Work Text:
Chapter 2: Meeting at the Cafe
Los Angeles, August 2011
9:30 am
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Eddie's alarm wakes him up at 9:30 am.
He quickly shuts it off and jumps up out of bed with a spring in his step as he crosses the hall to Chris's room, waking his son for the day.
"Are you excited to see Buck today, mijo?" Eddie asks with a grin, holding Chris in one arm and grabbing clean clothes for Chris in the other.
"Bababa!" Chris says happily.
Eddie smiles. "Yeah, I'm excited too."
Chris always loves bath time because he gets to splash water everywhere, mostly on Eddie, and play with his rubber ducks. Chris loves his ducks.
Chris always cooperates, too, when he's in the bath. It wasn't like it at first, though, but when Chris got a little older, he put up less of a fight and actually started to enjoy it. Then Eddie got him a pack of rubber ducks to see how Chris would react, and the rest is history.
Once Chris is all dried, Eddie dresses him in an adorable onesie that he can easily match with one of his Henleys.
"You ready for breakfast now, mijo?"
"Maak!"
Yup, he's ready for breakfast.
After Eddie feeds Chris, he puts Chris in his playpen in the corner of the living room, Pepa and Abuela saying they'll watch him while he gets ready for his meet-up with Buck.
He's so nervous. His hands are shaking and are becoming very clammy.
He doesn't want to mess this up.
Eddie takes a deep breath right before he gels his hair back.
"Okay. Okay. You've got this. He's just a really, really hot guy who might totally be into you and who absolutely adores Chris," Eddie mumbles to himself, trying to boost his confidence.
It didn't work out too well, though. He's still shaking slightly.
Eddie's outfit is a Henley that matches Chris's onesie perfectly, tight jeans because he's been told he's got a nice ass, and he wears his boots because he likes walking in them; they give him confidence.
When Eddie walks down the stairs, Pepa and Abuela wolf-whistle at him.
Eddie blushes.
"What time are you two meeting, Eddito?" Pepa asks.
"12:30."
"It's just 11:50, nieto. So, can we take a photo of you two?"
Eddie rolls his eyes. "Sure."
"¡Fantástico!" Abuela exclaims.
"You two are going to have a full album of photos of us before my first semester even ends," Eddie jokes, picking Chris up from his playpen.
"That's the whole point, mi sobrino. Now, move by the fireplace, and smile. Look happy."
Eddie grins, bouncing Chris in his arms, getting the infant to smile for the camera too.
"¡Perfecto, mi nieto!" Abuela exclaims once the photo has been taken.
"Are we free to go now?" Eddie teases. "We would like to beat the traffic."
"Yes, yes, go, go."
"Have fun, sobrino."
"Thank you. I'll tell you guys everything. Te amo!"
"Te amo!"
"Te amo!"
Eddie grabs his backpack that he always carries anytime he goes somewhere with Chris, his car keys, his phone, and then he and Chris are out the door, climbing into his car, making their way to the cafe across campus to meet up with the man he hasn't been able to stop thinking about since he met him last night.
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10:00 am
When Buck's alarm went off at 10 am sharp—he also doesn't have classes on Fridays—he rushed to the shower so he could style his curls in the most perfect way, then he had some breakfast.
Then, once all of that is done, he FaceTimes Maddie.
He needs help finding the perfect outfit to wear and impress Eddie.
"You're meeting the cute new guy and his adorable son today? You only met him last night for like ten minutes," She huffs.
Buck blushes. "Yeah. We hit it off really well, and Eddie suggested we meet up again. So I want to look really good. I've gotta look my best. I really, really want this to work out. I want to be in an actual relationship instead of a meaningless hookup. I'm ready. And I can't stop thinking about him and Chris." Buck takes a breath. "Maddie, I'm falling for him."
She smiles. "I can see that. Now show me our options."
"Okay. Okay. One sec."
After an hour of flipping through different outfit options, because neither of them could agree on the same one, he and Maddie both decided on his favorite long-sleeve yellow-brown sweater, khaki jeans, and his white vans.
It's decently hot today, so Buck has on a UCLA T-shirt under it if he gets hot.
