Chapter Text
The next day started slowly and lazily, as most Sundays did when Buck and Eddie weren’t working. They slept in and then had what was basically brunch sometime just before noon, before spending a couple hours getting overly competitive over video games. In hindsight, it was a poorly thought out idea: they ended up late leaving the house, because Buck and - surprisingly - Carlos had gotten rather heated playing Mario Kart, both of them having to be dragged away because neither wanted to let the other come out victorious.
They were the last ones to arrive at Abuela’s house, so when they let themselves in, it was to find the living room filled and the warm smell of cooking already permeating the air. Pepa was on her mother’s couch with Athena and Maddie, while Chimney perched awkwardly in an armchair. Little Jee-Yun was kept firmly in Pepa’s lap, because Buck’s prediction forever ago had proven true: the moment she learned to walk, she started sprinting everywhere and everyone was left to chase after her.
Maddie and Chimney’s addition to their Sunday dinners was a new occurrence, not counting the one held when Buck’s parents had been in town. It had started way back at the very start of May, when Pepa had invited Maddie. This would be Chimney’s first one, the fact that it was being held at Abuela’s and Chris was away at camp probably being the reason why he had felt comfortable coming at all. Things were getting better between him and the others, ever since he properly apologized to Buck, but there was still room for improvement.
“It’s about time you decided to show,” Athena remarked, raising an imperious brow.
“Sorry, we got side-tracked,” Buck said, bee-lining for his niece, who let out a happy cry of,
“Buck!”
“And who are these handsome gentlemen?” Pepa asked, letting him take Jee from her as she peered past her nephew.
“TK and Carlos,” Eddie answered, pointing in turn. “Our friends from Texas.”
“The off-duty paramedic from the call yesterday,” Chimney stated, pointing at TK, who nodded.
“That’s me,” he said, “and you’re Chimney, right? The one with the rebar?”
“Apparently he’s famous,” Buck explained to a confused looking Maddie as Eddie introduced her and Pepa to Carlos and TK. He spotted Bobby stepping out of the kitchen, toweling off his hand. “Hey, pops.”
“Buck,” the captain said, nodding. “Eddie.”
Something about his tone had him shifting his hold on his niece, and debating whether or not it was ethical to use her as a human shield. It was not helped by the suddenly stern expression on Athena’s face as she stood, or the way Maddie was smirking and Chimney was clearly biting his lip to keep from… What? Laughing?
“Is everything okay?” Buck was compelled to ask, glancing between Athena and Bobby, a task made easier when the fire captain came to stand next to his wife. A united front, and that did not calm Buck’s nerves. Not at all.
“No, it is not okay,” Bobby told him, and Buck recognized that tone. It was the same one he used to get after a particularly reckless stunt at work. And oh, his captain’s disappointment was just as cold as he remembered it being.
“This is about yesterday, isn’t it?” he guessed, doing his best to make himself smaller even as he tried to make his eyes as big and round as possible. The tactic had worked on Athena before, as evidenced by Chimney’s lack of criminal charges of his own, and he hoped they would work on them both now.
“He’s not going to be charged with anything, is he?” Eddie asked, coming to stand beside him. “You said you thought you could ward them off for the driving. But that-” He paused, glanced at Jee and reached over to cover her ears. “That pendejo isn’t pressing charges against him, is he?”
“With Ms. Miller’s- Amy’s,” Athena said, noting everyone’s look of confusion, “statement, Buck is not in any legal trouble.”
“Legal,” Buck heard Carlos whisper to his fiancé, apparently catching on to the same thing he had. Behind Athena, Maddie tried and failed to cover up her snickering with a fake bout of coughing.
“I don’t know why I’d be in any trouble at all,” Buck tried, tilting his head slightly and raising Jee-Yun up just a bit, so her cuteness was accompanying The Eyes. “She called me for help, what was I supposed to do?”
“Let other people know where you’re racing off to, for a start.” Athena’s tone was blunt, and she was clearly unmoved by his attempts to sway her. Perhaps he should have let the guy punch him yesterday. Some bruises or scrapes would have definitely aided in his current goal, he just knew it.
“I know, I should have, and I’m so sorry for that,” he said, putting every ounce of regret he felt into his voice. “But she needed help. You know how I am, pops.”
“I do,” Bobby sighed, sounding fond, which meant he was wavering. Athena knew it, too, going by the look she shot her husband.
“Bobby and I talked about it yesterday,” she said, before he could completely give in, “and we’ve decided to ground you.”
Wait.
“What?” Buck blurted out. Distantly, he took note of both TK and Chimney bursting out into laughter. Even Pepa was snickering! “You- What?”
