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Ever since Bucks’ parents had come back into the picture, things had felt—off.
Sure, Buck had told them that he forgave them, but he hadn’t really meant it; it was difficult to hate people you didn’t really care about. At the end of the day, they were still his parents, yes, but it didn’t mean that he had to care about them. His feelings had always felt invalid in regards to them, and with everything that he’d recently found out, well, sue him if he wasn’t so willing to let it go.
The only reason why he even agreed to sit down with them that day at the fire station was for Maddie; she had practically raised him and helped mold him to be the person he is today. Yes, she lied to him too, but she was also just a kid—Buck couldn’t really blame her for that. Maddie had always showed him love and had almost always stuck by his side, except for when she was battling her own demons; maybe if their parents would’ve supported them more, they could’ve prevented the whole ‘Maddie/Doug’ thing.
He'd been griping about having to sit through dinner with his parents at work one day when the team was gathered together upstairs. They wanted to come to Bucks’ loft, just the three of them; Buck was less than looking forward to it. In his complaining, Bobby offered, “Why don’t you bring them to our place son? Athena and I can cook and make sure things stay civil.”
Buck immediately brightened at the idea; Bobby and Athena acted more like his parents than his real ones did. They were Bucks’ family, and even though the thought of getting them all together for an evening was terrifying in itself, it still beat the alternative—being alone with them in his apartment. “Yea, yea thanks Bobby. That sounds great!”
Buck had casually mentioned to his parents they’d be meeting at his captains place instead, giving them little explanation before all but hanging up on them; if they wanted to spend time with him then it would be on his terms.
And so, Friday evening, Buck found himself in Bobby and Athena’s kitchen, the two of them teaching him their different recipes. Bobby was making lasagna, while Athena was baking some decadent brownies; Buck was eager to try both. Athena gave him one of her fond smiles as Buck all but salivated over the raw batter. “I sure do love your appetite son.” He smiled back to her, his body going a little still at the sound of the doorbell ringing. Bobby nodded to him, assuring him things would be ok.
He answered the door, plastering a half smile on his face to greet his parents. His mom looked like she was going to pull him in for a hug before thinking better of it; they weren’t quite there yet—Buck didn’t know if they ever would be. Instead, she patted him on the shoulder, his dad reaching a hand out as they exchanged and awkward handshake. Buck led them inside, introducing them to Bobby and Athena, the two of them taking over the conversation easily; Buck was grateful to have them here.
He pretended to fiddle with salad, over prepping it as he let his parents and…. well, his other parents conversate. Another ding at the door had him pausing, turning to glance at Bobby who seemed unphased. “Buck, why don’t you get that for us son.” And well, he’d take any excuse to not be present in this moment, so he left the kitchen, making to open the door once more.
On the other side lay a true knight in shinning armor; ok, it was just Eddie, but come on, Buck wasn’t exactly far off.
Buck raised his brows “Uh hey Eds. What a-what’re you doing here?” Eddie shrugged, holding up a case of their favorite beer. “Bobby invited me. Figured you could use another buffer or two,” he said gesturing to the beer once again. A genuine smile crossed Buck’s face; Bobby knew just what he needed, Eddie a willing participant. Without really thinking about it, Buck leaned forward, pulling Eddie into his arms, hugging him tightly, Eddie’s arms wrapping around him after a few seconds. “Thanks Eds.” He pulled away awkwardly after a minute, ushering Eddie inside before closing the door behind them.
Eddie had met the Buckley’s once, and while he hadn’t spent any real time with them, he’d heard enough about them to form his own assumptions. Still, he greeted them politely, reminding himself he was there for Buck. He cracked open a couple beers for him and Buck, offering one to Mr. Buckley who passed, stating he was more of a wine guy; figures.
Having Eddie by his side, while also being in one of his safe places had Buck feeling lighter, almost enjoying the evening. Once dinner was ready, Bobby sat at the head of the table, Athena to his right, with Buck and Eddie next to her, his parents across the way; he felt secure, surrounded by some of his favorite people.
The conversation flowed easily for the first bit as they plated their salad and lasagna, his mother stating how wonderful it looked. Bobby smiled, “You can thank your son, he prepped most of it.” Athena looked to Buck fondly as she added, “Just wait until you see the brownies he made.” Margret glanced over to Buck then, voice cheery “That’s wonderful, Evan. I had no idea you were into culinary.” Buck cringed at the use of his first name, but refused to let it deter him; she would know more about his life if she’d ever cared to be in it. “Uh yea, Bobby’s uh, a great teacher. He's always showing me how to make new recipes.” His father nodded, “Well that’s wonderful son.” Even though it wasn’t his name, something about the word ‘son’ coming out of his father’s mouth felt…odd; it wasn’t anything like when Athena or Bobby used the term.
After they’d had a few bites, Margret shared her thoughts about how wonderful the lasagna was, looking to her son once more. “Maybe you can cook for us next time Evan, we could make a night of it.” Buck’s leg had been shaking anxiously under the table for the better part of five minutes, the use of his name only increasing his adrenaline. A warm, strong hand came over his thigh, squeezing gently in reassurance—Eddie; while that helped relax him, it also brought on a whole new set of nerves.
Philip agreed with his wife, looking to Buck with a wave of his fork. “Yes, Evan I think that would be wonderful. We’d love to see your place.”
