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1 – Buck
He’s wondering how to branch out in his baking on a Thursday night: German Apple Cake or Tiramisu? He’s got ingredients for both and he’s hoping that if he tries something else, the rest of his friends won’t start changing their locks on him when he shows up at their houses.
He’s just decided on German Apple Cake when there’s a knock on the door. He frowns and looks at his watch. It’s not terribly late yet, and not totally outside the possibility that someone has decided to show up unannounced, so he tugs off his apron and moves toward the door, fully expecting Maddie with Jee or Eddie and Chris but it’s not either of those.
Tommy is standing on the other side, looking like he’s about ten seconds from turning tail and running away. He looks like hell, his hair that Buck had loved to run his fingers through on his day off, in complete disarray, unshaven, the dark circles under his eyes so prominent that Buck wonders if he’s slept at all in the last three months.
“Um,” Tommy says, eyes darting behind Buck as though he’s expecting someone else to appear behind him. “Hi.”
Buck doesn’t know what to say. What the hell are you doing here comes to mind first, but under that is pure relief, because Tommy’s here.
“Hi,” Buck says.
Tommy exhales slowly. “Can I come in?”
Buck looks at him that drawn face and sees that he’s been suffering just as much as Buck has. He stands back and holds the door open. Tommy slides past him and it’s such a different feel to the last night Buck let him in here, he doesn’t get big hands on his waist, or a sweet kiss and God, he misses that so much. He still wishes he’d kissed Tommy harder that night.
“How, uh, how are you?” Tommy says hesitantly and Buck can feel the anger well up suddenly, because, that’s it?
He crosses his arms over his chest and stares before saying, “Really? How are you? Are you for real, right now?”
Then he regrets it immediately when Tommy’s face falls even more, which Buck didn’t think was at all possible. “Tommy, I’m s-”
He holds up a hand. “No,” he says softly. “You’re right. I deserve that.”
“No, you don’t,” Buck insists. “I’m just confused. And, yeah, okay, a little mad at you. Why are you here?”
“I miss you,” Tommy admits. “And...I ran into Howie at the grocery store the other day. He was getting something for Maddie that apparently only the one by me carries?”
Buck thinks about this. He supposes that it’s not completely outside the realm of possibility, Maddie’s pregnancy craving are insane right now, but it’s also suspicious when Chimney has been the one not-so-subtly telling Buck he should just call Tommy after all.
“You not buying that either?” Tommy asks and Buck breaks himself from his thoughts to see that there’s a small, teasing, grin on his face and...oh. There’s the Tommy from before. He’s missed him.
“Maybe,” Buck admits. “Pretty convenient though. He’s, been, uh telling me to contact you.”
Tommy laughs a little. “Yeah, he talked me into going out for coffee. He basically read me the riot act. Asked me if I still wanted to be with you.”
Buck feels like his breath is in his throat. “And what did you tell him?”
“That I regretted breaking up with you the second I walked out of your door that night,” Tommy admits. “But by then I was afraid it was too late.”
“And all this time?” Buck presses.
Tommy shrugs, but Buck isn’t buying the attempt to be casual. “Same thing. Evan, I’m a bit of a mess. I didn’t realize quite how much I’d been holding back with you until that night. And it wasn’t you, I swear, it was just...me. I’m not good at letting myself be happy.”
Buck sighs. “Want a beer?”
Tommy looks surprised but pleased. “Yeah, I would love one.”
Buck goes to the kitchen and grabs two beers, popping the tops off before leading Tommy to the couch. Once they’re seated, Buck waits him out, which, he acknowledges, maybe he should have done a long time ago.
“I wasn’t ready,” Tommy says hesitantly. “That night, when you asked me to move in. I wasn’t ready. Plus, I have a house.”
“Okay,” Buck says slowly. “Okay, yeah, I understand that. But if that was the case, why didn’t you just talk to me about it?”
