Archive of Our Own

For the majority of his life, Buck didn’t exactly give much thought to what his life could’ve been like if he hadn’t inherited his family’s company. Sure, he hadn’t asked for that to be his career path and he had spent many years of his young life doing everything in his power to resist their influence, but in the end his parents knew exactly when to take advantage of their influence. 

All it took was one offhand comment made to his school guidance counselor that he wasn’t sure what he wanted to study in college and the news was already making its way back to his parents. They’d gone right ahead and made a donation to his parents’ alma mater in their family name, all but ensuring he had no other option than to study business and financial management just like his father wanted. 

Getting a business degree from the University of Pennsylvania became his dream. Not because it was what he wanted or even because it was what he was good at, but because it was the only thing left when the other option was to be shunned by his family and left to find his own way. And it wasn’t like he was taking an easy route either—going to an Ivy League school was more than enough to run him into the ground and leave him burnt out so badly he could hardly manage enough brain power to eat most days. He was intelligent, sure, and he even enjoyed studying. He was always well-liked in school and thrived when it came to test taking, he just…would’ve preferred to do things on his own time. The constant cycle of school really didn’t work for him, he could’ve easily accomplished it all if he had just been given a semester's worth of assignments and exams at the beginning of every semester and told that he could finish them all at his own pace as long as it was before the final assessment. No more would he be stuck waiting for the class to move on when he had quickly digested the material, or struggling to catch up as the pace of the class went beyond him. He could just learn and build his skills as they came naturally. 

But nooo. That wasn’t how the real world worked, as his parents frequently reminded him. 

Hell—for most of his life, he couldn’t even rely on the support of his big sister Maddie. Their parents had all but destroyed their relationship with her by the time Buck started middle school, refusing to allow her to take up the family business despite the fact that she was genuinely interested, and insisting that it should be Buck instead simply because they couldn’t imagine dropping their sexist beliefs even if it’d help their company in the end. 

So he devoted his life to buying and selling huge swaths of land between other real estate moguls, sanctioning the land to real estate development companies, mostly trying to pretend his life was anything else just to get through each day. 

His dad still didn’t even seem to care even after he graduated with honors, started making successful deal and investments with the Buckley Real Estate Brokerage Firm, and rose to every expectation that his parents had set for him. Nothing was enough for them. 

Hence, why he was driving through rural Texas. 

His father and the rest of their higher level executives were pursuing Georgetown, Texas as the potential location for the next up-and-coming city in the nation. After being named the fastest-growing city of the year by the US Census Bureau, they were in talks to buy up as much real estate as possible so that their customers would have development access in prime locations for the next region of their businesses. Since it was quite close to Austin, their investors were planning to tap into the tourism market before the land became more and more expensive.

So, he was their scout. 

Driving from their Los Angeles headquarters to Texas wasn’t required, their company would happily have flown him there, but Buck enjoyed driving. It got his ideas flowing and seeing the world around him gave him a good idea of where the needs were within the market. Even if their company’s execs, let alone his father, would never listen to his ideas, he still prided himself on being observant enough to recognize the demand in the market. 

Besides, he was good with people. There was a reason he was the head of sales in their west coast branch, after all. He could charm his way into any deal, no matter the seller, with ease. 

His Jeep was reliable. Not the newest model by any means, but he had been over the moon when he got his first commission check on a huge development deal purchasing land for a new golf course and immediately picked out his dream Jeep. His father hadn’t been impressed, insulting the brand in favor of something flashier like an Audi or a BMW, but Buck was perfectly happy with his Jeep. 

Five years later, and it still hadn’t lost its charm. It was no longer as eye-catching as it once had been, but he had no plans to replace it anytime soon, likely not until the whole thing fully fell apart on him. It was perfect for long drives alone through the countryside, enjoying the fresh air and the wide open spaces away from the hustle and bustle of downtown. 

He was about ten hours into his drive when the sun finally set and Buck knew better than to keep driving. Just a bit further down the empty highway, he spotted a sign advertising a quaint bed and breakfast. If he had planned things out better, he wouldn’t have relied on a small town bed and breakfast being open late enough for him to book a room so close to midnight, but he figured it was worth trying. 

He parked the Jeep in the small gravel parking lot outside and made his way up the short staircase to the charming front door. As the old wooden floorboards of the porch creaked under his step, he barely even managed to raise his hand to knock when the door swung open. There was no hope of pretending he wasn’t startled. 

“Uh…hi,” he said nervously. “Is it too late to book a room for the night?”

The little old lady who stood before him seemed shocked by his mere existence, easily a foot shorter than him and wrapped in a cozy-looking shawl as if she’d been headed off to bed. 

“Of course, of course, come inside, chiquito,” she urged him, opening the door wide and shivering despite the underwhelming December weather. Even though it had been years since he had a true Pennsylvania snowy winter, he couldn’t help but miss it when December weather in the southwest wasn’t even cold enough for a scarf, he couldn’t exactly feel like it was the Christmas season. “You must be exhausted, let me get you some tea.” Buck instinctively moved to follow her but the moment he looked up from setting down his suitcase, the woman had disappeared. 

