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Returning to Los Angeles was easy.
Not because all the previous decisions had been preceded by a string of mistakes and blunders that Eddie hadn’t known how to control (and that, at first, he hadn’t known how to fix either), but because it was what had to happen.
What was meant to be.
Los Angeles would always be his home, the one place in the world where both he and his son could grow, evolve, and understand themselves in the best possible way.
And where they had returned to continue their lives.
Eddie was aware that he had an overdue conversation with his son, that the elephant in the room was still floating between them, that they hadn’t talked about the main reason Chris had decided to go live with his grandparents.
It was just that, between the recent events in his life, he hadn’t found the right time to do it.
First, it wasn’t a matter of having that conversation over a video call and from thousands of miles away. Second, it wasn’t a matter of having that conversation with his parents present, constantly keeping tabs on his mistakes over the years. Third, it wasn’t a matter of having that conversation while he was trying to rebuild trust with his son (or maybe it was, but Eddie just couldn’t find the right moment).
Fourth, and the most recent of events, it wasn’t a matter of having that conversation after having to fly back to Los Angeles because of Bobby’s presumed death (even though Bobby hadn’t actually died—why did things like this always happen to their group of friends?).
They had been settling in for a few days.
A few days adapting to this not-so-new life in that city, making up for the time they had both "lost" while in El Paso.
It wasn't just Eddie and his son who had to adapt—everyone around them seemed to be adjusting to some sort of change in their lives.
Even though Bobby wasn’t dead (thank God), the man who had once been their captain had decided to retire.
Deep down, no one was really surprised by the decision. I mean, after everything their former captain had been through—the cruise ship accident, the fourteen minutes his heart stopped beating, and the fact that he had been used as a lab rat—it made sense that Bobby would start to reconsider his future.
Athena had done the same; she left her position as a police sergeant, retired from the force, and decided to open a private detective agency.
Meanwhile, the Han family also had changes of their own. Maddie had her baby—a beautiful boy (unfortunately for Jee, who thought she was getting a sister; something about a cake mix-up). Chimney stepped up and took over the vacant captain’s position at the 118.
As for the Wilson family, the official approval of Mara’s adoption (finally, as Eddie had to admit) was a joy for everyone. A small relief amidst all the chaos.
The Díaz family was still the Díaz family, after all. Christopher went back to school, and Eddie returned to the 118—but instead of partnering with Buck, he was now working as a paramedic with Hen (since Ravi had taken over his previous spot, and they needed someone to fill the vacancy Chimney left).
And then, there was Buck. Buck, who told Eddie he was going to start looking for a permanent place to move into. Buck, with whom things were still a little tense after that fight in the kitchen, despite the fact that he had saved his ass during the collapse. Buck, who seemed fine on the surface, but was still processing everything that had happened in everyone’s lives.
Which Eddie completely understood. He had always understood Buck. It wasn’t that Buck was an open book (far from it, he kept a lot to himself), but Eddie knew him better than anyone.
Buck was someone who was deeply affected by change, by people around him making decisions without including him (his own trials and tribulations ), and by feeling those around him pulling away.
And at that moment, it was Buck who was pulling away from Eddie by deciding to move out of the Díaz household.
Eddie wanted to stop him at all cost, he even considered returning the “favor” Buck had done him when he was trying to sublet the house (by intervening to make sure no one took it).
But Eddie figured he had to give Buck space. Let him sort out his thoughts, settle his emotions, and get used to his new reality.
Yeah, Eddie could handle that. Or at least, that’s what he kept telling himself every day, while the distance between them only seemed to grow.
That afternoon (after a 24-hour shift), Eddie was home with Christopher, while Buck was scheduled to visit a new apartment.
He was redecorating the living room, unpacking some of their belongings from the boxes he packed in El Paso, when he heard a faint sob coming from Chris’s room.
Alarmed, he ran to the room without thinking of anything but what might’ve happened to his son. He opened the door without knocking, and the sight on the other side hit him like a punch to the chest.
Christopher was crying, holding his phone tightly in both hands, staring at the screen with a mix of disbelief and sadness that Eddie couldn’t ignore.
