Chapter Text
It’d been 4 months, 28 days and 15 hours since Eddie last saw his husband. Sometimes he could still feel his touch on his skin late at night, the sensation both fresh in his mind and not, and frustrating either way.
He tried not to think on the separation much, knowing it would just hurt him more, but as they got closer to Buck’s homecoming, the more reminders popped up every day.
Right now, Eddie stood in the middle of a Target, watching as his son deliberated the choices in front of him with severe gravity. Christopher had insisted that since he’d missed the chance the first time that Buck had come back home, he needed to make a double-sized card to make up for. Eddie leaned against the cart, one eye on Christopher rifling through a thick stack of poster paper, the other on his phone. The Diaz family group chat was in full-form this evening, and Eddie was throwing the fuel on a Thanksgiving plan fire between his sisters.
Fia: {Eddie, what about you? Are you gonna make the trip down to Texas for the holiday?}
Didi: [Absolutely I am not Sophia, my husband is coming back after 5 months and I refuse to spend my first weekend off with him surrounded by my family drama, as much as I love you all, of course.]
Nana: (Of course, he says)
Didi: [Don’t send me that pathetic little emoji, Adriana, I deserve as much time as I want with my kid and husband, alone. It’s been a long five months.]
Fia: {I get it Eddie, I’m sure it has.}
Nana: (How’re you doing, by the way? Are you still doing PT?)
Didi: [Yeah, but it’s just for residual pain and stiffness. Now that I’ve passed the recertification, I just gotta get the yes from the therapist before I can go back to full duty.]
Fia: {Take it easy, don’t push too hard}
Didi: [Believe me, I am. Buck has Christopher reporting anytime I do anything more than lift a gallon of milk at home.]
Nana: (It was probably really hard for him to have to stay so far away while you were recuperating.)
Didi: [Yeah. He had a hard time with the guilt, and I wasn’t doing too great at first either. But we made it through, and now he’s almost back.]
Nana: (Christopher must be excited!)
Didi: [Like you wouldn’t believe, hah.]
Didi: [I gotta go actually, he’s ready with his supply run, and looks like he bought out the whole aisle.]
Eddie slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned to face Christopher, who was trying to look innocent and harmless.
“Let’s go, dad. We have to get home and make dinner, let’s go, let’s go!” Christopher said, pushing Eddie towards the end of the aisle, but Eddie smirked and caught the back of Christopher’s shirt, stopping him in his tracks. Christopher turned around slowly, and Eddie could see the poker face break.
“This looks like more than the agreed supplies, bud,” Eddie remarked, rifling through the large pile of markers, stickers, borders, and also what looked like a strip of lights. He looked at Christopher, who looked like he was ramping up for a whole debate on how important each item in their cart was, and decided to cut his losses. “Okay kiddo, one extra pack of stickers, but otherwise, you have all the things you need at home. We came for a poster and glue sticks, and maybe we’ll grab some popcorn if you can wrap it up here quickly.”
Christopher grinned at the implication of bonus snacks for movie night, and he moved quickly, making his final decisions and shoving the excess crafts supplies back on the shelves. In a fraction of the time they had spent dithering there, Christopher was ready to go.
As Eddie pushed the cart down to the self-checkout, Christopher’s favorite, his kid explained his apparently very significant choices.
“I got the yellow poster board because yellow is the color of the sun and the sun makes everyone happy, and the sun is also the color of mine and Daddy’s hair, and Daddy says that he loves that we match. And then I got the Captain America and Winter Soldier stickers because Daddy has the same name as the Winter Soldier, and then if Daddy is Bucky, then you can be Steve.” Eddie smiled indulgently, watching Christopher scan their purchases, and then putting a self-assured hand out for Eddie’s card to stick into the scanner.
Running through the self-checkout was one of Christopher’s favorite things to do, and Eddie loved watching his kid confidently do the whole process himself. Buck had been the one who’d taken Christopher through the process the first time, and had been so excited when he’d come back to rave about how well his Superman had done. It was one of the first of many small moments that had shown Eddie how good Buck was with Christopher, and it warmed his heart every time to see what an amazing influence Buck had been on their kid.
