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Buck groaned as she flipped through her closet, tossing one sundress over her shoulder. She heard her front door open and shut, letting her know Eddie got here from his PT appointment. “Eddie! What am I supposed to wear to meet your parents?!”
Eddie laughed from her kitchen. “Whatever you want, carino.”
“That’s not helping, Edmundo!” Buck shouted as she threw herself on the lump of clothes on her bed with a soft “oof”. She shut her eyes tightly and begged her body to keep the tears that threatened to fall away.
She felt the bed dip next to her and then a body was hovering over hers, stroking her side gently with his non sling ridden hand. “Well, Evelyn, you’re stressing over nothing. They’ve already met you once before at my shield ceremony. They won’t care what you’re wearing.”
Buck reached up, holding his hips and opened one eye. “The last time they met me, I was just your work partner, plus I was not at my best. I had a stupid cast and was on crutches and hadn’t been able to shower properly. And you know you’re lying, your mom will care what I’m wearing. You’ve told me enough Shannon stories to know that appearances matter, especially on a holiday.”
Eddie tilted his head and couldn’t seem to argue with her logic. “Either way, it won’t matter because they know you’re not Shannon and that this is different. And if they do cause trouble, we’ll leave. Your comfort is far more important to me than their opinion. Plus we’ll have Abuela and Pepa there as back up.”
Buck sighed but acquiesced and patted his hips. “Alright, let me up. I gotta find something.”
Eddie rolled off her and sat up on the edge of the mattress, watching as she moved back to the closet. “If you truly want my opinion, I like the long blue skirt.” He said with his hand resting in his lap.
Buck looked back at him and pulled a hanger from the back. “This one?” She held it up, showing him the navy maxi skirt with white flowers and a slit that went just above her knee. He nodded and laid back, careful not to disturb her pile of clothes. She hummed and went back to her closet. She pulled out a white off the shoulder crop blouse and held them up together. She nodded, more to herself than him and changed quickly, ignoring his heated gaze.
“I love watching you change.” He sighed and stood up pulling her into his chest.
She laughed loudly and threw her head back. “You love watching me take clothes off.” She pushed away from him and crouched down, looking through her shoes, deciding on a pair of sandals with a small heel that would make them the same height. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
“Umm, yes?” He hesitated, not knowing if it was a trick question. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a simple green t-shirt.
Buck narrowed her eyes. “Umm, no. It’s Easter, Eddie! You are not wearing the same shirt you wore to PT!”
“It’s the easiest thing I could put on.”
Buck shook her head. “Thank God we have to pick up Chris before going to Abuela’s. Let’s go.” She headed down the stairs and grabbed her purse, making sure she had her wallet, keys and phone inside and waited for him to make his way to her.
“Are you really gonna make me change?” He asked, opening the door for her.
She followed him out and locked her door, grabbing his hand as they made the way to her elevator. “Yes. Your grey button up should be in the dryer, I remember seeing it when I did laundry yesterday.”
He quirked an eyebrow and stepped out when the elevator made it to the ground floor. “You did laundry after I left yesterday?”
“Chris was nearly out of pants and I saw you looking for that sweater you love so much even though we live in California, it’s clean now by the way.” Buck shrugged and climbed into the truck.
Eddie shook his head and climbed into the driver’s seat. “I love you, you know that?” He asked rhetorically before he started the engine.
Buck hummed and leaned over, giving him a chaste kiss. “You’ve said that once or twice. I love you too.”
The ride was spent in relative silence, music was playing quietly from the radio and Eddie was cursing the traffic, as he did nearly everyday. Six months together and Buck still couldn’t believe that Eddie, her sweet, stoic, guarded, partner at work, was also her boyfriend. She sat, studying his face, the way his lips silently formed the words of the song that she had no interest in. His slight stubble dusted across his jaw, letting her know he hadn’t shaved in a few days. He kept one hand on the steering wheel, relaxed but still firm, always on alert, while the other rested on her thigh, rubbing small circles against the soft material of her skirt.
“You’re staring again, querida.” He chuckled lightly, his eyes never leaving the road.
Buck scoffed and waved her hand around nonsensically. “Can I help it if my boyfriend is ridiculously attractive?” She saw his eyes roll but his smile was bright and unbothered.
“Better get your fill now because we’re about to have a very rambunctious almost ten year old on our hands.”
Buck sighed and looked wistfully out the window. “I know. You’re sure he’s not upset that I couldn't hang out yesterday? I tried to change my doctor's appointment but I just couldn’t.”
Eddie chuckled and pulled onto his street. “He’s definitely not upset, he understands that it had to do with your health and he wants his Bucky healthy.” He assured her and parked the truck in the driveway. They climbed out and walked to the door. As soon as it swung open, Buck’s arms were loaded with a rambling Chris and Buck couldn’t seem to get a grip on a single word.