The tension in Eddie’s shoulders eased slightly, and he cautiously made his way to Chris’s bed, where the boy was sitting with his head down.
“Chris, are you okay?”
Chris sobbed again, and Eddie felt the urge to wrap him up, to hold him close and protect him from the world. No matter how much time passed or where they were, that teenager would always be his baby.
Eddie sat down next to Chris, keeping his eyes on him without trying to intrude on whatever was on the phone screen.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right, buddy?”
Chris nodded slowly, sniffling through his tears.
“Yeah, Dad,” he said, his voice sadder than it should’ve been, “it’s just a teen problem, don’t worry.”
“I worry because you’re my son, and if I can help you, even with something like this, you better believe I will,” Eddie said, putting an arm around Chris’s shoulders. “Now, what’s going on?”
Chris stayed silent for a few seconds, like he was trying to figure out how to talk to his dad.
Eddie really hoped he would find the words, after all the work they’d done to get to this point, after the headache of fighting with his parents to get Chris to finally come live with him.
“Her name is Chloe. I think I was in love with her, and I just found out she’s dating Paul, a guy from my class.”
Well, that wasn’t what Eddie had expected. Not at all. Sure, he knew his son had been chatting with two girls a few months ago, but in love ? Already? So young?
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, as Eddie tried to come up with the best advice he could think of, while Christopher waited for his father’s response.
“Love is like that sometimes, Chris,” Eddie began, trying to organize his thoughts. “Unfortunately, it’s not always returned.”
“Love sucks,” his son said flatly, throwing his phone angrily onto the bed. “Why does it hurt so much?”
And how was Eddie supposed to answer that?
How could he offer his own experience with love when it had been a complete and total disaster? How could he give Chris the right answer when he was still asking himself what exactly was wrong with him when it came to relationships?
At that moment, Buck’s figure (metaphorically speaking) popped into his mind.
He remembered a theory Buck had once told him—a theory that ran through his best friend’s head from time to time, especially whenever one of his relationships failed.
Because Buck, despite being so sensitive to abandonment, was a hopeless romantic. His best friend was a firm believer in love—in all its forms. Even after all the times he’d been let down by partners, even after all the heartbreak, Buck still believed that his unconditional love was out there waiting for him.
“I don’t really have advice for that, because yeah, sometimes love really does suck,” Eddie finally said. “But Buck once told me a theory about love that might help.”
Chris turned his head toward his dad, who cleared his throat before continuing.
He didn’t even need to dig deep into his memory; everything Buck had ever told him lived in a special part of his brain—one entirely reserved for his best friend.
“Have you ever heard about the three loves theory?”
Chris shook his head, confused.
“Well, the theory says there are three kinds of love. That you fall in love at three different stages of your life, and that each love is unique and shapes us in different ways. These are: first love, intense love, and unconditional love.”
Eddie cleared his throat again. He remembered how excited Buck had been while explaining the theory to him, how it had strengthened his belief that he would someday find that final kind of love.
“The first love is like a fairy tale, you know? It’s a teenage love that feels all-consuming, and you think it’ll last forever. Usually, it happens when we’re young,” he said, nudging Chris playfully with his shoulder, “and it often ends because people grow apart or the relationship just isn’t strong enough to weather problems.”
“Sounds a bit like your relationship with Mom.”
That comment from Chris hit like a bucket of cold water. Even though he’d heard Buck talk about the theory multiple times, Eddie had never really thought about how it applied to him.
But if he thought about it… it made total sense. Especially knowing that the explanation for the first love didn’t end there, it continued.
“It feels like true love in the moment, but it’s usually not as deep as the love we’ll experience later on.”
Chris looked at him over the top of his glasses, clearly waiting for him to react to what he’d just said.
“Yeah, I got what you meant,” Eddie said, rolling his eyes. “It’s true, your mom was my first love.”
“Is that why it didn’t last? Because it fits what you just told me?”
Eddie fell silent for a few moments, reflecting.
