Work Text:
After an eight-hour school day educating the youth of America about civil disobedience, Buck is ready to come home, help Chris with his fourth-grade math homework, and climb into bed with the love of his life.
He realizes his plan will not happen when he walks through the front door of 4995 South Bedford Street and isn’t immediately greeted by a shout from the younger Diaz. The house is quiet save for the refrigerator's hum and the muffled tones of classical music coming from their bedroom down the hall. He smiles softly, making his way down the hall after toe-ing off his shoes and hanging up his jacket.
The sight that greets him when he cracks open their bedroom door is unexpected but not unwelcome.
“Reminiscing?” He inquires, crossing the few feet to the bed to place a kiss on his husband’s - Eddie’s - lips. Spread out across the foot of the bed are photos and mementos from their college days, their eight-years younger selves staring back up at them. His eye catches on one in particular, a candid snapshot, taken by a friend of the two of them getting cozy after the victorious homecoming game in Buck’s junior year. He picks it up, running his fingers lightly over the shiny paper.
In the photo, Eddie’s head is thrown back in laughter and Buck is looking at him with such besotted eyes that it would be embarrassing if not for the matching gold rings on their fingers now. Buck’s letterman jacket rests on Eddie’s shoulders, warding off the chill of autumn air, or so Buck had pretended at the time.
In the present, Eddie grins up at him.
“Chris wanted to stay the night with Denny, I figured you wouldn’t mind a night for the two of us. Hen said something about a crush Denny’s got on this cheerleader in the grade above him and it made me feel nostalgic. Then I found this –,” he unfolds himself off the bed and reaches into the closet, pulling out the same jacket from the photo in Buck’s hand, “And I thought you might want to revisit some other memories.”
Heat surges in Buck’s gut, sense-memory associated with the red and white fabric bringing forth images of Eddie on top of him, a borrowed cheerleading skirt sitting across his thighs, and the same jacket slung over his shoulders as he rode Buck, rewarding him for a job-well-done on a difficult final.
He reaches out, tugging Eddie to him, capturing his lips in a soft kiss. He moves to run his fingers through Eddie’s hair and realizes the photo is still in his grasp. He pulls away, flipping it so that Eddie can see.
“A lot of good times with that jacket, in particular, aren’t there?” He gingerly places the photo into the box it came from and turns back to his partner. “Shall we take a trip down memory lane?”
“Definitely,” Eddie smirks, slipping the jacket over his shoulders. Eddie’s broader now than he once was and it absolutely wouldn’t accommodate Buck these days but it fits Eddie like a glove – he looks delectable. Buck tells him as much, slipping Eddie’s thighs over his own and sinking back onto the bed, careful not to dislodge the boxes and bits of their history from the end. They fall into their easy routine, hands and mouths that they know better than their own, thoughts of a time when they weren’t as familiar at the forefront of their minds.
eight years ago
Buck’s high on life. His touchdown in the final moments of the homecoming game has just secured the Firebirds another win in an undefeated season and he feels untouchable. Well – he hopes he’s not actually untouchable because Eddie Diaz (cheerleader, Buck’s biology lab partner, and also the object of his embarrassingly huge crush) will be at Chimney’s celebration party and he really, really wants to touch the guy. Romantic style. And also sexual style. Preferably in that order because he’s been working hard to shed his playboy past and Eddie has quickly become someone Buck always wants to be around.
They met a couple of months ago at the start of the semester – sparing the embarrassing details, Buck showed his ass a bit, peacocked around the joint football and men’s cheer locker room, got cornered by some rival players in a parking lot, and had his same ass saved by Eddie. They’ve not spent as much time outside of class or sports activities as Buck would like but they text often and Eddie seems to like him back. Buck hopes he’s not misinterpreted any of Eddie’s playful messages, as far as he can tell they’ve been flirting back and forth for the past few weeks; but there seems to be something holding Eddie back. Buck isn’t sure what it might be.
Cheers of celebration meet him as he walks through the front door of Chimney’s house, palms clapping his shoulders. Someone grants him with an overfilled red plastic cup shoved into his hand and he has to move quickly to avoid it sloshing onto his letterman jacket.
