#evan watches chuck

[sevens-evan]

something in the water in the red test episode honestly

[apartmentsmoke]

Evan tells Tommy that he's babysitting Jee, but he still really wants to spend time with Tommy, if Tommy doesn't mind - and Tommy accepts. Jee's part of Evan's family, and Howie's family, and how bad can hanging out with a three-year-old - almost four, he is told by her in the car - be anyway? What he's expecting is a night on the couch watching Frozen. (Kids still like that, right?) Maybe tea parties. What he does not expect is that Evan already has an outing planned to Chuck-E-Cheese. Surprise - Chuck-E-Cheese still exists. He would've sworn they went bankrupt back in 2020.

He's not sure what Jee is going to think of him, but she remembers him from the hospital as "Uncle Buck's dirty friend" and accepts his presence easily enough. She keeps her hand in Evan's as they walk into Chuck-E-Cheese. It's one of the cutest things Tommy's ever seen. There's a thousand kids around, laughing and crying and shouting. He only has to focus on one, he tells himself, and lets Jee lead him and Evan through the maze of games. She stops at a claw machine and demands that her Uncle Buck win her a rabbit toy. After ten minutes, fifteen dollars, and Tommy tagging in, they finally succeed. The next two hours are filled with more exploitative games, the greasiest fucking pizza Tommy's ever had, and Jee spending five minutes deliberating between two similarly-colored bouncy balls to exchange for her tickets. Throughout it all, Evan's patience never wavers, even when they lose Jee for five minutes in the crowd and have to search for her. She's hiding under the air hockey table.

Tommy's doing his best to keep up. He's led all over the place, recruited to help with games, and tries to make sense of Jee's non-sequiturs. While they're standing in line for the bouncy ball, Evan nudges him. There's a big smile on his face. "I know this isn't an ideal date. Thanks for being here." "Of course," Tommy says, and he nudges Evan back. "I like getting to know your family, Evan." It's not what he expected, but seeing first-hand how full of love Evan's family is, how much love he has for them - he wouldn't trade it. Not even for the bluest bouncy ball. Evan's smile grows even wider. They're almost out the door when Jee spots a photo booth and hones in. "I wanna photo," she says, tugging at Evan's hand, and Tommy dutifully follows along. He'll - wait out here, he guesses, while Evan and Jee take their photo. They wouldn't all fit, anyway. It's a little awkward, hanging around the photo booth, but it's fine. They disappear behind the curtain for a moment and Tommy can hear Jee's high, insistent voice and Evan chuckling and responding, though he can't make out the words. Jee and Evan poke their heads out a second later. "You too!" Jee says, and Evan echoes her with a grin. "Yeah, you too. Get in here." They quickly learn there is no way the photo booth is going to fit them all. Tommy fits maybe a third of his body in. Evan frowns, then lights up again. "Hey, Jee, why don't we get out for a second? Then Tommy can sit down and I can sit on his lap and you can sit on my lap. Okay?" "Okay," she says, so Tommy squeezes in, and a second later Evan plops all two hundred pounds of himself and thirty pounds of Jee onto his lap.

"Evan," he hisses, and Evan grins at him, unrepentant. "Smile for the camera, Tommy," he says, and Tommy finds that his smile comes easily, especially when Evan turns to kiss his cheek on the last photo. After they scrabble out of the photo booth, Evan looks down at the strip of photos and their wide, grinning faces. "Oh, yeah. That's going on the fridge for sure." "For sure," Jee repeats for emphasis, and looks up at Tommy expectantly. "For sure," he says, and he's met with twin smiles.

[this fic has matching art by @aringofsalt! it's adorable and you should definitely go take a look]

[prentisslvr]

established relationship with buck, where she keeps getting sent love letters by someone she saved and he is not having it

HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU

summary: the guy you had saved during a shift, had fell in love with you and will not stop sending you love notes, and gifts. buck is not impressed

genre: fluff

warning: jealousy, creepy behaviour??? idk.

authors note: sorry this took me so long, i recently got covid-19, (in 2024 is crazy i know) but i’ve been super sick and barely able to do anything but im feeling better and decided to get onto answers asks!! so here!!

“another one?” buck asked exasperated, as you pick up the flowers, and note that had been left of the doorstep, he wanted to rip those flowers out of your hands, and stomp on them until the man who sent them could feel it.

“i gotta give it to the guy, he’s committed.” you say, chucking the flowers straight in the bin, opening the letter carefully. “shall we see what he’s got to say this time.”

evan takes the letter from your hands, ripping it to pieces before dropping it in the bin.

“no.”

evan said taking a seat on the sofa. “your little secret admirer needs to take a hint, he’s not wanted.”

you take a seat beside him and tilt you head. “it would be helpful if i knew who he was, then i could tell him i already have a handsome boyfriend in which i am hopelessly devoted to.”

buck smiled and let out a breath, leaning in and pecking your lips. “he doesn’t stand a chance.”

over the next few weeks the letters continued showing up, sometimes at the station, with flowers, chocolates, and even at one point, he had send the whole team treats.

and then it stopped for a while.

until it didn’t.

“okay this is getting creepy.” hen admits, eyes trained on the table full of flowers, treats, a bundle of flowers with the words. ‘marry me’ spelt across them, laid across the table, with all your favourite flowers.

“evan is going to flip out.” you groan. “get rid of it! all of it, this creepy fucking loser is trying to ruin my relationship before it’s barely began, i’ll be damned if he succeeds.”

“ouch babe, i didn’t know you thought of me as a creepy fucking loser.”

your head whips around and evan is stood with a ring in his hands, getting down on his knee in a swift fashion, the crack of the box opening up is all that can be heard.

silence.

the whole team watched with gaping mouths, and held their breaths.

“this was you?” you whisper, walking towards him. “not that creepy stalker guy?”

“i took care of him a few weeks ago.” buck says with a smirk. “i saw him leaving the note one day, when i came to visit, told him you weren’t interested and i was going to marry you. to he honest, the guy took it like a champ.. anyways, my knees getting numb, so what do you say?”

you nod quickly, forcing him to stand up, and shakily put the ring on your finger, the kiss which followed was indescribable, you weren’t kissing your boyfriend any longer, but you were kissing your fiancé.

he pulled away grabbing your face, the 118 who were watching with grins.

you were hopelessly devoted to this man, and it would be like that for the rest of your lives.

[talktonytome]

leon bridges 9 💚

9. you stay on my mind… when I fly above

Langford smirks at Tommy, eyes flicking from the picture of Evan he has taped to the panel of the cockpit. “That your boy, Kinard?”

“No, it’s some stranger whose picture I stole,” Tommy deadpans.

“Ass,” Langford mutters, chucking a pen at him, which Tommy catches, to the other man’s annoyance. He’s “helping” Tommy conduct a pre-flight inspection, but really, he’s just here to give him shit.

Jack Langford joined Harbor a year after Tommy and he’d annoyed Tommy into friendship with him. He doesn’t mind Tommy’s snark and didn’t bat an eye when he found out he was gay. He even took it upon himself to act as Tommy’s wingman (pun not intended) before he found Evan.

“So, when are you introducing us?”

“Oh I’m not sure he, or anyone should be subjected to you so soon,” Tommy grins, checking the last few items of their list. Everything’s in order, he takes care to keep his machines running in tip-top shape.

“Come on, I’m a goddamn delight and you know it,” Jack whines. “Bring him to trivia night next week!”

Tommy doesn’t tell him the invitation had already been extended by the rest of the crew. He’d asked Evan, who eagerly accepted. “Ok, ok, just for you, Jack,” he sighs, tone all saccharine sarcasm.

