Work Text:
Tommy had never known a relationship like his with Evan. It was real, in a way he hadn’t been able to achieve with other partners. There was no hiding, for himself or Evan. They were honest with each other, sometimes brutally so.
So there was no reason for Tommy to believe Evan was anything other than sicker than a dog when he canceled on their standing “we’re both off on a Friday night” date night, even if his text had been vague and not really mentioned the word “sick”.
There just wasn’t a lot else that Tommy could think of that Evan wouldn’t try to explain over text, like an incident at work, or an emergency of some kind with his family. Even when Bobby had been in the hospital after the house fire, Evan had found the time to explain what had happened. And if he had been in the hospital, Tommy was sure someone else would text him to let him know.
Of course, if Evan was awfully sick at home, then he might not have the energy to explain the exact reason for canceling. That thought was what led Tommy to make a grocery run to gather supplies the following Saturday morning. He was going to be a good boyfriend and nurse his partner back to health.
Which was why he was confused when he used his key to enter Evan’s apartment and found him upright in his kitchen, although hobbling around and wincing when he took a step.
He turned, startled. “Tommy! Hey. What uh, what are you doing here?”
Tommy raised an eyebrow. “Well, you canceled on date night, and you weren’t responding to my texts today. I thought you were probably either stuck in bed or in the bathroom, and figured I could bring over supplies.” He lifted up the grocery bags he was holding, which were overflowing with soup, crackers, a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, and electrolyte drinks.
“Evidently, my assumption was wrong.” He looked Evan up and down, taking stock of him. No flush like he was overheating, and he wasn’t pale like he had just puked. He wasn’t green like he was about to either. No sweat, like a fever had just broken, and he wasn’t shivering like he had the chills. Evan wasn’t showing any classic illness symptoms.
Evan shrugged, chuckling nervously. He reached a hand up to scratch at the back of his neck. “Well, okay, yeah, I guess canceling and then not really explaining probably wasn’t my brightest move. But I promise, I was not in any shape to go out last night.”
Tommy moved to be standing in the apartment, shutting the door behind him. Evan remained standing by the island, both of his hands now bracing himself against it. “I believe you. But I’d still like to know, what is the explanation? Is it something I can help with?”
“You know a couple years ago, there was that fire truck bombing?” He began.
Tommy pulled a face. That was not exactly where he thought Evan would be going with this. “Yeah, I do. That was you, right? Howie mentioned once at a catch up that it was ‘the young kid, Buckley’, before you and I actually ever met.”
Evan nodded. “Yeah. It was me. Crushed my leg, it was really bad. Had to have pins put in. Almost had to be amputated, they said it was a miracle I could even walk. Being a firefighter again was something the doctors thought for sure was never in the cards for me.”
Tommy hadn’t put a lot of thought into it, given that he tended to be focusing on other parts of Evan than his leg when they were engaging in activities that would cause any scars to be visible. And Evan had a whole host of stories he had shared from an accident-filled childhood. Tommy had never felt the need to ask about any of the scars, assuming Evan would tell him the stories as they came up.
He moved closer, setting the bags on the counter and taking a seat at one of the stools. “Damn.” He didn’t really know what else to say to that.
“Damn is right. Well, you don’t have that type of injury without some complications. The screws for the pins collected clots, and I had a pulmonary embolism. It was a whole thing. So, to keep me from having any more, they pulled the pins out a little earlier than they originally wanted to. Which meant that there was a chance that it wouldn’t finish healing right.”
Tommy was able to start reading between the lines. “Something didn’t heal right?”
Evan finally looked up at him, a sad little smile on his face. “Bingo. Some tendon or muscle or something never adapted to the bone fusing together. If the pins had stayed in the bone would have had more of a guide to follow, but the healing went just a little rogue, and so there are tiny bits of bone that jut out. It looks gnarly on an x-ray.”
Tommy nodded. “Okay. So… what? The muscle causes you pain?”
Evan nodded. “Yup. And whichever one it is, it also pulls at my knee and my ankle. Most days it’s fine, but if I overexert myself and the muscle seizes up, it means I can feel it from my knee to my ankle. And it makes even standing a bitch.”
