Chapter Text
As the years went by and the longer Buck and Tommy were with the LAFD, they had more control of their schedules and they made sure that their schedules had matched up so they always had the same days off together.
Tommy had reduced his flight hours so he’s not in the air much, but was able to make up for the extra hours teaching the new generation of fire pilots. He spends a majority of the time on the ground nowadays, but it was something he was willing to do if it meant spending time with Buck and being able to have the same shifts and days off as his husband.
Sunday had always been the day where Tommy and Buck would catch up on things around the house. They needed to go grocery shopping, pick up some packages that Buck had ordered online, maybe stop by the nursery to get some plants for the front yard, catch up on laundry, pretty much all the boring adult stuff that you have to do, but there was something that felt good about it. Tommy always enjoyed doing the small things like this. He loved how normal it felt to be out doing things with someone he loved and cherished.
“We should start on a shopping list.” Buck said has he started to take inventory of what they had in the pantry. “I don’t want to buy doubles of things we already have.”
“Do you want to meal plan for the week?” Tommy suggested as he took a pen and pad of paper from the drawer beside the fridge.
“That would be a good idea then we can make a list off of that.” Buck closed the pantry and sat down at the kitchen table.
“We can get some chicken and put them in the BBQ. I can make some sides to go along with it.” Tommy suggested as he made his way to where Buck was sitting. “Its been a while since we grilled.”
“I like the sound of that.” Buck said with a smile. Tommy wrote down chicken on the pad of paper as well as the things they needed for a caesar salad. “What else?”
Once they started to come up with ideas, their grocery list was almost two pages front and back, but they were able to cross things off once they started to see what they already had so the list went down to one and half pages front and back. A lot of the ingredients were able to be used for multiple meals that week and for any future meals. They like to stock up on items as much as they can and they also needed to get things they ran out of or were low on like coffee, sugar, flour and other baking stuff that Buck needed. He was still baking and Tommy wasn’t going to say anything about that. He loved Buck’s freshly baked bread.
The first stop of the day was the post office. Buck had ordered new baking supplies for some new recipes he wanted to try. He had to order directly from the supplier due to the items not being available to purchase on Amazon. He couldn’t wait to start using them.
Buck stepped up the counter. “Hi. I have a couple packages for Buckley-Kinard.” He took out his wallet and showed the employee his I.D. She nodded and went to the back. Within a few minutes, she came back with two massive boxes on a cart.
“Here you are, Mr Buckley.” She said as she wheeled the cart around the counter. “Do you need to take this to your vehicle?” She asked. Buck sensed that she was trying to flirt with him.
“No, it's ok. My husband can help me, but thanks for offering.” Buck said as he took the cart and started to push it outside to where the truck was parked. Tommy must have seen him since he was already getting out of the vehicle and making his way towards the tail gate.
“Are you sure you only ordered baking supplies?” Tommy said in a joking tone, but he was also slightly serious. He lowered the tail gate and helped Buck lift the boxes into the truck.
“I didn’t think it would be this much.” Buck said in a way like he was regretting ordering everything.
“It's okay if you want to splurge every once in a while. You love to bake.” Tommy reassured him like he sensed Buck’s tone. “I look forward to everything you plan to bake.” He said with a smile. Buck smiled back as he went to return the cart back to the post office.
Once Buck got back into the truck, they were headed off to the nursery. Buck had his list in hand and Tommy was following behind with a flat bed cart ready to load it up with whatever Buck wanted.
When they got to the potted plants, Buck wanted to make sure that they were the perfect height and color. He didn’t want anything that was too short or wasn’t full enough. He was very particular about what he wanted in a plant.
“I can’t choose between this one or this one.” Buck said as he gestured between two plants.
Tommy got closer to get a better look. “I like the color on this one.” He said pointing to the one on the left. “But I like how full and tall this one is.” He said pointing to the other one.
“We can get both.” Buck said.
“We could.” Tommy said with a smile.
They loaded the plants onto the flat bed and continued their way through the nursery. Along the way, Buck picked out some flowers that were in season. He wanted to spruce up the walkway leading up to the front door and possibly replace the flowers in the window boxes along the front windows. He wanted the front of their house to feel warm and welcoming.