“I freaked out,” Tommy answers. “That’s about all I can say. None of my relationships have ever worked out for me. You were the first serious one I’d had since….”
“Abby,” Buck finishes for him. “Tommy, I wish you had told me that.”
“I wish I had too,” Tommy says. “All my relationships with men were short casual things. I was the experiment, and sometimes I treated other men that way. It’s doesn’t feel great. I was trying to go at your pace, Evan. It didn’t occur to me that our definition of too slow and too fast were a bit different.”
“I really didn’t mean to scare you,” Buck explains. “I was just trying to tell you that I really wanted us to be serious, you know? I clearly jumped ahead and didn’t listen.”
“It’s not-”
It’s Buck’s turn to hold up a hand to stop him. “It clearly was me a little bit, Tommy. You ran, remember?”
Tommy looks a little crestfallen. “Yeah. I did. And I am sorry for it.”
Buck looks at him carefully. “Thanks for saying that. I’m sorry too.”
Tommy smiles at him. “Look, I’m not sure that I’m ready to just jump right back into a relationship, but I do miss you. You’re so funny and sweet and such a brat…”
“Hey!” Buck protests, a laugh bubbling out of him. It feels unexpected but so good after the last few months. “I’m not a brat!”
“Yeah you are,” Tommy teases. “But it’s okay. I like it.”
“Oh,” Buck says, not really sure how to respond to that. He tries to get them back on track instead. “So you, what? Want to just be friends?”
“Yeah,” Tommy says. “Yeah, I would really like that. Would...would that be okay with you?”
Buck wonders if he can do that, be friends with Tommy. But then it occurs to him that they never really did that, Tommy kissed him, and then they were dating. And then they weren’t. And then, suddenly, Buck was asking him to his sister’s wedding. They never really established a friendship to go along with being boyfriends.
“I would like that too,” Buck decides. “Let me get to know the real Tommy Kinard.”
“I told you,” Tommy says. “I’m kind of a mess.”
“Well, same,” Buck answers. “You should see my fridge. All I’ve been doing with my free time is baking.”
“Really?” Tommy asks. “I’ve been doing a ton of helicopter tours on the side to distract myself.”
Buck tilts his head. “Did it work?”
There’s that shrug again. “Not really.”
“Me neither,” Buck says with a sigh. “But it was kind of fun, so there’s that, I guess.”
“That’s good,” Tommy says and is quiet for a moment before continuing with, “So do you have any cake?”
The laugh that bursts out of Buck in that moment feels so good, he does it twice when he remembers Tommy’s sweet tooth. “Yeah, quite a few different flavors. Want some?”
Tommy laughs too. “God yes.”
Soon they’re standing at the island sharing a chocolate cake, laughing and catching each other up and when Tommy gives him a gentle hug goodbye at the door a couple of hours later, Buck knows he hasn’t felt this light in months.
2 – Tommy
“Tommy!” Howie says when he makes it to his and Maddie’s house about a week after he and Evan had their big talk. Being Evan’s friend has done him wonders in that time. When Howie had invited him over, it hadn’t occurred to him to turn the offer down. “Thanks for coming!”
Tommy hands over the six pack of his favorite craft beer. “Thank you for inviting me.”
Howie claps him on the back. “I’m glad you and Buck have talked.”
Tommy raises an eyebrow. “He didn’t buy that you went to that grocery store by me because of Maddie’s cravings either.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Howie says cheerfully. “Come on, everything’s already set up for poker. We’ve got snacks, we got sandwiches. Just us guys. It’s gonna be great.”
“Where are Hen, Maddie and Karen?” he asks as he follows Howie into the dining room where Eddie and Evan are already munching on potato chips. Evan’s face lights up when he sees him and Tommy tries to ignore the little flutter in his chest at the sight.
“Went to a queer club,” Evan explains for Howie. “They didn’t want to play with us. Hey, Tommy.”
