Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Eddie, Buck, and Tommy have been together for months now, and things have been going well. Despite all being firefighters, the three of them manage to work out when to spend time together, and often enough, everyone has spent it at Tommy’s since he had the giant bed. 

Often, Eddie finds himself at either Buck’s loft or Tommy’s house. Very rarely has he gone back to his place. If he had to, he'd only be grabbing a few things here or there. He feels terrible, like he’s imposing on them too much or if he’s being too clingy. He feels like he’s intruding sometimes, not that Buck or Tommy ever make him feel that way.

He doesn't comprehend how the two can have enough love for Eddie, or that Eddie is enough to be loved as well. So he makes sure he doesn’t overdo it or overstep his welcome. He plays it off, saying he has something to do or is busy with an errand. He doesn’t do it often. He didn’t want to make it seem like he was trying to blow them off. So he brings up excuses, like therapy or helping his Tia Pepa or Abuela. 

He doesn’t tell either of them that he hates returning to his place. It’s too quiet, it’s too lonely. He can’t put on any telenovelas without his heart aching for his son to watch it with him. He ends up putting something on YouTube, such as a documentary or people exploring, something to fill his house's empty quietness with noise. He does the laundry and learns to use the dishwasher he keeps saying he'll have removed until he finds out it makes quite a bit of noise.

He often finds himself standing at the entrance of Christopher’s room. The scent of his son was barely there now, and dust was starting to collect on his desk. Eddie keeps his son’s room closed after the first month he left with his parents. The smile on his mother’s face as she finally got what she wanted all along, smiling as Eddie’s mentality struggles to hold itself together.

Smiling at his heart breaking to a million pieces, Christopher doesn’t say anything to him as he walks out the door with his things. She was smiling as if this was the happiest day of her life. The oh-so-sweet smug look on her face as she led Christopher out.

He can’t even look at his father’s face—a mix of disappointment and exhaustion. He looks at his grandson with fondness, but the second he glances at his son, Eddie is met with a look of exasperation. He can see his father look at him with exhaustion. Like he’s tired of Eddie’s fuck ups. Like he knew this would happen.

Like he’s done dealing with his son and his shit.

He--His dad did--

No.

Eddie shakes his head, not wanting to dig up that life-changing memory.

Eddie remembers the shattered look on Christopher’s face when the woman standing next to his dad was not his mom. His mom was dead, and Christopher had a hard slap of reality from it. Eddie’s sure he had broken and re-traumatized his son.

He hasn’t told Frank that; after Marisol and Kim, Eddie panics a little now when a woman shows interest or flirts with him.

When he’s on the job, those people are all under the patients/victims category in his head. It’s all purely professional, and Eddie is the best at it. He doesn’t inch away when a woman reaches out for him to be stabilized or comforted. 

But when they get too handsy? When they bat their eyes? Rub their hand up and down his arm and ask for his number?

Of course, he states that he’s happily taken. He swallows the panic when they sigh and back off and tries to keep it together when they become more insistent, offering that they should also be thrown into the mix for a good, fun night.

Chim thinks it's funny. Eddie had no problem speaking and flirting before, so seeing him become a mess is amusing. Which means that Eddie has done well in keeping it all in.

Eddie in no way intended to replace Shannon, but in the end, he didn’t realize it was exactly what he was trying to do. He feels as if he has been trying to find the perfect woman to care for Christopher for so long that he inadvertently makes Christopher walk out of his life.

He hadn’t even asked his son if he wanted a stepmom.

Thinking about all the times he had a girlfriend and wanted them to be the perfect one, all the times he pushed things onto his son, and all the times he messed up, he's been so wrapped up in his head that he didn’t realize he had distanced himself. Buck is starting to send him worried looks throughout the day. Tommy gets extra touchy when Eddie comes over, holding on as if Eddie would suddenly disappear. Buck cuddles and holds onto him when they sleep.

He always wakes up all tangled with Tommy and Buck. Sometimes, Tommy is the big spoon, kissing the back of his head and neck. Buck caresses his face and kisses his forehead, and it makes Eddie feel so loved. He's just lost in his thoughts most of the time, and he feels awful for not feeling happy.

Tommy asks if he’s okay and if everything is alright. Eddie smiles, lies through his teeth, and says, "Of course, things are okay." The squeeze on his shoulder and the frown on his face say Tommy doesn’t believe him, but the man doesn’t want to press Eddie either.

He knows he should confide in people who care about him, especially Buck and Tommy, but he feels like he’s repeating himself over and over, and it frustrates him. He feels helpless like he should try to fix the problem, but he knows he can’t.

The video calls don’t help. His son can’t look him in the eye every time, which hurts him. He's repeatedly said sorry but it doesn't get through. The text messages are seldom to none. Christopher didn’t send the first text until a month after he left, but there were few worded answers. Most of the time, it's just a yes or no.

Eddie tries to message him, but he feels a wall slowly starting to build between him, and he can’t help but feel as if his mother and father are helping Christopher build that wall.

One of the families they helped pull from a wreck a couple of days before, Eddie had been holding a child that had been weeping. One second, he’s bouncing and calming the little girl; the next, he had a face full of spit and snot. The girl had sneezed all over him, coughing as well. The parents apologize profusely, but Eddie waves them off with a smile. He’s fine, things happen. The parents told him to take some medication since their daughter was quite sick.

It happens slowly, over a course of a week. He starts feeling a little more tired each day. He slowly loses his appetite. He still eats, but since other important thoughts occupy his mind, he doesn’t notice he’s been eating less.

The coughing, he chalks it up to him, persistently cleaning everything and kicking dust up everywhere. Everyone seems to buy it, even himself. He feels sore, and he’s not entirely sure why. 

During his current shift, Buck had started to whip up some lunch for everyone, and Eddie had been on the sofa. He’s unsure when he nods off, but Hen shakes him awake. Rubbing his eyes, he can see the concern on her face.

“Wha--” Eddie pauses, noticing Bobby hovering over Hen’s shoulder and Buck behind the sofa. He hears footsteps rapidly coming up the stairs, seeing Chim coming over and dropping Hen’s bag by her, where she knelt next to him. “What’s going on?” he asks and feels the instant fatigue hit him all at once. It makes him want to lie back down and fall asleep. He nearly nods off again until Buck reaches over and cards his fingers through his hair and rubs at his temple. 

Actually? This is nice. He wants to sleep like this. This is good.

Eddie hums in contentment until Buck pats him on the cheek.

“Eds, c’mon, don’t fall asleep now.”

“Mmnot--” he mumbles. Chim lets out a sharp whistle, which startles him. He sits up, blinking his heavy eyelids open. “Up, I’m up. I’m good. Sorry, Bobby.” Eddie says when he sees his captain approach with concern on his face. 

“Eddie, you don’t look real good,” Bobby says.

“Yeah, Bobby had been calling you for lunch several times. He heard you wheezing during your nap. You feel clammy, too.” Buck says, stopping when he moves his hand from Eddie's cheek to his forehead. Buck's brows furrow as he switches to the back of his hand to get a better feel.

“And pale,” Chim adds. The man catches the look on Buck's face and glances down at Eddie.

“I’ve been cleaning and doing a lot of yard work. Allergies, probably sinus.” Eddie waves them off.

"You're warm," Buck says. Bobby glances at Buck, who nods at the older man. Bobby reaches over and does the same, confirming that Eddie is indeed warm.

Bobby sighs.

“Eddie.”

“I’m fine--” Eddie tries to hold down the coughs that threaten to bubble out of him, but they bully on through. He wheezes before starting to cough. He ducks his head and covers his mouth in the crook of his arm. The coughs are dry, something Eddie had already been dealing with and trying to ignore. He nearly flinches, feeling the pain in his chest.

Hen clears her throat, and hold a thermometer in front of Eddie's mouth. Eddie sighs as he opens his mouth and holds it in place under his tongue and watches as Hen wraps the blood pressure cuff around his arm, carefully taking his blood pressure and listening to his lungs afterward. 

“I don’t like your wheezing, Eddie,” Hen says. “BP is a little low, but nothing too concerning." The thermometer beeps, and Hen removes it, taking one look before shaking her head and showing Bobby. 

Eddie breathes slowly and clears his throat. “Guys, I’m fine.”

“You are most definitely not fine,” Chim says. "You have a fever of 100.1 degrees."

“Bobby--”

The man shakes his head. “Sorry, Eddie. You’re done.”

He drops his head in defeat. Great.

"I'll call you an Uber--"

"Cap, Bobby I promise I can drive home just fine," Eddie pleads. Bobby shakes his head.

"I cannot in good conscience let you drive home with a fever," Bobby says. He glances and spots a familiar face heading out of the locker rooms below. 

Bobby smiles and heads over to the rails.

"Ravi! A minute?" he calls out. Ravi jumps, glancing up, and waves. "Would you mind giving Diaz a lift home?" 

Ravi blinks and nods. "Sure."

"Great," Bobby says as he turns back to Eddie. “Eddie, go home, sleep, and we’ll check on you. Don’t worry about us here. I’m already calling someone in to cover for you.”

And just like that, Bobby had sent him home early from his forty-eight-hour shift after only completing barely half of it. He can tell by the look on Buck's face that he also wants to go home with him. Buck had another twenty-four to go, and they were already short-staffed, so he couldn’t go home.

Buck helps him gather his things, and Eddie glances back to see Buck watching him walk away with Ravi.

His headache pounds in his skull as the fatigue starts to nibble away at the energy he had this morning. The ride home is quiet as Eddie drifts off. Ravi hums softly, and it does make him fall asleep. He's later shaken awake when Ravi gently shakes him. Eddie groans as he grabs his stuff, stumbles out of the car, and thanks Ravi for the ride home.

It takes him five minutes to determine which key unlocks his front door, and Eddie slumps when he finally gets in through the door, slamming it close and locking it.

He drops his bag by the door, peeling his shoes and shirt off as he goes to his room. He barely had enough energy to take his pants off and grab some warm, comfortable clothes to sleep in before finally collapsing into his bed. He sends a text to Buck and Tommy, who Buck had filled in on what was going on, telling them he made it in bed safely and that he’s just going to sleep it off. It’s probably just a cold, hopefully not a sinus infection, and he would feel much better in the morning.

He does not wake up better.

Eddie wakes up in sweats, kicking the blanket off him as he scrambles out of his bed to the trash bin beside it and throws up everything in his stomach.

He spits, looking up at the clock. It had only been about four hours since he came home, and he felt worse. He can feel the deep ache in his body, his body shivering everywhere despite wearing a shirt and a thin pair of pj pants. 

He sets the trash bin on the ground, goes back into his bed, pulls the blanket around him, cocooning himself, and tries to fall asleep.

He's glad there's nobody here to see him shed tears. He's used to being on his own when he's sick. His mom or dad would fawn over his sisters, but he's usually sent to his room with medicine and food, but nobody to hold him and tell him it's okay.

And he's okay with it. The tears still shed, and the quiet house reminds him of his loneliness.

He misses hearing his son laugh at his friends when he's playing his games and hearing his frustrations when he loses.

His head hurts, he feels like he can't breathe, and he feels so fucking tired.

Eddie goes to sleep with tears in his eyes and a hole in his heart.

His head feels funny. The headache is still throbbing as he reaches for tissues throughout the night and blows his nose.

His head starts swimming, much like everything in the room, when he tries to open his eyes. He’s sure someone had added weight to his eyelids. He can barely keep them open. Eddie doesn’t bother to get out of bed; instead, he stays curled under his blanket.

He doesn’t realize how many hours have passed, that it was already noon the next day, that Buck had been blowing up his phone, and that Eddie had been too weak to answer. His head and everything in his line of vision dance and swirl around. Eddie is sure he felt his phone vibrate at one point before making a power-off sound. He’d been so out of it that he had forgotten to plug the old thing in to charge it. He really needs a new phone.

So he doesn’t get Buck's worried messages asking if he’s okay or the texts concerning him from others. He doesn’t get the text from Tommy that he managed to call in that favor his friend owed him. He doesn’t know that Tommy left work early, went by station 118 to grab Eddie’s spare key from Buck, and was on his way to Eddie’s place.

He’s too weak and freezing to get up and answer the door when it rings a few times. He's not alert enough when he hears his door close and can’t answer Tommy when the man frantically calls out to him.

Eddie, though, hears Tommy’s heavy footsteps trudge through his hallway and finally pushes the door to his room open. 

The man curses. Eddie feels his body shake gently. 

“Babe?” Tommy whispered out in concern. Eddie jumps when he feels a hand on his forehead before tugging at the blanket Eddie has wrapped himself up in. He makes a noise of complaint and a whine when Tommy successfully pulls the blanket off him. “Eddie, you’re too hot.”

“No,” Eddie cries out as he curls up to warm himself again.

Tommy sits Eddie up, having him lean in one arm as Tommy pats Eddie’s cheek to wake him up. He winces, feeling how scorching his body is. Eddie barely opens his eyes, but Tommy can tell they’re unfocused. They close again, his head lolling to the side. “Eddie? Eddie!” When the man doesn’t respond, Tommy takes his phone out and dials the last person on his recent contacts.

“Hey, how is he?” Buck asks.

“Where does Eddie keep his thermometer?” Tommy wedges his phone between his ear and shoulder as he lays Eddie back down, quickly peeling off his shirt, shimming his pants off, and tossing them to the side. He’s sure he sounds worried. He could hear some dishes clanging and a water faucet stopping.

“Bathroom, second drawer on the left, and it’s shoved in the back somewhere. Go ahead and start filling the tub. Cool, but close to lukewarm.” Tommy listens to Buck’s directions and fishes out the thermometer. He’s already reaching over the tub to plug it up when Buck tells him to prepare the bath. He turns the water on and ensures it’s lukewarm and slightly cold. Eddie is too hot, and Tommy doesn’t want to shock the man. 

“I'm already on it. Give me a moment," Tommy says as he sets the phone on the counter and puts it on speaker.

He returns to the room, thermometer in hand, and sighs when he sees Eddie curled up in the blanket again. He feels terrible, hearing his boyfriend cry out as the blanket was ripped off him and thrown in the corner far away from him.

He sticks the thermometer in his boyfriend’s mouth, under his tongue, and waits for the beep. The temperature he gets causes the man to toss the stick aside, pick Eddie up in a bridal carry, and carefully make his way to the bathroom. The tub is full, and Tommy wastes no time setting Eddie down and turning the water off.

Eddie starts to groan, stirring in Tommy’s arms. His eyes barely open, unfocused as he slams them shut and curls himself into Tommy’s chest. Eddie’s mouth immediately starts shivering, and the man squirms and attempts to get out, but Tommy holds him still. There is water sloshing around as Eddie weakly fights to get out, and Tommy is soaked, but he’s worried about how weak Eddie is. He saw the puke in the nearly full trash bin, tissues everywhere.

He’s positive there’s also a bit of puke in the bed. He’s careful to sink the back of Eddie’s head and get some water in his hair, washing out the gross mess of puke.

“N- no. S-stop I-it’s t-too c-cold,” Eddie weeps out. He’s squirming around weakly, poor attempts to get out of the tub.

“Hey, hey, I know. Just a little while longer. You’re too hot, babe. If you get any higher, you’ll have to go to the ER, ” Tommy hushes Eddie as the man squirms and chooses the only warm thing in his vicinity: Tommy’s arm, holding him still in the water. 

