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It had been over a month since Maddie and Chimney had got married. Chimney had finally been released from the hospital after what felt like the longest three weeks to the freshly married couple. And while they both had zero regrets about the way they had got married (neither had wanted a large wedding in the first place, so a tiny wedding surrounded by their closest friends and family – albeit in a hospital wing – had been perfect), they had rued the fact that they hadn’t been able to celebrate with their loved ones properly. It was a hospital after all, and the medical staff had been wonderful, but they could allow that many people to stay crammed into a tiny hospital wing for only so long.
So, when they heard from Albert that he was finally coming home from a months long stint in Africa, Maddie and Chim had taken one look at each other and unilaterally decided that they would throw a belated wedding reception in their backyard so that Chim’s brother could get a chance to celebrate their marriage along with his old friends from the 118.
“I wish I’d been here for your wedding – it sounded… eventful,” Albert said on the day of the reception. He and Chimney were in the kitchen plating up the last of the food that they were going to serve. It wasn’t long before people were due to arrive, and this was the last of the preparations. Maddie was currently in Jee’s room helping her get ready and Buck, who had been there all day helping to set up, had also disappeared into the bathroom not long ago to get changed into his suit.
“Talk about an understatement,” Chim agreed. “We’ll definitely never forget it – which is ironic, considering I had lost my memory.”
Chim had just picked up a couple of plates to take to the buffet table they had set up in the back yard when there was a knock at the door.
“Hey Albert, can you get that? That’s probably Buck’s partner with the drinks.”
“I didn’t know Buck had a girlfriend,” Albert said on the way to the door. Chim hid a smile and quickly put the plates where they needed to be before rushing back, peering around the corner in eager anticipation.
“Oh!” Albert said in surprise when he noticed the 6”2, heavily built man standing at the doorway dressed in a suit. “Can I help you?”
“You must be Albert,” Tommy smiled. “I’m Tommy. I’d shake your hand, but my hands are a bit full.”
Tommy lifted the boxes of beer and wine he was balancing in his arms.
“Let the man in, would you?” Chim called. “Those can’t be getting any lighter.”
“Oh, sure, sure, sorry,” Albert hurriedly, stepping aside. “Let me help you with that.”
“Thanks,” Tommy said as Albert grabbed one of the cartons. “Where do you want these?” he asked Chim.
“Just place them on the counter for now, we’ll sort them out in a minute.”
Once Albert had set down his load, he turned to face Tommy. “So, you’re a firefighter?”
“I am,” Tommy said. “Going on 20 years now.”
“So, what’s happened to Eddie?”
Tommy’s brow furrowed in concern. “Nothing as far as I know.” He turned to Chim. “Has something happened to Eddie? Is he hurt or something?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Albert insisted hurriedly. “I’m sure he’s fine. Sorry, my mind’s all over the place – blame it on the jet lag. When Howie said that he was expecting Buck’s partner I assumed he meant a girlfriend. I didn’t realise he had a new partner at work – I thought he and Eddie would be inseparable.”
Tommy’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment before filling with mirth. “Oh, they still are – I try to squeeze in any time with him where I can, but it can be hard with our differing schedules,” he joked, his lips curving at the corners. “I don’t work at the 118 – I’m a pilot over at Harbour.”
It was Albert’s turn to frown in confusion. “So, you’re… not Buck’s partner?”
“Oh no, he is,” Buck said as he entered the kitchen, now dressed in his suit and a wide, amused smile gracing his features. “You were closer with your first guess – Tommy is my boyfriend.”
Albert’s mouth unconsciously dropped a little in shock at the revelation as Buck walked over to said boyfriend.
Tommy’s gaze travelled slowly up and down Buck’s body. “Wow,” was all he managed to say.
“Right back at ya,” Buck grinned coyly. When he reached Tommy, his hands moved to gently caress the front of Tommy’s jacket before gripping it gently and pulling Tommy in for a quick peck on the lips. “I knew you’d look good in a suit.”