“Woah, woah, calm down there superman. What’s going on?”
Chris snuggled deeply into her neck as she stood from her crouched position and held tightly to the boy. “You guys took longer than usual and I got scared.” Buck shared a look with Eddie who stood next to an apologetic looking Carla. Buck mouthed ‘I got this. Change’ and walked to the living room, sitting down with Chris on her lap and rubbed a soothing hand down his back.
“I’m sorry we scared you, superman. We didn’t mean to.” She whispered into his hair. He seemed to slowly calm down and his breathing evened out, a few hiccups here and there. “It was my fault. It took me longer to choose what to wear than I thought and then traffic was bad.”
“Why did you ha-have a hard time finding clothes?” He asked as he pulled away to look at her. His hands pulled some of her dirty blonde curls to the front and played with it slowly, something that he had done since the tsunami. He had done it when they were on top of the truck and it seemed to calm him down so she tried to let it be down anytime he was upset.
“Honestly? I’m a little nervous about today.” She whispered.
Chris looked at her, his little head tilted slightly with a confused frown. “But it’s Easter! We’ll get candy and tamales and toys!”
Buck chuckled and nodded. “You are right buddy. But it’s also the first time I’ll see your grandparents as more than your dad’s friend and I’m just a little nervous to impress them.”
Chris shook his head. “They’ll like you, because daddy likes you and I like you. So they have to, too.”
Buck chuckled. “Alright, if you say it, it must be true then. Now come on, let’s get you dressed.” She said tugging on his pajama top. He climbed off her lap and slowly made his way to his room, choosing not to use his crutches for now. She followed behind him slowly, letting him take the reins and only had to help him when he couldn’t get his jeans buttoned and zipped. She held up two shirts, a forest green button up and a light blue one, letting him choose between the two. He picked the light blue one, saying he wanted to match with her. She laughed and handed it to him, standing back as he slowly got the buttons done up, his tongue poking out in concentration, the same way hers did when she was really focused and it nearly brought her to tears.
“Done!” He cheered when he had the last button closed and smiled up at her brightly.
“Nicely done, superman! You look very dapper.” She smiled and straightened out his collar.
She turned and saw Eddie leaning against the door frame, his good arm resting on his hip and the other steadied by the sling, with the cuffs of the gray shirt rolled up on his forearm. “Very sharp, mijo. Are we nearly ready to go? It’s almost nine.”
“I brushed my teeth when I woke up!” Chris called as he walked past the two adults and grabbed his crutches from where they stood next to the dining table.
“You’re so good with him, babe.” Eddie whispered as Buck leaned into him. She shrugged and kissed him lightly.
“He makes it easy. I just want him to be happy.”
Eddie grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “You make him happy. You’re his Buck.”
“And you’re a sap. Come on. We need to go.” She smiled and pulled him through the house to where Chris sat next to the door, pulling on his sneakers. They waited patiently, Buck on having to tighten her grip on Eddie’s hand once to stop him from stepping in. He sent her a grateful look and opened the door for them when Chris was done. They made it to the truck and all climbed in.
“We need to stop somewhere on the way and get some flowers or something.” Buck said as they made their way down the freeway.
“What, why? It’s just Abuela.”
Buck looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “It’s rude to show up without a gift for the host, Eddie.”
Eddie shook his head. “This isn’t about impressing my parents, is it?”
“No. No, this is about being good guests. I always bring something when I go to somebody’s house for an event or party. Just something my parents instilled in Maddie and I.”
“You don’t bring stuff to party’s at Bobby and Athena’s.” Eddie pointed out.
She looked at him confused and pouted. “Yes I do. I always bring some kind of dessert.”
Eddie hummed. “I always assumed that was just because we were having a party. Why didn’t you bake something for today?”
Buck huffed out a laugh. “Because when I offered, Abuela said I would be met with the business end of la chancla. Said it was my turn to rest and not stress about baking something. Flowers though, she never said anything about flowers.”
“Alright. We will stop and get flowers.”
Buck turned in her seat and looked at Chris. “You wanna help me pick out flowers for bisabuela?”
Chris cheered and nodded.
They pulled into a parking lot of a flower shop and Buck unbuckled herself before swinging out and got Chris unbuckled. “We’ll be back.” She called to Eddie as the door swung shut. They walked in and made a beeline for the wall of flowers that hung gracefully near the entrance.
“What are we thinking, bud? Something bright and cheery right?”
“Bisabuela likes sunflowers, like you Bucky.” Chris explained, looking at the different bouquets.
Buck looked at the young man behind the counter who looked slightly overwhelmed at the bouquet he was trying to put together. “Hi there! I’m sorry to bother you. I was wondering if you had any premaid sunflower bouquets?”
