Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Did you have a good day at school, buddy?” Eddie asked his son as they dined over their bowls of broccoli cheddar soup at the kitchen table.

Christopher’s mouth was full, so he nodded in answer before taking a moment to swallow, and then he said, “My English teacher wants us to do a book report by the end of the month. Do you think we’ll be finished with Daniel’s newest adventure by then?”

Eddie glanced at the calendar, reminding himself what day it was again. September 10^th.

“That should be plenty of time for us to finish. We’re already half-way through, and we have all evening to get lots of reading done before bed.”

Chris gave his dad a pleased grin and shoved another spoonful of soup into his mouth. Eddie tore off a piece of French bread from where it sat on a plate in the center of the table and dunked it into the cheesy broth, letting it soak in completely before he scooped the bread up into his mouth. Christopher scrunched his nose in disgust at Eddie’s eating habits.

“That’s gross,” he complained.

“Nope. It’s delicious. If you’d only try it, then you’d know.”

Christopher shook his head adamantly at the suggestion. He was going through a picky phase for the last few months. Eddie would never force his kid to eat anything he didn’t like, but he did usually encourage Chris to try new things before making a judgment on whether or not he preferred them.

“I bet Daniel tries new foods all the time. He goes to so many different countries, and all those different cultures eat a variety of things we don’t normally have in the states. An adventurous kid like that must have an open mind.”

Christopher paused in guiding more soup to his mouth and glanced at Eddie with wide eyes. But Eddie’s persuasion tactic had done the trick, and Chris tore off a small piece of bread from the loaf and carefully dipped it into his soup before eating it.

Eddie waited patiently for the boy to finish chewing and then raised his eyebrows in question. “Did you like it?”

Christopher couldn’t hide the small smile that was creeping onto his round face. “It wasn’t so bad, I guess.”

Eddie reached over and tickled the back of his son’s neck. “You guess?” he teased, and the boy burst into a fit of giggles.

Later, after homework and showers and teeth-brushing, Christopher lay in his bed, comforter tucked warmly right under his chin, and Eddie was propped up against the headboard, sitting atop the covers and cracking open their newest book to the marked page.

“Do you think we’ll ever get to go to Tasmania, Dad?”

He asked a similar thing every time they started a new book in their favorite series, each one containing plots of some grand adventure in a different country. And Christopher always had imaginative dreams about going to every single one of those places someday.

“Maybe,” was all Eddie could ever promise him. “Ready for me to start?”

“Yes, please.”

The pair of them got lost in a world so much grander than their own. It was a tale of a young boy named Daniel Buck, similar to Christopher in age, who traveled the globe with his archeologist father. Daniel was constantly making new friends in new places, snooping into things he shouldn’t be, sometimes getting into trouble, but always making grand archeological discoveries along the way. The books were very detailed and informative about the various cultures the family encountered in their travels, teaching Christopher important lessons along the way about understanding and respecting life experiences different than his own. But the thing that drew the Diaz boys to the stories the strongest was that Daniel had no siblings and his mother died when he was very young, so it had always just been him and his dad taking on the world together. Both Christopher and Eddie connected to this story on such deep levels that it often had them both tearing up at the more touching moments.

The seventh and newest installment in the series had only just been published at the end of August, and of course Christopher had insisted on buying it the day of release. Now, they were at the midpoint of the Tasmanian adventures of Daniel and Eric (the boy’s father). It would be added to the long list of places that Chris swore he would visit someday.

And Eddie had big hopes for his son, knew in his heart that even if he didn’t have the means to take Christopher on any grand adventures in his childhood, the kid would surely grow up and make his own dreams come true when he was free to pave his own path. Chris was nothing if not determined to do anything he wanted, one way or another.

They made it through three more chapters before Eddie noticed his son’s eyelids starting to droop and had to stifle a ferocious yawn of his own. It had been a long day with the 118, after all. He hardly had a moment to get any chores done or eat lunch between calls, and his entire body was feeling rather ragged and in need of at least a solid eight hours of sleep tonight.

“Okay, mijo. I think this is a good place to stop for the night.”

“How many chapters are left?” Chris wondered sleepily.

Eddie glanced at the table of contents near the front cover to check. “Looks like fourteen more. We’ll have it finished before you know it.”

“And then we’ll have to wait like a whole year before the next one comes out,” he lamented to his father.

“Well, we don’t want them to be rushed, do we? Then the story wouldn’t be any good. I’d rather the writer take his time, hmm?”

“I guess you make a good point,” Chris conceded.

Eddie poked at his ribs through the blanket. “You guess?” he joked in reference to their earlier teasing during dinner.

But Chris was too tired to really laugh, simply squirming away and looking up at Eddie with a drowsy smile. Eddie bent and kissed his forehead, running a loving hand through the boy’s brown curls.

“Sleep tight, buddy.”

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite, Dad,” he replies.

Eddie chuckled as he turned off the lamp on Christopher’s bedside and took off down the hall to his own room.

***

October came around, and Eddie had been getting pointed reminders from his son that they were quickly running out of books to read for their nightly reading sessions. They had finished the book in the Daniel’s Adventures series by September 19^th, which left Christopher with ample number of days to write a stellar book report before the 30^th. They’d also read through a few other stories that had collected on the small bookshelf next to the kid’s desk, but now they were set to finish the very last one within a week or so, and Eddie hated to think how grumpy his kid would be without a new story before bedtime.

So, when Eddie’s abuela asked if they could take her to Best Buy to help figure out a new television to watch her soap operas on, Eddie jumped at the opportunity to also stop by the large chain bookstore that was right next door.

They got Abuela sorted out with her TV first, and after Eddie had loaded it into his truck, the three of them wandered over to Barnes & Noble, Christopher practically bouncing up and down on his crutches with excitement. As soon as they made it through the entrance, Chris took off at nearly a run with Eddie calling out after him in displeasure.

“Don’t worry, Eddie. I’ve got him,” Abuela assured him as she took off after the boy.

This left Eddie to amble around on his own for a while, briefly scanning the adult fiction and nonfiction section for a couple things to read in his downtime at the station. Then, he headed over to the best sellers displays to scan for anything new that Christopher might find interesting. He got about five feet away from the eye-catching shelves when he noticed a handsome man standing there, doing something rather strange.

Eddie tilted his head and furrowed his brow in confusion as he watched the man pick up a book, flip to the inside of the back cover and then write something inside of it with a sharpie. He set the book down and then picked up the next one in the pile, repeating the act.

“Hey!” Eddie called out as he approached him.

The man glanced around behind himself, clearly thinking that Eddie could not be talking to him, but when he realized that there was nobody else around, he focused on Eddie with wide blue eyes.

“I hope you’re planning on buying those,” Eddie scolded him without a moment of hesitation. Perhaps it was force of habit to always be playing the lecturing father.

The man clicked the cap back onto his sharpie and shoved it into the front pocket of his dark jeans. “I wasn’t, no.”

“Then why the hell are you writing in them? I doubt anybody wants to buy a new book just to discover that it’s been graffitied by some asshole.”

The man had the audacity to let out a cute little laugh. Eddie placed his hands on his hips in response, showing that he was being entirely serious and waiting for a proper explanation.

“Well, I’m the author of these books, so I don’t think people usually mind when they get to the end and are surprised to see that I’ve signed it. I promise I’ve already cleared it with the staff here.”

“You’re signing your books?” Eddie questioned incredulously. Surely a published author had better things to do than linger in a bookstore and sign hardcopies.

“Yeah, I uh… It’s just something I started doing after my very first book was published, carrying a sharpie with me anytime I came into a bookstore. I mean, we do official book tours and all that, but not everyone gets to come to those. And the thought of some kid randomly ending up with a signed copy and it making their whole day… I dunno, it makes me feel happy, I guess.”

Eddie’s indignation seeped away from him, and his tense shoulders relaxed. “Oh.” He glanced down at the pile of books the man had been signing, thinking he might get one for Chris then if it’s something he knows his son will enjoy.

Daniel’s Adventures: Book 7

“Wait,” Eddie said in newfound shock, and the man with curly dirty-blonde hair raised his eyebrows, “you’re Evan Buckley?”

He nodded with a small smile.

Eddie walked up to the shelf and snatched one of the books that the Diaz’s already owned. “You’re the author of this book series?” he held it up in front of the man’s face for emphasis.

“Yup,” Evan replied in a joyful tone, “that’s me.”

“Who’s this?” a small voice came from behind him, and Eddie turned to see Christopher and Abuela standing there.

“Uh, Evan Buckley apparently,” Eddie informed them in a tone of disbelief.

 “No way!” Chris nearly shouted, “my dad and I have read every single one of your books! I wrote a book report about the newest one and got an A+.”

“Wow, an A+? That’s impressive, kid,” Evan Buckley reached a fist out toward Christopher, and the boy happily bumped his own against it.

“Eddie,” his Abuela said to him then, “I’m going to go look at the romance section.”

“All right,” he waved her off, “Chris you stick with me this time, okay?”

“Sure dad,” Christopher answered, not even tearing his eyes away from the author of his favorite series, “Hey mister Evan Buckley, are you working on the next book already?”

The beautiful blue-eyed man laughed again, and Eddie pretended like it wasn't one of the loveliest sounds he’s ever heard.

“Christopher, you can’t just ask him that,” Eddie scolded.

“Why not? I want to know what happens next.”

“We talked about this. Patience is important, yeah?”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Evan spoke up then, “I’ve got five whole chapters done of the next installment, and I can’t make any promises, but I’m thinking it’ll be ready to print by the new year.”

“Really?!” Christopher was literally jumping with joy now. “Can you tell me where Daniel and Eric are travelling to next.”

“Ah, I’m afraid that one is confidential, kid. But I promise it’s somewhere amazing.”

Chris’ glee was only marginally diminished.

