bucktommy + "To be fair, that wasn't the stupidest thing I could've done"
"To be fair, that wasn't the stupidest thing I could've done," Buck pants as he leans against the cool, brick wall. He pulls off his helmet and runs his fingers through his hair, knowing he's likely smeared soot all over his face. The building is still smouldering behind them, but Eddie and Ravi both have the hoses directed towards the flames. It's under control.
Tommy looks like he could explode. His boyfriend is usually very calm and level headed, perfect traits for a first responder, but right now he looks set to rip Buck's head off.
"Wasn't the stupidest - you could have - Evan, are you fucking kidding me?"
Eddie and Ravi's heads turn towards the outburst and Buck winces, not wanting their first proper fight as a couple to be on full display for all their coworkers to witness. He grabs Tommy's arm and pulls him around the side of the building, away from any flapping ears.
"Tommy, it's okay, I'm fine. She's fine. We're fine," he reassures Tommy as he reaches into the pocket of his turnout and pulls out the reason behind his sudden expedition into a burning building without a second's thought.
The kitten is tiny in his hands, her fur rumpled and soot smudges over the beautiful, white coat. When the little girl he and Tommy had pulled from the building had said her kitten was still stuck inside the inferno, Buck hadn't hesitated before sprinting back into the building, not even with Bobby, Tommy and Eddie all yelling at him. He just hadn't anticipated Tommy to follow him back in.
"Yeah but you could have been not fine! I agreed to help this shift as a favour to Bobby, not so I could get a front row seat to my boyfriend burning alive!"
Buck swallows thickly and transfers the kitten into one hand so he can reach out to cup Tommy's face with the other. Tommy doesn't meet his eye, instead looking resolutely behind Buck. His jaw ticks as Buck strokes along his cheekbone with his thumb.
"Tommy, I-I'm not going to burn alive. I was just gonna get her and come right back," he explains. Tommy's got to understand, right? Buck's a professional, he'd never do anything to put himself in any real danger. If he thought he couldn't get to the kitten before the building collapsed or got too hot then he would never have set foot in it.
Tommy finally meets Buck's eyes then, and Buck is alarmed to see that his eyes are swimming behind a film of tears. Fuck, he's really fucked up here hasn't he?
"Tommy, I-"
"I can't lose you, Evan," Tommy cuts in, circling a hand around Buck's wrist and lowering his hand from Tommy's jaw. "Not like that."
Buck swallows again, and he must tighten his grip on the kitten because she lets out a pitiful meow, her tiny tongue rasping against his glove as she licks at him.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, hanging his head as the gravity of the situation washes over him. Tommy thought he was going to lose Buck. Tommy thought Buck was going to die. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Tommy curls his fingers under Buck's chin and lifts his head, forcing eye contact.
"I know you didn't, I just - baby, you mean so much to me," Tommy says, his voice raw and choked with emotion as he searches Buck's face, his eyes drinking in every inch of Buck as if he's worried it's the last time he'll be able to see him again. "Please, please don't ever do that again."
"I won't, Tommy, I swear I won't," Buck promises, and he leans forwards to kiss Tommy softly.
Tommy responds instantly, wrapping his arm around Buck's waist and pulling him close. Their lips move in tandem with one another, Tommy running his tongue along the seam of Buck's lips until he opens, and Buck licking back in apology.
"Hey," Buck says as they pull away, resting their foreheads together. "I love you."
Tommy huffs out a small laugh and kisses Buck again, lighter this time but no less emotionally charged.
"I love you too."
Send me a ship and a sentence and I'll finish it!
(once again tagging @theotherbuckley)
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Trick or Treat~!
Pairing: Che'nya x Floyd (could be read platonically or romantically)
Summary: It's finally Halloween night, but Floyd is in a bit of a slump. However, the arrival of a curious companion may just make the Halloween party a bit more interesting for him.
Notes: This is my first attempt at something following a prompt - specifically, "Trick or Treat" for the 2023 TWST Rarepair Halloween event. I'm trying to get more comfortable/practiced with writing prose (which is why this wasn't posted on the 30th... oops), and only vaguely ended up following the prompt. I'm fairly happy with how this little piece turned out, though!
Tags: @dove-da-birb, @azulashengrottospiano, @inkybloom-luv, @eynnwwyjth, @officialdaydreamer00 (please let me know if you'd like to be included or excluded from future writing of mine, or only want to be included in specific types of creations)
Floyd wanted to take a break.
It was Halloween, and all he had done the entire week was work, work, work. Getting costumes ready, decorating, helping with their dorm's presentation, plus cooking and serving at the Lounge, all on top of normal classes?
Sure, it was fun, especially getting to show off Octavinelle's cool setup, and 'taking care of' those misbehaving visitors. But now? Everything felt draining and boring, and Floyd simply wanted to leave, which sucked because the actual Halloween party had just started!
Maybe he should just ditch and go back to his dorm; being in a funk when everyone else is having fun around you is not enjoyable. He slumped down on a bench and unwrapped a sweet he had picked up earlier, before wrapping it up again. Ugh, not even in the mood for that candy he wanted only a few minutes ago.
As he shoved the sweet back into his pocket and was about to get up from the bench to leave, Floyd heard a rustle behind him. Someone was quietly humming, and… laughing? The sound gradually moved to his side, towards the empty side of the bench.
“Trick or treat~”
Floyd turned to face the voice. "Listen, man, I'm not in the mood to—” he froze, staring at the figure beside him. “Hang on a second, where's your body!?"
A toothy smile came to the face of the head that currently floated beside Floyd. "Oh, it's here.... or maybe it's there." A pair of hands materialized on either side of this boy's head, followed by the rest of his body.
