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The remote slides off Eddie’s lap onto his foot, waking him up. The same basketball game is still playing, only one quarter later. He checks his phone. It’s been 20 minutes since Buck went off for a nap, something that’s been a habit since they got back two days ago.
Buck didn’t even go to his own house, just immediately collapsed onto Eddie’s couch. Eddie didn’t let him stay there long, insisting they could share the bed, there’s no way he was letting either of them sleep on the couch after the days they had. So they slept through the first night, exhaustion not allowing for much else. But the second night was a different story. Both were incredibly restless. Buck woke up more than once in a sweat, and Eddie barely slept at all, wanting to make sure Buck was ok at all times. Now that he’s back within reach Eddie doesn’t want to let him go. Which may also be keeping him up at night. He managed some sleep in the end, and woke up to Buck cooking breakfast. They didn’t talk about any of it, not yet, just stayed in the safety of home, together.
Eddie knows he’ll have to bridge the subject eventually, and maybe others, Buck’s not likely to. But for now he decides to just walk himself back to the bedroom, try for some more sleep himself. Before he can there’s a tap on the door, and he finds himself opening it for Maddie.
“Hey.” Eddie smiles tiredly, letting her pass. “Buck” he stops, clearing his throat. “Buck just fell asleep.”
“That’s fine, I have all day.” She turns as Eddie sits at his own kitchen table. “How has he been sleeping?”
Eddie sighs. “I’ve seen worse. And I’m prepared for it to be worse.”
Maddie gives him a sad smile, sitting at a chair around the corner of the table. “I’m glad he’s staying here. I don’t want him to be alone. But if he wants it, our spare room will be open too.”
“No.” Eddie spits out. He doesn’t mean for it to be that sharp or defensive. He purses his lips, taking a breath. “I mean, I think he’s comfortable here. Always has been, any time one of us has been hurt.”
“When was the last time it was both of you?” She reaches to examine the scratch on Eddie’s cheek. “Where’s your med kit? We should re bandage that.”
“I’m fine, Maddie.”
“Sure you are.” She smirks. “Where?”
“Bathroom.”
She’s up and back in a matter of seconds, and immediately starts applying the antibiotic and fixing the bandaid, acknowledging Eddie’s wince.
“How’s your head? Shoulder?”
“Fine.”
“Eddie.” She glares at him.
“Head’s getting there. Shoulder’s sore but should be good in a couple days. It’s better resting here than it would’ve been waiting it out in some motel in that shady town. Basically the only reason we convinced each other we could get home.”
Maddie hums, finishing up the bandaid and moving to change the dressing on his arm. She politely ignores the wince this time, easing the arm back down. She doesn’t say another word until she’s finished, sliding the kit across the table.
“I should’ve known.”
“What?” Eddie looks up at her. She returns to the table with two bottles of water from the fridge, taking her chair again.
“That you’d save him. I almost drove out there. I was about to leave when you two called Chim.”
Eddie chuckles, beside himself. “I didn’t know, Maddie. And honestly, I could've used the help. More than once.”
“But you didn’t need it.” Maddie smiles, reaching for his hand. “You fought like hell, stopped at nothing. You jumped out of a window as a murder suspect to find him. Which you did. You saved him. Got him home. And that means more than I can really find the words for.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat if I had to.”
“So would he.”
“I know.” Eddie smiles. “I am glad those cops figured it out without arresting me, though.”
“Why on earth did they think you did it in the first place?”
“Probably the dumb fight we had in the diner. We were so lost at that point, I was annoyed that he’d convinced me to hit the road, got us lost, and it just kind of blew up. Made a whole scene. Think everyone assumed we were just a couple with issues. At least those guys at the diner did, that clicked once I actually thought about it through the anger.”
“Did you tell the sheriff you in fact are not married to Buck?”
Eddie bites his lip. “Not exactly. I wasn’t worried about that. Just that they had half the mind to try and actually find Buck and not keep hounding my ass.”
Maddie only smiles as Eddie continues. “I love Buck. But I was so mad. And we were still stuck in that car after we left the diner. He wanted to clear the air on all the spats and I just wanted to forget it, get him to shut up for a minute. But then I woke up in that hospital not knowing where he was and all I wanted, all I needed was him back.”
“That’s love.” Maddie’s smile brightens, squeezing Eddie’s hand.
“I guess it is. We’ve just never really been good at saying those words.”
“I’m aware.” Maddie nods. “But he’s not going to go anywhere.”
“Neither am I.” Eddie smiles back at her before bringing a hand over his face.
“You can relax, I can cook something for you guys. Get Chris from school.”
“Chris is fine with the bus right now. But I won’t say no to cooking. I was about to lay down when you came in.”
“Go.” Maddie shoos him away playfully. “Get some sleep.”
Buck wakes up hearing puttering in the kitchen. But Eddie is beside him in the bed. His stomach drops, recent events flooding in. He opens the door to see his sister walking across to the living room.
“Maddie?” He questions, closing the distance.
“Hey.” She grins. “How are you feeling?”
“Been worse. Eddie know you’re here?”
“Yes. I stopped in before he went to sleep. Changed his bandages.” She assures him. “Are you two sharing his bed?”
“His idea. Didn’t want either of us on the couch. And his spare room is still full from moving back and taking some of Abuela’s things.”
“Buck, it’s ok, It’s good.”
“I don’t think he’s getting much sleep.”
“He’s still healing, I wouldn’t expect either of you to be sleeping great right now.” She steps forward, squeezing his shoulder. “He’s just as worried about you as you are about him.”