“How about this: since you and your dad here seem to be my two biggest fans,” Evan paused to wink at Eddie, “why don’t I purchase one of these copies, even though I know you already have one. But this one will be special because I’ll write you your very own personalized message inside the cover and sign it for you.”

“That would be fantastic! I can take it to school for my next show-and-tell. All my friends will be so jealous.”

“I bet,” Buck agreed as he pulled his sharpie back out of his jeans. He reached a hand out toward the copy that Eddie had already forgot he was holding. “May I?”

Eddie wordlessly handed the novel over. Their fingers brushed for the briefest moment, and he thought he could make out a heat growing in the author’s gaze.

He cracked open the back cover and then turned to the boy again. “Now, what was your name? Christopher, right?”

Chris nodded enthusiastically.

Eddie stood there dazed, watching it all unfold in a spectacular sort of way with a dumbstruck, dopey smile plastered on his face. This was definitely not how he expected his day to turn out. Not to mention, he never imagined that the author of their favorite book series would be so goddamn attractive.

Evan Buckley took his time writing something out inside the cover, and it was clear that he aimed to use up every last bit of the space there, going out of his way to make Eddie’s son feel extra special in this moment. Once he was done, he led them to the checkout with signed book in hand. Eddie paid for all the other novels that he and Chris had collected between them, and Evan purchased his own book at the next register over. Abuela was still somewhere in the store, and Eddie shot her a text that they would be out in the parking lot waiting for her whenever she was done.

Once they exited the building, Buck handed Christopher the small paper bag with the book in it.

“What do you say, mijo?” Eddie prompted.

“Thank you so much for this, Mister Evan Buckley.”

The man smiled that broad white smile yet again. “It was my pleasure. And please, my friends call me Buck.”

“Thank you, Buck. I’m pretty sure this made his whole week. Truly,” Eddie added. “And I’m sorry I sort of accosted you at the beginning there before I knew what you were doing.”

Somehow, Buck’s grin got even wider. “No worries,” he assured him as he held out the receipt of the book he purchased for Christopher, “and, uh, this is for you.”

Eddie took the receipt with slight confusion, wondering why he would need it when he was pretty sure Christopher would never want to return an autographed book by his favorite author.

“I’ll see you around, Eddie. Christopher.” Buck gave them each a nod and a small wave before taking off down the sidewalk to some other shop.

It was only once Christopher was fully buckled into his car seat and Eddie was positioned behind the steering wheel still waiting for Abuela to finish up with her purchases that Eddie studied the book receipt more carefully. At the very bottom were ten digits in dark sharpie ink. A phone number.

***

“Have you ever met anyone famous?” Eddie asked Bobby and Hen as the three of them played a game of Sorry! at the station.

“Oh yeah,” Bobby replied, “celebrities do a lot of dumb stuff that ends with a need for firefighters on scene.”

“Really? We haven’t gotten any calls like that since I’ve been here,” Eddie told him.

“Eddie,” said Hen, “we literally were in Mario Lopez’s house last week after he slipped in his socks and wacked his head on the corner of his kitchen island.”

“Mario Lopez? That’s who that was? He didn’t look familiar to me.”

Hen and Bobby both shook their heads at him.

“So I’m bad at recognizing faces, I guess,” Eddie admitted.

“You’re hopeless, is what you are,” Hen joked before getting up from the table to grab herself another bottle of water from the fridge.

“Regardless, I’m pretty sure it’s not standard for people in the public eye to randomly give out their phone numbers to people they’ve only just met, right?”

Hen clamored back to her chair so quickly it nearly gave Eddie whiplash. “Hold up. A celebrity gave you their phone number?”

“Okay, celebrity might be an exaggeration. He’s… well, he’s a best-selling author of a children’s book series, but I don’t think many people would recognize his face just from that.”

“And he gave you his number?” Bobby asked for clarification.

“Yeah, I ran into him last weekend at a bookstore with Chris and Abuela. He signed a book for Chris without us even asking him to… and then he gave me a receipt that had his number written on it.”

“What are you going to do?” Hen urged for more details.

“I’m not sure. The whole thing was quite baffling really, so I’m still trying to process it, I think.”

“Well, was he good looking?”

 “Incredibly so,” Eddie answered, perhaps a bit too breathlessly because now Bobby and Hen were both smirking at him.

“You should call him, then,” Bobby advised.

“What would I even say? Hey, remember that dude you ran into at a bookstore? Well, this is him. Wanna go out with me?”

“I’m sure you can come up with something a little more eloquent than that.”

“You have far too much faith in me, Hen. I’ve barely been on a handful of dates since Shannon died and none of them went all that well considering I’m still very single.”

“You can’t use the fact that you’re pathetically single as an excuse not to date people,” Chimney chimed in as he crested the top of the staircase to the kitchen, clearly having just finished a workout, “that’s counterintuitive, Eddie.”

Eddie glared from the table as Chimney went to grab a bottle of water of his own. “Oh, that’s right. You’re the dating expert now because you’ve found Maddie,” Eddie cooed sarcastically.

The team didn’t know a ton about the woman Chim had been dating for a little over a month, but they had heard plenty of times that she was apparently the man’s soulmate. He’d been known to get a bit poetic about it from time to time, giving everyone else on the team frequent migraines. And Chimney also seemed to think that he was some sort of relationship guru now because of it.

“Yeah, want to know how I sealed the deal with Maddie?”

“Not really, but I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway,” Eddie retorted.

“I actually called her when she gave me her number,” Chimney bragged pointedly.

Eddie groaned, but reluctantly promised, “I’ll consider giving him a call,” as way of ending the embarrassing conversation.

***

“Dad?” Christopher’s voice filtered into the living room from where he was standing at the end of the hallway.

“I thought you were asleep, buddy. Did you have a bad dream?” Eddie gestured for his son to come join him underneath the plush throw blanket on the couch.

Christopher rubbed at his tired eyes for a moment and then slowly crossed the distance to his father. Eddie grew concerned as the kid did not say a word about why he was awake two hours past his bedtime. He worried that there might be something seriously wrong.

“What’s going on, mijo?” he tried again while pulling Chris up onto his lap and wrapping him up to keep him cozy.

“Dad, do you… do you think we’ll ever see Buck again?”

Eddie had to try very hard not to laugh or roll his eyes. Of course that’s what this was about. As if Christopher wasn’t already obsessed with those books enough, now that he has met the author and was thoroughly impressed by the guy’s winning personality, it had become a whole new level of hero-worship. He hadn’t stopped talking about the bookstore encounter for over a week now and how awesome it would be if they were actually friends with the writer of the Daniel books.

Every night before Eddie began reading some of the new books they had bought over the weekend, Chris would insist that they re-read the note Buck had written on the inside cover of his book.

Dear Christopher,

I bet you’re as bright as Daniel and just as brave. And it seems like you have an awesome dad like Daniel does too. Keep up the reading and writing, and I have no doubt you could very well become a published author someday if that’s what you set your mind to (and then my friends would be the jealous ones when I told them that I once got to meet you in a bookstore). Wouldn’t that be cool? Anyway, if there’s one takeaway I always hope for readers to gain from my books, it’s this: we’re never promised tomorrow, so make every day an adventure.

Your friend,

Buck

Beneath the nickname was a signature of the man’s full name.

“Chris, I know it was super great that we ran into Evan Buckley on accident… but I don’t want you to get your hopes up that it’s going to happen every single time we go to buy books now. Buck is a famous author. He’s very busy with writing and doing publicity for his books and everything. We can’t expect him to suddenly become best friends with ordinary guys like us.”

“But in his note he said he was my friend.”

Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. How was he going to explain his way out of this?

“I know, buddy… but sometimes, famous people say things like that because they’re just trying to be nice. They want to make their fans feel happy and special, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that Buck wants to start hanging out with us all the time and coming over for movie nights or something.”

“But why not?” Chris whined, “he was so nice, and Dad, you’ve been so lonely for so long. I just want you to have someone that makes you laugh.”

Eddie was momentarily taken aback by the honest observation his son had made. Was he really that much of a grump all the time that Chris would be so worried about his happiness?

“I already have you though, Christopher. You make me laugh all the time.”

“It’s not the same. Bobby has Athena to make him laugh. Aunt Hen has Karen. You need somebody too. And you and Buck were making each other smile a bunch that day. I think he could make you laugh a ton all the time if we invited him around.”

Eddie gave a defeated sigh, envisioning the receipt with the phone number that remained unused on his nightstand. He had found Buck really handsome and charming that day, and he had seemed nice enough for Eddie to want to get to know better. But these pleas from Christopher would be the last factor to push Eddie over the edge into dialing Buck’s number at last.

“All right, kid. I’ll see what I can do about inviting Buck around?”

His son immediately perked up. “You can do that? Really?!”

“I make no promises, and I don’t want you pouting for a month if it doesn’t happen, but I’ll certainly give it my best effort.”

“Yes!” Christopher was positively beaming with victory.

“In the meantime,” Eddie said as he stood up, clutching Chris tightly to his chest and walking back toward the boy’s bedroom, “you have got to get some sleep, mister.”

“Fiiiiine,” but the boy was too excited at the prospect of seeing Buck again for there to be any real sass behind the word.

***

Eddie lay in bed, bedside lamp still bathing the walls around him in a dim orange glow, and he stared at his phone with paralyzing nerves taking hold of the muscles in his fingers. He’d already typed in the number that would presumably call Buck, but he could not seem to make himself press the little green call button.

It was pretty late, and he didn’t want to wake Buck up if he was sleeping. But then there was the better chance that Buck wouldn’t pick up the phone because he was asleep, and then Eddie could simply get away with leaving a voicemail. One which he’d rehearsed in his head at least eight times now and was starting to feel at least slightly confident about.

