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“Alright, everyone got their buddy with them?” Ana asks, standing at the front of the school bus and looking out over the small children chattering excitedly in their seats. There’s a chorus of, “Yes, Miss Flores.” and she smiles, nodding in approval. There are no empty seats next to any of the kids so, satisfied that everyone’s present, she pats the driver on the shoulder and takes her seat at the front.
Next to Buck.
Because, of course, this wonderful, sweet-hearted, generous man volunteered to chaperone her class’ trip to the 118 firehouse. Which, conveniently, is the station Eddie Diaz works at – something Christopher has made sure everybody is aware of, excitedly talking about how he’s been there plenty of times and knows everyone currently stationed there.
However, Buck had offered to help before he even knew where the trip was to; he’d heard Ana worrying about not having any volunteers and possibly having to cancel the trip that her students had been looking forward to for weeks, and had stepped up to offer his assistance. He’s just a genuinely good guy like that, she supposes.
His husband being there just happens to be a lucky coincidence.
The fact that today happens to be the warmest day of the year so far and Buck’s only wearing cargo shorts and a loose tank top is also a coincidence – although Ana isn’t quite sure how she feels about that one.
Buck offers her a warm smile as she takes her seat, nudging their shoulders together. “Relax. It’ll be fine.” he tells her, somehow recognising the tension in her shoulders as she quickly glances behind them, double (or tripe) checking that everyone is seated and happy.
She lets out a long breath, nodding, and allows herself to believe him. It’ll be alright. It’s a simple trip to a local firehouse, she has no need to worry.
“Yeah,” she agrees. Turning to Buck, she smiles, and resists the urge to place a hand on his arm. “Thanks…for coming with us, spending your day off and stuff.”
Buck shakes his head, lips quirked up into a half-smirk, in the way that he does when someone expresses gratitude that he doesn’t deem necessary – it’s only been a few months since Ana first met him, yet she already feels like she knows Buck better than most parents. “I was only gonna sit and binge-watch Hell’s Kitchen.”
She laughs. This man never fails to surprise her.
“Well, Gordon Ramsey is a legend.”
Buck nods, confident, clicking his tongue. “That he is.”
The bus ride isn’t long and, before she knows it, they’ve arrived outside the 118. Buck’s midway through recounting a story of a prank that Christopher and Shannon pulled on Eddie, something involving plastic wrap, doorways and a lot of cursing, when the bus pulls into stop outside the station. He chuckles lightly, promising to finish it later, and rises from the seat with her.
With a clap of her hands, Ana has the attention of the class. “Right, I want everyone on their best behaviour.” she warns them all, eyeing a few of the troublemakers with a raised brow and waiting for their agreement. “We’re representing the school on this trip and you don’t want to make a bad impression. That being said, we’re all going to get off and Captain Nash has a speech for us, and then we should be able to have a tour of the station.”
There’s a few cheers, a couple claps, and all-round an elevated anticipation buzzing in the air as, with Buck’s help, she gets the kids filtered off of the bus and lining up by the wall.
Buck guides the last few children down the steps of the bus, following them to the back of the line. Ana just faintly manages to catch him whisper, “If you’re lucky, their might be a few brownies left.” to them and fights off a smile when the two kids by his side gasp in delight. He really is good with the kids. She wonders if it’s a conflict of interest for her to suggest to the Principal that he help out on future school trips.
As planned, Captain Nash (“Please, call me Bobby.”) comes out to greet everybody with the enthusiasm of someone who lives for their job and loves every minute of it. He leads them all into the station – a wide, open plan building with light streaming in from all angles, giving the place a friendly, welcoming atmosphere – and starts explaining about the daily adventures he and his team get to experience. The children listen raptly, drinking in his words with awe-filled expressions, and Ana is hit with a flood of pride at how interested they all are, a few of them even daring to ask Bobby questions about the equipment they pass on their way upstairs.
Everyone crowds around the multiple tables they have upstairs, eagerly pushing their way to the front of the group so they can watch as Bobby begins a demonstration – with the help of a younger man, Chimney Ana thinks was his name – of one of the truck’s hoses.
