Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stop me if this setting doesn’t sound familiar: the bride’s dressing room. Bet you can guess what’s going on in there. The ever-devoted bridesmaids, the mother of the bride, desperate to marry her daughter off, as she gives her her something borrowed, naturally, the bride herself, and the adorable little flower girl, who’s already dreaming of the day when it will be her turn to walk down the aisle.

And then there’s this guy. You might ask, who is this man? The guy armed with a handful of pins, ready to drop to his knees at a moment’s notice?

That, dear readers, is Evan “Buck” Buckley, resident junior wedding consultant. The “junior” is code for “Buck does all the work, while his boss takes all the credit”. He sews, he says yes to everything, he grabs coffee--if his boss wants it, he does it. But most importantly, he does everything to ensure that this day is the most magical of the bride’s life.

You naysayers may not fully buy it, but for the most part, that’s usually exactly what winds up happening.

Well, mostly, anyway.

Sure, now and again there’s gonna be the typical scenario where as the bride walks down the stairs, she trips and falls, or where you’ve got something bigger like the arch being knocked over by strong winds. Or even when as the Jewish bride and groom are doing the chair dance, the groom slides right off the chair.

Weddings, by their very nature, are like a homing beacon for disaster, so it’s Buck’s job to take care of everything that might pop up. Buck does all the worrying a bride doesn’t have time to do. He corrects, he resolves, and now and again, he pulls off a full blown act of God.

“Your turn, little lady. Don’t forget to smile.” Buck says now, as he hands the flower girl her flower petal basket, watching as she walks down the aisle.

Not too far behind her is the bride, and once she’s close enough, Buck messes with her dress for a few seconds, to make sure it’s not rumpled.

“Wow, you look...beautiful.” Buck tells her, as the bride replies, “Thank you.”, then calls out, “Dad? It’s time.”

The bride’s father holds out his arm, and the bride takes it, and together, they start walking down the aisle, into the sea of people on both sides of the church watching them walk.

Buck follows a few steps behind, then stops, watching the bride’s every move.

With over 200 weddings under his belt, it didn’t take much for Buck to realize, over the years, that there are certain guidelines every single wedding, without fail, has to follow.

For starters: this is your job, not your 15 minutes of fame. This day is all about the bride and groom, and they need to feel like they’re the ones that made it happen. And helping them do that, is what’s kept most wedding planners in business.

Chapter Text

“Hello?” Buck answers his phone, “Oh! Hello. Yes. I was calling about booking a band on November 15th, and the brides would die if they could find someone that does both heavy metal and pop.” a beat, then, “Uh huh.”, right as the phone starts to ring. “Hang on one second. Okay.”

Buck sets one phone doen, picking up the receiver, “Hello, ‘Say I Do’.”, right as a delivery guy drops off a package.

“Oh, hi, Jake.” Buck replies as he signs for the package. “Oh no, I’m so sorry you and your best man are fighting. But you know something? Your wedding’s not for a few more years. No reason things won’t work out before then.”

The delivery guy drops an envelope on the desk, as Buck keeps talking, with a laugh, “No, a backup is not necessary. I really don’t.”

Then he ends the call, “Okay, I will call back as soon as humanly possible. Alright. Thank you. Bye.”, and hangs up, picking his cell back up.

“Hi, sorry. Now where were we again?”

“Buck, I need you in here!” his boss calls from another room, which causes Buck to wince, as he tells the person on the phone, 

“Okay, scratch that. I’m gonna have to call you back. Alright. Bye.”

Then he hangs up, stashing his phone in his suit pocket, as he approaches his boss, the famous Kyler Trevino, who’s currently holding a cat in his arms.

“Yes, sir?”

“You’ll never believe what just happened!”

Busk asks hesitantly, “What?”

Kyler squeals, “We just got Kayla Hendrix’s wedding!”

Unfortunately, Buck doesn’t quite understand what the big deal is, and has to ask, “Who’s Kayla Hendrix?”

Kyler explains in a slightly strained tone, “The Ham Highness’ daughter?”

Buck shrugs, “That’s...awesome.”

Kyler snaps, “No it’s not! It’s groundbreaking! It’s going to be the highest-profile wedding in Los Angeles! Know what that means?”

Buck hesitates, “Uh….”, then tries to joke, “Sleeping at my desk and little to no pay?”

Clearly Kyler has to spell it out, “It means we’re a shoo-in for a cover story in Martha Stewart Weddings . Can you imagine the publicity this will get us?”

Now Buck is smiling, because yeah, that would be huge, for both of them.

“And you, sir, I assure you I haven’t forgotten about. If we pull this off, we just might talk a little more about that promotion I keep promising is in the works.”

Buck’s mouth drops open, “For real?”

Kyler replies, as he strokes the cat, “Completely. Evan Buckley, Senior Consultant. You own clients, personal assistant, and a very impressive raise.”

Buck can barely speak, “I-I don’t even know what to say.”

Kyler gives him a look, and says quietly, “Then don’t.”, checking his watch. “The interviewer’s gonna be here in about 15 minutes. Go get ready!”

Buck nods, “Already on it.”, then runs to do as he’s told.

“Martha Stewart Weddings is my favorite magazine.” Kyler gushes to the interviewer, “Especially when I can see my profile in it!”

Buck approaches quietly, as he brings in a tea tray, setting it on the table.

Seeing this, Kyler warns, “Watch it. That tea set is worth more than your life insurance.”

Buck hates being chastised, especially in front of company, but just bites his tongue.

“Care for a baklava? Made them myself.” Kyler offers, picking up his cat to kiss her. “Didn’t I, Gigi?”

The interviewer asks, impressed, “You run your own business and still have time to make baklava? I seriously wonder how you manage to pull it off.”

As Buck stands up, he mutters, “I don’t...”

Of course, Kyler hears him, turning his head sharply, “I’m sorry, Buck, what was that?”

Flinching, Buck tries to cover, “Sorry, K, just muttering to myself about the cake for the Harnell wedding.”

Kyler corrects him, “Why bother muttering? The bride wants marzipan instead of fondant.”

Buck tries to reason with him, “But marzipan is more expensive, and we’d be going over budget. Rolled buttercream is an awesome alternative."

The interviewer asks, curious, "Are you a consultant too?"

Kyler answers before Buck can, " Junior consultant. He does some of the planning, but it's not a Kyler Trevino wedding unless I'm the one doing the work.", as he keeps petting his fussy cat.

When Gigi looks at Buck, and hisses, Buck uses that as an excuse to say, "I'll just go back to my desk."

As Buck walks away, he hears Kyler say, “Now where was I? Oh, right. The Hendrix wedding.”

The interviewer replies, “Isn’t that a bit much, for just two people?”

Kyler answers, “No, don’t be silly. It’s one person.”

Here, he steals a look at Buck, who shoots a flabbergasted look right back at him, before Kyler continues, “My...recently single assistant is too...raw, for an event like this. So sad.”

Okay, stop right there. Buck is not raw. Far from it.

Just ask rule number two: A professional knows better than to ever let their personal life collide with their job.

Yes, Buck got dumped over a year ago. But considering his wife was a workaholic who loved her job more than she loved him, is it so wrong to say that really worked out for the best? Just because his first marriage didn’t work out, does NOT mean Buck's views on marriage have changed, even a little bit.

A hiss and yowl behind him snaps Buck out of this train of thought, and when he turns around, he sees Kyle's cat climbing the coat rack and clawing the hell out of a jacket hanging off of it.

"Gigi!" Buck exclaims, standing up to try and pull the cat off, only for Gigi to start clawing at both him and the jacket.

"Crazy…" Buck mutters, as he keeps struggling, until he finally gets the cat's claws out of the jacket, holding it away from her, with an exasperated sigh.

But that doesn't mean sometimes the job doesn't suck.

Chapter Text

First step towards Buck’s promised promotion is a meeting with the client herself, Kayla Hendrix. And it’s not like Kyler didn’t want to come. It’s just that something “came up”.

Or, for those that don't speak Kyler: He's having his portrait taken with himself and Gigi.

“Excuse me!” Buck calls to the closest person he sees, as she turns around, phone still to her ear.

“Hello there. You the protein powder rep?” she asks, and Buck quickly replies,

“Actually, no. I’m here to meet Kayla. I’m her wedding planner.”

At that, she gasps, “ You’re Buck?”, then grabs him in a hug. “Ooooh, I love you already.”

Not knowing what to do, Buck freezes, as the girl steps away, giving him the once over,

“Well aren’t you a snack? Hold still. I’ll go grab my boss for you.”

And so he waits for the Ham Heiress herself to arrive. Does she look anything like her mom?

But then, one of the women turns, and upon spotting him, she smiles and waves.

Okay, nevermind. There isn’t a resemblance that’s even close to what Buck was picturing for a Ham Highness’ daughter.

The woman walks over, holding out her hand, “So you’re Buck. Hi.”

Buck takes it, shaking it, “So nice to finally meet you.”

Pleasantries out of the way, Kayla gets right into it, “So tell me. How long have you been K’s assistant?”

Buck replies, “4 years.”

Kayla’s impressed, “Oh really? Well, that is something. I know I couldn’t work with a boss.”

That piques Buck’s curiosity enough to ask, “So what do you do, then?”

Kayla gestures around them, “I run my own photography studio. You wanna talk stress? I got that in spades.”, then laughs.

“Anywho, that’s enough about me. K said he had it on good authority that you were the details guy.”

Buck jokes, “I’ve even been tested for OCD.”

Kayla smiles, “Hey, if you got it, use it. Especially since you’re gonna be working for me, with the wedding in a month.”

Which immediately stops Buck cold. “Did you say a month?”

Kayla nods, “Uh huh. We actually had another planner, but we had...different ideas.”, then walks away to pick something up, carrying it over to him.

“This was the file from our last consultant. It has everything I do and don’t like, down to what headpieces I want the bridesmaids and flower girl to wear.”

The girl from earlier walks up, “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but someone sprained something...”, then points to the shoot.

Kayla immediately exclaims, “Oh my god, I told you that wasn’t going to work!”

Then remembering she was talking to Buck, tells him, “I gotta bounce. If there’s any questions, just call Ali.”

The girl lifts, her hand, “That’s me!”

Then Kayla waves, as she and Ali both head over to the shoot, Kayla waving, “Good luck, Buck!”

Buck starts to walk away, heavy file in his arms, right as he hears Kayla shout behind him,

“Why are you all just standing around?! Fix it!”

One highlighter. Two. Now three. Three post it colors, big and small. Three folders, three different fabrics.

Oh, and a glass of water, which Buck sips from before setting it down.

“Let’s do this.” Buck says quietly, before getting to work.

Chapter Text

After staying up all night color coding Kayla’s file, Buck finally manages to sort out one big problem, only to faceplant right into another one.

The Petrizellis. Nice couple from San Fran’s Little Italy, and today’s their wedding. But unfortunately for the bride, the groom’s contribution to the big day was that he wanted to make an entrance.

“Can you see me?” the groom calls from up above, waving down to the rest of the party.

Rule number 3: Thou shalt not let the groom upstage the bride. This is the most important day of her life, not the groom’s.

The groom jumps off the roof, a bungee cord attached to his leg, as the party below cheers.

“Looks like he’s taking a leap of faith, huh?” Buck jokes to the bride, who smiles, but it's a nervous smile.

And of course, that’s right when something goes wrong. The cord snags on something, so instead of falling closer to the ground, he’s still several feet higher, with his other leg trapped in it as well.

“Oh my god!” The bride screams, panicked.

The groom tries to assure her, “Hang on, it’s all okay! Everything’s fine!”

The bride is not convinced, “I knew this was going to happen!”

“I’ll be down before you know it!” the groom calls again, laughing.

“Don’t move, okay?!?!” the bride yells, as Buck dials 911.

“Hi, how fast can you get a fire truck to St. Peter’s?”

Eventually, the fire truck arrives, sirens blaring, with a big 118 right on the front.

Buck, in attempt to calm the groom down, is now in the room right outside where the groom is hanging, telling him, 

“Just don’t move, alright? I promise, we’ll get you down in time for the wedding.”

The groom attempts to grab the building in an attempt to stop swinging, so Buck tries again,

“Hey, listen to me, alright? It’s okay, Just try to calm down.”

“Bold words coming from the person not in danger!” the groom snaps at him.

Buck tries changing tactics, “Where’s your honeymoon?”

The groom, having managed to grab a wall, is now attempting to move himself along it, as he replies, “Uh, Brazil.”

Buck’s eyes light up, “Okay, cool. Somewhere I’ve actually been before. Here’s what I want you to do, okay? Close your eyes, and imagine you’re already there.”

The groom obediently, closes his eyes, as Buck keeps going, “Picture the beaches, the water, the drink in your hand mixed up by yours truly.”

The groom interrupts, “I don’t do mixed drinks.”

Buck rolls his eyes, “Fine, a beer. And don’t forget sunscreen. It’s hot down there. You’re doing great.”

Down below, Buck can see the truck ladder slowly rising, so Buck keeps focusing on the groom, “Just stay calm.”

Or, he should say, he starts off focusing on the groom, before he sees the firefighter that came up on the ladder, and once it stops, the firefighter takes a moment to look right at him, and Buck, for a moment, can’t think to do anything but look back.

Then the firefighter speaks, “Wild guess here: the groom got swept off his feet.”

Buck almost rolls his eyes, but finds himself laughing instead, as he watches the firefighter look at the groom, who looks like he’s patting himself down.

The firefighter points, “What the heck is he doing?”

Buck smiles sheepishly, “Putting on sunscreen. What else?”

The look on the firefighter’s face is clearly demanding an answer, so Buck gives it,

“I told him to picture his honeymoon to calm him down.”

As the firefighter starts using his equipment, he asks, “Where exactly is this honeymoon?”

“Brazil.”

“Brazil? Nice.” the firefighter replies, “Ever been?”

Buck answers, “Yeah, I have. Always been meaning to go back, though. Still on the list.”

The firefighter looks at him, “There’s a list?”

Buck offers, “List of places I want to go. Last time was just for a job. Next time I’m gonna do whatever I want.”

As the firefighter keeps working, he notes, “People actually do that? Make lists for stuff like that?”

Buck laughs, “You kidding? I have a list for just about everything. Helps to declutter my brain.”

The firefighter smiles at him, and holy cow, is it beautiful. “Aw, that’s no fun.”

But before they can keep talking, the groom yells, having lost his grip on the side of the church, and there’s a collective gasp from down below.

“I’m gonna die!” the groom screams, and the firefighter's quick to tell him,

“No, no you’re not. Not today. Just hang on.”

Somehow, the firefighter manages to grab him by holding him with both arms, telling him, “I got you. Just calm down. There we go.”

Once they’re all sure he’s safe, the party below starts clapping.

The firefighter clips his harness onto the groom’s, stealing a glance in Buck’s direction, nodding his thanks.

Buck smiles back, as he watches the firefighter tell the groom, “Bet you won’t try this again, will you?”, as he slowly lowers them both down.

“Nice job, Eddie.” Albert tells him, patting his shoulder, “You know I would’ve gone up myself, but you know me.”, then grabs his stomach. “Big lunch.”

Eddie rolls his eyes, “Uh huh. Sure. You keep telling yourself that.”, as he finally takes his hat off, walking towards the church, calling back, “Last one in, first one out, Al!”

Then once he reaches the stairs, he heads straight for the guy he was talking to earlier, greeting, “Hi!”

The guy turns around, smiling, “Oh, hi!”, then says quickly, “Thanks so much.”

Eddie shakes his head, “Oh not at all. Thank you. You were awesome up there.”

Buck scoffs, “Please. I was just doing my job.” then holds out a hand. “Evan Buckley. The wedding planner. Call me Buck.”

Eddie takes it, “Eddie. The firefighter.”

