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“Yeah, ok.” Buck spoke into the phone, holding it up with his shoulder while he dug through his locker looking, presumably, for his car keys. “I’ll be over as soon as I find my–”
Eddie tapped him on the shoulder, holding out his keys. Buck scrunched up his face in confusion and Eddie just laughed at him, grabbing his own bag out of Buck’s locker that had apparently made its way in there sometime in the past 24 hours.
“--Ok, found them. Heading over, have the kids eaten yet? I could pick something up.” He nodded into the phone, reaching around Eddie to grab his own duffel. “Sounds good, see you soon, love you, bye-bye!” He dropped his shoulder, catching his phone as it fell, and shoved it into his pocket.
“Maddie?” Eddie asked, pulling a shirt over his head. Buck did not use those couple of seconds to ogle Eddie’s abs. He didn’t!
“Yup, I forgot she asked me to watch the kiddos tonight.” Buck grimaced, looking slightly guilty. “Sorry, I know we had plans but I already had told her–”
“It’s alright.” Eddie said, bumping his shoulder with his own, hiding the disappointment well, he thought. Buck wouldn’t be Buck if he wasn’t willing to drop anything for his family, and Eddie knew that he wouldn’t ever pass up an opportunity to spend time with Jee-Yun and Baby Han. Besides, their plans were beer and a new episode of Buck’s shitty reality TV show that Eddie was pretending not to be interested in.
“We can watch the new episode tomorrow?” Buck asked, pouting slightly, dropping to the bench to tie his shoes. He looked up at Eddie, who had to remind himself not to drool at the sight, snapping his jaw shut as he nodded.
“Yeah, sounds good.”
Buck narrowed his eyes playfully. “You better not Google who gets kicked off the island before we watch the new episode.”
“Whattt?” Eddie gasped breezily. “I would never. I don’t even remember who is still there.”
Buck snorted, seeing right through Eddie’s bullshit. Of course, he had caught Eddie downloading the app so he could participate in the voting, so Eddie didn’t truly have a leg to stand on.
“Whatever you say, b–buddy.” Buck stuttered. He tossed his duffel over his shoulder and clipped his keychain to his pants, standing and starting to walk towards his truck. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
Eddie nodded, “Yeah, see you then.” He watched as Buck disappeared around the corner, allowing his smile to droop around the edges once he was out of sight.
“Sickening.” Hen snorted, laughing when Eddie startled at the sound of her voice. She leaned against the glass door, smiling at him in a way that reminded him of his sisters when they were making fun of him.
“Wow, Hen Wilson, homophobe, I’m appalled.”
“Eddie Diaz, pussy, I’m shocked.”
“Am not a–” Eddie groaned as Hen grinned at him. “I regret telling your wife all my secrets.”
“That’s cute.” Hen reached past him to get her own bag, smiling with an exaggerated patronizing look. “You think it’s a secret.”
He could feel the blush spreading across his face and shook his head. “Ok, I’m heading home. I’ll see you next shift.”
Hen grinned. “Home to Buck.”
“He’s not coming home tonight, he’s babysitting for Maddie.” Eddie pouted.
“Oh no! You have to spend twelve whole hours without him?”
Eddie glared halfheartedly. “Leaving for real now.” Hen’s laugh followed him out of the station.
Buck woke up to Jee patting him on the cheeks, smiling down at him when he finally cracked his eyes open.
“Pancakes, please?” She asked, giving him the same look that Maddie gave when she was excited about something. Safe to say, he folded faster than a paper plate.
After the batter was mixed, the baby was fed and burped, and Jee had commandeered the pancake pouring, Buck checked his phone. A couple of texts from Maddie, saying that they were on their way back, one from Bobby planning another cooking lesson, and multiple from Eddie.
Squinting, he opened his thread with Eddie, surprised– but pleased– to see eight new texts.
Eddie: Hey, where did you put my green hoodie?
9:07pm
Buck glanced down at the green hoodie he was wearing and winced.
Eddie: Do you want to try that new brunch place tomorrow?
10:38pm
Eddie: Next time you babysit you should bring them over here
11:12pm
Eddie: Chris just sent me this new documentary coming out next month! Link
Eddie: Wait why is he still awake
12:01am
Eddie: He says he is “too old for a bedtime” now and “midnight is prime research time”, he gets that from you
12:29am
Eddie: What time are you going to be back in the morning?