“Yeah, he has a high fever. I don’t know how long his fever has been like that,” Tommy tells Buck. “I’m assuming he’s been in bed since he got sent home. He’s thrown up so much. I nearly knocked over his trash can and almost spilled it everywhere.”

Tommy hears a few people curse, and he assumes that everyone has their ear close to Buck's phone or that he’s on speaker. 

“Hi guys,” Tommy says. He grunts as Eddie elbows him in the chin. “Ow .”

“Hi, Tommy!” he hears Chim shout out.

“Hey, Tommy. How’s our boy?” Hen asks. “Is he still wheezy?”

Tommy pauses, listening closely to Eddie’s breathing. Yes, he sounds wheezy. “Yeah, he's still wheezy.”

“Do you think he needs to go to the ER?" Bobby asks.

“No, probably not. It’s good that I could leave my shift and come by. Does Eddie not have anyone to check up on him? Other family?” And Tommy is worried that Eddie doesn’t have anyone else to check up on him. Many of the people in Eddie’s life are first responders and have busy, hectic schedules.

“Tia Pepa and Abuela left LA to visit Eddie’s sisters that live in San Diego, but besides them, he really…” Buck doesn’t complete the sentence.

Because Eddie has nobody else to look after him or check up on him—nobody except the 118 and now Tommy.

“Not going to lie, If his fever went up a few more notches, he would definitely go straight to the ER. I'm holding him in the bathtub right now to get his temperature down.”

Tommy looks down at Eddie, who has finally stopped thrashing around. His head is lolled to the side, resting on the tub's edge. He reaches over and wipes water droplets from Eddie’s eyes and forehead. He doesn’t feel as hot anymore, but his body is still too warm for his liking. He reaches over, turns the cold water faucet on, and lets it run to cool the water a bit. It causes Eddie to groan, shivering, and Tommy holds the man again.

He won't lie; Tommy feels slightly better if his presence makes Eddie feel safe. He can feel Eddie trying to tuck himself into Tommy’s arm, and the sight of it breaks his heart.

It’s stupid.

He should have known better.

He should have left as soon as he learned that Eddie had been sent home for being sick. He should have known better than to believe his stubborn boyfriend, who told everyone he would be okay.

He feels so guilty. 

“I think his temperature is finally going down--” Tommy hears the alarm go off.

Evan swears. 

“Go, I got things here. I’ll keep you updated, okay?” Tommy tells him.

“Okay, yeah. Love you both.”

“Love you too. Be careful out there.”

The phone hangs up, and Tommy slips it in his back pocket.

“Alright, babe. Let’s see what we got here.”

Tommy taps his steering wheel with his thumb as he turns on the street, the right turn signal clicking as he checks both ways to ensure it is clear before taking the turn. He’s stopped at a line at the stop light.

He glances over to his passenger seat. Eddie is wrapped up in a blanket and strapped in safely. He has the AC blasting, so Eddie’s fever won’t go back up. There’s a small pillow between his head and the window so that it won’t hurt his head.

He doesn’t want to move Eddie when he’s like this, but frankly, that man has nothing in his house. There is barely any food or medicine, and the man’s laundry hasn’t been done yet, so he has nothing clean and comfortable to wear.

Is Eddie nearly naked under the blanket? Kind of. He’s only in his underwear.

Where are they going?

He’s going the fuck back home. Tommy’s house. Everyone’s house. Buck has leftover food and soup he made the other day, and his bathroom is stocked with medication. Tommy has a collection of hoodies that he knows his boyfriends love to steal. Especially Eddie. Everything that he needs is there.

Tommy hits a pothole and quickly reaches over to ensure his boyfriend’s head won’t bounce against the window. Not that that matters. Tommy had come up with a quick solution, but ensuring he was ok wouldn't hurt.

Looking up to see that traffic is still jammed, he takes his phone out and takes a selfie with Eddie swaddled in the blanket. He smiles, snaps the photo, and sends it to Evan.

Evan: ??? 👀

Tommy: Going home. 😊

Evan: good. 😙

Evan: Is that a pillow taped to his head????

                                                                                       Tommy: Baby, have you seen the amount of potholes from Eddie's house to mine?

Evan:...True.

Traffic finally lets up. He’s almost home when he hits another damn pothole and causes Eddie to stir awake and opens his eyes. It’s not focused, but he’s confused about where he is.

“W-where…?” He slurs out. 

“Don’t worry, babe. Just going home,” Tommy simply says. Eddie makes a noise of content.

“Oh…kay…” Eddie sighs. He snuggles back into the blanket swaddle he hadn’t realized he was trapped in, closes his eyes, and drifts off to sleep.

When Tommy finally returns home, he opens the door to his house first and throws his stuff in the bowl by the door before going back to his boyfriend. He awkwardly nods at his neighbors, who are gardening. They glance at Tommy, who is carrying a swaddled Eddie into his house. A look of confusion and concern, though they don’t ask. He’s sure they could tell Eddie was completely passed out.

Whelp, he hopes they don’t call the cops.

First things first, get Eddie into some comfortable clothes. Tommy glances at Eddie, and his heart lurches when Eddie rests and snuggles his head into Tommy’s chest. He lays Eddie on his bed and carefully unwraps his boyfriend from the blanket swaddle. He goes to his closet and rummages around for one of his slightly larger shirts. 

“Ah, there it is,” he whispers as he takes one of his old soft shirts. It's a lovely cream color, and Tommy won’t admit he loves seeing Eddie in his clothes, especially the cream-colored shirts. Eddie would look beautiful in lace. Lovely, creamy, beautiful lace. He’s not sure why, but it turns him on.

He loves putting Eddie in one of his shirts from the station, one with his last name printed on the back. Tommy had the delight of putting Evan in his shirt and spoiling him rotten in bed. He’d love to spoil Eddie in nothing but his shirt, with his name on it.

He feels oh so possessive of the both of them.

One day.

Tommy shakes his head. No, no. Enough of that. More important things right now. They can talk about that much later when Eddie is ready.

Slipping the shirt on him is relatively easy. He fishes around in his drawer, a space they had cleared out for Eddie’s clothes, and takes out some boxer briefs. Slipping them on was slightly less easy, but he’s done plenty of dressing and undressing. Tommy ensures Eddie is safely in bed before leaving to grab some water and medicine.

He finds Eddie curled up. He smiles, sets things down, and sits on the bed to gently shake him awake.

“Hey, babe,” he whispers. It takes him a few tries before Eddie finally opens his eyes again. He coughs before picking his head up and glancing around.

“Tommy?” he croaks out. His body flinches as he lets out a series of coughs. They’re bad, and Tommy can hear the wheezing. He spots Eddie grabbing a pillow and holding it to his chest.

“Eddie?” Tommy says gently. “Is your chest hurting?”

“From coughing--” Eddie grunts in pain as he stifles a cough.

“You think you can down some medicine?”

“Mm,” Eddie responds, weakly sitting up, only to lean on Tommy.

It’s a bit tricky, but Tommy manages to get Eddie to swallow the pills and the whole cup of water before slowly letting him lay back down. He pauses and turns around to grab his trash bin and scoot it closer to Eddie.

Just in case.

He figures that giving Eddie solid food is too soon, so he takes Evan’s soup out and scoops the broth, along with a few veggies here and there. He hums as he goes over to the stove and turns the dial, hearing the clicking and the fire kick on. He sets the smaller pot of Eddie’s portion on the stove, letting it slowly simmer. He sort of wants Eddie to get more sleep, but he knows Eddie needs some nutrients in his body. He’s most likely dehydrated from throwing up so much.

Tommy glances at his sink and sighs as he spots the dishes still left undone. Both Evan and he had been too tired or simply forgotten. Evan had been too worried about Eddie and why he had been distancing himself lately.

Eddie usually reminds them or starts handwashing the dishes himself, even after both of them let him know they have a dishwasher. The sassy cocked eyebrow just makes Tommy want to wipe that look off his face with a bunch of kisses.

Were they both a little depressed when Eddie started returning to his place?

Absolutely.

He loves it when he stays over. He’s all curled around him, Eddie’s become clingy, and Tommy absolutely loves it. He loves seeing Eddie and Evan curled up with each other or Eddie curling up against Tommy. It makes his heart flutter when Eddie does the cute shirt tugging when he wakes up in the morning (he is definitely not a morning person). He sneaks up behind Tommy in the kitchen and tugs on the back of his shirt. Tommy’s gotten better at knowing that when he does that, he needs a hug.

He discovers that it is a habit he does when he’s exhausted and sleepy. One night, all three had come out nearly the same time late at night, and they carpooled together and had to stop by the 24-hour grocery store to pick up stuff they needed back at the house. Tommy’s house. Evan needed things for the fridge, Tommy ran out of protein powder for his workouts, and Eddie simply tagged along. Poor Eddie seemed not to sleep much the night before, so he had been a little out of it. He hadn’t noticed it until he spotted the last tub of his favorite protein powder and dashed to get it. He felt a tug on his shirt and an immediate whine when he was out of Eddie’s reach.

He loves it when he’s the last one to his bed, walking through his bedroom door, and spots Evan and Eddie lying in bed, waiting for Tommy to join them.

He loves finding Evan’s clothes and things in his home, especially when Evan starts to redecorate here and there. His heart swelled when he began finding Eddie’s clothes here and there, too.

He’s also discovered he’s been missing a shirt here and there. He’s looked through Evan’s clothes when they go to his loft and hasn’t found it yet. He’s pretty sure Eddie has swiped it. He’s sure he spotted it poking out of his closet on the ground, but Tommy is in a rush to get Eddie out of his house and back to Tommy’s home.

Tsk, tsk. He’s going to have to speak to Eddie about swiping things without asking for permission.

He hears the pot boiling, and Tommy turns off the heat and sets it aside.

Right, let’s not get carried away.

Fantasies later.

Focus on his very sick boyfriend.

A little later, Tommy returns with soup, crackers, water, and a packet of liquid IV. He lightly bumps the door open with his knee, carefully walking in and setting the tray on the nightstand. He feels Eddie’s temperature with the back of his hand. He smiles when he feels it's not too hot anymore. He fishes out a thermometer he plucked from the bathroom and carefully puts it in Eddie’s mouth.

His temperature before had been 102.7, dangerously getting to the 103 zone of abusing his firefighter friends and calling his friends at his station or perhaps even 118, whoever came faster to come get Eddie. Bypassing dispatch if it makes them get here quicker.

He’s not sure if IV fluids will help because his persistent coughing and wheezing are not good at all.

He kisses Eddie’s forehead and sighs in relief when his current temperature is 101.5, a little high but in the range where it's safer than before.

“Babe, I’m gonna need you to wake up. You need to try and eat something.” He’s sure he hasn’t eaten anything since the day he was sent home. He needs to push fluids into him. He gently shakes Eddie awake, and it doesn’t take long for his boyfriend to groan and finally awaken. 

Eddie’s eyes finally open. He blinks a few times before rubbing his eyes and getting the gunk out of his eyes. He hums, his arm flopping over when he looks around the room, confused.

He was probably confused because he came home to his house and bed and woke up not in his bed.

Eddie also woke up without pants. It’s laundry day, and Evan’s clothes are tumbling in the dryer. So, Eddie waking up with no underwear and nothing but a shirt probably confused him even more.

“Huh?” Eddie says as he turns his head and sees Tommy sitting there with a smile.

“There’s my sweet boyfriend. How are you, Eddie?” Tommy asks. Eddie doesn’t respond, and Tommy gives him a few moments for his brain to return online finally.

“T-Tommy?” his voice is hoarse from coughing and sleep. He sits up, pausing halfway, finally noticing how bare he is underneath the covers. “Uh,” is all Eddie gets out. He scrunches his face in confusion when he looks around the room. “I’m pretty sure I was back at my place. What happened?” Eddie winces, feeling how sore his throat is. He sounds raspy.

“Well, I was working my shift when I started getting messages from Evan. He called me when I didn’t reply quickly enough. Told me you were sent home, and it was the next day, and you hadn’t responded to anybody’s messages, and everyone essentially freaked out when your phone had died. Evan called me, and I, too, got worried. So I called in a favor, made everyone incredibly guilty, drove by station 118, picked up the key from Evan, and headed to your place. You didn’t answer the door, so I went in, found your things scattered, and found you bundled up in your blanket with a dangerously high fever. If it had gone up any more, I’d have taken you to the hospital, to be honest. I nearly knocked your dangerous amount of vomit in your trash can over and stuck you in a tub with cool water to get your temperature controlled. I tried to find medicine and food at your place, but you have nothing, so I swaddled you in a blanket and drove back home,” Tommy nearly chirps out, too happy at the last part. “And here we are. Also, please eat. You need something in your stomach, and either it's this, or I’m going to get Chim or Hen to give you an IV.”

Eddie blinks, taking in all the information Tommy just gave him.

“Oh.”

“You had all of us worried there.”

“Y-you didn’t have to…” Eddie breathes out. “I would've been fine…” Eddie starts to cough and flinches in pain. His hand scrambles for a pillow, one that Tommy grabs and gently pushes into his arms.

Tommy runs his fingers through Eddie's hair and gently holds his boyfriend. Eddie shakes, trying to control his coughing. It takes a moment before Eddie finally stops coughing, but he's still curling into Tommy.

“Eddie. ” Tommy says gently. “You think we’d leave you alone like this?” Tommy’s thumb strokes Eddie’s cheek.

“S-ssorry,” Eddie slurs. He struggles to keep his eyes open. He exhales and coughs. He’s already tired, even though he has slept too much.

“Nothing to apologize for. Here, try and eat. Evan is across the city, but I can feel him vibrating with concern.” Tommy says, which makes Eddie huff out a tiny laugh. 

( “Buck, for the love of--would you stop trying to impersonate a vibrator? Tommy is with him. He’s going to be fine.” Hen throws a crouton at Buck’s head.

“B-but they haven’t responded--”

“Cause Tommy is doing a great job taking care of Eddie. He’s fine. You got him on Life360, don’t you?” Chim asked.

“Well, yeah, but--”

“Buck, if you don’t stop, then I’m going to make you clean the firetruck from top to bottom,” Bobby says. Buck shuts his mouth quickly. “Now, come over here and help me cook.”

“Oh, oh! Are you trying out--”

“Yes, now come on, kid.”)

Tommy sets the food tray over Eddie’s legs and climbs into bed next to him. Tommy remembers Evan buying one, the kind that has legs and goes over both sides of your leg. He had gotten one after Tommy had gotten sick. “C’mon, try and eat, okay?” Tommy asks. He takes the spoon, bringing the broth up to Eddie’s mouth. Thankfully, it’s just warm. 

“I can…feed myself,” Eddie says. His eyes droop down, and he feels like falling asleep again. Tommy places the spoon back down and pats his cheek. 

“Hey, if you don’t eat anything now, I’ll have to call reinforcements. Positive Hen and Chim will be more than happy to swoop in if I ask. If I do that, Evan will, of course, want to come and Bobby as well. There will probably be lights and all. So, soup or the full mother henning from Bobby, Evan, Hen, and Chim,” Tommy raises his eyebrow, daring him to choose something other than the two options he provided. “Or the ER.”

In all honesty, it doesn’t matter what choice Eddie makes. Tommy’s most likely going to drive to the ER later, anyway. 

Eddie blinks and nods. “Soup,” he weakly says. 