Tommy smiles at him and waves at Eddie, who holds up his beer bottle in a salute.
Soon enough, they’re gathered around the table and Howie is passing out the sandwiches from the amazing deli down the street. When Tommy unwraps his, he notices they’ve put pickles on it, which he hates.
When he does not expect is for Evan to notice too. “Aw, you hate pickles,” he says and take the top of his sandwich off. “Put them on mine.”
Tommy looks at him a moment then shrugs and complies. It’s then that he notices that Evan’s sandwich has black olives, which he knows that he doesn’t care for.
“Put your black olives on mine?” Tommy offers and Evan nods rapidly, grabbing a nearby spoon and scooping them off his sandwich around the pickles and onto Tommy’s.
“Good?” Evan asks.
“Perfect,” Tommy says. “The sandwich shop must have gotten our requests mixed up or something.”
“Must have,” Evan agrees, knocking his shoulder into Tommy’s, making him laugh.
When he looks up, Howie and Eddie are eyeing them but Tommy can’t quite place their expressions.
“What?”
The two exchange a quick look and Tommy is so confused, sure he must have missed something.
Eddie, though, is quick to say, “Nothing, nothing. Let’s play.”
They do and Tommy thinks that this is the most fun he’s had in months.
3 – Buck
“I’m going to be so bored tonight,” Buck sighs, leaning back against the couch as everyone talks about their plans around him. The shift is just about over and he’s the only one who’s planning to go home right after. He’s been taking his own time leaving the station. “Why do you all have lives and I don’t?”
“Sorry, Buck,” Hen says with a shrug. “You can’t crash date night with me and Karen.”
“And there is no way you’re coming to the meeting with our contractor with me and Athena,” Bobby says. “You yelled at him last time.”
“His plan didn’t make sense,” Buck protests. “I really think you guys need a new contractor.”
“Our current one is perfectly fine, Buck,” Bobby answers patiently. “You’re just mad you can’t help on this.”
Buck sighs. “Eddie, why can’t I come with you and Tommy tonight?”
“Because you’re banned from anything basketball-related,” Eddie answers promptly, not even looking up from the magazine he’s been flipping through.
“That was one time!”
“You hate it,” Eddie says. “Why would you want to come?”
He wants to spend time with Tommy, Buck thinks, but doesn’t say. It’s actually really good that Tommy is spending time with other people away from him, Buck rationally knows that, but their friendship is new and Buck has missed just being in his presence.
He tries not to dwell on it though.
“You can come home with me,” Chimney offers. “I’m sure Jee will want to see her uncle.”
Buck raises an eyebrow because he’s not stupid enough to fall for that. “And you and my sister will be doing what exactly?”
“That’s none of your business,” Chimney answers, and Hen chokes on a laugh as Buck makes gagging noises.
“Hey guys,” a familiar voice says from behind them and Buck turns to see Tommy standing there, looking gorgeous…
Wait, Buck thinks, no, no, this is his friend. Tommy is not gorgeous. In fact, he looks perfectly….fine...in jeans and his favorite tan jacket over what looks like another one of his henleys.
Yeah, Tommy looks fine. He is fine.
Really, really fine.
Buck curses himself because this is a very dangerous road for his mind to go down and he knows it.
“Hey, man,” Eddie says. “Thanks for coming to get me. Let me just go get changed really quick then we can go.”
“No problem,” Tommy answers. “We’ve got time.”
Eddie slaps him on the back and makes his way downstairs.
They all stand and chat idly while Tommy waits, but it’s when Hen and Chimney make their own way to leave, refusing to be held up by Buck for any longer, that Buck notices the button on Tommy’s jacket.
“Hey, what happened?” Buck says, motioning toward the missing button.
“Hmm?” Tommy asks and looks down. “Oh. I have no idea. I just noticed it was gone the other day. It’s all right.”
Buck frowns. “But it’s your favorite.”
“I know,” Tommy says. “I just haven’t had time to find a button and fix it.”