1:59am
Eddie: Chris says he wants to go to his friends today, if I drive him can you pick him up in the afternoon? I have a session with Frank
7:43am
Buck felt a flush creep up on his face, clearing his throat quickly, he set his phone down for a second to help Jee pour some syrup onto her plate. The door opened at the same time, Maddie and Chimney walking in, laughing at something the other had said. Buck grinned at them, taking in Maddie’s face as her smile widened at seeing the three of them at the table.
Jee jumped up and ran to give them hugs, and Buck lifted the baby from his bassinet in the corner and gently lifted his little arm in a fist pump as he babbled happily at seeing his parents.
“There’s my little guy.” Chimney crooned, lifting him out of Buck’s arms, and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Did you get to hang out with your big sister Jee?” He turned to include Jee in the conversation, from where she had wrapped her arms around Maddie’s neck.
“Uncle Buck was teaching him to say Buck!” Jee snitched, laughing as Buck exaggeratedly pressed a finger to his lips to shush her while Chimney jokingly started ranting about betrayal and heartbreak from his own family. Jee laughed and jumped down, running to join Chimney and the baby in their little bubble.
“Wowwww.” Maddie’s voice broke through Buck’s haze of watching Chimney wrapping both his kids up in his arms. “What do we have here?”
“Mads–” His eyes widened as he saw Maddie picking up his phone and starting to scroll. He felt his face start to heat up again. “That’s not–”
Maddie met his eyes with a knowing look gleaming in her own. “I don’t even text Howie this much, and we are married.”
“Yeah, yeah, he’s just not used to me not being around, ok? He’s my best friend.”
“I know for a fact that Hen doesn’t text Howie like that when they spend a night apart.” Maddie said, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, yeah. She has Karen, and Chim has you, so…”
“So, Eddie is like your husband?”
Buck…didn’t have a response for that. “Ok, I have to go, he wants to have brunch, love you all!” Buck stumbled for the door, pressing a kiss to the kids foreheads on his way out and making an exaggerated kissy face at Chimney too, for good measure.
“Text him back!” Maddie yelled, laughter in his voice. “He misses you!”
Buck rolled his eyes dramatically as he closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it with his spare key. Trust Maddie to know a little too much about his thought process. He guesses that’s what happens when she was the one to raise him, though.
He swung himself up into the cab of his truck, turning on the engine, before looking back at his phone.
Buck: i have it im srry
Buck: lol no im not its comfy
Buck: yessss im starving
Buck: ik as soon as mads is comfy w the baby leaving the house !
Buck: that looks sick! well have to go see it fs
Buck: LMAO
Buck: ok mister stays-up-till-two im sure he got it from me
Buck: leavings mads now
Buck: gonna stop by bobbys
Buck: yeah! ill pick him up no wrries jst tell me the time
8:23am
Shifting the truck into gear, he started the drive to Bobby’s. He hadn’t even decided to go visit until the last second, but Maddie had…not necessarily been wrong, and now he couldn’t make heads or tails of the thoughts racing through his head.
Eddie was…probably not straight, if the amount of times Buck had caught him staring at his shoulders, arms, legs, and lips were to be trusted. Still, it wasn’t something that he ever wanted to risk. Eddie and Chris were everything, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he messed that up.
He could talk to Maddie, he knew she would drop the teasing and give him serious, solid advice if he asked, but she was married to Chimney, and if Chimney knew, then…well.
His mind flashed back to all the previous times that Bobby had been his go-to for advice, for conversations that he imagined Chris would go to Eddie or Buck for, which…Buck was not going to think too much about. Ever since they got Bobby back from the covert lab that Athena was still working on obliterating, every single second he got with Bobby had made him emotional. He was sure that even fifty years from now, he wouldn’t take a second with Bobby for granted.
Pulling up to the house, he sat for a second before walking up and ringing the bell. He technically had a key, but after the stories May told him from after she moved to college, he wasn’t about to use his key with no notice that he was dropping by.
“Buck!” Bobby sounded surprised to see him, but Buck could read the happiness on his face. It seemed that with his second-third-fourth…eighth chance at life, he was way less concerned with keeping his emotions close to his chest. Not that he had been before, but now he didn’t bother to hide the emotion as it overtook him.
“Hey, Bobby.” Buck smiled. “Sorry to drop by unannounced but…”
“Nonsense.” Bobby interrupted, pulling the door open. “Come in, you know there’s always a place for you here. You can help me finish breakfast, I’m trying something new.”
