
With his luck, if they call 9-1-1, she’s definitely going to be the one to take the call. He shouldn’t have made that joke earlier; it definitely jinxed him.
Just as he’s made up his mind to leave the area and go find a team member, a familiar tinkling laugh slices through his panic. He whips around to find Tommy and Jee, hands laden with cups of nectar, walking out of the little shop. He hadn’t even noticed that Tommy was missing as well (though, he trusts his boyfriend can manage himself – mostly it’s him that Tommy needs to worry about). Tommy’s smiling down at Jee, nose crinkling in delight as Jee talks about all the pets she is going to ask her mom and dad to get for their house. Jee’s wondering if the hot tub is an acceptable environment for the fish she wants to get.
Tommy, ever the instigator, is encouraging her to ask Chimney when they get home.
“Hey!” Buck tries – and fails – to sound normal. Jee buys it, but Tommy gives a little frown. “Ready for the lorikeets? Looks like you’re all nectared up.”
“That we are. Got some for you too.” Tommy passes over a cup and gives Buck a quick peck on the cheek. “Sorry, babe, didn’t mean to make you worry.”
Buck’s laugh is a little hysterical. “I wasn’t worried. Not at all.”
Tommy, graciously, does not call Buck out on the blatant lie. Jee leads them into the Lorikeet Forest, where the brightly colored tropical birds are only too happy to greet them. Or at least the nectar they come bearing. Jee immediately makes a friend, a medium sized member of the parrot family perching on her shoulder.
“Uncle Buck, Tommy, look!” Jee raises the cup of nectar to the bird, who happily gorges itself on the sweet substance.
“Wow, Jee, you’re basically a pirate!”
“Arrrgh!”
Buck and Tommy both soon have friends of their own. Unfortunately for Tommy, and much to Buck and Jee’s amusement, a lorikeet perches on the top of his head. The bird refuses all attempts at relocation. It’s quite content to basically nest in Tommy’s hair, to his annoyance and Jee’s glee. The group chat is probably getting tired of all the photo updates, but how can Buck not share two of his favorite people living out their latent Disney princess fantasies?
🦜🦜🦜
After they work their way through the Lorikeet Forest, and finally convince the bird that had stubbornly remained on Tommy’s head the entire time that they were indeed out of nectar, it’s time for lunch.
Feeling a bit guilty for the heart attack he almost gave Evan earlier, Tommy tells Evan to find a table and he’ll grab food for them. Tommy holds back a snort when he scans the menu. No Ortiguillas fritas on the menu, but plenty of other ocean-based options. Just what kind of aquarium serves seafood?
Of course, Tommy orders the fish tacos. How could he not? It’s not his usual fare, but the irony tickles his fancy. Tommy grabs a grilled cheese for Jee and a cheeseburger for Evan; his boyfriend definitely won’t appreciate a platter of fish’n’chips. As it is, Evan takes one look at Tommy’s meal and shakes his head.
They sit in silence for a few minutes – truly a rarity in Tommy’s life now – as the food is basically inhaled. Watching them eat, Tommy has no doubt that those two are definitely related. It’s concerning as it is impressive; Tommy doesn’t even try to keep up. The food perks Jee up, and Evan walks her over to the child’s play area while Tommy finishes up his meal at a normal person’s rate.
If Tommy tried to get on a playground right after eating he would not be having a good time, but apparently the Buckley bloodline bestows an iron stomach upon its descendants. Eventually he wanders over as well, watching Evan and Jee clamber over and around the equipment. Evan’s so great with her – even if he might be spoiling her rotten (not that Tommy can say much – he’s still lugging around the giant whale).
“Oh, I know that look.” Tommy startles, turning to the woman next to him. He hadn’t noticed her walking up.
“Sorry!” the woman says, holding back a laugh. “You were so busy with the heart eyes I should’ve realized you hadn’t seen me.”
“Uh, what – the – eyes?”
That earns Tommy a sympathetic smile. She gestures at Evan and Jee. “The let’s have another kid look.”
Tommy’s brain short circuits. “Oh. No. Well, it’s – uh, niece?”
Somehow, she’s able to make sense of that word salad. “Ah, slightly different look then. The lets have one of our own instead.”
