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"Where ya going?" Eddie calls from the couch as Buck is stuffing his feet into shoes by the door.
"Uh," Buck stops, foot up off the ground and heel hanging out the back of the sneaker, "I was…I have plans with Maddie," he lies.
"Can I come?" Eddie's voice lilts up, and he's already moving toward Buck.
He wants to scream, he wants to shout. No, Eddie, you cannot come. I'm expressly going over to my sister's house so that I am not around you!
"Sure," his mouth says instead as he slams his heel into the mouth of his poor abused New Balance.
"Great!" Eddie lights up, giving Buck that toothy grin that makes Buck's stomach flutter.
How's he supposed to explain this one? He's gonna show up at Maddie's house with a big fake grin that he hopes screams 'hey Maddie please pretend like you were expecting me so that Eddie doesn't know I was trying to leave his house to escape him because living with him is actually driving me crazy and I think I might die'?
While Eddie's distracted with pulling on a jacket to beat back the chill desert night air, Buck quickly flips out his phone and shoots off a text to his sister.
Be cool but Eddie and I are coming by the house. Please act like you were expecting me, he sends and then sits there staring at the conversation for a few seconds to see if Maddie will at least send him a Gen X check mark emoji. No such emoji arrives. No read receipt.
"Ready?" Eddie asks, a vision standing in front of Buck in his stupid sexy leather jacket and green Henley.
"Uh, yep. I'll drive." And Buck snatches the keys from the bowl.
Eddie didn't even make a move for the keys. He wasn't even going to fight Buck on driving to Buck's on sister's house, Buck knows.
"Is Chim gonna be there?" Eddie asks as he climbs into the passenger seat of the Jeep. "And the kiddos?"
"Yeah, everyone should be there," Buck lies as he starts the engine.
He doesn't know this at all. For all he knows, the Han house could be pitch black and deserted by the time the show up. Hell, they could all be at the movies or at dinner or at the Lees. He pulls his phone out one more time to check and see if Maddie's responded. No notifications whatsoever. A lump forms in his throat.
All the cars are in the driveway when he parks on the curb. He lets his shoulders drop in relief. Everyone's home.
He and Eddie make their way up to the front door and knock. Yeah, Buck has a key, but he still thinks it's polite considering they aren't actually expecting company.
"Back so soon?" Chimney's voice is low and a little sultry as he throws open the front door.
Then, he blinks. Blinks at Buck and then at Eddie.
"Uh…" Chim says, decidedly not letting them in.
"Is…is Maddie home?" Buck asks, his voice squeaking up a register.
He vaguely registers Eddie's confused scrunched up face at the question.
"Um, no," Chimney shuffles from foot to foot. "Is that all?"
Now, Buck has been plunged into protective brother mode.
"Where’s Maddie, Chim?” He demands, pushing into the house.
Chimney puts up little resistance.
"Come on in, guys," he mutters to himself.
"Uncle Buck!" A high pitched squeal comes from the living room when Jee-Yun notices him striding in.
She doesn't get up from her spot on the floor where she's vaguely playing with some of Nash's toys and he's laying on a donut pillow and chewing on a teething ring.
"Hey, kiddo," Buck says, immediately feeling himself soften when he comes over to crouch next to her. "Whatcha doing?"
"Showing Nash how to play blocks," she explains, as if it's obvious. Nash clearly wants nothing to do with the fabric blocks.
"That's really sweet of you, honey," he tells her. "You're a good big sister."
She flashes him a huge snaggle tooth grin. "Thanks!"
He takes a second to glance at Chimney and Eddie, who followed him into the house and then into the living room. Chimney looks near petrified. Eddie is just baffled and vaguely amused.
"Hey, Jee-Yun," Buck drops his voice quiet and low.
"Yeah?"
"Do you know where your mommy is?"
Jee looks pensive and thoughtful for a second. "Yeah! She went out! She looked really pretty, too."
Chimney groans at his daughter's words.
This pings something in Buck's brain, but he can't be sure. He turns to look at his brother-in-law, who's just staring down at Jee-Yun in betrayal.
"I'm sorry," Buck says, right at Chim, "where's my sister?"