“Ah, I knew you loved me, Kinard,” Jack blows a kiss at him.

Tommy shakes his head and can’t help but smile. 118 repressed Tommy would never believe he’d be here, bantering about his boyfriend, with another man in their line of work.

“He’s gonna kick everyone’s ass at trivia- he’s a fountain of knowledge,” he mentions proudly, not hiding the stupid, fond look on his face.

“Wow, you’ve got it baaad,” Jack whistles. “I’m glad you’re bringing him. I mean, we have to meet the person who’s got our Tommy so besotted. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve seen ever seen you keep anything in here that isn’t necessary,” he looks pointedly at the picture of Evan.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tommy says, rolling his eyes, and then with a soft smile, “he’s… something else, unlike anyone I’ve ever met.”

“I’ll bet,” Jack smiles. “In fact, I already like him, if he’s got you mooning like that,” he declares, bumping Tommy’s elbow before they slip into their seats.

They buckle in and Tommy prepares them for take-off. He checks the throttle and ignites the engine, inspects the controls and gauges, then opens the throttle, watching for proper RPM. When everything looks as it should, he turns off the hydraulics to check the collective, then turns them back on. He looks at the gauges and fuel again to make sure they’re all still good.

And they’re good to go. He raises the collective while adding left pedal, engages the cyclic, and they’re off. He still gets a rush every time he takes a chopper into the sky- it never gets old. He takes in the vast blue of the sky and reaches out to touch his fingers to the picture of Evan in front of him.

He’s in mid-laugh, eyes bright and that damn dimple shows in full force. Maddie has snapped it on her Polaroid camera, while he was laughing at something Tommy said. She slipped him the print with a wink and a knowing smile, and Tommy had no choice but to tape it to his cockpit, where Evan could always accompany him.

The lonely skies never really bothered him before- he enjoyed the solitude. But the thought of having a piece of Evan up there with him every time filled a hunger in him he hadn’t even realized was there.

Jack breaks the silence with a click of his phone camera, catching Tommy (seriously, who keeps their keyboard sounds on??) He’d only been silent before because he knows Tommy likes to focus when he’s taking off.

“Delete that, Langford!”

“Hm, don’t think so, bud. I’m sure Evan will want to see this,” he nods to himself. “In fact, I think I should submit this to the dictionary. They’ll put it right next to down horrendous.”

Tommy grimaces at the lingo Jack often interjects in conversation. I have a Gen Z nephew, sue me, is his usual defense. “I’ll crash this and take both of us down,” he mutters darkly.

Jack reaches over to push his shoulder. “No you won’t. Then your man will be all sad and lonely and you wouldn’t want that, right?” He shoots him a smug smile.

“No, no I wouldn’t,” Tommy says under his breath and smiles.

[uhhlifeig]

Feast - October 16 - word count: 461 - @wolfstarmicrofic

"Doesn't this look amazing?" Lily said, looping her arms around both Mary and Pandora.

"Absolutely," Mary agreed, grinning at the sight of Pandora's mystified expression as a chocolate bat- courtesy of Sirius- flew nearby.

"It’s a masterpiece," the blonde said with a dreamy smile, leaning into both of them.

Remus couldn’t help but chuckle. “Only Hogwarts’ Halloween feasts get this elaborate.” 

He turned to his best friend- the boy he was trying not to stare at for too long- Sirius, who was looking entirely too pleased with himself.

“Only the best for the school’s number one troublemakers,” Sirius said with a wink. He was hovering mid-air, standing on a chair precariously balanced on one leg, trying to hang a particularly large cobweb above the teacher’s table.

"Careful, Pads," the werewolf warned. "You’ll fall and break something.”

“Break something?” the dog animagus scoffed jokingly. “Moony, have a little faith. I am grace.”

Just as he said that, the chair wobbled. Sirius flailed and barely caught himself by grabbing onto a floating banner above him. 

"Uh-huh, grace, sure."

Across the room, James was working on some finishing touches with Regulus, who had been roped into helping despite his usual resistance. 

James leaned close to whisper something in Regulus's ear, making the younger Black roll his eyes but smile all the same.

Meanwhile, Marlene and Dorcas were across the room, transfiguring the pumpkins into more elaborate and increasingly terrifying forms. 

One of them sprouted a set of teeth and began chomping at everything nearby.

Marlene laughed as Dorcas waved her wand to tone down the pumpkin’s aggression, smirking while almost doubling over.

Benjy was sitting at the far end of the room, discussing something with Peter, who looked a little flustered but was grinning from ear to ear. 

Every now and then, Peter’s wand would flick toward one of the decorations, and something unexpected would happen- like a pumpkin turning into a frog.

Evan and Barty were lounging in one of the back corners, watching the chaos unfold. 

Barty leaned over and muttered something to Evan, causing the latter to snicker as they quietly plotted a prank of their own.

“Oi, Remus, catch!” James’s voice broke through the noise. The dirty blonde turned just in time to see James chuck a small, glittering object his way. 

Without thinking, Remus caught it. The moment his fingers touched the object, a burst of bright orange confetti exploded in his face.

Sirius burst out laughing, nearly falling again. “Oh, that’s brilliant!”

“You lot are incorrigible.”

James smirked. “Don’t pretend you didn’t love it, Moony.”

Sirius jumped down from his chair, walking over to Remus, who still had a bit of confetti clinging to his hair. 

“Here.”

Remus’s breath caught for a moment. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Sirius replied.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

We’ve seen yans adopt reader, but what if reader takes initiative in getting themselves adopted?

Universal Cat Distribution System style.

(I envision this w/a reader who’s more of an animal/feral type mutant but this works with neutral readers too)

Seeing the heroes on TV or even in person whether witnessing an emergency or being actively saved, reader is probably in awe that mutants can be so cool and well loved (by each other at least, people in universe seem to hate them for some reason). They probably get in in their head “oh these guys could love me” and reader is right!

Reader, outside in the rain: hi I’m here to be adopted

Logan, who thought they were the delivery person but isn’t going to turn them away: what are your qualifications?

Reader: well for starters I bite-

Logan ‘I adopt rabid children’ Howlett: say less

n e ways, I love the “Hi, you’re my parent now” trope, especially when pets just decide your house is now theirs. love your content!!

Ahaha! I love it! This is how my cat was adopted! She was so loving and sweet and was a stray kitten we were feeding, and she would comfort we when I cried outside, so when it was raining and cold one day, I was told I could take them inside- so I did! And she is now my sweet bby princess kitty!

Yes, Logan would adopt any Reader who looked sad and pitiful and was partially feral or animalistic. He adopts any teen who needs help, he will fight anything or anyone for them, and will show them to Charles and be like "here's another X-Men, Chuck, now let's feed them and get them a bath-" and no one can say no, because they also fell in love with this teen who has slitted eyes and looks like soggy wet kitten and is fluffy too.

Reader, trying to get adopted: I was bullied for three years of elementary school, I have religious and emotional trauma, I once was emotionally and mentally abused/manipulated by an adult, I am probably queer and/or gender-noncomforming, and I like fluffy jackets and don't have a dad or possibly a mom or any parent at all, or at least not any good ones-

Logan: You're adopted

Reader: Oh, what decided it?

Logan: When I first saw you, but I wasn't leaving you after you mentioned the manipulative adult and the trauma, so, you're our kid now

Reader: All I need is two meals a day, a bath every other day, and somewhere to sleep!

Logan: ... You're getting more than that

Charles: Yes! A new child and X-Men! Welcome, my dear, what is your gift? 😊

Storm: Yes! A friend for my Evan and dearest Kurt and Kitty and Jean and Scott and Rogue! We shall feed you, and shall guide you!