He took a series of deep, calming breaths, closing his eyes and imagining something soothing. Like the waves of the ocean on a rare beach day with Christopher. Or the sound of his son cooking in the kitchen alongside Pepa and Abuela. Or the entire chorus of childhood joy when Chris, Harry, and Denny all got together in one house.

Eddie steeled himself and called Buck.

It rang four times, and Eddie was starting to grow quite optimistic that it would be the voicemail that picks up, but then, to his dismay, he got the real-life Evan Buckley instead.

“Hello?” his voice sounded far deeper than Eddie remembered, a little bit husky. A lot sexy.

“Um, hi. I’m not sure if you remember me, but, uh, well you gave me your number on the bottom of a receipt at the bookstore last week.”

“Eddie?” Buck asked immediately with the hint of a slur to the name, and Eddie’s heart fluttered at the thought that he might have made such a strong impression on the man.

“Yeah… it’s Eddie.”

“I had sort of given up hope that you’d actually call,” Buck told him, “Usually after three days and no word, it’s a definite rejection.”

“Well, the thing is… I guess I wasn’t really sure why you gave me your number to begin with. Which meant I wasn’t sure if I should actually use it.”

“I thought I made that bit pretty obvious. Did I not?”

“One thing you’ll learn about me, Buck, is that I’m pretty oblivious to nearly everything that isn’t my son. My friends like to say I’m hopeless, actually. So, you’re going to have to make it any intentions crystal clear.”

Buck let out a low, sensual chuckle. “I was flirting with you that day, Eddie. The way you stormed over to me and started giving me a lecture… it was pretty hot, not gonna lie. And then you turned out to have this great kid, and it’s not like I give my number out all that often to randos, but there was just something about you that made me not want to let the moment slip through my fingers, you know?”

This reassurance brought great relief to Eddie’s nerves, and it also filled him with a refreshing giddiness. Buck found him attractive. Buck was interested. Now that Eddie knew the feelings were mutual, he had no qualms about making the next move.

“Wow, okay. I was definitely more under the belief that it was a ‘I’m making a fool of myself’ rather than a ‘hot lecture’ kind of thing, but whatever works, I guess.”

Buck laughed again. It sounded so loose and carefree, and Eddie finally pieced it together with the slight slurring of Buck’s words.

“Are you drinking right now or something?”

“What? Oh, I had some friends over for a wine night, but they’ve all left now. I might be a tad bit tipsy, but not drunk enough to say anything I’ll regret. Promise.”

“So, if I were to ask you on a date, you’d have enough presence of mind to be able to answer?”

“Yes, I would. And my answer would most definitely be an enthusiastic yes.”

Eddie was actually blushing in the privacy of his room like some heroin in a romance flick.

“That’s great,” he breathed into the line, slightly in shock that this was actually happening right now, “when would you be free between all that book writing? I think Christopher would actually kill me if I were the cause of any delays in the next installment.”

Buck was silent for a moment, but there was some rustling of papers in the background. Probably him looking through his schedule for the upcoming month.

“I think I can make next Thursday work if that’s good for you. I mean, I don’t even know what you do for a living. Will you have work that day?”

“I’m a firefighter. And next Thursday is actually perfect for me too.”

“Oh my god,” Buck practically moaned into Eddie’s ear.

“What is it?”

“I didn’t think you could possibly get any hotter in my mind, but you just did. A firefighter, huh? That’s… wow, Eddie.”

Eddie can feel the hint of arousal growing low in his abdomen at Buck’s praising comments. This was a dangerous path they were headed down, and Eddie knew he needed to put a stop to it. They definitely could not have phone sex before they’d even gone on a single date.

“Buck…”

“Yeah?”

“I think you should go to bed and sleep off all that wine, okay?”

“You’re kind of bossy,” Buck informed him, but he made it sound like it was a good thing.

“I’ll text you sometime tomorrow with the details for our date, all right?”

Buck hummed in acknowledgement.

“Goodnight, Buck.”

“Night, Eddie,” he whispered back and the line went dead.

Eddie didn’t get a wink of sleep that night, staring at his ceiling and thinking about a tipsy blonde with hypnotizing eyes and a dazzling smile.

***

Buck was late.

Eddie had been sitting at their reserved table at a nice sushi place for over ten minutes when the man finally strolled in, hands smudged with ink stains. But the rest of him was so well put-together that Eddie couldn’t find a reason to complain. His curls had been gently smoothed down with gel, and he wore a crimson button-up that looked one wrong move away from busting open across his bulging pectoral muscles. He was in an equally as tight pair of dark jeans (Eddie suspected those might have been a signature part of the man’s wardrobe) as well as some blindingly white sneakers.

Eddie waved him over to the table that was, thankfully, in a quiet corner of the restaurant floor. As Buck walked over, he flashed a guilty expression.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, but right a I was grabbing my keys to drive over, a new idea flashed in my mind for the book, and I was afraid if I didn’t jot it down right then I would lose it.”

Eddie offered a smile to show that he wasn’t mad. “I suppose that explains the ink stains on your hands.”

Buck examined his hands with surprised eyes, as if only now noticing the state of them.

“Huh, yeah, I guess it does.”

Buck took his seat and immediately opened up his menu before pausing and getting a good look at Eddie.

It had been at least a year since Eddie tried this whole dating thing, but he still had his best blue button up that was always his go-to first date attire. He wondered what Buck thought of it. Judging by the way the man across from him gulped and widened his eyes a fraction as he properly took Eddie in, he’d say Buck was pleased with his appearance.

“Have you been here before?” Buck wondered aloud after awkwardly clearing his throat and shaking himself out of his focused gaze on Eddie’s biceps.

“Once with Hen and Chim.”

Buck gave him a questioning look.

“My coworkers,” Eddie elaborated.

“Right. Do you recommend anything, then?”

Eddie pursed his lips in thought for a moment, trying to remember what he had ordered last time and if it was any good.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I asked Hen where she thought would be a good date place, and this is what she insisted on.”

“Ah. You’re pretty close with your coworkers then?”

“Yeah. It’s sort of always like that in a firehouse. We work such long shifts together, put our lives in each other’s hands. It becomes second nature to think of your coworkers more like a family, you know?”

Buck nodded in understanding.

“I kind of get that. My publicist and editor are my two best friends in the world. We spend far too much time together and drive each other insane, but we’re sort of a family as well.”

“Those the friends you were having a wine night with when I called?”

“Yup. Ali is the publicist, and Taylor the editor. They are particularly fond of telling me what to do every second of every day.”

The waiter stopped by, and the two of them ordered their drinks. Buck simply got an iced water and made an amused face at Eddie’s sweet tea.

“I’m from Texas,” Eddie offered in explanation for his southern pallet.

“Really? When did you move out to LA?”

“It’s been about four years now. Are you from California?”

“Nope. Pennsylvania, actually. But I got the hell out of there the second I graduated high school.”

“Oh?”

“Shitty childhood,” Buck said vaguely, “but we don’t need to get into the details of all that right now. Tell me more about all this firefighting you do, Eddie.” He punctuated the request with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

 Eddie smirked in amusement. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything you’re willing to tell me.”

“Um, well I’m stationed at the 118, and our firehouse has one of the best layouts I’ve ever seen. We have this huge open loft kitchen and lounge area, and the captain loves it because he was a five-star chef in another life or something. Bobby insists that the crew eat meals together every shift. Bonding experience and all that. Hen and Chimney are trained paramedics as well as firefighters. I’m EMT certified and have experience as a combat medic, so I help them out from time to time when they need me. Right now I’m training up the new probie. His name is Ravi and he’s—”

“Woah, slow down. Did you say combat medic?”

Eddie bit the inside of his cheek, cursing himself. He hadn’t imagined getting into the Army veteran discussion on the first date.

“I did two tours in Afghanistan.”

Buck’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline. “Wow. That must have been hard to be away from family for that long, especially if it was after your son came along.”

Eddie tapped his foot anxiously, the memories of his time in the military always stressed him. “It obviously wasn’t the greatest period of my life, but I don’t really like to dwell. Christopher and I are inseparable now. I’m all he has in the world, and I’m just thankful for every day I have with him.”

The waiter returned with their beverages, and they placed their food orders. Buck got the Tekka-Maki, and Eddie the Salmon Teriyaki.

“I think that’s part of why we’ve been such big fans of your books for so long,” Eddie went on once they were alone at their table once more, “the way you write the father/son connection between Daniel and Eric is so poignant and relatable for us. Even though it’s a series aimed at children, as a single dad, I find so many elements there that I can connect to as I’m reading it with Christopher.”

Buck’s cheeks flushed slightly, and Eddie noticed that the pink shade of the birthmark above his eye got slightly darker as well. He was clearly still not accustomed to people praising his work so plainly.

“I’m glad you enjoy the stories, truly. That’s half the reason I write them, in hopes of touching people’s lives in a positive way.”

“What’s the other half?”

“Huh?”

“The other half of the reason you write?”

Buck suddenly became very focused on the grooves of the wooden table where they were seated. “We’re really doing a bad job of avoiding the heavy stuff,” he remarked with a dry humor in his tone.

Eddie flinched. “I’m sorry, Buck. I didn’t realize it was another sore subject.”

Buck shook his head to show that he wasn’t upset. “You know what? Why not get the heavy stuff over with now? Do this whole dating thing a little bit backwards and maybe it will actually turn into something good for once.”

Eddie appreciated his bold attitude, the way he so easily admitted that he’s had his fair share of relationship troubles.

“Get right down to the nitty-gritty, huh? I’m in if you are.”

Buck beamed at him. Then, he cleared his throat nervously before starting. “I had a brother who died when he was seven years old. I was still a baby, and so I never really got to meet him. His name was Daniel.”

“Oh, Buck,” Eddie uttered softly, feeling like his heart has been twisted into a vice.

