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“I’m just saying,” Chris says as Buck finishes placing the pizza order on his phone, “Everyone else got months of cookies and bread and stuff.”
“It was a lot of loaf,” Eddie agrees dryly, sharing a bemused look with Buck from his seat on the couch.
“You snooze in Texas, you lose, bud,” Buck teases. “And I baked you that welcome home cake last month, pretty sure I remember you saying it was delicious.”
“Ugh,” Chris huffs like the fourteen-year-old he is, before grinning as Buck watches the gears in his head shifting in real-time.
“What if you taught me how to make those brownies you brought to Bobby’s New-Year-ish party? Then I wouldn’t have to bug you again.”
Beside him on the couch, Eddie snorts, already knowing Buck will fall for it hook, line, and sinker.
“You’re never bugging me,” Buck says, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen and giving Chris a sad-eyed gaze. “You want brownies? I’ll make you brownies! Eddie, we need stuff for brownies.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Eddie laughs. “He already bought dinner, Christopher. Be nice.”
“I am being nice!” Chris insists, before snickering and shrugging at Eddie’s pointed glare. “I can be nice and also want brownies!”
“After pizza,” Buck says, pulling his phone back out. “I’ll doordash some supplies.”
“Sucker,” Eddie drawls, reaching out to ruffle Chris’ hair as he rolls his eyes fondly at Buck.
Without looking up from his phone, Buck flips him off with one hand, sending Chris into a new fit of giggles and leaving Eddie to smother his own laugh into a long sip of his iced tea.
“You know what’s sad?’ Eddie says later, when Chris has vanished into his room for the night. At Buck’s curious look, he continues. “My teenage son has a date for Valentine’s Day, and all I have is the job of chauffeur.”
“Definitely not my favorite kind of job on Valentine’s Day,” Buck agrees with a straight face, amusement only betrayed by the sparkling eyes.
“You’re the worst,’ Eddie groans around a laugh. “That was bad.”
Buck just grins, before taking a too-big bite of the brownie in his hand, cheeks puffing goofily as he chews.
“Probably for the best, anyway,” Eddie says, shrugging self-deprecatingly. “I clearly don’t have the best track record with the women of L.A.”
“Or Texas,” Buck says once he’s swallowed. “No offense.”
“The worst,” Eddie repeats. “Guess you’re not wrong though.”
Buck is quiet for a minute, polishing off the rest of the gooey brownie before meeting Eddie’s eyes as he licks stray bit of chocolate from the inside of his thumb.
“Have you considered men?”
The smirk on his face is playful, but Eddie knows that shrewd look in his eyes too well to not know Buck isn’t at least a little bit serious.
“Yeah, ok,” Eddie snorts a laugh at himself and avoids Buck’s gaze. “No, Buck. I have not considered men.”
“I mean,” Buck says casually, “I hadn’t either. Until I did. Turned out pretty great, actually. Big bi breakup aside.”
“I don’t think kissing a man in my kitchen would fix me,” Eddie says. “I think I’ll just stick with therapy.”
“There’s nothing to fix,” Buck says easily. “But I’m just saying, it’s something to consider.”
“Duly noted,” Eddie says, not planning to give it even one more moment of thought.
Buck just hums thoughtfully and turns his attention to the TV where a low-budget 90’s action movie is playing.
Eddie appreciates being let off the hook, even if he isn’t sure why he feels caught on it to begin with.
He turns to the TV and resolutely refuses to think about it.
“Hard to believe we actually have a Valentine’s Day off for once,” Hen says at their next shift. “It’s been years.”
“Don’t jinx it!” Chim chastises. “Maddie and I have been looking forward to that dinner for months, and she’s just barely over the morning sickness.”
Hen rolls her eyes but nods in surrender. “You guys going to that new Italian place?”
“A classic date night,” Chim says with a grin. “The Lees are saints for watching Jee for the night.”
“Aw, I could have hung out with her!” Buck says, pouting as he looks up from his phone at the mention of his niece. “You know she’s my favorite little monster.”