"She's, uh," Chimney says, looking at Eddie now, "Out. You know. With a girl friend.”
"Sue?" Eddie asks, finally providing something helpful.
"Uh, no," Chimney beelines for his kitchen.
The kids seems pretty under control and preoccupied, so Buck doesn't worry leaving them one room over.
“Then who?” Buck insists.
“You don’t know her,” Chimney brushes off, dipping his head in his refrigerator and finding a cans of kombucha.
He passes the first one to Eddie, then one to Buck, and then cracks open the third one for himself. Buck recognizes the brand, knows it's expensive. The first sip is, truly, divine.
“Chim…” Buck presses, despite the bribery.
“Okay, fine!" The words explode out of Chimney as his eyes bounce back and forth between Buck and Eddie. "She’s on a date!”
Silence rings in the spacious kitchen.
Buck blinks at Chimney, the can of kombucha poised at his lips.
“With a woman?” Buck prompts, his head tilting to the side like a dog.
Chimney doesn't say anything, his face uncharacteristically pink.
"But you guys are married?" Buck whisper shouts.
Eddie spins on him then, giving him a look like he's a moron. Maybe he is.
"Have you never heard of polyamory, Buck?" Eddie's face is still so beautiful even when he's looking at Buck like this.
"Oh, you're gonna explain polyamory to me, Eddie?" Buck snaps.
It's not that Buck doesn't know about it. Of course he does. He's queer and he lives in LA. He knows. It's just…that's his sister. What?
"My lips are sealed," Chimney leans back against the counter.
"Maddie's bi?" The realization suddenly hits Buck square in the chest.
"Again," Chimney says, sipping from his can. "My lips are sealed."
Buck gives him a withering look. "You may be my captain, but that's my sister!" Buck pleads.
"Listen, you need to talk to her. This is not for me to say," Chimney shrugs. "But, I'll just say I'm not expecting her home any time soon."
Buck feels his face pinch. "Howard Han!" He screeches, scandalized.
At that, Jee-Yun comes running, clearly wanting in on the action.
"What's going on?" She jumps excitedly between the three men.
"Nothing, sweetie," Chimney assures her. "Adults are just having a little chitchat. Nothing serious."
Jee-Yun's dark eyes travel around the faces of all three adults, checking to see if her dad is telling the truth. Buck has no clue what she might see on his face, but she seems satisfied with it nonetheless, spinning on her heels to return to her baby brother.
"So, now we've established Maddie isn't here," Chimney sighs. "Are you guys staying or going?"
Buck turns to look at Eddie and Eddie's giving Buck some kind of look that he still correctly interprets as 'please can we stay?' Eddie loves Chimney. It's impossible to deny, even if sometimes they antagonize each other. It's not different than him and Buck. Right? Right?
So, they stay. The whole time, Buck keeps his phone out, waiting to see if his sister is going to text him back. She never does. But Eddie has a nice time, even if Buck's tense.
Maddie still isn't home by the time they leave around 9 when Jee goes down for bed. She was overly excited to have company and crashed real hard as soon as that hour hit.
They say their goodbyes and shuffle off to the Jeep.
"Why are you being weird?" Eddie asks immediately, as soon as they're in the car.
"My sister is on a date with a woman, Eddie!" Buck hears his own hysterics and can do nothing to quell them.
"You go on dates with guys. So what?" Eddie's incredibly defensive, his face a little pink under the orange sodium lights on the streets.
"So, Eddie! It's different."
And he knows he sounds like a stupid hypocrite, he knows. If Chimney is okay with it, and it really seems like he is, then what the hell is wrong with Buck?
"It's really not different," Eddie argues, voice a little softer as he rolls the window down and tips his face into the cool, cool night breeze.
"If Maddie is bi, if this is a secret she's kept, if she watched me come out and just didn't say anything, then am I a bad brother? Because I didn't know?"
Eddie's head whips to hip, startled into disbelief. Buck almost doesn't register Eddie's warm hand on his shoulder. "Buck, what? You are not a bad brother. You're a great brother, uncle, friend…" he trails off, like maybe he wants to add another thing to that list but can't quite make himself do it.
