Chapter Text
Eddie didn’t mind that everyone assumed he was a beta, sometimes an alpha. He never bothered to correct them. He let them believe what they wanted. He’d spent his childhood looking out for his sisters and that meant he developed more confident traits than the average omega. He perfected ability to hide he was omega while on military grade suppressants. Preventing heats and ruts was important to keep soldiers from getting distracted. It kept them focused on their orders. After Eddie got out of the military he decided to keep up with the heavy suppressants. Life was easier without heats, a decision that was made even easier when his alpha, Shannon, decided she really didn’t want to be a parent anymore. It allowed him to focus on the one thing that was important to him, Christopher. His pup was his world. Eddie decided they needed a fresh start, so he moved to LA, closer to his Abuela and Tía Pepa. They helped him find somewhere to live and he ended up getting a job as a firefighter. Everything was going great during his first shift, until he locked eyes with the bluest eyed alpha he’d ever seen. The blue eyed man was introduced as Evan “Buck” Buckley, and Eddie had to remind himself to breathe. The man had the body of Adonis and was even more distracting in the makeshift gym. The fact that Buck seemed to hate him made his chest ache. He’d asked the others about the younger alpha. His heart aching as they told him about his girlfriend leaving him to travel the world. He knew how much abandonment hurt. Normally he’d lose his temper when someone treated him like Buck had, but no. Eddie just wanted to connect with the blue eyed alpha that had felt abandonment similar to his own. So he confronted him in the gym.
“What’s your problem, man?” Eddie asked.
“Okay, You.” The alpha answered him. “You’re my problem. Your comfort level. You’re-you’re not supposed to just walk in here like you’ve been here for years. It’s meant-meant to be a getting-to-know-you period. You’re meant to respect your elders.”
“You’re not his elder, Buck.” Chimney stated, earning a glare from the younger alpha.
“Look, I in no way meant to, uh, be too familiar or step on anybody’s toes.” Eddie tried to placate the alpha. Part of him wanted to tell him it was probably because he was an omega and that the others probably didn’t realize they were doing it, but he didn’t. Instead he said something that pissed the alpha off even more. “I know you’re going through some personal stuff right now.”
“What personal stuff?”
“I know your girlfriend recently broke up with you and you’re coming to terms with that.”
“No, I’m not.” The alpha was clearly getting more upset. “And she didn’t break up with me. Who told you that?” Buck glared at Chimney as the paramedic suddenly found counting out his reps very important.
“I’m just saying I hear you’re a good guy,” Eddie tried to salvage the interaction, but he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. “And I’m sorry you’re going through pain, but you don’t need to take it out on me or-or be threatened by me. We’re on the same team.”
The alpha bristled. “Why would I be threatened by you?”
“Exactly.” Eddie really was trying to salvage the conversation. “There’s no need to be. We do the same thing. I’ve just done it while people are shooting at me is all.”
“We’re not broken up.”
“Alright.”
Eddie sighed as he took a quick and cold shower. Nothing he said seemed to make the alpha hate him less. Maybe he should just tell him the truth, that he was an omega. Tell him something only the captain knew and had promised to keep to himself. If he could just show Buck that he felt he could trust him, maybe the alpha would hate him less. Turned out he didn’t need too. All they had to do was almost die while pulling a grenade from a man’s leg and blow up an ambulance to get on the same page. Well, almost the same page. Buck still didn’t know his secret.
“You’re a badass under pressure, brother.” Eddie told the young alpha.
“Me? Buck asked like he found that hard to believe.
“Hell yeah. You can have my back any day.” Eddie grinned. The omega’s heart skipped a beat when the alpha finally smiled at him.
“Yeah. Or, you know, you could-you could have mine.” The relief of finally having the alpha on his side drew a laugh out of Eddie.
“Deal.” Eddie smiled and nodded, a warm feeling spread through his chest as the alpha smiled at him. Oh god, he was a goner.
