Chapter Text
Tommy didn't think anyone had been in the overgrown jungle of invasive species that was their back yard since Nonno Pietragallo sometime in the nineties. There could be anything from buried treasure to dead bodies back there. Maybe even a nest of highly venomous (not poisonous, thank you Evan) snakes. This was LA, there was probably at least one illegal reptile breeder in the area. The news also said it was the hottest day of the year, and yet Tommy was doing yard work like a fucking masochist.
Tommy soldiered on, ignoring the voice that told him to just hire a landscaper. He needed a new project to occupy Evan. His husband had gotten a bit obsessive about his workout routine lately. Tommy loved working out; he wouldn’t have the physique he did if he didn’t love working out. He especially loved working out with Evan, and that wasn’t even a euphemism. Well, not entirely. Evan understood the appeal of challenging yourself, the meditative nature of strength training, and the quiet pride of seeing the tangible results to your body. The two of them had a lot of conversations about the merits of different protein powders and brown rice pasta that would probably bore most people to tears.
So for Evan to be so into fitness lately it was starting to bore Tommy meant an intervention was needed. Not a big intervention, just something new to redirect Evan’s energy. The inside of the house was finished months ago but the back yard was the final frontier. Captain Nash was teaching Evan to cook, and he wanted a patio and a barbecue pit. Maybe a brick oven for pizza, although Tommy thought he’d wait to see if the cooking thing stuck before investing in one. For now Tommy was just trying to clear out the mess enough so they could make solid plans.
Tommy worked steadily into the afternoon, when the heat finally got too much for him. He checked his phone—no new texts from Evan. Tommy scrolled up through his last messages, Evan had started sending increasingly pissy texts since his shift started yesterday.
We have a new probie
Everyone thinks he’s so cool but he just started
He acts like he knows everything just because he was in the army
Does a chief warrant officer outrank a staff sergeant
Nvm I googled
He’s really annoying
Tommy wondered what it was about this guy that had Evan already in the “bitch eating crackers” stage. Nash ran a pretty tight ship and wouldn’t take in some macho ex grunt, so that ruled out bigotry. Tommy hoped the fact that Evan hadn’t texted anything in hours meant had gotten over it. Until he saw that Evan’s charger was in the trinket dish on the kitchen counter next to the keys for Tommy’s truck.
“Evan,” he heard himself drag out the last syllable of the name: Eh-vuuuuhn. He pictured his husband dropping the charger while grabbing his keys, mind a million miles away and not noticing. It went to show how gone Tommy was for the man that his exasperation was tinged with fondness.
Tommy shook his head and sighed. Gonna have to get him another one, I should buy stock in Best Buy at this point. It didn’t matter how often Tommy got him a spare to keep at work, Evan kept losing them. Well, Tommy could tease him about it when Evan got home in a few hours. In the mean time Tommy had earned some wallowing time. He stripped off the shirt that was so soaked with sweat he could have rung it out like a dish towel, grabbed a Sanpelligrino out of the fridge, and stretched out directly on throw rug in the living room across from the vent blowing out cool air. Bliss.
The doorbell rang, because of course it did. Fuck. Tommy considered ignoring it. This time of the day it was either someone asking if he was interested in switching lawn services or switching his Catholic guilt to the fun new Mormon kind.
The doorbell rang again.
Maybe there was another reason that Evan hadn’t sent any texts for the past several hours.
That thought was enough to make him jump to his feet, even as he told himself it couldn’t be that. Howie or Nash would call him if it were that. Unless both of them weren’t in a position to call him for the same reason Evan wasn't.
Tommy threw the door open more violently than he meant. The wave of pure relief he felt when he saw the insistent doorbell ringer was a petite brunette in civilian clothes made his knees feel a little weak. She did a double take when she saw him, and Tommy realized he hadn’t put his shirt back on.
