Work Text:
Kissing your best friend on his couch after maiming him in a fit of jealousy would probably inspire a longer moment of self reflection, but in this one instance Buck feels fairly normal about the whole thing. No spiraling needed.
Which is why it’s so easy to just let it stay between them for a while. No reason to run and tell Maddie, or bother Bobby for advice. For once everything just feels settled and right. They tell Chris, obviously, but it almost becomes an unspoken agreement to avoid popping their bubble for at least a few weeks. Besides, there’s still a lot for them to figure out before their friends get involved.
Being with Eddie is quite possibly the best thing that has ever happened to Buck and somehow he’s staying super casual about it.
Monday 2:43 PM
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: i miss you i need to see you
Eds (loml) ❤️🔥: On my way!
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: YESSS
It’s one of those rare times in the firehouse where they’ve been slow enough to finish all of their current tasks and are rewarded with the ability to laze around in the loft until the next alarm goes off. Which leaves Buck on his back, half off the couch, head surrounded by stray bits of popcorn that Eddie keeps trying, and failing, to throw into his mouth. He’s also forgetting to warn Buck before he throws so he’s just occasionally being hit in the face with little pieces.
Chimney’s already asked the typical bored and ran out of things to talk about conversation starter, “So, how was everyone’s weekend?” and Hen finishes up her fairly normal recap when she turns towards Eddie and asks, “What about you, Edmundo?”
“Nothing crazy,” He starts, “Movie night with Christopher, finally did some laundry…”
No one seems particularly interested in the life of Eddie Diaz – other than Buck of course, who was there for everything he’s described and yet could still listen to him talk about laundry for the rest of his life. No one else is interested, until.
“...Went on a date.”
The atmosphere in the room immediately shifts. It’s palpable. It’s as if the entire solar system has just gotten knocked out of place.
“You did what now?” Hen exclaims. She and Chimney immediately sit up, lean closer. Buck just blindly reaches for a piece of popcorn near his head and chews on it. Bobby, chronically unbothered, walks past them all towards the kitchen and says nothing despite Chim’s shocked gestures.
“You know,” Eddie says nonchalantly, “Went out to dinner on Sunday. It was great.”
Buck smiles.
“Well don’t leave us in suspense,” Chimney cries, “Who’s the lucky lady?”
“Wait,” Hen interrupts before Eddie can answer or correct him, “Isn’t Sunday when you and Buck do dinner together?”
“Right,” says Chim, “And we only know that because Buck whines about loyalty in the group chat every time you cancel.”
“So why the hell is Buck not getting freaked up about this?” Hen turns towards him, clearly wanting an answer he doesn’t quite know how to give.
“It wasn’t a problem,” He tries. Buck knows immediately after he says it that it won’t be enough for them. Eddie has only canceled Sunday dinner a handful of times throughout the years, but every time it’s happened Buck has brought the dramatics in the 118 after hours group chat. It’s common practice. He can’t believe he forgot.
“ It wasn’t a problem ,” Hen repeats, squinting at him. They hold each other’s gazes for a heavy moment. Then, Hen raises her eyebrows and Buck knows she’s figured it out.
Chimney turns his head back and forth looking in between them comically. “I’m confused.”
Hen just laughs, and says, “Glad you had a nice time, Eddie .”
Buck doesn’t miss how she directs that to him instead of Eddie.
Thursday 1:46 AM
Eds (loml) ❤️🔥: Some girl asked for my number at the gym.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: does she want to die?
Eds (loml) ❤️🔥: What if it was just in a platonic friend way?
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: it wasn’t
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: you haven’t seen yourself on that treadmill trust
Eds (loml) ❤️🔥: She was really nice though.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: you have to stop or i’m going to get us both banned from that gym
Eds (loml) ❤️🔥: Promise?
“Hi,” Eddie calls warmly as he lets himself into the loft. Buck’s already standing up to greet him from the sound of the key in the lock, not unlike an overexcited dog.
“You’re late,” Buck teases.
Eddie chuckles, taking off his jacket and shoes, and says, “I ran into a friend at the grocery store and we were talking for a bit.”
“Hm.”
Eddie snaps his head up to look at Buck, eyes wide. “No, don’t do it.”
“If you want to go hang out with them that’s fine,” Buck replies, smile giving him away.
“I don’t.”
“It’s like fine, I don’t even care if you don’t like me anymore.”
Buck turns away from him and walks into the kitchen, putting distance between them. Eddie throws off his other shoe, leaving it in the middle of the doorway, and jogs over to Buck. He wraps his arms around him from behind before Buck even notices he’s caught up.