The drive home was quiet. Eddie had never been a big talker, and Christopher was happy enough to sit in silence. Buck was the one who would start rambling out of the blue whenever there was a moment of quiet, and his exuberant conversation would always pull in Christopher as well. Mostly, Eddie would be happy enough to quietly listen to the chattering, but once in a while, Christopher or Buck would drop such an outrageous point that Eddie could do nothing but break into the discussion.
Their topics of conversations ranged wildly, from movies they’d watched or fun facts they’d learned, to more serious things like the deforestation of the Amazon, then back to lighter topics like how cardboard is recycled. It was usually based on whatever documentary Buck had watched recently, or something that Christopher was meant to be studying in class. Christopher had always been into science, but with Buck there to encourage any and every curiosity, Christopher’s love of the subject really flourished.
While Buck had been overseas, Christopher had taken it upon himself to do the research for them. Before every call, Christopher would spend the weeks leading up to it bent over books and websites, noting down fascinating tidbits and details in a notebook titled, ‘Christopher and Buck’s Daddy’s Science Report’.
-2 Months Ago-
“Is it time? Are we ready yet?” Christopher bounces in his seat, fiddling with his supplies as he waits for the call time. Eddie checks the time, and they’re one minute out from their and Buck’s agreed time.
They’d missed their last call, and while they know that Buck is okay from quick email exchanges, it doesn’t sit right until they can see Buck for themselves to confirm.
Finally, the ringing of the Skype call interrupts Christopher’s questioning, and he leans excitedly forward to accept. A chime sounds, and Buck’s face appears on their screen, a smile stretched wide across his face.
“Daddy!” Christopher calls happily, lighting up in happiness.
“Hi Christopher!” Buck responds, and something in Eddie settles as he sees Buck, whole and hale as far as he can see. “Hey Eddie,” quieter, softer, “I miss you guys.” Buck’s eyes are tired, and Eddie can see the weary slump of his shoulders, but Eddie knows that Buck will be okay. The best thing they can do for him right now is to remind him how much they love him, and what he has waiting for him at home.
“Hey Buck, miss you too.” Eddie says. They don’t say much else to each other, not with the way Christopher takes over to tell Buck all about everything he’s been missing since they last talked, but Eddie falls into the similar habit of listening to his husband and son talk, and lets their voices wash comfortingly over them. He never realized how much it means to him to have these moments until they became a once-a-month event.
Once Christopher catches Buck up on all the schoolyard gossip, he moves to grab his notebook, and pulls open the bookmarked page.
“So, I’ve been reading, and apparently, there’s this theory in evolution that says all adaptation is leading towards crabs! It’s called carcinization and-”
When Christopher finally exhausts his facts, Buck responding to each single one with the proper fascination and awe at their kid’s extraordinary brains, Christopher sends Buck his love, and makes him promise to be safe before he runs off to play, leaving Buck and Eddie a few more minutes of time alone together.
“How are you doing, Buck?” Eddie asks softly, every cell in his body wishing to somehow reach through the screen and hold his husband close.
Like every time though, Buck lies straight through his teeth, promising, “I’m perfectly fine, Eddie. Just counting down the days till I can see you again.” Buck smiles softly, and Eddie can see in his eyes how much the distance is wearing on him. “What about you though, how is therapy going? No issues, hopefully?”
Eddie lets Buck have the distraction, knowing that Eddie’s bill of good health will do far more for Buck’s mood than any of Eddie’s awkward attempts at cheering him up. “All good news. The wound’s pretty much healed up, and PT’s going well, if not freaking annoying. Christopher does a good job keeping me on track though.”
Buck smirks proudly, “I taught him well.”
“Too well, I think. He’s claimed himself man of the house in your absence since I am apparently ‘incapacitated’. Wonder where he learned that one?” Eddie snarks, biting back a grin at the sound of Buck’s delighted laughter.
They sit in silence for a few more minutes, just taking in each other’s faces. There’s a lot they’re holding back, worries, fears, concerns, that they don’t want to let the other carry. Really, they’re both just grateful to see the other alive. His throat begins to ache with the overwhelming desire to finally have Buck back in his arms, and the dread of having to wait two more months, and the fear that if something went wrong— no. He’s not even going to think it, he can’t. Not like this, when Buck can’t hold and reassure him that everything will be okay, even if that’s just a lie he needs to hear.
“Time’s almost up babe, I’ve gotta run.” Buck finally apologizes, glancing at a clock on the far wall, as Eddie wrapped up a mundane story about a call. Eddie sighs, already missing Buck’s momentary presence before he’s even gone.