Tommy looked at him again, squinting a bit. “And let me guess? During your hard shift yesterday, you overexerted, so afterwards you were in too much pain to go out?”
Evan shrugged. “Yeah. But this was a lot to explain over text, and I’m not fun when my leg is acting up, just ask Eddie sometime. So I didn’t want you to come over and have to put up with me while I was in a shitty mood. And I thought it would be better today, so I could meet you for lunch or something and explain.”
Tommy hummed. “Let me guess: it’s not better?”
Evan shook his head. “No, it is not.”
Tommy stood up. “Babe. Sit down then. Do you have meds you can take, or a heating pad you use to help relax the muscle? Let me get it for you.” He went into action mode, moving towards his boyfriend.
Evan held up a hand. “Stop. Please.”
Tommy immediately stopped moving. “Okay.”
Evan looked at him, a small, sad smile on his face again. “I’m really not good company, and I don’t want to put that on you. I’ll be fine; I always am. Usually it just takes time to get better. I don’t like taking strong pain meds when I’m on my own, they make me fuzzy and I don’t like that. And OTC meds don’t really touch it anymore. Muscle relaxers are fine, they make me sleepy, but I’m all out and even if my doctor did send in a prescription it’s not like I could drive to get them right now.”
Tommy frowned, and crossed his arms. “Evan. I did not come here expecting you to entertain me. I came prepared to rub your back while you puke your guts out, or change out cold washcloths while you tried to break a fever, or pick up the gross used tissues all over your floor if you were getting over a nasty cold. I think I can handle you having some pain.”
Evan looked at him, a little confused and a lot starry eyed. “Really?”
“Yeah, really. Now, do you think you could make it down an elevator? I’ll bring my car to the door, and we can go to my place. My king sized bed is in my bedroom on the first floor, and it has a TV. Plenty of room for you to stretch out without having to do any stairs. Plus, I know you love Rotor.”
Evan smiled as he ducked his head. Tommy knew he had him, Evan having such a soft spot for his sweet little grey cat.
“Why don’t you call your doctor, see if they can send in a script for the muscle relaxers. And, since I’ll be around, if you need to take the stronger meds you can. Now, what should I be grabbing from around here that you want at my house?”
Evan looked at him, tears in his eyes. He rattled off a few things, and where they would be. While Tommy went around grabbing all the items, he heard Evan’s voice from the kitchen, hopefully on the phone talking to his doctor.
When he returned to the kitchen with a bag full of stuff, Evan gave him a thumbs up. “He sent it to the pharmacy. And some of the stronger stuff too, since mine is old enough that at this point he’s worried about effectiveness.”
Tommy smiled. “Okay. Let’s head down, and you can wait by the door while I hike across the parking lot to my car. Do you have crutches around here you could use to at least get to my place?”
Evan nodded, pointing at the closet. “In there. They may be pretty far back, I don’t remember the last time I used them.”
Tommy set everything down on the counter, and dug around. Sure enough, they were almost at the far back. He grabbed them, and handed them to his boyfriend. “There. I’ll get the bags, and then we can head out.”
Evan let out a little huff. “I can help. Let me take something.”
Tommy shook his head, chuckling. “Babe, I’ve got it. You just focus on getting yourself to my car.” When Evan opened his mouth to protest again, Tommy shot him a Look.
Evan knew better than to try to argue with Tommy who had his eyebrows raised and mouth set in a line.
Five minutes later, Tommy, Evan, and all their supplies were in the car. Tommy swung through the pharmacy drive through, then headed to his own house.
It was a two story fixer-upper, a place he had bought right after the real estate bubble burst in ‘08. He had spent that whole time making it entirely his own, and he still wasn’t done. He loved it, but it had always felt too big for just him. So, he had become a foster parent.
Not for kids, but animals. Dogs, cats, some rabbits, even a pair of guinea pigs once. Only one animal had been a foster fail, Rotor. The grey cat had come with the name, and it just felt like fate. That was a week after meeting Evan for the first time, and the two new additions to Tommy’s life had gotten along like a house on fire.