“Can I help you?” Tommy asked, taking a closer look at her. She was about his own age, very pretty, with huge brown eyes. There was something vaguely familiar about her, although he was fairly sure he’d never seen her before in his entire life. Maybe it was just her resemblance to a Disney Princess, with those huge eyes and long lashes.
“Hi,” she said, forcefully dragging her eyes up from his bare chest to his face, “I’m looking for Evan Buckley. Does he live here?”
Jesus, I thought we’d seen the last of them, it’s been months, Tommy thought. Not every woman that guy catfished using Evan’s pictures showed up demanding an explanation, but too many had. This one was the first to show up at their actual house, and to Tommy’s horror she even had suitcases. He was glad Evan was still on shift, he always felt so bad for these women.
Tommy didn’t. His sympathy had vanished as soon as one assaulted his husband right in front of him. The guy had not just catfished any woman, he had gone specifically for the mentally unstable. “Who’s asking?” Tommy said, folding his arms and positioning himself to block the door.
The unfamiliar-familiar woman took a step back at his unfriendly tone, “Uh, I am. Who are you, exactly?”
“I’m his husband.”
Her big brown eyes went wide, making her look even more like a Disney Princess, “I’m sorry, what? Wait, am I…am I at the right place?” she glanced at the house number and frowned, “I’m looking for Evan Buckley-“
“Evan Buckley, age twenty-seven, six two, two hundred pounds, brown hair, blue eyes, adorable birthmark, firefighter, and Star Wars prequel fanatic?” The last one wasn’t true, but Tommy still loved fucking with Evan about it, “Yep, that’s my husband.” Tommy unfolded his arms and raised his left hand so she could see the ring. “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you’ve been actually talking to, but—“
“I’m his sister!” the woman blurted out. She was staring at the ring on Tommy’s finger like it was going to melt her face off a la Raiders of the Lost Ark. Her eyes followed it even as Tommy lowered his hand to his side.
Tommy leaned back and stared down at her. He knew Evan had an older sister, that they used to be close, but hadn’t spoken to each other in years. Despite that Evan still dutifully sent her postcards every few weeks. Evan had shown him a picture once, but it had been an older one; Evan only nine or ten and the sister a teenager. Tommy remembered thinking they didn’t look anything alike, either in terms of facial structure or coloring…
“Maddie?” Tommy asked cautiously.
She finally peeled her eyes away from Tommy’s hand and back to his face. Tommy thought maybe she did resemble Evan. Not much, but something about the shape of her nose or the expression on her face. She cleared her throat, “Yeah, I’m Maddie. Um. Are you…were you joking, about being Evan’s husband?”
Tommy shook his head, glancing down at her suitcase. He realized that this probably wasn’t a conversation for their front porch. It was also a conversation he should have with a shirt on. “I…do you want to come in?”
*************************************
Buck fumed all the way home from his shift. He couldn't stop thinking about how Bobby fawned all over the new guy after every call. Bobby hadn’t been that approving during Buck’s first shift. Bobby hadn’t even let Buck go on calls during his first shift. Remembering that new guy was a medic in the army did little to soothe Buck’s temper. Neither did remembering that Bobby had been in a weirdly good mood for months. It rankled.
The situation would have been bad enough if it were just Bobby, but everyone on A shift was gaga over Eddie “Silver Star” Diaz. Not just how cool and everything he was, but how hot he was on top of it. No one thought Eddie was being ridiculous for talking about entering the contest for the LAFD charity calendar. Just assumed that Buck didn't stand a chance against him despite all the work he'd been doing this past month. That might be the most frustrating part of the whole situation. As far as Buck knew he was the only person on A shift who was actually attracted to men, but he still had to deal with everyone sighing and twirling their hair over this guy.
It was annoying that Buck couldn’t argue with them. It was extra annoying that it gave Eddie an advantage whenever he clashed with Buck on a call. Which was pretty much every call during Eddie’s first shift. No matter how mad Buck was he kept getting distracted by Eddie’s nonchalant smirks, or the memory of what his abs looked like. It was unfair.