“We’ve decided to ground you,” Bobby restated, nodding firmly.
“But- But- You can’t.” The moment the words left his lips, the moment Athena’s eyebrows started raising, he knew he had screwed up. “I- I mean, I don’t even live with you guys. And I’m an adult!”
He would never feel petulant enough to hurl out the most obvious reason why they couldn’t actually ground him. It would have felt like a lie, anyways.
“And yet, we can,” the police sergeant said, and that smile was unpleasant when directed his way. “No driving. For the next month.”
“Ma!”
“And you’ll be helping me with paperwork at the station,” Bobby said, which had Buck letting out a groan of dismay, throwing his head back in a way very reminiscent of Chris, although he refused to linger on that. It had Jee giggling in his arms, at least. “And whatever else I can think of.”
“What are you gonna do, ma? Have me pulled over if I get behind the wheel?” he asked, and Athena’s smile grew larger and self-satisfied. “Seriously!? That is a total misuse of power!”
“Feel free to file a complaint,” she said with a shrug.
Buck let out a huff, bending down to gently place Jee-Yun on her feet. Immediately, she sprinted into the kitchen, and they could hear her being happily greeted by Abuela. In Spanish, of course, because the old woman was as insistent about her learning it as she was Buck.
“I’m going to go help make you all dinner,” he grumbled, stomping after his niece. “Anyone still laughing won’t get any food!”
It was an empty threat, and everyone knew it, because it was Abuela’s kitchen and he held no power over who would and would not be getting food.
“Where do you need me?” he asked, tying on his appointed apron. The older woman looked up from where she was cooing over Jee, glaring at him pointedly. He sighed and repeated himself in Spanish. “¿Dónde me necesitas?”
“Los tamales,” she answered, pointing at the stuff for the tamales on the counter. After washing his hands, he got to work assembling them under her watchful eye. Dough was spread over corn husks, followed by the filling, before he deftly folded and tied them off with a strip torn off the edge of the corn husk.
He and Abuela chatted as they worked together on the food, with Jee-Yun chiming in on occasion. Bobby came back into the kitchen to finish his mac’n’cheese, and Buck took the opportunity to be a brat.
“[They grounded me,]” he groused, hesitating a moment to remember the right word. Abuela managed to look proud of him even as she rolled her eyes. “[I’m almost thirty years old, and they grounded me!]”
“[Oh, you poor dear,]” she tutted, managing to make even her head shake come across as sarcastic. “[That is very cruel of them.]”
“[It is!]”
“He’s complaining about being grounded, isn’t he?” Bobby guessed.
“Si,” Abuela answered. “And doing it rudely, but his accent is getting better, so we can forgive his manners this time.”
“But should we?”
“Letting the two of you be friends was perhaps the worst mistake me and Eddie have ever made,” Buck told them, without much sincerity.
“Hey Buck!” TK’s voice at the doorway had him twisting around, though he didn’t pause his motions. The younger man was leaning halfway into the kitchen. “You remember that cousin Mateo was talking about, during the wildfires?”
Buck thought about it, trying to recall the conversation.
“The one that was in jail, right? That he kept insisting I had to know?”
“Yeah! Anyways, your mom arrested him.”
That statement had him halting all motion in stupefied surprise, and he shared a glance with an equally confused Bobby.
“Why?” Buck asked. “And how did you learn this?”
“Carjacking, apparently,” was the answer, along with, “Carlos called Grace so she could talk to your mom. And apparently some of the others were over to hang out.”
“And, what? This Mateo asked my wife if she had arrested his cousin?” Bobby asked.
Considering that the guy had insisted that Buck had to have known this Marvin simply because he was from Los Angeles, he honestly wouldn’t put it past him.
“Nah, apparently they look almost exactly alike,” TK said, coming fully into the kitchen now, to peer over his shoulder at the food they were making. “So Athena thought he was his cousin or something. Do y’all make this much food every time?”
“We do,” Abuela nodded. “Big boys, big stomachs. And growing princesitas.”
As she said this, she booped Jee on the nose, the little girl letting out a squeal and a giggle, before wiggling for freedom. The older woman set her down and she immediately sprinted into the other room.
“And now Judd and Eddie are arguing about baseball,” TK continued, watching her go with a smile. “Hey, is it just me, or is Chimney a little terrified of your husband?”
“Eddie literally threw him out the door once,” Buck said, and then smirked at him. “If you’re staying in here, Abuela’s gonna make you help with something.”
“Y’know, I think I hear Carlos calling for me…”
“That’s what I thought,” he said, rolling his eyes as his friend scurried out.