After making their rounds and getting everything they needed, they paid and loaded up the truck. It was time to go to the grocery store. It was starting to get late in the day and by the time they would get home, it would be around dinner.
Pulling in the parking lot, Tommy saw how busy it was. Everyone decided that Sunday was a good day to go to the store.
“I hate when it's super busy. I was hoping it would be a quick trip.” Tommy said as he was taking off his seat belt.
“You can stay here if you want.” Buck asked as he was getting out of the truck.
“It's ok, I’ll come inside.” Tommy wanted to go grocery shopping, it was just his anxiety that was making an appearance since crowds in stores were a trigger. There was a lot going on and a lot of noise.
Tommy got out of the truck while Buck got a shopping cart from the cart corral. They made their way into the store. Buck had divided the list into departments and had given Tommy half so they were able to divide and conquer. Buck had sensed that the store was going to be stressful for Tommy. Normally they wouldn’t go on a sunday because of how busy it gets, but they were running low on food and needed to stock up. The quicker they were in the store, the quicker they were able to get home. Dividing the list was a system Buck came up with and it worked on days like this.
Buck worked his way through produce, meat and the deli departments while Tommy started going through the aisles. They didn’t need anything from the bakery since Buck baked everything at home.
Tommy was making his way up and down the aisles crossing things off the list when he placed the items into the cart. It was pretty easy since they had their preferences when it came to flavors and the brand of item. He knew Buck well enough to the point he was able to grab Buck’s favorite things without second guessing himself. It was second nature to grab everything and not have to worry if it was the right one. He knew Buck did the same.
He was making his way into the dairy department when he saw someone that he hadn’t seen in years and he had hoped he wouldn't have to ever see again. It made his anxiety worse just by seeing her. To avoid making any kind of contact, he just kept his head down and continued his way down the list and it seemed to be working since she didn’t bother to even look towards his direction. Tommy wished Buck would come to his rescue and just like that, Buck came around the corner.
“Hey, there you are.” Buck said as he placed the items from his half of the list into the cart.
“Shh, don’t say anything.” Tommy said in a whisper.
“What, why?” Buck said in a similar tone.
“Abby is right over there.” Tommy nodded in her direction. “I don’t want her to see me.”
“Ok.” Buck took the hint and placed himself between Tommy and Abby. He was using his body as a way to block her view of Tommy. If she didn’t see him, then she wouldn’t have the urge to talk to him. They pretended to look at the things in front of them as they waited for Abby to leave the dairy department. After what seemed like a lifetime, she left without knowing that two of her exes were just a few feet away. Tommy felt relieved. Even if both their relationships with Abby ended not on good terms, Buck took seeing her a lot better than Tommy. He wanted him to feel safe and not overwhelmed by having to interact with her.
“Are you okay?”Buck asked as he rubbed Tommy’s back.
Tommy sighed. “Yeah, I’m ok. Thanks for doing that and for being here.” He said.
“Of course.” He took a quick glance into the shopping cart and saw that they’re shopping was pretty much done. “Let’s grab the last couple of items and get out of here.” Buck told him as Tommy smiled.
They finished their shopping, paid and loaded up the truck. Tommy didn’t say much on the drive home and Buck knew that he needed to process seeing Abby.
“Why don’t I make an easy dinner and we can have a quiet night at home?” Buck suggested as they pulled into the driveway.
“That would be great.” Tommy said as he turned off the engine.
“I love you.” Buck said hoping it would make his husband feel better.
“I love you more.” Tommy said with a small smile.
“Let's get everything unloaded and we'll have some dinner.” Buck got out of the truck and started to grab the grocery bags from the back seat.
And just like that, Buck was in the kitchen making chicken caesar wraps while Tommy was taking a shower. When he came back downstairs, dinner was ready. Together they enjoyed their meal and talked about their plans for the week. Buck didn’t want to bring up Abby. He wanted to leave it in the past. He wanted Tommy to start off a new week stressed and overthinking things. It was what it was and there was nothing he could have done to prevent Abby from being there. Buck was there to support Tommy and not talking about her was something that didn't need to happen.
They ended the night by watching a movie and going to bed a little earlier than they normally would. They could have stayed up a little late since they don’t have to work until Monday evening, they had things they wanted to get done in the morning now that they planned to redo their yard with the things they got from the nursery. They could use all the sleep they can.