“Buck, baby, light of my life,” He presses into Buck’s back, “I don’t want to hang out with anyone but you. It’s kind of a problem.”
He turns around in Eddie’s embrace, now chest to chest. Eddie tightens his arms around Buck’s middle again and rests his cheek on his collarbone. Buck brings his own arms up to hold Eddie’s back. Those ridiculous brown cow eyes stare up at him, innocent and loving. He can’t help but lean in for a kiss.
It’s moments like these, the soft, quiet, intimate ones, when Buck stops to think about how lucky he is. It’s everyone’s dream for the person they fall in love with to be their best friend. Buck and Eddie got that automatically. Already included in the package.
He always thought he was getting close to that in his other relationships, it’s only now that he realizes those were miles away from this.
Buck pulls away a few inches to look at his boyfriend.
“Hey,” He says. Eddie cocks his head at him in question. He takes another second just to look at him, then asks, “Will you be my date to my sister’s wedding?”
“I’m already invited.”
Buck pinches him, making him jump. “You know what I mean. Be my date . Officially. Unless you want me to ask Tommy.”
Eddie’s eyes immediately darken. The other perk of dating your best friend is you know exactly what to say to piss them off.
“Sorry, I think Tommy’s getting in a helicopter crash that day,” Eddie replies. Buck barks out a laugh.
“That’s dark.”
“I get a pass.” Eddie shrugs, smirking. “Yes, I will be your date to the wedding, but only if you’ll be mine.”
“I think that’s implied, yeah.”
“Just making sure,” Eddie murmurs as he tilts his head up and leans in for another kiss. Buck can never not indulge him.
Thursday 5:07 PM
Eddiebear <3: Extra family dinner tomorrow night? Chris wants your gnocchi.
Eddiebear <3: And I miss you.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: i would kill a man just to receive the honor, the privilege of being able to make you and chris gnocchi
Eddiebear <3: Luckily all you have to do is bring the marinara.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: whatever you say beautiful
Things with Eddie are great. So great, in fact, that Buck doesn’t even realize he never told his sister until she brings up her wedding guest list. He has to take a minute to just stop and think about the fact that he never had to come running to Maddie to get her advice on it, everything just fell into place.
With literally any other relationship he has or would have told Maddie immediately, probably because of some problem he’s working through. Turns out he doesn’t need sisterly advice when he already knows the person inside and out. It’s easy to understand what the other is thinking when you’ve seen each other cry and helped them shower and celebrated their milestones all before even kissing.
“I gave you a plus one, by the way, just in case you wanted to do something with that,” Maddie says. She gives him a hopeful look as if she wants a certain answer out of him.
“Thanks, but you don’t have to worry about it,” He replies. Buck stamps and seals another envelope. When he offered to help with wedding planning he wasn’t expecting to get so much glue in his mouth.
“I just think it might be nice for you to get back out there, you know?” She pushes, “This is me giving you full consent to woo someone at my wedding.”
“I really don’t need–”
“There’s really no one you would want to bring?”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” Buck starts, but he’s interrupted by his phone ringing on the table in between them.
Incoming Call: Future husband ❤️🔥😩
Before he can think to grab it, he watches Maddie do a double take, then frowns at the screen. He wanted to tell her in a bit of a nicer way, but what’s done is done he supposes.
“Eddie, hey!”
Her frown gets even deeper, if that’s even possible. Then a chill runs down Buck’s spine and all he can think is holy shit . My sister doesn’t like Eddie .
He’s certain she’s figured it out by that contact name alone, so why else would she look so distraught at it being Eddie on the other side of the phone? He knows they haven’t spent that much time together, but it always seemed like she liked him. Buck never thought this could be an option, his sister’s opinion means everything, but he never considered he’d have to choose between her approval and Eddie.
But none of it makes sense. Eddie’s never done anything wrong. Never done anything to upset or offend her. He’s never even done anything to Buck that would elicit that reaction from her. Eddie has a silver star for god's sake.
If anything, Maddie shouldn’t approve of their relationship because Buck doesn’t deserve Eddie, not the other way around. Based alone on the fact that he hasn’t heard anything his boyfriend has been saying to him for the past minute.
“Hello? Buck?”
“Sorry, uh, you were cutting out,” Buck lies, “What were you saying?”
He watches Maddie not so nonchalantly go back to writing addresses on envelopes and pretending not to listen.
“I was just asking what you’re doing tonight. Chris is at a sleepover with his cousins, so I thought we could go out for dinner.”
“That sounds great. I’ll come over once I finish up here with Maddie.”
His sister is a lot more openly expressive than he thinks she knows. She laughs a bit to herself, then shakes her head. Buck wants to cry.