At some point, Abuela turned on her radio and the three of them finished cooking to the sounds of an oldies station that she and Bobby agreed upon. It wasn’t what Buck would have chosen to listen to, though it didn’t stop him from belting along to a Springsteen song alongside Bobby when it came on.
Eddie came in at some point, and he liked one of the songs enough to grab Buck and pull him away from his Abuela-given tasks to sway together in the middle of the room. She and Bobby simply rolled their eyes, because his husband usually ended up doing it once or twice every time, if Buck himself didn’t instigate. Because Eddie liked dancing, and Buck liked indulging him.
It was just a shame that Buck had absolutely no skill in the matter. Though, he supposed that could be remedied. And it would make a nice surprise for his husband. He made a mental note to look up lessons that he could somehow sneak into the middle of everything between now and their first wedding anniversary on Christmas.
TK made the mistake of popping in again, this time with Carlos, and the two were pressed into helping set the table. Any protests the paramedic had were cut-off by a strangled whisper of “la chancla!” from his fiancé. Which was funny, because Buck couldn’t imagine Abuela doing anything worse than smacking their hands with her spoon if they got too grabby with the food they were making. Pepa, though. Buck could easily imagine Pepa taking off her shoe and throwing it across the room at someone.
It wasn’t until the food was ready, and they were calling everyone in to sit, that Buck realized one tiny, glaring detail of the evening that might, possibly, cause an issue. It was embarrassing that he hadn’t thought of it earlier, especially since it caused issues during the dinner with his parents. He grabbed TK by the wrist and dragged him off for privacy, something which had everyone looking at them oddly.
“They say grace!” he blurted out, and TK stared at him.
“What?”
“Abuela and Pepa and ma and pops,” he clarified. “They go to church. This started as an after-church thing. They’re going to say grace before the meal.”
“Okay?” His friend dragged the word out, looking like he was waiting for more of an explanation. “And?”
“And, I just- I don’t want you-”
“Buck,” TK said, cutting him off, grabbing his shoulders. “I’ve had dinner with Judd and Grace, and he literally has a bible passage tattooed on his hand. It’s fine. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” he had to ask. “Because I could…”
Could what? Ask his family to change their tradition to keep his friend from being uncomfortable? They probably would, actually, but it wouldn’t be fair to them, either.
“I’ll just do what I do every other time,” TK said, waving his concerns off. “Keep my mouth shut until they’re done, and then stuff it.”
That honestly didn’t sound all that different from what Buck and Eddie did, but…
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
His friend sighed and patted his cheek, before smacking it. It stung, and he couldn’t help but pout a little.
“You’re a good friend,” he told him. “But we had this discussion yesterday, remember? I haven't suddenly become a better Jew since then. And besides, Bobby brought it up after you went to sulk in the kitchen.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. C’mon, I’ve been stuck in this house smelling that food and now you’re keeping me from eating it.”
This time it was TK who dragged him along by the arm. When they got to the dining table, where everyone was already sitting with full plates, he practically shoved him into the empty chair beside Eddie before taking the other one right between it and Carlos.
“Is everything okay now?” Athena asked. She looked and sounded very amused.
“Everything’s fine,” TK assured her, flapping a hand.
And even though he said it, Buck caught him trying to hide a smile when, instead of leading them in grace, Abuela just had them be silent for a moment. Probably Bobby’s idea, because that’s how the man was. Afterwards, TK did as he said he would and started stuffing his face.
At one point, Chris called and the phone got passed around so everyone could say hi to him. Even Jee-Yun, which mostly just consisted of her smacking at the screen. And after him it was May and Harry, who also got passed around, though the latter didn’t stick around long. And Buck quickly wished May hadn’t either, because - as he was quickly learning - younger sisters were almost as bad as older sisters.
“So that’s TK?” was literally the first thing she asked when Athena’s phone made it to him. And he could already tell there was no good coming from this, judging entirely from her tone. “And he and his boyfriend-”
“Fiancé!” Carlos happily corrected.
“Fiancé,” she continued, “have been staying at your house?”
“Yes?” Buck hadn’t intended it to be a question, but it came out that way.
“The guy who thought you were inviting him to a threesome is-”
Whoa! Who the hell had taught her that sort of language?
“Wow, you’re breaking up,” Buck interrupted, as TK started laughing midbite and started choking. He was fine, though: Carlos thumped him on the back a few times until it got dislodged. “Must be some horrible interference, because I didn’t hear a thing you just said. Anyways, bye May!”
He hung up on her and slid the phone across the table, as far away from himself as possible. But it was for naught, because Maddie was leaning over Chimney to ask,
“You thought Buck was inviting you to a what?”