“He had leukemia, and my parents had me to be the perfect donor. It didn’t really work out as they had planned. Daniel still died. My parents sort of always resented me for it, I think… the fact that I was supposed to be his savior, but I couldn’t be. And they were really distant for my entire childhood. I honestly don’t even know if they actually loved me.”

“Dios, that’s…”

“Pretty fucked up? Tell me about it. But don’t worry, I’m in therapy.”

“Was it only you growing up then? After he died?”

“No, I have an older sister, but there’s a nine-year age gap between us, so she was moving off to college and getting married by the time I hit middle school. The fighting with my parents increased tenfold without her there to mediate.”

“And so that’s why you left immediately after high school, I’m guessing?”

“Spot on. I only applied to universities on the west coast so that I could move as far away from them as possible. I had no real clue what I wanted to do with my life, but I started going to therapy pretty early in my first year of undergrad studies. My therapist is great, Dr. Copeland. She suggested at one point that journaling might help me sort through some of my feelings about Daniel and my parents. Once I started writing, I couldn’t stop. I declared a major in creative writing, and then in my free time I began spinning all these ideas in my head about what a life could have looked like for Daniel if he had gotten the chance to live… I wanted to give him that in whatever small way I could… wanted to let him live out some grand adventures after all. That’s how the books were born.”

“That’s incredible, Buck.” Eddie bit down on his tongue. “I mean, not about Daniel and your parents. That part was horrible, and I’m so sorry you had to go through all that and that you and your brother didn’t get to grow up together… but the fact that you made something so amazing as a result of all that pain. Well… it’s simply incredible.”

“Thanks,” Buck answered shyly.

Their food was served and their drinks refilled. The pair of them paused in conversation for a few moments to dig into their respective plates. Once Eddie’s stomach was slightly more satiated and no longer growling at him in hunger, he took a deep breath and looked at Buck again.

“I guess it’s my turn?”

Buck nodded. “Let’s hear all about that Texan upbringing.”

Eddie grinned. “It wasn’t too bad, honestly. I have two sisters who are a few years older than me and always saw me as the most annoying baby brother, but they still looked out for me, nonetheless. My parents loved us, but they’ve always been a bit too controlling, putting pressure on the three of us to be the most perfect version of ourselves that we could be. Adriana and Sophia succeeded in that regard, whereas I was continually the failure.”

“How so?”

“I had no interest in college, and then I started dating a girl that for whatever unknown reason my parents sort of hated. Then I got said girlfriend pregnant, and that turned into a real shitshow. They insisted that I marry her because it was the right thing to do. And for once in my life I took their advice. Should have known it would be the worst mistake I’d ever make… I was terrified of being a husband and father, was struggling to provide for my family with my meager job as a mechanic. So, I enlisted without really running it by Shannon. The next thing I know, I was being shipped off to the Middle East.”

“Was she angry with you?”

“Absolutely livid,” Eddie confirmed, “I was able to make it back for Christopher’s birth. We sort of patched things up between us the best we could. Things seemed okay for a while over our phone calls and letters… but then Chris got diagnosed with CP and we had all these doctor and surgery and physical therapy expenses, and I knew we couldn’t afford it anymore if I was discharged, so I reenlisted for a second tour.”

“Did you run it by her that time?”

“What do you think?”

Buck snorted. “Of course you didn’t.”

“Nope. I think she was so mad she might actually have killed me if I wasn’t already in a warzone.”

“What made you finally come home after the second tour?”

“Didn’t have a choice… was in a helicopter that got blew out of the sky. And then I got shot multiple times. They sort of make you take some time off after something like that.”

“How the hell did you survive that?”

Eddie shrugged and subconsciously fingered at the Saint Christopher medallion he still wore around his neck every single day. “I dunno. But thankfully, we only lost one member of our team that day.”

“Still, that’s insane. And it really sucks. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t have much time to dwell on it, I guess. I came home and Shannon was immediately on my case 24/7, which it’s not like I could really blame her since I’d left her to raise our kid alone. But I’d literally just got shot, you know. I could have used a sliver of a grace period. Anyway, we had this huge screaming match a few months later, and it ended with her shouting at me that she wanted a divorce. It hurt, but I was stubborn, so I agreed that I wanted one too. Then, Christopher started crying from listening to us fight. He was barely six at the time. She said she needed some space from us, and so she took her car and bolted… I got a call a few hours later that she’d been in a fatal car collision.”

“Oh, Eddie,” Buck said with that same sort of bewildered sorrow that Eddie had expressed earlier.

“Now it’s just me and Cristopher against the world. Just like Daniel and Eric. We moved out to LA for a fresh start barely a year after the funeral,” he finished.

Buck reached out and cupped his hand over Eddie’s where it rested on the wooden table. Although it was unconventional to talk about such things on a first date, Eddie also was glad that they did it. It was a bit cathartic to already have the ugliest parts of themselves laid bare. They didn’t have to dance around the most frightening skeletons in the closet. They’d already done the impossible in facing their worst moments together, and now everything going forward would feel as light as walking on clouds.

***

Eddie insisted on paying for dinner since he was technically the one that asked Buck out. They chatted about happier topics for a while after their plates had been cleared and the dinner crowd had thinned out. Buck told Eddie more about what his schedule was like, clearly hinting that he’d be interested in a second date. He explained that he technically had specific times planned for writing and editing his next manuscript, but that if the inspiration simply wasn’t there, Buck liked to get out of his apartment and have some fun instead. And there would be other times where the inspiration struck out of nowhere (like right before their date tonight), and Buck would have to give into the urge to write a few things down for fear of losing it.

Eddie let him know what his shift schedule was like: 24 hours on and 48 off. He lamented about the nights when his home health care aid, Carla, had to be there to read to Christopher before bed instead of him. They discussed movies and then other types of books Eddie enjoyed reading that weren’t geared toward children. Buck informed him that he actually didn’t read any fiction at all these days. He spent most of his reading time engrossed in nonfiction books on history and geography and anything else that might inspire plots for Daniel’s Adventures.

“I also read autobiographies for fun though,” Buck clarified.

“For fun,” Eddie mocked with a smirk, “yeah. Makes sense.”

***

Buck walked Eddie to his truck. He let out a long whistle as they approached the driver-side door. “Nice ride, man.”

Eddie huffed out a laugh. “Thanks, I uh, bought it on a whim about a year ago.”

“Mid-life crisis?” Buck presumed.

“Something like that.”

“Guess I’ll just have to do a little more work to piece together the entire mystery that is Eddie Diaz.” Buck's voice had dropped an octave, coming out deep and sultry as he subtly shifted closer to where Eddie stood with his back against the side of the truck.

“Guess you will,” Eddie flirted back.

“How about next weekend? We could do something a little more adventurous than dinner?”

“I dunno, I’m kind of fond of food.”

Buck flashed a sexy grin. “Fair enough. Perhaps both then?”

“Both sounds good.”

Buck’s face kept creeping closer, leaning forward so that there was barely an inch between them.

“I’d really like to kiss you right now, but I’m afraid I’m being too presumptuous,” Buck confessed in a whisper.

Eddie bit at his lower lip seductively. “Come on, Buck. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

And then they were making out in a dark parking lot against the side of Eddie’s truck. He got lost in the expert way that Buck’s lips and tongue slid against his own, in the fire that was ignited between them, burning so bright behind Eddie’s eyelids and simmering all the way down to his toes.

He thought that it might have been the start of the greatest adventure Eddie had ever been on.

Chapter Text

One thing Eddie had learned about Buck in the past couple of weeks was that the man loved to talk. And not just short sentences and casual conversations. Eddie supposed it was in the writer’s nature to send full-length paragraphs in text form at multiple points through each of Eddie’s days. He would get back to the station from a call, head to the locker rooms to freshen up, check his phone, and find that Buck had sent him three pages of texts about a documentary he had watched the night before.

Once, Buck managed to ramble for an hour about the sandwich shop he had eaten at for lunch with his editor. The man was never lacking for words.

Eddie found it incredibly endearing. Especially considering that he often felt like the polar-opposite in that regard. He had always been a quiet, hold-his-feelings in kind of guy. He bottled everything up, and when he did get the rare desire to express himself, he often found that he miserably lacked in the ability to find the right words for it. He wasn’t eloquent or poetic. Sometimes, he could be witty, but that always took him and everyone he knew by surprise. He was definitely sassy (a trait he’d passed on to Christopher), but it never took a great supply of words to show sass. In short, Eddie was a one-word sentence type, and Buck… Buck was a million-word essay sort. Somehow, Eddie suspected that this made them quite well matched.

He never had to worry about that awkward lull in conversation, never had to rack his brain for a new topic, and if he got caught up with work or fatherly duties, he always knew that Buck would be waiting with an elaborate story in text form once Eddie had a moment to check his phone again.

They had spoken over the phone a couple of times, but it wasn’t something that could happen that often. Eddie still had not told Christopher who it was that he was dating. He didn’t want to get the boy’s hopes up just yet until he could be absolutely sure that things were going to last with Buck. At which point, he could then invite Buck over to re-introduce the two of them, with Buck as Eddie’s boyfriend rather than merely a published author.

That would be at a much later time, however.

To both his and Buck’s dismay, their second date had already been rescheduled twice. The first time, it was entirely on Eddie. They’d originally planned to go out only a week after that spectacular first date, but then Eddie got a good look at his calendar the day before and realized he had told Bobby he would cover an extra shift for that day. Then, they had moved the date to this past Friday, but on that very morning, Buck had called Eddie in a panic because he had a chapter deadline that he thought he would have finished by now but had fallen woefully behind. Eddie told him not to worry about it, that they could simply reschedule again. So, they did, for the following week.

The problem was… Buck and Eddie were both very horny for each other. And it was growing more and more impossible to ignore.