The inside of the house was absolutely beautiful. The classic Spanish-style architecture had always endeared him, especially when he first moved to California and would spend his free time just driving circles around the city and enjoying the sights. The walls were littered with photographs and paintings, each piece of furniture felt cozy and inviting, like the perfect place to curl up with a good book. 

He couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on one particular photograph framed on the wall. A man about his own age with a little boy sitting on his shoulders. It appeared to be around Christmas time, given that the little boy was being carried so that he could hang the star atop a nearby Christmas tree. Upon a second glance, they even appeared to be wearing matching sweaters. 

“Ah, my nieto,” the woman spoke up, startling him as she reappeared in the hallway. “Sweet, no?”

Oh god, how does one come back from being caught staring at family pictures in a stranger’s house?

“Sorry, I—“ he sputtered, mortified. “Your home is beautiful. A-and your family too.” She handed him a warm mug full of tea, piping hot and immediately making Buck’s eyelids droop. Something about a nice hot cup of tea always seemed to magically make his exhaustion increase tenfold. “Thank you so much, this smells delicious.”

The old woman smiled at him, the kind of expression that felt like a hug.

“Not a problem at all, mijo,” she shrugged him off, leading the way back to the desk near the front door. “Let’s get you checked in, si?”

He honestly felt terrible keeping this sweet woman up so late at night, but if she was upset about it she didn’t let it show. Buck proceeded to give her all of his contact and payment details, insisting that he wouldn’t stay long and was only passing through their small town. Regardless, she insisted that he at least stay for breakfast the following morning. That she would cook for him and send him on his way with some homemade pastries too. 

“I really appreciate you letting me stay, I’m so sorry for showing up so late without a reservation,” Buck apologized profusely. “Ma’am, If there’s anything I can do—“

She tutted, practically shepherding him towards the hallway. 

“None of that,” she insisted. “You are a guest here, it is my pleasure to have you.” God, Buck wanted to hug her. She just seemed so sweet and he hadn’t been around someone so welcoming in such a long time. “You call me Isabel and come find me at the end of the hall if you need anything at all, mijo.”

He could’ve easily melted into a puddle if he hadn’t embarrassed himself enough already. 

“Thank you,” he mumbled, cheeks warm. “I know I gave you my name for booking, but…you can call me Buck.”

His room was cute. Cozy, well-decorated with little mementos and what appeared to be handmade furniture. He was tired enough to all but tumble into bed, asleep on his feet, the night he arrived, but he could sufficiently appreciate it once the golden sunlight poured in through the curtains leaving him pleasantly warm.

Peeling himself out from under the covers was quite a chore considering it was easily the most comfortable bed that he’d slept in in years. Sure, the bed in his apartment was bigger and had a memory foam mattress, but he’d never quite slept comfortably there. And now that he knew what it could be like, even without all of the expensive things he’d bought to help himself sleep.

He had yet another day of driving ahead of him, just a couple more hours to get to his final destination, but after that he’d be spending most of the day driving around the city to scope out potential property. 

Not wanting to look like too much of a slouch while still wanting to be comfortable while driving led him to settle on a pair of joggers and a knit polo shirt. The weather app on his phone projected the same temperature as a usual windy fall day in Los Angeles so he felt fairly comfortable packing up his suitcase and heading into the sitting room with short sleeves and socks. He could handle some serious cold, but his toes were always relentlessly frigid.

“Aye, buenos dias!” Isabel exclaimed when she saw him emerge from the hallway, turning to speak to someone out of Buck’s view. “Eddito, come say hi to our guest!” 

Oh. 

The man from the picture. 

The one Isabel had caught him staring at. 

Oh no, he was pretty. 

“Hi.”

The word tumbled out of his mouth as more of an exhale than actual speech, but the other man smiled regardless, leaning his shoulder against the doorway. 

“Hi,” the man echoed, his smile easy and crooked in that charming sort of imperfect way. “I didn’t see you last night, did you just get in this morning?”

Buck shook his head, once again embarrassed to have arrived so late. 

“Midnight last night, actually,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll probably be on the road and out of your hair in less than an hour though, don’t worry. I’d hate to intrude—“

The man looked so concerned that he’d somehow done something wrong and christ, Buck was really just embarrassing himself over and over again in front of this family. 

“No! No, that’s not a problem,” the beautiful stranger assured him, big brown eyes blown wide. “My abuela, she insists on staying up late just in case someone needs somewhere to stay late at night.” Like you, went unsaid. “If anything, she just proved me wrong for always saying there’s no reason for it.”

Oh he wasn’t just handsome, he was sweet and he took care of his abuela, oh Buck was so screwed. 

“Your abuela, she’s wonderful,” Buck added with a grin. “So sweet, I really appreciate that she actually took me in last night. I really should’ve called first, I just…driving always makes me lose track of time.”

The man nodded, sliding his hands into the pockets of his sweats. 

“She does that,” he smiled fondly. “You staying long?”

Honestly, just looking at him made Buck want to say he was going to stay for as long as it took for this guy to fall for him, but alas. 