“You hate doing that anyway,” Buck answers. “Tell you what, leave it with me and I’ll hit the craft store tonight and get a button. I’ll fix it while you guys are at the game.”
Tommy looks surprised. “Really?”
Buck motions with his fingers to hand it over. “Really. You can have mine if you’re cold? You know I run hot.”
“It’s okay, I’ve got a hoodie in my truck, I’ll throw that on.” Tommy hands the jacket over. “Thanks, Evan.”
“No problem,” Buck assures him. “I learned to do it while I traveled all those years ago and I kind of miss it. This will be fun. We’re still on for movies and dinner this weekend right?”
“Yep,” Tommy confirms. “I’ve had a craving for those burgers ever since you mentioned that for dinner.”
“Perfect,” Buck says. “I’ll get it done by then.”
Buck ignores the flutter in his stomach at the grateful, sweet, smile Tommy shoots him. It’s that one that makes his nose crinkle and Buck was always such a sucker for that smile.
As Eddie makes his way back up the stairs, dressed and ready to go, Buck also watches as Hen and Chimney follow them out of the station as Buck goes to get his own things. They look like they’re whispering intently about something and Buck could swear one of them looks back at him, but it was so fast, he’s not sure he didn’t just imagine it.
Huh, he thinks. Wonder what that’s about?
4 – Tommy
“I can’t believe,” Evan says as they’re roaming the grocery store. “That you got powdered sugar instead of baking soda.”
“They’re a white powder!” Tommy protests. “I didn’t think it made a difference!”
“So’s cocaine, Tommy,” Evan insists and Tommy tries not to smile fondly at him, because he’s afraid it would come out far too besotted. The fact that Evan made that connection makes him want to laugh but he just barely resists the urge.
“And you certainly don’t want that in cookies!” he continues indignantly. “I can’t make you those cookies you wanted with no baking soda. Also did you not read the labels? The packages are not remotely the same.”
Tommy’s absolutely not about to tell him that he’d been distracted at the time by a text that Evan himself had sent him that had read, Did you know a new species of gecko was discovered in China recently? I wish I could see it lol.
He’d had to stop himself from looking up plane tickets to China.
Now, Evan is poking him in the shoulder. “Hey, what’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” Tommy says. “Let’s go get that baking powder.”
The grin on Evan’s face is fond and indulgent. Tommy tries not to read too much into that. “Baking soda.”
“Same thing,” Tommy says because he just knows that will start Evan off on another tangent. Sure enough, he’s just gathering up steam for a lecture when they hear a familiar voice behind them.
“Uh hey guys,” Ravi says as he walks toward them and Jesus, Tommy thinks, are there so few grocery stores in LA? “How’s it going?”
“Hey Ravi,” Evan says happily. “We’re good. How’s B-shift?”
Ravi shrugs, shifting his shopping basket to the other arm. “A lot less crazy than working with A-shift, that’s for sure. You guys back together? I hadn’t heard that. Congrats!”
Tommy looks at Evan, who’s looking at him with such a look of abject panic and Tommy’s actually a little confused.
“Uh,” Tommy says, taking his eyes off Evan. “No no, we’re just friends.”
Ravi looks surprised, looking confused himself. “Oh. Okay, then. Well, I gotta get my stuff and get out of here. Nice to see you.”
“Bye, Ravi,” Evan says faintly. When he’s gone, he turns to Tommy. “Weird right? How he thought we were back together?”
“I guess,” Tommy says, feeling off kilter for reasons that he can’t figure out. “Does that bother you?”
“No,” Evan says, just a little too quickly. “Not at all. Hey, let’s go get that baking soda and get out of here, okay?”
“Okay,” Tommy answers. “You sure you’re all right?”
Evan nods. “I’m good. Great, even. Promise.”
Tommy decides to believe him for now and as they make their way to the backing aisle, he sees Ravi in the next one over, talking on his phone.
