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“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Madeline-”
“Don’t Madeline me. How could you do this to him after everything he went through with the last alpha pawned him off to? Do you not even care about how Evan feels about this?” Maddie shouts, before scoffing. “Clearly not, because you went and did this anyways!”
“Evan doesn’t have a say, Madeline. He’s an omega, and we know what’s best for him,” Phillip argues.
“You realize eventually, Evan is going to have feelings about this, and he’s going to hate you, or even think that you hate him,” Madeline says. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Look, if it makes you feel better about this… we made sure to do a background check on this alpha,” Margaret says. “He’s only two years older than Evan, and he’s a firefighter. He’s been in the army. But, he’s also a very nice alpha. He’s not going to be rough like the last one was.”
“ Rough ?” Maddie scoffs. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call it.”
“Enough, Madeline. Evan’s new alpha will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. Help Evan get ready,”
Maddie glares, before turning and storming out of the living room. She stops when she gets to the stairs, and sees her little brother sitting at the top of the stairs. She sighs when she sees how upset he looks. She makes her way to the top. “Come on. You heard mom and dad. We’ve got to get you ready,”
Buck allows his sister to pull him up to his feet. “But I don’t want to go with another alpha!”
“I know,” Maddie says as she leads the way to Buck’s bedroom. “I know, and I don’t want you to go either, but I’ve got to trust when mom and dad say they’ve done a background check. If the alpha is as nice as they say they are, then I’m going to make sure that we’re able to stay in contact unlike the last time.”
“But, what if he isn’t nice?” Buck asks, sighing as he walks into his bedroom, sulking.
“Well, then you know exactly what to do to get back home, and I’ll make sure mom and dad won’t ship you off again. They’re terrible at picking alpha’s,” Maddie mumbles. “Come on, let’s pack you a bag.”
“It’s not fair,” Buck mumbles as he sits down on the bed. “I don’t want to leave. I want to stay with you.”
“I know Buck, but there’s nothing I can do,” Maddie says, glancing over at Buck. “Maybe- Maybe, I mean, who knows? Maybe this alpha will be nice. Maybe you’ll get lucky this time.” She places a duffle bag on the bed beside Buck. “I think it’s what you deserve, after all.”
Buck looks up at Maddie, and he wants to believe his sister, he really does. But it’s hard to believe such a thing when he was abused for two years by the alpha who was supposed to care and love him.
Now, he’s twenty, but he’s still not able to make his own decisions because he’s an omega .
Maddie was able to move out of their parents house when she turned eighteen, but she’s an alpha, so she’s allowed to make her own decisions. She wanted to take Buck with her, but her parents wouldn’t allow him to leave the house when he was still a minor.
Buck is on edge the rest of the night, and he doesn’t really leave his room until Maddie forces him out of the room for dinner. Evan after dinner, Buck goes straight back to his bedroom. Eventually, Buck manages to fall asleep after having a breakdown about the new alpha coming tomorrow.
“Evan, come downstairs! Your alpha is here to meet you!” Margaret shouts from the bottom of the steps. She turns back around, and sees her husband shaking hands with the alpha, and she smiles at the sight. She just knows that Evan is going to love this alpha. After a moment, Evan still isn’t downstairs. “Evan!” She looks up when she suddenly hears a whine from upstairs and sees Madeline pushing her brother towards the stairs. Margaret crosses her arms against her chest as she watches the two.
“I don’t want to!”
“Evan, what is the meaning of this? Come downstairs and greet your alpha,” Margaret warns.
“Come on, Evan. I’ll be right beside you the whole time,” Maddie says, and helps Buck downstairs.
Buck hesitates once they reach the bottom of the stairs. He looks up, and his breath is taken away when he finally locks eyes with the alpha. There’s no way that’s his alpha.
“Evan?” The alpha asks, walking over to the omega. He holds his hand out to shake hands with Buck.
Buck blinks as he stares at the alpha’s hand.
“Evan, don’t be rude. Shake your alpha’s hand,” Margaret hisses.
“Mom, stop. Evan, it’s okay. You’re not going to get in trouble,” Maddie is quick to assure Buck.
Buck hesitates, before finally reaching out and shaking the alpha’s hand. Omega’s aren’t supposed to do such things unless an alpha initiates it first. They stand there and be quiet until they’re spoken to. Buck learned this the hard way when he tried to hug his last alpha one time. Adam was not happy with him.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Evan. I’ve heard so much about you,” the alpha speaks. “I’m Eddie.”
“Madeline, do you have Evan’s things packed and ready to go?”
“Yes, I can go get it for him,” Maddie says. She glances at Buck once before rushing up the stairs.
Eddie steps closer to Buck. “I hope you know. You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m here to protect you, and take care of you,” he says.