Now it was a Saturday toward the end of October. He had spent the day with Chris making preparations for Halloween, shopping for the perfect costumes and then carving pumpkins to set out on their doorstep. Christopher, of course, wanted to dress up as Indiana Jones. He was quite obsessed with archeology because of Buck’s books. Eddie had chosen to take the easy route for himself rather than spending money on a costume that would surely be made of cheap, itchy material. He planned to dress up in some of his boxing gear he wore to the gym and wrap his wrists and knuckles and call it good. It wasn’t anything elaborate, but it had garnered Christopher’s approval, nonetheless.

Have I told you about the time that I went to a costume party and got drunk on pumpkin flavored jello shots? Buck messaged him after Eddie sent a snapshot of the work he and Chris had completed in their carvings so far.

Eddie snorted as he read the text. The man honestly had no shame about telling Eddie his most embarrassing stories. This one was hardly the worst thing he’d heard from Buck in the last few weeks. Before he could even pause his pumpkin carving to respond, another text was coming through.

I went dressed as Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas and everyone kept forcing the pumpkin shots on me because I was the ‘Pumpkin King.’ I’m sure this will come as a great shock, but that night ended with me barfing all over the front of my costume. I’m telling you this so you know that if you ever try to give me any food or drink that is pumpkin flavored, it will be a deal breaker.

What ever will I do with this lifetime supply of pumpkin jelly beans I bought for you? I thought you would love them!

All right, I’m calling it off right now! End of relationship, Eddie!

“What do you think, buddy? Good enough for the front porch?” Eddie asked his son as he displayed the finished product of his joyful looking Jack-O-Lantern.

“Mine’s scarier,” Chris informed him as he showed his own handy work. It was a rather mean face with bared teeth and pointy eyebrows.

“It certainly is!” He plucked the pumpkin from his son’s hands to carry it for him to their front door. “Let’s set these out and then it’s time for bed, mijo.”

“But Dad! We haven’t even got to watch a Halloween movie yet. Can’t I stay up a little longer?”

“Chris,” Eddie said in his practiced no-arguments tone, “we have all day tomorrow that we can watch as many Halloween movies as you want. But tonight, we both need rest. Okay?”

“Fiiiine.”

Eddie really wished he could remove that word from his son’s vocabulary. It was his favorite word to use when he was being a rebellious pre-teen, and Eddie had heard it far too often for his liking in the past six months.

Have big Halloween plans this year? Eddie sent to Buck before helping Chris to the bathroom to bathe and brush his teeth.

My sister invited me to a party with her work friends. I told her she should bring her boyfriend, but she said it’s still too soon for her to invite him to a holiday event. Anyway, we’re doing matching costumes of Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver.

That’s a marvel thing, right? Christopher only cares about the Spider-Man movies, so we haven’t watched any of the other ones.

But… how do you have context? You do realize that Spider-Man: Homecoming is like the 16^th movie in the MCU. That’s 15 movies that you’ve just skipped over, Eddie!!!! Have you no respect for the story-telling process?

I dunno what you want me to say, Buck. My kid literally could not care less about Iron Man and Thor.

Surely he’s a fan of Captain America?

We tried to watch the first one, but all the stuff set in the 40s bored him to death. We turned it off while Steve was still scrawny.

Well, if you’re going to use Chris as an excuse here, does that mean you’ll actually watch the other movies if you have someone else to watch them with who doesn’t get bored?

I might be willing.

Good. Because I was going to force an MCU movie marathon on you whether you were willing or not.

Eddie put the phone down on Christopher’s bedside table so that he could read a short chapter of the newest book in the I Survived series. This one in particular was about California wildfires, and Eddie had worried it would hit a little too close to home for his son, but the boy had a curiosity for the harsh reality of life sometimes, and Eddie felt it would be wrong to shield him from that.

“Goodnight, buddy,” he whispered after finishing up the last few sentences. He squeezed Chris into a warm hug and kissed his forehead before flipping the light off and heading to his own room.

There was another new text from Buck when Eddie checked his phone again.

Are you dressing up for Halloween?

I’m sort of cheating by going as a boxer. I’m just gonna wear my usual boxing gear.

Wait. Wait. Wait.

You box?

Eddie. You box?!?!?!

Um. Is that a problem?

For a moment, Eddie grew incredibly worried that Buck would not be into a man who enjoyed fighting with people in his spare time. Sure, he wasn’t doing anything illegal anymore, and sparring at the gym was loads safer than getting the shit beat out of him in a street fight, but still, he supposed that boxing was an acquired taste. Some people probably saw it as barbaric.

It’s only a problem if I don’t get a picture right now of you in this ‘boxing gear.’

You want a picture?

First you tell me you’re a firefighter, now you tell me you box in your spare time. It’s like you’re actually trying to kill me before I even get to see you in person again.

Ah, so Buck clearly was not not into the boxing then. Eddie scrolled through his camera roll searching for a semi-recent photo of himself in one of the sparring rings at the gym, fist clenched and held near his jaw, hair and bare chest drenched in sweat, having just won a match. He hesitated for only a moment before sending it to Buck.

….. Fuck. Why are you so goddamn sexy? It’s getting a bit unfair, really.

As if you’re one to talk. Like you write books for a living, so what reason do you have to literally be busting out of your shirts with insane muscles? At least my muscles make sense for work purposes.

I’ve got to have at least one hobby that has nothing to do with my books. But we’re getting off topic here. Want to send me anymore pictures?

You first. If we’re doing this, it’s gonna be quid pro quo. I send one, then you, then me again, etc.

I think I can manage that.

Buck sends a shirtless mirror selfie of himself clearly after a workout of his own. Eddie became hard after looking at for a mere second.

He had promised himself not to do the whole phone-sex thing before their first date, but, well, they’d had their first date now… And they would have already had a second date and possibly a third if they didn’t have to keep rescheduling. And Buck was always driving him crazy with the flirting and the teasing, was clearly very open to being intimate through the means of technology. Plus, there was something about the excitable, blue-eyed man that left Eddie feeling more adventurous as of late.

He turned on the lamp at his bedside, pulled his sheets down to expose his abdomen and his boxers. He reached down to cup his boner and aimed the camera at the scene, trying not to even think about what he was doing before sending the image over to Buck.

Instead of getting another message in return, Eddie’s phone began to ring. He was startled for a moment before he pressed the answer button.

“Are we really doing this?” Buck’s sultry voice came through the phone.

“If you want to, yeah,” Eddie breathed back a bit shakily. “You still owe me a picture in return, though.”

“Fuck, okay, give me a second.”

Eddie heard some rustling as Buck set about taking a photo, and he couldn’t resist rubbing at himself a bit in anticipation.

The image that came through was of Buck’s completely naked lower half, his calloused hand gripped firmly around a very nice dick. Eddie let out a groan.

“I guess you liked that, then?” Buck said to him.

And Eddie was lost once again to the fire this man caused in him. They talked and teased each other for what felt like hours that night, and by the time Eddie actually hung up and went to sleep, he was fully spent and tired enough to sleep for two days straight.

***

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going after dinner?” Eddie asked as he and Buck munched on breadsticks and salad at a casual Italian restaurant Buck had chosen.

“Eddie, I told you it was a surprise. You’re not going to worm it out of me.”

They were having their second date at last. It was the beginning of November, only a few days after Halloween. The pair of them had started their meal by discussing how Buck’s costume party with his sister had turned out and how much candy Christopher had obtained while trick-or-treating.

“I’m not a huge fan of surprises, you know,” Eddie faked a grumbly tone, but there was humor in the crinkles at the edges of his eyes. Buck had promised there would be some sort of ‘adventure’ after dinner, but he hadn’t let one word slip about what said adventure would entail. Eddie wasn’t actually all that worried. He found himself already trusting Buck quite a bit, but he was still a rather curious man and would have preferred to have been informed what they would be doing later.

“That’s too bad for you, then, because I love surprising people with things.” Buck was smirking.

Eddie rolled his eyes and took another bite of his salad.

“So, how did you get into boxing?”

Eddie flushed a bit at the question, thinking back to the incredible phone-sex they’d had as a result of Eddie mentioning his hobby.

“All my friends in the Army were into it, and I kind of just joined them so as not to be the odd man out. But then I actually really enjoyed it. It’s good for stress relief and all that. Another way to let my feelings out without having to form words.”

Buck studied him with interest. “I suppose I’ve got words enough for the both of us, huh?”

“You can say that again,” Eddie teased. Buck already knew how much Eddie liked listening to him talk though.

“Have you been boxing at the same gym since you came out to LA?”

Eddie stabbed at a tomato rather harshly. “No… remember that mid-life crisis I mentioned last time?”

Buck raised his eyebrows. “Yeah…”

“Well, it was about six months after moving here. I was still grieving Shannon, adjusting to my job at the 118, juggling taking care of Chris and getting him into a better school, and I was just so overwhelmed and frustrated all the time. I had all this anger and no real outlet for it. I suppose I could have easily found a sparring gym, but I hadn’t gotten around to it at that point. And there was this coworker, Lena. She was on loan from another station for a couple months. She saw that I was having a hard time controlling my anger, and so she invited me to this street fighting match…”

“You got into street fighting?” Buck guessed a bit bewildered.

“I’m not proud of it, but yeah. I only did it for about a month until my Captain found out and demanded I go to therapy instead… but it was long enough to earn so much money that I could by a new truck at least.”

Eddie continued focusing hard on the leaves of the iceberg lettuce drenched in vinaigrette dressing.

“Hey,” Buck said softly, pleading with Eddie to meet his eye, illustrating that he was unfazed by this newest confession, “I get it.”

Eddie looked up. “You do?”