Right then, the bride and groom start walking inside, so Buck has to tell Eddie, “I’m sorry, looks like I gotta get going. My job and all.”

Eddie nods in understanding, “Yeah me too. Firefighter’s job is never done and all.”

That should be it, but for some reason, neither of them move.

“So...” Buck says finally, shuffling his feet some before he just says lamely, "See you later?"

Eddie smiles, "Yeah, that's what I'm hoping."

Buck waves, "Bye.", then heads inside, stepping off of the rose petals right as Eddie does the same.

"See you later, Buck."

Chapter Text

Buck somehow finds his way to his friends’ house, and of course they waste no time butting into his life, not that he asked them to.

“By the way, I bumped into one of Taylor’s friends.” Corey says, as she cuts up a cucumber. “We were just talking about how horrible it was that you two didn’t make it.”

Buck just focuses on arranging flowers in a vase, but says nothing.

“She still cares about you, you know.” She pushes, which is enough to get Buck to quip back,

“Too bad her friend doesn’t, huh?”

“Buck, it’s still not too late to rethink this whole thing.” She follows up with, and Buck’s not having it.

“Corey, come on! The papers are signed and everything!”

“You could be having second thoughts, couldn’t you?” She says hopefully, as she walks towards the sink. “Marriage isn’t just some party that never ends. It takes time and effort to keep the machine up and running.”

Here, she turns to her wife, “Isn’t that right, babe?”, and Patty just looks at her and says, “Yep, that’s right.”, then turns back to the stove.

Buck looks at this whole exchange oddly, but doesn't comment, as Corey comes back towards him.

“I just don’t get what happened. You two looked so perfect together.”

Buck looks down at the flowers, shrugging, “We just...weren’t good together.”

“So you get marriage counseling, not a divorce. It’s marriage. You can’t just look at it and say, ‘You know what? I changed my mind. This isn’t working for me anymore.’” Corey reminds her, as she goes back to the sink again, continuing her little lecture.

The real question you’re probably asking yourselves here is, “Why exactly is Buck’s friend Corey so adamant on him getting back with a woman so full of herself?”

Well, that answer is pretty simple: she doesn’t know. Buck was too embarrassed to tell her that what happened, after subjecting her to all his past relationships where he'd spend at the minimum a month lamenting over what went wrong.

Just look at Corey for Christ sake: she’s the perfect wife. Can you imagine disappointing someone like that? Buck sure as hell can’t, and he doesn’t plan to.

“Look, Buck, I just want you to be happy.” Corey says at the end, so Buck says quickly,

“I know you do, Core, but I don’t need someone in my life to be happy.”

“Just think about giving Taylor another chance, okay?” Corey says, right as there’s a knock on the door.

“Hello? Someone here?” comes a voice Buck’s all too familiar with, and Buck’s immediately on defense.

“Tell me you didn’t.”

“You’re gonna thank me for this one day.” Corey says firmly, then turns around to the redhead. “Hey, Taylor!”, then hugs her.

Buck doesn’t make one move towards them as they all greet each other, until Corey points out, “Oh Buck, look! She brought cake pops!”

Taylor smiles as she walks over to him, “Your favorite, right?”

Buck scoffs, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Taylor pushes, “No, I’m pretty sure they are.”

Buck digs his heels in, “You’re wrong. Completely.”

Taylor won’t let it go, “No one shoves those things in their mouth faster than you.”, then turns to Corey, “Am I right?”, as they both laugh.

Fine. That’s how it’s gonna be? Buck’s gonna keep it in reality.

“Do you also have the divorce papers? You were supposed to sign those a few weeks ago.”

There’s a twinge of satisfaction as he watches the smile fall off of Taylor’s face, before he says,

“Look, can we just talk outside? Please?”

Taylor nods. “Yeah! Course.”, then gestures for him to lead the way.

The second they’re outside and the door is closed so she can’t hear them, Buck crosses his arms, demanding,

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Taylor acts nonchalant, “Corey invited me.”, but when she sees he’s not buying it, she drops the act.

“Fine. You want the truth?”

Buck can’t resist joking, “Like that’s not what I’ve wanted the whole time?”, snickering.

Taylor tells him honestly, “Look, those divorce papers really freaked me out. It just hit me that signing them would make this thing...permanent.”

Buck’s not buying that either, “I don’t think you can really unring that bell after you said you loved your career more than you did me.”

Taylor waves a hand to shush him, “Would you keep it down? Corey is literally right there.”

Buck shakes his head, but obliges, then asks again, “Taylor, what the hell do you want?”

Taylor begs, “Just give me some more time!”

“Why?” Buck’s not being a dick here, he really wants to know. “Why should I give the woman that broke my heart another chance? My mind is already made up, and I don’t want to change it.”

Taylor growls, “I know, I know. I just need...time. To get used to it. You feel me? We were so good together, Buck.”

Buck snorts, “Yeah, back when I was Buck 1.0, along with young and stupid.”

Taylor tries to tease, “Hey, come on, we both know that’s not true.”

Buck’s in no mood to play this game, “Yes it was.”

“Not possible, Buck. No one knows you like I do.”

And of course that’s right when Corey comes outside, holding a bottle, and asking,

“Hey, Taylor, care to help me open this bottle of wine?”

Taylor jumps on it, “Yeah, sure!”, and as she walks past Buck, whispers,

“Thanks so much for understanding.”

Buck, for his part, just watches her go, shaking his head in disbelief.

Chapter Text

Still later the same day, Buck’s at a club with his sister Maddie as they grab their drinks from the bar, walking through the crowd.

“Now tell me.” Maddie says suddenly. “When are you gonna let me fix you up?”

If it were anyone else asking, Buck would’ve rolled his eyes. As it is, he just whines,

“Why do people with a partner and kids always have to drag the singles into it?”

Maddie shrugs, “Misery loves company. Isn’t that how the saying goes?”

Now Buck does roll his eyes, “Nice try.”

As they take a seat, Maddie starts going full force, “What about Dirk? He is cute, and into guys.”

Buck gives an incredulous look, “He’s a pill popper.”

At that, Maddie backtracks, “Okay, maybe not then.”, then after a cursory glance, points, “What about her?”

Buck turns around to look, then says, flabbergasted, “She’s definitely a lesbian.”

Frustrated, Maddie takes a sip of wine, “Well who meets their soulmate in a club anyway?”, then moves on, “Have you tried dating apps?”

Buck laughs, “Oh stop. I’m not even looking to meet someone! Complete wrench in the plan, remember?”

It appears she doesn’t, once she asks, “Plan? What plan?”

Buck sighs, “The only thing I can afford to take up all of my time and energy is getting that promotion.”

Maddie’s not buying it, “Oh don’t even go there. You’re just saying that so you don’t have to go looking.”

“No it’s not!” Buck immediately defends, then throws a curveball of his own, “And I’ll have you know, I actually did meet someone. At the wedding.”

He knows he shocked her by how she immediately asks, “Uh, hello! Dish. Now.”

Buck replies simply, “He’s a firefighter.”

Maddie gushes, “Oooooh, not too far off from paramedic. That’s gotta be a sign.”

Buck reminisces before he can stop himself, “Yeah, the uniform definitely did not look out of place on this guy.”

Maddie squints, “He was a player, wasn’t he?”

Buck shakes his head, “Surprisingly, no. He was nice, and hilarious. And he has this smile that looked like it could light up a whole room.”

Maddie agrees, “Sounds incredible.”

“I know! He’s exactly the kind of guy I’ve been looking for.”

Maddie turns the tables, “You mean if you were looking for someone.”

Buck sighs again, “I know, I know.”, but before he can say anything else, his phone goes off, and when he checks the caller ID, his heart sinks.

“Joy, joy, joy.”

Maddie guesses, “Taylor?”

Buck denies, “Worse, if that’s possible. Jake the Groomzilla.”, then stands up. “Back in a flash.”

Maddie calls out, “Good luck!”, right as Buck answers the phone.

“Hello?” A beat, then,“Nononononono, you’re not supposed to send out your save-the-dates this week.”

Just as he finishes saying, “I told you before, your wedding’s not for a few more years.”, he bumps into someone, who’s nice enough to hold up his hands so they don’t bump into each other again, and apologize, “Sorry, sorry. My fault.”

And when Buck looks up, he’s pleasantly surprised to see who it is.

“Eddie! Hi!” Buck greets him, as Eddie replies, “Oh, that’s right. Buck, right?”

Once Buck nods in confirmation, Eddie admits, “Can I be honest here? I’ve been thinking about you a lot.”

Buck replies with a smile, “Oh have you?”

Eddie nods, “Yeah, that whole thing you said about lists? That really got to me.”

Now Buck’s a little embarrassed, as he chuckles, “You actually remembered that?” Wait, what about it?”

Eddie recalls, “You know how you said you have a list for everything?”, and when Buck nods, Eddie continues, “Betting you got one for all the things you’re looking for in a person, don’t you?”

Okay, Buck can admit as much. “Actually, I do. And you know something?”

Once he’s got Eddie’s attention, Buck admits, “That’s a veeeeeerry long list.”

Eddie’s got a big enough sense of humor to where he can laugh at that, “Oh I have no doubt. But do you think there’s a tall, dark, charming-on-a-good-day, takes-himself-too-seriously firefighter on that list?”

“Sweetheart! Where’s my drink?” comes a call out of nowhere, and a familiar woman walks up to them, and once he sees who it is, he has no idea what to make of it.

“Kayla?” Buck guesses, and when she looks back, it’s clear she can’t believe it either. 

“Burt? Hi!”

To make it even more confusing, Eddie’s the one that corrects her, “It’s Buck.”, and she quickly backpedals, “Oh, right. My bad.”

Buck tries to smile it off, but truthfully he’s getting more uncomfortable by the second.

So when Kayla asks, “How do you two know each other?”, Buck’s too quick to let Eddie off the hook, “Just today, actually.”

Eddie agrees, “Yep, it’s true.”, right as Kayla wraps an arm around Eddie, leaving a hand on his shoulder. “Well isn’t that great?”

There’s a lot you can say about this whole situation, but great would decidedly not be one of them, so Buck says quickly, “You know what? I’m just gonna get back to my sister.”, eager to put as much distance as he can between them.

But Eddie’s either dense or purposely not reading the room, as he invites, “Come join us!”

And wouldn’t you know it, Kayla’s the one that objects, “Aw, you said you’d dance with me! Come on.”

Buck takes the escape route for what it is, as he jumps on it, “It’s fine. Nice seeing you two.”, and starts to walk away, as he hears Eddie call beyond him,

“You too!”

He finds Maddie in no time, who demands the second she sees him, “Where the hell did you disappear to?”

Buck completely ignores this, as he says, “You will never believe what just happened to me.”

Hearing Buck’s tone, Maddie asks, “What? What is it?”

“Remember the firefighter I said was everything I was looking for?” Buck asks, and when she nods, Buck confesses, only slightly whining,

“He’s engaged to everything I hate about being a wedding planner.”

He gestures to the dance floor, where they can both see Eddie dancing with Kayla.

After a moment, Buck turns to Maddie, “Can we just leave?”, and thankfully, Maddie knows better than to push her luck after that revelation.
“Yeah, of course. Let’s go.”

As they leave the club, all that’s on Buck’s mind is one ugly, bitter thought,

First spark I have in a long time, and it gets put out by an actual firefighter. What’re the odds?

Chapter Text

Buck pulls out his files, rifling through them until he sees the one he’s looking for.

He flips open the file, going through the pictures and papers, until finally there it is. 

Edmundo Diaz. Right away, Buck understood why he preferred to be called Eddie, with a mouthful of a name like that. Edmundo is way too serious for the good looking firefighter Buck had met. 

Not that any of that matters anyway. You guessed it, it’s rule number 4. The groom is off limits.

Gigi, who’s sitting right next to him, starts to growl at him, so quickly, Buck shoves it off his desk.

The next day, as they walk into Vivienne Atelier, Kayla’s already barking orders.

“Call Pierre. See if we can fly him in to do my makeup. And get a plane ticket for his Yorkie too.”

You’d think she’d let up once they’re inside, but Kayla has to throw in one more thing,

“Oh, and get me a session over at Global Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.”

Buck just listens to it all, as he follows the bride towards her booked fitting room.

Rule number 5. Beware the Bridezilla. The Bridezilla is convinced that because it’s supposed to be her special day, that means the world will just naturally bend to her whims on anything she wants. 

Exhibit A: Kayla.

As Ali gets on the phone to call Kayla’s makeup artist, Kayla comes out in the first dress of the fitting.

Buck is thrilled. “You look incredible.”

The consultant agrees, “You look like a princess.”

Kayla, sadly, does not share their sentiment, “A princess cake topper, maybe. The skirt makes me feel like I’m buried alive in it.”

Ali agrees, “Oui. Muy terrible.”

Kayla quickly moves back to the dressing room, “Next!”, as Buck goes through his planner.

But not before Ali taps him on the shoulder to inform him, “That wasn’t anything personal. She pays me to be her yeswoman, not her harshest critic.”

Buck whispers back, “Believe you me, I got this covered.”

Ali goes on, “Kid, the only time I ever hear the word partner is when she’s getting me to call a law firm.”

Then she hands him a cup of coffee, and they both sit on the couch, watching as Kayla comes out in the next dress, standing on the small pedestal, checking herself out in the mirror.

Kayla’s disgust doesn’t hesitate to rear its ugly head, “Too Kate Middleton!”

Buck can't resist joking, "Before or after Brexit?"

Kayla snaps at the consultant, “This is crap! We gotta keep going.”, then goes back into the fitting room.

As the day goes on, Ali pulls out a magazine to pass the time, as Kayla comes out in dress number 3.

“Super modern, and very sexy!” the consultant encourages, as she follows Kayla out.

Kayla twirls it around, but Buck says nothing, knowing better, and Kayla doesn’t even bother insulting it, just says, “Nope.”, and walks away.

So much time passes to where Buck actually starts calling his other clients, just to give himself something to do, until yet again, Kayla’s coming out in another dress.

This might be the most promising one so far, because she even puts on a veil to see how it will look, and Buck even starts to smile.

But just as quick as it’s on, Kayla takes it right back off, “No.”, and walking back to the fitting room.

Ali grabs the veil for herself, and starts messing around with it, making Buck laugh, right before Kayla comes back out.

Rule number 6. Although to be honest, it’s more of an addendum to rule number 5 than a separate rule altogether.

The only thing that tops a Bridezilla is the bride that can’t make up her mind.

As Kayla twirls around in yet another dress, it’s apparent why.

“No no no!” She pouts, as she goes to try another one on.

This one gets pretty much the same reaction as soon as she sees it in the mirror.

“It’s just not right!”

The rest of the day passes by in a blur, with Kayla spouting no after no, until finally she doesn’t even bother looking in the mirror, pissed.

It’s gotten to where Ali’s even giving Buck a massage to calm him down, so he doesn’t blow a fuse.

But that stops abruptly when Ali gasps, as she sees Kayla come out.

“Oh. My. God! That’s it! That’s the one!”

Buck opens his mouth, but the consultant speaks over him, “Absolutely stunning!”

Kayla, however, asks him directly, “Buck? Whaddaya say?”

Buck has to be honest, at least to himself. He can’t stand it. Not because there’s anything wrong with the dress, or how it looks on Kayla. Nothing like that.

It’s because it’s almost a dead ringer for the dress Taylor wore on their wedding day. Just thinking about it makes Buck want to yell at someone.

But he is a professional, first and foremost. So instead of yelling, he does the only thing he can do that won’t get him fired.

He lies through his teeth.

“It doesn’t come close to bringing out your natural beauty.”

And that comment has Kayla looking in the mirror, with the consultant glaring at him, and Ali pinching her nose.

Finally, Kayla throws up her hands in defeat. “That’s it. We’re going custom.”

Buck just shrugs, fake smile still plastered on.