Sisters were the worst, he could not help but think as TK cheerfully retold the time Buck had tried just being a good bro and it came across as a proposition. Sisters were the worst, and so was his friend.
As with all good things, the dinner could not last. By the time the last plate was emptied, everyone was settled back in their seats, filled and sated. And although they kept talking for a while after, eventually people started to leave. Maddie first, as always, taking Chimney and little Jee with her. And then Pepa, after making sure everything had been washed and put away.
Bobby and Athena left at the same time as Buck and them, which was problematic. Because the moment he pulled out his keys…
“Evan Buckley,” Athena snapped, hands on her hips. He hadn’t even made it out the door, yet. “What did I tell you?”
“A really funny joke?” he tried, and was not rewarded. She crossed her arms and stared him down until, with a huff and an eyeroll that he could not contain, he handed a clearly amused Eddie his keys. “I am almost thirty years old!”
“You are lucky you still have your license,” she pointed out, entirely unsympathetic, and he stomped out the door with a laughing TK and a snickering Carlos in tow.
If Buck sulked in the passenger seat of his own Jeep on the way home, that was no one’s business but his own.
“So. Except for our hotel catching fire before we could check in, and the whole thing with Buck, did we have a nice trip?” Carlos asked, holding TK’s hand.
It was early Monday afternoon, and they were at LAX waiting to board. Buck and Eddie had seen them off that morning before rushing to work, Eddie driving them in his truck as Buck bitched and moaned. He’d still given them both rib-bruising hugs, though, because apparently that was just how the man was.
“We didn’t make it to the Hollywood sign,” TK complained, though he wasn’t really too upset about it. “It was good. It was nice.”
“Good.” Carlos nodded, tugging the slightly shorter man closer and draping himself across his back. “I had fun, too.”
“We should do this again,” his fiancé said. “When their squirt is actually here. December, maybe?”
“No,” the officer said, with such suddenness and feeling that it surprised even him. “I mean, I love you, but I do not love you enough to have anything less than a year between you and Buck getting together again. Or maybe I love you too much. Either way, I cannot take it.”
“Yeah, no, that’s fair,” TK said, already having pulled out his phone. “The first time I met him he almost got killed by a dog driving a flaming car. Buck says if we figure out a date now, he and Eddie could easily get the week off if he asks for it this early.”
“Well then, there you go,” Carlos said, dragging him along as their flight was called for boarding. “Maybe by then, we’ll have decided on a wedding venue.”
“So TK wants to get together again some-” Buck started telling Eddie, looking up from his phone, but was interrupted by Bobby smacking the top of the station’s kitchen island with a spatula. He hadn’t even been cooking anything, he’d grabbed it purely to be dramatic.
“Absolutely not,” the captain said.
“Seriously, Cap?” Eddie asked. “I don’t think you can actually dictate who he hangs out with. I can’t even do that with Christopher. Usually.”
“Don’t worry, it won’t be until next year,” Buck said, waving his phone for emphasis. “Apparently Carlos insisted we keep a year between get-togethers. TK wanted to do December.”
“Winter in LA? With your combined luck, one of you would end up managing to catch hypothermia,” Eddie said. Clearly he then remembered what happened earlier in the year with TK, because he added, “Again.”
“Does it even get cold enough in Los Angeles to get hypothermia?” Ravi asked, coming up to join them. Albert and Hen were down in the bay, restocking the ambulance.
“More homeless people die of the cold here than in New York,” Buck said, and the other three stared at him. “I uh, I saw it in a headline and it stuck with me.”
“Of course it did,” Eddie said, sounding impossibly fond.
“Well, what’s the worst that could happen?” Ravi said, and clearly he hadn’t actually learned anything from his past sins. “I mean, there’s no way Buck and TK could get into anything else like what happened on Saturday. Right?”
Eddie and Bobby stared at him in silent judgment, before the captain turned his gaze onto his not-quite-son-in-law.
“I don’t care how much distance you want to keep between yourself and your parents,” he said. “The next time Buck and TK spend anything more than a moment together, it is happening in Austin. Or Las Vegas. Or even Hershey. I don't care, just anywhere but here.”
“Yeah, I think we could manage that.”
“Don’t I get a say in this?” Buck asked.
“No,” Bobby and Eddie both said, at the exact same time and in the exact same tone.
“Wow, rude.”
“You know what?” Bobby rounded the island and started steering Buck to the stairs by his shoulders. “We have downtime. And I have paperwork that’s been piling up on my desk.”
“C’mon pops, really?”
“Six phone calls to nine-one-one.”
Buck let out a sigh, and gave up resisting.
Fin.