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Buck doesn’t even know he’s gone viral until it’s too late. He’s gotten some taste of internet fame before, back when he was on the news because of the roller coaster malfunction. He got it again after Taylor Kelly’s TV spot about the firehouse. He even got a few private messages after they’d saved that makeup vlogger.
This?
This was completely different.
He’s not even sure when it started. He thinks it started when Chris stole his phone while he was making pancakes for the billionth time. Chris asked him to teach him how to make vegan pancakes, since Buck was vegan but always made normal pancakes for Eddie and Chris. So of course Buck had done it.
Chris claimed he was recording it so he could show his dad later, so maybe Eddie could make the pancakes instead when Buck wasn’t available. Buck had bought the line, hook, line, and sinker.
It became a thing after that. Every time Buck babysat Chris, Chris would grab his phone and ask Buck to teach him a new recipe.
“What do you want tonight, buddy?” Buck asked, staring into the fridge. He needed to go shopping, but he had a lot of small things – leftovers and remnants of items he’d bought for specific recipes.
“Vegan tacos,” Chris said excitedly.
Buck grinned at him. “You been watching the cooking channel again?” Chris nodded, unashamed, and Buck laughed. “Alright. I’ve got the stuff for that. Let’s do it.”
Chris bounced with anticipation and pulled up the phone. Sitting at the counter, he held the camera as steady as he could and followed Buck as he moved.
This was their fourth video, and Buck was starting to have fun with it. He drummed his hands on the counter and grinned at the phone. In a dramatic voice, he proclaimed, “Welcome to Buckaroo’s Kitchen Tales, where we learn that vegan is delicious and the best.” He dropped the voice and reached over to tickle Chris a little. “Right, buddy?”
“Right,” Chris giggled.
“Right! Okay, so today it’s tacos. Taco, taco, taco,” he repeated, turning and grabbing stuff from the fridge. “Alright so we’re gonna need some black beans, an onion – I happen to have one that I already cut in half yesterday, so we’ll use that – uh, I’ve got some pico de gallo I also made this week and didn’t use all of, let’s get an avocado for the topping, some crushed garlic. Honestly, you can put just about any topping you want on your tacos, but those are all considered ‘optional ingredients’ and I’m just gonna use what I happen to have on hand.” He paused and looked over at Chris. “If I’d planned for this, I might have also had some quinoa available, but I don’t, so let’s move on.” He closed the fridge dramatically.
“Outside of what I’ve just got hanging out as leftovers in the fridge, obviously you can just put whatever seasonings and spices you want on top. Like I’ve got some cayenne pepper, chili flakes, cumin, salt and pepper obviously,” he said as he started pulling the spice bottles out of his cabinet. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Chris. “You know what? I’ve got some canned corn. We can add corn. You want corn?” Chris cheered a little. “Yeah, Let’s add corn.” He reached into his pantry and pulled out the can and a bag of flour tortillas. “And of course, you can’t have tacos without the shell. So I think we’re ready.”
He ran through the steps, chopping things and seasoning the beans and baking the shells on the bottom of a muffin tin to get a solid shape. He mashed some of the avocado but left some in chunks. In thirty minutes, he had a plate of semi-hardshell tacos chock full of vegan goodness set on a plate in front of Chris and his camera. Then he pulled a jar of homemade vegan sour cream from his fridge and set it on the counter beside it.
“Looks yummy,” Chris said.
Buck smiled easily. “Delicious,” he said. “Firefighting fit.”
“You know what they say,” Chris mumbled with a little grin of his own. “If you can’t stand the heat…”
“Stay out of the kitchen,” Buck finished. He smiled warmly and ruffled Chris’ hair. “Love you, buddy.”
“Love you too, Buck,” Chris said, lowering the phone. “Thanks for showing me how to make them.”
“Yeah, no problem. Anytime.” Buck pushed the plate a little closer to Chris, who set the phone aside and instead reached for the closest taco. “But maybe next time give me a little warning about what you want, hm? That way I can run by the store.”
“Deal,” Chris said and took his first bite. His grin was instant and then he made the universal sound of ‘yum’ with his mouth full.
Eddie showed up to take Chris home later that night, tired from his twelve-hour shift but smiling like he didn’t feel it the moment he spotted Buck on the other side of the door. They sat down at the bar to talk for a minute, with Eddie talking about work and Buck talking about their taco adventure. Even though Buck hadn’t been working that day, he still felt a weight leave his shoulders as he listened to Eddie talk. Just seeing the other man made him feel more secure, more relaxed, and he was sure his smile conveyed that.
“Yeah, I dunno what it is, man,” Eddie said, glancing over at Chris on the couch. “He’s just been obsessed with your vegan cooking the last few weeks.”
“I’m turning him to the dark side,” Buck teased with a waggle of his eyebrows. “Anyway, I don’t mind. It’s fun showing him how the other side lives.”
“At this rate, he’s gonna turn our house into a vegan house too. No offense, your food is delicious, but I still love my meat,” Eddie said haltingly, worried about making an offense despite his words.
Buck wiggled his eyebrows again. “Yeah, I’m sure you do.”