Chapter Text

After a disgusting day with Kayla, Buck’s managed to cheer himself up with the promise of a surprise Maddie had hinted at.

Which lasts about all of 5 seconds once he realizes why.

“You had me rent a tux for a fireman’s ball ???”

Maddie chides him, with Chim hanging on her other arm, “Would you have come if I told you?”

Buck sighs exasperatedly, “Of course not! Eddie’s engaged!”

Maddie rolls her eyes, “So, if he’s anything like the firefighters Chim has to work with, there’s got to be more just like him, right?”

They keep walking, Buck trying to dissuade Maddie, “I don’t want to see him, okay?”

But Maddie’s not about to let her brother back out now, “And you won’t! With everyone here, you won’t even notice him!”

“What a coincidence!”

“Maddie?”

“Eddie?”

Buck takes a long gulp of wine from his glass, watching as Eddie, the guy who is sitting next to him and decidedly NOT unnoticable, recognizes Maddie, because he apparently works with Chim on the 118, and gives her a hug before sitting back down, then turning to Buck.

“So did you bring a date?”

Buck carefully sits his glass down, then gives Eddie a look of strained patience as he says,

“No I did not.”

Eddie doesn’t appear to catch on, just nods, “Me neither.”, then points out, “I love the flower on your tux. A tulip. It’s nice.”

Okay, so he’s being nice, and Buck knows he should be nice back, so he smiles, then replies, “Thanks. I don’t typically think about flowers too much outside of work, but I’ve always liked tulips.”

Eddie replies back, intrigued, “Duly noted.”

"Young man, tell me something. How do you know Edmumdo here?" the woman on Buck’s other side asks, making him turn around.

Buck turns to her, "Oh, uh, at a wedding."

Eddie adds, "Buck here is a wedding planner."

Which prompts her to ask, “And what exactly does that mean?”

At that, Buck tries to wave it off, “Oh, god. I don’t think you wanna hear all the boring details of all that.”

Eddie pipes up, “Oh trust me, you won’t. Tell them about Mr. Petrizelli.”

Buck lifts his eyebrows, “The Spiderman wannabe?”, to which Eddie nods, then starts for him,

“Groom thought his wedding day was the perfect day to go bungee jumping off the roof of the church.”Buck laughs, despite himself, “And the bride wholeheartedly disagreed.”

Eddie reminds him, “She slapped him. Hard.”, and Buck agrees, “She threatened to call the whole wedding off. Until I told her she’d have to give every wedding gift back.”

The two laugh at that, but the woman’s response is only to note, “That sounds exhausting.”

Buck scoffs, “Oh come on. Compared to risking your lives to save everyone else’s? What do I have to complain about?”

But Eddie doesn’t appear to agree, “Well, if you didn’t put in the work to make those days special, there wouldn’t be anything worth saving, would there?”

Buck chuckles, and Chim finally speaks up, “Hear hear!”, and raises his glass in a toast.

Everyone else raises theirs as well, and it’s toasts all around for a moment or two, before Buck and Eddie share the last one, staring at each other as they take a sip.

Unfreakingbelievable. His ex wife was literally embarrassed to tell people what Buck does for a living, and even when she did, it was to make it the butt of a joke, and now he’s sitting right next to a guy that not only likes his job, but really does understand why he loves doing it.

Just one itsy bitsy problem staring him right in the face--he’s engaged to someone else!

“He likes you!” Maddoe exclaims when they’re walking over to the dance floor..

“No he doesn’t!” Buck tries to deny, “All it is is GPS--Groom Panic Syndrome.”, and upon Maddie’s blank look, he adds, “The reality of being married to someone else for the rest of his life is scaring the crap out of him. He’d go for anyone who’d so much as blink in his direction right now.”

Maddie scoffs, “You have got to give yourself more credit than that.”, then looks over, “Uh oh. I better go save Chim from the probies.”

Buck laughs, “Be my guest.”, and almost the second she’s gone, an arm wraps around Buck’s shoulders and drags him to the dance floor.

“And here. We. Go!”

Buck’s turned around, only to find himself looking right at someone he doesn’t recognize, and she’s not only sweaty, but her neckline appears to be drooping, to where she’s very close to having a nip slip.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She doesn’t reply, instead keeps trying to get Buck to dance with her, and when she doesn’t, she pretends to pout,

“What, my dancing too pedestrian for you?”

Buck backs away, trying to be polite as he can, “No, but I’m not really up for a dance. But thank you.”

The girl blows raspberries, “Aw, come on! I’m on a roll over here!”

But then, like a knight in shining armor, comes the man of the hour himself, grabbing her by the arm, and telling her, “Hey, Soph. I think you should be heading home, alright, hermanita?”

In response, Soph, as he’d called her, turns to point a finger in his chest, whining, “Oh stop with the chivalrous big brother routine. I’m working!”, right as she falls right into Eddie’s chest.

Eddie pointedly pushes her away from Buck, “Then how about the designated driver routine?”

She makes a big show of stomping her feet, and pouting again, but just says, “Fiiiiiine. They cut me off anyway.”, then stumbles away, calling behind her, “Ciao!”

Eddie hisses apologetically, “Sorry about that.”

Buck’s still shaking his head, “That’s your sister?”

Eddie defends her, “She’s actually really nice, she just kind of...loses it now and again. And right now, she’s under enough stress to drown an elephant.”

But when someone almost bumps into them, Eddie offers, “How about we dance together, so we don’t get plowed?”

He’s got about a million reasons why he should say no, but with Eddie’s smile focused on him, and them surrounded by people on the dance floor, he finds himself smiling back and offering a hand,

“Sure, what the heck.”

They settle into a rhythm that’s not quite a slow dance, but not fast either, as Eddie manages to spin him around.

“Not bad.” Buck admits, chuckling. 

“Thanks.” Eddie replies, still smiling. “My mom taught me a few tricks here and there.”

Buck listens as Eddie goes on, “She told me that one of the things people judge you on is how well you dance. Course, she might’ve just said that to scare my ex wife away.”

Buck says easily, “Your mom sounds like a smart woman.”

But maybe that was the wrong thing to say, as Eddie visibly flinches, before shaking his head, “She used to be. But I wouldn’t know. I haven’t talked to her in years.”

Ouch. Buck tries to apologize, “Oh, Eddie, I’m--”

“Don’t. It’s okay.” Eddie cuts him off, rubbing his back. “You didn’t know. And it kind of explains why me and Sophia are so different. Since I was the youngest, both parents had expectations for me that they didn’t for her. So she was kind of left to fend for herself in the relationship department.”

Here, Eddie jokes, “Well, actually, so was I.”

Buck laughs with him, “Well, we’re human beings. It’s always complicated.”

Eddie doesn’t reply, instead just chooses to pull him close and focus on dancing.

In fact, Buck ends up so close to him, he almost wants to bury his face in Eddie’s shoulder, and he could be wrong, but it looks like Eddie wants him to too. 

As the dance keeps going, Buck lets himself get lost in it for a moment; the music, the smell of Eddie’s cologne, the way his hands feel on his back, the way his own tighten on Eddie’s shoulders.

And then, just as quickly, the song ends with Eddie dipping him down, and upon pulling him back up, Buck finally manages to put two hands on Eddie’s chest, holding him at a distance.

“I’m gonna go.” Buck says, and he only catches a glimpse of the look of confusion on Eddie’s face as he turns to walk away.

“Wait!” Buck hears behind him. “What if I need to talk to you about the wedding?”

Buck turns back, says curtly, “Kayla’s got me on speed dial.”, then whips back around and keeps walking away.

Or at least he tries to, before a hand on his shoulder stops him, and Eddie says,

“Or we can skip the game of telephone and I can just ask you to lunch here and now. Whaddaya say?”

That has bad idea all over it, and he knows it, so Buck just says, “No can do. Big wedding. Carondelet House.”

Eddie, however, isn’t taking no for an answer. “Great. See you there.”

That gets Buck to stop, “You’re relentless.”

Eddie says back, “Yes I am.”

Buck wisely decides to not say anything else,  and just walks away, a very freaked out look on his face.

Wrong isn’t even close to the right word to describe what’s going on here.

Chapter Text

After a night of confusion and temptation, Buck is more than happy for an excuse to throw himself into work the next day, as he tells the other workers where everything goes.

Sadly, that came with a string attached, and in this case, that string is babysitting Kyler’s cat, Gigi.

But he refuses to let this deter him, so to make sure everything goes where it’s supposed to, he remembers his routine, walking around the venue with the fluffy cat in his arms as he checks things off one by one.

Justice of the peace--check. He’s standing close to where they’re setting up the pop up gazebo.

String quartet--check. They’re warming up and tuning their strings.

Now he moves inside, to where the tables are all set and decorated.

Flowers--check. Every table has the same arrangement as a centerpiece.

But right as he finishes checking that off his list, his phone goes off, so without thinking, he sets the cat down, orders, “Gigi, don’t move.”, and answers the call after the third ring.

“Go for Buck.” a beat, then, “Jake, buying a tux now is just begging for someone to call you an old man by the time you make it to the altar.”

Buck makes his way through the dining area, phone to his ear as he watches one of the servers pour champagne into just a few of the hundreds of glasses on the table.

His call waiting goes off, so Buck says quickly, “Jake, hold that thought.”, and clicks over, putting it on speaker. “H-hello?”

“ Buck. The boutonnieres for the groomsmen are missing. ”

Buck, ever vigilant, already has the answer, “Right by the guestbook. They’re there specifically so they don’t get lost.”, then clicks over again, “Jake, I really need to hang up. Hold out for that Armani sale I mentioned last time we talked.”

As he walks into the lobby, he says a quick, “Alright, talk to you soon.”, and hangs up, which is right when he hears a scream.

In an instant, he rushes into the bridal suite, demanding, “What’s wrong?”

The teary eyed bride gestures at herself, “My dress is a disaster!”, and turns around, showing off the torn sash.

Buck gasps, “What the hell happened?”

The bride snaps, pointing, “The stupid cat thought it was a toy and clawed at it!”

Oh shit. Buck dashes over to where the cat in question is now playing with the veil, saying sternly, “Gigi!”, and getting even more frustrated when in response, she jumps out of the chair and takes off.

Buck rushes back to the doorway, telling the bride, “Don’t move. I’ll fix it!” and dashing back out.

Only to bump right into someone tall and muscular, forcing him to spout apologies,

“Oh god, I’m sorry!”

But when he gets a look, of course it’s Eddie to the rescue again, holding up his hands to stop him as he asks, “Hey, where’s the fire?”

Buck jokes without thinking, “Isn’t that a little ironic?”, then points, “I’m currently trying to catch that cat.”

Eddie looks over, and replies, “Consider it done.”, walking over to where the cat is clawing at a piece of the torn sash, with Buck following behind closely.

“Gigi, stop!” Buck tries commanding, chasing her into one of the reception rooms as she climbs up on the table.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, she walks right into the champagne tower at the end of the table, shocking both Buck and Eddie for a second.

Eddie recovers first, grabbing Buck’s hand and pulling him towards the main reception area, where they just manage to see Gigi disappear under a tablecloth.

Eddie points, “There! Did you see her?”, then pulls him over to the table. “You go one way, I'll go the other.”, then lets go, crouching down.

 They both lift the tablecloth at the same, revealing Gigi, still clawing at the torn sash.

But when she sees she’s been caught, the puffy furball growls at them, then tries to swat at them, hissing.

Immediately, they drop the tablecloth, and Eddie asks from over the tabletop,

“Is this really your cat?”

Buck whispers, nervous about making the cat more angry, “It’s my boss’, actually.”

Eddie’s eyes go wide, “Has your boss never heard of animal tranquilizers?”

Buck laughs, “Why bother, when he can sneak her some of his?”

They both kneel down again, but when they lift the tablecloth this time, they’re met with disappointment.

“She’s gone!” Buck exclaims, but a noise behind them makes him turn around, and sure enough, there’s Gigi.

“Got her.” Eddie says behind him, pointing. “Same as before. You go one, I’ll go the other.”

But as they approach, another server comes in, and Eddie stops him, “Stop! Stop.”, then says to Buck, “I just thought of something.”

Eddie grabs the small spoon on the tray, scooping up some of the raw tuna tartare, and walking slowly towards the table Gigi is sitting on with the torn sash.

“Here, kitty kitty kitty.” Eddie tries to say in a calming voice, as he moves closer.

“Gigi.” Buck corrects him, as he too moves closer slowly.

Eddie looks at him, incredulous, “Gigi?”, and Buck only replies, “Yeah, that’s her name. Don’t ask me why.”

As they reach the table, Eddie holds up the tartare, “Here, Gigi, want some fishy?”, and thankfully, the cat does lift its head to sniff the spoon, and when she starts licking at it, Eddie makes a grab for the torn sash, tossing it to Buck behind him, then grabbing the cat by the waist.

The second Buck has it in hand, he says, “Thank you!”, but Eddie shakes his head,

“No no, thank you. Our cat rescues are always ones stuck in trees. Never one on solid ground.”

Buck chuckles, then says, “Okay, now if you don’t mind, I gotta work my wedding magic.”, holding up the torn sash, and walking away.

The bride is a vision in white as her father walks her down the aisle, the torn sash gone and replaced with one made out of extra flowers to sew over the hole.

It could be the wedding talking, but it looks stunning as the string quartet plays, and when the bride approaches her place next to the other bride, Buck and Eddie smile, then look over at Gigi, who they’ve managed to keep occupied by taking a newly steamed tablecloth, and letting her sleep on it.

“Nice job.” Eddie whispers to Buck, who smiles back, “Thanks.”

“I could be wrong, but I think we make a really good team.” Eddie goes on, wrapping an arm around Buck’s shoulders to pull him closer.

Buck allows himself to smile for just one more second, before he looks right at Eddie, and says, “You know something? I’m starting to think us meeting like this is getting really close to becoming borderline taboo.”

Eddie nods, “You know something? I agree with you.”

Buck blinks, not expecting that, “Really?”

Eddie goes on, “Completely. We should be meeting over dinner, not the latest wedding fiasco.”

Buck shakes his head, “You know that’s not what I meant.”

That seems to stop him for a second, “Oh. I see. Well, why don’t we anyway?”

Buck stands his ground, “Nuh uh. From here on out, only wedding related subjects, got it?”

Again, Eddie looks thrown for a second, before he recovers, “Okay. We’ll do it your way.”

Buck turns back to the wedding, “Good.”

But of course that’s not the end of it, as Eddie says next, “So Kayla told me you haven’t booked the reception yet.”

Buck shakes his head, “Nope.”

Eddie goes on, “Well, I happen to know somewhere really good we might book it.”

At that Buck looks at him, flabbergasted. Did he really just…?

“Aw, come on! You said wedding related! What’s more so than a potential reception?”

Buck knows just how bad of an idea that really is, but just to appease Eddie, he doesn’t even look up as he concedes, “I’ll think about it.”

Chapter Text

“Okay, when you said really good, I had no idea you were gonna have me work for it.” Buck quips, as they walk along the bridge.

Eddie laughs, “Oh quit your whining. We’re nearly there.”, then stops suddenly, looking at the view from the bridge.

Buck can’t lie, the views are something else, rivaled only by the crazy design of the bridge itself. “Wow.”

“I love coming here. I come all the time just to get away from it all, you know?”

Buck notes, with a laugh, “My idea of getting away from it all is heading to the gym.”

Eddie appears intrigued, “Interesting. So what does Buck do for fun?”

Buck shrugs as he walks alongside Eddie across the bridge, “Keeping my apartment clean is something.”

Eddie laughs again, but doesn’t comment.

Somehow they end up walking further downtown, with Eddie talking and Buck taking in the view.

“Where are we going again?” Buck asks.

“Just wait and see. You gotta relax. I’m not a murderer running a con as a firefighter.”

