Work Text:
Christmas at the Firehouse was always one of the most anticipated events of the year. Some might say it was Bobby’s amazing buffet spread of food, or Athena’s organizational skills to make sure everyone’s family could attend on Christmas Day. And some might even claim it was just the one day a year where the calls weren’t as frequent. The smell of Hot Cocoa, and the ambient chatter among friends, were all reasons why Christmas at the Firehouse was the best.
But for Chimney, it was the Secret Santa.
Chimney loved organizing the Secret Santa, which he had been teased for on numerous occasions, considering the irony that he couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. But he loved doing it. It was a way to get everyone involved in something exciting, and a fun way to end the year. But this year there was a bit more of an ulterior motive in his mind.
It was so blatantly obvious to the rest of the 118 that Buck and Eddie were hopelessly in love with each other. Anyone with eyes could see how they glowed around each other, how they held smiles for each other that nobody else got, and how tactile they were constantly. Everyone except for them, apparently.
But this year, Chimney decided enough was enough. It had been the most stressful year they’d had so far, and he was giving everyone the perfect end-of-year gift; setting up the cutest couple in L.A.
He’d spent hours the night before planning out how to rig the pot so that Buck would get Eddie, but also so that Eddie could get Buck. He’d thought about putting dots on their name cards, but that seemed suspicious. He thought about putting only Buck and Eddie in the pot, but that could be intercepted by someone, and God knows that Buck didn’t need to be gifted like King Midas.
And then, finally, it hit him. Well, it didn’t really. It was Maddie who finally suggested it to him at 3 AM the night before.
“Just don’t let them choose until the pot’s empty, and then put their names in last.”
“Maddie, you’re a genius!” Chim kissed her on the cheek before she led him back to bed, demanding he pauses the planning until he’d actually gotten some sleep.
The next day, Chim went about his plan. He avoided Eddie and Buck as much as he could and went about getting everyone else to choose their Secret Santa names. It was when they got back from their last call that Chimney realized the pot was empty and made haste in getting Eddie and Buck to choose their names.
“Hey fellas,” he started, swinging his arms around their shoulders as they walked towards the showers. “There’s only you guys left to pick for the Secret Santa.” Buck’s eyes widen in glee when he heard that, all but racing to the lockers to pick his name.
Buck loved Christmas. He loved the whole atmosphere and the cosy, family vibes that he never got to experience growing up. He loved seeing the excitement in people's eyes when they opened their presents, but most importantly, he loved to see how excited Christopher, Denny, and Harry would get when they opened their cool new gadgets, Zoo Tickets, and video games that he would get just for them.
Eddie, on the other hand, was more of a Grinch. Sure, he liked Christmas, but only because of Christopher. He tried hard to put a smile on his face for his son, but the overkill of Christmas music, and decorations, only ever reminded him of his traumas and his parents' dissatisfaction with his life.
Buck put his hand in first, twisting and turning dramatically against the only two names in the pot until he latched onto one and opened it carefully. His smile grew, as he locked eyes with Eddie mischievously, and put the small piece of paper in his pocket.
Eddie sighed, and he simply picked the last name up and opened it. He turned slightly to look at Buck’s back, watching as he took his spare uniform out of his locker, before turning back down to the piece of paper. Maybe this Christmas wouldn’t be so terrible after all.
★ ★ ★ ★
Buck had been staring at his laptop lost in his thoughts for the past couple of hours, and Bobby was growing concerned. It was normal for Buck to be researching on his laptop for hours, his brain a steadily growing Wikipedia page, but he never looked quite this confused before.
Bobby stood behind him, coffee in one hand, and placed the other on Buck’s shoulder. Buck jumped up lightly as he got pulled from his thoughts, turning around and sighing in relief when he realized it was only Bobby.
“What’s on your mind there, Buck?” Bobby asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
“It’s Christmas,” he said, hunching back over his laptop, resting his head in his hand.
“Yeah, you’re going to need to give me a bit more information than that, kid. What about Christmas?” Buck sighed once more and turned around to face Bobby.
“It’s this whole Secret Santa thing. Usually, I get someone easy to shop for, like you or Hen, or one of the Probies. But this year I got Eddie, and I just… I just don’t know what to get him.” Bobby chuckled lightly.
“Have you never got Eddie a Christmas gift before Buck?”
“Well, usually the gifts that I get are Christopher-Inclusive, you know? Because that’s what he says he wants. Tickets to the movies, or the Zoo, something like that,” his eyes followed Bobby as he moved to sit next to him.
“But this is different, isn’t it? This is a personal gift,” Bobby offered, choosing his words carefully.