“Good. I was two seconds away from speed dialing Bobby,” Tommy says with a smile. Eddie has enough energy to pout. Tommy raises the spoon of broth back to his mouth, and Eddie starts to sip slowly.

Tommy gets some of the veggies from the soup and about half of the bowl into him. Eddie didn’t touch the crackers, though Tommy set those aside in case he wanted to nibble on them later.

Eddie manages to consume half a glass, which will also be set aside later, along with just water. 

Tommy gathers pillows and props Eddie up a little bit. At least enough for him to comfortably digest the food without upsetting his stomach if he laid back down. He tucks Eddie back into the thin sheets while keeping the room cool enough so he won’t accidentally raise his fever again.

He watches Eddie breathe evenly, already fast asleep. Tommy can’t help but kiss him again on the forehead.

Tommy takes another photo, sending it to Evan with the caption:

Tommy : Aaaaand he’s out! 💤😪

He doesn’t wait for a response, knowing Evan is working and probably on a call.

With Eddie asleep, he can get started on those dishes and laundry. 

Tommy had the dishes running in the washer and had made good progress on the laundry. Most were folded or placed on a hanger; the rest were tumbling in the dryer. He’s cutting up some fruit that Evan had bought several days ago, wanting to try new types of fruit. If he doesn’t cut them now, they will go bad. He’s cutting the dragonfruit in a container when he hears a car pull in, lights flashing across the window before it abruptly shuts off and the car door closes.

As soon as the car turns off, the door unlocks before Tommy can reach it, and Evan enters.

“Evan?” Tommy glances at his watch. “Don’t you have another few hours?”

Buck slumps his shoulders.

“Bobby sent me home early. The guy covering for Eddie told Bobby that Hayden, who works nights, wanted some OT, so Bobby called her in. I think Bobby could tell I was still worried about Eddie.” Buck shrugs his shoes off, putting his bag on the ground before walking up to Tommy and giving him a deep, passionate kiss that always seems to take Tommy away. “Missed you,” Buck says.

“I missed you too,” Tommy says with a smile. I’ve finished the dishes, and the Laundry is just about finished. The last load is in the dryer on low. ” Tommy gives him a look. “I didn’t forget this time, sweetheart. Also, you should try some fruit, and I finally got around to cutting some. I’m sure when Eddie’s feeling better, he’ll enjoy it. Starfruit is pretty good, but the dragonfruit was okay.”

“Oh man, I heard dragonfruit tastes delicious. It’s supposed to be a combination between a kiwi and a pear, and in Vietnam, it's a symbol of good luck and prosperity.”

Tommy smiles as he sees the fun, excited look on his face as he nearly hops towards the kitchen and plucks a starfruit out.

“I’m picking up a pear, an orange, and a grape.”

Tommy kisses Evan on the side of his head, ruffling his hair and missing the face Evan makes when he smacks his lip.

“So, how’s Eddie?” he asks.

“Doing okay for the most part. I’m worried that he’s dehydrated. I gave him fluids, and his next round of Tylenol is in a few more hours,” Tommy sighs. “We may have to get him some IV fluids if he doesn’t keep the soup down.” 

“I’m sure Chim or Hen won’t mind coming by if it comes to that.”

Tommy sighs. “I’m tempted to just take him straight to the ER.”

“If his fever spikes up again, we’ll take him. I gotta feeling Hen or Chim will swing by after their shift ends. I’m pretty sure Bobby is making a pot of soup.”

“Oooh, that sounds great--” both men heard a thump and a groan.

It was the sound of puking that made both of them run to the bedroom, finding Eddie on the ground and curled over a trash can and puking. He was leaning his side onto the bed, body heaving as his stomach emptied.

“Eds?” Buck says softly. He approaches gently, kneeling next to him, and rubs his back as Eddie continues to puke. Tommy hears him swear. “His fever had gone back up.”

“Bath?”

“Yes, he got a bit of puke on himself.”

“One bath coming right up,” Tommy says as he goes to his bathroom.

“Alright, Eds. Let's get you cleaned up,” Buck whispers as he scoots the trash can away and peels Eddie's messy shirt off. He uses the clean side to wipe any mess on his face and chin and tosses it in the trash can. It's no use trying to clean that out. “We’ll cool you down and then take you to the ER.”

He kisses the top of Eddie’s head as he leans him back to his chest, hooking an arm around the back of both his knees and holding them towards his chest, using his other hand to slip the underwear off easily.

Buck stood up, scooping Eddie, and headed towards the bathroom. He nearly ran into Tommy, who was heading out.

“The bath is ready. I’m gonna go and clean the bedroom, get rid of the mess, and put some new sheets on the bed. Just call me if you need me, okay?”

Buck nods and gives him a quick peck on the lips.

Chapter Text

It’s not until a few moments later that Buck’s predicament arises.

He had been gently washing off the leftover trails of puke with a warm, soapy, wet cloth. He sat Eddie on the toilet lid, gave Eddie a good scrub, and used a new cloth to rub the soap off. 

Eddie’s slightly out of it until Buck picks Eddie back up to place him in the bathtub, to which the man jerks. Buck had one knee on the edge, while he just about had Eddie’s ass dipped into the water when the man reacted.

“N- no!” Eddie croaks out. He shakes his head, arching his entire body away from the water. Eddie scrambles, reaching for anything to pull himself out from the cold water.

“Eddie, Eddie, it’s me! Your fever spike-- ow!” Buck rotates his jaw when Eddie elbows it.

Eddie’s scrambling causes Buck to lose his balance. Eddie successfully grabs the curtains and yanks on them, pulling the entire rod down with a clang, and Buck feels a sharp pain on the back of his head. He grits his teeth, trying to catch himself on his knee before landing on top of Eddie, except he slips. He and Eddie land in the tub, water sloshing everywhere. Buck knocks bottles of shampoo over, and one of his legs is now trapped awkwardly while the other leg is half hanging out of the tub. He somehow manages to get Eddie on top of him so he wouldn’t squish him.

Eddie squirms and flails his leg around, managing to clip the faucet and turn the shower head on. Buck splutters as cold water hits his face.

Buck finally feels Eddie’s energy zap out as the man slumps in Buck’s grip and shivers, whining as his back is pelted with cold water above him. 

Tommy finally comes running in, pausing at the scene before him. Buck is fully clothed, lying in the tub of water with one leg sticking out, along with their very sick and naked boyfriend on top, and Buck’s arms are curled around the back of Eddie’s head protectively. The shower head had been turned on, pelting both in cold water.

It would be very humorous if it weren’t for the fact that Tommy could see some blood trickling and smearing slightly on the wall where Buck’s head was leaning. He rushes over, turning the water off and carefully removing the rod and curtain wrapped around Evan’s leg. 

Buck sits up, still being careful with Eddie, and winces as he feels a throbbing on the back of his head.

“Please don’t tell me I’m bleeding,” Buck asks. The look on Tommy’s face makes him sigh. “At least I can add to Hen’s medical profiles on us. Definitely adding Eddie as combative ,” he pouts out. “Elbowed me and knocked me right in.”

“He elbowed you too?” Tommy says. Buck groans.

Tommy glances down at Eddie. Unaware of what happened, the man slept away in Buck’s arm. It’s cute seeing him nuzzle his head right into Buck’s arms. Eddie sighs before softly snoring away.

“So glad you’re comfortable, Eds.” Buck glances at Tommy. “He needs to go to the hospital. I can feel his lungs rattling. That’s not normal.”

Tommy clenches his jaw. Evan is right. This isn’t any typical cold or even the flu. The sound of his lungs is problematic. 

“Covid?” Tommy says.

Buck shrugs. “The strains nowadays aren’t like before when it first hit. It could be COVID; if it is, we’ll all have to get tested.”

“Let me get him out and into something more comfortable. I’ll make the call.”

Tommy gives the two moments while he fishes for a large towel and swaddles Eddie, carrying him back into the freshly made bedroom. By the time he finishes drying him off and reclothing him, he goes back to the bathroom to see Buck still sitting in the tub, blinking hard and wincing as he tries to pick his head up from the wall.

“Evan?” Tommy says.

“I-I think I’m good. Just need a minute,” Buck makes a face. “My ears are ringing. ”

Tommy grabs a clean, small hand towel and hands it to Buck.

“Here, put pressure on it,” he gently orders as he fishes his phone out the back of his pocket.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Buck grumbles.

He scrolls through his phone, taps on a familiar number, and holds the phone to his ear. 

“I hope this is a cheerful call.”

“I'm panicking, so somebody decides for me. Either you guys come, I call 911 for the closest unit to be dispatched, or should I break many traffic laws and speed my way to an ER myself?” Tommy instantly hears fingers snapping and rustling.

“What's going on? How bad is he?” Bobby’s voice is on the phone now.

“Eddie isn’t keeping anything down, and he’s too dehydrated. His fever spiked up again, and when we were trying to give him another bath, he managed to yank the shower curtain rod down and nailed Evan right in the back of the head. A part of the shower rod got him real good, so I’m sure he'll need stitches. He’s stopping the bleeding right now, but he has a concussion.”

“It’s not a concussion.”

“We’re on our way,” Bobby says before hanging up.

Whelp, there’s that. 

Buck sighs. “I’m hoping they won’t be dramatic about this and turn the sirens on.”

“A bunch of overprotective first responders? Oh, for sure.” Tommy grins. “C’mon, let's get you out of these clothes.” Tommy sticks a hand out for him to grab and carefully gets up and out of the bathtub. He wobbles a little, taking a moment to sit on the edge of the tub.

“Evan?” Tommy looks at him with concern.

“Yeah?”

“...Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Buck winces. Tommy kneels and pats Buck’s thighs.

“Wrap your legs around me, babe,” Tommy says. 

Confused, he does what he’s told, wraps his legs around Tommy’s midsection, and squeaks as Tommy scoops Buck up. Buck wraps his arms around Tommy’s neck as the man bends down slightly to avoid Buck hitting the top of the door frame.

“Babe, I can walk!”

“Nope,” Tommy says, carefully going to the bedroom. He sets Evan on his feet, having him lean on the bed as he peels all the wet clothes off him. Wet jeans were a struggle, but he wrestled those off and slipped on some comfortable black sweatpants and carefully slipped on an extra fire station uniform shirt with his name back.

Smiling at his success, he scoots Buck on the bed when he finally hears the sirens getting closer.

“Does that answer your question?” Tommy smirks. 

Buck pouts. “This was supposed to be about Eddie, not me.”

“Hey, It’s just a little accident. Nothing major. I should have told you Eddie was fighting back pretty good.” Tommy pauses as he hears the siren in front of his house. “I’m going to go open the door. You stay here and don’t move, ok? Keep an eye on Eddie,” Tommy leans in to kiss him on the forehead.

Buck sighs, wincing as he shifts on the bed to get more comfortable. He glances over to Eddie, who manages to get an arm out completely. His breathing is concerning, and his lungs sound like it’s rattling. Buck hopes Bobby doesn’t look disappointed. He had sent Buck home early to take care of Eddie, and he somehow managed to get nailed right in the head.

Buck jumps when he feels a hand clap on his shoulder. He looks up to see Chim next to him, Hen walking straight towards Eddie, and Bobby following Tommy into the bedroom. His face brightens when he sees the bowl of fruit in Tommy’s hands.

“You’re happy to see a bowl of fruit but not me?” Chim says. 

“I just saw you earlier,” Buck waves him off and makes gimmie motions with his hand. Tommy chuckles, and Bobby smiles. Buck winces when he moves around on the bed to get the bowl of fruit from Tommy’s hands. Chim looks at Buck in concern, who managed to get hurt again.

“How’d you manage that?” Chim asks as he sets his bag down.

“Eddie fights back pretty well. He had his hands on the curtains in the shower and yanked down hard, trying to get away from the water. Rod got me real good.”

“Can’t catch a break, can you?” Chim says with amusement. 

Buck huffs. “I wasn’t being careless. Eds caught me off guard,” he says and flinches when Chim prods at the back of his head.

"Headache? Vomiting? Dizziness?"

"I'm sure I don't have a concussion."

"He said his ears were ringing earlier," Tommy says, ratting him out. "Dizziness for sure, and slight poor coordination when he tried to grab the bowl earlier."

Chim turns and gives Buck a look. He receives a full-on pout at Tommy's response.

"I'm fine; I just need some stitches. Eddie needs help more than me," Buck says. 

Chim hums. “Well, that rod got you pretty good. Mild concussion, I say. Lucky you! You get a ride to the hospital. Another punch for your hospital stay punchcard.”

“Man .”

“Cap also got you soup. Well, Eddie soup. Now, your soup, too.” Chim checks over Buck, reviewing the standard protocols, while Hen tends to Eddie.

Hen sighs, taking Eddie’s vitals. His blood pressure and oxygen levels are low. She listens to his breathing, his heart, and his lungs. Hen frowns. “I don’t like how his lungs are sounding now. If anything, it sounds worse than when we sent him home. His BP is low, but his heart rate is rather high.”

“Load them up. Both are going to the hospital,” Bobby orders. He winces when he sees the cut on Buck’s head. It looks as if an edge from the rod dug in deeper. “Definitely stitches,” he murmurs as he looks closer at the wound. Buck hisses when the man prods at it and does something that makes everyone else freeze.

The startling series of dry coughs burst through, catching Buck himself by surprise.

“Shit, sorry,” he says as he hides his mouth in the crook of his elbow. He glances up and notices everyone stepping back, Chim pushing Tommy back. Buck barely blinks before everyone starts putting their masks on, Chim handing one to Tommy. 

His brother-in-law looks at Tommy suspiciously and steps away from the man.

“Guys, It’s nothing. Just ate too quick,” Buck says with exasperation. Bobby hands Buck a mask, making him roll his eyes and accept the mask.

“Alright, let's go!” Bobby barks out. Tommy already has Eddie in his arms as he follows the others out of the house. 

As Tommy helps place Eddie in the ambulance, Chim gives him a look. 

“You following?” he asks Tommy.

“Of course. Let me lock up, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Good.”

“Buck, leave the fruit!” Bobby says. 

“No!” Buck jerks the bowl away from Bobby’s attempt at the bowl. “Tommy even put pepper on it!” Buck smacks his lips. “Maybe Cayenne,” he tilts his head. Buck coughs.

“Cap, just let him have his treat,” Hen sighs, seeing Buck pout like a child when Bobby tried to take his fruit away.

Bobby simply pointed for him to get going when Buck held the bowl above his head, away from everyone.

Perks of being taller.

Tommy should have known when the hallway they were being led through was nearly empty. He’s so focused on his boyfriends that when he was being led to a large room and heard the double doors hiss closed and click shut, that should have rang a bell. Their staff was fully covered from head to toe. No skin, and masks with shields covered their faces.

There are three beds, the first on the left already prepped, staff currently working to transfer Eddie to—the middle bed, where a nurse pats the bed and calls out for “Mr. Buckley,” who is entirely stormy when they take his bowl of fruit away. He’s nearly finished with it, too, before the nurses swoop right on in, eyes crinkling with a smile hidden underneath the mask, and took it from him. The last bed, Tommy assumes, is a spare.

He eyes the one nurse who smiles and waves at him at the third bed.

“We have a bed ready for you, Mr. Kinard.”

“Me? Oh, no, I’m perfectly fine. I’m just with these two,” Tommy explains. 