Tommy couldn’t let the cat go after that. He would probably never tell Evan that he was the reason Tommy had adopted the cat, that seemed like too big of a thing to admit five months into their relationship. But at the end of the day, it was the truth.
He pulled into the driveway, opening the car door like the gentlemen he thought himself to be and helped Evan into the house. “Go straight to the bedroom, I’ll get something started as far as food goes. I’ll be in in a few with your meds, a drink, and the heating pad. Get changed if you want, your stuff or mine, whatever you want and will make you the most comfortable.” He winked.
It made Evan blush, which was the goal. He began to move, while Tommy grabbed a pot to heat up some of the soup he had picked up earlier. While that was coming up to temp, he grabbed a glass and filled it with some orange Gatorade, Evan’s favorite. He grabbed the pill bottles, and the heating pad from the bag of supplies he had collected from Evan’s place.
While the soup simmered for a bit longer, he headed into the bedroom. He found Evan in a pair of his own boxer briefs, and one of Tommy’s sleep shirts. Rotor was on his lap purring as Evan pet him. When Tommy entered, Evan perked his head up.
“Hey. You’ve got the goods?”
Tommy nodded. “Orange Gatorade, meds, and the heating pad. Figured I could get you all settled in and then grab the soup. I know you shouldn’t take the meds on an empty stomach, but I don’t think that 5 minutes would make a big difference. If you think it will though, then you can wait. Just let me know when so I can set timers for your next doses.”
Evan was looking at him with that starry-eyed look again. “God, I love you.” And then immediately paled.
They hadn’t said those words to each other yet. Tommy was a little taken aback, but recovered quickly. “I love you too, Evan. Now, here’s your stuff, I need to make sure that soup hasn’t burned or boiled over. I’ll be back in a jiff.”
He turned around, needing a moment to collect himself, and assuming Evan did too. God, they had just gone there. He didn’t regret it, and he had been feeling it for a while. But Tommy had always been a bit of a coward, so he was glad Evan had said it first.
He got two bowls of the soup and a glass of water for himself, and put it on a tray. He walked back to the bedroom, Evan remaining in the same position he had left him. The glass was on the bedside table, but the pill bottles were still just on the bed.
“Hey you, got the soup.” He sat down, setting the bottles on the tray. “Do you want me to plug in the heating pad now, or wait a bit?”
Evan looked up at him, no longer pale. “Now would be nice, so that way I hit my allowed time by the time the meds kick in. Because you shouldn’t use extended heat, that just can cause burns. And at a point only so much heat can really be effective anyways.”
Tommy smiled, pushing the tray closer. “Then how about you have some soup, take your meds, and keep petting Rotor while I plug it in and get it all situated for you, okay?”
Evan nodded, taking the tray and setting it next to him. If he had tried to put it on his lap, he probably would have had to move Rotor, which did not seem to be something Evan wanted to do.
Tommy got up, moving around to the other side of the bed to find an outlet. He plugged in the heating pad, and moved to Evan’s leg. “Now, where is this going to be the most effective? You said earlier you feel pain all between your knee and ankle. This heating pad doesn’t cover that whole space.”
Evan swallowed down the pills, and took a bite of soup immediately after. “It hurts worse by my knee today, so focus on up there. And try to wrap it around a bit if you can, it’s not all concentrated on the front."
Tommy nodded, and began to carefully wrap the heating pad around where Evan had indicated. Once he had, he turned it on, and looked up to see his boyfriend’s features fall into some sort of relieved state. “Better?”
Evan nodded. “Better.”
Tommy smiled, and stood up again, walking around the bed to join Evan on it. “Now, you should eat your soup, drink your Gatorade, and we can put on some show to watch until the meds kick in and knock you out.” He pressed a kiss against Evan’s temple.
He hummed an affirmative in response. “Okay, that sounds good.” He leaned his head against Tommy’s shoulder and handed him the remote. “No cooking shows, and nothing too dramatic.”
Tommy thought for a moment, and opened up the documentary page on his Netflix. “How about… this one?” He pulled up a program that appeared to be about the history of puppetry. “Something new to you, but how dramatic can it be?”
