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You Can Always Find Me Where the Skies are Blue (BuckTommy fic) - 3/5

Summary:

Soulmates are rare. So rare that it's actually incredible that Buck has two soulmate couples in his life. Statistics tell him it's very unlikely for him to meet his soulmate. Of course, then he meets Tommy. Too bad it happens at the worst possible moment.

Canon compliant soulmate AU where Buck is still a mess and Tommy is still very understanding.

Words: 4,109

Ao3

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Buck was a ball of nervous energy. It didn’t help that he’d wound up having to get there a bit later than planned, but Tommy had been very understanding when Buck texted him about running late. When he parked his Jeep, he had hoped for a few minutes to prepare himself, but instead, he spotted Tommy walking purposefully towards him and then the rap of his knuckles on his window. Was he really that confident about everything he did? Buck took a quick breath and Tommy stepped back as Buck opened the door.

It had been a few days, and Buck had forgotten what Tommy looked like most especially how big he was. It was funny, and yet a little bit amazing because Buck had always felt a bit too tall and a bit too much, but Tommy was actually bigger than him. It was almost like they were supposed to fit somehow.

“Hello,” Tommy said when Buck closed the door. His smile was nice. Welcoming.

“Hey,” Buck said.

Seeing Tommy this time was not like the last time, it wasn’t the shock to his nervous system. It still left him a little breathless.

“So, Evan,” Tommy said, a bit playfully, “turns out that we’re soulmates.”

“We are,” Buck said and he laughed nervously.

“Well, it is really nice to meet you,” Tommy said and he extended his hand. “Meet you again, I should say.”

“You too,” Buck said, reached out and grasped his hand.

Tommy’s hands were large and callused and warm. His grasp wasn’t loose, but it wasn’t tight as if letting Buck have the option to pull back. They lingered a little longer than was probably normal, their handshake turning into something that could have been holding hands. Buck missed touching him when they dropped their hands. Buck had no idea what to do with that information.

In the time since the phone call, Buck had mostly convinced himself that this was going to be a platonic bond. It didn’t make sense that it could be anything else. Buck was straight and as far as he knew so was Tommy. Even Hen hadn’t known for sure except that she was sure Tommy had been dating women back when he worked at the 118 which still wasn’t a concrete answer.

“Do you want to take a look around? We can talk a bit…there’s no pressure, you know, this can go however you want it to go. Good?”

Buck nodded. He appreciated the way that Tommy took charge.

“Yeah…yeah I guess so. A tour would be nice.”

Tommy took him inside and from the looks of it the building was a bit similar to how a firehouse operated. They didn’t stop anywhere in particular, but Tommy pointed out the flight ops room and they walked past someone manning a radio. Buck even got a small peek at the locker room. Some things were a little different, the biggest being that instead of a space to keep trucks, there was a hangar with several helicopters of varying sizes and other vehicles and equipment. The huge doors were open to tarmac and a runway.

“This is impressive,” Buck said. “I’m a bit in awe of what you do.”

“Just what I do?” Tommy asked and their eyes met.

Buck fought to control a blush. “You’re very impressive,” Buck said and had to make himself look away.

They walked further in.

“This here is the heartbeat of the harbor station air operations one,” Tommy said. “Home to five medium and two light duty helicopters. Our team consists of pilots, aeromedics, helitack, and ground support crew twenty-four hours a day. We’re available to run brush fire suppression, air ambulance transport, high rise fire response.”

“This is so cool,” Buck said and it was.

He did feel a little like Tommy was giving him a bit of a break, focusing on giving him info that was fascinating but didn’t touch at all on the more personal thing going on between them. It had to be for Buck’s benefit, he knew, but maybe it was for Tommy’s too. A way for both of them to beat the nerves and ease into things. He didn’t tell Tommy that he’d done his own bit of research and already knew a bit of what he was telling him. Air ops was so extremely different than the rest of LAFD.

“LAFD’s link from the streets to the skies,” Tommy said, “at least that’s what it says on our coffee mugs.”