“Well, just in case. It’s better than a chair,” the nurse hums as she walks out.

Tommy is caught off guard when he sees the door locked and sealed. Bobby, Hen, and Chim are on the other side of the window, with guilt all over their faces.

That’s when he spots the quarantine sign on the wall. Tommy stares incredulously at the others.

“What’s going on?”

“Sorry. All three of you are being quarantined,” Bobby says.

“What do you mean we’re being quarantined?!” Tommy says indignantly. He pauses and whips his head to Chimney.

“You knew!”

“Sorry, Tommy.”

“Look, I don’t know why both Evan and I have to be hospitalized as well. We didn’t even get tested at all.”

The nurse sighs. “This is just protocol. Until we can get the cultures back in, determine if it’s bacterial, viral, or Covid. We just wanted to be safe with how quickly Mr. Buckley shows probable symptoms. There have also been several confirmed cases of bacterial pneumonia here in LA.”

Bobby steps in. “Look. The little girl Eddie had carried on a call a few days ago most likely got him sick. We contacted her parents, and she has pneumonia. They later took their daughter to the ER that very night and, I guess, forgot to tell us.” Bobby sounds frustrated. “If It’s bacterial, it’s contagious until about forty-eight hours after antibiotics. Since all three of you are together--”

“I’ve barely seen my boyfriend, unfortunately. Fowler broke her leg at work, and Martinez is on medical leave. We all been covering for the two of them, but I got lumped with Martinez's shift,” Tommy says.

“Doesn’t matter. You will be staying in there until we get you on antibiotics for forty-eight hours,” the nurse chirps and points to the other nurse waiting with an IV in her hand at Tommy’s designated bed. “The symptoms show in about a day, so it’s only a matter of time before you start showing symptoms. I’m sorry, but with how contagious it is, you’ll be held here until we can get some results from Mr. Diaz’s bloodwork.”

Tommy opens his mouth to argue until a coughing fit erupts behind him. He turns and spots Evan curled in his bed, trying to stifle the cough, but it fails. The doctors had to stop putting stitches in to allow Evan to get his coughing fit out.

But the coughing doesn’t stop. Tommy stares in abject horror when he sees Evan’s face turn red, and he starts to choke. He sees him patting at his chest, unable to get any air in. His lips start swelling, too.

“Sir, he’s going into anaphylaxis shock--”

“Someone get epinephrine--”

Tommy watches as they work quickly around Evan. A nurse presses a button to call for the needed items since they are in the quarantine room. 

“Tommy! Tommy!” he hears the window tap behind him. He turns, trying not to panic. Hen taps on the window. “You’re going to hyperventilate. You need to breathe. Buck will be okay.” Tommy nods.

“Shit, reaction to the fruit? That’s the only thing he’d been eating, especially on the ride here,” Chim says, trying not to panic.

“There was Starfruit and Dragonfruit in the bowl,” Hen says. “He said there was pepper, maybe cayenne, but I plucked one out and didn’t taste a hint of any spices in it.”

“Buck went to this cocktail seminar that May dragged him to, and one of the drinks she mentioned had smashed starfruit. Buck drank a few with no problem. Said it tasted sweet and sour,” Bobby adds in. “He’s eaten dragonfruit before. It was made into a puree and in a sauce for one of my dishes.” Bobby makes a face. "Was unsure of how it tasted to him."

“Probable reaction to dragonfruit, then. Unless you put something spicy in that puree,” Hen asks. Her captain shook his head.

"No," he replies 

Tommy could tell Evan was also losing his energy as the nurses around him got the epinephrine and worked to stabilize him. Another round of nurses entered, getting Eddie prepared and settled. 

The panic in Tommy doesn’t subside. Seeing Eddie hooked up. Seeing Buck abruptly hooked up as well.

“Chim, get rid of all the dragonfruit in my fridge.”

“On it.” the man nods.

Buck wakes up completely confused the following morning. He’s pretty sure he remembers coming to the hospital for Eddie. And to get stitches. He winces, feeling his throat so sore and irritated. There’s a sudden gasp, and then he feels fingers card through his hair.

“What happened?” he asks and then winces at the irritation in his throat. 

“Hey, baby. You went into anaphylactic shock, most likely from the dragonfruit.”

Buck grunts, closing his eyes. “Seriously?”

“Yes. Both of you need to stop trying to give this old man a heart attack,” Tommy says.

“I wasn’t trying to,” Buck pouts. “It was tasty too. You had sweet and sour from the starfruit and the spicy kick from the dragonfruit.”

Tommy doesn’t respond. He sighs.

“Babe, dragonfruit is not supposed to taste spicy.”

“ What ?” Buck says in shock. “You didn’t put any pepper on it?”

“No.”

That just ruins so many cooking ideas for him. He had dinner date ideas with Tommy and--

Wait.

Buck looks around frantically and sees Eddie on the other side of him.

“ Eddie?” he says gently. 

“He’s still out. They managed to get his fever down, and he’s finally getting fluids. Bobby says it’s pneumonia. From one little girl on one of the calls that sneezed on him.”

That little girl! Buck remembers now. Eddie had been consoling her, and Buck’s heart broke when she saw the little girl cry and hide in Eddie’s neck.

“They haven’t come back with the results yet, so we’re still being quarantined,” Tommy informs. He pulls up a chair beside him. 

“Of course.”

“How are you?” Tommy asks.

Buck shrugs. “My throat feels irritated. Tired, for sure. Uh, headache. I feel achy.”

“They said you’ll be feeling that for a little while. So don’t strain yourself. You’re also going to get an allergy test,” Tommy demands. 

Buck waves him off.  “I’ll be fine.”

“Evan--”

“B-better listen--” Eddie coughs out, surprising the both of them. Eddie blinks, turning his head to see Buck. His face scrunches up. “A-are you okay?” Eddie slurs out.

Tommy stands abruptly, dashing over to Eddie. Buck grits his teeth as he gets up, swings his feet off the bed, and tugs the IV pole along, using the bed as support as he approaches his two partners. He jumps when Tommy quickly points at the chair beside him and slumps his shoulders as he plops himself in it.

“Hey, sweetheart. How are you?” Tommy says.

“Mmm, tired. Chest hurts,” Eddie wheezes, wincing when he takes a deep breath. “Sleepy.”

“Hey, go back to sleep. We’ll talk later, okay?” Buck says. He can see Eddie trying to fight the sleep, and his face scrunches up when he sees the IV pole attached to Buck and Tommy.

“A--are you guys ‘kay?” Eddie asks again—the two smile fondly at Eddie. 

“Yeah, Eds. We’re fine.”

Eddie curses as he tries to stifle a burst of coughs. He holds up a hand, knowing either Tommy or Buck will teleport instantly to his side. The hospital discharged Buck a couple of days after his shock, so Eddie had been somewhat on his own in the meantime, recovering. Someone always visits every day, though; most of the time, Eddie sleeps away.

After finally waking for the first time in the hospital, Eddie is informed he has viral pneumonia. It is not bacterial, and it would have been horrible if Eddie had gotten both of them sick. He’s still a little out of it, so when he is cleared to go and recover at home, he’s wheeled out to Tommy’s truck, to which Buck tries to lift Eddie into the vehicle until Tommy clears his throat.

That’s something he learns as well. Buck had incidentally gotten anaphylactic shock from dragon fruit, something he remembers Buck raving about wanting to try when he finally got his hands on some nice ones he had spotted at a farmers market. He spent nice money on them, too, so hearing Chim enjoy the rest of those dragonfruits and hearing Buck's near tantrum was funny. 

Tommy had been quite busy panic cleaning with the help of Chim. They disinfected his entire fridge and kitchen and ensured no signs of dragonfruit were present. Buck had stayed with Bobby and hadn’t been allowed to do much in the meantime. Eddie is sure Dragonfruits were now on the blacklist of foods not allowed in the firehouse as well. 

Eddie wants to laugh from his wheelchair when Buck’s shoulders droop down, throws his head back and groans out a complaint. He tries to stand on his own before Tommy lifts him with ease, safely deposits him into the truck's back seat, and buckles him in.

“I can get up, Tommy,” Eddie wheezes out. 

“Sure, and the shaking of your knees wasn’t anything,” Tommy retorts. He kisses Eddie on his temple.

It’s when he turns to give Buck a look, eyebrows going up as if to challenge him.

Ooooh, Tommy is in full protective mode. 

“Just lend me your shoulder so I can climb in,” Buck grumbles. Tommy smiles and pecks a kiss on his cheek. 

The drive back to Tommy’s place is quiet. He held his confusion when they were definitely not going to his house but Tommy's house instead. Eddie realizes that his boyfriends will not let Eddie out of their sight anytime soon.

Eddie tries not to doze off while Buck and Tommy chatter in the front. He wants to input his thoughts but is too tired to do so. He winces as he coughs, hands grabbing for the pillow Tommy brought. Eddie thought it had been silly at first, til holding the pillow somehow helped with the pain a little.

Buck turns his head to Eddie, who tries to wave him off.

“They gave him a nebulizer with some medicine. It’ll be another few hours til his next dose. Thankfully, they treated him before he was discharged,” Tommy says. 

“They--” Eddie coughs. “--couldn’t give me an inhaler?”

“I have a nebulizer at home. All we need is the medication. I’ve also had too many bad memories with people and them losing their inhalers, too. Can’t lose an entire nebulizer.” Tommy hums.

“C-can’t bring a nebulizer out and about, though.” Eddie stifles a cough.

Tommy glances in the rearview mirror, giving his lovely boyfriend the most sassy face ever. “Sorry, you won’t leave the house for a while. Bobby is holding your truck hostage.”

“Don’t worry, Eddie, I’m pretty sure Bobby and Athena grounded me,” Buck says with the utmost confusion. “They saw me one-morning cooking and another with my keys in my hand. I said I was fine. I'm just tired, is all. They didn't believe me. I just wanted a smoothie.” Buck says with sadness.

“W-why didn’t you just doordash it?” Eddie croaks out. 

“Someone locked me out of my own account,” Buck glares at Tommy.

“There’s so much food and ingredients at the house. Please make something out of that and eat it before deciding to door-dash things,” Tommy says.

“He’s gotta point,” Eddie huffs. “A-Abuela would kick your ass for wasting food.”

“I’ll just take myself to do the food pick up then,” Buck sulks.

“Yeah, you’re also not driving either.” Tommy hums. 

Buck slowly looks over to Tommy.

“You hid my keys, didn’t you?” Buck didn’t get a response. “Tommy , what happens if there's an emergency--”

Tommy scoffs. “Like I’m leaving the both of you by yourselves. I already took time off. I’ve got a lot of vacation time from constantly covering everyone's shifts. Made a few others feel guilty, too.” Tommy says with glee. 

Buck looks at Tommy with a guilty look. 

“You shouldn’t sacrifice your vacation time to take care of us. I-I can look after him.”

“I don’t think I can focus on working, knowing the both of you are not well. ‘Sides I want to.”

Eddie sighs. It’s not like it's the end of the world, and he’s sure he’ll be okay on his own now that he has the medication for his coughs. He doesn’t understand why Bobby had to take his truck. He’s okay now. Yes, he’s weak, but not as bad as before. He’s been on bed rest, and he’s sure everyone is being a bit of a mother hen. Eddie glances at the hallway when he hears Buck.

“Tommy, Tommy, babe, I’m fine! ” Buck squawks.

“No.”

“Ba- no, I’m fine! Just let me--”

“Evan, let go of the door frame!”

“No! Put me do-oOWN!”   Eddie hears an audible swat. Skin-to-skin contact from what Eddie could make off, and it was sharp. Buck yelps out loud. Eddie huffs, smiling, when he sees Tommy with Buck thrown over his shoulder. He sees one side of his pants pulled down and one side of his ass cheek red.

Tommy plops him on the bed next to Eddie. He points to the empty spot beside him, raises his eyebrows, and clears his throat. 

Buck slumps, and Eddie can practically see his pout radiating through his back.

“I’m okay.”

“You were swaying, sweetie.”

“I’m fine. I was holding onto the wall for support.”

“Evan.”

“Let me help you cook! I-I can cut veggies.”

“Like the other day, and your hand slid, and you cut your finger?”

“It’s been a few days, I feel better!”

“Evan, please. Just let your body recover.” Tommy sighs. He bends down and touches his foreheads with Buck. “Please? It would make me feel better knowing you’re both close to each other. And look, Eddie is already waiting for you.” Tommy gestures behind him. “You don’t want to keep him waiting, do you?” he says lowly.

Buck glances behind him to see Eddie holding the blanket up, waiting for Buck to crawl beside him. He snorts when Eddie starts flapping the blanket, beckoning Buck in. The man smiles, scooting himself back to the empty spot next to Eddie, and gets under the covers with Eddie.

Eddie didn’t mind at all. He curls up closer to Buck and absorbs his warmth. He’s still tired, so sleep drags him away quickly as soon as Buck throws his warm arm over Eddie’s side and tangles his legs with Eddie’s.

Eddie wakes up alone.

He huffs, starts coughing, and winces. He needs to pee and is unsure where Buck and Tommy are. Not that he needs help. He can go to the bathroom on his own.

Eddie drags himself out of bed and is happy to find himself standing upright. He carefully leans on the side of the bed, using the footboard post for support. There are things for him to hold onto when he feels weak, and he manages to make it halfway down the hall when he sees the light coming through the crack in the bathroom.

“ --and its stupid--”

“It’s not stupid--”

“I’m supposed to help and make sure Eddie feels better cause he’s never sick, and I can’t even take him a bath without somehow getting myself hurt--”

“Eddie’s strong. He knows Muay Thai, and even managed to hurt me a few times--”

“And who the fuck is allergic to dragonfruit?? I should have known it wasn’t normal for a fruit to be spicy!” Buck sobs. “ I feel so stupid. And now you’re stuck dealing with me when you should focus on Eddie.”

“You are not a burden, Evan. Ever. I could have accepted Bobby’s offer and pawn you off at his place and let him happily dote over you, but damn it, you’re mine. Eddie is mine, so let me take care of you. I love both of you so much.”

As much as this was a very touching moment for Buck and Tommy, and he didn’t want to intrude on this conversation--he really, really needed to pee.

Eddie takes a few more steps, but his legs grow weak, and he collapses into a heap. He coughs several times before the door to the bathroom is yanked open and hears both Tommy and Buck curse.

“Eddie?? Are you okay?” Tommy asks frantically. “What are you doing out of bed?” Tommy goes to pick Eddie off the ground when the man groans.

“Need to…pee,” Eddie whines. “Hurry.”

Tommy pauses for a split second before scrambling.

“Evan, pants.”

It takes Eddie a while to start feeling better. Buck finally recovers earlier than Eddie, of course. Eddie is coming around, but now the mother henning is excessive, with Buck back to 100%. He’s not going to pout when he tosses and turns in bed, slaps a hand around to find Buck, and discovers he’s no longer in bed next to him.

Buck’s energy was ecstatic. He nearly bounced off the walls, but he immediately pouted when he found out about the scheduled allergy testing, which was soon to happen. 

“What are they gonna tell me next? Kiwi isn’t supposed to be like prickly spicy either?”

Tommy blinks, staring at the man incredulously.

Buck looks absolutely broken. “ Seriously ?” he whines out. 

Tommy doesn’t say anything, turns around, and yanks open the fridge and digs around for all the kiwi they have in the fridge.