Buck blinks, and he looks up at Eddie. “I thought I was supposed to take care of you ?”
“Yes, but it goes both ways,” Eddie says, which surprises Buck, because that’s not how it went with his last alpha at all. He was always the one taking care of his alpha, no matter what it was for.
Maddie comes back down with Buck’s suitcase in her hands.
“That’s it?” Eddie asks, and then he blinks when Maddie gives him an unamused look, and Eddie knows not to ask any questions. Clearly, there’s only one person who cares about Buck’s well-being here. “Okay, well. If that’s all, I’d really like to get going. Evan and I have a lot to discuss.”
“Actually, can I talk to you before you go?” Maddie asks, looking at Eddie.
Buck groans. “Maddie, please, I-”
“Don’t worry about it. I just want to talk with him. Why don’t you go out to the car, okay? Say goodbye to mom and dad while I talk to Eddie,” Maddie says. She gives Buck a big hug, squeezing him tightly.
“I’ll miss you,” Buck whispers as he hugs Maddie.
“I’ll miss you too. I promise I’ll try to visit, or at least call. If I have it my way,” Maddie whispers, before pulling away from Buck. She gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze before passing Buck to their parents. She grabs Eddie, and pulls him aside. “Okay, look-”
“I’d hate to interrupt you, but I think I already know what you’re going to say here. You seem to care a great deal about your brother,” Eddie says.
“And with good reason,” Maddie replies defensively. “I really don’t think you understand what you’re getting yourself into. Buck’s been through hell and back. His last alpha… he was strongly abusive, emotionally and physically. Buck’s still recovering from everything he went through, but my parents thought it would be a brilliant idea to get him a new alpha while he’s recovering,”
Eddie sucks in a deep breath. “I would never hurt Buck,” he says sternly. “Buck’s my omega now, and I’m going to take care of him, and protect him. Buck’s safe with me.”
Maddie crosses her arms against her chest as she stares at Buck. “Okay then, and what if I wanted to visit Buck? Or what if Buck wanted to call me? How would you feel about that?”
Eddie blinks. “You can visit whenever you’d like, though I’d like a warning before you visit. Oh, and Buck’s going to be getting his own phone so he can call you whenever he’d like to. You can give me your number and I’ll give it to Buck whenever he gets the phone,” he says.
Maddie stares at Eddie, surprised that this alpha is letting Buck have so much freedom. “Oh,”
Eddie smirks. “I’m not like other alpha’s, and I’ll make sure to prove it to you,” he says. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve got to get my omega home,” he says.
Maddie makes sure to give Eddie her phone number before he leaves. They meet Buck outside.
“Oh, and he likes to go by Buck,” Maddie adds as she follows Eddie outside.
“Why Buck?” Eddie asks, turning to look at her.
“Well, our last names are Buckley. We came up with it when Buck was younger. Buck doesn’t really like the name Evan. It doesn’t suit him. I only call him that because my parents don’t believe in nicknames. They think it’s silly,” Maddie explains.
Eddie scoffs. “That’s just ridiculous,” he mumbles, shaking his head. “But, thanks for the information. Uh, I’ll make sure to remember that for the future.” He turns around, and he walks over to where Buck is waiting for him by the car. “You could have gotten in the car. It’s unlocked.”
Buck blinks. “You didn’t tell me that I could get in the car,” he says.
Eddie sighs as he stares at Buck, a soft look on his face. “You have so much to learn,” he says, before opening the passenger's car door for Buck, gesturing for him to get inside. He smiles softly as he watches Buck get into the car, before shutting the door for him.
Buck quickly looks up and he waves to his sister as Eddie is getting in the car. He smiles sadly when Maddie waves back to him. Buck notes that Maddie stays on the porch as she watches Buck leave.
It’s about an hour drive to Eddie’s house. Buck falls asleep on the way there, thanks to the soft music Eddie chose to play. Buck is startled awake when he feels someone shaking him.
“Hey, sorry to wake you,” Eddie says softly, placing his hand on Buck’s arm. “We’re home.”
Home .
Buck blinks as he rubs his eyes tiredly, before pushing himself up. He looks up and then sees the house. It’s a smallish house, but it already feels homely. Eddie’s clearly taken care of the house.
“Come on, let’s go inside. I’ll make you something to eat and then if you want, you can sleep some more,”
Buck frowns as he looks over at Eddie as he gets out of the car.
Eddie looks over, and blinks when he sees Buck hasn’t moved from his spot. “What’s wrong?”
“Why- Why are you offering to take care of me ?” Buck asks, sounding genuinely confused. “I thought… I’m the omega. I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”
“Buck, things are going to be a lot different here. I don’t know how your last alpha treated you, or whatever stupid rules he had. But, you’re going to need to forget all of those rules. You’re with me now, and… I want this relationship to be a two-way thing between us. We can talk about it more later, okay?”
