tevan-the-firefly

[tevan-the-firefly]

911 AU where Buck never left the SEALS.

He would have graduated top of the class, he only had a few weeks/months left.

However after certain rumours spread , he gets firstly outcast by most of his fellow cadets. Then, there is the questioning of his friendship with Tommy Kinard, a renowned army pilot that is currently working on getting another certification nearby.

When someone sees them stumbling out of a bar a bit too close and giggling they are both pulled into offices.

Buck gets the recommendation to quiet (though it isn't really a recommendation) before the Navy would have to taint a potential record of his.

Tommy isn't quiet so lucky and gets discharged.

Years, hell, more than a decade later and a hell of a call from Chim, Tommy Kinard, LAFD pilot, is ready to fly into a fucking hurricane because sure why not.

Chim and Eddie, another former veteran, are already in the chopper and Tommy is waiting for Hen, as well as the infamous Buck of the LAFD. He has heard stories about the man but never really meet him. He never really wanted to because when he hears Buck, there is a flash of young, mischievous blue eyes and the faint sound of a loud lough in his head. Realistically he knows time has passed, that they weren't even dating but you don't really forget the first guy you ever feel for, especially not when he cost you your job.

Logically Tommy knows that this Buck, the golden retriever and sunshine of the 118 has nothing to do with his Evan but apparently his heart and head haven't quiet gotten that memo yet.

He is pulled out of his thoughts when he hears loud footsteps in the distance, a man rushing towards the helicopter with apologies tumbling from his lips and something about his voice sounds familiar. Maybe he meet him before.

"Buck! Hurry up before Hen catches us and stops this."

"I am so sorry guys, I was..."

Everything stops. Tommy feels like the world freezes, like time itself has been paused.

His brain scratches to a halt.

Because in front of him is Evan Buckley.

The infamous "Buck".

But most importantly, his Evan.

[tevan-the-firefly]

Controlled Burn

Idea: Buck tries to keep his fellow academy recruits from disrespecting a sacred firefighter bar and catches the attention of Tommy Kinard, an off-duty Air Ops pilot... I also can't get Navy Seal Evan Buckley out of my head. So.. yeah.

…

The bar’s quiet, just past the dinner rush. Warm light spills over old brick and burnished wood. Firehouse patches cover nearly every inch of wall space, layered like battle scars some faded, others framed in reverence. The air smells like beer, sweat, and stories too heavy to tell sober.

Tommy’s nursing the second half of his pint near the end of the bar, half-listening to some guy from Station 42 complain about budget cuts.

When the door swings open loud, careless and his head lifts automatically.

A group of recruits spills in. Too clean, too loud, all baby faces and swagger. Academy shirts still creased down the middle, like they haven’t been broken in yet. Tommy exhales through his nose.

“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, more to his glass than anyone else. “Again?”

But something’s off.

One of them the youngest-looking, sharp-jawed, sun-bleached hair isn’t strutting. He’s trailing after the group, clearly mid-argument.

“Guys, come on,” he says. “This isn’t some college bar crawl. You can’t just walk in here like you belong.” His tone isn’t loud, but it’s tight. Controlled. Like he’s used to being listened to, even when he’s not in charge.

The others ignore him. One’s already circling the pool table like a shark. Another punches buttons on the jukebox with the kind of intensity usually reserved for defusing bombs.

Tommy watches the kid, Buck, based on the half-yelled name someone throws over their shoulder follow reluctantly, jaw tight. He’s not scared, Tommy realizes. He’s watching. Clocking exits. Reading the room like someone expecting this to end badly.

There’s a tension in the way he moves. Coiled, but quiet. Like he’s halfway between fight and freeze and doesn’t trust either.

He’s younger than the rest. Brown hair lighted by the sun, skin still raw with that too-clean edge of someone trying too hard to look like they don’t care. But his blue eyes, they’re older. Watchful.

Tommy doesn’t peg him as a follower. Not with that jaw. Not with the way he keeps scanning the room, subtly placing himself between his group and the memorial wall like he’s already accepted what he’ll need to do if someone crosses a line.

And then someone does.

The tallest of them, all broad shoulders and zero sense reaches toward a framed patch in the center of the memorial. Fingers lifted, joking with the guy beside him, clearly not reading the tone of the place.

Tommy’s breath catches. He’s already pushing his glass away when it happens.

Tommy's moving to stand when Buck’s voice cuts through the bar. “Don’t touch the memorial wall,” he snaps. Sharp. Clear. “McDaniel,” Buck adds, lower now, voice a warning. “Don’t even breathe near it.”