His favorite thing about the sweater is not only that the color looks excellent on him, but it's that it's skin tight, so it highlights his chest and biceps.
"Looking good, Evan. Definitely going to make a good impression."
"Thanks, Mads. Wish me luck."
"Good luck, baby brother."
Buck smiles at her, then hangs up, double-checking his hair before grabbing his keys, wallet, and phone, heading out the door to his Jeep.
When Buck gets into the Jeep and starts it up, he texts Eddie.
Buck: hey i'm on my way to meet you
i can't wait to see you
Buck did it to be thoughtful; he didn't expect Eddie to text back five minutes later when he's driving to the cafe.
Eddie ❤️🔥: We're on our way too.
Neither of us can wait to see you, Buck. ❤️
Buck blushes, keeping his eyes on the road, sending Eddie a quick red heart in reply when he's at the next red light. He's got to fix this man's grammar when he texts.
God, Buck has fallen hard for Eddie...and Chris because that kid is absolutely adorable.
He can only hope that they—at least Eddie—feels the same.
They do, he just doesn't know it just yet.
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12:30 pm
Eddie arrives at the cafe right on time, backpack on his back and Christopher in his arms.
Eddie spots Buck instantly when he walks inside, seeing Buck talking with a waitress in a booth by the windows.
Eddie walks over to Buck with a smile. "Hey," Eddie greets.
"Ah!" Buck jumped, started, looking to see that it was Eddie who came up behind him, his face softening. "Oh, hey."
Eddie laughs. "Scared ya, huh?"
"A-a little," Buck stutters.
Eddie breaks out into a smile, sitting in the seat across from Buck, and he notices that there's a kiddy seat for Chris.
"Did you...?"
Buck nods. "Yeah. Hope that's okay."
"Of course it is. Thank you." Eddie sets the backpack down on the ground under the table, then he straps Chris into his seat, giving him one of his rubber ducks to fiddle with.
"Yeah," Buck's voice cracks adorably, blush high in his cheeks. "You're welcome."
"Did you order anything?"
"I just ordered some water for us if that's okay."
"Yeah. That's fine. I'll get a soda with my food later."
That's when the waitress comes back with two glasses of water. "Here you go. Are we ready to order, or do we need more time?"
"Yeah, I'll take a cheeseburger with no pickles, fries, and a Dr. Pepper," Eddie says, not needing to pick up the menu. He comes here when he has long breaks between classes for lunch and to get some work done.
"Alright," She writes it down, then turns to Buck. "And for you?"
"Cheeseburger with everything on it, fries, and a Coke," Buck tells her.
"You got it." She jots it down. "It'll be ready in a few."
"Thank you," Buck and Eddie say simultaneously with matching smiles.
Then she walks off, Buck kicking off their conversation, both of them sipping from their water glasses as they chat.
"So, what brought you here to the wonderful city of Los Angeles?"
"Well," Eddie drawls out, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "It's kind of a long story."
"I don't mind," Buck shrugs. "But first I gotta know, what's up with the rubber duck?" Buck asks, pointing to Chris with a smile.
Eddie chuckles. "Well, Chris loves them. Especially during bath time. He cried whenever I was going to put it away, so I brought it for him."
Buck smiles. "That's cute. Why the firefighter duck?"
"I honestly have no clue. I've literally got a whole bin of ducks for him. He loves them. I throw about three to four in the bath before I clean him. He mostly tries to chomp on them with his very few teeth."
Buck chuckes. "Well, that's absolutely adorable, and I'm going to keep that in mind."
Eddie looks at Buck adoringly.
"Okay, now you can tell me all about how you came to Los Angeles?"
Eddie chuckles. "Okay. Okay. But be warned, it's kind of a long story."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere, gorgeous. So talk away."
Eddie blushes. "Okay, so my parents have always been overbearing and manipulative. Mostly my mother. My dad wasn't around much. When I was about ten, he told me I needed to be the 'man of the house' and essentially watch over my mother and two younger sisters."
"Which is his job, obviously," Buck adds in with an angry scoff.