Ana, herself, finds the demonstration intriguing. If it wasn’t for that constant nagging fear that something might go wrong at any minute, she’d probably lose herself completely in it. However, because she’s in charge of a handful of children in a foreign place, she can’t quite keep her focus on the two men at the front of the group and finds her gaze wandering around the station.
That’s when she spots Eddie, taking the steps two at a time, a bright grin on his face as he zones in on something to Ana’s left. She follows his line of sight and isn’t really surprised to find Buck standing there – making sure he’s at the back of the children so not to block anybody’s view. He, unlike Ana, seems to be wholly engaged in the demonstration, chuckling when Chimney pretends to get tangled up in the hose.
Attention not on his immediate surroundings, Buck doesn’t notice his husband creeping up behind him. Eddie meets Ana’s gaze, raising his index finger to his pursed lips in a silent shushing motion that has her biting back a laugh.
Crouched down to avoid being spotted prematurely, Eddie sneaks up behind Buck. It’s only when he’s an inch away that he straightens, arms snaking around his husband’s waist and stretching to nestle his face into Buck’s neck, no doubt pressing a kiss to his jaw.
Buck jolts, almost startling enough to throw him and Eddie off balance, but Eddie was prepared and catches them both, keeping them upright.
“Easy, tiger.” Eddie chuckles, voice low enough that Ana has to strain her ears to hear it.
“I could’ve punched you!” Buck exasperates, leaning back against Eddie’s chest comfortably. Eddie laughs again, dropping a sweet kiss to Buck’s bare shoulder.
“What, in front of all these innocent children? That’s not setting a good example.”
Buck twists his head to glare at his husband, the few inches he has over Eddie serving their purpose here, and scoffs. “Please, you underestimate my subtlety.”
“Oh, I never underestimate you, Buckaroo. I know all about your subtlety.” Eddie retorts, and Ana is sure that there’s an underlying meaning to his teasing. “I also know your fight or flight responses are anything but subtle.”
“You’re a menace.” Buck groans, but he’s smiling.
Eddie matches his smile, hand sliding to rest on Buck’s hip with a squeeze. “Yet you still married me.” He pulls away from Buck with that statement, smug grin on his face.
Buck raises his eyebrows, shamelessly checking his husband out. “Well, sure. What can I say? I like a man in uniform.” he shrugs, trailing a hand down Eddie’s chest, and it’s only now that Ana fully takes him in.
She really didn’t think this trip through, she realises, as her eyes glide over Eddie. Or, more suitably, Eddie in uniform. Christ…she doesn’t know how Buck can just be so casual around him when he looks like this; he’s wearing a short-sleeved shirt, the material struggling underneath his bulging muscles when he moves his arms, and equally tight-fitting trousers that leave little to the imagination.
Ana knew he was a fire-fighter – of course – and she knows what fire-fighters wear and, yet, she never quite allowed herself to consider what Eddie would look like in said uniform. It’s probably for the best, really, because nothing she pictured up on her own would’ve done the real thing justice.
As though feeling eyes on him, Eddie turns to catch Ana watching him. She blushes, mentally cursing herself for being so obvious, but decides that it would be pointless looking away now.
Luckily, Eddie is either completely oblivious to her internal struggle to remain indifferent to his appearance or simply decides not to address it. He smiles at her, open and familiar, and steps closer, opening his arms in a half-hug sort of gesture. “Ana! How’s it going?”
She smiles back, waving over the heads of children still watching Bobby and Chimney. “As well as can be expected. Thanks again, for letting us visit.”
Eddie waves her off. “It wasn’t me. Thank Bobby.” he tells her, smiling over at the captain. Then, he gestures towards the tables behind them. “There’s snacks here for after, and I’ll get juice ready soon. Orange is good, right?”
Ana nods, only now noticing the table filled with fruit and cookies and brownies. Buck hadn’t been wrong earlier, then. “Yeah, orange is perfect.”