His buddy pauses mid-reach, startled. Looks at him like he just got scolded by an instructor. “Dude, chill,” he mutters, hand dropping immediately.

Tommy watches as Buck’s shoulders stay tense, eyes still fixed on the wall. Not the guy. Not the group. Just the wall, the names and patches and stories nailed into it like bones. His hands are clenched into loose fists at his sides, and there’s something in his gaze, reverent, maybe protective.

Like he’s stood guard before.

Like he’s already lost people.

Tommy leans back in his stool. Something cold prickles down his arms, chased by the burn of curiosity curling in his gut. “You always the designated conscience?” Tommy asks, voice low, amused.

Buck blinks, startled. “What?”

“You’re not drinking. You’re not letting your guys be idiots. You’re either the best friend ever… or the guy who’s gonna get blamed when they get tossed out on their asses.”

Buck shifts, straightening a little. “I’m just trying to make sure nobody gets kicked out of the academy for acting like a dumbass their first weekend off.”

“That’s noble.” Tommy tilts his head. “Also, pointless."

“I know,” Buck mutters, glancing over his shoulder at the others. “But I figured someone should at least try.”

There’s a beat. The jukebox blares something too loud for the room, too fast for the mood. Buck winces.

Tommy offers a hand. “Kinard. Air Ops.”

Buck takes it, his grip firm. “Buckley. Academy Class 312.”

Tommy nods toward the door. “You wanna keep them out of trouble?”

“I’m trying.”

“Then buy them one round and get them out of here in thirty. That way they feel like they won, and the regulars don’t feel disrespected.”

Buck studies him, eyes narrowing just slightly. “You come up with that yourself?”

Tommy grins. “Nah. I was your idiot once.”

Buck huffs a quiet laugh, low and unguarded. Tommy feels it hit somewhere low in his gut. He hadn’t expected that sound to mean anything but there it is. And now he wants to hear it again.

Tommy watches him herd them. Buck was the kind of man you don’t want to underestimate. The kind that lingers in your head long after the conversation ends.

Buck disappears down the hallway toward the bathrooms, and Tommy’s on his feet before he makes the conscious choice to follow. His boots move before his brain does. Something under his ribs says go. He slips down the hall, casual, unhurried, until the bathroom door swings open under his hand.

Buck’s at the sink, hands braced on the edge, head bowed like he’s catching his breath. He sees Tommy’s reflection in the mirror and freezes.

Neither of them speaks.

Tommy steps forward slowly.

Buck turns to face him.

And then they crash

Mouths collide, no soft lead-up, no hesitation, just heat and need and the sudden crack of control breaking. Tommy pushes him back into the stall, the metal door banging behind them, and Buck’s hands are already at his collar, dragging him down like this is the first inhale after surfacing from too long underwater.

Tommy grunts, low in his chest, as Buck kisses like he’s desperate not to feel alone. It’s all teeth and breath, mouths opening against each other, hungry, almost reckless.

They don’t say anything. They don’t have to.

Tommy presses Buck against the wall, hands sliding up under the edge of his academy-issued t-shirt, dragging fingers over warm skin. Buck gasps into his mouth, fingers curling in the collar of Tommy’s jacket like he needs something solid to hold onto.

And Tommy is solid, all heat and weight and intent, pressing in like he can read the fault lines in Buck’s bones and wants to learn them by feel.

Their hips grind together, and they break apart just enough to breathe.

Buck’s panting, pupils blown wide, jaw tight.

Tommy leans his forehead against Buck’s. “You okay?” he asks, voice rough but steady.

Buck nods and swallows as Tommy undoes his pants. “Yeah. Just don’t stop.”

Tommy doesn’t.

Later, when their hands finally slow and Buck’s shirt is mostly back in place, he exhales hard and slumps against the wall like it’s holding him up.

Tommy lingers in the quiet, watching the way Buck doesn’t move to leave. Doesn’t laugh it off. Doesn’t bolt. He pulls out his phone, taps the screen, and holds it out.

“Your number.”

Buck hesitates for a half-second, then takes it. His fingers fly over the screen, entering digits, then pause just long enough to type: Evan.

No last name. Just Evan.

He hands the phone back.

Tommy taps out a single word: Hey.

Buck’s phone vibrates in his pocket a moment later. He doesn’t look at it.

But he knows what it means.

He meets Tommy’s gaze, and for a second, neither of them smiles. They pause in the hallway.

Tommy jerks his chin toward the door. “There’s a place two blocks down. Daley’s. Still lets recruits feel cool, but it doesn’t have a wall honoring fallen firefighters, so it’s a little harder to piss people off.”