Slipping an arm around Tommy’s waist as Tommy did the same to him, Buck turned towards his former roommate. “I suppose I should make formal introductions. Tommy, this is Chim’s brother Albert. Albert, my boyfriend Tommy Kinard.”
With his left arm still firmly latched onto Buck’s hip, Tommy reached forward and extended his free hand towards Albert. “Nice to meet you.”
Albert shook himself out of his stupor and grasped the proffered hand. “Likewise. Sorry for all that. I had no idea. Would have been nice if someone had been more specific when he mentioned you,” Albert said, throwing Chim a dirty look. Chim merely grinned, practically squirming with glee at the situation unfolding before him.
“Cost of a flight back to the US? $1500. Cost of the Uber to collect your brother from the airport? $45. The look on your face when you realised your mistake? Priceless.”
“Don’t worry about it, Albert,” Buck said as Tommy laughed beside him. “You’re not exactly the first person to be shocked to find out that I’m dating a guy. I just hope this isn’t going to cause any issues…?”
“What, no way,” Albert immediately replied. “It’s cool, as long as you’re happy.”
Buck turned back to Tommy, his blue eyes turning soft. “Yeah, I am,” he admitted, dropping another quick kiss on Tommy’s waiting lips.
“Alright you two,” Chim grouched. “If there’s going to be any excessive amounts of sap and PDA it’s going to be from me and my wife, considering its our reception.”
“Sure thing Chim,” Buck grinned, and disentangled himself reluctantly from his boyfriend’s grasp. “Now let’s sort out what to do with this booze.”
“Oh, is Tommy here with the drinks,” Maddy asked, rounding the corner with Jee in her arms. Both girls were back in their wedding day gear – bridal gown for Maddie, flower girl dress for Jee. They had decided to wear their wedding outfits again since Chimney (and many of their guests) had never had a chance to wear theirs. Well, Chimney got to wear his suit jacket over his hospital gown, but it wasn’t really the same thing.
“Wow,” Albert said appreciatively. “Maddie, you look beautiful.”
“Why thank you Albert. I always knew you’d be my favourite brother-in-law,” she said with a wink.
“Doesn’t it feel weird to be back in your wedding dress?” Buck asked.
“Hell no. How often does a girl get an opportunity to wear her wedding dress again? This thing cost me a fortune – I’m getting my money’s worth,” she joked, placing Jee down on the floor.
The little girl looked around at all the adult faces and realised there was a new face that had arrived. “Sooty man!” she called, beaming.
“Sooty man?” Albert asked in confusion as Chim threw his head back and laughed.
“Oh man, I hope that name sticks,” he crowed, and Tommy grinned.
“Hey, it could be worse. And tell you the truth, I don’t mind it.” Tommy looked down at the little girl and his smile softened. “Hey there Jee, what do you have there.”
Jee held up a zebra figurine she had clutched in her tiny hand. “Uncle Albert got it from Africa.”
“Wow,” Tommy said appreciatively. “Are you going to add it with the others?”
Jee shook her head adamantly. “No, this one’s special.”
Tommy bent down on one knee to have a closer look at the toy before nodding solemnly. “Totally agree. It needs to be in its own special spot.”
Albert snuck a glance at Buck and immediately noticed the intense adoration painting his features as he watched his niece interact with his boyfriend. Buck, with a boyfriend. The funny thing was, while it was a surprise when he first got the news, (thanks a lot Howard) he found that now he had processed the information, it made sense. Looking back there were certainly signs – even if Buck hadn’t seen them himself. But he couldn’t deny in the few short minutes that he’s seen them together that Buck was absolutely smitten.
They were interrupted by the sound of yet another knock at the front door.
“Looks like everyone is starting to arrive. Guys, can you put the drinks on ice for me?” Chim asked Tommy, Buck and Albert as he headed towards the front door. “Let’s get this party started, shall we?”