“Wear something hot,” Eddie teases. Despite everything, Buck still laughs and he feels his cheeks heat up.
“Will do,” He says. He watches as Maddie’s pen runs out of ink in the middle of writing out their parent’s address. A little ironic, he thinks. She gets up to go look for another. He considers just crumpling up the envelope before she can finish it.
“Alright, I’ll see you later,” Eddie’s voice murmurs in his ear, “Love you, Buck. Have fun with your sister.”
“Love you too, Eds.”
Maddie comes back after he’s hung up with Eddie, new pen in hand and sympathetic look on her face.
“How is Eddie?” She asks with a strange tone that only makes him nauseous.
“He’s good, great, he’s the best,” Buck replies and watches as Maddie keeps thinking about how much they shouldn’t be together. He can feel it. She finishes writing the address and passes it over to Buck. He sighs and reluctantly stamps and seals.
“Good,” She says quietly, “Just consider what I said, okay? I just think you should expand your social circle.”
“I’m not really the making friends type,” Buck jokes, trying to lighten the mood, “Didn’t go very well for me last time.”
“Well maybe stay away from basketball courts and you’ll be fine.”
“Ha. Ha.”
Tuesday 8:03 PM
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: can i come over and stare at you like this
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️:
Future husband ❤️🔥😩 : Oh!
Future husband ❤️🔥😩 : Yeah sure why not.
Buck doesn’t get surprised by things Eddie does very often, not after so many years, but when he finds him laying on the floor in the middle of his living room, blankets and sheets surrounding him, he does have to pause.
“What’s happening here?”
Eddie lifts his head up slightly to look in Buck’s direction. “Didn’t want to put them back on my bed.”
“Want some help?”
“We’re making a fort.”
Buck blinks at him. Eddie sits up fully.
“You have made a blanket fort before, right?”
Buck flushes, embarrassed in a rare form that can only come from having a crap childhood. Eddie doesn’t let it linger, though, sensing the sore spot immediately. Instead, he stands up and immediately kicks Buck’s ass into gear by throwing a wad of blankets at his face.
“Isn’t this more work than just putting the sheets back on your bed?” Buck questions.
“Well yeah, but this is more fun , Buckley.”
So they make the blanket fort, and it’s a damn good one because they’re firefighters and Buck used to do construction, so structural integrity is kind of their thing and it’s awesome . They giggle like teenagers and throw whatever family sized bags of chips Eddie has into the middle. Buck breaks into Eddie’s laptop, starts an episode of the show they’ve been watching, and they settle in, pressed against each other in the dark on the hard floor of the living room. They will definitely regret it later, but right now it feels like rebellion in the best way possible.
After a while, they shut the laptop and lay next to each other on their backs, basking in each other's warmth.
“Hey,” Buck whispers, “Can I talk to best friend Eddie for a second?”
Eddie rolls over onto his side to look at him, brows furrowed. “I’m always your best friend.”
“Yeah I know, but,” Buck sighs, “I just feel a little stupid saying this to boyfriend Eddie.”
Eddie stares at him for a moment, then untangles their feet where they were intertwined under the blankets. He turns on one of the lamps contributing to the structural integrity of their blanket fort and it bathes them both in a reddish glow.
“Okay,” He says, “What’s up?”
“So,” Buck starts, opting to look up at the blanket above them rather than into his friend’s gaze, “I kissed a guy.”
Eddie lets out a small laugh, but goes along with it anyway. From the corner of his eye, Buck watches him settle in, get serious, propped on an elbow looking down at him.
“How are you feeling about that?”
“Really good.” Buck looks at him then, watches the soft smile and blush appear on Eddie’s face. The one he can never stop from appearing. “It made me do a lot of thinking about myself, though, and I realized...”
“Realized what?”
Buck takes a deep breath, then, “I’m bisexual.”
“Yeah?”
“I just wanted to tell you that,” Buck whispers.
Eddie settles back down next to him, lying on his side again. This time, Buck turns to face him, inches apart.
“Buck.” Eddie reaches out one finger to trace along Buck’s chin. “Thank you for telling me.”
He can’t tell if Eddie’s still in best friend mode, or back to boyfriend mode. Or if those two are even distinguishable at this point. Or if they ever were to begin with. Neither of them say anything for a while, Eddie continuing to trace the details of Buck’s face like he’s a sculpture. When he gets to the birthmark he seems to be satisfied.
“Why’d you feel stupid to tell me that as your boyfriend?”
“I don’t know.”
“No,” Eddie pokes him in the cheek, “C’mon.”
“Doesn’t it seem a little obvious?” Buck asks, “I’m dating you. A man. It feels silly to tell the guy you kiss that you’re into men.”