He startled and looked at her, slightly entranced at the woman and opened his mouth before shutting it again. She smiled sweetly, waiting for him. “Right. Um, sunflowers. I think we have some in the cooler. Any special occasion?”
“We’re going to my boyfriend’s abuela’s for Easter and I thought some flowers would be nice.” She explained and watched as his demeanor seemed to deflate, she held back a chuckle and vowed to never tell any of her fire fam about this.
“Just sunflowers or did you want something with it?” He asked, wiping his hands on his apron.
“Something blue! Like Bucky’s eyes!” Chris called from where he stood next to Buck’s leg. The man looked down, seemingly seeing Chris for the first time.
“Something blue.” He nodded. “I think we got something. Give me one sec.” He said and walked to the back.
Chris and Buck wandered around before Buck got an idea. If she can’t impress Eddie’s parents, maybe.. “Hey Chris, since I’m getting something for your bisabuela, do you want to get something for your grandma? I bet she’d really love it.” Chris’s eyes blew wide and he nodded frantically. “Okay, since he’s already in the back, why don’t you choose something from out here, okay? Pick whatever you want.”
“I can pick?”
“Absolutely. What’s her favorite color?”
Chris looked up and scrunched his face in concentration. “Purple, I think.”
“Okay, let's look for something purple then.” Buck nodded and they set out on their mission. By the time the worker came back out, holding a bouquet, Buck and Chris had decided on a bouquet of purple lilies and white roses.
“So I found this one, it has sunflowers, white daisies, Queen Anne’s lace, and blue delphinium.”
Buck nodded and smiled. “It’s perfect. We’ll also take this one. Can you wrap them up please?” The worker took the bouquet from Chris when he reached up and started wrapping them in brown paper and handed them back. “Great, how much do I owe you?” He gave her the total and once she paid they thanked him and headed back outside to Eddie who was getting impatient.
“I have had no less than five texts from Pepa asking where we were.” He complained as soon as Buck got Chris settled in the back, the flowers resting gently in his lap.
“Sorry.” She grimaced. “Chris wanted to get a bouquet for your mom.”
“That was a good idea buddy.” Eddie hummed and pulled back onto the road. “What did you end up getting?”
Chris was silent for a second and then tentatively told him, “White roses and purple lilies.”
“Purple’s her favorite color, did you know that?”
“Yes!” Chris yelled, clearly proud of himself for remembering correctly. The rest of the drive didn’t take long and they were soon pulling up in front of Abuela’s house.
Buck took a deep breath and turned to Eddie. “Remember, if they give us any trouble, we leave.” He reassured her and after she nodded and they stole a quick peck of the lips, they climbed out. Buck took hold of the flowers while Eddie helped Chris get unbuckled. She handed him the flowers for Eddie’s mom and they made the walk up the steps, going slowly, in step with Chris. The door swung open before they even made it halfway.
“Eddie!” His mom called out and hugged him tightly before he even really registered that she was there.
“Hi mom.” He chuckled tightly, letting a hand wrap around her waist.
She pulled back and looked back where Chris was still walking alongside Buck. “Eddie, help him, he really shouldn’t be walking along this path, there’s cracks and pebbles.”
“Mom, he’s fine, Buck is right next to him and he knows to watch where he’s walking.”
Eddie’s mom finally seemed to take in Buck and turned to Eddie. “This is a family event, I really don’t think it's appropriate to bring your fling.” She said in a barely contained whisper, and he was sure Buck could have heard.
As he felt the anger build in his chest, Abuela came out and pulled Buck into a hug. “Evelyn es tan bueno verte! Estábamos preocupados de que no pudieras asistir. Hoy te ves muy hermosa.”
Buck laughed wetly and hugged her back. “Hola abuela, gracias por invitarme. No estaba seguro de poder venir hasta anoche. Y te ves preciosa como siempre!” Eddie could see the surprise on his mom’s face at Buck’s clear spanish and barely held back a smirk. “Estos son para ti, Chris dijo que te gustan los girasoles.”
Abuela took them and put them gently to her face and took a deep breath and grabbed Buck’s hand. “¡Ah, son perfectos! ¡Ven, ven, busquemos un jarrón para ponerlos!”
Eddie watched as his girlfriend was tugged into the house, leaving him and Chris with his mom. “For the record, she was invited. And she’s not a fling, she is my girlfriend. You will treat her with respect or we’ll be leaving.” He said slowly before turning to his son. “Did you want to give grandma her gift, mijo?”
“Hi grandma! Buck thought you’d like flowers too and I know you like purple! She let me pick them all on my own!” He smiled and held them out to her carefully, making sure to not jostle his crutches.
