#coming out chapter

[fanficsbysteve]

Chasing Shadows

Note: So, this was originally going to be a Dinner Scene, but I couldn’t get that to work so I had to pivot and see what I could salvage and do something different. Fingers crossed you like it. I do intend to do a dinner scene later on. Just not right now. We also meet the Evan who likes to do internet deep dives a bit.

This comes from an idea that @weewoo911 put out into the universe and it latched into my head. The title comes from @verschlimmbesserung

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

***

Tommy listened to the music of his alarm clock go off, pulling him from the wonderful dream he had just been having. The dinner the night before with Evan had been wonderful. They had talked, they had eaten, Evan had stolen some of Tommy’s Spumoni. If Tommy didn’t know better, he would have assumed that Evan had tried to take him out for a date. But Tommy knew better. He had been following Evan’s career for years now. Ever since he had been in ‘My Heart Yearns.’ Tommy loved his RomComs, but he also had a weakness for this movie. The movie was basically one of those sappy Romance Novels put into movie form. The movie was hard to watch, mostly because the writing was so bad, but Evan was so perfect to look at. He knew that Evan only dated women.

Tommy turned his alarm off and lay back on his bed. It was a day off today, so he had planned to just do some work on his car. Maybe get some coffee. Maybe see if Hen could make it for a quick coffee. She was someone he needed to talk to about things. Like how he felt about Evan kissing him. She was the only queer person that he knew, so asking her would probably be the best option. She would hopefully keep things a secret as well, at least until he was ready to tell anyone else.

Picking up his phone, Tommy noticed he had a text from a number he didn’t recognize, “Hey, Its Evan. I put your number into my phone from the On Call sheet at the Fire Station. Hope you don’t mind.” Was all it said. Tommy had a minor panic attack. What was he supposed to do knowing that Evan Buckley, the man of his very erotic dreams sometimes, was now texting him.

Tommy – Its not a problem. Easier to ask me questions if you have my number.

Evan – Yes that’s exactly why I have your number 😉

Tommy – Aren’t you at the Firehouse today?

Evan – Yes and you aren’t. Why is that?

Tommy – I did say yesterday that I have today and tomorrow off. So, I’m going to be working around my house. Working on my car. Meeting Hen for coffee later.

Evan – The Firehouse isn’t nearly as fun without you around. Also explains why Henrietta isn’t around. Maybe tomorrow we can hang out? I really enjoyed dinner last night.

Tommy got flustered at that. He didn’t expect Evan to want to hang out outside of work. This man was a celebrity. He probably had things to do tomorrow that didn't involve Tommy. Like reading scripts or bedding beautiful women.

Tommy – Don’t let Hen hear you calling her Henrietta. She might murder you.

Evan – Seems everyone had a nickname around here, and yet you insist on calling me Evan instead of Buck, Thomas. Not that I’m complaining. I enjoy the way you say it.

Tommy – I mean I can call you Buck if you prefer that. Also the name on my birth certificate is actually Tommy. Not Thomas.

Evan – I’m fine with the way you say it. You are the only exception to the Buck rule. Also that is so cool that your name is actually Tommy. I've never met anyone like that. I mean there are probably any number of people who might have what is commonly referred to as a nickname as their legal name. Did you know that the word Nickname is not actually just a blending of the words Nick and Name? It comes from Middle English 'ekename'. Eke meaning 'Also' or 'In addition'. So a nickname is just an additional name or an also name. And over the years an ekename just became a nickname because of how English evolves and develops. How cool is that?

Tommy smiled at his phone. That was a random series of text messages to get first thing in the morning but it was a very fun fact.

Evan – The alarm is going off. I’m assigned to someone named Chimney today. How did he even get that name? I’ll message you when we get back.

Tommy placed his phone down and went about puttering around his house. He didn’t really have much to do today. He had planned to just relax, but after last night, he did want to talk to Hen. He picked his phone up and sent a quick text.

Tommy – Hey Hen, can we meet for coffee today? I need to talk to you about something and I don’t know who else I can talk to about this.

Tommy put his phone in his pocket and went to the garage. He started working on his car. This was one of this little loves in life. Well beside B-movies of course. Hen replied when he was elbow deep in the car he was rebuilding.

Hen – That sounds ominous. But I’m free before 3 today. Have to pick Denny up from School.

Tommy looked at the clock that he had in the garage with him. It read that it was 11 am already. He had really been engrossed in this rebuild.

Tommy – Meet at Philosafy? 12:30?

Hen – Sounds like a plan. See you there.

Tommy wiped his hands on a rag he kept around for this purpose and went into the house to clean up. Philosafy wasn’t that far away. He lived close to Hen’s place which was also close to the 118. He got lucky with this house. If he ever decided to transfer stations that would be annoying.

As 12:30 approached, Tommy decided to walk his way towards the coffee shop. He needed to get what he wanted to say straight in his head. He didn’t want to fuck this up and wanted someone to understand what he was talking about, and that person was probably Hen.

