For reference, here is the EW article.
I wanted to provide an analysis of what the EW article and other promotion may mean for Buck, Tommy, and their relationship going into season 8.
The first mention we get of Buck is in the title - he's "struggling." He is having a hard time getting used to Gerrard's leadership of the 118. Tim Minear says it is "harder for Buck than the rest." Eddie was in the Army, and Hen and Chimney have both served under Gerrard before. Tim mentions that Hen and Chimney both have other reasons to worry about Gerrard - their foster licenses. Hen and Karen are in the process of trying to get custody of Mara back, and Chimney and Maddie are currently fostering Mara. He says of Hen that "[s]he can't be written up at work," and presumably the same thing applies to Chimney.
We know that Ortiz and Gerrard are working together - Tim posted a still showing the two of them together and he stated in the TVLine preview that "they are connected in many ways" - a hint to how Gerrard regained captaincy at the 118, perhaps.
Regarding Eddie, Ryan Guzman has already posited that, with Gerrard's captaincy, Eddie may "be a soldier that keeps on going." He also said that he wants Eddie to punch Gerrard, and in the same article mentioned that he is interested in seeing Eddie "[h]aving that volatility [he made a previous reference to Eddie being a "very emotional individual"] and suppressing it."
We know that Eddie is preoccupied with Christopher's temporary move to Texas. He is still "mourning" and trying to contact Christopher, whom Tim Minear hints is not interested in hearing from Eddie. Eddie will "have to take a look at himself" and discover who he is once everything else he has used to define himself is stripped away.
Turning back to Buck, he is going to struggle with Gerrard's captaincy for another reason other than Gerrard's bigotry - he has never had a captain other than Bobby, and he also views Bobby as his father. It is a dual blow to him. With his friends understandably preoccupied, I think Buck will have to face against Gerrard's captaincy without the level of support he would have assumed he had. Hen, Chimney, and Eddie will not like working under Gerrard. Gerrard will discriminate against them. But they have worked in these environments before and they have reasons to not stand up in the manner that they may want to. Buck has not worked in an environment like this, and he has newly discovered that he is a minority.
Whether Gerrard is aware that Buck is bisexual - and dating Tommy, who Gerrard hates - at the beginning of season 8, I am not sure. It would lead to dramatic tension if he were to discover it during the season itself, so I believe that's what will happen.
The TVLine preview suggests that Buck will go complain to Tommy after dealing with Gerrard. Considering Tommy mentioned Gerrard, indirectly and directly, three times in Season 7, it is safe to say that he will be involved in the storyline. I think, no matter when Gerrard discovers Buck's relationship with Tommy, he will immediately recognize it as a spot that he can poke at.
It's clear that Gerrard and Tommy currently hate each other. When Gerrard first sees Tommy after a number of years, his first action is to call him a slur. Tommy has mentioned working under Gerrard was "regressive" and that it "did not make [him] a better person." He also stated Gerrard was like his father.
Where Bobby is the benevolent patriarch of the 118, Gerrard is his dictatorial mirror. The Gerrard storyline makes sense for Buck and his daddy issues, and is an interesting way to explore Buck's new relationship with Tommy at the same time. I think there will be some tension between the two of them, mostly due to Tim Minear's philosophy that if they're happy, they're off-screen - and given what he's said so far, he does not want to keep Buck and Tommy's relationship off-screen. I think they will work out whatever tension there is from Gerrard and become stronger as a couple for it.
EVAN BUCKLEY 8x05 - MASKS
we love a man who 💅
“What if - what if I tell him I love him, but it’s too soon and scares him off?”
Buck was getting more emotional as the conversation went on. He had come to dispatch hoping for advice from Maddie, and he doesn’t really know what he wants or needs to hear.
“Buck, I think -”
“Buck?” Josh peeked into the break room, a confused smile on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“I uh - I was asking Maddie about - well -”
“He’s in love,” Maddie said for him. Traitor.
Josh’s face lit up. “Ooh, is this the hot pilot? I can see why.”
“But I - it’s,” Buck stuttered, “it’s too soon, though, right?”
Eyebrows creasing, Josh asked, “How long have you been together?”
“Only seven months.”