The two easily became friends, they were becoming Bobby’s go to pair for difficult maneuvers. Buck would play the alpha hero, and Eddie would make sure his friend stayed alive as he did. That was what omegas were meant to do after all. They took care of people. It just felt natural to make sure Buck didn’t get himself killed. It was going well until Eddie experienced his first California earthquake, the omega’s mind immediately going to his pup. He tried to hide his panic as they headed out to help quake victims. Eddie kept checking his phone. He was apparently failing to keep his scent from becoming distressed when Buck looked at him with worried eyes.
“Is everything okay?” The alpha asked.
“Yeah. There's no service.” Eddie replied. “Texts won't even get through.”
“Who you trying to get ahold of?” Buck asked.
Eddie weighs his options. He hadn’t told anyone about his son. The concerned alpha’s eyes never left the omega’s. “My son.” Eddie said, voice filled with worry, “I'm trying to reach my son.”
“Whoa, you got a kid?” Buck was clearly shocked.
“Christopher.” Eddie looks back down at his phone, pulling up a picture of his son. “He's seven.”
“And super adorable.”.The omega felt a flutter in his stomach as Buck spoke. He’d file that away to think about later. “I, uh, I love kids.”
“I love this one. I'm all he's got.” Eddie admitted, looking at the picture of his pup, before looking back up at the alpha. “His mother's not in the picture.” Eddie had to look away at the look on Buck’s face.
“He's at school?”
“Yeah.” Eddie couldn’t keep the worry out of his tone. Christopher was Eddie’s entire world. He didn’t know what he’d do if anything happened to him.
“Hey, I'm sure he's fine.” The omega could feel himself relaxing a bit. The alpha had lived in LA longer than Eddie had. He hoped the alpha was right. Buck had looked so convinced when he was reassuring him.
Eddie focused on working as best he could. Buck kept reassuring him as they did. The uneasy feeling in Eddie’s chest easing somewhat when the second the alpha got a message, before he even opened it, he was telling Eddie the signal was back. He’d taken the younger male up on his offer to drive without hesitation. He just wanted to get to Christopher. He was out of the truck before Buck had even stopped. The omega ran to his son, hugged the boy tightly and basked in his laugher as Eddie spun him around. Eddie felt like he could finally breathe for the first time since the initial earthquake. They only got closer from there. Eddie could feel himself falling for his friend when Buck had not only gone with him to the hospital after Eddie’s abuela fell, but he had pulled out all the stops to help take care of Christopher when Eddie didn’t have anyone to look after his son. He thought his heart was going to explode with joy watching his friends help take care of Christopher. Watching the way Buck would smile at Christopher was enough to know he was falling hard for the alpha. He knew he was head over heels for his best friend when Buck had introduced him to Carla. Carla was a godsend and Eddie couldn’t thank Buck enough for bringing her into their lives.
The first time Carla came over to take care of Christopher before one of Eddie’s shifts the female omega had done a double take before giving a knowing smile, “Does Buck know you’re an omega? Because he didn’t mention it before.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide. He shook his head. How had she known? Eddie thought about it and realized during all the chaos with Abuela being in the hospital he had forgotten about his suppressants. He was so focused on his family, he hadn’t been taking proper care of himself. He cursed himself. “No one does, just Cap. I…I’m going to call in. There is no way I can do this.”
“You do what you need to,” Carla nodded. “I’ll be here if you need anything.” She got up to go take care of Christopher.
Eddie pulled out his phone, his hands shaking. This was not good. He hadn’t gone without suppressants in years. He pulled up Bobby’s number and called him.
“Nash,” Bobby answered.
“Hey, Cap. I uh…I know it is last minute but I…I can’t come in today.”
“Okay,” The captain said. “Is everything alright? Is Christopher okay or did something happen with your grandmother?”
“They’re fine, its…I uh…with everything that has happened I got behind oh my…meds.”
“Okay,” Bobby said before it clicked. “Oh.”
“Yeah, I uh might need a few days off.” The omega admitted.
“Yeah, that’s probably for the best. Let me know how you’re feeling in a few days.”
