Archive of Our Own

They were at Buck's new place, testing out recipes for his big housewarming dinner scheduled a couple of days away. Buck had been struggling to pick a menu, overwhelmed with vastness of the choices available to him (from his own repertoire and online) and the pressure to make it perfect for everyone. It was going to be their first real family dinner following months of gloom and Buck had taken the initiative for once. With Eddie (and Chris) back and Bobby better and Mara officially adopted and the Hans having welcomed their son into the world, it was time they had a positive gathering. A celebration.

Except, two hours into researching and planning had found him inundated with a myriad ideas and no hope of narrowing them down. So, he'd done what he should have done in the first place — accepted Eddie's standing offer to help.

Eddie had turned up and converted his haphazard concepts into a concrete list. And together, they had accomplished a lot in a half hour, managing to shortlist Buck's recipes based on his ability to make them and the time it took to cook it all.

"Alright. This sounds amazing, Buck! If you do a trial run now, you won't be nervous about how the newer recipes will turn out on the day."

"Yeah, you're right."

"So, which one do you want to start with?"

"None of them."

"Excuse me?"

Buck ducked his head, shy with what he was about to admit. "I... actually have another recipe I want to try out first."

Eddie frowned. "Okay? Why didn't you write it down?"

"Because it's Pepa's Queso fundido."

Eddie's mouth parted in surprise. "What?"

"Yeah," Buck rubbed at the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. "I called her before you got here to get some ideas and she told me about it. It sounds really easy to make and Pepa said it was your favourite dish growing up, so that pretty much sealed the deal. I was going to surprise you with it."

"You were?" Eddie asked, still looking a little stunned.

"Yeah, but I can't anymore," he groaned, pouting at his friend. "I really don't want to cook it for the first time on the day and we're on shift tomorrow, so today is the only time I can trial it. I'm just annoyed the surprise is ruined."

"Buck," Eddie breathed, stepping up to him, hand on his shoulder. "I promise any queso fundir you make will be a surprise even if I'm standing next to you the whole time. You haven't ruined anything."

Buck grinned at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Eddie reassured him, matching his smile.

"Okay then! Time for some chopping! But you're not allowed to do anything because this is still a surprise."

"Buck. C'mon, it'll go by faster if I do some of the chopping. Or even the grating! If this is my Tia's recipe, then I know there's a monstrous amount of cheese involved."

"... fine. But only because I hate grating."

Soon, the sounds of prep floated through the air in Buck's new kitchen. Buck started chopping the veggies while Eddie took over grating the three types of cheese involved. It was quiet until Eddie chuckled, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" Buck asked curiously.

"Just... this takes me back," Eddie explained, eyes alight with memory.

"Oh yeah?"

"I was stuck with the grating back then too. Sophia used to say I had to do the 'yucky' job since I was the oldest and Adri was too young to do more than hand her the ingredients as she cooked." Eddie shook his head fondly, his smile turning sweeter. "I loved it anyway. It was a simple yet delicious dish we could make whenever and it meant we could have as many tortilla chips as we wanted. And believe me, we ate a concerning amount."

"That amazing, Eds."

"Hmm. It was one of the best times I spent with them."

After the initial prep was done, Eddie was delegated to sit on the counter whilst Buck busted out the iron skillet.

"You sure I don't need to stick this in the oven? I didn't want to believe it when Pepa said I didn't really need to, but you get that crispy top with it."

Eddie smiled, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, Buck, no oven necessary. It's just as amazing without."

Once Buck had checked that all the cheese had melted into that pleasing stretchy consistency and switched off the stove, he added the pico de gallo garnish and reached for a spoon.

"Sorry, I don't have any chips to hand right now," he said, carefully scooping up a portion and twisting the spoon to get all the cheese, "but tell me what you think."

Eddie inclined closer wordlessly and wrapped his mouth around the utensil, his eyes never straying from Buck's face. They lit up as he proceeded to chew.

"Good?" Buck asked tentatively.

Still chewing, Eddie opted to smile broadly and nod.

"Good," Buck sighed out, relieved, moving to taste it himself. "I think this will be a good alternative for your usual dips. And who doesn't love tortilla chips, right?"

There was no answer.

Buck was too busy taking a bite to notice. "Mmmf, you weren't kidding. I'd want to eat unhealthy amounts of this, too. No wonder it's your favourite, Eds, I don't think I can stop making this now."

"Yeah."

Buck was being hauled forward then, his chin tipped up as soft lips pressed to his. The spoon dropped the floor as his fingers slackened with surprise, the metal clattering noisily on the tile below.

Buck's eyes dropped shut as he melted into it after a moment, kissing back gently, hands coming up to frame Eddie's face. But as he tried to angle their lips and deepen the kiss, Eddie ripped himself away, his eyes wide with panic and shock.

"Eddie..." Buck murmured, his mind finally catching up and sending his heart racing. His best friend had just kissed him.

However, Eddie didn't reply, hopping off the counter and sprinting out of the kitchen. There was the distinct sound of a door slamming shut by the time Buck managed to pry his feet off the floor and trail after him.

"That's my bedroom!"

"So?"

"You can't hide in there forever!"

"Watch me!"

"What about Chris, Eddie? You gonna leave him to his own devices?"

"I've had a good run being his father. It's your turn now!"

Buck choked out an incredulous laugh, feeling slightly ridiculous shouting at a door. Did he unknowingly step through the Looking Glass with Alice?

"I will break down this door, man, new house be damned."

Silence rang out from the other side. Buck decided that he'd wait about twenty seconds before he'd follow through on his promise.

He'd counted down to five when the lock finally clicked.

The door creaked open to reveal a red faced Eddie, biting his lip, eyes cast to the floor. "I don't know why I did that," he whispered.

Buck shuffled forward carefully, stopping when their feet touched. "Do you regret it?" he asked, voice hushed. That was the only real question at the moment. They could figure out everything else.

Eddie didn't meet his eyes. His head shook side to side.

Exhaling slowly, Buck closed the last of the distance, gathering Eddie into his arms. It was slow, but Eddie embraced him back, nestling into him with a sigh.

"I think I got it wrong, why Queso fundido is my favourite."

"Yeah?" Buck hummed, palm gently soothing up and down Eddie's back.

"I think I like the process of making it more than just eating it."

"Why's that?"

Eddie pulled back from his chest then, finally looking him in the eye. His cheeks were still flushed prettily and there was a cute little smile adorning his lips.

"Because making it always meant that I get to spend time with the ones I love."

Buck made a pleased sound, his lips splitting open in a blinding grin as he tilted forward to nudge his nose with Eddie's and rest against his forehead.

He closed his eyes, letting out a dreamy sigh.

"I think that's the perfect reason to call anything your most favourite thing in the world."