Hank: We can finally give you a check-up! We've been watching you for quite some time now-

Logan, tackling Hank and slapping a hand over his mouth: That is not important! What matters is you're here! Now, let's get inside! We should introduce ourselves...

Reader, oblivious: 🥰💕💛

[viennafantasies]

𝜗𝜚- Character's I write for

Outer Banks: jj maybank, rafe cameron, john b routledge

The Vampire Diaries: damon salvatore, stefan salvatore, klaus mikaelson, kai parker, kol mikaelson, elijah mikaelson, jeremy gilbert, enzo st john

Pretty Little Liars: toby cavanaugh, caleb rivers, Jason dilaurentis

Glee: santana lopez & sam evans

Once Upon A Time: killian jones & peter pan

Brooklyn Nine Nine: jake peralta

Gossip Girl: chuck bass & nate archibald (for now)

Riverdale: archie andrews & jughead jones

The Office: luke cooper & jim halpert

Stranger Things: steve harrington & billy hargrove

Cobra Kai: miguel diaz, robbie keene & hawk aka: eli horowitz

The X Files: fox mulder

American Horror Story: tate langdon, kit walker, kyle spencer

Pen15: dustin long, brandt

Outnumbered: jake

Marvel: loki laufeyson, steve rogers, bucky barnes, peter parker

DC: bruce wayne, clark kent, dick grayson, joker

Hunger Games: finnick odair & peter malarky, ps. I haven't done cornelius bc I haven't watched the new movie :)

Harry Potter: ron weasley, draco malfoy, blaise zabini, mattheo riddle, tom riddle, lorenzo berkshire, theodore nott, lucian bole, james potter, sirius black, remus lupin, regulus black

Note: Let me know if you want any poly, my requests will be open by tomorrow. You can request whatever you want but it has to be x reader. I don't mind writing anything but be careful with warnings. I hope you have a great day!! mwah :) ps. tell me if you want fluff, smut or angst. I don't know how to do smut that well but I will try!

cba to do tags

still did it ...

[lulublack90]

Prompt 12 - Retire

@jegulus-microfic March 12 Word count 985

Previous part First part

Remus slept the entire day. Only waking to eat the food Regulus had brought up with them before curling back up onto the couch.

Regulus felt the warmth spreading from his hidden pocket, alerting him that James was trying to contact him. 

He moved into an antechamber off the main library and pulled out the mirror. 

“Hi, Reg.” James smiled at Regulus through the mirror, but it was a bit pinched around the edges. 

“Are you okay, James?” Regulus asked, unable to keep the worry out of his voice. James nodded sadly. 

“I just—I just can’t believe it’s Pete. I mean, how could he do that to us? To Sirius, to me? He used me to gather information for Voldemort. What else have I told him that he’s used against the Order?” Regulus watched the tear fall from James’s face and felt helpless. James needed him, and he couldn’t help.  

A noise behind him made him start. Remus had woken and followed Regulus into the antechamber. His face was red with rage. 

“What do you mean you can’t believe it’s Pete!” He snarled at James over Regulus’s shoulder. 

“Er—erm—I mean—erm…” James stuttered. Regulus pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache suddenly irrupting behind his eyes.

“James, can you get to Rosier House in the next hour?” He asked, taking a step away from the rage-shaking Remus. James nodded. 

“Yeah. Should I bring Sirius?”

“Do you think he’ll be able to control himself if we tell him?”

“Probably not, but he’ll be worse if we keep it from him.”

“I agree.” Regulus turned to Remus. “Are you coming as well?”

“Yup,” Remus’s voice was a growl. Regulus could almost see the wolf within. He’d never seen Remus as a threat before, but now he realised that he was the most dangerous of them all. He turned his attention back to James. 

“Wear the cloak. Don’t be seen. Remus and I are probably being watched, and we’re supposed to be hunting Sirius down.” James chucked at that. 

“So what you’re saying is he’s walking directly into your clutches?” Regulus smirked in Remus’s direction.

“Lupin here can’t wait to get his hands on him.” Some of the rage left Remus’s face. 

“Shut it, Regulus and let’s get going. James, see you in a bit.” 

“Bye,” Regulus smiled fondly at James through the mirror.

“See you soon, love,” James said before he disappeared. 

***

They walked through the gates of Rosier House and entered the house itself. They found Barty and Evan where they usually were, in Evan’s bedroom. 

“When we retire from this venture Evan, I am going to put so many wards on this room that none of these fuckers can ever get back in so we can shag in peace!” Barty apparently did not appreciate them just dropping by. “Nice to see you away from those flea-ridden twats, Lupin.” He added, grinning toothily at Remus. 

“Likewise.” Remus nodded back. Just then, the door opened and closed, and Sirius, appearing out of nowhere, launched himself at Remus, giving him no time at all to react. Regulus had no idea how he managed to keep them both upright, but he did. 

Regulus tried not to stare, but his brother looked so happy it was hard to turn away. That’s when James pulled the cloak off right in front of him, and Regulus didn’t care anymore. In a very similar fashion to Sirius, he was in James’s arms before his brain could catch up with his body’s actions. His lips were on James’s, and his hands tangled in his hair in the next breath.

A pillow flew across the room and hit them, then another at Sirius and Remus. Both couples broke apart, glaring at Barty.

“You disturbed us,” He sneered, pointing to himself and Evan. “I’m only returning the favour.”

“What’s happened, Reg?” Evan asked, diffusing the situation. Regulus sighed. 

“We think we know who the spy is.” He started. Remus ground his teeth, a growl rumbling in his chest. Clearly, his time with the wolves had rubbed off. Sirius reached up and ran his fingers through Remus’s hair, calming him. Or perhaps he’d always been that way. 

“Who is it?” Sirius asked, not taking his eyes off Remus. Remus’s eyes met Sirius’s. 

“Peter,” He snarled from the side of his mouth. 

“What!” Sirius exploded. “I’ll kill him! Snivelling little rat!” Sirius’s tirade continued for some minutes before he ran out of insults. Regulus stepped forward. 

“Right now that you’ve gotten that out of your system. We can’t let on that we figured it out. The only way that any of us could have figured it out is if we talked, and obviously, we can’t let that get out.” 

“We’re just going to let him get away with it!” Sirius roared. 

“No, of course not.” A wicked grin spread across his face. “You’re going to feed him lies to take back to Voldemort, and then we’ll see how good an informant he is. You never know. Voldemort might take care of him for us.” 

“We can’t do that.” James piped up. The entire room looked at him bewildered. 

“Why not?!” Sirius was red in the face. “He’s working for the other side, James.” 

“So are they.” James pointed at Regulus, Evan and Barty. 

“Well—Yes, but—but they’re—they’re helping us. Peter isn’t.” Sirius struggled to find the words he needed. 

“He’s been our friend far longer than he’s been a spy,” James said, looking at his friends. 

“You’re right,” Remus said calmly. Regulus saw James relax at Remus’s words, but Regulus saw the anger there. “You’re right. We should be the ones to take care of him.”

“Oh, goody,” Barty said gleefully. “We’re plotting murder!”

“Yes, yes,” Regulus stepped in before any more could be said. “We can deal with Pettigrew later. For now, I think I’ve discovered where another Horcrux might be.” 

Next part

[writerlola24]

Captain Gerard’s return has ruffled all members of the 118. It appears that the ‘new’ captain has returned to finish what he started, making all members of the 118 miserable. But this time around, Evan Buckley fights back.

Or whenever Captain Gerard targets a member of the 118 Buck is ready to pull that line of fire back to himself. What better way to do so than drop dirty innuendos at your homophobic boss?

