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It’s a rainy, cold LA evening and Eddie’s alone on shift, well, alone from his usual crew. He’s picked up an extra one, so that he and Buck can both have Christmas Day off, they’ve been doing this for the last few weeks as part of the deal they made with Bobby. Usually, they’re ok, these extra shifts, they just get through it as quickly as possible. Eddie doesn’t like them though, because he’s not working with Buck, or Hen or Chim or Bobby, or even Ravi now. The usual team knows each other, he doesn’t even have to say anything for Buck to know what to do, and he always feels a little off kilter when he’s working with other people. And tonight has been a bad shift anyway, long with a lot of calls that have meant he’s had to think constantly, and the weather has been dreadful.
He’s been messaging Buck, getting photos back in return that have helped, of Christopher tucked into bed, of Buck himself, messages of love that spur him on. But there’s nothing more than he wants to be home, in bed with Buck himself. He has to bite it back and concentrate on what’s going on, the quicker he does that, the quicker the shift will go. At least, he hopes so.
They’ve been called to a fire, in a park, probably set off by kids who have tried to toast marshmallows in the Christmas spirit. There’s packets of melted ones around the epicenter of the fire, at least, and it must have been bad to have carried on burning even through the miserable rain. Greenway and Khan are helping Eddie to hose down the remainder of the embers, cooling the grass enough so nothing else catches fire, when Eddie hears the noise. It’s small, and he doesn’t think anything of it at the start, until he hears it a second time.
“Did you hear that?” he asks and when both Greenway and Khan shake their heads, he leaves them with the hose to go and investigate. He listens carefully and follows the small, pitiful noise, searching through the dripping bushes until he sees a bag, tied up with string, thrown in a ditch and hidden by leaves. It’s with trembling fingers that he unties it and finds the smallest, most bedraggled kitten inside that he’s ever seen.
She’s making the noise, crying with hunger and cold and probably fear and her eyes are shut tight as he slides a hand around her and pulls her out. She’s thin and she tries to arch away from him and Eddie lets his fingers run through her fur and then tucks her close to his body. “It’s ok, it’s ok,” he murmurs and he knows it’s probably weird, talking to a kitten like this, but he can’t help it. She’s so small and so scared and so wet and he just wants to warm her up.
“What have you got there?” Khan asks when they get back into the fire truck and Eddie shows the kitten, now sleeping against his chest, between the warm layers of his uniform. “Lost?”
“Abandoned,” Eddie says, knowing there’s only one explanation for how he found her and he knows that even though he’ll take her to the vets to be checked out, that they’re going to be keeping her. Christopher wants a pet and he loves cats, always has since he was a little boy, and he found her, she’s safe with him and she’s purring as she sleeps so she knows too.
He spends the rest of the shift making sure she stays safe and warm, feeding her milk, making an appointment for the following day at the vets and when she dries out, she has the most beautiful tabby fur and large green eyes and she starts to trust him, letting him stroke her fur and butting his hand for more milk. He knows Christopher is going to love her, and even though he and Buck have never spoken about pets, he’s sure Buck will too.
He’s not expecting what actually happens.
He gets home early morning, when he knows Christopher and Buck will be having pre-school breakfast. He’s still carrying the kitten, who is looking around her as they get into the house. Eddie toes his shoes off and makes his way to the kitchen where he can hear the lovely sounds of his boyfriend and son chatting and doing their morning routine. Christopher looks up and his mouth falls open as he sees the kitten in Eddie’s arms and then he’s moving, forgoing his crutches to get to Eddie as quickly as he can. “A kitten?” he breathes out, in wonderment, his finger reaching out to touch the kitten's fur. “Our kitten?”
“Hopefully,” Eddie says, smiling for Christopher’s enthusiasm, but when he looks at Buck, he’s frowning a little, even though he clears his face when he catches Eddie’s face.
He says nothing, but also doesn’t coo over the kitten, staying completely neutral about the whole thing and Eddie worries that he’s done the wrong thing.
“She was abandoned,” he explains when Christopher is at school, with promises made that they won’t go to the vets until he’s there too, and a kiss to the kitten's nose that has Buck making an aborted movement towards him. “I had to save her, and she has no family to look after her. But if you don’t like her, we can get her checked out and then take her to the cat shelter for rehoming.”
Buck sighs, but his eyes soften as he gazes at Eddie. “I’m not good with cats,” he admits. “I’ve never been, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. And if you and Christopher want to keep her, then I’ll get to like her, I’m sure.”
It’s not the most enthusiastic response, but it’s better than nothing. Eddie gazes at his boyfriend, worrying at his lip. “How about we see how she fits with us first?” he suggests as a compromise.
They both know that if Christopher falls in love, they’ll end up keeping her, but Eddie’s extended the olive branch and Buck takes it and they pretend that’s what they’re doing.
The kitten gets a full bill of health and a name, Muffin, and even Buck must be aware that by the time she’s been there for a month, she’s staying forever at the Buckley-Diaz house. Buck stays away from her, but doesn’t seem to mind her living there as long as he has nothing really to do with her. And Muffin is clever, adoring Christopher and always being with him, in his room, sitting next to him, allowing him to pet her. And when Christopher isn’t around, she lets Eddie do the same. He adores her, and he knows that Buck is softening every single day, even if he pretends he’s not.
Muffin starts to get a little closer and Buck lets her, lets her sit on Eddie’s side of the bed, lets Eddie stroke through her fur, and lets Christopher hold her in his lap when they’re playing lego or computer games. But she still gives him distance.
Until the day that Eddie comes back from dropping Christopher off at school and finds Buck sitting in the lounge, watching one of his documentaries and Muffin is sitting on the arm of the chair. Buck’s talking about what he’s watching, and it takes Eddie a second to realise he’s talking to Muffin. Muffin appears to be listening too, the pair of them so at ease with each other that it makes Eddie reassess everything he thought of their relationship.
When Buck turns back to the tv, Muffin stretches and then slowly, almost like she’s pretending she’s not doing anything and Buck can’t see her, she stretches out a paw. So, so slowly, she creeps until she’s curled up in Buck’s lap and his hand lands on her head, scratching behind her ears as her purrs fill the room.
Eddie’s stunned, and overcome with love for his boyfriend and he makes a gulping noise that makes Buck start, even though he’s careful of his lap full of kitten. “Hi?” he says, half shyly as he turns and catches Eddie’s eye.
“Hi,” is all Eddie says as he comes in and slides onto the sofa next to Buck. “I take it you’re happy with our new addition now?”
“Yeah,” Buck admits, never stopping in stroking her head. “I guess she’s not too bad, after all. She listens to me as good as you do, anyway.”
Eddie laughs and leans in to kiss Buck, noticing the way he keeps things light because of Muffin. “Are we going to be cock blocked by our cat, Evan?”
“Ssssh,” Buck says, covering Muffin’s ears with his hands like she can hear and understand everything they’re saying. “Not in front of the kids, Eds!”