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"…I know, you think I'm gorgeous."
"What? I don't think you're gorgeous-"
"You think I'm-"
"Kinard, turn that thing off and switch to something we all like before I take away your TV privileges." Captain Rowe's voice booms across the bay, echoing in the corners and followed by a chorus of laughter from the firefighters seated around the table near the kitchen.
"Hey, Miss Congeniality is a classic, you guys just aren't cultured-" Tommy's voice cuts off with a splutter as Lucy, from her spot at the other end of the couch, hits him smack in the face with a pillow.
"Save the cheesy romcoms for date nights with Buckley, man!" She laughs, long and loud, at his sour look as the pillow falls to his lap. It's a far cry from the hour previous, when they'd landed back at Harbor after nearly losing a mother and son en route to Cedars-Sinai. The entire crew had been quiet, having had to listen to their radios as the two on-board medics did compressions and stemmed bleeding and did everything in their power to keep their two patients stable on the open channel.
It was far too close, but with trauma teams waiting on the pad at the hospital, the two were expected to pull through, as of the last update from dispatch.
The second they'd arrived, Tommy had collapsed down onto the couch, half sprawled with a foot up on the coffee table, and texted Evan.
just got back from the MVA call i mentioned. touch and go, but both patients stable
hope things are good over there ❤️
It was a few minutes before he received a response, but it still brought a soft, warm smile to his face.
so glad to hear it ❤️ things are ok here, nothing for about an hr but im sure im jinxing it
A minute and a half later, before Tommy can even finish his response -
ope there it is. be safe out there
still working on the adrenaline crash, just barely getting my heartrate down
always. you too, sweetheart
A second later, a heart react had popped up over the message. Even just the shortest interaction floods his chest with warm contentment, still lingering an hour later.
To be fair, he hadn't even picked the movie - just turned the TV on and it was already playing. Lucy grabs for the remote and lazily pokes at it, switching the channels just as Benjamin Bratt strolls away from Sandra Bullock with a mouthful of candy bar.
"So rude. I was watching that, y'know." Lucy fixes him with a flat look, one eyebrow nearly in her hairline. He gives it right back, pointedly crossing his arms over his chest. Without breaking eye contact, she prods the button once more, cranking the volume until the jarring jingle of News Channel 8 spills from the speakers. Tommy snorts and digs his phone out of his pocket.
He'd really just meant to check the time and his notifications, but his lock screen snares his attention every time. It's a recent photo - he and Evan had taken a hike out in Angeles National Forest on a gorgeous day that had quickly turned rainy and muddy. They're pressed cheek to cheek, absolutely soaked through and dripping, hair all plastered to their foreheads, but Evan's grin is sunshine enough, lighting up his entire phone screen.
"Ugh, if you keep looking at your phone like that I'm actually gonna puke on you, Kinard." Lucy fake-gags over the side of the couch. Her grin is back in a flash, though - no matter how much they tease, his teammates always make sure he knows how happy they are to see him happy and pining over Evan.
"What, does my sweet, loving, incredible-"
Lucy hits the remote and cranks the volume even louder, clapping her hands over her ears.
"Fuck off, Tommy-"
"-live from the scene of this four-alarm fire in South Glendale, where first responders have evacuated the building and fighting to keep the blaze under control. Sources say that arson may be suspected-"
"Whoa, Tommy, look, it's your boy!" And sure enough, there he is. He's got an arm slung across some poor, soot-covered soul, half dragging him towards a bus, and by way of direction, the camera. Evan's radiant, always, but especially so covered in the evidence of their work - full turnouts and gear, helmet in hand, hair curling with sweat and smeared in ash. Tommy had never really considered a competence kink, never let himself look at other firefighters that way, but goddamn.
"God, you are so down bad, Tommy."
He doesn't really know what his face is doing, but the whole team is gathered around the couch now, leaning in to watch Evan baywatch his way across this parking lot.
"Can you really blame me?" He tears his eyes away to glance back at Luka, raising an eyebrow, before he locks back in to the news report.
