Chapter Text
Buck still died, exactly 30 days after Eddie moved to Texas. But, not in the way you think.
The Buck that died on that fateful day was a version that was desolate and lonely, one who believed that he'd never be deserving of anyone's love, let alone the affections of the man he was deeply in love with. The Buck that was reborn was one that was happy and in love. He was still in disbelief that Eddie did feel the same way, but it's easier to accept the love given to him.
He's still on bed rest for another week, being on an extensive list of medications to flush out any residual effects of the hanahaki. His heart still stops every time his chest burns slightly, or when he starts coughing a little too hard, thinking for a moment that he's on his floor, dying once again.
But then Eddie is by his side, caring for him and watching Buck with love and worry in his eyes, and he remembers that he survived. That he’d never be alone again. Not when he has his family home with him.
Their house was littered with cardboard boxes, duplicates of everything overcrowding their small home. Too many times had one of them stubbed their toe or bickered over which mixer to keep, but Buck wouldn’t give this up for anything in the world.
He watches Eddie from the kitchen entrance as he hums to himself washing the dishes. A month ago, he was convinced he’d never get to see Eddie again, that he was fated to just slowly suffer and die with his love. B ut watching Eddie blissfully do such a menial, boring task, his heart soars; he knows that this is theirs to keep forever.
“ Holy fuck! Buck! You scared the shit outta me! Why are you just standing like a creeper? You could help with the chores, you know?” Eddie jokes, gasping loudly at the minor jump-scare.
“Mm, no I’m great here actually. Got a pretty view to look at,” Buck hums, cocking his head at Eddie and smirking at him.
“Shut up, you’re so cheesy,” Eddie flusters, his face glowing red, “that line was awful.”
“Oh, if it was so awful , then why are you blushing, Eddie?” He moves closer behind Eddie, grabbing his hips and turning him, so his back is pressed against the sink.
Eddie levels him with an annoyed glare, but his smile gives away his facade. Buck leans into him, their noses brushing against each other. He can feel Eddie’s breath fan across his face, as it hitches when their eyes meet.
“Maybe, I just felt bad for you,” Eddie’s eyes flicker between Buck’s gaze and his lips, unable to decide on which part of Buck to appreciate. He slides his hands up Buck’s biceps softly, looking up at him through his eyelashes, a sly smile on his face.
“Whatever would I have done without your pity, huh? I’m just so lucky, aren’t I?” he chuckles back, starting off joking, but sincerity seeping into his voice. Buck can’t resist anymore, and he closes the minuscule gap between them, capturing Eddie’s bottom lip between his own.
The kiss grows more heated as Buck nips at Eddie’s lips with his teeth, gently pulling at them to coax his sweet sighs and gasps out. It’s like music to his ears.
“Think we have time to, uh, get a quick one in before work?” Eddie mumbles against his mouth, staying as close to Buck as he possibly can without melting into him and becoming one entity. If it were possible, Buck would choose to never be separate from Eddie ever again.
“ I’m so fucking in love with you,” he gasps back. Eddie just gleams at him, a cheeky glint in his eyes as he pushes Buck into their bedroom.
·· ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·
Buck rolls off of Eddie and collapses onto the bed beside him. Eddie instantly turns to face him, throwing his arm across Buck’s torso and pulling him closer, as if they hadn't been wrapped up in each other for the past hour. They're sweaty and gross and Eddie is definitely late for his shift now, but both of them are too content to even care.
Eddie glances at the clock and groans, “Ugh, I gotta leave for work, now. One of us gotta be putting food on the table, and you're out of commission, for now,” he pecks Buck on his birthmark as he gets up to get dressed again.
“You could just call in sick? Or better yet, I can just come back to work early and then you're not the only one who's late?” Buck teases with a grin, only for Eddie to roll his eyes at him fondly.
“Bobby is not stupid, he’d know I wasn't really sick. And you can't come to work with me, you are still on sick leave.”
“Oh, come on Eds! What's one more day?”
“Trust me, I'm a medic. You're gonna want that extra day,” Eddie points out.
He checks his watch and swears quietly, realizing that he'd missed nearly half an hour of his shift already. On his way out, he kisses Buck goodbye quickly.
“I almost forgot! You don’t need to pick up Chris from his friend’s later today, Tia Pepa said she wanted to take him out. So you just stay in and relax, I’ll get him from hers after my shift, okay? Love you! I'll see you soon!”
“Love you too,” Buck sighs dopey after him.
He fishes his phone from the nightstand and scrolls through his contacts until he finds Maddie's name.
Buck
are you busy today?
