Work Text:
Buck can't stop giggling. He knows he's going to give it away, but he just can't stop giggling. It's kind of embarassing really, but every time Tommy catches his eye he gets a smile from the man, so he doesn't find himself too worried about it.
Gina keeps breaking into deep guffaws every time she looks at either one of them, and Sal has already had to step out onto the back patio several times. They all need to pull themselves together before the other guests arrive, or they're never going to make this work.Buck takes a few deep breaths, takes a sip of wine, and makes the mistake of making eye contact with Gina across the kitchen island. The wine flies out of his mouth as they both start on another peel of laughter, and Tommy chuckles himself before calling out to Sal at the same time he wraps his arms around Buck.
"Sal, come get your wife, we need to seperate her and Buck before they waste all the wine on spit takes!"
"Ha!" Sal laughs forcefully on a gasp outward as he slides back through the patio door, closing it behind him and walking straight to Gina. "Okay, okay. Game face, Deluca. Get it together girl."
"Speak for yourself!" Gina cries, letting Sal gently turn her around and guide her toward the living room, "You can't stop laughing either!"
Buck doesn't hear Sal's reply, but he does hear the indignant sqwak that Gina lets out and has to lay a hand across his eyes to stop himself from going off again. His cheeks hurt and he can feel how red he is—his lungs are sore, but he's so damn happy he can't even be upset. Tommy clutches him closer, leaning around Buck's shoulders to plant a kiss on Buck's jaw.
Tommy lets out a small huff of a laugh and Buck groans.
"Don't you start," he says quietly, letting his weight settle more heavily onto Tommy's chest.
"I'm not, 'm not, I promise." Tommy tells him, but the cadence of his words and the wobbling of his lips against Buck's face tells a different story.
Before Buck can even think of a retort or retaliation, the doorbell rings. He hears Sal call out that he's got it, and a few seconds later hears Sal greating Athena. Buck pulls away from Tommy's grip, grabbing the bottle of wine and as many glasses as he can hold--giving Tommy a sharp eyebrow and a look at the other glasses. Tommy grins at him and grabs the rest, following Buck into the living room.
"Deluca, always good to see you. How's your probie? That was a nasty spill he took at that pile up last week."
Athena looks well-rested in a way that Buck knows has been hard earned. The vacation she took shortly after Baby Bobby was born did her wonders; spending time with Michael and David and not worrying about anything was the perfect choice. Buck feels good seeing her be just as solid and steady as she always is—but without the shadow that had clung to her for weeks.
She sees Buck coming and nods but listens intently as Sal tells her that their probie is uninjured, only embarrassed, and takes a glass gratefully. Tommy is quick to pour her a glass, and she greets Gina before pulling Buck aside just like he knew she would.
"This is quite the place, Buck. A lot of stuff you've seemed to have collected suddenly." Her eyebrows are raised and her lips are pursed, and Buck feels sudenly nervous.
Buck sets the wine and glasses down on the coffee table and rubs a hand across the back of his neck. "Uh," he stammers, not making eye contact, "yeah. That's uh."
Athena is relentless. It's why Buck told her that the party started at 7:30 and told everyone else 8:00.
"And I notice your so called ex-boyfriend is here too."
Her eyebrows are sky high and Buck throws panicked eyes at Tommy over her head. Tommy walks toward them smoothly, reaching for Buck's hand and sending a disarming smile at Athena.
"Athena! Hi. We're so glad you could come."
"Uh-huh," she says, turning her gaze to Tommy. Buck is definitely making fun of him later for the way Tommy's hand clenches tightly when she looks at him. "You always help your ex-boyfriends throw house warming parties?"
"Well, just one really." Tommy says, chuckling nervously, "this one."
"What is going on he-" Athena starts, but she's cut off by the doorbell ringing again. Through the glass in the door, Buck can tell its the Han family on the front stoop.
Buck curses under his breath and looks at Tommy. Tommy's gaze softens and he motions his head toward the door.
"Go ahead, Evan. I can show Athena the back yard."