“No, hey, it’s not silly. It’s a new part of who you are.” Eddie slides a hand down to Buck’s shoulder, automatically forcing him to look into his eyes. It’s muscle memory at this point. “And maybe we went about it in a backwards way, but this still matters and I always wanna know what you’re thinking. I want to know you.”
It’s funny how Eddie seems to be one of the only people in the world who wants to spend their time getting to know Buck. It took him a while to find anyone who cared enough, who wasn’t content with just making assumptions about him. This is what love really is, he thinks, taking the time to learn each other. Being happy to spend time whispering secrets to each other under blankets and knowing what they buy at the grocery store. Cooking their favorite foods. Memorizing their phone password.
“Thank you for loving me,” Buck says.
“Easiest thing in the world.”
They lay there for a while, looking into each other’s eyes close enough they start to distort. Breathing together. Then,
“I have something to tell you too,” Eddie breaks the silence, “I’m gay.”
“Oh.” Buck winces at his own reaction. “Sorry, just- wow. That’s a big change.”
“I know, but it feels good. Like everything about me finally makes sense. Everything feels right with you.”
Buck smiles, eyes starting to get a little misty, “That’s great, Eds. I’m so proud of you.”
“C'mere gordito.” Eddie grins, then grabs Buck around the waist, rolling over onto his back and hauling Buck over with him. He ends up halfway on top of Eddie who keeps his arms wound tightly around Buck. He presses a kiss into Buck’s scalp with an exaggerated ‘mwah’ sound.
Saturday 1:02 AM
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: where did you go
Eddiebear: Bathroom
Eddiebear: Be back in a sec, go back to sleep.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: invite me next time??
Eddiebear: Ew no wtf.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: why do you hate me
Eddiebear: Fine, doors unlocked freak.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: On my way!
Their legs are intertwined sitting across from each other in the back of the engine. Eddie taps a rhythm on Buck’s knee that no one else seems to notice. It’s been a good day.
The sun comes through the window at just the right angle to light up Eddie’s face, bringing out the brighter browns and yellows in his eyes and the pink of his cheeks. Buck thinks he’s beautiful.
He often finds himself thinking about just how lucky he is to have this person. Someone who embodies everything he could ever want around him. Not just in romance, but in friendship, partnership. He’s the best of every type of person Buck could have in his life. Boyfriend, best friend, work partner. All wrapped into one pretty package. It’s a once in a lifetime deal he’s got here, he knows it.
“You two want to get some food with us after shift’s over?” Hen breaks the peaceful silence and Buck reluctantly looks away from Eddie to see her and Chim both staring at them in question.
Always eager for a chance to spend more time with everyone, Buck almost jumps in with an enthusiastic yes, but he’s beaten before he can answer. Which is probably a good thing because he almost forgot.
“Can’t, sorry,” Eddie smirks, “I’ve got a hot date.”
“Okay,” Hen looks them up and down, exaggerating the word, “I see you.”
She doesn’t look upset, or concerned, Buck notices. At least one person who knows about them approves. Of all people, he never thought Hen wouldn’t, though. She’s a safe bet.
“What about you, Buck?” Chimney leans over her to ask.
“Uh.” He’s a little confused on why Chim would think his answer would be different from Eddie’s seeing as it’s pretty obvious he is the hot date in question. He’s sure Maddie would have dropped that bomb. “I’ve also gotta pass.”
He accepts the answer without much question. But Buck does notice him pull out his phone and clearly start texting Maddie going off of the sheer amount of heart emojis in the contact name. Crap .
Thursday 9:02 AM
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: eddie.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: eddie. eddie
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: eddie
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: can we go see oasis
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: https://www.ticketmaster.com/oasis-tickets/artist/766720
Eddiebear: You listen to Oasis??
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: duh
Eddiebear: I have never once seen or heard you listening to Oasis.
Eddiebear: But yes I would love to go with you.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: i thought we were besties
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: bffs
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: you’re supposed to know everything about me
Eddiebear: Screenshot: You got the tickets! Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, September 6, 2025 (3 tickets)
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: wait omg hold on lemme venmo you half how much was it please pleasep lease i love you
It takes him a while, and earns him a lot of suspicious looks, but about halfway through their shift Buck is finally able to corner Chimney. He’s cleaning up in the kitchen and miraculously everyone else has found something else to do far enough from earshot that Buck’s comfortable asking the question that’s been on his mind for days.
“Hey Chim,” He starts, “You and Eddie are close, right?”
Chimney squints at him, looks him up and down. He turns off the sink and crosses his arms.
