Work Text:
14th April
Prompt: “Please don’t leave.”
Eddie had no idea what to expect when he packed up his and his sons life to move to LA, but it most definitley was not to meet the most amazing man and fall head over heels in love with him.
Evan Buckley was something else, and even if their first meeting was not ideal, the two grew on the other hard and fast and it wasn't long before they were insperable, in work and outside.
Buck was amazing with Christopher and Christopher loved him just as much back, and if it wasn't for all his help in introducing him to Carla, Eddie would have buckled under the pressure of being a single dad and a firefighter months ago.
But Carla was a saint, and Chris was given the potential to attend the best school in the state for a kid like him and everything was slotting into place, until one small bump was thrown into his path to success.
"We will need to meet with both you, and your wife."
This is how it all started. The school insisted on seeing both Eddie and Shannon together, meaning he had to bring her back into his life to sort the paperwork out, which then brought up the question of introducing her back into Christophers life.
Buck, the angel that he is, was more than accepting when Eddie considered it, which was how he ended up spending his first Christmas with Buck, with Shannon instead. The man had picked up an extra shift and insisted it was fine, that their relationship was still new and he wasn't going to hold such high expectations to Eddie so early on in them dating.
But then, with Shannon being in his life, he found himself struggling to split his time between Chris, Shannon, and Buck, and now, well, now he is pretty sure his boyfriend is going to lose his shit.
"Hey, so I was thinking, you could come around tonight? I could make you Bobby's caserole, and we could watch a movie. I feel like we haven't had a date night in a while." Buck said as he finished grabbing his things out of his locker, Eddie grimanced as he turned, a sour look on his face that Buck recognised straight away as a reject. "Or not."
"I'm sorry, I have plans with Shannon."
"But Chris is with your Abuela tonight? What are you guys doing?"
"We were going to see a movie. We saw the trailer when we took Chris to see that turtle film last week." The look of betrayal on Buck's face was like an arrow to the heart, Eddie frowning.
"You went to see the new Mutant Ninja Tutrle film without me?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's just a stupid kids film, I didn't think you'd want to come?" Eddie was confused, wondering why Buck was so bothered. "Why don't you come with us? We're going to see Shazam, or whatever." Buck made a wounded noise, huffing as he picked up his bag.
"You're going to see- you know, forget it. I would rather not spend the night third-wheeling you two anyway." He stormed past Eddie, only confusing the man more. He walked out of the locker room and spotted Hen who was watching Buck's retreating figure with a frown.
"What's gotten into him?"
"I don't know, he got really mad when I asked if he wantd to join me and Shannon at the movies tonight and then stormed off."
"Yeah, I'd be pretty mad too if Karen was spending all of her time with her ex as well." Hen commented with a raised eyebrow, Eddie scoffing.
"Shannon is not my ex."
"No, actually, she is your wife, technically. You never did file those divorce papers did you?" Chim perked up from behind them, Eddie scowling as he fixed his back and sulked out to his car. Surely that wasn't how Buck saw it, right? He knew he wasn't treating Shannon like an ex, but as Christopher's mom, right?
Wrong.
Buck knocked on Hen's door, the woman answering, immedietly dragging the teary eyed man inside, wrapping him up in her arms.
"I think my boyfriend is cheating on me with his wife." And wasn't that a sentence she didn't think she would ever hear Buck say. She sat him down on the couch while shouting to Karen that they needed the good hot chocolate, Buck sniffling harshly as he tried to control his emotions.
"Is this because they're going to the movies tonight?"
"Not just that, it's everything Hen! You know, me and Christopher have been talking about the new Mutan Ninja turtle movie for weeks, and then Shannon and Eddie take him to see it without even asking me, and Shazam! I wanted to take Eddie to see Shazam, but instead he is going with Shannon. I haven't seen him on his own for three weeks Hen. He keeps bailing because he has to go get coffee with Shannon, or go to the movies with Shannon, or take shannon to the new greek restaraunt downtown. He is taking her on all the dates I want to be going on with him. We've been dating for seven months, seven, and I feel like for the past three it's been him and her, and less me." Hen sighed, grabbing his hand, Karen coming in with three mugs of hot chocolate. "I just, he war married to her, is married to her, what if he, you know, still loves her?"