Buck was also annoyed at the realization he’d been through this before. Discovering his bisexuality had re-contextualized a lot of Buck’s interactions with other men over his life. Not just how he followed Isaiah down to Peru then Connor back to LA; but stuff like his rivalries with various team mates when he played football in high school, or how much Kazansky got under his skin during his attempt to join the SEALS.
Tommy’s truck wasn’t in the drive when Buck got home, this day just kept getting worse. Buck had really been looking forward to touching his husband’s pecs to cheer himself up. Tommy wasn’t going to get all starry-eyed over a guy just because he was in the army and a war hero. Eddie couldn’t even fly a helicopter.
Buck moped to the bedroom to change, then grinned when he heard the shower running. His shitty day was looking up, Tommy must have pulled the truck into the garage to tinker with the engine. Buck started stripping, yanking off his shirt and tossing it at the hamper, unbuckling his belt and stepping out of his pants. He considered just stretching out on the bed for Tommy to find when he came back into the bedroom, but didn’t have the patience tonight.
“Hey, handsome,” Buck said right before peeling back the shower curtain, “Feeling lone—oh Jesus Christ!”
The woman who was definitely not his husband screamed at the same time, and again when she looked down and registered how naked he was. Buck screamed when he recognized her, clapping his hands over his dick in mortification just as she wrapped herself up in the shower curtain.
“Maddie? What the hell?”
****
“I don’t suppose there’s any way we can unsee that?” Buck asked.
“Evan, I used to bathe you,” Maddie replied, toweling her hair.
“When I was two,” Buck said. He stared at her, still unable to believe that she was here, in his house. Buck hadn’t spoken to her in three years, and hadn’t seen her in person in twice that time. “Wait. How did you get in here? Where’s…” He didn’t finish the question. There was only one person who would have let her in, the same person who should have been in their shower. The same person who was conspicuously not home.
“Tommy let me in,” Maddie said, “He left a about an hour ago to run some errands. Said one of them was buying you an extra charger.”
“Oh, fuck!” Buck dug his phone out. He saw it wasn’t just dead, it didn’t even flash the sad little red battery icon when he hit the power button. No wonder Tommy hadn’t warned him.
“Yeah,” Maddie said, smiling awkwardly, “Your voicemail box is apparently full too. He had a lot to say about that.”
“I keep forgetting to clean it out,” Buck muttered, hunting for his charger.
“It’s on the kitchen counter,” Maddie said. “At least that’s where your, uh, your husband said he left it.”
“Right,” Buck said, scurrying to the kitchen. His charger was laid out as bitchily as possible next to the coffee maker. (Anyone who thought something couldn’t be laid out bitchily didn’t know Tommy Kinard). Buck plugged his phone in, and the little green battery icon flashed on.
Maddie followed him into the kitchen. She watched as Buck’s phone started vibrating from all the text alerts. Call me when you get this, you really need to call me, Evan your sister is here, Maddie, she has suitcases, Evan I am going to GLUE your charger to you hand, Evan you don’t need to save voicemail reminders for dental appointments from last year.
“So. You. Uh. You got married. That never came up in your postcards,” Maddie said.
“Yeah, I uh, didn’t think it was a postcard conversation,” Buck replied. He typed out a quick, sorry, I’m home now, talk when you get here, then set aside his phone to look at her. “But it’s nice to know you were getting those cards.” He sounded petulant in his own ears, but he thought he had a right.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch lately,” she said.
“Three years, Maddie,” Buck said, “I haven’t heard from you in three years.”
“I know. That’s not what I wanted.”
Whatever, Buck was able to stop himself from saying. Instead he asked where Doug was.
Maddie blew out a breath, “Don’t know, don’t care.”
“You mean you left him?” Despite the evidence—namely her being here, in his kitchen, he couldn’t quite believe it.