It really did make all the sense in the world, didn’t it? It made sense that their relationship had been doomed from the start. That they’d drifted apart because the relationship wasn’t as strong as they had believed—especially with the whole surprise pregnancy that brought Christopher into the world.
In that moment, he realized he had spent his whole life trying to fit his love story with Shannon into something it was never meant to be.
“It didn’t last because it wasn’t meant to,” Eddie finally said, a soft, sad smile on his face. “But that love brought me you, and for that, I’ll always be grateful to your mom.”
Chris smiled too and rested his head on Eddie’s shoulder, while Eddie gently rubbed his back with the arm wrapped around him.
“In the end, we learn that falling in love is the most amazing feeling in the world, but not all relationships are meant to last. And we probably shouldn’t trust movies too much.”
“Well, Buck loves romantic comedies,” Chris pointed out, frowning. “Is he a masochist or something?”
“I think Buck believes that kind of love will find him someday, and that’s why he loves them so much,” Eddie replied, laughing. “But that’s something you should ask him yourself.”
“No way. If I ask him about this, he’ll probably end up putting one of those movies on—and they’re definitely not my thing.”
Eddie laughed again at his son’s remark and nodded.
Yeah, romantic comedies weren’t exactly his favorite either—but for Buck, he could binge-watch a whole marathon if needed.
“What about the second love?”
Chris was fully invested in the theory now. Eddie figured Buck would probably explain it better—more detailed, more animated—but he hoped he could do it justice.
Besides, Chris had stopped crying, and for Eddie, that was already a big win.
“The second love is the one that turns your world upside down,” Eddie began. “Buck told me that this stage becomes a mirror, one where we see all our insecurities, our needs, and our desires staring right back at us. In this relationship, we often experience jealousy, fear, and doubts about ourselves that we never felt before.”
“Is this the stage you were in with Ana and Marisol?”
Now that was a good question.
Before diving into the answer, Eddie decided to continue explaining the second love.
“That relationship usually has a lot of ups and downs. We try to shape ourselves and the other person so the relationship works. It feels like a rollercoaster, there’s this constant emotional tension that can be incredibly painful, but it’s the kind of pain that helps us grow, change, and evolve.”
His son waited for him to think, following the same pattern that had happened after the explanation of the first love.
Eddie got lost in his thoughts, reflecting on how both relationships had unfolded—both with Ana and with Marisol.
He thought about what he had felt and all the insecurities that had surfaced with them. He remembered the panic attack that made the store clerk think Ana was Chris’s mom, the countless times he refused to sleep with Marisol because of the Catholic guilt he carried.
They hadn’t been intense relationships—not even close—but both had helped him realize what he did and didn’t want in a relationship.
He had tried to fit in with them. He had tried to fit into the idea of building a family, of finding a mother for Chris. He had tried to make both of them accept not just his love, but his son’s love as well.
And both relationships had failed because Eddie wasn’t in that place. He hadn’t reached that point yet—because he didn’t want to.
He ended up thinking about Kim too. He thought about what that woman had meant in his life, the intensity with which she had wrecked it—his life, his relationship with his son, everything he had worked so hard to protect with patience and effort.
Eddie swallowed hard, feeling his eyes start to water at the weight of these thoughts.
If he had been waiting for the right moment to talk to Chris about that woman, he had just found it. He needed to do it now—to open up for real, to finally tell his son the whole truth about that chapter.
“And also with Kim, the woman who looked like your mom.”
Chris took a moment to react; the first thing he did was lift his head off his father’s shoulder and turn to him, his face drawn in a frown, as if he were about to cry again.
“Before we go on with the theory, I want to say I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve to go through that, Chris. I didn’t want you to find out, because that woman was my way of closing the chapter with your mother. I didn’t want you to know about her, and she ambushed me.”
“Ambushed you?” Chris’s voice was about to break. “What do you mean?”
“She showed up at the house without warning—she didn’t even have that hairstyle the first time I met her! I didn’t want her to come. I thought everything with her was over, but she insisted on staying, even after I asked her to leave.”
Then Chris frowned, truly looking angry, a kind of fury Eddie understood all too well.
