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Eddie stared down at his breakfast. He had been on shift for almost 45 minutes and Buck still hadn’t shown up. He hadn’t called in sick either. Which made sense. Buck could have a fever of 105° and he would still show up for work.
He was probably just running late today. But he had just been through one of the worst breakups of his life. Yeah, he probably wasn’t showing up.
Just when Bobby had been taking out his phone to call Buck, he ran through the doors, panting.
“Sorry I’m late, I… I stopped at Maddie’s on the way over.” Buck said, and then started getting his uniform on.
Bobby was obviously switching into Dad mode, and when Buck sat down, Bobby asked “What’s going on, kid?”
“Nothing,” Buck muttered, and Bobby just raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
Buck sighed, leaning back in his seat. “Okay, so maybe me and Tommy broke up last night. It’s fine.”
Bobby frowned sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Buck. Do you wanna talk about it?”
Buck’s face said it all.
“How about we throw you a little consolation dinner tomorrow night?” Bobby suggested.
Just at that moment, Hen and Chim walked in. “Who’s having dinner?” Hen asked.
“Buck,” Eddie responded. “Tommy broke up with him.”
As Hen and Chim expressed their sympathy, Buck stared at the ground. This was clearly going to be a long shift.
/ / /
Maddie stared at the house in front of her, then the roll of toilet paper in her hand.
When Buck showed up at her house that morning in tears, talking about Tommy breaking up with him, Maddie was sure of it. She was going to egg his house.
Unfortunately, that was illegal. So toilet paper it was. Also illegal, just less likely to press charges.
Honestly, Maddie liked Tommy. But Tommy had broken her brother’s heart. No one broke Buck’s heart and got away with it. At least not when Maddie was pregnant.
Maddie ran up and started with the tree in front. Just to make a statement.
When Maddie was done, she rang Tommy’s doorbell and sprinted around the corner of the house so she could watch his reaction.
Tommy opened the door and looked around to try and find who rang his doorbell. He was a mess. His hair was uncombed, and despite the fact that he had day clothes on, he clearly wasn’t going out anytime soon. Add that on to the fact that his eyes were red, and Maddie almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Tommy had noticed the toilet papered tree and walked inside. Maddie expected him to come out with a stepladder so he could climb up and pull out the toilet paper, but instead he walked out with an easel and a folding chair.
Maddie stared at him in confusion as he unfolded the chair, and started drawing the tree.
Maddie gawked at him, before stomping away, not even caring about Tommy seeing her.
“Maddie?” Tommy asked. “You’re the one who toilet papered my tree?” He was smiling bittersweetly. “Is this about Evan? I’m so—”
“OF COURSE THIS IS ABOUT EVAN!!!” Maddie yelled. “I AM FURIOUS AND PREGNANT TOMMY, NEVER MESS WITH MY BROTHER!”
Tommy froze. “Pregnant?” He smiled. “Congrats, Maddi—”
Maddie almost screamed. It was so hard to be mad at Tommy. He was just so nice.
She stormed back to her car and drove away, not even bothering to ask why he had had an easel out.
/ / /
It was after shift, Eddie was sitting around listening to sad music and wondering why sad music can sometimes make you feel good when the doorbell rang.
Eddie looked through the hole and saw Tommy. Tommy? The guy who had just broken up with his best friend? Well, Tommy was his friend too. He might as well open up the door.
“What’s up?” Eddie asked, and Tommy handed him a ticket to the LA County Art Competition.
“I have an art show tomorrow night. You’re sort of the best friend I have, which must sound pretty pathetic, but… since me and Evan broke up… I just don’t have a lot of people to invite.” Tommy said.
“That does sound pathetic,” Eddie said. Tommy’s face fell. “But I will be there. The break up clearly hurt you both.” Eddie finished.
Tommy smiled. “Thank you, Eddie. You’re a good friend.”
/ / /
When Eddie got on shift the next morning, Buck was in better shape than he had been yesterday. Still upset, but he didn’t have his phone set to play All Too Well (10 Minute Version) on repeat anymore.
“So, about your “consolation dinner”,” Chimney started as he sat down in the chair next to Buck. They had just gotten back from a call about some woman stuck on the roof of her house, and they were all hungry. “Is it going to be like a potluck thing?”
Buck smiled slightly. “That works, if you and Maddie are willing to bring anything.”
Chimney leaned over and whispered “you’re sure you don’t mind Maddie and I telling everybody the news at dinner?”
Buck just laughed lightly. “No, Chim, I don’t mind.”
Eddie couldn’t help but think that he was forgetting something. Like a slight bell ringing in the back of his mind. Oh well. If he’d forgotten about it, it couldn’t be that important.
/ / /
The 118 (and friends), as their group chat name said, was sitting around Buck’s apartment table. The consolation dinner was clearly working, as Buck seemed to be in a much better mood than he had that morning.