Eddie claps his hands together. “Great!” He turns back to Buck then, “You alright helping me get the drinks ready? You don’t mind me stealing him for a bit, do you?” The latter question is directed back at her and Ana watches as Buck shrugs at Eddie, clearly not fussed either way.
She shakes her head. “No, no, you can have him.”
Eddie chuckles, thanking her with a wide grin before taking Buck by the wrist and dragging him off to the side in the direction of the small kitchen. Ana watches them go, noting how Buck seems very at home here; wasting no time in grabbing a handful of cups whilst Eddie pulls the juice from the fridge.
Ana focuses her attention back to the demonstration, laughing as Chimney tells the children about a call the team went on the other day where a lady’s cat was supposedly stuck up in a tree only for it to jump down onto his face the moment he got close.
After about ten more minutes, Bobby tells the class that they’re welcome to help themselves to refreshments – much to the children’s enthusiasm. The group splits into two, half of the kids heading straight for the snacks whilst the rest make their way towards the kitchen area, where Buck and Eddie are waiting with carefree smiles.
Ana dithers for a moment, unsure which direction to go in. Eventually, she decides that Buck and Eddie have the drinks managed pretty well between them and heads to the snack table.
“Jeremy, one brownie.” she calls out as she approaches the gathering of hungry kids, eyeing the young boy until he slumps his shoulders and returns one of the brownies to the box on the table. “Save some for everyone else.”
“Miss Flores?” a quiet voice grabs her attention and Ana looks down to find little Gemma blinking up at her. Her fiery red curls have been tied up into little bunches and Ana can’t help but think she looks adorable.
“Are you okay?” she asks, crouching down to hear her better over the tirade of chatter surrounding them. Gemma nods but then produces a shiny, red apple from behind her back with a flourish.
“Can you cut this up for me?” As if sensing Ana’s confusion before she even asks why, Gemma grins wide enough to show off the two gaps in her front teeth.
Ana gasps. “Oh, they finally fell out!”
Gemma’s grin is softer now as she nods her head vigorously. “Last night! I almost swallowed one of them with my dinner.”
“That wouldn’t have been good.” Ana smiles, straightening up and glancing towards the kitchen. She looks just in time to catch Eddie swatting Buck with a towel when he goes to steal a cup of juice, saying something to him that makes Buck burst into laughter, throwing his head back with the force of it.
Pointing over to the two men, along with the quickly diminishing queue of children wanting juice, Ana gently nudges Gemma in that direction. “If you ask Buck, I’m sure he’ll do it for you.”
Gemma’s tiny face brightens up incredibly so at the mention of Buck and Ana can’t help but relate to the young girl. With a hurried thank you called over her shoulder, Gemma rushes over towards Buck, scooting around the counter so that he sees her.
Ana watches with a soft smile as Buck takes Gemma’s apple, calling something to his husband as he goes to grab a knife. Eddie appears behind Buck, small plate in hand, which Buck takes from him after pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. Gemma must say something to them then because Eddie smiles down at her, pulling a funny face as he points at Buck and then winks when he’s pushed away by his husband.
They really are just two overgrown children.
Somebody comes up beside Ana, laughing under their breath when they notice her watching the two men. Blushing, Ana turns to her side to find a woman smiling at her. Hen, her name is, if Ana remembers correctly from Bobby’s brief introductions back when they first arrived.
“Idiots, aren’t they?” Hen smirks, cocking her head in the direction Ana had been staring.
Ana huffs out a laugh, nodding. “Are they always like that?” she asks, although she already knows the answer. She’s seen them both enough times at the school by now and not once have they not been laughing as they tease one another.
“Always.” Hen stresses. “It’s still strange,” she adds, continuing when she notices Ana’s confusion, “seeing Eddie like this. Up until a few months ago, we didn’t even realise he was married. Buck’s a-”
“Navy SEAL.” Ana interrupts, “Yeah, it was a shock for everyone at the school too.”
Hen chuckles, eyebrows rising knowingly. “Oh, I bet there were a few broken hearts, huh?”
“You could say that.” Ana smirks, trying her best to cover up the fact that she probably falls into that category.