“Babe, no, please. I had plans for those!”

“Not anymore.”

“Might as well throw the grapefruit out if it’s not supposed to burn like pineapples!”

Tommy pauses again, then sighs. He then starts reaching for the grapefruit to throw in the bag.

Buck gapes and does a little stomp.

“No !”

Eddie wants to laugh. He could imagine it now: Buck standing there, a six-foot-two giant man, pouting as he watched Tommy get rid of the fruits Buck was most likely probably allergic to. Allergies were weird. He's seen Buck eat Kiwi plenty of times, so to learn he's been enjoying it cause he was most likely allergic scares him.

He smiles, feeling like he’s finally gotten some energy back. He picks at the blanket covering him. He huffs, throwing the blanket off and slowly sitting up. He blinks, rubbing the sleep from his eye. The nebulizer treatments have helped a lot. His chest still hurts a little, but the long strings of coughs have reduced significantly.

He still feels cold, a little chilly. Eddie takes a breath and stands up, cheerful that he’s not wobbly anymore. He shivers, wiggling his frozen toes. He feels like he’s been sleeping too long, and he winces when he stretches his legs and body and feels his bones pop. He stumbles slightly, freezing to let his body and head get used to standing upright. After a moment, he carefully moves out of the room and pads into the hallway towards the living area. 

He spots Buck standing at the kitchen entry, slumping his shoulders. Eddie is sure he’s hallucinating when he nearly sees a small, depressing dark cloud hang over Buck and spots Tommy with a plastic bag of kiwis and kiwi-flavored items they have. He is now progressing to the grapefruit items. Buck still loves to make cocktails and has accumulated many odd-flavored items, so Tommy scans everything in the kitchen. Fake-flavored or not, it's out of here.

“Chims gonna have a grand time,” Eddie croaks out as he slides his feet behind Buck and reaches out to grab a hold of his shirt. Eddie sighs, leaning on his back, and nuzzles into the warm. Buck jumps slightly, not expecting Eddie behind him. 

“Eds?”

“Eddie?”

“Mmm,” Eddie responds, leaning more into Buck. He opens his eyes when Buck shifts, and he’s suddenly enveloped in a hug. His energy he had before is being zapped away, as Buck rocks him back and forth.

He opens his eyes, resting his chin on Buck’s chest and looking up to see Buck staring at him worryingly. 

“Are you okay?” 

Eddie stares, trying to figure out what to say, but he blurts out the truth. “I woke up, and you weren’t there, " he whines. " I woke up alone,” he croaks out and sighs as Buck holds him tighter.

He feels someone gently grab his chin and face him to the side, where he sees Tommy now. The man strokes his face.

“You had me worried. You’ve been sleeping a lot and fell over every time you tried getting up.”

“If Buck weren’t holding me right now, I would have.” Eddie wants to slap himself. Why did he say that? He instantly feels Buck holding on even tighter.

“What?” Tommy says, and boy, does Eddie not like that tone.

“Uhh,” is all Eddie manages to get out until he suddenly finds himself in Tommy’s arms. The man is quick, sliding an arm under his knees and underarms. Eddie nearly squeaks out, throwing his arms around Tommy’s neck. He tries to flail, but Tommy seems to have sensed his movements and tightened his hold around his knees, making Eddie pout. “I don’t wanna lay on the bed anymore.”

“Sweetheart, you’re still weak.”

“I got all the way out to the kitchen fine,” Eddie says somberly. “Please? I don’t want to be--” Eddie stops and closes his mouth.

“Don’t want to be what?” Tommy says softly. “Come on, don’t shut us out.”

Eddie doesn’t want to bother them at all. They seem busy, and he doesn’t want to have them worry about him too. 

“It’s fine,” Eddie says.

“Baby, please?” Tommy presses. 

“Eddie?” Buck says, carding his fingers through his hair. 

“I…just don’t want to be alone…” Eddie says quietly. He looks away, staring into Tommy’s chest, when he feels a kiss on his forehead.

“How about the couch then? We can get you propped up and put something on for you. I’m still cleaning the kitchen out of Kiwi things before letting this one here step foot in there.”

“Babe, I’m fine. It’s just, like, prickly spicy.”

“That's how you described the dragonfruit before.”

Buck pouts again. 

“Let me help?”

“You can help by choosing something on the TV for Eddie and grabbing some blankets for him. Make him comfortable.”

Buck glances down and smiles. “Of course.” 

Tommy transfers Eddie over to Buck’s arms, and Eddie flushes.

He should feel embarrassed at how they treat him, but he revels in it now. He soaks in the warmth and the embrace of his two boyfriends. 

It’s nice to feel the love from both of them. Eddie felt like he always had to be the caretaker. He couldn’t risk getting sick, and he had to be the one to take care of others: his girlfriends, wife, Abuela, and sisters. As his father would always say, he’s the ‘man’ of the family.

Eddie feels his ears turn red when his stomach growls. Buck’s eyes twinkle, but he immediately pouts when he sees Tommy’s face.

The man sighs and smiles. “I’m almost done. Then you can come in while I sit and relax with our sweet boyfriend.”

Buck brightens up immediately, going to set Eddie down, and makes off to find blankets and a pillow. Eddie had dug in the couch for the remote, happy to have found it quickly. He searches for a random documentary. He sighs, not able to think about anything to pull up, so as soon as Buck comes back with blankets and a pillow and settles Eddie in, he hands Buck the remote so he can choose something as he moves closer to Buck, dragging his pillow and propping it against the man’s thigh. He curls up with his blanket wrapped around him.

Eddie wakes up when he feels movement and realizes he fell asleep again. He glances and notices Buck walking away and Tommy next to him.

Eddie grunts, getting up and shoving Tommy’s arms out of the way so he can climb in his lap and snuggle right into the man. He scoots and shoves himself between the couch and Tommy, draping his legs over Tommy’s lap, and sighs contently. He drags his blanket and curls into Tommy’s scent.

He tries to listen to the movie, but Tommy’s fingers find his scalp and brush through gently. He eventually falls asleep again.

The sound of something bubbling, a knife chopping on a cutting board, and the warm aroma in the air wakes Eddie up. Eddie tries to shift, but an arm tightening around him causes him to stop. He blinks, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. He turns his head slightly and finds Tommy has moved them around, and both have fallen asleep on the couch. It’s nice. A firm arm holds him close, and he’s so warm that he doesn’t want to move. 

He hears Buck humming in the kitchen. 

“No, I still don’t recognize the melody.”

Oh, he’s on a call with someone. Eddie is still actively dragging himself out of sleep, so he has difficulty focusing on whose voice that is. 

“You sure? It’s been stuck in my head. I know I heard it somewhere before, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

A chuckle. “You watch a lot of documentaries. You sure it’s not from one of those?”

“Maybe,” he sighs.

“Buck, how have you been doing? Like really doing?”

A pause.

“Sucky. Stupid. I should have known I was allergic. I just feel bad 'cause Tommy ended up having to take care of both of us.”

“Buck, it’s not like you could have known you were allergic or that that was not a normal taste for fruit. Who goes around saying, ‘Hey, did this fruit taste like this to you?’ do you? Because people assume everyone else already knew that. And allergies can form at any given time. One day, you can be alright with something; the next, your body turns against you and decides it doesn’t like that. And trust me. I worked as a nurse, remember? I saw all kinds of things. You’re a first responder; you’ve seen your fair share of things.”

Nurse? Maddie, for sure.

“...yeah,” the chopping stops. “It didn’t help that they were in the city, and instead of them visiting, they just berated me over the phone for being so stupid.”

Eddie hears a sharp breath. He opens his eyes and notices Tommy is awake, fully alert in their conversation and stewing in silent anger. Eddie makes a shushing motion.

“They what?!”

“...You didn’t know?”

“They told me they tried calling, but you were asleep, so they didn’t want to bother you. ” she spat. 

Buck huffs. “Of course they did,” he said quietly. 

“What else did they say? I get the feeling you’re not telling me everything.”

Buck sighs. “I don’t want you to be mad at them. Jee deserves grandparents--”

“-- And Bobby and Athena are more than welcome to be their grandparents.”

“Maddie,” he chuckles.

“I swear, If there were a way to adopt an adult as your child legally, Bobby would already have the papers signed and hidden away in his desk. Everyone knows how special you are to him.”

Buck sniffs, causing Tommy to furrow his brow in concern.

“They told me I was begging for attention again because Eddie was sick, and everyone was focused on him. So I purposely gave myself food I knew I was allergic to.”

Maddie was silent.

“That’s so stupid. I-I don’t get it--” Maddie growls out in frustration. “ I hate them so much.”

Buck scoffs. “Yeah, right with you there.”

“They told me it was my fault that Doug stabbed Howie, and I had it coming. That they tried telling me.”

A knife clangs on the countertop.

“They fucking what,” Buck nearly snarls out.

“I didn’t even tell Howie.”

“You should. He deserves to know. He also deserves to know who exactly his In-Laws are.” Buck breathes. “You know it’s not your fault. Any of it.”

“I know. Seeing the scars on Howie gets to me sometimes, you know?”

“If you told him that, he’d probably get a tattoo to get it covered.”

Maddie laughs. 

“He would.” she sighs. “ I…I don’t want Jee to be exposed to what we went through. Or the possibility of it. I don’t want them in my life If that’s how they’re going to fucking talk to you.”

“You think she’ll throw a fit?”

“She’s a toddler. She’ll get over it. Bobby and Athena are way better anyway,” She sniffs.

“Without a doubt.”

A pause.

“ I promise to tell Howie if you promise to tell Eddie and Tommy.”

“Maddie.”

“Buck.”

Buck sighs. “I will.”

“Good. You’re worth more than our ‘parents.’ I’d rather have you in Jee’s life than them.” I gotta go, Howie just got home, and Jee needs a bath. Love you!”

“Love you too, bye Maddie. And thank you.”

“Thank you.”

The phone call ends, and a moment later, Buck starts to sniffle. Both men know Buck is crying but are trying to contain his tears so as not to wake Eddie and Tommy up.

“So stupid,” Buck whispered to himself. “How was I supposed to know? They were supposed to take me to get fucking tested as a kid, and they never did,” he angrily whispered to himself.

Eddie glances at Tommy, nudges him, and motions over to Buck. Tommy nods with determination, and the two men quietly get up from the couch. Tommy stabilizes Eddie when they both stand up. 

Eddie nods, and the two quietly make their way to the kitchen. Buck has his back turned toward them as he leans on the counter. He is cooking something, the pot bubbling on the stove, and vegetables are chopped and set to the side. 

Eddie approaches first, wrapping his arms around Buck and causing the man to startle.

“Shit--Eddie?” Buck says incredulously. He wipes his tears with his arms, hoping to pass them off as tears from cutting onions. He gasps when he feels Tommy grab his arm and turn him. 

Tommy’s face softens at Buck’s red, teary eyes. He wipes a stray tear away, kissing him on the forehead.

“Mm-hmm,” Eddie says.

“Uh, h-how much of that did you guys hear?”

“If I ever see your parents again, I’m calling Athena and Bobby so they can both fight them. I’ll record it and send it to Abuela. She loves a good fight.” The comment gets Buck to chuckle before sniffling. 

Tommy sets his arms on the counter, on either side of Buck, successfully encasing both men. He gives Buck a deep kiss, and Eddie can feel Buck shudder. Eddie can’t help but kiss Buck’s neck. 

Tommy finally let Buck breathe. Buck’s face is red and flushed, his lip red and plump and wet.

“Evan, I love you so much. Don’t ever listen to a thing that your ‘parents’ say. Ever .” Tommy says firmly.

“Mmm, Buck, if you don’t wrap your arms around me right now, I’m gonna embarrass myself cause my legs are going to fold--”

Buck’s reaction is quick. The man slips his arms under Eddie’s and wraps him in a tight hug.

“Buck, your parents are assholes. You are not stupid at all. Allergies are difficult, especially when you get older. As Maddie says, your body suddenly decides it's not going to react well to things like it usually did anymore,” Eddie says. “I’m probably allergic to cherries if it’s not supposed to be spicy. Or burn,” he adds. 

Tommy chokes. “Eddie, I watched you eat a container of cherries--”

“I’m fine--”

“Swear to god, both of you. I’m telling Hen and Chim.”

“I can take my own shower,” Eddie says as he watches Tommy prepare a bath for him. He’s standing by the door, wrapped in a soft towel, nearly undressed, and fully pouting.

“You mean bath, fainting princess.” Tommy sasses to Eddie. He balks. 

“I-I don’t faint!”

“Yeah, I’m not convinced. You’re already leaning on the wall for support right now.” Tommy points out, causing the man to frown. “Hey, you’ll get there. So don’t push yourself.”

Eddie sighs. “I feel kinda useless. It’s been a couple of weeks, and I still feel weak. Can’t even take a shower or bathe myself.”

“Eddie, babe, you do know pneumonia is still considerably dangerous, right? Like people still die from it. So, I think you’re healing pretty well.” Tommy informs him.

“And it's not like we’re gonna leave you alone anytime soon, Eds. Sides, hot, steamy baths are supposed to make you feel better, too,” Buck chimes in, Epsom salt in his hand. He hands it off to Tommy, who adds it to the bath.

“Hot steamy baths are going to make me fall asleep,”

“Not with Evan ready to tell you a play-by-play of this new crime documentary he just watched. It was super gross but also interesting. I still think Jamal was in the right--”

“Tommy! No, shush, you’ll spoil it for him!”

Tommy rolls his eyes, staring at him endearingly. “Right, my bad,” he says, winking at Eddie. “I’m gonna go watch the pot--”

“Yes, please don’t let it get ruined,” Buck pleads.

“Sir, yes, sir.” Tommy salutes.

“What are you making?” Eddie asks.

“It’s a surprise. Now, let's get you all nice and cleaned up. I bet you’ll feel a lot better afterward.”

Eddie is moaning over the bowl of fucking caldo de pollo Buck made. The man got the recipe from Abuela, bless her soul. He could cry right now.

“Eddie, I’m gonna need you to stop moaning, please,” Tommy asks, shifting in his seat.

“Sorry, but it’s so fucking good. I really missed this.” Eddie closes his eyes and savors the next spoon. “So, so good. Is this Abuela’s recipe?”

Buck preens at the compliment. “Yeah! She gave me the recipe a while back when Chris was sick, but I had to cover Holloway’s shift and ended up pulling a forty-eight. I’m glad I remembered to write it down. It took me forever trying to find it. I was glad Tommy didn’t mind going to the market Abuela frequents to get the specific ingredients she uses.”

“Really? It’s a bit far from here, isn’t it?”

“Not really. I like driving around anyway. That and I found the bakery section and snagged some bread home.”

“Oooh, concha would be nice,” Eddie whispers, still focused on his bowl of soup.

Tommy observes Eddie. “I’m glad you finally have energy today.”

“Mmm, the caldo is giving me strength right now. Probably going to slip into a food coma,” Eddie says. He hums in delight, not realizing both men endearingly look over at him. 

Eddie swings his feet until his foot bumps into something. He glances down, then playfully glares at Tommy.

“Really?”

“Sorry, can’t be too cautious. This is the first full bowl of food you’ve had without any implications to throwing it back up.” Tommy scoots the trashcan out of the way.

“I will never throw this precious Caldo de pollo up.”

