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Buck is hiding something. Eddie doesn’t know what exactly, but he knows his boyfriend, so he knows he’s hiding something. He’s been acting squirmy and shifty for the past 2 weeks, and usually, Eddie chalks it up to his average ADHD-induced fidgeting, but something about it is just off.
The first time he notices something is wrong is during their weekly Buckley-Diaz movie night. Chris is curled up in the armchair with a fluffy blanket wrapped around him, and Buck is curled up on the couch with Eddie wrapped around him. (Eddie silently mourns the days when Chris would plop himself down between him and Buck. Now, he chooses to sit by himself. Those teenage years everyone warned him about are definitely starting.)
They’re watching some new Netflix holiday thriller movie that Buck saw the trailer for and practically begged Eddie to watch with him.
“Is it appropriate for Chris?”
“It’s PG-13,” Buck was quick to reply, “I would never pick something that he couldn’t watch with us. Plus it takes place in LA! We have to watch it.” Eddie had giggled at Buck’s insistence and, after a bit more Google searching finally agreed to watch it. (And if Taron Egerton looking a little bit like Buck was one of the main motivators, that was Eddie’s personal business.)
With the movie finally starting, and Eddie comfortable with Buck in his arms, he allows himself to float in that space where he’s only slightly aware of the outside world. The plot has barely been built, but during one of the opening scenes where the main characters appear to be expecting a baby, Eddie feels Buck tense against him. He glances down to make sure he’s okay and sees pursed lips and wide eyes. His body is still tensed up, so Eddie fully looks down and Buck meets his gaze. His eyes go even wider at seemingly being caught, and that only worries Eddie even more.
You okay? He mouths. Buck is quick to put a little smile on his face and nod. He even surges up to press a kiss to Eddie’s cheek– which Eddie will always welcome– but it almost feels like he’s doing it to distract him from his concern.
All of it is only a little bit odd, so Eddie lets it go.
~
The next time Eddie notices Buck acting weird is a few days later. They’re getting ready for a double date night with Maddie and Chimney and Buck is putting together a couple of dessert items to bring over to their house.
“What kind of wine does your sister like again?” Eddie asks while searching through his liquor cabinet. “I kinda feel bad only bringing the sweets and not a drink to go with it.”
The sound of something falling behind him startles Eddie. He spins around immediately to find Buck fumbling with his Tupperware collection and picking up scattered cookies from the counter.
“Um! N-no, I think it’ll be okay. We don’t need to bring wine. I’m actually trying to cut back on alcohol! So no wine for me tonight!” Buck stutters and Eddie would laugh at the absolutely adorable way his boyfriend is flustered and bumbling, but he stops himself. This is the second time Buck has acted blatantly weird. Usually, he never says no to a nice glass of wine with dessert. Especially on a date night– double or otherwise.
“Since when are you cutting back on alcohol?” Eddie asks, and he’s trying not to sound accusatory or upset. Buck’s face goes bright red, which does nothing to assuage Eddie’s suspicion.
“Well. I just- I’m trying this new workout regimen?” Buck phrases it like a question, and Eddie doesn’t quite know how to answer.
“...Okay. Can’t the rest of us drink wine, though? You don’t have to have any, but we should still bring a bottle to be polite.” Eddie turns back around and pulls out the white wine he was eyeing before Buck’s freak-out. “Maddie likes white, right?”
“No!” Buck yells. Eddie flinches and furrows his brows. “I mean. Yes, she usually likes white, but no I don’t think she’ll like it tonight.”
Eddie just blinks at him.
Buck scrambles to explain, “She’s also cutting back on alcohol. She said she wanted to support me. Sibling solidarity!” Buck does a little fist pump at that, and Eddie doesn’t believe a word out of his mouth. He feels achingly horrible at the thought, but he knows Buck is lying to him.
In the end, he lets it go and they leave for Maddie and Chimney’s with only a tin of cookies.
~
It all comes to a head a couple of weeks later. Eddie has been wracking his brain trying to figure out what Buck is hiding from him, but nothing makes sense. He only has those 2 weird nights, and a few scattered days of Buck being fidgety to go off of.
They’re both getting ready to leave for a 24-hour shift when Eddie finally figures it out.
He’s absentmindedly looking through drawers for his watch when he sees it.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting is sitting in the back of the nightstand. Buck’s nightstand.
Why the fuck does Buck have a book about pregnancy?
The world seems to come to a screeching halt when Eddie comes to the only logical conclusion.
Holy shit. Buck is pregnant.
And then.
Holy shit. I got Buck pregnant.
As if the book suddenly catches fire, Eddie practically throws it back where he found it in the nightstand. He slams the drawer shut just as he hears soft footsteps padding down the hallway. He quickly scrambles across the room and as far away from the offending drawer just as Buck opens his bedroom door.
“Carla just texted, Chris is safely dropped off at school. Whenever you’re ready, we should get going.” Buck smiles softly, and Eddie feels his heart clench. All this time Buck was acting weird and nervous around him, and it was because he was keeping this life-altering secret.
A million things are going through Eddie’s mind as he puts his bag into the trunk of Buck’s Jeep and climbs into the passenger seat.
We should have been more careful. How long has he known? Does anyone else know? How do we tell Christopher? Why didn’t he tell me?
The last question haunts him for the entire car ride to the station. He keeps meeting Buck’s gaze at each red light. Every time, Eddie tries to look for any ounce of fear or anxiety in his gorgeous blue eyes, but he seems pretty normal today. Although maybe that’s because there hasn’t been any mention of babies, pregnancy, or alcohol lately.