"Exactly...But he chose work over family. Anyway, my dad was always on my back about my hobbies. Making ballroom dancing all about the competition instead of my actual love for dance. And when I played with my sisters, we would have tea parties. I would paint all of our nails and put some makeup on them, then I'd let them put some on me. My dad was livid when he came home from work and saw us like that every time."
"That's ridiculous," Buck grumbles.
"Yeah. But anyway," The waitress brings them their sodas, telling them that their burgers are on the way, then she's gone, taking their half-empty water glasses with her, since they said to. "Where was I..? Oh. Yeah. My parents always controlled me, wanting me to be the way they wanted me to be instead of who I wanted to be. Then I met Shannon. We became really good friends. Best friends, pretty much. We knew each other for a few years before we started messing around."
"Then she got pregnant."
Eddie nods. "My parents told me I had to marry her, so we did. In a church of my parents' choice. I wanted to run, I almost enlisted for the army, but I didn't after we got married."
"Why did you decide against it?"
"Because I wanted to be there for Shannon. I was so scared, but I stayed. Because I loved her. I still do. Even though I was never in love with her. Despite how hard I tried, I couldn't. Not in that way."
Buck smiles at him in understanding.
"She knew. She always knew. But she still loved me. Not in love with me. But we still loved each other and made the best with what we had."
"Then she died."
Eddie nods sadly. "Yeah. It was horrible. I miss her. And I'll always love her. If it wasn't for her, I probably never would've thought twice about my sexuality. Because she always had a way when she talked to me. And when she passed, her voice kept speaking to me, and then it clicked when Chris was three months old."
Buck smiles.
"Everything felt right with that realization. I was still grieving her. But that helped. Because she had already accepted me for who I am, and still chose to love me anyway. Then my parents got even worse."
Buck's brows scrunch up. "How so?"
"I never told them about my sexuality. But I think they might've speculated something. Because they tried to take Chris away from me. They told me that I couldn't raise Chris right without a mother in his life. That he needed a mother. That he didn't need me."
"They're clearly wrong," Buck says angrily.
Then the waitress brings their burgers and fries.
The two dig in as Eddie continues.
"It went on for a couple of months. Eventually, I had enough and contacted my Tia Pepa and Abuela, who live out here in LA, and they said that Chris and I are more than welcome."
"Tia means aunt, right? And Abuela means grandmother?"
"Yeah, you got it."
"So you're Hispanic?"
"On my dad's side. Swedish on my mother's."
"Sexy," Buck says cheekily, deepening his voice on purpose.
Eddie snorts, heart racing, cheeks turning pink.
"Do you know any Swedish?"
"No." Eddie shakes his head, taking a bite out of the burger. It's delicious. "Only my mom does. But only when she's super pissed. Anytime we heard any Swedish in the house, we all knew to hide asap."
Buck laughs at that.
"Yeah. But anyway, I applied to a couple of colleges around their area, UCLA accepted me, then I packed our stuff into my car, which surprisingly made it the whole 800 miles. And, now I'm here."
"Damn. That's just...wow. That's awful, Eddie. I'm so glad you got away from them. You and Chris deserve so much better than them."
Eddie smiles softly. "I know that now."
"Good."
"Yeah. So are you and your sister from LA or...?" Eddie leaves the floor open for Buck to fill in the hole.
"Ooooh, gorgeous, that's a long and really, really sad story. But I'll tell you since you told me yours."
"I'm all ears, Buck."
"God, where do I even start?"
"No need to rush, Buck. Chris, and I don't have anywhere else better to be." I don't want to be anywhere else.
Buck blushes adorably with a little sideways grin. "Okay, so my parents have always neglected me, so to get attention, I would hurt myself, sometimes unintentionally. But I'm clumsy, so..." Buck chuckles nervously. "Anyway, they were always so angry when I did that. Telling me that Daniel was never like this. Why can't you be more like Daniel?"
"Who's Daniel?"
"My older brother, who died when he was eight, from leukemia. I was conceived to be a bone marrow match to save him. But I wasn't a match. So he died. And they always blamed me for it. Hence the neglect. But it's okay. I had Maddie. She basically raised me."
Eddie's jaw drops. "Oh my God. Buck."