Buck squeezes his hand in gratitude and sends Athena what he hopes is an apologetic look. In just a few long strides he's at the front door and Tommy is leading a grumbling but compliant Athena toward the kitchen. Buck hears the sliding door squeal as he pulls open the front door. He makes eye contact with Maddie first, the baby in her arms.
"Hey!" He greets them warmly, reaching out automatically to pull Maddie across the threshold and into a gentle side hug. He sends Chim a nod and when he releases Maddie he crouches down to say hello to Jee.
"Uncle Buck!" She cries, throwing herself into his arms.
"Hey, kid! Oh I think you've grown since I last saw you!" Buck tells her, standing and setting her against his hip.
"You just saw me yesterday!" She tells him in her newest no-nonsense voice, and Buck has to stop himself from laughing.
"Hmmm," he says, pretending to think it over, "I think you're just a reaaaaaaally fast grower."
"Noooo, Uncle Buck," she says, but before she can launch into a lecture on how silly he is, Chim loudly exclaims over the other guests who have made themselves at home on the oversized loveseat next to the fireplace.
"Sal! What are you doing here man? You know Buck?"
Chim wanders over towards the Delucas, Maddie following him, looking around curiously at the house.
"Who are they, Uncle Buck?" Jee whispers, leaning into Buck's neck.
"They're some friends of Uncle Tommy's, Jee." He whispers back, and she takes the answer in stride. Buck goes to close the door, but stops when he sees a three familiar figures making their way up the sidewalk towards the house.
Ravi and Lucy are talking animatedly, all waving hands and familiar shoulder pats. Eddie walks beside them, slightly out of step and looking confused at Lucy's mere presence. Before they get close Buck sees Melton and his wife close behind, a bottle of wine grasped in his hands just like Buck knew there would be even though Tommy told them that they didn't need to bring anything.
Buck holds the door open and shoots a grin to Ravi and Lucy, greeting them as they walk in and immediately split off to the kitchen to grab out the snacks they had brought over earlier in the day.
Eddie comes through after, pausing only to shoot Buck a perplexed glance and distracted "Hey, Buck".
"Hey, Eddie," Buck replies evenly, not letting himself get to deep into it. Jee is still buried in his neck, but she pops her head out when Melton and Ellie walk in, letting herself be introduced and giving a wave. Buck directs them to the kitchen, letting them know that Lucy would know where the ice bucket is for thier bottle of wine.
Jee wiggles to get down then, so Buck drops her to the floor gently and she runs off to grab at the back of Maddie's pants where she and Chim are still talking to Sal and Gina.
Eddie is standing with his hip leaned against the couch, head tilted slightly sideways and staring into the back of the house. Buck leans over and follows his gaze, clearly able to see Athena and Tommy talking with the setting sun lighting them up from behind. Athena reaches up to swipe a hand across her face, and the last thing Buck sees before he turns toward a noise coming from the driveway is Athena decidedly pulling a suprised Tommy down into a hug.
Karen, Hen, Denny, and Mara are tumbling out of Hen's car, all grinning when they see him. He lets the entire Wilson family hug him on their way in, and he gives Karen a non-commital hum when she hits him with a, "damn, Buck, who's your realtor? How did you get a split-level this nice?"
He saved from giving an answer when the last three guests of the night appear from behind his truck, carrying a pack of Tommy's favorite IPA and the ten pizzas Tommy had asked them to pick up on the way in.
"Buckleeeeeeeeeeey!" Adams cries out when he sees Buck in the doorway, slapping a hand across Buck's shoulders as the only one with completely free hands. His air helicopter paramedic teammates echo him, and Buck laughs at the cacophony of sound that hits him.
"Hey guys," he says, and immediately hears a scoff.
"Do not say guys, Buckley; I know you've got eyes." Ramirez tells him, shaking her head over where Buck can barely see her eyes past the top pizza box.
"Sorry, Dani," he says, patting her on the shoulder and taking half of the pizzas from her.
"Don't listen to her, Buck, she's just fuckin' with you."
"Small ears, Smith! Small ears!" Lucy's voice reprimands, and Joey winces. He mouths sorry and tries, unsuccessfully, to slink behind Lopez; though she's about a foot and a half too short for that.