“I’m ok.”
Maddie huffs. “I’m still not. But I feel better knowing you and Eddie have each other to lean on. I’ll still offer you our room if you ever need it.”
“Not this time, Mads. Don’t want to leave Eddie.”
Maddie smiles knowingly, willing herself to change the subject for her brother’s sake. “Want to help with dinner? You’re better at bread.”
“Of course.”
Buck circles around Eddie’s kitchen around his sister. She’s putting together a pot roast but he’s finding everything for her, knowing Eddie’s kitchen better than anyone. He’s done this so many times. Eddie needed him after the shooting, after his breakdown, after Chris left, and he was always here. Running around the kitchen when Eddie couldn’t. Taking care of Eddie when he couldn’t. He never thought it was going to come to that ultimate sacrifice, but it was close. Too close. But neither him or Eddie was going to let that happen, evidently.
You act like you’re expendable, but you’re wrong.
Turns out that goes both ways.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Maddie breaks him out of where he’d been standing staring at the forks in the drawer. He’s certainly not telling her about that yet.
“I think you need more than a penny.”
Eddie walks into the living room to Buck watching the end of a baseball game. He turns off the tv, getting up and turning directly into Eddie.
“Thought you heard me!” Eddie reaches out, balancing Buck again.
“Sorry.”
“It’s alright.” Eddie smiles softly. “Maddie leave?”
“Yeah. She took Chris to Hen’s, the kids are sticking together while she takes baby Nash in for his checkup.”
“Works for me. Thanks.”
Buck nods. “She put a roast on. Should be ready soon. How’d you sleep?”
“Not terrible, actually. You?”
“Same.”
“Good, good.” He rubs his shoulder. But not the recently injured one.
“Are you ok?” Buck asks him. It’s deep, earnest, more than about one jacked shoulder.
“Working on it.” Eddie smiles weakly, sitting himself on the couch. “But I should be asking you that.”
“You have been.” Buck replies, sitting back down beside him.
“Haven’t really believed a lot of your responses.”
“Yeah.” Buck chuckles. “I know. And you’re right.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Buck sighs. “I don’t know. Not really.”
“I get it. But I’m not going to let you spiral on your own.”
Buck stared straight ahead at the black tv, hands clasped. “She was ready to kill me. When we heard you outside.”
“It was that close?”
Buck nods, not looking over. “I convinced her to get you to leave, not drag you into it. Not put your life on the line too.”
“Dios.” Eddie groans, hand firmly on Buck’s leg. “I would’ve had I not noticed the truck. What were you thinking?”
“Chris. I told her you had a son too. If I was able to control anything, I wasn’t going to let anything happen to either of you. Because you’re not expendable either, Eddie.” He finally looks over, tears rolling down his cheek. But his voice remains steady. “For the record I trust you don’t actually have a death wish-”
“Forget that, Buck. I didn’t actually want to kill you either.”
“I know. Just still wanted you to know.”
“I do, Buck.” Eddie smiles, hand moving to Buck’s shoulder. “I love you. Don’t say that enough either.”
“I love you too, Eddie.”
Eddie smiles softly. “I was telling Maddie earlier. We were so annoyed with each other before the crash. But as soon as you were gone, the only thought I had was finding you. And I would’ve done anything.”
“You kinda did.”
“True.” Eddie chuckles. “Escaping the hospital was Athena’s idea, though.”
“Like she needed to tell you.”
“Also true.” Eddie replies. “Point is, Once I stopped being pissed off, I didn’t care what any of those cops or diner patrons or anybody thought. I only cared about you. I’d put everything on the line for you, just like you did for me. For our family. Why do you think I really jumped off that bridge?”
“You knew I would.”
“And you said it yourself, too.”
“Fair point.”
“We’ve saved each other more than I think either of us realize sometimes. I wouldn’t have survived any of the last year without you.”
“Back at you.” Buck gives him a weak smile, leaning his head towards Eddie’s shoulder for a moment.
“And for some reason-” Eddie continues, hand wrapping around Buck’s shoulder as if it’s nothing new. “I let you move out when I really shouldn’t have.”
“What?” Buck lifts his head up, gazing at Eddie with watery eyes.
“Stay here. Move home.” Eddie says softly. “We can do this together.”
“Eddie.. I- you, we-”
Eddie cuts him off with a soft kiss. Buck falls in easily, as if again, this is normal.
“Maybe I didn’t always believe me either.” Eddie says. “We got assumed by an entire town, I think it’s time we both stop trying to ignore it. What do you say?”
Buck beams. “I’m glad I’m not going to look like an idiot anymore.”
Eddie thumbs Buck’s cheek. “You never did.”
“You weren’t here when you were in Texas.”
“Oh no.” Eddie laughs. “If it makes you feel any better, you weren’t in Texas either.”
“So Chris knows?”
“Oh yeah.” Eddie scoffs. “Long before I did.”
“I think everyone did.”
“Guess that will make telling everyone easier, right?”
“Good point.” Buck grins, kissing him again. “I’m calling the realtor as soon as I feel like I can stand for more than an hour.”
“Deal.” Eddie beams. “How much food did your sister make?”
“Enough for a few days probably, why?”
“We could host our first dinner party without even cooking. Rip the bandaid right off.”
Buck snickers. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Is that a no?”
“How about tomorrow. I never actually got around to the bread Maddie asked me make for it. Which was probably just a distraction plan, but still.” Buck reaches for Eddie’s hand. “We can share everything with everyone tomorrow.”
Eddie nods, leaning them back into the couch. “I’m not going anywhere.”