“Thanks Cap.” Eddie sighed.
The omega spent the day getting to know Carla better while they took care of Christopher. The female omega would get a knowing smile on her face every time Eddie’s phone would go off. It was almost always Buck checking in to make sure Eddie was okay. Eddie did his best to assure his best friend he was fine. Carla had gone home after dinner. Eddie had spent the rest of the night cuddled on the couch with his son. After he’d tucked Christopher into bed, he was about to head to bed when he heard a knock at the door. He was sure his brain short circuited when he checked and saw Buck standing outside his door. He suppressed a groan. The cat would definitely be out of the bag now. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and opened the door.
“Hey, Buck.” Eddie said stepping aside to let the alpha in.
“You okay?” Buck asked as he moved past Eddie into the room. “Cap said you weren’t feeling well. I mean you look a bit pale but-”
“I’m an omega.” Eddie blurted out. Buck’s eyes went wide with shock. It was silent for a moment. Eddie could see the alpha’s eyes shift slightly as he inhaled, nostrils flaring slightly. A number of emotions flash across his face before he can school his features.
“Wow…that’s…why didn’t you tell me?” The alpha’s brows furrowed, clearly confused. “I thought we were-“
“I didn’t tell anyone. Cap only knew because he had to know.” Eddie told him. He felt horrible. He could tell his best friend was hurt that he’d lied to him. “I just…after the military it was easier to just not be…this.” Eddie gestured to the nervous wreck he was and started pacing around, unloading everything he’d been keeping from his friend. “It was easier to focus on taking care of Christopher if I just sort of numbed that part of me. I haven’t been off suppressants in years. The strong stuff, not as intense as the military grade stuff, but still strong enough to not have to worry. After Shannon left I couldn’t let myself get distracted. I had to focus all my energy on Chris and then I moved here and I was just so used to it. I figured it would be easier to just keep it up and people hear that I was military and they just assume I was an alpha and I gave up correcting them a long time ago and then Abuela fell and everything…it was absolutely FUBAR. I fucked up, Buck. I fucked up bad. I got behind on my suppressants and now I can’t work for a few days and -” Eddie ran his hand through his hair, tugging slightly as he did. Pain was a grounding force. It always helped clear his mind.
“Jesus, Eddie.” Buck grabbed his wrist, “Take a breath.” Eddie’s shoulders sagged but he did as the alpha had told him to. “I’m not mad, man. I was just confused and honestly that’s all a bit worrying. You get that right? Like you’ve been burying this part of who you are, you know that usually doesn’t end well, right? I mean look at you, you’re shaking.”
Eddie whined at the alpha’s touch, the hand not being held by Buck flying up to cover his mouth. That was not a good sign. Eddie closed his eyes and wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. Buck let out a shocked chuckle at the action.
“You good?” Buck asked, a smirk on his face. Eddie shook his head and looked down at where Buck still had his wrist. “Oh, sorry.” The alpha let go of him, earning another whine, followed by a groan. Eddie felt like he was losing his mind. He was losing control. He went into the living room and sat down, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes. Trying to get control over himself. “Hey, Eddie It’s okay. You’re okay.” Buck tried to reassure him.
Eddie snorted. “It really isn’t. I don’t- I haven’t- this is…” He groaned in frustration. “I’m so stupid.”
“No, Eddie.” Buck frowned. “You’re not stupid. You just…”
“Did something stupid? Fucked up? Yeah, I know.”
“Fuck it,” Buck mumbled and pulled the omega into a hug. Eddie melted into the embrace. “I’ve got you, Eddie. You’re okay. Yeah, maybe it’s a little fucked up, but you’re okay. I came over her expecting you to be sick, like not even be able to take care of your kid, sick. I was going to ask if you needed my help.”
“I always need you.” Eddie said, his hands going up to cover his mouth again. He groaned, ducking his head into the younger male’s shoulder.
“Well, I’m here.” Buck grinned, one of the alpha’s hands going to the back of the omega’s neck. He could feel how warm Eddie’s skin was. “But I uh…Eddie, I think…I think you might be starting a heat.”