“Do any of you know where my phone is?” Eddie asks. It was late afternoon, and Tommy and Buck were trying to decide who should do the grocery run. Tommy wants to do it—of course, he does—but Buck has finally gotten his driving privileges back and has also wanted to do it. He feels guilty for having Tommy do it so many times.

“Ah, shoot. It’s probably still at your place. Didn’t have time to grab it,” Tommy says. 

Eddie thinks for a moment. He kind of wants to take advantage of the two outside of the house to check up on Christopher, but he knows that he’ll just get more information on his son, which will make him depressed.

Finding new photos of his son growing up without him, again, hurts.

And it’s not like anybody is waiting or looking for him. He’s got Tommy and Buck right here, and if anyone from the station wants to be in touch, they can through Buck or Tommy. He shrugs. Buck would have heard something if they had tried to reach him. “It’s fine. Also, can you both not go? I’m well enough to be left alone, guys,” Eddie says.

The two men both stare at Eddie. Buck raises his eyebrows at Tommy, who raises his in return. Tommy glances at Eddie, who finally has some color on his face. He nods to Buck.

“Guys, I’m right here.”

“You know what, We’ve got a better idea,” Buck says with delight.

Which involves Eddie finally leaving the house. Except he has to wear a mask, which is no big deal. He’s glad most of his symptoms are gone, though he still feels weak. His coughing has improved, but still hasn’t gone away. The chest pains have gotten a bit better.

He’s wearing sweatpants and Buck’s hoodie, and the ride to the store could honestly knock him right out. But he’s stubborn, and he wants to get some fresh air again. 

Buck pulls up to the parking lot, takes a list out, and tears it in half, handing one side to Tommy. Eddie watches Tommy’s face scrunch up, raising an eyebrow and humming. He quickly takes the list from Buck’s hand and swaps it with his list. The action causes Buck to balk as he glances away for a second. 

“Wha-”

“Your list has the produce on there. I’ll do that.”

“Tommy, seriously--”

Tommy gives him a look, causing Buck to pout. 

“It’s not like I’m going to eat the fruit.”

“Yeah, but you’re going to hold the fruit and stare at it while commenting why it suddenly turned on you,” Tommy says, causing Buck to turn red. 

Eddie chuckles. That’s precisely what Buck intended to do.

“Since I’m taking your part of the list, you can have Eddie as your shopping buddy while I go off alone, okay? Would that be better?”

Eddie frowns. He’s being used as a compromise. He hopes to sneak off to the ice cream section at some point. Still plans to.

“Fine, just cause you said I get Eddie,” Buck says.

As soon as they make it in, he’s glad he has a hoodie with sweatpants on, and he shivers when he enters the store. Buck and Tommy each grab the smaller cart and split off. Buck has Eddie’s hand in his and holds onto the cart. 

Drats, no waddling away now.

He knows they’re going to take their time, as Tommy likes to opt for new fruits, and Buck likes to scan for new protein powders and the frozen fruit mix.

 They’re in an aisle when he comes across drink mixes and spots ‘arroz con leche,’ he makes a noise that causes Buck to turn to him. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He’s craving something sweet and warm. He thinks back to the arroz con leche his dad makes, a recipe that Abuela taught him.

It’s a rare, pleasant memory: he and his sisters at the table, all bundled up and enjoying a nice bowl. 

“Are you sure?” Buck says as he cradles Eddie’s head in his palm. Eddie nods and looks away from the packet.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Uh, what’s next?” He asks, not noticing Buck glancing at what he’s staring at.

“Right.” 

They meet somewhere in the middle to make sure they grab what they need. They are arguing over the two protein powders Buck chose. Tommy likes the flavored ones, and Buck likes the plain ones, mixing them in other drinks. 

Now.

Now is the perfect chance.

Eddie slips away for a second, scurrying towards the ice cream section that Buck passed. He’s scanning the selection til he spots his favorite.

Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. He perks up, sees they have a few left, and goes to grab one until he freezes.

Wait.

No, he’s probably allergic.

He can picture Tommy’s disapproving stare as the man sticks his hands out to take the item back if Eddie goes back to them with this.

Fuck!

He sighs with a broken heart, scanning more options until he spots some fruit popsicles. He sees mangos outshine bars. Those sound good, and they're fruit! It's a plus for Buck. Buck always opted for fruity desserts, or sherbert or sorbet. 

His eyes sparkle when he sees the Outshine Mango fruit bars, except with Tajin. They have those?

He won’t have to dip it into a bowl anymore or sprinkle it between bites. It’s already mixed in there. Eddie’s decision has been made. He yanks the door open, grabbing a box, except he accidentally knocks over a few boxes to the ground. 

Aw fuck. How embarrassing.

He curls down and picks the boxes up. The chill of the freezer makes him shiver. He jumps upon hearing Buck’s voice, and suddenly, Eddie’s being knocked over, hitting his head slightly against the freezer door next to the one he’s in front of. All the air is pushed from his lungs, and he tries to push himself up, but there’s a heavy weight pinning him. He smells the heavy stench of alcohol.

He rasps, feeling pain in his ribs, and lets out another noise of pain until the heavyweight disappears, and a few moments later, Buck’s concerned face pops in front of him. He hears Tommy’s voice, but it’s not the gentle, sassy voice he’s used to hearing. 

It’s loud, and threatening, and angry. 

“Eddie? Eddie, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Caught me off guard,” he gasps out. He winces. “What was that?” Buck is about to answer when he hears Tommy again. He turns to the scene before him. Tommy was standing defensively before Eddie, shoving at a big man around Tommy’s height. There was a slightly older woman with frizzy, curly brown hair who works at the store and another worker on the radio reporting to the manager, most likely.

Or, hopefully, police.

“-- doesn’t give you the fucking right!” Tommy snarls.

“Carl, you’re not allowed to be in here anymore!” the curly-headed woman shouts in panic. “Please just leave!”

“LLLike fuck a-am I not allowed Beatrice!” the man slurs.

“You’re fucking wasted, and it’s barely fucking three in the afternoon!” Tommy shoves him back when the man tries to go forward towards Eddie again. “Back the fuck off!”

“F F uck you!” Carl hiccups.

“Carl, you need to leave now!” Beatrice barks. 

“Eddie, you’re bleeding,” Buck hisses out and yikes. Eddie doesn’t feel that. He’s still trying to catch his breath.

He gasps and flinches at the pain. He blinks, and in one moment, the lady is there. The next, Carl backhands her and sends her to the ground. A few customers milling around gasp as the man takes the moment Tommy turns at the mention of Eddie bleeding to sucker punch Tommy.

It would have worked on anyone else, but here's a thing about Tommy. He and Eddie still keep up with their Muy Thai, sparring, and training.

They also take delight in showing Buck a few moves because he has some great long legs to do damage, but that usually ends with three sweating men making out and mainly spoiling Buck. Couldn’t help it.

So yeah, Tommy blocks the oncoming hit with his arm, using the other arm to deliver a quick punch to his stomach and his cheek and kicking his right foot to Carl’s thigh. It sends the man down quickly. The punch to his stomach causes the man to turn his head and puke all over the floor. 

“Beatrice, are you okay?” the worker standing in the back pales at Beatrice on the floor, cradling her cheek and crying. “Don’t worry, the police are already on their way. They should be here soon-- shit. ” the worker curses. “No, no, don’t touch your jaw. Just, uh, sit there and wait for help, okay?”

Eddie hears someone saying they called for an ambulance as well. There have been multiple calls, so dispatch will surely send someone soon.

He wants to comment and say something but can’t catch his breath.

He hopes the air being squished out of him earlier didn’t damage his lungs. He made progress on his health, damn it!

“Eds?” Buck says softly.

“Babe?” Tommy says with concern.

Eddie shakes his head. He breathes, but his lungs rattle and hurt. He coughs and squeezes Buck’s bicep as he tries to calm down.

“--urts--” Eddie wheezes out.

“Shit, Eddie, where did you go so suddenly?”

“W-wanted--” Eddie flaps his hand to the squished Tajin Mango Outshine bars box. 

He feels a kiss on his head. 

“Let us know next time, okay? I promise to get it for you.” Buck says softly. 

When the paramedics arrive, Buck and Eddie groan a little.

It’s the 118, and lo and behold, Bobby, Chim, Hen, and Ravi arrive and make a beeline towards them. Bobby’s face pinch with worry, Ravi is confused, and Hen and Chim also seem angry and concerned.

Police? Yeah, it’s Athena.

Reunion anyone?

Eddie chuckles at his thoughts but manages to send himself into another coughing fit—whoops, not a good idea. 

“What’s going on here?” Athena asks as she arrives on the scene. She’s surprised at everyone present, both involved and the firefighters dispatched to the scene. The other worker finally speaks up and tells her everything. 

Carl had been previously banned and trespassed from the store, as it’s close to his house, and he frequently came in drunk too many times. So when associates spotted Carl stumbling in, they immediately called the police. 

The other worker, now known as Emil, follows Carl throughout the store and keeps his manager updated on what's going on. Things take a nasty turn when Carl stumbles into the frozen section. 

It’s beyond stupid. 

Carl got angry when the specific last box of grape sugar-free Outshine fruit bars was one of the boxes Eddie had accidentally knocked over.

Blinded with rage, he barrels into Eddie when he crouches to pick the boxes back up. Buck had walked in at that moment, seeing Carl's tense posture and angry expression standing behind Eddie, who hadn’t known what was happening. Buck shouts for Eddie and sees him getting attacked. Tommy follows after Buck, lets him focus on Eddie while Tommy is on the defensive and all but grabs the man by the hair and yanks him off Buck, who had tackled Carl off Eddie, and plants his leg down while using his other leg to kick the man right near his heart. He shoves the man back hard, and that’s when the argument ensues. 

Beatrice attempts to get the man out multiple times, informing him he’s no longer allowed to be there, but the man refuses. More arguments ensue, and Beatrice gets backhanded. Tommy finally gets the man down when he tries to go for Eddie again.

Tommy isn’t going to get charged for battery, as it was pure self-defense.

Athena’s face is pensive as she and another officer take witness statements to everything. One young girl approaches her when she says she recorded some parts if they needed that. Hen and Ravi check on Beatrice, while Chim and Bobby tend to Eddie.

“Eddie? How’re we doing?” Chim asks, trying to keep the mood upbeat. 

Eddie grunts, motioning at his chest.

“Is it your lungs?” Bobby asks. Eddie nods. 

“We can give him some oxygen, but we’ll need to get an x-ray of his lungs to see how they’re doing,” Chim says.

“Hen, how are we doing?” Bobby asks as he steps away to let Chim work on Eddie and check his head. 

“Dislocated jaw and a concussion. She needs to go,” Hen says. Bobby nods, grabs his radio, and calls for a second dispatch for Eddie, who nods. Worry over the lady first.

When the second unit comes and carts Eddie off, Tommy tells Buck to go, as he’s on the emergency contact list. Tommy will come soon after when he deals with all the groceries. 

Eddie sighs when they remove his mask and place an oxygen mask over him.

Great.

Just when things were getting better.

Chapter Text

Eddie’s in the hospital again, with an oxygen mask on, and the nurses were nice enough to give him a low dose of painkillers to help alleviate the pain in the meantime. He’s thankful for it and is sure Buck had charmed the nurse into it.

“It’s a good thing most of your symptoms have gone. I’m quite surprised that your partner here didn’t also get it unless you quarantine him into a separate room in the meantime?” the old nurse asks, smiling at Buck and Eddie.

“Oh, yes. The doctors also gave us some antibiotics to help us fight anything off, and he’s been really out of it most of the time. We slept in the spare bedroom as soon as he passed out.”

What.

Eddie makes a noise and looks at Buck. 

“Sorry, Eds. We had to make sure none of us got it until you finished your antibiotics, too. It wasn’t too long til you were in the clear.”

“Smart on that. Little sacrifices have to be made to be healthy. Wouldn’t want all three of you down, would we?” She pats Buck on the shoulder.

No, no, that would be bad.

“I’ll leave the two of you alone now. You should be good in a few hours, and we’ll contact your doctor with your X-rays.”

“Thank you so much, Ma’am.”

“Of course, hun.” 

Buck watches the nurse leave and sighs. He looks over to Eddie, who’s blinking slowly.

“I…hate this…” Eddie croaks out. “It’s…stupid. I feel like…I’m stressing you out…” he says. His eyes threaten to tear up, and he tries to blink them away. “...didn’t even notice him…”

“ Eddie, ” Buck says. “You didn’t let me think like that when I got shot by lightning. I was so weak and couldn’t do much for myself after all the painkillers wore off. You were there for me and made sure I never felt sorry for myself and made sure to drive it through my thick skull that I wasn’t a burden.”

“Buck…”

“So please, believe me when I say that you are in no way ‘stressing’ me out. You are not a burden. People react differently to pneumonia; you just so happen to get the worst end of the stick. So let us love you,” Buck says softly, smiling at Eddie.

Buck crawls into his bed carefully when he sees Eddie starting to cry. He holds him as exhaustion seeps into Eddie’s bones, and he falls asleep.

When Tommy finally reaches the hospital, he finds Eddie sleeping while Buck holds him in his arms. 

Eddie gets his scans back, and he’s glad nothing seems to be too damaged. He was more worried about his lungs, while Tommy and Buck were worried about his ribs. It seems that the guy managed to crack a few when he squashed Eddie like a bug, but nothing internally broke or hurt his lungs.

“We’ll need to ensure nothing irritates him enough to get into a coughing fit. So I would avoid any smoke inhalation, heavy perfumes or cologne scents, anything too spicy that can irritate it enough to send him coughing,” the discharge nurse says. She hums as she goes through some more paperwork. “I do suggest warm drinks. They’ll help loosen the phlegm, and the steam will also soothe his chest. Ensure he takes his pain medications; they’ll help him breathe normally. I also suggest having a humidifier while he sleeps, and cold compresses or ice will help bring the swelling down for his ribs,” she says. “It looks like he’s already on some pain medication, so I’ll just add to that. If he’s still experiencing pain, let us know, and we can increase his dosage slightly. It'll be tricky since his ribs are cracked and he has pneumonia, but we have a couple of breathing exercises for him to do.”

Eddie’s mind turns to mush at the information the nurse rattles out quickly, but Buck and Tommy listen attentively. Buck usually handles the medication and food side of healing, while Tommy handles the physical therapy side of things. He’s glad because he’s likely not sober enough to listen. He’s at a point where Buck and Tommy are being quite bossy. Not that he hates it.

Eddie remembers the countless times Buck has shoved a spoonful of food in his face, batted his lashes, and asked him to try it. Eddie can’t help but open his mouth and accept Buck's feeding him. Eddie can’t help but brighten as Buck preens at the compliment and then sits and listens to Buck go on and on about his latest research or idea on trying to badger the secret ingredient to Bobby’s latest dish that Buck has been obsessing over. All while he’s plating Eddie’s food, grabbing water and his medications.

Or Tommy picking him up to move him from the bedroom to the living room. He protests at first because he still wants to go to the bathroom to clean and freshen up, but now Tommy walks him to the bathroom every morning. Some mornings, Eddie is sure his feet don’t even touch the ground at all. They just hover as Tommy shuffles to the bathroom with him. Eddie remembers feeling Tommy’s scruff scratching his chin, neck, and jaw. The man nuzzles as Eddie tries to brush his teeth and tries not to get a hard-on, with the man being this affectionate in the morning.