Because he had felt it himself, after repeatedly asking Kim to leave his house.
“That’s not fair to you, Dad,” he said, arms crossed. “It’s not fair that she did that if you told her to leave.”
“It wasn’t fair to you either, to have to witness all of that,” Eddie said, burying his face in both hands. “I’m sorry for being such a bad father, Chris. I really mean it.”
A few seconds later, he felt his son’s arms wrap tightly around his neck, hugging him with both affection and strength. Eddie didn’t pull away. How could he? He simply accepted the gesture with gratitude, letting it begin to heal the fractured soul this whole situation had left behind.
“You weren’t a bad father, Dad. You just missed Mom. And that’s normal, because I miss her too,” Chris whispered. “I forgave you the moment you decided to come to Texas to be with me.”
Eddie let out a deep breath of relief when he heard those words leave his son’s mouth.
That was all he had wanted since the moment he left—knowing Chris still loved him, and that he forgave him for making such foolish decisions.
“When did you get so wise?” Eddie asked, squeezing Chris in his arms. “Thank you for being the most amazing teenager in the world.”
“But seriously,” Chris said with a playful tone, “if you ever date someone again, please avoid anyone who looks like any of your past partners.”
Eddie burst out laughing at that, pulling back from the hug to point an accusatory finger at his son.
“Maybe it’s too son for that, mijo .”
Chris shrugged with a playful smile, knowing the joke had landed well with his dad.
That also gave Eddie some relief, being able to joke about it was a clear sign they were starting to walk in the right direction, leaving behind that part of their lives that they both wanted (or seemed to want) to forget.
“So,” Chris said, “what about the third love? What’s it all about?”
Eddie smiled and nodded, rubbing his eyes to stop the tears from falling.
“Last but not least, the third love—the unconditional one. After we recover from the heartbreak of the previous one, after we’ve healed and learned to love ourselves, comes the unexpected love. The one that appears out of nowhere and just feels right. There are no games involved.”
This time, Chris didn’t say anything in response.
He just looked at his father with narrowed eyes, like he was trying to send him a telepathic message, classic Díaz energy.
But Eddie couldn’t decode it, so he simply continued with the explanation.
“When you’re with that person, you feel like you’re home. You accept everything about them, all their imperfections and quirks. You feel like your true self with them. You inspire each other to be better. And when you face obstacles, you work through them together because both of you are committed to the relationship and to the future that lies ahead.”
Chris scrunched up his nose and slowly nodded.
Eddie waited patiently for some sort of response from his son—but it never came.
This stirred up a nervousness in him that he didn’t fully understand, a restlessness he felt he had to quiet.
Up until now, it had seemed like Chris was absorbing everything Eddie had been telling him—so why was this third love different? What had he said that made Chris stay silent?
“You’re not going to say anything?”
Chris shook his head.
“Nope,” he said, emphasizing the 'p’. “Thanks for this, Dad. I think I needed it. Now I know things with Chloe weren’t meant to be.”
If there was one thing Eddie knew about Chris, it was that he was a very curious kid, definitely not a trait he got from him. Buck probably had something to do with that, with his constant need to learn and all those late-night internet deep dives to satisfy his thirst for knowledge on any topic imaginable.
That’s why it struck him as odd that his son didn’t say anything else. He hadn’t even asked who Eddie’s third love might be.
He knew his son was thinking about something, that his little head was working through some kind of thought Eddie hadn’t yet managed to unravel.
“It’s okay, Chris. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Chris blinked several times before shaking his head.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he said. Eddie raised an eyebrow, confused. “I think it would make things weird.”
“Weird? What do you mean? Talk to me, mijo .”
Chris sighed, tired. His blue eyes locked onto his father’s, firmly, as if trying to reinforce whatever he was about to say with that steady gaze.
“Promise me you won’t have a panic attack like you did with Ana at the suit store?”
Eddie was about to object, to defend himself against the jab, but shut his mouth instantly when he saw how serious Chris’s expression had become.
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try to stay calm.”
Chris hesitated for a few seconds; Eddie could see it in his eyes, in the way his son’s hands moved, visibly nervous.