“Yeah,” she said, “Finally. What can I say, Mom was right.”
“Wait, do they know?”
“No one knows. And please don’t tell them I’m here if they call. I don’t want anyone to know where I am.”
“Kinda sounds like you’re hiding out,” Buck said.
“No. More like laying low. Speaking of what mom and dad know, what happened to you?” She looked around, “This place is nice.”
“Well, you should have seen it when I first moved in,” Buck said, going along with the change of subject. “Tommy inherited from his grandfather, he was kind of a hoarder. We had to do a lot of work to make it look like this.” He couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice.
“So this is Tommy’s house,” Maddie said.
“It’s our house. I’m the one who redid most of the drywall.”
“Right,” Maddie frowned, “So. Um. Since when are you gay?”
Buck rolled his eyes. He was so tired of having this conversation, “Come on, Maddie. I love women, I’ve always loved women. You know that. I just realized I love guys too.”
She raised an eyebrow, “Enough to marry one?”
“I mean,” Buck blushed, “You met him, right? Did he tell you he’s a pilot? Did you see his pecs?”
“Pecs and piloting skills, the foundation for any marriage,” she said.
“Well, there’s also his glutes,” Buck said, “There are worse reasons to get married.”
That sounded more defensive—and a lot meaner—than he wanted it to, but Maddie waved off his attempts at an apology.“I’m sorry,” she said, “He seems nice. I’m just…I guess I’m just being protective.”
“Well, there’s no need to be,” Buck said, “I know it’s not, traditional, but…but it works. Seriously, I’ve been pretty happy.” His phone chose that moment to buzz.
I have bought you 5 (FIVE!) chargers
Grabbing pizza, what does your sister want
“Just order for me, I’m not picky,” Maddie said, watching Buck closely as he responded to Tommy’s text. “Well, if you’re happy then I’m glad,” Maddie continued, “So. Tell me more about the hot pilot. How did you meet? He ran off before I could ask him.”
“Um. Well. You see, Connor, my old roommate, he and some guys were going to Vegas—”
****
“…so it was pretty late when we got back to LA, and Tommy had a shift in the morning at the same time I had to be at the academy, and since the Jeep was still in a garage hours away he said I could just crash here and he’d drop me off—“
Buck and Maddie had migrated to the couch in the living room during his tale of how he ended up married. Maddie hadn’t said much, just did a lot of staring in between taking deep gulps of Chardonnay. Occasionally she glanced at the mantel, where their wedding photo stood almost as a joke. Buck obviously drunk and hanging off his equally drunk (but better at hiding it) husband’s arm. Rock ’n Roll Dude off to the side, gesturing at them like a game show host presenting new cookware. Maddie was on her second glass of wine by the time Tommy came home. Buck noticed that she jumped a little when Tommy opened the door, and again when Tommy called out Buck’s name.
“Hey!” Buck said, springing up to help “In here, hold on.”
“I’ve got it,” Tommy said, heading for the kitchen. He had two pizza boxes and a plastic bag from Best Buy dangling around his elbow. He set the pizzas down on the stove top, then turned wordlessly to Buck. His eyebrows were reaching angles of bitchiness beyond anything Buck had seen so far. He slid the plastic bag down his elbow, reached in, and tossed a charger at Buck.
Buck grinned, “I thought you said five chargers, Kinard.” Tommy’s lips thinned and his eyes crinkled in that way that meant he was trying not to smile back. He reached in the bag and brought another charger, then another. Buck wasn’t able to catch the third without dropping the other two. “That’s still only three,” Buck laughed.
“Because I already put the other two in the Jeep,” Tommy replied, “One in the glove box and the other hidden in a place I only know about, in case of emergencies.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Buck said, sauntering over to give him a kiss. “Thanks for picking up dinner.”