Buck brushes it off. "I know. But as soon as I turned eighteen last year, I ran. Maddie gave me the keys to her Jeep, her prized possession, and told me to run. So I did. I explored the world, worked many different jobs, and had a good time."
"Why didn't she come with you?"
"Because of Doug," Buck growls out the man's name.
"Doug? He sounds like a douche."
"Oh, believe me, he is."
"Why couldn't she leave Doug?"
"He was her abusive ex-husband. And one day, she finally got the confidence to file for divorce and leave him and our parents behind. After signing a restringing order against him. Then one day, she called me and told me she wanted to run away with me. She said she had been accepted at UCLA for nursing and wanted me to come with her so we could stay together. So I applied, picked the General Studies major, got in, then tried out for the football team, and got accepted."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"Well, she sounds fucking awesome. And I'm so glad you two got away. Where are you guys from, anyway?"
"Hershey, Pennsylvania."
"Dang? That is a long way from LA."
"I know. That was the point to be as far away as we can from them."
"Good. I'm happy for you and Maddie. And it seems she's pretty happy now. With Chimney."
"Yeah," Buck beams. "She is. It took some time for them to actually start dating because of his on-and-off with a previous girlfriend who is an absolute ass, and because of everything with Doug, she was scared to have a romantic relationship with someone. But they got past it together." Buck takes a breath. "God, I really didn't think our first real conversation would be sharing trauma stories."
Eddie laughs. "Well, at least it's over with. We don't have to re-live that again."
"True. Cheers to that." Buck holds up his Coke.
"Cheers to that." Eddie raises his glass and clinks their glasses together.
When they do that, Chris holds up his duck. "Bah!"
Buck and Eddie laugh, each taking a sip of their drink, then setting it back on the table.
Then Chris drops the duck. Eddie catches it before it falls to the ground, wiping it off with a napkin since it's covered in baby saliva.
Eddie reaches down to grab his bag from under the table, putting the duck inside the bag and grabbing out a milk bottle. "Time for firefighter duck to go back into the bag and time for lunch, mijo."
"Maak!"
Buck chuckles. "He seriously loves that stuff, huh?"
"Oh, yeah. Would you like to feed him?"
"Really?"
"Of course, Buck. I trust you. Both of us do."
"Okay, yeah, sure."
"Good." Eddie hands Buck the bottle, then he unstraps Chris from his seat, picking him up, then he stands, handing him over to Buck.
"Got him," Buck says, so Eddie knows he can let go and sit back down.
Eddie finishes the rest of his food while Buck feeds Chris.
"Goodness, someone was hungry," Buck chuckles, watching Chris drink up the milk bottle.
Eddie finishes his food, admiring the sight in front of him.
Chris has always been good with strangers. But never like this. He was never comfortable enough for them to hold him, let alone feed him.
Once Chris finishes the bottle, Buck hands it back to Eddie. "Does he need to be like burped or whatever it's called?"
"No. He doesn't have to anymore. Once they reach six months, they don't need it. If they do, something's usually wrong. But he's okay. At least in that department," Eddie adds on sadly.
"What do you mean?" Buck asks, bouncing Chris in his arms.
"Doctors think that he's got cerebral palsy because of the complicated birth."
"Oh my God. Really?" Buck gasps. "This little guy right here?"
Eddie nods. "Yeah."
"How do they know that he has CP?"
"He's not as mobile as he should be. Mentally, everything is perfect. It's just, they can see signs that he might have it."
"That's awful. But he's strong. And he's got you."
Eddie wants to cry. Buck is so sweet. "Thank you, Buck. Really. Meeting you yesterday was one of the best days of my life."
Buck looks at him, dumbfounded. "Really?"
"No one has ever talked to me like you do. And the way you care for Christopher is just absolutely adorable. You're just so easy to talk to, I never want to stop."
Buck bites his bottom lip, trying to make the tears go away. "And you said you weren't good with words."
"Guess you bring it out in me."
Buck smiles. "You wanna get outta here? Maybe go somewhere else and just talk? Because I really like talking to you, too."
"That would be amazing. I would love that."