“I assumed you’d have a date,” Chim says, shrugging apologetically. “I can call them if you want?”
“Nah,” Buck says, “it’s ok. I’ll hang out with her another time. My original plan of Chinese food and reality tv will be plenty of fun.”
“Karen and I are doing something similar,” Hen says, “no shame.”
“Me and Bryce are doing the classic movie marathon at the park near my place,” Ravi says, turning his attention to Buck. “You guys want to make it a double date?”
“Who is you guys?” Buck asks with a laugh, gesturing to himself and the blank space around him.
“Where is Eddie, anyway?” Ravi asks. “Shouldn’t you have plans?”
“He’s napping,” Buck says, cringing with sympathy. “Bad pain night, he didn’t sleep much.”
Ravi nods and gives him a matching sympathetic look. “Well, let me know if you guys wanna come, Bryce is one of those thrives in social situations people.”
“Eddie is chaperoning Chris’ date night,” Buck laughs. “Which means he’ll be texting me and pretending he’s not stalking his kid from the back of the movie theater.”
“Or you could just go with him?” Ravi says with a confused look. “A movie is a perfectly nice date night.”
“Another classic,” Chim agrees.
“Yeah, Buck,” Hen says, giving him a subtle but knowing look. “Why wouldn’t you be going?”
“Because I’m not dating Eddie?” Buck says, wrinkling his nose at how it comes out as more of a question than a statement.
“Good one,” Ravi laughs, just as his phone lights up in his hand. “Hey, babe,” he answers, getting up and wandering away to take the call away from his nosy coworkers.
Buck watches after him for a moment before leaning in to face Chim and Hen across the table.
“Does Ravi actually think me and Eddie are dating?”
“Maybe,” Chim says after a moment of consideration. “Or he’s just really good at fucking with you.”
“50/50,” Hen agrees.
“Eddie doesn’t even like men,” Buck says with a frown. “I asked.”
“Of course you did,” Chim says, dropping his head into his hand with a murmured whisper of jesus christ.
“You’re not even Christian!” Buck huffs.
Hen just laughs at them both and goes back to the crossword puzzle on her phone, once again thankful for her beautiful genius of a wife.
“Did you know Ravi thinks you and I are dating?” Buck asks Eddie as they sit down at the concession stand café, having been dramatically told by Chris that he would rather die than have them watching his date from inside the theater.
Buck regrets his timing when Eddie inhales the popcorn he’d just thrown into his mouth and proceeds to cough it all up into a napkin as he chokes.
“Dude,” Eddie says with a groan, taking a sip of his red Icee to soothe his throat. “Not cool.”
“Well I’m not the one who gasped like a Victorian maiden,” Buck says, once he’s sure Eddie isn’t actually choking. “It’s not that scandalous.”
Eddie rolls his eyes, before softening under the hurt look on Buck’s face.
“I’m not scandalized,” Eddie assures him. “I was just surprised. Where did he even get that idea?”
Buck shrugs. “No idea. He invited us to double date with him and Bryce tonight, and laughed at me when I said we weren’t together.”
“Freaking Gen Z,” Eddie laughs.
“So, you’re not offended?” Buck asks, surprised to realize he’d be worried about Eddie’s reaction without knowing it.
“Why would I be offended?” Eddie asks, giving Buck a fleeting but sweeping gaze. “At least he thinks I could pull you, I’ll take the compliment.”
Buck watches him silently for a moment, taking a sip of his overpriced concession water bottle, and tries not to notice how prettily Eddie’s cheeks have tinged with pink.
“Yeah, well,” Buck jokes when he puts the bottle down. “We all know I’m easy.”
“Dumbass,” Eddie scoffs softly. “That’s my best friend you’re talking about, don’t be mean.”
Buck ducks his head and fails to completely school the pleased grin that spreads over his face at Eddie’s words.
Eddie kindly doesn’t call him out on it.
“Everything is pretty full tonight,” Eddie says to Buck and the teenagers as they exit the movie theater. “But if you guys are hungry, we can probably still get burgers somewhere.”