They pull into the station and greet the rest of the team in the locker room. None of their friends seem to be acting any different than usual, so Eddie safely assumes Buck hasn’t confided in any of them. Then he remembers what Buck said when he talked Eddie out of bringing wine to their double date.
It makes sense that Buck would tell his big sister. Eddie is still a little heartbroken and confused about why Buck wouldn’t just tell him, though. If he was worried, they could be worried together. They could figure this out together.
And then, Eddie realizes that maybe he’s being a little bit selfish. Buck is going through something huge, and he must be scared out of his mind if he feels the need to not even tell the father of his future child. Sure, Eddie has gone through this exact scenario before with Shannon when she got pregnant, but they weren’t in love. Not really. They were teenagers who were way in over their heads.
Eddie is going to do it right this time.
Once everyone slowly files out of the locker room, it’s just Buck and Eddie left. Just as Buck is about to shut his locker and follow everyone else, Eddie tugs gently on his wrist to pull him close.
Buck turns easily and smiles softly at the gesture. Before he can make some crude joke about hooking up at work– Eddie can see the smirk already forming on his face– Eddie just grabs his arm and gives him a bone-crushing hug.
Buck gives out a little surprised sound, but quickly wraps his arms around Eddie right back.
“What’s this for? Everything okay?” Buck mumbles, his words muffled in Eddie’s shoulder.
“I love you. So much. And nothing would ever change that,” Eddie moves back just enough to look at Buck straight on, “Nothing, okay? No matter what. You could say anything, come to me with any problem, and I would be there for you.” He moves one hand so it settles against Buck’s pulse point.
Buck’s eyes go a little worried at that, and he brings his hand up to tangle with Eddie’s.
“You’re kinda scaring me, Eds. What’s going on?” Buck’s voice goes a little wobbly. Maybe he should just come clean. Let Buck know that he knows.
“I saw the book. The one in your nightstand.” Buck’s eyes go wide with recognition.
“You saw…”
“What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Why didn’t you tell me?” Eddie asks, and he hopes his tone conveys just genuine curiosity and not hurt or betrayal.
Buck sighs, “I wanted to so badly. It was literally killing me! But I promised Maddie and Chim. Obviously, I wouldn’t do it without their permission. But I did want to tell you.”
Eddie scrunches his eyebrows. “Wait, why would you need Maddie and Chim’s permission? You told them? You told Chimney you were pregnant before me?”
At that, Buck literally jumps back.
“What?”
He sounds utterly baffled. Now Eddie’s a little confused too.
“You’re pregnant. You bought the book because I got you pregnant,” Eddie explains, although he doesn’t really understand why he needs to explain this.
Buck just bursts out laughing. He’s doubled over, sputtering, crying, and clutching his stomach.
Eddie crosses his arms. What on Earth is so fucking funny? When Buck looks up to see his disgruntled expression, it only makes him laugh harder.
Once his laughing fit has died down– Eddie thinks it went on a couple of minutes too many– Buck says, “Oh my god, Eddie. I’m not pregnant.”
Eddie’s hands fall to his sides. He doesn’t know why, but his heart sinks. Buck isn’t pregnant.
“But the book. And we had unprotected sex recently. A lot of it actually,” Eddie reminds him. Buck’s giggles start up again at that.
“Sure, but– Eddie. I’m a man. I can’t get pregnant.”
Eddie’s world shatters. He is so fucking stupid.
“Oh,” is all he says. Buck laughs again, not unkindly.
“Good to know where your head’s at though,” Buck says, bringing a hand up to Eddie’s waist. He leans in to whisper in Eddie’s ear, “Maybe if you keep trying, you can get me pregnant.”
“Don’t.” Eddie shudders and grabs at Buck’s arms. These next 24 hours are going to be filled with nothing but teasing and flirting, he already knows.
“Hold on. You gave that little speech because you thought I was pregnant?” Buck asks. Eddie just nods and Buck rests his head on his shoulder.
“You’re so fucking cute,” he whines. Then he lifts his head– almost hitting Eddie in the nose– and gasps. “Oh my god. Would you have proposed?”
Eddie thinks about that for a second. It did cross his mind very briefly when he found the book. But now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t think it would have been right. He proposed to Shannon out of obligation. Their marriage was never founded on love or trust, and Eddie doesn’t want a repeat of that. He tells Buck as much, and the blush that adorns his cheeks makes Eddie want to start planning the perfect proposal.
“I love you too much to ever want to make you think I’d be marrying you because I thought I had to.”
“I love you too,” Buck says, and then soft lips are pressing against Eddie’s.
Eddie pulls back when another urgent question enters his mind. “Wait. If you’re not pregnant, then who is? Who was the book for?”
Buck looks a bit sheepish at the question and rubs the back of his neck, “You cannot tell them I told you, but the book was for Maddie.”
Pieces start clicking into place as Eddie goes back to all those weird moments. He nods slowly as everything starts to make perfect sense, and he promises Buck that he won’t say a word to anyone else.
When Buck senses all questions and concerns have been sufficiently resolved, he resumes his aggressive attack on Eddie’s lips. Eddie gives as much as he gets and lets Buck push him up against the lockers behind him.
“Don’t go starting something you can’t finish, Buckley,” Eddie warns when he feels Buck’s tongue prodding against his mouth and his hands gripping his waist needily.
“Only 23 more hours to go,” Buck mutters against Eddie’s lips. “And then you are so putting a baby in me.”
Eddie groans as Buck pulls away from him and smirks on his way out of the locker room. This shift cannot end soon enough.