“Exactly! And it’s not like I could go to him and say ‘hey Eddie I got you for Secret Santa, what do you want?’ No, I can’t do that.” Buck rubbed his eyes as Bobby chuckled at him softly.
“No you can’t ask Eddie,” he paused to sip his coffee. “But there is someone you could ask.”
“Who?” Buck looked up as Bobby’s eyes glinted, hand coming back up to his shoulder to give it a light squeeze.
“Christopher.”
★ ★ ★ ★
Eddie was starting to regret deciding against the idea to drag Buck to the Mall Santa, and getting him to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. That would’ve been much easier than sitting in the Bunk Room glaring at his phone as he skimmed through blog links labelled “What to Get Your Friend for Christmas” or “Gifts to Get That Man in Your Life”.
He tossed his phone onto the bunk harshly, resting his head in his hands. This was getting ridiculous. He should know what to get Buck for Christmas. They were best friends, for god's sake. But this? This was impossible.
Hen stopped in her tracks as she looked Eddie over, taking in his tense shoulders, and the tossed phone. She cautiously walked over to his bunk and sat down next to him. Eddie looked up as he felt the bed dip, and offered her a small smile.
“What’s up Eddie? You doing ok?” Hen asked kindly.
“It’s this whole,” he waved his hand above his phone. “Secret Santa thing.”
“Okay,” Hen started, slowly. “Who did you get?”
“Am I allowed to even tell you that?”
“If it’s not me, yes, you are,” She said, getting herself comfortable next to him, paying full attention.
“It’s Buck,” Eddie sighed.
“You’re struggling to get a gift for Buck?” Hen blinked. “Your best friend, Buck? The guy who you spend most of your day with, Buck? The person who is Christopher’s legal guardian, Buck? Yeah, I’m not following.”
“Well we kind of have this unwritten rule about Christmas gifts,” Eddie started, lying down on the bed. “Our gifts are Christopher-centric. We usually buy each other movie tickets, or last year we all went for a vacation at Disneyland. But this is supposed to be personal you know?”
“I get it,” Hen said, and then laughed as Eddie raised an eyebrow at her. “You don’t wanna mess up something personal for someone you love.”
“Love?” He sat back up at record speed. “Hold on, Hen. I don’t love Buck. He’s my best friend, he’s my son’s best friend. I just... I just... I want this to be something he’ll like.”
“Sure Eddie,” she smirked. “If that’s how you’d like to play, I’ll play along. He’s your best friend. What does your best friend like?”
“I dunno Hen, playing with Christopher. Taking Christopher to cool places. Researching those cool places to impress Christopher.”
“So here’s an idea,” she said, standing up and smoothing her uniform down. “Why don’t you just ask Christopher?”
★ ★ ★ ★
Christopher was having a pretty good day, thank you very much. He had a great art class where he got really messy with finger painting. He got the role of Joseph in the nativity play. He got an A+ on his English Project.
And now he was going home where his Bucky would be waiting for him with a yummy home-cooked meal. So yeah, this day was going great. The only thing that could top off this day was if his Dad and Bucky finally got together. That was his Christmas wish. One he’d been asking Santa for, for weeks leading up to December.
But he never would’ve expected Santa to give him the opportunity to get them together himself for Christmas. That was even better than waking up on Christmas morning with the news that they were together forever.
It started on the drive home with his Dad. His Dad was sweating slightly, and his fists were anxiously tight around the steering wheel. He was about to ask if he was okay when he turned over to face him lightly and started to talk to him.
“So bud,” he started, wiping his forehead briefly. “I got Buck for Secret Santa at work this year.”
“That’s so cool Dad!” He exclaimed. “What are you gonna get him?”
“Well you see Chris, that’s sort of something I was hoping I could talk to you about.” Chris furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
“Why?”
“Well, mijo, I’m not sure what to get him this year. I’m really confused, and I could use your expert Bucky help.” Christopher smiled back up at his Dad so brightly.
“I think I know exactly what he’d like, Dad,” he said.
“Oh yeah? What’s that then?”
“A St. Christopher necklace like yours!”
“What?” Eddie chuckled, smiling down at him. “Why’s that?”
“Well you said that your necklace reminds you to come home when things get scary,” Christopher started. “Bucky doesn’t have anything like that, and I think he’d like a reminder to come home when things get scary too.”
Eddie smiled down at his little boy, with the biggest grin he could ever muster. His heart was blooming with pride, and with fondness as he said “yeah Chris, I think he’d like that too.”