“With milkshakes?” Chris asks, sharing a shy look with his date before looking back at Eddie.
“The diner by the house should still be open,” Buck offers. “Might have to wait a while, but not as long as the fancy places.”
“Deal,” Eddie says, gesturing to the car. “Kids in the back, seatbelts on.”
“Want me to drive?” Buck asks as the kids comply, and Eddie hands him the keys gratefully.
“My dad hates driving, too,” Lanie whispers to Chris from the back. “Good thing you have at least one dad who doesn’t mind.”
Chris laughs and nods in agreement, not noticing the fact that Lanie’s comment hadn’t been nearly as quiet as they thought.
Buck meets Eddie’s eyes in the mirror for a moment, before shaking his head in amusement and turning the key.
Kids.
By the time they drop Lanie off at home and hassle Chris into brushing his teeth and changing for bed, it’s nearly ten o’clock, and Eddie drops onto the couch beside Buck with a groan.
“Dating is exhausting,” he says. “Even when it’s not actually my date.”
“Don’t tell Ravi,” Buck teases him. “He’ll think you broke my heart and want to transfer out again, so I don’t terrorize him.”
“Or,” Eddie says, “and hear me out. You could just not terrorize him.”
“Eh,” Buck says with a dismissive wave. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“You’re a menace,” Eddie says, knocking his shoulder into Buck’s briefly. “Wanna eat some ice cream and watch a shitty romcom in honor of the holiday?”
“In like five minutes,” Buck says, eyes already dropping closed as he leans his head back against the couch.
“I’m gonna set a timer,” Eddie says, leaning to curl up on the other side of the couch, resting his head on the arm and drawing his legs up as much as he can so he isn’t kicking Buck.
“Mmk,” Buck agrees, not listening even one bit as sleep takes him.
Buck wakes a few hours later, surprised to find himself lying on the couch alone, and no longer sitting with his neck in an awkward position. His favorite quilt of Eddie’s is tucked up to his chin just the way he likes it, and a quick wiggle of his toes confirms his shoes are somewhere other than where he left them on his feet. A quick look at his phone tells him it’s nearly three in the morning, the silence of the house only interrupted by various hums from electronics. Dropping the phone to the cushion beside his head, he closes his eyes and lets the refrigerator motor lull him back to sleep.
The next time Buck wakes up, it’s almost seven, and he beelines to the bathroom to relieve his bladder and the brush the sleep-gross taste from his mouth. He nearly collides with a half-asleep Eddie as he leaves the bathroom, chuckling at Eddie’s mumbled sorry as he enters it.
By the time Eddie comes back from the bathroom, he looks a little more alive, sighing happily when Buck hands him a mug of coffee, toothpaste be damned.
“One of these days our bodies will actually let us sleep in,” Eddie says once he’s had half the mug and a few minutes for the caffeine to kick in.
“Doubt it,” Buck laughs, leaning up against the counter as he sips his own coffee at a slower pace.
He grins over at Eddie, curls a matted mess on his head and his jeans and dark-green t-shirt wrinkled and rumpled from sleeping in them, before putting his coffee cup on the counter beside him and giving Eddie an inquisitive look.
“You good?” he asks at Eddie’s dazed stare. “Still waking up?”
“I’m awake,” Eddie rasps in his sleep-roughened voice.
Buck watches with amusement as Eddie gets up slowly and places his mug in the sink before shuffling over to stand in front of him, barely a foot away.
“I had this weird dream last night,” Eddie says. “You were moving, I think. We were packing up your loft.”
“Oh?” Buck asks. “Where was I going?”
“Don’t know,” Eddie says, voice shaking just enough that Buck can’t help but hear the lie.
“Eds,” he says softly. “It was just a dream, you can tell me.”
“I lied to you before,” Eddie says instead. “I didn’t think it was a lie at the time though, so maybe that doesn’t count.”
“It’s ok,” Buck says easily, hands twitching at his sides as he fights the urge to latch on to Eddie in some way. “You can still tell me the truth.”
