Chapter Text
Several months later…
“Why is now the time?” Buck asked.
He placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and turned to look back at Tommy. Tommy who was lit up by the warm white lights shinning on the Christmas tree that he and Tommy had put up last week. Tommy had admitted to Buck that he hadn’t bothered to get a Christmas tree the last two years because he didn’t really have anyone to celebrate with.
“I actually volunteered to be at work both times so that someone else could spend time with their family so what was the point?”
Buck had of course immediately insisted that Tommy did have someone to have Christmas with and that Tommy definitely needed to get a tree for them to decorate. Tommy had just smiled and pulled him into a kiss and they had then checked their schedules to figured out when they could go out and get a tree.
That was before Buck realized that he was actually working on Christmas day, but Tommy didn’t seem to mind, and they crammed a bunch of Christmasy things on their days off. With a bit of finagling they had managed to get on a schedule that had them off on the same days most weeks. Tommy did often have to be on call, especially when there was a possibility that Harbor would be called out to help with a wildfire, but that was the job and Buck knew that if Tommy was getting a call to go in, it was important.
So far they had managed to go to a Christmas market, put lights out on Tommy’s house, gone with Eddie to The Grove for Chris to visit Santa, and even spent an afternoon at Eddie’s house building gingerbread houses. Well, Buck had gotten down with Chris and Denny while Hen, Eddie, and Tommy watched until Buck could rejoin them.
The one thing they hadn’t managed with how busy they were, was make time to watch any Christmas movies and Tommy had a list. Buck had heard of some, but he’d never seen most. It had still surprised Buck when Tommy announced that they were watching his favorite movie tonight.
“Wait, are you saying that this whole time your favorite movie was a Christmas movie?”
Tommy leaned over and kissed him square on the lips. “Only kind of,” he said and handed a bottle of beer to Buck.
Buck took it and narrowed his eyes. “That’s cheating.”
“How?” Tommy asked as he took a seat.
“Because I’ve been guessing since I was recovering from my leg injury and this whole time you didn’t mention it was related to a holiday.”
“I told you every time that it wasn’t time yet,” Tommy said and he tugged at Buck’s hand until he sat down. “That was a clue.”
Buck didn’t hesitate in letting himself lean into Tommy. “Not a good one. You could have given me a better hint,” Buck said.
Tommy kissed the side of his head and lingered there. “Yes, but your guesses were fun.”
“Alright, so what is the movie?”
Tommy reached for the remote and selected it.
“ Love, Actually ,” Buck said. “Never heard of it. This is a Christmas movie?”
“Sort of,” Tommy said. “I, uh, I watch it every year at Christmas. I don’t think some parts of it hold up, but something about it just…it just makes me happy.”
Buck turned so he could look directly at Tommy. Sometimes it still surprised him that Tommy — his wonderful, hot, confident boyfriend — could be insecure. That he had these moments that brought forth all the times where he’d been lonely and unsure and where he really just hadn’t had anyone in his corner. He hadn’t had the easiest life, but there was something to be said for someone that didn’t let that bring them down. That was Tommy. It was part of why Buck loved him so much. That Tommy had stuck around during Buck’s own dark moments certainly helped.
“Well, if it makes you happy,” Buck said and then he kissed Tommy, keeping it sweet and gentle and soft.
They settled back into their usual movie watching position and Buck pulled the bowl of popcorn for them to share. The movie began and Buck kept his eyes on the screen. He wasn’t expecting the movie to have a bunch of storylines that didn’t seem to connect but also did in tiny little ways. He also hadn’t expected it to be British. A part of him was confused about why Tommy liked it in the first place, but then he supposed it was in the humor and the message that the movie portrayed. It was also in how there was just such a display of love and it wasn’t perfect, but still beautiful and touching. Painful even. It also wasn’t as much a Christmas movie, as it used the setting of Christmas.
“I get why you like it,” Buck said when the credits rolled.
“Yeah?” Tommy asked.
“Yes. But we could have watched ages ago. It’s not really a Christmas movie.”
Tommy didn’t say anything for a while. Then, “maybe I wasn’t ready for you to watch it so I put it off until now. And some people really don’t like it.”
“Some people are wrong,” Buck said.
Tommy snorted out a laugh. “Evan,” he said in that fond tone of his.
“Well, I liked it. I guess it’s like that thing you said about that couple on the hike, how it made you believe in love because bickering and all they loved each other. This movie makes you believe in love, doesn’t it?”
Tommy let out a breath, but he nodded. “You remember my hikers from — wow, was that back during summer?”
“As if I would forget you saying that,” Buck said.
“I guess it reminds me that it is possible and that there are many forms of it. And, Evan, finding you, it makes me really believe how true it is. How love can exist and grow and just change your life for the better.”
