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Buck was sitting on the porch of the library steps, taking his much needed break from shelving books, when he heard the screech of car brakes and the scraping collision of metal on metal. Without even a second thought, he abandoned his sandwich on the cement and bolted toward the sound.
When he reached the intersection on the corner of the block, he gulped at the scene–two cars smashed together in the middle, and jumped into action. “Call 911!” He shouted to a man standing on the corner, who was already fumbling with his phone.
He went to the driver’s side door of the nearest car first, throwing it open. His eyes met that of a middle aged black woman, who seemed mostly okay, but dazed. “Ma’am, you’ve been in an accident. EMTs are on their way. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she mumbled. Then followed with a quiet, but confident, “Christopher.”
Buck’s eyes darted quickly toward the backseat, where he saw a small boy slouched in his carseat. His heart pounded in his chest at the sight. “Okay, okay, I got him, I got him. It’s gonna be okay.”
Brushing aside the dangers of climbing into the car or simply waiting for the proper authorities to arrive on the scene, he jumped into the backseat and climbed next to the boy, who was blinking hazily at his surroundings.
“Hey, buddy. Christopher, right? How are you feeling?”
“My head hurts,” the boy whimpered.
Buck glanced at the cut on the boy’s forehead. It didn’t seem to be bleeding too much, but of course, he wasn’t a paramedic, so what did he know? He felt like he had heard somewhere sometime that you weren’t supposed to move someone after an accident, just in case of spinal injury, but he wasn’t really sure. But there were no rules against him providing what small comfort he could to the boy while they waited.
“Okay, it’s gonna be okay,” he soothed. “The doctors are going to come soon and they’ll help you with your headache.”
“Okay,” the boy mumbled, in response, seeming to come to a little more by the second.
“My name is Buck,” he said as kindly and calmly as he could. No need to worry the boy anymore than he already was. “I’m a librarian. Is it okay if I sit here with you until the doctors get here?”
“I like libraries,” was the boy’s response. Buck took that as permission to reach out and grab the boy’s small hand in his own. Keep him talking. Keep him awake.
“I like libraries too, that’s why I work in one,” he laughed lightly, keeping his energy as warm and friendly as he could; a small attempt to keep the boy in good spirits if at all possible. “Do you have a favorite book?”
“Dog Man,” Chris whispered, his voice still quiet, but more confident now. More present. More in the moment.
Buck smiled at him. “Dog Man, nice. I like those ones too. What about Big Nate, have you read those?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah, all of them.”
“Wow, you must be a really good reader.”
“My dad taught me.”
“He sounds like an awesome dad.”
“He is.”
Before Buck could say anything else, a paramedic laid her hand on his shoulder, startling him, “Are you hurt, sir?”
“Oh, uh, no, I’m-” He glanced over at Christopher, who was still gripping tightly at his hand. “I’m just a bystander, I was staying with him until you got here.”
The black woman smiled at him, “That’s very kind of you.” She motioned at him to climb out of the car so she could get past him and do her job. “We’ve got it from here.”
Buck nodded at her, then glanced worriedly at Christopher. He gave the boy’s hand another gentle squeeze and assured him, “Okay, buddy, the doctors are here to take care of you, so I’m gonna go outside now.”
“Okay, Buck,” the boy reached up slowly and patted at Buck’s cheek, offering him a smile as Buck backed out of the car.
“His name is Christopher,” he shared with the paramedic, his voice wavering slightly. “He said he had a headache.”
“Alright, we’ll take good care of him,” she tapped him on the shoulder one more time, then kneeled into the car, speaking tenderly to Christopher as she triaged his injuries.
Buck stood back on the sidewalk, out of the way, shoving his shaking hands in his pockets. He stayed there, watching with helplessness, as they loaded the boy and the woman into separate ambulances. He just hoped that Christopher would be reunited with his dad soon and that they would be okay.
Long after the emergency vehicles had left the scene, Buck remembered this was only his lunch break and he had to get back to work. With a heavy sigh, he traipsed his way back up the block to the library and used the methodical motion of slotting books into the shelves as his therapy.
Warmth filled Eddie’s chest as he watched his son screaming with glee. He was running around the yard with Harry and Denny, playing some form of pirates vs astronauts make believe tag game they had come up with recently.
“He bounced back quickly,” Hen said as he took the place by Eddie’s side in Bobby and Athena’s backyard.
“Yeah, he did,” Eddie sighed. He didn’t think he’d ever been so terrified as when he got that call from the hospital that his son and his caretaker had been in a car accident. “I’m glad you were called to the scene. That you were there for him. Thank you,” he nodded at her.
“Now you know you better than anyone, you don’t need to thank me for doing my job. But you’re welcome.”
“Are you sure you don't remember anything else about the guy that was there?”
She turned to him now. “You still haven’t found him?”
Eddie shook his head, frowning. “I’ve visited all the libraries in the radius of the crash site, none of them have anyone by the name of Buck working there.”
“Maybe he was an angel,” Chimney’s voice chimed in as he joined their conversation, ever teasing.
“Angels aren’t real,” Eddie retorted.
“You know,” Chim said thoughtfully, “Maddie’s brother, Evan, is a librarian. They should be here any minute now, you could ask him if he knows the guy.”
“That’s… surprisingly helpful, Chim,” Eddie smiles at him, getting a shove to the shoulder in return.