It makes Eddie whine, his toes curl as Tommy licks and bites around his ear.

“I love you,” Tommy then whispers into his ear. The man remembers to say it every morning. As if the man knew what was going on in Eddie’s mind. Then Tommy leads him into the kitchen, where Buck have already plated a beautiful omelet for the three of them.

He remembers Buck mentioning one morning that Tommy is very affectionate when he wakes up. He then listens as Buck admits he had been thinking about giving the both of them permission to do whatever he wanted. It would be a great thing to wake up to.

And boy, does that give Eddie a nice visual. He wouldn’t mind watching that happen.

He glances at the IV bag he’d been attached to. Oh, well, that explains that. He huffs, trying to flick the mask off him before someone swats his hand.

“Rude,” Eddie says, eyeing Buck. 

“Leave it on. They’re going to give you a round with the nebulizer, and then we’ll get to leave.”

“Ugh,” Eddie kicks from underneath the blanket. He glances at Tommy. “Can I have my Tajin bars when we get home?”

“Uh, let's wait on those. Til you’re better.” Tommy pats his feet and rubs them. 

“Yeah, only because you’ll just dip it in a bowl of chili powder anyway. I can picture you and Chris doing that.”

The thought makes him genuinely laugh because he can absolutely see that happening. 

Buck knows Eddie through and through.

He hadn’t missed the look on his face when he was staring at the packet flavors. Arroz con leche is a popular dessert, and Buck manages to text Tommy during their grocery store visit and pick up ingredients for the dish. 

Or the look of when Tommy mentions bread. He could tell Eddie was thinking of dipping his bread in coffee, something he discovers one morning during their shift. ‘Cafe con pan’ from what he learns during his research. He wonders if making Concha at home would be any difficult. He’s been looking up many videos of people making bread and baking, and Buck’s interested. He’s kneaded dough before; it gets messy, so wearing a thin workout shirt or not even a shirt at all and listening to podcasts distracts him from hearing Tommy and Eddie walking in the kitchen and scare the daylights out of Buck when he turns around.

It’s amusing but also made him wonder why they were quietly sitting at the bar and watching him knead the dough.

“Oh, don’t mind us,” Tommy says, sipping some coffee. Eddie kicks his feet and blinks innocently. His ears are red, from the looks of it.

Besides the point. He threw his loft upside down and found the sticky note with the list of ingredients Abuela had told him. He could have called her, but that would raise some concerns. She’s smart. Caldo de Pollo, usually in the Diaz family, is made when it’s either 100 degrees outside or if someone is sick (words from one of Eddie’s sisters).

Buck manages not to inform Abuela or Tia Pepa at all. They’re visiting their granddaughters out of town, and Buck hopes Eddie will recover by then. Or fake a call that he’s perfectly fine. 

Buck knows Eddie. Eddie does not want them to see because it will cause her to worry, cook food, and stress out.

So one morning, Tommy gives Eddie his medication with the nebulizer, and Buck is in the kitchen when the doorbell goes off. Confused, he steps back and glances at Tommy, who shrugs.

“Neighbor?” Buck asks. He wipes his hands on a dry rag but doesn’t even bother to remove his apron. He steps over the cord to the nebulizer, quickly squeezing Tommy’s shoulder. Eddie is still dealing with the pain after the grocery store incident and having to be on the nebulizer again after the air that had been squished out of his lungs reaggravated his lungs.

He hums as he approaches the door, yanking it open, and his face immediately drops at the sight before him.

Because what stands before him is a sight. He’s confused, cheerful, and partially smug.

Abuela stands before him in all her glory, tugging Ramón’s ear. Tia Pepa is glaring at Helena, and one, very exasperated--

“Buck!” the teenager says in delight as soon as he sees him. 

“Chris?!” Buck says, immediately wrapping the boy up in his arms. “Oh my god, you’re here!” Buck pauses. “Wait, how did you know where to find me here?” Buck asks as he sets him down carefully.

“You’re still on our Life 360. Remember when you kept sleepwalking, and Dad freaked out, so he added you to our circle so he could find you? By the way, where’s dad? I went by our house, and his truck wasn’t there.” Chris scrunches his nose. “And smelly, why was there a bucket of puke in his room?” He glances behind Buck or tries to. "I wanna talk to him."

Abuela pats Chris on the back.

“Evanito, I’ve been trying to call Eddito, and he wouldn’t pick up. His house is a mess, his room is a mess, and his cell phone is on his bed, but I don’t see him!” Abuela frantically says. This surprises Buck because she has not let go of Ramón’s ear.

“Amá!”

“Shush!” Abuela says. “Evanito, do you know where he is?”

“Uh--” While Buck wants to hide and protect Eddie, the worry on Chris’s face, Abuela, and Pepa causes him to sigh. “A-about that. Uh--”

Chris’s face drops. “Did he get hurt while working again?”

“In a way, yes. He, well, got pretty sick for a while. He’s still recovering.” Buck explains. 

“Que? He’s in the hospital?” Abuela asks in horror.

“He’s actually--” Buck says before feeling the door behind him open. 

Tommy glances at Ramón and Helena and thankfully doesn’t start anything, though the look is enough. He smiles at Abuela, Pepa, and Chris.

“Hi, It’s very nice to meet you Ms. Diaz. And you must be Pepa. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you two.” Tommy shakes their hand and smiles, causing the two ladies to smile back. Tommy nods as Chris. “Sup, Chris.”

“Sup, where’s my dad?” Chris asks again.

“He’s in here. You guys can all come in,” Tommy says. He ushers Buck in first and lets everybody trail in before pausing when Helena walks in. “Sorry, Ms. Helena? I’m gonna have to ask you to stand a bit away from Eddie.”

Helena sighs. “Is he still upset with me? I’m his mother--”

“--no, it’s not that. Look, I’m just going to cut to the chase here. Eddie contracted pneumonia, and he’s still recovering. He had an incident a few days ago that re-aggravated his lungs. You have some strong perfume on, and that’s going to aggravate it--”

“--you know what I’m just going to--” Buck bypasses her, turns on the air purifier, and sets the setting on the highest. Buck glances around and spots Eddie lying down on the couch. He looks to be resting, and Buck hates that he has to wake him up.

Buck sighs as he walks over to him, and gently scratches Eddie’s scalp. “Hey, Eds. You gotta wake up,” he whispers. He scratches a bit more til Eddie stirs.

Eddie scrunches his face and moves to take the mask off his face until Buck stops him. 

“Hey, no. Leave that on. You got another five minutes. We have some guests. Guess who? Buck smiles. He helps Eddie sit up, propping him up with pillows until he glances behind the sofa and freezes. 

“Abuela?” Eddie rasps.

“Oh! Eddito!” Abuela gasps. She hurries over to Eddie, who is surprised to see his family here as they round the corner and into the living area. He glances at his parents, who are standing there, confused. “Mírate! (Look at you!) You’re pale and lost weight!” she says as she holds Eddie’s head in her hands. She turns him from side to side, mindful of the nebulizer.

“Ay, are you being fed enough?” Pepa glares at Buck and Tommy.

“Yes, I promise. He had a dangerous fever and couldn’t keep anything down for a while. He’s finally got his appetite back recently, but I’m trying not to give him anything too heavy and work our way from that,” Buck explains. 

“W-what are you two doing here? I thought you were visiting Adriana and Sophia for a while?” Eddie asks, then freezes as he sees who also came trailing behind Pepa. He spots his Dad walking in and looking around the house, and he freezes when he sees Eddie.

Then, Eddie’s eyes widen.

“Mijo?” he says in shock. “Dios mío, Christopher,” Eddie says with a smile on his face. He tries to sit up further but winces and grunts in pain. The pain causes him to cough, and his hands pat around for the pillow.

Buck walks over, reaches for the pillow by his feet, and hands it to Eddie, who takes it and hugs it tightly.

“Dad!” Christopher says. He goes around Ramón and stops as he gets a closer look at his dad. The moment he's closer, though, Chris freezes. “...Dad?” the teenager says slowly. 

And Buck gets it. It’s been over half a year since he’s last physically seen his father. 

The last time Chris saw his dad, he was in tip-top shape, sans his mentality. The man before him had lost weight, and though the color had returned to his face, he was still a bit pale. His eyes had sunken in slightly, bags growing underneath. His maintained hair is unkempt. It’s why Tommy is weary when Eddie stands, or when he manages to eat. He looks like he’s about to be sick again.

Tommy finding Eddie that day jarred him. 

“It’s how I found my mom, once. She OD’d and nearly choked on her vomit. She eventually lost custody of me, and I had to live with my dad. He and I didn’t have the best relationship, and it was rough and toxic. She eventually got back into touch with me, and things have been great.”

“How long did it take for her to try and talk to you again?”

“During my probie years. I was really angry and, because of my dad, repressed a lot of feelings. She and I went to therapy together, and I ended up going to therapy for myself. Did a lot of apologies and groveling. I was surprised people gave me a second chance, given how much of an asshole I had been.”

“You’d be surprised. I was in the same boat. I think Bobby gave me too many chances, to be honest.” Buck said. “So when you found Eddie like that…”

“...It was like I was yanked back to eight-year-old me, finding my mom almost dead. It…It scared me. And when he got so sick, and then you got sick, and I-I-” Tommy choked, tears welling up in his eyes.

Buck held him as Tommy cried. Tommy had been so strong, and he’d never seen the man shed a tear.

So, seeing him like this broke his heart.

“I thought I was about to lose both of you. I’m sorry I’ve been overbearing and too much, but Eddie nearly slipped from us, and I didn’t want him to leave my sight too soon. I got too scared.”

Buck cradles Tommy in his arms. The two are in the guest bedroom, while Eddie is in the main bedroom. He just needed a few more days until his symptoms cleared up, and he was no longer contagious.  

“Did you take care of your mom a lot? It explains the extreme caretaking, not that I’m not thankful.” Buck kissed Tommy’s head. 

“Yeah, her and dad before they split.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you sure Eddito doesn’t need to see the doctor?” Abuela says, snapping Buck from the memory.

“He came back from the hospital again. Doctors cleared him. He just needs to rest and stay on his medication for a little longer. It’s partly why Tommy asked Ms. Helena to stay further away. We’re trying not to aggravate his lungs,” Buck informs.

"¡Mamá, estás en medio, muévete! (Mom, you’re in the way, move!)”

Buck watches Eddie’s face turn from confusion, and then balks. 

“Eddie!” a woman a little older than Eddie says, throwing her hands up with cheer. “Yikes, you don’t look too good, hermanito.”

“Adriana?” Eddie says.

“Damn, who’s fucking this Arroz con leche up?” another female voice chirped from the kitchen. Everyone turns to see a girl standing by the stove, stirring the pot. "Not enough liquid." she tsks.

“Sophia, don’t be rude!” Adriana huffs. 

“Whoever is making this pot was rude,” Sophia says. 

Buck pouts. “That was supposed to be a surprise. It was fine til the door rang, and I completely forgot about that.”

“Oh, here, let me fix that--” Pepa walks to the kitchen.

“Guys, come on, this isn’t my--” Eddie wheezes in a slight panic. "You guys can't just--" he coughs.

“Hey, hey, It's okay. It’s fine, Eddie. Besides, they’re on a warpath, and I’m not about to tell them no,” Tommy assures his boyfriend.

Abuela turns to Tommy. “You must be Tommy,” she says with a sparkle in her eye. She gets up and pats him on the arm. “Good, big, and tall. Those boys get into some trouble on their own. They’ll need someone to wrangle them together. If you don’t mind, do you think Eddito, my stupid son, and his wife and Christopher talk?”

Tommy blinks and glances at Eddie and Buck with slight panic—the two narrow their eyes at him and each other. Buck, in the meantime, turns the nebulizer off.

They were doing that weird no talking communicating thing that turns him on but makes him panic.

Ah, shit.

“Of course. Uh, I’m sure Pepa can…do her thing in the kitchen while we step out into the back yard?”

This is where Tommy later finds himself, Eddie’s two sisters, and his pacing boyfriend. They’re sitting in the backyard; it's autumn, so it's gotten a tiny bit chilly around this time. It's not bad enough to warrant a light jacket, though.

“You really need some patio furniture,” Adriana hums. 

"Or a hammock! Eddie loves those," Sophia adds. 

Well, Tommy is definitely adding that to the list now.

“I had some furniture,” Tommy says, giving Buck a look. 

“They were old and ugly. You’re welcome. It’s not like I forgot. You still have a nice table!” Buck defends.

“And yet no chairs. Those wicker chairs were fine.”

“They were falling apart.”

“I’ll make you fall apart,” Tommy mutters, causing Buck to flush.

“Tommy!” he hisses, but the two Diaz sisters caught it.

Sophia slaps her sister on the arm. “See! I knew it!”

“Shush! Papá and Amá will hear.” Adriana says.

Buck sits there, a little lost. 

“She clocked me as soon as she stepped in the house,” Tommy explains.

“You did, too. I was a little surprised,” Adriana laughs.

“Can someone explain with words?” Buck asks.

“They both knew the other was gay,” Sophia whispers. “Amá and Papá don’t know that Adriana’s ‘husband’ was, in fact, a crossdresser, and it’s the only way actually to have the two there at her wedding.”

“I honestly just wanted to see how far we could get away with if I had my wife crossdress. Turns out over a decade.”

Tommy blinks in awe. “Really?”

“Yup, and moving to California too was also a smart Idea.”

“So…”

“I know you and Mr. Pouty here are a thing, and I have a strong feeling my brother is also involved. It was about time he figured it out. Bold of him to nab himself two hot firefighter boyfriends.”

“Wait, wait--speaking of Eddie--” Buck snaps his head over to Tommy, who looks away quickly. “--D-Did you call Abuela and tell her what happened?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about," Tommy denies.

Buck points at Tommy. “You totally did!”

"Yeah, he totally did snitch on Papá to Abuela. It surprised me when she asked me to drive her to El Paso to get Christopher and gave them a good reaming on what they did. That right there is part two," Adriana waves behind her. "Oddly enough, Chris looked glad that we were there. He told me he's been trying to get them to take them back now, but they keep refusing and even took his phone away at some point," Adriana shook her head. "Sophia drove on the way back, and Abuela even made the two come with us. It will be funny when I drop them off at the airport later," she laughs. 

Buck pauses. "Really? Chris was glad you guys popped in?" Adriana nods. 

“Look, If Eddie had gone down there, he would have A) decided he needed to move back to Texas or B) argued with his parents when they had no right to take custody of Eddie’s son and purposely left him out of his own son’s life and ostracized him. And from what I heard about his dad, If I see or know he’s going to throw hands at Eddie, then I’m returning the favor,” Tommy says matter of factly.

“And what happens if his mom tries anything?”

“Oh, I’m positive Pepa over there was ready to throw hands the moment he said I do.”

Adriana laughs. “You got that right. And guess who went with her? Gave Amá and Papá an earful. Christopher wasn’t saved either.”

Buck winces. "Nobody in this situation is saved from her rage. Except Eddie."

"Nope. He's not saved either," Sophia chirps.

Tommy and Buck glanced at Sophia.