He’s protective of it in a way he’s never been over any other possession. It symbolizes a place of belonging for him, a spot on the team he’s fought for; to which he’s given his blood, sweat and tears. After the car accident his freshman year the team rallied around him, helping him through physical therapy and keeping him on track with school while he healed. Coach Nash – Bobby – has become a pseudo-father figure for him, filling the void left by his emotionally distant parents. Wearing the jacket fills him with pride, for his team, for his school, and for himself.
So, spilling what Buck suspects is Chim’s signature hunch punch on it is something he’d like to prevent at all costs.
“Hey, Buckley!” The fruity alcohol connoisseur himself comes into view, arms spread in welcome. “Congratulations, man! Great job on that touchdown, we all knew you had it in the bag.”
“Yeah, right, Howie. You were clenching so hard I’m surprised there wasn’t a minor earthquake.” Maddie, his older sister, joins them and hip-checks him before pulling him into a tight hug.
She and Chimney have been dating for a little over a year. They met when Maddie came to support Buck at his freshman homecoming game. Chimney, a super-senior who never misses a single game, had taken one look at her and fallen madly in love, as he tells it. It took her some time to come around to the idea of dating so soon after leaving her asshole ex-husband but after six months of Chimney’s patient and genuine friendship, she knew she’d fallen for him too. Buck was thrilled for them, and also a little nauseous – she’s still his big sister after all. He hopes to find a love like theirs someday.
“Your boy is out on the deck, by the way.” Chim knocks his shoulder and Buck looks at Maddie, frowning.
“He’s not my boy.”
“And yet you knew exactly who I was talking about!” Chim points a finger that he swats away and Maddie laughs behind her hand, mischievous giggles escaping around her palm.
She rests her other hand gently on his upper arm, “I just thought maybe your boy crush on Eddie might mean you’re finally getting over Abby.”
“It’s not a boy crush, I’m bisexual. It’s just a crush. Which he may or may not return. Which is fine.” Buck crosses his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes when they just break into shared laughter. “I’m going to go out there because it’s hot in here and you’re both annoying me.”
“Love you, Buck!” Maddie calls to his retreating back.
“Yeah, yeah! Love you too, Mads.” He calls over his shoulder. He’s half-turned back towards her and doesn’t hear the back door opening. He slams into a wall that he swears wasn’t there a moment ago.
“Oof. ” The wall grunts and grabs him around the forearms. Oh no, not a wall. “You’re not on the field, no need to tackle me.” Eddie grins up at him. He’s still gripping Buck’s arms, steadying him.
“I’m so sorry Eddie, are you okay?” Buck’s hands find their way to his hips and he feels his face grow warm.
Eddie huffs out a laugh. “I’m fine.” He pats Buck’s arm, “Promise. I was actually looking for you.”
“Me?” Buck asks, his face growing warmer by the second.
“Unless you know another star varsity player who caught the winning pass?” Eddie steps back just a bit but holds the grip on the fabric of Buck’s jacket between his fingers.
“No, uh, that was me.” Buck knows he’s coming off as an idiot but he can’t help it. Eddie’s eyes are just that captivating.
“I know, Buck,” Eddie laughs again. “I’m joking.”
They stand in the hallway for a beat, Buck’s hands still resting on Eddie’s hips. He can feel the heat of his skin through his shirt. Chimney catcalls from the kitchen and Buck flips him off, a smile splitting across his face mirrored on Eddie’s.
“It’s hot in here, do you wanna go back outside?” Buck waves a hand at the back door.
Eddie nods, “Yeah, but let me lead. Wouldn’t want you slamming any other cheerleaders on the way.”
Buck chokes on his own spit, the innuendo feeling like a punch to the gut. Eddie just smirks and spins on his heel, motioning for Buck to follow him out into the cool September night. Buck privately thinks that he would follow Eddie anywhere.
The deck has a few people hanging around, some of Buck’s teammates and their respective partners. A sun-bleached set of lawn furniture sits in the corner, shoved out of the way for tonight’s party. String lights illuminate the space, casting a warm yellow glow across Eddie’s flushed cheeks. They talk for a few minutes about the game and their biology class. Buck passes Eddie the cup of punch when he tells Buck he’s never tried it and he clearly likes it, draining it steadily as they chat. Their breaths puff out in clouds of white and Buck catches Eddie trying to hold in a shiver from the chill.
