Work Text:
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns—"
"Oh!" Buck is grinning, cutting off Tommy before he finishes the quote. "I know that one."
"Hey, Buck." Tommy's smiling, kind of, when he says it, but his eyes fall away and to Buck's feet, where Blaze is twisting himself into circles and barking to raise the dead. "Hi, Bingo, hi!"
The dog gets Tommy's real smile, the one Buck saw only hints of during their time together. He was just getting good at telling the difference between when Tommy was with him and when he was a million miles away.
"I can't believe you found him," Tommy is saying as the rest of the crew gather around. "No, I can." Tommy looks at Chim. "I can definitely believe it was the 118 in the centre of that mess."
"All in a day's work, my man."
That gets a laugh from the crowd, but Buck knows if he opens his mouth to join in, all they'll hear is a scream.
He walks away.
When did Tommy get a dog anyway? He had enough space in his life for Bingo, but not for Buck? Whatever. It's not like Buck can have a dog in his apartment. Some days, it feels like there's barely enough room for himself.
He flops onto an empty bed in a move he recognises could be called a funk. But that was weird, right? Did anyone else think that was weird?
There's a bark at the door, and when Buck opens his eyes, Tommy is there. The dog licks his hand where it's fallen off the bed.
"That was weird," Tommy says. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." Buck sits up on the bed. He runs his fingers through Blaze's ears. "So his name is Bingo?"
"I didn't choose it," Tommy tells him. He steps closer, and Buck wants so badly for him to sit in the empty space. "He came with that name from the shelter, and I couldn't bear to change it on him."
"I wondered how you ended up with a dog."
"It was a good way to get out of my house, walking the dogs until they were adopted. But this guy, I couldn't resist."
Buck looked down at Bingo. Must be nice.
"Howie told me you've been taking care of him. Thank you, Buck, really."
"Evan."
"What?"
"Evan." He rests his hand on Bingo's back, feeling that tiny heart beating oh so fast. "That's the name I came with. You should call me Evan."