Maddie
Not much, just with Jee 2day.
Everything okay?
Buck
really good.
just wanted to tell u something
can i come over?
Maddie
Sure! See you @ 3pm?
Buck
yup see u soon
·· ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·
The silver lining to having a disease caused by “unrequited love” is that when you don’t die from said disease, it saves a whole bunch of time by not having to tell your friends and family that the guy you’re in love with actually loves you back (which they all already knew about). After all the relief and tears of Buck not dying, the countless I told you so’s from both Hen and Maddie had Buck with his head in his hands and his tail between his legs. Older sisters always have a habit of being annoyingly right all the time. Luckily, younger brothers have a habit of being annoyingly stupid.
“Do you think it’s too soon to look for rings? Eddie and I have only been dating for like, a week, but it feels right,” he sighs dreamily to Maddie.
She just stares at him deadpan and drops her smoothie on the counter-top, letting out a tired huff. She stares up at the ceiling like she’s praying to God for strength to deal with Buck’s idiocy.
“You’ve basically been married for 7 years. You live together. You have a son together. The only thing missing from your relationship is the ring,” she points out like it’s obvious. Granted, it is obvious to basically everyone else but Buck and Eddie.
“I’m just worried that, I don’t know, maybe he doesn’t want to be married again? It’s not like his first one was all sunshine and rainbows. Like, what if he just wants us to stay as we are?” Buck questions worriedly, wringing his hands nervously.
Maddie smiles at him like she’s proud of him yet thinks he’s incredibly stupid at the same time, holding his wrists gently to stop him from accidentally tying his own fingers into knots, despite it not being physically possible.
“Yours and Eddie’s relationship is completely different from any of the others you’ve had before. I don’t know Eddie that well, but I know you. I’ve seen the way you’d looked so desperately for your home in everyone you’ve ever been with. But when you’re with Eddie, you’ve lived there for years. And the way he looks at you? He looks at you like you’re the answer to every question he’s ever had in his life.”
He looks down at his own drink, still feeling slightly unsure, but elation swirling in his chest, and his eyes glittering when he asks, “Really?”
“I understand being scared about taking that step, Buck. But if it feels right, then what else is left? I’m not saying that marriage is ever going to be easy, but with the right person, you’d feel invincible. Eddie has been that person for you since you met.”
·· ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·
He, Eddie and Chris are sitting on the couch, watching some old movie that Eddie and Chris had insisted that Buck should watch, claiming that it was criminal that Buck had never seen it before.
“Buck, how have you never watched Jurassic Park?! I thought all old people were, like, obsessed with it. Dad is!”
“Buck’s just extra old, DVDs weren’t invented when he was growing up.”
“I am literally only a year older. DVDs were invented in ‘95! I just liked playing outside, unlike a certain hermit.”
He’s barely watching the movie however, seeing Eddie and Chris get excited over the supposedly iconic moments and reciting lines together from memory is more entertaining.
He thinks about how he very ne arly lost all of this. How he’d almost died thinking that he was alone in his feelings, living in an empty shell of a home that he used to have. But with his boys back, all the life and color in his life returned. The once dull cream walls seemed warmer, the boring brown couch he’d brought replaced with Eddie’s old blue one. He’s fine with losing half of his things in the move, because he gained something else entirely. He had a family, people to call his own.
He daydreams about what marrying Eddie would look like. He thinks about vows, and rings, and beautiful decorations. He dreams about Eddie standing in front of him professing their love for each other in front of all their family. (He does hold off on thinking about the flower arrangements however, he’s been pretty sick of them lately).
He imagines a life where he and Eddie come home to each other, holding each other’s hands, their matching rings glistening in the night light. He imagines chaste kisses goodbye and hello, soft make-outs in their kitchen or couch. He dreams about splitting chores, cooking together, laughing over dishes, late nights spent with their backs aching hunched over tax forms or folding laundry. He realizes, in this moment, that his sister was right. That they already do most of these things anyway. He laughs to himself, knowing now that Maddie must be sick and tired of him worrying about the most obvious things.
“Buck, are you laughing at the T-Rex crushing the car?” Eddie admonishes, gasping in fake shock.
Buck giggles, trying to defend himself, “ No, oh my god! I was thinking about something else.”
“That somehow feels worse than you laughing at the people nearly dying, what kind of firefighter are you?”
Buck just snorts at Eddie, catching his gaze as his eyes gleam lovingly at him. Buck is sure he’s looking at Eddie the same way.
A new, yet familiar feeling fills his heart and lungs, one that doesn’t burn him, but it’s warm, and velvet.
It’s the feeling of being home again.
The End