The camera zooms slightly over Taylor Kelly's shoulder as she turns, focusing on the image of Evan and the rescuee, backlit by the morning sunlight and the roaring fire, and it's the perfect framing to catch his broad shoulders, his wrinkled brow squinting against the sun, and the wide-eyed look of shock as he catches the man's pointy elbow straight to the nose.
There's a chorus of hisses and ooohs from both the gathered 217 and the onlookers on the broadcast, all pained and sympathetic, as Evan topples backwards and the man makes a run for it. Tommy's on his feet before he can even think, rage and worry curling in his gut. The camera pans and zooms out to watch the man go, a dark blur of turnouts taking off after him, but Tommy's only got eyes for the corner of the screen where Evan's still visible, slowly rolling onto his hands and knees with Hen and Bobby crouched over him.
The blur, Diaz barely readable on the back of his coat, tackles the man easily, taking him to the ground and wrangling until his hands are secured at his back with Eddie sitting on top of him, clearly shit-talking even though they can't hear him and waving over off-screen LAPD from where they were apparently sitting on their asses.
Tommy's fists clench without his permission, all wild pride and anger. The camera drags back to Evan, now on his feet with Bobby and Hen pacing him carefully towards the ambulance, each with an arm crossed over his back - he looks dazed, face smeared with blood, nose clearly broken even with the pulled-back zoom.
"Wow, you all saw that live - a victim attacking his rescuer and taking off - the firefighter looks to be okay, supported by his team, and the victim is now in LAPD custody."
"Jesus, what the fuck?" Luka breaks the silence, incredulous and clearly pissed on Evan's behalf. "Who does that? A guy pulls you out of a burning building and that's how you thank him?"
"He's lucky Eddie didn't repay the favor." Tommy has to grit the words out through clenched teeth - the fucker is lucky the 217 isn't on scene, because Eddie had far more restraint than Tommy would've, even if assaulting a civilian on live TV is just a bad look.
A hand claps down on Tommy's shoulder, and he has to physically restrain himself from doing something stupid, but it still comes out in a full body flinch before he casts a wild eye back at Rowe.
"We've barely got an hour left here. How 'bout you call up Han and see where they're taking him?" And this is why Rowe is one of the best captains he's ever worked under. "Doubt he'll be in much shape for driving after a hit like that."
"Thanks, cap." Tommy shoots him an intense, grateful look and swipes his phone from where he'd dropped it on the coffee table. As he dials, he steps away from the couch, already headed for his locker.
It rings twice before Howie picks up, and he's already laughing, the noise of the bus loud and crackly enough that he knows he's on speaker.
"You got some kinda sixth sense, Kinard?"
"Yeah, Han, it's called a TV with a news channel. Is he okay?" He doesn't mean for it to come out so snappy, but Chimney just laughs harder.
"He's alright, if a little bruised, face- and ego-wise. Minor concussion, and the nose is definitely busted, so we're taking him to Glendale Memorial to get him checked out, then one of us'll drive him home from the station."
"Tommy, I'm fine-" Evan's voice is whiny and nasal, but it sends such a wave of relief through him that he has to lean hard against the lockers lining the wall.
"Baby, please, I just watched you get elbowed in the face on live television. Forgive me if I'm a worrier."
"Just let the man fuss, Buck." Hen's voice is a little more distant, like she's in the front driving.
"Yeah, you can't say you wouldn't be the same way, Buckaroo." The fond amusement bleeding into both Hen and Howie's voices soothes Tommy's worry. If it was anything serious, there's no way they'd be joking around like usual. Hell, Howie probably wouldn't have picked up. He lets out a long, relieved sigh.
"I can meet you guys at the station when you're done at the hospital and I'll take him home." Tommy pins the phone between his shoulder and ear, kicks off his boots, and starts pulling at his flight suit.
"But, Tommy, you've still got an hour on shift-" Evan cuts off with a little pained noise that tugs on Tommy's heartstrings.