“Take care Buck, I’ll see you soon.” Eddie says, pouring his desperate prayers of well-wishes and safety into the familiar words.
“Back at you Eddie, I’ll see you soon, my love.” Buck finished smoothly, and Eddie’s face erupts into red as he hears raucous cheering in the distance. Buck himself laughs, rubbing his own face in embarrassment, and Eddie can see him biting his lip like he always does when he’s trying to contain himself.
The call finally cuts out, and Eddie is left staring at the dark screen of the computer. He can see his reflection in it, still blushing and smiling from his husband’s words. Buck never once let Eddie hang up without making sure that he was smiling as they ended the call, and Eddie can only hope that his own attempts are just as effective.
Only 2 months left.
-Now-
As they pulled into the driveway, Eddie looked into the backseat to see that Christopher had fallen asleep. The last couple days had been full of excitement and a frenzy of cooking and cleaning to prepare for the arrival of Buck, so it was no surprise that the kid was tired.
Eddie had been marking off a lot of his PT exercises by replacing them with household chores, dusting and sweeping and fighting a losing battle with the fitted sheets. Abuela and Pepa had been filling their fridge and freezer with meals, explaining to Eddie, “They don’t feed them properly in the army. I remember what you looked like when you came back, Evanito must be wasted away, pobrecito. You have to fatten him up again.” Even Bobby had promised to drop by with a tray of his famous baked mac and cheese once Buck was settled in.
Buck didn’t talk about anything that went on on his deployment. He told Christopher that he was saving up all the good stories for when he came back, but Eddie saw how fragile Buck looked sometimes on the calls, the way sometimes his hands shook, the bandages on his face that Buck tried to hide. Eddie knew that Buck felt like he was protecting them from what he was going through, but it was all weighing down on Buck, and Eddie just wished that his husband would talk to him.
He didn’t want to push the issue while Buck was too far to grab and sit down for a conversation though, understanding far too well how awful it felt to break down alone, and so Eddie had let it all slide. Once Buck was ensconced tightly and safely in his arms once again, Eddie would trap him there long enough to remind Buck that he would be there for him just like Buck was for Eddie, and that he was willing to listen, or even just hold Buck, as long as he let himself process things. He’d contacted Doctor Copeland’s office, making sure that the therapist had potential openings for after, if Buck felt comfortable going.
Eddie knew it might be hypocritical of him, with the way that he’d closed himself off after his own tour, but he wanted Buck’s return to be better, to have the support Eddie had so desperately needed. Eddie would do whatever he needed to make sure that Buck would be okay because he knew that even if someone left the battlefield without a scratch, the hurts could linger so much deeper than that.
Grunting a little as he pulled Christopher out of his seat and into his arms, Eddie wondered how much longer he’d be able to do this. His baby boy was no longer so much a baby, and he was shooting up what felt like overnight. Even in the ten months Buck had been gone, he’d gained another couple inches. Christopher did his own exercises religiously, explaining to Eddie that he was training like Daddy, and that he would protect Eddie if he needed to. Eddie’d just tried to hide his tears in Christopher’s hair as he pulled him into a tight hug that turned into a noogie. The kid hadn’t just grown taller, and it scared Eddie how much he was turning out just like him and Shannon— sassy, dedicated, and far too smart for his own good.
At the door to Christopher’s room, Eddie froze, chuckling to himself as he realized that he’d only managed to give his son a couple extra minutes of rest. He was too big to be able for Eddie to get him ready for bed anymore, so Eddie shifted Christopher onto his bed, gently running a hand through his hair. He looked so peaceful, for a moment reminding Eddie of the sobbing baby he could barely handle so many years ago, and Eddie couldn’t bring himself to wake him up. He carefully removed Christopher’s glasses, wriggling off his shoes and jeans and sliding on a pair of pajamas. Eddie figured they could just brush twice as long in the morning to make up for tonight, and he pressed a soft kiss to Chistropher’s brow before slipping out, pulling the door shut behind him.
Yawning, suddenly hit with a wave of tiredness, Eddie stumbled into his own bed, half undressing before sliding under the covers.
One more day.
__
The next day passed in a blur of last minute preparation, decoration, and planning.