“Just overnight. I have a few more hours of driving unfortunately,” Buck confessed, internally kicking himself. “Do you live here in town?”

It was maybe a stupid question, but whatever. It was near Christmas, he could’ve been visiting family from out of town. 

“My son and I, we live in the guest house in the backyard,” the beautiful brunet answered. “He’s probably around here somewhere, I’m surprised he hasn’t come to introduce himself yet, he loves meeting all of our guests.”

The kid from the picture. 

“Really?” He lit up. “I’d love to meet him, I…I love kids.”

There was no exaggerating there, he wasn’t even just trying to kiss up to this gorgeous stranger. He just genuinely loved being around kids. Their joy and excitement for the world always made him feel so alive. 

“I love this one,” the man added softly, sipping from his coffee mug. “His name is Christopher, he’s nine.”

“Nine and a half, dad!” 

Buck nearly jumped out of his skin when a little child appeared in the doorway behind him, barely holding back a scream. 

“Chris,” the man groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Buddy, we talked about sneaking up on people.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry,” Buck assured them both, flushed a bit from embarrassment. “H-hey, kid. I’m Buck.” 

He stuck his hand out to the kid, who eagerly accepted and shook it. 

Chris was genuinely one of the cutest kids Buck had ever met, immediately fitting in with the adults and charming them with all of his ideas for when they finally got snow that winter. Honestly, if he wasn’t already charmed by the whole family, the idea of staying long enough to have a snowball fight with Chris in the snow was seriously tempting him to just call in sick and bail on his work.

“Do you really have to leave?” Chris asked after thoroughly planning an entire snow fort to build in the backyard, clearly devastated that Buck wouldn’t be around to help him build it. 

He couldn’t even deny that he was a bit choked up having to admit that he was leaving so soon. Honestly, the universe had to have been toying with him. 

“I do, superman,” he confirmed sadly. “I wish I could stick around, though. I know we’d build an awesome snow fort. Maybe your dad…” 

Buck trailed off, making eye contact with the man in question. 

“Eddie. My name, I mean,” the man— Eddie— spoke up.

It suited him. 

“Right,” Buck smiled shyly. “Well, I’m sure it won’t be perfect, but hopefully your dad has some snow sculpting skills.”

While Buck was thoroughly engrossed talking to Christopher, Eddie appeared at his side with a small smile. 

“Mind if I carry your bag for you?” He offered sweetly. “Chris is probably gonna’ drag you off to see the chickens in the backyard, so it’s the least I could do.”

As if he needed any more reasons to melt for this guy. 

“There’s chickens?!” He grinned, pulling an offended face at Christopher. “Well then we have to go right now! I can’t leave without meeting the chickens!”

Chris happily took Buck’s hand and led him out of the house and to a small coop in the yard, painted with little flowers and clouds and what he could only assume was Chris’ childhood art skills. Even though the nine-year-old was unsteady on his feet and walking quite slowly, Buck was just glad to be along for the ride. He loved making kids smile, it was all he wanted really, and if Chris needed him to be patient then he would happily do so. 

“The chickens are really funny, they’ll prob’ly chase you around the yard if you want,” Chris explained, unhooking the little latched door on the coop. “We have seven of them. We used to have six but Bluebell had a baby!”

The chickens filed out of the coop enthusiastically, to which Chris kneeled down in the dry grass and pet each one as they emerged from the coop. Buck did his best to keep up with all of the names as Chris pointed out each one, but mainly he kept glancing over their shoulder at Eddie, who was watching them from over by Buck’s Jeep with the fondest look. 

“Hey, Chris, buddy I should probably get going soon,” he admitted, entirely miserable as he kneeled in the grass beside the boy. “Thank you for hanging out with me, Superman. If I could stay and hang out with you and the chickens all day, I would do it in a heartbeat, but I have to go.”

Chris has the biggest hazel eyes that Buck had ever seen and watching them fill with disappointment nearly shattered his heart to pieces. 

“You have to?”

“Unfortunately,” he confirmed. “I have to go to work, which is no fun at all. I’d much rather stay here if I could.”

Placated by the fact that Buck at least wasn’t going to be having fun without him, he stood and offered his little hand to help Buck up. Even though he stood up almost entirely on his own, Buck wasn’t going to just reject the offered hand. He took Chris’ tiny hand and made a huge dramatic show of acting like Chris had the arm strength of ten men, making the boy giggle as Buck pretended to be yanked right off the ground. 

“You leaving already?” Eddie asked a little shyly as Buck and Chris approached him hand in hand. 

The blond offered a half-hearted smile and nodded 

“He has work too,” Chris groaned. “Why does everybody have to work all the time?”

Only nine-years-old and already wise beyond his years. 

“Because nobody’s cars would work without me,” Eddie reminded him, ruffling Christopher’s hair. “And I’m sure Buck has a very important job too.”

The little wink he gave was more than enough to make Buck weak in the knees. 

Okay, he really needed to go. Eddie must’ve noticed the reluctance on his face. 