“I know…” Eddie grumbled.
“Do you want me leave?” Buck tried to pull away but Eddie just squeezed him tighter.
“No! I uh…no.” Eddie shook his head. “I need someone to take care of Chris.”
“I’m not sure I’m the best candidate for that.” The alpha admitted.
Eddie made a noise that sounded like a muffled sob to the alpha’s ears. The omega mumbled into his shoulder. “I don’t have anyone else.”
“Shhh,” Buck tried to comfort the omega. “You do actually. Just…just let me make a phone call. Stay here, okay?”
Eddie whimpered when Buck stepped away but nodded. He could hear the alpha make a phone call but didn’t know who he was calling. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. He could hear Buck answer the door and soon after Hen came in the room, Buck was nowhere in sight.
“Hen?” Eddie wasn’t sure what Buck was planning.
“Hey Eddie, how you doing?”
“Been better.” The omega grumbled.
“I don’t doubt that.” The beta laughed.
“What are you doing here?”
“Buck called, figured Chris could spend a few days with Denny.” She filled him in.
“But they don’t know each other very well.” Eddie’s brows furrowed.
“He knows me, and he trusts Buck.” Hen put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I’m sure they’ll be great friends in no time, if he’s anything like his dad, then they’ll be instant pals. I mean, we all liked you right away, except for your boy.” Hen grinned. “And look where we are now.”
Eddie nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Chris gets along with everybody.” He smiled weakly. “I should go get him ready.”
“I think your boys can handle it.” Hen pointed behind him to the hall where Buck was helping Christopher put his jacket and his backpack on. The sight of the alpha he was already head over heels for taking care of his son warmed the omega to his very core. Next thing he knew Christopher was hugging him and telling Eddie to feel better and the omega was on the verge of tears. He hadn’t been away from his son longer than a day since he’d left the military.
“It’s okay, Dad.” Christopher smiled at him. “Buck’ll be here.”
“I know,” Eddie’s voice trembled. “I love you, little man.”
“Love you too, Daddy.”
Eddie hugged his son again before he and Hen left. Eddie stared at the door, long after they were gone. “He’ll be okay,” Buck said sitting down beside Eddie and pulling him into his side. “I let him help pick out what he wanted to bring, what he wanted to wear. He was tired, but excited.”
“He…uh…hasn’t had a lot of sleepovers that weren’t with family. He…doesn’t have a lot of friends here yet.”
“Well, now he’ll have Denny.” Buck assured him. Eddie nodded, burying his face in the alpha’s neck. He felt raw. He’d suppressed this part of who he was for so long he wasn’t even sure he remembered how to handle it. “Hen and Karen will call if they need to.”
“You told her about me, right?” Eddie asked.
“Yeah, sorry about that, but she wont tell anyone, she also wont judge.” Buck said a bit nervously. “It was either Hen or my sister and Chris’ never really met Maddie, and having someone his own age will help.”
“It’s fine.” Eddie pulled back and wiped the tears off his face. “Really, Hen’s great. I’m sure he’ll have fun. Thanks Buck.” Eddie pulled him into a hug. “Thank you for caring about Christopher.”
“How could I not?” Buck chuckled. “He’s the best.”
“Tell that to his mother.” Eddie sighed.
“Her loss,” Buck said, nuzzling the side of the omega’s head. Eddie snorted. “I’m serious.” Buck said. “Christopher is so damn amazing. He’s smart and funny. He doesn’t let anything stop him. So fuck her. It’s her loss.” Eddie can’t help himself. He leans in kisses his best friend.
“You are amazing.” Eddie smiles when he pulls back.
“You aren’t so bad yourself.” Buck grinned. “I mean, shit you even smell amazing.” The alpha nuzzles the omega’s neck, earning a moan from the omega. “Relax, I’ve got you, remember?” He nipped playfully at Eddie’s neck causing the omega to move closer. Buck pulls Eddie into his lap.
“We should…maybe move somewhere more comfortable.”