The rest of the drive home was much more normal; Eddie talking about work, Christopher rambling on about all the fun that he had at school, and asking if he and Buck would come to the nativity play before Christmas, which of course got an “of course, we’ll come Christopher!” to.
Buck had welcomed him home with a big squeezing hug, and a plate of yummy Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese for dinner. They ate as normal before Chris handed over his English project for Buck to read.
“This is amazing, superman!” Buck beamed, before standing up and placing the project on the fridge for all to see.
Eddie had insisted on doing the dishes since Buck had cooked (as usual). Buck usually complained and insisted he help, but today Buck had other things on his mind.
As he sat down with Christopher on the couch, he waited for the water to start running before turning to Christopher and talking to him softly.
“Hey Chris,” he started as a movie started to load in the Diaz DVD player. “I have something I’d like to ask you.”
“What is it Bucky?” Chris half-whispered back.
“Well, I got your Dad for Secret Santa at work,” Buck started to blush. “And I’m not sure what he’d like. I was hoping you could give me some ideas.”
Christopher smiled bright, nodding his head as fast as humanly possible.
“I think you should get him a photo frame.” Buck looked confused, eyebrows furrowed tightly as he scrunched his nose.
“Why a photo frame, buddy?”
“Because then you can put a photo of all of us into it. He doesn’t have any of us three around the house,” he said in an obvious tone. Buck smiled so brightly at him and ruffled his hair.
“That’s an amazing idea, superman,” he said as he pulled out his cellphone. “Want to help me look for one while your Dad finishes dishes?” Chris nodded his head rapidly again, taking Buck’s phone and starting to type.
Christopher beamed with pride. This was going to get his Dad and Buck together for sure.
★ ★ ★ ★
It had been almost 2 weeks since the Secret Santa name draw, and it was finally the B-Shift’s exchange. To say Eddie and Buck were nervous would be the understatement of the year. And, to be honest, the rest of the B-Shift were nervous too. Everyone had heard that they were stressing out about the exchanges, and everyone was desperate for them to finally get together as a couple.
Athena had graciously offered the Grant-Nash house for the gift exchange party, which everyone was eager to attend. Parties at the Grant-Nash house were always events you couldn’t afford to miss. Buck and Bobby walked down the stairs of the house together, the gift in Buck’s hands.
Bobby had told Buck that he’d gotten Hen for his Secret Santa, and had gotten her and Karen a weekend spa getaway trip for after the new year. It was a really sweet gesture, and Buck had told him as such, after nervously questioning if he’d made the right call in what he got Eddie, because what if he’d wanted something different? What if he really liked the family tickets they usually give each other?
Meanwhile, Eddie was sitting on the Couch in the backyard with Chimney, chattering away. Chim was chewing his gum, as Eddie rambled nervously about how he thinks he should’ve got Buck something more manly. He liked working out, god damn it, he should’ve just got him new weights.
Buck saw Eddie sitting on the couch through the glass doors. He swooned at the cute Christmas sweater he was wearing, and made a mental note that blue was definitely Eddie’s colour. He took a deep breath, squaring up his shoulders. He walked over slowly, before catching Eddie’s eye and sitting down next to him.
“Hey Buckley,” Chimney smiled, popping his gum. “I’m gonna go find the probie I got, see you guys later.”
Eddie smiled at Buck shyly, as Buck mumbled a “bye” at Chim.
“So,” they both started together. Eddie pushed a hand towards him, motioning for him to go first.
“So, I got you for Secret Santa this year,” Buck said, twisting his thumbs together. “And I know I usually get you something for all of us but, I wanted this to be special,” he handed the neatly wrapped gift to Eddie. “I really hope you like this.”
“I’m sure I’ll love it, Buck,” Eddie smiled, as he slowly peeled back the red wrapping paper. Gently, he pulled out a red and green photo frame, with a photo of the three of them together. He recognized the photo; it was when they went to Disneyland last year, and Buck all but begged Eddie to let them take a photo with Buzz Lightyear and Woody because ‘it’s my favourite movie, Eddie, c’mon!’. But under the photo, at the bottom of the frame, it read “Our Perfect Family”. He felt his cheeks warm up, and the sting of hot tears welling up in his eyes. He looked up at Buck, letting them fall free down his cheeks.
“You hate it don’t you?” Buck rushed. He scooted back and put his head in his hands. “I knew you’d find it weird. I’m so sorry Eddie, I can get you so-“ He’d started to ramble, but was swiftly cut off by Eddie pulling him into a rough, and tight hug, which Buck reciprocated when he heard a small sob.
“I fucking love it, Evan,” he mumbled into Buck’s shoulders, as tears started to soak his shoulder.