“Drive safe, okay?” He insisted, handing Buck a small paper bag. “Abuela told me to give these to you. Hopefully you aren’t allergic to anything.”

This bag was his most prized possession now. Homemade baked goods from a real small town grandmother? He hit the holy grail. 

“Your abuela is an angel,” Buck couldn’t help but gush, cradling the bag to his chest. “I’ll have to find a time to come visit properly sometime.”

Unsurprisingly, Chris cheered at the idea but even Eddie beamed at the thought of Buck coming back. 

“You’re always welcome,” Eddie promised with an easy honesty that Buck easily believed. 

Even though the appearance of the town, even in the daylight, seemed like many other small desert towns that he’d passed on his drive, this town had the cutest kid in the whole world and his dad, who made Buck weak in the knees like no one ever had before. 

“It was great meeting you both,” he said, faking a smile. “Thanks again for having me.”

Christopher’s little arms wrapped tight around his waist the moment Buck took a single step towards getting into his Jeep and the older man absolutely never wanted to let go. 

“Bye, superman,” he choked out, squeezing once more as tight as he could. “Don’t let your dad try to tell you it’s not possible to make a snow rocket ship, okay? If he’s not smart enough to figure it out, that’s his problem, not yours.”

He held out hand to pinkie promise with the kid, who linked his own little finger and shook it enthusiastically. 

He couldn’t stop glancing at the two boys standing on the porch even as he got in the driver’s seat and prepared to leave. They were just so cute, waving at him with the most adorable smiles on their faces. 

And to think, he’d just randomly chosen this little inn to spend the night at and ran into these two on his way out. 

Well, he would’ve been holding onto that miraculous little twist of fate if he actually managed to leave. 

Because of course his Jeep chose that moment to give out after six years on the road with him. He turned the key in the ignition, changed the gear, anything he could think of, and yet nothing seemed to work. His car just…refused to start and with zero cause behind it that he could think of. Just great. 

Getting back out of the car was admittedly pretty embarrassing. The confusion was pretty evident as he walked up to Eddie and Christopher, sheepishly shoving his hands in his pockets. 

“You mentioned something about fixing cars?”

Eddie had been working on Buck’s Jeep for over an hour before he finally found something that he thought might’ve been the cause. They’d tried a few different theories up until that point, and yet all of them resulted in disappointment. 

“I hate to break it to you, Buck, but this is not gonna’ be a one-day fix,” Eddie ultimately broke the news to him, looking gorgeous even with grease smeared on his hands and even a little on his cheek. “I’m gonna’ have to call the nearest Jeep manufacturer and have them send over some parts.”

Fuck. 

Just like that, his plan was falling apart. 

“I take it there isn’t a bus line that conveniently runs from here to Georgetown?” He knew before he even asked that he was out of luck. He’d be stuck there until his Jeep was fixed and there was no getting around it. 

He just had to accept it. 

“I’m ‘fraid not,” Eddie shrugged, his buttery smooth Texan-drawn making Buck hot under the collar. “Luckily I do know the local bed n’ breakfast has a room available.”

Oh, right. 

Yeah, okay, he was over it. Screw work, he would happily be stuck here in this little town for as long as necessary. 

“Sorry for making you come all the way over here just to have to tow it back to the shop,” he apologized, genuinely feeling so guilty that he was making Eddie work on his car when surely the man had better things to do. “I promise I’m a good tipper. And I seriously owe you one anyway.”

Eddie just silently waved him off with a greasy hand and got back to work. 

“Don’t think I’m giving up just yet,” the brunet insisted stubbornly. “I’m the only mechanic this town’s got so I’ve seen just about everything. Ain’t no way I’m giving up this easy.”

Heh. Wow. Okay, apparently a blue collar man who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty was what did it for him. 

Good to know. 

“C’mon, the shop’s just down the street,” Eddie added. “I’ll letcha’ ride in the tow truck.”

For the middle of December, it certainly wasn’t as frigid as Buck was used to having spent most of his life in Pennsylvania, but Eddie didn’t seem to share his underwhelmed opinion one bit. 

“You’re cold?” He teased, watching as the shorter man rubbed his hands together and shoved them in his jacket pockets. “This hardly even counts as winter.”

Eddie stuck out his bottom lip in a, frankly, adorable pout and shot Buck a withering glare. 

“It’s freezing,” Eddie argued. “You came from Los Angeles, what are you doing saying it’s not cold out? Isn’t it seventy degrees year-round there?”

Sure, sure, he had a point, but Buck was absolutely not an LA native. 

“Excuse you, I grew up in the frigid hellscape of Pennsylvania, thank you very much,” he snarked back. “In fact, this is a bit too warm for me, want my jacket?”

He really, truly, was just trying to make a point. He was trying to one-up the country boy who expected him to be a cold weather wimp and he was not going to let that slide. 

Offering his jacket was for purely strategical purposes. 

“You…really?” Eddie looked up at him as if Buck had just offered him a million dollars. 

That reaction alone was enough for Buck to just shrug his jacket right off, leaving him in a long-sleeved flannel shirt that was plenty warm enough for him. 