“You asked me if I’d considered men,” Eddie says, eyes focused on the cabinets behind Buck. “And it wasn’t really a lie. I don’t really think about men in general.”
“But?” Buck asks, trying and failing to push down on the flare of hope in his chest.
Eddie finally looks at him again, doe-eyes catching Buck’s gaze and holding steady.
“I only think about you,” he confesses in a hushed voice. “Dream about you, too.”
“Yeah?” Buck asks, a slow but delighted smile spreading across his face. “Dirty dreams?”
Eddie laughs, reaching out to sock Buck on the shoulder gently, before unfurling his hand and resting it on Buck’s shoulder, rubbing his thumb along the familiar path of Buck’s collarbone.
“Sometimes,” he admits with a sheepish shrug. “But it mostly just you uh, hugging me. Holding me, really.”
“I can do that,” Buck says immediately, looping his arms around Eddie and tugging him forward gently until they are nearly chest to chest.
Eddie moves the hand from Buck’s shoulder to wrap around his neck lightly, rubbing his fingers along the bristly short hairs at the base of his skull.
“I think maybe kissing a man in my kitchen could actually fix me,” Eddie says with a smirk. “As long as that man is you.”
“There’s still nothing to fix,” Buck says. “But that’s a hell of a pickup line.”
Eddie grins and takes the final step forward, until he can practically feel Buck’s heart beating against his own.
“Is it working?” he asks.
Buck kisses him instead of answering, and Eddie forgets anything else in the world exists besides the heat of Buck’s lips on his.
“I guess that’s a yes,” Eddie laughs quietly when they pull apart just enough to see each other’s face.
“Definitely a yes,” Buck says, leaning down slightly to press their foreheads together and take a steadying breath. “You might just need to give me a minute to convince myself I didn’t wake up in an alternate universe where it’s suddenly ok that I’m in love with you.”
“Jesus, Buck,” Eddie says, pleased but still surprised. “Really going from zero to sixty, huh?”
Buck laughs as he pulls his head back and gives Eddie a cock-browed look.
“Haven’t been at zero since… actually, I don’t think I was ever at zero with you.”
“I know the feeling,” Eddie says. “I guess it’s a good thing I love you too, huh?”
“A great thing,” Buck agrees, before kissing him again, deepening it and getting lost in the hot slide until the opening of Chris’ door startles them out of it.
They wait in silence, breathing with relief as Chris shuffles from the bathroom back to his room without so much as glancing their way.
“You think he’ll be upset?” Buck asks. “We just got him back.”
“He’ll be happy,” Eddie assures him. “Maybe a little grossed out. But he loves the hell out of you, Buck. Nothing will change that.”
“Good,” Buck says, “that’s good. You should kiss me some more, then.”
A solid argument if he’s ever heard one; Eddie does.
“I just realized,” Buck says later. “Our anniversary and valentine’s day are going to be so close. We’re never going to get dinner reservations.”
They’re snuggled up on the couch, lying face to face, wrapped around each other to make the small space work, Buck holding Eddie snugly against his chest. Taking a deep breath, Eddie takes in the scent of him before tucking his head into the space between Buck’s shoulder and neck and pressing a kiss against the hot skin there.
“Restaurants are overrated,” Eddie says. “I’ll cook for you.”
Buck’s chest shakes with laughter that Eddie would be offended by if he wasn’t so damn comfortable and hopelessly in love.
“I’ll feed you wine while you cook for us,” Eddie amends. “Better?”
Buck hums happily, tracing his hands along the smooth skin of Eddie’s back beneath his shirt.
“Hey,” he says, suddenly remembering. “You never told me where I was going. In the dream you had.”
Eddie laughs sleepily, breath fanning out over Buck’s throat with the puff.
“You weren’t going,” he says quietly. “You were coming home.”
Buck beams a grin that Eddie can’t see but can no doubt sense.
“Damn right I was,” he says. “I’ll always come home to you.”
Eddie just snores softly in reply, but Buck doesn’t mind, he’s exactly where he wants to be.
The End