Adams rolls his eyes and gestures with his full wingspan, "where you want this stuff, triple B?"
Buck rolls his eyes back, but leads them to the kitchen. They set everything down on the counter, Smith placing a few IPAs in the ice next to Melton's wine, and shoving the others into the refrigerator.
Eddie has found himself sitting at the island next to Lucy, nodding along as she talks about her last rescue. As Buck sets the pizzas down, Athena and Tommy make their way back inside. Athena clocks Buck immediately, a determined pace in her step as she rounds the island and stands in front of him.
"Evan Buckley," she says seriously, and its like the entire kitchen stops breathing.
"Uh," Buck says eloquently, panicked glance hitting Tommy once again. Tommy is absolutely no help, with his soft smile and red-rimmed eyes. Buck thinks he hears Eddie exclaiming in surprise at Tommy's appearance, but Buck exists only in this moment with Athena. Nervousness twists through him, but before he can get himself too worried, Athena's arms are around him and she's squeezing him as hard as she can.
Which, for the record, is pretty hard. Buck's breath leaves his diaphragm in a woosh, and its all he can do to wrap his arms around her in turn.
"He would be so happy, Buck. I swear to you. He loved the two of you together. He loved you. All he wanted was for you to be happy."
Buck doesn't know how he does it, maybe its the lack of breath, but he slams his eyes closed before any tears can escape.
"Than-thanks, Athena. I appreciate that. I am happy." He says into her hair, hoping she can hear him.
"I'm happy for you too, Buck. I'm proud of you."
Buck just nods, not trusting his voice to stay steady. Athena pulls back then, and abruptly smacks Buck across the chest.
"Wha-what?!" Buck exclaims, reaching up to rub a hand across the area, eyebrows pinching in confusion, "Athena, why? You smack everyone you're proud of?"
Buck dances away from her when her hand comes up to point a figure at him. Lucy and Tommy are laughing outright at him, the air ambulance peanut gallery is giggling too.
"I am not protecting you when she finds out."
Buck gives a very mature whine then and hangs his head, "yeah, trust me, I am not looking forward to it."
Athena shakes her head, and turns to look at Tommy.
"Don't you laugh, Kinard, you think she won't go after all of her family for this?" Athena puts special emphasis on all, and Buck snickers when he sees Tommy's grin fall. Finally, Athena looks at the food and gestures towards it.
"Well, the food is here, in five minutes I will have a fine glass of this wine in my hands, and I will enjoy the show. Chop chop boys."
Athena grabs the wine she must have set down earlier, pops open a box of pizza, grabs a slice, and walks out of the kitchen. Buck decidedly chooses not to ask her to take a plate.
"She's right, Evan." Tommy says, and Buck sighs but nods.
"Yeah, lets do this. Grab the plates."
Tommy directs Adams to where the plates are and grabs a bottle of beer for himself, giving Lucy a warm hello and Eddie a bland one, then grabs two pizza boxes and heads out to the living room.
Buck follows him with two more, and the others follow suit. When everyone is gathered in the living room, which has seemingly become much more crowded and small; Buck, Tommy, and set dthe others own their cargo and Buck pulls Tommy with him to the front of the room.
Lucy, Eddie, Lopez, Adams, and Smith line the back wall; Gina and Sal still have claim on the love seat with Ravi on the arm of it; Maddie, Chim, Hen, and Karen are piled onto the couch; the kids are sitting on the floor and eagerly eying the pizza; and Melton and Ellie round out the party by leaning against the squashy armchair that Athena sits in, sipping her wine and taking slow and measured bites of her pizza.
"Uh, h-hi, everyone. Thanks for coming," Buck starts, and he feels Tommy's hand squeeze his reassuringly. Other than Athena and Ravi, Buck's adult guests have varying levels of confusion on their faces as they look at Tommy and Buck knows he can't pause for too long unless he wants Chim to interrupt with the questions that are surely ready to burst out of him.
"I know that we told you that this was a house warming party--which, it is! Tommy and I…bought and moved into this home. Together."