“Oh,” Buck’s eyebrows shot up. “You do?!” Eddie pulled away, wiping his face.
“I don’t just love it, I adore it. It’s the best gift I’ve ever been given, ever. I will treasure it always.” Buck’s cheeks went hot as he blushed. Eddie took a shaky, deep breath as he grabbed a small, blue, messily wrapped package from the table across from them. He handed it to Buck, who gently took it from Eddie’s hands, confused.
“I got you for Secret Santa as well,” Eddie explained. “I wasn’t sure this was the right decision, but now I think it’s exactly what I was supposed to get you.”
Buck carefully unwrapped the package to reveal a small blue velvet box. He looked up at Eddie confused, but after Eddie nodded at him he looked back down and opened it up. His eyes widened in shock as he pulled out a St. Christopher necklace almost identical to Eddie’s. He looked back up to Eddie with a small gasp.
“It’s to remind you that you always have a home to fight to come back to. That no matter how hard the calls are, or how dangerous, you have a family that needs and loves you,” Eddie explained softly.
It was Buck’s turn to let the tears free fall down his face. This was more than anything he’d ever imagined. He held it close to his chest with one hand as he pulled Eddie into another hug with his other hand. He sobbed softly against his neck as he mumbled out a “thank you”. Eddie rubbed soothing circles over his back, whispering a “you’re welcome” in his ear. After a few minutes, Buck pulled back, wiping his eyes. He pulled the St. Christopher necklace over his head and let the medallion hang over his Christmas sweater for everyone to see.
They sat together quietly for what felt like hours but was closer to a few minutes before Eddie looked up at Buck. Buck, feeling his gaze, looked up at Eddie. They stared at each other, unaware that the party had fallen deathly quiet. Slowly, they scooted closer together, until their noses were softly grazing past each other. The whole room held their breath, as Buck whispered “is it okay if I kiss you?” Eddie held back a lump in his throat as he nodded.
Slowly, Buck pressed his lips against Eddie’s, who gently lent into him. They kissed softly, embracing the gentle, and familiar warmth between them. Eddie put his hands on Buck’s waist, as Buck moved his hands to Eddie’s head, softly holding onto him. Eddie felt a hot spark between them as he embraced the kiss, and Buck felt his whole body light up with fireworks. They slowly pulled away, taking deep breaths, as they rested their foreheads together, staring into each other’s eyes.
“I love you so much, Evan,” Eddie swallowed. “And I want this. I want this so much.”
“I love you too, Eddie,” Buck closed his eyes. “I’ve loved you since we first met. And I’ve wanted this just as long.”
“What do you say we blow this popsicle stand, and go get some coffee?” Eddie said as he brushed a hand through Buck’s hair.
“Yeah,” Buck whispered. “Yeah, let’s go do that.”
They stood up and looked up at the crowd that had gathered around them, as they blushed together. Everyone was beaming at them, tears in their eyes, and bright smiles on their faces. Hen subtly held her hand out to Karen, who rolled her eyes and handed her a folded over bill. Eddie turned to Buck with a smile of his own and grabbed his hand.
“We’re gonna head out guys,” Eddie declared. “Thank you for having us, Athena.” He started to pull Buck away from the crowd.
“Merry Christmas,” Buck said as he followed closely behind.
“Merry Christmas,” they yelled back, as they started to cheer and clap for the couple.
Eddie and Buck hopped into Eddie’s truck, as Buck sent a text to Bobby explaining that he’d be back in the morning for his Jeep. As Eddie started to back out of his parking spot, Buck softly grabbed his hand and held it tightly.
“I’m so glad Chimney rigged the Secret Santa pot,” Buck let out a chuckle, as his eyes started to well up.
“Chimney rigged it?” Eddie laughed. “Of course he did.”
“Maddie told me last night,” he explained. “Apparently he couldn’t keep the secret any longer, and she had to tell me because neither could she.”
“Well I’m damn glad that he did, cariño,” Eddie brushed the pad of his thumb over Buck’s hand. “Because I don’t think this could’ve been a more romantic meet-cute.” Buck threw his head back in laughter.
“You know,” Eddie continued. “I think Chris had something to do with this too.” Buck hummed questioningly. “He said something to me the other day about how perfect the exchange was going to be. How he’d finally have his Christmas wish or something?”
Buck smiled softly at that thought. Of course, it made sense. It was Christopher’s idea to suggest the family frame, and he chose the photo too. He’d be willing to place money that Christopher suggested the necklace to Eddie too.
“Our Perfect Family,” Eddie said, bringing up Buck’s hand and giving it a kiss.
“At last,” Buck smiled brightly.
Fin~