Tommy only hears him say, “I don’t think Tommy and Buck know….” and then he’s wandered off.
Tommy frowns. What are they not knowing? He doesn’t get it, but doesn’t have time to ponder that, because Evan has impatiently grabbed his arm and dragged him through the aisle, already giving him a lecture on acceptable backing soda brands.
By the time they’ve left the store to go back to Tommy’s, he’s forgotten all about it.
5 – Buck
“Hey,” Hen says as she opens the door a few days later. “You came!”
Buck laughs a little. “Did you not expect me to?”
“Well, I did tell you that we wanted to talk to you,” Hen says. “I thought that might freak you out a little.”
When she’s approached him at the beginning of their shift yesterday and asked him to come over today, he had been a little freaked out, but mostly curious.
“Maybe,” Buck admits as she stands back to let him in. “But I guess I just want to make sure everything’s okay.”
“With us?” Hen says and Buck nods. “Yes! Everything is fine with us. But Karen and I...well, we’ve been elected to talk to you. About you and Tommy.”
Now Buck is really confused. “What about me and Tommy?”
“Come on,” Hen says, grabbing his arm. “Let’s talk at the dining room table. Karen’s getting things all set up.”
Bewildered, Buck follows her. When they get to the dining room, Buck can see there’s an array of snacks and drinks there.
“Okay,” Buck says slowly. “Now I am starting to freak out. What’s going on?”
“Sit down, Buck,” Hen says. “We’ll explain.”
He does and decides he might as well grab one of the sodas sitting there. “Okay. I’m here, I’m sitting. What’s going on?”
Hen and Karen look at each other then back at Buck. “Are you aware,” Karen says carefully, like she’s considering her words as she says them. “That you and Tommy are dating?”
Buck nearly spits out the soda. “What? No we’re not! We’re just friends.”
“We know that’s what you keep saying,” Hen says. “But we’ve all noticed things between you two. You know each other’s likes and dislikes, you’re going out together. Going grocery shopping together.”
“How did you hear about that?” Buck wonders, but Hen goes on.
“Can friends do that? Sure.”
“But with you two,” Karen continues, “It’s definitely different.”
“But…” Buck starts, but stops because he’s thinking back to the last couple of months, how, even as friends, they’re spending almost all of their free time together, doing domestic tasks. He also thinks of the ways he’s had to deny himself treating Tommy like a boyfriend in all the ways that he used to, telling him he’s gorgeous, or wanting to hold his hand, or cuddle up to his side while they watch movies on the couch.
Crap.
“We’re not sleeping together,” Buck says weakly.
“Do you want to?” Hen asks bluntly. “Do you still want that with him?”
“Yes,” Buck says without even thinking because that’s always been true. But he’s also aware enough to know that he wants Tommy any way he can get him and if that means respecting Tommy’s wishes to stay friends, then so be it. “But that’s not what he wants. He specifically asked that we just stay friends.”
“That was what? Two months ago?” Karen answers, “What if that’s changed?”
“What if it hasn’t?” Buck asks a little desperately and Hen reaches forward to take his hand.
“And if he does want to date again,” she says, squeezing his fingers, “You could get everything you’ve wanted, Buck. Do you love him?”
“Yes,” Buck answers, again without hesitation. “He’s worth it. I just...I don’t know how to convince him of that. He hasn’t had it easy. I’ve just been trying to respect what he told me he wants.”
“You fight for him,” Karen responds simply. “You can still respect him while voicing what you want, too. That’s how relationships are supposed to work. Balance, baby.”
Hen nods in agreement, still holding Buck’s hand.
Buck thinks about this, an idea forming in his mind.
He stays with them a little while longer, talking things through more, and when he leaves the Wilson house a couple of hours later, he’s made up his mind.
He and Tommy have plans this weekend for pizza and a movie.
But Buck has another idea.