Buck shifts, glancing toward the main room where one of the guys is now doing an exaggerated dance to the beat of some early 2000s throwback.

“Go,” Tommy adds, brushing his fingers lightly against Buck’s wrist before stepping back. “Get them out before the bartender call and you’re all scrubbing engines for the next three weeks.”

Buck turns back to him, eyes a little softer now. “You always this helpful?”

Tommy lifts an eyebrow. “Only when someone’s trying hard not to be an asshole.”

Buck considers that, then gives a small, sharp nod, like he’s tucking Tommy away in the same place Tommy’s already filed him. “Thanks,” he says.

Buck steps back into the main room, jaw set, spine straight. His crew is halfway through another round of terrible decisions when he puts himself in their orbit.

“I swear to fuck, none of you have any goddamn life experience whatsoever,” he mutters, more to himself than anyone but loud enough for the older firefighter sitting at a booth next to them to look up.

Buck catches his eye. “My apologies.”

The man just grunts, “You’re a goddamn infant.”

Buck laughs surprised by it, a little breathless from everything and that earns him a second glance. A slower one. Assessing.

“But you’ll make the cut,” the man says finally, like a verdict. “Now get outta here, kid.”

Buck nods, still smiling, then turns to his crew and claps his hands once. Loud. Sharp. “Alright, dumbasses. That round was it. There’s another place two blocks down that doesn’t require me to beg forgiveness from half the LAFD.”

Groans follow by they all head on out.

Tommy watches from the hall, just out of sight. Buck lead his classmates out the door. The way he pauses on the threshold, looks back just once, gaze flicking toward the hallway.

Just for a second.

Then he’s gone.

Part 2

[tevan-the-firefly]

uhh hello again i forgot this existed and it sat in my SealBuck folder for a year and a half :)

[tevan-the-firefly]

Tommy realizing Buck’s music tastes are very hip and modern, mostly because his parents never listened to music with him. And decides he needs to educate him on the classics and oldies

[tevan-the-firefly]

Is Tommy surprised whenever he gets the call that Evan is in the hospital? No. But even after all this time, his heart still stops for a second and it feels like he’s holding his breath until he sees for himself that Evan is okay.

He plays it off smoothly, making jokes, giving Evan a look. It’s probably why he laughs with Eddie when the other man pokes fun at Evan’s superstitious beliefs, more out of relief than anything. He takes the wishes of good luck from the rest of the 118 whenever Evan’s injuries require any kind of recuperation time. They all know Evan is one of the worst patients.

But the frequency of Evan’s injuries don’t lessen the blow of the call. They don’t lessen Tommy’s cynicism, or his gut reaction to worry the worst has happened to Evan. To the love of his life. And as terrifying as it is to be seen and known, Tommy can’t help but finally embrace being known. He still skitters away some times. He still hides.

But after everything that’s happened, Evan has finally wormed his way under Tommy’s defenses. Tommy doesn’t know when he happened, sometimes between the breakup, the hookup, and watching Evan completely break down alone in that hallway. Tommy wanted to be the one there to catch him. Always. Every time. And somehow, Evan had become that for him too.

So when the last of the 118 finally trail out of Evan’s hospital room after his latest injury that’s landed him there, Tommy easily accepts the hand the pulls him in. It’s a squeeze, but Tommy cuddles into Evan, half of him hanging off the edge of the hospital bed, as they take comfort in each other and take a quiet moment to reassure one another that the other is still there. Their heart beat is still strong. They’re still whole, if a little scratched.

[tevan-the-firefly]

nah because we all know that buck rambles and gets excited and then he gets distracted so he will just walk into people/things. multiple times he's been talking to eddie and fully slammed into his counter. he is usually covered in bruises and marks because of this.

tommy notices this when they start dating and he knows that buck is always annoyed about having bruises. so when they're walking around and buck is ranting, tommy always places his hand on the small of buck's back so he can steer him out of harm's way.

buck does not notice this until he is explicitly told it's happening by an amused hen.

