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Eddie’s running late.
And Eddie would love to say he can’t believe it, but realistically he was pretty sure this was going to happen.
It’s the downside of having a teenager.
Chris is always forgetting something or insisting he needs to change one last thing about his outfit, or in this case, pretending not to hear Eddie when he warned him they needed to leave in an hour. Said warning was given exactly fifty-eight minutes ago in fact, hence why Chris is only just now turning his game off and rushing to grab his favourite jacket.
“Come on kid, we gotta go!” Eddie calls out, grabbing his keys and the fancy beers he promised Buck. “The blue jacket is fine!”
“No it’s not,” Chris insists, finally exiting his room with a red jacket on. “I’m wearing my black jeans. They look way better with this jacket.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie mutters with a grin on his face so Chris will know he’s just messing around. “You look great. Now let’s go!”
Eddie waits for Chris to head out the front door and presses the button on his keys to unlock the car for Chris to get in.
He wonders briefly if the comment about the jacket was too much, and hopes Chris knows he was just kidding around, that he doesn’t really mind all that much if they’re a few minutes late.
He’s still getting used to teasing his kid again after Chris spent the summer in Texas, that’s all. Chris has mostly forgiven him, but Eddie’s still a little hesitant sometimes.
“Come on, Dad!” Chris yells from the car. “Buck’s waiting!”
Eddie shakes himself out of his thoughts and checks the front door is locked one last time before joining Chris.
Chris is right.
He doesn’t want to keep Buck waiting.
*
It’s kind of crazy how much things have changed in the six months since Chris left for Texas.
The obvious being Chris came back, but Eddie’s thinking more about the lives of his friends.
About how Maddie and Chim fostered Mara for Hen and Karen for a couple months, and how Mara’s now home with her moms and her brother.
About how Bobby and Athena had to rebuild their house; the house they’re all meeting up at today for a housewarming party to celebrate it finally being completed.
And about Buck.
Buck, who stayed with him for three whole months until Chris finally came home.
Buck, who insists on calling both him and Chris every night to check in, and make sure Chris is settling back in alright, and to see if they need anything.
Buck, who still comes over for movie nights twice a week—sometimes three if Chris is particularly convincing—and brings whatever snacks his kid convinces him to pick up on the way over without complaint.
Buck, who always leaves even though Eddie doesn’t want him to.
Sometimes if the stars align for them to do a weekend movie day, Chris asks if Buck will stay for dinner, and Eddie has to resist the urge to quote Mulan’s Grandmother Fa and ask if Buck would like to stay forever instead.
Eddie’s pretty sure one day Buck will. Stay forever, that is. Because Buck belongs with him and Chris. They fit perfectly together, it’s just that simple. Everything about Buck being in their lives is easy.
Hell, being in love with Buck in general is easy.
Eddie loves the way Buck makes him feel; safe and happy and hopeful and loved in return. He loves the way Buck loves his son just as much as he does. He loves everything about him.
He’s pretty sure Buck loves him back, too.
Which is why it’s a shame Buck’s still with Tommy.
Tommy, who’s stuck around for some reason or another despite Buck spending almost all his time with Eddie and Chris.
Tommy, who can’t take a hint and get the hell out of their lives.
And Eddie promised himself a while ago that he’d be patient—that he’d be the bigger man and not make a mess out of things by saying something while Buck’s in a relationship—but every day it gets harder and harder to stick to that promise.
*
Bobby and Athena’s new house looks amazing.
It doesn’t take long for Chris to ditch Eddie once they arrive, and by that he means Chris is out of the car before he is and rushing off to find Denny and Harry.
Eddie takes his time getting out of his car, grabbing Buck’s beers and making his way through the side gate and straight into the yard where all of his friends and family are gathered around.
He waves at Chim and Maddie, and Hen and Karen and Athena as he makes his way across the yard. He sees Bobby manning the grill, and nods at him in greeting before making his way over to Buck.
“For you,” Eddie says, handing Buck the beers. “Hope they’re the right ones.”
Eddie knows they’re the right ones. He’s watched Buck drink them for the last month and a half.
“‘Course they are,” Buck says, pulling Eddie into a brief hug. “You guys get here okay? Chris didn’t give you any trouble?”
“Fussed over what jacket he was gonna wear, but that’s about it.”
“They grow up so fast,” Buck says, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.
Eddie shoves at Buck’s shoulder gently and rolls his eyes.
“Shut up.”
*
Buck disappears soon after—not to go find his boyfriend, thank god—but to go and play with Jee and Mara over in the little play area that’s been set up by the outdoor dining table.
Eddie’s not exactly sure how long he stands there watching Buck with a soft smile on his face. It’s hard to look away when so often these days he thinks he could spend all of his time staring at Buck.
He lets himself have this moment while he can, filtering out all the sounds around him except for the joyous sound of Buck’s laughter.
