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“Daaaad, do you promise?” Eddie always hated lying to his son, but in the name of getting him to go to sleep, exceptions could be made. He gave his best poker face and spoke as he ran his hands through Christopher’s hair.
“Yes, mijo, Buck will be here when you wake up. And,If you go to sleep now, you may be awake enough for waffles tomorrow morning”
“But you’re not going to sleep. How are you gonna be awake enough for waffles?” Eddie laughed, shaking his head.
“Clever, kid. You get that from Buck don’t you?” Chris smiled back at his dad. He tried to nod, but his eyelids fluttered shut as sleep began to win.
Eddie placed a kiss on his forehead. “Coffee. Lots of coffee.”
x
During their most recent shift- a short shift from six to noon- Buck and Eddie made plans for Buck to spend the night at his. They were about to go into a forty-eight hour shift, and Buck had thought it best to go in the same vehicle. “that way we can leave together. Ya know? So one of us can keep the. other awake while driving”
Buck had said the statement so matter-of-factly - (as if it was natural- expected) that Eddie didn’t consider Buck backing out a possibility until he received a text saying sorry. gonna be late. Taylor wanted to get a late cup of coffee. I’ll try to be there in an hour.
Two and half hours later- with Buck still not there- Eddie was already making plans to drive himself to work the next morning. It’s not like he owed him anything, but for some reason, Eddie expected Buck to choose Taylor every time. That coffee would probably turn into a nightcap.
Eddie had just moved a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer when he heard the sound of a key turning in the front door.
Buck. Puffy-faced and teary eyed Buck.
Well, that’s the last way he expected to see his best friend.
The expression on his face said enough. Neither spoke as Eddie made his way across the room. He wrapped Buck up in a tight hug and massaged his shoulder blade.
“So breakups, huh? Suck don’t they?” Eddie smiled when Buck pulled away laughing as he tried to wipe the tears away.
x
Half an hour later, Eddie had the whole story. Taylor was supposed to fly out to Brooklyn tomorrow for an interview as an executive producer. Buck knew what that meant, but nothing official has been said. She hadn’t been offered the job so they were going to carry on business as usual until she did . It was just an interview, after all.
Apparently, sometime that morning, the network executives had called her. The previous executive producer had quit shy of their two week notice. They needed to fast track someone and Taylor was already their top candidate. The interview was moved to zoom, and the job with hers before it was over. When she left LA, it would be permanently.
“She wanted to try long distance. Thought maybe I could consider moving in a few momths. That was when I realized she didn’t know about your will. I told her my choice was already made.” It was Eddie’s turn to try not to cry as he spoke.
“You chose Christopher? Like that?“
“In a heartbeat. The hard part was realizing I’d wasted so much time in a relationship That was always going nowhere. I felt a little hypocritical thinking about you and Ana when I realized it. Taylor yelled at me. She said she didn’t want kids and that her career came first. I don’t blame her. She said I should’ve known that. I wish I did. I wish we’d had that conversation ages ago. Christopher was always gonna come first”
Eddie didn’t know how to handle a response to that. He was too overwhelmed.
Pushing himself off the couch, he reminded Buck of how late it was.
“You should probably shower tonight. You can use the bathroom in my bedroom. There’s a pair of sweats and that toothbrush that you use, too.”
x
When Buck crawled into bed next to him later that night, Eddie was too tired to protest even if he had wanted to.