“Oh!” She exclaimed, looking at the flowers before taking them slowly. “They’re beautiful Christopher.” She said and turned to Eddie.
“All she wants is for you to like her, mom. I would too. But whether or not you like it, she’s my person. So either get used to it or get used to not seeing us.” He whispered and scooped Chris into his arms and brought them inside. He put Chris down on the floor and let him run off to where his cousins were playing in the living room. Eddie wandered through the house, saying hello to his different cousins, Pepa’s children and their kids.
He wrapped his arm around Evelyn’s waist when he finally found her in the kitchen, gossiping with the other women, and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Hi sweetheart.” He whispered.
She sighed and melted into his touch, her hands gripping his arms. “Hi.”
He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw his mom walk to his dad, whispering gently, gesturing at them. He knew when Abuela clocked them too and passed the two of them four baskets of plastic eggs. “Mientras los niños están distraídos, ¿podrían esconderlos en el patio trasero?”
Buck nodded and extracted herself from his hold. “Sí, por supuesto abuela.” She took the baskets and followed Eddie out the back door. They worked quickly to get the eggs hidden, none too obvious but not so hard that they’d be impossible to find. Eddie was careful to not be gone from her side too much, letting his shoulder press against hers every once in a while, pressing his hand against her lower back every chance he got, small touches to let her know he was there.
When they finished, she let herself fall into his arms once again, her back against his chest. “You are not a fling, carino.” He whispered softly. “I’m sorry I even let her get a chance to say it. I set her straight as soon as I could.”
“It’s not your fault, Eds. I just thought she’d at least let me get through the door before she said anything.”
“Well..” Eddie shrugged. “Chris told her you were the one who thought it’d be a good idea to get her the flowers. And she was surprised you knew spanish.”
“I figured she’d be more grateful if they came from Chris.” Buck shrugged.
Edie spun her around and grabbed her face in his hands. “You are amazing Evelyn Buckley. You are sweet, and caring, and brave, and smart and so many other adjectives that I could go on and on with, but the most important part is that I'm in love with you and Chris loves you. I don’t care what they think. You are my person and I would never give you up. Got it?”
Buck nodded and hastily wiped her tears. “Got it.”
“Good.” Eddie smiled and kissed her sweetly. They were interrupted by the back door opening and shouts from kids surrounding them.
“Hope you got them done!” Pepa yelled cheerfully, watching the kids bounce around the yard happily as they collected eggs in their baskets. They nodded and watched Chris as he joined the fun, glad that his cousins were either ignoring or genuinely not seeing some of the eggs that were easier for him to grab.
“Um, Buck?” Helena said hesitantly from behind them. Buck spun around and smiled softly.
“Hi Mrs. Diaz. I’m sorry I didn’t say hello earlier. I kind of got swept away.” Buck explained, hoping her voice was steadier than it sounded in her ear.
“Please, um, please call me Helena. I just wanted to say, I’m sorry for earlier, I-” Buck tried to wave her off, intent to let her believe she hadn’t heard the ‘fling’ comment, “I’m not as quiet as I would like to believe. I know you must have heard me. But what I said wasn’t right. It was cruel and uncalled for. I guess I’m still too protective of both my boys and I didn’t let myself trust Eddie and his judgement. You seem like a very sweet girl and I’m very glad they have you.”
Buck stared stunned, and tried to fight the urge to look at Eddie. “Uh, right. I-I get that. After everything with, well,” She cut herself off, making sure Chris wasn’t around, the topic of Shannon still sore a little under two years later for the young boy, “with Shannon. I get it. But, I promise, I’m not her. I want to be here, with them, and your beautiful family. Apology accepted.”
Helena nodded and smiled. “Is it okay if I hug you now?” Buck laughed and nodded, letting herself get folded into the woman, wrapping her arms around her waist. Ramon joined them and looked between the three. “So, everything seems okay, si?”
Buck laughed and extracted herself from the hold. “Sí, todo está bien ahora, Sr. Díaz.”
Ramon chuckled and waved her off. “Por favor, llámame Ramón. Su español es muy bueno. ¿Donde aprendiste?” He wondered and snaked an arm around his wife’s shouders.
Buck shrugged and tilted her head to the right and left. “Perú sobre todo, cuando viví allí. Eddie y Chris me han estado ayudando a ordenarlo.”
“Daddy! Bucky! Look, I found a golden egg!” Chris called out to them, making them turn and smile at him, falling to the ground with him as he started cracking into his eggs when all of them had been found by the kids.
Buck smiled as Chris organized his basket by which eggs he wanted to open first, letting herself fall into Eddie’s side and smiled when his arm wrapped around her waist.
She was pretty sure this was easily the best Easter she had ever had.