“I see you watching him, you know.” Tommy comments, appearing out of nowhere and creeping up beside Eddie. “Even if Evan doesn’t.”
Eddie rolls his eyes and ignores the former statement.
“You know his name’s Buck, right?”
Because seriously, how does Tommy not know Buck’s preferred name at this point? They’ve been together for almost six months now, surely it’s come up at some point.
“Sure, I know that’s what you guys all call him,” Tommy says. “But I like calling him Evan.”
And look, Eddie likes to think he’s done a decent job maintaining an aura of indifference around Tommy over the last few months—ever since he realised his feelings for Buck—but Tommy doesn’t seem to care what Buck actually likes and that really bothers Eddie. Not to mention, Tommy sounds so unapologetic about it.
“Did you know,” Eddie says, ignoring the little voice in his head that says he’s about to give himself away, “I once overheard Buck telling his parents—and I’m paraphrasing, it’s been a while—that ‘Buck’ is what people who know him call him.” Eddie pauses. “So it kinda seems like you don’t know him, doesn’t it?”
Tommy takes a long sip of his beer and stares at Eddie.
Eddie resists the urge to stare back, instead continuing to watch Buck as he plays with the kids. Buck tosses Jee up into the air and she laughs her head off. Buck laughs too, and Eddie smiles in response.
“Does Evan know you’re in love with him?” Tommy asks, his tone unreadable.
Eddie laughs, shaking his head in amusement.
“I haven’t told him, no,” Eddie admits. “He seems happy at the moment.”
“You don’t sound too heartbroken that he’s with me,” Tommy points out.
“Because it won’t last,” Eddie says with a shrug. “Your relationship has an expiration date.”
“I love him,” Tommy attempts to argue, but Eddie’s not having it.
“That’s nice,” he says nonchalantly. “I love him too.”
Tommy huffs. “He’s with me, Eddie.”
“For now,” Eddie concedes. “But everybody knows Buck and I are inevitable.”
“He’s with me,” Tommy insists.
“But he doesn’t love you back, does he?” Eddie can’t resist rubbing salt into the wound when Tommy doesn’t respond. “I bet you tell him you love him all the time, and he never says it back. But what do you think he’d say if I told him I loved him? You really think he’d choose you over me?”
And that right there folks, is the moment Tommy takes a swing at him.
Tommy misses, of course, because he seems to forget Eddie has a history of street-fighting on top of their mutual interest in muay thai.
Eddie ducks without thinking, instinctively throwing a punch back at Tommy.
He doesn’t miss.
The crunch Eddie hears as his fist makes contact with Tommy’s nose is loud—loud enough that he winces on the other man’s behalf even though Tommy tried to hit him first—and Eddie resists the urge to smirk.
All hell breaks loose after that.
*
Eddie’s trying really hard not to smile.
Which seems kind of insane until you take into account he’s probably just broken Buck’s boyfriend’s nose, and yet he’s the one Buck’s come running to check on.
“Are you okay?” Buck asks desperately, taking Eddie’s face into his hands and inspecting him for any damage. “What the hell happened?”
Eddie shrugs. “Ask your boyfriend. He’s the one who took a swing at me.”
“Fuck you, Diaz,” Tommy practically snarls, attempting to lunge at Eddie with little success. The idiot seems to forget he’s got Bobby and Chim on either side of him, and it doesn’t take much for them to grab an arm each and yank him backwards.
Buck glances at Tommy and then back to Eddie.
“I think it’d be best if you left, Tommy,” Buck says tensely, glancing up at Tommy as he pulls Eddie over to sit in a nearby chair.
Eddie lets Buck drag him around, happy to be fussed over even though he knows Tommy made zero contact.
“You don’t even want to know what happened?” Tommy asks, wiping at his face.
“I don’t care,” Buck says plainly, kneeling down in front of Eddie to get an even closer look at his completely unharmed face. “You tried to hit Eddie. We’re done.”
Tommy looks genuinely surprised.
“You’re breaking up with me?” Tommy asks incredulously. “Just like that?”
“Did I stutter?” Buck asks, and Eddie can’t help but snort.
Tommy glares at Eddie.
It was worth it.
“I guess Eddie was right,” Tommy says, sounding somehow even more pissed off. “You really will choose him over me, no matter what the circumstances are.”
“Is that why you tried to hit him?” Buck asks incredulously. “Because you were jealous? Eddie’s my best friend, of course I’m going to choose him.”
“And what about me, Evan?” Tommy shouts. “I’m your boyfriend. We’ve been together for months. I was going to ask you to move in with me, I—I’m in love with you. Is that not enough?”
Eddie holds his breath.
Because as much as he talks a big game, now that this is all happening in front of everyone he’s starting to second-guess himself.
What if he’s wrong, and Buck doesn’t actually love him the way he wants him to?
What if Buck’s actually going to choose Tommy?
What if the next words out of Tommy’s mouth are him asking Buck to leave with him and Buck says—
“No.” Buck looks at Tommy, his eyes finally leaving Eddie’s face. “It’s not enough. I’m sorry.”