***********************
A few hours later, everyone had arrived, and the reception was in full swing. Hen and Karen were dancing out on the impromptu dance floor they had made in the back yard, as was Maddie with Mara and Jee. Chris and Denny were huddled around some sort of video game (from what he could see, Albert thinks it was a Switch), and Bobby and Athena were deep in conversation with Eddie and Josh.
Albert, who had been dancing with Jee as his partner a few minutes ago before handing her over to her mother, was heading over to one of the tables where there was still some food. Chim was standing next to the table, laughing along with Buck and Tommy at something, the latter two cradling a beer in their free hand, as they stood once again with their arms resting lightly around each other’s waists.
“Hey Albert, having fun with Jee?” Buck asked as he approached.
“Of course,” Albert said. “She’s such a little bundle of energy. I can’t believe how much she’s grown since I last saw her.”
“I still remember the day I held her in my arms for the first time like it was yesterday,” Chim said wistfully. “I can’t believe that was four years ago.”
“A lot has changed since then,” Buck added. “Jee was this teeny tiny little thing, you and I were living together and desperately single…”
“You two were living together?” Tommy asked curiously.
“Covid,” was all Buck said and Tommy nodded with an “ah” of understanding.
“Hey, I’m still desperately single. Maybe I should branch out and start looking for a guy instead, might have better luck,” Albert joked. “It clearly worked for you.”
“Well, it might not be for everyone, but I highly recommend it,” Buck said cheekily, letting his hand that was on Tommy’s waist slide down momentarily to playfully squeeze Tommy’s ass. Tommy grinned and tugged Buck closer into his side.
“So, how long have you two been together?” Albert asked, grabbing a plate and perusing his options.
“Seven weeks, more or less,” Tommy said promptly. “Although…” Tommy turned to look at his boyfriend. “Are we counting from our first kiss or our first date?”
“First kiss,” Buck said definitively. “Our first date was a disaster.”
“But at least it was memorable. It was my first time I’d ever been on a date with an ally,” Tommy said with a grin.
Buck scowled at Tommy, but Albert saw his mouth twitching as if he was trying desperately not to smile. “Ha ha, wise guy.”
“What happened?” Albert asked.
“Yeah, I’m curious too, I’ve never heard the story,” Chim said.
Buck blushed. “I uh, may have acted a bit like an idiot.”
“But that’s normal for you,” Chim interjected, and Buck turned his scowl towards his brother-in-law, who merely cocked his head and smiled sweetly in response.
“You weren’t an idiot,” Tommy denied. “Everything was new for you – I told you, you had nothing to apologise for.”
“Yeah, except for the fact that less than five minutes after you told me you were done hiding who you really were I rammed you right back into the closet,” Buck scoffed. He turned to the Han brothers to explain. “Look, to be fair, the date started out great. Great food at a nice little Italian restaurant. But then Eddie showed up and I… kind of freaked. It was my first date with a guy, and I hadn’t come out yet, so I lied about why we were there. Said we were uh, “going to go pick up some hot chicks” after.”
Chim winced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. Date ended not long after that.” Buck turned to Tommy. “I still can’t believe you gave me a second chance.”
“Well, like I told Chim,” Tommy said, dropping a soft kiss on Buck’s birthmark. “I’m a sucker for a nice smile. There was no way I could deny you when you asked to meet up again.”
“Awww,” Chim said teasingly, and Buck threw him yet another filthy look, eliciting a cackle from Chim.
“Anyway, first kiss, so just over 7 weeks,” Buck reiterated. “Besides, I think that the kiss that awakened my latent bisexuality was pretty memorable as well,” he added with a grin.
“What was memorable?” Maddie asked breathlessly as she wandered over from the dance floor where she had left Jee and Mara to continue dancing with Hen and Karen.
“We were just discussing Buck’s disastrous first date,” Albert told his new sister-in-law.
“Oh. Which one?” she teased.
“Ha ha, Buck sucks at first dates, I get it. You’re all a bunch of comedians,” Buck said wryly, but with a fond smile gracing his features.