“That depends,” He answers at last, “Are you going to get weird and start marking your territory if I say yes?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Then yes, Eddie and I are friends,” Chimney shrugs, “Not as close as you are with him, we don’t really hang out, but yeah we’re friends.”
Buck considers this. Eddie doesn’t really hang out with anyone besides him anymore. Is this the problem? Has he stolen Eddie away from everyone? Has finally getting what he wanted ruined everything else around him?
“You like him though, right?” Buck gulps. “You guys are cool? No problems?”
“Is there something I should know?” He frowns. Crap. Maybe Maddie hasn’t shared her concerns with him. Maybe Buck is digging Eddie into a deeper hole with the Buckley-Han household.
“Nope, nothing, just going around checking on firehouse camaraderie,” Buck says, slowly backing away from Chimney, “And everything seems good here, so I’m just gonna…”
“Is this about the plus one thing?”
Buck stops in his tracks.
“What plus one thing?”
“We didn’t give Eddie a plus one because Maddie thought it might be weird–” He cuts himself off, “Actually, nevermind, I wasn’t supposed to say anything. You heard nothing.”
Now Buck knows he’s definitely right. His sister hates his relationship. He retraces his steps back to stand next to Chimney. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh you wanna finish these dishes for me?” Chimney ignores him. “Thanks so much, Buck, wow that’s so nice of you!”
As he stands there and scrubs pots, he thinks through what he knows. Maddie saw his very loving-romantic-slightly-unhinged-but-makes-eddie-laugh contact name. She’s smart enough to know they’re together now with all the hinting at she was doing before they figured it out. She didn’t give Eddie a plus one to her wedding. She didn’t give Eddie a plus one to her wedding because she doesn't want them to go as each other’s dates.
She doesn’t want them to be together. He has to convince her otherwise or he might just consider his life over already.
Saturday 6:03 AM
Babymama: Come over immediately when you see this.
Babymama: Nothing's wrong, just want you here.
Babymama: Need a hit of my Buck.
Saturday 8:32 AM
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: IM UP IM COMING
Buck drives them both home from work most days. He did this even before they were together. It’s an act of service that means a lot to him, making sure the people he loves get home safe. And Eddie loves skipping all of his songs and ruining his Spotify algorithm, so it works out for both of them.
This time, he barely pays any attention to the songs Eddie rejects because he can only think about one thing.
“You should hang out with Chimney more,” Buck blurts.
“Why?” Eddie doesn’t pay him much mind, just settles on a song and leans back into the seat. “We don’t really hang out , we see each other at work.”
“Yeah, but, what if you did though,” Buck presses. He knows he sounds like an idiot, but Eddie furrows his brow and shifts in his seat as if he’s trying to get closer to pay more attention.
“Did he say something?”
“No, I just,” Buck knows Eddie’s going to hate this, “I feel like I’m taking up all of your time now. I don’t want anyone else to feel neglected and get, like, resentful, you know?”
Eddie stares at him, a burning gaze. He really has mastered the art of strategic silences.
After he successfully gets Buck squirming in his seat, he says, “That’s stupid.”
And then, “The amount of time I spend with you versus other people hasn’t changed. Newsflash, bud, but I’m the only one obsessed with you and you’re the only one obsessed with me. No one’s being left out there.”
“Don’t you ever get tired of me?”
Eddie’s a quiet man. He’s careful and thoughtful with his words. He doesn’t often go on long tangents or speeches, he doesn’t need to. But when he does, he says what matters, he’s gentle no matter the topic. He takes the time to think everything through. He knows exactly what he’s going to say. It seems easier for him to say what he means lately. Buck’s the opposite. He’s constantly falling over his own words and blurting out the wrong thing. He doesn’t mean to ask the question, not really. Eddie has shown him the answer time and time again.
“Never,” Eddie answers anyway, “I feel the most like myself when I’m with you and when I’m not I’m just trying to hold onto that feeling until the next time I see you. I wanna be with you all the time. I want to sit here with you. I want to cook dinner with you. I want to wake up with you in the morning. I want to go to the farmer’s market and watch you pick over every single tomato. I want to go to work with you every single day. And I want to come home and do it all over again every day for the rest of our lives because you’re my best friend.”
Neither of them talk for the rest of the drive back to Eddie’s house. Even Buck can sense when words need the opportunity to just sit in the air for a while.
He stops in front of the house, puts the car in park, then finally looks at his boyfriend.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” Eddie smiles warmly at him, “And if Chimney wants to hang out I’m always down, you are not stopping me from doing that, don’t worry.”
Tuesday 5:12 PM
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: are you busy tomorrow
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: i deleted my google calendar app
My Eddie: Why would you do that?
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: it kept telling me what to do
My Eddie: You are so special to me.