It wasn’t until Chris placed a hand on his shoulder that Eddie knew whatever was coming next was significant. That was Chris’s way of validating his words, of anchoring them in truth when speaking to someone. A gesture he mostly used with the teenager standing before him or with Buck.
“Okay, I’ll just say it,” Chris said, tightening his grip. “Don’t you think there’s someone in your life who checks every box to be your unconditional love?”
Eddie’s first reaction was confusion, leaning back slightly, not understanding what his son meant.
Chris didn’t flinch. He held his gaze, making sure his father didn’t drift away from the conversation.
“Someone who showed up unexpectedly or out of nowhere? Someone who makes you feel at home? Someone whose imperfections you’ve accepted?”
Eddie’s second reaction was to shake his head, trying to get Chris to see that he still wasn’t following.
Chris let out a dramatic sigh and muttered a curse under his breath, words Eddie hadn’t expected to hear for a few more years, at least (clearly, Chris had practiced his Spanish well in El Paso).
“Come on, Dad. Someone you’ve always felt like yourself around, who brings out the best version of you? Someone you’ve fought for, no matter how many arguments or problems you’ve had?”
And then, like a bolt of lightning (redundant as that may sound), life struck him.
It had no mercy. The lightning shot through every inch of his body, every pore of his skin, every bone holding him upright, every thought in his head, every feeling buried in his heart.
Eddie’s third reaction was the one that finally drew a sigh of relief from Chris, who realized his father had finally, finally understood who he was talking about. Eddie’s eyes widened, his gaze drifted off into the distance, and his mouth dropped open so far his jaw practically unhinged.
But to both their surprise, Eddie didn’t panic when he realized Chris was talking about Buck.
Buck. His best friend. Chris’s Buck. His Buck.
No, Eddie accepted the information like it was the most natural thing in the world, something that was always meant to be, something he’d been waiting for all along.
He accepted it because Buck was the answer to every question Chris had just asked. There was no sense in panicking when it made so much sense. Buck fit every answer. Buck was the right answer.
He always had been. From the beginning, from the moment they met, from the moment they accepted each other into their lives, from the slow, quiet building of a shared life.
From the moment they promised to always have each other’s backs. From the moment they started planning summers together, from the times they cared for each other after work injuries, from the moment they stopped being an “Eddie” without a “Buck.” From the moment Eddie realized he’d grown to hate every one of Buck’s romantic partners. From the moment he decided that if the worst happened, if he didn’t make it one day, he would trust Buck with the most precious thing he had: Chris.
Buck was his unconditional love, and Eddie believed he was Buck’s. That’s what the universe had been leading them to. They had to live through all those failed relationships to reach this point, the point where they finally saw the truth.
Without all those experiences (and without Chris’s help), Eddie would have never gotten here.
“Oh my God,” he whispered. “How did I not see it before?”
“Well, maybe it’s because you’ve just now realized this is even a possibility,” Chris said calmly. “Or maybe it’s because you’ve never considered that you might like guys.”
Damn Catholic guilt.
Eddie nodded slowly, taking it all in with quiet strength and patience.
Chris raised one eyebrow and tilted his head slightly, squinting.
“You’re really not panicking. How is that possible?”
“Because it makes perfect sense,” Eddie replied, the words coming effortlessly. “Because he’s always been there, even if I hadn’t seen it until now.”
Eddie’s eyes shifted back to Chris, who had been smiling the whole time, like the teenager had known all of this for a while.
“Why aren’t you surprised?”
“For the same reason you’re not,” Chris shrugged. “Because it makes the most sense. All your relationships were doomed the moment you met Buck.”
“That’s a heavy statement for a teenager who’s not even fifteen yet.”
“Think about it, Dad,” Chris rolled his eyes. “You’ve been looking for something in other people that you’ve always had with Buck. You just didn’t let yourself believe you could have it.”
Father Bryan’s words echoed in his head, carrying the weight of the man’s wisdom:
“I think you were punishing yourself. I think you were denying yourself because you didn’t feel worthy of joy.”