Maddie stood up and clinked her glass against a spoon to get everyone’s attention.
The table wasn’t nearly big enough for that to matter, only about 10 people, but it did make a nice statement.
“Chimney and I have an announcement to make,” Maddie said, wrapping her arm around Chimney’s shoulders.
“Oh my god, are you pregnant again?” The question came from Eddie, who was smiling, and definitely has some sort of precognition.
“Yes!” Chimney blurted out, and everyone started congratulating them. Of course they did. Everyone at the 118 was a family. It wasn’t just Buck who was getting a new niece or nephew—they all were.
“So, you need any of Bobby’s special lasagna for your pregnancy cravings?” Bobby asked, eliciting a laugh from all of them.
Eddie’s ‘forgetting something’ feeling had pretty much gone away. Maddie was pregnant, Buck was happy again, Eddie had shaved off his mustache, Tommy was showing off his art for once—
Oh my god, that was what Eddie was forgetting. The art show.
He stood up abruptly. Most people at the table turned to look at him.
“The art show… oh my god… I’m a horrible friend…” Eddie said, before looking up when does the la county art show start?
5:00pm-6:30pm. May run later if there are lots of entries. It was 7:30.
Eddie sat back down. He was a horrible friend. He had obviously chosen a side for the breakup.
God, how was he going to explain this to Tommy?
/ / /
Alexander walked silently through the LA County art show, carrying a mug of tea he had brought. It was nice at the Veterans’ Hall that night. Not many people who weren’t related to the artist came, so it was pretty quiet.
It was a whole thing, too. The winner went to the state competition, the winner of that went to the national competition. He didn’t have to travel far for this one, like for the state or country competition. Not that his elementary school teacher salary would let him, anyway.
Most of the art pieces weren’t that good, but they had meaning to them. Then he spotted an absolutely gorgeous painting. Drawing? It had to be a mixture of the two.
The guy standing in front of it was upset. Noticeably. His eyes were red. The judges hadn’t gotten to him yet, they were still in the other room of the show.
The paper on the wall next to him read “Family” by Thomas Kinard . Ah. Alex walked up to the painting and looked at it, trying to find its meaning.
It was a gorgeous painting of a firetruck with 118 written on the truck, a helicopter flying over it, and the branches of a tree above it all, with toilet paper weaving through the branches that spelled out Family . There were other little things added on, but those were really the main event.
This guy had to be a first responder, right? Well, no way to know unless he talked to him.
“You’re Thomas Kinard?” Alex asked. The man–Thomas–nodded.
“Call me Tommy.” The man responded.
“So, firefighter?” Alex tried again. “That must be cool. Is it really like a family?”
Tommy took a deep breath, clearly sensing Alex’s I’m a good person who deals with small children all day, trust me voice.
“Well, yeah, I’m an LAFD Pilot, uh… it really is like a family down at the 118. My boyfriend… uh… ex-boyfriend… works there and I used to work there, and it’s just so awesome. Sorry, it’s hard to explain.” Tommy said, clearing his throat when he was finished.
Alex smiled grimly. “ Ex -boyfriend? What happened?” He didn’t mean to pry, but, this guy clearly needed to talk to someone. And he could tell when something was going on. Call it teacher’s intuition.
And Tommy wanted to talk, evidently, as he started spilling this story about his boyfriend “Evan” (apparently very hot and kind and funny) and how they had dated and it had been wonderful, and he had really felt like part of the family at the 118 until Evan asked him to move in and they broke up because Tommy was so scared of being heartbroken.
“So you’re… scared? But you’re… a firefighter. You must always be scared.” Alex responded when Tommy was done with his story.
“Yeah… this is different.” Tommy argued.
Alex sighed. He had to get this guy to come to his senses. The way he spoke about this Evan. He was in love. Head over heels.
“So, that’s why you’re so upset? The man you love is gone?” Alex asked, taking a sip of his tea.
“I… not just that.” Tommy said, sighing. Alex noticed he didn’t argue with the “man you love” part.
“I invited a friend to the art show, and… he didn’t show up.” Tommy said, staring at the ground.
Alex stared at him. “Oh, I’m… so sorry, Tommy. That must be hard.”
Tommy looked like he was about to say something, but his eyes widened. The judges were approaching.
Alex moved to the side so as to not bother them and looked at some painting that the artist claimed “had no meaning” and was supposed to “point out how dumb painting culture is”.
He overheard the judges fawning over Tommy’s painting, mentioning how it really “showed the most beautiful part of a first responder’s career.”
When they were done smiling and making marks on their clipboard, Alex walked back over.
“They sounded pleased.” Alex said, smiling.
Tommy smiled back. “Yeah. They did.”
Alex thought for a moment, then checked the time. Already 7:15.
“I had better get going,” Alex said. “But before I go— please talk to your ex-boyfriend, okay? You clearly want him back.”
