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“I’m starting to think I shouldn’t have been Batman,” Buck muttered under his breath, taking off his mask to run a hand through his sweaty hair. He and Tommy stood at the end of the driveway, watching Jee-Yun, dressed as a perfect little Wonder Woman, excitedly run up to the house’s front door, her already half-full, pumpkin-shaped candy basket clutched against her chest. “This thing is hot!”
With a grin, Tommy wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him in to press an exaggerated kiss to his crown. And instantly regretted it, if the way his face contorted as he pulled away was anything to go by.
“Oh, wow. You’re sweating a lot.”
Buck laughed, shoving Tommy’s shoulder playfully. “See? I told you!” He held the heavy, black Batman mask in his hands, eyeing it like it, rather than the Joker, was his arch-nemesis. “Whose idea was it to wear a full-on cowl?”
Tommy bit his lip, fighting a smirk. “Yours, remember? You could’ve gone with just a mask, but you decided that anything not full Dark Knight was ‘too cheap.’”
Buck rolled his eyes, glancing over at Jee-Yun, who was happily bouncing up and down as a woman in vampire getup handed her a piece of candy. He couldn't help but smile. Seeing his niece so thoroughly enjoying herself almost made him forget about the cowl from hell. (Almost,)
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Buck said, finally conceding. He glanced over at Tommy, who looked far more comfortable in his (maskless!) Superman suit. If he stared just a little longer than necessary at the way the blue spandex stretched over Tommy’s biceps or at the big, iconic “S” that seemed to almost burst at his chest, then that was nobody’s concern but his own. “We’ll switch next year. You get to sweat your ass off, I get the nice, breathable spandex-and-underpants combo.”
Tommy chuckled, giving Buck a sly sideways glance. “I think you’d look pretty good in the Superman suit, actually. Maybe even better than me.”
Buck raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a smirk. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Superman. I’m still making you wear the cowl next year, see how you feel when you’re melting away.”
“Excuse me?” Tommy teased, feigning offense as he crossed his arms, a mock scowl on his face. “You think I couldn’t handle it?”
“I don’t know,” Buck replied, raising his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just saying, it’s not easy to wear the cowl,” he said, holding up the mask with dramatic flair. “It’s for the elite few who can tolerate their own sweat for an entire night.”
Tommy laughed, the frown, fake as it was, instantly replaced by the scrunchy, crinkly smile Buck had come to love. The sound made Buck’s heart feel like a popsicle in the sun, and not just because of the bat cowl either. He thought the gooey, warm feeling Tommy had caused in his gut from the beginning would eventually die off, but it never had. And Buck felt more glad about that than he could ever express.
“I don’t know, Batman,” Tommy said, a playful glint in his eyes. He pulled Buck into a quick kiss on the lips now, soft, but feverish, and full of want. It only lasted for maybe two seconds, just long enough to make Buck’s lips tingle. A soft whine escaped Buck’s mouth before he could stop it when Tommy pulled away, bringing a teasing smile to his boyfriend’s face as he leaned in to whisper into Buck’s ear. “I kind of like you all hot and sweaty, you know? And something tells me you’d like me like that just as much.”
Buck felt his ears heat up, his cheeks flushing. He quickly glanced around to make sure there weren’t any kids around to hear them, his lower lip caught between his teeth, before turning back to Tommy with a dirty grin of his own. “Sounds like someone’s eager for our niece to go to bed tonight.”
“Oh, trust me,” Tommy replied, that mischievous glint only growing stronger. “I’ve been counting down the minutes since we put on our costumes. Taking them off again is half the fun, right?” He winked quickly and leaned in for another quick kiss that did nothing to stop Buck’s blood from rushing downward at the prospect of tearing the spandex off of Tommy’s chest, and arms, and everything later tonight, his mouth watering a little at the thought.
Visions of skin, maybe not as drenched as his own, but still slick with a faint sheen of sweat beneath the blue fabric, flooded Buck’s mind as he imagined peeling it away, inch by inch. The fine, curly, dark hairs on Tommy’s chest, growing from one peck to the other, would start revealing themselves, eventually traveling south, growing more and more narrow as they formed the treasure trail leading to Tommy’s groin.
Treasure trail, Buck thought with a grin as his eyes met Tommy’s again. What a fitting name. Because he sure loved following it, pulling whatever bottoms Tommy was wearing past his hips, down his thighs to his knees, revealing his-
“Uncle Tommy! Uncle Buck! Look! I got a whole Kit-Kat!”
Just then, Jee-Yun came running back down the driveway, her candy basket swinging with every step. She was practically glowing with excitement as she skidded to a stop in front of them, holding up the piece of candy triumphantly.
Buck quickly snapped out of his haze, shaking off the daydream and trying to plaster a totally innocent smile on his face, as though he hadn’t just been mentally undressing Tommy right there in the driveway.
“That’s my girl!” he cheered, leaning down to high-five her. “A whole Kit-Kat? You must have actual superpowers!”
Jee-Yun beamed, nodding enthusiastically as she unwrapped the candy with determined little fingers. Tommy crouched down to her level, brushing back a stray curl from her face. “Guess Wonder Woman knows how to pick the best houses.”