Evan nodded, lifting his head up. “That works.” He moved his torso to lean more into Tommy as he began to eat his soup. Tommy ate too, trying not to be overbearing but also trying to gauge how Evan was doing. Every so often he would wince, or twitch his leg. But if Tommy opened his mouth to try to ask, he was met with a glare.
After eating, Tommy glanced over to see how his boyfriend was doing. Seeing him beginning to fall asleep, he nudged Evan to wake him up for a moment. “Hey, I’m going to bring these to the kitchen, then we should get you comfortable for a nap.”
He received no real response, just a noncommittal hum. After a quick trip to the kitchen, walked back into the room, chuckling to himself as he saw Evan’s current position.
He was still sitting up against the pillows, legs stretched fully out in front of him. His head was lolled to the side, and his one arm was hanging off the side of the bed. His other was resting on top of the cat who was still in his lap, purring so loudly Tommy could hear him from the doorway.
He walked into the room, gently shaking Evan’s shoulder. “Hey, baby. Let’s get you all settled in, yeah?”
Evan blinked blearily. “Huh?”
Tommy smiled. “You’re at my house. You took some pain meds and muscle relaxers about half an hour ago. They’re making you tired, and my bed is right under you and very comfortable. Let me help you get all settled in, with a blanket and everything.”
“Oh, okay. That sounds good. But I get to keep the hot pad on, right?”
Damn, Tommy had forgotten about that. “Oh, sorry sweetheart. Not happening.”
That seemed to wake Evan up. He sat up straighter with a jolt, Rotor stopping his purring. “What? Why not? It’s my leg, and it still hurts.”
Tommy took a breath. Ah, so this must be what he meant when he said that he was “hard to deal with”. Well, he could handle a slightly argumentative Evan. “I know sweetheart, and I’m sorry. But it’s already been on for thirty minutes, and most guides recommend fifteen to twenty. And you’re going to go to sleep, so you won’t be able to take it off yourself if it gets to be too hot.”
Evan huffed. “Fine. But if I’m not asleep in ten minutes I’m putting it back on myself.”
Tommy nodded, knowing that he would probably be out in five. “Alright dear, I can agree to that.” He carefully turned off the pad, and unplugged it from the wall. No need to create a fire hazard. Now for the next step, getting Evan horizontal and cozy.
“Okay Evan, let’s get you laying down. It will be much more comfortable for your neck to fall asleep if you’re laying down.” He rested a hand on Evan’s shoulder, ready to help him move into a horizontal position.
But again, his boyfriend began to pout. “But then I’ll disturb Rotor, and he’ll be sad, and it’s like the cardinal sin of cats to upset them by moving them off of you.” He placed two hands on the cat, as if to protect him. However Rotor, seeming to sense that something was about to happen, stood up and moved off of Evan’s lap. He promptly burst into tears. “I don’t want Rotor to be sad!”
Tommy’s eyebrows raised. “Okay, alright. It’s okay, Ev. Just, it’s okay. Cats need their own space, baby.” He let Evan fall into him, tears soaking through his shirt. Okay, so evidently Evan got emotional when he was in pain. Or maybe when he’s on pain meds. Either way, that was okay. Tommy just needed to adjust.
“Baby, Evan. Let’s get you laying down. Maybe Rotor will come back. Or I can stay and cuddle you, okay?” He ran a hand up and down what he could reach of Evan’s back, trying to be soothing.
It seemed to do the trick, as Evan took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. I think we can do that.”
Tommy smiled. “Then let’s stop talking, and start doing.” He helped Evan lay down, who now was compliant. Sure enough, Rotor even came back, settling right under Evan’s chin. He slipped a hand onto the cat, humming.
“He came back.”
Tommy grinned, running a hand through Evan’s hair. “He did. Now, let yourself go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Evan hummed, and within thirty seconds he was fast asleep. Tommy sighed, pulling his hand away. He had a few things to get done while Evan slept.
After almost three hours, he peeked back into the bedroom, seeing Evan still asleep. If Tommy didn’t know that he was on a pretty solid cocktail right now, he would be more worried. But, the drugs were on four to six hour cycles, so three hours of nap plus the thirty minutes before they really kicked in made sense. He would just wait for Evan to wake up.