——————————————————————————————————

Chapter One

Chimney

The 118 is spread out doing house chores. Chimney glares and uses more force than necessary in pushing the mop across the floor. If only he knew his comment a week ago would come back and bite him in the ass.

“Missed a spot there Han,” Captain Gerrard chims from his perch on the balcony. Chim grits his teeth and the plastic of the pole squeaks at the added pressure he forces upon it.

“I would’ve thought you would be better at this by now,” Gerrard pokes again. Chim stills for a moment and contemplates chucking the mop at his ‘Captain’ when a new voice chimes in.

“Captain Gerrard, I’m ready for hose inspection sir,” Buck calls out from his station beside the truck. Gerrard’s eye twitches.

“I’ll be there in a minute Buckley. Surely a man with your experience can handle a simple fire hose,” Gerrard responds, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Well I’m not just good with a hose sir, I’m also great at brightening your day,” Buck retorts with a bit more cheeriness than would be believable. Chim stifles a laugh and sees Hen double over in the back of the ambulance where shes restocking.

Eddie and Ravi pause their cataloguing at the air tanks with bated breath, looking between Buck and Gerrard.

Gerrard sets his coffee down and stalks down the stairs. Buck simply turns his back and leads the way to the perfectly rolled hose. Of course Captain Gerrard makes him redo all his work, but Bucks retaliation has the Captain monitoring his every move until the alarm rings.

The 118 load up and head out. Captain Gerrard reassigns Buck away from hose duty after that.

——————————————————————————————————

Chapter Two

Ravi

The team has caught on quickly to what exactly Buck is doing. It didn't take a genius to see that with every remark made by Captain Gerrard towards one of their own, Buck was quick to draw the mans attention to a new target, himself.

The 118 could only hopelessly stand by and watch the slow motion car crash that was Evan Buckley versus Vincent Gerrard.

Ravi and Eddie are in the gym when it happens again.

“PANIKKAR!” Gerrard bellows into the room. Ravi startles and nearly drops the weight on his chest but Eddie catches the bar.

“Yes captain?” Ravi calls standing at a stiff attention.

“I thought I told you that you were on bathroom duty until further notice,” Gerrard growls.

Ravi opens and closes his mouth a few times.

“He completed his duties before we came in, sir,” Eddie states, he stands at Ravi’s side with his hands on his hips.

“Tell that to the biohazard in the second stall,” Gerrard grits. Eddie opens his mouth with a twisted snarl when he feels a hand on the small of his back, tugging at his shirt.

“That was me sir, so its only fair that I fix it. After all, I am very good at cleaning out pipes,” Buck deadpans.

Captain Gerrards face spasms in a complicated array of emotions.

“Well then get to it Buckley,” Gerrard relents before storming away.

Ravi heaves a relieved sigh and gives Buck a grateful nod.

“I don't know how much longer I can do this,” the youngest member whispers.

“Don’t worry, Bobby’s working on his reinstatement as we speak,” Buck encourages with a placating shoulder pat.

Ravi walks away, leaving Eddie to glare at Buck.

“I wish you’d stop doing that,” Eddie whispers.

“Doing what?” Buck asks with an exaggerated confused expression. Eddie sighs and shakes his head.

“I just don't want to see you getting hurt, Buck,” Eddie says.

“He can’t hurt me. And I won’t let him hurt all of you. I can handle it Eds. It's not like he's been able to get to me. If anything, I think I can get him to quit before too much longer,” Buck whispers with a conspiratorial grin.

Eddie sighs, “Yet Buck. He hasn’t gotten to you yet.”

Buck shakes his head before jogging over to the storage room and making a show of swinging around the toilet plunger as he all but skips past Gerrard to the bathroom.

———————————————————————————————————-

Chapter Three

Hen

Hen and Chim take refuge in the ambulance after a medical call. Hen is glaring at a valve mask when the tell-tale signs of stomping boots can be heard.

“I’d take that rebar now,” Chim mutters in defeat when Captain Gerrard rounds the ambulance door.

“Wilson! That valve mask failure was your fault. Do I need someone more competent to supervise the equipment checks?” The older man baits.

Hen was already on the verge of tears after nearly losing a child due to the faulty mask in her hand. Luckily her quick thinking had her patching the hole and makeshifting the equipment so that it still worked. The child survived, but they lost precious seconds all because of a hole the size of a pinprick at the seam of the valve.

“Don’t worry Captain Gerrard, I’m always trained in mouth-to-mouth, in case you need resuscitation,” Buck chimes from the rig, slamming the door a bit more forcefully than necessary.

“Buckley,” Gerrard responds with a warning tone. Over the past couple of weeks its been a battle of wills on who would break first.

Gerrard assigned Buck every possible demeaning task to which the man was overly happy to do and made into quite the ‘bordering-on-calling-HR’ spectacle. He was struck from hose duty, bathroom duty, mopping, and Gerrard knew better than to have Buck pole polishing anytime in the future. No matter the task Buck was assigned, so far, he got the upper hand on Captain Vincent Gerrard.

The problem was that most of Bucks quips were nonreportable. Everyone was aware of the double innuendos, but everyone was also aware that nothing was a fireable offense.

Buck holds up his hands in a placating manner, “I’m just trying to be helpful sir! I’m like a fire hydrant, always ready for when you need me.”

“For the love of-“ Captain Gerrard spins on the soles of his boots and storms away in frustration.

“And another point to team Buckley,” Chim hoots. The team morale appears lifted as Hen reaches out to take Bucks hand, a silent ‘thank you’ exchanged between the pair.

“That's like what….12-0?” Ravi asks joining the scene.

“Something like that,” Eddie responds with a chuckle.

———————————————————————————————————-

Chapter Four

Eddie

It was only a matter of time before someone other than Buck snapped back. Today, it was Eddie.

“DIAZ! I told you to pair up with Pannikar, NOT Buckley!” Captain Gerrard shouts through the radio. Eddie huffs a sigh of annoyance. Captain Gerrard did find an achilles heel with Buck, his partnering with Eddie, and was exploiting that button whenever he possibly could. The problem was that in times of crisis, the Buck and Eddie team worked best and this was a time of crisis.

“DIAZ! You are defying a direct order. Do I need a translator for you to better understand me?” Gerrard bellows. Eddie growls in rapid Spanish and turns his radio off.

“BUCKLEY! Tell Diaz to turn his radio back online and get your asses out of there! You’re both getting written up for this!” Gerrard screams over Bucks line. Buck gives a whole body groan and pounds through the door in front of them after a hurried ‘LAFD Coming in.’

“Copy that Captain Gerrard,” Buck calls into the line.

Eddie spies the children and mother huddled in the corner of the bedroom. Buck takes the unconscious mother while Eddie scoops up the children. The building is about to cave and Buck nudges Eddie towards the second story bedroom window. Buck shouts out that they’re changing their exit plan and the duo work together to scale the side of the home while carrying the civilians. Ravi and Chimney are setting up the crash pad while Hen is grabbing all the oxygen she can onto the gurney. The second fire station arrives as Buck and Eddie make it to the ground with the civilians.

They just finish handoff to Hen and Chimney when Captain Gerrard is in their faces, spittle flying at them as his veins pop.

“What the hell were you thinking! You defied a direct order and put this entire fire house at risk because you’re too stupid to understand basic Engli-“ Captain Gerrard is cut off quickly by Buck shouldering in front of Eddie.

“You can’t really blame me for wanting to pair with Eddie Captain Gerrard, he’s hotter than any 5-alarm fire,” Buck says with false nonchalance.