Buck chuckled. “Ours just say I need mo’ jo.”

They did, because Chim had bought a box of ten for his house back when he and Maddie first moved into their house and Maddie had already filled up the cabinets with her more carefully chosen mugs and sent Chim’s along to the 118. It was helpful considering how often they did break their mugs.

“It’s nice,” Buck said, “seeing this place in the light of day. Now that I’m not here to help steal one of those,” he motioned at the nearest helicopter. “Though I guess I wouldn’t mind going back up in the air.”

“You ever thought of changing things and—”

“I think I have more than enough excitement at the moment, don’t you?” Buck asked and he turned, meeting Tommy’s eyes.

Outside with the sun shining down on them, they looked bluer. Buck liked them, not just the color, but the oval shape and the kindness that were within too.

“I will say that night was the most fun I’ve had since being struck by lightning,” Buck said.

He could tell as soon as the words were out that Tommy looked shocked, that he had no way to respond. He didn’t add that he’d actually died…that it was some kind of miracle of medicine that Buck had managed to survive and make it to meet Tommy. To meet his soulmate. So much time had already passed since the initial meeting and still Buck had a hard time wrapping his mind around it. He had a soulmate.

“You need to raise your bar, kid,” Tommy said, but his voice sounded different, like he was trying to restrain himself from saying something else.

Buck had no idea what to make of the “kid”. Tommy was older…and Buck had no idea what he wanted out of their soulmate connection, which wasn’t to say that Buck hadn’t noticed how ridiculously attractive Tommy was, or that he’d caught Tommy looking at him too with something like appreciation.

“Just, uh, using it as a point of reference,” Buck clarified lest Tommy think that Buck got a thrill out of almost dying.

It hadn’t been fun. Not when it happened and not the weird nightmare dream hallucination, and not the time afterwards when his parents were still around and Buck felt like his recovery involved trying to get better quick so they could leave. Not even what followed after they finally left when Maddie became overprotective and got everyone else in on it too. It was just easier to talk about it like it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe that was a bit left over from Natalia and her fascination with it. She had never truly understood the ways in which it had actually damaged him, or how thunder and lightning were things he had to talk himself into ignoring.

“So, uh, what got you into flying?” Buck asked, hoping to change the subject a bit. “You know, aside from the fact that I assume it feels like having a superpower.”

“I was actually a pilot in the Army,” Tommy said.

Neither Hen or Chim had mentioned that. Then again, neither of them had said much about Tommy before this. Buck really knew next to nothing about him, but that could be rectified. It was probably better that Buck was learning about him on his own without any preconceptions.

“No way,” Buck said. “Eddie was in the Army.”

“Yeah, he mentioned that,” Tommy said.

Buck wondered when…but all his thinking about Natalia, made his mind go to Taylor.

“You know, I…I actually met an ex responding to a helicopter crash, which should have been the first clue.”

He could tell that Tommy hadn’t expected Buck to say that. “Yeah,” he said, “saving someone’s life and then dating them never turns out the way you’re expecting it to.”

Buck wanted to ask if he knew from experience, but it felt pushy. Maybe they could compare notes, though. A guy like Tommy probably had plenty of stories to tell.

“I — I figured that out the third time around,” Buck said.

“Yet, they’re so grateful,” Tommy offered. He wasn’t wrong, maybe it was part of the problem.

They stopped in front of one of the helicopters. It felt bigger than the one they had flown out to rescue Bobby and Athena and Buck couldn’t help but be impressed by it. His time as a firefighter meant that he’d been around when air ops was called in. He had often looked up into the blue skies to see someone lower themselves down from the helicopter to pull off a rescue that couldn’t be safely done by land.

“How are you feeling about this really?” Tommy asked.

“The helicopters?” Buck asked and he turned to look at Tommy directly.

“No, Evan. Not that.”

“Oh. I guess I’m still a little shocked. It’s so rare, you know. Soulmates…the stats kinda gave me the idea it wasn’t in the cards for me, but here we are.”