"C'mon, man, keep the gauze on there, you're gonna get blood all over my gurney."
"Rowe was watching the news with us and saw what happened, he's letting me go early. I'd be worried about you the whole time anyway, drive everybody crazy until shift end." The flight suit gets shoved to the back of his locker, and Tommy pulls out a pair of jeans to put on over his compression shorts. "I'm already getting dressed. I'm coming to pick you up, Evan."
There's a chorus of awws from the other end of the call, and Tommy doesn't give a shit if they're teasing. All he cares about is the warm little hum that he can tell came from Evan.
"So that's settled! We shouldn't be long at Glendale, we'll meet you back at the station." Chimney smacks his gum through the bright, knowing grin Tommy can see vividly in his head.
"It'll take me at least an hour to get out there with traffic, just let me know when you're leaving. Baby, do you want me to pick up some breakfast?"
"…that Mexican place we went to a few weeks ago?"
"Alfredo's? Sure, sweetheart. Same thing as last time?"
"Yes please… thank you, Tommy." He can practically hear the sweet, shy expression on Evan's face, even through the fake gagging noises that are obviously all Howie.
"Alright, alright, we'll be there in a few minutes. Faster we let Tommy finish up, faster you'll see him at back at the house."
"I'll see you guys soon. Love you, Evan."
"Love you, Tommy. Drive safe."
"Love you Tommy, byeee!" Hen and Howie chime together, startling a laugh out of him. They hang up and a warm, settled feeling spreads across his ribs. He spares a second to be so goddamn thankful that Evan has family in the 118.
Tommy shoves his feet back into his boots, then tucks his phone and his keys into the net pocket at the end of his duffle. Once he's sure he has everything out of his locker for a 48 off, he slings it over his shoulder and steps out of the locker room to a swarm of his coworkers.
"Is he okay?"
"Did they figure out what happened? Like what the fuck was that guy's deal?"
"How's he doing?"
"Jesus, guys, one at a time. Evan is fine, his nose is broken and he has a concussion. They're taking him to Glendale Memorial, then back to the station, where I'll pick him up and take him home. I didn't hear anything about the guy who elbowed him."
Rowe pushes forward through the crew and slaps the side of Tommy's shoulder.
"That's good to hear. Go take good care of him, Kinard. You're off the next 48, yeah?"
"Yeah, so is he. We were gonna go for a hike, but I think it'll just be a lazy weekend, considering."
"I'd say let us know if you need anything, but I know the 118 will be swarming for updates about him, so I think you'll be covered." Rowe gives a wry smile and a shove towards the open bay doors.
"Thanks, cap, see you guys in a few days."
The timing turns out brilliantly perfect. Tommy pulls his truck into the parking lot at station 118 just as the ambulance is backing into the apparatus bay, a plastic bag with two huge burritos on his passenger seat. The engine is already parked, but it seems like everyone's up in the loft, nobody on the bay floor.
He hops out, stretching his legs after an hour and change in traffic, and strolls into the building as the back doors pop open and Howie hops out.
"Ey, Tommy! Good to see you, man." He grins up at Tommy, popping his gum.
"Hey, Howie. How'd it go?"
"Good! He's all set, nose fixed up, just needs concussion protocol for the next few hours. He hit his head pretty good when he landed, just wanna keep an eye out." Tommy comes around the corner of the bus, patting Chimney's shoulder with a subdued grin.
"I'm right here, guys," Evan grumbles as he carefully shuffles down onto the back step. Tommy puts a hand out for him to take, and with a light flush, Evan lets him guide him out onto solid ground.
"Hi, sweetheart." Tommy leans in and presses a gentle kiss to Evan's birthmark, wrapping an arm around his waist to reel him in a little closer. "How are you feeling?"
Evan's got medical tape over the bridge of his nose and a sizeable knot on the back of his head, but he's been cleaned up thoroughly. The bruises around his eyes are already blooming purple and pink - he's gonna have two massive black eyes in the morning.