Eddie blushed all down his neck, and Buck worried for a half a second that he’d crossed too far over the line. But Eddie was still smiling, albeit shyly. “Shut up, Buck,” he said with no heat and rolled his eyes.
After that, Buck continued to teach Chris recipes. Once a week, Chris requested a Buckaroo Kitchen dinner. Usually it was when Buck was babysitting, but once in awhile it was at the Diaz house when both Eddie and Buck had the same evening off. Buck would show up with grocery bags full of the required ingredients because he didn’t trust Eddie to have a stocked pantry.
He taught Chris how to make macaroni and cheese – “You soak the cashews to make them easier to blend, see? Then the nutritional yeast gives it that perfect cheesy flavor. I promise, you won’t even notice it’s not the real deal. It’s gonna knock your crutches off.” – and Asian stir-fry using zucchini noodles and then once going all out with personal pan-sized, bbq cauliflower pizzas – “When I was a kid I thought chickpeas weren’t real, but let me tell you, they are so useful, and today we’re gonna use them like a secret ingredient. You ready?”
Later, he starts taking inspiration from Eddie’s heritage because he wants Eddie to like the food as much as he does, so he Googles ideas before Diaz house dinners. He makes vegan enchiladas with butternut squash mixed in with the beans, tofu chilaquiles – which he hadn’t even known was a thing until his search pulled it up, tostadas, and even menudo.
“You can’t make menudo without the meat, Buck,” Eddie said, dubious.
“Shut up and watch me work, Diaz. You’re going to like it, and you’re going to admit it too,” Buck promised, or maybe threatened.
Eddie had originally vacated the kitchen whenever Buck came over to cook, but more and more he changed to joining Chris at the table to watch. He’d make teasing comments and doubtful noises, but he always approved of the results, even if he didn’t always say it out loud. Once, he’d flicked chia seeds at Buck in retaliation for a particularly flirty comment and only realized afterward that chia seeds liked to stick to everything they could.
Buck had laughed when they’d found one clinging to Eddie’s cheek somehow later that evening after Chris had gone to bed and plucked it off for him. Eddie had crowded him back against the kitchen counter afterward and they’d stood there, too close, too hot, breathing in each other’s air, for a long time. There’d been no kiss, but they both knew it had hung there between them, an almost thing.
When Buck brought out mushrooms to use in his menudo instead of meat, Eddie looked like the action physically pained him. It made Buck laugh out loud and the pained look was replaced with something Buck could only describe as ‘desire’. The only thing keeping Buck from kissing him right then and there was Chris’ presence and the ever dutiful camera recording him.
In the end, Eddie approved of the menudo, although he said he preferred it with meat. He even admitted he wanted seconds, and that was all the victory Buck needed.
After Chris went to bed, Eddie found him in the kitchen cleaning up. Buck shut the dishwasher and clicked it on. When he turned around, he found Eddie a few feet away, watching him from the edge of the tile.
“Hey. Chris asleep?” he asked, leaning casually back against the counter to hide how hard his heart was beating.
Eddie’s smile was soft and beautiful, as was his voice when he spoke. “I love you. You know that, right?”
“Never –” Buck paused and cleared his throat. He felt suddenly hot all over. “Never in so many words, but, uh, yeah. Yeah I think I knew that.”
Buck had long known that Eddie considered him family, just as Chris did, and more than the way the 118 was a family. The two of them moved around each other so well after all this time, that by the time Buck had realized how in love he was, it was too late to do anything about it. He’d expected Eddie felt the same, but it really wouldn’t have matter either way. The other day in the kitchen sort of cemented the idea that Eddie did, though.
Eddie moved in now, just the way he had the previous week. His shorter body managed to successfully block Buck against the counter. His hands found Buck’s hips. His lips found Buck’s lips. It was a tender, soft thing. Somehow so domestic, as if they’d done this a hundred times before. And maybe they had, but with their eyes and not their mouths.
Christopher’s next video featured a moment where Buck paused in cooking to lean over his kitchen counter and peck Eddie on the lips while Eddie stole an olive from the bowl Buck had for his recipe. That’s how Buck found out he had gone internet viral.
He walked into the station on a normal morning and was greeted by the congratulations and cheering of his coworkers. People who normally didn’t hang out with Buck because they worked different shifts or because they just didn’t have as much in common were suddenly clapping him on the back or giving him wolf whistles.
“Buckley,” Bobby called from upstairs and Buck hurried to see what his captain needed. He found Bobby in the kitchen, prepping lunch. “We’re gonna have to have you and Diaz fill out some paperwork before the end of shift today,” he said.
“Paperwork?” Buck asked, brow knit. “For what?”
Bobby smiled mischievously at him. “For your relationship,” he said. “Standard protocol.”
Buck was sure his blush went all the way down his chest. “H-How’d you even know about that?” They’d been together for a week already, but they’d been so careful.
“Same way everyone else knows,” Bobby said, flipping the pieces of chicken in his skillet. “I saw it on your youtube channel.”
“My what?” Buck shook his head. “Bobby, I don’t have a youtube channel.”