“Only seven months?” Josh’s eyebrows shot up. Maddie elbowed him in the side. “Right, sorry, um. Well, do you feel it?”
“Feel - what?” Buck asked, looking frantically from Josh to Maddie and back.
“Like you’re in love, Evan,” Maddie said.
“Oh! Well, yeah. I - I’ve been in love before. It’s never really felt like this, but I know it’s love.” When Maddie and Josh shared a look, Buck asked, “What? What was that?”
A gentle smile spread across Josh’s face. “You should tell him.”
“But what if it’s too early? What if I scare him? I always move too fast and jump into things before thinking them through. I don’t want to screw this up.”
“Evan,” Maddie said, coming around the counter to lay a comforting hand on his arm, “that you’re even worried it’s too soon is a good sign that you’ve thought this through.”
Josh nodded in agreement. “And you’re serious about him. Anyone with eyes can see that.”
Releasing a shaky breath, Buck asked quietly, “What if he doesn’t say it back? He doesn’t have to, of course, but - but what do I do if he doesn’t?”
“You reassure him that he doesn’t need to say anything. You just want him to know how you feel,” Josh said, sharing another look with Maddie. “But I don’t think you need to worry about that.”
“What? Why?”
Maddie softly squeezed his arm. “Have you seen the way he looks at you?”
Buck couldn’t help but think of the way Tommy had looked at him just that morning, lying next to him, the soft morning light catching the blue of his eyes just right. He huffed a quiet laugh.
“Maybe you’re right.” He swallowed roughly, made his decision, and said, “There’s only one way to find out.”
huge thank you to @evansboyfriend and @beefcakekinard for alllll the help, you're the best <3
prompt: Halloween - couples costumes rated: G tags: fluff, established relationship word count: 1.8k
[also on ao3]
“So maybe vampires? Classic.” Buck suggests, hoping they’ll finally settle on something. But one look at Tommy’s face tells him it’s another no.
“I don’t know. It’s kinda basic.” His boyfriend says, and, okay, Buck can see that.
“Yeah, okay.” Buck hums, taking a second to come up with something else, as he and Tommy walk through the park, taking the long way to Tommy’s car. It’s a late evening, the moon illuminating their path, Tommy’s hand warm in his. They’re just finishing up date night, and at the end of their dinner the subject of Halloween was brought up – which is what they’ve been on for the last fifteen minutes. “So I guess ghosts or zombies or, I don’t know, clowns or pirates are also a no?”
“Uh, they might be a maybe?” Tommy shrugs, but clearly he’s not very into it.
“What about superheroes? Ooh, you could be Superman. You kinda look like him anyway.” He says, bringing their clasped hands to kiss Tommy’s knuckles. “My own personal hero.” He whispers, and Tommy laughs. Buck’s sure if it wasn’t dark, he’d see a faint blush in his cheeks.
“And what would that make you, Wonder Woman?” There’s a skeptical but amused tone in his voice.
“Maybe.” He shrugs and Tommy doesn’t even need to say anything for Buck to know he’s not a fan. “Okay, so Batman and Robin.”
“Hm, that’s one to think about.” Tommy responds. Buck takes that as a win, but they could do something more fun.
“Luke and Leia.” He says just because maybe Star Wars will be something to agree on – though, on the other hand, that might just spiral into another disagreement they’ve had before about those movies in general, so maybe better to leave it alone. Buck loves Tommy so much, but his Star Wars opinions are… not good. He can look past that, though. No one can be perfect.
“They’re siblings. We’re not doing a sibling couples’ costume, Evan.” He says decisively, shaking his head. Bossy, for someone who can’t decide on a costume. Buck rolls his eyes, kinda fond but kinda annoyed.
“So Leia and Han Solo. Oh, or Han and Luke? To put a bit of a spin on it?”
“Uh-” Tommy makes a face – to his credit, he does try to hide it – and Buck sighs in frustration. He doesn’t even want to hear the reason for the no. He pauses, trying to think of something else, the silence always pleasant between them. Whether they talk for hours, or are silent together, in Tommy’s company every second is the most comfortable and enjoyable. Buck just feels like he can be fully himself, and lean into his silliest side.