“I'm just kidding. Mind if I take a seat? I’d like to rest up before I keep purrowling around and startling people.”
Floyd blinked, then raised an eyebrow. “Uh, go for it.”
This guy was... weird, and it was hard to tell if he'd be annoying, or interesting. "You don't go here, do ya? At least, I’ve never seen you before. And you’re no ghost, either.”
The cat-like boy shook his head, his jewellery jingling softly. "I'm just passing through for the festivities and collecting treats. Scaring some people, too. That’s loads of fun. And it's always nice to see my friends let loose."
Floyd had a vague memory surface. "Ohh... you must be that RSA boy who's friends with Sea Turtle and Goldfishie."
"'Sea Turtle' and 'Goldfishie', hey? Those are good names for my green and red friends. Cats are known for liking fish." He leaned forward, his grin growing. “Artemiy Artemiyevich Pinker. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Floyd nodded, “Floyd Leech. It's nice to meet you, too.” He looked curiously at the boy beside him, taking in his shaggy hair, piercings, and impish smile.
"You're not what I expected.” Floyd smiled, "But you seem fun, Catfish. I didn't think Goldfishie would get along with someone so... interesting."
Che'nya's eyes lit up slightly. "Catfish? Heh heh heh, most people call me Che'nya, but I guess that works. And I’ve heard some… interesting stories about you, too."
He stretched his legs out in front of him, leaning back with his arms behind his head as he sighed. "But yeah, I don't think Riddle could shake me if he tried."
"I'm almost jealous." Floyd tipped his head slightly. "Most of the time, Goldfishie likes to swim away before I can play with him."
Che'nya laughed, "Well, if you're wondering, he 'swam off' that way." He pointed off to the side. “Just don’t be rough with him. I don’t like people mistreating my friends.”
Floyd looked off into the crowd where he had pointed, and let out a small laugh. “Alright, good to know. Maybe I’ll find him later, if I feel like it”, he smiled and sat back. “And Goldfishie’s stronger than he looks, but I guess you’d know that.”
Che’nya nodded, then leaned closer with a mischievous glint in his eye. "You know, I bet we could do something that would really surprise him.”
Floyd turned slightly towards Che’nya, and flashed a smile. “Yeah, we probably could. I think we should talk more in the future, Catfish. You seem pretty fun.”
Che’nya grinned, “You seem pretty fun, too.”
"Well,” he stretched his arms above his head. “I think I’m going to go and find some more treats… and play some more tricks tonight. I'll catch you around, Floyd."
With a haunting giggle echoing in his ears, Floyd watched as the boy beside him faded into nothingness, just the same way he had arrived.
What a weird guy.
Floyd unwrapped the candy he had pocketed earlier, then popped it into his mouth. Maybe this party was worth staying at after all.
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One thing I like to see as much as possible of in fandom is interpretive pluralism. Which is to say there’s more than one way to see the story onscreen, because the story is also happening to you. You watching it creates the story you experience, which is different from the story I experience. Sometimes the story I get on a rewatch is different than the story I saw the first time! Not because I got it wrong, but because I’m at a different place in my life, and I connect with different parts.
I write about the story I saw onscreen, but I believe deeply in plural stories. Was Stede an absent dad because of trauma, or did Mary shut him down every time he tried to engage with the kids because the way he did it annoyed her? (Did the pirate game give them nightmares or was she projecting?) Is Stede unaware of his crush on Ed, or knows what it is but thinks it’s unrequited or unsustainable or that he doesn’t have the courage to make it love? Is Ed unmasking who he’s always been as he becomes gentler, or just discovering a person he could become given safety and time? Is Izzy going to learn kindness or is he becoming Captain Hook? Would everything have been joyous if Ed had kissed Stede in front of Jack, or saved him from Chauncey, or did Stede need to go home first to get free?
I hope the answer to all of those can be yes. I hope however they play it onscreen, we keep writing the stories this story is becoming in our own hearts. I hope we give them every possible understanding and becoming and ending. And I hope we treasure that in each other’s work. The joy of fandom is making a thousand stories for love of one.
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I'm perplexed by people who think Xue Yang could have redeemed himself given the opportunity.... It's a sentiment I see echoed a lot but it has no basis in the text or in simple logic.
The dude had plenty of opportunities to do it on his own before even meeting Xiao XingChen, when he had both a better material situation and protection from powerful sects. But sure, he was protected with the aim of making him do more bad things, and Jin GuangYao is a terrible frequentation to have if you want a chance to turn out better at some point in time, and also yeah, everyone knows emotional connection and genuine love are what truly nourishes the soul, so let's say he's a big brat bastard who needs a little more than that to grow up, and let it slide.
But then he ends up with Xiao XingChen. He ends up with him, the embodiment of pure-heartedness, with a miraculous blank slate because the dude is blind and doesn't have a clue who he is! That's the perfect opportunity to bask in the wonderful feeling of true kindness, and then of true affection, right? And what does he do? Not right away, mind you, no, he had the time to heal from his injury and dilly-dally about what to do next, he had plenty of time to make a different decision, to wait a bit more before making it, to stop being an evil asshole and sit down for five minutes. But no, what he does is, he tricks Xiao XingChen into killing innocent people. And he gets a huge kick out of doing it. AND he does it again, repeatedly, even after years have passed and they have truly bonded.
Like? I don't know what more people think he can get, as second chances go. He's a very fun villain but he is an irredeemable one. Of course, he feels love and care, in his own way, sure, yeah. Cool feelings, still manipulation and murder.
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