Looking suspicious, Bobby turned off the heat on the stove and pulled out his phone. He clicked a few things, swiped once or twice, and then handed the phone to Buck. On the screen was a still image of his face, standing in his own kitchen, wearing his LAFD t-shirt and a pair of old jeans. It was the day he’d made tacos for Chris all those months ago.
“Buckaroo’s Vegan Kitchen Tales” was listed as the channel name. The about section said, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen” and was followed by hashtags about firefighting and vegan cooking. There were dozens of videos, each with hundreds of comments and thousands of views.
“What the fuck?” he muttered.
“Bad word,” Eddie said to announce his arrival. “Dollar in the swear jar.”
“Eddie,” Buck said, voice almost a squeak. He turned the phone for Eddie to see. “Did you know about this?”
Eddie narrowed his eyes at the screen, taking in the list of videos and the statistics shown under them. His face relaxed and he gave an impressed nod. “Wow. I knew Chris was uploading them, but I didn’t realize they were popular.”
“Paperwork,” Bobby said, motioning to Eddie with a spatula. “Before you leave. Both of you.”
“On it, Cap,” Eddie said and gave a mock salute. “Hang on. For what?”
“For the relationship everyone knows we’re in because Chris uploaded us kissing while I made olive pesto,” Buck said, still stunned as he saw what video was most recent.
Eddie flushed with embarrassment, but not as strongly as Buck, and then cleared his throat. “Well, that’s one way to do it.”
Bobby let Buck keep his phone while he continued cooking lunch. “You’re gonna have to start helping me with lunches, Buck,” he said, looking and sounding smug. “I’ve been getting calls from a couple of news stations and things to come see where you work and watch you cook in person. Looks like we’ve got a celebrity in the house.”
“Oh Jesus,” Buck said in lieu of cursing again. He dropped into a bar seat and set the phone down. He’d been reading the comments while he listened and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The comments were mostly positive – a lot of people thanking him for the recipe ideas or offering up suggestions for alterations. The olive pesto video had a lot of comments in all caps screaming ‘FINALLY’ and ‘YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE’ and ‘I FUCKIN KNEW IT’ and the like, peppered of course with some assholes who claimed they’d never watch another of his videos because he was gay. Bisexual, but it didn’t matter.
But the ones he saw that really got him were the ones that said ‘you and your son are so cute’ and ‘your son really loves you. That’s sweet’ and ‘you’re doing such a good job raising that boy’. He dropped his head to the counter to hide his blush but also the teary grin on his face. His chest was close to bursting with embarrassment and fondness and mortification and love. Jesus, Buck was in his pajamas in some of those videos! He was fresh out of bed or fresh off work or just generally disheveled, but people were still liking the videos and telling him – him, Evan Buckley – that he was a good dad, and he’d never thought he’d ever hear words like that. He didn’t even have a kid! Not biologically anyway.
“You okay there, Buck? I can just keep telling them they can’t come visit. I’m not trying to force you into more of a public view than you already are,” Bobby assured.
Eddie’s hand was on Buck’s back, comforting for whatever Buck was feeling. Honestly even Buck wasn’t sure what he was feeling. He just felt so much. He waved his hand lazily in the air.
“It’s – I’m fine, Cap. I, uh, I just didn’t know about the channel. I need a minute.” He took a deep breath to collect himself, let it out slowly, and blinked rapidly to banish any tears. When he looked up at Bobby, the man still looked concerned. “I don’t mind showing people how to cook vegan. I mean, I don’t care either way. I was just teaching Chris to cook. But if you think I should do a news thing, I can do that too, if it’ll look good for the department.”
Bobby shook his head. “You went viral on the internet already, kid,” he said. “I don’t care what the news wants. You give me the okay and I’ll let the next person know when to show up. You say no and that’ll be an end to it. Your choice.”
Carefully, Buck lifted Bobby’s phone again and looked down at the app there. His face, his food, his love of the Diaz family was all recorded and shared there. He could be angry, but he wasn’t. Chris had good intentions, and it seemed he’d helped a lot of people learn to cook vegan dishes. It was flattering, in a way.
He looked up at Eddie, who was still standing beside him. Standing suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed Eddie in full view of anyone watching. “Since everyone knows,” he said as explanation when he pulled back. Eddie did not look upset. He was just smiling, that warm and loving look Buck got so often at home. “I’m going to kiss the fuck out of you from now on and everyone is going to be so disgusted with us.”
“Swear jar,” Eddie teased, but then he instigated another kiss to show he was okay with this plan of action.
This time when they pulled away, Buck turned back to face his captain. He gave Bobby his phone back and leaned against Eddie, smiling. “You know, Cap, about the news thing? I’m gonna have to ask my manager if he’s okay with it first. This started out as a family thing, after all. So it’s gotta be approved by the big man, himself.”
Something told him Chris wouldn’t mind so long as he could be there to watch Buck cook. But even if Chris said no, Buck didn’t care. He hadn’t been cooking for fame or attention. He’d been cooking for Chris and for Eddie. Everything else was just optional ingredients.