“Sort of, yeah. I was constantly angry with my parents while growing up. Right after I turned sixteen, I used my savings to buy a motorcycle. I was hoping to get their attention, to see them actually worry about me for once… But they didn’t even care. So, I got a bit reckless, started driving around with wild abandon, doing dumb tricks. Then, one day I got into this huge fight with them over the fact that I asked a question about Daniel. I just wanted to know more about the brother I never got to have, but they refused to ever really speak about him. The only reason I knew anything was because of my sister. Anyway, I was angry, stormed out of the house, went and crashed my motorcycle on purpose.”

“You didn’t,” Eddie said in disbelief.

“I did,” Buck confirmed with a nod. “Broke my left leg in three different places. Fractured my collar bone and got a pretty bad concussion.”

“What did your parents say?”

“They fretted over me for the first few days. After that, they were as distant as ever.”

“At least your dumb, reckless phase was in your teens rather than your thirties,” Eddie pointed out.

“Trust me, I’ve done plenty of dumb, reckless things in recent years as well.”

Eddie arched an eyebrow. “Like?”

“I think that’s third date sort of material,” Buck told him with a wink.

***

From the passenger seat of Eddie’s truck, Buck directed Eddie through the streets of LA until they arrived outside what appeared to be an axe-throwing target range.

“Axe-throwing?”

Buck grinned. “You’re a firefighter. I figured you’d have a lot of experience with axes.”

“Swinging them, not throwing them.”

Buck shrugged before opening his door to climb out of the truck.

It actually turned out to be quite fun, and Eddie was impressed with himself for how spot-on his aim seemed to be when chucking a giant axe through the air at a wooden target.

“Three bullseyes in a row? I think you’re just showing off now, Eddie.”

“Of course I am,” Eddie agreed playfully. “How else am I supposed to guarantee a third date but to illustrate my superior axe-throwing skills?”

“At this point, I’m willing to give you as many dates as you want,” Buck informed him as he ran his fingers along the tattoo just below Eddie’s elbow.

Buck took his turn again, managing to land the head of the axe right at the edge of the center circle. He let out an exasperated groan at the fact that his score was still lagging behind Eddie’s.

“You’re competitive, huh?” Eddie noted with a pleased smile.

“Perhaps a little.”

“I’m pretty competitive too,” Eddie admitted.

“That’s good. I like someone who can give me a good run for my money,” Buck said huskily right as Eddie threw his own axe. This time it missed the painted circle target altogether and landed in the far corner of the wooden board.

“Yes!” Buck whooped, proud of himself for giving Eddie a distraction of his own.

“This means war, Buckley,” Eddie said to the man with a faux threatening glare.

***

When Eddie went to drop Buck off at his apartment, making out in the front seat of his truck had turned into Buck inviting him inside for a drink. Since Carla had promised she could stay with Christopher until midnight, Eddie couldn’t resist taking Buck up on his offer.

The place was a sleek, open loft with wide windows and an impressive kitchen. He complimented Buck on the apartment as the man grabbed them a couple of beers and guided Eddie to the couch. They barely got three sips in before the bottles were abandoned on the coffee table and they were making out like teenagers again.

Eddie couldn’t remember a time when he had felt this wound up over someone, couldn’t recall another moment when every last one of his nerve endings had buzzed with such anticipation and pleasure. It was when Buck’s hand found its way to the hard bulge under Eddie’s jeans that gave him pause though.

Buck obviously felt him tense up for a moment because he instantly pulled his hand away. “Everything okay?”

Eddie pulled his face away from where it had been biting at Buck’s neck, allowing himself a few seconds to catch his breath before he spoke.

“Yeah… Yeah, it’s just— I’m not really ready to, um… I don’t want to have sex with you, yet… And I know I probably gave the wrong impression with the whole phone-sex thing, but I’m just… I…” Once again, his words were failing him.

“Eddie, I promise I wasn’t expecting us to have sex tonight. You didn’t give me any sort of wrong impression with the phone-sex, okay? It was fun. I really enjoyed doing that with you, but it doesn’t mean I expected you to put out because of it.”

“You didn’t?”

“No. I’m perfectly fine with just making out. If you want to do a little more, that’s great too. But honestly, I don’t even think I’m ready for penetrative sex with you either. I, uh, used to have a bad habit of jumping into bed with people too soon, and so I try not to do that anymore… no matter how much of a DILF they are.”

Eddie snorted. “You did not just call me a DILF.”

“Oh, I definitely did.”

Eddie tucked his finger under Buck’s jaw and used it to pull him in for another heated kiss. His mind became blurry as Eddie somehow ended up pressed on top of the man, Buck’s legs wrapped snugly around Eddie’s waste. Their shirts had been discarded, but they still wore their pants, though the multiple layers of material didn’t deter Buck from blowing Eddie’s mind as he ground up against him. At first, Eddie had been hesitant to leave any marks as he kissed along Buck’s neck and chest, but now he hardly had the wherewithal to care as he left a pattern of beautiful bruises with his mouth in-between moans.

After they’d finished, Eddie had to ask to borrow a pair of Buck’s pants, and Buck had laughed as Eddie put them on and had to roll up the ends so they wouldn’t drag on the ground.

Eddie checked the time and saw that he still had at least half an hour before he needed to head home. Buck reeled him back into his embrace on the couch, holding him in a comfortable cuddle against his chest.

“Was that okay?” Buck checked in, worried that Eddie would regret what little they had done in regard to sex.

“It was perfect. I’m sorry I got all panicky earlier…”

“Don’t be. I’m glad you felt like you could be honest about what you were and were not comfortable doing.”

“Yeah… I should probably tell you that my experience with guys isn’t exactly… I never slept with anyone before Shannon. And since her, I’ve dated around a bit with men and women, fooled around some. But I’ve not actually gotten to the penetrative sex part of a relationship with anyone other than Shannon.”

Buck placed a kiss to Eddie’s temple and gave him a meaningful look. “Eddie, I don’t know how many times I’ll have to say it before it sets in, but I will not push you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. We’ll take it as slow as you want.”

“You’re not bothered by the fact that I honestly have no idea what I’m doing here? I mean, I’ve only given three blow jobs in my entire life.”

Buck chuckled. “Listen, I find you incredibly attractive, and obviously that makes me horny for you like 99% of the time. However, I’m an adult with a brain who can control himself. I’ll wait as long as you want. And if or when you’re ready to do more, I can guide you through everything. Although, I doubt you’ll be as terrible at it as you seem to believe.”

Eddie could only stare at Buck shyly.

“For the record, I bet your blowjobs are phenomenal,” Buck added, causing Eddie to burst into laughter.

When the time finally came around for Eddie to get home, they both stood from the couch and Eddie slipped his boots back on over his socked feet. Buck walked him to the door of his apartment, wrapping Eddie up in his arms one last time and kissing him rather thoroughly before muttering a tender goodbye against his lips.

As Eddie took the elevator down to the ground floor and located his truck in the parking lot, he found himself already daydreaming about how great a third date with Buck might be. Eddie was growing attached quite quickly. He only hoped it was a good sign that things were finally looking up for his love life.

***

“How’s the boyfriend?” Chimney asked as Eddie joined them at the table for a meal of Cap’s famous mac and cheese.

“Not my boyfriend, yet. At least, I don’t think he is… We haven’t really discussed labels.”

“How many dates have you been on?” Hen asked.

“Only two, but that’s mostly because we’re both pretty busy with work. Buck took me to an axe-throwing range last weekend.”

Bobby raised his eyebrows in concern. “That sounds pretty dangerous.”

“It was fine, Bobby. I promise we were careful, and the place has a bunch of rules you have to read before they let you do anything.”

“Sounds like a fun guy if that’s his idea for a date,” Hen pointed out.

“He likes adventure,” Eddie told them with a fond smile dancing across his lips.

“You know you’re gonna have to think of something better, right?” Chimney said.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve got to one-up him for the next day, plan something even more fun than axe-throwing. Otherwise, it will seem boring.”

“Fuck. I hadn’t considered that.” Eddie glanced around at his friends. “Any suggestions?”

The rest of dinner passed with everyone at the table offering ideas, most of which Eddie turned down until he finally settled on the thought of taking Buck to the Santa Monica pier. Hen and Bobby were supportive of the plan, but Chimney was trying to talk him out of it.

“Are you sure you want to go there after that tsunami we had two years ago?”

“Chim, tsunamis are random natural disasters. The chance of one happening at the pier again is very slim,” Bobby reminded the man.

“Still, I don’t think I could stand to go back there after having to cruise around in boats and see the whole thing underwater that day.”

“It was pretty intense,” Eddie agreed, “but the pier is fully rebuilt now, and you can’t even tell that anything ever happened there. I took Chris over the summer, and we had a blast. I think it would be a fun, carefree sort of thing to do with Buck.”

“All right,” Chim said, throwing his hands up in defeat, “don’t call me when you get swept away by the ocean.”

“Wow, rude.”

“Just for that, you’re on dish duty, Chimney,” Bobby told him, and amusement gleamed in the Captain’s eyes as Chim immediately began a new round of complaints.

***

Eddie did take Buck to the pier… only to find out that apparently he had been in the tsunami two years ago.

“You were here when it hit?”

“I was suffering pretty bad writer’s block that week. I thought it would help to get out and do something fun, be around a bunch of people. I was chilling on that bench over there sipping on a slushy when the water started to recede.”

“How did you survive?” Eddie asked with horror in his voice.

“Honestly? I’m not even sure. Luck, I guess. I ran as fast I could, and then when the water hit me, I swam as hard as I could. Eventually came across a firetruck and climbed on top. I tried to help as many people as I could reach out of the water as they were being carried past me by the current. I think there were around twenty of us sitting up there by the time rescue boats showed up that evening.”

“Would that be some of the reckless behavior you mentioned last time we hung out?”

“I’ve been known to get a little self-sacrificial when it comes to helping others.”

“Maybe you should save that for the firefighters, Buck,” Eddie scolded him with a playful shove to the man’s arm. “Listen, we can go somewhere else if you don’t want to be here. Or I can just take you back home if you like.”