"Sounds to me like you need to have a serious conversation with Eddie." Karen commented, Buck looking down at the mug in his hands as she handed it to him.
"I agree. I don't think what Eddie is doing is malicious Buck, and I know how he feels about you, so I wouldn't agree and say he is cheating on you, but I do think you need to sit him down and tell him how this makes you feel."
"I feel so alone in this relationship. Like, I jumped into his head first because maybe I was still realing over Abby and that, I just wanted the attention, but I loved it Hen. I loved having someone to call while I got ready for work again, and someone to text when he wasn't on shift, and having someone to go home. I feel safe with him and Chris, like, they're everything I ever wanted, and then I had it, and now I'm losing it." His eyes welled up with tears, Buck sniffing as he tried to fight them away. "I was watching Maddie get ready for her date with Chim and just, I got so jealous, because I want to be going on dates with my hot firefighter boyfriend." Hen smirked sadly, knowing he was joking, but at the same time, the look on his face was heartbreaking. They drank their hot chocolate in silence, Buck sighing as he placed the cup on the coffee table. "Thank you for letting me rant, and for the hot chocolate. I'm sorry for dropping by without calling."
"Buck, never apologise for coming to us. I'm here for you the same way I know you're here for me, and for Karen if she needed it. We love you." Hen dropped her own mug on the table and wrapped him up, Karen coming to his other side and doing the same. He tried not to get emotional again, nodding into Hen's neck.
"I love you both too. I'll see you in work tomorrow." He shook his shoulder as if shaking away his troubles and smiled to them, Hen walking him to the door.
"Call me if you need me, okay?" Nodding, he gives her a small smile and heads to his jeep, Hen watching with sad eyes as he drives away.
"Eddie is such an idiot." Karen mumbled into Hen's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around her waist, Hen huffing out a laugh.
"Don't I know it."
When Hen's phone rang two hours later, she half expected Buck to have crashed Eddie and Shannons movie (date?) to confront him, but what she did not expect was Bobby telling her Chim had been stabbed and Maddie was missing.
She thanked whoever in the universe she could that Buck had gone home when he did, because when she got to the hospital, Bobby informed her that he could have bled out if it wasn't for Buck stopping the bleeding when he did, but also, she thought of if Buck had not come to hers, and if they'd have had two victims at their feet. Eddie joined her and Bobby, Hen pushing aside her worries about his and Buck's relationship for another time.
"Where is Buck now?" Bobby frowned, crossing his arms across his chest with more worry lines on her forehead than he had had earlier on in the day.
"Hospital jail."
Another thing she did not expect that day.
Buck was sat with his head in his hands when Eddie found him, Bobby having filled both him and Hen in on his genius plan to use Chimney's phone to track down Doug. He tried not to react when he felt Buck tense next to him sliding slightly away from his comforting touch.
"Why are you here?"
"Chimney was stabbed Buck, of course I'm going to be here."
"No, why are you here?"
"Because your sister is missing, and you're not thinking properly because you've ended up in hospital jail, so I thought I could help. Try and keep your head straight." Buck looked up and if Eddie wasn't on the verge of tears before, he was near enough now. Buck's eyes were red rimmed, tear tracks drying on his face. He could see the dried blood on his hands, swallowing down the bile at the thought of that being his friends blood, the image of Buck finding him, keeping him alive, making its way to the forefront of his brain.
"I don't need you here." The words are right there, on the tip of his tongue, I needed you before now, but you weren't there.