"Thanks, Eds," Buck deflates, slumping back into his own seat and switching off the AC so they can both have the windows down.
Eddie nods and drops his hand. A silence between them—only broken by the swell and decrescendo of crickets outside and the rattling hum of the Jeep's engine—lingers, weighty.
"If Maddie wants to tell you," Eddie's voice is somber, soft, "she'll tell you in her own time."
Buck finds Eddie's eyes, ducked shyly in the darkness.
"Yeah," he says, the word scraping out of his throat.
"Maybe it's new," Eddie continues. "Maybe, maybe she's scared. Maybe…she isn't sure how you'll react."
The words catch Buck's ear. This is Maddie they're talking about. Right?
"Eddie?" Buck calls, wanting Eddie's full attention on him.
"Hmm?"
"Are we…are we still talking about Maddie here?" Buck is scared to ask, really doesn't want to be wrong.
Eddie's silent for a few seconds, fingers fiddling with the bottom seam of his Henley even though there's nothing really for them to catch on, eyes on his hands. "Uh, no, I guess not."
"What's scaring you?" Buck's stomach is dropping and rolling, like it's on fire.
He isn't sure he wants to know. Last time Eddie kept a big secret from Buck, he left for El Paso. Buck isn't sure he could survive that again.
"I'm, um," Eddie whispers, the fiddling getting faster, frantic, "I'm gay?"
The silence echoes that of the one they'd shared in the Han kitchen.
"You're…gay?" Buck repeats. "There's a question?"
Eddie snorts. "No, no question. I'm definitely gay. It's just…scary to say."
Buck takes a few steadying breaths. "Well, I'm really, I'm really proud of you, Eddie. Thanks for telling m-mph—"
Buck's words are cut off by Eddie's lips on his. It's not what he expected, not by a long shot. But dammit if he isn't going to kiss Eddie back. Because it's definitely something Buck's been thinking about, incessantly, for weeks maybe months—or years. In fact, it's a big reason why they showed up at the Han residence in the first place. But now they're kissing.
He breaks it off, panting but desperate for answers.
"Eddie," he says with Eddie's spit still on his lips.
"Hmm?" Eddie asks, his usual fake nonchalance as he passes his thumb over his lips gently.
"Was I your gay awakening?" Buck has to know.
"Uh," Eddie shrugs. "Yes?"
"Is it a question?" Buck laughs.
"No, I'm just nervous!" Eddie blurts, staring out the window at the manicured lawn of the little yellow house across from the Hans's.
"Well," Buck ducks a little closer but doesn't push. "Thanks for telling me."
"How do you," Eddie starts, not turning to Buck even if the gooseflesh rising at the back of his neck gives him away, "how do you feel about that?"
"No, yeah," Buck says, low, sultry, "I liked it."
Just as Eddie's turning back to face him, back to kiss him again maybe, their quiet moment is interrupted.
"Buck?"
It's Maddie.
"Buck what are you doing here?" She asks, her heels clacking on the asphalt below and she approaches the Jeep from the passenger side.
Jee-Yun was right. She does look pretty—her nose ring is sparkling like her eyes, a brick red lip paired with a forest green dress.
"I guess you didn't get my text," Buck grumbles.
"Um, no," she admits. "Was a little busy."
"I heard!" Buck says, feeling like maybe it would be better if a sinkhole were to open up beneath the Jeep and drag them all down into the pit of the Earth than admit he knows his sister was on a date. "Anyway, we gotta go. Gotta pick up Chris."
Eddie knows its a lie. It definitely is, but it benefits him, so he just says "You look nice, Maddie. Goodnight."
Buck is grateful as he peeling away from the curb faster than is strictly necessary. He'll make it up to her later. Honestly, he's a bit eager to get Eddie home anyway.
"Hey," Buck says over the wind whipping through the Jeep's cabin as they cruise down the road.
Eddie looks over to him, maybe a little lovesick, but Buck will hold off judgment on that for the time being.
"Yeah?" Eddie smiles at him, soft and sweet.
"Thanks for coming with me." Buck sticks his right hand out toward Eddie.
Eddie takes it with no hesitation. "Thanks for letting me come along."
Yeah, Buck can't wait to get them home.