“Here. It’s the least I could do, considering everything you guys have done for me.” Buck practically shoved the hoodie into Eddie’s hands before he could protest. “Keep it, even. I have plenty more just like it back home.”

Having the actual hoodie in his hands seemed to be all the convincing Eddie needed at that point and he hastily tugged it on over his other layers. It was a bit big on him, but considering he was wearing a few other things underneath, it didn’t look overly uncomfortable. If anything, Eddie looked like he melted into a giant cozy puddle as soon as it was on. 

“So,” Eddie eventually spoke up after a few minutes of walking in silence. “You said you’re out here for work?”

He nodded. 

“I work in real estate development,” he confessed as if it was something scandalous. “Buying land and properties, selling it to building development companies, that sort of thing.”

When Eddie didn’t answer, Buck began to worry if he actually had said something horribly wrong. 

“I, um,” the shorter man eventually responded. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”

He said it so hesitantly that Buck was sure he was trying to avoid it sounding like an insult, but it was far from the first time he’d been told the same thing. 

“Trust me, it was not my idea,” he huffed. “My dad would’ve killed me if I didn’t take after him, work for the family company, that sort of thing. I would’ve insisted on going into any other field, but I was lost when I went off to college, had no clue what to study or what I was even good at.” 

It was maybe too much to say, almost definitely oversharing, but whatever.

For whatever reason, he really didn’t want Eddie thinking he was some soulless corporate sellout without any morals, contributing to the housing crisis just for shits and giggles. 

“I didn’t mean to—“ Eddie tried to apologize, only for Buck to cut him off. 

“Don’t worry about it, trust me. I know the work I do makes people’s lives harder sometimes. It’s not…” he trailed off, not quite knowing how to put it into words how he felt about what he had decided to do with his life. “I have a therapist.”  Well, that hadn’t been what he meant to say. “She, um…let’s just say we’re working on my relationship with my job. Trying to figure out why I can’t bring myself to quit.”

The younger man just nodded, continuing to stroll down the sidewalk alongside Buck. 

“I joined the military straight out of high school,” Eddie blurted out unprompted. 

Oh. 

Huh.

“I know a thing or two about feeling pressured to do things you know aren’t right. You did it for your dad, I did it for my kid,” he explained a bit more. “I’m not gonna’ judge you for something as simple as fucking up our housing market when I’ve killed people.”

Oh.

“And now you fix cars for pathetic corporate sellouts stranded in the desert,” Buck fired back, knocking his shoulder against Eddie’s in hopes that it would lighten the mood. “Although the jury’s still out on whether I can actually be helped.”

Luckily his tactics seemed to work as Eddie cracked a smile, leaning in to meet Buck’s gestures. 

“We’ll see about that,” he mumbled with an exasperated huff. “My shop’s up there on the corner. Get a move on, you sellout.”

Ah, so they were teasing each other about their unethical careers. Amazing. 

For whatever reason, Buck was much more comfortable with that than he’d ever felt talking to people who genuinely approved of his job. 

Even with his Jeep at the auto shop and fully picked apart with Eddie’s tools, there wasn’t an obvious solution apart from trial and error. Regardless, Christopher’s excitement when Buck returned to the inn with his dad was worth every wasted work day that he’d be dealing with as a result. Seemingly thrilled that Buck wasn’t leaving town after all, Chris insisted that he show Buck around the town while Eddie worked on his car. 

He’d expected Eddie to immediately shut that idea down. After all, they hadn’t even known Buck for longer than a few hours. There was no way in hell that he would’ve felt comfortable leaving his kid alone with a random man to just go running around the town. 

And yet, Eddie seemed to love the idea. 

“Take him to see your tia Sophia,” Eddie told him instead. “And bring your crutches, you’ll get tired by lunchtime it if you don’t.”

Eddie just…continued working on hooking Buck’s Jeep up to the tow truck, completely unbothered. And, well, if the kid’s own father wasn’t going to be concerned, than Buck would just do it for him. 

“You’re sure?” He asked once Chris had gone back inside to retrieve his crutches. “I—I mean, you hardly even know me.”

Eddie just shrugged, looking up to smile at him for only a moment before looking back down at his work. 

“Buck, every living member of my family lives in this town. I know every single person in a ten mile and they know me,” he huffed, exasperated yet fond. “If you tried to hurt a hair on my kid’s head, they’ll just go ahead and throw you in the fucking Grand Canyon for me.” Oh. Wow. Yeah, that was not what he was expecting. “My brother-in-law is the sheriff, one of my sisters is our only reporter but she’d have your face on the front page of every newspaper in the country before sundown if you tried anything.”

Wow. 

“Duly noted,” Buck chuckled nervously. “Although, for the record, I would much rather join the club of people who would throw someone in the Grand Canyon for hurting your kid.”

Eddie just knocked their shoulders together and smiled at him. 

“I know,” he answered softly. “Hence why I didn’t threaten to kill you ’til you asked.”

Oh. 

He’d never been trusted like that before. Not with anything. 