“You’re already on thin ass ice Buckley, don’t think for a second i don’t know what you’ve been doing with all your little remarks and insertions,” Gerrard hisses stepping up nose-to-nose with Buck.

“Wherever his ass is concerned is the only place I’d like to insert myself, sir,” Buck quips without missing a beat.

“THATS IT! YOU ARE DONE BUCKLEY!” Gerrard bellows, snatching Bucks helmet from his head and throwing it across the lawn.

“And what is it that I have done, sir?” Buck asks, squaring his shoulders and crossing his arms.

“You have been insubordinate! You have been inappropriate! And you keep spreading your perversions all over my station!” Gerrard lists.

“Please explain to me how I have been doing any of those things, sir,” Buck asks with a challenging expression.

Gerrard opens and closes his mouth. Aside from today with Eddie and Buck defying a partnering order, Gerrard had nothing on Buck and they both knew it.

“Perhaps you would like to come with me to the board so that we can both review our accounts of my behaviors and the environment that's being created,” Buck proposes with a defiant smirk on his face.

“You are playing a dangerous game, boy. You are playing with fire,” Captain Gerrard warns.

“Well Captain Gerrard, I do resonate with fire. It’s hot, dangerous and uncontrollable,” Buck whispers in a low growl.

They stare nose-to-nose until the other units Captain calls Gerrard over to debrief. Captain Gerrard mutters something indescenable under his breath before shouldering past Buck and away.

“I might actually be in love with you Buckaroo,” Chim says, sidling up to Bucks side.

“Me too,” Eddie adds.

“Me three,” Hen tags.

“Same here,” Ravi says.

[buckhastwohands]

I wanted to spread some good vibes in the fandom, so what are five cute headcanons you have about BuckTommy or Tommy? 🥰 And if you want to, send an ask like this to someone else.

yesss thank you for the positivity idea! 💖 you're always so encouraging and good at uplifting people.

Tommy got his ears pierced in his 20s when he was drunk. He told anyone who looked sideways at him about it that he did it on a dare and just let them close up afterwards but secretly would wear his one pair of earrings ever so often so they wouldn't. After he came out he still didn't really start wearing earrings out of long-established habit. After telling Buck about it, he buys Tommy new silver studs to wear instead of the tarnished old pair he got back when he first had them pierced. Buck doesn't expect him to start wearing them outside of occasionally around the house, but the way that Tommy feels when his boyfriend kisses him and makes flirty jokes about "studs for my stud"? He absolutely has to try wearing the earrings more often.

After Tommy tells Buck he's dyslexic, Buck goes into a huge research spiral about dyslexia because he didn't realize how much he didn't know. He starts reading aloud really interesting snippets he finds (and then complains when finding some of these books about dyslexia don't even have audiobook options because really?!) and after realizing just how much Tommy appreciates it, he starts reading aloud more of what he's reading, and picking things he feels Tommy is especially likely to enjoy. That makes it even more special, when Buck is reading Chuck Pahlaniuk to him, but Tommy would love it if he just read him the phone book, because of how thoughtful it is and how much he loves to hear his boyfriend's voice.

Buck has travelled a lot of places when he was on the road but with his focus on finding work, he never made it to a lot of national parks. Tommy has been planning dates to bring him to all of the parks within helicopter distance, and even though Joshua Tree has always one of the most beautiful places in the world to him, he was able to see it through new eyes with an even deeper appreciation after seeing Buck's awe and delight when they flew over it (they have to land at a nearby airport and drive the rest of the way of course, but the aerial view is the perfect introduction for his adored Evan to get).

Using terms of endearment isn't something Tommy typically does, but after seeing how much Buck brightens up at them, he makes sure to use them deliberately. He doesn't Buck want to go a day without hearing or getting a text about how he's adorable, sweet, gorgeous or another affectionate compliment.

Tommy can do a much better British accent than Oliver, who sounds like he's trying to imitate Dick van Dyke in the Mary Poppins movie (though he never watched it).

[fruitbasketball]

wnba recap 7/7

moment of silence for how good paige madison looked at that storm game bc ever since i seen that tennis chain i’ve been acting stupid

okay now time to lock in

atlanta dream vs connecticut sun

um exactly the outcome that is expected. didn’t even let them SNIFF a lead damn 😭 smoking them the whole game 💀

that being said - haley jones girl. 21 mins for 5 points and 3 pfs. baby. what would tara say??

bench production was okay. HENNY MINUTES don’t y’all dare play with her please bro 🙏🏽

omg db was ridiculously efficient btw. 7-11 fgp and 7-9 3pfg DAMNNNNN GIRL

also shoutout at for a slight little triple flirt - 7 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds. LIV minutes bro 2-9 from the field is crazy liv bro please 😭😭 you too nai bro what the fuck is going on in connecticut

anyway uhhh good win! could’ve been better!

dallas wings vs. las vegas aces

aight we got a repeat of last year’s playoffs and it ended very similarly to last year’s playoffs! which is to say dallas got blown the fuck out.

this team is frustrating to watch. their post work is sloppy, and it’s clear that rike is overcompensating and chucking shots up MORE to make up for the fact that sa is out and maddy siegrist is out too.

that being said, natasha howard had a great game, and rike shot 4-11. lord i can’t do this anymore 💀

every single one of the vegas starters with a ridiculous +/- btw. +21, +26, +27, +22, +19 like hate the game not the player bc that’s a fun ass team to watch icl to y’all.

i only watched part of this game, and it was the part where dallas actually had the lead?? tf?? but then a’ja dropped a 28 point double on their heads and shit was wraps obviously. she also hit 3 three’s btw. if anyone was wondering. and she was 3-4. light work i guess 💀

good game kate martin - if anyone knows what that tech was for pls lmk!

chicago sky vs. seattle storm

LOLLLL admins were being sooooo messy about this 😭 “emphasis on you THOUGHT” good fucking bye

is it really a sky game if angel reese doesn’t get her double double??

yesss dana evans and diamond deshields give us nothingggg yesss!!!!

a double double for nneka, double double for ezi, and no minutes for nika muhl! none for nika muhl!

i kick my feet at everything jewell loyd does i love her so bad i could just faint but JORDAN HORSTON. call urself a lady vol one more time. 33 minutes without a single field goal made is ridiculous. do better.

phoenix mercury vs. los angeles sparks

TASH. CLOUD. 30 PIEEEEEEEECEEEE ‼️

KAHLEAH. COPPER. 25 PT DOUBLEEEEE ‼️

yeah nuff said about this game they were supposed to win (good game dearica) and they won does anyone know where dee went tho

god bless the phoenix mercury and their fine ass starters 😮‍💨

[sevens-evan]

something something sarah’s chosen name becoming her identity in her relationship with chuck and queer narratives something something

[mariacallous]

Content warning: This story includes references to death by suicide.

Evan Hansen was born to play football. A strong, rambunctious kid, he started playing sports year-round as early as he could. “He was very selfless, always willing to sacrifice himself for the betterment of the team,” says his father, Chuck Hansen. As a fearless linebacker at Wabash College in Indiana, the young player made 209 tackles in his first three seasons, and was hit far more than that during games and practices. Two days after winning the second game of his senior year, Evan died by suicide.

Searching for an explanation, Chuck Hansen pored through his son’s internet search history. One query popped out: “CTE.”

CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative brain disease that causes symptoms like memory loss, depression, and emotional dysregulation. Since 2005, it has been linked to head trauma and to contact sports like football, where brains can get knocked around during tackles and collisions. In 2016, the National Football League acknowledged that the sport was linked to CTE after many retired players were diagnosed posthumously by researchers at the Boston University CTE Center.