Tommy deflates at that—looking completely and utterly defeated—and in that same moment, the three of them seem to realise they’ve been having this entire conversation in front of a rather large audience.
Tommy sniffs, wincing as he turns his back on everyone, and the crowd seems to take that as a sign to disperse, whispering loudly to each other as they go. Before Eddie knows it it’s just him and Buck and Tommy left.
He has no idea what he’s supposed to say.
Hell, he’s not entirely sure it’s his place to say anything right now, so he stays silent instead.
Tommy turns back towards them eventually. “I think I’m gonna go.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Buck says, making no attempt to leave Eddie’s side. “I’ll see you around, I guess.”
“Yeah. I guess,” Tommy mutters before starting to walk away. He manages to take four whole steps before he turns around once more. Rather bitingly he adds, “Have a nice life, you deserve each other.”
And with that last parting remark, Tommy leaves.
*
Eddie’s not sure what happens now.
Does he say something?
And if so, what?
Sorry I goaded your boyfriend into taking a swing at me, you see, I got impatient waiting for you to realise we could be in love instead?
Sorry you broke up with your boyfriend, only not really, I’m glad to see him go?
Sorry your boyfriend just left, I hope the door doesn’t hit him too hard on the way out?
Yeah, no, probably not any of those.
Maybe he could—
“So, that was a bit of a mess.” Buck turns back towards Eddie, still on the ground kneeling between his legs, the perfect height to look up at Eddie’s face to check for any damage. “You’re okay though, right?”
“He didn’t hit me at all, Buck,” Eddie finally admits. “He missed.”
“You didn’t though,” Buck says without thinking. “I think you broke his nose, Eddie. Holy shit. That was so—”
“Stupid?” Eddie throws out. “Foolish? Reckless?”
“I was gonna say hot,” Buck breathes out, spots of red appearing on his cheeks as he seems to realise what he’s just said. “I mean, I realise it’s probably extremely inappropriate for me to be saying that considering it was my boyf—ex-boyfriend you just hit, but—”
Eddie cuts him off, diving forward to kiss Buck in an instant, and it’s everything he hoped it would be and more.
It feels like he’s been waiting years to kiss him, to taste him.
Buck kisses him back like he’s been waiting forever, though, and it’s almost too much for Eddie to process.
A moan escapes Eddie’s throat when Buck’s teeth bite down gently on his bottom lip, a thrill of warmth trickling down his spine as Buck shuffles in closer on his knees to deepen the kiss. Eddie feels himself melt as he kisses Buck back with equal enthusiasm.
And Eddie would have been quite happy to continue kissing Buck for an eternity, if not for the sound of someone rather pointedly clearing their throat from a few feet away.
They break apart with dazed looks mirrored on each of their faces, looking up at the same time to see who’s interrupted them.
“You guys are gross,” Chris complains, standing in front of them looking embarrassed. “Everybody was watching you, did you know that?”
Eddie flushes, and when he looks at Buck he sees he’s having much the same reaction.
“Sorry, bud,” Buck says bashfully. “We, uh—”
“Are you guys dating now?” Chris interrupts. “Because I thought Buck was dating Tommy.”
“Not anymore,” Buck says nervously. “We broke up. Recently.”
“Oh.” Chris tilts his head to the side in his confusion. “Didn’t you bring him here today?”
“Uhhh, yeah I, uh, I did do that.” Buck stumbles over his words, looking to Eddie for help.
Eddie jumps in, rushing his words. “They broke up about five minutes ago.”
“Huh.” Chris stares at them with an unreadable expression on his face. “You really didn’t waste any time, did you?”
Buck’s face goes completely red, and Eddie feels his own quickly following suit.
“Christopher!” Eddie exclaims. “Was that really necessary?”
“Whatever.” Chris rolls his eyes. “Glad you figured it out.”
Eddie’s a little surprised at Chris’ statement, but he doesn’t let it show. “Thanks, I guess.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Chris says. “We all saw it coming. I’m like ninety-nine percent sure you’ll be married by the end of next year. But just in case, I’m warning you. If you break up, I’m giving Buck custody.”
Eddie gapes at him.
“Custody?” Buck asks weakly.
“Of myself,” Chris clarifies. “So yeah. Don’t fuck it up.”
And with that, Chris turns and heads off towards the corner of the yard he’d previously been occupying with Denny and Harry.
“Hey, language!” Buck calls out half-heartedly before turning back to Eddie. “Jesus, Eds. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”
“Oh he’s definitely just being a smartass,” Eddie immediately agrees. “But honestly, I think he deserves a few digs at this point. Especially after everything he's seen happen with all my relationships.”
“Well, just to be safe, we’ll have to not fuck it up,” Buck teases, and Eddie turns back towards him. “Sound good?”
“Yeah,” Eddie says, smiling widely. “That sounds good.”