“Are you kidding?” Buck said with a joyful grin on his face, “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here with you, Eddie.”

Eddie couldn’t resist planting a relieved kiss to Buck’s lips, so thankful that he hadn’t thoroughly messed everything up with this date.

***

The rest of November seemed to fly by in a flurry of outings with Buck. They’d done everything from rock climbing to romantic nights at the cinema. Cliffside hiking to walks along the beach. Picnics at the park to Buck attempting (and failing hilariously) to give Eddie surfing lessons.

Many of these dates ended with Eddie back at Buck’s apartment, getting spectacularly sweaty as the two of them gave into their desires. Sure enough, Buck was seemingly impressed with Eddie’s blow job abilities, though Eddie accused him of being biased. Still, they didn’t go any further than using their hands or mouths to get each other off, sinking into the comfort of the leisurely pace that they had set. They were taking things slow, as Buck had promised, and it was the happiest Eddie had felt in over a decade.

Occasionally, while wandering around Buck’s loft, Eddie would try to get glimpses of the newest novel’s progress. He was a curious man, after all. But Buck always gave him a proper lecture about being patient and what Christopher would think if he knew his dad wasn’t following his own advice.

Christopher now knew that Eddie was spending time with Buck, but they still hadn’t gotten to the stage of three of them hanging out together. Eddie had explained to Chris that he wanted to make absolutely certain that Buck would be the best friend ever before he let him into his son’s life. Christopher was grumbly and impatient about it at first, begging Eddie to get to go on his dates with him, but he’d finally settled into a content demeanor once his dad had promised to bring Buck around by Christmas time.

“What was the last serious relationship you had before this one?” Eddie asked one night from one of the barstools in Buck’s kitchen as he watched the taller man fry up some grilled cheeses for a late-night snack.

“There was a guy a few years back. Ansel. Before him, well, I already mentioned that I used to sleep around a lot with men and women. Anyone who would have me, really. Sort of got myself into a bit of trouble when I hooked up with this lady in the bathroom of a bar and someone recognized me and snapped some photos. It got back to my publishers, and they almost dropped my book deal. Said it wasn’t appropriate for the author of a children’s series to be getting up to such things in public. Ali convinced them to keep me, thank god, but after that I was pretty shaken up. I was afraid to have sex with anyone at all for a while.” Buck paused in his story as he plated the sandwiches and slid one across the counter to Eddie.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Anyway, I ran into Ansel at a writer’s panel. He does memoirs and other personal nonfiction stories. We exchanged numbers and just talked over the phone for a really long time, getting to know each other that way rather than in person at my insistence because I was terrified to jump into bed with him. Eventually, we did meet up and everything was great. When we did have sex, I didn’t feel ashamed of it because I was falling for him pretty hard. We were together for about four months after that.”

“What happened to end it?”

“He wanted to go travel Europe for a new memoir idea. Said it would be an Eat, Pray, Love sort of thing. Made it pretty clear he wished to be single for the experience.”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Buck.”

Buck took a large bite out of his grilled cheese and shrugged. “Don’t be. It was for the best. Really.”

***

What would you say if I told you I was ready to start that MCU marathon? Eddie sent to Buck at the beginning of December. Christopher had a sleepover scheduled at a friend’s house for the weekend, and he was hoping to not spend his night in solitude.

My place?

Actually, I was thinking you could come to mine this time. Chris is staying over at a friend’s for the night.

Send me the address and I’ll be there.

***

“You don’t think Thor is hot?” Buck asked him incredulously as they watched one of the many scenes where the Asgardian God found himself shirtless.

“Eh, he’s okay. A little overrated.”

“There is nothing overrated about those muscles, Eddie.”

“Perhaps it’s the hair that just doesn’t do it for me.”

“I shouldn’t grow mine out, then? Noted.”

Eddie reached over and tousled Buck’s curls in response.

Buck offered him a small smile, but then his face turned more serious. “Hey, um, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Eddie paused the movie. “Okay. Go for it.”

“Well, it seems like we’ve both kind of mutually agreed we’re serious about each other, and I’m certainly not planning on seeing anyone else, nor did I think you were either… but still, we never actually got around to defining our relationship.”

Eddie placed a hand on Buck’s thigh, offering him comfort to show that he needn’t be stressed over this. “How would you define us, Buck?”

“I mean… I’d like to call you my boyfriend… if that’s okay with you?”

Eddie pressed a brief kiss to Buck’s lips. “That’s great with me. But if you’re my boyfriend, you’re gonna have to stop thirsting over Thor while I’m sitting right next to you.”

Buck flashed a coy look. “Why? Is it making you jealous, Eddie?”

Eddie groaned. “If you don’t stop with that face and that voice, we’re never going to make it through any of these movies.”

***

This was their first time doing this in Eddie’s bed. In fact, this was their first time doing this ever. Because somewhere within the credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Eddie had realized that he was finally ready to share every last part of himself with Buck. They stumbled to the bedroom together, the television long forgotten, and Buck so tenderly led Eddie through every daunting step until it felt as natural as breathing. Until he couldn’t imagine going a single day without having Buck like this, being inside of him like this. Until Eddie was so far gone he didn’t think his soul would ever quite return to his body.

***

“Would you stay the night?” he muttered against Buck’s should blade. His boyfriend was laying with his chest pressed into Eddie’s mattress, still breathing pretty heavy from exhaustion. Eddie was curled around him, placing languid kisses across his back rather frequently as they marinated in the afterglow and performed their version of pillow talk.

“What time will I need to be gone by in the morning?” Buck asked in return, the sentence sort of garbled by the way his face was half-buried in a pillow.

“Actually, I was thinking you could stick around for breakfast, if you’d like. Be here when Chris gets dropped off and all that.”

Buck rolled over so that he could gaze into Eddie’s eyes. “You sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

***

“How’s the book coming along?” Eddie asked a little while later as they munched on a bag of chips in his bed. There were going to be crumbs everywhere, but he couldn’t find the energy to care right now.

They’d talked and kissed long enough to find themselves in the mood for another round, and then after that, Buck’s stomach had started to growl comically, so Eddie had braved the chilly air-conditioned environment outside the covers of his bed to collect them glasses of water and a, thankfully, not expired bag of Ruffles.

“Nearly done with the last couple of chapters. It will still have to go through several rounds of edits, but it’s well on its way to being done.”

“It’s going to have a happy ending, I hope?”

Buck looked affronted. “You really think me capable of writing anything less than a happy ending?”

“Just double checking that it isn’t going to wreck my kid for a month after he reads it.”

“Actually, there was something I wanted to run by you about it.”

“Oh? I didn’t know I was allowed to give input on your writing now,” Eddie joked.

“Not exactly… but I wrote a new character, a friend that Daniel meets in the next place they travel to, and well, in the current draft, his name is Christopher and he wears red glasses and has curly brown hair. I wanted to do it as sort of a surprise present to Chris… but if you’re not comfortable with it, then I can always change the name and the description around a little.”

Eddie would not tear up over such a silly thing. He wouldn’t.

But he was.

“You did that? For Chris?”

“I just know he loves reading so much, and I thought it might make him really happy to read himself as a character in an actual book, you know? He’s so fond of Daniel that it seemed fitting for him to be immortalized forever as Daniel’s friend.”

“He’ll absolutely love it,” Eddie told him breathlessly, wiping at his eyes.

“So, it’s okay to leave it that way, then?” Buck asked again, still looking unsure.

“It’s perfect.” Eddie removed the bag of chips from Buck’s hand so that he could embrace him. “You are so thoughtful,” he praised before sharing a particularly salty kiss.

***

“Dad! You’ll never guess what Jefferson got for his birthday this year!” Christopher shouted as soon as he came through the front door the next morning. Buck and Eddie were currently working on pancakes in the kitchen, and they both chuckled at the boy’s greeting.

“In the kitchen, buddy. And let’s use our inside voices, yeah?”

The clacking sound of crutches on the hard flooring could be heard as the boy made his way through the house.

“Jefferson’s parents bought him a cellphone because they said he’s old enough now. And we’re the same age, so does that mean I can have a cellphone too?” Chris was saying as he came around the corner.

“Um, that’s a definite no. We already agreed to wait until you were thirteen, remember?”

But Eddie’s answer was ignored because Chris had finally come fully into the kitchen and was exclaiming, “Buck!” as he spotted the man flipping flapjacks at the stove.

“Hey, kid! How’s my favorite little adventurer?”

“Dad! You didn’t tell me Buck was going to be here,” Chris remarked as he walked over to give Buck a hug. Buck seemed rather surprised by the gesture, but he accepted it, nonetheless.

“It was a spur of the moment decision, mijo. But if it’s not okay, then Buck can always come back another time.”

“No! I want him to stay and eat pancakes with us. Then I can show him my bookshelf in my room and tell him all about the book we’ve been reading this week.”

“Sounds good to me,” Buck agreed with a grin.

Eddie sported a grin of his own, immeasurably glad at the fact that his son and his boyfriend were already fast friends.

***

 “Eddie! Welcome! Come in! Come in!” Athena said, waving them through the doorway. “And this must be the infamous Buck. It’s such a pleasure to meet the man making Eddie and Chris so happy.”

Eddie blushed and Christopher took off toward Harry and Denny without a proper greeting.

“Nice to meet you…”

“Athena,” she offered, “Bobby’s wife.”

“Of course. Eddie has told me many great things about your cooking.”

“He certainly knows how to stay on my good side. Speaking of, I’ve gotta get back to the kitchen and help Bobby finish up with the Christmas ham.”

It was Christmas Eve, and although Buck had plans with his sister and his friends the following day, he’d graciously agreed to attend Bobby and Athena’s annual dinner alongside Eddie and Chris.