She pats his shoulder and then lopes off towards her own children, leaving Tommy somewhat staggered. Especially as the more he thinks about it, and the more he looks at Evan and Jee, the more he’s finding he kind of likes the idea.
Lost in thought, he also misses when Evan and Jee finally disentangle themselves from the equipment and head over. Evan at least has the sense to wave at Tommy until he finally snaps back into the present moment.
“Thinking big thoughts?”
“Uh, yeah. Something like that.”
“Ooookay,” Evan stretches out the word, unsure if he should press or not. “About time to head over to the sea lion show, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah let’s go.”
They make their way to the auditorium and towards their seats. There’s a small stage with a pool, and shortly some trainers are trotting out with sea lions in tow. Tommy’s not sure who is more enraptured by the sea lions; Jee or Evan. Both are leaning forward on the bench, hanging onto the trainers’ every word. He spends as much time watching them as he does the sea lions. It’s pretty much the perfect experience; educational and entertaining. The sea lions are good for some tricks; Tommy is endeared by how they wave their front flippers or flip balls around with their snouts.
He’s already preparing for the inevitable argument with Jee – and Evan, actually – about why they can’t bring one of the sea lions home. Then one of the trainers asks for volunteers, and Jee is just about leaping out of her seat, arms stretched to the sky. Tommy seizes the moment and well, seizes Jee, hoisting her aloft. It might be an unfair trick to grab the trainer’s attention, but it works.
The trainer points right at Jee, who is stunned at being chosen. With some encouragement and the lightest of shoves, she’s racing down the stairs and towards the stage with a couple of other kids. Jee’s handed a fish, much to her disgust if the face she’s making is any indication. She tosses it towards one of the sea lions, who thanks her for the treat by planting a very wet kiss on her cheek.
Beaming, she rushes back up to where Tommy and Evan are sitting. Jee’s over the moon and spends the rest of the performance quietly gushing about how cool it was.
🐠🐠🐠
All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately for Buck, the end of the good day and the end of their aquarium trip don’t quite line up. After the sea lion show, they return to ambling around the aquarium, and it must be a bit anticlimactic, as Jee starts lagging a little bit. She’s tired out by a day’s worth of excitement and a belly full of food.
Mostly sugar. Sorry, Mads.
She’s resisted any attempts for Buck or Tommy to carry her, insisting that she’s a big girl and doesn’t need to be picked up. So, they adjust their stride accordingly. It’s almost comical, two six foot plus men taking shuffling steps to stay apace with a six-year-old. It’s fine, until Jee takes a little stumble. There are four hands darting out, steadying her and keeping her upright.
“You know, Jee?” Tommy starts, and Buck’s not sure where his boyfriend is going but he’s a little nervous. Jee has an independent streak a mile wide – as she should – and she’s not one to be wheedled into something she doesn’t want to do.
“If you ride on your Uncle Buck’s shoulders, you’ll be able to see so much. You’d practically be touching the sky.”
Mmm, nice try by Tommy, but by her hesitant expression, Jee’s not buying. Tommy must sense this, because he tacks on. “Well, if you don’t want to, then I will. I want to see EVERYTHING. Right, Evan?”
“Right, that’s right. C’mon Tommy, if Jee doesn’t want to, hop aboard.” Buck sinks to one knee, tapping his shoulder. He’s not sure if Jee’s going to call the bluff, but if she doesn’t, well, he’s more than capable of carrying Tommy on his shoulders. Not sure how the aquarium staff will feel about it, but he’s done weirder things and they’ve probably seen their fair share of weird. Tommy’s barely lifted a leg to swing around Buck’s shoulder before Jee’s calling out.
“Wait, no me!”
With a chuckle, Tommy lowers his leg as Jee runs up. Tommy picks her up and plops her right onto Buck’s shoulders.
“Hang on tight, Jee!” Buck calls out as he stands up with an exaggerated whoosh . Jee fists her hand in his hair, which – ouch, but at least she’s not going anywhere. Tommy remains behind them as Buck stands, a hand hovering by Jee’s back, ready to catch her if she falls.
“Alright, how is that?”