"Good. Because you are new to town, and I gotta show you the best spots."
"Alright then," Eddie smiles, waving down the waitress to bring out their checks. "Show me around, cowboy."
Buck blushes at the nickname.
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"Follow behind me. I'll go slow."
Eddie snorts. "Sounds good."
They're walking through the parking lot side by side, heading to their vehicles.
Chris coos in his arms, reaching for Buck, wanting to be held by the big, blonde man, but his dad won't hand him over.
"May I ask where we're going?" Eddie asks, bouncing a squirmy Chris in his arms.
"Nope." Buck shakes his head. "It's called the element of surprise, gorgeous. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself."
"Alright then." Eddie grins. "See you on the other side, cowboy."
Buck blushes. "See you there."
Buck waits until he sees Eddie hop into the driver's seat of his car before backing out of his spot, waiting to see the brake lights on Eddie's sedan before making his way out of the lot, watching his mirrors, waiting to see Eddie following right behind him.
He leads them to a park.
It's one of the smaller ones in LA, with plenty of shade, and it never has too many people, so it's not super overwhelming for Christopher.
Buck parks first, quickly shutting off his Jeep and hopping out to help Eddie, who parks across a row from Buck, the lot half full.
"Hey, gorgeous," Buck greets when Eddie shuts off his car and hops out.
"Hey, cowboy."
"Okay, what's with the nickname?" Buck asks teasingly, holding the car door open while Edide unstraps Chris and picks him up. "You're the cowboy here."
Eddie chuckles, blushing. "I dunno, it seems fitting for you."
Buck grins. "I like it. And I was a ranch hand in Texas for a little while, so I guess it does fit."
Eddie grabs his backpack, and Buck closes the door for him. "One of the many odd jobs you worked when exploring the world?"
"Yup." Buck beams. "I've got stories for days about the jobs I've worked and the people I've met."
"You'll have to tell me those sometime."
"Can do, gorgeous. All you gotta do is ask. Now, follow me."
The two walk side by side along the concrete trail of the park.
"This one is one of my favorites because not many people ever come here, so I can get a lot of studying done," Buck tells Eddie.
"You like to study in the quiet?"
"Yeah. Helps calm my ADHD and lets me focus."
"I would say that that's surprising, but it's not," Eddie laughs.
Buck laughs, too. "Yeahhhh. I've always had it. I wasn't officially diagnosed until I came here to UCLA, and I had to get a physical before I could officially be accepted on the team. Then the doctor prescribed me a medication to help calm my brain. I take it every morning before classes." Buck points to a shady spot under a big tree. "That's the spot right there. The tree is so big that it's practically always in the shade. Perfect for reading or studying."
"Treabbb," Chris babbles, pointing to the big tree.
"That's right, buddy. It's a tree," Buck praises, leaning down so he's face-to-face with the infant.
Chris then reaches out for Buck's face, making grabby hands at the blonde, babbling nonsense.
"He wants you to hold him," Eddie says.
"Oh. Well, then, c'mere, Superman," Buck says, more comfortable with the fact that the infant likes for Buck to hold him.
Buck stands, holding his arms out, and Eddie places the boy in Buck's arms.
Chris instantly relaxes in Buck's arms.
Eddie smiles at the sight, watching Buck hold and look at Chris adoringly.
"Let's go sit in the shade. What do you say, little buddy?" Buck asks, bouncing Chris in his arms.
"Gabbgggl."
"I'll take that as a yes." Buck looks up at Eddie. "What do ya say, gorgeous?"
"Sounds good to me. It would be nice to get out of the sun for a little while."
"Alright then," Buck beams, walking over to the shade, Eddie right behind him.
Buck squats down to the ground with Chris in his arms, Eddie sitting in the grass next to him.
"I got an idea," Buck says, handing Chris back to Eddie, pulling his sweatshirt off, and setting it in the grass for Chris to sit on. "There, now little guy won't get grass all over himself and ruin his cute little outfit."
Eddie looks at Buck, tears in his eyes.
"What?" Buck sees the expression on Eddie's face. "Did I do something wrong...? I-I'm sorry. I-I just thought that—"
Eddie leans over and kisses Buck's cheek, getting Buck to stop his ramble.