[tevan-the-firefly]

7x04 ✦ 7x06 ✦ 8x06

[tevan-the-firefly]

i say this in all seriousness, a great way to resist the broad cultural shift of devaluing curiosity and critical thinking is to play my favorite game, Hey What Is That Thing

you play it while walking around with friends and if you see something and don't know what it is or wonder why its there, you stop and point and say Hey What Is That Thing. and everyone speculates about it. googling it is allowed but preferably after spending several minutes guessing or asking a passerby about it

weird structures, ambiguous signs, unfamiliar car modifications, anything that you can't immediately understand its function. eight times out of ten, someone in the group actually knows, and now you know!

a few examples from me and my friends the past few weeks: "why is there a piece of plywood sticking out of that pond in a way that looks intentional?" (its a ramp so squirrels that fall in to the pond can climb out) • "my boss keeps insisting i take a vacation of nine days or more, thats so specific" (you work at a bank, banks make employees take vacation in long chunks so if youre stealing or committing fraud, itll be more obvious) • "why does this brick wall have random wooden blocks in it" (theres actually several reasons why this could be but we asked and it was so you could nail stuff to the wall) • "most of these old factories we drive past have tinted windows, was that just for style?" (fun fact the factory owners realized that blue light keeps people awake, much like screen light does now, so they tinted the windows blue to keep workers alert and make them work longer hours)

been playing this game for a long time and ive learned (and taught) a fuckton about zoning laws, local history, utilities (did you know you can just go to your local water treatment plant and ask for a tour and if they have a spare intern theyll just give you a tour!!!) and a whole lot of fun trivia. and now suddenly you're paying more attention when youre walking around, thinking about the reasons behind every design choice in the place you live that used to just be background noise. and it fuckin rules.

[tevan-the-firefly]

What if Tommy needs to go to fire academy for some courses before he transfers to harbour. He's still working in 118 but also he's studying in academy to how be a firefighter pilot. And there he meets Buck who's on his last month of training.

Tommy is just starting to accept his sexuality. Buck who never thought about liking men before seeing this gorgeous guy. What if they fall in love but neither of them knows what to do because they never had serious relationship with men (with anyone in Buck's case)

[tevan-the-firefly]

Give me all the different first meeting AUs, where Buck and Tommy meet pre or around season 1. Easily becoming a fave AU

[tevan-the-firefly]

Guys... Buck feels safe with Tommy. He sees a future with Tommy. He had trouble sleeping until Tommy was there. Buck is still baking. Buck was sad at the idea of Tommy not being there for him..... UGH

[tevan-the-firefly]

[tevan-the-firefly]

A fic where all the Buckley siblings are alive. Buck stuck around trying to prove himself, but he never measured up to his siblings. And when Daniel finally went into remission, his parents still ignored him. Eventually, he still gives up and drops out of college leaving town. Doesn’t hear from his family

Gets his life established in LA, dating Tommy when his family suddenly turns up again. Tommy doesn’t know much about Buck’s family. Neither really talk about their bio family. But Tommy is ready to stand in Buck’s corner and Buck is jsut in awe that for the first time he really as someone in his corner

[tevan-the-firefly]

Soulmate au. The world where each pair of soulmates has their own sign to recognise each other. Some can see each others dreams, some can listen each others thoughts, some have a name of their soulmate or some recognisable picture on their body.

Tommy can't taste anything. Any food for him is the same, nothing sweet or sour or salty or even spicy, everything is bland. He knows his soulmate can't taste anything too. That's their sign how to find each other because the only thing he's going to taste is something what was cooked by his soulmate, he knows it.

Tommy taught himself how to cook, beautiful meals, he can't tell if that's tasty but at least people like it. He wants his soulmate to have the best meal he can get when they first gonna have a dinner together.

When Bobby joins the 118 Tommy can taste food for the first time. It's very faint, not that bright as it smells. Tommy thinks Bobby can be a relative of his soulmates but then he finds out about the fire, how Bobby's family is dead. Now Tommy thinks his soulmate died before he could even meet him. And he can't stand staying close to Bobby, to his cooking, he leaves for harbour.

The morning after Chim's wedding Tommy wakes up in Evan's loft. He wants to do something nice for the man and goes to make breakfast. He doesn't hope to find his soulmate anymore but he loves cooking for people who can appreciate it. He makes pancakes, eggs, waffles, coffee. When Evan comes down to the kitchen, there is a feast.

Evan looks surprised but at the same he's sad. His smile is tight and forced but he thanks Tommy and sits with him to eat. After first bite his eyes are big and he watches at his plate at disbelief.

"That's that's perfect, Tommy. I can taste it! Oh my god! It's you!"

[tevan-the-firefly]

"I wanted to show the super-hot-kiss's softness & vulnerability. Tommy looking in awe at Buck, who had just kissed him publicly in the hospital lobby, Buck's pure happiness and freedom, pulling them towards a new future and family. All with a touch of soot." -@rukoola

[tevan-the-firefly]

7x04 ✦ 7x06 ✦ 8x06

[tevan-the-firefly]

They look at each other like this, and they're not supposed to be together forever? Crazy...