“Dad, I appreciate you trying to help, but none of your stars are in the right spots,” Christopher very nicely said, gently pushing Eddie’s hand away from his precious poster. Eddie laughed, and raised his hands in defeat, stepping away from the dining table to wrangle something together for lunch.
They’d just thrown together a couple bowls of cereal in the morning, eating a couple fruits on the side, and lunch was probably going to be light as well. Buck was going to be home for dinner tonight, and both the Diaz boys wanted to be as ready as possible for the momentous occasion.
Eddie dug through the freezer, reaching at the back for the last of the Hot Pockets, trying to get rid of the evidence before Buck came home and found them. Eddie would be glad to choke down obnoxiously healthy salads occasionally if his husband was there to sweet-talk him into eating them.
__
“I think we’re behind schedule,” Christopher said, frowning down at his clipboard. The page he was holding was a detailed checklist and schedule, marked down to the hour of Buck’s arrival. Eddie was at the mercy of Christopher’s whims. The kid had been ordering him around the entire day, and Eddie couldn’t find it in him to say no.
Currently, Eddie was balanced on the kitchen table, sweeping cobwebs out of the corners of the ceiling under Christopher’s careful direction. Eddie didn’t think they’d cleaned there since he had bought the house, but Christopher was adamant that Buck would come home to only the best. They’d already spring-cleaned their way through the rest of the house, bar Eddie and Buck’s room, which Christopher made Eddie promise he would make perfect for Buck.
Eddie flicked the duster into the last corner before jumping neatly off the table. He landed with a thud directly in front of Christopher, who pulled a flashlight out of somewhere and shined it into the corners.
“That’s good enough, I guess.” He commented, making an obnoxiously large checkmark on his board, and Eddie laughed in shock, “Good enough? I-”
His protest was cut off by Christopher handing him a magic eraser and pointing in the direction of the cabinets. Christopher was excited for Buck’s return and he wanted everything to be perfect, an expression of nervousness Eddie understood all too well. They were good nerves, though, and Eddie couldn’t help but be infected by his enthusiasm, so he wordlessly took the sponge and marched to his next task.
__
Eddie had promised to let Christopher hold his phone and read him out the directions to the airport that he didn’t need, but the kid was working himself up with stress instead.
“Dad, you missed the turn!”
“This is a shortcut, don’t worry.”
“Dad, it says there’s a twenty-minute anticipated slowdown!”
“There’s always an anticipated slowdown, I accounted for that bud.”
“Dad, I think the lady in that car you just passed flipped you off.”
“Well I think that she can- uh, mind her own beeswax. She’ll live, we’ve got an important deadline to meet.”
“Yeah! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
“I’m already pushing 90, Christopher. Let’s not get pulled over for a ticket on the way, huh?”
__
When Eddie pulled into the parking space, after an excruciatingly long drive, Christopher was unbuckled and ready to jump out of the car in a flash. As Eddie helped his kid out of the car, and pulled out the poster that had already shed glitter all over the backstreet, Eddie stalled a little at the realization that he was finally here. At the airport where he’d been forced to let his husband leave twice , but this time, he was here to finally take him home.
Eddie was quiet as he let Christopher guide them to the proper arrival terminal. He’d done his research, and even had a printed and annotated map of the airport to find the most efficient route. Even Christopher didn’t seem to have much to say, beyond commenting on an occasional art installation. It felt like the both of them were too keyed up to think of anything but the moment that they’d finally see Buck again.
In the days after Buck had to leave post-injury, Eddie had woken up almost every night crying out for him, reaching painfully for someone that was no longer there. He’d had three weeks to get refamiliarize himself with the warmth of Buck’s body in their bed, with his low voice pulling him out of nightmares, with the ability to wrap himself up in Buck’s arms when Eddie felt like he was crawling out of skin, like his husband was the only thing holding him together.
But at the end of that, when Eddie had to send him off again, and pretend like somehow his heart wasn’t breaking to let Buck go? It was a measure of Eddie’s strength that he’d managed to not beg him to stay, even though they both knew it wasn’t Buck’s choice. Eddie had spent long hours promising Buck that he was okay, that he didn’t blame Buck; not for having to leave and not for being unable to protect Eddie.
That was the logical part of his brain.