“We could be Venom and Eddie Brock.” He says, mostly joking, the image that popped into his head so ridiculous he laughs.
“Hm. And how would that work, exactly? One of us in regular clothes and the other in costume as Venom?”
“Yeah. You as Eddie, and I dressed in all black, on your back.” He gives Tommy a shit-eating grin when he glances at him disbelievingly. “You know, like when Venom pops out of Eddie’s back?”
“And, what, I’d carry you on my back the whole night?” He laughs, but Buck just nods. “Sweetheart, I’m strong, but I’m not that strong. Best I could do is a few minutes.” He sounds almost apologetic, and Buck needs to kiss him about it, so he presses a quick kiss to his lips, stopping them briefly.
“I know, I’m kidding.” He whispers, resuming walking. “Would be cool, though.”
“It would.” Tommy admits. Silence falls over them again, as the gears in Buck’s brain keep turning, going through every movie he can remember ever seeing, or any fun and cool couples they could realistically dress up as.
“Beauty and the Beast? I could do a yellow suit. And you can be my Beast.” Buck leans closer to Tommy, his chin brushing Tommy’s shoulder as they walk, almost at the car now. He whispers, “You already are.”
“That’s a leap from Venom.” A laugh escapes Tommy. “I don’t know. It’d be cute, but I thought you wanted scary.”
“True. We could make it scary.” He says, but then another idea pops into his head. “Oh, how about the Addams family? You know, to keep the spooky vibe.” Buck bumps his shoulder into Tommy’s.
“Well, I do love the Addams family.” Tommy nods. “Who exactly, though?”
“The best couple ever, of course. Morticia and Gomez.” He says, and watches Tommy’s face for his reaction. “And you hate it.” He sighs, and rolls his eyes, starting to get a tiny bit annoyed. It’s like the fiftieth costume he suggested, Tommy has to like something.
“No, I love it, really, but, you know, if we’re doing a couple, maybe it could be a gay couple instead?” Tommy suggests, pulling Buck a little closer to him. Well, that was the idea at first, before Buck spiraled where he is now, because someone kept shutting down his ideas. At least now he gets why some of those were a no from Tommy, because Buck thinks some were really fun.
“Yeah, sure. If we could agree on any.” He shoots Tommy a pointed look.
“Okay, any other ideas?” Tommy asks, a hint of fond amusement on his face. It’s not funny, though, they need to figure it out quickly, Halloween is right around the corner.
“Salt and pepper shakers.” He throws out. “Or ketchup and mustard.”
“Are you serious?” Tommy raises his eyebrow, giving him his signature ‘Evan’ look, version exasperated. Buck just shrugs, trying to hide a smile, the thought of his boyfriend having specific smiles and looks reserved for him making his heart swell.
“I’m running out of ideas, Tommy. Oh!” He exclaims, a new random idea popping into his head. “Tom and Jerry! Get it?” He grins, looks at his boyfriend expectantly, and sees a tired but very fond and amused smile. “Tom-my.” He drags out the first syllable, just to get his point across.
“Yeah, baby, I get it. You’re adorable, but no.” He says, and then chuckles when Buck pouts.
“How about the emotions from Inside Out?” He grumbles, the movie popping into his head randomly – probably because he and Tommy watched it with Jee on their latest babysitting duty. They did a whole Pixar marathon. “You can be boredom.”
“Oh, really?” Tommy gives him one of his looks, and, damn, Buck almost melts under his gaze, even when he’s annoyed with him. He loves him so fucking much. “You calling me boring?” He tugs at Buck’s hand, stopping them and bringing him closer, so they’re face to face, his hands settling on Buck’s hips, Buck’s landing on his huge arms, now covered by a jacket. There’s an amused smirk on Tommy’s face. “I thought I was cool?”
“Nah, you’re not. You hide it well, but I know now that you’re just a huge dork. And very, very boring.” Buck teases, trying and failing to say it with a straight face, a smile breaking through. “And I love you anyway.”
“I love you, too, Evan.” Tommy says, his smile forming into that fond, loving ‘Evan’ smile that Buck can never resist kissing off. So he does. He kisses Tommy once, twice, the kisses soft and chaste, both smiling into each other’s lips. He’s about to go in for a third, intending on deepening it, but Tommy pulls away, face a bit more serious. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” Buck frowns, not wanting or needing any apologies, genuinely wondering if he missed anything.