+1 Tommy
He’s so nervous, though Howie had tried to talk him down when they’d met for coffee to talk. Tommy had needed to talk to someone and he’s always felt closer to Howie, their friendship going back so long. Howie had readily agreed, thank goodness.
”I’m in love with Evan, he’d blurted before he could stop himself.
Howie had just looked at him for a moment. ”What else is new? Wow, you really don't know you guys are dating. I thought Ravi was lying about that.”
The mystery of the call he’d overheard at the grocery store is solved at that point, but it doesn’t really matter. He spills everything to Howie, who sighs, reaches forward, and puts a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.
”Sorry man,” Howie had said. ”But the easy way out here is through. You can either tell him, or live the rest of your life not knowing. And take it from me, the latter is far, far worse.”
And considering Howie’s married to the love of his life and they’re expecting their second child, Tommy knows he must know what he’s talking about.
So movies, beer, and pizza have turned into something completely different. Howie had relayed a recipe from Maddie for one of Evan’s favorite dishes from when he was a kid, with step-by-step instructions. When he’d gone grocery shopping, he’d remembered about the baking soda and put his phone on do not disturb so he could pay careful attention to all the ingredients he was buying, he was so determined not to screw this up.
Now, dinner is cooking in the oven, the house actually smells amazing, and he’s buttoning up a dress shirt Evan once told him made his eyes pop when the doorbell rings.
He takes one last look at himself in the mirror, his freshly shaved face, and styled hair, having gotten a little trim earlier in the day. Even the bags under his eyes are better.
The only way out is through.
He nods at himself and goes to answer the door.
He’s not sure what he was expecting, certainly Evan in his favorite jeans and a t-shirt, but that’s not the Evan that’s standing in front of him.
Instead, he’s in a dark red dress shirt and black pants, curly hair perfectly styled. He looks...well, he looks gorgeous and way over dressed.
His heart is in his throat when he also sees that Evan is holding at least a dozen red roses.
“Hi,” Evan says and Tommy can see that he looks nervous, but there’s a resoluteness there too, like he’s made a decision he’s not backing down from.
“Hi,” Tommy says, feeling a little dazed. “You look…”
Evan shifts the roses and looks down at himself. “Oh, this old thing?” He teases and Tommy laughs.
“Come in,” Tommy says, standing aside. Evan glides past him and holds out the flowers.
“These are for you,” Evan says, and he takes another deep breath like he’s fortifying himself. “For our date. Tonight. Together.”
“Evan,” Tommy says, taking the roses, and he thinks he might actually cry because can it really be this easy? “I-”
“Wait,” he says, holding up a hand. “Please, hear me out. I know you said you wanted to be friends and I totally accept that. I just...I just need you to know something. Okay?”
Tommy nods not daring to say a word just in case this isn’t going the way he hopes it is.
Evan continues, “I’m in love with you.”
Tommy swears his heart stops. “You are?”
Evan nods. “And I should have said it that night. I wish I had, maybe that would have made things clearer for you, but I do, Tommy. I love you and if you don’t love me too, well, that’s okay. I mean, not okay, but I—mmph.”
The kiss is so very like their first in Evan’s kitchen all those months ago that Tommy feels a strong sense of deja vu. Except this time, Evan’s arms come around his neck as Tommy wraps his around Evan’s waist, the roses jammed against his back. It’s awkward and beautiful and everything.
When they break apart, Evan leans his forehead against Tommy’s looking at him with a slightly dazed expression. “Um,” he whispers and Tommy can feel the heat of his breath on his mouth. “That...do you feel the same way?”
Tommy can’t help it, he laughs and leans in for another kiss. “God, Evan, I love you so much.”
Evan grins, looking shy and sweet. “Yeah?”
Tommy nods against him. “Yeah. I just...I told you that I’m messed up and you stuck by me. Everything you learn about me and you haven’t given up. I never thought I’d get to have that. Even as a friend, you know?”