“Great, thank you Uncle Buck!”
“How’s the weather up there, kiddo?” calls Tommy, whisper-shouting like she’s far away. “You’ll have to let us know if it starts raining. You’ll know way before us.”
His boyfriend is a total dork. Buck is besotted; Jee’s not much better, giggling at her Tommy.
“Do you think I could see my house from up here?” Jee wonders.
“I bet you can! We’ll try, but first, we need to go say hi to the sharks.”
There is a schedule to keep to, after all. Much happier perched atop Buck’s shoulders, Jee merrily acquiesces to the redirect. They walk through the exhibit, staring at the sharks. Some of them even stare back.
“Hey Jee – did you know, you can’t break a shark’s bones?”
“Really?” Jee sounds suspicious, and Buck glances upwards, tilting his head back, trying to catch his niece at the edge of his vision.
“Really,” he replies. “Though, mostly it’s because they don’t really have bones. It’s all cartilage. Like you have in your ears.”
“Whoa,” Jee sounds suitably amazed.
“Yeah. Alright, what do we want to do now? We can do another exhibit before it’s time to go home.”
“I want to see them feed the otters.”
Oh no.
“Jee, the otters already had their lunch, remember? We saw the sea lion show, wasn’t that fun? You got a kiss!”
“We should’ve seen the otters. Why did you make us see the sea lions? When are they feeding them again?” Jee’s voice is wobbly, and she punctuates her demand with an almighty sniff. Buck can’t actually see her, but glancing at Tommy tells him everything he needs to know. His niece must be screwing up her face something fierce.
“Oh, Jee. I think they’re all full. It wouldn’t be good for them to eat too much, we don’t want them to get a tummy ache.”
“Well, I have a tummy ache!”
“I’m sorry, princess. Do you want to go home?”
That was the wrong thing to say. Jee hiccups a sob and Buck can feel the hot tears sprinkling onto his head.
“No-o-o-o. I don’t wanna go home!”
Every other time Jee’s been upset, Buck’s been able to fix it. Or bribe himself out of trouble. He wouldn’t be above buying off a zookeeper to maybe throw a couple sardines if it would placate Jee, but something tells him it’s probably not actually about the otters. They’ve also eaten their way through the entire aquarium, and they’ve basically bought out the gift store. Buck is out of his element, a sobbing Jee on his shoulders, and no convenient bribe or redirection makes itself known. Buck, at a loss, just stares at Tommy.
Tommy, who has less experience with kids than Buck does.
They are so screwed.
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Tommy is stepping forward and plucking Jee from Buck’s shoulders. He settles her on his hip, and she bawls into the crook of his shoulder. Buck slips the gift store bags off of Tommy’s wrist with a rueful shrug. Tommy takes off at a quick pace, shooting apologetic grimaces at the other visitors while Jee howls. Most give him gracious, long-suffering smiles – they’ve all been there – as Buck jogs to catch up.
“We can come back another day to watch them feed the otters,” Buck bargains with his niece, earning a fond eye roll from Tommy. It doesn’t work.
“I want to see them today!”
Tommy zigs and zags until they find an out of the way spot where they won’t be disturbing the other visitors or animals. Buck looks at his boyfriend, completely out of his depth as to handle a meltdown. Usually, he hands Jee back to Maddie before this point, or she goes down for a nap. Naps solve everything; Buck would love to be napping right now.
“It’s okay, Evan. Sometimes kids just get tired and overstimulated,” Tommy turns his head to whisper in Buck’s ear. “They just gotta cry it out.”
“Oh.”
That doesn’t feel like a great solution to Buck, but he’s out of ideas. Buck’s a fixer, and not particularly patient; the idea that the solution is to wait it out while his niece is in distress runs counter to just about everything. He watches his niece sob into his boyfriend’s shirt. His boyfriend, who is looking down at his charge with a fond smile, rubbing her back and making comforting noises. Not an iota of irritation, or embarrassment, or frustration crosses his face. It’s kind of overwhelming to look at.
Tommy would make such a great dad.
“Evan, are you – you’re crying.” Tommy reaches over and wipes a stray tear from Buck’s cheek. “It’s okay, we’re gonna be okay.”