“Of course,” Tommy said. He wasn’t smiling fully, just that soft thing he did that was mostly eye crinkle. Buck had to kiss him again. When they separated Tommy’s eyes flicked over Buck’s shoulder. Maddie was there, smiling awkwardly at the two of them.
“So,” she said, giving a bright smile, “Where do you two keep your plates? I can set the table—”
“Absolutely not,” Tommy said, “My Nonna’s ghost would rise from the grave to slap me upside the head if I made a guest set the table. Especially if I did it in what used to be her house. Evan?”
“Huh? Oh, I got it,” Buck said. He scurried off to grab some plates and silverware. “Do you want beer, or I think we still have a bottle of that pinot noir?”
“Pinot sounds great,” Tommy said, while Maddie said she’d stick to the Chardonnay.
Buck couldn’t stop smiling as the three of them sat down, overwhelmed all over again that Maddie was here. His two favorite people in the world in one spot.
“So,” Buck said to Maddie, “This is, uh, your first time in LA, right? Gonna see the sights, hang out for a little bit?”
“I’m just passing through,” Maddie replied. She glanced at Tommy, “I’m sorry I didn’t give you guys much notice. I promise I’ll be out of your hair in a few days.”
Buck felt some of his happiness fizzle out. She just got here, and she was already planning on moving on.
“Well, you don’t need to worry about my hair,” Tommy said, glancing between the two siblings, “We have a guest room.”
“Yes,” Buck said eagerly, “One that we put a lot of work into.”
“It’s a little bare, but it’s a lot cheaper than a hotel. Don’t worry about it. And, uh,” he faltered, looking uncharacteristically nervous, “And family doesn’t need to give much notice. Or any notice at all.”
Maddie smiled tightly, toying with her necklace, “I appreciate it.”
“Hey,” Buck said, “Even if it’s only for a couple of days: welcome to LA. I’m glad you’re here. To family.” He raised his wine glass.
Maddie’s smile softened into something more genuine, and she clinked her glass against Buck’s. After a brief pause she did the same for Tommy.
“To family,” she said softly, taking a sip of her wine.
********************
Tommy went to bed first to give the siblings some time alone. He dressed for bed in a tank top and some loose fitting joggers—didn't want to flash his sister-in-law in the middle of the night if he got up to take a piss. Besides, like many first responders Tommy had trouble sleeping naked. He only managed it after a bout of athletic sex, which probably wasn’t on the table that night.
Tommy was tired from his day of yard work and unexpected visitors, but he didn’t even bother trying to sleep. Instead he pulled out his copy of 1812: Napoleon’s Fatal March and tried to concentrate on the bleak descriptions of the Russian countryside. When it came to movies Tommy watched anything, and had a particular fondness for rom coms. When he actually took the time to read a book he preferred dense histories in the genre he informally dubbed “greatest military fuckups.”
Tommy kept getting distracted by Evan and Maddie moving through the house, their voices drifting in occasionally. He couldn’t make out their conversation, just the occasional word or peal of Evan’s laughter. After about an hour Evan tiptoed in the bedroom cautiously, looking a little surprised Tommy was still awake. “Hey,” Tommy said, “Maddie get settled okay?”
“Yeah,” Evan replied, stripping down to his boxers. “I changed the sheets after Abby spent the night, so they’re not as musty as they could be.” He slid under the covers, frowning a little. Tommy put his book aside and shifted closer to him, leaning in for a kiss.
Evan turned his head to the side, and said quickly, “Uh, s-s-sorry, but I’m not in the mood.”
“Um. Okay?” Tommy stuttered. He wasn’t in exactly in the mood himself, but he thought he was allowed to kiss his husband goodnight. He tried to hide how much it stung as he pulled away.
Tommy must not have done a good job, because Evan grabbed his arm and said, “No! Sorry, that’s not…I was just…surprised.”
“Surprised to not be in the mood?” Tommy asked, not quite mollified.