“Speak of the devil.” Chim motioned his head toward the backdoor of Athena’s house, where Maddie was entering the yard, followed closely by… oh god, by the most beautiful man Eddie had ever seen.
Hen’s elbow nudged into his ribs as a dark pink blush spread across his cheeks. “Shut up,” Eddie grumbled at her, flicking her arm away from him.
“Hi, everyone,” Maddie greeted, delighted to be pulled into Chim’s side for a quick hug. She gestured at the tall greek god of a man towering behind her, “This is my brother-”
“BUCK!” Christopher’s shriek sounded across the lawn. The man’s eyes bulged as the boy clamored quickly across the yard and slammed into his legs. All Eddie could do was gape. He shot Hen a frantic look.
“Buck?” Hen mouthed at him, her eyebrows raised sky high.
Eddie’s gaze was glued to the sight in front of him. Buck was blinking wildly at the boy, adjusting to the sudden weight crushing his legs. This was the Buck he had been trying to track down?! Oh, he is so screwed.
Without a second’s hesitation, Buck crouched down and adjusted Christopher in his arms, cradling the boy with immense care. Eddie’s heart shuddered. The very clear gay crisis etched across his face earned another sharp elbow from Hen to the ribs.
“Christopher?” Buck pulled the boy back slightly, his eyes glassy as he searched the boy’s face, his finger hovering over Chris’ forehead, where the light pink scar from the cut still lingered. “How are you doing, buddy? Read any good books lately?”
Chris’ grin was so big Eddie was certain his son’s jaw would break. Buck’s mirror of it was no different. He threw his hand out to stop Hen’s insistent need to bruise his ribs.
“Dad has been reading me The Lightning Thief,” Chris practically screamed with excitement.
“Oh, wow, that’s one of my favorites!” Buck started glancing around at the people around him, “Speaking of your dad, where-”
Eddie cleared his throat, then promptly choked on all the air in his lungs when Buck’s pale blue eyes locked on his. Kneeling in front of him. On his knees. Looking up at him. In front of him. Oh, god. Hen snorted loudly beside him.
“You’re Buck,” was all his dumb brain could manage to grit out, aware of how embarrassingly soft his voice sounded.
“And you’re Christopher’s dad,” Buck beamed at him as he stood, his eyes settling a few inches above Eddie’s. The whiplash from looking down at Buck to Buck looking down at him, practically buckled Eddie’s knees right out from under him. How was it even possible for someone who looked that good to have such long legs?
“Eddie, uh, my name’s Eddie.” The words came out garbled. He honestly wasn’t even sure he was actually speaking them and they weren’t just a figment of his imagination. He stuck out his hand in welcome, then hissed a “shut up, Hen” out of the corner of his mouth.
Hen took the hint and ushered Maddie and Chimney away, encouraging Christopher to rejoin Denny and Harry.
“Eddie,” Buck’s voice was warm. Kind. Like summer. Like sunshine. Like… lightning–Eddie jolted as Buck grasped his outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Eddie was hyper aware that their touch was lingering way longer than necessary, but neither man could seem to let go.
“Thanks for comforting my son. He’s been talking about you for weeks. I, uh… I looked for you.” He winced in embarrassment, finally pulling his hand out of Buck’s. The sudden lack of weight caused his palm to ache. He glared at it, hopeful that a stern glance would be enough to stop the tingling as his fingers begged to reach back out and grab Buck’s hand again.
Buck raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean you looked for me?”
Eddie rubbed at the back of his neck, hoping that his willpower alone would keep the blush from coursing across his cheeks. “Yeah, at the local libraries. Asked around for a man named Buck who was proficient in his knowledge of children’s graphic novels.”
A hearty laugh escaped the other man’s mouth, causing Eddie’s heart to rush and drop like a rollercoaster racing through a loop-de-loop. At least Eddie hadn’t lost his humor despite losing all other cognitive function in the presence of Buck.
“Ah, yeah.” Buck looked bashful. “I go by my full name at the library, Evan Buckley. But all my friends call me Buck.”
“Evan,” Eddie couldn’t help but to repeat it, the two syllables rolling off his tongue. It felt so right. Like it was his one true purpose in life to say that name.
A similar blush to his own immediately flushed across Buck’s face. He ducked his head forward with a smile, glancing down at the ground.
“Well, thank you, again, for everything. I don’t think I could say it enough. What you did really meant a lot to me and Christopher.”
Buck seemed at a loss for words, the glossy haze returning to eyes. Eddie rushed to fill the silence, “Do you, uh…” God, why was he so bad at this? “Do you want to grab something to eat?”
Buck’s eyes brightened, a smirk curling across his lips. “I did come here for dinner, so eating would make sense.”
“Right, right, of course,” Eddie rambled, digging the hole for himself. “But um, what I meant was… would you like to grab something to eat with me? Together? With me?”
He wanted to bash his face into a wall. He was very grateful Hen and Chim had stepped away, because he would never be able to live this moment down. Honestly, with the glint to Buck’s eyes, he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to live it down anyway.
Buck’s smile was pure sunshine. “I’d love to grab something to eat with you, Eddie.”
Eddie didn’t think anyone had ever sounded so thrilled about eating before. He didn’t think he had ever been so thrilled about eating before. With a huff of laughter, he bravely placed his hand on the small of Buck’s back and guided him over the table, dodging another elbow from Hen on their arrival.