“Well you do,” Evan insists. “You do with me, Tommy. You always have. I don’t always have the right words to say but you just have to talk to me, baby, and I will do my best to listen.”
He didn’t realize how much he’d missed being called baby. “Okay.”
Evan tilts his head, eyes sparkling and there’s so much affection there, Tommy knows he just didn’t let himself see it before. It was probably always there. “Okay?”
He steps back and holds out his arms, still holding the roses in one hand, so Evan can see what’s wearing. “I sort of had an idea too.”
Evan eyes him up and down and Tommy can feel his cheeks heat. “You are a little overdressed for pizza and beer.”
Tommy laughs. “I had a talk with Howie. He sort of clued me into some things.”
Evan seems to consider this. “I also had a conversation with Hen and Karen. They did the same. That’s….huh.”
“You don’t think they planned this?” Tommy says, thinking back. “But I called him. How could he have known I would?”
Evan laughs, shakes his head. “I don’t even know. But yeah, I think they had a hand in this.”
Then he notices something else. “It smells amazing in here.”
“Recipe from your sister,” Tommy says, grabbing Evan’s hand and dragging him toward the kitchen. He lets him go long enough to find something to put the roses in as Evan leans against the nearest kitchen counter. “Your favorite recipe from childhood.”
Evan’s eyes widen. “Marry Me Chicken? But you hate to cook.”
“I don’t hate it,” Tommy insists, opening the oven to check on it, relieved to see that it looks like Maddie said it’s supposed to. “I just don’t have the affinity for it that you do. But I wanted to. I wanted this to be a date too. This is meant to tell you that, if you’re all in, I am too.”
He’s closing the oven door as Evan grabs his arm and pulls him in for another one of those deep, deep kisses. Before he knows it, he’s perched on the kitchen counter, Evan between his legs.
“How much time do we have?” Evan breathes, trailing kisses down the side of Tommy’s neck.
Tommy tilts his head to give him better access, closing his eyes in total bliss. “About a half hour.”
Evan looks up at him with a grin and tugs him off the counter. “Perfect.”
++1 Tommy
Later, they’re in bed, gloriously naked, blankets tucked around them as they eat the Marry Me Chicken, doing their best not to spill all over themselves, the bed and each other. Tommy thinks this is the happiest he’s been in months. The first six months with Evan were great but this...after the time working on being friends, this feels like it’s on a different level.
“What are you thinking about?” Evan asks, setting his empty plate on the nightstand and curling up as close to Tommy as he can get. Tommy leans down and presses a kiss to the top of his head, setting his own plate down too.
“That I’m glad you agreed to be friends with me,” Tommy admits. “I...I needed that, you know?”
Evan sits up to look him in the face. “And all you have to do is tell me what you need, Tommy. It’s not going to be perfect with us, but I want this to work. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this and I think our biggest problem was communicating. We didn’t do enough of it.”
Tommy runs a finger over his birthmark and down his cheek. “I think you’re right. I promise.”
Evan smiles. “Me too.” he leans forward for a gentle, sweet kiss, moving to straddle Tommy’s lap but it’s not sexual, it’s just...comfortable, the closeness. Tommy settles back against the pillows and closes his eyes as Evan settles against him, head on Tommy’s shoulder as Tommy runs gentle hands up and down his thighs.
“Tommy?” he whispers sometime later.
“Hmm?”
“This is the best date I’ve ever had.”
Tommy can’t help it, he laughs, grabs Evan around the waist and flips him so he’s on his back. “Yeah?”
Evan wraps his arms and legs around him, holding Tommy tight against him. “Yeah. This is it, right? You and me?”
“Yeah, sweetheart,” Tommy says with another one of those sweet kisses, more sure than he’s ever been. “This is it.”
“Thank God,” Evan breathes. He cups Tommy’s face. “I love you.”
Tommy rests his forehead on Evan’s, kisses his cheek tenderly. “I love you too.”