Stepping into Philosafy, Tommy looked around for an empty table and saw that Hen was already waiting at one. He waved quickly and went to get himself a drink, “Thanks for coming,” Tommy said as he sat down with his latte.

“Well, I didn’t really have much else to do today,” Hen replied taking a sip of her drink, “So what did you want to talk about?”

Tommy took a sip of his drink and tried to remember everything he had organized in his head, “Well you know that I’ve been a little off lately,” Tommy started to talk, “Since Evan started coming to the firehouse.”

“That is an understatement,” Hen said, “You used your eyes to stare down anyone who even suggested that it wasn’t you who was first with Buck.”

“Sorry about that,” Tommy said, “Well there was a reason for that I guess,” Tommy took a deep breath in before continuing, “Hen…I think I’m gay.”

Hen was lifting her drink up to her lips but stopped. She raised an eyebrow looking at him and replied with, “Not to diminish the monument that is this situation. But all I can say is about time.”

Tommy was speechless, “You knew?”

“Well, the signs were very subtle,” Hen said, “You had to look really hard to see them, and I’ve been learning to look for these things for years now. So, you don’t need to worry that anyone else has spotted it. But the weirdness you’ve been showing since Buck came around the building had solidified that theory in my head. So, congratulations.”

Tommy was flabbergasted at this. He had been trying so hard to hide this about himself from the people at work. It did help a bit when Hen said she was the only one that noticed, “So you aren’t shocked or disgusted?”

“Tommy,” Hen replied, her eyebrows raised, “Lesbian? What about you coming out would disgust me?”

“Sorry,” Tommy countered, “Just a force of habit. Didn’t have much of a happy time growing up so I just tend to think something is wrong with me.”

“Well, nothing is wrong with you,” Hen comforted him, “And you will never think that,” She laid a hand on his on the table, “So what spurred this sudden coming out?”

“I may have kissed a guy,” Tommy said in response, “And I kind of liked it.”

“OK Katy Perry,” Hen laughed, “Anyone I would know or did you work up the courage to go to a gay bar and just make out with a random stranger.”

“Oh, nothing like that,” Tommy laughed, “I haven’t worked up the courage to go to a gay bar yet. Maybe one day but right now you are the only one who knows. And I need you to promise that you won’t tell anyone this.”

“Coming out is a personal journey,” Hen was very comforting, “It isn’t my place to tell anyone about you being gay. That is for you to tell others when you are comfortable.”

“Evan may have kissed me the other night after shift,” Tommy blushed admitting this to anyone.

“Buck?” Hen sounded like she was impressed, “Can’t say I saw that one coming. He is good looking.”

“I thought you were a lesbian?” Tommy asked.

“Just because I can tell someone is good looking doesn’t mean I want to have sex with them,” Hen replied, “So you enjoyed the kiss?”

“It was one of the most magical and mind-blowing things I’ve ever experienced,” Tommy admitted, “I would not say No if he wanted to do it again. But I think I ruined it by running away anyway.”

“You ran away?” Hen asked, “Why would you run away from that?”

“Were you ever really not out?” Tommy asked, “I didn’t want anyone to see. I don’t know if I’m ready to tell people that I’m gay right now.”

“Touche,” Hen responded, “I don’t think I’ve ever been in the closet. Not in a couple of decades anyway. I don’t really get the point of it myself. We live in LA, California is one of the more accepting places in this country. So why be in the closet?”

“People like Gerrard,” Tommy replied, “I don’t know everyone well enough to want them to know what goes on in my bedroom. Not that anything is at this point in time, but it might someday, and I would prefer if they didn’t know about it right now.”

“Well, my lips are sealed,” Hen said, mimicking zipping her lips, “Now, what are you plans with Buck? Or do you not have any?”

“I mean I did enjoy the kiss,” Tommy admitted, “And I did enjoy going out for dinner with him last night. Maybe I would enjoy just going out and getting to know him.”

“Dinner already?” Hen joked, “You move fast. And I thought only lesbians brought a U-Haul on a first date.”

Tommy blushed, “I’m not going that fast. I don’t even know if he thinks of me just as a friend or not.”

“Well, that should be your first point of business,” Hen said, “You need to set your boundaries and respect his. If all he wants is friends you respect that. If he is interested in something more, you need to let him know your boundaries, and your pace, and you expect him to respect that.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Tommy replied, “I’m not really good at this. I wasn’t even good when I was pretending to be straight.”

“Not everyone can be Chim,” Hen said, “Its been nice to chat,” Hen downed her coffee, “And I appreciate your trust in telling me about your true self. But I have to be heading out.”

Tommy watched at Hen got up from the table and walked out the door. He would have some thinking to do starting now. Was he ready for what was going to happen with all of this? Was he misreading the signs?

Getting up from the table, Tommy finished his latte and left the coffee shop as well. During his walk back to his place, he sent off a quick text. Evan had been lamenting how boring it was at the 118 today without him around.

Tommy – Tomorrow sounds great. Do you have anything in mind? Sorry for delay. Was at Coffee with Hen.