Suddenly, the pieces of Eddie’s life puzzle clicked into place, all at once, without giving him a chance to fully process what was happening.
Because Buck was his joy, he was that juice Eddie had refused to drink because he thought he didn’t deserve it.
He didn’t know what to do with the flood of emotions he was finally allowing himself to feel, with the whirlwind of feelings churning inside him.
That’s when the panic hit, when he realized what it meant to finally understand he’d been in love with his best friend for years. Terror began to consume him, pouncing like a predator on its prey, leaving him alone in the face of the terrifying truth.
Chris saw it. He saw that fear in his father’s eyes and didn’t hesitate to place his other hand on Eddie’s free shoulder, making sure his father had no escape.
“Dad, no. Talk to him. Please, tell him. It’s Buck. Buck would never run from you. He’d never run from us.”
“Do I need to remind you he’s looking for a place to move to and wants to leave?”
“The first part’s true, but you don’t know the second,” Chris replied, and Eddie raised an eyebrow, puzzled. “Have you asked him if he wants to leave, or have you just let him believe he’s not welcome here?”
“Why do you assume that’s my fault?”
“Given your track record, it’s a fair assumption.” Eddie frowned. “Dad, you flew me in from El Paso to comfort Buck after you two argued. You’ve barely spoken to him these past few days, don’t you think he’s just waiting for you to tell him he can stay with us?”
Eddie swallowed hard.
His son was shaking him by the shoulders, helping him see the situation for what it was—for what it meant to be in love with Evan Buckley.
An Evan Buckley with ninety-seven tragedies under his belt—tragedies Eddie loved, each and every one of them.
“But… are you okay with this? With knowing that Buck’s the person I’m in love with?”
“If you’re saying that because it’s kind of gay on your part”, Eddie rolled his eyes in disbelief “I don’t care. I mean, Denny and Mara have two moms, it’s not that different. If you’re saying it because you want to be with him, then at least I’m relieved he doesn't look like Mom”.
Eddie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The situation itself wasn’t funny, it was more surreal. In his 33 years of life, he’d never considered anything like this. He’d never thought he could feel something so deep and so real for someone of the same sex.
But the last thing he expected was for his own son to be the one giving him a lesson in love and morality, when it had been Chris’s love life that had sparked this conversation to begin with.
“When he gets home today, talk to him. I’ll lock myself in my room, put my headphones on, and pretend I don’t exist.”
“Where did you get that sass from?” Eddie asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “Was it one of your aunts? Adriana or Sofía?”
“Dad, I’m a teenager. It’s in my blood now,” Chris said, rolling his eyes. “Promise me you’ll talk to Buck when he gets back from seeing the new apartment.”
Eddie nodded, even though he had no idea how he was going to approach the subject with Buck.
“I know I shouldn’t ask this, but… what if he doesn’t feel the same? Do you think our friendship would change?”
Chris gave a soft smile and shook his head.
“Well, then he’s not your unconditional love, but I really doubt that’s the case,” Chris said, letting his hands fall from Eddie’s shoulders and sighing. “Besides, it’s Buck. You two would get through it. You’ve already survived everything else together.”
Eddie sighed too, and before Chris could stand up from the bed, he pulled him into a tight hug.
“I don’t know who made you turn out like this, I doubt it was me, but thank you for being my son.”
Chris patted his dad’s back, allowing himself to be embraced. Eddie savored the moment, grateful for the feeling of holding his son close, knowing he had his support, his blessing, in this unconditional love.
“You did good, Dad. Buck helped too, but that’s a conversation for another time,” Chris said, pulling back and studying his father carefully. “ You’re gonna be okay, kid. ”
And really, what more did Eddie need than his son’s approval to know that everything was going to be okay?
💗
Buck arrived about half an hour later.
Thirty minutes that Eddie spent trying to figure out how to approach the topic.
Hint: he didn’t reach any conclusion.
Eddie recognized the familiar jingle of all Buck’s keychains clinking against the lock; the careful way he always closed the door, followed by the quiet complaint as he took off his shoes at the entrance, still grumbling about that habit of Eddie’s.