“Here we are,” Tommy said. “I didn’t expect it either, Evan. I guess what remains is…what do you want this to be?”

“Right now, I have no clue,” Buck said. “Soulmates are usually it, right, perfect for each other?”

“Yes,” Tommy said. “But that can have so many forms.”

That was sort of the problem. Buck had no idea what he wanted…or what he even expected a soulmate bond to be like. Looking at Tommy, it didn’t seem like he actually had any answers either.

“Well, how about we go get a beer and talk about it?” Buck asked.

He expected Tommy to agree, maybe to get one of his smiles again. Instead, he mumbled something about needing to take a raincheck and Buck felt himself deflate, especially when he realized that Tommy was looking past him. When Buck turned, the last thing he expected was a very familiar car to drive up. What was Eddie doing there?

—

If it wasn’t for the fact that Tommy was flying them to Vegas, he would have just told Eddie to go without him. He just…well, he hadn’t expected Evan to have to come a bit later than planned. He’d been almost a full hour past when they had agreed to meet. He also hadn’t expected for their tour to actually become a tour. He’d leaned into the spiel about Harbor a bit more than he’d planned to, but that was all his nerves about the situation talking. They had only just started to get more comfortable with each other and to talk about what being soulmates meant for them, which was of course when Eddie drove up.

“Hey, where should I park?” Eddie called out.

“Just leave it there. It’s fine,” Tommy called back.

“Copy that.”

Tommy took that moment to look at Evan, but Evan was looking away, towards Eddie’s truck. Eddie was already out of the car and walking towards them and Tommy didn’t have a chance to ask Evan how he wanted to handle things. Tommy was…well, he was used to what it was like to be gay and discreet. It was part of being queer and more importantly, part of being queer in his line of work where most guys were all macho and very very straight.

Yeah, they were soulmates, but from having hung out with Eddie, he got the sense that Eddie didn’t know Evan to be anything other than straight. Tommy didn’t even know how Evan identified since they hadn’t had that conversation yet. Tommy wouldn’t out him. He wouldn’t do that to anyone, he especially wouldn’t do that to Evan. He also…well, he thought that Evan was straight.

As Eddie walked towards them, he went around Evan to meet him, high fiving him when Eddie lifted his hand.

“Hey Buck. Hey Tommy,” Eddie said. “This is great. You got three tickets to the fight?”

If only.

“No,” He said. “I wish. Uh, I was giving Evan a tour.” Evan looked confused, but he didn’t contradict him.

“Wait,” Eddie said, aiming it at Evan, “you’re not thinking about jumping ship?”

Tommy had known Evan for such a small amount of time, that he couldn’t be fully sure what his expression meant. He did think, though, that he’d messed things up. Was it that he’d told Eddie it was only about giving him a tour? Tommy couldn’t tell. Maybe, he should have explained earlier about them not having much time and that Tommy had plans with Eddie. Maybe he should have asked to meet up on a different day, except that he had wanted to see Evan as soon as possible even if it was for just a couple of hours.

“Uh, no,” Evan said. “I’m just, you know, uh…keeping my options fluid. So…so there’s a fight?”

When Eddie pointed out they had to go, Tommy didn’t want to. He looked right at Evan, hoping that he was passing on how sorry he felt, but he couldn’t be sure that Evan was getting it.

“Uh, we can stay a little longer,” Tommy said. “We’ll make it, Eddie.”

“No,” Evan said with a shake of his head. “If you have to go, just…you guys can go.”

Tommy hated it. He could tell that Evan wasn’t happy about it. He wouldn’t meet Tommy’s eyes and his shoulders were just a little bit slumped. Tommy wanted nothing more than to offer an explanation, to hug him and make it better, to just cancel on Eddie despite how rude it might come off. Evan was his soulmate and Tommy shouldn’t be the person to make him feel bad in any way.

“Evan—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Evan said. “You guys should go.”

“Alright,” Tommy said.

“See ya, Buck,” Eddie said.