Albert noticed Tommy cocking his head to the side as he listened to the new song that had started playing. Smiling in recognition, he placed his beer down on the table and stepped away from Buck, extending a hand. “Dance with me.”
“What?” Buck asked in surprise, looking almost confused at the hand that was offered to him. Tommy’s eyes only seemed to sparkle brighter.
“You told me the reason you wanted to invite me to your sister’s wedding was because you needed someone to dance with. So, Evan, may I have this dance?”
Albert swore he could see Buck’s heart swoop in his chest as he smiled, and he couldn’t blame him, because man, was this guy smooth.
“Well, it’s not the only reason I asked you,” Buck said with a fond smile, as he placed his own beer bottle on the table and grasped Tommy’s hand, allowing him to be pulled onto the dance floor. He couldn’t hear what they were saying once they got out there, but from where he was standing it looked like there was a little fumbling as Buck seemingly didn’t know where to put his hands before Tommy laughed and clasped one of Buck’s hands and held it close to his chest as he pulled the other man close. His other hand slipped around Buck’s waist and Buck’s free arm automatically wound around Tommy’s broad shoulders as the pair began gently swaying to the tune. He could see their lips moving as they talked softly, their eyes never leaving each other.
“Man, I can’t believe Buck is…” he trailed off, trying to think of the word.
“Bi?” Chim suggested.
“Nah, that doesn’t actually surprise me all that much really,” Albert confessed.
“Really?” Maddie and Chim said together.
“Because your face said otherwise when you found out,” Chim teased.
“That’s because I had been misled,” Albert accused. “Not to mention the fact that his boyfriend is…” Albert gestured a hand in Tommy’s direction. “That.”
“Yeah, I get ya,” Maddie agreed, and Chim looked at her with a look of mock betrayal plastered onto his face. “What, I have eyes. Tommy is hot.”
“Yeah ok, I’ll give you that,” he acquiesced. “Plus, at the end of the day, you still went ahead and married me.”
“Yeah I did,” Maddie grinned, leaning forward and giving Chim a kiss.
“Anyway,” Albert drawled, interrupting the newlyweds. “What I was going to say was… content. I don’t think I’ve seen Buck so sure of himself before.”
“It’s amazing what meeting the right person will do to you,” Chim said, wrapping an arm around his wife and pulling her in to fit snugly against his side.
“How did they meet exactly, do you know?”
“Of course, I introduced them. It was a case of grand theft aero,” Chim said glibly.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Bobby and Athena’s cruise ship went missing,” Maddie explained. “So, Howie called Tommy, who is an old friend of his, and asked him to help them steal –”
“Borrow,” Chim interjected.
“Sorry, borrow,” Maddie amended, “a helicopter and fly them into a hurricane to go find them.”
“Badass,” Albert said in awe.
“Yeah, it kind of was,” Chim agreed. “I can see why Buck got all starry eyed over him.”
Speaking of starry eyed, Albert’s attention was diverted to the couple in question when he heard Buck’s laugh. Tommy had released Buck’s waist and pushed him away with the hand that was still firmly clasped in Buck’s grip, only to spin him back into his arms and resume their gentle swaying, their eyes back on each other, their smiles wider than ever.
“Hey, what’s the name of this song?” Albert asked, as he took notice of the lyrics. “I don’t recognise it.”
Chimney frowned at his brother. “Way to make me feel old, Albert. It’s from the mid 2000’s. ‘You and Me’, by Lifehouse. Why?”
“No reason,” Albert said. “Just thought the song seemed appropriate.”
The happy couple continued to sway on the dance floor and Albert looked once more at his friend and former roommate. He felt a swell a contentment wash over him at the fact that the man who had been looking so desperately for happiness back when they had been living together all those years ago seemed to finally have found it. And as Albert let the lyrics of the song wash over him, he sent a silent prayer out into the universe that that happiness would last.
‘Cause it’s you and me,
And all of the people,
And I don’t know why,
I can’t keep my eyes off of you