“Okay,” Buck whispers, and then he looks up at Eddie. “You called me Buck?”
Eddie chuckles. “Oh, yeah. Your sister might have given me some tips. I don’t mind calling you Buck,”
“Thank you,” Buck whispers, before finally getting out of the car. He watches as Eddie grabs his suitcase out of the car, and then Buck follows Eddie into the house.
Buck is in absolute awe of the house. It’s small, but Buck actually doesn’t mind. It’s so homely, and decorated so lovely. Buck thinks he's going to enjoy living here with Eddie.
“Welcome,” Eddie says. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”
“It’s perfect,” Buck whispers as he looks around. “You have a wonderful home.”
“Thanks, when I bought it… I had to keep Christopher in mind,” Eddie says. “It fits us perfectly.”
“Christopher?” Buck asks, a frown forming on his face as he looks over at Eddie.
“Christopher, my son,” Eddie says, turning to look at Buck. Eddie frowns as well. “Don’t tell me they didn’t mention to you that I had a son. I made sure to tell them.”
Buck’s eyes widen with shock, and he quickly shakes his head. “A son ?” He squeaks out, and he whimpers. “Nobody said anything to me about a son! I- I can’t raise a kid. I’m only twenty. I barely know how to take care of myself!” He quickly starts breathing heavily. He can only think about how terribly he’s going to be with this alpha’s son, and this alpha is going to hate him and send him back to his parents.
“Hey, hey-” Eddie drops Buck’s suitcase and hurries over to him. Eddie gently wraps his arm around Buck and tries his best to comfort the omega. “I’m sorry Buck. I thought they would have told you about him. That was key information. I’m not expecting you to raise my kid, and I’ll understand it will take some time getting used to. Christopher is a wonderful kid, not to toot my own horn,”
Buck looks up at Eddie. “I- I don’t want to disappoint you,”
“You won’t,” Eddie whispers. “I promise. We’ll work together, okay? Do you trust me?”
Buck hesitates. “I- I can learn to,” he says.
“Okay. I’ll take that,” Eddie says. “I’m going to have Christopher stay with his abuela for about a week, because I really wanted to give you plenty of time to settle into the house. But let me know if you need more time and I’m sure his abuela will be more than happy to keep him longer.”
“Okay,” Buck whispers, nodding. He’s still not feeling great about his alpha having a kid. He doesn’t have any experiences with kids at all, even though he’s certainly not against them. He’s an omega, after all. Buck just didn’t think he’d be dealing with a kid so soon.
“I’m so sorry about that surprise. I really thought they would have told you,” Eddie says. “Come on then. Let me show you where the bedroom is. I’d also like to apologize that you don’t have your own bedroom. The house only has two bedrooms,” Eddie says. He grabs Buck’s suitcase before leading the way towards the main bedroom where Eddie sleeps. “I’ve cleaned out some space in the closet and drawers so you should have plenty of room for your stuff. If not, let me know.”
“It’s not like I have a lot of stuff anyways,” Buck mumbles.
“Well, we’ll be changing that ,” Eddie says. They walk into the bedroom. Eddie bites his lip as he watches Buck. He wants nothing but the best for his omega, especially after learning so much about him in just one day. Buck deserves more than what he’s been giving, and Eddie’s going to spoil him endlessly.
Eventually, Buck calms down. Eddie settles him down in the living room. He decides to order a pizza.
“We have a lot to discuss, huh?” Eddie asks when they’re sitting on the couch, waiting for their pizza. “But, I don’t want to overwhelm you on your first night here.”
“It’s okay,” Buck whispers, nervously fiddling with his fingers.
“Hey, Uh, I know you have every right to be nervous around me because of what you’ve been through, but you don’t have to be,” Eddie tries to assure him. “I’m never going to land a hand on you, or harm you in any way. I wanted an omega because I’m ready to settle down and raise my son with an omega.”
“You feel… safe, so far. I just… I guess I’m just nervous. I’m sorry. Please don’t take it the wrong way,”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Eddie says, and he reaches over to gently grab Buck’s hand. “It’s okay Buck, and I know that it’ll take some time. I’m willing to wait, and do whatever I can to make you feel completely safe here. We’re in this together. Just let me know what you need. Don’t ever hesitate to ask.”
“Omegas shouldn’t ask for things,” Buck says, frowning.
“That’s bullshit,” Eddie says, and his eyes widen slightly when he sees Buck flinch. “Sorry. Sorry. It’s just… You deserve just as much as I do, or a Beta. You’re no less, despite what most people believe.”
“You’re the only alpha I’ve heard talk like this. Besides my sister,” Buck admits.
