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“Thanks again for dinner Buck, it was delicious,” Maddie said, placing her knife and fork on her empty plate. “You even got Jee to finish all her food which is, quite frankly, a miracle.”
“Yeah, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble,” Chimney agreed, settling back in his bed, satisfyingly full. “I’ve been living on hospital food for over a week now – I would have been happy with take-out.”
“You’ve been stuck in here for a week and a half, with what, another week and a half to go?” Buck asked. “You deserve more than take-out Chim. Think of it as a belated wedding gift.”
“Are you saying this is the only gift you got us?” Chim asked, to which Maddie playfully swatted his arm.
“Of course not,” Buck grinned. “You’ll just have to wait and see what it is once you get out of here.”
Chim groaned. “Which cannot come soon enough. I’m getting sick of these four walls. I’m a newlywed stuck in a hospital bed, and I can’t even tuck my baby girl into bed every night.”
“You’ll be doing that soon enough,” Maddie assured him, leaning over to give him a quick kiss. “Speaking of, I think it’s time for this little one to have a bath and get ready for bed, so I’m going to head home.” Maddie walked over to the little table and chairs Jee had been sitting at to eat her meal and scooped her up. “Say goodnight to Daddy and Uncle Buck baby.”
“Bye Uncle Buck,” Jee said as Maddie bent her daughter down to receive a kiss on the cheek from her uncle.
“Bye Jee, Uncle Buck loves you!”
“What, no kisses for Daddy?” Chim joked.
“We all know I’m her favourite,” Buck gloated.
“Oh, hush you,” Maddie said, this time swatting her brother on the arm before lowering her daughter so Chim could wrap his daughter in her arms and give her a kiss goodnight.
“Bye baby girl, I love you.”
“Bye Daddy! Love you!”
“Ha, see, I get kisses and an I love you,” Chim said, turning to Buck with a smirk.
“Well look at that, your daughter loves you – good for you.”
“Boys,” Maddie sighed, rolling her eyes before giving Chim one last kiss and another round of thanks to Buck before leaving the room, Jee waving at the two men from over Maddie’s shoulder. Buck noticed the soft yet wistful look on his brother-in-law’s face as he watched the two most important people in his life turn and disappear down the hall.
“You’ll be home in no time,” Buck reassured him, standing and gathering up the plates from dinner that were scattered around the room.
“I hope so,” Chimney said, tucking the sheets in around his legs. “It feels like the whole rebar incident all over again – being stuck in the hospital for weeks on end without any escape. At least this time I have Maddie and Jee come by often enough to keep me company.”
“Yeah, long hospital stints are never fun,” Buck agreed, carefully placing the dirty plates and cutlery in a bag to take home to wash. “Super boring.”
“Not to mention you miss out on all the latest gossip. Liiiiike… you and Tommy?” Chimney teased, grinning in delight when he noticed the light flush on his brother-in-law’s cheeks. “I guess I was more than just your basketball beard at that game huh?”
Buck chuckled, glancing at Chim quickly before turning away in embarrassment as he continued cleaning. “Uh yeah, I guess so.”
“Gotta say, it came as a bit of a shock – you were always such a ladies man, especially when you first started working with us. Mr. “Steals an engine to have sex”. Twice.”
“Trust me, it came as a bit of a shock for me too,” Buck admitted, placing the bag near the doorway so he wouldn’t forget it when he left and turning to face Chimney. “I mean, looking back, I think that the attraction to guys was always there, I just didn’t realise what it was. And then I met Tommy and…”
Buck trailed off and Chim waited a few seconds before asking “And?”
Buck shrugged. “And it was different this time. I don’t know, there’s just something about him that drew me in and made it impossible for me to deny what I was really feeling this time. I mean sure, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was feeling at first. I knew I was jealous that Eddie was taking up all his time, I just didn’t understand why until he kissed me.”
“Tommy made the first move?”
“Yeah,” Buck sighed, his mind wandering wistfully back to that moment. “I was rambling away as I do when I’m nervous and the next thing I know he’s laid one on me.”
“That’s my boy,” Chim said proudly, and Buck laughed, snapping out of his reverie.
Chim settled further into his pillows while his eyes scrutinised his friend turned brother-in-law. He mulled over in his mind what he wanted to say before deciding to go with the direct approach.
“So Buck, how serious are you about this thing you have with Tommy?”
“Geez Chim,” Buck laughed. “I’ve only been seeing him for a few weeks. You get married and now you’re expecting wedding bells everywhere?”
“That’s not quite what I meant, although funnily enough Tommy said something similar when he came to visit a few days ago,” Chim said with a smile, before it dropped and set into a more serious expression. “What I mean is… look, I’m just going to go ahead and say it – he isn’t some kind of experiment is he?”