"Sorry." Eddie flushes. "It was the only thing I could think of to shut you up."
Buck blushes. "So it's okay?"
"Of course it is. No one has ever been as thoughtful as you are. Thank you."
Eddie gently holds Buck's wrist, caressing his thumb to it, holding Chris with his free arm.
"Y-yeah," Buck's voice cracks. "You're welcome."
Eddie releases Buck's wrist, and then he sets Chris down on Buck's sweater.
"You might get grass stains on your sweater, though."
"It's okay," Buck shrugs. "I can buy another one. Now where's the duck?"
"It's in the bag. Hang on." Eddie pulls the bag off his back, unzips it, grabs the rubber duck, hands it to Buck, and then he sets the bag off to the side.
"Here you go, Superman." Buck hands Chris his firefighter rubber ducky.
"Bah!" Chris exclaims, grabbing the duck from Buck's hands.
Buck smiles down at the infant.
Eddie feels like his heart is about to explode. "How are you real?" He whispers to Buck.
"Hm?" Buck looks over at Eddie.
"You can't be real. Please tell me you're real."
Buck reaches over and intertwines his fingers with Eddie's, their hands fitting perfectly together, because of course they do, squeezing it. "That good enough for you, gorgeous?"
Eddie chuckles. "Yeah."
The two sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching Chris babble and play with the duck.
Buck breaks the silence by asking, "Can...can I ask if this is a date?"
"I-I would like it to be," Eddie responds nervously, with a gulp. "Do you want it to be?"
Buck nods. "Yeah, I really, really do."
Eddie squeezes Buck's hand. "Then it's a date. The best first date I've ever been on," Eddie confesses.
"Me too," Buck beams. "I never want it to end," Buck says, leaning closer to Eddie, eyes bouncing from Eddie's lips up to his pretty brown eyes.
"Neither do I," Eddie whispers, leaning closer to Buck, their lips now inches apart, his eyes unable to look away from Buck's eyes and lips.
"Yeah?" Buck teases, his breath warm against Eddie's mouth.
"Yeah," Eddie breathes, the gap between their lips closing as the two lean closer and closer.
Then their lips touch, the kiss lasting two seconds before the two pull back and look into each other's eyes to check to make sure everything is okay.
Buck raises his brows in question.
Eddie nods, saying yes.
They close the gap again, their lips smashing together for a deeper, longer, more passionate kiss this time.
Buck doesn't take it past lip-to-lip. Not wanting to rush Eddie since he's pretty sure Eddie hasn't kissed a man before.
Eddie takes the opening to deepen the kiss and slides his tongue past Buck's lips, the blonde moaning when he feels it.
That sound is going to be burned into Eddie's brain for the rest of his life. It was so fucking glorious, and all Eddie wants to do is make Buck make that sound over and over again.
But then he remembers that he can't do that now because his son is right there, right next to them.
But that doesn't mean he's going to let the kiss end just yet.
He makes sure Buck knows that by sliding both of his hands up Buck's arms all the way up to his neck, toying with the short hairs there, then to his fluffy blonde curls.
It's addicting how soft Buck's curls feel in between his fingers; he can't help but moan at the feeling of it.
Buck groans when Eddie does so, grabbing Eddie by his hips and pulling him into Buck's lap, so now they're chest-to-chest and thigh-to-thigh, touching in almost every single way, their clothes being the only barrier between them.
Eddie releases a startled whimper into the kiss when Buck pulls him closer.
"Fuck, the sounds you make," Buck groans, pulling Eddie back in, making the brunette release more pleasured sounds into the kiss.
It goes on for a while, neither man could tell you how long because time just slips away as their lips touch over and over, Eddie's hands remaining in Buck's hair and Buck's hands hold Eddie's little waist with an iron grip, never wanting to let go.
"Bahbah!" Chris exclaims, throwing the duck, hitting Eddie's thigh with it, snapping them out of the kiss, both of them breathing heavily as they look back at Chris, who's grinning because he hit his dad with the duck.
"Someone wants attention, huh?" Buck grins at Christopher.