Given the NFL-centered media coverage throughout the mid-aughts, “people have this impression that CTE is a disease of former NFL players,” says Julie Stamm, a clinical assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But it’s not just a disease for professional athletes.”

Yet until recently, few studies focused on athletes like Evan, who never played professionally and died before developing age-related brain changes. (In older players, it can be challenging to separate signs of CTE from other kinds of neurodegeneration.) The Hansen family knew that Evan had only been diagnosed with one concussion in his 14 years of football—none since starting college. And although they knew that he’d had trouble doing schoolwork and experienced a bout of depression his junior year, his mental health seemed to have stabilized with therapy and medication.

While Evan’s search history suggests he suspected that these issues were signs of CTE, the disease can’t be diagnosed without examining the brain posthumously. So, like many other families seeking answers for unexplained changes in their loved ones’ behavior, the Hansens donated Evan’s brain to the Understanding Neurologic Injury and Traumatic Encephalopathy (UNITE) Brain Bank, run by the Boston University CTE Center.

Ann McKee, the center’s director, chose 152 of them to study. All were contact sports athletes who died under the age of 30, many by suicide or unintentional drug overdose. And as McKee’s team reported in August in JAMA Neurology, 41 percent of them already had CTE. One of them was Evan. Like him, of those diagnosed, most had only played sports at a high school or college level.

This study reveals that young, amateur athletes aren’t spared from the brain damage that comes with contact sports, even if they quit before going pro. And studying early-stage CTE in young, otherwise healthy brains, McKee says, “may give us clues as to how the disease is triggered.” To her, the takeaway is clear: “We need to reduce the number and the strength of head impacts in contact sports. If we don’t, we’re going to face consequences like this.”

McKee, who is also the director of neuropathology for Veterans Affairs Boston, began studying the brains of former NFL players 15 years ago. She couldn’t believe what she saw: big lesions in the crevices of the brain, dotted with abnormal protein clusters. A huge Packers fan, McKee has watched a lot of football games. But, she recalls, until then, “it never occurred to me that they were damaging their brains, because you don’t see it on the field. They’ve got the helmets. They look invincible.”

Researchers now know more about what is happening to the brain beneath the helmet. The jostling of the brain tugs at neural tissue, placing cells and blood vessels under stress. Tau proteins, which stabilize the scaffolding that gives neurons their structure, fall off when a cell is stressed. These fallen proteins pile up inside the cell, “a sort of toxic clump,” as McKee describes it. Eventually, the pileup overwhelms and kills the cell, leaving neurofibrillary tangles, which appear as ominous dark smears under a microscope. These tangles, which also appear in Alzheimer’s disease, make it harder for neurons to communicate with each other, causing memory problems.

Meanwhile, injured blood vessels compromise the sacred blood-brain barrier that normally protects sensitive neural tissue from irritating molecules flowing through the rest of the body. The resulting irritation causes inflammation, which induces more tau clumping, initiating a downward spiral of neurodegeneration.

To screen the donated young athletes’ brains for CTE, the researchers looked for tau, as well as signs of larger-scale problems like inflammation, hardening or deterioration of blood vessels, and changes to white matter, which contains the connections between neurons. They also interviewed the donors’ loved ones to learn more about their behavior and cognitive symptoms while they were alive. All of them had experienced issues like memory loss, depression, and impulsive behavior.

Of the 152 brains examined, 63 were posthumously diagnosed with CTE. The vast majority were still in early stages of neurodegeneration, but three of them—one belonging to a former NFL player, one to a college football player, and one to a professional rugby player—had reached the third of CTE’s four stages. Notably, another brain with CTE belonged to a 28-year-old women’s collegiate soccer player—the first case of its kind.

The youth of these players also allowed the research team to rule out aging as the cause of the damage. Aging, as well as high blood pressure, cardiac disease, and other neurodegenerative problems, can all damage brain tissue. But in the sample used for the new study, all of the athletes died between the ages of 13 and 29. “These are pristine, beautiful brains,” McKee says.

The fact that so many of the donors’ families had noticed mood and memory changes—regardless of whether their child was ultimately diagnosed with CTE—might be an artifact of the study’s sample pool. Families were simply more likely to donate to the brain bank if they had noticed unusual behavior in their child. But McKee says this also suggests that some of the symptoms experienced by these young athletes are not always caused by CTE, but may still reflect the aftermath of head trauma. Chris Nowinski, a study coauthor and CEO of the nonprofit Concussion Legacy Foundation, remembers struggling with chronic symptoms after the concussion that ended his pro wrestling career in his twenties. In cases like his, concussion-related problems like sleep impairments, or the difficulties of coming to terms with life as an injured or retired athlete, are likely the root cause of the mental health issues—not necessarily tau pathology.

The new study’s results build upon a mountain of evidence connecting contact sports to CTE. One 2017 study of 202 deceased football players found that 87 percent had CTE, including 110 of the 111 brains belonging to retired NFL players. Other studies revealed that CTE is more prevalent in athletes than non-athletes, and is specifically tied to experience playing contact sports, not one-off traumatic brain injuries. Ongoing studies are developing ways to diagnose CTE while people are alive, in the hopes of finding ways to intervene while the disease is still in its earliest stages.

A common misconception is that a one-time impact can lead to neurodegeneration. The real problem is getting hit in the head over and over, for years and years. “A tennis player who had five concussions is not going to get CTE,” says Nowinski. “There’s something about getting hundreds or thousands of head impacts a year. That’s what triggers it, whether you have concussion symptoms or not.”

Like many kids in the United States, Evan Hansen started playing tackle football in third grade. “He was in his 14th year of football, a senior in college, when he died,” says his dad. The number of years he played, and the age he was when he started facing regular blows to the head, likely contributed to developing CTE, according to McKee’s findings. When he signed his son up for football, Hansen recalls, “It was just pure ignorance. I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”

While his son’s diagnosis wasn’t made until after his death, Chuck Hansen suspects that Evan’s fear of the disorder, and what it meant for his future, weighed on him heavily. “I believe that he thought he had CTE, and had never talked about it,” Hansen says. “Maybe he thought it was a terminal thing that would only get worse, and that there was no hope.”

While there is no medical treatment for CTE yet, McKee and Nowinski recommend that young athletes focus on seeking treatment for individual mental health symptoms, like insomnia or depression. The Concussion Legacy Foundation runs a HelpLine for those who are struggling with post-concussion symptoms, or who are worried about CTE. The Hansen family also started a foundation to promote mental health awareness and CTE research, and to fund scholarships for medical students.

But CTE is preventable. Small changes to practice drills and gameplay could make a huge difference for young athletes, says Nowinski. The playbook for prevention is simple: Reduce the number of hits to the head, and reduce the strength of those hits. Most happen during practice, so by reducing the number of drills involving head impacts and choosing ones that are less likely to cause high-magnitude blows, coaches can spare their players unnecessary danger. “You can’t get rid of CTE in tackling sports,” adds Nowinski, “but you can get rid of most cases of CTE.”

Reducing the length of each game and the number of games per season can minimize the likelihood of head injuries, and banning brain-jostling events, like fighting in hockey or heading in soccer, can make games safer, he continues. Perhaps most importantly, youth sports leagues can raise the age at which kids are first exposed to preventable head impacts. “With tackle football before 14, the risks are not worth the benefits,” Nowinski says. “You don’t become a better football player from playing young.” In one case study reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, transitioning from tackle to flag football would reduce a young athlete’s median number of head impacts per season from 378 to eight.