"Buck-" Eddie was interuptted by Athena and Bobby coming in, Athena telling him that she has a plan outside of the law to potentially use Chimney's phone, ushering Buck to follow her. He watched Bobby give him a list of instructions, though the look on Buck's face was not comforting in the slightest. Eddie knew Buck, and knew what he would do to get Maddie back, praying that being in Athena's presence would sway him to at least try stay safe.
He tried to ignore how Buck didn't look at him once before he left.
Buck was sat with Chimney while Maddie slept, bouncing between the two, refusing to go home until they at least had release dates, so he could go and clean up Maddie's apartment, not that he thinks she'll want to stay there much longer when she is released after the events of the day.
Chimney was chatting away to him, the pain meds making him a bit loopy but Buck didn't mind. The alternative was much worse than hearing Chimney talk about his weird dream caused by the anaesthetic that knocked him out for his surgery.
"Christopher being the first person I saw when I woke up was a surprise though." This brought Buck back to the conversation, his brows furrowing.
"Chris was here?"
"Yeah, Shannon brought everyone food while they were waiting and brought Chris to boost moral. Obviously he talked everyones ears off, and he apparently followed Bobby to my room while he was talking to the doctor. He very delightfully informed me not to eat the meatloaf."
"Yeah, he claims it's how he lost a tooth after his last surgery." Buck mumbled with a smile, though it never reached his eyes, Chimney nudging his leg with his IV filled hand.
"What's with the face?" Buck shook his head, not about to bore Chimney with his relationship crisis, when his girlfriends psycho ex-husband literally just stabbed him before they could even go on their first date.
"Nothing. So, I'm assuming you are staying away from the meatloaf then?"
Hen painfully watched as Buck avoided Eddie like the plauge while they were on shift, having apparently not spoken to him since the hospital three weeks ago.
In Buck's defence, he had been very busy. He had taken a weeks leave to help Maddie after she was released from the hospital, and also bounced between her apartment and Chimney's, feeling some second hand guilt considering it was his ex-brother-in-law who had stabbed him, even if Buck had always hated the man.
But now, this was just excruciating.
She leant against the locker room door as Buck packed his bag.
"You need to sort this out. You guys are dating Buck, communicate."
"That's the thing Hen, we're not dating, and we haven't been for a while. I feel like I'm getting the Abby treatement all over again, it's like I'm in a relationship with a ghost." Hen went to speak up, but Eddie slipped in through the door next to her, clearing his throat.
"Hey, can we talk?" Hen watched as Buck rolled his eyes, picking up his bag with a sigh.
"Sorry I have plans."
"With who?" Hen and Eddie both spoke at the same time, Buck staring at Hen for a second before looking back at Eddie, shrugging.
"I don't know, thought that was just the automatic response we gave each other when the other wanted to do something." And with that, he left, Hen cringing, though the come back was smooth, even for Buck.
"That, was brutal." She patted Eddie's shoulder and left him alone, the man huffing, his head falling in his hands. He was so royalled fucked.
Buck pushed the curry he had made himself around on his plate with a sigh. He had distracted himself by making a full meal, but was in no mood to eat it.
He knew he was being stupid, that he needed to talk to Eddie, but he was so pissed off it was making him lash out, and he didn't want to end up saying something he would later regret.
He had no right to tell Eddie who he should be friends with, and if he wanted to be civil with Shannon to make things easier on Christopher, than who was he to get in the way of that? Shannon was Christopher's mother, she was Eddie's wife, the first woman he loved; did Buck even stand a chance?
Clearly not, because Eddie had ended their relationship without even telling Buck, that just showed him how little he truly meant.
His jumped when his front door opened, Eddie letting himself in with the key Buck had gave him a few weeks into them dating, but that he hadn't used in months.
"You ditched me for a curry?" Eddie nodded towards the full plate Buck was now pushing to the side, standing so he could put some more space between himself and Eddie.
"What are you doing here?"
"We need to talk, Buck. You've been avoiding me."