Tommy looked like he was going to argue, but Alex gave him a piece of paper with his number on it.
“Here,” he said. “Update me.”
Then he turned and walked out, but not before hearing the judges’ snide remarks when they saw the painting with no meaning.
/ / /
Eddie stared into his coffee cup, begging it to give him meaning in life, or preferably advice on how to get Christopher back, when he heard someone walking into the firehouse.
He peered over the railing and saw Tommy, holding a rolled up paper under his arm. Shit .
Eddie hurried down the steps to talk to him.
“Uh… hey Tommy.” Eddie said, trying to make his words make sense. Or make Tommy forgive him. Or something.
“Eddie,” Tommy said curtly. “You didn’t come.”
“I’m so, so, so sorry, Tommy, I forgot, we were having dinner with Buck and—” Eddie started, but Tommy cut him off.
“I get it. I’d put Evan before myself too.” Then he looked at Eddie for a moment and pushed the paper into his hands.
“I already made a copy for state. It won a prize.” He said, and then turned around and left the firehouse.
Eddie was about to unroll the paper when he heard Buck’s voice behind him, sounding concerned.
“Was that Tommy?” He asked, leaning over the railing near the dining table with Hen and Chimney.
“Y-yeah, he dropped this off.” Eddie said, and the other three walked down as he unfurled it.
It was a breathtaking painting. It really did show everything Eddie had felt about the 118, with its color, and how it looks like a normal painting until you really let yourself feel it, and…
And pinned to a rare empty spot was a blue ribbon that read 1st Place . Okay, Eddie was seriously about to cry now.
Hen, Chimney, and Buck stared at the poster for a minute and Eddie rolled it back up.
He placed it on the table and Bobby came down to unfurl it.
Eddie, however, couldn’t bear looking at it any longer.
(Just pretend this is in color)
/ / /
“Listen, I know my wife toilet papered your house, but I’m being genuine. Buck and Eddie seem to really want one.” Chimney begged.
“A congratulations party? With my ex-boyfriend and my ex-boyfriend’s best friend who bailed on me and my ex-boyfriend’s father figure and my ex-boyfriend’s sister who toilet papered my house? I’m not so sure, Howie.” Tommy argued.
“Come onnnn… maybe it would help Buck get over you once and for all.” Chimney whined, plopping down on Tommy’s couch.
“It just doesn’t feel right to go.” Tommy finished, making it clear he was taking no arguments.
Chimney sighed and handed him a paper invitation. “Just think about it.” He said, and then left the apartment.
/ / /
They had been sitting around Buck’s table for around 30 minutes when Buck finally sighed.
“Let’s just eat the cake, he’s not showing up.” He said, reaching for the knife, about to cut into the cake that said Congratulations Tommy KinART . Yes, it was dorky, but it was Chimney’s idea, and what about Chimney wasn’t dorky?
“No!” Eddie said, and everyone around the table sighed. “Let’s wait five more minutes, okay? Then we’ll eat the cake.” He finished.
1 minute passed.
Then 2.
Then 3.
Then the doorbell rang.
Eddie jumped up to answer the door and surprise surprise it was Tommy Kinard.
“Am… Am I late?” He asked hesitantly, eliciting a cheer from everyone in the room.
“Came at last, Kinard.” Bobby said, giving him a pat on the back. “Good job at the art competition.”
Buck walked awkwardly up to Tommy. “Hey Tommy.” He said.
“Hey Evan.” Tommy responded. “I heard there was cake?”
“Listen, Tommy,” Buck said, clearly starting up a speech. “That painting you made, it was… really gorgeous. Like, I mean, it really summed up everything about the 118.”
Tommy smiled at the ground, but Buck wasn’t finished just yet.
“I get that you’re scared I’ll break your heart, because I’m just figuring myself out, but when I said I wanted to figure out who I was with you, I was telling the truth, I swear.
“And you know what? If you want to break up with me, that’s fine, you can be scared, and—” Buck was just finishing when Tommy cut him off.
“I’m a firefighter,” Tommy said. “I can be scared.”
Buck looked at him. “Does that mean…?”
Tommy smiled. “Yeah, I’d like to give it another try.”
The room erupted with cheers, most of them coming from Eddie.
“At last!” Bobby said. “After three whole days!” And the room cheered all over again.
“Do we get to eat the cake now?” Eddie asked, and there were even more cheers. If they cheered one more time this get-together just might have to be classified as a football game.
/ / /
Alexander was sitting on his lunch break, trying to eat his tuna sandwich in peace, when his phone dinged with a notification.
Alex looked and saw it was a photo from an unknown number. He swiped up and saw the man from the art show—Tommy.
It was a photo of him with an adorable guy in his arms, with a cake behind them and a whole posse of random people.
Another text came in. We got back together! :)
Alex smiled. Helping random people was what Tommy did. Maybe he had a talent for it too.
The End