Buck laughs, despite himself, “Which is exactly the thing a murderer running a con as a firefighter would say.”

But before either of them can say anything else, a phone starts going off.

Immediately, Buck stops smiling, looking away.

But Eddie doesn’t seem to take the hint, as he prompts, “Your phone’s trying to get your attention.”

Buck rolls his eyes, “I’m a neat freak, not deaf.”

Eddie teases, “You know, the LAPD takes disturbing the peace very seriously.”

With an exasperated sigh, he reaches into his pocket, “It’s not my phone. It’s my voicemail.”

Then he takes it out, holding it up to his ear.

“ Hey, Buck. Someone named Jake appeared at the reception looking for you. ”

Oh shit. He knew he’d forgotten something. Quickly, he redials the number, and once someone picks up, he says quickly,

“Hey, it’s me. Just tell him to have some hors d'oeuvres, or some cake, and I’ll call him once I get the chance.” a beat, then, “Okay, bye.”

Once Buck hangs up, Eddie notes, “Never a moment to breathe, huh?”

Buck shakes his head, “Not one. And I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Eddie takes a few more steps, then stops, looking to his left. “We’re here.”

Buck follows his gaze, and immediately understands why Eddie brought him here.

“The Santa Monica Pier? Are you sure?”

“You’ll have to trust me on this one.”

Oh sure. No problem. Trust the guy who’s engaged to the woman Buck’s planning the wedding for.

Whatever he does, he can not let on Eddie’s got him rattled. Just smile and nod. Smile. And nod.

Once their feet touch the boardwalk, Eddie explains, “We came here all the time when we first came to LA. Seems like the perfect place for a reception to me.”

Buck can at the very least be truthful about his skepticism, “Yeah, it’s...great. If it’s a pretend wedding for a little kid. Not exactly what Kayla was picturing, either.”

Here, Buck stops among all the noise and boardwalkers, “And we’re renting tents and caterers too. Where are we gonna put all of them? Not to mention how are we gonna cover the cost for ride maintenance, if we rent the park too? Wedding this big is practically begging for someone to get hurt.”

Eddie, while discouraged, doesn’t look it, as he takes another look around.

“So it’s a bad idea?”

Buck quickly disagrees, “I didn’t say that. I think your heart’s in the right place.”

Encouraged, Eddie says, “Well right now, my heart’s telling me we should go on the ferris wheel before heading back. Whaddaya say?”

Buck stares at him open mouthed, no idea what he’s supposed to say to that, as Eddie urges,

“Come on. Please? Whatever you’re being paid for today, I’ll match it.”, taking Buck’s hand and pulling him forward.

“Just a few loops around on the ferris wheel.”

The wheel is about as fun as can be expected, since it’s more about taking in the view, but one thing Buck can’t help but notice is instead of sitting across from him, Eddie chose to sit next to him.

To distract him, Buck admits, “I always loved the ferris wheel. No matter which one it was.”

Eddie replies, “I was more into rollercoasters.”

They share a chuckle, before suddenly, Eddie gets a serious look on his face, as he looks at Buck, “Look, Buck? I can’t keep this up anymore. I didn’t ask you to come here for ideas for the reception.”

Buck lifts an eyebrow, not entirely sure if he’d suspected all along or if he should’ve.

“What I--I really wanted to tell you is...”

Buck keeps looking back, waiting, but Eddie appears to chicken out, “When the wheel lets us off, I wanna talk...about us.”

Oh Jesus. There is no ‘us’. He’s Kayla’s fiance, end of story.

But Buck still can’t deny how wonderful it felt to hear that one word all the same.

He’s just digging a deeper grave for himself the more this goes on, and he knows it.

This has to stop. Before both of them get hurt and can’t come back from it.

Resolved, when the wheel thankfully stops on the ground, Buck stands up first, speaking up before Eddie can,

“You know what? Let’s not. I gotta get going.”

Eddie’s eyes are completely confused, “What, now?”

Buck nods, “Yep.”

Eddie stands up too, “But the wheel’s supposed to go for one more rotation. Maybe wait a moment?”

Buck’s not listening, as he says, “Nope, just gonna get off right...here.”, and quickly tries to step off.

But since the wheel only slows down, not a full stop, he ends up tripping on his own foot and falling on the boardwalk.

“Ow.”

In seconds, Eddie’s standing above him, somehow not in the same position as him, kneeling down as he asks, worried, “Are you okay?”

Buck waves him off, trying to get up, “I’m fine.”

Eddie’s putting a hand on the leg, “No you’re not. Looks like a sprain. A bad one.”, then helping Buck stand with his weight on the good leg, having him lean against him.

“I said I’m fine.” Buck tries again, but Eddie’s not having it.

“No you’re not. You need a hospital.”

This time Buck tries to physically push himself off of Eddie, regretting it almost instantly when the pain from his bad ankle jolts up his spine.

“Yeah, that’s not fine, Buck.” Eddie says, grabbing his shoulders tighter with one arm, forcing Buck to lean on him as they walk/limp their way off the boardwalk.

Buck keeps protesting the whole way, “No hospitals. Hate hospitals.”

Eddie talks over him again, “I’m the firefighter here. I think I know what I’m talking about.”

And finally, that gets Buck to shut up, now trying to help Eddie instead of working against him.

Two hours in the ER and some really good painkillers later, Buck’s high as a kite, and pain free.

“Shhhhhh.” Buck whisper yells as they reach Buck’s loft apartment. “Quieeeeet.”

Eddie whispers more quietly, trying not to laugh, “You by yourself?”

“Yes.” Buck says immediately, then contradicts himself. “No. Well yes and no. This is my apartment, but my sister’s crashing with me. I dunno what her deal is.”

Carefully, Eddie calls out, “Hello? Hello? Anyone here?”, while Buck keeps giggling like a little girl.

When there’s no reply, Eddie tells him, “Looks like it’s just us. And I’m reeeeeally uncomfortable leaving you hear while you’re...incapacitated.”, as he helps settle him on the couch.

“You practically got the whole pharmacy.”

“I’m fiiiiiine.” Buck almost whines, as he kicks off his shoes. “Except, you know the funniest part?” he asks, unable to stop laughing as he reveals, “I can’t see a damn thing! But you’d still be the hottest guy in the firefighter calendar.”

Eddie snickers, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Buck leans his head back on the couch, and says between laughs, “But today was sooooooo much fun. Except the hospital. But the pier was the bomb.”

Buck pathetically tries to count on his fingers, “The cool looking bridge, and the ferris wheel--” which just sets him off all over again. “Loads of fun until I fell.”

Eddie cringes, even as he laughs, “Yeah, that was--”

Buck laughs to himself, “God, I’m an idiot.”

Eddie tries to make him feel better, “No, no you’re not.”

Finally, though, it looks like Buck’s starting to wind down, as he lets out a small sigh, “I really like you, Eddie. So much.”

Eddie smiles, but that gives way to confusion when Buck follows it up with,

“I know I’m not supposed to, but I do.” then promptly passes out.

Seeing he’s not going to get any answers tonight, Eddie gets up and maneuvers Buck’s legs onto the couch, grabbing a blanket and pulling it over him.

He takes a step back, looking at Buck’s sleeping form one last time, wondering if he should kiss his forehead.

But then, thinking better of it, he backs away instead, until he bumps into another chair, and sits down.

One long night of night owl duty, coming right up.

Chapter Text

Someone’s cooking in the kitchen.

That’s the first thought Buck has as he wakes up, and when he slowly sits up and looks to see who, he sees Eddie at the stove, with Maddie standing next to her.

In an instant, Buck’s dropping back to the couch, covering his face with his hands.

“Oh my God. What the hell is he still doing here?” Buck whispers to himself, when he hears,

“I think that might be the first time I heard someone try to plan a wedding in their sleep.” He hears Eddie say, to which Maddie laughs.

“Yeah, I know. My brother always puts in 110%.”

Eddie confesses, “Truthfully? I think it’s sweet how much he cares.”

Somehow, Buck manages to stand up, limping over without making it worse, as Maddie addresses him first, “Well hello there, gimp. How’s your ankle?”

“Fine.” Buck says quickly, then demands, “And what the hell is wrong with my kitchen?”

Eddie turns, pointing the spatula at Maddie, “Your sister guilted me into making breakfast.”

Maddie tells him, “You gotta try the waffles. They’re better than anything we’ve ever had.”

Eddie waves him back, “You, sit. I’m cooking.”, then walks over and gently nudges him to the table.

Maddie, meanwhile, grabs something and waves goodbye, “Well, sorry to dine and dash, but I gotta go. Can’t be late.”, but not before she gives Buck a thumbs up as she walks out.

Once she’s gone, Eddie turns to him, “So how are you?”

Buck doesn’t bother hiding it, “Completely confused.”, his tone making it clear what he means.

Eddie, thankfully, picks up on it and replies, “Well, I wasn’t going to leave you by yourself last night. You were high as a kite.”

Buck asks, “And Maddie?”

Eddie has an answer for that too, “Took the early morning shift for some extra money.”, then as he puts some stuff on a plate, he notes, “Can I be honest? I can’t believe you two are brother and sister.”

Buck gives a halfhearted chuckle as he straightens out the stuff in front of him, “You don’t know the half of it.”

Eddie walks back over with a glass of juice, setting it in front of him, “Fresh squeezed, no pulp. I made sure.”

But the only reply he gets is Buck to throw a napkin on the table, informing him, “Okay, that’s it. You’re officially crossing the line.”

He doesn’t see the confused look on Eddie’s face as he goes on, “I appreciate the help. But making orange juice for me, staying the night?” Here, Eddie’s face turns into one of amusement, as he lets him finish, “Please don’t go thinking this is something that it’s not, okay?”

Eddie attempts to interpret that, “You mean to tell me you have a moral code that says you can’t date clients?”

Buck can’t believe how unbothered he sounds by it, “Of course I do!”

Eddie throws up his hands, “Fine. Have it your way.”, walking back to the kitchen. “As of now, I’m not a part of the wedding.”

Oh hell to the no. “You can’t be serious.” Buck snaps, picking up a plate, “And this plate needs to soak.”, and as he limps towards the kitchen, he adds, “And you completely wretched my kitchen!”

Eddie rushes over immediately, wrapping an arm around him and grabbing the plate, “Hey, stop. I’d really rather you didn’t hurt yourself again, okay?”

Buck complies, sitting back down, but still tries to urge him, “Eddie, don’t do it. Please.”

Eddie’s back to being confused, “What, the dishes? I do them all the time at home.”

Buck doesn’t have time for this, “No, I mean the wedding!”

Eddie just isn’t taking the hint, “So now you don’t want me a part of the wedding?”

Buck’s starting to get pissed, “No, I do!”

But before this gets any more confusing, Eddie walks to the kitchen to grab his jacket, “Okay, you know what? I need to leave for my shift. We’ll talk over dinner, how’s that?”

Did Eddie seriously not listen to a word he just said? “No, not okay. At all!”

Eddie brings the plate of waffles over to him as he pretends like Buck didn’t say anything, “Great. Meet me at the station around 8.”

Buck’s mouth is still hanging open, “Please tell me this is a joke.”

Eddie plays along, “If there’s one thing I never joke about, it’s food.”, then gestures to the plate. “Try it. See for yourself.”

That looks like it might be it, but then, out of nowhere, Eddie leans in and plants a quick kiss on Buck’s lips, then walks away, leaving Buck in a frozen state of shock.

The second Buck walks into work, he gets hounded by Kyler, who’s holding a very expensive tea set in his hands.

“And where the hell have you been? It’s nearly noon!”

Buck reminds him halfheartedly, “It’s only 11, and I’m late because I had to come all the way out here on a sprained ankle.”

Kyler takes one look at it, and really, Buck never should’ve expected anything different when he’s told, “Evan, I can’t have you crippled for one of the biggest weddings of my career.”

Buck almost speaks up, not sure if it’s to defend himself or apologize, but Kyler shakes his head before he can.

“Whatever.” Kyler nods towards his door. “Kayla’s waiting in my office, and he wants to talk to you.”

Buck immediately turns his head towards the door, as Kyler adds, “She said it’s urgent, and she won’t talk to anyone but you.”

Dread floods Buck’s chest as he asks timidly, “D-did she say why?”

Kyler scoffs, like Buck’s a moron, “What else? The wedding! Now get going!”

Not feeling up for more reprimanding, Buck just goes in, and it goes from bad to worse when upon entering the office, he hears the unmistakable sound of a crying bride.

Buck, without thinking speaks up, desperate, “Kayla, please. I can explain.” She turns to look at him, so Buck goes on, “I’m so, so sorry. I don’t even know what I can say right now.”

But Kayla’s in no mood for being coddled, “Don’t say anything.”

Buck can’t let that stop him, “I feel terrible. You don’t even know--”

Kayla lifts a hand to shut him up, “Stop. It’s not like it’s your fault.”

That gets Buck to pause, confused as he asks, “It isn’t?”

Kayla shakes her head, “Why would I blame you for showing up late when you had no idea I was going to pop up without an appointment?”

Buck has to know, “Then what’s wrong?”

Kayla turns his whole body around to look right at him, “I got into a bad argument with my fiance a few nights ago.”

Buck’s mouth drops open, but she’s not finished, “And it was so bad the whole wedding almost got called off.”

Buck tries to stay calm as he asks, “What were you fighting over?”

Kayla rolls her eyes, like it’s about the last thing on her mind, “The stupid guest list.”

Buck takes the pause to feel relieved, as he listens to Kayla go on, “I know it was stupid, so that’s why I’m coming to you. If anyone can help us work it out, it’s you.”

Phew. Okay. Bullet dodged. For now. “Of course. Anything at all.”

“Great.” Kayla smiles in relief. “Cause I said to meet here.”

There’s the panic, full force. “You what?”

“I just figured long as one person doesn’t lose their cool, we can get this resolved.”

Oh no no no no no. This is bad. Very, very bad.

“Scuse me for a sec?” Buck asks, holding up a finger, then walks out of the office.

If there’s any luck in the world, by the time he gets here, I’ll be long gone.

Chapter Text

Not even a second after Buck sneaks out of his office, he’s stopped by a woman standing in the lobby.

“Oh, hey! Buck, right?”

Buck has no time for this, and says as politely as he can, “Uh, yeah?”

The woman approaches him, “Look, I just wanted to apologize about the other night.”

After a second, Buck manages to place her: Eddie’s sister, Sophie.

“Oh, pfft.”  Buck waves her off hurriedly. “Don’t even sweat it.” he adds, then tries to excuse himself as he walks away, “Unfortunately I don’t have time to chat. I have a client waiting on me.”

Sophie nods, “Right, Kayla told me about you wanting to talk to both of us about the guest list.”

That makes Buck pause for a second, confused as he asks, “I thought that was supposed to be between the two people getting married.”

Sophie looks just as confused as she nods, “It is.”

Buck asks hesitantly, apparently still not firing on all cylinders, “So isn’t Eddie supposed to be showing up soon?”

Sophie denies, “Not unless you called him here yourself.”

And right as she says that, Kayla comes out, all smiles as she calls out, “Soph! Hi!”, then walks right up to the other woman, grabs her in an embrace, and kisses her, hard.

Buck, to his credit, says absolutely nothing as he smiles awkwardly, lets them finish, then says even more stupidly, “So what about the other party?”

Sophie holds up a hand, “Present and accounted for.”

And finally, the whole world breathes a sigh of relief as Buck’s mouth drops open, eyes wide as Kayla explains.

“Soph is Sophie, the other bride.”

But it’s looking like Buck still needs some help, asking, “That’s weird, I thought...isn’t Eddie, uh...”

Sophie finishes for him, “The best man.”

This time, when Buck’s mouth drops open, it’s in complete and utter relief, coupled with his eyes lighting up in a way they haven’t since the first time he met Eddie.