Hell, it took five years before his dad allowed him to run his own branch of their company despite the fact that he’d been running their New England branch since he graduated and his dad took on the stance that he could pawn off all of his responsibilities to his son.

“What time should I have him back by?” Buck asked, still grappling with the fact that Eddie trusted him to keep Chris safe. “For supper?”

Eddie just shrugged again. 

“Some days he gets tired out earlier than others. CP doesn’t slow him down all the time, not really, but I doubt he’s gonna’ want to waste any time hanging out with you. Just keep an eye out if he seems like he’s getting tired. He’ll tell you if he needs anything like food or a place to sit down for a little while, but as long as you two are back by six, there’ll be supper waiting for you.”

And thus, Buck and Christopher hit the town. 

It truly was a charming place, with little old buildings and the cozy small town feeling that everyone truly was friends with everyone. As promised, Chris declared that they needed to go see his tia Sophia first, which meant that Chris led the way to a quaint little cafe adorned with holiday decorations and adorable handwritten signs. 

Inside the cafe, there was faint Christmas music playing and a small handful of people chatting. Photos and town memorabilia covered the old brick walls and every chair and table seemed to be unique, as if placed together mismatched and at random. 

“Chris!” A short young woman behind the counter exclaimed when the bell jingled, signaling their arrival.

The boy in question rushed to give her a hug, the two of them squeezing tight as the woman spun him in a circle. 

She was petite, close in size to Isabel, and had the same dark wavy hair that Eddie did, only cropped just above her shoulders and paired with bangs. Her smile was framed with a cherry red lipstick and her big brown eyes sparkled just like Eddie’s and Christopher’s. 

“You must be Buck,” she spoke up, holding out her hand and startling the blond, which made her laugh. “Don’t worry, word doesn’t travel that fast here. Eddie called and told me you were coming. You know, so I wouldn’t freak out about seeing some random man with my nephew and throw you in the gorge.”

“The gorge? See, that seems much nicer than Eddie’s threat of tossing me in the Grand Canyon,” he joked, shaking her hand. “You must be Sophia.”

She grinned and pointed to the little name tag on her apron which proved he was indeed correct. 

“Guilty,” Sophia smiled. “And I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you. The local gorge is where we release all the snakes that get into town.”

Ah. Of course.

“I stand corrected.”

At that point, Chris had lost interest in the adults and was eagerly peering into a large glass display case full of baked goods. 

“Can I get you a coffee? Tea? Cocoa?” Sophia offered. “On the house, of course, since you’re no-doubt playing unpaid babysitter today.”

As was his instinct, Buck was about to say no and thank her for the kind offer, but holy crap did it smell unbelievably good. 

“What’s brewing?” He asked, peering behind the counter at all of the drink machines. “Something cinnamon?”

Sophia grinned. 

“You ever had real, authentic horchata?” She asked, eyeing him up and down. “Because you’ll never be able to go back after this.”

No wonder it smelled so heavenly. 

“Not in years,” he confessed. “I lived in Peru for a bit, nearly lived off of the stuff.”

And just like that, Sophia was presenting him with a cup that smelled better than just about anything he could’ve dreamed of. 

“Oh my god,” he groaned in pure bliss. “There’s gotta’ be crack in this. There’s no way you just make this stuff.”

As it turned out, Sophia flushed bright pink just like her brother did, flipping her hair as she beamed at the compliment. 

“Now I see why Eddie liked you,” she smirked. “Here, give me one second. Chris’ll want a cocoa and I just finished making some.”

As she turned away and headed to a separate stovetop to ladle out some rich hot chocolate into another cup, Buck turned to Chris and settled his hands on the kid’s shoulders. 

“Your family is awesome, kid,” he whispered quite loudly, not too perturbed if Sophia happened to hear. “I wish my sister could bake stuff like this.”

All of the pastries in the display, unsurprisingly given Isabel’s pastries, looked straight out of a French patisserie, each flawlessly decorated and delicious looking enough to make his mouth water. 

“Alright, boys,” Sophia interrupted his train of thought, handing over a slightly smaller cup to Chris. “Don’t have too much fun without the rest of us, okay?”

Chris grinned his adorable crooked-teeth smile and waved. Buck tossed a few bills into the tip jar as he waved goodbye, feeling much too guilty to have been given the best drink he’d ever had for free.

“Alright, bud, where to next?” 

The rest of his day was filled with stories from Christopher, anecdotes about his favorite places in town and the things he and his dad liked to do for fun. All in all, Buck was falling in love with this town. Every person he’d met was kinder than everyone he interacted with back home combined, the fresh air made him feel more awake and refreshed than he had in years, and even just doing something as mundane as strolling around tchotchke shops felt as if he could do it forever and never get tired of it. 

Nonetheless, by the time the sun had set and Buck explained that they needed to get back to the inn for supper, he was already dreading the fact that Eddie might be there to tell him that his car was fixed and he could leave. Sure, that was probably for the best in the long run. He’d already been ignoring calls from work all day, messaging his most important business contacts that he was taking an emergency personal day, but unfortunately that didn’t seem to stop anyone from calling him. 