The illogical part, however, was the one that cried for Buck in the middle of the night, that wanted to curse him out for leaving Eddie all alone after the shooting. That was the part that wished more than anything that Buck would just appear in front of him somehow, like he had when Eddie woke up in the hospital all those months ago, but to stay for good this time. That was the part that he unleashed at his therapist’s office.
It took him a long time to finally settle down in the wake of the shooting. The horrific event had brought back trauma and nightmares from the last time he’d been shot, and it hadn’t been fun. His had subconscious decided that he wasn’t freaked out enough, and spent a couple terror filled nights reliving Eddie’s first brush with death, but this time, it was Buck that he had failed to save in the helicopter. Eddie would wake up from those dreams and reach over to pat the cold, empty side of Buck’s bed. He didn’t know if that was worse than the nights when he was still dreaming, and would see Buck’s bloody body splayed brokenly over their bedsheets.
Just as Buck was hiding the whole truth from Eddie, Eddie had done the same. They knew each other too well, and it would be an insult to call out the obvious deflections, but Eddie knew that Buck knew he was hiding something, and it went vice versa. They’d promised to be there through thick and thin, but neither of them was willing to let the other suffer their burdens alone. It made for a lonely five months, but at the end of it, Eddie was finally in a place where he felt comfortable broaching the discussion of what had been happening with Buck, and he was ready to support Buck in whatever he needed.
Christopher took a hold of Eddie’s hand as they made their way through the busier parts of the terminal, and they stopped for a second as Christopher judged which way they needed to go next. Eddie trusted that Christopher would know the right way, but when Christopher held the map up for him to look at, Eddie maneuvered them through a tricky couple hallways that finally opened up into the large Arrivals hall.
When they stopped, Christopher looked up at Eddie.
“Is this it? Is he here?” Christopher asked eagerly. Eddie pulled out his phone, and reloaded the page with Buck’s flight information.
“See,” he said, handing the phone over to Christopher, who held it almost gingerly, “They said he landed a couple minutes ago. With security and baggage claim, he might be walking out of those doors in as soon as half an hour.”
Christopher had been prepared to wait for as long as he needed, so the thirty potential minutes between him and his Daddy were nothing. He pulled Eddie towards a couple of seats that faced the exit and propped up the sign between them. With a focus far greater than Eddie had ever seen Christopher apply to anything, the kid stared at the doorway intensely, as if trying to materialize Buck there by sheer force of his will. Eddie tucked a corner behind his leg to help him hold it up, and wrinkled his nose at the glitter that attached itself to his clothes.
The sign was a work of art, a veritable Christopher Buckley-Diaz masterpiece. “WELCOME HOME CORPORAL BUCKY!” was written across the board in meticulous letters. Christopher had made Eddie check the spelling of “corporal” a million times before he glued the sparkly letters into place. The words were surrounded by various stickers of the Winter Soldier, their little inside joke, as Christopher had told him. On the bottom of the poster, there was a drawing of the Buckley-Diaz family, Christopher holding Eddie and Buck’s hands. Buck was in his dress blues, and Eddie in his turnout. Christopher was wearing some combination of both their uniforms, and Eddie had watched with slightly damp eyes as Christopher had thoroughly done his research so he could be as accurate as possible.
As he attempted to keep an eye on his son and not knock the poster over at the same time, Eddie tried to take a page out of Christopher’s book and not be impatient. After all, what was thirty minutes when he knew he’d have Buck forever on the other side?
When Buck had first left for his deployment, Eddie didn’t think he could ever miss his husband more. He’d had to juggle his schedule and figure out how to live his life without the one person that had been such a big part of it. Eddie felt like he had just figured it all out when he’d been shot, disrupting the delicate routine he had managed to build. And then Buck had come back, and no matter how much pain he was in, no matter what was happening, he knew it was going to be okay, because his partner in love and life was there to take care of everything. All the progress he’d made was undone, but he didn’t regret it, not when Buck was right there beside him.
It was worse the second time around. After the shooting, Eddie had felt, for a lack of a better word, delicate. A little bit physically, a little bit emotionally, and Buck had been there to gather his shattered pieces through the worst of it. He’d sat up with him, waiting for Eddie to wake up, and then every night after, watching to make sure that there was no hidden injury that could sneak up on him. When Buck had to leave again, Eddie had pulled up every wall he could, trying to project the illusion that he was perfectly okay, that Buck could leave without worrying about Eddie, but he’d known that it was ultimately useless.