“Of course she does,” Buck agreed, ruffling her hair. “No stopping this superhero squad tonight. Now let’s go! We’ve got more candy to collect!”
Jee-Yun nodded eagerly, already starting down the street to the next house. As Buck and Tommy chuckled and followed her down the sidewalk together, Buck couldn’t resist one last glance at Tommy’s suit, his tongue darting out to lick his lips in anticipation for later tonight. He already couldn’t wait.
*
“Excuse me?”
Buck and Tommy, who’d just watched Jee-Yun skip down another driveway to the next stop of her trick-or-treat tour with a bunch of other kids they had just met here on the curb, looked over to where the voice had come from. A young woman, maybe in her late twenties or early thirties, with a face full of green paint and dressed in a black witch costume, had wandered over to them, a kind smile on her lips.
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to disturb family time. I just wanted to tell you that your daughter’s costume looks amazing! Is it homemade?”
Buck’s eyes went wide, his gaze moving from the woman’s face to Jee and back again. His mind briefly flashed back to that one time he and Eddie had taken Chris to see Santa a few years back, and he could almost laugh that something similar had happened again.
Except that unlike back then with Eddie, here and now, Buck felt a weird sense of warmth start in his chest. It spread, slow and steady, like someone had just dropped a single matchstick into the middle of a fireplace, lighting up something inside of him that he only allowed himself to think about every now and again. He and Tommy had only talked about kids in hypotheticals, a “maybe later, we’ve got time.”
And honestly, even though he loved kids, Buck was still open to not having any if Tommy didn’t want them. The two of them would always be surrounded by kids anyway, from Jee-Yun, to Chris, to Denny and Mara. Being the fun uncle was something he had always been destined to be anyway.
Still, the thought of being a Dad instead of an Uncle, even if it was only briefly because of a wrong assumption, made his insides jump with a strange sense of want.
“Uh, she’s not… we’re not…” he started stammering, his tongue tying itself into knots. He felt a little embarrassed about getting this caught off guard, and by something so comparatively trivial at that, but he couldn’t help his brain turning into mush right now. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone.
“She’s our niece,” Tommy finished for him, an easy-going smile on his lips, as if being mistaken as your niece’s father was the most normal thing in the world. “We only just got engaged a month ago, so it’s gonna be another year or two until we have one of our own. But yes, Evan made that costume himself. He’s really talented.”
Buck shot Tommy a look, a mix of surprise and flattery. “I mean, yeah, I might’ve dabbled in a bit of DIY here and there,” he said, trying to sound casual but clearly proud.
The woman grinned, genuinely impressed. “Well, it’s beautiful. And congratulations on your engagement! You two are going to be amazing dads one day.”
Buck felt that warmth in his chest intensify. He glanced at Tommy, who squeezed his shoulder in a reassuring, almost grounding way, his smile softening as he looked back at Buck. “Thanks,” Tommy replied, his gaze not leaving Buck’s. “We’re looking forward to it.”
The woman gave them a final smile and a wave before heading back up the street, leaving Buck and Tommy alone again with their thoughts and the faint laughter of kids echoing through the neighborhood.
“Did you…mean that?” Buck asked, his voice softer now, his eyes searching Tommy’s.
“Of course I did. Have you seen Jee’s costume?”
“Tommy.”
Tommy’s smile didn’t falter. If anything, it grew, more gentle, more certain. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.” He tugged Buck closer, resting his forehead against his. “I’m not gonna lie, the thought of being a Dad kinda scares me. Kids are so small, and fragile, and easy to mess up.” He took a deep breath, pulling back to look into Buck’s eyes now. “But then I see you with Jee, or I hear Chim and Hen and Eddie talking about how you take to kids on calls…and I think ‘Know what? I could do it if he does it with me.’”
Buck felt the breath hitch in his throat, overwhelmed by the sincerity in Tommy’s voice. He swallowed, trying to clear the lump that had formed there, his deeply ingrained insecurities he still fought every day rearing their ugly heads and yelling at him that Tommy didn’t mean anything he said, that he was only lying to make Buck temporarily happy. He quickly shook his head to clear his brain of them.
“Tommy…” he began, his voice barely a whisper. He’d thought about having kids with Tommy before, of course he had, but somehow hearing him say it out loud…hearing that he could imagine the two of them as parents, a team, a family, made the idea feel more real and tangible than it ever had.
Tommy squeezed his hand, grounding him. “I know it’s still a while until we’re really there. We still have a whole wedding to plan before we can really think about kids. But the way you look at Jee, the way you make everyone you meet feel safe and seen…it just feels right, Evan.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Buck’s mouth, warmth flooding through him. “You think we’d be good at it? Really?”
Tommy laughed softly, the sound filling Buck with a kind of joy that felt too big for his body. “I know we would be. And besides,” he said, glancing over at Jee-Yun, who was now trading candy with a group of kids, “we’d have the best role models. Bobby and Athena, Hen and Karen, Chim and Maddie, Eddie… we’re surrounded by people who’ve shown us what it means to be a family. I’d say we’ve got a pretty good head start.”