The grip on his thigh tightened, Athena coming to the rescue as she began steering the conversation elsewhere, namely away from Buck. They made it through dinner without too many more speed bumps, Eddie’s hand remaining a comforting source all throughout. When it was time for dessert, Buck all but jumped up from the table, announcing he would get it. Eddie followed soon after with a stack of dishes, Buck immediately feeling guilty for not helping clear the table. “Shit, sorry Eds, I uh—” Eddie pressed a hand to his shoulder. “Hey don’t worry about it. I’m sure you were anxious to get out of there.” Buck let out a nervous laugh, “That obvious, huh?”
The brunette only shrugged in response; he was starting to understand why Buck and his parents had been estranged for so many years. It was like they didn’t even know their son, nor had they ever bothered to try to figure him out. Athena and Bobby were so much more in tune with him; Eddie was so grateful Bobby had come up with this plan, inviting him along as well. It looked like Buck could use all the support he could get. He rinsed the dishes off, watching as Buck meticulously cut the brownies, placing them on plates one by one, clearly trying to make the task last as long as possible. Eddie nodded towards the freezer, “I think I saw some ice-cream in there earlier when I was getting the ice out.”
Buck smiled brightly; the fact that his best friend could read him like a book wasn’t always a bad thing. He grabbed the vanilla ice cream from the freezer, letting it thaw before taking his time to scoop out precise scoops, grabbing silverware to go with each. Eddie helped him carry them back into the dining room, Buck setting two in front of his parents. His mother beamed. “Wow, you weren’t kidding, Athena. These look divine Evan.” He all but dropped his own plate, hating how his parents continually used his first name, even though he’d told them several times to call him Buck. He’d only granted certain people privilege to use his given name, and they were not on that list.
Bobby picked up the conversation where they’d left off, telling them about one of the recent calls they’d been on, his parents listening with interest. Buck scoffed internally; it was only cool to them when it wasn’t about him. At some point, Eddie’s hand had drifted back to his thigh, Bucks’ hand reaching down to intertwine their fingers, Eddie squeezing in reassurance; this dinner couldn’t come to and end soon enough.
It was about three more ‘Evan’s’ in when Buck had had enough, his body all but wanting to flee across the table to get in their faces; he didn’t get the chance to.
They were talking about Jee-Yun, a safe enough topic, the conversation mostly sticking to his adorable niece, his sister and Chimney—until it didn’t. His mother glanced toward Buck with sympathy. “I just wish you could find someone like Maddie did, Evan.” His father quickly added, “I think you would make a wonderful husband, Evan.”
As Eddie’s grip tightened, Bobby tried once again to shift the conversation, none of them missing the words that fell from Athena’s mouth, albeit under her breath. “Dumbasses.”
Everyone’s attention was suddenly on Athena, all of them looking a little wide eyed, the two youngest between shock and wanting to burst into laughter; Bobby looked the most awestruck of them all. It was Margret who spoke first, clearing her throat. “Um, excuse me?”
Athena was completely calm as she answered. “Oh, you’re excused. Feel free to leave my house anytime now.” A gasp came out of his mother, his father taking over. “That’s no way to talk to us, I don’t appreciate—” Athena harshly cut him off with, “And I don’t appreciate the way you’re talking to my son, the one that has asked you on several occasions to call him Buck. You people are such dumbasses.”
Buck and Eddie were both desperately trying to hide the smirks on their faces, Bobby finally chiming in with, “You know, normally I wouldn’t condone this type of talk, especially at the dinner table, but my wife is right. I can’t continue to let you sit here and disrespect your…my son, because that’s what Buck is to me—a son.”
Tears pricked at the corner of Bucks’ eyes with how selflessly they loved him, calling him son in front of his own parents. He grasped onto the interlocked fingers splayed over his thigh, looking to Bobby and Athena with awe. His parents seemed dumbstruck, Buck having nothing to add; they clearly didn’t get him.
They all watched as Philip placed a hand over Margret’s, “We should go sweetheart.” His mother nodded, standing as her husband did, turning back to meet Buck. “E—I’m sorry son. We um, I hope we can do this again sometime.” Buck only nodded, not wanting to get either of their hopes up; it would take a lot more than the same tired apology to make it up to him. They politely thanked Athena and Bobby for inviting them over before making for the door, the four left staring at each other blankly.
Buck was the first one to break, followed closely by Eddie, both of them bursting into a fit of laughter, Bobby following closely behind. Athena shrugged as she smiled along with them. “I’m sorry sweetie but it needed to be said. I wasn’t going to sit by and watch them continue to disrespect you, not in your safe space.” Buck instantly reached out to pull her into a hug, his other hand still clasped tightly with Eddie’s.
“Thanks guys, uh, I-I don’t know what I’d do without all of you.” Bobby smiled warmly at him. “What’re families for?” Yea, it felt nice to have one of those, the kind that actually cared about you.
Athena shooed him and Eddie off to the living room while her and Bobby cleaned up the kitchen, the two finding themselves sprawled out on the couch, making themselves right at home; after all, it was. Bucks’ head was rested in Eddie’s lap, the brunette’s long fingers brushing through his curls, Buck humming in content. “I’m glad you came, that uh, that Bobby invited you.” Eddie smiled down to him. “No where I’d rather be.”
Buck looked to Eddie’s lips, leaning up a bit as he did so, Eddie’s big browns looking down to him, tilting his head until their lips met. The angle was awkward, but everything else felt right. The kissed each other softly, Buck eventually falling back to Eddie’s lap, both of them drifting off.
When the captain and his wife came in after attending to the kitchen, they found the two sound asleep, wrapped around each other, Bobby and Athena smiling lovingly. Athena looked to her husband, shaking her head. “So, who’s gonna tell these dumbasses?”