My Eddie: I promised Abuela I would spend the day with her.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: fml
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: UGH i can’t even be mad at that one
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: you’re so hot when you’re being a loving grandson
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: have fun i’ll just go cry over there where no one can see me
My Eddie: Thx ❤️
So it’s not that he’s hogging Eddie. Chimney isn’t secretly yearning to spend time with him that Buck is taking up, at least he’s mostly certain that isn’t the case. As far as he can tell, Maddie’s disapproval comes from just her. Which honestly feels a lot worse.
He knows his sister only wants what's best for him, but is it not obvious that this is the happiest he’s probably ever been? The most stable relationship he’s ever had? It was partially her words that helped him realize he was in love with Eddie anyways, did he seriously misunderstand her that badly?
Buck’s opted for a different approach. If he shows Maddie just how wonderful Eddie is, she’ll have to come around.
“Eddie’s helping me plan the bachelor party,” He says, “We’re thinking eighties themed.”
He’s cornered her during her lunch break at work, which maybe isn’t the best place to bombard her with all the reasons why his boyfriend is amazing, but he’s working on borrowed time here. He has to fix this before the wedding.
“That’s really sweet of you guys,” Maddie replies. He can almost sense her heart isn’t in it.
“He’s a really great guy,” Buck continues on, “You know yesterday he spent the entire day with his grandma? He’s just the best.”
“You–”
“I mean,” He cuts her off, maybe a dick move, but he’s in the zone now, “I’ve never met someone as loving as Eddie. He really cares so much about everyone, but he’s quiet about it in such like a… tender way.”
Try to say something negative about that. Try to disapprove of Eddie Diaz the big warm teddy bear.
“Oh, Evan,” She sighs. She looks at him with so much pity in her eyes he’s drowning in it. Sometimes the amount of empathy in her one body can suffocate a person. It can make them give up and finally resolve to just ask what the issue is.
“W-what is it, Maddie?” Buck’s face falls, he didn’t think they would have to actually have the conversation. He thought he could convince her before they had to confront it. “What’s the problem?”
“I know you love him,” She says, reaching out and placing her hands over his on the table, “I just don’t want to see your heart broken.”
“I don’t understand.” She’s wrong. Eddie would never. “Months ago, you were encouraging it, I thought.”
She sighs, looks down, thinks about it. So much for his heart not being broken. He can’t be mad at her. He understands being protective of those you love. But sometimes love hurts as much as it heals.
She looks back up at him.
“That was before I knew Eddie was–”
“Maddie, we need you!” Someone calls from the floor.
She’s gone instantly. And Buck is left alone in the break room realizing he’s going to have to break this to Eddie.
Monday 2:11 PM
Eds <3: Picking Chris up from school be there soon.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: faster
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: if you love me you’ll be here rn
Eds <3: Got it, will speed with our kid in the car.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: no wait
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: wait our 😭😭😭
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: you can’t just say stuff like that
They decide if they’re going to tell anyone, it should probably be Bobby. For both the father figure aspect and the whole workplace dating thing. It feels right for Bobby to be the first person they officially tell, apart from Chris.
They get to work early so they can catch him in his office without too much drama. He smiles and reaches into a drawer as soon as he sees them both walk in. Apparently he was expecting it.
“I just need both signatures right here,” Is the first thing he says, then, “I’m very happy for you two.”
Buck deflates. So much stress leaves his body he may as well have lost ten pounds.
“Oh thank god,” Buck breathes, “I’m so glad you’re okay with it. If it was you and Maddie both I don’t know what I would have done.”
Bobby squints at him, confused. Eddie sits straight up, dropping the pen he was holding onto the desk. It leaves an ink splotch next to his name.
“Wait what?” Eddie says, panic in his voice, “Is Maddie not okay with us?”
“Well, so,” Buck stutters, “T-the thing is–”
“Buck, your sister .” Eddie stares at him with those big brown eyes. One time, Buck found a picture of him in his phone that made his eyes look especially soft, like a little deer that only learned how to walk yesterday. He stared at it for so long he started crying. Then he pulled himself together and went about his day. That same night, he opened up the picture and cried again. They hadn’t started dating at that point.
“Yeah.”
“What?” He’s never seen Eddie look so heartbroken.
“There must be some kind of misunderstanding,” Bobby jumps in, “Has she said why she doesn’t approve?”
“I-” Buck pauses, thinks, huh, “Didn’t really get to that part.”
“Oh, so it’s fine,” Eddie snarks, immediately relaxing. Buck gives him his best stink eye.
