Chapter Text
Buck and Eddie had so graciously offered to help out their friends by watching over all their kids for the day, which included three young adults (Ravi, Albert, and May had wanted to see just how crazy things would get before the two men gave up), three rambunctious teen boys, and a toddler. Honestly, Buck and Eddie agreed they must have gone temporarily insane when they agreed to this. But they had had the time of their lives with the kids so far, and though Eddie would never admit to it, seeing Buck be all cute with Jee-Yun was doing wonders to his heart. Maybe he could convince him to adopt a kid or two once their relationship reaches that point. A thought for later, he guesses, since the food had finally arrived, and everyone was actually quiet for more than five seconds while devouring their brunch.
Buck made eye contact with Eddie, giving him a small smile while trying to clean Jee’s hands that had somehow already gotten into the syrup. Eddie simply rolled his eyes before quickly digging in so he could take over Jee duties and Buck could eat after him. Once the majority of the table had finished, only waiting for Buck to eat the last few bites so they could pay and leave, was when everything went to hell.
“Get down!” A voice from the front of the cafe yelled, “If y’all cooperate, then we won’t hurt ya, understood?”
No one dared to answer, which seemed to satisfy the man.
“Now, I want y’all to stay seated, this will all be over soon. In the meantime, my lovely partner over here is gonna come around and gather your gadgets and such so that you can’t go calling no police. I simply hope that you haven't tried anything of the sort already or it ain’t gonna end pretty for ya.” The man said cheerily, as if he wasn’t waving his gun around terrifying the families in the cafe.
Eddie looked around the table and found that the rest of his group was still in varying states of shock, except Buck who looked about ready to murder the people holding this place up, the only thing stopping him was Jee-Yun. May’s eyes were wide with fear, her mouth still half-open from the unfinished conversation she’d been having with her boyfriends. Albert and Ravi’s faces had turned ashen, hands gripping each other’s and May’s tightly. The boys all stared at him with varying degrees of horror on their face, though Chris wasn’t as terrified as he knew his Dad and Papa wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. Jee looked ready to start crying, but Buck just held her closer to him, whispering softly in her ear to calm her down.
“Boys, I want you to sit under the table for me. Can you do that?” Eddie asked softly.
Buck’s eyes shot up to meet his when he spoke, nodding softly in agreement.
“Ok.” They all agreed solemnly. Denny and Harry quietly helped Chris get out of his chair and lowered him under the table before joining him.
“Now, Denny, would you be okay with holding Jee for a little bit. If she looks like she might start crying, give her some of her snacks.” Buck asked.
“Of course I can, Buck.” The young boy agreed instantly, having practiced enough with Nia.
Buck slowly lowered the little girl into the arms of the boy under the table and gave a quick look around the cafe to ensure the robbers/hostage takers hadn’t seen them. Luckily, they had chosen the table furthest away from the door and so the hostage takers will still make their way around the front, back to them.
“Alright, you guys are doing great. Just stay as quiet as you can for us, okay. This will all be over soon.” Buck said.
After ensuring that the younger ones were okay, Buck shifted to look at the three young adults, knowing that Eddie had gone back to watching the robbers' movements.
“Hey, hey.” Buck said softly, trying to get their attention, “Can you guys look at me.”
The three finally shook away their shock and looked towards Buck, knowing that he would do everything in his power to keep them safe.
“There you go.” Buck said with a smile, “Now, when they come over, give them your phones no complaints. And whatever happens, DO NOT SAY OR DO ANYTHING. Ok?”
The three just nodded their heads and reached into their pockets to grab their phones. They handed them over to Buck who powered them all down and made a pile of the phones on the table. However, it seemed like one was missing. They all knew that Buck had Harry’s phone with him as well, since Harry didn’t want to get distracted by anything while hanging out with his best friends. May smirked, knowing that Buck must have a plan. After all, Buck was the brains while Eddie was the brawns. So, May just sat back and held on to her boyfriend's hands, content with knowing that neither man would let any harm come to them. She could only hope they wouldn’t do something stupid before her Mom got her.
Albert and Ravi shared a small smile over May’s head, they had caught on too and knew that the best thing for them to do right now was to remain calm and let the two men figure everything out. At least they would have a fun story to tell their children in the future.
After making sure that everyone had listened to him and at least weren’t as scared as they had been at first, Buck nudged Eddie’s leg with his shoe to grab his attention. When Eddie finally looked away from the robbers and met Buck’s eyes, Buck gave him a soft, reassuring smile and handed him the phones.
“Take these and give them to the person collecting the phones. Try not to provoke them too much, yeah?” He said softly.
Eddie stared deep into his eyes and nodded in agreement. He was slowly slipping into his soldier persona to ensure that he wouldn’t miss anything.
Right as they finished their little conversation, the two hostage takers made it to their table and thrust the bin holding the phones onto the table.
“Phones.” The woman said, smirking.
Eddie quickly dropped the stack of phones into the bin before clenching his fists in anger. He didn’t say anything, afraid that if he did it would endanger the kids. Had it just been him, though, these robbers would have been on the ground long before they even started collecting the phones.
“Hm, you look familiar, have we met before?” The man said, staring straight at Buck.
Buck just kept his head tilted downwards, not giving the man any answer.
“Hey, I’m talkin to you.” The man said, voice turning angry.
“No, man, I don’t think we have. You might’ve seen me on the news though. I’m a firefighter.” Buck replied softly.
“Oh, I’ve got it. You’re friends with Pretty Boy ain’t ya.” The man said with a chuckle, “Maybe, if I let him know I’ve got his little friend here, he’ll come and join the party.”
Buck’s head shot up, eyes wide, “Leave him out of this.”
“Oh, but I do love a party.” The man said with a grin, “Now which phone is yours, why don’t we give our little buddy a call.”
“I’m not going to tell you, bastard.” Buck growled.
“Aw, you're no fun at all. What if I threatened your little boy toy here? Or the kids?” The man said, pointing the gun between Eddie and the trio next to him, “Don’t be difficult, man, I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Fine, fine. My phones the one with the galaxy case. Just don’t hurt them.” Buck said, finally giving in.
“Oh, how fun! I always love adding more fun to the mix.” The man said with joy, before thrusting the phone at Buck, “Call him.”
Buck grabbed the phone, sharing a look of fear with Eddie before he dialed his best friend's phone number.