But, Nowinski points out, there is no central governing body in charge of youth sports leagues, leaving it largely up to individual coaches to make changes to their practice drills and recruitment strategies. “The opportunity is right in front of our faces,” says Nowinski. “I remember being told how much football makes you a leader. But right now, on this issue, there’s a black hole of leadership.”

McKee doesn’t think that parents should take their kids out of sports—far from it. “We just need to change the rules and our thinking about these games, so that CTE isn’t a consequence of playing contact sports,” McKee says.

And for young athletes concerned about CTE, she urges them to seek help for mental health symptoms, build personal support systems, and keep moving forward with their lives. “Individuals like Evan need to be seen, because in all likelihood, we can treat their symptoms and help them feel less hopeless,” she says. “It’s not a time to despair. It’s a time to come in, be evaluated, and be treated.”

If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for free, 24-hour support from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also text HOME to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line. Outside the US, visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for crisis centers around the world.

[cauldronoflove]

'Deed I Do

Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley

Rating: G

Word Count: 2.3k

Episode: immediately post-7x04, mentioned Buck/Tommy to that extent

ao3

||

Buck jogs up the front walk like there's a brush fire at his back, flame licking the soles of his sneakers and curling the stitches in the hunched shoulders of his hoodie. It's a tactical retreat; disengage, scout the land, regroup, head back in.

He hasn't let himself think since he grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and started driving, and he doesn't want to ruin a good plan, so he just jiggles the bell until he hears movement on the other side of the door and rocks back on his heels once he does.

Maddie's voice, rounded in question, drops in and out, a quick uptick from Chim, all bowled over by a bright burst of Jee's chatter that hedges on-the-cusp of entirely understandable these days.

She's gotten so big. Not just height--even though he feels a little woozy with every quarter inch Maddie and Chim report--but personality, too. She knows so many words now, can pronounce most of them, is so inquisitive and funny without even realizing it. She's sort of his favorite person, just--watching her grow up is his favorite thing, the way she's indiscriminate about trying new foods but is adamant about her favorite books, the half-sprouted grin when she does something for herself, the way she bounces from interest to interest because she's got the Buckley combo attention span and need to experience as much as possible.

Jee's on Chim's hip when he opens the door so the moon of her face peeks out first, shifting from inquisition to squealing delight so fast his head spins. Reaching for him, she calls his name and makes little grabby hands that do a good job of summarizing the ferocious ache in his chest. It's not even a question of if he'll catch, the way she all but dives from Chim's grip, and Buck catches her underneath her armpits with a whuff of air at the unexpected weight. She throws her arms around his neck and squeezes as hard as she can.

Chim swings the door open a little wider and makes a gesture offering the foyer, his eyes darting up and down in quick reconnaissance. "You okay?" he asks, arching an eyebrow.

Buck doesn't think it's worth the pain to act like he doesn't know what it means. Chim and Hen have leveled him with that same look so often he started calling it the fess up, Buck look like two weeks into joining up with the 118. Bobby has it too, but it's less maniacal, more tender. Eddie's is sort of amused, the kind of look he shoots Chris's way when he makes an exasperated observation.

Buck shifts Jee further up his hip, tries to find the quietest part of his brain that'll register the solid weight of her, her foot shoved in the pocket of his hoodie, her tiny fingers tracing his birthmark, her unbroken stream of babble. "Uh, yeah, yeah. I was just--" He clears his throat, spitting some of her gravity-defying hair out of the way. "Is Maddie here?"

Chim's cheek puckers thoughtfully--I know, I know, Buck stops himself from saying, not trusting it won't all come out here and now--but he chucks his thumb over his shoulder at the kitchen. "Popcorn duty," he mouths, glancing to make sure Jee's still distracted. "You," he says pointedly, raising his voice to be heard over the buffer of their totally not haunted hallway. "Should go make sure she doesn't need any help." Both eyebrows go up then. "Right?"

"Right, yeah, right." He clears his throat again--he hasn't been able to get rid of the feeling of a stone pressing against his windpipe since. Right. "Uh, hey. Thanks, Chim."

"Any time, incumbent brother-in-law of mine," he says with a close-lipped smile. "Buckley Whisperer numero uno. Which I don't even have to be guess it's about time this little pumpkin rolled back to the patch, huh? You with me, Jee?"

She sighs heftily and pats Buck fondly on the cheek. In just the minute they've stood here her little eyes have begun to droop. "Love you, Bub," she mumbles, ducking to size up the drop to the floor.

He inhales shakily. "Yeah, I love you, too, Jee. Always, okay?" The second part is tangled in her hair where he presses a kiss to the crown of her head, lingering there as long as he thinks it'll take for Chim's concerned look to pass.

She allows him to settle her back on her feet and guide her hand into Chim's, casting one final glance up at him with a sleepy smile.

"C'mon, kid, let's blow this popsicle stand," Chim says, nudging her gently toward the hall that winds back toward the bedrooms. "Which is just a figure of speech, not just because of all the splinters, but because when you think about it it's a totally moronic business plan--"

Buck sighs a great gust in the entryway, sagging against the catch-all table. Adrenaline still strays just underneath the surface, longer stretches each time it rolls out until it stutters again.

"Buck?" he hears from just out of sight.

"Yeah, it's me." He trudges out of his shoes before heading into the kitchen. Rich with the scent of sweet butter and salt and edged in char because Maddie has always burned popcorn, microwave or stovetop. But Chim like it thay way, apparently. Someone for everyone, he'd joked once, grinning at her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she smiles, the corners of her eyes crinkling up, the hand not dropping M&Ms with hollow plinks into the big metal mixing bowl full of popcorn flapping around at him for a hug.

"I, uh..." he starts as her arm settles around his middle, but the feeling in his throat cascades and he chokes on it. This, this euphoria and wonder and guilt.

Her hand flattens between his shoulderblades, he doesn't even think she realizes she's doing it, splinting him. The gentle application of pressure to relieve the strain and alleviate some of the pain.

She used to do it when he was a kid, like really, really little and his hay fever would be off the charts. She'd soothe him back into regular breathing, hand on his back, a stream of platitudes that never felt empty when she made them. She knew the Wizard of Oz by heart and would recite it because the voice she did for the Cowardly Lion always made him laugh.

It's been twenty years since she's done it, probably, but he sways into it with relief, trying to ignore the ticking down inside his head about second nature and sense memory, about shit that gets buried all the way down and how eventually it all comes back up.

He sneaks a blue M&M, gritty with salt crystals, out of the bowl, and rolls it around in his mouth until the shell's gone and the rest of his mouth must look as bruised as the inside of his cheek is from biting it on the drive over.

"Do you remember the, like that summer when Nana broke her hip and, and Mom and Dad didn't want to take me with them to Harrisburg so you came home for two weeks?"

Sixty bucks of pizza money stuck to the fridge. 'You're thirteen now, Evan, you're not a baby, you don't need a babysitter.'

He watches her carefully out of the corner of his eye for any sign he's stepped too far back, brought up something she doesn't want in this house. Aside from the way just the corner of her mouth dips, she doesn't lose her stride.

"Yeah," she finally says on the inhale. She shakes her head slightly. "I haven't thought about that in years, what made you think of that?"

He snags two more candies, yellow and red, and slides them between his molars for balance as he retreats from her touch. Propping his elbows up on the counter, he fingers at an unspooling thread at the cuff of his sleeve, careful not to look at her so he won't lose his nerve. It feels like it's going to rip out of him, crack his jaw like the Jaws of Life and come tumbling out in hot, twisted metal indiscernible from human remains.