It took a lot for Tommy to start towards the helicopter. Eddie already heading towards it. He only looked back once, but he saw Evan’s shock as he realized that they weren’t heading to Eddie’s car, but the helicopter that Tommy had waiting.

“Wait, you’re flying a chopper to The Coliseum?” Evan called out to them.

“Fight’s not in LA. It’s in Vegas,” Tommy called back. “Take care, Evan.”

He kept his eyes on Evan for as long as he could, but then he was getting into the chopper. He did look back at him once inside. It was hard not to go to him, it was also hard not to be distracted by how beautiful Evan was even when he looked so despondent.

“It’s nice of you to give Buck a tour. He kind of hyper fixates on things and wants to know everything about them. I guess this all made an impression on him the other night,” Eddie said, once they were in the air.

“I guess it did,” Tommy said. “I feel bad leaving him behind like that.”

“Don’t,” Eddie said. “For one thing, the fight would be wasted on him and for another, I don’t think he cared that much. Was probably just surprised to see me show up. Seriously, Tommy, don’t worry about Buck.”

Except that, he couldn’t help but worry. It stayed with him the whole flight and while Eddie talked about one thing or another, Tommy thought about what he might say to Evan as soon as he had a moment to do so. That time didn’t come until they were at their seats. Eddie was busy making a call to check on his son, and it gave Tommy the opportunity to call Evan.

He didn’t answer. Twice he tried to call, but there was no answer. He had no idea if that meant he should worry or if Evan was somehow just not available.

So, he texted.

Evan, I really enjoyed seeing you today. I wish we’d had more time to really talk and get to know each other because I do want to get to know you. We’re soulmates, you know, and that means something to me. Talk soon? Take care.

Evan didn’t respond, but Tommy somehow hadn’t expected him to, not that it stopped him from checking his phone obsessively to the point where Eddie commented on it.

“Just…I was waiting for a text,” Tommy said.

“You know what they say about boiling water, man,” Eddie said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tommy said and he stuffed his phone in his pocket. Maybe the next time he looked at it there would be a response.

Eddie bumped their shoulders. “Oh, hey, I meant to ask if you knew of a good mechanic.”

“Your truck looked fine today.”

“Not for my truck. My abuela left me her Chevelle when she moved back to Texas. I don’t really drive it often, but I think it’s in need of a tuneup. I try, but it’s not exactly my area.”

Cars were a great distraction from thinking about Evan. Before he loved helicopters, Tommy loved cars. If there was one thing that he could give to his father, it was how much he had taught Tommy about cars. For some time, right before he made the decision to go to the Army, he’d even considered going to trade school and becoming a mechanic. He had never stopped tinkering and working on his own cars. It was why he’d even gone as far as to install a lift in his garage.

“What year?” he asked.

“1970,” Eddie said.

“Oh. Well, now you gotta let me see it. You might not even need a mechanic if I can figure out what it needs.”

“Seriously?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah, seriously.”

“Well, now you really gotta let me buy you a beer. I’ll get us something to snack on too.”

“Just one. I have to fly us back.”

Eddie nodded and then he was off, lost to the crowd. His friend had got them ring-side seats. They were great, so close to the action that once everything got started they wouldn’t miss a thing. Tommy checked his phone again while Eddie was gone, but there was nothing other than texts from Lucy that Tommy decided to ignore for the time being.

Around him the seats were starting to get filled by the time that Eddie got back. He brought them each a basket of nachos and two beers that they clinked together.

“Hey, what time’s your shift tomorrow?” Tommy asked.

“Not until mid-afternoon. Why? You wanna hit up a casino after this?”

Tommy shook his head. “Not at all. But, why don’t you bring the Chevelle over and I can take a look.”

“That’d be great,” Eddie said. “Calling you up is starting to feel like one of my better decisions.”

Tommy just laughed.