“Maddie?” Buck’s voice came from beside him as Eddie was just about to greet Chimney and his girlfriend which he was also introducing to the team for the first time. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? Evan, what are you doing here?”

Eddie and Chim exchanged perplexed looks. “Do you know what’s going on?” Chimney asked him.

“Nope. I’m just as confused as you, apparently.”

“Maddie is my older sister,” Buck explained to his boyfriend. “You didn’t tell me you were dating a member of the 118, Mads,” he complained at her.

“Neither did you! How was I supposed to know that the Eddie you talk about is the same one Howie talks about?”

“And how was I supposed to know that the ‘Howie’ you talk about also goes by ‘Chimney,’ which, what’s up with that nickname anyway?”

“Evan, don’t be rude to my boyfriend.”

“Why does Eddie call you Buck if your name is Evan?” Chimney countered.

“Maddie is the only one that has ‘Evan’ rights, and I barely tolerate it from her.”

“Barely tolerate it,” Maddie mocked with her arms crossed.

“Okaaaay, this is a lot for me to process,” Eddie announced. “I’m gonna go grab a beer from the kitchen. You want one, babe?”

Buck paused his bickering with his sister long enough to say, “yes, please,” and then went right back to it.

“I think I’ll go grab us some drinks as well,” Chimney muttered more to himself than anything before following Eddie.

“Wow. What are the odds, huh?” Chim said once they were standing in front of the open fridge, studying the selection of chilled beverages.

“Probably about as likely as surviving rebar through your skull, but you seem to be an against-the-odds kind of guy,” Eddie joked.

“Did you hear the good news, Cap?” Hen spoke loudly as she joined them in the kitchen.

“What’s that?” Bobby asked as he glanced up from the ham he was carving.

Hen slung both her arms around Eddie and Chimney’s shoulders. “These two are brother-in-laws!”

They grimaced in unison.

***

Eddie had been racing to get home. It was a couple of weeks after the new year, and he’d invited Buck over to have dinner and movies and stay the night one last time before his boyfriend was set to leave on his brief book tour. Daniel’s Adventures: Book 8 would be released at midnight next Friday, and the author would already be in San Francisco by then, prepped for interviews and his first round of signings. Buck would be away from home for about a month, visiting Chicago, New York, and even Austin. Eddie was already dreading the distance, knowing full-well that he’d be a little miserable without their time together every couple of days.

So, he and Chris had made big plans for tonight’s dinner and movie, aiming to make sure that Buck knew how missed he would be while away from LA. Alas, the 118 had gotten called to a large pileup midway into Eddie’s shift, which resulted in him having to stay over an extra two hours. Thankfully, Carla had picked Chris up from school for him, but Buck was supposed to come around to the Diaz house by 5:30, and it was already 5:25 when Eddie clamored through the door appearing thoroughly wiped out.

“Why don’t you jump in the shower while I’m still here,” Carla suggested, “I’m sure you don’t want your man seeing you like that.” She wrinkled her nose. “Or smelling you.”

“You’re a saint,” Eddie said in thanks before taking off to the bathroom.

He didn’t intend on taking his time in there, but once he got under the soothing sensation of the steamy water on his skin, he sort of zoned out into a daze. It wasn’t unusual for him to use this brief alone time to process everything he had seen in a day’s work and then carefully compartmentalize it by the time he was drying off with a towel so that he could enjoy his evening with his son. This was perhaps why he was in there for at least ten minutes longer than he realized.

He shut off the water in haste, scurried to get himself dry and then tugged his clothes on in a flurry. When he walked back out into the living room, Carla was nowhere in sight, and her purse was no longer hanging by the door. It was odd because Carla never usually took off without giving him a heads up.

Eddie headed for the kitchen to investigate further and what he saw just about made his heart melt faster than a five-alarm fire. Christopher was sitting in his usual chair, focused hard on what Eddie presumed to be his latest essay for English class, and Buck was sitting in the chair right next to him, wearing an oversized, soft blue hoodie, focusing on some writing of his own. Both boys were gnawing at their lips in concentration, Chris with a pencil in hand and Buck with a pen, wrists flying back and forth across the pages of paper. It was, to put it simply, rather adorable.

He must have made a noise of affection because Buck suddenly glanced up at him. “Hey, I went ahead and told Carla she could take off. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course. Thanks, Buck.”

Buck barely missed a beat before he was jotting down words again.

“Did you have homework too?” Eddie teased his boyfriend.

“You know how it is, always planning ahead to the next big story. Thought of a few ideas on my drive over and figured it best I get them down now while you were busy showering.”

“Better be careful or that one there might steal a peek and share all the details with his schoolmates,” Eddie warned him, pointing an accusatory finger at his nosy son.

“The apple doesn’t fall far then,” Buck retorted.

Eddie scoffed in fake offense before walking over and planting a kiss to the tops of each of their heads. “Pizza okay for dinner?”

“Yes!” Christopher chanted a bit overenthusiastically.

“Yep,” Buck echoed.

Eddie reached over to the counter to grab the home-line which had their favorite delivery place saved on speed dial. Buck was watching him now with the loveliest expression on his face, and Eddie realized then that a love for this man had consumed him without Eddie having the chance to properly notice it.

For once in his life, Eddie didn’t feel tongue-tied and lacking for the appropriate way to phrase his emotions. “I love you,” he declared without thinking it over any longer. They’d never spoken the words before, but he hoped Buck could feel it just as soundly as Eddie was at present.

Christopher, who was committed to writing his paper and not bothering to look at the pair of them, thought his dad had been speaking to him. “Love you too, dad!” he called back without breaking his flow.

Eddie and Buck shared a silent smirk because there had been no actual doubt between them of who Eddie had been addressing in that moment.

I love you too, Buck mouthed back without making a noise. Eddie understood it clearly, regardless.

Even while Buck was travelling the country for a month, he knew they would be okay. That Buck would be thinking of Eddie and Chris in his absence, that he’d come back to them the second he got the chance, and that Buck had no desire for a happy ending that didn’t include his Diazes.

Chapter Text

Epilogue

"…Daniel was sprinting with wild abandon through the Esmerelda Street in the city of Valparaiso. Honestly, he hadn’t realized that goats could run so fast, but perhaps it was the fact that this goat in particular was incredibly angry at him that spurred it along at record-setting speeds. He’d been so convinced it was the guardian girl (bewitched as a goat) that was rumored to block the gate leading to Verde Cave. He only needed to get past her, and then it would be smooth sailing to find Sir Francis Drake’s treasure. Well, if this goat actually was a girl in disguise, she was a grumpy one at that. Daniel didn’t know how many corners he’d turned, how many blocks he’d raced down, but the furious goat was still hot on his heels.

Then, disaster struck."

“Oh no!” Christopher fretted, twisting his hands anxiously into the comforter, truly worried about whether or not Daniel was going to get away unscathed.

Eddie pressed on in his reading.

"Daniel tripped helplessly on a loose cobble flailing as his face headed straight for the ground, but at the last second, a set of arms and crutches were reaching out to grab onto him. He wobbled on his feet for a moment, allowing the stranger to help him regain his balance once more.

'This way!' the boy with curly brown hair and kind eyes hidden behind red glasses urged him. Daniel didn’t have a spare moment to contemplate the decision before following him down an almost hidden entrance to a secluded alleyway. There was barely enough room to walk single-file between the stones of the buildings, but it was perfect for slipping out of sight from an insane, horned mammal.

'Thanks for that,' Daniel said genuinely once he’d had a chance to catch his breath. 'I’m Daniel. You are?'

'Christopher. Come on, you can hide in my dad’s shop until the coast is clear."

In the comfort of his bed, cuddled up next to his dad, Christopher let out a gasp of wonder and disbelief.

“Christopher?” He looked at Eddie in question first, and then his wide-eyed gaze landed on the phone propped on the nightstand, currently on a FaceTime call with Buck. Both men were grinning at the boy excitedly, waiting for his thoughts on this new discovery.

“Buck, is that… Is that me?”

Through the screen, Buck could be seen nodding with mirth in his eyes and dimples on his cheeks. “Sure is, buddy. I couldn’t leave my favorite little adventurer out of the next big story, could I?”

Christopher was still clearly in a state of shock. He sat frozen on the bed, blinking wildly at both Buck and Eddie. Then, he grabbed the book out of Eddie’s hands and read back over the same passage himself to make sure he hadn’t misheard anything.

“I saved Daniel…” he noted wistfully.

“Yep. You’re a hero just like your dad.”

Christopher smiled so brightly, and Eddie leaned down to press a kiss into his hair. Chris shoved the book back into his dad’s grasp. “Keep going, dad,” he insisted, “I want to find out what I’m going to do next!”

Eddie and Buck let out matching laughs, and then Eddie went back to dutifully reciting the remainder of the chapter.

Later, as the boy’s eyes were fighting to stay open and his dad had pulled the blanket up to his chin to keep him cozy, he whispered at the phone still at his bedside, “Thank you, Buck… Best. Surprise. Ever.” And then he was out like a light as Eddie grabbed his phone and headed to his own room.

“How’s New York, babe?” Eddie asked as he settled in under his own covers.

“Lonely,” Buck complained.

“Hey,” Eddie replied in a soothing tone, “just a couple more weeks, right?”

“Yeah… You’re gonna get so sick of me when I get back to LA. I’m gonna be clinging to you for months.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Eddie promised.

Buck gave him a bashful smile through the screen.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Buck wondered.

“For making me and my kid so unbelievably happy all the time.”

“It’s my favorite pastime,” Buck joked, but Eddie could hear the way his voice caught with heavy emotion, and he knew that his words had been fully felt from thousands of miles away.

At some point as they continued to talk, Eddie released his grip on the phone and let it rest beside his tired face on the pillow, attempting to stifle a yawn. And sometime later, without having even ended the call, the two of them reunited in their dreams.