“Yes he is!” Buck laughs, unable to stop, even as the two brides share a confused look before he steers them back on track,

“Now whaddaya say we fix your guest list?”

Rule number 7-- Murphy’s law goes both ways. Anything that can be, will be. If it can go wrong, it can also go right.

Eddie was never engaged. Buck has nothing to feel confused or guilty over, and all he has to do is take the path that Eddie paved for them.

And Buck’s going to do that right this second, as he walks into the 118 firehouse, out of his wedding planner attire, right when a bell goes off somewhere.

A flood of kids comes bounding around the firetruck, and who should be chasing after them than Eddie himself, as the other kids climb on the truck, while Eddie turns, sees Buck, and starts clapping.

Buck claps for a moment or two, then calls out, “Hey there!”

Eddie waves for the rest of the team to help as he orders, “Alright, everybody off.”, then walks over to Buck.

“Just a drill. Not a real call.”

Buck jokes, “I think your new recruits are just a tad too young anyway.”

Eddie turns his head to call over, “Hey, so a week from today, you’ll get to see how we slide down the pole.”, which is met with a bunch of excited cheers.

That done, Eddie turns back to ask Buck, “How’s the ankle?”

Buck replies, “Much better. Thanks.”

The look of relief on Eddie’s face is ridiculous as he says, “That’s really good to hear.”, then leans in to kiss Buck on the cheek again, and because the kids are still right there, it’s met with a bunch of cheers and catcalls.

Buck chuckles, but Eddie pretends to be embarrassed as he tries to be stern, “Alright, break it up.”, then tells Buck, “I can’t go anywhere until their parents pick them up. You wanna hang with us until they do?”

Buck doesn’t even blink, “I’d love to!”

Eddie assures him, “It’ll be worth it. Trust me.”

Buck rubs his hands together, “Well I hope you’re right...” he starts, turning to look at the kids, “Because I think it’s time for some freeze tag!”

And in another blink, Buck takes off, calling to Eddie behind him, “And you’re it!”, laughing his head off as he watches the firefighter run after the kids, grabbing one of them in a hug once they’re frozen.

“Watch your step. The road’s slightly uneven.” Eddie warns Buck as they walk further up the hill.

Buck obliges, keeping an eye out for anything and everything, “So this is worth trusting you over?”

Eddie scolds him, no heat in it, “Just humor me, okay?”

Buck reminds him, not as mad as he’s pretending to be, “Right, because that worked out so well last time. ER visit and all.”

Right as he says that, Eddie grabs him, “Watch yourself. This is where it gets a little steep.”

Buck nods his thanks, then admits, “So how obvious is it that I don’t do surprises?”

Eddie jokes, “You kidding? You practically wrote the definition for it.”, then gets serious for a second, “Which is kind of sad. Some surprises can turn into moments you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”

Buck rolls his eyes,not buying it, “Yeah, you’re at a table for one on that, Eds.”

But anything else he could’ve said right at that moment evaporates, as he takes in the sight before him.

“Oh. My. God.” Buck gasps, as he moves closer to it. “Eddie, this is...it has to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You really think so?” Eddie asks, like he’s not entirely convinced, then admits, “Found this place from another wedding fiasco that ended with a 911 call.” 

Here, Eddie walks up the stairs, helping Buck up as well as the firefighter continues, “Once the emergency was handled, I went back inside to grab the equipment. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was on the inside.”

Buck’s still shaking his head, somehow managing to say, “It’s breathtaking.”, unable to tear his eyes away from the glass surrounding the pews, as well as allowing churchgoers to be surrounded by nature even from the inside.

“So, ready to skedaddle?” Eddie says from somewhere beside him, and Buck finds himself shaking his head.

“Aw, can’t we stay for a bit?” he asks, and Eddie shrugs, then reaches down.

“Well, since you asked...” he starts, then plugs something in with both hands.

The reason why becomes apparent in a matter of seconds, as from inside the chapel, one by one, strings of fairy lights begin to turn on, until they illuminate the sore thumb, which in this case is the table set for two right smack in front of the altar.

“Hope you don’t mind staying indoors.” Eddie remarks, as they both walk towards the table.

Buck has to point out, “For a guy that prefers living moment by moment, this feels a lot more thought out.”, and Eddie laughs as he blushes, which is all the confirmation Buck needs.

“You even wrote the whole thing out, didn’t you?”

Eddie holds up his hands in mock surrender, “Okay, okay, I did. But I don’t regret it, not if you love it.”

As they finally reach the table, Eddie grabs one of the filled glasses, “Wine?”, which Buck gratefully takes.

Eddie then grabs the other one, lifting it in a toast, “Does this warrant a cheers?”

Buck lifts his glass to clink, “I’d say surprises as a whole deserve one too.”, which Eddie’s more than happy to return, before they each take a seat.

An hour or two later, after they’ve eaten, they’ve turned their seats towards a window to look down at the view. Or at least the best they can, with how dark it’s getting.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t stop talking about how amazing this place is.” Buck tells Eddie only half sheepishly.

Eddie takes it in stride, “I know. And Buck, I’ll be honest. I’m just happy you went out with me.”

Buck turns his head, as Eddie goes on, “And in the spirit of honesty, I was starting to think you didn’t have feelings for me at all.”

Buck laughs, despite knowing that’s his fault, not Eddie’s, and decides now’s as good a time as any to tell him the truth.

“Funny that you mention that. There’s actually an explanation for why I’ve been pushing you away.”

Eddie, who had almost taken a sip of wine, stops himself, clearly more interested in whatever Buck has to say.

“I thought it was your and Kayla’s wedding I was planning this whole time.” Buck confesses in a rush. “Ridiculous, right?”

But surprisingly, Eddie doesn’t laugh or make any noise of disgust. Instead, he nods in understanding, then makes a confession of his own.

“Not as ridiculous as you think. Me and Kayla did have a fling once.”

That throws Buck for a loop, “You did?”

Eddie nods, then says quickly, “But when I say fling, I really mean fling. As in a total of three dates, and that was all I needed to know it wasn’t gonna work out.”

Buck, growing bolder by this, decides to come clean about the whole thing, “It just looked completely different when I bumped into you two at the bar. You know.” He gestures vaguely. “When she was throwing herself at you.”

Eddie’s already shaking his head, “She’s a pathological flirt. And we weren’t together then either, I can promise you that. Sophie was supposed to meet us there, but she got holed up with something else.”

Buck can’t help the relieved smile that keeps growing with every word of reassurance Eddie gives him, and it might just get stuck there permanently when Eddie sums it all up.

“Evan, I need you to understand something, okay? I’m never one to beat around the bush. I make it a point to always tell it like it is. If a relationship doesn’t have honesty, it won’t survive.”

Buck doesn’t say a word, to make sure Eddie knows he has his full attention, then keeps listening as Eddie goes on,

“And Kayla is not the one for me.”

Then in what has to be the gutsiest move of the night, Buck asks, “Then who is?”

Eddie appears pleased by this, as he chuckles, then starts, “Well, first, there’s the simple things. Guy or girl. Doesn’t smoke, and only drinks in moderation. Preferably no strikes on their record. Not currently taken. Obviously messing with someone else’s significant other gets messy.”

Here, Eddie turns to look right at Buck. “Really smart. But still sensitive. A bit of a stickler for perfection. Ridiculously attractive. In short, someone a lot like you.”

Well. After all that, how can Buck be expected to say anything but, “Wow...thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Eddie replies, then looks away, like he’s contemplating something.

It’s quiet for a moment or two, before Eddie looks right back at Buck, asking, “So does that mean if I try to kiss you this time, you won’t hurt yourself trying to get away from me?”

Buck smiles, but says nothing, not that he really needs to.

And then they're both leaning in, and in the next second their lips touch, and it’s everything Buck was picturing it to be.

He has no idea how long they sit there, under the glass of the chapel and the twinkling fairy lights. 

What he does remember,  very clearly, is being led all the way back to the car, because they have to stop so Eddie can get in and drive them all the way back to LA.

He also remembers the second they pull up, because the second they’re parked, Eddie goes all the way around to Buck’s side to pull him out, and starts kissing him all over again.

And he definitely remembers being half led half pushed towards a front door, because Eddie has to come up for air to explain, “This is me.”, as he gets the door open and pulls Buck back in.

Buck only takes a cursory glance around, “Very nice.”, then goes back in. Somewhere, Buck wonders if this is what it feels like to be addicted.

Right before the thought vanishes in a haze of franticness as their movements become more desperate, Eddie reaches up to clutch Buck's head, and Buck lets Eddie guide him to the bed, which is apparently right in the middle of the whole place, their lips somehow staying connected.

That could've kept going on for a lot longer, but Eddie pulls back again, teasing,

"Hey, I don't do this for free. I told you about the one for me. Now you gotta tell me about the one for you."

Buck gives himself a moment to think on that, before reaching up a hand to mess with Eddie's hair.

"Well, since you asked. They gotta be smart…"

Then he lifts himself up to kiss Eddoe again, then pulls back to add,

"Hilarious." Another kiss.

"Loyal." Repeat.

But before Buck can keep going, Eddie speaks up first, "Well, since those seem to be in short supply, you think there's room for me?"

Buck reaches up with his other hand to wrap them both around Eddie's neck, smiling as he says, with a tease, "Well considering I built the room with you in mind, I think I can be persuaded."

And that's the last either of them say the rest of the night, as they kiss again, hard.

It escalates gradually, to where Buck feels bold enough to pull Eddie's shirt up and over, leaving little to the imagination as he gets a sight of Eddie’s gorgeous torso.

It's not long after that that Eddie reciprocates, pushing his jacket off, then his shirt, and it's skin on skin as they get a good look at each other, looking and feeling so vulnerable, before they're grasping each other, and this time it's Edide wrapping Buck in his arms, like he's so desperate to hold onto him, before he lets Buck reciprocate.

It goes on like that for a while, with them taking turns of who's on top, always stopping to see if the other is okay, and always with a smile before diving back in.

When they finally fall asleep, Buck has only one coherent thought.

Surprises. Maybe there's something to them after all.

Chapter Text

Buck’s the first to wake up, and he won’t lie; having Eddie be the first thing he sees when he wakes up in the morning has way more appeal than waking up alone.

But out of habit, he checks his phone, and upon seeing what time it is, he sighs, knowing he can’t afford to stay longer than he already has.

Resigned, he slowly lifts the covers, and quietly stands up, only managing to grab his shirt when Eddie wakes up, and upon seeing Buck trying to escape, he says,

“Not so fast, Evan. I’m putting you on bedrest. Medic’s orders.”

Buck doesn’t comply, instead keeps moving to pull the rest of his clothes back on, explaining, “I’m so late for work it’s not even funny.”

But of course, that’s not enough for Eddie, as he grabs Buck’s arm, “I’ll write you a convincing doctor’s note. ” and pulls him back on the bed.

“Don’t make me beg. Clothes are the current bane of my existence.” Eddie says, throwing the clothes Buck had just folded on the floor.

Buck winces, “I’m just gonna...pick that up real quick. I just got that dry cleaned.”

Eddie won’t hear of it, “The lovely Casa de Diaz, is a strictly baggage free zone.”

Buck rolls his eyes, “And clothing optional, apparently.”

That makes them both chuckle, before Eddie asks, “That gonna be a problem?”

Buck pretends to think it over, “Oh, I suppose I could be persuaded.”, then leans in for a quick kiss.

Oh sweet Jesus, please never let that get old.

When they pull away, Eddie offers, “If you want, I got something that might be able to help you out.”, then turns away to reach for something.

“I was gonna give this to you last night, but it slipped my mind.”

When he sits back up again, he’s holding a small box.

Intrigued, Buck takes it, lifts off the lid, and pulls away the cotton.

It’s...not what he was expecting. At all.

“A...rock?” Buck’s not sure what to make of this, but if Eddie picked it out, there’s gotta be some explanation. “Funny, in all my years of wedding planning, when the brides talk about how they got the rock, not once did I think they meant an actual rock.”

Eddie wags his finger, “Not so fast.”, then takes it back, stands up, and gestures for Buck to follow.

Buck does, if only out of mild curiosity of what Eddie’s going to do.

Which is why he’s completely unprepared when Eddie picks up a previously discarded sock and drops the rock in it, picks up a hammer of all things, and gets ready to swing it down.

“Wai--” Buck starts, but it’s too late, as the hammer comes straight down, and a loud bang can be heard, combined with the unmistakable sound of rock breaking as the hammer hits it.

Buck covers his mouth with his hands, shocked, no idea what he’s supposed to think.

But apparently Eddie wasn’t expecting him to, as he reaches back into the sock, and pulls out two pieces one by one, offering them to Buck.

And now that the shock has worn off some, he chances looking, not sure what he was expecting.

But it sure as hell isn’t to see the two halves covered in purple crystals.

“Oh my God, it’s a...”

“A geode.” Eddie finishes. “They’re good for holding onto emotions.”

He holds up the other half, “Whenever you’re feeling too much of an emotion, you just pick one of these up, let it seep out, and these’ll hold onto it for you.”

Now Buck’s mouth is still hanging open, but now it’s more out of excitement, “Eddie...wow. Thank you. Really.”

Eddie smiles back, “You’re welcome.”

Buck moves closer to him, “That’s one of the sweetest things anyone’s ever done for me.”, and leans in for another kiss.

This time Buck pulls back first, but it’s only to say, “Oh, fine. I’ll stay a little longer.”

Eddie’s already setting the geode down and wrapping his arms around Buck, “Whatever you say, Evan.”

And that’s the last thing either of them says for quite a while as Eddie maneuvers Buck back to the bed.

When Buck finally does make it to work, immediately upon walking through the front door, he calls out,

“Hello? Sorry for showing up late.”

But the second he sits down at his desk, he hears something break, turning his head towards where he can see a vase was knocked over.

“K?” he calls out, moving closer to Kyler’s office. “You in there?”, and grabs an umbrella from the knocked over stand, before shoving the doors open, yelling, 

“Come out with your hands up!”

Into an empty room.

Well, empty if you don’t count Gigi, who’s licking her fur in the middle of the destroyed room.

“Gigi!” Buck shrieks, as he moves closer to grab her. “Why do you only do this with me, huh?”

The cat does not reply, as she jumps down and walks towards her fluffy cat bed.

Buck tosses the umbrella aside, then sees the partially shredded note, and picks it up.

“Left for Liverpool Wedding Expo. Please take princess Gigi to Paw Hills.”

Then he promptly crumples it up, sighing, “Perfect. Just perfect.”

The next 10 to 15 minutes Buck ends up spending on cleaning up the office, with Gigi occasionally yowling at him as she watches.

It feels like so much longer, but Buck can’t stop, refuses to stop, because he doesn’t particularly feel like getting fired for making the cat a priority over keeping the office spotless.

Until, finally, it’s done, with Buck himself only slightly worse for wear.

As he surveys the room, looking for any small thing he could’ve missed, he hears a door close behind him.

“Evan?”

Buck turns, and the older man holds out a hand, “Hi. I’m Robert Hendrix, Kayla's father.”

Buck moves closer, “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

Robert smiles, “The feeling’s mutual.”, but when a yowl cries out from behind them, they both turn, only to find Gigi once again growling.

“That cat’s got an impressive set of lungs.” Robert remarks, as Buck carefully moves closer.

“Oh sure. Why don’t we just sign him up for singing lessons?” Buck jokes, then picks the cat up with both hands.

“I’ll just stick her over here.” He tells Robert, taking the cat over to the little outdoor catio, and closing the door. “And if you’ll just take a seat, we can get started.”

They both make their ways towards the sitting area, but as Robert goes to sit down, Buck recognizes it as the one Gigi peed on, and yelps, 

“Wait!”

Robert stops, and Buck quickly covers, “Between you and me, the second set is way more comfortable.”, then gestures. “Please, I insist.”