"Really, hadn't noticed." Eddie sighed heavily, slamming the door behind him making Buck wince.
"Come on Buck, talk to me, tell me what's going on in that head of yours?" Buck stayed silent, Eddie watching as he grabbed the plate and threw away the food that he knew probably took him over an hour to prepare, dropping the empty plate into the sink. "I know I haven't been the best boyfriend lately, and I am sorry, but we can't keep going on like this."
"I didn't even realise we were dating anymore. Seems like you made up your mind on our relationship a long time ago."
"What? Buck, of course we're still dating."
"Really? Because it seems to me like your dating Shannon. She's the one you take out for meals, or to the movies, and on coffee dates, not me. We haven't been on a date, or spent any time together, in almost two months!"
"Because you've been avoiding me!"
"Because I needed you!" His hand slammed down on the kitchen island, Eddie's eyes wide when he saw Buck tearing up, the man inhaling sharply. "I know when we started dating I was still feeling the effects of Abby, but I fell so hard and so fast for you, I was so comfortable with the lifestyle we had set for ourselves and I loved it, Eddie. I loved calling you while I got ready for work, and texting you while I was on shift, and picking Chris up when I finished before you so we could cook you dinner, and coming home to you both after a hard day. I loved it so much, and then, you, you stopped. I kept trying to give and give so much but you wouldn't accept anything I was offering, but you were with Shannon. I would say, let's go for a meal, and you would so no, then a week later you would go for one with her, and I would invite you over for movie night, and you would say no, but you would go out to the movies with her, and god, it was killing me. It was like you were cheating on me in front of my own two eyes and I couldn't do anything to stop it because she's Shannon. She is Christopher's mother and you wife and I just felt like the dirty side piece who got left when you realised you were still in love with her." Buck was panting heavily, Eddie gaping at him. Everything he had been bottling up since Shannon arrived poured out of him and now, well, there was no going back now.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"How could I? You're married to her Eddie, she is your first love and who am I to take that away from you? Why would I make you choose, even though it's clear who you would choose." Eddie went silent, running the last few months through his head, trying to pinpoint where he had gone so horribly wrong. Buck took his silence as a clear answer to what he was insuating, a harsh laugh escaping his lips bringing Eddie back to the moment. He stormed past Eddie and went open the door, snapping Eddie into motion as he grabbed his wrist.
"Please don't leave." His voice cracked, tears welling in his eyes as he pleaded for Buck to just, wait, and listen. He had so much to say but his mouth wasn't working.
"Eddie I-" He interupted whatever he was going to say by crashing his lips against Buck's, a tear rolling down the mans cheek as he cupped Eddie's face, kissing him just as desperatley back. Eddie felt as more tears soaked Buck's cheek and pulled away, some of his own escaping his eyes. How long had it been since they had kissed?
"I'm so sorry. I am so, so, so damn sorry for being so blind. I never meant for you to feel like my side piece, or like I was cheating on you because it was never like that. Once upon a time, she was my best friend, and I will admit, it was nice having her back, but not to be my wife, to be my friend. We were catching up over missed time, and trying to come up with the best scheduele for Chris and I just got, wrapped up in it all. I love Shannon, a part of me always will, but I am in love with you. You are the one I want to come home to every night, the one I want to wake up to every morning. We're getting a divorce, she signed the papers last week, and she really wants to meet the sexy hot firefighter I apparently can't seem to shut up about."
"You love me?" Buck's words were barley above a whisper, his hands sliding to hold Eddie's waist, pulling him closer.
"I do. I love you so much Buck, and I am so sorry. I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you, if you'll let me." Buck pulled him in for a searing kiss, Eddie sighing happily against his mouth, kissing him back. They still had a lot to talk about, and things were not all okay again, but he had Buck in his arms and was about to stand by his promise of showing him just how much he truly loved him. Buck pulled away, resting their foreheads together, a small smile on his face as he whispered,
"I love you too, by the way."