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Buck didn’t watch tv or movies growing up a lot. So when he saw the meme online that said “How do you lose a woman?” “You forget to cherish her.” he had no idea where it was from. But damn did it resonate.
He saw it at two in the morning as he was waiting for his fifth batch of cookies to be done in the oven. And all he could think about was how he let Tommy get away.
Tommy had always been there for him. Tommy asked him about his day, visited him in the hospital, and made him breakfast. He even went to a ghost cowboy funeral to help break a curse he didn’t believe in. He did that all for Buck. He cherished Buck.
And Buck fucked it all up and didn’t cherish him back. And the thing was, Buck knew Tommy was deserving of all the love and devotion he had shown Buck. It was just that he’d gotten so caught up in having a partner who did that for him that he forgot to reciprocate.
This was all on his mind when the 118 took a call at a florist and after their shift Buck found himself driving there. They had an arrangement called Love Actually that made him think of Tommy. It was red roses and white lilies with some greenery to fill it out.
It was beautiful. It was expensive. And hopefully it would make Tommy know what he deserved- even if that wasn’t Buck.
“Would you like to leave a note with it?” The florist asked.
He didn’t want his handwriting on it, so he told her what to write and had it delivered to Tommy’s house.
He went to bed that night thinking it wasn’t enough- Tommy deserved so much more than just flowers. He decided he would come up with a better plan in the morning.
***
One thing Tommy did not expect when getting home after a long day was a flower delivery guy knocking on his door and handing him a bouquet. He placed them on his dining room table and looked at the note.
You are cherished.
It was a strange sentence. And it gave no indication as to who sent it. Who even talked like that? Cherished. Tommy didn’t think he had ever heard that word used outside of classic movies.
But the flowers looked nice, so he decided to keep them- it was probably a delivery to the wrong address anyway. Although that thought made him sad for whoever these flowers were supposed to go to.
It had been a week since the strange delivery and Tommy had put it out of his mind. Or he had until he opened his locker only to find a slice of his favorite pie inside.
“Who did this?” Tommy asked his team, “Whoever you are is my new favorite.”
Lucy laughed, “I know who, but I can’t tell you.”
“What?” Tommy asked, “It’s not like this is a prank- you aren’t protecting them.”
Lucy’s smile turned sad, “I’m protecting both of you.”
It was a weird thing to say- like the card with the flowers was weird. He wondered if the two things were connected, but quickly brushed off the thought. This was a coworker trying to be nice in secret and the flowers were… something. He ate the pie and fended off his coworkers who wanted a taste, and then he forgot about it.
Then there was a teddy bear in a flight suit holding a little plush helicopter. It was so cute and thoughtful. Tommy raised an eyebrow at Lucy.
“I told you I’m not telling.”
“Is it the same person?” He asked.
She sighed, “Yes.”
“Have them include a note next time.”
He was hoping they would sign it or give something away, but that didn’t happen.
Next was red velvet cupcakes.
I know you have a sweet tooth and I can’t seem to stop baking lately. But please go to the dentist- I don’t want to give you cavities.
Baking. This person was making the pie and the cupcakes. Who did he know who could bake this well?
He couldn’t help but moan when he tasted the cupcake. His team gave him weird looks, but he didn’t care. It was so good!
Tommy ended up getting into an accident because of the probie. Just a sprained wrist, but he was not happy about having to go home after the hospital cleared him. He stopped by harbor to get his things out of his locker only to find a classic looking ice pack with rubber duckies on it, a tupperware with soup in it and a note.
Lucy said you sprained your wrist. I hope this helps. I included reheating instructions for the soup.
Tommy looked at the soup and the instructions and immediately recognized it as one of Bobby’s recipes. He also remembered telling Evan he had only seen this kind of ice pack in old movies and tv shows and how he always knew a character cared when it came out. Typically it was a parent when a kid was sick or injured, but not exclusively.
With this knowledge in mind, Tommy made one stop before he went home.