And Eddie smiled, fully aware of his feelings now, knowing that he would love every single detail about Buck, no matter how odd or crazy it seemed.
"Eddie? Chris?"
Eddie got up to meet him; he had been sitting on the living room couch the entire time, trying to find the right words for what he needed to say.
But the moment Buck appeared in front of him, all those thoughts vanished, blurred into nothing, until his mind went completely blank.
For the first time in his life, he allowed himself to truly admire Buck, from a different perspective, now aware of what he felt.
His eyes traveled slowly down Buck’s figure, taking in every detail, from the faint pink birthmark above his left eye, to those full lips, down to the way his clothes fit perfectly over the muscles of his arms and legs.
He didn’t just realize he was in love with Buck, he realized he desired him. He craved the feeling of that faint stubble brushing against his chin while kissing. He needed to know what his mouth felt like against his. He wanted to know every inch of his body, clothed or not.
"Eddie? Are you okay?"
He blushed, how could he not? He even looked away, clearly caught mid-scan.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry. Chris is in his room playing with his friends," he said, swallowing hard. "How did the apartment visit go?"
Buck took the question as an invitation to sit down and chat on the living room couch. They both headed over, and as soon as they sat down, Buck responded.
"It’s another one I didn’t like. They all look perfect, but something always feels like it’s missing."
Eddie wanted to believe what was missing was him and Chris , but he stayed quiet, waiting for Buck to go on.
"So I passed on it," Buck sighed, tired. "Though I’ve got another visit planned for tomorrow."
Eddie’s mouth moved before his brain caught up.
"Why don’t you stay here with us?"
And judging by Buck’s stunned reaction, Eddie couldn’t tell if he’d just made a huge mistake or hit the nail on the head (just as Chris had predicted).
"I mean, why are you still looking so desperately? Have I ever made you feel like you’re not welcome here?"
"No, but Eddie… this is your house. I don’t really belong here."
Buck’s tone was defeated. He sounded like someone who’d already given up on a battle Eddie didn’t even know he was fighting. Like he’d had too much time to overthink it.
And Eddie wasn’t going to tolerate that. He wasn’t going to let Buck think he wasn’t welcome in a place that was his home too.
"You know, I had to talk to Chris today about his love life," Eddie started, and Buck’s eyes widened. "Some girl named Chloe broke his heart because she’s dating a guy from their class."
"First of all, he’s okay, right?" Eddie nodded instantly. "And second, what does Chris’s love life have to do with me apartment hunting?"
"Well, I tried to give him advice, but we both know I’m hopeless when it comes to relationships," Eddie admitted, and Buck tried not to laugh. "So my brain dragged up that theory you once told me about, the three types of love, and I used it on him."
Buck was listening intently. That wasn’t normal, usually, he was the one who talked a mile a minute, while Eddie listened with interest to everything Buck said.
But now that Eddie had started, he couldn’t stop. He had to rip off the band-aid, no slow peeling. It was the perfect moment to speak the truth, to open up.
He gathered his courage, the courage he knew he had, even if he rarely used it outside the job—and took a deep breath, pushing away the negative thoughts. Then he pressed forward.
"I told him about the first love, and he asked if Shannon was mine. I told him about the intense love, and he asked if that had been Ana or Marisol." Eddie nodded to himself. "We even talked about Kim, which—by the way—is finally a closed chapter."
Buck swallowed hard, or at least Eddie could see the movement in his throat.
"And… what did he ask about the third love?"
"That’s the thing, he didn’t." Eddie ran a hand through his hair, letting a strand fall over his forehead. He was too nervous to fix it. "He just went quiet, which worried me because you know Chris, he’s always asking questions."
"So I pushed, because I didn’t believe it. And then that teenager, who’s now locked in his room playing video games, asked me if maybe there was already someone in my life who checked all the boxes for being my unconditional love."
Buck’s pupils dilated as Eddie spoke, as if he knew exactly where this was going.
"It took me a while to understand it, but after he bombarded me with all those signs that define unconditional love, I came to a conclusion that flipped my entire world upside down."