In the meantime, he started on dinner. Nothing complicated, especially as the meds could cause stomach issues. Just some pasta with a light garlic butter sauce, and some garlic bread, along with a very basic salad. Nothing too heavy, but also not plain. Evan loved flavor.
Within an hour, he was hearing shuffling from the bedroom. He was glad to see Evan sitting up in the bed, adorable creases on his face, the kind one gets from pillows and blankets during a good nap.
“Hey sleepyhead. How are you doing?”
Evan smiled at him. “Way better. The drugs did their job, took the pain away for long enough to knock me out. It feels a lot better. Not 100%, but better.”
Tommy smiled back. “That’s great. Do you think you’ll want another dose? You’re past the four hour mark if you need them.”
Evan shook his head. “Nah. I try to go six anyway. But it truly does feel better. I might still use the crutches, if that’s not too much trouble?”
Tommy stepped into the room, sitting on the bed by him. “Not at all. Do whatever you need to do, babe. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.” He pressed a kiss to Evan’s forehead. “Now, I made some dinner. Think you can eat, or do the meds make you nauseous?”
Evan shook his head. “No, thankfully. I don’t know what I would do with myself if pain meds made me not want to eat.”
Tommy grinned. “Well in that case, I’ve got some salad, pasta, and garlic bread on the table. Want me to bring it in here, let you stay in bed a little longer? I could give your leg a massage.”
Evan chuckled, shaking his head. “No, I think I’d like to move around some. Not moving it for a long time is almost as bad as over exerting it.”
Tommy nodded. Another fact to file away for later. “Well, alright then. To the kitchen.” He stood up, and helped Evan to his feet too. He handed his boyfriend the crutches, and followed behind as Evan led the way to the kitchen.
He pulled out a chair for Evan, which earned him a chuckle and a “thank you, kind sir” in response. It just made him smile. He loved his boyfriend so much… and now he could say so. He plated up some dinner, and got them both some water. “I love you.”
Evan smiled back at him across the table. “I love you too. Thank you for taking care of me today. I know I slept for a lot of it, but still. I’m aware how I get once the meds kick in.” He blushed a bit, like he was embarrassed.
Tommy shrugged. “Really, you weren’t that bad. You didn’t want the hot pad off, but my powers of persuasion eventually worked. And you got a bit sad about Rotor moving, but he came back, and then you were out like a light. Seriously, Evan. I’m glad I could do this for you today.” He reached across the table, holding his hand.
Evan squeezed it. “That means a lot, Tommy. I know I can be hard to love sometimes.”
Tommy had a feeling there was more to it than just helping him when he had a day where his leg decided to not cooperate with life. But tonight wasn’t the night to explore that. Tonight, he was going to eat dinner with his boyfriend, and then see if said boyfriend wanted to spend the night. He was pretty sure he wasn’t ever going to get sick of Evan Buckley, even if he did get grouchy when he was in pain.
“Evan, listen to me. Even when you’re grumpy because it’s been a bad day, even when you’re emotional because you’re in pain, even when you’re mad at me because I’ve made a mistake. I’m gonna love you anyways, because you matter to me, even through the bad. Besides, without the bad, you would never really appreciate the good.”
That for some reason made Evan start to cry. Oh god, were the meds still that much in effect? Had Tommy said something wrong?
Evan stood up and on shaking legs rounded the table. Tommy stayed put, his boyfriend having made it clear earlier that he liked being as independent as possible, even when his body wasn’t fully cooperating.
He sat down in the chair next to Tommy, and reeled him in for a kiss. It was soft, and gentle. It wasn’t going to lead to anything else. It was just a kiss. But, it was a kiss full of love, and affection, and promise. Tommy tried to kiss back as good as he was getting, but he wasn’t sure he fully accomplished it.
When Evan finally pulled back, Tommy reached his hands up to wipe away the tears still spilling down his cheeks. “You okay, Ev?”
Evan nodded. “Never better.”
And despite the fact that he was probably still in pain, Tommy was inclined to believe him. Maybe this could be the true start of forever.