He found a spot right up front. The doorman nodded and let him in. He knocked on Evan’s door.
A young woman answered, “Can I help you?”
“Oh, uh, I was looking for Evan?” Tommy asked.
The woman looked confused before he could see the lightbulb go off, “Oh! The super said the last guy moved out quickly- you must be looking for him.”
“Moved out?” Tommy asked.
“Yeah. I just moved in two weeks ago.”
“Thanks. And sorry.”
Parking spot out front. That should have been his first sign that it wouldn’t go well.
Look at him thinking about signs. He was more practical than that. There was no such thing as signs or ghosts or curses or soulmates. It was all just garbage.
But now he was concerned for Evan so he ended up driving to Eddie’s place. He would have asked Chimney, but he’d heard Maddie was recently kidnapped and wanted to give them some space.
He parked in front of Eddie’s place and noticed Evan’s jeep in the driveway. He was here. That was what he wanted, right? To talk to Evan?
He grabbed the soup and the ice pack with his good hand and rang the doorbell.
A very confused looking Evan opened it, “Tommy?”
“Hey, I went by the loft and you weren’t there.”
“Yeah. I moved,” Buck gave him an awkward smile, “Welcome to my new house.”
“Oh. You live with Eddie now?” Tommy asked.
He tried not to let that sting, but then he realized how bare the house looked behind Evan.
“No, he moved back to Texas- I took over his lease so he could go be with Christopher.”
“Oh,” Tommy was flooded with so many emotions- relief that Evan didn’t jump into a relationship with someone else so soon and pride at how kind and giving Evan was.
“Do you want to come in? I’m making spumoni,” Evan said as if it was something people just did.
“What?” Tommy asked as he entered the house.
Furniture was not in place- just where the movers put it for Evan to figure out later. The rug was rolled up and leaning against the wall and there were boxes everywhere. The only place that was at least a little unpacked was the kitchen.
“It’s not that great,” Evan admitted, “I’m trying to perfect it, but I can’t seem to get it right.”
“Why are you trying to make the perfect spumoni?” Tommy asked.
“Why did you go to the loft?” Evan countered.
“I’ve been getting gifts.”
“Good. You deserve them.”
“I wasn’t sure how to feel about a secret admirer,” Tommy admitted, “Lucy assured me it was nothing to worry about, but also wouldn’t tell me anything ‘for my own good.’ I think I know what she meant now.”
Evan was trying hard not to look disappointed. He turned his back to Tommy to work on the dessert, but Tommy knew it was so he wouldn’t see the hurt there.
“Are you here to tell me to stop?” Evan asked.
“I’m here because while the gifts were nice, I only really wanted them if they came from one person,” Tommy said, “And today I put the pieces together and realized they were from that person the whole time.”
“You- you wanted them to be from me?” Evan turned to look at him- confusion and pain no longer being masked, “But you’re the one who left.”
“I know,” Tommy said, “I knew as soon as I left that I should have stayed and talked it out with you. But I’ve run so much it’s become a reflex, now.”
“But you still want me,” Evan concluded.
“I thought you hated me, but the gifts…” Tommy trailed off. He thought Evan hated him with the way he ended things. He needed to know for sure if he still had a chance.
“Asking you to move in with me came out of left field,” Evan said, “I realize now it was because I never showed you how special I think you are. I’m not going to just find someone else- I’m not with you because you were the first guy! I love you, Tommy!”
Tommy’s breath caught. He hadn’t been expecting a love confession.
“Evan, I-”
Evan’s eyes were wide, “Oh shit, you’re going to run again.”
“No,” Tommy said, “I’m not going to leave you, Evan. I was just caught by surprise. I love you, too.”
“Really?”
“I don’t ask cowboy ghosts to break curses for just anyone.”
Evan laughed and it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard. It made something settle in Tommy’s chest. Even though they just got back together, he was sure they would spend the rest of their lives making sure the other felt truly cherished.