“For being such a pain about this whole costume thing.” Tommy explains, and Buck wants to laugh. Yeah, okay, he was a little annoyed, but it’s just a little teasing, bickering, about Halloween costumes of all things. He can take the most ridiculous things seriously, but this? Nothing to get overly upset about. He’s about to say all that, but then Tommy continues, “I don’t know, maybe Halloween is just not my thing. I’ve never really been too into it.” He shrugs, a flicker of something wistful crossing his face, but it’s gone too quickly to decipher. “But it matters to you, and I love you, and I want you to be happy. So, I’m done being a party pooper, let’s do a costume. Next idea, no complaints, I promise. Whatever you want.” He says so sincerely, but there’s a hint of a ‘I hope I’m not gonna regret this’ in his eyes. Buck grins, a random, brand new idea showing up.
“Woody and Buzz? From Toy Story.” he clarifies, as if that wasn’t obvious – and clearly it was, from the look he gets. “What? You said gay couple.”
“I don’t think they were. And I thought you wanted scary- but fine, okay.” Tommy sighs, that fond look back on his face. “I said whatever you want. You wanna be the cowboy or the astronaut?”
“Hm.” Buck takes a second to think – and realizes that, actually, there’s an even better, easier idea. “Or we could just be cowboys.” He shrugs, and then he can feel his eyes go wide as the full picture pops into place.
“Zombie cowboys.” He says, at the same time as Tommy, though Tommy’s sounds more like a question.
“You know me so well.” Buck beams, leaning in for another kiss. “Let’s be scary cowboy zombies. See, was that so hard?”
“You’re the one with a thousand ideas for a second. I didn’t even say no to everything at first, you just went through so many it was hard to keep up. I’m pretty sure you said cowboy back at the restaurant, too, and I didn’t even get a chance to say anything.” Tommy points out, pulling away from Buck, grabbing his hand again and starting to walk, his truck already visible in the distance.
“Not my fault my brain works like that.” Buck says mock-defensively.
“I know, honey, I love your wonderful brain.” Tommy smiles, lets go of Buck’s hand to wrap his arm around his waist, presses a quick kiss to his cheek. “And I love you, my silly zombie cowboy.”
“Halloween is gonna be so much fun.” Buck is smiling widely, excited like a kid for his first Christmas – or, his first Halloween, more like. It’s seemingly no big deal, but also it’s his first Halloween with Tommy, and he’s excited – he’s excited for all the firsts with Tommy. He can’t wait to do everything and anything with him. “Are you gonna come by the station?”
“Of course, if I can. Gotta see how scary you’re gonna make it.”
“Wanna bet I can scare you?” He asks, just as they near the car.
“In the haunted house for children?” Tommy raises his eyebrows. “Sure, you can try. What are we betting on?”
“I have a few ideas.” Buck grins wickedly, crowding Tommy against the car.
“Oh, really? Well, I’m all ears.” Tommy grins, his arms wrapping around Buck’s neck, pulling him closer. Buck smiles into Tommy’s lips, kissing him, quick but lingering.
“Well, why don’t we go home and I can show you what I have in mind?”
[read on ao3]
no but buck and tommy waking up together and they have most definitely overslept and they're late late so they pull on their clothes in a rush before practically running out of the apartment so it's not until buck pulls up to the station and everyone starts to (gently) tease him that he discovers that the t-shirt he's wearing has got kinard written in big bold letters across his back and what can he do but duck his head and smile and ignore the way he likes having tommy's name on him like that
@bucktommyanniversary day 6: invisible string (magnetism)
i feel a little insane thinking about his feet so hard…but i think u can see him wearing little house slippers here 😭the domesticity is killing me slowly
https://www.tumblr.com/sunglassesmish/765467676120416256/hes-just-sooooo-you-know
he’s definitely wearing shoes, and look at the tops of his feet when he sits, those are slippers 😭
you can see them on the floor when he lays down...
and in the morning he has only socks on. which is really cute.
“He still likes me🥹🥹”
it’s the little touches
this is how buck looks at tommy btw