Buck couldn’t do anything but kiss him, tipping Tommy back into the armrest and letting the empty bowl fall to the ground. It was almost a practiced move from how often Buck just kinda tackled Tommy and kissed him. Tommy just brought Buck even closer and he kissed him back. When Buck pulled back, he didn’t get off of Tommy, instead he stared down at him.
“I love you so much, you know that?”
“You tell me every day,” Tommy said back.
He did and it made him go warm all over every time especially when Tommy said it back. Tommy always said it back.
“I love you too, Evan,” Tommy said and he reached with a hand to cup Buck’s cheek before he drew him back down for another kiss.
When Buck pulled back a few moments later, he reached down to touch Tommy’s cheek, finger sweeping up an eyelash.
“Make a wish,” Tommy said.
“I mean, it did work the last time I wished on one of your eyelashes,” Buck said with a grin. “Maybe this time it’s your wish, though.”
“Oh? Is that how we’re working out the distribution of wishes?” Tommy asked.
“Of the eyelash variety, anyway. Go on.”
Buck held his finger in front of Tommy’s lips and a moment later Tommy blew lightly and the eyelash disappeared between them.
“What’d you wish for?”
Tommy smirked at him. “I remember someone telling me wishes don’t come true if you share them. I’ll let you know when it does.”
“You’re that confident?”
“Yes, Evan,” Tommy said. “I am.”
—
His wish came true on Christmas day.
Tommy had planned on waiting for when Evan got off shift. Tommy had worked Christmas Eve and only arrived at his house in the early hours of Christmas Day. He’d done his best to nap before needing to head out to the party that Evan and Maddie had worked hard to put together. It had never been his plan to make that the venue. That was just how it worked out.
Everyone’s families were running around. Hen and Karen were whispering to each other and Tommy had a feeling it was about their options for expanding their family. Christopher was laughin with Eddie and his abuela. Tommy found himself with Evan off in a corner on their own, they had only just gotten away from mistletoe where they had shared a kiss to cheers and whoops and claps.
“This turned out well,” Tommy told him.
“Maddie did a lot of it. Athena too. I’m glad Chris got to spend it with his dad. And I’m glad I get to see you today too.”
Evan kissed him, more of a peck than anything. Tommy drew him back in, deepening their kiss.
Their schedules mostly matched up thanks to Bobby and Captain Reid, but Tommy had been right in thinking that sometimes it would be hard. It didn’t help that their stations weren’t too close to each other and that when a shift went long that exhaustion meant that they didn’t see each other. Tommy had come up with a plan to make that easier. He hoped that Evan would say yes. His plan had been to ask on their next day off, but having Evan next to him on the loft of the station with everyone there doing their own thing, it kinda felt perfect. To be honest, maybe it was also that Tommy just couldn’t wait.
“You know, this is where we met,” Tommy said.
“It is, isn’t it,” Evan said.
“It changed everything for me,” Tommy said. “More than I ever expected.”
They had talked about it once when Bobby was out with a bad cold and Chim had gotten to be in charge for two shifts. Evan had bemoaned how Captain Han had acted the whole time and Tommy had had to point out that Chim might have been the Captain back when he was if he hadn’t misappropriated a helicopter.
“That would have been awful,” Evan had said.
“Yeah, well, the last thing I wanted was to be back at the 118. Meeting you maybe made up for it.”
“You are too smooth, Tommy. Too smooth.”
“We met right over there,” Tommy said, pointing towards the kitchen. “But I was blown away from the first moment I watched you walk in.”
Evan grinned at him, pleased. “I think I was too.”
Evan smiled at him with so much love and so much appreciation that it was hard to not just kiss Evan silly instead of asking.
“For the longest time I figured I’d wind up alone,” Tommy admitted. “I didn’t really mind too much, but it was pretty lonely. It’s great having you in my life. Better than I could have expected. But that doesn’t mean I don’t miss you when you’re not around.”
“What are you saying?” Evan asked.
“I’m saying that you should move in with me. How about it?”
Evan beamed at him. He practically threw himself at Tommy and Tommy could only wrap his arms around him to hold him steady.
“Are you sure?”
As if Evan didn’t already spend more than half his week with Tommy. As If Evan didn’t pout every time he was forced to go back to his place because he needed to do laundry and he refused to use Tommy’s machines.
“Yes. Very sure.”
Evan pulled back long enough to plant a kiss on him.
“I’ll move in with you, Tommy,” Evan said and he hummed. “Hey, was this your wish?”
“Yes. Figured I’d ask for an easy one.”
“And what would have been a hard one?”
“Oh, maybe forever?”
“That doesn’t sound very hard,” Evan said. “Long as you’re mine.”
“That is not in question.”
Someone called out for them to keep it professional and someone else whooped at them. He felt Evan laugh against him and they stayed just as close. Tommy could have never imagined this, could have never predicted Evan. He had absolutely no regrets, just mostly thoughts about what the future would be like for him and Evan. Whatever it was, they would face it together.