"Honestly, Chris is in his angsty teenage years. He's mad, but parents are gonna do some stupid and dumb shit. Eddie is in no way perfect, but he should've put his foot down after like, two months. Half a year? Eddie was being too kind and patient with his son, letting him stay away for that long, but I couldn't tell Eddie how to parent his kid. Neither of us can." Sophia shrugs. 

“Have they even tried to get Chris into therapy?” Buck asks.

“From what I heard, no.” Adriana shook her head. Buck throws his hands up in frustration.

“I’ve asked him and tried to push him to go through therapy. I’ve tried asking Eddie’s parents and pleaded with them, but they usually hang up every time,” Buck says.

“And Eddie has been trying hard on his part. He’s been working through therapy, going to a veterans support group, and trying to contact his parents several times to talk and work things through, but they don’t. It’s always this excuse and that excuse,” Tommy says. “They’re only making things worse.”

There's a loud bang of a door flying open. “And what do you know?!” Ramón’s voice shouted. His face is contorted in anger. 

“¡Ramón, no he terminado de hablarte! (I am not done talking to you!)”

“No, Amá! I’m done talking,” he shouts to his mother. Ramón turns back and snarls at Tommy. “This does not concern you! You don’t know anything!”

“Great, he heard that last part,” Tommy mutters. 

“Papá, please calm down,” Sophia pleads.

“Sweetie, don’t interfere,” Helena says.

Tommy glances at Buck, raises his eyebrows, and nods toward Buck. You wanna go first?

Buck nods. 

Well, then.

“When I consistently called the first several weeks, I kept asking if you had put Chris into therapy yet. You brushed me off, and I even researched and found the best rating ones that I knew Eddie would be more than happy to pay for, or hell, I would pay for, and yet you still brushed me off,” Buck starts. “So it’s safe to assume that you haven’t even bothered to get Chris into any form of therapy.”

“There is no point in therapy! Why bother with that when he can just come to us and discuss his feelings? I don’t need to pay an outsider to listen in on our problems,” Ramón argues.

“Yeah, that explains why after I sent you the list of therapists that would suit Chris, he suddenly stopped contacting me, and why do I get the feeling that he had no hand in doing that.” Buck stares him down.

“He doesn’t need to talk to some stranger--”

“He’s not a stranger, he’s Buck! He’s our Buck, and he’s been a part of our family. With Dad and I,” Christopher retorts.

“Christopher, hush. The adults are talking,” Helena chastizes.

Buck turns his head and glares Helena down. 

“He can speak for himself. He hasn’t been speaking for himself since he left, and he has much to say about this,” Buck says. “You’ve effectively cut him off from any contact with his family and friends here in California and cut your son off from any updates of his son’s life. You’re lucky that Eddie hadn’t even decided to call the authorities since you’ve yet to give him any indication of giving his son back to him, and trust me, a lawyer in his case is warranted. ” Buck growls out.

“You don’t talk to my wife like that!” Ramón shoves Buck away from Helena. It's funny because Buck barely moves but chooses to step away from the two.

“We know what we’re doing and how to care for a child better--” Helena starts but stops mid-sentence. 

“Excuse me, say that again?” Tommy says. “Better than who? Better than his own father?”

“He was traumatized when we came! He’s done nothing but hurt Christopher over and over again,” Helena shouts. “He re-enlisted again and still left his newly born son and wife.”

Tommy starts to laugh. The people around him turn to stare incredulously, thinking he’s gone crazy.

Oh.

OH.

“Oh, oh, so you don’t know, huh?” Tommy’s smile was anything but pleasant.

Helena stood there, confused. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Ok, let me clear some things up for you. I was also enlisted in the military. Honorably discharged after I had some shrapnel impale me. I still keep in contact with my old team and commanding officer. They uncovered a huge scandal. I get to talk about this, finally. They’ve been avoiding keeping all of this from the media, but it's bound to happen. Anyways, yeah, it was the first time your son enlisted. Yeah, that wasn’t of his own accord,” Tommy says as he stares at Ramón, who looks pale. “You ever wonder why you’re son ‘ran away’ when he was sixteen?”

Helena and everyone else looks confused overall. Eddie, who is standing by his abuela, looks shocked as well.

Though Tommy isn’t dumb, he can see it all over Helen’s face. Her confusion is fake—shitty acting on her part.

She knew.

“The scandal involved several enlisting officers forging paperwork that showed underage kids enlisting into the military. Kids could pass off as seventeen and have a growth spurt early on. A lot of kids who came from abusive households so obvious a blind person could see it.” Tommy steps towards Ramón. “And one day, a young sixteen-year-old boy and an angry father drag his son in cause he caught him smoking and paid the enlisting officer off to enlist him early,” Tommy pauses right in front of Ramón. “You wanna take a guess who those two were?”

“Pinche Idiota, don’t tell me…” Pepa shudders.

“They couldn’t find the last person because the enlisting officer spilled a drink all over the file and, in a rush and panicking, wrote the wrong name down before it was corrected. So instead of the actual name, they wrote down Eduardo and not Edmundo,” Tommy says.

Ramón stays quiet, pale, and in absolute shock.

“And so when your son had a young woman pregnant, you forced him to marry her and contacted the same enlisting officer and told him to re-enlist, again, ” Tommy gets into Ramón’s face and sneers. “For fucking money. Out of the one hundred and thirty-nine illegally enlisted kids, only eighty-four got to go home to their families. Do you know what that means? Huh?”

“Tommy…” Buck says.

“Fifty-five families didn’t get to see those kids again. At least we could recover just a portion of that fifty-five to return home.” Tommy stands up straighter, never looking away from the man’s eyes. “Wanna know why I know specific information? And it’s not because I know your son. It was because I was one of those kids. I was lucky enough to get to go home, but my friends unfortunately weren’t. So call me surprised when they called me in for an interview, and I saw a very familiar name. A few stories from Evan later, and It clicked that Eduardo Diaz was, in fact, Edmundo Diaz.”

Helena is quiet during the exchange. 

“So you don’t get to stand there and go on and on about how much of a failure of a parent Eddie is when you were the one that fucked up in the first place, and don’t tell me you had no idea about anything either, Helena.” Tommy glares at the woman, who flinches. 

“Look, he knows what he did is wrong, and we’re trying to be better!” Helena tries to defend. 

“Trying to do better? You’ve been trying on the wrong kid !” Tommy points to Eddie. “In case you forgot, HE, is your son!”

The silence is deafening afterward until Christopher spoke up at long last.

“So Mom got angry at Dad…because of you?” Chris says. Ramón turns to his grandson and shakes his head.

“No, no, Mijo, no--”

“Only Dad can call me that!” Chris says. He turns and steps back inside, not before tugging on his dad’s arm for him to follow. Eddie, pale and with tears in his eyes, allows himself to be dragged in by his son.

As soon as Eddie and Christopher left, Tommy got back into Ramón’s face, hands tightly gripping the man’s shirt as he dragged the man face to face. He whispered angrily to his ear. “You threw him out because you caught him kissing a guy. You’ve mentally fucked your son up and scarred him and gave him PTSD he’s going to deal with the rest of his life all because of a goddamn fucking kiss,” Tommy shoves the man away, Ramon stumbling and catching himself. “Get the hell out of my house. Everyone else is welcome, but the two of you can leave. Anything of Chris can be sent via mail.”

A few hours pass.

Adriana goes with her parents to drop them off at the airport, while Sophia stays back to make sure Abuela and Pepa are alright. They ultimately spend some time in Tommy’s house. Pepa manages to salvage the arroz con leche Buck has been attempting, and she proceeds to raid the pantry and start cooking along with Abuela. 

Buck found Eddie and Christopher in the guest bedroom, asleep and curled around each other. It seems that the two were both crying until they fell asleep.

And Tommy?

Buck glances out the backyard window, seeing the man lying in the middle of his yard and glazing up to the stars twinkling in the night sky.

He has yet to come in after the whole confrontation.

Buck glances at the ladies in the kitchen, Pepa at the stove while Sophia rubs Abuela’s back and whispers to her. Her heart was torn over the whole exchange, partly because she wanted to talk to her son and protect her grandson at the same time.

Helena?

“I don’t care about that puta,” Abuela scrunches her face. “Never liked her.”

“Abuelita, what are we going to tell everyone else?” Sophia asks. “I think Amá called Tio for legal advice on emergency custody.”

“Otra vez, she doesn’t know how to stop,” Pepa sighs. “Don’t worry about that. Trying to do that is a lost cause. There is no way they’ll be able to win if they take it to court.”

“I can’t believe Apá would do something like that,” Sophia’s expression darkens. “Mamá knowing hurts even worse.”

Buck walks to the backyard, plop down next to Tommy, and snuggles right up. He throws his arms behind his head as he glances at the stars.

“Did you know that all the stars you see out here are bigger and brighter than our sun? And that our sun is considered a dwarf star?” Buck rattles off.

“Did you know our sun is actually a green star?” Tommy adds. He glances over to Buck with a smile on his face. “I wanted to try and show off with some cool star facts since I really like star gazing. Thought I’d impress you a little.”

Buck blinks in surprise and blushes. 

“You know you’re cute when you blush. Your ear and down your neck get red. Makes me wanna bite it.” Tommy says. His eyes haven’t strayed from Buck’s face, causing the man to blush even more. 

Buck turns to his side, facing Tommy, and the man does the same.

“I’m hoping Eddie isn’t going to hate me when he wakes later.”

“What, for standing up for him?”

“No, because by the time they get to the airport, the authorities will be there to arrest his dad,” Tommy says quietly.

“...what?” Buck props himself up by his elbows. “Seriously?”

Tommy swallows, looking away from Buck’s face. A moment later, his eyes find Buck’s eyes. “I was too young, but I managed to get forced into the military cause of my dad. It was toxic, and I had to hide a part of myself I had been comfortable with for so long. I met someone else like me, and we…hit it off. We were best friends quickly, and along the lines, I…fell in love. We both did. He was…one of the fifty-five that didn’t make it back. He stepped on a landmine, and I never got to say goodbye. I never got to tell him that I loved him back,” Tommy says to Buck. “I hated my dad since then. I fell into a dark hole. I was angry and lashed out. I took it out on people that didn’t fucking deserve it. I got therapy big time; my best friend Sal nearly tore my ear off, dragging me to therapy. I was happy to hear back from my mom, and I’ve been healing ever since. I got back in touch with Hen and Chim and apologized for how shitty I was to them. Hen slapped me and accepted my apology. Chim just smiled, clapped me on my shoulder, and said it was okay. It's in the past now. He could see I was going through some things.”

“Did his family ever say anything?” Buck asks quietly. 

“They pretty much disowned him. They changed their names and moved, so they had no way to return his ashes. He always loved the ocean, especially watching the sunset and the stars that twinkle afterward. I had a friend take me up in a helicopter and dumped his ashes at the perfect moment.”

“And not a day goes by you don’t think about him,” Buck says.

“Every time I see the stars,” Tommy says wistfully. “So yeah. I did, uh, call Abuela and inform her what was going on. I could have also not told them anything, but they were close to the truth. It was a matter of time until they arrested Ramón. His days were up.” Tommy smirks.

“Thanks for that, by the way.” a voice startles the two. Tommy flails, eyes bugging out when Eddie suddenly plops beside Tommy. His voice sounds strained, as if he didn’t just cry his eyes out (Buck knows that’s exactly what Eddie and Chris did).

“E-Eddie!” Tommy sits up. “Uh, how much of that did you hear?”

“All of it,” Eddie sniffles. “Christopher fell asleep. I had to sneak past my abuela and the other ladies taking over your kitchen.”

"How's Chris?" Buck asks.

"We talked after he pulled me into the room, which he conveniently knew where the guest room was," Eddie raises an eyebrow at Tommy. "I was going to ask him to attend therapy together, but he pitched it first. We talked through a lot of things, and tears were shed. We both ended up passing out on the bed." 

"Hey, that's good. He's back, and all that matters now is healing together." Buck says. 

Tommy sits there, nervously picking at the grass. “I’m sorry If I overstepped, it's just--I can’t just let the both of them stand there and shit on you like that. I tried bottling as much as I could, knowing what your dad did to you. It was a matter of days, but because he came to California and I knew my COs were here, I messaged them, and, well,” Tommy waves. “I didn’t want to let him walk away just like that.”

“Did your dad also go to jail?” Eddie asks.

“Oh, definitely. They worked on your case for a while and have been keeping tabs on Ramón. Even If I didn’t say anything, it was a matter of time before they swooped in,” Tommy says.

Eddie sighs, lying down beside Tommy and staring up into the stars. “Mom will also be charged if they did their investigations thoroughly.”

And that. That threw Buck through a loop.

“Wait, wait, Eddie--what do you mean by that?” Buck asks. He glances at Tommy, who doesn't seem surprised at all. 

“Dad gloats around all he wants about money, but he didn’t have any when he got married,” Eddie says. “Mom did.”

“Are you saying--”

“Mom was the one that gave him the money,” Eddie admits. “I wasn’t sure until Tommy pointed out that she also knew. That kinda confirmed it for me.”

Both Buck and Tommy look at Eddie with sadness. 

“I’m so sorry, Eddie, I really am,” Tommy says. Eddie doesn’t bother to respond, instead choosing to look at the stars. 

Tommy and Buck settle back down.

Eddie squirms, feeling the chill of the night get to his exposed side. He huffs as he sits up. “Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna--” Eddie climbs over Tommy and gets in between the two men, squeezing himself in the middle until Tommy scoots to the side a little til Eddie comfortably nests between the two.

Finally, Eddie feels warmer. The two large men give off heat, so being between them is a great feeling, especially when it is cold.

He won’t admit he also likes the security of being between them. 

Buck wraps an arm around his waist, slipping his entire arm under Eddie’s shirt, and holds his body against his. Tommy scoots closer and uses his hand to guide Eddie’s face to look at his. It’s not until Eddie makes eye contact with Tommy that he starts to cry again.

"Thank you,” Eddie tears up. He leans into Tommy's hand, a finger brushing his tears away. 

“We love you so much, Eddie,” Tommy whispers. He kisses Eddie gently. “I love you, okay?”

“You’re not allowed to leave anymore, Eds. If bribing Chris with food is easy, I’m sure he gets it from you. I can make more caldo de pollo, or your sister mentioned sopa de concha. I haven’t tried making homemade tortillas, but I’ve really been getting into bread making and baking in general. Also, do you like concha--” Buck lists off.

Eddie starts to laugh. He feels a heavy burden disappear from his shoulder, and the dark shadow always at the corner of his eye disappears. He finally feels like he can breathe again.

Suddenly, Tommy’s phone goes off. The man makes a noise and digs his phone out to check the message.

“Well, you look at that,” Tommy grins.

“What are you grinning at?” Buck asks, face ever so curious.

“Guess who’s the L.E.O. arriving on the scene?” Tommy says as he locks his phone and tosses it to the side.

Buck sits up with glee while Eddie starts to snicker.

“No. ”

“Cherry on top,” Tommy sings songs. His phone alarm goes off again. “You know what time it is, Mr. Diaz,” he raises an eyebrow at Eddie as he gets up off the ground and groans at the pain in his back. Buck sits up as well.

Eddie rolls his eyes and sighs. He smiles as he takes Buck’s hand when he stands up. Buck wraps his arms around Eddie and pouts.

“I don’t get a kiss?” 

Eddie’s face warms up, feeling his face redden a little. He kisses Buck, who makes a happy noise in return.

“I love you.”

“And I love you.”