The harbor folks plus Gina and Sal are grinning happily, Ravi is shooting them a thumbs up, and Athena gives him a firm nod. He takes a deep breath and looks at Tommy. Tommy sends him a smile back, and Buck feels an answering one come out effortlessly across his own face.
"But, well, it's, uh…" Buck says, trying to keep the courage flowing.
"It's not just a house warming party." Tommy cuts in smoothly, saving Buck from himself, his voice like a soothing balm. "It's also..." Tommy trails off, dropping Buck's hand and moving it swiftly behind his back, "...a celebration of our marriage."
Tommy brings his left hand up with a flourish, and Buck slips his own ring on then brings his hand up too. Their matching bands glint in the warm lighting, and silence echos through the room.
Buck braces himself, looking around at the faces in front of him. Mouths have dropped open, the only exceptions being the kids under four, Athena, and Sal and Gina. Of course Sal and Gina aren't doing much better, they're also watching the crowd with unhinged glee on their faces—finally reaping the reward of being secret witnesses this morning.
"So, um--" Buck starts, but a wall of sound hits him, voices bending together and making each other incomprehensible.
"What?!" Seems popular, echoed by the group at the back.
"Are you kidding me?!" Comes from Chim, high pitched and wild.
Ravi is just laughing loudly, head thrown back and hand clutching at his chest.
Melton and Ellie are cheering, along with Denny and Mara, clapping and hooting.
Buck isn't sure how to react, he just feels Tommy pulled away from him when his husband gets mobbed by Lucy, Adams, Lopez, and Smith--surrounding him and badgering him with questions and congratulations all at once. Buck smiles, glad to see his husband congratulated so readily.
Ravi's laughter dies down and he's oblivious to the others' moods, jumping up to pull Buck into a one armed hug and give him a heartfelt "congrats, Buck. And, like, you're welcome." It knocks Buck for a loop enough that he laughs, smacking Ravi lightly on the shoulder and pushing him away. Ravi chuckles again before stepping back to sit in his already claimed spot--though this time its suspiciously closer to Sal, Sal's arm brushing against Ravi's thigh—
That--Buck can't think about that right now.
He turns back to face the rest of his friends and family, and fear starts to creep in a bit; smoothed over slightly when Denny and Mara send sweet, twin "congratulations, Buck!" exclamations up at him. He smiles at them and gently tells them to grab some pizza if they're hungry. They scramble up and towards the coffee table to dig in immediately, stopping to help Jee get a slice onto a plate before picking their own.
Buck's eyes flick up and past the couch, stopping on Eddie's shocked gaze for just a moment before Athena saves him by finishing her slice of pizza and clearing her throat. He looks to her gratefully and she raises her half empty wine glass to him.
"Congratulations, Buck. This is wonderful, of course." Athena says, the small smile sent his way at odds with the deliberate and pointed edge to her second statement.
It does what she intended, and suddenly several voices are tumbling over each other to congratulate him.
"Yes! Wonderful-this is wonderful, Buck!" He makes out from Karen, always better at schooling her face and tone than Hen is.
Hen: who barely gets a "Congratulations, to...both of you." out between her eyebrows doing gymnastics and her hands flung out and gesturing wildly.
Chim doesn't try to disguise his confusion, but he does inject a bit of excitement into his voice when he declares loudly; "This is great! Another cool brother-in-law. You hear that Jee? You got another Uncle!"
Jee lets out an unintelligible squeel of excitement around the mouthful of pizza she's chewing on, and Buck takes the moment for what it is to smile down at her where she has settled back down to the floor in front of Chimney's legs.
"Thanks, guys." Buck says, softly. He gets smiles back, with varying levels of believability, and he finally forces himself to look at his sister.
Maddie is looking down at the baby, frowning. Chimney sees Buck looking and gently taps Maddie on the shoulder, holding his hands out to take his son and nodding towards Buck.Maddie seems to blink and shake herself, handing baby Bobby off and standing. She takes a few steps towards Buck, arms raised for a hug.