Buck looked at Tommy, his fiancé, his partner, and saw a chance at a future he had made his peace with never having. “Then let’s do it. Someday. When we’re ready.” He let out a breath, realizing how much he meant it, how much he craved it now. “I want that with you, Tommy.”
Tommy’s grin softened, and he brushed a thumb gently over Buck’s cheek. “Good. Because I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”
Buck smiled softly, his eyes tearing up slightly as he pulled Tommy into a tight hug. They stood there together, holding each other, surrounded by the soft glow of streetlights and the warmth of the love that had built between them.
“Uncle Buck! Uncle Tommy! Hurry up!” Jee-Yun called from a few houses down, waving them over impatiently, her skirt flowing in the breeze.
Buck chuckled, breaking the embrace. “Guess duty calls,” he said, squeezing Tommy’s hand one last time before letting go.
*
“So have you thought about how we’d do it?” Buck asked a few houses later, as Jee once again raced up a driveway. “Having kids, I mean. I’m a firefighter, you’re a firefighter-slash-rescue pilot. Our schedules are…a lot.”
Tommy hummed lowly, his arms crossing in front of his chest. “I mean, I’m pretty old. I could retire early, be your sexy house husband and take care of the kids while you’re out there fighting fires.”
Buck laughed, nudging Tommy’s shoulder. “Sexy house husband, huh? I can definitely get on board with that. But you’re not that old! Would you really give up your career? You love helping people. You love flying.”
With a sigh, Tommy reached out to grab Buck’s hand and squeeze it. There was a sincerity in his eyes that Buck hadn’t expected. He’d figured Tommy had been kidding, but… apparently not?
“Evan, I’m 41,” Tommy started with a soft smile. “By the time we actually get to the ‘having kids’ part, I’ll be, what, 45? 46? Maybe a little older, still?”
Buck blinked. A sudden wave of realization washed over him as he realized…Tommy was serious. The notion struck Buck in a way he hadn’t anticipated. Tommy was willing to give up his job for their (hypothetical) kids. He knew that Buck wouldn’t want to, that he would do it if it was the only way, but that he wouldn’t be happy about it. And instead of expecting Buck to bend and do it anyway, he volunteered himself.
Buck suddenly felt himself fall for Tommy all over again.
“Yeah…yeah, I suppose so,” he murmured. The warm feeling in his chest was almost overwhelming, but there was something else hiding in the shadows of it all, too. A sense of profound guilt. “But still, you don’t have to-”
“Evan, seriously,” Tommy interrupted gently. His smile was still just as warm as it had been before. There wasn’t a shred of the pain or resentment Buck had expected in there at all. “I joined the military at 17, went to Iraq, and then started the fire academy the moment I was back on American soil. I’ve been doing heavy labor for almost thirty years, and my body’s not gonna keep going just because I want it to. You know my back is kinda busted already. Besides, like I said, we still have a few years. It’s not like I’d have to retire tomorrow or something.”
Tommy gave Buck’s hand a squeeze, grounding them both. “And when I retire,” he continued with a gentle shrug, “I’d be more than happy to spend my days keeping the house in order, making sure there’s good food on the table, picking our kid up from school. Maybe even teaching them some skills like changing a tire or cooking, or whatever. Honestly, it sounds kind of… nice. I’m kind of already looking forward to it.”
Buck felt the familiar sting of tears prick at his eyes. Tommy really was serious about this. “You really would do that? Just for me?”
“Not for you,” Tommy corrected softly, his gaze steady and sure. “For us. For our family. Part of being a family is making sacrifices for each other. Plus, like I said, my body’s already kinda falling apart, so me staying home just…makes sense.” He grabbed Buck’s chin then, not unlike he’d done back when they had first kissed, and slightly lifted his face up. “I want this, Evan. I’m not settling, you didn’t coerce me into suggesting this, none of that. I choose to do this once it’s time because I want to, and for no other reason. And I’ll gladly keep reassuring you of this until you believe it.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke, and the buzz of Halloween activity around them seemed to fade into the background. Buck swallowed hard, Tommy’s dedication warming him from the inside out like hot chocolate on a cold winter night. Here was this man, this strong, resilient, steady presence in his life, who was willing to lay down his greatest passion, his purpose, his calling just to build a future together with him.
Not for the first time since he and Tommy had started dating, Buck wondered how he had gotten this lucky.
“Okay,” Buck said finally, a relieved sigh escaping his lips. “Then when the time comes, we’ll do it. We’ll figure it out together.”
Tommy’s lips curved into a smile, his eyes twinkling. “Together.”
Just then, Jee-Yun came bounding back, her eyes wide with excitement and her basket overflowing. “Look! Look! I got so much candy!”
Buck grinned and swept her up into his arms, laughing as she giggled and kicked her legs in excitement. He held her close, his heart swelling at the pure joy radiating from her. And as he looked back at Tommy, he knew that this was the start of something wonderful. Their family, their future, whatever it looked like… they’d be ready for it.