Eddie scooted across the couch until he was less than half a meter from Buck. He reached out and gently took his hand, intertwining their fingers. Then he took a deep breath that filled his lungs completely.
It was time to say it, to finally speak the truth that had been screaming inside him, to let Buck know how he felt.
There was no turning back. And for the first time in a long time, as Eddie made a choice based on what he wanted , he didn’t want to back down.
"And to everyone’s surprise, I didn’t panic. I wasn’t scared because it makes all the sense in the world that you are my unconditional love, Buck."
Buck didn’t blink.
His blue eyes were locked onto Eddie’s with unwavering intensity, as if he were afraid to miss whatever was unfolding right in front of him.
Overwhelmed by the weight of that gaze, Eddie tightened his grip on Buck’s hand. He needed an anchor, someone to keep him grounded in this world, in the real, the ordinary. His person.
"I don’t know for sure if you feel the same," he began, "but I have a strong feeling that you do. I think we’re each other’s unconditional love, and that we both just needed a bit of time to get here, to figure out who we are."
Buck seemed to snap back to awareness, shaking his head slightly, as if returning to the moment, returning to Eddie.
"Are you telling me that you , my straight best friend, are in love with me?"
"Well," Eddie said, "I haven’t completely figured out that part yet, that’s something I know will take some time, and I hope you’ll help me with it, but I can’t be all that straight if I’m in love with you."
Buck let out a small, surprised laugh that caught Eddie off guard.
"Please tell me you’re not messing with me."
"Buck, I don’t want you to move out or keep looking for a place because I want you here with us and because I’m in love with you," Eddie said, frowning. "Is that really so hard to believe?"
"I just found out you like guys, Eddie! How am I supposed to react if not with disbelief?"
"Just tell me what you’re thinking! We can process the rest later, when we need to!"
Buck pressed his lips into a thin line and finally exhaled all the breath he’d been holding, in a sigh so full of emotion that Eddie recognized it for what it was: relief.
And the way Buck looked at him, like the world might collapse, like the foundation of their friendship was being tested, told Eddie that whatever Buck said next was going to be important. So important it would define everything that came after.
"Tell me you’re not going to freak out when I say that… I think you’re my unconditional love too, Eddie."
All the tension, all the nerves, all the fear that had taken up space inside Eddie melted away.
"I think I’ve been this closed off all this time because I had a lot to process," Buck said. "Not just everything with the station and Bobby, but what I feel for you. I was scared that what I felt might change things between us. I didn’t know what you felt or didn’t feel for me."
This time, it was Eddie who listened. He gave Buck the space to open up to him the same way Eddie had done moments before.
"Because I didn’t think you were an option," Buck said quietly, "but now that I know you are, you’re the only option. You’ve always been the only option, even if I couldn’t see it until recently."
A smile, the most genuine and pure smile Eddie's ever worn, spread across his face, and he knew exactly what to do next.
He let go of Buck’s hand only to cup his face gently in both of his own. They looked into each other’s eyes, speaking without words, saying all the things they hadn’t dared to say over the years. And then they nodded—at the same time.
In sync, the way Buck and Eddie had always been. Like the damn universe, quiet, not screaming, had always meant for it to be this way. Like that theory had proven true for both of them, showing that unconditional love does exist, that some people are destined to find each other even if they’ve known each other forever.
Because time puts everything in its place. Time organizes, moves silently, and orchestrates coincidences so they can happen.
It was Buck who closed the space between them, pressing his mouth to Eddie’s in a kiss that confirmed everything they felt—a kiss so full of truth that they couldn’t help but laugh, just a little, at how curious fate could be.
A kiss that marked the end of the search for that final love—the one that breaks down walls and rewrites who you thought you were.
But Eddie didn’t care. He didn’t care, because as the love of his life kissed him and ran his hands over him like he was something sacred, Eddie knew he had all the time in the world.
To discover himself. To discover Buck. To become the family they had always been. To choose his joy, truly and completely.
Because Buck was Eddie’s unconditional love, and Eddie was Buck’s.
Anything else? Unthinkable.