After a moment, they’re both seated, and Buck gets back into planner mode, picking up the papers on the desk.

“So, about the seating chart.” he starts, flipping the papers. “You told me your dad said he wants to sit with his drinking buddies, and it turns out I’ve got them all seated at the same table.”

But the more he talks, the more he realizes Robert’s not really paying attention, so quickly, Buck asks, “Mr. Hendrix? Are you alright?”

Robert lets out one of those thousand year old sighs, before admitting, “Honestly? No. And I was debating back and forth on the way over here on whether or not I should tell you what’s going on. But then again, it is your job to help fix any mistakes in the wedding, isn’t it?”

Buck smiles, but right as Robert says, “First, Kayla’s an incredible young woman." Buck can see Gigi jumping like crazy at the window behind Robert.

But Buck just pretends he doesn’t even see it, as he just nods and smiles, “Of course she is. She’s your daughter.”

“She’s just always been a little more wild than the rest of us.” Robert continues, as Gigi jumps at the window again.

“But I thought once she got engaged...” Robert trails off, then decides to just come out and say it. “I caught a member of the wedding party leaving my daughter’s yesterday.”

Immediately, Buck’s all about the reassurances, “Mr. Hendrix, that’s nothing to worry about.”

“In their underwear.” Robert adds, which stops Buck cold.

“With Kayla?”

When Robert nods, Buck tries to tread lightly, “Do you know for sure they were, uh...”

Robert needs no further prompting, just nods again.

Okay, looks like it’s time for some damage control.

“Do you know which wedding party member it was?” Buck asks.

“It was early morning when I stopped by, so I only saw the back, but I’m pretty sure it was Sophie’s brother.”

Buck has to physically jerk back at that, and before he can stop himself, asks, praying it’s a misunderstanding,

“Do you mean Eddie?”

But of course it’s not, as Robert confirms, “Yeah, that’s it. The one she dated back in the day.”

Buck feels like he’s gonna throw up. Wait a second. “How is that even possible?”

Robert laughs dryly, “It’s Kayla. She wants it, she gets it.”

Buck’s head is still spinning from all of this, but he still asks, so he can keep the story straight, “So you’re sure Kayla and Eddie are…?”

“Are sleeping together behind Sophie’s back? I wish I wasn’t.” Robert confesses regretfully. “I just...what are we supposed to do now?”

Now Buck has been in the business long enough to know the top ten things you should never say to the bride, groom, bridesmaids, even the parents.

But after everything he was just told, for the first time since Taylor left him, he finds himself saying one of them right now.

“I’ll be honest. I don’t know. I really don’t.”

Chapter Text

Of course, Buck called Maddie, begging her to come out to the bar with him, claiming it was an emergency.

Whoever coined the term happy hour was talking out their ass.

“It’s not just me thinking it adds up too well, is it?” Buck asks Maddie, needing someone to hear him out. “Just my luck. First person after Taylor I let get close to me, and what do I get? This. I’m clearly the biggest moron on the planet.”

“Hey, no. No, you’re not.” Maddie says instantly, which Buck seems to take to heart, because he admits,

“But, let’s give Eddie some credit here. According to Mr. Hendrix, he only saw the back of the person’s head.”

Maddie reminds him, “He also said it was the one Kayla used to date. How many Diaz’s has she dated?”

Buck replies nervously, “Two, counting Sophie? Maybe?”

Maddie tries to help him calm down, “Look, I’m not saying definitively he did anything, okay? I just don’t want you committing to another Taylor.”

Buck snorts, “No issue there. Eddie’s as far from Taylor as they come.”, then backpedals, with an exasperated sigh, “Or is he? He said he’s not like the rest of his family, but what do I really know? Not enough to be able to say for sure it wasn’t him.”

Maddie tries from a different angle, “And where’s Eddie in all of this? Did you talk to him?”

Which only makes Buck sigh again, “No, I didn’t. I’m avoiding his calls again.”

Maddie calls him out, “Without listening to his side of the story? Or letting him explain?”

Buck shakes his head, “Not this time. I’m sick of giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. For once, can’t the guy who looks like a cheater turn out to actually be the cheater?”

And Buck’s tone must’ve made it clear he’s not listening anymore, because Maddie doesn’t say another word, just sips her drink in silence next to him.

The next day, Buck’s putting together a wedding table setting when he hears someone call out behind him.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

Buck doesn’t even look up as he calls, “In here!”, and only turns around when he hears Kayla say,

“Hey, Buck.”

Honestly, Buck’s at a complete loss on how he’s supposed to behave here, so he tries to be polite, to get a feel for her mood, “Oh, hey, Kayla. I was just putting together your bridal reception table. How’s it look?”

Kayla flips a hand absently, “Fine, it’s fine.”, and sits down in an empty chair.

Buck tries to stay professional, “Okay, if you’re not feeling it, we can always--”

Kayla throws up her hands to shush him, “Forget about the stupid table. How much sooner can we push the wedding?”

Buck blinks, then asks, “How much sooner are you talking?”

Kayla doesn’t break eye contact for a moment as she says, “This weekend.”

Already, Buck’s got countless questions, starting with, “And why can’t you hold out the next few weeks?”

She throws up her hands again, like it’s obvious, “Because I can’t.”

But Buck’s past the point where that would be enough for him, and snaps, “Kayla, I’m not going through the hassle of moving up the wedding until I hear something besides you just can’t.”

Now, if this were any other bride, under any other circumstances, Buck would be proud of himself for holding firm, and not letting the bride get her way just because she said so.

"I'm pregnant."

Buck only freezes for a second, before replying,

“Wow. Congratulations. I didn’t know you and Sophie had a sperm donor.”

But because it’s Kayla, and because of her past history, the only thing Buck feels when she says two choice words, is instant remorse.

“We don’t.”

Buck has no idea what to say to that, except dumbly, “I’m sorry, what?”

Kayla spits out, “I said we don’t have a sperm donor, okay?”

Buck tries to stay calm, to try and rationalize why she’s not saying what he knows she is, as he asks, “Then how do you know you’re pregnant?”

Instead of an answer, Kayla looks away, and walks out onto the catio area, purposely not looking at Buck.

Buck follows, demanding, “Kayla, how do you know you’re pregnant?”

Kayla turns her head, and says in a rush, “Because I slept with an old flame.”

And of course, this is right when Buck decides to get a backbone and stop being polite, snapping, “Kayla, what the hell?”

Kayla turns to look at him, not changing her posture as Buck keeps going,

“You’ve been handed the world on a silver platter and you just suddenly decided you don’t want it anymore?”

Kayla drops her arms, but still says nothing, so Buck doesn’t stop,

“What, you think just because you’re the Ham Highness, everyone is just supposed to bend to your every whim?”

Kayla’s mouth drops open, but Buck’s nowhere near ready to let her speak,

“Well news flash, sweetheart: money doesn't mean shit when it’s coming from someone who didn’t earn it.”

Now Kayla does speak, and when she does, it’s to snark, “You wrapping this up anytime soon, or am I allowed to speak?”

Buck scoffs, “Oh I am nowhere near ready to let you talk. Because I never said yes to moving the date.”

At that, Kayla crosses her arms, like she’s gearing up for a fight, as Buck tells her in a voice that leaves no room for argument,

“And guess what, Kayla? I’m not going to. Because, in the spirit of honesty, I think this is just another gimmick.”

If Kayla was planning on saying something at this point, Buck beats her to the punch, “You wanna fire me after all that? Go right ahead. There’s the door.”, and points behind him, adding, “Actually, no. You know what? Don’t even bother. Tell K to do it for you. But I’m not falling for your crap anymore. You’re just gonna have to find another poor defenseless sap to buy into your bullshit. And I’d start by telling your loved ones the truth. Because they are the biggest victims here. Not you.”

After a beat, Buck takes a breath, then says, “Now that’s a wrap.”

Kayla, never one to not get the last word in, warns him, “You’re gonna wish that pushing up the wedding date was all you had to worry about.”, and walks right past him.

And yeah, perhaps Buck should be more worried about that, but right now, he’s just reveling in the huge weight of the wedding finally being lifted off his shoulders.

And following her inside to see Gigi clawing up her designer handbag before she finally manages to get it away from the cat and walk out, doesn’t hurt either.

It should be noted that Buck is not naive, nor is he an idiot. He knew when telling off his boss’ star client, whatever chance he had of getting promoted now or in any future still working for Kyler would be good as gone.

But as he turns on his shower, adding an essential oil tablet for relaxation, he can’t bring himself to regret it. Calling Kayla out on her bullshit was the first time since divorcing Taylor that he had drawn a line in the sand and said, “Enough.”

Even when he hears someone knocking, he holds onto that feeling.

As Buck opens the door, the feeling abruptly leaves him once he sees who it is.

It’s Taylor. Holding a bouquet of white tulips, spring crocus, daffodils, violets, hyacinth, white orchids, and yellow roses.

Buck has not spent all these years as a wedding planner just to forget what those exact flowers mean, and he’s not starting now.

New beginnings, forgive me, humility, truthfulness, and sincerity.

Too bad they’re wasted on him, because otherwise, they’re beautiful.

Buck sighs, “Taylor, why are you here?”

Taylor steps inside as she tells him, rather than asks, “We need to talk.”

Buck turns to follow her as he closes the door, “It takes two to talk, and you’re about the last person I want to talk to right now. About anything, let alone whatever it is you think entitles you to come here for.”

But Taylor just walks all the way to the living room, before Buck snaps, “Taylor!”, finally making her stop and turn around.

“I’ve been going to therapy, and she told me she thinks we should give us another go.”

Buck’s mouth drops open, laughing in shock, “You’re kidding, right?”

Taylor keeps talking, “She said I’m never going to reach my full potential as a person on my own. I need someone to face it all with me.”

“Oh I understand perfectly.” Buck nods. “I’m not facing anything with you. We never did that even when we were together. It was always your life, your career, your decision.”

Taylor adamantly denies, “Oh come on. That’s not true at all.”

Buck stands his ground, “Oh yes it is.”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

Taylor pouts, “Bucky, babe, calm down, would you? You’re starting to hurt my feelings.”

Buck scoffs, “Oh that’s rich. You’re the one that said I would always come second in your life to your career, and I’m hurting your feelings?”

Taylor doesn’t even comment on that, just rolls her eyes, like it’s a bad joke.

“Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you?” Buck demands. “I understand being a woman in America is one of the scariest things you can be. But is that any excuse to treat everyone like they’re expendable?”

Surprisingly, Taylor does have a response to that one, “Actually, my therapist told me it’s a perfectly valid reason to do that.”

And finally, Buck just really needs to know, “Taylor, did it ever cross your mind, even just once, what you said did to me? How you almost convinced me that I was better off alone because that meant they’d never have a chance to leave me in the first place?”

Taylor’s mouth hangs open, but Buck emphasizes, “Huh? Did it?”

Taylor throws up her hands in a shrug, “I told you I was sorry. What more do you want?”

Buck snaps, “Well right now, I want you to know that sorry didn’t cut it then, and it’s not now.”, then walks towards a drawer, opening it and pulling some papers out, then coming back, holding them out, along with a pen.

“You know where your signature goes.” he says, voice completely devoid of emotion.

Taylor takes them, and upon seeing what they are, begins to protest, “Bucky, please . I know you. We can’t go through with this.”

Buck replies, completely ignoring her protests, “Yes we can. And we are.”

Taylor shakes her head, “No, we can’t.”

Buck says, in a completely calm voice he doesn’t feel, “Taylor, it’s over. I’m finally putting my life first, and you are not taking that away from me. Sign the damn papers.”

Taylor looks at them again, starting to agree, “Okay...”, but then tries one last trump card, “But Corey will be heartbroken.”, as she puts the pen to paper.

It’s a testament to how much Buck has grown since the last time he talked to her that he’s not even phased as he says, “Which is my problem. Not yours.”

Then with the last stroke of a pen, the papers are signed, and Buck quickly takes them back, not willing to risk her ripping them up out of spite.

He points behind him, “There’s the door. Don’t let it hit you on the way out.”, and walks straight back to his now perfectly prepped and scented steamy shower.

Which means he has absolutely no way of knowing that as Taylor opens the front door to leave, Eddie is right there, a rainbow of tulips in a bouquet in one hand, the other raised to knock right as he notices her coming out.

They stare at each other for a moment, before Taylor demands, “Who the hell are you?”

Eddie demands right back, “No, who the hell are you? ”

Well well well. He thinks he can divorce me? I’ll show him.

Taylor smiles, but there’s zero warmth as she tells him in the fakest sweet voice, “Aw, don’t you know? I’m Buck’s wife.”

She knows she’s succeeded in shocking the hell out of him by how his face turns completely confused, then asks, “I’m sorry, can I talk to Buck? Alone?”

Taylor fake winces, “Aw, so sorry. He just hopped in the shower. Tell ya what, leave your name and number, and I’ll make sure he calls you back.”

Eddie’s already shaking her head before she even finishes, “Yeah, I’ll pass. Thanks.”, and walks away, flowers now lowered to his side as he walks down the stairs.

And just to really sell it, she catches his eye one last time, and gives a little friendly wave.

Chapter Text

When Buck comes into work the following morning, whatever excitement he’d felt over both yelling at Kayla and finally divorcing Taylor has abruptly left him.

K’s back at work with him, and Buck is fully prepared to be fired.

Sure enough, first thing Buck hears when he steps through the front door is, “Evan! My office, now!”

Buck freezes, then slowly makes his way towards Kyler, where he’s standing by a chair, decidedly not happy.

Made worse when Kyler demands, “How could you let this happen while I left you in charge?”

Buck’s already making excuses, “K, please. Let me explain.”

Kyler wails, “My couch is ruined!”, as he takes a paper towel, trying to wipe it down.

Buck freezes again, confused, “Wait, you’re upset about the couch? Not Kayla?”

Kyler snaps, “I’m sorry, is Kayla not potty trained?”

Buck stammers, “N-no! Of course she is!”, quickly composes himself, and fires off an excuse, “Gigi just decided to mark her territory when you left. Cats do that when their environment changes.”, shrugging. “Must've missed you something bad.”

Kyler perks up at that, “Aw, of course you did.”, and holds out his hands, coaxing, “C’mere, baby girl.”

The cat, however, has other ideas, growling as she hisses to make him back away.

At the discouraged look, Buck takes matters into his own hands, picking up the cat and encouraging,”Gigi, go see your daddy.”, and bringing her over to Kyler as the cat tries to bite him.

Buck lies, “She’s just letting you know she’s mad.”, handing the cat over.

Kyler pets Gigi for a few moments, then starts to walk away, moving to the previous topic, “What was that about Kayla again?”

Buck follows, treading lightly, “I was just wondering if she talked to you recently.”

Kyler shakes his head, “She didn’t, but her father did, and told me to commend you on how well you handled the latest debacle.”

That doesn’t sound right, “He did?”

Kyler adds, scratching his cat’s ears, “Also something about moving up the wedding to this weekend?”

Oh she did not. Buck asks, completely astonished, “You mean it’s still happening? After everything?”

Kyler puts Gigi back in her cat bed, not sure what Buck’s problem is, “Why wouldn’t it be?”

That’s not enough reason for Buck to stick with it, and says as much, “K, I don’t know if I can do that.”

Kyler ignores this, handing him a stack of save-the-dates, “Shush. I don’t wanna hear it. You’re gonna need to overnight them.”

Buck tries to tread even more lightly, knowing he really shouldn’t be pressing his luck,

“So I still have a job?”

Kyler looks at him like Buck’s speaking gibberish, “Evan, what part of ‘If you do it, you’ll be promoted’ did you not understand?”, then turns away from him, clutching his head, “Ugh, stupid migranes.”