It's all wrong--stiff and uncomfortable, not an ounce of warmth.
The hug is also over too quickly, Maddie pulling back to grab him by the forearms firmly. She looks up at him, and Buck feels his heart throb painfully when he sees the start of tears in Maddie's eyes--the smile that doesn't reach them.
"This is so amazing for you, Buck. I'm so happy for you."
She speaks at a normal volume, but her voice wavers and wobbles the entire sentence through.
"Mads-" Buck tries, but she purses her lips and shakes her head. Her eyes blink rapidly before squaring him with as steady as a look as she can manage.
"I'm happy for you." She reiterates, before looking down and taking a shaky breath.
"Excuse me, I need to grab Jee a glass of water and a paper towl before she gets sauce all over your wonderful rug here." She tells him, stepping back and away quickly.
He wants to call out, wants to ask her to stay as he watches her quickly retreat toward the kitchen, but they're lucky enough that all of Harbour and Ravi, Gina, and Sal are distracted by their own conversations to have noticed, and Buck doesn't want to draw more attention to the retreat.
He looks to Chim, who offers him a sad tilt of the head and a shrug. Chim mouths go at him, and he nods and takes off.The living room is spacious but it doesn't take Buck more than a few strides to cross it, only stopping for a second when Eddie tries to catch him on his way past.
It's a bit mean, but Buck can't find it within himself to care when Eddie says "Buck, what-" and Buck simply nods and cuts him off with a flat "Yeah, thanks man."
Maybe he'll regret that, but if asked, he may just admit that he doesn't want to take the chance of hearing how he's making his wedding announcement all about himself.
Buck crosses the arched doorway into the kitchen and doesn't see Maddie, but a shadow moves across the patio and he doesn't hesitate to slide open the door and step out into the cool night air. Maddie is leaned against the corner of the patio, shoulders slumped and hand swiping furiously across her face. Her back is to Buck, so she doesn't immediately realize it's him who's come out.
"I'm fine, Chim, I'll be back in a--Buck." She says, hand smudging across her eyes faster when she sees him.
"Maddie, I-I'm sorry. I know...I know I can't fix this but I am sorry."
"What?" She asks, eyebrows rising sharply and voice cracking slightly at the force of it. "You're sorry? Buck, I'm sorry."
"Wha-what? What do you mean?"
"What kind of sister pays so little attention to her brother--enc-encourages him to drop the man he clearly loves, doesn't realize that she didn't even know where he moved to...treats her brother so carelessly that you didn't even tell me you were getting married?"
It comes out in a rush, quick and breathless in a way Maddie rarely is. She sounds more like Buck than ever in that moment, and Buck can't help but feel fondness and care swell up along the guilt and sadness that are already under his skin.
"No, no Maddie, it wasn't you. I-I was being rash and selfis--"
"Don't you dare, Evan Buckley." Maddie cuts him off, eyes flashing and hand shooting out to grasp his hand where he was moving it through the air. "Do you love Tommy?"
"Yes? Of course." Buck tells her, no need to think."Why-"
"Do you want to be with Tommy? Share a life with him?"
"Ye-yeah."
"Does he treat you well? Never hits you or yells at you or insults you?" Maddie's voice is serious, and Buck knows what she's really asking after.
"Yeah, Mads. He's good to me."
Maddie nods, her eyes pitching upward as she blinks rapidly again.
"For a long time, have you felt like...like we haven't been there for you?"
"Oh, uh, no-no, you all have been great, really. Things have been hard for everyone..." he tries, but trails off when Maddie starts shaking her head.
"No, Buck. Don't give us a pass. Don't give me a pass."
"Maddie, you were kidnapped. You had a baby."
"You're right. Maybe I couldn't be there for you as much as I would have wanted to. But I could have…knocked some sense into Chim. I could have asked Hen to talk with you more. I could have realized that you and Eddie... that something happened there." She sounds sad, mournful; like she's breaking her own heart in real time.
"That uh...well," Buck says, not quite sure what to say, "I'm not sure myself what's going on there."