—

Buck had no idea how long he lingered after he saw the helicopter take off. Eventually, he did make it back to his car and he sat there even longer, feeling more than a bit deflated. It had all happened so quick. One moment he and Tommy were talking and having what had felt to Buck like a good time and then Eddie was there and Tommy was leaving with Eddie to Vegas. They were going to see a fight in Vegas, one that involved Tommy flying them out. It was a little bit of a blindsight because while he had been agonizing over getting in contact with Tommy and what might happen and how they were soulmates, Tommy had been hanging out with Eddie. They were friends.

By the time that he made it back to his apartment, Buck was still more than a little annoyed. Maybe it was that he hadn’t known they were on some kind of clock. Or maybe it was that he’d seen just how well the two of them got on without any of the awkwardness that existed between him and Tommy. Nevertheless, Buck found himself in a bad mood.

He thought about calling Maddie, but that would have involved telling her about Tommy. He wanted to tell her, but he wasn’t in the mood to explain or deal with how Maddie would take Buck’s soulmate being a guy. Hen was an option, except that Buck felt a little foolish and he would rather not have Hen tell him that he was being ridiculous.

Buck was used to being alone. He had done his best over the years to not be, but it didn’t change that he was used to it. He sat out on his balcony with a beer, playing music on his phone because the silence needed to be broken. Above him the sky was blue, almost cloudless. It made him think of Tommy.

Tommy really was impressive. Captivating. Buck was a mess around him. He was a mess about him. Eddie wasn’t though. No, Eddie just made friends with Tommy like it was easy and like it wasn’t a big deal at all. For Buck it was the biggest deal.

He groaned into his arm. What if he really wasn’t enough? Tommy was awesome…he was one of the coolest people that Buck had ever met and Buck was just Buck. Buck had never been enough for more people than he could count. Not his parents. Not Abby. Not Ali. Not even Taylor or Natalia. Even Maddie fell into that category at times. He didn’t know if he’d be able to handle it if his very own soulmate also found out one day that Buck was not what they wanted.

—

“That was amazing,” Eddie said, still strangely high energy. Tommy, for his part, felt tired. “I mean…the fight could have been better, but that was just a lot of fun.”

Tommy smiled back. He’d had a lot of fun too. Eddie was exactly the type of friend that Tommy had been missing.

“Anyway, I should get back. If I know Christopher, he’s probably still awake and it’s a school night. We still on for tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Tommy said. “I’ll text you my address.”

They bumped fists and then Eddie was crossing the tarmac to get to his car. Tommy meanwhile pulled out his phone, though he knew what he’d find. Notifications for emails that were probably junk, the texts from Lucy, one from Fred, his promoter friend, and strangely enough a text from Hen. He opened hers first.

Hen: Just wanted to congratulate you. I hope today went well with you and Buck. I’m rooting for you guys. ❤️

Evan had told her about them being soulmates. He couldn’t help but smile. The thing about Hen was that Tommy really admired her. She probably didn’t know the impact she’d had on him or how even to this day he considered her the bravest person he knew.

Tommy would never go as far as to give Hen all the credit for the changes he made in his life that led him to becoming a better person, but he could say she was a catalyst. His closet had been built out of bricks and concrete, sturdy and fully sealed up and when Hen arrived, she had found that one loose brick and pried it out. It wasn’t immediate, but all the bricks came down eventually. Tommy had been freed.

Tommy had never come out to Hen. He had no idea if she’d heard through the LAFD grapevine or if she’d ever suspected, but he figured that with this whole soulmate thing, it would become known. He didn’t mind one bit. The petty part of him even wanted to send some sort of announcement about it to his parents to show exactly how well he was doing in spite of them.

Her text did make him feel bad about Evan again, and he had to force himself to push it aside.

As he got back to his car, he thought about calling her and really having a conversation about it. It was only the lateness of the hour that stopped him. It also stopped him from calling Evan. He’d leave both off until the next morning. He did finally look at Lucy’s texts.

Lucy: WTF KINARD. It’s Buck!

Lucy: Your soulmate is Buck. 🤯🤯

Lucy: Wait…does that mean you met him and then flew him into a hurricane? Way to show off to the soulmate 👏🏻👏🏻

#911 abc #911 fic #bucktommy #kinley #tevan

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