“No, but she definitely has a problem, trust me,” Buck says. He doesn’t want to further confirm to his boyfriend just how much his sister hates him, but now that he’s being honest about it all he feels like he has to go all the way. “She doesn’t even want us at the wedding together, she took away Eddie’s plus one.”
“She did?” Eddie asks, hurt back on his face, “I haven’t gotten the chance to open the invitation yet, I didn’t know.”
Buck isn’t sure what to say. There’s nothing that could make it better. His hand twitches, wanting to reach out for him and provide some comfort, but he’s not sure if it’s wanted. Eddie looks at him, he wants Buck to take the lead on this, tell him what it means for them. What kind of cruel, sick coma dream has he fallen into that’s given him a life where he can’t make one of them happy without hurting the other?
He would take being struck by lightning over this a hundred times over, he thinks.
The silence lingers for a long time. Minutes.
Then,
“You two are some of the dumbest people I have ever met.”
Bobby shakes his head at them on the other side of the desk. Buck scoffs at him, protests on the tip of his tongue. He values Bobby’s opinion so much, but who the hell is he to criticize them during this moment of completely devastating emotional turmoil?
“Eddie doesn’t need a plus one if you’re both already invited to the wedding.”
Oh.
Saturday 8:45 AM
Hot stuff 🙂↕️❤️🔥🤤: When ur done throwing up can you bring me some advil
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: yep almosit don e
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: eugh got vomit on my phone
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: i wish i didn’t teach you rage cage
Hot stuff 🙂↕️❤️🔥🤤: I’m never drinking again
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: open bar tonite
Hot stuff 🙂↕️❤️🔥🤤: I will be drinking again
Two Gatorades down and a hangover sufficiently cured, Buck gets to the venue only ten minutes after he was supposed to be there, but since no one has started frantically texting him yet he figures it’s fine. He’s dressed and ready to go and Eddie is trailing behind him like he’s up for slaughter.
This isn’t how he wanted to do it, but he ran out of time.
Luckily, they’re in the perfect window of downtime before Maddie absolutely needs to be left alone and not have to deal with her little brother’s problems. Right now though, she’s sitting on a couch on her phone just waiting for the activities to start.
“Maddie,” Buck greets her, “You look beautiful.”
She grins at him and stands up, pulls him into a hug. “I haven’t even gotten ready yet.”
“ Really? ” He teases. She pokes him in the ribs, making him jump. “Alright, alright.”
They break apart just enough for her to notice Eddie standing behind him, basically cowering. Doing the whole pretending to kick a rock around with his shoe even though he’s indoors kind of nervous gesture.
Maddie looks back at Buck, eyebrows raised, and vaguely gestures towards him. “He okay?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.”
Maddie nods, wordlessly telling him to go on. Her eyebrows are screwed up in a concerned expression and he’s already kicking himself for making her deal with his shit on her wedding day. But he also can’t live with it not being the most perfect day ever, and that means they have to clear the air. There can’t be someone she doesn’t like at her wedding, their parents are already taking care of that.
“Look, Maddie,” His voice is already getting squeaky and cracky with emotion, dammit, “I didn’t want to bring this up today, I wanted to fix it before today, but I couldn’t and that’s on me. I couldn’t figure out what’s wrong, so I need you to tell me so I can fix it, okay? I know you’re my big sister, and you’re protective, and you care about me, but I promise you you don’t have to worry about me and Eddie.”
Her face changes from concern to more general confusion. Her eyes dart between the two men.
“If there really is a problem, we’ll figure it out, but Maddie you have to understand I am the happiest I have ever been. Eddie and I are great. What we have is great.”
She cocks her head. “Sorry, what do you have ?”
“I love him and- and I know he loves me just as much, we’re so healthy, like freakishly healthy.”
Her mouth gapes. Buck feels Eddie’s hand on his arm.
“Every single day I think about how easily I can imagine the whole white picket fence, a dog, one or two more kids, a wedding just like this, and I want it . I want it so bad with him, but your opinion means everything to me, Maddie. More than anyone else’s, so I need you to be honest with me–”
“Buck, stop,” She says, waving her hands. Eddie steps even closer to him, looking between the two siblings frantically.
“It’s okay if you don’t approve, I’ll deal with it, but I just need to know why .”
“Buck, stop talking.” Eddie squeezes his arm enough to break him out of his rant. Then he finally takes in his sister’s face. Eyes misty, but smiling so hard. Her hands cover her heart.
“So?” Buck whispers, nervous.
“Oh, Evan , thank god,” She breathes, wrapping him in another hug, “I was protecting you from yourself , apparently.”
He laughs a bit, mostly air and a whole lot of confusion, “What do you mean?”
Maddie lets go of him and reaches for Eddie.