"You weren't selfish for getting married, or moving, or turning to Tommy. Your family hasn't been there for you. Not like we should have been." Maddie speaks fiercely, not breaking eye contact. She grabs one of Buck's hands in both of hers. "I will never be upset that you picked yourself up as much as you could and you found a way through. How could I be, when you supported me when I did it?"
Buck smiles a bit then, surprised when the action pushes a tear out of his eye. He reaches to wipe it away but Maddie beats him to it.
"We Buckley's…" She says, haunted in a way, "When we don't have what we need, we go find it. Sometimes for worse, but lately for better. I'm sorry that I tried to talk you away from Tommy. God he must hate me."
"No way!" Buck tells her quickly. "He thinks you're great."
Maddie chuckles wetly, and Buck feels a rush of joy finally pushing all the hurt and guilt out of his ribcage.
"Well, then I'm lucky. But Buck, I want to be clear with you. I'm sad I wasn't there for your wedding, but I understand completely why you didn't tell any of us. You deserve to be happy, you deserve a good thing. You deserve to have support. I've been such a--a hypocrite! All of me and Chim's complicated relationship history and we've all been treating you like you should have just given up on Tommy. You deserved someone, anyone telling you to fight for your big romance. For your now husband. I am so sorry that it wasn't me—but I promise that won't be the case anymore."
Buck's fully crying now, he knows his cheeks are going splotchy red and he's going to have a headache if he doesn't chug some water after this.
"O-okay." Is all he can get out, feeling like he's eight years old again and Maddie is telling him that there's nothing wrong with him, that it's his parents that are the problem, not him. Before Buck can reply, the door squeals open and Chim steps out, backlit by the yellow porch light Buck is going to get Tommy to replace soon.
"Uh-oh, blubbering Buckleys," he announces, giving a sly grin when Maddie and Buck let out nearly identical annoyed huffs, "I came out here with a bone to pick, but I can't just yell at a crying man."
Buck cringes, already pulling up an apology when Maddie steps in with a finger raised at her husband.
"Howard Han, don't you dare make him feel bad about this."
Chim throws his hands up in surrender, speaking quickly in the face of his wife's wrath. "No no no no, not about this. I meant what I said. Tommy as a brother-in-law? So cool. Finally someone who will get my movie references being around all of the time."
Buck laughs, and Maddie backs down.
"The bone I wanted to pick was that out of all the houses, of all the options, you're seriously choosing to go work under Captain Sal Deluca? He's going to hold this over me forever, Buck. C'mon man." Chimney ends his speech with a groan, giving Buck wide eyes and pleading hands.
Maddie turns then, looking up at Buck with surpise.
"You're leaving the 118?" She asks, and Buck sighs before nodding.
"Uh, yeah." He says quietly. "I'm sorry Chim, he must not have realized that you didn't know. I wanted to tell you...tell all of you at once. Just wanted to get all of this…house and secret wedding stuff out of the way first."
Chimney sighs, not unkindly, and reaches his arms out towards Buck. Buck goes easily, accepting the hug and returning it without hesitation.
"It's okay, Buck. I get it. Well, maybe I don't. The secret wedding thing is crazy. But I know that Sal is going to take care of you, and so will Tommy."
Buck nods, pulling back from the hug.
"But I don't want you to think that we don't want to be there for you too. That's on me. On us, Buck. You've done so much to help everyone else. To pick me up when I needed someone to. We haven't repaid that. Hell, we haven't even acknowledged it. Although, maybe Ravi has."
Buck doesn't say anything, just lets the words flow over him. Standing at the secluded outdoor altar today, Buck needed to tell himself that the fallout would be worth it--he doesn't know what to do with the fact that his suprise nuptials and career move are actually making things...better.
Chim stops for a moment, mouth twisting as he throws a thumb up and pointing past his shoulder, "also, uh, what is going on with Ravi, Sal, and Gi--"
Buck cuts him off with a strangled noise and quick but blunt statement: "I'm not thinking about that. At all. Stop talking about it."
Chim shrugs, and starts up where he left off.