Buck knows he should be more excited about pulling off a genuine miracle by having Kayla’s wedding ready in two days, but the entire time, the only thing he could think about was Eddie.

Speaking of which, there he is, decked out in a tux, boutonniere and all.

For real, why did Buck have to fall for the one guy who has no problems sleeping with his sister’s fiance, and then flat out lying to him about what they were to each other?

As Eddie goes inside, Buck catches his eye, and in short, it didn’t exactly fill either of them with the warm fuzzies.

Both of them think the other is the cheater, but neither of them are bothering to talk to each other to find out for sure.

And even with all those hurt feelings, Buck knows he has to put his job first, regardless of his feelings.

And with that last thought, he turns back to the flowers, talking to another staff member helping put the arrangements together.

Later, Buck walks upstairs with Kayla’s veil in hand as he approaches the bridal suite.

But the second he opens the door, he sees Kayla making out with someone, and with a gasp, immediately grabs the door to shit it again.

But not before he hears Kayla say, “Addie, I told you to  make sure the door was shut!”, and really, how could Buck be expected to not walk back in and repeat, completely confused, “Addie?”

Kayla sighs, “Adriana Diaz, Eddie and Sophie’s sister.”

Oh you have got to be kidding me. But it’s clear there’s no kidding involved here.

Once again, Eddie is confirmed to not be sleeping with Kayla.

The wave of relief that washes over Buck makes him want to collapse and not bother getting up, until he remembers there’s still a very significant elephant in the room.

Buck shouts, “How dare you?”, walking towards them. “Are there any other Diaz siblings I should know about before this goes any further? Huh? Or did you already leave a tramp stamp on them too?”

To their credit, they both have the decency to look properly chastised as Buck demands, “You expect me to believe you’re gonna be able to restrain yourself to stay faithful in your marriage when you can’t even go one day without getting bored?”

Kayla rolls her eyes, “Don’t be such a prude, Buck.”

Buck ignores her, turning to Adriana, “And you! How could you hurt your sister like this?”

Adriana puts a hand on Kayla’s shoulder, “Like she wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing to me. I’m just beating her to the punch.”

Kayla smiles, and the two of them hug, but right as they do, they hear,

“Kayla?”

They all look, and Sophie is walking into the room, looking utterly shocked.

“Soph!” Kayla exclaims. “Wait, it’s not what it looks like.”

Sophie takes one look at Kayla’s rumpled wedding dress, and scoffs, “Oh really?”

Adriana butts in, “Sophie, it’s true. Let her explain, please.”

Sophie shakes her head, “I don’t need any explanation. Except for one.”, and in a blink, she reaches up a hand and slaps Adriana. Who then slaps back, and then they’re slapping back and forth repeatedly.

No matter what Buck says to try and break it up, they don’t listen, as the fight unexpectedly moves to the next room over, and Buck finally decides enough is enough.

“That does it.” Buck shouts, moving to get in between them, trying to yank one of them off and getting shoved back for his efforts.

Right into the arms of someone behind him, and of course, it’s Eddie.

“Eddie?” Buck asks in bewilderment, as Eddie takes in the view of the fight.

Buck is desperate, “Eddie, we need to talk.”, but Eddie’s already moving towards the women, telling him, “Talking can wait.”, as he goes to grab Sophie, while Buck goes for Adriana.

As they struggle, Buck keeps talking, “Eddie, I owe you another apology.”, as Eddie replies “Who even cares? I don’t wanna go out with someone married anyway.”

Buck didn’t realize Eddie was one to hold a grudge, “Hey, I already know I messed up with you and Kayla, okay?”

Eddie’s voice is confused as he makes another grab for Sophie, “Who said anything about Kayla? I meant you.”

That gets Buck to back away, “ What? ”, neither of them noticing when Kyler walks in.

Eddie explains, “Met your very beautiful wife the other day.”, and that’s enough to set Buck back on his heels.

“You what? ”, but before anything else can be said, they’re all stopped by a shrill whistle.

Buck turns to see Kyler, who demands, “What the hell is going on here? All of you, knock this off!”

And miraculously, they do.

“You’re disgusting. All of you.” Kyler snarks, then turns to Buck, “And why weren’t you doing your job instead of just standing there?”

Buck tries to stammer out something, but Kyler’s already moved on.

“Whatever. The wedding starts in 20 minutes, and so help me, this will not be the first Kyler Trevino no-show.”

And then, through a miracle of his own, he steps in and starts working his own wedding magic.

He hands Sophie a flask, “Drink.”

He snaps at Kayla, “Make yourself decent, for Christ sake.”

And finally, he pats down the dresses and tuxedo, “See to it no one hears about this.”, right as Eddie shoves Adriana out of the room, not meeting Buck’s eyes as he follows her out.

But before Buck can think of following as well, Kyler turns on him,

“Evan, I think we can both agree you’ve hurt this wedding enough as it is. I’m taking over this wedding. You just stay out of the way and don’t day another word until the wedding is over.”

As if Buck couldn’t feel any worse. But he just nods, and starts to go.

But not before Kyler leaves him with one last zinger,

“How can you expect people to take you seriously as a wedding planner if you don’t get a handle on things?”

And Buck, ever the professional, waits until Kyler can’t see him before allowing himself to cry.

Chapter Text

It’s only from the miracle of K’s flask that Sophie managed to get herself onto the altar. In fact, Buck took a few pulls himself, just so he could grab a seat. And here’s the honest to god truth: for all of Buck’s talk about how well organized and empathetic he is, he’d really love to say he managed to pull off a genuine miracle with this wedding.

But it’s pretty obvious by now he did no such thing. The thing that finally worked was one bride getting drunk, and Sophie and Kayla were somehow talked into going through with the wedding, and even then, that was all K’s doing, not Buck’s.

All eyes are on Kayla as her father walks her down the aisle. Of course she looks stunning in white, in a Sophia Tolli dress, with asymmetric ruching through the front and back bodice, accented by sequined lace appliqués. To complete the look, she’s even wearing some sparkle on her ears, which catches Buck’s eye as she passes him.

But as she does, of course that’s when Buck catches Eddie’s eye at the end of the aisle, as Sophie’s best man. But now, he only looks for a second before looking away, almost sad, and that sad look just makes Buck feel sad himself.

But somehow, Kayla makes it to the end of the altar without incident. Her father lifts the veil, kisses her on the cheek, and moves to the side as the priest gestures for everyone to be seated.

Because Buck’s in the pews, she doesn’t see Kayla steal a look at Adriana, or how Sophie catches that look between them.

But he, along with everyone else, notices as the preacher says, “Dearly beloved, we’re gathered here today to unite these two in holy matrimony.”, Sophie lets out a snicker.

The preacher pauses, before continuing, “If there is anyone here who sees a reason why they should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

Given the stolen look from a moment ago, it would make sense if someone in either bride’s party were to speak up, but they don’t. They just stand there, looking miserable, unable to even look at each other.

For a second, it looks like no one is going to object, until they all hear it: a loud hiccup.

In seconds, everyone is turning their heads towards the source of the noise, one Evan Buckley, who’s covering his mouth.

But instead of being shocked or embarrassed, he breaks out into giggles, and it’s only when he turns around and sees his boss glaring at him that he manages to settle down.

“Let’s just move straight to the vows, shall we?” the preacher says, gesturing to the best man. “The rings?”

Eddie pulls the out of his coat pocket, hands them to the preacher, who holds them up,

“With these rings come a responsibility to commitment and fidelity.”

This time Sophie mutters under her breath, “There’s a laugh for you.”, which makes the preacher address her first,

“Sophie, do you take Kayla to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”

But finally, Sophie can’t keep her thoughts quiet anymore, and turns to Kayla, demanding, “How could you cheat on me with my sister???”

There’s a collective gasp from the guests, and quickly, the priest asks, “Shall I ask one more time?”

Sophie shakes her head, “As fun as that may be, Father, I will not be taking Kayla as long as we both shall live.”

The guests gasp again as she goes on to say, “I’ve had a change of heart. I don’t want her.”

Kayla gasps, sputtering in outrage, “Nobody walks out on Kayla Hendrix. I’m leaving you first.”

Robert tries to speak up, “Kayla, please...”

Kayla holds up a hand to shush him, “Daddy, no. I need to talk.”

Sophie gestures sarcastically, “Please, don’t let me stop you.”

Kayla announces loudly, “I wouldn’t marry Sophia Diaz if she was Earth’s only other human alive!”

As the guests keep talking amongst themselves, Kayla goes on, “And I never would’ve been able to say that if it wasn’t for Evan Buckley.”

Wait, what? Buck’s like a deer in headlights, as everyone, including Eddie, turns to stare at him again.

“Buck showed me that honesty with my loved ones matters.”

Naturally, no one is happy at this new development, and Buck knows he’s in trouble here, so he lifts a hand, denying,

“No, Kayla, that’s not what I meant at all!”

“I don’t care.” Kayla says next. “I’m still breaking it off with Sophie, because I’m in love with her sibling.”

Robert asks, “Eddie?”

Kayla corrects, “No, Addie.”

Robert asks, just to clarify, “So that’s who I saw leaving your apartment?”

Here, Eddie looks at Addie, who’s blushing, as Kayla announces, “And I’m proud to say we’re having a baby!”

At that, everyone’s mouths collectively drop open, while Buck’s still laughing it up, even standing up to clap as Sophie just throws up her hands in surrender, walking away, and Kayla reaches over to take Adriana’s hand, who looks like she’d prefer to be anywhere but there.

Somehow, though Kayla didn’t end up married, Robert Hendrix declared there would be a reception, whether anyone liked it or not.

Kyler kept reminding Buck that he’d never make it in his career if he didn’t stand up for himself. So, by the grace of both the stress of the disaster of a day and K’s flask of special juice, damnit, he’s going to say, “Fuck it.” and tell people exactly what he feels.

Buck clumsily stumbles over to where he thinks he saw Addie, much more tipsy from the champagne as he points a finger at her.

“You--” here, he loses his balance, and once he finds it again, he says, “How dare you?”

At that, Addie’s blurry figure just rolls her eyes and starts to walk away, but Buck grabs her, and with still a surprisingly strong grip, makes her turn around, “Oh no. You’re not going anywhere until I’m finished, got that? Uh...” he loses his train of thought for a second, then remembers, “You need to stop pretending to be an adult and start actually being one. A genuine adult, sibling, and in 6 or so months, a parent. How is that even possible, anyway?”

Here, she whispers in his ear, “I never had gender reassignment surgery.”, pulls back, and says, louder, “Can you please just go away?”

Buck nods, “Gladly.” and slowly stumbles away, too numb from the alcohol to fully comprehend Addie’s whispered confession as he next finds Robert Hendrix.

“I’m gonna tell you exactly what I think.” he informs the man, who tries to tell him, “I don’t think this is appropriate.”

Buck snaps, “Too bad. You should’ve kept your daughter on a tighter leash when she was in high school. And then none of this would’ve happened!”, then throws his head back to laugh some more.

A pair of hands grabs Buck from behind, as he hears, “Sorry, excuse us.”, and he’s suddenly being led a few feet away, before he’s turned around, and there’s Eddie, telling him,

“Buck, why are you still here? Go home.”

Buck couldn’t stop himself even if he wanted to, “What? No! I’m not going anywhere! I’m grabbing life by the horns!”, and kicks a foot out.

Which causes the shoe on the foot to go flying right into the wedding cake, and sticking in there.

It only registers for a second or two, before Buck sways on his feet, “Oof. I feel really dizzy.” 

Eddie takes charge, “Okay, let’s go.”, and starts to lead him away again.

But Buck’s got other ideas as he stops again, “Eddie...”, and once Eddie stops, Buck looks him in the eye, “Eddie, you gotta believe me. The whole thing was just a big mix up. I was wrong about everything. You, Kayla. Me and Taylor.”

Seeing Eddie’s not walking away Buck finally explains, “We’re not together anymore. I mean we are technically right now, but we just signed the divorce papers. Isn’t that a good thing?”

But the look on Eddie’s face shows he clearly doesn’t agree, and what he says next confirms it,

“Buck, I think we should stop seeing each other.”

Buck begs, “What? Why?”

Eddie doesn’t hold back, “You didn’t trust me enough to talk to me.”, then leaves Buck standing there.

And as Buck stands there, utterly crushed, it only gets worse as he hears Kyler behind him,

“Evan Buckley.”

Buck turns around slowly, so he doesn’t throw up, to face his boss, who holds up his cake covered shoe, and says, “You’re fired.”, then walks away.

Buck wisely doesn’t say anything.

Well isn’t that a cherry on top of this perfect day?

Chapter Text

When Buck finally wakes up the next morning, head pounding, the only thing that’s running through his thoughts crystal clear were Eddie’s parting words.

All of Buck’s trust issues were thrown right back in his face, and he’s not even mad, because Eddie was absolutely right.

Buck has no one to blame but himself for not trusting Eddie when he said nothing was happening.

The only logical thing to do, that Buck can see, is to roll over and fall back asleep, let everything be tomorrow’s problem.

But right as he rolls over to do just that, he sees the clock, and lays back, rubbing his head.

Hangover and all, his brain offers up something he’d forgotten about, that also manages to get him to get up and out of bed.

Rule number 8: All bets are off in matters of the heart. 

“Fuck this.” Buck mutters to himself as he throws something discarded to the side, only to stop dead in his tracks when he sees Maddie in his kitchen, pouring coffee.

“How are you?” she asks, upon seeing him approach.

Buck lets out an empty laugh, as he sits down on one of his living room chairs, “How am I? Let’s recap: No love life, no career, and my head feels like a stampede of elephants are stomping all over it.”

Maddoe comes over with one of the coffee mugs, handing him one, “Well you can still do something about the career problem. Just call K, ask him to take you back.”

Buck shakes his head, “Actually, him firing me might’ve been the best thing he ever did for me in that job. I’ll take being broke and jobless over being Kyler’s yes man.”

And that’s right when someone knocks on the door, so Maddie speaks up, “I’ll get it.”, and walks off, while Buck keeps silently sipping his coffee.

“Oooh, Buck! I think you’ll like these.” Maddie calls, and when Buck turns his head, he sees Maddie returning with a bouquet of tulips.

Intrigued, Buck sets his coffee down, reaching for the note that came with it, and upon seeing the message, his face falls slightly.

“They’re yours.” he tells her, handing it back.

Confused, Maddie reads the note for herself, “My favorite flower grows between your nose and your chin. I miss you. Love, Chim.”, then lights up, “Aw, isn’t he adorable?”

Buck reminds her, “I thought you said never again.”

Maddie argues, “Hey, I can change my mind.”, then stands up, “Good news is, I don’t need to crash here anymore.”

Buck sips his coffee, adding sarcastically, “Whoopee. Now I can add loner to the list. I ask you, exactly how could things possibly get any worse?”

Says every main character ever, right when the universe decides it just has to show why that’s about the dumbest thing you could ever say.

“Oh, forgot to tell you. Corey called. Something about meeting her for brunch?”

Buck, miraculously, just sips his coffee one last time, but doesn’t react at all.

By the time he arrives for brunch, Corey’s already there, and the second she sees him, she’s calling,

“Buck! It’s almost noon! You couldn’t have at the least taken a shower, or changed your clothes?”

As Buck tries to sit down, she adds, “And what’s with the sunglasses?”

Buck holds up a hand, whining, “Corey, please. One thing at a time. And please don’t talk so loudly.”

Corey demands, “Are you hungover?”

Buck begs, “Corey, I mean it. Please, just talk about literally anything else.”

Corey takes the bait, smiling, “That I can do.”, and pulls out a magazine, slapping it on the table, almost shouting, “Look!”

Buck doesn’t get it, “I’m well aware of what it is.”

Corey waves her hands to shut him up, pushing, “The cover, Buck. Look at the cover!”

Buck does, and once he does, he’s staring too.

