Work Text:
Buck hadn’t planned on snooping. Really, he hadn’t.
But Tommy had left for his shift that morning, and Buck had the day off, and there was this stack of books on their nightstand—which he realized after moving into the older's house a few weeks ago—the one Tommy always rotated through, depending on his mood. And Buck, being the curious man that he was, couldn’t resist taking a peek.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t known Tommy was a reader. The guy always had a book in his hand when he wasn’t at work. But it was only a few months into their relationship that Tommy had stopped being sheepish about the fact that he liked romance novels.
"It's a guilty pleasure," Tommy had admitted once, flipping through a well-worn paperback.
Buck had grinned, leaning against his shoulder. "Why would you feel guilty about that? Love stories are great."
And that was that. Tommy never hid it from him again. Which was how Buck found himself sifting through his boyfriend’s current reads, running his fingers along the spines until he landed on one that looked well-loved. The pages were slightly curled at the edges, the cover bent just enough to show it had been read multiple times.
With a glance at the door—despite knowing Tommy wouldn’t be home for hours—Buck sat on the bed, cracked the book open, and started reading.
And damn. He got why Tommy liked this stuff.
The story was sweet, the kind that made you feel warm inside. Buck found himself smiling at certain lines, snorting at cheesy dialogue, and—more than once—pausing at descriptions that reminded him of Tommy.
By the time he reached the middle of the first half of the book, an idea struck him.
Grinning to himself, Buck grabbed a pen and some small and colorful sticky notes from the desk drawer and flipped back through the pages. He started highlighting little phrases that stood out to him and stamping the sticky notes near them, scrawled with handwritten comments.
He even underlined a particularly dramatic confession, adding something in the margins about if Tommy ever said it to him, he’d start crying. As dramatic as that sounds, he knew it'd make Tommy laugh and that's all that matters.
He was so engrossed in it and didn't even realize how much time had passed. When he reached Tommy’s bookmark—the exact page his boyfriend had stopped at Buck carefully placed his own right next to it. There. Now, both of them have to continue from the same spot.
Buck leaned back, admiring his work, grinning like an idiot. Tommy was going to find this eventually, and Buck couldn’t wait to see his reaction. Satisfied, he slid the book back into the pile and went about his day, knowing he’d just given Tommy yet another reason to love him.
*****
Tommy had a system when it came to reading.
He rotated between books based on his mood, always keeping a few in progress at once. It wasn’t unusual for him to set one down and not pick it up again for days, sometimes even weeks, before returning right where he left off.
But this time, something felt… off.
He was curled up on the couch, flipping through a different novel, when the nagging feeling hit him. That one book—the one he knew he hadn’t finished—hadn’t been touched in a while.
Brows furrowing, Tommy scanned the coffee table. Not there. Checked the nightstand. Nothing. Weird, he thought. He was sure it was there the last time he checked.
Finally, he found it in the pile by the bed, right where he normally kept his other unfinished books—but something was different. The edges of the pages were slightly lifted, like they’d been handled more than usual.
He sat down on the bed, flipping it open to his bookmarked page. His fingers stilled when he saw a second bookmark right next to his.
Tommy’s lips parted in surprise.
He flipped back a few pages, and that’s when he noticed it. Bright, colorful sticky notes peeking from between the pages. Underlined sentences. Messy, familiar handwriting scrawled in the margins and over the sticky notes.
Tommy instantly knew who was behind this. It made perfect sense why he found the book in a different place and why it felt… out of place.
He scanned the notes, his heart doing something stupidly warm in his chest.
"You're beautiful." - Me @ You
He let out a soft breath, a soft smile growing on his lips. Tommy didn't know how to feel just yet, but he knew that those simple words just made his heart flip. He chuckled and continued flipping through the pages.
"I love you more than words can say." - This is how I feel about you every day.
His chest tightened, fingers brushing over the days-old ink like he could feel the love in the words. Tommy didn't know that being loved by someone could be this exhilarating—this euphoric. All he knew was that when he loves someone, he will love with his whole heart. He didn't think he’d be the one on the receiving end of it.
He continued flipping forward and saw the next one.
"My heart is yours." - Literally me, Tommy. Take it.
A quiet laugh escaped him, shaking his head fondly. Evan. Of course Evan had done this. He had known from the moment he saw the extra bookmark, but it still floored him that Evan would go out of his way to read one of his books—dive into his hobby—just to do this.
He flipped to another page, finding a particularly dramatic confession underlined.
"If you ever said this to me, I'd probably cry. Just saying."
Tommy rolled his eyes playfully at that one, but his smile never faded. He made a mental note of the line just in case he’d have to use it someday, just to see if Evan made good on his words.
Finally, he closed the book and leaned back against the pillows, pressing it against his chest for a moment. It was silly. Ridiculous, even. But it was also so Evan—big, affectionate, unable to hold back when he loves something. Or someone.
Tommy exhaled, shaking his head, before pushing himself off the bed. He didn’t even hesitate as he made his way downstairs, finding Evan sprawled on the couch, lazily flipping through his phone.
The younger looked up at the sound of footsteps, immediately locking onto the book in Tommy’s hands and the expression on his face. His grin was instant. “Oh. You found it.”
Tommy huffed a laugh, leaning against the arm of the couch. “You defaced my book,” he accused, though there was no real bite to it.
Evan scoffed, raising a finger like he was making a point. “Actually, I think I personalized it.” His grin grew wider and a little more mischievous, and Tommy shook his head, fond and exasperated all at once. “You annotated a romance novel, Evan.”
“Not just any romance novel,” Evan shot back almost instantly. He reached out to Tommy’s wrist, tugging him onto the couch. “Your romance novel. Which, by the way, was very good. I see why you like it.”
Tommy exhaled, following Evan’s pull and sat down, biting back a smile. “You’re unbelievable,” he said while he let the younger play with his fingers.
Evan ducked his head, suddenly bashful. He scooted a little closer until there was no more space between them. “But did you like it?” he asked, quieter now. “I mean, I probably should’ve asked first, but I couldn’t help it.”
Tommy sighed, feigning long-suffering before finally giving in. He put down the book to his side and patted his lap in silent invitation. Evan didn’t hesitate for even a second before climbing into it.
“Yes, I liked it,” he admitted, voice softer now. “I loved it, even.” He slid his hands to Evan’s waist, his gaze tender. Evan’s grin softened, hands settling naturally on Tommy’s shoulder. “Yeah?”
Tommy nodded, resting his forehead against Evan’s for a moment before pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Yeah. You’re impossible, but you’re cute. And very lucky that I love you.”
Evan hummed, shifting to kiss him properly. “I am lucky,” he murmured, sighing in content as he felt Tommy's hands sliding up his back. He leaned in for a hug and Tommy let himself sink into the warmth of it, feeling like he's on cloud nine.
After a moment, he pulled back and grabbed the book, tapping it against Evan’s chest. “You know you’re reading the next chapter with me now, right?”
Evan’s eyes lit up. “Wait, really?”
Tommy smirked before letting out a soft chuckle. “You annotated the damn thing. Might as well see it through,”
Evan looked really pleased with himself, already reaching for the blanket draped over the couch. “You do realize you’ve just encouraged me, right?” he grinned while shifting his position so he’s comfortably sitting on Tommy’s lap. Tommy rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as he opened the book again, Evan in his arms.
They basked in each other's warmth as they continued reading, Evan still pointing out parts that reminded him of Tommy, even saying “My hands are itching to write more stuff down right now, but I’m stuck,” all while snuggling into Tommy's neck and the older would just laugh.
Maybe… he wouldn’t mind if Evan annotated a few more of his books.