“Finally, Eddie, thank you ,” She rubs into his back. Stepping away from them both, she looks them up and down, a huge smile still running across her face.
“Chimney told me Eddie was seeing someone and that it seemed really serious based on the fact that Buck didn’t get all crazy about it like he normally does.” She grabs Buck’s hand, rubs it between her two. “And I was so certain that there was something happening between you two, I felt horrible that I was trying to drop hints to you when obviously I was wrong. I didn’t want you to get your heart broken.”
“So the person who was potentially stealing me from Buck, was Buck ,” Eddie finishes.Then he squints, Buck can practically see the thought run through his brain. “Hold on, you never told her we were together?”
“I thought she knew!”
“Believe it or not, little brother, but I don’t spend every moment of my life analyzing yours.”
“You made me think my boyfriend’s sister , who he adores , didn’t like me based on an assumption?” Eddie stares daggers into the side of Buck’s face. He makes a point not to turn his head.
“Well I wouldn’t simplify it that much,” Buck protests. He’s met with matching glares. Maddie and Eddie are a lot more similar than one realizes.
“Let’s go Buckley, time to leave your sister alone,” Eddie says, amused, “Maddie, congratulations , you look wonderful, I’m taking him away now.”
“Thank you.” As they leave, she calls after them, “I love you both! And I’m so happy for you! One hundred percent approval rating from me!”
Eddie marches him outside of the room, down the hallways, past the bathrooms, past the service doors, all the way to a random, kind of dusty, corner where he shoves Buck up against the wall and gracelessly lays one on him.
He pulls away just enough to say, “You’re the dumbest person in the world, I love you so much.”
Then he gets back to work, drawing Buck into another heated kiss. Eddie nips at his bottom lip, runs his tongue along it, the whole nine yards.
“What the hell were you going to do if she really didn’t approve?”
Buck takes a second to process the question, noise rushing through his head, blood leaving it.
“I have no clue.” Buck kisses him again. “She’s my sister. If she doesn’t approve I would probably break up with the person.” He starts to trail his lips down Eddie’s neck. “But you’re my best friend. If you approve, that means they’re probably the one.” He sucks a bruise into Eddie’s neck that’s completely obscene and way above his collar. He won’t apologize for that one. “So you can see how I was in a bit of a pickle.”
“Yeah,” Eddie gasps out, “Next time that happens, Buck, baby, wonderful, incredible, light of my life, stupid idiot, Buck. You need to ask more clarifying questions.”
“Yep, got it.” He runs his hands through Eddie’s hair, ruining the strands he perfectly aligned in the mirror this morning. “In the spirit of asking more questions, do you think it’s inappropriate to have dirty bathroom sex at my sister and co-worker’s wedding before it even starts?”
Eddie pulls away, looking Buck right in the eyes. “Yes,” He says, “Let’s go.”
Saturday 10:32 AM
Maddie: Where did you guys go?
Saturday 10:40 AM
Hen (Work): Where are you freaks at
Saturday 10:45 AM
Ravi (Work): hey man everyone is looking for u
Ravi (Work): they’re making me check to see if ur blowing up the bathroom lmao
Saturday 10:51 AM
Ravi (Work): you disgust me
A few months after the wedding, Eddie drops an absolute life-ruining bomb. They’re in bed, limbs tangled together, not yet ready to fall asleep.
“We’re going to Texas,” He says, nonchalantly, as if Buck’s heart hasn’t just descended into his asshole, “For the long weekend.”
“Nooo,” Buck whines, “You can’t do this to me. What am I supposed to do? Sit alone in my stupid loft and wait for you to come back?”
“Actually I think you should sit alone in our house and wait for me to come back,” Eddie replies, “And maybe get rid of the stupid loft.”
Buck sits up on an elbow, forcing Eddie up with him. They grin at each other for a second. Eddie scratches his fingers across Buck’s sweatshirt covered chest.
“Are you asking me to move in with you?” Buck whispers, a little bit in awe. Yes, this is a step in the natural progression of a relationship, but Buck kind of forgot that it was possible for that question to be asked without the shadow of doubt, and fear, and need to trap them closer before they pull away. No, now all he feels is warm.
“Mhm,” Eddie lays his head down on Buck’s arm, looking up at him. “Move in with me. Move in with us.”
“Okay.”
Friday 7:18 PM
Roomie <333: I miss you. Texas is stupid.
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: say no more
Roomie <333: What does that mean?
Roomie <333: Buck???
Roomie <333: Don’t you do it.
Friday 8:02 PM
Buck my beautiful wife 💗💗🥰✨🧚♀️: i’m outside
Roomie <333: HOW DID YOU GET HERE SO FAST
Roomie <333: BUCK