Chris giggles, making grabby hands at the two men.
Eddie slides off Buck's lap, grabs the duck, hands it back to Chris, then he takes Buck's hand back in his.
"Was that okay?" Buck whispers to Eddie, checking in.
"So okay," Eddie breathes. "Best kiss of my life, Jesus Christ."
Buck giggles. "Yeah, me too. This really is the best date ever."
Eddie leans his head over onto Buck's shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. "Yeah, it really is."
"So it's safe to say there will be another date?" Buck asks nervously.
"That and many more, I hope."
Buck beams. "Yeah. Me too."
Chris throws the duck at Buck now, giggling at the goofy face Buck makes when it happens.
"You little stinker, c'mere." Buck grabs the infant, having to let go of Eddie's hand, pulling him to his mouth and blowing a raspberry on Chris's cheek, the boy laughing loudly at the action. "You happy now, huh?"
"Babababah!" Chris exclaims with a priceless smile.
"That's definitely a yes," Eddie says with a laugh.
Buck blows another raspberry against Chris's cheek. "You're lucky you're cute."
Eddie smiles, kissing Chris's cheek, then Buck's.
"You're both cute."
"Thanks, gorgeous."
"Bah!"
Buck and Eddie laugh, Buck now setting Chris down, handing him back his ducky.
"No more throwing."
Chris throws it right at his face, and Eddie busts out laughing, clutching his stomach because he's laughing so hard.
"Hey, that's not funny," Buck pouts.
"It was, though," Eddie snorts, wiping tears from his eyes, having to take deep breaths to calm down.
Buck rolls his eyes. "Whatever."
Eddie finds Buck's hand and intertwines their fingers again, smiling softly at the blonde.
Buck smiles back.
Best. Date. Ever.
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The two sit and watch Chris play with his duck, holding hands still, Buck having to one hand grab his phone and take pictures of Chris because he's so fucking adorable.
"Send all of those to me, please."
"You got it, gorgeous. Then he snaps pictures of Eddie. Some of just his face, one of their intertwined hands, and some of Eddie and Chris.
Eddie blushes, looking up at Buck shyly.
"What? I want to have these pictures so I don't forget what you look like on the days I don't see you."
Eddie snorts. "That was terrible. If you wanted pictures of me, all you had to do was ask."
"Can I get a picture with you?"
"Oh..."
Buck grins. "Didn't expect that, did ya?"
"Uh, no, not really."
"Come here, sit in my lap."
Buck takes a selfie of them, then Eddie grabs Chris and the duck for another selfie.
Then Eddie puts Chris back down onto the sweater and slides off Buck's lap.
"Can you sen—"
"All sent, gorgeous. Now we can never forget about this day."
"You're unreal. I don't know how I found you, but I don't want to let you go."
"You don't have to. I'm not going anywhere."
"Good." Eddie takes Buck's hand, holding it tight.
"You ready to head back?"
"No. But we should. He needs to be put down for a nap soon."
"Okay. Five more minutes?"
Eddie grins, resting his side against Buck's chest, head back on Buck's shoulder, both of them watching Chris. "Make it ten."
Buck squeezes Eddie's hand. "Done."
Ten turns into twenty before they're up, Eddie holding Buck's sweater, backpack on his back, Buck carrying Chris as they walk to their cars.
"We should come back here sometime," Buck suggests. "Maybe have a study date." He intertwines his free hand with Eddie's as they're walking.
"I'd like that."
They're at Eddie's car way too quickly.
"Wanna help me load him up?"
"Yeah," Buck's voice cracks. "Sure."
Eddie unlocks the car, opens the driver's door, starts the car, then opens the back passenger door for Buck.
Buck straps Chris into his car seat. "You be good for your Dad now, okay?"
"Paae!"
Buck chuckles, kissing Chris's hair. "See you later, Superman."
Eddie watches them with a smile. "When's your next game?" He asks after Buck has moved out of the way, Eddie now leaning back against the open door, looking at Chris, who's passed out asleep, handing Buck back his sweater.
"Sunday. We've got practice tomorrow night."
"I'll be there. Just text me the time."
"Really?"