“I’m a sympathetic crier”
Despite his misgivings, Tommy’s plan appears to be working. The howls peter off into sniffles, and Buck holds back a grimace at how soaked his boyfriend’s shirt is when Jee finally emerges.
“Can-can we come back to see the otters?”
“Absolutely.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Oh,” Buck shoots Tommy a harried look. He’s got a shift tomorrow, and Jee almost certainly has school. “Let me talk to your mom, find a day? But it will be real soon.”
They’ve gone through their day’s agenda – Buck had left some time at the end in case they ran behind or there was something Jee wanted to see before they left. A single shared look with Tommy and they’re agreed; time to start working back to the car, but they’ll stop by the touch pools to end the day on a high note. A still sniffling Jee is more than content to have Tommy carry her, still recovering from her little cry (which is exactly how Buck will describe the incident to anyone, especially Maddie and Chim).
Tommy sets her down when they arrive, and it’s like the breakdown never happened. Jee excitedly runs up to the pool, giggling as she pets the different mantas. Buck shares a shrug with Tommy. They dutifully touch the animals Jee instructs them to, and Buck makes them all use the hand sanitizer liberally when they’re done.
🦈🦈🦈
Evan is driving them back to Maddie’s – she got off shift about the same time they called it a day – and Jee insists Tommy sit in the back with her. They go through one of the books Evan bought for her, mostly looking at the pictures and picking up on the simple words she knows. Jee will point at a section and ask Tommy to read it out loud with her.
All too soon, they’re pulling up to the house, and Maddie meets them at the door, frowning at the giant blue whale that mostly obscures her daughter. Jee darts inside, dragging her whale stuffie with her.
“Daddy! Come look at what Uncle Tommy bought me!”
“Oh, looks like someone got an upgrade.” The frown is gone, replaced with a smirk. Evan is beaming; Tommy is sure he’s blushing. “Uncle Tommy has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
Speechless, Tommy merely nods.
“Jee!” Maddie turns, calling into the house. “Did you tell your uncles thank you?”
There’s a six-year-old rocket, Jee reappearing and slamming into Evan’s legs, hugging him.
“Thank you, Uncle Buck!”
Then the rocket comes right for Tommy, but he’s a little more prepared. He kneels down to catch Jee in an actual hug.
“Thanks Uncle Tommy. I love my whale!”
“You’re welcome, sweet –” but Jee’s already run off back inside again. Tommy looks up at Maddie. “Well, there goes my evil plan to blame everything, especially the whale, on Evan.”
“Oh no, that’s fine. We can still blame him for it.”
“Hey! No ganging up on me. It’s bad enough when Tommy and Eddie do it. You’re my sister, you’re supposed to be on my side.”
Maddie rolls her eyes. “So, how was she? Other than spoiled.”
“Good, good!” Evan scratches the back of his head. “I uh, may have promised her a return trip? To see the otters?”
“Oh, Evan. Some day you’re going to have to learn how to say no.”
“Uh, maybe, maybe not? At least not with Jee.”
Maddie couldn’t have teed them up for the conversation better, but Tommy hesitates. He doesn’t bring it up on the drive back, only in part because he’s afraid Evan might crash the car. Dinner is a little stilted, but there’s a moment of reprieve as Chimney texts them both, demanding to know why Jee is asking if the hot tub is big enough for a sea lion.
It’s not until they’re getting ready for bed that Evan calls him on it.
“Okay, you’ve had the thinking cap on since we dropped Jee off. Was it – did you not have fun? I can take her myself next time, if you don’t want to go. Or – is this about the saying no thing? I can, if I really have to. I know I let those eyes get to me but –”
“Evan, no,” Tommy cuts in before his boyfriend spirals any further as they both get under the covers. “I had a great time with you and Jee today. In fact, it was so great, I was thinking about, well, what if we had that every day? Not – not the aquarium specifically, but…”
He can feel Evan relax next to him. “Really – because, maybe I had a similar thought today?”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Buck leans over to give him a peck good night. “I’m not saying yes or no – but let's talk more? Look at what our options might be?”
It’s with those thoughts that Tommy drifts off to sleep, dreaming happily of his family with Evan.