“Here.” Buck slides his jacket off his shoulders, swinging it around Eddie’s. It doesn’t swallow him up by any means but his lithe frame doesn’t quite fill it out. Buck’s stomach tightens at the sight. One of his teammates, Barrett, whoops and snaps a photo.
“What, you gonna ask me to go steady, Buckley?” Eddie teases, leaning back against the wooden column behind him.
Buck grins, boxing Eddie in. He reaches up to grip the column above Eddie’s head and his hand slips. Shit. He stumbles into Eddie who catches him again, a mirthful giggle escaping his lips.
“Actually, that was kinda where I was headed,” Buck admits, ducking his head. “I’m usually way better at this.”
Eddie’s eyes narrow. “Wouldn’t that require I be interested in men?”
“Oh- you’re… not?” Buck swears Eddie’s been flirting since at least last week. He’s ninety-nine percent sure. Right?
Eddie crosses his arms over his chest. The letterman jacket taunts him. “What, I’m a cheerleader so I’m gay?”
Suddenly the cold air is the least of Buck’s problems. He finds himself hoping that he’s actually in a football-induced coma and that this is all a bad dream.
Buck scrambles away, putting distance between them. “No, no of course not, oh God.” This is worse than Bobby catching him with that girl in the locker room showers. This might be worse than Abby leaving.
Eddie’s eyes widen and he must realize that Buck is panicking because he reaches out to grab his shoulder, his thumb slotting into Buck’s collarbone. “Buck, I’m fucking with you! I didn’t think you’d take me seriously just now. Did you think I was flirting with you for months platonically ?”
Buck feels like his brain reboots. “Months? I thought it was just the last couple weeks?”
“Buck,” Eddie squeezes his shoulder. “We message every day. I send you good morning texts. We eat together after almost every practice. I was worried that I was sending mixed signals. Now I’m wondering if I was sending any signals?”
Buck rubs the back of his neck, a flush that has nothing to do with the cold moving across his skin.
“Okay. Yeah. So you were flirting with me!” This is the best night of his life. “So… you wanna go steady?”
Before Eddie can answer, his phone rings shrilly, cutting over the bass beat from inside. His eyes widen and he whips it out of his pocket, mashing the green button and shoving it against his ear.
“Shan? What’s wrong?” His gaze flits up to Buck, panic lacing his words. “Okay, yeah. I’m on my way. No, it’s okay. Be there soon.”
He hangs up and moves to slide away from Buck. “I’m sorry, I’ve gotta go. Text me later– shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Buck asks, already headed to get the door for him. Eddie opens and closes his mouth, eyes looking everywhere but at Buck. “I don’t mean the phone call. That’s your business. I mean the ‘shit’. What’s wrong?”
Eddie huffs out a breath through his nose and gestures toward the empty red cup on the banister. “I drove here and I haven’t had that much to drink but I don’t feel safe to drive. My–,” he takes in another breath, “Friend. My friend Shannon needs help and I’ve gotta go. I’ll just get an Uber.”
“I can drive you.” Eddie starts to argue but Buck cuts him off, “I won’t if you really don’t want me to. But the Jeep has a full tank and Uber is going to be so expensive tonight. Let me drive you.”
He seems to deliberate for just a moment and Buck lets him, leaning back against the column closest to them. Eddie looks up at the sky and then down at his feet and then back at Buck. It’s clear he’s made a decision.
“Okay, I’ll let you drive. But there’s something I need to tell you first and you have to promise to not freak out or be weird because I really like you but this is more important to me than anything else in my life.” Eddie’s eyes are pleading but his words don’t waver.
Buck nods and moves across the space to take Eddie’s hands in his own. “Yeah, of course. What is it?”
Eddie’s chest expands as he takes in a large breath. Buck wishes he could smooth the crease in his brow. He wants to take every bit of suffering Eddie Diaz has ever had and keep it for himself; he thinks he’d run into a burning building for the chance at something more with the man in front of him.
Eddie visibly steels himself and smiles softly, pulling his phone back out of his pocket.
“I have a son. His name is Christopher.”