“Well, you are wearing that red tank top I like,” Evan said, running a hand down Tommy’s bicep, “I just don’t want to, you know. Get you worked up. Or feel neglected.” He bit his lip and gave Tommy those Bambi eyes of his. They were dangerous, those eyes.
“Neglected because you’re not turned on after an emotional reconnection with your big sister, who is sleeping across the hall? I’ll survive.”
“I can give you a handjob,” Evan said, still giving him the Bambi eyes, “Or you can feel me up while you get yourself off.”
“Gosh, those both sound so tempting,” Tommy said dryly. Actually, any other night they would. He was so easy for this man, it was embarrassing. “I’ll just take a goodnight kiss.”
“I can do that,” Evan said, grinning. He gave Tommy a—well, not chaste, he thought Evan was incapable of that—but a gentle kiss against his lips. “I guess Maddie visiting means we have to try to have the Quiet Sex.” Tommy could hear the capitals.
“Such are the sacrifices we make for family,” Tommy replied. He settled down on his side, facing Evan. “I know you missed her. I’m glad she’s here for that reason alone.”
“Me too,” Evan said, scooting down in bed, “You know, you didn’t have to run away earlier just to avoid telling her how we met.” He was grinning a little, but in that way that meant he was trying to cover up that he was actually bothered.
Tommy stared at him. “Evan, I didn’t leave because she was making me uncomfortable,” he said slowly. It wasn’t even bullshit. Meeting Evan’s estranged sister with no warning had nothing on all the reconnecting he’d done recently with people who had legitimate grievances against him. Still it had taken him only about an hour alone with Maddie to realize a strategic retreat was in everyone’s best interest.
“What do you mean…she’s not, like, homophobic,” Evan said, puzzled, “I mean, yeah she was weirded out, that I didn’t tell her about you, but she would act the same if you were a woman.”
“That wasn’t what I meant,” Tommy said, “I meant that I’m a strange man twice her size. She was spooked, being alone with me.” Some of that was Tommy’s own fault, due to his initial hostile greeting. But he knew that was only part of it.
Evan looked even more confused, “What? I mean, you’re my husband. Why would she…”
“Evan,” Tommy said carefully, “Do you really not see it?” Maddie had been a bit more relaxed with Evan there, but Tommy still noted the way her eyes tracked him whenever he moved. The way she tensed when Tommy and Evan had their regularly scheduled argument over the correct way to load the dishwasher, even though both men had been laughing.
Tommy and Evan never shared much about their families. Just enough to know that their respective parents weren’t shit. Evan’s parents were of the cold, WASP-y variety of not shit. Tommy’s parents were of the angry, Irish-Italian-stereotype kind. Lots of thrown crockery and broken furniture—Tommy still had a scar on his chin from being in the wrong place during an argument. He could recognize someone used to tiptoeing around a human landmine.
Evan didn’t answer him for a long time. He rolled over on his back to stare at the ceiling, arms folded over his chest. His “thinking things out” position. Tommy studied his profile—that nose really was the only thing he shared with his sister—and waited. “I saw it,” Evan finally said, his voice small. “I saw it when she first started dating him.” He grimaced, “Doug was such a dick. He never liked me.”
“Not liking you is an obvious red flag,” Tommy said. He winced; that came out bitchier and more judgmental than he wanted. He hurried past it, “She left him, right? That’s why she’s really here.”
“Yeah,” Evan said.
“She can stay with us as long as she needs to,” Tommy said firmly, “A few days, a few months. Whatever she needs.” He meant it, until Evan handed him the divorce papers Maddie was family. Most of Tommy’s personal examples of family weren’t great, but he thought he’d learned what not to do. He knew what the man who originally owned this house would do, and it made Tommy happy to do the opposite.
“Thank you,” Evan said. He wasn’t crying, but his eyes were bright.
Tommy slung an arm around him and kissed his cheek, “And we’ll figure out how to do the ‘Quiet Sex’.”