#for work and/or with a partner who buck is sure 1) doesn't know/love/accept all of tommy and doesn't deserve him and 2) buck

[buckevantommy]

when they bring tommy back for eventual bucktommy endgame, i would love to see them be friends for a while first.

it's been a year or so and they cross paths on a call or something. buck has dated a few people, maybe someone semi-serious, none of them stuck. or maybe he's currently dating someone. but so is tommy. buck voices how much he misses just spending time with him and floats the idea of them being friends. tommy is hesitant but ultimately that's what happens: tentative at first, but they become friends.

and in being friends, they get to know each other better than if they were dating. even though tommy knew buck pretty well already, with friendship he lets himself be known better, not so afraid of being imperfect or less than or broken or not enough; he's still self conscious about it, doesn't want to be a burden, but there's no fear of getting his heart broken by evan leaving him, and no guilt of breaking evan's heart, so it's mostly just him wanting to be a good friend so he tries to hide his shit for a bit and not hang out for a week when he's having a rough time.

except: buck notices he's having a rough time and isn't interested in only spending time with tommy when he's happy - he wants to be there for his friend! he wants to help and comfort like he does with all his friends. buck discovers that either tommy pushed his boyfriend away (for now), maybe lied to him so the guy is clueless about how tommy is really doing, or he simply broke things off because tommy is 'too much'. in any case, buck would be livid because 1) this guy doesn't deserve tommy and 2) tommy is hiding himself away during a bad time and that's not okay, buck can't let him isolate himself and think that if he's not perfect he's not wanted therefore no one wants to deal with him.

buck shows up at his house, or maybe finds tommy at a campsite or something. tommy looks rough - it's been an emotionally trying time with family issues or ptsd or a rough work call. in any case: buck gets it, and he's not going to let tommy go through this alone. friends don't abandon each other in their time of need, and no matter how tommy tries to push him away, buck is staying.

buck says all this, earnest and caring and desperate to help, and eventually tommy cracks. he gives in to the need for connection, lets evan in, lets him stay, lets himself be comforted through hugs and letting evan see him breakdown and cry.

and it's not the end of the world. it's actually the start of a new chapter: it marks a turning point in their friendship where tommy is more open about things (with evan, and maybe howie) and buck gets to know him better.

there might be another partner or two for each of them going forward, but their friendship strengthens and inevitably leads them back to love, eventually getting back together and knowing they're both seen and loved in all their dark and ugly beauty.