“What?” Buck blurted, shocked. “You think this is what, some sort of phase? Of all people I never would have expected that coming from you Chim.”
Chim held up his hands in supplication. “That’s not what I meant. What I do mean is… look, you’ve only just discovered that you’re into men. Tommy is the first guy you’ve been… knowingly attracted to, I guess? I mean, he’s the first guy you’ve ever dated, right?” At Buck’s nod, he continued. “I just wanted to know if you’re using him to… to discover yourself I guess is what I’m asking. Which is fine – if you feel you need to do that for yourself, to find out who you are, then go ahead. Just not with Tommy. Now just let me finish, okay?” Chim said quickly to cut off any protests Buck was about to make when he saw his indignant expression. He gestured towards the seat next to the bed that Maddie had vacated. “Look, mind taking a seat?”
Buck hesitated for a second before nodding mutely and walking over to the empty chair and settling his large frame into it.
“Look,” Chim said, sitting up straighter so he could look Buck fully in the eye. “Tommy is my friend, probably the oldest friend I’ve got. I’ve known him for a long time – hell, I’ve known him longer than I’ve known Hen. And while we may not be as close as we used to, at the end of the day he is still my friend. And he likes you. A lot. Don’t ask me why he does, but he does,” he added with a hint of humour to try to lighten the mood, but Buck’s worried expression didn’t budge. “I just don’t want to see him get hurt because you’re using him as a stepping stone in the discovery of your bisexuality. He may look big and tough, but I’m telling you, in reality he’s a big softy. He’s a romantic at heart – like full on, rom coms, sweep a girl – or well, guy I guess for him – off his feet romantic. I’m not kidding, his favourite movie is Love Actually,” Chim added which finally triggered a small smile from the man opposite him.
Chim leaned forward, his expression earnest. “I’ve known Tommy long enough to tell that he has it bad for you. So, if a stepping stone is all he’s going to be to you, I’m begging you, break it off now, before he gets even more attached to you than he already is. Find someone else to explore with, not him.”
“I…” Buck’s voice cracked before he huffed a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe I’m getting the “if you hurt him, I’ll hurt you” speech from my own brother-in-law. I figured you’d be on my side.”
Chimney shook his head. “That’s not what this is. You’re both grown-ups, you don’t need me playing Dad. This is me being concerned for my friend. And I’m not taking sides either – I want the both of you to be happy. But at the end of the day, you’ve got a whole family of us on your side if something goes wrong – Tommy needs someone looking out for him too.”
Buck smiled affectionately at the man before him. “Thanks, Chim. I’m glad you’re looking out for him. You’re a good guy.” He looked down at his hands clasped in his lap and began to fidget. “Look, you’re right. This is all new for me. I haven’t dated any guys before Tommy. He is, and will be, a lot of firsts for me” (and Chimney was glad Buck didn’t go into further detail as to exactly what some of those firsts might be, although he wasn’t stupid – he could hazard a guess) “but he’s not… he’s not an experiment. I like him – like, really, really like him. And yes, while he will be my first relationship with a guy, he’s not going to be my first relationship. I’m not exactly a blushing virgin you know.”
“Oh, I am well aware,” Chim agreed wryly and the tension in the room between the pair broke as they burst into laughter.
When their chuckles subsided, Buck focused his full attention on Chimney. “Look Chim, I don’t know if what we have is going to last – this is still new, and we’re still learning about each other. But I can tell you honestly, that right now, I’m hoping it does. He’s kind, and considerate, and hot as all hell,” Buck said, flashing a brief but mischievous grin when Chimney groaned. “And I know it’s early days, so don’t tell him I said this, because I don’t want you scaring him off, but I don’t think I’ve felt this way about someone since… well, since Abby.”
Chim raised his eyebrows in surprise at the admission. He had seen Buck fall for several women over the years, but none had had the same effect that Abby had. He had been willing to completely change himself, abandon his (self-diagnosed) sex addict ways and ultimately commit so hard that he waited faithfully for her months after she had left the country – left him. So Chim knew that it was no small thing for Buck to admit that so far, the only person who had compared to that was Tommy.
“Wow. Okay then.” Chim smiled, feeling the stress he didn’t realise he had been harbouring ease from his shoulders. “Now that we’ve made that clear, I just want you to know that I really am happy for you guys. I don’t think I’ve seen either of you smile this much in a long time.”
“Thanks, Chim,” Buck said softly. “And thanks for looking out for us. Both of us.”
“No problem, Buckaroo.” He pointed a stern finger in Buck’s direction. “Just don’t talk to me about any intimate details. I had zero interest in your sex life before, and I have even less interest now that you’re officially family.”
Buck laughed, his eyes twinkling and his smile bright. “Deal.”