"What you said at the call center. About the Sarahs?" He's hedging, he knows that, but if he doesn't keep a foot on the break he's afraid he won't be able to stop the skid. "It just snagged something, I guess. You know that's the summer I had my first kiss? I don't, did I ever tell you that? It was, uh, it was really bad."

He can laugh about it now. Does, just a little. But the forgiveness can only cover so much and his muth dries with the short-sheeted breadth of it. "Lori Bowers bet me I couldn't climb to the top of the Vernon's big oak tree, and I got up okay, but my foot kind of...slipped, on the last branch on the way down. I was fine! I just had the wind knocked out of me. It hurt like hell, but Lori came over and told me how cool she thought it was that I'd done it, and that she didn't actually have the shiny Charizard she'd bet me, and then she kissed me and ran off. But she, uh, she had these braces--" He bares his teeth, gesturing with the L bracket of his thumb and index finger. "--and it was a weird angle and she cut my lip. So I was, I was on the ground, still, and my lip was bleeding, and my head hurt, and I was just like--wow, you know? Like that's it. And I was totally convinced kissing sucked until I took Bridget Thomspon to junior prom."

"Buck..." she says, in that gentle way of hers that makes him feel like he's six and sixteen and twenty all over again. The voice that makes him think of antiseptic and Superman Band-Aids and Stouffer's lasagna.

"Which is funny, right, because I-I'm that guy. Or I was thay guy. I've been that guy. Who just--like whoever. I mean, I wanted to, but it took time, to be good at it, but it got good and--" The words keep coming, rucking up around his shoulders, cramping the back of his neck, pressing against his chin like the pad of a thumb that's calloused and disproportionately gentle.

"Buck," she repeats, reaching out for his shoulder. "What's going on?"

"I sort of, I kissed somebody. Um, like, a few hours ago, I guess. And it was good, on the first try. It was really, I didn't even...."

Shit, he thinks, heat crawling up his throat. Attraction and embarassment and a grating twinge like bone on bone.

He can feel her frown, but her hand still hangs between them. He's spinning out so quickly and she's still reaching out for him.

"Okay, I don't think I'm following. You said you and Natalia broke up a while ago, right? So what's the problem?"

"Yeah, no, of course. It's fine. Like, I'm not, it's not a cheating thing or anything. Free and clear. But there's, I think it might be...more complicated than that."

"Okay," she rolls out, a diffusing half-smile twitching at her mouth. "Buck, you have to give me something. Unless you want to play 20 questions? I might be a little rusty. Is it someone from a scene?"

"It was Tommy," he blurts, and it's too loud to his own ears, fighting to be heard over the blood pulsing in his head and the thrill shooting up his chest like acid.

"Tommy?"

He'd chucked his hoodie on over the shirt he'd been wearing when it happened and it's like he can still feel the imprint of heat that had pushed between them. He taps the side of his fist against his chest, digging the fabric of his shirt against his skin in an unconscious repetition. "Yeah," he murmurs, ducking his head in a sudden rush of bashfulness.

"Kinard?"

"Don't know any others."

"But I thought that you--" He can actually hear her teeth click when she jerks to a halt and it sends his shoulders cringing up to his ears.

"Maddie?" he prods quietly, not wanting to but catching her eye so he can try to disassemble whatever she's thinking and offer it back to her better, neater. "I-I, uh, it doesn't, I don't even know, you know, what it. What it meant."

"Evan," and her hand settles firmly against his elbow. Whatever she was going to say slips away, her care too insistent. "I'm not upset. It's just...Tommy?" A laugh shocks out of her and her eyebrows draw together as she tries to force it back in. "I thought he was your arch-nemesis," she gets out from behind her hand, but that's all before she dissolves into a hiccupping laughter against his shoulder that unspools at least half the threads gone tight in him.

He goes boneless, practically, sinking onto his forearms, silent laughter shaking his shoulders, a helpless grin rooted firmly in place. "Uh, yeah, me too, but I guess--" His nose crinkles. "Maybe not?"

"Maybe?" she repeats, knuckling at the tears slipping from the corners of her eyes.

"Definitely not. Or at least--I mean, we apologized, to each other, and then we, and then, uh, he sorta...asked me out. On a date. So...probably not, right?"

"Mm, it depends, I think," she jokes, pressing their shoulders together. She has to tip her head back even at this angle, but her eyes are smiling, and there's a familiar tilt to her tone. "Did you say yes?"

"Yeah," he says and he can't keep the stupid grin off his face. "Uh, yeah, I did."

"Then probably not," she agrees.

He chuckles to himself, bumping his shoulder off hers. Asking, yeah? with a shake of his head.

[jeanmoreausautismstickers]

@bartylusmicrofic Day 2 - Potion - [325 words] - Rating: Gen

“What potion are we brewing today?” Barty asks, tossing himself into his seat. He tears his detention slip before balling it up and chucking it at Evan. Regulus rolls his eyes, muttering, “You would know if you had showed up to on time.”

Barty rolls his eyes. “Some of us have more important people to do, Black,” He leans into Regulus’s space, smirking. “Sure you wouldn’t know anything about that though, little rabbit.” Regulus huffs, elbowing him. “Shut the fuck up and move. You’re in my way.” Barty cackles, earning a few looks from the surrounding students. 

“Did I strike a nerve, sweetheart?” he asks, a teasing smile playing across his lips. Regulus turns to look at him. “No, you did not. Frankly, I’m surprised anyone would hop into bed with you.” Barty laughs again. “C’mon, Reg, you know you want to hop in  bed with me.” He puckers his lips, moving towards Regulus’s face. Regulus huffs in annoyance, his face turning a light pink. “Shove off and let me finish our potion.” Barty grins, sitting back on his own stool. “Well if you insist, darling.”

Regulus finishes the potion quickly, much to Barty’s pleasure. He watches as Regulus pulls a book out of his back before sitting down and cracking it open. The watching gets boring after less than a minute, making Barty sigh loudly. Regulus glances up and scoffs when they make eye contact. “Can I help you?” Barty smirks, leaning into his space. “I could help you, really. Teach you a few things if you want?” Regulus leans closer, smiling shyly. “I mean…” he starts, before kicking his leg up right between Barty’s. Barty grunts, collapsing forward a bit. The teacher shushes him, making Regulus smirk. “Is something wrong, Crouch?” he asks sarcastically. Barty glares up at him. “You fucking prick.” Regulus snorts, settling back onto his stool. “I’m only making it easier for you to show up to class on time.”

[theanticool]

Rashad Evans vs Lyoto Machida - UFC 98

This fight was 15 years ago, man. For this week's throwback story time, we go back to 2009.

Rashad Evans is the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Evans was the winner of season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter, which at the time was at the height of both its popularity and relevancy. The former D1 wrestler had just beaten fan favorite and fellow TUF winner Forrest Griffin for the title. He had wins over Michael Bisping and former champion Chuck Liddell. His gym, Jackson-Wink, has emerged as a powerhouse of talent, turning out great fighters like Diego Sanchez, Nate Marquardt, etc and is widely considered to be on the cutting edge of the sport. He's got a LOT of momentum behind him

Then there is Lyoto Machida. For a lot of western MMA fans who did not grow up watching tapes of K-1 or PKA on late night ESPN back in the 80s, Machida would be there first exposure to a karate in high level prize fighting. And thus far, he was showing that it translated very well. He was 6-0 in the UFC, had a win over LW/WW champion BJ Penn, and had just knocked out dangerous Brazilian Muay Thai fighter Thiago Silva. It wasn't always crowd pleasing but Machida managed to get himself to a title fight on an undefeated record of 15-0.

So we end up with a LHW title fight between two undefeated 205ers. And it produced possibly the most iconic MMA meme ever.