Eddie chuckles. “There are good alpha’s out there. Just wait until you meet my team,”
“Your team?” Buck asks curiously, tilting his head slightly in confusion. He normally wouldn’t question an alpha like this so much, but Eddie is encouraging him, and Buck doesn’t feel like Eddie will punish him for being curious. This alpha is so different, Buck can’t help but be curious about his life.
“I’m a firefighter, so my team… they’re great people. You’re going to love them. Bobby, he’s the captain, and he’s an alpha. But, he’s not traditional. He’s like a father figure to all of us on the team. Then there’s Hen and Chim, they’re both betas. You’re going to get along with them just fine. Ravi, he’s an omega too. So, you’ll probably get along with him pretty well.”
Buck perks up at the mention of another male omega, because male omega’s are kind of hard to find these days. They exist, but Buck doesn’t really know of any besides himself. “An omega?”
Eddie smiles. “Ravi’s awesome. I’ll definitely have to introduce you to him,” he says.
Eddie blinks when his phone goes off, and he quickly fishes his phone out of his pocket. He looks down and sees that it’s Athena, alerting everyone in the groupchat that she and Bobby are hosting dinner at their place this Sunday. Everybody has to be there. Not that Eddie would ever tell Athena no.
“Oh, perfect. Athena and Bobby are hosting a dinner at their place this Sunday. It’s soon, so I understand if you don’t want to go. I’m required to be there though,” Eddie says, and he looks up at Buck.
“I…” Buck begins. He’s not sure he’s ready to meet so many people at once, especially after just meeting his new alpha. But, he also doesn’t want to be alone so soon after leaving home.
Maybe it couldn’t be too bad going with his alpha to dinner.
It’s five days that Buck has to settle down at Eddie’s house, his new home. Eddie gives him space, but he also doesn’t leave him alone for too long. They have sort of a routine down now. Buck will wake up, and Eddie will already be gone for work. Buck will talk to Maddie on his new phone Eddie bought for him, and he’ll clean the house or watch TV. Then, Eddie will come home and they’ll have dinner together.
Buck loves listening to Eddie tell stories about what happened on shift, all the crazy calls they go on, and he wishes he could be as brave as Eddie is. Eddie saves lives every single day.
When Sunday rolls around, Buck is nervous. More nervous than he’s ever been.
Eddie tries to calm him down on the way there.
“Would you stop fidgeting? You look fine, and everything’s going to be great. They know you’re coming, and I’ve already warned them not to crowd you and bombard you with questions,” Eddie quickly tries to assure him. “Just be your adorable omega self, okay? It’ll be fine .”
“Being myself usually gets me in trouble, Eddie,” Buck admits out loud.
Eddie huffs out a laugh, shaking his head. “Come on, they’re waiting for us,” he says, before getting out of his car. He walks around, and opens the door for Buck, grinning when Buck thanks him as he gets out. Eddie shuts the door and locks the car, and then reaches over to grab Buck’s hand for comfort. He leads the way to the door. Eddie knocks on the door once they get to the porch.
Eddie only has to knock once before the door is being pulled open, and he’s met with Athena.
“Evening, Athena,” Eddie greets, flashing a smile at the woman.
“It’s about damn time you got here, Diaz. We’ve been waiting all week to meet him. Come in, Come in,” she urges, gesturing for the two to enter the house. Eddie glances over at Buck before leading the way into the house. Athena gives Eddie a friendly hug, before turning to look at Buck. “You must Buck.”
Buck’s eyes widen slightly, before nodding nervously. “I’m Buck. H- Hi,”
“Aren’t you precious? It’s a pleasure to meet you, Buck. I’m Athena, Bobby’s wife,” Athena introduces before also hugging Buck comfortingly. “Eddie’s told us all about you.”
“Never shuts up about you, if we’re being honest,”
Eddie looks over to see Hen and Chimney standing there. He glares at him. “That’s not true !”
“It’s totally true, and don’t even try to argue,” Hen says. “But, I wouldn’t shut up about my new omega either if he looked like that.” She grins, before walking over to Buck and shaking his hand. “Hi, I’m Hen. That’s Chimney over there.”
“Chimney?” Buck asks curiously, raising his eyebrows as he looks over at Hen.
“It’s a long story. Maybe I’ll tell you the story one day,” Chimney says.
“Dinner’s ready!” Bobby shouts from the back porch.
Eddie walks over to Buck, gently placing a hand on Buck’s back. “Are you hungry?”
“I… I could eat,” Buck replies, nodding, instantly relaxing at the gentle touch from his alpha.
Eddie grins. “Great, because you’re going to love Bobby’s cooking,” he says, before leading the way out to the backyard. The others have already started gathering their food onto plates.
Buck truly doesn’t know what it is about these people, but he instantly feels relaxed, and calm. Safe . He could definitely get used to having this feeling.