Still, every time he started to get frustrated with his job, Chris would have something new to show him and Buck would forget about it almost immediately as if the kid was a pure balm to his weary soul. 

Luckily as they made it back to the inn, with Chris riding piggyback after his legs began to tire out, Buck was secretly very pleased to see that his Jeep had not been returned to the parking lot. He hoped Eddie wasn’t still working on it, considering he felt awful enough already, but couldn’t quite bring himself to confirm that he genuinely would’ve preferred if Eddie just gave up on his car entirely and he was forced to stay. 

Unsurprisingly, Isabel greeted him and Chris with big hugs and a kiss on both of their cheeks when they returned, explaining that supper was ready in the dining room.

“Is Eddie here?” He asked, helping Isabel carry plates into the dining room. 

He really hoped he wasn’t being too eager or too obvious with his ask, but he was fairly certain the older woman saw right through him regardless.

“He just left for work, actually,” Isabel admitted guiltily. “You just missed him.”

“Work? But he’s been at the auto shop all day, I thought…”

Isabel glanced around, seemingly looking to confirm that Christopher wasn’t within earshot, before she nodded. 

“He works three jobs, honey,” she explained as if the mere thought of it pained her. “Mechanic by day, custodian at the local high school by night, community center rec league coach on the weekends.”

Oh. 

“Chris’ mom isn’t around?” He asked hesitantly.

Isabel just shook her head with a sad smile. 

“I can’t blame her much, really. They were young, too young to have to learn how to raise a child. Mi Eddito, he wanted to be a father so badly. Even when Christopher’s mother said she couldn’t do it, he was committed to doing it alone if he had to,” she explained further. “Christopher is his pride and joy. It’s killing him to spend so much time working and being away from him all the time, but he had no other choice.”

No. No, that simply wouldn’t do. 

“How can I help?” He blurted, not knowing any other way to phrase it. He wanted to help. He was going to help whether Eddie wanted it or not. Because he deserved it. “Anything at all—I can pay the mortgage for this place, would that be okay?”

The old woman looked at him as if he’d sprouted three heads. 

“Oh, mijo, no no no,” she insisted. “Absolutely not, that is not necessary at all. In fact, staying here and entertaining Christopher, that’s more help than Eddie has accepted in ages.”

No. No, he couldn’t just let this beautiful family continue to struggle like this when they were so kind to him, so welcoming, so trusting. 

“He would never have to know,” Buck once again insisted. “I own a real estate firm in Los Angeles, it would be my pleasure to help you combat the housing costs here. I’ll draft a contract right now swearing that the cost will never go up, I’ll pay double what this property is worth and he’ll never have to work this much just to get by, I swear I could—“

“No.”

Her previously gentle and nurturing voice turned bitter, shaking as if Buck had somehow managed to scare her. 

“No, I…” she shook her head. “You are a kind man,  I know someone will appreciate your charity, but this…this is too much, cariño.”

Too much. 

Always too much.

He always did this. 

Too much for a girlfriend, too much for a stranger, it was just…never the right move. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled sheepishly. “I—I overstepped.” Guilt was churning in his gut, the urge to run making his hands shake. “I shouldn’t have…I…I never meant to imply that you couldn’t handle things yourselves or that you need me to…to come in and fix things.”

Maybe it was the general kicked puppy demeanor that he had been told he exuded, but Isabel just surged forward and hugged him tight. 

“Never apologize for having a big heart, mijo,” she said with a gentle smile, reaching up to cradle his face. “If you really want to help…” The woman trailed off, grabbing her necklace and taking a deep breath. “Talk to mi nieto, he’s stubborn but if he thinks it’s a good idea, then it’s a good one. He never admits he needs help but…maybe from you it will be different.”

After eating, Buck went wandering through the town at night in search of the school where Eddie was working the night shift. Dim street lights and twinkling holiday decorations lit the charming streets and before he knew it he was wandering around the old brick building looking for an entrance. What he found instead, however, was maybe the most endearing thing he’d ever seen. Considering he’d spent all day with Christopher, it was a pretty high bar to surpass, but there was no doubt about it. 

Eddie, with his little rolling cart of cleaning supplies and his mop in hand, was humming and dancing along to whatever music was playing out of the headphones he had on. 

It was downright adorable. 

More importantly, he definitely didn’t see Buck. He was swaying his hips and twirling and using the mop as a dance partner, all effortlessly smooth as he cleaned. 

In his defense, Buck tried to call out to him to get his attention. He even tried waving his arms around and trying to get Eddie to turn around and notice him, but it just wasn’t working. 

So…he figured if his only other option was to walk up to him and tap him on the shoulder to get his attention, it would probably be a better call to avoid scaring him half to death. So Buck just flickered the lights. 

At the time, he hadn’t exactly thought about how terrifyingly dark it would be with the lights off, given that it was pitch dark outside and there wasn’t any of the LA light pollution like Buck was used to. In his defense, it was adorable that Eddie screamed when the lights went out. 

“Hi?” He offered shyly when Eddie looked around in terror. “Sorry.”

The poor guy was on the ground, for god’s sake. 