"And the speech I gave...about no one leaving...it was a good speech. But a speech means nothing when you aren't doing anything to actually back it up, and I need you to know that I'm not upset with you, I'm upset with the rest of us. I don't think you're abandoning us, and--"
"Buckaroo, I'm sor--" Hen's voice suddenly cuts through Chim's monologue, sounding out in tandem with the sliding door's squeak. After the porch light, slathering the door track in WD40 is going to be next on Tommy's to-do list.
"Hen, don't step on my momen--" Chim cries out idigntatly.
"You've been out here forever and I can't keep getting the double judging look from Karen AND Athena!"
Chim huffs loudly and rolls his eyes. "Fine, whatever. Buck, long story short: I love you, you're my brother, and I hope you'll let me be a part of your life--new house and Tommy and all. Even with Sal being your captain."
"Wait, what?!" Hen exclaims, looking rapidly between Chim and Buck. Buck sends a half-hearted glare at Chim, but Chim just shrugs.
"Sorry, Buckaroo. I'm pretty sure Eddie overheard Sal and I, so Hen was going to find out quickly. Maybe Ravi already knows from his, uh, seating choices."
Hen's letting out a string of confused noises, still waiting for an answer and growing more confused at the mention of Ravi. Buck doesn't answer however, just sees a flash of movement and leans around them both to look back into the house.
Eddie was turned towards them, watching with a complicated expression on his face. He sees Buck looking at him, and Buck doesn't know what's on his own face, but Eddie nods just once--then Buck is watching him shrug his jacket back on and walk out the front door.
Buck sighs, and Hen and Chim, from where they turned just in time to see Eddie's back and the door closing, hiss out breaths simultaneously.
"Uh, what's going on there?" Hen asks, and Buck can't seem to answer her, doesn't even think he could make up an answer.
Maddie, though she's been silent for a while, squeezes Buck's arm before clearing her throat.
"Hey, this is a party, right? A celebration? There will be time to talk about changes after tonight. My baby brother just got married--not in a hospital room. Let's go celebrate."
Buck feels so grateful for her, and he gives her a smile before pulling her in for a side hug. She does easily, and when Buck looks up Chim and Hen are giving him soft smiles.
"She's right. Let's go celebrate, Buck." Hen tells him, opening the door and turning to head inside. "Hey, is it true you guys flew to Napa today for the ceremony? I thought Tommy was still suspended from flying."
Buck lets them all head in before him, and he's laughing quietly to himself as he watches them.
"Yeah, Gina flew us, the army is still like, super mad at me. If they could cort-martial me despite the already existing honorable discharge, I think they would." Tommy calls, body moving until he's a long line of heat up Buck's side, leaning in to whisper "all good?"
"Gina can fly?!" Chim exclaims, and Gina's head pops around the corner, no doubt in order to tell them the same story Buck had heard this morning—that once, Gina was so mad at Sal that she convinced Tommy to be her flight instructor, so now she can threaten to literally fly away from Sal if he makes her mad.
Buck looks at Tommy, knowing his eyes must still be bright and his cheeks red, but he smiles all the same, reaching down to grab Tommy's hand and lift it to his lips, kissing the line where skin meets silver.
"All good, husband." Buck tells him just as quietly, just for them.
Tommy smiles back, lovestruck in a way Buck knows he'll never get used to.
"Good. C'mon, harbor wants thier turn at congratulating you." He says, tugging on Buck's hand. Buck laughs, letting himself be pulled toward the murmur of noise coming from thier living room. Tommy stops before they cross over from the kitchen, looking contemplative.
"...also, we need to seperate Ravi from our witnesses. They're staying in our guest room tonight, and while I very much support...whatever that is or will be, I do not want to hear it on my wedding night."
Buck throws his head back and laughs, delighted in a way he hasn't been for nearly a year. In his delight, there exists a second to mourn the fact that Bobby won't be waiting around the corner for him; a thought about a friendship that became lost when Eddie chose to walk out the door. These thoughts simmer though him; he feels them like the blood in the veins under his skin, but they fall away and fade into the background of his heart and mind and body--carrying him on to every wonderful thing he's got ahead of him.