Something new, it turns out, was that Bobby was on a kick of recreating all sorts of different breakfast foods and today was steamed fish, rice, and a few other dishes that had Buck’s mouth watering almost instantly.
He handed Buck a pan and gave a few instructions, before getting back to work. Buck hummed as he worked next to Bobby perfectly in sync, their new kitchen allowing for an almost synchronized flow as they worked. Bobby didn’t bring up Buck showing up unannounced again, allowing him the time to process what he wanted to talk about, waiting patiently without pushing.
Finally, as they plated the food, making an extra for Athena when she woke up, Buck blurted out– “Do you think it’s weird that I still live with Eddie?” A flash of deja vu hit him, but he just stabbed into his food and took a big bite while he waited for Bobby to respond.
“No.” Bobby said, no preamble. He said it like it was obvious, like he had been sitting on it and waiting for Buck to catch up, slightly bemused, even.
“Me either.” Buck replied, his voice the tiniest bit whiny. “Don’t tell the others but–” He froze, meeting Bobby’s eyes, then in a hushed tone- “I think I’m in love with him.”
Bobby’s eyes softened, and he tilted his head towards Buck, a fond smile tugging at his mouth. “Don’t tell the others,” like it was a joke they were both in on, “but I think he loves you too.”
Buck looked away, shoving another bite into his mouth so he had an excuse not to speak. He felt his traitorous eyes well up with tears and quickly swallowed his food before turning back to Bobby. “I’m…scared. What if I mess it up? I always–”
“It’s you and Eddie, kid.” Bobby said calmly, “I don’t think it’s possible for the two of you to not love each other enough to work out any issues that arise. Not-” He interjected as Buck went to interrupt. “Not that I think there will be issues. The two of you would– do– love each other hard enough that nothing else in the world could possibly interfere.”
Buck nodded minutely, looking back at the table. At the end of the day, that was all that mattered, right? Eddie’s love for him wasn’t in question, just like his love for Eddie wasn’t. That was unshakeable.
“I’m home!” Buck called out, walking into the house, kicking off his shoes, and wandering to the kitchen. Ruffling through the fridge to find something to drink, he stood back up, closing the door as he heard Eddie walk into the kitchen.
“Hey.” His voice came out soft, fond, embarrassingly lovingly.
Eddie’s answering smile was just as soft. If Chris was here, he would be dramatically dry-heaving at the display.
“I missed you.” Buck said, smiling as Eddie’s cheeks flushed pink.
“I missed you too.” Eddie replied, just above a whisper.
Buck reached out an arm, and Eddie stepped forward, curling into the embrace. They stood there for seconds, maybe minutes, basking in the other’s presence. Buck felt like he was on the edge of a cliff, ready to jump, a bungee cord the only thing keeping him on this side of the living. The adrenaline coursing through his body had his hands shaking, almost unnoticeable as he slid his hand up Eddie’s back, up his neck, cupping his jaw.
Eddie shivered as Buck gently tilted his head up to meet his eyes, greedily taking in the flush on his face that was creeping down his neck, past the worn t-shirt that he always slept in.
“Buck-” Barely a whisper, drawing Buck’s gaze back up to Eddie’s parted lips, then up to his eyes, catching on the freckle below one.
“Eddie.” He whispered back, fingers slipping to the back of Eddie’s neck, sliding through the short hair and pulling him-ever so slightly-closer to himself. Eddie started to say something, but his voice caught in his throat, and Buck rubbed his thumb along his pulse, feeling the erratic beat contrasting the stillness of the moment.
“I love you.” Buck had to say it. It wasn’t a question, he knew that Eddie knew, but there was something about saying it that cemented the moment for him, for them. Eddie’s face, if possible, went even softer as his own gaze roved over Buck’s face, taking in every part of him, looking straight into his soul.
“I love you.” He replied, smile widening, the flushed apple of his cheeks flashing as Buck’s face must do some sort of happy dance at the words. He didn’t have a chance to say anything back because Eddie’s lips were pressing into his own, gentle, tentative. Like he was asking permission for something he knew he would always have, just to hear the yes again, to feel the want reflected back at him.
Buck responded in kind, pulling Eddie in the final few millimeters, a soft, contented sigh pulling itself from his chest as he tasted Eddie, pulling him, impossibly, closer. He couldn’t remember why he ever thought this-them-could be messed up.
It was inevitable, as sure as anything in the universe ever had been, the surest that he had ever been.