The Real Heroes of Wedding Planning: The Junior Consultants. 

But before Buck can get a better look, Corey’s already flipping the magazine open, reading out loud,

“Listen to this. ‘Today’s everyday hero, junior consultants, like Evan Buckley , get a front row seat to all things involved in a wedding, be it a ripped dress or a hanging groom.’”

Buck asks, only out of habit, “Does it even say anything about K?”

Corey shakes her head, “Nope!”

Buck hisses, “He’s gonna blow a gasket.”

Corey moves right along, “Hey, I think this is amazing.”, and closes the magazine. “Now we just need to get you someone to share this with.”

Once the magazine is gone, she looks at Buck again, “Speaking of which, have you talked to Taylor?”

Buck shakes his head in disbelief, “Corey...”, but at the look on his friend’s face, he just can’t placate her anymore. Time to keep the honesty kick going, cause hey, why not, when you literally have nothing to lose?

Decision made, Buck slides his sunglasses off, folds them up, and sets them on the table, before looking at Corey and saying, “Core, there’s something I have to talk to you about. And I really, really need you to listen to me, because you have no idea how hard this is for me to say.”

At that, Corey looks concerned, “Buck, what’s wrong?”

Buck stammers, “I uh…”

Corey looks alarmed, “Oh god. You’re not gonna tell me you’re going celibate and becoming a priest, are you?”

Buck doesn’t even reply to that, just huffs in exasperation, as Corey falls over herself insisting, “Hey, I’ll support you no matter what you want to do. Long as it makes you happy.”

Buck holds up his hands to stop her, denying, “Corey, I’m not becoming a priest.”

Corey lets out an audible sigh of relief, but just listens as Buck tells her,

“Core, the real reason me and Taylor broke up was because she loves her career more than me.”

It’s clear to see that Corey wasn’t expecting that, because she drops her hands, mouth hanging open, “Are you serious?”

Buck explains, “Remember when Maddie’s whole thing with her ex-husband was all over the news? It’s because Taylor took everything I’d been telling her, even stuff that I was not supposed to have, or was supposed to be private and off the record, and took it to her news station. She saw to it every news station was talking about it within 24 hours. Used Maddie’s name and everything.”

Corey can’t even hide her shock, “She did what? ”

Buck confirms, “Ask Maddie if you don’t believe me.”

Corey looks like she’s going to be sick, “I can’t believe this.”, then looks right at Buck, “You mean to tell me I’ve been pushing an opportunist on one of my closest friends this whole time?”

She quickly takes his hand, “Buck, I’m so sorry.”

But Buck quickly decides to forgive her, “Core, it’s okay. You didn’t know.”

Corey, however, is too smart to not pick up on what he means, “That’s right, I didn’t. Why did you keep this from me?”

Now’s the hard part. Even if it has to be said, that doesn’t make it any easier to admit.

“Because I was embarrassed. I mean, come on. Look at you and Patty. It’s near impossible to live up to.”

Now Corey looks crushed, “Aw, Buck...”, then takes her other hand on top of their combined ones, “Buck, you don’t have to live up to anything. I just want you to be happy.”

That appears to be the magic word, because Buck smiles, and replies, “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

Corey shakes her head, “No, I needed to hear that. Do you know how long I’ve been playing nice with Taylor’s parents?”

Buck scoffs, “Corey, come on. You know I love you.”

Corey nods, “And I you.”

With that, they finally order, and just have a nice rest of the brunch.

It’s everything Buck was hoping for and more.

Chapter Text

With Corey’s newly renewed faith by Buck’s side, now he feels like he can think about his next step without having a panic attack.

He can’t even try to deny it: he misses his job. Not working for Kyler, oh God no. But just being a wedding planner, and knowing no matter how hard it gets, it never fails to leave a smile on his face at the end of the day.

And as he wanders through the Santa Monica pier, he recalls another wedding rule that has yet to fail him.

Rule number 9 - Even when a wedding is doing nothing but failing, it never fails to have that one moment of goodwill and well wishes, and knowing he, the wedding planner, was the one responsible of putting together that perfect moment, however fleeting it turns out to be, is how he knows he’s found the thing he was put on this planet to do.

As Buck pays for a bag of kettle corn, it suddenly dawns on him what he should’ve known all along.

Watching them happen is nice, but more than that, he wants to go make some of his own.

With a new pep in his step, he runs off the pier and back to his car, one destination in mind.

Byuck knocks on Eddie’s front door rapidly, calling out, “Eddie? I need to talk to you!”

But instead of Eddie, Buck gets a very sullen Diaz sister, snapping, “Well well well. If it isn’t Mr. Wedding Crasher.”

Buck, exasperated, knows he needs to play nice if he’s going to get anywhere, so just takes a deep breath, and says, “Sophie, I’m sorry, okay? I really didn’t want things to go down like they did.”

Sophie crosses her arms, “And I didn’t want to be the one stuck waiting at home while Adriana racks up my credit card bill while she goes on my honeymoon with my ex.”

Buck tries to go for honesty, “Hey, at least you found out now, not after you got married.”, and when she smiles, he takes that as a good sign, and adds, “Believe me, that would’ve hurt so much more further down the line.”

But despite the smile, she’s still clearly not in the mood to be nice, as she demands, “What the hell do you want?”

Buck hopes he’s at least made enough of a dent to ask, “You know where Eddie is?”

And it’s looking like he did, because she says, “Not here. He’s on duty. Think he might’ve been putting out a fire downtown, from what I saw on the news. Might be tied up for a bit with that.”

Buck presses his luck, asking, “I can’t wait that long. Soph, I gotta talk to him.”

Sophie mulls that over, then pulls out her phone, dialing a number, “Follow me.”, and leading Buck towards her car, conversing with someone for a few moments before hanging up, and walking to the passenger door.

Buck complies, but when he sees her opening the door, he has to ask, “Wait, what?”

Sophie rolls her eyes at him, explaining quickly, “If it’s an emergency, no use waiting, right? I’ll give you a ride.”

Buck laughs, and as he goes to sit in the passenger seat, he tells her, “Eddie was right after all.”

Sophie cocks her head, curious, “Right about what?”

Buck reaches for the door, “You. Maybe you’re not so bad after all.”, and they both grab a hand to slam it shut.

They quickly go as fast as they can through traffic without breaking the law, and as they get closer, the worse it gets, to where Sophie even has to honk so other cars will get out of the way.

Until finally, they’re outside the police barricade, and once the car has come to a complete stop, Buck’s already opening the door and walking right towards where he can see the man of the hour, unraveling the fire hose.

“Eddie.” he calls out, and when Eddie doesn’t look up, Buck calls louder, “Eddie!”, which finally gets his attention, and upon seeing Buck standing there, walks towards him.

“Buck? What’re you doing here?”

Buck gestures vaguely behind him, “Your sister gave me a ride.”, as Eddie takes off his firefighter’s helmet.

“Look, I needed to talk to you, and I couldn’t wait. I’m sorry.”

But even after everything, Eddie’s still looking right at him, waiting for him to elaborate, so Buck just goes for it.e

“My sister Maddie told me something that really stuck with me. She said people always have the capacity to change. And sometimes, a really great guy pops up when you’re least expecting it, and whaddaya know, he turns out to be worth it, no matter what changes may come with.”

Eddie doesn't say a word, but he’s clearly still listening, which seems to make Buck little nervous, as he starts stuttering,

“And I think...no, I know...that that guy is you. And if you’ll let me, I’d really love to show you what I should’ve let you see in the first place.”

 By the time he’s finished, Buck’s not just choking up, his eyes have grown misty, and before Eddie can give his answer, Buck asks,

“C-can I hug you?”

Eddie decides to reply to that first, as he shakes his head, “Nope.”

Crushed, Buck looks away, ready to turn around and leave, but then Eddie adds, “Buck, look at me. I’m filthy. I’d get your nice clean suit all soiled.”

Buck looks up then, then laughs, some of the tension leaving his shoulders as he steps in to hug the firefighter anyway.

It lasts longer than the average hug, but Buck would stay put however long Eddie wanted him to. But Eddie appears to not agree, as he pulls back so they’re face to face.

But Buck’s not about to let Eddie steal the spotlight, and leans in to kiss him first.

The kiss lasts even longer than the hug, to where even Buck’s phone starts to go off, and Eddie pulls away again, to ask, “Are you gonna answer that?”

But no way in hell is Buck about to let anything get in the way of this kiss, not even whoever’s on the phone, and tells Eddie as much, “Hell to the no.”, and leans back in to kiss him again.

This one might’ve been better than the first one, had the rest of the 118 seen it, and started to applaud and catcall.

Buck pulls away this time, as Eddie waves them all off, “Hey, leave us alone.”, and goes back in, like he can’t get enough of the taste of Buck lips.

“Jake, I know I have your file here. Believe me, I’m looking for it, and I promise you I will have it in my hand when I call you back. I’m sorry how long it’s taking me to find it.”

Kyler’s hair is a complete mess, as is the rest of his office when Buck walks in, and once Kyler sees him, he says into th;me phone, “Jake, I'm gonna call you back.”, hangs up, then moves towards Buck.

“Evan!” Kyler exclaims, throwing his hands up to wrap around Buck in a hug. “Oh I’m so glad you’re back.”

Buck tries to pull away, “Kyler, much as I love attack hugs, I’m just here to clean out my office.”

At that, K releases him, eyes frantic as he says, “No! You can’t go now! Everything’s falling apart without you here.”

Buck shakes his head in complete lack of surprise, “I never left. I was fired, remember?”

Kyler waves it off flippantly, “Regardless. Ever since that article came out, all our new clients have been calling here because they want you. I need you here!”

Buck bites his lip, “I dunno...”

Kyler puts his hands on his chest, as a gesture of sincerity, “If you won’t do it for me, do it for Gigi.”, then gestures to the cat in question, who is currently clawing up a pillow and tearing out the stuffing.

“Ever since you left, I can’t get her to behave at all!”

Buck outright laughs, “K, sorry to burst your bubble, but Gigi’s never been an easygoing cat.”

Kyler won’t back down, “Fine. Forget about the cat. I’ll just promote you.”

That finally does get Buck’s attention, and Kyler launches right into his pitch,

“Picture it. 6 figures. You’ll be the one with the assistant this time.”

Even better. “An assistant? For me?”

Kyler shrugs, like he couldn’t care less, “You’d be your own boss. Set your own work hours. Whatever you want, I’ll make it happen. Just say yes.”

Well then. What else is Buck supposed to say to that other than, “Alright. I’ll take it. But I want something in return.”

Kyler’s eyes light up, “Name it. It’s done.”

Buck smiles, “I’m quitting. Immediately.”

The light quickly faxes from Kyler’s eyes, “Did you just--”

Buck doesn’t give him the chance to finish, “I am so done with you making me your errand boy, and taking credit for all my hard work.”

Kyler’s eyes harden, snapping, “After everything I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me? You’d be nothing without me! You can’t just walk away!”

Buck quirks an eyebrow, “Oh yeah?”, then spins on his heel, and he reaches the doorway, he looks back, smiles and says, “Watch me.”

And then he’s gone, leaving Kyler screaming at Gigi to stop scratching everything, and he himself grinning like an idiot as he leaves the building for the last time.

He has no idea what comes next, or how he’s going to make it happen, but for the first time since before he came to work for Kyler, he knows he’ll always land on his feet.

Chapter Text

“Hey, boss!” Ali greets Buck, as he finishes packing his toiletry kit, handing him a hot drink, “Got you a macchiato.”

Buck whines good naturedly, “Aliii, I told you, you’re not my assistant. Here, we’re all equal.”

Ali sets the drink down, joking, “Oh yeah? Then I’m giving myself a raise. My treat.”

Buck rolls his eyes, “Nice try.”, then checks his watch, with a hiss.

“Oh man, I’m gonna be late.”

Ali checks the clock on her phone, “Wedding’s not till 9, isn’t it?”

Buck picks up the kit and the coffee, saying as he walks past her, “Uh huh. Meet up in 2 hours?”, and when Ali nods, Buck moves faster towards the front door, past the sign that proudly displays Buckley’s Bridal, and begs, eyeing her clothes, “And please tell me you’re not wearing that ?”

Ali puts a hand to her chest, “What kind of friend would I be if I upstaged the grooms?”

Buck laughs, then kisses her on the cheek, “See you then.”

After Buck’s hair has been properly gelled, he orders into the phone, “Do the run through, and I’ll take care of the groom.”

Ali replies quickly, “ You got it, boss. ”, allowing Buck to hang up, which Maddie uses to grab his arm and ask,

“Hey there, little bro. How you holding up?”

Buck sighs in relief, “Amazing. Everything’s happening exactly how it’s supposed to.”

Maddie holds up a pair of cufflinks shaped like fire trucks, “May I?”, to which Buck holds out his arms.

There’s a small snag when Maddie almost pokes him, “Whoops, sorry!”, before she finally snaps them both on. “Buck, you look so handsome.”

As Buck looks in the mirror for the umpteenth time, he has to agree, “Thank you.”

Maddie starts getting misty eyed, “Aw, dammit. I’m gonna ruin my makeup.”

Buck, always prepared, walks right over to the toiletry kit, and pulls out a handkerchief, holding it out to her, “Need a hand...kerchief?”, which gets her to snort in surprise.

“But for real, Buck, I couldn’t be happier for you.”

Buck lifts his eyebrows in surprise, “What happened to misery loves company?”

Instead of answering, Maddie picks up her bouquet and his boutonniere, “We should get going.”, then quickly pins it to his tuxedo.

Buck looks at the final product, as Maddie asks behind him,  “Ready?”

And Buck, who had gone through so much just to get to this point, can only muster up a response of, “As much as I can possibly be.”

The path down the makeshift aisle on the boardwalk is illuminated by fairy lights, coupled with splashes of color from tulips, as Patty walks him to where the other groom is waiting.

Neither one of them can stop smiling as they approach the other guests, all standing in two rows by the Big Wheel to represent the aisle and altar.

In reality, once they reach the guests, the rest of the walk had to have only taken less than a minute, but for Buck, it felt like everything slowed down, and what else could he do but stop to take it all in?

There’s Ali, who apparently decided to take his advice and wear something far nicer than her work clothes, trying to stop herself from crying.

There’s Maddie and Corey, not doing much better, but Corey stopping to blow him a kiss for luck.

And one has to wonder, what’s the real lesson to all of this?

The answer can actually be found in rule number 10:

Never forget that when it comes to matters of the heart, in the end, the wedding is utterly pointless. The cream colored invitations or the hideous bridesmaids dresses? Meaningless.

Something Buck can’t help but remember as he passes by Kayla and Adriana, the former now visibly pregnant as she holds Adriana’s hand.

The real love, the one that makes everyone want to throw caution to the wind just to keep it, that love only ever happens when it wants to happen. It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth risking the chance of it all ending in heartbreak.

It’s about standing in front of everyone you know and love, like Buck is doing as he makes eye contact with Eddie, and joining hands with the one that knows how imperfect you actually are, and is still willing to look you right in the eyes and tell you, “I’m not scared to face this with you.”

If you’re lucky enough to find a love like that, you’ll never have to face it alone ever again.

Take now, for example, when the rest of the 118 amongst the guests pull out their pagers, and call out, “Duty calls!” “Sorry!” “Congratulations!”, as they take off.

Eddie just smiles, and assures the priest, “They got this. Please, continue.”

As the priest starts his speech, and Buck lets the words melt away, his only thought is on the man standing next to him, who, even after being accused of being engaged to someone else, along with the one that same someone else cheated with, is still right here with him, ready to recite vows as beautiful as the man himself.

And as he waits for the priest to give them their turn, Buck already knows that if Eddie can still stick with him after all that, nothing will truly ever break them up for good.

The fairytales and romcoms had to get it from somewhere, didn’t they?