"Hi, Tommy," Evan gives him the sweetest little smile, tucking his temple against the bolt of Tommy's jaw. "I'm okay. Got tylenol at the hospital, so that's finally kicking in, but I think I'm ready to sleep for a week."
Hen comes around the driver's side with a warm smile, hands on her hips. "He's gonna be aching for a while, but nothing serious to worry about. Hey, Tommy."
"Hey, Hen. Thanks for taking care of him." He smiles at her as Evan leans a little heavier into him, settling back onto his heels to take as much of his boyfriend's weight as he needs.
"That's our boy, Tommy, you know we've got his back." She grins directly at Evan, reaching out to touch his shoulder.
"Tommy! Buck!" Eddie's voice echoes in the bay as he half-sprints down the stairs. Evan winces, just a touch, and turns his face into Tommy's neck against the noise. "Shit, sorry, man. That headache's gotta be a killer."
Eddie jogs up to stand by them, followed at a more sedate pace by Captain Nash and Ravi. His eyes flick up and down Evan's form, like he's double-checking that they didn't miss anything, before he grins brightly at his best friend.
"S'alright, Eds. I hope you tackled that guy real good."
"We saw it on live TV at Harbor. It was a damn good tackle." Tommy holds out a fist, Eddie taps it, and they share wild, vicious grins.
"All checked out, kid?" Bobby steps up to join the growing circle and gives Evan the same scan as Eddie did, before he nods judiciously.
"Yup, all clear. I've got my 48 this weekend, then light duty for at least a week."
"Good. You're in good hands, right, Tommy?" Bobby turns to stare holes in the side of Tommy's head, and he crosses his arms. It's all at odds with the warm, serene smile on his face, and Tommy has to choke down a laugh at the intense papa bear energy radiating off of him. He nods as solemnly as he can manage, staring straight back at Bobby.
"Yes sir. I'm on my 48 too - I'll take good care of him."
Bobby's eyebrow quirks for a second, and then he nods once more. It feels a little you'll do for Tommy's liking but he's gotta prove himself to his boyfriend's father somehow.
The captain turns back to Evan and that smile returns full bloom. He reaches out, and so carefully, so delicately, ruffles Evan's hair, with perfect placement to avoid the lump on his crown.
"Take it easy, kiddo. Plenty of rest so you can come back to us one hundred percent." Evan smiles back, radiant and warm, and he gives a thumbs up without leaving his spot tucked into Tommy's side.
"Alright, baby, let's get going before you fall asleep on me. I've got those burritos in the truck, don't want 'em getting cold." Tommy nudges Evan gently, and he turns that blinding smile up at Tommy, too.
"Yeah, you're-" He pauses for a jaw-cracking yawn- "You're right. I'll see you guys in a few days."
"See you later, Buckaroo. Let us know if you need anything, we'll be checking in." Hen gives Tommy a pointed look, the unspoken phone on and in pocket at all times clear and plain on her face.
"See you later, kid. We'll drop the jeep off at the loft after shift so you don't have to come get it."
"Don't forget to text Maddie so I don't have to break the news!"
"I'll text to see how you're feeling on bringing Chris around for movie night soon, man. For now though, rest up, we'll see you later."
"See you later, Buck!"
After a round of heartfelt hugs, Evan folds back into Tommy's side and they slowly meander out into the mid-morning sunshine. It's already shaping up to be a gorgeous day, bright and cloudless, and Tommy can't wait to spend most of it curled up in bed around his boyfriend.
"They love you so much, y'know that?" He mumbles quietly into Evan's curls.
Evan just sighs, quiet and mostly content. "I know. And sometimes I even feel it."
It still sends a little pang through Tommy's heart, despite the well-documented nature of Evan's self-worth issues. All he can do is keep reminding him - that Tommy's here for him, that there's family there for Evan that cherishes him, loves him, wants him around, would do anything for him. Someday, maybe, Tommy'll be able to turn that 'sometimes' into a 'most of the time.'
But one step at a time. Step one, for now - burritos and the longest nap they can possibly stay down for.