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Having Jay Halstead around in LA lessened the blow about not going to Chicago. It didn’t clear it up or make him feel like the whole thing was worth it - no, that wasn’t about to happen. But it did ease it a bit.
Jay was still the stubbornly loyal man Buck had met briefly while serving in the Navy, before making the choice to attempt the SEALs. Jay was also the one who was there to pick him up after he dropped out of BUD/s.
Jay ended up being exactly what both Buck and Christopher needed - a welcome distraction. Chris got an extra person supporting him from the sidelines with his exams, but also someone that could tease Buck so hard that Chris would almost fall over laughing every evening. As for Buck, he had someone to hang out with outside his shifts and while Chris was taking his exams, someone who wasn’t afraid to call him on his bullshit when he got melancholy.
It also helped that half of the time that Jay was in town was during Buck’s four days off, so the three of them were able to hit the sights and make Eddie regret leaving Buck in charge. (The Disneyland idea was not Buck’s idea, where did you get that idea, he’s innocent of all charges. The afternoon going to half of the independent bookstores in Los Angeles? Well… Buck would like to plead the fifth, thanks so very much.) They had a blast, having not spent more than a day or so in each other's presence in nearly a decade due to time and distance.
See, blow lessened. Not completely lifted, but it helped.
The last night before Jay’s midday flight home found the two public servants relaxing in the Diaz’s living room, barely able to do more than chat as they tried to recover from Abuela’s tamales.
Jay and the family matriarch ended up getting along like a house on fire, in no small part because Christopher liked him so much. The officer now had a standing invitation to take part in any of the Diaz family parties.
“How is it that you eat food that tastes like that and you’re still ripped?” Jay snarked from his place on one end of the couch, hand settled over his stomach in satisfaction.
“I work out and plan it around family get-togethers. Otherwise I’d be out of shape and unable to lift anything, let alone my gear,” Buck replied. He smirked that the cop, who looked like he’d died and gone to heaven one bite into dinner.
A pillow sailed across the couch, catching him just so. “Ass,” Jay grumbled, the word mostly covered by a belated hand. “At least you don’t look like a gust of wind will knock you over anymore.”
Buck threw back his head in silent laughter, only keeping the sound trapped inside because of Chris being asleep. “You didn’t argue back then, shut up.”
“I was also an idiot. You shut up.”
The pillow that had clipped Buck’s head was very quickly sent back to its owner. Soon, a silent war began, pillows from both the couch and Eddie’s bed being used as impromptu ammo. Quickly, the firefighter and police officer were throwing and ducking, catching pillows and tossing them back with not-so-surprisingly accuracy. It only took a few minutes before the two were in a tangled heap on the ground, pillows left where they lay, the two laughing like teens instead of the respectable adults they were supposed to be.
“... Do I want to know what I just walked in on?”
Buck, pinned by most of the pillows and a (absolutely not gloating) triumphant Jay, immediately looked up, seeing the sight of an upside down Eddie Diaz standing in the doorway, rolling suitcase and duffle bag in hand. The man didn’t look annoyed. Instead, he was about ten seconds away from breaking out into laughter. And in his hand was a suspiciously aimed phone.
“Eddie! You’re back!” Buck gave Jay a sharp shove, unbalancing the man as Buck rolled to his feet and sprinted over to his best friend. One quick and tight hug later, Buck froze and stepped back. “Wait. You’re supposed to be in Chicago for another two days.”
Eddie shrugged, stepping back to tug off his jacket. “The last few days were just going to be sightseeing. I’d rather do that with someone who actually knows Chicago, instead of our team who still believes everything they read on the internet.” He caught Jay’s eye and held out a hand. “Nice seeing you again Halstead. Thanks for not spoiling my kid.”
Buck rolled his eyes. “Disneyland was his idea.”
Jay pulled himself to his feet before his host could potentially drop him. “Buck paid for everything that wasn’t the ticket. Including all the pins and toys and-”
“Halstead, I will shoot you and I will find a way to make it look like an accident,” Buck hissed, doing everything he could to avoid Eddie’s ‘I’m annoyed at Buck and I’m going to make it his problem’ eyes that were locked onto him.
Eddie sighed. “Why is this my life?” He smacked Buck upside the head. “If you ripped my pillows, Buckley-”
“I did not!”
“Just get them back on my bed before-”
Buck smacked him with his own pillow before grabbing both and darting down the hallway. Muted snickering paused for a moment, then continued before disappearing into Eddie’s bedroom.
Eddie finished picking up the discarded couch pillows before letting himself collapse onto it. Jay settled at the other end.
“There are sometimes I have to remind myself that his childhood sucked, because he still can act like a kid when he wants to,” Eddie said, sparing a glance over at the other Army Veteran. “How did you handle him when you knew him?”
Jay shrugged. “Found an empty tent and worked it out until we both calmed down.” Eddie blinked at him. “What? He never said that, did he?”
Eddie just shook his head. “No, but at the same time, I’m not surprised. This is Buck, we’re talking about.”
Before Jay could retort, a voice whisper-shouted from the end of the hallway. “Eddie, I’m sleeping in your bed!”
The man in question was off of the couch before the last word was spoken. “Don’t you dare, Buckley!” He started to charge down the hallway, but paused in the doorway to look back at Jay. “Coming?”
Jay smirked. “Lead the way.”