Tommy was nervous about the response he could get. The very least he wanted was a repeat of that kiss that Evan had given him. Something awoke in him when that happened. A fire within. He had not been able to stop thinking about it. The feel of Evan’s lips against his, the passion, but the tenderness as well. He didn’t need to wait long for the response.

Evan – I would love to meet up again. Lets go for a drink and see what happens.

Tommy felt the butterflies in his stomach at planning a meet-up with Evan. It was going to be a good day tomorrow.

***

Note: So here we go. This feels a little rough for some reason that I cannot place. But I managed to get it rewritten after scraping the original Dinner idea several times and not starting this until Thursday Morning and editing it for awhile on Friday. I might attempt a cutesy dinner idea later on but right now I just felt like it needed this scene more.

Also I learned the ekename to nickname thing from the Miriam-Webster TikTok account and confirmed it with my Linguist Partner. He knows many things. Maybe I shall learn you some of them now that I'm starting to give you Evan's deep dives into internet research.

Here there be tags: @thedyingwriter @all-the-feelss @justahumblecabbagemerchant @figuringitoutaloud @neverstopschanging @jamieroyjamieroy @cliophilyra and @inawickedlittletown

[amamamumumumu]

This has been a most worthwhile evening 🍽

[egophiliac]

crossing my fingers and wishing upon every star that chapter 10 finally brings us the tweel cards 🤞🤞

[chaotixcx]

Some art to accompany @evtraininguniversity’s fic. I totally didn’t hold a gun to her head as she was writing it, witnessing crash out after crash out- ANYWAYS!! Official Fake Dating AU fic is finally reall!!! Go read chapter 1!!!

[stemmmm]

Don’t think about it. Don’t fall asleep. Don’t look. Not yet.

fanart for the latest chapter of Then It Becomes, It Becomes, It Becomes A Problem because holy shit

[otaku553]

Fire (part 3)

<- (PREV) (NEXT) ->

(Spade Pirate Sabo AU Masterpost)

[retellingthehobbit]

Here is just "The Misty Mountains Cold"/The Song of the Lonely Mountain, from Chapter 16 of my webcomic adaptation of The Hobbit! I noticed I had never posted the song in isolation. You can find my full webcomic adaptation of the Hobbit on Tumblr here, Ao3 here, and Webtoon here. You can also support my art in general/see things early on Patreon here.

[herbarimoon]

What is left of you

[razzafrazzle]

seam plushie reveal made me rlly wanna draw these two like The Old Days (i have been drawing seavil art for half a decade now. is that not horrifying) (also reminder that seam uses they/no pronouns)

[image description: a drawing of seam and jevil from deltarune. seam is holding jevil up in a tight hug. seam is snuggling against jevil while jevil is smiling and wrapping his tail around them. end id]

[discordantwords]

Ah, hello, creative spark. I've missed you!

[mmakotochan]

"this is pure love, bitch "🫰🏼 - yuta okkotsu

2 year difference lol

[mar64ds]

Deltarune having the very possible chance of being developed for almost 10 years is so insane. I know some games stay in development hell but that's not what's happening with Deltarune, Deltarune is a game divided in chapters that release from time to time and everytime that happens the internet explodes, I don't think there has ever been something like this in the videogame world. You can have a game franchise with different sequels, but not a single videogame with different chapters that will likely take at least 10 years or close to 10 years to make. This is an incredibly special event, one day in the future all the chapters will be released, DR will just be a really long game you can play for a week or two, it won't be what it's now. They really have created something bigger than a game, this is an important event you attend to from time to time. I know the waiting is exhausting but cherish the days where a chapter comes out, the years talking about the released chapters, even the quiet moments where we don't talk much about them anymore cause we are waiting for the next chapters, only to go insane again when a new one comes out. Enjoy this unique gamer experience, I don't think there is anything quite like it

[wasyago]

the brainrot won

[lululawrence]

You Should Be Here With Me

A 2024 Advent Fic by lululawrence

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | 34k | 26 Chapters

The festive period is a traditionally hectic one in the world of Premier League football, and this year is no different. A lot is riding on how Manchester United is able to come through the fixtures in the coming weeks.

Louis and his teammates know all too well the pressure that is on their shoulders. They need to prove, not just to fans of the club but the entire league, that they still have what it takes to be a team worthy of fighting for the top of the table.

Throw in the fact that Louis is all too aware that he's not getting any younger in a profession that demands your peak physical fitness year round and the incredibly fit Harry Styles, who is part of the club's social media team, and this year's festive period might just be the most important one yet.

🎄1 🎄 2 🎄 3 🎄 4 🎄 5 🎄 6 🎄 7 🎄 8 🎄 9 🎄 10 🎄 11 🎄 12 🎄 13 🎄 14 🎄 15 🎄 16 🎄 17 🎄 18 🎄 19 🎄 20 🎄 21 🎄 22 🎄 23 🎄 24 🎄 25 🎄 26 🎄

NOW COMPLETE!

[citrusici]

I think it’s hilarious that Angeal and Sephiroth first meet during what feels like the setup to a horror movie. sephiroth and angeal’s blair witch project adventure

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Danse Macabre

[Commission]