“You wouldn’t realise it, though.” Hen continues, eyes darting between Ana and the men they’re talking about. There’s an undeniable fondness in her expression as she looks at them. “We’ve only known Buck a short time and, yet, it feels like he’s always been part of the family. It’s a shame we didn’t get to know about him sooner, although I understand why Eddie was hesitant to mention him.”
“It’s hard to believe he’s not just some stay-at-home dad, in all honesty.” Ana finds herself saying as she watches the way Buck helps Christopher pours his own juice, not noticing Eddie’s proud gaze from behind him.
Hen laughs. “I get you. He’s great with kids, obviously you know that otherwise he wouldn’t be helping you out right now. But there’s a fire behind those baby blue eyes – they’re very misleading. I think I’ve only seen a hint at it.”
“What happened?” Ana asks, trying not to come across as too curious even though she’s itching to hear about another side of Buck – the one that Eddie is always hinting about but nobody else seems to have witnessed.
Hen checks that none of the kids are too close before explaining, “We were on a night out, at a bar, and some drunk guy starts hitting on Eddie. Eddie tries to turn him down but y’know Eddie, he’s too nice sometimes. Doesn’t want to hurt the guy’s feelings, right? But the guy isn’t getting the message. At all.
He gets a little too friendly when Eddie goes to get a round of drinks and, before anybody can properly process what’s happening, Buck is there yanking this guy back by his collar and towering over him, threatening to do goodness knows what to him if he doesn’t back off right that second. The guy hightails it out of there, face white as a sheet.” Hen’s eyes are wide as she tells Ana this, and Ana can’t quite believe it. Hen shakes her head, almost in as much disbelief as Ana despite actually being there when this had happened. “I swear, I thought he was gonna punch the guy. He looked terrifying. Yet, Eddie steps up to him, cups his face, says something to him and the tension literally melted away. Back to the golden retriever we all know and love.”
“Wow…” is all Ana can manage to say, looking at Buck as he ruffles his son’s hair and trying to picture him as some tough, scary guy. She can’t.
“It’s not like he goes around beating random people up, of course.” Hen seems to feel the need to clarify, though Ana already figured as much. “I guess everybody has a limit.”
Before Ana can find her words again, Hen is clapping her on the back and turning towards the children at the table with a bright smile.
“Who wants a tour of one of the trucks?” she asks, her response nothing but excited cheers. With a laugh, Hen waves her hand and gets the kids to line up by her, leading them downstairs as she already begins to explain what happens when the alarm goes off.
Chimney shows up from wherever he’d disappeared to, gathering up the rest of the kids drinking their juice and taking them down to join Hen and the others. Bobby is already down there, opening up the door to the passenger side of the truck.
She almost goes to ask Eddie if she could possibly have a coffee – she’s missed her break, which means she’s lost out on her usual mid-morning caffeine fix – but as she turns to head towards the kitchen she pauses.
Buck is leaning against the counter, Eddie standing in front of him, his arms bracketing Buck in place. It’s funny, really, how Buck is the taller of the two and yet, in this position, it almost appears as though Buck is looking up at Eddie. There’s a warm smile on his face, visible even from this distance, and he snakes a hand up Eddie’s back until it settles by the nape of Eddie’s neck. Eddie dips his head down, kissing the junction of Buck’s jaw and prompting Buck to tilt his own head further back, fingers sliding higher until he’s playing with loose strands of Eddie’s hair.
Buck says something then, his low laugh echoing through the open space, and Eddie lifts his head to meet his husband’s eyes. Ana can’t hear what Eddie says in response, but whatever it is has Buck smiling even wider than before, fondness etched into every inch of his face. Eddie drops his head down, resting his forehead against Buck’s, their noses bumping together innocently.
Ana swallows thickly, trying not to think too much about how intimate the whole scene appears. The two men are lost in each other, completely enamoured with one another.
She decides to give them a moment alone, turning to the stairs instead. She can always ask Kati to make sure she has a coffee waiting for when she gets back to school.