Work Text:
Pot Roast The pot roast had been what started the conversation.
After the lightning strike, Eddie insisted Buck stay with him. The thought of him going up and down the stairs in his loft all alone worried him too much. It took some convincing, but once he had Christopher break out his patented puppy dog eyes Buck was done for. He can’t say no to that kid. So he agreed to stay, and Eddie had him sleep in his bed while he camped on the couch, silently wishing they could be in that bed together.
They were sitting on his couch now, drinking some beer while watching late night reruns of Hell’s Kitchen. Buck liked to try and catch people’s mistakes before they made them. On the coffee table were cleaned plates of pot roast Maddie had brought over. They’d meant to have dinner earlier, but with Christopher spending the weekend with Pépa, Eddie had lost all sense of schedule. He was content to sit on that couch all day just listening to Buck ramble on about undercooked scallops. It wasn’t until both their stomachs were audibly complaining did he actually get up and get them dinner.
“Maddie made this pot roast in that weird coma universe too.” Buck said after setting down the finished plate.
“Right, the weird coma universe where you weren’t a firefighter. Y’know most people just dream about their teeth falling out.” Eddie laughed.
“I mean it! It’s one of the few things that stayed the same between this world and that one, Maddie’s pot roast was incredible.” Buck’s smiled, but it quickly faded as he thought more about what he’d seen in that dream. “But she was still with Doug, and Jee didn’t exist, since Chim didn’t even know her.” He shivers, thinking about the real Maddie living in that house with Doug instead of Chimney. Of her having to suffer more of his abuse while the rest of her family did nothing to stop him.
Eddie turned to face Buck. He could see him getting pulled into his head, spiralling, worrying about a reality that didn’t exist. He knew thats what he was doing, because it’s Buck. He cares so much about his family that even this dream family’s problems were bothering him.
“Hey, relax Buck. It was just a dream, it wasn’t real.” He wanted to get Buck’s mind of Maddie, before memories of the real Doug started to flood back in. “Was I there? In your weird coma reality?” Eddie hoped that would be less painful for him, but Buck’s face just scrunched up more.
“I didn’t see you, but dream Hen mentioned you. She called you angry guy.”
“Angry guy? Why was I angry?”
“She said you’d lost custody of Christopher. Since we never met there, I never introduced you to Carla, and I guess dream Eddie couldn’t find a balance between Christopher and work as a single parent.”
That was not the turn in conversation Eddie had been hoping for, because now Buck looked even more upset. He picked up the remote that was sitting on the couch between the two of them and turned off the TV. He hated seeing Buck like this, but a small part of him felt warm inside. ‘He cares about Christopher so much.’ He thought to himself. An even smaller part of him wanted to think he cared about him that way too. After sitting in silence for a good twenty seconds, Eddie finally broke it.
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a single parent in real life right?” He smiled, looking up at the ceiling. Buck looked confused for a moment, until he fully grasped what Eddie meant.
“Eds, I’m not—“
“Evan.” He moved closer, catching Buck off guard with his real name. “You are. Do you think I would have put you in my will if I didn’t want you to be a parent to him?” He placed a hand behind Buck’s neck. “Christopher adores you, Buck. You are just as much that kid’s father as I am.”
Buck looked like he wanted to protest, but when he couldn’t find the words, he settled for a quiet “you mean it?”
“With all my heart Evan. We love you so much, and that dream was right about one thing. Our lives would be awful without you in them.” He brought Buck into a tight hug. “Never forget that.”
They stayed there for a while, wrapped together in silence, until Buck pulled away. He kept his arms resting loosely on Eddie’s, not sitting any further back. He had a shocked look on his face, like he just realised something important.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Eddie asked.
“We.” Buck whispered. “You said we.” Eddie’s eyes went wide. He realised what that implied. He quickly worked on doing damage control.
“I mean, yeah, you’re my best friend, of course I love you.” Eddie ducked his head, trying to hide how flushed he was getting.
“With all your heart? That's a big commitment for just best friend.” Eddie looked back up. Buck was smiling, and it was hopeful. Not the kind of smile you give when you’re letting someone down easy, the kind you give when you think your feelings might not be one sided.
“Do you want it to be more than just best friend?” He asked slowly. Buck’s smile grew wider.
“More than anything. You have to know I’m in love with you right?” Eddie nearly choked on the air between them.
“Really?” Now it was Eddie’s turn to question the truth. Did Buck actually like him? Love him, the way Eddie loved him?
“Yeah, really. Maddie says its obvious too. She said I literally swoon over you, whatever that means.” He laughed.
“Then why did you never say anything?”
“I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way! I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. You and Chris are the most important people in my life, I couldn’t risk losing you.” Buck looked down. Eddie brought his hands up to Buck’s face, guiding his eyes back up to his own.
“You could never lose us, lose me. You’re the one for me, Evan. I can’t picture my life without you in it.” He smiled softly.
“Eds.” Buck whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Just kiss me already.”
He didn’t need any more direction. Eddie brought Buck’s face to his own and slotted their lips together. Buck sighed into the kiss and Eddie could barely keep from smiling. It felt so warm, so safe. He never felt this way with anyone, not even Shannon. The way their lips moved together, perfectly in sync with each other, was a feeling Eddie never wanted to forget. He could feel Buck wrap his arms around his waist, pulling him closer until Eddie was sitting on his lap. The kiss turned more desperate quickly, Eddie chasing the taste of pot roast in Buck’s mouth. Eventually, when Eddie needed to breathe, he pulled away from Buck and let his hands slide from his face to his shoulders.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long.” He whispered, still breathless from the kiss.
“Me too.” Buck smiled and rested his forehead against Eddie’s. They sat like that, silent, just taking in the moment together, for a good few minutes before Eddie broke the silence.
“Chris is gonna be so happy.”
Buck smiled. “You think? He won’t be upset?” Eddie nodded, then lifted his head to place a kiss on Buck’s birthmark.
“He loves you Buck. He wants you to live here, to cook pancakes every morning and help him with his homework. He wants you have family dinners with us and to be there every night to turn out the lights and close his bedroom door. Told me himself a week after you started staying with us. Said he wished you would stay after you got better, not just for your recovery.”
Buck giggled. “Are you asking me to move in with you, Diaz?” Eddie smiled, then placed another quick kiss on his birthmark, then his lips.
“We can go grab your stuff from the loft tomorrow, then Sunday night we can tell Chris his dad’s are finally together over dinner.” Buck beamed at him.
“I love you so much Eds.”
“I love you more Evan.”