"Well, yeah. I wanna be able to come to all of your home games. And I'll be sure to watch all of your away games too. I gotta support the man I'm dating, right?"
Dating? Holy fuck, yes!! Buck screams in his head in pure delight.
Buck bites his bottom lip, hiding the fact that he's screaming at the top of his lungs in his head right now. "I-I'll send you the schedule."
"Good. Call me after practice tomorrow?"
"Y-yeah! Sure. No plans?"
"Nah. Just gonna hang out with Pepa, Abuela, and Chris. Maybe do some research on a campus job so I can make some money towards an apartment someday."
Buck smiles. "Let me know how it goes."
"Course. C'mere," Eddie crooks a finger, gesturing for Buck to come closer.
Buck does, with a mischievous grin on his face.
When Buck is in reach, Eddie grabs the collar of his UCLA shirt and yanks him in for a kiss, neither hesitating to push their tongues in.
They kiss for a solid few minutes before pulling back, gasping for air.
"That's going to get addicting real fast," Eddie pants.
"I'm already addicted, sweetheart."
Eddie groans, pulling Buck back in for a chaste kiss. "Say shit like that, and this date'll never end."
"Good. I don't want it to."
Eddie smiles. "Call me later. As a matter of fact, just FaceTime me. I wanna see you."
"Can do. What time?"
"After dinner?"
"Done. Can't wait. I'm counting down the minutes."
"I'm counting down the seconds," Eddie teases.
Buck groans, kissing Eddie once more. "I'll see you later, Eddie."
"See ya, Buck."
Buck then flashes him a sweet smile, looking at Chris for a second before turning on his heels and walking to his Jeep.
"Miss you already!" Buck yells.
Eddie laughs. "Miss you too!"
Eddie watches Buck climb into his Jeep and drive off, both of them waving to each other as he drives by.
Once Buck is out of sight, he closes the back passenger door, walks around to the driver's door, hops into the car, sets the GPS for Pepa and Abuela's, and drives off.
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3:57 pm
Pepa and Abuela clock his gay ass as soon as he walks through the door, backpack and Chris in his arms.
"Date went well?" Abuela asks, taking Chris from Eddie's arms, giving the boy kisses.
Eddie blushes. "Yeah. It went really well. Definitely will be another one and hopefully a ton more."
"You really like this chico, huh?" Pepa asks with a knowing grin. (Chico: boy)
Eddie nods. "Very much."
"You deserve to be happy, nieto. And hopefully soon you'll bring him by so we can meet him."
"Yes, Abuela, I will."
"Good. Because I can't wait to meet him either," Pepa adds.
Eddie smiles at them. "You mind watching over him while I do some digging for a campus job?"
"Of course, sobrino. We've got him."
"Thank you so much. Te amo."
"Te amo."
"Te amo."
Eddie applies for three campus jobs by dinner time, texting Buck once dinner is finished that he's free.
Buck calls him three minutes later.
They talk for hours, Buck saying goodnight to Chris over the phone, Eddie hiding his phone from Pepa and Abuela.
It's too soon for that kind of meeting. Especially at nine o'clock at night.
"So you've got a single dorm?" Eddie asks after they've both gotten ready for bed and are lying on their pillows.
"Yeah. With my ADHD, I was able to get a single room as an excuse to study in the quiet."
"Nice!"
"Yeah. It's a really nice room. We can uhm..." Buck cuts himself off.
"Yeah. That sounds great. Eventually."
Buck grins. "Good. Can't wait. G'night, gorgeous."
"G'night, cowboy."
Even though they said goodnight, they chatted on for about half an hour before they both fell asleep.
When they wake up the next morning, they're still on the phone.
"Damn, you look even better in the morning, gorgeous."
Eddie blushes. "Says you."
"Can I call you after practice? I'm meeting up with Maddie for lunch."
"Of course. I said so yesterday. Just text me when it's over, okay?"
"Will do. See ya, beautiful."
Eddie bites his bottom lip, attempting to hide his blush, but fails miserably. "See ya, Buck."
Buck blows Eddie a kiss, then hangs up, leaving Eddie completely speechless.
Holy fuck, I love him.
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