Turns out scaring a guy standing on a freshly mopped floor was a bad idea. 

Buck all but scrambled down the hallway and held out his hand, smiling unconvincingly as Eddie glared at him, unimpressed. He took the offered hand anyway, so it wasn’t a total failure, he supposed. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Eddie questioned, beet-red in the face from being unsurprisingly mortified at both falling on his ass and also dancing when he thought he was alone. “My abuela put you up to this, didn’t she?”

Eh…not exactly. 

“No, no, it’s my fault. I asked her where you were, she said you had work, I asked more questions…” he trailed off, embarrassed in his own right. “I can leave if you want.”

Eddie shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“There’s no point in sending you away now,” the shorter man grumbled, pausing to yawn. “You should probably be asleep by now. I don’t even need to ask to know that Chris ran you ragged all over town.”

Sure, he was tired, but no doubt as exhausted as Eddie was. He couldn’t even fathom how the man even got any sleep at all, let alone enough to actually be healthy and sane. 

“He’s a great kid,” Buck settled for answering. “You’ve done a great job with him, you know.”

Eddie just huffed an attempt at a laugh, turning back to his work. 

“He’s a great kid,” he echoed. “Anything to do with me is unrelated to that.”

Oh hell no. 

“You don’t think you’re a good dad?” Buck asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know the answer. “Why, ‘cause you work? Eddie, that kid couldn’t stop raving about you all day.” If Eddie didn’t believe it, then by-god Buck was going to do everything in his power to convince him. “He sees how hard to work to be able to provide for him. He made sure to tell me that you worked extra hard to do things like taking him out for dinner or taking a day trip to the nearest zoo. He knows it’s all because you love him.”

Eddie still wasn’t looking at him, eyes downcast as he mopped. 

Fine. 

New plan. 

“My dad sold my baseball card collection when I was eleven.” If praise wasn’t working, he was gonna’ try to show him the truth the hard way. “My big sister had been buying me cards since I was four because it was all she could afford from the drugstore. I loved those cards, kept them all in perfect condition, and one day I came home from school and they were gone. My dad made a bet with one of his clients while playing golf. My dad didn’t have any cash, but he took my box of baseball cards to the pawn shop and paid the guy that way.”

Even almost two decades later, it still stung just thinking about it. 

“You wouldn’t even dream of selling Chris’ Pokemon card collection,” Buck continued, not asking but rather insisting. “He told me all about it, about how you’d open them together and that even though you never remembered any of their names, you always got excited anyway.” Eddie nodded, a faint sniffle audible. “I don’t even have to ask to know that you wouldn’t sell those cards if it’d save your own life.”

Regardless of whether he thought so or not, Eddie was the kind of dad Buck wished he had as a kid. 

“You’re a good dad, Eddie.”

There, on the freshly-mopped linoleum floors of a high school in a town he’d never been to before, he felt so at home. Like he was trusted. Listened to, even. 

“Where the hell did you even come from?” Eddie mumbled under his breath. “Seriously, like…my entire life, the only people that would come through here and stay the night were truckers and hitchhikers, maybe the occasional nuclear family on a road trip. And you.”

Me?

“You’re too good for this place.”

Well, if he was too good for the loveliest little town he’d ever come across, then maybe he’d just never belong anywhere. He couldn’t imagine there being anywhere else in the world that had a better community, better people.

“I love this place,” he countered. “I’ve been here one day and I’m already dreading the day I have to leave.”

“This town is falling apart at the seams.” Eddie just wasn’t going to let it go, apparently. “I’ve seen more people forced out of their homes in the last year than I have in my whole life, we’re all just stuck in an endless cycle of trying to keep each other alive by giving each other the only money we have to spare for coffees or car repairs and we’re all stuck here. You need to get out of here while you still can.”

No, Buck just didn’t work like that. 

“I think you would hate me for it, but I would ditch this awful corporate world I got stuck in without a single second of hesitation just to give this town a chance and all I need is someone to let me try.”

Eddie finally— finally— looked at him. 

God, he looked so sad. So tired, like the part of him that was still a scared little kid trying his best was seeping out through the cracks in his composure. 

“You’re too good.”

He said it so differently. Not his dismissive excuse from before, but rather praise. Like he couldn’t even believe it. 

“How are you even real?” Eddie said again, in that same awed tone. 

Buck just chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“Yeah, I haven’t stopped asking the same question since I got here,” he admitted with a bitter laugh. “Eddie, I just want to help any way I can. I don’t want this stupid job anymore, I want to do something good.”

He knew he could. He could help people if only he had the chance to prove it. 

“It sounds a little stupid to ask you to save our town,” Eddie said sheepishly. “We definitely don’t deserve you, but even if there’s a chance that Chris can go to a school that isn’t falling apart at the seams, I’ll take it. Just…ignore me if I ever can’t get over myself.” His hands fidgeted with the mop, uncertain as if he wanted to reach out for the other man. “I’m not used to good things.”

Buck genuinely felt like his heart was going to explode into a million little fireworks. 

“Yeah, me neither,” he confessed. “But we can try.”