After so long of trying not to let the ache of missing Buck cut into him, the moment that finally Eddie locked eyes with Buck, the dam that had contained his feelings these past four months began to splinter.
“Daddy!” Christopher shouted excitedly, and he pushed to his feet, letting the poster slide to the floor carelessly. Christopher took off across the hall, racing directly towards Buck, who had broken into a run as well. Eddie sat frozen in his seat, watching his son and his husband collide in a tangle of limbs, his crutches clattering to the floor, forgotten, in his excitement. He watched as Buck fell to his knees, his bag dropping next to him as he pulled Christopher into a tight hug. Christopher’s arms reached further around Buck than they had before, Eddie noted distantly. Eddie watched Buck press kisses all over Christopher’s face, cradling his face in his hands, and the sound of Christopher’s laughter filtered into Eddie’s brain.
Buck looked back over at Eddie with a concerned look on his face, but Eddie couldn’t seem to find it in him to pick himself up and walk the barely twenty feet that separated him from the person he’d been missing for so long. The heavy weight of longing had been cut away by the relief at seeing Buck in front of him, but the echoes of the fear had him trapped where he sat. It was like some part of Eddie refused to believe that Buck was really there, trying to protect himself from the heartbreak of Buck leaving yet again. Eddie wondered if maybe his brain was playing a cruel trick on him yet again, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d imagined Buck coming back home.
But no— Buck was in front of him, swinging Christopher into his arms and picking his bag off the floor with his free hand. He staggered dramatically, probably commenting on Christopher’s exponential growth, and came closer to where Eddie sat.
Feeling as though he was made of glass, still not quite fully able to let himself believe, Eddie blinked again, watching as Buck deposited Christopher on the chair he’d been sitting on earlier. Then, achingly gentle, there he was kneeling between Eddie’s legs. When he looked up, Buck was close, the proximity freezing Eddie with how much he wanted it to be real. Buck smiled, and suddenly there were large, warm, hands wiping away the wetness on his cheeks.
He blinked, once, twice, noticing for the first time the hot tears falling down his face, if only because they were accompanied by the feeling of Buck’s touch.
With a gasping sob, Eddie threw himself forward, hands desperately reaching for Buck. Eddie scrabbled at Buck’s fatigues, trying to pull him in as close as possible, so that Eddie could feel the life thrumming safely through Buck against himself. Strong arms wrapped around Eddie, and Buck tucked Eddie into his chest, holding him as Eddie finally let himself fall apart.
Buck was here. Eddie’s husband was finally back, and back to stay, and there was no force on Earth that would ever be able to separate the two of them ever again. In the safest place that Eddie knew, he gave himself permission to feel .
Eddie knew he couldn’t unleash ten months of loneliness and yearning into Buck’s arms at the airport though, as much as he wanted to. So he sniffed and coughed and pulled himself back together, pulling away from Buck reluctantly.
“Hey,” Buck said softly, eyes warm and filled with that oh-so familiar affection that nearly broke Eddie’s heart all over again. Eddie smiled and wiped his face with his sleeve before leaning forward and kissing Buck softly. He’d have to leave his emotional breakdown out when he inevitably told the story to his family. Eddie wondered if Christopher and Buck could be bribed into staying quiet as well, but it was probably unlikely.
“Hey,” Eddie finally whispered. Buck turned to the side, pulling Christopher off his seat and in between them, their family complete, their world encompassed in their arms.
“Can we-” Christopher started, squirming for breath from where he was squished between them, “Can we go home now? I want to cuddle with Dad and Daddy tonight, please.”
Buck and Eddie smiled down at their kid. Maybe he hadn’t grown up quite that much yet.
“Of course we can, Superman.” Buck promised, pushing to his feet, taking Christopher with him. He held out a hand for Eddie, who reached forward and grasped it tightly. Buck pulled Eddie to his feet easily, hard enough that he stumbled a little, hitting Buck’s chest. He steadied himself, assuming it was an accident right up until he saw the cheesy, adoring look on Buck’s face.
“Now that I’ve effectively swept you off your feet again, to the chariot, my lord!” Buck said dramatically, which set Christopher off into peals of laughter again, and Eddie couldn’t help but kiss Buck again, overcome with love for his love come home.
fin.